Not nearly as long as my last chapter, though this is probably my fastest update ever. :D

What can I say? I was just on a role with this story, plus this is almost just a continuation of the last chapter. But still I believe it deserved its own chapter.

Important: I'm trying a new style of writing, no scene dividers in this chapter, just like a real book. Tell me if it flows well and stuff, lol.

And so

1000 Suns
The DEAD of Night

In this new world of ours it is easy to tell who you can't trust. By the insanity shining in their eyes, or the rage discoloring their voice, or the darkness that dogs their footsteps everyone can be marked as untrustworthy. No one can be trusted, there's no such thing as good will in our world any more. No place for it but an early grave. Or so I thought.
In this world the one who hold power is the judge, the jury, and the executioner. I don't have to like it. I only have to live by it.

xXx

Takashi stood before three people, shotgun in hand, as he went over all they had told him. When they entered his house it was empty, undisturbed, completely untouched since day one. Neither his mother or father had been home in all that time. A waste, that's how he would characterize the last few hours. They could have been out of the city by now, free of this madness. But he couldn't give up hope, he had to grasp of the chance, the slimmest of chances, that his family might be alright. And now here he stood, three people before him who he could let live or let die.

He had come here to remove a burden from his shoulders, only to find another one settling in its place. But still the question remained. Would he be these peoples' savior? Or their doom?

Could he afford to let them stay? More likely than not he would come to regret it if he did. The three of them could steal their supplies, or their weapons, perhaps even kill his entire group if they remained. The three before him could screw them over in any number of ways during the night, no matter how vigilant they were. It was beyond dangerous to let unknown people stay at his house, borderline suicidal. It was situations like these that brought stranger danger to a whole new level. Saving them, as human as the gesture would be, was not worth his own life. When every decision you made directly affected your lifespan you realize how little is truly worth dying for.

He didn't want to just kill them either, he was still human enough to want to avoid that. He had grown used to killing, far too used to it in his opinion. But it was necessary, and he would kill as many of them as he had to in order to protect him and his family. That being said, he didn't enjoy it. He knew that every time he killed one of them he was ending something that had once been human. Yet he had stared out all of this madness by killing his best friend. From there, killing complete strangers was easier.

Still, there was a difference when it came to ending the life of someone who was still human. Takashi had only done that once, and he had no desire for a repeat.

The logical thing to do would simply be to force them to leave. Make them leave the house and the neighborhood. Then he and his group would be safe for certain. He wouldn't have to kill them, he wouldn't have to risk being stabbed in the back. It seemed like a perfect solution.

Except for one problem. It was full dark outside now, the clouds from earlier growing thicker until they completely blotted out the sky. No light outside at all. It had grown so dark that he had been forced to like several candles to give them enough light to see each other. And to top it off it was going to rain soon. He could smell it in the air. Forcing anyone to be outside in this weather would be the same as killing them outright. A bullet to the head might even be considered more merciful than a slow death by hypothermia as one stumbled around blindly in the dark.

So, once again, Takashi found that there was no right answer. He could let them stay at the house, or he could condemn them to death, one way or another. He really didn't think they'd care if he chose to execute them by his own hand or simply force them into a position where they would surely die. It would be the same end result either way. And he knew it.

He looked towards them again, his mind on the cusp of a decision. It weighed heavily on him, but he couldn't put his own group in danger just for the sake of his conscience. I'm going to have to ask you to leave. That's what he would have to say, casting them out into the night and the certain demise that came with it.

Then the white haired boy in front of Komuro caught his eye. He was a child, a year or two older than Alice at the most. But he seemed so angry, glaring at Komuro with all of his might. He started at Komuro with such utter hatred that one would think Komuro killed the kid's family or something. It was then that Takashi realized that if he kicked the three squatters out of his house he would be doing just that. And what's worse was that the kid looked dejected as well, as if he knew what choice Takashi would make, as if he knew that tonight may be his last night. He was putting up a brave face, using his anger to his the fear. But when Takashi looked into the boys eyes he could see the tears just below the surface, threatening to burst out.

Suddenly Takashi was gripped by an insane urge to prove that boy wrong. To prove to Shun that he was still human.

And the words were out of his mouth before he could stop himself, "The three of you can stay here for the night." And, well, now that he said it he couldn't very well turn around and take it back now could he?

Inwardly Takashi smiled as he felt the incredulous from the others in the room, his own group and the squatters staring at him with something akin to disbelief.

"Are you out of your fucking mind?" Saya asked, not truly believing her ears. Takashi said what now?

"No," He replied, barely restraining his smile, "I just realized that I'm still human. I won't go condemning people to needless deaths." Then he turned towards the three, "But if you try and take advantage of the fact I won't hesitate in the slightest."

The teen, Isou, Takashi remembered, nodded. The girl, Yukiko, bowed low, "Thank you," she said, her voice breaking as if she was about to cry. His own group looked somewhat unsure of the situation, Saya glaring at him outright, but they seemed content to abide by his decision.

"Let's get set up for the night then," Takashi said calmly. Outside, it had just begun to rain.

They spent the night swapping tales, attempting to alleviate the tense atmosphere with stories of their past life, who they were before everything went to hell. Nobody got much sleep, they were two different groups of people under the same roof. Trust or not everyone was just a bit on edge.

Takashi learned that Yukiko and Shun were siblings, as she had stated earlier. Shun was in his last year of elementary school, a little league baseball star that everyone was sure would be a professional when he grew up, despite his tender age. The kid had taken their words to heart, giving his all to a sport even to the point of neglecting school. He didn't make many friends his age either. The other kids were too 'childish' for Shun, who seemed to only care about baseball. Their father had been the manager of a professional baseball team and that only served to further Shun's interest in the spot. When he fell asleep later that night Yukiko told them that her family had been worried about him burning himself out, or growing up too fast. But he always seemed happy. And then his dream was stripped away by the end of the world.

Yukiko herself was also rather talented, an aspiring violinist. And though she was no star she loved music. She wasn't nearly as driven as her brother was to excel, but she still was a good musician. One of her greatest regrets was the fact that she had to smash her violin into one of their heads to survive, shattering the delicate instrument. One of the things she wanted most was to find another violin, that way she could, perhaps, keep up her music even now.

The two white haired sibling had been born on Okinawa and had lived there for most of their lives. They had been visiting the main islands with their father on a baseball tour, going to every game in the season, his treat. Their mother had stayed back at their home. She had fallen ill shortly before their departure but had urged them to go enjoy themselves regardless, saying that their uncle would be enough to take care of her. Her greatest wish, even more so than finding a violin, was to see her mother once more. Every day she prayed for her mother's safety and wellbeing, hoping against hope that they would be able to meet her again. Tears had streamed down Yukiko's cheeks as she revealed that. And Rei had put her hand on the girl's shoulder, comforting the white haired teen with gentle words and a tender embrace.

Hashimoto Isou, a sixteen year old with coal black hair and electric green eyes, was half American. His mother had been born in the United States, in a place called D.C. She had met his father while studying abroad in Japan. His dad had been a high school soccer coach, and for the first few years of his life Isou had played on club soccer teams, though he had never fallen in love with the sport like his father. Though his mother was American, and he was bilingual, he had only been to America a few times to visit relatives. His Japanese was many times better than his English, having less of a vocabulary than Saya, who had only learned English because her father required it. He had never liked fighting, and almost died at the start of everything because of it, though he refused to say how. Oddly enough he'd always wanted to own a dog. Something that, to his regret, he had often argued with his parents about. He and Zeke hit if off right away, instantly making him Alice's friend. A fact that he was very uncomfortable about, he still didn't trust the other group fully.

Takashi and his group shared their stories in turn. Everybody had a good laugh when Rei admitted to putting a raw egg on her elementary school teacher's chair so it would break when the woman sat down. They listened with interest as Saya talked about the many places her parents had taken her when she was younger. Hirano's stories about his family were met with somewhat less belief, being something that could come right out of a manga.

Shizuka drifted off shortly after that, falling asleep next to Alice while the others continued to talk. As the candles grew low Takashi pulled several more out of the kitchen cabinets, lighting them and placing them around the room to keep that darkness at bay.

It was then that they began talking after everything went to hell.

"If it wasn't for Fukui-sensei I would have died." Isou said, his voice quiet and melancholy. "She kept her head when everything went to shit, grabbed any student that ran down her hall and pulled them into an empty classroom. She kept the hysteric ones calm and hot headed ones still. Somehow she managed to get us to use our heads in the middle of the madness, think up a plan before we went and got ourselves killed." He chuckled, a humorless sound. "Not like it made a difference. When she lead us out of the school half the group panicked and ran at the first sight of them. We tried to avoid them, but see nobody knew that they reacted to sound. So we just ran through the school as fast as we could, shouting at that top of our lungs like a bunch of idiots. In the end there were only five of us left, out of the fifteen or so she had gathered. By the time we reached the parking lot three of those five had been bitten, including Fukui-sensei. Then they started to turn. The last uninfected kid, Harashi I think his same was, ended up being a meal for his best friend. As she was coughing up blood Fukui-sensei gave me her car keys, telling me to get the hell out of there while I still could." His voice trailed away into silence, eyes staring into the flickering flame of a candle before him.

"How did you escape?" Saeko prompted gently.

He snorted, "How the hell do you think I got out?" He asked, "I ran as fast as I fucking could. Damn near died getting into sensei's car. As two or three of them were beating on the windshield I gunned it, tearing out of the school without a second thought." He stopped suddenly, "And I left the rest of them to die. I even saw two or three live ones on my way out, but didn't stop, didn't give them a second glance. I was scared out of my mind, and, and... God Damn it!" He shouted slamming his fist onto the floor. "Every time I think about that day I can see the faces of the people I left behind. Sometimes I wonder why I didn't just join them."

"He stopped for me and my brother though," Yukiko said quietly. "The two of us were running down a random street. We'd lost our dad somewhere along the way, everybody was screaming so loud. I was dragging Shun behind me, trying to find our dad, a cop, our hotel, anything that might be familiar. In the end we were cornered on a side street ten blocks from Onbetsu bridge. There were six or seven of them, I was too scared to count, closing on around us. Shun was balling his eyes out and I was so sure we were going to die then, that I would never see my mother again. Then this blue car came out of nowhere, running them all over. It skidded to a stop in front of us and Isou shouted at us to 'get in the fucking car before more show up!' We had no idea where we were going. But somehow we managed to stay alive until the car died on us two days ago."

Takashi and his group nodded in understanding, sharing their own stories in return. They had been together practically from the beginning of it all, and whenever one of them trailed off, unable to continue the story of their escape, another one would pick up where they left off. Rei recounted mournfully how she wanted to leave the other students behind, urging Shizuka sensei to just get out of there. It had been a long road for everyone, and nobody was the same person after the first day, let alone the first week.

It was humbling, the feeling of powerlessness from it all, watching your world go to shit and not being able to do anything about it. Knowing that every day, every minute, every second might be your last.

It brought a whole new meaning to the phrase, "Life's a bitch, and then you die,"

At the end of the night, the ten people laying around the guttering candles had new bonds with each other. Not so far as trust, not so quickly, but at least they knew each other now. They knew the others' stories, their lives, their hopes and dreams. Perhaps, between these two groups of unrelated people, there was even a bit of empathy. They slept, and outside the rain continued to fall.

The rain fell in torrential sheets, flooding the rivers as winds kicked up vast arcs of spray. The waves of the ocean grew large and formidable, crashing against the shores of Japan with unprecedented force. The wind howled and screamed as is tore across the land, throwing everything into disarray. It was a night to send humans running for cover.

To Rika the storm meant only one thing, she was stuck at the island airport for another day. Her best friend would be stuck out there for another night before Rika could even begin to search for her. Any number of things could go wrong in a single night. And worse yet storms like these were known to last for days. There was simply no way she could leave the airport in a rowboat with the sea this chaotic. Even inside she could hear the wind and ran pounding against the glass.

She looked dejectedly at the large window before her, but the glass only through her image back at her. The main concourse had power again, they had managed to repair a single generator. And while the light did serve to stave off the darkness, it only served to trap her even more. With the inside brightly lit and the outside black as death, every window was converted to a mirror and Rika couldn't even look out over the ocean towards where the main island was. She had only her reflection for company, looking back at her with a forlorn stare.

Rika got down on her knees before the window and did something she hadn't done since before she joined the SDF. She prayed.

And perhaps, Kami heard.

The next morning sun shone down from above, spreading it's light all over Japan. Yet its rays no longer warmed the backs of young children or smiling men and women on their way to work. Now its light reached only the dead and dying. Falling on moving grey corpses that cared not for the sun's warmth. But its light shattered the storm, breaking the clouds that plagued the sky, bringing a new day to the beleaguered survivors of humanity. Another dawn in an endless string of dawns, proclaiming brightly that the night had passed!

And shining directly into Komuro Takashi's eyes.

His eyebrows scrunched, he could have sworn he closed all the shades last night. But he knew better than to fight it. Another day, another dilemma waiting for him to face. He sighed, stretching and sitting upright, smiling wearily at the sun, but smiling all the same. At least during the day you can see your problems.

Around him lay the slumbering forms of both groups, his own family and the three squatters that had come into his home. In the end everyone had submitted to sleep, trusting each other enough after a single night of recourse. Even Takashi felt as if he knew the three now. And he was sure they felt the same. Sharing your life story was a powerful experience. But even more so, sharing your first day. Telling others your thoughts and feelings and memories of the first time you saw them, of the first time you fought for your life and your sanity and your very existence; while sharing your past was powerful, telling your first day was moving. It was an experience that everyone could relate to.

Standing up Takashi was greeted with the aroma of food coupled with sounds coming from the kitchen. Intrigued, he made his way into the other room. Standing in front of the stove was Saeko, mercifully clad in her uniform along with a lacy white apron, cooking a breakfast from the various foods she found in the pantry. How was she using the stove you ask? Komuro's house had a rather old gas stove, devoid of any electrical appliances save the starter. In short, she had turned on the gas valves and lighted the stove with a match. One that she had thrown towards the burner to avoid singing her hands, though Takashi didn't know that.

In truth, he was just happy to have a wholesome meal to start the day with. Okay so maybe instant ramen and soba noodles weren't exactly wholesome, but they were hot. And there were a lot of non perishable toppings to go with them. Takashi grinned.

Saeko turned back to him, smiling warmly. She drew him in for a quick good morning kiss.

Yes it was a new day, and Takashi would have been glad to sleep just a little bit longer. But sue him if he thought that this day looked just a little bit brighter than the last.

It was a day of new beginnings for everyone. And as a small rowboat thudded onto a beach less than a mile away from the city a beautiful purple haired woman was about to find her best friend.

xXx

Sometimes I wonder how we can smile, doing what we have done, seeing what we have seen. It's almost like an insult to those who didn't make it. I often thought trust to be much the same, something that had no place in this world. But then I realized it. If we threw away happiness, if we gave up trust, we would be even less human than the shambling corpses that walk our streets. Because we would be giving up our humanity voluntarily, they never had a choice.

High School of the Dead
The DEAD of Night

That's a wrap. And cut. No promises that next chapter will be out as fast, but reviews might help a tad when it comes to posting new chapters, lol. Just saying

Till next time,
Argentorum