Hello, everyone. This fanfic story is a continuation of the "Highschool of the Dead" anime, specifically the dubbed anime. Apologies in advance to any manga readers, subbed viewers and Takashi x Rei fans; this fanfic focuses primarily on the Takashi x Saeko pairing, with a few dashes of Saya x Kohta and Shizuka x Rika to boot. Keep in mind, while there are moments of passion, this is not a lemon series, but a genuine tale of survival and love serving as my own conclusion to the overall HOTD story.
Now, I like to challenge myself as a writer, which is why I've made the [controversial] choice to turn the "Drifters of the Dead" OVA into canon. In other words, this story picks up right after the beach, and begins with our survivors out on the road heading for the mall (okay, yes, I'll be using a bit of the manga and other zombie-related media for inspiration).
Thank you for reading, and hope you enjoy.
[I do not own Highschool of the Dead. All rights belong to its original authors, creators and animators. The following is a work of fiction made for entertainment purposes.]
HIGHSCHOOL OF THE DEAD
TAKASHI, SAEKO & LOVE FOR THE DEAD
Chapter 1 - The Dead Don't Forgive
Two weeks ago, they were walking through the halls of their high school. Now, they're walking down the deserted highway of a zombie wasteland.
A ragtag group of students and their nurse brought together by their shared desire to survive. When the dead first attacked, the survivors escaped the school, and set off to reunite with their loved ones. Along the way, they rescued a little girl and a dog, and welcomed them into their "family." Some time later, they took brief refuge at a fortified manor, only to flee after it too was overrun by the dead, as well as after the EMP from a distant nuclear explosion disabled all electronics across the country of Japan.
After their vehicle ran out of gas out on the road, they canoed to a remote island to escape the undead horde. What they found was a tropical paradise; the perfect place to unwind and enjoy themselves after the hell they've endured on the mainland. One night, they cooked fish on the beach using leaves as fuel for the campfire. They weren't aware of it at first, but those were actually hydrangea leaves they were burning; an innocent mistake which resulted in humiliating consequences.
The following day, the survivors returned to the mainland, and resumed their search for their loved ones. Now, they walk the highway in silence.
Unbearable, awkward silence.
In the lead is Saeko Busujima, a deadly beauty armed with a katana, her eyes focused on the road ahead. Behind her, the other survivors walk in a scattered cluster. On the right is Rei Miyamoto, an angelic figure with a semi-automatic, bayonet rifle in her hands, and a cold look in her eyes. Walking next to her are Arisu Maresato and Zero, the little girl and the dog they rescued; neither of them understand what's going on with the group, and neither of them like it. On their left is Saya Takagi, an attractive genius with a colonial-model Luger P8, the last thing her mother gave her before they were separated back at the manor. Behind her is Kohta Hirano, a round otaku with more guns than John Wick, and more sweat than a donkey in a sauna. Next to him is Shizuka Marikawa, the well-endowed nurse who twiddles her fingers in embarrassment. Lastly, taking up the rear, is their shotgun-wielding leader Takashi Komuro, feeling the worst of all.
Everyone except Arisu is thinking the same thing; their minds wander back to the previous night on the island.
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Flashback
The group was gathered around the campfire for dinner when the hydrangea leaves burned. As they began inhaling the smoke, Arisu and Zero ran off to fetch water from the beach house. But once they arrived, they both felt the effects of the smoke and became drowsy. It wasn't long before they both fell asleep on the couch inside the beach house.
Back at the campfire, everyone else felt drowsy as well. But having inhaled twice as much smoke as Arisu and Zero, they started hallucinating. Overwhelmed by angst and desire, they surrendered themselves to their hormonal urges and performed sexual acts with each other.
Rei, Shizuka and Saya ambushed Takashi before he and Saeko ran off into the woods. As they waited for the effects of the smoke to wear off on the others, Saeko began seducing Takashi. She kissed him and practically confessed her love to him, prompting him to kiss her and engage in sexual intercourse. Except, she wasn't there.
Everything Takashi experienced with Saeko was a hallucination. She never ran off with him into the woods; Takashi ran off on his own, only thinking Saeko was leading him away whereas she was actually still on the beach the whole time. What really happened was Takashi got attacked by a bikini-clad zombie in the woods, and imagined her as Saeko. Before long, three more bikini-clad zombies appeared; Takashi mistook them for Rei, Saya and Shizuka. But by some miracle, amidst his stupor, Takashi managed to hold off the four zombies with his bare hands all night until his friends arrived. He wasn't bitten by any of the zombies, and perhaps more importantly, he didn't have sex with any of them.
Speaking of his friends, they too suffered from extreme hallucinations throughout the night. For instance, Kohta ran into the beach house, found himself a broom behind the bar, and grinded on it whilst screaming "Revolution!"
Meanwhile, after Takashi ran away from the girls, Shizuka and Saya both mistook each other for someone else; Shizuka saw Rika, her girlfriend; Saya saw Yuriko, her mother. Throughout the night, Saya and Shizuka cuddled in the nude on the beach. But that's all they did. By morning, Saya was the first to awaken from the hallucinations, only to be greeted by a far more disturbing sight: her nude body atop Shizuka's nude body, Kohta dry-humping a broom, and Rei and Saeko doing a lot more than cuddling.
Again, Saeko never left the beach, and she didn't see Takashi run off either; in fact, she saw him standing right next to her. Unfortunately, that was actually Rei standing next to her. And as for Rei, she herself didn't see Saeko; she too saw Takashi. Just as Shizuka and Saya had mistook each other for different people, the two love rivals stared at each other, and saw the object of their rivalry staring back at them. Rei and Saeko kissed, both of them thinking they were kissing the boy they both loved. As the night went on, their clothes came off. But as soon as they were nude, they succumbed to sleep. When the sun rose and they awoke, both of them were still under the residual effects of the smoke. Saeko and Rei stood up, stared at each other, and still saw Takashi staring back. The two girls moaned his name, overlapped their lips and intertwined their naked bodies around one another. Rei's arms clung onto Saeko's shoulders. Saeko's hands caressed Rei's lower back and butt. Their voluptuous breasts squished into each other. Their tongues danced in each other's mouths. They were seconds away from rubbing their pelvises together and having sex when Saya's scream snapped them out of it. Rei and Saeko opened their eyes, came back to reality, and realized they were locking lips. They slowly broke off the kiss, saw that neither one of them was Takashi, and noticed they were both naked and glued to each other. Their faces went red, and they screamed and separated, both appalled and embarrassed.
When Kohta was starting to come to, Saya quickly punched the back of his head, knocking him out so that he wouldn't see any of them nude. Then the four naked women ran into the ocean and washed themselves off, removing all traces of sensual contact they shared with one another. Then everyone got their swimsuits back on, and agreed that everything that happened was all an unfortunate accident. And that's when Arisu showed up.
All night, Arisu and Zero slept safely inside the beach house. By morning, Zero woke up first, in need of the restroom. He ran off into the woods, and Arisu chased after him. Soon as they left, Saya and the others started coming to on the beach; Arisu never saw any of their naked shenanigans. Instead, she found Zero in the woods finishing his business. But before she could reach him, something caught his nose, and he ran off again. Arisu gave chase and found him barking at something; it was Takashi being "attacked" by the four bikini-clad zombies. Arisu panicked, grabbed Zero and hurried back to the others just as they were coming to terms over the unfortunate accident. She told them about Takashi, and that's when things really went south.
While Takashi was unknowingly fending off the four bikini-clad zombies, he imagined each of them as his female companions seducing him. The others watched in horrified disgust as their leader enjoyed himself. Just before one zombie bit off his groin, the girls killed the zombies, and Takashi returned to normal. Embarrassed and ashamed of himself, he agreed to never speak of what occurred again.
Afterwards, the group discovered an underwater tunnel connecting the island to the mainland; that's how the zombies made it across. Needing to leave before any more of them showed up, everyone got dressed, and canoed back to the mainland in silence.
And now, as sunset approaches, they walk the highway in silence.
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As they walk, Rei shoots Saeko an icy glare. Saeko feels her gaze and turns around. Rei quickly looks away. Saeko says nothing and resumes staring ahead. While they already agreed what happened was an accident, Rei remains angry at Saeko for no reason. Meanwhile, Saya and Shizuka trade looks for a second, and then avert their eyes; while they're not mad at each other, they're still too embarrassed to look or speak to each other. As for Takashi and Kohta, they don't have the words to salvage the situation, so they remain quiet.
...
Arisu can't take it anymore, so she stops walking. Everyone else stops too, and looks at her in confusion.
"Arisu, what's wrong?" asks Kohta.
"That's exactly what I want to know," demands Arisu. Her eyes well up with angry tears, shocking everyone. "Something happened on the island, but none of you will tell me what it was. Now you're all mad at each other, and not talking to each other, and I hate it."
Zero barks at the others, like he's agreeing with her.
"Arisu," starts Shizuka.
"We're supposed to be friends!" shouts Arisu. "We're supposed to be a family. So even if we get mad and fight, we forgive each other. Because the ones we should be mad at and fighting are the monsters out there. You all have to make up and keep fighting them until we can find a new home. A real home. So please, everyone...can't...can't we all just be friends again?"
She covers her eyes with her palms as she cries. Zero whimpers and nudges her shin to comfort her.
For a moment, everyone is too ashamed to speak.
...
Saeko kneels down, pats Arisu's head and gives her a gentle smile. "You're absolutely right, sweetie."
Rei kneels down and wraps Arisu in a warm hug. "We didn't mean to worry you."
Kohta touches Arisu's shoulder. "I'm sorry, Arisu. We all are."
Arisu looks around as everyone smiles and nods their shared apology.
"Listen," says Kohta, kneeling down to her eye level. "We can't tell you EXACTLY what happened on the island. It's grown-up stuff. But we can promise you this; once we find somewhere safe to camp for the night, we'll talk and work everything out. Right, guys?"
For a moment, nobody responds. It doesn't seem anyone's willing to go along with Kohta's idea. Until...
"Yeah," says Takashi. He steps forward and gives Arisu a forced smile. "We'll work it all out by tonight, sweetie."
"Yes, we most certainly will," says Shizuka, cheerful as always.
"I suppose we must," sighs Saya.
Rei and Saeko give vague nods.
Arisu wipes her eyes, and her face widens into a big smile. "Thanks, you guys."
Zero barks with grateful agreement.
For her sake, they will make up. With that, everyone continues down the highway. Takashi remains in the rear, lost in thought.
I'm sorry, Arisu, he thinks. You're far too young and innocent to know about what we did on the island. Trust me, it's better if you never find out. But it's not just that. You and Zero were alone all night, and there were zombies on that island. None of us were in any condition to protect you. If you had been killed...it would've been our fault. So we're a little pissed at ourselves too. But I know everyone is pissed at me the most, and I don't blame them. Why wouldn't they be? Shit, I still can't believe I fucking did that. They're never gonna trust me again. How can I face them after that? Also…
He stares at Saeko in the lead. A gentle breeze lifts her hair, and blows a dozen cherry blossom petals past her; a dazzling sight. Takashi feels his heart beating fast.
Of all the girls, she was the one I thought about first, he thinks. No, I didn't just think about her. I imagined her confessing her love...and me reciprocating. Why? Saeko...could you…? Am I...in lo-
BANG!
Takashi snaps out of his funk. Everyone shifts into battle positions, and readies their weapons.
Another gunshot fills the air.
"Look!" yells Saeko, pointing.
Everyone follows her gaze to a lone survivor fighting off a dozen zombies on a bridge overlooking a river.
Takashi is the first to act, and sprints past the others. "Let's go!"
Everyone follows his lead.
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On the bridge, the lone survivor is a middle-aged, brawny woman firing her pistol at the zombies. She isn't in a frenzied state, nor is she wasting shots; she's calm, focused and smart with her ammo. But she's still outnumbered, and she's trapped in the middle of the bridge; zombies swarm at her from both sides. Just as the zombies draw near, one gets its head sniped off. The lone woman looks to the far side of the bridge.
Kohta lies flat on the ground in a sniper's position, blasting away with his rifle. Every time he shoots, a zombie falls. Shizuka, Saya, Arisu and Zero take cover behind a car where it's safe. Takashi, Saeko and Rei charge onto the bridge.
Takashi fires shell after shell. When he isn't blowing off the zombies' heads, he's smashing them apart with a swing of his shotgun. Rei alters between shooting her bayonet rifle, and stabbing with it. But it's Saeko dealing the most damage with her sword. She dances elegantly across the bridge, slaying one undead fiend after another, splashing their blood upon the hot pavement, and almost enjoys doing so. Just as she and Rei get closer to the lone woman, they both stop.
"Oh, no," says Rei.
A trio of zombie kids appear before the girls. Rei is horrified to the point of tears; she's never seen undead children before. And not just her. Kohta spots them through his sniper scope; his finger freezes on the trigger. Behind him, Shizuka and Saya stare at the zombie kids in utter shock. Arisu buries her head into Shizuka's belly, too scared to look. As for Saeko, she raises her katana, about to cut them down. But she can't do it. Despite encountering zombie children before, she still can't bring herself to fight back. Instead, her body goes rigid. Meanwhile, Rei loses the strength to stand and falls back, tears streaming down her face.
As the zombie kids are about to bite at the two girls-
BANG-BANG-BANG!
Saeko and Rei open their eyes. Takashi gunned down the zombie kids, saving them both. They look at him with surprise and gratitude.
"AAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"
Everyone turns to see a zombie biting into the lone woman's neck. Kohta takes aim, and drills the zombie right in the forehead. The lone woman drops to the ground.
"Come on!" yells Takashi.
Both Saeko and Rei are stirred into action, and the trio resumes wasting the undead. Kohta snipes the remaining zombies on the other side of the bridge.
After a few moments, it's over; all the zombies are down.
...
Saeko approaches Takashi. "I'm sorry, Takashi," she says, gesturing to the dead zombie kids. "Once again, you had to save me from them."
"Don't worry about it," he replies.
The lone woman sits against a car, clutching her bleeding neck. Rei kneels before her, and covers her wound with a handkerchief.
"Stay still, miss," she says. "You're gonna be alright."
"Name's Baruna, my dear," says the lone woman. "And we both know that's a lie."
...
More tears fall from Rei's eyes. Takashi gently touches her shoulder, and she backs away from Baruna.
"I'm so sorry, Baruna," says Takashi. "We should've gotten here sooner."
"You got nothing to apologize for, young man," says Baruna, groaning in pain, and coughing up blood. "Please. I don't want to come back as one of those things. Do you understand?"
No one speaks for a moment; they all know what's she asking of them. Takashi nods; he and the others know it has to be done, even if none of them like it.
"The mall," says Baruna.
"What?" asks Takashi.
"I was on my way to the mall, Taiei Shopping Town, when these fuckers ambushed me," coughs Baruna. "It should still be in one piece. Moderately fortified. Just keep following this road, then take a right before you reach the park. You'll all be safe there. But for how long, I can't say."
Rei bows to Baruna with respect. "Thank you."
"Don't thank me," says Baruna. "Just kill me."
Saeko steps forward. "Your selfless words will never be forgotten. Please accept this as my thanks," she says, readying her katana for the mercy kill. But then, Takashi grabs her arm, stopping her. "Takashi?"
Takashi stares at Baruna, then at Saeko. He doesn't speak; doesn't have to. Saeko understands, sheathes her katana and backs away.
Rei does the same. "I'm so, so sorry," she says to Baruna.
On the far side of the bridge, the others watch Takashi raise his shotgun at Baruna. Kohta solemnly looks at Saya and Shizuka, and shakes his head.
"What is it? What's wrong?" asks Arisu.
Saya pulls her into a hug, keeping her eyes away from the bridge. "Nothing, sweetie. Nothing at all."
Back on the bridge, Baruna smiles at Takashi, awaiting her mercy kill.
"If what you said about the mall is true, you may have just saved our lives," he says.
"All I ask in return is that you save my soul," she responds.
The gun trembles in Takashi's arms. He doesn't want to shoot, but knows he must. Right now, he doesn't give a damn what the others think of him after his little mishap on the island; he's not trying to earn back their trust or anything. Right now, his only concern is doing the right thing for Baruna.
"Thank you," he says.
"Thank YOU, young man," she says.
Then she closes her eyes.
...
BANG!
The gunshot echoes across the silent river.
Takashi lowers his smoking shotgun.
...
He walks to the other side of the bridge, away from the others. Saeko and Rei trade looks, then follow him. Kohta and the others follow as well. As they cross the bridge, they pass Baruna's corpse in somber silence.
When Takashi reaches the other side, he stops. The others stop as well, waiting with bated breath for him to speak.
...
He turns around and faces them. Gone is the pitiful expression of humiliation he had before. Now, he looks like his old, resolute, edge-lord self.
"We're going to the mall," he declares, confidently. "And we're ALL going to make it, together."
His friends smile one by one, all inspired by their leader's renewed determination. Takashi smiles back, turns around and resumes walking down the road. The others follow him, each with a little more spark in their steps.
With Takashi in the lead, Saeko and Rei walk next to him on either side. Saeko stares at him for a moment. He feels her gaze, and looks at her. She turns away, smiling and blushing. Takashi smiles again, but says nothing. Rei notices this, and shoots Saeko another icy glare.
As the sun begins to set, the group presses onward to the mall.
Author's Note: Since this is set after the OVA, there were two things I wanted to change; the first was the tone. HOTD is an action-horror series with a few shades of drama. The OVA, on the other hand, is a comedic and erotic bonus story that feels out of place, hence it's non-canon. But since I decided to make it canon for the purpose of this story, I'm hoping this first chapter reestablishes the anime's original dark tone.
The second thing I wanted to change was Takashi's character. In the beginning, he was this cool, bad boy, edge-lord. But in the OVA, he was reduced to a buffoonish, harem pervert. My goal was to reinvent him as the badass leader he used to be by having him save the girls from the zombie kids, and giving Baruna the mercy kill. Not to mention, I wanted his blossoming feelings for Saeko to feel organic, which is why he starts thinking about her romantically following the island hallucination. However, I don't want Saeko getting with Takashi if it means villainizing Rei; she's a great character in her own right, and I don't want to make her the bad guy just so Saeko can look better by comparison. It'll be challenging, but hey, that's the beauty of writing.
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