"Ugh…I hate it here." It's been nearly four weeks since I've been stuck in this bed.
"You can only blame yourself, Onii-chan." I hear Komachi say, as she returns from getting us drinks. "Honestly, even with an answer to the question, I can't help but ask why you would jump into the street like that."
'My high school debut, ruined by a small dog. I always liked cats better anyway.' Opening the can of Max provided to me by my cute imouto, I feel the coffee blessed by the gods reach my taste buds. "Ahh…The Honey of the Heavens."
"I don't want any part of that Heaven." More for me. "Honestly Gomi-chan, Take that disgusting look off your face."
Choking on some of the blessed coffee, I shoot her a heatless glare. "Grk! …Oi! That is completely uncalled for! Minus 1000 Komachi points!"
"Hehehe, Dummy Onii-chan, Infinite minus 1000 is still infinite." She gives me a smug grin as she continues to giggle. 'Damn…She's right.'
Taking a few more sips from the can of coffee, I go into our usual routine of asking questions about each other's day. Not that my answers are all that interesting. "...I'm just happy to finally have freedom again soon…How about you? How was your day?" I ask.
"It was okay, nothing really happened. Oh! Actually, something really big did happen!" It better have not been a confession, Komachi is still too young to get hitched! Not until she's 60 or older! "I got invited into the Student Council!"
'Oh, That's a lot better than what I imagined.' Letting out a breath in relief, I give her the best proud parent look I can muster. Not that I have ever seen one. "Really? That's great Komachi, you've made your Onii-chan proud."
Komachi shoots me a suspicious look. "Who are you, and what have you done to my brother?" Eh? "My brother could never sound so cool and reliable!"
"You're lucky to be a cute little sister, because if you weren't…" I throw her a slightly threatening glare, as if to warn her. Dropping the glare once I think the message is received, I give her a softer look, as soft as my dead fish eyes can get. "So? What are you going to do now? Have you thought it over?"
"M-Mhm! I'm obviously going to join! This type of thing is really important for my future!" Good, One of us has to make our parents proud, and I'm pretty sure it's not me. "Also, this way you can have some free time for yourself, instead of having to go home immediately after school."
"Oi, that shouldn't be a reason to join. All chances of me being friends with anyone have already been crushed, so there won't be any reason for me to not be home by then."
"You could at least try, you know? Komachi gets worried about Onii-chan being friendless his entire life." She pouts at me, breaking my resolve quickly. "Just do it for me, okay? …Hehehe, that probably got me a lot of Komachi points, right?"
"And, you ruined it…But, I'll try." Our conversation dies, but I don't feel like sitting in silence, so I turn on the TV instead.
"Oh! Could you go to channel 108? I think a show I'm watching is on."
"Sure." Inputting her desired channel into the remote, a reality TV show is on. It only plays for a few moments, before cutting to our prime minister at a podium stand. 'Oh? What's this?'
"-o not open your doors to anyone. I repeat, Japan has gone into a state of emergency, everyone must stay in their home until further notice."
The footage cuts off there, as the screen goes into static. "Onii-chan? What was that?" Looking towards Komachi, I find her with a worried expression on her face.
"I…I don-" I'm cut off as a bone chilling scream sounds out from outside the building. Leaving us both in silence.
Looking to the door, we hear some shuffling start to get further away. Until it's completely quiet again. "Komachi, we need to get home."
"Eh? But you're still recovering!" I don't say anything, as I hear the same shuffling start to come close. It stops at our door for a moment, looking towards Komachi, I hold a finger up to my mouth to keep her quiet.
Whoever it is that stopped outside the door, quickly moves on as another yell sounds out. Once it's quiet again, I address Komachi's response. "I'm one day away from release, I'll be fine, but we need to get home now, you heard the prime minister. Something's happened or is happening, and I'll feel safest with both of us being home." I whisper, as to not catch the attention of the wanderer in the hall.
Getting out of the hospital bed, I notice I'm still in a hospital gown. "Oh. Give me a second, I need to change. Grabbing my clothes from where a nurse had previously stored them, I notice Komachi already looking away.
Hospital Room
It didn't take long for me to change, fortunately nothing happened while I changed, I think. Komachi won't look me in the eye though. "Let's go."
"Y-Yeah…" Sliding the door open, I peek down the hallway for any sign of…Well, anything really.
I don't find anyone, but the blood stains on the floor don't comfort me in the slightest. 'Did they spill a blood bag?' Under that assumption, I lead Komachi to an exit I used a few times to hang out outside.
Thankfully, Noone stops us as we exit the building safe and sound. "Onii-chan, I brought the bike today, we should go get it." I hear Komachi mutter from behind me.
Listening to her, we approach the bike rack and unlock my bike. 'I wonder where that scream came from…' Getting on, I start to pedal with relative ease.
Exiting the hospital grounds, I rely on Komachi to give me directions. The ride is mostly silent as Komachi holds me tightly.
'It's been nearly five minutes, and we still haven't seen any signs of human life.' Sure there have been a few cars here and there, but they have all been crashed or abandoned.
The quiet neighborhood we were just in soon started to change into a more city-like environment. Just up ahead is a crowd of people…rioting? Stopping a couple meters away from them, I notice they're trying to get into the building by hitting their body against the door?
"What the hell?" My words seem to garner some of their attention as they turn to face me. The reveal of their bloody and injured bodies terrifies me as they start to approach groaning in a frenzy.
""RRRRAAAHHH!!""
They all seem to roar out in unison, as I put my feet to work, making a great distance in no time. "O-Onii-chan? Wh-What was that?!" I can feel Komachi shake as she continues to hug me from behind.
"I…I don't know." I can feel myself shake as well, but my focus on keeping us safe is keeping me calmer than I probably should be. "The house isn't too far now, don't worry." My words of comfort seem to work their magic, as Komachi's shaking is reduced to a minimum.
Hikigaya Household
Closing the door behind me, the lack of our parents shoes in the entrance confirms a suspicion of mine. Heading for the home phone, due to mine being destroyed in the accident. I call my mother's cell.
It rings twice, before I finally get an answer.
"Komachi? Is that you?!" My mother practically yells into the phone.
"It's me Mom." I respond, as I see Komachi start to approach me.
"Hachi? Is your sister there?" What's happening? Why does she sound so panicked?
"Yeah, she's here. Mom, what's happening over there?"
"Oh, Hachi…You and Komachi stay put, okay? Know that your father and I love you both dearly." I can hear distant yelling from her side. 'Just what is happening?'
"Mom? Tell me what's happening? Why won't y-" I lost connection. Dialing her phone again, I am instantly taken to voice-mail. Trying my father's cell, I achieved the same result. "Tch…"
I finally hear Komachi speak after what seems like hours. "Onii-chan. What did they say?"
"They…They said they'll take a while, but they're coming." I know I shouldn't lie, I know she'll figure out I lied, but what else can I do?
"Oh. Okay." She goes quiet again, as she suddenly hugs me.
"Komachi?!"
"It's obvious, isn't it? I mean what else could it be?" Yeah… "...I'm scared."
Hugging her back, I feel her tears start to stain my clothes, not that I cared. 'Komachi, I promise…
…I will protect you.'
To Be Continued..?
Mostly just testing the waters on this, if it's well received I'll try to continue it. If not, well it's not a bad one-shot.
Zombie Apocalypse? How original.
Also, check out the Genuine Route, my magnum opus.
Buh-Bye
