"Kill me, Sosuke. I don't want to turn into one of them."
"Hurry up. The time I spent with you was the happiest of my life."
"Don't hesitate, the zombies are coming. Pull the trigger, now!"
"Ahhhhh, damn this world... Bang!"
...
The next second, Kitahara Sosuke sat up in bed, drenched in cold sweat. His entire body was soaked.
No blood-drenched skies. No howling undead. No metallic tang of blood hanging in the air.
The grief in his eyes melted into helplessness.
"Another dream..."
Soft morning sunlight streamed through a gap in the curtains. A bed. A desk. A cabinet. Just a plain, ordinary room.
"September 20, 2020. 6:01 a.m.," he muttered, grabbing the phone from his nightstand. With practiced ease, he pulled up the name "Father" and dialed.
As expected, it went straight to the busy tone.
"My old man hasn't called once this entire month-long business trip... Could this be a parallel world? Maybe things are a little different from my previous life." Sosuke couldn't be sure, but considering his father was a lead researcher for Japan's Future Initiative Project, he figured the man was probably safe.
If not, those guys in black suits would've come knocking long ago.
Probably just in a conference where phones aren't allowed, he told himself.
He walked into the living room, turned on the TV, and climbed onto the treadmill for his usual morning run. This was a habit he'd stuck with since returning to the past six months and counting.
"The hit light novel Melancholy of Spring Days, with over 3 million copies sold, is getting a new volume after eight years. Netizens are speculating its connection to the recently resigned Governor of Kyoto. Some even claim the governor is the novel's elusive author, citing a curious overlap the last time the series updated, the governor was also conveniently on leave..."
Sosuke rolled his eyes.
"What garbage reporting. People really believe anything online."
He kept jogging as he switched channels.
The moment he saw that Tokyo TV was still airing anime, he let out a long breath.
"As long as Tokyo TV keeps airing anime, we're safe. But that means the zombie outbreak in this life is delayed by seven days."
Staring at the TV, Sosuke frowned. The timeline had shifted. That was worrying.
A future he couldn't predict meant his knowledge from his previous life might no longer be reliable.
In his past life, one month after the outbreak, people with abilities began to appear among the survivors. Two months in, Sosuke had awakened as one of them. Unfortunately, his awakening came too late. Before he could fully master his power, he died in a zombie siege.
But heaven gave him a second chance.
This time, he'd been reborn six months before the outbreak.
For the past half-year, he'd trained relentlessly, building up his body, aiming to seize the earliest chance to awaken and gain an edge. He couldn't forget the sorrow in those eyes that died in his arms.
This life... he wouldn't let that happen again.
Bzzz
His phone buzzed suddenly from the coffee table.
Sosuke shut off the treadmill, wiped his sweat with a towel slung around his neck, and glanced at the screen. The name flashing there caught him completely off guard.
"...Hello?" he answered.
A moment of silence.
Then, a question from the other end: "What are you doing? Why are you breathing so hard?"
"Uh, I still have a bit of a cold," Sosuke replied lazily.
"...I don't believe you."
"Fine, I was running just now," Sosuke admitted as he opened the fridge, poured a glass of milk, and noticed the silence on the other end.
"You still there?" he asked, checking the screen. The name "Kasashiko" was still lit.
"I really was running. On a treadmill," he added.
This was ridiculous. The more he explained, the worse it sounded.
"Wow... Didn't know you were that kind of guy."
Even through the phone, Sosuke could imagine Kasasaka Shiko's disgusted expression.
"Anyway, what's up? Calling this early... Don't tell me this is your idea of messing with me."
"I'm not that free. The teacher asked me to tell you if your cold's better, get your butt back to class. Otherwise, he's coming to your house."
"Probably saw you bringing me lunch that one time," Sosuke said with a small laugh.
Truth be told, he never imagined he'd grow close to someone like Kasasaka Shiko in this life. When he first realized he'd been reborn and was now classmates with her, he was ecstatic.
Don't be fooled by his online bravado bragging that if he ever met Kasasaka Shiko in real life, he'd totally go for her. When it actually happened? He chickened out. Couldn't even confess.
Then the zombies came. He never saw her again.
One of his biggest regrets from that life.
"...Anyway, message delivered. Whether you come or not is your choice," Shiko muttered. Then, after a pause, she added, "I don't know why you suddenly stopped showing up to school, but I think… as a student, you should put your studies first. That's all "
"Yeah, yeah, I told you. I was sick."
He had taken early leave a week ago under the excuse of being ill, prepping for the outbreak. But it had been quiet for seven days now.
The zombies could take their time, but he couldn't. If he stayed out of school too long, he'd risk expulsion. And with his dad still unreachable, maybe the teacher got concerned enough to ask Shiko to follow up.
"Oh please. Sword club after school, morning runs, and you expect me to believe you're sick? I'm hanging up click."
Listening to the dial tone, Sosuke put away his phone, shouldered his backpack, and grabbed the baseball bat he'd kept by the door for months.
Zombies could only be killed by destroying the brain that was a universally accepted truth in his past life.
He needed a lethal weapon. One with good reach. Guns were out of the question. Axes and blades weren't allowed at school. But a baseball bat?
Perfect. It was legal, easy to explain, and always by his side.
Ever since his rebirth, he hadn't gone anywhere without it.
His six months of navigating a collapsed world had left deep marks on him. Now, every time he left the house, he double-checked his gear. Today was no exception.
"Back to school, huh..."
Gazing out the window at the rising sun, Kitahara Sosuke felt a wave of emotions flood his chest.