Bloodlust

I do not own Mirai Nikki.

It wasn't the first time he saw a pretty girl, but it was the first time he saw one wielding a chainsaw and carving gashes into the undead with a manic grin on her face.

Amano Yukiteru has been a hikikomori (shut-in) for most of his life. The only time he'd go to school is to do tests he'd do remarkably well in. Ever since his father abandoned a confused Yuki and an unconscious wife on the kitchen floor, he became a misanthrope; someone who loathes human contact. The funny thing is, being a shut-in was what saved his life in the first place. Eating instant ramen, canned curry and his pet cat Neko, Yuki actually enjoyed the end of the world. That it, until the power ran out. That sucked big time.

He was standing on a balcony of his apartment building, enjoying the silent view. The bustling city of Tokyo has been slowly falling into disrepair over the first few months of the Zombie Apocalypse. Millions of cars lay stranded on the streets, some of its undead occupants trapped inside, lacking the sense needed to unbuckle a seatbelt. Most zombies merely stood around, silent and staring blankly at their surroundings.

The difference between the shuffling undead as presented by bad movie productions and B-list actors is that the virus is airborne. It doesn't matter if you're a businessman or a housewife, a kindergartner or soldier. Within three days of inhaling the virus, you'd be a shambling piece of dead flesh. Yuki had researched the outbreak through the internet. The airborne virus, dubbed Shade by the WHO, will metamorphose 96% percent of the global population. Yuki was one of the lucky - or unlucky, depending on the perspective - few whose blood type was AB. For some reason, the virus couldn't infect those of his blood type. Most healthcare organizations were concentrating their resources on finding a cure, but they didn't have enough time. Five billion converted in the first week. The last thing Yuki heard on the news before the power ran out was that the Americans and Russians were nuking their major cities, trying to stem the wave of undead.

A choked scream stopped Yuki's train of thought and he resumed his observation of the crazy girl butchering zombies on the streets beneath his apartment building. Biting into a stale cupcake, he winced when the girl severed a corpse in looks around his age, fourteen. She had bright pink hair and.. pink eyes? Contacts, maybe? Either way, she looked out of place, a supermodel schoolgirl slaughtering the living dead in droves. It took her a few more moments to finish off the last of the zombies on his streets. She dropped her chainsaw on the ground and leaned on a car to rest, nonchalantly stabbing its driver with what a large machete.

Distracted, Yuki dropped his cupcake. He reached for it, and missed. The culinary dessert fell on top of the girl's head. They both froze. She glanced upwards and glimpsed Yuki fleeing from the balcony, slamming the door closed and breathing heavily.

Idiot! he thought to himself. Alright. Calm down. You've barricaded the front door and there's no way she could-

BANG! BANG! Yuki flinched at the sound of his door being pounded.

"Hello?" the girl shouted. Her voice was sweet as poison, ringing loud and clear. She kept banging on the door. Yuki suppressed an urge to yell out of frustration. She's bringing every zombie in the building towards him.

"Stop it!" he yelled.

"So you are here! Open up!" she said. Her voice was cheerful and feminine, belying the killing spree she committed a few moments ago. "It's okay, I won't hurt you!"

Yuki is far from stupid. He remained silent, hoping the girl would go away.

"I can blow up the door with a grenade, you know."

WHAT!?

"You're lying! Go away!" Yuki yelled.

He heard a clink on the other side of the door.

"No! Stop!" he shouted. "Don't do it! I'll open it!"

Toppling the refrigerator he used to block the door, Yuki unlocked the entrance to his apartment. He had a few seconds to see that all the girl had was an empty beer bottle with which to imitate the clink of a grenade before she tackled him in a ferocious hug.

"Hi! What's your name?" she asked cheerfully. There were specks of red on her face and her clothing is slick with blood. An assortment of weapons hung from her waist, ranging from redstained machetes to kitchen knives and a dented baseball bat.

"Y-Yuki." he stuttered in fear.

"I'm Yuno!" she declared, extending a hand towards the shut-in boy. "You're cute!"

"Huh?"

"Why are you in here by yourself? It's so boring inside these days." the pink haired girl perked up. "I know! We could go shopping! We don't need to pay now, right?"

"NO!" Yuki shouted at her face. She cringed. He instantly regretted his outburst. "I mean.. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell like that. But it's safe inside."

"It's safer with me.." Yuno whispered seductively, tracing fingers on his chest. Yuki blushed furiously, and she laughed. It left Yuki stunned. He hasn't heard a human talk, much less laugh, for five months.

"Come!" she said, dragging him out of the door. Yuki yelped and tried to pry her hand off his, but the girl was surprisingly strong. She sighed and smiled at him. "Don't worry, I'll take care of you!"

"Where are you taking me?"

"To my house! You can meet my parents if you want!"

Yuki exhaled in relief and ceased struggling. Adults. They should

"Okay, just.. try to be careful, yeah?"

"Sure!" she said. Her eyes glanced at something behind him and narrowed. "Just a moment."

A small horde of the living dead had converged on the hallway, attracted to Yuno's loud banging. Yuki shrieked in terror and tried to run back into his apartment, but Yuno's grip on his arm tightened.

"What are you doing!? Let me go!" Yuki screeched.

"Just give me two minutes, okay?" she said.

Drawing a pair of knives from her belt, Yuno started working on the undead, wordlessly decapitating them. She skewered one in the eye and stabbed another in the throat, earning a dry gasp from the corpse. Yuki froze in terror as she laughed mutilated the zombies, turning them to mangled pieces of rotting meat. He snapped out of his reverie when she finished off them off, face covered in blood and grinning at the slumping bodies.

"Okay, I'm done-" Yuno frowned. The boy wasn't there anymore.

Yuki ran down the emergency stairwell, stopping once to heave his meagre breakfast in a trashcan. He burst out of the emergency doors, slammed it close and dashed into the open world beyond. Yuki flinched at the dizzying array of experiences his sense were presenting to him - he always hated leaving the building.

He looked behind him. The stairwell door was closed. Yuki sighed.

"What are you doing?" a voice said.

Shocked, Yuki stumbled backwards, raising a hand over his face, expecting the mad girl to slash at him at any moment. He whimpered pathetically.

"I'm sorry! I had to go! Please don't hurt me!"

Soft, firm hands clasped his own. Yuki looked up.

"Don't worry, Yuki." Yuno smiled sickly. Yuki can see a hint of madness in her eyes. The bright pink orbs gazed at him with obsession and insanity. She caressed his face, brushing aside a stray piece of hair. Yuki shuddered. "I'll take care of you.."

"You're mine now."

a study in pink

Chapter One End