High School Girl Warrior

Chapter 111 – Old friend

(Inugami Renji’s PoV)

I started a preemptive attack and smashed the head of a random nearby zombie.

This was how it started.

As soon as the first zombie died, most of the nearby zombies turned towards me.

I was now the target of dozens of blank, animal-like stares.

It was honestly quite terrifying.

So, I did the best thing that I could to try stopping my legs from trembling in fear, “Come at me!” I shouted.

Honestly, this was a pretty bad move.

Due to me making such a loud noise, I now had the attention of all the other zombies that had yet to me notice my presence.

… But in the end, that was not a problem.

Ms. Mitsune wasn’t kidding when she said I could ‘of course’ beat all those zombies.

One after another, they fell to Shikanda’s dance.

This sword moved lightly, like a feather, beheading zombies left and right.

However, I also noticed that there was a bit of a trick to handling Shikanda.

Essentially, even if someone is leading you in a dance, it’s still up to you to take the actual steps.

To use it properly, I needed to understand what direction Shikanda wanted to move towards, and appropriately adjust my body to allow that.

[Alright! You have leveled up again! Keep up this good pace!] Ms. Mitsune told me.

That was when I started noticing the difference in my muscle strength.

I made use of an opportunity to punch a zombie in the face with my free hand, and I saw its head get blown into pieces.

I started laughing as I realized the extent of what I could do.

Honestly… It was fun.

For the past five months I have been frightened. Constantly afraid of the zombies. Always running and hiding from them.

But I could now defeat the object of such fear with my bare hands. I could crush them like insects.

Right now, I was actually enjoying the act of killing them.

… I honestly wished that this could last forever.

***

Once I was done, I started breathing heavily as I looked down at the pile of zombie corpses.

Interestingly enough, Shikanda wasn’t wet with blood at all.

“It’s over!” I exclaimed.

No response came.

However, through the gaps in-between the barricades, I could see the frightened expressions of several people.

Well, I guess a person that they can’t even see the face of might be kinda scary.

“Sorry, I’ll take it off for a bit.” I told Ms. Mitsune.

[Hey, wait-] She started saying.

But without waiting for her to finish her reply, I took off the helmet.

When I did that, both the armor covering my body and Shikanda instantly disappeared.

Uhn… Let’s see… A line that could make me sound like an ally of justice would be… “Please don’t worry. I’m here to help.”

Once again, I received no response.

… So that’s how it’s going to be? My strength was so absurd that even the people I tried to protect ended up being scared of me?

In that case… “You can think of me as a super hero.” I told them.

“Whoa! A super hero!” I heard a child exclaim.

I smiled wryly at that… I would prefer to avoid referring to myself like that, if possible.

But well, things would be troublesome if I let that frightened mood remain for long, so let’s make use of this option for the time being.

“Yeah, I’m a super hero that was passing by.” I said.

I can’t fly or ride a motorcycle like super heroes can though.

“So, would it be okay for me, an ally of justice, to go up there?” I asked them.

“Of course! Hurry! Hurry! I wanna say hello to the super hero and get his autograph!” A child shouted to someone.

“Well, I don’t mind it, but I gotta grab the ladder first.” A man replied.

… Hold on. Is this for real? Can I believe what I’m hearing?

That strangely bitter and low voice was quite familiar to me…

“I don’t need a ladder.” I told them.

Then, I put on my helmet again.

[Hey, please keep the helmet on at all times. I get lonely otherwise.] Ms. Mitsune told me.

My body was once again covered by the silver armor.

Then, using my strengthened body, I kicked the wall and swiftly climbed the barricade.

“Whoa! Are you from a circus or something?” The man asked.

That stupid voice. That stupid face. That stupid haircut…

“I can’t believe it… Are you really Kou?” I asked him.

After landing, I took off my helmet again.

And that familiar face looked at me with a blank expression for a second.

“A-ah…” But then large tears appeared on his face, “I-it’s you! I can’t believe it! I had no idea who that stranger was, but it turned out to be you, Inugami! It’s been so long!” He was so overcome with emotion that he actually hugged me.

“W-whoa! That’s creepy! Don’t stick to me!” I replied.

It felt like he might actually kiss me if I didn’t do something about it.

But honestly, I too had some tears in my eyes right now.

He was Takatani Kouichi. We’ve been friends since elementary school.

“It’s a miracle! A miracle! It must have been destiny that brought us together again!” Kouichi exclaimed.

Honestly, the probability of this happening was so low that I couldn’t really blame him for saying that.

I mean, we used to live in the same neighborhood before, but the chances of meeting again after the apocalypse started weren’t simply low. It was like winning the lottery.

It’s been five months since this zombie outbreak started, after all… I really didn’t think that this dull friend of mine could have survived all the way until now.

“So, where were you when the first zombies started appearing? I actually searched your house, but you weren’t there.” I asked him.

Mine and Kouichi’s house were actually only a few minutes away from each other, so it was easy to check on it.

“Unfortunately, I wasn’t home at that time… Or perhaps I should say it was fortunate, as I’m still alive thanks to that.” Kouichi replied.

“… What about your parents?” I couldn’t help asking.

Kouichi’s expression got bitter, “… We haven’t seen each other since.”

“I see…” Was all that I could say for a reply.

“My expectations are pretty low by now…” He muttered.

“I’m sorry to hear it.” I muttered.

We now had an awkward mood between us.

But well, in his own way, Kouichi seemed to have figured out a way to break this mood, “Ah, for now, get over here! I wanna hear more about what’s been going on with you!”

Well… Even now, his voice still sounded weird.

But also, it was true that I felt an indescribable joy from seeing my friend still being the same even after all these long months.