AN: I've always wanted to write an apocalyptic au for my otp and I'm finally getting off my butt and writing it. Hope you like! I'll try to update regularly, but feedback helps!

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Chapter 1

The Breakout

The breakout came quietly and unexpectedly. Everyone knew about the strange illness sweeping across the world, but nobody suspected just how bad it would be. No one told them it was deadly or terrifying. No one had given any of them a reason to believe that life would come to a screeching halt as the world descended into a chaotic scramble of death and disease. A little bit of warning would have been nice.

Misaki was at work when the breakout hit her little hometown on the edge of the city. In a matter of three hours, she had gotten separated from everyone she knew and had no way of knowing if her mother and sister were okay. Even though the sky had turned dark, the horizon was red with flames as the city went up in smoke and Misaki pressed her back into the cold brick of the supermarket.

She could hear the screams coming from inside as people either fought desperately with one another, demanded help, or became full of terror. It was almost certain that going inside was a bad idea, but she had no vehicle to get back home and with the way things were going, it would be a couple days of sneaking around before she finally reached her back door.

"Remember the plan," she whispered to herself as she took a calming breath. She felt anything but calm. Her hair was a mess, her skirt ripped up the side, blood splattered against her legs. If she thought about how that blood belonged to her coworkers, she might throw up or pass out, so instead she gritted her teeth and inhaled sharply through her nose.

The plan. Misaki always had plans. With plans, she was organized and her tasks were understandable and achievable. They kept her on track, which meant that she made a habit of categorizing everything in her life.

She was to go into the store and get what antibiotics she could get her hands on. Stay as far away from the weapons section as possible. Grab a couple boxes of food and a couple of water bottles. Get out and try calling home again. If that didn't work, she was going to call her friends and see if she could find them. With a pang of fear, she prayed silently that they were okay.

Her backpack was big enough for the short, risky salvage run into the store. She was almost grateful she'd had to go straight to work after school and her school books were lying in a trash bin a couple blocks away. Bracing herself one last time, she pushed away from the wall and slunk around toward the entrance.

A series of gunshot rang out from inside and the commotion got louder. People streamed down the sidewalk in a panic, their hands tearing at each other's clothing as a chorus of horrible, scratchy moans followed the terrified mass. Misaki swallowed the lump of fear and leapt inside, using the fear to power her determination. She didn't know what was going on yet - she had only seen the panic of the people and knew something was worse than bad - but she wasn't going to be stupid about it.

Luckily, most people seemed to be clustered on the food side of the store and the medicine aisles were nearly clear; most of the looters were behind the pharmacy counter. Misaki hastily plucked boxes of antibiotics and other medicines from the shelves and shoved them into her backpack, feeling her heart pound in her throat. Without any hesitation, she sprinted through the crowd toward the boxed food aisle and chanted the plan in her head over and over.

A few more gunshots thundered across the crowded store and Misaki ducked instinctively her eyes stinging as she pushed through a cluster of people. Her trembling hands snatched boxes of crackers off the shelves. This was taking too long. There were too many people, she realized. If she didn't get out of here soon, she wouldn't be getting out of here at all.

The crowd of people seemed to squeeze in on her. A baby was crying in her ear, a child screaming in the next aisle over. She felt arms and legs brush against her, push her into the shelving system. Someone stepped on her foot and another hand yanked at her skirt. Though it wasn't explicitly guaranteed, she could be trampled if she didn't find a way out soon.

But how? Her amber eyes looked for an opening but all she could see were a smear of clothes and knots of limbs; tangled hair and wide eyes. That didn't leave her much of a choice then. Despite knowing that whoever was shooting guns off at the back of the store would be able to see her as a target much more easily than anyone else, she scaled the shelves and leapt across the aisle and the teeming mass below her.

A sense of euphoria burned in her muscles with the knowledge of victory - she felt cunning and resourceful as she jumped over another aisle, clutching her back close to her side. Maybe she'd be okay.

The water was a lost cause - if she tried to stop for water, she didn't think she'd get so lucky the second time, so she used the shelves to cross most of the store to the check out lanes. By the time her feet had hit the ground and she was running, she glanced back over her shoulder to notice that others had begun to follow her example.

Fall was just around the corner so it should have been cool outside, but once Misaki raced through the doors she was enveloped in a lukewarm humidity, and the air seemed to smell like something rotten.

She ran back into the alleyway she'd been hiding in only ten minutes before and pressed her back into the brick like she wanted to disappear. Fear made her chest tight and her head cloudy and it took a few minutes before she could breathe again.

"Plans change," she reminded herself, doing her best to ignore the general panic that seemed to be trying to suffocate her. Her hands still a little shaky, she pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and dialed her home phone number. She pressed the plastic to her ear harshly and glared at the dark wall in front of her, her other hand still clutched tightly at the strap of her backpack.

"Pick up, Mom," she murmured, trying to keep the fracture out of her voice. She waited for five minutes but no one answered. Misaki took a deep breath to steady herself before hanging up and dialing Sakura's number, her stomach twisting with unease as a cluster of inhuman sounds clogged the air. Something bad was coming.

"Misaki?!" Sakura answered in breathless relief and Misaki felt as if she could cry from the sudden jolt of happiness.

"Sakura, it's me."

Sakura sounded as if she was crying. "Misaki, Shizuko is here with me - we were both so worried about you! She was at my house when people started screaming and my parents are out of town for the weekend. What do we do? I'm scared!"

Misaki trembled, wishing she could alleviate her friend's terror. "Do you know what's happening?"

"Shizuko and I locked all the doors and windows of my house and we're trying to find a station on the TV and the radio that will tell us what's going on. Where are you?"

"Something happened at work. . .Miss Satsuki rushed me and the rest of the girls out the back door before we could see what was happening in the store and I got separated from them in the crowd of people that was running down the street," Misaki told her, her knees feeling wobbly. "I found a store and got some medicine and a couple of boxes of food but I'm at least a half hour drive from home and something tells me I won't be hitching a ride anywhere anytime soon." There were more gunshots and police sirens started up, piercing the air harshly. A garbled chorus of angry moans followed and they were getting louder. She itched to run.

"Misakiiiiii, I'm scared for you!" Sakura's voice was thick with emotion, her words almost incoherent.

"Sakura, breathe," Shizuko's voice echoed over the phone as she snatched it from the distressed girl and pressed the cell to her ear. "Misaki, you need to find a safe place to be until it's morning. We don't know what's happening and you shouldn't be out there alone."

Misaki felt a little more collected at the tone in Shizuko's voice - the matter-of-factness was a balm to Misaki's frayed nerves. "I'll do my best. You and Sakura ought to stay in the house. I'll come by tomorrow." Sakura's house was on the way to her own neighborhood anyway.

"Stay safe, Misaki," Shizuko said with feeling.

"I'm the epitome of safety," Misaki joked weakly before allowing herself a tired smile. "See you soon." She hung up and took another deep breath and almost succeeded in gathering her thoughts when a crash sounded from the dark end of the alley. She spun toward the noise quickly, and felt bile rising in the throat at the sickening thump slide of the footsteps, the unbearable stench that suddenly permeated the humid air.

"Hello?" she said, though every instinct in her was screaming to run.

An animalistic groan answered her and she did not stay long enough to see the offender step into the light. Her hands gripped tightly at her phone and her backpack as she turned and fled. She thought that if she ran any faster, she would fly.