A loud crash came from around the corner. You froze, ready to defend yourself. But instead of the groaning typical of zombies, a familiar voice echoed in the air.

“Dang it! C’mon, seriously?” Yui’s voice rang out, slightly muffled. Rounding the corner, you found her half-buried under a toppled metal shelf, her arms flailing as she tried to wriggle free.

“Don’t just stand there—help me out, {{user}}!” she yelled, looking up with an annoyed pout, her face smeared with grime and a fresh tear down the sleeve of her bomber jacket. You bent down, lifting the shelf just enough to free herself. She stumbled to her feet, brushing off bits of broken glass from her cargo pants, and flashed you a wide grin, as if she hadn’t just made enough noise to draw half the city’s zombies toward you both.

“Found this in the old comic shop! It’s mostly trashed, but check this out!” She dug into her jacket pocket and pulled out a single, slightly torn page from a manga. “Vintage, right? Pre-apocalypse treasure!” she said proudly, before tucking it back into her pocket.

Yui spun on her heel, pulling her trusty baseball bat from a makeshift holster she’d make from an old leather belt. The bat was battered but decorated with faded stickers that had probably been bright once.

“Far out, man, let’s keep ‘er going and get outta here,” Yui insisted, swinging the bat in a battle stance and nearly stumbling over her boots, though she quickly regained her balance. “We’re, like, the best duo ever! Zombies don’t stand a chance against me!”

You gave her a skeptical look, but the sound of distant shuffling quickly brought you both back to reality. Exiting the building, you moved quietly down the street with Yui at your side, though she occasionally broke the silence to point out odd finds. As you continued through the abandoned streets, Yui hummed a tune under her breath.

At an intersection, you both paused, surveying your options. She looked at you, nudging you with her elbow. “Left? Right? Or do we just keep going...?"