Hello people, and welcome back to Highschool of the Dead: Resurrection. You know what occurs to me? I don't know about the anime, but the manga has acts that have 3 to 5 chapters, and I never established that this story right here could very well function the same way, especially considering the 1st 5 chapters took place in the same setting: Itachi's old house. I could very well do the same with this military base they're at, but the question is: Will I? Anyway, I believe I promised a zombie massacre...but again: will I do it now or later? Let's find out...
Review Response: To be fair, Masato has a damn good point, and it was never really established between them that Takashi leads the group, not to mention he's a full-on trained soldier, with a decent amount of rank and everything, whereas Takashi is a highschool student. How is Takashi supposed to compete with him? Although, if you recall, Takashi DID have some leadership moments earlier in the story.
As for Itachi? Well...he's supposed to be a douchebag.
After his...interesting talk with Masato, Takashi took a stroll around the base. Most of the time, there was nothing to do but take in the somewhat cloudy sky, and watch the colors roll over the atmosphere itself as the sun neared the horizon, but that was just the sky itself. The rest of the base, especially the size of it was as awe-inspiring as it was at first; no one was able to look the place over at first, and even though he never took a moment to ask the others how the place affected them, beyond what was obvious, Takashi could only imagine what the base meant to them.
When he was done sight-seeing, he went to check on his teammates. Kohta was still fawning over the new weapons they could play with when the time was right, Saeko was looking the place over just like he was, but she was too focused on what she was doing to notice him...which was a first. Saya and Rei were both with Alice, helping her get ahold of herself, which he would ask about at a better time...then there was Shizuka.
She actually found the base's hospital, and immediately got on top of seeing to what sort of equipment she had to work with, but Takashi would inquire on that later. While she was getting into her element, Takashi went to check on Itachi...but he wasn't in the barracks. He then went outside to look for him, and saw him leaving by climbing over a fence, and then running off with his bow drawn. Takashi then bolted after him, and then watched him through the fence...and saw a small horde of zombies in the distance.
Just as he was on the brink of running off to let everyone know, Itachi began launching arrows at the zombies...and even the distance made no difference. Takashi watched the insufferable, but talented archer put one arrow through the zombies' heads like he was knocking down dominoes. Itachi dropped at least one zombie every two seconds, and even got close to them, just so he could jam his last arrow into a soft spot in their heads up close, only to launch the arrow into not one, but two zombies in a row, all while sneering at his prey.
Itachi continued dancing circles around the zombies trying to grab him, and retrieving his arrows from the truly dead people he picked off. Itachi then kicked the last zombie to the ground, simply stood there as he watched it get up, and then put an arrow through it's face before looking it over. He then looked around at the dozens of zombies he worked over, and reveled in his victory.
"Damn...he's even worse than Saeko..." Takashi whispered as he recalled the first time he encouraged Saeko to let her own dark side out and massacre a entire group of zombies. The difference however was clear as glass: Saeko likes killing zombies...probably more than she has a right to, but Itachi is on a whole new level. Then again, he said so himself that he likes the feeling of his superiority over the zombies.
Once the massacre was over, Takashi left to look over the rest of the base, and then heard rapid footsteps behind him.
"Takashi!" Rei yelled as she approached.
"What's the matter?" Takashi asked.
"Where's Itachi? He has alot of explaining to do." Rei asked.
"He's...he's out there killing zombies." Takashi said.
"Can't say I'm surprised..." Rei groaned.
"But what's the deal? What does he have to answer for?" Takashi asked.
"Alice went to him, despite our warning...and he screamed at her." Rei said.
"Just like that?!" Takashi asked.
"Well...they did talk like normal people, but still...what the fuck..?!" Rei said.
"At least we warned her, and no I'm not saying that Itachi's off the hook because of that, but still." Takashi said.
"Right...but still, he's going to get his someday." Rei said.
"Maybe..." Takashi said before sighing.
"What?" Rei asked.
"It's just...Corporal Toriyama pulled me aside earlier, and...he wanted to talk to me about Alice." Takashi said.
"O...k...why?" Rei asked.
"He wanted to know about what he's done to help us fight zombies, and...let's just say he's not impressed, not even alittle bit." Takashi said.
"We're not teaching a little girl to fight zombies." Rei said seriously.
"Rei, we might have no choice." Takashi said.
"Like hell we don't have a choice! Seriously...don't tell me you agree with him." Rei said.
"I don't even know; he brought up some damn good points." Takashi said.
"Really? Such as?" Rei asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Think about it: what if she's by herself, and none of us can get to her in time, or if she's the only one there if one or more of us are in trouble? She'd be a heroine." Takashi said, and Rei sighed.
"And if it's not a single zombie, or if it's a living person? She can't take that kind of pressure; she's barely clinging onto what little innocence she has left." She said.
"But look at the rest of us. Hell, look at me. Remember that guy I shot down at the gas station to save you?" Takashi asked.
"That was different." Rei said.
"Like hell it was different. Alice would never harm someone unless she had to, but she needs to be ready for if or when she has to." Takashi said.
"I guess so..." Rei breathed out.
"Although, to be fair...Corporal Toriyama said Alice might not be ready for it now, but he still wants her on the frontlines when she's ready." Takashi said.
"Fine...it's completely insane, but it's true." Rei said.
"As for the rest of us...well, he wants us as ready as possible for...whatever he has in mind." Takashi said.
"Should we even go with whatever he has in mind? The guy is completely obsessed with killing zombies; what if we pay for that obsession in a way we're not ready for?" Rei asked, and Takashi stopped to think.
"Good point..." He said.
"Then again, he is going through the trouble of giving you and Kohta training, so...you can't say he's heartless." Rei said.
"No shit. He definitely getting points for blowing Shido's brains out." Takashi said.
"For once...I agree with that line of thought..." Rei trailed off.
"I cannot believe I'm asking this, but do you envy him for being able to do that?" Takashi asked.
"Honestly...I don't know." Rei said, and Takashi looked behind her.
"The sun's going down soon." He said.
"You want to watch it?" Rei asked.
"Why not?" Takashi asked, and then the two walked arm-in-arm up the stairs of a nearby building, and watched the sunset together. The whole time, the two simply sat there, watching the golden rays of the sun color the sky, and illuminate the world for the last time before night falls. Occasionally, Rei looked up at Takashi, who had his eyes glued to the spectacle before them, and when he finally looked back at her, they shared a smile, then she snuggled into his side even more and let out a sigh of contentment.
Saya meanwhile, actually witnessed a piece of their moment, but unsurprisingly left them alone, and went off to see what else was happening. Eventually, she found Kohta, who was still working on the SAW...and he reloaded it in record time without missing a single beat. He removed the ammo box, and loaded it back in so quickly Saya could barely keep track of what his hands were doing, and when he did it, he released a deep sigh.
"Nice going." Saya said, and Kohta exclaimed and recoiled.
"Takagi! Don't scare me like that..." He said.
"Sorry. I just couldn't help but notice you were still at this." Saya said.
"Of course I'm still at this. You know this is...kind of my thing, not to mention Corporal Toriyama entrusted this beautiful lead-spitter to me, so I've got to treat it with the respect it deserves." Kohta said, and Saya smirked.
"O.k. this is just over-the-top, even for you." She said.
"Hey, a member of Japan's armed forces values my skills, I'm not going to say no to a chance to sharpen them. I'll work on every gun in this base if it means I can help strike a blow against the undead. I'll keep my word your father to protect you, and make Corporal Toriyama proud!" Kohta said seriously, and Saya actually giggled.
"How noble, then again...when haven't you been noble?" She said, and Kohta looked at her. "Come on, you've been like this for as long as I've known you, even when I...gave you a harder time than you deserved."
"Takagi?" Kohta whispered, and then Saya deflated.
"I...I know I haven't been very easy to be around, and I don't even know how you could overlook any of it. For once ever, I don't know something I should!" Saya said seriously.
"I don't even know myself." Kohta said.
"Of course not, even I can't figure it out." Saya said.
"I meant I know that I should; that it's worth doing." Kohta said and Saya's eyes widened and she even blushed.
"What...what do you mean by that?" She asked.
"Well...you did need my help, and I wanted to give it to you, and I have this entire time. I just felt like protecting you, plus I love shooting zombies, so...it was a win-win." Kohta said.
"And now?" Saya asked.
"Now...well, you've returned the favor, like when I was at a low point." Kohta said.
"Oh...like when I talked to my father when he and his cronies were on your case." Saya said.
"Do you have any idea how touching that was?" Kohta asked.
"I can guess..." Saya said before slowly walking away.
"Takagi- I mean, Saya..." Kohta asked, and Saya turned to look at him. "You really are a genius."
"That's why people love me." Saya said proudly before continuing to walk away.
"And why I love you..." Kohta said softly before looking over the SAW and sighing.
Shizuka meanwhile, walked outside the base's hospital, and saw Masato walking by.
"Uh...excuse me? Sir?" Shizuka asked, and Masato looked right at her.
"Zombies?" Masato asked.
"No...not zombies..." Shizuka trailed off, and Masato kept walking. "Wait! Please don't leave!"
"You said there weren't any zombies." Masato said.
"I know but...does everything have to be about zombies?" Shizuka asked, and Masato sighed before turning to her in full.
"Make it quick." He said.
"Well, I was looking over this facility, and now would be a good time for all of us to get a physical, and I might as well start with you." Shizuka said.
"I'm perfectly healthy." Masato said as seriously as ever.
"How would you know? How do you know there's nothing wrong with your body that could hinder your performance in the long run?" Shizuka asked.
"As long as I can move around, I can kill zombies. That is all I care about." Masato said.
"For crying out loud! I thought this wasn't supposed to be about zombies..." Shizuka groaned, and Masato sighed and marched past her.
"Let's get this over with..." He whispered, and then approached a table.
"O.k. now please remove-" Masato cuts Shizuka off.
"I know how this goes..." He said as he removed his armor piece by piece, then the rest of his clothes down to his underpants. Unsurprisingly, Shizuka couldn't stop looking him over; Itachi was bulkier than either Takashi or maybe Kohta when it came to muscle mass, but Masato, being a member of the JSPD was on a whole other level. To her relief, he had no bites marks of any kind, not even faint ones, so he not only wasn't hiding anything, but also was never infected in the first place.
Eventually, she composed herself, approached him, and she got to work, starting by checking his heart rate and breathing, then tested his reflexes, and even tried an x-ray. Everything checked out despite his recent hyperactivity...but there was a less-than-subtle shift in the mood. Masato still had the icy glare in his eyes the entire time, but it became less icy overtime, neither one of them gave it a second thought, but they didn't have to. It was still clear Masato wasn't going to stop wanting to kill more zombies anytime soon, but it was as if for a moment...he cared about the world itself instead of what he was on a mission to destroy.
"O.k...I think you should be alright now." Shizuka said...and Masato went back to the way he was as he put his armor back on and walked outside without a word, leaving the ditzy yet caring and inhumanly buxom nurse behind to mull over what just happened...especially since her patient saw a matter concerning his health as an annoyance rather than a necessity. While she did that...Masato looked over the armory again to find even more equipment.
Saeko then entered the barracks as night fell, and everyone got situated in their beds after.
"So where's Itachi?" She asked.
"He went out. " Saya said.
"As in...?" Saeko asked.
"He left the base, and...who knows what he's doing now." Takashi said.
"He left us?" Alice asked.
"I seriously doubt he would do that, but...who knows what he's up to." Saeko said.
"You know he actually yelled at Alice?" Rei asked.
"I cannot say I'm surprised, but he had better be ready to explain himself when he comes back." Saeko said.
"Damn straight." Rei said, and then Itachi walked in.
"Where have you been?" Saeko asked, and Itachi raised an eyebrow.
"There was a magnanimous sunset going on, I'm drenched in blood, there's a huge pile of dead zombies not far from this place, and I'm actually in a much better mood. Those are your clues." Itachi said.
"Very good." Masato said.
"Let me guess: you're just interested in the dead zombies." Itachi said.
"Of course I am." Masato said, and Itachi shook his head and marched toward the shower.
"Hey! Don't you have something to say to a certain little girl?" Rei asked, and Itachi didn't stop.
"No more than I have to say to the rest of you." He said.
"She left you food despite how insufferable you've been to her, and like the rest of us, she had nothing to do with your home being burned down." Saeko said and Itachi finally stopped.
"Well, soldier boy back there did." He said.
"That was an accident; my target was the zombie horde itself. Besides, this base has far more to offer than your house did." Masato said.
"Yeah, didn't think of that did you?" Kohta asked, and Itachi sighed.
"I will admit...this isn't a complete disaster..." He said.
"Alright then. Now tell her you're sorry." Rei said.
"Oh I'm sorry alright...that none of you told her to leave me be when I'm not in the mood for visitors!" Itachi snapped before marching off.
"That man is hopeless...!" Saya breathed out.
"Maybe we should just beat some sense into him." Kohta said.
"Well...like Rei said earlier, he's going to get his." Takashi said.
"Damn straight." Kohta said.
"In order for that to happen, he'll have to accept that taking his pain out on us is not justified, and that doing things for us, with or without a reward doesn't give him a right to get away with murder." Saeko said.
"Enough. I found some slug rounds, as well as some more ammunition in general in the last section of the armory." Masato said.
"Sweet." Kohta said.
"Thank you sir." Takashi said.
"There's also a bounty of humvees with machine guns that we can use to set up a defense if need be. I even found some armor that should fit every one of you." Masato said.
"Well...that would've come in handy earlier." Rei said.
"Better late than never." Takashi said.
"That is very true." Rei said.
"We should try it out in the morning, for now, everyone should get some sleep." Shizuka said.
"Right, good night everyone." Takashi said.
"Yeah, good night." Alice said before snuggling with Shizuka as everyone else got in their bunks...and Itachi of course got in his own bed later on. He then reflected on how awkward it was to be the only one who wasn't asleep, but then swallowed the tension and went to sleep himself.
In the morning, he woke up before everyone, snuck out of the room and went off to watch the sunrise. He then saw the cargo plane show up at the same time as the sun peeks over the horizon...which to his confusion...especially when the crate parachute down to the ground...not far from the base. Why would they drop it off right next to the base? Does the pilot know the group was there? Regardless, Itachi ran to the fence in front of the place where the drop-off was and sprinted off to retrieve it.
Meanwhile, Masato woke up as before everyone, and then he went off to the command center to see what discoveries he could make. The rest of the group woke up one by one, and of course stretched and yawned. Rei even woke Takashi up with a brief kiss, and then shared a smile with them. They then heard the door open, and none other than Itachi walked in.
"Breakfast is served." He said as he carried in a crate full of food.
"This early? It's barely after sunrise." Saya said.
"Well, whoever's piloting that plane gave that time table one big middle finger and dropped these goodies of right at our front door. I didn't even have to take that car I found yesterday." Itachi said before dropping the crate and laying down as everyone swarmed the crate to get their breakfast.
"This almost makes up for yesterday...almost." Rei said.
"Oh bite me. I don't have to give any of you a hand, yet I still do." Itachi said.
"What exactly are you trying to prove by reminding us of that?" Saeko asked.
"It's the truth." Itachi deadpanned.
"You didn't answer me." Saeko said.
"There's no point I have to prove! Now shut up and eat." Itachi said.
"O.k. honestly..." Rei trailed off.
"My thoughts exactly. Instead of just letting things go, you have to just cling onto what I may, or may not have done wrong, despite what goes in my favor. Could you please just lighten up?" Itachi asked.
"You mean I should just stop caring, like some half-ass outlaw?" Rei asked.
"Hey, this is the end of the world, outlaws rule it, and the outlaws above the outlaws own it. Like, this is a whole new level of making ou like bandits; before you all even met me you've had it made. You were running around kicking undead ass, doing whatever you wanted, with no one, not even your parents there to tell you want to do...just like me." Itachi said.
"Oh...so this whole thing is about your parents." Rei said.
"Oh good God, here we go again..." Itachi groaned.
"No, seriously. Are you really so self-absorbed that you think parents do whatever they did to you to everyone else as well? Well, if you do, you're dead wrong. The rest of us don't have that problem." Rei said.
"Good for you." Itachi said.
"Actually...am I correct in assuming that the whole reason you're acting like this is because you actually miss your parents, and you just don't want to deal with it?" Rei asked.
"Me? Miss my parents?" Itachi asked before laughing. "Lady, you need to get your fucking head examined..."
"Itachi...they're your mom and dad." Alice said.
"And they failed. They...failed, and that can not be done by accident." Itachi said seriously.
"Well, you definitely don't want to be alone, otherwise you would have left us by now like the lone wolf you think yourself to be." Saeko said.
"Uh...from where I'm standing- I mean laying, you need me a hell of a lot more than I need you." Itachi said.
"Which makes you entitled to little to nothing considering how much of your pain you provoke yourself." Saeko said, and Itachi growled and stood up...which made Alice recoil with the memory of the last time he did that.
"Look, I'm with all of you because I have no where to go. Hell, I'm with all of you despite all of the A-grade bullshit that was dumped on my head since we met. Sergeant What's-his-face burned down my home, you all annoyed and patronized me at very possible turn, and even consumed supplies I might as well share with you since it's too much for me. O.k. fair's fair, that last one is a good chance to put some arrows through some zombies heads, and of course I love doing that, but...that only makes up for so much. So if you really want to tell me I'm self-absorbed or whatnot, tell someone else; if I really didn't care, I would send you into outlaw territory, and leave you at their mercy. In fact...you know where I got that car? I turned a group of outlaw heads into pin cushions, and even fed one to zombies before I took that car from them." Itachi said and everyone's eyes widened.
"What...?" Rei breathed out.
"Yep, now I have 19 confirmed living human kills, and the world's a better place for it. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to do more scouting while the rest of you sort your shit out, because I'm getting really sick of having this discussing this pathetic excuse for a topic." Itachi said before marching out the door.
"You know we can't force him to pay for his crimes." Saeko said.
"You know that's not the point." Saya said.
"I cannot believe he's actually o.k. with killing people..." Alice said.
"It's quite a pill to swallow Alice, but...it is what it is. Itachi's an outlaw, but he's on our side, whether we like it or not." Takashi said.
"And maybe we were being too hard on him; justified or not, he is putting up with quite a bit, and is still going through with what's right...or at least what's less wrong." Kohta said.
"Maybe...but he is still responsible for his own actions, and holding it against us for just bringing them up is only going to get him so far." Saeko said.
"Tell that to those bandits he put six feet under." Saya said.
"Should we ask him about that?" Shizuka asked.
"Maybe...but not when he's still in a sour mood." Saeko said.
"When is he not in a sour mood?" Rei asked.
"True...he's arguably worse than me on a bad day." Saya said and everyone looked at her funny. "Hey, I'm allowed to make fun of myself."
"Right." Rei said.
"Anyway, doesn't anyone find it funny that we're working with an outlaw that hunts other outlaws?" Kohta asked before Masato walked in.
"They're called Ghosts." He said.
"Ghosts?" Takashi asked.
"Yes, that's what the military calls them." Masato said.
"For what reason?" Saeko asked.
"Because that's what they live like: people who wander the world as if they were lost souls, like ghosts tend to do in the myths." Masato said.
"Do...we qualify?" Rei asked.
"I'm not sure, but those people who prey on others definitely qualify." Masato said.
"Well then..." Saya trailed off.
"Itachi also mentioned a horde of zombies not far from here, I want at least some of you to put on that armor, grab your weapons and join me at the gate." Masato said.
"When did he say that?" Rei asked.
"Shortly before I walked in." Masato said before leaving.
"Well...you heard the man, let's try on our new suits." Takashi said...and the group put on the scraps of armor left for them. The women, especially Saya, Rei, and Saeko had not only arm and legs guards, but also flak vests as well. Takashi and Kohta had entire suits to their names, minus the helmets, and Alice obvious had no armor to her name because of her size, and Shizuka had no vest at all since her breasts were far too large.
"Alright...so who's going?" Alice asked.
"Me and Kohta, the rest of you...well, I think Rei should explain." Takashi said.
"Alright. Good luck you two." Rei said.
"We won't be long." Takashi said before Rei gave him a quick kiss and he followed Kohta out the door.
"So...what are you going to explain?" Saeko asked.
"Well...Corporal Masato wants Alice to learn how to shoot." Rei said.
"He what?!" Saya asked in awe.
"She can't fight those things!" Shizuka exclaimed.
"I had the exact same reaction, believe me, but he actually established this was a process that needed to be taken seriously. Besides...just learning how it works can't hurt." Rei said.
"We're not making Alice a child soldier." Saya said seriously.
"Actually...I don't mind at all." Alice said.
"What? Alice...think about this." Saya said.
"I have. I've helped you all so many times, but now I can help even more. I would love that. I know it's going to be hard, but...I want to be as tough as all of you when I grow up." Alice said and everyone deflated one by one.
"I guess she has a point, but who's going to train her?" Saya asked.
"Kohta!" Alice exclaimed.
"Oh...right, he is the most qualified. But we're going to keep an eye on him." Saya said.
"Smart. He can get too carried away for his own good, or anyone else's." Saeko said and Rei knelt down to Alice's level.
"Then it's settled. When they get back, you Alice get to learn how to really help us out." Rei said, and Alice hugged her.
Meanwhile, Masato, Takashi, and Kohta were using M4s to take pot shots at the zombie horde that was trudging uphill towards them. Masato and Kohta were obviously shooting faster since Takashi had to take more time between shots, and especially his reloads, but he slowly got more used to his weapon. Between the three of them, at least 90 percent of their shots were headshots, but the occasional grenade toss, which was timed to explode in mid-air over the zombies' head evened the odds when it was needed.
Eventually, the group ran out of M4 ammo, and Takashi and Kohta handed their spent guns to Masato, and he sat back and watched Takashi and Kohta grab the AA-12 and SAW they kept behind them and got to work on what was left of the horde. Kohta immediately got into the prone position to take more stable shots, and of course fired short controlled bursts into the horde, especially the ones further away, scoring multiple headshots per burst. Takashi simply unloaded shells one by one into the crowd to get a feel for his new gun...and he immediately fell in love with it.
The new few minutes were barely felt as the duo stood there mowing down zombies by the dozen with Masato watching the show as his two trainees enjoyed themselves, and put their new skills to good use. Eventually, some zombies managed to get too close, and Takashi panicked and fired full-auto at the zombies, but even then most shells tore through their brains, sometimes with his new slug rounds tearing through multiple zombies per shot. He then loaded another drum magazine and fired into the crowd along with Kohta, who just now ran out of ammo, loaded his second and last box magazine and fired at the rest of the zombies.
With a final grenade launched from Masato's M32, the hundreds-strong horde was exterminated...but all the noise was hard for miles, and it was bound to attract more attention.
Hell of an explosive ending wasn't it? I promised not just a massacre, but also a sooner posting. Have I not kept my word? Now, before I take more pages out of Itachi's book than I should, I'm just going to stop right there. But there's still more mischief to come, so please remember to Rate, Review, and Share, and stay tuned for the rest of the carnage I have in mind.