Chapter 21 - Resolution
'So this is how I die, huh?'
Solemnly, Yuuta thought in his mind. 'At the hands of the girl that I like, before I even get to confess my love to her,' he sighed inwardly. 'This must be what Sakaki experienced in his last moments. But at least that guy got to know her girlfriend's feelings beforehand. That lucky bastard.'
Yuuta's body kept moving even as he performed his monologue. From inside his body, he could see what his body sees, hear what it hears and smell what it smells. However, he doesn't have any control of the body and it moved not with thought, but just following blind instinct. It's as if he's looking from the interior of a giant robot as it moves around, destroying anything it finds.
'Ergh…' Yuuta groaned. It was that sensation again. The feeling that he felt earlier when his body controls were locked from him. He could sense it, the whatever-substance was trying to latch itself further onto his soul, the last part of his being that isn't completely corrupted yet.
'Stay away from me!' shouted Yuuta in his spirit form. The 'thing', as he decided to call it, could be seen as a black mass that started growing from his feet, gradually climbing up. It was reaching his knees now, but he strengthened his resolve and thus managed to keep the corruption from spreading onto the other sections… at least for now.
Panting, Yuuta noted that even after being turned into an undead, a person's soul is still trapped inside their own body, unable to be freed and forced to watch as the actions of their uncontrolled body causes suffering to others. The only choice for freedom is to be slain until your body is dead for sure. Only then, can you get your liberation.
Lamenting on that depressing thought, Yuuta looked downwards and saw that the dark substance has rise upwards to his waist. Cursing over his carelessness, he tried to rid his soul again from the foreignness. It didn't work, as evidence from the fact that his spirit form is, waist-down, still covered in the black wrongness.
Yuuta sighed, the growled in anger. It's not that he blamed Kurumi for this situation, Megu-nee for biting him, Taroumaru for going missing in the first place, or any of the girls in the club. He didn't regret meeting them and joining the School-Living Club. They gave him a new goal and purpose in life after all.
No, the one he's angry at is himself. He should be more careful and less reckless in his actions at the basement. His lack of foresight has now caused a problem in the group. To add insult to injury, the school had now been invaded by the horde of undead, if the gloomy atmosphere and violent knocking earlier was any indication. Furthermore, to add another bigger insult to the wound, he's now trapped inside a room with the girl he likes in a situation where he asked her to kill him.
Opening his eyes, Yuuta looked through the eyes of what was once his body. Peering through them, he could see her, Yuki, standing away from him, visibly shaking with fear. He didn't blame her. It was the same reaction he had when he first faced the undeads, his mother and little sister. Speaking of them, he wondered if he would see them again after he's separated from his shell of a body. There's a lot he wants to say to them. The most important is, of course, to say sorry and ask for their forgiveness due to killing their undead body. After that, there are many stories he wanted to tell them, such as his travels during the months he spends in the outside world. Then, his encounter with the girls in the club. He chuckled a bit as he thought about how their reaction would be if he told them that he'd found a girl that he liked and a cute one at that. His mum would most probably smile and say she's happy for him, while Ruiko would undoubtedly begin pestering him about Yuki's appearance, personality, hobbies and other whatnots. Yes, it would be nice if that were to happen.
Looking straight forward, Yuuta saw that her living companion is now holding his sword, its scabbard lying on the floor. Staring at him, even through the blurriness and his dishevelled hair obscuring his view, he could see Yuki with eyes full of resolve and determination. The same kind of look that he recalled Sakaki and Shuuya said he made when he first met Yuki, all those years ago.
'So, this is how I die, huh?' Yuuta repeated his statement earlier. 'Even so, I believe this is for the best. It certainly is much better than endangering the girls' lives.' Internally, he sighed yet again as he resigned himself to this fate. 'I think, the one thing that I truly regret… is that I didn't have a chance to know of Yuki's true feelings for me. Not that it mattered now.'
"Hang in there, Yuu-kun!" suddenly, he heard her voice. His puppet body instinctively lifted its head and arms, marching slightly faster towards the source.
His eyes on Yuki, he's horrified that she still haven't ended his suffering. 'That girl, what is she thinking? Hurry up!' screamed Yuuta at her, though his disembodied voice obviously won't reach her.
Several seconds later, his figure lurched forward, trying to catch and sink its teeth into the pink-haired girl's flesh. Yuuta almost screamed in despair at the action.
Fortunately, Yuki suddenly displayed a surprising degree of agility, dodging to the left and missing the attack. A small part of the boy's mind praised her fast reaction.
"Yuu-kun!" called Yuki. "I know you're in there! You can hear me, right?!"
Oh how Yuuta would like to reply her so badly, but he knew that its impossible for her to hear him. 'Yes, Yuki. I can hear you,' even knowing that he still said internally his answer.
Yuki expected the lack of response, the audible one anyway, so she spoke to him again. "You want me to kill you because you don't want to hurt any of us, am I right?" the question surprised Yuuta, but he nodded in his spirit form. "But… I won't have any of that!" Yuki protested over his decision. "Killing you will only make things worse. Can't you see, everyone here cares about you. Kurumi-chan, Ri-san, Mii-kun, Megu-nee, Taroumaru, all of us don't want you to die. Especially me…" Yuki lowered her head and the sword. "I would be very, very sad if you are gone…" a sobbing sound could be heard from her direction. "I still remember when we first met, you were so cool defending me from those bullies and even willing as far as to fight them for me, a person whom you just met. I think that part is what I like the most about you, and though you may not remember it, I really treasured that memory, albeit I did forget it after a few years. Hehehe."
Yuuta kept quiet through all of this, even if his body is still moving. Disbelieving he was, since he did not expect Yuki to still retain the memory of their forgotten encounter. He also mulled in confusion over Yuki's reason for talking to him when he's certain he's already beyond saving, especially if there is no cure to revert him back to human. Was this some sort of farewell speech?
A few more tears were shed on Yuki's behalf before she lifted her head and revealed her face again. "That's why… that's why… I don't want to kill you. You understand right, Yuu-kun? You're precious to me, and I don't want to lose you or anyone else anymore. I want to be with you… always. Because…"
Suddenly, she surged forward towards Yuuta's figure, the sword still in her hand, Yuki winded her arms around him and screamed onto his chest. "Because I love you, Yuu-kun! I don't want you to leave me!"
Hearing her anguished declaration of love, Yuuta's soul and consciousness were shocked, surprised, stunned and other words that indicate he's not moving.
'She… loves me?'
For a second, his body stopped moving as well and stood still in Yuki's embrace.
That one second was all it needed.
Out of nowhere, a bright white light erupted from the sword tightly held in Yuki's grasp. Its brilliance covered the two before engulfing the entire room in the resulting brightness. Yuuta shielded his soul's eyes while Yuki kept hers closed, hugging her love crush's body.
After a few moments, the light eventually subsided, allowing the vision to be clear again. Despite that, Yuki kept holding Yuuta in her arms, some droplets of tears clearly visible at the corner of her still closed eyes.
"Yuki… you're crushing me, you know."
Immediately, Yuki perked her eyes open, unbelieving of what she just heard. She moved her head upwards, slowly and cautiously, until she was met with the kind face of Yuuta, the deranged look gone from his eyes and instead replaced with a kind smile that made her heart swell with happiness.
"Yuu-kun…?" she spoke after several seconds of staring. "You're… you're back."
"Really?" Yuuta inquired, just as surprised as her. He tried lifting his hand and found that it responded to his command. Next, he blinked once, then twice, before he remarked on the situation. "I can't believe it… I'm… I'm back to normal," he looked at Yuki, then he embraced her tightly, slightly lifting her body a bit off the ground and dropping the sword in the process.
"Yuki, thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you!" tears were flowing from his eyes. "I don't know how it happened, but I owe my life to you," when he finally released Yuki from the hug, Yuuta bowed at her. "Again Yuki, thank you."
Hearing Yuuta voicing his honest feelings of gratification, Yuki was taken aback. Truthfully, she didn't expect her actions to succeed in reverting back Yuuta to his human form, but nevertheless, she's happy that her love has returned. "It's nothing, Yuu-kun. I'm just glad you're back."
"Never been gladder to be back," replied Yuuta. Noticing his sword lying on the ground, he crouched down to pick it up. When he did that, he could feel… something flowing inside him. It's not a foreign substance like the undead virus, but more like something pleasant, pure and comforting, the opposite of what he felt earlier with the disgusting, corrupt and uncomfortable substance. Mentally, he noted this down in his mind as another clue in his pursuit for the answer to his family blade's curiosity.
As Yuuta spends his time thinking about the mystery literally in his hands, Yuki just looked at him, content just by being with him in this room, isolated from all the chaos outside. However, she knew that the calmness they're having will not last forever and it will end sooner or later unless something is done to the remaining undeads still in the school.
And so, she consulted her teacher for any suggestion. "Ne, Megu-nee. What should I do now? The others… they're still in danger, right. How can I save the School-Living Club?"
"I think you should head for the broadcasting room," came the response.
"The broadcasting room?"
"Then you can save the club… No, you may be able to save everyone," said her teacher. "As long as you believe in yourself, you can do anything. At least, that's what I think."
"Okay, got it!" exclaimed Yuki.
At that time, Yuuta had finished contemplating on the enigma in his possession and was grabbing one of his clean shirt placed conveniently next to to the couch. Standing up, he turned to face Yuki when he heard her voice. "What is it, Yuki?"
"Yuu-kun, I have a way to save everyone. W-will you help me?" she asked, a little uncertain on his response.
"Of course," but her uncertainty is a moot point as Yuuta agreed on it immediately without hesitation. "I've said this earlier, right," he held Yuki's hand. "My life is now yours."
"Thanks!"
"But first, we probably should get to Kurumi and Ri-san first," proposed Yuuta. "It's much safer if we're in bigger numbers."
"Okay, let's get to them now!" shouted Yuki.
Standing in front of the entrance, Yuuta held his sword in one hand with the other hand holding Yuki's own. "Stay close behind me, okay?"
"Yeah!"
And so, they opened the door and stepped into the world outside.
'Damn it! Is this my limit?'
Miki asked the question to herself as she proceeds to slash at another approaching undead. Its head decapitated, it joined others of its kind in the pile surrounding Miki.
Panting hard, Miki wiped the sweat that had accumulated on his face. The sword still in her hands, she's been holding her fort quite nicely on her own, but alas, the fatigue had begun to sink in. The large horde of undead crowding into the room attracted to the light underground didn't help either. They are perilous to face with and truly unstoppable, unending in their drive for her flesh.
Leaning her back towards the rack in the room, Miki tried to find an opening to escape from. However, she could see none of them among the undead figures of the once students of the school.
'This is pointless,' she commented. 'There's no way out from here. The more I cut, the more they come. Is this really all I have? In the end, I'm just a weak person after all.'
Lowering her hands, she finally let the despair sink into her heart as her resolve decreases quickly. 'Yuuta-senpai, Yuki-senpai, Kurumi-senpai, Yuuri-senpai… I'm sorry. I can't do it alone like this. Please help me…'
The undeads approached her slowly, intent on devouring her flesh or turning her into one of them. Closer and closer they came, until Miki heard a voice.
"Miki!"
The girl immediately lifted her head up, just in time to see the form of her purple-haired upperclassman jumping on the head of the undeads before landing next to her. "Hey, sorry to keep you waiting."
Tears formed in her eyes upon seeing Kurumi. "You're late, senpai," Miki remarked as she wiped away the droplets. "I was having a hard time here, you know."
"Yeah, sorry about that but I'm okay now," she replied with her usual tone. "So, you got the antidote?"
"Yes, I've got it with me," Miki gestured to the small backpack on her back. "But, why are you here, Kurumi-senpai?"
Kurumi scratched her cheek as she casually smacked an undead in the face with her shovel. "Well, I've come to get the antidote too of course. I've made a promise with Yuuta that I would do everything in my power to find a way to revert him back if he happens to turn into one of these beings," again, she kicked an undead into the direction of its other kind. "So, here I am, trying to make good of my promise. Also, I can't let my precious kouhai all alone down here, am I right?"
"Senpai…" uttered Miki in happiness.
"Anyway, let's bust out of here and save Yuuta, shall we?" stated Kurumi with a grin.
"Hai!"
Inside one of the empty rooms, Yuuri sat on the floor. Her face was obscured by her bangs and she was closing her ears with her hands.
Meanwhile, at the entrance, the undeads kept pounding on the door, intent on breaking it and invading the room. The wooden door shook considerably whenever the impact hit.
Her hands still holding her head, Yuuri shook her head as tears started dripping from her eyes. "Help me… someone… anyone…" she begged.
Lifting her head, her eyes widened in fear when the door opposite of her began getting loose around the seams. The moans of the undeads outside didn't help her fragile state of mind either. She curled her body and lay on the floor, hoping that they would go away.
"HIIAAAAHHHHH!"
Suddenly, she heard a loud scream coming from behind the door.
"Ri-san! Kurumi-chan!"
Then, another familiar voice was heard. Briefly, she considered if she was hallucinating about the sound but it spoke again.
"Hey! If you're in there open up!"
Immediately, Yuuri got up to her feet and went towards the entrance. Unlocking the door, two figures entered the room before she closed it again.
"Phew, that was close. Good thing we found where the room was," said the male figure.
"Yeah, I was worried that something happened to them. Wait a second, where's Kurumi-chan?" exclaimed the female one.
"Y-Yuuta-kun… Y-Yuki-chan… is that really you?" asked Yuuri in disbelief over the unexpected appearance of her club members. Especially Yuuta.
"Yes, this is us. What, you don't recognise us anymore?" Yuuta said to her with a look of mock disappointment.
"That's no good, Ri-san. As the club president, you should take notice of the peoples in your club," and for some reason, Yuki decided to play along.
Yuuri just stated at them, still confused over the situation. Here, there's Yuuta that's definitely still human and hasn't turned into an undead. Then, there's Yuki who's standing beside him. Oh, and they're holding hands.
"Yuuta-kun, you're… you're fine? You didn't turn into one of them?" but firstly, Yuuri asked the most obvious question to the only male member in the club.
Yuuta nodded and explained to her. "Yes, I think I'm mostly cured. I don't know how it happened but I'm not turning into an undead anytime soon," at the end of the sentence, Yuuri noticed that his right eye twitched as if holding something back.
"Yup, all thanks to me!" Yuki stated proudly. "But aside from that, where's Kurumi-chan? She's supposed to be with you right, Ri-san?"
"Ah, Kurumi said she's going back to the basement to rescue Miki-san," answered Yuuri.
"Why would Miki head down there?" Yuuta inquired.
"She read the manual once again and found out that there could possibly be a cure for you in the shelter. That's why she took upon herself to get it. Later, Kurumi went after her to help," informed Yuuri.
Yuuta suddenly grabbed Yuuri's shoulders and spoke to her. "Is that true, Ri-san? That there's an antidote for this virus."
Yuuri was surprised but managed to answer him. "I don't know myself, but it is possible there is one in the basement," she then glanced away from Yuuta. But before she did, she could see a glint of darkness in his blue eyes. "Ehem ehem, that matter aside, why are you here, Yuki-chan?"
"Ah, that's right," Yuki recalled what her purpose was. "I have a way to save everyone in the school. That's why I'm wondering if you would like to join us."
Yuuri didn't know what to say. Her mind debated on whether she should follow them or stay behind in the room. The former could be really dangerous since Yuuta would have to defend two persons and also himself. The latter is the safest choice, but choosing it would mean that she would be alone again and without any means to know if her friends were in danger or not.
After a minute of weighing down her options, she stated her response. "I'll come with you, Yuki-chan. It's just like you say, I'm the club president so I have to take notice of my club member's wellbeing."
"Yosh, it's set then!" Yuki pumped her fist into the air. "Now, let's a go!"
Yuuta followed behind her, but then sensed a tension on his shirt. Turning his head, he saw Yuuri clutching the back side of his upper wear. "What is it, Ri-san?"
"Is… is it really safe for us to go out there?" she asked, uncertainty in her voice. "What if something happened to us? What would we do?"
He removed her hand from his shirt and held it tightly. "You don't have to worry about that. I will protect you both, even if it'll kill me. And even if I'm not there, you can always count on Yuki. She's more reliable than you think."
The statement calmed Yuuri's nerve a little, though she's still understandably scared. Even so, she marched to the door and held Yuki's left hand. Before Yuuta opened the door, Yuki remembered a crucial detail and said to them.
"We're going to the broadcasting room by the way."
The path to the broadcasting room was not so easy. There were some undeads loitering about in the place but nothing that Yuuta can't handle. Running along while holding hands to prevent then from being separated, the three reached a door that was blocking their way.
Looking at the door, a locked memory began to resurface inside Yuki's mind. Letting go of her two companions, she rushed to the door when she heard her teacher's voice calling for her.
"Megu-nee," pressing her ears to the door, she listened for Megu-nee's voice.
"You're almost to the broadcasting room. Are you okay? Are you scared?" she asked.
"I'm really scared. But I've kept my eyes closed to the scary things all the time, and had the others take care of the hard stuff. I don't think I can do that anymore," confessed Yuki. "Or I'll lose everything that's important to me. That scares me a lot more."
"I see. That means you've recognised the important things in your life, am I right?" came the gentle voice of her teacher. "I'm happy for you, I really am. But above anything else, I hope that, no matter what, you always remember to smile, Yuki-chan. If you do that, then I'll always be watching over you."
Beside her, she felt a hand on her shoulder. Glancing to the side, she saw Yuuta also placing a hand on the door as if he's also speaking to the teacher.
"Megu-nee," he spoke. "I promise you this. I will protect everyone, so you don't have to worry about them. So…"
"Thank you, Yuuta-san. I feel safe entrusting them to you," although he couldn't hear her, Yuuta could feel the presence and her message. "Yuki-chan," she then addressed Yuki. "I'm so glad I got to be your teacher."
With those words, Megu-nee's voice disappeared. Yuki quickly opened the door, only to find nobody in the halls. Tears accumulated in her eyes until they fell.
"Yuki-chan…" Yuuri then proceeded to hug Yuki's body to calm her down. "Let's continue, shall we?"
"Yeah," she nodded. Under her breath, she whispered. "Bye bye, Megu-nee."
The trio then resumed their journey. Along the way, Yuuta felt it again, a stinging sensation in his heart and the cause of his eye twitching. However, he tried to hide his pain so as not to worry the two girls.
After running for some minutes and bypassing the undeads loitering in their way, the group finally caught sight of the broadcasting room. Unfortunately, there were several more of the beings blocking the path to their destination.
*slash*
Even with the pain in his body, Yuuta still managed to swing his sword and effortlessly keep his companions from harm. Rushing forward, he removed any of the undead standing in front of the room, clearing a path for them to enter.
"Hurry!" he shouted to the other two.
Yuki and Yuuri hurried to his position. They ran in the empty space between the undeads created by Yuuta. However, one of them caught Yuki by her bag and she was pulled backwards.
"Yuki-chan!" Yuuri turned to her. She was about to help Yuki when someone rushed beside her.
"I'll help her. Ri-san, get inside the room, now!" said Yuuta as he proceeded to the place Yuki was pulled. Yuuri nodded and went inside the broadcasting room, closing it after she entered.
"Oww…" Yuki groaned when she fell on the floor. Rubbing her head, she opened her eyes and was scared because all around her, there were undeads staring at her with opened mouths and dark eyes. As they close in, she became more afraid and trembled in fear.
"Yuki!" then, she heard a voice calling for her. Of course, she knew it to be Yuuta's since only he would call her with such emotion.
"Yuu-kun!" she responded with shouting his name too. Between the undeads, she could see him desperately coming to save her. She felt glad and her worries lifted a little.
"Aagh!" suddenly, Yuuta tripped on his feet, falling face first on the floor. He then clutched his heart, the cause of his fall being the increasing pain inside his body. The sensation resulted in his vision and coordination to fall for a few seconds. 'What's this?' he thought to himself. 'I thought I was back to normal, so what's wrong. I don't feel anything corrupting my soul, but my body… it still hurts. Don't tell me, only my soul was purified but my body is still under the effect of the virus?!' hypothesised Yuuta.
He tried lifting himself from the floor but his body felt weak, and he felt weaker with each passing second. Using his sword to lever his body up, he took a look at Yuki. Surrounded by the undeads, he could see her terrified face as those corrupted souls in a body moved to grab her.
"Y-Yuki…" weakly, Yuuta called for his companion's name. His legs were wobbly and the strength to move was slowly drained from his body. His heart darkened when he heard Yuki's scream for help. It seemed all was loss for the two.
*woof woof*
Then, out of nowhere, a brown figure flashed before his eyes.
*Grr*
The brown figure was small but it proceeded to pounce on the undead that was holding Yuki, sending it crashing down and directing the attention of the others to itself.
"Taroumaru…" Yuki said as she realised the identity of the small figure. The dog in question turned to face her and growled, his teeth baring at her direction.
Yuki was understandably scared, not knowing what to do with him. Then, she got an idea. Removing her bag, she opened the zippers and showed the inside to the club pet. "Come on here, Taroumaru. You're a good boy, right."
The pup barked once before jumping into the innard of Yuki's bag. Getting inside the space, he struggled about in her laps.
"You do remember us, don't you?" spoke Yuki to him. "What an awful wound… you've been bitten," she said as she stroked his body where the bite wound was still present. "And you feel so cold…" Yuki hugged the dog. "I'm so sorry… I can't help you."
Looking at the two, Yuuta sighed at himself. "Heh, what am I doing here? Even Taroumaru managed to hold back his undead instincts to save Yuki, and he's not a human. Am I really thinking of giving up earlier? I'm utterly disappointed in myself. However, it's still not the end. Taroumaru, I'll make good use from your actions."
As Yuki hugged the still struggling Taroumaru, another undead approached her. Stretching its arm, it was cut by a blade slashing through the air.
Opening her eyes once more, behold in front of her the sight that she's seen for many times already, but it still served to amaze her. His sword in his hands, Yuuta stood valiantly protecting Yuki from any other attacks.
"Grab him and enter the room, Yuki," he spoke. "I'll cover you."
Yuki nodded and get back on her feet. Clutching her bag, she ran to the broadcasting room as fast as she can. Following behind her, Yuuta sliced away any of the undeads that came near.
Arriving in front of the room, Yuki opened the door and was greeted with Yuuri's relieved expression. Entering the room, the door was suddenly shut behind her.
"Eh?" turning back around, she noticed that Yuuta was not in the room.
He's still outside.
"Yuu-kun!" Yuki shouted as she went to the door, depositing her bag on the floor. "Get inside here! Why are you still outside?" she tried opening the door but it won't budge. "Hey, Yuu-kun!"
Outside the room, Yuuta slashed at another nearby undead. His back to the door frame that he stuck with a broomstick a few seconds ago, he replied to the person behind the door. "Don't open it, Yuki. I'll stay here until the situation is resolved. You don't have to worry about me either, I'll be fine," even though he says that his senses were growing numb and he already couldn't feel anything down from his knees. "Do what you have to, I'll protect you."
"No!" said Yuki. "Don't leave me, Yuu-kun! I need you here. I can't do anything by myself…" a single tear fell from her left eye. "Yuu-kun…"
"Of course you can," came the response from outside. "Hear me, Yuki. You're stronger than you let yourself be, you just didn't realise it. After all, you succeeded in saving me, and that's a very big accomplishment for me," then, his tone went lower. "To tell you the truth, I was really scared earlier. I was afraid that I'll hurt you that the only thing preventing me from fully becoming like them was the thought about you. Even when my body was moving by itself, it still remembers your voice, your aura, your smell and your cheerfulness. All that memory is what saved me and brought my body back to realisation. And now, you must do the same for everyone else. Remind them of what they loved, the reason why they always come back here and bring peace to their souls. I'm sure you can do it Yuki because I believe in you."
Yuki was taken aback by Yuuta's words but she acknowledged the truth in them. "Alright, Yuu-kun. I'll do my best." wiping the tears on her cheeks, she moved away from the door and towards the PA system.
"Yuki-chan, I've turned it on. You want to use it, right?" Yuuri asked.
"Yes. Can you keep Taroumaru in somewhere safe for a while, Ri-san? I don't want him to get hurt," Yuki grabbed the moving bag that contains Taroumaru and gave it to her.
Staring at the bag, Yuuri was scared but tried to not let it show. "You can leave him to me, Yuki-chan. Now, go save everyone."
"Thank you," standing in front of the microphone, Yuki tapped on it a little for a test. Taking a deep breath, she brought her mouth close to the equipment.
"School is now closed for the day," she began. "Any students still on the grounds, please return home right away."
In the basement, Kurumi and Miki paused from their attacks and listened to the voice.
"That voice… it's Yuki-senpai, right?" asked Miki.
"You're right. What is she doing?" Kurumi said, confused.
"Do you love the school?" Yuki continued. "I do. You might say it's weird, but the school is an incredible place. The physics lab has all those weird tools… The music room has all those beautiful instruments and intimidating portraits… And in the broadcasting room, the whole school's your stage. It's got everything. It's like a country of its own! There's no other single building as strange as this. I love it. I hate studying, but I like my teachers. When I forget my homework, they show me how to do it. I doze in class and get scolded. I make friends with my classmates. I get into fights. I fell in love. Sometimes we're together. Sometimes I'm alone. Sometimes there's just the two of us. There are fun times, sad times… So many of them… and that's why… I love this school."
Kurumi and Miki watched in amazement as the undeads that were previously attacking them slowly retreated and exited the room.
"And you all love it too, right? You'll always, always love it. That's why you're here, right?" small droplets formed in Yuki's eyes as she resumed. "But like someone once said to me, all good things must come to an end. It's sad that nothing can last forever but when that happens, all you need is to find other good things to do. If you search hard enough, I'm sure you can find them. Just like I do."
The school now almost clear of the undeads, Kurumi and Miki rushed through the stairs to get to Yuuta and administer the cure to him. When they reached the clubroom where he's supposed to be, they were surprised that he's not in the room. Then, they searched the school for him until they caught the sight of him just outside the broadcasting room, collapsed on the floor and without any indication of being awake. They rushed to his side just as Yuki concluded her speech.
"So on that note… school is out. I believe we'll meet again someday. But for today, school is over. To everyone still in school… Good day, thank you… Goodbye."
"See you tomorrow."