Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Miyamasuzaka Girls Academy was a school just for girls. It was just a normal day. Students laughing with their friends while eating lunch, some helping out around the school, more hanging out with their friends… just what regular high schoolers would do.

Ichika Hoshino, Saki Tenma, Honami Mochizuki and Shiho Hinomori all got into the same academy together. They’ve all been best friends since they were in elementary. After ups and downs, they started a band named “Leo/need”. Present day, they’re all sitting around a table outside. All of them were eating lunch together.

“We did sooooooo good during yesterday’s band practice!” Saki said happily, while popping a rice ball in her mouth. Ichika chuckled. “Hehe, you were so into it, Saki.” “I agree with Ichika.” Shiho joined in the conversation. “I could feel your passion within every key you played on the keyboard.” Shiho smiles warmly. “Awwwww, Shiho-chan!” “Careful Saki-chan… don’t choke on your food.” Honami says gently, holding Saki’s shoulder. “Don’t worry Hona-chan, I won’t! The food’s nice enough not to choke me!” The four bandmates laughed while eating and chatting together.

Several minutes pass by, the four bandmates still sitting and chatting together. When all of a sudden, a girl with glasses started yelling:

“Help! My friend is coughing up blood! What should I do?” The sudden positive atmosphere outside turned into panic, with many students approaching the girl coughing up blood rapidly, trying to help. Some students rushed to get teachers for assistance. The four turn their heads, Saki covering her mouth, Honami approaching the crowd. 

When Honami almost made it to the girl, she heard grumbling sounds coming from her. She was confused at first, but then instinctively backed away. The girl who once was a student started shaking like a robot malfunctioning, with everyone trying to calm her down, but then suddenly… 

The girl suddenly lunged at the student in front of her, attacking her. Blood was splattered everywhere.

It took everyone a millisecond to process this, then suddenly the once calm academy was now full of screams.

“EVERYONE, RUN!!!” a student screamed while entering down the hallways. The three remaining jumped up from their seats and now the four started running. “What the hell was that?!” Shiho asked, while running alongside Ichika.

“I…” Ichika couldn’t even get out a word without trying not to throw up. “I… think she just ate her.” Ichika covered her mouth. “WHAT?! HOW?!” Saki panting, while trying her best to get the words out. Honami responded back swiftly, while carefully observing the walls. “I don’t know… but let’s hide!”

The four bandmates agreed, and tried to find somewhere decent to hide so that they survive.

. . .

Minori Hanasato, Haruka Kiritani, Airi Momoi and Shizuku Hinomori were all together in an idol group named MORE MORE JUMP!. Their goal was to spread hope to as many people as possible. In an empty classroom, the four were sitting at desks while forming a circle with them. They were also eating lunch, happily talking about the next stream. “Oh, I know!” Minori snapped her fingers. “Maybe we should do a cooking livestream?”

“Where would we do that?” Haruka sips on her juice box. “Ah! Maybe we should do it outside with a portable stove? It’s like camping!” Shizuku suggested, happily smiling. “Hold your horses Shizuku… are you sure you should be trusted with a stove?” Airi nudges Shizuku. “Hehe, that’s a great idea, good work Shizuku and Minori.” Haruka chuckles.

(AAAAAAHHHH! Haruka just praised me~!) Minori thought in her mind, not knowing she was showing her physically fangirling. The three laughed at her. “Ah! Was I too obvious?!” Minori comes back to reality. Then, the four laughed together.

It was until then they suddenly heard the scream from outside. “Did… did anyone hear that just now?” Shizuku glanced at the window, concerned. “I don’t know… but they sounded desperate.” Haruka replied. “Maybe we should check to see what’s going on?” The four agreed, packed everything up, arranged the desks back when suddenly, they heard banging on the door. Minori jumped at the ominous loud noise. “Ah–!” Airi walked up to the door and suddenly saw all the Leo/need members rush in. The four that just entered huffed, all out of breath.

“What’s going on?” Haruka asked. Ichika, being the first one to catch her breath, tries to explain. “Well–” Suddenly, screams filled the hallways and there was blood everywhere on the walls. “What the hell…” Airi muttered to herself, then suddenly blurted. “Lock the door!” The rest agreed while trying to process what they just saw, pushing desks and stacking desks on top of each other. They all try to cram under the teacher’s desk.

The banging appeared once again. “AAAAAAHHH! SOMEBODY, PLEASE, UNLOCK THE— AAAAHHHHH!” The girl who was once banging on the door, begging for her life, was now presumably gone. Growling, roaring and grumbling sounds now replaced that very scream. The girls were all traumatized. What just happened? What is happening? The silence between the girls was long, all processing what just happened.

“What… is happening…?” Honami whispered, breaking the silence. Minori suddenly thought about a possibility of what this is, but didn’t wanna believe it was true.

 “It… it might be zombies.” All the girls turned to her. “Minori, be serious, there’s no way—” Honami quietly whispers back. Shiho interrupts Honami. “As much as I don’t want to believe it… it’s probably true. I mean, how else would we explain what’s happening right now? It seems like… a zombie apocalypse.” “Apocalypse?” Shizuku responded. “Ah, like the ones in those zombie movies, right Shii-chan?” Shiho nodded. “Exactly like that… but real life.” Honami gasped.

“I-It’s real?! So… so… we're gonna die here?! A-and get i-i-infected and e-e-eat all the humans’ b-b-b-brains?! ” Honami breathes faster, almost having a panic attack. Shiho consoles her. “Honami, we won’t die here, don’t worry. We won’t leave you.” Everyone else looked at her with promising eyes, which calmed and encouraged Honami a little.

Everyone tried their best to process it and eventually accept it, although it seemed abnormal until the banging and scratching of the door suddenly broke the silence.

“Oh gosh… oh gosh…” Saki panics. “W-what do we do?!” Ichika’s voice trembling. Haruka tries to scan the room quickly. She finds the box of desk legs the teacher brought in a while ago.

Airi notices her glance. “You want us to defend ourselves, right?” Haruka turns to Airi. “Right on the money.” Ichika turns to the both of them. “How do we do that?” “The desk legs, on that table.” Haruka points, trying to make it small so it doesn’t attract attention. Airi adds on. “After that, we should try to make a run for it, we can’t stay here forever.”

“Where are we going after this?” Shiho asked. “Let’s try to head to the—” The banger got even louder. The door was about to burst open. “Oh for the love of… let’s just run for it and fight!” Airi blurted out. The girls grabbed the desk legs & the door finally busted open.

Chapter Text

Minutes before the apocalypse, Kohane Azusawa was walking in the school hallways, finding her way to the rooftop. She left her notebook up on the rooftop, and she needed it for her next class. “Azusawa-san!” Kohane turned behind her. It was Mafuyu Asahina, approaching her by speed-walking.

“Ah! Asahina-senpai, did you need something from me?” Mafuyu looked behind her, then looked back at Kohane. “I don’t think it’s safe to go up there.” Kohane turned her head slightly, about to ask why. But suddenly, someone screamed “RUN!!!!”. Kohane jolted and Mafuyu turned to her. “Let’s go, we don’t have a lot of time before it becomes… messy. Head for the gym.” They both headed straight to the gym. Not long after, a pink haired girl sprinting fast as ever, approached the two. “Asahina-senpai! Kohane-chan!” It was Emu Otori, running alongside the two. “Emu-chan! You heard that too?” Kohane responds, trying to catch her breath while taking the words out her mouth. “Yeah! There was someone attacking a student, then blood splooshed everywhere!” Kohane took a while to process it. (Blood…? What…?) she thought to herself. Before they knew it, they were in the gym. 

“We should hide in the back, it’s safer there.” Mafuyu suggested. Kohane and Emu both nodded, though Kohane was still confused. They hid in the slightly cramped room in the back of the gym, overhearing others on the other sides of the room. “Wait, what’s happening?” Kohane asked, kind of nervous but confused. Mafuyu turned to her.

“There may be possible signs of a zombie apocalypse… I know it seems odd.” “Zombie… apocawhat?” Emu asked, confused. “Like when a huge group of zombies come and attack the world.” Kohane added. “Wait… so, there’s zombies attacking us?” “It seems so, I mean Otori-san literally saw someone get attacked, didn’t you?” Emu thought for a minute. “Yeah! It was kind of scary…” Mafuyu reassures Emu. “I mean… it’s kind of supposed to be.”

Kohane couldn’t process the fact that she was in an apocalypse. “Will… will we get infected?” Mafuyu closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Let’s not think like that Kohane-chan! Zombies can’t eve—” Before Emu could finish her sentence, the back wall of the room suddenly blew up. Debris flies everywhere, but not seriously injuring the girls.

“Ah! It just boomboomed!” Emu was surprised, but kind of mesmerized. There was suddenly a lot of running and grumbling. “What… is that sound?” Kohane slowly backs away, and reaches for the door handle. Mafuyu grabs a hockey stick from the shelf & grabs two to give to Kohane and Emu. “You two, be prepared to run and if you get caught, fight back.” Mafuyu says swiftly, changing her stance like she was going to run.

Then suddenly, a huge wave of zombies filled the hole in the wall quickly. Kohane was terrified, opening the door and running away, followed by Mafuyu and Emu but the gym was already filled with walking, deadly creatures and multiple human bodies. The creatures now all turned their heads to the three, and started running at them violently.

. . .

On the other side of the building, the zombies quickly filled the room with the eight girls inside. They all tried to fight them off, but some quickly got tired. “When do we run?!” Haruka tried to yell at Airi, trying to make her voice clear outside of all the zombie grumbles. “When this horde has less zombies!”

Minori always had generally terrible luck. But, her terrible luck came at one of the worst times possible. She tripped over her own shoelace while fighting off zombies and hurt her leg. Zombies started to pull on her leg and drag her as she screamed. Shiho notices.

“Minori!” Shiho tried to pull Minori back, but the zombie's grip was too strong and violent, and then started to eat at Minori’s leg. All the girls look in horror while still trying to fight the remaining horde, seeing their dear friend getting pulled and eaten at. Minori held on to the right side of the doorframe.

“G-guys…! Run….! live… f-for…” Minori says weakly, before she loses her grip and gets dragged and mauled by the horde of zombies. “M–M…” Haruka stuttered, looking as if she lost everything. The overwhelming amount of zombies quickly filled the room, and the girls were forced to keep fighting them off, even if they just saw their dear friend get taken by such creatures. The horde finally came down, and the remaining ran to the gym as fast as possible.

Shizuku looked behind her, trying to see if zombies were chasing them… but instead got presented with multiple zombies feeding off multiple dead students' bodies, and even her dear teammate and beloved friend, Minori.

Shizuku quickly turned around, with tears streaking her face and her face covering her mouth even though she threw up in her mouth. (I… I can’t believe this is happening…)

“Onee-chan! Are you okay?” Shiho asked, concerned. “Oh! I’m okay, Shii-chan. Don’t worry about me!” “It’s about Minori, isn’t it? Don’t worry, I saw it too.” (And I absolutely dreaded the sight of that…) Before they knew it, they got to the gym, which was on the other side of the school.

When they opened the door, there were many zombie corpses on the floor, but there were some still alive. They saw the other three trying their best to fend them off. Kohane, who looks like her legs are about to give out. Mafuyu, fending them off with a blank expression and Emu, killing all of them swiftly with a smile on her face. “We should help them.” Ichika suggested. The rest agreed, and Saki was the one who decided to scream to lure them.

The zombies quickly ran to the group. Emu gasped. “Look! It’s Saki-chan and the others!” Mafuyu turned to Emu and Kohane and then the group that walked in. “Alright, let’s help them as well.” “Y-yeah…” Kohane was still really creeped out by the zombies.

(How is this real…? What’s gonna happen to us…? Are… are we gonna die here?) As Kohane was panicking in her mind, Mafuyu put her hand on her shoulder. “Don’t worry Azusawa-san, we’ll be okay.” Kohane felt a bit reassured. “Thanks, Asahina-senpai.” Mafuyu gave a slight warm smile, not sure if it’s genuine. “Now, let’s go help them. Otori-san is already there.” “Alright then…” Mafuyu and Kohane rushed over to the rest, and eventually the horde was almost wiped out in the Miyamasuzaka gym.

The girls were panting, all out of breath. Kohane noticed that someone was missing. “Where’s Minori-chan?” Kohane asked as she looked at the seven. They all fell silent.

Somehow, Kohane already knew. “No… no no…” Kohane put her hand to her mouth. “She didn’t… She didn't, right?” Haruka looks away from Kohane, welling up with tears. Airi looks down and Shizuku closes her eyes.

“I’m sorry Kohane. I tried, I really did. I just…” Shiho’s voice shakes and her eyes start welling up with tears. Kohane goes up to Shiho and hugs her. “It’s okay you tried… I-I never wanted this to happen but… did she actually?” Shiho hugs back, now face full of tears. “Yeah… I saw. It’s still my fault. If only I just had a stronger grip, maybe she would’ve been here.” Kohane’s voice shakes. “Y- you just weren’t prepared, it’s okay. I-I… just can’t believe Minori’s gone.” Kohane hugged Shiho tighter. The gym fell in silence, with Kohane and Shiho silently weeping and the others looking down. Even Mafuyu, who didn’t feel much, felt a bit of… remorse. They didn’t wanna believe that the happy, bubbly, hard-working Minori Hanasato, was now gone, body eaten on, insides shown, and now walking around the school, not being who she was before.

Chapter Text

“Ugh… why did I have to go back to school again?” Mizuki Akiyama trudges through the hallways of Kamiyama High School. “Mizuki!” a familiar voice calls out to her. It was An Shiraishi, energetic and electric as always. “Ah! Hey, An!” “You haven’t been here in a while, it feels a little lonely…” Mizuki chuckles. “Well, you have Lil’ Bro and Toya-kun here! They’re your teammates, aren’t they?” An sighed. “Yeah… you think they’d hang out with me? The two usually go together anyway… and also it’s so rare to see you here so I would love to hang out with you!” “Aww… An, I’m flattered~!” The two best friends laugh. It was until a group of students were running in the halls, looking terrified.

“Hey! Don’t run in the halls!” An yelled at the students running, being the hallway monitor she is. Mizuki noticed their expressions. (Wait… what? Why’d they look so terrified?)

“Hold on An, I’m gonna be right back.” Mizuki said unsurely. “Oh, alright!” An waved goodbye. Mizuki walked to the corner of the hallway, and didn’t see anything except the hallway with some students, but less than normal. (Huh… weird.) Mizuki’s curiosity peaked, and she headed for the line of classrooms. There wasn’t anything unusual about the classrooms. There were desks, a teacher's desk, a whiteboard… just what classrooms have. But, when she almost reached the end…

There was a pale student, eating another student. Blood was everywhere. Blood was gushing out of the body as the student ate the other.

Mizuki felt sick. She was about to throw up from the horrifying sight she just witnessed.

(Oh hell no, I… I have to get out of here!) She ran as fast as she could, but the now zombie was chasing after her as she ran. While running, she ran into Nene Kusanagi and Rui Kamishiro. “Woah. Mizuki, what happened?” Rui turns to Mizuki, concerned. Mizuki was out of breath. “I… I know you don’t wanna believe this but—” But when Mizuki was about to explain, in seconds, the hallway filled with screams and students running for their lives. “Wait, what’s happening?!” Nene panics. Mizuki looks back quickly. “Come on, I’ll explain later!” Now the three are running, two clueless, one aware.

Mizuki runs to an empty classroom, alongside Nene and Rui. “Akiyama, what’s happening?!” Nene questions, terrified. “I… I just saw a student eat another student.” Mizuki gags while explaining. Nene gags with her and Rui is shocked. “What…? What do you mean a student is “eating” another student?” Rui asks, concerned. “Like I… I actually mean it. There was blood splattered everywhere… and the insides… I’m sorry.” Mizuki runs to open a window and almost throws up when she notices something.

There was a big crowd of zombies near the entrance of the school. Some were outsiders, some were… the school’s own students? But, something else caught Mizuki’s eye: There were some students in the crowd that were from Miyajo. (Wait… Miyajo uniforms?)

The image suddenly flashed in her mind. Mafuyu, her beloved friend and groupmate, attended Miyamasuzaka Girls’ Academy.

“No… no no no…” Mizuki whispers to herself, panicking. She tried to peek out the window once more, trying to spot a purple-haired girl in the crowd who she knew personally, in hopes she didn’t get turned into a…

. . . 

An stands for quite a while, waiting for Mizuki to come back. (Where is she…?) An questions to herself. She suddenly sees a pale student, running down the stairs. “Hey, don’t—” The student suddenly looks down. An tilts her head slightly. “Uh, are you oka—?” The pale student lifts their chin, blood is everywhere on and near their mouth. An is in shock, and the student suddenly attacks her and tackles her to the floor. “What the hell—?! Someone, help!”

An yells for help while trying to kick the attacker away. It was scratching her legs, it felt painful. Just when it was about to bite her, as it was perfect timing, Akito Shinonome and Tsukasa Tenma walked by. They both froze in their tracks.

“WHAT IS THAT?!” Tsukasa yells, now running away. The now zombie turns to them. Instinctively, Akito runs to the zombie. “Get off of her!” Akito yells and grunts, eventually making the zombie go unconscious with hard kicks and stomps.

“Whew… thanks Akito. I would’ve died instantly.” An stands up with the help of Akito’s hand, but stumbles a little. “Be careful, idiot. You got scratch marks on your legs.” An looks down and sees multiple scratch wounds, but they're not that deep.

She stumbles a bit more this time. Akito catches her just in time. “You know what, just put your arm around my shoulder, okay?” An nods, and does so. Coincidentally, one of their teammates, Toya Aoyagi, runs up to them.

“Akito! Shiraishi! Are you both okay?” An looks to the side of the hallway. “Yeah… I think we are now.” An looks back at Toya. “Do you know what happened?” Toya takes a deep breath. “Don’t panic… but it might be a zombie apocalypse.”

An covers her own mouth from screaming with her other hand. “Are you actually serious?” Akito questions. “How would you explain the scratch marks on Shiraishi’s legs? They don’t look like she was just normally attacked. The patterns say so.” They both fall silent. “Anyway, me and Tsukasa-senpai found a place to hide. The gym room with all the equipment, there’s water and some equipment we could use as weapons.” “Toya… how do you know all about this?” Akito questions, tilting his head. “I believe I played a game like this before.” An and Akito look at each other, then look back at Toya. “You know what, let’s just go to the gym before we ALL get eaten.” An suggested, constantly looking behind or beside her. The two both agreed and tried to get to the gym as fast as possible through the hidden hallway that almost nobody goes through, without triggering any zombies. 

There was blood everywhere. In the classrooms, on the floors, walls, windows and most were all from student bodies, and now there are students with half-eaten bodies walking around the school, like zombies. An gagged at the sight. (This… is unreal. How is this real?) Eventually, they made it to the back of the gym, in the equipment room. Inside, was Tsukasa hiding behind crates with a bat in his hand.

“AAAAAAHHHH!” Tsukasa panics. “Shut up, idiot! It’s just us, don’t attract the zombies.” Akito looks at him, annoyed. “Tsukasa-senpai, please lower your voice. We don’t want any more zombies coming near us.” Tsukasa nodded, with an expression of sorry. But, once he saw An’s wounds, he almost immediately shot up.

“What happened to you–?!” An quickly shushed him. “I just got attacked, is all… I’m alright though.” Toya faces An. “You think you can stand?” “I believe I can now, it doesn’t sting a lot.” Toya and Akito nodded and An removed her arm around Akito’s shoulder. Akito still held her shoulder, just in case she’d fall again. An starts to walk, but slowly. “It doesn’t sting anymore, and it doesn’t hurt.” Toya felt relieved. “That’s good, but we should at least bandage it. I found some at the nurses’ office.” Toya pulls out bandages from his pocket. “When did you get that?” An tilted her head slightly. Toya kneels down. “I’ll explain while I bandage you, so sit down.” An sits down on a mat that was already on the floor.

“...I saw a zombie in the distance near the crosswalk near our school from the balcony. I thought I was hallucinating at first. I didn’t wanna believe it, but I saw more come out from the corner. One of them looked up to me, I saw them being pale and blood all over them. I panicked, but I realized I remember playing a game like this with Kusanagi-san. So, I quickly rushed to the nurses’ office. But, what I noticed is that there were less students in the hallways. I didn’t think much about it at first, since my first priority was to get supplies. When I got out, there were many students running. Some students tripped, getting… dragged, bitten or eaten by zombies. I didn’t know what to do. So, I just ran until… a zombie got a hold of me. I kicked its mouth, but before I knew it… it already bit my leg.”

The group all looked at the boy in fear. “What…? Toya, you got…” An covered her mouth, tears already welling in her eyes. Once Toya finished bandaging An, he lifted up his pant leg and there was a bite mark. Deep, but it looks like he put medicine on it so he doesn’t immediately get turned into a zombie. “Sorry guys…” As Toya apologized, Akito kicked Toya. “You’re so stupid! Why?! Why…?!” Akito’s voice breaks. Toya got back up, and put his hand on Akito’s back. “I’m sorry Akito, I guess I can’t be beside you, or the others, anymore.” He then looked up at Tsukasa, who looked like the world had just ended. “Tsukasa-senpai… Thank you so much for making me feel like I was alive. You, along with Saki, made me feel like I just can’t leave this world without feeling guilt that I left people behind. You taught me how to smile. Thank you so much. My beloved teammates, Kohane, An, Akito… thanks to you three, I found my passion to pursue a new musical path. We formed Vivid BAD SQUAD together, which felt like my second home. Thank you so much, all of you, I won’t forget any of you.” A tear rolled down his face. Tsukasa ran to Toya, hugging him tightly. “I… I don’t want to see you cry. But, I don’t wanna lose you.” Toya hugs him back. “I don’t either… but it’s super unfortunate. I’m sorry, Tsukasa-senpai.” Tsukasa tried his best to hold his tears, but they escaped from his eyes.

Toya then turned to his teammates. An crying her eyes out, Akito shedding tears. “Come here, you two.” He then pulls them into a hug, all with tears on their faces. They hugged for a minute, until they pulled away. “Akito, thank you for being the best partner I’ve ever had. We had our ups and downs, but I knew you were still worried about me… thank you for that, and thank you for taking care of us.” Toya then turned to An. “Shiraishi… Thank you so much for encouraging me to be better. Without you and Azusawa, this group wouldn’t be possible or wouldn’t have even existed. You being my teammate, was one of the best things that’s ever happened to me. Thank you.” The room was filled with tears. They couldn't believe Toya was going to turn into one of them. As it was by time, Toya suddenly jolted. "Ah... I might have to go now." "Wait... where are you going...?" An asked, wiping her tears. "The medicine is about to wear off... it was temporary." The three had faces of shock. "Hold on, you don't mean..." Akito grabs Toya's arm.

Toya pushed Akito's hand down. "Yeah... I'm sorry. Promise me you'll all survive." An starts having a breakdown, she can't believe this is happening. Akito wipes away tears as he's trying to hold it in. On the other hand, Tsukasa grabs Toya's arm and squeezes it. "No... no! You can't! YOU CAN'T LEAVE US!!! I DON'T CARE IF YOU'LL TURN INTO ONE OF THEM! YOU JUST–" Toya interrupts him. "Tsukasa-senpai... I can't..." He suddenly starts coughing up blood. "Toya!" Akito rushes to check up on him. "Both of you... get away! Go! Bring Shiraishi with you!" An watches in horror as this is all happening. Akito brings An with him outside the room, whilst Tsukasa refuses to leave Toya alone. "I CAN'T LEAVE YOU TOYA!!! YOU'RE LIKE A BROTHER TO ME... I JUST CAN'T LEAVE YOU BEHIND!!! YOU CAN'T LEAVE SAKI AND YOUR GROUP BEHIND!!!" Toya hunches over, looking at Tsukasa. "I know... but what can I do...? I'm gonna get turned into one of them soon..." Toya starts coughing up more blood. Toya looks over Tsukasa's body and looks at his fellow group mates, An and Akito.

"You two... I have a favor." An and Akito look at Toya. "Could you tell Azusawa that I'm gone...? Tell her she was an amazing teammate... and I... liked her a lot." The request just made An and Akito feel worse. The fact he was never able to tell Kohane that he liked her. "Yeah... yeah we will." Akito looks away from Toya, running tears down his face. Suddenly, there was more screaming and growling outside the gym. "Go! GO now!" Toya shuts the door on Tsukasa, An and Akito with the remaining strength he had. Tsukasa banged on the door. "TOYA!! TOYA NO!!! TOYAAAAAAAAAA!!!" An and Akito felt the screams in their skin. They both tried to restrain Tsukasa, all with tears in their eyes.

On the other side of the door, Toya was slumped up against the door slowly turning into one of them. But, his last thought was significant.

"I'll be rooting for all of you. Please, just survive."

Chapter Text

Literally minutes before the apocalypse, Kanade Yoisaki, the main composer of Nightcord at 25:00, went to visit her dad. She slid the hospital sliding door, and saw her dad, just peacefully sleeping. She set his change of clothes down and talked to him.

“Hey Dad, it’s been pretty windy today. I bought you some warm clothes, hope you like them. My group is doing well… but I haven’t saved anyone yet. I will keep composing until I do, and it’s never gonna change.” Kanade looked down for a minute. “I wish you were here to give me reassurance. But, I did this to you, I don’t deserve it. I’m just… selfish.” Kanade felt a tear roll down her cheek as she held her father’s hand. It was still warm, even if he wasn’t awake. She looked at the time, and realized that visiting hours were over.

“Sorry Dad, I have to go now.” Kanade lets go of his hand, and almost walks out the door. She closes her eyes, breathes in and says under breath while looking down.

“I wish I could see you again.”

. . .

Kanade walks out the hospital doors, tears welling in her eyes. It was until her other group mate, Ena Shinonome, walked by. Ena recognizes her immediately.

“Ah—! Kanade!” Ena jolts a little. “Oh, Ena, hi.” Kanade tries to hide her tears by wiping them quickly with her sleeves. But, Ena was sharp enough to notice. “...Are you okay?” Kanade tries to keep her composure. “Yeah, I’m alright.” Ena held her shoulder. “Is… this about your dad?” Kanade slightly trembles. “Y-yeah.” Suddenly, Ena pulls Kanade into a hug.

“It’s alright.” Ena reassures her. Kanade hugs her back, and she feels tears trailing up on one of her eyes and is about to let it out. That was until they saw something in the distance. A figure walking in the distance, walking weirdly, like they were a… zombie. “What’s that person doing?” Ena questions, concerned. “Maybe they need help?” Kanade adds. The figure suddenly faces directly towards them. Blood was splattered on their face… and they were an uncomfortably pale green color. Ena screamed and Kanade gasped. “Is that a zombie?!” “A… a zombie? Wait, they’re real?!” The zombie heard their echoing voices, especially Ena’s, and started running towards them. It was one, then the next second, it was multiple coming from different sides in the distance. 

“E-Ena, what do we do?!” Kanade turned to look at Ena, but she was already about to run. “Let’s run!” As Kanade was looking at Ena, she didn’t know about the zombie about to lunge at her. Ena caught it just in time and ran to her. “Kanade! Watch out!” The moment Kanade turned, the zombie was already tackling her to the ground. Ena tried to pull the zombie away from Kanade, but struggled a bit. Luckily, the zombie hasn’t bit Kanade yet.

Ena wouldn’t call herself a really strong person. But, when this moment came along, she used all her strength to pull the zombie off of Kanade. Eventually, the strength she put paid off. The zombie lunged far away and crashed into a tree, presumably killing it.

Ena helped Kanade up, and Kanade held on to her arm. “Unfortunately, we can’t stay here for so long. Look, there’s zombies everywhere!” They both looked around, looking at all the zombies in the distance. They heard distant screams everywhere and gunshots. They heard the blood splattering left and right, it was just like a movie. Unfortunately for them, it was reality.

“I wonder why there’s no zombies in this area.” Kanade questioned, still trying to catch her breath. “I have no clue, but we should hide somewhere. It’s not safe outside anymore.” Kanade nodded, and the two quietly ran lightly to find a shelter they could hide in.

. . .

Mizuki, Nene and Rui all sat against the wall in an empty classroom. Luckily, Mizuki had her lunchbox with her, and the three ate something to satisfy their stomachs. They grabbed the water bottle that was on the teacher’s desk and each drank from it until it was empty. “Do you guys think there are still students alive here?” Mizuki asked, quietly to the two. “I would like to think so… I hope Tsukasa and Emu are okay.” Nene replied, turning to Rui. “Me too, Nene. I’m worried as well.” Rui closed his eyes and put his chin up. “I hope Mafuyu is okay… as well as Kanade and Ena.” Mizuki’s voice slightly shakes, but still has hopes that they're still alive.

“They’re your music group, right Akiyama?” Nene asks, curious. “Yeah! We’re called “Nightcord at 25:00”, but you could just call us Niigo or N25 if you don’t want to say the entire name.” “Oh… I see… alrighty then.” Nene and Mizuki exchange slight smiles at each other. It was complete silence for a while.

“...You really care about them, don’t you?” Rui breaks the silence. Mizuki looks down, but slightly smiles.

“Yeah… I do… a lot.”

Every time Mizuki was with Niigo, she felt at ease. It was like she could just be herself around them. Nobody was to judge on her appearance, say that she "sticks out" or call her "weird". Kanade admires how Mizuki mostly looks on the bright side, Mafuyu, although she doesn't show much, is really grateful that Mizuki is in the group and is okay if Mizuki's okay, and Ena is just really grateful that she met her and that a person like Mizuki exists in this universe. Mizuki is one of her dear friends she cares about, after all.

"I... I don't want to lose them, at all. Not to this apocalypse especially." Mizuki has a bit of hope but sadness in her voice. Tears form in both her eyes. "Sorry..." Mizuki quickly wipes her tears away in one go with her sleeve. Nene hands her a handkerchief she kept in her jacket pocket. 

Rui sort of understood how Mizuki felt. He didn’t wanna lose his group either. “Rui?” Nene asks, concerned because he’s been quiet for a while. “I sort of understand how you feel, Mizuki.” Mizuki looks up at him with confusion.

“Both our groups are important to us, right? We don’t wanna lose them to this… abnormal apocalypse.” Nene now understood what he meant.

Rui was never understood when he was kid because he was called “weird” when showing his invention ideas. Only Nene was genuinely interested that time. Over time, Tsukasa and Emu came along. Emu always admired Rui’s ideas because it would make their way more fun and make people smile even more. Tsukasa liked them either way, no matter how ridiculous they were or even if he got injured from them. He just knows that he’s having fun. He felt like… he was understood.

“So… our troupe is really important to you, huh Rui?” He didn’t have an answer for a minute. “...Yes.” (I don’t know when I’ll see the two of them again, but I really hope I see them soon.)

The three exchanged slight smiles to each other, talking quietly into the night.

. . .

An, Akito and Tsukasa are sitting in a hidden corner outside. Surprisingly, there were no zombies around there, but they heard distant screaming everywhere. The air was... heavy. Not only outside, but among the three as well. They haven't talked to each other since the infection of their dear friend, Toya Aoyagi. All of their eyes were a sort of red, Tsukasa's being almost bloodshot. You could hear nothing from them other than them breathing together and Tsukasa coughing, after screaming a lot.

(We can't just sit around here like this... but, just what can we do...?)

(Goddammit, we might get infected if we stay here any longer.)

(What... am I even doing here? I could just get infected right now... no. I have to keep going. For Saki. For WonderlandsxShowtime. For everyone. But. why does it feel like I feel too deep to get out...?)

Thoughts flew in their brain left and right. But, they all forgot about the main goal of the apocalypse: surviving. After minutes of pure silence, there were suddenly a dozen screams heard in the distance, more heard clearly this time and more near them. Finally, Akito stands up.

"We can't keep sulking like this, guys. We're in an apocalypse, with zombies, that can infect or eat us anytime. We have to survive. Survive for Toya. He wouldn't want us to become one of them, right?" An lifted her head up after a while, with some determination. "You know what, you're right. Toya would probably be angry at us right now if he saw us like this... also, Kohane. She’s still out there, and I’m really worried about her… but we also have to get out of here for ourselves.” An and Akito nodded at each other, but then faced Tsukasa, staring down.

“Tenma-senpai…” An walks near Tsukasa and kneels in front of him. “I know I don’t know her well… but you still have your sister, you have to keep her safe, right? You have a troupe that’s waiting for you too. But don’t forget, you also have to survive for yourself…” Tsukasa finally makes eye contact with An. “You’re right. I still have Saki, Emu, Nene and Rui to live for, and more importantly… MYSELF!!” An jolts at Tsukasa’s sudden yell, but chuckles a little bit. “Oi, don’t be too loud or we get infected along with Toya.” Akito crosses his arms.

“You know you didn’t have to put his name in that sentence.” An also crosses her arms, side-eyeing Akito. “Yeah I know, but seriously, let’s all get out together.” All three nod at each other, and are now entering the street of the stench of zombies.

It smelled horrible. There were bodies everywhere, some human and some zombie, cars flipped on its side or upside down and inside of buildings, lights out, there was almost no life on that street. Akito spotted something reaching out from under a car, with a bloody hand, but he could tell they were infected.

"Help me... please... my family still needs me here..." The voice sounded ruined, wretched, as if all life had gotten sucked out of it. Akito closes his eyes, and turns away with some regret. He can hear the cries for help, but he already knew. They couldn't be saved, no matter how much he would've done.

An spots fire slowly swallowing buildings and cars everywhere. The smoke was almost unbearable, it was almost unreal. Like the world just ended in the span of 5 minutes. She suddenly saw a hat in the flames, she didn't know if it was Kohane's. (No.. no no that can't be hers.) An tries to shake herself out of it and keep walking. But, who said that she stopped thinking about it?

Tsukasa sees something he never wanted to see in all of his lifetime: Kids' bodies, all scattered with a big pool of blood, the fire eventually surrounding them. He recognized some of those kids, because they went to Phoenix Wonderland just to see his troupe perform. He felt tears go down his face, and he never bothered to wipe them away. They were gone way too soon, but he's glad that they got to experience happiness one last time.

It was devastating. The three felt terrible walking through the street, seeing what was once a street where students would walk to school or where adults and their dogs or kids walked around in, was now a cemetery without anyone paying respects to them, they were dead in a way nobody could believe.

. . .

“Let’s go over there.” Mafuyu is leading the other girls that are now away from the school, trying to find a shelter that doesn’t look infested. Eventually, they found a spot where one might be, however, it’s in complete darkness.

“Are you sure we should go over there…?” Ichika nervously looks at the dark area ahead. “What if there are zombies there?”

Haruka heard something about zombie eyesight at school before. “Well… they can’t really see well in the dark. They kind of depend on light.” “However, specific zombies can see in the dark, if they have night vision.” Honami adds. “Wow Mochizuki-san, I didn’t know you knew something about zombies.” Mafuyu gives a slight smile. Shiho was a bit surprised. “I get Kiritani-san, but Honami? I thought zombies creeped you out.” Honami gives a bit of an awkward smile. “Aha… yes they do, but I just knew because I read a book about them once.” (And it absolutely traumatized me…)

“Alright, let’s go.” Mafuyu continues to lead the group in the darkness.

While continuing to walk in the darkness, Airi suddenly holds Shizuku’s hand tight. “Sorry… I’m a little scared, after what happened to Minori…” Shizuku slightly smiles at Airi, also a little scared. "It was horrifying, Airi-chan. I understand..." Airi nods, and they both clasp hands.

Meanwhile, Kohane has been oddly quiet. "Kohane-chan, are you alright?" Saki asks, concerned. Kohane jolts a little. "Ah, yeah... I'm alright." (I really hope this ends... and I can see my group again… but what if they’re already dead…? What if I die…?) Saki could see that she was trying to pretend to be alright, since she's... had experienced doing so before. "What's on your mind?" Saki nudged Kohane a little, being a bit forceful.

“Well… I’m just worried if I’ll die like this.” Saki was speechless for a second. She was also scared of that too. “Same… but we have to stay hopeful. Let’s not die voluntarily.” Saki brings a sweet smile with her as she said so. “...Thanks, Saki-chan.” Suddenly, a loud mysterious grumbling noise came near. “Kohane-chan, watch out!” Everyone turned their heads, Kohane put her hand to her mouth. Saki ran to the zombie, shoved it, and took out her desk leg she kept handy. The zombie was screeching, also trying to bite Saki. “Saki! Be careful, I’ll help!” Shiho runs to Saki and starts kicking and stomping on the zombie.

Blood was splattering everywhere. Finally, the zombie was presumably dead. Saki and Shiho were covered in blood, which was a bad sign because zombies can smell blood. "Here you two, take these." Ichika pulls out a mini bag of wipes. "Where'd you get that?" Emu tilts her head. "Aha... I usually carry these around with me." Ichika awkwardly laughs. "Anyway, take the wipes you two." Saki and Shiho both grab the wipes and wipe themselves with them. Unfortunately, they couldn't do their school uniforms, but they tried to make the best of it.

"Okay! All done!" Saki throws the wipe in a bush. Shiho also tosses the wipe in a bush. Suddenly, the screaming got louder and there were grumbles and a type of monster noise replacing those screams. "Come on, we have to hurry." And so, Mafuyu continues leading the group. They all try to walk silently beside each other, until they find a little shed.

"Ooh, I found a shed!" Emu points at it, and it seems there's nobody inside. "Is that gonna fit all of us?" Honami asked, a bit worried. "We're just gonna have to try."  Mafuyu walks up to the shed and hears some whispering.

(I hope nobody finds us here.....)

(.......If they do, we hit them with this bat......alright?)

The voices sounded familiar. (Who is that...? They sound like people I know...) Mafuyu takes a deep breath, and looks inside the crack of the door. She saw a girl with long hair and another with a bob. (Hold on... they are...) Mafuyu slightly opens the door. The two inside the shed jolt. "W-who's there?!" The door opens to the point the two who were inside are now visible: Kanade and Ena. Mafuyu's group mates.

"Mafuyu...?" Kanade was shocked, but relieved. "Kanade... Ena..." Ena slowly put the bat down, and hugged Mafuyu. "...I'm glad you're alive." "Ena..." This was one of the first times Ena hugged Mafuyu. But, it felt nice. The other seven arrive eventually. "Oh... there's so many of you..." Kanade analyzes everyone in the group. "Wait, where's Hanasato-san? "She... got infected." Ichika closed her eyes. Both girls gasped.

"Are... are you serious?" Ena was almost speechless. “No… not Hanasato-san… she was so amazing…” A heavy silence fell upon the group. “We’ll tell you everything later… but could we stay here?” Haruka already ducks down onto the ground. “Yeah sure, but there’s not a lot of space to work with.” Ena also ducks down. The rest of the girls also duck down. But, Kohane smells something. (It smells… odd, It obviously smells bad, but it smells like… blood, and it’s strong.)

Kohane started feeling the floor and inspecting the room. “Kohane-chan, what are you doing?” Emu starts to follow her. “Ah Emu-chan, do you smell that?” Emu takes a pretty big sniff. “Yeah! It smells gross though…” Emu covers her nose. “I mean, it does smell pretty strong, wanna try looking for the smell with me?” “Yeah!”

Kohane and Emu started inspecting the shed, feeling the floor to see what the source of the smell was. “I may have found it… but there’s a lot of flies…” Kohane stopped at a type of closet in the shed. “Eww…” Emu held her nose. Flies were flying near this door, some dropped dead. “Should we look inside?’ Emu closes one eye while still holding her close. “...Sure, let’s look.”

Kohane stands up, takes a deep breath and closes her eyes. Her hand shakes as she’s trying to reach the doorknob of the closet, as she opens it… it was a gruesome sight to say the least.

(TW: Detailed description of murder)

It was a lady, who was h@nged by her neck. Her stomach was ripped open to the point you saw the inside of her body. Her bones were almost all crushed, insects eating the rest of her insides. She was stabbed multiple times in the legs, the knife still in her right one. Her head was slightly dented, like she’s been hit with a dozen excavators. One of her eyes was slightly open, but there was no way that woman was still alive.