residents of the dead

truth and lies

"What did you mean?"

Jin was brought out of thoughs while trying to fix his gloves when Takashi sat down next to him. The boxer looked at him, trying to regain senses after having been working on his electric gloves for so long, and raised an eyebrow at him in question. He didn't quite understand what takaski was asking.

"You said you're expendable," he said. "What did you mean by that?"

"What does it sound like?" Jin responsed

"It sounds like bullshit," takashi said, fixing him with a firm stare. "Why are you expendable? What makes you think your life is worth any less than any of ours?"

"...I sold something to a devil a long time ago and I don't think I'll ever get it back... Plus you all have family to find," he said. Jin didn't want to say it; it was actually somewhat painful to admit out loud. "I have people who could be considered my family, and they're not only out of reach, they particularly trying to save everyone right now. That's why, Takashi. Your families are waiting for you, probably even looking for you ... but I don't have anyone like that. That's why I'm expendable."

There was an uncomfortable silence that felt like it lasted a lot longer than it actually did. Anyone else in his position probably would've cried, but he was experienced at holding back tears.

"Not to me," said Takashi. "You're my best friend, hell practically my brother Jin ... you've been there when I've been going through so much shit. I never asked you to, but you were there anyway. And there's no one I'd rather have with me in a survival situation. So don't go dying on me, you got it?"

Jin was genuinely stunned into silence. The thing with him and Takashi is that they never had to have long conversations with each other. They were both relatively quiet when it came to social situations, so when their were in each other's company, they could say very little but still understand what the other was trying to say perfectly.

"... Takashi ..." was all Jin could bring himself to say.

"No one ever stuck up for me like you did," Kouta said as Jin turned to look at him. He was sitting next to Saya who seemed to be trying her best to look like she wasn't listening in on the conversation. "Whenever people picked on me, I normally just stood there and took it, tried to laugh it off because no one ever did anything about it ... but whenever you were around, you told them where they could shove it. And that other time, when you found that guy who was beating me up, and you ended up sending him to the nurse's office ... no one has ever stood up for me like that." He smiled . "Like Komuro said, don't you dare die on us, Jin. I'd hate to lose you."

This time a tear did manage to escape from Jin's eye, but he was quick to wipe it away before anyone noticed. "Damn it, you two ..." Jin said, then let out a little laugh. "All right, I won't go getting myself killed ... at least, not intentionally." They shared a small laugh, and the tension was eased.

moving his eyes over them and around the bus, and eventually his eyes landed on Saeko. She was looking in his direction, but the second his eyes landed on her, she moved her eyes away, almost like she was afraid to make eye contact ...

Curious, he thought. He didn't know what that look in her eyes had been before she'd turned them away, but it sure as hell wasn't a glare ... What the hell's up with her?

Silence reigned once again after that. The only sounds that could be heard were coming from the outside of the bus, and they were anything but pleasant. There was the occasional bump against the front of the bus whenever it hit a zombie in the road, along with the cracks and splats that could only barely be heard when they were crushed beneath our wheels.

Outside, the streets were war-torn. Every now and then, an explosion could be heard from somewhere outside, though Jin never once actually saw one again. He saw a lot of flaming buildings, and there was a lot of smoke rising into the air both close and at a distance, but that was about it. One of the students at the back started talking to everyone, but he paid little attention he continue to modify his glove.

Until he started shouting, anyway.

"I'm telling you!" the student, a blonde guy, yelled at everyone on the bus. "We'll only be in danger if we keep going like this! And anyway!" His shouting was beginning to annoying. "Why should we have to go with Komuro and these guys? You're the only ones who decided to go back to town! Shouldn't we have looked for a safe place in the dorms or in the school!?"

The bus grazed the side of a car. The owner's yelling quickly faded into the distance.

"He's right ..." said another male student, this one with pale skin and black hair. "If we keep this up, we're just putting ourselves in danger. We should hole ourselves up somewhere. Like the convenience store we just passed by ..."

"It's not too late!" the blonde asshole continued. "Plus, I-"

That was when the bus suddenly jerked to a stop. The sudden stop caused everyone to fly forward from their seats, "That's enough!" she yelled, fixing them with a glare. Because her seatbelt was still hooked up, it was squeezing her shirt as she leaned over, making her incredibly large breasts practically hang on display for all to see.

Both Takashi and Kouta had their mouths slightly agape as their eyes fixed on Mawikawa-sensei's bosom.

The blonde guy who had been yelling seemed to struggle with his words for a moment. Jin turned to look at him, as did most of the group, but his eyes only seemed to zone in on Takashi. "What's your problem?" he asked aggressively. "What're you looking at? You wanna fight!?"

Jin mentally prepared himself to get up and start beating on him if he got too aggressive toward his friend.

"Then what do you want to do?" Busujima-san asked calmly.

The blonde guy turned his glare on her for a moment, which pissed him off a little, then pointed a finger at Takashi like he was accusing him of something. "I don't like him!" he yelled. "I don't like this guy! Acting like he's the big shit!"

Jin was silently seething. The urge to punch this guy was growing by the second.

"Where are you getting that?" asked Takashi. "When did I ever say anything to you?"

The blonde guy went silent for a moment. Then his teeth began to grind together and his fists clenched. "Why, you ...!" he growled. He made a sudden lunge for Takashi, Jin quickly got out his seat uppercutting the boy so hard he lost a tooth.

Rei had joined in. She had slammed the side of her makeshift spear directly into the asshole's stomach. A small amount of vomit flew from his mouth, and he fell to his knees, groaning out in pain.

"You scum," Rei said to the blonde guy. She talked down to him, like she was talking to an insect she had crushed with her shoe.

The slow, clear sound of clapping took everyone's attention away from the downed student. It was Shidou. He was clapping his hands together with a wide, calculating grin on his face.