Damn it!
How the hell did this happen?
Why did everything explode out of nowhere without me getting even a single heads-up?
That worthless old fossil—I followed his orders to the letter, rigged that cop's daughter to repeat the year like a good little pawn, and this is how he repays me?
Koichi Shido's heart hammered against his ribs as he watched the student closest to him get yanked down and torn apart like cheap steak. The wet crunching sounds would haunt him forever. For the first time in his miserable life, death wasn't some abstract concept on the news—it was right here, breathing down his neck with rotting teeth.
His palm pressed hard against his chest, trying to keep his heart from exploding. Panic clawed at the edges of his mind, but he shoved it down. Live first. Everything else later. Only the living could settle scores.
He adjusted his black-framed glasses with a steady hand, then clapped twice—sharp, authoritative.
Every head in the cramped storage room snapped toward him.
"Everyone, please listen." Shido's voice was smooth, practiced, the same tone he used when parents came complaining. "I am Koichi Shido, teacher at Fujimi Academy. I know you're all confused and terrified right now. That's only natural."
He let the silence stretch just long enough for fear to settle in.
"But it's going to be all right. Because I'm here. If you trust me—if you follow my lead—I promise I will get every single one of you out of this hellhole alive."
A beat of stunned quiet.
Then the first voice—some brown-nosing kid who'd always sucked up in class—shouted, "It's Teacher Shido! We're saved!"
The dam broke. Cheers and desperate affirmations flooded the room.
"Teacher Shido's here!"
"I'll follow you!"
"Me too! Please save us!"
Shido hid the smirk behind a benevolent nod. Idiots. So easy. He'd spent years polishing that fake saint image. A few pretty words and they were ready to die for him.
"Excellent." He raised both hands for silence. "Here's the plan. Grab the chairs beside you. On my signal, we charge straight for the school gate. If any of those… things get in the way, use the chairs to shove them aside. Stay together. Stay strong. Nothing can stop us if we're united."
It was a garbage plan—hastily slapped together, zero actual tactics—but to panicked teenagers it sounded like genius. They nodded eagerly.
Shido arranged the formation with cold precision: strongest boys up front as meat shields, weaker ones on the flanks, girls and himself tucked safely in the middle-rear. No one complained. Of course they didn't.
They burst out of the building easier than expected. Narrow hallways meant few zombies at first. More survivors joined the growing mob, swelling their confidence. Shido almost allowed himself to relax.
Then they hit open ground.
The mob was too big, too loud. Dozens of the things came shambling after them, a tidal wave of dried skin and purple bruises.
"They're catching up!"
The neat lines dissolved. People shoved, screamed, ditched chairs to run faster. The gate was so close—yet the formation crumbled like wet paper.
Shido's lips curled. Time to look out for number one. He still had stamina; the others were already spent.
A hand suddenly clamped around his ankle.
"Teacher Shido, please! Don't leave me!"
One of the boys—same kid who'd first shouted "We're saved!"—had tripped and fallen. Tears and snot streamed down his terrified face as he clung for dear life.
Shido's expression melted into angelic concern. "Of course not, my student. I would never abandon you. Just let go for a second so I can help you up. We'll run together."
The boy's face lit up with pure, stupid gratitude. "Thank you, sensei! You're really—"
Shido's foot lashed out the instant the grip loosened. A clean kick to the face. Bone cracked. The boy dropped like a sack of meat, unconscious before he hit the ground.
Shido spat on the twitching body. "Trash should know its place. You're useless now—so die quietly."
He never noticed it was the same kid who'd cheered for him minutes earlier. Wouldn't have cared if he had.
High above, in the sealed infirmary, Rei Miyamoto stood at the window, fists clenched white.
"That disgusting piece of filth… that's Koichi Shido."
Shuya had drifted over behind her, close enough that his breath brushed her ear. One hand idly reached up and gave her left ahoge a gentle flick—boing. It sprang right back up. He smiled like he was petting a kitten.
"That's the bastard who made you repeat the year?"
Rei's cheeks flushed at the proximity, but she still nodded. "Yeah."
Shuya's fingers kept playing with the twin tufts, twisting them into a tiny knot just to watch it pop free again. "You really hate him, huh?"
Rei's voice came out small. "More than anything."
Shuya didn't even blink. His tone stayed light, almost bored, like he was offering to grab her a soda. "Want me to kill him for you?"
Rei's brain short-circuited.
She spun around so fast her ahoge whipped his fingers. Wide golden eyes stared up at him. "K-Kill him? You… you're joking, right? You're actually asking if I want you to—"
Shuya tilted his head, still casually twirling the other ahoge between thumb and forefinger. "Looked like you heard me fine. I can do it right now. Door's sealed with Nen—no one's getting in or out unless I say. One quick trip downstairs, one punch, done. Humans are way more annoying than zombies anyway."
Behind them on the bed, Shizuka blinked sleepily from Shuya's lap. "Eh? Little Shuya's going out already? But we just got comfy…"
Saeko's purple eyes sharpened with interest, hand resting on the hilt of her sheathed Reizan. "If you need backup, Shuya-kun…"
Saya pushed her glasses up, pink hair slightly disheveled from earlier panic, but already calculating. "Statistically, one less scumbag won't change the infection curve, but… emotionally, it would be satisfying."
Rei's face burned crimson. She stared at Shuya—really looked at him. The same guy who'd blocked Takashi's slap without hesitation, who'd punched her childhood friend across the courtyard like it was nothing, who'd dragged her here on "a date" right before the world ended.
He wasn't joking.
And the scariest part? She wasn't horrified.
She was… excited.
Her voice came out shaky but certain. "You'd really do that? For me?"
Shuya grinned, gave the ahoge one last playful boing, and leaned down until their foreheads almost touched.
"Rei. You followed me out of class in front of everyone. You're one of mine now." His eyes were calm, almost gentle. "I don't save strangers. But for my people? I'll make an exception."
He glanced out the window at the distant figure still sprinting for the gate, leaving bodies in his wake.
"Besides… trash like that deserves to know its place."
Rei swallowed. Her heart hammered harder than when the broadcast first screamed. She didn't know if she was falling for him or if she'd already landed face-first weeks ago.
All she knew was one thing.
"Yes," she whispered. "Do it."
Shuya's smile widened—just a little sharper.
"Done."