Chapter 16: On The Way To Saving The Group
Taking the three girls to the roof wasn't hard, and there was no resistance from any of 'THEM'. Which got me thinking; Where are they?
At least half the people who fell asleep at the start of the infection would have woken up as Zombies. So how come I'd only encountered 5 so far? It wasn't impossible just...very improbable.
Each classroom had around 30 people in it which meant that there was on average around 15 Zombies per class. When thinking of it like this I came to a realization:
The Zombies were busy eating the other classmates - the alive ones.
Imagine it like this; The Zombies would be right into business as soon as they were turned while Humans who just woke up from the sleeping wouldn't be as mentally awake, even their body might be a bit stiff like how it is after a long night's sleep - their body was just changed by a Virus so that it can evolve, I'm guessing it must be a bit tiring.
Anyway, what I'm trying to get across is that the chances of anyone surviving in a classroom were low and that the reason the Zombies weren't flooding the hallways was that they were busy eating their former classmates.
Now, that thing about 15 Zombies per classroom was purely an average. There could be a classroom with zero Zombies and one full of Zombies - it purely relies on chance.
Which is why I was praying that Takashi and the others were in the lucky classrooms with lesser amounts of Zombies.
Haah~ I'm truly an idiot for not protecting them when the time was upon me, instead, I let my worries limit my view to only Yuuki...Please be alive, you guys!
Walking with more speed, I saw something...interesting.
A group of 'THEM' were filing themselves through a door into a classroom and I could hear a string 'Fwissh' sounds before dull thuds coming from inside the classroom.
Now, if I were a betting boy...
Before my thoughts could get carried away I summoned a Kagune Knife in my hand. The blade was long enough and sharp enough to slice through a person's neck with ease.
My Kagune powers were incredibly versatile. I got literally everything special about Kagunes, all in a single Kagune. The hardness of a Kokaku was perfect for cold weapons like a knife but I did add a bit of Ukaku to the edge of the blade to give it an extra bit of sharpness.
Imagine any of the powers the Ghouls had in Tokyo Ghoul and if that power was the result of a Kagune - I have it. It was even to the point where I could separate the Kagune from my body and it could still function; this is how I could make knives and other weapons with my Kagune.
I could even have Electrokinesis or Pyrokinesis, I just have to figure out how to do that.
Anyway, back to the present, I charged at the small horde in front of me, brandishing my dark purple knife.
It became a blur of slaughter in my hand, it's red edge and purple body being the color of the blur.
Undead heads feel to the floor left and right, my heightened physical prowess easily trumping their undead strength and along with the principles of hand-to-hand combat with a knife from Systema, I was near untouchable by any of their rotting hands.
But I didn't do it all alone, nails were firing into every Zombie I didn't get, my reach naturally being limited with a close-quarters weapon.
Looking through the door and over the undead heads, I saw someone I hadn't really seen till this date.
He was short and pretty overweight but the slasher-like smile on his face which was so like mine told me he was like me - a fighter...or a borderline psycho - so I looked past his appearance. But I also knew who he was; he was an original main character from the show.
"Gotcha! Gotcha! Gotcha!" his manic voice yelled this over and over as he shot nails into the Zombies' head from the pressurized nail gun in his hands. His accuracy was eerie but his help in combat was helpful and it slammed home the thought of bringing him with me.
After all, everyone needs a gun-user in the apocalypse, right? Plus, his expertise in combat strategy would be helpful even if he was useless in combat - which he isn't.
Under the assault of a monstrous knife-wielding psycho (who else but me?) and the manic 'gun'-wielding psycho, the horde of Zombies was cut (and shot) down within minutes.
While I was without any fatigue, the same couldn't be said for the person in the classroom. He was leaning against a desk recovering from the shock of it all.
He wasn't physically fatigued - he'd just been standing there - but instead, he was undergoing mental fatigue due to having put his full-concentration on each shot. He killed each Zombie with a single nail each time, showing his brilliant accuracy, which also shows how much concentration he put into his earlier display.
Though, I wish he didn't have to shout 'Gotcha!' each time he shot a Zombie...
Walking into the classroom, not minding the fact I was walking over the corpses of my fellow students, I walked over to the boy while holding out my hand which wasn't holding the knife.
"Nice shooting, it was like having the back up of Private Jackson. Except I don't think there's a tank to stop you in the school right now...*" letting out a light chuckle I saw the boy's face relax a little and smile from my joke, "Anyway, the name's Ryu Hattori, thanks for having my back,"
(*A/N - It's a Saving Private Ryan reference. Private Jackson was a Sniper who was actually pretty accurate and killed loads of Nazis from on top of a Church before the place got shot, and blown up, by a Tank.)
While still feeling a bit jittery he still reached out and shook my hand. Whether it was because of the adrenaline or the excitement of actually meeting a person who didn't want to eat him, his grip was incredibly tight.
I wonder if the virus has already started evolving him? He has killed a lot of Zombies, after all.
Interrupting my thoughts, he started speaking.
"I-I know who you are, Hattori-san, you beat the crap out of all the delinquents in my class...Tsunoda and the others--" before he could carry on I wagged my finger in front of him before tutting in an admonishing way.
"Uh huh, that's a rumor, I did no such thing...?" smiling slyly and looking 'innocent', I moved the conversation onto him introducing himself.
Knowing I was playing about, he relaxed even further before letting go of my hand.
"M-my name's Kohta Hirano, and t-thanks for helping with...'THEM' earlier, as well" he answered with a now timid stutter and look on his face, completely unlike his earlier display of confidence and mania.
Hmm, I guess it's like how it was in the original series; he's calm and confident in battle but outside of it he goes back to his nervous and timid, gun otaku ways.
Oh well, I know he's trustworthy guy anyway.
"No worries, Hirano-san...Anyway, do you want to come with me? I'm going to get my friends and girlfriend before going up to the roof to plan our escape from the school...we could always use a man of your expertise," I looked inquisitively at him, wondering if he'd willingly come with me.
Hearing my question, Kohta started to think it over and while I did that, I went over to the door and stood as a lookout. Him shouting earlier must have attracted at least some attention and it would pay dividends to be prepared for it.
"Sure, I'll come with you. You...You seem to have a plan, Hattori-kun, and we definitely need one to escape this place..." he looked down before smiling up at me, "Just give me a second to pack up some ammo!" with this, he cheerily started loading cartridges filled with nails into his pockets.
Psychotic, then Timid and now Cheery? Does this guy have bipolar or something...?
Nonetheless, I waited for him as I thought out which route we were gonna take. Takashi's classroom was on the opposite side of the school we were on and I would be able to rush there anymore with Kohta with me...his certain traits limit both his speed and endurance so running wasn't an option.
Unless...
"Hey, Hirano," Kohta popped his head up from the box he was rummaging for ammo and looked at me with question marks practically floating around him, "We're gonna need to run to my friend's classroom, and please don't take offense from this, but you don't look like you could handle the run - it's to the other side of the school from here," putting on a slightly apologetic smile, I hoped he wouldn't take this badly.
I don't take joy in being a dickhead for no reason.
But it seems my worries were unfounded as Kohta started laughing bashful look on his face, "Hahaha, yeah, I'm not the most physically fit...so, what are we gonna do to work around it?"
Huh, it seems the stress from the bullying he's dealt with up till now has made it so stuff like that can't hurt him to worse degree anymore...
Good. I'm glad he's stronger than I thought, mentally at least.
Smiling toward him, I pointed my thumb over my shoulder and at my back, "Simple - I'll give you piggyback there. You can act as a mobile turret while I focus on getting us there. Sound good to you?" I looked at his face, looking for an answer.
Most guys would say no, purely because of their pride but--
"That sounds fun! My gun skills with your physical prowess - A match-up to end all match-ups!" getting excited, Kohta quickly put everything he needed into his many pockets before rushing up to me, looking like a kid who was about to get on his dad's shoulders.
It was slightly disturbing. But still, it's something I liked about Kohta - he knew what had to be done and got on with it.
Must be that training he had in America when he went to that Private Military Academy.
Anyway, rolling my eyes at his enthusiasm, I turned around before kneeling down so he could climb on my back.
He quickly did so and locked his legs on to my sides while he used my shoulders, and head, as places to rest his gun and arms for stability.
His weight, although a lot to normal people, was like air to me. I'd lifted much more than this even before my intense training over the months when I lifted up a Steel Girder which weighed around 400lbs. Compared to that, Kohta who weighed around 190lbs was heavy in the slightest.
Doing a few practice movements to get used to extra weight and its effect on my center of gravity, I headed toward the door and ducked slightly for Kohta.
"...I knew you were strong from your looks but...damn. Hattori, no, Boss, are you even Human?" his voice was one of disbelief. Most people wouldn't be able to lift him off the ground let alone walking so effortlessly with him on their back.
His comment made me flinch a little as I remembered how I'd have to tell the others what I am, now that my superhuman prowess would be shown.
Technically, I wasn't Human. I was closer to the Zombies filling the school than I was to a Human at this point. I was MADE of the Virus, not infected by it.
I ran some tests and it seems that instead of enhancing Human cells, the Virus I had, had evaluated the function of the cells that made up my body before making clones of the cell with the Virus before letting the cloned cell take its originals place by devouring it.
So, I was pretty much like Alex Mercer from Prototype. I didn't have weakness in my body - no weak organs or brittle bones. Just potential. Potential to continually evolve and get stronger. I was made of the Virus.
This wasn't to say I didn't have organs or bones - I most definitely did - but it was just that they were devoid of the weakness and usual problems Human organs have.
They were better. I was better.
But it still hurt to come to the revelation that I wasn't Human.
"...If only you knew..." I let out a whisper which Kohta didn't seem to pick up, so I went on to address something else, "Boss? Just call me by my name, Hirano, I'm nobodies boss," I let out a chuckle before breaking out in a job.
"But you're worthy of being my Boss!" but a second later he let out a laugh, "But if you insist, call me Kohta instead of Hirano - we just fought together, and what do they say...'The blood of the battlefield is thicker than the water of the womb'*, right?"
(*A/N - the original is 'The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb' but it means the same thing anyway. I just replaced covenant with battlefield to avoid confusion~!)
Letting out a short laugh at what he said, I nodded, "That's true. Brothers-in-arms, right? Well, Kohta, let's continue fighting until we escape here. I've got your back, and I assume you've got mine right?"
I could practically feel the excitement rolling off of Kohta, "Yes! I've got your back, Bo--Ryu!" he let out a happy laugh before going into a sort of sentry-mode as he kept his eyes peeled for any of 'THEM'.
Feeling his sincerity, I could tell he took this seriously just like me.
In the days to come, I needed comrades who would fight with me, and a gun/military fanatic like Kohta was definitely someone I could trust. His sense of honor was like that of a soldier and would make it so he would never betray a brother of his, especially one he'd fought with.
As our recently forged bond was still cooling, Kohta and I spotted some Zombies. Tilting my head up toward his, I looked at him with a passionate gaze, "You're in charge of taking these things down, okay? I'm gonna be concentrating on not letting us get tackled to the ground,"
All I got was an enthusiastic 'Mhm!' and a nod but that's all I needed.
I slowly but surely increased my speed but kept it at a level where Kohta could keep his aim steady and still react to the threats ahead of us.
The first Zombie got a nail straight to the head before it could even fully turn toward us. The second Zombie took a step before getting a nail in its head.
Moving past the first pair, I slid past another Zombie's side, which dropped to the floor as soon as I got past it.
Three quick taps of the trigger on the nail gun resulted in another 3 Zombies dropping to the floor.
Within seconds, 6 Zombies were dead once again. Moral of the Story: Don't mess with a gun fanatic when he has a gun-like projectile weapon in his hands. Neither should you underestimate his accuracy and efficiency.
...Like seriously, Kohta could become a top-class Hitman with this kind of Accuracy. Not to mention he was shooting while I was moving and despite everything I did to keep him steady, it was still an amazing achievement.
Like this, we traveled forward like a mobile turret, none of 'THEM' getting close unless it was me running past them and even then, they'd be dead before they knew it.
Like Kohta said, his gun skills with my physical ability and we were unstoppable. At least when compared to the average Zombie which was stiff and couldn't react to us very well.
When we went around the last corner we both saw something quite unique. A group of 4 people fighting off against a small horde of Zombies like the one me and Kohta took down earlier when we first met, but this one was slightly bigger.
Of course, the four figures were Takashi, Rei, Hisashi, and Saeko. I don't know exactly why Saeko is here but I would guess that it was to come and see if I was safe.
Thinking that only made my guilt from not coming and getting her earlier even more apparent in my heart. I'd definitely have to make it up to her later...No, I would make it up to her. It's not her fault I'm a bad boyfriend, and she deserves something for putting up with me.
But right now, my worry for the safety of all four of them was larger than my guilt, so I sprinted at the horde with Kohta on my back.
He didn't question it. He wasn't dumb and could probably guess they were my friends and one of the two girls was possibly my girlfriend.
Anyway, with this in mind, we both got ready for a fight.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Lazyy
Lazyy Because of popular demand, I have added Kohta Hirano. He'll be Ryu's bro along with Takashi and he'll have Ryu's back. A true bromance; brothers-in-arms until the end!
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter!
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