I just believe that if I continuously cook on this story, I could have something good here.
Anyways welcome BACK my fellow dragons/other mythologies to yet another chapter! Today is Ryo's solo journey as he attempts to get home, and I wonder how this will go! Good? Bad? WHO KNOWS?!
...Wait me? I wrote this. Meep.
QUESTION OF THE DAY! If a zombie outbreak were to happen, what is the FIRST thing you are doing?
Hope you all enjoy!
When Ryo was born, one could tell he wasn't like the other babies.
Whereas many babies cried or whined or whatnot, Ryo himself didn't. It was unexpected even for his parents, who -as they already had two children prior- had pretty much come to expect pretty much anything. But…no. The newest Kirishima just opened up his eyes and stared at them, no noise, no movement, no nothing. Just…staring.
Of course this worried his parents. Did something go wrong? Akio, his mother, was sure nothing troubled her during her pregnancy, nor was she taking anything during those nine months either. But after some tests and examinations of both him and her…it was deduced he was fine. There were no problems with him. He was a perfectly healthy baby. The doctor's theorized he was just getting used to being alive and all, and maybe he would act like every other child as he got used to his surroundings and life.
…But this didn't matter to Akio. No matter what was wrong with her baby she'd love him regardless. Her husband, Thomas, agreed. After all their current two kids were little bundles themselves, compared with them and both of them in general then one more "weirdo" would be fine.
Eventually Akio would be discharged from the hospital, heading home with her baby in her arms. Her dear husband rode them back, though they stopped to get some food for the other two little ones by themselves at the house…now normally they wouldn't leave one six year old and one five year old by themselves at home but they were responsible enough to be alone for an hour.
…Thankfully the house wasn't destroyed when they got there.
"Hey kids! Your momma's still alive!" Akio shouted with a grin, slamming the door open with a kick whilst her hands held a bundled up blanket. From behind her, a rather nervous looking male laughed with equal tone to his look, trying to wave his hands as if to calm her.
The woman had a stark resemblance to her son's future look, though her eyes were definitely more wild and expressive, not to mention she could actually grin and all plus more feminine in general. She had back length white hair, though a good portion seemed to have been tied up into a messy ponytail. Her eyes were red, a crimson red that could paralyze most if she looked at them wrong, but at the moment it only showed excitement and warmth. She was rather tall as well, standing at 5'9 and looked relatively thin despite her well endowed figure both up and down, her rather toned body seeming to persist even despite the pregnancy she had only recently managed out of.
Meanwhile behind her was a male about four inches shorter than her, with a slightly bent posture and way more jittery than his confident looking significant other. He had black hair that was styled upwards a bit, and when he opened his eyes you could see he had similar colored eyes to his wife. Unlike his wife who had some muscle on her, he was pretty much just thin, almost like an average nerd in movies. This all probably would've been demoralizing to many, but when the white-haired woman looked back at him with a small smile and look of warmth, it suddenly never even mattered.
"KIDS! COME MEET YOUR NEW BROTHER!" Akio shouted back out to the house she and her husband lived in, grinning widely when she heard a voice pick up from up the stairs
"NEW BROTHER!"
A little girl of only six years old damn near came tumbling down the stairs, having to pick herself up mid stumble so that she wouldn't end up on the floor and sending her family back to the hospital. But no, she damn near slid down the last few steps and stood in front of her parents -the male of which closed and locked the door behind them-, rocking back and forth on her feet with her hands behind her back, a wide and excited grin on her face.
"And the frontrunner of my spawn has appeared! Who's momma's little girl?!"
"ME! ME!"
"And WHO are you?!"
"YUKI!"
Yuki, the oldest sibling of the now three, saluted her mother with a big, wide grin on her face. Her was a near splitting image of her mother, though unlike her mother her hair was formed into a small bob, and her red eyes weren't nearly as piercing as her mother's, not even close. Plus…she was small.
"There we go! How're ya squirt?!" Akio asked her daughter, ruffling her hair as said girl started to cackle
"Great! I put a bow on Damian, AND I get to see my new baby brother! Best day ever!" She exclaimed merrily, quite literally bouncing in place
"I hate you." A voice called out, the three in the room looking towards the stairs to see the last remaining member of the family having finally appeared. Five years old, white hair tied into a bow, red eyes that looked utterly done with everything, it all pointed towards Damian Kirishima; the newly made middle child of the family.
"Hey Damian!" Akio greeted, the boy giving her and his dad a curt little bow
"Mother. Father." He greeted before looking back up at them. "Please don't leave me alone with Yuki anymore."
"W-What?! B-But we had so much fun!" Yuki protested, looking ready to cry
"Fun for you…" Her brother replied, all while Akio laughed and Thomas sighed. Sadly they didn't have much choice but to leave them here, considering how sudden the hospital visit needed to be; and with how neither he nor Akio really had any family -the latter was an orphan, and he wasn't on speaking terms with his- or friends to contact on such short notice…
…Yeah he definitely should've brought them. He was glad they're alright.
"Kids! I introduce you to the newest member of our beautiful family! Meet the one, the only, RYO KIRISHIMA!" Akio shouted happily, holding out said baby towards the two, said infant just staring at the two
"...He doesn't look happy." The second youngest of the household commented, his mother's face dropping a bit
"He…is pretty special." She said before holding her baby close to her. "But we still love him! He's probably just getting used to everything!"
"That's what the doctors said at least." Her husband added, the woman next to him nodding her head rapidly. She'd be blinking quickly though, as Yuki had jumped up and straight up swiped Ryo out of her arms and into her hands.
"Hi Ryo! I'm Yuki! Your big sister!" She greeted the infant, who stared at her. "Ooooh, I wonder what you're going to be! I wanna be a firefighter! Or a cop like mom!"
"...Heh, a cop…" Akio muttered to herself amused. Not exactly true, but whatever made her baby happy.
"Why are you bald? Are all babies bald?" Yuki questioned, looking all around her little brother's head and feeling it up. She thought the stork would've just given him hair, was she, GASP, lied to by her friends?! How could they?!
"Yuki…you're going to kill him…" Damian tried to tell her, but the girl just extended Ryo out and give him a big smile, sparkles filling her eyes
"Well whatever! Let's be very happy! I'll do my best as your big sister!" She declared, the baby continuing to stare at her silently…
…Before beginning to giggle lightly.
*GASP!*
The sparkles in Yuki's eyes seemed to brighten, and her smile widened and opened as she watched her new brother begin to giggle and smile at her, even trying to reach out towards her. "He's laughing! He's laughing! Mommy look! I made him laugh!"
"...She…She made him laugh before I could…" Akio managed out in shock, sinking down to her knees. "I carried him for nine months…and I couldn't make him laugh once…"
"I-I'm sure it's alright honey…" Her husband tried to comfort, patting her on the shoulder as Damian looked utterly floored
"Why is this a big deal…?"
For the next few years, the lives of the Kirishima family went on rather peacefully. They lived in their little home, Akio had enough leftover money from her time in the "military" to support the family, Thomas still worked his office job, and the kids?
Well, they grew up; as any normal kid as the years went by.
Yuki was the more outspoken extrovert of the three, easily making friends and taking up many interests throughout skill. Damian however was almost the opposite, choosing to keep to himself most of the time, his interests lying more in the sciences or…swords for whatever reason. As the two oldest of the siblings they did their best to teach their little brother about the world, give him advice, and overall take him under their wing…
Speaking of Ryo…he was a miniature version of what we would know him as in present day, though he did smile and laugh more, and showed more positive emotions as well. At the ripe ole' age of eight, just like both of his siblings, we was considered rather intelligent for his age, even without trying most of the time. He shared his family's love of sweets, and grew to look like them in his own way, but like his brother kept more to himself, not really making friends as he simply didn't care enough. He had Yuki after all, probably his favorite person ever and to ever exist, so why would he need anyone else?
Well apparently for "human connection," something he apparently lacked according to his sister, who apparently had dozens upon dozens of friends. So she tried everything to get him to make pals. Taking him to dojo's, training centers, parks, getting him to talk to kids during school, everything. She loved spending time with her brother, but he really needed friends his age, and even if she knew she'd cry herself to sleep at not being Ryo's favorite person later, this would be good for him!
Unfortunately, Ryo just scared or pushed everyone away due to his disinterested nature and overall look, something of which caused problems for her family trailing back to their mother. But she wouldn't give up! He would make a friend! He was only eight years old, he was bound to find someone!
And Lord and behold he did cause for the next few years after a fateful encounter at a sandcastle, her baby brother would meet Takashi Kumuro and Saya Takagi.
It came as a genuine surprise that after the first day they hung out after she "encouraged" and totally not begged Ryo to play with them when the brown haired kid invited him to hang out. Something that happened again, and again, and again until they hung out practically every day. She and her parents were overjoyed, and she could tell her brother enjoyed spending time with them. He even made another friend in some girl named Rei because of it! Life was going good!
…At least, until one certain day came to pass.
"RYO! We're going home!" Yuki called out to her brother from the door, who sat in the middle of what appeared to be a resting room with a certain pink haired girl who seemed to be teaching him some math rather proudly
"Okay…" He said, closing his book as the girl in front of him pouted a bit. "Can we draw tomorrow? Math is boring."
"Hmph, fine." She said, crossing her arms and looking away annoyed. What did Kumuro see in this loser…?
"Come on Saya, let's not be like that." A tall, older lady said, who happened to look similar to the girl in question, who pouted more but nodded
"Okay mommy…" She said, said woman chuckling a bit and reaching down a hand toward Ryo, who took it and stood up as she led the boy over towards his sister
Earlier today Ryo, Takashi, and Saya were all playing at a park, but because of a injury due to falling off some monkey bars Takashi had to leave early, leaving only the more colorful haired kids at the park. The girl of the two decided that she didn't want to stay in some stinky park anymore, and convinced her mom to take the boy with her back home with her to play some more, only if to see why her other friend liked hanging around him so much. He was so…uninteresting, and didn't seem to really have much fun doing anything, so in her young mind she was curious.
Of course her mom didn't mind, and the boy's sister was ELATED that her brother had a playdate, even going as far as to tease him the entire way there, much to his chagrin. Neither expected to see how LOADED Saya and her family was, but hey, a friend was a friend.
A few hours later, Yuki decided it was best to go home as it was getting late, and their parents have probably made dinner by now. She loved seeing her brother get along with others, but there was a time and place for everything, hehe.
"Yuki, Ryo, you two are welcome to come by any time." Saya's mother, Yuriko, told the two with a kind smile
"O-Oh, thank you! You heard that Ryo?! We're invited to a rich person's house anytime!" Yuki exclaimed towards her brother happily, fist pumping as well. Ryo just looked embarrassed.
"Sis…" He nigh-whined out, earning a chuckle from the older woman
"Are you sure you don't want me to walk you to your place? It is getting quite dark after all." The pink haired lady tells the younger girl, her daughter holding onto her hand from besides her and squeezing it
"Yeah, it'll be fine. We live rather close by, so no biggie!" Yuki said, jabbing a thumb to herself proudly. "Besides, I practice in a ton of martial arts! So just in case-
"Stop."
The deep voice cut the girl off, everyone's heads turning their attention towards the booming voice that came closer and closer to them. A tall man with a serious look on his face and eyes that could make a predator tremble, Soichiro Takagi walked over before stopping beside his wife, gazing down at the two kids before him who looked up at him confused…and a little intimidated.
Could you blame them?!
"You two should stay the night. I'm sure it would be better than traversing the night at such an hour." He offered, the two blinking
"Umm, not to be rude…but why?" Yuki asked, nearly flinching back when the serious gaze of the male turned towards her…only for him to close his eyes
"I just have a bad feeling about tonight. It may be best if you stay here tonight, then head home in the morning." He told them simply, confusing everyone present. But…it was pretty late…and it could be dangerous for two kids to be going out…
"Ummm, okay. I guess that makes sense? Ryo, you wanna stay here?" Yuki asked the boy, who looked up at her silently before looking back at Saya and nodding. "Well…I'll just tell mom and dad we're coming home in the morning."
The older male nodded. "A phone's in the back room."
Yuki let go of her brother's head, gave him a head pat, and left. Meanwhile Saya walked over towards him and placed her hands on her hips, giving him a light glare.
"You cannot sleep in my room."
"..."
Yuriko meanwhile stood confused at this turn of events, all while her husband stood silent. He couldn't help this dreaded feeling in his chest, that something bad would happen to these two if they left this house and headed home tonight. They may not be his kids, but they were kids nonetheless; one of them being his daughter's friends. Until this feeling in his chest went away…he believed it would be better if they stayed somewhere "safe" for the night.
Now, how to explain this to his wife without sounding crazy?
And he wouldn't know how right he was.
He brought Yuki and Ryo home the next morning, and all three were stunned to see the house tapped off with multiple police cars, ambulances, and even civilians nearby. It was…like a crime scene, and it by all means was one. Soichiro even went up to question one of the officers on the matter, but the answer he gave him was something he couldn't expect.
"There was a home invasion last night. Three casualties, all adults. There was a child though, and he was injured. The neighbors reported the incident after hearing the noise earlier this morning around 6."
Akio and Thomas Kirishima were both dead. The former with a bullet in her head, seemingly stricken out of nowhere, and her husband with two stab wounds in his body. Damian, the sole survivor, laid near the body of who was presumed to be one of the assailants of this robbery, a cut on his body. The house was ransacked, multiple items were stolen, an all around awful experience.
Yuki needed to be held back from rushing towards her brother once he was pulled onto the ambulance, even more so when her parents had the same thing happen to them. Ryo meanwhile…just stood there, as if he hadn't registered what had happened, only falling to his knees once his young brain grasped the situation.
From that day on, neither Yuki nor Ryo would go back to that house for years, their new home being at the Takagi residence, the family taking them in with open arms. They didn't have any other family to go to it appeared, something made the most apparent once a funeral for both parents was held a month later. Besides the Kirishima children, including a fresh out of the hospital Damian, and the Takagi family…there were only people from both parents' jobs present, along with friends of both Ryo and Yuki who wanted to share their condolences.
Well, it made the idea of taking the three in much easier…
With the help of Soichiro the robbers were found, and eventually imprisoned…but the damage was still done. And the kids were left to pick up the pieces after their world was turned upside down…
Ryo sat by a tree, alone.
The funeral service just ended, the event hosted by the Takagi's considering no one else was willing to give one to Akio or Thomas besides the former's job out of respect. The boy didn't know who his mom worked for, but it seemed serious based on the adult's facial expressions…
But that didn't matter.
His mom and dad were dead.
Damian got hurt because he tried to help his father.
It was just them three now.
"Hey hey…" Yuki, dressed in a black dress, greeted her brother as she came up to him. She had a smile on her face…but anyone could tell it was forced, even without looking at her red eyes.
"Are…you alright…?" She asked before wincing. What kind of question was that…?
"...No…" Her brother replied, pulling his knees up to his face and narrowing his watery eyes at nothing. His sister couldn't help but look at him concerned. Ever since their parents' deaths he barely spoke, barely ate, barely did…anything. He just spent most time drifting off into space, not even crying at most points…
…Not that she could blame him. She was barely keeping herself together to begin with…
"Hey now…" She began, walking over and taking a seat next to him by the tree. "It'll be alright…"
"No it won't…" Ryo cut off, the tears by now looking ready to come out. "Mom and dad aren't coming back…"
Yuki frowned, then looked to the ground herself before looking at the service. Mr. Takagi had a hand on Damian's shoulder as they looked at the coffins in the ground, her brother unmoving. She saw him when he woke up, and he took the news hard, harder than even she did no matter how much he tried hiding it. He was trying to be strong…but she knew even as young as she was it wasn't healthy…
…But was it wrong to want to put up a front?
Her gaze hardened. Her siblings needed her more than ever. She was their older sister, and she was over here crying like a little baby while they were having the worst time of their lives. Tch! What kind of sister was she?!
"Hey Ryo…don't be upset anymore, cause I'm going to handle things from now on!" She declared with determination, her brother looking over at her
"Huh?" He questioned, only to see his sister giving him a wide smile
"I'll make sure nothing happens to you or Damian again. So…I'll watch over you from now on! So don't cry, I'll keep you guys safe! Promise!" She exclaimed with a thumbs up before bringing the boy into a hug
"Never forget, your big sis will always be here for you. You don't have to worry or be sad anymore!"
Bold words coming from such a small child, but noble all the same.
She upheld that to the best of her ability. Even as young as 14, the girl didn't try to take up a "motherlike" role, but as someone her siblings could rely on no matter what. Were they the same? Probably, but Yuki just knew she'd do her best so that her siblings wouldn't have to feel this pain anymore! No matter what!
Of course it wasn't without help. A girl barely a teenager couldn't do much in the big wide world without…troubling matters, and the Takagi family was more than willing to let her and Ryo stay with them until they felt they were ready to leave; something that extended to Damian once he was discharged from the hospital. Their house was big after all, they could afford the space.
So for the next four years, the Kirishima family lived with the Takagi's, and a little after she turned 18 and saved up enough from work over the years, Yuki bought out their old home that Saya's dad thankfully bought prior, and moved her and her siblings back into it. Sure, she had to give up any dreams of going to college to focus on jobs to pay for the house -especially since she refused to take any more money from the Takagi's…unless they were in dire need- and to put Damian through college and Ryo through his remaining schooling, but she didn't mind. Her life meant little to the lives her brother's could live, and she was happy throwing it away for them!
…Neither of them liked that very much, especially Ryo. To him, Yuki lived such a hard life trying to be strong for them despite everything going on around her, it wasn't fair that she had to give everything up for them. He always planned on paying her back in some way, and knew he definitely would once he grew up.
Years passed, and the present day came. Yuki stayed at home and worked when she could, providing for the house alongside Damian who took up a few jobs to help his sister in paying for his college; as even with all the scholarships he's gotten due to his intelligence, he still needed the money. Ryo? Well he was in his last year of highschool, and had a relatively normal life thanks to Yuki and her efforts, and he helped her out whenever he could. They all changed since their childhood, and while they had people willing to aid them, they all felt more connected to each other…especially Ryo to Yuki, who he viewed as the center of his world in a way.
It wasn't the best life, hell with what they've been through you'd be hard pressed to see if any of them were truly "good." But it was fine in the end. They had each other, and nothing would take that away from them.
They hoped so at least.
Present Day:
*SHINE!* *SHINE!* *SHINE!*
*Flutter* …
After a few hours of rest, though still early into the day, Ryo woke up to the end of the world once again.
"Tch, not as bad as I would've thought." He thought to himself, sitting up and cracking his back. "Still pretty bad though…"
He looked down from the top of the roof of the convenience store he took refuge on, the sight looking even higher due to the little section he was on that held a door and even allowed him up here to begin with. Deciding not to focus on his current height, his light-scouting was done. There seemed to be no undead that made its way onto the roof, and any undead around the store was spread out, nothing he couldn't handle. As for the store itself…well, he was kind of hoping any zombies inside of it left during the hours they couldn't get to him.
After double checking around the entire roof to make sure it was safe to come down from his hiding spot, he'd make a curt nod to himself. Grabbing onto the axe besides him and his crossbow, something he'd promptly strap onto himself and attach to his side -he totally has this on right-, he'd get off the entrance and land in front of the door to the roof. He'd then proceed to look at his blazer that he tightly wrapped into a doorknob, the sole intent to buy some time for the undead to knock come inside; and it looked like it worked out better than he could have anticipated. Good, he was convinced this wouldn't hold those monsters back for the first two hours he was up here.
"Great, now to figure out how to leave." He muttered to himself, looking around the roof as he began planning his next moves
Now, how did our favorite axe wielder even get into this predicament? Last time we saw him he was running towards a group of undead in his way, and being technical the flashback that was just viewed. Well, it's quite a story…
Flashback:
Running.
Running was all Ryo could do at the moment.
Now, he was never one to consistently run. Sure he did it for exercise and as a way to burn off the calories he'd get from all the sweets he eats, even with his above average metabolism, but he was never one for running really. He was fit enough, and he was rather quick, but there was never a situation outside of P.E. where he was all but forced to run.
*Tap!* *Tap!* *Tap!* *Tap!* *Tap!*
But this was an exception!
"They just keep coming…" The white-red head thought to himself in annoyance, seeing yet another undead lunge towards him
60 minutes.
He's been outside fighting the undead…for an entire hour.
Honestly it was probably longer; at some point he just tuned out anything not involved with killing the creatures trying to have him for dinner. It was funny, really. He took out that initial group, then he only barely was able to rest after. It was like these things had a sense they were unaware about, where if one dies, even if there was zero noise, more would appear in a twisted way of revenge. Sure, this wasn't the case the entire time, but it was still annoying as hell to deal with consistently. Double since he was fighting a horde for literal hours just before!
Well, on the bright side, he thinks he's learned more about the undead during his time out.
They are much more intelligent than they seemed. They knew how to differentiate between something living and dead, rather easily too; so even with their blindness, they could still track someone down, their lack of sight seeming to barely be an inconvenience in some cases Not to mention, they don't seem to target animals for whatever reason; which should've been obvious with how none of them targeted Zeke who barked up a storm yesterday. Why? Who knew, and he certainly didn't care for the reason when he'd likely never know.
*Groan*
Alright, enough analyzing. He's got some extra killing to do.
*SLICE!*
Stepping to the right to avoid the lunging zombie, Ryo would swing his axe's blade into the skull of the zombie, the weapon cutting deep into its head and rendering it dead on the spot. He pulled it out, gripping the handle tight enough that his knuckles whitened, just before dodging yet another undead, turning around its back, and slicing behind him and into its head before pulling out once again. He didn't have any time to rest, as two more came at him from the front, earning a light "tch" and glare from the male.
He bolted forward, sliding between the two before they got too close to him or each other before turning on his heel, slashing horizontally into the two undead's heads. One went down immediately, but the other was slightly further back than the other, and as a result only had its eyes and nose cut into. Just as it opened its mouth and got read to move forward, it would catch a mean punch to the face that staggered it enough for its head to be sliced into from the top, bringing it to its knees before falling back when the weapon was pulled from it.
Ryo swatted the blood off of his hand, muttering a little "gross" before looking downhill to see more undead groaning and walking towards him. Shit, this wasn't good-
*NAAAGH!*
Turning with slightly wide eyes and a noticeable quickness, the boy would just barely be able to horizontally hold his axe's handle just to avoid getting bitten by a zombie from behind. The undead being immediately bit into the metal handle, not even a foot away from the male who used all of his energy to hold back the creature undoubtedly stronger than him. He could smell the rancid breath of the zombie, one filled with rotting flesh from not only itself but someone else, as well as the almost coppery smell of blood that was oozing off of it as well. How disgusting, it's sad what can become of you in this world now.
Seeing how continuing to engage in this back and forth would only be detrimental to his livelihood, be it because the undead would win or another one of the dozen around him would approach, Ryo acted fast. With a grunt, just as the undead reached forward to grab his blazer and over his handle -finally having the bright idea to just stop biting and go over it-, the red eyed male would use all his strength to kick it in it's lower legs; at first dropping it to one knee, then the second after the concurring hit. Just as the undead looked up and widened its mouth, it's face would be split in two by a grunting Ryo, who tore the axe's blade out with a bloody splatter as he used the back of his hand to wipe the blood off of his chin.
"Tch, this is getting annoying." He murmured, just before dodging a grapple from a random zombie and backing away into another one, who would've bit the white-red head if he didn't barely push it back with enough force to cause a fall
Opening and closing his fingers on his blade from strain, the boy would begin to move uphill just as he was doing originally; all the while slashing, punching, kicking, or shoving any undead in his way. God, these things were never ending, and they just continued to keep on coming and coming…but his house was this way, he just needed to continue on pushing through…
Unfortunately for Ryo, he'd find out quickly that this was simply impossible.
*SLASH!*
After cutting entirely through one zombie's head, Ryo felt his posture slouch for a millisecond before he grit his teeth lightly, swinging his axe into the head of another undead before pulling it out and leaving it to drop; though that time, it took two pulls instead of one. Spartan kicking another one away, he'd have to dodge one lunging at him before throwing his axe's blade into its head while it was on the ground, clicking his tongue when he pulled the weapon out.
This wasn't good. He was getting weaker.
Ryo has been fighting the undead for hours at this time. The second his group's humvee crashed he nigh-immediately jumped out into fighting off what appeared to be an army of the undead well until sundown, and here it was dark outside with him fighting off dozens upon dozens of zombies that wanted his head on their plates. His only "rest" was the quick seconds where his group, namely Saeko or Hirano, could kill an undead near him to let him take a breath, or when he could barely sneak past any undead on his way to his place. Most of the past few hours for the boy has been nothing but fighting, and his body was reaping in the consequences.
Now normally, Ryo would've probably enjoyed this. He enjoyed -most- challenges, hell it's one of the reasons he liked Saya so much. He even liked fighting, due to his sister having enrolled him in some martial arts training when he was younger; down to the point he'd even fight some random delinquents in and out of school. It wasn't frequent nowadays, he wouldn't even call it a proper interest unless he was really doing it, but it was there…
…But he was not really having fun right now.
Like sure this was a challenge. It was an adrenaline rush like no other, he was enjoying his heartbeat pounding in his chest, and he probably smirked sometimes when slaughtering a few of the zombies in what he could only assume to be his over a hundred kill count. But even he has limits. Fighting for hours on end with only an axe since your crossbow ran out of bolts, constantly moving, no true breaks, on an empty stomach, he was reaching his end and no amount of "fun" he was having could make up for it.
The zombies are undead. They shed their humanitarian limits the second they came back, pushing them beyond what can be done. Ryo however…was still alive. He was very much still human.
His bones ached, his muscles were straining with relentless strain, his hands were shaking, his legs wanted to do nothing but shut down, he was slowing down ever so slightly, and worst of all the adrenaline he was running on for the past while was starting to deplete. The more this went on, and it was because of how many undead there seemed to be that wanted him specifically for some reason, he was going to lose. His body would shut down, and he would be undead food they at least had to work for.
…And being eaten sucked. Ignoring the pain that would definitely come with it, it was the biggest "you lose" factor to the boy. He didn't even have a way to kill himself should it come to that, or if he got bit and he knew that even cutting off whatever part of him got hit couldn't come off before the relatively fast infection consumed him. He had no bolts, and honestly he didn't know if he wanted to slice his throat with his axe…
…Moving on, he couldn't keep up fighting. He needed to get out of this situation and hold up for the night. His home was still quite a ways away, so he knew trying to just push through there would be Hell by itself with how he was feeling. Not to mention…if his siblings were there, well he'd likely bring a horde to them.
*SLASH!*
*Pant* *Pant* *Pant*
Slicing through the head of yet another undead, the boy would take deep but quick breaths as he brought himself into a battle position. So his options were to die…die involving his only remaining family…or run and hope he can get out of this as unlikely as it seemed.
The result was obvious.
*SWOOSH!*
He ran away the second he found an opening.
As quick as his tired and aching legs could take him, the white-red head fled uphill and did all he could to avoid and push around any undead that tried coming close to him. It wasn't easy in the slightest either, as more of them came, probably hearing all of the noise. Before he knew it a horde was appearing around him, even as he did his best to stay quiet, though it was hard because of his footsteps and breaths. Even when he got uphill and back onto the streets of the city, undead was still all around and ready to feast.
"Tch, I have no choice."
Eyes shifting from an annoyed and determined glare to an utterly exhausted, somehow murderous, one, the boy readied his axe once again. Cocking it back, he looked towards and incoming zombie-
*SLICE!*
The axe's blade tore right into the creature's skull, the boy tearing out of it before continuing his rush forward and slashing at the heads of two more undead, pushing another that tried coming close before ducking and coming up with an upwards slash that split the head of yet another undead. Ryo was strong, and he knew it, but the undead despite having the same…what's the word, durability as regular humans, he needed to be going all out still due to the undead's persistence; as they weren't bound by pain or exhaustion regular humans, or at least that's what he's saw.
So while he continued killing the zombies, he continued to push forward through the streets and hoped that he could find a place to actually hold out and that he wouldn't get swarmed. His pace began to slow down somewhat in his exhaustion, to the point he needed to outright stop at points to catch his breath before immediately having to start swinging once the undead got close to him again.
"Hah…Hah…Hah…Hah…Hah…"
Pressing a hand against a brick wall, the boy rubbed his hand up his hair, sweat beading on his face and dropping onto the ground. He was covered in blood not of his own, his clothes definitely ruined and stained, though the red eyed male didn't care; he was just glad none of this blood got inside of him. Then again the back of his hands, his neck, and the bottom half of his face was still covered, so maybe he was infected and just didn't know it…
…Well if he was, he'll know in the next few minutes. For now? Continue on.
Ryo continued his trek, passing through the many homes and buildings, his axe swings now involving mainly pushes as, well, it was as good as he was gonna get. Letting out a light "tch" at yet another close call, the male would nigh-stumble forward somewhat, feeling the pain in his core from all of his movement increasing to more of his body. Alright, he was gonna die out here 10 blocks from his house. Wonderful. Well…not how he would have liked to die, but he guessed he should accept it while he could…
He wondered how long it would take to die from throat slicing via an axe.
Well he should mentally apologize to his siblings for not making it to them, he really did fuck up there; and he really, REALLY wanted to see them, especially Yuki, too. He's sorry to his mom and dad for not living a long life, though that was kind of fucked the second this happened. Sorry to his friends, he really wished he could've helped them more. Rei, sorry he couldn't be there for her. Saya…sorry. Alice, sorry for trying to kill you. Zeke, for glaring-
Wait, was that a store?
The second he squinted his eyes to make sure he wasn't looking at a mirage, it turns out it wasn't! It was a little gas station, and a door up on the roof! Well shit, there is a God!
Adrenaline filled his system once more, red eyes glinting in determination and minor excitement as he ran over towards the gas station, completely ignoring the undead around him, resorting to just pushing them away from him and just evading them if he could. He'd be inside of the store in no time, shutting the thankfully not automated door before looking around. Shit, what could he use as a reasonable barricade…?
…The broom will do.
*Groooooannn!*
As the zombies groaned and began to pile up outside of the gas station, Ryo ignored the dead's stares through the glass and rushed and grabbed at the broom, bringing it back to the door and locking it in place so that the door wouldn't open. It was small, practically meaningless, and the undead would no doubt break through if more came…but dammit, it was the first win he's taken since Saeko and the rest pulled up to help him, Takashi, Alice and Zeke.
Placing a hand on the counter, the white-red head too deep breaths as he looked around, mentally fist pumping when he saw that none were present. The place was a bit ransacked, but he could deal with that, it could finally rest for more than one second!
Precisely one minute later he smashed open the cash register and any locks for the drawers, looking for any key that could let him upstairs. There wasn't a body in here, so he was shit out of luck once the undead came in and-
*Crack!*
…Okay…fuck it.
He ran over towards the door, deciding it was better to not look at the incoming horde building up outside of the gas station moments away from getting in through sheer force. He proceeded to slam the butt of his axe into the doorknob a few times until it snapped and fell to the ground in a fit of "clanks!" Ryo quickly rushed into the stairway behind the door, closing it behind him as he booked it upstairs and proceeded to bang on the doorknob of the upper door.
*Crack*
*Crack*
*SHATTER!*
The undead were finally in the store, many falling over onto themselves and onto the glass that broke apart and landed onto the ground. However even when getting stabbed by the shattered glass they were undeterred, each undead walking around inside of the gas station for their next few meal. Dozens upon dozens were wandering in or outside of the store, completely surrounding it, as if waiting for an opportunity…
"Tch…HUP!"
Unfortunately for them, Ryo made his way onto the roof, and by "fixing" the doorknob and tying his bloody blazer on it and the walls around it to make a decent lock he managed to "keep" the undead away. Sure, they could always make their way into the staircase, cause that door below sure as hell wasn't fully closed due to the lock being broken, but he had a backup plan. He leapt onto the top of the…cube that held the door and stairway, standing up and brandishing his axe, looking around to see the horde all around the gas station.
"Tch, glad I didn't take the back entrance." He commented. While he did have half a mind to book it out the back…it was too much of a risk. At least on here, he had the high ground and with the space on this cube could actually rest up somewhat, even if he had to be careful where he stepped should the undead surround it…
Sighing in exhausted relief, the boy would sit down and wait in case of an upcoming battle. After three hours passed and more undead began leaving, however, he would finally let his eyes shut and he would fall asleep in a sitting position. He could be a light sleeper when he wanted to be, so just in case he heard the slightest groan near him…he was ready.
Thankfully, he was able to rest "easy."
Present Day:
Even if not ideal, that entrance was still a better place to sleep than the vehicles he was in the past nights.
But no time to worry about the past. It was a brand new day, his house wasn't too far off from here, and he was mostly well rested. Plans for the day? Stop by his place and check and see if his siblings are there, and if not well blind hope for their survival was better than the opposite, even if he was a rather "realist" type of person. After that go pop by Takashi's house since he lives close, then head over to Tak-he means Saya's place and hope that one he's allowed entrance and two the place wasn't run down and his friends were dead or separated.
…Fuck, that's a very real possibility.
Of course the undead problem still existed, but he was much more confident about taking them now. It was daytime, he actually had most of his energy -ignoring the fact he hadn't eaten in like two days and his only intake of water had been what was grabbed before his group left Marikawa's "friend's" place-, and he felt like killing once again. He was back, and now there was only one real problem…
Yeah how was he gonna get down?
He didn't trust that all of the undead left the store, nor that some didn't make their way into the staircase; hell, them not being on the roof by itself was a miracle. So that means he'd either have to jump off this roof and perform the most perfect landing so that he didn't break anything, or he potentially fights the undead that was in the store and get bitten…
…Ryo proceeded to walk around the roof, spotting some undead limping and waltzing around, potential threats if he wasn't careful…but inside of the store though, he still didn't know…
…Oh look, a conveniently placed car. Right underneath the roof. In perfect range for him to jump onto…
.
.
.
*BANG!* *CRASH!*
"Tch!" The white-red head hissed out the second his back hit the car, him bouncing and rolling over the hood and subsequently onto the ground. Okay first, ouch. Second, he actually got out of that relatively fine. Still, that didn't stop him from staring up at the sky with an utterly done expression on his face. If God existed and by some means he came face to face with him, he was going to have so many questions…
*Grooooooaaaaannn*
Looking over to his side, the boy would watch as a few undead began to advance towards him with eating intent. Should've expected that with how hard he came crashing down onto that van…oh well.
Rolling onto his feet, the white-red head would brandish his blade and prepare himself. He was so close to home and getting back to his friends, like hell he'd die here!
Timeskip:
And he was correct, he didn't die there.
Despite all the odds stacked against him, despite all of the creatures he's faced, despite how close he's come to death…he didn't die there; and he was currently reaping the rewards of his struggle.
"Finally…Home."
Ryo couldn't help but look somewhat relieved the second he stepped before his house, a small smirk alongside softer eyes found its way onto his face. Now, he wasn't one of those people that so desperately wanted to go home during a tragedy, hell he didn't really yearn for it unless it was to worry about his siblings whenever those thoughts crossed his mind. But even still…after everything he's just been through, he felt a little warm inside seeing his childhood home. It was even giving him flashes of better times…
Coming home from school or from hanging out with either Takashi or Saya, seeing Yuki usually watching something on the T.V excited or utterly saddened depending on what she was watching. With her then making food for them both, it sucking, then them waiting until Damian got home from his job at the science lab for him to either cook or to get take out. Then he'd go into his room, read some manga, watch something he finds interesting until he got his usual fours hours of sleep…he had many memories here, both good and bad, and it was only thanks to his siblings the former were so prevalent over the bad…
…God, that was cliche. Moving on.
*Rattle* *Rattle*
"Huh? It's locked." He thought to himself. No, that wasn't it, he already put his key in for every lock his house had; the chain was on the door, and after the…incident back in the day, it was stronger than ever. He couldn't help but smirk. Good. If it was like this, someone was inside, and they didn't want anyone coming in.
Not like he could blame them. The neighborhood looked rather closed off and seems to have already been hit by the infection, if indicated by the bodies lying around or walking; he's only managed to move as easily as he was due to being utterly silent, but he knew it wouldn't last long. He needed to get into his place quickly, but how…?
Looking at his house, he took in its appearance and surroundings. It was but a humble two story house, but it wasn't too big either. It was basically the average house you'd find in a quiet suburban neighborhood, including a fence and small backyard with fences blocking it as well. He could try the backdoor with that in mind, but that didn't guarantee he'd encounter nothing. But there was always another option…he just hoped his jumps were good enough…
Exhaling, he would stretch his arms and legs somewhat before widening his eyes. Doing some hops, the boy proceed to continue jumping upwards until he was able to latch his hands onto the porch that was by his brother's room, and would then begin to pull himself up with all of his strength until he just barely managed to get half of his body over the railing, with him rolling onto the floor with a hand over his chest, panting. He was not going to lie, he did not expect that to work…but he wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth.
He was back on his feet in the next few moments, brandishing his axe and fixing the strap to his crossbow right after. Looking around, he saw that there was nobody in his brother's room, in fact the room was closed to begin with, and it looked like nobody was in it for quite a while; something he could tell quite easily. His brother was a scientist, or at least aiming to be one, and worked as an intern or apprentice in quite a few labs, and along with…various swords he had collected, his room was a split between an actual bedroom and a makeshift lab; another reason as to why he got the porch room when it was originally Yuki's, to let things air out more.
But it was like the room hadn't been touched, and if it was then not much.
"He probably slept downstairs if he came here." Ryo thought to himself, walking through the room. It would make sense. In case an undead or someone else tried to get in, it would've been better to stay on guard downstairs, especially if you had someone else in the house with you to keep watch on the upper levels.
He continued making way way across the room, but stopped when he looked at the ground. His eyes narrowed, and he kneeled down to get a better look…
Dried blood. And not from a few days, overnight type of fresh.
Suddenly a new anxiety filled the boy. Did his brother or hell sister get into a fight? That could be the case, but unless they were here he couldn't exactly ask this. There weren't any undead in this room, and the door was closed, so unless the undead gained a few braincells overnight then one couldn't be in here…
It was either Yuki's or Damian's.
Gaze sharpening into a glare, the boy would nigh-slam open his brother's door and make his way into the hallway, on guard for any potential enemies that may have gotten inside through the locked door but mainly focused on getting to his sister's room. If she wasn't in there, nor around the house, then she'd have to be outside…but that wouldn't be possible unless either the backdoor didn't have the chain on it -he didn't get there yet- or she left the same way he came in…
Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck.
*Knock!* *Knock!* *Knock!*
"Yuki, it's Ryo. Are you in there?" He asked, just in case she was in there and thought it was an enemy. But wait, something about this knob felt weird…
…Wait…
The boy pulled his hand back, and he saw drying blood on his palm. His heart dropped, and his breath hitched. Out of his tunnel vision, he could see now that it wasn't just the knob…the front of the door had some blood streaks on it, and when looking back he could see blood stains on the floor leading to the room. What the…
"She's probably just injured…" He muttered to himself, trying to open the door this time but with more force, only to find it locked. "Yuki, I'm here. Open up if you're in there. Or Damian, either of you are fine, just come out so we can talk!"
Hissing out a "tch!" the boy wasted no time in moving through his house and downstairs, knowing that a spare key to everyone's room was in the kitchen. More blood was on the floors, and while the place was organized, the tension of the household never left. But that wasn't all…nobody was in the house. Nobody was downstairs, nobody was in the bathrooms when he checked on them after getting the key, nobody was here…
And yet Yuki's room was the only one locked.
Dread began piling in the boy's stomach as he raced to open the door. His heartbeat skyrocketed, a cold sweat was forming on his head, and he was hissing out a swear every second. He couldn't lose them, not after everything they've been through. Especially not Yuki, he couldn't-
*SLAM!*
"Yuki! Where-"
…
Oh.
…
It was clear now.
Laying on her bed, Yuki Kirishima laid unmoving with a bullet in her skull.
"...No…" He exhaled out, quickly rushing over towards his sibling on the bed. "No no no no no no no…!"
The girl, who was sprawled out on her side, was quickly placed on her back and was shaken by the white-red above her. There was no breathing, no heartbeat, no pulse from the girl, she was really and truly dead , but her sibling had not actually fully taken it in yet. Yuki couldn't be dead, she just couldn't be. She was strong, stronger than him or Damian, she was definitely still alive! She was probably just resting or something, that was it, she needed to get up…
"Come, get up…"
"This isn't a funny prank, have you always been this insensitive?"
"We gotta go, Saya and her family are taking people in it looks like, let's get out of here."
"Please wake up already…"
On a particular shake however, he found something that rocked him to the core. A bite mark just on her collarbone, and not one from an animal.
"..."
Ryo was a realist at heart. It helps when your parents die via a home invasion when you were young, something in which your brother also nearly died in; but even without that in mind, the boy was never one to keep himself in a false narrative. Blind faith was good, but he always kept his options open to whatever bad thing could happen, especially in a serious situation. Ever since this outbreak began, he always knew he, his siblings, or friends could die at any moment, that was a given…
…That didn't mean he would be accepting of it. He…was already taking in that his sister was dead, a head wound that left her eye gone and her blood stained onto her sheets behind her upper half and down her body would do that. But that bite? The bite…sent him back into reality quickly.
Yuki, somehow, got bitten and took herself out.
"..." Ryo stopped shaking his sister, opting to just stand upright before beginning to back away from the corpse, and the second his back hit the wall he slid down until he was sitting against it. He was completely and utterly silent, both mentally and in the real world, all as he took in the information.
…
Timeskip:
By the time Ryo moved again, the sun was going down.
He stood up, utterly silent, though there was something noticeably different about him. His movements were clunkier, strained, almost as if he was forcing himself to stand up in that moment. His eyes, usually bored and unreadable, looked more…dead, pale, telling a million different feelings at once; something that just got worse after he caught a glimpse of Yuki's body on her bed, the boy even wincing in response before he turned to leave the room.
*Sprink* *Sprink* *Spray*
Water was still on. Neat…
His clothes, all bloody, would drop to the floor as his weapons, also coated in blood -even the crossbow, he did a lot of head bashing on his way here- would be sat near the bathtub that the white-red entered. He wasn't one for baths, he preferred showers, but he heard that baths were meant to soothe people, make them feel better and whatnot. At least that's what his friends and sister-
He slumped in the water, the blood on his body fading into the liquid. If he didn't feel better before, he certainly didn't now; and he just continued his bath in utter silence.
His bath was over an half an hour later, and after cleaning himself of the water and grabbing the weapons he had, he would leave for his room right after.. Putting on grey sweatpants and a black shirt with a blue flower insignia on it, the boy would go back downstairs and into his kitchen; after all, he hasn't eaten in a good minute. So, he took careful downstairs to his kitchen with his axe in hand just in case, though it looks like he wouldn't need it due to not seeing anything. He made his way over towards the fridge, opening it up and pouring himself a glass of milk, then opening up the freezer to take out a carton of vanilla ice cream with brownie chunks in it.
Huh, this was Yuki's favorite…
He shook the thought from his head, and he would proceed to grab a spoon and move himself to the table, setting his items on it before taking a seat. He didn't move for a good second, but the second he did he opened up the carton…only to find that half of it was already eaten.
"Tch, didn't I tell her to save some for me?"
"..."
*SLAM!*
Ryo's head slammed down onto the table, shaking it. He sat there in this position for minutes upon minutes, unmoving…at for a while. Once his body did start to move it wasn't to get up.
It was shaking a little.
*Sniffle*
By the time Ryo would actually move his body, it would be to leave the table. His hands wiped at his eyes, barely doing much to remove the tear stains on his face, but at the very least it allowed him to see for the most part. He only seemed to barely make his way back up his starts, needing to hold onto his wall for support, continuing to do so when he went down the hall and back into his sister's now old room. He couldn't just leave her like this…but he doubted he'd be able to make a grave for her, especially not at this hour…
*Ruffle* *Ruffle*
Minutes later, Yuki was laying on her back, underneath her covers in what looked to be a peaceful, eternal sleep. Ryo stared down at her once his work was down, eyes wincing and watering at the sight before tearing his eyes off of her. This was the best he was realistically going to be able to do…this would be her grave. As terrible as it was to say…
No thoughts came into his mind as he stood in the room, standing there for what felt like days to him but was in turn only a few minutes in reality. He took a deep breath, and if not for the pure fact he looked back at his older sibling's body just to…make sure she was actually gone, he would've missed the note that was laying right by her pillow.
How…did he not notice this before? Regardless, he picked it up and read the contents…
To my adorable baby brother,
Yeah so I'm gonna fucking die. Check the camera, me and Damian left you a message.
Love you! Yuki! : D
…
Ryo walked over towards Yuki's desk, and did in fact see a camera sitting comfortably in the center. This was from back when she attempted photography, and has been sitting here ever since she stopped. She left him a message, huh? Damian too? Well, he should've expected his brother to be here, but still…how couldn't he save their older sister?!
He narrowed his eyes. No, that wasn't fair to him. Just…what did they have to say?
Turning on the camera, he saw it was at half battery. Typical of her to not charge her stuff fully, granted she rarely used this nowadays but still. Though…a small smile still came to his face at the thought, and he would take the camera into his hand as he sat on his sister's bed, and turned on the first video.
Yuki:
"Is this thing on?" She asked, and Ryo immediately took note of the state she was in. She looked exhausted, as if she hadn't slept in days, was extremely pale, and was holding onto her shoulder area with her hand. However he could still see the blood coming from the wound and dripping past her hand, as well as the blood coming out of her mouth.
She was definitely infected by then, and instead of living her last moments out in peace decided to leave him a message.
"Oh shit it's on. Ummm, sooo…yeah I'm not gonna sugarcoat it, I got bit. Yeah it sucked. I helped this little boy escape from his family out in the streets just right out of the blood getting back here, and then rando charged at me from behind and bit straight into my collarbone. Didn't even ask me for dinner first, who would've thought my first love bite would've been this shit…?"
She tried laughing, but it mostly came out in pained wheezes.
"Yeah yeah I'm still joking around…but really, this sucks. Just like in the movies too, I already feel my body shutting down…heh, guess I'll never take you to those conventions again, if you're still alive…"
Yuki wiped her mouth, giving the camera a big, bright smile. But…anyone looking could tell it was faked, be it because of pain or the upcoming fear of death. She just wanted to make sure her brother didn't see her go out with anything but a happy look…
"Well, I'm just gonna hope you're still up and around! Are you with your friends? Are they alright? Did you eat? Make sure…to eat to your best ability…! Heh…fuck…you know…it gets really depression, when you know you're about to die…"
*HACK!* *COUGH!* *COUGH!*
"Yuki!" A rather deep voice called out. He knew that voice anywhere. Damian was actually here…
"I'm…fine…" She lied, continuing to grin even with the blood pouring from her mouth and down her chin. "Well, this looks like the end…for little ole' me. Sorry for not being there for you guys…especially now…but you two can survive this! Easy…!"
Eyes softening even through her pain, she'd give a peace sign at the camera. "Love you Ryo. Don't let me see you…anytime soon…!"
*Beeeeeeeeep!*
"..." Ryo said nothing, just staring at the camera in utter silence before turning on the next video. This time, in contrast to the night time in Yuki's video, it was day in this one, with Damian sitting on the chair before the desk the camera stood on.
Damian:
"Is this on…tch, good." The white haired male said, clasping his hands in front of his mouth as he sighed. "Yeah, I'm going to be upright, the people at the labs have no idea what is causing this. Maybe it's because we're "smaller scale" compared to others, but we genuinely can't figure out anything right now. So keep that in whenever you ask what could be causing this."
He leaned back in his chair. "If you watched Yuki's video, you'll know she got bit and was dying. If not and her body isn't in her bed? Well this is the video to tell you. I…had a gun I found off a police officer; she went out quickly at least, just before she turned too."
He ran two hands across his face, as if to force down tears. Ryo couldn't blame him, he'd be doing the same if he had to kill Yuki too…and it had to be worse for Damian too. This was the third time he was with a family member when they died preemptively and horribly…
"In case you're going to see this, then I'll let you know where I'm going to be. You know the big science lab on the outskirts of the city? I'm heading over there, and I will try to figure this mess out; or, well, they ordered us to at least. I don't think anything's going to work, but if it does then I guess that'll be it. How it'll spread around is my next question though…?"
Damian crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair, giving a pointed look at the camera.
"I don't think I'll survive, being honest. In fact, I don't know if you have, and I'm really putting faith in you having done so. But if you did, and you plan on continuing on living in this accursed world of ours…good luck. One day, if we somehow meet again, let's go for sundae's. Assuming the world is "normal" enough for that at least."
The boy had his trademark scowl on his face, but his look seemed to soften.
"Stay safe, little brother."
*Beeeeeeeeep!*
"..."
Ryo exited the room in silence, walked towards his room, and fell down onto his bed.
Those were just recorded. Those videos were just recorded today. If he just pushed through...said "screw what happens" and gotten here...he maybe could've met up with them for one final time. Maybe he could've been here when Yuki was dying and comforted her...
...Maybe...Maybe she'd still be alive if he got here instead of worrying about himself.
*Sniffle*
This day just kept going from bad to worse. Already going nearly an entire night fighting undead sucked, but now his sister…she was dead; and his brother was gone, and he was likely never going to see him again. He…didn't know what to do…at least he could always go to Saya's? Right?
…
Ryo buried his face in his pillow, if only to stop the tears from coming out of his eyes again.
Timeskip:
*Click*
"...Let's get a move on…"
Exiting through the backdoor of his house and locking it behind him, Ryo would step out into the zombie infested world once again. He…even if he was safer in that house for the foreseeable future…he had a promise to make, and couldn't let his personal feelings inhibit that. He needed to get back to the rest…he had to…
…Besides, he knew he'd probably go crazy if he stayed there any longer….
*Tap* *Tap* *Tap* *Tap*
The boy walked into the street, hands in his pockets and a noticeably more dead and tired look in his eyes, something even reflected in his steps. He finally changed out of his school outfit, as he might as well have done considering he was finally home, and had his own clothes to spare. His outfit though…well…he at least liked his clothes.
Black shirt with a purple 'e' in the middle, black pants, boots, and bandage wrappings -utterly cause why not- around his hands and arms. His pants were held up by a single belt, and attached to it were two wing chun butterfly swords on both sides of his hips, with the boy still gripping his axe with his right hand. Flowing in the wind around him was a black trenchcoat, one that kept the bottom open so he could access the weapons by his hips well enough; and along with that there were two straps on the coat, one attaching to his crossbow and the other a relatively large bookbag.
…God, if his sister were to see him right now she'd be dying laughing at his appearance. She never stopped making fun of him growing up for his love of the color black, mainly whenever he wore it. It was apparently "edgy" but he still found it cool…
…Huh, he wondered what she'd say looking at him now? Probably "can you choose another color?" and give him puppy dog eyes until he did so. What an annoyance…
He shook his head as the memory came to him, focusing a sharp glare on the space before him as he walked down the street, avoiding any undead on his way. And if any did? Well, a simple head strike with the butt of his axe would do. He wasn't gearing to get into a battle or drag undead with him where he was going, so it seemed like the best option.
But…why did he have what he did? Well the trenchcoat was for biting purposes; as just in case he did get unlucky, the coat was heavy enough he could fight against a bite for at least half a second longer, even if wearing it was hot as shit in this weather. The axe was obvious, it was his go to melee weapon, and he even cleaned it off. The crossbow was for long range, and despite not having bolts he'd keep it around just in case…and if he ever got tired of it, Hirano could use it…if he was still alive.
Ryo narrowed his eyes at the thought.
Now for the swords…he…didn't feel comfortable taking any of the other blades his brother had a collection of. Sure he had quite a couple, but Ryo rarely did any sword training, and he didn't even know how effective a large or even short blade would be against the undead. The ones he had were only here in case he lost his axe, or if the knife he had hidden on his body couldn't come out in time or was ineffective. His brother explained they were rather good weapons and even had him practice with them before, so taking them felt fitting. In a way, he was still fighting alongside him.
…He didn't have anything of Yuki's to bring with him though…
The bag was simple. Little rations, some water and juice, an extra pair of clothes…and some manga to read. What? This outbreak took a lot from him, he was going to enjoy any "breaks" he could take. And who knows. Maybe in the future this will get value if things go back to nor-oh who was he kidding?
*Tap* *Tap* *Tap*
Silent as a mouse, the boy continued his trek through the neighborhood. Takashi's house was close, he just needed to get there, check to see if his family was there, and then head over towards Takagi's place. Being in his house…sulking…doing nothing, he couldn't do that. He needed to continue on, even if he felt like absolute shit right now. He had a job to do after all, and he was going to accomplish it…as long as he was alive-
*Grooooooooaaaaannn*
Oh for fuck's sake.
Almost as if he was one of the undead himself, Ryo turned to look behind him to see about five zombies scattered around near a car, groaning and limping around. Ryo kept a levelled gaze at them, the grip on his axe's handle tightening greatly before relaxing somewhat. These creatures took his sister away from him…but it wasn't worth dying for, or potentially bringing over towards Takashi's place. His sister may be dead, but he was still alive. He needed to live for not only her and Damian, but his friends as well.
The boy opened his eyes, that he didn't even know he closed. However with each blink…he just imagined his sister, bitten, eaten by those things. Usually fighting back, other times…already dead.
And just like that, any neutrality he tried to pretend to have shifted into burning anger, even if it didn't show on his face.
"Tch, this is definitely healthy." He said, gripping his axe so tightly veins showed in his hands, making his way over towards the undead who noticed his steps and began to make their way towards him.
"You were unlucky enough to run into me when I was pissed."
Timeskip:
Takshi was worried.
Now this shouldn't be surprising, he always found himself worked up over something. For the longest time it had been Rei and issues she still hasn't told him about; but recently, it had been the undead. Surviving. Wondering what to do. How to not die. Even after running away from the group in a failed heroic attempt, he still managed to figure out all three, with help from Saeko he could never thank her enough for.
But this…this was different. He and Saeko survived the night together, and even found out some things about the other -especially about his purple haired…friend-, reigniting their drive to continue going on in the world. Just yesterday they managed to get back to their group at Takagi's…house? Mansion? Whatever it wasn't important, but what was important was that Ryo, the sole other person separated from their group, wasn't here yet.
Naturally this concerned everyone, especially Rei and Takagi; and he was certain that if not for her injury he, ashamed to say, made worse she would've been taken off to find him even if by herself. He grew concerned as well as, well, unlike him and Saeko who had each other for support, Ryo had no one. He left around the same time, but was completely and utterly alone with no way to his knowledge to move around the streets, especially at night. The way he went…it was more towards the city after all.
Takashi offered to go out on recon missions to go and find him, something Saeko was willing to join him on to at least make the attempt before immediately assuming the worst, but that was shot down quickly by Takagi's mom who-
"Still looking, Komuro?"
…Speaking of Takagi's mom…
"Y-Yeah…" Takashi said from his spot by the gate, looking from the outside of the manor towards the woman behind him. Long pink hair, an air of maturity around her, wearing a rather formal attire, this was no doubt Takagi's mother. Yuriko Takagi was her name, and she took a spot next to the brown haired male.
"Sorry, I just can't help but worry." He would tell her almost embarrassedly, the older woman just chuckling lightly in her hand, somewhat amused
"I understand. I'm also concerned about him as well." She said, looking out of the gate as well. She had notified her husband about the boy's absence, and he said he would scout around on his own mission to see if he was nearby and potentially stop by his place if he was close, but even still…
…She'd rather not think about the negatives. That boy was like a son to her in a way. Just the thought of him being dead and having to break the news of Saya filled her with some dread.
"He lives close to here, so why isn't he here yet…?" Takashi wondered, gritting his teeth. Him and Takagi regularly took turns waiting by this gate, just to see his arrival, but for an entire day they have come up short. He knew where this place was, hell he lived here for a while and regularly came by, so what was the hold up…?
Yuriko noticed his concern, and placed a hand on his shoulder. "In this world, it is always better to expect the unexpected now that our views on living has changed. While there is a great chance he is…gone, there is also a great chance he's still alive. We just need to call correctly."
Her words didn't ease the boy up much, but he still smiled at her. It was an attempt at comfort from her side at least, and it was all he could ask for.
"Thank y-"
"MA'AM! SOMEONE'S APPROACHING!"
The shout out from one of the men on the scaffoldings by the gates caught the two's attention, both Yuriko and Takashi looking at the gate and watching as someone slowly but surely came up, the sound of boots wet with something covering it approaching.
"ALIVE OR DEAD?!" The pink haired woman asked, the man looking through his binoculars more carefully
"I think alive! But I am not sure!" He shouted back before aiming his gun at the person on the ground. "ARE YOU ALIVE?! RESPOND!"
"..."
"I ASKED! ARE. YOU. ALIVE?! RESPOND OR I WILL SHOOT-"
"Go ahead. I don't care, really." The voice called out from the ground, stopping just in front of the gate where the two previously speaking were. They had readied their weapons in case of an attack but…their eyes widened at the familiar face and tone standing before them.
Ryo Kirishima has finally made his way to the manor, and while covered in blood clearly not of his own to the point it dripped off of him, he looked relatively alright.
"Ryo…?" Takashi breathed his, nearly flinching back at the expressionless face his friend gave him. Sure he usually looked rather aloof, but this was…different. What happened when he was gone…?
"Yo." He said, voice matching his expression as he blankly looked up at the gate then back at the two. "Ms. Takagi, Takashi. Can I come in?"
"...Guards, open the gate!" Yuriko called out to the three above. They looked hesitant for a moment, but did so regardless, and would close them immediately the second the boy got inside; to which he was immediately rushed to by Takashi.
"Dude, where have you been all this time?! Why are you bloody?! And what's with the outfit…?" Takashi asked, hands on his friends shoulders, said boy looking at him blankly and not saying a word
"I would like to know so too, Ryo." The pink haired woman said, though she had a kind smile on her face as she studied him. "But it is nice to see you. Even in these…less than ideal circumstances."
"Tch…" Ryo replied, looking back at Takashi. "I was fighting the undead constantly since I left, and just made it to my place yesterday, so I changed there."
"Y-You got to your place?" The brown eyed male began, looking at him stunned. "T-Then-"
"No one was at your house Takashi. In fact, it looks like it hasn't been touched, inside or out." The axe wielder told him simply, the boy feeling a pit of dread in his stomach at the reply and looked towards the ground
"I…I see…" He said before quickly looking back up. He could be sad later, he needed to know about his friend too. "What about your place?!"
"..."
Both the boy and Yuriko felt uneasy at the silence.
"Ry-"
"Yuki's dead."
.
.
.
The uneasiness they felt grew exponentially. Their stomachs dropped as they stared at the boy, who looked towards the ground with an almost solemn gaze.
"She got bit, so Damian put a bullet in her head. He left for one of the science labs in the city since they called him in, but…" He trailed off, his words hanging on the ears of those listening closely. They mean…shit, what could they say to him?
"...I'm…sorry for your loss…" Was all Takashi could get out, the white-red head nodding
"Are you and the others alright?" He asked his "leader," who went wide eyed
"Who the fuck cares about us right now?! We need to be worried about you!" He exclaimed, though the boy's neutral face didn't waver
"He's right. You look like you just got into a battle, and we need to check you for any potential infection. You weren't bit, correct?" Yuriko asked, voice steely. Comfort can come later, even if it was her daughter's friend, she needed to prioritize safety after hearing what she did.
"No. But you can check, I won't blame you." He said, the woman giving him a small smile
"Good. I'll take you to the doctor's. Takashi, care to join us?" She asked, the boy in question blinking for a moment before nodding
"Of course!" He said, the pink haired woman taking off immediately, as he looked at his friend worriedly. "Are you-"
"I'm...fine. Let's just get this over with." He said, releasing himself from his friend's hold and walking after Saya's mother, all while Takashi stood in the same spot and sighed
God, what is going to happen now…?
...Ngl I dunno if that was depressing enough.
So this was Ryo's solo chapter here, mainly focusing on his adventure back home and his relationship with his family. I feel like I could've gone into more depth with this, but I'll save it for the upcoming chapters. Our MC here is about to be going through it somewhat, as he just found out the worst possible news he could've ever gotten...
Next chapter? Dunno when it'll be, but imma say what it will be in advance. Next chapter is actually gonne be a "side" story, showcasing Yuki and Damian themselves and the lead up to the former's death and where the latter is going to wind up. While I don't have much intention to go beyond the source material (Rest in peace the author), Damian still is gonna have a relatively major role to play at least on the side, so next chapter is gonna do a lot with them.
Definitely gonna go into their relationship and just Yuki's relationship with her brothers, ESPECIALLY Ryo, as well.
...These two are boutta have more to them than their DxD counterparts, I'm sick.
Anyways hope you all enjoyed! Have a wonderful day and I will see you all in the next one! Take care everyone!
PEACE!