Dear ladies and gentlemen. This story is a sequel to – Courage, love and blood.- It's highly advised to read that story before this one. Though they most likely can be read as separate adventure, there will be a lot of clarification.

Right… sequel was asked. Sequel is given! I am not quite sure yet about a few things, but that won't be that important for the first few chapters. I have holidays at the moment, so I can write as much as I see fit. So that'll either be a lot, or barely anything.

UHm…. Anything else I really have to tell you all? Oh. Yeah of course! I'll even put this as the first sentence. ( Read the first sentence again.)

More? Oh yes! Now I remember:

I do not own highschool of the dead, all rights belong to its original author and animators. I do own all newly added characters. ( Which aren't there… at the moment. )

( Know that this chapter is almost entirely devoted to creating a setting and a start. Very little happens.)

Chapter 1: Where were the dead?

"The dead are coming back to life, attacking the living.

Getting bitten by them means becoming one of them.

Their numbers were increasing rapidly.

And thus, the beginning of the end of the world had begun.

In order to survive in this devastated world, we ran we ran and kept on running.

We fought, we ran, we fought over and over again.

While trying to escape, we kept on fighting. You could say a lot happened along the way.

I tried to get used to this life, but found myself being sucked deeper into hopelessness.

The only bulb of light I have left are my friends.

And amongst all of them, there's one special soul.

Whatever will happen…

We will keep running, and above all, we will keep fighting.

My name is Kumoro Takashi. And this is our trial.

It's been a while since we've left the mall behind us. That place… that horrible place has been bad for all of us. For some it was even worse than for others. It has left scars on all of our bodies both physically, and mentally.

Sometimes it is hard to think about the fact that we're in this for good, that we'll all most likely perish and turn, that we'll all start to hate. And can we prevent this?

…

I don't know. I really don't. All I know is that I have managed to confront the demons of my past, and walk forwards to either create new ones… or to create angels.

We left our safe haven behind us once again, as we prepare to find our … remaining parents. I'm sure that if we stick together… that we'll manage to pull off a life in this ended world."

"Hurry up already! Just a few minutes before the sun will be at its highest!" The all too familiar girl with the pink hair yelled through the house. She had her stuffed backpack on her back and it appeared to be filled to the brink with useful trinkets. "Sweet lord… their laziness might get us all killed right away."

Just as she had finished talking to herself she heard stumbling coming from the room, followed by some groaning. The door to the corridor opened and two fully equipped persons joined her. One was their crack shot, and the other the small… well… what was she actually in the group? The tender running girl? The pink haired child? The innocent member of the group? Whatever she would be in the future, for now she was just called Alice.

Both she and Hirano Kohta carried rucksacks, his' being larger obviously.

They were closely followed by the drowsy nurse, whom had the luck of only having to carry a small pack with medical supplies. Well… not really medical supplies. But simple plasters and aspirins etcetera.

"Great… only two more are needed. We all changed last night… what's taking them so long?" Saya kept on complaining, not even knowing whether her two missing friends were up- or downstairs.

"Takashi said he was having trouble with packing our ammunition… at least, the little bit we have left." The chubby boy answered whilst staring out of the blurred windows of the front door.

"We already did that last night? Does he even know what we are going to do… that damned idiot…" She started to tap her fingers against the brick wall due to her nerves, and when she heard more noises of walking people coming from upstairs she panted out of relieve.

As the slender red-head came strolling down the stairs everyone was quite shocked, and delighted, by the fact that she had a broad smile on her face. Her backpack was stuffed as well, but it was more juvenile and small compared to the other rucksacks. She had her pistol in her newly found belt and a sharpened stick, which could function as a spear, in her other hand. And just like all the other girls she had a skirt, for that attire would allow her to move without restrictions. Besides… of course… the somewhat revealing situations at times. Ah well… there was barely anyone left to see her panties… It wasn't anything to laugh about really… but for the time being she gave herself a soft chuckle. Her white cotton blouse fit perfectly on her nigh perfect body and if they hadn't known better, they'd say she was date ready.

"Rei… How comes you are this happy?" Saya asked with an annoyed undertone.

"Reasons! Haha. No but really… I don't know. Just happy today I guess." The girl replied whilst making sure that nobody saw her twitching eyes.

But before any more questions could be asked Takashi came stumbling through the already opened door. He wore some black jeans, white sneakers and once again a red singlet. Of course, his black Colbert finished the attire. Probably this was just his favorite and most trusted way to dress.. maybe it was him being nostalgic. Or… maybe it was just mere coincidence. He tightened the shotgun to his , equally full, backpack and was trying hard to get the straps right, only to softly gulp as he heard Saya's grumbling voice.

"Took your time all right!` A soft drip of sweat flew down her cheeks as she immediately began to walk towards the door.

"Yeah well…" He gave Rei a quick gaze and obviously a flood wave of regret filled his bellows, it most likely was a good thing that just at that point somebody knocked on the door. Through the windows he could make up a slender and gracious feminine form. His legs wanted him to move to open the door right away, but Saya was faster. The pink haired girl gestured that it was safe and she opened the door. There she stood all right…

The girl that calmly stood in the entrance was one of the main causes for Takashi´s inner struggle at the moment. But he sure as hell was happy to see her. In fact, there probably wasn´t a person he´d rather see than her. Well… besides his parents maybe. None of them really got the chance to greet her for she started to talk first.

`Neither of the neighbors have anything of use… I got my hands on some food, a steel baseball bat and lighters…` She showed a small blue bag with, what appeared to be, canned food. The rest of the items she simply held between her waist and arm. The girl herself had her infamous katana belted to her tiny black skirt. Her trademark stockings and boots were there as well. Instead of the regular sailor uniform she wore a tight black body sweater with a baggy white shirt over it. The shirt was way too large, almost make the skirt redundant, yet it stood her well. A more than stereotypical skull and crossbones mark covered the front of the shirt. Yet even in these baggy clothes… her form was perfectly visible.

They had all agreed that the girl wouldn´t have to carry a major backpack, for she was their best chance to survive at this point. If they would run out of bullets… they´d be screwed. Even with bullets… shooting was dangerous. That was the reason they had all armed themselves with some sort of melee weapons as well.

But… obviously. Having a bat, crowbar or stick is quite demoralizing when you realize that you had had guns a few days back. However… fate had a sick sense of humor.

`Well then… it´s 1 o´ clock. We should go. Everybody remembers the plan?" Takashi asked whilst walking forwards and out of the door. He made sure to keep his voice as soft as possible, just to avoid any possible confrontations. As he made his way forward he gave little Alice a pat on the head before he turned around and smiled.

"Let's find my house… retrieve our gear and be out of here. There's nothing left…" He walked past the indigo haired girl with a penetrating stare, and she obviously responded by looking the other way.

Yeah… after their little let go a night back they had actually barely spoken anything sensible. Only gibberish and sentences that were totally out of character.

The entire group nodded and spat different things. yet it all came down to one small sentence:

"Let's get this over with."

They all moved out of house, looked behind them, walked forwards, looked in front of them and carried on.

The streets were empty… Here in particular nothing all too terrifying seemed to have occurred. Just a few cars… some bins that had been bumped over… but nothing special. And that was just the thing which disturbed their minds the most. The nothingness of it all. They could barely talk or they'd risk their lives. They could only walk in a straight path… And would have to do so for about an hour before they would reach the street which they had traversed before. Well… Takashi and Saeko had. Yet back then they simply didn't have the time, nor the brain to think about the fact that Takashi's house was a mere few meters removed from Rei's own house. Takashi had actually sincerely apologized to his friends for being so stupid, but they had luckily remembered what he had not. That they had made it clear that the child of that lost parents would not enter his old house. Just out of safety measures.

They turned left after about ten minutes of walking and began seeing the destruction and carnage again. Some vague blood stains of where people had –died- and stood up again. But also corpses. Either refugees whom had been shot by panicking officers, raiders or whatever else roamed the streets of Tokonosu city nowadays.

Takashi, Saya and Rei took the lead as they knew these streets better than the rest. Kohta and Saeko had rear guard whilst Shizuka and Alice stuck rather close with the latter two.

It was cold… really cold actually. The sun was shining fervently but a chilling wind crawled through the fabric of their clothing and found its way through their nervous system. To make it worse, they had entered some sort of edge city, thus the sky touching scrapers blocked out the little bit of sun they had left.

And even after thirty minutes of walking on a steady pace they hadn't encountered more than two of them.

"Saeko-san…?" The glassed boy suddenly whispered. He though he'd get an annoyed stare, but was pleased to see the girl fainting a smile to listen to what he had to say.

"Do… do you think that…" He was playing with his fingers and glared at the ground as he was obviously looking for words. That could only mean it was either about Saya or something quite gruesome. Sadly… this time it was the worst of the two.

"Do you think that they'll be alive?" He managed to stutter out. The girl beside him simply continued to stare down at him.

"Takashi-kun's parents?" She asked abruptly.

"Y-… yes. But also everyone at the mall? How many will have survived?" He spoke whilst swallowing loudly.

"One question at a time… For they are both horrible to give an answer to." Saeko whispered back. The girl barely opened her faintly pink lips whilst she began to answer his rather pointless questions. "No… I don't think his parents are alive. At least, they won't be at his home." She spoke barely hearable whilst intentionally lowering her and thus also Kohta's pace a bit. She saw perfectly well that he was legitimately shocked by her answer.

"The only reason we have survived until now is because we are like a single entity. Not many people have the joy of having such an courageous entourage as we do." She spoke with quite a proud tone for a bit… yet then her voice became more clouded again. "Even those madmen me and Takashi encountered whilst searching for Miyamoto's parents…"

"What about them?"

"They survive because they work as a family. Even whilst they wouldn't even give our deaths a second thought… they are still a family within their circle." She stared at the boy next to her and chuckled falsely. "Hirano Kohta… as long as we are around each other we'll grow old. No matter what happens… we need to strengthen our bonds." She gave a quick gaze at the white sneakers that led the group before staring at Kohta again.

The guy seemed a bit dazzled, yet also comfortable with her answer. He buckled up his backpack and the two of them caught up with their old pace again. They'd be fully concentrating again, but one last thought slipped through the blade wielder's brain.

"There are more people however… who wouldn't give death a second thought." She closed her eyes and softly bit her lips before inhaling again. That would be a thought for another time. Not right now… right now she had to be fully aware of her surroundings, lest she brought them all in danger by missing something.

They walked on for another few minutes before they stood in front of an enormous building. The brand was quite unacknowledged, but for a company to be able to afford such an outpost… it had to be rich. The seven of them took shelter under the balcony hanging over the entrance, and instead of walking towards their destination in one go, they decided it'd be best to make some back up plans, or simply relax for a minute or two.

"So… how many minutes left Takashi?" Saya finally asked whilst she sipped from her water bottle.

"… You should know that?" He replied with a yawn.

"I know… But what I mean, how many minutes left for this break? We were going to reach it in one go."

"I know… But it's just so gruesome out here… I was getting used to our safe house and now… Just give us a few minute."

Not a single one of them had any complaints in the end really. It was scary… it always had been so, but now it was different. In the mall they had rest… but it didn't feel as a home. But now that they had left that cozy safe house behind them they suddenly realized that the world outside was still just as gruesome, if not worse. Probably it was worse… more and more people either turned or were killed every single day, every single hour, even every single minute. And up until now it didn't seem as if –they- would starve out, nor did any help seem to be under way. Once they had reached Takashi's house in safety, they would discuss their next step. If they would be chased, they'd –simply- carry on towards the back entrance of the mall and retrieve their lost gear.

And they prayed… Oh lord they prayed, that the majority of everything that had occurred in that forsaken place, would be gone. Either dead, or simply away. They didn't care.

Some reddish leaves were blown towards them as the sudden gust came racing through the streets. It was autumn… And really… could this whole –end of the world thing- have happened at a more crappy season? They were slowly strolling towards winter and if the temperatures was really low… so would their chances of survival be.

Alice and their little pet dog, the latter whom was fortunately being very silent today, were staring at one of them, whom was simply bumping into an old glass door without any signs of intelligence. Were they really that stupid if they didn't have a target? And where was the majority of them? Were they… led, somehow?

"Takashi?" Saya and Rei began. "Will we be moving though the alleyways or over the main streets?" They both asked, albeit in a slightly different way.

"Hmmm?" He rubbed some dirt from his face before sighing out loud and thinking of an answer. What would be the best choice? The alleyways, were it was probably more safe as it was, but they would have absolutely no escape if something went amiss. Or the main street, were they could maneuver freely yet were also bound to run into more of them.

It really was quite stressful for him to be making such rash, and important decisions. Worst of all was that everyone was staring at him. Everyone except the dog and the little girl that was.

"Look… I truly appreciate your trust in me… but I don't think this is a decision I am to make on my own? What do you think?" He whispered just loud enough for them to hear him.

The entire group looked a little confused, for nobody truly knew the correct answer. As they were thinking, they could constantly hear soft screams in the background. Some louder than others. And even though the sun was illuminating everything perfectly well, the atmosphere was way too tense. It stunk… it stunk badly. Rotting corpses, gasoline, wreckages. They all stunk.

Not even mentioning the smell of them… Were they rotting corpses? No… whatever they were, they weren't corpses. Nor were they really rotting. Nevertheless… something had changed in the last few days. They began to leave behind a smell… a scent. Was that –natural-? Normal? Whatever it was… it was demoralizing as hell, for now even the fresh air outside was ruined.

There was a moment of silence, before somebody suggested to walk via the streets. They knew they could fend off a few of them without too much difficulty, and to take a safer route with a small chance of imminent death? No… no they would not do that. And because of that it wasn't long before they found themselves walking over the streets again. They'd have about thirty minutes to go before they'd reach the neighborhood they were looking for.

The white stripes on the road were actually their only distraction at this point. They shared a few soft, and useless whispers but it never got their minds of the current task. They were still pretty much walking in the same formation, yet now it was obviously Takashi whom was leading the group. Every step the young leader took gave him both a spark of hope as well as sadness. Of course… his parents wouldn't be at his home, he wasn't hoping for that either. He was hoping for some hints… some clues as to where they had gone. It didn't really matter what, as long as it was something. Takashi knew all too well that he wasn't going to be entering his own house. It was the rule they had made for themselves… He didn't question his friends, not at all. Yet would they be able to find the clues his father or mother would have left him? Only he, and maybe Rei and Saya, knew how his old' folks would handle. He wondered though… if by some string of good luck his parents would still be there, what would they say?

Would they hug him? Kiss him? That sort of stuff would have normally annoyed him, he was after all a teenager whom was quite the scumbag. Yet now he wished for nothing more.

Or would they be mad at him? Mad for not coming to them immediately? Mad for bringing along all these people even?

And… this last thought wasn't that important, and it only bothered him for two minutes or so, yet it still bothered him. … Would they still think he was dating Rei? He hadn't had the chance to say them it was over. Not even when everything was fine and dandy had he summoned up the courage to tell them that it was over. Why? His parents were nice people and they would surely try and help him. Yet he didn't want to… didn't want to… what didn't he want to? He was just afraid of saying so. And now that he had found another girl… and quite a different one as well… in fact, the two were almost complete opposites, would they simply accept that? After all… they were extremely well befriended with the Miyamoto family.

Whatever they'd think though… they would first have to be at home for Takashi to find out actually.

Out of the sudden he felt a hand shaking him awake, and as he looked behind him, he saw that it was Saeko's hand. She and Kohta had basically bumped into him as the rest had moved on and were gathering at the entry way to his street.

He really did feel some butterflies whilst he saw her face he thought, but instead of speaking the girl simply nodded and gestured at him to walk towards the rest. She, like the rest, really didn't like being out here. Yet even with all their fear and anger… there was one thing that haunted all of their minds.

… where were the dead?

That was it for the first chapter. I might not even call this a chapter. Just an intro! This had nothing. No romance, no violence and barely an adventure. Yet I actually like it haha. Though it is kinda monotone, I still like it. ,

I don't expect this to draw much attention though… Hmmm, that is actually a fu… wowowom almost cursed there. That is actually a stupid thing to do of me. But this is what I wanted to write so I did it. Sorry new people! It'll get better in chapter 2 and further, Yamucha-san promises. As for the people whom have already read the first tale.

Thanks for all your support regarding the questions I asked. I got quite a lot of people whom were thinking along with me and it was great to see how supportive this cozy little HotD family is getting? Haha, nevermind that last part. UHm…

Yeah so, expect romance and violence in the next chapter.

Volume 2 will be about mental wars. It will play with relationships quite a bit. I don't mean love relationships though. That's a special part all together. I mean mental relationships. Friends, family, trust etc…

As for now, I'll be uploading this and going to bed. GOtta work tomorrow morning.

Yours sincerely,

Yamucha-san.

(PS: I've got some yoghurt with strawberry's whilst I'm checking this for grammar.)