Chapter Text
It was still early in the morning, but Tsukasa was already feeling exhausted.
He had a nightmare last night. About a horrible creature that suddenly appeared in the Ensemble Square building, and then everyone panicked and ran around. Shinobu said Tsukasa was also rambling in his sleep, and it seemed like the dream would have been much more terrifying if Shinobu hadn't woken him up immediately.
But the image of that horrible creature from nowhere kept appearing in Tsukasa's head. Even his toast for breakfast tasted bitter.
Rather than be haunted by that horrible image all day, Tsukasa would rather be immersed in work. So he went straight to the agency after breakfast, hoping he'd forget the dream if he got busy.
Though the building were still quiet, even Tsukasa wasn't the first to arrive at the agency that morning. As he had just stepped into the New Dimension office, someone greeted him with a warm smile.
"Suou-kun? Good morning."
It was still early, but Tsumugi was already busy, flipping through some paperwork and turning up the laptop on his desk.
It was nothing new to see the Deputy Director of NewDi already busy in the morning, but Tsukasa hoped his senior had gotten a good night's rest. At least, not like him who was having nightmares.
"Good morning, Aoba-senpai," Tsukasa replied, trying not to sound tense or anything.
But Tsumugi could see that something was wrong with Tsukasa. "Umm ... I was going to ask, is it unusual for Suou-kun to come this early. But your face is a bit pale, did something happen?"
"Nothing-" Tsukasa wanted to avoiding that question, but he felt bad for making others worried. "Actually, last night I had a nightmare ...."
"Really? It must have been scary," Tsumugi said sympathetically."Would you like some tea to calm your mind?"
"Ah, let me brew it," Tsukasa offered. A moment later, they were both seated with steaming cups of tea in front of them.
"Would you like to tell me about it? Usually it makes you feel better. I'll listen," Tsumugi suggested.
Tsukasa took a deep breath. It was a good suggestion, because Tsukasa still remembered his dream clearly. The horrible creature that appeared in his dream was shaped like a human with a disfigured face. It growled in a horrible voice and attacked in a vague direction, causing panic. Tsukasa remembered how panicked he was, plus his friends were also attacked by the creature one by one. In the end, Tsukasa could only witness the horror without being able to do anything.
Even Tsukasa still shuddered in horror in front of Tsumugi.
"But it's not real, is it?" Tsumugi interrupted. "Things like that don't happen in the real world, so there's no need for Suou-kun to worry, right?"
That was true. Tsukasa was the one overreacting, even though what happened in his dream could only happen in movies. Apparently he wasn't mature enough yet.
But Tsukasa was relieved after telling Tsumugi about his dream. "That's right, they weren't real. Thank you, Aoba-senpai."
"Ah, that's right, I have some good stuff for you." Tsumugi reached into his drawer, took something out of it, and shoved it into Tsukasa's hand. "Keep this with you for good luck charm."
"An amulet?"
It looked like an ordinary good luck charm like those found in souvenir shops or during the new year's hatsumode.
Tsumugi nodded. "It can be used as a protective charm as well. I hope you don't have any nightmares after this."
It was just a suggestion, but Tsukasa appreciated it. He put the amulet Tsumugi gave him in his pocket. "I'll keep it. Thank you, Senpai."
"No problem, really." Now Tsumugi has gone back to his laptop. But after only a few moments, his face turned very serious. "Huuuh!? What's the meaning of this?"
"What's wrong, Senpai?" Tsukasa had a bad feeling. There must be something bad going on.
"Suou-kun, remember the movie studio that recently proposed a partnership to us?" From the deathly pale look on Tsumugi's face, what he had just seen must not have been good.
"Yeah, that movie studio is from overseas, right?" Tsukasa said nervously. "Shouldn't their representatives be here today to discuss the project?"
"I actually received a text message from them this morning," Tsumugi replied, still busy tapping away on his laptop. "They said all the flights were canceled and they didn't know when they could come here. They also sent a short video, but I can only open it on the computer."
Tsumugi turned to look at Tsukasa. "I'm sorry, Suou-kun, but can you also look at the video they sent? I need your opinion about this."
"What video did they send?"
Slowly, Tsumugi slid his laptop in front of Tsukasa. "Take a look for yourself. But If it's too much, you don't have to bother."
Tsukasa didn’t know when his hands became so cold, but he pressed play on Tsumugi's laptop anyway.
The video played. It was less than five minutes long, and appeared to have been taken in a large room with many large glass. Tsukasa could see an airplane behind one of the glass. An airport waiting room.
But the content of the video really made him sick. People were running around in a panic. Then the figure that made people so panicked, at first glance, it looked like a human, but with a body full of wounds and an unrecognizable face. There were several similar figures, and they all went berserk and attacked the people in the waiting room. It felt like that video looked like ....
Like in Tsukasa's dream.
"No way ...." Tsukasa quickly looked away from the laptop screen. It would be bad if he spit out his breakfast.
"Sorry, it's just too much for you, huh," Tsumugi said as he returned to his laptop. "But I don't understand why they would send a video like this."
"The VIDEO is out of focus, it looks like it was taken in a hurry," Tsukasa concluded, still trying to compose himself.
"So you're saying ... it's not manipulated?" Tsumugi lowered his voice. "That thing ... really exists?"
Tsukasa didn't know what to answer. The things he saw in the video usually only happened in movies. But if it were really happening ....
***
"Tenshouin-senpai, where should I put these documents?"
It was still an ordinary morning at the StarPro office. Eichi was busy with his laptop, and only raised his head slightly when Mao appeared in front of his desk, carrying a stack of documents.
"Thank you, Mao. Just put them at the end of the desk over there." Eichi pointed at the corner of the desk with his eyes. When Mao had put down the pile of documents, he continued. "I'm sorry to trouble you. Usually I'd ask Keito for help, but he has work this morning."
But Mao shook his head. "It's okay, Senpai, I happen to be free too. Besides, after graduation I rarely deal with documents like this. So I do miss it a little ...."
Eichi smiled slightly. "I see, Mao is indeed a diligent child, huh."
Mao chuckled. "Not really, I'm just happy when I can help others."
"In that case, can I ask you one more favor?" The look on Eichi's face instantly turned serious. "Not a physical favor, I just want to hear your opinion. Sit down first."
Mao moved a nearby chair and placed it in front of Eichi's desk. Now he was curious, what kind of opinion would Eichi Tenshouin want to hear from him.
Eichi cleared his throat before starting. "Today I was supposed to have a personal appointment with bussiness partner from overseas. But this morning, he suddenly sent a message to cancel the meeting, accompanied by a short video that made no sense."
While speaking, Eichi slid his laptop in front of Mao. "However, until now, that person cannot be contacted. Well, Mao, would you like to give your opinion after watching this strange video?"
Despite not understanding Eichi's intention, Mao pressed play on the laptop screen. The video played, showing a large highway behind the windshield of a stopped car. But there was something strange about the video. Mao could see several people running frantically on the street, avoiding something, or someone, who was dressed in rags and had an unrecognizable face, raging uncontrollably and attacking anyone nearby.
The scene in the video looks like a horror movie, but from the out-of-focus shooting angle. Mao was able to deduce that the video was taken spontaneously and had not been edited. But if so, then the creature that was rampaging in the video was ....
"Zombies?" Mao whispered in horror.
"So you came to the same conclusion," Eichi said, looking deeply at Mao. "But aren't zombies just made-up creatures?"
"Well ... zombies only exist in movies or manga," Mao argued, but the video he was watching felt very real. "But this video doesn't look like it was made up ...."
"It's not. This guy is one of Tenshouin's trusted partners, I can't believe he would make a nonsensical trick video like this," Eichi replied, sliding his laptop back into place. "I checked some overseas news portals earlier. There have been reports of sightings of similar creatures in some countries, but there's no further news on that yet."
Mao felt his hands go very cold. "But, Senpai, is something like that possible in the real world?"
Eichi just shrugged. "There are many unexpected things in this world. And if it did happen-"
The conversation was cut off by Mao's ringing phone. With hands still shaking from tension, Mao checked his cell phone. Ritsu Sakuma's name appeared on the screen.
"Sorry. I'll be right back," Mao said. He moved to a corner of the room and answered the phone.
"Hello, Ritsu? What's up?"
"Maa~kun, I miss you. C'mere."
Mao sighed. "Didn't we just meet last night at the dorm? Where are you right now?"
"In the lounge near StarPro."
"Alright. I'll be there, wait for me."
"Yaaay~ I'll wait."
The phone hung up. Mao returned to Eichi's presence. "Tenshouin-senpai, if there's nothing else to do, can I leave now?"
Eichi shook his head. "Yes, please. Thank you again for your help, Mao."
But before Mao was about to step away, Eichi called out to him again. "Before you go, please listen to a little advice from me. If the worst things happen, never let go of the person you care the most."
Those were Eichi's last words that Mao heard before leaving the StarPro agency office.
***
Tsukasa is still feeling nauseous from the video he saw in the morning.
At least, he felt a bit relieved when he read Izumi's message, which said that he had just gotten off the plane and was waiting for his luggage. There was still Knights practice that afternoon. Hopefully Tsukasa's mood would get better after hanging out with his seniors.
Since he had nothing else to do until practice time, Tsukasa decided to get some fresh air in the garden.
The sky was very clear that day. It seemed unlikely that a monstrous creature would appear and spread fear in the ES building. Tsukasa heard the sound of someone humming, and it sounded familiar.
His guess was right. Tsukasa found the source of the humming sound, that person was curled up low in a corner of the garden, lost in the sheets of sheet music he had just written to the point of not paying attention to his surroundings.
"Leo-san."
Hearing his name called, Leo raised his head. "Oh, Suo~, huh? What are you doing here?"
"Those should be my words ...." Tsukasa snorted as he approached Leo. "Next time, please don't compose songs in a place like this, Leo-san, you'll catch a cold."
Leo laughed. "Wahahaha! It's alright. The spring breeze in this place feels good, anyway, I get a lot of inspiration."
Tsukasa crouched down next to Leo. He picked up a piece of scattered sheet music. It was impossible to drag his senior into a warmer building right now, so he decided to wait until Leo finished the song.
"Done!" Leo shouted as he held up the last sheet music. "Do you want to see it, Suo~? Let me know what you think."
Tsukasa accepted the newly finished sheet music from Leo's hand. The song was fast-paced, and before he knew it, he was already humming softly.
"What's this song about?" Tsukasa asked.
"I recently received a request to write a theme song for an action movie," Leo explained. "That's good, isn't it? I can still come up with more thrilling ones, you know."
Tsukasa chuckled. "Yes, it's very good. I can't wait to see that movie."
Leo snorted proudly. "You see, I'm a genius! Hey, next time how about I make a Knights song with a similar tune?"
"That's fine-"
Thud!
Tsukasa's words were cut off by the sound of a heavy object falling behind his back, seemingly from the top floor of the building. But what made Tsukasa instantly speechless wasn't the sound of the heavy object, but the look of horror on Leo's face as soon as it hit the ground.
"What's wrong, Leo-san?"
Leo didn't answer. Wrapped in curiosity, Tsukasa decided he'd better see for himself what had made Leo like that. But before he could turn around, Leo hurriedly hugged him, restraining Tsukasa from changing positions.
"Don't look, Suo~!" Leo screeched in a trembling voice.
Tsukasa didn't understand, but he could hear Leo's rapid heartbeat, as well as his rapid breathing. Not knowing what was going on behind his back, Tsukasa could hear the clattering steps of many people arriving.
"Someone fell from the roof of the building!"
"Oh my God! His body was crushed like that!"
This time it was Tsukasa's heart's turn to beat irregularly. He also felt nauseous. Meanwhile, the crowd of people behind seemed to have gotten even bigger.
"Ah!"
Leo suddenly released his embrace. His face was deathly pale, and his gaze was fixed on the corpse that Tsukasa hadn't seen yet. The murmurs behind him also turned into stifled screams.
Ignoring the nauseated feeling in his stomach, Tsukasa turned around, only to witness the sight he least wanted to see.
The brightly colored dapper suit the figure wore still looked striking despite being covered in blood and stains. His legs and arms were bent in strange directions and his face was unrecognizable. With such severe injuries, it was impossible for the figure to still be alive. But the corpse was moving strangely.
The distance between Tsukasa and the corpse was closer than the people coming out of the building. And he saw with his own eyes, the corpse resting on one hand as it rose slowly with a guttural growl.
The undead's empty eyes looked at Tsukasa, who started to realize what kind of danger lay ahead.