"Aww man, how much more walking do we have, Katsuma-kun?" Mahito held his arms loose ahead of him, his back slumped forward, letting his hands drag against the dunes of trash.
The sun was bright, and they had been walking for what seemed like hours. Mahito's legs weren't quite tired, but he sure as hell was tired of walking.
Traveling is only fun when you know you'll eventually get to your destination. At this rate, it felt like they were walking in circles, which irritated Mahito.
Katsuma, on the other hand, was struggling. The backpack was heavy, and each time he suggested Mahito carry it, since he's so strong, Mahito would throw out excuses like, "No, no, no, that's not fun!" or "Nuh uh!" Every excuse in the book, which made Katsuma feel like the adult in this situation. With a huff and another slow step, Katsuma practically dragged himself across metal scraps, glass, and other debris. He sighed, exasperated.
"Argh! M-Mahito-san, there should be a city or something ahead!"
Mahito occasionally glanced at Katsuma to confirm what he was saying, his face oddly not sharing a smile. This time, it seemed, he truly did have some expectations. As they crossed the next tall hill of trash, reaching its summit, they found… nothing.
Mahito slowly turned his head toward Katsuma, and an audible creaking sound could be heard, as if bolts were implanted in his neck.
"Katsuma, you know there's one thing I don't like? Wanna know?"
Katsuma didn't even dare look up at Mahito. Mahito's eyes had a glint that caused Katsuma to gulp as sweat dripped down his forehead.
"Y'know, Mahito, I wouldn't like to know what exactly you're talking about… but there it is."
Mahito looked in the same direction, his face completely changing as his tongue plopped out of his mouth like a dog, only to find… nothing, again. He should have expected it, looking around once more. Maybe he was hallucinating.
"There!" Katsuma stuck his finger out.
Mahito saw a small city inside of a trash divot. This was hardly a city—it had been previously discarded in Mahito's mind, the last thing you'd think of as a "city." The buildings were cracked and collapsed, and the streets were hidden in trash. As Mahito leaned forward and squinted, he noticed not a single person walking about.
Mahito stood up to his full height, snarling with shark-like teeth. He looked at Katsuma and huffed, "A city isn't a city unless it has people in it!"
Katsuma snapped his head up at Mahito. A combination of the long walk and fatigue had made the boy quite confident.
"If this isn't a city, what the hell is it? It has the buildings and all."
Mahito smirked as if he'd just solved a great math problem. He subtly shook his head, closed his eyes, and held up one finger.
"Actually, it's an abandoned city by definition!" he replied in a nerdy tone.
A knot formed on Katsuma's head as he twitched in response. He didn't have a response; he was fuming so much that steam practically blew through his nose. With a huff, Katsuma faced forward, not even looking at Mahito as he exercised some deep breathing.
"Okay, it's an abandoned city. How about we just go to the damn abandoned city?"
Mahito smiled and nodded. "Could've just said that."
Mahito took the first step, while Katsuma's eye and the corner of his mouth twitched as he watched Mahito walk away all casually. The veins in his eyes were visible as he waited for Mahito to get a good distance away.
"Huuuhwahhhh!" Katsuma swung his arms in frustration, ripping trash from the ground and punching the air. After his little rampage, he released a large huff, calming himself with rhythmic breathing. Nodding slightly, he faked a smile and skipped ahead eagerly.
"Wait up, Mahito!" he called, putting juice in his voice and emphasizing the high-pitched part to stress a childlike manner despite his former outrage.
Mahito glanced briefly over his shoulder at Katsuma and slightly slowed his pace so Katsuma could catch up quicker. Before long, the two were walking into the desolate, urbanized city of discarded buildings.
Mahito walked with his arms resting behind his head, leaning slightly back as he glanced around, brows furrowed.
"Katsuma-kun, what happened to this place?"
Katsuma seemed to be looking around at the building windows, his eyes shifting quickly as he gripped his backpack tightly and tucked his chin.
"I don't know. Maybe we should pass through quickly, though—just a quick visit," he replied hastily, continuing to look about.
Mahito gave Katsuma a side-eye, holding his stare for a while.
"Whatever you say, Katsuma-kun," he said, rolling his eyes as he continued glancing at the buildings.
*CRASH!*
Katsuma jumped immediately, sliding away from Mahito, ironically, despite Mahito being his best shot at survival. Mahito looked down at Katsuma's reaction. Given his young age, the sound of trash falling or loud noises frightening him shouldn't be impossible, but his reaction was a bit excessive.
Mahito pulled his arms from behind his head and placed a hand on his hip, leaning on one leg and tilting his head. It was clear he had something to say.
"Katsuma, what's up with you? You've been on edge ever since we've entered town."
Katsuma situated himself and cleared his throat. "I just don't like cities and all… too many vantage points!"
Mahito didn't quite like the answer, but it was enough. Besides, he didn't care all that much, so he turned to walk away. Katsuma followed shortly, but his behavior hadn't changed.
That's when Mahito caught sight of what might be worrying Katsuma. A shadow moved within the corridors of the buildings; the trash falling definitely didn't seem natural anymore. Now that he thought about it, but he'd chalked it up to metal scraping or something. This time, though, it was unmistakable—two, three, four, five figures. They didn't move quickly; they just shifted from hiding spot to hiding spot, trying not to get caught.
As Mahito walked, he subtly increased his speed, causing Katsuma to follow suit as they changed directions and rounded corners. But the pursuers were persistent. This was no fluke or coincidence—they were being followed, intently.
Mahito glanced back at Katsuma, a question forming in his mind: Should he tell him?
Katsuma turned his head, catching Mahito's eye. With a frustrated voice, he yelled, "WHAT!"
Mahito didn't say anything and passively nodded, unable to hold back his smile as he skipped away. "Nothingggg!"
*THOOOSH!*
They both looked up as storm clouds suddenly flooded in from the sky. Mahito couldn't have asked for better timing. Katsuma grumbled, clearly disappointed. Storms weren't common in Meteor City, but when they did come, they packed a punch.
With inadequate medical supplies and poor sanitary conditions, a cold was a likely outcome, and a deadly one at that, it could only get worse from here, which means they would need to find shelter.