AN: Autocorrect is ruining me. Why you do this?
The first city description is in the end AN.
"Ah~! Slept like a log I did. Huh?"
Sonoda Umi had woken up from a peaceful slumber. She proceeded to look around the room, confused. With the exception of Hanayo and Kotori, based off the latter's pillow's position, the old members of μ's seemed to have slept in awkward positions.
Umi blinked as she slowly realized she had woken up earlier in a bad state, rendering the trouble makers unconscious, faster than usual. Normally her very pissed off sleepy mind would slowly pick people off, a dramatic effect, but last night was different.
In the middle of the night, while Nozomi told stories, she felt something she hadn't in years. It was also why she had said she'd go to sleep earlier, to meditate.
'My wolf half...', she thought as she laid down with her left arm over her eyes, 'It hasn't acted up since the first few times so why now? What happened last night to make it go crazy? She has been appeased with those nights in my room and recently this year I...'.
Umi's thoughts were interrupted by a loud knock on the door, as the room was previouly quiet. Who was here on the weekend? It wasn't Kotori since she wouldn't have bothered, so...
"Girls? I'm coming in." a familiar voice said, as Minami's companion came in, "Woah, what happened in here?"
Umi sat up again and blinked, facing towards the figure. Maki bolted up at the same time.
"Uuweh?! Mama! What are you doing here?!" Maki yelled with her face rivaling her hair color. Her yell woke up her fellow temporarily comatose members and Hanayo.
"Well I know this is sudden, but there seems to be a serious situation."
Sure all of the members had seen Maki's father angry, or with a serious expression at least, but her mother? Never.
"Nishikino-san, what is the matter?" Umi, being the most awake, was speaking for the group.
"I'm not quite sure but it must be serious." She bit her lip, thinking about her next words. "I believe I saw Kotori-chan... Dispose of a few people by the front gate, but I'm sure it was for a good reason. Minami was also there and her reaction made it seem like a good thing."
A group "Eeh?!" was heard coming from the clubroom.
"I, uh, just wanted to give you all a warning before those two drops some news on us."
"Nishikino-san," It was Eli this time, "has the media reported anything major yet?"
"Well I haven't really checked but I already rigged your school to record for me!"
"M-mama..." Poor Maki buried her face into her hands because of her mother's confession, "Anyway, shouldn't we check after they get here?" Maki was trying to recover now.
Before she could be answered, a pair of footsteps interrupted. The Minami duo had arrived.
"Everyone!" Kotori started. "There's a huge blaze in the distance but luckily I don't think it's near any of our homes." She took a deep breath, "Also there may or may not be a zombie apocalypse!" she squeaked out in her already high pitched voice. Thankfully the audience understood her, Nishikino from the close proximity and μ's from their strong friendship.
"Zombie... Apocalypse-nya?"
"This is big news!"
The other members responded with various sound effects, they were fully awake now.
Nobody could deny the truth. The two Minami's faces were expressing the seriousness, and Nishikino's words also matched the situation.
The Principal eventually explained the situation in more detail.
"Nishikino-san, please check if the media has reported on the matter. I also wish to accompany you." Eli said as she stood up.
"Nishikino, I'll also come with you."
"Ah, I'll come along too."
The four moms, two of whom were only such by title, exited the room.
"W-what should we do now?" Hanayo asked nervously.
"We should bring Yukiho and Arisa-chan here. Kotori-chan's dad too." Honoka stated in her usual tone.
Nobody had seen the flash that was a wave of sadness across Kotori's face. The remaining members were slightly shocked at the quick response, 'Honoka..."
The remaining, former, third-year was the first to respond. "Nico thinks it's a good idea. We have to save the family members we know we can definitely reach right now."
That's right, the only ones in the city right now besides them were the two sisters and Kotori's father. Luckily both homes were on the same street so it should be easy to check.
"How are we going to do it though, Nico-chan?" Maki had stated the obvious question.
"I could do it." Everyone turned to Kotori. "I think I could sneak by with my own special way." She had her eyes shut while smirking nervously.
"Wha- Kotori-chan? Then I'll go too!" Honoka said, pumped up.
"Rin wants to too! I'm so excited-nya!" Rin followed with the same tone.
"Honoka. Rin."
"Eeh..." The duo gulped.
"I believe only I should go with Kotori if she truly insists." Umi stated sternly. "You both may have excellent reflexes, but some of your other qualities might put you in danger. Honoka, your clumsiness and recklessness may put you in a bad situation. Rin, since you're so energetic you may not stay quiet for long, it'll be bad if Minami-san is correct." She smiled more gently at the next part. "Besides, your cheerful energy will far more useful here."
"Oh~. I get it. You want us to be the team spirits right? Let's go, Rin-chan!" Rin nya-ed back in response. Then the duo ran out of the room cheerfully.
"W-wait! You two, ah!" Hanayo tried to chase after them.
"Say Umi, what about Eli?" Maki said, looking at her senior.
"Well I was thinking she could get your mother and Minami-san into shape. It'd be good to be prepared just in case something happens. The rest of you should train too if we do go out. Besides, a smaller group will attract less attention."
"Ah-yeah. I don't think I could leave mama behind..."
"So," Nico started in a flat tone, "shouldn't we get those three before those four come back so we can talk?"
"...", the four got up to do such.
.. ... ..
"Nishikino, how do you get all of these things into my school undetected?"
"Uh... Don't worry about it. We should just watch the report, right?"
With that, the TV turned on and the news from earlier played.
"... and during the night a huge blaze was started for unknown reasons. While law enforcement tried to evacuate citizens and put it out, an epidemic that can only be described as a 'zombie outbreak' has occurred. Due to the quick pace we only have limited information but it may be useful. Apparently, based off lost connections, it had started in one city, Hinamizawa, and then spread outwards to others.
The first symptoms of infection are a high fever and paled skin. Surviving hospital staff also claim that the infection eventually kills people, post death their corpses rise. It also seems that infection rates vary, the circumstances of why are unknown. As for the fully turned, they will definitely have pale skin and tend to emit moans and grunts, they will have blood dripping from their mouths. The police have stated that they have supernatural strength and a normal movement capacity, which means they can run. Direct combat is unadvised. Luckily, like the movies, the heads, or rather brains, are their weak points. They're also only attracted to loud sounds. It was observed they aren't attracted to each others' moans or the noise from impacts against objects, based off a small group of them, just to scale their detection range. As for the 'how' part, it is through biting where decent amounts of blood are exchanged. People who had died in other ways didn't turn, even though there were signs they were bit before their death.
They bit their lip before continuing. "In other news, as you are watching this, there will be no further rescue operations. All military power will try to secure Hokkaido instead. Citizens may try to travel there but it is not advised to journey outside. Unlike the movies, this situation is isolated in Japan. Other countries know the situation but the government has not accepted their help as of yet, this situation may endanger the human species."
The broadcast had been cut off.
"Oh my, this seems like a serious situation. We'll gather everyone in your office then, alright Minami-san?" Nozomi paused before turning to Eli. "Let's go, Elichi~." she stated in her playful tone, starting to walk away.
"Wha- Nozomi!"
The two moms of μ's ended up leaving the two women alone.
Minami's hair covered her eyes. "You know Nishikino, I think my husband is dead." The strict woman with the poker face was breaking down.
Reacting quickly, she swiveled to look at Minami with alarmed eyes. "What? Minami what's this all of a sudden? How would you know anyways? You haven't called him yet right?" Nishikino tried to snap her friend out of her sudden mood change.
"No, I did try calling him when I was with Kotori. At that time he usually walks the dog and always brings his phone. So maybe...", she couldn't finish. "This report was hours ago, when I woke up the first time. This infection was already big enough for them to do an analysis in such a short time." She didn't want to keep listing the accurate reasons for why she was right.
At this time Nishikino though she needed a hug. After a few tears soaked into her shirt, she started to speak to Minami.
"As a doctor I have to tell people the bad news time to time. They always breakdown, but they'll eventually have to stop." She pushed Minami away by the shoulders and looked her in the eyes. "This may sound cheesy, but if the he truly loved you two then he probably wouldn't want his death to ruin your lives you know? Now let's work together to stay strong for our daughters and their friends!"
"Nishikino...", her smile was slightly returning, "That really was cheesy. You're also a great friend too, thank you."
"Right, right? So you're going to forgive me for bringing all these things here now, right?
"...Just this once." Minami agreed with a sigh.
.. ... ..
"Alright, now we may discuss the situation."
Both groups had just explained their actions during their separation, it was around noon. Currently, Minami was the only one sitting in the room while Nishikino stood to her left smiling. Meanwhile μ's was lined up exactly the same way as the time they were called to the office, their rock costumes replaced by their pajamas.
"First of all, Kotori, I would like to know how you plan to avoid danger."
"Um, well you know... It's a secret! Besides you've seen that I can defend myself mother."
"Kotori I will not let you go until you tell me 'how' in more detail. I understand how Umi-chan could avoid danger, but you..."
Kotori truly didn't want to tell her mother her secret and huffed in annoyance. Her friends would easily understand, but the mothers? She didn't think so. It was time for her trademark plea.
"Mother... 'Onegai!'"
Her mother smirked. "Kotori-chan... 'Onegai!'" It was very unexpected.
Kotori was surprised but she hadn't lost her will yet.
"Mother I can't tell you but believe in me... 'Onegai!'"
"Kotori, I worry about you so... 'Onegai!'"
..
The Minami 'Onegai!' battle lasted for a whole hour. Nishikino and the rest of μ's watched the intense interactions.
Except for Umi though. She had backed up into and slid down the wall in a daze.
Kotori collapsed to the floor, "H-how could I lose to my mother?! I even used Growl to win...", Kotori cried in defeat, hunched over, similar to when Nico didn't win the draw.
"So Kotori, what is your secret?" Principal Minami was internally smirking proudly, she still had it after all these years. Although on the outside she still seemed serious.
"I... Okay I'll show you." Kotori paused and scratched her cheek, "Um... I just wanted to say I've learned the basics of a lot of moves this year and I've also gotten better at others..." She closed her eyes.
Kotori started glowing gray, causing everyone to look away. When they looked back they saw a Rowlet with Kotori's side looped ponytail and bow, along with the trademark Minami hair, scaled accordingly on the desk. Her feathers, the brown ones of a normal Rowlet, were the same color as her hair instead.
Kotori flapped her wings. "-Tori!"
"Wah, amazing! Kotori-chan has basically mastered her transformation and turned into Mokuroh, cute!" Hanayo blurted out, her other side arose when she saw Kotori. It took a lot a willpower not to grab her immediately.
The mothers, unlike μ's, were shocked. The two had never seen something that defied their sense of logic. They both quickly swallowed the sudden turn of events to continue.
"...", Minami's eyebrows twitched.
Kotori, sensing her mother's mood shift, hopped down over to Umi and sat on her lap. She had no intentions of transforming back to explain her abilities. Eli could probably handle it. Hopefully.
"You girls don't seem shocked. That means you can explain this to us too, right?" The Principal said that too calmly.
Eli stepped forward nervously. "Well, do you remember when we were preparing for a live, then Kotori had a sleepover for over a week, and then we canceled it? Then Nishikino-san, do you remember a certain mad doctor that was arrested last year?"
Both women nodded.
"Well..."
..
Eli explained what had happened the previous year and why the parents weren't informed. Hanayo clarified what Kotori was. By then it was late in the afternoon; the Sun was going to start setting in an hour or so.
"Well I suppose Kotori may go rescue Yukiho-chan and Arisa-chan tomorrow then. Now let's move to other topics. We have a lot of food stuffs in storage that we should use first. I also think it'd be good to train under Eli-chan. Are there anymore imminent concerns that need discussion?" Minami looked at them.
"Oh! When me, Rin-chan, and Hanayo-chan ran outside we saw some more infected by the gate!"
"That's right, that's right, but they were just wandering around outside-nya!"
"It was really scary... We went back inside and ended up on the roof."
"That's when Nico and the others found them."
"Yes, that could be a problem. To be honest the wall around the property isn't that high to remain secure forever. If they climb on each other we would be in trouble."
Kotori decided it was time to transform back. She hopped back over to her spot and glowed again. Umi decided to get back up too.
"Mother I think I have an idea. I could fly around and use Razor Leaf on the infected around the wall. While we're gone, maybe Maki-chan could burn them? Someone could tie a rope around her so she doesn't fall as she'll probably have to stand on the wall." She looked and smiled apologetically towards Maki, "That is, if only Maki-chan wants to of course."
"Of course I'll do it, Kotori. Something so simple will be easy for me. Although, will burning them make it spread by any chance Mama?" Maki twirled her hair as she asked. Not that she didn't trust her own medical knowledge, but her mother had experience.
"No, I don't think so. Though, maybe you should only burn them if the wind in blowing away from you, just in case."
"Alright then, the next matter?"
"Eh-um, the alpacas. Should we let them roam around campus? I-I could still take care of them but if we're going train under Eli-chan..."
Right, Hanayo was still the caretaker for the Alpacas. What she also meant to say was that even though Umi retook the position of trainer that year, getting tips from Eli, it somehow seemed different. Though Umi was their main trainer beforehand, while they were together, the occasional training from Eli seemed harsher sometimes.
"Yes, but can they take care of themselves?"
"Ah ha, you don't have to worry about that. They're much smarter than you'd think, but they may need water."
Eli was also thinking about how she had to apologize on her knees before the female alpaca forgave her.
"Alright then-".
"I think we should try to fix this epidemic ourselves. My cards say that things will only return back to normal, with our own efforts." Nozomi cut in.
Everyone was shocked of course. The real mom of μ's saying something like that, but then again her cards were rarely wrong too. But then again...
"Nozomi! First you act indifferently after the news, and now you're suggesting we solve a nationwide epidemic? This is a bit sudden and seems a bit... Impossible."
"Now, now, Elichi. We can do anything if we have enough faith right? It's not exactly the same but we're all together with another goal in front of us." She was speaking in that wise yet playful tone again.
"Besides..."
AN: I needed a name so I took it from the anime 'Higurashi When They Cry'. I don't plan on any more connections. However you may visualize the town being replaced by a forest, that would be where the cult met. That means the city that Shion stays in is the first city, now called 'Hinamizawa' here.
It's funny because Hinamizawa did have an epidemic in the OVA. You get a good city shot though... I think.
I'm also sorry I keep changing/adding things to the uploaded chapters. I wanted to clarify or correct some plot. It'll probably keep happening TBH.
