Escape from the death (3)  

"Why? Why, Takeshi-kun, why?! Why did you just let him go?!" Emi asked, her eyes glistening with tears. She hoped Takeshi would explain his reasons for what had just happened. 

But Takeshi completely ignored Emi's question, which also represented the questions in the minds of Aya-sensei, Mina, and Daiki. Seeing Takeshi disregard her made Emi clench her fists tightly. 

"Takeshi-kun?!" she asked again, raising her voice slightly. 

However, Takeshi walked away from her, heading to the front and sitting in the seat next to Daiki. He pulled out his phone from his pocket and stared at the screen. Seeing Takeshi ignore her and focus on his phone made Emi's fists clench even tighter.

She was sitting in a passenger seat, her face buried in her hands, her eyes shut tight, tears pouring out. She was crying, but the tears stopped, a gesture of self-control.

Mina and Aya-sensei, who witnessed Emi's breaking point, didn't move from their chairs. They didn't do this because they didn't want to, but they gave the girl enough space to be herself. Mina especially wished to demand an explanation from Takeshi, but her pride held her back. 

Ryuji turned around after seeing his friends successfully escape the school of death. More precisely, he turned toward the undead, who were staggering toward him. A grin instantly appeared on the young man's face as he tightened his grip on the bat in his hand. He looked at the undead, who were now starting to run toward him, with a look of disdain. 

"You can't wait, huh?... Let's get this party started." 

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"Riku... what are you doing?" Nao asked Riku, who was slowly and carefully lowering the stack of chairs piled in front of the door, one by one. 

"Of course... preparing to get out of here, Nao-chan," Riku replied, briefly turning his face toward Nao with a happy expression. Hearing Riku's answer, Nao immediately understood what the young man was planning, as she wasn't a baka like Ryuji. 

"Hmm, I see," Nao responded. 

With extreme care, Riku moved all the furniture, blocking the door and preventing the creatures outside from breaking in. Once everything was done, Riku quickly approached Nao and asked her a question. 

"Na-Nao-chan, what's your plan once we get out of here?" Riku asked softly, looking at the girl with bangs before him. Instead of answering, the girl became gloomy again, leaving Riku confused. 

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A school bus was driving at a moderate speed, cutting through the empty streets of Tokyo. Occasionally, it would hit someone standing in the middle of the road. The bus seemed unbothered, ploughing through anyone who stood in its way. 

Several young people sat silently inside the passenger area, lost in their thoughts. Although their tired faces showed their exhaustion, none had fallen asleep. 

They couldn't sleep peacefully because they were all thinking about someone—yes, someone with blond hair who had led them to safety and onto this minibus, escaping the school of death. They were still thinking about Ryuji, and countless questions swirled in their minds about his choice. 

A raven-haired young man was in the seat beside the driver, gripping his phone tightly. He glanced at the glowing screen several times. When the clock on his phone showed 10:46 PM, he immediately gave an order to the young man driving the bus. 

"Turn around and return the way we came," he said coldly. 

"But... why—" 

"Don't ask too many questions; try to drive faster than before. We're going back to Koryo High School," he interrupted, cutting off the minibus driver, who was none other than Daiki. 

Some passengers in the back were startled by the sudden directive from the raven-haired young man in front. They wore expressions of confusion and curiosity but remained silent, as their minds were already in turmoil. 

This was especially true for the girl sitting in the second row of seats behind the driver. The bus stopped briefly before making a sharp U-turn, heading back the way they had just come. 

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Riku repeated his question to Nao, as the girl had been silent for a long time without answering. 

"Nao-chan... what are you going to—" 

"I'm going to look for my father..." she replied quickly in a soft voice. 

"I see," Riku said briefly. 

"But... with my current condition... it seems impossible." 

"Don't talk like that, Nao—" 

"My wheelchair is still in the classroom. How can I possibly move—" 

"I'll help you, Nao-chan. I'll always help you... no matter what," Riku quickly interrupted, cutting off Nao's words. Hearing Riku's statement, Nao lifted her beautiful face to look at him, trying to gauge the certainty behind his words. 

"I'll always be by your side... Because I—" 

Riku's sentence was cut off when the door to the room suddenly opened, causing both Riku and Nao to jump in surprise. A moment later, their eyes widened as they realized the person who had opened the door was running toward them at full speed as if trying to pounce on the two teenagers. 

The figure threw something toward Riku, and he barely managed to catch it. The figure then ran up to Nao and began carrying her, and yes, she was holding her bridal style. 

"Ry-Ryuji...-kun," Nao let out a small cry as she realized who was carrying her. 

"Hurry, Riku. We don't have much time," Ryuji said with a serious expression to Riku, still frozen in place, holding a folded wheelchair. 

Ryuji immediately ran out of the storage room while carrying Nao, followed by Riku, who had snapped out of shock. They dashed, avoiding the remaining creatures. They kept running and running toward the open school parking gate. 

"Riku, close the gate with this!" Ryuji ordered Riku, throwing the bat he had been holding toward him. Seeing the bat flying toward him, Riku quickly caught it and ran to the school parking gate. He swiftly closed the two iron doors and locked them by slipping the bat between them. After that, Riku stepped back to stand beside Ryuji. 

"So, what do we do now, Ryuji?" Riku asked the blond boy. 

"Stay still and wait," Ryuji replied shortly, causing Riku's brows to furrow. He said they just needed to stay still and wait. Wait for what?! Besides, the undead roaming the streets were getting closer to them. 

"What do you mean, Ryuji?!" Riku asked, raising his voice slightly. Nao was also confused by Ryuji's words, but she trusted the blond boy who was carrying her. 

"Just stay still and wait," Ryuji answered briefly again, his tone cold, which only frustrated Riku. His fists clenched tightly in irritation at his friend's response. 

The creatures were getting closer to them, and they had nothing to fight back with at this point. It made Riku extremely panicked, unlike Nao, who had already entrusted her fate entirely to the young man who had been the first to acknowledge her and befriend a paralyzed girl like her. 

Then, without warning, a minibus sped toward them and stopped right in front of the three of them. The bus's headlights shone directly into Riku's eyes, forcing him to raise his arm to block the light. 

"Come on, Riku!" Ryuji shouted, already moving toward the bus. Hearing Ryuji's command, Riku obeyed and quickly ran into the bus. Once the bus door was tightly closed, the driver accelerated. The bus took off, causing it to speed forward, ploughing through all the terrifying creatures blocking the road and cutting through the moonlit streets of Tokyo. 

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In the morning in the streets of Tokyo, silence was the first word that came to mind when looking at the scene, and chaos was the second word that perfectly described the city's state. Many private cars were damaged from colliding with each other. In contrast, others were scattered along the roadside, having crashed into utility poles, traffic lights, stores, and more. 

No sign of life was visible along the streets of Tokyo, as if a storm had just swallowed the city. Everything was in complete disarray, forcing the minibus to drive slowly, almost like a sightseeing tour bus. 

A minibus with the words "Koryo High School" on every side was moving slowly down the streets of this desolate city. The only atmosphere inside the bus was silence, as almost all the students were deeply asleep in their seats.

However, it was a different story for some of the students there. It seemed they had all woken up from their previous night's dreams. Perhaps it was their duty to wake up early in times like this, or they were required to be alert in any situation.

But one thing was sure: the return of a young man who had dared to go back to school the previous night was always questioned in their minds, which eventually allowed the students to sleep in peace.

Sitting in the right passenger seat, Ryuji was lost in thought, looking out the bus window. More precisely, he stared at the destroyed city, with cars and other vehicles scattered everywhere. His mind was in turmoil as he tried to recall what had happened and what he had gone through the previous day—when all this chaos unfolded.

…