Chapter 8 - Reunion, Meeting, Additions

"We'll stop here for today."

Stopping the RV, Yuuta glanced back to the girls and informed them. At the back, Yuki, Kurumi, Yuuri and Miki was currently sitting around the table and playing cards. Hearing Yuuta's voice, they looked at him.

"Is that so? I'll start preparing dinner then," said Yuuri.

It has been three days since the group left Randall Corporation and the encounter with Yuuta's dad, Kenji. Yuuta's hand had healed earlier that morning but he still has difficulty walking and was limping slightly whenever he moved. The girls then decided to never talk about his dad again in front of him or at least until Yuuta no longer had hatred for the person.

"What's cooking, Ri-san?" Yuki asked cheerfully as she approached Yuuri. "Can I help?"

Yuuri shook her head. "You don't have to do anything, Yuki-chan. I can do this on my own."

"But I wanna help," pouted Yuki. "I promise I won't ruin anything."

"When you say something like that, it's kinda obvious that you're gonna ruin something eventually," Kurumi spoke from the table, still playing cards with Miki. "Yosh! Full house, I win!" She laid her cards on the table.

"Nice try senpai, but…" Miki placed her own cards on the table. "Straight flush, I win." With a smug grin, she looked at Kurumi who stared at the table with wide eyes. "That's five wins in a row now. Do you still want to play?" Ignoring the fury in Kurumi's eyes as she stared at her, Miki turned towards Yuuta. "The Sun's still out, so do you think we can check around the place, Yuuta-senpai?"

Grabbing a bottle of water, Yuuta unscrewed the cap and drank a third of its contents before replying. "You've read my mind, Miki. I was also thinking of surveying our surroundings to see if there's a place where we can set up our camp. That said, it's still dangerous outside since the night hasn't come yet so do you want to accompany me?"

"Of course!" Miki quickly stood up and picked her sword that's lying under her feet. "I'll go with you, senpai."

"My my, why are you so enthusiastic suddenly, Mii-kun?" Miki's body tensed when she heard the voice. "Is going out with Yuu-kun that great for you?" Turning her head slowly, Miki was met with Yuki's face mere inches from her own with a smile that almost made her go white all over.

"T-T-That's not true, Yuki-senpai," shaking her head, Miki took a step backwards. "It's nothing to do with Yuuta-senpai. Not at all."

"Really, Miki?" said Kurumi from her seat, agrin decorating her face. "Then why are you stuttering? Isn't it because you like being alone with Yuuta, just the two of you, walking around close with another, holding hands and doing other things that we can't see?"

Miki shot her a look that says 'You're not helping!' before her attention went back to Yuki. Her eyes glinting a demonic red and her short hair definitely rising due to the very, very, dark aura permeating from her body, and did she mentioned there were anger marks all over her head? For extra scare, her hands were wiggling around as if she couldn't decide whether so strangle her or not. "S-S-Senpai?"

"Yes?" Lifting her head up, Miki almost shrieked at the slasher smile that Yuki sports on her face currently. "What is it? You're definitely not getting away from here alone, you know."

Trembling now, Miki held her sword close to her chest as she closed her eyes and hoped for Yuki to return to normal. 'Please please, if I get out of this alive I promise I won't disturb Yuki-senpai again. I'll let her eat all the snacks she wants and never call her idiot or immature again. Please…' As a hand landed on her right shoulder, she panicked and called in her heart. 'Yuuta-senpai, please speak now. Please speak now!'

"So, you want to join us, Yuki?"

Thankfully, it seems that Miki's prayers were answered as Yuuta spoke to Yuki. The reason he didn't speak earlier was because he'd been chugging the entire contents of the water bottle without stop. Such was his thirst. "If you want, that is."

Relief entered Miki's heart as she opened her eyes, only to see her pink haired upperclassman's hands frozen so close to her neck. Said person though, was not looking at her and was giving her reply to Yuuta.

"Really, Yuu-kun? I can go?" Inquired Yuki. Yuuta nodded and she cheered, moving her hands from Miki as she did so.

"But you've got to stay close to me, got it?" Yuuta advised her to which she responded with a nod and a hug towards him. Yuuta didn't push away and just patted her head.

Letting out a breath she didn't know she was holding, Miki glanced at Kurumi. The girl was wearing an arrogant smirk on her face which annoyed her greatly. Marching towards her with fumes rising from her, Miki smacked her head hard.

"Oi, what's that for?!" shouted Kurumi.

"That's for causing me to almost get killed," Miki said before hitting Kurumi on the head again. "And that's for not helping me."

Rubbing her bruised head, Kurumi glared at Miki. "Why you…" she lifted her had and made choking gestures towards Miki's direction but was ignored by Miki in favour of prying Yuki away from Yuuta. Slumping back to the couch, Kurumi spoke. "Hey Yuuta, mind if I join you guys too?"

"I don't mind, right you two?" Yuuta looked at Yuki and Miki. The two shook their head although Miki was visibly reluctant at the idea. "Do you want to join us too, Ri-san?" He then asked Yuuri for her opinion.

So Yuuri removed her head from the cabinet where they stored their food. "Do I have to, Yuuta-kun? It might be dangerous and someone's got to watch the vehicle."

"You don't have to worry about any dangers, Ri-san," said Kurumi as she picked her shovel. "After all, you got me," she pointed at herself. "Yuuta," she then pointed at their sole male member. "And that annoying girl," the last one was Miki who fumed angrily(though not successfully since it only made her look cuter) as she protested at the discrimination. "Also, it's not like there's going to be anything happening to our precious RV," Kurumi proceeded to rub herself against the walls. "So it's fine if you join us just this once."

"Ignoring the rude way Kurumi-senpai called me," Miki glared at the person before coughing. "She's right about the given points. Even if the undeads cannot get into this vehicle, it's still not safe to be alone inside it. Also, aside from Yuuta-senpai, when we go out we should always have someone to accompany us, even if the situation seemed safe. After all, they do say 'Safety in numbers' and personally, I agree with the saying."

Yuki nodded. "It's much more fun if we're altogether after all!" She spoke cheerfully.

Hearing her friends trying their best to convince her to join them, Yuuri relented. "Okay, you all win," Yuki, Kurumi and Miki high-fived among themselves. "I don't like being all by myself too, honestly."

"It's settled then," Yuuta spoke from the door. "We're all going out. Remember, stay close to each other so we don't get separated. We'll move quickly if we have too and quietly so we don't attract any unnecessary attention. Everyone got that?"

"Hai~!" The girls replied. Standing in front, Yuuta exited the RV followed by Yuki, Miki, Yuuri and finally Kurumi at the back. Stealthily, or as stealthily being with Yuki can be, the five moved into the shadows. Peering from a utility pole, Yuuta noticed a house that didn't seem to have any undead entering it two blocks away. Running to the house with Yuki in tow, he gestured for the others to follow.

Entering the house, they found only one undead which was quickly struck by Kurumi. Searching the house for any useful things to take, they didn't found anything of priority except for some mangas which interests Yuki. Leaving the house, the group went into another house. This time, the house did have something of use for them, namely several flashlights with batteries and a new change of clothes for the girls. Entering the next one, the only thing that they took was a couple of video games that Yuki insisted they bring("How will we play them? I don't know if you noticed but there's no television or game console in the RV. Not to mention there's no electricity in the city." "It's okay. I'm sure we'll find somewhere where we can play them, Kurumi-chan.) which Yuuta didn't disapprove, much to the disappointment of the other girls. The surveying and scavenging lasted for an hour and a half before Yuuta told the girls that they were going to look inside one more building before returning to the RV.

Stepping into the building which was an office building by the looks of it, Yuuta and the girls proceeded carefully. After a couple of steps, Yuuta crouched down and observed something on the floor.

It was an undead corpse.

Looking further in front, Yuuta noticed that there were several other corpses littering the floor. This, of course, perplexed him since he knows that the undeads wouldn't just all drop dead without explanation. Yuuta examined the body while the four girls peered over his shoulder, confused on why he suddenly stopped. Then, Yuuta found the cause of the undead's, well, death.

There were several bruises and fractures on their face and chest, indicating that they've been hit by a blunt object. The injuries are also quite fresh, prove that they were sustained only recently. However, how did they got hit in the first place? It's not like they would start punching each other, not that they can with their current state of body, or they repeatedly collided into a wall or something, they still had their instincts after all. Thus, only one hypothesis remains.

A human did it.

A living human did it.

A living human survivor who may or may not be inside the building with them currently eliminated the undead's presence in the structure.

Yuuta paused as the realization hit him, but frowned a second later as he remembers the implications of said conclusion. If there are survivors in the building, how would they react to them? They could be selfish peoples who only cares about their own survival, or they could be optimistic peoples who still had hope of someone rescuing them like the girls. Either way, there's only one way to find out, and that's by searching the area.

"What was that?"

Yuuri suddenly spoke and Yuuta and the other girls perked their ears to hear. After five seconds, they didn't hear anything.

"What did you hear, Ri-san? I don't hear anything," Yuki asked her.

Walking a few steps from them, Yuuri cupped her hands at her ears. "I heard a voice, yes, a voice! There's someone here!" She informed the others excitedly.

Kurumi, Yuki and Miki looked at each other before turning to Yuuri with confusion written on their face. "I'm sorry Ri-san, but I don't hear anything too like Yuki."

"Me neither," said Miki.

Yuuri didn't hear them however as she still tried to listen more for the voice. "I know there are other peoples here, I know it." She stopped for a moment before pointing to the stairs. "They're upstairs. Come on, follow me." Sadly, before Yuuri could run to climb the stairs, a hand firmly grip on her shoulder.

"There's no need to rush, Ri-san." Advised Yuuta, his hand not letting go of Yuuri's shoulder. "Being reckless will only harm us and may scare off those peoples. Stay calm would you?"

After hearing his words, Yuuri relaxed her body and turned around. "I'm sorry, Yuuta-kun. I don't know either what came over me. It's just that, the voice sounds familiar to me and compelled me towards it."

"That's just your protective and big sister instincts surfacing. I understand that you want to meet them, I do too and so does the others. But, we need to be a little professional about how we will confront them. If we make a good first impression on them, there's a high probability that they would trust us better." Pausing a bit, Yuuta rubbed his chin before continuing. "Well, I think so. I don't really remember what you girls' first impression on me was."

At that comment, Yuuri blushed along with Kurumi and Miki as they remembered what they did to Yuuta on their first encounter with him. Meanwhile, Yuki remained puzzled as she stood behind Yuuta. After a while, Yuuri coughed on her hand and responded. "Well, I've already calmed myself down right now so can we search for them right now, Yuuta-kun?"

"Sure. After all, if we leave now we probably wouldn't see them again." Turning to the three girls behind him, Yuuta called. "Hey, let's go now. It's another treasure hunt only this time we're searching for peoples."

"Ooh, so we're going to investigation!" Shouted Yuki. "Yosh, I'll make sure to track them and capture them all!" Kurumi and Miki replied with an 'Eh, why not?' as Yuki moved close to Yuuri for more information on the search.

"Yuuta, are you sure there are other peoples in here?" Kurumi whispered away from the other girls' earshot. "You know Ri-san's been a little unstable recently. What if they're just her imaginations and there's no one living here?"

Looking at Yuki talking cheerfully to Yuuri with Miki telling her upbeat upperclassman to lower her voice, a thin smile graced Yuuta's face before he answered Kurumi's question. "While that does sound like a true possibility, I for one do not think for it to be the case here." He glanced at one of the dead figures on the floor. "These undeads, they don't collapse here from natural reasons. Something, or someone, did this to them and that alone serves as a proof for what Ri-san's currently hearing. Though I'm also perplexed on why I don't hear it too."

"Perhaps because you're not destined to hear it?" Kurumi joked. "Still, if that's what you said then I guess I can follow you. You're becoming more of a leader to us anyway."

"Please. Me, a leader? I can't even lead myself half of the time," replied Yuuta. Kurumi doesn't say further afterwards and the two joined Yuki, Yuuri and Miki in a line as they ventured to search for any signs of other survivors. Usually, it'd be easier if the one who has the clues, in this case, Yuuri, to be in front to guide them but Yuuta didn't want to place her in danger and placed her at the second-last spot.

Climbing the stairs leading to the next floor quietly, the group proceeded to search for any signs from a living human. After several minutes, they found none save for a single freshly unwrapped candy wrapper. They then proceeded towards the third floor in which Yuuta suddenly stopped, grinding the line to a halt. Yuuri also had her hand over her ears as her eyes were wide open and mouth gasping in shock. Slowly, she nodded at Yuuta who replied with the same. He placed a finger over his mouth gesturing for the others to be silent and step quietly.

Knowing the gesture, Yuki, Kurumi and Miki gulped nervously but still nodded. With Yuuta in front, he crept ever so slowly forward followed by the others as if they're in a horror house. In the growing darkness, Yuuta could see an intersection leading to another corridor at his left up front. Silently, he drew his sword from its sheath, an action which is mirrored by Miki. As for Yuuri, she could hear what she assumed was footsteps moving towards them from a distance up front. She wanted to alert Yuuta but she didn't need to actually as Yuuta could sense the presence of another being with them in the building. But still, he moved forward, unafraid and courageous.

Then, something suddenly came out from the corridor at the side and shoot out towards his face. Surprised, he swung his sword at the object… but stopped when the object also froze mere inches from his face. After a second of staring, he realised that the object was a hand wearing one-half of a brass knuckle. Through the lowly-lit lights of the floor, he looked aside from the hand to see the face of his attacker.

The person who had tried to attack him was a male at an age close to Yuuta himself. He wore a simple green shirt with brown trousers. His hair was coloured bright red with a cap atop it. His eyes were also as red as his hair but darker in colour, like a fire raging inside a furnace. And his feature had an angered look which seems out of place on the face of someone who had the gentleness of a lion. Wait, how did he know the face was supposed to look gentle?

Slowly, Yuuta lowered his sword and gasped in realization of the person's identity. "Shuuya?"

"Kiriha?" The other person also removed his fist from Yuuta's face as he uttered his name. "Is that really you?"

"I can't believe it," Tears began to gather in Yuuta's eyes. He then lurched forward and hugged his long lost friend. "You're alive!"

Shuuya returned the hug more enthusiastically and sobbed. "I never thought I'd see you again, Kiriha!"

"Me too," Yuuta replied.

Watching the two boys embracing each other in their reunion, Yuki, Kurumi, Yuuri and Miki shifted uncomfortably in their place, not knowing what to do in the situation. So, they just stared and waited until the two friends have calmed down.

They didn't have to wait long as Yuuta broke off from the embrace a minute later. Rubbing the tears in his eyes, he took one more look at Shuuya's face before remembering his companions. Stepping to the side, he let the girls see his friend.

"Everyone, I'd like you to meet Akazawa Shuuya," he placed one hand on his shoulder. "One of my best friend."

Shuuya looked forward and realized he's in front of other peoples. Instantly, he changed his facial expression to a gentler one and greeted them. "Hello, everyone. I'm Akazawa Shuuya, it's nice to meet you all."

The girls, minus Yuuri, all gasped at the name. "Wait, did you mean Akazawa Shuuya, as in THE Akazawa Shuuya?! One of the most popular guys in our school, captain of the soccer team, all-around great athlete and the nicest guy at school. THAT Akazawa Shuuya?!" Kurumi mouthed in disbelief.

"Is he that popular, Kurumi?" asked Yuuri.

"Of course he is, Yuuri-senpai!" Miki answered. "He's the ace of the soccer team and led them to win the nationals ever since he's in middle school. He's also the dream boyfriend of every girl and there's no girl at school that don't know about him." She then proceeded to shake Yuuri by the shoulders and started fangirling. "I can't believe I get to meet him face-to-face like this!"

Yuuta turned his head to face Shuuya. "Looks like you're still well-known even in this world." He said with an amused look. "Not that I care much. As long as you don't hurt any of them, you're free to interact with them."

"I-I promise I won't do that, Kiriha," Shuuya responded with a little tremble. Satisfied with the answer, Yuuta took his hand and pulled him closer towards the girls.

"Let me introduce these girls to you," he pointed first at Kurumi. "This is Ebisuzawa Kurumi, a little bit tsundere girl who fights with a shovel," Yuuta ducked as said shovel was about to hit his head. "I'm sure you know this, but she's Sakaki's girlfriend. However, don't talk about him in front of her," Yuuta whispered into Shuuya's ears.

"Geez, who're you calling a tsundere huh?" glared Kurumi at Yuuta before turning to Shuuya with a shy expression. "H-Hi, Akazawa-san. Y-You can call me Kurumi if you want."

"Next," Yuuta pointed to Kurumi's side. "This is Naoki Miki. She's a quiet girl who likes to read books. She's also our underclassman so treat her well."

"Pleased to meet you, Akazawa-senpai!" Miki practically, and awkwardly, shouted the words out. "I'm honoured to meet you! P-Please, call me Miki!"

"Are you sure she's a quiet girl, Kiriha?" questioned Shuuya in a low voice.

"She is quiet," Yuuta replied with an equally low voice. "Most of the time that is." Coughing into his fist a bit, he moved along and gestured at the girl beside Miki. "This is Takeya Yuki. She's in our class so you should know about her already. She's the laziest person in class after me." Stopping briefly, he patted Yuki on the head affectionately. "She's also my girlfriend now, so don't mess with her, or else…"

Yuki blushed a little when Yuuta's hand touched her head. "Yuu-kun!" She pouted when Yuuta laughed before straightening her body and waving at Shuuya. "Hello there, Shuuya-san! Just call me Yuki and I hope we can be friends!"

"Your girlfriend, Kiriha," Shuuya opened his mouth in shock. "But there's no way-" A hand suddenly moved to clasp his mouth.

"I know what you're thinking, and yes, I'm not joking. And yes, I'm serious. So, just shut up for now and let me finish their introductions. Okay?"

Shuuya nodded his head fearfully before Yuuta released him. Even so, he still looked tensed and moved a little bit from Yuuta.

"And finally," Yuuta spoke again while pointing at the last member of his group. "This is Wakasa Yuuri. She's the leader of our group and manages our supplies as well as our wellbeing. She's like a big sister to the girls."

"Are you implying that I'm not a big sister to you, Yuuta-kun?" Yuuri quirked an eyebrow at Yuuta who smiled sheepishly. "Anyway, it's a pleasure to meet you, Akazawa-san. I surely hope you don't mind our company." She reached a hand towards him.

Standing in front of Yuuri, Shuuya stared at her for a long while before remembering his manners. "Ah, I'm sorry. It's nice to meet you too, Wakasa-san." He shook Yuuri's hand while scratching the back of his head shyly.

Having finished with the introductions, Yuuta turned to Shuuya who still sported the dreamy look and asked him. "So Shuuya," The person in question snapped out of his stupor and glanced at him. "Are you the only one here, or are there others with you?"

"Ah, about that…" Then, a voice resounded in the halls, interrupting Shuuya's words.

"Onii-san~!" The voice said before a girl, presumably of middle school age, with short and messy red hair along with chocolate brown eyes appeared from the corridor that Shuuya previously came from. Her attire consists of a normal sailor uniform that's white in colour with a maroon jacket and red skirt going past her knees. For some reason, she's holding a piece of blue cloth in her hands.

"Ryuuko?!" For the second time that evening, Yuuta was surprised. Well, it can't be helped since he was just reunited with his best friend and now said friend's little sister had also appeared.

The not-actually-little girl turned around and saw Yuuta. Instantly, her face lights up and she pounced on him. "Yuuta-san!"

"Woah," Surprised, Yuuta stumbled backwards from the force. "Hey, come on Ryuuko. You're not Ruiko," he said, not realizing the tears now present on the girl's face.

Ryuuko lifted her head and showed her tearful face. "But but, I'm so glad to finally meet other peoples! Waaa…" She then proceeded to cry.

Behind Yuuta, the girls were wondering about who the new girl is. Well, except Yuki. She's basically fuming at the girl's action. 'How dare she touch Yuu-kun like that!'

Fortunately for Yuki, Ryuuko removed herself from Yuuta and sniffles a little. "He he, sorry Yuuta-san. I'm not usually like this am I?" Then, she realized, as with her brother earlier, that she's in front of more peoples. "Oh my! You brought others too? This is great!" She jumped up and down gleefully to show her happiness. "Wait, this is really embarrassing of me. I should introduce myself first, right?" Showing a bright smile, she waved at the four girls. "Hello, my name is Akazawa Ryuuko. It's really great to meet you all."

"She's also my little sister," Shuuya added as he placed one hand on her shoulder… only to be swatted away by her.

"No need to act so close to me, Onii-san," said Ryuuko. "Anyway, what are your names, Onee-sans?"

"Ah, this is-" Yuuta spoke as he began to introduce once again the girls. However, another voice reached their ears from the same direction that Shuuya and Ryuuko came from.

"Shuuya-san! Ryuuko! Is everything all right there?" The sound of footsteps was heard before, slowly, a girl peeked her head from the corridor. The girl seems to be of the same age as Ryuuko and wears the same uniform too albeit with a more neat feeling to it. She had long blonde hair that reached to her waist and hazel-coloured eyes. There's also two star-shaped hair ornament on her bangs.

"Maki-chan!" Ryuuko uttered. "Sorry, I forgot about you but look!" She gestured at the five peoples behind her. "We finally found other living peoples!" After that, she tugged on Yuuta's arm, much to the displeasure of Yuki. "And look! It's Yuuta-san!"

Instantly, the timid look on the girl's face disappeared and was replaced with an annoyed expression. She then huffed arrogantly. "Great, of all peoples the one that we do meet is Ruiko's Onii-san and…" she looked around at the other girls until her eyes stopped on one. "YOU!" She pointed at the person.

The person, who's currently looking at Shuuya(who doesn't notice it), was surprised at the shout. "What?" She looked around before her red orbs meet with the girl's own hazel orbs. "Oh come on! Why does it have to be you of all peoples?!" moaned Kurumi.

"Hold on, Maki-chan," Ryuuko held a hand in front of her friend. "That's bad manners you know. You should introduce yourself properly to them."

Still glaring at Kurumi(who's glaring back), the girl huffed once again. "Fine! My name is Subaru Maki, remember that."

"You don't have to be so rude, Maki," spoke Yuuta as he placed a hand on her head and promptly rubbed it. "And here I thought your personality changed a little after all that happened."

"H-Hey! Who are you to pat me like that!" Maki protested. "Only Onii-sama is allowed to do that to me!"

"But Maki-chan," said Ryuuko. "When you're crying or feeling sad don't you said you feel better when Ruiko-chan's patting you?"

A blush crept on Maki's cheeks and Kurumi cursed that they didn't have a camera to capture that face(for blackmailing her of course) before she threw her hands in the air and moved away from Yuuta. "That doesn't matter. What matters is that you can't do it to me!"

"All right all right, I think that's enough now," Shuuya tried to placate Maki.

After everything's calmed down, Yuuta began another introduction of his group for the two girls(not noticing the weird looks that Shuuya gave to Yuuri, or Yuki's cute glare at Ryuuko, or Kurumi and Maki's not-so-cute glare at each other) and they then ended up following Shuuya to their current place of residence. The place was just a simple room with two couches, several bottles of water and boxes of food. Once there, they all settled down and Shuuya started telling them about his, Ryuuko and Maki's story.

On the first day of the 'incident', when Yuuta had left for home, Shuuya was practising with his team at the field. After an hour or so, he saw some peoples entering the school from the gates but paid no mind to them initially. However, when one of them approached his teammates, they suddenly attacked them. Chaos ensued after that and Shuuya noticed that the others had already moved into the school. Being a nice guy that he is, he tried to help his team that were injured but repulsed when they suddenly began attacking him too. He looked around and, sure enough, the other victims had begun acting strangely like their injurers. As panic crept into his heart, he remembered his own sister and rushed outside the school gates, abandoning the other pupils.

Being the greatest athlete in the entire school, he managed to evade and outrun every one of the beings in his haste to arrive home. Since his house is not so far from the school, he arrived quickly and entered the building to ensure his sister's safety. What he found were his sister and Maki hugging each other with a look of absolute fear etched across their face as well as several tears, cowering before two figures that resemble his parents.

Ryuuko explains that when Ruiko left for home after school, she invited Maki to her house for a tutoring session. Seeing that both of her parents were absent when they arrived, the two went inside Ryuuko's room and studied for an hour or so(Ryuuko admitted that she only spent the first few minutes studying before plopping down on her bed with her cats while Maki finished both of their works from school) before she felt hungry and Maki joined her downstairs to get some snacks.

While searching the fridge for any cakes, Ryuuko heard the front door opening and asked Maki to check if her parents were home and if they have any snacks available. Maki paused from preparing their drinks and walked out of the kitchen… and shrieked a second later. Ryuuko, alerted by the sound, rushed to her side before also giving the same scream at the horrifying sight in front of her.

There, right before her and Maki were her mum and dad… but they're not her parents at the same time. At least, not her normal parents, for their clothes were covered in blood all over, their hair uncharacteristically dishevelled and hiding their eyes, arms hanging limply at the sides, and their mouths… their mouths were opened in a horrifying smile that showed her more teeth than she ever knew they had. Furthermore, they're slowly moving towards them, one step at a time.

Feeling really scared for the first time of her teenage life, Ryuuko collapsed on the floor, bringing Maki(who had turned deathly pale from fear) along with her. Unable to move due to fear, the two girls hugged each other for dear life as tears stream down their cheeks. As the two figures were directly before them, something happened.

Equipped with a pair of brass knuckles that he found inside a cabinet(for self-defense purpose obviously), Shuuya punched what was once his parents away from his sister and her friend. However, he did not stop just there. When the two figures fell on the floor, he repeatedly punched them, over and over again like a mindless animal until his shirt and hands were literally splattered with their blood. It's only when Ryuuko placed a hand on his shoulder fearfully that he stopped pummeling the beings, and wept after that. His sobs were joined by Ryuuko and, though she didn't want to admit it, Maki too.

That was the day their journey began.

The days after that were hellish, to say the least. Food, clean water and other supplies were hard to get and the place where they're available were dangerous to them since the only person who fought was Shuuya. Ryuuko was in charge of managing their supplies and whatever shelter they stayed in while Maki assessed the situation and collects information so that they can find a better shelter or presumably other survivors.

Finally, they did found a great shelter. It was shaped like a large bunker, and quite hard to get into but they managed to secure the place. It had working electricity, a supply of clean water and food to last them for a long time. That's where they've been staying for the past months until the place was breached by the undeads. They don't know how it happened, but suddenly the shelter was filled with them. Each of them almost didn't manage to make it outside and many of their supplies were lost in the fire that raged afterwards from an explosion that Shuuya initiated in desperation to destroy the undeads.

This happened a few days ago, and now they've taken temporary residence in this office building until they've gathered enough resources to venture out again. Then, Shuuya heard some noise downstairs and went to investigate. When he didn't return after a few minutes, Ryuuko went to search for him. And when she didn't return, Maki then followed her steps and that's how they encountered each other.

"So, what're you going to do now?"

Yuuta asked the question after the three had finished their story. All those months and he didn't know that his best friend is still alive. If only he found them sooner. But if that happened, then he wouldn't meet the girls at all.

Shuuya sighed. "Like I said earlier, we're just trying to lay low and collect more supplies before going out again. Don't know if we'll find those other well-equipped places, though."

The group sat in silence as they thought about their purpose and destination afterwards. Then, Yuki suddenly posed them a proposition.

"Then, why don't you all join us?" Smiled Yuki.

"Join you guys?" Maki repeated. "I'm uncertain about that. Not that I don't trust you guys or anything, well, I know I couldn't trust that girl over there," Kurumi scoffed at the discrimination. "But can you afford other peoples in your group? Supplies are hard to come by, am I right?"

Yuuri replied Maki's inquiry with a gentle smile. "You don't have to worry about supplies, Maki-chan. We have enough to feed all of us for some time. Furthermore, were going to a place where there's hopefully more supplies and necessities for us."

"Hmm," Shuuya put his hand on his chin and seemed to be thinking deeply. "Can we discuss this among ourselves first?" He asked. Yuuri nodded and he stood up, exciting the room with Ryuuko and Maki.

From inside the room, Yuuta and the girls could hear noises from the other side of the door. Shuuya and Maki's voice were the prominent ones but they couldn't hear much thanks to Ryuuko's occasional shooting and what is presumed to be her throwing tantrums.

After five minutes of waiting, the three finally entered back into the room. Stepping forward, Shuuya coughed a bit into his fist before giving them their answer.

"All right, we've decided," he began. "We'll join you guys."

Yuki leapt in happiness at the answer while the others had a smile on their face. Yuuta held a hand towards Shuuya and he shook it.

"Welcome to the School-Living Club then, Shuuya, Ryuuko and Maki. I hope you'll have fun with us."

Returning to the RV after the decision was made, the three moved their things into the vehicle which was not that many, to begin with. The night then was spent with the girls sleeping inside while Yuuta and Shuuya stayed awake on top, looking for any dangers and incoming undeads.

When morning came, Kurumi was already behind the steering wheel(after she washed her face and had breakfast of course) and was ready to begin the day's journey. Ryuuko was on the seat beside her since she wanted to and promised to be her guide while Maki was sitting at the back as far away from Kurumi as possible with Miki at her side. Yuuta and Yuki were, as always, next to each other being awkwardly sweet to each other(to the annoyance of Maki and Ryuuko's gushing). Meanwhile, Shuuya and Yuuri were sitting from across the table with both of them feeling a little uncomfortable at each other's presence, slightly for the latter and greatly for the former.

"Yosh! Everyone ready to go?!" Kurumi shouted.

"OOOO!" The others, minus Maki and Miki, responded.

"All right, here we go!" Stepping on the gas paddle, Kurumi drove away to their destination with hopes inside everyone's hearts that the place and their residents will be nice to them. A little optimistic they are yes, but in this world, a little optimism can lead to good things, as with Yuuri following her instincts and her cub members trusting her.

And because of that, the members of the School-Living Club increased by three.