New Tokunosu Chronicle

by Helltanz98

Japan isn't suited to survive the zombie apocalypse, but not everyone in Tokunosu is prepared to give up. From high schoolers, to Yakuza, police, ultranationalist ... and a stranded American marine with a few too many guns. Tokunosu maybe under siege from the dead, and the city might be burning, but some people will find out how to survive in this new world.

1. Chapter 1

The New Normal

Version 2

Helltanz's notes:

Preface:

Alright this is draft two it still works off of the same premise as the original, which is abridged to below. Unlike the original version this is written in 3rd Person, and focuses through the perspective of various characters. Some are canon others are obviously not, and really this is a story of survival. In particular because of the 3rd person I can introduce the set up to the High School survivors much earlier.

For those curious the scenario referred to within it began by selecting two fire arms and choosing one of three vehicles (LAV, Humvee, Huey), which would be loaded with ammo for the chosen fire arms. Now the actual thinking portion of the debate was what to pack in 5 large duffle bags if you had an unlimitted budget. I do actually have an itemized list, which after lengthy peer review does have certain flaws.

Disclaimer: I do not own High School of the Dead. This is done solely for nonprofit purposes.

At present this fanfiction is not a crossover and nor do I own any of the franchises that it might be hypothetically crossed with down the road.

-scene break-

Chapter 1

If you were just looking at the weather it hardly looked like today would be the day everything normal came crashing to a halt... or go completely off the rails. Today didn't look like the sort of day that the world would choose to end on. The armored vehicle turning up in front of the school wasn't even the first sign that something had gone completely sideways... no that particular 'honor' fell to the zombie who first hobbled up to the school gate.

That first zombie at the gate was the last... but it was the herald of the end of the world as everyone, who happened to see it, as they knew it. The outbreak was happening world wide. In two hours Tokunosu like so many others would be overrun by the dead, but this story starts as that first zombie came up to the wrought iron gate of the school.

David was busy lamenting not taking the opportunity to enjoy himself more when he found himself out in front of Fujimi High in Tokonosu. Not that it did much good. All the gear he had up to and including the multi ton armored amphibious reconnaissance vehicle had all been a part of a purely hypothetical planning game. Talk it out and make fun of each other in turn. It hadn't meant to be real, but you shouldn't tempt the devil.

Still at least the weather wasn't bad though. Unfortunately for the moment clear weather, gear... and a sudden much better grasp on Japanese were all that he had going for him at the moment.

Fujimi High was a private, rather exclusive, university preparation high school whose parent company had been at one point owned by the Mitsubishi Zaibatsu... back in the day. It was prestigious to attend, and had a well respected staff. Amongst the staff was however a hot headed teacher named Teshima who'd come out to see about the stranger (the Zombie not the tank driving gaijin) at the gate. Teshima-sensei made the mistake of reaching through the gate to grab the zombie. He regretted that a minute later as he recoiled stumbling back after he was bit and he then he turned into one of them in a matter of minutes... and then he bit one of his colleagues... that would be how the zombies got into the school.

The minute he got bit though was when the screaming started. Four teachers had come up to the gate and two were turned flat out. First Teshima, and then the female teacher. It was their screaming though that caught David's attention from where he was parked just down the road from the entrance. IF those four teachers had waited a little longer, and looked around they probably would have seen the not precisely inconspicious ASLAV parked on the curb. Instead Teshima chose to confront the zombie.

David had been trying to get his bearing, and cutting the ID tags off the five large duffle bags, as he tried to figure out what to do. He shut the bag after confirming that within it was a well worn and familiar FAL para, and pulling out a series of bungee cords.

The whole thing, the ASLAV loaded full of ammo, and the conents of the of the bag jived with a stupid hypothetical scenario, but this wasn't Texas that was for sure. It kind of undercut the reasoning for the Ausie version of the LAV. Still of the options that had been available it was the best choice... even if the LAV-PC would have been better. Still thirteen odd tons of armor and guns loaded with ammo was nothing to complain about, being lost was. He didn't recognized anything... except that the Kanji implied he was somewhere in Japan... and well that was the other side of the world.

The screaming snapped him out of all of that, and got him to walk up the other wise empty mid morning street. As insane as it might of been, being stuck in Japan all of a sudden was rather in opportune. However being stuck in Japan with zombies was worse. That was what it had to be... the massive hamburger esque pattern on the chest, and the gash on the ambling dead man were pretty obviously from a, relative, low speed impact from a car, and the car's grill, but the empty eyes really gave it away. The walk didn't hurt though.

The blood though really cemented the decision to act though... but the screaming didn't hurt motivation to do something either. When Teshima had bit the lady teacher, Hayashi, the other two surviving teachers just freaked out all the more. One bolted immediately back for the school. By that point David had pulled the nine millimeter from its drop leg holster and squeezed. At condition zero it discharged sending a piece of spent brass rolling across the black top... and of course a bullet flying from the barrel. With the zombie on his side of the gate dealt with he turned it on the zombie who's name had been Teshima. The former physical education teacher groaned and slammed against the gate fruitlessly searching for the sound of the gunshot. The zombie that was Hayashi started to stumble towards the gate... she'd turned quickly as well.

Two more pieces of brass went rolling across the asphalt. Exhaling a breath he'd been holding he eyed the two corpses, which thankfully weren't moving. That was at least a good sign... not that they should have been moving before this at all. Without many options and clearly positioned where the school would be the best place to get answers he backed up, and hefted each duffle bag carefully aboard the ASLAV securing them in the empty bins. The only reason he was bothering with it was because he wasn't going to leave them, the supplies, behind if he could help it.

Fujimi high had on campus dorms, and several four story buildings including an observatory... the down side was the gate and walls didn't cover all sides. The parking lot was 'open', recognizing that and the fact that there were probably other zombies he lamented that what he was about to do was very likely stupid.

In the context of the scenario that had been discussed there had been a weapons selection element of it. Two guns, any two, regardless of how outlandish they were, with the vehicle filled with the ammo for them. So on top of David's list had had been the Mk14 EBR with a [Leupold] mark IV; and that was a rather pricy piece of glass. His second had been the reliably proven HK MP5K-PDW. It was the latter he picked up when he went to hop the wrought iron fence.

Of course by the time he'd hopped it and gotten to the door the screaming... well it pretty much told him that well... that there were going to be zombies about. It probably would have been wiser to turn back, but as the expression went in for a penny in for the pound.

People in a panic don't tend to notice a whole lot. Even if there weren't a whole lot of people running, they were too scared to notice much else beside what was right in front of them. They also didn't care if they ran anyone over. A panicked group of people was not something you wanted to stand in front of. Trampling was not a quick death normally... and given the situation things could be worse than death.

The kid running down the hall almost completely ignored the heavily armed gaijin as a result. Not because he didn't see him, but because he was more scared of the flesh eating monsters down the way he'd come. The kid's name turned out to be Jubei, and it was the site of the gun that would stick with him in the coming days.

Jubei would remember the gun... not so much because of the events in the hall, but because of what would happen in less than an hour. The Gaijin would leave, but not without leaving an impression on those who survived who didn't go with. In a week Akechi Jubei would have an MP5, taken from a dead police officer, of his own.

-scene break-

Busujima Saeko was a native of Tokonosu, and not simply a senior at Fujimi but a highly respected member of the school's highly ranked kendo club. That skill could be attributed to the long hours her father had spent teaching the tradition to her. A tradition that was at this very moment saving her life. Even though it was only a wooden practice sword it was enough to crack bone.

Saeko was not the only one taking an affirmative defense against the outbreak. The gaijin might have had his gun but some of the other students had appropriated improvised weapons... and some had just picked up baseball bats and started swinging. Still Saeko had been at Fujimi high since she'd started High school and recognized the need to get out of the school. She knew she needed a car... and she had a good idea of where to get one. She had heard the gun shots, which raised other questions, but didn't deter her from her goal... at least until they were so close by. She knew they were getting closer, and on the same floor before even seeing the gun.

It was a little hard to miss, for a calm person, when in the confines of a hallway, even with all the shouting, and screaming... and dying. Then of course there was the intercom choosing to chime in, "Attention all students and teachers! Attention all students and teachers! At the present time there is a violent struggle occuring on the premises. Students, remain with your teachers, and follow their instructions." One of the teachers who'd gone out to the front gate had managed to reach the office and realy what had happened... not that help was going to come. There was no mention at all of the police. Saeko had already tried dialing the emergency police line after all. It was clear it wasn't safe to stay in the school any longer... especially when the voice on the PA suddenly screamed.

Saeko turned, and kept walking down the hall... now the real panic would begin, and so it did. In less than a minute the voice who'd been on the PA system had been murdered over the open line and everyone started screaming, and preparing to run. Then of course they did start to run every which way. Saeko didn't need to be told to hit the downed zombie in the head when asked, "I was looking for the school nurse she has a car, and can drive." It seemed a better option than trying to escape on foot, "She should still be in the clinic."

It was as good of a plan as any... especially given that it was rather spur of the moment... and going to the clinic was better than trying to wander aimlessly through the school trying to find something better. Two was better than one after all.

Teshima or Hayashi must have infected one or possibly both the other teachers at the gate... or maybe one of them had wandered in through the parking lot. Whatever had happened it had spread through the courtyard and into the hallways with the monsters biting people along the way. It'd been over an hour since Teshima had been bitten and it had taken that long to work through towards the nurse's office through the increasing numbers of walking dead.

"You're prepared," and in any other scenario that would have sounded accusatory, except in this moment it almost sounded like a compliment. Except in this case 'prepared' still meant end of the world, which was never a good thing. "So you have to have a plan?"

He shook his head side to side, but before he could verbalize a response there was a scream so they both busted through the double doors, but the zombie was already dead. Standing over it was a sophmore, Saeko vaguely recognized, but more importantly the nurse was alive. So while David started collecting clean bandages, and rifling around for APC tablets Saeko faced the nurse, "Shizuka-sensei where are your keys?"

"Ah... they'd be in the teachers lounge," And the blonde stopped and did a head count, "my car is only a two seater though," and that stopped everyone.

The four stood around looking dumbfounded for a minute, "Thats alright, we'll go get the keys, and go out the front,"

"You have a car?"

He nodded, "I've got a set of wheels," He responded unwilling to admit that his ride was a multi ton armored vehicle... well running around with a bunch of guns in Japan was one thing... a very odd thing, (perhaps beyond very odd) but this was crises so that could be presumably hand waved. He figured it was better to wait.

The sophmore who had introduced himself as Kazu Ishi looked up, "But what about the buses... Shizuka-sensei could try that..."

The school nurse nodded, even if she seemed unsure about leaving her car behind, "he's right that could... work, and the keys should be in the lounge." A bus was definitely a better choice than a compact car.

People were running everywhere now, but that wasn't just it. Students were picking up weapons, though for the question of how much good it would do them. Fujimi's campus was big enough that there was enough space in the buildings to barricade and hide, but if that was done then what. You couldn't stay hidden forever if you were by yourself, or if you were with friends. Surviving meant you had to have food and water... and heat. Thats why if there was anything better that could be thought of getting out now was for the best.

-scene break-

For Jubei the idea of running away from the school didn't even occur to him... not immediately at least. When he had time to breath he would consider it. The first gun shot had been loud, but it was the ones closer to him that had hurt. They'd been loud, and in that hallway, bereft of any kind of ear protection a sudden crack stunned him leaving him standing there stunned and seeing stars. Then as more followed... his ears got used to it. He still kind of jumped, but it wasn't so bad. A week from now he would simply stick to wearing a pair of ear muffs that he'd found in the school wood working shop.

Akechi Jubei made his choice. He'd make his safe place here. So instead of running out of the school, and fleeing the campus he ran up the stairs, and towards higher ground. There was one thing that reverberated with him, and would stay with him. The smell of the cordite, and the gun in the gaijin's hand.

The sophomore fled up the stairs heading an opposite, well more parallel, way as the gaijin. Where the gaijin and the captain of the kendo club doubled back... going back to the ground floor and heading to the clinic Jubei went another direction. His path gave him a clear view of the outside, and all of the chaos... not just that of Fujimi... but of the wider area of the city.

It wasn't just the emergency hotline that was overwhelmed. Those lines were backed up as the tele operators were innundated with calls. On the street though fire rescue, and the police were out of the depth as they had to deal with the zombies, and the panic, and automobile accidents. One thing had lead to another and like dominoes there were already fires starting to spread so much that the columns of black smoke were already visible. One or two might not have been so bad, but Jubei took the time to count the ones he could see as he worked on catching his breath.

Then something else caught his attention... he didn't have a gun, but neither did any of his classmates, but they found other weapons. He looked around... a broom wouldn't do... a bat a baseball bat that would be the best he could hope for.

"Akechi-kun?" The teacher looked shell shocked... worn to the bone, but he stopped when the air was riddled with the sound of gun fire, "Is it the police? Are the police here Akechi-kun?"

The sophomore shook his head, "No sensei." He looked back to the courtyard, and then beyond it and saw what Teshima and the teachers who had went to the gate would have seen if they had looked around. Parked on the curb was a large diesel powered very obviously military vehicle. "The Gaijin," he said pointing the vehicle out to the biology teacher.

"I see the government has said we should take shelter and close the doors and windows until help can arrive. We should do this," The older man declared softly, "Come," He ordered.

Jubei looked at the vehicle once more, before turning away... he hadn't thought about that. A car would have been great... but safety in the dorms was for the best. The sound of thunder, and the rumble of that engine when it did start up later would also stick with him like the gun fire.

Jubei and the biology teacher were joined by a few more students as they scrambled up the hallway, and then up the stairs. Slowly they figured out the same things as other survivors. The zombies responded to sound, and couldn't see.

-scene break-

Jubei wasn't the only one who chose to go up instead of fleeing outside. After all it was really two choices up or down... try and hide somewhere and barricade yourself from the zombies... or take your chances making a break for it. For every Jubei who chose to stay, and flee upward into the school someone tried to fight their way out into the open air, and onto the street. Some people panicked and didn't plan, and some did. Some went it alone, and some formed groups.

Different people stepped up into leadership roles.

The gaijin, the nurse, the kendo captain, and the sophmore came from one direction. Other groups converged from different directions in the main hallway... not just the undead. Takagi Saya was the scion of a powerful ultranationalist, and a professed genius. Kohta Hirano might not have come from quite such an ostentatiously wealthy family but they were well off... enough to indulge their son's interests. In this case those interests let Hirano cobble together a nail gun into a zombie killing weapon. The pair weren't the only group. Rei, and Takashi settled for more mundane improvised weapons. In this case a mop pole, and a baseball bat... and that was good enough.

A kind of twinkle though appeared in Kohta's eye, as he took in the sight... and identified the sub machine gun by name and model, "THATS THE MP5K Personal Defense Weapon." Rei had ... kind of recognized the gun... as the police employed a different version of the MP5. Kohta however was less interested in the police equipment, and more the patterns.

"Calm down you idiot," Saya growled, as he babbled of technical specifications.

After a minute he did in fact calm down, which gave the converged groups the opportunity to settle and catch their breath. It also let them make introductions... but more importantly confirm the plan from here on out.

Saya directed them to the school's evacuation plan, which was pinned to the wall of the lounge, "We are here, if we leave through the front entrance it will be the shortest route to the tour buses in the parking lot."

Shizuka held up the keys when prompted.

"Are you in the parking lot?" Takashi had the forethought to ask.

David shook his head, "No I'm parked outside down from the gate." The assumption, no doubt, (As Kohta called for shotgun in English) that went unsaid was that he drove some big muscle car, like a Thunderbird, or maybe a gigantic Cadillac Escalade. Americans all drive Sports Cars or SUVs right? That was the stereotype, and it was rather true... in this instance... for a given definition. "I could probably give you a lift to the parking lot rather than trying to make a run for it."

"That would depend on how many of them are out there." Saya interjected. "We have to leave soon though all of the noise will just draw more of them." She commented before going on to bring up the subject of just where to go.

Takuzo was another student of Tokunosu's Fujimi High. Like Komoru Takashi he to had picked up a baseball bat as his weapon against the zombies. He and his group had appropriated weapons quickly with the onset of the outbreak, but weren't quite sure where to go.

Takuzo's group had five people in it including himself, and his girlfriend Naomi. Naomi's friend Kawamoto was one of the others. The three boys of the group stood in the corner panting after they dealt with the zombies they'd stumbled across as they had made their way to the front entrance. "Where to we go from here? Are we really just going to try and run?"

A groan from one of the undead came from the doorway, and Takuzo lunged furiously bring his baseball bat across the zombie's temple with a squick filled sound. "Not so loud. They'll here you and we'll be over run." He stopped and looked up the staircase, "Shit." And here came more of the undead. He glanced down the ground floor hallway, and the five slowly began to inch away from the ascending staircase.

"Hey, are any of you bit?" Takashi asked cautiously approaching the group. After quietly ascertaining that none of them had been infected he announced the intention to escape.

Kohta peaked up towards the staircase, "We'll have to be quiet. No shooting," He muttered more to himself, even sounding disappointed about that.

"Well of course. Besides there are probably plenty out front." Saya interjected, "We have to get to the buses though."

The gun otaku looked around, "They respond to noise, but if we make too big of a distraction then the ones upstairs will come down." Takashi was already opening a locker, and pulled out a pair of trainers. Hirano blinked.

"I'll throw them at that side, and we can go around." He said, even if it did sound risky as hell. "We can stay quiet."

Recognizing that this was better than just trying to rush the door he nodded, "Wait for my signal... or five minutes." David responded "and then come outside, "No body have a better plan?" No body did, "All right Takashi go for it." The group of survivors started towards one wall as Takashi edged the opposite direction and drew his arm back to the throw the shoe. It impacted with a clang drawing the zombies' attention who were inside the entry hall. Takashi slipped back carefully watching out for any zombies that might come down the hall or from the stairs and readied to throw the other shoe.

"I can't believe that worked," Takuzo muttered incredulously. Saya shushed him as David went through the front door and then started sprinting towards the road. He grudgingly went quiet, and stared out the front entrance of the school... Saya had a point if they were quiet they might just be able to get out of here with out too much trouble.

-scene break-

Unsure of what to do Jubei fell into a mixed company of survivors as he and the biology teacher made their way away from the ground floor. When they reached the third they met a senior named Shibata, who had suggested barricading the stairs to some of his classmates. This was of course after Shibata had thrown the infected class representative off the railing. Still the senior's plan was better than nothing.

Shibata's idea wasn't unique other survivors who chose to hole up in their dorms, or in another of the school buildings piled chairs and desks up, or barricaded doors. It was better than nothing, but really stealth was proving the better tool for survival... and in not that then having a solid weapon to whack a zombie in the head was.

Keeping quiet was how they planned to get through this for the time being, and while it wasn't popular it was the only that could be seen. So for the biology teacher had made a grudging compromise between the students. The idea was to if the zombies responded to noise then keep as much space between the largest group of survivors as possible. That meant people going up to the fourth floor... or even the roof.

The roof was where Jubei found himself waiting... the question, he asked himself, was waiting for what. Help maybe? It didn't seem like it was coming. So he waited and watched, and then it caught his attention. The front entrance doors were opening... and a figure came out. Jubei looked around, and realized that the handful of other students who had the stomach to watch the mess that was the courtyard had seen it too. Some started to make noise only to be shushed by one of the trio of surviving teachers so Jubei kept quiet.

It was ironic... or perhaps just poetic how beautiful the cherry blossoms floating on the wind looked as they passed across the courtyard. Perhaps it was symbolic of how everything normal was gone for good... of how this was a new world.

Akechi Jubei realized that... and processed another important fact. The Gaijin was sneaking past the blind zombies and more to the point he wasn't shooting. "The tank," Jubei muttered to himself, of course he realized it made sense the gaijin wouldn't leave his monstrous vehicle behind. Even from here Jubei just imagine the damage such a dangerous looking weapon mounted in the turret would do.

The gaijin reached his vehicle without incident... without a shot being fired. So transfixed on the starting of the armored vehicle's engine, and then too busy taking cover to notice the mass of students rushing out of the school.

There was no way to get down there in time, especially not with all the ruckus that followed. It did however highlight an alternative. Not the weapons, but the other buses. Of course to get the keys and get out would mean going back downstairs. It would mean fighting through the undead. That was the start of a fundamental shift in thinking. It was fundamental for this new normal.

-scene break-

Index:

Locations:

Tokunosu City: Tokunosu is a medium sized city located a couple hundred kilometers north of the Japanese Capital. The city is primarily supplied power from a hydroelectric dam complex located inland, and historically drew its income from shipping, and presently the service industry. Tokunosu is home to a two terminal offshore international airport, built to reduce traffic and congestion (and noise pollution) for the older regional airports located in crowded metro areas.

Weapons List: (Abridged)

FN FAL: Sometimes referred to as 'The Right Arm of the Free World' for its widescale use by western countries during the cold war the FAL is a semi automatic battle rifle in 7.62x51mm. The original FN FAL was designed and produced by Fabrique Nationale de Herstal of Belgium but has since been manufactured world wide, and seen action in dozens of conflicts. The rifle was used as the standard rifle by both sides during the Argentine Invasion of the Falklands.

Mk14 EBR: An update of the 7.62x51mm M14. Built originally by the US Navy the Mk14 uses a shorter 18 inch barrel and introduces various modern features to a cold war rifle. The design has since been tweaked by the other US service branches. The Mk 14 EBR Mod 1 weighs slightly more than an AK at just over 10 pounds loaded.

M242 Bushmaster: The Primary Armament of the LAV-25 (and variants like the ASLAV) along with a host of other platforms the M242 is a dual feed chain gun. It fires the 25mm by 137mm round with an effective range of three kilometers in open terrain.

Organizations:

'Delta Force': Delta Force is the popularized name for the United States Army's 1st Special Forces Operation Detachment Delta. Delta Force is a US Direct Action and Counter Terrorism unit emphasizing robust training. Delta Force uses the term 'Operator' to refer to members who have completed Selection and OTC courses.

Scout Sniper: The Scout Sniper designation is awarded to graduates of one of four eligible 'Scout Sniper Schools'. The Marine Corp Scout Sniper program places heavy emphasis on not simply shooting but observation and fieldcraft to support comand intelligence gathering.

SAT: Tokushu Kyushu Butai in Japanese. The SAT is a detachment within the National Police Agency that is in many ways an enhanced SWAT and HRT unit. Frequently referred to as paramilitary or special forces their original function was meant to deal with highly dangerous armed criminals, but has since placed an added emphasis on counter terrorism particularly the defense of airports.