¡Here I present myself with the third extra chapter!
Remember that it's thanks to Lucario and Brian Oh that we had all these chapters in a row. If you want to be part of this too, then you can become a member of my Patre-on for a dollar and order an extra chapter of any story that is in development. You can find me there as: Jyanzein.
Before I start, I want to answer a review:
Vanhellsing9000: I'm so glad you're enjoying the chapters. I hope this chapter meets all the expectations you have.
Now yes, let's get started.
¡Enjoy!
The flames spread so much in that cold night that it allowed to illuminate the whole neighborhood and even beyond that. A couple of houses were burning while the sound of constant collapsing drew the attention of the infected, who by now were a huge horde occupying many streets.
From a slightly distant area, the whole group was eating in complete silence. The television was off, and the only sound present was the flames from a safe distance away, along with the occasional clatter of cutlery.
Everyone had bitter faces, but preferred not to comment on what had just happened.
In the end, Hirano couldn't take it any longer and dropped his fork, and tears began to fall from his face without stopping. Everyone watched that with great sadness and helplessness, as they didn't know what to say to him in a situation like this.
Everyone, except for one person.
"Hirano, I know there is nothing that can ease your pain." Saya placed a hand on his shoulder. "There are no words, actions or other fundamentals that can ease the loss of your family. But never forget that we will always be here for whatever you need." Saya squeezed his shoulder a little tighter, to which Hirano lifted his face.
Her tears stopped for a moment to look at Saya, who was giving her a cute smile.
"She's right." Saeko nodded from across the table, sketching a sympathetic smile.
Hirano's eyes widened slightly, and her face was forced to turn after feeling the other side of her shoulder being clutched as well. There stood his best friend Takashi, who didn't say a word, only responding in his own way with a nod cloaked in seriousness.
"Even if you don't have much confidence in us, we will also do our best to help." Hisashi clarified with a smile, to which Hirano looked at him.
Now he looked at everyone around the table, who were completely willing to help him, so the tears soon came again.
But this time, at least this cry no longer conveyed that feeling of extreme emptiness, but was intended to be an outpouring that, sadly, could perhaps never find an end.
"¡Thank you guys so much! ¡Without you, I...!" Hirano could say no more, as he choked back his tears. "¡Especially you, Saya-chan! ¡You're the light of my life!" The chubby boy hugged his girlfriend, to which she couldn't help but sob silently.
"Don't worry, I'll always be with you..." Saya felt her tears slipping away as she tried to comfort that person so important to her.
", ¿huh?" Takashi thought, sketching a faint smile as he rested his hand on his cheek.
Finally, his eyes met Saeko's, so she was quick to give him a cute smile.
"I think that's a pretty accurate way to describe it."
_ CHAPTER 15: ¡THE WARMTH OF OUR LOVE! _
Rei and Shizuka were cleaning the kitchen to distract themselves, Hisashi was resting in one of the many bedrooms while looking for some interesting new news from his cell phone, while Saya and Saeko were placing the last clean clothes on a makeshift clothesline in the living room, since that is where the only portable radiator of the apartment was located.
Saya looked at the balcony, her gaze fell noticeably when she fixed it on Hirano, who was standing guard on that cold night. Saeko placed a hand on her shoulder to soothe her, to which Saya could only respond with a sad smile.
Takashi, who was leaning back on the couch, watched the whole scene of the girls without saying a word. His face became a bit serious when he turned his gaze to his best friend, noticing how the chubby boy's hair fluttered in the cold breeze and he didn't even flinch.
Hirano looked back after hearing the sliding door move, noticing that it was Takashi. The chubby guy didn't say anything, all he did was reinforce his stance with the submachine gun as he looked down.
Takashi moved to his side and mimicked his action, though in his case he was holding the AUG that Hirano had lent him for this occasion.
"That's a lot of them." Takashi started the conversation, noticing that the street was almost full of zombies that kept wandering around.
"It will be impossible to get out tomorrow." Hirano gave his point of view to the situation, receiving a nod from Takashi.
"Now we could pretty much use that bus they took at the Academy." The brown-haired man stated.
"There's no use thinking about it anymore." Hirano shook his head.
"You're right." Takashi replied simply.
Although the current situation felt somewhat awkward, neither of them seemed to have any intention of being left alone.
"Well..." Takashi resumed speaking after a few seconds. "You know, like Saya said..." Takashi gave a slight sigh to calm himself down. "If you need to talk to someone, I'm here." He concluded, meeting Hirano's gaze.
"What I said before, I meant it..." Hirano gripped the submachine gun tighter as he lowered his gaze with great remorse. "I really... I'm really very lucky to have been able to meet you guys. You're the coolest people I've ever had the chance to meet. That alone is enough for me to keep me going." Hirano replied in a voice that was on the verge of cracking.
"For us, you are exactly the same. To me you are, believe me." Takashi shifted the AUG belt over his back. "¿You know what? ¡Come and give me a hug!" Takashi exclaimed with a toothy grin as he held out his arms to receive it.
"¡Damn it, Takashi!" The chubby boy cursed him in tears as he dropped his gun and hugged him tightly, letting his crying come out again.
Takashi responded the hug with a sympathetic smile as he did his best to calm him down a bit.
Saya and Saeko watched everything from inside, so they both looked at each other with a smile.
"¿Feeling better already?" Takashi asked as he watched Hirano break away after a few seconds.
"I think so..." Hirano brushed away the last of his tears and picked up his weapon again. "I wish I could be just as strong as you." The chubby boy's statement brought out a slight chuckle in Takashi.
"¿Me? ¿Strong? If I had lost my family, I think I'd be even worse off than you." Takashi admitted, then closed his eyes. "Besides, the reality is that I let myself be tormented by much simpler things."
"¿What do you mean by that?" Hirano looked at him rather curiously after asking the question.
"I recently realized one thing..." Takashi turned his gaze back inside the apartment, seeing that Saeko and Saya were still sorting clothes while talking and laughing with each other. "I thought it wasn't like before, but in the end I was refusing to accept such a clear truth for so long. And now that I've realized it I guess I'm afraid..." Hirano followed his gaze, and it didn't take long to decipher what was going on.
"¿Does that mean he's finally realized that he loves her?" Hirano thought rather surprised.
"To be honest, I don't know how I should deal with the situation. It's something I've never thought about until now." Takashi lowered his gaze a little after sharing his thoughts.
"¿Are you talking about a crush or something?" Hirano decided to be somewhat discreet even though he already knew the situation.
Takashi would probably feel pretty bad if he realized that it was always so obvious, even since before he realized how he felt about Saeko.
"¡Yeah, but-but it has nothing to do with some girl you know! ¡We're-we're talking about a foreigner!" Takashi exclaimed with palpable nervousness.
"Ah, I see..." Hirano replied with a forced smile on his face. "That's the worst lie I've heard in years." He thought to himself as he began to sweat.
"Well, the thing is, I became aware of my feelings because of certain recent circumstances..." Takashi turned his gaze to all the zombies, his eyebrows furrowed at the internal fight he was currently facing. "That foreign girl is quite famous and skilled, as well as very pretty and kind. That makes her have many suitors, and all of them are better than me. We have a very good relationship, but I'm perfectly aware that we'll never be together the way I want us to be." Takashi's look turned into a rather sad one at this point. "I think it's for that very reason that I tried to ignore these feelings as much as possible, but it became untenable since I love her too much. And now I find myself cornered, I don't know what I should do, I... I..."
"Takashi, if time has taught me anything it's that you are strong." Hirano interrupted him before he could withdraw further into himself. "And I'm not just talking about physical strength, but here as well." Hirano beat his chest with a smile at Takashi's surprise. "Without a doubt, you are the strongest man I know regarding that kind of strength. That's why I ask you to stop putting yourself down." Clarified the chubby man with a serious look at the end.
"¿So what am I supposed to do?" Takashi asked him pointedly.
"Your problem is that your previous experience with love makes you feel afraid, and that fear makes you feel weak. So you don't need to do anything." Hirano beat his chest again. "You just need to remember who you really are: someone truly strong who is capable of anything." Takashi widened his eyes after hearing his words.
"I think I get it..." Takashi placed a hand on his chin as he thought extremely hard. "Then what I should do is to turn away from her even if it's the most painful thing to do. After all, I would be able to endure it, and it would also be for my sake..." Takashi stopped his deductions when he saw that Hirano was looking at him as if he was a big idiot.
"¿Didn't you understand anything?" He scolded him.
"¿Huh?" Was the only thing that came out of Takashi's lips.
"What you have to do is to face the problem, but you only think about running away." Hirano clarified with a frown. "¿Do you really think running away is a good option? ¿Isn't that exactly the same thing you did with Rei?" Takashi lowered his gaze after listening to him, as he seemed to understand certain things.
"I..." Takashi couldn't say much more, as a car rushed around the bend in the street, running over all the zombies in its path.
"¿¡But what!?" Hirano's clear shout alarmed Saeko and Saya.
"He's trying to get past them, but he's not going to make it. There are too many of them." Deduced Takashi, watching as the car's engine was badly choked as it ran over as many zombies as it could, but the speed was slowing down more and more.
"If they keep going like this, they're going to die." Hirano used the scope on his gun to find out who they were, and was immensely surprised by what he saw. "¡Takashi, there's a kid!" The young man shouted in great concern, at the same time as Saya and Saeko entered the balcony.
"¡Fuck!" The middle-aged man cursed as the car stopped and began to expel quite a bit of smoke from its front end.
Frustration quickly turned to terror as the zombies kept coming closer as they hit the car and even climbed on top of it.
"¡Dad, I'm scared!" The little girl shouted through tears as she hugged her father very tightly.
"Don't worry. We'll get out of here somehow, I promise, Alice." The man responded the hug, the helplessness and fear of not being able to protect his daughter was easily noticed.
Next to him was a dog that started barking at the zombies trying to get in, but was startled when he watched as one of them accidentally slammed its head into the windshield, splintering it in the process.
"¡Hey, Takashi! ¿¡what are you doing!?" Hirano called out to him with wide eyes as he watched his best friend prepare to jump the railing.
"We can't just leave them there." Clarified the young man, fixing his eyes on his friend. "Cover me from above." Hirano just nodded and got into position.
Seeing this, Saeko was quick to get moving and went to find something to help.
Takashi jumped down and landed on top of the van Shizuka and the others had come in, and from there he soon began firing his AUG at all the zombies near the car.
The three individuals were surprised to see how the car was filled with blood while the sound of gunshots could be heard non-stop.
Hirano did his thing and took it upon himself to fire long bursts with pinpoint accuracy to kill anyone who tried to approach Takashi's position.
"¡Shit!" Hirano cursed as he ran out of bullets.
"¡Hey!" Saya threw a magazine at him, to which Hirano caught it with some astonishment, but it didn't take him long to react and quickly reloaded to continue supporting his best friend.
Takashi took advantage of the mountain of corpses under his feet and began to advance towards the car as the large swarm tried to catch him, but Hirano felled them all with absurd precision.
Takashi expended a few more bullets to take out the last zombies in front of the vehicle. The brown-haired man pushed a couple of corpses with the butt of the gun to then clean the blood-covered glass. There, it was possible to witness how the man protected his daughter with a hug, while the girl did the same with her dog.
"¡THIS WAY!" Takashi's shout was heard by all three, who looked at him in utter amazement.
That astonishment didn't last long, though, as the man soon became serious and tried to open the door. Noticing that he was unable to do so, the man looked at his daughter fondly.
"Stand back a bit, Alice-chan." The girl nodded and stepped back with the dog still in her arms.
The father gritted his teeth hard and settled back in the seat to give the door a hard kick that didn't work much, but the second one served to run off the corpses that were getting in the way of the escape.
The man was quick to carry his daughter in his arms once again and watched in amazement as a young boy was taking on all those things with such courage.
Takashi watched his gun with a click of his tongue as he ran out of bullets, so he had no choice but to butt the nearest zombie.
"¡GO!" Takashi led the group through the pile of corpses while Hirano took it upon himself to gun down any zombie that tried to approach them.
"¡Shit!" Hirano couldn't help but curse in great frustration as he noticed that the group of zombies was piling up more and more around Takashi, making it difficult for him to do his job.
Takashi pushed away a couple more zombies with his gun head before stopping in front of the van. Takashi managed to climb in without much trouble thanks to Hirano, so it didn't take him long to reach out to help the man.
"¡Just at this moment!" Hirano's teeth clenched tightly as he ran out of bullets again.
"¡Don't let go, Alice!" His father exclaimed through gritted teeth as he pulled the van up, but just then the zombies arrived.
"¡Dad!" The young girl screamed in great distress as she watched several of the things dangle over the man's back, making him scream in pain.
Suddenly, Alice was frightened as she saw a zombie approaching from the right with every intention of biting her, so she could only close her eyes in great fear.
"¡Gggrrr woof!" Her dog barked with a threatening tone and didn't hesitate to bite the zombie, so it diverted its attention to the dog and bit her back, something that earned a deep cry of pain from the canine.
Hirano took down all the zombies just before things got much worse, so the man was finally able to climb on top of the van.
Everyone below witnessed how they were completely surrounded, even though Hirano was doing his best to keep the zombies at bay.
"¡Over here!" Saeko appeared along with Rei, Shizuka and Hisashi, throwing a makeshift rope made from the apartment's blankets.
"¡That's just what we needed!" Takashi replied with a smile as he caught a magazine thrown to him by Saeko, so he didn't hesitate to escort the father and daughter up while finishing off all the zombies trying to climb up.
The man staggered a little on the way up because one of the blankets came a little loose, but he was still able to finish climbing.
"¡Takashi!" Saya shouted as she greeted the new arrivals, who looked quite exhausted.
"¡I know!" Was all he said as he placed the AUG on his back and started climbing between the blankets.
Some zombies tried to bite his feet, but Hirano was faster than them.
Just as Takashi was about to reach, the knot unraveled, ushering in certain death.
But just before he was lost to nothingness, a saving hand caught his own to keep him from falling.
Takashi could only look at Saeko with wide eyes, for she was the one who had saved him.
Saeko used quite a bit of strength to manage to lift him up a bit, and thanks to that Takashi's other hand was able to hold onto the railing.
Takashi placed both hands on the railing, using all his strength to try to climb up. Saeko was quick to stand up and extend both hands to give him a final helping hand.
In the end, they both exerted so much force that they both fell backwards.
Saeko slowly opened her eyes, and a faint blush appeared on her cheeks as she noticed Takashi was on top of her.
"This brings back a lot of memories." Saeko commented with a faint smile.
"¿Should I thank you for saving my life a second time?" Takashi asked with a teasing tone as he straddled her, which brought out a giggle in his crush.
"¡Whew, by the skin of my teeth!" Hirano fell butt-first to the floor.
"No kidding. It's amazing that I'm warm even though it's freezing cold." Clarified Saya, who was airing herself with her hand.
"Sorry to ruin the party, but I think we should talk." Hisashi stated seriously.
That same seriousness was directed at the man, who was just calming his daughter down and telling her that Zeke would recover soon. Even so, everyone's face soon turned serious after seeing the man's back, as his t-shirt was torn and had several bites on it.
The man seemed to catch their glances, so he only smiled with some regret, as if he already knew the fate that awaited him.
_ LINE BREAK _
Department
A few minutes later...
Rei, Shizuka and Hisashi were taking care of Zeke while he ate some fish. The dog was lying on a cushion and the wound on his back was now bandaged.
"We've lost a lot of blankets." Saya commented with an annoyed look as she watched from the balcony.
"That's the least of it." Commented Hirano, who was standing next to her, drawing a slight sigh from his girlfriend.
"You're right..." She commented with a look covered in anxiety, her eyes focused on the four people who were talking inside.
"I'd like to ask what you were doing in a car at this hour, but I don't think the timing warrants it..." Takashi commented with a crestfallen look.
"We wanted to get out of town, but the streets were a mess, and honestly I think I was pretty clumsy with my movements." Commented the man with an embarrassed face. "Changing the subject, I want to thank you. Without you, my daughter could not have been saved." Commented the man, patting Alice's head affectionately, who was eating a popsicle.
"Sir..." Saeko said calmly. "¿I think you already know, don't you?" She concluded carefully.
Alice raised her gaze as she noticed how her father gripped her hair much tighter, as if he was afraid of something.
"I know, and I also know that I'm not in the position to ask you for any favors. But..." The man bowed to everyone's surprise. "¿¡May I entrust my daughter to you, please!?" Saeko and Takashi looked at each other after the request.
"¿Dad?" Alice asked with utmost confusion.
"Don't worry, we'll guard her with our lives." Saeko placed a hand on her chest for emphasis to her words, to which Takashi nodded to imply that he agreed with her.
"¡I...! ¡I don't know what to say, just thank you!" The man bowed again, but this time tears were falling from his face.
"But, dad, I don't want to leave you." Alice tugged on his sleeve hard as she felt the tears threaten to spill from her eyes.
The man took all the remaining courage he had left to smile and crouch down in front of his daughter, even though his tears wouldn't stop falling.
"Listen, dear Alice. The time has come for your old man to join your mother. I know you want to join me, but you still have a lot of things you need to complete in this place. If you don't, I can assure you that you will regret it for the rest of your life."
"¿And-and how long-how long will it be before I can go with you?" Alice felt her cry choke as she tried to speak.
"I don't know, I'm sure it will take you a long time, ¡but don't worry!" The man felt his tears fall even faster. "¡Your old man and your dear mother will wait for you as long as you need!" The man hugged her very tightly after his words, to which Alice could only cry.
The embrace lasted for several seconds, but eventually the father and daughter slowly separated. Alice watched as her father placed both hands on her shoulders.
"¡When you join us, I want you to tell us about all the things you've done!" The man exclaimed with a big smile on his face, doing his best not to cry again.
At the very least he wanted to leave that last image with his daughter.
He wanted to let her know that he was leaving with a smile.
"¡Yes!" Alice nodded through her tears and gave him one last hug.
"¿Why don't you go check on Seke?" The man patted his daughter's head one last time, then watched as she left for the kitchen.
Takashi watched the man with clear pity, while Saeko seemed a bit more unsympathetic about it, but still looked a bit affected.
"Then, I guess we'd better do it already..." The man couldn't finish, as he coughed up some blood. "I don't have much time left." Concluded the man, to which Saya and Hirano turned in, the latter holding the submachine gun in his hands.
"¿Are you ready?" Hirano asked with utmost seriousness.
"Before that, I'd like to ask one last favor of you." They all looked at each other, but it didn't take long for them to nod. "I saw a movie a long time ago where samurai would stick their sword in to die with honor. I don't remember the exact name.."
"Harakiri." Saeko instantly shut down her thoughts, receiving a nod in response.
"That's just it. I know I'm not a samurai, but I'd like to use your katana. Not for honor, if not to die with dignity and not become one of those things." The man finished his speech by coughing once more, his eyes slowly looking sicker and sicker.
"Alright." Saeko handed him her katana, to which the man nodded in thanks.
He got into position to commit harakiri, but just before he did so he noticed the group watching him with a smile.
"I will always be very grateful to you for saving my daughter. I hope your lives are of the brightest." The man concluded with a smile, just as the blood began to flow from his eyes.
Sensing that he was losing control of his body, the man plunged the katana as deep as possible. The weapon pierced him from the other side and his heart was pierced mercilessly.
The man soon fell to his knees while coughing up a large amount of blood, until he finally fell to the ground.
His eyes had gone out, but no one would take that peaceful smile off his face knowing that his daughter would be safe with those capable young men.
Silence reigned in the room, until Saeko took a couple of steps to pull out the katana and plunge it back into his head to make sure he didn't get up again.
The young men moved the corpse upstairs to leave it in one of the bedrooms and covered his face with a blanket as a sign of respect, then locked the room.
The four went to the kitchen and watched with some sadness as the girl encouraged her dog to recover.
"¡Oh! ¿where's my dad?" Alice asked with an adorable smile, something that forced everyone to look away.
"He's already left with your mom." Saeko was the only one who dared to approach the girl.
"I-I see..." Alice lowered her gaze, tears threatening to roll down her cheeks, but Saeko saw to it that that didn't happen as she ruffled her hair affectionately, something that brought a smile to the girl's face.
"¿Did something happen with the dog?" Takashi whispered to Shizuka, who shook her head.
"So far it hasn't shown any symptoms." Replied the nurse, and even she understood that the current situation was very delicate, the lack of her usual smile was proof of that.
"Very well, we'll lock him in the kitchen until tomorrow to make sure." Takashi concluded, receiving a nod in response.
_ LINE BREAK _
Department
A few minutes later...
Shizuka had already gone to sleep along with Alice and they took the radiator with them so that the girl would not be cold. The others were in the living room, sharing last words before getting ready for the next day.
"We have a problem, there are only three bedrooms left." Hisashi commented.
"Me and Hirano can sleep together. I guess you guys will do the same. The problem is between Saeko and Takashi." Saya stated, fixing her gaze on the last two mentioned.
"I have no problem at all sharing a bed with Takashi." Saeko replied instantly, a comment that didn't seem to please Rei in the slightest.
"That's not necessary. I can sleep on the couch." Takashi replied just as quickly, something that secretly relieved Rei.
"But..."
"Don't worry." Takashi interrupted her, sketching a smile to reassure her, to which Saeko nodded with some hesitation.
"We ordered the last room on the second floor." Saya hurried to order the bedroom and took her beloved to have some alone time.
"¿Are you sure? It's very cold, and I wouldn't want you to get sick." Saeko insisted again, her face reflecting genuine concern, something that brought out a smile in Takashi.
"¿You tell me that when you're dressed like that?" The brown man asked, noting how Saeko seemed to be curling up with her own arms to keep out the cold.
"I'm fine." She replied with a faint smile, but the shivering of her body indicated otherwise.
Takashi said nothing, just smiled and moved closer to her.
Saeko's eyes widened slightly as she felt Takashi's warmth and distinct scent completely surround her as he was putting on her his leather jacket.
"I'll be fine, just go to sleep." Takashi closed the zipper, causing half of Saeko's face to be hidden behind the jacket.
Rei watched as Saeko nodded while holding the jacket in her hands. The lower half of her face was not visible, but she was sure that Saeko was smiling.
A smile she obviously didn't like at all.
"¡Hisashi, I'm really looking forward to it today!" Rei broke the harmony with that shout, making everyone look at her with wide eyes, including Hisashi himself.
"But I don't feel very..."
"¡Come on, let's make as much noise as possible!" Rei shouted with hurried steps as she dragged a rather confused Hisashi along.
Takashi watched Saeko, but she looked more focused on holding the jacket with her two hands that were covered by the sleeves.
_ LINE BREAK _
Department
Several minutes later...
"AAAAAAANGGGGGGGHHHH!"
"OOOOHH AHHHH!"
"YEAH BABY, LOUDER, LIKE YOU KNOW HOW TO DO IT!"
Takashi covered his ears with the pillow as he squirmed in discomfort on the couch.
"¿I'm not only going to have to face the cold, if not also Rei's moans?" The brown sat with a rather tired expression as he watched the single white blanket covering him fall to the floor. "And the worst part is that Saeko has them closer. I hope she doesn't get too mad." The brown-haired man commented as he went back to lie down.
He certainly never expected that Saeko could be using such loud moans as fuel for her imagination.
"¡Aaannnggghhh!"
"¡Aaagghh!"
Saeko's moans emerged from her lips against her will as she played with her most intimate part. She was completely covered by the blankets, but she wasn't quite naked.
She had only one garment on.
Her sweaty figure and the open jacket gave her a most sensual look. Her hot breath echoed along with her moans as she played with her private part, while her other hand was used in an effort to smell the jacket that had Takashi's fragrance all over it.
Just by smelling that jacket...
Just by just feeling Takashi, she was already going crazy.
"¡Mmmnnhh, Takashi!" Her moan deepened a little more as she smelled the jacket more deeply, feeling as if her much loved man was on top of her. "¡Just a little more!" She exclaimed with her eyes misty with pleasure, and her lips followed those long-suppressed feelings as they bit the surface of the jacket quite lustfully.
"¡I love you, Takashi!"
_ LINE BREAK _
Department
Two hours later...
"I can't sleep..." Takashi opened his eyes, now the night was silent. "But I can't say it's because of the cold." Takashi sat down on the couch and placed a hand on his chest. "I had fought a very strong kind of anxiety before, but I'm sure it had never been this strong before." Takashi stood up and brought his gaze to the balcony. "And I know..." Takashi closed his eyes, his sigh was covered in mist from the cold inside the room.
"I know perfectly well the reason for this discomfort."
Takashi walked over to the balcony and opened the sliding door, not caring how unsheltered he was.
"Strangely enough, I'm not afraid of this apocalypse." The brown-haired man walked over to lean on the railing, watching as the incident fire continued to devour houses. "What scares me are my feelings for you." Takashi lowered his gaze slightly, his eyes denoting great internal conflict. "But Hirano is right, it wouldn't do any good to take me away from you. It would only hurt me much more, and I'm sure it would hurt you too. So, I should just continue the way I am now until I find a girl as awesome as you." Takashi laughed after hearing his own thoughts.
"¿What am I saying? There is no one like you."
Takashi opened his eyes after feeling something fall on his nose, it was very cold.
The young man was greatly surprised to realize it was a snowflake.
Takashi looked up, watching as the snow began to descend in a leisurely pace, tinting the night sky a beautiful soothing white color that moved in the slight breeze.
A slight smile emerged from Takashi's face, and he was quick to rest his arms on the railing to get a better feel for the snow.
"Somehow, I always feel like I end up leaning against the sky when I feel so insignificant. But it's kind of inevitable, that calms me down." Takashi closed his eyes calmly. "I'm never going to be able to forget you, since to me you are much more than my best friend, and much more than the woman I love. You are my confidant, my savior, and the woman of my life. Even if someone tried, the truth is that no one would be able to reach your heels." Takashi opened his eyes and rested his face on his cheek as he watched how the snow was slowly quenching the fire, just like his heart.
In that way, the young man remained silent for several seconds as he enjoyed the view.
"But I understand that it will still be very painful when at some point in your life you meet someone. Then, it would be best to face the problem head on so you won't feel bad." Talashi became a little serious after her words. "If Rei was right about anything, it's that in the end I've always been quite indecisive. I don't want to be with you, and I don't want unnecessary gaps to be created between us. So I'm going to tell you the truth, even if I already know what your answer will be." Takashi closed his eyes, and felt a sigh emerge from his lips. "Yes, it will be best to confess to me as soon as possible."
The talks with himself ended abruptly when he heard the sliding door open again, something that surprised him.
His surprise increased even more after seeing that it was Saeko. But it wasn't just that, what undoubtedly impressed him the most was her attire, as the woman had come out of her bedroom with all the blankets surrounding her, as if it was a big and beautiful kimono.
"¿Can't you sleep? ¿Is it because of the cold?" Saeko approached him, observing the falling snow.
"To be honest, there's something that makes me much more uneasy than the cold." Takashi answered truthfully, without being able to look at her face, something she did quite easily.
Saeko noticed the slight shivering of his body so she didn't take long to attach herself to him to surround him with all the blankets, something that surprised him.
"It's not very practical, but it's useful against the cold." Saeko commented with a sweet smile.
"Heh, you're amazing." Takashi chuckled, only to then sketch a somewhat droopy smile. "Too much..." Saeko noticed the tone and his change in attitude, so she too decided to look at the beautiful sky in front of them.
"I also have something that makes me much more uneasy than the cold." Takashi looked at her after listening to her. "And I feel that I could only calm down if I talk to you." Saeko's eyes met Takashi's, to which he smiled.
"In that case, that makes two of us." Takashi shook his head to shake the snow out of his hair, something that drew a chuckle from Saeko.
"When I found out I was going to America..." Saeko began her story, causing Takashi to look at her. "It was the first time I felt so insecure, so depressed, so... devastated." Saeko lowered her gaze a little after her words. "I had managed to make great friends, like Hirano. I'm sorry things didn't start out so well with Saya, but she ended up becoming my best friend in the end. But, above everything else, there was you." Saeko looked at him after mentioning that, and she could feel the heat in her cheeks slowly rising. "When you say that I saved you, the reality is that I always feel like you're wrong. After all, you saved me. From always being alone, from never meeting someone who only expected something else from me. Just... just being a true friend. And above all things, you were the only one who accepted me as I am." Takashi smiled at her words, and Saeko moved even closer to him after feeling him grab her waist.
"Remember that I will always be. Whenever you need my help, I'll..."
"But that's not the only thing." Saeko interrupted him. "I... I hadn't realized, I don't know when I started feeling this way. But I know very well when it started to hurt." Those words worried Takashi. "When you accepted me as I really was, I remember that the feeling of emptiness and despair began to grow inside me at a very fast pace, that hurt. It hurt to have to ignore all those pent up feelings and emotions that were about to explode. And I'm sure that started to form even earlier, when you made that promise..." Saeko turned her gaze forward after her words, to which Takashi simply mimicked her action.
"You know you can tell me anything you want. If it's about your repressed desires, I'll always accept them and help you however I can." Takashi looked at her and gave her a smile he had rarely shown.
"I will never leave you alone."
Saeko's eyes sparkled and her blush brightened as did her face.
No matter what time it was, she always felt so touched and happy when she felt so close to him.
"That's..." A faint smile emerged from Saeko's face. "That's what I was most afraid of losing." Takashi's eyes widened slightly as he noticed how Saeko gave him the most beautiful smile she was capable of. "That's why before I went to sleep yesterday, I made a wish." Takashi's eyes widened even more. "I wished that, no matter what happened, that trip would be canceled forever. Because I couldn't bear the thought of being separated from everyone, but especially from you." Saeko moved even closer, and Takashi could feel her chest slowly leaning against his.
Thanks to that is he could feel how Saeko's heartbeat was going a mile a minute.
"Tell me one thing, ¿is it wrong for me not to feel bad about what's happening?"
"¿Is it wrong to feel so happy when so many people are suffering?"
"¿Is it wrong to have made such a selfish wish no matter what happened to others?"
"It's not wrong."
Takashi answered without hesitation to Saeko's great surprise.
"I feel that way too. I feel very happy to be able to be with all of you. I feel very reassured to know that all my precious people are well. And most of all, I feel very happy to be able to spend more time with you." Takashi held her by the shoulders. "¿Do you want me to confess something to you?" Takashi gave her a small smile, to which Saeko looked at him very intensely.
"I made that wish too."
Saeko dropped the blankets after the great shock of those words.
"So don't feel bad about it. We're both equally guilty, since I too feel that life without you would be meaningless."
Saeko's eyes grew progressively wider as tears began to form in her eyes.
"¿Saeko?" Takashi became quite concerned as he watched the woman in his life begin to shed tears.
"There's still one question left..." Saeko clung even tighter to him, to the point where their bodies were glued together.
"I don't care what it is, I will always support you." Takashi replied with a smile, and suddenly felt Saeko's hands slowly come up until she hugged him by the neck.
"So..." Saeko's blush deepened a little more as her eyes slowly closed.
"I'm going to love you with all my soul."
"¿What...?" Takashi couldn't say more, as Saeko's lips had merged with his in a kiss covered in unparalleled passion and love.
In that way, zombies and snowflakes were the only ones present of the birth of this new love that would be able to crush all adversities.
_ END OF THE CHAPTER! _
¡Por fin pude llegar a este momento!
Espero que lo hayan disfrutado tanto como yo disfruté escribiendolo. Y obviamente, esto no es todo, se vendrán más cosas sobre la pareja en el próximo capítulo. Probablemente el inicio de su romance abarque la mitad de lo que será la siguiente actualización.
Todavía no habrá lemon, tengo pensado hacerlo en un lugar especial.
Sin nada más que agregar, lo voy a dejar por aquí.
¡Muchas gracias por leer!