POV: Isao Tsumugi.
My body moved at an incredible speed. I could hear some students running after me, as well as Kotobuki's screams, but I didn't want to stop.
Blood boiled in my veins, my mind strained to the limit, and my instincts became as sharp as a blade.
Running inside, jumping over the broken door, I instantly spotted several of the dead standing inside the coffee shop.
An instant, and I created blades, forcing them to fly toward them, severing their small heads. A fountain of blood sprayed from their necks, managing to cover my body, but I paid it no attention, leaping over the cash register and running up the stairs.
There were even more of the dead here. Again, the blades went into action, slicing their bodies. Running up, I found myself in the corridor.
Just this morning, it had been incredibly clean, and now… blood on the walls, broken picture frames, and the dead.
A wild roar escaped me, and I waved my hand, forcing a blade to fly toward them with the power of my thought, killing them one last time.
Damn, damn… damn!
I accelerated even more, killing the dead, and noticed they were all gathered around the door to my mother's room. I just swung a blade forward down the corridor, horizontally.
My heart hammered wildly in my chest as I ran to the door. I tried to open it, failed, and punched the door near the handle, opening it from the inside.
Mother's room was in complete chaos. Various objects lay scattered here and there; her always-tidy room resembled a terrible dump.
"No… no…" I started to scan the room nervously until I noticed a slightly shaking closet and the quiet cry of a child, muffled by the closed door. My body moved faster than my mind, and I ran toward it.
I yanked the closet doors, almost tearing them off, and saw my mom's familiar eyes, but they were full of fear, and also a little girl with dark hair, whose mouth Mom was covering with her hand, pressing the girl close to her.
[Save Kyok…]
[Silver…]
For a few moments, we just stared at each other, frozen in surprise and relief. Then we just reached for each other, hugging tightly, squeezing the little girl between us, who had stopped crying.
"Oh… Mom… Mom…" I pressed her to me, breathing in her scent, kissing her cheeks and neck incessantly, overwhelmed with emotion.
"…" She just wept quietly with joy. "You came… I knew you'd make it, my boy. I knew and believed in you." She was flushed with excitement, while I, having stopped kissing her, just held her and breathed in her scent. "W-where's Ko-chan?"
"Mom!" Just as we thought of her, she appeared, rushing straight to us and joining the group hug, sobbing loudly. "Mom! I-I was s-so scared! I already thought the w-worst!" She continued to sob.
We sat like that for a while, hugging and comforting each other. I held my arms tightly around them, letting K-imoto, Mom, and this girl cry out all their tears.
Slowly, our hug loosened, and the little girl who had been in the center of our embrace took a deep breath.
"Uwa-h…" She grabbed her chubby cheeks, tear-streaked, and started to complain in her squeaky voice, her nose full of snot. "Ah, I almost suffocated!"
"Sorry, sweetie." Mom smiled and hugged the girl more gently with her right arm, under mine and my sister's bewildered gazes.
"Okay, Mom, I'd like to know who this girl is first, and then leave, but we don't have time for that, so let's go." I held out my hands, taking Mom and the girl by the hand, and nodded to K-imoto, who was looking at me. We all stood up and headed for the exit, and right at that moment, my… friends? appeared at the door.
"Isao! Are you okay?!" Takashi ran up, holding his bat. Several others appeared behind him: Hisashi, Saeko, and Takuzo. "Ah, oh… hello, Tsumugi-san." He immediately relaxed and even got a little embarrassed about how he'd appeared at the door.
"Hello, Takashi-kun. I apologize that we have to meet all of you like this." She smiled awkwardly, gesturing at the corridor.
"Yeah, th-that is, no, not at all, Tsumugi-san, it's fine!" Takashi stammered, looking down in embarrassment.
"Alright," I stared at Takashi with an unblinking gaze. The woman I was holding hands with right now was mine, and there was no need to get flustered over simple words. Noticing my gaze, he turned pale. "Let's get going. We need to go pick up that guy's relatives. Let's go, Mom."
"Yes, let's get out of here. Afterward, you must introduce me to all your friends." She pulled me down closer to her mouth and whispered quietly, "especially that girl who's staring at you without looking away." What?
"Mom, please… we're in the middle of a zombie apocalypse. Let's get to a safe place first, and then you can ship me with girls." She smirked, looking at me playfully.
Everyone standing at the door nodded to me and went out. We followed them and started to leave the room, when Mom suddenly gasped.
"Oh, wait!" She let go of my hand, walked quickly to the still-open closet, and knelt, sorting through some boxes on the bottom shelf until she pulled one out. "Here it is!"
Opening it, she took out one large, thick album, which I recognized at first glance. No one forgets the family album.
"Now we can go…" She walked over to us, hugging the album. Seeing her expression, my heart fluttered. You could only see the love she felt for us on her face.
I sighed quietly, holding back tears. Everything was fine. Mom was fine, and so was my little sister. I had made it in time to save Mom, and now I just had to protect them.
Slowly, a smile full of happiness appeared on my face. Yeah, maybe the world had gone to shit and everyone was going crazy over it, but as long as I kept getting these "tickets," everything would be fine. With these tickets, I could get more powers to help me protect my loved ones, give them comfort and safety.
I just need to save people and kill zombies. That's the easiest way to get tickets. Yeah, just save people and kill zombies.
I left the room first, followed by K-imoto, who was still looking at the girl—not with confusion about where she came from, but more with curiosity about who she was. Mom was last, holding the girl's hand.
In the corridor, Mom and the girl flinched at the bloody sight. Then, examining the carnage, Mom noticed one thing—or rather, several blades—sticking out of the walls. As soon as she did, her head slowly turned to me, looking with confusion and surprise.
"Yeah, Mom, a lot has happened. But let's get to the bus first, and I'll explain everything there, okay?"
"Yes, you will have to explain in detail where several bloody steel blades came from sticking out of our hallway wall. In great detail." Her voice was serious, but also worried.
"Oh, he probably awakened a superpower, like in manga!" the girl shouted loudly. Her voice was joyful and happy, but a careful look showed what mattered: she was clinging tightly to Mom, holding her hand.
"Mm-m…" My blank face was their answer.
"Isao, from your face, it looks like what Rin-chan said is true. But just to be sure, is it real?" I nodded. "Good grief, then I'm probably dreaming, because of all those manga ideas you share with me." I shook my head. "Right, we're leaving, we're going to this bus of yours, and you're going to explain everything in minute detail!" She forged ahead, holding the girl, Rin, by the hand. I followed her, putting my arm around my sister, hugging her. We were both glad we had managed to come and save Mom.
The familiar corridors were left behind with every step, and K-imoto's hand holding mine grew tighter. We were leaving the home we'd lived in since birth, maybe forever. But I preferred to believe we were leaving this place temporarily, that we would return as soon as I got more abilities to help clear out the whole city.
We walked downstairs, following Mom's slow pace as she looked at the wallpaper, the tables with framed photos, and just the whole interior in general.
I didn't even need to see Mom's face to understand how downcast and desolate she felt, but she didn't show it. As always.
She didn't slump her shoulders or hang her head in these circumstances that were forcing us to leave our own home—in Mom's case, the home that once belonged to her parents.
And that was just sad. I didn't want Mom to keep everything inside, but she always did, seeing me as a little son who needed protecting, not noticing that I had long since grown up and become a young man whose shoulder she could finally lean on, vent to, and just know that I'm here.
But I hope I can show her that I'm no longer the little boy she tried to protect from everything, who she cared for when I came home with bruises from fights and brawls, who she always supported in all my endeavors—but a grown man who wants to take care of her and give her all the love I have.
We descended quietly to the first floor in silence. Mom walked up to the counter with Rin and ran her hand over it, looking at it. She took a shuddering breath and then just headed for the exit without looking back, proving how hard this all was for her.
When we all got outside, I noticed some of the guys had gotten off the bus, helping the four from earlier kill zombies that were approaching the roaring sound of the bus engine.
Mom froze in front of the bus, as did Rin, looking in surprise at the people inside and at the bus itself. Then she turned to me, her eyes a little moist, but her voice unwavering.
"You need to explain everything. Right now."
"Mom, get inside first. We have to go, and I'll explain on the way." She nodded, and gripping the girl's hand, she walked to the open bus door. I heard her gasp in surprise as she saw Marikawa-san, who, according to her, sometimes visited them.
"Everyone, let's move!" I called out, and we all started to board the bus. K-imoto was first, following right after Mom. Letting Saeko go ahead, I got on the bus after her and glanced at the cabin.
K-imoto had already sat Mom down in the back row with the girl and was talking to them. Mom had a focused look, while the girl was pressed into her arms.
Nodding inwardly, I scanned for the kid whose parents were alive and locked at home. Seeing him, I called him over and told him to explain where he lived to Marikawa-san. Then I just walked toward my family, holding onto the handrail as the bus lurched into motion.
The moment I sat down next to K-imoto, Mom started asking questions.
"Where did your superpowers come from, Isao-chan?" She looked at me with concern. Of course, one can never be calm after finding out their child has had superpowers for an unknown amount of time.
"It's hard to explain, but I have something like a gacha for all this stuff." My voice was quiet, letting only K-imoto, Mom, and Rin hear me. "Every time I do something significant, I get some tickets of varying value, and when I use them, I get a superpower or something else."
"Like your crow?" She looked at me, and I nodded. Just then, Rin spoke up, whispering her question too, imitating me.
"Can you get Star Platinum?" She looked at me with eyes burning with enthusiasm, and I didn't want to disappoint her, so my answer wasn't negative, even though I wasn't sure.
"Probably, kiddo. But the question is, how did you end up with my mother? And do you want to be my little sister?" At my second question, K-imoto grabbed my leg. God, don't tell me you're getting jealous of a little girl.
"Um-m, I don't want to answer that…" She buried her head in Mom's lap, making Mom sigh and look at me with an unimpressed expression.
"Isao, Kotobuki, meet your new little sister, Rin Tsumugi. I saved this little girl when she and her mother were trying to escape from a crowd of zombies. Unfortunately, as you can understand, I only managed to help this little princess." She started stroking Rin's hair, and we heard quiet sobs. "And now she's your little sister. Take care of her, okay?" She looked at us, and we nodded. "But I have a few more questions for you, Isao. I'll ask them, alright?"
"Yeah, of course. I don't mind, Mom."
"When did you get the power to control metal? Before the first dead person appeared at the gate, or after?" This question made me freeze, and I slowly lowered my head.
"Before that… zombak… appeared…"
"Then why didn't you kill him as soon as he showed up?" Mom's voice wasn't judgmental, but rather serious, with a slight hint of concern.
"I… I was in shock when I saw the teacher collapse, and then he just got up and tore out half the neck of the other teacher who was trying to snap him out of it. Then all my thoughts revolved around K-imoto, and I completely forgot to use my powers to just kill those three." As I spoke, she just nodded, and hearing my last words, K-imoto just hugged me. Not to mention Mom's gaze, which slowly warmed.
"I… I'm not judging or disappointed in you, Isao, but… you needed to try harder, to think more deeply and stay calm… it's… yes, maybe it was hard to process, and your first thought was to protect Ko-chan, but you could have protected her by killing those three." She looked me in the eyes, her gentle, loving eyes. "Those lives lost at school can't be brought back, but… you just need to save more people who need your strength, right?"
"Y-yes, Mom…"
"It's okay, sweetie. As cruel as this sounds right now… they also should have been more sensible. From what Ko-chan said, it's clear all the students started scattering everywhere, not watching where they were going, causing human traffic jams in the hallways…" She nodded and looked down at her new daughter—and our new sister. The number of people I had to protect had just grown by +1.
K-imoto hugged me and laid her head on my shoulder, whispering little stupid things in my ear, trying to distract me from everything Mom had just said.
"Onii-chan, Rei and I…" I looked at Kotobuki, and she stopped when she saw my gaze.
"Yeah?" It seemed like she wanted to tell me something important, but then decided against it for some reason.
"…No, it's nothing. Let me just hug you." We were already hugging, but whatever.
"Um… okay…"
Think deeper and calmer, huh?
[Do you want to use your ticket?]
The gacha suddenly appeared before my eyes, and I flinched slightly, as I hadn't even noticed when I got a new ticket.
[Saving your mother]
Oh, I got a ticket for that too? Well, then go ahead, use this ticket.
[Soul Read]
|Uncommon Ability|
JoJo - Allows you to ask the soul questions that it will answer with yes or no, cannot be used on targets stronger than you. Souls can only answer yes or no questions and cannot lie to you.
Oh… Whoa! An ability from JoJo? So, I really can get Star Platinum? It must be in there somewhere!
It's a shame it's a nerfed version of Atum's ability—only reading souls, not stealing them—but even this is a very good power. I swapped [Aura of Despair] for [Soul Read] and asked K-imoto a question.
"K-imoto, do you love me?"
"Of course, Onii-chan." She smiled at me, not even knowing that right now I could see her soul literally screaming…
Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!
"Do you love me as an older brother?"
"Um, yeah?" She looked at me, puzzled.
Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!
I whispered the next question in her ear.
"Do you love me like a guy you would date and have children with?" Hearing the question, she instantly blushed. Of course, the question was generally stupid and lewd, but I didn't care. I knew what kind of girl she was; I'd read her search history.
"Ah, don't be ridiculous, baka-ani! When did you become such a pervert? We're brother and sister!" She said one thing, but her soul said another.
Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!
"I love you too, little sister." I kissed her on the cheek and, getting up, went to the front of the bus. Walking up, I saw the guy whose name I barely remembered—Yamada, just a normal guy—and Hayashi-san sitting in the first row.
"So, are we there yet?"
"Ah…" Yamada turned around sharply and sighed when he saw me. "Y-yes, we should be close…"
Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!
"Call your parents. Tell them to be ready. After we pick them up, we have to head straight for the bridge and get to the Mansion before dark, or at least before it gets too late." After telling him that, I sat down next to Hayashi-san. He immediately started pulling out his phone, and at the same time, Hayashi-san looked at me, her glasses glinting.
"You've grown into such a responsible man, Isao-kun." She smiled at me. "I remember when we first met, when you beat up those boys."
"Eh, I've always been responsible. I just never had a need to extend that responsibility to strangers before now."
"Uh-huh, sure. And that's exactly why you used to beat up all sorts of scummy student bastards who were extorting money and hitting on girls, right?" She smiled slyly. She was the one I often ended up with after fights near my school.
"Yeah, I just didn't want someone I could get money from to not have it because of some little shits. Not to mention the chance that those morons would hit on some random girl instead of my little sister."
"Yes, yes, of course, Isao-kun." She nodded several times with an important look and looked forward. "It's a good thing your grades are always good, and your performance too, even though you sometimes skip classes. Otherwise, the school would have had to keep you for extra lessons. Or is that a bad thing? You could have spent time with your deeply respected and beloved teacher." She puffed her chest out a bit, giving them more volume, capturing my gaze. Was she flirting with me?
"Well, I didn't know that bad grades could get me time with such an experienced woman as you." I wasn't going to back down from this. After saying it, I just smirked, making her blush. The [Beauty] trait really helps. But there's just one question: when did she start finding me attractive? Even before all this started?
"Oh, sorry, I was actually going to talk to you about that today. I heard Teshima complaining about you again in the staff room, saying you jumped over a fence as tall as a grown man." Even while blushing, she didn't stop talking, and even got a little bolder, slowly reaching her hand toward my thigh.
"Hm…" I watched her with an intense gaze, making the blush spread slowly from her cheeks to her neck and ears.
"We're here, hooray!" Marikawa-san slammed on the brakes and opened the door, making Keko and me stop what we were doing and snap out of it.
Yamada immediately ran out, and I followed him at a calm pace, pretending to take glasses out of my pocket, although I actually got them from the gacha storage and put them on. I heard footsteps behind me.
I glanced back to see who it was and saw Takashi with Hisashi, and also Saeko. There wasn't much need for them, as there were no zombies in this area at all, but whatever.
"So, what's the plan now, Isao? We've picked up everyone we could. Where to next?" Hisashi asked the question while we watched Yamada hug his parents and younger brother.
"Isao, there's a small problem. Rei…"
"I found something out." Rei herself got off the bus and stood next to me. "Two of the girls… their father was in the hospital when all this started, and they… still hope he's alive." Translation: we have to go and look for the girls' father. Looks like we're not getting out of this city today.
"Alright. Tell them to find a picture of him on their phones and be ready to show it. And yeah, get on." I watched as Yamada and his family walked toward us. His father was an ordinary office worker, as his mother likely was too, and his younger brother was just a normal kid. Nothing special at first glance. We'll get to know them better later.
Takashi and the others nodded and got on the bus. Makes you wonder why they even got off if there was no need for them.
"Hello, Yamada-kun's parents. I'm Isao. In short, your and your son's savior." I held out my hand to Yamada's father, who shook it gratefully, while his mother thanked me.
The only good thing is that they're decent people capable of gratitude.
[Save the Yamada family]
[Bronze Ticket]
Use the ticket.
[Flashlight]
|Trash Ability|
You can emit a beam of moderate-intensity light from your hands, a useful replacement for a flashlight but not useful for much else.
Trash…