Chapter 1. The first step towards a legend's memory

Franchouchou was riding high. The EFS concert had been a resounding success. The group had gotten their "Revenge" for their failed performance at EFS, helped reinvigorate Saga after a terrible disaster struck, and now both Saga and their beloved mansion were being rebuilt. Against all odds, it looked like Kotaro's crazy plan to "save" Saga with an idol group of zombies worked.

The group stood in front of their rebuilt mansion. Sakura was on top of the world and was practically bursting with tears at the happy outcome. Her dream had come true in the most unexpected of ways. The rest of the group looked on as well in their own unique way, from Lily's childish glee to Saki's cocky grin and Junko's reserved but cheerful demeanor and Yugiri's regal adult maturity. One member however, as she always did, stood out. Tae Yamada looked at the mansion with a rather blank but content look.

Kotaro had surprisingly announced a couple hours ago that he was going off to run an errand for a couple weeks.

"But, K-K-Kotaro-san, right after we just had our biggest success ever, you want to keep busy?!" Sakura burst out in surprise

. "Well, of course, success is something to relax after, but I need to plan for our next move! And besides," he continued in a far too calm way that had them all tensing in anticipation," maybe THIS IS MY VACATION FOR TAKING CARE OF YOU UNDEAD STARS, GOT IITTT?!" The group as one gave a look that showed utter resignation at his ever shifting, yet by now completely predictable mood-swings. "In any case, I do trust you to take care of the place while I'm gone. BYYYE!" With that he hopped into the van and drove off.

"Well, clearly Shades is still as crazy as ever," Saki muttered dryly with her arms crossed.

"Yes," Yugiri replied, a small smile on her face," but I think deep down he really cares. Otherwise, I don't think he would have gone to all this trouble, for Saga or us."

"Too true," Ai muttered, "but maybe we should start asking him about why this was necessary in the first place now that we have accomplished our goal for the moment."

"Now, Ai-chan, don't you think that's a bit – "Sakura started to say ….

"I agree with Ai-chan," Junko cut in, earning a few surprised looks. "We have indeed benefited Saga as he said, but we still don't know why he thought it necessary to use the living dead. And ", she added thoughtfully," I'm starting to think there is something more to the amount of misfortune that we seem to encounter as we move forward. The sheer number of natural disasters, financial difficulties, and … a few other things. I really am starting to wonder … "

The group just stared at her for a second, then they realized … she did have a point. A collapsed stage, a total disaster of a concert at the height of their popularity, all of them getting struck by lightning on stage, a flood that consumed the entire prefecture … it really didn't seem unconnected.

Yugiri frowned contemplatively. Unlike most of the group, she did have an idea about the nature of Saga. Her life and death had been a direct part of influencing Saga's continuing existence and she knew an immortal bartender who was a personification of Saga itself in some semblance. He had told her a bit about Saga's nature ever since.

Her knowledge paled next to the most mysterious member of their group, however. Tae stood there looking rather mindless compared to the rest. But if they had bothered to look at her at the time, they would've have noticed that she looked unusually thoughtful. Tae in many ways was still more a stereotypical zombie than the rest, but she had been getting more intelligent lately. Her true original self was returning, even if nobody realized it yet. Right now, memories of a much harder life, filled with monsters, loss, and stories that hardly anyone present could conceive of, were beginning to resurface …

"Hey girls!" a voice interrupted their musings and they turned to look. It was the local real estate agent, who had come to ensure their home was up to standard. They had no doubts, with Lily having confidence in her father's construction skills, but the agent had insisted, saying it was the least he could do for the local heroes.

"Good news! Your house is in good shape. Just what our local heroes deserve!" he declared.

The girls beamed. It really was nice to have all their hard work appreciated.

"For the record," he went on with a huge grin," that concert was epic! You rocked the house. I must say though, No. 0 really outdid herself! I would never have guessed she was a Queen fan!"

There was an awkward moment of silence, with the rest of the girls staring at him in confusion.

Yugiri spoke up hesitantly," If you'll forgive my ignorance, sir, I do not get that reference."

"Oh no worries! You see," he went on eagerly," Queen is a very famous British rock band. I've personally only dabbled in a few foreign bands, but Queen really had a knack for legendary music. Anyways, you remember that catchy rallying cry No. 0 did at the concert?" They all nodded slowly. "Well, Queen's leader, the late Freddie Mercury, did something just like that in a concert in 1985! No way will I buy the idea that this is a coincidence!"

Slowly, they turned to look at Tae, who didn't look confused at all … but had a strangely reminiscent smile on her face, as if recalling a fond memory.

"See! I think she agrees with me!" the agent said gleefully," Anyways, you girls enjoy your restored home! We love you!"

He walked off to his car and drove off. Tae walked towards the mansion gate, blissfully content. The rest of the team hesitated, then followed her in.

"I'm adding that to the list of things we should make Shades tell us," Saki growled. When they glanced over at her, she sighed and continued," Think about it, we all love Tae, but doesn't it bother you all that out of all the group here, we know virtually nothing about her?"

It was true. Tae was the only zombie out of the group who had yet to regain her original self. She had never formed coherent sentences, done any genuine singing or really given any indication of what she'd been like in life (well, obvious at the time anyways). Sakura had not remembered her life at first but now she did, so it really stood out

Ai turned towards Sakura and asked," Sakura-chan, did Kotaro mention anything about her while the rest of us were still working towards a proper awakening? Anything at all?"

Sakura frowned and thought, then replied," When he was explaining his plan to me about all of this, I asked him about who you all were, and he told me details about all of you, which I've confirmed by getting to know you, but … when he talked about Tae-chan, all he said was that she was 'legendary', nothing else. I asked him to clarify, and he just got in my face and yelled at me that a legend didn't have to be about anything …" None of them looked skeptical about hearing that, Kotaro had a most unfortunate habit of being both verbally and physically aggressive towards most of the group. Lily and Yugiri were the lone exceptions; he just yelled at and insulted Lily, while Yugiri was probably the only member of the group who truly scared him (that and one other reason but we'll get to that later).

"I did comment that such a statement made her seem like just a regular zombie," then Sakura suddenly looked sad and went on," then he asked what made me so legendary … and from now on I was the only one he would not call a legend."

Junko frowned and replied, "Given how he chose you to join the rest of us and gave you the title of No. 1, I don't see how he could believe that."

Sakura did not look reassured at all. "It's true though, isn't it? I never got to be famous before dying … I mean, I died right after going out the door when I got my chance to audition for my dream. I was never famous, special … certainly not a legend." Tears started gathering at the corners of her eyes …

Silence reigned for a moment, then Saki, stepped up and replied," Don't you ever going on believing that crap! You may have never had that chance in life," Sakura stared in astonishment, then her eyes widened as Saki grinned and continued," but you held this group of legends together longer than any of us could. And the people around here certainly know, like and even respect you now. You are certainly a genuine legend now."

Sakura was stunned, then looked around at the rest of the group. They were all smiling at her, showing that they all shared that sentiment.

Yugiri then added," Sakura-han, you are indeed a legend. And I know for a fact that Kotaro-han does in fact see you as special in a way that no one else does," this comment earned her some raised eyebrows," so don't you think that he doesn't admire your qualities. I do think, though … "the former courtesan said thoughtfully," that perhaps when he returns, we should ensure that he does acknowledge you as legendary from now on. You have more than earned that."

"Of course we will," Ai added. They all followed Tae inside. "I would like to know more about Tae though. We've had her with us for two years and we still don't know that much about her."

Saki chimed in," I'm willing to bet she was really talented and tough like me."

Sakura thought about that and then remembered something else from her first night as a Zombie.

"You may be right. Before you all awakened, she was the most physically capable and terrifying zombie among all of you. She still is," she concluded quietly.

"She must have some musical background though," Junko added thoughtfully." She doesn't sing, true enough, but her dancing has steadily improved, and she is very good at drumming. And now we just found out she has musical taste of her own."

Yugiri smiled proudly at how her girls were thinking so thoroughly about this, then added," Well, I think we may find out soon enough. She has been getting somewhat smarter as time goes on. Sakura-han, I think you will probably be our best bet at reaching her." Sakura stared at her confusion, so she elaborated," Tae-han really likes you out of all of us. You taught her how to dance and can reign her in very well when she goes wild. When you lost your memories of us, she was determined to help you the most and showed the rest of us how to do so."

Sakura looked truly baffled at that for a moment, then smiled.

"Alright. I will certainly do my best to help Tae-chan. Speaking of her," she said after looking around," where did she go?"

They found her in the living room, staring at a surprising new addition to the furniture. A new, modern tv was on an also new table. Apparently one of the workers or the real estate agent had left it on. A local news reporter was talking about the disasters the aftermath, then it switched to a brief covering of how Franchouchou had really done their part to rally the prefecture together.

"Apparently our local band's influence is extending even further than Saga," the reporter continued." World-renowned inventor and scientist Hanako Hakase has decided to come and visit Saga to help. She has expressed a desire to help the place where she grew up, claiming that Saga has a remarkable tendency to bounce back and she would like to be a part of that again. This has inspired some of her admiring colleagues to come and join in as well."

Behind the reporter was a picture of said scientist. The woman was middle aged, mid-50s probably, with greying hair that still contained its original hue of vivid pink with a hint of purple. She wore a lab coat with an eccentric red shirt and some original type of goggles on her head. Her blue eyes were bright and very alive, hinting a very eccentric but cheerful personality, a fact that her wide grin enhanced.

Ai stared at the tv, then said," I have heard of her. They say she's just as good as the top scientists of the last century, maybe better. I didn't know she used to live in Saga though …"

Sakura then added," She reminds me of this woman who used to visit my family when I was little. She and my mom were old friends. I can't say if it's the same person."

Yugiri added one final thought, "Well at any rate it's nice to see we're not the only ones trying to save Saga. There is hope yet when people stand together."

With that the group headed to make dinner, except one. Tae stared with an unusually intense expression at said image. Her eyes were wide and frighteningly intense. She did know this scientist. Very well. Buried, distorted memories started to pound in her undead skull, and it would not stop. Names and phrases were going repeatedly through her head. "Hanako… Yuko … Eikichi… Anna …. MJ … Sagako … save Saga … save Saga … save Saga …."

She eventually got up, turned the tv off and headed to eat. For once she ate with less energy than everyone else. They stared at her in concern for a moment but decided she was alright and continued talking.

This was a turning point for them all. This day was a spark that would kindle to the beautiful, epic bonfire which did finally reveal Tae Yamada's mysteries to her teammates.

This was the day that marked when Saga's hidden, yet perhaps greatest legend of all, would fully return. The foster child of the immortal protector of Saga Jofuku, leader of the Saga Sagako Busters, demon slayer extraordinare, and "ultimate office lady warrior", was coming back at last.

Tae Yamada, a legend in life and now in death, was going to be at full capacity. This would be very legendary indeed.