A/N: Hey! Long time no see. Demon to her left is not on Hiatus; it's just being reluctant. Good news is that when I finish it I will post chapters 8 and 9 up together. Moving on I just felt like posting something and this little fic has been dancing through my head for the last couple days. I may expand it at some point, but I kind of like the open ending.

It's unbeta'd and maybe a little rough, but hopefully still enjoyable.

Disclaimer: Don't own the manga or anime.

"I will prepare and some day my chance will come." Abraham Lincoln

At first she doesn't realize he's doing anything. His activities, while odd, are decidedly normal when considering his track record. Constructing a radio, fletching an arrow, devising a water purification system.

It's not even strange that he's brought bugs to class; it's very much so when he decides to eat them.

"Seki-kun!" she whispers as fiercely as she can without garnering the attention of their volatile and also terrifying social studies teacher.

She half expects him to ignore her (more often than not that's what he does), but today is different. He reaches into his desk and shoves an identical semi-transparent pill box filled with bugs into her hand. Thankfully the lid is closed, but she is frozen in disgust. She dares not bring it closer, but dropping it would certainly set the wiggling, squirming creatures free. She silently begs him to take it back. Which he does only to set it firmly on her desk on the third closest to her.

She eyes the container warily. Surely he can't expect her to eat those things. However, the commanding look he sending her assures that he expects complete compliance. Why is he even eating bugs anyway? Why does he want her to eat them?

(Why did he have some prepared for her?)

She actually ends up eating them. It's not like those times when he wanted an audience; this time he wanted her to participate. Somehow she was sure that if she blew him off, then she would never know why. (And for some reason she really wants to know why.) Besides she doesn't want to back down. He would loss all respect for her and then she would no longer hold any power.

No way was he getting the upper hand.

The bugs crunched and squished and moved, but they weren't actually too horrible. At least not as horrible as she thought. They even made her less eager for lunch (but that could be because she just ate live bugs...).

After one last swallow she turned back to Seki only to find him handing her a bowl full of berries. She scowled at him. Why would he give her bugs when he had berries? Although the idea of diluting the lingering taste of bug guts had her taking the bowl and selecting a dark purple berry. However, Seki grabbed her wrist before she could bring it anywhere near her mouth.

As she turned to growl at him he held up a tiny sign with a stick person vomiting.

"It's poisonous?" Her confusion just kept growing. What was the point of this game?

He nodded and then gestured to the bowl. She pick up another berry that was red, but he just gave her thumbs up. She ended up dividing the berries into four sections: those that would make her sick, those that could be eaten, those that could be used as medicine and those that would kill her. She ended up eating the edible ones as Seki showed her how to make some sort of medicinal paste using two of the berries and some leaves he took out of the infinitely large space that was his desk.

It wasn't weird that he'd done those things. (Well actually the bug thing was weird.) But it was weird that he included her. She'd actually learned something. Granted it hadn't been for class, but he had clearly already known about the berries and which bugs were edible.

"What the matter Rumi-chan? Aren't you hungry?"

Rumi cast a fleeting glance at her still unopened bento. "I kind of ate already."

Tomoka smirked. "One of Seki-kun's diversions again?"

Rumi shrugged. "I guess."

Yuu laughed. "That guy can really get away with anything. Cooking in the classroom."

Rumi laughed nervously. "There was no cooking involved." She was reluctant to tell them about the bugs. She was reluctant to tell them anything. Something wasn't right. She was starting to think the last few weeks hadn't been so random.

Seki was preparing for something. And now he was preparing her.

"No cooking?" Tomoka asked intrigued.

"So it was a picnic for just the two of you? Sounds like a date Rumi-chan!" Yuu's voice was gleeful as she all but danced in her chair.

Rumi shook her head. "No. It wasn't a date." It had been something else entirely.

Yuu deflated. "Aw, really? Well, in that case, don't you think it's time you moved on to a guy who-"

But Rumi tuned out Yuu and then Tomoka as they debated again over the merits of her crush on Seki. (Not that she had one, but there was no convincing them.) Something was going on with Seki.

Something was going on with him and she was going to figure out what that something was.

After lunch, there were no more bugs, but he was reading The Art of War so she was still pretty worried. (Him reading any book on war strategy would have alarmed her anyway; this was just more so.)

She was debating whether she should follow him after school when the bell rings and he gathers his things, but just stands next to her desk like he planned on leaving with her. Trying not to feel too perturbed she follows him to the track.

Which didn't make any sense because Seki wasn't overly athletic. He did alright in PE when he decided to participate. He wasn't fat, but he wasn't on any of the sports teams. As far as she knew he didn't just run around for fun. "Ano..." It was times like these she wished he talked. Surely this would make more sense if he could just tell her.

She thought of the bugs and grimaced. (Maybe not.)

Indifferent to her confusion, he tossed his book bag off the side of the track and started doing stretches.

"Is Seki-kun going to run?" It was a stupid question; obviously, he was planning on running. "Shouldn't you change into you gym uniform and running shoes."

He shook his head sharply and indicated that she should be stretching as well.

"Eh?! You want me to run too? What's all this about? I don't," he started glaring at her, "I mean you can't really," Where was this intensity coming from? Why? "I mean I guess I can run a little bit." Really it wasn't as bad as eating bugs.

They ended up running twelve laps. She wanted give up at around three, but Seki wouldn't let her. He just grabbed her wrist and pulled her onward. He wouldn't even let her collapse in a pile of exhaustion immediately afterwards. He forced her to do a cool down lap and stretches.

Only then did he let her sit down.

"Seki-kun what," pant, "What is all this," deep breath, "About? Why," her lungs burned, "Are we doing this?"

Predictably she received no answer, but he did walk her home. He seemed unnaturally vigilant, but she was too tired to know for sure. She was kind of hoping that whatever was bothering Seki passed.

It didn't.

Three weeks later her he was still making her run. And he was still teaching her odd things in class like how to hot wire a car, or make a cross bow, or use Morse code.

"Rumi-chan have you been exercising?"

Rumi grinned at Tomoka. "A little." She and Seki were up to four kilometers and she was starting to feel less like death afterwards.

"Well it shows. Why is Rumi-chan exercising all of a sudden?"

Rumi bowed her head hoping to escape Yuu's inquisitive eyes. "No reason. Just want to be healthier."

"No reason , huh? It's not to impress Seki-kun?"

"Wha! No! Of course not! That's ridiculous." She wasn't doing it to impress him. She just wanted him to- to- It wasn't to impress him. (Maybe a little.) "To be honest I been running with Seki-kun. I think he's preparing for something." She still didn't have any idea what was going on.

Yuu rolled her eyes. "Even when it's not about him, it's about him."

The next day Seki sets out swathes of a number of different fabrics. And then he starts gnawing on them. At first she's completely at a loss, but she decides he must be concerned with durability (for some inexplicable reason). He also hacks at each material with a knife and even a large nail.

Unsurprisingly denim and leather proved to be some of the tougher fabrics along with some futuristic synthetic looking ones. The scrap that looks like it came from an old uniform does remarkably worse. The knife and nail pierce it easily and Seki is even able to tear through it with his teeth.

Then he used the scraps in a sewing lesson involving makeshift needles. (It would have never occurred to her to use a paper clip or staple for a needle.) It was a lot harder to stitch precisely, but her seems came out alright. She ended up making a small blanket which she spread on her desk to admire.

One of the benefits of fully committing to Seki's antics meant that his bizarre ability to escape detection had somehow spread to her. Ever since she'd eaten those bugs not a single teacher had called her out on her inattention. Her mother was thrilled, but really the only difference was that she wasn't getting caught. If anything she was paying less attention than before.

She figured eventually Seki would run out of steam (which was a foolish notion in hindsight), but if anything he seemed to gain momentum. The runs became longer and moved away from the track and across town. Seki had accumulated floor plans for a number of buildings around town including the school. He marked each entrance/exit and possible escape routes and then the investigated in person. (Thank goodness they could run faster than mall security.)

And then there was the whole weapons thing.

He had hundreds of diagrams of how different gun, rifles and shot guns were put together. (He had a few different paint and pellet guns to practice handling and shooting.) He did a three day lecture on the merits and disadvantages of blunt vs bladed melee weaponry. And then there was that time him made a cross bow from scratch.

She had to wonder what he thought was coming for him.

"Uh, Rumi-chan."

"Yes," she frown at the obstinate piece of hemp between her fingers. That morning had been a lesson on various knots, but the butterfly knot was proving to be tricky.

For some reason Tomoka shot Yuu a anxious look. "I was just wondering what you're doing?"

"I'm trying to tie a butterfly knot Tomoka-chan."

"But why?"

Rumi turned her attention towards her two friends and set the rope down. "Because I still haven't figured out how to do it I guess."

Yuu sighed. "Rumi-chan we're worried about you."

"What? Why?" Everything was fine.

"Well, you're constantly doing weird things. I doesn't seem like you're paying attention in class at all."

"Well," that was kind of true. But really it's not like she'd been paying much more attention before.

"And it's not just us that noticed, Rumi-chan. Maeda-kun said that he saw you and Seki-kun participating in the karate club and the archery club. Uzawa-kun swears he saw you both being chased by a mall cop."

Rumi shrugged. All that was true as well. "I just don't get why you're concerned." It's not like they'd hurt anyone. And some the stuff was really useful. Now that she could jump fences, she was able to take a much quicker way home.

"Rumi-chan that's the concerning part." Tomoka's voice was taking on a shrill edge that was drawing stars from some of the other students eating lunch.

Yuu put a hand on both their shoulders. "Okay, let's all calm down. Tomoka-chan, Rumi-chan's heard our concerns, but it's up to her to decide. Rumi-chan do you think you could just consider toning it down a little. Summer break is next week. You can use the time off to reflect."

Rumi nodded and the tension seemed to ease a little. (And best of all she was able to figure out the knot without looking; she'd taken a note out of Seki's book and done it under the desk she was eating at.)

Summer break meant longer runs, more elaborate excursions and wildness training at nearby national park. She could kind of see where her friends were coming from, but she didn't want to just stop. She felt part of something and really it was useful knowing how to make a battery or pick a lock. (It starting to feel like a game when they had to elude security.)

Summer gave way to fall. The activities became less instructive and more collaborative. They used a bunsen burner to simulate campfire cooking, make various fuels and constructed a fake bomb. (At least she thought it was fake...)

"You want a what?"

Rumi swallowed her bite of rice porridge. "A machete." She ignored the looks her father and brother were giving her to grab a steam bun.

"Rumi-chan wants a machete for her birthday?"

Rumi nodded.

"Why?"

Rumi tilted her head before answering her father. "Well, for one, it's useful."

Daiki ever the annoying older brother scoffed. "And what exactly would you use it for?"

"Well, I could chop wood, clear brush, whittle and, I suppose, I could use it in self-defense too. Although an axe would be better for the wood; Can I have one of those as well?"

"Chopping wood? Self-defense? Is that why you've been carrying that bat to school everyday? I thought you'd joined the baseball club."

Rumi took a sip of her tea. "You can never be too prepared, Okaa-san." Except Seki; he was possibly way, way over prepared.

Her parents end up getting her the axe and machete, but only on the condition she never takes them to school. (Why would she bother? There is no brush to clear at school; nor any wood to chop.)

And so the weeks turned into months.

It was around January when she realized that she realized that there may actually be a problem. All the preparation had made her much more aware of her surroundings; she felt almost hyper vigilant. She was starting to think something was going to happen.

(Stupid Seki: This was his fault.)

She was just going to have to stop. Clean. Full-stop. This wasn't healthy. (Although she still thought that machete was useful. It cut through various melons with ease.)

She was going to stop (starting tomorrow). She going to miss hanging out with Seki though.

She should tell Tomoka and Yuu. They could be her witnesses. She felt a pang of guilt. She'd really been neglecting them. The shopping trip they were on was the first she'd gone to in months. She really needed to-

Sounding down the road a small group of men staggered into view. They seemed highly intoxicated, but something about their jerky movements made her neck hair stand on end.

"Tomoka-chan, Yuu-chan."

Tomoka turned to her vibrating with curiosity. "Oh, back with us, Rumi-chan? You've been so serious lately that-"

"Do you see those men?" She didn't have time for idle talk or feeling guilty. There was something wrong with those men.

Yuu chuckled. "Heh, yeah. You mean the drunk ones coming this way? What about them Rumi-chan?"

Rumi clench her teeth and tightened her grip on the bat she was carrying over her shoulder. "I don't think they're drunk." Their posture was too tight. Also one was missing a shoe, another was missing an entire sleeve of his dress shirt. Their clothes were covered tiny splotches of brownish-red.)

Tomoka eyed Rumi's bat. "Rumi-chan what's going on?"

The men were getting closer. They seemed to be moaning unintelligibly. "I said, those men aren't drunk; get behind me."

"Rumi-chan what-" Yuu broke off when Seki burst out of a nearby alley. He had his machete and appeared to be covered in blood. Uzawa and Maeda trailed behind him, "What the hell?"

"Seki's gone mad! He just killed a guy for tripping over him!"

Rumi hardly heard Uzawa's words or what her friends said in response. It was all so clear suddenly. Seki had been preparing for a zombie apocalypse; figures there would actually be one.

The both turned their attention to the men, nay the zombies, approaching them. She tightened her grip on the bat as she eased into a offensive stance.

The time for preparation was over; it was time to survive.