[IC] Among the Ashes

[Tenma Tendo]

The girl simply rolled her eyes at her brother's deductions.
"He might be an idiot, but he knows what he's talking about when it comes to survival. Cut him some slack." She said with a sad smile as she watched the other redhead fully step out of his room. Hearing what he had to say afterwards caused a lump to form in Na's throat.

That's right, he left before Giovanni explained the situation. She wasn't quite sure how the other would take the sudden news, especially with what happened earlier. Regardless, he would figure out eventually so might as well tell him now.
"Actually, we're all leaving. All four of us. This place isn't safe, Al, and in order for us to survive we can't stay here. We're leaving tomorrow with the others, okay?" She hoped the other would be understanding and be willing to go along with the plan, but knowing Alistair, anything could happen.

---

Nino lowered his head, quickly losing his appetite as he forcefully swallowed down the last bits of food in his mouth. Instead of verbally answering his brother at first, the ombre haired teen simply shook his head, feigning that nothing was wrong, despite knowing that Giovanni knew way better and would see through him easily. Sometimes, he wished he wouldn't be so observant.

He only looked back up when he felt a hand on his shoulder, staring back at Joe with almost guilty eyes. And just like that the other managed to reassure him with only a few sentences. Giovanni was right, he was always right, and Nino knew that. It's just sometimes, his messed up mind and body would want to tell him otherwise. Yeah, that was it.
"Sorry, yeah you're right. It's just that I...I-I just can't..." He frowned as he couldn't seem to get the words out to explain how he was feeling. So he let out a deep sigh before speaking up once again. "...Bottled water sounds good, thank you." He said before bring the plate back in front of him and staring at the half eaten food in front of him.

[Rabidporcupine]

Al just stared for a moment, unsure of how to respond to that. Seriously, did she actually just say that?

"What." He said finally. "No. Why. That's a-... What."

He shook his head, trying to get his thoughts in order so he could explain his... let's go with concerns... properly.

"Alright sis, let's take a break for a second here and think about this logically." He said, his voice struggling to remain steady. "So these guys, this pair, this random idiot and his sick brother, break into our house, blame us for it, shows a complete and utter lack of any intelligence, blames us, tells us our parents ar-... missing... pushes a small table in front of the door he broke down, cooks dinner and, and I can't emphasise this enough, [i][b]blames us![/i][/b] And for some reason, we're not only not telling him to fuck off, we're leaving a possible safe place to wait this thing out to wander across a continent in the process of collapsing with him... Now are you absolutely sure this is the plan we wanna go with?"

As if to emphasise Al's doubts, Giovanni exited the room at that exact moment, looking at the two as he went to get the bottle of water for his brother.

"Cat, Imp, stop gossiping and go to the room, before your food gets cold. You're eating it even if it does, so I don't wanna hear you brats complaining about it."

And then he continued down the stairs, leaving Al to point frantically in his direction.

"Ya see?!" He said, unable to keep the frustration out of his voice anymore. "I don't wanna go anywhere with that jackass!"

[Tenma Tendo]

Na could barely suppress the smile forming on her face. She knew Alistair so well, of course he wouldn't be okay with something like this, but she had her reasons for believing Giovanni when he says that they have to leave.
"I know it's a lot to take in, but--" Her little smile immediately died when she was cut off, the other redhead going into a full on rant about how this definitely wasn't the best idea. Sometimes she really hated when he got like this. It made it hard to convince him to do anything else. Not to mention she had a similar, less vulgar mindset of what to do just hours before.

Catrina was soon pulled away from Al as the man of the hour sudden appeared and made his way towards them and down the hallway. What he had to say didn't really help his case, emphasized by Al's gestures, but that was something she could overlook.
"Al, this is best choice for us, instead of waiting for our parents who might not show up. those two, they've seen how bad it can get. And if one of them tells me that this place isn't safe, who do you think I'm gonna believe? Our parents, or him? I get where you're coming from, I really do, but we still don't know the whole story of what's going on. Trust me." It might have come out a bit harsher then she wanted, but she tried to end the conversation with that, grabbing Al's arm with her free hand and pulling him to her room so that they could eat.

[Rabidporcupine]

Al listened to his sister speak, and while she made a decent point, he still wasn't sure she realised just how big a risk she was planning on taking. However, one thing she said in particular caused him to snap back to look at her, glaring.

"They'll come back." He said, doing his best to keep the fear out of his voice. "They'll come back… And if we go with them, any chance of seeing them again will be gone."

His gaze dropped for a second, as he spent some time trying to convince himself that they would come back, before looking back up. He couldn't think like this, he had to think objectively. He had to think about what would happen if… if they didn't come back… What would the best course of action be then? And, begrudgingly, he had to admit that this wasn't really the best place to try and defend…

"Fine." Al sighed. "I'll go with you, but I still don't trust them! Especially that idiot! We don't even know his name!"

"How rude." Joe said, walking past them on the way back to the room. "Here I am, making you dinner and offering to take you across the country with me, and you're questioning my generosity. Honestly, children these days…"

He continued to walk a little further, before looking back over his shoulder.

"If you're really so anxious to know everything about me, then come eat with us. Let's talk."

[Tenma Tendo]

Catrina flinched at the sight of Al's sharp glare, almost as if he was challenging her to say something else about their parents. She saw how the other clung to the possibility that they might still be okay, and who could blame him? Despite his language and how he acted sometimes, Alstair was still a little kid who needed his mother and father in order to survive. Seeing the small bits of fear leak out of Al's expression, Na could only think of what would have happened if they were both too stubborn to leave their parents at the airport. What would have happened.

The girl brought her attention back to Al when he reluctantly agreed to go along with her and the other two and she could barely hold back the smile on her face. Unfortunately, Giovanni had the need to return once again at the wrong moment.
"I'm 18, mind you." She countered before looking back at Al. "Thank you Al, for cooperating I mean." She said softly before giving his shoulder a small pat and heading into her room.

Her attention was immediately brought to Nino, who had already finished eating, staring suspiciously at the contents in her room.
"Are you feeling better?" She questioned as she situated herself on the ground, not noticing the sight jump the ombre teen gave when she addressed him.
"U-Um, yes...th-thank you, Miss." He mumbled bring his gaze down to his dirty socks. Catrina honestly couldn't believe how soft spoken and quiet this kid was; why couldn't Al be like this? Well, then again, he has Giovanni for a brother so maybe that's why he's super quiet? Following his gave down to his socks, Na could only let out a tiny gasp before glaring at Joe. "Um, would you care to explain why the hell your brother doesn't have any shoes around him?"

[Rabidporcupine]

"Yeah?" Giovanni asked, raising an eyebrow. "Well I'm nineteen, so you might as well be a baby in comparison."

However, he was only really pretending to be annoyed, and casually slumped down to the floor to begin his meal. Thankfully not cold yet, despite how long he'd had to wait before he could actually begin eating.

Before he could really dig in though, he was interrupted by another accusation, which considering the kind of person he was beginning to suspect Na was, had an unexpectedly sharp tone to it.

"Jeez Cat, I thought we agreed you'd watch your language..." He drawled out, barely even pausing between bites. "Can't be saying things like 'hell' around kids as young as Imp here..."

"Eat a dick." Al said simply.

"I think I'll stick with the delicious dinner I made for you. Also language."

And then Joe turned back to Na, before pointing towards his own feet, covered only in makeshift rag creations.

"Maybe don't be so quick to judge, Cat. It's rude and immature. Not everyone's a millionaire who can afford things like shoes..."

However, before Na or Al could follow up with anything, he continued, his expression turning a little more serious.

"But in al seriousness, I'm gonna go ahead and assume you've realised we're Italian by now. So you've surely realised we've been walking for quite a while. He has no shoes for the same reason I don't, because we walked so long they fell apart on our feet. Those dirty socks you looked at before assuming I neglected him? They're my socks. I just gave them to him so he wouldn't have to put up with shoddily made substitutes."

And then his expression turned lazy and dopey again, as he continued to eat.

"So you know, technically I'm the one being neglected, giving him the comfortable stuff while I get trench foot. But don't worry too much about me, I know once we find whatever settlement the survivors off all this make, I'll be able to dump him somewhere nice and take a very well deserved rest!"

"Hey, has anyone ever told you you're kind of a cunt?" Al said, pretty pissed at the way Joe was talking. "You're gonna 'dump' him somewhere and piss off? Aren't you his big brother? Just who the hell do you think you are?"

"Funny you should ask that." Joe said. "I let me tell you just who the hell I am. I go by many names. The Wanderer, the Mountain King, the Winter General, Snake Eyes... But you, you brats can just call me Battousai."

[Tenma Tendo]

"Who cares about language, just tell me what happened." She spoke up to bring the conversation back to her question. Her eyes never really left Nino's feet except to look at his face, which looked a lot more embarrassed then in pain or anything of the sort. She couldn't believe it, but it would have to be something normal for him if it he wasn't reeling in pain over it by now. Na's gaze was moved to Joe as he turned to face her, noting that he also didn't have nay shoes on as well. "Hey, I'm not trying to judge, it's ju--" Na tried to counter, but Giovanni continued on without her.

The girl listened on silently as the brown haired man went on to explain the whole 'no shoes' situation. It made sense actually, now that she thought about it, so once most of the seriousness left his face, Catrina stood up once again, abandoning her food and stepping close to the closet behind her so that she could rummage through it. As she was doing so, Nino could only give his brother a look, not quite denying his statement of leaving him behind would be best, while also glancing at Alistair in baffled silence; this kid really had a mouth on him...

The ombre haired teen merely listened in silence at the two before snorting at Giovanni's alias, shaking his head a little bit.
"Don't be silly." He chided slightly before looking at Alstair with a weary, but friendly smile, hoping that his presence wasn't annoying him as much as Giovanni's. "My name is Nino, and this is my older half brother, Giovanni." He said just as Catrina placed a pair of her own sliders beside his feet before leaving the room, probably to get larger socks and shoes for Joe.

[Rabidporcupine]

"Ah, c'mon Nino, a little silliness is exactly what people need at the end of the world." Joe said, lightly slapping his brother on the shoulder. "When everything you've ever known and loved is collapsing in on itself, I'd rather be the person who decides to laugh in it's face than the guy who huddles in a corner and sobs himself into a death by dehydration."

He finished eating, before stretching lazily and leaning against the side of the bed as Na placed the slippers by Nino's feet. He didn't say anything just yet, but he was worried that the girl might still not fully comprehend what they were looking at here. While it was a nice gesture, slippers weren't exactly the best shoes for the kind of stuff they were about to go through… They'd probably fall apart after a week, and that was being generous. More likely, with the walking they were going to be doing, they'd disintegrate right off Nino's feet within a couple of days.

"Hey, wait here for a sec." He said, standing up and heading to the double bed room.

Once he'd left, it only took a few moments for Alistair to start speaking again.

"Hey, I know he's your brother, but why do you put up with him? Why did you just take all that shit he was saying about you? That kind of bullshit isn't right. You shouldn't let him off the hook for being an asshole like that, especially if the worlds gonna go to shit like he said!"

Meanwhile, Joe walked into the parent's bedroom, where he found Na looking for more shoes.

"So, I don't suppose you've found any good shoes, have you?" He asked, sitting on the bed. "Because I'm not sure if you realise, but slippers aren't exactly the best shoes for wandering across the ruins of society. In fact, and just here me out here, I think I have to say that none of those soft-materialed morning clothes are appropriate. Towels are another matter, of course. They're useful for all kinds of things, but slippers, kinda useless if you think about it…"

As he spoke, he lay back.

"Ah, this is a nice bed… I knew I made the right choice with this house, excluding the whole 'you guys waiting to ambush me and Nino' part…"

[Tenma Tendo]

A weary smile appeared on Nino's face as he rubbed his shoulder softly. Despite said smile, it was rather clear that the smile didn't reach his eyes; especially when taking to account what he had to say afterwards. But as always, he kept it to himself, remaining entirely silent until both Catrina and Giovanni left out of the room. His eyes immediately went to Alistair, who was questioning why he put up with the verbal assault.
"B-But...he's right. I've just been a b-burden for him and we a-aren't even related by blood so..." Nino mumbled as he slowly brought himself down to the floor so that he was at the same level as Al. "I'm grateful for everything he's done for me, s-so whenever he says something that h-hurts my feelings, I just try to ignore it. T-Talking back would just give him more problems." He then continued as he pulled up his knees to hug them. He then smiled. "No matter h-how much she might annoy you, I think you're really lucky to have your sister at a time like this, but you seem smart enough to know that." Nino smiled nervously before he began tugging on his hoodie sleeves gently.

Meanwhile in her parent's room, Catrina was in the walk in closet, shuffling through various pairs of shoes and assorting them accordingly. She didn't even flinch when Giovanni's voice suddenly started speaking to her. Even with his words, the girl continued to sort the pairs of shoes, rolling her eyes once he was finished.
"'Maybe don't be so quick to judge, Cat. It's rude and immature'. You know, you should really practice what you preach." She mocked before finally turning to face the brown haired man, placing her hands on her hips in annoyance. "Just because I don't know what's going on in the outside world, doesn't mean I don't know what I'm doing in general. The sliders are for in the house. I at least want you guys to get a break before we head out. I was planning to give him my sneakers, or boots if they didn't fit him. As for you..." Na motioned to the sliders and row of his father's sneakers and hiking shoes. "You can just pick what you like. Socks are in the drawer over there." She sighed before scratching the back of her head. "Although some of the stuff here isn't suited for what we're about to go, we're gonna have to make it work, so deal with it, okay?" She said just as the other laid in her parent's bed. She wanted to counter how idiotic his statement was, but too fed up to really deal with it, Na left the room so that she could go back to her food and eat.

[Rabidporcupine]

"Who the hell cares if you aren't related by blood?" Al asked, practically seething at this point. "That doesn't make you a burden! I don't care what he's done for you! You're a human being, and he's talking like you're a ball and chain strapped to his feet! You should talk back to him, otherwise he'll keep treating you like crap forever!"

He gave the frail boy a vigorous nod when he mentioned his sister.

"You're damn right, I do! And unlike your scumbag brother, I like to make sure she knows it."

He paused, before nodding resolutely and standing up.

"You know what? I'm not letting things go this way. Tonight, we should leave. Make our escape while that jackass is still asleep. Maybe then he'll realise how important it is not to treat the only people who like you like crap!"

Meanwhile, in the bedroom, Giovanni continued to relax on the bed.

"Tempting, but I think I'll pass. Leave practising what you preach to the people who actually care about being called a hypocrite."

He sighed as she got up to leave.

"Well, at least you understand a little." He said. "Once you'be finished eating, get some rest. Big day tomorrow, and we wanna be up an leaving pretty early in it."

Once she's left though, the tired, easy going smile on his face warped into a frown, and he rubbed his temples in frustration.

"I guess I said something pretty shitty again, huh?"

[Tenma Tendo]

Nino flinched as Al steadily rose his voice, urging him on to talk back to his older brother. And while the younger boy thought he had every right to stick up for himself, Nino was still skeptical.
"B-But...talking back is like, super disrespectful isn't it? I don't want him to be mad with me or else he'd really leave me behind." He responded with a saddened expression before lowering his head to stare at the ground. Somewhere in his mind, Nino was agreeing with Alistair entirely, but how could he talk back to someone that's been so willing to help him out for so long?

Hearing that Al often let Na know what was on his mind, Nino could only keep his mouth shut. He's had multiple chances to say what would on his mind to Giovanni, but whenever the chance came, he would always quiet or go along with what he said. Was it natural to verbally show gratefulness and disdain for someone you're suppose to look up to?

Nino had been so caught up in his thoughts, he visibly straightened when Alistair stood, the ombre teen now staring up at him. Hearing what the redhead had to say caused Nino to gawk at the young boy with a frown.
"You want us...to leave my brother and your sister, basically run away from them, just to prove a p-point?" He whimpered, eyes wide with fear as he frantically shook his head. "I couldn't! Th-That would put you in danger! We could die o-out there without my brother!" The ombre teen panicked, his eyes wide and his frame shaking.

---

"Sure thing, Mr. Hypocrite." She hummed in response as her gaze remained on the brown haired man for only a few seconds longer before she took her leave. As she was almost to the door, Na hesitated as Joe had a few more words for her. Without turning, she responded. "Got it, I'll make sure the others are in bed before that." Na mentioned before leaving the room.

Since all the rooms were occupied by the three boys, Catrina opted for sleeping downstairs. But after the events of earlier in the day, she ultimately decided to crash on Al's floor for the night. He might not like it, but she rather make their 'guests' comfortable.

As she approached her own room, she could hear the other two having a conversation with each other. She didn't really think anything of it, so she simply walked in, only to tilt her head in confusion.
"Why are you standing like that? Did you finish your food? If so, then go to sleep. I'll be crashing on your floor, just as a heads up." She said, eyeing both boys with a mostly oblivious expression.

[Rabidporcupine]

"What? No!" Al said quickly. "We wouldn't be leaving my sister, I could never leave her behind! Your brother, on the other hand, has done nothing but act like a right bastard, both to us and you. And let's be honest, I reckon we're more likely to die with him than without. Hell, I nearly killed him before, and it was easy! That doesn't sound like someone who could protect us. It doesn't sound like someone who can protect anything."

However, he quickly stopped talking when Na walked back in.

"Yeah, I'm done." He replied to her. "I guess I'll turn in too. Not much to do now that it's dark anyway..."

He gave Nino one last look, before heading to the other room. Despite his words, he wasn't anywhere near prepared enough to put his plan to action just yet, but if Nino was wrong, if that jackass couldn't protect them like Nino was saying, then he would sure as hell be working on it.

[Tenma Tendo]

Nino frowned at what Al had to say about his brother. He didn't understand how much of a lifesaver Giovanni could be when it's a life or death situation. The ombre teen was about to voice his thoughts too, it it hadn't been for Catrina entering, halting their entire conversation from escalating any further. He kept his mouth shut as Al bid his farewells for the night, the both of them sharing one more glance before the younger one left. Nino shook his head slightly before bringing his attention to Catrina who was now eating.
"I-I'm go and dispose of this plate then go to bed. U-Uh, fill free to stay here until you're finished." He mumbled, as she slipped on the rather comfortable shoes before making his way down the steps. He took his sweet time too as he would rather not have a girl watch him while he's asleep; but it was her room so he couldn't just tell her to get out...

---

Catrina looked back up when Nino returned from his trip downstairs. It was clear as day that he was nervous and avoiding any form of eye contact, but a few minutes after his head hit the pillow, he was completely knocked out. He must have been really tired still...and on edge from being in such a new place. Not wanting to bother him any longer, Catrina gobbled up the rest of her food quickly before hurrying out of the room. They had a big day ahead of them and she knew she would need to sleep to keep up with it.

---

Before she even knew it, Catrina's phone blared to life, a soft chime ringing throughout Al's room. Having crashed on the floor, and placing the phone on the dresser at the other side of the room before doing so, Catrina let out a sleepy mumble as she shifted on the floor, her eyes still closed and expression showing she was still in dreamland. Despite this, however, the redhead spoke up to the other occupant in the room.
"Could you get that for me Al?" She grumbled as she curled up to a more comfortable position.

[Rabidporcupine]

Eyes wide, Al ran for the phone, turning it off before shaking his sister awake.

"There are people standing outside the house." He whispered into her ear, before slowly backing away. Nervously, he reached backwards and grabbed the javelin before positioning himself by the door.

Meanwhile, Giovanni had already woken up, taking an instinctive look through his window to see the people outside.

"Ah, hell..." He slowly mumbled to himself. Before he could even begin to get himself ready for the coming fight however, he felt a mild yet searing pain in his chest, and let out a silent sigh. Yep, that was heartburn, alright. That was going to lower his kickass fighting skills by quite a bit.

So that meant he'd have to go with plan B...

As quietly as he could, he moved through the house towards Nino's room, softly shaking him awake.

"Nino, they followed us. Be as quiet as you can and follow me, ok?"

After making sure his brother was behind him, he continued down the corridor to Al and Na's room.

He gently opened the door, only to have to bend into a limbo position to avoid the javelin that otherwise would've gone straight through his neck. Barely catching himself from falling backwards, he gave Al a wide eyed, frustrated glare, before turning to Na.

"We need to leave, as quickly as possible."

"DRIFTERS!" A gruff voice shouted from outside. "YOU'RE IN THERE, AREN'T YOU?!"

Joe had to forcefully stifle the urge to reply with a loud 'No', realising that unlike usual, he probably wouldn't be able to take on all these loser at once. Not just because of his not only because of his now very bad heartburn, but also because he had to protect two more people than usual. Instead, he turned to the others, an unusually serious look on his face.

"Alright, if this house has a back door, use it now. Just like before, keep away from any windows, I'll stay up here and distract them, got it?"

[Tenma Tendo]

Na probably would have went back to sleep if the memories of the days prior hadn't immediately come back to her. Within the next few seconds, the redhead was up and alert, believing every word Al said despite not looking herself. Why were they people here? Were they like Nino and Giovanni who were trying to break in? Or were they an actual threat trying to attack them for who knows what? Watching her little brother prepare himself with the javelin, Na did what she could with what she had, and grabbed the nearby lamp, gripping it tightly as she situated herself on the other side of the door.

Meanwhile, Nino woke up to the sight of Joe looming over him. While he knew something had to be wrong if that were the case, the ombre haired teen was still terribly drowsy as the symptoms of his fever had yet to fully subside. However, being rather use to this, the boy nodded halfheartedly before shuffling closely behind Giovanni. As they made their stop in front of Al's room, Nino let out a yelp as surprise when Giovanni suddenly leaned back towards him, covering his mouth quickly after.

Catrina let out a shaky sigh of relief when she saw it was just the Italians, lowering the lamp in her hands.
"R-Right, b-but what about our thing--" The redhead was cut off by an unfamiliar voice. Fear flash on her face for a quick second before she wrapped an arm around Alistair and grabbed Nino's hand. "Be careful okay?" She whispered before she pulled the other two down the hallway and the staircase. Getting a little close to the front door when it was still slightly broken was making Katrina nervous, but she tried to remain quiet as she forcibly pulled the younger boys towards the kitchen and into the living room where the back door was just one hallway away.

[Rabidporcupine]

Giovanni nodded to Na, somewhat surprised that she was actually showing concern for him. He considered dwelling on it, but eventually decided against it. After all, there was something more important to worry abo-

"DRIFTER!"

"For gods sake, fine, yes, I'm here! Now will you please stop shouting?! You're really stressing me out here!"

"Ha, I knew we'd catch up with you eventually!" The man said. "Nearly lost you in the Alps, but you should've known you'd never really escape us."

"Well Franky, I'm gonna be entirely honest, I wasn't so much hoping you'd lose my trail and more that you'd freeze to death up there. But hey, I guess we don't always get what we want, do we?"

"Hey, you show me the proper respect you little snake!"

"Fine, Francesco. I'd ask if you're happy now, but I'm pretty sure you never are, so instead I'll go ahead and say this. You can't beat us. You can't catch us. I'm a god. You're a sheep. And I can say all of this because I know you still haven't found any guns, because if you had, you'dve shot me already. So come at me, you worthless underling!"

By the end of Giovanni's rant, Francesco was trembling, face red.

"Drag him out." He ordered, not even turning to the men behind him. "I don't care what the boss said, he's done."

"I do so love our talks." Giovanni said, a mocking smile on his face. "See ta outside, Franky..."

And then he ducked his head away from the window, just in time to avoid a knife flung by the seething man.

---

Meanwhile, about eight hundred metres away, Alistair lay atop a small hill, looking through a small pair of binoculars.

"God damn it, I can't fucking see shit through this fucking kids toy!" He ranted silently. "Why the hell couldn't we have a real fuckin pair?!"

Despite his words, he could kind of see enough to get a vague idea of what was happening. Mostly he could see people through the windows, most of them heading towards the stairs.

"Well... He's probably fucked." He said. "I... Jeez, this is gonna sound really bad, but I think we need to leave. We can't be here when they... Well, when they finish their business in the house..."

However, before he could continue, he saw something that made him pause.

Something had just fallen down the stairs.

Something big enough to crush a number of the men on the stairs, leaving a pile of broken bod-

"Ah." He said simply, as he realised what he had just witnessed. "Aah."

For a moment, he wondered why the house was beginning to shake, but it only took a few seconds for him to realise he was the one who was trembling. With an effort that felt monumentally more difficult than it should've been, he finally managed to tear the cheap binoculars away from his eyes. However, even more difficult was the task of looking away from the house.

He had seen something no one his age should've seen.

Slowly, he turned to his sister, a shocked expression on his rapidly paling face.

"Sis..." He managed to force out, before running up to her and burying his head in her stomach. "Sis... We... Can we leave? Please?"

[Tenma Tendo]

The small group of three safely made it out of the house, and once they did, they didn't stop moving until Catrina was positive that they would mostly be safe, which was about 800 meters away. They were now perched upon a small hill awaiting for Giovanni to return to them. Na chose this time to first console a clearly upset Nino. Why was he upset, she could make plenty of guesses based on the situation, but now was the time to stay calm and focused.
"Don't worry, your brother has done something like this before right? He'll be right back, I promise." Despite the redhead's words, the ombre haired teen continued to let out breathless wheezes. His skin was hot and his eyes were bloodshot and teary, which only led Na to believe that he needed more medicine. She could only hope Giovanni managed to get some of their things...

Bringing her attention to Alistair, Na furrowed her brows and tried to take the binoculars away from him, but to no avail.
"Maybe the world's trying to tell you something. Really, just have some faith in the guy and stop peeking. Who knows what he's gonna end up doing to them." She explained.

"F-Finish their business?" Nino managed to choke out before his sobs became increasingly more audible.

"Geez, why did you have to say that?! Apologize!" Na frowned. And while she expected the younger boy to argue back, when she didn't hear any such thing, she decided to look over, only to see him trembling uncontrollably. "A-Al? Al, what's what's wrong?!" She questioned as her 'big sister instincts' were going haywire.

As he pulled the binoculars away from his face and turned to face her, Na cold only narrow her eyes and hold him close when he approached, practically snatching the binoculars away from him. And while she really wanted to scold him for not listening to her, right now Alistair needed a comforting force.

Na stroked his hair quietly for a moment, her gaze elsewhere before speaking up.
"...Alright. Just a little bit farther. Giovanni still has to meet up with us though, alright?" She whispered as she pecked the top of Al's head then looked over to Nino. Of course she felt terrible that the boy didn't have someone close he could console with, but they really had to get going. It kinda felt like something was watching them anyways...

"Come on, Nino, just a little bit farther okay?" She said to the feverish boy, who struggled to pull himself off the ground and eventually nodded despite sick and scared his appearance portrayed.

And with that, they continued further away from the house.

[Rabidporcupine]

As the group made their way away from the house, Giovanni was having... Well, let's just say difficulties... Using the doors was out of the question, considering that he was stuck in Al's bedroom, wardrobe and bed pressed against the door, with about ten or so gang members trying to smash the door down. Normally, he'd probably be fighting his way down to the door anyway, because he was a badass, or as his stepdad would say, a reckless idiot, but he was currently dealing with quite a nasty case of heartburn, making that option far more difficult to take.

Besides, he'd left them a little surprise, which he really wanted to get out of the house for...

So, with that in mind, he took the lamp from the bedside table and threw it through the window, before awkwardly clambering out after it. Of course, rather than land on his feet, he landed on his back after a particularly loud BANG from the door made him flinch violently. Even as he lay on the ground, somewhere around all the tiny shards of glass in the world now sticking into his back, he sighed in relief.

He really thought he hadn't made it in time...

Which, now that he thought about it, he still mightn't if he didn't get out of there soon. And so, with that thought in mind, he got up and began sprinting towards the small hills behind the house, barely even acknowledging all the foreign objects that had found themselves imbedded in his body over the last few minutes. Well, ok, he did kind of have to acknowledge the fork in his shoulder, even if only for how weird it had been to see the guy throw it hard enough to actually pierce the skin, let alone not fall back out again afterwards.

Honestly, even the fact that he was still thinking about it was kind of weird, because he was sure his trap would've gone off by no-

And then he was nearly thrown off his feet, as an enormous BANG rang out from behind him. Stumbling forwards, he turned to gaze appreciatively at what used to be a house, but was now quite a pretty bonfire. He had to admit, he didn't think his little 'turning all the gas appliances on and leaving an open spark exposed in the bedroom' trick would work quite as well as it did, but he wasn't gonna complain. Maybe it was something in the paint.

After just a moment of contemplation however, he was running again. Now wasn't the time to get lost in thought. He had to regroup with the others and escape.

---

Meanwhile, Al had been following his sister and Nino through the hills when he heard the explosion, and quickly spun around to see what it was. For almost a full minute, he could only stare at the burning building that he had once lived in with his family, however briefly.

"He... He destroyed it..." Al said, his voice sounding somewhat empty. "Did he make it out, or was he still..."

He trailed off, not wanting to upset Nino again, but it felt like the rest of the question was physically trying to escape. Finally, he couldn't take it anymore, the stress and confusion all mixing together in his mind, only to be cut off before he could even open his mouth by exhausted gasping. He only had to adjust his gaze slightly further down to see Giovanni weakly jogging over the hill towards them, with each and every movement he made as he ran somehow managing to make him look pathetic, which actually kind of calmed him down a little. This guy wasn't some badass monster, he was just a normal idiot, just like he'd originally thought.

However, as he got closer, Al began to notice other things. Of particular note were all the cuts and injuries all over his body, which suddenly made it seem insane that he could even jog at all. Also just how much blood he seemed to be covered in. Sure, a pretty decent amount seemed to be coming from the slash on his forehead, but it still seemed like there was just a little too much to be his own.

Even as he thought this, Joe slowly made his way up the hill, still gasping in exhaustion. He eventually made it to the group though, pulling the fork from his shoulder and struggling to stand up straight.

"Alright..." He managed to get out between gasps. "So anyone know a good place to sleep later tonight?"

[Tenma Tendo]

Catrina turned around just as fast as Al did when the sound of their vacation home blowing up resounded throughout the area. This...this couldn't be real...but here they were watching it all happen, right in front of them. The girl tightened his grip on the youngest boy's shoulder, as his question made her shake her head defiantly.
"Don't even think about it, both of you. He definitely made it out. There's no way he didn't make it out." She said firmly, despite not being able to see the man's figure until about a minute later. She hadn't even realized she was tensing up until she let out a breath, relaxing her muscles and grip on Al in the process. This was really getting to be too much, but it didn't seem like she had a choice in this matter...

As the older man approached them, Na decided it would probably be best to close the gap as even his injures from afar were a bit uncomfortable to look at.
"Come on, let's make sure he's alright at least." She whispered, nudging her brother to start walking towards Joe while she turned to look at Nino, who had been oddly quiet. "N-Nino? Come on, don't you want to check up on your brother?" She tried to sound encouraging, but it felt a little lackluster.

Instead of an automatic response as the girl expected, Nino remained staring at the ground. She couldn't see it, but the boy's complexion quickly fluctuated from flushed to pale. His vision grew blurry while his hearing was entirely skewed, barely being able to make out what the female redhead even saying to him. He knew it was coming, he could practically feel it, but the dizziness and nausea made it near impossible for him to voice to the girl to hurry and get his bother. Before he even knew it, his muscles gave up on him, causing him to crumple to the ground with a thud, his back and head taking the brunt of the fall. Pupils dilated as his awareness of where he was slipped away, the last thing he actually saw being Na looming over him with fearful eyes.

Catrina could only stare baffled as the boy before her fell without warning and almost immediately began spazzing out on the ground, his limbs in particular were thrashing about, forcefully hitting the ground without control.
"N-Nino? Nino! Oh my God." She wanted to help the boy now involuntarily clenching down on his tongue, but what was she suppose to do? Her mind immediately went to Giovanni, who had met up with Al a few yards away, but leaving Nino by himself when he was like this...even for a short while didn't feel good at all. But Na ultimately opted for it, and jogged quick over to the other two boys, only to frown at Giovanni's bloodied appearance and ignore his question that should be painfully obvious at this point. "W-Was everything burned in that explosion? B-Because...Nino, he..." She wasn't even sure how to explain what was going on and instead pointed frantically in his direction. "...I don't know what to do, h-he just started--" She wasn't even sure how to finish that sentence and hoped the urgency in her voice was enough to show what was up.

[Rabidporcupine]

"Ah." Giovanni said dumbly, dropping down to kneel beside his stepbrother. "Shit. Ok, ok, okokok. C'mon Joey, don't do this! You're better than this! Even if you don't remember anything! Damn it, why don't you remember anything?!"

H was beginning to shake himself at this point, a very distinct feeling of helplessness coming over him. He wasn't a doctor, damn it! He was just a ridiculously capable fighter and housekeeper! Finally though, he grabbed Nino and stood up.

"Alright, new plan. We need to find a doctors office, or a chemist, or anything around the area. Now, I'll be honest, I have no idea where the hell anything is here. Or where 'here' is, for that matter. I really need you guys to help me here."

Meanwhile, Alistair simply stared at the pair. He wasn't sure what they should do. He wasn't sure there was anything they could do. He just knew that if he and Na went with that idiot, it could easily end in their deaths.