Chapter 11: 10. A new friend
"Nice to meet you. I'm new here and was just taking a walk around the place. Do you mind if I call you Kohta?"
"Oh, no, not at all, call me whatever you like."
"So, if you don't mind me asking, why were those guys bullying you? Was it really just because you're a bit chubby?"
Kohta looked down at the ground, a little downcast, but beneath all the frustration from the bullying, he was naturally upbeat.
"It's partly because of that, but on the other hand..." He clenched his fists and gritted his teeth before continuing, "It's because that jerk of a teacher, Shido, encourages it because he needs someone to be the scapegoat in the classroom."
"Phew, that guy is even worse than I imagined. Sorry for asking, but have you told your parents about this?" Kazuki asked, genuinely confused, as something of this caliber couldn't easily be covered up even by a politician like Shido's father.
Kohta looked to the side, a little embarrassed, before continuing, "I haven't told them because I didn't want to bother them. I wanted to handle this on my own, but over time, all I've been able to do is passively try to endure the bullying, and now I'm ashamed to tell them what happened."
"Huh? YOU FOOL!" Kazuki said, attempting his best Gandalf imitation.
"Wh-what?" Kohta flinched, not understanding.
"Unless your parents are garbage, no self-respecting parent would mind if their kids asked for help. As far as I know, adulthood here in Japan is at 20, right? You're what, 16? You're too young to be thinking about tough stuff, don't feel bad about asking for help. They're more likely to be sad that you didn't rely on them." Kazuki said, looking Kohta in the eyes to demonstrate his seriousness. Before continuing, "Well, I just met you and I don't exactly know your situation beyond what you just told me, so I might be talking a bunch of nonsense here and you can just ignore me."
"No," Kohta said, this time a bit firmer, "It's actually because we've just met, I think what you said makes sense. Thank you, I'll think about it."
"Okay then, what class are you in? Isn't it almost time for class?"
"I'm in 2-B, and you're right, Kazuki-senpai. I have to hurry," Kohta said, starting to brush off his clothes quickly to rush to class.
"Hey, we'll talk at break, you seem like a cool guy and I still don't know anyone here. I'm in 3-A, come by later."
"OK."
...
Kazuki, finally alone, checked if the doors to the emergency exits were locked, confirming they weren't. He quickly finished what he was doing and headed to his classroom, thinking.
[P.O.V Kazuki]
'Kohta reminds me too much of Greg, although if anyone tried to bully him, they'd probably end up with a chair on their head, heh. I wonder if my friends got away from the accident. I hope they haven't died, and neither have I in vain, I don't want to be Yusuke'd.'
'When will it all begin? It could be today, maybe tomorrow, but not more than a month because we're almost at the end of cherry blossom season. I tried to prepare with the options I had without seeming suspicious.'
'Maybe I should've just said screw it and bought everything I could... But depending on how much time is left, the police would knock on my door and take everything. And maybe arrest me. If there's one thing I don't want, it's to be near the police when the mess starts.'
'Can I buy a pair of hunting crossbows today? Kohta must know where those stores are, I can't just buy everything online especially in Japan, which for some bizarre reason is one of the most technologically backward countries even though it's a technology exporter.'
'I like to think I'm preparing well but, having arrived on a weekend complicates my preparations, many stores closed. And as much as I like Kyoko, it's difficult to buy retractable bo staffs, pro-biker armor, swords, spears, and hammers, and have to explain to her why. Thank goodness she didn't look in the trunk.'
'Wait, maybe it's not that difficult. The things I bought, while functional, are also beautiful, I can just use the excuse that I'm an enthusiast. And I wouldn't even be lying.'
'Okay, this afternoon I'm going to have Kohta take me to the hunting stores and buy whatever I can. After all, overconfidence is a slow and insidious killer.'
...
[End of POV]
...
Aiko Tanaka, the teacher in charge of class 3A, waited impatiently in the room, her gaze alternating between the clock on the wall and the entrance door. She was clearly annoyed by the delay of a particular student, the new transfer student from Brazil, lips tightly pressed together and eyebrows furrowed in a slightly irritated expression.
When the door finally opened and the student entered with a smile on his face, the teacher's expression immediately softened upon realizing he was a handsome young man. She cleared her throat lightly, and her voice changed from reprimanding to a softer, gentler tone.
"Oh, you're finally here," she said, trying to disguise her embarrassment with a smile. "I hope everything is okay. Please, follow me to the classroom."
"I apologize for my lateness, Sensei, I got a little lost trying to explore the school."
"Oh no, don't worry, Kurosawa-kun. I understand you."
'I'm sure she would've chewed me out for being late, but just because I'm handsome, the conversation changed. I love the logic of this world.'
After a few minutes of walking, they arrived at the classroom, and with controlled noise, she called him in.
'Here we go~'
Upon entering the room, Kazuki noticed that there was no one he knew except for Saeko. The teacher then allowed Kazuki to choose where he would sit, and luckily the seat next to Saeko was available. Heading straight there, he greeted her.
"Good morning Saeko, Thanks for accepting me. By the way, I have a present for you and the girls from the club who helped me that day."
Hearing the way he spoke to Saeko, some girls couldn't contain themselves, and some 'Kyaaahs' echoed through the classroom.
Saeko smiled politely, "Oh, you didn't have to bring any presents, you're a member of our club now."
"I insist, and I'm sure you'll like it." He smiled and winked before sitting down without giving Saeko time to respond. She just looked at him curiously, but soon returned her attention to class.
Kazuki, on the other hand, couldn't care less since none of this would matter in a few days, focusing only on ensuring his and his future team's escape route, and grabbing his belongings from Kyoko's car when everything started.
...
As soon as it was break time, Kazuki's table was flooded with people asking all kinds of questions, he answered them all politely but inside he was nervous since he had never received so much attention in his previous life.
'The more people I interact with, the harder it is to maintain the image of the confident handsome guy, where's Kohta I need help.'
While chatting, Kazuki finally saw his savior, and quickly disentangling himself from the students, he ran out of the room where Kohta was timidly trying to muster the courage to come in and call him.
"KOHTA! You're here! Thank goodness. Let's go to the cafeteria, and can you recommend me something decent."
"Eh, ah, hello Kazuki-senpai. Let's go." Kohta was a little confused but happy someone was talking to him normally.
...
While eating, Kazuki and Kohta talked a lot. Kazuki told him he was an enthusiast of melee weapons and that made Kohta comfortable enough to reveal that he was also a firearms enthusiast.
During this conversation, Kohta also said that he even went on a month-long trip to America where he was trained by the US military contractor Blackwater USA an experience which only deepened his fascination with weapons.
"Wow, dude, that's cool. So you're good at shooting?"
Scratching his nose a little, Kohta said a little humbly, "Not really, just average."
'If you're an average shooter, then I must be a stormtrooper, kek.'
"So you must know where the hunting stores are in town, right? I was wanting to visit one for some things, you know?"
"REALLY? I KNOW THE PERFECT PLACE!" Kohta said with his eyes gleaming.
"Great, let's go together this afternoon then," Kazuki replied excitedly. After all, until this moment of the day, nothing had happened, no smoke had risen from the city yet so he could confidently say that today wasn't the day.
After more time talking with each other, some people were looking at Kohta with disdain, which left Kazuki deeply uncomfortable by the way, the guy noticing the atmosphere asked in a low tone.
"Kazuki-senpai, why did you help me in the first place? Why are you hanging out with me? You just arrived at the school and I bet there must be several girls interested in you, why waste time with me?"
Kazuki, upon hearing his words, could feel a vein popping in his forehead. He was angry, he didn't even know exactly why, so he took a deep breath instead of yelling at the guy. He said calmly, "To be honest with you, at first it was because you reminded me of a friend of mine from Brazil, and seeing someone like him in that situation made me mad. Now that I've gotten to know you a bit better, I can say that you're a cool guy to hang out with, Kohta." Kazuki said, putting a hand on the boy's shoulder, before continuing.
"I'd like to be your friend. Lastly, I usually choose my friends using the following reasoning, who would you prefer to have with you in a zombie apocalypse? A bunch of jerks who will kick you into the zombies at the first chance, or a guy who can stay calm even amid great frustration, is nice, and knows how to handle weapons?" Kazuki finished with a smile.
Kohta was then clearly happy with the response, greeted Kazuki with a fist-bump and went to his classroom with a smile on his face. "Thank you, Kazuki."
'99% of the people who are looking at Kohta with disgust are from the second year given the uniforms, it's definitely Shido's doing, I think he's going to have an accident a little earlier than planned.'
'Even if the event begins tomorrow, it only starts in the afternoon, I have enough time to disable his feet, isn't he the one who likes to kick those who are down because of survival of the fittest?'
'I didn't see Takashi, but I can see Rei with Hayashi from here. Saya is also around mostly alone, I think the tsundere isn't that well-liked huh.'
'Maybe this whole situation is affecting me much more than I imagined. I'm adapting so quickly that it's bordering on strange, before I would never think about provoking someone's death, but now I'm planning how to do it as cleanly as possible. Harem? Sure, cool in theory but if it were in reality it would be very problematic to maintain, if you don't have the libido to handle several women you'll just be asking to be cucked, but here I just considered this as the only option without thinking twice, and given my experience with Kyoko, I easily have enough stamina for more than one woman.'
'It can't just be the stress of the situation... Could it be that the AU Kazuki has affected me after I took his place? Like, our souls merging? The spirit wasn't merged since I'm sure all my thoughts are mine... Ahhhgh, forget it, if I get stuck on this I'll go crazy, it's a welcome thing that I adapt quickly.'
After parting ways with Kohta, Kazuki made a quick stop at the infirmary to greet Shizuka and talk a bit with her, going out with a smile on his face, Shizuka's innocence and airheadedness are always a delight. Upon leaving, he found someone unexpected coming his way.
'She is making a move already?'
"Hello, senpai~" Miku Yuuki said with a seductive little smile.
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CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
KanmuruZ
KanmuruZ Hey yo!
Here's the first chapter of the week. I put a bit more effort into this one than the previous and I hope it was a good one.
Thanks for your comments and for reading my story.
The countdown to Day Z begins. And we're going to make some more preparations with Kohta-boy helping.
Did you know that to own a sword you need a permit from the government? And that until 2021 there was no need to have a permit to own a crossbow? So I can actually make the MC buy some crossbows and hunting knives.
But I will use my author power to make Etsy exist at this point in time to buy things in Japan.
I don't want to break the immersion, like even the smartphones that he bought and the notebook, are all things that could be bought between March and June of 2010. I waste more time doing research than writing, I was searching where in Tokyo you could buy a genuine Japanese katana and all that but I saw that it wouldn't make sense in the story after more than 30 minutes going around.
Well, I hope you all like it. Please comment, and give me some stones~.
Cya'round~
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