Hope you all enjoy!

I do not own Highschool of the Dead. All rights go to their respective owners.


Kohta woke to a touch on his shoulder and the dark amber glow of the setting sun. Takashi put a finger up to his mouth, with Saeko standing beside him he figured something was up, but their leader pointed next to him.

That's when he saw something that supercharged his heartbeat, Saya leaning against him, sound asleep.

I must've died and gone to heaven.

The two people standing in front of him had an all-knowing smile plastered to their faces, he could feel the blood rushing into his. Takagi's breathing was slow and steady, she had set her glasses down at her feet which were curled up beside her, leaning her full weight into the gun master.

Takashi squatted down next to him and whispered, "Long day?"

Kohta spoke quietly in return, "I guess so, she didn't seem too tired when we were talking."

The other boy shrugged, "We'll leave you to it. It'll be like we weren't even here. Miss Shizuka is probably working on dinner, so I'd head in soon."

The leader stood and with Saeko's fingers now twined with his they made their way to the mansion leaving Kohta alone with the pinkette and no clue on how to wake her without his immediate demise.

Put me up against a hundred of Them and I won't bat an eye, but against Takagi I have no power.

He debated between clearing his throat or shrugging his shoulder a bit, but decided that'd be too rude.

Maybe just tell her to wake up?

Just then the wind picked up ever so slightly blowing a few strands of hair in front of Saya's eyes.

Even when she's resting she is utterly breathtaking.

Without really thinking he slowly pushed the hairs back behind her ear, careful not to shift his shoulder, he could feel his finger touch her and to his terrible surprise her eyes slowly flittered open.

For the love of all things good left in this world, don't be angry.

Without leaning away from him she looked up at the boy, "How long was I asleep."

Her dreamy expression was set to kill and left him lost for words, "Well, uh, you know, I'm not sure, cause, I guess, Takashi and Saeko just got back, and…"

As if he wasn't shaken enough she put a finger to his lips as she sat up, "That's quite enough out of you," A coy smile playing on her lips.

I never knew angels had pink hair…

Grabbing her glasses she stood and stretched, there were no signs of Them around the perimeter and Kohta couldn't hear Them either, so the fence was still secure.

Taking a few quick deep breaths he got his nerves under control, "Takashi said that Miss Shizuka was making dinner, I kind of lost track of time." He scratched the back of his head.

She put a finger to her lips, "Then we'd better get going, I hope Alice and Rei weren't worried about where we went."

The gunner smiled, "If they are I'll take the blame!"

Saya smirked, "How noble of you."

And so the two set off, but he could swear that her shoulder brushed his from time to time.


It was like all eyes were set on him when they sat down at their makeshift dinner table. He could assume that everyone had already heard about it, even Alice, but Takagi, much to his surprise, didn't even seem phased as she down across from him.

The menu tonight was beef jerkey, canned pears, and crackers, it would definitely fill the void, but Kohta missed the days of hearty meals, although his stomach didn't.

Rei stared at him with the cheekiest expression he had ever seen in his life, the food he was eating went down like rocks and gravel. Saeko and Miss Shizuka were chatting back and forth with Saeko chiming in.

Rei finally opened her mouth, "So. Kohta."

Here we go.

He glanced up from his meal, meeting her eyes for a second, "Hmm?"

"When should we start calling you Casanova?"

As if on queue a piece of meat caused him to sputter and cough, bringing everyone's attention to him once more. The boy was so busy trying to not blow out a lung he couldn't see the wicked gleam in Saya's eyes. Their genius' gaze bore through Rei like a mining rig, leaving the amber haired girl rather flustered.

Takashi patted him on the back, trying to help him clear it out. Kohta reached for some water, which Takagi provided.

Taking some swigs he coughed out a few "Thanks."

Shizuka, not reading the atmosphere piped up. "I must say you two were the cutest thing I'd seen. Like something out of a manga, oh how I do love watching young love bloom!"

Saeko snorted, "It was quite surprising seeing you two like that."

"How so?" Takagi finally snapped out.

The swordswoman grinned, "You haven't exactly been the least prickly person around."

"Oh yeah?"

Takashi cut off whatever Saeko was about to say next, "I think what she means is that its nice seeing you open up for once. I sure am."

Although that seemed to settle her temper some, she still huffed.

"I just lost track of time, that's all, me and Saya were just trying to make sure you guys weren't having trouble on the supply run." Kohta had finally begun to speak again.

Damn jerky, trying to put me down.

Shizuka spoke once more, "Well that's enough of the gossip, you all need to make sure you eat!" The blond had slipped into her "Serious Mode" as Kohta like to call it, the nurse acting more as a mother and a professional.

Rei and Saeko relented setting back to their meals, Alice all the while looking on in confusion and munching on crackers.


With dinner out of the way, and Kohta excusing himself early to avoid any confrontation with the other girls, he had finally found some peace since he woke up. It wasn't raining, but it wasn't exactly clear either as he sat on the balcony of the mansion, trying to clear his thoughts.

Stupid Saeko… stupid Rei… can't just leave well enough alone.

He looked out over the garden that sprawled in front of him, trying to think about anything but Saya, he thought about potential ways of reinforcing the perimeter or perhaps making a garden so they could be more self-sufficient and not relying on supply runs for resources.

"Breath in. Breath out."

The gunner could hear the sounds of footsteps and prayed it was Takashi and sure enough when he turned it was. His friend sat down beside him, letting out a heavy sigh as he did so.

"Sorry about that, it's like a feeding frenzy around those girls sometimes." Komuro lightly slapped his shoulder.

Kohta smiled nervously, "Yeah I guess, I assumed I wasn't going to make it through dinner anyways."

"They'll get over it for sure, but in the mean time, how in the world did you get Takagi to… I don't know, sleep on you I guess? As long as I've known her she's been a touch-me-not and not too kind to those who get too friendly."

Hirano looked to the sky, the few stars that cracked through the clouds. "I was already asleep by the time whatever it was happened. She and I had just been talking about love and how it related to the new world and stuff."

He sighed, "We were waiting for you and Saeko to get back, I guess the evening breeze lulled me to sleep."

Takashi chuckled, "Well, no matter what the other girls say I think its great that you're being that support that Saya needs, her mom used to do most of the comforting for her when I was around. I was being honest at dinner about what I said."

The gunner smiled, looking up once more. "Yeah."

They sat in silence listening to the wind and the sound of distant thunder, Hirano really appreciated moments like these. Eventually Takashi stood up, leaving the boy to his quiet.

I wonder how cold it'll be tonight. I could almost camp out right here.

Deciding to not keep his thoughts at bay any longer he pondered on Takagi's recent behavior.

Seems like yesterday when she was still all tense and irritable. Is it really me that mellowed her out?

Takashi's words were kind and he appreciated them, but part of him wondered if they were true.

Not that I'm going to complain. The fact a girl felt comfortable enough to sleep on my shoulder is enough. They used to not want to get near me with a ten-foot pole, so it's a major upgrade.

He breathed in through his nose and out through his mouth. "In and out."

I wonder what time it is? Is Saya already asleep?

The gunner hummed an old tune he liked from before Z-Day. I really miss music sometimes.

Heels clacking against the wood and stone brought his attention to the next visitor. Rei looked somewhat uncomfortable as she sat down beside him.

"Are you alright, Rei?"

She nodded, her head resting on her knees.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, the awkwardness growing steadily.

Just when he was about to comment she spoke up, "I'm sorry about dinner, Hirano."

He smiled at the girl, "You really don't have to worry about that, it just caught me by surprise is all."

She glanced at him, her amber eyes filling with tears that she was barely keeping down.

Uh oh, what did I do?

"It might seem silly, but I was just talking with Miss Shizuka after we finished cleaning up, I just feel so jealous, you know? Like everyone around me still has someone to love and I don't." She wiped her eyes with a sleeve.

He put a hand on her shoulder, "You still have Takashi don't you? Alice?"

The lancer shook her head, "I don't mean familial love."

His hand dropped, "Oh." I could have guessed that.

She gazed at the stars, "I lost to Saeko weeks ago, probably even before then. I just liked to think I was still in the race, you know?"

"Kind of. Before Z-Day it never even felt like I got a ticket to the race." The boy frowned slightly.

"Hisashi just was there for me, Takashi had grown more distant, and there was so much drama going on with Shido and my dad." The tears were now coming down steadily.

Not sure of what to do he simply rubbed around her upper back and shoulders, attempting to comfort the girl.

"I take it this is because you saw him and Saeko together?"

She nodded in her knees, her feet curling as close to her as possible.

She and I haven't really been close; this must be tough on her.

"Think of it this way, Rei, maybe you're destined to do something greater for the time being. I know its probably hard to think about not having someone to love, but you'll get through it I'm sure, I've seen your strength before."

He could hear her sniffle, "Easy for you to say, Saya has been all over you recently."

A blush fired up his face, "Well, I'll just say that is unexpected and I really don't know what to think, Saya doesn't always speak her mind with me."

Rei looked up at him, "I'm sure she likes you at least."

"Maybe. I'd like to think so, I wouldn't really call myself the most attractive guy, but I do know how to shoot a gun." He chuckled a bit, trying to lighten the mood.

To his delight she giggled slightly, the tears seeming to have stopped. "I don't know, you've slimmed up a bit."

"You're too kind."

Like with Takashi before they lapsed into silence, Kohta still enjoying the night air. He could feel something brush his fingers.

"Hey Kohta."

The boy looked over, "Hmm?"

Rei gave a quick squeeze to the top of his hand and smiled, "Thank you."

He closed his eyes and sprawled on his back. "Anytime." He yawned, "Anytime."

She giggled one last time before standing and leaving.

"You better not catch a cold, Saya will have your head if you do."

Hirano snorted, "Yeah, you're probably right."

The wind picked back up, cooling his nerves, he still wasn't totally accustomed to talking with girls, especially ones like those in his group. Boys at Fujimi would've killed to be in Takashi and his position.

Guess my luck does shine through sometimes.

Cushioning his head with his hands he allowed himself to drift off to wherever his mind wanted.

His last thought put a smile on his face, Wonder how much money I could've made as a therapist?


A/N:

Man that was fun. Echos has probably been one of the more enjoyable stories that I've written, the fluff and plot and everything, its just been too much fun. Kind of a weird thing while I was writing this chapter, I thought about the possibility of Rei and Kohta getting together.

Weird right? Might be something I explore in the future, but you never know. Maybe do a Rei x Kohta x Saya story for the kicks, I do love shipping its just so difficult writing a three person ship that's believable.

But I digress.

Hope you guys enjoy!

~ Trainkrazy ~