Disclaimer: I own nothing, this is purely a fanfic for enjoyment.
Cross-over from various games, books, anime, manga, and movies.
The familiar characters you see here belong to their respected authors and owners.
"Speech"
Time*
Arc 1: Mental Illness - Chapter 5
I moved fast, letting my briefcase hit the floor as I closed the distance in a heartbeat. My free hand clamped gently but firmly over Saya's mouth the moment she looked like she was about to shout, cutting the sound off before it could escape. My pulse stayed steady, eyes locked on hers, silently urging her to stay quiet.
"Please be mindful of the situation and don't shout." I said calmly, keeping my hand over her mouth just enough to steady her breathing. "Your friend out there is already making more than enough noise—drawing every zombie in the area straight toward this neighborhood."
Saya's face flushed red, her expression twisting as she looked ready to scream. Before she could, Saeko stepped in beside her, placing a firm hand on her shoulder and giving a small shake of her head.
The gesture worked. Saya slowly settled, though her eyes stayed locked on me in a sharp glare, frustration burning behind them.
I slowly removed my hand and stepped back, giving her some space before walking over to retrieve my briefcase from the floor.
"So, is everyone just going to wait here for the guy to come back?" I asked the three of them.
Despite my words, my attention kept drifting to Shizuka, who was completely naked, rubbing at her eyes as she swayed slightly—still half-asleep and clearly not fully aware of the situation yet.
"It's not like we can just leave him out there." Saya huffed, rolling her eyes as she adjusted the glasses on her face. "And who are you, anyway?"
"Touhou Fuhai." I introduced myself calmly. "And I'm the one who stopped your lovely naked friend here from wandering outside drunk and getting herself eaten by the zombies."
"Takagi Saya. And why are you here, anyway?" Saya narrowed her eyes at me before stepping in front of Shizuka protectively. She turned her head toward the completely unclothed school nurse and immediately snapped. "Why are you naked?! Go put some clothes on!"
"Ah! No wonder it feels so cold!" Shizuka yelped, suddenly realizing her situation as she hurried off to the side, grabbing the first clothes she could find and pulling them on in a flustered rush.
I stared at Saya blankly for a moment, letting the silence hang between us. Then I turned without another word and raised my handgun, firing at the zombies that had begun shuffling closer to the front gate—drawn in by the shouting she'd just caused.
Then I set the briefcase down and flipped it open. Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out a loaded magazine and smoothly reloaded the handgun. The empty one went straight into the briefcase before I snapped it shut again.
I picked up the briefcase, quickly patting down my pockets to double-check how many magazines I still had on me.
2 magazines left—10 rounds each. More than enough to keep the zombies off me and make sure I didn't get surrounded.
I glanced back at Saya, who was staring at me in stunned silence.
"Please be mindful of the amount of noise you make. Thank you." I said calmly.
Saya looked like she was about to snap back at me, her mouth parting in protest. But her gaze flicked to the handgun in my hand, and whatever argument she had ready seemed to die on her tongue.
"So what's your plan, Touhou?" Saeko asked, calmly brushing off the distant gunshots echoing from above.
"Wait! Why are we even bothering with this guy?!" Rei shouted, cutting me off before I could answer Saeko. "Takashi's out there risking his life to rescue someone, shouldn't we be thinking of a way to help him instead of just standing here doing nothing?!"
I raised my handgun and pointed it straight at Rei, making her flinch as she instinctively stumbled back a few steps.
The tension in the air spiked instantly, and everyone became tense.
"You're not very bright like your pink-haired friend here, are you?" I said dully, never breaking eye contact with Rei. "I just told you to be mindful of the noise you make, and yet you're screaming like there aren't any zombies nearby listening."
I kept staring at her without blinking for a long, uncomfortable moment.
I slowly lowered my handgun. Around me, shoulders loosened, and I could hear the faint, collective exhale as everyone released the breath they hadn't realized they were holding.
"Anyway, since you really want to rescue that foolish friend of yours…" I paused for a moment as more gunshots echoed from the balcony. "Have someone else draw the zombies' attention away. That way, he'll have a much easier time escaping with fewer of them chasing him."
"And who exactly is supposed to draw the zombies' attention away?" Saya squinted at me. "I already know it won't be me, not that I want to, which I don't. But more importantly, I'm not athletic. I'm a genius, not a runner." She adjusted her glasses with a huff. "It's smarter for me to use my brain instead of doing physical stuff, which is clearly my weakness."
"I would." Saeko said calmly, briefly glancing over at Rei before returning her gaze to me. "But I need to stay here and protect those who can't fight back." She held my eyes steadily. "Is there anything we could offer in exchange for your help, Touhou?"
"Judging by the sound of gunshots above us, you've got firearms." I said, glancing upward as another shot rang out. "I want to take one for myself."
I kept my gaze lifted for a moment, already knowing Kohta Hirano was up there helping Takashi—cutting down zombies before they could get close enough to take a bite.
"Out of the question—" Rei started, only to be cut off by Shizuka before she could finish.
"If I remember correctly, there are, like, 3 firearms?" Shizuka said, tapping her chin with her index finger as she stared up into the night sky with a puzzled expression. "I don't really know what they are, but I'm sure Rika wouldn't mind giving one up in a time of need."
I didn't need any more input. Turning on my heel, I headed inside, rushed upstairs, and went straight for the locker holding the firearms.
Before Kohta could react, I snatched the semi-automatic sniper rifle right out of his hands while he was gathering the others to take them downstairs.
"W–What? Hey!" Kohta shouted, lunging after me.
I slipped past him easily and burst out onto the balcony. Without slowing, I vaulted over the railing, landing cleanly on the metal fence below, right in front of everyone's stunned eyes.
A sharp whistle cut through the night.
The zombies turned instantly.
I dropped from the fence and sprinted off in the opposite direction of Takashi, leading the horde away as fast as my legs could carry me.
Keeping the semi-automatic sniper rifle tucked securely under my arm, I fired my handgun at any zombies that got too close to slip past. I continued whistling loudly, making sure their attention stayed locked on me.
Spotting an open window, I vaulted through it and slipped inside someone's house without breaking my pace. Once inside, I set the sniper rifle and my briefcase down on the floor and quickly reloaded my handgun.
After that, I refilled the empty magazine with fresh rounds, slid it back into place, and stored the handgun in the briefcase along with the other magazines in my pocket.
Then I started moving through the house, quietly checking each room for anything useful, hoping to find some illegally purchased sniper ammo stashed away somewhere, since I'd forgotten to grab any from Kohta in the rush.
Thanks to the 2nd Official Rule being in play, I managed to find a small plastic storage box of sniper ammo tucked away in a drawer, containing about 50 rounds.
I dumped the entire stash into my briefcase, somehow squeezing them in despite all the other gear already packed inside.
No extra magazines, though.
Looks like I was stuck with just the single magazine for the sniper rifle.
Including the loaded magazine already in the sniper rifle, that gave me a total of 70 sniper rounds to work with before I'd run dry.
I grabbed my briefcase and slung the sniper rifle back over my shoulder before rushing out of the house. As soon as I hit the street again, I whistled loudly, making sure the zombies stayed focused on me and away from the others.
Without my handgun readily available, avoiding the zombies became much harder. So I switched to a more difficult escape route instead.
I leapt up onto a fence, landing lightly and balancing with ease before sprinting along it. From there, I jumped to the next nearby fence, then the next—moving from rail to rail without slowing, the zombies struggling to follow below.
Once I'd put a good distance between the zombies and me, I took a quick detour and doubled back right away, easy enough thanks to Flawless Execution.
In no time, I made it back just as the others were finishing off the remaining zombies at the front of the house.
Takashi hurried inside with the little girl, Alice Maresato, in his arms, Saeko close behind him. Outside, Kohta fired the pump-action shotgun again, dropping several more zombies before helping Rei and Saya slam the front gate shut.
I landed lightly on the fence and began walking along it as calmly as if it were solid ground.
The others stared in disbelief, watching how easily I kept my balance, especially with a briefcase in one hand and the sniper rifle slung over my shoulder.
"Hello." I said dully as I hopped down from the fence and headed inside, completely ignoring their stunned stares. "By the way, this gun's mine now." I glanced at Kohta as I passed him on the way in.
"H–Hey! That's not yours!" Kohta shouted angrily, his voice cracking with frustration.
But despite his outrage, he didn't make a single move to take the sniper rifle back from me.
"No, but your lovely blonde friend over there made a deal with me, and this is my payment for drawing the zombies away." I replied as I walked into the living room and dropped onto the couch. "By the way, how long are you all planning on staying here, anyway?"
"Why should we tell you that?" Takashi asked before anyone else could speak, shutting the door behind them as they entered the house. "If anything, how long are you planning on sticking around?" He scowled at me like I was the worst enemy he'd met so far.
"Because I felt like asking. And as for me sticking around, I wouldn't mind leaving right away if everyone wants me gone." I said, rolling my eyes at Takashi.
His scowl deepened instantly.
Somehow, that only made Rei snap too, her glare locking onto me with equal irritation.
"I'd actually be happy to have another adult around." Shizuka chimed in right away, making Takashi stare at her in shock. "It's kind of hard looking after everyone all by myself." She let out a tired sigh.
"It would be good for us to have someone who can handle a horde of zombies like he can." Saeko added evenly. "I doubt we'd find anyone else with his level of skills and someone willing to be friendly with us."
Clearly, Shizuka and Saeko's comments didn't sit well with the others, especially Takashi, Rei, and Kohta.
Saya, on the other hand, looked like she was already running mental calculations, weighing the pros and cons.