I do not own Highschool of the DEAD or its characters.

Story revised 10/9/13. Please remember to Review and Favorite!


Blood of the DEAD Chapter 2

As Saya woke in the sunlight of the new day, she realized someone was standing over the bed. Looking up through sleepy eyes, she found Shizuka looking down at her with a small smile on her face and the index finger of her left hand tapping the corner her mouth.

"Sleep well Saya-chan?" Shizuka asked as she reached and took the thermometer from Kohta's mouth. "Hmm, 102, better but I wish it were lower." The nurse said, "Better get up Saya. Takashi wants your help and I think they just about have breakfast ready. I'll stay here with Kohta-kun." Saya nodded before crawling off the bed and heading downstairs.

Saya walked into the kitchen to find Takashi, Rei, and Saeko putting oatmeal in bowls on the counter. She picked up a box of juice, and took a bowl from Takashi as she went to the dining area. Sitting down at the table she found granola, honey and what looked to be some milk made from powder.

Rei and Takashi came in and set down with her as Saeko got some granola and honey for her bowl. "I will go up to stay with Kohta-kun, so Sensei can come down to eat," she told them as she headed up the stairs.

Takashi looked at Saya with a little smile on his face and said, "Saya? I need a genius this morning. You feel up to it?"

Saya narrowed her eyes as she looked back, "What, finally decided you need a brain Takashi-san?" She wrinkled her nose at him and winked at Rei, who covered her mouth to smother a giggle.

Takashi sighed and said, "Ok I deserved that. I need to figure out where to find a drug store, but I don't want to go out just roaming till we run across one."

Saya thought a minute and said, "First of all we need a phone book. Have you looked for one?"

Takashi nodded, "There is one in the library, and I've found a lot of addresses, but no way to tell where they are from here."

"There's a library?" Saya asked. "We need to look for a map then and see if I can work out our position."

After they finished their breakfast and cleaned up their dishes, Takashi led them down the hall under the stairs. Below the bedroom Kohta occupied, he showed them a room wrapped in bookshelves with a large dark wood desk in the center. Leather chairs were placed around the room making places where people could sit and talk or read at the same time. A drafting table sat in front of the rear window where the sunlight gave it a golden light to work by.

Saya stood in the door with her mouth agape and said, "I think I'm in love." She walked around gazing at the books. Classics, modern, history, she almost drooled as she read the spines. She pulled her attention away to go to the desk where Takashi was standing with the phone book.

First, she looked at the addresses to see if she recognized any of them. Then she told Takashi to search the desk for maps while she and Rei checked the book shelves. A few minutes later Takashi said, "I think this is it, Saya."

She went over to him where he had a book with street maps of different parts of the city. "This will work great!" she declared as she gathered the maps, phone book, and writing paper, putting them all on the drafting desk. She dug into the drawers of the drafting table and produced a ruler. After finding where they were, she began checking drug store addresses and measuring distances.

Ten minutes later she looked up, "There are three within three kilometers of here, all in the same direction. If you start now you should be able to get there and back in plenty of time before dark. Who are you planning to take with you?"

Takashi thought for a moment and said, "Sensei and Saeko. That leaves you here to watch Kohta and Rei to take care of Alice. I'll go get them ready now." With that he turned and headed out the door.

Saya quickly wrote down some directions for him and got up to start out. Then she noticed Rei standing with her back to her holding a book in her hand and flipping through it. Curious she walked over and looked over Rei's shoulder. "What are you looking at Rei?" Saya asked.

Rei squeaked as she slammed the book closed and pulled it close to her chest. Looking over her shoulder red faced she asked quietly, "Where's Takashi?"

"Gone to get Saeko and sensei ready to go shopping, why, what have you got?" Saya asked with growing curiosity.

Rei, still red faced opened the book and showed her the contents. Saya's eyebrows shot to the top of her forehead as Rei flipped the pages.

"What the…" Saya said as she turned to the front of the book to see the title. "The Joy of Sex" she read and asked Rei, "Is it some kind of Hentai?"

"Looks more like some kind of reference book! Look it shows all sorts of things!" Rei said. The two girls flipped pages and stared at them, till they jumped when they heard Takashi calling from down the hall.

"Put that somewhere you can find it again," Saya whispered as Rei slammed the book closed. Rei nodded and put the book back on the shelf with the pages outward so the spine could not be seen.

They met the others in the main room as they were getting ready to leave. "Is there anything you need?" Takashi asked as he put one of the packs on his back.

Saya nodded and handed a piece of paper to the nurse who looked it over and nodded. Takashi looked on with a puzzled look till Saya said, "Girl stuff, Takashi."

"Be careful!" Rei said as she gave Takashi a quick hug. Saeko opened the front door and quickly scouted the street before waving the others out. Takashi waved as he closed the gate behind them and the two girls watched till they were out of sight.

After they had closed and locked the door, Rei and Saya went to the back porch to check on Alice. They found the child sitting by the Koi pond watching the fish while Zeke lay beside her.

"Onee-chan!" She said as she ran to hug Saya, "How is big brother Kohta-san?"

Saya hugged the child and said, "He is still resting munchkin. Would you like Rei onee-chan to take you up to see him?"

"Yes please!" Alice said.

"I'll be up in a few minutes," Saya told Rei as they walked back into the house. Rei nodded and started upstairs with Alice as Saya went back down the hall to the library.

She stood for a few minutes looking at the books and thinking. Her gaze kept drifting back to the book Rei had found, but she resisted and picked a modern novel instead. She then made her way back upstairs to see Alice happily telling Kohta all about the fish in the pond even though he was still asleep.

Saya walked across the hallway to the room where Shizuka and Alice had slept. Finding the window on the front side of the house, she opened the curtains. There she could stand and see down the street in the direction the others had gone.

Rei was bringing Alice out of Kohta's bedroom as Saya came back across the hall. She knelt down and gave Alice a hug before sending her downstairs to play with Zeke.

"Has he opened his eyes at all?" Rei asked as they stood in the doorway looking at Kohta.

"No," Saya said shaking her head. "He took a little water last night but other than that he has done nothing but sleep."

"Saya if you want to talk about it, I'm willing to listen," Rei told the pink haired girl.

Saya hung her head and said, "I don't know what I could say, Rei. Every day since the start of this I have berated him, screamed at him, and hit him, when all he ever did was protect us. Now…now that he might die, all I want to do is tell him how sorry I am that I treated him that way, and how proud I am of him."

"You also kept him focused, and his mind on the events going on around us," Rei replied, "You know as well as I do how distracted he gets when he finds a new gun or something like that."

"Yes it makes me mad when he geeks out over…" Saya began when suddenly Kohta moaned. The two girls rushed to the bed side. Kohta had sweat pouring off him as he shivered, another low moan coming from his mouth as his teeth clenched.

A shiver of fear went down Saya's spine as she noticed his color. He looks gray! She thought as she felt his forehead and chest before grabbing the thermometer and trying to put it in his mouth. Not being able to get it in, she discarded it and wrapped him with the blanket. Rei handed her the wet rag and Saya began to bath his face and neck. "Rei…" Saya said, "…go get some clean fresh water please." Rei nodded and headed out the door with the bowl.

Come on Kohta, don't do this to me! Saya thought, Takashi and the others will be back soon and we will get you all fixed up.

Rei came back in with the fresh water and took over wiping him down. Meanwhile Saya got the small bowl and began to crush some more aspirin into a paste. I'll start out with two. she thought as she worked.

"He stopped shivering and his mouth is unclenched," Rei observed.

"Take the blanket off and put the thermometer in his mouth. Watch out in case he starts to clench again, I don't want him to bite it in two," Saya told her. Rei nodded and did as she was told as Saya worked on the medicine.

A few minutes later Rei took the thermometer out and checked it. "What does it say?" Saya asked as Rei went to the window to see it better.

She looked back at Saya with fear in her eyes, "106!"

"Damn it!" Saya said. "Rei come hold this!" She handed Rei the small bowl as she climbed on the bed. As Rei held the bowl, Saya took the tongue depressor and pried his mouth open. She coated his tongue with the paste and then let his mouth close.

"Come on," She said. "Come on, boy; suck it down." She watched but Kohta's mouth did not move. "Damn it! This worked last night!" She looked around and thought for a second. "Rei, hand me the rag! Make it real wet!"

Rei soaked the rag and handed it to her. Saya folded it into a triangle and pressed it into Kohta's mouth between his teeth. "Come on boy," She said as she began to squeeze the rag and ran water into his mouth. She reached out and squeezed his nose shut and about five seconds later he opened his mouth and grasped for air. Upon closing his mouth Kohta began to suck on the rag taking in the water he so badly needed.

"There you go boy! Suck it! Suck it like it's a nipple!" she said as she put more paste in his mouth and went through the process again. Still talking to him she said, "Suck it like you mean it!" She leaned in close to his ear, "Suck it like it's my tit otaku!"

Saya kept this up until all the paste was gone, and then she started wiping him down again. She did this for thirty minutes or so and then put the thermometer back in his mouth. Withdrawing it a few minutes later she looked at it closely. "103, Rei!" She exclaimed. Getting off the bed she collapsed into the chair, blew out a breath, and said, "Damn; now I'm tired!"

"I better go check on Alice. She's been alone for a while now." Rei said as she started toward the door. She stopped and looked back at the pink-haired girl and asked, "Saya? What if he remembers what you said? I have heard that sometimes people in a coma remember things that are said to them while they are out."

Saya waved her hand and said, "I don't care, Rei. If he gets through this and remembers what I said…I'll handle that then." Rei nodded and went out the door.

Saya got up once more and checked Kohta's forehead. She leaned over and kissed him on the forehead and then after thinking about, it kissed him softly on the lips. She pulled back and looked at him as she thought to herself; I swear I thought I felt his lips move! Not seeing any movement she went back to her chair and picked up the book she had taken from the library.

000

Waking up several hours later Saya got up and stretched. She checked on Kohta and on finding him okay, she went downstairs to see what Rei and Alice were doing.

Saya stopped at the bottom of the stairs and watched the pair as they sat at the dining table. Rei had found some paper and pencils and was working with Alice on her kanji. Saya watched for a bit and then made a noise so they would know she was coming up behind them.

"Onee-chan is big brother Kohta-san okay?" Alice asked.

"Yes munchkin, he is still sleeping though," Saya replied. She walked over to the cabinets and asked, "We doing any lunch Rei or waiting till the others get back?"

"Saya do you realize what time it is?" Rei asked with a smile. Saya shook her head no and Rei said, "It's after 3 pm. Alice and I had peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and I have dinner ready to be put on the stove."

Saya nodded and quickly fixed herself a pb&j before heading back up the stairs. After checking on sleeping beauty, she went across the hall and looked out the window and down the street. They have been gone for almost six hours. I wonder where they are? she thought.

She spent the next hour going back and forth between the two bedrooms. It was after 4pm when she finally saw someone moving down the street in the direction she was watching. She waited till she was sure, and then ran downstairs to open the door for the returning group.

She unbolted the door and peeked out just as Takashi got to the gate. Checking the yard and street for Them, she ran down to help with the big gym bags they were all carrying.

"What did you do hit the mega-mart?" Saya asked as she saw all the loot.

Takashi grinned, "Kind of, let's get inside first and we'll tell everyone at once." Saya nodded and led them in the door.

"First of all how's Kohta?" Takashi asked as the trio got water to drink and sat down at the table.

Saya gave a report about how he was and how the fever went up. Shizuka got up and said, "I'm going up to look in on him." Taking her main medical bag, she headed up the stairs.

Takashi took a drink and started telling the others about their day. "There was a Pharmacist living in one of the stores. He was holed up in the back of the shop behind steel doors with a shotgun and told us he would barter for whatever we needed. He gave us a list and told us which shops still had stock. Saeko and I went out shopping while Shizuka stayed and talked with him about what we needed and the problems we had. This worked in our favor as we could pick up things we needed as well as what he wanted. He turned out to be a real nice old guy, and when we got back, he and sensei were filling up a couple of bags with stuff we needed."

Takashi rubbed his neck and laughed, "I let him look through all the other stuff we picked up, and he got a few more items that were not on his list. He told us we now had 'store credit' and he hoped we would come by again. I told him if we stayed in the area we would come and check on him in a few days. He seemed real happy about that."

"What did he have to say about other people?" Rei asked.

"He said there were a few others around but it seemed to be less and less every day," Takashi said. "He thinks most are drifting away to find better 'pickings', but he knew several had been caught by Them also. That's another thing; we saw almost none of Them walking the streets. The whole trip we saw maybe, ten, twelve?"

Saeko nodded as she took another drink of her water, "However, it seemed there were more of Them on the return trip then when we went down this morning."

Shizuka came downstairs and said, "I gave him a shot of full spectrum antibiotic and a little pain killer, but I think he needs a blood transfusion. Do any of you know your blood type?"

"O positive," Saeko said.

"B negative for me" Takashi replied and Rei shook her head that she did not know.

Saya looked at the blond and said, "O negative; universal donor."

"Oh good!" the nurse exclaimed. "Come with me and let's get this done. I want to be through before dark so everyone can get a good night sleep."

Upstairs, Shizuka had Saya lay on the bed beside Kohta, as she began to hook up tubes and a pump like device. After a few minutes with some of the others looking on, she stuck needles in Kohta and Saya's arms, and began to work the pump, taking blood from one and putting it into the other.

"Boy he is really going to owe you big time Saya," Takashi said as he watched the procedure. She stuck her tongue out at the boy causing Rei and Saeko to laugh.

About an hour and a half later Shizuka decided she had transferred enough. Dismantling the equipment, she cleaned it and stored it away. She had Saya eat some high calorie cookies she had in her bag, and then told her she wanted her to eat a good solid meal.

The others had gone back downstairs earlier so Saya told the nurse she would be down in a minute. After Shizuka left, she lay her head on Kohta's chest and listened to his heartbeat. A short time later she heard someone discreetly clear their throat. She looked up to find Saeko standing in the door smiling slightly.

"Dinner is ready, Saya-san," the dark-haired girl said. "I will sit with him while you go eat." Saya nodded and got up, stretching before heading out the door.

Her stomach grumbled as she walked into the kitchen to find fresh baked bread and stew made with canned meat. Takashi was helping Alice feed Zeke his daily can of dog food and gave the child two dog biscuits for later.

After eating, Takashi went up and sent Saeko down to eat. Once they finished, Shizuka got out a box of chocolate cupcakes and gave two to Alice, telling her to take one to Takashi. The women then sat at the table and began to savor the treats with moans of delight. The younger girls fell into hysterical giggles as the nurse began to pant and moan, while digging into the cake with her tongue, scooping out the white cream before licking it off her lips.

"Oh sensei!" Saeko said, a wicked grin curving her lip. "You must teach me your technique! Though I prefer Twinkies myself, you know long…tan…and full of cream…" She rolled her eyes and fanned herself as the others collapsed into giggles again while pointing at her.

Afterwards the girls cleaned up and got ready for the night. After her turn in the bath, Saya climbed the stairs and found Takashi sitting in the wing-back chair with Alice. The little girl sat in his lap as he read to her from one of her children's books. Saya stood in the hallway and watched for a few minutes, thinking how grownup he looked while dealing with the child.

Saya stepped in the door and told Alice, "Munchkin, it's time to get ready for bed. Go down and find Rei onee-chan. She has a bath ready."

"Hai, Saya onee-chan," Alice said as she hugged Takashi. "Domo arigato* nii-chan* for reading to me."

"You are welcome Alice-chan." Takashi replied as she ran from the room.

Saya smirked as he got up and stretched. "Well aren't you the father figure," she said.

Takashi shrugged his shoulders and smiled as he reached out and pulled one of Saya's pig-tails, for which she punched him in the shoulder.

"Call if you need anything, Saya," he said as he headed out the door.

Saya nodded and checked Kohta forehead with her hand. Hmm, she thought, He really feels a lot cooler.

Saya walked back out into the hallway and stood at the railing that overlooked the living area. The others were sitting around the fire pit talking quietly. Takashi was sitting on one side with Saeko and Rei to either side of him. Shizuka sat opposite with Alice and Zeke beside her.

Saya just watched her friends for a while thinking how lucky they were to have each other.

She walked back into the bedroom and closed the door. Going over to the window she leaned out and smelled the night air, wondering if it would rain again soon. Seeing nothing but bright stars, she closed the glass and climbed into bed next to Kohta. She leaned over and kissed him softly on the lips, whispered goodnight, and settled with her head on his shoulder with his hand wrapped in hers.


A/N: Please Review and Favorite! I love hearing you opinions!

*Domo arigato is a Japanese phrase meaning "Thank you very much"

*'Nii-chan' means "elder brother"