Ok. To start off, I know next to nothing about Japanese culture or language. As such, I have written this story to express everything to the best of my ability and understanding. This is only my second posting, my first story being one that popped up in my head as I was thinking about this one. I set this one to M for language, and the fact that I don't know where this story will go over time. I hope y'all enjoy this story. Thank you for taking the time to read this.

After posting this, some flaws were brought to my attention by Draco38. I want this to be as well written as I can make it because I know that misspellings and the like tend to jump out at me from the page, disrupting the flow of the story, and I don't want y'all having to deal with that for too long either. If anyone else finds serious flaws with spelling or grammar, please inform me. Thanks again to Draco38 for bringing the flaws to my attention. They have been fixed in this posting.

I Own None Of The Highschool Of The Dead Characters

Chapter One: Dead Asleep

The Night Before Everything Ended...

I stayed up late.

Sophomore:

Komuro Takashi

Z-Day 06:45

The room was completely dark, making the glowing red numbers on the alarm clock appear even brighter, casting the room in red tinged shadows. A loud, piercing screech coming from the same source as the red light. An unrecognizeable lump shifts on the bed, a deep moan issuing from it. Slowly, an arm extends from the lump toward the offending alarm clock.

Takashi's head was killing him. He had stayed up way too late the previous evening. He shifted in bed, the movement causing his stomache to flip. Moaning loudly he forcibly held his last meal down. Very gently he shifted his arm from beneath the covers toward the alarm clock. Feeling it beneath his fingers, he pressed down the first button which should be the snooze function. Hopefully he'd feel better in fifteen minutes. He let his arm simply drop to hang off the side of the bed as he dropped back into slumber, never realizing that the button pressed was actually the second button, and had turned the alarm off.

He slipped quickly back into the darkness. It was peaceful there, the nothingness of deep sleep. Gradually, the darkness gave way to pale grey light that illuminated an obscuring mist. "Takashi, I'm going to be your wife." A portion of the mist thins out and the shadowy image of a five year old Rei holds out her hand, pinky extended. "It's a pinky promise."

Takashi struggles to reach out with his pinky to seal the promise. No matter how fast he moves his legs or how much he stretches, he can't reach her. As the mist thickens again, he yells out in desperation. "Rei, wait! Come back!"

"No, you don't understand, you never understand!" Takashi turned to see the shadowy figure of Rei now, head down, her back to him. He begins to speak, then stops himself. No, he wants to be comforting. He wants to tell Rei that it's ok, he doesn't care if she has to stay back a year. That it doesn't change a thing. Instead, he hears himself, being the same idiot that he was then.

"Why would you stay back a year? You're such a good student...I want to understand!"

Rei's shoulders slumped further as she began walking away and shaking her head. "No, Takashi, its ok. Nevermind."

Once again the mist thickened. No, no no please, no. Takashi struggled harder. He tried closing his eyes to the mist but they wouldn't obey. Anything but this, please. Not again, no more, please. Don't make me see this again night after night! Come on alarm clock! Wake me up, COME ON! No matter how he struggled, the dream marched relentlessly on, as it always did. The mist thinned once again, but this time it dissolved completely to reveal a bricked path bordered by trees, their pink blossoms occassionally being lifted into the air by the breeze to drift down around the two people walking hand-in-hand away from him. Igou Hisashi's voice drifts back to Takashi. He's talking about something funny he saw a teacher do during class that day. The music of Rei's laughter reaches his ears soon after. Turning her head to say something to Hisashi, Rei sees Takashi out of the corner of her eye. The smile leaves her face and she drops Hisashi's hand as she turns around. "Takashi?"

Suddenly everything is a blur. He can't focus on anything as he flies along. One second he was a child of five playing with Rei, the next he was talking to Takagi Saya about his plans to do something really special for Rei to make her feel better about staying back a year. The years flowed by like the rapids of a river. Suddenly, he was sitting at a desk in an empty classroom. Rei is standing at the door. She's said many things to him, but he has no idea what any of them were. He was too busy thinking of her hand in Hisashi's. "I don't get you Takashi, at all. I'm sorry if we hurt you, but you just never tried, and now its too late, please can you just be happy for me?" With that, she left the room. She looked back once, but she never stopped. The room began dissolving back into the mists. Takashi braced himself for the unknown as the mists swallowed him, usually he would've woken by now so this was all new to him.

Sophomore:

Hirano Kouta

Z-Day 8:25

Hirano fell to his knees with a gasp. He barely registered the laughter from the boys surrounding him as he concentrated on the pain in his gut. He hated slow days like today. These guys were always worse when they were bored. As great as last week was, he knew that his rescue had only been chance and that this time he was just going to have to endure. Someday though, someday things would change. He wouldn't need a rescue then. All of these bastards would. As the pain subsided, Hirano began to hear again.

"Damn, you run out of candy and decide to eat rocks fat ass?" Hirano looked up to see the leader rubbing his knuckles. Appearently he'd hurt them while trying to shove his fist far enough into Hirano's gut to touch his spine. Without thought, Hirano smiled. "Oh! Is Tubby laughing at my pain? Pick him back up so that I can help him stay happy." Two of the others grabbed Hirano under his arms and hoisted him up. With a swift motion, the leader swung a punch. Thump! Hirano noticed the sound a split second before the pain from the punch hit. He sagged in his captors arms. "Yeah, you like that?" Thump! "Come on, smile!" Thump! "Damn It! I said SMILE!" This time the fist connected with Hirano's jaw and his head snapped back, hitting one of the boys holding him.

"Fuck! Watch it, dipshit! You know, lard ass here is fucking heavy. I'm letting him go." Hirano fell to the floor. The two kicked him in the side as they stepped out from behind him. Vaguely through the haze of pain, Hirano noticed a shadow come up behind the laughing gang of boys.

After a moment of listening, the shadow spoke. "Well, what do we have here? Are you boys behaving yourselves?" Hirano knew that voice, and his heart sank. Mr. Shido. He encouraged this type of behavior. "Ah, Hirano Kouta. I see you are playing a game with these fine young men. Sadly, I must take your friends away from you for awhile. Class, after all, must proceed as scheduled. Take yourself to the nurse Hirano, you look to be a bit ill. Gentlemen, let us adjourn to the classroom. I'm sure he can find the nurse without our assistance." Every one of the gang made sure to kick Hirano as they left the restroom and trailed behind Mr. Shido.

Kouta pulled himself into a sitting position. Well, would wonders never cease. He didn't know it, but Mr. Shido had just saved him a ton of pain and suffering. Heh. Bastard was still an asshole. Leaning back against the wall, Kouta rested his eyes. Once he caught his breath, he'd head out to see Miss Marikawa. She could give him some aspirin, maybe let him rest a bit. She's a bit ditzy, but she knows her medicine. Easy on the eyes too. Hmmm, maybe not too bad of a day afterall.

School Nurse

Marikawa Shizuka

Z-Day 8:50

Talking quietly to herself, Marikawa Shizuka bustled around the nurse's office. Going to school and holding down a job was quite stressful so to relax every morning, she would check all of her supplies and medications while she let her mind wander. This usually led to her talking to herself. So what if it furthered her appearance as a crazy ditz, its not like she could argue, well, at least not the ditz part. This morning, she found herself mumbling questions and answers to herself in preparation for her next test at medical school. She loved being a medical student, it was one of the few things she could stay reliably focused on. As she turned to place a box of bandages back in their storage cabinet, her boobs struck something solid. Thinking to herself that there wasn't supposed to be another shelf nearby, she felt more than heard a muffled voice saying something. Taking a step back, she saw Hirano Kouta standing there, his face precisely where her breasts had just been. He took a gasping breath as he supported himself on the cabinet for her bandages.

"Why, good morning Hirano. I'm sorry I didn't notice you there. I was just making sure everything was where it was supposed to be." She looked closer at Hirano. "You really don't look to good, you might want to see someone about that." Placing the box of bandages in the cabinet, she turned away, already thinking up another question to ask herself. Hirano's voice interrupted her however.

"Um, Miss Marikawa, that's why I'm here. To see someone about me not looking good that is." Lowering his head, he added, "I-I kind of ran into these guys this morning and... well now I have a headache and my stomache hurts somewhat too." Freezing in place, Marikawa slowly pivoted. The slight heel of her loafers made a slight squealing sound as she finished. Now she really looked at Hirano, seeing the dirt and scratches, and a red welt on the left side of his jaw. She may be clumsy, and she may be a ditz, but she needed no further explaination as to what had happened when Hirano ran into those guys, little pricks. In that moment, the look on Miss Marikawa's face and in her eyes had Hirano involuntarily stepping back. In a flash it was gone and she smiled happily to Hirano.

"Tell you what, go lay down on one of the beds over there, I'll bring you over an aspirin for your headache, then I'll check you out real quick to make sure that those thugs didn't hurt you too terribly." Hirano started trying to make some nonsensical excuse, but she cut him off. "Don't try acting like nothing happened, or telling me it wasn't the same group of boys that attacked you last week. You know, you're not the only one they pick on, I've had four others in here over the last week, all with the same pitiful excuses and lame stories. I know I'm a bit dumb sometimes, but give me at least a little credit." As she said all of this she was filling a glass with water and pouring two aspirin into her hand. Then she took the glass and the aspirin to Hirano, whose mouth was hanging open in shock.

"To tell the truth, you're the last person I expected to see in here because of those boys. You know, given what happened last week and all. Say, where were Takagi and Komuro during all of this?" Hirano almost choked at this last question, sputtering water everywhere. After a moment of coughing and Miss Marikawa thumping him on the back, he finally managed to answer her.

"Sorry Miss Marikawa, but Takagi, Komuro, and I are not friends. I'd like to be, and I really appreciated their assistance last week, its just that...well they don't need to be my friends. I'm sure they have way too many friends to count anyway."

"Oh, well I'm sorry...I just assumed...with how angry Takagi was when she brought you in here that day, and her going on like that about how dare they do that to you...I guess I just figured...never mind. Lay back and rest now. You're not going anywhere for awhile, certainly not until I've checked out your bruises and disinfected those scratches. I'll be right back, just going to wash up and gather the things I'll need." As she walked away, Hirano was lost in deep thought.

Takashi

Z-Day 10:20

The room is no longer populated with red tinged shadows, the light sneaking past the curtains having sufficently illuminated the room so that the alarm clock's red digits cannot continue to dominate. The lump on the bed stirs yet again, as it has numerous times in the last hour, its occupant drifting closer to awareness only to be sucked back into his restless sleep.

He knows he's dreaming. He's been seeing the past over and over again. Little moments of no importance, major turning points, and everything in between. Many times he's tried to change the outcomes, only to find himself a prisoner, shackled to his decisions, walking the same path again no matter how painful. His heart has broken so many times now, he tells himself there must be nothing left only to have his mind dredge up another memory to re-live. Currently, its a memory of the day after his world ended, the day Rei officially told him that she was dating their friend Hisashi. He didn't move from that classroom for a long while after she left. When he did, it was because Takagi had come looking for him.

"Honestly Takashi! What are you doing sitting in here in the dark? This is not the end of the world you know!"

He looked up at her in shock. She was leaning on the door frame, studying his face. Wha-what did she just say? How did she even know? Surely Rei hadn't told Takagi what was happening, right?

"Look," she said, "I'm a genius, you know? Nobody had to tell me anything. I've suspected for awhile that something was going on between Rei and Igou. Seeing you yesterday tearing into the school like your backside was on fire, with Rei and him coming from the same direction and clearly looking for you, I didn't need anything more to know that I was right. I'm sorry. I saw you and Rei coming in here, so I figured when I saw Rei outside at a table eating lunch that you'd still be here. Now, you've had your time to mope, so let's go get something to eat before lunch is over." She straightened and headed out into the hallway. "Now, Stupid!" Takashi blinked.

He was no longer in the classroom. He and Takagi were walking down one of the first floor corridors toward their lockers. They were approaching one of the court areas where the hall opened up when they heard a loud slam behind the lockers to the left, followed by several boys' sadistic laughter. Takagi and he looked at each other, then hurried towards the sounds. Rounding the lockers, they found six of the school's thugs gathered around a figure on the floor. Two of the group lifted the figure from the floor by his school jacket. He looked familiar to Takashi.

Takagi hissed through her teeth beside Takashi. "I know him! He's the kid I was telling you about, you know, the one in fifth period? He's always looking at me out of the corner of his eyes and creeping me out, remember?"

"Oh yeah," Takashi said. "Oh, that's why he looks familiar to me. You pointed him out in class the other day, he sits just behind you, in the row to your right. Has he ever done anything other than look at you?"

Takagi bit her lower lip as she shook her head. "Even if he had, he doesn't deserve to be treated like this!" She gestured to where the leader of the group was pulling his arm back in preparation of another hit.

Odd that he was dreaming about this moment. He would never wish to alter his actions at this moment. There was absolutely nothing to regret in this memory. As Takashi took several steps toward the group, someone stepped from around the other end of the lockers and requested in a calm voice that the group release the boy. A very calm, very FEMALE voice. This caused Takashi to lose focus on the leader and actually look at the owner of the voice. Long purple-black hair pulled up into a high ponytail, holding books in one hand, her free hand hanging casually at her side. No one in the entire school would have difficulty identifying this girl. Busujima Saeko, president of the kendo club, she led them to the national competition last year.

This was the closest Takashi had ever been to her. Her eyes briefly found his and he felt somewhat unbalanced. Such blue eyes. Incredible. The leader speaking caused her gaze to move on and re-focus on the group's leader. "Hey, step off Bitch! You may be the shit in a competition, but this is the real world. There are no rules or judges to save your ass. If you don't leave maybe I'll have to take you into the men's room and teach you a thing or two." The leader said with an evil sneer.

Takashi could never explain it. Hearing that pig talk about doing THAT to any woman made something inside snap. Before he'd really thought about his actions Takashi felt his fist connecting with the jerk's jaw. With a satisfying thump the leader slammed into the lockers and began sliding down. Seemingly in slow motion Takashi watched one of the other thug's fists flying toward his own face and he knew that he wouldn't be fast enough to block it. He braced for the impact that never came. Instead, the thug hit a locker when his swing was deflected by Busujima Saeko's slender hand when she appeared beside Takashi.

Even here in the dream, the rest was a blur. He fought several of the guys, somehow staying out of Busujima's way as she gracefully danced around them all, weaving in and out. Sometimes she was far away, sometimes at his back. Once, he would've even sworn that she wrapped her arms around him and kicked one of the thugs in the chest with both feet. Of course, maybe that was simply his own imagining. Through it all, the only clear images for him were glimpses of intese blue eyes studying him.

Suddenly it was all over. The thugs were dragging themselves away down the hall and he was picking up the guy the thugs had been beating on. Other than a split lip, he looked reasonably well. "Hey, are you ok? Look, we're going to take you to the nurse, get you checked out, ok?" The poor guy looked at Takashi like he was a mirage or something. "Ok, let's start over. My name's Komuro Takashi, who are you?"

Looking away in embarrassment, the guy saw Takagi watching from the edge of the lockers and he looked back to Takashi quickly. "H-Hirano Kouta. S-sorry that you... were troubled... Sorry. Thank you for your help." The mists closed in again. Takagi's voice echoed from everywhere.

"There's NOTHING we can do about those... those... ASSHOLES! God what a load of crap! Look at what they did to Hirano! How often have they done this to him? To others? Of course they're all children of some of Tokonosu's richest families so the staff won't do one damned thing. Promise me Takashi that we'll try to make sure he doesn't get treated that way again, ok?" He'd promised, how could he not? Since kindergarten, he'd never once won an argument with Takagi. As the mist faded to black, Takashi heard the school nurse. "Wow. Isn't it nice to have such good friends who'll take care of you no matter what? I wish I could've had such good friends when I was in highschool." With a sensation of flying, Takashi was suddenly shooting backwards, and the blackness resolved into the pupil of an eye, surrounded by an iris as blue as an evening sky. Just...Incredible.