Disclaimer: I own nothing, this is purely a fanfic for enjoyment.
Cross-over from various games, books, anime, manga, and movies.
The familiar characters you see here belong to their respected authors and owners.
"Speech"
Time*
Arc 1: Mental Illness - Chapter 10
"Will you shut up?" Saya nearly growled as she shoved the briefcase back into my hands, her fingers tightening around the handle for a second before letting go. "Do you ever stop complaining? You know what? Fuck you. You don't even deserve a share of the things Touhou and I grabbed."
"Hey, you don't speak to Takashi like that!" Rei snapped, stepping forward before Takashi could get a word in. Her voice rose with emotion, protective of him almost on instinct.
However, that earned Rei a sharp slap across the face. She froze, staring in disbelief and shock, because the one who had slapped her was Saeko. Saeko stared back with cold eyes, her hand still raised between them.
"Fuhai has clearly warned everyone multiple times not to make loud noises, except Kohta, who does it to draw the zombies away. What you're doing will cause problems for everyone." Saeko stated coldly, giving Rei a stare that sent a chill through her body.
"If it comes to it, you and Takashi can stay with Saya's parents if they're alive and their place is protected from the zombies. There's no need for you two to tag along, not with the way you've made it clear you'd rather be anywhere but around us." I said calmly as I took the sniper rifle back from Kohta.
The sound of a dog growling reached my ears, causing my eyes to snap toward Zeke, who was being held tightly by a frightened Alice. The small girl's arms trembled around him as his gaze locked onto something nearby.
"Alice, was it? You can also stay with these two after we stop at Saya's place. I wouldn't recommend tagging along with us, but if that's what you want, I won't stop you." I gave Rei and Takashi a sharp glare when I noticed them opening their mouths, no doubt ready to argue. "Anyway, Kohta, do you see any zombies nearby? The dog must have noticed something, unless he's mad at me for whatever reason."
Kohta quickly moved, grabbing the binoculars before climbing onto the roof of the Humvee. He began checking the surroundings, scanning every angle for a solid minute before climbing back down. A few of us had to shift again so he could sit without pushing someone against the wall.
"There's a horde of zombies coming toward us. They must have been attracted by the loud noise just now." Kohta reported quickly as he grabbed his semi-automatic rifle, his expression tightening behind his glasses.
"Shizuka, there's no time to drive carefully. Floor it to Saya's place." I ordered the school nurse.
Shizuka quickly turned the Humvee back on and slammed her foot down on the gas pedal. As the vehicle lurched forward, I climbed onto the roof with the sniper rifle and began picking off the horde of zombies in the distance.
"Saeko, be ready to hand me fresh magazines from my briefcase when I need them. Saya, help Shizuka by calling out the directions ahead of time so we can reach your parents' place." I began firing at the zombies' knees.
Each shot was meant to drop the ones in front, causing the zombies behind them to stumble over the fallen bodies, slowing the horde even further.
Soon, the horde of zombies began to fade into the distance as we moved closer and closer to Saya's place. I kept the sniper rifle raised for a few more seconds, watching for any zombies still trying to follow us.
"There's a line of barricades ahead. Slow down." Saya said to Shizuka.
Shizuka eased off the gas, bringing the Humvee close to a halt in front of the barbed steel wire stretched across the road. The tires crunched lightly against the pavement as everyone looked ahead.
"So what now?" Takashi asked, giving me a smug look as if he had been waiting for this exact moment. He folded his arms against his chest, confidence creeping back into his posture.
"We walk." I answered back calmly, causing Takashi to snort. I ignored the reaction and shifted the sniper rifle against my shoulder, already looking for the safest way past the barricade.
"I don't know why you're acting like we need to stick with the Humvee." Saya said, giving Takashi a side glance. "It's not like we're leaving the car key behind."
I jumped down from the roof of the Humvee, then helped Saya get out first before Saeko climbed out afterward, with Alice still holding tightly onto Zeke. Takashi exited next, and Rei followed close behind him.
I walked to the front and helped Shizuka out of the driver's seat before taking the Humvee's car key from her.
"So how are we going to bypass the barbed wire?" Saeko asked me, ignoring Takashi's smug look.
"We could go to higher ground and see if we can jump over from the side. It'd make for a rough landing, but we only need someone to get down first and help catch the others to prevent any injuries." I replied, glancing along the barricade for a possible gap or climbable spot.
Rei looked over at Takashi, but he stayed quiet. His smug expression faltered slightly, as if he had expected someone else to answer for him.
I thought for a moment, then moved a bit farther away from everyone before suddenly breaking into a sprint.
I ran as fast as I could toward the side, easily moving along the wall for a few steps before sliding against it and jumping off. I flipped forward, landed on the ground, and slid for a few seconds before coming to a stop.
Dust clung to my clothes as I stood up and walked back toward the party, now on the other side of the barricade.
"What the fuck?!" Takashi shouted in disbelief, only for Saeko to slap him sharply across the face.
The sound cracked through the air, and Takashi's head snapped slightly to the side as Saeko gave him the same cold stare she had given Rei earlier.
"Fuhai, it seems we need to do something quickly before the zombies are drawn here by that shout." Saeko said to me.
I nodded, already turning my attention back to the barricade and the others still waiting on the other side.
Short on time, I did something I knew would bite me in the ass later—probably sooner rather than later, and when I least expected it.
Nonetheless, I closed my eyes and focused on a specific mental condition, isolating it within my mind before converting it into the usable power I desired.
Schizoaffective.
The moment I named it, something inside my perception split open, as if two different versions of reality had begun speaking over each other at once.
I snapped my eyes open and regretted it instantly.
Through my left eye, I began seeing where everything was.
Everything.
Through my right eye, I saw everything in the past, along with the potential futures that required the present to trigger them. My actions, the actions of those around me, and anything that could influence anything at all flooded into my mind at once.
It overwhelmed me so quickly that a sharp pain shot through my brain, forcing me to shut both eyes right away.
The moment I did, everything stopped.
I reopened only my left eye, then quickly looked around again and spotted a few workable areas. Somehow, my right eye began to ache in response, forcing me to close my left eye again.
But we were short on time.
I opened my right eye instead, and countless options appeared in my vision like echoes or phantoms of everything in motion. None of them had affected the present yet, but each one showed a possible path waiting to be triggered.
"Get on top of the Humvee, quick, then jump over. I'll catch everyone before they land. Hurry." I demanded, closing my right eye as I rubbed both eyes. The aching lingered for a few seconds before fading. I opened my left eye again, then closed it and reopened my right eye, layering what I had seen through my left eye into the possible paths before me. "Shizuka first, then Saya, Alice, Rei, Kohta, Saeko, and finally Takashi. Saeko, if Rei or Takashi decides to be difficult, ignore the previous order. Have Saya go first, then Shizuka, followed by Alice, then you, with Kohta going last."
Quickly, everyone except Saeko, Rei, and Takashi moved back into the Humvee and climbed through the opening to get onto the roof.
The metal frame creaked slightly beneath their shifting weight as they hurried into position, knowing there wasn't much time before the zombies reached them.
Saeko didn't say a word to either Rei or Takashi. She only gave them a few seconds of a blank stare before quickly making her way into the Humvee.
At the same time, Saya leaped forward with fear written across her face. I caught her at the end of her fall, stopping her just before her feet could hit the ground.
I quickly began catching the others in the order I had given.
Finally, I caught Kohta. However, with how heavy he was, I nearly dropped him on the spot. At the last second, I barely managed to spread the momentum into my legs, exhaling sharply as the impact ran through them.
I lowered Kohta gently, then rubbed my sore legs, a frown on my face.
"Thanks." Kohta muttered quietly as he quickly got back on his feet, adjusting his glasses with a slightly embarrassed look.
"For a little girl holding a dog, you sure can jump far." I stared at Alice in disbelief at the distance she had cleared. It shouldn't have been possible, not with Zeke still clutched in her arms. "Anyway, you two can either figure out how to get around the barbed wire on your own, or trust me to catch you when you leap over. The choice is yours."
I gave Rei and Takashi a firm look as I stood in place, ready to catch them if they decided to jump.
There was no mockery in my expression, only impatience. The longer they hesitated, the closer the zombies would get.
To everyone's surprise, especially Takashi's, Rei quickly rushed into the Humvee, climbed onto the roof, and leaped over without any hesitation. She landed in my outstretched arms, and I quickly set her safely on the ground.
Everything happened in less than a minute.
"That just leaves you, Takashi. Are you planning to stand there and get devoured by the zombies? They're already within everyone's line of sight." I said, switching to my left eye once it became too difficult to keep my right eye open.
The ache behind my left eye pulsed sharply, but I forced myself to focus on Takashi instead of the approaching horde.
My breathing became harder to keep steady as the pain in my eyes spread into a headache. Each eye began to ache as if neither one was willing to stay closed while the other remained open.
I clenched my jaw and forced myself to stay upright, knowing I couldn't afford to collapse yet.
"Hurry up, Takashi." Rei nearly shouted, but quickly lowered her voice when she saw my bloodshot right eye glaring at her.
"Yeah, hurry up, Komuro. Fuhai is still willing to help you after all the complaining you've done." Saya sneered at Takashi as she walked over to help me. She picked up the sniper rifle I had left on the ground, freeing my hands so I could keep catching everyone without worrying about the weapon.