Chapter 100: Everything will be alright

"Alright, which way?"

What a stupid question.

"Just over there." Grin in place and intentions clear as daylight Shijima pointed down the road leading up to the museum.

Three armed men. Splitting them off the group. Namie. Shijima's goal was simple. Split them up. Take her route. Rape her. Kill her.

A zombie could easily do her in any day and telling a gruesome story about how he tried to help her but couldn't prevent her from meeting a gorey end was all too believable and even harder to prove wrong.

The priest didn't need Namie as he was completely unaware of her true identity. Same for Karisawa. Having chosen Izaya as her partner was the only lightly unforeseen option she had taken in Shijima's eyes.

Three men.

They were most likely not in on his disgusting plan or else they would have acted differently. Shijima could have easily threatened Namie to just come along and not craft an elaborate pretense like that. He would have just needed to mention Shinra and this whole topic would have been much harder to avoid.

"We won't take long to clear the section. A day at most," Izaya announced boldly and steered the conversation as he liked.

"I suggest moving in pairs. I can spare my men for you if you like. As for me-" glancing towards Namie, Shijima couldn't quite hide a gross smile of ill intentions. "I wouldn't mind accompanying her."

Of course he wouldn't.

She was the main attraction of this whole operation.

"A generous offer, but I think it's best if we stick to our respective partners when facing something as illogical as the infected," Izaya quickly argued, defeating the man's logic on the spot.

Shijima was an asshole. Not dumb, but certainly not smart either.

He wasn't pleased by Izaya's conclusion, but failed to come up with arguments to counter him and so he was left to simply shrug.

"If you say so."

Izaya wasn't quite sure what he had expected to see, but an actual spot crawling with zombies had not been part of his agenda.

The parking lot nearby was connected to the front of the museum and a pair of cars having crashed into each other, formed the border of what appeared to be a funnel directing the stream of zombies towards the center of music.

Izaya could hear Beethoven all the way over as he watched two fungi squeeze their way through the tiny opening between the cars.

"They are overflowing," Shijima spoke in a way that caused every single word to turn up its disgusting connotation. The glance he was throwing towards Namie while spelling the last word at least was enough to cast a shudder down Izaya's spine.

But Namie was wiser than to react to the taunt.

"Could you check the back? Would suck if there was a horde of them on the way and we ended up surrounded while dealing with those stuck here," she announced quickly while facing the three men guarding Shijima. "Best you watch up front and we will take care of those gathered here," she smiled. "Except you want to do our work for us."

Extra work? For strangers? The perfect excuse to be left alone.

"Understood," one of the men replied and for a brief second Izaya admired Namie's skill in making people act in the ways she wanted them to.

It was a double edged sword considering she had used it against him during the start of the apocalypse, but seeing it directed at their enemies was a more fulfilling sensation.

Especially when Izaya heard Shijima click his tongue under his breath.

His goal was probably to split Namie from him.

Rape her.

Tell them a zombie killed her.

It was a bit unsettling to see him give up as quickly as he did. Shijima was awfully docile considering his little plan didn't work out the way he wanted it to.

Or maybe he was just sick in the head. Like the priest. He might be enjoying the hunt for Namie more than the actual violence he planned for her.

It was when their perpetrator was out of sight that Namie suddenly moved quicker than Izaya had expected her to.

The zombies up front had yet to notice them due to their impaired vision and the music dousing every step they took.

But turning on her heels and moving into the direction of the museum on even ground was something even Izaya didn't expect.

"What are you doing?" he whispered, and the scientist turned with a face so matter of factly Izaya almost felt ashamed for not being able to read her motives.

"You want to save her, right?"

Her.

Kururi.

Perplexion rendered Izaya speechless for a moment and he turned his head.

Shijima was gone. The three men too. Right now they were surrounded by nothing but confused zombies.

Now?

No, wait.

Now.

She was right.

"We have a time window of around half an hour at most," Namie added as Izaya started to realize how perfect her plan was. They needed to be quicker than Shijima because the bastard was sure to return after a while and getting rid of him a second time was going to be much harder than the first time around.

Steering towards one of the cars abandoned in the parking lots Namie quickly checked for fuel and a path to drive. "Grab her. Move. And pray that no one sees us," she announced as her long hair disappeared underneath the driver's seat.

She was right.

Now was the perfect moment.

A quick nod was all Izaya gave and his body moved as he rushed out.

Towards the museum's front.

He didn't need to ask to know Namie was hotwiring the car in order to get them away from here as soon as they succeeded. Meaning it was Izaya's duty to fetch his sister.

And he would be damned if that job wasn't tailored to him.

Eyes scanning the front on the run, Izaya quickly grasped his current situation.

None of the flatworms were present. The sun was high.

The remaining fungi surrounding the museum were all blind and the music playing loudly acted not only as a lure but also as a safety measure for Izaya.

No step he made was going to be heard nor would any of them turn for any mild noises.

It was when one of the fungi not too far from him dropped dead on the spot that his eyes interlocked with Vorona's.

She was settled upon the roof, executing her duty of clearing the zombies that surrounded Kururi.

The fungus dying next to Izaya was a hint. One that she had seen him and understood what Izaya was aiming to do.

Meaning he had backup from above.

Someone that was looking out for any fungus coming too close.

The situation was perfect.

Another fungus dropped dead not too far from Izaya leading the direction and without wasting another thought he followed.

Moved along the masses, another dropped dead, he stepped across it, another and then-

Kururi.

He saw her.

Her cloth got stuck by the fence once she made it past and a pile of corpses stacked around her.

Another zombie dropped dead next to Izaya and his feet sped up.

A leap forward was all he needed as he finally touched her hand.

It was a simply brush. One meant to catch her attention and moved her into his direction at best.

But he hadn't quite considered how uncanny the sensation would be.

Her skin was cold, clammy and grey. It sent a shudder down his back for a variety of reasons.

She was one of the first infected. The virus had been tormenting her body for weeks. Weeks were a long time. And it caused questions to cloud Izaya's mind that he would have rather not thought about.

Was the virus sustaining the host? Or just moving a dead body?

She could be alive, she could be dead, she could be bodily functioning but miss her brain, miss her personality, miss the will to live.

Thousands of thoughts, one darker than the other tormented Izaya's head and he quickly shoved aside the drowning wave.

It was a reflex, one not too wise perhaps, but brushing her arm didn't get her to move as fast as he wanted to and a burst of frustration caused his hand to move.

He grasped her wrist.

Just like that.

Kururi turned and stilled as another fungus not too far from them dropped dead by a bullet's means.

Her eyes were directed at Izaya without any signs of vision and the horrifying expression sent chills down Izaya's spine.

Clicking her jaw as if she was ready to bite whatever it was that drew near, she tugged at the hand that grasped her own, unaware that it was a breathing human and Izaya cursed under his breath.

Pulling quickly he let go of the hand again and something in the girl seemed to click. A realization, if it could be called such in this state, seemed to enlighten her as her limbs finally moved.

Reaching towards Izaya's direction she groaned and Izaya quickly took a step backwards.

Good.

She was following him.

Slowly but steadily.

He needed to lure her away.

Force was going to alarm the other zombies so this was the best option he had.

Looking over his shoulder he glanced into the direction of the car Namie had started to hotwire.

She was standing next to the driver's door. Ready.

It wasn't far.

Izaya moved.

Kururi did.

And within three minutes at most Izaya's back met the trunk.

Frozen in place, Izaya's eyes crossed Namie's as she looked at Kururi with mild horror in her eyes.

Her question was simple.

And now?

How were they going to get her inside the car? How were they going to transport-

But Izaya was quicker to act than Namie was to think.

The second Kururi was close enough, Izaya shoved her.

Quick.

Mercilessly.

Her head hit the top of the trunk and Izaya's eyes narrowed just lightly in regret.

But of course she wasn't just going to fall over and lay still.

Immediately her limbs trashed around and her jaw clicked in angry anticipation of killing whatever it was that had bumped into her.

And Izaya leaned in-

"Izaya-" Namie hissed, but she was neither close enough to help nor able to even approach. Blood dripped down his upper arm as the girl grunted into Izaya's flesh.

Izaya had grabbed her shoulders. Pushed her down- and for a second he just found himself lost.

Not in the pain.

Not in the action.

But the sight.

The sight of his sister.

The teeth sunken stubbornly into his arm didn't even hurt, the only effect they had was one of dark and heady sadness.

Smiles the girl had shown in the past resurfaced from Izaya's memories as he was faced with her churned expression of madness.

But what was there to fear with his immunity?

Pulling her close instead of letting her go he reached out for her head.

A soft pat to her scruff hair. A whisper.

Gentler than the touch he offered.

"Everything will be alright."

Namie's eyes narrowed at the sight as her own share of regret and guilt overwhelmed her.

But there was no time for sweet words and gentle actions. And they were both aware.

Quick, quite like the action of pulling off a patch from an open wound, Izaya shoved her off his body. Blood colored the side of the car as the teeth tore from his flesh and he quickly pulled the trunk shut. Loud.

Louder than intended.

Almost immediately Izaya turned and faced what he expected.

A couple of the fungi were facing their direction.

The music might have been loud, but Kururi's sounds and the act of closing the trunk had been a bit louder.

But Vorona was quicker than the fungi were with their reaction as one after the other quickly dropped dead on the spot.

Izaya noted duly that her skill of sniping was not to be joked with as he slipped into the passenger's seat next to Namie and watched the fungi around them drop dead one after the other.

"What now?" she asked and Izaya pulled the map he had carried on his body out of his pants' pocket.

"You wanted to know what my plan is, didn't you?" he asked and unfolded the paper before pointing towards Kujiragi's location. "I will tell you."

No time was wasted, no further negotiations needed as Namie started the car and turned it towards a side street.

"I take it you are creating some sort of antidote?" she asked quickly now that they finally had some time to talk without being eavesdropped upon.

"If everything proceeded as I hope, I'm already done with that," Izaya spoke and Namie's head jerked in surprise. "For both?" She meant the fungi and the flatworms.

A shrug was all Izaya had to offer as he was about as much in the dark as her when it came to the actual progress on their research. "Possibly, but the distribution is the greater issue."

Confused as to why Izaya was talking as if he had no idea about the antidote's current progress, Namie quickly shoved the question aside and focused on the problem Izaya voiced.

"Even if you succeeded, it would take ages to even start mass producing it, not to mention the administration-" she deduced aloud, but Izaya was quick to interrupt as their car steered onto the highway.

"We decided to go by air," Izaya announced and Namie blinked, not upon the suggested means of transport, but-

"...we?"

A smile grazed Izaya's lips for a moment as pointed at the location marked on the map.

"I'm not the only one working on this. Instead of a few selected people we will just save them all. In one clean sweep. Anything else would be too risky. People don't cooperate unless there is a vast majority present judging their actions."

It was funny.

Namie had known Izaya for quite a while, and yet he never truly ceased to amaze her when it came to his plans.

"... you are crazy," she uttered under her breath and curiosity forced her foot to press down on the gas pedal a little harder as Izaya laughed.

"I don't think anyone truly sane is still alive."

"Might be," she agreed, "But somehow that fact makes me want to believe in you."

Surprise marked Izaya's expression as he snorted, "... where did that come from? Disgusting," but the smile drawing upon his lips was barely hidden.

It was not a long ride. Only ten minutes at most.

The streets were as empty as Izaya had last seen them and the corpses of the killed flatworms started to rot on the ground.

Pinching her nose, Namie suppressed the need to retch as her hair stood on ends.

She recalled the last time they visited this place and it was not a memory she wanted to repeat.

"Who are we meeting?" she whispered, aware that just because they eradicated all fungi the last time didn't mean there were more to be wary of.

"A human," Izaya informed, without telling anything at all and Namie groaned softly.

"That's not what I mean-"

Quicker than expected the two found themselves at the heavy door leading to the control room. It was closed and locked from the inside just as it was supposed to be.

The inside of the underground station had been slightly adjusted and a variety of mirrors reflected the sunlight all the way over in order to create a safer environment for the one inside.

Izaya's knuckles met the hard metal in quick succession of a seemingly random variety of flicks.

A few seconds passed and for a brief moment Namie wondered whether Izaya even knew what he was doing. But then the door moved, and a woman she hadn't expected met her gaze.

"You could have spelled something else apart from your name," Kujiragi declared with stoic ease and Namie realized that the random sounds had been produced in accordance to morse codes.

"You are-" Kujiragi said, spotting her second guest next to Izaya and recognized her as Nami Yagiri, the one who had been in charge of researching the virus. "I see you brought me quite the asset."

"The true reason I'm here is inside the back of the car over there," Izaya quickly filed in as he slipped inside the room. The majority of the underground station smelled like rotten flesh, blood and feces, not exactly something he loved to relish in.

A lot had changed since the last time he had been here and he faced what looked like a crack laboratory.

Plastic sheets, a variety of vials, glass bottles and papers with quick lead markings numbered and labeled the research Kujiragi was conducting.

"A sample?" Kujiragi asked as soon as Namie entered her small laboratory as well.

In a sense she was right. It was a sample. A sample of a fungus. But not in the way she expected.

"Your first successful patient I hope," Izaya declared and Kujiragi blinked.

Adjusting her glasses she reached for a set of papers and moved them aside only to reveal a small carton. "Everything proceeded as you instructed, I won't bore you with the details but I think this is what you wanted." Pulling a vial from the box filled with ice she got god knows where from, she presented a vial to Izaya's face.

Liquid of light milkish color moved inside the container and Izaya's eyes narrowed. "There is a small variety of tests I am conducting in the tunnel right now but it's looking like a success."

Tests?

Inside the tunnel?

Izaya cringed lightly at the implication that there was a variety of fungi, captured and convulsing while dying somewhere inside the station from being injected with experimental cures.

It was Namie who chased away the image with light confusion. "Wait, you gave her an instruction?" she asked, "How?"

"Shizuo and I met her way before we did you guys," Izaya explained quickly, "We have been researching parallel to each other and only recently happened to meet up again."

Hope.

An emotion Izaya had not thought he was going to ever see on Namie's face suddenly seemed to blossom as she glanced around.

He wanted to tell her more, wanted to learn the details of what Kujiragi had found out, but there was only so much time to waste.

"I can't stay much longer," Izaya quickly added and looked towards Kujiragi. "I trust you know how to handle her?" Nodding towards the car his voice softened a little as if Kururi were going to hear him from all the way over there. "It's my sister," he hesitated shortly, then sighed. "Not that it matters in terms of research, but she is one of the first victims of the virus."

Even Kujiragi seemed to notice how much this sample meant to Izaya without him needing to point it out.

Adjusting her glasses she only offered a nod and quick, but confident words.

Because she was a professional at everything she did, and this was no exception.

"You can count on me."

to be continued~

YOOOO xD Sorry for disappeared again- I actually ended up in hospital cuz of influenza x'D Was pretty out of it for the majority of the last two weeks xD

BUT- now I am fine again haha Still not allowed to work, but fine compared to last week xD

So HERE WE GO xD the finale is drawing near haha

Kururi was captured, Kujiragi informed … and now?

Oh my.

Their little ride, was it fast enough for Shijima to not notice a thing?

Or…. C:

See you next friday~ xD