People have been asking me to write a multi-chapter Rei/Saeko story so... here it is! I've actually been really psyched about writing this, so I hope you enjoy reading it! I'm writing the story based off of the manga, by the way, not the anime. And the first chapter isn't too exciting... Hopefully it'll pick up in the second.
For those of you reading my other story, Our Fake Relationship, don't worry, I'm still working on the next chapter along with this one. It's just giving me some problems though.
Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own Highschool of the Dead or it's characters.
Highschool of the Dead:Yuri Edition- ACT 1. Spring of the Dead
Rei's P.O.V.
On the day everything ended, I went to class as usual. I sat at my desk as my teacher lectured about god knows what while I doodled on the corner of my paper. I tilted my head as I peered down at my handiwork. My attempted drawing of a person looked like some malformed version of a human. I smiled in amusement.
It wasn't like me to be slacking off during class. I was usually the type to pay attention to the teacher, take my notes, do all my homework... the typical honor student. But today I just couldn't get into it. It was weird. I felt like something wasn't right and I couldn't figure out what it was.
But whatever I could've imagined would've never come even close to the truth.
I was startled out of my thoughts when the classroom door burst open. I spun my head along with everyone else and was surprised by who I saw. Takashi Komuro, my childhood friend despite the fact that we've had a bit of a falling out recently. He skips class often enough, but this was the first time he's ever shown up in the middle of it.
"Komuro!" The teacher reprimanded as murmurs rippled through the room, "It's not enough that you skip my class, but then you interrupt my lesson-"
Takashi ignored him completely and strode quickly across the room. My mouth dropped open when he stopped in front of me. "Come with me." He said, "We're getting out of here."
I stared at him incredulously. I wondered if this was some joke, but Takashi wouldn't do something like that and there wasn't a hint of amusement on his face. In fact, he looked paler than usual.
Before waiting for a reply, he grabbed my arm and tugged me from my seat. "What on earth!?" I snapped at him, trying to yank my arm free, "I'm in the middle of class-"
"It doesn't matter. Come!" He pulled on my arm again.
Saya Takagi, the smartest girl in our class and self proclaimed genius chose that moment to leap out of her seat. "What are you doing, Komuro!?" She yelled.
The other person who rose from their seat just as quickly was Hisashi Igou, my boyfriend. As he dashed over to us, the chatter of the other students reached my ears.
"Ha ha ha!"
"What's he thinking?"
"Has he lost his mind?"
"Is this his idea of asking her out?"
"So bossy..."
Hisashi reached us then and grabbed Takashi's arm. "Takashi." He said through gritted teeth, "What are you doing to Rei!?"
I didn't hear what Takashi said next because he leaned closer to my boyfriend and whispered something. Whatever it was made Hisashi stiffen.
"... For real?" I heard him ask as Takagi-san shouted again, "Hey! Listen to me, Komuro!"
"What would I get out of lying about that?" Takashi countered.
I didn't know what was going on and a part of me was getting nervous at Takashi's abrupt manner. I slapped his hand away and exclaimed, "Just wait! Until you give me a good reason..."
Before I knew what happened, Takashi's hand swiped through the air and smacked me right in the face. I was so shocked, all I could do was stare at him with wide eyes as I lifted my hand to my stinging cheek.
"Just listen to me!" He said angrily.
Hisashi's surprise at me getting hit wore off to be replaced with a grim expression. "Sensei, if you'll excuse us." He said before adding, "Rei, let's go." He took Takashi and I by the shoulders and led us to the door.
"Hey!" The teacher shouted after us, "Not you too, Igou-"
The last thing I saw before leaving the classroom was Saya Takagi's outraged face. When we reached the hallway, Takashi and Hisashi began running down the corridor and I was quick to follow. I had no idea where we were going, what was going on, or frankly anything at all.
As if sensing my confusion, Takashi began to speak without slowing his pace. "... Something messed up went down at the front gate. If you value your life, you'll escape."
"At the gate?" I said with some annoyance, "... That's it?"
"Somebody was at the gate." He continued, casting me a backwards glance, "Some P.E. Teachers went to check it out. Something went wrong, and now... the teachers are killing each other."
"What?" I said, my feet almost stopping there. Did he honestly expect me to believe that ridiculous story? "There's no way that would ever-"
"Fine, then go ahead and die."
That stunned me into silence. Did Takashi and I grow so far apart that he would let me die? … Assuming, of course, that the teachers really were going on a killing rampage.
"Wait." Hisashi said from behind us. Takashi and I turned around to see that he had stopped beside the janitor's closet. He opened it and began rummaging through it.
"What? You forget something?" Takashi asked him with a puzzled expression.
"If what you say is true, we'll need these." My boyfriend replied, stepping on the end of a broom to make the bristled part pop off. He handed the pole to me and I took it with a frown. He then handed Takashi a metal bat from a bag nearby.
"What about you?" Takashi questioned when he saw that Hisashi wasn't fetching himself a makeshift weapon.
"I've got a belt in karate. It'll do. Either way, let's get out of the school. I want to check on my family."
"First, we call the police!" I voiced, and both boys looked at me, "My dad's an inspector, so he'd come right away..."
They stared at me for a few moments longer before Takashi reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone. "Give him a call." He said as he offered it to me.
As I dialed and held it to my ear, I had no doubt in my mind that my dad would rush over as soon as I explained to him what was going on. I wasn't as skeptic of Takashi's story anymore; after all, Hisashi seemed to believe him.
When the line clicked, I perked up and opened my mouth to speak, but I was cut off by a recording. As I listened, a sinking feeling made it's way to the pit of my stomach. "No way..." I choked out.
"What is it?" Hisashi asked.
I paused and listened again, hoping that I had somehow misheard.
"... I repeat. This is a recording. We're experiencing an unusually high volume of 9-1-1 calls and all operators are currently busy. Please wait on the line or try calling again later. I repeat. This is a recording..."
My hand trembled as I lowered the phone from my ear. "It said they're getting too many 9-1-1 calls..." I said shakily, "That's..." It can't be. That never happens. There must be a mistake...
Just then, the school's loud speaker clicked and a voice issued from it. "Attention all students and staff! Attention all students and staff! A violent outbreak has taken place on school grounds! All students are instructed to follow staff to safety at once!"
I heard confusion coming from the nearby classrooms.
"Took them long enough." Takashi muttered.
The person on the loud speaker began speaking again hurriedly. "I repeat. A violent outbreak has taken place on-" The speaker buzzed and then made a high pitched screech.
My eyes widened as Takashi said quietly, "Don't tell me."
There was a clatter followed by a thud, and then...
"GYAAAAAAAAH!"
I jolted, my heart in my throat and my hands clutching the broom handle so tightly my knuckles were white.
"AH! SAVE ME! PLEASE STOP! EEEEE!" The person screamed, his shrieks echoing across the school for everyone to hear, "SAVE ME! EE! Owowowowow! SAVE ME! I'M GONNA DIE!" And then the loudest one yet, "GWAAAAAH!"
The loud speaker went silent, as did the whole school. My stomach plummeted and I felt fear consuming me.
And then there was chaos.
Students rushed out of the classrooms, bent on escaping something they didn't understand. They jammed the doorways, pushing and shoving each other out of their way, trying to climb over one another to reach the exit. People fell down stairs and got trampled, left behind to face some nameless terror. It made my stomach sick.
I caught sight of Takashi and Hisashi giving each other a serious nod before they both took off down the hallway- in the opposite direction from everyone else.
"Huh!? Aren't we going outside!?" I called after them, giving chase so I wouldn't be left behind.
"The classroom wing's overrun with people!" Hisashi explained loudly as we kept moving, "We'll escape through the offices!"
As soon as he finished saying that, we saw a figure appear in front of us at the end of the hall.
It took me a moment to recognize him. "Is that the grammar teacher, Wakisaka?" I asked aloud.
"He'd better not be trying to stop us..." Takashi said, but then he stiffened. "Keep away from him!" He shouted.
I was going to ask what was wrong, but then I saw it for myself. Blood trailed down from a missing chunk in his leg, staining his pants and the floor a dark crimson. His eyes had rolled to the back of his head, leaving only the whites visible, and his skin was a horrible shade of grey, as if he was dead. His mouth gaped open, a ghastly groaning reaching my ears and chilling me.
Wakisaka dragged himself towards me, reaching out and moaning inhumanly.
I suppressed the urge to run and swung the broom handle forward, hoping it would intimidate him and stop his approach. "Ugh! Don't come near me!"
Takashi ran beside him but at a safe distance, trying to get his attention. "Hey! Wakisaka! I'm here! Over here!"
Wakisaka ignored both him and my attempts to ward him off. Our distance was closing, and I glared at him as I decided to act.
"Don't mess..." I readied myself and then lunged forward, "... With the spear club!" The nail that stuck out at the end of my pole embedded itself into Wakisaka's chest, knocking him off balance.
He paused for only a second before turning his body abruptly. I had a firm grip on the handle, so when the pole swung sideways, I went with it. I gave a shout of surprise and then grunted in pain when I landed on the ground with my back against the wall. "I... I stabbed him right in the heart!" I cried fearfully as the teacher reached for me, his mouth open wide with hunger and the pole still protruding from him, "H-How can he move!?"
Hisashi jumped forward, wrapping his arms around Wakisaka's chest and arms to restrain him. "Rei! Now's your chance to pull it out!"
I hastily got to my feet and did as he said, yanking my weapon out of the man's chest as I shouted Hisashi's name with worry and fear.
"Hisashi, get away, fast!" Takashi yelled, "Wakisaka isn't normal!"
"Don't worry. I can flip this guy easy..." Hisashi replied with a smile, but it fell when Wakisaka began turning in his grip. He grabbed the top of the teacher's head to try to stop him from moving, and the strain was making him shake. "Wha!?" He gasped, "How is he... so powerful!?"
And then Wakisaka's jaws came down- and he buried his teeth in Hisashi's arm.
Hisashi yelled in pain as Takashi and I came forward to his aid.
"Get away from Hisashi!" Takashi growled as he swung the bat, making contact with Wakisaka's shoulder.
"Hisashi!" I cried out as I dug the end of my makeshift spear in the man's side.
Hisashi was attempting to pry his head off of his arm, but no matter what we did, Wakisaka wouldn't release him.
"Why...?" I shrieked, fear coiling inside my stomach as I watched Hisashi's face screw up in agony. "He... Why won't he let go!?"
"I knew it..." I heard Takashi say and I turned to him.
"What are you saying...?"
"He's dead..." He said, and my insides lurched, "He's dead, but still moving! There's no way he could move after getting stabbed in the heart... And there should be blood everywhere, but..."
"GWAAAH!" Hisashi screamed as Wakisaka bit down harder, his blood spraying the floor.
"Hisashi!" I ran up to him and tried pulling Wakisaka off, but he wouldn't budge. I glared at Takashi. "Okay, then what are we supposed to do!?" I screeched, "You're a man! Do something... Do something!" I knew I was being unfair, placing this pressure on him, but I couldn't lose Hisashi. I couldn't.
Takashi gritted his teeth, raised the bat above him, and brought it down with all his strength. With a resounding crack, it landed on Wakisaka's head and the corpse fell to the ground with a thud, splashing blood near our feet.
I ignored the curdling in my stomach at the sight of all the blood and dropped to Hisashi's side where he had fallen. "Hisashi! Are you okay!?"
"He just tore the skin a little." He answered, giving me a weary smile. I didn't believe him; that had been more than 'a little', and it was obvious the wound was taking it's toll. He looked extremely pale. "It's no big deal. More urgently..." He turned and I followed his gaze.
More of those... things were making their way towards us, their hellish groaning filling the air. I blanched. We had barely survived an encounter with only one of those things. There was no way we'd make it out of fighting multiple.
"... With those things hanging around, we have to hurry up and get out of here." My boyfriend finished.
I looked around quickly as Hisashi stood up, and spotted a staircase leading down. "This way!" I said, pointing, "We can get down to the first floor this way! See? Down the stairs..."
"EEEEEEEEEEEEK!" Came a scream from below, startling me. "STOP! OWWW! DON'T BITE ME...! DON'T EAT ME! AH!"
The screaming continued and I raised a shaking hand to my mouth. I was so frightened my insides felt queasy.
Takashi's eyes were wide and he was even paler than before. "Nobody can stop them all." He said in a voice barely above a whisper.
"... Let's go out to the roof." Hisashi surmised, clutching the torn flesh on his arm tightly, "We'll hole up there until help comes."
Takashi and Hisashi dashed forward, and I followed them up a flight of stairs. "On the roof?" I called out to them, clutching the broom handle to my chest, "Where on earth...?"
"The Observatory!" My boyfriend told me.
As I ran, I couldn't help but feel doubtful. Even if we did hole ourselves up on the roof, would help even find us before those corpses did? Would help come at all? I mentally shook myself. I can't let feelings and thoughts like that take a hold of me. I grasped my weapon tighter, along with the small shred of hope remaining inside me, and climbed the rest of the steps as Takashi threw open the door to the roof.
What we saw dashed out whatever hope I had just gathered.
From the school's roof we were able to see the majority of Tokonosu. Pillars of black smoke rose from numerous buildings and streets, signaling fires and chaos.
"What the hell is going on...?" Takashi said aloud, his face showing the same shock and fear that I'm sure was present on mine too.
"... There's no way the police will answer a call." Hisashi stated through his teeth.
Suddenly, all the doubt, fear and helplessness I've been barely holding back flooded over me now, and I turned to the boys with tearful eyes. "What is this?" I demanded, my voice trembling, "What on earth is happening!? Come on, Hisashi, Takashi! Tell me!" I begged, "Just this morning... No, not even! Minutes ago, everything was normal-"
A steady, growing noise caught out attention, followed by a gust of wind.
"... A copter?" I wondered aloud, turning and peering up.
It turned out not to be one, but four helicopters, one of them so close I caught a glimpse of the soldiers inside. They stirred up such a wind that I covered my head with my hands and Hisashi wrapped his arms around me protectively. When they had passed, we stared after them.
"Black Hawks." Hisashi said after a moment, "The American forces... Ah! … No, it's the Self Defense Forces!"
"Where did they come from?" Takashi voiced, "There's no post nearby!"
Hope bubbled up in me once more and I ran forward, waving my arms at the slowly shrinking copters in an attempt to gain their attention. "Save us!" I shouted after them.
"It's no use." Hisashi told me.
"Why not!?"
"It's like Takashi says. When he asked where they came from. That's the thing. They're probably on a special duty. They don't have time to save us. Besides... Look." He pointed below at the school grounds where countless numbers of those monsters were cornering students and eating them alive. I shuddered. "They see that, but they're ignoring it." Hisashi continued, "Even outside, where you can run away, is a bloodbath. Right now, the school building is..." A scream bellowed from down the stairway we came up, as if to emphasize his point. After the pause, he resumed speaking, "It's like 'they' have some kind of illness..."
Takashi looked at him quizzically. "'They'...?"
"This isn't some movie or video game." Hisashi explained, "I can't bring myself to call them zombies. So I'm calling them 'they'. 'They' eat people, and then those who are eaten come alive again as 'them'. I don't know why, but... there's no way to defeat them besides busting in their heads..."
Another agonizing shriek issued from inside and I cowered, my hands flying to my ears in an attempt to block out the horrible sounds. Takashi went over to the door and closed it, then checked the lock.
"Shit, it's broken... They'll get in like this!" He turned to my boyfriend who's eyebrows were furrowed in thought. "Hisashi! What do we do!?"
"We get to the top of the Observatory..." He answered, "... And block the staircase."
Takashi and I shook our heads in understanding, me more hesitantly. Just as we all took a step towards the staircase, a horrid moaning came from the other side of the door. My stomach plummeted. It sounded close. Too close.
"We have to hurry!" Hisashi said, but as he made for the stairs, he doubled over in pain, holding his arm.
"Hisashi!" I cried out, going to his side and trying to help him stand straight.
"Don't worry about me!" He said in a strained voice, "Just go..."
Takashi came forward and took hold of Hisashi, supporting his weight. He looked at me. "Let's go." He stated, and began leading my boyfriend and I up the steps.
But before we had climbed many of them, the door creaked open behind us... and 'they' swarmed out.
A terrified whimper escaped my throat as Takashi cursed. He was still helping Hisashi up the steps, so he was in no state to fight. I took in a gasp of air and readied myself, preparing to cover the boys slow ascent.
We were nearly at the top when the first of the undead reached us. Though his face was covered in blood and his eyes were soullessly white, he looked a little familiar. Then I remembered; he was another second year student who was in the classroom next to mine. I didn't know his name, but I pitied him for the unfortunate tragedy that had befallen him.
But now wasn't the time for that. I lunged forward, the nail entering into his chest.
"Idiot!" Takashi yelled back at me from over his shoulder. He and Hisashi were steps away from the top.
"But...!" I started in a defensive tone, but then the zombie took a hold of the broom handle and used it to slam me into the wall. "Guh!" I gasped in pain, and then slid to the ground, my eyes screwed shut. When I opened them again, the monster was standing over me, blood dripping from his gaping maw. I screamed, "EEEEK! Stop! Just stop it!" as I raised my hands between me and the fiend.
"Rei!" I heard Hisashi yell, and he bounded down the stairs after taking Takashi's bat from him and used it to smash the corpse's head against the wall beside me. I turned my tearfully grateful gaze to him as he said, "You see that? When you kill them, smashing the head's the only way. Are you okay?"
As I nodded, Takashi rushed up beside me and kicked an approaching zombie down the stairs. "Rei! Hisashi! Hurry! This way!" He led us up the rest of the way, Hisashi's arm slung around my shoulders. At the top, we were able to see even more of the destruction and chaos around the grounds.
"Shit..." Takashi ground his teeth, "What the hell is this!?"
"Come on." Hisashi said to him, "We have to find something to block the stairs." He then turned to me. "Rei, hold them back until we find something suitable."
I gave a quick nod and the boys disappeared inside the Observatory. I glanced down at 'them' who were slowly coming up the steps. Most were at the bottom and only one was dangerously close. There were a few a couple steps below the nearest, but I hoped the boys would find something before they reached me.
I swung the pole, keeping in mind what Hisashi had told me, and buried the nail in the monsters head. The force pushed him back and he fell down the staircase, colliding with the other corpses.
"Rei!" I turned and saw Takashi and Hisashi lug over a long table, and when I moved out of their way, they placed it down at the top of the stairway. "There's another table inside." Hisashi told me, "And some desks and chairs. Hold tight for a little longer while we get those."
They went back inside and fortunately none of 'them' made it to the top before they returned. They finished setting the barricade up as some of the zombies reached us, and Takashi leaped forward to stop the tables from toppling over as 'they' banged on them.
"This isn't going to hold up!" He shouted, straining his back against the bottom of the tables.
"Keep bracing it like that." Hisashi ordered him, and he pulled out a roll of tape.
"Scotch tape!?" Takashi said incredulously as my boyfriend wrapped it around our blockade, "Is that going to do any good!?"
"Scotch tape has a pretty high tension threshold." Hisashi explained as he finished up, "We learned that in class."
I felt like I wasn't doing anything helpful just standing there, so I said, "I'm going to take a look inside and see if I can find anything useful."
They looked at me and Hisashi nodded. "Good idea."
So I left them and went into the Observatory. The room was in slight disarray, probably from when the boys were struggling to get the tables and things out. There was a fire hose cabinet on the wall by the doorway and a few other cabinets hung over a counter with a sink. Two doors led to bathrooms while another was a closet, the door ajar.
I approached the cabinets and opened one. Inside were water bottles. I took a couple of them and noticed a piece of paper taped to the inside of the cabinet door. It read, 'For Astronomy club field trip purposes.'
I went to the cabinet beside it and found bags of snacks. This was certainly useful. Though, after all the horrible things I witnessed, I wasn't remotely hungry.
Next, I glanced down at the sink. I was slightly curious as to whether the water her worked or not, so I experimentally turned the faucet. To my relief, water came out. After shutting it back off, I went to the closet. There were a couple of rolled up sleeping bags on the floor, and some minor supplies filled the shelves. I assumed that this was where Hisashi had gotten his roll of tape.
There was nothing else here, so I made my way back outside and found Hisashi leaning against the railing and Takashi standing near him, holding the metal bat tightly. "Hisashi. Takashi." I said to get their attention, "I found drinks and snacks in the Astronomy club's field trip stock." I handed a water bottle to Takashi first and then the other to my boyfriend. "There are also sleeping bags. Looks like we can last two or three days here."
"How about water?" Takashi asked.
"There's a sink and toilets too!"
He let out a sigh and drank from his water as Hisashi stared down at the bottle in his hand. "Rei. Could you get the water to run?" He questioned.
I blinked at him. "Yeah, but... Why?"
"With the state things are in, there's no telling when the power will shut down. Without power, the pumps at the water purification plant won't work. And the water will stop."
"But the school has a private electric generator in case of emergencies!"
"... Who's going to turn it on?"
Hisashi's point made me shudder and Takashi choked on his drink.
"Then again," He continued, opening his bottle and taking a sip, "Help will come before it comes to that."
"Don't scare us like that..." Takashi said once his coughing subsided, "But if we could at least get to the dorms or cafeteria, we'd be a lot better off."
Takashi was right, but the thought of having to fight through hordes of 'them' just to reach those places made my skin crawl.
Takashi turned when he noticed one of 'them' over the railing and raised his bottle to throw it at her. "You damn..."
"Takashi!" Hisashi said hastily, "Don't throw that!"
Takashi frowned. "Why not?"
"We'll fill it with water while we still can."
The light bulb went off in my head and I gasped. "I get it! They say you can survive for a week on water alone..."
Hisashi smiled at me and handed me his water bottle to drink from. "Exactly. Takashi!" He added, turning to his best friend, "You're the only one with a cell phone. Try calling again."
Takashi nodded. "Yeah." He pulled out his phone and, after dialing, brought it to his ear. I became hopeful when he said, "Uh, hello? Police?" But then he stopped and frowned. He pressed the end button and grumbled, "Same thing." Meaning the recording.
"No surprise there."
Takashi and I gave Hisashi confused looks. "Do you know something we don't?" My friend asked him.
Hisashi pointed over his shoulder at the smoking city. "The whole town is probably like this."
"Why?" I asked desperately, holding onto him, "Why's this happening...?"
Takashi gritted his teeth and slammed the bat into the railing, causing a great clang that made me jump. "Damn it!" He yelled out in frustration, "Two hours... Just two hours ago, everything was fine! How did it turn into this!? This isn't some movie or video game! I don't get it!" He gripped the railing until his knuckles turned white. "The ones who died come back to life and attack people who die and come back... It's crazy! They're like zomb-"
A loud noise cut him off and we saw someone enter onto the roof.
"That is..." It took me a second to discern who it was. "... Takayama from P.E..."
The teacher ran to the edge of the roof and backed himself up against the tall railing as 'they' surrounded him. "Not here too..." We heard him say to himself, "Ha-ha-ha! This can't be happening. A dream. That's right... This is a dream. A bad dream!" My eyes widened at how crazy he sounded. "I've got to wake up..." Takayama turned and began climbing the railing. "Gotta wake up and go to school. I have to give it to the new team members today..."
I realized what he was planning to do and urged myself to scream out and stop him, but the overwhelming fear lodged my voice in my throat. I could only watch in horror as he reached the top of the railing and, with one last, "This is a dream...", fell over the side and was lost from view.
There was no way he could survive a fall like that. I swayed and my legs threatened to give out as I imagined his head smashing the concrete below. "I... I can't take it." I choked out, backing away from the railing. I felt my mind, my sanity, slipping from my grasp. Was this how things were going to turn out? If we managed to avoid becoming one of 'them', was our only other alternative losing our minds?
"Rei!" Hisashi came forward and wrapped me in his embrace as I began to cry.
"Why!?" I screamed, and his arms tightened around me as Takashi stared on with a grim expression. "Why!? I don't understand! I don't understand it at all! Why... Why!?"
Hisashi struggled to find the right words. "There must be... some cause."
"I know, but what good does knowing that do us!?" I demanded.
"If we know the cause, we can find and answer."
As he hugged me closer and my hysterics died down, I wondered if that was really true. But... Hisashi was always right. I want to believe, just as he does, that we can resolve this and that everything will go back to normal. But... I couldn't bring myself to hope. I had a very strong feeling that the world we once knew was gone.
Hisashi sat down against the railing and I knelt beside him. I noticed for the first time how pale he was. His skin was beginning to take on a greyish tinge. It made me worry, but there was no way he would turn into one of 'them'...
"See if there are any lighters or matches in the Observatory." He said to me, "We have to get a fire started while we still can. At night, their movements..." He was suddenly overcome by a fit of coughing and blood splashed onto his hand.
"Hisashi! What is it!?" I cried out before spinning my head, "Takashi! Takashi! It's Hisashi!"
"Why!?" My childhood friend shouted, turning paler, "You just got a little bite! Why are you falling apart...?"
Hisashi grimaced at the blood he had hacked up. "... It's just like in the movies. One little bite and you're done for."
Realization hit me and I shook my head and grabbed my boyfriend's arm. "That's a lie!" I yelled, "This can't be like in the movies!"
"Everything else is like in the movies." He began coughing again, and it sounded worse and lasted longer. When he regained himself, he peered up at his best friend. "Takashi, give me a hand." He wheezed.
"... What can I do?"
"From over there, it's a straight shot to the ground..." Hisashi said, pointing at the railings to the left, "The impact from the fall should bust my head."
My stomach lurched violently and I felt like I was going to be sick. "What are you saying...?"
"I don't want to become one of 'them'!" He shouted as blood fell from his eyes like crimson tears, "Come on, Takashi." Hisashi urged, "I'm begging you... I want to be me up to the very end... Ugeh!" He suddenly doubled over clutching his stomach, blood splattering the ground.
"Hisashi!" I screamed, grabbing hold of him, "HISASHI! NOOOO! YOU CAN'T DIE!"
He reeled, blood flying into the air, and landed on his back on the ground. I felt myself shatter when I saw he wasn't moving.
"NO! NOOOO!" I leaned over his chest, hysterically sobbing. The thing that I feared would come about happened... Hisashi was gone. I had lost him...
Takashi had been silent for a few seconds, but then he spoke. "Step away, Rei."
I turned my tear stained face and saw him tighten his grip on his bat with an unreadable expression. I gasped and quickly got to my feet. "NO!" I shouted in his face, roughly grabbing the front of his uniform, "YOU CAN'T DO THAT! HISASHI'S SPECIAL! HE WON'T CHANGE!" I was only vaguely aware of how crazy I sounded, so caught up in denial as I was, "Hisashi's not going to become one of 'them'!"
"... Let me go." Takashi said in a dangerously low voice.
I saw Hisashi's hand twitch from the corner of my eye. "Hisashi!" I cried, hurrying over to his side. I looked back with triumph, "See, Takashi! Hisashi can't die!"
Hisashi began to rise and blood spattered on my legs.
"Hisashi?" I said fearfully, my voice shaking. I stared up into the face I once knew, now covered in blood and only the whites of his eyes showing. That terrible moaning fell from his lips and I knew, no matter how much I denied it... it wouldn't change reality. "Hisa..."
Takashi grabbed the back of my shirt and yanked me away as Hisashi's corpse dragged itself forward.
"It can't..." I sobbed as Takashi stood in front of my protectively. "It's a lie. A lie..."
"Trust me. It's ludicrous..." My childhood friend spoke back to me and I couldn't see his face, "... But..." He raised the bat high above his head as Hisashi's mouth opened in an endless groan, "... IT'S THE TRUTH!" He yelled as he brought it down on Hisashi's head.
"NOOOOOOOOO!" I shrieked. I couldn't believe what I just saw. It couldn't be true, it couldn't. Takashi wouldn't... Hisashi can't be... I glared at Takashi. "Why!? Why!?" I demanded shrilly.
"If I hadn't done it, you would've been eaten."
I heard the logic behind his words, but grief and denial shut it off from my mind and my next words tumbled out as I clenched my hands into fists, "I... I didn't want to be saved! I didn't want to see Hisashi like this! If I have to survive like this, I wish Hisashi had bitten me so I could be one of 'them' too!"
"... I don't think he would be happy with that."
I sneered. "What do you know, Takashi? That's right! I get it now!" I gritted my teeth. "Takashi, you... actually hated Hisashi! Because he was going out with me!" It was cruel of me to say something like that, but... I didn't really care. I knew he still had feelings for me from when we were younger and I took the chance in exploiting it.
Takashi's face became distant for a moment, and he then turned and began walking towards the blockade at the top of the staircase.
"Wait!" I called after him, waking from the abyss within myself, "Where are you going?"
"I'm just in your way, remember?" He said, casting me a backwards glance that sent chills up my spine, "I'm going down there to give 'them' a beating."
Did he realize how insane he sounded? There's no way he would survive against that many of 'them'... "Wha... What are you saying! You can't do anything on your own!"
My words went ignored as he climbed up a chair and then a desk.
"Come on." I whispered, trembling, "Takashi?" Was he seriously going to leave me here on my own? Stranded on a building full of the undead? Just the thought of it was too much to bear. But... Maybe I deserved it. I had said such horrible things to him... And he had saved my life.
He began climbing over the last obstacle, the long table, and I ran forward and screamed, "STOP! NO! DON'T! I'M SORRY! I'M SORRY!" Takashi looked down at me and I grabbed his leg, "I'M SORRY! I'M SORRY! I DIDN'T MEAN IT! I DIDN'T MEAN WHAT I SAID! PLEASE! PLEASE! STAY WITH ME!"
Then suddenly he jumped down and wrapped me in his arms. I was so glad he wasn't leaving me. If I had lost him along with Hisashi, I wouldn't have been able to go on. I hugged Takashi tightly and cried into his chest. I was so happy he wasn't leaving, and so grieved over Hisashi... but we were still trapped on the roof of a school overrun with 'them'. What on Earth were we supposed to do now...?
ACT 1. END
It's all about Rei this time, but Saeko will make an appearance next chapter. Yay!
Truth be told, when I first got into Highschool of the Dead, I couldn't stand Rei. And it was all because of this chapter. She was such a bitch to Takashi. But she's grown on me a little more, and I really do like her paired with Saeko, so... Yeah. Just throwing that out there... for no reason...
As always, please drop a review. They always make me so happy. :)