Escape from School

With the immediate threat neutralized, the twin-tailed, well-endowed girl sat in a daze, trembling slightly. The blonde, well-endowed school nurse, Shizuka Marikawa, quickly moved to comfort the twin-tailed girl.

"Your swordsmanship is excellent," remarked the tall, poised girl, her gaze fixed on Yukino Yukinoshita. Her eyes burned with competitive admiration, though she held back given their situation.

"Hello, I'm Saeko Busujima from Fujimi Academy, Class 3-A. That over there is Nurse Shizuka Marikawa," she said, gesturing to the blonde comforting the twin-tailed girl.

"Yukino Yukinoshita, First-Year, Class B, at Sobu High School," Yukino replied, formally acknowledging the skilled swordswoman before her with respect.

"I see. No wonder I didn't meet you at last year's national kendo tournament. I don't believe I've heard of Sobu High—is it outside Tokonosu City?"

Yukino didn't respond to the question, and Saeko didn't press her further.

"Hello, I'm Kei Karuizawa, also a first-year," greeted the girl beside Yukino, speaking quickly.

Nearby stood a boy in glasses, short and slightly heavyset, who hesitantly raised his hand and introduced himself.

"H-Hello. I'm Kouta Hirano from Second-Year, Class B."

"Pleased to meet you," Saeko replied with a charming smile, causing Hirano to stare, wide-eyed and awestruck.

At that moment, the twin-tailed girl, who had been receiving Shizuka's consolation, suddenly stood, her emotions spilling over.

"What's with you all? How can you all be so calm?"

"Are you alright, Takagi?" Hirano asked, looking at the girl, who was now visibly upset.

"Don't kid yourself! I'm a genius; this kind of situation shouldn't be enough to break me," shouted Saya Takagi, her voice shaking with distress.

Earlier, Takagi had been forced to drill through the head of a dead one with a power tool, a traumatic experience that had pushed her to her breaking point.

Watching this unfold, Yukino kept her distance, knowing she wasn't skilled at comforting others. Her presence might only worsen Takagi's state.

Instead, Saeko stepped forward and gently wrapped an arm around Takagi, drawing her into an embrace.

"It's alright now. Everything is alright," she murmured, tenderly stroking Takagi's head.

Takagi, enveloped in unexpected warmth, froze for a moment before burying her face in Saeko's shoulder, letting her tears flow freely.

They were gathered just outside the faculty office. Though they had cleared the immediate vicinity of dead ones, it wouldn't be long before more were drawn to the area, especially given Takagi's earlier scream and her current sobbing. Like a beacon, her cries were already attracting dead ones from nearby.

Wasting no time, the group moved inside the faculty office, barricading the door with desks and cabinets.

Yukino dropped into a chair, finally feeling the toll of the past few hours. The physical strain from wielding her sword and the mental strain from constant vigilance had left her shoulders aching and her mind weary.

Saeko looked equally drained, while Shizuka and Kei slumped onto a table. Takagi had gone over to the sink to wash the blood from her face, with Hirano following closely, his concern evident.

"Busujima, were you also looking for the bus keys?" Yukino asked, sitting to Saeko's right.

"No, we came for Shizuka's car keys."

"It seems our goals align, then. We're here to find the bus keys and a teacher who can drive it."

Yukino's spirits lifted somewhat. Though she had initially set her sights on the faculty office, she had worried that they might only find teachers-turned-dead ones instead. But with Shizuka there, they not only had a vehicle but someone who could drive it.

"Shizuka, will your car fit all six of us?"

"Uh, I don't think so," Shizuka replied with a helpless expression as she remembered her small sedan.

"Then let's take the bus. The keys are hanging right over there," Saeko said, resting her chin on her hand.

"That could work," Shizuka said, but her tone turned contemplative. "But where should we go?"

"We should leave the school and find somewhere safer," Yukino answered decisively.

As long as they could reach an area with fewer dead ones and gather resources, surviving for thirty days shouldn't be too difficult. The objective to kill thirty dead ones would be even easier—Yukino had already felled sixteen on the way there. She could easily finish her quota before the day was over.

"That works for me, too," Kei agreed, sitting up.

"My father's at a dojo overseas, so I don't have anywhere specific to go," Saeko said, looking over at Shizuka, Takagi, and Hirano.

After a quick discussion, they learned that only Takagi had family nearby in Tokonosu City. The rest had family either overseas or far from the city.

So, the group agreed to first stop by the Takagi residence, then work together to find a safer place to settle.

Yukino had no objections to this plan. Until they found a safe haven, she had no qualms about working with Saeko and the others.

Once everyone had recovered, they decided to head through the main entrance and take the shortest route to the parking lot.

Before they left, Kei exchanged her real sword for Saeko's wooden practice sword, giving Saeko more effective firepower.

With Yukino and Saeko at the front, expertly cutting down any dead ones in their path, Hirano using a nail gun for support, and Kei occasionally stepping in to plug any gaps, the group advanced smoothly. Yukino even exceeded her thirty-kill quota along the way.

Before long, they reached the parking lot, finding no other survivors. By now, nearly the entire student body had become dead ones, and even the parking lot held a fair number of the creatures.

With two quick slashes, Yukino cut down the final two dead ones blocking the entrance to the bus and called out to Shizuka, "Shizuka, please get everyone on board and start the bus!"

While Shizuka boarded, Yukino and Saeko kept the dead ones at bay until the bus roared to life. Finally, they broke away from the horde and climbed aboard.

With the doors closed, Yukino and Saeko slumped into seats near the entrance, catching their breath.

"Shizuka, we're ready to go!" Yukino shouted.

"Got it! Let's go!" Shizuka responded cheerfully, maneuvering the bus through the swarm and crashing through the school gates as they sped off.

...

Not long after Shizuka drove the bus out of sight, another group of survivors approached the parking lot, led by a man in a black pinstripe suit with a sharp, sinister expression.

They had been hiding in a nearby equipment shed when they spotted Yukino's group making their break with the bus. Desperate for an escape, they had hurriedly left their shelter to catch up.

But they hadn't anticipated that Yukino's group would be so fast. By the time they neared the lot, the bus had already disappeared.

"Damn it! Why couldn't they wait for us?" yelled a blond-haired male student, though he didn't dare stop running.

The area was full of dead ones, converging from all directions. One wrong move, and there would be no chance for escape.

"Teacher Koichi, what do we do now? Should we head back to the equipment shed?" a bespectacled female student asked the suited man in fear.

Koichi Shido, the suited teacher, clenched his jaw in frustration. He had hoped to use the bus as a way to establish himself as a leader. Now that was impossible.

Looking around at the dead ones littering the campus grounds, Koichi's heart sank. They were only about a hundred meters from the main gate, but the path was teeming with dead ones.

Without a fighter like Saeko, escape was near impossible, and none of his group even had makeshift weapons to defend themselves.

"Let's go back. Everyone, hurry up!" Koichi shouted, his eyes hidden behind his glasses.

The other students voiced no objections, as the equipment shed was their best option. Though that route also had dead ones, there were far fewer of them.

Turning back, they wove through the dead ones, retreating toward the shed. Koichi stayed nestled in the center of the group, using the students as human shields.

One of the students, the blond-haired boy, was suddenly grabbed by a dead one, which pulled his arm with relentless strength.

"Let go! Koichi-sensei, help me! Please help!"

The boy's screams went unanswered. Koichi and the other students ignored his pleas, quickening their pace.

"No! Aah!" A blood-curdling scream rang out as the boy was overwhelmed by the dead ones.

The remaining students shuddered in terror, dread clouding their hearts. A few girls even burst into tears as they ran.

As they neared the equipment shed, the number of dead ones around them increased. In the ensuing chaos, several more students were grabbed, leaving only two remaining alongside Koichi.

Seeing the shed door just a few meters away, the two surviving boys lit up with hope. Some of their classmates had been too afraid to leave, so the shed likely still held other survivors.

"We're almost there, Koichi-sensei!" they cried, thrilled at the sight of safety so close.

But in response, Koichi merely gave them a cold, ruthless smile and shoved them toward the dead ones.

"Thanks for the help."

The two boys screamed as the dead ones closed in, drawing even more creatures away from Koichi's path.

Using the opportunity, Koichi rushed toward the shed and knocked on the door.

"Let me in! I'm Koichi, your teacher!"

Only silence answered him. There was no sound, nor did anyone come to open the door.

For the first time, Koichi's smug grin faltered.

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