I do not own Highschool of The Dead. If I did, my OCs (that's right, MY OCs) would've been in the anime and manga.

I'm going to try to make this a mix between the anime and the manga, however, it won't really be noticeable in this chapter as both are fairly identical in this time frame.

Well, enough explanations. Here ya go!

Clearing out the house of the undead was relatively easy. Five armed teens were too much for the undead inside.

Saeko was a wonder to watch. She would kill any undead that came within her katana's reach with lightning speed. If this group started dying off one by one, Raijin suspected that Saeko would be the last one to die or turn into Them. She was the group's most effective melee fighter.

Takashi, while an effective fighter, risked too many close encounters with the crowbar. He needed a longer weapon, maybe Raijin would give him the other wazikashi, although it was a short sword it was longer than the crowbar he currently held as the only means of weaponry.

Raijin was fairly effective with his katana and wakizashi. Long slicing attacks with the katana, while holding the wazkizashi in a reverse grip to more effectively stab any undead who suddenly appeared behind him. The major downside was that he had no formal training, bladed weapons could only be as effective as the wielder, Rai did not have life long training like Saeko. Instead, he had only pretending to wield swords as a kid to guide him, and that wouldn't get him very far, this he himself knew.

Rei was amazing with her staff, keeping the undead from ever truly reaching her, an upside to having a long weapon. The major downside was in enclosed spaces, like hallways, where she could not turn as she normally would in a combat situation. If she was ever trapped in a hallway with undead on both sides, she would be done for.

Kohta faced a somewhat similar problem. Being an expert in firearms was a boon for the guy, he had amazing aim as the group watched him take down many undead in quick succession, all with nails between their eyes. But he was the most vulnerable when he had to reload, They might be slow but They could quickly overwhelm a lone fighter. Good thing they were in a group.

Another major thing was ammo, there simply weren't enough bullets for every situation, like at the bridge. Kohta's only salvation there was Raijin tossing him the magnum, he also severely lacked skills in melee combat. Kohta would be best in a support position from long range and only in cases where the group was being overrun as his weapons made too much noise.

It was a good thing that this group was somewhat diverse. Well, it only consisted of a strategist, a medic, a long range combat expert, four melee combatants, and a child. But even that child knew how a strip a handgun and fire it, thanks to his late father. Masaaki could be Saya's and Shizuka's salvation if the rest of the teens were busy elsewhere. Weird how a kid could save a teen and an adult, Raijin simply hoped it wouldn't come to that, he wanted preserve Masaaki's innocence, what little there was anyway.

All this was going through Raijin's head as the group fortified the house they were occupying. The house itself only had access to the second floor by means of a narrow spiral staircase, easily defendable, hopefully it wouldn't need to be defended that night. The fences were reinforced and the front and back door were barricaded enough to withstand enough force from the outside, yet simple enough to be taken down from the inside and allow for a quick getaway. All thanks to Saya's planning.

The girls were currently enjoying their shower, squeals and whimpering could be heard from the bathroom. The boys could only imagine what they were doing.

"Sounds like they're having fun.", said Takashi looking downstairs toward the bathroom with a longing look.

"Want to see of there's anything to 'protect them from' in there?", asked Kohta with a pervy tone in his voice.

"I don't want to die just yet.", answered Takashi.

"Yeah, peeping on a kendo and jojutsu master just sounds like a bad idea.", added Raijin.

The boys were in the upstairs bedroom. Kohta and Takashi were trying to open a double safe and Raijin stood watch at the balcony, while Masaaki watched Kohta with a confused look. Masaaki had only recently stopped believing in cooties and what little curiosity he had gained for the opposite sex was quickly forgotten when his parents died. Masaaki wondered why Kohta would want to walk in on the girls in the shower, but he quickly forgot it as he saw Kohta finally insert the crowbar into the gap between the safe.

The first half of the safe held boxes of ammunition. It held 9mm rounds, larger rifle rounds, shotgun shells, and even some crossbow bolts with nasty barbed tips.

'What kind of friend does this Shizuka have?', thought Raijin.

"There isn't anything in there. I have a headache.", complained Takashi.

"Well there's ammo here…", trailed off Kohta while gesturing to the open half

"So there must weapons on the other side.", finished Raijin from the window.

"Thank you Raijin.", said Kohta with a smile, thankful that someone shared his logic.

"Whatever. Now one, two, three!" said Takashi as both boys pulled on the crowbar they had wedged into the cracks on the safe. Both of them let out a yelp of surprise as they suddenly fell backwards with a thud. They quickly got up to check if opening the safe was worth the trouble.

"Hey, Hirano…." , trailed off Takashi with a surprised look on his face.

Raijin turned just in time to catch Kohta's face change from innocent nerd to psychotic gun otaku once more. He walked towards the safe to check the contents.

"Just what kind of friend does Shizuka have?" thought Takashi out loud.

"My thoughts exactly.", said Raijin with an equally surprised look upon his face. Even Masaaki was greatly surprised.

"Whoa, not even Dad had these kinds of guns.", said Masaaki with eyes as wide as saucers, which surprised Kohta and Takashi. They hadn't heard him say a word and had assumed he was mute. So hearing him talk was a surprise, even Kohta reverted back to his nerdy self before transforming into the gun psycho once more.

Since Raijin and Masaaki's father was a military man who came from a family with a long military history, they were both taught about guns at a young age. That's why Masaaki knew how to load, unload, and even properly fire a handgun despite his small size. Raijin also knew as much but had never really thought he would use that knowledge, especially not in these circumstances.

Raijin felt a chill in his spine when Kohta started taking out the weapons. The gun otaku held them like a child with a new toys.

"A Springfield M141 Super Match, huh? But it's only semi-automatic.", stated Kohta with a suddenly low voice and a wicked grin. "Well, the M14 series is full-auto. This is less wasteful when it comes to ammunition.", he continued. "This is a twenty round magazine! This is illegal in Japan. It's illegal. Eh heh.", Hirano almost cackled with glee as he put down the rifle with a sight and grip. Meanwhile Takashi had a worried look on his face trying to get Kohta's attention. Raijin watched with interest, while Masaaki seemed to be a bit frightened by Kohta's excitement. Raijin noticed this and sat down beside Masaaki to reassure him."Guns are like toys to him. Don't worry, he'll only shoot Them, ok?", said Raijin as he side hugged his younger brother. That seemed to calm Masaaki down as he lightly smiled and regained his carefree smile.

"A Knight's SR equipped with a scope…..no. You can't get that kind of thing in Japan, so it must be an AR-10 that was modified from top to bottom!" Kohta stated as he grabbed the second rifle.

'This guy really knows his stuff.', thought Raijin. By now Takashi had given up on Kohta calming down and had gotten a shotgun while Kohta said something about the crossbow.

"That's an Ithaca M35 Riot Shotgun!" exclaimed Kohta as Takashi held in his hands. "It was made by an American. It's one badass shotgun. It was used in the Vietnam War." concluded Kohta.

Suddenly Takashi swung the shotgun to aim at Kohta. Raijin took Masaaki into his arms and covered him with his body as the barrel swung right past them. Takashi was surprised by their reaction and didn't see Kohta freak out.

"Never ever point a gun unless you're absolutely certain it isn't loaded!", Kohta all but yelped with the fear of being shot at.

"Best to use these weapons on Them." said Raijin. "Make sure that thing isn't loaded will ya?", requested Rai as he let go of his brother. 'If that thing goes off we'll have undead at the gates instead of just passing by.' he thought.

"Give us a hand here Komuro, will ya? It's actually pretty tough to load these bullets in.", asked Kohta bringing Takashi from a trance.

"Where did you learn all this from? Airsoft guns?", asked Takashi of Kohta as he sat down to load bullets into the magazines.

"Hell no, they were real guns.", answered Kohta with a grin. Takashi almost jumped out of his skin.

"You've handled a real gun before!", exclaimed Takashi, causing Raijin to cock and eyebrow at his skittishness.

"When I was in America, I went to Army training…. A Blackwater instructor took me under his wing and taught me for a month.", continued Kohta.

"Great….", said Takashi as he sweat dropped. "Perfect. Good thing we're not enemies."

"Got that right.", said Kohta with a smirk.

When Takashi looked up, he noticed Raijin calmly loading a magazine. And next was Masaaki loading one as well, albeit with some difficulty. This caused him to almost jump out of his skin a second time in two minutes.

"How do you two know how to load these? And why are you so calm?", Takashi asked the brothers. At this both looked up from loading their magazines. Raijin had a light smile while Masaaki had a grin from ear to ear.

"Our father was a US Marine.", started Rai.

"He taught us how to load most guns." continued Masaaki, earning a surprised look from the Kohta and Takashi and a full smile from Rai.

'He's opening up more.' he thought with happiness as he watched his little brother. "We would load and unload handgun magazines whenever he let us." said Raijin as he finished another magazine. "It's the same concept, just larger rounds."

"I feel left out for not knowing a thing about guns other than how to shoot them.", said Takashi with a joking tone.

The boys had loaded all the magazines when they heard the girls exiting the shower room downstairs. Raijin stood up and asked Kohta and Takashi.

"Do you guys mind if Masaaki showers first?", he'd rather have him take a shower and fall asleep sooner than later.

"Go right ahead.", they answered in unison.

"Thanks. Come on let's go find some clothes for you.", he told Masaaki. Masaaki reluctantly followed, even if the world was ending he still didn't look toward showers. It was the one thing that hadn't changed since their parents died.

The brother walked down the stairs to get some clothes from their bags. The group had unloaded everything: food, water, the extra wakizashi, the brothers' luggage, and the guns and ammunition against the wall in the living room area. The group's weapons were in the entryway against the wall. Kohta almost went into another gun otaku moment when he saw all the ammunition Rai had scavenged. This was promptly cut short by Saya smacking the back of his head with her bag and Kohta calming down and sweat dropping. This had elicited a giggle from Masaaki as well as a collective laugh from the group

Masaaki went into the shower room to start undressing while Rai headed to get him clothes. Rai got a red shirt, brown cargo pants, and red Converse for his little brother from the bag as well as fresh underwear and socks. The clothes reminded him of his mother who always had Masaaki dressed well. A sad smile overcame his features for a second before erasing it as he went to the shower room. He laid the clothes down on a chair as he figured out the water temperature controls for Masaaki. Once that was done, he left Masaaki to continue undressing and shower while Rai went to the fridge for a snack.

He opened the fridge and heard someone going up the stairs. He turned and saw the nurse, Shizuka, heading up in nothing but a towel which barely covered her parts. 'Bet the guys are going to be surprised to say the least', he thought with a chuckle as he picked out a soda. He had just opened it when Saeko's voice surprised him.

"Snacking now will ruin your appetite for dinner.", he heard her say with a joking motherly tone.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't awareeeeeh?", Raijin was at a loss for words. Standing not even two meters from him was Saeko in a thong and apron! The same girl whose uniform showed so little skin as opposed to the other girls'! She continued stirring the pot of soup (so it seemed to be) without a care to her attire. Raijin's suddenly loud stutter caused her to look at him with a confused look. She saw him stare for a split second before averting his gaze towards her eyes. Then she looked down at her attire.

"Oh this thing? Sorry, nothing here fit me while my clothes are in the washer, so I just put this on.", she said with a cheery voice looking back up at him. She expected him to continue staring at her body but he held his eyes level with hers, clearly avoiding looking at her body. "Is my figure that ugly that you can't bare to look at it?", she said jokingly to see if he would crack as she struck a sensual pose. He did.

"No it's not that! You have quite an amazing body actually!", at this she cocked an eyebrow amused. "I didn't mean it in a perverted way!", he quickly amended, as she smirked. Then he stopped and took a deep breath. "Let me clear the air. The reason I was surprised was because it's not everyday that I see a beautiful woman in a thong and apron. Not trying to stick my foot in my mouth, or anything, just stating the facts." he calmly said as he sweat dropped. His outward appearance might have seemed cool and collected, but his heart was beating a mile a minute. Saeko just looked at the floor. 'Oh shit, I'm gonna get it now', Raijin thought in a panic. 'Not much point in running as she would easily catch me by the stairs.'. Then Saeko looked up. 'Is she….blushing?', Rai thought surprised. She then smiled shyly.

"Thank you.", was all he got from her before she turned back to the pot. Raijin just stood there for a few seconds before taking another deep breath and continuing.

"If you want, I could let you use some of my clothes. I should have some shirts or tank tops and sweats that could fit you.", Raijin offered. He knew he was stepping into potentially dangerous territory, but he wasn't really thinking clearly as all the blood had rushed to a different part of his body, leaving his brain with a dangerously short supply. Saeko considered his offer for about five seconds.

"Sure.", she replied as she turned around with a smile. Raijin let out the breath he didn't know he was holding. He then smiled at her. Saeko began to look a bit expectant after a couple of seconds of Rai just smiling at her.

"Oh, right. My bag is over here.", he said blushing as he motioned for her to follow him. They walked to the living room and Raijin hefted his bag over on top of a sofa. He opened it and laid some of is clothes he thought would fit her. On the space beside the bag he laid out: a couple of sweats, one black and the other maroon, fitted tank tops in red, black, white, and navy blue, and finally a couple of hoodies, one navy blue and the other black like the one he currently wore. Saeko thought about it for a few seconds before going with the maroon sweats and a white form fitting tank top, forgoing a hoodie.

"Thank you.", she said.

"No problem, I have all these clothes anyway."

At that moment Masaaki walked out of the shower in the clothes Rai had laid out. "Hey, Rai.", he started shyly. "Why didn't you just give me my pajamas?", he asked with a confused look. At this Raijin looked dumbfounded a second and then face palmed and Saeko started laughing good heartedly at him.

"Guess I forgot that it was night time, huh?", Said Rai as he rolled his eyes at his own forgetfulness. "Here are your pajamas little bro.", he said as he walked over to Masaaki's bag of clothes and pulled out a pair of red plaid pajama pants with a grey shirt and tossed them at Masaaki's awaiting arms. Masaaki then walked back into the shower to change again.

"It's sweet how you take care of him.", Saeko said after watching how Raijin acted around Masaaki. "Just like a parent."

"Well he's all I have left now.", Raijin absentmindedly stated.

"Did your family turn into Them?", she asked with a concerned look.

"What was left of it.", Rai answered with sad distant look.

"I'm sorry."

"It's alright. Our situation wasn't exactly typical."

'How so?", she asked with a curious look. Raijin looked at her and was about to answer. Then Saya and Rei walked out of an adjacent door, both smelling of alcohol. Their gait confirmed that they had been drinking a bit. They were giggling uncontrollably and holding each other. The drunken girls were walking towards the two sword wielders of the group.

When they both arrived, each leaning on the other for support, they quieted down. Saeko and Raijin looked at each other knowingly then back at them but didn't say a word. The room was eerily quiet, the only sound was the sound of Masaaki exiting the shower and heading toward the kitchen. 'Probably heading for a snack', mused Rai.

Then Saya broke the silence rather rudely, well as rudely as she could whilst hiccupping. "Do you-hic-mind mov-hic-ing your bag so -hai- can si-hic-t down?", She asked with a comical drunken glare. Rai was tempted to laugh but thought better of it and put his bag on the floor and picked out some blue jeans, a white long sleeve shirt and socks and boxers. He went to put the clothes in the shower and came back to see Saya falling fast asleep and Rei drunkenly making her way upstairs. He went to his bag for his toiletries and saw Saya shivering.

Rai proceeded to get a blanket out of the closet and covered her modestly as she began to lightly snore. He went to the kitchen to check up on Masaaki. There he was sitting at the table drinking out of a juice box and Saeko was chopping up vegetables for the soup. Masaaki gazed at him with a curious look, as if expecting what to do next.

"When you're done, I want you to go…..", Raijin didn't know where to send him. Shizuka had headed upstairs drunkenly a while back, as did Rei a minute ago, both scantily clad. Sending Masaaki up there with the potential of seeing naked women didn't seem like a good idea. He would see that in his own time., right now he was too young. Maybe just in the living room on the other sofa….

"I'll look after him while you shower.", Saeko offered.

"Thanks.", said Raijin with a grin. "Alright Masaaki?".

"Sure Rai!", Masaaki immediately piped up. With that Raijin headed toward the shower.

When Raijin got out of the shower, he saw Takashi walking upstairs towards Rei who was now posted halfway up the stairs. Rei still had the alcohol induced blush on her cheeks. Ignoring the possible outcomes playing out in his head, Rai went to the kitchen. Masaaki was seated at the table talking to Saeko and he seemed to be enjoying himself. 'Why is it that he turns around when the world is ending?', thought Raijin. 'I'm not gonna question it, at least he's acting like most kids his age now.', he concluded with a smile.

"Hey lil bro', what're you doing?", he asked smilingly.

At this Masaaki finally seemed to notice he had gotten out of the shower. "Here talking with Saeko about our parents.", was his answer. This further amazed Raijin.

'Either she's really good with kids, or he's finally getting over their passing away. Hopefully both.'

"Did you know she's the daughter of a family that had protected Japan's throne for generations?", Masaaki asked rather amazed.

"Wow, that's amazing.", Raijin answered playing along but truly amazed at the same time. Turning toward Saeko he continued, "That would explain her skill with the sword, wouldn't it?".

Saeko laughed, "That it would. The art runs through my family."

"And she's also the captain of her school's kendo team!", piped up Masaaki.

"Really now?", asked Raijin looking toward Saeko. Saeko simply shrugged her shoulders. "Well, you're just cut out for this environment, aren't you?", he asked appraisingly. Saeko was about to answer when a gunshot was heard outside the house. Raijin and Saeko's narrowed, while Masaaki's widened. "Masaaki go upstairs.", Rai ordered. Masaaki complied immediately, running in between Rei and Takashi just as Takashi was about to walk up the stairs.

Raijin and Saeko both went to where they had put their swords by the entryway. Rai slung his wakizashi around his waist so that the handle protruded from his left hip, and the katana diagonally across back chest and the handle was behind his right shoulder. Saeko slung her katana on her waist, the same way Rai had his wakizashi. Then both hurried upstairs, Saeko in front with Rai close behind.

They both got to the balcony in time to see a kid their age get devoured by Them. Masaaki, thankfully, wasn't by the balcony to see that. He was laying on the bed flipping through the channels, but it seemed like all the stations were offline. He gave up and walked towards the balcony with the teens. 'Thank the heavens he didn't get to see this.', Rai thought.

All around were similar cases of people being ripped apart. But Masaaki didn't even reach the edge of the balcony when Rai told him to get inside. Masaaki obliged as he recognized the seriousness in his brother's voice, it was the same tone when he told him to look away as he bashed their grandparents' heads in. Masaaki had turned away, but he still heard their skulls cracking and the blood spewing on the wooden floor. Masaaki knew that tone meant he was telling him to do something for his own, which is why he jumped back on the bed without a compliant.

Kohta, Takashi, Saeko, and Raijin were all looking down upon the carnage with grim expressions. People were denying others refuge, and those who were denied refuge didn't last long. A few people who were going solo were going on the offensive but, if the kid who was just devoured was any sign, those that did didn't get far. Takashi was trembling with rage at the sight of people not helping one another.

"Komuro.", Kohta called.

"What?", Takashi answered, barely holding in his rage.

"Do you think we should shoot?"

"That should be obvious! Shoot Them-"

"Have you forgotten that They react to sound Komuro?", Saeko interrupted. Then continued as she turned off the lights, "Also, survivors will come flocking if they see movement and lights. Try as we might, we simply don't have the supplies to support that many people. Even with the supplies Raijin and Masaaki had before and the ones we found here, there simply isn't enough to round up stragglers and feed them as well."

'She makes valid points.', thought Rai. 'I'm glad we joined when we did, if we had waited one more day, she would have convinced Takashi to not let us join.'. Rai was slightly angered at her but couldn't argue with her reasoning. He would support her as well but wasn't in any position to talk as he and his brother were not part of the original group to begin with. 'Wouldn't want to be a hypocrite.'

"Those with noble causes alone won't survive in this new world. Those who are noble and fair can only be so up until a certain point.", Saeko finalized with her arms crossed over her chest. She then went towards the stairs.

"She's right, you know.", Raijin supported. 'To hell with being a hypocrite.' "Most other survivors would've left my brother and I to survive on our own. You're noble, and I greatly appreciate what you did for us, but letting the group get any bigger will only cause problems. What if the people we rescue don't share our goal? Rescuing people like that could be the downfall of us. Sounds fucked up but it's true.", Rai finished his carefully worded response. He needn't worry though, Takashi wasn't easily swayed by Saeko's words.

"Doesn't mean you have to sound like you like it though….", Takashi looked at both Saeko and Raijin.

"I don't like it Takashi, and I know I probably run the risk of you booting my brother and I when I say this but,", Raijin paused for a breath. "If we pick up stragglers, we will end up losing in the long run."

"See? He agrees with me.", Saeko said.

Takashi looked grim faced. "You're right. As for Raijin and Masaaki,". Here Raijin's pulse quickened. "Don't worry. You have proven your skills in combat and you two aren't a burden. You two are a great help actually. The only reason we'll ever abandon you is if you get bitten." Rai let go of the breath he was holding.

"I'd do the same." said Raijin looking at Takashi. Both teens sharing a mutual smile of agreement and respect. Saeko smiled at the scene and went downstairs. With that both of the teens rejoined Kohta on the balcony just in time to see something that would make them act against their 'no helping stragglers' rule.

So there's chapter two. Not any action in this one but the next one will be. Be kind, rewind-shit wrong motto. Be cool or be cruel. But please review.