Throughout the message, Kurao clenched his fists, his gaze filled with remorse.
"I've always harbored a deep resentment toward my father, because he was never there for me. So why? Why discover this hidden side only now?" he wondered, tears welling in his eyes.
When the message ended, a zombie rushed at Kurao. Instinctively, he crouched down just before the creature reached him. The zombie missed him and crashed violently into the wall.
Kurao picked up his Clover Watch. As he was about to go down the stairs, he caught sight of the zombie's face.
"But I know this person! It's Mr. Wakayama, a friend of my mother… He's been turned into a zombie too… I have to find my mother as quickly as possible!" Kurao thought, worry in his expression.
He dashed down the stairs and shut the attic trapdoor.
"Mom, where are you?" he murmured as he walked down the hallway. He stopped at the staircase, then turned back, returning to his room to look out the window.
"The neighborhood is completely overrun with zombies. Are there still any survivors? Am I the last one?" he wondered as he observed the unmoving creatures.
Kurao cast a melancholic glance at his living room, then out through the window. He took refuge in his mother's study, collapsing into her chair, his eyes lost on the ceiling.
"What's really happening? Why is humanity turning into zombies? It's impossible, the undead don't exist!" he thought, staring blankly upward.
The sound of pounding fists echoed through the house, coming from the attic.
"Is this some kind of joke? No, I don't think so—it's far too real. Besides, that second moon completing this nightmarish picture convinces me once and for all: this zombie apocalypse is real," he thought, scratching his head, rocking back in the chair.
Suddenly, Kurao lost his balance, fell off the chair, and noticed the computer tower under the desk.
"How stupid of me! I locked myself inside the study without even thinking to turn on the computer and check the Internet. Something like this—everyone must have filmed it!" he exclaimed, standing back up.
He tried to power on the machine, but nothing happened; everything was plugged in correctly.
"Unless there's no electricity… I'll have to turn it back on manually," he muttered, pensive.
Kurao left his mother's study and headed to the kitchen.
He grabbed a knife before stepping into the garden.
"The house's electric meter is behind the garage, right across from the garden… But the odds of the outage coming from this meter are slim. If it's the main power cabin, I'll have no choice but to expose myself to infection," he whispered as he tiptoed forward.
Reaching the house's meter, he opened it and flipped the switch, but nothing happened.
"Damn it!" he shouted, punching the wall.
"Just as I thought, the outage comes from the neighborhood's main breaker, all the way down the street. But going there now, with night already falling!" he thought, looking hopelessly at the darkening sky.
"For now, what I need to do is go back inside and see whether the zombies are active or not," he said as he walked back to the kitchen door.
As he stepped into the kitchen, his stomach growled. He stopped in front of the refrigerator, opened it, but it was empty.
"Nothing's going right today. First this apocalypse, then the power outage, and now an empty fridge… What a joke," he sighed.
Darkness had completely swallowed the neighborhood. Kurao had locked himself in his mother's study, his phone placed near the monitor, flashlight turned on. He hid under the desk, eyes fixed on the front door. Suddenly, a piercing shriek rang out from the attic.
"Looks like Mr. Wakayama has woken up," he thought with a faint smile.
Other shrieks soon followed, and Kurao grew worried.
"These aren't just screams! They're cries for help!" he realized, terrified.
Then, the window shattered, letting in a powerful gust of wind that scattered shards of glass everywhere. At the same time, a zombie slammed against the door. Tears suddenly streamed down Kurao's face as he recognized the zombie's face.
"Mom…" he whispered between sobs.
クローバーの約束 : 零
[ KURO-BA NO YAKU SOKU : REI ]
⟩⟩ THE PROMISED OF CLOVER : ZERO ⟨⟨
PART 1: DAWN OF A NEW DAY
CHAPTER 2 : WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? COME ON, BE A MAN!
Night had fallen, bathing the land under the glow of two radiant moons that lit the darkness as if it were day. In the attic of Kurao's house, a zombie had risen.
It staggered toward the window and let out a piercing scream, so powerful the entire house seemed to tremble. Caught off guard, Kurao covered his ears.
Its cry echoed throughout the neighborhood, triggering the howls of other zombies. The sound grew heavier, denser, until it felt as though the whole district was shaking.
Following this macabre chorus, the zombies began to move. Some dragged their feet with difficulty, while others sprinted at full speed toward Kurao's house.
Inside a car, a woman who had been turned into a zombie suddenly awoke. She flailed wildly, thrashing so violently that she tore off her seatbelt.
She managed to crawl out through the windshield, crashing heavily onto the ground. Shards of glass stuck to her skin as she staggered upright, her back hunched, her long hair hiding her face.
Then, in an instant, she began to run in a disturbing manner: back bent, swinging her arms forward at a terrifying speed. Her sprint was so fast it seemed to carry the wind along with her.
She leapt, smashed through the window, and slammed brutally against the door—while Kurao, tears welling in his eyes, recognized the zombie.
"Mom…" he whispered, overwhelmed by emotion.
Kurao crawled out from under the desk and stood by the shattered window. The zombie was trying to get up.
"Mom… is that really you? If it's you, say something to me!" he pleaded, his voice trembling with tears.
The zombie stood and turned to face him. She lunged, but Kurao crouched to avoid her, shouting: "Mom!" The zombie crashed against the window, wounding her stomach. Still on his knees, Kurao shifted, then stood up with his back against the door.
"Mom! What's wrong with you? Why are you acting like this? Please, stop!" he cried, tears streaming down his face.
The zombie screamed again, while Kurao continued to sob. The cries of other zombies still echoed through the house.
"Mom, stop! I'm your son, remember! Please, remember me—Kurao… Remember me!" he begged, his cheeks wet with tears.
The zombie pulled back from the window, black blood spilling from her stomach wound. She charged once more, and Kurao dodged to the left. Using her hands to cushion her impact against the door, she swung her left fist at him with brutal force, hurling Kurao against the computer screen.
Kurao's hands shook as he pushed his mother's head away. He had grabbed her by the shoulders and thrown her aside, smashing her into the computer tower. Kurao scrambled to his feet as fast as he could.
— "Mom! I refuse to believe this. You're not one of those things. Snap out of it… I don't want to lose you, you're the last person I have left in this world. Please, come back to me!" he cried, blood trickling down his face.
A flashback surged through Kurao's mind. He remembered the day his mother had transformed the attic into her laboratory.
"That day, I was coming home from school. I was barely ten years old. After my father's death, nothing had been the same—I had lost all joy in life."
"I had just won a regional science competition and was on my way back home. But for some reason, I wasn't happy… My spark was gone, and yet…"
Kurao had slammed the door shut, taken off his shoes, and walked to the living room, where he dropped the trophy on the table before heading to the kitchen.
His eyes empty, he grabbed a sandwich and some juice, returned to the living room, and lay down on the couch.
His mother came down the stairs, stepped into the living room, and saw him lying there, despair written across his face. She smiled, then stood before him.
— "What's with that gloomy face? From what I see, you won the competition. You should be on cloud nine, not sulking…", she said with a smile, ruffling his hair.
— "You're mean!" he pouted, swatting her hand away.
— "I'm sorry, my angel. I know you wanted me there, but I couldn't attend your contest, I was really busy today!" she explained, standing up.
Kurao, still sulking, didn't answer. With a mischievous grin, his mother picked up the trophy from the table.
— "If you don't like this trophy, then I'll just throw it in the trash!" she teased, heading for the front door.
Kurao jumped off the couch, blocking the doorway with his body.
— "Of course I like it! It's mine! I won it fair and square!" he declared, cheeks puffed in indignation.
His mother laughed, then handed the trophy back to him. Kurao hugged it tightly to his chest.
— "Stop sulking and go upstairs, a surprise is waiting for you!" she said, smiling.
— "Really?!" Kurao exclaimed with excitement, dropping the trophy. His mother quickly caught it before it hit the ground.
— "Phew!" she sighed in relief.
— "Sorry, Mom!" he apologized, covering his mouth with his hands.
— "It's nothing, go on—see what's waiting for you!" she replied, standing up again.
Kurao nodded and bolted upstairs. He stopped in the hallway, then peeked back down the stairs.
— "Uh, Mom, where's the surprise?" he asked, still full of excitement.
— "In the attic, my angel!" she replied, climbing the stairs after him.
— "In the attic?" he repeated, intrigued.
— "Yes, yes!" his mother answered.
As soon as she said "yes," he quickly pulled down the attic stairs with the hooked stick and climbed up.
When he saw the laboratory, tears welled in his eyes, moved beyond words. His mother joined him moments later.
— "So, how do you like your lab, my angel?" she asked, smiling.
Kurao looked at his mother and gave her a radiant smile.
— "I love it, Mom… It's the greatest gift ever!" he shouted, running and jumping around the lab.
— "Starting tomorrow, we'll buy the equipment we need to make it a real science lab!" she told him.
Kurao stopped and stared at her, his eyes glistening.
Back in the present, the zombie stood near the door while Kurao wept.
"Mom, I don't want to believe it… Please, answer me! If you're still in there somewhere, tell me—I'll come find you! I won't abandon you," he cried, clutching the computer screen.
The zombie lunged. Gritting his teeth, Kurao crouched just as she reached for him, then shot up, throwing the creature against the wall.
He then stood facing the door, biting his lip. The zombie was getting back up.
"Forgive me, Mom. I was never a grateful son. I was always complaining, never appreciating all that you did for me… And now, it's too late… Mom, if we had the chance to turn back time, I swear I would never get angry at you again, I would never argue with you again…", he thought, nostalgia written on his face.
The atmosphere grew tense, electric. Kurao had resolved to put an end to the zombie. His phone's flashlight flickered out, then back on. At the same instant, both Kurao and the zombie charged—one with a cold, determined gaze, the other with a melancholic one.
TO BE CONTINUED