[Lyon's POV]
Not a single noise could be heard coming from both our surroundings and the people I was with. Why would there be a need for noise? Almost everyone here had only just begun to contemplate what happened less than an hour ago since they didn't have time to mourn over Mr. Yasuda until we managed to reach "safety".
Alyssa, Ren, and Chisato had just been forced to ignore the fact that a group of people died and turned into zombies in front of them, and if that wasn't enough, Chisato's hesitation to just ignore them had caused Mr. Yasuda's death and my near-death experience as well.
'If I was bit earlier without noticing then I should've turned by now which means I managed to get out of that situation scot-free. My bloodied hoodie is starting to annoy me though, not that I could take it off since doing that would show them the bulletproof vest I was wearing and I don't think the mountain hiking excuse is gonna cut it anymore.' I sigh to myself as I look at the portion of the hoodie where my shoulders and stomach area were.
That dead asshole earlier pinned me down by straddling my stomach and pathetically trying to hold me down using my shoulders. I sit back down on the bench alongside Alyssa who was just looking at me in worry while I was checking myself for any wounds, I made sure to raise the bulletproof vest I was wearing underneath whenever I raised my hoodie to make sure she wouldn't be able to see it.
A few minutes of sitting down on the floor with Alyssa behind me was enough to somewhat make it uncomfortable for me so I proposed that we just move to one of the benches that weren't used as barricades in the room. She, of course, nodded to my proposal which was what led to our situation right now. I look around the room and see our discarded bags and weapons on the floor as well as the general interior of the kendo club room.
Found in the innermost portion of the room which was directly opposite the door were desks where various trophies were stationed, showing the achievements of the past members of this club. Those desks were also designed to have sliding cabinets where we kept the bogu which is the armor used in sparring matches since leaving the armor out of those cabinets will leave them exposed to the sunlight which in turn, damages the padding and color of the bogu.
There was also a separate cabinet beside the benches meant for storing the equipment used in maintaining the shinais and bogus we used for club practice. Opposite to that cabinet was two shinai stands used to store 5 shinais each which was what our fellow club members used most of the time during club day.
'As much as I'd like to start heading to the southern building already, going out with Chisato being like that would just be asking to become a zombie's Lunchables.' I think to myself while looking at Chisato who carried a distant gaze as she stands in front of a window, looking at the darkness outside. Though physical exhaustion wasn't a problem, it seems like the death of Mr. Yasuda managed to nail the coffin in everyone's mind that an early and gruesome death is a lot more likely than a normal one.
Ren was responsible for carrying the group inventory which meant he had the heaviest bag among all of us which meant he might have a slight bit of physical exhaustion. His mental health was probably better when compared to Alyssa's and Chisato's considering the mental load of worrying about his parents had already been taken off of his shoulders. That and the fact that, unlike Alyssa and Chisato, he hadn't killed any of the zombies that we had gone past while getting here.
I look beside me and see Alyssa was faring a lot better than I thought she would after everything, but that didn't mean nothing was weighing on her mind. Though no one managed to notice it from the nonchalant expression plastered on her face, Alyssa likes to scratch her elbow whenever she was nervous about something which was exactly what she was doing right now. It seemed like the death of Mr. Yasuda didn't affect her in any way, rather it was the thought that I had almost died alongside him that weighed heavily on her.
The death of Mr. Yasuda didn't matter to me much, though I am thankful for his assistance back there, nothing much in terms of interaction between us happened ever since my "reincarnation" so I couldn't find the reason or time to care any further which meant my mental health was ok at least? The same could not be said for my physical exhaustion though as I scratch both my eyes using my fingers.
This gesture of mine does not go unnoticed by Alyssa who was still sitting beside me as well. "You... You can use my lap as a pillow if you want, I've already slept so I don't mind being the lookout for now..." Alyssa offers to me as her cheeks all the way to her ears turn red in embarrassment over the former half of her sentence. I remain seated in bewilderment before shaking my surprise off but before I could even say anything, she places her hand below my ear and pushes it down on her lap.
I try to rotate my head in a specific way so I could see her face but she quickly stops me from doing so by further pushing me down her lap. "Please don't look at me right now and go to sleep" She asks me with a tone laced with embarrassment and a bit of happiness I guess. It seems like I was a lot more exhausted than I initially thought I was because not even 20 seconds passed did I succumb to sleep in the comfort of Alyssa's lap
[Ren's POV]
I did not move from the spot on the bench I had been sitting on since we got here. I wasn't sure how long Chisato remain seated beside me but it hadn't been long since she opted to just stand in front of the window and stare at the darkness, possibly contemplating everything that had just happened. I had been lucky so far, managing to get the long end of the stick with the role I had been given.
'I wasn't placed in as much danger as Lyon or Chisato was since Chisato needed to remain on guard so our flanks were safe while Lyon killed the ones he thought needed to die I guess. I wasn't sure either but I think Alyssa had already killed one of them as well while we were in the canteen I can't be sure since I was placing tables and chairs as barricades the entire time.' I think to myself while scratching the back of my head.
I glanced at where Alyssa and Lyon were sitting earlier and see only one silhouette sitting upright while the other seemed to be laid down on the other. I don't know why the hell those two aren't a couple yet, to be honest, they're already doing shit a lovey-dovey couple would do so the reason they aren't in a relationship yet eludes me. I swipe my finger over the screen on my phone and see an image of me and my family standing in front of the house with the farm right behind us. I didn't need to worry as much as the others did for their parents since mine was somewhere safe.
I return my attention to looking at the top corner of my phone where the numbers and letters 3:00 AM were placed, notifying me of what time it was. This was the first time I had actually gone inside the kendo club room since, unlike my three other companions, I was part of the go-home club so this room was entirely unfamiliar to me. I stand up and head to the desk where a bunch of trophies was placed, some of them having been received more than 20 years ago if the plaques on the trophies were to be believed.
I read the plaques of each and every trophy before moving to the side where a bunch of shinais was located. The shinais I found were different from the weapons Chisato and Lyon used earlier but then again, they did call it bokkens instead of shinais so maybe the two are different? I don't know.
A few minutes of looking around and there was nothing much else to do. Lyon and Alyssa were still sitting by the window slightly illuminated by the light reflected from the moon, not that it was enough to see them enough. Chisato did not move from the spot she had been in for a while now. I contemplate between joining her or just letting her think in silence before ultimately deciding to just join her as well. I walk and stood beside her, understandably, not receiving even a nod of acknowledgment that she knew I was beside her
The two of us spent the next 10 minutes in silence, Chisato just staring outside while I stood beside her awkwardly. The silence is broken; however, as Chisato suddenly asks me the question that might've been in her mind the entire time. "Do you think Mr. Yasuda is cursing at me right now? We probably would've been able to reach this place safely had I not hesitated back there so wouldn't that mean I indirectly killed him" she asks me with a tone so vulnerable that it seemed as if my reply would be enough to either help or break her entirely.
I spend a few seconds in silence, contemplating my reply as I look at Chisato's face which had broken down from her previously distant expression to a sobbing mess as her tears flood down her face with a few sliding down her neck while most just fell to the floor.
"I don't think he's mad at you nor did he blame you, he was our advisor and though I did not know him well, one thing was for certain. He cared deeply for the well-being of students regardless of whether or not they were his." I explained to her, only to then be shocked as she tackles me in a hug, her tears wetting my shirt.
I wasn't sure if I should do it at first but her sobbing and nervous shaking managed to convince me that, though I did not know her to the same degree that Lyon and Alyssa did, I was the only one here who could comfort her right now so I snaked my arms back behind her and hugged her back. The moon's light shows only bits and pieces of what is happening, unable to reflect everything happening inside the very room we were standing in.
[Lyon's POV]
I wake up to find myself sitting in the driver's seat of a small truck with both windows to the side broken into small shards. The noise around me was deafening as the snarls of agitated zombies permeated around me, sounds of possibly their hands or maybe even their heads come from outside as they ram whatever body part they could to the truck's door.
It was elevated enough to keep them from placing their hands or peering their heads into the window but that only gave me a slight bit of safety as I look in front of me only to find more zombies in front as well. I look around the seats and find one of the two-way receivers I bought as well as a NAMBU M60 revolver which was known as one of the handguns usually used by the Japanese police force. I try to use the radio but for some reason, only muffled sounds came from it, I also look into the gun's chamber and find only one bullet left inside.
'Well shit, I don't think a bullet is gonna be enough to save me from this mess, I don't see anything wrong with the radio for it to now work like that, maybe it's because this is just a dream?' I think and question myself as I slide the chamber back into the gun and just look in front of me. The sun was setting right in front of me giving me a beautiful view of the sun going down abandoned cars glistening from the sun's light.
I noticed that the highway we were on was familiar to me, it looked just like the same road I drive on whenever I head north to go to the gun range which means this road led to Aomori Prefecture. I lean back into the chairs and breathe out a sigh but the frantic waving of hands coming from the top of one of the vehicles manages to catch my eye.
I narrow down my eyes and see a girl with long white hair which was tied into two tails using dark blue hair ties matching her lighter in color, big blue eyes. I narrow my eyes more and see Alyssa behind the white-haired woman, holding her back from possibly trying to run in my direction. Both of their faces had been riddled with tears as both women sported terrified and hopeless expressions while looking at me.
'Now that I think about it, why does my leg feel painful' I think to myself as I glance below me only to find my leg bleeding out of what seemed to be a bullet wound. 'Oh so that's why huh, this is definitely just another dream, I wonder where Ren and Chisato are though.' I question myself as the noise coming from the zombies outside seems to lessen in volume enough to a point that I could hear shouts coming from an unfamiliar voice.
"Lyon!" An unfamiliar voice, possibly the white-haired woman, says coming from the radio that's apparently working all of a sudden. "Lyon" Alyssa whispers to me as she pinches the spot on my leg where the bullet wound was located in during my dream. I slowly rise and look at the window beside me and see the sun had already risen with the outside of the building now visible from the window.
"Thanks, Alyssa. I can't wait for the next lap pillow you will give me" I jokingly tell her while looking around the room to find my other two companions. Surprisingly, I find the two huddled together with Chisato leaning on Ren's shoulder as the two slept beside one another on one of the benches on the opposite side of the room.
"Fi-fine, just tell me when you want it then" Alyssa suddenly replies to my tease, prompting me to look at her incredulously as she stares back at me, directly looking into each other's eyes. A few seconds pass as we stare at each other, neither of us breaking eye contact as both of our faces glide towards one another, mere meters separating our two lips from touching one another
The moment is interrupted between us though as we hear a sneeze coming from the direction of where I last saw Ren and Chisato. Alyssa tried to hide her face by looking at the windows behind us while I look at Ren who remained situated on the bench while carrying an amused expression, only to suddenly have the top of his head be punched by Chisato who was already standing upright.
"Why did you bother their moment? They were just about to kiss already, I thought you wanted to see them be a couple you dumbass" Chisato complains loud enough for us to hear but silent enough to not call zombies to our location.
"It was purely accidental okay? It isn't my fault your hair made me sneeze" Ren tells us while pointing at Chisato who was surprised by the sudden shift in blame from Ren to her. The two then continue to quarrel as if they were a married couple while I and Alyssa just watch in amusement.
'Looks like Ren managed to help Chisato out while I was asleep. Hopefully, it'll be enough to bring her back to her senses once we go back out there' I think to myself as I begin to contemplate what we're about to do next. The southwestern exit was not the only reason we were going south, the machete I used back in the original timeline was a Japanese Nata tool/machete found in a small maintenance shed near the southeastern side of the building which I definitely preferred over the bokken I currently had.
"Ok that's enough, let's discuss what we're going to do next while we're eating breakfast, Chisato, can you take out a loaf of bread and 4 bottles of water from your bag? I remember placing them inside yours while we were at the canteen." I tell her which prompts her to begin taking out four water bottles and a loaf of bread from her bag and placing it on the floor where we all sat while I took out the strawberry jam from my own.
"The zombies should've begun moving again by now, that shouldn't change the fact that they still can't see us so no need to worry about that. We will have to be extra careful walking down the hallways now though since we might accidentally bump into a zombie, agitating it into snarling loud enough to call the attention of other zombies" I tell them while I chew on a piece of bread with only a small bit of strawberry jam.
"I'd like to avoid going through the western exit of the building since that directly leads to the campus square so we will go back to the first floor using the stairs we used earlier before going further south down the hallway and turning right to reach the southern exit." I continue explaining, pausing only for a few seconds to see if any one of them had an objection or questions regarding the plan but receive none so I continued.
"I'd like to loot this room as well as the other rooms on the same floor first for any gear we could use, there's also the bogu(Kendo armor) inside the cabinets of the desks we could use as protective gear. It covers the head, neck, shoulder, front chest, stomach, upper portion of the legs, and gloves that cover the hands halfway to the elbow. It's quite bulky though so choosing to wear it is entirely up to you guys." I tell them as I point my second piece of bread at the cabinets behind me.
"The shinais have good reach but I doubt they'd be good enough to destroy zombie heads for now. It should take a long time before it's soft enough so until then, we're going to have to either get a sharp weapon or aim for the vulnerable spots on their head and hit it repeatedly, or use a shinai to knock them down before finishing it off with a knife or a screwdriver." I inform them since I doubt a single hit from a shinai alone would be enough to kill it, which is where the screwdrivers and knives come in.
"That's all for now I guess. We can talk more about the plan later. Ren, why don't you tell us how it felt having Chisato lean on your shoulder as you two sleep together hm?" I ask the two while I and Alyssa just watch in amusement as the two stutter over trying to explain how it was just a coincidence, enjoying our first ever breakfast in a dead world.
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P.S: I recommend reading the Author's note since it asks a question about where your opinion is needed for the future of the novel. If you had read my comment in the last chapter then you would know that I now attend classes for a review center I applied for. It takes up much of my afternoons for the entire weekdays and while I use Saturdays to review and answer the homework I get on Friday which means I only have a few hours of Saturday and Sunday to myself.
With that in mind, I feel that doing two chapters per week has begun to take a toll on me so I've decided to do my original update schedule back when this story first began at least until I finish my classes. I will only publish Monday chapters up until the first week of July. If you guys are mad then I'm sorry, but there's nothing I can do as the stress of the upcoming college entrance exams and the preparations I have to do are starting to take a toll on me, causing me to have less energy and time to dedicate for writing. I am not dropping this story as I like writing, but a bit of leeway in regards to the weekly updates would come a long way.