"So, the staff room was the place you wanted to go?" asked Aurélien to Shizuka as they left the office and moved quickly down the hallway. Saeko had taken the lead, followed by Shizuka, then Aurélien bringing up the rear. Instead of killing the zombies, Saeko simply knocked them over, easily clearing the way. Aurélien quickly stabbed them in the head afterward, not wanting to risk a horde forming behind them. He also had another reason for pursuing this objective.
[Quest in progress: eliminate 100 undead (14/100)]
He had received this quest after killing his first zombie. The elimination method of the two fighters was fast and efficient, allowing the group to maintain steady progress.
"That's where all the staff keep their car keys," Shizuka answered. At that moment, she stumbled over one of the motionless bodies on the ground, her tight skirt preventing her from regaining her footing.
"Oh, crap! What is this?!" Shizuka groaned in irritation, rubbing her head with one hand.
Saeko knelt beside her and said, "These clothes aren't made for running." With a firm grip, Saeko tore a section of Shizuka's skirt, revealing a glimpse of the lavender-purple thong she was wearing underneath. Aurélien turned away and forced himself not to look, upholding a gentleman's ethics.
"Do you know how much that cost me?!" Shizuka protested.
"What's more important? Your life, or your clothes?" Saeko said seriously.
Shizuka pouted before replying, "Both!" Then a loud scream—unmistakably human—echoed from one of the classrooms. There was also the sound of something firing.
"What was that sound?" Shizuka asked as she stood up.
"Sounds like a nail gun," Aurélien remarked.
"Did that come from the staff room?" Saeko asked as they hurried forward. As they entered the hallway near the staff room, Aurélien saw a slightly overweight second-year student with glasses, armed with a modified nail gun, killing a few zombies while a girl with long pink hair tied in twin braids used a power drill to pierce a zombie's head.
"I'll take the right!" Saeko shouted to Aurélien. With the sound of metal scraping against leather and wood, Aurélien's sword gleamed as he went to work slicing through zombies while Saeko dealt with hers. Then, from the opposite hallway, a brown-haired boy armed with a baseball bat and a girl about the same age as Saeko and Aurélien with part of a mop handle joined the fray.
The pink-haired girl had just killed a zombie and was a trembling mess. The boy with the bat approached her and said, "Takagi? Are you okay?"
"NO, I'M NOT OKAY!" Takagi screamed, becoming completely hysterical and refusing to calm down. Aurélien sighed, having seen too many students break down today, and approached her. With a light swing, he slapped the girl across the cheek.
"Get a grip! Hysteria won't help anyone!" he told her. The sudden pain shocked the pink-haired girl, and she started crying. "Look at my clothes… Mom's going to have to take them to the cleaners!" she complained.
"Great, another one more worried about her outfit than her life," Aurélien muttered tiredly, and Saeko let out a brief laugh.
Aurélien turned to the overweight boy and said, "Kid? Is that one of the school's nail guns?" he asked the chubby student, who looked a bit sheepish.
"I was just borrowing it," the boy with glasses said timidly. Aurélien felt like he'd seen the student before but couldn't quite place him.
"Don't worry, man, you're doing better than most in this situation," Aurélien reassured him. Then he looked at the newcomers and said, "Alas, I don't know either of you."
"Takashi Komuro, Class 3B," the boy introduced himself, and the girl next to him spoke up. "Rei Miyamoto, Class 2A," she said.
"Saeko Busujima, Class 3A," Saeko also introduced herself.
"I'm Kohta Hirano, from Class 2B," the nervous kid with glasses said, as if afraid to intrude.
"Nice to meet you, I'm Aurélien Yamamoto, Class 3A," Aurélien declared.
"Doctor Shizuka Marikawa," said Shizuka. "It's a pleasure to meet you all!" she added.
Then the pink-haired girl spoke in an irritated tone. "Why are you all being so polite?!" she asked.
"Things may be going to hell, but it'd be pretty dumb not to know each other," Aurélien reminded her. "And I don't know your name yet," he added, looking at the girl, whose expression turned slightly shy under the weight of his stern tone.
"Saya Takagi, Class 2B," she mumbled moodily.
"Well, now that we've all introduced ourselves, let's compare notes on what's happened," Aurélien said. With that, he entered the staff room, which was thankfully empty. The others followed and locked the door behind them.
"Rei and I came because we heard Takagi screaming," Takashi said. "But first, we need to block the exits in case they somehow get in," he suggested.
Aurélien, Takashi, and Kohta then moved filing cabinets to block the doors. It was a temporary measure, but better than leaving them wide open.
Takashi looked over Aurélien's outfit, finding it odd, though he couldn't deny it had a certain flair."Why are you wearing a coat that looks like it belongs in a history book?"
Aurélien looked at him as if he'd just heard heresy."Just because it's the end of the world doesn't mean we should abandon all sense of aesthetics. Life would be far too bleak without a bit of flair." As he said this, he raised a fist dramatically, as if revealing one of life's great secrets.
Kohta's face lit up."Ah, I remember now! I've seen Senpai in school plays before. You always played those dark, mysterious characters with lines full of philosophy and satire. Is that why you act like this, Senpai?" His last question was asked with complete innocence, but it caused laughter to erupt in the room—even the usually stoic Saeko raised a hand to her mouth to hide her amusement.
Aurélien's expression deflated."Stupid kōhai… You don't understand the importance of good theatrics," he muttered.
The joke eased the tense atmosphere that had gripped the students since the crisis began.
Shizuka rummaged through the drawers."My car keys should be in here somewhere," she murmured.
"Will your car even fit all of us?" Saeko asked.
"Now that you mention it…" Shizuka tapped her chin in thought.
"We could take one of the minibuses," Aurélien helpfully suggested, trying to shift focus away from his earlier embarrassment. "The keys should be here, and it seems unlikely anyone else took them yet," he added.
"You're right, they're still there," Kohta called, looking out the school parking lot window.
"But where would we even go?" Shizuka asked.
"We're going to check on our families," Takashi told her. "We'll stop at everyone's houses, from closest to farthest. If we can, we'll rescue our families too. After that, we'll find a safe place to stay," he said.
"A solid plan, but it has some flaws," Aurélien told Takashi. "But we'll find them out as we go," he added diplomatically.
"Uh… I think we should take a look at that," Rei suddenly said, pointing at the TV broadcasting a news report.