One Life, One Chance

Asia - Part 1 of 2


JAPAN - Kurisu Ozaki

The sweet morning sun crawled into Kurisu's bedroom, shining on his dark blue hair. A yawn escaped the lips of the seventeen year old as he slowly opened his dull grey eyes, blinking many times to force the sleep away. He rolled onto his back, kicking his bed covers onto the floor. The boy stretched his muscles, hearing them slightly strain under the pressure. It felt relaxing to have stretched, his body felt more comfortable. He slowly sat up, wishing that it was a different day of the week, school was never any fun. He barely had any friends and he didn't have club activities today either.

It was just going to be another uninteresting and uneventful day.

But that's what anyone would think.

Stripping off his black t-shirt and creased grey sweat pants - which he used as sleepwear - he walked over to the other side of his room where his school uniform laid in neat pile on a chair. Next to the chair rested a ninjatō, his beloved weapon. Without giving it much thought he picked the weapon up and held it loosely. He then started to slice through the air in neat strokes. He continued doing this until he spotted the clock out of the corner of his eye, telling him that he would be late to school if he carried on. In the form of a smile he let his emotions leak out for a second, then he placed the sword gently back on the floor.

He turned around taking a deep breath in, he honestly felt tired. He didn't want to go to school.

His home felt warm, calm, quiet, something it always was in the mornings. His mother should have already taken his little sister to school and he didn't have a dad, his father had died many years ago. Kurisu was the son of a JGSDF soldier, his whole life was brought up on combat, the skills of swords and martial arts. He did enjoy it though, it was not as if he resented the skill he now possessed. In fact he was proud of what he had. He loved the freedom that came with the skills, he was at his happiest when fighting with his ninjatō.

After a few minutes of standing there he decided to get dressed. He pulled on the grey slacks and the clean, white shirt, leaving some of the top button undone for the time being. He gripped the blue tie, pulling it over his neck before quickly doing the knot, yet not tightening it just yet. Finally, Kurisu grabbed his navy blue blazer and stuffed his arms into the holes, waiting for his tanned hands to appear out the other side. Once he smoothed out the creases, he finally did the rest of the buttons up and tighten his tie. He was ready for another day of school. Light flooded his room as the raven headed boy tore open the curtains.

Normally he would look out of the widow, but for some reason he didn't today. Maybe because he was tired or the light from the weak sun was too much for his lazy eyes, or maybe because he was in a rush to leave.

Kurisu left his room, lightly shutting the door. Slowly, he stumbled down the stairs, heading straight for the kitchen, hoping for some food. "Good morning."

But he got no answer.

"Hello?" He asked the empty room. "Mum, sis?"

He looked around the room, a bowl of food was on the side for him, while two empty bowls stacked next to it. He thought that his family must have already left, but they would normally say good morning.

He left the room, starting to worry about where his family was. He couldn't understand why they weren't there. Something wasn't right. He could feel it in his gut. He slowly walked to the lounge, which had a door leading to the back garden. The curtains were still shut leaving an eerie darkness lurking, why hadn't they been opened? He walked across the room and grabbed the curtains.

After yanking the fabric open his breath stopped.
The sight before him was unbearable.

The sky was a murky black shade, only the smallest rays of light were able to seep their way through. Blood covered the ground in thick puddles, a body lay in the middle of his garden. A young man with a painful, twisted expression embedded in his features. More bodies surrounded him, ripping his limbs and organs apart. Blood dripped from the mouths of the corpses around him, their legs and arms covered in the blood from the ground. They wrapped their dry lips around the pale skin of the human, scraping away the flesh with distorted teeth.

Kurisu pulled the curtains back across, he didn't want to watch any more. He couldn't believe that this was happening in his garden, the ground, the fence and even the door was covered in the man's blood.

Watching the man being bitten and massacred caused his stomach to churn: he disliked it. He never wished to see someone get bitten like that. But now zombies were running around? How could this be possible?

He wanted to question all the facts.

But he wasn't willing to believe it.

He wasn't willing to believe that this was truly happening right before his eyes.

Kurisu ran though his house, bounding up the stairs to reach his bedroom. Thinking quickly, he grabbed his ninjatō and a few other necessities before sprinting back through the house.

He had to find his mother and sister. He wasn't going to let them slip through his fingers, he would protect them. They were all he had left and he wasn't going to lose them as well. As Kurisu reached the front door he stopped, his knuckles turned white as his grip around the ninjatō became tighter. He couldn't think properly, did he actually have a plan?

The boy shook his head, before brushing his deep blue hair back with his free hand. Finding them came first. He reached for the door handle and quickly opened it, he stepped out into the new world. There was screaming and shouting heard from everywhere, men and women alike were straining their voices to call attention towards themselves. Grey eyes darted around from body to body, the living and the dead were everywhere, running and biting. It was a horror story come to life. Kurisu wanted to start shouting out for his family, but he wasn't sure if it was a good idea. He didn't want to endanger himself.

However his eyes suddenly caught something on the driveway.

"Mum?" With slow steps, he hesitantly walked over. He was being extremely careful, he didn't know what to expect. But the second his eyes met the body on the ground his mind changed. Anger flew through his veins, rage was starting to take over. It was very rare for him to let go of his emotions… yet, he just couldn't control himself as he saw his mother dead by his feet. His heart hurt. His mother was gone and his sister wasn't anywhere to be seen.

He had lost them.

Kurisu started to unsheathe his ninjatō, he could sense the bodies stumbling towards him.

He was ready to fight.


CHINA - Aika Lifen

"Now that the cooperation for the Máo Organisation has been completed, many of our families are now united in one company, we are able to work together to create a better business. This will enable us to push forward in our work, striving for a greater future." The proud voice echoed around the well lit room. People give a low applause before continuing with smaller and as equally unimportant conversations.

"This is a massive step forward for all of us." One Chinese man raised his glass, "I am delighted about everything that has been accomplished today. Just think. Tomorrow we will be working together, bringing in more wealth for a greater cause."

There was the clanking of many half-filled glasses and more voices murmuring. It was a special night for all the people congregating in the large house of a well-known business man. The richest and most famous families in China were all gathered in one place, some happily proclaiming the new partnership, others only exchanging formalities. One of the families was the business family of Lifen, a highly thought of family of six. The two parents both carried a glass in their hands, a beautiful Japanese woman with sleek, black hair tied in a traditional hold was softly grasping the arm of her Chinese husband. Harumi and Huang Lifen: the two most powerful people in the room. Their four children were also with them, all dressed in a formal manner.

The oldest daughter, Rei – who was also the heir of the Lifen Family – was almost an exact copy of her mother. The heiress had high expectations, she would follow her mother, learning and watching. Observing everything she possibly could and anticipating the time when she would be able to take over her family's business. Like her mother she was a beautiful lady, dressed to perfection in a sea blue dress that touched the floor, her hair hung loosely over her shoulders swaying with every movement. Next came the two twin brothers, Jian and Jiang, also heirs to parts of the family they are polite young men who would do anything for their family. Being twins they looked very much alike, they also wore an identical suit, making sure they were presentable to represent their family. They smiled with perfect teeth at the other girls in the room, unfortunately there was wasn't many. But that didn't stop the two from giving glances at the bodies of those they could see.

Finally was the last and youngest child of the Lifen family. Fifteen year old Aika, a beautiful young girl with long raven hair that was pulled back into a ponytail by a small flower hairband. Another girl that look after her mother, she radiated beauty, even more than her older sister. She quietly stood behind her siblings, her ruby red orbs jumping from person to person, yet if someone dared to make eye contact with her she would quickly dismiss it by looking away. Aika didn't want any attention from the other higher ups in the hall, she wasn't one to care about things like that. But eyes would sometimes wander over to her as a stunning red cheongsam that was decorated with a shining golden rose design clung to her slim hourglass figure, she also worse a golden dragon bracelet and black studs to complete her look.

She was gorgeous. Perfect.

Though no one dared to come near her. Many people knew that she was different, that she had a secret about her. Many thought she was a witch and so they feared her.

They young girl kept to herself as she followed her family round the room, they greeted other noble families and she gave the odd nod. But she showed no emotion, only staying quiet when someone spoke to her.

How she wanted to just walk out of there and go home. But that would be disgraceful to her parents. Even though they did ignore her and pretend she wasn't there, she couldn't help but love them. They were the people who have raise her after all, she was after all brought up to act lady-like, even when she hated it. She followed she family like a shadow, her body language was completely dull compared to everyone else.

She was definitely not enjoying her time, how she wished she was home with Ying; her beloved pet. Aika was brought to her senses as she felt a light nudge on her shoulder she turned to see her oldest sibling giving her an unimpressed look. "Aika, speak more and sort out your body language. Set a good example for the family, be glad mother hasn't seen you acting like this." Rei whispered to her younger sister. "You are a Lifen, start acting like it and like a lady."

A shake of the head was the answer, "There's no point. It's not like I'm the heir to anything." For Aika, she didn't really care, she wanted to be normal. Her family had almost closed her off completely, blaming her for almost everything, and so she didn't see the point it acting like a good little child for them.

Rei sighed and shook her head, not caring what Aika did any longer. The older girl turned and found their parents talking to a man and his wife. Painting a smile on her lips, Rei walked over to the members of nobleness and introduced herself politely.

Aika watched in disgust, how could her sister like acting like that? It was fake…

A subtle rumble quietly passed under her feet.

It was the smallest little vibration, but she felt it. She could feel the earth moving and there was something in the air, something deadly. Aika turned around, her eyes jumping around the hall, it was brightly lit. She could see everything, from the men drinking in the corner to the couple on the balcony who had too much spare time and so were lip locked in a deep passion.

No one noticed it apart for Aika, she stood there staring at the ground, her eyebrows slightly lowered. The ground definitely moved, there was no doubt about it. There was no doubt that she imagined it, when it came to the earth an all its qualities she was never wrong.

No one else seemed to pay attention, the little vibration was minuscule, yet not unnoticeable.

It didn't feel natural though, it was almost as if someone was forcing the ground to more. Heavy footsteps maybe? No. That would need a lot of people, it just wasn't possible. The raven haired girl turned around again, he parents had moved on, talking to another family who were also with children. She stayed where she was, she didn't need to be a sheep following her parents.

Then again, another vibration. This one a lot stronger that the first. Aika was never wrong, she knew something wasn't right.

"Chen!" An old women's scream echoed through the hall, everyone turned to the dancefloor. Where a man laid still on the floor, the old lady kneeled next to the man, begging for help. No one saw what happened. "Someone call for an ambulance, please!" She gripped the hand of the man, clear tears escaping the corner of her bloodshot eyes.

A gurgling groan filled the room, the man on the floor twitched. He slowly started to shift, his neck bent so far to the right that his ear rested uncomfortably on his shoulder. All the colour was drained from his skin, drool slipped out from the corners of his mouth and onto his trousers. The woman cried with joy, wrapping her frail arms around his shoulders. The smile on her red lips disappeared a second later, it was quickly replaced with the screams from her throat. Blood flowed from the wound in her neck as she fell to the floor, the man lying on top of her. He greedily ripped through her dress, producing her pale flesh. His cracked teeth sank easily in through her skin, she released another blood curdling scream.

And she wasn't the only one, more and more people were being attacked.

Blood covered the floor, the reflection of the ceiling was perfect in the thick red liquid.

Not many people had moved.

Aika decided to turn, however she came face to face with a body. A body that reeked of death. Its eyes were missing as blood and what looked like parts of the human brain seeped out. It was a sickening sight, one that not many would be able to stomach.

After staring at the body for a seconds, it started to stumble towards Aika. Reaching for her rosy flesh and beating heat.

Her body reacted on it's own. Pulling out her small machine pistol, the girl starting shooting the blood crazed corpse.

First the chest.

Then the neck.

And finally the head…

And it fell, ever so slowly collapsed to the floor in a pool of its own blood.

Her red eyes widened, "What the hell is going on?"


HONG KONG - Hana Uesugi

A small, petite figure stepped lightly through the food shop, her eyes slowly looking about the simple foods before her. There were multiple fruits and vegetables, she didn't know what to pick. But she was only cooking for herself so it wasn't like she had to make any big and difficult decisions. A quick and simple meal would be enough for her. It was a Saturday afternoon and the shop was full with many people: parents and young children talking quietly to one another, laughing teenagers who were running about, and even some old couples who were smiling happily at one another.

She let out a smile, and looked around. It was brightly lit and buzzing with noise, a typical and pretty much normal day. Nothing special. The girl's hair was a deep black, however they were obviously hints of red throughout her thick strands. It was pulled back into a side ponytail, however not all of it was long enough and so it fell down to her shoulders. She was a pretty girl, one that caught many people's eyes. A low vibration rumbled in her throat, she hummed a small tune. It was a happy song that she had remembered from when she was young, she always seemed to hum the same thing unconsciously. It was a habit of hers.

Her footsteps stayed in time with the tune she joyfully purred. The voice she possessed was young and high, a typical voice for such a cute girl.

Violet eyes danced from fruit to fruit, the vibrant colours so beautiful. The sixteen year old reached forward and grabbed an apple, she brought it to her nose and gave it a small sniff; it was fresh. She gave a small smile before placing the fruit back down, there was a wide range of foods before her. All looked and smelt exquisite.

Many people were walking backwards and forwards, passing one another without a second thought. Well, there felt as if there was nothing wrong at all, it was just a normal day, no reason for them to panic or worry about anything.

But there was a sense of uneasiness. But nothing that would affect everyday people in their everyday routines. It was a natural human instinct to push the feeling behind you.

Walking further into the shop the teenage girl came across the tinned foods. She looked around for a few minutes, then decided that she didn't need anything from there. She straightened her back and continued slowly walking around the store.

"Mummy, where are you?!" A little boy's voice yelled at the top of his lungs, "Something's wrong with daddy!"

The girl turned on her heels, slightly losing grip on the ground and stumbling. However she was able to quickly regain her balance. Once stable, she looked towards the young voice that was screaming for help. A cry she was unable to refuse, her personality wouldn't let her leave someone who needed help.

But what she saw made her eyes widen, a father and son were next to each other. The older male was kneeling on the ground, holding his throat and coughing. The young child had tears streaming like a river from his deep brown eyes, he was fearing for his father. Most people ignored the young boy, his tears were silent in the loud crowd. With an expression of kindness, the girl walked over to him and kneeled down.

"Hello, I'm Hana, Hana Uesugi. What's wrong little one?" She reached forward and ruffled his black hair lightly.

The boy looked up at her, by the looks of it he was barely five years old. Brown eyes were watery and shaking, "My daddy…" He sniffed, "He's… he's… I don't know."

Hana's violet eyes looked at the man sat on the dusty floor, he was leant against the side and his hands were grabbing his neck tightly. Cracked and yellowed nails dug into his skin, leaving angry red marks. He coughed and spluttered a few times and his skin was slowly starting to pale. Was it some sort of attack? Allergic reaction? Whatever it was, the man did not look well. The boy stayed close to his father, clutching the fabric of the blue jumper tightly within his small hands.

"Where's your mummy?" Hana asked. The boy shrugged in answer, he didn't trust his voice anymore; he would probably end up screaming. "Hey, listen, you're going to have to stop crying. Your mummy won't like to see you crying if she comes back." There was no way she was going to leave the boy on his own, she couldn't leave him, just a helpless child.

The father of the boy coughed again, this time however blood escaped through his lips and fell to the floor in thick clumps. Hana gasped, it was unexpected and made her jump. She fell over and landed on her backside in shock, the man was going through something that definitely wasn't normal. It was scary for her and the child. A low groan vibrated in his throat, his mouth was shut tight yet he was doing small forward motions with his body, as if he was going to throw up.

"Hey," Hana whispered to the boy. "You have to sit away from your daddy, he needs space to breathe."

The boy furiously shook his head, small fingers gripped the dad's coat even tighter. He was scared and yet he wouldn't leave his father, the bond between them was too strong. Another few seconds past before the cracked lips of the man could not hold back the acidy bile in his throat. Blood and vomit hit the floor, splash back hitting both Hana and the son. Many bystanders were staring now, the sight and smell of a rotting body had captured their attention.

"Daddy!" The body screeched, "Daddy, I'm scared! Please, I'm scared."

But there was no answer, only another thick lump of bodily fluids fell from the man's mouth and hit the floor with a loud splat.

Hana could do nothing, this was beyond frightening. She had to keep control, she didn't need her ability kicking in now. That would only bring bad luck.

"Daddy…"

His body twitched and cracked, deforming and mutating. The paining sounds rattled the ear drums of all the spectators. Hana pushed her body away, not wanting to be close to the danger that was starting to present itself in front of her. Violet eyes stayed glued to the man's body as his limbs gave way to his body weight and he collided with the ground. The pale body shook and twisted uncontrollably, a pained and gurgled scream ripped from his throat.

The boy clung tight to his father, wrapping himself around his parent's arm. Tears washed away the blood from his cheeks and he screamed as his father was changed into something unimaginable.

The body fell still and the boy cried. His yells were loud and echoing, but no one dared to get close to the fallen body. It was like they knew that something was horribly wrong.

Pale, sickly fingers moved slowly to grab the boy's neck, the father turned his body and gripped tightly, strangling the innocent child. The voice of the young boy worked no more, as his father lessened the chance of him living the child could only cry. Hana watched in fear, the unimaginable was happening. The death like man leaned forward to his child and wrapped his colour drained lips around his neck. As he bit down, a shattered scream escaped the child. His throat was destroyed in seconds, blood was pushed out of his system with his ever decreasing heartbeat. Hana wiped her cheek as more blood now stained her skin.

She was in control, though frightened, she had to stay in control. Using her power would only cause problems right now. She pushed her body slowly backwards, wanting to get as far away as she could. That was a zombie. A flesh eating zombie!

Panic was the only thing around her, averting her eyes she somehow raised her body off the ground and ran for her life.

But the outside world only brought more danger. She had to dodge the bodies left and right, the thought of her family racing across her mind. She had to get home, her mother and father had to be alive. They just had to be. She finally made it to her home, the door she had shut earlier was wide open.

"No…" Her eyes shook and fear rolled off her body in waves.

Hana ran towards the door and pushed her body inside. However she immediately stopped.

"Mum, dad…"

A tear fell down her cheek as she saw the messy corpses of her parents become dinner for a disgusting body.


THAILAND - Mai Virithipa

It was midday and everyone was going about their normal lives. Heading from the orphanage to the nearest convenience store was such a normal thing, a small girl should have been in school. However she had the ability to make it so she had all the spare time in the world. She always knew that being able to make a double would come in handy. Mai Virithipa, a fourteen year old girl, was walking down the path with a small skip in her step.

For a seconds she stopped waking and ran her hands up and down her arms, she thought that a black tank top was going to be enough. She was glad that she remembered to bring her white scarf with her, the young girl hadn't realised it was such a cold day. Icy blue orbs stared up at the sky; it looked like it was going to rain. The wind was starting to build up and she mentally cursed herself for putting on a red plaid skirt. After sighing quietly she brushed her long silver hair over her shoulders and continued on her way, the store wasn't that far from her home but by the time it came into sight she was already shivering.

"Cold, cold, cold." She hissed to herself as she entered the small store. Being a weekday it was empty of other teenagers like her, but full of adults. After warming her chilled skin she found herself walking to the depths of the store. She didn't know what she was doing, but anything was better than school.

She rubbed the tops of her fingers together, little shards of crystals formed in spikes in the palm of her hand. She wasn't attempting to do anything, it was just a habit of hers. To practise in secret was fun, and soon she became far more skilled. She loved her ability, there were so many uses for it. After years of having it she was able to do such wondrous things with it. She walked through the warmth of the store, a few people looked at her wondering why she was in such a place.

She ignored everyone, her calm and collected attitude radiating off in composed waves. She was in a good mood and one that wouldn't be ruined, she went down one of the aisles and looked at the sweets that were in many packets all across the side. For some reason behind her were the boxes of tea, there were any different varieties that she didn't bother looking at.

"Excuse me, Miss." A low voice came from behind her, she dispersed the small shards of crystal. Slowly turning around with wide violet eyes, she came face to face with a worker of the shop.

He was an older man, who was probably in his late twenties. Brown hair was brushed neatly forwards and he had soft hazel eyes. He wore the uniform of the shop, which honestly didn't look very comfortable. The man was carrying a rather large box of products that were due to be put on the shelves.

He gave a smile, "Could I get through please?" Mai gave a nod, and looked after him. She wondered how a person could look so happy with such a boring job. He had placed the box on the floor and started loading the shelves, after a minute or two he looked to the silver haired girl staring at him. He smiled at her, "Aren't you supposed to be at school?"

"Maybe." She deadpanned, but there was the traces of a smile on her face.

He laughed lightly, "I remember being in school, I was such a nerd. Never missed a day." He put another box of tea on the shelf, "You seem like a nice girl, so what are you doing here? I'm sure school isn't that bad. Unless your teacher suddenly became a demon or something."

Mai shrugged, "Yeah, that sounds very realistic" She smirked at the thought of her teacher suddenly becoming a demon, boring children for fun. "But I didn't want to go today, didn't feel like it and anyway I have a double standing in for me."

"Twin sister?"

"Not exactly." She smiled looking down at her hand discreetly.

The store worker didn't push the matter any further, he just continued to place boxes on the shelves. He hummed a few small songs in the silence and the smile never left his face, he was a happy go fellow. A guy that anyone could trust. His face was bright and cheerful, full of life. He seemed to have a thing for perfection as he made sure that each tea bag was facing the right way and also equal distance apart. Mai kept watching him for a few more seconds, noticing that he stopped for a while and smirked at his handiwork. She gave a small breath before turning her back on him.

There was silence for only a few seconds.

A low and quiet cough echoed down the aisle. Mai ignored it for the first time, but the second time was louder and more coarse. Silver hair fell delicately over of her shoulders as she slightly turned her head to look back at the young man. Finishing with the boxes as quickly as he could, he coughed again but this time covered his mouth, after a second he pulled his hand back and stared his fingers.

His constant smile dropped.

"You okay?" The girl asked. Mai was now facing him again, staring with her icy blue eyes.

He hummed before turning to her, hiding his hand by his side and giving a warm smile, "Yeah I'm good."

She didn't believe him, in a matter of seconds the feel around him had become scary. He seemed like and kind and carefree person, but now everything was different there was a hostile feeling. Something, it just a matter for seconds had become horrifying.

"So why are you hiding you hand?"

His tanned skin paled slightly.

He then gritted his teeth together, grinding them painfully.

"Listen, get out of here." He coughed again, "Just leave, right now"

"But-"

"Fucking leave!" He growled, coughing again. His shoulders hunched as he slapped his hand across his lips, blood spewed through the gaps of his fingers. a loud crash came from behind Mai, she quickly turned on her heel. Two men were on floor, arms wrapped around each other in a furious fist fight. Blood was splattered across the floor as they fought. But they werent the only ones. Their were more people, one right after the other people were engaging in fights

Mai's expression dropped in fear, she could only hear the scream and groans. Nothing was making sense, her eyes met that of the two fighting men. Both had moved on from punching one another and were now chewing on the limbs with wobbly teeth. Her hands tingled and she started to feel the crystal shards forming.

"Leave, you have to leave." She heard the boy's gasps through bloody breaths. She turned to him and shook slightly, his body was barely looking like a human. Yet what was he holding on to? Something was keeping him alive, something that was letting him hold on. She took a step back, flinching as a woman's body fell to the ground next to her.

"Leave, leave and you will live for a bit longer."

Mai couldn't reply. She looked at the young worker, his head was angled towards her in such a way that the kin was staring to stretch. The silver head gave a nod, finally willing to do what he wanted and with small steps she started turning around. The worker gave the smallest of smiles, "thank you."

Mai took got ready to run, but not before she gave him one last look. "What's your name?"

He coughed before looking at her with tears and a grin, "Rune... Just Rune."

"Thank you, Rune."

And with a final smile and look of fear she ran from the store.