I do not own Highschool of the DEAD or its characters.
Updated: 10/18/13
Saeko watched as Paddy dropped back down into the APC with a stunned look on his face. He sat down and leaned over with his head in his hands starring at the floor.
She moved across the cabin and sat down beside him, "Patrick-san? Is something wrong? You don't look well all of a sudden."
"I'm confused, I thought she was telling me to go ahead, but I just saw her and…" his head snapped up as he realized who he was talking to. "Ah…uhh…no Saeko-san n…nothing's wrong…must be something I ate…" he said as he started to get up and head to the front of the APC.
He was pulled up short before he could move by Saeko putting a hand on his shoulder, "Patrick stop." Thinking for a second she knew the only ones up top, besides Kohta and Tomasa, were Rei and Takashi, "What was it you saw? Were Rei and Takashi together up there?"
Patrick looked at her in despair, not knowing what to say the swordswoman. "Tell me what you saw Patrick. Do not be afraid to. Were they hugging, holding each other? Were they kissing perhaps? Tell me the truth and I will try to explain it to you."
Patrick nodded his head slightly when she said kissing. She sighed and smiled slightly, "Do not worry Patrick, you do not understand our stories yet. Talk to Rei and Takashi when you get a chance and it will be explained. You have nothing to worry over."
He looked at her dumbfounded, "But I thought you and him were a couple? I mean you're always together and the other night you…"
She squeezed his shoulder and smiled at him, "Rei is my battle sister, Patrick. Plus she and Takashi have a long history together that I am sure she will be telling you about. Do not be confused by something you saw without an explanation. Takashi and I have not been a couple for that long and it has been…complicated. All that is worked out now, and we are all a family who cares about each other. I know Rei likes you, and wants to learn more about you and get closer to you, but you are going to have to deal with the rest of us as well. Do not worry, once you talk to Rei and Takashi everything will be alright."
He didn't look convinced, but nodded his head anyway.
With that, she climbed up on top and found Rei and Takashi sitting watching the landscape. Sitting behind them she leaned forward, "Whatever you were doing, you were seen by Patrick."
Rei jerked her head around, "What! Oh no! How am I going to explain it to him?"
Saeko rubbed her on the back, "I talked to him a little bit, but did not tell him much other than everything would be explained when you talk. You might need to talk to him first though, Takashi. He is very confused and I do not want any other misunderstandings starting between him and Rei."
Takashi frowned and nodded, "I'll do it as soon as I can, but I would rather not while we are rolling. Maybe we can get somewhere tonight and I'll get a chance. Saying that, let me see about something."
He got up and crawled forward till he was between Tomasa and Kohta, "LT? Where are we stopping tonight? The girls could use showers and I know I could also."
Tomasa glanced over at him, "I had already thought about that, Komuro-san. I've got Sarge looking for a hotel that might be easy to clear and defendable. We are only half-way out of the city, and I don't want to wear everyone down to the point of exhaustion. I'm glad to see you thinking on this level by the way."
Nodding Takashi crawled back to the two girls, "Tomasa-san said he was trying to find a hotel we could stay in tonight. If this works out, I can catch Paddy after he services the vehicles and then turn him over to Rei after that. What do the two of you think?"
Both girls nodded and settled back down beside him.
000
After Takashi went back to the girls, Kohta leaned over towards Tomasa, "LT, I want you to know he really is a good leader. We picked him because he does think things through, and uses the rest of us to the best of our abilities."
Tomasa nodded, "I understand Hirano, and first chance I get I am going to try to let him prove himself. So far, this trip has let most of you show your abilities, he should get his chance also. Sarge, Tatsumi and the others all think highly of him and have told me how much he pays attention when on guard duty and working."
"Once I explained hand signals to him he took to them easily." Kohta said. "The shotgun was a little harder, but on his third shot he was hitting his targets with ease."
"That's a good thing," Tomasa said. "Toda told me he took to the rifle easily, and he felt Takashi would take to our training with no problems."
Kohta smiled, "I'm looking forward to some training once we get to the base and settled in."
"Oh? What training are you not looking forward to, Hirano-san?" Tomasa asked as he laughed.
Kohta frowned, "Running! I hate running!"
000
A couple of hours later, Rika called in that she found a place for the night. They would be stopping two hours early, but Tomasa agreed that everyone, including the vehicles, needed the break. They pulled into a parking lot of a medium-sized, five-story hotel with parking surrounding it.
The rest set up a perimeter as Tomasa, Rika, and some of the others gathered by the front door to discuss a clearing plan. Tomasa surprised them all by turning to Takashi, "Komuro-san, you will lead the team in. I want you to pick the people you want, and lay out how, and what you are going to do. You have ten minutes to plan, starting now."
Blinking with surprise, Takashi nodded and stepped forward to look through the glass doors and windows. Then exchanging his shotgun with Saya's MP5, he signed for Saeko to follow him as he began to jog down the side of the building looking at other exits. They were back five minutes later from the opposite direction.
"I want Saeko, Kohta, Rei, Saya, Tatsumi and Toda on the clearing team. Once we clear the ground floor, I want Paddy and a couple of others to stand by in case we need to seal some doors off. Saya, Kohta and I will carry MP5's, while Saeko and Rei carry their blades. I would like Tatsumi and Toda to use silenced pistols since we will be close in," Takashi told Tomasa and Rika.
Thinking for a moment, Tomasa nodded, "The only thing I will add to that is I'm going in with you as an observer. I will not speak up unless I see you're about to make a mistake. Oh, we also want to get on the roof if we can and it might be best if the rooms we stay in are on the top floor anyway. Get your people together and brief them on what you want to do."
Ten minutes later they were ready to go in. Paddy and another trooper opened the outer and inner sliding doors with crowbars and held them as the team went through. Paddy scowled and his eyes followed Rei as she slipped through the door and took up position to Takashi's left.
The group slowly spread out across the lobby till they had all the incoming hallways covered by someone with a gun. Takashi signed at Saya and she, Kohta and Rei, went behind the registration desk and opened the door that led into the manager's office. With a couple of swift stabs, Rei dispatched two of Them that were inside and then checked the rest of the small offices.
Signaling all clear, Kohta and Saya stayed behind the desk as the rest worked their way down the first floor hallways using flashlights mounted on the guns. Finding only one other walker, that Saeko took care of with a quick swipe, they came back to the lobby and set guard again.
Takashi and Tomasa walked over to Saya who handed them papers from behind the desk. "Here are maps of the different floors of the hotel," She told them. "I have marked danger areas where undead might be gathered, like housekeeping and maintenance, in red. There are fifteen rooms listed as rented out of one hundred and fifty, and all are on the first three floors. There is a coffee shop off to the side, but it does not seem to be more than some hot plates and a few places to sit. Another thing, the two top floors are 'suites' or slightly larger rooms with a sitting area, extra-large bath and separate bedroom. Rooms on the bottom three floors are basic small hotel rooms."
Takashi nodded and looked over the maps for a minute, "I think we should completely clear this floor and then have some of the others inside to cover it while we work our way upstairs." He looked up as Tomasa gave him a nod and a smile.
Twenty more minutes and five more undead later, they were back in the lobby. Thinking for a moment, Takashi walked over the closest door that had the electric lock on it. Reaching out, he worked the handle and…nothing. The door handle twisted easily in his hand but the door did not open.
Looking at Tomasa, he shrugged his shoulders as the lieutenant shook his head. "I guess we will have to break into each room we want to use," Takashi said.
Tomasa glanced around as Rika walked up, "Sarge? Any idea on why the door locks would not have released when the power died?"
Rika shook her head, "As far as I know they had batteries or a charge built up in them where a master key would work after the power went off. Maybe it's just been too long and the charge has bled away."
Tomasa nodded and said, "Well tell Paddy and anyone with an idea to find a way to get in the rooms so we can use them tonight once we finish up. Okay Komuro-san, let's get the show on the road and get done."
Calling the team back together Takashi opened the stairwell door and they started up with he, Saeko, and Rei in the lead.
000
It did not take long to clear the rest of the floors. They would open the stairwell door, take out any walking undead in the halls, and check to make sure the room doors were closed and locked. As they went back out, Saya would take a red marker and put a big circle with an X in it and write in black, 'Do not open! Undead inside!' Paddy showed up as they finished the third floor with some metal wedges to hammer in the door jambs sealing them once and for all.
Several troopers started working on prying door locks off with crowbars as the search team finished with their work on the roof. Turning to Takashi with a big grin on his face, Tomasa reached out and slapped Takashi on his shoulder, "Good work, Komuro-san! I can see why your team puts so much stock in your leadership. It was a well-run operation and you worked around problems quickly by delegating to the people you knew could handle it better then you. I think you're a keeper if you want to join us when this trip is done."
Takashi bowed to Tomasa and Rika, "Thank you for the chance to prove my worth to the group. To be honest I was starting to feel like I was going to be useless."
Saeko smiled as she stepped up next to him and took his hand in hers, "Not to me, never to me."
They all laughed as they went back inside.
000
An hour later they finished settling in. Watches were posted, food was prepared, and hot water for the showers thanks to gas and water still working. Vehicles had been drawn up in a defensive position where the Strykers could cover them without needing someone in them all night.
As Paddy finished, he came inside and found Takashi standing in the lobby waiting for him. "Paddy? Can I talk to you on the roof for a bit?" Takashi asked.
Paddy stopped before nodding with a sigh. Following Takashi upstairs, they walked over to a part of the roof where the guard could not hear them.
Takashi lay down his shotgun and sat down with his back against the wall. Paddy leaned on the wall looking out over the city as he waited to see what Takashi had to say.
"I know what you saw today Paddy and I want to explain some things to you so you don't misunderstand. I know you have feelings for Rei and I also know she has them for you. How much has Rei told you about me and her?"
Paddy shook his head as he finally sat down, "I've heard the words 'childhood friends' used, but to be honest Takashi I'm not sure what that means. What I saw today looked like a lot more than that."
Takashi smiled, "Rei and I have been promised to each other for most of our lives. We swore when we were just in elementary school that we would marry someday. Up until right before the world went to hell, we intended to keep that promise. Then something happened, I won't go into what, it's her story to tell. The first day of the outbreak I saved her and killed my best friend within an hour's time. Then this long odyssey started and we ended up where we are today. There is a lot to the tale and I'm not going to go into it now, but let's just say it's been a long, strange trip for a bunch of high school kids, a nurse, a little girl and a dog."
"What about you and Saeko-san? She knows what I saw today. How do you explain it to her? Are you really a couple? I mean I thought you were, but now I'm really confused."
Takashi smiled, "Saeko and I are a couple, and I love her more than I ever knew you could love someone. We have all gone through some issues in the last week or so, but let's just say it has all worked out. The main thing right now is for you to understand what you saw today was an ending. Never doubt that I will always care for Rei and I will always protect her if she needs it, but I love her as family and nothing more."
Paddy thought about what Takashi had said, "So you're telling me is that was a kiss goodbye?"
Takashi nodded, "Not that either one of us are going anywhere, but it was an end to that promise made so many years ago. The main thing now is that you and she sit down and talk. She will have a lot to say and I'll ask you to listen to all of it, before the two of you decide how you want to proceed with each other."
Paddy nodded as he got up. He offered Takashi a helping hand to get up as suddenly there was a flash of light in the distance.
CRACK! – BOOM!
They both spun and looked to the southwest where the noise came from. Paddy reached for his throat mic and said, "Paddy to Lt and Sarge! I need you on the roof right now! Cannon fire in the distance!"
They must have already been on their way because before he finished, the roof door crashed open and Rika followed by most of the others came running out.
"Where away?" Tomasa asked as he slid to a stop by the pair of young men. As Takashi and Paddy raised their hands and pointed it happened again.
CRACK! – BOOM!
"What the hell! Is someone shooting at Them with a cannon?" Kohta asked. "I don't know how effective it would be, but seems like the kill ratio to the cost of shells is not worth it against Them."
CRACK! – BOOM!
"That's not a cannon," Paddy said pointedly as the latest shot echoed. "That's a 120mm gun from a main battle tank. When I was at Fort Hood, Texas, we could hear the Abrams firing on the range from where we were. It has a different sound than a piece of wheeled artillery. Also by the sound of it they are four to five miles away."
CRACK! – BOOM!
The gun fired again but this time there was a secondary explosion to the north of where they could see the gun fire. Soon something was burning brightly and pouring clouds of smoke.
"So we are looking at 10 to 12 kilometers. Well whatever they were shooting at they must have got," Tomasa said as he scanned the area with binoculars. Reaching up to his mic he said, "Attention everyone. Be especially alert during watches tonight for the sounds of vehicle movement. LT out."
They all waited a few minutes, but there were no other sounds of battle. The smoke and glow from the fire was reaching high into the sky now and looked like it would go on for several hours.
As the others wandered off to their rooms Takashi, reached out and touched Paddy's arm, "Rei's waiting to talk to you in the last room on the right." Paddy nodded as Takashi walked off to find Saeko.
000
Takashi came in the door to their room to find Saeko curled up on the couch in her kimono. She watched as he peeled off his leather jacket, boots, and top shirt before easing down beside her. As they pulled each other close she asked, "How did the talk with Paddy go?"
"Okay I guess," Takashi said as he held her close. "I think he understands a little better now and he was going to talk to Rei as I came down."
She nodded as she cuddled in closer to him, and just as quickly pulled away holding her nose. "Phew! Takashi, get those clothes off so they can be washed. After that its bath time for both of us."
He smiled as he stood and unbuckled his pants, "I'm all for a bath, especially if it's with you."
She smirked as he stripped. "If you are very nice to me I might let you scrub my back and if you please me I will let you sleep near me and perhaps even touch my hand," She said in a very haughty voice.
Takashi paused as an evil grin came over his face, "Oh you will, will you? Seems like it's past time for the lord of the manor to teach someone a little lesson."
"Got to catch me first my lord!" Saeko said as she dropped her kimono to the floor and ran for the bath.
000
Paddy thought he could hear Saeko and Takashi laughing as he stopped at the door across the hall from their room. He took a deep breath before knocking.
"Who is it?" Rei asked from the other side.
"Paddy," he replied and she opened the door.
Rei stood just inside the room and bowed to him in a formal greeting, "Welcome to my room Patrick-san. Please allow me hang up your tunic while you remove your boots."
Bowing back he said, "thank you for having me."
She smiled for the first time that day, "That was very nice Patrick. I didn't know you were so aware of our customs."
He blushed and rubbed the back of his neck, "We took a small course on proper etiquette when we shipped over. Many in the unit blew it off, but I found the discipline of it pleasing. I haven't had much chance to practice, but I think I remember most of it."
She led him over to a table where she had food laid out, "I didn't know if you had time to eat, so I put together some snacks in case you wanted some. I can heat some water for coffee or tea if you like. I also have soft drinks and even some beer, but of course they will be warm."
He nodded to her, "Thank you. I would like some tea if you will have some with me."
Paddy watched as she lit a Sterno can under a small folding stove. It only took a couple of minutes for the water to heat and Rei to make the tea. He smiled as she handed it to him as he thought how relaxing and peaceful the simple act seemed.
They simply sat and sipped their tea for a bit before Rei's face turned serious, "Patrick, I've got a lot to say…"
He reached out and took her hand in his, "First of all, please let me say a couple of things and then I will shut up and not speak while you tell me your story. I talked to Takashi. He kind of explained what I saw today. I didn't realize the two of you had been a couple for so long and now, even though I am still confused by some things, I understand some of the strange impressions I had been seeing between the three of you. I'll ask one thing of you before you start. Will you sit next to me while you tell your story?"
She covered her mouth as she almost cried. Nodding her head they got up and moved to the couch where he sat down with her beside him. He put his arm around her and pulled her close to his chest as he said, "Now this will be more comfortable, won't it?"
She laid her head on his shoulder and started, "It all began when Takashi and I used to play together when we were little…"
000
Tomasa was sitting at the desk in his suite when there was a knock on the door. "Come on in," he called. The door opened and Shizuka and Yukari came in carrying their medical bags.
"Tomasa-san! Time for your bandages to be changed," Shizuka said in her best sing song voice.
He set down his pen and moved to the couch so the nurse could get to him better. It did not take long before she had removed the bandage, cleaned the wound and was examining it.
"It's looking very good," she said. "I want to leave it uncovered tonight and I'll put a simple patch on it in the morning." She got up and went to the door with Yukari, but instead of leaving, she sent Yukari on her way and came back.
He had just sat back down in the desk chair when she walked up and started to massage his shoulders. "Shizuka, what are you doing?" he asked.
"Physical therapy," She said as her fingers worked their way along his neck. "You have been sitting in that tin can and not getting much in the way of exercise till today. If you don't watch it, your shoulder will stiffen up and it will be three times as hard getting it back in shape. You don't know how thankful I am you didn't get an infection from the bullet."
He groaned as her hands worked their magic on him, "If you don't stop that, I'm going to go to sleep and not get any more work done."
"That's the idea and I'm here to make sure it happens."
He looked up at her, "What do you mean by that?"
She smiled, "You have not been sleeping enough and you are getting more and more fatigued. As your doctor, I want you down for a good night's sleep and as your friend, I'm here to make sure you get it."
She stopped and leaned over to wrap her arms around him. "Kaoru, I'm worried about you. You can't keep on pushing so hard or you will break down, we can't afford for that to happen right now. We are too close to the end of the road, and I want you to get there healthy and safe with the rest of us."
His head shook as he said, "Shizuka, I can't right now, I have to keep going because…because…" His face wrinkled in pain as everything started crashing in on him.
Shizuka turned the chair around and clutched him to her chest. "Kaoru, I know you're thinking about her. I can see it in your eyes. I don't know what I would have done if I hadn't had these kids taking care of me when this all happened, and if I had lost Rika too? I don't think I could have gone on, but luckily I knew she was out there alive and looking for me."
Tomasa began to shake as he wrapped his arms around her. The tears he had held back so long for his dead wife flowed, and the dam of emotions broke as he fell apart.
Later, she got him up and took him to the bedroom. She got him striped down to his boxers and tucked him in before getting him to drink a small bottle of bourbon from the mini bar. She then went back to the sitting room and turned off his camp light before coming back and dropping the bathrobe she had been wearing. Now in her sleeping shorts and a tank top, she crawled in next to him and pulled him back to her chest. He clasped her tightly through the night as he first sobbed his pain out and then truly slept for the first time in weeks.
000
"So let me get this straight. Marikawa-san says the problem can be fixed if we can get to a clinic that has the stuff for a small surgery right?" Paddy said as they sat leaning up on the headboard of the bed, with Rei in his arms in front of him. As she nodded, he said, "So, what's the problem?"
She turned and looked at him in astonishment. "Patrick, you realize that means we might never truly be one with each other. What if I am never able to get it fixed? Are you ready to maybe spend your life with someone who you can never touch in that way?"
"Yes."
She looked at him shocked as he smiled at her, "Rei, we're talking bluntly tonight, so I will say what I have to plain and to the point."
He pulled her close and held her tightly, "Rei, any man would be crazy not to want to make love to a woman as beautiful as you. That's not the pinnacle of a relationship though, that's the sugar coated bonus. What I think is the best thing is you get to be there with the person you love. You get to sleep by them every night and hold them close. You cook with them, bathe with them, live your life with someone you know is going to be there for you through thick and thin, hard times and good. There are many ways for a couple to give each other physical pleasure, but only one to truly become one with the person you love. You have to give yourself to them heart and soul. Everything about you has to go into making their life worth living every day you're alive. To me, that's what a true relationship is all about."
She stared at him for a minute before she crawled up his chest and crushed her lips to his. They stayed like that for a long time, grabbing little breaths of air as their tongues fought for dominance. Finally, they pulled back and watched each other as she held his face in her hands.
"Just where the hell did you come from?" she asked as she lay her head on his chest.
"Boston by way of Hawaii," he quipped as she began to roar with laughter.
A moment later her stomach grumbled and he looked down at her, "Did you eat anything beside that tea?"
She shook her head, "I was too nervous. I was afraid if I did I would get sick from the stress."
"Get up crazy girl. You fixed this food and we let it sit till now. Let's eat something before you pass out from low blood sugar."
They went back to the table and spent the next half hour eating and feeding each other while talking. Paddy groaned as he stretched and checked his watch, "It's getting late. I better head to my room."
Rei looked up from a piece of brownie she was picking at, "Why would you do that?"
He looked at her puzzled, "Rei, you don't really expect me to stay with you tonight do you? How do you know that you can trust me?"
She stuck her tongue out at him, "Sean Patrick Flanery, if I didn't think I could trust you, we would have never had the conversation we had and I would have told you to piss off several days ago. Now let me change and then we'll get some sleep."
Paddy stood up and saluted, "Yes ma'am! Thank you ma'am! I will try to meet your requirements ma'am!" He laughed and dodged as a shoe flew through the door from the bedroom.
000
Kohta snorted awake as there was a bump and loud laughter form the adjoining bedroom. He looked down at an awake and beautifully naked Saya, who was listening with a thoughtful look on her face.
He snorted again and said, "Did the earth just move? I thought I felt something."
With a sour look on her face Saya reached up and whapped him lightly on the forehead. "No baka, that was earlier. Someone in the next room just started getting rowdy."
"Takashi and Saeko just can't keep it to themselves can they?" Kohta grumbled before he suddenly stopped. "Wait a minute, that's not their room, Rei's in that room…"
Saya giggled as they could now hear Paddy's voice laughing along with Rei's.
Kohta frowned again, "Damn kids can't quiet down while a working man is trying to get a little sleep. What's the world coming to? OHOhooooahhaahaha!" He shrieked with laughter as Saya rolled over on him and dug her fingers into his ticklish sides with a vengeance. "What the heck was that for?" he exclaimed as she let up. "I was just joking!"
She leered at him as she straddled him, "I wasn't. It time for the earth to move again otaku!"
He laughed and pulled her close to him as he heard Rei on the other side of the wall say, "Damn some people are loud!"
A/N: Nothing to say this time around. Please Review and/or Favorite.