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"I DON'T HEAR ANY more gunfire." Arisu told the group, "We should be safe for a while."
"We can hide here." Usagi added.
"Good, I'm not quite done yet." Kuina nodded. She was using a cloth and some bottled water to clean the blood from Akuji's wounds. As she handed the rest of the water to Akuji for her to drink, she frowned, "I hope Chishiya's okay. And Ann, too."
"I'm sure they're fine. I mean, they're, like, super smart." Tatta reassured her.
"You're right." Arisu agreed. "But if we're staying here, we'll have to scavenge some supplies."
Usagi nodded, "Like water and food."
Kuina groaned and slumped in her seat, "Oh, man. This sucks. Do we have to?"
"C'mon, we gotta do it to survive." Akuji urged her, forcing herself onto unsteady legs. She stretched her back before pointing to Tatta, "You can come with us."
He looked around like a deer in headlights, "What–now?"
"The longer we wait, the more likely it is that he'll show up." Usagi pointed out.
"Let's go find some food." Arisu told Usagi.
"And I'll go find us a ride." Tatta announced. "There's a place near here."
Letting out a sigh, Kuina heaved herself onto her feet and told the duo, "We won't be long. You'd better bring back something good." She hooked her arm around Tatta's and when his mouth dropped open in surprise, she scoffed, "Let me guess. You've never had a hot girl on your arm before?"
"Sure I have. Shut up!" Tatta exclaimed although it didn't sound convincing, and Akuji followed them with a small, amused smile on her face.
𖤐
KUINA, AKUJI AND TATTA found the garage with ease. It was crammed full with cars of all shapes and sizes from lots of different eras in the world. It was extremely dark, however, so they could only see a few metres in front of them with their flashlights.
"Okay, this is the spot." Tatta told the two as they arrived, "Nice, right?"
"Yeah, nice. Lots of old cars. Cool." Kuina replied, not enthusiastic at all.
Akuji shrugged, remembering a fond memory from her childhood, "My dad used to sell cars. He didn't make a lot of money but he enjoyed it and that's what matters."
"Hey! They're not old, they're classic." Tatta scolded Kuina before turning to Akuji with a smile, "What was his shop called?"
Akuji giggled as she reminisced, "Funnily enough, it was called 'Chi's Classics'."
Tatta grinned wide, excited, "Oh, man. That sounds cool. I think I might have heard of it before."
"If so, that's good. It was only a small business." Akuji mused.
The group fell silent for a few moments as they inspected the cars. Suddenly, Tatta let out a squeal of excitement as he spotted a particularly interesting car. He rushed up to it and began to compliment it whilst Kuina groaned at his weird words — Akuji took this as her chance to break away from them and check the cars for supplies.
She doubted they had anything but she had to make sure. Akuji checked everywhere in the cars: around the seats, under the seats, even underneath the vehicle itself. She didn't find anything until she checked the glove compartment of a car.
Inside was two prizes for her. The first was a protein breakfast bar. She slipped it into her pocket, knowing it would not be needed or missed due to Arisu's and Usagi's food run. Then, she held up her second prize – a revolver. She checked the chamber to find out there were only four bullets.
"Hey, look at this!" Akuji called out. She held up the gun and pointed her flashlight on it so the other two individuals in the room could clearly see what it was.
"Hey!" Tatta exclaimed, instantly ducking behind a car. "What are you doing with that?"
Akuji chuckled and secured the gun into the waistband of her skirt, "Relax, it's not even cocked. I just found it. And I figured I should have a weapon – just in case."
Kuina hummed for a few moments before slowly nodding, "I suppose that makes sense. Just be extra careful and don't hurt yourself, yeah?"
"Of course!" Akuji nodded enthusiastically.
Eventually, Tatta reemerged from behind a car and he hesitantly looked around to make sure he wasn't about to be shot, then he got into the car he was cooing over earlier and started it up.
It was not long before the group had left the garage in their chosen car and were driving down the streets back to the mall.
However, before they could reach their safe place, they spotted two figures in the distance. It was Usagi and Arisu.
"Hey, get in!" Tatta called to them as the car pulled up beside them.
"We're exposed out here in this thing." Kuina groaned from the back seat. Even though Akuji had repeatedly said she didn't mind, Kuina still insisted that she should sit in the passenger seat so subsequently Kuina had to sit in the back.
Tatta shrugged, "It's the only one I could start."
Playfully rolling her eyes, Kuina scoffed, "You are such a liar. I watched you fall in love with it."
"Ahem!" Akuji said loudly, along with clearing her throat, to get everyone's attention. She pulled out the revolver she'd found earlier and showed it to her allies, "Usagi, Arisu, look. We might have a chance against the King."
Usagi smiled, although it was hesitant. She was clearly wondering if it was a good idea for a schoolgirl to be be carrying a gun.
"You can have it if you want." Akuji offered, handing it to her.
Shaking her head, Usagi hauled the bags of food in her hand into the car and got in herself as she said, "No, you should keep it. Everyone else has a way of surviving. Kuina has her martial arts, Tatta has his car for a getaway, I have my climbing and Arisu has his smarts."
Upon hearing his name, Arisu seemed to snap out of a trance he was in. He shook his head to clear it and climbed into the car as well, before they took off into the night.
AUTHOR NOTES this seems like a bit of a filler oops. also i realised that everyone addresses each other by their last names in the show but im not gonna do that with akuji lol
