A/N: I needed a short story for a class portfolio and didn't think smut was quite appropriate… For whatever reason, I had Ayumu's line about human limits not applying to him stuck in my head so whipped this up.

Disclaimer: I do not own Kore wa Zombie Desu ka? and refuse to end this sentence on that question mark.

Because Eu Went Out at Night

"Honestly, where could she have gone? It's not like her to run off without telling me."

I brush a hand through my raven locks as I talk to myself and stop on the sidewalk corner. It's late at night and the neighborhoods are dimly lit by slightly-faulty street lights. From where I'm standing, all the buildings start to look uniform to my surveying eye. I scratch my head a bit and sigh. It's probably late enough that there's nobody around to ask if they've seen her. That would have made things easy. People tend to notice a girl walking around in plate mail. I continue walking.

My name's Ayumu Aikawa. I'm out roaming the streets late at night because the necromancer who stays with me decided to take a little evening stroll and never returned. Actually, I didn't think she was the type for it. Up till now she's just sat silently around my house and eaten the food I made for her. No, I guess she kind of demands food from me. It's the least I can do letting her stay with me though…

I cup my hands around my eyes to help me see into the arcade that I'm passing by. There are only a few customers at this hour and none of them are wearing a breastplate and faulds. "She wouldn't have gone in there," I mumble, walking on.

Last week she saved my life… kinda. She really is a necromancer, too. Eucliwood Hellscythe. "Comes up to about my chest. A girl with long, silver hair; wearing a purple robe with vertical, white stripes and several pieces of armor," I explain to a few girls I run into, apparently returning from some night outing. I tell them she's really into cosplay, but they haven't seen her.

The sky is as dark as it'll get now. I consider calling out for her, but she won't call back. Like I said, she doesn't speak. It's almost more like she can't, the way I understand it. When I asked, she wrote something briefly about how she can't afford to... Oh yeah, I say wrote because that's how she communicates. I gave her a note pad and she jots down messages in it whenever we speak. Well, to be honest, the letters kind of magically appear on the page whenever she taps it with a pen. It makes speaking with her pretty easy. Finding her out in some neighborhood? Not so much.

I've been so lost in thought I walked into a series of back alleys without noticing. Lucky I didn't run straight into a wall. "Eh? What's going on over there…?" I walk up to a guy who must be part of a whole bunch of guys stretched down one such alley and try to get his attention. There's somebody speaking pretty loudly from the other end. "What's all the commotion?"

"Get in line, pal!" He answers, barely turning his head.

"In line for what?" I ask, trying to crane my neck past the couple figures standing around.

"Hey, we saw her first!" Another barked.

"Her?" Ah! I catch a glimpse of the girl against the far wall. "Eu!" I call, suddenly pushing past them. "I've been looking all over!"

"Oh?" The guy beside her turns his head when I shout. It's silent now so he must have been the one doing all the talking. He pushes off the wall, adjusting his jacket, and takes a few steps forward. "Is she yours?"

I give him an unamused glare. "She's my friend," I answer coldly.

What's with this guy? Bleached hair and a leather jacket? Not to mention he's got about ten cronies with maybe three different faces among them. The way they're staring and closing me in, it's like a scene straight out of some anime!

"Aha ha ha! Oh, I see! Why don't you piss off then? We'll keep her company, isn't that right, girly?" No response. "Don't you ever talk!?" Guess he lost his cool there.

"Is everything alright, Eu? They haven't hurt you?" I decide to ignore him.

'I'm fine,' her note reads.

"Eh? The hell is that? Writing notes?" The wannabe-yakuza says, staring at Eu and her notebook. "Then again, it's oddly cute…"

'Take me home'

"Well, that's why I'm here," I tell her.

"Hey, you don't wanna go anywhere with that loser. Come hang with us, huh baby?" His sweet-talk isn't very good.

'Before it's too late'

"Gentleman!" I clap my hands together loudly. "This has been fun, but I think we'll be going now!"

The boss man turns on me with daggers in his eyes. Well, I'll let him sound intimidating like that at least. I'm sure he's trying to look big and tough, but I'm not shaken by his performance. "I thought I told you to piss off. She's not going anywhere with you, alright? take your friend's advice and leave before it's too late." He crosses his arms, clearly challenging me.

"Too bad you misunderstood. There's enough bloodshed already without our help, wouldn't you agree? I'd really prefer not to hurt you guys…"

All around me I hear them laughing, some hard enough that they're nearly falling over. Even the big boss is getting his fill. I know I shouldn't let it get to me, but… I throw a punch that no-one sees and a small gust of wind rushes past his bleached side-burns, ruffling his jacket. He stops laughing and looks around, confused. I glare back at him from eyes hidden behind my hairline and crack a wry smile when he shrugs it off.

"You're one cocky bastard, you know that? I think me and my boys will hafta teach you a lesson!" He snaps his fingers and all his goons converge on me as Eu holds up a note that only I get to read.

'Don't kill him'

"I was afraid you would say that…" I mumble.

"Oh ho! Sounds like you may have had some common sense after all." He holds out an arm and one of his brutes passes him a bat. "Too bad it spoke up too late."

They're even armed. Pretty sure I can hear one guy spinning a chain off to my side. Do they really think any girls would willingly go anywhere with a hostile gang. I can't believe these idiots. I'm seriously tempted to…

CRACK!

I glance down at my side to confirm the noise. Yup. That was the sound of bone cracking. One of them just struck me in the arm with a lead pipe. With all his might if I'm not mistaken.

"A lead pipe, seriously?! That's so cliché!" I shake my fractured arm at him.

They aren't fazed for very long. Their boss quickly rallies them with, "I bet he's one of those freaks who can't feel pain. Looks like we'll hafta put him out of commission the hard way!" He taps the bat on his palm several times.

Oh, this is going to get ugly fast. What ever happened to my peaceful days?

He strikes me hard in the shoulder with his bat and I go down to the cold, alley pavement. I cover my face as they start their beating. A number of my ribs are bruised or broken as they rain down with pipes and chains and well-placed kicks. They're really not too bad at this. Quite a few vital points have been struck and I'm dripping blood from every limb. I have to take off some points though; none of them thought to bring a knife. A bludgeon-only gang beating? Hardly efficient. Especially considering they think I can't feel pain (which isn't quite correct), they should be aiming to have me either bleeding out or completely disabled. Overall, a poor attempt on my life, but I guess I can give them a C+. Still, the guy last week was better. One clean blow and I never saw it coming.

I peer through my blood and fingers at Eu standing against the alley wall with a blank expression on her face. She never shows emotion. I'm not looking for her help though, not even close. She could definitely help, but then we'd have a police incident on our hands. Now, I want to say we'd prefer not to hurt any humans, but bleach-burns over there is really starting to get on my nerves, so I'm looking to her for a bit of advice.

'Maybe just a little'

That's all I need to hear!

Their beating has stopped. I must look incapable of movement because two of them prop me up on my knees as boss man rests the bat on his shoulders. He swipes his thumb across his mouth like he's such a badass and winds up his best big-league swing… aiming straight for my head.

I lift my right arm and catch his bat without even blinking. "Did you know…?"

"Eh!? What the hell?! That's impossible!"

"A human's brain mentally limits them from using 100% of their physical strength. But I am…" Rising to my feet as I speak, I'm not meeting his eyes. All around there are frightened stares and whispers drowned out by the sound of all my bones snapping back into place.

You've probably never been told this before but in this world, there are untouchable secrets. I'm one of the few people no longer destined to live their lives without noticing them. Like I told you before, my name is Ayumu Aikawa, but I left out one thing. I am…

"A zombie! Those limits don't apply to me!" I rip the bat away from him, not that it's all that difficult the way he's gawking. I take it between both hands and squeeze, getting angry. "100%!" The thing bursts into a shower of wood splinters.

There's a brief moment of silence before a collective, "GYYYYYAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"

"A demon! He's a demon!" Someone shouts.

I snap my eyes to the boss and palm him in the chest just hard enough to send him reeling against the wall that Eu has just stepped away from. The bones in my fist cry under the strain of my clenching muscles as I leap forward. "120%!"

A great big crash and a great deal of dust. When it clears, bleach-burns is cowering in front of me, eyes slowly trailing up to the massive whole I put in the stone wall behind him. His eyes go wide when he sees it and my exploded fist, slowly rebuilding itself.

"Leave." I whisper.

Their exit is less than orderly. They're fighting and tripping over each other, some even pulling others back so they can run out ahead. The boss and his leather jacket are the first things to be lost from sight and all that's left behind is the one guy who had failed to push off anyone else. He's on his ass, peering up at me like a scared, little dog. I hoist him up and brush the dust off his shoulder, straightening his shirt a little too.

"Uh, sorry about that." I say with a laugh.

He ran off screaming. I shrug and turn back to Eu to see that she's unharmed. Not so much as a scratch on her visor. I walk over and rap the metal helm with my knuckle, my attempt at scolding her.

"Mou, Eu…" I shake my head. "What were you thinking going out so late? You should have known something like this could happen. I was just killed last week; clearly the neighborhoods aren't as safe as people think."

'I'm sorry' Says her note. And it almost looks like her eyes say it too.

I scratch at the back of my hair. "Geez, I guess it's fine. No-one got hurt, anyway. Come on, let's go home."

She nods and we begin the long walk home. At least this time I'm certain she's safe. I give her a sideways glance as we walk and then something occurs to me. "Uh, Eu? Why did you go out in the first place?"

Producing a bag I hadn't noticed her holding behind her back, she pulls out a container of pudding and holds it in front of her expressionless face, peering over the top at me.

I slump forward in defeat. "From now on, just let me do the shopping…"

A/N: I haven't done anything for this show in some time, huh? Would anyone like to see something new for it? I have no idea what it would be though. Till next time.