'…' Haru listened to the horrifying cries with a dull, soulless expression.
He had already accepted this whole horrifying new reality.
There was nothing on his mind.
It was just a lot worse than every other day.
Then the voices of Yuki and the other pink-haired boy caught his attention.
The pink-haired boy spoke casually, as the whole class and teacher lost their minds to chaos.
"You've rescued us all. We all would've been dead if you weren't here. Soo thank you~"
Yuki snapped out of listening to the screams.
"Ah? Right… haha, we're all alive at least." Then he tilted his head, no longer listening to the screams anymore. "Are you a second-year?"
"Hm~ I was too scared and wanted to escape to the rooftop, but somehow I ended up here."
"Oh… sorry, I was rude."
They continued to talk like nothing was happening outside, like the terrifying cries weren't entering their ears.
Haru found it suspicious—too suspicious—but he didn't know what he was suspicious of.
He knew they were rescued by Yuki.
But he also wasn't sure why Yuki thought he would help him, or why Yuki wanted help from him when his friends were there.
He wasn't sure.
Then his dull eyes grew colder with a thought.
'He's thinking… I wouldn't dare to say no to them.'
'But…' The image of Yuki's worried expression when he begged for help came to his mind.
'He was looking so different.'
Haru glanced to the side.
There were enough things he had to deal with.
And trashes like Yuki could wait.
But these two were talking like it was a normal day.
In the whole class, there was only their conversation being heard.
Haru and a few other students had nothing else to do but listen to their casual chat, preferring anything over those terrifying cries.
Pink haired boy asked with a smile, his attitude was a real contrast to… pleading screams outside, "Hm, what's the plan now?"
Yuki shut his eyes in discomfort. He really didn't want to do what he had to do.
The pink-haired boy tilted his head, observing him.
"Haah… this world doesn't reward small ambitions. It crushes them.
So if we're going to act… it has to be big."
Pink haired boy's smile didn't falter. "And~? What counts as big?"
Yuki smiled tiredly, already feeling exhausted by what he had to do.
"We don't have the luxury of being weak. So, the first step… is cleaning this school."
The pink-haired boy tilted his head with interest, while some of the students' faces dropped.
Yuki glanced at Haru's brown eyes, 'Fortunately, the protagonist is here.'
"Ah?"
Their eyes met for a moment.
Haru's lifeless eyes stared straight into his soul.
Yuki scratched the back of his head and averted his gaze.
Haru had been a lifeless shell at the start of the novel, but with the warmth of his only friend, Akira—
But Yuki had already destroyed the plot by staying in the classroom instead of fleeing to the rooftop.
Yuki felt bitter at the possibility of not being able to find him.
'Please be alive.'
As he noticed the pink-haired boy's watchful eyes, something came to his mind, "Ah—my name is Yuki. Sorry for the late introduction."
The pink-haired boy smiled, "I thought you were never going to ask.
My name's Taka. Good to know you~"
"Haha… really, thank you for your help. It would've been a disaster if you hadn't interfered."
Taka blinked, looking confused. Then he remembered the three boys who had tried to open the door.
"Hm~ not matter."
Yuki scratched the back of his head, "I was really surprised when I saw you throwing two of them to the ground. You're really strong."
"Hm~ I am."
…
…
"Teacher."
Teacher Hue was sitting on the teacher's desk, lost in thought among the screams of the students.
At Yuki's voice, she came back to her senses and stared at him with her blue eyes.
"I'm listening."
"We need to prepare to fight."
"What?!"
You want to go outside, Yuki? Not happening."
"Haha…"
Teacher Hue looked annoyed at his reaction but didn't say a word.
"I would love to stay in the classroom, but—"
"But?"
"We need food."
Hearing that, she instantly squeezed her eyes shut and made a sour face.
Something like that had never crossed her mind in chaos like this.
She could already tell the outside world wouldn't be any different from the school—even the police weren't answering the calls.
After staying like that for a while, she turned to the boy with a slight hope in her eyes, "Do you have a plan?"
She didn't know why, but Yuki was giving her a strange feeling she couldn't describe.
Yuki scratched his cheek.
"You could say that… Teacher, we need to reach the cafeteria—"
The conversation dragged on.
Somewhere far away, glass shattered.
A scream cut off mid-breath.
No one flinched this time.
"We're on the fourth floor, Yuki."