Quintuplets of the Dead

Chapter 006

“KUNIMI!”

Futaba quickly runs to get rid of the zombie off the unconscious Kunimi. As the horde of zombies approaches, Futaba raises her weapon and is ready to die for him here and now. She liked him for so long, and he helped her live; this is how she'd repay him. Futaba says, “Come on, you bastards…” 

Suddenly, a bright light shines from the sky. The zombies begin to sizzle out and dissolve into dust. Futaba stares in confusion as she lets out a sigh of relief. She then quickly checks up on Kunimi, who's still unconscious. She smiles, “It's morning…”

Futaba lifts him on her back and remarks, “Jeez, how heavy can you be?” She gives him a piggyback and walks forward. An hour had passed, and she soon grew tired. 

“FUTABA-CHAN!” 

She looks up to where that familiar comes from and sees two silhouette figures heading towards them. Tears dribble in her eyes as Futaba whispers, “Yotsuba-chan…” 

She suddenly passes out.

===

Tanaka and Yotsuba carry the two's unconscious bodies as they find a random gas station. The two place both down and begin taking their shirts off so they can patch up their bruises. Tanaka notices Yotsuba staring at Kunimi's shirtless body. He says, “Hey, stop staring.”

When he turns his head on Futaba, he starts blushing as well. Yotsuba puffs her cheeks and says, “Hey! You're staring at her too!” Tanaka says, “My bad.” Yotsuba raises her voice, “You've seen me half-naked all the time! How come she's any different?!”

Tanaka mumbles, “B-because… you two are bigger.” A sudden chop hits him on the head. Yotsuba yells, “W-WELL, KUNIMI-KUN LOOKS WAY MORE HOTTER THAN YOU!” Tanaka is sadly a bit hurt by her statement and says, “Sorry…”

Kunimi speaks in a groggy voice, “T-Tanaka?” Tanaka and Yotsuba glance at him. He says, “So you're awake.” As Kunimi tries to recover, he realizes something and looks around frantically. He raises his voice, “FUTABA! WHERE'S FUTABA?!”

The two point at Futaba who's lying next to him. Kunimi stutters, “Uh… w-why are you shirtless? And why am I shirtless too?” Tanaka points out Yotsuba and says, “She's shirtless too.” Yotsuba's face reddens in embarrassment. 

Kunimi just stares in confusion as Tanaka explains, “You guys look badly hurt and we were trying to patch you up. That's why you don't have your shirt on.” Kunimi curiously asks, “So you two cuddle shirtless when you sleep?” The two blush as they nod their heads shamelessly. 

Something grabs his wrist. He suddenly alarms himself but immediately calms down when he sees Futaba half awake. She says softly, “K-kunimi…” Kunimi smiles, “I'm fine, Futaba. How about you?” She smiles back.

Futaba slowly jolts up as she begins tearing up, “I-I'm sorry…” Kunimi furrows his eyebrows in confusion as she adds, “Y-you almost died back there… It's all my fault! The zombies wouldn't catch up to us if it weren’t for my incompetence! You wouldn't have passed out if it wasn’t for me. You wouldn't—’

Kunimi interrupts by moving closer to her. She meets his gaze as he gently wipes her tears off. He says, “Futaba, don't ever think that about yourself. You're none of that. You're the reason to keep me going. You're the reason why I have a responsibility to protect you. And you're the reason why I have to make sure both of us make it out alive.” Futaba sniffles, “Wh-why would you do that?” 

Kunimi smiles, “So I can take you out on a nice date after this.” Futaba is stunned by his confession. She never thought he'd have the same feelings as her. 

Yotsuba runs over to her and hugs her tightly. Futaba is taken aback as the fourth quintuplet says, “Thank goodness, you're alive.” Futaba smiles and hugs her back. She says, “You too, Yotsuba-chan.”

After such a sentimental moment, Futaba says, “Uh, quick question? Why am I shirtless?” 

===

Sakuta, Hachiman, and the rest of the other girls gather in the living room as they eat dinner. Things have been better for the group. They manage to turn back the generator to its power. Komachi slowly opened up again thanks to everyone’s support. Hachiman and Itsuki keep bickering against one another while the other two, Sakuta and Ichika, still tease them as if they're like an old married couple. 

Sakuta says, “By the way, we found something earlier.” He pulls out a cracked phone that seems familiar. Itsuki narrows her eyes to try to identify to whom the phone belongs. Hachiman adds, “We found it at a gas station around the corner. It's somehow familiar.” Ichika looks up in thought and says, “I think the only one who has this kind of phone is Futaba-chan.”

Itsuki says upon realization, “That means… she's alive!” Sakuta says, “When we got there, there were these dead zombies scattered around the road. Looks like someone's been busy with those guys. My guess is Futaba is with someone.”

Ichika says, “Maybe she's with the others.” Sakuta and Hachiman remain silent. Itsuki says, “She might be. How did the zombies look?” Hachiman explains, “The blood on the floor hasn't dried up yet. Maybe it was orchestrated recently.” Itsuki slams the table in excitement and says, “That means she's alive! She might be with the others. There's no way she can take those zombies out by herself.” 

Komachi stands up and says, “All right, how about we celebrate!” Ichika smiles, “Great idea, Komachi-chan.” They turn on the karaoke and begin setting up the microphones. Komachi says out loud, “Does anyone want to sing with us?”

Sakuta and Hachiman exchange glances and chuckle. They join in the fun, except for Itsuki, as she remains on her spot. She stutters, “I-I don't…” Hachiman rolls his eyes as he forcefully drags her in. He says, “Just join us already.”

And just like that, they begin having fun. Komachi became the host of the show. Sakuta and Hachiman start dancing like a bunch of idiots. While Ichika and Itsuki give a mini-concert and sing a bunch of famous songs. It's almost as if they forgot about the current predicament they're dealing with outside.

===

Nino flutters her eyes open to see Ayanokouji sleeping cozily next to her. She blushes as she realizes that she's naked underneath the sheets. Both had an intense night filled with passion and lust. 

Nino stands and quickly dresses up as she glances back at the masterpiece next to her. She feels scared right now. Nino is always known to be the toughest one out of all the quintuplets. Some might think she can be ruthless and brave during the apocalypse. However, that wasn't the case at all. She was confident before, but now she doesn't know the whereabouts of her sisters; it's been a nightmare for her. Right now, she's staring at the person who's willing to save her life.

It's hard to admit but she's thankful for Ayanokouji. He's been protecting them throughout their journey and has been a companion for her. She whispers, “Ah mou… you look so cute when you're asleep.” Ayanokouji suddenly opens his eyes as if he’s pretending this whole time.

Nino's face reddens, and she quickly looks away. Ayanokouji grabs a hold of her hand as Nino stutters, “L-let go!” Ayanokouji says nonchalantly, “Why would I? I already know your feelings for me.” Nino shakes her head in denial and says, “I-I don't like you!” Ayanokouji says, “Well, that's unfortunate. I guess I have to leave you then.” 

Nino quickly jumps back to the bed and hugs him tightly. Tears dripping from her eyes as Ayanokouji says, “I'm just joking. I'm not leaving you.” She meets his eyes as he wipes her tears. Nino pouts, “I-I wasn't crying—” 

Ayanokouji interrupts her by kissing her on the lips. She soon succumbs to his affection.

To be continued…

[A/N: More chapters on its way]