The Binding Vow of Lazarus

Chapter 7

"Damn!" Satoru huffed, sliding down in his seat, "Can't wait until next year. We'll shit on these kids."

Shoko and Suguru snickered and he snapped his head over, pushing his sunglasses down, "What?"

"You're talking like her," Suguru teased, holding his hand up in front of his mouth like a court lady. Shoko smirked beside him, looking just as smug.

"Huh!?" Satoru furrowed his brow, "What are you suggesting?"

"Nothiiing~ ⁠♪⁠♪"

The competition picked up again, and the Tokyo students were not deterred despite their loss. The next part of the event was where they planned to shine: the one-on-one combat competition. With a sweep of victories in the one-on-one combat, Tokyo reclaimed their honor, the students standing tall as the crowd cheered their hard-fought victory.

With that, Satoru had his opportunity. He dragged Suguru with him, the two of them going to quickly meet as many of the other sorcerers there as possible. As expected, they were wary of him at first. It wasn't often they'd be approached by a sorcerer from one of the big three clans.

Suguru was the key to a good introduction of course. He was so good at talking, so disarmingly charming. It was easy for him to get in good with the others quickly and soon enough at least all the Tokyo students seemed to view the two of them relatively well. Certainly better so far anyway.

However... Utahime...

"Uh, okay?" She looked Satoru and Suguru up and down suspiciously, Mei-Mei standing beside her with a serene smile.

"Uhh, yes well we just wanted to meet our seniors from the other school," Suguru said, surprised enough to stumble over his words.

Utahime crossed her arms, "You're the two special grades, aren't you?"

Suguru nodded, "Yes, we are."

"Well, then," she said, bowing politely, "It's nice to meet you both. I hope we can work well together."

They bowed in return, returning the introduction. They glanced at each other as she quickly turned to leave, apparently having nothing more to say.

"It's like she's hardwired to hate me," Satoru muttered, rubbing the back of his neck, "I didn't even do anything yet..."

⠂⠄⠄⠂⠁⠁⠂⠄⠄⠂⠁⠁⠂⠄⠄⠂ ⠂⠄⠄⠂☆

The dim light flickered as Satoru crouched low, his breath barely audible in the quiet, decaying hallway. Shadows danced on the crumbling walls where the eerie silence was interrupted only by the occasional groan of the undead. The zombies in the building were blind, but their hearing was sharp. They seemed to be picking up even the faintest rustle of fabric or scuff of a shoe against the floor.

Satoru's bright eyes gleamed from behind his dark sunglasses, and his usual smirk was absent replaced by a concentrated frown. His objective was simple: a med pack sitting innocently at the far end of the hallway, but between him and it, three zombies loomed shuffling ever so slowly and sensing the faintest vibrations in the air.

He approached the first a towering figure with long, gaunt arms that scraped the walls as it aimlessly swayed. Satoru watched the rhythmic motion of its arms, waiting for the perfect moment to slip beneath them. His steps were silent, so light that even the dust on the floor seemed undisturbed. As the zombie's hand reached high above, he darted forward, ducking under the outstretched arm and freezing in place as it swung back down, just missing his head.

For a moment, he didn’t dare move. The zombie stood still, its head twitching, nostrils flaring as if sensing something nearby. Satoru's grin flickered back onto his face. "Too slow", he thought.