A youth story of a passerby at the end of the world

"Ah... here, a gift. I found it on the roadside yesterday when Hiratsuka-sensei went out."

Genshin Uesugi handed Yukino Yukinoshita a revolver, a Nambu Type 60, an old gun with a magazine capacity of only 5 rounds, but it was perfectly adequate as a police weapon in Japan where crime was not a serious problem.

"The holster was left in the car; it's a bit dirty and hasn't been washed yet. I'll deal with it later."

Then he took Yukino Yukinoshita's hand, placed the pistol in her hand, and taught her to identify it.

"This is the safety. Open it and you can pull the trigger. You know how to shoot, right? There are five bullets in here." As he spoke, he guided her hand to open the revolver's cylinder, showing her the bullets inside, and then closed it again.

"Why give it to me?"

"Huh? Ah... because I'm not using it. This gun is for people. If I just fire a shot at zombies on the street, I won't have enough bullets to kill them all."

For people like him and Hachiman who are actually combatants, revolvers are useless. If they want real weapons, SAT or SIT equipment, then they'll have to storm the Central District headquarters.

"If I attack you, then shoot me with this gun."

"..." Yukino Yukinoshita reacted, turning her head and staring blankly at Genshin Uesugi.

Uesugi Genshin knew very well that he and Yukino Yukinoshita were the same kind of people who were wary of strangers. So, before the zombie crisis, he only had Hachiman as a friend, and that was only because he knew Hachiman's character beforehand.

He himself had only spoken to Yukino Yukinoshita for a full hour, which was not enough time to see her true nature.

"Here you go," Uesugi Genshin said with a smile.

Yukino Yukinoshita lifted the somewhat heavy revolver, looked at it, placed it in front of her chest, and remained silent.

"Still uncomfortable?"

"Hmm... it's not much different from when I had a fever before. I feel very heavy, but at this time..."

"Just take the medicine anyway." Is it only your body that feels heavy? How could that be? Your whole body must be in pain, and you're still forcing yourself.

Yukino Yukinoshita watched as the boy took two pills from the medicine board on the table and handed them over, along with a glass of water.

"You'll feel better soon. You'll feel much better after taking the medicine."

"I..." Yukino Yukinoshita hesitated, wanting to say something but unable to utter it.

Her index finger slid across the revolver's trigger and hammer, and a bitter voice came from her vocal cords, "Am I... going to die?"

A sense of despair emanated from her words, and her expression was poignant and endearing.

"Hey, hey, hey, I'm giving you a gun, not so you can kill yourself."

There was no reply.

Yukino Yukinoshita would never allow herself to wake up in such an ugly state again, not even in death; it was her pride.

"The situation isn't that bad. Maybe it's just a stress response from the body. After all, they haven't turned into zombies like the previous batch. If it's really bad, then I can't say anything. Let the world end, and let humanity just go extinct."

"What about the rest?"

"I told them to tie their legs together with their clothes in a V-shape. It's fine to walk in small steps, but if they really turn into zombies, they will lose their balance and fall down."

"You didn't tie me up..."

"Vice presidents should always receive preferential treatment."

"Are you pitying me?"

“This isn’t pity, it’s because you’ve been working so hard these past few days. It’s a knight’s mercy. You deserve it, don’t worry about it.” Uesugi Genshin shrugged and said solemnly, “If you really do turn into a zombie, if I still have time, I’ll nail you to a coffin and bury you under a cherry blossom tree.”

"..." Hearing these words, the bitterness that had been settling in my heart surged and swirled, an indescribable feeling.

After taking her medicine, Yukino Yukinoshita lay down, covering her head with the blanket. She left the revolver aside, making it difficult for her to reach it even if something happened.

“…” Uesugi Genshin picked up the revolver from the bed, lifted Yukino Yukinoshita’s exposed hand, and placed it under her palm.

Her fingers twitched slightly, finally resting on the gun.

Would you like some porridge?

"I'm not hungry." A sob came from under the blanket; the girl's voice was soft and fragile.

At least there was a reply. Uesugi Genshin pressed the keep-warm button on the induction cooker and stared blankly at the steaming porridge.

-----------------

When she opened her eyes, it was night, and she was still human; Yukino Yukinoshita confirmed this.

My body feels much lighter and I no longer feel uncomfortable; the medicine is very effective.

Where is that person?

She looked around and saw that Uesugi Genshin was sitting on the ground, asleep with his head against the edge of the bed.

Zongwu High School isn't a boarding school, so the school only provides a few bedding sets. Almost all students sleep with just their own clothes on. She did the same in the student council room before. Fortunately, April isn't too cold.

Uesugi Genshin was no exception; he was simply covered with clothes. Over his sportswear, he was covered with his school uniform, with his white shirt and dark jacket folded together and draped over his body.

Turning his head, you can see the outline of his ear peeking out from his hair because his head is tilted, in the darkness.

The room was eerily quiet, with only the two people's calm breathing in the air, which seemed almost inaudible if you listened carefully.

Yukino Yukinoshita carefully sat up to avoid disturbing the person who had finally fallen asleep. His sleeping position was the least comfortable one she could find amidst the discomfort.

On the table in the room, there was a pot of porridge being kept warm. Moonlight shone into the room, turning it silver and masking the red light emitted by the induction cooker.

She wasn't hungry, and stomach acid wasn't secreted while she was asleep. Since she was still sick, she didn't think it was necessary to get up and wake him.

Yukino Yukinoshita shifted her gaze from the pot on the table back to Genshin Uesugi, who was leaning against the bed.

"..."

She reached out as if possessed and placed the back of her hand on his forehead.

So hot!

This action woke up the sleeping people.

"...Huh? What's wrong? I'm not going to go to the bathroom with you."

"No, it's nothing."

Tears started flowing again.

Chapter Sixty-Five: I Will Not Allow It

"Ah! Ah~, Yumiko, Yui, welcome back." Hina Ebina embraced the two of them warmly, behaving in a way that was out of character for her.

Yumiko Miura smiled gently. "Yes, I'm back."

"Himena too, it feels like we haven't seen each other for ages." Yui Yuigahama felt that these three days had passed unusually long.

"Hayato!"

"Yes, Yumiko, welcome back." Hayama Hayato greeted his friend's safe return with his usual genuine smile.

"Ah~, it's so good that Yumiko is back safe and sound. That helicopter was really annoying." Tobe Sho said excitedly from the side, "If it weren't for Uesugi, I don't know what would have happened. But I didn't expect that guy to be so amazing. He was able to walk back and forth in the zombie horde. Walking on that wall was really incredible."

"Wall walking? What's that?"

"Huh? You guys didn't know?" Yamato behind Hayama had a shocked expression on his face, as if to say, "You guys were right there!"

"So what are you talking about?"

"Haha, it's nothing, Yumiko, where's Uesugi?"

"Ah~, Uesugi is riding back on horseback, he's behind us, we can't leave Musou there unattended."

"Wushuang? Ah~, is it about that horse? I was watching..."

"Minister of Revenue." Hayama Hayato stopped Tobe Sho from continuing, "Then I'll go greet him and thank him properly."

"I have already thanked you."

Hayato Hayama shook his head. "It's not just about Yumiko, but also about how he selflessly offered to act as bait back then. Everyone owes a lot to him."

Otherwise, the main gate would have been surrounded by zombies back then.

"Really?" At the time, she was arguing with Sagami and couldn't get over it. Now, she thinks it's kind of funny that she was arguing with Sagami.

People need to go through certain experiences to grow.

"Yumiko, let's rest here for a bit. Yukinoshita has allocated this classroom to us."

There were four boys and three girls in the room, which wasn't too crowded. If you separated them with tables, everyone could have their own space, which was similar to a shared accommodation.

After watching Hayama Hayato leave, Tobe Sho was the first to suggest, "Why don't we go take a look too!"

"Huh?" Miura Yumiko questioned his spectator mentality.

"I've never seen anyone ride a horse before! That's so cool!"

"makes sense!"

"Then go and have a look."

Ooka and Yamato echoed their enthusiasm, all three boys wanting to watch the excitement, which made Miura Yumiko laugh in exasperation.

"What's there to see?" Yui Yuigahama complained weakly from the side.

"No, no, no, it's a rare sight, let's go, let's go."

In the end, only the three boys left. Miura Yumiko politely saw them off as if she were watching monkeys, without getting involved.

"Boys are such a bunch of idiots."

"That's right, Xiao Hu and the others! We finally got back after a lot of trouble!" This kind of attitude shows a bit of bystander arrogance, which is infuriating.

"Well, well, I can understand what the boys are thinking, even though they really are like monkeys," Hina Ebina comforted the two dissatisfied boys.

Yumiko Miura tapped her fingernails on the table, "Even Ebina says that!"

"It's less like watching a show and more like admiration and envy. Those silly boys think Uesugi is cool, so they want to go see him. It's actually similar to idol worship. Ah~, longing is the furthest distance. What a pity, at this point, all we can do is hope for Uesugi X8, oh well... so much BL..."

Before they knew it, Ebina Hina had drifted off-topic.

Yumiko Miura asked, somewhat puzzled, "So what are you talking about?"

"Hmm~~, it's a bit complicated to explain." Hina Ebina took out her phone. In such a short time, someone had already uploaded a compilation on YouTube. That's really impressive. "Look, this is it."

"Ah! Isn't that us?! We really were filmed." Yui Yuigahama exclaimed in surprise as she looked at herself running frantically from the supermarket.

"This is really awful, trash." Her life-threatening actions were filmed and posted online as a joke. Miura Yumiko reached out and turned off the annoying comments, simply staring at the screen.

When they arrived at the racetrack, they temporarily separated from Uesugi Genshin, and then he rode over on horseback.

I saw the moment when I rode a horse over hurdles.

"He really is handsome." Miura Yumiko nodded, starting to think it was normal for the Hobe and the others to have such thoughts.

There was also the sound of fighting in the ancient-style streets. "...Ah." Apart from staring in astonishment with his mouth wide open, he had no intention of saying anything.

He made it sound so casual back then, but it turns out that's how it is.

The final mounted archery performance perfectly matched their impression of traditional heroes beloved by the Chinese people.

"Oh, I see." Yumiko Miura smiled wryly. "I had absolutely no idea... I had no idea at all..."

"what......"

Even after Tobe Sho and the others returned and it was time for lunch, Miura Yumiko still rested her chin on her hand, silently gazing at the sky outside the window.

The grouper and kelp ochazuke (rice with tea) made by the culinary team is something you have to pick up yourself from the cafeteria. You can take it away, but you have to return it after you finish eating.

The boys had already taken care of everything for the girls.

"The food tastes pretty good today," Ooka remarked.

The cooking team finally decided to add salt. The seasoning of the previous dishes was indescribable, as none of them had experience cooking for more than a hundred people, so they were inevitably a bit rusty.

"Right, not bad, right? Hey, Yumiko, what have you been eating these past few days? Is anything better than this?" Tobe Sho tried to lighten the mood in his own way, his pretentious expression implying that the food he ate outside must have been terrible.

As expected, Yumiko Miura replied, "What I ate was much better than this."

"Hey~, you're kidding, right? Who cooked this?" Because Tobe Sho knew very well that none of them could really cook.

Hayato might be one, Ebina might be one, but the others are really unlikely.

"The one Uesugi made tastes better than this."

Memories tend to be romanticized. The crab roe that I used to find so cloying at the end now seems really delicious, even though I've almost forgotten what it tasted like.