Chapter Text
It didn't take them a minute to realize that they barricaded themselves inside an office. Messy desks took up most of the space in the room, along with their clutter and neglected paperwork and rusting lockers on one corner. Thankfully enough, there were a lot of heavy furniture available. Haruka wanted the only exit blocked and Makoto just obeyed and helped him carry the heavy stuff, although he was still clueless of the monster outside. Haruka tried to explain, but he was too freaked out and Makoto opted him not to continue. It didn’t need a lot of explaining. Makoto just knew that whatever was out there wasn’t just an ordinary monster.
When the door was fully fortified with office chairs, desks, potted plants and an empty water dispenser, Makoto crashed down to the floor, breathing heavily and on the verge of passing out.
“Makoto!” Haruka cried out in surprise when he heard the loud thump, dropping whatever he was carrying midway to hurry down and kneel next to the exhausted man. He asked frantically, “What’s wrong? Are you alright?!”
Makoto shook his head as he watched Haruka fuss over him, checking for wounds. “No, I’m just… tired,” he mumbled softly, letting the back of his head rest on the barricade they assembled.
“You’re hurt…” the worried boy whispered, noticing Makoto’s burned arm as the improvised bandage started to fall out of place. Pulling his arm in an attempt to examine further, Haruka apologized when Makoto winced out of pain.
“I don’t think it’s serious,” Makoto said, referring to his first-maybe-second-degree burn. The other just glared at him. Of course it was serious. Haruka could tell even with the dim lighting that the burn wasn’t merely first-degree. "More importantly, you should change your clothes. You’ll get a…”
His words drifted away into the night’s menacing air as Haruka stood up without a word and proceeded to check every single drawer inside the room. There had to be at least one first-aid kit inside that room. Rummaging through drawers and emptying the bags that probably belonged to the university’s faculty, Haruka was fortunate enough to find an antibiotic cream and a clean-looking handkerchief inside a forgotten pink purse. He rushed back to Makoto’s side.
As Haruka began treating his burn with an ointment that was way beyond its expiration date, Makoto noticed the red stains on Haruka’s clothes. “Why are you all wet by the way? Don’t tell me you went for a swim even in this situation.” Makoto joked, but it seemed like a serious question.
“I was locked in the shower rooms. Almost got fed to those things,” Haruka said, carefully rubbing the antibiotic on Makoto’s scalded skin. He seemed calm about it, but honestly he didn’t want to remember. “You’ve seen them, right?” He looked at Makoto’s eyes as he remembered the insane man and his lover, and how he could, strangely enough, sympathize with them.
“I’ve seen them,” Makoto answered, his face painted with repentance. Haruka was almost done wrapping the handkerchief on his arm when Makoto hoisted himself up to sit up properly, resting his back on the barricade of furniture. He looked down. “I… had to kill a lot.”
Haruka found it hard to believe. It just wasn’t in Makoto’s nature, proving much further that the world really was going insane. “You… killed them?” he repeated.
“Yeah,” Makoto breathed out and smiled weakly. He lifted his head up, eyes fixed at incredulous blue ones, and said, “Because I had to find you.”
Without any more words, Haruka sat down on the floor between Makoto’s legs, resting his head on the other man’s shoulder. Makoto just let him, wrapping his left arm over Haruka’s back.
“I won’t let myself get killed knowing you’re out there on your own,” Makoto murmured as his eyes began to involuntarily close. He felt Haruka nestle closer, almost to the point where he could hear his heartbeat. “And I am so relieved you’re alive. And… and…”
Haruka felt his chest tighten. It was obvious that Makoto was tired and in pain, that even letting out a few words was difficult. He felt bad because he knew it was because he spent the entire night looking for him. “Makoto, it’s fine, you can talk later. Just rest.”
It took a minute or two for Makoto to fall asleep, so Haruka took this chance to take a look at his face. There were cuts and scratches on his cheeks, as blood and sweat dripped down from his forehead, implying the great lengths he had gone through just to find him. Caressing his cheek, Haruka mouthed a soft “thank you” before standing up from his comfortable position. He did it quietly so as to not wake the sleeping young man and started searching the office for old clothes that could clean Makoto up. A change of clothes would be nice too.
“This should be good enough,” he muttered silently to himself, holding a white women’s volleyball t-shirt that he had found from the lockers and a medium-sized Hideki Matsui jersey. It took one sniff to prove that they were clean, the smell of detergent still lingering in the fabric.
Haruka undressed and changed quickly, the cold air nipping harshly at his exposed skin. He wasn’t much of a baseball fan, so it was his first time wearing a jersey. He then proceeded to clean Makoto’s face with the other shirt, wiping the blood and dirt off from his neck and arms. Softly, he dabbed the clean cloth against his face next, careful not to rouse him from his sleep that he obviously needed.
While Makoto slept peacefully for the first time that day, Haruka felt his stomach grumble. He was hungry, but he couldn’t find anything else other than an old Meiji chocolate bar. It was better than nothing. He ate it nonetheless, making sure to save half for Makoto, since he knew Makoto liked that certain chocolate. It was still unsafe to go outside, even though Haruka knew there really wouldn’t be a time when it would be safe. Still, it would be wise to venture forth when the sun comes up.
When Makoto woke up, he heard a terrible noise from the other side of the door. Still in pain from his arm wound and about a hundred lesser aches, he felt a lot better than he did an hour before.
Makoto flinched at the sound. Now more alert, he straightened his back and looked around, finally noticing the head of dark tresses resting on his shoulder. Haruka must’ve been tired as well, napping quietly as he took the effort to sit down next to him.
Thud! Thud!
Makoto froze. The sound of wood crumbling was getting closer. “Haru! Wake up!” he whispered loudly, shaking Haruka’s shoulders.
“…What?” Haruka asked groggily, rubbing his eyes and still half-asleep.
“There’s something outside.”
Haruka spun and stared at the door. Could it be the same monster that chased him?
Heart racing, Haruka stood up and suggested, “We need to go hide.” Makoto just nodded and let him drag them to safety. If it really was the same undead monster, there was only one thing they could do:
Hide.
They needed to be rabbit in the face of danger. The monster was agile, but it was also blind and seemed like it didn’t really possess a keen sense of smell. From Haruka’s experience, it seemed like it relied heavily on noise, just like the infected.
Thud! Thud!
It was close. It might be right outside the barricaded door. Haruka could tell Makoto was scared. He was, too, but not nearly as frightened as the other man. He grabbed him by the hand, careful not to touch his wounded arm, and steered him towards a large locker where cleaning supplies were stored. It wasn’t big enough for the both of them, but there really wasn’t any other hiding place. Haruka pushed Makoto in first, then himself, and closed the door.
“Don’t make a sound,” Haruka said, trying to comfort Makoto, who was breathing heavily by then. They could see outside the locker from the three rectangular holes. He was stuck in a locker again, Haruka thought. They were facing each other so very closely that Haruka wasn’t sure if his heart was racing because of their awkward position or the hungry creature outside. “It reacts to sound so just stay—”
The door that they fortified imploded in one swift second, rain of broken furniture and wood spraying all over the room. Makoto almost screamed out of surprise, but Haruka covered his mouth just in time. He was the one who could see what was happening and not Haruka, his shocked mind looking for something to describe the monster, maybe some kind of predatory animal. But it wasn’t an animal. Makoto knew that the creature was once human. It didn’t look like the majority of the infected. He could tell just by the smell alone that this was a worse kind of the undead.
“Gaaaarrgghhh!”
The creature screeched so loud that made both of them cringe. It walked on all fours, looking for something to eat. The holes in the locker gave Makoto a clear look of its hideous body, and how it was merely six feet away from them. Much of its skin had peeled off, fibrous red muscle tissue the only thing left to show. Its claws looked like its body forced them out, blood dripping from its base up to the tips.
“Hey, Makoto, look at me,” Haruka said in a hushed voice. Hands on both sides of his face, Haruka chanted quietly, “Look at me. Don’t look at it. Just look at me.” Just from his heartbeat, Haruka could tell Makoto was scared as fuck, having to see such a disgusting thing—much more disgusting than the regular infected—for the first time.
Makoto could hear his own heartbeat. And he was sweating like crazy too. He felt like throwing up. He tried to look away from the monster and look at Haruka instead, but he was so disoriented he had no idea what to do. “H-Haru… I…!”
It was a good thing the monster smashed a desk when Makoto spoke, or else it would’ve heard him. The creature then turned his head to their direction, as if he already knew they were inside. Makoto was shaking uncontrollably. The monster marched towards them, raised a strong arm and literally destroyed the lockers next to them, shrieking loudly like a pig getting slaughtered. Makoto couldn't help but gasp in surprise, his trembling body causing the steel lockers to make soft rattling sounds.
“Makoto, stay quiet!” Haruka whispered anxiously, trying not to shout. He needed to distract the shaking Makoto. His breathing was too loud and he needed him as quiet as possible if they wanted to stay undetected.
And so he took their close proximity to his advantage and simply kissed him.
It would have been the perfect time for Haruka to kiss him, except maybe for the fact that there was a flesh-eating monster outside and that they weren’t really in that kind of relationship—maybe not just yet, but they were getting there. At least, that was what Haruka thought. Their relationship was already so intricate that it was hard to label them in a single word.
Makoto caught his kiss, nearly gasping out loud when he felt the Haruka on his lips. He would’ve made a sound, if it weren’t for the other’s lips keeping his mouth closed. The rush of heat went straight to his face and for a split second, he had forgotten about the monster nearly a meter away. He shivered at the touch but his terrified green eyes didn’t close. Haruka noticed this and pulled him even closer, extending a hand to touch the back of Makoto’s head as he opened his mouth to open his—
Bang!
Makoto and Haruka jumped at the sudden sound, causing them to pull away. The hunter-like creature screeched louder than the gunshot. Haruka had to turn around as well, which was a little awkward since he had to rub against Makoto’s body. Another gunshot and suddenly dark red liquid came rushing out of the holes made by the gun, spraying the walls and floors with horrible blood and maybe some unidentified slime with it. It all happened so fast that the both of them did nothing but watch as the creature shriek agonizingly in pain.
It was Rin.
Makoto was so relieved to see him. He knew he would survive. Rin shot the monster again. Those were already three rounds spent. It collapsed on the floor on the fourth shot, its squirmings becoming less and less sprightly until it finally stopped moving altogether. Stunned with disbelief, Rin let out a huge sigh before putting his arms down and placing the gun back to his holster.
Makoto wasn’t sure if they should go out, but it didn’t matter since Haruka pushed the locker door open as soon as the creature’s last wails died out.
“Whoa!” Rin jumped, almost reaching for the gun. And he soon realized it was Haruka—alive and safe, but most importantly, alive. Makoto came out soon after and Rin couldn’t help but tackling them both into a tight hug, swinging his arms on both of their necks. “You guys are okay! Holy shit!”
“Rin, you made it!” Makoto cried out in happiness. He left out traces and messages on walls so Rin would know where he went. He was glad it helped him somehow.
Rin, who was literally crying, nodded and smiled, breathing heavily as he spoke, “Yeah, you too, huh? And what the hell happen—” He stopped abruptly, noting Haruka and Makoto’s super red faces. He laughed. “Were you that scared? Your faces are all red. What? Did you kiss inside that closet or—”
Haruka looked to his side while Makoto did the same, neither of them commenting. It was then Rin knew he made a terrible joke.
“Shit. Was I right?”
“N-No!” Makoto finally spoke out, face and ears still red in embarrassment. He sheepishly rubbed the side of his neck. “W-We were just… you know, a little mixed-up… from everything. I mean, I thought we were going to die… and—”
“Okay, I get it.” Rin raised both his hands in surrender. He knew they were hiding something. They really didn’t kiss, right? That would be so awkward. Rin wouldn’t really mind them, but having to deal with their awkwardness to each other sounded like a real pain. He needed to change the subject. “A-Anyway! We should get the hell out of here, don’t ya think? The gunshots will probably attract some of the infected. There’s a place I know that would be safe.”
“Y-Yeah, we should get going,” Makoto agreed. He took one last glance at the dead mutated creature before taking a deep breath. “Lead the way.”
Rin was the first to go out the wrecked doorway. Aside from the gun, he had a sturdy-looking microphone stand as a weapon, which he found inside a deserted lounge when he got separated from Makoto.
They made their way out of the building, trying to avoid detection to save time and energy. They reached the end of the hall and cautiously opened the fire exit door Haruka never knew existed, weapon half-raised. The outside was clear.
“So, where are we going?” Makoto asked, mainly because he sensed that Haruka was curious.
“The police department,” Rin stopped his tracks. “I ran into a soldier earlier.”
“From the army?”
“From the countermeasure team,” he corrected. He didn’t even know there was such an organization. “The virus started here. The other parts of the country are safe, but Tokyo is going to get nuked in three days’ time. There’s an evacuation site in the police department. It’s where soldiers are taking civilian survivors. They leave to Nagoya on the last day.”
That was considered good news. At least he knew his family in the countryside was safe. It took a huge weight off Makoto’s shoulders and he felt like he could breathe normally again. He smiled, a cool midnight wind breezing across his face. They had a chance after all.
“But the police department is five kilometers away…” Haruka said. He knew this because he lived near it. The building was near the river and was just across the Japanese Coast Guard's office. It would be suicide to go there. “Why don’t we just escape by ourselves? Get a car and take the expressway?”
“They already quarantined the entire city. No one gets in, no one gets out. I think you’ve forgotten how fast the army is. If we want to escape, we have to do it with the evac team.”
“This is ridiculous,” Haruka uttered under his breath.
Rin frowned at him and shook his head. “It’s our only way out of this hellhole.”
They didn’t have much of a choice. But now that Makoto knew there was a way out, a chance to survive and keep on living, he realized that he wasn’t as scared. He was still a little frightened, sure, but knowing more about the situation made him feel less useless and vulnerable, that despite of the risks, it would be better to try, to make an attempt to fight instead of doing nothing and wait for help to come.
“But I think we should rest first,” Makoto suggested. “We should eat and head to the evac site in the morning. Right, Haru?”
Makoto and Rin turned to him. It could be the bags under his eyes or his uneven breathing or even the stomach grumbles that gave it away. Makoto was spot-on once again. He instantly turned his head away when he accidentally made eye contact, still not forgetting the fact that he kissed him. What annoyed him was that Makoto didn’t seem that all bothered, unlike him, who was fidgeting and uncomfortable up until now.
“Let’s look for a hideout then. One safe to spend the night in.” Rin quickly walked toward another building, gun ready. The cafeteria was a good first try. It only had one floor and a mezzanine and was fairly small. There should only be three or four infected in there.
Except it wasn’t just three—or four—try, maybe, about a dozen.
“Shit.” That was all Rin could say. The three of them were still outside, peeking through the large-scale windows of the cafeteria, crouching to stay out of sight and keep noises to a minimum. “I thought this would be our best bet. There’s gotta be food in there.”
“We could always use the door at the back. The one that heads right to the kitchen.” Haruka knew his way around that area. From their point of view, it seemed like the door to the kitchen was locked so there was a chance that the infected had not taken over that part yet.
“Let’s go for it.”
Sure enough, the door behind the cafeteria was also locked. The door appeared like it would be possible to break since it was made from wood, but Makoto thought it wasn’t such a good idea to force their way through if they planned on staying there overnight. There wasn't a way inside other than the narrow window above the door. Rin bit the bottom of his lip. He had an idea, but he wasn’t sure if Makoto would agree…
“Give me a boost. I’ll open it from the inside.”
It seemed like Haruka was thinking the same thing. And as Rin guessed, Makoto was against it.
“What? Haru, it’s too dangerous! What if there are infected in there?” Makoto objected. His concern for him wasn't a surprise.
Haruka just glared at him. “I’m the only one that can fit in there. Once we’re inside, we’re safe. I just want to get this over with.”
“Take the gun,” Rin offered and handed him his only firearm, smirking. He liked that Haruka was brave and initiative when they needed him to be. “Just in case.”
Even though Makoto was still unhappy about the whole idea, he was the one that gave Haruka the boost up by letting him stand on his crossed palms until he disappeared into the opening. Makoto pursed his lips, reassuring himself that Haruka would be alright.
Haruka stepped out into the dark kitchen, the lights were off and he could barely see anything. He quickly turned to the door to open it but found out in horror that it was sealed with a padlock.
“…Damn it,” Haruka cursed in a hushed voice. He tried to pry it open, pulling it from the door but it was no use. He stopped, breathing deeply. The key had to be in there somewhere, he was sure of it.
“What’s taking him so long?” Makoto was starting to worry. He could feel his heart beating faster out of nervousness. He heard Rin click his tongue.
Rin pressed his cheek against the door, shouting, but not too loudly, “Haru! What’s going on?”
“It’s padlocked. I’ll look for the key," he hard from the other side.
Haruka moved quickly and silently across the dark kitchen, edging around a counter that separated the room into half. It was too dark and he couldn’t even find the light switch. He paused when he stepped on what seemed like a puddle. As he slowly walked further, an awful stench was slowly approaching. Hopefully it was just spoiled food and not one of those awful—
He heard something. His head snapped up, his attention on his surroundings. There was a soft dragging sound—an infected man brushing against the floor, or wall, something. It was impossible to see anything. Haruka’s breath hitched. He assessed his surroundings, trying to discern where the sound was coming from.
A figure of a man was laying on the floor, back against the counter. That much Haruka could recognize. It began to moan—that awful droning sound of slow, rotting death. The carrier had no lower body, nor a complete digestive system, but it was still very eager to eat Haruka. Despite being in a kitchen, the infected must’ve been so very hungry that it started eating its own legs. He chose to ignore it, seeing as the infected couldn’t do much, until he saw something glisten. Haruka took a deep breath. Why must everything be so hard? The mutilated man had the keys, hanging from its shirt’s front pockets. The gun wasn’t really necessary, so Haruka just took a knife from one of the drawers and raised his hand to slash its brains out.
But he couldn’t. He thought it would be easy but he just couldn’t.
Hands shaking, he almost dropped the knife. He might have been simply waiting for it to attack him, to give him a lawful reason to kill it, but it didn’t. It was missing half of its body so it just stayed there, guarding the keys like it was his job to do so. But he remembered Makoto and Rin. They were outside waiting for him. Haruka closed his eyes first and breathed in deep, and in a flash, hacked the knife onto its skull, unaware that he was screaming too—a cry of terror. He knew it was deader than shit but he gave one final blow to the head until its brains were oozing out of its skull.
He couldn’t believe it. He just killed a man.
He killed a monster—not a man. At last, he shook his head. He recovered enough of himself to approach the bloody dead remains and swiftly pulled the keys from its shirt. Haruka ran back to the door and unlocked it.
As soon as the door opened, Makoto pulled him in a profound embrace.
“Are you okay?” Makoto asked, still not letting go of the smaller man. “You’re clothes are all dirty again…”
Haruka reddened at the sudden gesture and pushed him away gently. He looked at Rin instead, still unable to look Makoto properly. Giving the gun back to Rin, he said, “There was only one infected. I finished him off.”
Once again, they barricaded the two doors, this time with kitchen appliances. They turned the lights on, revealing the kitchen's overall cleanliness and modern design. Makoto was the first to forage for food, which wasn’t very difficult since it was a kitchen. There was an unopened pack of wheat bread inside the cabinets, a bunch of canned fish and meat, and a refrigerator full of potable water and juice.
Before he could indulge himself, Makoto gave everything he found to Haruka.
“You’re hungry, right? Take the first bite.” Makoto smiled at him. Why was he still acting normally, even after what Haruka did? The young man couldn’t understand. Shouldn’t he be disgusted that his best friend—male best friend—literally just stole his first kiss? He even sat next to him and wouldn’t eat unless Haruka started.
“T-Thanks,” Haruka murmured almost inaudibly. He looked to his side, only to see Rin consuming a can of corned tuna like it was the best meal he had ever eaten. Haruka stared at what Makoto gave him. They were canned mackerel—the kind where a can opener was unnecessary. All it required was a little pulling.
Suddenly, he remembered the chocolate bar he had been saving for Makoto. It seemed a little useless now since they were already stocked up on food that could last for days, but he still wanted to give it to Makoto.
“Here.” Makoto looked up, seeing a standing figure of Haruka, green eyes wide in surprise. “I found this in the office earlier. I ate half, but if you don’t want it, I—”
“Thank you,” Makoto said sweetly with a smile. He looked so happy, Haruka thought. “I’ll eat it later—save the best for last.”
After their satisfying dinner, they made improvised cots using the aprons and uniforms stored inside one of the cabinets. It was better than sleeping on cold tiled ground. Rin and Makoto took off the shoreline jackets they had previously stolen from the hardware store, while Haruka changed his clothes again, and this time into chef’s robes. There weren’t any other clothes inside, so he had to deal with that for now. Sleeping in clothes drenched in blood and carrier fluids wasn’t a very appealing idea after all.
Haruka slept between Rin and Makoto. They decided to sleep close to each other. Rin was the first one to doze off, tired from all the shit he’d been through. Who wouldn’t be tired? At least now they were no longer hungry nor thirsty.
On the other hand, Makoto found it hard to sleep. How could anyone sleep at that point? The world was in total chaos, his body was hurting all over, the smell of death was everywhere, brain-sucking monsters waited outside right outside the doors… It was a disaster. What if they attack him during his sleep? Standing up, Makoto headed over to the sink to soak his burned arm in cold water, washing leftover blood and making sure he was relatively clean. He peered at Haruka, trying to determine if he was already sleeping, and from the looks of it, he probably was. Afterwards, he went back to his makeshift bed and gazed at Haruka’s face.
Makoto decided that Haruka sleeping was him at his most fascinating.
“Can’t sleep?” Haruka asked suddenly, causing Makoto to turn away in reflex. He hoped Haruka hadn’t noticed he had been staring at him.
“Nah,” Makoto answered. “Can you?”
“No.”
Honestly, Makoto wanted to be closer to him, but Haruka didn’t seem like he’d want him to. He had been avoiding him ever since that thing in the locker. Makoto wanted to ask why he did it. But he couldn’t. He knew it was just out of impulse—a rush of adrenaline as they liked to call it. But for some reason, he wanted it to be more than that. And so, Makoto didn’t ask. For a moment, at least, he was scared to know why. He let out a huge sigh before closing his eyes and drifting off to sleep, in expectation of the long, long day ahead.