Pre-chapter A.N.: Greetings readers. How have you been? May I present to you the 8th chapter of Banchou of the Dead. It's got more character development scenes and no combat/action yet. The next chapter will have more of those, including… AN EXECUTION. Or more… Anyway, the next chapter may be later than usual because I got accepted into a business school overseas for my Master's degree starting this September. Hopefully I will still be able to write and who knows, maybe grad school will give me more ideas so I can write faster? Let's see how it'll play out.
Review replies:
To Gravenimage: here you are good sir, I hope you enjoy.
To Fier66: Thank you for the praise, I also enjoy your work "Takashi-kun!" I hope you will update that story soon.
To Kuroki94: I'm sorry for the long update. Though the next one might be even longer (reason is listed in the Pre-chapter A.N.). That particular story has been released under the title TakaTora Monogatari. Please tell me your opinions of it.
To KOTG: Thank you for the input, I also think that the nuke was also an unnecessary touch from canon. I will consider your advice of one of Shidou's cronies being another villain. I don't know if that's been done before, I hope I can live up to your expectations.
To P31tH0us and reviewguy99: I'm very sorry for this. I originally wanted to kill him in this chapter, but after rewriting and modifying the chapter 5 times, I think it would be better if he were to die in chapter 9. Just for you, I'd make his death extra violent (if you'd like, otherwise you can just tell me how you want him to die and I will consider it.)
To MrNeedsToRemoveAllFavs: Thank you very much for this question. It's quite rare to see them in a review and I greatly appreciate how attentive you are. For the 1st question; Rei was the one who slapped him (like in canon), I'm sorry if it was not clear. And as for the 2nd question, it has more to do with whom he believes would need saving. A smart girl like Saya would not have to be told to get herself out of harm's way and would do a great job in it due to her family's circumstances, personal history, and intellect. While rigid girl like Rei would stand still and stiffen up when an unexpected incident occurred and put herself in harm's way. Hisashi being who he was would most likely sacrifice himself for Rei; decreasing Takashi's chance of making a party and subsequently his and their chance of survival. I hope the explanation answered your questions.
To KimranReech: Thank you for the input. There will be no nukes in the next chapter, but Shidou will die. Horrifyingly, Cruelly, or Violently? Please decide. Heheh.
To ReaperAsOfLate: Thank you for the review. Due to many reviewers wanting there to be no nukes, the nuke is out. And in the same note, Shidou will die in the next chapter instead of this one, I'm very sorry for this.
To Guest: Thank you for the review. I will kill Shidou in the next chapter and I will consider adding Miku to Takashi's harem, but I might not do so because she is more likely to be a villainess.
To mordreek: Thank you for the praise. I'm very happy that you like my story. I think that Satou Shouji and Satou Daisuke gave many interesting characters to work on and with the series getting cancelled, it gave authors more leeway on how to do it. I made some basic ideas for this from the first episode (and chapters) alone because of the way Takashi disregarded the teachers and his mingling with the delinquent crowd. In the canon, he also mentioned how he wanted to or actually did commit some crimes which gave me the idea that he was not exactly an upstanding citizen and must have had some brushes with the law. And with the lack of him mentioning his father's work until later made me think that maybe he was also not on good terms with law enforcement. I also thank you for your input. As voted, there will be no nukes (besides, electronics will cease functioning with their batteries draining and the planned obsolesce of electronics of today, they would have at most two years of comfortable life). As I said to several other reviewers, Shidou will die, but not by hanging. It seemed like too good a death for him. The song title will be revealed just above the chapter name.
To Im a guest: Thank you very much. I will try to update as soon as I can.
To ChordOverstreetFan: thank you for the input. But I will add one; just one special infected which is Them which still retains some semblance of humanity (SPOILER!). Which means that they will be weaker, but stronger or tougher than normal humans. This is actually quite plausible if you think about it; if we look back to the infection of contagious disease, there will be a person with a certain degree of immunity to pathogens which will give them a milder symptom even though they were infected. This can be caused by some form of mutation, or just be a transitional period. Again, thank you for the input, I hope this will not deter you from enjoying this story.
Thank you also to eragon5443 and SSJ3 Kyuubi Gohan
By the way, the song in last chapter is… "Midnight, the stars and you", which was sung by Al Bowlly and became the closing credit song of "The Shining".
Chapter 8: In the house of the Dead
The Takagi family home had stood for quite a long time. Rumor had it that it was built from before the Meiji restoration and was originally designed by a foreigner, hence the oddly western looking house of a very strict Japanese home. It was in this house that an anxious Takagi Saya looked at the road leading to her house from her room's window, hoping that her idiot childhood friend would show up. She would claim that it was not like she was worried about him or anything; that he and Saeko were among the best fighters of the group and without them, they were down to one-and-a-half, two at most attackers.
"Waiting for someone?" Marikawa Shizuka asked with a sleepy smile on her face. Her tone was far from teasing, but for some reason the pink haired girl was irritated nonetheless. She had changed out of her white shirt into a blue turtleneck and changed her ruined Prada skirt with a simple pair of white slacks.
"W-what are you talking about?" she stuttered out with a blush. With the white frilly blouse she wore, her face looked a lot redder than it should. She gripped the sides of her long black skirt in embarrassment; a nervous tic she had since she was small.
"Well, there's nothing wrong with waiting for your friends, is there?" the nurse replied. She leaned on the wall while enjoying the early autumn breeze. The weather was always nice around that time.
"O-of course." Saya calmed down as her blood flow began to calm down and the flush pink of her face receded to her usual pale complexion.
"Of course, if you're worried for other reasons…" she trailed off, wanting to prank her a little.
"A terrifying hannya will appear!" she yelled, spreading her arms like a bear.
"Oh really, what kind of hannya are you talking about?" Miyamoto Rei asked as she joined the other two ladies. She had declined the offer of borrowing clothes and just wore her school uniform after it was washed and dried that morning.
"Hmmm, how about the purple haired one running with our leader there?" Shizuka pointed at the distance where a pair of youngsters were running hand in hand with a happy expression on their face while avoiding any unnecessary confrontation with Them.
The other two girls in turn grit their teeth in jealousy at the scene.
'I never did that with him and I know him longer than her!' they thought.
Xxxx
In another part of the mansion, Hirano Kouta was with Maresato Alice who was happily reading in the Takagi's study. The room was quite spacious, with several bookshelves full of books arranged neatly, sorted by language and contents like a small library. There were only four chairs in the room, each of them sufficiently comfortable with feather stuffing, maroon velvet cover and a carved oak frame. They were sitting in the chairs nearest to the window so they didn't need to turn on the lights. In the young girl's hands was an old picture book that Takagi Yuriko bought for her daughter during one of her business trips.
They settled in fairly well in the mansion and were left to their own devices, being the guests of the house's young lady and all. With nothing to do before the group as a whole decided what to do, the bored teenager took to the library in hopes of finding a reliable book for survival; food production, farming, animal rearing, improvised weaponry, anything that could increase their chances of survival. The child with him was happily flipping through the pages of a picture book and had a stack full of them on the table, some in Japanese, some in English, others in foreign languages.
"Please excuse me." a Takagi family maid addressed them. She entered the room and brought a silver tray with tea and cookies as refreshments. She wore a long black one piece dress that extended past her knees with a white half apron and a pair of black stockings. On her head was a white headpiece to complete the whole maid ensemble. He could see that she had short black hair and light blue eyes.
While Alice took the snacks without a thought, Kouta was wondering if they could actually afford the luxury. They were guests, true, but he didn't want to be a bother to their host.
"Aah… thank you for this." The chubby teen thanked the older girl. He felt awkward at this, not only because he felt he imposed on the Takagi family, but also because he felt the young woman in front of them had something better to do.
"I… Is anything the matter?" she asked.
"No… nothing. It's just… "
"Yes?"
"I'm sorry you had to do this for us."
"E-eh?" she was confused at the response.
"I… I did this because I want to." she replied with a small voice. "N-now, if you'll please excuse me."
The maid exited the study with the silver tray in hand in hurried steps. It was as if she was afraid of what she might do the longer she stayed. Two sides of Hirano Kouta were debating why she did this. The more narcissistic side of him believed that maybe the maid had fallen for him, while the paranoid side thought that she had something to hide from him. In any case, her departure didn't affect him or Alice in any way and there was no reason to worry, for now.
Xxxx
In another part of the mansion were two teenage girls who were eavesdropping through a bathroom door. Though they received some odd looks from a passerby, they couldn't care less and focused their whole attention at the bathroom. Never in their entire life would Miyamoto Rei and Takagi Saya think to do this, but this was necessary to calm their jealous… concerns.
"What are you girls doing?" Shizuka asked in curiosity.
Both girls jumped at the sudden intrusion, but regained their composure in an instant. They both shushed her and went back to the task at hand. The curious blond followed suit and tried to make out the sound and voices from the bathroom.
"It's a good thing they have this bath, isn't it?" a female voice commented.
"Yeah, after days of not taking a proper bath this feels like heaven." A male voice replied.
"Eh? Are they…" Shizuka reeled back in surprise, but was shushed again before she could finish her question.
"Don't be too loud. What if they hear you?" Saya half-whispered to her.
"Quiet, they're talking." Rei chimed in.
"Not to mention all the running around we did. I thought my sweat soaked through my shirt."
"Really? I don't think so…"
"And I'm sure you would know if it did, huh?"
"Well, that bra did kind of stand out. Dark purple against a white shirt…"
"…Perv"
"Only to you, dear."
"That damn playboy…" the pink haired girl ground out. She stood up without warning and looked like she was about to march in and give them a piece of her mind.
"Hey, what are you doing?" her orange haired comrade chastised.
"I'm going in." Saya said resolutely.
"No you're not!" she held her back.
"Then I will." Shizuka stated.
"The hell you will!" both girls yelled at the same time.
"What's going on?" at that time the bathroom door opened and out came Komuro Takashi and Busujima Saeko.
They had changed out of their uniforms into fresh clothes: a black sweater and jeans for Takashi and a blue kimono with floral pattern for Saeko. There were some wet patches on their skin and it had the effect of making the clothes stick to their body. The sight of the man they pined for would be wonderful if it weren't for his lover. It was almost invisible, but both Saya and Rei could see the knowing, almost gloating smirk on the older girl's face. Of course, for all they knew she might had smiled over the silliness of the situation, but who was to say that jealousy couldn't cloud the brightest mind?
Xxxx
In another part of the mansion, Takagi Yuriko was looking at the water fountain where the members of their organization were moving boxes and erecting tents for refugees. She pondered on her little Saya's attitude that was quite foul lately. The woman thought that it may be due to her proximity with her crush, she was so cute thinking that her mother wouldn't find out.
The purple haired woman wore a red dress and white shawl to ward off the occasional breeze. It was somewhat flashy, but she believed that she had the right to wear whatever she wanted. It was her home after all. She was interrupted from her musings when she heard footsteps behind her. Yuriko turned around and saw the new addition to her staff.
"Matsushima-san, how were our guests?" she addressed the maid.
"They were well when I left, madam."
"I see. As you were then."
"Yes, madam."
"Ah, Matsushima-san?" Yuriko interrupted her.
"Yes, madam?"
"You are also our guest, you know?"
"O-Of course, but I owe you my life. How can I just sit by and do nothing? This is the least I can do."
"Ah, if only there are more people like you." Yuriko laughed listening to the younger woman's reply.
"Madam?"
"Nothing, nothing."
Xxxx
Takashi looked to the left and then right of his room. All things considered, it was what one would expect from a veritable classic mansion: wooden furniture polished and waxed, comfortable rug in the center of the room, and a standing dresser for clothes. If there was an indoor bathroom, it could be a contender for a 5 star hotel room. Judging by the size of the bed and number of chairs, this room was intended for 2 people at most, so why were five people in it, occupying space and saying nothing?
He sat on the bed next to Saeko, looking quite uneasy under the scrutinizing glare of Saya and Rei, while Shizuka was off to the side with a wide smile.
'This is so exciting, it's more interesting than the afternoon drama I watched.' She thought to herself. The nurse moved to another spot to get a better vantage point and waited for the excitement to unfold.
"So… is there any reason you're all here or…" Takashi trailed off.
"Yes there is!" two of them roared out. Seeing that the nurse didn't answer, the other 4 occupants turned their attention to her.
"Oh, don't mind me. Just pretend I'm not here." She said with an ever growing smile.
"Then you won't mind telling me what that reason is, will you?" Saeko asked with a saccharine smile though the two girls behind her could practically feel the dangerous aura forming a demon's face behind her.
For the second time in their life, the two teenage girls felt true fear. Their jealousy induced bravado was turned into blood chilling terror. Hoping secretly that their object of affection could help them with the situation, they turned to Takashi only to see him gone and the door slightly ajar.
"He left just a while ago." Shizuka commented.
"Shizuka-sensei, would you mind standing directly by the door and make sure no one passes through it?" the purple haired girl asked, to which the blond did without any protest. This was getting more exciting; how close to the climax was this?
"And you two… I believe we have something to discuss?" she asked.
With no hope of support nor a way out, both Saya and Rei could only hope this would not end in bloodshed. Shizuka on the other hand hoped she had brought popcorns.
Xxxx
Takagi family study
"And then? And then what happened?" Alice asked delightedly. Her eyes were alight with anticipation over the story being told.
"And… and then… uuh…, the evil general was blown to bits by the hero's cannon. Sending him everywhere with blood, guts, and gore." Kouta finished his story.
"Yaayy!" she cheered.
From the entrance, Takashi could only stare with an awkward look. Who in their right mind would tell a kid a story about blowing somebody up with a cannon?
"Ah, Takashi-onii-chan!" she greeted with a bright smile.
"Hey, Alice. Having fun?"
"Uh huh. Kouta-chan's a good storyteller."
"Ah yeah, about that. Can I talk to Hirano for a bit?"
"Okay." She nodded.
"In private?" he added. Alice was about to move to another part of the study when she was stopped by Kouta.
"Dude, don't worry about it. She's part of our team, right?" the chubby boy suggested.
"Well, this might be a bit… but... Yeah, you're right." Takashi relented and sat down on a chair for himself.
"So, what got you so serious and grim?" the chubby boy asked.
"What do you think we should do now?"
"Huh… well, our options at the moment are either join the Takagi group or go independent. All of them have their cons and pros, of course." The spectacled boy stood up and walked to a whiteboard. He wrote "Join" and "Split" on the board and drew a straight line between them.
"Our first option: Join the Takagi group." He continued. "Will provide us with safety in numbers and a secure mansion to serve as a basecamp.
"However, we will have to abide by their rules which we might not agree to. Our freedom will be severely limited and there's a possibility that we will not be able to find our parents."
"Not to mention the number of refugees." Takashi added. "There is safety in numbers, but too many will splinter the group."
"There's also that." He agreed. "On the other hand, we can also leave.
"We can look for our parents, friends, family, or whatever and the only rules we have to follow are our own. But we will have no amenities this mansion provides. Food, water, electricity… gone."
"What will you choose… Alice?" the delinquent asked.
"I'll go along with whatever you choose… although I wanna see my mom again." She answered.
Both boys smiled at her; it was amazing how the words of a 7 year old could erase their hesitations so easily. They nodded at each other. There was no doubt that when the time came to vote, they would choose to break away from the Takagi group.
Their discussion was stopped when they heard the sound of helicopter rotors. The group of 3 didn't know who it was, but they were sure it would be someone or something relevant. Hopefully an auspicious sign instead of an ominous one.
Xxxx
Of the many assets the Takagi family had, few were worth more than the helicopter they used for special occasions and there were no occasion more special than an undead horde's attack. To help with the evacuation and rescue efforts, Don Takagi Souichirou had used the vehicle to coordinate his members' movements for maximum efficiency and efficacy.
So far the helicopter had patrolled the eastern part of the city; updating and renewing information with news on Their movement and when necessary picked up survivors. However what no one expected was that Don Takagi had made no movements to Fujimi Academy where his only daughter was.
It could be his personal pride getting in the way while some may argue that it was because of his faith in his child that he was certain she would survive whatever fate would throw at her. Whichever it was, he certainly would not admit the truth under any circumstances.
Greeting him on his personal helipad was his wife, Takagi Yuriko in her maroon dress and pink shawl. With a smile on her face and a pair of servants behind her, they welcomed the master of the house back from his trip.
"I'm home, Yuriko." He greeted.
"Welcome home, dear." She responded.
They didn't spend a moment on more pleasantries as there were more important matters at hand. What he found from his trip told him that the state of their country or even the world was more uncertain than ever and the possibility of the world ever returning to its former state was slim if not completely nil.
Xxxx
There was no bloodshed in the girls' room like one would expect, only an uncomfortable silence where two girls were sitting in seiza on the floor, thinking they were going to be gutted by their senior of one year who was sitting on the bed with her arms crossed. In reality, the purple haired girl had no such thought and was thinking about what to say to them and how. The blond nurse however was slowly getting bored because nobody was saying anything; the drama she had hoped for turned into a police interrogation (sigh….).
"Well? If no one is going to start, then I will." Saeko finally stated after reaching a decision. Hearing no response from the other occupants, she continued.
"Am I to understand that both of you harbor feelings for my Takashi?" she said in a formal tone.
The two younger girls nodded, still not meeting her gaze.
"And am I correct to assume that you wish he would reciprocate those feelings?"
They nodded again in agreement.
"Are ya' kiddin'?" the purple haired girl suddenly spoke in Kyushu-ben.
"Huh?"
"Excuse me, young lady and honored guests." A voice suddenly called from outside the door. "I have a message from the master and the lady to kindly gather in the courtyard."
"I see. Is there anything else?" the swordswoman asked back, acting like nothing happened inside the room.
"No miss. That was all I was told to relay to you."
"We will be there shortly." Saeko' face showed her disgruntlement. She turned her attention to the other two girls and hissed out. "This is not over."
They all walked out of the room with mixed emotions, but they were sure that the next time they gather it would not be fun. Shizuka meanwhile was disappointed the confrontation ended halfway.
Xxxx
Matsushima the maid was originally a police officer assigned to patrol near Taihei shopping mall. She and her junior were supposed to be helping with the rescue of the civilians in the area. When this whole… incident occurred, she had volunteered to look for any sort of help and ventured out of the modern day fortress, but to no avail. In fact, if the Takagi group's first search and rescue team didn't find her, she was sure she would be dead or undead.
To repay the group for their help, she offered to be a maid in the mansion. While the job gave her a sense of security, she could not shake off the uneasy feeling she had. What if the people who were depending on her had gotten into trouble when she was away? What if They attacked and they were overwhelmed? She could not do anything alone and had resolved to ask for help, but then came another question: who would she ask for help?
The right wing group was the obvious answer, but not necessarily the correct one. For one thing, they would not move without orders from the Don and even then they might not oblige her requests. They were facing uncertain threats and unnecessary dangers. After all, Taihei shopping mall was one of the most populated areas of Tokonosu city during normal days; what if all of them were turned?
The most logical move they would take was slowly advance from their base in the Takagi mansion, clearing the surroundings bit by bit and then expanding their base. However with the distance between the two areas, it might take a few days until they were rescued and she could not afford to wait.
That being said, the only other options would be the group of teenagers that just walked into the mansion. She recognized two of them almost immediately; the Komuro-gumi's young master and his girlfriend. Though she had never been involved with them in any capacity, she knew they would be reliable in this sort of situation. Steeling her resolve, she knocked on the door to the master's study where she knew one of them would be. To relay the message that her current employers told her to, and to ask if not beg them to help her.
Post chapter A.N.: I had some story ideas which I posted in my profile and I would appreciate it if you would tell me if you were interested in the story ideas. I am actually in the process of writing some of them (though some would also need a complete rewrite). Next chapter will have a bonus: a pilot chapter of another Highschool of the Dead story "Revolution", which is an AU set in a fantasy world.