"Mom…" I sobbed hearing her voice. Everyone standing next to me stared at me in shock, except for K-imoto, who knew how much I love our mother.
"Oh, my baby, don't worry." Her voice became soothing and was completely full of love and care. "I'm alright."
"Mom, you're okay, right? Where are you? Don't go outside!" I knew she was smiling, listening to my worried voice. "I'll come for you, stay at home!"
"Isao…"
"Listen to me, Mom!" My thoughts were a mess; Mom couldn't do anything to protect herself, not just from zombies, but from all the bastards that would pop up in droves now that the entire police force was wiped out.
"Isao!" She shouted into the microphone, making me wince and pull the phone slightly away from my ear. "Now, my baby, you listen to me. I'll be at home, I'll wait for you here, all the doors and windows will be locked. When you get to the door, call me. The most important thing is for you to be careful and protect your little sister, okay? And I… I'll cook something to feed you both. And please, Isao, I know you're a good boy, but… you sometimes ignore everyone and everything for the sake of your mom and sister. Don't do that." I froze. "If you see someone you can save, lend a helping hand and save them. In the current situation, every life is important and should be saved. Don't rush home headlong, but go with a calm head."
"I… I'll try, Mom, but please, don't open the door for anyone… I'm begging you…"
"…I'll see what I can do about that."
"Mom!" My voice was a little tearful right now, making Takashi, Hisashi, and Rei's eyes widen even more. "Don't! Let! An-y-one! In! Your safety is more important!"
"Sigh… okay, son, if you say so…" Her tired sigh…
"Mom, please, don't do it unless it's a mother with a child, or just a child…"
"Okay, okay, I get it, Isao. I'm hanging up. I need to close all the curtains, and you take care of your sister, you hear me? Not a single hair on her head should be harmed, nor on yours! Got it?"
"Yes, I got it."
"That's it then, bye, see you when you get home." I ended the call and handed the phone to K-imoto, who, with a sweet smile, put it in her secret skirt pocket.
Silence fell around us, and the three of them continued to stare at me in surprise, making my nerve twitch.
"What are you all looking at?"
"Nothing!" "Um-m." "I just glanced at you, I was looking at the sky."
I was in a bad mood because my head couldn't stop worrying about my mother. Her heart was too kind; even despite her cooler mind, she would easily let someone in if they were injured, and that injured fucker could turn out to be infected and infect my mother.
Glancing at the three standing in front of me, who were looking anywhere but at me, I noticed they were sweating from all the activity we'd been through. Looking at my little sister, I saw the same thing.
"Rest up. In 10-15 minutes, we'll discuss what to do. And yeah, it's better not to make long-term plans, because everything depends on whether the bus keys are in the staff room or not." Takashi and Hisashi nodded at me, while Rei looked at me shyly, making me blush.
Yeah, I'm a mama's boy, what are you gonna do about it?!
"Let's go, K-imoto." Taking my sister's hand, I walked into the observatory.
My sister's hand was warm and calming, helping me gather my thoughts.
"Ani?" My little sister's quiet voice caught my attention, and I looked at her. Her face was worried, but at the same time, her eyes expressed the trust and immense love she felt for me.
She was so… innocent and sweet, yet at the same time, she made my mouth water as if I were a wild animal.
And for her, I am ready… to kill. For her and my mother's safety. Perhaps killing other people is bad, but it won't be considered bad if the killing was done to protect my loved ones from all possible dangers.
I reached out and hugged my K-imoto tightly, inhaling her scent. She did the same, and we both knew that if it weren't for those three standing outside, we'd already be naked.
"It's nothing, K-imoto, just… thinking…" My voice was quiet.
"I believe in you, Ani. You've always protected me, you've always been very smart and explained all my lessons to me, and you even bought me a keyboard and hired a teacher to teach me how to play it." She pecked the bottom of my chin. "I trust you, Ani."
"And I won't let you down, my K-imoto." I pulled away, and we sat down on the floor together, still holding hands.
And I remembered about the tickets I got… I won't be able to hide my powers forever, but I'll try to delay it until I get a power that can heal any wound, because a bullet will always be faster than the human mind.
Gacha?
[Gacha welcomes Isao Tsumugi]
[You have two bronze and two silver gacha tickets.]
[Use all at once?]
No, use the two bronze ones first.
[One Size Fits All]
|Common Trait|
Your partners no longer feel any discomfort with your physical features; this extends to your phallus somehow fitting inside of them even if it reaches ludicrous sizes.
[Crow]
|Trash Familiar|
A very smart and loyal crow companion with intelligence on the level of a human. She can spy on people and relay the information to her master.
…What the hell?! What part of the current situation suggests I want to have sex?! I… wait…
My gaze slowly lowered to K-imoto, who was sitting with her eyes closed, her head resting on my shoulder… Fuck!
Although, thanks for the second roll. Someone who can scout the area from a bird's-eye view will be very useful, not to mention that this crow has human-level intelligence, which will be helpful, and her ability to relay information is very timely.
Okay, I admit it! The first trait is very good. I'm just messing around because there's no way I can "devour" my sister or another girl anytime soon.
Phew, and now, Gacha, use both silver tickets at once.
[Iron Nerves]
|Uncommon Trait|
Your nerves are made of iron; you don't flinch or get startled, and this does not affect your reflexes.
[Durable]
|Common Trait|
You are fairly tough, granting you a slight increase to your defense and letting you take more punishment.
These are… very useful traits. Iron Nerves will help in fights against people, which are likely to happen, just like durability.
But I have a question: why is Gacha trying so hard to turn me into Iron Man? Metal Creation and Control, which is a very useful ability; Man of Steel, which gave me an incredibly strong body; and now Iron Nerves. And durability and strength in most manga are attributed to iron and other metals…
Wait, speaking of manga! MY MANGA! I CAN'T PUBLISH AND DRAW MY MANGA ANYMORE! MY HEART CAN'T TAKE IT, FUCKING ZOMBIES! LIFE IS PAIN!
Feeling K-imoto stir, I quickly fixed my expression and put on a calm face, though inside my heart was bleeding.
"Brother, I wanted to ask," she said without lifting her head, her voice a little tired. "Where did you get the chain, the bracelet, and your earrings? You didn't have those before…" I froze, and my mind instantly came up with a plausible idea.
"Yeah, I saw this set in a shop window on my way to school, so I bought it…"
"Mmm, okay…"
She shifted a little more, then became still again, breathing quietly with a smile on her sweaty face.
Phew… that was close. Another reminder that I can't hide my powers forever.
Okay, now for the plan. We need to get to the staff room, which is on the third floor, and on the way, team up with other surviving students and teachers, get the keys, and somehow safely get to the bus.
The most important thing is that no one steps too loudly or, God forbid, screams their head off right when we're on the first floor or in the parking lot.
The zombies are blind, but they have good hearing, and as long as we're quiet, we can walk past them peacefully.
Sighing and having formed a more or less good plan, I gave K-imoto a little nudge and let her know with my eyes that it was time.
We stood up together and walked out of the observatory. Rei and Takashi were talking somewhere off to the side.
Takashi's expression was relieved, but even so, there was no hint that they were getting back together. He probably just apologized to her as I said, and felt relieved after being forgiven. But Rei's expression was complicated. And Hisashi…
Hisashi was standing by the railing, also with a suffering look on his face, although there was no way Rei could have had time to break up with him in the short time after she forgave Takashi.
He's probably just angsting like a normal teenager, already thinking she's going to break up with him right now! Anyway, who cares.
"Alright, gather up, guys. I've thought about it and came up with a plan."
"Yeah, Isao?" Takashi was the first to approach, his walk light and his expression more cheerful than an hour earlier.
"And what's your plan?" Hisashi came after Takashi, his brows furrowed, followed by Rei, whose mind was somewhere else entirely.
"First of all, in case you haven't noticed, the zombies are blind. Like, they can't see a-ny-thing. So if we're as quiet as possible, we can walk right past them."
"Th-that's going to be a little difficult, Tsumugi-san…" Rei finally came to her senses and answered me.
"Why's that?" I arched an eyebrow, looking at her.
"Most of the zombies are still in the hallways, and there's a chance they can feel touch. And since the hallways might be packed with them, it'll be impossible not to touch them."
I looked at her in surprise, and at that same moment, I heard a clap somewhere and flinched, making all four of them jump.
"Did you hear that?"
"What are you talking about?" Takashi and the others, except for my sweet K-imoto, looked at me like I was crazy.
"Okay, so from what you're saying, the zombies are blind but have very good hearing, and if we step quietly, we can get to the staff room without any problems?" I nodded at Hisashi, who asked the question. "Then there's only one problem: how do we get to the parking lot, and who's going to drive the bus?"
"Oh-h…" I scratched my head a bit, since I only know how to drive a car and various bikes, but I've never tried driving a bus.
"There should be at least one teacher in the staff room, and if not, then my brother will have to drive the bus, since in my opinion, he's the only one who's ever driven a car." K-imoto stepped forward, making me look at her.
"I agree with Isao's sister. On the way, we should meet at least one teacher who can drive a bus. And if not… then Isao really will have to get behind the wheel. Besides, we don't need to follow traffic rules; there are no cops to write a ticket or anything." At the mention of the police, Rei and Hisashi frowned.
"About the police being wiped out… that might not be true. All of this only started an hour ago, and if you add a few more hours for one zombie to get to our school, it's been about 2-3 hours since the start of this… apocalypse." K-imoto's words gave them all more confidence.
"Then, our first task is to get to the staff room and help other survivors along the way. Let's take down the barricade." And so we began to dismantle the barricade, which only took a couple of minutes, since breaking is easier than building.
While no one was looking, having more or less understood the inner workings of Gacha, I focused and summoned the crow, which instantly flew into the air.
I felt a connection between us, and by concentrating on it, I could see through its eyes. I smirked and walked forward.
"Let's go, guys. We don't have all the time in the world."