If someone were to tell me this is how the world ends, not with a bang or even a whimper. I would've looked at that person and gawked and wondered if they were downright insane...
Even now, after the day when the undead came to town, feasting upon those like an unending horde of hungry locusts, I still ponder back to those days leading up to the outbreak and question how it came to be.
How did society suddenly get turned on its head? How could a dead body vacant of all life functions be so greedy and abruptly appear in the thousands? Why weren't we warned ahead of time about this pandemic until it was literally in front of us trying to rip our faces off...?
These were the unanswered questions that kept pricking the back of my mind during the earliest hours of our escape from Fujimi.
The coming days tested us as if we went back in time during the days of our forefathers, challenging the cosmos for our station in the world. Now, we're just making do with what we have with those soulless husks aimlessly wandering about; humanity's quantities continue to wane, the zombies keep growing countlessly out of control.
With the world we once knew closed coarsely behind us, we only have each other to lean on in these troubling times.
Anarchy or the law of the jungle changed the standard-bearer. Suppose you didn't have the courage or conviction to find your place among those that would kill you for a can of soup. Then, falling prey to a deceased loved one was the only other alternative outside of putting a gun to your head and pulling the trigger yourself.
This is our new reality, no matter how much we want things to go back to how it once was; to close your eyes to this nightmare, and open them and find yourself back in your bed, swearing the entire tribulation off as a bad dream...
It's only been s couple of months since we made it out of Japan; we beheld only destruction and ruin left in the vigil of panic and disarray. Our group pushes its way across Georgia to find our little refuge in the world, having to contend with people that have lost all fiber of uprightness or fearing that final day when we're standing across from death's inevitable embrace…
Random Food Mart
Just Before Sundown
(Various zombies like wails)
(Loud flesh like bangs against metal)
(Feminine grunts of exertion)
"The natives are getting restless!" A young girl states through tense grunts attempting to keep their last piece of protection from giving out.
"You don't think I know that? I'm trying to gather groceries as fast as I can!" Another girl answers back with the same tense tone.
"Well, collect faster! Or do you need me to go over there and show you how it's done?!" Was the other girls' initial retort full of agitated sarcasm.
"Like your pessimism is helping our situation!" She yelped back, stuffing various things into a backpack.
(Sounds of glass cracking)
"And slackening your ass for the umpteen times isn't helping us either!" her voice intensifying in fearfulness, trying to conceal it the best she could by lashing out.
(Metal keening from the strain)
"This door isn't going to hold for long; tell me you are about finished!
"Just about done... And finished! Let's get the heck out of out here!"
(Zombie groans growing louder)
(Metal snapping, glass cracking, and shattering)
(Cries of fright, shuffling of feet)
(Heavy panting like breaths of weariness)
Closing the door behind them with a resounding slam and moving some discarded barrels and other pieces of trash that were discarded nearby as a makeshift barricade. Rei Miyamoto and Yuuki Miku collapse into their rears, trying to catch their breath from scarcely escaping yet another death trap in their continuous search for food and other quantities.
"Woo..." Rei murmured between breaths. "That has to be the most insane occurrence we had to handle with those 'Things' yet..."
Glaring at her fellow redhead, Yuuki could only gripe out in a dry tone, clearly annoyed. "Maybe we could've had more time to leave if a certain someone didn't take her sweet time...!" She hissed with growing exasperation.
Rei scowled back at the other girl, feeling her brow twitch before responding in the same ardent tone. "Get off my back! We made out, didn't we?" The girl growled out from the rush of adrenaline still at an all-time high, not allowing her companion to get onto her about circumstances that weren't her fault.
It was only two of them sent out to gather anything still edible; it wasn't like she suggested to the nearby crazy man in advance to blow himself up randomly for shits and giggles and wake the undead neighbors for the hell of it!
Mumbling a few colorful words under her breath, Yuuki stands upright before dusting off her washed-out colored blue jeans and takes a quick examination of herself to see if she got cut or bruised from their escape. Seeing only small rips and tears into her light blue long-sleeved shirt and a bit of dried blood on her tan hiking boots, she huffed a sigh of happiness that she wasn't bitten in the chaos.
Making a few adjustments to her black headband that kept her long bangs from her eyes, she shifts her gaze over to Rei, who was still sitting on the ground with a large brown knapsack stuffed with various food supplies strapped to her back, giving her ankles a little massage.
After taking a moment to give her a quick look over to ensure she didn't get munched on either, seeking to find claw marks or mouth bruises of any kind.
Outside of wearing the Fujimi uniform with slight modifications like the dark blue Kevlar bulletproof vest, they found a few nights ago in the trunk of a police car. Thigh-length black stockings, elbow and knee pads, along with similar tan boots fitted upon her feet.
With no signs of harm, Yuuki offers her hand to help the other girl up from the ground.
"So... What's the conclusion, mum? Am I going to start stumbling around like a lost puppy or not?" Rei's voice dripped with playful banter as she grabbed ahold of Yuuki's left hand and pulled herself up with a smirk intently on her lips.
"Oh, you be blundering around if you keep being a pain in my ass..." She states with a grin in return.
Ruffling around in her jean pocket, Yuuki pulls out a folded-up map of the area before she starts to unravel it and brings it to bear against the concrete cladding of the grocery store. "Since every zombie within a 5-mile radius is going to make their way over here to join the little rave party inside. We're going to have to take these sets of streets and hope no one isn't going to try to shoot us." She illustrated with her pointing to different intersections they would have to cross.
Rubbing her chin in contemplation, Rei nods to herself before adjusting the straps of her backpack and says. "The only thing we can do is take things slow and radio in when we're close enough for the others to meet up with us safely."
Folding up the map once more and shoving it to her pocket, she reaches over her left shoulder for her holstered baseball bat as she slips it out of its leather bindings and gives it a few test swings, giving a solicitous remark in between the strokes. "Since I'm your bodyguard, please keep the retardation down if you can."
(Agitated Groan)
"You're still going to rub that last incident in my face, aren't you?" The other teen remarked with an exasperated tone, placing her hands on her hips, leaning over slightly, giving a dubious look, resisting the urge not to facepalm herself from the concept that keeps being dug up.
Even she can make honest mistakes!
Yuuki agilely sprang forth, racing towards the street corner with Rei swiftly upon her heels, making their way back to the others to unload all the accumulated cargo. Before responding over her shoulder during the run with some growing delight, all the while pinging a random zombie in the head that was in her way with the bat. "We wouldn't get along as we do if we didn't appreciate each other's shortcomings, huh?"
-Former St John's Dairy Farm-
Early Evening…
Everything was tranquil, with the light lull of crickets chirping that greeted the evening with their pleasant song. To Naruto Uzumaki, he couldn't ask for anything else, well... Maybe a bowl of ramen the size of the Empire State building filled to the brim with noodles goodness, but beggars can't be choosers if he had to settle for a simple Instant cup. Even if he preferred, it still didn't take 5 minutes to cook...
The former nin was dressed in a simple orange T-shirt and black cargo pants, with a pair of worn white socks and black and orange colored sneakers fitted upon his feet.
Sitting on an overlap that occupied the porch of the old two-story farmhouse, Naruto continued to peer out into the darkening distance as he waited for confirmation that his two pupils were within the area and still breathing, gazing downward from time to time to a handheld radio that sat strapped to his hip.
He hated sending them out into hazardous locations; he also knew they needed this experience to plan and figure things out independently rather than rely on him solely for survival.
Ever since the entire zombie pandemic came out of nowhere, he took up the role of a Jonin-sensei in a sense to ensure everyone would live to see another day. Having to teach civilian school girls and boys the harsh lessons of survival and its bittering realities, lest they become food for someone else.
Even the undead would follow the rules of nature with the predator and prey analog; if you didn't have the cleverness nor the strength to handle the pressure, you were simply the next meal.
To the older blond who came to this world 10+ years ago, these botched Edo Tenshi would be considered more of a nuisance to most well-trained Shinobi. Now, if these zombies started spewing out fireballs or calling down meteors from space, then he would have something to worry about in a world that was breaking down, honestly.
Even now, his mind's eye could patently recall the 4th shinobi war, his battles with Madara and Obito Uchiha, their plans to enslave his world within a perpetual dream-like state. His ferocious struggle with the rabbit goddess Kaguya and her lecture about the definition of darkness within human nature swayed his iron will enough that she convinced him of leaving; to find his way elsewhere that wasn't ruled by the Shinobi system.
With him coming here and meeting a young girl named Shizuka and her best friend Rika, falling in love with his fellow blond and taking up a schooling position as a guidance counselor to the young men and women of Fujimi Academy later on in life.
To witnessing these debauched Eno Tenshi's appearing suddenly, tearing away everyone and everything, he came to know; too many people perished needlessly in his eyes during those early days. And him scarcely escaping Japan before it got nuked off the map and striving to lead his people into a sounder future bettered their likelihood of survival.
"Quiet night, huh, whiskers." The soft voice of his lover's voice conveyed him from his private thoughts.
Shaking his head a little to place his recollection for another time, He looks down as his dark blues meet Shizuka's dark browns.
Her appearance has changed little over the months, outside of making minor adjustments to her long honey blond hair that used to hang freely nearing the floor in length into a braided bun that was fastened with two hair sticks. She wore a purple turtleneck sweater, black jeans, and classic white slip-on shoes upon her feet. She always wore a warm smile upon her face, even if she could be a bit of a ditz at times.
"Yeah, a little too quiet." He agreed, making a slight adjustment in his seat and crossing his legs. "Either those bandits finally gave up, or they're up to something."
"You did start stringing up their friends' corpses around town as bait for the walking dead. Maybe they moved on after seeing they wouldn't be able to get anything else from us?" she suggested as a feasible explanation.
To be blamed for something you had no previous dealings with was annoying and, at times, absolute bullshit. It wasn't his or his groups' fault for what others did to former homeowners, even though they found enough evidence that the St' Johns were deranged and no different from monsters in human skin. After tidying up the house and getting rid of all the bloody hardware and other tools used to process a human body.
Like he could forget the deep freezer filled with bagged arms, legs, and other organs and body parts of preceding victims...
"On the bright side, we still got enough provisions to last us a while once Rei and Yuuki come back. Have you thought about where we should be traveling next?" His fiancée asks with her giving her fiancee a concerned look.
Shrugging the shoulders to show his unsureness, to him, finding this place was a true god-send. Everywhere else was either picked clean or the neighborhood gangs fighting for more land.
The only thing they had to do was reinforce the fields, and maybe they could start growing their food to sustain themselves, then relying on blind luck that someone didn't wholly loot a house or store. Many vegetables were left behind when he first showed up; that gave their food reserves a bountiful boost; all it would take is to till the soil and reseed the ground and wait.
Once they gathered enough Brussels through a good growing season, they could start trading for things they would need. As everyone, regardless of who they are, needs food to survive.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" the boisterous bark of Larry's voice abruptly breaks the stillness of the evening. "You goddamned Idiot! Who taught you how to swing an ax?! "The Incensed man continued to assert his irritation.
And how quickly the peace was broken…
"How's about I swing it at your damn head, you asshole!" Takashi growled back, brandishing the tool menacingly with an angered snarl on his face. "I have been doing all the work while you sit on me and ridicule me for the entire day! Do I look like your wife to you!?" With him thrusting the wooden handle into the larger man's abdomen. "What the hell have you been doing all day other than being such a whiny little kid!" as they start to push and shove one another seconds away from an all-out brawl.
When Naruto first found the farm, it was during a time he was scouting for a more permanent place to live. While he could handle the rugged hiking and days on the road, he knew his young charges weren't as adapted nor prepared to go from one place to another like he was at a moment's notice.
Larry was well... A surprise, given how you usually don't find furious old chaps locked inside meat lockers still alive. After a very brief, and it was brief fisticuffs between the two. Naruto allowed the retiree to stay with them once the former ex-soldier found out his previous group was no longer at the motor Inn down the road.
The guy was a total ass and already tried to push his or the others' buttons.
It seems like Larry and Takashi clashed and butted heads a lot out of everyone in the group. Considering Saeko threatened to gut him if he tried any of his usual spiels, Kohta was more than willing to blow his balls off with a well-aimed shot from his rifle. And he knew better than to buck up to Rika with her still being one of the best fighters in the world.
So that left Takashi as the older man's target when it came to pretty much everything...
With the voices between the two gettings louder, Saya Takagi, who was just down the small hill from them, pushed Alice Maresato on a wooden swing that was tied to a lone tree. She could only grumble to herself, visibly irritated that she had to endure yet another pissing match between the two.
"Why can't those two just get a room and be done with it already!" The pig-tailed genius snapped, her eyes narrowing over at the two. Days upon days of moaning and complaining pushed her near the edge of wanting to slap some sense into either of them!
"Boys will be boys, Saya," Riki grunted while fiddling with the generator nearby as she poured gasoline into the receptacles opening to power up the fences for the night. "If they have balls, little boys won't be afraid to show them to one another~." was the sharpshooters' response with tongue-in-cheek playfulness, with the way she looked up from her work with a grin.
The unyielding girl huffs a little before bringing her attention back to Alice, holding onto the ropes of the swing momentary. "I do hope that if you ever find a guy one day. please don't pick someone as irritating as Larry..."
The petite redhead could only look up and tilt her head to the side, confused before shrugging her shoulders. There were many things, adult-related, the young girl didn't understand about grown-ups, and she thought it was for the best to be blissfully oblivious for now.
Seeing how the strife wouldn't stop until he steps in, Naruto immediately hops down from his seat. Making his way over to the makeshift workstation on the other side of the white picket fence, where the ensuing argument was escalating.
"They're fighting again..." The nurse says, quite bemused at yet another belligerence. Following closely behind her whiskered boyfriend.
"As always, my adorable little nurse. Sometimes I think this is how they both bond with one another!" Naruto corresponds with some liveliness in his heightened timbre.
Getting in between the minor skirmish, he gives both men a push backward with the way he places his palms on their chest and uses a little bit of Chakra to enhance his strength to ensure they were moved a few feet away from each other.
"Whoa there, ladies!" He barked happily after interjecting himself between the older man and young teen before either resolving to use that ax on more than chopping branches or tree stumps. "I keep telling you. You're both beautiful~."
Larry promptly took a step back, rubbing the side of his jowl dolefully; even to this day, he could feel the phantom pain from the blows the blond gave him when he challenged his authority. The endeavor served as a potent reminder that the younger man wasn't fearful of throwing hands back if he resorted to force, no matter how big or angry you could be.
While Takashi was well, Takashi when it came to things that bugged him.
"I'm sick and tired of his crap!" The strong-minded teen bit out, glaring heatedly at Larry. "All he does is whine and moan! We were doing fine without him! Why can't it go back to it just being us?!"
Trying to reacquire some control of the situation in his favor, the old battler sought to defend himself and the complaint he sounded out. "It's not my fault this asshat can't use a damn ax like a regular person!"
"I'll use it right between your eyes! If you keep pushing it!" Takashi gnarled with him, now being held back by the resident gun nut, who came running after he heard the uproar. Telling his brother in arms, it wasn't worth it.
Taking a page out of Garaa's book on keeping those that do dumb things to a minimum, the Jinchuriki crosses his arms and gives them a stoic stare before uttering with strength and a bit of steel. "Enough...!"
Both Takashi and Larry staggered as though an unknown force had struck them; the sheer virulence in the former Shinobi's stare held enough vigor to knock down a family of angry elephants. Against two people that had no access to Chakra? Undoubtedly deadening to the point, neither would've been surprised if they crapped their pants.
"Komuro, I know you're frustrated," he spoke soothingly, placing a hand on the teen's shoulder. "It's been a rough couple of months for all of us, and trying to be amicable with someone who has overly aggressive tenancies isn't easy. This is why I will take over tonight and help Larry with the fencing. Go and give Asami a hand in the kitchen with dinner."
"I...thanks, Sensei..." the young man replied, rubbing the back of his neck in inopportune embarrassment for his vexation.
For now, it was better to let the matter drop and allow Naruto to handle the situation; things were already heated enough that he preferably not become a burden to the group.
With the matter amended with his former student as the boy walked away to the front gate to the farmhouse, followed by the somewhat overweight glasses-wearing teen, they continued to speak to one another in hush tones.
He turned to Larry.
"As for you, do we have to keep doing this, Larry?" Naruto asked the large man, sounding a bit spent in the process. "I was patient and tried to understand you to the best of my abilities." His eyes narrowed, with him placing his left hand upon his hip, making a pointing gesture with the other. "But! I won't tolerate this for too long. Everyone in my group is my responsibility. I Won't allow you to do something that could get any of them hurt or worse. It's either find a way to get along or go start kicking stones elsewhere!"
The aged veteran opened his mouth to say something, anything at all. His ego commanded it! It only took that same authoritative stare from the blue-eyed man to make him comply. The guy might be an asshole, but he wasn't stupid. He had his chance to place himself higher in the pecking order, and it ended up with him nursing a black eye and a cracked jaw.
Growling to himself, he turns heel and storms off to the other end of the property to be alone. Stopping abruptly when he saw the blade-wielding Japanese girl crossing his path on his way down the field, increasing his speed once said girl passed by till he was out of sight.
"I don't know how you do it," Saeko says after seeing the situation once again defused as she walks up to him. "If that were me, I more likely would've already sliced Larry up by now. Or kicked him from the group out of charity."
Snickering a little, with a fox-like grin developing upon his face, Naruto says. "Well, there is no proper instruction book when it comes to how to handle the end of the world. Larry reminds me of myself and a friend of mine growing up."
"Really? You and your friend were that bad?" the black-haired Asian states, looking a bit skeptical. At the thought, Naruto could be that much of a dick like Larry. The mental image in her head didn't match up to the person who's been helping her persevere in a world gone mad.
"At times, people wondered if we were privately married with the number of times we were in each other's faces!" he remarks while his grin was widening at the souvenirs.
"Which is why our whiskers are so special!" The other blonde responds positively bubbly, leaning against her boyfriend affectionately.
Nodding in agreement. "Eh, you get used to the crazy after a while, huh?" was the blade users' initial reply.
Sometime Later…
Taking a walk around the perimeter of the wooden fence, the whiskered blond continued to stretch his senses out to pick up on anything, anything at all. Be it human or non-human. The trained Shinobi always kept his head on a swivel to ensure all threats didn't have a chance to get in close.
Looking downward again, his radio continued to lie silent against his hip. Not a sound, not even the static cracking of it coming on. Outside of the electrical current of the electrified fence buzzing around him. Sighing to himself, he massages the back of his neck a little to relieve the mounting tension that kept growing as nightfall wore on, and neither of his former students has returned.
He always put up a brave face and acted like nothing was wrong, or he had all the faith in the world. It never stops the doubt that would slither upon him, like an invisible noose seeking to asphyxiate him the moment he would drop his guard.
The Instinctive to run into the night kindled within like a turbulent flame. One of those situations where the inner struggle to follow his advice made the man overly fret for those who had complete confidence in him as a mentor.
It was easy to give those Invigorating speeches. It was entirely different for him to hold to the words that came out of his mouth at times. At one time, he wanted to be Hokage with every fiber of his being; after getting his slice of humble pie, being in such a disposition wasn't what he thought it would be.
It was nerve-racking and full of trepidation for those that may or may not return the next day. This guilt already burrowed deeply in his heart for those that didn't make it chastised his emotions at times. Much like someone getting poked with a sharpened stick that you couldn't block or avoid.
His long-time lazy friend would always say it was 'Troublesome' to a capital T.
"Sometimes, I do wonder if you would've still taken the position as the next Hokage. If your past self knew what you knew right now?" Kurama rumbled out, starting a conversation with his container. Sensing the elder blond needed something to focus his mind on, then pacing around in a worrisome mood all night.
Welcoming the momentary distraction, even if it was fleeting. Naruto inwardly replies with an upbeat yet equally exhausted tone. 'If I could go back and tell my kid self how being a leader was, I would've told him to find something else to do. This leadership stuff is for the birds!'
"That is the sacrifice you have to make to be the one in charge. Everyone looks to you to make decisions that balance on a razor's edge between life and death. Everyone expects you to have the master plan or be in the stages of such a plan while siding with each member when they argue or fight with someone else."
'Yeah… ...I truly miss the days when I could just run rampant across the village and pull pranks.' Naruto thought muse fully days long gone. 'I guess I should've listened to others when they said being the one to bare everything on your shoulders isn't for the faint of heart. Now, I kind of regret not looking into it more before diving headlong into things….'
Sakura and Kakashi kept him in check. Now, he hated that there weren't many alternatives for him, outside of just surviving. He was in a world where Chakra didn't exist if you counted the old Japanese teachings, myths, and fables.
Everyone here had limits; even highly trained humans wouldn't be able to compete with a well-rounded Genin. There was no big bad guy like the ones he ran into as a kid. You were either a survivor or one of the countless zombies that stumble across the land.
It admittedly showed how much he was pampered with the missions he took and the countries he saved. He was so used to being the hero, and right now. This decadent world needs more than a mere hero…
Even if he could clear out all the zombies worldwide, it wouldn't do anything to change how much humanity has fallen. Everyone wanted to be the ruler of the world; they had very little care for how they got into such a position of power. In hindsight, the undead kept humans in check without someone growing out of control; everyone had to band together and work for the common goal of seeing the next sunrise.
Shido Koichi, of all people, had shown him that even the everyday average Joe could be so dead set on ruling the masses that they would do whatever it takes. If the world had to burn for such an ambition to be fulfilled, Naruto wouldn't have been surprised to see the man running around, dousing everything in fuel and lighting the match himself.
"Kid, take it from me." The fox reverberated with empathy in his deep voice. "What you see now has been going on since the day you apes first set foot out of caves or trees. Humans will fight one another even when the world around them is falling apart. Hell, even when Kaguya decided to be the sole monarch of our world that people kept killing one another. Even when she set down her laws and decrees, people resisted, continuing to bleed one another. It wasn't until they finally recognized that she was a threat that any measure of force couldn't overcome, they eventually fell in lines like good boys and girls."
Taking a breath to allow Naruto a moment to digest everything that was said so far, the ancient being spoke once more in a more encouraging tone of voice. "You need to stop languishing about everything and only focus on your beloved people that will remain at your side. Not to be a dick or anything, it will work itself out. You have to be patient and allow them to grow under your watchful eye… You standing around beating your head against the post isn't helping you, nor anyone else if you end up losing your fighting spirit." With his piece said, the nine-tails cut the mental link between them to allow Naruto to ponder his words and hopefully give him that kick in the pants the Jinchuriki needed.
These people needed him to be at the top of his game, not fall into some brooding melancholy that would only end in tragedy and remorse for the former Shinobi.
'Heh, thanks for being such a friend Kurama… You furry pain in my butt at times.' He inwardly returned with a smile building upon his face. Even someone as hard-headed as him needed that knock between the eyes to keep himself on the upright and narrow.
"Naruto?" Alice's adolescent voice called out to him in care. "Are you ok?" she asked, after following the older man for a while and becoming concerned when he suddenly stared blankly off into space.
Shaking his head a few times, he turns and kneels to the girls' height before saying. "Yeah, I'm alright. I was thinking and had to come to grips with a few things. Even your goofy and downright handsome leader needs that moment to keep myself going!" He smirked while ruffling her hair a little.
She beams before grasping him by the hands as she tugged at them before saying. "I was told to come to find you and let you know dinner was ready! Everyone is already starting to come back to the dining room." She tugged on his hands a few more times, trying to get him going. "Come on, let's go eat!"
With Rei and Yuuki…
(Incomprehensible Gurgle)
(Wooden Ping Like Smack)
"Damn, did these things sprout out of the ground or something!?" A huffed reply from the bat swinger that continued to swing to the fences with the number of zombies that continued to thwart her path. She was leaving brain matter or other bodily fluids flying all over the place.
Giving a lunging half-rotted middle-aged man a rough shoulder into the chest, knocking it to the ground, Rei could only stare at her survival partner like she was an idiot before bringing the stiff rubble sole of the heel of her left foot down and smashing his face in. "You're asking me? I'm the one following you!"
Things were going from bad to worst, not with the overwhelming dead; It was a factor neither girl accounted for. Someone was following them and causing enough ruckus that it made their trip back home a living hell on earth. At first, it was subtle, a strange shadow here or there. Then the sudden pop of firecrackers or music blaring at random kept zombies coming like someone ringing a dinner bell.
The closer it got to nightfall, the more irritated the zombies became, even to the point some of them started to scurry to them in zombified power walks that made both of them nervous to no end. A normal undead was a chore to deal with alone as they always had numbers. To see one suddenly try to sprint and lunge at you in an agitated state made it even more problematic to deal with.
They knew something was going on, that some kind of change was happening, and redoubled their efforts to get home. Smashing a rotted skull with all her worth that showered her outfit in gore, Yuuki tries to take a moment to get a feel for her surroundings. She knew they wouldn't get back to the farm tonight, so she hastily looked for whatever could act as a haven for the night. She could faintly make out an alleyway, peering through a small hole within the approaching horde.
Grey clouds loomed overhead, while thunder rolled into the far distance, as a steady drizzle fell on the municipality below. The constant rain only served to block their path with yet another challenge to overcome.
If only stress about zombie bites were the least of the duo's worries.
"Quick, though the opening! If we allow them to compact us, we're screwed!" The short-haired redhead exclaimed, trying to raise her voice over the loud moans and groans while quickly pointing to the alleyway.
"Right!" Rei agreed.
Spinning the wooden bat in hand, she rushed forward, holding the club low in a two-handed grip, and processed to smash the knee cap of every zombie that tried to swipe with their boney-rotted hands or lunge. They had to keep pushing forward; all she had to do was make it like a mantra with how she moved her body and swung the bloody wooden club. She was the dancer, and the zombies were the Incompetent partner that wanted to step on her toes.
Inch by Inch, she kept swinging, Ignoring the wail-like drones of the half-eaten corpses that hit the ground with a thud. While her companion followed closely behind, trying to avoid the grabby rotting arms and hands that endeavored to grasp at her ankles for that momentary relapse of judgment to seal her fate.
"Fuck I'm tired!" Yuuki barked, amidst her smashing the thigh of the approaching cadaver with a satisfying snap. "Next time-" She tried to say before having to dodge another sloppy lunge all the while; she swung in a spin, hitting it behind the knees and knocking it down. "I'm carrying the loot!"
Pushing another zombie away, Rei could only respond with heightened cynicism of their situation and a roll of her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, cry me a river, why don't you? You were the one that wanted to go all hulk smash on these things. I was the one that offered to be the bodyguard in the first place!"
"You can take the ridicule and go fuck yourself, Miyamoto!"
"Why would I do that when we have someone back at the farmstead that can do that for me?"
"Like he would give it to you, and even if he wanted to. You wouldn't have a clue on how to use it!"
Rei grinned a little at the barb, she knew she was getting onto Yuuki's nerves, and usually, a pissed-off Miku meant more foot to rotted ass!
"It's not like he's a blushing schoolboy. I know he's more than willing to teach me. I have always been a straight-A student~." She teased, knowing that her fellow redhead had been trying to get into Naruto's pants since they left Japan. "It would be such a shame if you somehow got bit and died without knowing if he could fulfill those moans I hear of you at night!"
Her eyes widened before narrowing as Yuuki gripped the handle until her knuckles turned white. A scowl-like sneer firmly planted upon her face, her brow twitched uncontrollably, as she felt her second wind. "Oh, fuck you!" Smashing one zombie in the face while she prepares to swing again, "If anyone is getting with him first. It's going to be ME!" As she goes postal on, everything that moves with how loud wood against flesh and bone started to resound throughout the entire area.
'That seems to work all the time~' Rei thought to herself, quite pleased while she watched the carnage unfold in front of her.
Random Alleyway…
"Quick up the ladder!"
(Wooden Thunk)
"Than what are you waiting for, Miyamoto? An invitation? Get your ass up there already! You're the one carrying all the goods!"
"Excuse me for trying to be a team player!"
"That doesn't work when we're in the midst of a sandwich!"
Rei quickly makes her way to the overhang and starts to climb the ladder, with Yuuki still in the middle of fending off the approaching dead.
"Alright, I made it up. Get your rear in gear and get up here!"
With one more wack of her bat onto the nearest skull causing it ultimately to snap in half from all the abuse, She takes what's left of the handle. And shoves it roughly into the face of another fast-approaching zombie as she gives it a hard shove into the chest that causes it to stumble backward into the growing crowd.
"Right! I'll be right up!"
Turning heel quickly, she sprints to the ladder, placing one foot after the other as the horde quickly swells the entire alleyway. She kicks away a few hands that tried to grab her ankles amidst her climb to safety, with some of them tearing at her jeans with their decayed boney fingers. With her finally up onto the platform with her running mate, she collapses onto her back entirely spent from the Ideal, breathing heavily from exhaustion.
"...Next time... ...Paunchy does all the damn running..."
While she wanted to scold her friend for making fun of Kohta, Rei couldn't help but giggle to herself at the mental image of him trying to do all the gymnastics without keeling over from fatigue and fighting a horde head on to escape.
Her laughter was shared with her partner that once again, they could laugh wholehearted at death, for today, it wouldn't get its pound of flesh. Through grit and a strong will to fight, they earned another day to see the sunrise once again in an already dying world.