𝐙𝐨𝐦𝐛𝐢𝐞 𝐀𝐩𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐲𝐩𝐬𝐞 -⨳- ᴛᴏᴋʏᴏ ʀᴇᴠᴇɴɢᴇʀꜱ [ʙᴏɴᴛᴇɴ x ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ]

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟒𝟏: 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝

Note: Sorry I hadn't updated this in a while. I just got out of the hospital🥲

[The Next Day...]

Takemichi's yawn resonated through the van's cabin, leaning back on his seat as he stretched his arms into the air. The rising sun painted the sky with hues of orange and pink, casting a warm glow on the empty road that stretched before them. David's hands gripped the steering wheel as he kept his eyes out through the isolated road, Kakucho seated stoically beside him, and Y/n asleep in her seat after Kakucho had tended to her wound the previous night.

In the back of the van, David's wife and daughter slumbered peacefully, oblivious to their surroundings. Takemichi couldn't shake the frown etched on his face as he glanced around at the sleeping passengers. His mind swirled with thoughts of Hina. 

How had things changed so much between them? 

The cold gaze, how she failed to recognize him haunted his thoughts as he sighed and stroked his hair back.

"We're almost at Tokyo," David's voice cut through the silence, a small smile on his face as he reassured the others. 

However, the peaceful silence was cut short once a sudden loud POP reverberated through the van, causing the vehicle to jolt to an abrupt stop. Takemichi's eyes widened in alarm as he gripped the edges of his seat.

Before anyone could react, some sort of gas began diffusing inside the confined vehicle. Coughs erupted from Takemichi and Kakucho, the acrid smell making it hard to breathe. Y/n, startled awake by the unbearable smell, reached for the window to let in fresh air, only to have her hand grabbed, preventing her from opening it.

Her body weakened by the effects of the gas, Y/n's gaze shifted to the window, where a shadowy figure passed by. 

"Kanji...?" she muffled in confusion just before her consciousness succumbed to the overpowering gas, and she slumped back into her seat, unconscious.

The air inside the van became thick as the Kanji's presence lingered. Takemichi struggled against the effects of the gas, his eyes darting around in a desperate attempt to identify the threat while reaching for the doorhandle, but it was somehow locked. 

Kakucho, too, fought the haze, his instincts on high alert, the last thing they both saw was David giving them a sick look as he put on a gas mask while his wife and daughter were pinning Y/n onto her seat 'till she laid unconscious.

[A few moments later...]

Takemichi and Kakucho woke up to find themselves bound and blindfolded, their heads throbbing from the effects of the gas. As they regained consciousness in this desolate environment. Their backs leaned against weathered tree trunks, rough bark pressing into their skin as they struggled to free themselves from their confinements.

"Y/n?! Are you ok?" Kakucho's voice rang out with an undercurrent of concern, but there was no response from her.

"Wow, I'm doing very great too, Kakucho. Thank you very much for asking," Takemichi scoffed sarcastically while trying to mask his hurt.

"Just shut up and focus on getting out of here," Kakucho snapped back in annoyance.

The two struggled to search the ground around them for anything sharp and useful they could use to cut the ropes down but was soon interrupted by a chilling voice echoing through the darkness. It was Kanji. 

His devilish chuckle seemed to emanate all around them like an encroaching shadow as he started circling around them near a crackling campfire. The distant echoes and growls signified lurking danger of zombies nearby.

"We meet again, my dear friends," Kanji taunted.

"Kanji?! What..." began Takemichi before cutting himself off abruptly, "...aren't you supposed to be dead?!"

"Oi! Kanji... where's Y/n?!" Kakucho demanded angrily through gritted teeth.

"Oh, don't worry about her. I've kept her somewhere safe," Kanji smirked.

Just then, the sound of more footsteps approaching grew louder followed by the familiar voice of David and his wife. The group started murmuring amongst eachother, Kakucho tried to listen in on the conversation but it was hard to make out what they were saying due to the fire crackling near his feet and the low groans of those beasts lurking near them.

"Psst..." Takemichi called out to him in a whisper.

"What...?" Kakucho groaned in annoyance.

"Open your left hand," he whispered.

"The hell are you trying to do?"

"Just shut up and do what I tell you...!"

The men continued to murmur and whisper to eachother as Takemichi managed to slip out a pocket knife from under the long sleeve of his shirt and handed it to Kakucho who uses it to start cutting through the ropes used to bound his arms together. The two eventually managed to free themselves and soon attacked the group. A fight broke lose as Kakucho handled Kanji while Takemichi handled David. 

Despite their age differences, the two elders were suprisingly strong. Hell broke lose they wrestled around like wild boars, trying to gain the upper hand over their opponent while David's wife and daughter rushed off to where they've kept Y/n, knowing that she was the weakness as they grabbed her and dragged her to the scene.

The scuffle intensified, with grunts and thuds mixing with the crackling of the fire and the eerie groans of the lurking zombies. Takemichi and Kakucho overpowered the other two men, Takemichi, who has somehow lost his sanity after having to bear so many shit that just made something inside him snap and Kakucho who worried more about Y/n's safety.

Kakucho's muscles strained as he grappled with Kanji, meanwhile, Takemichi dodged David's blows, a sickening grin plastered on his face as his eyes scanned the area for something useful to use against him. With a swift kick, he managed to knock David off balance, giving him a momentary advantage as I snatched a wired metalic baseball bat nearby and starts slamming it psychotically into the man's skull, burying his head into the ground below.

However, their victory was cut short once David's wife and daughter returned, dragging Y/n between them like a lifeless doll. With a sinister gleam in her eyes, Emma advanced menacingly toward Takemichi and Kakucho, using Y/n as leverage to exert control over the situation.

"Drop your weapons, or she dies," Emma snarled, pressing a sharp object against Y/n's throat.