[Change of PoV - first person Vol]
I did not once look back while I ran. I was utterly concentrated on that scream and the voice and my goal of reaching it. Kinda embarassing, when I think about it. But I couldn't help myself.
I don't know if it was because I was suffering from hero syndrome or because I knew from my memories plus the quest that she loved me. Or both. But my body simply reacted on its own, like, like the ancestral and manly ooga booga urge to protect women when women scream had taken over. Ok, he was exagerating, but yeah, this world identity didn't want to let anyone who had any feeling for him down. And in truth, I myself, didn't.
I blame my hateful progenitors for that.
Anyway, as I rounded another corner, I found a scene of utter mayhem. One I was expecting. In a wider opening of the hallway, a small group of students and one nurse were trying to reach the duo of a guy and girl who were in immediate danger of a lone zombie. But they weren't able to as other undeads blocked their ways.
It was quite evident that the girl with pink hair was the one who's scream got me acting up, (bad choice of words?). So I didn't waste any time, as she was shuffling backward against the trophee case in a last desperate attempt to get away, I stopped running and took aim.
I did not expect to slide on my feet the whole 6 meters or something to the middle of the room — how fast was I going? — so I had to wait until I came to a stop before releasing my lightning bolt from my finger.
*CRACK*
*SIZZLE*
It wasn't quiet, nor was it subtle when the arc of energy almost vaporized the zombies head and scorched black the wall behind him. The cries of alarm and surprise from almost anyone else present — except the purple haired girl — certainly didn't help with that.
In hindsight, my entrance was awesome. I'd put it at 9/10 on the badass scale if it wasn't for the bout of weakness that struck me almost immediatly after my stunt. Making me fall to my knees as I saw lingering sparks of lightning around me vanishing.
What I just did both had good and bad, good, since I had done what I had come to do and made every zombies still alive zeroe on me and ignore everything else. Bad, since I had also struck everyone dumbfounded after it. Meaning no one was using the opportunity to easily finish the remaining hostiles. A fact I had to remedy to quickly if I didn't want to fight off around a dozen undeads by myself while feeling dizzy.
"What are you all waiting for!? Kill them!" I was happy to say my voice stood strong and even during my reprimend. I'd be embarassing if the first time I spoke to the protagonists my voice came to break mid sentence, especially after my totally planned heroic entrance.
To her credit, the swordwoman did not hesitate a single second before she complied and started dispatching the zombies with deadly and blindingly fast strikes of her bamboo sword.
[Saeko Busujima - threat: weak]
The other two students quickly followed her suit, if delayed by a few seconds.
[Rei Miyamoto - threat: Negligeable]
[Takashi Komuro - threat: Negligeable]
Using the brief lapse where he was too disoriented to do anything else and the rest of the zombies were being swept up, he identified the two he had saved. Not that he didn't knew their identity already, but he had to get himself used to this new tool of his, else he could get himself killed one day.
[Kohta Hirano - threat: Negligeable]
[Saya Takagi - threat: None]
Interesting, I'd have to test if their current equipment has any influence on their threat level or if is based sorely on personal stats or a combination of things.
Sweeping up didn't take long at all. But I would have been glad even with the shortest of reprieve, reprieve I used to revover from the backlash of the big bolt.
As the last zombie in the immediate surroundings was dealt with, I stood up and shook my head. Then, approaching Saya who was still stunned by my totally awesome entrance, I smiled and offered my hand. "Are you alright. Takagi-San?"
"V-Vol?" She took his hand hesitantly, her lips trembling. "Y-you saved me. With lightning."
Helping her to her feet, I smiled wrily. "I know, it's a long story. But that's not important, what's important is if your fine. Are you hurts anywhere?"
"N- No, I don't think I am. But - But." She swallowed and blocked her mouth with her hand, averting her gaze and and looking very hard like she was trying not to cry, the memory of how close she came to death probably flashing again in her mind.
"Hey, it's alright to cry, you know? Today's been plenty scary for everyone." I comforted her but hesitated to do anything else, well, that was until after hearing his words she began to sobs silently.
"Ah, you know what. Come here, Takagi-San." He brought her into a hug and began to rubs her back. "Can't let a girl cry without without doing anything, can I?" I mumbled.
Saya froze in surprise at first at the contact, before she finally let go and wept freely into his shoulder, her hands grasping at the back of his uniform with a desperate force during this bout of vulnerability.
For a time, no sound other that the girl silently crying could be heard within the group. Everyone letting her grieve for them in a way, for the world and people they lost.
After a while, Saya extracted herself abruptly, not crying anymore as she fixed her glasses, looking furiously red after all the bad was ejected from her system. "S-shameless, to take advantage of a girl like that... Still, thank you." She mumbled the last bit so weakly that I almost didn't catch it.
"Yeah, yeah, thanks for the save. But who are you? And was I hallucinating or did you just blast that zombie with lightning?" Rei, the girl with the brown eyes and orange hair stepped forward, broom stick held loosely in her hand as she used it to point hesitantly and confusedly at the undead corpse missing its head on the ground.
"Yeah! What the hell was that? It was so cool, like a superhero movie or something. How did you do it?" Kohta, the slightly overweight teen with the glasses and the nail gun looked at me curiously. I opened my mouth to answers but before I could Takashi, the protagonist of the world, answered.
"Rei, that's Vol. We share chemistry and math classes. He's also the only one with better marks than Saya in like, the whole school. Oh, he's also the only foreigner in our school? Kinda hard to miss, when you think about it."
While Rei tried sputtering some kind of reply. I chose to spare her. "Well, to be fair, I'm kinda a discreet guy. So I get it."
Takashi lifted an eyebrow. "Discreet? Sure. Not like you just bursted our ears with thunder a minute ago. Speaking of that." Takashi leaned forward solemly, bat on his shoulder. "This power, where can I learn it?"
"Not sure if you can. I shot my first lightning bolt when angrily trying to keep the others students from panicking and accidentally getting all of them killed." Vol scratched his head and shrugged. "And to formally introduce myself. I'm Vol... No last name." His face turned up in a self-deprecating smirk.
"So it indeed was you, that deafening thunderclap earlier. Seako Busujima. Member of the kendo club." The purple haired girl introduced herself, inspecting him with inquisitive eyes.
The rest quickly introduced themselves, with the exception of Saya who replied that there was no need since he already knew her.
"Well, we better get a move on. I don't know about you, Vol. But we're getting out of here and going to find our families." Takashi said firmly after the introductions were done.
"Yeah, about that..." The group turned as one just as Vol opened his mouth, multiple footsteps echoing from where he had come from as a veritable horde of students rounded the corner. Slowing down when they saw him with Takashi and co.
"I got my own group. But I think we got the same goals here. Oh, and we raided the cafeteria before coming here." Vol let out a small grin despite the situation at seeing the main cast's surprise at the several dozens of survivors.
"I think we'll need a bus." Takashi said reflexively before hesitating and wincing slightly. "But so many people." He mumbled.
Vol's smile vanished, sobered up by his worries. "Don't worry, if there's any 'trouble'. I'll take care of it. Wouldn't be the first time." The words felt ashy in his mouth, leaving feeling a bit empty inside, the image of the infected student's eyes just before he finished him off flashing briefly in his mind. The modicum of respect that he saw in Saeko's eyes barely made him feel better.
But it did.
Maybe he was more vain than he thought.
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