Chapter Text
Kuchinashi Yume hates the morning sun.
It's an indication of the start of a day; a start of the same tormenting process.
Wake up, work, fight off delinquents, and crash at whatever surface big enough to accommodate her.
She feels like a constantly drained battery that gets far from enough recharge.
A shitty battery with pathetically low output to power an entire academy, or what's left of it.
"......"
That changes today.
Her eyelids open automatically without a deafeningly loud alarm clock blasting at her ears.
Yume feels like she's in another person's body; it's the only explanation for why she feels so... alive.
The teal locks at the corner of her sight and the battered shirt she's wearing remind her that she's still herself.
A subconscious deep breath; her nostrils are free of dust and her lungs have twice the capacity than before.
The faint scent of sand paired with the dim sunlight filter through the curtain greets her; for the first time, it doesn't feel bad.
Most importantly, the stinging and searing pain all over her body is completely absent now.
Not just the wounds from yesternight's debacle, but the chronic pain around her back, shoulder, and neck all disappeared as well.
Her limbs feel feather light, her golden eyes are sharper than ever, and her mind is clear as the night sky.
Wow. Even she is amazed by how surreally good of a condition she's in.
Was it all just an illusion? Was him?
Yume gets off the couch with ease, seeking answers.
Looks like he hasn't returned from the journey in search of a vending machine.
If she'd like, she can totally just get off and resume her usual day, completely leaving him behind.
Whatever. She decides to divert her attention to herself for the time being.
The bandages wrapping around her thighs and calves are at this point, pointless; she can feel what's underneath are healed.
Yume tears them off one by one, the brownish-red patch on the gauze pad still makes her wince.
And she goes on to check her side belly and breast; not a single bruise is found; if anything, her skin seems smoother and brighter than ever.
"......"
Something is definitely wrong.
As much as she would like to, wounds like those don't heal overnight.
And by the process of elimination, the only thing that might caused this, is the red pill she took.
The red pill he gave her. So he did drug me.
Yume tidies herself up, grabs her pistol and Iron Horus, and gets back on her feet with newfound vitality.
The water bottle still sits in the same spot as it did last night.
And no, she is even more reluctant to drink whatever might be inside; what if she grows the third arm because of it?
Considering the effect of the last thing she took from him, that's not far from impossible.
Yume checks the chamber on her gun and makes her way to the exit.
"!..."
The door creaks open before she makes the first step.
"Oh," And there he greets. "Leaving so soon?"
He's coated in a layer of dust. The rifle in his hand is still smoking, and there's more pink than silver in his eyes.
Yume prods nonchalantly. "Took a detour?" As nonchalant as she can sound anyway.
A small part of her is relieved and a little, just a little happy that he didn't break his word.
And he doesn't seem hurt. That's good.
"...Yeah," Auburn rasps out. "The closest one was two miles away."
He lifts the plastic bag (that is somehow intact) into her view, the top of the bottled water is sticking out.
"And don't you worry, I did lose them before I got back here." His footsteps heading indoors are heavier and slower than last night.
Yume gives him a hand with a sigh.
"I'm good," Auburn hangs the bag onto it instead. "I don't need your babysitting, either."
Asshole. She snorts as she closes the door behind them.
They're back to where they were last night, except the roles are (kind of) reversed.
Yume takes a seat on the couch while Auburn simply drops his ass onto it, sending a small wave of dust up in the air.
"Take that bottle," He picks up the water bottle he left by the couch. "I have mine."
She checks the water bottle before she rummages through the bag of... various snacks, and not much else.
The bottle is unopened, albeit the top part exposed to the element is a little scratched up.
At least it's in one piece. Judging by the person who brought this back here, it's already a feat.
"......" Yume opens the bottle and takes a big swig.
The lingering taste of iron and that pill is soon washed away by the typical plastic-y flavor of bottled water.
Auburn flips open his EUD on his chest rig. "I've texted Hoshino that we'll be arriving at school late."
Yume lifts an eyebrow at that. "We?"
"Yeah," He closes the EUD and reaches for a snack bar. "We. Hoshino likes me, you know?"
A scowl. "Hoshino-chan doesn't know enough about you."
Her conspiracy resurfaces again, she doesn't like how this is going.
"I'll be more surprised if she does," Auburn speaks through his mouthful of food. "I've been here for like what, three-ish days?"
That's fair enough I guess. "......" No. She quickly shakes away that thought, she's not that gullible.
"How are you feeling now?" He moves on to the next topic, seeing Yume's wordless response.
Right. "What did you do to me?" She answers that question with another question.
"Gave you a painkiller." A shrug.
"Stop fucking with me."
Yume bites out her reply as she turns to face the lounging man, ember eyes daggering the calm pink-silver ones.
"Okay?" The adult blinks, completely unfazed. "So what if I tell you it was a magical replica of a literal Panacea?"
"......" A what of what?
"See?" Auburn sighs helplessly. "You'd still call it bullshit because-"
"-Panacea isn't real."
"Exactly," He rests his rifle on the armrest as he speaks. "I figured you'd take it better if I told you otherwise."
"And outcome-wise, it did take all your pain away, no? I stand by my words."
"......" Ridiculous. "I'm leaving. Take that Panenea yourself if you can't catch up."
"So you're okay with me staying with you?" The adult slouches on his back, he doesn't seem affected by her mean remarks.
"No," Yume stands back up as she shoulders her Iron Horus again. "You have to leave this region once you have the chance."
"I stand by my words as well," A hesitance. "Abydos is done for anyway."
"That so?" Auburn raises his voice a bit, now the two have some distance between them.
As the President of the Abydos Student Council, she can't admit that.
As Kuchinashi Yume, she doesn't want to.
It's a sad but true fact: she alone is not strong enough to stop her school from marching towards its destined doom.
Yume grits her teeth, her knuckles go white for how hard she's gripping the strap of her shield.
"Riddle me this then," He gets up from his spot by propping himself on his knees.
"Why are you staying? Why not just drag Hoshino out of this hellhole, and transfer to somewhere else together?"
"Because if you care about her," Auburn grabs his Spear LT and slings it over his shoulder. "You'd run with her and never look back."
"!..."
THUMP!
Shhf-!
A drop of her shield, a draw of her pistol.
This is not what she should be doing; pointing her gun at someone who saved her life?
Yume can't give a single shit about that anymore.
The brewing fury in her toward her enemy has finally found a way of release, now that she's in perfect condition.
"You!..." Her pounding heart and snarling breath are further shaking her muzzle. "YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT US!"
"I know," Auburn throws his hands up symbolically, and doesn't seem impressed, again. "I know that you care."
"That you care about this school, the people that are in it, and their future."
"That's why you'd train even though you hate it, fight even though you're not good at it, and get hurt because of it."
"Doesn't take a mind-reader to tell." His soft voice stings her ears.
"......"
Yume shoves her USP Expert back into her holster. "...Would be a waste of a bullet anyway."
"Gotta make every shot count." Auburn lowers his surrendering hands with a chuckle. "I understand."
"Augh!... I need to find a way to shut you the fuck up...!"
She's once in a blue moon, at 100% capacity, and she feels tired already.
"Good luck with that," Auburn cleans up the trash he made and shoves it all into the plastic bag. "I'm going with you."
"What!?"
"I'm not hurt. I just need a little pick-me-up." He urges the teal-haired girl.
"C'mon. Let's go. Before you- Åugh!? "
"Ten paces in front of me!"
The adult gets kicked in the shin the moment he walks into her range.
Yume feels like a kid throwing a tantrum at him, but fuck it, he deserves it.
He's sticking around, and she has work to do.
The more the merrier, even the one with a shady background and slick mouth.
As long as she keeps him within her range of attention, it should be okay.
She needs to make sure this guy doesn't land his hand on Hoshino-chan anyway.
Yume ponders over the upcoming "partner" and the toxic relationship (in her eyes) between them.
Maybe it's worth a shot.
And if not...
I'll make sure the next time I point my gun at him, I'll pull the trigger.