Chapter 3
((I don't own F/SN or HSOTD))
When the shock of finding someone they knew passed, the group began to mill about, looking for something to do. The boys were effectively banished upstairs while downstairs the girls were able to strip from their clothes and head to the bath they so richly needed. The boys discovered a set of lockers upstairs which Kota immediately set on trying to open and see if there was anything they could use.
Lancelot and Diarmuid had volunteered to be lookouts for a while , standing out on the balcony with their weapons. The door was shut, allowing the pair to talk as Kota and Takashi went to work on the cabinet. Takuzo was in the bathroom relieving himself while Tooru was resting his ankle.
“It looks like I wasn’t the only one from the Throne of Heroes to arrive here,” Diarmuid spoke after a moment of silence between the pair.
“It appears so,” Lancelot agreed.
More silence followed, both Heroic Spirits keeping their eyes trained on the streets. Shots could be heard in the distance, likely meaning that somebody had taken the fight to the zombies. Softer noises could be heard even farther in the distance with flares appearing above the bridge. Likely they came from the rescue efforts.
“They’re dooming themselves if they keep up like that,” Diarmuid frowned, eyeing the hovering light. “The sounds of the flares and people begging for help will only attract the ghouls.”
“Agreed,” Lancelot nodded, “My group and I are currently attempting to try and find a way across the river to see if their families are safe. What of you and Miss. Hayashi?”
“Just searching for a safe place for the two of us,” Diarmuid shrugged. “Survivors are few and far between. The only ones we saw were a bunch of hooligans running with bags of cash towards the bridge and all of you.”
“Sadly so,” Lancelot nodded. “Fortunately the situation is not made worse by another Holy Grail War.”
“Indeed,” the former Lancer agreed. “Speaking of which, I find you’re much more pleasant company than when we first met.”
“Fortunately I was spared being a Berserker on my arrival here,” Lancelot replied.
“Indeed,” agreed Diarmuid. “So, was it my eyes or did you seem attached to the caregiver of your group?”
“She s a friend, perhaps my only friend in this era. Nothing more,” Lancelot replied cooly.
“Were you anyone else but Lancelot of the Lake, I would not have believed that considering the woman’s beauty and purity,” Diarmuid chuckled.
“And what of you and that Miss. Hayashi?” asked Lancelot. “You seem to be taking pains to cover that mark on your face.”
“A wise precaution considering it’s effects,” Diarmuid replied, absently rubbing the bandage on his cheek. “We began as friends and now are fellow survivors. We are...close, for lack of a more proper wording.”
“Congratulations I suppose,” Lancelot nodded. “How did this come about?”
“A tale in itself, mundane but then exciting,” Diarmuid smiled. “I guess you can say it was a matter of good fortune...”
(LINE BREAK)
The bathroom to the apartment was like the rest of it, sizable. There was plenty of space for the six bathers even if there wouldn’t be enough room to actually soak but fortunately there was a connecting shower which could be used in lieu of the bathtub. Inside the steam-filled room was a bevy of natural babes who were busy scrubbing up or already soaking. Rei and Shizuka had finished early, sneaking into the bathtub for a soak complete with bubbles. Saeko and Saya were already scrubbing in front of the glass mirror at the taps while Kyoko and Naomi were scrubbing in the middle of the room near the drains.
“Wow, you’re gigantic,” Rei gawked at Shizuka’s breasts.
Shizuka cradled them and smiled, “I know, I get that a lot.” She was proud of her breast size. Well, not too proud like some of those women in magazines could be, but she still liked her breasts.
“She says it so casually and with a straight face,” Kyoko huffed, eyeing the blonde’s endowments somewhat enviously. Now, Kyoko knew she had a fine figure and was just as curvy as any woman could be. Just the same, Shizuka’s nigh-legendary chest made her and just about all of the other female teachers and plenty of students feel so inadequate without the woman even trying! Were it not for the fact that the woman was eternally nice and pleasant to be around, especially humble about her boob size, the female staff would have been ready to lynch her for making them feel so plain and ordinary. Not to mention stealing the attention of any single guys when they went out or had the hot single dads come in for parent/teacher conferences.
“They...can’t be real,” Naomi mumbled, glancing at her own teenage assets and at Shizuka’s. She, like many of the girls in Fujimi had thought (Prayed) that Shizuka was merely using some kind of push-up bra or was stuffing them, but it seemed those hopes were destined to be unanswered. Hell, Saeko, Saya, and Rei were all bigger than her! Just how was it that they got the killer bodies?
“Yeah, they’re too perfect if you ask me! C’mere Shizuka-sensei!” Rei then lunged across the water of the bathtub at the woman, grasping her boobs and squeezing them enough to let the fingers sink in. Shizuka squealed, gasped, and cried out for Rei to stop but the brunette was on a mission to discover the realism of Shizuka’s boobs.
Saya’s eyes twitched at the antics of her fellow student and the sheer helplessness Shizuka seemed to hold against it, “Did we just have to all take a bath together at the same time?”
“You know why we had to Takagi-san,” Saeko replied, more amused by the antics than anything else.
“I guess so,” Saya grumbled, glancing at the struggling pair in the tub before breaking out in a blush at seeing Rei’s groping and Shizuka’s pleas for mercy became something like out of an eroge. Shaking her head, Saya returned to scrubbing her hair to try and block out the images, “But considering our situation at the moment I hardly think that-GYAAAAAAHHHHAAAAAAAA”
The reason for Saya’s sudden scream was that during her attempts to avoid looking at Rei and Shizuka’s struggles, Saeko had taken the shower head of the scrubbing area and turning it to it’s coldest setting before allowing it to spray onto Saya’s naked back.
“Your voice sounds better than I thought like that,” Saeko laughed. “The boys must love your sexy voice...”
Saya growled, but she didn’t simply stew and instead strove to get even. Taking a washtub, she filled it with cold water before retaliating against Saeko by splashing it against the small of her back. The swordswoman gave off a gasping moan, trembling on the spot for a few moments. Another almost sensual gasp escaped her lips before she managed to regain herself, glancing at Saya with a smirk.
“Don’t look at me like that! You’re the one who started it!” Saya growled, more pissed off at the fact that Saeko sounded more mature and sensual in her moans than she did rather than for the prank itself.
Naomi chuckled at the scenes of amusement which were welcome after the hell that they had all been forced to endure. Turning a tub of water over her body, she heaved a sigh of relief. “Ahhh! I needed this so much!”
“That goes for both of us,” Kyoko agreed, running her fingers through her wet hair to make sure it was cleaned. Something about sharing some girl time in the bath certainly made all of her troubles melt away.
“So Sensei,” Naomi began. “Just who is that guy you’re with? Is he your boyfriend?”
“Ah!” Kyoko gasped, her face turning rosy as she froze in the spot. “Uh...well, I...I guess, you can say that. Dia-kun and I have gotten quite close since this started and...and...and we’ve been friends for a while...”
“Oh?” Shizuka blinked as she and Rei’s female instincts tuned into the fact that there was hot gossip to be heard. “Hayashi-san, is Diarmuid-san that really, really, hot guy that would drop by to visit you? You know, the guy who made the cheerleading club pass out from nosebleeds?”
“I heard about that!” Rei gasped in shock. “I just thought a rival club tried to beat them up or something!”
“Um....maybe?”
Shizuka’s eyes gained a gleam in them that suddenly unnerved everybody in the room.
(LINE BREAK)
In the upstairs bedroom, the boys were effectively banished for the time being until the girls had finished their baths. Since there wasn’t a changing room, the girls would have to actually leave the bath to get some clothes and they didn’t want any risk of having one of the boys see them in the nude.
It didn’t help that temptation came to the four when they could hear the girls laughing, giggling, and squealing at whatever they were doing in the bath besides cleaning.
Takashi and Kota were fiddling with the lockers they had discovered in the room, finding one to be filled with numerous different boxes of bullets which would have been perfect for them to use if there was a gun that went along with them. Hell, there was even a crossbow with several bolts ready to be plucked. Takashi was holding a crowbar which Kota was fiddling with the business end, trying to get it jammed into the locker itself so they could pry it open. Takuzo was concentrating on the wall, apparently trying not to think about what his girlfriend looked like in the buff, if he hadn’t already seen her in such a state already. Tooru just looked like he wanted to pretend he couldn’t hear anything at all, that or be alone so he could take care of the pent up stress the noises were filling him with.
“Sounds like they’re having fun,” Takashi muttered, trying to focus on the task at hand.
“Want to go peek on them? You know we’re supposed to as men, right?” asked Kota with a grin.
“Not in the mood to die just yet,” Takashi retorted, although he was sorely, sorely tempted.
“Besides, since Naomi’s my girlfriend I’d be legally obliged to hurt you if you did try to peek,” Takuzo spoke up.
“Might be worth it though,” Tooru sighed.
“Worth it or not, I’m going to be really pissed if there’s nothing in this locker” Rei’s ex muttered, trying to distract himself from going for what would no doubt be a legendary sight.
“There’s something. There has to be,” Kota reassured his friend. “We found all these bullets here and you don’t get bullets unless you have a gun to use them with. Besides, who locks an empty locker?” Sitting back, he saw that the crowbar was ready to use. “Okay, it’s ready. Takuzo, can you lend a hand?”
“Sure,” the baseball player nodded. The three boys got to the crowbar, all three of them finding space so they could exert their strenght. “Okay, here we go. One, two, THREE!” In a unified push, the three boys tried to break open the lock. Between their strength and what Kota tried to loosen it, the lock easily gave way with a single SNAP! The door flung open, but the boys all fell from the overabundant force, hitting the floor and the crowbar jabbing them in uncomfortable places.
The three boys groaned in pain, getting up from their sudden meeting with the ground, Takashi rubbed his head and looked to the locker before blinking in shock, “Holy shit.”
Kota was second and took his own glance before a manic grin over came his face at what he saw, “Gyahahahahaha! I knew it!”
“Shizuka-sensei lived here with her friend or something, right?” asked Takuzo, staring. “Well, who the hell is this woman? Master Chief’s mistress or something? Look at those things!” The trio’s awe was all due to the three firearms which were held inside the locker. Two of them were high powered rifles while the last was quite obviously a shotgun, something that was universally known for having firepower to its name.
Like a kid in a candy store, Kota grabbed the first rifle which was outfitted with a scope and cleared the chamber before testing it’s sight, “The Springfield A1M1 Super Match. Semi-automatic weapon which is good since full automatic is such a waste. I can fit 20 bullets in here. That’s illegal in Japan!”
“Hey, chill out dude,” Tooru blinked, not liking the look on Kota’s face at all. The way he was chuckling about how illegal the weapon was didn’t help anyone’s nerves.
“Hello? Hirano?” Takashi asked, failing to catch the nerd’s attention as he grabbed the next weapon., the second rifle but it had a larger scope on it
“A Knight SR-25? No, this thing’s an Armalite AR-10 that’s been modified to be used like one!” He seemed overjoyed at the sight. “Hell, the crossbow’s a Barnett Wildcat C5! You can even kill a bear with one!”
“Uh...you okay there?” Takuzo gulped.
Takashi shook his head before taking out the shotgun which was like the rifles, outfitted with a scope for better accuracy, something the common person with one may not do. Kota took one look at it before he gasped in rapture with his glasses flashing in the light, “That’s an Ithica M37 riot shotgun! It’s American-made and it was a player in the Vietnam war!”
“Oh...cool,” Takashi commented, pumping the gun to get a feel for it. He held it up to see if it could aim well, only to find the barrel pointing at Kota.
“AAHHH! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?-!” Kota screamed, waving his arms in shock. “Don’t you ever point a gun at somebody even unloaded! Accidents can happen that way!” pushing the barrel down, Kota’s eyes gained a gleam on them. “If you do point that thing though, shoot to kill!”
“Good advice,” Tooru gulped.
“Yeah. I’ll remember it,” Takashi agreed.
“Good,” Kota nodded, his face still serious. “If it comes down to it though, if I get bitten...don’t any of you hesitate to blow my head off!”
“Right. Same here,” Takashi nodded seriously.
“I want to be remembered as a human, not a monster,” Tooru nodded.
“I don’t want to be a threat to Naomi because I don’t want to die,” Takuzo added. “If I get bitten, take me out before anyone can stop you.”
“Then we’re in agreement,” Kota grinned. “If any of us get bitten, the others will kill us before we turn.”
“A man’s vow,” Diarmuid’s voice cut through the air, heradling his and Lancelot’s entrance from the balcony. “It’s not something to be taken lightly. Be sure you honor it no matter what.”
“Yeah,” Takuzo nodded. “What about you two?”
It didn’t need to be asked. Would Lancelot and Diarmuid honor the same vow and expect it to be honored on their behalf. The two Heroic Spirits looked at each other before turning their attention to the brave and quickly maturing young men in the room.
“Should we become infected by this disease, we will also like to have that vow honored,” Lancelot spoke. Although if the disease could affect Heroic Spirits like them was something of a mystery, not that any of them were willing to test it.
“Great!” Kota nodded, slapping an empty magazine into his gun.
(LINE BREAK)
“OW! Miyamoto!”
“Geeze! More big ones!”
The bath had degraded somewhat into a scene typical of the girls locker room. After finally determining the authenticity of Shizuka’s mammoth breasts, Rei had decided to do a boobie check on the other girls in the room. She had managed to snag Saya who of course made several loud complaints before Rei felt comfortable in being the larger between them before she went straight for Saeko who despite her sword skills never saw the assault coming.
“I fear for my chastity,” Naomi giggled, pouring another tub of water over her head.
“You and me both,” Kyoko moaned, dipping her legs into the water of the tub next to Shizuka. “Ah, I needed this.”
“Mm hmm,” Shizuka agreed. “But Kyoko-chan, you didn’t tell me how you met Diarmuid-san!”
“Uh?” Kyoko gasped, but cringed. She had hoped that Rei’s rampant groping would have taken Shizuka’s mind off of the gossip but it seemed that like with medicine the woman’s mind was as sharp as a tack when it came to juicy information.
“Yeah, just where did you pick up a guy like him?” asked Saya. “I mean, he’s incredibly hot and he can apparently kick a lot of ass if that grave outside was a hint. I didn’t think guys like that existed beyond one in a million or something.”
“W-Well...Dia-kun found me rather than me finding him,” Kyoko admitted, twirling a stand of her hair with a blush on her cheeks. “You see...”
FLASHBACK...1 Month Before Z-Day
The city lights flashed and the sounds of the nightlife were alive and well as people travelled about their business or pleasure. Cars honked and people talked, the sounds of the living going on as far as the eye could see or the ear could hear.
“BWA HA HA HA!”
Of course, not all of it was something people liked hearing.
Kyoko Hayashi and her co-worker Sato Tejima were stumbling down the sidewalk after a night at the bar with their fellow co-workers. Both were still in their work clothes, having gone for the bar immediately after they finished their duties for the day. Of course, nobody invited Shido to come along and Shizuka had snagged the attention of nearly every man in the bar once they arrived. Still, it was a gathering of co-workers who celebrated their good work for the day with booze and good food. The night wore on and everyone had to go home since the next day they were going to have to go to work all over again. Unfortunately, Tejima had a little too much and required help actually getting home. Since Kyoko lived in the same apartment complex, she volunteered to take him there. Now though, she wished she hadn’t.
“Tejima-san, will you please calm down?” Kyoko sighed, trying not to gag on the beer fumes the man was giving off. Did she smell like this too? She sure hoped not. “Everyone’s staring!”
“Ah let’em stare Kyoko-chan!” Tejima slurred, waving his arm in a dismissive drunken wave. Well, the arm that wasn’t sung over Kyoko’s shoulders to help him stand up. “We’re here to have fun! That’s what the night is for! No worries!”
“Fun is one thing! This is downright embarrassing!” Kyoko hissed. Even she never drank enough to make a scene. Then again, she was a maudlin drunk when she got hammered so that may have had something to do with her own drinking habits.
“Ah it’s fun!” Tejima grumped. He lazily looked up at Kyoko. “Y’know for how hot you are you sure can be a stick in the mud sometimes.”
“Tejima-san!” Kyoko hissed. While she was glad to know that a man who she was considering for a fling/relationship found her attractive, she didn’t need the insults and slurred language to go along with it! “I’m perfectly capable of having fun! I just don’t believe getting wasted and shouting all over the place like a lunatic can be called such!”
“Yup! That’s the frost queen we all know and wanna bone!” Tejima laughed, but then burped in a sickening way. “Ulp...gonna...spew!”
“Oh god!” Kyoko gagged. Maybe she should rethink taking Tejima out for a test spin if this was what their recreation was going to be like. Making a quick turn, the pair headed to an alley where Tejima sidled up against the wall near some trash cans where he promptly began barfing up everything he ate during the last few hours. Kyoko cringed at the sounds and tried not to look.
‘Definitely rethinking the fling idea,’ she sighed inwardly.
Trying to ignore the sounds of retching, she didn’t notice when it stopped. She likewise didn’t take notice of anything going on until she felt arms grab her bey her shoulders and drag her into the alley, “H-Hey!” She was turned around and pressed against the alley wall. Grimacing at the pain that hit her back, she opened her eyes to see Tejima’s drunenly grinning face. “T-Tejima! W-What the hell?-!”
“Y-You know Kyoko-chan...” he slurred. “I-I-I always...liked you...I figure...why not do sumthin about it?”
“W-what?” Kyoko gaped. Tejima didn’t speak furthur as he leaned in closer with his droopy bloodshot eyes. “No! Wait! MPH!” Her complaints were cut off as his drunken kiss assaulted her lips. His body pressed up against hers and she could feel his hands beginning to wander straight into ‘no touch’ zones of her body. ‘HELP!’
As soon as Tejima’s assault on her body began, it was suddenly halted when the man was promptly yanked back by someone else, leaving Kyoko pressed against the alley wall with her lipstick smudged and her clothes ruffled. Blinking, she saw that Tejima was being pulled back by a new man. this one was donned in a black set of pants and a black vest which was over top a green shirt with a yellow tie. His face was obviously that for a foreigner, but...Kyoko couldn’t help but admit that the man was impeccably handsome. He’d fit right into the Japanese idea of Bishonen despite how different he looked from the norm. Of course, those handsome features were disturbed by the scowl on his lips and narrowed eyes.
“The lady said no,” the handsome man frowned, tossing Tejima aside.
“H-Hey! Fuck you gaijin!” Tejima snapped drunkenly. “Sh-she and I are...co-workers! I was gonna...thaw her out! Make her my GIRL!”
“Well you’re obviously drunk and hadn’t thought that plan out too well,” the handsome foreigner scoffed. “Now why don’t you go home and get some bed rest before this becomes a...serious matter.”
Kyoko couldn’t help but shiver at the threat in the man’s voice to Tejima. It made him sound so...dangerous and dashing.
“Oh...IT’S ON YOU FUCK!” Tejima snarled, lunging for the foreigner. However, his fist never connected as the foreigner caught his wrist, twisted Tejima around and pinned his arm to his back before bringing him to the ground painfully in a submission hold to restrain him.
“Are you going to calm down now?” the foreigner asked Tejima sternly.
Tejima offered no reply, which Kyoko at first thought meant he was going to resist. After a moment though, his body went limp and a snore could be heard from his nose. The submission hold and the josting around in the fight had likely finally put Tejima’s brain on alcohol into shut down. Likely the blood cut off from the hold helped make that happen.
“Well, that was anti-climactic,” the handsome man sighed, loosening Tejima’s body from the hold. Placing the man on the ground, he looked to where Kyoko was standing. “Are you hurt?”
Kyoko stood dazed at the handsome man who had come to her aid like a hero out of a storybook. It took her a moment to realize he had spoken to her, “Ah! I-I am fine.”
“Good,” the man nodded. “So what should we do about the drunk here? Is he really a co-worker of yours?”
“Yes he is,” Kyoko nodded, getting up from the wall. “We were drinking with some co-workers and he had a little too much. Since we live in the same apartment complex I volunteered to take him home. I guess the booze got to him more than I thought.”
“Hm,” the foreigner frowned. “If it’s all the same to you then, please allow me to escort you home. I can lift this drunk easily and I’d rather not see you get accosted again.”
Kyoko blinked, but then flushed slightly both for his offer and the face that she had almost been assaulted, “I...I’d like that.”
Nodding, the handsome man picked Tejima off the ground like he weighed nothing and slung him over his shoulder, “Well then, shall we be off?”
“Y-yes,” Kyoko nodded. Leaing the way down the street she stole occasional glances at the foreigner who had come to her aid. Feeling silly to act like a schoolgirl, she decided to begin going out on a limb.
“Um...My...my name is Kyoko Hayashi.”
“I am Diarmuid Ua Duibhne,” the man replied with a smile.
END FLASHBACK
“We talked all the while we headed back to my complex,” Kyoko explained with a silly smile. “He dumped Tejima off in his apartment and he brought me back to mine. I thanked him again and we parted ways.”
“And you didn’t try to invite him in?” asked Naomi. “If Takuzo did that for me I’d have dragged him to my room!”
“Well, I was still buzzed from the booze and I felt dirty from what happened,” Kyoko shrugged. “I needed a shower and some sleep to get over it.”
“So then what happened to Tejima?” asked Saya with a frown. “I never heard about him getting lectured or talked to by the police.”
“The next day he met with me and apologized profusely,” Kyoko replied. “I mean down on his knees profusely. I’ve known him for years too so I knew he was being sincere. He promised to lay off the booze so it would never happen again. I believed him and decided to let it go. Of course, he kept trying to act macho and manly in front of me ever since.”
“So what about Diarmuid-san?” asked Shizuka. “When did you see him again?”
“The next day actually,” Kyoko giggled. “He came during the lunch period to visit me and see that I was okay. We spent the hour together and talked about things. He came from Ireland apparently on a whim and had practically just arrived when he saw what was happening to me.”
“Together ever since huh?” asked Saya before a gleam got into her eyes. “So, you go all the way with him?”
“Takagi!” Kyoko yelped.
“What?” the pinkette grinned. “I mean a hot guy like that who apparently likes you and can kick ass? I’d sure as heck want to take him for a spin!”
“Funny coming you who’s a virgin like all of us,” Naomi huffed.
“I may be a virgin, but I know what I like!” Saya snapped back.
“It’s a good point though,” Shizuka pondered. “Did you go all the way with Diarmuid-san? Was it good?”
Kyoko flushed brightly but shook her head. Social norms were going out the window with all this hell going on so why not? She grinned lecherously as she thought back to certain events, “Oh my god. The man is incredible!”
All eyes turned to the grinning redhead, some in embarrassed curiosity and others in obvious envy.
“I wish Lance-kun and I could do that,” Shizuka mumbled with a pout.
(LINE BREAK)
The bedroom was looking like a part-time gun shop as Kota had spread out all of the guns and cases of bullets to separate them and begin loading them up for use. He was at the moment filling a magazine while Takashi was next to him looking on at how the nerd could do it so easily. Takuzo was standing near the sliding glass door looking out at the city. Tooru had fallen asleep, the bed being too comfortable to stay awake on and both Lancelot and Diarmuid were sitting on the floor, one fully armoured while the other was examining his spears for any kind of stains or wear.
“Hey Komuro help me out here will ya?” Kota asked. “This is going to be a pain in the ass to do myself.”
“Oh, right,” Takashi blinked. Grabbing a magazine, he began loading it up as Kota was doing. “You sure know a lot about this stuff. You practice with an air soft gun or something?”
“Nah, with the real thing!” Kota grinned.
Takashi choked on his own spit as Lancelot, Diarmuid, and Takuzo’s gazes all snapped to the class nerd, “Wait, are you saying that you’ve done this kind of thing before?”
“Sure have,” Kota nodded. “You see, a while back I got to go to America where I learned how to use weapons from this awesome instructor. He used to be part of an institution called Blackwater and before that he was a captain in Delta Force. Everything I know I learned from him.”
“H-Holy shit! Really?” Takuzo gaped.
“Yup,” Kota grinned.
“O-oh my God. The class nerd’s a card carrying member of the NRA,” Takashi chuckled weakly.
“Well well, this is certainly a welcome surprise,” Diarmuid grinned. “It seems we’ve ended up with a person who actually knows how to use the weapons stored here. How fortunate.”
“I had thought your movements were too stable and precise to be self-taught,” Lancelot nodded. “It seems we were luckier than we knew when you decided to join us.”
“Aw, thanks!” Kota grinned.
Takashi shook his head, some people had the wildest secrets. Looking down, he eyed the weapons which were being loaded in front of them, “Speaking of guns though, where the hell did this chick get these? You said they were illegal right?”
“Well, they are as a whole but you can buy them in parts. It’s illegal to put them together though,” Kota explained. “The fact that they’re all put together and in perfect working order means that whoever this woman is definitely knew what they’re doing. Makes sense though since Ms. Shizuka said that her friend was in the military.”
“So you can get away with anything if you’re a cop then?” asked Takuzo.
“Well...maybe,” Kota frowned. “An unmarried police officer would just usually live in dorms
provided by the government. This chick though can rent a place like this. Either she’s dating someone rich, comes from money, or might be into more than just regular police work. If it’s legal or illegal probably doesn’t matter at this point.”
“I doubt Shizuka would involve herself with someone involved in organized crime,” Lancelot countered.
“Yeah, good point,” Kota nodded. “Likely special ops then or something like that.” He then looked up to Diarmuid. “By the way, how’d you and Hayashi-sensei end up here anyway Diarmuid-san?”
“Well, it wasn’t easy,” Diarmuid replied, setting his red spear down. “It started on the day all this hell happened. I was heading to visit Kyoko again when I stumbled onto an onrush of the dead. Fighting my way out of it I dashed to the school to make sure if Kyoko was alright or not. When I got there, I saw one of the dead at the gate and another trying to bite Kyoko.”
“I remember that! I saw you pierce both of them!” Takashi gasped, recalling what he saw from the staircase.
“Yes. Unfortunately I hadn’t yet discovered how to kill them,” Diarmuid nodded. “While I was discerning Kyoko’s safety the one inside got up and began attacking the other teachers. I fled with Kyoko inside and we managed to get the vice-principal to make an announcement. Sadly, the creatures were already inside by that time.”
“So they were already in the school by the time the attack at the gate started?” asked Kota, remembering when Takashi had stormed into the classroom and dragged Rei and his friend Hisashi out talking about a murder at the gate.
“Yes,” the green lancer nodded again. “In hindsight I suspect a teacher or two had been attacked but not seriously and attributed it to a drunk or somebody not in a sound state of mind. They arrived at the school and then turned, causing the outbreak to spread from inside.”
“Makes sense,” Takashi nodded. He, Rei, and Hisashi had encountered Wakisaka-sensei who had been turned. In hindsight of the incident, Takashi did wonder how one of them had gotten to the upper floors so quickly when the attack had only just started at the front.
“I knew we couldn’t stay so I took Kyoko and we headed out to the rear of the property where there were less of the creatures about. I had managed to discover their weakness when I spotted several dead creatures in the hallways, each of them with their heads caved in. So killing those that crossed our path, I took Kyoko and we leaped over the fence and began to run.”
“You didn’t find any survivors along the way?” asked Takuzo.
“No,” Diarmuid shook his head. “Everyone we saw was dead, undead, or in the process of being eaten. Remember that this was when the attack was still in progress. Getting away was a priority.”
“So what did you do next?” asked Kota.
“Kyoko recalled this place from when Shizuka brought the female teachers over for what was called a ‘girls night in’ or something like that,” the lancer explained. “She remembered meeting the owner who admitted she was in law enforcement. Kyoko figured the place would be secure enough and may have weapons for protection.”
“So you fought your way here and cleared out all of the dead before moving in?” asked Takuzo. “Man, that’s nuts. There was no one left?”
“The only ones here were the dead,” Diarmuid replied. “If there were any survivors, they had fled already. So I cleared the place out while Kyoko took up residence. We’ve been here since the first day.”
“Man, talk about luck!” Takashi sighed. “We’ve been busting our asses ever since this started and you two managed to score a great hiding place right away!”
“Luck has always been a factor in survival, but skill helps make sure luck stays on your side,” Lancelot offered.
“Luck favors the prepared, you mean,” summarised Diarmuid, earning a nod from Lancelot.
“Well let’s see how luck’s favoring the rest of the world,” Takuzo sighed, grabbing a remote control from the nightstand and pointing it at the television. The screen immediately lit up. The group was partially expecting static since the signal at the school went out but they were all surprised at seeing the bridge being covered by the news.
The anchorwoman explained what the authorities knew about the situation and what steps were being taken to do something about it. The bridge had been blocked off as everyone already suspected and the police and medical officers were slowly letting people pass after checking to make sure that they didn’t have the disease that was causing the dead to get up and kill.
Things weren’t peaceful though as some gunshots could be heard, signalling that the dead were zoning in on the people what with their screams for help and demands to be allowed to pass. It caused the four audience members to cringe as a scream of pain or two could be heard going on in the background.
The anchorwoman also turned her attention to what apparently looked like a mob of people being led by some unshaven pale crusty man who was actually blaming all of the death and madness on some joint conspiracy which was developed by America and Japan. The leader claimed that it was a government weapon that caused the disease and now it was loose and people were dying thanks to the government’s uncaring stance towards the people. It was obviously total bullshit and the man was just looking for support to fit his paranoid view and was taking advantage of the situation but people were afraid and confused and it was a good an explanation as any other was so they threw their support behind the agitator.
“Jeez, some people will take advantage of anything to get their way,” Takuzo grimaced, disgusted by the anarchist leader’s shouting. The people needed an organised rescue response and this guy was trying to disrupt that as much as possible.
“The situation is becoming more tense as more of the infected home in towards the bridge!” The anchorwoman spoke. “We don’t know how much longer this space will remain secure, but we will continue to-!”
“Prepare to fire!” a police officer in camera range ordered, he and a row of police officers lifting their guns to shoot at the approaching mob of zombies when...
“Kazikili Bey!”
(LINE BREAK)
Tokonosou Bridge
The officer almost dropped his gun when the next several seconds unfolded. When all hell broke loose he and his men were ordered to head to Tokonosou Bridge to help evacuate citizens as well as keep the order and calm. At first the job was tense, if not terribly so. the fleeing civilians came to the bridge to get to the other side with medical staff checking them to make sure that they weren’t infected with whatever was making people go nuts. As night came around though, the bridge was becoming swarmed with the infected, attacking anyone they could get their hands on. Shooting at them didn’t seem to help since they took bullets like it was nothing. Headshots was the only thing that seemed to stop them but with the officers so out of their depth, they were allowing their nerves to affect their shooting skills. Several of the police had already been infected and had to be killed. With people mixed into the mob, it seemed that extreme measures were going to have to be taken.
Now though...
Pikes, spears, tridents, all manner of pointed implements of death had simply burst up from the asphalt and speared the infected straight through their bodies before hoisting them up into the air, the wooden shafts holding strong with no signs of warping as the infected were lifted out of the reach of the civilians. The impacts were sudden and swift, none of the infected having time to move out of the way. Blood rained down onto the ground from the impacts against the infected, but it didn’t seem to stop them as they continued to moan, groan, and struggle from where they were impaled on the pikes.
“What in God’s name...?” one officer gasped.
In the new field of impaled infected, civilians were standing in shock, apparently just having been missed by the implements of death and yet the dead which were a hair’s breath away were impaled and hoisted up. Cars were untouched as some of the civilians sat on top of them to try and keep away from the infected but the people still continued to stare in awe. The shock had been so severe, no one could speak not even that crusty anarchist who was trying to stir up trouble.
The officer in charge while his superior tried to get orders from command heard it first, footsteps. Lifting his pistol up just in case, he aimed it out into the darkness where the noise was coming from. Scared civilians moved to the sides of the bridge where they could avoid the grasping hands from above as well as bullets.
Emerging from the darkness almost as if he was invisible was a man. He was dressed in fine clothes that looked like they came out of Europe sometime during the royal eras. He wore a black coat with tails over a white shirt with a yellow tie, but frilled sleeves poke out from the ends of the jacket arms. His pants were black and he wore boots that went up to his knees. He was rather thin, almost worryingly so but his stride and posture showed health and vigor despite how thin he was. His face was deeply pale and he had long blonde hair which reached to his shoulders. His face looked like it was made from porcelain, despite being foreign he looked quite regal. Walking behind him was a small crowd of people, looking less panicked than most of the other civilians but by his side was a brunette Japanese woman with short hair wearing housewife clothes. Her eyes were puffy as if crying, something a lot of people were doing, but she was walking like a handmaiden to a lord of some sort. What was really odd were the small pale scars on her neck that looked almost like teethmarks.
What really got the officer’s attention though was the spear gripped in the pale man’s hand. It was a long, thing thing just like its wielder. The blade was rectangular and the base a black rectangular box with silver lines on it. The handle was styled similarly, but the entire weapon looked more dangerous than any of the other implements the infected were impaled on.
The foreigner and his entourage approached the police line with the man in front. He was taller than the Japanese officer but he didn’t seem to be looking for trouble.
“Is this the evacuation point for the civilians in your city?” he asked, his voice holding a heavy accent, but still understandable.
“Y-yes,” the officer nodded. “But we cannot let you pass until we’re sure you are not infected. You will have to wait you turn.”
“That is acceptable,” the man nodded. “Chaos at a time like this will only spell out demise. I will do what I can to keep the dead at bay. You make sure your people get to safety.”
“Of course,” the officer nodded, almost falling to the urge to salute the man as he did so.
Nodding, the foreign man turned and headed back to the shadows surrounding the bridge, no doubt to make sure that none of the dead would get away or more would sneak on and attack people. The entourage of people stayed where they were but the housewife quickly kept up with his stride. She didn’t say any words, but she seemed to find a kind of solace in the black-clad man’s presence.
“SO THE FOREIGN CONSPIRATOR SHOWS HIMSELF!”
The foreign man stopped and the officer had to withhold the urge to groan as the anarchist charged straight for the foreigner. As much as the officer wanted to just shoot the man for all the chaos he was instigating, he wasn’t breaking the law and he wasn’t trying to interfere with the operations. All he seemed to want to do was overthrow the establishment to save himself and instigate the people to help him. Without any aggressive movement, there was nothing the law could do.
The foreign man turned to face the crusty agitator who was grinning maliciously at him, “I beg your pardon?”
“Don’t try to play dumb with me! You’re in on the whole thing!” the man called. “You Americans have been working with our government to build the weapons which caused all this! Now you’re here to clean it all up and erase any witnesses! We all know it was you who did this spear trick! A super solider! Just what I’d expect from the oppressive regime!” Behind the agitator, his followers were holding up more signs denouncing the government’s oppression and they all looked ready to begin mobbing him.
“I’m European you dolt,” the foreigner replied, his eyes narrowed. “I have never set foot in North America and this is my first time in Japan. If you’re going to be biased against a country then make sure you can identify what its people look like.”
“Who cares!?” the agitator laughed. “We saw what you did! It’s just proof that the government’s been doing illegal experiments behind all our backs! Now that it’s come to life they’re trying to cover it up!”
The foreigner rubbed his forehead, “Spare me the theatrics. I don’t care about what petty squabbles you have with your Establishment. They have nothing to do with me. I am only here to make sure that you aren’t all wiped out by these monstrosities. So long as the peace is kept, preach all you want about your selfish ideas on anarchy.”
“Selfish?-!” the man growled, losing his glee. Apparently the foreigner was not some person he could push around with loud and scathing accusations or be swayed with somebody to blame. “I’m trying to expose the conspiracy which is threatening our lives! I’m here to help my fellow man!”
“You’re taking advantage of their fear to indoctrinate them in a bid to take control of the situation,” the foreigner replied. “If anything, you’re just making it easier for those things to get at you since you’re disrupting all attempts to try and keep them at bay by making people pool together. If there is some foolish conspiracy like you say, then you’re making yourself look like part of it by pooling witnesses together and making it easier for the infected to find them.”
“Huh?” the agitator gaped, but the damage was immediate. Several people began whispering to one another and looking not as convinced as they had been before.
“These creatures are attracted to sound and with you shouting your message across those blasted bullhorns, you’re drawing those creatures straight towards this place,” the foreigner continued. “Congratulations, several of these deaths here could be attributed to you and your preaching.”
More murmuring followed as more and more people began hearing what the foreigner said. Many people began drawing connections as they took notice that indeed as more people came to the bridge and the agitator began trying to collect a mob with shouting, preaching, and whatnot over a bullhorn then more and more of the dead had come to devour them.
“Why you-!” the agitator snarled, having enough logic to tell that the back of his protests was being broken.
“Be quiet and sit still. The less noise the better,” the foreigner finished, turning to leave again. “I will deal with any stragglers.”
The officer nodded again, even if the man couldn’t see it. he quickly turned and headed to report to his superior. If what the foreign man said was true then all of the noise that the people were making was just attracting those things making the job worse. It might be enough to help them survive the night!
(LINE BREAK)
Apartment
“Holy shit! That guy just tore that asshole a new one,” Takashi laughed.
“Serves him right,” Takuzo grinned.
“Well, at least someone’s there who can take care of business,” Kota nodded. “Still, how’d he managed to make all those pikes appear out of the ground? Was it a trap set up by the police or something?”
“No,” Diarmuid answered. “That man you saw did that himself. He holds abilities similar to myself and Lancelot. He must have been picking up survivors as he went and eliminated the dead wherever he saw them. With a Noble Phantasm like that it would likely be very easy for him.”
“Noble Phantasm?” Kota blinked. “Hey, Lance-san said that ability of his to cover things with that black and purple stuff was called a Noble Phantasm too. Just what the heck does that mean? Is it code for something?”
“Should we be together long enough, you’ll learn,” Lancelot answered.
The boys looked like they wanted to ask questions but an interruption came which proved to be incredibly distracting. Takuzo noticed it first when he started gaping with a red face. Takashi and Kota turned to see what it was before they noticed and turned bright red themselves, Kota suffering a nosebleed. Lancelot would have turned to see what was were it not for the pair of feminine arms that wrapped around his neck from behind.
“Lance-ku~n!” Shizuka moaned, leaning in close to the black knight. “Take off that armour ple~ase? I wanna cuddle!”
The knight flinched, catching a glance of Shizuka. Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes were drooping, indicating that she was intoxicated. Apparently there was beer to be had in the apartment and Shizuka had stumbled upon it. She was also very naked save for the fluffy white towel wrapped around her body. Out of sheer instinct, Lancelot did dismiss his armor if only to ensure that Shizuka didn’t hurt herself on the jagged edges it possessed. It only served to egg the drunken nurse on as she smiled and pressed herself against the knight, planting a very sloppy kiss on his cheek.
“Sh-Shizuka!” Lancelot flinched, trying not to notice the feel of her body pressed up against him. “P-Please control yourself! You must be quiet! You should be back downstairs with the others!”
“Hmph!” Shizuka huffed, squeezing her knight tighter. “I don’t wanna! I want to stay right here! I’m safe with you Lance-kun and I don’t want to be anywhere else!” As if to punctuate her point, she scrambled around and dropped herself straight onto Lancelot’s lap, incidentally flashing her ass off to the boys and making them gape even more openly. Lancelot could have shrugged her off, but that would have required touching her naked body and he was too much of a gentleman to try that while she was intoxicated.
“This is...so hot...” Takashi muttered.
“Totally...” Takuzo agreed.
“Huh...I like turtles...” Kota mumbled dumbly, his nose still bleeding.
And it was about to get better...for the three teens anyway.
“Dia-kun!” everyone’s eyes turned to the stairway which led to the lower floor only to see the form of Kyoko come up it once again clad in her yellow lace underwear and her hair down, complete with the looks of a drunken woman. Her body had that just out of the bath sheen which made her look even more alluring. However, she looked like she was about to cry.
Sniffling, Kyoko went straight for Diarmuid. She glomped onto him, landing in his lap as she hugged him for all she was worth, “Dia-kun where were you? I was so lonely!”
Chuckling weakly, Diarmuid stroked Kyoko’s back as she tried to burrow herself into his chest, “There there Kyoko. Everything’s fine. You could stand to put on some clothes though.”
“I don’t care!” Kyoko sniffled. “They can look all they want! I need you!”
Lancelot grimaced from where Shizuka was cooing in his lap...or perhaps sleeping and looked up at the three stunned young men. “Perhaps you three could find something else to do?”
“Ah! Yeah!”
“R-Right!”
“...I like turtles...”
Tooru just continued to snooze despite the noise.
Takuzo and Takashi dashed for the stairs while Kota stumbled in a daze to the balcony to do some guard duty. The two on the stairs made a mad dash for the next floor, not wanting to deal with two embarrassed guys who could kick their asses from one end of Japan to the other if they wanted to.
They didn’t make it too far before they both almost crashed into Rei who was coming up. She was dressed in only a pink tank top and her panties. She looked a little bit agitated for some reason or another, which Takuzo easily picked up on as he slipped past the brunette, leaving Takashi to fend for himself in the face of his ex.
‘Traitor’ he silently cursed the other teen.
“Was I interrupting something?” Rei asked suspiciously.
“Uh...us? Well, not really,” Takashi chuckled weakly. “Lance and Diarmuid on the other hand...”
Rei continued to frown at Takashi for a moment, as if trying to discern if he was lying about something. As the nervous boy got a good look at her though, her face not her body, he noticed that she seemed rather flushed. In fact, it was the same kind of blush that was on the faces of Shizuka and Kyoko when they were both... “Rei...did you drink the-?”
“H-Hey, since when are there three of you Takashi?” Rei suddenly spoke with a loopy grin. Her legs became unsteady as her balance seemed to leave her. Takashi was there in a flash, grabbing Rei’s arm as she fell before pulling him towards her. Both fell back onto the stairs, Rei pressed up against Takashi while Takashi got a step to the back, making him grimace in pain.
“S-Sorry,” Rei murmured, not moving from where Takashi was holding her. “I-I guess I’m still exhausted. Hard to believe that it’s only been a day since this all started.”
“Yeah,” Takashi sighed.
Rei clenched Takashi’s shirt in her hands, “I can’t reach my mom or dad...and Hisashi’s dead...” tears began to drip from her eyes.
“Hey, it’s your parents we’re talking about here,” Takashi tried to console Rei, hugging her tightly as she cried. “Remember your mom’s the one who pretty much destroyed all of the street gangs in the city before she got married. If anyone’s going to survive this it’s going to be her. And your dad’s the chief of his district police. He’s got manpower and resources. Not to mention he’s damn smart. He’s probably figured out how to kill them and their habits and told his officers about it already. Besides, he married your mom. I doubt zombies are going to be enough to kill a guy like him.”
Rei’s sniffles were broken by wet giggles as Takashi continued to hold her, “Y-yeah. They’re tough. They can get through this. No problem.”
“So stay strong, okay? We’ll find them,” Takashi smiled. “For now, let’s see about getting some sleep. We’ve still got a long way to go.”
Rei rubbed her eyes, suddenly feeling tired, “Yeah. You’re right.”
Almost taking too long, Rei got up from Takashi’s arms before she headed down the stairs. Takashi followed, but not taking the time to rub his back to get the pain out of it. he followed Rei to the living room area where some of the others were sleeping. Saya was already asleep, lying on a couch wearing a blue tank top and tight black shorts, her body still wet from the bath. On another couch was Naomi and Takuzo, the couple sleeping against one another or rather Naomi was sleeping on top of her boyfriend in her pale green underwear. Takuzo was simply holding her and watching her relaxed face.
Rei sleepily grabbed the remaining couch and abruptly slumped across it with her head on the pillow, the booze she drank being as effective as any sleeping pills, “Night Takashi.”
“Goodnight Rei,” Takashi smiled. Perhaps for the first time, he didn’t feel any sort of tension with Rei. Either just because they were relaxing or maybe because they had moved past it, he actually felt relaxed around her like in the old days before they broke up. In light of everything, being able to relax around his friends was an island of sanity in the midst of the chaos.
Once Rei looked like she nodded off, Takashi headed for the pantry next to the semi-closed off kitchen. He could smell something cooking, Saeko having said she would whip something up for all of them to enjoy before the boys were abruptly banished upstairs. Since it was only herself and her father at home, she had taken over the cooking duties since her father was apparently helpless at it despite being a great swordsman.
Takashi opened the pantry and immediately helped himself to some juice, thankful that everything was so well-stocked. Apparently Shizuka’s friend was someone who believed in being prepared.
“Oh, Komuro?” asked Saeko as Takashi rummaged around. “The stew will be ready soon. There should be enough for all of us and some to have tomorrow too.”
“Great. I just love girl’s apartments,” Takashi grinned, stepping back to properly look at Saeko while talking. “Everything’s so stacked and-URK!”
Takashi immediately froze when he got a good look at Saeko. He had been expecting her to still be in her uniform or maybe some sleeping clothes. Instead what he saw was Saeko pretty much nude save for black g-string panties and an apron protecting her modesty. Her hair was tied back in a ponytail as she worked on the food on the stove.
“Stocked! I mean Stocked!” Takashi quickly covered for himself...badly. In his defense, his teenage male brain was effectively fried by seeing the hottest girl in his school in the legendary naked apron outfit. Morita would have given his left nut to see such a sight and indeed had said as much on occasion before all hell broke loose.
“Takashi?” Saeko looked up, hearing the distress in her friend’s voice. “Is something wrong?”
“Uh...n-nothing!” the blushing teen insisted. He tried to tear his eyes away from Saeko’s near-nude body, but it was a losing battle as his sight was still filled with one of the hottest things he had ever seen in his life, second only to seeing Shizuka almost nude but only because her curves were bigger.
Saeko blinked, “Oh, you must mean what I’m wearing. Pretty bad isn’t it? Nothing here fits me so it’s all I have to wear while our clothes are washing. I guess it’s a little revealing isn’t it?” She tugged the edges of the apron to ephasize how gaudy it was, but all it did in Takashi’s mind was better outline the shape of her breasts.
“No! No!” Takashi rapidly shook his head, trying to hide his quickly rising boner by tugging his short down. “I didn’t see a tittie- A THING! W-W-We should be prepared in case they a tit- ATTACK!”
If Saeko noticed the slips she didn’t bring it up, perhaps because she knew she was rather exposed herself. Boys and their hormones usually did go wild when it came to girls, especially the unclothed kind.
“You, Hirano, and the others are working hard to keep on the lookout for us and that’s very sweet of you,” Saeko smiled. “I just wanted to say that I really appreciate it...Takashi. I really mean that,”
Blushing from both the exposure to Saeko’s body and her heartfelt thanks, Takashi couldn’t help but smile and scratch the back of his neck, “It’s...no problem. We’re all in this together...”
“...Hey...Takashi...C’mere...” Rei’s sleepy voice moaned from her sleeping space.
Takashi snapped out of his silly thoughts while Saeko chuckled and returned to her stew, “You’d better go see her. Women like to pretend they’re helpless once in a while.”
“Do you Busujima-sempai?” asked Takashi.
Saeko chuckled again, not answering the question, “You can call me Saeko if you wish. We’re friends now aren’t we?”
“Ah...Sa...Sae...” Takashi sputtered, honestly a little embarrassed that he would get to call one of his school’s idols by her first name so casually.
“A little practice and you’ll be fine,” Saeko laughed.
“Takashi!” Rei snapped irritably.
“Coming, coming, “Takashi finally replied, heading over to see what his ex wanted while a laughing Saeko returned to her stew. She wasn’t oblivious to how she looked and knew Takashi couldn’t take his eyes off of her. She found it...flattering, even if she would eventually have to cut that off from going very far.
One such as her did not deserve to experience love as she was. No matter how much she wanted it.
(LINE BREAK)
Onbetsu Bridge (Opposite Shore)
“About damn time,” Shido muttered to himself as he drove the bus off of the bridge and onto the other side of the river.
After dealing with the humiliation at the hands of that fat weakling Hirano of all people, Shido promptly took complete control of the bus, reassuring his followers that everything was fine and the harmful elements of their group were dealt with. It would have been nice if Shizuka and Lance would have remained though. Shizuka’s medical knowledge would have been pivotal and she would have been nice and vulnerable for some fun times. Lance would likewise have been perfect to protect their group with those weird abilities of his. Instead, they decided to run off with that cunt Takagi’s group.
‘It’s just a minor setback, that’s all,’ Shido reminded himself, trying to keep his cool. ‘You still have options and resources even in all this hell. The streets look less infected here so no doubt there will be more survivors looking for a leader, someone they can trust.’
Shido knew all about exploiting all of his options to the best of his abilities. He learned it from his father after all. Although, he intended to one up the fat slob and not get caught for it. Not like he was being investigated by the police for what he was doing to collect funds for his elections campaigns. Shido knew his father was on the decline then. No one forgot the stains on a politicians past. After his first wife, Shido’s mother committed suicide he managed to play to the public what a tragedy it was and how he regretted not being a better husband. It managed to save his ass. Then when he shacked up with his mistress, he managed to keep his past with her hidden. Of course, Shido stopped blindly respecting the man after he allowed his bastard son to succeed him rather than his legitimate one, forcing Shido to take up a position as a teacher. Even then, the man still kept crawling to him for favors.
Failing that bitch Rei had been satisfying, if only to get a favor from his father which could help his
career. Subtly manipulating her grades in his class to failures no matter how well she did was easy enough and no one questioned him for it. Oh her father likely knew, the timing after he began investigating the corrupt politician was too close. Shido had actually planned it that way. Chief Miyamoto would come down on him and Shido would turn on his father and tell his life story about his father’s slovenly and corrupt ways all the while painting himself as the victim of an abused home and having no real saviour to turn to and thus always being under his father’s thumb. His father would get jailed and Koichi Shido would be seen as the damaged son who needed to be redeemed. His career would likely take some flak but nothing he couldn’t recover from. He’d build his reputation both with his promising students as well as his co-workers and soon enough he’d rise up in the education departments to take his own place in parliament.
Then all this hell broke loose. Still, Shido saw it more as an opportunity than as some kind of problem. So long as he and his select few found a safe place, they were set to rebuild and work things as they should be done. His way!
The thought brought a smile to Shido’s lips. He even had the right place in mind. If he recalled right, the Takagi’s had a manor nearby. With any luck, it would be relatively clear and ready to move into.
Turning a corner to go down the street, Shido saw something moving in his headlights. Peering over the wheel, he saw the form of a human standing in the middle of the street, staring him down. The figure appeared to be a woman an a rather shapely one as well. She wore what looked like black pants and boots along with some kind of bikini that kept her private parts private. Her skin was pitch black, making it harder to see her as she was just beyond the headlights’ range. Her hair looked violet in its ponytail from the moonlight while her face looked like a skull.
“Tsk! Another one,” Shido frowned. Obviously some slut got her face eaten off and now was wandering about. “Well, one less zombie means one less threat.” With that, Shido hit the gas and barrelled down the street to run them down. After everything that happened, some stress relief was in order!
He roared down the street, waiting for that satisfying splatter and tump to sound off. Coming down upon the zombified woman, he was suddenly treated to the sight of her suddenly leaping away in a black blur.
The woman had moved, much unlike a zombie and leapt over the rushing bus! Shido was stunned as she just vanished from sight but then he heard a thud on the roof. He immediately hit the brakes, coming to a halt. He heard squeals and grunts from his followers, but didn’t pay them any mind as he peered up at the ceiling. Footsteps alerted him to the fact that the strange woman was still walking around above him. Shido began to sweat and slowly began reaching to under the driver’s seat. He had discovered an emergency kit there earlier with a flare gun inside of it. Flares weren’t bullets, but hitting the right place could still ensure a kill if not a burning corpse.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you. We would be...upset.”
Shido gulped and turned around, dreading what he would see. He almost relieved himself when he saw another black-skinned man standing in the aisle behind him. He wore black boots and some kind of torn black rages as pants which gave off a metallic ring as it swayed. His torso was bare, showing chiseled muscles but not overly so. He was bald while his face was covered but a skull mask which had ‘smiley’ eyes.
Behind the man were more of the black-skinned, skull-faced men. Each of them were more or less the same, some with an odd decoration or two. One had ears with strange earrings which made the bottom parts hang low. One looked almost like he was starving with skin and bone ribs but a pronounced gut. Another was garbed in a long black cloak with only his mask visible. One even had a mohawk with a black raggedy scarf around his neck. All of them and more were in the bus, each of them were holding one of Shido’s followers, all of them clamping their mouth’s shut to prevent them from screaming or warning the others. Tsunoda looked like his was holding a knife to his throat while Yuuki looked to be in the process of trying to seduce her captor and failing miserably.
Shido was at first confused. How the hell did they all managed to get on? After a moment, he saw that the emergency exit windows had been opened and realized that while he was distracted by the woman outside and his followers were sleeping, they had opened the windows and snuck inside.
“W-Who are you people?” Shido gulped.
“Heh. Names are something most of us don’t have. Weren’t brought out enough for that,” the man confronting Shido snickered. “If you must speak to us, speak to me, Zayd. I am the negotiator. As a whole, we are Hassan-I-Sabbah. The Old Man in the Mountain. The leader of the Hashashin.”
Hashashin? That word sounded familiar, “Wh-What do you want with us?”
“Transportation,” the man, Zayd replied. “The world has fallen to the dead. We wish to know why but we can only travel so far. We must move faster. Observation saw your transport. It looked big enough for all of us. You will take us to where people are. We must know what is going on. Intelligence is demanding it.”
“Th-There are more?” ased Shido.
“Much more,” Zayd nodded. “Open the door and let us in. Then take us to where the living still are.”
Shido gulped, trying to not show his usual lack of spine in the face of danger...and failing, “And if I refuse?”
“You are unnecessary,” Zayd snickered behind his mask before retrieving what looked like a small rock carved into a sphere-like shape. Holding it against his thumb, he flicked it with all the force of a bullet. It cut through the air, grazed Shido’s cheek parallel to the mark Hirano had left before burying itself into the dashboard. “We merely wish to avoid making a mess.”
Shido was very sure he pissed himself a little at the gesture. Nodding rapidly, he turned his attention to the driver’s wheel. He was about to hit the gas when Zayd’s hand gripped his shoulder.
“Open the door and let the others on. We wish to fill the seats. The rest will sit on top.” the skull-faced man warned.
Shido nodded and opened the door to the bus. Sure enough, more black-clad men emerged from the alleys and began boarding, each one having a different set of characteristics to tell them apart but otherwise looked much alike. All the black-clad men took the vacant seats. His followers of course sat on the other side of the bus, away from the new passengers. The largest of the group took up two seats on his own, pushing Tsunoda out of his prized perch and next to Kurokami. The rest sat atop the roof, the sounds of their footsteps and sitting told Shido that there had to be close to a hundred of them.
“Now we drive,” Zayd nodded. “And do be careful. No funny business. After all, you are expendable.”
Shido nodded, grimacing as his cheek stung before he began driving once again, feeling control slipping from his grasp once again.
(LINE BREAK)
Apartment
Takashi sighed as Rei rested on his shoulder from her sleeping spot. She had called him over because she still wanted to talk, but it all centred on Hisashi and how well he treated Rei. It all served to piss Takashi off. Yeah, he knew Rei was grieving and he knew he hadn’t been the absolute best boyfriend in the world but he didn’t need it rubbed in his face! He wanted to yell at Rei, get her to shut up and keep letting what happened rule her and cloud her judgement. Hisashi was dead and he wasn’t coming back! Takashi knew that better than anyone being the one who did it! He didn’t say it though since Saya, Takuzo, and Naomi were still sleeping nearby and he didn’t want to wake them. Thankfully Rei nodded off for good before he lost his temper, saving everyone some grief.
With all of the silence though, Takashi could hear something coming from outside. A lot of noises that didn’t quite sound like the dead. Slowly removing himself from Rei’s embrace, he headed back up the stairs. Tooru was still in deep sleep on the bed with Shizuka and Hayashi on either side of him. On the balcony were Lancelot, Diarmuid, and Kota, all of them looking out at the streets.
“What’s going on?” asked Takashi, now knowing he could hear a dog barking...and gunshots....and screams.
“Bad news man...” Kota frowned, one of the rifles on his shoulder.
“We seem to have attracted some attention,” Diarmuid frowned.
Down on the streets, lines of the dead were wandering, some of them walking by the complex while others stepped in close and began grasping at the sky, likely having heard noise coming from the apartment. It didn’t help that a small white dog with brown ears was down below barking at them near the humvee, likely trying to scare them off. It only served to attract the hordes though...but...
“Why do they not try to eat the dog?” asked Lancelot, noticing the canine on the ground.
“Huh?” Kota blinked and looked down. Sure enough, he could see the dog and the dead certainly heard it as they drew in closer, but not one of them tried to reach down and devour it. Instead they just began trying to get closer to the apartment building, pressing up against the brick fence surrounding it or grasping up into the air. “What? They should be all over that thing by now. Why are they still coming after us?”
“Likely because they only crave human flesh,” Diarmuid frowned. “That likely means that whatever the source behind this apocalypse is, it was made to target humans and humans only.”
“Meaning that someone really did plan all this,” Kota frowned. “Not good. Not good at all.”
(END CHAPTER)
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