Riku immediately turned around and saw the door already opened.
But no one came out. He walked to the side where he could get a clear view of what's inside. And there, he saw three girls huddled up, one of them holding out a pen pointed at him.
"Do-don't come any closer…" she said firmly but in a frightened tone.
Of course anyone would be frightened when Riku himself was aiming his MP5 at them.
Seeing that they were real survivors, Riku lowered his submachine gun and extended his palm.
"Don't worry, I'm not going to do anything to the three of you…"
The one who was armed with a pen stood up and slowly walked forward. She had long pink hair that shimmered under the soft classroom light, tied partially into a loose bun with a white flower tucked behind her ear. A pair of sleek, black-rimmed glasses rested on her nose, framing her sharp, intelligent pink eyes.
She wore a pristine school blazer, white with gold-trimmed buttons and a crimson-lined collar. The school crest was embroidered over her left chest, though it was partly stained with dust and faint smudges of dried blood. A matching pleated skirt completed the uniform, with a black undershirt peeking from beneath her coat. Despite the situation, she looked composed—disciplined even. Like someone who refused to let fear control her, even if it clearly gnawed at her from within.
"I know you are scared, but you are scaring me with that pen you are pointing at me," Riku jokingly said, trying to calm the situation.
She didn't reply.
It seemed that she was wary of him. Well that's understandable. After all, he has a gun, and a gun is not a very reassuring sight in their circumstances.
"It's fine Miko, you can lower your pen down."
A voice came from inside the room.
"Are you sure Yuzihira? He–he has a gun," said the pink-haired girl named Miko, who looked at the girl who seemingly the two of them looked up as a leader. Riku doesn't have a clear view as the room inside, which looks like a pantry, is cramped.
"Yes."
Hearing that, Miko lowered her pen.
Riku took another cautious step forward, letting his MP5 hang to the side of his chest by the sling. Now that the tension had dropped just slightly, he could finally peer deeper into the cramped pantry.
And then he saw her—Yuzuhira Suzune.
She sat near the corner of the room, propped up against a metal cabinet with her back resting against a wall. Her expression was calm but fatigued, and her skin was pale from what looked like days of stress. Yet despite her condition, there was a kind of quiet authority in her posture. The kind you'd see in someone who naturally commanded attention.
Suzune had long, flowing ash-gray hair that gently draped over her shoulders. Her eyes were a striking shade of ocean blue, intelligent and clear even under fatigue. She wore the same academy uniform: a maroon blazer with gold-accented buttons and a matching plaid skirt.
The collar of her blouse was slightly loosened, and the black tie she wore was crooked—likely from all the chaos. Her right ankle was visibly wrapped in a makeshift bandage, with a metal chair leg resting beside her like a crutch.
It was obvious now—she couldn't walk.
Kneeling next to her was another girl. She had short black hair that framed her youthful face, and lively pink eyes that sparkled with cautious curiosity. She looked younger than the other two, and wore the school uniform, which was a bit more wrinkled than the others, suggesting she'd been the most active among them.
And now that he had a clear look of their faces, it was starting to feel familiar now. They were the beauties in the school, the campus belles, and literally every man would want to have them as their boyfriend.
He had seen them occasionally, and sure he must admit, they are a beauty but he is the type of guy who would let others take them, because they are way too high for his league.
"You…I think I have seen you before but I couldn't quite remember," Suzune said. "What's your name?"
"I'm Riku, Hayashi Riku. I'm a senior student just like the three of you."
"Riku…" Suzune repeated and continued. "I'm Suzune, Mizuhara Suzune. And that lady over there is Nanami Miko, and this one here is Ichika Hoshino."
Riku waved a hand to them. "Nice to meet you."
"If you don't mind, Riku, may I ask some questions?" Suzune said, her tone is awfully formal.
"Okay, what is it?"
"The gun that you have on you? Where did you get it?"
Riku gulped a handful of saliva. He expected that they'd ask where the weapons came from but he couldn't just answer that he got it from the system. It's a hard question because there was no logical answer to the question. He could argue that he hid it in his bag but what's the reason for it? He has to answer them in a way that is believable. Or, there is another.
"I'm sorry but I can't answer your question. You can ask me anything except the guns," Riku said.
Suzune's eyes narrowed ever so slightly—not in hostility, but in keen observation. Her gaze flickered to the sling at Riku's chest, then to the grip of the Benelli M3 slung on his back.
"…Those weapons aren't just odd," she said coolly. "They're impossible."
Riku blinked.
"The MP5," she continued, tone almost like a teacher explaining a concept to a student, "is a 9mm submachine gun developed by Heckler & Koch. Highly favored by special forces and counter-terrorist units. The Benelli M3? An Italian-made dual-mode shotgun used for both semi-auto and pump-action. Also military-grade."
Ichika tilted her head. "Whoa… You really know a lot about guns."
"I read," Suzune replied simply, but her eyes never left Riku's. "And more importantly, I pay attention to the laws of this country. You do know that Japan has one of the strictest gun control systems in the world, right?"
Riku stayed silent.
"No civilian can legally own handguns or automatic weapons here. At best, you could get a license for a hunting shotgun after going through years of checks, exams, and police evaluations. Yet here you are, inside a high school… with weapons that even the SAT—Special Assault Team—uses."
Miko and Ichika turned to Riku almost in unison, their eyes filled with suspicion.
Suzune's eyes narrowed further, clearly unconvinced. "It's impossible that you are part of the law enforcement, or the military, because you are a student here."
"I…uhm…hmm." Riku scrambled his mind to come up with an answer to the words Suzune just spewed. He forgot that Suzune was an honor student, so she must have read a lot of books to further her studies. Even then, it's still surprising that she knows a lot about guns.
Suzune looked at the subtle facial expressions Riku made, and it was clear that there's more than meets the eye. Getting an answer from someone who doesn't want to divulge any information will only lead to discord.
She sighed and spoke. "You don't have to answer my questions. After all, I'm just curious. And I don't have a right to question you in the first place."
"No it's not that," Riku said. "It's a secret. Yes, I can't tell you how I got these guns but it's a secret I won't tell anybody, not even my family."
"I see," Suzune acknowledged his answer. "Well now that you have seen who was hiding in this pantry room, what are you going to do now?"
"What am I going to do…" Riku repeated the question. Honestly, he doesn't have any idea what to do with them. There are survivors, that's cool, but what to do now? That's something he hadn't given much thought.
And as if the system was reading him, an interface popped up.
[Survivors encountered!]
[You can help the survivors get to the safe place and earn rewards! 5,000SP each.]
Reading that text, an idea suddenly popped up in his head.