Chapter 7
"Why are you two staying here together?" Kagami demanded, glaring at the smug face he'd hoped never to see again after he'd defeated it on the basketball court, a lifetime ago.
"Well we thought it would make a nice summer home," Hanamiya smirked, propping his hands on his hips, one of which was clenched around a jagged, bloody piece of steel bar about the length of his arm. Like Hyuuga, he sported his fair share of injuries, though not nearly as severe. A few faded bruises on his upper arms, one much darker one near his eye, and a smattering of scabs and scrapes marred his skin. But he did not look like a man who was suffering; he gleamed with mirth and the air of malice that had hung around him since high school, and probably before.
"Be serious, for once in your life, why don't you?" Hyuuga snapped, glaring at Hanamiya like he was something unpleasant stuck to the bottom of his shoe. ...Which wasn't too far off, "I was part of a smaller, looser group after Kyoshi was lost - a couple of former Touou guys led by Wakamatsu, and some others whose names I don't remember, who were little more than kids. I got separated from them on a food raid, and I quickly ran out of bullets..." he swallowed with disgust, "I would have been killed if this prick hadn't stepped in and put a wrench through the skull of one of the zombies trying to latch onto me. Since then we've been working together, taking shifts guarding and sleeping, and keeping the zombies back. But it's not like we're suddenly best buddies or anything." He shot Hanamiya a venomous glare, and was rewarded with a sneer and a stuck out tongue.
Rather suddenly, Kagami wondered if the injuries covering them both were the results of them fighting each other. It seemed like a waste of energy when there were much worse things to fight right outside their door, and they did need each other to survive, but he had to admit, if he was forced to spend every day in close proximity with Hanamiya, he would be hard-pressed not to throw at least a few punches his way.
"We barely managed to keep our base secure with three guards, how do the two of you manage it on your own?" Kuroko asked.
"Sometimes a few slip through our defenses," Hyuuga admitted, "And we've had a couple close calls...we watch and patrol almost constantly; there hasn't been much sleep for either of us since we relocated here. I think running on twenty minutes is about normal nowadays."
"And you don't have any guns?" Kuroko pressed.
"Nope," Hanamiya said carelessly, tossing the bar in his hand over his shoulder, "Hand-to-hand combat, little sucker, it takes it out of a guy. But lemme tell you, there's nothing more satisfying than lobotomizing one of those creeps with a drain pipe and watching it twitch."
Kuroko winced, and subsided into silence, shifting his feet uncomfortably at the obvious tone of relish Hanamiya had used.
"We use what we've got on hand as makeshift weapons," Hyuuga added, clearly with more distaste than his sadistic partner, "Beams, pipes, cinderblocks, you name it. I'd throw the radio at their heads if I thought it'd do the job."
"How do you get food?" Riko asked, gently prodding Hyuuga's protruding ribs, "You're obviously not getting enough."
"There were a few crates of non-perishables when we got here, but most of them ran out pretty quick," Hyuuga explained, "Now we're down to rations and whatever we can scrape from the stores nearby. Busted open a few vending machines at the gym next door, but otherwise we've mostly picked this place clean."
"What happens when you run out?"
"...I guess we'll worry about that when we get there."
Kagami couldn't help but feel impressed. On their own, with no one to help or lead them, these two were doing a job fit for ten men, and though they weren't in the best of shape and hated each other's guts, they'd lived to tell the tale, thus far.
Hanamiya shrugged and stuck his bloody hands in his pockets, still smirking, "It's not much of a living, but we are alive. If you losers want to join us here, we'd be thrilled to have you. Can't promise you a Welcome Aboard party, though; we're fresh out of streamers."
.
.
So Kagami's group merged with Hyuuga's, with no clear authority or fixed schedule, and it became clear to Aomine right away that everyone was tense...most likely because of the presence of that douchebag Hanamiya, hanging in the spacious warehouse like a foul smog. He wondered why Hyuuga didn't just double-cross him in his sleep - maybe leave him for the zombies if he didn't have the stomach for it - but then, he did kind of owe him a life-debt; maybe putting up with his repulsive personality was his repayment. Besides, he supposed they both had a greater chance of survival if they worked together, instead of separately. And his eyes had roved more than once over the bruises mottling both of their faces and arms...well, even tolerance had its limits.
The trouble about being the injured party, incapacitated while everyone else could stand and fight, was that it was terribly boring. The first couple days while the others fell into a rhythm and got accustomed to being near one another, Aomine just sat against the wall and watched, unable to volunteer for any of the tasks being distributed, or even move away when Hanamiya decided to pester him. He could only pretend not to hear him for so long, but he didn't dare return any of the scorn or veiled insults that were heaped on him with no repercussion, because if he did it was possible Hanamiya would beat the shit out of him, injury or no...and he wouldn't be able to defend himself. That last fact pissed him off the most; he'd already paid for his audacity, and he couldn't afford to step out of line again. Not that this sadistic piece of trash was in any way as formidable as Akashi, nor should he have to obey him as if he was.
They'd been at the warehouse for about two days now; two relatively uneventful days in which they mostly caught each other up in more detail on what had been going on recently, and the strongest ventured out occasionally to keep the zombies at what could be called a comfortable distance. But of course no one was comfortable with it. The warehouse felt so much more vulnerable and open than their old base, devoid of windows, and without electricity or reflective mirrors for light when darkness fell.
Eventually, Hanamiya announced that they were cutting dangerously deep into their paltry food reserves, and part of their group should set out to restock and investigate the surrounding area. Everyone except Aomine - for obvious reasons - volunteered to go, likely feeling cramped and restless from staying in one place for so long, not knowing what was happening in the outside world. Aomine had already resigned himself to waiting in the empty warehouse alone for them all to return, wondering how he would defend himself if a zombie wandered in, when Kagami approached him with an uncharacteristically serious expression, Tetsu at his side.
"Kuroko is staying here," he'd declared, shooting a glance at Tetsu, whose pale eyes immediately went wide with surprise, a little bit of outrage and betrayal flashing in their depths.
So he didn't ask his opinion beforehand...strange. Aomine thought to himself; that was enough to pique his interest, and he'd resolved to pay close attention to this.
"But Kagami-kun, I can -" Tetsu objected, rounding on him with a penetrating glare, and Kagami stopped him by holding up a hand, unwavering.
"I know you can defend yourself as well as anyone else here," he conceded, with a surprising show of patience, "That's why I'm leaving you here to hold down the fort and look after Aomine, who can't right now."
Aomine decided not to take the patronizing remark personally, in favor of focusing on the discussion before him, and to his slight surprise, Tetsu caved without putting up any more of a fight. He had clearly been reluctant to be left behind, but perhaps his pride had been soothed by Kagami's explanation; then again, it was possible that he just liked the idea of being able to protect Aomine. He'd almost wanted to snort irritably at the prospect. Tetsu might as well hold it over his head while he had the chance.
Kagami then told Tetsu to take the last remaining pistol, which only had one or two bullets left, and only after Tetsu had nodded and turned to retrieve the gun did he kneel in front of Aomine so he could look him in the eye, his steely attitude persisting.
"...You aren't really leaving Tetsu to babysit me, are you?" Aomine asked skeptically, trying to read his confusing expression.
"No," Kagami agreed, breaking eye-contact briefly, "...I already lost my brother, and just about everyone else I ever loved, I can't lose him too."
Aomine hesitated, and then nodded shortly, assuming he'd pieced together the other's intent. "So you want me to make sure he doesn't leave or do anything stupid while your back is turned."
"Actually, that's not quite it," Kagami had fixed him with the full force of his determined gaze then, all the raw desperation and fear and refusal to suffer another loss like Himuro exuding from it, "I want you to promise me something."
Aomine blinked, a little unsure about the intensity he was being faced with, but in the end he decided to play nice, for now. "What's that?"
"Promise me if something goes wrong, if he's in danger and there's anything you can do to keep him safe, do it. Protect him, at all costs."
"Sure," Aomine shrugged, I mean, I was kind of gonna do that anyway…
But Kagami hadn't let him off that easily, "I mean swear to it."
Shifting slightly, ignoring the jolt of pain slashing up his leg, Aomine averted his gaze for a second or two, "Why is this suddenly so important?"
"I need to know he'll be safe," Kagami pressed stubbornly, "No matter what happens. Promise?"
It had occurred to him then just how much trust Kagami was placing in him, to ensure Tetsu's safety, even if it meant sacrificing his own. He couldn't ask anyone else this favor.
He swallowed, and then met Kagami's eye again, "I...I promise."
That had been several hours ago. Presently, the sun was just starting to set; Aomine had a perfect view of it through the gaping hole of the entryway. To one side of him was a large plank of wood that he could only adequately describe as a club, a few nails sticking out suggesting it was once part of a crate of some kind. To his other side was Tetsu, reclining against his shoulder, their last remaining loaded pistol cradled loosely in his hand as he breathed soft, snuffling snores against Aomine's neck. Aomine held his breath in between Tetsu's exhalations, breathing with him; the warm puffs of air against his skin almost too much temptation.
He'd been in a mental argument with himself for a good half hour or so, since Tetsu had tired out and sat beside him before promptly drifting to sleep practically in his lap. The dumbest part was that he'd already had this discussion with himself before. He knew this song and dance; suppressing the skin-deep attraction and soul-deep love that would push both of the only friends he had left in the world away in one fell swoop. But he'd never been this close, metaphorically or literally, to what he'd wanted from the moment he'd stepped onto the court for real beside the sometimes-invisible boy who'd fanned, extinguished, and then rekindled his love for basketball, all those years ago. His love no longer centered around the sport he'd left behind long ago - and would probably never be able to play again…- it had branched off; become purer and more mature, and losing Tetsu to someone else right before the world plunged into apocalyptic chaos had done nothing whatsoever to dampen the flame of it.
But, as he'd been telling himself over and over for weeks and months, it didn't matter. What he wanted didn't matter, his history alongside Tetsu didn't matter. He belonged to someone else, to Kagami, Aomine's valued rival and best friend. He didn't have any right to try to take them away from each other for his own selfish means.
Losing everything he'd ever cared about and realizing life was so fragile and brief really changed a person.
His head snapped up at the sound of footsteps and hushed voices, and abruptly, the orange light pouring through the doorway was obstructed, as several figures blocked it, shambling into the warehouse like the zombies they had just been destroying.
Hunching his shoulder in a nudge to rouse Tetsu from his nap, Aomine squinted to try to discern the state of the group, and the first thing his eyes landed on was the amount of blood all of them were wearing. That wasn't a surprise; they had just been right in the fray of battle - with melee weapons instead of guns - what was a surprise was that a certain member of their company was not standing tall and forging ahead, but leaning heavily on Hyuuga's shoulder, crimson head bowed as he panted for breath. And none of them seemed to bring anything resembling food.
"What happened?" he demanded, wishing with all his heart he could stand up and approach them to assess the situation himself. He really was starting to hate looking up at people like a sniveling child.
Kagami opened his mouth to speak, and Hyuuga's reaction was strange, recoiling as if he'd been burned, leaving Kagami to sway, stagger severely, and then fall to his hands and knees. To Aomine's further surprise, no one moved to help him up. The gears in his mind felt like they were working sluggishly, unable to make sense of what he was looking at, and Tetsu beat him to speaking, suddenly wide awake and alert. Aomine hadn't even felt him sit up straight.
"What's wrong with Kagami-kun?" When no one immediately answered, Tetsu stood, glaring first at Riko, then Hanamiya and Hyuuga, "Tell us, what happened out there?"
Riko bit her lip, eyes on the dirty floor, and then looked tearfully back at him, "...Kagami-kun's been bitten."
Aomine felt like she'd punched him in the stomach, and all the air left his lungs in a rush.
He said nothing, just turning his gaze back to Tetsu, who was shaking his head disbelievingly; Aomine could see how he was trembling even from where he was.
"No...no, that's not possible…"
Kagami raised his head slightly, eyes feverish, face pale as a sheet, "K-Kuroko…"
"Why did you bring him here?" Aomine asked hoarsely, not knowing who he was directing the question at. It was greeted with silence, and his patience grew short, "Why the fuck did you bring him back here?"
"H-he's our leader," Riko stammered, her hands - her unarmed hands -fidgeting, "A-and it was just quick, he...seemed to shake it off, we thought...and then...I just...we couldn't just leave him."
"The horde…" Kagami choked out, "Th-the huge one that...that ambushed us at the base.."
He trailed off, and Hyuuga picked up the slack, a tremor of fear in his voice, "We ran into that enormous mob, and well, there was nothing we could do against it. There were thousands of them, we could barely fight our way out... At the rate they were following us, they'll be here by nightfall."
"We're all gonna die anyway," Hanamiya muttered, glancing down at Kagami's shaking form, "What's one more soon-to-be mindless killing machine -?"
"Don't -!" Tetsu interrupted pleadingly, eyes unnaturally bright with tears, "Don't say that, please…"
There was a moment of silence, punctuated only by the rasping of Kagami's labored breath and the muted creak of floorboards.
"...So what are we going to do?" Aomine prodded, hands clenching and unclenching in his lap, "What's the plan?"
"There isn't one, stupid," Hanamiya snapped, the sneer gone from his voice, which had gone completely cold and hard with anger, and maybe fear, "We might as well all say our prayers and kiss our asses goodbye. This is the end; we can't fight them all off like this, and we can't escape."
Closing his eyes, Aomine took a deep breath, and then opened them again, banishing the protests and doubts clamoring in his head, "Maybe not all of us..."
Tetsu blinked, and looked over at him, "...Wh-what do you mean, Aomine-kun?"
"We can't all outrun them, especially not with me slowing you all down. You have to get out of here on your own. Take the last pistol and get as far away as you possibly can."
"Aomine-kun -" Kuroko began, in a shocked whisper.
"Shut it, Tetsu," Aomine grit out, summoning his fraying determination before it could falter and wink out, "I'll...I'll stay here with Kagami while he changes, and buy you all some time. ...S-sensing another zombie feeding should whip them into a frenzy and draw the horde to me, and you should be able to get away."
"You don't mean…?" Riko gasped.
He nodded rigidly, unable to give verbal confirmation with the way his teeth were cutting into his tongue.
"Then what?" Hanamiya drawled, the only one who seemed to take Aomine's decision to let himself be eaten alive with a grain of salt.
"Then just keep moving, keep yourselves alive; take the radio and see if you can find any more survivors...it should still have some battery power left."
"Aomine," Kagami murmured unsteadily, trying to hold his gaze, "Are you sure?"
Aomine sighed, commanding his muscles not to shake with primal terror and denial in the face of his own impending demise, "...I'm sure."
"No!" Tetsu shouted - actually shouted - trying to throw himself at him, "Aomine-kun, you can't!"
Shoving him away as effectively as he could in his position, though the harsh, impersonal gesture just about cracked his heart into pieces, Aomine held firm and addressed Riko and the others, "If you have to fucking hit Tetsu over the head and drag him away unconscious, do it; just make sure he gets out of here alive. ….I made a promise."
Kagami blinked, and Aomine thought he saw gratitude cross his face through the discomfort and emotional turmoil. For much too long, everyone remained quiet and inactive, until he broke the silence, voice strained but still retaining the old authority he'd honed in his time as leader, "Well you heard him. ...Go, now, while you still have time."
"O-okay, uh…" Riko said tremulously, dragging Tetsu over by the wrist, "Th-thank you, and….and good luck."
Aomine fought the urge to roll his eyes, and thankfully Kagami had more tact than him, even in his state, "Good luck...to all of you. ...Kuroko," Tetsu raised his head, looking at Kagami with one part question and three parts anguish, "I love you."
Tetsu swallowed thickly, lower lip trembling, and then yanked his hand out of Riko's grasp, kneeling and hugging Kagami desperately around the shoulders, "I-I l-love you s-s-so much, K-Kagami-kun," he managed, before his whole small frame shook, and he broke into tears.
And I love you, Tetsu, Aomine added, keeping the thought silent, because he was afraid if he said it aloud it would be accompanied with pleas for him not to go, ...I always have.
"Now go," he commanded instead, "We'll be fine." A complete lie, but then, everyone here knew that.
Riko and Hyuuga simultaneously nodded, and together they took Tetsu's arms and pulled him away from Kagami, despite his frantic tears and struggling and screaming - which Aomine had never heard, but it tore at his heart - and turned to leave. Hanamiya hung back, stooping to pick up the fallen pistol, and for a fleeting moment his eyes connected with Aomine's.
He said nothing, but inclined his head the barest bit, in what Aomine scarcely believed, but could only be called a small bow of respect. And then he withdrew as well, and Aomine was alone with his friend who was slowly turning into a monster before his eyes.
"...You didn't...have to do that," Kagami said after a long moment, sitting down heavily with what seemed like every last ounce of his strength. Better to die sitting than sprawled on the floor, Aomine reasoned; he was in the same boat.
"Yeah, I did." he muttered, "I promised, didn't I, that I'd protect him? And anyway, at least now they have a chance."
"They might all die out there…" Kagami pointed out, absently touching his shoulder, where Aomine could just make out a dark, bloody ring of teeth marks indenting his skin, already inflamed, crawling with infection, and leaking sickly discharge.
"Mm," Aomine nodded, "But maybe they won't."
Kagami didn't say anything for several seconds, and Aomine wanted to protest the silence, because it was fucking terrifying just sitting around waiting to die. He was breathing more quickly than normal, but shallowly, and his heart was trying in earnest to hammer its way out of his chest, as if attempting to make up for the lifetime of beats it was never going to have time for.
"Aomine…" Kagami began after a moment, lips gradually turning blue as whatever remaining color left his face, "I'm sorry."
Aomine blinked, "For what?"
"This...this whole mess. I'm sorry I didn't have it in me to shoot Kise, and let Akashi cripple you...I'm sorry in advance...f-for killing you," he sighed shakily, and hung his head "But...mostly I'm sorry I was never able to give you what you wanted. I...I knew you loved Kuroko, but I took him from you anyway…and now I can never make it up to you."
Aomine shifted his weight uncomfortably, but didn't look away from him, much as it was disturbing to watch the life drain out of him little by little, leaving him looking like a talking corpse, "Dumbass, I never blamed you for that...well, maybe a little at first. But I'm over it now, I got my head out of my ass and back on my shoulders where it belongs. It doesn't really matter now since we're both gonna die soon, but I'm….I'm glad he could be happy with you, for at least a while." Even while he was speaking, he could see Kagami hunching forward, foam bubbling at the corners of his lips, and knew he probably couldn't hear what he was saying anymore, but he kept going anyway, needing it to be out there while he had the chance, "I do love Tetsu, I have for years and years, but I saw that you did too, and he picked you in the end. That's what matters. ...I guess my...my point is, I forgive you, Bakagami. A-and I'm glad I got to spend my last few seconds on Earth with you, even if you are a Bakagami. The only one who...who can beat me is you, after all, and now you can...b-beat me...once and for all."
He kept his gaze on his own lap, keeping his breathing as slow and controlled as he possibly could, but he could still hear the heavy thud as Kagami collapsed and crumpled in on himself, and then the thrashing and gurgling moans and growls as the transformation completed.
"I'm sorry…" he whispered under his breath, his eyes stinging mercilessly, "...Tetsu."
Gulping, he looked up in time to see Kagami's eyes cloud over, and a single tear fell from his lashes before cold, dead hands clamped on his arms and the rotten teeth behind Kagami's black lips ripped into his throat.
TBC
((Again with the chapters taking me longer than necessary; at least I had a concrete plan for this one. ...Well now, it seems I've lost both my primary narrators...maybe I'll have to switch over to Kuroko's POV or something for the last chapter, where I suppose I'll have to tie off all my loose ends and such.
Reviews are lovely, as always, feed the author! Or...you know...gang up on me, if you want, considering how this chapter ended.
We're in the home stretch guys, this story's almost done!
-Shinsun))
