They arrived back at their home. It was a silent walk in the evening, nothing spoken between them as everything seemed tense between them.

Well, after his whole speech as to how much he hated society as it is right now, going on as if nothing happened while he was the only one to acknowledge the actual event (and with the high chance of no one actually believing him), he felt angry. Dissatisfied. Despite his best efforts that he and his friend tried to do to let everyone know that there were people inside the containment zone; people who were still alive and not part of the lumbering dead. Even blew up an infested hive with precision placed explosions to form a frown into the side of the building so that new's publishers could be alerted.

But even still, it wasn't enough. Despite news outlets getting the news, it was like their governments pressured them to hide the evidence. Despite the bioweapon being developed on American soil initially, the GRE was using it as a war weapon to be sold; and other countries were interested in buying it. But of course, if the respective populace of their countries had found out that they had bought a weapon that created the outbreak in Harran in the first place, they would be livid. Furious. A new side of corruption that they wouldn't be happy with, especially if they had the power to create such a nightmarish hell.

And so they brushed it under the rug, the US blamed it all on the GRE as a rogue organization and committed a terrorist attack against an innocent country in order to test and explore new opportunities with bioweapons. They claimed that they would "reform" the organization in order to pursue more "healthier" and "ethical" options, but part of Tetsuya felt that it was all a lie—damage control in order to avoid it being linked to them. Such bullshit.

The amount of things humanity would do—such depravity—in order to save their skins; to save themselves. It was disgusting. Crisis and apocalypses would do it to human beings, but the corruption that knew no bounds within the politics. He absolutely despised it.

Because they left all of them to die. And he couldn't do anything about it.

As they walked through the foyer of the home, Tetsuya stopped moving forward for a little. Saeko, having locked the door behind her, looked at him puzzled. But she still felt there was some bit of animosity he felt toward her for pushing to tell his experience.

And yet...

"Hey, Sister..."

"Yes, Tetsuya?" Although her composure was calm, she was quite nervous on the inside. What was he going to say?

He let out a deep sigh, "About earlier today... Sorry for what I said, if it came out as a bit harsh. It felt rather uncalled for. It's just...no one... No one would've listened to me. They honestly would've thought I was fucking crazy. I mean, the only one who would've listened to me are government officials—for the wrong reasons. But...you were different. You actually listened. And didn't judge me on what I did."

Saeko was silent for a while. "...It's like you said. No one would understand what you went through. And even though you told me, I still find it hard to believe. To go through such a situation... You're strong, Tetsuya."

"Strong? Don't know about that," Tetsuya scoffed, his gaze cast to the mirror in the hallway as he stared at his reflection. "Depending on peoples' perspective, some may see me as a coward...monster... A fucking psychopath."

"It's simple. You survived. You did what you needed to live and get to this point. Many losses were incurred along the way, yes, but there's no point in lamenting about it now. What happened in the past happened. You move on from it. However, you never forget the things that happened. There is no point in feeling sorry for yourself about those who fell—the people who died while you get to live."

He raised an eyebrow, "Are you saying that some sort of miracle kept me alive?"

"Perhaps. Who actually knows? I, myself, do not personally believe in such miracles, but what I do know is that I believe in your skills. Your willpower. Your courage. To me, that is what matters most in being able to survive; to allow you to be so tenacious."

"...I guess. When you put it like that... I suppose I should be grateful for them. I wouldn't have been able to get this far without them, as well."

"Of course. The ones that helped you, the ones that propelled you with their sacrifices, as unfortunate as it may be, they helped you live. To continue fighting, in a way. And another way to look at it, while they may be gone from this world, they are truly never forgotten. Because you still remember. And you must never let go of them."

His blue eyes stared at her, seemingly at a loss is what it seemed like. Tetsuya, somewhat speechless still, couldn't help but crack a smile. A small one, at best, but it was still a smile nonetheless.

"Thank you for that... Sister."

"Anytime, Tetsuya." Saeko returned the smile.

---

Later that night, Tetsuya found himself restless. Even still, a huge shoulder had been lifted off his shoulders, he thought he'd feel exhausted after telling everything.

But he didn't. No sort of fatigue was felt at all.

Tetsuya rose up from his bed, a loud creak as he swung his legs to the side and planted his feet onto the soft carpet. He bent down and grabbed a suitcase that was underneath, sliding it out from under as he ran his hand along the fine and furnished leather. Hands traced the curves and smooth metal of the lock and fixtures. Fine details on the linings and traces, no sharp edges as they were simply curved.

He took a deep breath, unlocking the briefcase and lifting the cover off to take a look at the items that were inside. On the left side, there was a pair of garments. The same ones he would wear in his dreams. Yellow running shirt and grey cargo pants. All though they were clean, there were some torn areas at the seams, a clear sign of the multiple uses and undergone through the rough terrain that was the Slums. Specks of dried blood littered the shirt, from his many bouts of conflict between other survivors and the undead.

Just looking at the items gave him flashbacks, the faint sounds of those horrifying screams. Those creatures of the night that had their muscles exposed, skinless, and that gaze to be fearful of. He grimaced, a scowl appearing on his face as he remembered the sheer brutality that were caused by monsters. Not the undead—the humans that let out their inner carnal and ravenous desires to let out chaos.

Forced to kill a lot of them. A bullet to the head, bludgeoning their faces in with modified baseball bats or metal pipes, chopping off limbs or decapitating them. Hell, leaving them to die to the Biters was an option as well. Doing such options questioned his morality at first, leaving him with mental scars that wouldn't fade away at first. But he would be lying to himself if he denied all accusations of enjoying the carnage. Throughout the apocalypse, there were times that Tetsuya would find himself cracking a smile, the surge of enjoyment; that source of adrenaline from beating someone to death. To a degree, it was exhilarating. Perhaps he did lose a bit of his humanity—and although his sister justified it because he did it to survive, the morality of it still sat within his head. A particular voice saying, "Trying to survive doesn't justify killing."

Tetsuya couldn't help but feel conflicted about it. He grimaced once more, shaking his head as he took a look at the other item that was within the briefcase. A gun, a pistol. One he used quite often. It took quite a bit of hurdles for his adoptive father to allow him to be able to keep this, with regulations and what not; also since Tetsuya is an under-aged person and shouldn't be owning a firearm in the first place. The gun is a Beretta 84F "Cheetah" model. The dark grey gunmetal was worn and drab, little scratches all over it with a dull shine, and a wooden finish for its pistol grip. Chambered in 9mm, he used this pistol extensively to gundown Rais' men and the Biters themselves. Though when it came to Biters, it was much more recommended that they used physical weaponry to eliminate them in order to conserve ammunition.

He stared at the contents of the briefcase for what seemed like an hour. Though it was only maybe ten minutes or a little bit longer. With a sigh, he shut the case and locked it, tucking it under the bed and was about to try and turn himself in for the night.

However, his gaze ended up being drawn to the window, where the moonlight could be seen shining through. He furrowed his brow, hearing those familiar howls from the terrors of the night being echoed throughout his mind. Why was he getting a bad feeling?

---

Tetsuya and Saeko arrived at Fujimi Academy like normal. She gently chided his behavior, telling him to do his best and not to skip class again, though she was quite annoyed with his half-hearted reply. Once they went their separate ways, Tetsuya walked up three flights of stairs, his school bag casually slung over his shoulder before he stopped at his locker.

He began to take out his essentials, notebooks and such, but stopped and let out a grunting noise as he noticed the same briefcase from last night in his bag. Strange. When did he pack it? Earlier in the morning? Perhaps it was because of some slight muscle memory that ended up resurfacing from time to time. That tended to happen every once and a while.

Knowing the contents that were inside the briefcase, he honestly facepalmed at how incompetent the security was at this school. There were plenty of security guards, but they made little to no effort when it came to shaking people down if they had any drugs or deadly weapons on their person. Rather disappointing as he expected for a private academy to actually take things like this seriously. Especially since there was a serious drug problem among most of the students here.

Saeko's voice echoed in the back of his mind, telling him to head to class and waste no more time dilly dallying. Despite her warnings, he wanted nothing more but to skip again; the constant muling over his past and the morality behind it kept persisting. He had the talk, someone listened, and yet, it also felt like it didn't do much for him. Tetsuya felt like he wanted to lash out and scream, to tell the world of what he experienced. But of course, it kept coming back around to that same conclusion. "They won't believe you."

Tetsuya slammed the locker door with a loud sound, cursing to himself as he scratched the back of his head and prepared to head off to who knows where. The classroom was in the other direction. Though his brief clacks of his shoes stopped as he looked forward, a startled expression on his face as he caught sight of a person he had interacted with multiple times in his childhood, but now none at all.

Her familiar orangy-brown hair that stretched all the way down to her waist, a single ponytail in the back whilst she had bangs having over her, one of the most distinctive things about her hair were the two tufts—two strands of hair that stuck up at the top. Fiery red-brown eyes and considered a beauty by most of the people on campus, generally kind and well-liked but also a headstrong personality, a slender body with an ample chest size that made a lot of boys drool and long for a girl like her. Mostly because, like a majority of the female population here, the school uniform gently hugged their bodies quite nicely, emphasizing on their curves and features. A bit too much to Tetsuya's liking but he wasn't the designer of the uniforms so he couldn't really do much.

Tetsuya's expression was normal, a stark contrast to the girl's fidgeting nature and nervous outlook at the moment. Her hands were clasped together, her lips clutched in anticipation as it looked like she was trying to find words to speak, only for there to be a considerable lump in her throat. But with how he stared at her, it looked as if he was getting impatient, a somewhat narrowed gaze as he made no effort to speak to her.

She finally spoke, "I-It's been a while, hasn't it? T-Tetsu-kun?"

'Tetsu,' he thought, closing his eyes momentarily. 'She's still hung up on that nickname, huh...'

"You've been skipping class a lot. I-Is something the matter? Are you sick?" Her voice spoke with concern, but she still looked fidgety and uncomfortable. Only natural, as it was the first time they had spoken in such a long time. "You should probably visit Nurse Marikawa's office. I can take you—"

"What do you want, Miyamoto?" His voice cut through the air like a knife. Sharp and cold, straight to the point.

The girl, Rei Miyamoto, recoiled. Was she expecting a bit of a warmer tone when speaking? Not entirely, but she did think she would receive more of a gentler response than the one she received now. The response made her take a small step back.

"E-Eh? N-Nothing, really... It's just that—"

"It's been nearly half a year since I've been at this school, and it takes you this long to talk to me? I'll get straight to the point. What do you want?"

With such a rude tone of him, Rei felt like she should be angry. And yet, she couldn't be. To a degree, it was understandable of him. They hadn't seen each other in what, almost five or six years? And the moment he reappears, she didn't make a bit of effort to try and talk to him. When he first arrived in class, when people were given the opportunity to ask him questions, she didn't raise her hand. Nothing at all. She just stared at him, perhaps waiting for him to make the first initiative in their reunion.

Yet, that didn't happen. When the days would go by, he showed no interest in interacting with others. When others walked up to him, he would brush them off or just outright ignore them; sometimes responding with crude remarks and overall having a nihilistic outlook on life. People even called him lower than the delinquents of the school. And yet, she still made no effort to make some sort of contact whatsoever. She just continued to stare. Watching. Waiting.

"Well, you see—"

Tetsuya clicked his tongue and scoffed. "This conversation is a waste of time, just as you are wasting time just trying to talk to me."

He walked past her, almost shoving past her shoulder and sparing no glance toward her. But he said one last thing toward her.

"Just forget about me."

Falling silent, her gaze being hidden behind her bangs, she then turned to look at his direction. His receding figure continued to disappear in the distance, eventually disappearing for good as he turned the corner. 'Just forget about me'? How could she?

The fact of the matter is that he seemed like a different person, but she couldn't forget at all. At the core of it, she still considered him that same person she knew from back then. That same childhood friend that she and her other childhood friend, Takashi Komuro, had spent so many years with; playing, chatting, even going to the same grade school. Up until he left, having to move away. Tetsuya never told her, a decision that sort of upset her to this day. But he never had the time to. The decision for him was swift and final, instantly moving within two days after finding out they were moving.

Even still, despite that event from back then, to see that he was a different person right now... To say that she should forgot about him... She couldn't do that. The moment she saw him again at this school, she had sudden urges to try and talk to him again. But there was this sort of aura he radiated that simply told her not to engage. She was confused, befuddled at such a thing. Something must've happened when they were apart. But what was it? What exactly happened?

The answers, however, kept escaping her, unable to get them from him. Due to his own nature as of right now... And her partial hesitance to even chance after him.

---

He walked the halls for what seemed like an eternity. With each step of his shoes, the loud echo reverberating throughout his ear, the more it felt like the hairs on his arms stood up.

The way the halls were currently empty—it all felt too familiar to him. His nerves felt like they were on an all time high, just spiked with nervousness as his eyes found themselves being drawn to the window to his left. The sky was blue, beautiful and peaceful, some falling petals blowing into view. Everything seemed perfectly normal.

So why did he feel so on edge? It was rather strange. The overall presence and atmosphere of today just felt too uncanny, similar to how it felt when he was in Harran. This unsettling and feeling of unease, discomfort welling within his stomach as he felt a bit of cold sweat running down his neck. Knots and a churning feeling deep down his abdomen, his heart beginning to thump louder and louder, his breath hitched as he stopped moving.

Echoed footsteps began to be heard. One—No—Two of them. From behind, the pace began to quicken.

Instinctively, he turned around, swiveling on his foot as he used his momentum to propel himself forward and kick the uncomfortable presence he felt toward him. His tense expression, clear as day, faded as he gasped and was stunned.

Tetsuya expected something else, not a person. Two people, actually. The one he decked in the middle body recoiled backward, saliva being coughed up as his eyes briefly rolled into the back of his head, tumbling to the hard floor with a loud, but certainly uncushioned crash. It was some blonde boy, hair spiked in the middle and his Fujimi Academy uniform not up to the standards, drool and foam pouring out of his mouth as he struggled to recover from the blow he suffered to his abdomen. The other boy, average height, black hair and brown eyes, looked down at the blonde with concern and shock.

"H-Hey, Morita...!?" The black-haired teen exclaimed.

The blonde, Morita, only groaned. "Fuuucck, maaan... That shit hurt..."

The black-haired teen looked at Tetsuya with bewilderment, even agitated. "What the hell is wrong with you, Tetsu!?"

His old nickname was said again. Tetsuya blinked a couple of times, his vision adjusting to the other black-haired boy as he calmed down. His tense and aggressive stance released, shoulders slumping a little, he recognized the boy.

"Komuro..." The blue-eyed teen mumbled.

"What the hell, man? We were just calling out to you!" Takashi seethed. "Why the hell did you have to kick him!?"

Morita, finally getting up, coughed, "Hey, hey, hey, Komuro. It's alright. He was probably just distracted, is all..."

"Still...!"

Tetsuya stared at the two for a bit, Morita and Takashi arguing with one another as to who was in the right and who was in the wrong. He didn't know who Morita was. In fact, he had no idea this guy even existed up until now. But Takashi, one of his childhood friends, was another person he rarely interacted with. He had seen him once or twice around the academy, but made no initiative to speak with him whatsoever. There were also rumors and such that he dated Rei for a while, only for him to be dumped and Rei began dating his best friend.

From what he could remember of Takashi, he was earnest and kind, at least in their childhood. Even though he was agitated right now, the way he was dressed and how his body language and posture from seeing him around a couple of times spoke volumes to him. Takashi was laidback, almost bored with everything, and almost casual with everything. Much like himself.

Tetsuya, in response, rolled his eyes and said, "Well, sorry it felt like I was about to be jumped."

Takashi looked confused. "Huh...? Jumped? Who in their right mind would want to jump you?"

"Nothing. So?" Tetsuya ran a hand through his hair, "What do you two want?"

"Nothin' much. Just saw that you were skipping class like us and I thought you'd want to hang, is all," Morita chuckled.

Tetsuya yawned. "Pass. Not interested."

"Eh? Come on, won't you consider it? You're a fellow delinquent like us!" Morita argued.

"Who said I was anything like you?" Tetsuya narrowed his eyes.

"Well, I mean, you're constantly alone, you don't get along with anyone except yourself, and..." Morita began to ramble on, soon not about how he was a delinquent, but some rather perverted things. Even talking about who were the hottest girls at this school, even taking out a notebook in the process.

Meanwhile, Takashi only sweat dropped and returned his gaze back to Tetsuya. The blue-eyed boy on the other hand, however, was completely disinterested. Such topics had crossed his mind at one point, but after everything, the only thing that ever came to mind was how much he loathed the current world. As Morita continued to yap on, and on, and on, the black-haired teen kept tapping the floor with the tip of his shoe.

Finally having enough, he turned on his heel, ignoring Morita's calls as to where he was going. Not even a hint of a "goodbye" or "have a good day" from him. Scratching his cheek, Morita turned to Takashi with a weirded expression.

"Uh...you sure you were childhood friends with that guy?"

"Ahaha..." Takashi's sheepish laugh sounded unsure. "Yeah. I am. But... He was a lot different than this."

"If he was supposed to be kinder, than why'd the hell did he fucking kick me!?"

"I don't know, man." He gave a sheepish laugh, but pondered it himself. 'Seriously...why the hell is he so different now?'

---

"Hah..." He let out an elongated sigh.

Tetsuya had found himself on the school's roof, arm hanging over the railing as he aimlessly stared out into the distance. His gaze solely focused on the rooftops in the distance, he couldn't help but imagine himself running along the tops, jumping from those varying heights and landing onto piles of trash bags as ways to break his fall. In hindsight, it sounded like a stupid idea to even remotely jump onto a pile of trash, let alone it being disgusting as well. But to his surprise, it worked well to be a cushion. Albeit it was a little bit uncomfortable due to the varying degrees of trash that were in the bags.

He honestly missed the adrenaline pumping throughout his veins, slightly even missing the Volatiles and Virals chasing after him. Yes, he hated those fucking terrifying things, but that feeling of that intense blood rush as his heart pounded, leaping from roof to roof and using his skills that he learned to survive. There was something so nostalgic about it.

And as much as he hated that dreaded place of a city, there were still some good moments. He met good people there—people that cared for him, and he cared for them as well. The Tower was practically his family after everything went down. To leave them behind left him with a dissatisfied feeling in his loins, thinking he made the wrong decision for trusting in Crane to go with the GRE. He was promised safe passage, and in a way, he was, but to be confined to that facility for weeks on end until he was eventually released by the US government, Master Busujima having to pull some strings here and there in order to do so. He was living comfortably right now, yes, but he didn't feel... Alive. If that was a way to put it.

Back in Harran, he was actively doing something—actively helping others to survive. Running missions and supply runs, establishing safe houses, setting up traps and defensive mechanisms. Anything that gave him a sense of purpose and a sense of duty.

However, it's not to say that he disliked living in the Busujima household, no, that would be entirely false. He enjoyed, yes, the company of Saeko and her father were a welcome one, considering he was now adopted into the family and now a son of the Busujima household. But it just wasn't the same as back then. While it was calm and light, something he didn't mind trying to get back into, he didn't feel like he'd ever get accustomed to that peaceful feeling again. 

A loud clanging noise soon ran out, his head perking up as his attention now shifted to below—down by the school's gates.

There was a man there, but something was off about him. His mindless slamming of his body against the metal gates was pretty obvious about that. But it was his expression that really sent Tetsuya on edge, a cold chill running down his spine. The man's face, so emotionless and uncaring, almost seemed as if he was dead inside.

"What the hell...?" He murmured to himself.

Down by the gate, four faculty members had arrived to the commotion. A voluptuous woman with glasses, one burly man, and two other members came over.

The woman pushed her glasses up, an almost haughty expression on her face. "Who are you? Stop this nonsense!"

The man gave no response, only continuing his mindless slamming of his body against the metal gate. Tetsuya's nerves continued to spike up in nervousness as he continued to stare at the altercation. One of the men that held a restraining claw of sorts was shaking in his shoes, judging from his posture that he was quite alarmed from how the man was just ignoring the orders. His clothes looked ragged and worn, the man's mouth slightly agape and letting out a raspy groan.

His once light thrashing and slamming against the metal gate then grew more agitated, the man's expressionless face almost looking like a feral and wild look was present. They backed up a bit, slightly alarmed.

"S-Stop it at once! Or I'll call the police—"

The burly man, chuckling, rolled up a sleeve and began walking up to the gate. "Now, now, Hayashi-sensei. No need to raise your voice. I'll get him."

The burly man, Teshima, was the type of man who thought brawn and using violence was the best way to solve problems. In some cases, yes, violence may be the correct solution. However, with the current problem at hand, violence didn't seem like it was the correct one to use. Especially with how odd and strange looking this ragged and haggard man was looking. The situation was escalating and looking to be dangerous.

"Now, look here!" Teshima grabbed the man by the front of his collar and pulled him close, slamming him even harder into the metal gate. But that didn't faze him at all.

Hayashi-sensei stepped forward a little, "Hold on, Teshima-sensei, don't use force."

"Yeah, but...! He's strong!"

He wasn't exaggerating. The immense strength this man had seemed abnormal. As soon as he grabbed his collar, the man's neck seemed to have stretched and contorted, shifting his head lower to go for Teshima's exposed forearm. The man had opened his mouth, a few things dropping from the agape oral cavity.

Fingers.

Hayashi shrieked. "F-Fingers—! Police!!"

It was too late. A loud chomp filled the air as the man had bitten onto Teshima's forearm, instantaneously shredding through the flesh and taking a huge chunk of muscle. Teshima stumbled and fell back, clutching his arm in pain as he began to howl, an egregious amount of blood beginning to pool out from his wound.

Tetsuya, watching it from above, gasped in shock, his grip on the metal railing growing tighter as he blinked a couple of times. 'What the hell?' was his first thought. Did he actually witness what he was seeing? Did someone just bite a huge chunk of flesh out of Teshima's arm?

The gym teacher writhed in pain, wriggling and flopping around on the ground like a fish as he so desperately tried to cling onto life. His pleads for the nurse seemed to have fallen on deaf ears as his companions only stood around, scared and confused. Only then did someone request to get Nurse Marikawa about the situation, but it was too late. Teshima stopped moving and his eyes were lifeless, his body in an awkward position as he lay there.

"He's... He's dead," one of them repeated.

Hayashi covered her mouth. "It...it can't be..."

It was something straight out of fiction. Tetsuya didn't want to believe it just yet. For all he knew, that "man" could've been just some rabid crazy person, infected with rabies or something. But he didn't spot any foam being emitted from the man's mouth. The only thing that would seal the deal for him was if Teshima—

His train of thought stopped. A sharp gasp escaped his mouth as he noticed Teshima's body twitch, his fingers almost snapping to life. Hayashi was the first to spot this and looked elated. Soon, Teshima's eyes flickered open, but they were dull and lacked color, soon snapping over to Hayashi with a hungry look.

"Teshima-sensei! Are you okay? Teshima-sensei—"

It happened in an instant, like a flash of lightning. With swift movements, Teshima lunged upward, grasping onto the hem of Hayashi's outfit and pulling her down swiftly onto the ground, all while taking a big bite into her neck. And just like that, more blood was sprayed into the air and horrified shrieks and screams began to echo.

That solidified it. The pupils in his eyes seemed to have shook, his nerves beginning to be pulled on overdrive as Tetsuya darted for the roof door to head back into the school. So many questions began to swirl in his mind, wondering how in the hell the virus was spreading. He never heard if a nuke was fired upon Harran to prevent the virus, considering there were still people living in the containment zone. Did the infected somehow breach through the barriers? That was the only logical solution he could come toward.

Dashing into the school and rushing down the staircase, he began to flee toward his locker. His gun was in there, along with his outfit, but he wouldn't have time to change into that. As much as the Fujimi Academy uniform was comfortable, it was also restrictive. In a way, it was quite heavy, fitted with sleeves and tightly held together by buttons and zippers, unlike the free form and agile fit that was the Runner's outfit he obtained when he first joined the Tower.

And while the gun was helpful, it still carried massive consequences. He remembered his training and the advice he was given: firing shots off only made loud noises and attracted all sorts of Infected, so melee weapons were the best resort. The gun should only be used in desperate occasions. He had to think for a moment, however, seeing as there was only one by the gate and that Infected contracted the virus toward Teshima, who in turn bit into Hayashi and would sooner or later turn her in a matter of seconds right about now unless he hadn't finished devouring her. Well, it would be more accurate to refer to Teshima as "it" now. He was no longer what you'd call a human being.

His shoes squeaked as he turned the corner, shoving past a female student and bumping shoulders with her. She looked alarmed, turning in his direction and calling out to him for an apology. He didn't have time to waste such things on her—far more important measures were required. 

Arriving at his locker, he quickly opened it and grabbed the briefcase and slammed the metal case shut. He pondered as to whether he should change, but if he wanted more mobility, it would be best to change into his Runner outfit. Rushing to the nearby bathroom, he went inside and quickly began to discard his school's uniform. In terms of defense, though both options are objectively terrible, the school uniform had sleeves and had a little bit of toughness to them before something would eventually penetrate through.

Just as he began to put on the outfit, someone came onto the intercom, broadcasting it all throughout the school. Their voice was breathy and distressed, worry being evident.

"Attention all students and staff! Attention all students and staff! A violent outbreak has taken place on school grounds!" His distressed and panicked voice echoed throughout the hallways, like he was practically spitting into the mic. "All students are instructed to follow staff to safety at once! I repeat, a violent outbreak has taken place—!"

A loud screech was emitted from the intercom, causing Tetsuya to pause momentarily. He listened closely. Soon after, the clattering noise of objects and items being tossed around and falling off of tables was heard, a panic scramble as whoever was speaking was trying to get away from something. The Infected had finally made their way into the school.

Tetsuya continued to put on the clothing, first the cargo pants and then the yellow shirt, all while he continued to listen to the panic and fearful screams from the individual on the intercom.

"Gyaaaaaaahhhhh!! No! Stop! Please! Save me! Stop it! Please! Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!!! Gwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh!!!!"

That final shriek was the last nail in the coffin for all hell to break loose; students and teachers alike began to pour out of their classrooms as they tried to get to safety or escape. Their thundering footsteps and loud thuds, presumably from people being toppled and trampled over, along with shouting as everyone was essentially fighting against one another. A single bead of sweat pooled down his cheek as he rushed to finish the rest of his attire, tying the last knot on the shoelace before adjusting the backpack sash that acted as a makeshift bandolier and belt.

Once everything looked good enough for him, he looked into the mirror. A small, but brief wave of nostalgia washed over him. It was like looking at an old friend. Shaking those thoughts aside, he grabbed the gun and its two extra magazines. Pulled back on the slide to check the chamber—full—letting the slide go forward and nudging the back a little to finish the press check. An excellent lethal weapon that needed to be handled well, but caused too much distress and noise in a place like this. He holstered it just to be safe, his first objective was to look for a melee weapon. Sharp ones like a machete or a knife would be nonexistent, so a blunt object would do best for now. He can modify it later once he's in a safe place.

He crept around the corner and opened the bathroom door. Tetsuya grimaced. Already there were puddles of blood and dead bodies around. Unfortunate souls that tried to escape but were betrayed and killed by their peers, all in the hopes of trying to escape. Tetsuya honestly pitied them. They hadn't realized the horrors—what it meant to be in the apocalypse.

That's what made him different. He was already aware of the chaotic nature; where others ARE willing to turn on each other to survive. There were benefits to being alone, but if you were able to establish a group and camaraderie with others, then that would work wonders for you in this type of situation. But still, he couldn't help but scoff in slight amusement. Many at this school considered themselves to be good natured fellows. Some of these "good natured" fellows were already dead, but he could imagine that some of these others had decided to turn their back on such values in favor of betraying others. He understood to a degree, but it was the audacity of them to proclaim that they would never do such a thing in the first place. Rather ironic of them.

Either way, he knew he had to survive and get out of this school, along with his sister. As for Rei and Takashi? He pondered about them for a moment. Part of him felt that he should go find them and help them, but at the same time, he also felt that he shouldn't. Mostly because he felt abandoned by them in the beginning. Not once had they interacted since he started school here. The only one that had really been with him ever since he got back was his adopted family. Tetsuya honestly didn't think they're as important to him right now as they used to be.

He shook his head. Right. They weren't as important right. His sister was. While he didn't doubt her strength, being the captain of the kendo club and being the daughter of Master Busujima in the first place, he still had some worries placed on her. Exiting the bathroom, he carefully meandered into the hallway, being as quiet as possible. The Infected had sound hearing, the most evolved in terms of their senses, but they still retained their sight, though not very well. Their sense of hearing was their strongest suit, alongside their unnatural brute strength the undead accumulated once reanimating. The only thing that worried him, however, was when they evolved into the different kinds of Infected. The Bloaters and Volatiles were the ones he worried the most about, but luckily, the latter only appeared at night.

Tetsuya mulled over such thoughts for a while that he didn't realize that he had ended up on the ground floor. He had somehow avoided trouble on the way. But the dead bodies and blood puddles didn't stop. In fact, they only increased in volume as he continued along. Pushing himself up against the wall under the window sill, he began to crouch and sneak along to avoid being seen from the outside. While their vision was still lacking, they still had these random moments of sharp sight from time to time, and even that in itself can still be fatal. Such things about the Biters were unpredictable and dangerous. Though his light shuffling came to a halt when he began hearing the low groans of Biters from around the corner.

He slowly peaked around, seeing all of them converge around the main hallway and entry point. Lumbering around like useless and wandering oafs, their heads would rock and bob up and down as they clumsily stumbled around. Tetsuya let out a brief sigh to himself, his hand reaching to the side where his gun was holstered. Just in case things get messy.

He made his move, going for the main doors as he made sure to stay out of line. It had only been a couple years since he left the outbreak, and it seemed like he was still skilled as he was then. Going on his own would certainly prove not that difficult out on the road.

Now he was outside. He gently shut the glass door, making sure he didn't make any sort of loud noise. A couple of blood stains outside and a few bodies, it seemed a majority of the Infected made its way inside into the school. Now he just had to—

"Kyaaaaaaahhh!" A shrill voice screamed. "No! Don't bite me!!"

His head was drawn to it, looking over to see a girl being restrained by one of the Biters. It was a large one, quite fat but not enough to be a bloater. If the apocalypse wasn't going on, Tetsuya would've assumed that it was a molestar or a creep. Unfortunately for the girl, however, the fat undead student was trying to consume her, but her flaying and wriggling of her limbs was making it difficult to do so. But it wouldn't be long before she was overpowered.

In all honesty, her death can be used as a distraction for him to help look for his sister. She would be creating all the noise and he would be able to make his way over to the dojo without any sort of problem. But a voice echoed within his head, a familiar one at that. It was feminine, a Turkish accent being spoken to him.

"We don't leave the innocent behind, Tetsuya. No matter how useful they'll prove to be as a distraction. We're not like Rais and his bandits. We're better than that."

He gritted his teeth. That's right, he wasn't like them at all. The voice that spoke to him, it belonged to one of his earliest mentors in the Tower, a trusted hand of Brecken. When she died, it certainly was hard on him, but in such a situation they were in at the time, they didn't have time to mourn her. Too many loose ends they had to tie up and then go after Rais for the information on a possible cure.

This girl didn't mean anything to him. They were in the same year, having passed each other in the hallways before. She didn't pay attention to him, but tried to steer clear because of the unlawful rumors she's heard about him. Not that he cared about that, positions and hierarchy in school were meaningless and unnecessary for him, but the bottom line is, this girl didn't mean anything at all. He didn't have to save her.

But his own moral compass, the lessons of his mentors in the apocalypse were telling every fiber in his being to save her. He was—No—IS better than people like Rais and his goons. Despite being considered a monster in Harran for all that he's done, for all the survivors he's killed, he was far more human than the brutality that was caused by the depravity of others.

"Fuck it," he muttered.

He enacted on his morals and the voices from the ghosts of his past, darting over to the girl that was being overpowered by the undead. The Biter's mouth was just mere inches away from her neck. He continued to power forward, getting low onto the ground and did a shoulder bash into the Biter. The girl, seeing Tetsuya come into view and ramming into this overweight Biter, was shocked. She watched as the black-haired teen tackled the Biter to the concrete floor and began bashing and driving his fist into its skull multiple times.

Tetsuya's heavy grunts and bloodied fist bludgeoned the Biter's head, running on pure adrenaline and hatred. The skull caved in, the black-haired teen brutalizing and essentially tenderizing the brain into nothing but paste and blood. Once that was done, he stood up with heavy breaths, turning his attention to the girl he had just saved. She looked scared. He didn't blame her.

But he didn't have time to reassure her that he wasn't a bad person, nor was he a good one in the first place. He walked over to her and extended his non-bloodied hand out to her.

"Can you stand and walk?"

"Y-Yeah..." She nodded, slowly taking his hand.

He hoisted her up, "Good. If you want to live, follow me."

"M-My name—"

"No time for pleasantries," he curtly said, now noticing a small swarm beginning to make their way toward them from around the corner. The ones inside the building heard the small scuffle and were pounding on the windows. He clicked his tongue, "Shit, we made too much of a noise. Come on."

She had no choice but to follow, surprised by how well he was taking everything (of course, she didn't know his circumstances from before). They had to rush into another area and go back into the school, Tetsuya body slamming through the door and leading the way. They were currently still on the first floor, which was by far the most dangerous right about now. A lot of the students had clambored their way here and ended up being killed from being trampled or the undead themselves. And since they were all in the way, all Tetsuya had to do was give them a good push and they'd stumble over, taking them a good couple of seconds to recover, which in that time, both Tetsuya and the girl had already made their way up the stairs and arrived at the third floor.

The girl, however, was completely surprised by Tetsuya. He seemed similar, but far different from all the rumors she heard about him. Tetsuya Takahashi, said to be a lonely but pessimistic young man who was often quite rude to others. She was never once on the receiving end of his remarks, but she's heard the rumors from her friends. How he's constantly skipping class, the only one he really interacts with is Saeko Busujima, getting into arguments with the faculty. Well, the faculty was mostly yelling at him while he was just ignoring them, but still, he was considered a delinquent by most peoples' eyes. But he was far different.

With every encounter of the dead, he was fearless. At least, he didn't show any. He didn't back down nor did he falter, he stood up to them and eliminated them when necessary or pushed them aside to save time. Unlike the rest of their classmates, he adjusted to the situation and acted accordingly, wasting no time in trying to survive and stay alive. While the point of abandoning someone still remained to be seen, so far, he didn't seem like the type of person to do it for the reason of a selfish agenda. Moreover, she also felt completely safe in his presence. The fact that she didn't feel like she was going to die and succumb to the new hellish landscape.

But she had to ask, "Takahashi-kun." Her tone was quiet, and also a bit shy.

"What?" He didn't look back at her, peering his head around the corner to scout the way. Just three Biters, standing around and doing nothing, some of them twitching and sniffing to find some sort of scent.

"Why did you decide to save me...? It was probably better in your best interest if you did..."

With her voice falling short, she suddenly became nervous. She was afraid of what his answer might be. It got to the point that her ankles began to wobble, almost falling over as she pressed her hands to the wall to the left of her as she was crouched behind the black-haired teen. Oddly enough, he hadn't said anything to her for about a minute, to the point that the quietness of the hallway (apart from the groans and low snarls of the undead) felt too ominous for her liking.

Tetsuya let out a deep sigh. "You're right. I could've just left you out there to die in my best interest. But..."

"B-But...?" She still felt anxious, but curious about his answer.

"Nothing," he replied, shaking his head. "Now quiet down."

The girl was about to speak up, only for a loud noise to be heard from around the corner. Tetsuya peered his head around again, a group of students having wandered into the hallway of the three undead. The students howled in pain as they were shoved up against the glass windows and onto the floor, being devoured alive. Blood sprayed everywhere, the students shrieked and cried, sounding out loudly as it echoed throughout the halls.

Tetsuya motions for the girl to follow, the two of them quickly dashing down the hallway and past the corpses devouring their fellow classmates. One of them spotted the two moving past them, extending a hand out and pleading for assistance. The girl wanted to help, but seeing as Tetsuya didn't bat an eye toward them, she only followed, the feeling of guilt and regret soon building up inside of her.

"Why didn't we save them?" The girl asked as they continued to run down the hall, turning the corner to head onto a connecting foyer to the other buildings.

"Wouldn't have mattered. Once bitten, there isn't hope in being saved. You're just clinging onto false hope, at that point."

"How do you know that!?" She questioned, almost with a hint of desperation.

He didn't say anything.

She grumbled, "Where are we even going!?"

"The roof," he replied with a simple tone. "It's the most logical place to be safe, and we can get a bird's eye view of the place."

He made a good point. She didn't have a plan anyway, so she couldn't really argue.

Pushing through another hallway full of undead, they eventually hike their way up the stairs that led to the roof. He bashed through the metal door. The lock was already broken, so it didn't matter if he opened it gently or not.

Upon doing so, a baseball bat was being swung his way, and as if his survival instincts had kicked in, Tetsuya deflected the blunt object coming his way and whipped his other hand around to grab the pistol that was holstered there. Grabbing it, he swept the person's legs out from under them and sent them tumbling to the floor, which they exuded a grunt. However, they gasped, soon finding the barrel of a gun pointed right between their eyes, a gaze of no hesitation of shooting them right then and there from Tetsuya.

"Tetsu-kun/Takahashi-kun!?" Two voices simultaneously cried out. It was the girl and Rei.

Rei? When did she get here? Tetsuya blinked a couple of times.

He had his gun pointed directly at Takashi, who looked completely shocked and surprised, fear evident in his eyes as he wasn't expecting the cold metal of a gun barrel to be pointed right up to his face. Nor was he expecting for his childhood friend to have such a harsh glare, leaking killing intent that it literally almost made him shit his pants. Takashi could've sworn his life flashed before his eyes.

"Get off him—!"

Another boy rushed over to Takashi's aid, but Tetsuya was quicker. The punch was thrown his way (although Tetsuya realized that it was quite weak as soon as it collided with his forearm) and performed what was similar to a right check hook, nailing it right in the other boy's chest. The young man coughed and fell to the floor, soon finding himself with a gun barrel pointed right between his eyes as well, that same familiar feeling of cold gun metal against his skin. He gritted his teeth, eyes slightly narrowed as his mouth seethed. But like Takashi, he honestly felt his life flash before his eyes as soon as the gun was presented before him, Tetsuya's face devoid of emotion as he was ready to pull the trigger.

He could've pulled it. He really could've. If it weren't for Rei pushing him out of the way (though he was able to easily recover from it) and backed up a little. Unfazed by such a reaction from her, he only stared at the orangy brown-haired girl, who looked at him with disbelief and anger.

"What the hell is wrong with you!? Why are you pointing a gun at Hisashi!? He didn't even do anything to you!!"

Tetsuya only brushed his shirt off. "Maybe if he didn't decide to attack me, I wouldn't have to pull my gun on him," he briskly replied.

Rei only huffed and tended to her boyfriend, helping him stand up. Tetsuya, however, only rolled his eyes and turned to Takashi, whom had finally gotten up and dusted himself off. His eyes soon drew to the gun his old friend was holding, a bead of sweat drifting down his cheek as he couldn't help but eye it.

"If you're wondering if I've fired it off, no, I didn't. Noise attracts them."

"That wasn't..." Takashi shook his head, "Wait, how do you know that?"

"The fact that everyone was screaming out so loudly that it attracted them into the hallways?" Tetsuya blandly spoke.

"Uh..."

He rubbed his temple, "In any case, it seems like we both had the same idea. Get to higher ground and maintain an area until its safe. Correct?"

"Yeah," Hisashi grunted, holding his shoulder. "Considering what Takashi said about the lock on the door being broken, the only place we can go to is the observatory. We can get to the top and block the staircase."

"Not the worst plan there is," Tetsuya muttered. "Then let's go. The faster we get there and barricade the entrance, the better."

And so, they departed for the observatory's stairs. However, they didn't even make it halfway across the school roof and the Biters began to pour in from the stairwell's entrance. Not only that, Tetsuya kept making subtle eye glances at Hisashi, the way he kept holding his shoulder in pain, a grimace on his face, and his speed was beginning to lack and was slowing down. In fact, there was a bloodied makeshift bandage—made of cloth—that was wrapped around some sort of wound on his upper arm.

Something told him that wasn't a scratch. A bad feeling was beginning to surface.

"Get to the stairs, I'll cover you!" Tetsuya barks orders.

"Huh!? Are you crazy—"

"Just fucking do it!" The young man cuts Takashi off.

Stopping in his tracks, Tetsuya took aim with his Beretta. And without any hesitation, he fired off a shot, a distinct loud pop filling the air as a bright flash was emitted from the muzzle. A single bullet soared through the air with sheer velocity, cutting through the silence with a loud boom as it seemed like a particular cone shape was penetrating the air. A brief zooming noise, shooting straight through two heads at once.

He remained calm. Firing erratically but also letting his emotions overtake him would be the wrong maneuver. While he was slightly tense, he slowed his breathing and kept two hands on the grip for stability, steadily taking his shots as he took out a couple one by one. He pulled the trigger again.

*CLICK*

Out of ammo. Swiftly pressing the magazine eject button, he dropped the empty mag and pulled out one of the two reserves he had left in his belt, loading it in and cocking the slide to load in the bullet into the chamber. He fired, again and again, until he ran out of bullets in the magazine he loaded. Although he thinned the herd a little, it didn't matter as the noise he created attracted more, dozens upon dozens continuing to push out of the small entrance.

Besides, he bought enough time. He turned around and saw that the others had nearly finished barricading the stairway. They were just waiting for him.

He took off running, regulating his breath as he sprinted for the metal steps. Climbing up them with ease, he brushed past the two boys holding the entrance open, Takashi and Hisashi soon clamoring to block the gate with extra desks and other sorts of things to barricade it. Lastly, they used some yellow duct tape to hold it all together and further reinforce it.

Loud thuds filled the once distant, peaceful scenery that was hours ago. Biters swarming the stairwell as they slowly climbed up the steps in crowded droves, pushing themselves up against the barrier in order to get through. But just mindlessly throwing themselves at the barrier wasn't doing them any favors (like they knew that anyway).

The group had now obtained a moment's solace. Tetsuya stared at the barrier, scanning it carefully. It was well reinforced, he didn't doubt the integrity of it. The only thing he was worried about was whether how soon the Biters would evolve. Whether they would transform into Virals in the next couple of hours or if it would take a couple of days for that to happen, considering it was still the early hours of the apocalypse. Even still, the dead wait for no one; anything could happen and evolution could happen sooner than later. What worried him most was nightfall.

He shook his head of the thought, noting that he needed to focus on the now. He looked over to Rei and Takashi, who were currently looking over a not so good looking Hisashi. His breath was ragged, looking tired, to the point that he was slumping up against the wall a little. He narrowed his eyes. It must be the wound on his upper arm. No doubt about what it was.

Tetsuya then looked to the girl he had saved hours earlier. Like Rei, the girl was slim and had long legs, although she had a little bit more paler skin, her hair was almost shoulder-length and her hair was a much darker shade of blue. She was clearly shaken up, a terrified expression on her face as she sat up against the metal fencing, trembling as she hugged herself. He sighed. Perhaps it may be the time to comfort her, considering the fact that she had been non-stop running from the dead. Though he couldn't promise to himself (or her) that he'd be good at it.

Taking a few steps toward her, the girl flinched as she saw him sit next to her, he exhaled a breath he was holding in. Instead of a lazy stare she was expecting from him, his somewhat blank stare did have some concern in it.

"You okay?" He asked. He did his best to have his voice convey a gentle tone.

She said nothing for a while. Then looked down, burying her face in her arms. "...Yeah."

"I see. ...This is probably the wrong time to ask, considering the absolute hell we were just in, but...what's your name?"

She looked at him, surprised, perplexed. A multitude of emotions went through her mind. Honestly, she wasn't sure what to say right now.

"...Nakamura. Tomoko Nakamura," she finally said, a quiet tone in her voice.

"...Nice to meet you, Nakamura... I suppose."

Silence fell between them again. Takashi soon walked over, a conflicted expression on his face, sitting next to Tetsuya.

"...Hey, Tetsu..." He began, soon shutting up. "Nevermind—"

"Cut the crap already, Komuro," Tetsuya sighs, looking him dead in the eye. Nod once for 'yes' and twice for 'no.' Was Hisashi bit?"

Saliva was caught in the brown-eyed teen's throat, a considerable lump being shown. His expression was all he needed to confirm that suspicion of his.

"I see. So that's how it is."

"H-Huh? I didn't—"

"Your expression tells me all that I need to know. Tch," he clicked his tongue. "That fact that he's here means we're in danger as it is."

Takashi bit his lip. "I saw what happened earlier down by the gate, but maybe there's another way—"

"Get your head out of your ass. There is no other way," Tetsuya hissed. "Once you're bit, you're running on borrowed time. No question about that. If you want to end his suffering, you've got to deal the blow while he's still alive."

"What!?" At this, Tomoko and Rei perk their heads up. Of course they heard. Then again, he wasn't trying to hide it all.

With an irritated sigh, Tetsuya stood up, trying to remain as rational as possible. "I'll say it again. Him being here is already a danger to us. He's a liability."

"Hisashi isn't like that! Hisashi is—" Rei tried to refute, but was interrupted by Tetsuya's hardened glare.

"Believe me, I'd rather not do it either. But as it stands, the moment he turns, he's going to be a danger to us all. And you'll die if you stand close to him. I suggest you start moving away."

No hesitation at all. Takashi, ever so surprised and bewildered from the current situation and past events, watched as his old friend took out the gun from behind him. With his lightning fast reflexes, he had already loaded in his last and full clip, cocking the gun as it let out a distinct click with its movements. He took one step forward, Rei gritting her teeth as she gripped the metal pole from a broken mop that she used as a weapon.

But she stopped when she heard Hisashi violently coughing, whipping her head around as her face devolved into more horror (more than it already was). The grey-haired teen was coughing into his hand, blood being vomited up exponentially, and his skin beginning to darken and look sickly. His infection had finally started taking a physical effect, his breathing becoming more labored.

"Why? You just got a little bite... Why are you falling apart...?" Takashi muttered, whether it was to himself or the others, he honestly wasn't sure himself.

A grim and pitiful smile appeared on Hisashi's face. "It's just like in the movies. One little bite and you're done for."

"That's a lie!" Rei screamed, refusing to believe the reality of the situation they were in. This wasn't a video game. It wasn't a movie.

"Everything else is like in the movies," Hisashi repeated, his voice low. A bitter chuckle escaped his mouth, looking at Tetsuya with a pleading look. "Hey, Takahashi, right? I know we got off the wrong foot, but... Can you do me a favor?"

"I know," Tetsuya quietly responded. "I can make it quick and painless. Just one shot."

Hisashi let out another bitter chuckle. "Y-Yeah, that would be preferable. Just don't hesitate."

"...I won't."

"Hisashi, what're you saying—!?" Rei began to protest again, only for her to be interrupted by Hisashi instead.

"I don't want to become one of them!"

The grey-haired teen let out another violent cough as he exudes another splotch of blood onto the concrete floor. Takashi, Rei, and Tomoko flinched, the only one who didn't was Tetsuya.

His gaze, hardening once more, gripped his pistol even tighter. He began walking forward, not sparing a glance at Takashi, who moved forward himself to stop him. But the blue-eyed teen's hand shot forward and grasped the brown-eyed teen's wrist with a harsh grip.

Takashi flinched in pain, "Ow—! Tetsu—"

"Komuro. Think rationally for a minute. This is the only way," he stated with a firm tone.

Technically, this was the only way. The solution would be different if he had something like a knife. Since it was just the arm Hisashi was bitten in, he could just amputate the infected area only and he should be able to live. But due to the situation they were in, and the supplies needed weren't provided (not a strenuous amount of gauze, alcohol, and other medical supplies), it simply just wasn't possible to perform that sort of crude surgery.

The only "ethical" and logical solution was to simply put Hisashi out of his misery. If he wanted to live with whatever humanity—whatever dignity he had left—a swift and painless death is what was needed.

A voice called out Takashi, coming from the sickly and dying Hisashi, holding a pleading look, offering his best friend with one final smile.

"Come on, Takashi. I'm begging you...I want to be me right up until the end..." A tear could be seen making its way out of Hisashi's tear duct.

Takashi, horrified and conflicted of the decision he needed to come to, ended up gritting his teeth and closing his eyes. Whilst Rei continued pleading with dying Hisashi, she felt two arms wrap around her, forcefully pulling her away.

"Takashi, what're you—!? Let me go!! Takashi, I said let me go!!" The orangy brown-haired girl looked at Tomoko, "Nakamura-san! Tell Tetsu to stop!! Please!!! Tell him to stop!!!"

Tomoko didn't say anything. Anxious, scared, afraid, and sorrowful about the current situation at hand. Was this what would've happened if she suffered a bite from that overweight Biter from before? If Tetsuya hadn't made it in time, would he mercy kill her? The idea; the thought of it sent a shiver down her spine as she kept imagining the scene, continuing to play in her head over and over again.

Wordlessly, Tetsuya began walking forward, his shoes slightly scraping against the concrete as he blocked out Rei's cries. A flash of memories came back to him, grunting as he remembered a particular situation. He was in a train car, Crane and he had gone into it to report back to a friend... Only to realize he had become a Biter while they were away blowing up a hive nest. They didn't tell him that he suffered a bite on his upper thigh. To have that scene replay again and again haunted him, to have to pull the trigger on someone he cared deeply about. If he hadn't done so, he and Crane wouldn't be alive—he wouldn't be standing here right now.

He may have hesitated in the past before, narrowly costing them their lives. But now... Now it was different. Hesitation. Mistakes. He wasn't going to make those again.

Standing before the dying Hisashi, Tetsuya cocked the gun and stared down at him. Hisashi had to admit, respected at the fact that despite everything, he wasn't showing a hint of weakness.

"...Do you resent me for this?"

"N-No," Hisashi coughed. "This is my choice—I'm asking you to do this. Please."

"...Any last words?"

Hisashi moved his lips. They seemed incoherent, like he had intentionally blocked them out like he did with Rei's screams. But no, he heard them.

Tetsuya only nodded. He took a deep breath.

One...

Two...

Three—

*BANG*

The gunshot echoed for what seemed like an eternity. And then... Silence.

[Act II] | Hell Let Loose

---

Author's Notes:

Hey, y'all. Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter.

Honestly didn't expect to make this chapter THIS long, being about an hour and a little bit over long. I ended up expanding more than I should have from the original drafts on the previous two iterations, and making an additional change.

Unlike the previous two iterations, the main character, Tetsuya, saves someone. And while it seems a bit of an odd choice, as this character is VERY minor in the anime and simply serves as someone dying, I made this decision because I saw someone do this in their own HoTD book. And for the life of me right now, I cannot remember it, the only thing I do remember is that they combined it with Star Wars and they named the character Tomoko Nakamura. Now, from what I was searching for on the HoTD wiki, that is not the character's official name, and I can only assume that the guy I saw use this idea most likely used one of the JP VAs' name (minor cast) to name her. For now, this name will be a placeholder until I can either think of a better name to differentiate it or I can't think of anything at all. Because of this change, I'm wondering if it'll be a more enjoyable one than previously.

While the storyline will remain streamlined and mostly the same as the previous two iterations, there are some creative liberties and changes I'll make for the sake of my own story. 

But anyway, if you have some real good opinions on how this chapter came out, please let me know in the comments. I had honestly been mulling over how much needed to be revamped and which scenes and areas will stay the same.

Also, if you're able to find the HoTD book I was talking about, please credit the author of the original idea here. You don't necessarily have to tag him, but I would still like to acknowledge the author who thought of this idea in the first place. Unlike most HoTD authors who would rather keep stuff the same in order to remain in-line with the HoTD continuity.

But in all seriousness, let me know how this chapter did. Peace, folks, and until next time.