"There's no way in hell I'm dying."
The final words of her friend rang through Reiko's mind over and over again as she looked off the ledge into the inferno that was formerly Saki Nikaido and her bike. She could feel her heart pumping; the blood it coursed through her body was hot, steaming from the heat of the moment. The air around her was thick, diluted with the harsh texture of smoke and gasoline fumes, making it impossible to breathe. Her mind was twisted in an array of emotion and speculation as to what had happened to her other half. In the span of a second, an hour had passed. She could hear her crew yelling behind her, but she didn't care. She stared down into the blazes that housed Saki's final moments. "Saki!" she cried, hoping that, somehow, by some bizarre twist of fate, her friend would rise from the flames and tell her to cut it out.
But it was no use. The Saki Nikaido she knew and loved was gone.
Saki's eyes shot open as her ears were pierced with the sound of three girls screaming in terror. She stared up at the ceiling, slowly taking in what was happening.
"What is this?" A teenage voice asked.
"Somebody, please, do something!" Another requested.
"I'm scared!" A child's voice yelled.
Saki sat up and yawned. Seems like she had fallen asleep on the floor. She noticed that she was wearing some usual everyday clothes, but they weren't hers.
"What's going on? What's all the commotion?" A woman beside her asked.
Unlike the girl next to her, Saki didn't really care what was going on. She felt great. Refreshed. "That was a good nap." After finally regaining her senses, she turned around to face the source of light in the room and found a girl standing in the doorway.
But something was off about her.
Okay, now she cared what was going on.
Saki found herself, along with the other girls who had also awoken, in a basement that felt more like a jail cell. After being told she was a zombie, she had been led down here and told to take a seat. The chair she took was super uncomfortable, though, and it was really cold. Though, she couldn't tell if the area was cold or if it was just her zombie-ness making her cold. One thing was for sure though: she was really starting to get pissed. What the hell is all this about? she thought to herself, looking over her now green hands. She crossed her arms. None of the other girls except Sakura, as she called herself, seemed to have any idea what was going on.
The girl next to her let out a moan and rolled her head.
She glared at the girl, who was dressed in a long black robe and honestly looked like she came out of a dumpster, then turned her head back towards the front and stared at the wall. This is bullshit. She looked back at the girl to her left, who was still letting out a soft groan. What the hell is with this braindead idiot?
Just then, the metal door across from her creaked open and a man walked in. He was tall, sporting sunglasses and a vest. He wore a jacket, but only on his shoulders. It flowed loosely behind him. He stopped in front of the chalkboard near the front of the room. "Well, ladies, congratulations on waking up."
She stared at him blankly. Who is this guy?
He began to walk towards them, eventually getting in the white-haired girl's face and screaming. "I SAID CONGRATULATIONS!"
Wow, this dude's a dick.
The white-haired girl shuddered before him.
He stood back up, turned, and walked back to the front of the room smugly. "I am the mysterious idol producer, the amazing Koutarou Tatsumi! And that being the case, you are all going to become idols to save Saga!"
Saga? Saga needs saving?
"And boom!" He hit the board, revealing a drawing that read "Ultimate Idol Legends".
Saki decided now was a good time to check out. As the dude kept on talking, she looked over to find the girl to her left was now eating her own hair quite loudly. She folded her legs up onto the chair, watching the man explain his whole plan. Once it seemed like he had finished his spiel, she decided that she was going to ask something. "So, like… I don't get any of this."
He looked at her and smiled. "Oh, what's up, Saki?" He walked towards her and stopped in front of her.
Don't address me like that, you idiot. You don't know me. "I died, right? So how come I'm not dead?" She held up her hand and bent her fingers. A gross snapping sound was made.
"What, you seriously don't know?" he asked condescendingly.
"Huh!?" She clenched her fist and scowled at him angrily.
"Use your head for a second!"
"Like I said, I don't know what the hell-"
He bent down and got in her face. "BECAUSE YOU'RE A ZOMBIE! YOU'RE A ZOMBIE, SO YOU'RE UP AND ABOUT, OBVIOUSLY! WHAT KINDA NORMAL HUMAN HAS A GREEN FACE?!" He grabbed her by the chin and wiggled her head around.
She smacked his hand away. He was really starting to get on her nerves.
"Listen up. You all died and became zombies, and zombies have no place in our modern society!"
Heh, that's what they say about bikers, too. Suddenly, an idea popped into her head and her eyes lit up with inspiration.
He slammed down on the desk in front of the chalkboard. "I'm offering you freaks a place to belong by turning you into idols, so you dumbasses better appreciate it! So, if you zombies are going to be idols, what are you going to need the most? Go ahead, Sakura!"
Now was a good time to check out again. She pondered the thought she had. What if? If I could find someone else's bike-
"IT'S KEEPING THE FACT THAT YOU'RE ZOMBIES A SECRET, YOU STUPID FREAKING ZOMBIE!" The man's yelling interrupted her train of thought. He pulled out a laptop. On it, he played a short video full of clips from zombie movies of zombies being brutally murdered.
She got a massive grin on her face. Her plan now had even more traction. If I'm a zombie… that means that I can't die… or at least it's really hard to kill me. Plus, it makes me even scarier… She leaned over and put her hands on her knees and pondered for a second.
"I get that we're zombies now, but I don't get why we have to be idols."
Saki's thinking stopped for a second as she picked up the sound of disagreeing with an authority figure, which she loved. She looked to her right to see one of the girls who was screaming when she woke up now staring at him with her arms crossed. She was coated from head to toe in bandages and had black hair with yellow flowers dispersed throughout. She looked uncertain.
"To save Saga!"
"Revitalizing a prefecture as local idols? In Saga?"
"What, are you scared?"
The girl's uncertain look turned to frustration immediately. "It's obviously not going to work. Looking like this and trying to save Saga… and I'm not even from Saga!"
Oh damn, you gotta try Drive-In Tori!
He laughed. "Saga doesn't sweat the details!"
"Huh?"
"Even if you don't know a damn thing about it!"
"Hey, I know about Saga!"
"Why don't you tell me what you know?" he asked mockingly.
The girl sat straight up. She looked caught off-guard. "It's… in Kyushu!"
"Oh, very impressive! That was super good, Ai-chan!" He said, maintaining his mocking tone.
"Well, what exactly do you know about Saga, then?!"
As she watched the two of them bicker, Saki's idea grew into a dubious plan. This Ai girl looked like she, too, hated the idea of being an idol. If she could get her on board, maybe even more, she could just pick up where she left off and the asshole manager's plan would fall apart. I'd like to see the look on his face when he sees what I have planned… She popped back to reality when he started yelling again. She was getting more used to it though, so it didn't really catch her off-guard.
"You wanna know stats, look it up on Wikipedia!" He turned back to face them, gesturing angrily. "Or is that what you think?! You think I'm Wikipedia?! Nope! Nope!"
What the hell is Wikipedia?
"I'm the guy who's gonna make you into idols, Koutarou Tatsumi-san, that's me!" He stared at them for a moment, regaining his cool. "I chose you all, and I know that you will send shockwaves through society as Saga's idols. The first step for that occurs tomorrow at Saga Castle, when you participate in the Shachi-no-mon Public Concert."
"This is so clearly not going to work…" Ai muttered.
"That's not clear at all! You just have to pull it off, like yesterday's show."
What? Yesterday?
"Wait, what are you talking about?"
"You all had the house jumping. Right, Sakura?"
Everyone turned to look at the girl in the middle who had led them here.
"Huh? Uh, sorta… sure."
She is really sucking up to Shades here, huh? I bet she wouldn't be on board with this. I should totally see this Ai girl, though. She might like what I've got in mind.
Shades, as he was now called, smacked the board. "Now, let's get cracking on those lessons!"
Saki watched as Koutarou and Sakura stepped and practiced their stupid little dance moves. There's no way in hell I'm taking this seriously, she thought. She glanced around the room at the other girls, who were all excusing themselves from practice. Neither are they. She yawned and laid down on the ground, shooting one last glance at Ai. I should talk to her sometime when we're alone… but right now, I could really use a nap. She let her eyes close and drifted into a peaceful sleep. When she opened her eyes, she wasn't in the studio anymore. She looked around to find that she was lying on the ground near a wooden balcony overlooking a massive ledge. It was the middle of the night. She knew this place. She climbed to her feet and gazed out at the city lights and soon recognized them as Karatsu's. Wait a second, this is-
The sound of engines revving behind her cut off her train of thought.
No… She turned around to see a girl in a red coat lined up against a girl in a black coat. Each of them were leaning forward, preparing to launch. She was in their path.
"Three, two, one! Go!" The two bikes peeled out, speeding towards the dreaming girl.
She stared down her past self as she sped toward the railing. In a mix of disappointment and anger, she scowled. You idiot. She stepped to the side and watched herself do a wheelie through the barrier and off the edge.
She seemed to hover in the air for a moment as time slowed down, then began her descent. Her hands slipped from the bike and she fell into the trees.
She looked away and felt the warmth of the fire erupt behind her. She closed her eyes and shook her head. Damn it… She reopened her eyes to see Reiko run up beside her.
"Saki!"
Saki's heart skipped a beat. That was the last thing she had heard before she died. Her eyes shot wide open and she looked to the mourning girl. Oh my god, she thought. Reiko!
"Saki!"
What… what happened to her after…
"Saki!"
No… Reiko…
"Saki!"
Reiko, I'm…
"Saki!"
Saki shot up, taking staggered, heavy breaths. She brought one of her hands up to cover her eyes as the bright lights of the idol studio blinded her. After a moment of letting her eyes adjust, she turned to the side to see Sakura kneeling over her.
"Saki-chan, the lessons are over. It's time to go inside."
She stared at her, trying to shake herself from the hyper-realistic dream sequence. After a moment, she regained her composure and looked up at her. "Yeah, whatever. I'll be in in a minute." She watched as Sakura stood up and walked out. She took a deep breath and put her hands on her knees before giving herself a new mission. I gotta find Reiko.
Several hours later, Saki laid on her bed, observing the other girls in the room. The tall one was brushing her hair in front of a makeup mirror, the young one was reading a book, and the white-haired one was being chased by the hair-eating one on either side of the child. The one she knew, Ai, was sitting on a couch in the corner, tightly grasping onto a pillow. The kiss-ass sat herself down near her, also seeming to be observing her surroundings.
Saki looked at her menacingly. Maybe I should figure out what she's thinking, she thought. She might be more useful than she looks. She slowly sat up and rested on her haunches, leaning over in a menacing squat. "Hey!"
The girl turned to her with a gasp.
"You're Sakura, right?"
"Y-yes…"
"Where you from?"
"Huh?"
Is she dense? "I'm asking what middle school you went to!"
"Uh… well, I don't remember."
You don't remember? Yeah, right. She stood up. "You screw with me and I'll kill you, got it?"
"I-it's true, I really don't remember anything from before I was a zombie!"
Nothing, huh? She put her hands in her pockets and paced before her menacingly. "Man, just remember it! Make yourself remember!" She got back down on her level as the girl shook in fear. "And why the hell are you taking this seriously? You some kinda goody two-shoes?! You want an ass-kicking?!"
"Not exactly… It's just… since we have a show to do…"
Maybe I can convince her. "We oughta do a rally." She put on the most serious face she had to show her that she wasn't screwing around.
She clearly didn't take it as well as she hoped, as tears were now forming in her eyes.
Okay, she's officially useless. "This is so… damn it! I bet my Tamagotchi is dead by now." She stood up and walked away. Telling her that might have been a mistake. She sat back down on her bed and put her hand to her chin. I've gotta get out of here, but now I've got both her and Shades to worry about… She looked up to find that Ai had disappeared, leaving the pillow behind. Oh, now's my chance! She got up and backed out of the room silently, soon finding her way to a dark hallway. She snuck around the mansion quietly, looking for the black-haired girl. She kept it quiet, as she didn't want to be caught sneaking around, but made herself apparent enough to catch the eye of someone who wanted to be alone. After a few minutes, she had sifted her way through all the rooms on the second floor so she quietly descended to the ground level. Suddenly, she heard movement and she turned to watch a shadowy figure go to the door leading to the porch. Ai! She looked from around the corner and was very disappointed to see that it was Sakura again. Damn, what's she doing?
"Ai-chan? Ai-chan, are you around?"
Crap, she's looking for her, too! I gotta get to her before she does! She quickly scanned the area for a place where Ai could be hiding, but decided to stay where she was and wait for Sakura to leave so she could search the backyard herself without being detected.
Just then, there was a scream, not unlike the one she had heard this morning. Sakura gasped and ran outside.
Damn it. She put her nose to the window to watch what was happening in the yard.
Sakura had already gotten to her.
Damn it! She gritted her teeth in defeat then squinted as a third figure caught her eye. Wait a second, the white-haired one is there, too. The hell is that coward doing there?
They both stood up and said something that made Sakura surprised. Ai began to climb over the fence.
Crap, don't escape without me! Saki rushed over to the door, but soon noticed that Sakura had torn her from the fence. They seemed to be talking. Sakura turned her back to her and she jumped back onto the fence. That's the kind of quick thinking I like, Saki thought with a smirk. She sunk back into the shadows. Let's see where this goes.
Saki was in a low squat, following the three zombies from a distance. They had been walking for quite a while now and had even gotten into town. She knew exactly where they were, but they didn't seem to. They had been talking among themselves for quite a while now, just out of earshot. Sakura clearly didn't like what was being said, however, as she kept getting visibly surprised by each thing one of the girls said. Saki had been creeping along behind them, hiding in foliage and around corners.
Finally, the three of them made a right turn and Saki couldn't see them anymore.
Crap, I have to catch up! She stayed low, but kept swiftly moving. Just then, a car rolled around the corner. Crap, it's probably a bad idea to let them see me, she thought. She stopped and hid behind a small bush.
The car was driving quite slow, actually.
She squinted. What are they doing? Are they prowling?
The car rolled to a stop at the corner where the girls had turned.
Crap! She watched as three teenagers got out and started dancing toward where they had gone. She creeped up and watched from behind as they attempted to flirt through rapping. Okay, you got some thugs. What are you gonna do about it? She smiled in anticipation then watched in disappointment as the three of them began to walk away. God damn it, she thought. You'll be good for overthrowing Shades, but we gotta work on your decision-making. She got up and slowly started approaching the boys from behind.
"Don't." A voice snapped Saki out of her funk and she turned to find Koutarou standing behind a corner. It seems that he was following them too, but he was much better at it as she hadn't detected him either.
She gritted her teeth. "Stay out of this, Shades! This has nothing to do with you!"
"This has everything to do with me." He spoke more softly than before. She couldn't tell if it was because he was being sincere or if it was because he was trying to keep a low profile.
She looked back at the boys just in time to see a police officer walk into the scene. The three girls had been backed into a corner. "Crap, it's a cop," she whispered.
"Yes," he replied.
She glared up at him. "You aren't gonna do something? What about that 5-second zombie montage?"
"They have to learn somehow."
"Officer! Please, help!" one of the three girls cried.
They both looked just in time to see Ai walk into the light, clearly revealing that she was a zombie.
"Ai-chan, don't!" Sakura yelled, following her into the light.
The four men screamed in terror.
Saki watched as the policeman reached for his gun. Her mind went blank as she jumped to her feet and ran toward him instinctively.
"Saki, no!" Koutarou yelled.
Shut up, Shades! If you're not gonna do anything, I'll just do it myself!
The policeman let out a loud grunt as he was drop kicked in the back. His gun slid across the concrete to Ai's feet.
Saki landed on top of the policeman with a quiet grunt then immediately stood back up to punch one of the rappers in the face.
The rappers quickly took notice and looked over just in time to witness her knock the leftmost one to the ground with a quick kick to the back of the knee.
The middle rapper held his hands up. "Hey, wait-" He was cut off as she grabbed his arm and pulled him into a knee strike, sending him straight to the ground.
As she stood above the three men, she looked at the last one, stuttering and shaking in fear. "Leave. Now."
The rapper bolted, leaving his friends and the police officer behind. He jumped back into the car and sped off into the night, screaming the entire time.
Saki stood, staring at where the car once was. Huh. Lame fight. After a moment, she turned to face the three girls who had snuck out and smirked. "You're welcome."
The girls all stared at her in awe.
She snickered to herself. Let's see how you handle this, Shades.