"Y'all done? Get in the car before Princess passes out again."
You scowled, chucking a packet of powdered soup you were about to stash in a duffle bag at a smirking Atsumu who dodged expertly as he whisked past you and out the front door.
Suna picked up the yellow package that happened to land by his feet and tossed it back to you.
He glanced over his shoulder, "Wanna bet how many times she'll faint today? I say five. Including the one this morning."
Osamu walked out of the kitchen, carrying the last of the canned tuna from your aunt's cupboards, "Four times. If I win I get shotgun for the next three days when I'm not driving."
The two shook on it.
"Yeah sure go ahead guys, as if my fainting isn't a serious cause of concern signifying potential permanent brain damage." You muttered sarcastically under your breath, heaving the bag over your shoulders and making your way past them towards the Black Jeep now parked on the footpath directly outside the house.
You begrudgingly walked past the three fresh mounds of soil situated in the far corner of the grassy area, averting your eyes away in woe.
Kita and Osamu had the courtesy of helping you dig graves for your parents and aunt last night, finally giving them the proper burial they deserved. Although grateful that their souls could finally rest in peace, you nevertheless harboured a guilt in your chest that burying them in the very place they lost their lives was the only thing you could do.
It had only been a day since the Inarizaki boys (they disclosed a bit more information about themselves to you, including the high school they all attended) agreed to you accompanying them on their trip across Japan to find their military friend, and hopefully your brother.
Unfortunately for you, new companions did not preclude you from your fainting spells that still continued to blindside them (and you, to be honest) every time they occurred. You had randomly collapsed in the middle of washing the dishes—Suna dropped a rather antique-looking plate in order to catch you (your aunt, if alive, would not have been pleased); you passed out and almost spilled all of Atsumu's beloved peach body wash that he insisted you pack for the trip; and you fainted in the garden when staring at your family's corpses that Osamu almost mistook you for a rouge zombie.
You had also discovered a new symptom of your concussion: short-term memory loss.
"Wh-what are your names again?"
Atsumu and Kita looked at you like you had grown two heads, the latter speaking up, "Y/N, are you okay?"
You pulled back in alarm as Osamu rounded the corner, drying his hair with a towel after showering, "Wait. Twins...?"
Now you had three confused and alarmed men staring at you. At that moment, you were just as dumbfounded. It felt like your brain had short-circuited. You recognised their faces, for the most part. But you couldn't seem to match a name to their features.
"Is this another symptom?"
You turned to the sound of Suna's voice, squinting your eyes as you racked your brain, "A-Atsumu?"
Suna's usual blank stare cracked with a grimace, "I'm offended that of all names you could have called me, you picked the asshole twin's."
"THE FUCK?!"
Kita sat patiently in the Jeep as you approached, perched comfortably in the driver's seat with his arms resting on the steering wheel. Unmoving, he stared at the road ahead, the exit to the main road of the quiet suburb just shy of a kilometre beyond a leftward turn.
After putting the duffle bag in the boot, you walked up to the driver's window that was wound down.
His eyes landed on you as you approached.
"So, where do you guys want me to sit?" You asked nervously, slightly skittish at the thought of spending the next god-knows-how-long in a vehicle with four boys.
"Would you prefer to sit in the passenger seat?" He inquired.
There was a slight difference in height that placed you at a lower angle from the driver's seat, and the discrepancy oddly made you feel small and somewhat inferior under his blank stare.
Although Kita was a bit shorter than the other three and significantly quieter than the twins, he carried an aura of authority that was ever so apparent from your first interaction with them. He spoke only when required to (and always seemed to have the right words to say), provided directions or answers to questions yet to be asked, and managed to keep the rowdiness of the twins under wraps with his mere presence alone.
He was intimidating, to say the least. And his stoic demeanor amplified it by a tenfold.
"Suna and Osamu were betting on who would take the passenger seat. I don't really want to get between that." You replied sheepishly.
Kita turned back to the house, watching said boys collect the last of their things.
"It's fine. I'll tell them that you're sitting in front for now."
You could only nod meekly in response.
"Oi, Princess." Atsumu's low voice sounded from the car boot. You looked in his direction and he nudged his head in the direction of the house. You furrowed your eyes and followed his gaze. Suna stood by the front door, motioning you over.
You hurried up to him.
"What's up?"
"Follow me."
Okay, a bit suspicious.
He led you past the laundry room towards an open door at the back of the house. It was the door that led to your aunt's empty basement garage. You wondered why Suna was all of a sudden interested in the deserted room.
"I was checking if there was anything useful in the garage." He began, stepping into the concrete room and flicking the light on, "But I found this under one of the shelves."
He handed you a small, tattered piece of paper. You eyed it with furrowed brows.
"Warrant of fitness. BMW 7 Series Sedan." You read out, confused.
"Look at the issue date."
Your eyes grew wide.
If you weren't wrong, the date stamped on the WOF was less than a year ago. It was a recent certification.
"There's no car here..." You began, meeting Suna's apathetic gaze with wide hopeful eyes.
"Yeah, and there are dents in the garage door," He pointed at the metal barrier at the other end of the room, "which can only be opened with a 4-digit code or some kind of swipe card from the outside. Seems like someone hit it when leaving in a rush."
"HURRY UP, TIME TO GO." Atsumu's obnoxious yell bellowed through the hallway.
It's like he spontaneously forgot that zombies could literally pounce on him at the sound of a single pindrop.
"Do you think," Your heartbeat raced as Suna turned on his heel to leave, "My brother could have taken my aunt's car when he escaped? I mean. I think he's at an age where he can drive."
"Possible. Let's just go with that. Just wanted to let you know." He shrugged as you stumbled after him in disbelief, closing the door behind you.
Your fingers tightened over the WOF slip as words of self-assurance streamed past your lips.
"No... It has to be. It has to be."
Dubious hope was the only thing left in this world you could cling to.
The gentle hum of the car as it drove along the highway speckled with the occasional straggling zombie lured you into a light doze. Your body felt weighed down by the medication you consistently consumed, yet the thrill of finally venturing out of your aunt's house kept you from falling into a deeper slumber.
"Does that count as fainting?" You heard Suna's deep voice sound directly behind you in the back seat.
"Yeah, let's count it."
"Okay, that's two already."
Your eyes shot open as you sent a drowsy glare to the two gamblers through the rearview mirror, which only made Osamu snicker.
"We're nearing Kyoto. We need to find more gas." Kita said.
"Can't believe yer rich neighbours all had empty tanks."
"My aunt's rich neighbours. I'm not from here." You snapped back at Atsumu.
"Speaking of that, ya don't have the Kansai accent. Where are ya from?" Osamu asked.
You sighed, "I, too, would love to know."
"Your accent sounds pretty standard. Probably a city girl." Suna observed.
Was that an insult?
"I'd prefer not to go into the city centre for gas and risk getting stranded, there's definitely going to be a significant number of Zs clustered there. So, keep your eyes out for any gas stations." Kita's monotone voice sliced through the atmosphere of the car.
You nodded, peering out the window your left shoulder rested against.
The lush forestry zipping past the Jeep as it traveled down the deserted highway produced an illusionary sense of serenity. It would have been an idyllic summer afternoon, if not for the overhanging reality that Japan was now pillaged with a deadly virus that wiped out 70% of the population in the span of six months, according to Kita.
"It started out with the coronavirus. It was highly infectious and left everyone who contracted it with severe respiratory symptoms that often led to death. The elderly and immune-compromised were hit the worse. It spread like wildfire and our governments were quick to engineer a vaccine. Things were looking up as the vaccines rolled out, but that was when the virus mutated into a strain that when combined with the vaccine, exacerbated the illness with a 90% mortality rate. But what nobody expected was that the dead would somehow... remain alive after their hearts stopped beating."
Your head bobbed slowly as you absorbed every word of Kita's "refresher" on the current state of the world.
"Vaccinations were terminated immediately but we soon found out that this new strain could only be transmitted to the unvaccinated and healthy through the bloodstream, such as bites."
"And so here we are. The world's gone to shit, most of our government officials, scientists and doctors are the very Zs trying to tear our faces off and—"
"—What Atsumu is trying to say is that with our world succumbing into inevitable destruction, all the survivors are just trying to stay alive and get to one of the elusive safe-havens built by whatever's remained of Japan's military."
"Do you know where the safe-havens are?"
"No."
You spotted a road sign that read 'Kyoto 25km'.
Your eyes narrowed, a sense of familiarity tugging at your clouded memory.
"Gas station..." You mumbled, before raising your voice, "Take the next left turn."
Kita shot you a sideways glance as a chorus of "Huh?!"s came from the back seat.
"I think I've been here before." You stated, pointing to a broken signpost etched in the ground by a side road quickly coming into view, "There."
Kita looked hesitant for a brief moment but nevertheless followed your directions.
You bit your lip as the car entered a narrower path shrouded by large pine trees, slowing down as the ground transitioned from asphalt to looser gravel that ricocheted off the vehicle's glossy exterior.
The doubt radiating off the four males was almost as suffocating as the silence inside the car.
Maybe you shouldn't have said anything.
"I swear, Princess, if ya lead us to our deaths—Wait, what's that?"
You exhaled an inaudible sigh of relief as the forest gave way to a large concrete clearing painted with unmistakable parking lines. You mentally thanked the Heavens for having your back as you caught sight of the petrol station flanking the left wing of the parking lot. Situated opposite the fuel dispensary, across the parking lot, was a one-story building decorated with a 'Rest Stop' sign.
Atsumu whistled, "Well, whaddya know, maybe Y/N is useful."
God, he was such a prick.
Kita slowly pulled up to one of the three gasoline pumps in the car park, a considerable distance away from the ten other abandoned vehicles littered throughout the area.
"Suna."
Wordlessly, the brunette clipped a sub-machine gun around his torso and hopped out of the car. His feet landed lightly on the pavement. He surveyed the barren surroundings before signaling that the coast was clear.
The twins grinned and climbed out after him, slinging lethal weapons of their own over their shoulder. Kita shuffled to face you, "You should stay here."
You were more than happy to comply, flashing him a thumbs up, "Wouldn't have it any other way."
A glint of amusement flickered in his brown orbs before vanishing just as quickly as it appeared. He broke eye contact and reached down to the side of the driver's seat to retrieve a medium-sized gun similar to Suna's.
You eyed it warily, concerned that you failed to notice any weapons when you climbed into the vehicle yet the four males seem to pull them out from every hidden corner of the car.
"Aran left them for us." Kita remarked, answering the unspoken question in your head.
Was the look of surprise on your face that obvious?
"Watch my back while I fill the tank and reserve containers. I'll join the other boys in there once I'm done," He said, pointing towards the distant figures of Suna and the twins already heading towards the grimy doors of the (hopefully) abandoned rest stop, "Give us a shout if anything happens. You have your gun right?"
Your head bobbed, "Yup. And uh, please be careful."
"I will."
It had been at least 20 minutes since Kita disappeared into the dark cafeteria after the three Inarizaki boys.
Your agitated fingers pattered against the dashboard, unease growing each second you sat alone in the leather-clad interior of Aran's fancy car.
Your eyes flicked between the entrance and the lone male Z (adopting the guys' terminology) that had wandered past the vehicle around 10 minutes ago, which was now making its way towards a dusty red car with a severely dented hood parked a couple of lots away.
The sound of the car driving no doubt attracted the nearby Zs around the area, and you hoped to leave before you had to find out just how many more would pop up.
You were surprised the creature didn't notice you when you ducked out of view from your wound-down window, but you were glad that perhaps his sense of smell was deteriorating just as badly as the intestines dangling from the gaping hole in its stomach.
The gag reflex at the sight of the decaying male had come and gone, but the stench of rotting flesh that lingered still evoked bile up to your throat.
You sucked in air through your teeth.
You needed to stay calm. You couldn't pass out now and risk complicating the situation further if things took a turn for the worst.
Judging from the eerie silence, the prospect of something going wrong was beginning to look more and more plausible as the clock ticked.
Where were they?
And just as that thought passed through your head, a bone-chilling barrage of gunshots ripped through the quiet ambiance of the parking lot.
It came from inside the rest stop.
You sprung up in your seat just as the disemboweled Z's head snapped in the direction of the continuous gunfire.
The sound of bullets did not falter. In fact, it seemed like more guns joined in on the deafening commotion behind the closed doors of the cafeteria.
Panic coursed through your veins. Your hand grasped the handle of the door, unsure on whether to exit the vehicle against Kita's orders. A flurry of hesitation, fear and anxiety swirled in your core, threatening another fainting spell that you definitely did not need right now.
Your eyes were torn away from your internal conflict to witness a flying avalanche of shattered glass as a body smashed through the doors of the rest stop entrance.
What happened to just pushing the door open?!
"O-Osamu?" You suppressed a shriek. Chips of glass rolled of the male's body as he scrambled to his feet.
His feet immediately took off sprinting in your direction.
Two other figures appeared hot at his heels, speeding out of the building and across the parking lot towards the car. They clutched two new backpacks they did not previously enter the establishment with.
Suna and Kita.
Your blood ran cold.
Where was Atsumu?
"Fuck, fuck, fuck!" As if on cue, the familiar voice rang through the clearing like a blaring microphone.
The blond burst through the doors.
And he was not alone.
Ten—No, fifteen—Fuck, around twenty Zs clambered after Atsumu in a heap of bloodied bodies, scrambling to their feet in pursuit of the male just a few metres ahead of them. Their limbs tangled and clawed as they bunched at the entrance, lunging over one another viciously to break free and continue their pursuit.
The disemboweled Z darted towards Osamu's approaching figure from his right, releasing a strangled growl.
"Osamu, watch out!" You screamed.
Osamu cursed, grasping his gun and firing a clumsy shot.
It hit the Z in the leg, which thankfully sent it to the ground with a loud snarl, though it continued to crawl fruitlessly towards the car.
Osamu reached the car a split second later, flinging the door open and shoving the car keys into the ignition.
"What happened?!" You exclaimed as Suna and Kita arrived a moment later, throwing themselves into the back seat as their lungs wheezed desperately for air.
"Atsumu's a fucking idiot, that's what!" Osamu growled, shifting the gear into 'Drive'.
"Hurry the fuck up!" For the first time, Suna's worried voice reached an octave you had yet to hear from him as Atsumu raced up to the car and hurled himself into the remaining backseat.
The door slammed shut.
"Go go go go!"
Osamu's foot jammed onto the accelerator, sending all your bodies flying forward from the momentum, just as the fastest Z behind Atsumu collided shoulder-first against the passenger door with a loud bam.
The car shook from the impact as yells and curses erupted around you.
"What the fuck?!" You screamed, lurching back in horror as the bloodstained hands of the unfazed Z clung onto the open window of the speeding car with a vice-like grip.
The corpse sported an almost mocking grin as its bludgeoned head popped into view, eyes glossed over with disease and lips curling to reveal yellowed teeth inches away from your arm.
The horde of Zs clamoured at the car's rear, frenzied palms banging wildly against the glass as they chased after the Jeep at a terrifying pace.
"Fuck, someone do something!" Osamu shouted, eyes struggling to stay on the road and not fixate on the creature about to maul your face off.
Amidst the unhelpful wails of terror from Atsumu, your ears caught the distinct click of a loaded gun ready to aim at the Z about to pounce on you.
However, your arm moved instinctively before you even realised what you were doing.
With another scream that almost matched the pitch of Atsumu's, your clenched fist flew forward and punched the Z square in the forehead with as much force as your body could muster, emitting a deafening crack of its skull.
Its grip loosened at the unexpected punch, which allowed the traction of the car to send it tumbling into the foliage in a flurry of twigs and leaves.
It was out of sight before you could utter another word.
Your knuckles remained frozen in the air at the exact spot it made contact with the Z's milky skin.
You blinked several times.
The only sounds registering in your ears were the whirl of the car's engine and the patter of gravel bouncing off the metal exterior.
You slowly turned your body to face Osamu whose gaze was glued to the road, stunned into silence.
You craned your neck to the three pairs of wide eyes boring into the back of your head.
The last thing you saw was Kita's fingers gripped loosely around a small black revolver before your eyelids drooped and you lost consciousness.
✄ ┈┈┈
^ atsumu and sunarin in the back seat (guess who is who)