Paneru was almost about to give out. Chisato was never that strong when they play fought before. As his arms were about to collapse, a red blur, metaphorically speaking, darted over to him, and with a very technical and precise kick to the chin, knocked Chisato in the air before the same person round-housed her into the wall and finished her off. Paneru sat up and moved back as Kurogane-sama said to do, trying to wipe off the copious amount of tears that had rolled down his cheeks like a cascading waterfall. His eyes were red from all the crying that was for sure. Before he could retrieve his bearings, Paneru found himself quickly and effortlessly picked up into Kurogane's arms and carried back up to the rooftop, with Megumi following right behind them. When they got to the rooftop, Aki and Reiko were still up there, along with an un-welcomed group of 5 zombies...or...whatever they were.
Kurogane gently sat him down and went off to fight them.
Ben....Ben..., he thought to himself, the name ringing out in his head like an old memory. Paneru was still somewhat out of touch with the reality that had suddenly unfolded, but he was coming to...slowly but surely. Despite his current emotional state, he found some semblance of joy in seeing that Megumi was fine. He looked over to her as she knelt down for a breather and likewise, she looked over to him as well, her eyes serious and earnest. Don't do anything reckless, she basically said and Paneru complied, only responding with a shaky head nod. Paneru stood up and walked backwards until his back was against the railing. He gripped it tightly as if it were a stress ball, inhaling and exhaling deeply as he watched closely as Aki came over to get the fire extinguisher and began working incoherence with Kurogane to stop the zombies.
Paneru...his own name seemingly rang out in his head, though this time, it seemed to get closer and louder.
Paneru....
Paneru....
"PANERU!!" he heard abruptly. It was loud, and clear, and the voice was definitely recognizable. His name was being called out.
"Ben...", Paneru whispered under his breath, scurrying over to the first spiral staircase and looking down it.
His red and somewhat puffy eyes suddenly gleamed ecstatically, his focus now entirely on Ben who was standing at the bottom of the staircase and looking up at him. When their eyes met, nothing else was needed to be said, and in a burst, Ben was traversing up the stairs at high speed, skipping steps as he made his way up. When he finally reached the top, he stopped and stared at Paneru, his eyes widening and a massive grin showing on his face. For this brief moment...the chaos had taken the backseat. In a wink, Ben had rushed over to him and wrapped his arms around Paneru's lithe body tightly, pulling him in close to his body while smiling affectionately. Paneru's head rested on Ben's chest and he smiled, tears seemingly forming once more from his already puffy and slightly sore eyes. Ben then pulled back from the embrace and looked over Paneru's body intently...
"Fucksake! You have no idea how worried I was about you. Are you okay? Are you hurt? Those things didn't hurt you did they?", he spoke in a concerned, but angered tone. Paneru looked up into Ben's eyes briefly, before looking away with a countenance of melancholy.
"No...I'm fine...", he responded daintily, looking down distraught as he thought of Chisato and what she had become. If this was what their world was coming to, in all honesty, he wasn't sure if he wanted to live in it. Ben gripped his hand around Paneru's and gestured toward the bottom of the staircase.
"I saw an empty corridor that would lead to outside. When I came looking for you, I noticed none of them were there. If we take that route we should be able to make it out the school in one piece.", he said confidently and reassuringly. Paneru nodded in confirmation and as Ben began leading him down the stairwell, they stopped in their tracks and began backing up.
"Awww shit...", Ben murmured angrily, slowly walking back up the stairs with Paneru safely behind him, easing out back onto the rooftop as the sunlight beamed onto them.
"Holy...", was all Ben could say as he caught a quick glimpse of the destruction over the landscape. He quickly swiveled back around though to the stairwell, as 5 new zombies seemed to muddle their way onto the rooftop, uninvited of course, and most certainly unwanted.
"Fuck! Growlers! Incoming!", Ben yelled as he continued to back up with Paneru, taking a quick note of Kurogane, Aki, Megami, and Reiko who were already up there, with the two males already engaged in a battle.
Paneru held onto Ben's arm tightly as he stood behind him...
"Oh no...I think they followed you up here Ben", he said worriedly, his voice scared and timid.
"Don't worry, I got this.", he said boldly, slowly pulling Paneru off his arm and slowly easing his way toward the group. Paneru took notice of the dried blood that already covered his fist and knuckles, his fingers adorned with large boxing championship rings. He made it a habit to take them with him wherever he went, and luckily in the current situation, they came in much more handy than simple bragging accessories. Ben got into his boxing stance and began to sway, watching their discombobulated movements as they moved closer. In that instance, he went low, sweeping his right leg under two of them and knocking them off their feet. Quickly, he pounced forward, and mashed his ring adorned fist into its skull, cracking it open like a watermelon. And before the other could get up, he raised his leg and slammed it into its neck, instantly breaking it as the head wobbled, following it up by pounding his fist into its skull as well. Two down.
Ben, being somewhat more of a brute than a thinker, didn't realize that two of them had scattered away from bundle, one heading for Megumi and the other heading for Paneru. Ben was so encapsulated with fighting the third one, a zombie surprisingly bigger than his own muscular and 6'3 frame, that he didn't even notice that now Paneru and Megumi were in danger. Paneru looked at Ben, frightened, as his eyes quickly jolted to the zombie that was focusing on him now. He slowly backed up until his back had hit the rail.
"Please stay back.", he said to it softly, its mouth foaming with a mixture of gargling and growling. Its jaw was torn off, and it was missing an arm too. When it had finally came upon him, his body instinctively reacted as if he were in his domain, the water. His reflexes, coordination, and agility in water were keen and bar none, and luckily, this seemed to help him react in this instance as well. As soon as it reached out to him with its one arm, Paneru ducked at the last second, covering his head with his hands as his hair flailed over his face, and to his luck, the zombie missed, tripping over his crouched body, and toppling over the rail to its
smashing "death". He looked over the rail to see the lifless corpse among the many others down there and let out a deep sigh, before turning back around once more to focus on the current situation at hand.
"Oh no! Ben! Megumi! Watch out!", he cried out to them both.
