Canary

Chapter 31: How Much Sand is in This Hourglass?

It was torture – waiting there at the lodge for the night to finally be over.

Using the boys' sleeping area, which was larger than the girls', they laid out all the injured and unconscious. Jiro was among them.

Her arm was really hurting now.

She'd taken off her jumper – Siren now resting on a pillow beside her – and her arm had been wrapped in a sling that Mr Aizawa had strung up the moment he returned.

Looking around, she could see far too many of class B, fast asleep with that poison in their veins. But not everyone had returned yet – or been returned. Jiro hated to think that some of them still lay somewhere in the forest as the fire raged on around them.

She really hoped Canary was ok – and the others too. But she had left him behind... Well, he left her behind, technically. She had run back to camp after helping Canary deliver their messages to Mandalay – there was no way she could have been able to stop him. It was clear that when his mind became set on something, there was no turning back.

Mr Aizawa had just arrived again, carrying another unconscious student over to an unoccupied bed. Because class 1-B were all in the forest when the gas started, nearly all of them fell under its grips. The new arrival was Tetsutetsu – but he was conscious, just injured, like Jiro, and so was placed on her side of the room.

"What... happened?" Jiro questioned as Tetsutetsu was laid down in the bed to her right.

"Shot," he grumbled. "That bastard gas villain pulled a gun on me."

Her breath hitched – it was lucky that it had been Tetsutetsu. Anyone else would have been killed – but he was bulletproof.

"Who else is back?" pressed Jiro. She felt out of the loop – stuck in this make-shift infirmary.

"Kendo from class B," Mr Aizawa explained for Tetsutetsu. "The two of them defeated the –"

"Mr Aizawa!"

Jiro turned her head to see Uraraka in the doorway, breathing heavily. She could see Tsu and Kodai standing just behind her.

"Uraraka – what's wrong?" their teacher asked, quickly getting to his feet.

"I-It's Shinso," she stammered, "we can't get him to leave the f-forest."

"Dove," Jiro moaned. "Dove – where's Canary? Have you seen him?"

She didn't reply – why didn't she reply?

"Lead me to him," Mr Aizawa ordered, charging out of the room behind Uraraka and Asui. Kodai was the only one who stayed.

"Kodai..." Jiro called out.

The shy girl hurried over to her, after glancing around at all her fallen friends.

"Sup, Kodai?" Tetsutetsu said. "You're uninjured – that's good."

She nodded, clearly holding back tears.

"Sorry Kendo and I just left you with Shiozaki and Honenuki – but... they got back before you with Shishida apparently – where were you?"

She sniffed daintily, her eyes now settling on the sleeping bird at Jiro's side.

Jiro's eyes flickered between them, "Were you with Canary?" she guessed, pulling herself up into a sitting position, cradling her arm despite it being in a sling anyway.

Tears started spilling down Kodai's face as she nodded.

And Jiro's heart plummeted.

If Kodai was back and Canary wasn't... wait – no – if he was hurt then he would have been taking right here. Then why was he missing? Perhaps he was with Shinso – Uraraka had said something was wrong with him –