Beta read by Shigiya, Gamercrusher55 and Darklord331
Extra chapter thanks to Lord Belly. Next update is To Love a Sword
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-Tokonosu-
The evening light filtered through the drawn curtains, casting long shadows across the polished wood of the floor. The air in the room was thick with the faint scent of tea and the occasional crackle of paper as it was turned with careful precision.
A certain purple-haired girl sat across from her father at the low table, the same table they had sat at rarely together, in moments that always felt like déjà vu. Her fingers brushed the delicate porcelain cup, its surface cool against her skin. Her father, however, was absorbed in the papers that lay before him, his face unreadable… Always a man of few words.
"You performed admirably. This marks your sixth victory in the local tournaments." He noted, "Be sure to continue working on your swordsmanship diligently, while also keeping up with your studies."
How motivating.
"Yes, Father."
Saeko's voice was steady, her response as calm as the steaming tea between them. Her father, seated across the table in his study, gave a curt nod, his attention already drifting back to the papers scattered in front of him. The praise he'd offered felt more like a checklist item than genuine approval, and Saeko's face mirrored his lack of enthusiasm—neutral, unreadable. If he was a statue, she was its reflection. The polite smile he'd mustered earlier had evaporated, leaving behind the usual blank focus. It was almost impressive how efficiently he could turn a conversation into a monologue without saying a word.
"Unfortunately, I won't be able to celebrate this occasion with you, Saeko. There have been some developments at one of our construction sites, and several of our agents have no longer answer my calls — I'll need to head there early in the morning to ensure everything proceeds smoothly without complications. But don't worry. We'll celebrate once I have some time."
His voice remained courteous, and though he offered a regretful smile, his own daughter did not believe him in the slightest. She had heard these words far too often. This was the norm in their household. She could count on one hand how many times they'd sat together for dinner in the past month alone.
"Understood. I'll return to my room now."
"By the way, Saeko—"
She stopped in her tracks the moment he called to her, just as her hand touched the door.
"Yes, Father?"
"Perhaps I don't need to remind you... but things in town have become dangerous lately. Gang activity is on the rise, and the Takagi family may be connected to recent kidnappings. You should remain cautious and avoid getting involved in anything questionable."
His words, though spoken with an air of concern, felt oddly hollow to her. The gentle rise and fall of his voice masked the unspoken truth, the true weight of his message. "Don't invite rumors. Don't bring disgrace to the family. Don't be a liability." It was all there, hidden beneath the surface, in the careful phrasing and the polite tone. She could almost hear the underlying command in the spaces between his words.
Saeko knew it was coming, this very conversation.
But she didn't linger. Leaving without another word, she walked quietly down the sparse hall. The house was silent—no servants in sight, no family members roaming the estate. Her personal quarters connected directly to a wide, well-maintained dojo, her private space to train when the restlessness inside her demanded release.
Her eyes landed on the wooden training puppets aligned neatly along one wall. On most days, she would have taken time to practice her strikes for an hour or two. The rhythm of it always brought her a fleeting sense of calm, a kind of temporary relief from the emotional static that crawled beneath her skin. Lately, though, the sessions had become more frequent—so much so that she'd lost count of how many puppets she'd destroyed.
Adhering to her routine, she took a deep breath and stepped forward. A discarded training sword lay near the rack. She picked it up and stood in front of the nearest puppet in silence. No emotion crossed her features. No fire burned in her eyes. Just emptiness.
One sharp breath. A flash of movement. A single, precise strike.
The snap echoed through the dojo, followed by the deep crack of splintering wood. Shards and straw littered the polished floor—another puppet was ruined. The outcome remained unchanged.
"...It's worse than before, huh..."
The restlessness in her bones was still there, stubborn and unyielding. No amount of sparring could shake it loose, no strike or clash seemed to dull its edge. It clung to her, a quiet but insistent hum that only grew louder with every fight. Letting it take over would be easy—too easy. But she knew better. Giving in wouldn't solve anything; it would just make the storm inside harder to hide, harder to control. And control was the one thing she couldn't afford to lose.
Among the swirl of thoughts, her voice barely rose above a whisper, just as the rhythmic clack of the sozu from the garden reached her ears.
'Why didn't he accept my invitation?'
The question echoed through her mind, heavy with frustration. She couldn't figure out what she'd done wrong—if she had done anything wrong at all. Or perhaps… she hadn't done enough?
From her own research, she had learned that the boy—Cu—had only joined a single club: the Sojutsu Club. After asking around, many had described him as laid-back and cheerful, but with an unexpectedly strict attitude toward training. From what she heard, just surviving a sparring session with him was considered a victory. And yet, only one person had faced him repeatedly—despite failing each time—and kept coming back for more.
Rei, the latter had only met Cu recently, and from what Saeko gathered, the two had become friends with one acting as almost a teacher to the other one. Now they frequently hung out together, often joined by Igou and even Takashi—Igou's closest friend. Strangely enough, she failed to gather even the slightest achievement from Cu's old school… The boy never was part of any martial arts club since there weren't any, to begin with.
Of course, she was limited in her ways to acquire information from just online research.
Which only begged the question how or from whom he learned spearmanship and swordsmanship to reach this level. It couldn't have been self taught, even in her eyes that was a feat beyond monstrous in terms of sheer talent.
Was that it?
Was that the reason he refused her offer?
It wasn't a small offer by any means. Her invitation had come with substantial benefits—even monetary incentives which included a fully paid scholarship. It had surprised several of her instructors. Still, none had the authority to question her decision. And yet, even that hadn't been enough to sway him.
"...Maybe I should speak with Rei."
This became her secondary plan. If Cu remained unmoved by her direct offer—regardless of how tempting it was—then perhaps she could shift her focus. Influence the people around him. The ones responsible for the space he chose to occupy.
But convincing Rei would be difficult.
The girl was just like herself—talented, dedicated, and highly trained in the art of the spear. For someone like her, switching clubs would make no sense. It would be as absurd as Saeko herself abandoning the sword for archery without cause or reason.
"Maybe I could use Shidou to make this possible..."
As much as she disliked blending her school life with her personal one, Saeko wasn't blind to the tension between Rei and the teacher. A bitter history, fueled by politics—Rei's father had crossed the former Cabinet Minister, and the girl suffered the consequences.
"Detestable," she scowled when thinking about that particularly repugnant man, hiding behind his father's political power and connections. The kind of person who would never dare raise their voice in front of someone with her last name regardless, so she barely gave him any attention.
If choosing to help Rei turned out to be the answer, if she chose to intervene, Shidou would not dare stand in her way.
But before she could pursue the thought further, something flickered at the edge of her vision—snapping her out of her internal storm.
"Hm?"
For a brief moment, Saeko thought she had seen a small forest critter wandering too close to the house—a rabbit, perhaps, or a stray cat. Yet her instincts whispered something far different. Before her conscious mind could even register it, her body reacted. She moved—fast and silent—slipping behind the nearest wall to hide her presence.
All movement ceased. Not even her breathing made a sound.
She remained still for several seconds, eyes sharp, waiting.
Then, when she felt the coast might be clear, Saeko carefully peeked past the edge of the wall—and what she saw made her eyes widen. A figure stood in the distance, unmistakably humanoid. The lack of any source of light within the forest made it hard to discern anything specific like the face, but definitely a man. A man who could not be security permitted to wander this close to her side of the house all by himself, which only served to paint a single conclusion.
"It can't be..."
In that instant, the past came flooding back—unbidden, vivid, and wholly unwelcome.
She could smell the blood before she even saw it. Hear the ragged cries of a man brought low, his voice cracking with agony while her middle school uniform pressed against her skin with the warmth of blood that was not hers. The image rose clear as daylight in her mind's eye: a measly thief sprawled like a broken marionette on the ground, limbs twisted at unnatural angles. He had been foolish—stupid enough to attempt to lay hands on the daughter of a well-connected family, mistaking refinement for fragility.
She had answered him not with screams, but with violence—or what passed for it as a form of self-defense according to her father… yet she knew the truth.
A simple bokken.
By the time the dust settled, it was stained dark, dripping with the man's blood just like her clothes. His body had become a grotesque mess of splintered bone and bruised flesh, barely recognizable as a human whole he forced out incomprehensible words of mercy. But it wasn't the violence that haunted her in the quiet hours of the night.
It was the feeling.
Not fear. Not righteous anger. Not even the dizzying rush of adrenaline.
Pleasure.
A dark, intoxicating thrill that had wormed its way into her chest and taken root. She remembered how it had startled her more than the act itself—how deeply it had unsettled her. And yet, even as years passed and tournaments came and went, she found herself chasing it. Hoping to feel it again and calm those urges down.
She never did.
It lay buried somewhere beneath the surface, coiled like a snake in the shadows—silent, patient, and always waiting.
"Hah… I need to calm down."
She exhaled, slow and steady, pressing a slightly shaking hand against her chest as if to calm the restless drumming beneath. Her heartbeat wasn't racing out of fear—no, it was something else entirely. A twisted anticipation pulsed through her veins like fire. Each breath came sharp, electrified, as though her very nerves were urging her forward. Hoping. Hoping that whoever had dared cross the threshold of her home was just like the last one—a trespasser, a threat. Something she could answer with steel.
'I can't just ignore it, I need to make sure who it is if security has not noticed anything.'
She moved with some hesitation, barefoot on polished wood, sword in hand. The gleam in her eyes was faint but unmistakable—unstable, dangerous. She didn't have a plan. She didn't need one. The possibility alone was enough to stir that quiet, coiled thing inside her chest. The thrill. The edge.
But then, something shifted.
The footsteps ahead didn't ring with the urgency of an invader. No hurried escape, no attempt to silence their presence. They moved with ease. Familiar ease with his movement along with that figure.
Her excitement faltered, falling flat and instead replaced first by confusion. Her grip on the sword loosened.
When the figure stepped into view, moonlight spilled across the yard, bathing the scene in silver. He moved casually, surveying the property with the kind of careless confidence that grated against her instincts.
And then she saw it—the blue hair, a bit messy, tied loosely at the back. The faint sway of twin earrings caught the breeze.
Her breath caught.
Her eyes widened.
'What is he doing here?' She asked herself, a bit stunned to see his face wandering within the place as if coming over to sightsee. For some reason getting what appeared to be rocks from his pockets and tossing them at specific points.
"Fancy house we've got here," the boy drawled, his voice cutting through the still night almost as if he stood close by. There was no urgency in his step, no caution. Just a lazy amusement in his tone as he glanced around. "Probably three times bigger than that kid's… only thing missin' is a shed, really."
The same person who had occupied her thoughts over the last several days—unintentionally, yet persistently. And now, for some reason unknown to her, he was here.
'Could I…?'
The thought slithered into her mind like a serpent through long grass—quiet, unwelcome, and dreadfully familiar. It wasn't a surprise that stirred in her chest, nor even curiosity. What took hold, far more darkly, was something else entirely. A hunger. A chance. An almost gleeful scenario that unfolded in her head like the first page of a forbidden book. One she'd read before.
But just as quickly as it arrived, the chill came.
'No… no, what am I thinking?'
Her breath caught, and her limbs stiffened. The mask slipped. For one terrible moment, the calm, cool exterior she wore like a school uniform cracked to reveal the sheer horror beneath. Horror not at what might happen—but at what she had wanted to happen. The hope that had flared in her chest, was shameless and sharp. She shoved it back down with the desperation of someone trying to stuff shadows into a box.
"All right then…" Cu's voice reached her ears, slicing through these spirals with maddening ease. He continued down the gravel path, meandering as though out for a stroll. But her breath caught again as she recognized the trail beneath his boots: the old servant's road. A crooked little escape route that hadn't been used in years—overgrown, forgotten.
'He's not here to steal anything?'
The thought didn't hold concern—it carried with it a bitter aftertaste. She was surprised to find disappointment creeping in like smoke beneath a door.
Not disappointed in his innocence.
Disappointment in the fact that he wasn't a criminal as she'd hoped.
That he hadn't handed her a reason. A justification.
She didn't want to ask herself why that mattered, Saeko already knew the answer. But before she could sort through the tangled mess of emotions, Cu suddenly burst into motion, darting into the forest with surprising speed.
"—!"
Reflex took over.
She chased after him without hesitation, kimono fluttering wildly behind her. Branches and thorns tugged at the fabric, leaving small tears along the hem and sleeves, but she paid them no mind. She couldn't lose sight of him now.
'He's fast!'
Despite her skill and the full force of her effort, the distance between them only widened. She gritted her teeth, lungs burning, but his silhouette grew fainter with every step.
And then, he was gone.
'Did he see me?'
A thought emerged in her mind—an unsettling possibility. Her discreet actions hadn't gone unnoticed, which might have led the man to flee the compound as soon as possible, leaving her with no answers. All she could do was keep running, unable to get any closer to the truth. She only stopped when she noticed a plume of dark smoke rising in the distance. A fire? The idea that it could be connected to his appearance surfaced, but it only led to more questions than answers.
Her breath hitched, her heartbeat like a drum as it echoed in her chest. Despite her heightened stamina, Saeko found herself out of breath after running so fast and so far in such a short amount of time. The sensation of her lungs burning and her muscles straining was a reminder of just how far she'd pushed herself.
"Damn it, I lost him." Soon, it became clear That she was running around blindly at this point. Looking around proved fruitless for there was not a single sign of that person anywhere.
But then, her attention was drawn to the smoke rising in the distance. Fear gripped her as she thought of the possibility of a fire making its way to the town, one that could spread to her house. She clenched her teeth, deciding to abandon her search for Cu and instead head to the other side to investigate what was going on. The urgency was too strong, and though the chase had been important, the fire could be more immediate.
Her legs burned with fatigue, but she pushed herself forward, focused on the distant smoke. Her senses sharpened as she moved, her mind racing through possibilities. What if the fire was deliberately set? Could it have anything to do with Cu?
As she moved forward, her ears picked up the sound of someone speaking desperately, their voice filled with anguish. Surprised by the noise, she changed direction, slowly making her way toward the source of the sound. It wasn't just a voice—there was panic in it, a raw emotion that made her heart beat faster. She crept toward the source, keeping to the shadows, trying to stay unseen as she approached the clearing.
When she reached the clearing, her breath caught in her throat. For in that moment, she witnesses a scene that would forever become seared in her mind. The image of the same cheerful and laid-back boy is now replaced by the cold eyes of a completely different person whose hand tore off a woman's head clean off with little effort as the flesh of the one carrying her still remains stuck in between those bloodied teeth.
Now he stood alone, surrounded by blood-soaked earth, his clothes drenched in crimson. It was as if he'd been standing under a rain of blood. She couldn't tear her eyes away, a part of her screaming to feel disgust, but the emotion just wouldn't come. Instead, she felt… nothing. Or maybe it was something worse—something she didn't want to name. Her mind flickered with the thought that she should be horrified, but her body refused to react. She just stared, frozen, while the metallic tang of blood hung thick in the air.
The man was little more than a wreck of trembling limbs and raw emotion, crouched near a crooked tree as though the bark might anchor him to sanity. His eyes, red-rimmed and glassy with grief, darted frantically—unable to settle, unable to accept. In his hand, he clutched a pistol, the barrel quivering, trained squarely on Cu.
"You killed her! You killed her!" he shrieked, the words tearing out of him like shards of broken glass. "How could you do that to Ayumi!? She was my… she was—how dare you!"
His voice cracked under the weight of fury and despair, the syllables tumbling over each other in a chaotic spiral. He looked less like a man and more like a puppet unraveling at the seams, barely held together by rage. His finger tensed on the trigger, and in that heartbeat, Saeko knew—he would fire.
Everything stilled. Even the wind seemed to pause, holding its breath.
Saeko moved.
She didn't decide to—not in any conscious sense. Her body simply responded as swiftly as a striking hawk. The wooden sword in her grip surged forward, silent and sharp, instincts overriding thought. Her pulse thundered in her ears, but her movements were clean and precise.
The man never even turned. His entire being was locked onto Cu, caught in the blinding grip of rage. He never saw the flash of movement behind him, never registered the force until it came down on him like judgment itself.
The blade struck with a dull, sickening thud—flat against his skull. The sound echoed in the stillness, followed by the soft, final rustle of his body collapsing like a marionette with its strings cut. He hit the ground hard, unmoving. Blood bloomed beneath where she struck him, dark and vivid against the earth, seeping into the roots like ink spilled on old parchment.
The girl stood frozen, sword still raised, her breath caught somewhere between relief and horror at what she had done. Lips quivered upwards at the sight of the man on the ground, disappointed how she ended up using too much strength and failed to make him just trudge between the boundaries of conscious and unconscious. She… she enjoyed it.
The clearing was eerily quiet, save for the distant crackling of the smoke in the distance rising in the air. The man lay knocked out, blood coming out where she'd hit him at her feet with the blood of the other two already starting to pool, his gun discarded on the ground beside him, forgotten. Saeko's mind raced as she turned to look at Cu. His expression was calm as ever, but there was something in his eyes—the previous scene replaying again and again with only a single phrase coming out of her mouth.
"Just what the hell is going on here… and who are you really?"
He grinned. "Just a guy tryin' to keep his home safe." He stretched his shoulders, then gestured toward her wooden weapon. "As for what's goin' on… let's just say you might need to get a real sword soon."
After all that happened… he… he just smiled?
{Break}
(A couple of hours later)
"Woah," Cu muttered, stepping past the threshold with an arched brow. "This place's far bigger on the inside than it lets on the outside. A bit like one of those magician's hats—keep pullin' more out the deeper you go."
The door slid closed softly behind him, but the air between the two was heavy with unspoken tension. Things hadn't exactly gone to plan… or maybe it did. He scratched absently at the back of his neck, casting a glance toward the tatami-covered floor that stretched into the silence of the house.
The truth was, he hadn't meant for any of it to turn out like this—not really. Whoever the last two were, they'd made it clear they weren't about to let the girl go. And he couldn't risk them reaching the town, not with things as they were. He'd tried reasoning. Talking. Anything but what it came to.
'Suppose if they'd just let her go, accepted what was happening...' he thought to himself, voice trailing off like mist. 'Might've ended differently. Might've not.'
Not that he could blame them, they hadn't seen the changes—couldn't, or wouldn't even believe him even if he told them beforehand. Stress did strange things to people. Clouded judgment, twisted perception. He understood that. Didn't make it forgivable.
And yet, a sliver of regret lingered like the aftertaste of something bitter. Maybe if he'd dealt with the girl immediately instead of hesitating—thinking he could talk her down—things would've been cleaner. Simpler. But that ship had sailed. The last guy still managed to somehow make it out with his life somehow he could tell by the slow breathing of his chest, so not everything was lost. He healed the injury on that last guy's head and then used his magecraft to hypnotize and erase the guy's memories. As far as he was concerned he was the only survivor of the wreck.
Stranger still was Saeko's reaction. No screams. No accusations. No freaking out at the glow from his hands. No blade drawn across his throat in the hopes of taking down a murderer caught red-handed or even a quick call to the cops.
She had simply… walked. In silence. With him. As he dropped the guy to a nearby hospital. Then back home. Her home.
Now he stood inside a stark, sparsely furnished room beside her dojo—a bedroom, most likely. The walls were spotless, the air faintly tinged with sandalwood. No warmth, no clutter. Just discipline and restraint.
Cu gave a low whistle. "Right then. Pretty spartan with the decoration, aren't ya? I'd say throw in a few posters at least or even a few paintings. Maybe a mini-fridge. The place is too gloomy for my taste."
"..."
Right, perhaps trying to take on a more friendlier approach might not have been the best decision on his part. So after a deep sigh from Saeko looking at him deeply in the eyes without having any emotions fluctuate within them, he sat on the ground with his legs crossed. "Alright cailín, you deserve the truth, so ask away and I'll do my best to answer."
Thankfully, she followed his lead and took a seat as well. "You knew I was following you."
So that was what she wanted to ask firstly? A bit strange she had to admit, but there was nothing wrong to that question in particular. "I did, your little attempt back then stay hidden by not even breathing Sure did almost slip by my senses, but the moment you started to run after me was when I knew for certain someone was following me."
The blood on his face had mostly been wiped away by now, leaving only his clothes to be stained. However, the girl in front of him also did not seem to be that much preoccupied by the blood on herself.
"... You haven't answered my first question yet. What happened down there and who exactly are you?"
He shrugged, leaning back casually. "Like I said before, I'm Seth, but just call me Cu. Just a guy trying to keep my home in one piece. As for what went down back there? Yeah, it's exactly what it looked like—the undead. Crazy, right? But hey, you saw it. Hard to argue with a walking corpse."
"Eh?" The shock on her face helped him understand that she also had no idea of who or what those things were or where they could have come from. Not that he held any hope to find answers that way. Still, there was some skepticism already present in her eyes, so he decided to go full in.
"Long story short, I was hanging around a shrine a few miles away from here and out of nowhere, I got attacked by a student who wanted to have a good taste of my flesh. So I was forced to kill him, started to become suspicious about this entire thing, and began my own little investigation until I found more of them. And well… you can imagine the rest. Can't let zombies start spreading all over town." Granted, what he gave her was an extremely shortened explanation of the real facts, but as long as they worked on conveying his words, then he did not care.
"Zom… bies?" Saeko tilted her head, repeating that word as if it were something she never heard about. But he supposed he could understand her confusion.
"I know, it's pretty hard to believe. But you saw it with your own eyes what happened back there, the woman was long gone and was in the middle of changing into a walking corpse. It is sort of like an infection that can be spread through bites, turning people into those zombies within seconds or days at the latest."
"And you truly expect me to believe this?" She asked, her words serving as more of a question than a declaration or even holding any suspicion.
"Of course not, but this is the only way I could show you the truth. I know that more of them will appear in the future, until then, you can keep being suspicious about me." He answered calmly, not being offended that she did not believe him immediately. Quite the opposite in fact, he would've been more suspicious if the girl was on his side without single ounce of doubt.
"How… is this even possible? No disease can cause people to turn like that…"
"Your guess is as good as mine. It could be a curse, a virus, or something else. But I know it is not magical in nature, or at least, the ones I have discovered so far have not shown any signs of being turned due to magic. I discovered the first one inside the shrine, a poor lad ended up dying because of some group bullying him. His corpse must have stayed there for days with how rotted it became, unfortunately, I was not able to trace the source of it all."
"Wait," She stopped him, massaging her own temples and clearly trying to digest all of the information he gave her. "Is this matter related to the Takagi family? Is this why they have strength in their presence all across town this drastically?"
"Most likely," he answered honestly. "Though I am not sure if they are aware of the existence of these undead, though they are aware of the lad's death, my guess is that they are trying to find out the very same people who are responsible for his death. But it should be a matter of time before they discover the existence of those things. From what I gather, the nearby towns have already been affected. It's only a matter of time before they get here."
His hands grabbed onto the phone inside his pockets, almost retrieving the device to see if he had gotten any new messages but biting his lips at the realization of what he was doing. A part of him still held on to hope that they were still alive, the place was pretty isolated from the big city and his house in particular was quite far from the rest of Howth.
"There has been no news about such an outbreak happening anywhere around the world. Surely we would have heard something by now."
She did have a point, even though he checked the news and got nothing out of it — which led him to one conclusion. "They are deliberately keeping this matter a secret." He answered, getting a narrowed stare from Saeko. "If I had to make a guess, there's a high likelihood that several countries would want to keep this matter a secret. To avoid it reaching the public which would eventually cause…"
"Mass panic and complete chaos." She finished his sentence, a look of realization flashing across her face.
"Exactly, Though they can only keep this just hidden for so long until people eventually start to pick up the hints." In fact, there were already people taking notice of the strangeness, but no one would think of all of this to be a zombie outbreak. Seeing her expression, he quickly waved his hand, "But you don't have to worry about your pretty little face, I'm here now and I'm taking care of this issue."
"..."
It was hard to tell whatever was going on inside her mind, whether or not she believed him or just looked at him like some crazy person. Honestly, it didn't matter to him anymore as he already told her the truth.
"Then… What was that light?"
Finally she asked that question. He was wondering whether or not she had forgotten about it. Would have been pretty neat but that was just some wishful thinking on his end. "Want to see something amazing?"
"Hm?"
He lifted the coaster and held it between them, ensuring she focused entirely on it. In the dim room, he traced a basic rune on the coaster, which began to glow and grew more intense until it erupted into a fiery blaze that consumed the entire coaster. The unexpected demonstration of his runecraft left the girl stunned, her mouth agape in astonishment, which made him chuckle.
Whatever was going on in her head so far had been put to a complete halt, now fully focused on the ashes in his palm that dispersed in the air.
"Pretty amazing right? What you saw right there is I guess a bit of magic, it's called runecraft specifically and it's from my neck of the woods back in my homeland, but you don't need to worry about that." There was no point going into the details of his magecraft or distinguishing what he could perform and how it differed from pure ancient magic. "Back then, it was just me making sure our hysterical guest was alright after you whacked him so hard. Guy was just a victim in all this."
She clearly wanted to say something but was unable to do so, still trying to grasp what happened before her eyes.
"To be honest I'm not completely against death, but it still leaves a bad taste in my mouth when the guy isn't even in the right state of mind for a fight. Plus after seeing his best friend and lover bite the dust, anyone would go berserk."
Her fingers went to touch the ashes on the floor, almost as if to make sure it was real and not an illusion of some sort. Yet before she could do so, he grabbed her hand, her body freezing as their gazes locked with one another. "Careful there, might burn yourself."
With a palm turned upwards, his finger traced the surface of her skin, drawing another simple rune which emitted a weak light. One she brought closer to her face, looking at it with a hint of marvel and wonder — perhaps finally starting to accept the existence of magecraft.
"Got nothing to say?" He said with a grin on his face, "I can understand why you're speechless, and before you ask, no, I cannot teach you runecraft, it'd take too long with what's going to happen. It's basically like learning an entire language and trying to use it in combat."
The topic of his runecraft brought back some other thoughts he had, not that he ever tried to find out, but so far no one around him possessed any magic circuits as far as he could tell. Yet Mana still existed in this world naturally, so part of him wondered if mages existed similarly to the Mage Association.
To his surprise, Saeko started to chuckle. "Haha… who would have thought that magic is real." She whispered quietly while tracing the rune on her palm. "This was not how I expected my day to go, part of me still believes I might wake up from this dream at any moment…if it is a dream."
"Might want to change that into a nightmare," he replied, "Don't forget, there is still the whole undead thing threatening this town and its people."
She nodded, "I… I have no other choice but to believe you."
"Still having some doubts?"
Her hair waved gently in the air as she denied his words. "No, I know what I saw back there… that woman attacked that man by biting him in the neck. But also, what you said before… make it sound like you healed him?"
"Cause I did, a minor healing spell my master taught me," he said while casting a small Thurisaz rune in the air, "While I ain't the best compared to some other Casters, I still kinda know a little more than enough for some good ol' first aid. After all, if you're going to keep fighting when you're bloody and wounded, then you're gonna need to pick me up a little every now and then."
After all, what good was a fight when one would lose so quickly, nothing like a good ol 'battle continuation'.
"Are there others like you?"
He shook his head, slow and deliberate, as though still weighing the question in his mind. "No," he said at last, voice low, thoughtful. "Or at least… not yet. I've not found anyone else."
Saeko made a faint sound in her throat—something between a hum and a sigh—as her eyes drifted across the room, unfocused. For a fleeting second, her features shifted, and he caught a glimpse of something else beneath the calm: curiosity, yes, but tinged with doubt.
"Is that how you beat me?" she asked quietly. "Magic?"
The question hung in the air, brittle and strangely childlike in its honesty.
Cu blinked. Then, without warning, he gave a bark of laughter that echoed off the walls. "Magic?" he repeated, clearly amused. "Is that what's been churnin' through that sharp mind of yours all this time?"
His grin widened, crooked and almost boyish. "Nah, don't worry yourself. I wouldn't go pullin' tricks like that—not in a proper fight. No enchantments, no hexes, no hidden runes up my sleeve." He tapped his temple with a knuckle. "Just old-fashioned skill and a bit o' muscle memory. You were quite good, though. Gave me more than I bargained for."
Then his gaze shifted, sharp as a blade catching the sun. "Though I reckon… you almost lost control at the end there, didn't ya?"
She didn't answer.
Instead, she turned her face ever so slightly away, the motion subtle but telling. Not embarrassment—no, Cu knew the look of shame when he saw it. And it startled him, if only because he hadn't expected to see it there.
Saeko didn't answer straight away. Her lips parted, but no sound came. Then- quiet, flat-she spoke.
"That woman... even if she'd turned into a zombie, like you said—you still killed her."
"I did," he said simply, with no hesitation, no excuse, regret, or sadness in his tone. "There was no savin' her. She was already gone—just breathin' on borrowed time. And if I had to do it again... aye, I would. Gun to my head or not. Even if she'd been standin' there all on her own."
Her eyes widened. He caught the flicker behind them—shame, maybe, or even horror, or something close to disbelief. But he didn't flinch beneath it. He'd seen far worse reactions.
"You killed her because you had to," she said slowly. "You didn't hurt the man. You even healed him after he tried to kill you. You didn't prolong either of their suffering."
Was she saying it to him—or trying to convince herself? Hard to tell. He figured it was the latter, but chose to treat it like the former.
"Well, yeah," he said, lifting his shoulders in a casual shrug. "I wanted it deal with it quickly. You make it sound like I should've dragged it out for the drama. That's not really my style. Besides—what's the point in taking your time with weak opponents? There is no fun in that, though it would be quite nice if I encountered a strong one."
"...Fun?" she repeated, tilting her head slightly. "Are you not afraid?"
He looked at her, puzzled, "Afraid of what?"
"Afraid that this part of yourself might end up becoming too strong to control… that you'll end up doing something far worse down the line." Her hands clenched, as she now focused on the floor beneath rather than him. "I saw no regret on your face when you killed her, what's stopping you from one day starting to seek a reaction from them? Getting to a point where killing them instantly is just no longer enough?"
Steadily, her voice grew louder until she almost screamed those last words but managed to get herself under control.
"Heh… if that's the case, then that's another matter entirely." He said, taking a few moments to gather his words. "Killing recklessly is a slippery slope for anyone, getting too engrossed with killing or overwhelmed with the blood on your hand could break anyone eventually."
"Then you see my point."
"Not really," he said, "I can't speak for everyone, but I know myself better than anyone. Both my strong points and flaws, I made mistakes and learned from them. But you don't need to worry about that. I've already stood at the edge of that kind of darkness more times than I can count. The trick isn't to run from it. To know where the real you end and where the madness begins. Who you are and who you refuse to become. Sure, in the middle of a fight, when everything's chaos and blood and instinct, it's easy to lose yourself. I've done it before. But it's because of those moments—because I've seen what that loss can cost—that I know how to draw the line."
He paused for a moment, feeling like he sounded a bit too much like his master at some points but still having a hard time to convey his meaning into proper words.
How the hell did that witch give inspiring speeches that could even motivate a near-dead younger him to do better?
"In the end, I'm still me. And if that part of me ever tries to take over, I'll face it head-on and accept it. Hahah… I know it may not be the kind of answer you wanted but hopefully, you can trust me to not go berserk or evil. Then again, I can only prove that through my actions."
"Yet you still seek to fight a stronger undead?" Saeko asked.
He chuckled under his breath. "I'm all for a good scrap with a beast that can give me a proper run for my money. Human, undead, somethin' else—doesn't matter. It's just... a relief, y'know? Being able to let go for a bit. Not havin' to hold back."
The words lingered in the air. And then—silence. Heavy. Waiting.
"I'll have to do the same soon, won't I?" Saeko murmured a slight tremble to her tone that sounded almost fearful. Poor lass. "Not just me, but Rei, the other students, the teachers, and everyone else. Is that why you've been so insisting on teaching her this entire time?"
In the end, her voice didn't tremble. But something in it cracked all the same.
As soon as she said that, his eyes narrowed and for a brief moment he found himself in a dilemma. While he had mentioned to the girl that you would need something sharper than the wooden sword to take on these undead creatures, It was mostly a joke on his end. "To tell you the truth, I cannot in good conscience push regular weans in the front lines out of the blue. Neither one of you has any experience with bloodshed or even how to swing a simple stick, and doing so only results in trauma and sooner or later… death. As for Rei, we just genuinely shared a love for the spear, warmed my heart seeing a fellow spear user in this era. I started this before finding out about these undeads."
They were not made for war much less dealing with undead creatures, even if he handed all of them weapons, he highly doubted most would even know how to use them properly without endangering themselves and others. Then the mental toll alone would crush many from just seeing blood, forced to kill someone who used to be human, or worse, to kill someone they used to know… they were simply not suited for this.
He needed time that just was not there for him to borrow, teaching one person was tricky enough but an entire school where most would not even listen to him was impossible. Such talents were owned by his teacher alone, that woman would definitely crush and rebuild these kids into warriors in a week at most.
"You won't be able to cover the entire town," Saeko said coolly, arms folded under her chest making them pop out more from the yukata. "Much less keep everyone safe. If the other cities are already infected, then we're possibly looking at hundreds—thousands—of them. Zombies. I doubt even magic will be enough. The local authorities will be overwhelmed. Tokonosu isn't equipped like the military like in the bigger cities."
Cu exhaled through his nose, his expression unreadable.
Odd, how the situation mirrored something from long ago—a time when he was younger, brasher, still wet behind the ears and yet already steeped in blood. Back then, he had stood before overwhelming odds with nothing but his spear, defiance carved into every inch of his soul. And now, here he was again. No spear this time. No grand declarations. Just a girl with sharp eyes, a sharper tongue, and a valid point.
The corner of his mouth twitched-almost turning into a smile.
"Smart girl, you are," he murmured, barely above a whisper, the faintest lilt in his tone betraying something older, deeper. Almost fond.
Instead of answering her concerns directly, he simply waved a hand in that careless way of his. "Like I said, lass, let me worry about that. But if you can use your family's name to keep things calm here—make sure folk don't start losin' their heads—then I'd really appreciate—"
He broke off mid-sentence. The hairs on the back of his neck prickled as the air shifted behind him—heavy footsteps, sudden and fast. He turned on instinct, arm raising just in time to catch a wooden sword aimed squarely at his face.
Bright blue clashed against crimson.
Saeko didn't speak. Her expression was colder than stone, her grip tightening around the weapon as she yanked it back and swung again—this time faster, sharper. The strikes came in rapid succession, aimed with brutal precision at his vitals and his skull. He moved with haste while using the large dojo to his advantage, dodging, blocking, and parrying, each swing more dangerous than the last.
He caught the blade again, intending to wrench it from her grasp with more force this time, but she was already one step ahead. Her knee shot up, ramming into his gut with enough force to surprise him—something that gave Saeko the small window of opportunity to snatch the sword from his hands.
"Woah there—!"
The next motion was swift, actually faster than even Rei's attacks whenever he pushed her over the edge with his teasing. Instead of pushing her away, he let Saeko take full advantage of the opening, driving the wooden blade forward with a practiced thrust. It hissed through the air and pierced the paper screen behind him, stopping mere inches from his eye.
They stood still, frozen in the moment.
Then, quietly, coldly, she asked, "Is that good enough?"
Her voice was measured, calm—but her eyes burned. "You don't know me. You don't know what I'm capable of. And it's not your place to decide whether I help or not." She withdrew the blade with a single fluid motion. "If the head's their weakness… then I'll make sure to smash it."
"Hoh," impressed, he had to give it to her. A sword welded with the intent to harm had a single one of those landed on anyone else but him, it could have easily resulted in a fracture to the head or even death. Against an undead, It would have been more than enough to take one down easily. The grin on his face grew bigger upon sensing a familiarity within the girl he sensed before during the kendo match between them.
Much to Saeko's visible surprise, he grabbed her chin and raised it up a bit. "That's a nice fire you have there in your eyes. Will you really be able to keep this up when facing those undead? Don't start crying after you see a bit of blood."
For the first time she they arrived, Saeko smiled.
"But of course, rather you need to figure out a better plan instead."
Well, she was not wrong.
{Break}
(Next day)
The day went about as usual, people were still fully ignorant about what happened last night but the former Heroic Spirit did notice the streets being a bit emptier than usual today on his way to school.
Neither of his runes went off, so nothing crossed into the town last night at least, walking around he saw no signs of any undead going around biting people but just a newly present sense of tension in the air. People started noticing something was wrong and Yoshito called him earlier to mention about a large protest happening at the Town Hall.
Something about people demanding why they had no connection to the outside world anymore and for the communication company to restore whatever was broken.
This sentiment was surprisingly missing at school as most students went about their day as usual, cheering, laughing and making plans for the night. Still, his conversation with Saeko last night looped around his mind a couple of times, even as he reached his desk and took the opportunity to rest his mind while laying his head down.
Reddish-brown eyes, unblinking, stared directly into his. Her face was inches from his own, chin resting neatly on the edge of his desk as if she belonged there. Orange-brown shining against the sun in the background, at least she looked to be in a better state than her frantic self yesterday.
"You look tired," Rei said, "Did you get any sleep last night? Is your body still sore?"
"Hardly, but overall I feel fine. Just need to rest my eyes for a minute. Also, I'm completely healed, you saw me change this morning."
She blushed at that statement, something that was not even an attempt from him to tease the girl in the first place. It was still cute.
After his little conversation with the purple-haired swordswoman last night, he returned rather late to his own apartment where he only got less than two hours of shut-eye with Rei sleeping soundly next to him. On the first sound of the alarm, he had no choice but to wake up and get ready. Nudging the young girl awake who at first in a drowsy state grabbed onto his arm, hugging it tightly with her legs wrapping around his lower body.
Only thanks to a swift snap on the forehead did she finally fully wake up and start to panic upon seeing him. Having thought the entire time she was in her own bedroom and forgetting what happened last night for a few seconds until the girl remembered everything.
After which both of them walk to school together.
"We can go to the infirmary, the beds over there are quite comfortable And it's completely quiet." She offered, her hand closing on his face and pushing away some of the strands of his hair away from his eyes. Doing so enough times that she then started to play with some of them.
He raised an eyebrow, "'We'? Heh, is that an offer? You'll be joining my side from the sounds of it."
Another blush or a flustered stammer—that's what he expected. Instead, Rei met his gaze with a cheeky smile, the kind that curled at the corners and reached her eyes. Maybe he'd underestimated how much last night had changed her. There was a new confidence behind that look, something freshly lit.
She leaned in slowly, the distance between them barely a breath. "Wouldn't mind a bit more sleep," she murmured near his ear, her breath warm against his skin. "You were pretty warm last night, I wouldn't mind having a sleepover again."
A shiver chased down his spine before he could stop it. Damn it all, she knew exactly what she was doing.
"It's one thing," he said, voice low and laced with dry amusement, "to cozy up in private, I can play that game as well. But in class? In front of half the students? Pretty bold of you, Rei." His eyes flicked upward, just briefly, but enough for her to follow.
She blinked, then looked around—sure enough, several heads had turned. A few girls whispered behind their hands, giggling like they'd just been handed tomorrow's juiciest headline.
Rei hesitated. Just a heartbeat. Then, with her face steady, she whispered, "Let them talk. Didn't you say you didn't mind if there were rumors about us? So, want to go to the infirmary together? It would be better than staying in the class, not like we will learn anything important."
She seemed oddly insistent, enough to give him pause. A few moments of quiet thought connected the dots in his head and there it was. Their next class just so happened to be with none other than Shido.
'Ah. That explained everything.'
No wonder she was so determined to avoid it. Cu could already picture it: the way she stiffened anytime the man's name came up, the quiet scowl that twitched at the edge of her lips. She wasn't just avoiding class, she was avoiding him.
"Pretty sure he'll use that against you," he said, eyes narrowing thoughtfully. "Try to get you suspended or somethin'. You know he's just waitin' for a reason."
She didn't respond, but the tension in her shoulders told him she knew it too.
"And besides," he added, resting his chin in his hand with a weary sigh, "I've a feelin' I'll end up with another round of head trauma if I so much as breath near that nurse again. Reckon this time, she might actually kill me."
Shizuka… yeah, that was her name, if he remembered right. That scatterbrained woman had brought him closer to death than any battle ever had. And that was saying something.
Honestly, isn't she suppose to heal people, not hurt them even more.
Also, he preferred not to get slapped another dozen times again.
"What's going on here?"
Both their heads turned at the sound of a new voice. Standing just a few desks away was Igou, walking into the classroom with a puzzled look on his face. His gaze flicked from Cu to Rei—and lingered there, noticing how her head still rested close to Cu's on the desk.
"Well, well," the boy said with a chuckle, forcing a grin. "You two seem to have grown rather close lately. Hah, at this rate I might actually start believing you're dating. Might want to get a room next time, everyone's watching and might get jealous."
He said it like a joke, light and casual—but to Cu, the intent was clear as day. He was probing. Testing the waters.
Letting out a thoughtful hum, the former Servant of the Spear turned his head, his gaze shifting lazily toward the girl beside him. "Well now," he muttered, tone casual but edged with meaning, "what do ya think, Rei? You still playin' the long game, or are you ready to make a choice?"
What he got in response wasn't an answer but Rei's sweet, practiced smile. She straightened in her seat and gave Igou a polite nod. "Good morning, Hisashi. It's rare for you to come to class all by yourself, is Takashi not with you?"
Dodged it neatly. He almost smirked.
Igou blinked, as though thrown by her question.
"No, he's outside near the stairs with Takagi, I think," he replied, voice light but quick. "He should be on his way in a minute or two. "The guy seems pretty down lately. Did something happen between you two?"
Rei shook her head a little too quickly. A flash of awkwardness crossed her face before she could school it. "We just… disagreed on a few things, that's all."
Neither boy pushed for more. Cu and Igou exchanged a glance—one of those silent, unspoken things that lasted only a second but said plenty.
To Cu's surprise, Igou stepped forward next and reached into his bag, pulling out two folded tickets. "Hey, Rei," he said, a bit nervously, "I know this is kinda outta nowhere, but… I've got two tickets to that concert you were talking about."
"Oh, really?" Rei blinked, caught off guard by the offer.
Her gaze flicked to at the blue-haired boy instinctively, as though hoping for some silent cue. He met her eyes with that familiar calm and answered before she could even think of a reply.
"He asked me yesterday as well," Cu said smoothly, leaning back with a shrug. "Told him I'd be busy on the day of the concert, so I passed."
Igou looked between the two of them, visibly surprised. Whatever suspicions had been bubbling beneath the surface seemed to shift into curiosity. And without Rei noticing, Cu subtly gave him a quick thumbs-up under the desk. Igou caught it, and for a moment, the tension cracked—he smiled, clearly grateful for the save.
But Rei, her expression politely apologetic, gently pushed the tickets back toward Igou. "I'm really sorry, Hisashi… but I won't be free that day. I promised my mom I'd help clean the house. She's been after me about it for weeks—and if I put it off again, she'll probably explode."
"I can step in and help her," Cu offered cheerfully.
"No!"
"No!"
The synchronized outburst from both Rei and Igou startled even him back up, raising his hands as if surrendering.
"Oi oi now, what's with the reaction?" he said with a feigned pout. "You make it sound like I've said something terrible. I was just offerin' a hand, being polite. Could've been a grand chance to meet yer mum. And yer da. They both sound like good folk, I don't think the latter still hates my guts as much as before."
Igou rounded on Rei, suddenly animated. "Listen to me, Rei—do not let this man anywhere near your mother! He went behind my back and met mine and now—now she won't stop talking about him! Keeps asking me to invite him for dinner! I'm pretty sure she's already prepared a room for him to stay at our house! I even saw her carry a bag with new clothes!"
"You can't be serious," Rei deadpanned, staring at Cu as though trying to see into his soul. "Seriously? That's a married woman!"
"Oi!" Cu looked offended. "I was just being nice! It's not what yer dirty little minds are conjuring up—I've done nothin'! Totally clean here, She probably just wants my help in choosing the best fish at the market, no one can haggle like me."
"Stay away from my mum!" Igou barked.
"Stay away from my mom," the girl also echoed those words, throwing in a sharp glare for good measure. "And from my dad, too. He's a police officer—you don't want him to start getting suspicious. He might just use it as an excuse to throw you in a cell."
"Tch…" Cu folded his arms with a dramatic sigh. "The one day I come to school feelin' a bit worn out, and the both of ye decide to gang up on me, bullying a poor, innocent Irish lad. What would yer mothers say, seein' their children abuse a perfect gentleman like myself?"
"..."
"..."
"Pft! Hahaha!"
The laughter that followed broke the last of the tension, the earlier awkwardness melting into something more familiar and easy. The three of them settled back into their usual rhythm—quick-witted jabs, rolling laughter, and comfortable atmosphere.
But then Igou, perhaps remembering something, turned to Rei with a furrowed brow. "Hey… where were you last night? Takashi called me—said your mom rang him asking if you were over at his place."
The girl froze. Whatever warmth had built up moments before vanished in an instant. Her voice, when it came, was soft. Too soft.
"I… I was at Cu's apartment."
Just like that, Igou's smile faltered. It didn't vanish outright—but it dulled at the edges, visibly forced. He struggled to recover, wearing it like a mask now while the one next to her believed she would come up with some excuse.
"I see," he said after a beat. Then, with slightly too much casualness: "Are you two… dating?"
The question lingered in the air for half a second too long.
And this time, it was Rei who answered without missing a beat.
"And what if we were?"
"—!"
Before the boy could even give an answer, Cu immediately got up from his chair all of a sudden which startled both of them. His prior laid back expression, now completely gone, mixed with resignation and slight surprise. "Igou, can you give me a favor and go find Takashi? Stay next to him and don't let him wander away from you. After that, go search for Saeko."
"Eh? Why do you want me to—"
"Rei," Cu ended up cutting him off, "Go find Fumiko and Momo, both should be in the chemistry lab right now. Find them and just like Igou, bring them to Saeko, okay?"
He did not wait to get a confirmation from either of them before leaving class with big strides. Moving fast enough that he was almost running in the hallway, making sure to not go overboard. Walking upstairs until he stopped by the rooftop but discovered the doors to be locked. Nothing, but a swift punch to the handle would not fix it, which he did.
After a loud crack comes off he won't come to the rooftop and quickly discovers he was not alone.
"Oh thank God someone came! I thought I was going to be stuck here for hours!" A certain bespectacled boy shouted with pure joy on his face, immediately starting to bow several times to Cu, much to the latter's confusion.
"Oh, wait a second, you're that Kohta lad, aren't you? The one who got shoved around last time." Cu narrowed his eyes, tilting his head slightly as recognition dawned. "Hard face to forget. What in the name of sense are you doin' up here with the doors locked behind you? Don't tell me you got bullied again. I told you, didn't I? If it ever happened again, you were to come find me."
Kohta chuckled weakly, rubbing the back of his head with a sheepish grin. "Honestly? I don't really know. I was just standing around, not bothering anyone when someone shoved me outside. Next thing I know, the door's locked behind me. I-It might've just been an accident... maybe?"
Cu stared at him for a long second. There were plenty of things he could've said—most of them unkind—but instead, he let out a quiet sigh and gave the boy a reassuring pat on the shoulder.
"Well, the door's open now," he said gruffly. "Best you head back to class. It's about to start at any moment. I'll follow in a bit. Just… try not to get yourself jumped again on the way, alright?"
"Haha… right," Kohta said with a nod, before pausing. "Wait, what about you? What are you doing up here?"
Cu didn't answer immediately. His eyes flicked toward the horizon, the faintest frown forming on his lips. One of the rune-marked stones he'd embedded in the perimeter had just pulsed—silent to the world but sharp in his mind.
More were coming. From the main road, if the signal was right.
"So… they're moving again," he murmured under his breath.
"What's moving?" Kohta asked, his brows furrowed in confusion.
Cu didn't reply.
Another stone activated. Then two more. The pulses were close together now—too close. His frown deepened as a fourth, then a fifth rune flared to life. His internal wards were lighting up like a bloody Christmas tree.
Then the forest runes went off.
All of them. At once.
Even the bounded fields, only served to buy him so much time.
He stood rooted to the spot, every inch of his body tense as he processed the impossible. What he was feeling wasn't just a stray group of infected. This was a tidal wave. Hundreds. No… thousands.
Could they truly sense the living from so far away? Or worse, was someone or something guiding them here at the same time?
His gaze swept out across the town, past the rooftops and streets of Tokonosu, and there—just beyond the last line of trees—he saw it.
A thick, dark cloud rolled slowly across the land like a crawling shadow.
And it was headed straight for them.
He had scouted these areas thoroughly just the day before. Not a sign, not a whisper of this kind of movement. But now—
"Shit," he breathed, the words slipping out before he could stop them. "I know this was a possibility, but still, too soon. Far too soon."
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The next 5 chapters of Snafu, and my other Fate fics (Fate Coiling Sword with 3 chapters, A Fake Familiar Reborn with 3 chapters, Steel Eyed Faker soon to be 3 chapters, Hound having 3 and To love a sword having 4 chapters) are already available on my P@treon. With 4 more Broly chapters at /NimtheWriter. Also, I post commissioned arts on each story, already posted a few on an Archer's Promise, Broly and Snafu.