The young woman with light blue hair was amazed upon meeting the novel's protagonist, wondering if her dreams were a reflection of a previous life. Was it really possible? She wasn't sure, but everything pointed to the possibility.
Just thinking that she might have actually had a past life drove her crazy, but what affected her most was realizing that, if that was real, her present life was trapped in a post-apocalyptic novel filled with gruesome deaths.
Without ignoring the real problem of the novel, that the male protagonists were yanderes.
His mind was so preoccupied with his own problems that he completely forgot about the girl who was pleading for help, until finally, after several calls, he reacted.
"Help! Please help us!" the girl one floor above shouted desperately.
The few zombies in the schoolyard, since they rarely appeared during the day and only gathered in dark, dimly lit places (like inside the school), were looking up at the sky instinctively searching for where the noise was coming from, but being blind they couldn't tell which floor the sounds were coming from.
What a misfortune has befallen him!
She was aware that if she really found herself in a post-apocalyptic novel with male yandere protagonists, the most sensible thing to do would be to stay away from the female protagonist and her followers, to ensure her own survival.
However, he now faced a dilemma when he met Rina Maeda, who begged him for help. She knew that rejecting him could cost him his life later, when Rina had formed her yandere harem, and they would seek revenge for not having supported their beloved in her time of need.
So, as she weighed the pros and cons of helping the female lead, her survival instinct took over; she understood that her only chance of staying alive was to support Rina, to prevent the female lead's followers from coming for revenge in the future.
With no choice, the young woman with light blue hair stopped looking at the window to search in the living room, ignoring Rina's screams. She grabbed the long, thick rope that she had just looked at; after getting it, she returned to the window, sticking her upper body out of the frame along with the rope and shouted, "I have a rope! Can you catch it? That way you can descend to this floor, which is cleared by zombies." She didn't mind screaming, after all, she had already eliminated almost all the zombies on this floor, even if they appeared she was sure that they wouldn't be many zombies, so she could win the fight with some luck.
Rina was about to confirm that she could grab the rope when someone approached her and pushed her and shouted, "Yes, I can!"
The person who had pushed Rina was a very attractive girl, with long blonde waves falling to her waist and intense gray eyes. Her figure was curvaceous and she displayed a haughty attitude.
With a dismissive gesture, the young woman rolled her eyes and wrapped the rope around her hand as a precaution, in case the girls upstairs failed to catch the rope the first time.
I didn't want the rope to fall into the yard and go to waste.
After making sure she had a good grip on it, she threw it with all her might, Rina was about to catch it when somehow the blonde got in the way, causing it to slip out of her hands.
Angrily, the blonde yelled, "Make sure you throw it well!"
The rope hurtled downwards, but as she was already on guard and wrapped it around again to throw him again, this time Rina finally caught him.
Once Rina grabbed the rope, she walked away from the window with it, while the sky-blue-haired girl finally let go of the other end, letting the rest of the rope fall.
The first to descend the rope was the blonde who had pushed Rina to be the first to escape from the room that was about to be attacked by zombies, because the zombies wanted to bypass the door.
The blonde slowly went down, afraid of slipping and falling into the schoolyard. When she reached the girl with the light blue hair, she extended her hand and demanded, "Quick, come help me!"
The young woman raised an eyebrow in disagreement, crossed her arms and said, "Where is the please?"
— Hurry up! — the blonde demanded again, her face reddened with anger after hearing the light blue-haired girl — I won't tell you, please! You don't deserve that respect —
Hearing the arrogant blonde say that, she felt like leaving her there and not helping her, so that she could fend for herself.
However, he remembered that the female lead was still waiting to descend the rope, so he reluctantly decided to help the blonde.
Anything to avoid angering the male protagonists.
After helping the blonde, she peeked her head out the window again when she noticed that no one else was descending the rope.
Rina was nowhere to be seen, and he remembered her mentioning that one of her friends was hurt, so she probably wanted her injured friend to get down before her.
For a few seconds, Rina finally appeared at the window, looking sad and dejected, and began to descend the rope.
The blue-eyed girl made sure Rina was safe and asked, "Are you okay?" After all, if the protagonist remembered this in a negative way in the future, it would be her downfall.
She could only curse the protagonist's yanderes in her heart, for being so heartless and tyrannical.
Rina nodded. "Yes, I'm fine. Thanks for helping us," she said, sticking her head out the window next to the light blue-haired girl to see if anyone else was getting out. "I'm fine. I'm just worried about my friend. He's hurt, and I wanted him to go down first, but he's very stubborn and refused, saying the ladies should go down first."
In an instant, a zombie rushed from the floor above and descended into the schoolyard, dissolving into pieces as soon as it hit the ground, which increased Rina's anxiety for the boy.
Shortly after, the figure of a boy appeared at the window, his pale face revealing a state of weakness, likely due to his wound. With a shaky leap, he launched himself toward the rope, followed by two zombies who met the same fate as the first. Behind them, more zombies leaped out the window, driven by the desire to catch their prey. All of them ended up destroyed.
The boy began his descent down the rope slowly, even more so than Rina or the blonde, since the bleeding wound in his abdomen slowed them down.
As soon as he arrived, Rina and she rushed to help him get down, and at that moment the blue-eyed girl was able to observe him closely. The boy had brown hair and brown eyes, and his skin was slightly tanned, similar to the color of wheat. His white shirt was disheveled and torn in several places, with a blood-stained area on his abdomen.
Seeing how pale the boy looked, she laid him on the floor and unbuttoned his shirt, revealing his well-defined, toned torso. Rina, who was standing a few steps behind, blushed at the sight. The young woman's fingers trembled as she touched the boy's skin, and although she wasn't as red-faced as Rina's, her ears began to turn red, betraying her.
Without hesitation, she turned around to hide her blush and began to take out some supplies from her camping backpack, such as alcohol and several bandages. "What happened to you?" she asked as soon as she saw the wound. It was straight and bleeding a lot, most likely because she cut herself with something sharp.
The wound was not so deep that he would bleed to death, but it was long and large, so she began to disinfect it, listening to the boy's moans of pain.
Rina was the first to respond. "We were running away from those zombies and we took refuge for a while in the science room, but Aika accidentally screamed when she saw a mutilated hand, which attracted a few zombies that attacked us. Riku tried to defend us and in the middle of the fight they threw him against the sharp edge of a broken microscope," she explained. "But luckily we were able to escape, the bad thing is that our fight alerted more zombies who followed us and cornered us and with Riku injured we had no choice but to hide in a room and ask for help through the window."
The blonde now identified as Aika, blushed with indignation. "Are you saying this happened because of me?" she asked mockingly, pointing a finger at Rina with disdain. "If my dear stepbrother weren't so weak and hadn't hurt himself, we wouldn't be in this situation."
Rina gasped at Aika's words, unable to believe that she could look down on her own family. "Riku got hurt saving us," she defended.
Just as Aika was about to retort with an insult, but Riku, lying down and being bandaged by the light blue haired girl, interrupted in a faint voice, "Please stop arguing."
The two girls finally fell silent, but that didn't stop Aika from giving Rina a disdainful look.
At that moment, the light blue haired girl had already finished bandaging the wound on the abdomen — Everything is ready, you are now well bandaged — she told the boy — Now you must make sure not to apply too much force or pressure so that the wound does not open —
Riku simply nodded at the recommendations, gave a weak smile and said, "Thank you very much, Yuika. Without you, I don't know what would become of us."
The light blue-haired girl froze at what the boy said, not because of her gratitude, but because of the name he mentioned, as if he had prior knowledge of her. After a moment of thought, she realized that since they were in the same school, they might actually know each other as classmates.
Still surprised, she questioned them, "Do you know me?"
The three people looked at her inquisitively, until Aika stepped forward and said, "We know who you are, you're Yuika Tanaka," her voice sounded as if it was obvious, "You're the nerd of the class, the one who always raised her hand to answer the teachers," she mocked with a dismissive attitude, "A very annoying girl, she's very hard to ignore..."
Rina covered Aika's mouth to prevent her from continuing to speak, laughing nervously she commented — Well, besides that, you are also my coworker and seatmate in Science class — Rina looked at her intrigued — Don't you recognize us? —
Yuika stared at the three people, closed her eyes, and tried to recall some memory, but to no avail. It was as if those three people were strangers to her, except for Rina, whom she recognized from the photo in one of her dreams. Unable to name it, she simply shook her head.
Rina tilted her head, feeling disappointed, while Aika, with a mocking expression and an air of superiority, said, "Naturally, he doesn't recognize us; his grades are the only thing he cares about. He has nothing else on his mind, not even learning the names or faces of his other classmates."
With a raised eyebrow in doubt, Yuika realized she couldn't argue anything, given her lack of memory of her past. She had barely grasped that her name was Yuika Tanaka, and she owed that to them.
—That's enough, Aika — Riku exclaimed with a frown, leaning on his arms and with Yuika's help, he managed to sit up against the wall — What does it matter if Yuika doesn't remember us? We were never close friends; you and Rina only interacted with Yuika through homework or classwork, and I'm an older class, and I doubt that you two have ever talked about me —
Rina looked up, captivated by the boy who continued to berate Aika. To interrupt him, she turned to Yuika and said, "I know we weren't the closest of friends, but Yuika, you were my partner in the science lab. How is it possible you don't remember me?" Her curiosity was reflected in her eyes, which turned red and bright, on the verge of tears.
The more the group of three talked, the more shocked Yuika became. She had no idea how much her past self had interacted with Rina, but seeing the protagonist's sad face, she realized it was best to be honest and confess that she had lost her memory. If she didn't say it, she felt like Rina might start crying at any moment, and as she had mentioned before, she didn't want the protagonist to have a bad memory of her, in case her yandere harem decided to do something drastic.
—It's not that I just don't recognize you guys —Yuika started to say to the three remaining people, ready to say what she really wanted to say—It's that I don't remember anything at all—
Rina finally let go of her sadness and replaced it with confusion. "What are you trying to say?"
—Last night I woke up in the infirmary of this school, so that's why I have these bandages, gauze, and alcohol. The truth is, when I woke up I didn't remember anything; I didn't know why I was there, not even that I was in a school, much less my name or anyone I knew. It was all very strange for me, and I came to the conclusion that I had lost my memory— Yuika explained slowly and patiently to the three people. —I left the infirmary in search of answers and realized I was in a school. I was confused about what I was doing there so late, when suddenly I was attacked by three zombies; at first I didn't understand what those creatures were, but then I realized what they were—
As soon as Yuika finished, Rina pounced on her, hugging her tightly. "That must have been really hard for you, Yuika, not knowing where you are."
Aika, with a resentful expression, seemed to doubt her words. "Please, Rina, don't be so gullible. It's obvious she's lying," she declared with disdain.
Yuika looked at Aika with disgust upon hearing that. "Why would I lie? What would I gain from that?" she asked Aika, as if she didn't understand her logic.
On the other hand, Riku was deep in thought, carefully considering what Yuika had said. "It doesn't seem like a lie," was his first statement, which made the three girls turn to him. "I mean, didn't you take Yuika to the infirmary yesterday? It's not like I know the whole story, but you yourselves said that she fainted during class time, in the middle of the classroom. Your story makes sense," the boy said in a soft voice, still pale from blood loss, pointing at Rina and Aika. He had made an effort to put the pieces together as if it were a puzzle. "But that was in the morning, and you woke up at night. Were you unconscious this whole time?" he muttered to himself, although Yuika, who was closer, heard him.
Yuika stared at him for a moment and asked intrigued, "You said I fainted in the middle of class yesterday morning. Do you mean there were no zombies yesterday?"
Riku nodded in response to Yuika's question.
—Yesterday, those zombies appeared for the first time; it was in the morning, right after you fainted, while we were on break. We were there when they attacked us and we had to flee— Rina explained with a look of sadness and desolation—Many didn't manage to escape—
Yuika listened attentively and asked curiously, "How did that happen?"
The three remaining people in the room looked at each other, not knowing what to say, until Riku, who was still sitting on the floor, replied, "We don't know," before continuing, "But we tried to communicate with our cell phones and discovered that this city is infested with zombies, and unfortunately, it's not the only one affected; it's not just this country; it's a global problem."
Yuika thought for a moment, unaffected by what Riku said, to ask, "Have any of you been able to communicate with your parents?"
Riku nodded at her question, pointing at Aika and himself. "Our parents were home when this disaster started, so they are safe."
Then, Yuika turned to look at Rina and asked her curiously, "And you?" Despite having seen her in a photograph in a dream, she didn't know much about her, except for the short introduction in the novel that indicated that she was the protagonist.
The summary only mentioned her name, without detailing anything about the male protagonists, who were simply described as yanderes. Nor were any of the protagonist's friends or family mentioned.
It was at that moment that Rina began to tear up again. "I don't have parents, I'm an orphan," she said with a trembling voice.
Yuika stood still, overwhelmed by the shame she felt.
Aika gave her a mocking look "Oh, now I'm completely sure that you've lost your memory" she said with a sarcastic smile "Because I don't think you'd be so cruel as to ask about her parents when you know it's a sensitive subject for her" she chuckled
Just by hearing Aika's words, Rina seemed to understand that Yuika's question hadn't been with bad intentions. "Sorry, I forgot that you lost your memory," she apologized, realizing something important. "By the way, if you've lost your memory, you shouldn't remember your family either."
Yuika looked at her upon hearing the mention of her family. "Just in case, I know you said we weren't friends before this, but does anyone have any information about my family?" she asked, longing to know more about her identity and her parents.
—Although we weren't friends, we've heard some rumors circulating around school— Riku answered — The rumors said that you didn't socialize much, since you did your homework during recess and quickly disappeared when the bell rang. It was said that this was because you worked in the afternoons and at night to help with your mother's expenses, after your father's death a year ago— he explained — I don't know if this is true, but that's what was said—
Yuika remained silent, trying to digest what she had heard; it seemed that she only had a sick mother as her only family. "How true are those rumors?" she asked.
Aika didn't miss the opportunity to laugh. "Well, you've always been somewhat invisible, except for being the best student in our class. So I guess the "no socializing" thing is true..." she wanted to continue mocking when Rina interrupted her.
—It's not a lie that your mother is sick either— Rina stated—I once went to the hospital because I was feeling unwell and, by coincidence, I saw you with a bouquet of flowers, I suppose it was for your mother—
It's a fact, the only family I have left in this world is a mother with health problems, even so, she would go for her mother, as soon as she leaves this school.
I just hoped he was still alive.