"It's you? What's the matter?"
Shuya looked at the girl who had suddenly run over and blocked his path with Saeko Busujima. His tone was neutral.
The girl was breathing a little heavily, sweat still glistening on her forehead.
He glanced behind her. Her childhood friend Takashi Komuro was standing there like a wooden post not far away.
From Rei's current state, the situation, and the story she had told him on the rooftop at lunch, Shuya easily pieced together what had happened: Takashi had tried to reconcile with Rei, but she refused. Whether she felt he lacked sincerity or for some other reason, they had argued.
It was a reasonable assumption. In the original anime, it was already obvious from Rei's attitude toward Takashi before the zombie outbreak that their relationship had fallen apart.
Continuing the deduction: He and Saeko just happened to walk by. Rei spotted them, called out, and used an external factor to shut down the conversation with Takashi.
Totally normal. Everyone has that "don't air your dirty laundry in public" instinct.
But there was one problem: didn't that make him a shield?
Unfortunately, Shuya had zero interest in getting involved in Rei and Takashi's drama.
"Thank you for the bento at lunch. I washed the box and brought it back."
Rei had no idea what Shuya was thinking. She pulled the bento box from her bag and held it out to him with both hands.
Shuya paused, then asked tentatively, "You came looking for me just for this?"
He usually ate lunch in the infirmary with Shizuka and left the cleaned box there for her to take home later, so he had genuinely forgotten about it.
Rei looked confused. "Is there a problem?"
"No, nothing." Shuya shook his head. "Do you need anything else? If not, I'm leaving."
Looks like he had misunderstood her. Though the current situation really did look suspicious.
"Um…"
Rei hesitated as she looked at him.
She really hadn't planned on anything else—just return the box and leave. But when she secretly glanced behind her and saw Takashi still standing there, a sudden idea popped into her head.
Rather than facing her annoying childhood friend, she would much rather stay next to this equally annoying guy and chat with him.
The only issue was that at lunch she had poured her heart out, and he had just sat there like a block of wood. Not only had he not comforted her, he even seemed to be enjoying her misery a little. She wasn't sure if he would agree to such a shameless request.
"Shuya-kun, is this classmate a friend of yours? Aren't you going to introduce us?"
Saeko Busujima, who had seen through the girl's awkwardness, spoke up at the perfect moment with her usual thoughtfulness.
"Busujima-senpai!"
Rei naturally recognized Saeko. After all, she was the untouchable flower of Fujimi Academy, even more famous than Shuya.
She had assumed Saeko was just passing by. She never expected her to be with Shuya.
Slightly startled, Rei quickly corrected herself. "Busujima… senpai!"
Saeko smiled gently at Rei, then turned her inquiring gaze back to Shuya.
"No, she's just the girl who sits behind me in class," Shuya shook his head and denied any closer relationship.
"Really?"
Saeko looked a little surprised. Rei's looks were on par with her own, and her figure actually seemed even more developed. Such a beautiful girl who sat right behind him, and they weren't even normal friends?
Still, she didn't press further. Saeko, who had always believed she had serious flaws deep inside, never thought she was truly worthy of Shuya—even after he had accepted her.
If Shuya wanted a harem and had a few girls with minor imperfections, she would actually be happier. It would make her feel more deserving.
Besides, she had never seen any problem with powerful men having multiple partners. The strong should naturally obtain more and better things.
Rei felt a slight pang of disappointment in her heart.
She had already told Shuya her biggest secret, yet in his eyes, she wasn't even considered a friend?
The girl secretly glanced behind her again at that damned Takashi.
Gritting her teeth, she hardened her resolve and made the request:
"Can I walk home with you two?"
Shuya: ???
Saeko gave Rei a surprised look, then turned her gaze toward Shuya.
Weren't you the one who said you weren't close?
Then why does it sound like she already knows she's moving into your house, and is even suggesting she go back with us?
Saeko couldn't help but suspect—had Shuya already invited Rei to move in as well? Maybe she had turned him down at first, but now regretted it after seeing them together?
That would also explain why Shuya had claimed they weren't close earlier. He was probably afraid she would misunderstand.
"Shuya-kun, don't worry. I really won't mind."
Having formed a perfectly logical (but completely wrong) conclusion in her head, Saeko immediately took Shuya's hand to show her stance. She then turned to Rei with a smile and said warmly:
"Sure~"
Shuya was completely lost.
Wait, what exactly won't you mind?
And what do you mean "sure"?
Suddenly, a lightbulb went off in his head.
He remembered the "friends with benefits" comment he had casually thrown at Rei during lunch.
No way… Is this girl really willing to go that far just to shake off her childhood friend?
Shuya felt his brain short-circuit.
Before he could react, Rei happily bowed to both of them.
"Thank you so much!"
If she knew what the other two were actually thinking, she would have been even more numb.
She only wanted to use them as a temporary shield to escape Takashi's pestering. She wasn't actually asking to go home with them.
They would just walk together for a while and split up when their paths diverged. Wasn't that perfectly normal between friends?
Unless… they didn't have any friends? That was impossible, right?
In Rei's mind, both Shuya and Saeko were big shots at Fujimi Academy. How could they possibly not have even one friend to walk home with after school?
Yet the truth was exactly that.
To Shuya, the other students were all just people with death timers above their heads. He had zero interest in befriending them.
As for Saeko?
Most people felt inferior just standing in front of her. Plus, she herself had always kept others at a distance.
So the two of them really didn't have a single friend.
Rei, completely unaware of their actual situation, saw that Saeko had agreed and quickly stood beside her before Shuya could refuse.
"Hello, Busujima-senpai. My name is Rei Miyamoto. I sit behind Shuya in class."
"Hello, Miyamoto-chan," Saeko nodded, accepting her.
And so, Rei the Husky somehow miraculously mixed herself into the pack of two lone wolves—Shuya and Saeko.
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