Chapter 7: Sibling Reunion

We spent some twenty minutes in that store, before I decided that it was time to leave. Iroha protested as she wanted to keep looking for clothes, but a little threat about leaving her behind was enough to shut her up. I guess the clean clothes finally snuffed her anger about the guts incident.

In any case, we have left our dirty school uniforms behind. Now, I am wearing clothing that is easier to move in, and upon my recommendation, Iroha chose the same. Basically, we wear the type of clothing that allows for easy movement, is fairly warm, and comfortable. In other words, its tracksuits, the type of clothing usually worn within the Hikigaya household. The tracksuit I picket is black, while Iroha's is grey.

Now that the apocalypse has begun, I am free to wear whatever I want, anywhere I want, so why not choose something that makes me feel at home?

Unfortunately, even a tracksuit can be uncomfortable at times. Especially when it is wet. No clothes are comfortable when they are wet.

In this case, I'm talking about rain. As we began to get near my home, it began to rain. I hate rain, especially during the apocalypse. Even more so, because prolonged exposure to it can lead to catching a cold.

Please, stop raining already!

The rain is the least of our hurdles though, as there are zombies to worry about. As I and Iroha are cycling towards my house, we must do so while passing dozens of those things. Some get close and we kill them with a quick strike to the head, while others we avoid entirely. We try to be quiet though, it would be problematic to have them chase us all the way to the house, where we would be trapped then.

"!"

I finally catch a glimpse of my home in the distance. I can't help but smile in relief at that. Determination fills me, and I force my exhausted body to quicken the pace.

"Iroha! It's the white building to the left! It's the one right after the brown one!" I shout only loud enough for Iroha to hear me through the rain. I am not foolish enough to allow my excitement to get the better of me.

"Got it, senpai!"

Before long, we reach my home. We enter the gates, leave the bicycles by the fence, and go for the door.

"...It's locked, huh." I sigh. Komachi must have locked herself in when all this madness started. She ought to have seen the news, at least I think there was news about this. If not, perhaps she heard the disaster going on outside, and locked herself in out of fright?

In any case, I search my pocket, and find my very own key. Thankfully I hadn't dropped it as I had with my phone.

I unlock the door with restless hands, and then pass the key to Iroha.

"Make sure you lock the door after yourself."

Receiving her nod, I quickly rush upstairs, to Komachi's bedroom.

"Komachi! Komachi, are you here!? It's me, Hachiman!"

I break into her room with a beating heart – only to freeze in place. She is there, sleeping on her bed, with a kitchen knife laying next to her. She must have brought it here in case a zombie broke in and made it here, and then fell asleep at some point.

I fall to my knees in relief.

"Komachi... I made it." Finally, I can feel my stress and worry subside.

Not wanting to wake her up, I leave the bedroom and close the door after myself, though not before flashing her a relieved smile.

The reunion can wait a bit. She needs the rest, I won't deprive her of it now.

And so I head downstairs.

Seated in the living room on the couch, I and Iroha await for Komachi to wake up. At some point, we changed our clothing, and hanged the wet tracksuits to dry. I now wear my old dark-green tracksuit, and Iroha wears some of my own clothes – black shorts and a sweater. Although I could've given her some of Komachi's clothes instead, we agreed that we'll wait for Komachi to wake up and ask it herself, rather than take them ourselves.

"It's already been an hour. Komachi-chan's sure a long sleeper, huh." Iroha utters, with boredom in her voice. With the TV not working, as anything powered by electricity does, we have no choice but to sit here and do nothing. Seems like she wants to make conversation. Feeling bored as well, I see no reason to not indulge her in this.

"She usually wakes pretty early though. It's me whose the real sleeper here. She's the one to wake me up for school usually."

"I guess the apocalypse coming true really tired her out, huh?"

"Well, she does also have a cold. She needs all the rest she can get."

She falls quiet for a minute or so. As I begin to wonder if the conversation is over, she finally speaks.

"...You really are kind, senpai." she says so more as a murmur to herself than I, but I have to disagree regardless.

"Not really. Its because we're family. Its the duty of an older brother to look after his little sister."

"And yet you saved me too."

"That was pure selfishness."

"Senpai, you-" Iroha says so with an exasperated tone, but does not get to finish her sentence, for the sound of footsteps coming from upstairs reaches us.

""!""

Turning quickly towards the source, I await the only person who could be responsible for that sound with a beating heart.

"Mmm..." arrives Komachi, rubbing her sleepy eyes, a dazed expression on her face. One would think that her guard has been lowered, if not for the knife in her hands. Even when sleepy, she made sure to bring it with her. Either the zombies freaked her out to that extent, or she had a very bad nightmare.

She finally looks at us, and falls silent.

"Um... Hi, Komachi." I rise my hand in a soft greeting.

She looks at me for a good minute or two, rubbing her eyes to confirm whether this sight before her is reality, dream, or a hallucination, probably.

Eventually, the knife slips from her grasp, hitting the floor, and a torrent of emotions flashes throughout her face.

"Ah, ahh... Onii-chan!" finally accepting my presence as reality, she erupts with joy, and teary eyed rushes towards me, embracing me in a tight hug.

She cries in relief and joy, and I can't help but return the hug with a smile.

"I, I thought you...! I thought...! Aaaahhhh!"

(Let it out Komachi. This is no dream, I'm really here, as I promised I would be.)

"It's alright Komachi. I'm really here."

"Uuu..." it takes some time, but eventually she leaves my embrace.

"...What took you so long? I thought you were gone." she finally manages to say, wiping away her tears.

"Well, about that..." I trail off in search for an explanation, before we are interrupted by a third party.

"Ahem!" Iroha coughs in her fist.

"Aren't you forgetting to introduce someone, senpai~?"

"Huh?" Komachi finally notices Iroha, and looks at me questioningly.

"Ah, right. Komachi, this is Iroha Isshiki. She's a first year at Sobu. She helped me find you." Well, less than help, she just tagged along with me. Rather, didn't she just force me to take her with me? So far, has she actually helped me with anything at all?

"Nice to meet you, Komachi-chan! I've heard only great things about you from senpai!" says Iroha with a cutesy smile.

Komachi looks at her, then at me, then at her, and then back at me. Settling her gaze on me, she flashes a dangerous smile – a smile that if translated into words, would no doubt say "You have a beautiful girl accompanying you? And what's with "senpai~"? I want all the details, mister!" or something along those lines. Knowing her, she will probably attempt to hook us up. This has happened in the past as well much to my annoyance. She really wants me to have a girlfriend doesn't she?

I merely sigh tiredly at that.

"I'm Hikigaya Komachi, nice to meet you, Iroha-senpai! I hope my brother hasn't been a trouble. No, he definitely has, hasn't he?"

"You know it! He's been a real slave driver too!"

And so the two of them enter a long and uncomfortable (for me, at least) chat.

I left the two girls to chat back at the living room, and enter my bedroom. It is the same as I left it, a bed, a desk with a computer on top of it, a closet, and a shelf bearing all kinds of books and light novels.

I feel the exhaustion from the long trip finally catch up with me in full, and tiredly fall with my back on the bed.

"...What's the matter? Cat caught your tongue?" I finally say, to the companion that has accompanied me all the way to Komachi. And I am not talking about Iroha.

"You know what you must do, Hachiman." that accursed hallucination has never left me. It has constantly been near me. Even when I reunited with Komachi, it was always there. Only now do I bother to address it, for the first time in a while that it has decided to shut up. Ever since I entered this house, it has not uttered a single word up until now, merely watching me with that mad smile on its face.

However, this time, I cannot merely brush away its words.

"...I know." I utter, feeling defeated. I know what it is I must do, how else will I protect Komachi in this dangerous world?

A time where weapons and men won't be enough, a time where there will be no escape from the monsters that now rule this world. Only one thing comes to mind that could save Komachi from such a thing.

As far-fetched and delusional it might sound – its magic.

I stand up, and walk towards my closet. I open it, and kneeling down I retrieve a carboard box I had hidden deep within.

With a trembling breath and fingers, a minute passes, but I eventually manage to overcome my doubts and open the box.

A golden, pointy crown is there. Three rubies as red as blood are etched upon its surface. While I could not sense it the first time I held it, now I feel power emitting from it. The power of magic, the power that holds absolute control over ice and snow.

"...Damn you."

"Soon enough you will thank me, my lord." and with those final words, the hallucination vanishes into nothingness.

"!"

How strange, it has never disappeared like this. However, I can't help but feel that I won't be seeing this hallucination again. Could it be that it was born simply to bring me back to the crown, to make sure that I wear it again?

"So this is as far as I go, huh?"

And so I sit there, in complete silence. I have suffered yet another defeat in this life. However, it is a small price to pay. After all, I am a veteran, the best there is when it comes to losing.

And for the sake of those I cherish, I will lose as many times as it takes.