There are only so many fucks that a person can give about another person. For some people, the supply of fucks is naturally bigger than in others, but many different things can contribute more fucks to a finite pool. Fucking over your friends, for example. Jack felt he had stocked up to the brim on fucks to spend on Daiki, and he could keep doling them out, no matter how much the spiky-haired arsehole needled him, no matter how much he steamrolled the situation and ruined Jack’s moment to shine.

Jack had plenty of fucks to give.

So far it looked like he was going to have to use every single one of them.

Daiki just kept marching along in the forest, wheeling his stupid, noisy suitcase and patting the lump of murder-bait he had insisted on rescuing and strapping to himself.

He shot down every attempt Jack made at speculation, or planning and seemed perfectly happy to walk in a straight line until he fell over a cliff and took Jack and the tiny murder-bait with him.

He’s always thought he was better than us, Jack thought spitefully to himself. Ever since he went to that fancy school. He had more talent, more money, more of his head up his arse.

At first glance, Jack and Daiki should have had more in common than any of their friends. They were both raised by single mothers. They lived on the same street. They were both ambitious and smart. They even went to the same school for the first few years, and Jack had vague memories of being good friends with Daiki. The small half-Japanese kid had connections and, always seemed to have better trading cards than anyone else in their class. The two of them got into scraps and spent hours eating ice cream and playing card games at Jack’s house.

Daiki was sent to the private school when they were both about seven. Jack had no real memories of it happening. At some point, Daiki was just not at school anymore. He did remember learning that his friend was at a boarding school, and thinking at first that meant he was learning how to skateboard.

Daiki had shown up at the local public high school at the beginning of their third year. Rumor had it that he’d been thrown out of a fancy private school. Jack was already best friends with Steve and starting to get close to Zac, but he was more than willing to bring Daiki back into the fold.

I was a freaking saint, Jack muttered to himself as he followed Daiki through the increasing gloom under the strange trees. Daiki’s hair wasn’t spiky at that point, but was long and loose, with a blunt fringe that fell into his eyes.

He might not remember their childhood all that well, but he definitely remembered their reacquaintance. He was nothing but nice to the sour new kid, and all he got in return was… nothing. The same bullshit treatment he was getting right now in fact. He tried to say hello to Daiki, to be friendly in front of everyone, even offered him a homemade brownie, and Daiki pretended he didn’t exist.

And then he egged Jack’s house. Real fuckin’ sophisticated.

Jack had spent the afternoon with Steve and came home to find his mother scrubbing the egg off their front door.

Just thinking about it made Jack’s blood boil all over again. The kick to his system quickened his legs until he had raced past Daiki and stopped in front of him.

“What time is it, Daiki?”

“It's almost 6pm... and no river -or castle- in sight.” Daiki barely paused and started to push past Jack. Jack didn’t move and Daiki relented for a moment.

“Still got six hours to go. We’ll get there.” Jack hid the burn in his chest and tried to sound upbeat, but he was feeling more and more regret that he had let Daiki lead him off through the woods all day. Daiki was slightly older and he was smart, but he was wrecking everything right now and Jack could feel that in his gut.

The problem was, Jack didn’t have a real alternative to argue for. All he knew was that they were missing something. Something that needed time and space to work out.

Time and space that Daiki wasn’t giving him.

Jack was sure if started trying to take charge, his friend would just ignore him and keep walking, but he was running out of patience.

“We should be at the river by now.”

Overwhelmed, Jack leaned against one of the trees for a moment. The constant murmur of leaves seemed to grow louder at his touch. He hurriedly pushed himself upright again and glanced at his friend. Daiki didn't seem to have noticed. Jack wondered if his own mind was playing tricks on him.

“Are you sure? You might’ve misjudged the distance to the river.” Now that Jack had stopped them for a few moments, Daiki seemed too worn out to even make sarcastic comments. He had been trying to walk fast enough to curb any arguments, but Jack could tell his shoulder was really hurting him. The bandages were stained with scarlet blotches which matched the scratches on his face.

He was breathing shakily too, wobbling the makeshift pouch on his chest, with one hand against a tree trunk. Still, he refused to give up the kitten when Jack offered to carry her.

If only I had been stuck with Steve, Jack caught himself thinking, but that wasn't right either. If only all of them had been stuck together.

Daiki’s hair was bristling from a combination of nervous hands and too much hair gel. Jack could see a deep red groove in each of his palms, where he had been pulling his suitcase.

He wondered how much longer the wheels on that case would last. He wondered if his face was as haggard as Daiki’s at the moment.

“If we’ve been going the right way, we should definitely be there by now,” he insisted, quietly. The state of his friend had dulled the anger that had flared in him. There were still some fucks left, after all. “Can you hear any water?”

They both stood quietly and listened. After a moment Daiki frowned.

“I- I think I can hear something. Maybe it’s some water…? It’s coming from over there.”

He pointed slightly to the right of where they were facing. Jack tensed himself to take off again immediately, but to Jack’s relief, his friend sat down instead.

Daiki pulled the small bottle of fish sauce from his suitcase and dripped some onto his fingers, then stuck them into the makeshift pouch. Jack noticed he was careful to hold the precious vintage jersey away from the sauce, even though it was covered in bloodstains.

Jack slid his pack off and fished out a box of muesli bars, handing a couple to Daiki. With his good hand and his teeth, Daiki ripped into them so eagerly that Jack felt guilty he hadn't offered them before. Didn't he bring any food at all?

They both sat completely still for a moment, chewing on dry oats and chocolate. Jack wished he had some water left.

Underneath the noise of the trees, Jack thought he, too, could discern another sound. Please let it be the river. Unless we can refill the bottles, we’re going to start getting real thirsty.

“I can hear it as well. Maybe there’s a bend in the river?” Jack tried to picture the landscape he had seen from the tree. “I couldn't see the whole thing because of the forest. Maybe it bends out here and that's why we haven't reached it yet. Or maybe we got off course somehow.”

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“We didn't get off course.” Daiki narrowed his eyes at the suggestion. Even though Jack had taken over the spray can, Daiki had insisted on telling him when to mark the trees each time. He spat a few crumbs as he spoke vehemently. “If that dinosaur hasn't been lying to us...”

“Mico wouldn't lie to us.”

“Well, he ditched us, didn’t he?”

Jack didn’t know what to say to that.

Daiki stopped munching a bar long enough to chew on his bottom lip. It was getting so dark now that Jack was starting to have trouble seeing his friend's face. He dug his hands into his pack, looking for the flashlight before remembering it was clipped to the side.

“So what should we do?” A hesitant note entered Daiki’s voice. “I... I'm so worried about the guys. I mean, Zac is- he was scared enough already. I don't know how he'd be handling this...”

Jack sighed heavily through a mouthful of oats. He didn’t need to be reminded of the others.

He found the flashlight and stared at it, as though it was fascinating, while he spoke.

“Look, I'm really, truly sorry. I shouldn't have brought you guys into this. I know I can’t make it up to you.” He glanced up and grinned weakly. “But who knows? Maybe they’re sitting around a banquet at the castle. Hell, for all we know they’re watching us on big TV screens right now.”

Daiki didn’t grin back but his face softened.

“Better bloody not be.”

Jack crossed his eyes and stuck out his tongue at the air. Was it his imagination, or did that group of trees jiggle a little? Is someone following us?

It seemed as if Daiki was about to say more, perhaps words that weren’t angry, perhaps words that were even kind.

You know, Jack thought. Like, maybe, “thanks for saving my life”?

Just as Daiki opened his mouth, something thunked onto a branch well above their heads. Daiki jumped and almost fell trying to scramble away. The kitten swung about and yowled as she thumped his chest. She dug her claws in, trying to scramble to safety, and Daiki grunted in pain from her and his jarred shoulder.

Jack flicked the flashlight on and revealed Mico, sitting on the branch, his metal wing flashing green in the light.

A handful of black needles fell onto Daiki's green-tinged head. His brown eyes grew hot at the sight of the little cyborg and then iced over once again.

Jack didn’t know if he should be overjoyed at the pterosaur’s return or dismayed that the return had upset Daiki, just when he seemed about to get over himself.

“Screw your apologies, Jack. They aren't going to get our friends back.”

Daiki dropped his wrappers and brushed crumbs off his clothes. He soothed the mewling kitten, stroking her through the purple wool. Then he addressed the cyborg, his voice cold. “Mico, have we been going the right way?”

“Yes,” said Mico, his calm voice floating through the darkness.

“Mico, where have you been?”

In the flashlight beam, Mico’s eyes had a noticeable grid pattern, like an insect. It gave Jack the creeps, so he directed the light elsewhere.

“Who the hell cares?” Daiki was gripping his suitcase handle. “We should walk toward the river, then follow it up to that building you saw. Hopefully, there’s a phone, or a bridge, or something. The sooner we finish this, the better.”

Jack suspected his friend was not talking about completing the task on time in order to secure the interview.

It didn’t matter. For now, their goal was the same.

“It might just be a small river. I couldn't tell from so far away. We might not even need a bridge.”

Daiki gestured at his suitcase. “Unless you feel like carrying this, we need a bridge. It’s not waterproof.” He unzipped it and pulled a small flashlight out of the top pocket, then zipped it back up again with an angry flick of his hand.

After shining the light carefully, and for longer than Jack thought was strictly necessary, at the orange mark behind them, Daiki made another, in the shape of an arrow, pointing toward the quiet roar of water.

Jack waited until his friend was a few feet away before scooping up all the empty muesli wrappers he’d dropped and shoving them into his pocket. He had no intention of offending this strange forest by littering.

After about ten minutes of walking, the trees began to thin out and Jack switched off his flashlight. Judging by the shadows and the pale sky, he would need it again before long, even out from under the trees. The idea of being in Nimble Woods after dark, with the chattering black leaves all around him was terrifying. Jack started to curse Daiki silently again, his brain trying to assign blame for their situation, and picking an easy target. It wasn’t fair, and, more importantly, it wasn’t helpful, since Jack suspected even a hint of anger or resentfulness would send Daiki into a rage.

Jack decided he needed to get his mind off the coming darkness. His eyes were drawn by Mico, who jumped nimbly from limb to limb above them, barely shaking the leaves as he passed.

“Mico, you said you would tell me more about your wing?”

The pterosaur ran lightly down a trunk to the forest floor and then scrambled up Jack's leg to his shoulder. He was so light, Jack barely felt his weight.

“What would you like to know, Jack?"

The time passed more quickly then, although Jack, now distracted, fell back until he could hardly see Daiki.

The unmistakable noise of water grew louder and rougher until it was echoing from the trees. Concern bloomed in Jack’s stomach, and he wasn’t quite sure why. He tried to concentrate on what the little creature was saying, but it was becoming difficult to hear him.

“...sunlight is usually sufficient, although blood is a more efficient power source...”

Jack stopped just in time to avoid crashing into Daiki, who had paused at the edge of the tree line. His fists were clenched by his sides. With a squawk, Mico jumped to the nearest tree and began to climb.

The ocean stretched out before them, blue and vast and totally unwelcome. They were at the top of a cliff that dropped sharply into the water, a couple of hundred meters below. The sun was directly in front of them, and drifting close to the horizon. The sky above was draining of color in anticipation of sunset. There were quite a few seagulls in the distance, over the water.

“Oh shit,” Jack said, loud enough for Daiki to hear him over the sharp sound of a large waterfall about 50 meters away. It was the ocean. They shouldn’t be anywhere near the ocean.

Jack took in a lungful of clean, salt air and decided not to worry. At least they could follow the river now. No more relying on those shifty orange marks.

It was a nice view over the cliff, which was very high. Jack took the opportunity to lower his bag to the ground. It was really starting to kill his back. He knew without looking that Daiki was furious, once again.

He tried to make the best of it.

“You seem a decent fellow… I hate to kill you,” he quipped, taking a fencer’s pose and swishing his flashlight through the air like a sword.

Daiki only glared harder, clutching his shoulder. Jack shrugged and tried to keep his tone light. “Well- at least we found the river...”

“The river. The goddamned river?”

A sudden blow to his shoulder startled Jack. He flinched away from it, clipping Daiki with his arm.

Daiki stumbled toward the cliff edge, crying out, then flung himself to the side, just managing to avoid the drop.

Jack crouched slightly, his jujitsu lessons springing to mind, but quickly realized it had only been Mico, tumbling back onto his shoulder.

“What the-” Jack checked on Daiki who was already pushing himself upright. He had landed, arse-down, in some of the small, scrubby clumps of grass that lined the edge of the cliff.

The kitten seemed to be safe and secure in her pouch, although she was protesting loudly.

“Jack I must requessst thaaaattt wweeefffftttttt...” Mico’s voice dissolved as his wing was hit by the sea wind. As it was, Jack could barely hear him over the waterfall. His little friend seemed almost... scared.

“Mico, I can't understand you,” he said loudly, edging away from the cliff. “Here, we'll go back under the trees...”

Something solid hit him again, this time driving him into the ground. He felt Mico take off as he fell, and rolled, instinctively trying to get back on his feet. Jack bashed his ankle against a tree but managed to get his legs under him.

It took his eyes a minute to focus in the forest darkness but the only shape he could make out was Daiki's. His friend was glowering fiercely up into the branches. He had tried to grab at Mico and had missed, thumping Jack in the process.

“Daiki, what the f-”

“That little sneaky, lying piece of shit has been leading us here so he could kill us!” Daiki had his fists clenched and was covered in blood once again. “Yeah, that's right, arsehole,” He spat the words as he spoke. “I'm onto you.”