Chapter Text
Momota stared at the mangled corpse by his feet.
“Is…is this it? Am I free now…?”
He couldn’t believe it, after all this time… the consequences of his own actions, his conscience bleeding black…Aha… hahaHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
SERVE YOU RIGHT, DETESTABLE COMPANION. YOU EARNED THIS YOURSELF!
His whole frame convulsed, trembled as it couldn’t contain the ecstasy, spilled out in form of fresh hot tears. “Ah… I should have done this long ago.”
…
His heavy eyelids lifted themselves with much struggle, allowing the faintest of light to enter.
Where was he? The man dug into his memories, only to realize it was empty. Nothing he could recall, not a single event, an image nor a face.
Then who was he? In a fit of panic, he questioned. Only a few words surfaced.
Kaito Momota.
That’s right. It’s his name. But other than that, everything else was blank.
He was tempted to stay motionless on the cold ground for a while, making sense of the situation, but nothing came up. Frustrated, Momota propped himself up to a sitting position. His joints creaked under the motion.
“Ah… Fuck. How long have I been lying down there?”
The groan reverberated in a closed space. Not much around could be made out. The light from an unknown source was barely enough to glisten the rocky surface all around.
Momota squinted and saw a door, almost invisible in the darkness right in front of him.
He circled through the place again, making sure not to miss anything. Determined that there was only one exit, Momota twisted the door knob.
A foul stench overwhelmed his senses on the other side. Instinctively, the man covered his nose. The onslaught was intense, Momota’s eyes almost watered and he resisted the urge to hurl.
“Argh! What the hell?!”
He traversed through the dirt, feelling grimmier by every step. There was so little sound it’s deafening. Along with the smell, Momota could only count each crunch his feet made on the soil to keep himself focused. Perhaps he had been lying in the previous room for a long time, because his muscles ached whenever he moved. Slowly, one foot ahead of the other.
Nothing was note-worthy until… a crunch doubled. Something shot right up his spine and Momota stiffly turned to where the additional sound came from.
There, deep within the black space, two white dots stared right back at him. A growl shook the still air for the first time, and despite just complaining about how quiet this place was, Momota certainly did not welcome this development.
The shadow lunged at him with an inhumane speed, baring its razor-sharp teeth. The frightened man managed to dodge it by the hairline and broke into a sprint. Soreness in his limbs disappeared, replaced by a rush of adrenaline. The creature’s distorted screech blew past his shoulder, but he paid no mind. All he could think of was to flee along the endless path ahead, hoping for an escape.
His prayer was answered when a glimmer of light was seen at the end of the route. Momota dashed right through it, stumbled to slam the door shut.
Something rammed straight to where he stood, following with a series of bangings, attempting to break through the metal barricade protecting its prey. The sheer force is enough for the earth below him to quake. Momota held his breath, praying this door was steady enough to keep them separated.
Thankfully, the attack eventually died down and only when he no longer heard a gust on the other side, Momota exhaled in relief and collapsed. His disorientated brain processed what just transpired. The monster, from a brief glance he caught before running for his life, did not resemble anything he had seen before. Not that Momota could remember seeing any animal, but his intuition could tell that horrendous thing was out of ordinary. Aside from its deadly claws and jaws, bare white eyes, it has a hunched, beastly form. Its fur was jet black like tar, devouring everything, not even light could escape. Yet, that form was also, eerily so,... humanoi-
“Oi! You are trespassing my territory, you know?”
Oh, so it's really him. finally woke up, huh?
Momota whips his head towards a chirpy voice behind him. There stood a young, petite lad with dark violet hair. His uniform, albeit clearly meant to be immaculately white, was ruffled and dotted with dirt. He did not miss a checkered scarf hanging on the boy’s neck as well, and the way he placed his hands on the hips, showing the uninvited guest who was the boss.
my, dumb-looking hair and goatee
“Don’t stare at me like that. So rude to treat someone just saved your life. Especially when you are invading my house too!”
Momota blinked once, twice, fixated on the fact there was indeed another human-being in this dampened place. He failed to see the boy approaching and waving at his face.
“Hello! Excuse you, I’m talking here. I just helped you out of trouble, can’t the man at least say a thanks?”
“...Whoa, what?” Momota just regained his senses. “You saved me?”
“Yeah, what else?”, the boy in white arched an eyebrow, “Why else would the door be open then? I needed to keep myself safe from that thing, too.”
“Oh, I see…”
“Then?”
“Uh… Thanks. I guess…” That second sentence made him sound like an ungrateful wretch, but he was too confused to express proper gratitude.
The smaller boy’s face twitched slightly, “man, I was expecting a more sincere ‘thank you’. Guess you are that rude. Whatever, at least give some proper introduction so I would know how to call you.”
“It’s uh…”, he scrambled for the name. “Kaito Momota.”
The young lad hummed, and said, “anything else I should know about?”
Again, Momota tried to pry from his crusted brain any other information, no result. “No. It’s the only thing I remember.”
“Hah? For real? You’re so stupid that you can’t even recall anything else? What degenerated memory is that?”
“Hey! Now you are the rude one! Nothing I can do against it!” Momota felt the urge to defend himself. “What about you then?”
“Unlike some peabrain, I have a fully functional memory”, the boy boasted.
“What's your name?”
“Kokichi Ouma.”
“And age?”
“Around 17.”
“How did you get here?”
“Probably fell through a hole.”
“... Probably? ”
Ouma incredulously, and dramatically, pouted, “...Aaaaaalright. You win. I don’t remember much either. In fact, I don’t remember anything at all other than my name!” The boy switched from the coyly smug to an innocent cheer, “man, what a coincidence, huh?”
“You… you lied to my face! And insulted me, too?!”
“Pfft. You think that’s worth an insult?” He offered a sympathetic look, “oh, my sweet summer child.”
This boy,... this guy, despite how he looked, was about Momota’s age, yet his mannerism was even more childish than a kid half his height.
Irritated as Momota was, there were more pressing matters to address.
“Hey, Ouma, is it?”
“Yes, my baby Momota-chan?” The nickname caused Momota’s face to scrunch up. Luckily for the little runt, he didn’t have the patience to deal with this.
“Have any idea what those monstrous things are?” The man shook just from the thought of those horrendous creatures.
“I don’t know. What part of I don’t remember anything do you not get?”
“You were here before me, so I thought you would be able to learn something?”
“Not that much longer, Momota-chan…”, Ouma heaved a long sigh, and plopped down to the ground, not giving a care of more dirt sticking on his white pants. “I woke up. Those things chased after me. I almost turned into their supper. Got into this room, locked the door, scared for my life, and then you came. Not that much for my brain to work on. One thing is for sure though, those creatures will chomp off your head as soon as they have the chance, then cut off your limbs, feed them to their babies, peel your skin to make carpet, hang your intestines as decor, and grind the rest of your body to make human paste,... so yeah. Be wise not to mess with them.”
“Does it have to be that graphic?”
“I love my drama.” He said, then beckoned to the room enclosing them, which had the same appearance as the one Momota woke up in. “Here’s some more bad news. Unlike the rooms we were in, there are no doors in this one, other than that one you just barged right through. And I think both of us agree that thing should remain closed. So, the real question is…”, he stood on his heel, arms raised, and spun one round. “How are we getting out of here?”
“For someone who’s trapped in an unknown cave, you seem nonchalant.”
“No point weeping here. Any meaningful contribution?”
The taller man did one round around the area to confirm the claim, ignoring his companion’s annoyed complaints. There was indeed no exit hidden in the dark corners. Momota groaned loudly, hadn’t he had enough trouble already.
No apparent way to proceed, the only entrance was an absolute no no. It appeared that their journey would have to end prematurely. He dropped his head in disappointment, and noticed the shadow under his feet. By reflex, Momota looked up, where the limited light was thrown down. An idea pinged in his head.
Ouma soon followed the motion and hummed.
“How about… up there?”
“Eh? You serious?” The boy in white jumped, outstretching his arm to demonstrate a point. “Yep. Totally a feasible solution. Look how easy I can fly up there.”
“Come on, man. We gotta try. Right now it’s our most plausible option. Or do you want to stay here and starve?”
“What if I fall down and die, Momota-chan? Getting comfy down here sounds much more enticing. At least I can eat you and live a little longer.”
“...Man. You know no way your twig of an arm can win a fight against me, right?”
“Who says I have to fight? Wouldn’t the stronger one work to protect the weaker one? You will give your meat to me willingly.”
“In your dream, Sherlock. Besides, there is no need. We are getting out of this place.” Momota grinned, brimming with confidence. He did not know why he was so certain, but somewhere deep in there told him this was no where near the end of it.
“You sounded so sure of yourself.” Ouma remarked. “Can be a good thing. Can be deadly.” He muttered to himself. “Welp. Let’s see how far you last then!”
i want to see how good he is physically, too
Momota took a few steps back to observe the surroundings, while the other one taunted him in the background.
The rocks were mostly high up, but large. For the ones at the lower layers, there was probably enough surface for a person to stand on. The lack of light was another issue. Navigating through the boulders would be extremely challenging,...but not impossible.
“The impossible is possible. All you gotta do is make it so!” A distant voice echoed. The man was unsure where he had heard it, but it had a familiar ring.
That’s right. He just needed to get this through.
He jumped and dangled on a nearby boulder, the lowest one. The hard and sharp edge cut into his skin, drawing blood. It was painful, but it was a first step. Momota struggled but managed to pull himself up on the rock.
oh? Not bad
The opening crater was hung about twenty metres above his head, and assuming each boulder was about two and a half metres apart, he would only need to make about ten more leaps.
He jumped for the next boulder, but miscalculated the distance, tripped and fell. Fortunately for him, the earth beneath was just soft enough to cushion him from that height, but he most likely would not be as lucky the next time. The man massaged his almost broken back, the pain in his limbs now increased tenfold.
see, told you
However, this was nothing. Momota would persist, because he is Kaito Momota! Lumi-
Huh, what was that? He thought he almost remembered something. Whatever, first thing first, Momota had to escape, then he would have all the time to recall.
The man readied himself again, rolled up his sleeves, and bounced off his feet.
“...”
Momota fell off again, air knocked out of his lungs. But the man made another attempt.
Another. Then another...
man, he's persistent
This time he was able to get to the second boulder...then immediately made one more painful trip to the ground. It was Ouma who broke his fall, intentionally or not. On the ground, with Momota sprawled on top of him, the boy protested.
Holy cow, lucky i was flexible enough. He was dropping head first
“You reckless dumbwit! That one could have crushed me to death!”
“Sorry. You didn’t have to stand there or anything.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I totally could have seen your brainless muscles dropping right where I stood!” Momota could feel the rolling eyes below him. “If you want to get hurt, get hurt yourself, and don’t drag me along . I would like to have my beautiful face intact, thank you.”
From an outsider’s point of view, it was simply one man understandably berating another for his stupidity. Yet for Momota, those words carried weight. Why? He had no idea. One thing was certain, however, the attitude pissed him off to no end.
“That’s because you didn’t help, didn’t it?” He scoffed, causing the Ouma to stop his incessant mockery. “You sat on your ass there, complaining,” Momota got up, dusting his pants, “crying, whining like a baby, making fun of me for trying, but never dared to lift a finger.” He concluded. “ And I call that cowardice. If you want to be a coward, be one yourself, but don’t drag me along.”
Ouma stared at him blankly. Perhaps he did not expect to be called out at all.
he was frustrated at my lack of involvement, huh? sounds terribly fitting for him somehow
“Wow. Bold assumptions to make about someone you barely met.” The dumbstruck lad faced his disgruntled company. Something in that spiel offended him, it seemed. Funny how Momota first saw this guy for less than an hour, but felt like having known him for centuries. “I never told you to stop trying, for one. But, going the way you were, you would only get yourself killed, or worse, kill me along with you. Charging head first is not how you solve problems, Momota-chan, especially ones this risky. Furthermore”, he pursed his lips childishly, “how dare you think I’m not doing anything. I’m raking my head to find an escape, too!”
“Reeeally? Up there it looked like you were laughing at me flopping!”
“Well, that’s part of it.”
“This asshole!”, the taller man thought.
Ouma circled around him, like an arrogant cat about to show off the power it held.
“Think, Momota-chan. There are two of us here, there must be some ways to take advantage of this resource, right?”
“Cut to the chase, man. This whole thing is already exhausting.”
“Then I shall abide by his request. The plan is very simple.”
…
“Gh!”, Momota grunts under another body’s weight on his shoulders. “Can you please hurry up? You aren’t as light as you thought!”
“Hush now, Momota-chan. All that climbing earlier should prove that you aren’t as wimpy as this.” The smaller lad gave off a kick, directly to Momota’s throbbing shoulder, mind you, to gain more leverage on the boulder. He managed to get waist up, and struggled to pull the rest of his body in tow.
“See?”, the boy peered down, huffing, but proud, “Much easier than your ‘athletic moves’ just now. Come, gimme your hands.” He sounded almost eager.
Funnily enough, Ouma’s enthusiasm quickly faded as soon as he had to haul someone twice his size up an almost a storey-tall boulder. That was some feat. Both of them got onto the first rock, unharmed, and collapsed right then and there.
“Welp, about 10 more to go.” Ouma reminded between his breaths.
“...shit.”
…
After long hours of constant climbing and pulling, and one close call to the earth, they finally made it up to the top. Well, almost, because it turned out there were more tiny rocks stacking up till the opening crater, similar to the practice climbing sites you would often see. Which would not be that much of a challenge,... except the layers steeply sloped inwards, making it much harder to grip on, and the distance wasn’t that conquerable either.
Already exhausted out of his ass and drenched in sweat, Momota considered getting down and attempting outrunning the creatures, yet it appeared that at the height they were at, that was just dumb. Just looking down made him dizzy, not that Momota was afraid of heights or anything, but his mental processors weren’t in the best state, it wouldn’t stop imagining the worst whenever he did so. Best was to get through that hole and get it over with.
Ouma seemed to have the same idea as well, as his eyes focused on the escape route. When he noticed Momota staring, the smaller boy grinned, albeit in a very wearisome manner.
“Hey, Momota-chan, can you throw me through the hole?”
“Haha, sure I can. I’m gonna throw you through the hole you make when you collide with the ground. Have fun kissing dirt.”
“Eh? Then that means one of us will have to ascend all the way up! How sucky!”
Ouma pouted, prompting Momota to question whether he was at all serious about the situation. But then again, nothing Ouma had done indicated maturity. Momota sighed, wondering to himself what was even the point dealing with the antics.
“Fine. I’ll do it. Then I’ll find something to pull you up with. No worries. This will all be taken care of.”
The man headed to his inevitable reluctant mission, expecting that Ouma would let him do the dirty work like he did prior. However, just as he was about to set on the first rock…
“Wait, Momota-chan”, causing said man to turn around. “Let me do the climbing, to make sure neither of us have to visit mother Terra.”
“What? Are you implying you’re good at it?”
“Not really. You certainly have a better physique than me. The problem, though, is that I’m smaller and thus easier to catch!”
Momota was baffled. “You are really confident about my catching skills huh? One misstep and you’re dead, you know?”
“Yep. That’s why we need some measures in place. What if there is a way to prevent me from falling straight to my death if I slip?”
“Something…?” Momota thought to himself, the gears inside his head turning. “Something that helps people while climbing… a kind of equipment… a rope? But where to pull out a rope?” He observed around, looking for where in the world they can magically whip out materials, and settled on the two straps on Ouma’s outfits.
“Oh? Someone got an idea.”
“You mean to use our clothing as a make-shift rope?” That was, actually, not a bad suggestion at all. This youth before him, even under such fatigue and stress, was clearheaded enough to think things through.
“Who could have guessed reckless Momota-chan in fact had a brain? Props to you!”
you're pretty smart, i concede
“Ugh, and you still have the strength to make fun of me too.”
“Enough talk! Strip, Momota-chan! Sacrifice your dignity for our survival!”
Now that was a little unfair. “Oi! Do your part! I take off some of my clothes, and you take off some of yours!”
To further his irritation, the rascal cried, “You made it sound so dirty, Momota-chan!”
“Just do it!”
And with Momota’s long blazer, his shirt, Ouma’s straps and scarf, they managed to join a long enough rope, hopefully, with neither of them ending up naked. Ouma tightened his belt, tried a few good tugs to ensure it wouldn’t give off. Then he tied one end of the ‘rope’ around the belt. “To use more length”, he said.
When everything was up and ready, Momota offered his partner a thumb-up, as a way to cheer him on. Ouma only arched a brow and proceeded onto the job.
Initially, there was little problem as Ouma steadily maneuvered his way through the rocky surface. He was surprisingly efficient for his scrawny limbs. However, the challenge came half-way through, as the boy soon lost his stamina, battling to keep himself in place. The shudders in his arms grew much more pronounced.
“Hey, you okay? If it’s too painful then you should take a break!”, Momota yelled, his voice echoed throughout the ambience.
“Shut up! I’m focusing!” In a fit, the other threw back. The evident struggle only twisted guilt further into his stomach. Momota was the stronger one, he was supposed to do more of the brute work, not to mention it was Ouma who put more strain onto his body throughout their whole collaborative endeavour.
“Wouldn’t the stronger one work to protect the weaker one?”
It was meant to be a joke, but the sentiment resonated with him, and it was glaring that the opposite was coming into play. Even if they were just strangers, even if Momota does not care much about Ouma yet, this just didn’t sit right with him.
The chain of thoughts was cut short when a yelp ripped through the air. The man barely got enough time to wrap a firm grasp on his end of the ‘rope’ before the accelerated weight tugged on the other end, dragging him a good foot toward the ledge. Holding the thing in place in one hand, Momota looped a few rounds around on his other hand to ensure it wouldn’t slip away. He could feel the tear on the ‘rope’’s shirt segment where it was scraped against the sharp edge. Realizing disturbing that segment further would not be wise, Momota continued to roll more ‘rope’ around his hand, ignoring the cool fingertips due to lack of blood circulation, and inched toward the verge of the boulder.
“Took you long... enough, Momota-chan.” Ouma offered a tired look from where he was suspended in mid-air and said no further as Momota pulled the rest of the rope along with him, careful not to let the life-saver rope to be damaged further.
“These things are not exactly, ugh, durable”, the larger man humoured dryly as he lugged the smaller one to the safe spot. The latter was panting unevenly, obviously spent from all the labour and a scare to death.
“Maybe I should….go afterall.”
“A-are you dumb? *huff* You wanna kill us both, is that it?”
“No… But I can’t stand watching you doing everything…”
“It’s pure logic, Momota-chan. It’s *huff* the best route to keep us both alive… You shouldn’t… base your decisions just… on how you feel...”
“I have a lower chance of falling than you.”
“Ye… But it’s still pretty high. Hang on… I’ll just rest a bit…” Ouma crawled to the wall and leaned against it, eyes droopy.
“Uhuh, you should…” Momota replied, as unconsciousness soon took him over.
…
“Enough, you guys… I’ve... already prepared myself.”
“Because he was easy to kill…”
“So I figured I may as well kill someone else, too.”
“Death is unfair.”
“Please… sacrifice himself… for everyone’s sake.”
“... Families and friends, left behind to die.”
“There are no depths I won’t sink to. Even if I have to sacrifice myself!”
“Oh yeah? Well screw you! I’m not gonna die the way you want!”
“...ta-chan! Momota-chan!”
Huh?
“Geez, finally. Didn’t expect you’d be such a heavy sleeper. Thought I would be out for longer than you are, but turns out you’re the bigger sleep worm, huh…”
Ouma’s annoying blather slowly faded into the background, as apprehension creeped into his mindspace. The voices he heard, the pure despair in their tone,... What was going on? Or rather? What had been going on?
“Heyyy! Earth to Momota-chan! Are you still listening?”
He seemed pensive. Something might be going on.
“...What?”
“An airhead you are, keep spacing out. Your space-themed outfit really fits you, not in a good way, of course”, the one in white grumbled. “Keep your head on the ground! How else can I discuss our ingenious survival plans?”
Man, did Ouma get extra intolerable when he was more energized? There was a pattern here certainly. “Whatever… Are you going to climb or you’ll let me do it?”
“You looked deeply in thought. What has been on your mind?” Unexpectedly, the boy questioned. His eyes darted up and down, analyzing the one before him.
“Thought you hated me spacing out?”
“Yeah, very rude of you. But if you have some info, or remember something, that would be helpful, dont’cha think?”
Momota paused, gauging his companion. Those words he heard, they weren’t any information, not something he saw could be applied to the situation anyway. Not to mention, the feeling derived from it was… inexplicably personal. It was as if someone was diving deep into his psyche and digging up the most painful memories.
But, if he was going to work with this guy right here, Momota should at least place some trust in him.
“I did, remember voices. Couldn’t decipher what they actually meant, since I’ve got no context, but…”, he swallowed the thick lump in his throat. Weird noise built up in his ears, as if attempting to confuse him further. “I think people were dying… We were… dropping like flies…”
...huh?
As he tried to recollect his abnormal dream, the static grew louder. Amidst it, a detail surfaced. One that rubbed him in a deeply wrong way. He stole a look in Ouma’s way.
“Hey… Don’t you sound a bit… familiar…?”
no... I'm not...? We couldn't have met, could we?
Facing him was a face white like like paper sheets. Its two eyes rolled upward into the eyelid, emphasizing the two large, bottomless pits of pupils, sucking souls in. It foamed bright pink at the mouth and its lower lip trembled.
are you...coughing blood?
“H-h-hurt… Kill me…”
Momota blinked.
“Pfft! Silly Momota-chan! That has to be the oldest and lamest pick-up line ever!” The boy chuckled. “Haha! Noone is gonna date you with that level of flirting!”
it wasn't real, it wasn't real
Cheerfully, Ouma picked up one end of the rope and shove it into Momota’s hand. “Come on, dumbass, let’s get to work!” He chirped and skipped to the rocky site.
“...”
...
Fortunately, the second time around went slightly more smoothly. Unfortunately, even when rejuvenated, Ouma still encountered troubles making his way up. Steadily, step by step, he moved closer to the ‘half-way’ point, where the previous endeavour was cut short. Bits of anxiety bubbled in Momota’s stomach, watching intently as the one in white gradually made past that segment.
“Oops!”
“Ah!”
Ouma’s left foot slipped, but he was able to keep balance before falling. Momota, bracing his poor heart, cried, “For fuck sake, Ouma! Be careful!”
“Hehe, did I give you a heart attack?”
About five more minutes passed, then ten, then twenty, Ouma was making closer to the crater. He appeared to be at his limit right now, heaving heavily every time his rattled hand hesitantly gripped on a new rock. Upon close inspection, his fingers were now blistered, with red cuts visible on pristine skin. Sweat soaked through the dirty white shirt.
Vicarious pain was present, but Momota willed it down in favour of cheering for his companion.
‘Come on, come on! Just a bit more. You are almost there!’
‘A bit more…’
Closer.
‘Bit more…’
Closer.
‘Come on!’
Ouma successfully grabbed on the edge of the large opening, securing their victory. He climbed up through it and disappeared for a short moment before poking his head through to throw down the trusty make-shift ‘rope’.
Almost bursted into tears of joy, Momota yelled while he ascended the rope, “Hell yeah! Heck yeah!” Throw a party, pop the confetti, play the music boys and girls! They did it! They did the almost impossible!
“I know you are excited, Momota-chan, but keep it down. Geez, try not to fall now…” Ouma complained, but couldn’t hide the smirk on his lips. He offered Momota a hand to get to the new surface, despite the busted fingers.
“Ouch…”
“You okay, buddy?” Concern washed over triumph, as Momota saw the full extent of damage. Some of the scraped off skin was bleeding. One of the nails was hanging barely on its root.
“Yeah, tis but a scratch. No problemo.” Ouma pulled his hands away, waving it off lightheartedly. “Aww, so caring, Mama-ta-chan!”
it hurt quite a bit actually
“Oi! Get those cleaned! You have no idea what your wounds could have touched!”
“Man, chill~~ I will when I have the chance. More importantly, this isn’t exactly the time to celebrate.” He said, folding arms behind the head.
Momota followed his gaze. Ahead of them, another open, large field spanned into the untouched darkness. The environment still lacked light, saved for the source directly above them.
“Well, walls here are like bricks now, remind me of a dungeon or some sort, can’t try climbing these unless you’re an idiot.” He eyed Momota.
“No! Of course I won’t try these ones! I’m not that dumb!” The taller man refuted.
“Good then. Guess our best option now is to advance. Be real careful, Momota-chan, within the shadow is where the monsters lurk.”
Drawing his eyebrows together, Momota nodded. He put the shirt and blazer back on. The two of them have yet to escape, and the only way to do so, was to keep on going.
No matter what challenge or agony ahead, they had to keep on moving.