yogen | MISSION 2.B

( needless to say, it's pure chaos — and for a good reason. the fire spreads quick, and the smell of alcohol doesn't make her particularly hopeful, as far as not getting burned goes; there's so many people, too, panic in their eyes, and she barely even notices when shuichi grabs her, until he's pulling her away from the immediate fire.

it's still hot by the door, but not as bad; she blinks at him, a little confused — then exhales, relief obvious. he's safe, and he's familiar, though she's still very much lost on what happened.

she remembers going up to the fourth floor, and then — )

... I came alone. ( that much, she can say for sure. ) And, um... nope. It's kinda hard to spot anyone in this mess of people.

( but she'll look around, anyway, as he's trying to open the door. )

[ She's brave; she sounds a lot less scared than what Shuichi feels like, but the deep breath of relief he wants to take from having found her gets stalled in his throat and only makes him want to cough again. The smoke is going to get thicker if they don't move, considering they're kind of surrounded by the fires -- so he steps away from the useless door, not wanting to get trampled by other panicked students trying it. ]

I-I'll go look for him.

[ He's supposed to be here, they were together until a minute ago. Shuichi's heart is beating fast, a nauseous sensation in the pit of his stomach that isn't just from inhaling the scorching air. But he has to stay calm -- panicking is the least recommended thing to do in situation like these, he knows at least that much. ]

Can you try a few windows? I'll meet you back in the same spot, alright? I promise.

[ To which he quickly takes note of the approximate number of lockers they're at -- and I'm deciding right now it's locker 66 because this is hell. If the door won't open, maybe the windows will -- and if they won't, at least they'll know. And IDK, Akira and Kokichi can decide where they wanna show up from on their own.

As for Shuichi himself, he'll stumble through the panicked students and the hallway, looking for Kokichi -- where are these people coming from, anyway...? And where are the ones who can't open the door either running to after that? What about the stairs? Are the stairs on fire too? ]

[One moment it'd just been him and Shuichi and what should have been the fourth floor, and then the next makes no sense at all. A sudden jump back down to what looks like the school entrance, fire everywhere, other students rushing about in a panic. Kokichi instinctively draws a breath in sheer surprise, and then immediately regrets it when the smoke in the air sends him into a coughing fit. Careless of his struggling, another student running by shoulder checks him and nearly sends him to the ground, and he has to quickly duck out of the way, tucking himself as close to the burning wall as he can to avoid being trampled.

Part of him wonders if any of this is real. It shouldn't be, there's no way to have gone from point A to point B like this without having lost time in the middle, but the heat of the fire feels dangerously real and he's not about to test his luck on that one. Impossible things are par for the course here anyway. And he has more significant concerns at the moment. He's alone, despite the chaos of other students running around. And for once, he shouldn't have been.

There's no logical reason to assume Shuichi would be nearby still. It's not like any of the rest of this follows logic or reason. Steadying himself, Kokichi scans the scene. He should get moving immediately, head for the classrooms where he might be able to escape to the courtyard via the windows or something. Just worry about surviving whatever the fuck this school is throwing at him this time.

But he doesn't. Jaw set despite a pounding heart, he slips through the swirling mass of people to run along the line of lockers, glancing down each row for a familiar face. As he moves, he tugs off his scarf to press it over his nose and mouth and filter out some of the smoke.]

[ There's little sense to it - it seems in a blink he's amidst the searing flames. He can't tell if what's choking him is the smoke or the overpowering scent of alcohol that seems to be... does he reek of it, too? He notices when he pulls up the collar on his jacket to cover his nose, trying to weave through the crowds. With no sensibility left on the scene, he's trying to get through the stampede - scanning for even one person who might seem rational. The involuntary breath he takes when he glimpses of Kokichi isn't pleasant - the less of this air the better - but he still forces through the frantic students without pause to push himself against the lockers, nimble cat like steps dropping Akira abruptly in line with him. ]

... Yo. You too, then.

[ He figures there's no point in drilling each other on what's going on; they probably know about the same. Despite everything, Akira seems absurdly calm. Focused on pure adrenaline, his wide eyes are sharp behind his glasses - heart racing in his chest. ]

There doesn't seem to be anything left down here - [ aside from fire, lots of fire ] - so we'll have to... find another way to break out. You confident in your jumping skills?

[ He figures there will be only one route - a window most likely, and given the fire down here he's not confident it's on the first floor. In the meantime he's scanning the halls to see where the fire hasn't reached as far, which direction might be their best chance - and for anything that might be useful for breaking glass. ]

( she has to be brave, doesn't she? if there's anything she learned from shuichi, it's that panicking in these kinds of situations does nobody any good — and though the fire is oppressive, and the strong smell of alcohol doesn't make focusing any easier, she figures losing her cool will only demerit them, in the long run.

but since they're apparently down a person... )

... okay. Don't take too long. ( sounds like a solid enough plan, even if she doesn't exactly want to separate. subconsciously, she trails down the same way he goes, but splits to try and enter a different classroom and see if the windows will at all break. )

[There's a brief flash of disappointment across Kokichi's face as he registers who's falling into step with him. It's not Akira's fault that he was hoping for someone specific. Half his expression is hidden by the scarf, at least, and soon enough his eyes are smiling like they aren't running through a burning building.]

Yup, me too!

[ weirdly calm and disconcertingly cheery. phantom thief life.

He does note the odd calm, but he's hardly gonna complain right now. Better than dealing with someone who's panicking. He hums thoughtfully as he glances around, but the sound is largely lost to the background noise of crackling flames and screaming.]

Jumping, though...? Jeez, how scary! You might have to carry me!

[He's lying, of course. He's got lots of experience with getting in and out of buildings via windows. The issue is whether the windows in question here will open for them.]

[ Shuichi buries his face in his sleeve and it smells like alcohol— it doesn't seem to be drenched or anything, but the fumes somehow burn his nose strong enough to make a person reel if they aren't used to it. It's a smell that's carried with them, strong enough to cut through the smoke, both competing to choke the people on this floor, if the heat from the flames do not get to them first.

The doors do not open; the windows do not open; the stairs still stand, the west stairwell engulfed in flames but the east side apparently having been spared for the time being, although traffic is the worst here with students pouring down the stairs from the higher floors. The fire seems to be concentrated on the west wing of the ground floor in general, the faculty offices inaccessible unless they want to throw themselves into the flames, and the doors to the student store and the library are closed and locked tight.

When Akira leans back against the locker, the door caves in just a little, as if against something soft. ]

[ He promised Rika, so he doesn't take long; just enough to run a cursory search of that side of the hallway before returning, presumably in time to meet her. From the look on her face, he can tell right away -- that the windows won't work, and to be honest it's kind of what he expected, after the doors. He shakes his head, as if to tell her he hasn't found anything either. ]

Kawai-san... how did you get here? Ouma-kun and I tried to open the door to the fourth floor club wing. It seemed to be working... like last time, remember?

[ Although that one was in the "other" school, with the shadow students. But does Rika recall what they saw back then? There was a wall of fire in there too, at the entrance, albeit they'd soon discovered those flames seemed to give off no heat and didn't hurt them. The same can't be the case with these, given how real they feel -- but is there really no connection? ]

The stairs on that side aren't burning yet. Maybe... if we can't find anything here, we should take a look.

[ But he'll search the ground floor a little longer first, and I'm leaving it up to Rika to discover the other two. In the meantime Shuichi will try to grab ahold of another student, the calmest-looking one he can find in this situation, and ask them what happened. Do they know? Or if they do, do they even tell him...... ]

... Sure. You'll have to do a pose for both of us, though. Make it flashy.

[ Somehow he still chuckles - he's not confident he can actually carry a whole person out a window, but Kokichi is small and if it's life or death... well, he'll do his best. Anyway, there's no time to continue joking around - he means to ask Kokichi a question, and the first half he manages to choke out - ]

Did you see anyone -

[ - else, and of course he means of the transfer students... but he's caught halfway through when the locker sinks ever so slightly underneath the weight of his shoulder. There's a split second of surprise in his eyes, and the thought that this could also be a kind of trap in itself... but this is Akira we're talking about and he loves a good risk, so he only slightly pulls himself back to face the locker fully, giving himself clearance. ]

... Stand back.

[ No other warning before his leg is flying out, placing an abrupt, aggressive kick once - twice! - precisely to the place where the lock rests. He figures the heat has likely weakened the integrity of the lock or even just the door. He'll stand back once he's done, allowing Kokichi the space to investigate if he wants - hoping whatever is in there works in their favor. And if not… well, it can't get much worse than it already is, right? ]

( the windows don't budge, despite her best attempts — from what she can see, they don't seem to work anywhere, otherwise students would probably pour into that direction, so...

she does recall the last time they'd seen this kind of fire — back with shuichi, by the gorinto, when she walked into the flames and gave the other a scare. ... well, back then, the flames were cool, and didn't damage her any — these clearly give off unbearable heat, though, so... no dice this time. )

I... I remember walking up the stairs to the fourth floor, and the door being open. Uh... I walked in, and then... ( fire everywhere, you could say. you should say, because that's what it is.

anyway, she figures she'll be faster on her feet than shuichi, so she lets him do his thing, nodding. they can run for the stairs after they find ouma — and she dashes towards the students in hopes of finding something. after a few useless tries, she finally spots two figures in the crowd in the hallway, waving at them from between the rushing students. )

Oumacchi! Kirarin!! ( she jumps up, in an attempt to make herself... more visible... motioning for them to hurry, before the fire inevitably blocks the way. ) Hurry up, Sai-kyun said we can make a run for the stai —

( and she just kind of stares, because akira sure is... trying to kick a locker in? hello? )

Wh —

Edited 2021-08-07 14:58 (UTC)

No problem!

[He flashes Akira a peace sign, eyes smiling enough to suggest the cutesy grin probably hidden under his scarf. The expression falls away as Akira suddenly warns him away, but...well, fuck it.

He's stepping away when Rika's voice just barely catches his attention. The shouting is almost lost in the chaos, but Kokichi spots the movement behind Akira and leans around him to see her jumping up and waving at them. It's a mild relief to see another familiar face – and even more when he just barely hears her yelling "Sai-kyun" and gesturing in her direction, but at least no one can see that on his face between the scarf and the smoke.

He waves back, tossing in a finger to signal one second as Akira works on the locker. Whatever prompted him to try breaking into it, it'd waste more time arguing about it, so Kokichi just poises himself to quickly rifle through it if Akira does manage to break it open.]

[ The calmest student turns around and stares at Shuichi with golden eyes that flash as they wrench their arm out of his grasp, sleeve torn and hands slick with blood, breath heaving and causing the smell of alcohol to become even stronger. They appear to be catching their breath, but this moment of reprieve gets interrupted by another student that comes stumbling out of the flames, skin charred and blistering, charging at that first student. The hallway starts to fill with students, all with golden eyes, all tearing at each other like animals— ripping out fistfuls of hair with scalp still attached, thumbs puncturing eyeballs and scooping them out of their sockets, students running through the flames to give chase, skin melting off flesh and sticking to the walls as they brace themselves before going for the next person.

The screaming that fills the floor is of rage, not fear. Students run not to escape the fire but to drag another towards it and plunge their face into the flames. Bodies start to fall, littering the ground, and while "every man for himself" keeps Shuichi out of attention due to sheer numbers, that won't hold true for very long.

Meanwhile! while Shuichi has front row seats to all of that, the other three crowd around the locker that Akira has kicked open, the top hinge breaking and the door swings down on its bottom hinge and a severed hand falls out onto the ground, an ear, a foot, hunks of unidentifiable flesh pooled in blood and packed into the far corners of the locker that add the sweet smell of roasted meat to the alcohol in the air.

Clutched in that hand is a scrap of notebook paper. On that paper is a list of names that can be made out in between what's charred black or blotted out with blood:

~~▓▓▓▓▓uki Shirogane~~
Ki▓▓▓ka Ish▓▓▓▓▓
▓▓baru Akeh▓▓▓
~~▓▓ede Akamat▓▓~~
▓na Adams
▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓akugou
~~▓▓▓▓▓▓urusu~~
~~▓dd~~
Ste▓▓▓▓▓ell ]

[ The faintly familiar call of Kirarin! rings distantly in the back of his ears, and he would have loved to have flashed her a cute little confident smile had he not been so focused on getting into the locker and, well... the results of said locker, which have him reeling back a step even though his shoes were already hit by what spills out. Akira's hand clamps tightly against his mouth, even his usual fearless mask cracking and it takes all of his willpower not to be sick. He's seen... a lot in his past life, but something about this is too too intimate. ]

... Sorry. [ To Kokichi, or to whoever's severed hand? Probably not the time or place, but he chokes it out anyway as his hand finally falls from his face. ] Something felt off... so I went all out.

[ Forcefully straightening his shoulders, he swallows heavily and focuses on collecting himself. Glancing down he can only catch a glimpse of that paper, and nothing is readable without getting closer except the very familiar... which looks like the scratched out end of his name. Great. It's enough to make him bend over to hesitantly tug that paper free from the hand, unfolding it so the rest of the names are visible should Kokichi want to peak. Even to the sight of what might be his name - Akira's face is as straight as ever, brows furrowed and his cheek only traced faintly with sweat from the heat. Silence overtakes him, until he tosses his free hand up and his head over his shoulder, signalling to Rika. ]

We're coming your way! [ He'll give one more cursory glance to the locker to see if anything shines or catches his eyes; their focus should be on regrouping. And seeing Rika in one piece is good, but they haven't laid eyes on Shuichi yet... his heart pounds loudly in his chest, still preoccupied by the note. Worry about it later - find him first. ]

[Kokichi's ready to dig through the locker, but what comes tumbling out of it sends him reeling back instead, the hand over his mouth and scarf clenching into the fabric in horror. He's seen more than his fair share of corpses, but it's so much worse than a stab wound or a bludgeoning or anything he's had to deal with.

Akira gets to the note before he manages to recover. That's fine. He didn't wanna put his hands near that mess even for an important clue. He breathes deep for a moment, shoving down the disgust and the instinct to flee, and then leans in to peek at the note.

Immediately, he can recognize what most of the names listed likely were under the blood and charring. His eyes are drawn to one crossed out in the middle. Questions arise immediately – what's the logic in which names are scratches out? – but there's not time to puzzle over that now. A laugh bubbles out of him, just a bit over the line into hysteria.]

Gross! Thanks sooo much for that, I love getting dead people gunk all over my shoes!

[He darts a hand out to snatch the paper from Akira's hand and vanish it away with a sleight of hand, and then grabs Akira's arm before he can protest and drags him in Rika's direction.]

Sowwy about that! Let's go!

Ah-- W-Watch out...!

[ But it's too late.

More than the yellow eyes, or even the charging student who comes running to attack, it's the blood that splatters onto the front of his clothes from the person before him that finally snaps Shuichi out of his horrified observation. It's a different warmth, a sensation standing out from the scorching air around him, and it lends a dose of realism to everything that simply looking hadn't. He stumbles backwards a few steps, only to slip on something soft; he doesn't look for what it is -- he doesn't have the strength to right know, knees weak as if made of wax that might start to melt away at any point beside the fires.

If he weren't so frozen, overloaded with trying to process all this out of nowhere, he might have screamed. As it is though, a strangled noise mixing panic and shock that blocks out the words is the only thing at the back of his throat, and then he bolts. He turns around and runs towards the lockers again -- sorry, Rika, he knows he promised to meet you back by 066. To be honest, it's not too far from where he's going at least.

Because even as he scrambles, breathless and horrified, Shuichi still has the presence of mind to check something. The locker with the number 097 -- is it still his own? Will it open with his code and will he find his things if he gets to it? There's a gun in there he could use for self-defense, but honestly that's only like 10% of what's on his mind.

He has to know how much of this... even adds up. Even if maybe he's just being a coward, unable to accept what he sees. ]

( she stares, wordlessly, as the locker door caves in and the contents tumble out, eyes wide in shock. maybe she shouldn't be too shocked, though — because this school sure loves to get all gruesome real fast, and the chaos around her keeps her a little distracted, gaze wandering away from the body parts. the smell of burning flesh, the smell of blood, the smell of melting iron and plastic — it's a combination intense enough to make you sick, and she wishes they'd hurry up, still worried about shuichi.

briefly, she notices akira and kokichi looking at something, but from this distance, she can't make out any details — it doesn't matter, anyway, because she reaches out for kokichi as soon as he drags akira close enough, grabbing his other hand and turning on her heel to begin running in the opposite direction. her free hand reaches into the pocket of her jacket, grabbing a tight hold of the box cutter — because the further they run back towards shuichi, the more unhinged the students seem to be, attacking each other like feral animals.

she passes by locker 066. no shuichi. )

Sai-kyun! Where'd you go?! ( but calling out in his chaos is kind of pointless, so... she just tightens her grip on ouma's hand and speeds up, looking around to see if she can spot shuichi among the insane bloodshed that's going on everywhere around them. )

[ Locker number 097 is already open when Shuichi arrives at it, and when he looks inside, it is empty, the metal door warm to the touch with how close the fire is— and how much closer it's getting, quickly catching on the wooden walls and floorboards and coming his way. The flames are large enough for all of them to realize: finding one another is important, but they don't have time to linger. Where will they go? ]

[ Shuichi puts his hand on the door while he's catching his breath, enough to open it fully (and realize it's warm) but there's no way to confirm it's still his own locker if it's empty. Something crackles loudly to his left as it catches on fire, uncomfortably close and the wave of heat almost singes the fringe of his hair before he backs up in a daze, past two students busy trying to push each other in. He's still coughing from the smoke when he stumbles back the way he came, vaguely making out Rika's voice in the chaos. ]

...Kawai-san! I'm here!

[ In all honesty, if he didn't hear her right there and have to respond, he might have blacked out, overwhelmed by the heavy hot air and fear. But he remembers -- he promised her he'd be back, so he weaves his way over towards the sound of her voice, only breathing again as he spots the two others beside her. ]

Ouma-kun... and Kurusu-kun, you're both... you're alright. I-I'm sorry, I was checking something.

[ It's relief that tinges his voice, but he doesn't have time to relish it more. He knows he's a mess, what with the blood on his clothes and the ash in his hair but the explanation for that doesn't matter as much right now as-- ]

...We can't get out from here, but the club wing doesn't seem to be burning yet. The stairs there... still looked usable.

[ They need to keep moving, but the question is, will they trust him...? Even though he's desperate and unconvincing, he's explained nothing and looks like a mess; he promises there's still a process of thought behind why he wants to go that way. ]

[Even looking like absolute shit, seeing Shuichi is a massive relief. On anyone else, he'd be immediately suspicious and questioning the blood splatter, but this is probably one of the only people he can assume an innocent explanation for. Which is good, because the world is on fire right now and they don't have time to dig into this shit at the moment.

Both his hands are occupied holding onto Akira and Rika, so y'all are just gonna have to deal as he lifts both their hands to wave along with him.]

The club wing it is! I'm sure my darling Saihara-chan wouldn't lead us astray!

[It's funny how everything he says always sounds like it might be cheerily sarcastic or something, even when he actually means it.

Anyway, let's roll.]

( she's not really thinking about their next course of action — all that matters is finding shuichi, and said worry only increases, as they pass by all the unhinged, wounded students, tearing at each other like it's that one scene in mean girls. plus, shuichi promised they'll meet here, and though he might've wandered off away from that spot, rika trusts he won't go too far — a few more steps, and she spots him in the crowd, waving at him rapidly. )

Sai-kyun!! ( letting go of ouma's hand, she speeds to his side, one arm reaching forward to steady him. he looks... like he's been through hell, already, bloodied and covered in ash, but realistically, they're all not exactly at their cleanest.

still... if they stay here, ash on clothes isn't going to be their biggest problem. )

None of the windows budge, so it's not like we have a lot of options. ( nose wrinkled, she turns to ouma and akira. unless they have any better ideas, she doesn't see any reason not to trust saihara — it's his life on the line, too, and she knows full-well he wouldn't lead them into more danger.

ouma seems to agree, so: ) Let's go, then. There's no time to stay here, anyway!

[ There's no fight when the note is snatched, nor does he struggle when he's pulled by the arm - other than a surprised stumble he's quietly cooperative. Letting himself be dragged along gives him time to think, though his thoughts are scattered at best in the heat. At least when they do finally lay eyes upon Shuichi, there's a wave of relief no matter how brief; Kokichi and Rika carry the energetic reunion, while Akira simply meets Shuichi's gaze with a secure sort of silence - turning to linger on Rika, to Kokichi, before giving a nod of confidence. ]

Nowhere to go from here but up.

[ If all are in agreement, Akira's game. He hasn't known them for very long, but the trust is there; the sort of thing that can only be born from struggling against the same fate. With initiative, he finally pulls himself from Kokichi's grasp - wastes no time in taking the lead. Only for a moment does he look back - Shuichi, Kokichi... no, his eyes land on Rika, half shouting over the chaos. ]

Kawai, I can count on you to put up a fight, right? If we need it, I've got your back; between the two of us, anything that gets in the way won't know what hit it!

[ Yeah, he looked straight through Shuichi and Kokichi because... sorry, it doesn't need to be said, but Rika's definitely the only choice to pair up with. They'll need Shuichi and Kokichi's brains anyway get out of this hellscape - so it's probably best to leave the physical stuff to them. Entrusting that to her, without hesitation he beelines straight for the remaining stairs - he'll bound up them as fast as the rest can keep up, as it seems to be their only option. ]

[ The group makes it up the stairs to the second floor with little incident, unless one of them slips on slick blood or a severed arm, but there is considerably less people up on the second floor compared to the first, considering that many were seen coming down the stairs as if drawn to the flames and the violence and self-destruction.

They can hear the power saw running in the home ec workshop, the sewing machine whirring in the sewing room, the smell of roasted meat coming from the cooking room.

The stairs up is clear.

The smell of alcohol is stronger than ever, without the smoke and stench of blood to mask it. ]

[ With Rika's help, Shuichi's mostly stable on his feet again by the time they make it to the second floor, thanks to the at least somewhat clearer air away from the smoke. Still, it's like she was his lifeline for a few minutes there, and there's a quiet sort of gratitude as he glances at her when they part, with the whole group stopping briefly to (presumably) take in the next floor. And the weird sounds that are coming from the rooms... those are of concern as well, but there's something else he notices too.

Or more like, remembers to notice, now that it feels stronger than ever. His brain catches up and he softly speaks out to the others: ]

...Hey. I've been thinking this for a while, but... isn't this scent in the air kind of odd? It's true that alcohol could fan flames, but... why do we smell like it, when we haven't been anywhere near any?

[ Yet it seems like the four of them, and maybe the other students too, all carry it with them as they've been going along. What's up with that? Where is it coming from... shouldn't they investigate the source if they can? ]

[ The smell of alcohol is everywhere, strong enough to burn, but it's a little more bearable out in the hallway where there is presumably more space to air things out. It's worse inside the stairwell, stronger and stronger up each step taken to the next floor. ]

[Kokichi wrinkles his nose at the smell as it gets worse the higher they ascend. The meat smell coming from the direction of the cooking room doesn't help – on its own it isn't a terrible smell, but in context it suggests some horrifying possibilities. While part of him wants to investigate everything, the survivalist in him is screaming to stat the hell away from all of that.]

Who knows? Maybe we started the fire. There's a bit of time since Saihara-chan and I went upstairs that I kiiinda can't remember, after all.

[He throws the theory out there carelessly, like he's more just suggesting the worst case scenarios for fun. But even saying it makes it feel distressingly possible. What isn't possible in this hellhole?]

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cw: brief eye gore YAMA DON'T LOOK, gen violence, burns, gore

cw: emeto mention, implied gore... bc everything is Fine here

this is fine

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