Finally, done with Senior Project! I knew that I'd feel happy once it was over with, but now that it really is, I feel awesome!

Anyways, sorry for the long wait, you know how it is with schoolwork getting in the way. That and I'm doing a story for something unrelated to and that takes up more time too. But thanks to all of you that have read, reviewed, and/or favorited this fic and I also thank you for your patience.

Here's the next chapter. Enjoy!

Chapter 11

Dante sat up against the wall of building, sighing. Not too long after Takashi and Saeko went off to distract Them, Dante and the others were able to make their way down the long highway that was once littered with the undead, Dante, Lady, and Kohta taking care of any of the zombies that didn't react to the noise Takashi had generated with his tactics. After that, they had traveled as far into the city as they could and found the most fortified two story building they could to hole up for the night.

And now Dante observed Rei, Alice with Zeke on top of her, Shizuka, Saya, and Kohta sleeping soundly despite the zombies that would sometimes pass by outside. Dante had to give them credit for their guts to even sleep so peacefully. While it is true that this is a new world they're living in and that they have to get used to it, but he never expected them to get used to it so fast.

"They are a surprising bunch, aren't they?" Lady commented as she came down from the second floor of the building, hefting her Kalina Ann over her shoulder. She had reverted to english for the coming conversation that she hoped to spark.

"They sure are," Dante replied, uncharacteristically quiet.

Lady eyed him, her expression a bit unreadable, but if one looked close enough, it could be seen that she seemed worried for the devil hunter. Sitting down next to him, she spoke. "You're worried about the others, huh?" She asked, referring to Patty and Morrison; she knew that Nero and Trish could take care of themselves and thus Dante wasn't feeling too worried for those two.

Dante looked at her for a split second, not saying anything. Lady sighed; Dante did worry for their safety, but he was too damn stubborn to admit it. Not that she blamed him for it as she wouldn't admit to feeling worried too often either. "They're going to be okay. They can take care of themselves."

Once again, Dante merely looked at her for a second. "Yeah, I know they can." An uncomfortable silence fell upon them, the only noises audible being the snoring of the sleeping group before them.

Lady decided to change the topic of the conversation just then. "So what do you think?" she asked, gesturing to the group. "Think they have what it takes to survive?"

Dante seemed to break out of his sullen self a bit to look at them and silently appraise their skills. "Well, that chick - Rei, right? - is pretty good with using that gun as a spear. She must have had some serious training with it to be that good for a high school student."

Lady nodded, more to herself than to Dante as she remembered how fast and fluidly Rei had been able to pull her gun/spear on that Shidou guy. Pretty impressive.

"Yeah, I think she'd be fine. However, she seems to let her emotions get to her," Lady said, remembering how angry Rei was at Shidou. Granted, the guy was a complete scumbag, but Lady thought Rei let herself get lost in her rage for a bit.

"Good point," Dante agreed. "And then there's that Saya chick." He rubbed his chin in thought. It was obvious to him that while Saya was very smart and quick to come up with solutions, she seemed to have no experience with fighting. The fact that she basically sat out on the fighting so far only reinforced his opinion. "Well, she's clever, but has no damn fighting experience. I'd rather not have to save her ass every time we run into something."

"Well, that could be taken care of," Lady remarked, thinking the same thing. She planned to try and maybe teach the girl how to do more than stand behind everyone while they do the dirty work. She remembered that Yuriko gave her a gun and that Kohta was going to teach her how to use it; maybe she could lend a hand in that.

Dante chuckled as he knew what she meant by that and he secretly hoped that maybe Lady would mess with Saya; he found it fun to tease her.

Lady gestured to Kohta. "And what about him? He's a pretty good shot for someone his age."

"Says the girl that put a bullet in my head when we first met," Dante said sarcastically.

Lady rolled her eyes. "Okay, we may have only been 18 when we met, but it wasn't as if I shot you from the same distance he shoots those zombies from." She couldn't believe Dante still couldn't seem to let that go. Did shooting him in the head really leave that bad of an impression?

"Okay, okay, the kid is a good shot, but that's about it for him. Without a gun in his hands, he's got nothing," Dante said. He looked at Kohta snoring loudly in his deep sleep. "And before you try to get me to maybe teach him something else or maybe even give him one of my weapons, let me point out that the dude is against us."

Lady sighed as she remembered the few interactions they've had with Kohta so far. "I know. But moving on, there's the little girl," she told Dante, pointing to Alice.

Dante snorted. "Yeah, like we're really going to do anything about her. What do you want to do, give her a gun and hope she doesn't fire it by accident at one of us?"

Lady got a bit angry at that. "I'm not going to do anything like that. She's just a little girl and she shouldn't have to be learning how to use a gun to defend herself. I just want to help her find a way to protect herself without having to use some sort of weapon."

"Whatever," Dante replied, but he could tell by the way Lady's expression changed when she spoke that she felt bad for the girl, her having to now grow up in a world where there wasn't going to be much of a normal childhood for her. "And then there's that Shizuka chick," Dante said, changing the subject.

"Ah yeah, her," Lady remarked. Dante could've sworn he heard something off with Lady's tone of voice. "Well, given her personality and her former job as a nurse, I'd say there's no chance of her ever learning how to use a gun."

"Yeah," Dante agreed. He eyed Shizuka, who, in her sleep, now grabbed Alice and pulled her close to her huge breasts. He chuckled at the sight. "And she's got some huge ass tits," he muttered to himself.

"What was that?" Lady asked.

"I said that she's a huge ass ditz," Dante replied, almost too quickly. Lady didn't seem too convinced by his words, prompting Dante to change the subject a bit. "Wonder how that kid is doing."

"You mean your cousin, nephew, or whatever the hell he is supposed to be to you?" Lady asked.

Dante rolled his eyes. "Who else could I possibly mean? Unless my old man shacked up with a few other women back in the day," he retorted. He lost a bit of his sarcasm and grew a bit more serious. "He's pretty good for someone that hasn't fought demons before, but if the kid's as willing to defend these guys when we see him again, he ain't going to be ready for some of the other demons still out there."

"Agreed. But he was able to put up a decent fight against you, so maybe he's better than you think," Lady commented.

Dante chuckled. "Maybe. I'll admit that he did better than I thought. Nero still puts up a better fight though."

"That's only because of his Devil Bringer, his sword, and the fact that he has much more fighting experience than him." As she said that, Lady couldn't help but feel that if given some serious training, Takashi could eventually catch up to Nero's level, perhaps even go beyond that. Given how everyone related to Dante seems to be unpredictable sometimes, it was a possibility. However, she'd have to see Takashi in action a bit more before deciding that.

"Do you plan to give him one of your devil arms?" Lady asked Dante.

Dante rubbed his chin. "Meh, maybe. The kid is going to need all the help he can get, but hey I ain't one to baby people."

"He's your only damn relative left," Lady said.

Dante winced a bit at that. "Alright, alright, I'll give him one when he comes back with that Saeko chick. But it's not like I carry all of them on me. I'm not some walking weapon shop like you," Dante commented with a sigh.

Lady sighed. "Assuming he comes back. Those zombies aren't the only thing he has to worry about."

Dante shrugged. "He did pretty good against me, I'll give him that much. Besides, that Saeko chick is seems pretty good with that sword she was carrying around, so the kid will be fine. What's the worst that could happen?"

Lady sighed once more before excusing herself to go get some sleep before sunrise. Dante merely stayed put, looking out the window and into the distance. He could see more and more of Them wandering around. Although he wouldn't admit, he was a bit worried for Takashi, who has yet to show himself capable of dealing with demons such as Assaults. Against Scarecrows, Dante knew Takashi had no problem, but his bout with the Assault from earlier didn't really leave him with much confidence. Now he was hoping the damn kid didn't do anything stupid.

The next day, said person and Saeko were on the move, fully rested from their sleep from last night. Takashi maneuvered the buggy with ease. Driving across the river to the road and moving down it as fast as possible without tipping the buggy, the two noted that many of the wandering undead were still around.

"It's just as bad as it was before we hid out on the sandbank," Saeko noted.

"We won't know for sure just yet," Takashi replied, making a sharp turn, knocking down a few of Them in the process, their limbs utterly crushed beneath the buggy's huge tires. It wasn't until Takashi drove down the next block that Saeko realized where he was heading to.

"A park?" she asked.

Takashi grinned. "It's not just a place for hobos, you know!"

The park in question was nearly littered with Them around, but that didn't deter Takashi in the least as he drove straight for the water fountain in the center of the park. With surprising driving skill for someone his age, Takashi managed to get the buggy to jump slightly, landing in the fountain without actually crashing into it. This move, however, caused water to splash around on them, Saeko getting her clothes wet once again. "Do you enjoy making girls wet?" she nearly yelled at him.

Her words seemed to go unnoticed by Takashi. "Get the tape out of the backpack!"

Saeko, a bit annoyed at having to deal with wet clothing again, obliged him and handed him what he needed. Upon taking the tape from her, Takashi immediately got to work with the little plan he came up with just then. Using the tape to keep the steering wheel bound, the buggy began to turn right, over and over again, moving around the fountain as though it was some sort of kiddy ride.

The engine, combined with the splashing of the water, generated much noise and Takashi could see that the zombies were already making their way towards them. "I see. This sound will surely attract them from far away."

"The east exit isn't too far from here. This sound should last for a while, but I think it would be best to use guns as little as possible," Takashi said, hefting the shotgun from where he had it next to him. He looked down at it for a moment to make sure that it was loaded before letting out a sigh. "If it comes down to it, I could just bash their heads in with my fists," he muttered, remembering how easy it was to kill Them with his bare hands after his change. However, it was something he had no wish to relive; the last thing he needed was zombie brains splattered all across his hands.

Saeko nodded, a small smile finding its way onto her face before she leapt from the buggy and to the nearest zombie around. Her feet touching the ground, she made her way to it, it formerly being an elderly man. "What a putrid smell. You should at least wash your hair," Saeko taunted, drawing her sword in the process. And with one swift move, she sliced its head right off, a bit of blood spurting out from the wound. The zombie's head flew right off, struck the ground and bounced away.

The second it did hit the ground, Saeko launched herself at the next one, cutting its head diagonally and then beheading another one before finishing a third with a cut that removed the upper part of the head. This all occurred in the span of just a few seconds.

"Saeko-san, you're incredible," Takashi couldn't help but say, a bit of a nervous smile on his face.

Saeko smiled at the compliment, but as she turned around to face the approaching crowd of Them, she stopped dead in her tracks at the ones in the frontline of the group: undead children.

Takashi noticed her sudden stop and looked at what she saw, his eyes only widening for a split second before they narrowed as he heard a zombie approaching from behind. Turning too quickly to be seen by the human eye, Takashi unleashed a vicious backhand that knocked the zombie's head right off its body. Unlike Saeko's cleanly made kills, this one was certainly messy, blood flying in all directions, pieces of bone going along with it.

Having disposed of the immediate threat, Takashi turned back around to see that Saeko still hasn't moved. "What are you doing, Saeko-san!" he yelled.

Saeko slightly jumped, startled by his voice. She didn't get a chance to respond before Takashi came up next to her. Pushing Saeko out of the way, Takashi leveled the shotgun at one of the children, having no desire to kill them the same way he killed the adult one he just disposed off. He took a deep breath, steeling himself for what he was about to do and then pulled the trigger.

The undead child before him didn't stand a chance against a point blank shot like that. Its entire head and a portion of the upper left part of its body were utterly blown away by the shotgun blast. The remaining body flew back into the crowd, nearly knocking down the other children that moved forward.

Sweat formed on Takashi's face just a bit as he now knew that he would have to come to terms with what he just did at some point. But now wasn't the time for such things and he knew that. Grabbing hold of Saeko's hand, he broke into a run, Saeko nearly stumbling as her speed proved to be unable to keep up with Takashi's speed.

Slowing down just a bit to let Saeko have an easier time keeping up, he slammed an elbow into a zombie they passed by, the nose crushed from the attack's strength. "Fuck!" Takashi nearly yelled as he looked around, trying to figure out where to go next. "Okay, we could hide there for the time being," he said upon spotting an entrance to a temple.

Still not letting go of Saeko's hand, Takashi rushed to the temple and didn't release his hold until he had begun to lock the door. Now that the place was more or less secure, he focused his attention on Saeko, who opted for sitting down. "Saeko-san, what happened?" he asked, concerned about her reaction to the children.

He didn't receive a response, but he didn't want to push the issue too much just yet. In his wait, he noticed that the room was rather dark. Surprisingly, he didn't have much of a problem seeing in the dark, but that didn't stop him from finding a candle to light. "We should probably stay here until morning. And we don't want to just be sitting here in the dark either. After all, it wouldn't do to have someone sneak up on us."

Lighting the candle, Takashi waited a moment longer before speaking again. "There must have been a reason why you changed so suddenly earlier."

Saeko didn't glance his way, but she answered him. "I'm not sure if you'd understand, but will you listen to me?" she asked.

Takashi nodded, trying to smile to keep the mood in the room somewhat relaxed. "First of all, it's getting a bit cold so let me find a blanket." As soon as he said that, he went off to search the building and it was only a few seconds before he found a few things. "Here let's sit on this," he said as he placed the blanket he found on the floor next to the candle.

"Oh yeah, I found this too," he said. Saeko looked at him curiously as he handed her something. Upon seeing her confused expression, Takashi leaned in close. "It's a handheld toilet," he said, feeling a bit embarrassed to say that.

Saeko froze at his words, but once she got over the surprise, she covered her mouth with both hands, trying not to laugh. "Hey, don't laugh. We'll be fine as long as we have it," Takashi told her, but he was trying to fight back a laugh too.

After settling down, both of them lapsed into silence. "You know, I think I know what you were afraid of. Those kids were..." Takashi began to say, but Saeko stopped him.

"No, that's not it." Saeko took a second to sit more comfortably. "You asked me on the sandbar if there was someone I liked." Takashi, having not expected that, began to grow flustered, but Saeko once again stopped him. "It's fine. I'm just like any other girl. I like boys too. But I never told him how I felt. I didn't think I had a right to tell him."

"It's hard for me to imagine the kind of guy you'd like." Takashi flinched a bit at his own words. He felt that he should just blurt out things like that.

"I wonder if he had ever killed someone before," Saeko murmered. Takashi froze right on the spot, his mind unable to think of a response to that. "Four years ago, I was walking along the street at night and was attacked by a man. I had my wooden sword so of course I didn't lose. I broke his shoulder blade and femur. Given the circumstances, the police sent me home."

Takashi now tried to sputter out a response. "But that's... maybe it was a little excessive, but even the police-," he began, but was cut off.

"That itself was not what I was arrested for... I liked it," Saeko said, nearly saying the last part as a whisper before suddenly speaking up. "It made me feel good to make him suffer! After realizing I had the overwhelming upper hand with my wooden sword, his frightened movements... I attacked without any hesitation!" she cried with a hint of glee and a crazed look in her eyes as she seemed to be reliving the moment in her mind. "I liked it. It was exhilarating."

She took a moment to regain herself. "That is the real me. That's what Busujima Saeko is really like. Though I have to wonder if you can look past that. I get crazy when I have the upper hand and I pretend to have the heart and soul of a young girl." She now sat there patiently to let Takashi have some time to digest what she has said.

"I've shown sides of being like Them too," Takashi said, the memory of taking joy in smashing open a cash register with a bat replayed in his head. He also remembered feeling some sense of excitement as he had crushed some of Them so easily with the changes to his being.

"But you became like that after the outbreak. I was like that before it," Saeko replied, "I realized it as I was in front of the fountain that I haven't changed at all. I'd say that I'm actually getting worse."

She fell silent after that and Takashi made no attempt now to speak. Both of them spent the rest of the night in silence, only getting a few hours of sleep. It wasn't until Takashi woke up and had shook Saeko awake that he dared to open the door to the temple. Slowly creeping outside, he scanned the immediate area briefly. "Alright, if we go out to the street on the other side, it'll take about twenty minutes to get to where everyone..." he trailed off as he heard Them approach. Cursing, he looked to see that in the distance, they were moving towards them, some of Them shambling along due to pieces of their legs missing.

"How did they..." he began, but stopped as he heard something. Listening closely, he could easily hear the wind blowing, making the trees rustle. It was no where near enough to be considered loud, but it was still audible. "The trees... the god damned trees and the wind brought them here," he said, almost hatefully. He just couldn't believe how ridiculous this was; surely there had to be something louder than this to keep the undead's attention elsewhere.

"Alright. Saeko-san, let's get ready to run." Takashi took a step towards the girl, but Saeko made no attempt to move. Looking at the strange expression on her face was enough to make Takashi flare with anger for a brief second, enough anger to make his eyes turn red like they had when he had hoisted Saya into the air.

"Saeko!" he yelled as he got behind her. She was more than a bit surprised by this action and was going to say something, but Takashi cut off the first word out of her mouth. "If you need a reason then do it for me! No matter how tainted you are, I'll still admire you for as long as I'm alive! I still think you're an amazing woman, so don't die!" His voice dropped from a yell to more of a whisper as he appeared to unknowingly grip Saeko's left breast, making her shiver just a bit. "Don't die on me. Please be your true self, with all of your faults."

A few seconds passed before a small smile graced Saeko's face. "I'll consent to that," she said as Takashi let her go, returning her smile with one of his own.

Taking hold of her sword, Saeko unsheathed it, charging at the small crowd of Them, showing no hesitation as she began to cut Them down. Body parts flew and so did blood, but the carnage only seemed to turn Saeko on as a gleeful smile was on her face. "Oh yes, this is it." Her words could be heard throughout the area despite the noise she was making with killing the zombies.

Takashi grinned, glad to see that Saeko was out of her funk, and proceeded to join her in disposing of the zombies, preferring to use his fists as he didn't feel like attracting any more attention with the noise the shotgun makes; it certainly wouldn't be doing the two of them any favors if the noise not only ended up attracting more of Them, but also some demons. Takashi especially had no wish to fight a pair of Assaults so soon after nearly being done in by just one.

He leapt into the air and brought his foot down in a wicked axe kick on one of the zombies, splitting its head open with ease, its decaying brains falling out. Upon landing, he did a leg sweep on another one near by and promptly stomped its head in with his foot. Takashi couldn't help but feel a bit of glee when he heard a squashing sound similar to the squishing of a tomato. This action of his just showed that he really did share a similar streak of sadism like Saeko.

Looking up, he saw that Saeko, in her sadistic joy, had made quick and bloody work of the other zombies around, making way for a path. Smirking, he ran to catch up with Saeko. "Saeko, this way!" he said, grabbing hold of her hand to lead her in the right direction. Like before, he tried to keep his speed at level for Saeko to keep up with, something that was proving rather hard; he blamed Dante fighting him for this.

"Takashi," Saeko called out. Upon getting his attention, she spoke again. "Take responsibility... do it for me, okay?"

Takashi smiled. "You wish is my command!" And with that said, they ran nonstop to the location they had agreed upon with the others when Lady had suggested her little plan: the shopping mall.

It was just a bit past noon when they finally reached their destination. Looking up on top of the building from a distance, Takashi could make out Kohta, Rei, and Saya. Smiling, he grabbed Saeko's hand and picked up the pace a bit.

Alright, done! To those of you that expected some demon ass kicking in this chapter, sorry about that. However, never worry for you shall get your demonic battles soon. And I also have something in mind that will surely keep the group on their toes, even Dante so I hope you look forward to that.

And to spardatheone, the answer to your question is long overdue and if you're still reading this fic, I apologize for the wait for I can be forgetful quite a bit. Anyways, I feel a bit glad that I have put Takashi's power into perspective. Funny, I never really thought about where he stood next to Nero and Dante until your question, but better late than never.

Anyways, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed it. Please be sure to review!