Beta read by Shigiya and Gamercrusher55
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-Tokonosu-
Despite the chaos, the fire that had raged for days had finally burned itself out, leaving only faint smoke rising from distant rooftops. The air was thick with the smell of ash and burning plastic that had clung to the city since the dead began walking. Despite all of it, Takashi woke to the sound of birds that somehow broke through the chaos.
"Urgh," he muttered, groaning as he stirred awake from his sleep. His head throbbed, the dull ache mixing with a heavy exhaustion that sleep had done little to fix. He blinked at the slant of daylight falling across the room, finding a second pillow for some reason on top of his face.
Blinking hard, Takashi turned his head to see the culprit, being none other than Igou, sprawled across the opposite sofa, one arm hanging low where a pillow had clearly been launched mid-sleep. Typical. The guy had always been like this. During old sleepovers, he proved himself to be the type to roll around, sleepwalking, sometimes even kicking Takashi off the bed entirely. Once, twice… maybe more times than he cared to count.
"Damn it," Takashi muttered, dragging a hand across his face, "Hah…God, my head…" A sigh escaped his lips. Not feeling in the best of moods, he took a moment to calm his messy mind before heading toward the window. The glass was stained, streaked with smoke, and coated with a thick layer of dust. But through it he could make out the road below… where the car they rode yesterday could be seen from his spot. Yesterday had been messy to say the least, the kind where the streets had swarmed with zombies, hundreds of them pressing against gates, fences, cars, anything in their way.
At that time, he really thought it was the end.
"Are we still surrounded?" Igou asked, his words slow and muffled by sleep; he yawned—a long, jaw-cracking noise—and absently scratched at his scalp, his eyelids only half-raised as if waking was a distant shore he struggled to reach. His face, too, carried the tell-tale signs of his headache; Igou pressed fingers to his temples, attempting to knead away the weighty throb of hangover fatigue.
"They've thinned out," Takashi said, studying the scene beyond the fence. Wishing he had binoculars to see things more clearly in the distance. "A few are still clinging to the gate, but we can clear them and make a run for it. If the car still works, we can get moving before more start showing up."
Igou sat up with a groan, glancing toward the same sight as him. "Something in the car's busted. We slammed through too many of them yesterday… not exactly a vehicle made for such a thing. I don't know much about fixing engines, do you?"
Takashi shook his head. "Not a chance. Worst case, we ditch it and find another ride. Something bigger and tougher this time. A bus, maybe an SUV."
Igou gave a short, humorless laugh. "Good luck finding either in Japan. In the suburbs, maybe, but here? You're looking at tiny city Kei cars that barely fit four people, or five if we squeeze in. Anything bigger and more durable will be a miracle."
"Shizuka-sensei said a friend of hers has a place nearby," said the dark-haired boy, reminding his friend of the words their nurse had left them before leaving the school. "Supposedly, with a bigger car that belonged to the military."
"Then let's hope it's still there," Igou said, rubbing his eyes. "I'll say it now, I don't like our chances. If I were that friend, I'd have been long gone two days ago using that car."
"Can't argue with that," Takashi admitted. "First things first, though, let's check the news."
Of course, each room had its own television and working cables to showcase any news. The screen lit up in dull gray as he switched it on with a remote. Electricity still running felt like a blessing, and the same for the water in the taps. Both were things he kept expecting to vanish at any moment, like in those movies where everything failed one by one until people were left in darkness to fend for themselves.
Igou leaned forward as bold letters filled the screen. "Standby," it read. No images, no voices.
"Guess they're only broadcasting at certain hours," muttered the man. "Going by yesterday's broadcast, we'll need to wait till around noon; hopefully, we will already be on our way back to the school."
Takashi frowned at the silent screen. They needed information, evacuation routes, safe zones, and whether the army planned to lock down or bomb the city. Because if the situation slipped too far, the higher-ups would consider wiping the whole place off the map… just like how they did with the other towns. And if that happened, moving hundreds of students out safely would turn into a nightmare.
"How long until we reach Saya's house?"
"The Takagi estate isn't far," he said, glancing outside again. "If the roads stay as clear as they look now, maybe thirty minutes. Less, if nothing blocks us. But again, we need a car."
"Then let's focus on that first. I would rather not walk if we can avoid it." Igou stretched, bones audibly popping in the quiet room. "Also, we should get something to eat before we head out. Not that I'm hungry, haven't been since this all started… but it wouldn't be a good idea to go out fighting on an empty stomach."
Takashi knew what he meant. His own stomach felt empty, but he just didn't feel like eating at the moment. His mind felt like it weighed as much as a cement block, thoughts swirling on and on over the past few days. It felt as if he stopped to rest for even a moment, all of the accumulated stress waiting just behind his eyes would come crashing in all at once. Worries about his life, his friends, his parents, and even their current situation did not mesh well together. But he held it together… somehow, with everyone doing the same, breaking down in tears would not help anyone.
As they left the room and headed downstairs, the smell reached them before they even saw the kitchen. It was strong enough to make him pause mid-step, a mix of sizzling meat, seasoned vegetables, and the faint herbal note of freshly brewed tea drifting through the air. Igou caught it too; his nose twitched as he slowed down to savor it.
"Damn, is someone actually making breakfast?" he commented, the disbelief clear in his tone. Despite their earlier reservations, both felt their stomachs growl and their mouth salivate.
"Never thought I'd be looking forward to a proper meal in the middle of a zombie apocalypse," said the person next to him. "And here I was not looking forward to it."
"Same," Takashi agreed, glancing toward the hallway ahead. At the same time, he wondered who was the one who was cooking right now? His imagination supplied its own answer before he even realized it. He pictured a certain orange-brown haired girl, dressed in a neat apron over a summer dress, standing in the kitchen and greeting them with a bright smile, sunlight streaming behind her through the window as she set out a tray of breakfast. It was such a ridiculously domestic scene in the middle of their current situation that he nearly laughed, shaking his head quickly to scatter the thought away.
'Yeah, Rei would never wear such a thing… I think she has changed quite a bit lately.'
But then, another image replaced the first. This time, it was a dark-haired beauty clad in a soft kimono, her long hair draped down over one shoulder, carrying bowls of steaming rice as she turned toward them with a gentle voice announcing the meal was ready. Both scenes felt very vivid, each one making the heart in his chest slip a beat before he forced himself to shove the mental pictures aside as well.
"I know for a fact Rei can't cook at all," Igou muttered with a suspicious stare, clearly following the same line of thought. "So that only leaves us with one option, having Saeko actually make breakfast for us… Feels like a dream come true. No wonder she's got half the guys in the school going after her. Hehehe, I can already hear their teeth grinding if they found out what's going on right now."
Takashi gave a faint nod, acknowledging the point without adding much. Almost on instinct, both of them adjusted their appearances, straightening collars, brushing down their hair with quick sweeps of their palms, even pulling themselves up a little taller as though preparing for inspection. Their pace quickened slightly, anticipation creeping in as they neared the kitchen, half expecting Saeko's serene smile waiting on the other side.
"—!?"
Instead, they froze.
The first thing they saw was the table; plates stacked with grilled meat glistening under the sunlights, mashed potatoes in heaping portions, and a large bowl of some thick soup releasing steam. None of it even looked like the standard Japanese cuisine, but that wasn't the real shock.
The real shock was the cook.
The person at the stove was no dark-haired beauty nor a cute brunette… but instead a broad-shouldered man, heavily muscled, wearing nothing but shorts, an apron that covered only the front, and nothing else. He hummed cheerfully while flipping something in the pan, then turned toward them with a grin far too wide for the situation.
"Hey there, lads! Perfect timing. Breakfast's ready! Or you can take a bath first, I already heated the water for you! Or you could join me for some morning exercise."
Their expectations were shattered instantly.
"Argh!"
"My eyes!"
Both recoiled as if blinded, Takashi stumbling back while Igou looked ready to retch.
"You bastard! You tricked us!" the latter snapped, feeling as if they had been robbed of something amazing.
"Eh? What's with those reactions?" Cu asked, looking genuinely confused. "My food can't be that bad?"
"Why the hell are you cooking in just an apron!? Those are not for guys like you!" Igou barked, his face twisting between horror and disgust.
"My clothes are drying! It's hot in here! I wear what I want!" the Irishman shot back.
"You're torturing us!"
"Shut up and eat before I smack you with ma spatula!" he yelled, pointing the pan at them like a weapon.
Takashi barely had time to react before the Cu grabbed both him and Igou by the ears of all things and hauled them into the room like misbehaving children. There had been no chance to resist, no room to argue, just the humiliating tug of his ear until he found himself thrown in a chair at the table. He sat there, rubbing the offended spot, silently cursing his luck while Igou muttered under his breath, stringing together several insults aimed squarely at the blue-haired man across from them.
The man in question didn't even bother replying. A wooden spoon flew across the room in an unerring arc and smacked Igou right in the face.
"You lot are acting as if the world ended," he said, leaning back in his seat with a slight frown. "All because the one cooking wasn't some pretty lass. You act like you've seen something ugly. I'm anything but ugly, thank you very much. Now look at this body. Doesn't it motivate you to get a better body? Inspire you even to reach this level? Both of you are skinny as twigs, and that's not gonna cut it in this environment. You want to survive, you'll need some muscle in those noodle arms."
Takashi didn't want to admit it, but the man had a point. While he was not exactly thin without any muscles, he did find his own physique to be lacking — even on the smaller side compared to Igou, let alone Cu.
"Never mind that," he muttered, shaking the thought off for a later time. "Let's just eat."
He shoved the earlier embarrassment to the back of his mind, hoping it would fade by evening, and focused on the food spread across the table. The sheer amount surprised him. The steam rising off the dishes carried the smell of seasoned potatoes, slow-cooked meat, and fresh bread that filled the whole room.
"I didn't know you could cook," he said at last, eyeing the man who was already piling food on his plate.
"Same," Igou added, still rubbing his face from the spoon assault.
"Ah, thanks. But compared to several people I've met, my cooking is pretty subpar," the Irishman said through a mouthful of potatoes. "I only know the stuff from my hometown, and even then, just a handful of dishes. Picked it up because I had to fend for myself whenever there wasn't a proper kitchen nearby. Ask me to make anything else, and it'll be harder than learning a new rune."
"Runes?"
Takashi froze. That last word slammed into his mind like a hammer.
'Oh right… this guy can use magic… magic is real.'
Yesterday had been a blur with how quickly it went by, and yet those words from before came flooding back: magic is real. He had barely processed it then, thinking it some hallucination conjured up by stress and fatigue. But now, as the man in front of them traced glowing symbols across small stones on the table with his free hand while still eating with the other, Takashi couldn't deny what he was seeing.
"Wow, that's pretty cool," Igou said, eyes wide as he watched the strange markings appear in faint light. He sounded genuinely impressed, as though the concept of magic had already slipped neatly into his worldview without protest. "What's with the squiggly lines?"
"Emergency tools," Cu replied without pausing his work. "So next time things go bad, we won't be stuck smashing cars through a horde to escape. Some of these make barriers. Some act like trackers or waypoints. That one there explodes like a grenade. Here."
"Woa—hey!"
He held up a pebble, then tossed it lightly at Igou. The boy nearly jumped out of his seat. Takashi flinched too, half expecting the thing to blow a hole in the wall.
"Relax," Cu said while waving his hand dismissively, "It's safe. Did some small alterations so that it needs magical energy to activate. Neither of you has any, so it's just a rock. Hurts if it hits you, sure, but no boom."
Even with that assurance, Takashi picked up the rune-carved stone carefully and set it back down as though it might change its mind and go off anyway.
"Where are the others?" he asked, glancing at the door. "We should wrap this up soon and head back to the school. I've got a bad feeling about staying out too long."
"You too, huh? Can't blame you," Cu said, continuing to work on several other stones while finishing his breakfast. "There are snakes lurking in that place, no question about it. I'd bet my entire life savings that some of them are already scheming. That said, they're not the sort to push things too far too quickly. If they did…. Hmph, works out for me. I've got a person in place who would keep the peace for a while, even if it's only temporary. He'll manage, also both Saya, Yoshito, Kyoko, and Kohta, to name a few, will make sure to prevent that outcome. But, well, I'd rather for us not to be gone that long and give Shido much time to prepare whatever he's thinking about."
So he said, but those words did little to soothe his worries that much. But there was nothing he could do about that other than just wait.
"Any plans on what we'll do once we reach the Takagi estate?" Igou asked, pausing to take a long sip from his glass of juice. "It'd be a real waste of time if we go all the way over there just to knock on the door, find out someone's alive, and then turn around without gaining anything else from the trip aside from knowing the optimal path."
Cu leaned against the chair, arms crossed, after finishing with his etching on the stones. "We're going there not just to confirm someone's holdin' the place nor to just scout out a safer route for the buses to travel. This road we're on right now? We need to see if there's a better option. And if the people at the estate have supplies or need something themselves, we can coordinate with them. On our way back, we could collect whatever they ask for to strengthen their defenses and help keep things running. Out here, resources are the number one priority. Doesn't matter if it's the modern day or back in the Stone Age. Even kings learned that lesson fast."
He shifted his weight slightly. "A king waging war didn't lose because his soldiers lacked skill or bravery. He lost when his men starved because the supply lines failed. No matter how strong an army is, without food, water, and shelter, it crumbles before the enemy before they can even swing a sword. That's when order falls apart. And when that happens here? People will turn on each other, fighting over scraps long before the dead get to them."
Igou chuckled at that, shaking his head. "Didn't take you for a philosopher. You keep surprising me every day. Got any more secrets you're hiding?"
Cu smirked faintly. "I've got my share, sure. But most of them wouldn't help you, even if I told you. You'd just end up with more questions than answers. Best to leave some things where they are."
"Oh, come on," the brown haired boy pressed. "Something small at least? Or better yet, teach me something about magic. You said most of us can't use it, but there's got to be a way around that, right?"
Takashi, who had been quietly listening, turned his head at the mention of magic. His interest was obvious. Like many others, he'd grown up watching shows where magic was just part of the fantasy, something people dreamed about before going back to normal life. But now? With the dead walking outside and a man casually talking about mana, the idea of actually learning it felt almost real.
Cu scratched his chin, taking a moment before answering. "There are ways," he admitted. "Back before folks figured out magic circuits, there were always people pokin' around with other ways to mess with the supernatural. Some of it even worked, though not all that well. But first, let's get what magic circuits actually are straight."
He tapped two fingers lightly against his own chest. "Think of them like nerves or blood vessels, only hidden deep inside and invisible. Most people never see 'em, never feel 'em. These circuits pull in mana from the air or the life force inside you, what mages call od, and turn it into energy for spells. Once you learn to control that flow, it's like learning to walk or talk. That's magecraft in a nutshell."
Cu smirked faintly, shifting his weight. "Now, picture it like an engine. Push it too hard, and it overheats or breaks down. But it's also like a muscle. The more you train it, the tougher it gets, the more power you can handle. You use it right, you can cast bigger spells, hold more energy, or just run longer before burnin' out. Thing is, everyone's circuits are different. No two people have the same layout or strength, just like no two people have the same face or build."
Igou's eyes lit up at the explanation. "Whoa, so… it's kind of like those mana cores in video games? Wait, do those actually exist?"
Cu chuckled at the question, not looking the least bit annoyed by the continuous stream of questions. "They do exist! Magic Energy Reactors are a step above magical circuits, and can supply a person or thing with way more magical energy than what a normal person can do. There are a lot of different types, but it's often considered that the most powerful ones are the Magic Cores, which generate magical energy like a factory. Very few people have them, and they're powerful beyond anythin' you'd normally see. You'll usually find them in certain beings like dragons, for instance."
That got both Igou and Takashi to react loudly at the same time. "Dragons are real!?" they shouted. But there was no humor in Cu's expression as he just looked at them with confusion.
"What's so strange about it?" he asked with a faint shrug. "You've already got me here using magic. So why not dragons? Though, don't get any ideas about looking for them. They're gone now, and the few that might still be around wouldn't welcome visitors, probably isolated in the wilderness or away in the supernatural areas. Survive this mess first before thinking about giant, flying lizards that can spit fire and tear through buildings like they were paper. They'd sooner eat you than let you stare at them."
"Wow — Wait, I feel like we're drifting off topic here. Back to what I was asking before. So why don't we just learn how to use these magic circuits? That way, we can use magic against the zombies, too.
Both Takashi and Igou were excited to learn about the magic inside them and how to use it, but Cu put a stop to it before they got any funny ideas.
"Hold the phone there, buddy. I get this excites you and all, but I ain't done. I told you before that magic circuits are different for everybody, right? Well, the truth is, there are cases where people aren't even born with it. That means there's no guarantee you have them in the first place."
The news had ripped the wind right out of their sails as their bodies slumped down, their heads bent down, depressed at the statement.
Igou was the first to reply. "Are you sure… that we don't have them? I mean, is there a way to check?"
"There is!"
Both of their heads snapped up to look at him nervously in anticipation.
"The time it takes to learn how to, check for it, open it, get used to it, and use it could take a while, and have adverse side effects. I don't think it's a good option right now."
"Is there really no other way for us to use magic right now? Think about it, if everyone could do the things you do, we wouldn't even need to rely on the military or the police to clean out this town. We could handle it all ourselves and make things so much easier."
"Well," Cu replied, leaning back slightly as he spoke, "There are other ways, but they're complicated, slow, and not worth the trouble. You'd be better off with a gun. Quicker, simpler, and it gets better results most of the time."
The answer left the boys quiet for a moment. He couldn't deny it was a little disappointing to hear, though part of him wondered if Cu was being entirely honest or just giving them a simple explanation to keep them from pushing further. Still, he accepted it for now.
"Why the long face?" Said the blue-haired man after a moment, raising an eyebrow. "Makes the food taste worse when you look like that. And just because you can't use magic yourselves doesn't mean you can't make use of magical items."
That drew everyone's attention back to him. Their heads turned almost in unison, eyes fixed on Cu as if waiting for more. He smiled with amusement, faintly, before continuing.
"From what I've gathered so far, the infection spreads through bites, saliva, blood, anything like that. So the most basic thing we can do to protect ourselves is stop those nasty teeth from breaking through skin in the first place. I can temporarily reinforce your clothes with my runes, making them as tough as good leather. Long sleeves, pants, those will hold up well enough. Problem comes with the girls' skirts; bare legs won't stay safe if somethin' lunges low. We'll figure something out for that later."
He pushed himself up, stretching his shoulders a little as he prepared to leave. "Anyway, I'll get to work on it. You lot eat as much as you can while there's food. We don't know when the next meal's coming, so fill up your guts, but don't make yourselves sick."
With that, he walked off, leaving the group to sit there, processing everything they had just heard.
{Break}
The conversation went as he initially suspected. Finding the curiosity those two showed to be completely normal. He was a bit surprised that no one asked him any questions, but today, he realised that it was a slow process. Cu's gaze shifted again, this time to the corner where Rei still slept, her long hair spread across the blanket in a disheveled heap.
The talk with the boys had gone smoother than he expected. They had kept their curiosity about magecraft contained yesterday, probably too hesitant or too distracted to voice everything on their minds. Today was different. He could already tell some of them had questions they had forgotten to ask, or perhaps new ones had come to mind after sleeping on the subject. He couldn't blame them. If the roles were reversed, he would have reacted the same. His younger self had been no better when his old teacher first took him under her wing to teach him the ways of Norse magecraft. The runes were interesting enough, sure, but back then, his attention had been fixed squarely on spearmanship.
With that thought lingering in his mind, he returned to his room. The door creaked softly as he pushed it open, and his eyes immediately fell on the figure sprawled across the bed. A certain orange-brown haired girl lay there, completely asleep, her breathing steady, bare chest rising and falling, and a single thin sheet that barely clung to her lower half. "I should probably wake her," he muttered, rubbing the back of his neck. She hadn't even bothered to retrieve her clothes after last night's events.
"Hey, sleepyhead. Breakfast is ready. Time to wake up," he said, crouching beside the bed so his voice reached her without startling her too much.
She responded with a muffled groan, clutching the edge of the sheet and yanking it higher over her shoulder. "Come on, you can't sleep all day," he continued, giving the edge of the bed a small tap with his hand.
"Yes, I can," she murmured, voice barely above a whisper. Her eyes cracked open slightly, unfocused, still half asleep, and some resentment, funnily enough. "Everything… hurts."
He raised a brow at that, leaning a little closer. "We train all the time. Your muscles should be used to it by now. It can't be that bad."
"I'm not talking about training, you idiot," she shot back, voice edged with irritation as she glared at him from beneath messy strands of hair. "I-I'm talking about the other… thing we did… you know…"
So the lass did remember after all, with how drunk she was last night, despite saying otherwise, he was half expecting her to have forgotten all of it by morning. He was guilty of experiencing the same thing in his younger days. Still, he blinked once, then his eyes widened a fraction. "Oh. So you're on your peri—oof!"
The pillow hit him square in the face before he could finish, followed by two hands grabbing the collar of his shirt and hauling him close until their noses nearly touched.
"Not that, you moron!" she snapped, cheeks burning as she locked eyes with him. "It's because someone wouldn't stop last night and kept going until the sun was about to come up! It was my first time, you know!"
He couldn't help it. A faint grin tugged at his mouth despite the glare aimed his way. Teasing her always brought out this fiery side, sharp enough to push through any lingering grogginess. It worked during training, too, whenever she started dragging her feet or complaining about drills.
"Hey, I told you to pace yourself. Not my fault, you ignored the warning. Besides, I was taking it easy on you."
She stared at him like he had grown a second head. "You call that going easy!? If you went all out, I'd be dead by now!"
"You wouldn't died," he said, straightening a little but not moving away. "We'll work on your stamina. Build it up until you can handle it. We'll be able to go longer next time~"
Her face turned scarlet at the casual way he said it, as if they were discussing running laps instead of what actually happened. For a second, it looked like she wanted to argue, but whatever comeback she had died in her throat. She let go of his shirt slowly, and buried her face in his neck, breathing in his scent before muttering under her breath, "You absolute horn dog."
"Yes, I'm also that," he said with amusement.
"Because the usual insults don't cut it anymore," she replied sharply, yanking her face from his neck, though the corner of her mouth twitched like she was holding back a reluctant smile. "I hope we didn't make too much noise last night…"
"With how you were screaming, I had to use some noise-dampening bounded field or else half of Tokonosu's undead population would have been on our front door." He stood, about to head toward the door, when her voice stopped him.
"Hey."
He turned. "Hm?"
She held out both arms toward him, eyes half-lidded but expectant. "Pick me up."
He huffed through his nose, shaking his head with a short laugh escaping his lips. "You send a lot of weird signals, you know that?"
Still, he stepped forward and slid an arm beneath her knees and shoulders, lifting her easily into a princess carry. The sheet slipped off in the process, making her squeak and twist in his hold, hands flying to cover herself while her cheeks darkened further.
"What's the point of hiding? I've already seen everything," he said lightly.
"It's called having shame," She snapped, refusing to meet his eyes. "Something you clearly lack. And don't you dare walk around like that in front of anyone else. Just… only me, alright?"
"I don't know," he said thoughtfully, "Takashi and Igou looked pretty impressed when they saw me in the kitchen earlier."
She froze, then burst out laughing, all traces of sleep gone now. "Why would you traumatize them like that? They didn't deserve it!"
He grinned but kept quiet, noting how she didn't seem as stiff when mentioning Takashi anymore. After everything that had happened, it was good to see some of that tension easing.
"Fine," she said after a moment. "I will join you all for breakfast in a bit. I need a long shower first and check if you did not leave any visible marks on my body."
"Aside from the handprint on your butt, you have nothing to worry about. You know," he said, placing her back down and following her as she walked toward the bathroom, "a shower sounds perfect right now."
Before he could take another step, she shoved a hand into his face, glaring. "What do you think you're doing?"
"Helping you wash the spots you can't reach?" he offered innocently.
"D-Down, boy," Rei said hurriedly, but started to blush, her eyes looking him over, and nibbling on her bottom lip. "M-Maybe we can… no, another time! My body will give out if we try anything again today." She shut the door before he could reply, leaving him standing there with a faint chuckle escaping his throat. Very certain to have heard some hesitation in her last words, the girl clearly contemplated going along with his suggestion.
Regardless, teasing her never got old.
.
.
.
(An hour later)
"Is everyone ready?"
Cu stood at the front door, taking a quick glance over the group before his eyes swept over their surroundings. He had traded his usual school uniform for a pair of dark pants, a sturdy set of boots, and a loud Hawaiian shirt he had pulled out of a closet earlier. The shirt looked wildly out of place with its bright flowers, but he didn't really care. It fit him well enough, and it was comfortable.
"Before we leave, we need a plan."
Saeko leaned against the wall near the window, her arms folded neatly. She had stuck to her school uniform, though she had pulled on a pair of black gloves that covered her wrists. Unlike him, she hadn't bothered to change her outfit much at all.
"She's right," Rei added, brushing her hair back while her expression remained brighter than earlier this morning. "The car's wrecked. Even if we could repair it, staying outside with the noise will bring another horde down on us. I'm not risking it."
"Wait," Takashi spoke up after observing Rei for a few seconds, a slight frown on his face, along with confusion while observing the unusually cheerful girl. "You can use magic, right? Can't you just… fix it with that?"
"Or at least keep it working long enough for us to use it. Just like what you did back then with Yoshito's car?"
"Hold your horses, all of you," Cu said with a small grin tugging at his lips. "Yoshito's car was mostly fixed by having the tire forced back in place and giving it a good smack. My runes can do a fair bit, but they're not some miracle fix for everything. I can't just wave my hand and have the car looking brand new if I don't know the issue. Doesn't work like that. Best option we've got is either going on foot or finding another set of wheels. Even if I managed to fix that car, we would barely fit in it, let alone stock much supplies later on."
Igou frowned from the other side of the room. "So we're really following Shizuka's idea? We don't even know where the car is. She only gave us a vague description of the house, remember?" He cleared his throat and repeated the nurse's words with a deadpan tone. "'A big modern house, several stories tall, metal gate, garage doors, brown walls.' That's it. You know how many places look like that around here? Dozens." He looked toward Cu with a dry expression. "That could be literally anywhere."
"Yeah, I know." Cu scratched the back of his head. "Worst case, we go on foot. As long as we move carefully, we shouldn't attract too many of the dead. They react more to sound than anything else. Maybe smell too, but noise is the main problem. But they don't react to other undead makin' a ruckus, so they probably also have a keen sense of smell. Smellin' like them could help to avoid getting detected? But I can't confirm that theory without testing it."
Rei visibly cringed at what he said next. "You're not about to suggest we coat ourselves with… with their blood, are you?"
The thought earned several disgusted looks from the others. Saeko, however, didn't immediately reject the idea. She seemed to be weighing it seriously while the rest of the group looked horrified. Cu waved off their concerns casually.
"It's not as bad as you're imagining," he replied. "Still, it's a last-resort method. I'd rather avoid it unless we've got no other choice."
"Actually… I think I know where the car is!"
All eyes turned toward the smallest voice in the room. Alice, with her usual bright smile, had raised her hand like she was in class.
"You saw the car?" Igou asked, hopeful.
She shook her head. "Nope!"
"You know where the house is, then?"
Again, she shook her head with the same cheerful energy.
Cu crouched in front of her, lips twitching into a faint, puzzled smile. "Not that I don't trust you, lass, but you're giving us mixed responses here. How can you know where it is if you've never seen it?" He reached out to ruffle her pink hair absentmindedly, which she leaned into with a happy grin.
"Because Zeke knows!" she said proudly, holding up the small dog in both arms so its nose was practically touching Cu's face. The terrier bared its teeth and growled low in its throat, before biting the man's nose. The latter didn't even flinch, just sent the mutt a flat glare.
"Somehow, I doubt that," Cu said evenly.
"He can help!" Alice insisted. "He's the best tracker ever! When I first found him a few days ago, he helped me find my dad's keys after we searched for hours!"
Cu raised an eyebrow. "That so? Well, just so you know, I've got a nose for tracking myself as well. Once, my mate thought she'd be clever and hide her ring deep in a forest, and lied to me that she threw it in a pond. I found it in under an hour. Think your little hound can top that?"
Zeke growled again, as if he understood the challenge.
"Big talk, lad," Cu muttered at the dog. "But outside's crawling with rotters, and the air stinks enough already. Your nose'll be useless in that mess. Best leave this one to the expert."
"Yesterday, you were arguing with the poor little thing. Now you are competing with it to find the car?" Rei said with a look that mixed disbelief and exasperation. "Don't try to outdo an animal. The creature is only trying to help us."
The man, feeling as though he had been betrayed by his own ally, glanced at the animal held within Alice's arms with narrowed eyes. It was clear they all had already fallen for the mutt's charm. "Fine then," he said in a flat voice, knowing it was pointless to fight a losing battle. "Let's see who finds that blasted vehicle first." Without another word, he scooped the girl up and settled her on his shoulders. She laughed softly, resting her arms loosely around his neck as the mutt wagged its tail and promptly rubbed its rear on his head like it owned the place.
"I swear," he muttered, side-eyeing the creature as he felt it wriggle on top of his hair, "if this thing does its business on me, it's going to the fire pit."
"Wait. What exactly are you planning to do?" Igou asked, his brow furrowed, both worry and curiosity creeping into his voice.
"Oh, nothing much. Just going to walk across the walls, check the houses one by one." Cu replied casually, shifting the girl so she wouldn't bump her head. "The thing will be fine. All of you stay quiet until I signal." Before anyone could object, he was already moving. His steps were deliberate, making sure the child was steady before leaping upward.
"Ho!" With a single spring, he landed atop the wall as if he had simply stepped onto a low bench rather than a vertical barrier taller than most men. From below, several undead turned at the sound. Their arms flailed upward, bony fingers stretching for him, but they fell far short. Their guttural noises rose like a foul chorus, but none of them could reach him.
The girl on his shoulders stiffened, clutching at his hair with both fists. He patted her ankle lightly. "You scared?" he asked without looking back.
"...Yes," she admitted in a tiny voice.
"You don't have to be," he replied, stepping across the wall carefully while maintaining his balance. "These rotting things won't even scratch a single hair on your pretty little head. And if more come wandering in, well..." He snapped his fingers casually. "I can make them vanish just like that."
He reached the next house, and the garage door shut tight behind them. With one smooth motion, he jumped down. "Yosh!" he barked, grabbing the metal door. His fingers dug into the sheet of steel. With a rough pull, the door groaned, bent, and finally tore upward with a shriek of metal giving way. Inside were only a few bicycles propped against the wall, no car in sight.
"Guess this is plan B," he said, brushing dust off his palms.
"Wow, you're so strong!" the girl exclaimed, her earlier fear replaced by awe.
Cu chuckled and lifted her again, hopping back onto the wall with easy strength. "You think that's strong? Bet you can do it too," he teased.
"Really?" she asked uncertainly, side-eyeing both him and the dog, who was watching from his shoulder with an untrusting glare.
"Sure. Give it a try. I bet you'll surprise yourself," Cu said, setting her down in front of the next garage.
"All right then... Hmph!" She gripped the handle, puffing her cheeks out as she heaved. The door rattled but didn't rise more than an inch. She didn't notice the spear moving faster than her eyes could follow, sliding forward to punch a neat hole through the center of the metal. The butt end hooked the frame, and with a flick of Cu's wrist, the door flew open.
"Waah!" she yelped as the handle jerked upward, lifting her right off the ground. She dangled for a moment before dropping to her feet, staring wide-eyed at the open garage. Cu had already slung the spear back across his shoulder before she turned toward him.
"I did it!" she said, eyes shining with triumph.
"I knew you had it in you, lass!" Cu said with a grin, scooping her up before she could see the half-eaten corpse slumped in the corner of the garage. Blood pooled beneath the body, black in the dim light. "True spirit of a warrior here, bet you'll start crushing heads soon enough! Right?"
"Crush the heads!"
"Pierce the heart!" He added.
"Pierce the heart!" She repeated loudly as well.
"Hahaha!" He kept moving, leaping back onto the wall before her curiosity drew her gaze to the floor. "This makes two houses down," he murmured, heading for the next one. He felt her arms tighten slightly around his neck, but said nothing. While he did manage to distract her from her earlier fears, it was only temporary, as seeing the undead again would only serve to bring them back again. A traumatic experience would not so easily disappear from someone so young.
"You want to play a game while we look?" he asked after a moment, noticing her mood lift again, the earlier fright fading as they crossed above the streets.
"Another game? Which one?" she asked quickly, the word game already catching her attention like bait on a hook.
"You know about fishing?" he said, smirking as more zombies began to drift from the alleys below, their groans echoing faintly in the evening air. Not as many as yesterday, but still dangerous for the group if they were to head outside.
"My dad used to fish," Alice said suddenly, catching him off guard. Cu's head jerked a little as if he had just stepped on a landmine, blinking before steering the conversation elsewhere with a small, awkward smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.
"You see," he went on, "there are different kinds of fishing. There's the usual one with a rod and some flimsy string tied at the end. That one's good if you just want to sit back, relax, maybe take a nap while waiting for a bite. And then," he grinned, tapping a finger against the spear in his hand, "there's the exciting kind that almost no one does anymore. You can even try it with undead running around here."
Alice raised an eyebrow. "Oh? And what do you call that?"
"Spear fishing," he said with a flourish, as though unveiling a grand idea.
"Spear fishing?" She repeated it slowly, looking at the weapon in his grip before turning back to her.
"Exactly. I take this spear here, throw it at the zombies, and here are the rules. One kill means one point. If I skewer two at once, that's two points. Three in one throw? Three points. And so on. With all these walking corpses around, how many points do you think I can rack up before we reach the next house?"
She didn't answer right away. Instead, the girl tilted her head back and began counting on her fingers, lips moving silently as if calculating the grand total required to win a world championship. "One, two, three, four, five, six… twelve… fifteen…" she murmured with furrowed brows.
He watched her with growing amusement, arms folded, while her concentration grew so intense it was as if the fate of the planet depended on her math. This was going to take a while.
"Alright," he cut in, "how about this? If I manage to nail every single one before we reach the house, I get to flick the dog's nose."
"Woof!" Zeke immediately barked at the proposal, tail stiff as if he understood every word and was ready to lodge a protest.
Seeing Alice hesitate, he leaned in, voice dipping lower. "And while we're at it, I know a shop nearby. On the way, I'll buy you all the candy and ice cream you want, with electricity still running across town, the freezer should still be working and keeping those things cool for now. Who knows… in the future, there may no longer be any way to taste those treats ever again."
Her eyes lit up. "Deal!"
The dog turned to her slowly, ears flattening in disbelief, as though betrayed by his own partner in crime. His grin stretched wider, almost sly now, muttering under his breath, "Damn, I think Archer's attitude is rubbing off on me."
Without wasting another moment, he twirled the spear once and let it fly. The weapon cut through the air like a crimson streak, piercing straight through several skulls in a single throw. The bodies didn't even fall right away. They stood frozen, heads torn open with hollow holes, before collapsing like puppets with their strings cut.
"Six points already?!" Alice shouted, gripping his shoulder in excitement.
With a flick of his hand, the runes carved into the spear blazed, summoning it back. The weapon returned instantly, spinning before landing neatly in his grip. He leapt onto a wall, hurled it again, then vaulted across the street in a fluid rhythm. Each strike was precise and filled with enough force to pierce through a wall if required. Sometimes the spear punched through one skull, sometimes two, sometimes more. Blood sprayed walls and pavement alike, blackened by decay, and occasionally several heads came back stuck on the shaft before burning to ash under the spellwork.
It was as if the weapon had its own will, twisting mid-air to find the next target, obliterating heads without ever striking anything else. Alice clung tighter as the ride grew wilder, her fear gone, replaced by laughter as she shouted numbers that grew less accurate by the second. He didn't care. She was enjoying herself, and so was he.
By the time they reached the third house, the streets were littered with corpses, the air thick with the stench of iron and rot strong enough to turn anyone's stomach. Yet the mood felt absurdly lighthearted. Cu caught the returning spear and swung it hard once to remove all stains, its surface spotless as though untouched by the massacre.
"Alright," he said, glancing at Alice. "What's my total?"
She froze, eyes going wide as realization hit her that she had long since lost count of his score. After a long pause, she blurted the first number that came to mind.
"T-Three hundred thousand?"
"Wow! That has to be a new record in all my years alive," he laughed, knowing full well it was not anything close to that number accepted it nonetheless with pride. "Not even that shishou could match this many in one fight. Now, for my prize."
The large dog growled low in its throat but made no move to stop him. It stayed crouched on the ground, ears twitching as Cu's hand approached its head. The man closed his eyes slightly as if preparing to flick the creature's nose, yet the strike never came. Instead, the dog felt a slow nudge followed by a firm hand ruffling the fur atop its skull.
"You silly mutt," he said, smirking as he patted the creature's head in a steady rhythm. "You're still ten times too small for me to take you seriously. Grow up a bit, and maybe then I'll think about it."
The dog blinked at him with what could only be called reluctant acceptance, muscles relaxing as it allowed the brief moment of attention. After a few more seconds, Cu pulled his hand away, grip tightening around the shaft of his spear. He turned toward the thick steel door barring their path.
Without so much as a warning, the weapon blurred through the air. His movements were too fast for Alice's eyes to follow, each strike forming shallow grooves across the metal's surface. Again and again, the spear cut until the entire sheet shuddered, split, and finally crashed to the ground in hundreds of pieces.
Alice half expected to find nothing but an empty garage or maybe some neglected bicycles behind it, yet Cu only whistled at what lay inside.
"So Shizuka-sensei wasn't lying after all," he said. "I like it."
{Break}
-Takagi Estate-
Gunfire cracked across the Takagi estate courtyard, drowning out nearly every other sound. Dozens of bodies, both dead and undead, littered the open space, the smell of blood and gunpowder mixing into a harsh stench that clung to everything. Soldiers stood behind makeshift defenses of overturned military trucks, stacked cement barriers, and rolls of barbed wire. Every time one of the undead got close, the line of rifles answered in unison, the recoil slamming against tired shoulders.
"We're running low on ammo!" someone shouted between bursts of fire. "We need resupply now!"
"There are civilians mixed in with the horde! Orders, sir?" another called out, voice breaking as he sighted down his weapon.
"We lost contact with the recon team too!" a third reported, frustration leaking through his words.
One after another, men yelled across the gunfire, keeping their weapons trained on the mass of bodies pressing closer. Their eyes were bloodshot, some from exhaustion, others from the chaos wearing down what nerves they had left. A few simply fired at anything that moved, barely able to focus enough on keeping their hands steady. Others hesitated when familiar faces appeared among the undead, faces of neighbors or old friends stumbling forward with empty eyes and torn flesh. Worse still were the living civilians still trapped inside the swarm, waving and screaming for help. Any attempt to save them ended quickly, either cut down by the horde or by bites too deep to stop the infection from spreading.
At the center of it all, Soichiro Takagi stood watching, his expression tight and lined from lack of sleep. He had gone nearly two days with little rest, juggling the defense of the estate, the morale of his soldiers, and the steady stream of survivors pouring through their gates, which was by no means an easy thing to manage.
"Tetsutarou," he ordered, voice carrying across the barricade, "get Senji and the others to bring ammunition from the basement and resupply the front line. Team B, if you spot survivors inside that horde, do not stop shooting! If they're not torn apart already, then they're infected. We can't risk bringing them in! Hold steady for those still living within these walls!"
He shifted his gaze toward the communications team. "Akira, keep trying to reach the recon squad. If there's nothing within the hour, we assume the worst and send reinforcement to the nuclear plant. Tell the team protecting the water treatment plant to continue their operation and to ask for reinforcement in case they see a large number of dead getting close."
Each command came clearly from his mouth, mostly consisting of a defensive approach to these issues and protecting what they still had rather than going on the offensive and retaking lost land or facilities.
They had been forced into such a position, holding ground but unable to advance. The estate's layout, at least, gave them a chance. It stretched over a broad expanse with reinforced gates, enough outbuildings to store supplies, and open spaces that allowed clear lines of sight for sentries. Barricades had gone up at each perimeter, their angles carefully taken into consideration so no blind spot was left unguarded. Patrol routes had been drawn, men rotated in shifts, the estate slowly turning into a fortress rather than a home with several survivors seeking refuge.
"You should try to sleep," a calm voice urged beside him.
He turned to find a beautiful, slender woman with long purple hair reaching her back, approaching him while fastening a gun holster around her red dress. His wife looked energetic to anyone looking at her, though the faint shadows beneath her eyes betrayed her exhaustion. Her beauty had not faded, even now… but if he had to describe it, then it was her usual brightness that seemed to have dulled.
"You haven't eaten anything since morning," she continued, the concern in her tone clear as she stopped a few paces from him. "This is no way to keep going."
He studied her face for a moment before answering, noting the slight hoarseness in her voice. "You don't look much better," he said quietly. Despite the situation, she remained composed, the same woman who had stood by him through every trial; he trusted her judgement, but unfortunately, could not afford to rest. The survival of his men, the survivors, and the people who served him was not the only thing that plagued both of them.
The thought of their daughter filled their mind and grew with each passing moment. She had not reached the estate; no messages, no sightings, nothing. Fujimi High School was the most likely place she might still be stuck in if that place had not been overrun by now, but even that was a guess. The other possibility, the one his mind pushed back against each time it surfaced, made his chest tighten. He forced it down again, unwilling to give it shape.
"I swear on my name, on our family's name," he murmured, taking her hand, "I will bring her back alive."
She squeezed his fingers gently, grounding him as always before guiding his face toward hers until they shared a gentle kiss.
"Our daughter is not reckless," she told him firmly. "She knows how to survive. As her mother, I feel it; she's alive. And as her father, you must keep that same faith. Our blood runs through her veins. This will not be enough to take her from us."
Her confidence bled into him slowly, pushing back the darker thoughts until he managed a faint smile. She had always been his strength when his own began to fray. He had returned that strength when she faltered. "I hope her friends made it too," she added softly. "I tried to reach out to Komuro. She's just as desperate for news of her son being safe and sound. If we can help them, we will."
"Tadashi's a good kid," he replied after a moment. "If he's with her, she won't be alone. I trust him… and I trust her judgment."
Boom!
Their moment of peace was quickly ended by the sound of a loud explosion coming from the distance. Soichiro quickly turned his attention back to the front lines, where, much to his dismay, one of the trucks had been set ablaze with towering waves of fire and black plumes rising in the air. This immediately put the group at the forefront in danger as their path back to the estate was cut off.
"Damn it! How did this happen!?" He demanded while running forward, sword in hand, while his wife followed along as well.
"H-Hayate was carrying the bombs to place around the perimeter! I heard him shout one of his relatives' names amongst the horde, and he tried to stop us from firing and got shot instead by accident! W-We didn't have enough time to react and stop shooting!" One of the soldiers explained with shame on his face, his explanation forcing the man to curse under his breath. This being one of the main issues that worried him the most, soldiers faltering at the sight of their families amongst the undead and making irrational decisions.
He could not even blame them, for he understood what they were going through and the horror of seeing their loved ones dying.
"H-Help! We're out of ammunition!"
"The fire is spreading!"
Now, faced with two options, Soichiro realized that they didn't have enough personnel to handle these two tasks at once. If the fire continued to spread, then it would encroach upon the estate and burn down important supplies and vehicles. But this would leave his trapped men on their own without any way to save them in time.
Without even realising, his body started to move and was about to head in front, only to be stopped by Yuriko. "Dear, I know what's going through your mind, and I am telling you that you are only walking to your death."
"I can grab one of the vehicles to make my way to the front and aid the men; they can use the vehicle to bring back any wounded, and we can hold our position until Tetsutarou returns with the ammunition."
"You know full well that won't work! With only a sword in hand or even a gun, their numbers are just high, and many of the front-line men have been injured by the explosion." She insisted, and he knew she was right. "Our best option now is to put out this fire before it becomes too big for us to control. Reinforce the entrance and slowly build up our defences while regaining our strength. We can take back the lost ground tomorrow."
But that would entail sacrificing dozens of lives.
Stuck in a dilemma, Soichiro knew he could not stay idle without making a decision at that moment. "What kind of leader would I be if I were to just sacrifice them while staying here doing nothing?"
"Honey…"
"I am not planning on dying anytime soon. I still have my promise to uphold on getting our daughter back safe and sound. It is a risk, I admit, but having those men alive will benefit us more than anything else. You focus on putting out the fire, I will go ah—hm?" His words came to a sudden halt, not because of another explosion or incident, but rather due to him seeing an odd sight at the corner of his eyes.
That of several zombies being thrown in the air by something approaching fast.
"Car incoming!"
Several of his men shouted, everyone staring at a black Humvee tearing through the horde and throwing bodies left and right. The sight alone was quite ridiculous to say the least, given he was certain this was not one of his vehicles, nor was it the military, given the conclusion of their last communication. But instead, his eyes were more drawn to what was happening on top of the car itself, which his wife just happened to voice out the next moment.
"Is that… a man standing on top of the car with… a spear?"
"..."
He could not say anything for that was indeed the case, a familiar blue-haired man holding a spear standing on top of the car. On the other hand, holding several glowing… rocks? Whatever those were, throwing them in the air all at once, all of them shining brightly for a brief moment like stars in the night sky. But the sun was still up, and those things gave him a bad feeling; he immediately tensed until they landed in the middle of the infestation…
Boom!
Several explosions occurred one after the other, taking out a large chunk of the zombies that were going to overrun the frontline soldiers and raising a large cloud of smoke that spread everywhere. "Ugh!" He raised his arms to shield his face from the wind smacking against them. Yuriko held onto him for stability as several tents and supply boxes were getting thrown away.
"—!"
Soon, a figure emerged from the smoke and landed in front of him, making him instinctively go for his sword and about to unsheath it — only for a foot to kick the end of the katana and force the sword back in.
'This boy…'
Memories came back, from the time day tried to uncover the mystery behind the dead body found at the shrine. The same face, the same smile, and the same reaction speed that rendered him unable to even counterattack. This time holding a spear and… a puppy on his head?
"Yo, old man, long time no see. Still got that sharp frown on your face, I see, and still looking as uptight as ever. Anyway, came here to help ya out."
Soichiro felt like his day was just going to be one long headache.
-------------
The next 5 chapters of Snafu, and my other Fate fics (Fate Coiling Sword with 3 chapters, A Fake Familiar Reborn with 3 chapters, Steel Eyed Faker soon to be 3 chapters, Hound having 3 and To love a sword having 4 chapters) are already available on my P@treon. With 4 more Broly chapters at /NimtheWriter. Also, I post commissioned arts on each story, already posted a few on an Archer's Promise, Broly and Snafu.