If Soleil had to remark on anything being made annoying solely because of the change in situation, it would, with no doubts, be the Academy City's campus design. Under normal circumstances there were no issues to be had. Open pathways that led from one building of a school's assigned space to another, connecting out to the main roads and to more schools or faculty buildings in the zone's districts.
When he was in the situation before that day, it was fine. But now that he was having to baseball bat his way through a horde of students and teachers turned Honkai zombies in rather tight hallways? Not exactly the ideal place to end up, because once the hordes bust out of their tight spaces, he knew those open spaces would be nothing but a difficult to navigate mob or cadavers.
Soleil's first priority as he worked his way through the horde was getting out of the main Senba building while he still had the space to make a getaway. Which he did accomplish quickly enough.
By jumping out of a third-floor window and into the nearby trees.
"… probably could have had a better plan than that," Soleil sighed as he took the chance to sit down to catch his breath. "Went to all that trouble to think of escape routes and somehow I still end up jumping out a damn window. Peh… Liz is gonna rag on me for that one if she hears about it."
Looping his legs around the branch, Soleil flipped downwards so he could observe the road from the campus properly. The doors to the entrance had finally given way, and now more of the Honkai zombies were pouring out into the road. And no doubt the same was happening at every other school at the various campuses.
"And I've barely even made a dent in the numbers… gagh. If this Impact spread out to Nagazora itself it'll only be even worse."
As he was ready to flip down to the ground, the air suddenly echoed with the sound of gunfire. Three shots all in order, the bangs disturbing any lingering birds and further filling the air with noise. And attracting the zombies towards the noise to boot.
"Going by the direction… whoever's firing would be near the library. Which means they'll be headed down the Sakurakouji pathway if they're coming near me," a smile split Soleil's face as he dropped to the ground, his landing light as he adjusted the grip on his bat. "Guess I'm not going to have to solo my way outta this after all! Let's see if we can't meet halfway!"
Soleil took off at a sprint, taking a flying leap and springboarding off the nearest zombie to launch himself, taking a few more leaps to launch himself back over to the central pathway, bursting through the blossoming Sakura trees and skidding to a stop, surrounded by a whirl of petals.
With a slight smirk splitting his face, Soleil took off again, rushing down the path at full tilt. Any zombie that would have slowed his progress was quick to meet the barrel of his bat, each swing trailing a blaze of blue light. This rush continued, the sound of gunfire growing closer with each step Soleil took. And when he set eyes on a denser group of zombies, broken up by the occasional muzzle flash, the boy's smirk widened.
Stepping around and twirling his way through the crowd of zombies, Soleil springboarded from another, his arc carrying him far across the distance he had left until he reached the tighter group. His bat came down right as he did, blowing past a couple of zombies in one flame-covered swing, twirling past another as he carried his momentum into a second swing that blew him past the center of the mob.
And right past whoever was fighting, giving him a brief but full glance of his fellow survivor.
A girl about his age, wearing the girl's uniform of Senba Academy. Her pure white face was marked by a curious expression, bright blue eyes widening just a bit as she looked at Soleil zipping back. Her twin-braided silver-white hair flared as she spun while swinging a bat of her own, the blunt instrument coupled with a black handgun in her opposite grip.
With only a glance shared between them to confirm they were indeed both in fact living beings and not hostile to one another, the girl whipped her gun up, firing off a shot that pierced through a couple of the zombies in front of her, the next swing of her bat matching up with Soleil's as he took post at her six o'clock without another thought. With a simple exchange of looks, the two flashed smirks before laying into the zombies trying to rush them, the air filling with the sounds of gunfire and bats slamming into flesh and bone.
Minutes passed as the two fought on, things only finally becoming still after who knew how long. The road was scattered in swathes of corpses, the fallen Sakura petals scattered among pools of purple-tinted blood. And the two zombie slayers stood with nary a breath lost, Soleil giving his bat a quick flick to clear it of any lingering blood as he turned to his fellow survivor, taking a moment to size her up as she checked her gun, fishing a new magazine from her waistband.
'A decent bit shorter than me… and while she looks pretty thin, something tells me this girl is stronger than she looks. But… strange, something about her is familiar. I can't pin why though…'
"You know…" the girl's voice was almost a chirp in how light its tone was, glancing back at Soleil over her shoulder. "Most girls would consider it rude for the mysterious knight in shining armor to just stare without so much as introducing himself."
"Ha! You say that like you needed saving. You probably could've gotten through these zombies no problem. I just showed up because I heard the gunfire."
"Probably," the girl then let out a surprised sound. "Wait a second… you're one of the upperclassmen at Senba!"
"So I am. Granted I do kinda stand out."
"No kidding! I didn't think I'd meet another foreigner while I was here. Though… maybe this isn't the best place to be talking, is it?" As the girl looked around, more of the zombies were shambling into view, Soleil shaking his head.
Just then, both heard a ping. Hands went to pockets, drawing phones that bore the same message on their screens. "Honkai Source detected. 700 meters north of current location."
"Really?" Soleil grumbled. "That's the center of the Senba campus. Just bloody left there, and now I gotta run back?"
"Wait… you've got a phone like mine?" The girl leaned closer to Soleil, confirming he did indeed have the same message showing. She then glanced at his bat, and quickly let out an aggravated noise. "And that bat's Schicksal tech, isn't it?! Ahhh, that's so unfair! All I was able to stash with me was this old Beretta!"
"And the bat?"
"I… borrowed it from the sports storeroom."
"Stole it, gotcha… not that I'm one to talk," Soleil sighed as he looked around. "But this clearly isn't the place for chatter. If you know what Schicksal is… agh we can explain that once we're safe! Let's get back to the main building to find a hiding spot first!"
"Hey, hold it first!" The girl grabbed Soleil by the wrist as he shot off, and he yelped as he was yanked back, finding the girl's grip quite tight. "At least let me tell you my name first! I'm Kiana, Kiana Kaslana! A Schicksal Valkyrie here to save the day!"
"…" Soleil pondered it for a second, briefly shutting his eyes. "Rei, Rei Vollerei. Technically a nickname some classmates gave me 'cause they had a hard time saying my real name. Nice to meet you, Kaslana…"
Soleil trailed off as he felt the gears in his head turning, Kiana tilting her head at him. And when that light bulb pinged, Soleil's expression cracked as it felt into place.
"The hell is someone from one of the Four Founders doing here of all places?"
"Hehe, make it to the school with me, and I'll explain why!" Kiana drew her gun in a split-second, placing her arm over Soleil's shoulder and firing, her shot slamming right through a zombie that was about to lunge for Soleil. "If you can keep up that is, Rei-senpai."
"Well, 'side from the bit of tinnitus you just gave me…" Soleil chuckled as he shot around and slammed another zombie with a solid homerun swing. "That won't be a problem at all!"
"Hehehe, then it's on!"
The two took off at full speed, back down the path of scattered petals and the dead. On to find whatever it was that had to be the center of this disaster itself. And not a single zombie would be staying in their way for long as they carved a path back to Senba Academy.