Okay! So this is either the last chapter, or one before the last. Anyways, the end is approaching! Muwuhahaha. ( it's relatively short.)

I do not own highschool of the dead, all rights belong to its original author and animators. I do however own any newly introduced characters which are part of the story.

Chapter 20 p2.: I've got a great life…

"Right so…. Red, indigo pink or yellow? Hmmm…" He had laid in front of him four somewhat too large singlet's and he didn't know why, but he felt as if he had to pick the correct one this time. His old shirt he had thrown away, for the blood would be simply impossible to properly wash out.

Like I said, there were three singlet's on the bed in front of him. His trousers were long since replaced by some regular jeans. They appeared a tad battered but were sturdy enough to keep intact in this rough life.

"I've been wearing red all this time… and I'm getting a bit tired of it. so I suppose that one is no option. I have nothing with pink and yellow… so I suppose t'is time for something new!"

He threw aside the other singlet's and pulled the dark purplish one over his torso. The black jacket from his uniform was still in perfect condition and he still wore it. As he looked in the mirror he couldn't help to strike a pose. As he tensed his muscles, even though you couldn't see them, he felt as if… something had changed about his body. As if he had become… stronger. Yeah, yeah his muscles felt harder indeed.

"Right… now let's see, some new shoes? " He looked around the room and almost tripped over the huge circle shaped bed. As he saw its softness in front of him he immediately just wanted to lay down. His back ached a bit because of his night on the couch. And what was stopping him actually? Absolutely nothing.

" Well…It's time… for a nap." He jumped on the bed and laid on his back. Arms and legs spread and eyes closed. It felt great… really great. He stretched a bit and began to think about things. Things such as food, weapons, survival and fun. But obviously, his teenage mind couldn't keep it with just those things. His brain thought about girls whilst his heart thought about necessities, and thus it wasn't long before his pumping heart gave up and his mind once again drooled off to think about girls. And only girls.

No really… was it that strange? He'd been around … well,… perfectly looking girls for quite some time now and barely had the chance to just enjoy the looks of them. Sure, he had gazed at them time after time but he had never really let is cross his mind. He must be, together with Kohta, one of the luckiest guys on the planet. Yet he knew all too well that he couldn't go around and fiddle with all of them. He didn't even want that to be totally honest. It was going to be Rei… or Saeko? His mind was set to simply get over Rei. But his conscience wasn't… he'd be breaking the promise wouldn't he? Well, Rei had come close to that before, but now she remembered it all too well. The only thing which was keeping him from believing her completely, was the suddenness of all of it.

As he was thinking about all of this he thought he heard some screaming coming from downstairs, yet he couldn't confirm a thing.

"Bah… I really shouldn't sleep… I should… do something. Let me check the garden." Whilst he was fighting the increase of gravity coming from his bed he could swear he heard screaming again. If there was a row beneath… he didn't want to have a damned thing to do with it at the moment. He opened the curtains and stared out. Even though they were approaching the winter by now, the weather was actually very pleasant at this point. Sure, there were grey clouds stalking the skies, but it wasn't anything bad. T'was warm enough for him to open the window and simply… breath. The garden behind the house was actually rather… big. Nothing special, but still rather big. It was divided into two squares, separated by a fence of leaves and branches. A swimming pool was present and it actually eyed clean. Sure, there were some red and brown leaves floating on top of the water but the liquid itself was perfectly clear. A few chairs, a tumbled bbq and a garage were the three most eye catching things in this little secured haven. Along with the pool, of course. It was a shame it'd probably be too cold to take a dive. Ah well… they couldn't have everything. He closed his eyes again and started thinking about his companions again.

Saeko… Rei… Kohta… Saya… Alice and Shizuka. If everything would go as planned he'd be spending his remaining years with them. Maybe even… marry with one of them and start a cozy family? He caught himself giggling at this taught. Of course that wouldn't be an option… Marrying was frankly… impossible, and having a child in this world would just be a death sentence. Both for yourself, your sweet wife and the child itself. But then of course… they had Alice. And they were basically her foster parents now.

But never mind having a child… what about their own future? He had already thought about this… but obviously it still hadn't left his mind alone. Would they have to deal with these beasts forever? Wouldn't they die of starvation at one point? If that'd be the case… they would most likely start to fall down any time now. Or at least within a few weeks. That would be… survivable no?

-Something fell on the ground downstairs-

"… What the hell is going on downstairs?" He sighed and shrugged in the mirror. "No rest for me… They're probably fighting over the food… or the guns…" He walked towards the closed door, grabbed the door notch and as soon as the big white door opened a mere inch, he heard a loud scream.

"SAEKO!"

"Saeko-san?" Suddenly, in the blink of an eye Takashi's senses got back to their fullest and he sprinted his way downstairs, almost tumbling from the top of the staircase towards the bottom. As he had reached the downside the yells came back. He thought he heard crying voices, but above all, he heard one angry voice. No… it was more than that. It was a doomsday voice.

He raced towards the door, threw it open and what he saw was going to change his role for all of his life. His eyes, strangely enough, at first saw a broken broomstick stick on the ground just by the door he had just opened. His face turned left and right in rapid succession and he saw Kohta, Saya, Shizuka and little Alice trying to interfere with the problem at hand, but unable to do anything. Alice's eyes had been instinctively closed by Shizuka's hands and Kohta had to keep himself from running forwards to stop it all, yet something was stopping him. Maybe his violently bleeding nose had something to do with it? Meanwhile Saya was yelling fervently but, obviously, to no avail.

It was now that Takashi's eyes reached the thing he should have seen before the rest. One of the girls was trapped with her back against the corner, whilst the other one had her razor sharp weapon just in front of her throat. All of their four eyes showed nothing but bloodlust. Well… that wasn't really true. One pair show –mere- bloodlust. The other two oceanic eyes were much more terrifying. And if eyes could kill, they'd kill a whole city like this. Not only kill, but also obliterate and wipe it from the face of the earth entirely.

At first he thought Saeko was the one in danger for it was her name being yelled. But now it was obvious that her life wasn't in danger… not at all.

Her katana was a mere millimeter removed from Rei's exposed throat. The red haired girl had nowhere to go and waterfalls were running from her eyelids. Sure, Takashi could see the fear in her eyes, but above that he saw the anger. The rage and the fury. However, the girl didn't even dare to open her mouth for one wrong move and it would all be over.

What the heck had happened here in the mere hour Takashi was gone?

Obviously, he wanted to run forwards and punch the one who would do this to the ground… wasn't it for the fact that it was Saeko. And whatever had passed, she'd have her own reason. Maybe… well, for Takashi at least, it was obvious what had happened.

He wanted to open his mouth but just before he did a soft whisper filled the room.

" Hmpf… You're not a challenge, just an annoyance." And whilst she said this her hand moved a forwards ever so slightly. The reflecting steel became one with Rei's skin and a very small stream of blood came running from the girl. The younger of the two grabbed the closet behind her and turned her face in the hope of this all being a nightmare. Her whole body was shaking violently and her eyes were closed so firmly by now that they could basically start bleeding.

"SAEKO! WHAT ARE YOU DOING? YOU'VE PROVEN YOUR POINT!" Saya yelled. She took a step forwards but was immediately grabbed by Kohta. "What are you doing? DO SOMETHING!"

"Saya-san! Shhh." He spoke softly in her ear. "This isn't normal, just look at them…"

"OF COURSE IT'S NOT NORMAL! WHAT DO YOU TH…" As she watched again she only got more shocked. Not only were her friends almost killing each other off, but one of them seemed to enjoy it a tad too much. That grin… how could somebody grin? As she saw Takashi standing in the door opening she yelled at him to do something, but he was just as dumbstruck as the rest of them.

The whole room became silent and waited for something to happen, grabbing Saeko would be too dangerous. One wrong movement and Rei was dead. Grabbing Rei was, obviously, just as little of an option.

All of the sudden Saeko removed her blade from the girl, sheeted it and stood up straight. Her eyes were in a firm battle with Rei's and they would be for quite some time. "You're not even worth it." The pale girl giggled out before she turned around and took a few steps backwards.

"S-s-screw you?"The other girl stuttered out before falling on her knees and clenching heavily to her neck. She was coughing badly but seemed to be all right. It was now that the rest finally got the guts to move again and Shizuka immediately raced of towards Rei, whilst Kohta and Saya simply stood in between them to prevent. Takashi immediately grabbed Saeko by her shoulders and moved her away from the scene, pushing her in the corner and giving her his most firm look ever, only to be ignored completely. The girl was looking past his shoulders at her victim and was strangely enough still grinning. Her teeth were grinding and her fists clenched.

"Don't worry Takashi, I wouldn't kill her without reason now would I?" She spoke softly after a while.

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING? Are you out of your mind?" He spoke firmly as this time it was Saeko whom was pushed against the wall. Sure, as soon as he had done so he regretted it for he could see the disappointment and anger in her eyes. But this was… too much. He'd take responsibly for everything… but this was too much. Without even asking for her reason he pushed her against the wall once more, this time her head bumped into the bricks first and a soft groan was heard. It's not as if he wanted to do so…, but he did so automatically. "I can't leave any of you alone for even an hour? Now look what happened!" He let her go and turned towards the others. "Anyone cares to explain this?" He yelled enraged.

Rei beckoned with her hand but Shiuzka grabbed her and together they moved towards the kitchen. Alice simply sat on the couch and watched the whole thing, as both Kohta and Saya tried to reason with Takashi.

Even though they had planned on resting, the tension between all of them got even worse. When Takashi wanted Saeko to join them, all he got was a foul stare before she as well walked off past Shizuka and Rei, and towards the garden. He tried to stop her in both resent and anger, but he was stopped from doing so his two remaining peers.

"Calm down Takashi! If you start yelling you solve nothing!" Saya spoke.

"Look who's talking!"

"Oh don't be such a smartass!"

"I'm not being a smartass. I leave you people for… maybe one hour. ONE single hour, and it's already a mess!"

"It's not our fault that those two are at each other throats is it?" The girl replied offended.

"You could have interfered? But nooo…."

"Look, Takashi. You can blame us all you'd like, but if anyone's to blame for their hate for each other it is not us, but you Takashi. You and your… DAMNED lack of guts for making a choice!"

And there you had it. The mood killer, the conversation stomper and the scissor that broke the red finishing line. Takashi raised a finger but eventually looked down at the ground.

"I … you….Yes… yes you're right. Maybe it is time to speak up." He spoke on a very low and on an almost whispered tone, before walking off towards the kitchen without saying another word. He heard Saya's attempt for an apology but decided to ignore it. If it was going to have to be played like this, he was not going to merely play along. He was going to win and end this thing for good.

The boy walked towards the kitchen and wanted to talk to Rei, to hear her part of the story. But since she was being taken care of by Shizuka he figured he'd pay his violent demon a short visit first. He gave the red head a tap on the shoulder before opening the door towards the garden. As soon as he set foot outside he was greeted by a wind gust which sent a chill down his spine. Small and soft drips of water found their way through his clothes and on his body. He couldn't see her in this square of the garden, and seeing that the backdoor was still closed he made his way towards the opening in the hedge. As he walked through it he was greeted by the scent of chlorine coming from the pool, thus his eyes made their way towards the shiny blueness immediately. However, what caught his attention wasn't the pool. Obviously it was the girl whom was sitting on the edge. She had rid herself of her shoes and had placed those, along with her katana, against the hedge which was just behind her. She didn't appear to be very sad, nor did she look angry. Only blank and emotionless.

Takashi looked back at the house before he walked through the hedge , turned right, and made his way towards the girl. The road towards her seemed to last for an eternity as he felt his head turn dizzy. He had no clue what he was going to say. He was furious at her… of course he was. But he also knew that it was probably perfectly justified in the girl's eyes.

What made is harder was that she didn't even allow him even a fragment of emotion. No, she simply kept staring at the water whilst playing a bit with her feet.

"Saeko!" He suddenly yelled as he was about two meters removed from her. "Saeko-san!" He still didn't get an immediate response nor did he want one. He had after all broken his promise of taking responsibility had he not? Well… he didn't think it was all that weird, but for her it would be. Being a girl of her word, he figured she'd expect a promise to be followed to the letter. "Saeko-san… Why? Just give me a reason and I believe you!" He yelled, for the wind was getting more fervent with each passing second. In fact, it was already bad enough to make him cover his eyes.

"Jesus Christ what is up with this weather…., Saeko?"

He moved towards her and grabbed her shoulder once again. But as soon as he did so he was tapped away by a lighting fast movement of her hand. Nevertheless he did so again, and finally had the result which he wanted.

"What is it? Has she turned you against me now?" She spoke to the water.

"What? Of course not" He spoke rather loud, and having barely heard her sentence he decided to sit next to her. But not with any distance, no, in fact he almost bumped her in the pool. As he sat down he noticed all too well how hard it was beginning to rain.

"Saeko-san… come, let's get inside and talk this out shall we?"

"Takas… Kumoro-kun. What's the point in talking… you saw me, you saw her. Both of us could have killed each other. The pieces have been set for quite some time now… and as it seems, I'm the better player at this point. Time will tell us the rest in game…" She spoke, way to soft once again. And she didn't make it easier on him by talking like this.

"Just tell me why… what happened? You can understand how it looked for us can't you?"

Upon saying this she suddenly turned her head and frowned at him. She eyed mad, furious even. In fact, for a bit it seemed as if an entirely different Saeko sat there in front of him. Her fists clenched and it seemed as if she was about jump him. And she would have, if it weren't for the fact that in the blur of the moment she saw his hand flying towards her cheek. And as it happened, it was already too late. A somewhat burning pain followed, and after the pain came anger.

He had just hit her hadn't he?

"SAEKO!" He immediately grabbed her arms and forced eye contact. "Listen to me! I have told you before, that I would care for you no matter the sins you've committed! And I still will!"

He gently shook her awake, for she was still startled by the red mark on her cheek.

"But you're going to have to speak up, just like you've done before." He pulled her closer this time and embraced her, but once against, with way too much force for it to be a regular hug. One could say he was literally pushing the air out of her for her head became slightly red, … yet that wasn't because of pain or anything. Sure, she felt a somewhat uncomfortable stitch because of her already battered body, but her red head was only the way it was because of blushing.

Because remember dear people, they love each other.

"Takashi?" She tried her best to loosen his grip but it was futile. He was simply stronger than she was.

"Do you understand me?"He increased his force even more, and he would do so until he'd have the answer he wanted. "Will you trust me again? Saeko-san… I'm so sorry… I should have taken responsibility like I had promised. But I was blinded by fear… Rei is still important for me, But so are you! I don't want anything to happen to neither of you! And that's why you need to speak with me right now…" He loosened up now and wanted to look in her eyes. As his face moved up he saw her red and wet cheeks all too good. By the sight of her lips his incredibly stupid speech had had some effect, for they were curled slightly. It were her eyes which spoke a thousand words however. Whether she was crying or not, laughing or not … her eyes still made it clear. They literally sparkled at the sight of that guy and she didn't even want it.

She wanted to be mad for a bit, she wanted to hate for a bit. But she simply couldn't. At least… not now, not today and not ever. She'd never be able to hate him and she hated that. Why not? He had just lied to her, slapped her and now she was supposed to forgive his actions right away? That was not her… it wouldn't be her way. Yet… here he was. Changing her very attitude in one single moment of anger and… possibly, love?

"Takashi-kun… it's… all right. "

As soon as these words had left her lips he let her go for a bit, just to stare into her eyes even better.

"But please… change you way of handling me…" She semi-joked and semi-meant. She thought she heard a giggle, but only just now noticed the rain, the thunder and the wind. Takashi however, now felt safe again to sit next to her. This time with a bit more distance, just an inch, he didn't want her to fall into the pool now did he?

"So… Feel like going inside already?" He asked again.

"No… Don't get me wrong. I'm not mad at you anymore, nor am I happy." She spoke monotone and to his disappointment. "Then again… you actually expect me to happy after this..?"

"No… I can't. But I can expect you to talk about it. At least tell me what happened… and tell me what really happened."

"You think I'd lie?"

"sigh I'm so screwing this up… D'erm… of course not. It's just that people tend to twist things in their favor… it's… totally natural."

"…"

"I mean… Look… I do it all the time!"

"Not better."

Both of them gave each other an awkward smile, and even whilst the rain was massaging their faces they felt perfectly normal and comfortable in their situation. Being soaked beyond measurement already, Takashi rested his feet inside of the pool as well. He was surprised when he felt that the water was being warm… was the heating system still working? At any rate, he had more important things on his mind right now.

"Saeko… Is it still about me?" He suddenly threw out. He felt his face warming up and his hands clenching, yet he simply wanted to know. He couldn't get himself to make eye contact, so instead he watched at their reflection in the water. And in it he could see that she was most likely thinking the same thing.

"No…"

"Oh…" He spoke a tad disappointed.

"No not directly. But yes…"

All of the sudden he felt her hand on his' and her shoulders quickly followed. Of course, he staggered back a bit at first, but quickly gave in and relaxed his body, even leaning back against her a little. He knew this wasn't that much… I mean, they had kissed and even felt each other's body. Yet this time it felt different. Even though they should be furious at each other they weren't. And that was most likely the reason why they felt so warm at this point.

She carried on:

"Everytime We talk with each other… I can feel her getting more hostile with each passing sentence. And I'd be lying if I said that that isn't the case with me. Takashi-kun… I'm going to be very direct to you now… and I just want to get it out. Would you accept that?"

Obviously, the answer was yes. He didn't even have to say it, his eyes said enough.

"Back there… we were ready to kill each other. And I mean that literally. She might have attacked first, but I drew my weapon first. If anything I'd say she was at fault for attacking.. but I know it is a perfectly normal and valid response to someone drawing a weapon at you. And…"

"Seako-san… I want to know why, not how. We all know that nobody stands a chance against you. We also know that neither you, nor Rei is violent without reason…" When he had said this he could feel her fingers squeezing his's, but he had long since anticipated that. "Nor are you, Saeko. Not without reason at least." Quickly he pulled back his hand and put his hand on top of hers' this time. He smiled and stared at the sky and actually enjoyed nature's liquid running over his face like that. He was drenched anyways, so he might as well enjoy it. "Now tell me… what happened? I want to speak with Rei about it as well… so…"

"Nothing happened… "

"Nothing?"

"No. All of us were just talking when Kohta-kun suddenly brought up the roof top. That was enough… the rest speaks for itself."

"No it does not. Tell me."

"Takashi…"

"Saeko?"

"… Persistent. It's annoying. We started yelling… I blamed her for being ignorant, she blamed me for being violent. And that's putting it lightly. And I think…"

A big Thunder shock came from the sky now. Followed by a flash barely a second after.

"Holy shit…. That was loud. Saeko-san… let's get inside… before it's hmpf…" His teeth suddenly hurt a bit as his face was suddenly linked with her's. It wasn't a very rough kiss… nor very soft. Not very long, nor very short. Neither of their face's moved, nor wanted to. Only their hands got locked together tightly. It was Saeko whom quit the kiss as well, obviously blushing she stood up without saying another thing. At least, not anything really relevant to their little deed.

"yes, let's do so. I'm going to change… again."

"Yeah… ermm…" He was stuttering over his own words as he was slightly tasting her sentence in his mouth and nose. "I'll… talk to Rei."

"Oh… and Takashi-kun… one last thing." He looked over his shoulder and saw her stunning face being close to his face once again. He expected a kiss on his forehead or something, but when she stood up straight and moved her leg a little… things seemed off a bit.

"Hmm? … Wait What are y…. SHIT! AARGH!"

He felt his back aching and his very body moving forwards. As he saw the warm water closing in on his face he already knew what had happened. The soft pain was replaced by the feeling of having no air. His limbs all moved in panic as he tried to move his way up. Only problem was… he had no clue as to whether he was swimming up or down. As soon as he opened his eyes the chloride burned, rendering him blind for the time being. He tried to yell…. "S asfneqwufb A Oubfeigbuqea E auefeuabfg K ugheaf O?" But it only emptied his lungs. He felt the bottom with his hands now, and without thinking twice he pushed himself up. As he arose from the plain of no oxygen he Inhaled deeper than he had ever done. Immediately making his way towards the side he muttered quite a bit… yet as soon as he had gotten the patience to carefully look around, he noticed all too well that there was nobody outside anymore. Just him, the rain, maybe a thousand survivors, and last but not least, literally millions of them.

"I've got a great life…"

That is that. Short chapter… but is it strange I really like this one? No? Well I do! It's simple and a great stage setter for the grand finale.

Next chapter will be longer, and the end of this story. At least part 1 of it.. I'll try to have it up on Sunday or Monday. Otherwise the next Sunday. Not later than that, I can assure you people that much. And you know that I always keep my promises concerning upload time! (, )

Yours sincerely,

Yamucha-san.