I have a plan 2

Yuto nodded to Mrs. Rin’s words. “Fine. I’ll make sure everyone comes back in one piece.” 

 He looked again at the crowd, checking each of their faces. “So, who’s willing to volunteer for this mission?” 

 Silence. Not a single hand went up. The sound of rain against the windows filled the classroom, heavier than the air itself. Yuto’s jaw tightened.

Then, a chair briefly scraped roughly on the ground. Aoi stood up, raising her hand. “I’ll go with you.”

The classroom erupted in many gasps and shouts, and then Minato’s angry voice cut through the whole lousiness. “Aoi, sit down! Don’t be stupid, this isn’t a game!” 

Mrs. Rin furrowed her eyebrows, stepping forward. “No. Absolutely not. Aoi, put your hand down. Instead, Minato, you go with him."

Yuto’s eyes moved from Mrs. Rin, then to Minato, who froze in place as soon as they called his name.

“What?” Minato’s voice cracked a little. “Why me? Why not someone else?”

The classroom got buzzed up once more. Some girls got to their feet, looking fed up.

“Minato, you’re a boy, aren’t you?” one of them shouted. “Or are you seriously going to let Aoi go out there on her own?”

Everyone agreed, their voices overlapping each other as they all tried to talk in the moment.

“Yeah, what kind of man are you?” “Stop acting scared and just go!”

Minato’s face turned red in embarrassment. His pride stung more than the fear that twisted in his gut...

He gave Yuto a venomous look, then turned toward Mrs. Rin. “This is ridiculous. You’re all just pushing me because you don’t want to go yourselves.”

“Enough,” Mrs. Rin exclaimed firmly. “You’ll go. That’s final.”

Minato gritted his teeth, muttering under his breath. “Fine. But don’t think I’ll be taking orders from him.”

Yuto stared at him nonchalantly, his expression calm. “As long as you don’t drag me down, I don’t care what you do.”

The classroom went quiet once more, and everyone’s eyes were moving back and forth, from one to the other.

A few seconds later, another voice broke the silence.

“I… I want to go too.”

Everyone turned around... At the back, A skinny boy with round glasses steps forward, his hands were trembling as he raised them... His face was pale, his lips pressed tight against each other, but his eyes showed a strange kind of resolve, courage and grit.

“You?” Minato scoffed. “You can barely carry your own bag, and you think you’ll survive out there?”

The boy adjusted his glasses nervously but didn’t back down. “I know I’m not strong enough… but I can help in other ways. I know the university building layout...every floor, every maintenance room. And… I can stay calm under pressure. Please… let me go.”

The classroom buzzed up with a few student whispers. Some students looked very doubtful, while the others were curious.

Yuto stared at him, dead serious. "Tell me your name."

“…Kaito,” he answered Yuto's question quietly. “Kaito Honda.”

Yuto nodded once. “Alright, Kaito. If you’re coming, you stick close and be ready to kill anything that doesn’t look human. Got it?”

Kaito bobbed his head very fast and unsteadily. "Uh - yeah."

Mrs. Rin let out a huge breath, squeezing the top of her nose. “Fine. Yuto, Minato, Kaito. That’s enough. No more volunteers.”

Yuto looked at Aoi, who was still gripping her hands tightly. Her eyes said everything... But he wasn't going to let emotions get the best of him.

Moments later…

Everyone’s eyes followed Yuto, Minato, and Kaito as they stood near the door. The tension and silence were so high, even the sound of the rain outside seemed louder.

Mrs. Rin crossed her arms, her voice rough but also filled with worry. “Remember, your goal is survival. Supplies are secondary. If things go wrong, you run. Do not be reckless... Okay?”

Yuto quickly nodded. "Noted."

Minato scoffed under his lips but didn’t argue. He grabbed a metal chair leg he had snapped off earlier, gripping it as his makeshift weapon...

Kaito nervously adjusted his glasses, holding onto a wooden broom handle someone had handed him. His hands were sweating, but he didn’t let go.

Yuto picked up the broken part of the metal chair leg that Minato had salvaged earlier and glanced over the group one last time. His eyes finally landed on Aoi as she walked over to him. She stopped in front of him and started arranging his collar.

Yuto got all worked up right away. "Aoi," he said quietly.

She rested her head on his chest, breathing heavily as if she was holding back her tears. “Yuto, promise me you’ll come back in one piece.”

He kept quiet, looking away... 

No matter how much courage and survival instinct he had, he still didn't know the outcome of their journey.

She used her hands to turn his face back toward her eyes. “Look at me, Yuto, promise me.”
He gave a quick nod before swallowing hard... She then kissed his cheek before letting him go. She then walked up to Minato and punched his arm.

“Even though you’re annoying most of the time, don’t die on me, okay?”

Minato scratched his head with one hand, flustered, and turned away, trying hard to look annoyed.

Aoi smiled and waved as they were about to unlock the doors.

A girl shouted to Yuto - “Hey, Yuto-senpai.” He turned around. Senpai? Then it came to him… some of the students were still in their first year at the university.

“What?”

She took a deep breath and then faced him. “I need your help.”

He sighed. “Tell me quickly. We need to use the rainfall to distract the zombies from noticing our footsteps.”

“Sorry, sorry,” she apologized, bowing repeatedly.

“It’s fine. So, what’s up?”

“My smartphone,” she murmured before clearing her throat. “Please, can you help me get my phone? I left it in the chemistry class while running from the zombies. I’d like to contact my parents."

"Hmmm."

No wonder they didn’t call their loved ones or the police… They’d all left their phones in their classrooms while running from the zombies. Yuto sighed. Can’t blame them. I forgot mine too. He scratched his head, letting out an awkward laugh.

“What model?” he asked after he stopped laughing.

“An iPhone 16 Pro… pink case,” she explained quietly.

Yuto smiled as he sighed. “Fine, I’ll check it out.”

Her eyes widened, and she started bowing, thanking him...
After a minute of this wholesome exchange, the harsh reality was waiting for him.

The moment Minato unlocked the classroom doors, a pungent and disgusting smell hit them right in the face. Everyone flinched, covering their noses with both of their hands. A few students almost vomited...

“Damn…” Minato muttered, pulling his shirt up over his mouth.

Yuto tightened his grip on the chair leg as he looked down the hallways, while his muscles went stiff... Each of the light bulbs was blinking simultaneously, and the rain was dripping from the cracked up ceiling…

“My God, help me,” he murmured quietly before turning to Mrs. Rin. “Please close the doors and don’t make unnecessary noises, so it doesn't get hard for us to get back.”

Aoi stood at the front of the group, holding a strand of her hair; her face was very sweaty. She didn’t say anything, but her eyes followed Yuto carefully…