IDK

[Aura]

Yeah, Hirono wasn't too confident that would actually work. Granted, she'd hoped that Eto would've mellowed out a little bit, but that definitely wasn't the case. If anything, she was even more pissed off than before, which was actually kind of an accomplishment.

Hirono wished that she could say she could just take it on the chin and move on, but she couldn't. For one, she was actually trying to help with what might as well be the only chance that any of them had to get off the island, and she was getting the cold shoulder. And second, "Shit-face"? Was Eto fucking five or something? Whatever she was doing, she was pissing Hirono right the fuck off. And she was trying to step up to her, trying to act hard? Hirono wouldn't take that shit back home, and she wasn't gonna take it now that she was actually trying to be helpful.

Hirono took a step towards Eto, deeply annoyed, but still trying to keep a handle on her temper. "Settle the hell down, all right? We're trying to help you, so it's not the time to act like a fuckin' brat." Despite her attempts, an undercurrent of anger made its way into her tone.

[AnimeNerd]

"Oh, oh so I'm the brat here? For not trusting the girl who bullied me back in school? Especially on the God damn murder island that is the Program?! When I have had to deal with nearly being stabbed, actually getting shot, shot at by a crocodile crying psycho bitch, nearly tased, watched four people die right in front of me-at least three of them being good people by the way-and nearly was a victim of whatever the Hell Kawada and Kiriyama had planned!"

Megumi counted each horrific memory on one of her fingers, and by the sixth one she couldn't help but throw her hands up into the air.

Shimizu had taken a step forward, but Megumi wasn't backing down. She stepped forward as well, staring the other girl in the eyes.

"Meanwhile, what have you been having to deal with?! Fighting someone you claim was your friend! If you wanna find the brat, maybe you should look in the mirror here! Or at least for one of your bitchy friends!"

The Megumi that sat down and took the cruelty was dead. This one would roar without hesitation.

[Aura]

Eto was pissing Hirono off more with every second she kept running her mouth. Yeah, she had it rough in the Program, but that wasn't unique. All of them were just trying not to die, and having a real lard time of it, some more than others. So yeah, the last couple days sucked for Eto, but at least she was still here. About half of their classmates couldn't say the same.

"What, you think I've had it easy?" Hirono's voice was starting to raise as Eto's tantrum got to her. "I almost got shot the same time you did on the first day, and I actually saw someone get shot and die yesterday, so don't pretend you're the only one who's had it hard."

She took another step forward, the distance between herself and Eto shrinking as their voices got louder. "And in case you didn't hear, one of my friends just died, so I'd watch my mouth about them if I were you." Her glare was deathly sharp, daring Eto to say just one more word about herself or her friends. She wasn't gonna let Eto drag them through the mud, not a chance in hell.

[AnimeNerd]

Another step from Shimizu, another step from Megumi.

She wants to fucking go there? They can fucking go there!

"Kayoko Kotohiki got stabbed in the neck, probably choked to death on her own blood, or something just as terrible! Yukie Utsumi got shot in the chest twice, and the best I could do to help her was make her look nice in death! Shinji Mimura got shot in the back, and I could only watch as he collapsed in the clinic he died in! And Tosh-"

Panic.

Blood.

'V...vulgar.'

Stop.

Breathe.

"Toshinori Oda was stabbed in the neck, and died in my arms.

"Oh, and one of my friends died too. So if you wanna compare our problems? I fucking win, asshole."

[Aura]

Eto wanted to keep stepping up? Hirono would just do the same, right up until they were screaming right in each other's faces.

"You think it makes it easy for me not knowing what happened to Mitsuko? How I don't know if she suffered, how she suffered, or anything that happened to her? I can't get that shit outta my mind!" She roared back. "And you think I don't think about how maybe she might still be here if we stuck together? Well I do, and it fuckin' sucks!

She was rapidly losing her patience with Eto, and she didn't bother to hold back as she continued. "And me, Motobuchi, and Tsuioka were all happy last night, thinkin' we finally had something that could work for us, when some asshole shot at us, and next thing I know Tsuioka's on the ground, wheezing while he's pouring blood everywhere." Hirono shouted back, staring Eto down viciously. "And I had to listen to Sho Tsuioka choke out his dying words, and he told us to fuckin' LIVE!"

Hirono's deadly stare met Eto's. If she wanted to square up, then Hirono was gonna make her put her money where her mouth was.

[AnimeNerd]

Shimizu kept pushing. Megumi kept pushing back. She wanted to keep pushing back. This girl had bullied her for years, and now that she was standing up to her, wanted her justify her anger, make her seem like she was the unreasonable one. And you know what? YOU FUCKING KNOW WHAT?!

"That's it, I'm done!"

She turned right on her heel, and just started walking.

"Motobuchi, you seem like a nice guy, but if you've got her on your side, I'm probably better off going the way of the Program than getting stabbed in the back! Mizuho, you're my best friend and I love you the most out of everyone left on this island, and I pray you can realize what you're risking if you go with them, before it's too late! And Shimizu? I have never meant this more than when I say it now,"

Megumi kept on walking, but turned her head as she screamed.


"GO TO HELL!"


[[And she went off, fuming]]

[DerArknight]

As Megumi left the area, a shadow emerged from the bushes, carefully following her trail, unnoticed by both Megumi and the inhabitants of the shrine.

[Catche Jagger]

For Mizuho, it all seemed to fall apart so quickly. Motobuchi was on board and, in spite of Mizuho’s own misgivings, Shimizu had agreed to work together as a group. Megumi wouldn’t accept it, though, and Mizuho understood why. Souma’s gang had spent years being at best rude and at worst deeply cruel to her and Megumi and Kaori. Mizuho was supposed to be a warrior, and so she could allow such slights to pass in the face of their current situation. She would never be friends with Shimizu, but they could work together in order to survive.

Mizuho opened her mouth, hoping to explain the situation to Megumi, to provide a friendly voice to smooth things over, but before she could do so Shimizu bit back, insulting Megumi and turning the whole thing into some senseless fight. From there they were off the rails and Mizuho was left without any idea of what to do or say.

How was she supposed to fix this?

In the end, Megumi stormed off before Mizuho could say anything to her friend, and Mizuho remained silent for a while, eyes drifting to the ground as both hands balled into fists.

“Why… Why did you do that? What were you thinking?!” A muttered question soon became an indignant shout, as her head turned to face Shimizu, glaring at her. After what she’d been like at school, it would have been within Mizuho’s right to demand an apology from the girl, but now she felt free to be insulted when people weren’t comfortable with her?

“Y-You think you can treat Megumi like you did a-and then y-you get mad w-when she’s not gracious enough for you?!” Tears started to form in Mizuho’s eyes as she took a single unsteady step towards Shimizu.

[almostinhuman]

So much for working together.

He shot an irritated look at Shimizu. This was the worst possible display to give when he was trying so hard to sell her as trustworthy. The situation had been an utter powder keg and now it had blown up entirely. He wasn't sure if he could salvage it now, with Eto marching off like she had and Inada so furious and hurt.

But he was gonna try. He didn't want to have to choose between them; he wasn't even sure what choice he'd make if he had to, but it didn't matter. They were sticking together, even if he had to force it. They just had to find Eto first.

He delicately put a hand on Inada's shoulder.

"Hey, I... I'm sorry."

He was. He couldn't help but feel that this was at least a little his fault. He wouldn't blame Inada for feeling the same way.

"We'll find Eto, okay? Then we can apologize to her."

He gave another brief, pointed look to Shimizu. He needed her to back him up here, even if she had to swallow her pride to do it.

"Because she's getting out of here. All of us are. That's a promise."

He hoped that sounded more confident than he felt about it.

[Aura]

Hirono had just fucked up. She fucked up super bad. And she absolutely knew that she fucked up.

When Eto stormed off, she was still fuming. After all, Eto had flat-out disrespected her, that would piss her off no matter where it happened. However, once Eto was out of sight and her common sense returned to her, she immediately realized her mistake. She thought to call out, but even if Eto could still her her, at this point her voice was more likely to get Eto running faster than anything else.

Way to go, Hiro. Just had to stay on the attack. Dumbass.

To make matters worse, Inada blew up at her in response, and she couldn't find it in herself to blame her for it. Okay, she was still a little pissed off, but now they were down a person after she and Motobuchi came on the scene. And yeah, maybe Hirono could have been a little more graceful in how she handled herself, but she didn't. She had to own some of the responsibility here, as much as she hated to admit it.

"Shit..." She opened, flustered and still coming down from the emotional high of her fight with Eto. Inada was coming closer, and she had to clamp down on her anger and avoid losing her temper again. "I'm serious about wanting to work together and get outta here. I just got heated, and it sucks, and I'm sorry. But we gotta find Eto." She sighs. "Just give me a chance to try to fix this, okay?"

[Catche Jagger]

Mizuho didn’t trust Shimizu’s apology. She could say she was sorry all she wanted to, but here she was being the same volatile girl that had stood at Souma’s side back at school, only now she’d play like she was here to help. It was a bunch of lies, it had to be.

But, for some reason, Motobuchi still trusted her for whatever reason, and Mizuho trusted Motobuchi, though she had the sinking suspicion that he might be woefully misguided in this alliance. He was still someone Mizuho was duty-bound to protect and she would see that through.

She needed to see that through.

“You…” Mizuho stopped at the first word, lips quivering, trying to formulate the storm of feelings into some sort of coherent statement. She didn’t turn her gaze toward Motobuchi.

“Y-You fix this… then we can talk about working together.”

[almostinhuman]

That was something, at least. Anything but an outright rejection was something he could work with.

"She will. Eto can't have gotten far, right? We'll set this right when we catch up to her."

He hoped the girl was still okay. Who knew what kind of danger she might run into out there? They needed to get her back as quickly as possible.

He stepped back a bit from the girls, as if ready to leave.

"I see no point in waiting around. Sooner we find her the better."

[Aura]

Fuck, Inada still didn't trust her. It wasn't like Hirono had done a whole lot to help herself, though. If anything was gonna flip things around, it was gonna have to be finding Eto and getting all this shit straightened out. This time she was gonna let Motobuchi handle the talking. He was probably better at that kind of thing.

"Come on, then. We gotta go after her." Hirono pointed in the direction that Eto ran off in. "She's only got a couple minutes head start. We can catch up if we don't waste time."

Hirono was the first to get moving. She fucked this up, and she knew she had to fix it. Even if Eto never stopped hating her, which Hirono was pretty sure was a certainty at this point, she was still gonna try to get her to escape with them. That was her plan, Tsuioka's plan, their plan. As long as they kept going, the plan was still alive. They were still alive. And Hirono wasn't ready to stop living.

I just need one more chance. Eto, please...

(Hirono Shimizu continued elsewhere...)

[Catche Jagger]

Everyone was in agreement. They were going to get Megumi back, Well, good. That was good.

But even as Mizuho understood that soon the situation would be resolved, the tension that seemed to radiate out from the very core of her being wouldn’t fade. She was still furious at the injustice of it all, to finally find one of her only friends from school, her true comrades, only for Shimizu to screw everything up.

Slowly, Mizuho brought her hand toward her chest, only for it to stop short, her fingers twitching slightly. Quickly, she looked down at the limb which refused to obey, hesitating before arriving at its destination, and she willed it forward. Finally, she clutched the crystal through her shirt once again.

Mizuho reminded herself that it would feel warm, because she was supposed to be guided by the light of Ahura Mazda.

“I-I’m happy you’re okay, Motobuchi.” The words came to her without much thought, and Mizuho did not turn to look at the boy when she spoke them. Instead, she simply followed after Shimizu.

[almostinhuman]

They were ready. This wasn't ideal - not remotely - but they were at least closer to getting back on track. That was all he needed. Just get them together again and they could figure out the rest from there.

Inada's final comment caught Kyoichi off-guard. Perhaps it shouldn't have, given that she'd dedicated herself to protecting him almost from the first moment. But even now, he hadn't gotten used to being given such kindness, being treated with love and care. He hoped he'd have a chance to get used to it. He hoped they could all make it out of here.

"... thank you." He said, though she was already moving away by the time he responded. "I'll... I'll fix this."

He followed the girls as best as he could manage.

((Kyoichi Motobuchi continued in Oni wa soto! Fuku wa uchi!))