Chapter 18

Tsuki shrunk on himself and pasted an innocent expression on his face.

Tsuki: “Hehehe Alphonse! You are back! Wow you were so quick !”

Alphonse: “It won’t work so wipe that dumb expression from your face.”

Tsuki’s eyes unconsciously veered to the side, “I don’t know what you are talking about!”

“Oh? So you didn’t disobey me when I clearly told you to patiently wait for me in the trailer? And just now, you weren’t planning on using your blood on a nearly-dead dog without any knowledge of the consequences?” Alphonse drawled sarcastically.

Tsuki felt cold sweat drip down his back as he looked at his hands on his lap.

Tsuki: ‘Ahhhhhh I am sooo in trouble! I am an idiotttttt!!!!! There’s no other way now! All I can do is…..’

In a burst of action, Tsuki quickly kneeled before Alphonse before starting to bow like crazy, “Oh handsome zombie! Please spare me! Surely such a benevolent and gentle zombie like you will forgive the sweet and innocent me?”

Tsuki: ‘That’s right Tsuki! Beg like your butt depends on it! Cause it really does! Now for the finale…’

Tsuki lifted his head up and stared at Alphonse with glimmering eyes, “Al~~~~ I am soooo sowwy! Forgive me, m‘kay?”

Tsuki: ‘That’s right! Look at my innocent eyes! They are glistening with purety and looking at you adoringly, right? Surely you will not punish me, right?’

Tsuki couldn’t see Alphonse’s expression clearly because his face was obscured by his hair. He watched anxiously as the latter opened his mouth.

Alphonse: “….Benevolent? Gentle?”

The unveiled smirk as Alphonse raised his head froze Tsuki in place.

Alphonse chuckled darkly, “Unfortunately for you, I do not identify with such adjectives. Good try though. Now, prepare yourself!’

Tsuki whimpered pathetically before letting out a cry, “NOOoooooooo!!!!’

****

Back at the trailer,Midori flinched as heard Tsuki’s pathetic cry. The other occupants,who were watching him like a hawk, noticed the flinch and became even more guarded.

“What’s wrong?” Asked the guy with dark blue hair.

Midori looked at him disparagingly, “None of your business!”

The flat-chested woman with red hair proved the saying that ‘red-haired people are short-tempered’ to be true, “ You brat!!! How dare you talk to Veyn like this?”

Midori: “Who are you calling brat?! You big tomato! And I’ll talk to him however I want!”

The red-haired woman got up angrily, “What did you just call me, you midget?!”

The dark blonde guy with a carefree expression tried to calm down the situation, “Oy oy both of you stop it! I don’t want to get scolded by Alphonse when he comes back!”

The one now identified as Veyn nodded, “Riot is right. Sit down Mercy; squabbling with a child-zombie will amount to nothing. Plus we have to keep on eye on Steve in case he wakes up and wants to take a bite out of us.”

‘Her name is Mercy?.... Doesn’t really suit her.’ Midori thought while snickering under his breath.

Mercy caught his mocking gaze and glared at him with pursed lips. Just at this moment, Alphonse appeared by kicking the door of the trailer open. All the occupants could only stare dumbfounded as he walked casually towards them with someone slung over his shoulder. The latter appeared to be crying pink tears while biting on Alphonse’s shirt.

Alphonse tried to tug Tsuki off his shoulder but the latter refused to budge and continued to cling to his shirt.

Alphonse let out a sigh, “Till when are you going to cry?”

Tsuki spit out the shirt he was chewing on, “You big baka!!!! Wahhhhh!!”

Midori quickly stood up, “What did you do to him? Why is he crying?! And how the hell can he even cry?!”

Tsuki heard Midori and wiggled to get down from Alphonse’s shoulder, “ Midori~ The doggy died!” He whimpered while hugging Midori’s head.

Alphonse sighed again, “I, myself, just discovered that he could cry. And I didn’t do anything to him….apart from a few light spanks, that is.” He took Tsuki away from Midori and into his arms, “Tsuki stop it now. We tried it and that was the result. Now we know that your blood is only effective on those that have already been bitten by a zombie.”

Tsuki wailed even louder, “I killed the dogggggg! Wahhhhh!”

Alphonse gently rubbed his back, “But you didn’t do it on purpose. It was an accident. I am sure that the dog is at peace with his owners.”

Tsuki lifted his face bathed with pink tracks,”You think so?”

Alphonse gently wiped away a pink tear, “Yes, so don’t cry anymore.”

Tsuki sniffed and burrowed his face in Alphonse’s chest. When Alphonse finally looked at his companions, he found them slack-jawed, as if their world view had been shattered. It looked like their spirits would leave there body at any moment. As for Midori, he was standing quietly to the side with an ‘why am I always witnessing these things’ expression on his face.

A dark glare in their direction quickly snapped their spirits back in place and caused them to go to sit straight.

Their thoughts were quite muddled at the moment.

Veyn: ‘The world is such a mysterious place huh..’

Mercy: ‘I just saw an illusion. Something totally unbelievable.’

Riot: ‘Really?! Really?!!! The gap is wayyyyyyyyy too big! Maybe I am dreaming?’

Alphonse: “Anyway, introductions and everything else can wait till later. Getting a temporary base is more important right now. Specially with Steve’s condition. What do you think about one of the private warehouses found on the outskirts Veyn?”

Veyn: “Yes it would be perfect. It is a secluded place with not much population around; less risks of encountering zombies. The downside is that we have to go via the main route to get there. We would have to stop many times to clear the way from all the cars and god knows how many zombies there are there.”

Alphonse nodded, “ The zombies are no problem. The cars on the other hand are; just forcing our way through would damage the truck in the long run.”

Mercy, Veyn and Riot sweatdropped as they thought, “I completely forgot that he was a zombie…”

Alphonse hummed then continued, “Here is what we’ll do. Riot you will be in charge of driving. Veyn and Mercy, you two will stay at the back to look after Steve. Midori, you and I will be at the front with Riot and will be in charge of deblocking the road. We shall take care of any problematic zombies if the need arises too.”

The four nodded and quickly accepted their roles. Just as Riot and Midori got up to get into their positions, they were interrupted by a small voice.

Tsuki hung from Alphonse’s arms like a little kitten. He had been quietly watching the interaction between them since who knows when.

Tsuki: “What about me?”

Alphonse glanced down at the cute little being in his arms and tightened his hold.

“You will be at the front with us as a co-pilot. Now let’s move.” Alphonse ordered while lifting Tsuki and walking out of the trailer.