Just to reiterate - This is not a harem story. There will be no limes or lemons.
Attention all students!
The public address system crackled to life, the voice of the principal carrying through. He sounded… Rei was hesitant to say scared, but that was the only thing that came to mind. The class atmosphere lightened as people began to pay attention.
There has been a slight emergency! All students should calmly and quietly leave the classrooms in an orderly manner, and gather at…
A loud crash over the PA system interrupted the announcement. Rei waited for the announcement to come back on, but there was nothing but silence.
"Sounds like a prank,"
"Can't believe that they…"
She tuned out her classmates and watched the teacher. He looked a bit tense, but not alarmed. She was just starting to relax when Takashi barged into the class, slamming the doors open.
Once again, the attention of the class focused on one object, all noise dying a strangled death.
Takashi looked like he'd run at full sprint for a bit.
Like from the announcement room, she thought with distaste. She and Takashi were not on speaking terms, but to think that he would be so immature as to play childish pranks and run to her for her reaction?
"We need to get out of here!" panted Takashi, his voice carrying a bit of something she could not place. More importantly, she didn't care to.
"We're in class, Takashi," she replied out loud for the class, her tone berating. "Some of us actually take our future seriously."
"There's no time! They're coming!" he was almost incoherent now. She might have pitied him some time before, when they were children. But then, she'd also promised him love when she was a child. She'd grown out of that nonsense.
"There'll be plenty of time for you in detention," the teacher replied, finally joining the conversation. Takashi flushed red as the class chuckled in mirth. He opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by a bloodcurdling scream.
Barely anyone noticed Takashi rush over to her seat and grab her. All attention was on the scream that just kept on going, tearing whatever throat was producing it. It barely sounded like a human being, raw terror and pain laced into it. As Takashi dragged her out of the class with no protest from the teacher, she saw that the corridor had students already milling about.
Snatching her hand from Takagi, she stared him down.
"What are you doing?" she asked, ice creeping into her voice.
"What are you doing?!" he replied, nearly screaming in her face, taking no notice of her plummeting mood. "I'm trying to help you, and you keep fighting me," he continued.
Scratch that. He was apparently aware, but did not care.
The screaming abruptly stopped. Somehow, the silence was even worse - like the quiet of the forest when you're being stalked by something.
Takashi looked outside the window and shouted, pointing outside.
She eyed him stubbornly, refusing to satisfy his immaturity. She could do nothing to stop her eyes from flying there the moment people began to scream, pointing outside as well.
Outside, shambling out of the administrative building and onto the school softball field, were students. Their uniforms were copiously stained with blood, and she saw more than one bad limp as the entire group shuffled painfully towards the classroom block they were on. As more people came to the windows to look, the screaming grew louder. The injured students began to pick up speed - almost as though the screaming spurred them on.
Turning, she began to head towards the stairs.
"Where are you going?" asked Takashi.
"Those people obviously need help," she replied. "Whatever has them in that condition, they should not be moving without assistance."
"They're zombies," he said.
She looked at him, looking for the joke. But Takashi was serious, his face set stubbornly.
"I can't believe that you still do this," she replied, something like disgust creeping into her voice. "You're nearly an adult, and you still role play in real life without the slightest hint of shame."
Snatching her hand from his, she continued on her way, rounding up some others to help her.
Saeko was troubled.
Her father was activated for the first time in her living memory today. He was a bit tense, taking extra care to pack his bag the night before. He had made her pack a bag this morning - a satellite phone, a small cooking kit, a first aid kit, her passport, and a battery powered torch - with strict instructions to contact him after school ended. More concerningly, he unsealed her live blades - a kukri and a long dagger - and handed it to her.
"Be alert, and remember your list," was all he'd said, before leaving for the unmarked car waiting outside for him. Unlike the vehicles he normally used, this one was tinted, with the subtle weight of a proofed vehicle.
She packed into a large, waterproof golf bag like the one she used for her kendo equipment. Wearing her armored undershirt beneath her uniform, she stashed her dagger and phone along her thigh, and was off to school, the extra weight doing nothing to distract her from the weight on her mind.
Despite her vigilance, she noticed nothing out of the ordinary until the announcement.
Attention all students!
Her gaze snapped towards the speaker mounted in their classroom.
There has been a slight emergency! All students should calmly and quietly leave the classrooms in an orderly manner, and gather at…
A loud crash over the PA system interrupted the announcement.
The class seemed to hold its breath, waiting, until she stood.
"May I be excused, teacher?" she asked. However, she was already moving towards the door. She didn't bother waiting for the teacher's assent.
As she stepped onto the corridor, she made a beeline for the kendo club gym. Whatever her father warned her about, it was likely this.
We may be at war, she thought. But with whom? The Chinese? She doubted there could really be an attack on Japanese soil that would go on for long enough to involve school children.
Maybe they are just taking precautions? Their school was along the coast after all, and there was a military base in one of the neighbouring towns.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a bloodcurdling scream. It kept on going, clawing at her ears, and flogging her to haste.
As she left the classroom block, she briefly contemplated investigating the scream. Deciding otherwise, she continued on to the sports building.
The building was a massive complex, with a large, central indoor court, and smaller courts around it - all on the ground floor. The infirmary was a building attached to the sports complex, and the upper floors consisted of the club offices of the sports clubs in the school.
Slipping in and leaving the door a bit ajar, she made her way upstairs to the kendo club room. She spotted Mr Uzumaki at the stairs on the other end of the complex, taking them three at a time on the way up.
He's going to his office too.
The scream abruptly cut off, as though the throat making it was simply torn out. It only served to make her more disturbed.
She forced her mind back to her tasks. There would be time to listen to her gibbering instincts after she had a blade or three on her person. She briefly considered chasing the redheaded instructor, before discarding that idea. Weapons first, List next. The instructor was one of only two people her father spoke to her specifically about, a part of her "list", and the only one he categorically told her to maintain a good relationship with. Whoever he really was, that had gotten her interest. What would an instructor have in common with her father? His missing arm didn't reflect in his gait, and he gave off the controlled menace of a tiger at ease - not that the sheep she was surrounded by would notice something like that. She was certain he was like her father. Like me. Yet he was completely adept in the lazy school setting he found himself in. If her father never mentioned him, she would have overlooked him as well.
Pushing the door to the kendo club open, she went straight to her locker. As she confirmed her kit one more time, running through it by habit, she mentally rehearsed her "list"
Saya Takagi. Momo Kawamoto. Naruto Uzumaki
She didn't know why her father mentioned these three people to her. Well, that was not exactly right. She knew that her father, and by extension her, were retainers of the Takagi family, and so protecting Saya was a natural offshoot of that. Her father could obviously not enroll in the school to do so now, could he? Momo on the other hand was, if she understood correctly, the heir of the Kawamoto empire. She was either collateral or a bargaining chip. Either way, she needed to be kept close. For the third person, she could make an educated guess.
They must somehow be colleagues.
She left the kendo club office, quietly shutting the door, and heading down to the indoor courts with her bag on her back and her kukri in an unassuming sheath at her waist.
She saw Ms Marikawa at the other end of the court, at the bottom of the stairs that lead to Mr Uzumaki's office.
In his line of work, his instincts were what kept him alive.
He suspected something was up when the prime minister's contacts tapped him for an urgent job. He knew something was brewing when Takagi's contacts reached out with a contradictory contract. The request for his expertise seemed vague, but when Takagi - a man who didn't usually publicly go against the prime minister - offered him a hefty wage to sit tight at the school and defend his interests instead, that raised alarms.
But what was more telling was the sudden rush of movement - the Takagi assets repositioning, equipment shifting overnight. Naruto knew better than to ignore a man who never rushed.
He emptied his apartment out - the one he was renting for his character as Naruto Uzumaki, the high school instructor - and moved back to Tokonosu that very night, reactivating his safehouses and employees as he went. By the time he made it to his house - a block of apartments with his penthouse at the very top - it was nearly dawn, and his organisation was up and running. Picking his satellite phone, he dropped everything, rearmed the suite and the entire top floor, and set back out, making calls as he made his way to the school.
The phone rang three times before Takagi picked up.
"Yo, Takagi…" Naruto greeted, already knowing the man wouldn't waste time with pleasantries.
"Straight to the point, Naruto," Takagi replied with his usual clipped tone. "Hypothetically, we have a bit of a situation. Allies say something's brewing, but it's hard to get clear details."
"FUBAR?" Naruto guessed.
"Unknown. But I need you in Tokonosu by tomorrow morning at the latest. Keep an eye on my daughter. Watch Busujima's assets."
"Understood," Naruto replied curtly, then hung up and made his next call.
"Hideo,"
"Boss. Any instructions?" the man answered.
"Yeah. Coordinate with designation:Queen, and establish logistics and a QRF team. Get the families of the boys together to fallback Bet in preparation for a FUBAR," Naruto instructed.
"Noted boss. You'll get feedback in twelve hours."
"Do it in six," Naruto insisted. "And get two squads down to the block. They'll be laying low and fronting as the security group for the next 48 hours. There are only two designated persons there besides me and my party - Rita and her daughter."
"Sure thing boss," replied Hideo. The sounds of movement in his office filtered through the phone.
"Also, start getting a cordon in place around the block - think another block or two out. It's mostly shops and office buildings, so you'll need to be discreet. These are our client's people, so we can't evict them completely, but prioritise moving them to the client's fallback in your scenario."
He ended that call, and called another number, this time from his regular phone.
"Ah! Mr Uzumaki!" the person replied, their usual bubbly self.
"Heya Rita," he replied. "I'm expecting a surprise inspection today before the block can finally open. Could you come prepared for some overtime? You and your daughter can come - see it as a soft vacation."
"Oh alright Mr Uzumaki," the now revealed Rita replied. "I'm sure Alice would love the adventure."
"I'm sure. Remember Rita - in case of any emergency, enter your designated apartment, and contact the security group first, and me next."
"Sure Mr Uzumaki. Bye bye!"
He got to the school thoroughly spooked, his instincts telling him that nothing was normal. There was nothing physically indicating what, but Kurama's chakra was agitated.
He ghosted through the school hallways as he made a nervous circuit around the grounds, looking for something more specific than Kurama's agitation. Kioku didn't share anything, nor did he expect her to. This was a human affair - beneath her concern.
Attention all students…
When the PA announcement came through, his attention snapped immediately to the speaker. He could feel his muscles tensing, like the few seconds before a fight. Idly, he cycled the remnants of his chakra through his body, warming up in anticipation. What used to be an endless ocean was now nothing more than sparse drops, the rest of that ocean locked into the seal matrix keeping his partner alive
There has been a slight emergency! All students should calmly and quietly leave the classrooms in an orderly manner, and gather at…
A crash over the PA, and the voice cut out, leaving an eerie silence in the air before.
He was already moving before the sound had fully processed. Naruto's fingers brushed the hilt of his tanto, feeling the weight of the blade against his side.
Shizuka's voice broke his concentration.
"Just… Be ready, Shizuka," he muttered, barely looking at her. He didn't need to say more. The unease was palpable, too much to ignore.
Stepping out of the office, the tightness in his chest deepened. Something was happening. But what, exactly, was the question.
A scream ripped through the mundane silence of the school atmosphere.
A soul-tearing, lungs-burning scream that kept on going and going, long past where a breath should have given out, high and raw, clawing at the ears. It wasn't a scream of pain.
Naruto was already moving for his office, chakra roiling in his coils in agitation.
He didn't need to think. His chakra knew.
Blood.
Shizuka's first hint that something might be happening was when she noticed Saeko come in early to drop her bag in the sports complex - a large thing more suited for going camping and golfing. The girl was barely winded, but it still drew her attention because today was not a kendo practice day.
Her second hint came from observing Naruto.
Naruto was always controlled. Composed. But today? His shoulders were just that bit tighter. His steps were just that bit forced. Shizuka had spent years watching people without seeming like she was. And right now, he was setting off every quiet alarm in her head.
He seemed uneasy - something that would be the equivalent of shitting in their pants for anyone else.
She cornered him and tried to draw him in with conversation. That he didn't care enough to counter her was her third hint. His replies were just that bit… she did not have the words, but her instincts were sitting up alertly by that point.
Shizuka did not know what was going on, but she heard it loud and clear. She kept the conversation going on autopilot, watching Naruto get more tense as time went on. The sudden crackle of the PA system nearly seemed like a relief to him.
Attention all students!
The sudden announcement snatched his complete attention. He went from genial, if a little bored, to painfully alert in the time it took to say "Attention". Shizuka perked up, taking notice of his attention even if she could not understand it. His visible unease now was enough to put her on edge.
There has been a slight emergency! All students should calmly and quietly leave the classrooms in an orderly manner, and gather at…
The sudden interruption by a loud crash had him moving immediately. The sudden motion was explosive, almost startling in its rapidity. Her heart raced, then began to slow down as nothing else happened besides him looking out of the window and sneaking his hand into his jacket.
"Naruto," she started.
"Just… Be ready, Shizuka," he replied almost absently. "Something feels very off."
With that, he stepped out of her office.
She considered following him, regardless of what he said when a scream ripped through the mundane silence of the school atmosphere.
Not a startled yelp. Not a panicked cry. A soul-tearing, lungs-burning scream that didn't stop.
She rushed to the window nervously, peeking out in cautious curiosity.
It went on, long past where a breath should have given out, high and raw, clawing at the ears. It wasn't a scream of pain. It was worse.
It was mindless.
Trapped.
Drowning in something too horrible to name.
It spread fear, like a cloying miasma.
Even these sheep should know, should feel it in their bones.
She didn't have any hope for that. These were people who had been lulled into a sort of mastered helplessness - the sort who would look confused as a homeless person stabbed them with a bit of glass for their flashy phones.
Her mind flashed through everyone in the school, cataloging those who could do something. Her list was a painfully short list of two - Saeko, and Naruto.
Fortunately, those two would likely be in the sports complex, or making their way there for the weapons stored there.
The scream abruptly ended, the new silence weighing oppressively on the atmosphere.
It made her decision for her.
Shizuka slipped off her heels and put them in her bag, taking care to wrap her blonde hair with her sweater as a shawl as she slipped out of the door. He got to the entrance of the clinic and looked out carefully - the scream came from around the administrative building. It was fortunate that she was going in nearly the opposite direction.
The door leading into the sports complex was slightly ajar - probably from Naruto's passage. She slipped in and shut the door, taking the time to lock it behind her before making her way across the gym and towards the stairs that would lead to Naruto's office.
"Ms Marikawa,"
She turned abruptly, foot slipping from the bottom stairs as she flinched violently. Her heart was in her throat - then she saw who it was. Saeko Busujima.
Thank fuck!, she thought. I'm with the two most dangerous people in this school.
"Sa-Saeko dear," she stammered, not needing to feign her flustered demeanor. "Did you hear that dreadful scream?"
"I heard it, Ms Marikawa," replied the young… woman, really. "I planned to arm myself, and report to Mr Uzumaki as he's the closest teacher to the kendo office."
Shizuka noted the handle peeking out of the young woman's gym bag and nodded absently even as she waved Saeko over. In the eerie silence, she clearly heard a door close above her.
"That must be Mr Uzumaki," said Saeko, and sure enough, the redhead flowed down the stairs in that strange way he had of moving.