At the parking lot of Fujimi Academy, Zeno and the group had finally arrived at their destination, with Saeko, Takashi, and Rei leading the group to the bus as they smashed through any zombies that were blocking their path with the weapons in their hands while the others followed closely behind them.
"We're almost there…!"
Takashi cried out like an idiot as he smashed the zombie's head with a baseball bat while Rei and Saeko fought off the zombies around the bus with a makeshift spear and wooden sword, respectively.
"Yeah, yeah, I have eyes, you dumbass…"
Zeno muttered under his breath as he sometimes thinned down the horde of zombies that were drawing towards them because of the noises they carelessly kept making, much to his exasperation.
Before the group had come out of the school building, the three teenagers had volunteered themselves to fight in the front since they didn't want to just follow behind Zeno while letting him do all the work. Zeno doesn't mind them making themselves useful and just stays behind the back of the group while watching out for any zombies that might attack from their blind spot as he shoots some of the zombies with his pistol so the vanguard doesn't get overwhelmed with numbers.
"That's already the sixth mag…"
Seeing Zeno keep shooting the zombies without seeming to care about running out of bullets and not even leaving any zombies for him to shoot, Kouta really wants to ask how many mags Zeno has under that jacket of his and if he can have some of that magazine too, but instead he chooses to keep to himself in silence since he's still a timid boy even with military training.
On the other hand, Shizuka, who was jogging in the middle of the group with Saya, Kyoko, and Kouta besides her, kept looking back at Zeno from time to time. Her eyes lingered on him as she took in the sight of his imposing physique and the way he handled the gun with such ease in a cool black suit and sunglasses that reminded her of an action hero in the movies she had watched before. She never thought that she would see such a man in real life while conveniently ignoring the feat of a certain purple-haired Kendo girl who casually sent a zombie flying with a wooden sword.
"So cool..."
Despite the current dangerous situation she found herself in, Shizuka couldn't help but feel attracted to this mysterious man who had appeared out of nowhere for the second time in her life. The way his muscles flexed under his suit as he moved, the confidence in his every step, his actions, his nonchalant smirk—it was all too alluring for such a forever single woman like her.
"Ara-ma~"
Shizuka now found her heart racing like a teenage girl with a crush once again.
"…?"
Feeling the heat of Shizuka's gaze on him, Zeno turned to see Shizuka, who kept glancing back at him with a blush while she was running and not even aware that she was stepping on a pool of blood and gore.
She's going to slip, isn't she? Zeno thought wryly as he prepared to help her if needed.
"Ah…!"
Without noticing the mistake she is about to commit, Shizuka's cheeks flushed even more as she quickly averted her gaze away from him since she noticed that Zeno's icy blue eyes behind his sunglasses were now locked on to her so intensely.
"Kya…?!"
Then, just like a cliché romantic comedy trope, Shizuka suddenly slipped on the blood as she let out a surprised yelp while she stumbled forward and was about to dive into the ground where all the blood and gore spread all over the place. Shizuka watched the blood-soaked ground coming closer towards her with horror in her eyes before she immediately closed her eyes and braced herself for the seemingly inevitable fate.
Seeing it happen in slow motion, just like he thought it would, Zeno immediately moved inhumanly fast to her side, with his left hand reaching out to her before he caught Shizuka around the waist and kept her upright in one of his arms without anyone noticing his abnormal speed, successfully preventing her from dirtying herself on the ground of blood and gore.
"Eh…?"
Shizuka's eyes slowly opened since she felt someone help her from falling, and then her eyes went wide with shock as she looked up at Zeno with a mix of embarrassment and gratitude.
"Be more careful Marikawa-sensei."
Zeno's voice was smooth and slightly teasing as he steadied Shizuka on her feet, his strong grip lingering for a moment longer than necessary before he let her go. Somehow Shizuka could still feel his hand lingering on her waist even though he let go as her heart fluttered. She tried to compose herself, brushing off the incident with a forced silly chuckle.
"A-ahaha~ Thank you, Zavior-san~"
Shizuka fidgeted with her two index fingers touched each other while she shyly looking up at Zeno, who was smirking at her. She feels like she was a female lead in a K-drama when Zeno noticed her slip and came to her rescue so smoothly, like a handsome knight in shining armor. But instead of a white horse and sword, he wielded a pistol and rode a luxurious sports car.
There's also something else she noticed about Zeno when she was near him earlier. His body's scent is really nice, Shizuka thought secretly as a blush formed on her cheeks.
If Zeno heard her thought, he would definitely say, "Nanomachines, son!"
Meanwhile, the unwilling audiences of the scene…
"Seriously...! Think about the time and place...!"
"Tsk…!"
Saya and Kyoko, who had noticed Shizuka's slip and being helped by Zeno, couldn't help but grumble under their breath as they watched Shizuka act like a love-struck teenager with Zeno. Kyoko even feels like it should have been her in Shizuka's place since she was with him first until now.
Well, the two of them are just simply envious of Shizuka, who somehow was able to experience such a cliché romance situation with a handsome man who also happens to be tall and rich…
After that, as the zombies around the parking lot were cleared out, the group other than Zeno finally boarded the bus that was supposed to be their ticket to safety, some of them currently panting heavily from the exertion of their running around and fighting with the zombies as they found a seat to sit down.
"That's the last of them…"
Zeno said outside of the bus as he stopped looking around his surroundings. He had shot every zombie that was trying to approach the bus, and now the area is safe for the moment.
"That's a relief~"
Shizuka sighed in relief as she was the last to get on the bus; she even stumbled on the steps as she climbed them. And of course Zeno had to reach out to help her up, creating the cliché romantic scene again, much to the chagrin of Kyoko and others who were watching on with exasperation.
"Well, I guess this is it."
Zeno said, his smirk never leaving his face as he put the pistol back underneath his suit jacket. He turned to the group in the bus and saw that they had already found a place to sit, while Kyoko is the one who will drive the bus in this timeline since, let's be honest, Shizuka is not really someone who should be driving.
"You all should be safe to go now. Remember to keep the bus running without stopping for other people and stick together as much as possible. I'll see you around~!"
With a casual wave of his hand, Zeno said his goodbye to the group before he walked towards his own black sports car parked not far away from the bus.
The group watched him go, their eyes filled with a mix of relief at surviving and reluctance to let Zeno go. They had seen him handle everything with such ease and nonchalance. They really want such a reliable individual to be a part of their group, but alas, he said he has some places to be, so he can't go with them.
"...."
Shizuka watched him go to his car with a little longing in her gaze. She wonders when they will meet with each other again.
Fortunately for the dizzy/love-struck school nurse, they will meet sooner than she thinks.
÷×÷×÷
Sometimes later, after the sun goes down, Zeno, who had separated from the group at Fujimi Academy, could be seen driving his black sports car on the road near the river where you can see the Tokonosu Castle and the bridge where the police denied entry to the people that are protesting while unwittingly drawing the zombies' attention towards them.
"Jiiiiii~"
A soft, monotonous voice of White Dream, who is sitting next to him in the car, draws Zeno's attention from the road. She is currently staring at him with her emotionless face and keeps saying, "Jiiii (stare)" since she appeared after he left the school.
"What? Why do you keep saying that?"
Zeno asked her with curiosity and confusion, as he didn't really know what she was doing.
"Himiko said to do this if you're getting chummy with another girl, jiiiiiii~"
White Dream answers him honestly before she gets back to staring at him while saying "Jiiiii," just like before.
"Can you stop…?"
"Yes."
Zeno said with a twitch on his eyebrow as White Dream obediently stopped just like he asked. He wondered what more hidden commands the girls had instructed White Dream to do in secret.
"Master, do you think you can keep the new girls under ten people and over 13 years of age? Also, why are you so horny all the time? Is White Dream not good enough for you? Isn't she pitiful even though she always bruised her throat for you?"
Then White Dream suddenly asked him with the same soft, monotonous voice and emotionless expression while rubbing the corner of her eyes in a cute crying gesture like she was expressing her grief.
"...who told you to say that?"
Zeno asked her with a deadpan face. He could guess who it was that was brave enough to do it despite receiving many punishments from him for her insolence.
"It was Noa."
( AN: Noa is the clone of Raynare. )
"I see…"
No wonder, Zeno thought.