Post Mai-Hime- After the events in Mai Hime, our crew faces another world-shaking disaster. Will all of them survive intact?
Note: If you've read the Walking Dead or Highschool of the Dead, this zombie-theme may be familiar to you. But it apart from the first day of events, the rest of the story will progress differently. Hope you enjoy reading!
Mai Hime belongs to Sunrise. So I've been thinking... what if they were in a world facing a zombie epidemic?
A hot Monday morning found Natsuki Kuga on Fuuka Academy (Building B)'s rooftop. It wasn't break time, but Natsuki didn't want to be at a physics lecture so she'd snuck up to the rooftop to while away the time. Being on the rooftop rather than the cafeteria reduced the risk of one getting caught skipping class, after all. She was skilled in the art of not-getting-caught. Half the fun of breaking school rules was mastering the art of not-getting-caught.
All was well and it appeared to be a normal, Monday morning- lazy and dull, when suddenly a loud, anguished yell was heard. Natsuki scrambled to her feet and glanced in the direction of the scream. She saw a man rattling the school gates- he must be pretty strong, because those gates were made of heavy steel, and yet he was giving them a good shake. "Something interesting," the thought flickered through her mind as she leaned forward against the rooftop's fencing.
Two teachers had heard the yell and approached the man warily. They appeared to be Moustache-sensei and Badly-Tweezed-Eyebrow-sensei. Natsuki shook her head as she watched them approach the man. "This seems like a typical start to a B-grade zombie movie. Yeah, sure, approach as dangerous looking man like he's just another visitor to the school." Arms crossed, she watched avidly as the two teachers attempted to converse with the man, when suddenly, the stranger lunged forward and caught Moustache-sensei's gesturing arm in his jaws.
"What the hell!" Was the only thought in Natsuki Kuga's mind. "Did Nao spike my breakfast with some hallucinogens this morning?" Was the next thought.
Moustache-sensei's pained cry carried on the soft wind blowing towards Fuuka Academy's main buildings. Natsuki heard chairs being pushed back as students moved to check out the commotion. She continued looking towards the gates, wondering what was the best way to proceed. The muscular gym teacher was grasping his heavily bleeding forearm, and his body was undergoing painful-looking spasms as he crouched on the ground.
Before turning and leaping on Badly-Tweezed-Eyebrow-sensei's neck.
"Whoa. Repressed, much? I didn't know he had the hots for Badly-Tweezed!" Muttered Natsuki. Clearly, the situation was still very surreal to our green-eyed protagonist.
And then Badly-Tweezed-sensei, who didn't even make a sound as she was bitten, twisted around, her head hanging at an odd angle before she started shuffling towards Fuuka Academy's main buildings. Squinting her eyes, Natsuki realised that something was really, really wrong about what just happened. People do not come yelling at school gates, biting teachers. Teachers do not respond by biting other teachers, to what appeared to be fatal bites. People who received fatal bites, bleeding their bodies out are not capable of walking.
Natsuki Kuga's brain caught up with the sensory inputs she was receiving. Biting her lips, she took one last glance at the bloodied spot in the front gate- the still yelling stranger, the bloodied, shuffling gym teachers- and she ran for the stairs leading down from the rooftop.
There was one person in her mind, as she ran. One person who could help her make sense of what just happened.
And she knew just where to find her. Her heart pounding, she leapt down the last few steps of the staircase and ran full speed towards the Student Council Room. Without waiting, as she normally did, listening to see if any other person was inside, she flung the doors wide open.
"Shizuru!" She gasped.
"Natsuki? What is the matter? You normally do not appear until past noon, did you miss seeing me since we parted-" Crimson eyes met her fevered gaze, accompanied by a teasing smile.
"Shizuru! Now's not the time for- argh! Look, didn't you hear the commotion near the gates?" Natsuki walked hurriedly towards the Kaichou, who was seated calmly by her desk.
"I did. I was merely waiting for Natsuki to show up, so that we can-"
"You did? I mean- you were waiting? How did you know I would-"
Shizuru frowned. "Wouldn't here be the first place Natsuki would come to look for me? I'm not wrong in assuming so, am I?" In her heart, Shizuru was relieved that Natsuki had come to look for her. She wouldn't have made plans without Natsuki. Protecting her best friend was her top priority. As soon as she'd saw the bloody event from her classroom she'd left and walked quickly to the Student Council Room, nodding to Reito to gather the rest of the Student Council. Natsuki always came first, always.
Natsuki shook her head, and grinned. "Well, I thought Nao had put something into my breakfast this morning. But then, you saw it too?"
Shizuru was about to answer when both of their ears caught the screams and cries of fear echoing down the corridor. A swift pounding of footsteps, coming closer to them made Shizuru reach out for the nearest object- which happened to be a stapler.
Natsuki's eyes widened as she saw Shizuru's action. "Seriously, Shizuru? A stapler?"
"Ara, Natsuki-"
The door flung open forcibly for the second time that morning.
"Natsuki! Shizuru-san! Thank Kami you both are here! We've got to run! Or something. Students are screaming about zombies- and that the juniors in block A are covered in blood, some are wounded.."
At the door stood Mai, panting.
"Oh, bloody hell. What a morning this is turning to be." Natsuki closed her eyes for a second before opening them again.
"Right, Mai. We've got to get Nao- then make our way somewhere. I'll give a friend of mine a call. He might know what's going on."
"Forget it, Natsuki. Phone reception's down. Don't you think we would have tried calling out? No one's answering from outside the school. Emergency call lines are busy- there's something really bad that's going on. We've got to- find a safe place before we get caught in this mess."
"If I may, Mai-san. Let's arm ourselves-" Shizuru began calmly while carrying out a box of sports equipment. "And make for the rooftop. We'll be able to have a good bird-eye-view of what's going on and make our move then."
She was going to wait for Reito, Haruka and Yukino to appear, but they hadn't. And time was always a precious thing when it came to disasters. Wasting anymore would endanger them- Natsuki- her heart clenched at the thought of Natsuki being hurt… it was time to go. The brunette hastily scribbled a message to the student council members before turning to Natsuki and Mai.
"Let's go." Armed now with a baseball bat, a tennis racquet and a golf club respectively, the three students opened the student council door and made a run for the rooftop's staircase.
