And here it is! Finally, I have published this zombie AU story! Cheers, cheers everywhere :)

I've been working on this for way too long and you'll be surprised when I say that I'm still not done. I have everything planned out and all the chapters ready to write, but I haven't finished writing them at all. I've decided to separate this story into parts, so this is Part I!

I hope you all enjoy this as much I did writing it because this story really hits me hard (especially with what I have planned), and I guess you can say this first chapter is a kind of social experiment. I would love to see how you guys react to this :)

I'll be uploading this once every two weeks so I'll still have time to keep writing the other chapters and parts (and other stories as well that I have to update lol), and once Part I is finished, I'll be taking a small break from the story before coming back.

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask in the reviews and I'll answer it as much as I can :) Regarding the title, I won't say much except that I was inspired by a song with the same title. Not going to say from which artist but if you know what I'm talking about, don't spoil it for anyone else :)

Hope you all love this as much as I do!

So, without further ado, here is the first chapter!

Corpses. All he sees are corpses, some moving, some not. His eyes are dull and grey. He doesn't hesitate to murder them all.

"Shin-chan, you doing ok there?" A black haired man calls out as he slashes the neck of a rotten, almost molten, zombie. The black-haired man smiles internally, knowing that all his research and extreme zombie movie nights have payed off quite well. He knows exactly when to strike, how to strike, and most importantly, how to protect.

The man, his hair gleaming a beautiful emerald against the slowly dying out sun, looks to his right; there are two coming their way. He looks to his left and sees three more. The black haired man has taken care of the one coming in front. They're outnumbered, but both of them know that the zombies are at loss, especially with the two of them working together.

The green haired man harrumphes as he slashes the two on the left and quickly dodges the ones coming from the right, almost with complete and utter ease. "Of course." He answers.

The zombie's bodies collapse in front of him, and blood squirts out, splashing some on his face. He, in a face of disgust, immediately wipes it off.

The black haired man gives him a grin as he kills the other two and the duo then goes behind, which has at least four. One by one, they all drop down. Had they not been so molten, the green haired man would have thought of them as the gentle pitter patter of the rain.

After looking around the area carefully, both finally sigh in relief and sit on the ground. There are bodies everywhere, all of them with injured or cut off heads, but the duo is glad that there aren't any more walking around.

The two have their back against each other and the black haired man leans against his partner, relishing the warmth between them, and smiles.

"Well, I guess we can stay here tonight, right, Shin-chan?" He asks.

The green haired man inspects the place once more, crinkling his nose, but has no choice but to nod in agreement. It's definitely better than roaming around at night, where he can't see anything. He's blind as bat when it comes to the dark, which is ironic, to say the least.

"Fine, we can set up camp here. And, Takao, get off me. It's too hot." The man says but both know that that's a complete lie. It's finally winter now in Japan, and the cold wind slaps them on the face every second. But even still, the green haired man would rather be shivering in the cold than to have his partner notice the thin line of blush forming on his cheeks. He could definitely blame it on the cold, but Takao has sharp eyes. He would know in an instant the difference between the cold's red color and something else.

Takao groans as he stands up. "Fine, but I'm still cuddling next to you while I keep watch."

The man's eyes widen at his partner's words. "You can't possibly take another shift. You did that twice in a row already. Aren't you tired?" He can't help but ask in worry. He makes sure to say it casually, however. Takao merely smiles, as if he knows that the man's just worried for him.

"Well, Midorima Shintarou-kun, who's the one who can see in the dark? Last time I checked, you can barely see without your glasses in the day. So, yes, I'm taking the shift again. You just rest your pretty eyes. We're going to need all your strength if we want to survive another day." Takao explains quite elaborately, and Midorima glares at him.

"You could at least wake me up before the sun goes up. That way, we can both have enough time to sleep. You're going to be exhausted at this point."

Takao shrugs. "Hey, you're talking to the person who's consecutively pulled five all nighters during the school breaks to get through all horror movies known to man. You were there with me, remember?"

Midorima crinkles his nose once more. "I always fell asleep after two movies or so. When I woke up, you were still watching. I still don't know how you to do it."

"Skills." Takao smiles easily as he dodges a slap coming his way.

Midorima crosses his arms in a skeptical way. "In either case, there is a very big difference between pulling all-nighters during a break, and pulling all-nighters at a time like this. You never know what might be lurking in the shadows, and being exhausted will not help at all."

"Hey, I still have a lot of energy left in me. Besides, we just need to get you safe and sound. You're both the brains and the brawn in this duo, and we both know that I would've never even made it out the door if it wasn't for you."

Midorima tries to reject that, to try and tell him that it was actually Takao that saved them from being killed the first day, but Takao cuts him off before he can say anything.

"Come on, Shin-chan. Let's get the tent set up." Takao says as he begins to take Midorima's backpack and unpack. Midorima sighs as he walks over to his side.

"At least sleep now. I doubt there's going to be any more zombies coming this way. This place is already filled with their smell, so they're not going to check this place any time soon. We're completely camouflaged."

Takao laughs at the suggestion and Midorima throws one of the metal pipes of the tent his way. Takao skillfully catches it. "Shin-chan, don't you know the number one rule in surviving zombie apocalypses? Always stay alert." He informs.

"I know that. I'll be alert." Midorima replies, putting his hand to his chest.

Takao shakes his head, making Midorima groan in annoyance. "You can't be, Shin-chan. You're going to be too busy setting up the tent. Don't worry about me, ok? I'm perfectly fine."

"You won't be after a while. We can't risk it." Midorima says with a glare. Then, he sighs as he knows how stubborn Takao can be. But that doesn't mean he's relenting as well. "At least promise me you'll wake me up before sunrise, where I'll be able to see better."

When Takao still has his doubts, Midorima has to say it. "Please."

And with that, Takao's face melts in resignation, and he nods at Midorima half-heartedly. "Fine, you win, Shin-chan. And you really need to stop pulling that 'please' shit on me. It always works and it's becoming unfair." Takao scoffs jokingly.

Midorima has to turn away to hide his smile.

Midorima and Takao were childhood friends. Whether it was coincidence, destiny, or even faith, no one knew, but their path together was secured the moment the Midorima family moved next door to the Takao residence.

It was a complete surprise how well the families got along together. Normally, there would be awkwardness and the usual fake smiles to make sure there was no gossip to be thrown around afterwards. But, after a minute or so, they had all become so close, many would've thought they were life long friends.

It had been even better for all of them to bond because both families had a baby the same age. Before they knew it, Takao Kazunari and Midorima Shintarou were inseparable.

According to their parents, they would always go on picnics with their children and they would see Takao and Midorima chase the butterflies, sometimes fall down and scrape their knees, cry a bit, but the other would always cheer them back up and they would go back to chasing whatever floated above them. There was even one time when Takao fell into the lake and Midorima, in panic, fell down to save him, and both ended up almost drowning if it weren't for a passerby who had seen them.

Their childhood memories were filled with their establishing their personalities early on. Takao was, like his parents, an extremely cheerful child, who never failed to make everyone smile. Even the most grumpy one (Midorima) would submit to a smile in the very end.

Takao was a carefree child. He would always run around, most of the time to Midorima's house, and jump up and down the porch until the door opened and he was let in. He would immediately rush to Midorima's room on the first floor at the very end of the hallway, pull the green-haired child out of bed, and they would go to the backyard that was filled with flowers and trees, the sun shining on their faces, where they would play until the sun set and Takao would eventually have to leave. Takao's parents would always chuckle as he pulled on their legs, telling them they weren't done playing.

Takao was as happy as anyone could be, and he shone brightly, affecting everyone along the way, just like the sun and its ability to help nature and everyone else grow.

Midorima, on the other hand, became a superstitious person. It happened one day when he stumbled upon the horoscope channel, Oha Asa, and saw that Scorpio, Takao's sign, was dead last and they would, if not careful, be close to injuring themselves severely. Their lucky item that day was a whisk, something Midorima had in the kitchen. He had thought nothing of it and on the same day, when Takao barged into his house and both played in the backyard, a dog that was twice their size, suddenly ran towards Takao and bit him in the arm hard.

No one knew where it came from or how it got in, but that didn't matter. What mattered was the fact that Takao was getting viciously marred.

It was the first time Midorima had seen him cry, much less scream, and he was frozen in his place, having no idea what to do. He then charged at the dog, to make it let go of Takao, but the dog pushed him aside with its body, its mouth still gripped onto Takao's arm.

Thankfully, both families heard Takao's cry of pain and rushed towards them, saving Takao by manhandling the dog and throwing it to the house wall as hard as they could. Not the best way to take care of a rabid dog, but they were desperate, and the two toddlers were scared out of their minds.

After a visit to the hospital, Takao was left with an irreversible scar and Midorima started watching Oha Asa daily, getting both his and Takao's lucky item for the day.

Midorima was also very serious person, who, even at a small age, had extreme amounts of homework, both from school and home. His mother was lawyer while his father a university teacher, and, in hopes of preparing Midorima for the future, they began giving him extra work that could not have been possible to do if it weren't for the fact that Midorima himself wanted to do it. Yes, there were moments when he was at his breaking point, even at the tender age of 10, but he knew he could always be grounded back to the ground because of the sun that lived right next to him.

In a way, Takao was always Midorima's savior. He was always there for him in times of great need, when he couldn't take the workload anymore and was close to ripping everything apart, when he just need to take a load off and have a nice rest. Takao would already provide him that the moment he asked for it.

Midorima liked to think of himself as more of the moon, because there were some times when he would be finished with his work, having no choice but to refuse Takao for the day, and look out the window to see Takao's room still lit up. He would then quietly get out of his room through the window, and knock on Takao's window, which was conveniently on the first floor.

He would tap lightly on it and Takao would pop up immediately with his regular, carefree smile. He would open the window up without any explanation, and Midorima would climb in like it was no big deal, as if they had done this many times (which they did). There, they would play games, watch movies, and just stay there until it suddenly became an impromptu sleepover. Of course, both families would practically murder them for having these kinds of sleepovers without their permission but they couldn't really be mad for long, not when Midorima and Takao were hugging each other like their life depended on it.

It was a good life for both families, and slowly but surely, they grew up to be middle schoolers who suddenly found that cooties were just a myth and there was so much more than what met the eye. It was at a terrible time as well; both families moved to the countryside of the city and Takao and Midorima were exposed to a new environment with new people and new ideas.

Puberty struck both of them hard, and hormones, emotions, anything that they didn't know in elementary school flew across the room haphazardly. Both suddenly found new meanings to love and feeling, and they were soon at their awkward stage.

They had been together for so long, they definitely couldn't have known what the feeling inside them was. That hot feeling when they touched each other in kitchen accidentally while making pancakes, that uncomfortable feeling in their lungs when they couldn't breathe right while being in the same room, and the overall feeling of confusion when they once almost kissed but both looked away at the last second while watching one of Takao's horror movies.

They didn't like each other, they kept telling themselves. They were like brothers. They've been together since they remembered. They just didn't know what was happening to them. They both rejected it. They both decided that it was puberty, not actually them.

But those feelings never left. Not even when they entered high school and found other partners to be with. They never left, not when Midorima once caught Takao making out with a girl behind the school, not when Takao found Midorima being knocked down by a girl and having her kiss him right there, in front of him.

Another feeling brewed, jealousy and anger, even envy, but they never expressed it to each other. They had already agreed in silence that they did not think of the other in that way. They were still blaming it on puberty, they were still deluding themselves, believing that the love they felt was different; that the love they were feeling was merely a brotherly love, a love that only comes after being with each other for so long.

They were still neighbors, friends, brothers even, but when they finally graduated high school and entered university, they couldn't deny that something growing in their chests. The uncomfortable, envious, confusing feeling they felt every single time. They couldn't deny the fact that the 'brotherly love' they kept convincing themselves of was, in fact, not that at all. It was something more than that. It was something absolutely terrifying, but both had to face it.

And they were about to. At least, Takao was.

But then, it happened.

"So, what do you wanna watch? 28 Days Later or Paranormal Activity?" Takao asked as he went to the DVD shelf, which was practically overflowing with all kinds of DVDs, mostly horror movies. Midorima shrugged as he came in with the popcorn, two actually.

"You know I don't care for scary movies." He replied and Takao decided on Paranormal Activity, which had been helpfully translated in Japanese. They both sat on the couch, but not too close, and Midorima handed Takao his bowl of popcorn.

"God, I love the smell of freshly popped popcorn, don't you think, Shin-chan?" Takao commented and while Midorima did agree with Takao, he merely scoffed.

"You and your random banter. I don't know how I've lived through it for so long."

Takao merely smiled and he pressed play. They'd already seen this dozens of times, and in Takao's case, it was dozens upon dozens, but this was all they had until a new scary movie came out and Takao would purchase it.

"Aren't you tired of re-watching the same thing?" Midorima asked as the movie started. Takao shrugged as he pushed a handful of popcorn into his mouth.

Once he swallowed, "Well, it's either that or playing with my little sister, and she's not back from school yet. Ah, the pleasures of being a university kid. You get vacation time early." Takao leaned back on the couch, completely enjoying the serene mood.

Midorima rolled his eyes. "We could at least do something productive."

"This is productive. I'm fueling you with knowledge on how to deal with weird demon things that likes to be haunt and possess people. It's educational." Takao easily said back and Midorima slapped him on the arm.

"Yes, because something like this," Midorima said while pointing to the part of a white sheet suddenly collapsing on its own while being caught on camera, "happens in real life. You know this is never going to happen."

Takao shrugged as he recited some of the English words perfectly. He'd seen this way too many times. "You never know. You've been seeing the news, too, haven't you?"

Midorima nodded, knowing where this conversation was going. "The virus in America?"

"Yeah. Isn't it weird that we just stopped hearing about it?" Takao suddenly asked and Midorima raised his eyebrow. He had been thinking about that as well. A few weeks, Japan had been hazardous on covering what was happening in America. There seemed to be a virus - kind of like an influenza - and it was quickly making the people sick and close to death. Only blurry videos and pictures were provided of the people who were infected but the information was sketchy and no one in Japan could tell what was actually happening. And finally, just when it seemed the virus was going worse, the news suddenly stopped and the news network began to cover regular, harmless news.

"Maybe the virus is gone, or there are other interesting news out there. News networks can't just keep talking about one big thing that's going on. They need diversity, so maybe the virus isn't as bad as people say it is."

"But it's weird. I mean, I get that the news has to keep moving forward but I follow blogs talking about this kind of thing. The blog just suddenly stopped, too, and they post daily."

Midorima shrugged. "Those American blogs you always keep talking about?" Takao nodded. "Maybe they got sick, too, and needs a rest from blogging."

"But they would've told us if they were taking a break. That's what they always did when they were out for vacation or were too sick to post. The have a raging audience, you know, and they hate letting us down. So it's weird that it would just… stop like that." Takao persisted, and MIdorima directed his attention back to the movie, just getting to the part where the lights in the bathroom went off.

Takao could see that he was thinking for a logical explanation. Midorima always put his hands on his lips and occasionally closed his eyes in deep concentration. Takao couldn't help but admire those long eyelashes that complimented his face structure, and his jaw bone that could possibly cut through anything. His bangs almost covered his eyes, and he could tell that Midorima took good care of it to have it look as soft as that. He really just wanted to play with it, to touch it and comb through it, to feel its texture and maybe just Midorima himself.

And before Takao knew it, his mouth opened. "Shin-chan." He called out and Midorima snapped out of his thinking to look at his life-long friend.

He raised his eyebrow. "What is it, Takao? Did you find an answer?" His voice got Takao out of his stupor long enough to realize what he was about to say to him. He clamped his mouth shut and Midorima looked at him worryingly (well, worrying in Midorima standards. Takao could tell easily because he'd been with Midorima since they were practically babies. Normal people would just see it as a casual questioning look.)

"Takao?" He said and Takao darted his eyes back to the movie to avoid this awkward situation.

"Nothing! It's nothing. I don't have any answer yet. Maybe they really are taking a break and didn't tell us. It's fine. Let's just… Let's just watch the movie." He said too quickly and he bit his tongue at that mistake because he knew Midorima had caught it.

Unfortunately for him, Midorima paused the movie. "Takao, what's wrong?" He asked, devoting his full attention to him, and Takao had no choice but face him. Honestly, what was the worst that could happen? Takao could already think of more than 20, but the worst would definitely be ruining the friendship they've had for so long. He didn't want this bond to break, much less disintegrate right before his eyes, but with Midorima's prying eyes right before him, he knew he couldn't escape.

So, unable to disguise his feelings any longer, he decided to take the risk.

Who knew? Maybe Midorima would feel the same way. At that, Takao couldn't help but laugh internally. Sure, the great Midorima Shintarou, who might as well had the strictest, most traditional parents alive, turn out to be gay.

Takao could dream. But for the time being, it was now or never. To be honest, he was so tired of hiding it. He just wanted to let it all out.

Takao started rubbing the back of his head awkwardly. "Well, um… I've been meaning to tell you this for some time now, maybe since high school or something, but you know, it's been really tiring lately, we've had so many things to deal with, like graduation and getting into the same university and um -"

"Takao, you're babbling." Midorima pointed out, looking at Takao even more worryingly. Takao almost never babbled, and when he did, it was normally because there was something big he needed to say.

"Ah, was I? I had no idea. Sorry, sorry." Takao said while smiling, but Midorima knew the difference between a normal, carefree smile and a forced one, just like now. He crossed his arms in disapproval.

"If you were that uncomfortable, you could've just told me. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. I thought we already established that years ago." Midorima said, secretly wanting Takao to revert back to his carefree nature but also wanting to know more, his curiosity flaring.

Said person grabbed his own arm from behind, torn between letting the secret go and keeping it back in. He began to shake his head, determined. "You know what? No. I'd rather just say it now than keeping it locked inside for who knows how long." Takao took a deep breath. "Ok, just… Just promise me we'll still be ok after what I say."

Midorima's eyebrows furrowed, which, in Takao's opinion, was absolutely adorable. Oh Christ, he really was head over heels for the person right next to him. "What do you mean? Is it that bad?"

Takao nodded in shame. "Yeah, kind of. I just… It might ruin what we have. You know, our lifelong friendship, and I really don't want that to happen."

"What could possibly do something like that? We've known each other since we were only one, for crying out loud." Midorima said skeptically and Takao had to agree. They had been friends for an eternity past, so this kind of thing wouldn't change their friendship at all. But even still, Takao was afraid. Even more so than when he encountered Chucky, his first horror movie when he was in elementary school.

Takao laughed uncomfortably. "Yeah, I guess I'm just scared of how you might react."

"What could I possibly say? It's not like I'm going to leave any time soon."

Takao pointed to Midorima with a pointed look. "That's kind of what I'm scared of right now. That you might leave me for good." He trailed off and winced when he played that kind of imagined scenario inside his head.

Then, Midorima did something Takao would have never imagined him doing. Midorima put his hand on top of his head and began to pat him tenderly. Takao looked at him shock, but relished the touch and wished it would never leave.

"You know I would never leave you." Midorima said solemnly, confidently, and Takao got the feeling that it might be ok to confess after all.

He took a deep breath, completely calm now, and with Midorima's hand still on his head, still but nevertheless still reassuring, Takao stared at Midorima's green, almost emerald-like eyes intensely. They looked absolutely beautiful.

"Ok, ok. I'm ready." Another deep breath. "Shin-chan, I -"

The door started banging and they immediately detached themselves from each other, hearts pounding but pretending as though a moment like that had never happened.

Takao looked at the time on his watch and saw that it was usually when his mom came back with his little sister from pre-school. His face scrunched up in confusion.

"Why is she knocking? Doesn't she have the key to the house?" Takao asked himself. He then turned to Midorima, who was equally as confused. "Maybe it's your parents, Shin-chan."

Midorima scoffed at the suggestion. "Yes, because obviously my parents are at home and just wanted to drop by."

"Oh yeah, your mom's on an intense case today, isn't she?"

"And my father is probably still stuck in university, grading papers and dealing with the rebellious students who refused to take the finals."

Takao smiled cheekily. "Damn, must be hard to be rebellious kid, right?"

"You would know best, Mr. I-would-rather-watch-movies-all-night-than-study." Midorima commented and Takao couldn't help but howl with laughter. Midorima's face formed a small blush that Takao failed to notice as he was already walking to the door.

"Wait, so who's there?" He questioned too late before facing the door. "Who is it?" He then called out and incoherent murmurs were heard on the other side. The two looked at each other, perplexed, and Takao's instinct screamed at him to back away, which he fortunately did, because at that exact moment, the door busted open and three excruciatingly gruesome looking monsters entered, locking their eyes on Midorima and Takao.

The monsters, which almost looked like rotting corpses of unrecognizable people, charged in and Midorima had no idea what to do. He stayed frozen in his place, eyes growing wide as the corpse came his way closer and closer, and he was sure he was a goner until he heard Takao screaming.

"Shin-chan, your lucky item!"

Midorima's eyes immediately spotted the mini hatchet (which Oha Asa said would be extremely useful today for Cancer) and he lunged for it before the corpse did the same to him. His grip tightened on the handle but he still had no idea what to do with it. He then saw Takao from the corner of his eye with a pair of kitchen scissors, stabbing wildly at the head of one of them.

He then understood as he took his hatchet and swung at it accurately at the back of the head of the monster. A critical hit, and a strong one at that, because it sliced right through, even though it was a mini hatchet that was just a bit bigger than Midorima's knuckle. Half of the head dropped to the ground, and soon enough, the body as well, but Midorima couldn't catch his breath just yet.

Just as Midorima killed the monster, Takao shouted in panic and Midorima turned his head to where Takao was. He rushed over there as soon as he saw Takao being pinned down, barely avoiding the monster's attack, its teeth gnawing at the air, trying to get to Takao's skin. His hand gripped the scissors wildly try to jab at the forehead, but he kept missing, and he soon decided to just have the thing get off him. It was almost impossible to do so as the gravity and the weight of the bigger monster were all working against his favor, and just before the thing could open its mouth and lunge for Takao's arm that was closest to its mouth, Midorima came down with the hatchet, heading straight for the top of the head of the corpse-like thing.

It's movement instantly stopped as the body went limp, and Takao could finally push it off him. It didn't stop Midorima, however, as he began to completely ruin the body by stabbing at it multiple times, screaming at it to die.

Takao had never seen Midorima this shaken before, but he knew he would have done the same had the positions been switched.

He hugged Midorima from behind, trying to stop his hatchet hand from stabbing any further. "Shin-chan, stop! It's already dead!"

It took several tries to get Midorima to stop, but he finally did and they both took a deep breath, from lack of air or from relief, they had no clue.

"Wh… What was that?" Midorima asked, his voice shaken with confusion and shock, and Takao bit his lip, unsure himself.

"It…" He inspected the bodies closer and Midorima hissed in complete disapproval.

"Don't get too close, idiot!"

Takao ignored him. Then, it hit him. "Zombies."

Midorima actually blanched out, which, in any normal situation, Takao would have laughed at whole-heartedly. "What?"

"Zombies, Shin-chan! Rotten corpses that just want to eat any human being they see or smell? It's definitely zombies!" Takao exclaimed, but unlike his normal happy tone when he saw zombie movies, his tone this time was more serious and somewhat terrified.

Both were silent, trying to process what just happened a few seconds ago, and Midorima suddenly ran to the TV.

"Shin-chan, what are you doing?" Takao called out and was about to follow him when he saw the door flying open. He cursed when he saw the busted lock and quickly closed it, making as less noise as possible. He went up to Midorima, who was closing the movie and changing stations, and started pushing one of the sofas towards the broken door.

"Uh, little help here?" Takao asked while huffing but Midorima ignored him, flipping through the channels immensely fast. Takao realized what he was doing and pushed the sofa by himself. When he secured the door, Midorima called Takao in.

"Takao, look." He said, and Takao didn't like the tone of his voice. He rushed over and saw with horror the video captured behind the news reporter.

They listened intently to what she was saying.

"The epidemic, which had completely taken over America just a few weeks back, has moved over to Japan and several other countries in Asia. This virus, which had only infected one person at the time, had spread throughout the entire United States, and has thus shown horrible outcomes. What seemed to be a glimpse of fantasy has now turned into reality as people who have the virus seemingly die, only to come back, looking for food, or in this case, human flesh. Many speculate that this epidemic is like that of a zombie apocalyptic movie, in which the virus only spreads when a zombie has eaten a human being until the verge of death, and with this footage, that definitely seems to be the case. This was taken in Tokyo a few days ago. Viewer discretion is advised."

The video behind the woman enlarged, and they saw a person getting bitten by a zombie, flesh being torn apart and the camera shakily backing away.

"Get away from him!" A panicked Japanese voice shouted but the zombie kept eating, and once it was finished, it soon diverted its attention to probably the camera man, and the camera dropped the ground, the video turning sideways. Fading footsteps were heard as well as a gruesome growl, and slowly, the person whom the zombie had been eating, and who Midorima and Takao both thought he was dead, twitched his hand terribly. Soon enough, he opened his eyes, yellow and dilated, and growled loudly, just like the one that was heard a few seconds ago. It stood up and began to walk slowly with wobbling steps.

The reporter came back. "For anyone who has not been infected, immediately find a safe location, secure all doors and windows if any, and do not proceed to go out until further notice. Have a radio at all times and listen for updates and warnings. Conserve as much food as possible. Do not, I repeat, do not go out at any circumstance and do not open doors if there is any banging. Thank you."

The news shut down and the two looked at each other in disbelief.

Then, "My little sister! Mom!" Takao screamed in horror and ran to the door. Midorima grabbed his wrist at the last second and held him back tightly.

"What do you think you're doing? The reporter said to not go out in any circumstance. There're probably thousands of them outside, judging by her scared tone. You're practically walking to your own death by going out there."

Takao struggled to escape Midorima's grip. "I don't care! My little sister and my mom are out there, probably stuck, and I'm the only one who knows how to deal with this."

"Zombies movies aren't a reliable source!" Midorima said exasperatedly.

"Where do you think I got the idea of killing them from? The whole aiming for the head thing?"

Midorima bit back his response because Takao was right about that. That fact alone, however, didn't stop him from holding Takao back.

"I am not letting you go out." Midorima stood his ground.

"I'm going whether you like it or not!" Takao shouted back as he kept struggling.

"You don't even have a weapon with you!"

"I'll take your goddamn cleaver. Just let me go! I have to save my family!"

Takao was desperate. Midorima could see it so well. And honestly, he would have done the same if it were his parents. Hell, he would've jumped to idea to save Takao's family as well. But he couldn't risk it. He couldn't risk losing one of the most important people in his life.

But even so, this was Takao's family they were talking about. Midorima knew how much he loved all of them, especially his little sister, so he could understand so well why Takao wanted - no, needed - to do this.

Before Takao could say any more, Midorima let go and Takao hesitated for a second.

"Shin-chan?"

"I'm still not letting you go." Takao's face fell. "Not alone." His face immediately brightened. Midorima went to the kitchen and saw a butcher knife hanging from the counter. Takao's mother had always needed to use this knife, mostly because both Takao and his little sister were obsessed with meat.

He took it and handed it to Takao.

"You'll need a weapon. All you need to do is stab them in the head, right?" Midorima asked and Takao nodded in confirmation.

"Just like you did. Slice through if you can. If you can't, just stab them in the head and they'll go down. The only thing functioning in a zombie's body is its brain. You take that down and the whole thing goes down with it. Come on, let's go."

They pulled the sofa out of the way and started head out. Midorima took a look back at the three corpses lying on the ground, shaking his head to try and get the image out of his mind.

Takao turned back to warn him. "Zombies are extremely sensitive to noise if Dead Set has proved me well. It's better if we make no noise whatsoever."

Midorima nodded in confirmation and they barged outside.

It was too silent.

They looked at each other, mentally preparing themselves, and walked carefully without making any noise.

Fortunately, Takao's sharp eyes and hawk-like instincts were a gift at a time like this because he could sense any zombie coming their way in a 5-mile radius. He carefully pushed Midorima at a certain direction every time there were any zombies around, and Midorima trusted Takao completely.

"Where are we going?" Midorima whispered as softly as possible, putting his face close to Takao's ears so that it could only be heard by him.

"Pre-school." Takao answered back a bit hesitantly but Midorima didn't take notice of it, just nodded. It was only logical that they go there, just to see if his little sister and his mother were locked in.

But as it turned out, they didn't have to go pretty far. They didn't have to go all the way to pre-school.

Because along the way, Takao spotted an extremely familiar grey car in the middle of the street that had been completely wrecked, along with some others, but for Takao, that was the only thing in his view. He ran as fast as he could to the wrecked grey car, Midorima following from behind, and both prayed to the Gods that they were ok; that they were safe and sound.

Their prayers had not been answered.

When Takao got close enough, he could hear growling and scratching, both in high and low pitches. He could see the smashed window panes, the claw marks, the ripped fabric of the seats, but most importantly, he could see two figures with rotten, molten skin, yellow dilated eyes, and multiple chunks of their bodies gone.

His legs crashed to the ground and Midorima had to look away from the little girl, no older than six, begging to be freed from her seatbelt so that she could eat.

He crouched down to Takao, who was silent, but Midorima knew better. He hugged him, and Takao's body went stiff. He rested his head onto Midorima's shoulder that got wetter by the second and Midorima had to close his eyes to will his own tears away.

He knew Takao's parents and little sister. Having parents with demanding jobs, he barely saw them, especially when they entered middle school, so he ended up spending much more time with Takao and his family instead. He was even there when Takao's mother was giving birth to his little sister, waiting outside the hospital room together, holding Takao's hand tightly to show him everything was going to be ok. There were problems at the time with Takao's mother while she was pregnant, so they weren't sure both of them were going to make it, but the surgery had been successful, and Midorima even joined in on the group hug once Takao's mother had awoken.

There were multiple times when Midorima believed that he was part of Takao's family instead.

He helped Takao up to his feet. The people inside the car were still growling for their food.

"We have to go back. We can't afford being here without something coming our way. Come on." Madam whispered as he began to support Takao's weight onto his body and but Takao shook his head, his hair covering his eyes.

"I can't - I can't leave them like this." Takao said, his voice hoarse. Midorima knew immediately what Takao had to do.

"Do you… Do you want me to do it?" Midorima asked cautiously. Takao shook his head once more, merely walking forward.

"Just… Just wait for me there, ok? It won't take that long." Takao said, voice barely a whisper.

Midorima couldn't even bear to watch as Takao approached the car and, as Takao reassured himself that the two were safely locked in their seat belts, he stabbed the top of their heads with the same knife his mother had always used to make food for them, to make sure they were safe and not starving, to show how much their mother loved her two children. The little girl and mother stopped moving immediately, their bodies slumped, their movements halted, and their eyes completely gone.

The two were still quiet on their way back, but this time, Midorima had to rely on his own sight and instincts to avoid as many zombies as possible. It didn't work out as well as he would have like, however, because they had to kill some zombies before finally returning home.

And when they finally shut the door with the sofa after throwing the three zombies out, Takao couldn't help but finally let it all out, to wail and scream in agony, to cry and howl, to lament and find comfort. Midorima was right there for him, to remind Takao that he was not alone in this twisted world and they still had each other.

So, how was it? Good, bad, meh? Tell me in the comments!

I really hope you'll stay with me throughout this story because it is a bit long, not so much in chapters but the length in each one. It'll take some time to finish, but I hope it'll be worth it :)

Again, if you have any questions, feel free to ask and I'll get back to you the next chapter and please await the next update!

Peace,

FlyAndDontLookBack