Hope you enjoy!
I do not own Highschool of the Dead. All rights go to their respective owners!
Thunder roared overhead as rain slammed against the windows of the rickety, dusty, mansion. The skies over Japan opened up, pouring rain on the barren countryside, any living thing was already bedded down, waiting for the storm to cease. Dark shapes moved through the twilight, under Kohta's watchful eye. The dead didn't care what the weather was like, they only wanted to feed. The sound of the thunder deafening them to the group's location as they wandered aimlessly.
The sharpshooter had agreed to be on watch first for the evening, it quickly was proving to be a rather uneventful task. It had been almost a year since the beginning of the apocalypse, their old lives now fading away like the light on the horizon. Panic had long been replaced by routine, with Saya's wits and Takashi's leadership allowing them to stand against the tide. Although the dead were to be feared, many of their packs could be easily avoided or distracted.
With this knowledge they figured out the dos and don'ts of coping with their undead neighbors. Don't stay out at night, avoid making sound when they're nearby, keep something like a rock on hand to draw them away. These little things and more made each day past Z-Day more bearable.
He could feel his stomach growl, I wonder what we're having for dinner? Kohta's eyes traced the courtyard once more before making his way back to where the group was camped.
The crew were sitting close to the hearth, roasting some marshmallows they had found in a market not two days before they got here. Takashi and Saeko were conversing quietly along with Shizuka and Alice, the four enjoying the sweet treat.
Takagi was buried in a book, one they had found amongst many others in the mansion. The gunner's eyes lingered on the pink-haired girl for a moment before grabbing a stick of his own and two of the squishy sugar lumps.
As the flames danced in front of him, Kohta found his mind wandering once more. It had been a couple of months since they had seen their families, most of the teens parents were safe from harm, but they weren't able to remain with them. Takashi recovered for the most part but Rei had taken it the hardest by far, the ginger being out of sight, likely wandering around the house looking for things they could use.
I would've never thought I'd be here at the end of the world fighting with a bunch of people that I never could have dreamed being my friends. He smiled, these six people, plus a dog, felt more like family to him than anything.
"Whatchu smiling about, Kohta?" Somehow Alice had appeared beside him, nearly scaring the living daylights out of him.
His smile grew a little wider, "Just thinking, munchkin."
"Hey, you know I'm not a munchkin anymore, how many times to I have to tell you that!" Alice puffed her cheeks out. The girl had grown confident over the past year, but she thought that being eight years old suddenly made her an adult.
He chuckled, "At least once more, munchkin!"
Kohta liked to think that he had grown into a big brother figure for the girl, since her father died. In a way the entire group had adopted her as their child, each supporting her in their own unique way through this grim reality.
They subsided into silence, Hirano pulled out his marshmallow, which had become a brilliant golden-brown, and put it on a graham cracker. The treat warmed him as he stood up, heading back towards his post by the window.
Takashi looked up from where he was sitting, "Mind if I join you, Hirano?"
The shooter nodded, "Yeah, no problem."
Since that missile had exploded in the sky the lights had remained dark, Saya had explained the EMP to them, but somehow the lack of street lamps or headlights still baffled him.
"What do you think?" Takashi had found a stool and sat close by, gazing out the window with him.
"Considering that it'll rain for a while longer we probably don't have anything to worry about. Their senses are overloaded so chances are they won't be moving very much, if at all."
Takashi smirked, "A sound analysis, General."
The leader of the group had come up with the nickname, it wasn't very creative, but Kohta appreciated it nonetheless. It reminded him how close he had become with everyone, that thought alone warming him against the autumn air.
There was a stove in the corner of the room, but Kohta didn't want to light it for fear of raiders or the chance of wasting fuel. They would be staying at this location for at least a few more days before moving on.
Their mission had changed from finding their families to locating survivors. Saya's father had established a stronghold of sorts and encouraged their parents to take shelter there, which they ended up doing. Like before the group didn't want to integrate with such a larger crowd, the thought of society had become mostly foreign by the time Souichirou had offered.
So they set out once more in search of survivors and perhaps answers, Saya's curiosity fueling them to scour labs and government offices for clues as to what lead the world to ruin.
Takashi leaned back, "I don't know about you man, but its nice to hear the rain again."
"Its been what, two weeks? No three?"
The boy nodded, "Feels longer than that, time is starting to crawl."
"You know it."
Kohta breathed into his hands, urging them to warm up.
"Not sure if you noticed, but Saya was staring at you back there." Takashi's mouth curving in a sly grin.
He scoffed, "Yeah right, that doesn't mean anything." Unbeknownst to Takashi, Kohta could feel his cheeks warming up at the thought of the pinkette looking at him.
The crush he had formed on her was still there no doubt, but they had managed to become more comfortable around each other. She was still a know-it-all, he wouldn't deny that, but she was stunning when she wanted to be.
Takashi laughed, "Whatever you say dude, I just know she has her eye on you."
He snorted, "Doesn't everyone?"
The leader raised his hand, giving him a thumbs up. "You know it!"
They chuckled together, the night waning on.
The mansion had grown quiet since everyone had settled down. Takashi had left him in peace only a little while after they talked, promising him he'd be relieved in a few hours by Saeko.
He glanced at his watch, it was a little past eleven o'clock. Digital devices had stopped working in the new world, but thankfully analog ones still did, not that they really needed to understand what day it was, but part of it comforted him. He could still remember the watch his father had worn.
The sound of creaking planks alerted Kohta, the door cracking open behind him. He turned around to see Saya standing in the doorframe, looking rather perplexed.
He smiled, "Can't sleep?"
The genius shook her head, "Guess not, figured I'd better make sure you weren't sleeping on the job."
His face grew stern, "My, my, Saya, do you not trust me?" The laughter in his voice betraying his expression.
She sat down on the bed nearby, "Like I ever would, idiot." The girl playfully threw one of the pillows at him.
The conversation lapsed into silence, which was a fairly normal thing among the group. It wasn't uncomfortable, the atmosphere feeling serene.
You almost wouldn't think we were surrounded by rotting corpses.
After a few minutes he spoke up, the girl was absently staring at the opposite wall. "So whats bugging our resident genius tonight?"
It took a lot of unsuccessful tries before that kind of teasing was ever okay with the fireball.
Her face scrunched ever so slightly, "I can't really say, its kind of odd. I just kept turning over, trying to relax, but my mind just continued to run."
He nodded, "I know that feeling, sometimes I wonder if I have insomnia."
"As if, you snore like a gorilla when you sleep."
Kohta's face heated up, "Hey!" He turned to look at her and saw a mischievous sparkle dancing behind those amber orbs.
He turned back to the window, "Ha ha, real funny."
She puffed out her chest, giving off a haughty persona. "I only ever tell the truth, dear citizen."
His eyes rolled one their own, "You sure you didn't want to be a politician before the collapse?"
Saya giggled, "Yeah right, could you really see me on a podium in front of a million people?"
The thought projected in his mind and the results amused him. "Yep, I could see it."
The silence settled once more, Kohta glanced down at his watch, it was approaching midnight. Saeko aught to be along shortly. He thought to himself.
He spared a couple of glances at the object of his affection. The pensive expression she had standing in the door marring her features. Being with Takagi for so long he knew that if she had something to say she would spit it out and trying to coax it out of her was a death wish.
"Hey Kohta, I-"
The sound of the door opening interrupted her with Saeko walking in looking puzzled.
Hirano looked at Saya, he already knew the words were dying on her lips.
The swords-woman looked back and forth between them, "I apologize, did I cut you off?"
He could easily tell that the interruption miffed Saya, but she kept it under wraps. "No, nothing." She stood rather quickly and made her way out.
Saeko looked at him, "I'll take watch now, you should get some rest."
The shooter could feel his mind swimming. What was she going to say? "Thank you, Saeko, have a good night."
By the time he had made it back to the main room Saya was already flipped over, facing away from his sleeping bag. His curiosity was beginning to eat away at him, but the boy knew better than to bug her. He'd just have to wait.
The first annoying thought that came into his head was also the most embarrassing. What if she was going to confess?
No idiot, girls aren't the ones who confess and if you want to keep breathing you better not try anything.
It must've been important if she didn't want to say it in front of Saeko.
There are plenty of important things besides relationships to consider nowadays, remember that.
He scoffed quietly, Yeah, thanks for nothing.
The boy rolled over, facing away from the dwindling flames, the cold seeping in ever so slightly.
A/N: Howdy ho everyone, hope you enjoyed. This is gonna be a short series that I kind of came up with on a whim. It's not gonna be so much about action or adventure or even very much about zombie slaying, but more of a slice of life, campy sort of story, so if you aren't into that I understand.
If you can't tell its gonna be focusing on my boy Hirano, cause I feel like he doesn't get enough love, but I digress. This is gonna be pretty short, I'm not sure how short, but who cares. If you guys see anything wrong as far as grammar and stuff go please let me know!
Have a nice day!