He’s taking a while… I thought to myself.

It felt weird having to wait for Ryu to enter the classroom. Usually, he’d arrive somewhere within ten to twenty minutes early and handle paperwork in the meantime.

Fortunately, I didn’t need to wait for long, as I could hear the faint sound of footsteps approaching close to the door.

I raised my shovel, shifting the end to the back of the blade.

“Sorry for being late” Ryu opened the door.

“Think fast!” I shouted, sending my shovel towards the door before stopping midway.

I heard a metal thump, followed by a loud oof.

“Drat” I ran over, seeing Ryu on the ground, “Are you alright?”

“Yes...” Ryu slowly got up, “Was wearing a baseball helmet with a faceguard”

This guy thinks of everything…

“Sorry… thought I could give you a little scare”

“It’s alright… the face guard was extended for some bit so you’d have hit it regardless”

I looked at Ryu, noticing how he was completely suited with sports gear from top to bottom. Instead of his usual blazer, he ended up wearing a sports fit with a pair of gloves and even a pair of sneakers.

“What the heck is all of this?” I smirked, “This isn’t a baseball game”

“I know” Ryu grabbed onto his helmet, inspecting the face guard, “I found some of the spare sports gear in the storage room and couldn’t resist”

“We aren’t going outside the barricades for long, and you look heavy with all of that”

“Better than getting bit” He placed his helmet at the corner.

“Yea…” I grabbed onto my shovel, “So what’s the lesson today?”

“Think fast” He passed a tennis ball towards me, “Throw it at a wall”

I threw it at the whiteboard, catching it as it bounced back to me.

“What are you trying to do?”

“Try uh… putting some noise to it”

“Ah… as a distraction right?”

“Correct” He backed out of the classroom, dragging a duffel bag into the room, “Throw it again”

I threw the tennis ball with all of my force, creating a small thud at the wall.

“I do recommend a ping pong ball if you’re not really good at throwing”

“What’s the difference?”

“Makes more noise as it bounces… doesn’t go well with making noise with hard surfaces and walls”

“How much do you have?”

“Uh… about twenty” He reached for a jar of ping pong balls, passing it to me.

“Thanks… what’ll you use?’

“A fire extinguisher”

“But… what if it runs out?”

“Have you ever paid attention to Science class?”

“No?”

“You should. I’ve managed to break into the Lab with the help of Megu-nee during the first week”

“Jeez… are you going to create some deadly laser gun?”

“No, just tools we could use if we’re ever in a pinch”

“I could give it a try”

“Sure! But it’s gonna require a lot of uh… knowledge… in Science”

It turned me off from any hope of trying whatever Ryu was offering me.

“No thanks”

“Anyways Kurumi-san, one thing you need to know is that you can’t realistically take on twenty zombies''

“Do you always underestimate me?”

“I do find you capable, but let’s be realistic when we run into danger”

“What do you suggest?”

Ryu had this smirk on his face as I asked him that.

“Where do you want to start?”

“Perhaps something you recommend?”

“May I borrow Shovel-kun?”

Shovel-kun? Why should I do that?

“Trust me, it’s just for a moment”

“Fine” I passed the shovel to him, “Don’t break it”

He gripped onto the middle of the shovel, fiddling with it before giving it to me.

“As expected, the handle is lighter than the blade itself. Use it to quickly stun a zombie… extra points if you manage to use the other end to simultaneously attack”

It seemed like a good tactic, yet I felt like it contradicted the very nature and concept of how I used the shovel.

“Should I treat it as a dual bladed weapon?”

“Of course not” Ryu passed Shovel-kun to me, “Always focus on the main blade and use the rear end when needed”

“Can I try that against you?”

Ryu reluctantly nodded.

“Use the flat end of it and try not to hit too hard… and don’t go for the head of course” He straightened out his clothing and took out his baseball gear.

“‘Kay Pres, ready?” I raised my shovel.

“Mhm,”

I dashed straight towards him, swinging my shovel slowly. As the blade got close, he sidestepped beside me.

“Go a bit faster,” Ryu smirked, “This doesn’t even feel like practice”

“Yeah yeah” I swung my shovel at him again, only to miss again.

Each one of his movements felt like he had foresaw it. Even with a single maneuver or quick change of pace, he had already known how to dodge it.

“A bit slow in my opinion–” He sidestepped again, dodging my attack.

We continued this process for about a minute, with Ryu constantly dodging, grabbing, or just walking away from my swings as if he were a sort of master of such.

This seems too easy for him. Perhaps I should amp up the attack.

“I’m not fooling around this time” I smirked.

“One piece of advice… don’t swing vertically”

I’ve heard of that word so many times yet I couldn’t remember what it was.

“Uh… what’s that?”

“Y’know” Ryu motioned his hands up and down, “Like this”

“Kay… but wouldn’t going for the head be more efficient?”

“Allows you to take down huge groups at once… not to mention what happens if your shovel gets stuck. Going for the neck or the head could do”

“But what about this type of situation?”

“It covers more ground, prevents me from retreating”

“Smart…” I tilted my shovel to the right, “You watch a lot of zombie movies?”

“I’m basing my information based on what I’ve witnessed over the weeks” Ryu took a look to his right, “Also, try to use those tennis balls” He pointed at the box.

“Hm…”

I swung my shovels sideways, noticing that his sidestepping had turned to him backpedaling towards the corner. His movement seemed shaky this time.

With Ryu’s advice in hand, I started to feel more agile with my shovel in conjunction with my speed, being able to meet him every time he tried to escape or evade my attacks.

“You seem a bit scared now Ryu” I looked at him with a sort of smug face.

“It’s not like I have much to fight back…”

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I continued to press my attack, using my shovel to continuously wall him.

“Think fast!” I threw a tennis ball, making it bounce off of his faceguard.

“Good thinking” He moved over, dodging my shovel again while retreating further to the corner until his back touched a wall.

Eventually, with Ryu completely cornered, I’d place my blade close to his face.

“Did I do well?”

“Look down”

Somehow, Ryu had his finger in the form of a gun pointing at my face.

“Bang” He looked at me with a smug face similar to mine, “You got shot”

“Hey! How is that fair?”

“Sorry… old habits die hard” Ryu stuffed his hands back inside his pocket, “With how fast you are, I don’t think you should worry about getting bitten”

“Do you have any tips for me?”

“Your dependency on speed and dexterity with the shovel does make you formidable… perhaps you’ve self taught yourself over the month?”

He had pretty much read me like a book.

“That’s why you see me often patrolling” I rested my shovel over my shoulder.

“Oh, and one last thing…”

“Yea?”

“Don’t hesitate with anything…”

Ryu’s voice sounded cold when he said that.

“Eh?”

“It’s not a matter of hesitating in a dangerous situation… but almost anything at this point. If you end up hesitating, you’ll lose the opportunity”

“I know”

“Also Kurumi-san, could you not point your shovel at me all of the time? If I got scratched I’d probably get infected”

“Oh… sorry about that” I chuckled, lowering my shovel.

Ryu had always looked composed when my shovel was dangerously close to him. For someone like him, it seemed as if he already knew it was a risk but didn’t want to ask until now.

“I won’t overload you, but overall, just use your brain often and don’t be dependent on yourself and your shovels… who knows, you could even ask others for help if you’re in a tight spot”

“But, wouldn’t it be better if I do it?”

“How so?” Ryu leaned on the wall.

“Yuuri and Yuki are the most vulnerable of the group. If I asked them to do something for me, it’d be unfair… after all, I am the one responsible for protecting them”

Ryu had a weird look as he listened to me.

“I see…” He took out his helmet, “Well, that’s all I know, what would you like to teach me?’

I couldn’t help but grin over an idea.

“C’mon Ryu! Give me three more laps around the hallway!” I clapped my hands.

“Got it!” He shouted from across the hall.

Watching Ryu run across the hallway without his school blazer seemed amusing. By the time he had touched the wall to start his fifth lap, he had started to show some sweat.

“I’ve seen students who’ve just joined the Track and Field yesterday run faster than you”

Ryu’s look felt like he didn’t buy my lie.

“What are you waiting for? Run!” I grabbed onto my shovel, proceeding to follow him in the meantime.

Despite making some quite considerable distance, I had managed to catch up to him in a short span.

“C’mon Ryu, I thought you were faster”

“Just because I’m the Pres doesn’t mean I’m the jack of all trades…” Ryu mumbled, making a quick tap to the wall before running back.

“We should do this every day… it’s funny seeing you struggle at something for once”

“What did you struggle with during last night’s study?”

“Maths… what about it”

“You couldn’t even get through a single chapter”

“No…” I slowed down for a second, “How did you even get through all of those chapters? You’ve studied with that as if you memorized the questions itself”

“Yea… anyways, let's see if I can outrun you” Ryu sped up, only to end up colliding into the wall at the start of his seventh lap.

“Jeez,” I quickly caught up, “Seems your brain shuts off in these moments”

“Huh…” Ryu rested himself at the wall, trying to gather his breath in the meantime, “Good thing I didn’t get much of an issue…”

He looked over at the corner of the entrance, noticing a door leading to the Vice Principal's office.

“I almost forgot” Ryu walked over, “Was gonna ask you to break open the door since it's been locked ever since we made our push to the first floor… could you do that please?”

“Will do”

Recently, I had started breaking into offices and classrooms that had been locked since the beginning. Most of the time it’d be filled with random loot we could use.

Yet as we reached the offices last month, I noticed that a few people who realized what the world had turned into decided to take their own lives. It sounded like a cowardly way to go out, yet I could understand why they’d do such a thing.

Those images still haunt me to this day.

“And done…” I broke the doorknob open.

“Hold on…” Ryu planted his ear over the door before giving a thumbs up, “We’re good”

He pushed the door open, pointing the flashlight towards the entrance.

“What do you see?”

“I… uh…”

He backed away for a moment, dropping his flashlight.

“Hey! What do you see?”

“Please… please excuse me” Ryu withdrew to the cover of the wall, his face completely in shock.

I quickly rushed in with my shovel, only to stop upon witnessing what was in front of me.

Another one…

Even though I’ve seen a lot of teachers take their own lives, the shock of seeing one right now still hits hard on me.

I’m sure it’s the same for Ryu.

“... C’mon Ryu” I backed away, “We’ll untie the rope and bury him…”

Ryu had his hand covering his mouth while his hands trembled in fear.

“Hey, are you alright…” I looked.

“I… I can’t…”

“You sure?”

“Yea…”

“C’mon… I know it's frightening but–”

“Can I just get some alone time?” Ryu looked up at me, his face almost paralyzed in fear.

“Alright…” I walked around the corner.

Nothing makes sense now.

Ryu has maintained the strongest face out of everyone, especially when compared to Yuuri and Megu. Yet I never knew he would be completely distraught over something like that.

There had to be a reason why.

“Uh…” I walked over, looking at Ryu who rested his arm over the wall, “Are you alright?”

“Yes…” He turned over to me.

I leaned my back on the wall close to Ryu, watching him as he barely mustered up the courage to even reveal his face.

“C’mon… I’ve seen a lot more of this… it’s bad to see people take matters into their own hands. But you can’t beat yourself up over it” I patted on Ryu’s shoulder, sitting next to him

“As someone who’s seen this for the first time, I don’t have much to say…”

Looking at Ryu’s expression, I quickly got up.

“You look disturbed, perhaps we should just meet up with Yuuri” I nudged on his shoulder, “Let’s go”

“I don’t get it”

“Hm?”

“Can I ask, do people give up in a world like this easily?”

Ryu would often ask these types of questions as if he thought I could answer them.

“Why do you ask me?”

“You’ve seen this more often than usual, have you?”

“Unfortunately, yes” I looked over at the room, “He could’ve waited a bit longer…”

“Agreed…” Ryu stared towards the sky, “I reckon I could’ve made it to him if I wasn’t stuck”

“I had to save you on that day” I turned over, “Didn’t know what you were doing”

“Hey, I had it all under control”

“Yeah right…” I rolled my eyes, “For someone like you who’s experienced you made yourself look like a fool”

“You had an advantage with a shovel… and I don’t kill for a living”

“... Me neither”

“It's just a way of life. That’s why you hesitate”

“Do you hesitate often?”

“I do. Or else I’m not a human” Ryu turned over, “Why do you ask?”

“Well… I do wonder why you told me not to hesitate with anything while you do it”

You can’t realistically kill someone and stare at it with a straight face”

“Exactly… I thought I could impose that on you since I knew you were that type. Nobody else could, not even me even if I had a blank stare”

“What do you often do instead of just having a blank stare during school”

“I often think about Hano during those times”

Ryu seemed to care about his family. Yet at the same time this girl, Hano, seemed to be in his mind all of the time.

“You talk about her all of the time but who was she to you truly?”

“A friend”

“I kinda knew you had one, but I didn’t know you were friends with her”

“I wanted to say that but I’ve just acted in a way that wasn’t enough to be considered someone you could trust and laugh together”

“Did you do something to hurt her?”

“I didn’t argue with her or anything” Ryu sighed, “she just… couldn’t take all of the bullying and left”

“Why didn’t you do anything?”

“I wasn’t a good friend… I guess”

“What was she like?”

“Why should I tell you?”

“Isn’t that what a friend would do?”

Ryu paused, followed by a small chuckle.

“Fair point” He smiled, “Hano’s pretty intellectual and had such a passion for art… you would’ve seen her in class often drawing things out of her sketchbook. We’d often meet up just to work on whatever we felt like drawing… but we started to grow distant as we suffered from COVID and as I got into my last year in middle school. I don’t think we managed to finish that project together”

I couldn’t help but notice a sort of lie in what he said. I could even see through some of the lies he had mentioned before.

“Can I tell you something?”

“Sure, what is it?”

“There are times when you create regrets that’ll come to haunt you. But you can’t let it decide how you act. Just like me and Katsuragi”

“Of course”

“I still get nightmares over it, yet in the end I know that if I keep thinking about it, I’ll never get to enjoy anything. Perhaps that's why you always look regretful when talking about Hano” I placed my hand over Ryu’s shoulder, “It isn’t easy to get over it though”

“I’m not that hard to read hm?” Ryu scratched the back of his head sheepishly, “Well, I can promise you that”

“Great” I smiled, “And can you promise to not lie to me?”

“When have I ever lied to you?”

I’ve seen you being quite close to her back in middle school, even if I stopped seeing it at first” I leaned forward with curiosity.

“Are you sure you want me to tell you?”

“Whatever happens, I won’t look down on you”

Ryu gave a small sigh, before leaning over to my ear.

“Hano didn’t leave… She took her own life”

What?