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Must I Go Out to Survive This?
Chapter 21.5 - Haruka's Escape

Chapter 21.5 - Haruka's Escape

“Boring lessons, boring teachers and boring life.”

"Hey, stop talking like that Akira!"

The idiots beside me kept on talking stupid things.

"You can't stop me with words Aruka stupid, haha,"

"Huh, alright. But don't say it out loud. I don't want to know if the teacher hears you."

“Hehe, I'm a cautious person you know. By the way why do you keep looking at your phoneAruka stupid?"

“Hey, stop talking stupidly to Aruka-san!”

“Ah, sorry sorry, but what are you reading, fool Aru - Aruka-chan?”

"You saw the news, didn't you? These days a lot of people are catching unknown infections.”

I saw it too, I think it's a new virus or something.

“Ah, you mean the one talked about in various kimituber? I thought it was a hoax haha. What's with that?"

“Well, you know zombies don't you? I feel this is quite similar to this. Even our school forbids going to play and is currently closed because of the government's appeal?”

“Hey, Aruka, you're chomping too much. After all, this is mostly just rabies or a mutated flu. Well, whatever it is I rarely go out except to buy games… Hey, what do you think, Haruka? Is it a zombie or is it just a subtle Aruka ?”

"It's not important, I just want the recess bell to ring soon!"

I answered somewhat nonchalantly to Akira. He was a boy with pointy hair just like me. But he was a noisy person and sat at the slightly front of my left. And I'm sitting on the right side of the bottom corner.

“Yes, I agree with Haruka. You're so cute Aruka!"

Hey, I didn't say that.

“He didn't say that you stupid ugly otaku. Come on Aruka, let's just ignore this brat!”

She is Asagi. Whether it's close friends or whatever Aruka, but she always sticks close to her. And I think she's cynical about me too. Well, I judged it by that uneasy look every time I joined in on the conversation or was around them.

“Hey, if I may speak, I agree with Aruka-chan. If it's a disease, it's spreading too fast. I guess there's no harm in being on guard."

He's Yamada, he looks like a bespectacled clumsy person, his face is also quite helping him to be cute. But, if I had to fight him, I'd rather give up. If he's serious, he can even beat me with just three hits.

“Ahhh, you too Yamada. Hey, come on, why are you guys so weird lately? After all, if it's a zombie, the government should deal with it."

"You're taking this matter lightly Akira. Shut up!”

"Yeah, you shut up you ugly Akira, you're a bad otaku!"

"Ah alright, I'm sorry Aruka, but hey, you too shut up ugly Asagi!"

Actually, we are currently in class, but somehow the teacher who is responsible for teaching doesn't come. As a result, I had to put up with these four idiots who were constantly chatting to my left or on Aruka's bench.

“I think I'll go to the teacher's room. If this goes blank there must be at least an assignment or note left by the teacher!”

"Ah, come on, Aruka. Let us play for a while. You're also chatting with your girlfriend Yamada, right?"

"Yeah, just leave the class empty. No one cares about the current T class anyways.”

"Yes…."

And that's how the whole class opposed the intentions of the class president or Aruka who wanted to find a teacher. Well, that's how hard it is for me to be class president.

"Hey, I'm not going out with Yamada!"

"-yes, I'm still not yet dating Aruka-chan!"

“That idiot Yamada can't be Aruka's boyfriend! And you Yamada stop using the word 'not yet' as if a little brat like you is going to be her girlfriend!”

"Ah, I'm sorry."

Well, that's the daily life of this stupid class of mine. It contains eighty percent of ordinary people who like free time and are lazy. The rest are students with dedication like Yamada. Well, that boy is always studying so he can enroll in the same university as Aruka.

This male. If you propose to her I'm sure Aruka will accept it.

“Have you seen Haruka!?”

"Oh, sorry. It's just that I think we need to go to the teacher's room. So, sorry for the major class, I agree with Aruka!"

Asagi's gaze suddenly fixed on me was very unpleasant. Because I'm too lazy to make trouble, I just made a simple excuse to get out of the scope of this Asagi's provocation.

“Ahhh, if Haruka says that…”

“Yey, Haruka finally agreed with me. Then I'll go first!"

Hey, stop making it sound like I have the same voice as the rest of the class. Damn, they're looking at me so seriously.

But, I know why they can only surrender. It's because of my title which is quite troublesome at school.

In short, I'm the provincial karate champion, it's a shame when in the national I was only ranked third. But, because of this achievement, I feel like someone who is admired even though I'm actually still weaker than Yamada.

And I know the motive of Arukas for approaching me. Apart from the fact that our names are similar, she also seeks protection so that she is not threatened by those who disagree with her. For example, it just happened.

But to be honest, if you are looking for something like that, then Yam is a more suitabl

e one.

"Hey, what are you thinking, Haruka?"

“Oh Yamada, not only is it true that I was thinking about this new disease. Said it was because of a new virus!”

I only appeal to Yamada's sympathy. Well, you know, back when I was beaten up by the thugs sent to make me fail at the provincial competition, Yamada came to my rescue. He hit their boss and honestly, the boss's hand was very strong when I tasted it and it was broken by Yamada.

“Yeah, I think so too. If something bad happens I hope we can stay together!”

Ahh, don't follow me to your circle. These Asagi doesn't like me so that's Yamada's bad idea!

“Hehe, well I wish we could run together.”

Honestly if that's the case, I want to run away with Makise. She's been a close friend of mine since middle school, but unfortunately we're currently in different classes.

While waiting for class president Aruka, I chatted with Yamada about things related to zombies. I don't know why the discussion is so deep.

“…But well, if it's you, you should be able to escape from being surrounded by zombies.”

"What are you saying, you are stronger than me Yamada!"

“Hey, you guys stop talking and shut up!”

The two of us, Yamada and I were having fun chatting but this Asagi who was left behind by Aruka liked to interrupt and interrupt the conversation.

"Hey, come on Asagi, it's not like you like to get angry because other people are happy is it?"

"Hmph."

Honestly, I hate it too.

Brack!

“Damn it guys! Zombies have spread in the school!”

Suddenly Aruka, who should be looking for the teacher, returned by pulling the door as tight as possible.

"Hey hey, calm down class president, it's not funny when you joke like that!"

One of the students whose name I think is Oki underestimates the class president. But I know,

Those aren't the eyes of someone joking.

"It's up to you to believe it or not. The teacher's room had truly become a massacre. If you want to come with me, I have a way!”

I honestly don't know what really happened. This is really bad and I'll just follow the class president.

“Haruka, Yamada, Asagi and you Akira, let's go to the sports storage building!”

“W-wait, isn't this too serious for you who want to joke. You even brought the key to open the storage! That would be bad for you Aruka."

The whole class responded sarcastically to the class president. They do not believe, but some try to believe but are thwarted by others. They started booing the class president with bad words and Asagi approached them which I'm sure was angry.

"I don't have time for jokes, if you guys want to come with me then hurry up!"

Asagi who heard this immediately followed Aruka who walked out the back door of the classroom by pulling my hand.

“Wait, why did you pull me!?”

"I need you. And you three too!”

Well, I guess I belong to the group of delinquents again. Well, I'm just saying that I was just forced.

"Graaaaa!"

Suddenly at the end of the stairs where we were going to pass appeared a person who was bleeding.

"Hey, are you okay sir? You look so bloody!”

Akira approached and tried to reach his hand. But, I know what this is.

"Stop Akira!"

Aruka shouted and I immediately pulled Akira back. This person who seemed to be a gym teacher jumped at me and with a side blow, I killed him.

"Eh?"

“Ahhh, Haruka you killed people!”

Uh, no. This is actually my reflex to attack. But, why did I hit him so hard that his jaw fell off?

Oh, I know. This is because my mind thinks it's a zombie and wants to bite me. It must be because I talked to Yamada about it earlier and I'm reflecting according to how I thought it was.

“N-no… It's h-just a reflex okay, I don't-”

“Relax Haruka, you did the right thing. And this is the right decision to take you. From now on we won't just encounter one or two like this. Let's move quickly!”

I was encouraged by the class president, but still, these Asagi couldn't stay still. Yamada seems to be thinking about something heavy, Akira I think vomited from the pulling force… I think because of the blood spurting from the gym teacher I forgot his name.

And with that we ran towards the South which would lead to the storage shed.

Wait, is this really a zombie likesaid Aruka?

“Hey, Aruka, tell me that he really is a zombie!?”

“Yeah, I can vouch for it since the first floor has also started to spread! We have to hurry to the warehouse and take the stairs to get out of the school walls!”

Makise!!

“Wait, I have to save Makise first!”

"Shit, why didn't you say so earlier! Yamada, you follow Haruka, me and the others are going to the warehouse. And if you can hurry!”

Aruka looks annoyed at me, but it can't be. Compared to you guys, I'm closer to Makise and she's my friend who really helped me a lot back then.

///

“Hey, what are you doing Haruka. You shouldn't be in school and go to the stupid seamstress!"

"Noisy, I will hit you!"

"Hey you guys, stop fighting. Also you Fujisaki, you shouldn't hit other people so easily. I will punish you for cleani

ng the front of the class!”

Damn teacher. Just because he is the son of an important person then she underestimates me. I don't accept this.

"Look at her clothes. Very shabby."

"Yeah, you're right. I also heard that her parents are divorced and she lives alone.”

“Hey, you two are noisy!”

I'm Haruka Fujisaki. Second grade middle school. I hate everything. I hate my parents, I hate school, I hate all the treatment others give me.

I was told to clean the floor in front of the classroom?! No kidding damn teacher!

Blam!

As I slammed down one of my clean tools, the teacher came out and saw me.

“Ahhh, I'm sorry Haruka-chan. If only it wasn't for Takida-san whose father is our school's main investor. I'm sorry but can you pretend to be serving this punishment? I'll buy you ice cream when you get home okay!"

The teacher calmed me down. I know that what she said is true. But can't she just… Ah never mind.

"Okay ma'am."

I am Haruka. A transfer student from the previous middle school which is a school with many bad memories. It was a school where my mom and dad argued about divorce and I was humiliated there. I moved because it was short.

Right now my parents are separated and I have no one to live with even though my parents' family doesn't want me either. I was forced to ask my father for money and luckily I was given. I also asked my mother, but she seemed indifferent to me.

I currently live in a cheap apartment and I go to school in my old clothes. School clothes that because of my stupidity I tore them. It's also my fault and my new school uniform will still have to wait for another week or so.

I cleaned the floor with a broom and some kind of floor mop. But I know it's actually clean even without me having to clean it.

"Ding dong ding!"

The school bell rings and it means break. I immediately left the clean-equipment and went somewhere deserted.

It was the school roof where I could feel the strong breeze and see the vast horizon to relieve stress.

"Fwaaa!"

This is an area that real students are forbidden to enter. But, thanks to my ability to unlock the door that I learned from my father's book, I can go upstairs freely.

"Eh, why isn't it locked?"

Wait, someone's coming!

"Uh, fine. Though I thought it was a waste, but I think I can do it here!”

Uh, who is she? She's not in my class. Why is she holding her uniform?

Ha?

“Y-you! Why are you taking off your clothes out here!?”

I accidentally asked her directly when I was supposed to be hiding. That's right, she was trying to take off her shirt on the school roof. Is she the pervert that my elementary school teacher used to tell me about?

“Ahhh, you misunderstood. I just want to dry my clothes that are wet from the water from my friend. She accidentally spilled drinking water on this uniform, and look… It's so wet that it makes me uncomfortable!”

She showed her front, which was really wet. It's as if she's bathing in her clothes but only the front is exposed.

"Oh really. Then please."

Why am I acting like I'm the ruler on the roof of this school?

"By the way, why are you here?"

Oh, woe. I can't avoid the annoying kids from my class who like to bully new people.

"Yah, hahaha. You know, this place is perfect for relaxing, right?”

I tried to come up with the right excuse under the circumstances. I think this can work.

"Is that so, I thought it was because you were bullied by that official's son and you hid here."

Well, you already know.

“…By the way, is that your old school uniform?”

This woman took off her top uniform and now she's only wearing a bra. She then asked me.

"Yeah, this is my old school dress that was broken."

“Ehhh, do you want this school uniform?”

Wait, what did she say?

"What do you mean?"

“Well, to be honest my family was one of the parties that made this school uniform. So when it comes to backups, I have a few pairs at home. Do you want to? But there is a price!”

She said her family is a tailor's family?! Well, I can't believe it right away but there's no harm in trying this too.

“Oh, is that so… Then I will buy it, but on the condition that the item is in front of my eyes!”

"OK, then wait here tomorrow, at the same time. It's only 2000 yen, hehe.”

And I agree with the girl who only wears a bra who I don't even know her name. We just sat in silence until the break was over.

………

……

...

The next day, I went through various obstacles from the class boys and I managed to climb up the stairs to the roof.

"Oh, you've come. I thought you locked the door!”

“Ah, you turned out to be early. Then let me unlock the door!”

Actually I've made a fake lock for this door, so I don't need to always open it with a lockpick.

"Even though we can transact here, you know."

“Shhh, I didn't want to be found by those people so I had to come here.”

The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

“So you actually brought the item!”

"Yeah, you see it's not this tada. I don't know your size actually, but you're roughly as big as me so I'll just pick one that's the same

size as me.”

She opened the package she was carrying. It was a set of this school uniform and she only sold it for 2000 yen?

"Isn't this too cheap?"

“Well, it's not every day we can sell it. After all, this is my personal item, so I can sell it at any price.”

Stupid girl. I only brought the 5000 yen note.

"Hey, this is too much!"

"Take everything. Let's just say the rest is my thanks!"

"I can not. If you want to thank me then just say so. Tomorrow. Tomorrow I will come back and give change!”

“Ahhh, why don't you just accept it!”

“I can't because I am a Makise who will never take more money from a buyer. I don't know what the reason is!”

She gave her name easily, and this girl had stupid trading principles. I worry about her future.

“Ahh, alright, then come back tomorrow with your change. And by the way my name is Haruka. Since you already told me your name then you should know mine too!”

"Hehe, nice to meet you Haruka-chan."

And that's how Makise and I can be friends and close. She always visited the roof of the school every recess. She always helps me, and sometimes I help her too. We help each other every time we get into trouble. She was my savior at that time when I didn't know what to do anymore.

///

I left with Aruka and the rest except Yamada. I headed to the street I was walking on because it was Makise's class there.

“Haruka, if this is really a zombie apocalypse then I hope for your cooperation!?”

Yamada suddenly said bad things about the zombie apocalypse. But right now I can't deny it and I really believe it's a zombie apocalypse when looking at the bottom or the first floor is really messed up.

"Yeah, we have to get out of this school!"

………

……

...

Brack!

“Is Makise here!!”

I broke into the class that Makise was in, but what confronted me was the old teacher who was teaching history and the other students who were shocked because of me.

"Oh oh, what's wrong miss, why do you look in a hurry, who are you looking for?!"

The old man asked. I'm currently in a hurry but I don't see Makise who should be in this class.

“If you're looking for Makise she's in the sewing extra room right now. I think she's sorting it out or something, it's a matter of extracurricular needs!”

Damn it, I have to get back quickly!

“Yamada, go back to Aruka and I will find Makise!”

“No, I will come with you. You can run fast right?!”

Yamada seemed to be giving me words of encouragement or threats. But, it looks like a warning.

"Certain!"

“Wait, what exactly happened? Why is it so crowded outside?”

One of the students asked us what happened.

"No time to explain, but the point is you guys need to get out of here!"

I hastily explained - informed them of the urgency of the situation. And to be honest, on this second floor there is still no sign of zombies.

Or so when I passed the stairs going down, it was already filled with zombies.

"Haruka!"

I couldn't get past it, but still I tried to break through. Even though it's just a little longer I will see a sewing extracurricular.

"Are you stupid! Run fast!”

Yamada pulled me back up the stairs and I followed him upstairs.

"Makise!"

Damn. I failed to protect my precious friend!

……...

……

...

“Ah, you guys have arrived. You guys are so fast.”

I arrived in front of the warehouse where Akira and Asagi were carrying the stairs out.

"Hey, help me!"

Yamada and I helped Asagi who seemed a bit grumpy. Aruka seemed to be looking for things in the warehouse and after we finished installing the stairs, she came back.

“Haruka, you wear this. For others I think a more ordinary stick weapon."

Aruka gave me a baseball bat and the others got rackets and bats. To Akira…

“Hey, why did I get a broom?”

“Because you are noisy and only brooms are left!”

Yup, Yamada got a stick that looks like it could be used for Toya. But, the Akira only got a stick but in the form of a broom.

"Whatever it is, we have to hurry!"

I looked back and it seemed like the zombies had started to notice us. I was the last one to climb and unlucky…

“Haruka!”

The zombie managed to grab my leg, he kept trying to bite but I managed to keep my leg out.

Ckkttt!

He managed to bite, but it wasn't my body but my shoes.

"Hryaaa!"

As soon as my shoe was about to come off, I swung and hit his head. The ladder became unbalanced and almost collapsed.

“Haruka jump!!”

Yamada called out to me as the stairs nearly fell completely… I jumped!

Claps!

"Yosh got it!"

My hand was caught by Yamada and I managed to survive falling into the swarm of zombies below.

"Thank you Yamada!"

"Hey, you're welcome. That was close. So, what are we going to do now?”

Yamada asked towards Aruka, I think Aruka was looking for a way and was looking towards the East. There was a swarm of zombies but they weren't interested in us.

“Listen to me, there's a shopping area there but I'm not sure it's unsafe. So, this time we will try to infiltrate through the garden area. When we reach the market, we will turn sout

h and we should head to an area where we can base our base. That's right, it's a construction area!”

So, the class president asked us to travel 6 km to reach a place that I don't know what she intended to do.

“Why do we have to go that far?”

I asked her to clear my doubts. But still the stares from Asagi were unrelenting.

“Why are you asking that damn thing, of course Aruka-chan already figured it all out!”

“No Asagi, she's right. I want to go there because we need weapons and a place to live. There should be at least a tool that can be used as a weapon in a construction area of that size… Also the real reason is that it's close to my house. Sorry, I'm really worried right now."

Oh, I see. I don't think there's anything wrong with going there. I don't have a family myself so I don't know how Aruka feels.

"Then let's hurry!"

I cheered them on, but they were silent.

"How do you get down?"

And I remembered this is a four meter high wall… Damn.

……

...

After we descended from the wall, we headed straight for the East by avoiding the zombies as much as possible.

Briefly, the five of us were on top for a while while watching the swarms of zombies gather. There I volunteered to go down first and it was very painful. After descending, Yamada followed. I caught Aruka and Asagi and Yamada caught Akira.

"So how do we get past that?"

There are a lot of zombies coming from the south to the north. It's not as planned.

“This is too much. Should we find another way? For example if we go south because it looks like the area is empty?!”

Yamada gave his opinion. I also agreed with her for a moment but I remembered that Aruka also wanted to check on her family. And her house is closer than the others, I think.

“No, I guess we should wait for them to pass. When it's quiet, we'll run as fast as we can towards the fields!”

I gave my voice where we were behind a big tree looking at the zombies walking on the street.

However, is this idea safe? I wonder if I'm even surrounded by zombies who might still be there. Well, I guess I'll just have to fight when it comes.

“Hey, aren't you guys worried about your family? My sister is not picking up my phone!”

Akira who had been holding his cellphone turned out to be trying to call his sister.

“I'm also worried about that, you're stupid Akira. But my current father must be safe because he is a soldier. I'm worried about my mom at home and I know she doesn't have a cell phone!”

"Me too, both my parents are in the next town so I don't know how they are!"

“My house is nearby. I tried to call home but they didn't pick up. I'm worried about them!”

Each of them had a family to worry about. Unfortunately, my family is only made up of a father who is having an affair with someone else and a mother who is the same but looks like the victim.

Because my parents even started a new family, I can't go anywhere and I can only live with the support from my father and I chose a school in a remote place when I moved to middle school.

“Hey, don't you have a family?!”

Asagi seemed to be asking me. I don't want to make a fuss right now so I'll be quiet.

“You, how can-”

“Shhhh! Asagi, you are too noisy! You can lure zombies!”

Luckily, Aruka stopped her stupid act. I don't really want to deal with this kid either because of her annoying nature.

“You call your family if you can. We'll be waiting for these zombies to get away!”

With Aruka's words, I opened my phone and saw a shocking message.

[1 Message from Makise – 2 minutes ago]

She's still alive!!

'Haruka, where are you?! I'm currently in the school shed. Haruka, please answer me!'

She's still alive and she's right where I passed!

“Makise is still alive!”

I spoke in a happy tone. That's right, I thought she was dead and became an aimless zombie. When I know she is still alive, of course I will be very happy.

[I'm still alive and I made it out of school! There should be a ladder in the area behind the storage building but there are a lot of zombies there. How are you?!]

I messaged her.

[Thank goodness you're safe. Currently in the building there are about twelve people. And luckily I'm with a great schoolmate. Guess what, he is a sports expert named Rakiru-senpai. He is currently leading us to collect items!]

Ah, luckily she's not alone. However, I'm at a loss as to how to save her.

[I'll be fine here Haruka. You have to save yourself first and if you can save us here. By the way, I forgot to turn off the light in the extracurricular room hehe. I hope the principal doesn't punish me.]

This damn kid can still joke around. I was really worried about it though.

[Relax, I will quickly find a way to save you from there. Wait for me and be safe!]

I sent her this message and my resolve is now fixed on one thing.

Strength!

"Hey, the zombies are gone, let's hurry!"

And I headed East to look for weapons first. Maybe I can find a chainsaw or something. I have to find a weapon that can kill thousands of zombies.

In order t

o save Makise.

………

……

...

“Haruka your left!”

Yamada told me about something on my left, and it was a zombie that had lost its leg and was aiming at me.

"Hiatt!"

I dodged his attack while removing my baseball bat which was being grabbed by another zombie. Immediately, as soon as I let go and dodged, I stepped on the one below with my right foot which was still wearing my shoe.

That's right, my left shoe was taken by a zombie at school.

After killing the zombies below, now I immediately pick up the baseball bat dropped by the zombie while dodging its attacks.

Then sideways attack!

It's me, Haruka. Together with Yamada taking care of the zombies in the front while protecting the three people who are not very good at fighting in the back.

"You two are great. I think we can get to our destination quickly.”

“Hey, why should I protect these two girls? I should be the one being lin- Aww!”

"Shut up Akira, now we have to hurry. I didn't think there would be so many zombies in this area too. I heard from a friend of mine whose family became zombies, the zombies will become more aggressive at night. It's almost evening so we have to hurry!”

With the important information presented by Aruka, we quickly crossed this field and soon reached the residential area and near the market.

"Damn, we can't get past them!"

As said by Aruka, I also think I can't get past the zombie gathering in the market area.

We are currently inside the house we entered from the back door. It's a house with a one meter high concrete fence so we can crouch down. Right in front of us is the market area where zombies are gathering there.

"Damn it, looks like there's going to be a nuclear war!"

"What do you mean?"

“Look at this news, Mamarika is blaming Russia for this disaster. On the other hand, Rashia also pointed at Mamarika. Right now the whole world is confused because this infection turned out to be on an international scale. If this is really a zombie spread, it's too premeditated and of course only giant countries like them can do it."

Akira explained something very important. If this became a nuclear war, then it wouldn't be just the two of them that would be involved. Of course our area which has a lot of population will be the target of massacre as well. Damn, this is too hard.

"Let's put that information aside for now. Now we will stay here for a while and tomorrow we will go through this market. Yamada and Asagi, gather whatever can be used as a fortress to cover the entrance of this house! Akira, you collect important information about zombies and finally Haruka and I will collect items for our trip!”

Aruka here acts as the leader and of course from the start she was our class president.

Inside this house, we decided to stay overnight. This is because night is approaching and too many zombies are gathering in the market or the area that we will be crossing.

……

...

“Hey Haruka, hehe, look, I found pudding!”

I and Aruka are currently in the kitchen collecting food. Yup, our priority is food, tools and medicine.

The two of us managed to find a normal school bag that would fit at least 20 liters of stuff. We found three, so we decided on 2 bags of food, 1 bag of other necessities.

“Hey, it's almost expired. Better not to eat it!”

I warned her when I saw the expiration date on the back of the pudding.

“Hehe, you still don't know huh, Haruka. The expiry date is not necessarily the actual date the food expires… Let me try… Phewwft, yup, let's throw it away!”

Aruka instead opened it and tried to eat it. Even though I warned you because I've experienced it. But yeah, I'll just let her learn a lesson right away.

But who is the owner of this house to leave a lot of expired food?

“We got six packs of noodles, some bread and two packs of whole salmon and a few eggs and a bag of rice. This can last for five days if we are frugal. We also get a first aid kit that is still intact. Haruka also found a camping stove here as well as two flashlights. I think this is enough."

Aruka explained what we got when we collected. The unmentioned foods were actually in front of us and we were going to eat them for the last big meal.

“Yosh, let's pray for our safety tomorrow and thank the owner of the house. And don't be loud! Kanpai!”

“Kanpai!!”

This is the first time I've seen orange juice made into a drink for kanpai. But, after all we can't throw away the alcohol because it's for first aid purposes too. And we were still high school kids which I forgot for a moment.

"Hey, it's mine!"

I was about to take one of the meatballs in the noodles on the big plate. But Asagi stopped me.

“Hey come on Asagi, you've eaten three haven't you? Haruka hasn't even eaten it yet!”

Akira who saw the two of us said that. Well, I guess I'll just go with the sausage.

"No, Akira, it's okay. I'll just get some sausages."

To be honest, I really wanted to hit her. However, I can't easily do that when it's just a personal matter when I still have g

roup responsibilities. Moreover, there are still zombies around us so we have to be careful.

“Akira, give me the information you got!”

“Alright, so it's as I expected it to be. This is an international infection, so the whole world is going through more or less the same thing as us. Then for nuclear war… It was successfully stopped and it was replaced by the decision of the governments to stop the spread. So, severely infected areas such as India and Brazil had to be exterminated in some regions. Damn. Fortunately, in our area, we were not hit, and currently our government is experiencing tensions with the Coni and Korya governments. And a few minutes ago, the whole world agreed that this was a zombie apocalypse!"

Neighboring countries again? I hope they don't turn this into a new battlefield.

“What about our military? Why is there no evacuation at all?”

“The military has been given an assignment to return from various battlefields and those who are still in the surrounding area are given the task of securing the city. Unfortunately, our city seems to be joining the neighboring region and only the police can work. If we want protection from the military we have to flee to the next town!”

"Shit, that's too far. What about our police? Did they create a safe area?”

"No information. I think they're short on weapons and personnel. This is normal since we are in a fairly remote area. And I got bad info…”

From the look on Akira's face, this was something that should be serious.

“…Well, we just have to endure anyway hahaha. But we have to be careful with criminals who manage to escape from prison. Now the crime rate is increasing and they don't just steal like us. They also kill and rape, or so the security forces are asking haha. Well, I hope that doesn't happen, but we still have to be careful.”

The night was long enough, and it was time for bed.

"But, who will be on guard?"

Akira gave the suggestion I had just thought of.

"I can't get up that long."

“I can stay up late, but I'm not sure if I didn't oversleep!”

"I can, but I'm not sure tomorrow will be strong enough to be literate."

“…Then just me!”

I proposed myself to be the supervisor of the situation.

“But, I couldn't sleep all night. At two or three in the morning, I need someone to take my place!”

I was a person who trained hard back in middle school. Yup, I can do three or four hours of sleep. But still my performance will decline tomorrow.

“Then I, I usually wake up at four in the morning, so I guess as long as you wake me I can!”

Yamada volunteered for the position.

“Okay, then Haruka will be the one to supervise and then be replaced by Yamada. Tomorrow we will also do a turn like this! In that case, please take care of Haruka!”

The others then went to sleep. They didn't sleep in the bedroom, instead they took the mattress on the first floor out and they slept together in the living room. And it's already night, with me in front of the window watching the zombies whose eyes are quite bright red.

“Damn, they are so scary!”

Since it's still not too late, I decided to take a look at my cell phone.

There are tons of chemitubers who make videos of them setting up bases in their homes. There are also blogs that have turned to information providers from their camps.

Oh, and they call it camp or base. It was the house or place they lived in that was free from zombies.

“… Looting supermarkets and picking up products like noodles or instant porridge that are perishable. Hmmm…”

I read a lot of tips and tricks provided by bloggers. But mostly it's just from people who are in areas that haven't been infected much. They probably haven't even experienced meeting zombies yet.

Shortly after I closed my phone because I was satisfied, I got a message from Makise.

[Hey Haruka. It's already night and we can't see the moon hehe. We are currently collecting all the food we have. Luckily there was a kid who brought some food and most of us only had pocket snacks. If only I knew it would be like this, I would have brought a sack of rice hehe.]

Oh yeah, I just remembered that at Makise's place there is no food source. Damn, it's in really bad shape right now. I had to quickly save Makise the moment after dropping them off at Aruka’s house.

[Relax, I'll save you right away. Remember to always save on food and save it when you share it. I'm not sure about the others, but if you can, you should get along with the strong people there. Whatever it is, you have to survive!]

I gave her a message to cheer her up. But ironically, I'm not excited myself.

And it's 23:59 p.m. One minute to go is a new day, May 24th.

………

……

...

“Hey Haruka… Wake up!”

Ahhh, my head feels so heavy and dizzy. It's like when I have a fever. Luckily it didn't last long.

"What time is it now?"

"It's half past seven. We'll be leaving soon!”

Yamada woke me up. Seeing him wearing those glasses always reminds me of the detective series I have watched in the past.

"Have you woke

n up lazy?"

And Asagi who makes my morning taste like coffee without water or sugar.

"Hey Asagi, don't be like that. She was on guard last night!"

"Yeah, if you really hate it like that, do it when we're in a safe place!"

Hey, I also don't want to be hated you stupid Akira. But well, I guess it's normal for humans to hate each other. Whatever the reason.

“Then, as I planned before. Since we can't pass the market, we will turn a little to the right to avoid the crowds and pass the housing. Here we will walk between the alleys and our position will be Haruka and Yamada in the front, Akira and I will guard the back. Asagi, you brought two bags so you're in the middle for safety!”

As usual, we listened to the plan from the class president.

"There's nothing more to discuss? Then let's go!"

Just wait for me Makise. I will come to save you right away!

………

……

...

“Eh?”

We are currently in the construction area. But we didn't find any items that could be used as weapons.

“Wait, has this place been looted? Or do the workers carry all the things?”

The same question I wanted to ask but was replaced by Aruka.

“Well, let's just say we're out of luck this time. However, of these zombie corpses, most were construction workers and some were commoners. Someone must have taken this area first.”

“Yeah, I feel that way too. Looks like we'll have to move again soon. Aruka, you said your house is near here right?”

“Yeah, only about four hundred meters in this area and we'll arrive… Then we'll be there, OK?!”

Aruka's face looked very worried for a moment. But she managed to hide it, seemingly.

Aruka leads the way and I'm getting tired after encountering a lot of zombies. Even though there were five of us, it was mostly just Yamada and I who overcame them.

And until at an alley, Aruka suddenly overtook the two of us, Yamada and I.

"No!! Mama! Daddy!"

Damn, I have to get her out of there right away.

"Aruka came back!"

Immediately I caught up with upAruka who broke through the zombie swarm.

"Mom, dad!"

And I think she said that to the two zombies in front of her. Damn, but whatever it is, she's not trying to hug you, Aruka!

"Krakt!"

“Ahhhhhhh!!!”

"Haruka!!!"

Ah shit, my left hand was bitten while trying to pull Aruka away. The one biting was a female zombie who seemed to be Aruka’s mother.

"No, mama stop it!"

"Watch out, Aruka! She was dead! Yamada, bring Aruka back!”

Immediately Yamada took care of the two zombies I had left behind and he pulled Aruka. Now I have to deal with four zombies whichmy bite mark came from.

"You guys stay away from me! Fast!!"

And Yamada brought back Aruka. We looked at each other as if trying to understand our feelings for each other. He looks like he has tears in his eyes.

Hehe, I'd be a zombie instead. I'm sorry Makise, I lied to you.

"I will be back!"

And the four of them ran behind leaving me.

“Alright, so how should I deal with these four people!”

In short, earlier it was difficult to fight because I had to face off one-on-one and had to fend off zombies from the front so as not to fall behind. But, this time I can fight wildly.

"Come on!"

One of them is the one who looks like Aruka's mother and the one behind her is a boy who looks like Aruka's father. Or so I understood from the direction Aruka went to face the two earlier.

Immediately, I took a few steps back to make preparations. Luckily my left hand can still be moved. And with a full blow from top to bottom, the head of the zombie that was previously beloved Aruka’s mother was crushed.

Damn, I feel bad when I know that she is an important person to my friend.

Eh, it turns out I consider Aruka a friend haha. Even though I thought she was just the head of the class organisation.

Then for the male one, behind him are the other two together and they are parallel to the horizontal axis of their side. At that moment I used a side punch very hard!

“Rraaggghh!!”

Two of them had their heads crushed, but the one on the left or the last one that got hit by my baseball still hasn't been crushed and is still alive in a fallen position. He's not the zombie that Aruka was referring to, so I'll step on him to temper my emotions.

“Graaa-”

And his head cracked. Now my body feels very weak and helpless. My left hand feels like it's starting to swell.

"Damn, I have to tie this up!"

I took a piece of cloth from the clothes the zombie was wearing. I use it to make a tight knot in the upper arm near the elbow. It felt like my left hand was about to explode.

The zombies far away seemed to be attracted by our loud noise earlier and there were at least 10 or a dozen of them. And now I can't move.

"Haruka!"

Someone called out to me as my consciousness was running low. I don't know anymore, my body feels like it's floating but it's very heavy. I am sleepy.

………

……

“Huh?!”

I woke up. My stomach feels very hungry.

I vaguely saw the state of a brightly lit room. Is this heaven? Or hell?

“Ahh, you've come to your se

nses Haruka. Thank you God!”

That voice?! Akira!

“Akira, did you die too? Damn, you caught up with me so fast!”

I said it quietly. For some reason it feels like my mouth is still a bit difficult to move so it doesn't sound very clear.

"What are you saying! You're still alive and we're at the hotel right now!”

Ha?

"So, we're still alive? That's good haha. Then where are the others?”

“…The others are fine. But they're still in the other room… As for Aruka… No, thank goodness you're awake. The point is you have to eat first!”

Ahhh. My stomach feels like it's twisting. I'm not even sure food can handle this. It felt like they were rebelling. This part of my stomach.

……

...

“Here, eat slowly, Haruka!”

Akira scooped me with a spoonful of still warm porridge.

“How did I survive?!”

I asked shortly after eating a mouthful of the porridge from the spoon. Honestly, my left hand is still very sore and it's already swollen but covered in bandages. But it seemed to work, my bond managed to stop the spread of the virus.

“For short, Yamada opened all parts of your hand by force to draw out the blood. But there's still some left so we can just leave it as it is. But we've covered your wounds so don't worry!”

You stupid Yamada. Even though he just cut my hand. But yeah, we also forgot to bring a tool that can cut my bones. So I guess Yamada did his best to save me.

I owe him again.

"Then, didn't Asagi tell you to just leave me to die?"

That's right, that person should have suggested for me to be left behind or just let me die.

“She did say stupid things like that at first. But, she stopped when… No, basically she's already-”

“Tell me what happened to Aruka!?”

I know what he's hiding. I don't know what happened to her, but for someone like the class president to make a mistake to the point of hurting someone else of course will make her feel really… how to explain it.

"She was dead!"

"Brack!"

I pounded the table beside me with my right hand. It wasn't hard because I was too weak.

"Damn it!"

“Forgive us, we failed to protect her. At that time we couldn't think straight and made the class president the victim and… She died!”

"So it wasn't because she was frustrated or something?"

I asked him because it wasn't what I originally thought. I guess I was too confident to think that it was because of me.

“At that time, Yamada fell ill from taking care of you and he almost got infected just like you. We ran out of food and argued over who would go out looking for food. In the end, the three of us fought and finally Aruka relented and… Sorry, it's because of me and Asagi that she's…”

I patted Akira's shoulder who started shaking with fear.

"It's okay, I understand the situation. I'm sorry at that time I even bothered you."

“No, it's precisely because you're Haruka that we were able to survive this far… Also, we realized at that time that this group was relying too much on you and Yamada. And when you two really need help, we can only act stupid!”

Well, I can't blame him but I can't stop him from blaming himself either. I guess I'll just be a listener.

But he was silent after that.

“…Then, what about Yamada now?”

I asked him about Yamada. It would be bad if he actually ended up getting infected.

“He has recovered and today he is looking for food again. Asagi Together… the head stays wrapped in Aruka and I always wait for you here and take care of you.”

“Aren't you guys burying the body!?”

I asked in a slightly angry tone.

“No, we originally intended to bury all of her limbs. But, Asagi, she insisted on keeping her head and we couldn't stop her. Sorry."

If only sorry could solve everything. Unlucky.

“Yeah, but thanks for taking care of me. By the way, you stopped feeding me!”

“Ah… please!”

………

……

...

“Haruka you're awake!”

"Yo Yamada!"

Yamada came back after he had been out for so long. I greeted him with a smile.

"I'm sorry, but can you move?"

"I'm still a little weak. But in two or three days I might recover. Sorry to bother you."

“What are you saying, you are an important person to us… Have you heard of Aruka?”

Yamada's previously happy face suddenly turned gloomy.

“…Yes, she did a noble job. But why did you let Asagi keep her head?”

“I can't handle that woman either. Ever since Aruka's body was found separated from her head, she's been keeping quiet and when we were about to ask for her head, she'd get angry and she threatened with a knife that I didn't know came from anywhere.”

Well, it's quite scary too to face a person who shouldn't be hurt yet she threatens with a sharp weapon. I would do something like Yamada did if that happens to me.

"We will stay here for a while. And sorry, I looked at your mobile phone and…”

Yamada reminded me of something when he said 'mobile'.

“What about Makise?!”

“…I'm afraid she won't survive anymore. It's been about half a month since you've been asleep, and the information she's given isn't good.”

Immediately I looked for my cell phone and it

was filled with unpleasant writings. There was also a message from my cell phone saying that I was in a critical condition and that I might not be helped.

“…please, Haruka. Hurry and save me!”

Damn. I failed. I don't know why but I cried so hard. I'm sorry Makise. Forgive me.

………

……

...

“There is a Tank mutant!”

And that's how we searched for a new place. It was the third day after I woke up. Akira reported something bad and we were forced to find a new place. We decided to head for the North camp.

I'm sorry Makise. I can only leave you.