"Don't leave me!" someone screamed, right before the next guy got tackled by a zombie and started screaming his lungs out.
"Z-Zombies… aaAAARGH!" And then someone else panicked. "H-He's dead! They killed him!" Total chaos.
One dude's getting his neck munched like lunch, and the rest of the class? Gone.
Sprinting like the floor turned into lava. Nobody waited. No questions. Just fear, survival, and a lot of screaming.
It didn't matter how this went from high school drama to undead apocalypse. No one had the brainspace to care. Right now, it was run or die. And to survive? Oh, suddenly everyone's shedding their friendly masks. No more besties, no more honour students. Just people shoving others aside to save themselves.
Like this moment.
"Sorry, Busujima-san... I can't help you." The girl didn't wait for a response. She just turned and ran. Her voice had that fake tremble, like she was trying to sound broken up about it, but her face? Completely dry. No tears. No guilt. Just cold. The others didn't even hesitate. They followed her lead, slipping past the chaos without a glance back.
Behind them, in the middle of a swarm of zombies, stood a purple-haired girl, swinging her weapon again and again to keep the horde away from herself.
She watched her fleeing classmates, the same ones who had begged her for help not minutes ago, disappear without hesitation, leaving her as bait.
So this is what I get… for saving someone?
She slashed another zombie across the neck before it got too close, severing its spine in one clean motion.
Blood sprayed.
Her grip didn't waver, but the thought crept in.
Am I going to die here?
She wouldn't be asking herself that if she were fine.
But she wasn't.
Her left leg ached.
Injured, not by a zombie, but by the same person she'd saved.
They'd shoved her aside in a blind panic, using her as bait to make their escape.
It wasn't a deep wound, but enough.
Enough to make her slower.
Enough to let the zombies get closer.
Her last strike missed its mark. The kissaki embedded in a zombie's shoulder, stuck fast.
She tried to follow up with a kick from her right leg, but the pain flared in her injured left one, and she collapsed with a gasp.
The world tilted. The rotting faces closed in.
She gritted her teeth and closed her eyes. If this was the end… so be it.
Thud.
Not claws. Not teeth.
A heavy impact. Something hit the ground.
She blinked her eyes open.
A man stood in front of her.
Green jacket. Long hair swaying.
And in his hand, dripping with blood, was something sharp.
She looked closer.
A kunai?
She turned her head slowly.
All the zombies were down.
And then his eyes met hers.
In all the chaos, through all the death, she hadn't felt fear.
Not when she was swarmed.
Not even when she thought she'd die.
But now?
Now she did.
A chill crawled up her spine. Not from death.
But from the man who'd stopped it.
The fear… of someone far stronger.
---
Orochimaru's POV
It seems I've arrived at the beginning of the series.
Though, something's off.
Take her, for example. Saeko.
From what I remember, this never happened in the original timeline. A divergence? An AU? Hmph, not unexpected in a mashup like this.
Still, I had no intention of lingering. The chaos would only escalate, and with it, the destruction of many potentially valuable assets.
I was just about to leave when she spoke.
"How did you do it?"
Interesting. She overcame my Killing Intent. Most civilians would collapse. Even a trained genin would've buckled. The amount I released was enough to paralyse a seasoned chunin.
But she stood. Shaking, yes, but unbroken.
Impressive.
I turned to her, my curiosity piqued.
"How did you kill them all alone?" she asked, her gaze sweeping across the field of corpses surrounding us.
She is observant. Unlike most who would be fixated on their own survival, she noticed the truth. The bodies lay far beyond where I stood, spread out in all directions.
"Because I'm stronger," I replied calmly.
She went quiet for a moment before speaking again, voice low but clear.
"Still… you shouldn't be able to kill them all unless you can—"
I cut her off.
One instant I was where I stood.
The next, I was right in front of her. Close enough for her breath to hitch.
"Move like this," I finished for her, eyes locked onto hers, which widened in surprise.
"You—"
I cut her off again, tilting my head slightly. "What's your name?"
I knew it was Saeko… but the surname escaped me. Busujima, was it?
She inhaled sharply before answering. "Saeko. Saeko Busujima."
"Well then, Saeko," I said with a faint smile. "Since I'm unfamiliar with this place, how about you be my guide?"
************
Suggestions for characters in this mashup which can be brought back