The Sixth Card-

The Three of Diamonds

Breakfast at the Takagi's was a bit of a disappointment. Not because of the quality of the food, no, that didn't matter much to him, but it was the quantity that he had a problem with. He could understand it of course; the reasoning behind limiting rations in a situation like this, but that didn't mean his stomach would appreciate it.

Unsurprisingly, the plate of food in front of him vanished in a manner of minutes. He had thought about going back to the kitchens and asking for seconds but quickly dismissed the idea. Recalling the long lines, it was more trouble than it was worth. They probably wouldn't even bother giving him extra helpings in the first place anyway.

He leaned back against his folding chair and glanced around as the rest of his companions were still finishing their meals. Various different kinds of people were spread out in their own cliques throughout the yard. There were kids, students, adults, and even elderly people all scattered around. Unless you happened to be a part of the Takagi group though, most people kept to their own little groups. It actually reminded him of school except with the Takagi's playing the part of the staff and a lot wider of an age gap in the student body.

Takagi's family was truly impressive to have orchestrated this whole operation. With over a hundred people here, they had done an amazing job in maintaining order. Evidently, they were doing a better job than the actual authorities.

Though, he supposed that with Takagi's father looking as if he controlled a small scale militia, most people would probably follow his rules. He had not known much about Takagi's family beforehand besides the fact that they were incredibly wealthy. But from what he had seen so far, Takagi's father was apparently the leader of an ultra-nationalist group. It explained why most of his men seemed to have a fetish for old school uniforms and Katanas anyway.

"I'm going to go check on Rei."

"At least finish your food first Komuro-kun, breakfast is the most important meal of the day!" Shizuka-sensei chided the spiky haired boy.

"Not hungry," Takashi quickly stood up and hurried back towards the Takagi estate, "I'll see you guys later."

He glanced over towards the black haired boy's plate; most of the food was left untouched.

What a waste.

"Geez, he acts like Miyamoto was fatally shot or something. It wasn't even that serious of an injury."

"Don't you think that's being a bit inconsiderate Takagi-san?" Saeko interrupted, "Komuro-san is simply worried."

The pink haired girl merely crossed her arms, a frown evident on her face.

"I'm just tired of him moping around the whole time for no reason. He's been like this since yesterday."

"Someone important to him was injured; it is natural to act like that."

Takagi only sighed in response.

"I guess; it's still annoying though. Hey Arisato, you're already done eating, go make yourself useful and tell him not to bug the nurses too much."

This time he was the one that wanted to sigh, Takagi seemed to have taken to a new hobby of ordering him around. As menial as the tasks were, nonetheless he still obliged. Better to listen lest he awaken the harpy.

When he got the makeshift infirmary, he was surprised to see that there weren't many people there. He had expected it to be full, given the circumstances. But, there were only a couple patients along with a few visitors. Another credit towards the leadership of the Takagi's he supposed.

He found Takashi and Rei near the end of the room, next to a window. Rei appeared to be asleep, no doubt that she was still a bit winded from her injury. The boy was sitting down in fold up chair with a gloomy look etched onto his features. Takashi was so out of it, that he didn't even notice his presence until he sat next to him.

"Oh, hey Arisato, you here to check on Rei too?"

He thought about telling him that the only reason he was here was because of Takagi but thought better of it and instead just nodded.

"The nurse said she just fell asleep an hour ago, so we were a bit late to the party."

"I see."

They sat in silence, and while it might have been awkward for other people, he enjoyed it for what it was. He glanced over towards Takashi and saw the boy's face was once again back to its recent gloomy form.

He thought back towards the conversation he had last night with his senpai. If she were in Rei's situation, would he behave the same way as Takashi? He looked at the boy again, who was now holding the sleeping Miyamoto's hand. Would he even want to be like that in the first place?

Honestly, he didn't want to know. The thought brought back a fear in him that he had thought was an emotion long forgotten. While he would not deny that he had been enjoying himself as of late, being a part of this merry little band of survivors. Was it worth it? If in the end, they were all most likely going to perish?

Memories of a past buried deep within the confines of his mind began to surface once more. A stormy night and the sound of a window shattering. He could recall the terrified screams of his parents and the blood that wouldn't stop flowing out. He could feel himself begin to shake as his fists involuntarily clenched.

There was a price for everything in the world. The price of relationships was something that he knew all too well. They would all eventually end, in one way or another, and all that would be left would be pain.

He forced himself to calm down. If Takashi had noticed anything out of the norm, he didn't say anything, something that he was grateful for. He decided to leave the boy and allow him some privacy with Miyamoto. It didn't look like Takashi was going to be a bother to the nurses anyway.

He needed to get some air.

In the end, he ended up getting roped into doing another one of Takagi's menial tasks. The harpy had somehow found him resting under the shade of a tree in the Takagi gardens. Either his luck must be terrible or she was actively searching for him.

He sighed as he pushed the bookshelf into the wall. Why she wanted to suddenly move around the furniture in her room was beyond him. He didn't question it though, noting the bad mood that she was in.

"You know by now, most people would have bothered to ask if something was wrong."

He gave her a blank look.

Sometimes he questioned the validity of her claims of being a genius. Was it not obvious by now that he wasn't someone that initiated a conversation? He could only sigh again as he took his hands off the bookshelf.

"Is there something wrong?"

"Oh, why thank you for asking Arisato!" She replied in an all too sweet voice, "Yes, there is something wrong."

The sarcasm didn't go unnoticed. Dealing with emotions was never his strong suit. Yet, the world seemed to always send those problems his way to deal with. He was beginning to think that his luck really was terrible.

"Thank you so much for asking out of the kindness of your own heart, Arisato!" She spit out venomously, "I'm so glad that you care about me so much; just about as much as my parents!"

He frowned. Was this what this was about? She got into a fight with her parents?

"What do your parents have to do with this?"

"When don't they have anything to do with everything?!" Saya yelled out, "They're just so perfect, right? They can solve everything; in the face of adversity they saved all the staff in the mansion! They rescued so many different people!" Tears were beginning to form around her eyes, threatening the mascara she had on, "Oh, but the daughter that was supposed to be the apple of their eyes?! They don't even bother searching for her; they just assumed her to be dead! Worthless little Saya, she's probably already turned into a zombie!"

He didn't say anything, not wanting to interrupt if she had anything more to add. They stood in silence for a brief moment, the only sounds coming from the outside world or from her occasional teary eyed hiccups.

"What, you've got nothing to say?" She hiccupped, "Nothing to say to the stupid girl with an inferiority complex huh? Or am I just so worthless that I'm not even worth your time."

He sighed as he walked over towards her and held up his hand.

She didn't say anything when he reached for her glasses and took them off. He put the glasses on the bookshelf nearby and reached into his pocket, digging out a handkerchief. With great care, he began to wipe the tears and ruined mascara off her face.

"You shouldn't think too badly of your parents. Considering the situation at hand, they did the best they could."

She sniffed and let out a bitter laugh.

"That sounds like an excuse mom would make."

"At least your parents are still alive to care."

She didn't say anything more and the two stood in silence once more, with the occasional sniffle being the only sound in the room. Once he was done drying her tears, he handed her glasses back to her and put the now dirtied handkerchief back into his pocket. He would have to get it cleaned later, but more importantly, he really needed to stop making girls cry. At the very least, he was able to do something about it this time.

"Hey Arisato, your parents… How did they die?"

….

"It was a stormy Friday night. A burglar had broken into to the house through the window. My parents tried to call the police, but when the thief noticed, he panicked and pulled the trigger. In the end, he ended up running away without even stealing anything."

He let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding in. He had never talked about the incident with anyone. Why he had told Takagi of all people was beyond him.

His eyes widened with surprise when she walked over and hugged him. Her hair smelled like strawberries.

"Arisat- no, Minato, thanks for listening to me. It feels better to talk about things right?"

He couldn't deny that it did.

"Yeah, it does Takagi-san."

She let out a small laugh.

"This is when you're supposed to call me by my first name, stupid."

"Sorry, Saya."

He clumsily returned the hug. Maybe, it would all be worth it in the end.

The rest of the day had gone by in a bit of a blur. Saya's father had given a public demonstration of what it took to survive in the new world. He had cut down an old friend that had turned, and then given a speech that he assumed was supposed to be inspirational. He was a little out of it so he didn't really pay attention. He supposed this is what people meant when they said they were emotionally drained.

He had decided to spend the remaining sunlit hours resting. He had found another tree that was decently secluded from most of the people staying in the Takagi household. Sitting in the shaded area, he spent a good deal of time simply watching the occasional person that passes by.

He raised an eyebrow when a girl carrying a bow along with a quiver full of arrows walked up to him.

"Hey, do you think you can find somewhere else to sleep? I like to use this tree for target practice."

He nodded as he stretched out his limbs before slowing getting up. It was almost time for dinner either way.

"Thanks," The bow-woman said as she gave him a small smile, "Hey, that's a Fujimi Academy uniform isn't it?"

He nodded once again.

"Oh, I've competed against your school a few times. So, what year are you in?"

"Second."

"Oh, me too!" The girl happily replied, "You don't talk much huh?"

He only shook his head in response. She laughed.

"That's fine too. I have a friend that's like your opposite. He doesn't know when to shut up. So, what's your name?"

"Minato Arisato, it is nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too Arisato-kun," She held out her hand, "I'm Yukari Takeba, from Minabi High."

Author's Notes-

Hey, so you guys are probably wondering why this chapter ended up taking so long. Pretty much, Finals and Dark Souls 3. Oh, and then there's the fact that my dumbass wanted to write another story before finishing this one. I blame my muse for not leaving me alone.

Anyway let's get on to the reviews.

A lot of people have been wondering about Alice. Well, remember when I said there would be divergences? Yeah, that happened. She'll appear later though, not going to say anymore, you'll have to stick around to find out.

Croniklerx- I'm undecided at this point as to whether or not I want to incorporate magical persona things into the story. The zombie outbreak is somehow related to something in the persona verse, yes. Yeah, the girl from earlier is definitely the MP3 player turned human though. Ah ha, nah I'm just kidding. She isn't anyone important.

Backseat Author- Pretty sure memory loss doesn't always correlate with a change in personality though. The game never really goes into detail about the subject anyway, so at this point I'm just improvising.

ZariX- Sorry no bath scene mate, We'll get something better in the future though.

Xoraan- I have read that book actually. It was a pretty good read. They are both pretty similar huh?

Anyway, thanks for the reviews everyone and enjoy the chapter.

-SFX