wild card, binches

(AUTOPLAY WARNING) IZANAGI; city of drifters; lvl 1 fool; high school student; 17 years old; looking for party. affiliated with eliesium online.

[jiraiyagaru-deactivated20160116]

“Oh.”

Yosuke glances at the door to the pharmacy briefly.  There was no way of knowing how many or who was still wandering around out there in search of safety.  He’d do anything for his HUD to work properly again, but so would a lot of people probably.

At least, he knows Yu is safe.  There were probably only a handful of other players he knew and was worried about.  If they made it to Weed too, maybe Yu had seen them.  One comes to mind as being of greatest concern.

“But you’ve probably met most of the players there then, right?  Have you seen a 10 year old girl with pink hair named Iris?”

He pretty much walked her to Weed, so he doubted that she was in danger.  But still.

[shujinkoubanchou-blog]

“Iris?” he repeats, making sure he’s heard Yosuke correctly. He can’t help but imagine Nanako out there on her own. The color drains from his face. “No, I didn’t see her. We can try looking for her after we’ve rested up. It’d be reckless going back out there like this.”

Even with a little rest, however, their bodies were in need of something more potent. Yu wonders out of morbid curiosity if the pills people keep popping aren’t somehow addictive and worsening their condition.

[jiraiyagaru-deactivated20160116]

After not seeing anyone for days, it’s surprising to hear about a safe location in the city with other people.  For a while, it was beginning to feel like he was the only one in existence.  Yosuke half expects that he’s going to wake up somewhere because finding Yu and being led to safety seems to good to be true.  However, his side hurts too much for him to be dreaming.

It is lucky that they ran into each other like this.  They must be pretty close to the relief effort.  However, he wonders if Yu would ever come looking for him specifically.

‘Of course, he wasn’t looking for you.  He’s perfectly fine without you.’

It’s a thought that feels separate from his own, which is disturbing.  It almost sounds outside himself, and he has to resist the urge to look around.  It feels true though.  In the reverse situation, Yosuke would have ran into the unknown to find him, and yet, the same not being applied to him is hardly surprising.

It doesn’t matter.  It’s always been kind of his job to make sure Yu was safe at risk of his personal well being with him having taken plenty of hits for the other in the past.  He’d probably get upset if Yu risked his life for him similarly.  And there are other things to worry about.

“Is everyone there?  Because you’re the first person I’ve seen since this started.  Like did I just miss a memo something?”

[shujinkoubanchou-blog]

“No. Not everyone.”

He does his best not to fidget but fails, finding small comfort in playing with the hem of his jacket. He’s not a Yasogami High student anymore, is he? But it’s what he wears when he goes into the TV World, what he wears when he’s on a case.

“Most players were nowhere near Weed when the darkness rolled in and those monsters started spawning.”

[shujinkoubanchou-blog]

Thaumaturge, Shadowblade

Send my muse a class and they’ll tell you about... Their darker side.

“Some people call it being fake. Others say it’s knowing the right words for any given situation. After wearing so many different masks for people, you can’t help but wonder after your own identity. Who you are. Who you want to be.”

Yu struggles from time to time with self-doubt. But he doesn’t share that with others. He bears it alone, tries to work it out, can’t have anyone figuring that part of him out.

Something they fear.

“Not being needed.”

Being alone again. Having no friends. Not knowing who he is. Things like that.

[jiraiyagaru-deactivated20160116]

Just touching the gash was enough to cause sharp pain.  While Yosuke knows what’s coming when he sees the bottle of alcohol, it still hurts.  He squeezes his eyes shut, and a pained whine pushes past clenched teeth.  The stinging takes a few moments to subside, and only then does he let out the breath that he’s been holding in.

He rips open the package of the bandage and wraps it around his torso.  It’s been months since he’s had to do something like this, but it’s not a skill that he’s forgotten.  

Yu’s words give him the first smile that he’s had since this all started.  Yosuke pats his shoulder and feels calmer as he reminds himself that Yu is actually here.  “I never doubted that.  You know I always have your back, right?”  He’s always trusted Yu with his life, and he’s always protected Yu with his own.  It’s built into the very structure of their friendship.  

Not that it looks like Yu really needed his help much.  “Looks like you’ve been doing fine though.  Where’d you get the gun?  And the alcohol.  And the food.  It’s been tough just finding enough of the last one.”  A good look at his ribs would show that’s he’s making he’s gotten somewhat gaunt, and he was already thin before.  

[shujinkoubanchou-blog]

Yosuke’s not too far gone, good. A hint of guilt gnaws at the back of his mind for questioning his best friend’s sanity. Granted, it’s not out of the question when you’ve a numerical representation of your mental health bearing down on you constantly out of the corner of your eye.

“In the center of Weed, there’s a relief effort. We’ve a base of operations where we’re able to keep the zombies out long enough to organize missions. I was actually in the middle of one when I ran into you.” And thank goodness for that. “It shouldn’t be too difficult for me to get you some protection, too.”

[eo-getmemedon-blog]

Send my muse a class and they’ll tell you about...

IMPERIAL - What they live for. REAVER - What they fight for. PALADIN - Their overall moral stance and/or alignment. TEMPLAR - A time they felt betrayed. NIGHTINGALE - What they consider adequate payment for a favor. PEACEKEEPER - Who or what they think is really corrupt. CHASER - Their ambitions. HYMNIST - What inspires them. CONDUIT - What they consider fun. DEMONLITIONIST - Some of their inner demons. THAUMATURGE - Their darker side. DRUID - Who deserves to rule. SHADOWBLADE - Something they fear. BARD - An inside joke.

[jiraiyagaru-deactivated20160116]

Yosuke shrugs.  The zombies weren’t immediately on his tail, and that’s good enough in his book.  When they ran into more later, he’d worry about it then.  Right now, he could probably use some time to sit and look at how badly he’s been torn into.  

“At least it’s just zombies.”  As opposed to the more indescribable abominations that he’s ran into on occasion.  

He comes to an abrupt stop as Yu tries to point out something to him. It’s a pharmacy with paint on it.  It would be a good idea to bandage himself up.  Not that he’s hopeful about finding anything there.  Most of the buildings that he’s been in have at least been partially ransacked.  Nothing ventured, nothing gained though.  

“Yeah, that looks like a better place.”

The place is defensible.  Even if he couldn’t find a basic medical kit, they could at least do the original plan of sitting.  He opens the door ajar and looks through.  Nothing obviously monstrous around.  While it hardly meant that they were safe, he wasn’t going to be attacked immediately upon entering.

Slowly and cautiously, he makes his way toward one of the back aisles that says gauze and bandages.  However, he can’t hear anything besides himself and Yu thankfully.  There are a few boxes left on the shelves when he gets there.  Grabbing one, he stuffs under the arm opposite to the injury.  First to assess the damage.  It looks pretty bad when he lifts his shirt.  He’s not sure what possess him to poke it, but he does and involuntarily whimpers.  He really ought to clean it first though.  While it may not be how healing works in the game, he doesn’t know what to do besides going through the motions of how one would actually dress a wound.

“Hey, partner, do you see a bathroom somewhere?”         

[shujinkoubanchou-blog]

That wound’s only going to get infected like this.

Yu doesn’t see anything that looks like a restroom save for a sink in the back and helps Yosuke hobble on over. Earlier, when with the other refugees, Yu had swiped a bottle of vodka from a bunch of guys looking to drown their sorrows. In place of antiseptic, it should work like a charm.

Liquid splashes onto his fingers and over Yosuke’s cuts. The stench of liquor cuts through everything else. Better than rotting flesh, he supposes.

“... We’re gonna be okay. We’ve got each other.”

He can’t help but feel like Yosuke needs to hear that right now.

[jiraiyagaru-deactivated20160116]

Yosuke locks the door behind Yu, causing the undead to slam against it.  They pound on the door, and it probably wouldn’t take them too long to bust it down.  It’s too bad they had to leave.  This would’ve been a bad place to sit for a few hours.  He follows Yu into the bedroom and watches him bust open the window and jump across to the adjacent building.

Following suit, Yosuke slips through the window and crouches on the edge.  Against his better judgement, he sneaks a look below them.  This place was surrounded, so at least he didn’t get injured for nothing.  However, there was no way he’d survive falling down into that mess.  He starts to feel dizzy and forces himself to look across to the roof of the next building.

He trusts Yu to catch him if he slips, and he’s made jumps like this before.  He takes a deep breath before jumping across and into Yu’s arms.  The acrobatic stunt causes pain to radiate from his injury on his left side, making him hiss.  “I should have thought that through more.”  

No time to sit around and moan about his wounds now though.  He backs up and moves across the rooftop, putting more distance between himself and the horde of zombies.  “There’s some business offices two blocks this way.  Nothing was there last time.”  

[shujinkoubanchou-blog]

Their situation keeps looking more and more dire. At this rate...

Yu’s sense of direction isn’t helping. No matter how he twists his neck, he hasn’t the faintest idea which way leads to Weed. Their only hope now is to find a safe house. The odds of one being established in this neck of the woods, though, are slim to none. Even so, he keeps an eye on Yosuke’s hobble and presses onward.

“If only breaking their line of sight worked. They always seem to sniff us out no matter what.” Musing over the inner workings of zombies did little for them. Yet Yu couldn’t help but be curious. What even started the outbreak? Was this the dev team’s idea of a fun time? They’re all scared shitless after seeing what those monsters were capable of.

Halloween’s not supposed to last longer than 24 hours anyway, even if the running joke is that it starts as soon as October rolls in. God. His sense of time has been all whack ever since he began following the in-game clock.

“Wait. Up there!”

A swab of neon paint. A safe house, really?

Yu scrambles towards the building just shy of Yosuke’s aforementioned business offices. The place doesn’t look all that secure, never mind the indicator. What if it’s some sort of trap designed by a bunch of raiders? His heart sinks as he steels his resolve. Being paranoid won’t stop the zombies from catching up to them.

Into the former pharmacy, then. Yu notes that the walls have been reinforced with steel, that the windows are all shuttered, and that the door’s latch hasn’t rusted over. They’ll be okay here. Really okay.

[jiraiyagaru-deactivated20160116]

Yosuke winces at the sound of gunfire.  So much for silently escaping then.  He watches as zombies pour in from the main entrance and push them toward the back exit.  Going through the back exit’s the obvious choice.  However, the back exit leads to a long alleyway with no alternate escape routes.  The zombies here weren’t mindless.  The odds were good that there were more on the opposite side of that door and this group was shepherding them in that direction.      

There was a set of stairs by the kitchen leading up to an apartment, but that meant going into the thick of it.  It was looking like that they didn’t have very many other options though.  

“Back through the kitchen.”

He knocks over the closest shelf, which topples over onto some of the zombies, and creates a domino effect all the way up to the door of the kitchen.  The knocked over shelves create something of a clear path for them to run over.

It’s really getting past the threshold that’s the issue.  Hands grab ahold of him as soon as he reaches the door, and nails dig into his skin enough to break it.  He sacrifices the carving knife to plunge it into the attacking zombie’s eye socket and throws the body back to the horde before making a beeline past the kitchen to the stairs.  

[shujinkoubanchou-blog]

Up and out into the open: Yu doesn’t like it but there’s no time to complain; he follows Yosuke’s lead in an ironic twist and hopes there’s nothing stopping them from getting onto the roof and over.

The windows in the bedroom are still locked. Not promising. Grabbing whatever fabric he can find, he wraps up his elbow and drives his limb into the glass. As fast as he can, he circumvents the latch and scrambles under the busted window-frame.

Thank goodness the next building over is shorter--it’s not that much of a leap of faith, but smacking into a roof-full of shingles isn’t great on the knees. Adrenaline helps him back onto his feet. Arms outstretched, he calls out to Yosuke, “I’ll catch you!”

[felinegourmand-blog]

“Make something?” She smiles and gestures to herself. “I’m pretty good at making stuff! Maybe I can help!” Having done some item creation with her friends on the Calnus, she’s not unfamiliar with making a variety of things.

This world is a bit odd and overwhelming, so she’s not really shocked about him losing track of time. “Well, where’d you come from? Do you know what this place is?”

[shujinkoubanchou-blog]

“Oh, uhh, all right. Maybe we should start with health potions. That seems less dangerous than forging a weapon...”

No molten ore to worry about that way.

“Me, I come from Japan. This place is a crafting workshop called... whatever the sign outside said. I couldn’t read the stylized font.” If she meant Eliesium itself, well, her guess is as good as his. It’s just virtual reality, the development staff claims, but people are starting to wonder about that.

[shujinkoubanchou-blog]

we all bleed the same

[tainteddetermination-blog]

*(You hear footsteps and your heart skips a beat… but they’re not a shambling gait. They’re human.)

* You pull your knees to your chest and bury your head in your arms.

* (You feel as though this is some nightmare. Your courage is failing you. Looking at the new monsters paralyzes you and causes some new meter to drop. You can’t spare them. You can’t reach them. Something told you that in your first encounter with one.)

* (You still can’t bring yourself to harm one though, not directly. You promised yourself to not be killed by one, but can you run forever?)

* (Your determination is reaching low levels.)

* (You recognize the voice and concern, and peek out from your ball.)

* “Hi. I… I’m ok I guess. I’m tired but I can’t sleep.”

* (You feel as though something sinister would happen if you did.)

* “How are you? I mean, you know.. aside from most of this I guess.”

[shujinkoubanchou-blog]

‘Peachy’ is the snarky response sitting on his tongue, the kind of voice he has to reign in for others’ sakes. The first thought is never the one that makes it out. He’s good at hiding those, forcing them back down into his subconscious where all the ugliness resides.

“I’m doing all right. People need someone to lead. I’ve a bit of experience with that.”

It’s exhausting but he can’t place the burden on anyone else. Anyone else might collapse under the pressure. Him, he buckles up and stands up taller. Doesn’t hurt that he gets thrust on the pedestal with the best view.

[jiraiyagaru-deactivated20160116]

Search And Rescue

[jiraiyagaru-deactivated20160116]

Yosuke looks at the limp balloon falls to the ground.  He’s seen Yu holding onto it, but wasn’t too concerned with it.  Mostly, he’s confused as to why it’s being brought to his attention.  They’re wasting time now.  If anyone should understand how important it was to move quickly, it should be Yu.  When the positions were reversed, Yosuke pushed himself to his limits.  The fact that Yu’s distracting him with a meaningless object and smiling back at him almost makes him start to question his partner’s sanity.  

He stares into his partner’s eyes with uncertainty.  Part of him wants to yell about how Yu isn’t looking hard enough.  However, it loses to the part of them that’s still worried that Yu might leave as if he might just get on a train and disappear into the fog again.  It’s not like the other boy had to be here.  

‘As desperate and pathetic as always.  You’ll really do anything to keep someone around, won’t you?’

He really hopes the fog here isn’t the same as back home or else ignoring that voice would be an issue.  Instead of acknowledging it, he nudges the balloon a little with his foot, flipping it over.

“Reminds me of home.”

And in all the worst ways.

He nods as they continue moving, pushing past the doors to the ICU.  They aren’t alone, and as Yu calls out to anyone else in the room, he gets incredibly hopeful.  Maybe they’d get to go back now.  He couldn’t care less about being called an idiot at this point.  It’s obviously her, so they could finally leave.

“Yeah, no one should be here.  So let’s go-”

And she’s running away from them.  

“Shit!  Iris, stop!  God fucking damn it!”

Following suit, he races down the hallway after her.  

@watsonians ⇢ @jiraiyagaru ⇢ @shujinkoubanchou 

[shujinkoubanchou-blog]

Before chasing after anyone, Yu checks the halls and rooms behind them and waits for any signs of movement, be they rattling cabinets or screeching claws on metal. Sensing nothing that could sneak up on them, he whips around and hurries after both Yosuke and Iris. He’s got two wards now and nothing in the form of backup. Easy peasy.

Iris mustn’t be doing well. Yosuke’s no better but at least his partner still has a sense of urgency and morality. Both of them need rest but there’s no way they can recuperate (ironically) in this mess of a hospital.

Yu only has five shots left, a result of that nasty encounter back when he first bumped into Yosuke. Here’s hoping he made them all count.

“Iris, we don’t know what’s out there! You could get hurt!”

 @watsonians​ ⇢ @jiraiyagaru ⇢ @shujinkoubanchou

[jiraiyagaru-deactivated20160116]

The sudden beam of bright light causes Yosuke to squint and shield his eyes.  With only a few hours of daylight, which were clouded, one got used to being in the dark.  It’s almost blinding, and he can barely make out an outline of something humanoid in between blinking.  Whatever it is, it clearly sees him even though he can’t see it, putting him at a disadvantage.  The only thing that stops him from attacking wildly is the accompanying voice.  Familiar and reassuring, he realizes that he’s been holding his breath and remembers to breathe.

Yu gradually gains detail as Yosuke grows accustomed to the light.  Dazed, he watches quietly, barely moving, as he gets handed a granola bar.   The granola bar feels real.  It has weight to it even if it is light.  He eyes the sanity meter.  It’s low, but he doesn’t know if it’s bad enough for him to start having hallucinations that involved more than one sense.  Up until now, it was only fleeting sounds or glimpses.  Nothing long-lasting or solid.

There is an easy test.  If he ate the granola bar and his hunger meter improved, then this was all real.  Either that or he was so far gone that he couldn’t trust what he was seeing to actually represent the true meter values.  In the case of the latter, he might as well indulge in the fantasy because it’s the closest he would get to actual escape.  Doing as he was told, he tears open the packaging and scarfs down the breakfast bar, watching his hunger lessen.    

“You’re actually here.”

[shujinkoubanchou-blog]

The crack! and pow! replace whatever words Yu has for Yosuke. Gunfire always attracts more of them, but he’s got plenty of ammo for a reason. With his left forearm bracing his right wrist, Yu steadily backs away from the sudden rush of zombies, firing off at their legs if not their heads. He’s no sharpshooter but Naoto would be so proud of him right now.

“They just keep coming... Yosuke! Find us an escape route!” If this hallway proves to be a dead end, well, he won’t go down without a fight.

[felinegourmand-blog]

She spots someone a short distance away. He looks pretty thoughtful about something…Meracle scampers over, then slows down, being a bit cautious as she approaches.

“Hey there!” she says, hoping to get his attention. “What’re you doing?”

He looks pretty smart. Maybe he knows what’s going on?

“Did you just get here, too?” Her expression is cheerful as she tries to make another friend. 

[shujinkoubanchou-blog]

The sudden voice from behind startles him: Yu’s shoulders haunch up defensively as he whips around to figure out where the noise came from, only to relax with an awkward smile. Oh. Just another player. And a catgirl at that. That’s always been pretty popular in the media sphere...

“I’m trying to make something right now.” Something more useful than his current weapon. Of course, he hasn’t exactly gotten anywhere since he began. “And sort of. I’ve lost track of how much time has passed.”

[jiraiyagaru-deactivated20160116]

Search And Rescue

Even the smallest hospitals had multiple departments and numerous rooms, making it difficult to locate a single person within them.  It’s a major guess that Iris would be here at all.  It’s just the place he thought someone with a medical degree might gravitate towards.  

Room after room in the ER doesn’t yield any much.  Yosuke’s stopped cautiously looking behind doors and has started quickly flinging them open.  He’s damn lucky that the ER seems vacant at least or else he’d have been taken off guard already.  It’s a mystery whether the same could be say for the other areas in the hospital.  He stops in his reckless search periodically to make sure Yu is still around as if the other boy suddenly faded away into the mist.  It’s a completely irrational fear, but he doesn’t want to go back to being alone.  

Alone.  He can hear sneering, and he’s not sure if it’s from shadows surrounding them or those lurking within the depths of his mind.  His brow furrows for a moment before he reminds himself to flatten it out again.  He just needs to refocus.  Find Iris.  Get back to the barricade.

They are losing daylight hours, but he’s used to travelling during the long nights now.  It’s not like he sleeps much anyways, and sitting around in one place in the dark didn’t accomplish anything except driving his sanity meter further down.  They should keep moving.  Iris was alone somewhere and probably needed help back to the city.  And she might be hurt somewhere.  And few other people were used to fighting horrific monsters, and this was a lot for an adult, let alone a small child.  And the nights were worse…

He starts to pick up his pace bit.

“We should go check ICU.”  He pauses for a second, realizing that sounded like more of an order than a suggestion.  “Unless you think we should try someplace else first?”  

[shujinkoubanchou-blog]

Yu’s been fiddling with something since they reached this floor. It’s only now that he’s finally ready to show Yosuke what he’s been up to: A balloon that says ‘Get Well Soon!’ hangs sadly from his grasp. Yu smiles as he presents it, without helium and without reason. “Isn’t this cute?” He doesn’t expect Yosuke to accept it as a gift, though, and lets go of it almost as quickly as he shows it.

It’s the little things that keep people going, the momentary distractions that help them recenter themselves. The situation is grave, yes, but Yu can’t have Yosuke panicking on him. The worse his friend gets, the quicker he’ll start to lose it as well.

“No, I think your suggestion’s a good idea. Let’s have a look around.” He glances over his shoulder briefly, chasing away the notion that something’s been following them, and looks forward. “Iris? Iris, if you’re here, it’s Yu and Yosuke! Even if you’re not who we’re looking for, we’re searching for survivors!”

@jiraiyagaru ⇢ @shujinkoubanchou ⇢ @watsonians

[shujinkoubanchou-blog]

an odd couple

The idle chatter in the commons is bleak but it’s not fatalistic. People are joking about drafting up wills for themselves despite the fact that few have been able to bring along any belongings of theirs. Yu wonders in jest if any of this conversation involves some sort of questline. Going out into town to fetch a man’s memento of his wife sounds sappy enough to belong in an RPG. He rubs at his temples and hopes the others are okay.

Planning a new reconnaissance mission isn’t stressful because there’s a possibility for failure--no, what drives him up the wall is the way people argue and turn every little detail into a shouting match. Part of Yu wants to leave the conference room then and there to go off on his own, but... that’s never wise.

Glancing around the room, ignoring the two hot-headed men in the center, he notices that he’s not the only one who’s aggravated by the tension. Tossing Lyra a pointed look, he ducks outside and waits for her to join him.

“I still haven’t thanked you for saving me earlier.” It had already been two days. “I almost became zombie chow.”

@guardianxwitch

[shujinkoubanchou-blog]

we all bleed the same

A pervasive sense of hopelessness fills the complex. Even the NPCs are huddled in the building, crying and bemoaning their fates. Few players are brave enough to venture out either; Yu listens to them with bated breath as he polishes the bits of metal they’ve been fastening to pipes and bats and anything else that only needs one hand to utilize.

The image of Frisk, innocent and pacifistic, flashes through his mind. Yu sets his work down on the desk and reaches up for his forehead, wincing in mild pain. A migraine’s set in from the strain of their circumstances. He doesn’t dare take medication for it, though. Someone else can put it to better use.

With an awkward shuffle to his step, he excuses himself from the chaos and despair. Down the stairs he goes, wishing there was a place for him to clear his head. But nowhere’s safe.

The stairs go nowhere: Floors 5 and 6 are trapped by rubble and barbed wire. Sometimes, Yu can still hear the groaning of the monsters between those abandoned flights. He rubs at his eyes. Even so, sitting where he won’t become a fire hazard is comforting in its own way.

“--? Oh. How are you holding up?”

@tainteddetermination

[jiraiyagaru-deactivated20160116]

@shujinkoubanchou

Yosuke inspects the pantry of the restaurant, looking for things that didn’t require cooking.  It might burst into flame and make this entire trip a waste of time.  “There’s bread.  And… some canned tuna… and… god… what the hell even is that.  And what am I doing?”  And he’s talking to himself again.  However, that’s what happens when you haven’t seen another living human being in a while.  Hearing a voice, even though it was his own, was a little comforting.  

Taking the food, he heads back into the kitchen, which doesn’t have much light except that coming from the small flame on the stove.  The flames wave as he shuffles around the kitchen, causing the shadows to shift.  Every so often, he has to look out of the room just to make sure nothing’s actually there.  

“Alright, can opener…”  Rifling through cabinets makes noise, so he ends up cutting the investigation short and just using a really sharp knife.  The contents of the can get dumped on a piece of bread before getting being covered by another slice.  He doesn’t think he’d be able to stomach it if it wasn’t starving.  There’s no food on the outskirts of town.  Just darkness, monsters, and a long road leading into the city.  However, when he got to the city limits of Weed, he imagined there would be people… some sign of life.  Not more empty buildings.  He just entered the city, so maybe if he travels a little more.  

He drops the sandwich at the sound of creaking.  Instantly, he grabs a carving knife and walks back towards the freezer.  Opening the door reveals the dead… thing is still dead.  And still foaming from all of its mouths.  Watching black blood continue to ooze from the top of it’s… head maybe… it was mostly spherical, but that’s where it’s eyes were.  It’s been dead for awhile, and he’s pretty sure it shouldn’t be bleeding still.  He should just shut the door and leave.  

There’s still noise, but it’s not coming from the dead thing in the freezer.  Footsteps on tile, so maybe it’s from the kitchen now.  Maybe it’s not even real though.  Better safe than sorry though, he flees further back into the pantry.

Footsteps on wood floors.  Alright, it was following him, and it was reasonably fast.  He’s fatigued, so trying to outrun it might not work.  Standing in between shelves of food, he grips the carving knife tighter and waits.  

[shujinkoubanchou-blog]

The creatures weren’t capable of mimicking human speech except in nonsensical bursts. Yu’s figured out that much. So whenever he heard a voice, one that knew how to string together a few sentences, he took it upon himself to investigate lest there was a survivor out there.

Risky as it might be, Yu decides to turn on his flashlight, shining it against the wall around the corner. The zombies weren’t dexterous enough to wield tools like them so hopefully whoever was out there would realize he wasn’t a threat.

“Hey. Do you need help over there?”

Imagine his surprise when it turns out to be Yosuke. Yu nearly fumbles his flashlight as he rushes over, a hand already thrust into his backpack to rummage for supplies. The floorboards creak beneath him, causing far more sound than is safe for either of them. Cursing under his breath, he pushes the granola bar into Yosuke’s hands and hisses, “Eat.”

He whips around, holding his pistol at the ready.