Well well well... we knew someone had to die eventually and at least it wasn't one of our man men (or women!)
Sorry it has been over a month since the last update, my laptop gave up the ghost and wouldn't let me access my file that has the story in it! Fear not I retrieved it so normal uploads can begin. As way of an apology, I am uploading a chapter today and a chapter tomorrow and then its back to Monday uploads! woo!
Chapter 8
Tanaka and Majima had managed to find Honey and Mori and were retracing their steps to try and find Nanako, Ritsu and Sakamoto. They walked in silence, Tanaka keeping an eye on the time as it drew closer to 10:30.
"We don't have long before the lights go out… maybe another fifteen minutes?" Tanaka finally spoke up.
"I swear they went this way… maybe they already got back to the music room?" Honey suggested, looking to Mori who nodded in agreement.
"Maybe…" Majima nodded "we should have run into them by now…"
The four of them stopped at the bottom of the staircase that lead to music room three, all of them feeling conflicted about leaving the others but time was ticking on and it wouldn't be good for them to all be caught in the dark once the auto lights went off. They'd already decided between them not to turn any lights on because it might attract unwanted attention so with regret in the pits of their stomachs, they began to ascend the stairs. They only got about halfway up before Honey stopped.
"I hear something" he held his shinai in a defensive stance, turning to see Ritsu and Nanako come through from the other hallway.
"Nana-chan!" he gasped, moving down the stairs towards them.
"Honey-senpai…" she sniffled.
"What's wrong Nana-chan?" his brows furrowed as he watched his friend tear up again.
"Where's Sakamoto?" Tanaka asked, looking around for the younger kendo member.
As soon as he asked, Nanako let out a soft sob, covering her mouth and shaking her head.
"He got bit by that zombie in the kitchen" Ritsu spoke up "he turned not too long ago but he is at peace now"
There was a long uncomfortable silence between the group at the others processed what Ritsu had told them, Honey moving to take Nanako's hand and start leading her up the stairs as the group moved forward towards safety.
"I'm sorry… that must have been hard…" Majima finally broke the silence.
Nanako nodded as she sniffled sadly "yeah…" she mumbled.
"He didn't deserve that kind of death…" Tanaka sighed
"But he's at peace now" Mori nodded, offering some words of comfort to the situation.
The group fell silent again as they walked down the corridor, stopping only to pass through the barricade once more. Mori knocked three times on the door and stepped back to wait for someone to open it. It took a moment or two before the door opened and the group shuffled through, Tanaka closed and locked the door behind them.
Apparently the others had been busy while they were gone. The lamps and lanterns scattered about the room had been turned on and Kyoya had woken the twins and the girls so they could work on making some kind of sleeping area.
Tamaki burst into a sort of rant about being worried "You guys are so careless! I have been worried sick! You have been gone for hours!"
Haruhi stepped in to try and calm him down before someone ended up getting hurt.
Nanako approached Kyoya and offered him the gym bag "medical stuff…" she mumbled and then her bag "food and stuff… oh and a radio…"
"Where's Sakamoto?" Naoko asked as she realised the first year wasn't with them.
Nanako swallowed hard and shook her head, immediately taking off to the changing rooms.
"Was it something I said?" Naoko blinked.
"Sakamoto got bit and turned, he was with Yamada and me" Ritsu offered that small bite of information before going after Nanako.
"Oh…" Naoko sunk onto one of the chairs "Woah..." she sighed.
"Yamada?" Ritsu looked around the changing room area, to see Nanako sitting in one of the chairs, her head in her hands.
They stayed in silence for a few minutes until Nanako finally spoke.
"How could we let that happen…" her voice sounded so empty, so devoid of anything that Ritsu shivered.
"We didn't let it happen Yamada… it's just one of those things" he paused "It was bound to happen to someone eventually"
"Don't you think I know that" she looked up at him her eyes reddened from crying before.
"Well stop beating yourself up about it okay? He got careless and he got bit" Ritsu grumbled.
"And then you killed him" Nanako stood abruptly "and somehow you have no emotional attachment to that moment… so calm, so collected"
Her voice had a hint of venom to it as she stared Ritsu down
"Not once… not once have you looked anything other than calm about it… how can you not be broken up just a little?" Clearly the shock from having to see the turning process had detached Nanako slightly.
"Just because I don't bawl my eyes out, doesn't mean I'm not feeling like shit inside!" Ritsu snapped "Do you have any idea how hard that was to bring him peace? You weren't the one holding the knife! You were the one answering a declaration of love to a guy you didn't even know, like it was a regular normal day!"
Nanako's eyes widened "you… asshole…" it came out as a whisper, even though she'd intended for it to be shouted.
"Yeah, so I'm an asshole, what's new am I right?" he glared at her
"I… he…" she stopped and shook her head "tell me this… if a girl was declaring her love for you on her deathbed… would you let her die on a rejection"
Ritsu thought that over for a moment before answering "… no I don't think I could"
"Then you can't get all mad at me for it" Nanako huffed, turning away and running a hand through her hair "I'm sorry"
"Sorry?" Ritsu watched her move about
"I'm sorry I got mad at you… it's been a long day Kasanoda… and I am drained…" she turned back to look at him and it was true; he could see how tired she was in her eyes.
"It's okay I guess…" Ritsu was never good at taking apologies and Nanako let it slide.
"Nana-chan! Kasanoda!" Honey's voice floated in from the main room "we got something on the radio!"
Nanako sighed softly and nodded "come on… let's go see what they found"
With that, she brushed past Ritsu, stopping only briefly to give his hand a little squeeze before disappearing through the door.
"Oh shit" Ritsu grunted, his nose, as always, had perfect timing and he found himself cupping his face to stop himself bleeding all over the floor.
The group gathered around the radio just in time for the auto lights to go out, leaving them in lamplight. It was eerie to say the least and Nanako squished herself in next to Haruhi on the couch, resting her head on her friends shoulder as Kyoya turned the dials on the radio, trying to get it tuned enough that they'd be able to hear it clearly.
-beep beep beep- This is the Emergency Broadcast System -beep- The public are advised to remain inside their homes and not make any attempt to reach loved ones -beep- Travel outside of Tokyo is strictly forbidden -beep- Please stay tuned for more information -beep beep beep-
The broadcast began to play over again and so Kyoya turned the volume down for now. The room remained eerily silent aside from the quiet repetition of the emergency broadcast system.
"We should decide who is going to be on night watch" Hikaru disturbed the silence.
"Good idea" Tamaki looked around the group, waiting for volunteers.
"I'll do it" Nakamura nodded
"Me too" Hikaru offered
"And me" Kaoru couldn't let his brother do it alone.
"Okay, Nakamura-senpai, you get first watch and then at 3am Hikaru and Kaoru takeover" Kyoya nodded "then tomorrow we can make a real rota"
With that decided, everyone apart from Nakamura found themselves somewhere to sleep. Nanako took the futon next to Ritsu and Haruhi took the one next to Nanako. Tamaki took the one next to Kyoya; Honey took one of the ones next to Mori and the other kendo members and Naoko and Izumi took two of the remaining futons the other side of Haruhi.
Nanako's POV
I laid there willing sleep to come over me but it didn't. I could hear the sounds of other people that had fallen asleep and I couldn't help but feel jealous… but each time I closed my eyes, all I could see was Sakamoto's face right after he turned. After another fifteen minutes of failing to fall asleep, I rolled over to see Ritsu was awake too.
"Can't sleep?" he whispered
"No… I keep seeing his face" I murmured softly "every time I close my eyes he's there, haunting me…"
"Same…" Ritsu shifted a little, I'm guessing to try and get more comfortable. "What time is it?"
"Mm…" I shifted to grab my phone out of my hoodie pocket, the screen illuminating my face as I checked "just coming up to 1am…"
"Right…" Ritsu sighed and shifted again "we should try and sleep… or tomorrow we'll just be useless"
"Yea…" I tucked my phone back onto the pocket of my hoodie that was hung over the back of a chair just behind the futon "night Kasanoda…"
"Night Yamada…"
I guess I must have fallen asleep sometime after that because the next thing I knew it was morning and I awoke to the sounds of people talking. Cracking open an eye, I could see Ritsu was still snoozing away on the futon next to mine and it was surprising to see just how peaceful his face was when he was relaxed like that… it was kind of cute…
Oh god get a grip on yourself woman! I internally scolded myself as I pushed up to sit. Everyone else aside from Nakamura was awake and sitting around the radio, talking about something. A quick check of my phone told me that firstly, my battery was getting low and secondly it was almost 9am. Deciding not to wake Ritsu just yet, I slid from my futon as quietly as I could and looked around for my bag that I'd given to Kyoya the night before.
Spying it on one of the tables, I approached and was pleasantly surprised to find that Kyoya had unpacked our supplies and left my belongings in the bag. Digging around, I located my charger and ambled across the room to find an outlet.
"Morning Nanako" Haruhi smiled as I passed by the group on my hunt for a power outlet.
"Morning Haruhi" I offered a smile my eyes finally landing on a power outlet.
"Did you sleep okay?" she asked as she followed me, watching me as I plugged in my phone to charge.
"Kinda…" I shrugged "it took a while to actually fall asleep but I guess I must have just crashed at some point"
"Still thinking about yesterday?" Haruhi reached out to touch my arm gently
"Yea… I mean what happened… it was awful Haruhi, I hope you don't have to be a witness to that kind of thing" I shook my head "but today is a new day and I guess we get to decide what happens next"
Normal POV
A short time later everyone gathered round the large table that had been dubbed 'the meeting table' and took a seat.
"So" Kyoya looked around at the group "Nakamura-senpai and the twins are sleeping from being on night watch but we have something important to do today"
"We do?" Izumi asked, having been unaware of the discussion last night.
"Yes… down in the attendance office there should be some long range radios that we plan to acquire" Kyoya adjusted his glasses.
"But why?" Naoko frowned "It's not like we plan on splitting the group"
"Well when the time comes that we have to leave, we are going to need something to keep in contact with each other should we become separated" Kyoya couldn't believe that he actually put up with the denseness of the girls at school for the sake of a club.
"We should also assign team leaders" Nanako piped up "you know, because there isn't going to be enough radios for us to all have one each"
"Good point" Tamaki joined the conversation "I vote myself, naturally"
"Of course you do" Ritsu rolled his eyes
"Well I am the king of the host club!" Tamaki proclaimed
"Uh… senpai, somehow I don't think host club is going to exist anymore" Haruhi shook her head "sorry to break it to you"
"Why Haruhi…" Tamaki looked like he was ready to erode away "why would you break Daddy's heart like that…"
Nanako groaned and rubbed her face "I vote Kasanoda to be a team leader"
"Why don't we wait and see how many radios we can get and then decide hmm?" Naoko looked around the group.
"Sure, that works" Kyoya seemed happy with that.
Once it was agreed, the only thing they had to decide now was who to send out there to find them. It didn't take long for Tanaka, Mori and Ritsu to volunteer.
"Good luck…" Nanako sighed as she shut and locked the door behind them.
While those three were off finding the radios, everyone else found things to do to keep busy. Nanako, Haruhi, Izumi and Naoko were cleaning and rearranging furniture to make the place look a bit more organised, Kyoya and Majima were going over maps that Majima and Tanaka had found the day before, Honey and Tamaki were doing food inventory with Nakamura, who'd finally woken up and the twins were still snoozing away.
"Hey Yamada, did you say you had keys to the vending machines?" Nakamura called over.
"Mm? Yeah I did, why?" Nanako finished tucking chairs under the table she was standing by, before wandering over to where Nakamura was.
"Good… we have enough food for a couple days but if we can empty out a couple of vending machines, we'll have enough food to keep us going for a while longer" Nakamura smiled softly.
"Uhm… senpai? When we empty the vending machines… where are we going to store the food? I mean we don't want to get too bogged down with supplies and not be able to move them" Nanako tilted her head a little.
"I don't think we should plan on staying here" Kyoya interjected "we need somewhere more secure where there is no risk of us dying each time we have to use the bathroom or run for supplies"
"In other words…?" Nanako asked
"In other words, we empty the vending machines when we leave" Kyoya smiled "we just have to decide on somewhere to go where we can be safe and secure"
"Right…" Nanako nodded "well then… we best start thinking then hadn't we?"
About an hour later, Mori, Ritsu and Tanaka returned and they'd managed to grab seven radios, enough for half of them which wasn't so bad really, at least they'd be able to split into pairs if necessary.
Now all they had to do was work as a team to decide where they should go… that shouldn't be too hard… should it?