The rooftop glowed faintly under the first rays of dawn, a fragile patch of green clinging to the ruins of the school. Rows of vegetables such as potatoes, carrots, a few stubborn fruits like tomatoes, spilled from cracked pots and makeshift planters.

  Beyond the walls of the school, the ruined town stretched out, its skeletal buildings clawing at a sky streaked with orange and ash. Sakura knelt beside a wooden crate, her blonde pigtails brushing her shoulders as she worked. The uniform she wore was frayed at the edges, stained with dirt and memories she couldn’t wash out.

  Ichika sat perched on the crate, her long black hair spilling over her shoulders, catching the light like ink. She winced as Sakura wrapped a strip of gauze around her palm, the cut beneath red and raw. “Still haven’t found Reo?” Ichika's voice was soft.

  Sakura’s hands paused, the roll of bandage hovering over Ichika’s knuckle. “No,” she said, looking down, hiding her eyes “And the teachers have been ignoring us for weeks too.” She tightened the gauze with a quick tug, her mind drifting to Reo, his goofy grin, the way he’d slap anime stickers on anything he owned. She shoved the thought down, focusing on the bandage, on the here and now.

  Ichika flexed her hand, testing the wrap, “Thank You, Sakura, sorry I didn't mean to worry you”, in the moment Ichika glanced up, the ruins painted in fleeting gold, “its peaceful in these moments, the smell of dirt almost makes you forget what has happened”

  Sakura followed her gaze, resting her hands on her knees. For a moment, they were silent, perched on the edge of a broken world.

  Footsteps crunched behind them, deliberate and heavy. Michi emerged from the stairwell, his stocky frame dwarfed by the wide-brimmed straw hat, carrying himself with the nerdy smarts of someone who’d kept the Rooftoppers alive this long. “I’m sorry,” he said, his voice cutting through the moment. “I’ve asked around, but nobody’s seen him still. We’re coming up to a harvest and can't spare anyone for games let alone looking for lost students”

  Sakura’s chest tightened, but she forced a nod. “It’s okay, Michi,” she said, softening her tone. “I know you’re busy with the Rooftoppers.” She stood, brushing dirt from her skirt, her hand brushing the fire axe propped against the crate.

  Michi’s eyes flicked to the pair, his expression unreadable. “Hey, Ichika,” he said, stepping closer. “Has Hinata returned?”

  Ichika turned, concerned. “No,” Ichika replied, her voice dropping. “She didn’t return last night.”

  Michi’s face darkened, worry etching across his face, “Hope they Ridden bastards didn’t do something stupid,” he muttered, turning to a row of carrots and yanking one from the dirt, sending soil across the rooftop.

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  Sakura stepped closer to Ichika, resting a hand on her arm. “We’re having trouble with them,” Ichika said, glancing at Michi’s back. “But they wouldn’t ruin our deal.”

  “What deal?” Sakura asked, her brow furrowing. “Who’s Hinata?”

  Ichika hesitated, her gaze drifting to the greenhouse where shadows stretched long. “After the first game,” with a sigh, “many clubs came to barter with us for food, they were scared but so were we.” as she continued picturing the rooftop garden as it had been, no makeshift barricades yet, just desperate voices echoing over the gardens. “Takanashi and his gang forced their way past, and didn't want to trade.”

  Sakura’s mind flashed to him, having met Takanashi in this new world, barking orders, his fist clenched tight. Ichika pulled her back into the past “He grabbed Michi by the throat, dangled him over the edge. So we agreed to whatever they asked, they offered protection, funny is it, but we have to supply them with half our farming gear and some food till they get there plot working”

  The memory faded, and Sakura notices Michi tending the crops, his movements mechanical. “But that doesn’t make sense,” Michi said, frowning thinking out loud. “It was a simple run to the freshmen and the Scavs. The Ridden won’t approach Scav territory.”

  Ichika nodded, uncertain. “That’s what I thought too.”

  Sakura’s jaw tightened. She turned to Ichika, her voice firm. “Come with me today? We can look for them together.”

  Ichika’s eyes widened. “Is that safe?”

  “It should be fine,” Sakura said, grabbing the axe and slinging it over her shoulder. She seized Ichika’s wrist, pulling her toward the stairwell. “She’s with me today!” she called over her shoulder.

  Michi spun, dirt-streaked hands on his hips. “Wait, we’ve got work to do!”

  But Sakura was already gone, Ichika stumbling behind her. Weaving between the barricades desk, and down the stairs. “I Always start with the memorial wall,” Sakura said, her boots thudding on the steps, her ID card slapping against her chest, “Without the staff tracking systems, it’s the best way for us to know if students are alive, it's how I knew my brothers were alive.”

  The walls closed in as they descended, the smell of damp was getting stronger, the graffiti covered the walls, Maggots Die, Ridden Scum, broke the concrete maw swallowing them. Sakura’s grip on the axe tightened. “The Nurse agreed to help Takanashi’s gang too,” she said, her voice low. “I Tried telling her not to, but she scolded me.”

  Ichika’s breath hitched behind her. “I’m glad the Scavs and Ms Akasuki are looking after the freshmen, the others would have taken advantage of them” she said as they hit the 1st floor as the graffiti thinned.

  “The other clubs seem to keep to themselves, to wary of others,” Sakura

  They burst onto the ground floor, the main entrance sign dangling crookedly, blood stained the walls in rusty smears, as the digital hologram flickering in the ruin of the front entrance, casting a faint glow, Ichika slowed, her voice trembling. “I’ve never been this far from the rooftop since the games started.”

  Sakura glanced back, her pigtails swaying. “Just a little more. Watch my back” with a heavy breath “it’s early, so we should be fine.” She hefted the axe, its weight a grim comfort, and stepped into the hall, the memorial wall waiting like a judge in the distance.