Disclaimer: I do not own Zombie Land Saga, or any other property in this work that I did not make myself.

Saga Stories: A tale of Zombie Land Saga

Chapter six: Zombies, actresses and automobiles

The girls of the actress troop Franchouchou had an awesome time during the previous night, where they had a bonfire on a beach and partied well into the night. They ended up camping out for the night on that beach, woke up a bit early, packed everything up into Kotaro's van, got everything back to the abandoned mansion in Saga, put anything that needed to be stored back into storage, and relaxed a bit in one of the larger rooms in the mansion.

At around eight-forty-five in the morning, Sakura found herself with Saki and Lily in one of the rooms, with Hikari sitting off to the side engrossed in playing some game on a Playtendo Swap Lite, and Sigrid laying on the floor off to the side in another area of the room, fast asleep and snoring away. "Last night's party on the beach was pretty great," Sakura remarked in a conversational tone to Saki and Lily, "Wouldn't you girls agree?"

"Heh," Saki chuckled a bit to herself in a self-amused tone, "I'm glad that I thought of it."

"We were also able to learn a little bit more about Ai," Lily pointed out, "We can work better with Ai now that we know to avoid putting her in situations that would have her be in close proximity to open flames."

Sakura nodded in agreement with the child actress zombie girl. "You got a point there, Lily," Sakura began, "There's still a lot about all of us that we all have to learn so we can work better together, but we're making considerable progress either way, if you think about it." Letting out a mildly troubled sigh, the long-haired zombie girl remarked, "I'm not quite sure what to do about some of the other girls, though. Especially Junko, since you and I have worked with her a few times before, yet we know hardly anything about her aside from how she was an idol back in the late Showa period." With a mildly curious look on her face, Sakura said, "Speaking of Junko, do any of you know where she might be?"

Both Lily and Saki looked like they were contemplating the question, going over in their heads any possible area that they could think of where the Showa idol zombie girl might be. About midway through Lily and Saki's brainstorming, Hikari looked over at where the other girls were sitting and called out, "If you girls want to locate Junko, why don't you try checking the dance studio room where we trained to master using monster glamour?"

Sakura, Lily and Saki all looked over at the gamer zombie girl with mildly surprised looks on their faces. "What makes you think that, Hikari?" Sakura asked.

"I found Junko in that room a few times since all of us have mastered monster glamour," Hikari began to explain, "Junko told me that she likes to use that room if she wants to be by herself for whatever reason. The last few times I found her in there, she was going over moves that looked like part of a dance routine that idols would use in a live performance."

Nodding a few times in agreement with Hikari's assessment, Lily remarked, "Junko did used to be an idol back when she was still alive."

"Maybe she's trying to figure out how to convert her idol experience over to help better serve her now that she's an actress?" Saki guessed more than asked, giving an indifferent shrug as she talked to Sakura and Lily. Crossing her arms over her chest, the delinquent zombie girl went on, "Junko's got a lot of experience being a famous entertainer, but said experience isn't exactly for the type of entertainment that she finds herself doing now. Like I said, my guess is that she's just trying to work out a few kinks so that she can function better as an actress."

Sakura nodded once in agreement, glad that Saki had such an understanding of her fellow undead. Turning her attention over to Hikari, Sakura asked, "What do you make of that, Hikari? Does it sound like a logical idea to you?"

Hikari put her Playtendo Swap Lite into sleep mode before returning her attention over to the long-haired zombie girl. "It does sound like something that's believable to me," Hikari said, "I mean, the concept sounds very similar to some video games I used to play where my character would fill out a skill branch to get a few stat bonuses and some new techniques, and those all were mine to keep regardless of what vocation my character was using. Junko sounds like she's trying to figure out how the skills and stat bonuses she earned in her idol vocation can carry over and be used in her actress vocation."

"Hmm," Saki remarked with a mildly contemplative hum, "That's an interesting way to put it."

Nodding once, Hikari remarked, "I tend to find things more easily explainable if they're put in the concept of working in video games." Picking her Playtendo Swap Lite back up, the gamer zombie girl continued, "Now then ladies, unless you need me for anything else, I'm going to go ahead and get back into my game here."

"Don't you usually play your games in the room that we all set our futons up in when we all go to bed?" Sakura asked rhetorically.

Hikari let out a mildly annoyed and exasperated sigh before she began to explain, "I would be in there right now, but I felt it prudent to vacate for the time being when Yugiri did something to get on Ayumu's nerves, resulting in those two getting into a spat with each other. Also, Tae chasing Ai around the room not only made things less ideal for me to remain in there and play my game, but it also served to further aggravate the Yugiri-v-Ayumu argument."

Saki let out a sigh of her own before remarking, "Shades has got to do something to get Tae to better behave herself. It also wouldn't hurt if he wasn't so willing to let Yugiri get away with all the stuff she does that aggravates some of the rest of us." Crossing her arms over her chest, Saki continued, "I mean, as an example, I can understand why Sigrid gets as angry at Yugiri as she does whenever she interrupts someone having an epiphany and tells that person the same thing that they're currently in the middle of real-"

The delinquent zombie girl was cut off when Kotaro himself came bursting into the room, startling Sakura, Saki, Lily and Hikari while also rousing Sigrid from her nap. "What manner of jest is this?" the half-foreign zombie girl said as she slowly sat herself up in an upright sitting position on the floor. Turning to look at the eccentric man, Sigrid continued with a mildly annoyed-looking scowl on her face, "You could have at least made a less noisy entrance and gently roused me from my slumber instead of bursting in randomly."

"We have a major emergency, ladies!" Kotaro said suddenly, "Everyone to the meeting room in the basement now! The other girls are all already down there!" Clapping his hands together very quickly, Kotaro exclaimed, "GO, GO, GO, GO, GO!" Sakura was more than a little bit worried when Kotaro mentioned a 'major emergency', and was wondering just what exactly was going on. The long-haired zombie girl hoped that things wouldn't be all that bad when she and the others got an explanation from Kotaro during the upcoming meeting down in the basement of the abandoned mansion.

Sakura and the other nine girls of Franchouchou all sat in a row of folding chairs that was set up in front of the chalkboard that was in the meeting room. Sakura wasn't the only one who seemed nervous about what Kotaro may potentially tell her and the rest of the zombie girls; both Junko and Ai also looked worried, and Ayumu was on the verge of a complete and total freak out, only being kept calm by Lily reassuring her constantly.

The long-haired zombie girl was beginning to dread what Kotaro may tell her and the rest of Franchouchou. Did ratings for 'Saga Stories' drop a little bit? Are they facing some emergency problems with the budget? There were so many possibilities that it was fit to make Sakura's head swim. Fortunately for Sakura, she didn't have to worry about what was going on for too much longer when Kotaro entered the room, walked over to the chalkboard and stood right in front of it. Kotaro then let out a resigned sigh, as if what was going on was partly his fault.

Turning his attention to all ten of the girls, Kotaro said with a hint of resignation in his tone, "I should have thought twice before I gave you girls the okay to have that bonfire party on the beach." Hearing Kotaro say that he might have potentially had to axe the bonfire party idea made some of the girls let out confused, questioning sounds.

"What do you mean, Shades?" Saki asked, "How could last night have been a problem? We didn't cause any disturbances, and we were even able to work out a few things with some of us so that we can avoid some future problems." Crossing her arms over her chest, Saki continued, "Wasn't that one of the reason you okay-ed the party in the first place? For us to get to know each other better?"

"Don't get me wrong, the party went flawlessly, and on paper it was a good idea that I am glad to see helped bring some of you girls closer to understanding each other," Kotaro remarked. With a sigh, Kotaro continued, "But there was something that I had failed to take into account when I took you girls down to that beach so that you could have your bonfire party." Kotaro then placed his hand on the far right side of the chalkboard, gripped it, and turned it around so that the other side was shown to the zombie girls.

To their surprise, the zombie girls found a number of printed sheets taped to the other side of the chalkboard. The content of those sheets varied, but the girls saw that all of the sheets had info that revolved around Franchouchou. Lily, Junko, Ai and (especially) Ayumu were a bit alarmed to see that their respective faces appeared each in a different printed sheet that was taped to the chalkboard. Although Lily, Junko, Ai and Ayumu were the most rattled as they were apparently being targeted specifically, all of the zombie girls (aside from the unawakened Tae) were on the unsettled side of things when they saw this spread of info that some had clearly gone to rather big lengths to get ahold of.

Giving the side of the chalkboard with the printed sheets a slap, Kotaro let out a mildly resigned sigh. "…Apparently," Kotaro said, "As it turns out, ever since the 'Saga Stories' project took off like a rocket, there's been a few people out there who seemingly recognized some of you girls, with especial focus on Lily, Junko, Ai and Ayumu since they used to be famous back when they were all respectively alive."

"So some creeps out there are trying to track down any and every bit that they can get on us," Saki scoffed, sounding more annoyed than worried, "It's not like they were able to get anything solid on any of us due to how well you've been controlling the output of info on us."

"That's part of why I should have thought twice before giving the bonfire party idea the okay," Kotaro went on, "I can't believe why I didn't think of this, and I also can't believe that none of us even realized it while we were on the beach, but a freelance paparazzi was hiding nearby, taking a few photos of you girls. That very person ended selling the photos that he or she took to Sagazine Productions, a company here in Saga that puts out a local monthly magazine called Sagazine Today."

The zombie girls were unsure what to make of what Kotaro had just told them. …Well, all of them aside from Junko. The Showa idol zombie girl stood up rather forcefully as soon as Kotaro had finished giving her and the others the initial explanation. "You have got to be kidding me," Junko began, looking like someone had just told her something that greatly offended her, "We were being spied on by a member of the paparazzi at a time where we were supposed to be free of having to worry about the media?"

"Not only that," Kotaro went on, "But apparently, Sagazine Productions is trying to do something of a private investigation into you girls. Specifically you Junko, as well as Lily, Ai and Ayumu. Hence why all of you have enlarged photos up here on the board." After he gave the board another pat, Kotaro said, "The paparazzi that sold those photos to Sagazine Productions also overheard that Ai has pyrophobia and that Ayumu is autistic, which Sagazine Productions says 'further connects numbers three and seven to the late idol and late teen actress that they respectively resemble', as was quoted in the article in their latest issue that goes on about Ai and Ayumu." Letting out another sigh, Kotaro said, "I'm not really blaming you girls for this major leak of privacy. If anything, it's my fault, really."

Junko flumped back down into the chair that she was sitting in, her arms crossed over her chest and an annoyed, angry scowl over her face. "Well this is just great," the Showa idol zombie girl scoffed, "It took just one little slipup on our part and bam! We're being investigated and stalked by the paparazzi." Letting out an annoyed huff, Junko went on, "It's like nineteen-eighty-three all over again. Lovely. Just plain lovely."

Looking over to Kotaro, Sakura asked, "Do we at least know the identity of the paparazzi that spied on us last night while we were having our bonfire party on the beach?"

Kotaro gently shook his head in the negative. "Unfortunately," Kotaro began to explain with a hint of resignation in his tone, "Sagazine Productions has a policy where they refuse to disclose the identity of those who sell photos and info to them, saying that to do otherwise would 'be a huge hit to the integrity of the media profession'. All that was gathered when the subject was pressed was that the paparazzi who took those photos of you girls from last night is a high school student." Scoffing, Kotaro said, "We couldn't even get if it was a boy or a girl, or what high school said student goes to."

As the girls sat in partly stunned silence, Junko got up suddenly, a very annoyed look on her face. "I'm going right back to the dance studio room," the Showa idol zombie girl declared, "I have some frustration that I need to work off." Junko then stormed out of the meeting room in the basement before any of the other zombie girls or Kotaro could stop her (not that Kotaro was actually going to stop Junko, mind you). Sakura tried to go after Junko, but Kotaro stopped the long-haired zombie girl immediately after she got up from her chair.

"Junko just needs some time to cool off, Sakura," Kotaro explained to the other zombie girls, sounding a mix of calm and understanding, "You girls should just let her have some time to herself. We all have our unique ways of dealing with stress. If going through some dance move routines that she used back when she was a living solo idol helps Junko de-stress, then we ought to give her the space that she needs."

"Solo idol?" Ai repeated, a hint of curious confusion in her tone, "I thought that Junko was part of an idol group."

Kotaro turned to face Ai, his understanding expression never changing. "Ah, I forgot that there are differences between you and Junko when it comes to the idol profession due to what periods the two of you respectively operated in," Kotaro remarked, "Since you girls are being geared more towards acting rather than idol performances, I didn't think too much of those differences. Heh, I guessed that's another ball that I dropped, huh?" Facing the remaining girls as a whole, Kotaro said, "I'm sure that all of you girls already know this about your co-actresses Junko and Ai, but the former was an idol back during the Showa era and the latter was an idol during the Heisei era."

"My, time certainly does fly on by while you're dead," Yugiri remarked, a hint of very mild amusement in her tone, "I was alive during the Meiji era, and now I've come to learn that there's been both a Showa and a Heisei era." Looking over to Kotaro, the courtesan zombie girl asked, "I don't suppose that you know what the current era is called, do you Kotaro?"

"We're currently in the Reiwa era," Kotaro replied, "It began earlier in 2019 at the beginning of May. But we're getting off subject here." To the zombie girls as a whole, Kotaro said, "Because of this little incident, I'm going to have to go over everything with a fine-tooth comb before I can give a yes or no answer on any side activities that you girls do. I'm sorry about how doing this will be potentially restrictive towards you girls, but word of you girls being zombies getting out is the absolute last thing that we need right now."

The zombie girls sat in silence as they watched Kotaro turn around and carefully remove all of the printed sheets of paper that were taped up to that side of the chalkboard. As the eccentric man went about this business, the girls slowly got up and, with Kotaro not stopping any of them, they all left the basement room, going about their usual business as much as they could.

Later in the abandoned mansion, as Kotaro and some of his men were going about trying to do some measure of damage control in light of Sagazine Productions releasing their latest issue that had all of that info on the girls, the girls themselves were hanging out all throughout the mansion. Saki was sitting on a sofa in one of the room as she watched TV with Sigrid. Lily was looking at what she had for a wardrobe and wondering how to make her somewhat limited options work for her while Ayumu stood by and kept an eye on her (the teen actress zombie girl had taken something of a shine to the 'big sister' role that Lily had assigned to her).

Hikari, as what can be regularly expected out of her, was engrossed in her Playtendo Swap Lite again, Tae was trying to fight Romero the zombie Japanese Chin over a piece of dried squid snack that the former found, and Yugiri was sitting on one of the upper floor patios that faced into the backyard area of the abandoned mansion, enjoying a drag from her Meiji era smoking pipe. The courtesan zombie girl seemed particularly interested in her pipe, as it was now serving as a reminder of just how many eras had passed her since her death so long ago.

However, not all of the girls were enjoying the leisure time that they suddenly found on their hands. Sakura and Ai, both still concerned about Junko's little episode upon her hearing that she was being watched by paparazzi during the bonfire party, went about trying to track down the Showa idol zombie girl. "Are you sure that trying to find Junko now, while she's still fuming over what we just learned, is a good idea?" Ai asked as she followed Sakura to the dance studio room that had more or less become Junko's haven.

"Look Ai," Sakura began, "It goes without saying that our meeting down in the basement room with Kotaro-san earlier has us all shaken to varying degrees. Hell, I'm still a bit unsettled myself since I just found out that someone with a camera was spying on us, taking photos of us to sell to the tabloids while we were supposed to be having a great time." With a sigh, Sakura continued, "But Junko is clearly the most shaken by what we were told earlier. I think that we really ought to try and see if we can do anything for her."

The Heisei idol zombie girl was still not exactly sure if bothering her Showa counterpart while said counterpart was steamed, but she could not argue with Sakura's reasoning, also believing that reaching out to her fellow undead when they are troubled is a good gesture. Ai nodded to herself once as she followed Sakura into the dance studio room that Junko was using to get some tension off of herself.

Even before they opened the door into the dance studio room, Sakura and Ai could already hear the music that Junko had playing so she could dance to it; Sakura half-expected music that would be right at home for an idol from the early nineteen-eighties such as Junko. However, the long-haired zombie girl recognized the song that she and Ai were currently hearing coming from the dance studio room as a song from an anime series from the early nineteen-eighties instead.

"Is…" Sakura thought, a look of mildly confused wondering on her face, "…Is that Cha-La Head-Cha-La that Junko is listening to?" Opening the door, Sakura walked into the dance studio room, with Ai close on her heels. Sakura and Ai stood a little bit past the doorway as they watched Junko dance. The Showa idol zombie girl was so caught up in going over one of her old dance routines from back when she was still a living idol that she failed to notice that Sakura and Ai had just shown up.

When the song that Junko had playing ended, Junko walked over to the radio that she was using to play the song. After she pressed a button on the radio to turn it off, Junko turned around and, before she could go about doing whatever it was that she had planned, she heard some clapping; turning around slightly, Junko spotted Sakura and Ai standing there, both of them applauding her performance just now. "That was amazing, Junko," Ai praised, "It was really amazing for me to get to see how an idol from a different era than me work her dancing magic."

"Ai has a point," Sakura remarked, "Also, good choice in song to dance to. I wasn't even aware that you were familiar with 'Dragon Ball'."

Junko, although a bit put off by how she just realized that she had been caught dancing by herself, soon relaxed, understanding that Sakura and Ai were both being sincere. Junko could also tell that they both came here looking for her, and were probably concerned about how she had acted during the emergency meeting a few minutes ago. The Showa idol zombie girl stood up straight and turned to properly face Sakura and Ai.

"…It's a song that came after my time," Junko began to explain to her surprise visitors, "Hikari introduced it to me while she was telling me about various animes that she is into and asking me if I remember some of the older ones on her list." With a bit of a mildly embarrassed look on her face, Junko continued, "I have to admit, it quickly became my favorite song, even beating out every other song that I remember from my time."

"You seemed really upset during the meeting earlier," Ai began, concern clear in her tone and expression, "Especially at the end where you suddenly got up and stormed out. I'm guessing that you aren't exactly fond of the paparazzi, Junko?"

A hint of annoyance entered Junko's expression, giving her a bit of a scowling look. "That would be putting things mildly, Ai," Junko began. With a resigned sigh, Junko turned to face Sakura and asked, "Do you remember the rap battle that you and I had against each other over at Saga castle?"

Sakura, with an embarrassed expression, replied, "I'm still a little embarrassed over how I lost myself back there." Looking at Junko, Sakura continued, "But yes, I do. I'm guessing that the rap battle has something to do with what you want to tell me and Ai?"

The Showa idol zombie girl nodded twice in the affirmative before she began to explain herself. "Remember the one line that I said during the rap," Junko started, "Where I said 'I died while riding from a chase'?" With a resigned, troubled sigh, Junko continued, "Well, it ties closely to my extreme disdain for the paparazzi."

"Wait a minute," Ai said suddenly, "I think that you said something about how the last thing you remember before you woke up as a zombie was that you were fleeing from overeager fans and the paparazzi in a car." Looking Junko in the face, Ai asked, "I'm guessing that said memory of yours relates to how you died?"

Junko nodded briskly twice in the affirmative. "…Yes," Junko replied, her tone somber, "I was actually taking a ride to the airport at the time as I was gearing up to go on a tour." The Showa idol zombie girl let out a sigh before she continued, "However, word of my trip had gotten out, and as such the car I was riding in ended up trying to drive away from a chase…"

(FLASHBACK)

(DATE: DECEMBER 6TH, 1983)

"Those blasted media hounds just won't give you a break, Miss Konno!" a chauffeur that was driving a car exclaimed in a clearly annoyed tone, trying to get away from a few cars that were driving after him. In the backseat of the car sat Junko, who had a pair of suitcases on the seat next to her. The white-haired girl was clearly rattled by the fact that she was being chased by people that wanted to pester her, trying to get whatever exclusive scoop or photo that they could get away with.

Junko dared to sneak a peek out the rear view window of the car, seeing a few more cars join the chase with the ones that her chauffeur had already identified as belonging to paparazzi members. "Those don't look like they're from any source of media," Junko remarked as her chauffeur as she pointed out the newly joined cars, which the chauffeur barely noticed before he immediately returned his attention to the road.

"My guess is that those are overeager fans that heard about your ride to the airport and want to see you off, maybe even meet with you," the chauffeur remarked, scoffing a bit in annoyance as he realized who those other cars may have been, "They do realize that they're supposed to keep a respectful distance from you, don't they?"

Junko turned back to face forward, curling up into something of a fetal positon on her seat in the back of the car. The white-haired girl covered the back of her neck with both of her hands as she cried out in distressed panic. It was bad enough that she was being hounded by the paparazzi on her way to the airport, but now a few more than excitable fans were joining the chase as well? This is one of the reasons why Junko didn't like having meet and greets with fans; also, she had no love for the paparazzi, who didn't care for her as a person, only seeing her as a way to make as much of a quick yen as they could.

If it wasn't for the paparazzi and the crazies, then being an idol would have been without flaws for Junko. Still, even with both of those negative factors in place, the white-haired girl had to admit that she still loved the profession, and would not trade it for anything else in the world. Maybe all she needed was to get to the airport and get on her plane so she could begin her tour. Yes, some time away from her hometown, which had seen quite an oversaturation of the aforementioned paparazzi and overeager fans ever since Junko's rise to stardom began, was just what the white-haired girl needed in order to-

*SCREEEEEECH*

*WHABAM*

*CRASH*

*SMASH*

Before she knew it, Junko was sent for a wild ride where her chauffeur had to swerve to avoid a bluish colored van that pulled in out of nowhere. Because of his maneuvering to avoid getting into a crash with that van, the chauffeur ended up colliding into another vehicle, this one a white truck, which hit the side of the car dead-on. The car, with the chauffeur and Junko both yelling out in a panic, were sent tumbling around, flipping over a few times before the car finally landed back on its tires.

However, one of the cars driven by a paparazzi drove up with such speed that it couldn't stop in time, resulting in the paparazzi's car smashing into the side of Junko's car that the truck didn't smash into previously. This impact pushed Junko's car another ten feet or so, up until it slammed into a telephone pole with such force that the car actually bent around said pole, creating a rather horrifying crunching sound of metal and glass in the process.

When the rest of the pursuing cars came upon the scene, they all stopped, shocked by the condition of the car that was transporting the beloved white-haired idol. After some paramedics and police were called to the scene, some emergency rescue workers had to use some gear to pry open what doors of the ruined car that looked like they could be opened. The chauffeur, although knocked out, bleeding from multiple places and had at least half a dozen broken bones, was still alive, and the paramedics rushed him to the nearest hospital.

The chauffeur ended up making a complete recovery, although things were rather touch and go for him over the first twenty-four hours. Sadly, the same could not have been said for Junko, the beloved solo idol that had captivated much of Japan. When the emergency rescue workers were able to get to her after using their gear to pry one of the rear doors of the car open, a quick check made by one of the paramedics confirmed that the worst had happened.

Junko Konno was dead.

(FLASHBACK OVER)

Junko let out a resigned sigh as she finished telling Sakura and Ai what she remembered. "So as you girls can see," the Showa idol zombie girl said, "Paparazzi and I don't exactly see eye to eye on a lot of things. Hence why the idea that one of them spying on us while we were having our bonfire party on the beach has me shivering with revolt." Gently shaking her head, Junko went on, "But I don't think that excuses my behavior during and since the meeting earlier, does it? I'm sorry if my behavior has caused any strife among you and the rest of the girls."

"No, Junko," Sakura said as she gently shook her head, "It's perfectly understandable that you'd be as unsettled as you are over what we learned at the meeting, especially given what you just shared with me and Ai just now." Giving Junko a concerned look, Sakura asked, "Are you going to be okay, though? We still need you for 'Saga Stories', you know."

"And you were an idol before I got into the business myself," Ai pointed out top her Showa counterpart, "That in a way sort of makes you my senpai. That being said, I'd really appreciate it if you stuck around to help and guide me."

Junko considered both Sakura and Ai for a few moments before she decided to give a response. "…Since we're being actresses rather than idols now, I don't see how our respective experience can be of much use to either of us, or any of the rest of the girls for that matter," Junko said to her Heisei counterpart. Giving a small but appreciative smile, Junko continued, "But it is a rather nice feeling to have knowing that I'm wanted, that there are people who care for me beyond the idol persona that I used to put on. And as for you Sakura, I'm still interested in giving the whole actress thing a spin. So yes, girls." Looking at both Sakura and Ai equally, Junko remarked, "I'm not seeing why I'd go anywhere anytime soon. I don't think I can anyway, given that I, as well as the rest of us, are all zombies."

Both Sakura and Ai let out sighs of relief, thankful that they were able to reach through to Junko to some extent. Ai looked like she was about to say something to Junko, but before she could get even one word out, Kotaro suddenly burst into the dance studio room. "I hope that you ladies were able to patch everything up," Kotaro declared suddenly, "Because Franchouchou is about to head out to a meet and greet event!"

"A meet and greet event?" Sakura repeated in a mildly curious tone.

"You girls, as well as the rest of Franchouchou, will be hosting a panel where you will go over a few pre-approved details concerning 'Saga Stories'," Kotaro explained, "You girls will also be answering some questions that the audience attending the panel will ask, although if there's any questions that I don't want you girls answering, I will shoot them down before any of you have to worry about them."

Sakura and Ai both lit up a bit, excited by the prospect of getting to host such an event where they will get to talk to some of their fans. Clapping her hands together, Sakura said, "Wow, are we really getting to do a meet and greet panel, Kotaro-san? Oh, getting to meet with fans was one of the many things that I was looking forward to when I started working towards my dreams of becoming an act-"

"You cannot be serious," Junko said to Kotaro, unintentionally cutting Sakura off midsentence, "Are you seriously expecting us to get out there and have to potentially deal with the paparazzi, not to mention various overeager people? And so soon after that magazine published their latest issue that had a lot on me, Ai, Lily and Ayumu?"

Holding up a hand to cut off any further argument from the Showa idol zombie girl, Kotaro explained, "Like I said, if there are any questions that I don't want any of you girls answering, I'll shoot them down before you girls have to worry about them." Crossing his arms over his chest, the eccentric man continued, "Like I'm trying to say, I won't intentionally drop the ball if I can help it. And I am willing to accommodate you girls to an extent in order to make things as comfortable for you as possible." Gesturing to Junko and the others, Kotaro said, "Well anyway, you girls better cast monster glamour and get ready to ship out while I go track down Tae so I can use my makeup skills to make her appear human." Kotaro then turned around and, before any of the zombie girls in the room could stop him, took his leave.

"Well girls," Sakura said as she cast monster glamour to make herself appear perfectly human, "We ought to get ready for the meet and greet panel that we're going to."

"I still can't believe that I have to potentially get close to the crowds," Junko remarked, a hint of shuddering revoltion in her tone, "I mean, as an idol, I was supposed to be an ideal, a person that everyone had to continuously believe was perfect. Wouldn't getting close to the crowds, only to let them see that I'm not as perfect as they think, shatter that image?"

Ai put her hand on Junko's right shoulder, making the Showa idol zombie girl turn to face her Heisei counterpart. "Junko," Ai began, "You keep forgetting that we're actresses now, not idols. Idols and actresses both work differently, especially when compared to their counterparts from back when you were still alive." Junko let out a resigned sigh as she acknowledged the point that her kohai had just made.

"Apologies," Junko said, "I'm still getting used to everything that's been going on ever since all of us had awoken as zombies, everything that's changed ever since I died. It's still giving me a bit of trouble here and there."

"It's something that all of us are still getting used to a little bit, Junko," Sakura remarked in an understanding tone, "We just need to roll with the punches where and when they happen." Junko nodded once in agreement with the long-haired zombie girl and, together with Ai, followed Sakura out of the dance studio room to go get ready for the upcoming meet and greet panel.

The panel saw the ten zombie girls, all of them using monster glamour (or Kotaro's makeup skills in Tae's case) to look human, sitting side by side at a table on a stage in a convention room at a relatively high end hotel in the Saga prefecture. The room in front of the stage was filled up with folding chairs, but with how many people had shown up to the meet and greet, it was clear that the vast number of folding chairs wasn't enough, as a good number of people had to stand.

"Welcome, one and all," Kotaro said as he walked onto the stage and stood in front of the girls that were sitting, "My name is Kotaro Tatsumi, and I'm the manager for the girls of the actress troop Franchouchou, the stars of the latest hit TV series 'Saga Stories'. This is our first meet and greet panel where the girls will give a few details on their work on the show, as well as answer a couple of questions that some of you may have. Please keep in mind that you have to be patient, and rest assured that your questions will be answered unless I have to give one of them a 'no comment' response."

Right away, a sea of hands shot up into the air, and after shifting through the sea of cries to have their questions answered, Kotaro picked one a hand, this one belonging to an older woman who looked to be in her very early sixties; this woman had untamed brownish hair in a long spiky style, red-colored upside-down triangle shapes on the sides of her face (one on each cheek) that seemed to resemble fangs, and lipstick that was in a shade of purple. The woman wore a baggy men's t-shirt with a beer logo on it over a long-sleeved dark cream-colored shirt, a pair of dark-colored pants, a pair of bluish open-toes sandals, and white wrapping cloth over her shins and around her right thigh. She was also accompanied by a large dog that wore an eyepatch and was missing an ear.

"Ah yes, I have a question for numbers two and eight," the older woman began, "What were your thoughts on how your group worked with the Drive-In Tori franchise? You both were in that dinner scene where you brought number one's character some take out from the place, and your whole group acted in that commercial."

Kotaro gave Saki and Sigrid a nod that told them that this question was okay. Holding up a hand to let everyone know she was taking the initiative, Saki said, "I was actually rather happy that I got to work with Drive-In Tori. It's been a personal favorite of mine since before I got into my work as an actress. True story, number five never even heard of Drive-In Tori until the day we started work on the commercial that we shot." There were a few good-natured laughs that came from the audience, and Yugiri even smiled a bit, understanding where it was coming from.

After Sigrid provided a comment on how she was happy that Moonberry Cola was one of the sodas on the drinks menu at Drive-In Tori, Kotaro said to the audience, "Alright, who's next?" The sea of hands went back up, and Kotaro ended up picking the hand of a man who looked to be in his very early thirties; this man had long black hair that looked a bit unkempt, he had a bit of five-o-clock shadow going, and he wore a long-sleeved black shirt, a pair of matching pants, similarly colored boots, a belt that looked like it had a few pouches on it, and some manner of white scarf-like accessory around his neck and shoulders.

"Yes, I have a question for numbers zero and one," the man began, "One of the boys in the homeroom class that I teach over at U.A. attended your group's performance over at Saga Castle, and during the performance number zero's head popped off and still functioned while her body ran around. According to what my student told me, number one claimed that this is because number zero has a quirk that lets her separate her body parts and continue to function without issue. Can you give more details about number zero's body part separation quirk, or at the very least can you give us the name of number zero's quirk?"

"Umm," Sakura said in a very mildly panicked tone as she began to think quickly because Kotaro just had to approve of the man's question for some odd reason, "Number zero's quirk is call…Body Drone! It lets her separate her body parts which act independently until they reattach, sort of like how a drone can act unless given instructions." As the long-haired zombie girl had to pull all of what she was telling the man right out of her ass as she lied through her teeth, Tae just sat at the far left end of the table (if you're in the audience and facing the stage), mindlessly moaning as she had no idea what was going on.

After the man asked his question, Kotaro asked the audience if they have anymore questions for the girls. At this, the sea of hands once again shot up, only to settle down when Kotaro picked one of the hands that he saw shoot up. However, this hand ended up belonging to Mr. Sagazine, the man behind Sagazine Editorial Department. After Mr. Sagazine had introduced himself, some of the zombie girls, Junko in particular, knew right away why they suddenly felt a sudden chill go up their spines.

"There have been a good number of people that have noticed how numbers three and four respectively resemble the late idols Ai Mizuno and Junko Konno," Mr. Sagazine began, "Similarly, a lot of people have also noticed how numbers six and seven respectively resemble the late actresses Lily Hoshikawa and Ayumu Akarui." With a hint of seriousness in his face, Mr. Sagazine said, "Would you care to comment? The people, especially readers of Sagazine Today, want to know."

Before any of the zombie girls could respond, Kotaro stepped forward, clearly looking like he was going to shoot this question down. "Questions like that and others of a similar nature make the girls of Franchouchou feel very uncomfortable," Kotaro replied, sounding as business-like as possible, "I'm afraid that we cannot comment on that, likewise we have to ask that any questions similar to that are not asked from this point moving forward."

Mr. Sagazine, with a mildly annoyed looking scowl on his face, sat back down in his folding chair, arms crossed over his chest. Sakura and the other girls, specifically Lily, Ayumu, Ai and (especially) Junko, were glad that Kotaro had shot down the question that Mr. Sagazine asked. The fact that there was someone out there who was able to connect just enough of the right dots to begin suspecting that the girls might just be more than actresses who just so happen to look a lot like late famous people was enough to set some worry into their unbeating hearts. But with an eccentric man like Kotaro keeping an eye and ear out for things like this, Sakura and the others felt that they had nothing to concern themselves with.

The rest of the meet and greet panel passed by without any further incident, something that brought no small measure of relief to the zombie girls. By the time the audience began to filter out of the convention room at the hotel, the girls were all more than ready to go back home to the abandoned mansion. Junko, when she passed by Kotaro who was gathering up a few things that had to be packed back into the van, gave him a single nod that conveyed her thanks to him for his actions in keeping questions that she and the other girls didn't want to answer out of the meet and greet panel.

For his part, Kotaro merely returned the gesture with a nod that acknowledged the Showa idol zombie girl's feelings on the matter.

The following morning, the zombie girls were all sitting around the kitchen, having breakfast. None of them had changed into regular wear yet, so all of them were still in what they had for sleepwear. Particularly, Hikari's sleep outfit consisted of a baggy t-shirt that had the logo of a video game series on it coupled with a pair of dark rose-colored sweatpants, Ayumu surprisingly had the same sleep outfit as Lily save that Ayumu's is sized to fit a girl her age and it uses lavander compared to the greens that Lily's uses, and Sigrid had a sleep outfit very similar to Saki's, only any designs on Saki's are replaced with Nordic themed patterns on Sigrid's.

The zombie girls were all seated around the table counter, watching the TV that was set up in the kitchen to see what the morning news was going on about. "…And with the tournament between students from Vulcan High and U.A., virtually all of Japan will be tuning in to see one-on-one matches between students from two of Japan's finest hero high schools," the news anchor said as the news showed a picture of two logos for different Japanese high schools, "This is sure to be an exciting day for everyone that watches, both live and at home."

As the news then went on to cover something concerning the weather for the next few days, Sakura turned to face her fellow zombie girls. "Yesterday sure was exciting when we had to do that meet and greet panel, huh girls?" Sakura began in a conversational tone, "A lot of the questions that the people who came asked really took me by surprise, you know." Wearing a look of mild confusion, the long-haired zombie girl commented in a bemused tone, "I still don't know why Kotaro-san had me answer that one guy's question about Tae. I literally had to make up what I was saying on the fly."

"What has me concerned is that Kotaro even allowed that man from that Sagazine business to come into the meet and greet in the first place," Junko remarked. Shuddering a bit, the Showa idol zombie girl continued, "I can't believe that someone was able to make connections like that and begin to ask specific questions about the ten of us."

Sakura let out a mildly resigned sigh. "…Yes, I suppose that's one of the risks that comes with us having been raised from the dead as zombies," Sakura remarked as she addressed Junko, "There might very well be a few people who could recognize us. This goes doubly so for those of us who were famous before they died, such as you, Ai, Lily and Ayumu." With another sigh, Sakura continued, "In fact, there's a good chance that all of us, aside from Yugiri who died over a century ago, may be recognized by some people out there."

"Well you said it yourself, Egghead," Saki remarked in a casual tone, "We'll just roll with the punches where and when they occur."

Sakura turned slightly to face the delinquent zombie girl, smiling a bit out of appreciation. "…Thanks, Saki," the long-haired zombie girl remarked, "You're absolutely right." Turning her attention to the others, Sakura said, "We need to be ready for what may come our way and when. We aren't just going to roll over under surprises like this, are we?" The chorus of 'Nos' from the rest of the zombie girls reaffirmed to Sakura that, no matter what may come, they were going to stand together and face it as a team. Who cares if some local monthly magazine is trying to dig into the girls' respective pasts out of some manner of suspicion?

Bring it on.

END, SAGA STORIES CHAPTER SIX

Author's notes:

So this has been the Junko-centric chapter that covers her concerns/worries/feelings on what she and the other zombie girls are going through. I'm not quite so sure if I gave Junko sufficient development in this chapter alone, but she like the rest of the girls as a whole is a work in progress. I also put a bit more 'oomph' into the subplot that sees at least one group starting to see a few coincidences between the girls of Franchouchou and various girls who died at various points in the past, with an especial effort placed on the ones that were famous before they died. This will be explored on and off over the next few chapters at the very least, eventually leading up to everything coming to a head.

As a side note, this chapter helps to further establish the setting of this story, and how it may be closer to the events of other locals than many would assume. That is also something that will be explored on and off over the course of chapters to come, but that will be something discussed at a later time. Anyway, the next chapter won't have any specific counterpart in the series proper, as it'll be focusing on another one of the new zombie girls and her past dealings. Again, it's just one of the wonders that comes with an AU story.