𝗠𝗔𝗚𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗡'𝗦 𝗣𝗟𝗔𝗬! ━━━━ mao isara (on hold)

67. surround (akatsuki+mao)

ᡣ𐭩 . zombie apocalypse | angst

The colours of the world seemed dull as soon as the apocalypse happened. Chaos ensued, fear was struck, and shivers forever went down Mao's back.

Nobody could ever prepare themselves for an event like this. It was a mythical idea that barely anyone bat an eyelid towards, and now, earth had begun to crumble in on itself.

Mao's breath hitched as he sat against the wall of one of the many empty classrooms. Piles of chairs and tables stacked against the door, and the light was switched off. Surrounding him was the AKATSUKI unit, all holding props of weaponry (although Souma's weapon was as real as it can get), standing ready in case if any of the walking dead figures of who was once Yumenosaki's students bashed through the door and past all the tables and chairs.

Mao was scared - petrified - to the tip of the jar. Goosebumps ran up and down his bare skin, a saddening frown creasing his features as his knees leaned against his chest, resting his arms upon them and his chin on top of his arms.

A few scratches and splatters of dried blood caked his face, tears welling up in his kelly greens, although they dared to not fall for even a moment.

It wasn't even three hours ago when he escaped the dead figures. He was once with the rest of Trickstar. Now, their beings lie flat against the dirtied surfaces of Yumenosaki campus grounds.

Mao couldn't do anything to save them, Hokuto, Subaru, and Makoto's lives were given away to the zombies far too quickly for his liking. All he could do at that time was run. Just run anywhere he can and hope no zombies were fast enough to go after him.

It was only five minutes of running when he bumped into Keito, Kuro, and Souma, which now leads him to where he was now.

Growls of hunger could be heard on the other side of the door, and banging was caused by rhythm along with the growling noise. It caused him to flinch once he lifted his head from his arms as the AKATSUKI unit all stood in guard with their weapons in hands.

"We might have to leave this room soon and go somewhere else." Keito planned his thoughts out loud whilst glancing between his unit members and Mao. Kuro and Souma seem to nod in agreement just as Kuro then turns towards Mao.

"You ready to run, kid?"

The beaujolais-haired teenager slowly rises from where he sat on the floor and nods, "I think so."

"Two of us will have to move all this out of the way whilst the other leaves with Isara for his protection." Keito planned some more.

"I'll stay behind, and whilst we're on that thought, Souma should too. You should go with the kid, Keito. He seems more comfortable with you than the rest of us."

Keito hummed and asked Mao for his opinion. "What do you think, Isara?" The mentioned younger walked over to the trio, hiding his shaking hands behind his back from the fear of the zombies on the other side.

"I don't mind who goes with... as long as you're all safe." A hand suddenly makes its way to the top of his head, causing Mao to bow slightly as he quirked his eyes up and off to the side, seeing Souma smiling softly towards him.

"Don't worry about us," he replies, "we're all strong, alright? Don't forget that now. You should start learning about caring about yourself."

Mao could only seem to nod in agreement after Souma slipped his hand away, twisting the katana in his hand around a few times.

"Are you two ready?" Kuro grabs their attentions, his hands already laying on the edge of one half of a table, Souma walks over to stand next to Kuro and prepares in helping to remove some of the few furniture pieces with the tall redhead.

"As soon as you pull away," Keito nods.

Mao wasn't sure whether he was actually ready to leap past the doorway. Anything could happen once he's met with the long corridor on the other side.

"Alright. Three, two..." Kuro begins counting down. Mao removed his shaking hands from behind his back and took in a deep breath. His heart heavily pounded with so many feelings flowing through his mind.

"Quick - go!" Souma suddenly shouted as the last of the few tables and chairs were moved. Mao could feel Keito grabbing his hand with an iron grip as they both fled the classroom. Immediately, zombies of various students alike began flooding the doorway, Mao looked away from the scene and straight ahead, his legs already beginning to ache from the amount of steps he had to take to keep up with Keito's fast pace.

"Damn it!" He hears Keito curse a few laps over as he skids to a stop next to the taller. Mao knew that running out of the classroom was a bad idea as now he and the older were surrounded by a wave of zombies. They all varied from one another, from different courses they belonged to once being students to their speed ranges. Some were slow, whereas others knew how to jog even with a tight limp.

The sound of a squeak comes from the ground from Keito sliding in front of Mao, his weapon ready up high, his eyes constantly looking left and right of the zombies that surrounded him and Mao.

Keito then looks over his shoulder and towards Mao, his kelly greens widening with extreme fear, something that he rarely saw of his junior. The face the beaujolais boy was making caused an uncomfortable feeling in the pit of his stomach. Seeing Mao scared and upset was something he never wanted to happen, but here he was, and he felt awfully bad about it even if the causes werenIt his fault at all.

"I want you to stay as close to me as possible. We'll get through this horde, Isara. I promise you."

...

Souma didn't let the grief reach his thoughts as he saw Kuro collapse to the ground, the redheads body was mulled to pieces, and the classroom was stained dark red. Plenty bodies of all the zombies lie in different piles all over as he stepped into the corridor.

His eyes scanned the vicinity. Everything seemed quiet, something that he usually liked, but in the moment he was going through it unsettled him horribly.

His footsteps echo along the flooring. The sounds of his rapid heart beating with the small breaths he took mixed in synchronisation loudly in his ears.

A sudden scream takes over Souma's hearing. On instinct, he changes his slow pace to a run, ignoring all the fallen bodies of more zombies. He runs for a few minutes extra until he comes to a stop around the corner of the corridor. Piles upon piles of bodies lie strewn all over, in the middle of it all kneeled a figure so familiar to him.

Souma jogs over to the figure. "Isara - where is Hasumi?" He asks as he kneels down, his eyes suddenly widening as he sees the smaller teenager in front of him with silent tears falling down his cheeks and never seem to be stopping from doing so.

"Keito..." Mao's breath shudders and he glances up as much as he could whilst looking towards Souma and tries again, "he's gone... Keito couldn't defeat them all."

Souma wasn't sure how to react as Mao's cries seemed to fall heavier. A frown overcast his features as he moves himself to in front of the younger with his hands suddenly hovering in the air for a moment unsure on how to comfort him.

He hesitates for a little bit as he moves his hands around Mao, pulling his head to his shoulder as Souma lets Mao cry all his tears out, letting the grief take place.

He's lost both Kuro and now Keito. For them two and the rest of Yumenosaki's students who had fallen, Souma promised silently to protect Mao Isara, no matter what it cost.