A Strange New World (Saiouma Post-Apocalyptic AU)

5

The back entrance was around the other side of the school, behind an impressively large and long-abandoned playground. Kokichi pulled it open and yanked him inside the second the door was open enough to fit through.

They were in what looked to be a closet, which was completely dark, besides sunlight streaming in through a small window above the door. There were shelves all down the walls stacked with cleaning products, tools, paint cans, and random junk Shuichi didn't recognize. There was a stack of broken chairs in the corner. He had no idea why there was a door that lead outside in a janitor's closet, but he didn't question it.

After fastening a series of complex locks and deadbolts and sliding a bar through the door handle as extra protection, Kokichi opened the other door in the room across from the one that led outside. "Come on. I'll introduce you to everyone."

He followed him, observing the first floor. It extended into a long hallway, another one directly adjacent that stretched off to his right. It was lined with lockers, many of which were broken, dented, covered in graffiti or dirt, or open, and the floor was littered with debris. There were several doors at regular intervals that presumably led to classrooms. The lights were all off, or more likely, no longer functional.

It didn't look promising. If anything, it appeared just as abandoned and depressing as everything else. 

"We mostly stay on the second floor. Whatever ransacked this place left it mostly untouched. Staircase is down this way." He gestured with a nod towards the second hallway, and started walking in that direction. 

He trailed behind him, eager to meet the others, but still nervous. He didn't know anything about them, and Kokichi's description didn't seem all that reliable. He wasn't the most useful person, and how to contribute to the survival of an entire colony was far over his head. And, when it came down to it, he was eager to just be left alone. 

He wordlessly led him up the stairs and down yet another hall to a pair of double doors. The sign over it had once read "Cafeteria", but it had been scribbled out with permanment marker, and on the wall below it, someone had written in childish handwriting "Dining Room". Shuichi imagined it was Kokichi's doing.

The minute they stepped inside the spacious room, which was filled with tables- only one of which had chairs pulled up to it, the rest piled in a corner- Kokichi tossed his bag onto a table. He then shrugged off his cloak and mask, stretching his arms above his head.

Underneath the cloak, which he somehow wore on the whole walk back through the unberable heat, he wore a pair of black basketball shorts, worn red sneakers, and mismatched socks. One of them came up to just below his knee and was purple, the other white and considerably shorter. He had on plain white T-shirt with several splotches, tears and stains on it, a black belt wrapped around his waist over the shirt for whatever strange reason. A torn checkered bandana was tied around his neck. There were bandages neatly wound around several areas including his right knee, left elbow, and both arms, and several band-aids. He also walked with a slight limp, which hadn't been very visible previously.

"Oi! Kirumi!" He yelled, cupping his hands around his mouth.

Mere seconds after the call, another pair of doors opened and someone walked out, their pace calm and measured but still somewhat urgent.

She was a tall girl, and at first glance, it'd be easy to mistake her for an adult. She had short desaturated green hair that was quite neat and trimmed, which covered one of her eyes. She had on a grey tank top over a white blouse and a torn dark grey skirt that looked to have once been a lot longer, as well as a pair of chunky combat boots. She stared at Kokichi, seeming to not notice Shuichi standing beside him.