WHO'S TO BLAME?

Disclaimer: I don't own High School of the Dead or any of its characters.

A/N: Manga based. I think this will be a short story, at least shorter than 'bitter sweet love'. This is a romance story - of Takashi and Saeko (my favorite pair!). Again, apologies if there are some grammatical errors and some OCs. But as much as possible, i'll try to avoid having both. ^^

Hope you enjoy the story.

Blame it to the weather

Takashi leaned back on the wall opposite the bathroom door, where she just disappeared into.

He closed his eyes and sighed for the nth time. He felt angry at himself for allowing her to fight off the zombies alone while he rushed into the house together with everyone else. It was true that it was she who insisted for him to go together with the group because he needed to guide them into the house and to make sure that it was safe from zombies. But still he could have had more guts and say no to her. But for some reason, if it was her request, he just can't say 'no'.

But anger was just one of the mixed emotions he was currently struggling with. The more dominant emotion now was embarrassment. He gazed at the closed door before him as he recalled the series of events that caused him enough humiliation for the rest of his life.

He involuntarily placed a hand on his front, thankful that it already calmed down. Only to immediately pull his hand away. He mentally kicked himself at his perversion.

...

...

It was the typhoon's fault.

They were on their way to the elementary school when strong winds and blasts of rain made it difficult for them to proceed. The raincoats and umbrellas they had on weren't enough to keep them dry. The rain hitting the cemented pavement muffled the sound of their footsteps and Zeke's barking. It also created a thick curtain, reducing their visibility to a bare minimum. After an hour of battling through the storm and quite a number of zombies, Saya suggested that they should take refuge for a moment, at least until the typhoon passes. Both he and Rei were against it, saying that the sooner they get to the elementary school, the better. But when Mrs. Miyamoto supported Saya's idea no one was able to argue back and they all ran to the nearest and safest looking house they could find.

The house was a 3-bedroom and 2-floor building. It was a typical house. They got through the back door, which was easily opened using the butt of Takashi's shotgun.

They checked the house for any zombies and were glad that there were none. And since they are all soaking wet, taking a bath and changing into dry clothes was their next priority.

Takashi was the one who checked the first floor and secured that all windows and doors are locked. After confirming with Kota, who was in charge of checking the second floor, that the house is clean, he walked back towards the back door where they came in. He wanted to go out there and help her but upon remembering her words…that she wanted to fight alone…he held back and chose to lean against the kitchen counter and wait for her.

"You should at least change into dry clothes Takashi" Rei whispered.

Takashi nodded yes, but never moved nor took his eyes away from the door. The rain continued to violently pour outside and the sound was pounding loudly against his ears.

"Takashi…" Rei called again and tugged on his right sleeve.

"Takashi-kun, you should take a bath and change first. We don't want our leader getting sick now, do we?" Mrs. Miyamoto said and gently pulled his arm towards the second floor bathroom.

Yes. It was Mrs. Miyamoto's fault.

He sighed and scratched the back of his head. Why did he let himself be dragged upstairs in the first place?

He was not himself so he didn't realize that was dragged all the way upstairs. He blinked hard quite a few times before realizing that he was standing in front of the bathroom door.

"There you go Takashi-kun" Mrs. Miyamoto said and handed him a towel before turning to leave.

"We will wait for her in your place. You should hurry up so that you'll be fresh when she arrives" she added with a wink as she stepped down the stair case.

Takashi turned to see her retreating back before allowing a small smile to graze his face and whispering an inaudible thanks.

He did as he was told. He took off his clothes, turned the shower on and started cleaning himself up. He noticed that he had a few cuts on the face and on the arms, probably scratches from their recent fight.

After showering, he dried himself with the towel. He then realized that he hasn't got any clothes. He looked around him and on the floor to see if there were clothes or at least an underwear that was inserted in the folded towel that Mrs. Miyamoto handed him. But there were none. He then realized that he needed to go to one of the rooms to 'borrow' some clothes.

He then heard a distant sound from the first floor – the sound of the rain echoed through the house, followed by the howling of the wind as it entered the kitchen and then the shutting of a door.

She finally arrived.

..

..

The sound of the running water stopped. Seems like she's done taking a bath.

Takashi stood up straight, then leaned back against the wall, then stood up straight again. He was unsure of what to do or say to her once she steps out. He breathed deeply and attempted to calm himself. He was preparing a speech in his head and anticipating the probable questions she might ask…or at least that's what he wanted to do.

He was finding it difficult to stop blushing at the mere thought of his blunder. Forget forming a decent apology, he must first compose himself so that he doesn't look like an idiot when he faces her.

He turned his gaze at his dripping white bath towel that was hanging by the bedroom window to dry. He looked at it with spite, "it's your fault".

Takashi hurriedly wrapped the towel around his waist to cover himself and stepped to leave the bathroom. His mind was in such disarray that he slipped, forgetting that his wet clothes still littered the floor. He used his arms instinctively to hold onto the door and not fall flat onto the bathroom tiles. But it caused the towel to slip off his waist.

Again, he scrambled to his feet, kicking the wet garments to the side. He wrapped the towel around his waist once more and rushed outside.

He was in such a hurry that he didn't notice that something or someone was there by the door. He crashed onto it. But instead of falling face forward, he felt something painful on his left shoulder and his gut and staggered to fall backwards.

"Takashi?"

He struggled to open his eyes, momentarily forgetting the pain his body felt and feeling around his waist to check if the towel still covered the lower part of his body. Luckily, it was still in place.

"Takashi!"

His vision was still hazy as he sat up. He rubbed his eyes to clear his vision and soon enough he was able to see what's in front of him.

"Whaaaaa" a scream escaped his lips as he scrambled back away in fear.

..

..

"I really shouldn't have shouted like a girl" Takashi told himself.

But thinking back, it was really impossible…

When his vision cleared, he was expecting to see the second floor hallway. But the view was blocked by a bloody face with a pair of startling blue eyes. That's when he screamed.

It took a few more seconds before his brain realized what happened. He was hit with the hilt of a sword on the shoulder and a fist on the gut. Surely, the other person was just as surprised as he is that she ended up almost knocking him unconscious.

"Some reflex reaction she has" he thought.

But even after realizing what was really in front of him, his madly beating heart didn't calm down. The surprise of bumping into that person was replaced by an unfamiliar sensation that just made him much much more nervous.

Her face so close to his' that their noses almost touch. His eyes travelled down onto her full red lips, making him lick his lips involuntarily, before his gaze continue down her chest which showed a good view of her cleavage.

He found it hard to breath for a moment. Before she thankfully stood up straight.

"Are you okay Takashi?" she asked.

He attempted to say yes, but when he was figured out he wasn't capable of speech, he just nodded.

Her standing posture made it easier for him to have a full view of her. Her clothes were covered and blood and torn in the perfect places, revealing the side of her breast, her navel and the part of her black thong. And since he was sitting on the floor, he can clearly see the underside of her underwear. Thoughts of her wearing nothing but an apron and a thong flooded his mind.

Takashi swallowed hard to push back the lump in his throat. He shook his head violently to drive the crazy thoughts away. It helped him clear his mind and made him finally realize that there were not only one, but seven sets of eyes on him.

He gasped in surprise.

He crawled back a few more paces…away from her…away from everyone else. But it proved to be a bad move because then, they had a clear view of his fully erect front. The white towel around his waist wasn't enough to hide the bulge.

His 'excited state' was one thing to be embarrassed about, but what was even more embarrassing was that it wasn't him who noticed it first. It was her.

"Takashi…your…your…" her eyes widened in what seem to be a look of horror as she stretched her arms and pointed her index finger on Takashi's middle.

He followed where she was pointing at and saw that he was really standing up. He hurriedly looked around for an exit and saw the open bathroom door beside her.

He clutched his middle and scrambled up to his feet. While crouching, he rushed to the bathroom. His movements made the towel on his waist loosen so before he reached the bathroom door, the towel fell to the floor.

Her eyes got impossibly larger as a fully naked Takashi stood before her. Takashi saw the terrifying look she was giving him…though her eyes were directed to his middle.

He blushed. To be more specific, his whole body turned red. He hesitated between picking up the fallen towel or rushing inside the bathroom.

Again, he made the wrong decision by choosing to pick up the towel. With all the chaos and with his clumsiness, he hadn't noticed the pool of water by the bathroom door and for the second time that day slipped forward, falling on top of her.

She fell backward with a thud. And when everything was over, he found himself straddling her, both of his hands and legs where on either side of her. And his fully exposed and hard middle was pushing against hers'.

She blushed profusely.

Rei shouted and covered her eyes.

Mrs. Miyamoto sighed.

Kota covered Alice's eyes.

Zeke barked.

Shizuka-sensei smiled.

Saya stomped her feet in annoyance. "Takashi you pervert!" she exclaimed.

Everyone's stares made him want to dig a hole and hide for the rest of eternity. Forget about explaining, he just wanted to escape the embarrassing situation.

He hurriedly pick up the towel, cover his front and ran to the bathroom. And as he was about to close the door, the terrified look on her face caught his eyes. For a second he looked at her...looked at Saeko-san...held her gaze. He slightly bowed his head and mouthed an apology, wishing she understood... He then shut the door.

A/N: Expression of gratitude for my previous story...Thanks for those all the comments for 'Bitter Sweet Love' especially to strike master ice and otaku-SIG. To Mr. Chupid, i will think about your suggestion.

The story is based on the manga. For those who haven't read the manga yet, here are some info (spolers): the gang went the police station to look for Rei's father but it was already empty when they arrive there. They found out that the emergency evacuation location is the elementary school where Takashi's mother works. So they all plan to go there after going back to their neighborhood to save Rei's mom. They did find Mrs. Miyamoto and she joins the group.