Firecracker: The 99th Games Book One

Arena, Night 8 Part 1

Aoi barely registered the beeping of their second sponsor package of the day as it drifted down from the clouds. She had been utterly silent, crying quietly and trapped in a state of shock, since Madoka's death.

It was a miracle Cerys had been able to keep them from going over the cliff. Somehow, working together, they had managed to inch along the cliff until Aoi could be gently lowered onto the crumbling stairs. With her relative safety assured, they continued moving until Naoki could flip himself back right-side up without risking falling to his death, and he had carried Aoi up the stairs back to Cerys before collapsing in a heap.

It was now early afternoon. Aoi's and Cerys's injuries left them worse for wear, but somehow, Aoi didn't much mind that she was dying of blood loss.

Naoki again retrieved their sponsor package. Reading the label, he sat with the others and opened the lid, expression forlorn.

The first thing he pulled out was an ornate cross necklace decorated in purple. Sniffling, Naoki held it to his chest, then gently lay it on Aoi's. Aoi, barely alert, rested one trembling hand on top of it.

Oni. We lost Oni.

We lost Madoka...we couldn't fulfil her final wish...what have we done...?

The next things Naoki pulled out, aside from a note he placed in his lap for the moment, were a spool of white thread and a sewing kit.

"Why...?" Naoki whispered, checking the note. "...H-ha. I...I-I see."

"For stitches...?" Cerys guessed, his voice low and oddly exhausted. He seemed different, somehow; Aoi guessed losing the child he had personally sworn to protect right after Aoi attacked his childhood friend had taken a major toll on him.

Ha...I didn't even follow her pleas not to blame someone else.

Hey, Oni...I'm sorry I'm such a failure.

"They must have noticed she needs them," Naoki murmured. Aoi watched him unwind some thread out of the corner of her eyes before looking back at the sky.

She was so tired. So cold. Since when was it this cold...?

A drop of rain fell from the sky on her forehead. Aoi flinched.

This felt...fitting, somehow.

"Rain," Cerys muttered. "Let's...l-let's move into a cave for now, to escape the rain."

"Can you handle the backpacks?" Naoki asked quietly. "I will carry Aoi."

"We will find out," Cerys said.

As the rain steadily grew heavier, Naoki carried Aoi into the nearest cave, placed her on the floor, and returned to help Cerys collect the rest of their supplies. Finally, once they were settled in for the night, Naoki set up his needle and thread and gently pulled Aoi's shirt up to expose the injury below her ribs.

Aoi flinched, fingers twitching.

"I'm sorry, dear heart," Naoki murmured. "This...th-this is going to hurt. A lot. I'm afraid I...do not have another choice if I wish to help you."

Cerys pulled off his jacket, holding the sleeve over Aoi's mouth. "You can bite down on this. I'll hold your hand. Squeeze as hard as you must."

"Are you alright?" Naoki asked worriedly.

Cerys smiled bitterly. "I could be far better. But I am not bleeding too much, thankfully. I will be alright with bandages."

"I'll apply those once I finish with her," Naoki assured. For the first time, Aoi picked up on how listless and monotone his voice sounded; it was clear he and Cerys were forcing themselves to keep going in the wake of their loss.

...Some leader I turned out to be, huh...?

When the needle pierced her skin, Aoi recoiled involuntarily, yelling in pain. Cerys quickly placed his jacket on her neck and grabbed her hand, and Aoi moved the sleeve of the jacket to chomp down on it to keep from biting her tongue.

She squeezed Cerys's hand for dear life, uttering cries of anguish every so often as Naoki worked on her wound with a singular focus.

"I'm so sorry," Naoki whispered. "...I-I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry, Aoi, I'm so sorry..."

Aoi quickly realized he was apologizing for more than just his impromptu sutures. Crying quietly, she felt for his arm, squeezing it in reassurance.

...I see now. I...I was wrong from the start. We were the ones who needed protecting.

We were so weak. So weak, so slow, so stupid...

...But...miraculously, because of their sacrifices, we're still here. You didn't abandon me as soon as we lost Madoka. You're still here, even though I failed all of those kids and I failed you.

She clung desperately to Cerys as the procedure continued, in sobs by the time Naoki finally readjusted her shirt and placed his sewing kit aside, instead searching through their backpacks for a first aid kit.

"Don't move around too much for a while," Naoki urged her. "Those are very rudimentary. They'll...they'll do to keep you alive, but..."

Aoi nodded, removing Cerys's jacket from her mouth and gripping the cross necklace. Cerys held on to her hand, stroking the back of it with his thumb.

"...They sent us that necklace as a memorial for both Oni and Madoka," Naoki said quietly. "...I...I-I'm sorry it is the first they sent me."

Aoi shook her head, finally more alert now that the agony of her sudden surgery had jolted her into reality.

"...I-I'm sorry," she whispered. "I...I-I was just...so angry at myself for failing them."

"...I know, dear," Naoki murmured, laying his hand over hers for a moment before pulling out a gauze pad and some bandages. "...I-I wish I had been faster. I should have done more to save him."

"We all did what we could," Cerys insisted. He hesitated; for the first time, Aoi swore she saw tears welling in his eyes. When he spoke again, his voice was depressingly raw. "...Right...?"

Aoi's face crumpled. Suddenly desperate for company, she reached out to pull Naoki into a hug, tugging Cerys closer by the hand. The three embraced on the floor of the cave, sniffling and weeping in staggered breaths.

All of their walls finally dissolved. Isolated in their cave, hidden by the rain, the three de facto adults broke down like children, holding each other close.

If nothing else, despite her miserable failures, Aoi wasn't alone.