5.

Peeking his head from behind the corner, Kakashi took a look at the location he was at, the school. The number of the undead dwindled thanks to the commotion he created in front of the facility. Only a moment before the alarm went off, but zombies didn't return, just started mindlessly wandering around the streets.

Right now he was worried about Nino. Sure, with his help they managed to avoid the danger, but he hoped that nothing else comes up. It was afternoon but the day could quickly turn into night, and it would be best if they could arrive by then at their apartment.

With a light sigh, he leaped out of the corner and made his way along with the building, searching for an entrance. Kakashi already realized that the normal walkers are blind and simply follow the loudest noise they could hear. That made it easier to sneak past them and save some ammo.

The thing was different when it came to the infected. They retained all of their senses and to make things even worse, their stamina and strength increased a lot. Thankfully there wasn't any of them in Kakashi's way.

He calmly walked past the turned girl in high school uniform. The part of her face was missing, but the black blood seemed to dry up already. A temporary sense of pity arose inside him. Turning his head away he discarded the meaningless feeling, there wasn't anything he could do for her anyway.

Judging by the amount of undead wearing school uniforms, Kakashi concluded that not all students had been turned. Of course, a lot of them were inside the building, but still, in his opinion, it was very unlikely that no one else survived by now. The full-scale outbreak should begin around an hour ago, so it was merely just a begging. Many people should be still alive.

Being already between the two buildings, his dark eyes were constantly scanning everything around him. Kakashi could even see the parking lot where teachers' cars and even a bus were parked. Sadly, or maybe, fortunately, several dozens of undead were patrolling that place. Probably they tried to escape using their cars but failed miserably paying the highest price.

After he reached the administration building and found the door at the back, he glanced inside through the upper part of the door which was made of glass.

"Quite a number..." Kakashi mumbled quietly. His hands checked if the door wasn't locked and gently opened it, trying to make as little noise as possible.

The corridor was filled with moans and growls made by the zombies. The blood and parts of flesh were scattered all over the floor, walls, and even the ceiling. The sole smell of the place caused Kakashi to scowl. It was like a scene taken from a horror movie.

'Nino should be on top, I didn't see anyone exit the building.' His lips moved quietly as he counted the undead on the first floor. 'Better take them one by one, they will bother us later...'

Taking out his KA-BAR, he silently approached his first victim.

*******

Inside the faculty room.

Nino sat down under the wall, with her head hidden in her arms. Her mood dropped greatly. Not so long ago she witnessed Hisashi turning into one of Them. He was bitten on the shoulder when he tried to run and save her on the rooftop.

The sense of guilt was overwhelming, making her on the verge of crying aloud. Thankfully Tomoe was at her side, supporting her dear friend. She too was shocked how things turned up. The idea of one of them getting killed didn't cross her mind until it was already done.

Going down the stairs after they used a water hose to escape the undead, they met with four other survivors.

A pink-haired girl with glasses and a twin tail named Saya Takagi was accompanied by Kohta Hirano, a chubby boy with glasses who to the surprise of everyone, managed to craft an improvised gun using a nail pistol.

The other two were Saeko Busujima, a dark-haired girl with dark blue eyes. She was known to be skilled in kendo, winning few competitions, and also as a beauty. The last one was Shizuka Marikawa. A blonde-haired young lady, who was working as a school nurse. Her cheerful and friendly attitude made her known and very liked in school. Well, the male side of the school rather "admired" her due to her beauty and well-equipped chest.

After casually greeting each other and dealing with Saya's breakdown, they barricade themselves in the faculty room. They decided to take a break and formulate an escape plan.

"Marikawa-san, don't you have keys to your car? We can use it to escape." Takashi proposed.

"I don't think all of us can fit inside, Takashi-Kun. It's a small car and there are 8 of us." Shizuka pointed out with a worried expression.

"Then how about using that minibus at the parking lot? It has enough space for around 20 people!" Kohta suggested trying to be useful.

"That's right! If we can reach it not only we could escape, but with its size, we can also take the bus to our houses to make sure everyone is okay." Said Takashi feeling relieved that they at least have a plan now.

The brown-haired boy noticed that Rei was strangely quiet. He looked around and noticed that Rei, who is watching a news program on the television, is worried. They decided to turn the volume up to see what it is. The reporter on the program begins to talk about the government declaring a state of emergency but is cut off when corpses behind her become turning into zombies and attack. The program cuts to the news studio.

"... It's a pandemic..." Saya concluded after seeing reports of the same situation all over the world.

"We have to go now." Takashi took his metal bat and started walking towards the door. "I and Rei will lead, Busujima-senpai and Kohta will guard the back." They knew it was a good idea. In the end, they didn't know how long would this pandemic last.

"Everyone ready?" He looked back at the group.

Seeing them nodding their head, Takashi opened the door and readied his bat. But instead of going out, he stood in the doorway without moving.

"What's wrong?" Asked worried Rei looking past his shoulder. Her eyes widen as Shizuka gasped behind her. "What happened here..."

The hallways that should be full of walking undead were filled with lying corpses. The black blood oozed from the wounds in their heads.

*Thud*

The moment Rei spoke her last words, all of them heard something hitting the ground on their right. Turning around with their weapon ready they spotted an unknown man with white hair and a mask over his lower face.

He stood over the corpse of the zombie, with a knife smeared in blood. The sudden appearance of the man, as well as the fact that Takashi spotted a rifle hanging over his shoulder, made him wary of the masked man. The man in question calmly wiped his knife on the undead's uniform and started walking towards them.

But before Takashi could even open his mouth, someone ran past him, hitting him on the shoulder.

"Kakashi!" Exclaimed Nino happily as she run and jumped at the man hugging him tightly while burying her head in his chest. The scene stunned everyone, except Tomoe who was somewhat prepared for something like that. The

Kakashi put his left arm around her and rubbed her back gently. He could feel how her body started trembling lightly. "It's okay now. I'm sorry, it took me so long."

"You better be... *sniff*," Nino said quietly sniffling.

Kakashi looked at the group standing near the open door sending them questioning gazes. Feeling awkward, Kakashi let go of the pink-haired girl and took a half step back.

"Now, now. Don't make a scene in front of your friends. You have long passed the age when you can be a crybaby." He said lightly tapping the top of her head, receiving a glare in return.

Suddenly, a sound of heavy footsteps and growls could be heard going in their direction. Kakashi walked towards the group, with Nino following closely behind him. Her hand holding the sleeve of Kakashi's suit.

"I think it would be better if we talk inside." Kakashi spoke to the brown-haired boy, recognizing him as the group leader.

Takashi nodded, a little less suspicious after seeing his interaction with Nino.

*****

Once again inside the faculty room, everyone curiously eyed the newcomer, who along with Nino went to the back of the room.

They observed as the embarrassed Nino held her arms sideways for Kakashi to closely inspect if she wasn't hurt or godforbid, bitten. 'They're staring at us! God, why does he have to do it now in front of everyone?! That idiot!' Though Nino as her face turned crimson. She could swear she saw her friend giggle.

"Good. Looks like you are fine." Said Kakashi after finishing examining her. Then, he took a black bag from the floor and put it on the desk. Opening the bag, he took out the bulletproof vest and a Glock17 along with three magazines.

Seeing the vest, Nino grimaced. "That again..." She complained but still let Kakashi put it on her. It wasn't the first time she had to wear it, but as always despite knowing it was necessary, she didn't like that.

"Stop complaining. It's better than nothing. We don't know who or what we can meet out there. I also have your tracksuit but I guess we will leave it out as you don't have a place to change." Kakashi said after double-checking if the vest was properly put on.

"Oh! My! Goodness!" Kohta shouted surprising Kakashi. A chubby boy suddenly appeared next to him and Kakashi didn't even notice.

"Isn't that AK-104?! How did you get that? Is it a modified version for NATO standard rounds or classic 7.62x39mm?! You even have shorter magazines to better move in closed spaces! And a suppressor! That's a great choice! May I hold it?" The excited boy turned his sparkling eyes toward the handgun on the desk. "That's real Glock17, right? Worldwide used handguns, typically used with 9mm ammunition!" He took the handgun without asking and started admiring its every angle.

Kakashi snatched it quickly from the boy's hands. His expression was blank as he pointed at Kohta. "What is wrong with him?"

"Please, don't pay any attention to him!" Saya walked up to him and hit him in the head angrily. "What are you doing idiot?!" She dragged him away and started berating the poor boy.

Paying no attention to them, Kakashi turned to Nino. "You remember how to use it, right?" He asked as he loaded the gun and after putting the spare magazines inside Nino's vest, he handed the Glock to her.

"Y-yeah. More or less..." She said feeling uncertain and uncomfortable. Fortunately, she remembered the basic rule Kakashi taught her: never point at anything you don't intend to shoot.

"Good. Now then." He turned to the people inside the room. "My name is Kakashi Hatake, I'm Ms. Nakano's bodyguard. It's nice to meet you."