Title: Solstice
Pairing/Group: Ohtori Choutarou x Shishido Ryou, plus a bunch of random people from other schools (Hyotei, Shitenhouji, Seigaku, Higa Chuu)
Rating: G
Warnings: Please don't be offended by my use of (sort of twisted) Christian-related references. Oh, and very light mention of gore and ebil scientists, pfft. Still kiddy-safe, though.
Notes: For Xiana Asuka during the potffnet 2009 AU fanfic exchange (at Livejournal) last December, was it? Anyway, I just wanted to post it in my account. I was kinda shocked about the request at first (didn't really expect it, to be honest) and was kinda at a loss with what to write, but hopefully this is still to your liking. I also took a lot of liberties with the post-apocalyptic/survival genre request. Hope you don't mind :)
Summary: A man had appeared in their doorstep with literally nothing on his back except for his name and clothes. In their current world where living beings were but a novelty, one would have to question his existence. (Alternative summary: Everything always happens in Japan *shot*)

xOxOx

Keigo had woken up one dull, gray morning with the urge to grace the barren wasteland (also known to lesser beings as 'outside the house') with his presence.

He ventured outside eager to escape the noise created by his co-inhabitants even though he knew that there wasn't really anything better to gaze at out there, aside, of course, from his own self.

Stepping onto the dry, dusty soil, he was reminded of the stories of the older generation of residents about green carpets of grass covering the entire expanse of what was now a mix of wet and dry dirt roads. They said something about growing vegetation, too; large plants (that at seasons, turn from green to yellow, orange and red!) with inflorescence beautifully complementing a clear, blue sky. And the water! Why, they were still safe for consumption even without the treatments necessary today.

Every time he would bravely dare to explore his surroundings, he would sniff in disgust thinking how those fairy-tale-like anecdotes seemed to be more and more like stories weaved for children to dream about in their sleep. How could he believe it were true when all he would encounter were cracked-up pavements decorated with the occasional out-of-place driftwood, and the only splash of color found was from the red, blue, and green of toxic streams?

Not amused by the recollection, he began moving about. Tolerate, Keigo, tolerate. He walked down a new path despite having been told various warnings of the dangers from doing so. What can he say? He was the adventurous type, after all.

And what was this, ahn? His exploration proved fruitful when he found a pitiful looking creature sitting by his lonesome, all wet, dirty and confused.

xOxOx

"Shiraishi, Keigo-chan brought in something interesting again today!" an excited Kintarou shouted, making his voice echo inside the huge, worn-out building. "Come see, come see!"

Shiraishi sighed before standing up and letting Kintarou drag him outside his room. "It better not be another mutated bird. Honestly, I can't understand how he managed to catch and bring that feisty guy here without any scratches on either of them. Not to mention that other time he dragged a bear—"

"Shiraishiii," Kintarou interrupted as they walked down the stairs and went through what almost seemed like a maze of entrances and hallways. Every time they would pass by a door, Kintarou would (loudly) knock and beckon the tenant to come and follow him, effectively forming a small group of interested followers behind them. "It's different this time! It's really cool! And, and… Shiraishi, I don't wanna ruin the surprise! Just wait till you see, okay?!"

"Well, whatever it is, we can't keep it. We already have more than ten people, plus Keigo, to keep aliv—what the hell…?"

Kintarou grinned widely at the sight of a dumbfounded Shirashi. The hyperactive youngster beamed triumphantly at his leader whose hands and bandages were limply hanging at his sides, and whose mouth was widely open. "See! See! I told you it was interesting!"

'How on earth did that dog find…' Shiraishi could only think about the sight before him.

In the middle of the room, surrounded by the rest of the occupants of the building, was a tall, young boy with silver-gray hair and a confused expression. Despite the fact that his clothes were tattered and dirty and that he looked (and probably smelled) like he had been forced to swim in the river and then rolled around a mud pit, everyone paid no mind; they still wanted to crowd around and ogle the newcomer.

"I can see you're quite surprised," Oshitari Kenya commented beside Shiraishi.

"Surprised doesn't even begin to describe it," Shiraishi replied. He looked at the man with evident concern and anxiety. "When—Where? …How? No one else came for years. We thought Gin was the last one."

Oshitari nodded, understanding his alarm. "That's true. I think he encountered a few troubles along his way, since Kabaji—we asked him to follow Keigo, just as you said—reported that he found our new survivor momentarily resting by the river up north. He also said that he saw footprints that probably his and that it was going to our direction. I asked Yuushi and he said the kid's probably been moving for at least two days."

Shiraishi rubbed his chin, almost not believing that Kabaji said all those things. "Given our earlier assumptions, and supposing that the delay had been due to his initial location, he'd have to be from one of the three main areas."

"Yes, I thought about the same thing. I think you should know, though, that the river he was following came from the other northern city."

Shiraishi furrowed his eyebrows. "Then that means he could be from that place. Oshitari, I want you to direct a small group to search around the vicinity for sign of those guys as stealthily as you could. They're bound to try and look for our new friend here. Aside from your people, no one is allowed to go outside, we can't risk getting our location discovered," Shiraishi ordered before finally approaching the bewildered newcomer.

"Understood."

Shiraishi waved Oshitari and his team goodbye before he listened at the sidelines as the questioning began. He didn't even have to initiate anything and already queries like 'what's your name?', 'how old are you?', and 'where did you come from?' were eagerly asked. The poor boy, who looked very uneasy with having all the attention on him, tried his best to attend to all of them, but much to his embarrassment and everyone else's dismay, they only got an answer to one question:

"My name?... I think it's... Ohtori Choutarou?" he read from the engraved symbols on his necklace.

xOxOx

"I think he's a spy," Shishido instantly raised once everyone was gathered inside their make-shift dining room. Their guest was left at the reception area with Keigo to keep him occupied. "It's been seven years since the incident and three years since the last person found his way here. We know those scientist guys are looking for the people who survived—we almost lost Hiyoshi to them! What if they're using him to find us?"

Murmurs evolved. Could it be that Ohtori Choutarou was a spy sent to reveal the survivor's location?

"But don't you think he looks really confused? His expression looks pretty real to me," Mukahi said in Choutarou's defense, to which a good number of people nodded to. The boy looked like he wouldn't hurt a fly! He definitely couldn't be a part of the organization that brought the apocalypse to Japan. "I mean, the only thing he knows is his name, and that was because it was written on his necklace like... like some kindergartner! Someone from that place wouldn't be that stupid and clueless!"

"No one could be that stupid. Not even you," Shishido retorted. "And that is exactly what makes him suspicious."

Kabaji grabbed onto Mukahi before the red-head could manage to jump on the table and attempt to strangle Shishido.

"I think he's harmless if he got Keigo to easily bring him here," Chitose offered, bringing up the previous image of Keigo contentedly resting on Choutarou's arms. Having Keigo deem the silver-haired boy worthy enough of his presence and even let him pet his glorious self despite Choutarou's state was certainly something they don't see every day. The boy would have been something close to a saint... or at least someone very agreeable to be with.

"That lame dog easily brought a bear here!" Shishido continued to argue, reminding them that it was the same petite canine that managed to drag a live bear inside their home.

"That's a different matter!" Konjiki and Hitoji piped up. "And that bear was totally harmless." "…I miss Miyu-chan." "I miss her, too." "Oh, why did we have to use her for—"

Shiraishi pounded on the tabletop, effectively silencing everyone. "In any case, we know that there's a high probability that he also has something in common with all of us. That's why he survived. Maybe it's his destiny to be here," he said, earning collective signs of agreement from the group. "So whether he's with them or not, he's our responsibility now. Anyway, I've already asked some of you to stand guard. In the meantime, we'll just lie low to make sure we don't attract any unwanted visitors…" He made sure to take a good, leader-like look at each and every one of them, only pausing at one particular person to make his next point across. "And, Shishido, since I see and understand that you're still very apprehensive about the idea, you'll be in charge of keeping an eye on him. Okay?" He clapped his hands together. "That's it! Let's all get ready for a welcome party!"

"Yeah!"

Everyone, save for a very stunned Shishido Ryou, left the room excited and ready to celebrate.

xOxOx

"Here, take them," Shishido gruffly said as he hastily handed a towel and a cleaner pair of shirts and pants to Ohtori. "Bathroom's over there." He vaguely pointed at one direction. "You'll find some soap somewhere inside, usually it's at the soap dish but Gakuto, that idiot, sometimes forgets to put it back." He looked Ohtori over to notice how dirty he really was. "...I don't know what kind of gunk you swam in to get here but it'll make you clean enough. It might not get rid of all that bacteria and chemicals though, but you'll live... probably."

Ohtori looked alarmed, but still said nothing.

"Don't waste any water," he warily told the taller boy while muttering something that sounded like 'Hell knows how long it takes to make them clean enough for use' before he spoke up again. "That's all you need to know for now. I guess just call me if you need anything." Shishido gave a look that told Ohtori he'd better not bother him.

"Um, all right. Thank you."

Without another word, Shishido nodded and turned around to leave Ohtori on his own, pretty sure that even the seemingly clueless teen would know how to at least take a bath.

However, thirty minutes later, Ohtori still wasn't showing any signs of being done.

"Hey!" Shishido pounded on the door. "What's taking you? Everyone's already waiting downstairs."

"Oh! I'm sorry, I'm just going to fold my clothes," Ohtori shouted from inside.

"Never mind that, just crumple it up and put it in a laundry bag or something. Someone's assigned to pick and clean that up later."

"But—"

"No 'but's. Just hurry up."

The door opened to reveal a sheepish looking Ohtori. "I'm already done… I'm sorry I took so long."

"Whatever," Shishido dismissed his apology, suddenly feeling aware of the fact that Ohtori looked rather good when he was clean. And it also helped that he didn't smell like rotting garbage anymore. "Got your clothes?"

"Yes." Ohtori nodded and revealed neatly folded clothes. "I'm really sorry I held you up from the party…"

"Look, I said it was no big deal. What took you so long anyway?"

"I… well," instead of answering verbally, Ohtori timidly moved aside to reveal a sparkling clean bathroom.

Shishido blinked. "What the…"

Ohtori immediately bowed low, taking Shishido's reaction as that of anger. "I'm very sorry! I was going to take a quick bath—and I did, I promise!—but when I was looking for the soap dish, I saw the tiles and I thought that they were really dirty and it would be really bad if someone slipped on them, so I began scrubbing and then the sink caught my attention, there were molds growing on it, and since everyone uses it, I thought they might get sick from the bacteria. And then I thought that since I was already cleaning, I might as well clean-up everything else… Oh! But don't worry, there's still plenty of water left! I only used up one of the containers for everything!"

"You… One person here normally uses one container for just a bath, but you managed to clean yourself plus the huge bathroom," Shishido said, unconsciously looking half-amazed. "How do you do that?"

"I just… cleaned. With water, soap and a few cleaning material lying around inside," Ohtori said, making it sound as if the task was as simple as that.

"But you didn't even know your age and where you came from! How would you know what to do? What are you, some cleaning prodigy?"

"I don't know." Ohtori looked like he was considering it. "… I don't think so."

Shishido scratched his head, not knowing how else to respond. "Well, it doesn't matter. Let's just go downstairs."

"Okay," Ohtori immediately agreed and followed Shishido to the location of the party. "Oh… um, can I know your name?"

Shishido raised an eyebrow. "Huh? My name?... It's Shishido."

"Shishido-san," Ohtori repeated, testing the way the name slipped off his lips before smiling. "Thank you for taking care of me, Shishido-san. Oh, and my name is—"

"I know, I know. Ohtori Choutarou." Shishido rolled his eyes. "It was written on your necklace."

For some reason unknown to him, Ohtori sensed that his cheeks had reddened and he suddenly felt the need to mumble out an apology. He didn't get any response from Shishido, but he guessed that the capped boy didn't really care, which made him wonder if that was a good or bad thing.

xOxOx

When you put together teenagers, drinks, food, and the fact that they haven't enjoyed themselves for long, it doesn't matter if the food and beverages weren't anything special. The party was bound to last for at least a whole day, and for the aftermath, everyone was sure to be tired and wasted with the place equally thrashed as its occupants.

So when they found the whole party area filth-free (in fact, it looked even tidier than when they began) with everyone cozily nestled over futons and under blankets, they had to wonder if it was all a dream. But with everyone clearly remembering Kabaji's truth confession of not being to sleep without his white teddy bear, the Oshitari cousins' surprisingly good (drunk) duet, Hiyoshi's win over Gin at the hotdog eating contest, and who-got-stuck-with-whom when they played Seven Minutes in Heaven, the next question would be, who did it?

The answer was currently whipping up everyone's breakfast with an unwilling Shishido, who wasn't really doing anything much aside from pointing out where everything was located.

Needless to say, everyone was impressed. They didn't even know they had anything in their pantry that could make what was now laid down at the long dining table.

"Hey, didn't we only have one can of beans? You two managed to make food fit for sixteen out of that and… what this? It's the cardboard sandwich filling Zaizen made yesterday! And it tastes edible now!"

"That was egg and mayonnaise! And you said it tasted fine!"

"No. It was actually gross. We only said that was because we had nothing else to eat and there was no one else who could cook," Koshikawa stated matter-of-factly. "Anyway, Shishido, why didn't you tell us you knew how to cook? We've been eating burnt rice for years!"

"I don't know how to cook. Everything was his doing," Shishido apathetically said as he pointed at Choutarou. The said boy was still busy mixing up a batch of something that the others could not recognize but if the smell was any indication, it had to be something good. "The last time I was forced to cook was six years ago and you guys told me to never hold a pan again."

"Oh, I remember that!" Mukahi piped out as he bounced on one foot. "That was when the kitchen almost got burned down!" He grinned mischievously.

Shishido resisted the urge to throw a pan at the redhead's direction and instead raised an eyebrow, smirking. "You did the same thing half a year later, in case you conveniently forgot."

"Look! Look guys, we have meat! Is this meat?" Jirou, who was certainly awake now, stared wide-eyed at a bowl before picking out a small block of what looked like cut-up meat and tasting it. Everyone else quickly did the same. "It sure tastes like meat… Oh my god, is Keigo still here?!"

The diners almost choked from shock.

"No! No!" Ohtori looked startled and pale. Keigo gave a haughty bark from his side. "That's not Keigo! It's just tofu!"

"Oh? We had tofu?" Konjiki said while others sighed with relief. They almost felt guilty; they had been thinking that Keigo made one delicious meal.

"We did," Oshitari told them. "But the last time we tried using it, half of us got diarrhea from the way Hiyoshi cooked it." Hiyoshi did not look offended, but he had started to mumble under his breath.

"Awesome, Choutarou-kun!" Jirou exclaimed, his mouth already full of more tofu. "And you're the one who cleaned the bathroom, right? It has to be you! It smelled so nice!" Everyone else tried to sneak in a few more bites as well.

"Oh! I saw all the laundry hanging outside to dry. Did you wash them, Chou-chan?"

"The other rooms were clean as well."

"My dust bunnies were gone, too!"

Ohtori nodded, looking very guilty. "Yes, I did. I'm sorry if I did all of those without permission," he apologized sincerely.

Everyone had already begun seating themselves as they casually waved Ohtori's apology off. They were more intent on deciding what to put on their plates than to even think about feeling miffed at Ohtori's apparent fixation with cleanliness.

"What are you saying sorry for, Choutarou-kun? We're really glad you did all those stuff for us. We should be thanking you for all the trouble you went through, actually," Shiraishi patted his shoulders. His hands never left as he began ushering Ohtori to a chair. It would not do for the silver-haired boy to miss out on his own cooking.

"O-oh! It was nothing, Shiraishi-san," Ohtori shook his head vehemently. He reluctantly sat down. "And if it's fine… Can I be the one to do the chores?"

"All the chores?" Shiraishi asked, unbelieving. It seemed that Ohtori hadn't noticed that he was slowly running out of food. Shiraishi took it upon himself to fill the boy's plate. "You don't have to force yourself or feel obligated to do anything, Choutarou-kun. We have people assigned for the tasks."

Ohtori stopped the hand that was absentmindedly dropping a third slice of fish on his plate and stared at the leader's eyes. "I'm not forcing myself, Shiraishi-san. I would really like to do all the chores! I mean, if that's all right with everyone..."

How can they say no to his pleading face—especially when the prospect ensured more meals of the same caliber?

xOxOx

As it turned out, Ohtori really did enjoy doing all the household chores. He was also polite and catered to everyone's needs. Shishido, as his supposed guardian, didn't have to do anything to help him except tell him where this went or where that could be found, but unlike everyone else, he found Ohtori's endless courtesy quite annoying (Actually, he would feel a strange emotion whenever he was around Ohtori, but Shishido was quite certain the feeling only meant he was annoyed). Not to mention he still doubted Ohtori. And his reason was simple.

There was no way a personality like Ohtori Choutarou's could really exist. He glared at Ohtori's back as the boy dutifully folded clean clothes and placed them in baskets. No matter what it took, Shishido was going to find a way to reveal Ohtori's true intentions.

xOxOx

It had been three days since Ohtori came to the warehouse. Once the boy had wiped a finger at the kitchen table-top and pronounced it clean thus signaling the ending his morning habit of cleaning the entire warehouse, Shishido made the silver-haired boy come with him outside to gather firewood. It was one of the only chances he had of being with the teen alone (contrary to what he thought, everyone was more than happy to help out with whatever Ohtori was doing, despite all the teen's insistence that he was fine doing it by himself and that they don't have to worry about him—Shishido-san was always there with him, after all. It made the capped boy even more 'annoyed').

Shishido was busy bundling up a stack of drift wood when he heard Ohtori asking "Shishido-san, what's that over there?" as he curiously pointed at an abandoned train station.

Shishido held back a scoff. "That used to be a train station."

"A train station?" Ohtori repeated, obviously delighted and confused about the infrastructure.

"Yeah." Then Shishido remembered how the other teen was clueless about everything not related to house-making (which was still one of the main reasons Shishido found him suspicious). Before Ohtori could ask, Shishido anticipated his next question and said "A train is a moving vehicle used to bring people from one place to another. A train station is where it stops for people to ride in or get off on. That used to be the stop for the outskirt of the southern city."

"Can we come see it?" Ohtori looked even more impressed. Shishido almost found it endearing but quickly wiped the thought away.

"I guess we could." He supposed he could humor the boy once in a while. It's not like there was any train that Ohtori could use to escape in so that he could go back to those madmen that were so intent on capturing them. And with Shishido's knowledge of the terrain and speed, it was unlikely that Ohtori could flee from his sight.

Besides, he kinda felt like looking at the abandoned train station, too.

Twigs and dried leaves crackled as Shishido led Ohtori towards the platform. Their shoes gave soft patting sounds on the cracked cement floor as the capped boy gave a small tour of what was left of the station.

There was no train parked on the rusting rails, but Ohtori was no less delighted in seeing a faded picture posted at one of the walls. Afterwards, they settled themselves on the waiting chairs, the fixtures creaking under the weight.

Silence had settled when Shishido suddenly spoke up with an off-hand comment. "I used to always ride this train."

Ohtori was surprised but tried to keep his voice leveled. It wasn't often that the other boy would talk willingly to him. "Really, Shishido-san?"

"Yeah." Shishido adjusted in his seat and the metals groaned some more. "None of the people at the warehouse actually lived there before. It used to be the storage area for a preserved goods factory, with a few rooms upstairs for the owner's family."

He was confused at first, but Ohtori finally managed to understand that they were talking about the warehouse they were currently residing in and the history of the young residents.

"Some of them came from the city," Shishido continued. "Some used to live even further. Anyway, my house was just a few blocks away from here—that's why I know how to get around, used to go out a lot and stuff—but the closest school was at the city, so everyday I had to ride the packed train if I didn't want to be late. I hated getting squeezed in between hundreds of people but there was no way I was going to ride my bike all the way to school." Shishido scratched the tip of his nose as he remembered the restricted feeling. Not cool at all.

Ohtori, fingering the hem of his shirt, couldn't even imagine that many people cramped inside the tiny looking train (at least, the train in the picture looked quite tiny). In fact, he couldn't imagine that many people existing at all. He thought the people inside the warehouse were plenty enough.

Where did all those people come from? And more importantly, if there were so many, how come Ohtori hadn't seen any other person? "Where did they go?" Ohtori quietly asked.

"Who? The people? Some went to school, I guess. There were other students there, too; college kids, middleschoolers, elementary students who also studied at the city. Most of the passengers were businessmen off to work, though." Shishido shrugged. He can almost imagine the scenario again, with the train beeping as a few daring kids in their sleek uniforms (that would obviously be rumpled soon enough) squeezed their way in just at the metal doors clanked shut, eliciting grumbles from those already inside.

Ohtori meekly shook his head. "No, I meant… where are they now?"

Shishido shifted in his seat to look at Ohtori, his previous mental picture easily blown off by Ohtori's question and was quickly replaced by the grim reality of a train platform barren of any whistling security personnel constantly warning passengers to stay behind the red caution line or of people pushing at each other when the train eased into a full stop to let them in. "Why are you asking me this?" he practically hissed, his eyes looking steely.

"I'm sorry," Ohtori said by reflex. He couldn't understand why Shishido was staring at him that way. Frankly, it scared him. "I didn't know I wasn't supposed to ask. I'm sorry, Shishido-san."

As he always did, Shishido ignored his apologies. With his voice sounding more venomous than usual he said, "Can't you remember anything?" Why don't you know? Shishido decided that was going to make him remember. "Oshitari said there's a good chance you came from the town northward from here. There used to be this famous theme park there, every kid knows about it, and if you lived there you would have at least visited once or twice. Think, Choutarou," it was the first time Ohtori heard Shishido call him personally, but all the silver-haired boy could reflect on was what Shishido was trying to make him recall. He did not understand what Shishido was trying to get at with his sudden shift in topic. "Bright, colorful lights all around the park. The repeating music you knew was annoying but you can't help singing along with. Screaming people riding the fast rides. Carnival food. People everywhere. Freakish clowns and magicians."

Only a blank image came. Ohtori guiltily looked at his lap. His finger continued to listlessly fiddle with his shirt. "I can't… I don't remember, Shishido-san…"

"You don't remember that? Well, how about the school there? Unless you're a recluse, you'd have to remember going to school. Actually, that school's famous, too—they had this rep for having the brightest and most athletic kids around. I went there once for a tournament, and they had these amazing facilities." Shishido's voice was getting louder and more strained. "They had an indoor and outdoor pool, more than five tennis courts, volleyball courts, basketball courts, everything! And someone said the library was filled with tall shelves and all kinds of books. The music rooms had all the instruments for a complete orchestra—pianos, flutes, harps. I heard them practicing, and even though I'm not really good when it comes to music and stuff like that, I knew they were good."

"Pianos?" he repeated, only half-registering Shishido's words. Everything that Shishido was spouted only seemed to fly through Ohtori's head. Shishido's descriptions only served to confuse him more. Why was Shishido so angry?

"Yeah. Ring a bell?" Shishido was almost hopeful that Ohtori recognized the instrument. He unconsciously began gripping the edge of his seat.

"Not really…" Ohtori grimaced as he didn't even know what a piano was. It just sounded… interesting.

Shishido stopped himself from sighing as he released his hold, letting his knuckles return their previous color. He still had one more thing left to say. If this didn't get Ohtori's mind running and finally remembering what he should, then he didn't know what would.

"How about this, then. There was a huge church there, too." He glanced at Ohtori's face before reaching out to grip the item hanging from his neck. "This necklace you're wearing, my brother had one, too. He told me it was only given to those who helped out a lot inside the church. He said the necklaces were specially made to look like the one worn by the patron saint of the city."

"I-I…"

Shishido released the necklace and gave a laugh that made Ohtori shudder. "You still don't remember? But you wanna know about where everyone went to, right?"

Ohtori stayed silent. He wished he hadn't carelessly thought of asking in the first place, especially if this was the kind of reaction he got from his companion. Just when he thought he was finally getting to Shishido's good side, it hurt Ohtori to think that his stupid words had only led him farther away from his guardian.

Shishido's voice when he finally spoke again felt cold to Ohtori's ears. "There was an epidemic. In just two days, it was as if everyone in the city suddenly caught the same illness and my brother had to stay in the church to nurse all of the other people who no longer fit in the hospital. I remember him calling us at home, asking if anyone had been fainting without reason and gagging brown-blue phlegm. Of course at that time we had no idea what he was talking about, but the way he sounded on the phone we got real worried. Mom was about to tell him to go back home when the line got cut off…"

"What happened?" Ohtori managed to breathe out. He didn't miss the rueful look on Shishido's face, and once again he wished he would stop with all his stupid questions.

"He fainted. He got sick, too." Shishido closed his eyes, and Ohtori found himself looking away from Shishido's hurt expression. Ohtori didn't have the right to witness such a face and sympathize, not when he understood that he should have known what Shishido and experienced the same things he has. Ohtori really willed himself to remember, hoping that he could at least share the pain. Nothing came.

He almost didn't realize that Shishido was talking again. "…People tried to leave the city in hopes of escaping the epidemic or trying to find a cure elsewhere. They only made the situation worse. 'Cause it happened so fast and without any warning at all, no one knew how to deal with it. Soon, people were literally dropping dead on the streets… In less than a month, this," Shishido blindly flourished his hand over the expanse of land. "This is what you get."

A thick and long pause hanged between them.

Deciding that he couldn't take such an atmosphere any longer, Shishido ran a hand through his hair and said in a less angry tone, "If you can't remember any of that, then... maybe you really do have amnesia…" He titled his head up, covering his already closed eyes with his shaking palm. "I know I just want to forget everything..."

Ohtori sneaked a look at Shishido and saw the way he bit his lower lip, as if in a mental battle with himself. "I… I'm sorry Choutarou…" Ohtori almost didn't catch the older boy's whispered apology.

He wanted to ask why the other was apologizing when Ohtori saw no reason for it, but his throat felt dry and he couldn't make a sound.

It seemed he didn't need to say anything, though, as Shishido seemed to be uncharacteristically talkative today. "It was because of that necklace you were wearing, and along everything else that piled up inside my head... All I could think of was that it was somehow your fault, and I know it wasn't fair, but when everyone seemed to just not care how weird it was with you waltzing right in with that lame dog, and then being so nice and close to everyone…"

What was Shishido trying to get to now? Ohtori was sincerely confused.

"It was really suspicious, you know? Call me paranoid, but it was really suspicious!" Then with a disgruntled sound, Shishido took of his hat and proceeded to rough-up his hair. He was probably just as confused with himself as Ohtori was. "Just, I'm sorry, okay? My head wasn't really clear—maybe everything just got to me too easily—but I didn't really have to release my frustrations on you. I mean… I guess I should tell you that the younger kids at the warehouse have it, too."

So, Shishido was apologizing for acting mean because he thought Ohtori was suspicious and he shouldn't have acted mean when Ohtori was just like the others? Was that it? But Ohtori didn't find his companion mean at all! So instead, he tried to guess what he had that the other kids had, too. Shishido said something earlier and Ohtori tried to recall what it was…

"Amnesia?"

"Yeah. It's when you forget about things that happened before, the people you've met, the places you've been to… your own name. Kabaji didn't know anything before the time he met Keigo, and that was—according to Oshitari—when he was fifteen, four years before the epidemic. Hiyoshi only remembers stuff from up to two years before it, and Kintarou only knew his name and a few people from his village."

"Why?"

"Who knows? It could be from anything; trauma, a bump in the head. The point is, we all survived, but you know what? I can't even call myself lucky that I lived." He heaved a sharp sigh. "I didn't ask to be spared. Everyone at the warehouse, we're all wondering what we had in common. There must be something that saved us from getting infected. We tried thinking about it, but then we realized; what good would it do? It's not like we can save any more people. We'd be better off using our brains to figure out how to survive for another day. We're all that we've got left, after all…" He paused for a while, and when he did talk again, his voice was softer, reflecting his emotion. "And I guess the same goes for you… We're all that you have left now, Choutarou."

"Shishido-san… Y-you're making it sound as if I had to settle with everyone just because I have nowhere else to go. That's not true!" A quivering voice said.

The capped boy turned to see a teary-eyed Ohtori. He raised an eyebrow.

"It's not like that at all! Right now, being able to stay with you and everyone else is more than anything I could want. With everyone… I have more than anything I ever had." With that, a tear fell from his eyes and Ohtori fumbled to wipe it off.

Stunned for a moment, Shishido lightly hit the top of Ohtori's head with the back of his hand. "I knew you'd be a big cry-baby." He gave Ohtori a small smirk. "Who would've thought that you could say more than 'I'm sorry' or 'Can I help you with that'? …Though it's kinda lame when you think about what you just said. I mean, 'more than anything you ever had'? Even having a stick would be more than you ever had! All you could remember was from when you woke up by the river where the damned dog found you." He chuckled, showing that he didn't mean to offend Ohtori with his words. He was just trying to lighten up the mood. Ohtori could sense this and as he realized that he thought of Shishido even more highly now, he laughed along with him.

From their seats, they can see the sky was beginning to get even darker and they decided the firewood they collected should be enough for them to bring home, but none of them wanted to leave yet.

"Do you know what's weird, Choutarou?" Shishido asked, startling Ohtori.

"Huh? Weird? Oh, um. What's weird, Shishido-san?"

"Everyone at the warehouse came from different cities and towns. Before this whole thing happened, none of us knew each other."

"Really? Then, how did they end up here?"

Shishido shrugged. "Almost the same way you did."

"They drifted from the rivers?"

"I said almost," Shishido scoffed. "You're the only one who got discovered in the weirdest way and time possible."

"...Oh."

"Yeah. Anyway, they travelled by foot for months across towns and forests, only stopping when they felt tired. It didn't matter if they were in the middle of the trees. When everything's dead, you don't really get scared of being eaten by wild animals anymore."

"What about zombies? Weren't there any zombie attacks? The dead people rose and moved and… And they ate human flesh, right, Shishido-san?" Ohtori held the cross charm in mild panic.

"What?" Shishido looked at the silver-haired boy incredulously. "Who told you that?"

"Gakuto-san. He said he had to beat down several of them before!"

"Don't listen to that idiot. He was just trying to scare you and show off."

"...Oh." Ohtori looked relieved. "How did everyone end up here in your town, Shishido-san?"

Again, Shishido shrugged. "Dunno. If you looked at a map, there'd be three main cities and this town at the center. The disease started in what we assumed to be your city, but it was the guys who lived the farthest away from here that started to leave their places. It was really weird, actually. They said they weren't really looking for other survivors or for food. 'I just felt like I needed to go somewhere,' they all said. Freaky, right? Then, at every other place, they would find the others, get more supplies from the town and start moving again. I sorta had the same feeling, but unlike them, I just moved here alone. I was really surprised when I suddenly saw them."

Ohtori looked like he was deep in thought. "…Shishido-san."

"Yeah?"

"I… I think I had that same feeling, too."

xOxOx

"It's your damn fault!"

"The hell?! It's your empty head that lost the container!"

"Are you asking for a fight?!"

"Momoshiro, Kaido, stop your squabbling this instant. Have you located the last seraph?" Chinen ordered, effectively sending shivers down the quarreling duo's spine. Behind him was another man in a labcoat.

"Yeah, we did!" Momoshiro proudly exclaimed.

"Good. Was he still in his case?" Kai, the other scientist, asked.

Kaido hissed nervously. "Yes, he was still asleep at the church, like Inui said."

"Finally, another seraph has been located. After releasing the virus to locate all twenty-one seraphs, seven years later we've only managed to gather five more, one of which you two lost." Chinen eyed Momoshiro, who laughed nervously, and Kaido, who gulped.

"And those five seraphs tried escaping countless times, too," Kai commented.

"At least we were able to calm them with the serums. The blue-eyed seraph was especially hard to control."

"But really, who on earth would have thought that it'd be so difficult to locate the only other living creatures in this god-forsaken place?" Kai laughed at his own joke before looking at the duo, expecting them to show to him the archangel. When the two refused to move, he exasperatedly said, "Well? Where is he?"

"Um… He fell into the river…" Momoshiro sheepishly said before shouting 'it was his fault!' and pointing at Kaido who immediately got ready to attack.

Chinen put his clipboard—and various other instruments on hand—to good use.

xOxOx

"I felt it, too," Ohtori said, sounding more confident this time. "I felt like I had to go somewhere. And when I saw Shishido-san and everyone else, I felt like I was where I belonged!"

Shishido chuckled. "But you still don't remember anything, don't you?"

"No." Ohtori shook his head. "And there was this other feeling that I had, Shishido-san."

"Really? What is it?" Shishido asked, genuinely curious about what Ohtori was saying.

"I can't describe it so well, but it feels like my body's a bit hotter and I," Ohtori struggled for a word, "I feel funny."

"Maybe you're sick?" Shishido tried. Then, he placed his hand over Ohtori's forehead to see if the boy had a fever. "Feels normal."

Ohtori blushed. "I'm having that feeling again, Shishido-san."

"Hm? Really?" Shishido stared at Ohtori's face, hand still on the boy's forehead. "You're not sick from too much work, are… you…?" His last words came out in a low voice when he realized he was feeling a bit funny, too. But unlike Ohtori, he had a name for the sensation. "I think you're annoyed," he told Ohtori before quickly keeping his hands back to himself. "Your heart beats a bit faster, and you feel irritated when there are too much people around you, and you just feel the urge to… do something."

"Yes, sort of," Ohtori nodded, though he wasn't sure about the 'irritated' part. He liked being with the other survivors, it's just that when Shishido looked like he wanted being with them more, and when he'd almost ignore Ohtori… that's when he felt a bit irritated, if not sad.

"You're annoyed, then," Shishido repeated his diagnosis, but not without doubting his own words. He knew Ohtori wasn't the kind who'd feel any resentment towards anyone.

"Or perhaps it could be that you're in love," a smooth voice spoke from behind them.

Two blushing teenagers spun their heads around to see an amused Oshitari. "I could imagine Choutarou not knowing how to call it, but you, Shishido, you're not the one who lost his memory. Honestly, it's as if you haven't been through puberty at all."

Oshitari smirked at the irate Shishido before leaning down closer to Choutarou. "Let Oshitari-sensei tell you what you're experiencing, shall we? Your stomach would be all aflutter when you and Shishido are alone. You want him by your side every single moment, and when you are apart you have a sense of incompleteness. You enjoy listening to his voice and are content with having him within your sight, though at times you wish he had been closer. You can't stand it when he feels upset with you. In short, everything he does—no—his very being affects you, in a positive, inexplicable way, of course."

Ohtori kept nodding to Oshitari's every point, thoroughly amazed.

Even more amused, Oshitari tilts Ohtori's chin up with his forefinger and whispers, "So I'm right, am I?... And then you..." He looks at Shishido without moving his head away from the silver-haired boy. "You are feeling 'annoyed' again, aren't you? Jealousy is what it's called, Shishido. Though I suppose annoyance plays a part, too."

Shishido snorted before pulling down the bill of his hat and crossing his arms in front of his chest.

Oshitari chuckled as he released Ohtori. "What you are both feeling, Choutarou, is certainly called 'love', I can assure you that. It is an emotion greater than liking someone. Such a blissful feeling that is. Unfortunately, I must act as your antagonist once again and end your date for now. Choutarou is being called; the kitchen needs him."

Shishido grumbled about lame, annoying idiots who couldn't cook for themselves, but nevertheless, he followed after the other two who were already on their way back.

The small amount of light coming from the hiding sun guided them along the rocky path. When its last traces had disappeared, an overwhelming pain shot through their heads and they screamed in pain.

At the warehouse and inside the scientists' laboratory, a number of people experienced the same ordeal.

Another minute had passed before the pain receded and they opened their eyes. Then, as though in an enlightened trance, they began moving towards a single location.

It was finally time for all the seraphs to be gathered.

xOxOx

"What's so important about those sheriffs anyway?" Momo grumbled while he and Kaido were inside the sick bay getting treated for the injuries the scientists gave them.

"It's seraphs, you idiot, not sheriffs," Kaido hissed as he applied bandages to himself.

"Whatever," Momoshiro hissed as well, though his reason for doing so was from the sting he got from the antiseptic. "The guy in the container looked pretty normal to me. I mean, his hair color's pretty weird and he's still alive after that killer virus was released, sure, but we did, too."

Kaido shook his head. "It's because we were given the medicine to survive it. We're their henchmen, you idiot. Someone has to do their dirty work."

"Yeah, I'd like to see them go around the whole of Japan looking for a people that were supposed to be alive. It took me a year before I stopped gagging at the sight of those dead bodies!" Momoshiro exclaimed. "I really don't get what's so important about them."

Kaido shrugged. They were never informed about what they were looking for, after all. Their only task was to search and retrieve those who were left alive.

"It's because they're special," a voice said. It was the sick bay's doctor, Hirakoba. "Seraphs are angelic beings of the highest order of the celestial hierarchy."

"A-angels?!" Momoshiro sputtered. "Like, with wings and the whole coming from heaven deal?! No way! They don't look like angels, if you ask me. Especially that small brat with the hat! He wasn't even nice. Not nice at all! And the burgers he stole from my tray!"

Hirakoba rolled his eyes. "And I bet your idea of angels would be girls with blond hair, white skin and innocent voices? Well, too bad for you, all angels are male. There was an old tale about seraphs being sent to earth thousands of years ago. They were inside glass cases that couldn't be broken and only when it was their time to awaken do those containers open. Ten years ago, Kite discovered an awakened seraph in his town. The hyperactive red-head."

"Eiji—I mean, Kikumaru? No way!" Momoshiro shouted in disbelief. Kaido looked at Momoshiro like he was some freak who was high on drugs.

"He's got amazing reflexes and a speed faster than any normal human being. But like most normal people who were as energetic as him, he had low stamina. Qualities like that made them blend in with the rest of the population. They were either treated normally or, with their extra-ordinary capabilities, they were treated with reverence."

"That's why the boy in the church was the patron saint," Kaido said.

"Yes. He had not awakened, but his presence inspired the citizens to act even more respectful, more helpful, and more diligent. In effect, the city was quite famous."

The only thing Momoshiro knew the place was famous for was the huge theme park. They served the best carnival food!

"Kite wanted to study more about these fantastic beings but for that, he needed to have the seraphs at his disposal. His town would not let him—he was known as a mad scientist, you see. So for years he tried searching for other seraphs to use, but as I said, it was difficult. When he found nothing, he returned to his town with a devastating sense of anger."

"Then what? What did he do?!"

"He killed everyone by putting poison in their water system."

Kaido's eyes widened. Momoshiro gave an audible gasp.

"Coincidentally, it was only the seraph who had survived. It gave Kite the idea that the seraphs could survive anything, a hypothesis that he soon experimented on and proved. Kikumaru Eiji lived through every single test.

"It was then that he developed the fast-spreading virus that was used for the epidemic, along with the medicine that would help normal beings become immune to it. After the virus was released, all that was left would be to collect all the seraphs for experimentation. That, gentlemen, is our goal and the reason we are still alive today."

"Wait a minute," Kaido interrupted the man as he was ending his story. "How did you know all this?!"

"It was given at the orientation seminar during the development of the institution," Hirakoba said off-handedly. "Actually, everyone knows Kite's story. I was just trying to stifle my laughing at your cluelessness."

Before Momoshiro and Kaido could beat Hirakoba up, another henchman opened the door. "What? You two, what are you still doing here?! The alarm's gone off! Code blue!"

"Code blue! Holy crap, it's a code blue!" Momoshiro panicked.

"You don't know what it stands for, don't you?" The doctor sighed.

Kaido hissed. "It means the seraphs have escaped, you idiot!"

"I know what it means!" Momoshiro said defensively before grinning. "It means we get to use the motorbikes! Woohoo!"

xOxOx

"Shiraishi-san! Shiraishi-san!" Ohtori shouted as they reached the rooftop of the warehouse. "I remember now! I remember everything!"

"Yeah! That's right! That's right! We remember now, too!" Kintarou joined Ohtori in his glee by bouncing all around the rooftop. "And I know everything now! Can you believe it? We're angels! We have special powers, which are all different! And, and, starting from fourteen years ago, just one of us would wake up every year. Shiraishi was in this clear coffin looking thing while he was a kid my age before people found him and he woke up. I was in a glass thingy, too! That's why I didn't know anything about me being a kid—'cause I was never one! I woke up like this. That's so cool. It's unfair, though, Kabaji and Gin got to be babies and grew up like woah! Really, really fast. Then, I learned about Koshimae! He's riding these cool motorbikes while ugly looking guys are chasing him right now. He looks really fun to play with. I wish he wasn't at the laboratory where you were supposed to be taken to. But I'm glad God made you fall into the river, I wouldn't have gotten to eat those yummy foods. Oh! And I know about you, too! Chou-chan's the last one to wake up! And you and Shishido-chan like each other!" Kintarou laughed.

"It's Echizen, Kintarou, not Koshimae," Shiraishi told him as he calmed Kintarou down by unrolling the bandages in his arms. "The others are on their way here as we speak, so it would be best if you took your place now."

Chotuarou and Shishido quickly nodded, but not before Shishido gave the young redhead a glare.

As soon as they found their place in the drawn seal with the rock altar—Shishido tried not to care about how Keigo sat in the middle of it looking all high and mighty—the metal doors banged open and in came the remaining seraphs. When the laboratory henchmen arrived, they were able to do nothing but serve as witnesses to the exceptional event.

Once the last person had stepped in to complete the circle, a blast of light came down from the heavens, bathing the altar and the dog proudly sitting on it with red flames. The same light illuminated upon Shishido's body, changing his form. Broad wings emerged from his back, his new clothes were stained white, and a halo shone above his head. The person to his left underwent through the same transformation, and one by one, they changed forms until finally, it was Ohtori's turn.

Shishido reached out and held the silver-haired boy's hand. "Are you ready, Choutarou?"

"Yes, Shishido-san!" White light descended upon him. Not a second had passed after the ring above his head glowed a persistent gold when Keigo emerged from his fiery pit and with a trail of cracking dust, quickly spread the blinding light all-throughout the planet.

A silent explosion occurred as soon as the revolution was completed. Everything turned black.

xOxOx

A deep yet calm voice rose above the darkness with an order that could not be swayed.

God said, "Let there be light."

And there was light.