Kirito peeped his head out from the door frame and looked around, making sure the coast was clear. No one else was in he house with him, nor did he ever hear the breaking of glass or wood inside the house, but taking precautions was a must. He stepped out into the hall, making his way towards the front door. Looking through the peephole, he inspected the outside surroundings.
Completely barren, he thought. Who was pounding on my door? Should I step outside and call for help?
-No, Kirito replied to himself. Going out there would be putting my life in grave danger, and making noise would just attract the attention of the simple minded beings lurking in the streets. But the voice calling.. Where did she go?
As if to answer his question, a quick figure quietly landed infront of the door, seemingly jumping off the roof. The person quickly turned and stared through the peephole into Kirito's eyes. Kirito stumbled back, nearly loosing his balance. He quickly recovered, and realized that someone- or something- was outside, wanting to be let in.
Do I open the door?
Kirito took a step back. He had no way of knowing whether the figure outside was human or not. For all he knew, the girl standing outside could have been one of the undead, similar to the one that chased him around days before.
My survival is all that matters. If the person outside this very door is really one of those things, I'll have no way to defend myself. I can't risk it.
Putting his thoughts aside, he turned away from the door and took a step back towards his room, until a voice interrupted him.
"Whoever's in there, please listen.." A soft, almost melodic voice whispered. Her tone was quiet, sobs scattered between words. Kirito froze, his eyes widening.
"I'm scared.. My family is dead, all my friends are gone.. Please help.." She plead, fear evident in the words she spoke. All of Kirito's fears faded away with that call for help. If he was gonna die, he would die helping another person rather than turning his back on someone in need. He turned his body around and unlocked the door, turning the knob and pulling. The girl fell through the door frame onto him, her honey brown her gracefully following. Kirito pulled he close as he stepped to the side, closing the door and resetting the lock.
Asuna Yuuki. That was the name of the mysterious girl with honeybrown hair and matching eyes, curled up in a blanket at the corner of Kirito's bed. He had yet to actually communicate with her, besides the usual 'What's you're name?' and 'Are you okay?'. She was around his age and was wearing a school uniform similar to his, munching on the nuts offered to her by Kirito.
Kirito didn't know what to think of the situation. Here he was, helping a girl who was in a higher grade than him. If the circumstance were normal, he'd probably be titled a loser for attempting to even be on the presence of an upperclassmen. But now that the tables have turned, the few amount of people that were still alive at this point had no choice but to stick together to ensure survival.
Kirito looked at the girl and realized something that hadn't come to mind until then; she was awfully beautiful. Her long, honeybrown hair perfectly corresponded with her pale skin, and her delicate build made her seem almost fragile.
I guess the situation at hand has distracted me from the little things.
Another though occurred to Kirito; he knew absolutely nothing about this girl, except her name.
"S-So, Asuna," He started, catching the girl's attention. He himself was taken back, surprised at how smoothly her name rolled off his tongue, as if he's said it before. "What happened out there?"
Asuna finished the last of her nuts, hesitant to answer. Her hands slightly trembled. She took a moment to collect her thoughts, and looked up at the boy sitting across from her. Her eyes were filled with emotions, but Kirito struggled to read all of them.
"It's horrible," she started, unable to keep eye contact. She lowered her head. "Practically every intersection is run by them. The less densely populated areas are small neighborhoods, like these. The phone lines are no longer working and electricity has been cut. It's like the entire city was evacuated, abandoned."
"Why didn't you leave with everyone else?" Kirito asked, and immediately regretted it as her expression changed.
"Because if I did, I'd be like the people out there." Her eyes veered toward the barricaded window, referring to the undead outside. "I don't even know if calling them people would be the correct term anymore.."
That last part left an uncomfortable feeling in the atmosphere, making Kirito shuffle in place. He understood what she meant by the first part. The way the school had reacted when the mysterious man had revealed what had happened, it was like a wild stampede. Mayhem struck as the students all rushed out of their classes as teachers struggled to keep order in the facility. But even then.. Just the idea that the people they once communicated with, the ones they'd once call they're neighbors and friends, the policeman and teachers, they were all..
Kirito shook his head, stopping the train of thoughts that railed through. "What about the school? Have you been there since the incident?"
A slight gasp escaped her throat, her bottom lip quivering. ".. It's gone. I haven't seen another living from the school person in the past two days, let alone the city."
"!"
Kirito was dumbfounded. He figured the virus would spread, but he had no idea that it would completely take over the city in two days.
He brought his finger to his chin. "What kind of virus are we fighting.." He thought aloud.
"I don't know, but is it even possible to create such a thing?" She inquired.
"What do you mean?" He blinked.
"Well, it's like this. I don't know much about science or the way these things work, but to have a virus that doesn't just eat away at your body, but also alters your personality, motives, and state of mind.. Is that even possible?"
Kirito pondered for a little bit before finally giving an answer. "Yeah.. You're not wrong. To have a virus that can affect your body in multiple ways isn't uncommon, but the major changes the one virus does do are outstanding.. In other words, it isn't just giving you an overload of mucus or a bad case of the cough, but instead is completely altering the host's physical and mental state." He paused for a bit, seemingly putting more thought into his answer. "It would have to have different aspects of different viruses. Like a loss of hypothalamic functioning, which controls satiety. People with this kind of damage eat and drink nonstop.. Their extremely short attention span would likely be the result of damage in their parietal lobe. Simply put, the virus must be affection several parts of the brain rather than the body, possible eating away at the brain cells." Kirito concluded.
There was a long silence. Asuna registered the newly acquired information, making sense of what she could. She took a deep breath, and looked up at the boy who had come to her aid. "Thank you," she slightly smiled, "For saving me."
"U-Uh, sure." Kirito responded, caught off guard. It was the first time he's seen her smile, even if it was just slight. "Don't sweat it."
"I almost forgot to introduce myself," he continued. "I'm Kirito." He smiled, and stuck his hand out.
"K-Ki.. Kirito." She slowly said. "What a peculiar name." She giggled.
Kirito agreed, it was rather peculiar. He had no idea why, but he felt as if that wasn't his actual name, like if he had another alias of the sort.
"So Kirito," Asuna continued, regrettably. The air was cleared the moment before, and the little conversation they had beforehand was enough to add a feeling of relaxation, releasing a bit of pressure from the atmosphere. "What are we gonna do now.? I mean- we can't stay here forever."
Kirito nodded, cringing as slight flashbacks of the two days in which he consumed nothing but salted nuts. "Yeah, we don't have the great of a food supply here, plus there's no water. Also," He stared at the floorboards, gritting his teeth, "I can't just sit here and let people die.." A sudden anger overcame him as he clenched his fist in attempt to suppress it. "If I have to go another day helplessly stuck in this room.."
Asuna placed her hand on his shoulder, causing Kirito to unexpectedly flinch. "Hey there, relax a bit." She soothed. He looked up, staring into her auburn eyes. Her touch was comforting beyond belief, and the way the words left her lips left Kirito mesmerized, alleviating the anger he felt and instead replacing it with a feeling of slight serenity.
"I don't want to sit here and do nothing either. But it's scary out there, and a small break from it all would be great right now," Asuna continued. "Together, we'll stop this madness, and take down that final boss the man spoke of. But for now, let's rest up for a little bit."
Kirito looked into her eyes, his mouth slightly gaping. "O-Okay."