Another Run

Hikigaya Hachiman POV

Yawn. Reach out. Hit nothing. Too far. Fall. Thump.

Those were the actions taken by me to reach for my imaginary alarm clock until I hit empty air and gracefully fell down on the floor. Hard.

I groaned into the floor, lying on the cold marble slates belly first. What a great day to start my day. And yes, that was sarcasm.

I pushed myself off the floor and stood up, feeling my muscles groan and ache at the movement. My eyes were still blinking and in pretty sure that if I had a mirror, faint eye bags would be seen. My throat was dry from sleeping with my mouth open and I felt pain rise up whenever I swallowed.

Ah, well, I've faced worse than a dry throat. With a start, I started to neaten myself and make sure nothing was missing. Gun, check. Ammo, check. Knife, check. After checking the rest of my items, I did some warm-ups and stretches like I always did. I still can't believe a worldwide disaster had to happen to finally convince me to stop being a couch potato.

After my exercises, I walked towards the door and threw it open, causing a BANG sound to occur from it hitting the door frame. I walked downstairs quietly, my feet lightly stepping on the steps before lifting themselves back up. Sneaking around was a useful skill I developed and I often used naturally. Looks like 'Stealth Hikki' was upgraded.

As I strolled down the stairs, I yawned and stretched my arms upwards. I guess I haven't fully recovered. "Komachi!", I called out, "Is brea-?"

When I got to the bottom floor, the first thing I noticed was the red couch. There, on that couch, was a brown lump rising and falling. Because of the way it was positioned, I couldn't see what it looked like, but it set me on guard anyways. One too many surprises have made me wary of what they could contain.

As quietly as I could, I slowly crept towards the unidentified mass, taking out my pistol. I tried my best to stop panicking and calm down. What was that thing? Where was Komachi? What if-? No, Hachiman, think positively!

Sadly, thinking positively was never my strong suit.

My mind still in turmoil with these thoughts, I quietly approached the couch, aiming my pistol at it carefully. My palms were sweaty and I was shaking slightly, but I forced myself to keep on moving.

When I reached the couch, I could see the object clearer. It actually wasn't a brown object, but a brown blanket on top of an object. I sighed in relief, lowering my gun I was holding in both of my hands but quickly raised it up again. I reasoned to myself the logic that just because something isn't something, it doesn't mean that it's the opposite or another thing. I almost led myself to believe that although it wasn't a brown thing, that didn't mean it wasn't one of… them.

I gulped and steadied my hands. I reached out with my left hand, my right one still holding the trigger, and flipped the blanket up. There, sleeping underneath it, was a brown-haired girl dressed in camo-clothes and laying on her side, her hands being used as a pillow for her head. Snoring quietly, the ahoge on her head swayed left and right like a cat tail.

For the second time that day, I sighed and dropped my hands, letting them loosely limp on my left and right. Nothing bad had happened and everyone was here, so that's a relief.

I shook the girl, who yawned and turned her body 180 degrees. "5 more minutes.", she murmured, before promptly snoring again.

I shook her even more. "Komachi.", I told her, "Get up. It's morning already."

Komachi yawned and turned her head, squinting her eyes. "Got it, Onii-", she said, before opening them wide open and tumbling out of the couch. "Ahhh! Fish!", she yelled.

"Where?!" I turned around and saw nothing, before the pain assaulted the back of my head and caused me to land face-first onto the floor.

As I said, it's a great way to start my day.

"Sorry, Onii-chan!"

Komachi served me breakfast while apologising to me. I could have gotten my own plate of food or help her cook, but the headache I was experiencing was everything but comfortable.

"Komachi, what's with the sudden attack? I really thought there was a fish."

"Ah, Onii-chan, I saw your eyes and freaked out a bit. Heh heh." Sticking your tongue out and punching your head doesn't earn any points.

"Again with the eyes. Do they really look like ones you see from a dead fish?"

From my childhood all the way to now, I was well aware that my eyes were the symbol of rottenness and creepiness. My only concern was that they were enough to make my imouto panic.

"Not that much. But, like, it's as though you're like one of those battle-hardened warriors."

Really?

"But more like the ones you see on the dead bodies."

If hope was a pancake, mine would be so flat it would be invisible from the side. Then, it would be eaten by some unsuspecting person or animal who just so happened to walk by.

Komachi, noticing my distress, came over and hugged me around my neck from behind. "Don't worry Onii-chan!", she chirped, "You'll always have me!"

"You always know how to lighten up the mood, don't you?"

After our usual breakfast conversation, we set up to do our morning work. Komachi was in charge of checking the house for any weak points, breaks or anything of the sort. She was also inspecting our supplies, in case we had a need for anything. Meanwhile, I went up to my room and started to prepare for my run.

I started to wear the rest of my clothes, since I slept in most of them during the night. Putting on my gear and weapons were a hassle, but I managed to do it. At least, I hoped I did. Mistakes made these days had a far worse penalty than being reprimanded or grounded.

I didn't have any clothes like the ones the army personnel wore, so that left me wearing everyday clothes. I also didn't have any of the fancy gadgets you see on TV, such as night-vision goggles or grappling hooks. I did, however, obtain some army gloves and boots I looted off of some dead bodies. I walked towards the desk, my green journal still open with its page flipped to the latest entry. I arranged the items on the table and started to grab the ammo, refilling my guns with them.

After the last bullet was done, I headed downstairs and walked towards the door, where Komachi lunged at me and hugged me tightly. "Be safe, okay?", she whispered into my ear, her voice full of concern.

I hugged her back. "I'll be back before lunch."

I walked outside and closed the brown, battered door behind me, with the waving of Komachi the last thing I saw before the door snapped shut.

The weather still hadn't changed much. More or less, it was the same. White snow covered the ground and buildings, restricting movement across the terrain. Snow fell wildly, the small blizzard wrecking its wrath across the earth. Hey, what about us humans?

A thick layer of snow could be seen on the roads, heading in all directions. It lay untouched and undamaged, having gathered up over the past few days. With no one walking around and cleaning up the snow, it seized and marked its territory, which was essentially the whole place.

The coldness started to affect me, causing my hands and legs to shiver. I wrapped my arms around myself and pulled my jacket so that it covered me more. I also flipped up my hoodie so that it protected my head against the downfall of frozen water vapour. You'd think that growing up and living in weather like this would make me immune to it or develop some kind of resistance, but noooo. You thought wrong.

Grumbling to myself, I trudged forwards down the road, moving slowly as my boots delved deep into the snow with every step I took. I left imprints of footsteps into the snow, making another one with each right and left leg I put forward. As I plodded through, I wondered how we ended up like this. By 'we', I was referring to the earth and every single person who had lived on it.

The second mistake I made this day, the first being my turning my back on Komachi, was to naively think that my footsteps would leave a trail back to the house. In my confidence, I turned around… only to see nothing but another thick layer of snow like the one that lay ahead of me.

"Damn it.", I thought. "Why did I think it could work? You Hachiman, Hachiman!"

Already in the first 20 minutes of my run and I already considered giving up. I steeled my nerves and prepared to move on. I had been on hundreds of other runs before and this one is no different! I kept moving forward despite my heavy challenges and kept searching.

The first incident I encountered was a convenience store up ahead with the lights on. Now on a normal day, with adults rushing to work and teenagers walking to school, this would be a normal sight. But right now, in the post-apocalyptic world, it only made me grow suspicious.

If the lights were on, then wouldn't that mean somebody turned them on? Whoever did this was stupid to think it was a good idea. Lights attract them and sometimes, even in large numbers. Not wanting to risk getting to near, I was about to turn back until something caught my eye.

For a moment, from the corner of my eye, I saw movement happen inside the store. Wait no, outside. Someone slipped behind the store and disappeared from my line of sight. It could have been my imagination, but I was 89% sure someone was there.

I considered rushing there and look for that person, but I came to my senses. No matter who it was, I wouldn't risk my life for them. Their problem, not mine. If it was Komachi though, I would have probably run there, guns blazing everywhere American-style.

So, ignoring the situation, I calmly headed on my way. I still had my objective in my mind, and that was to gather more supplies and come back to Komachi alive. Wait for me!

And so, I missed the watchful gaze of the mysterious figure.

My grey watch was telling me it was 11:00 am, which left me roughly around an hour to get back to the house in time for lunch. Considering the fact my footsteps would already have been filled up with snow and lost, all I could do was wait in a random building until the blizzard ended or make my way back. Being the sometimes-confident person I am, I chose the latter.

I was fairly certain I could get back since I remembered some landmarks on my path. The red wall, the broken statue… oh, and don't forget the convenience store with all its flashy lights.

I was able to find some canned food, but that's all. No materials or weapons. Luckily, the food was canned food, so I was able to stuff a bunch of them into my very heavy bag. Komachi, I hope you're fine with having tuna and vegetables tonight.

I also didn't manage to find any animals running around, like a deer or a rabbit. Shame we can't have any freshly cooked rabbit stew tonight. There's always tomorrow though.

Taking extra care to walk next to the buildings instead of in the middle of the street, I trudged and trudged and trudged, certain objects around me becoming familiar once I saw them.

There it was, the convenience store! Surprisingly, it hadn't been attacked yet and was still in good shape despite the lights being on. Well, let's get goi-.

I suddenly started to cough and hack violently. A strong smell assaulted my nostrils and I fought to stay conscious. What was happening? I didn't hear anything, so did what happened? I looked for the source of the odour when I saw it.

A small, silvery-grey canister was lying behind me. It was shaped like a smaller fire extinguisher, yet you didn't need to hold down the handle for the foam to come out. I saw what was coming out of it and felt fear rise up within me.

Nothing. I couldn't see anything rising up from the small canister. It looked as though it was empty and all the contents inside, if there were any to begin with, were already gone. In fact, it could actually have been a harmless prank to any observer or onlooker.

The only thing was that I had already smelled it before. And I knew exactly what it was.

In my panic, I rushed to get shelter next to the building, my heart thumping in fear. If I could, I would be sweating buckets right now, but it was too cold for me to actually do that. When I got there, I crouched down and brought out my machine gun. I quickly scanned my surroundings, looking for any signs of danger, when I saw it.

A tiger was heading towards the canister. I felt a small part of me felt relieved since it was only one tiger. Now if there were more, I would have a problem, but I could fairly handle one.

The tiger sprinted towards the canister and growled, touching it with its paw. Strange. The gas didn't attract mammals. Only insects and arachnids. So what was it doing here? It's possible it could have smelled the gas and decide to investigate, but why a tiger? What was a tiger doing in Japan? Some sort of experiment, perhaps?

It continued to play with the canister, hitting it and wondering what the heck it was. I got up to my feet, my gun still aimed at it, and slowly moved away. I still had questions lingering in my mind, but I was too afraid to find out the answer. Where did the canister come from? Who threw it? Was someone trying to kill me?

I had to hurry. Get away from this place. Suddenly, I noticed some bricks fall down on the street, as though they came from above. I looked up, causing my heart to fill with dread at what I saw.

A dark, long and sharp object came down on the tiger, trapping it on where it stood.

SHINK! The tiger howled in pain and attempted to run away, but the object, whatever it was, held it in place. It was struggling vigorously against the grip, until it was lifted up into the air, experiencing a once-in-a-lifetime experience that was extremely rare. The tiger continued to struggle and wrench itself free from the vice-like grasp, until the last sight it saw was an open mandible heading towards it.

I watched in horror as a dark shape devoured the tiger from on top of the building, balancing itself. I couldn't see its details clearly due to the high amount of snow that was falling, but I could tell what it was from its shape.

A praying mantis. With its spines, it held the tiger in the air, all the while eating it as though it was a snack. I backed up and started to run. Sure, I had dealt with other insects before, but none of them were as big as that. Come on, hurry Hachiman!

The mantis screeched and descended, its legs piercing through the walls of the building and causing its walls to collapse and crumble. It headed towards the canister and kept piercing the area, screeching loudly as it could. Some of the arms also hit the convenience store, destroying the building and making it fall down in bricks and smoke.

I kept running as fast as I could through the thick snow, my legs carrying me away from the place. The view of the mantis slowly disappeared, along with all the wreckage and rubble from the destruction site. Once I presumed it was safe to rest, I stopped and put my hands on my knees, panting heavily.

I couldn't believe I just escaped from there. I thought there was no way out for me, and there wouldn't be if it noticed me. Heh heh, I guess I'm quite lucky. See Komachi, even your brother can have little mira-!

A THUMP sound came from behind me. Instinctively, I turned around and simultaneously grabbed my gun, pointing it towards whatever or whoever it was.

I stared at the ground, the source of the thump apparently coming from it. If this was some kind of cartoon, a question mark would be floating above my head.

In front of me, I was aiming at a pink-haired girl wearing a white lab coat.

I want to apologise for any inaccurate and incorrect statements I have made. Some stuff, like the tiger, won't be explained sometimes. Now for the praying mantis, I did my best to make my facts factually correct through some research. If anything's wrong, then feel free to message me or leave a review.

Also, I'm not the best at making clotheing descriptions, so please pardon that.

Bye.