Day Two.
Waking up from my office gave me an odd sensation in my skin. I foolishly thought I overslept throughout the entire afternoon and evening and forgot to head home. The distant moans of the students in the field dispelled that thought.
I looked over at my phone’s news app—almost every local news channel stopped by around the late evening. A glimmer of hope remained in the form of a naval blockade throughout the country.
Let’s hope my office is a good sleeping place for the time being.
I couldn’t hope for the future though. For all we know, this seems like it’ll take a while to contain such an infection that could potentially spread across the continent.
I turned my phone off. Although it was possible to charge my phone thanks to the solar generators, I couldn’t take it for granted.
Looking at the board in front of me, I saw mere scribbles and lines drawn across it. Early morning drawings weren’t my best, but at least they conveyed the general idea.
I had planned out what we do in different scenarios and the roles of everybody (or what I believed should be). Yet, despite a few dot points under everybody’s name, Yuki remained empty.
Well, what was I supposed to write?
Perhaps my ideas will change over time.
I slid the door open, looking down the entire hallway across the third floor. Instead of the usual group of students spread out across the hallway, I only saw Yuuri walking inside a classroom. I heard the sound of distant sobbing coming from the same room.
Even without opening the door to see what happened, I could easily tell who it was.
“Good morning Ryu-kun,”
“Morning Wakasa-san”
“Morning Ryu”
“Morning Ebisuzawa-san”
The sound of sobbing came from the middle of the room. Sakura stood over Yuki who was sitting on a chair with her hands covering her face.
I noticed the nearby windows being shattered open, with blood and debris spreading across the room. It seemed eerily consistent with each room, as I felt a breeze while passing by each classroom.
“Has Takeya-san been like this for a while now?” I whispered.
“Yea. She has been like that ever since the early morning” Kurumi whispered back.
“You’re going to do a quick sweep of the second floor tomorrow right?”
“Yep"
“Perfect. I’ll be out shortly"
“Before you go, Ryu-kun. Can I tell you something?” Yuuri turned over to me, holding onto my hand.
“... Go on" I responded, slowly pulling my hand away from her hold.
“Once you’ve secured the second floor, can you please check the Home Economics Kitchen? It may have some food to keep us going for a while"
“That wouldn’t suffice for more than three weeks. Our best hope is to keep with the original strategy of having people tend to the garden. I’ll probably work on the garden with you since we’re making progress with the scavenging”
“Ah, thanks Ryu-kun"
“I do wish for the extra manpower though"
Yuuri and I exchanged glances for a moment as we walked out of the hallway, leaving Sakura to comfort Yuki. Although my plan with Kurumi was meant to happen later, I didn’t know what could happen next. Especially since I hadn’t gotten over last night.
“So, uh… what are your thoughts?” I turned over to Yuuri.
“On what exactly?”
“Y’know, with Takeya-san”
“It’s an understatement to say I feel bad for her… she tried calling her grandparents last night. They managed to pick up but then hung up after someone tried banging on their door. She didn’t get reception after that”
“...”
“What about your parents Ryu-kun? Are they alright?”
“I haven’t nor do I want to call them. I’ll probably end up like Takeya-san"
“You say it as if it's an insult"
“It isn’t"
“Right…”
“Have you ever met Yuki and Kurumi-san before?”
“I’ve only known them from another club"
“Hm. I’ve only known Yuki because she’s in my class, but I never knew she was like this mentally"
Well, I already knew. Someone like her would be more susceptible to falling into trauma.
“Shouldn’t we try to help her Ryu-kun?”
“If we manage to get all of us out of here unscathed, we find the antidote to all of our issues, including Takeya-san"
“What if we can’t get out?”
“That… I have no answer"
It's not that I didn’t have an answer. I just refused to admit it.
“Well, we can’t just idle around"
“If we’re going to find a solution, we’ll have to plan out our next course of action rather than blindly diving into rescue"
“Well, what should we do tomorrow then? And the day after?”
I turned over to Yuuri.
“Listen, I can tell you’re a smart and mature girl, Wakasa-san… you taking charge of the Horticulture Club during Mio-san’s absence proves that you’re way better than her…”
Her face lit up for a moment at my compliment. I haven’t been the type to personally compliment them, yet at this point, I might as well weaponize it.
“This may seem like a bad idea, but if you have an idea or some plans for the future, can you bring it up with Sakura-sensei? I’ll meet with you in the council room to address the matters, but it's best to think short term for now. After all, I’m still recovering from yesterday’s events”
“Got it, Ryu-kun”
“If there are any big issues or questions, just ask me. I’ll give you a definite answer. For now, I got bigger priorities to handle”
We nodded at each other before going our separate ways.
Upon arriving at the council room with a bowl, I took a glance at the window. The mindless hordes that had surrounded the sports building continued to wander around.
Midway through my watch, a breeze shook the nearby trees, creating a small plume of dust across the path. As this happened, a nearby Football rolled through the path, with a few students following the ball.
The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.
Interesting.
I gripped my phone, typing down a small note. As I finished up, I checked my social media tab. The feed remained stuck from last night, yet the remaining tweets all said the same thing.
“The Zombie Apocalypse has started!”
Is that what they’re called? Zombies? Popular culture has never been of interest. It was foolish of me to call them students, I guess. But yesterday, not a single question about what happened to them rushed into my mind. I glanced at the clock.
Entering the classroom close to me, I looked over towards Yuki. She had remained in that position for quite a while right now, with the sound of sobbing consistent with what it was before. The massive holes in the glass panes created a small breeze for Yuki.
I grabbed onto a chair neatly stacked in the corner, placing it over at Yuki. She looked up at me, her expressive eyes still filled with tears. She reached for her hat dangling at the side of the table, before wearing it.
“Hello Takeya-san”
“Good morning Ryu-kun…” Her round face sunk into the table, with her hat and eyes being the only thing visible. She seemed intimidated by my presence.
I reluctantly gave a smile, attempting to comfort her.
“How’s your day?”
“It’s… alright… I guess" She looked up at me, responding with a tired smile, although her face sunk back into the table after her answer.
We sat in silence, Yuki’s face still facing the table while I sat, pondering on my next move.
“So… Takeya-san. I wanted to ask you this yesterday but was interrupted by the bell… What do you like most?”
Her face emerged from staring face down at the table. I will admit I wasn’t the most social type of person, so it seemed as if I was a completely different person.
“Do you have to ask me that?”
“I know. But I’m just bored”
“Well… I like sweets…
“Our Homeroom Class hm? What makes you say that?” I responded, keeping up a fake intrigued yet friendly voice.
“I don’t know…”
I’m probably stepping into dangerous territory here…
“Was it your friends that made it fun? Or just the classroom setting?”
She nodded in response to both, yet her face indicated she felt uncomfortable with my questions.
“Kamiyama-sensei does sometimes make class boring though"
“Hm” She nodded in agreement while keeping her face close to the table.
“What’d you think about her?”
Yuki shrugged her shoulders, pulling her hat down.
“She does seem like a harsh marker. And I’m not saying that because I once got a 75 in our last, but it’s just in how she works" I looked over at the window.
“Everyone was talking about that last week. We all rumored that you had a twin brother take over for you"
“The perks of my carelessness. I do find the rumors quite amusing”
“Heh"
“Anyways, I think we all know the situation we’re in is quite… precarious… So, I, Wakasa-san, and Ebisuzawa-san are planning to get some work done on setting up barricades around the school. We’re hoping that you could join in"
“I… I just don’t feel like it…”
“It’s alright. I think the extra hand would help in the future though. Remember the students like Yuzumura-san, Haruko-san-”
Yuki froze for a moment as I listed Yuzumura.
Damn it. I screwed up.
Yuki started quivering uncontrollably, almost as if she had felt a sense of newfound dread within her body. As I kept silent, her eyes glistened, followed by tears streaming down her cheeks
“Takeya-san…”
She lifted her arms, rubbing her eyes to no avail. After a brief moment, she covered her face with her hands.
“Hey, Takeya-san… I’m sorry…”
“Is… is she alright?” Yuki whimpered quietly, her voice almost silenced by her hands.
I stopped, my mouth still open as I tried to select the best words.
“She’s… in a better place, Yuki-san…”
“Don’t lie to me…”
I kept silent for a brief moment. Her voice sounded almost raspy despite her innocent look.
“You can’t say… that she’s…” Her whimpering transformed into sobbing, as she sunk her head onto the table with her arms over it.
“Take a deep breath, Takeya-san. I’ll change the subject"
She’s hard to handle…
Yuki continued to sob despite her struggle to take a few deep breaths.
It was an understatement to say it was easy to calm Yuki down. I’ve realized that I had some poor wording choices, but perhaps I’ve acted a bit too cold for Yuki’s standards.
“Would you like some water, Takeya-san?”
Yuki nodded, her small black hat almost falling off. I passed the bottle, almost interrupted by the glare of the sun which almost made me drop the bottle.
“Would you like me to close the door?”
Yuki nodded again, sniffling for a brief moment as I pulled the blinds down and slid the door closed. While tending to the back door, I couldn’t help but feel the presence of someone in the hallway.
“Thank you” Yuki spoke quietly.
I sat close to the table, solidifying my posture in the moment. Yuki lowered her hands, looking at me with a frown.
“So uh, Takeya-san, what’d you like to talk about?”
“...”
“Please take your time”
Yuki opened her mouth for a brief second, before closing it as she looked away for a moment.
“... Will we end up like them one day?”
Well, that I don’t know…
“Takeya-san… are you sure you want to talk about this?”
She nodded reluctantly. I couldn’t help but follow with such a request, even if it meant triggering her emotions. Her curiousness had played against me, for once.
“Then, I’m sure we’ll make it"
Yuki looked at me before slowly lowering her head down, staring at the table. As I watched, I felt a sudden burst of dread inside of me. One that felt as if it was just released after a long time of confinement. It didn’t seem right.
Perhaps I have some amends to make.
“Listen Takeya-san… I know it can be challenging for you. But how about this? If you ever run into any trouble. Don’t ever keep it inside of you"
Yuki looked at me with a puzzled face, her eyes still filled with tears.
“If you ever keep it inside, you’ll never be able to get anywhere. Privacy and secrecy are good, but too much and you’ll be stuck wherever you go or whatever the problem is"
I was a hypocrite with what I said.
“Wha… what do you mean?”
“Feel free to talk with Sakura-sensei, or your friends at any time. We’ll always be there to comfort you, whatever your problem is"
Yuki nodded for a brief moment, yet that feeling of discomfort and sadness loomed over her.
This was my second time trying to genuinely comfort someone, yet at the same time, it felt as if I’d done nothing. It was my fault I pushed Yuki’s sadness to a point where she had accepted her loss of innocence.
“I have to go now, Takeya-san"
Yuki nodded, wiping her tears.
“I’ll see you during lunch…”
“See you…” Yuki gave a small wave while rubbing her free hand into her eyes.
I shortly left the room, sliding the door closed. As the small thud followed, I felt a sudden presence at my side. Looking over, Sakura-sensei stood over at the board, her face puzzled yet smiling.
“Tanaka-kun…” Sakura said in a surprised tone.
“...”
“It’s nice of you to do something like that"
I nodded back, responding with a smile as well. Yet at the back of my mind, all I felt was guilt.
“Perhaps you’ve made your first true friend, Ryu-kun" Sakura slightly leaned forward, her hands interlocked.
“No… not really" I responded in a cold tone.
Sakura looked at me with a puzzled face.
“Didn’t you just try to comfort Takeya-san?”
I leaned over, whispering into her ear.
“I did it to see if she could do anything for the group. I wanted all of us to do something that could keep us alive in this situation. Yet just now, I’ve understood why you’ve been trying to comfort her"
“...”
“What’s worse is that I had never originally meant to provide counseling to Takeya-san. I just wanted her to feel good and hopefully do something productive for once"
Sakura stopped, her eyes widening as she responded with a gasp.
“I’d like to apologize, Sakura-sensei. What I’ve done is quite selfish"
“Don’t apologize Ryu-kun. You were sincere in what you said to her in offering help later on"
“Of course. But I was ignorant-”
“Don’t say that Ryu-kun. Even if you do it now or later, what matters is what comes out of it in the end. After all, you genuinely admitted to it.
I kept silent for a brief second, unable to formulate a proper answer. After a moment, I responded with a small smile.
“Thank you, Sakura-sensei"
“Anytime Ryu-kun"
“I understand why people call you Megu-nee”
“C’mon Ryu-kun… it’s not Megu-nee, just Sakura-sensei!” Her face pouted in response.
“I’m playing around… I’ll still address you as Sakura-sensei”
Her pout turned into small laughter, as I followed suit, amused at the event. It wasn’t that funny, yet I couldn’t contain it.
I looked back at Yuki’s room, still guilt-ridden at my attempt. Somehow. Even if she doesn’t contribute much to the group after she cheers up. It seemed morally right.