Yuko didn't want to keep staring at the smoke cloud in the distance. The others clearly had it covered, and it would only put the curiosity gnawing at her on the forefront of her mind. As such, she pulled her attention back to the forest to her right instead.
Doing so allowed her to notice fruit in the new kind of tree they were walking past. Green and shiny, about the size of her hand, yet the odd yellow pattern and bulbous conjoined shape made her unsure of what it actually was. Just the sight of it revived some of her appetite.
“Do you think we can eat these?” she asked as she walked over to pluck one.
Everyone's sights fell upon the fruit. There was conflict on their faces.
When there wasn't an immediate response, Yuko stabbed her knife into it and broke it into a few pieces. Its juices seeped out onto the ground. “This one's not a fake. Probably,” she assured with a chuckle, “or is at least a really convincing one outside and in.”
Shizumi frowned. “The toxins kit doesn't work perfectly on what isn't water, but we should try,” she conceded.
Yuko didn't understand the level of caution. Were they planning to eat just their rations and then starve?
The analysis took several more moments. “The peel and cores are poisonous, but the actual flesh should be fine…”
Yuko climbed into the tree for more. Then she put her utility knife to actual use, removing the peel with broad pushes of the knife, before cutting it up and removing the core from each bulb. There wasn't much left by the end, 4 chunks the size of a large tube battery, but it was enough to give everyone one, so she was happy.
Not afraid to be the test subject either, she then plopped the piece into her mouth.
It was crispy yet juicy, a mixture of sweet and sour in flavors stronger than she could remember ever experiencing. It brought tears to her eyes, at first because of how overwhelming it was, only for them to not stop when it dawned on her how delicious it was.
The others followed suit hesitantly while Yuko had started peeling the next one. A chorus of approving hums and whines followed.
Yuko loved the surface world.
It took another day before they were forced to make their decision. They'd long walked past the smoke plume in the distance, indicating how close it must've been for them to be able to walk around it like that. As a result, the smoke was now behind them, but the water that had been to their left had stopped. They could finally walk around it and go south on the other side to try and find the source.
The information they gained in the meantime ended up being unfortunately little. They were pretty sure the plume persisted after dark, though it was too dark to be sure.
The group ended up setting up camp by the split end, hoping they could make a decision after a night of rest. Well, Yuko's mind was already made up, but the others were stubbornly indecisive.
Satoru and Shizumi were already in the tent to rest, while Fukui took the first watch like usual. Yuko had offered to also take part of the rotation, but they'd declined.
She hated that they still saw her like a kid. She'd slept in worse circumstances than this, this was nothing.
This time though she decided to stay up for a while longer. They couldn't force her to go to bed. If she was gonna be the kid to them no matter how hard she tried, then she might as well live up to it.
The sky when it was dark was fascinating. At first it was terrifying, to know there was nothing above, but the previous few nights Yuko had found small lights in the blackness. They weren't bright enough to provide light on the ground, but they'd stood out against the blackness nonetheless. That wasn't the case this time, though, not with the blanket of white that had hidden everything behind it. Without the sun she couldn't even see that anymore either.
For a lack of sky to watch Yuko looked around at ground level instead. She saw Fukui struggle to remove his gloves, only to reveal his swollen hands, the seams of the gloves having indented his skin.
Yuko frowned. No, that couldn't have been normal.
Now that she thought about it, she hadn't seen him take off his suit besides the helmet, ever. He always kept watch in it and by the time morning came he had already suited up again. At least that's what she assumed…
He turned to face her, having caught her staring. “Hey kid, what do you reckon?” he asked with a mirthless chuckle as he raised his hand, “How much longer until the seams burst?”
The Bloat.
Yuko’s heart sank.
“What about the meds?”
“Came too late, I'm afraid. Started before we even left the tunnels.”
She was horrified. “Why didn't you go back to Shini?”
“To be put down like a dog? No thanks. I'd rather have seen what's out there and tried to be of use for as long as possible.” Fukui lowered his hand and tried to make a fist, only to fail about halfway, “I think we've about reached that point, though.”
Yuko didn't know what to say. “Did…”
“I didn't tell the others if that's what you're asking. Didn't want it to be a burden. I think you get it.”
She frowned. She did do her best whenever she could to make up for her forcing her way in… “What about your friends and family, don't you want to say goodbye to them?”
Fukui chuckled and shook his head. “I already did before I left. Besides, I'd rather they remember me as the hero that left to explore the world than the sickly, swollen corpse they'd see me as last.”
A silence filled the area, only disturbed by the crackling of the fire.
“Look at it this way, kid, we've been out for three days now. That's twelve pills gone, and twenty-four left. According to that shady guy, we've another four ahead of us before we reach his place. If one less person is going to be needing those things, you still have eight days left. That'd be enough to get you guys to investigate the plume and then all the way up to Niku.”
She still couldn't muster an answer, a distant look in her eyes and a pit in her stomach. It wasn't like she knew Fukui well, or even at all. Yet to have to say goodbye to him like that… was still painful.
Hands on her shoulder brought her back to the present. She noticed how even Fukui’s neck was swollen . The suffering in his eyes. She heard how shallow his breath was. He was already dying.
“What… will you do..?” Yuko asked softly.
Fukui stood back up. He walked over to his things, his normal looking walk turning into a slight limp as the facade slipped further and further away. She heard a mechanical rattle, then saw the pistol. “Just one of these should be enough. I'm not making you watch, though. I'm no psychopath who gets off on traumatizing other people. Go get some rest. Give me half an hour before you wake Satoru for his shift.”
There was a single, small nod as the man limped away.
Water started falling from the sky, yet she couldn't even bring herself to question it. Instead, she couldn't look away from the darkness that Fukui had disappeared into. The fire sputtered out, and the sound of the droplets hitting the ground drowned out any other noise around her.
The tension was so thick it kept Yuko frozen in place. She knew she should get up and go after him. Even if he was suffering, she should save him, or at least tell him something, anything . She felt like she should at least get to know him better. Ask him who he even was, what he used to do. Who his family was so she could maybe tell them about him. Yet there she was, stuck in place. Words on the tip of her tongue begging to be released yet her lips sealed shut.
Despite the clattering of the water, the single, muffled gunshot was deafening.