A/N: Hello everyone, couple of things to address before the chapter starts:
1. Yes, I am very well aware of the complications with Takashi being a 17 year old Spec Ops soldier, this is not your typical Spec Ops per se, think of it more as one of those teenage-spy books where the main character is a conveniently trained spy. Takashi's situation is similar, except he was put through a much more gruelling training. The Paramilitary/Spec Ops group he is part of is not your traditional Spec Ops, they are not a force based off a real life counterpart, this Special Forces Unit is completely unique to this story and their background will be explained in further chapters.
2. My sincere and deepest apologies for not updating for so long, school was a lot busier than I thought it would be so I haven't had time.
3. I'm Australian so some spelling forms may be different, additionally Australian gun laws are quite strict so my knowledge on weapons won't be as in-depth beyond what I read/research. Also I'm not part of the military (yet).
4. Addressing "LolaTheSa's" review, you must have the emotional capacity of a doormat. There's a reason why he disappeared for two years and joined the Spec Ops, all that anger he had built up suddenly doesn't mean shit when you're put through the most mentally and physically demanding training of all time. Two years is a lot of time to get over some melodramatic teenage heartbreak. You think he's going to be a dick when there's a zombie apocalypse going on and his once best friend is dying? Yeah didn't think so.
5. I'm debating whether to write multiple perspectives or to simply write from the perspective of Takashi, let me know what you think in the reviews.
TL: DR: Everything will be explained eventually, Chapters as soon as I can and I'm Australian. Multiple perspectives or single perspective?
I don't own HOTD. Otherwise there'd be more guns and more military action.
Giving himself several minutes to recuperate, Takashi began to meticulously pack his gear again. Rei was sitting down, leaning tiredly against the wall with her eyes closed; she had just received a talking-down that emotionally drained her and wasn't ready to do anything yet. Moving his thoughts away from her, he figured military action wasn't a possibility yet, the threat had only just emerged and officially speaking, he wasn't a compliant with the JSDF nor was he officially sanctioned to assist. Determining that he should continue his original plan of getting his 'friends' out to safety, he turned promptly around to Rei.
"We should get moving soon" he said, breaking her out of her worn-out stupor. Her head snapped up and she stood up quickly, her face lighting up slightly before turning to Takashi;
"Give me your phone I want to try call my dad" she spoke, hope lacing her voice once again. He handed her his phone without a word, pulling out his radio at the same time. She gave him a puzzled look before dialling her father's number on the phone.
"Takashi?" answered a gruff voice over the phone.
"Dad?"
"Listen Takashi, I'm sure you're aware of the situation, get Rei ou…" a pause was heard as a gunshot rang out through the phone,
"Get Rei out of the city ASAP, the city is in a state of panic!" The call was dropped shortly afterwards. Rei looked at the phone confused, "I just had him and the call is now out of range?" she stuttered out, face fearful and worried at her father's situation. He simply shook his head at her, "Standard communications must have been taken out" he concluded. He knew his satellite phone would remain working no matter what but there was no point in using it at the current moment, he settled for sending out a long-range transmission on his radio.
"Mobile and telephone networks are all most likely down; I'll try to make contact with Command with my radio."
"What?" she spoke, puzzled by his words, eyes tearing up. 'Fucking civilians' He thought to himself. He shook his head scoldingly at her before pulling out his radio.
"Radio check, requesting sit-rep from any elements on this channel" he spoke quietly into his radio. Several seconds of silence ensued before he received a return transmission, a coarse voice replied:
"This is Spectre, Contingency Desolation." For the first time in a very long time, he felt the oncoming of a long-forgotten emotion return, fear. His face paled as he put down his radio with shaky hands. Contingency Desolation was one of those things that you had as a far-fetched back-up plan and no-one actually ever expected to use. It meant the absolute destruction of humanity. Desolation for Takashi meant an extinction level event. Desolation had only one objective in mind. "Survive at any cost."
He smiled despite himself, it also meant using force was now allowed and the ROE (Rules of Engagement) was now weapons free. His fear was quickly quenched by his mounting excitement for bloodshed and unrestricted violence.
"Finally…"
He hadn't had enough situations where he could put all his killing skills to the test, he had already grown to despise civilian life in the two weeks he was living it. He had grown accustomed to fighting, whether it was sabotage in some backwater countries or full blown assaults on fortified compounds in the war zones happening, Takashi had grown to love the adrenaline and rush of war, and he knew the longer he spent in civilian life, the worse he would become over time, civilian life had hurt him before and there was no way in hell that was happening again.
The coming of the unfortunate events to plague the city meant that he didn't have to try anymore, he could be who he had become over the last 2 years and freely make use of the abilities he had gained. Particularly those related to killing.
Rei flinched at his bloodthirsty expression, the Takashi she knew wasn't anything like she knew, "But then again, I turned him into what he is…" Even though it happened two years ago, the guilt still ran deep inside her, and every time she looked at Takashi, those feelings would resurface. Part of her still wanted Takashi and held onto the hope that they could start something together again, but the rest of her knew he wouldn't. Her body perked up when Takashi finally spoke.
"Time to go" he spoke with decisiveness. Taking one last glance at Hisashi's dead body, he moved towards the makeshift barrier, baton in hand. The rumbling and groaning of them could be heard beyond it. He rolled his neck in anticipation, before bringing full force of his body into a kick that propelled the tables forward. The cracking of skulls and tussle of falling bodies was heard as they were launched down the stairs, blood painting the ground like a crimson dawn. He began to walk carefully down the stairs, ensuring he was out of reach of any stragglers which fortunately, weren't many. Swiftly dispatching them with furious blows of his baton, he turned back to see Rei at the top of the stairs staring wide-eyed at him, a tint of fear underlining the confusion that ran through them. He inclined his head towards the stairs they headed up to get to the roof; she looked at him confusedly before nodding her head in assent and recognition.
He took a deep breath before smiling to himself, "Time to get to work" he begun to move towards the stairs, the floor slick with the blood of fallen monsters and littered with broken bodies. He absently rubbed the roof of his pistol again, a habit he seemed to commit to quite frequently. However his limited supply of ammo kept him from drawing it, he was saving it for the important targets e.g. Humans. The only advantage they had was numbers, other than that, they relied on an easily deceivable sense and moved too slowly to be effective against a trained Operator. Humans were an unknown variable in a combat situation, everyone was an unknown factor. Their motives were always unknown and you never knew when they could betray you.
He felt her pause while they were walking down the bloodstained stairway.
"Where are we going?" she asked softly.
"Rendezvous with any other survivors, RTB, rearm and resupply and try to make contact with my squad and get a proper situation report on what's happening."
She gave him another bewildered look, one that was starting to grate on his nerves. He growled inwardly to himself before giving an exasperated elaboration.
"We're going to see if there are any other survivors, go to my house where I have transportation and weapons, I'm going to try making contact with my slightly insane Squad Leader and Sergeant and find out what exactly the fuck is going on."
On the other side of the city, two men lying prone killing obscene amounts of them from a roof contentedly gave sudden and violent sneezes.
"What about your parents?"
"Safe." Was the only response she got, Takashi gave a scanning glance at the stairway, before starting to move again. His desire for a proper weapon was growing exponentially, while his two Nighthawk Custom M1911s were powerful and great for CQB and last resorts, they wouldn't cut it for some sort of zombie apocalypse. He required something that could put out much more damage than two pistols. It also helped that he kept his Range Rover in a near permanent state of perfect condition…and the fact that it was mounted with a Mark 47 on the roof.
The school was now an eerie quiet, the soft pad of Rei's footsteps were the only thing that could be heard while they moved. Takashi planned on finding Saya and Morita if possible, he assumed Saya would have quickly deduced the situation, she didn't call herself a genius for nothing, so he assumed they'd be heading towards the teachers faculty or to transport. He decided to give the ground floor a preliminary scout before leaving and heading to his house. He momentarily deliberated on whether to search the Nurse's office but quickly put away that thought; bites couldn't be stopped through medical means yet, not unless there was an antidote or anti-body cure which he highly doubted.
He glanced back quickly at Rei, who looked away quickly when she realised he was looking at her. Takashi knew she wanted to say something but whatever it was, it wasn't the time.
His mind strayed to the origins of the infection, he was certain that another branch of the organisation he was part of would have sent out an enormous force to find out what happened, when shit like this went down, when masses of civilians were affected, they did not fuck around, it went from business to personal. His unit in particular wouldn't be part of those investigative efforts; their goal was simply to survive at this point. They wouldn't get any help from command, but that was exactly what his unit specialised in, long-range, no communication and isolated was how they operated.
Takashi had no idea where his squad actually was, having left them a week ago. If he was to take a guess, he figured they'd have forcefully commandeered a ship or barring access to one, they'd be happily rampaging through an infested city.
Desolation – Line Break
Thunderous bangs tore across the air as two black-clad soldiers fired their M417 Sniper variant and M107 respectively. The precise sniper fire from the both of them continued to drop numerous infected. The pair lay down on the roof of the hospital, providing a web of safety upon which civilians were able to flee to the hospital and evacuate via the military helicopters. They were relentless in their killing, taking obvious joy in the free fire zone the apocalypse was providing them.
The M417 shooter, known as 'Spectre' who was also Takashi's squad leader was methodical in his shooting. With calm and deadly grace, his rifle pivoted smoothly as he swapped from target to target, every bullet hitting its mark. He wore the standard uniform of their organisation, nothing on the exterior to distinguish his leadership position to possible hostiles. He was what Takashi considered the perfect soldier, a defined instrument of war and killing. Meticulous in his execution of missions and operations, he was a well-rounded soldier with no specialisations, rather choosing a complete warrior approach to his abilities. Aside from his DMR, an MP7 lay at his side with a M870MCS shotgun slung across his back. Every visible pouch was filled with ammunition or essential equipment, with the majority of their supplies on the pack of his partner. A tightly fitted bag held a conversion kit for his M417, allowing it to swap between a battle rifle and assault rifle.
Opposite to him lay the M107 shooter, a bulky figure whose body barely recognised the recoil of the powerful rifle. He was known to the squad as "Earthshaker." If Spectre was a well-oiled tool of precision, then the Earthshaker was the shattering blunt force that complemented him. Covered in plates of Kevlar, the man was a force to be reckoned with. His immense strength allowed him to not only carry the hefty M107, but also a MK48 light machine gun, which appeared to be anything but that. His methods could only be described as having an unstoppable juggernaut bearing down upon your position to deliver righteous fury, specialising in shock and awe tactics as well as heavy assault. He was also responsible for the transportation of squad supplies and ammunition, meaning he was the pseudo mule of the group.
After the immediate area had been cleared of them, the pair looked at each other before giving quick smiles. This is what they trained for, what they lived for, the thrill of combat and the camaraderie they shared.
Unfortunately for the Spectre, who carried the weight of ensuring the squad's wellbeing, he was unaware of the status of the other operators in his unit. Five of them dropped feet first into Tokonosu City with one already in the city. After hearing from Takashi, he scratched his wellbeing off the list, certain that Takashi could take care of himself; he was more so worried for the three operators who split off from the parachute formation, thrown aside by unforeseen circumstances.
While he and Earthshaker were somehow tied by fate to forever work as a flawless duo, the other three were innate lone wolves, only joining the squad mentality through Spectre's leadership. This usually led to his extreme frustration, but it helped alleviate some of the worry he had for them.
"What are you thinking?" Earthshaker asked quietly, his voice laced with an eerie calm that never broke, no matter how much pressure he was under.
"We dropped feet first into hell; we're cut off from command, surrounded and alone. The only course of action is obvious of course" Spectre spoke, voice confident and unwavering, a testament to his ability to command and fight under duress.
"Regroup and push forward!" Earthshaker responded heartily, allowing his booming voice to emerge.
Spectre gave him a small smirk before placing his rifle on the group and pulling out his conversion kit. His movements were almost automatic as he quickly disassembled his rifle and swapped out his 20inch barrel for a 12inch one. Earthshaker was likewise swapping out his weapon, breaking the M107 down for easier transportation and hefting up his MK48, whose rounds were compatible with Spectre's M417.
Spectre looked at Earthshaker who gave a quick nod of affirmation. It was time to move out.
Desolation – Line Break
"AH!"
A feminine scream pierced the quiet atmosphere. Takashi's head snapped towards the source of the sound.
"Let's move" he breathed before setting off in a flurry of movement.
"Takashi wait up!" he heard Rei shout after him, he paid no mind as he bulldozed his way through the lingering infected, adrenaline fuelling his limbs as he struck brutally and mercilessly while running.
He skidded to a sudden halt when he arrived at the trophy corner, two things registered in his mind. One: Saya had drilled one of them in the head and several more were approaching her, Two: two buxom women had showed up beside them, an unknown purple haired beauty carrying a bokken and the airheaded, bubbly nurse at the school Ms. Shizuka.
Assuming that the purple haired girl was the combatant, he nodded quickly to her before shouting "I'll take left hostiles, you take right!" before springing into action. His blows lost no power or speed as he manoeuvred deftly between them, delivering quick and sharp blows to the head with his baton, permanently killing them. His mouth almost dropped in awe when he observed the attractive woman decimate them with such lethal elegance that he knew he would never be capable of. Her body seemed to flow naturally with the current of battle, sliding smoothly into powerful strikes and agile swipes. Her eyes gleamed with something he was all too familiar with; the utter loss of oneself to the fires of battle. She gave a wicked smile as the last of them fell, others may have found it psychotic but to the scarred Takashi, she was utterly beautiful.
He snapped out of his admiring gaze and quickly secured the area, closing the doors and finishing off any stragglers while Rei and Shizuka rushed over to Saya. He turned around to find the face he was attempting to recognise looking at him inquisitively, her sapphire eyes appraising him quickly. A slight pink tinge appeared on her face when she noticed the rugged and handsome Takashi looking amusedly at her before asking;
"We are all acquainted with the school nurse, Ms. Marikawa yes? I'm Busijima Saeko of Class 3-B" she spoke evenly, as if the recent combat had little effect on her. Panting slightly, Takashi replied:
"Komuro Takashi, Class 2-B" he paused, considering whether he should inform them of his status as a Special Forces Operator, classification be damned. Shrugging, he continued:
"Sergeant, Call-sign: Desolator. Operator of Phantom Squad, Titan Special Operations International"
He observed the slightly overweight boy perk up at this while the others stared wide-eyed at his introduction of himself. 'Kohta' if he recalled correctly was raking his eyes over Takashi's outfit and gear, before almost jumping up giddily and loudly announcing:
"Hirano Kohta, Class 2-B Sir!" Takashi raised an eyebrow in response before Rei spoke;
"I'm Miyamoto Rei of 2-B, Sojutsu Club."
"Pleasure to meet you all" Saeko spoke, giving an easy smile, keeping Takashi within her peripheral vision.
Takashi heard Saya scoff before she stood up.
"You're all so soft!" she exclaimed. Takashi narrowed his eyes at her, observing her carefully, noticing that she was displaying symptoms of a mental breakdown.
"Takagi…" Rei started.
"Don't treat me like I'm stupid! I'm…I'm a genius! I can do anything once I put my mind to it" she shouted heatedly. Before Takashi could act, Saeko had stepped up and placed her hand pacifyingly onto Saya's shoulder.
"That's enough" she spoke softly, voice supportive and caring. Before long, Saya burst into tears, crying intensely into Saeko's chest.
The rest of the group stared on sympathetically; all aware of the effects of whatever was happening on their own mentality. Takashi shook his head impassively, having seen this too many times before, soldiers breaking down when the reality of their situation hit them with the force of an artillery round. He knew they could not stay where they were for long however, before long the area would be swarming with them being attracted by the sounds they were creating.
"We need to move, this area isn't secure, I suggest the teacher's lounge, we can secure the keys to some transportation and exfiltrate out of the area" he spoke out clearly, stressing the need for them to move. Saya looked at him and gave a weak nod before she and Saeko stood up gingerly. Kohta gave him a quick salute to which he chuckled. He could see the boy was bursting at the seams to ask him questions about his occupation, only now did Takashi remember the boy was considered a military otaku in the class.
"Let's move" he ordered, his Sergeant attitude slipping in. They moved at a brisk pace, the journey itself was quiet, as was the school, Takashi knew it as the calm before the storm, the brief respite before they were thrown back into the fire.
They arrived at the abandoned teacher room, everyone splitting off to do different things. Takashi looked around and sighed, the room itself was tactically terrible as a defensible position, two entrances/exits did not make for a fun time in an onslaught.
"Rei, secure the doors, Saya, go get yourself washed up, Hirano go with her, Saeko and Ms. Marikawa, you two take a break while I catch our bearings" he ordered before walking over to the chair and slumped into it, allowing the adrenaline of the day's events thus far to drain away and the tiredness to set in. He took the opportunity to get a better look at Saeko. He could not deny he found her extremely attractive, the fact she was a battle-trained warrior goddess only increased that tenfold, while he didn't exactly get the opportunity for any romances over the last two years, he still had feelings albeit not many. The heartbreak from Rei and Hisashi years ago had all but washed away at this point; he had bigger fish to worry about. He noted Shizuka giving him a strange look in his peripheral vision, her eyes betraying her bubbly personality. She wasn't who she made out to be.
Figuring now was a better time than any; he drew both pistols from their holsters, placing them on the table before him. Pulling out his maintenance kit, he began the careful process of stripping, cleaning and reassembling his weapon, ignoring the cries of embarrassment from Kohta and Saya.
He felt Rei's presence behind his shoulder, she was watching pensively as he mechanically went about his business, still not entirely sure who Takashi really was and what he did. Kohta on the other hand looked like Christmas had come early, jumping to Takashi's side and firing an endless barrage of questions.
"Is that a custom Nighthawk M1911!? Are you really a Special Forces Operator? How come I've never heard of Titan International? How did you become an Operator?" he chattered excitedly. Takashi noticed everyone else turning around and looking at him expectantly, all of them curious.
He exhaled forcefully, knowing that not telling them would reduce squad efficiency, as their curiosity may hinder their performance or trust in him in the future. He spun around on his chair and faced them.
"I'm sure you all have questions but I don't have all the answers. The reason I'm dressed in my military kit and have guns is because I work for an International unit of Special Forces Operators, the most highly trained soldiers in existence. The reason you've never heard of who I work for and what I do is because everything we do is classified; now while I shouldn't be telling you any of this, the situation is FUBAR enough for me to forgo the regulations. Long story short, I left two years ago due to…extenuating circumstances and became a Special Forces Operator, two years later I've served in enough operations to deem myself worthy of a couple of years of rest to complete my schooling for the sake of it before I can return to full service. Obviously that plan has completely fucked itself and now my current orders are simply to survive, which I fully intend on doing, whether you choose to stay with me is up to you."
"That's a lot to take in Takashi-san" Saeko spoke, her eyes glimmering with a hint of respect and dare she say it; desire. She was finding herself attracted to the man before her more and more. Rei on the other hand looked slightly horrified, it was her actions that had sent Takashi away, the reason why he disappeared was because of her, and she felt terrible because of it. Before she could speak, Takashi cut in:
"Listen Rei, whatever happened two years ago is done, yes, you broke my heart and you broke me but that was long gone and done. I'm not the person I was back then, I'm a soldier now, and my feelings don't mean shit because my life was forfeit a long time ago. Stop worrying about what you did because not everything can be fixed" he spoke bluntly.
"So that's why no-one would tell me what happened to you…" Saya spoke quietly.
"Yes, my activity at the time was classified; your parents and the school Principal were given the bare minimal information about the nature of my absence."
Takashi finally turned to Kohta, who looked ready to burst out of his seat. Takashi gave another haggard sigh before allowing Kohta to have his time with him.
"You get 3 questions, make them count."
"How did you get the rank of Sergeant within two years and what is Phantom Squad?"
"The esteemed rank of Sergeant was bestowed upon me after operations during a coup d'état in some backwater African country. Phantom Squad is a long-range squad specialising in operating without the presence of a command structure or HQ communications. "
"Can I use one of your pistols?" he asked eagerly, hope sparkling brightly in his eyes.
"No."
"But I…"
"No."
They both turned when they noticed the television being turned up.
"The government has started to do something about this on-going revolt. However the politicians…"
The group was interrupted by Takashi's laugh, which boomed darkly through the room.
"Revolt…typical political bullshit, hah, don't get me fucking started. This situation is fucked up beyond all repair but guess what, when you're stuck in hell do you know what you should do?" he asked the group, a smirk on his face.
"What?" they all asked.
"Regroup and push forward."
A/N: Thanks for reading, Read and Review…or not, whatever. Take care all.
