Chapter Text
The military truck finally stopped outside an abandoned gas station after hours of driving along broken dusty roads. Surrounded by the broken remnants of the city, the passengers of the vehicle climbed stiffly out of the car and stretched.
It was the morning after Yu's transformation in which he had almost irrevocably become some kind of demon and the cool morning sun was fast burning away the fog as the blue sky beat down on the city.
You breathed in the fresh morning air, stretching out your arms to the sky, and feeling your elbows pop. Makoto switched off the engine and climbed out of the military truck, looking worn out after a long nights drive.
"I'd give anything for a coffee," he grumbled, leaning against the side of the truck. Kimizuki hopped out from one of the back seats and opened the boot. Yoichi scrambled out almost immediately, blinking in the warm sunlight and rubbing his eyes.
"Is Yu still out?" Shinoa asked, moving around the back of the truck. She sounded worried, though you decided not to pick her up on it.
"Still nothing," a third voice interrupted. You squinted into the darkness of the back of the truck, where Mika was crouched, determinedly watching over a comatose Yu.
"That idiot," Mitsuba muttered, undoing her cape and tossing it into the back of the truck. "He doesn't have the brain cells to spare."
You glanced worriedly at Mika, hoping he wouldn't take this as an insult to Yu, but he didn't even seem to have heard and was watching Yu fixedly, as though trying to wake him up through sheer willpower.
"Listen we need to scope out the gas station," Makoto broke everyone out of their worrying. "We need gas and look out for canned foods and water while you're at it."
"Mikaela-san, why don't you go with them?" Yoichi suggested. "I'll watch over Yu-san."
Instantly his crimson eyes narrowed and he scrutinised Yoichi, glaring out from the dark. The young archer gulped and fidgeted under his gaze.
"He'll be fine," you broke in, nodding at Yu. "Come on, it's not good for you to be cooped up for hours on end."
After several moments hesitation, Mika finally glanced down at Yu one more time, before climbing silently out of the back of the truck and standing stiffly beside you and Shinoa as Yoichi scrambled back into the back to take his place of watching over Yu.
"Okay then everyone," Shinoa grinned, trying to sound light. "It'll be faster if we just split up for now. I'll go with Narumi-san to look for gas, Mitsu-chan will go with Kimizuki-san to find water and Mika-san..." She broke off, suddenly not sure if her orders would extend to the boy. You put up your hand.
"I'll go with Mika-san!" You volunteered. Shinoa nodded towards you in gratitude.
"Please find whatever is edible," she ordered you and with a nod, disappeared through the broken glass door of the dark station, followed by Kimizuki, Makoto and Mutsuba.
You stood outside for a moment, hesitating. Surely it would be safe? It didn't look like anyone had been here for a long time...
After a moment the blonde vampire beside you spoke quietly: "Shall we?"
You nodded and squeezed in through the broken door behind him. His torn cape fluttered lightly behind him and you focused on it, trying not to allow your heart to race too much. His clothes were torn in places and bloodied, though he didn't seem to be wounded.
You spend a moment pondering on how strange it was to be looking through supplies with a vampire by your side. Never would you have imagined ever being family with a "dangerous bloodsucker".
Mika was an exception however, you supposed, because of history with Yu. He wasn't needlessly aggressive and had showed mercy on multiple occasions. For some reason he was just someone you had taken to, and you had decided to trust him.
After a moment he stopped abruptly and you only just stopped yourself in time to keep from walking into him. You glanced up at him and he turned to look at you, nodding his head. You filled his gaze and your eyes landed on the shelf to your left. The lower shelves had been picked clean, however higher up you could see some canned foods that were possibly still edible.
"Wow!" You exclaimed. "Lucky find! But... I can't reach up there. Could you...?"
The vampire nodded and began to scoop some of the cans off the shelf, handing you half of them as he went.
After a moment you spotted a rusting shopping basket and started piling the cans into that. As you worked, your curiosity began to get the better if you and you attempted to strike up a conversation.
"Yu-san tells me you've known each other since you were little kids," you commented. The vampire stiffened for a second, pausing shortly before continuing to hunt around for undamaged food.
"That's right," he said guardedly. You could tell that despite all that had happened he didn't fully trust you. It wasn't surprising you supposed, considering what he had believed about humans. He almost seemed to resent having to "share" Yu with others.
"The weathers holding up well," you tried again, moving to a safer topic. There was no reply to your feeble attempt at conversation and instead several more cans were dumped into your arms.
"That seems to be everything," he told you curtly before lifting the basket with both hands from underneath and carrying it back towards the exit. You picked up several loose bits and pieces and followed after him.
You were temporarily blinded by the light when you exited the building and by the time your eyes had adjusted Mika was halfway across to the vehicle already, walking in large powerful strides. You could tell he didn't feel comfortable leaving Yu alone. Sighing, you followed after him.
Makoto was already tanking up with trunk with some cartons of gas, while Shinoa was struggling to load a spare into the boot of the truck. Kimizuki and Mitsuba hadn't yet returned.
"Not bad," Makoto decided, casting an eye over the canned food. You just hoped that some of it would still be edible.
"Any sign of life?" You called in to Yoichi who had been joined once more by Mika.
"Not yet..." He called back anxiously, glancing towards Yu's sleeping form. Mika had gone back to glaring at Yu intently in a manner which definitely seemed to say 'get up idiot'.
"Is there some way we can feed him or get him to drink anything?" you suggested.
"Hopefully there'll be some water when Mitsu-chan and Kimizuki-san get back," Shinoa answered, dusting herself off.
"They've been gone for a while... Are they okay?" Yoichi asked, ever thinking of others.
"I wonder if we should go and look for them," Shinoa muttered. Your worries seemed unfounded however, as a moment later Mitsuba and Kimizuki emerged, carrying several plastic bottles of stale water. It was old, but much better than nothing.
"Sorry," Mitsuba puffed as she jogged back up to the truck. "We couldn't find much." Between her and Kimizuki they had found five bottles of unopened water.
"Looks like we'll be sharing again," Makoto sighed. "Come on, we need to keep moving," he added, hopping into the passenger seat, allowing Kimizuki to take over the driving for a while.
You swapped places with Yoichi, hopping into the back of the truck with Mika and Yu, closing the boot door behind you, while Yoichi climbed into the middle with Mitsuba and Shinoa.
After a moment the truck jogged back into action.