Emiko and the Father

We took a tumble before arriving inside the station. And fortunately for us, none of those zombies caught up in our figures. They remained lost around the streets, hunting down other survivors besides us.

But that was a problem I would face soon if we planned on escaping this alive.

Oyabun did not roll over like an idiot when we arrived inside the station. He somersaulted like a professional gymnast and landed on the ground, with his feet still intact. I was the stupid one and became a zombified hedgehog without those spikes over my body.

Well, I had only one thing pointed outwards. And that was my Excalibur hanging on the ledge.

"Are we alive? Is this heaven? Tell me we don't have to fight any zombies inside this train station, or else I would flip my mind!" I commented, while attaching my dislocated bones back to their locations.

But before I could even study my surroundings, a click from a handgun reverberated behind me. Upon slowly turning around, a freaking desert eagle greeted my eyes. That handgun had a golden shade covering its barrel and up to its grip. It even made me wonder if this had gold in it, regardless of the paint used for this firearm.

And the one holding the semi-automatic pistol was Oyabun, the yakuza leader that saved my ass.

"What the hell are you doing?" I asked, while glaring in his direction.

My eyes glided around the room and spotted those two siblings sitting in the corner. But instead of resting after that exhausting run, those four yakuza members readied their metallic poles in their hands. Luckily, none of them got hurt since their skins did not have any wounds.

However, if these thugs hurt those kids, I would lose my mind and kill all of them without thinking twice.

"Come on, mister. Don't hurt the kids…. They're just kids…. Well, the girl is around my age. But that doesn't solve the problem!"

"Who are you? And what is your relationship with these two siblings? Are you their guardian, or just an intellectual zombie that would eat us from behind?" the yakuza leader interposed my words, while nudging the gun closer on my forehead. "Talk before I kill those people and you."

"So this is how it's going to be, huh? Do you kill people after using them? Do you disregard these people's lives to save yourselves? I thought you're all better thugs! But you even killed someone from the department store earlier! Those two members of your cool gang died from your hands," I spoke, and raised my voice.

"That's none of your business... And besides, I don't have to explain myself to you." The yakuza had finally lost his patience and pushed me to the ground. "Tell me who you are and what you need from me. Why the hell would you save some humans you don't even know?!" the yakuza yelled, while gritting his teeth.

"Emiko," I mumbled. "Ring a bell?"

The yakuza couldn't hide his emotions as he kicked his feet against my sternum. There was a cracking sound echoing throughout the tunnels. Thankfully, my body couldn't feel any pain at all besides the emotional trauma happening right now.

After hearing my words, Oyabun snatched me and pulled my head closer to him. He didn't care if I was a zombie that could infect him. I wouldn't either, especially if I heard someone dear to me from a stranger's mouth.

"Why do you know my daughter…. Did you already kill her? TELL ME WHAT YOU KNOW, OR I'LL BLOW YOUR HEAD OFF INTO A MILLION PIECE, TOGETHER WITH YOUR ACCOMPLICES!!!" the yakuza shouted, while sending daggers at my eyes. "AIKO, SEIZED THOSE TWO. AND NEVER LET THEM OUT OF YOUR SIGHT!"

The man on the note, Aiko, entered my eardrums. Oyabun called for his attention and ordered him to chain those siblings against each other.

Those four yakuza heeded Oyabun's words and pulled a rope from their stash. They tied them up like some pigs inside a barn, waiting to kill them.

But instead of panicking, I calmly stretched my fingers towards my pocket and grabbed the note I saved. It did not take a genius to know that the message had an important factor in our survival. And it was also the reason I pushed far and wide to save these people, which society labelled as thugs.

I planned on saving Emiko, the daughter, on this note. She needed a father in this world, which became a reminder of the fallen family I saw earlier. My eyes caught it all, which softened my stone heart in this apocalyptic world.

"I don't know Emiko. But I do know that you're the father of Emiko. And if she is ever alive, Emiko needs you more than anything in this world," I said, while nudging the pistol away from my face. "Regardless of your status, I know that what I'm doing is the right thing to do. You're a father. So you must know the weight of your actions, especially those you killed earlier."

After saying my fill, I placed the crumpled paper on the yakuza's waiting hand. Oyabun reached out for mine and took the letter Emiko wrote for her dad. And now that I had somewhat reunited those two, a tear fell from my eyes.

It wasn't real tears since I became a walking undead. Despite this corpse-like body, I could still feel emotions deep inside of me. It was an illogical matter that Science wouldn't explain.

However, this time told us otherwise. After everything that happened, I just learned to accept it as a part of this world.

Oyabun's stern face did not change after all I had said to him. But we all knew that this silence was also an answer, since he still needed to absorb the meaning behind my words. Those sentences I mentioned must have pressed against his back like luggage he couldn't carry.

But that note was also a double-edged sword that gave him the motivation to fight again."

"Emiko….. Your daughter might still be alive. We've come this far to quit now, yakuza."

Even the assholic man like me-who usually found jokes in every occurrence, couldn't crack any right now. It was as if everything had fallen upon me, with the responsibility of this man saving the daughter.

However, the two of us had different end goals. But before we could achieve that future, we needed to work as a team.

Nobody would believe a talking zombie, who was also the one who nearly destroyed this world. If I were in that guy's position, I would have done the same thing. Oyabun had to protect his fellow gang members from harm. And if he planned that, inviting a zombie into their base was beyond everyone's expectations.

"If what you've said is true, I have no other choice but to look for my daughter," Oyabun said, and met my gaze.

"Does that mean we…..?"

A blaring gunshot resonated inside the station, which came from the man's desert eagle gun. That pistol had the power to pierce most materials in its way, including my already dead body.

That deagle exploded my head into a billion bits of goo within seconds when it touched my head. The last thing my eyes caught was the world getting blurred, with my head disappearing from this world.

And after a few moments, my body fell to the ground. That body of mine lost a head, thanks to this bastard who pulled the trigger.

"That's my last bullet, zombie. I hope I treated you well," said the yakuza, and threw the desert eagle towards me.

That empty, golden gun landed on my immobile chest. Oyabun carved a snicker in his mouth when he noticed some inks crept upwards from my neck, reforming my body once again. The yakuza picked my gun, sealed it around my worn-out shorts, and exchanged it with the golden pistol.

Despite having no head, the vibration around my hips told me everything I needed to know.

Thanks to my passive ability from my system, those tentacles inside of me formed my body. I couldn't keep track of the times I died in this zombified form. But I still had a thankful heart that my body did not feel pain even after going through that shit.

It took me thirty seconds before healing my head once again. Everyone present in this room widened their eyes as they observed the entire scene. Even Oyabun couldn't contain his excited expression when he witnessed me first-hand about my abilities.

As soon as I regenerated back to my normal state, I leered at Oyabun and growled, "You tricked me! You knew from the very beginning that I can't die!"

"Yes, I know. Which is why I shot you."

"THAT DOESN'T ANSWER MY QUESTION!"

Within a few seconds, I heaved out a sigh and shook my head. "You know what? Do what you want. I don't care. As long as you protect those siblings, that's fine for me."