DISCLAIMER
ALL CHARACTERS AND WHATNOT ARE PROPERTY OF DAISUKE SATO
I CLAIM NOTHING FOR THIS IS A FANMADE WORK OF FICTION

Saeko, still weak from her injuries yet recovering, shielded her eyes from the brightness of the midday sun. As her eyes adjusted and her pupils narrowed, she looked up at Takashi Komuro: their leader, their go to, her love.

"Takashi, I think we're here"

"I'd say you're just about right Saeko" They both looked out at the ocean, casting its lustrous blue shroud, its waters as clear as crystal. Not a single thing was insight. No car, no people, none of "them", and no animals. They followed behind Rika's vehicle closely because nothing was ever this easy, especially not something that could be good for them.

"Nii-chan, where are all the people at?"

"Uh, I don't know Alice; I think that they all left to get away as soon as possible."

Rei, Kohta, and Alice were ogling the serene beaches and subtle roads along it. A single strip of black pavement ran along the beaches; it stretched for at least twenty miles as they couldn't even see the end of it.

Saya couldn't help but be on end. She still couldn't believe that they hadn't run into more than a few of "them" since they left the gas station outside of Tanzaku. This isn't right. It can't be right. Where are all the birds? Where are all damned zombies? She sat with her arms crossed and her face twisted into an unsatisfied smile. Kohta got over the surrounding and turned himself to Saya.

"I can feel you from over here, what's wrong, Takagi?"

"Don't you think it's just a little too perfect Kohta? There's nothing out there. Nothing good nor bad, just nature and it's fucking mocking us. Ugh…"

"I dunno Takagi, even if it's peaceful, we still don't have a vessel to get us out into sea. Not only that, but since "they" aren't here then they have to be somewhere else. Now where would that be?"

"I don't know…I haven't even heard something louder than the leaves blowing and the Hummers." Just then, they came around a curve, and a clear, soft noise spread throughout the air. It wasn't the wind, but it sounded like a blue bird, holding an impossibly long note. Rei grabbed a pair of binoculars to search for the source of the noise, but before she put her eyes up to the lenses, she saw it. It was a cave out towards the shore. She saw a human figure out in the water, waist deep, but then it suddenly disappeared. Alarmed, she handed the binoculars to Rika so she could get a look.

She smirked. "No wonder the place is so deserted." She dropped the binoculars and stopped the car. Shizuku pulled up behind her so that they could walk across from vehicle to vehicle. Alice, Saeko, and Zeke stayed in the vehicle, but everyone else went above so they could get a glimpse of the cave.

Once everyone got a good view, there was no doubt that luck was finally on their side. Takashi, scratching his head, spoke up.

"So what is it? And how exactly does it make the zombies go away?" Saya grew annoyed with his ignorance.

"Idiot. Why are you so dumb Takashi?"

"Sorry, but that didn't answer my question. Mind not being so wonderfully sarcastic?"

"Shut up. The cave is at just the right angle so that the wind causes it to make a whistling noise that carries for a good mile or so. The sound draws "them" in and the current sweeps them into the cave. I saw one get swept in, and it didn't even come back out so I know it's a really deep cave. Probably has all the area's zombies in it."

"So wait that means-" Saeko, slightly annoyed with being left out, put her two cents into the conversation.

"It means that we won't have to worry about them. It means we can get to safety without any trouble. It means we can finally settle down and just survive for once."

Everyone breathed a deep, slow breath. 'T was not a sigh of relief, but an intake of satisfaction.

After sitting down, eating, and discussing the plan for transportation, the group split up into the hummers and went searching for boats. They already had the gas so all they needed was the hunk of metal to float them away.

Twenty minutes into the search, Shizuka's group spotted a fairly large fishing ship. It looked like a shrimping boat out of the Forrest Gump movie. Shizuka tapped away on her still working Morse code device.

Rika's group turned around at the notion. They had about a half hour until they got to the boat. Kohta and Saya were sitting in the back, watching the sun bathed road pass as they got closer and closer to their could be salvation.

"Hey Takagi…"

"What is it Kohta?"

"What exactly are we now?"

"What do you mean? We're human still if that's what you mean; if not a tad bit less."

"That's not what I meant. Remember back at the last place we stayed? Where we…kissed and…and a bit more?"

"Y…Yes…I remember it.." she was looking away, trying to hide her face.

"The morning after, you held my arm after we met Rika. What was that?"

"Well…uhm…I kinda…I don't know…"

"Takagi, what am I to you?"

She couldn't think of an answer right away, but after a moment of thinking, no, after a moment of searching her heart, she answered. It wasn't her usual tone or manner of speaking either.

"You are a man Kohta. I'm a girl, and it's only natural for me to be attracted to a man, but you aren't only a man, and I'm not just a girl. You've saved me so many times, and all I've done is get into trouble. It's like I'm a damsel in distress and you're the cocky prince always hopping in regardless of the situation. You've complimented my voice, defended me and kept me in line since my parents died. I remember back in school when you were bullied and I just stuck my nose in the air as haughtily as ever. I ignored you then; I've insulted you since day one; I have always been, well, I've always been such a bitch to you. Before I can even begin to think of my feelings for you, I need to know why you put yourself in harm's way for me. Why Kohta, Why do you keep fucking helping me when I don't ask?" Her head hung low, her face not visible, but her tears streaming onto the cold, metal floor.

"I don't know why I do so much Takagi. I do know that I love your voice, it's so feminine and unique, and your face is amazingly cute. I guess being an Otaku kinda played a part into my attraction to you. It's almost like an acquired taste *chuckles softly*. I think the reason why I put up with you is because I see the best in you. And not just your looks, I couldn't care less if you had a flat chest, if you were tall or short, or if you weren't a genius. It's just that you can see the best in people too, but you suffer because you refuse to let them be praised because you yourself haven't been praised as you should. I'm sorry you had to live up to such high expectations for your parents. I just want you to know, you've done amazingly well since this all started."

Her tears stopped yet she remained still with her face in the shadow of her hair. She whispered.

"-re you.."

"huh? I'm sorry I didn't-"

Her hands were around his neck, not even outing any force into choking him. She just laid her palms along his neck, pantomiming the strangling of the boy. She couldn't have touched a hair on his head, not after everything that had happened.

"How dare you apologize…to me…after I treated you so lowly how…how can you be so forgiving of me? I treated you like the shit that someone didn't flush, and yet…you still can't leave me be. Why are you like this?" Her eyes were filled to the brim with tears, and her face was in such a sad expression, it was like she was using all her strength not to break down right then and there.

"Because I love you, and I know you are so much more caring than you let on. I love that you, not the façade you put on to hide yourself and your feelings." He pulled her into his chest, to give her a feeling of how much he cared, even if it was just simple contact. He needed it, she needed it, they both just wanted it.

"Takagi, I love you, I love you so much you have no idea."

Between sobs she managed to get out a few words.

"I…I know…I *hic* love you too Kohta…I love you too" she just let herself melt in his arms. This tiger had been tamed by the unlikeliest of forces, and the unlikeliest of forces had been accepted.

Arriving at Shizuka's location, everyone hopped out to examine the vessel that might lead them to safety. Rika hopped down from its deck, holding an empty 50 gallon can on her back.

"Good to go guys! Let's get the fuck out of here!" No one could believe it. Together they thought. There's no way. It can't be right there. We can't just leave…can we?

Suddenly, a quiet wave of sound came over them. It was the winds. It was the tide. It carried dozens of them, moving and non-moving. They crawled, they struggled to get up and walk. Their moans reached their ears, but they received no sympathy from any of the survivors. They had their golden ticket afloat in front of them. All that those poor, unfortunate beings would ever receive from them is a wave goodbye.

Rika and Shizuka went up the ladder first, not bothering to glance down at the creatures that were still 50 meters off. Next up were Kohta and Saya. Kohta jokingly bowed for her to lead, but was met with some remark about being a pervert and something about her striped panties, but she just kissed his cheek and went on up the ladder first, giving him a fair view of those spandex panties that so many men before had failed to see and live to tell about it. Takashi helped Alice carry Zeke over the railing of the ship, almost dropping the poor little puppy in the process. Last to go up were the leader and his woman, the flawless Saeko Busujima and dependable Takashi Komuro. She closed her eyes as she was piggybacked to the ladder. He climbed up the rungs, one by one, each time he had to adjust so his beloved wouldn't fall and drag him down too.

"Sometimes you try too hard to be a man Takashi"

"Yeah, heheh" he grunted from the stress put on his muscles. After hauling themselves over onto the deck they just fell over and laid there.

"We finally made it, didn't we Saeko?"

"Yeah, it seems that way. So how do you our future's gonna play out now, Takashi?"

"Wha..What do you mean?"

"You're so clueless sometimes *sighs with contentness* but I think it's cute." She leans in to whisper in his ear. His eyes went wide and his face beet red. His nose started to bleed slightly at what she had hinted at.

"You know were just kids right?"

She was starting to giggle uncontrollably.

"I know I know ehehe. But come on; don't think I'll let this go for very long. I may be a woman, but I'm not too patient. As soon as I heal, you better prepare yourself, I'll come at you with everything I've got as a woman."

He pulled her in, her head resting on his chest. The boat rumbled to life and started to move. Their bodies, lying on the deck, became engulfed in sunlight and surrounded by warmth.

"As long as it's you, I think I can take it" he smirked that lovable smirk of his.

"We'll Takashi…We'll see" they kissed in the sun, their bodies warming as their lips embraced.

Rika looked out, land barely visible in the sea.

"We're gonna be fine." She turned to look at Japan. Her fingers came up and formed the shape of a pistol. She used her finger to cock back her thumb. As she pulled the trigger, she saluted the land of the rising sun goodbye.

I'm not going to voice my thoughts just yet. This isn't the end of the story. The epilogue is still to come within the next 2 weeks or so. Thank you all so much for following the story. My peronal thanks to anyone who is and has read even a single paragraph of this work. Keep and eyeout for the next chapter. EPILOGUE COMING SOON