Kiri was, without a doubt, a passionate and cheerful girl. Aside from today, Ryuji could hardly recall a time when he'd seen her anything but upbeat. It seemed only in situations like this — where despair clung to every breath — would she ever show a serious expression.
But now, as Ryuji flicked his lighter and cast its small flame into the darkness, he caught sight of something unexpected.
Kiri was smiling again.
Seeing the sour look on Ryuji's face, she grinned and casually pulled him down to sit beside Tsunade. Then she set a cup of alcohol next to Tsunade and waved Ryuji off with a teasing little gesture.
"C'mon now, no need to mope like that. We can't do anything about it anyway, right?"
Ryuji blinked, a little stunned. If he remembered correctly, those were the exact same words he'd once said to Erina. And now... they were being thrown right back at him. It left him with a strange, indescribable feeling.
"Yeah... I guess when you're powerless, the best you can do is make friends with despair."
He let out a helpless laugh.
His life, after all, had always been hanging by a thread — whether it was surviving an infection, enduring that first blood moon, or simply clawing his way through weakness and danger step by step. It wouldn't be surprising at all if he died here tonight, inside this steel fortress crushed by an overwhelming zombie horde.
No point worrying about it.
If there was a chance to fight back, he would fight.If not — well, then he'd laugh and drink until the end came.
After all, what else could he do?
"Cheers!"
Kiri raised her glass with a bright grin. Ryuji couldn't help but smile as well, clinking his cup against hers. Only Tsunade sat there, still trembling, her arms wrapped tightly around herself as if Ryuji and Kiri were nothing more than ghosts haunting her fading sanity.
The two of them drank cup after cup, wiping out what little beer they had left, all while the snarls and clawing of zombies outside their walls never ceased. It probably wasn't the smartest thing to do — but in this situation, who could blame them?
The metallic thudding of zombies bashing against the steel walls echoed endlessly. But after a while, even that began to fade.
No more tearing sounds. Just howls and an occasional scraping or gnawing noise.
The last spark of light in their dark little shelter flickered and died.
Ryuji and Kiri both knew what that meant.
The zombies hadn't given up.
No — it was simply that the undead had completely encased their hideout. The ones closest to the walls were buried under the weight of countless others, crushed and immobilized beneath the relentless swarm. All they could do now was scratch weakly at the steel around them, jaws snapping uselessly, creating little more than noise.
And then... even that noise began to fade.
Only distant howls remained.
Ryuji's nerves slowly began to relax. Exhaustion washed over him, and with the warmth of the alcohol dulling his mind, he slumped down near the door — the most vulnerable spot of their shelter — ready to react the moment anything happened.
He and Kiri kept chatting, aimlessly jumping from topic to topic: the differences between their hometowns, strange foods they missed, whatever crossed their minds. Nothing important. But the words filled the silence, filled the darkness.
At some point, Tsunade seemed to calm down a little too. She picked up her glass and quietly leaned over, sitting closer to them without saying a word. She just sat there, listening silently to their conversation, sipping the unfamiliar taste of this world's alcohol.
Ryuji had to admit — the beer in this so-called "7 Days to Die" world was pretty damn good. Strong, sure, maybe a little too easy to get drunk on... but hard to complain about that now.
If he wasn't someone who disliked drinking, he probably wouldn't have held back at all tonight.
In that suffocating darkness, amidst the tense, almost fragile atmosphere, the sounds of the zombies outside grew quieter... and quieter.
At first, Ryuji thought it was just his own exhaustion dulling his senses, causing the noise to fade as sleep tried to pull him under. He quickly splashed cold water from his inventory onto his face to wake himself up — but soon realized it wasn't just his imagination.
The zombies really were getting quieter.
A glance at his watch told him it was already past four in the morning. Time had slipped by without him noticing. Leaning against the cold steel wall, Ryuji held his breath and listened carefully to the world outside.
Aside from a few distant growls and isolated roars, the frantic clawing and pounding from earlier had all but disappeared.
Even so, he didn't let his guard down. He didn't move to check outside. He simply stayed right there — sitting against the door — quietly waiting for the sunrise.
Kiri did the same.
She leaned against Ryuji's shoulder, silently keeping watch over the spot most likely to be breached — the door.
But the longer they sat there, surrounded by darkness and silence, the heavier Ryuji's eyelids became. No matter how hard he tried to chat with Kiri, to stay alert, the exhaustion from lack of food and rest gnawed away at him.
"Damn it..."
With a grimace, he splashed bottled water onto his face again, rubbing his temples to clear his foggy mind. The water helped a little — enough to snap him out of his daze.
But just as he shifted, trying to adjust his posture, he realized something surprising.
At some point — without him even noticing — Tsunade had curled up and fallen asleep in his arms.
When he moved slightly, he was immediately aware of a softness pressing against him.
Tsunade wasn't tall — petite, really — but her figure was... well, impressive. And that combination created a sensation that was impossible to ignore.
How should he describe it?
Overwhelmingly soft.
Just having her leaning against him made it feel like something was about to explode.
In fact... something was about to explode.
He hadn't noticed it earlier because he'd been too dazed from exhaustion. But now that he was awake and painfully aware of that excessive softness...
Yeah.
Somewhere down there, his body was reacting far more honestly than his brain wanted it to.
Despite being dead tired, certain instincts apparently had no intention of going to sleep. It was like that part of him had gained a fivefold power boost, along with ten times the stamina and endurance.
"..."
Seriously... what a disaster.
Ryuji sighed helplessly, lighting his lighter to get a better look.
Tsunade's face, even stained with traces of tears and fear, looked unexpectedly peaceful in sleep.
Carefully, he wrapped an arm around her shoulder — not out of desire, but to give her a little more warmth, a little more security. Then he leaned back against the door once more, continuing his silent watch for morning to come.
Still, he didn't forget to glance over at Kiri.
At that moment, Kiri was fiddling casually with her revolver, spinning its chamber with practiced ease. Noticing Ryuji's gaze, she gave him a playful smirk.
"What's wrong? One's not enough for you?"
"...I meant, maybe you should rest too. I already got a little sleep earlier."
Ryuji's words were sincere. He had accidentally dozed off for a bit, and now — well, given the circumstances — there was no way he was getting any more sleep tonight.
Seeing the exhaustion on Kiri's face, he figured he might as well offer.
To his surprise, Kiri's grin widened.
The next thing he knew, this tall, beautiful woman lightly stepped over the barricade they'd set up by the door and landed gracefully beside him.
"Well, if you're offering, I won't say no. After all—" Kiri leaned in with a teasing lilt, "—even a big sister like me wants to lean on someone every now and then."