killing fever | opaquii & molotov

[molotov]

xxx「 ✧ 」 ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ 「 𝐌𝐈𝐓𝐒𝐔𝐑𝐔 !! 」

’i trust him’

mitsuru and katagiri alike recognized the sincerity in that response, attempting to examine junichiro’s expression for any indication of insecurity proved fruitless. mitsuru finally let his blue eyes settle on his friend, in that moment giving him a loving look that was quick to catch the interrogators attention. she raised a brow, before her expression softened. “i do.” she answered, finally releasing her gaze. it seemed the roles had reversed in a way, junichiro steadfast and mitsuru avoidant - or so the interrogator observed.

the model tensed as junichiro drew near, averting his gaze as soon as their eyes met. “i’m fine...” he assured gently, voice carrying a distance to it as he became aware of the multitude of eyes inspecting him and junichiro. he was intent to push as much attention away from himself as possible. in his mind, it was best to distance himself to avoid stirring up trouble. he didn’t want to be responsible for his friend getting hurt a second time. and so, he would pull alway gently, at least for now it’s what felt the most appropriate.

mitsuru’s features twisted into a scowl as the others began to discuss sleeping arrangements, already in a bad mood which was furthered by ichiro’s sudden presence. he leaned on a nearby tree for support as he tried to ignore his own fatigue, snorting with the mention of sleeping on the forest floor. as far as he was concerned that was an upgrade. “oh boohoo.” the model grumbled under his breath. “poor things, forced to sleep in dirt - at least you haven’t been tied up in a closet for days on end...” he continued bitterly, running a hand over his face. katagiri seemed to notice the blonde’s frailness, she spun to the hunter. “benjiro, i thought i put you in charge of keeping mitsuru fed. he looks like a twig.” katagiri commented, much to mitsuru’s blatant offense. the big man stiffened with the look. “-oh uh, shin was kind enough to cover for me while i focused on tending to junichiro.” benjiro admitted innocently, scratching the back of his head in a sheepish manner now that the interrogator had turned her glare on him. next up to receive her hawk-like stare was the track-star. “don’t look at me, i tried but he refused to eat.” shin shrugged off the blame, only allowing a vulpine smirk to creep over his features once katagiri turned back to rika. slick as an eel shin was at junichiro’s side, leaning in close to his ear. “models, am i right? so concerned with their self image they’ll turn down perfectly good food.” shin taunted quietly as he pulled away.

the interrogator didn’t seem to notice the quiet exchange as she formulated a plan. “i suppose to start we should divide into groups to ensure efficiency, we haven’t a moment to lose.” she reasoned with the group. “benjiro, ichiro, junichiro and mitsuru will accompany me to look for food and a fresh water source.” she started, turning to the teacher. “rika, would you mind taking the rest to search for a good spot to set up camp?” she paused, noticing the disapproving glances her way and the murmur rising from the group. “i realize that putting the victim in the same group of the supposed killer may sound crazy, but i trust junichiro’s word.” she paused, swiveling to meet the tattoo artist’s gaze. “if he trusts mitsuru, than so do i.” she gave him a nod of respect, perhaps the only sign of respect she had ever given to anyone on camp yet. with that she swiveled back to the crowd. “i’ll take full responsibility for monitoring mitsuru for the time being. now let’s get moving.” it was hard to argue with someone who had the disposition of a drill sergeant. neverthelessm mitsuru was still caught up on the twig comment, not at all listening to a word being said as he obsessively began preening himself.

[opaquii]

╔═══════╗
◇──◆──◇──◆ JUNICHIRO ◇──◆──◇──◆
╚═══════╝

Unfortunately Junichiro hadn't noticed Mitsuru's look, if he did, he would have had a lot to think about- maybe something would have finally gone through his thick head. Watching the model walk off to lean against a tree, he turned to Katagiri and Rika to listen to what they had to say, but still keeping an eye on Mitsuru from the corner of his vision. Junichiro was quite pleased with how the group was divided, at least they'd have a moment of peace without Shin and Yui.

"Let's go." Junichiro wrapped an arm around Mitsuru to try and distract him from preening, following after Katagiri when she started to walk. "You look fine Mitsuru don't worry." The tattoo artist tried to comfort him quietly, removing his arm around him to instead hold his hand. It was a friendly gesture, kind of. Even though it severely bothered Ichiro, he stayed slightly to the side. He couldn't afford to get onto Junichiro's bad side again, and in any case, Mitsuru wouldn't hurt him in broad daylight with people all around. "We could use the pond as a water source right Benjiro? Would it be clean enough?" Ichiro hummed in thought, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

There seemed to be an aura of fatigue coming from Mitsuru. It started to worry Junichiro so much that he tuned out the others, "Are you okay?" The tattoo artist stopped, glancing at Katagiri for some sort of response, "Maybe we should let him rest for a moment." The confidence Junichiro had moments before had melted away, showing his old demeanor as the hand holding Mitsuru's began to shake. "He hadn't eaten in so long, this must be taking up too much of his energy already."

"Convenient." Ichiro mumbled under his breath, crossing his arms as he refused to give any attention to the model. "I'm sure he's fine, we can find some berries in a bush or whatever." He kicked a pebble from under his shoe, letting out a frustrated sigh.

[molotov]

xxx「 ✧ 」 ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ 「 𝐌𝐈𝐓𝐒𝐔𝐑𝐔 !! 」

mitsuru once again tensed as he felt junichiro’s touch, letting his eyes trail to the ground sheepishly as he was assured that his appearance didn’t require maintenance. a lie, in mitsuru’s mind he was desperate to reunite with some nice soaps, products and cosmetics. skipping out on his routines surely had taken a toll on his skin and hair, not to mention his clothing was far from refined. begrudgingly he ceased his efforts, unable to deny that being by junichiro’s side had filled him with a much needed comfort. he glanced down at ichi’s hand interlocked with his own, a light blush crossing over his features with the sight. benjiro took the lead, trekking towards the edge of the camp’s boarders where the forest was thickest. mitsuru couldn’t help but feel a sense of unease as the pond came into view, and the dark forest that loomed behind only reminded him of what had transpired within. it was difficult to differentiate the gnawing sensation in his stomach as hunger, or just dread, it was getting harder and harder to hide his discomfort. the hunter swiveled to ichiro with the question, chipper as ever. “ideally we’d need to find a way to boil the water to purify it. otherwise we risk drinking up some nasty parasites and bacteria.” benjiro answered. katagiri’s stoic expression wavered for a moment, her own exhaustion showing. “i suggest we start with that first. we have a lot of people to keep hydrated.” katagiri muttered, pausing as she swiveled the junichiro, catching the worry in his voice.

mitsuru raised his head slowly, taking a moment to process his companion’s question. he observed his friends features, noticing the growing concern in his eyes. mitsuru offered a halfhearted smile. “don’t worry about me, i’m fine.” he tried to reassure, squeezing his friend’s trembling hand gently. “just a little lightheaded is all, but i can manage.” he rubbed his thumb over the back of junchiro’s hand in an effort to comfort him. katagiri and benjiro exchanged glances. “how long have you been without food? if you think something’s wrong than you should tell us.” mitsuru shook his head, struggling to recall much in his state. “i.. don’t know… ever since you stopped visiting… maybe? that wasn’t too long ago—like a day or two?“ he muttered, shutting his eyes a moment as he tried to gather his thoughts. “this is bad, if that’s true, you’ve gone without eating for six days.” katagiri murmured after a moment of silence, swiveling to the hunter. “benjiro, how long can someone go without eating?” a wince escaped the hunter as he adjusted his collar. “depends on the person, though typically about a week…” the hunter replied, suddenly looking a bit troubled by the thought. “junichiro’s right, you really should be resting if that’s the case.” katagiri urged, haste growing in her voice. she shot ichiro an annoyed glance with his lack of concern. love him or hate him, katagiri had no intention of letting anyone die on her watch. the hunter was shaking his head with ichiro’s suggestion “oh no, i wouldn’t do that… i probably should’ve mentioned this earlier but from what i’ve seen, the berries around here are highly toxic. eating one of those bad boys would kill you.” he chuckled sheepishly, receiving another frustrated glance from katagiri. mitsuru slowly swiveled to ichiro, barely having caught the small mumble as a glare twisted across his weary features. “like ichiro said, i’m… fine.” he muttered stubbornly, pulling away from junichiro rather weakly, teetering from side to side. “i just need… a… m-minute… that’s… all.” he knew that was far from convincing, he could feel himself fading fast. but was it really worth troubling everyone over? frankly he just wanted to drop the subject - try to ignore his empty stomach and the crushing sense of fatigue that pleaded for him to rest. no such luck, it seemed. he barely got a step in before his vision blurred and he stumbled forward, the world going black as he succumb to weakness and fell into unconsciousness.

[opaquii]

╔═══════╗
◇──◆──◇──◆ JUNICHIRO ◇──◆──◇──◆
╚═══════╝

Junichiro let out a panicked scream as Mitsuru fainted, scrambling to catch him before he hit the ground. "O-Oh my god!" He ignored the pain in his knees as they hit the gravel, too distracted with keeping Mitsuru safe. He gently smacked his friend's cheek, trying to get Mitsuru to wake up as he cradled him in his arms. "Ichi c-calm down," Ichiro stammered, now concerned as he crouched beside the tattoo artist. "He'll be okay let's just... give him a moment." He tried to assure him, placing a hand on his shaking shoulder.

"W-What moment!?" Junichiro snapped at him, appalled with just how bad his friend was treated. He wasn't sure now how he'd react when he'd see Shin again, or Yui for that matter, could he even keep his mouth shut? Junichiro felt like he was just an inch away from clawing at them both. "He's been starving for six days! This cannot be fair- Monokuma!" Junichiro called for the bear angrily, his vision red.

"Hmmm?" The little robot popped up from behind a bush, a sleeping mask covered his eyes until he pushed it up to his forehead, "I was having a lovely nap until I heard a racket! You all just have no respect for your elders!" Junichiro ignored his complaining, cutting him off right after. "Let us use the store just once, if we don't get Mitsuru something to eat in time he could die." It was hard to gauge Monokuma's unchanging expression, but the tattoo artist figured he was not pleased. "Absolutely not! It's not my fault you campers don't know how to feed each other! If he dies that's not my problem!" Junichiro couldn't believe his reply, looking at the others for help, "Just for him! We'll find food for ourselves!"

"Nope! That would make this booooring!" Monokuma moved the sleeping mask back over his eyes before disappearing, leaving Junichiro to just stare dumbly at where he last stood. Ichiro slowly got up from where he was crouched, throwing Katagiri an exhausted look, "I don't know what to do, any ideas?" He turned to Benjiro after with a sigh. "If we can't eat the berries then there has to be something else right? Edible flowers or something? I'm not sure what people eat in the... wild." Ichiro tried to offer some options, but this wasn't his area of expertise at all.

While the others spoke, Junichiro got comfortable on the ground. He sat with Mitsuru's head in his lap, eyes trained on his face like a hawk in case he saw even the tiniest bit of movement. There was no bother in saying anything, it's not like the model would hear him, so all he did was play with his hair, maybe he'd wake up at some point.

Maybe.

[molotov]

xxx「 ✧ 」 ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ 「 𝐌𝐈𝐓𝐒𝐔𝐑𝐔 !! 」

two birds chirped cheerily in the branches above, huddled close like two good friends chatting passionately amongst each other. so fixated on the sight did mitsuru forget what he was doing, where was he again? “mitsuru, earth to mitsuru.” a hand waved in front of his face, breaking him from his trance. he glanced over at a brown-haired boy he didn’t remember the name of, not that his vision helped any—unlike the birds, the boy’s face was a blur. “huh?” oh right, he was standing in a courtyard of his old school, surrounded by four other kids that were far too hazy to identify. “god your dense as ever, did you hear a word i said?” the boy grumbled, voice filled with condescension. mitsuru sighed, before forcing a sheepish smile. “i guess i just didn’t get the best sleep last night, my mom and dad were—“ he was cut off, as the other boy spoke up over him “i was just giving my best junichiro impression, but i can’t quite get it right - just not ugly enough.” mitsuru shifted uncomfortably, irritation growing by the second. “is that suppose to be funny? you—don’t have to be so cruel to him all the time. he has to deal with enough as is.” mitsuru responded, avoiding their criticizing stares as his eyes trailed back to the birds of which had grown silent, his eyes searched for them fleeting above the trees but found only one now perched, alone. “just yesterday you seemed totally cool with it. why the change of heart?” the peer pointed out, nudging his shoulder and once again snapping mitsuru back into attention, albeit annoyedly. “i just don’t think he’s worth our time. you know?” again his eyes scoured the trees, trying to find that lonely songbird amid the leaves. “just admit it mitsuru, you miss hanging out with him.” the girl chimed in. “no, i don’t!” mitsuru snapped, silencing the girl with a glare as he swiveled to stare at the featureless person. he crossed his arms and looked away with a sigh of exasperation. “i already told you, he was nothing more than a charity project, i can’t stand being around that miserable little eye-soar.” there was a moment of silence following those venom filled words, and mitsuru was suddenly overwhelmed with regret. “speak of the devil...” the dark haired girl snickered, nudging his shoulder and nodding to something behind him. mitsuru’s expression soured, “what now?” he spat, swiveling to see what the group was staring at, his heart leaping out of his chest when his eyes settled on junichiro, unlike the rest of the kids he was clear as day. an expression of utter betrayal across his tired features, he did not speak, though he looked as if he wanted to. instead ichi lowered his head and turned away, disappearing back into the faceless crowd.

for a moment mitsuru just stood there, unable to move as he remained paralyzed. all eyes trained on him expectantly, waiting for a reaction. there was a sudden awareness in mitsuru, as if it had occurred to him just how wrong this all was. laughter rung out from behind him, feeling one of the boys pat him on the shoulder. “did you see the look on his face? that was priceless.” mitsuru shook his head, eyes not leaving the spot his old friend once stood. “no, th-that was horrible—why did i s-say that?” he tried to say, finding it hard to speak, “what are you talking about? you’re laughing too.” mitsuru tensed with the realization, covering the grin across his face and stifling a laugh. he didn’t enjoy this, so why was he laughing? why couldn’t he move? he tried to fight it, desperate to change the outcome of this situation. suddenly he was given lucidity, the smile fading from his features as he shoved the group of kids aside. this time, he had no intention of abandoning his closest friend. pushing through the crowd, the bodies seemed to change shape, the bright scene darkening to a pitch black sky as the mass of people were no longer human, but a sea of thick trees and foliage. “junichiro!” he called after him, running deeper, deeper into the woodland. he chased after the fading silhouette of his friend. “ichi, please.” catching the blurred outline of something in front of him, he came to a stop. “is that you?” he approached carefully, squinting at the unclear shape. “can we talk about—what happened?” he asked, carefully shuffling forward. “i did something horrible to you, i know that i’m not a good person. i hate who i am—who i’ve become.” he muttered, blindly searching for movement amid the darkness. “-but, i want to change, i want to be better for you.” he continued, the forest still and deathly silent. “maybe we could leave here together, just you and me.” hope grew in his voice as he took yet another step. “i won’t let anyone treat you that way again, we could forget all of this and start over, would you like that?” before he could get a better look, the sound of something wet squished underfoot, making him freeze in his tracks. his blue eyes darting to a strange dark liquid that surrounded his shoes, and amongst it, something glinted. picking up the object he realized they were his glasses, the circular lenses glinting in the little light that seeped through the trees. “-how did these get out here? i threw these stupid things away years ago.” they were smudged in the odd substance on the ground. confused he tried to wipe off the strange residue, but frustratingly, the liquid seemed to spread to his hands and sleeves. still he persisted, wiping away at the ugly imperfection until they were finally rubbed clean. mitsuru slowly put his glasses back on. the scene clear and crisp in an instant, with his vision restored, mitsuru was finally able to identify what he was standing in; lying in the grass in front of him was junichiro, lifeless in a pool of his own blood.

———

a scream escaped mitsuru as he jolted upright which sent a shockwave of pain through his abdomen, waking from his nightmare and stopping just shy of colliding with junichiro’s head. muddled, he stared at his friend for a second with wide eyes. he was struggling to differentiate dreams from reality as he raised his hand to touch the side of junichiro’s face, leaning in close to examine his green eyes. “mon amour, your alive?” he murmured, tears pricking at the corners of his eyes. he parted his lips to speak once more, but was interrupted by the intense gnawing sensation in his insides of which he clung to junichiro as he silently braced the pain. “good, he’s still got life in him, just… a little confused. we need to make sure he stays conscious” katagiri urged, nodding to benjiro who was holding something in his now dirt covered hands. he crouched beside junichiro and mitsuru. “it was all i could find on such short notice, but it will tide you over until i can hunt bigger game.” benjiro held up a large squirming bug, offering it to the model who was promptly snapped out of his daze as he stared at it in horror. “it’s a grub, a good source of protein, eat it.” the hunter added offering a smile, moving it closer to his face. which prompted mitsuru to yelp and slap it away, the bug landing on ichiro standing nearby. “don’t worry they taste just like bacon.” benjiro assured, grabbing another nightmarish larva and again moving it towards his face. “n-not a chance! i’d rather starve than eat that thing.” mitsuru clung even tighter to junichiro, burying his face into his friends chest, perhaps not yet remembering that junichiro still had an injury. “mitsuru, you are starving. you can’t afford to be picky right now.” katagiri tried to speak as gently as she could without making her frustration evident, glancing at junichiro for help to ease his friends distress.

[opaquii]

╔═══════╗
◇──◆──◇──◆ JUNICHIRO ◇──◆──◇──◆
╚═══════╝

Junichiro leaned as close as he could to Mitsuru without crossing his boundaries, trying to understand the words he was mumbling in his sleep. He heard snippets of words here and there, unfortunately it seemed to be one half of a conversation- but he knew Mitsuru well, it was about him.

"... Don’t have to be so cruel to him..."

"... I just don’t think he’s worth our time..."

"... Charity project..."

There was a pang in his heart and a drop in his stomach, was Mitsuru remembering what he used to say? Or perhaps... he still felt those things towards Junichiro? The tattoo artist frowned to himself, mentally chastising his thoughts. Mitsuru proved that he was his friend again, he should be able to trust him. He was thankful that Mitsuru's mumbling was quiet enough that the others couldn't hear, the most Ichiro did was furrow his eyebrows in confusion. "He's okay right? What's he muttering about?" The redhead took a step towards them, hands in his pockets.

"He's fine." Junichiro was quick to respond, giving him a mute smile, "Just from exhaustion as you said, random things."

"... I want to change, I want to be better for you."

The tattoo artist turned back to Mitsuru in surprise, he didn't expect him to say that, dream or not. He prayed to god Mitsuru meant it for him. "... I won’t let anyone treat you that way again..." He was definitely sure now that Mitsuru was talking to him in his dream. A pink blush bloomed on his cheeks and he smiled to himself, even though their current predicament was less than acceptable.

It was a good thing that Junichiro kept a bit of space between himself and his friend, jolting when Mitsuru suddenly awoke with a scream and almost hit their foreheads together. "G-God!" He stared at the model with concern, even more so at his out-of-place actions. "A-Amour??" Junichiro's light blush turned into a deep red. French was taught in their school, a class he despised but was thankful for at the moment. "I'm fine! What's up with you? You scared us!" He wanted to smack Mitsuru but stopped, instead holding him close once he noticed him brace from the pain.

Junichiro turned to the others as he heard them talk, grimacing when he put two and two together, "Oh is there- is there nothing else?" There was no way Mitsuru would eat a bug, but if Benjiro said it was fine then he'd have to coax him as best as he could. The tattoo artist jolted once again as the bug was slapped, biting his lip so he wouldn't laugh as Ichiro screamed in fear. "Eww!! Ew ew ew!" The redhead jumped away, speed walking towards the pond. "There's no way I'm watching him eat that! Call me when you're done!"

"Mitsuru..." He winced slightly as his wound was pressed, but it just felt sore. "Please, you need to eat something, just close your eyes and listen to my voice okay?" Junichiro moved to hold him in place, guiding Mitsuru's head to face the bug by his chin. "Pretend it's something else, if you can't see it then it's not a bug." He nodded to Benjiro to get ready to feed him, taking the last few seconds to figure out how else to distract his friend. He would probably regret it later considering Katagiri and Benjiro's eyes were trained on the two, but the second the larva hit Mitsuru's mouth he leaned down and kissed his cheek.

[molotov]

xxx「 ✧ 」 ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ 「 𝐌𝐈𝐓𝐒𝐔𝐑𝐔 !! 」

panic set in rather fast, the sight of a grotesque insect shattering the momentary bliss of waking to the sight of junichiro. he continue to try and fight his way out of ichi’s grasp in a feeble effort to move away from the unwanted grub. ignoring all the efforts to calm him down. “once i get out of here i’m suing each and every one of you, you hear me!” he spat, turning his glare on his friend. “junichiro, i swear to god if you make me eat that thing i’ll-“ the kiss on the cheek was the last thing he was expecting, so taken off guard that for a moment mitsuru froze. his eye’s went wide as saucers, in that exact moment mitsuru’s brain short circuited, instantly swallowing the squirming creature as it was shoved in his mouth. he gagged, breaking from junichiro’s grip as he covered the lower half of his face. his head snapped back to junichiro, his pale features now bright red. “did you just-“ the model cut himself off with another retch. “-kiss me?!” was this his twisted idea of a distraction? of all times he could’ve done so, why now? was this some sort of dream, or maybe a nightmare? he buried his face in his hands, far too flustered to properly process what had just transpired. much less delve into the implications of the display of affection, did junichiro like him? no, why would he?
katagiri, having witnessed the chain of events in revulsion, let out a long sigh. clearly ichiro had the right call in leaving, wordlessly she turned away to accompany the poet near the lake. “wouldn’t be my first idea of a distraction but hey, it worked. nice thinking junichiro!” benjiro beamed, lifting himself back to his feet. “you two wait here, i’ll go look for more!” the large man announced, lumbering off rather absentmindedly despite mitsuru’s stifled protests. leaving the two alone with nothing but the sound of the forest to fill the awkward silence. the model pushed himself to recover, he needed to play it cool. “i can’t believe you made me eat that thing, i’m going to be sick.” he muttered under his breath, looking a bit queasy as he turned to face his friend, forcing a look of composure across his exhausted countenance. his icy stare bore into junichiro as if trying to make sense of his actions, he ran a hand over the spot his lips had made contact with his now reddened cheek. “care to explain?” eagerly he waited for a response, suddenly looking quite attentive as if hoping for a confession right then and there.

[opaquii]

╔═══════╗
◇──◆──◇──◆ JUNICHIRO ◇──◆──◇──◆
╚═══════╝

Junichiro grimaced slightly as he watched Mitsuru double over and retch, he figured he should try to make light of the situation, "I didn't think my kiss was that disgusting was it?" He let out an awkward chuckle, eyes glancing back to take note of the other two leaving. Great. The tattoo artist slowly got up to stand, brushing the dirt and gravel off of his knees. It stung slightly, and he finally remembered the dull pain in his abdomen. "Did it at least taste like bacon?" Junichiro muttered quietly with a small smile, he really was trying to lift the mood- but it seemed like Mitsuru was pissed at him now.

"Ex... plain?" Well he didn't expect that question, was it not obvious? "I was trying to distract you, we really need you to eat Mitsuru, anything." He took a step closer to his friend, sighing as he took a gentle hold of his wrist. "You could really get hurt if you continue starving, or... worse." Junichiro didn't have the heart to mumble out the word 'die', maybe if he didn't say it out loud then it wouldn't happen. "I'll gladly do it again if you eat another one of those bugs." It may have been forward- and not for the reason Mitsuru wanted, but he was saying the truth.

Although obviously, Junichiro too wished it had been for a much different reason, he tried not to think about it too much.

[molotov]

xxx「 ✧ 」 ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ 「 𝐌𝐈𝐓𝐒𝐔𝐑𝐔 !! 」

while he was well aware of the reasons for their efforts to make him eat, he still couldn’t understand junichiro’s choice in a ‘distraction.’ it confused him, as if he needed to be anymore muddled over his feeling towards ichi. “what, you think i’m going to die?” he muttered grimly with a snort, filling the words unspoken without much care. the model continued to glare at junichiro as he persisted. he stubbornly ignored the awful feeling in his abdomen. far too tired to be standing upright even as he made the effort to rise to his feet. the offer to kiss him a second time was what really set him off, face burning an even brighter red a look of surprise replaced his stern stare. despite his efforts to hold onto composure, he was quick to snap right then and there with the unusual influx of jokes coming from ichi. he knew him well enough to know something was off. in his current state he couldn’t help but let impatience get the better of him. “for god’s sake ichi, this isn’t some joke.” mitsuru spat, yanking his hand out of ichi’s gentle grip. he turned away with a huff, swaying side to side from the dizziness. “i don’t know what’s gotten into you, but kissing me out of the blue isn’t something you just do!” he turned back to face the grey-haired man with rising frustration. “is this some weird payback for all the pain i put you through, or is there something else to this?” he persisted, trying his best to give junichiro more of a reason to voice whatever might have been the cause of his behavior. he was in no mood to have his emotions toyed with like this, and yet he still managed to let his voice soften with his next choice of words, pleading for an answer. “if you have something to say, just say it.”

[opaquii]

╔═══════╗
◇──◆──◇──◆ JUNICHIRO ◇──◆──◇──◆
╚═══════╝

The weather shifted to a colder breeze the longer they stood outside, the clouds slowly drifting to cover the sun and cast a shadow over the camp. Junichiro unfortunately took a step back as Mitsuru yanked his hand away, keeping his eyes to the ground. What could he even say? They were stuck in a sick killing game and yet he had feelings for Mitsuru? Their relationship was constantly being thrown back and forth between a calm friendship and hot fiery hate- what would even happen if he opened his mouth? Even if there was a slight chance that Mitsuru would reciprocate his feelings, it would definitely create a big target on them- not that there wasn't one already.

"Oh." Was it really that big of a deal? It was simply a kiss on the cheek, friends did it platonically as well, didn't they? "I'm sorry, I didn't think- I'm sorry I won't do it again." Junichiro apologized, stumbling over his words as he tried to shut down the conversation as quickly as possible. "I don't have anything to say." If he lied and tried to give more excuses it would be obvious, especially to Mitsuru of all people. The tattoo artist stuffed his cold hands in his pockets, Mitsuru's tone shooting straight into his heart and covered him with guilt, a shame he thought he couldn't be honest. Glancing up to check where the others were, he saw Katagiri and Ichiro further away by the lake. Surprisingly- or maybe not, it seemed like they were keeping an eye on them as they talked, voices mute from the distance. Benjiro was gone, still searching for more grub, and it took everything in Junichiro not to shout for him to come back quicker.

Instead of letting the silence settle over them and give Mitsuru a chance to say more, he shrugged, then kicked a pebble on the ground. "Let's focus on searching for more food for everyone, preferably not bugs. There should be mushrooms in the forest, if we ask Benjiro for help then surely we can find something." Junichiro stopped himself from playing with a strand of his hair out of anxiousness, eyes darting around as if he would find something interesting enough to shift the conversation to. "If not then... we'll figure something out."

The rest was like a blur to the artist, mostly because of his mental fatigue and just full-out not bothering to pay attention. He couldn't help but recede back into his thoughts, at least he could replay everything that had happened so far and study it inside out- not that it gave him answers. Thankfully their group did find some mushrooms and edible plants that seemed safe to sustain themselves after hours of searching once Benjiro came back, but it wouldn't last them long- one small meal for each camper at most. Rika's group ended up settling on the area between one of the cabins and the research labs for camp, the many buildings around them would break the wind and give them some cover- but the hard dirt ground was still cold.

The jacket Junichiro wore was almost used as a cover for him to sit on the ground, but in the end he thought against it as it seemed more important to keep his back covered so he wouldn't get sick. Since the talk he had with Mitsuru he had barely said a word. After a while his worry and guilt just turned to embarrassment- he really couldn't have thought of a better way to distract him? And the others had saw him do it too- god, Junichiro wished he could just turn into a bug.