Are We Alive?

Nineteen: White Lilac

White Lilac-Youthful innocence.

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After losing Torako, the group moved out. They'd been planning to leave for a couple weeks now. They'd found a fully working truck and looted gas and gathered supplies. They got super lucky that the shooter hadn't hit the truck's gas tank. The situation could've ended up a lot worse. Kinzou could've been, at the least, hurt severely and permanently handicapped. Pieces of the truck could've pierced the house and hurt the kids.

Rin was thankful they hadn't lost everything. They went by the camp of his and Marshal's captors one last time to raid it for supplies before taking off in a convoy of vehicles. Rin led said convoy on a Motorcycle with Ryuji sitting right up against his back, arms wrapped around his boyfriend's middle. Kinzou, Yukio, Izumo, Tsukumo, Sachi, Shiemi, and Shura were all packed into a navy blue minivan behind them, then Marshal driving a Jeep with all the meat and milk they'd gotten from the farm animals, Chelsea on that wild horse that wasn't so wild anymore, and behind them was Shima, Konekomeru, and more supplies in an old Ford Fusion that was an ugly shade of seafoam green.

Rin was desperately hoping he wouldn't flare up at the wrong time while riding with Ryuji. Over the last week, the flares of heat had gotten frighteningly frequent. They were small, compared to the meltdown back in the field right before the tornado. But they were noticeable enough for Rin to worry.

Riding a motorcycle with no traffic to slow him down and his boyfriend right there with him was satisfying, though it would've been even better with Izumo riding with them. He suddenly had the image of Izumo crammed in a small sidecar next to them and snickered. "What's funny?" Ryuji asked in his ear. Rin shivered at how much the man was pressed up against him. He could feel the teen's body heat like a sixth sense.

"Just thought of something funny." He responded, going even faster to feel the cool wind against his face.

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They stopped on the side of the road so Rin, Shura, and Shima could hunt for dinner. Rin scored a young buck and found some wild blueberries and dandelions. He could make something out of that. He could carve the antlers into weapons. And he could get Shura to make some kind of clothing from the hide of the deer. Maybe he could get a dress for Sachi out of it? Or a coat for Tsukumo.....

As he pondered what could be made out of the buck's skin, he heard a whistle that didn't blend in with the birds chirping in the trees. He listened for it again and took off in the direction it came from.

"Rin! Over here! Shima found something!" Shura told him excitedly. She was holding open a hatch. He looked down inside the opening and saw Shima give a huge grin, holding up two big cans of baked beans. Rin stared down at him and the cans in betrayal and disgust and that grin only seemed to grow wider.

"Are there any more cans?" He asked shortly. Shima cackled like an evil Disney witch and disappeared for a minute before he brought back two cans-tropical fruit mix and peaches. Rin sighed in relief. "How many cans are down there and how big?" He pressed.

"Uh, lemme see." The boy disappeared back into the bunker and after a few minutes of Rin and Shura playing rock paper scissors to pass the time, he came back to the opening. "There's enough for us to eat healthy portions of every meal for a week and a half here, dude! It's mostly fruit, green beans, creamed corn, and some little rings in red sauce called Spaghetti-O's." He called up. "Woah, shit, did you say Spaghetti-O's?!" Shura jumped up. The boys looked at her weirdly. "You guys don't understand, we gotta give those to the kiddies! I used to love Spaghetti-O's when I visited America as a kid!" She told them seriously. "Ooookay. Guess the kids eat Spaghetti-O's tonight." Rin agreed.