Lucas and Cibelle were two twins of twelve years old. Even though Cibelle had been born one minute before, Lucas was the one who acted as the old brother and protected his sister. And because of him, the duo was currently hiding in a small cabinet.
The Orphanage was called São João (Saint John) and there were around 40 kids living there. Ages vary from 2 to16 years old and, because adoption was a hard process in Brazil, most of them lived their whole lives there. As the orphanage was financed by philanthropy institutions, most of the staff worked for a small amount or were part of a religious group. Currently, there were no more than 10 adults who took care of the children day and night.
Lucas heard the warning on the news and decided to drag his sister to the old wardrobe. Many of the children had laughed at him, but he'd rather be safe than sorry. And what a lucky choice he made.
Because the wardrobe was too small and the twins were pressed together, the zombies had no chance to spawn inside. After that robotic voice sounded over their head, the next sound they heard were the screams for help.
As if the screams were not enough to scare them, the kids heard low grunts that were followed with heavy strikes against the wardrobe! Someone was trying to destroy the door!
A metallic smell filled the room as the shouts for help were ceasing.
Lucas and Cibelle were afraid, what was waiting outside? What should they do?
Lucas held his sister's mouth, she was crying softly. Through the cracks in the door, Lucas could see the monstrosity trying to reach them. He was paralyzed, not knowing what to do. The kid wasn't sure the wardrobe would last long enough, he could only pray the thing would go away.
Would someone come to their rescue!? But soon he dismissed that thought, he was in an orphanage, there would be no one to save them.
Should he get out and fight? He was running out of options, but that way, he would at least be able to help her sister in escaping.
Each minute felt like eternity. For each beat of his heart it seemed as if drums were beating his ears. After a moment that looked like hours he saw the wooden door starting to crack!
Suddenly, he was able to perceive hushed steps outside. Did another beast arrive?
"Hey ugly things, come to this old grandpa, will ya?" The kids could barely understand the voice among the grunts and banging on the closet.
The sudden announcement was followed by the twins hearing two low grunts and two low thuds consecutively.
Silence.
The sound of knocking on the wardrobe that scared Lucas and Cibelle was replaced by their own heart beating loud on their ears. If the unfamiliar noise frightened them, the silence was no less scary at that time.
"Okay kids, you are safe now!" Out of nowhere, the door of their hiding spot was flung open!
Cibelle screamed in terror, her watering eyes and her frightened state did not allow her to realize that an old man had come to save them. Lucas, on the other hand, reacted quickly and out of reflex threw a punch towards the man!
Although he wasn't expecting it, Yuemura easily evaded and smiled.
"Oi oi, it seems we have a warrior here!" The old man laughed and patted the kid's head. "But I'm not the bad guy, I swear!"
Only now did the twins realize they were safe and had time to inspect their savior: An old man with long white hair tied in a samurai bun, small eyes and a kind smile. He carried a bloodied katana and a white kimono which had a few blood drops on it.
"I think you were the last ones here, let's go home!"
*******
Two hours had passed since Yuemura entered the orphanage. He had been going slowly through the room to avoid any mistakes, even though he had a lot of fights before, none of them were against zombies. One bite would be his end!
Although he gained experience points for killing a zombie, it didn't feel good today. For every zombified child he killed, he felt he was hurting his own disciples. What happened to them in Japan? He didn't have the time or means to contact them right now.
He acted as fast as he could, but in the end could only find 10 kids alive, 6 boys and 4 girls. No adults were found, they had either died (and were killed by him afterwards) or ran away, he wasn't sure.
It was past 3 o'clock when he left the building.
Sorrow filled the group as they looked at the orphanage from outside, even master Yuemura wasn't in the mood to talk.
He introduced himself to the kids and said he had a safe place with some good friends. However, he was wondering what to do with all of them, the truck he brought wasn't big enough to fit them all.
At that moment, a black minivan appeared at the end of the road and came in their direction.
Master Yuemura was alarmed and quickly drew his gun. He knew that the glock would scare more than a katana currently.
The Minivan slowly came to a stop by their side. The drive's windows opened slowly.
A young man in his twenties showed up. He had disheveled black hair and eyes as black as his hair. A big welcoming smile showed his white teeth and accentuated the remaining fatness on his cheek. It was clear that he had lost weight too fast.
"Woa woa, calm down master! I know I'm not the best disciple you have, but isn't it going a little too far??" Nikolas joked while pointing at the gun in his master's hand.
His unusual appearance and behavior pulled out some smiles from the kids. Nikolas inspected them with his eyes, they seemed to be a good batch. The youngest appeared to be around 6 years old and the oldest around 16.
It was unfortunate that they hadn't been able to save more children, and he had only himself to blame. Unfortunately, there were many things he didn't know or remember during the onset of the apocalypse. Because of that he would have to live with that guilt.
"Hello kids! My name is Nikolas, even though the situation is dire it's still a pleasure to meet you." He tried to light the mood. "Master Yuemura probably said that our group is trying to establish a safe base nearby, right? I would like to invite you to join us, what do you think?"
Some of them nodded enthusiastically, while others were too shocked to express any reaction. Still, Nikolas knew they would recover. They would have to overcome their feelings if they wanted to survive.
After all of them entered the van, Nikolas talked alone with master Yuemura.
"How are you feeling?"
"Physically? Great, but it will take a few days to recover my sanity. The place was gruesome, worse than a horror movie." He sighed.
Although Nikolas and his father had more action than his master tonight, the psychological pressure the old man went under was enormous and Nikolas knew it. But the disaster could have been even worse if his master hadn't acted in time.
"Thank you for your help Master. Don't blame yourself, it was my fault for not remembering sooner!" Nikolas really blamed himself this time, there were so many things to do and plan, but he still forgot one thing: the people.
Perhaps it was the fact that part of his mindset was still similar to the past, when he was a lone wolf known as the Dragon King. Either way, Nikolas would have to deal with that guilt alone.
"Don't be so harsh on yourself k…" Yuemura was about to call him kid, but he suddenly remembered that the young man was already as good as himself in swordsmanship and stopped. "Let's get home and rest for today."
"Yes, Master!" Nikolas emphasized the last word. "Don't forget that I'll be your disciple forever!"