The Price of Survival (crossover)

[dragon20990]

I think Issei was done very well. He always seemed like the character who could harden himself in order to survive. He doesn't let his fear or hatred control him like Shinji does.

[mAc Chaos]

But as the class president, wouldn't he want to help everybody escape?

I just realized nobody knows about Shirou's HERO OF JUSTICE obsession yet. Well, except for Shinji maybe, and that Shirou is just good natured.

[Siriel]

It seems kind of weird that Kuzuki would fight to the death for his students. This is the guy who went "Well then you should have drained them to death" at Caster.

Story's interesting though.

[mAc Chaos]

He takes his position as a teacher seriously though. And he's not exactly the type to run away because he has something else to live for.

Or to put it another way, he's not the type to back down. He'll just state his terms and if they're still pushing then he puts them down. Or tries to.

[warellis]

I iffy about Issei doing the same kind of thing as Shinji. He doesn't strike me as so rule-bound that he'd follow any rules set before him. It's one thing regarding school rules, it's another regarding murdering others.

[mAc Chaos]

Yeah, the rules he follows are those of a monk.

[PhoenixAct]

I never really intended for Issei to "go the way of Shinji", but for him to be a normal student like Ayako and Yukika, who was trust in to an extraordinary situation.

Besides, Issei wasn't necessarily the aggressor against this three dead guys.

[PhoenixAct]

Chapter IV – Guerrilla




Saegusa Yukiki sprinted across the flat, open field, desperately trying to reach the line of trees not that far away. Her lungs and her legs felt like they were on fire, there was a tight pain in her side and she felt like she was about to throw up but she continued to run. She couldn’t see anything through the tears in her eyes and she couldn’t hear anything except for her feet pounding against the earth, her blood pounding in her ears and her own ragged breathing. Still she ran. Each step she took was fuelled by raw, pure fear.

Even after she reached the treeline she continued running, going deeper and deeper in to the woods; heedless of what direction she was going in. She kept running until her legs could not take anymore, until they finally gave out from underneath her, sending her sprawling in to the dirt. She felt the wind get knocked out of her as she hit the floor, her arms out stretched, she hit her head too as she impacted the ground. For a moment all she could see was a myriad of bright lights in front of her eyes and all she could feel was pain. She tried frantically to get back on her feet but her body refused to cooperate, so instead she struggled to roll on to her back, she felt light-headed. Then she stared up at the sky and waited to be killed.

But it didn’t happen, instead time continued to tick by one second after another and everything was still, quite, peaceful. As she lay there she began to regain control of her breathing and the whirlwind of her thoughts died down, allowing her to think again.

Regaining clarity of mind did not bring her any comfort however, because her thoughts went straight back to her most recent and most horrifying memories. And her eyes travelled to the object that was clasped tightly in her right hand, it was Makidera’s knife.

That morning had started rather well, considering the situation, she hadn’t thought so at the time but considering what was to come… She’d woken up in Makidera’s lap instead of Kane-chan’s but that was fine, especially since her friend had given her a huge smile that had actually manage to make her feel a little cheerful, before she’dremembered where she was and what was going on. They’d shared a pathetic breakfast in their little cave, just a few measly pieces of bread and a couple of gulps of water each. But they’d talked too, chatted about mundane and normal stuff like practice or the real lessons they were missing out on being stuck here. Yukika had been aware that they might have been doing it for her sake but she hadn’t minded.

Then Makidera had suggested that they should leave the cave and Kane-chan had agreed, because staying here was useless and if they did nothing then in three days the collars would… Yukika really hadn’t wanted go back outside especially after hearing that voice again, the inside of the cave had felt comfortable, it had felt safe. However she had feared being alone even more than she feared being outside, so she had simply inclined her head in agreement and followed them out.

It had actually seemed like a nice day when they’d stepped outside, if a little warm. In fact, it might have been a pleasant stroll on a summer’s day, if they weren’t constantly on the look out for people who might try to kill them. Yukika had been between Makidera in front and Kane-chan at the back. She hadn’t held anyone’s hand this time, she had been feeling much better than she had last night and she hadn’t wanted to be a burden on her friends.

They had proceeded in that manner for almost an hour, and she had almost started to convince herself that things were going to be alright. Then there had been a short, sharp crack that had echoed all around them, Makidera had yelped in pain and fallen to the floor. Yukika had immediately knelt beside her wanting to know what was wrong but then she had seen the blood and had frozen completely, unable to think, say or do anything. Makidera had pressed something in to her hand right then and even though there had been so much blood and she had been in so much pain, her friend had smiled at her.

There was another crack and something had struck the groundright next to her, kicking up dirt. Then someone had tackled her to the ground and she had panicked, almost kicking and screaming until she realised it was only Kane-chan. She had been holding something in her hand and it had taken Yukika a couple of seconds to realise it was a grenade. Another crack and Kane-chan had grunted in pain and something warm had landed against Yukika’s clothes.

Kane-chan had told her to run then and with a grunt of pain had rolled off of her, risen to her feet and ran in the direction of the sound. Yukika had been paralysed with fear for a moment, then she had done exactly as Kane-chan had said, she had scrambled to her feet and bolted. As she’d run she’d seen who had attacked them, at least, she had seen enough to tell it was a boy. Moments later she had heard several more cracks but she had continued to run, tears streaming fromher eyes.

Now here she was lying in the middle of the wood, lost and completely alone. Her breathing had calmed and the pain in her legs and side had died to a dull throbbing, but the tears hadn’t stopped. Makidera and Kane-chan had … they were … for her sake. And it was pointless, because she couldn’t survive in this place by herself, she didn’t even have her bag anymore. No food, no water, even with Makidera’s knife she stood no chance.

She had no idea how long she lay there underneath the trees with no desire to do anything, to even try to do anything. She closed her eyes, she just wanted it all to end. Then a voicespoke:

Come on, Yuki-chan, get up.

Her eyes snapped back open, that was impossible, there was no way that voice was real, she had just seen that person die. She was alone now.

Idiot, you’re not alone. We’re right here with you, Makidera’s voice said.

No, no that was impossible, she had to be going crazy. Yet maybe, maybe being crazy was better than being alone.

Come on, get up, Makidera repeated. You’ve got to get moving.

We are here, Kane-chansaid. We will help you.

Yes, Yukika thought as she rolled back on to her front and pushed herself back to her feet. Yes, yes, she could do this, there was a chance. As long as she had her friends, she’d be alright.

- - -

The sun was riding high in the sky and Ayako guessed that meant it was near midday, although they hadn’t had the next update yet; they were supposed get one every six hours if she remembered right.

Like before she was in front, an arrow ready in her bow, and Tohsaka walking behind her carrying the bags. She’d learned from her mistake before and was doing her best to remain attentive to her surroundings. That earlier attack had served as a slap in the face regarding the truth about their situation; yes, the others really were going to try and kill them. It was a disturbing thought but she couldn’t afford to be distracted by it; she had to maintain focus if she wanted to make sure it remained at trying. That said, this heat wasn’t making things easy on her, she was sweating all over and her clothes clung to her skin in several places. It was a wonder Tohsaka hadn’t collapsed yet, she must be tougher than she looked, although Ayako still heard her grumbling to herself every now and then.

Her hip was sort of sore and stiff, having born the brunt of her full weight, striking the ground twice in as many hours.

“Hey Mitsuzuri, I think it’s time we took a break,” Tohsaka spoke up.

She was almost tempted to make a joke about Tohsaka notbeing able to take the heat but honestly, she was impressed the girl had lasted this long. Besides, she didn’t really have room to talk, the heat was getting to her too and she wasn’t even carrying anything heavy. Instead she simply nodded her assent and said:

“Good idea.”

“Maybe we should get off the path?” Tohsaka suggested, obviously fighting hard to control her breathing.

Again Ayako nodded, she been having that same thought forthe last few minutes. It was only a dirt path but it was still more open than being amongst the trees and she doubted they’d be able to find anyone else if they kept travelling along it. Or at least, not before those others found them. It would be better to get off the road, not just for their break but altogether. The only things that stopped her were that it would be tougher going, especially for Tohsaka and they would still be wandering blindly and she didn’t want to get lost.

“You’re probably right,” she said to Tohsaka and approached the side of the road. It turned out the road was slightly elevated at this point, although the slope looked fairly gentle. She motioned to Tohsaka and began down, trying her best to be ready for a possible ambush whilst simultaneously fighting against gravity, it was more difficult than she had anticipated, twice she almost lost her balance and fell face first the rest of the way. Once she reached the bottom and was satisfied that there was no one else about, she turned and saw Tohsaka beginning her descent. Her partner almost immediately lost her balance and the last thought Ayako had before she crashed in to her, was that she should have taken at least one of the bags from her.

For the third time that morning she crashed in to the ground; although luckily, this time she managed to avoid landing directly on her hip.

Bright lights swam in front of her eyes, she blinked several times but it still took a little while before they went away. There was something warm and fairly heavy on top of her but of course she already knew that was Tohsaka. The girl on top of her shifted and groaned sending a wave of warm breath to caress Ayako’s neck, which for some reason caused her skin to tingle. The othergirl managed to raise herself slightly, relieving Ayako of most of her weight and allowing her to see her face. For some reason it occurred to Ayako just then that Tohsaka’s eyes were a very nice shade of blue. She was also aware of just how close their faces were, all she would have to do would be to raise her own head slightly and - She anticipated where that thought was going before it got there and cut it off swiftly. She must have hit her head when they’d tumbled to the floor.

She felt as much as heard Tohsaka’s breath hitch, and the shorter girl rushed to her feet; or attempted to, with the bag straps still over her shoulders, she very nearly fell again. Instead she was forced to widen her stance and stagger back to her feet in a rather ungainly way. Ayako tried to ignore the sudden knowledge that from this angle she could see straight up Tohsaka’s skirt. She tried to focus on her face instead and it looked to her that Tohsaka’s face may be a couple ofshades brighter than before, although it was hard to tell.

If her own cheeks felt hot that was because she had been walking for hours in the sweltering heat.

Once Tohsaka was fully clear she pushed herself to her feet and brushed herself down, walking over to where she had dropped her bow when they had fallen. When she turned back she found Tohsaka seemed to be studiously trying to avoid looking at her, the atmosphere between the two of them had gotten kind of heavy and awkward all of a sudden. She felt the need to say something, just dispel the weirdness.

“Geez Tohsaka, I never took you to be so clumsy,” Ayako said, managing to keep her tone light.

It had the desired effect and Tohsaka turned to face her directly, arching a single, elegant eyebrow. She could have sworn she saw the corner of her lips twitch too.

“A bit rich coming from you, Mitsuzuri,” she replied, her tone teasing rather than harsh. “I suppose I’m lucky I landed on top, otherwise I’d have been crushed beneath you.”

“Maybe you should exercise a bit more?”

Oddly it felt good to be exchanging barbs with Tohsaka again; it was like a part of her regular life, away from the violence and misery of this place. The grin slid off her face however when the sound of military funeral music cut through the air and when that deep, ominous voice began to speak it completely dispelled her jovial mood and sent ice plummeting in to her stomach.

“Congratulations!” that bastard bellowed. “Your progress has improved tremendously since the last update, bringing those of you that can still hear this that much closer to salvation. Do not grieve too much for those who have fallen, for they are surely in a better place. Now, for the names of the newly deceased.”

Once again he began to list names and once again, she felt the distant horror that came with the knowledge that people she knew were butchering each other. But then it was suddenly made more personal when he read out two names that she knew well.

“Girls number two: Makidera Kaede and Girls number five: Himuro Kane.”

No way, Himuro and Makidera wered dead? The thought echoed around in her head and it made her feel hollow inside. A picture forced its was in to her head, of the two of them lying face down in the dirt, like the guy she’d shot, an arrow protruding from both their backs. She shook her head trying to rid herself of the image but she could feel it lingering there, in the back of her mind. She wondered who it had been, who had killed them. She also wondered whether they had suffered. Suddenly she felt a light pressure on her shoulder and she realised that Tohsaka was kneeling in front of her.

“Are you alright?” she asked.

Was she alright? Honestly Ayako didn’t know but there wasn’t really anything could do about it if she wasn’t, so she just nodded her head.

“Okay,” Tohsaka said uncertainly. “Here,”

She held something out to her and Ayako stared at it unable to comprehend what it was for a moment, before realising it was a map. It took her a further second to realise that there were a total of six squares marked and she understood, she had missed the coordinates for the latest danger zones. She took the map with a mumbled “thanks” and dug around in her own bag for her map, shading in the areas Tohsaka had marked. It looked like they had gotten lucky again.

After that the two of them sat down and ate their “lunch” (the second half of the loaf and a few more gulps of water). They didn’t begin moving again immediately after eating, this break was much for them to rest as it had been to eat. They sat in silence, Tohsaka looked like she was going to talk a couple of times but closed her mouth again pretty quickly. Ayako was half glad, she didn’treally feel up to carrying on a conversation at the moment. She didn’t know had long had passed by the time Tohsaka said they should get moving again, she simply stood up and lifted her bow.

The trees and other flora seemed to pass by in a blur, certain thoughts were still trying to force their way in to her head. Like the image of Himuro and Makidera she’d had before or a new one of herself and Tohsaka laying sprawled in the same way. She was jolted from her thoughts when she suddenly heard Tohsaka scream in pain.

She spun around and saw her friend face down in the dirt and felt the blood freeze in her veins, that image still fresh in her mind. For just a second fear froze her in place and she was certain that she was going to die, but then with an enormous effort of will, she pushed the feeling aside and rushed to Tohsaka’s side.

“Tohsaka! What’s wrong!?” she asked. The question turned out to be kind of pointless because she could see what was wrong very clearly, there was something sticking out of Tohsaka’s thigh! The hairs on the back of her neck were standing on end and suddenly she a dry click over Tohsaka’s grunting, instinctively she leaned back and just in time as something flew right in front of her face, burying itself in the overgrowth. She turned in the direction the projectile had come from, raising her bow and drawing back the string. She couldn’t see anyone, whoever was shooting at them was doing it from cover. She saw the second projectile coming though and moved to the side, it missed her by inches.

Shit! She had no idea what to do here, if she could just see who was attacking them she knew she could hit them but they seemed to be playing it cautiously, they were definitely smarter than the last one. She was wary about moving any further from Tohsaka too, she was worried that the attacker might refocus on her, since she was essentially a sitting duck. However if she stayed still she’d get hit eventually, she really needed to force them out somehow. As she dodged the third shot she came up with an idea, she grabbed Tohsaka by the hand and dragged her further in to the overgrowth, apologising as the girl moaned in protest. She wasn’t attempting to get away, there was no way she could move fast enough for that while dragging her friend, especially with the extra luggage. However, if their attacker wanted to pursue them they would be forced to leave their cover. She spotted a patch of long grass nearby and dragged Tohsaka over to it, hoping it would cover her enough.

“Tohsaka. Tohsaka!”she hissed. “Sorry but I’m gonna have to hide you here, will you be able to stay silent?”

Her friend looked at her and Ayako could see the pain written in her eyes. There was something else there too and for a moment she thought she would actually protest, but then she grudgingly nodded her assent. She nodded in return and then moved.

Staying low, Ayako ran over and ducked behind a nearby tree. After a moment’s contemplation she leapt up grabbing for the lowest branch, she hauled herself up and clambered on to the next one. From her vantage point she scanned their surroundings for their attacker and caught sight of a familiar mop of blue hair; Matou Shinji and he was carrying what looked like a crossbow. For some reason the sight of him made her blood boil, well she had never liked him. Making sure she was steady on the branch, she carefully reached over her shoulder for an arrow. At the same time Shinji raised his weapon, it looked like he had spotted Tohsaka. Without even taking the time to aim properly, Ayako released her arrow. It struck home! It pierced Shinji through the arm that was holding the crossbow steady.

He turned and looked up at her, she felt satisfaction course through her at the look of intense hatred in his eyes. He tried to aim at her with one hand but his arm was shaking under the weight, so she was faster. She loosed another arrow and he was forced to dive aside to avoid it, causing him to scream in pain again. She reached for another arrow but Shinji wasn’t sticking around, he snatched up his weapon and bolted. Part of her wanted to go after him but she pushed it down. She couldn’t leave Tohsaka alone in the condition she was in, what if someone else stumbled across her? Besides, she still had a bolt sticking out of her leg! Someone was going to have to see to that immediately, and that someone was going to have to be her.

She worked her way down from the tree and ran back over to Tohsaka. She was still awake when she got there and Ayako breathed a sigh of relief at that but she also looked pale.

“Hey Tohsaka you still with me?” she asked and the girl nodded.

“Oh yeah, just fine,” she replied but her tone lacked the usual bite.

Ayako took a look at the bolt still sticking out of Tohsaka’s leg and felt her stomach churn; not just at the sight of blood but because she had never had a friend take this kind of injury before. Sure she was captain of a sports club and injuries happened, but she’d yet to meet a member who was dumb enough to shoot themself or a teammate. Okay calm, she had to be calm. She took a deep breath in a vain effort to settle herself and attempted to think. She tried to recall anything she might have learned at school or read somewhere. Hell, right now she’d settle for anything she’d seen in movies or on television. Right, first thing first, she looked in both bags until she found the antiseptic and the bandages, she was going to need them. Now she had to remove the bolt. Yeah they told you not to but they couldn’t stay here forever, Tohsaka was going to have to move or be moved eventually and she had a suspicion that leaving it in would only make things worse.

She wrapped the fingers of one hand around the shaft then noticed her hand was shaking. She let go and forced herself to breathe again. As she drew her breath a couple of thoughts occurred to her, first was that this was going to be painful and if Tohsaka moved it would probably make things worse. The second was an image she’d seen on television, where they made the “patient” bite down on something to prevent them biting their own tongue off. She didn’t know if the latter was realistic but it couldn’t hurt to err on the side of caution, right? As for the former, there really wasn’t anything she could do about that.

She reached over and grabbed the straps of one of the bags.

“Here, bite this,” she said, shoving it in to Tohsaka’s mouth. “Now this is gonna hurt but don’t move, okay?”

The girl glared at her but nodded. Bizarrely that look in her eyes made her feel a little better.

She wrapped her hand around the shaft of the bolt again, it was steadier this time, and she attempted to pull it out as gently and smoothly as she could. Tohsaka let out a muffled scream and she very nearly let go out of shock but somehow she managed to hold on. Then it seemed to get stuck just against the inside of the wound and in a flash of horror she realised the damn thing was probably barbed.

Fuck!

She should have thought of that before! It was too late now, she had to remove it and trying to force it through to the other side would probably just cause more damage at this point. She pulled harder, still trying to keep her movements smooth. After several agonising seconds, millimetre by millimetre, it came free. She tossed it to the side immediately, not even wanting to look at it. Whatever relief she may have felt at having accomplished that task was crushed swiftly, when Tohsaka’s wound began to ooze more blood. It was bleeding more freely now that it wasn’t being plugged by the bolt.

For a second she was on the verge of panic again and her mind almost went blank. She shook her head violently, she couldn’t afford to panic right now, she needed to think. Tourniquet! She needed a tourniquet! What did she have that could be used as one? Then inspiration struck, she stuck her hand in to the pocket of her waistcoat and pulled out the ribbon from her uniform. She folded it lengthwise a couple of times to thicken it, then she hesitated but only for a second. She was going to have to apply the antiseptic after this and she couldn’t do that properly through Tohsaka’s stockings.

With a mumbled “sorry” she pulled her friends skirt up and began pulling her leggings down, until they were just below the wound. Then she wrapped her ribbon around her thigh a little above the injury and tied it as tightly as she could.

Finally she grabbed the antiseptic and the bandages. She tore a piece off of the bandages with her hands, it took some effort but she managed it. She tipped some of the antiseptic on to the torn piece of cloth and then gently began to swab it over Tohsaka’s wound. She hissed in pain and attempted to pull her leg away but Ayako grabbed a hold with her free hand. With that done, she was finally able to bind the wound.

She wiped at her forehead to get rid of the sweat that had accumulated there, and not just from the heat.

“You okay, Tohsaka?” she asked.

“Yeah sure,” she replied, panting. “I just never expected you to be the first one to get under my skirt.”

Ayako couldn’t help it, she laughed, which caused her stomach to stir again. She managed to crawl a couple of metres away before she retched.



- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

AN: Well, chapter four, once again I hope you enjoy it.

[Muramasa]

Phoenix, either there's a problem with your text editor or you could use a beta. Lot's a words mashed together and a handful of mispellings.


As for the core content, I'm really liking what I see. Good job thus far.

[mAc Chaos]

I happened to see Battle Royale over the weekend. I like this version better so far. :V Kotomine > that random teacher guy.

Looks like Shirou is not having much success saving anyone.

And yeah the formatting is off, there are tons of words smushed together.

[PhoenixAct]

Okay, fixed that formatting problem.

Honestly I don't know what happened there, I make no claims to perfection but even I'm not that bad.

[Kieran]

I'm amazed Issei had the will to do any of that . . . And why do I have the horrible suspicion that Ayako's bow will be a deathbed gift to Shirou?

[NewAgeOfPower]

Ha. Am I seeing Rin/Ayako?

[ILurkNoMoar]

I'm amazed Issei had the will to do any of that . . . And why do I have the horrible suspicion that Ayako's bow will be a deathbed gift to Shirou?

Because that combined with the deaths of all the classmates he failed to save will turn him down the MoS route.

[PhoenixAct]

Chapter V – A Brief Reprieve





Stupid bitches, Shinji thought to himself as he continued to walk, one arm hanging heavy at his side, all but useless. He had managed to bandage it up by tearing strips out of his shirt but that hadn’t help with that fact that he couldn’t grip anything with that hand. It was throbbing painfully but that added to the humiliation he felt, making him even angrier than he already was.

Stupid bitches, he thought again. Everything had been going so well, it had been almost too easy, until he’d run across the two of them. If Tohsaka had been by herself he would have had her but no, that stupid, butch archery club captain had been with her. Why had the two of them been together anyway, didn’t they realise that only one of them was going to walk away from this? Come to think of it all the women he’d met on this island had been like that. That Mitsuki girl, then Makidera and Himuro and that mousy girl they were friends with. Was he the only person on this island playing the game as it was meant to be played?

He should have used the handgun but he only had two bullets left because Makidera and Himuro hadn’t had the sense to die quickly. Himuro especially, in fact she’d attacked him. She’d tried to fight like she could win, even though half her blood was already colouring the dirt.

So he’d decided to use the crossbow when he’d come across the two of them, he had been able to sneak up on them, they hadn’t had any clue what was coming. He’d taken his time and deliberately aimed for Tohsaka’s leg. Oh, he would kill her but straight away, not until he had finished with her. She’d always turned him down, looked down her nose at him, like she was better than he was but she wasn’t! And she would recognise it! Before she died she would realise that she was wrong to look down on him and the butch bitch too, while he was at it. Mitsuzuri Ayako, who had climbed that tree like a damn monkey and then had had the gall to smirk at him. He’d make them both cry out his superiority!

He drained the last of his current bottle of water. So he could no longer hold his crossbow steady and he only had two bullets left in the gun, at least he still had what he had taken from Himuro that morning. He’d reached in to his pocket to grabbed hold of it and froze. He fumbled around in his pocket some more but it was no good, his hand only grasped air.

He gritted his teeth but was unable to stop the shriek that passed his lips. It was a howl possessed of pure rage and frustration. No he had no choice, he was going to have to search for another weapon.

They’d pay for this humiliation he swore it.

- - -

Ayako stood leaning back against the trunk of a tree, her eyes staring out in to the woods around her. It was full dark now, the moon was up, shining a silvery glow down on them but the midnight update hadn’t been broadcast yet. She was standing guard and she was determined not to let her attention waver again. She had allowed herself to be distracted twice already, and the results of that were easy enough to see. Thankfully they’d gotten lucky again on the six o’clock broadcast (only two more dead) and their location wasn’t set to become a danger zone, she’d dutifully noted down all the areas that had become off-limits.

Beside her, lying beneath that very same tree was Tohsaka Rin and she still drew breath, for which Ayako was profoundly glad. That her friend was injured because of her carelessness was bad enough, if she’d actually been killed … well it didn’t bear thinking about.

The two of them were resting mere feet from where Ayako had patched the petite girl up. Tohsaka had grumbled about wanting to keep moving but Ayako had insisted on staying put, Tohsaka had still looked too pale for her comfort; combined with her small size it made her look more frail than Ayako knew she really was. Tohsaka had tried to stand anyway and proven that walking on that leg was going to be near impossible. Ayako also made sure her partner had taken a bit more water than usual, despite her protests. Ayako wasn’t sure how much it applied to blood loss but she knew the importance of staying well hydrated, especially in the heat, it was lucky for them they’d gotten the extra water that morning. Then she’d dragged her in to the shade of the tree, under which she now slept. Tohsaka had eventually drifted to sleep around sunset, seeing her like that Ayako had decided she would let her sleep and keep watch for the entire night by herself.

Part of her was frustrated because as she had been noting down the danger zones, she had noticed that the two of them weren’t far from the lighthouse, which wasn’t a danger zone yet either and would provide relative safety. The problem was that she would have to carry Tohsaka there and she couldn’t carry both the girl and the bags at the same time. And she was not going to carry Tohsaka there, then leave her alone while she came back for them. However, they couldn’t exactly leave all of their supplies behind either. Then there was the fact that, even carrying just Tohsaka would make it impossible to use her weapon, if they got ambushed again they would be done.

Somehow she managed to push all her thoughts to the back of her mind and keep her mind focused. Honestly it was kind of creepy being in the middle of the woods at night, and it was ten times worse when you knew that there really was something in the dark waiting to kill you.

For what might have been the hundredth time that night she put her hand in her pocket and gripped the item inside. She had found it when she had gone to recollect her arrow, the one that had missed. At first she had taken it to be an oddly shaped rock but as she’d drawn closer she’d seen it for what it really was, a grenade. Shinji must have dropped it when he’d dodged her attack, she shivered when she imagined what would have happened if he’d used this when he’d ambushed them and was extremely thankful he hadn’t. She’d pocketed it, firstly because it could obviously prove very useful, secondly because she didn’t want anyone else to have it, naturally.

She’d noticed once night had fallen properly that there were none of the usual night-time noises, not even the hooting of a single owl. It was actually kind of eerie, like even the animals were avoiding this place.

She heard a crack from nearby, a sound like the breaking of a twig underfoot indicating someone was close; it seemed to echo in the still night air. Almost immediately she was down on one knee, bow ready and pointed in the direction she thought the noise had come from. The sound of footsteps came again, not a snap this time but more like the shuffling of feet against dirt. She adjusted her arrow a little bit to the left. She forced herself to keep her breathing low and steady as she listened out for more. Yet, she could feel her blood racing through her veins just beneath her skin and her nerves were trying to constrict her chest. It was almost all she could do to keep her hands from shaking. The noise came again, louder this time, closer; it looked like whoever it was was aware of them. She tried to swallow, her mouth suddenly very dry and pulled back on the bowstring.

Then a familiar head of red hair faded in to view.

“Emiya?” she said.

“Mitsuzuri?” he replied.

She actually felt some small relief at the sight of him. In her head she’d been picturing Shinji coming back, or someone like that guy who’d attacked them outside the clinic, someone crazed and wild. Emiya however was one of the most dependable guys in school and probably the kindest, too kind really. In short he was about as far removed from Matou Shinji as you could get. She almost smiled, until she spotted the sword hanging at his side, and it died on her lips. Her bow had dipped slightly and she corrected it. Emiya was a part of this like the rest of them, everyone else had started killing each other and he wasn’t necessarily an exception. Still, she was reluctant to attack unless he did first, she wanted to keep at least a little of her humanity.

“What do you want Emiya?” she asked, her tone as hard and authoritative as she could make it.

He stopped in tracks and raised both hands in a gesture of surrender.

“Whoa, easy Mitsuzuri, I just want to help,” he answered.

She didn’t change her position. The idea that someone wanted to help them was definitely appealing but also incredibly suspicious. Although according to Fujimura-sensei, Emiya was a terrible liar and all those times she’d tried to get him to re-join the archery club, it had been painfully easy to tell he was making up excuses. Still, trusting him would be a big gamble, and hadn’t she just sworn that she wouldn’t act so carelessly anymore?

“Why?”

“Ah, well…” he trailed off.

She frowned, if this was a liar it was a very poorly thought out one. Then again, that fell perfectly in line with her earlier thought.

“I just … I just don’t want anyone else to die,” he said after several moments.

She hesitated, her mind trying to calculate the risks. Honestly it was kind of a weak explanation but it sounded like he was being honest; then again, that could just be wishful thinking. There were also practical concerns to consider, most immediately Tohsaka’s current condition. With Emiya’s help they might be able to make it to the lighthouse, instead of remaining out her in the open. Plus, she had no idea what state Tohsaka would be in when she woke up. That wound was definitely going to impact her ability to get around, the question was how much? However, it could also make it more difficult to fight back if Emiya did turn on them…

Slowly she lowered her bow.

“Fine,” she said. “Then you can carry the bags.” She wasn’t sure if she was making the right decision but at the moment, she didn’t think she had any other choice. She’d just have to keep an eye on Emiya. Part of the reason she’d asked him to carry the bags was because it would hopefully be more difficult for him to betray them if he was overloaded with luggage. That and because she certainly wasn’t going to allow him to carry Tohsaka.

Emiya went to pick up the bags without complaint. Ayako slunged her bow over her shoulder, so that the bowstring ran across her front and the bow itself was against her back. Then she knelt besides her friend, she could try to carry the girl on her back but then she’d have to grip Tohsaka’s leg pretty close to her wound. Instead she slipped one arm under her shoulders and the other under her knees, and lifted her as gently as she could. There was no need to wake her, she’d probably just complain anyway.

She couldn’t help grunting as she straightened herself up, her hip complaining just slightly at the movement and the extra weight. She hadn’t checked yet but she didn’t think she’d taken any serious damage, she was willing to bet there was one hell of a bruise though.

“What’s wrong with Tohsaka?” Emiya asked.

“She’s fine,” Ayako responded promptly. “I just don’t see the point in waking her up. There’s a lighthouse not far from here, that’s where we’re going,” she added, cutting-off Emiya as he opened his mouth to speak again. She began to walk without another word.

It was both an easy and difficult walk, easy because the terrain was fairly undemanding, even with the extra weight of the girl in her arms. Difficult because it was dark and her arms did start to ache after a little while, not to mention the soreness in her hip. Besides which, she was trying to remain aware of Emiya’s movements as he trudged along behind her, without looking like she was trying to keep an eye on him. The part that made her most nervous though was when their destination came in to view. They were standing at the edge of the wooded area and naturally the lighthouse was near the edge of a cliff. It wasn’t that far away but there was an expanse of land between the two; a wide open field with no cover.

However she couldn’t stand around here all night, so she began to march forward, hoping that everyone else on the island had hunkered down for the night.

They reached the front door without incident, her heart pounding furiously in her chest. The front door was closed, naturally, she just hoped it wasn’t locked too. Obviously it would be difficult for her to open the door while carrying her friend, so she nodded to her still conscious companion.

“Emiya,”

He walked forward and tested the handle and swung open easily, creaking forward on hinges that probably hadn’t been oiled in a while. Suddenly her heart leapt up in to her throat, what if there was already people camped out in there? Shit! Why hadn’t she thought of that before? Well, she couldn’t think of any other places nearby where they could take shelter; but she couldn’t leave Tohsaka out here while she searched the building either, with or without Emiya. She waited a few seconds, just in case, her ears straining to catch any evidence of someone else’s presence. Then Emiya suddenly stepped through the doorway before her flashlight raised, and when nothing sprang out of the dark to attack him she decided that was the best evidence she was going to get. There was a click and suddenly the inside was illuminated, obviously Emiya had managed to find the light switch.

She entered behind him and almost immediately caught sight of a flight of stairs to her right. She ignored them instead focusing on finding a bedroom, or at least some place with a sofa where she could lay Tohsaka down. She didn’t find one on the ground floor, forcing her in to climbing up the tower anyway, Emiya followed behind her, flicking on the lights. She found what she was looking for after what she guessed to be the equivalent of two flights of stairs, or at least she had passed another door before this one (it had lead to what appeared to be a kitchen). There was only a single bed in the room and it looked to be in the same condition as the ones in the clinic, still it was something. She lay her friend down on the bed carefully, and then turned back to the boy standing behind her.

“Ah,” he said. “Mitsuzuri, why don’t you and Tohsaka rest up here and I’ll keep watch?”

She stared at him for a moment, wondering why he would make that offer. It would be great if he was being genuine, but if he wasn’t … It wasn’t worth the risk.

“Sure,” she lied. “Nice idea, Emiya. Could you leave mine and Tohsaka’s stuff here then?”

“Ah, right,” he replied, and unburdened himself, laying two of the three bags he was carrying at his feet.

He made to leave, then hesitated and Ayako felt every muscle in her body tense. He turned to face her again, one hand slipping in to his pocket.

“One last thing, Mitsuzuri,” he said and pulled his hand out of his pocket to produce … a torn scrap of paper? She took the paper from him and opened it up, reading the words that were written inside.

There’s a microphone in the necklace.

She looked back up at him, her brow furrowed and he responded by tapping the front of his collar, directly where his handkerchief was between it hand his throat. She had noticed that earlier but she’d just assumed the device had been chaffing him or something. She folded the paper again, placing it on a table to the side and nodded at him, unsure of what to say or whether she should even say anything, if what he said was true…

Once he was gone she grasped in her own pockets, wondering if she still had… Aha! She pulled her own handkerchief out of her pocket and stuffed it between her throat and the metal choker in the exact same place Emiya had. It didn’t make any sense for Emiya to lie about this one; it didn’t look like it would gain him anything. Certainly it wouldn’t cause the explosives to go off, seeing as he had already done it himself. It was a point in his favour she guessed, but it didn’t necessarily mean that he was completely trustworthy.

She searched the door for any locks and found only a key-based one beneath the handle, which she didn’t have the key for, obviously. Apart from that there was nothing, no bolts or chains or anything like that. There was however a dresser in the room and with some effort she managed to push it behind the door, although it was empty so she didn’t how well it would stand up to someone determined to get in. She frowned, she noticed that in the clinic too, that a lot of the large stuff like furniture had been left behind but most of the smaller items like pictures or clothes were gone. It made sense she supposed, the people who lived here would’ve wanted to take those things with them after all. Yet some of those small items were still left behind, so any packing must have been done in a hurry.

She shrugged, in the end it wasn’t important.

Suddenly that familiar racket split the air and her stomach sank as that damn dirge echoed over the island. But she reacted immediately, going straight to her bag and fetching her map. As usual, the voice of the priest informed her of the number of dead (eight this time, bringing the total to twenty-five) and began listing off the new danger zones. She breathed a sigh of relief when he was done, it would’ve sucked to get here, only to have to leave again almost immediately.

As she put the map away she felt something hard underneath her foot, she looked down and saw a small, leather sack laying on the ground. She guessed it must have fallen out of Tohsaka’s pocket when she’d been moving her. She picked it up and shook it, the contents rattled and she was tempted to open it but she refrained. It wasn’t hers after all, she didn’t want to invade her friend’s privacy like that. Instead she simply lay it on the table next to Emiya’s note.

That done she all but collapsed on the bed next to Tohsaka, laying her bow against the wall next to her. Today had proved to be exhausting, and it wasn’t over yet. She had to keep watch, make sure they stayed safe through the night. However, slowly fatigue began to overtake her, to the point that she could no longer keep her eyes open and eventually she fell asleep.

- - -

Rin slowly and reluctantly came to her senses. She had her arms wrapped around something soft and warm and she snuggled deeper in to it, eager to indulge in the comfort it provided. She was cuddling in to whatever it was for at least a couple of minutes before realising that something was off, although she wasn’t sure what. Not eager to open her eyes she tried to feel the problem out with her hands, she felt an area that was softer than the rest and gave it a light squeeze. Only for whatever she was holding to release a low moan in response.

Wait, what?

She prised her eyes open whilst propping herself up on arm, and found herself looking down at the sleeping face of Mitsuzuri Ayako. Her eyes travelled down her own arm and found that the two of them had apparently cuddled together in their sleep, leaving them in a distinctively compromising position. She pulled back like the taller girl had caught fire and quickly clambered off of the bed.

She barely bit back a yelp of pain as she fell to the floor, her leg throbbing madly. Somehow she had forgotten about the wound that bastard Matou had given her. She took a second to steel herself, and then pushed herself back up to her feet, gritting her teeth at the pain that shot through her leg. Mitsuzuri had done a good enough job patching her up she supposed, all things considered. However, Mitsuzuri was no doctor and their resources had been limited, so she had discreetly … assisted in the treatment. That combined with the blood loss was probably why she had fallen asleep so easily last night.

She looked around the room in an attempt to gain some idea of where she was. The place was somewhat dirty although that was to be expected. Other than that it was very bare, with only the bed, a dusty old wardrobe, a bedside table and a chest of drawers that had been pushed in front of the door as decoration. There was a window set high on the wall, through which she could see the faint orange light of dawn; she estimated about two hours before the morning update. She wondered if there was a specific reason Mitsuzuri had felt the need to barricade the door. On the table next to the bed she noticed a very familiar sack, she hurriedly limped over and stuffed it in to the pocket of her waistcoat. Next to the sack was a folded piece of paper, curious she picked it up and unfolded it.

There’s a microphone in the necklace.

She blinked once, twice and set the paper back down. She wondered who had written it, it didn’t look like Mitsuzuri’s handwriting. She looked back at the girl in question, and saw for the first time that she had stuffed what looked to be a handkerchief inside the choker around her neck. So it seemed Mitsuzuri trusted the source of this note enough to listen, or else didn’t see any real risk in doing so. With a shrug, Rin decided to follow suit.

Other than that there was nothing else of note in the room. She pulled open the wardrobe and found almost exactly what she’d been anticipating, a couple of hangers and a load of dust. With nothing else to do she plopped back on the bed, sending a cloud of dust in to the air. She glanced down at her partner and it occurred to her then that she’d made the right choice in allying with the other girl, she had saved her life twice in the same day. Her insides squirmed slightly at the thought of what would have to be done eventually; it seemed like a crummy way to repay her for saving her life. With some effort she forced that thought to the back of her mind, there was a while between now and then and there were other things that needed to taken care of first.

Mitsuzuri looked far too unguarded in her sleep, although her forehead was creased just slightly in the beginning of a frown. The thought that the archery club captain actually looked quite cute in her slumber, briefly flitted across her mind.

Any other thoughts she may have had on Mitsuzuri’s appearance were halted in there tracks, when a shiver ran down her spine that had nothing to do with the weather. It was a sensation she thought she recognised; she closed her eyes and felt a slight prickling at the back of her mind. She rose to her feet and over to the doorway, she needed to employ her own magecraft to move the dresser. The piece of furniture screeched a little as she dragged it out of place. The noise caused the room’s other occupant to stir and Rin’s heart leapt in to her throat, but thankfully she didn’t wake.

She stepped out of the room directly on to a staircase, it was in that moment that she realised that they must be in a tower of some sort. She thought the “feeling” was coming from downstairs, so down she went. The pain her leg felt worse, it seemed like reinforcing herself had only aggravated her wound, she probably shouldn’t do that again. There was light creeping out from underneath the first door she reached, so she pushed it open and it creaked as it moved. When no one responded she glanced inside. It looked like a kitchen, there was someone sitting at the table in the middle of the room. They apparently hadn’t heard her and were still concentrating on what they were doing. She doubted anyone else would no what was actually going on in there; to a normal person it would just look like he was fingering the metal collar around his throat. But she wasn’t a normal person, she could recognise. It took her only a moment to place the magus too, no one else in her school had hair that colour.

With a grin she limped forward in to the room.

“My my Emiya-kun, I never knew you were a magus.”

- - -

Yukika dragged the second corpse out in to the dense foliage by the leg. There had been two of them in total, both of them had been male and both of them had died by her hand.

She had stumbled across the Buddhist temple just as the sun had been starting to sink behind the horizon. She had stayed outside for quite a while, hidden and watching. She had seen the two boys going about whatever business they had. By that time she had been very hungry and thirsty, she had wanted to rush straight forward to see if they had any food or water. But she didn’t, Makidera and Kane-chan reminded her of what had happened the last time they had run across someone else, when they had run across Matou Shinji. Then they had reminded her that only one person could make it out of this hell anyway.

After remembering that, she had wanted to go for it right then and there and Makidera agreed but Kane-chan asked her to wait. There was no way to tell what weapons they had or how good they were. It would be much safer, Kane-chan had said, if they waited until the sun had set completely, until they were both asleep and she had darkness to cover her. So she had waited and waited and waited, she had waited until there hadn’t been any movement for a while and then she’d crept forward.

She’d gone slowly at first, stepping as lightly as possible and sliding the doors open as softly as she could, just in case either of them were awake. She hadn’t needed to be so careful, she’d found them both asleep in the main room, a crumbling Buddha watching over them. She’d tried to slit the first guy’s throat in his sleep, unfortunately he managed a scream before she could silence him.

The second boy had been up like a shot, his head swinging this way and that, looking for the danger. She’d been on him before he could make sense of what was happening. She’d plunged the knife in to his stomach repeatedly; so many times that she’d lost count and she had only stopped because her arm had started to get heavy. Makidera and Kane-chan had reassured her, telling her she had done well and that had kept her from throwing up afterwards.

Now here she was, dumping the bodies in the middle of the woods because she didn’t want to sleep under the same roof as a couple of mangled corpses. Once she taken them far enough, she left them in a heap in the undergrowth and turned back the way she had come. Now she could finally see to her hunger and her thirst, the two of them must have had food and water, right? After that she could rest for a while with her friends watching over her, then tomorrow… Tomorrow she would survive.

Yes survive, Makidera and Kane-chan had died for her, the least she could do was survive. She would be alright, as long as she had her friends.

- - -

Ryuudo Issei sat in meditation under the night sky, thinking on his sins.

He had … killed people, three other innocent, ordinary students. He hadn’t meant to, it had all happened so fast, one minute he had been talking to the three of them and the next they were all trying to kill each other. He’d been holding the weapon in his had, examining it, having just pulled it from his bag. He’d pulled the trigger by accident and the next thing he knew, all tree of them were dead.

What he’d told Emiya hadn’t been a lie, the idea of everyone working together to overcome the system was a fanciful dream, nothing more. He’d known those three, they sat on the student council and were responsible, reasonable people; if they couldn’t be convinced to work together then no one could.

Yet it was something of a paradox, for surely those who were so able and willing to kill other students were not deserving of going home.

He sat in contemplation for a moment longer. His hands were already covered in blood so he was undeserving also yet… Perhaps he could pave the way for those who were deserving? Somehow improve the odds of them making it home while simultaneously punishing those whose souls were dark and corrupt.

Yes, that seemed like it could be a good idea.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


AN: So chapter five is up. There was a little more to the scene where Rin catches Shirou performing magecraft, but it mostly ended up being a retread of the "Tohsaka you're a magus?!" bit from the VN so I cut it. Not sure if that was the right thing to do but...

Also, sorry for not updating last week, real life got in the way. To make up for it I will be uploading two chapters this week, you can expect the next one on friday.

Other than that, please enjoy.

[warellis]

Well Yukika seems to have snapped and what Issei is planning to do sounds interesting. And now we can get to see two magi interact.

[NewAgeOfPower]

Holy crap, Issei.

Holy crap.

[reborn214]

Is Issei going to turn into Light Yagami?

[mAc Chaos]

Awesome update!

Well, I don't mind seeing more Rin and Shirou interacting since this is the first time they ran into each other here, so it would be fine by me. I've been waiting to see Shirou run into people this whole time.

Issei turning into the Punisher. Issei VS Shinji death match coming up.

[kay4today]

Shinji being a prick who endagers himself unnecessarily just so he can rape Tohsaka? I could see him doing that. I hope Issei kills him.

Also Rin/Ayako is great.