It was 10 a.m. when Akira passed through the shopping district.
People gave him strange looks, probably because a student was casually walking to school at that hour.
He couldn't care less.
He was almost there, still trying to cook up an excuse for being late.
He obviously couldn't say he'd gotten carried away watching anime on his laptop while playing video games on his console.
He could have stayed home, but there were too many chores waiting for him.
So, for once, he actually wanted to go to school.
As Akira approached the school, he spotted the headmistress speaking with a group of parents.
Yeah… there was no way he was using the main gate.
He circled around to the back and eyed the wire fence. Pulling off his backpack, he tossed it over to the other side.
'Yeah, there's no way I'm doing the dishes. I'd rather die,' he thought, watching the bag spin through the air.
It landed with a dull thud and burst slightly open, spilling two notebooks, a bag of chips, and a black pencil case onto the ground.
Akira climbed up and jumped over after it.
He crouched to gather his things, casually opening the chips and shoving a handful into his mouth.
He slung the backpack over his shoulder and froze.
A pair of red eyes stared back at him.
A furious girl stood there, blonde hair pulled into a tight ponytail with a black cotton scrunchie.
'Great. Now I have to come up with another excuse on the spot,' Akira sighed internally.
Her uniform fit perfectly: a blue waistcoat, short blue skirt, red tie, white tights.
"Yo…" he said lazily. "Nice weather we're having."
He tried to walk past her, but he stepped directly into her path.
"Where do you think you're going?!"
She glanced at her watch. "It's 10:27 a.m. School starts at 7:30."
Akira ran a hand through his messy brown hair. "Sorry… do we know each other?"
"My name is Aya Nakanishi," she said in a low, commanding voice. "The student body president."
Akira sighed.
"I get it, but you have to understand… my parents were summoned to another world."
Akira lowered his gaze.
Aya glared at him. "Do you think I'm an idiot?"
"No, seriously. It was sudden. Hard to deal with. I don't even know if they'll come back." He looked away, trying not to laugh.
'That might be the dumbest excuse I've ever made,' he thought.
Aya stared at him flatly.
"Come with me. You're going to the disciplinary committee. I'm sure they'd love to hear your sob story."
"Yeah… about that," Akira said.
"The whole point of sneaking in was avoiding the committee. So… no can do."
He grinned and started walking.
Aya didn't move. "What is your name and your class?"
Akira stopped. "Do you really think I'd give you my real name?"
Aya snapped and grabbed his collar.
"Then I'll pound it out of you!"
Akira smirked.
Aya frowned. "Why are you smiling?"
"It's just…" he said lightly, "a cute girl has never stood this close to me before."
Aya recoiled instantly. "Ew! You're a weirdo! Just tell me your name and class!"
"Well, since you begged, my name is Akira Kasayanagi. Class 3-A."
Class 3-A was the special class for gifted students.
"I didn't beg," she snapped. "You're such a nuisance."
Akira continued walking.
Aya followed, scolding him. "I'm the student body president! You cannot walk away from me!"
"Of course I can. It's not like your title has a paralysis effect." His lips twitched.
A scream tore through the air from the first- and second-year block.
Akira stopped cold.
More screams followed, then a sound of an explosion from the chemistry lab, startling two students walking ahead and carrying books.
One suddenly froze and dropped everything.
The other turned in alarm. "Yuki? Are you okay?"
Yuki's skin shifted into a sickly purple, her veins bulged, teeth sharpened, and nails followed.
The other student screamed and ran, but Yuki caught her.
Her jaw split open with a wet crack, stretching far too wide.
And she swallowed her.
Akira's heart nearly leapt out of his chest at the sight of Yuki's mouth stretching wide and unnatural.
A bulge formed on Yuki's back, swelling outward into a cocoon.
Within seconds, it split open.
The girl who had been eaten spilled out purple, twisted, moving like a zombie.
The cycle began again.
Akira's hands trembled, though his face stayed strangely composed.
His stomach twisted. "…Yeah." He exhaled shakily. "…I'm doing the dishes."
He turned to Aya.
She looked just as frozen.
"My best friend, Airi. She's still in class. I can't leave her," Aya said, her voice tight with worry.
Akira smacked his forehead. "It's too late. Let's run!"
The school grounds were already crawling with zombies.
He wanted to run for his life, but he couldn't leave Aya. "Come on!!!"
"No, it's not!" Aya shouted. "She's right there!"
She sprinted toward a girl fleeing from three zombies.
"AYA!" the girl screamed.
"AIRI!" Aya yelled.
Aya reached out her hand to Airi.
Time seemed to slow.
Their fingers brushed, and before they could grasp each other's hands, Airi let out a painful gasp.
One of the zombies scratched her back, and her blood spattered into the air.
Aya's eyes snapped open. "Airi…"
Airi slowed down, blood running down her back. "Just save yourself." Airi fell face-first.
A zombie lifted Airi, and her body went limp as its claws locked around her waist.
Aya stopped in her tracks.
Akira clutched his stomach, twisting violently with fear.
A cold wind swept past them. Goosebumps crept up Aya's skin.
For a brief moment, even the screams of chaos faded as the zombie lowered Airi into its mouth.
Aya collapsed to her knees. "Airi…? No…"
Her hands trembled and her heart pounded.
She couldn't believe Airi was gone.
"She was right there…" Tears ran down her cheeks. "I couldn't reach her…"
A cocoon slipped from the creature's back and hit the ground with a dull thud.
Akira stood, unable to process what he had just seen.
Aya was lost in denial; she didn't see the zombies approaching.
Akira held the straps of his backpack tightly. He was about to witness another person get devoured.
He had to do something, but his legs wouldn't move.
He could hear his heart pounding in his ears.
'Move… someone else will die if you don't,' Akira thought, his fingernails digging into his palms.
Akira took a deep breath and rushed beside her. "Get a hold of yourself!"
He grabbed a rake from the lawn and smashed a lunging zombie aside.
"She was my only friend…" Aya sobbed.
Another zombie caught the rake mid-swing.
Akira struggled, trying to push the zombie away. "Aya, RUN!"
'Damn it… I can't hold them much longer.'
Nearby, a cocoon split open.
Airi slipped out, naked, slick with slime.
Her hair had turned purple, yet she still looked human.
She stared at her hands in silence, then slowly scanned her surroundings. Her eyes were dark, almost black.
A faint glow ran through her hair as it moved on its own, untouched by the wind.
Aya's lips parted, unsure of what to say.
"Aya, get out of here!" Akira shouted.
Aya hesitated. "I… I don't know…"
Her eyes fixed on Akira as he struggled to hold the zombies back.
Then her gaze drifted and she saw Airi.
"Airi, is that you?" Aya managed to say amidst the chaos.
Airi looked up. Without a word, a strand of her hair expanded and shot toward Aya, lifting her off the ground and carrying her out of the school premises.
"It's not safe here," Airi said, looking at Akira, who didn't notice what had just happened.
One zombie lunged and suddenly every head dropped to the ground and the bodies collapsed.
Akira turned slowly, and Airi stood there.
Her hair spread unnaturally, moving as if alive.
"…Okay," he said carefully. "She's no longer normal."
He approached, still gripping the rake. "Hey…"
For a moment, the chaos behind them felt distant.
"Here. You should cover yourself."
Flustered, he quickly removed his blazer and handed it to her.
Airi accepted it without a word and stood.
Akira looked at her again, trying to understand why she didn't feel like a zombie at all.