Chapter 7

‘Somehow that stupid zombie really has the ability to annoy me.’ Tsuki thought gloomily.

Tsuki, “Yes and it was the stupid me on whom you chomped down last night. My stupidity might be transferred to you so you better be careful.”

Alphonse just tilted his head at him.

“Anyway are those your bandages over there? Is you injury better? It can’t be, can it? Let me see!” He said as he scooted towards Alphonse and lifted his shirt.

Alphonse’s muscles were fully revealed as his shirt was lifted. His injury had really healed leaving no trace behind. It made him look more handsome.

‘Wow it’s really healed.’ Tsuki thought as he caressed the area where the injury was. ‘Did my blood do that? How can that be..? Wait a minute! Isn’t that kinda dangerous? What if the scientists discover this and hunt me down?! They’ll throw me into some sort of lab and torture me with all sorts of experiments!’

Alphonse was completely oblivious to his companion’s internal crisis. He was enjoying the caress and let out some sort of zombie purr.

Tsuki stopped in his internal panicking and looked at him strangely. “Did you just purr? Aren’t cats that are supposed to do that? Well it was not really a purr..more of a vibrating growl. But really, I am really starting to doubt your status as a zombie….Maybe you are a failed experiment that escaped from a lab? A hybrid of human,zombie and cat…?”

That only got him a blank stare. He cleared his throat and looked away.

“So what are we going to do now? We really will stand out among both zombies and humans. Do we try to communicate with either parties? Where will we go and stay? What about food?” Tsuki said as he gripped his hair with both hands.

Alphonse, “Comrades.”

Tsuki let go of his hair and turned to look at him, “ It seems like you can’t talk that well yet. And comrades? What comrades?”

Alphonse, “ Look for comrades. Help.”

“You still have your memories? Okay then! Let’s go look for your comrades! I can’t remember my previous life so I don’t have anyone to look for. At least now we have a goal. By the way, by comrades, do you mean that you were in the army or something?”

Alphonse got up, glanced at him and just grunted.

“Was that a ‘yes’ grunt or a negative one? If you don’t want to talk about it you just have to say so.” Tsuki complained as he also got up.

Alphonse ignored him and bent down to pick up both of the bags. He then turned and made his way to the door.

“Wait for me! And don’t ignore me. I always waited patiently for you when you were slow!” Tsuki said as he ran to catch up with the older zombie.

Alphonse stopped at the window near the exit and peered outside. Tsuki stuck to his back and tried to peer outside too.

“Is the way clear?” Tsuki whispered as he clutched at Alphonse’s shirt.

Alphonse just grunted, opened the door and made his way outside. Tsuki just trailed behind him and clung to his back like sticky rice.

Tsuki carefully analysed his surroundings even as he blindly followed Alphonse, ‘It’s scary how silent it is now compared to how it was last night. There were so many screams…Anyway why am I the one following him now? Yesterday I was the one that had to take care of him and lead him. The roles reversed really quickly. At least now I am not alone; I have someone I can talk to and depend on…Okay scratch that he is not much of a conversionalist and he can’t talk properly yet. At least he seems dependable.’

“Alphonse.”Tsuki called out in a small voice.

The other slightly turned his head to look into the innocent pair of red eyes looking at him.

“What are we going to do if we meet other humans or zombies? Are they going to hurt us?” Tsuki asked softly.

Alphonse sniffed the air a little. He could detect the faint smell associated with fear coming from his small companion. He stared into those beautiful eyes for a little more before facing forward again, “No scared. Protect.”

Tsuki buried his face into his companion’s back even as they continued walking towards their unknown destination.

‘I don’t know why but I feel comfortable around you; even though we are strangers to each other. Now that I think about it, it is quite stupid to trust someone I just met….Oh well, I already died once so no worries. And my instinct indicates that I can trust you. It may have been fate, luck or pure coincidence. But whatever it is, I am glad that you are here with me. Even if you are a big bully that bit me and like to ignore me sometimes, thank you Alphonse. And it’s don’t be scared not no scared. Thank you for the intention though.’ Tsuki thought as a gentle smile appeared on his face.

Any being who saw this expression on such a face would definitely agree that it made him appear even more beautiful. Just like the old tales of sirens seducing sailors, the oblivious Tsuki had the power to mesmerise and unknowingly seduce other beings.

Tsuki rubbed his face against Alphonse’s back one last time before coming to walk beside him. He linked his hands behind his back and tilted his head to the sky with his eyes closed. As a result he nearly fell. Fortunately,Alphonse caught his shirt and casually righted him.

Tsuki laughed as he clung to Alphonse’s arm, “Thank you Alphonse.”

Alphonse glanced at him and stared at his smiling face for a few moments. He surprisingly raised his hand to push his bangs away from his eyes. “Stupid,” he said gently then faced forward.

‘I am not stupid.’ Tsuki thought petulantly even as he continued to cling to Alphonse’s arm.

“So where are we going ? And how are we going to get there?” Tsuki asked as they continued walking.

Alphonse, “South. Car.”

“You know how to drive?! Cool!” Tsuki exclaimed with admiration in his eyes. “Then let’s choose a big car! The bigger the better! We can cram anything we find useful inside. If there will be more people joining us we need more supplies. Our two bags just won’t do. We need lots of food. Well at least I do. I don’t know about you…”

With that said, he quickly ran forward and started peering into any big vehicles he found along the way in order to find the most suitable one.

Alphonse just continued walking and scanned his surroundings from time to time to ensure their safety. He growled whenever Tsuki got too far way. The latter fortunately stopped to wait for him everytime he heard him growl before running around again. But other than that, he let him do whatever he wanted.