9: Escape (1)

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" - Saya asked as she looked at the blond with concern.

"Of course, we tested it while walking to the teacher's lounge" - Cloud answered honestly - "Those things are blind."

Saya looked at the teacher, who nodded at the blond's words, which brought a huge relief to the pink-haired girl - "I understand, Kohta-san, you know what to do."

"Consider it done!" - Kohta exclaimed as she pointed in the direction of some lights hanging in the hallway and shot them with her nail gun, causing a huge boom with its fall.

"Let's go" - Cloud said seriously as the large group advanced carefully through the corridors, killing any zombies that were alone.

"I still can't believe you guys do all this so easily" - said Saya with disgust.

"Better get used to it, princess, this is our world now" - Saeko snorted as they continued to move towards their destination.

"By the way, I apologize for not introducing myself earlier" - said Cloud as he looked at the young man with glasses - "My name is Cloud Strife".

"M-My name is Kohta Hirano, Strife-san" - Kohta said with embarrassment because this boy had a familiar aura, one that reminded him of his shooting instructor.

"I can see that you have talent with guns, that's why I'm going to trust you with my back" - said Cloud as he looked the boy straight in the eyes while a smile appeared on his lips - "I'm counting on you, Hirano-san"

"Okay!" - Kohta exclaimed happily, after all, this was the first time someone fully trusted him.

Saeko watched this with slight curiosity because this guy with glasses was much more interesting than he showed at first glance. She could sense a familiar aura coming off of him, one that put them and Cloud in the same category - "I see... this guy is a survivor..."

* * * * *

"This isn't turning out the way I thought it would" - muttered a man of about mid 20s, short black hair, and glasses adorning his face. He was wearing a black office suit and was walking next to a group of students.

"Shido Sensei..." - said a boy as he looked out the window and noticed another group walking outside - "Look!"

Koichi Shido, the son of a renowned politician, and a teacher at [Fujimi Academy], looked in the direction where his student was pointing, only to be surprised to see a group with many familiar people, which made him frown slightly - "What are they doing?"

"Looks like they're going to the parking lot, Shido sensei" - a girl answered as she pointed towards the place where the other group was walking.

The teacher's eyes twinkled slightly as a huge smile appeared over his lips.

This was the perfect opportunity for him, because if he moved his pieces right, not only would he have more pawns to manipulate, but also he would have two sexy women to spend time with, especially the nurse because she was one of the women he had wanted, but had failed to get because of a certain blonde interference.

Shido took a long look at the guy who seemed to be leading the group, only to scowl angrily, after all, that son of a bitch had been ruining a lot of his plans, both with the nurse, and with some female students.

"Cloud Strife..." - Shido muttered as he gritted his teeth because that uncommon last name, meant only one thing, this was the bastard son of that woman, that damned woman who had also ruined his father's plans to gain control of one of the big gangs in Japan, more so when his relationship with the Takagi's had gone to shit because he tried to make a move on Yuriko Takagi.

"Shido sensei?" - asked a panicked girl as she noticed how her kindly teacher's gaze changed to one filled with fury and a desire to kill.

"Sorry, I was thinking about some bad memories" - said Shido while adjusting his tie, so he could stop thinking about the past - "Let's go, we have to go to the parking lot, there we can get a means of transportation to escape from here."

"Ok!" - exclaimed the students, though this caused the zombies to detect them due to their screams.

"Shit!" - Shido exclaimed with a panicked expression before running off.

The students froze before running after the teacher.

"Wait for me!" - exclaimed a girl with a pale face, after stumbling - "Help!"

The students looked back, only to flinch when they saw a wave of zombies slowly walking towards where the girl was. They excused themselves before running back, ignoring the cries for help from the poor girl who was trying to get up, but her legs were giving out from fear - "Sons of bitches!"

* * * * *

"Looks like someone is distracting those things" - said Cloud with a frown as he heard the scream of a girl nearby, and from the way she said it, it was obvious that she was left behind.

"This is no time for jokes, Cloud, we have to escape" - Saya said with annoyance, though she was a little worried about the girl who was abandoned as she thought about how people were showing their true personalities now that they were between life and death.

Airi bit her lip when she heard this scream because she recognized this voice. She was her old friend, the same one who had parted ways with her when she started dating Takashi.

"How much farther until we reach the parking lot?" - Kohta asked with a frown as he looked at his "magazine" and noticed how the number of "bullets" remaining were getting scarcer - "I have for 10 more shots."

"That's more than enough to get us out of this little predicament" - replied Cloud as he peeked into the next hallway and saw another group of zombies wandering around - "Saeko, they're few, so we can get this over with quickly"

"If so, then let me take care of this" - Saeko replied with a smile as her gaze changed to a sadistic one.

Saya and Rei still didn't understand how a woman as calm as Saeko could change her personality so drastically during battle. What they didn't know, was that this was Saeko's true personality, not the kind and caring girl, good to her kohai that everyone praises.

Cloud simply shook his head, though a part of him felt that this wild attitude of Saeko's was sexy, especially how she tried to contain her lust at the sight of her victims' blood. He knew she was born for battle, and now she was not only showing her true self, but she was also showing her full potential and what she was capable of.

Ryoko honestly didn't know what to say, she didn't think that her kind students, would end up being much more adaptable and stronger than she thought, while she was still a weak woman who looked like she was only good for being protected.

"Relax, we all have our roles in this little group of ours" - stated Cloud as he noticed the concern in the dark brown-haired teacher's gaze.

"How?" - Kyoko asked in surprise.

"Because you look like an open book, I can read your intentions just by seeing the concern on your face" - Cloud answered as he shook his head, even though he wasn't being completely honest. He could notice this expression, because he had gone through something similar during his youth in his original world just at the time when he started working to ease his mother's burden. He often thought of his skills as worthless and being of no use other than being dead weight to his mother, but she always comforted him, helped him get back on his feet once again, that's why he planned to do the same with Kyoko, help her find her role in this group, possibly away from the front lines, maybe have Kohta Hirano teach her how to use a weapon.

Kyoko blushed slightly as she felt her heart start to pound. It was as if the blonde boy was watching her and protecting her from herself, which made her emotions run out of control, becoming much more erratic.

Saya and Rei noticed this, though they didn't say anything because it wasn't time for this sort of thing, not when they were still halfway to the parking lot.

"Wait, I hear something" - Cloud said with a frown as he peeked into the next hallway, only to widen his eyes in surprise when he saw the huge group of zombies that were gathering in front of a room - "I think we have a little problem."

Saeko quickly peeked out and saw the same thing as the young blond, only to frown - "Survivors?"

"Possibly, but the way things are going, they're going to end up dead from all the noise they're making" - answered Cloud as he pondered - "If we don't do anything, the zombies will be growing in numbers, and they'll break through the door..."

"Are you saying we should save them?" - asked Saeko as she frowned again - "That will endanger our group."

"I know, that's why I want you to tell me your opinions" - replied Cloud in a low voice to prevent those things from detecting them.