A cold gleam flashed in Kitahara Sosuke's eyes.
Thanks to Aki Tomoya's shouting, faces began to appear one after another in the classroom windows. It seemed quite a few students had taken shelter and were still alive for now.
But for the same reason, the wandering zombies, previously scattered and aimless, began slowly shuffling in their direction.
"Hurry. The zombies are closing in. Remember when we went rock climbing?"
Sosuke shouted encouragement. Then he noticed Utaha's fingers nervously clutching the hem of her skirt, and suddenly, the reason clicked. He let out an exasperated roar.
"You're worried about your panties? Seriously? Now of all times? Not to freak you out, but I already saw them when you climbed out the window earlier."
"You pervert, Sosuke."
"What, you're only realizing that now? Are you waiting to die here or what?"
Kasumigaoka Utaha bit her lip in frustration, cheeks burning with shame. But since he'd already seen, what difference did it make now?
She pushed her bangs back with a swift motion and gave a sharp, determined yell.
With a short run-up, she stepped into Sosuke's cupped hands and leaped.
At the same moment, he pushed up with all his strength, feeling her hands catch the top of the wall. He spun around quickly and gave her a firm push upward from behind.
Something soft pressed against his face as he did, and he felt warmth rush to his nose, accompanied by a faint, sweet scent. He looked up reflexively and let out a quiet grunt.
Yep. Definitely white.
She wore black stockings, which made the contrast even more dangerous. No wonder she'd hesitated.
"You absolute pervert," Utaha shouted, mortified and furious. "Human garbage."
"Alright, alright. Want to look back to even the score?" Sosuke chuckled, tossing her the bat.
But before she could finish, she froze on top of the wall and pointed, panicked.
"Sosuke. What about you? They're coming."
Almost every zombie outside the school building had started moving toward him. A dense, crawling tide of death, converging like a giant net.
The nearest one let out a guttural howl and lunged, mouth frothing with dark blood. Sosuke could see the blackness of its throat, but he didn't flinch. With a mighty yell, he swung his bat with full force.
With a squelching crunch, the zombie's face caved in like a smashed watermelon.
Without wasting a second, Sosuke hurled the bat over the wall and ignored the twitching corpse behind him.
He kicked off the wall, using the momentum to grab the top.
"Grab my hand." Utaha was shouting, shifting on the wall to reach him. Sosuke gave it everything he had and hoisted himself up just as a zombie claw raked through the air where his backside had just been. Its nails screeched against the wall in a bone-chilling scrape.
Half a second later, and he might have lost a chunk of flesh.
"Thank god Japanese people are short," he muttered, wiping sweat from his forehead.
He'd been reborn from another world Huaxia in his past life. Saying that didn't carry much baggage for him.
That close call had left him shaken. A two-and-a-half-meter wall wasn't unreachable, but for most zombies, it was out of reach at least for now. The evolved ones hadn't shown up yet. Normal zombies couldn't jump.
Utaha, still catching her breath, gave him a glare full of mixed relief and embarrassment.
Sosuke smiled faintly.
But outside the wall, the scene was just as horrific.
People were running for their lives. Corpses were strewn across the road, bones poking through tattered flesh. Zombies crouched over bodies, feasting without pause. People tripped, got up, and then tore at each other in panic until they too were pulled down.
Screams echoed in the distance.
Thick smoke and flames rose from buildings all around them.
This city they'd lived in for so many years had descended into hell.
A bitter sadness welled up in Utaha's chest.
"Sosuke... what about the others? Are we really going to leave them behind?"
As soon as they got out, the school building erupted with cries. Aki Tomoya's shouting had been the trigger. Now more students were screaming, begging for help, sobbing at the windows.
They were classmates, after all. Real people with faces and names. Rationally, she knew she should walk away.
But emotionally, she couldn't bear it.
If she survived for a few more years, she didn't want to carry this guilt with her.
"I've already thought it through," Sosuke said quietly.
He clutched the whistle around his neck.
Back when Tomoya had drawn the zombies over, for a moment, Sosuke had considered letting him die there. One less idiot to worry about.
But when he saw how many others were still alive inside...
In the apocalypse, the most precious thing wasn't food it was humanity.
There were those who survived but had already become the walking dead in spirit.
He wasn't a saint, but he wouldn't punish the innocent for one man's stupidity.
Sosuke brought the whistle to his lips and blew hard.
A shrill note pierced the air.
The zombies snapped their heads in his direction. Even the ones by the sports field started shambling toward the sound.
He blew again and again.
In the school building, the cries died down, replaced by an eerie stillness.
"Everyone inside," Sosuke shouted, his voice carrying over the chaos, "the zombies outside are coming toward me. Grab whatever weapons you have and get out now. Don't hesitate. There's strength in numbers."
He was spent. His strength was nearly gone.
But he'd done what he could.
The choice was in their hands now.
Live or die it was up to them.
Sosuke turned to take one last look at the school. At what might be the final memory of his high school life.
"...What is it?" Utaha asked, curious. "Did you see someone you know?"
Sosuke shook his head. But inside, he felt a quiet relief.
That girl with barely any presence. The one no one noticed.
Even in the face of apocalypse, her face was as calm as ever.
Among the sea of fear-stricken expressions, she looked like a light.
Only prayed in his heart.
Please live on, even in this brutal world.
Zombies were already crowding the inside of the wall, the taller ones reaching the edge. Outside, others had started shuffling toward them too.
Sosuke jumped down first and grabbed his bat. Then he motioned for Utaha to jump down next.
Instead, she scooted to the edge, aligned her butt over his shoulder, and dropped.
Her soft body slid down his chest.
His shoulder ached from the impact. He wrapped one arm around her and gave her a light slap on the rear.
"You need to go on a diet. That was heavy."
"Liar. I don't even weigh a hundred pounds. What diet?" Utaha huffed, covering her skirt and blushing. She glanced at him rubbing his shoulder and, embarrassed, asked, "Did that... actually hurt?"
Am I really getting fat? she wondered.
"Anyway, let's get out of here first," Sosuke said, shaking his arm.
As for that "under a hundred pounds" claim?
He didn't buy it for a second.
Still, the way she landed on him... yeah, that softness was definitely real.