Well, you guys were a bit too late in trying to stop me. So, here's my HOTD. Don't worry, it's the last one that I'll be starting any time soon, and I'll be working on finishing up Hollow Problems next. Well, enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Highschool of the Dead. Otherwise, there would already be more!
"Quick! Get out of the Humvee!" Kohta yells, pushing Alice out of the top.
"Kohta, hurry up! Get everyone out and start running! Saeko and I will hold them off, but we won't last long!" Takashi yells as well. "They" keep on coming, and there's no end to them in sight. They're really fucked this time.
"Takashi, what about you two!? We can't just leave you!" Rei screams as she climbs out of the Humvee.
They've run completely out of gas, after just a month of being out on their own once more. They had been on their way to the school that Takashi's mom worked at when the Humvee had stopped in the downtown district of town. It took Shizuka about ten minutes to figure out that they were out of gas, and by then the dead had gathered around them and were tipping the Humvee on its side.
"Don't worry! We're right behind you!" Saeko assures her, drawing her katana.
"Uhh, guys… We've got a problem!" Kohta calls out.
"What the hell do you mea- oh god… OH MY GOD!" Saya starts screaming as she sees what their problem is. As the others turn to see, they all have various reactions of shock and dismay, as there is no way out. The dead have them surrounded.
"So, this is how it ends, huh?" Takashi says, more to himself than the others.
"Yeah. Let's make the best of it," Saeko adds, attacking the closing horde.
For a total of 20 minutes, Saeko, Takashi, Rei and Kohta manage to fight off the oncoming zombies while Alice, Shizuka and Saya huddle in the center of the street. However, it doesn't take long for the ammo to run out, and not even two angry teenagers with a sword and a club have what it takes to fight off the undead.
"Well, I guess this is it. No rescue waiting for us this time," Rei says, resigned to her fate.
"Listen, Alice, I'm sorry. Now it's time to go. Goodbye," Kohta says in a shaky voice, embracing the little girl that he has come to love like a sister.
"Wait, do you guys hear that?" Saeko says, snapping all of the other members of their party's attention.
Off in the distance, they hear the rumbling of a rather large engine and the sound of cars and bodies alike being crushed. However, it doesn't sound like tires running over the countless dead, but more like…
"Tank treads?" Kohta mutters to himself in confusion.
"Wait, are you saying that there is a tank nearby?" Saya asks in disbelief.
However, before an answer can be issued, there is the sound of something being launched, and an explosion at the base of a nearby skyscraper. The explosion catches all of the zombies' attention and they are redirected towards the collapsing building. When it eventually does collapse, it takes out a large portion of the zombies and cuts most of them off from the group, leaving only a few on the danger side. However, they are gunned down quickly by a man coming out of the hatch of, sure enough, a huge modern battle tank.
"Get in! It won't take long for more of them to start creeping out of the woodworks!" the man yells, his deep voice loud enough to be heard clearly even across an easy 500 feet.
Without much thought or hesitation, the group dashes to the tank. However, Takashi stops short when they reach it, motioning for the others to do the same.
"Who are you, and why should we trust you?" he asks the man.
The man rolls his brown eyes in exasperation but answers him all the same. "My name is Seth Makarov, and the way I see it, you don't have much of a choice." His voice is not commanding, but it does have a certain level of authoritativeness.
"Oh yeah? We could just shoot you and take your tank!" Saya yells.
"Really? So you know how to pilot an M1A2 Abrams?" Seth inquires in mock wonder. Saya looks to Kohta, who shies away in shame.
"S-sorry, I never learned that," he says quietly.
"Exactly. Only certain people are taught to drive it as well as I can, and Google isn't exactly an option right now. So, I repeat: you don't really have a choice but to trust me," Seth says, reaching his hand down to Saeko, who takes it willingly.
"Saeko, what are you doing? We still can't trust him!" Rei says. However, she is ignored, and Saeko crawls down the hatch of the tank. Seth, however, grips his blonde hair in frustration.
"Listen to me! If you don't trust me, then you'd rather try your luck with them!" he yells, pointing towards the already regrouped horde.
Takashi looks at the steadily growing number of the undead and gulps. "Alright, everybody on the tank!" he yells.
"Are you sure?" Rei asks, but after a look from Takashi, she takes Seth's awaiting hand and is easily lifted onto the massive vehicle. Next is Alice, then Saya, and Shizuka is the last one on before Seth stops the remaining two.
"How well can you ride?" he asks.
"On what?" Takashi answers with a question.
"I think he means on the tank," Kohta offers.
"Listen, there's not a whole lot of room in one of these. It's already cramped as it is in here. You two will need to stand out here and pick off any crowds that seem a bit too big to run down," Seth explains. "I'd do it myself, but I've got to drive."
"We should be fine. Just make sure you don't try anything on any of them," Takashi says, his voice and glare deadly serious.
"Wouldn't dream of it. Now get on," Seth replies, pulling the leader and the crack-shot onto the roof of the MBT.
Seth crawls back down the ladder but keeps the hatch open. He starts the tank's forward motion once more and pays the crowd of zombies no mind as he plows over them, the occasional larger group being thinned by the other guys of the group.
…
After a couple of minutes of navigating through the crowds of the undead, the tank starts to slow down as the streets become clearer.
"What's going on down there? Why are we slowing down?" Takashi asks from topside.
"It'll cut down on fuel consumption. This baby's a real gas guzzler," Seth yells back up the hatch. He then turns to all of the girls in the tank with him. "So, what are all of your names?" he asks, turning his eyes back to the road.
"Why should we tell you that!?" Saya bursts indignantly.
"Saya, he's only trying to be friendly," Shizuka attempts to calm down the pink-haired girl.
"Shizuka, we still don't know if we can trust him!" Saya protests angrily. The group had grown out of the formalities that they had once used, such as "Ms. Marikawa". They had all realized that whatever authority anyone had once had over the other was gone, except for Takashi being their current leader.
"You two idiots realize that you just gave him your names, right?" Saeko says, slightly amused at the supposed "genius'" stupidity.
"What!? Shut up, Saeko!" Saya yells annoyingly.
"What do you think, Rei? Can we trust him?" Saeko asks, purposefully revealing the girl's name.
"My name's Alice!" Alice cheers happily, causing Saya to moan in defeat.
"The fatass is Kohta and the other guy is our leader, Takashi," she mumbles.
"Well, my name's Seth, Seth Makarov. Pleased to meet you all. Anybody up for hot water and decent food?"
"What?" Rei's head perks up, her attention piqued.
"Wait, we still don't know if we can-"
"Oh come on, he just saved us all. The least we can do is accept his generosity," Saeko cuts Saya off.
"We should ask Takashi first," Rei says.
"How's about this: we all find some place to stop so we can get out and formally introduce ourselves, then you all can figure out what you're going to do?" Seth suggests.
"Sure," Takashi says, grateful of the man's understanding despite still being wary of him. He hears Saya sigh in an annoyed way, obviously bothered that somebody is deciding her actions for her, let alone a stranger.
…
"So, what do you guys want to do?" Takashi asks. Seth had stopped the tank in the middle of a large park that didn't seem to have any of "them" nearby. He had stayed in the tank so as to let the group decide for themselves what they wanted to do.
"I vote we stay," Saeko says before anybody else can say anything.
"How can you say that!? We don't even know who he is!" Saya says indignantly.
"Well, he did just save our asses," Kohta puts in.
"And he offered us a place to sleep," Shizuka says.
"And food," Rei adds thoughtfully. "I'm starting to get hunger pains. It's been days since any of us has eaten."
"I like him!" Alice says, hoping her opinion will be relevant.
"Right. So, majority rules?" Takashi asks. The whole group, excluding Saya, says their own affirmative responses.
"How can you all trust him so easily!?" the pink-haired genius questions.
"Saya, we're just going to go and check it out. If we like it, we'll stay. If not, we'll leave," Takashi says in an attempt to calm her down.
Realizing that she was beaten, Saya conforms. "Whatever," she says with another annoyed sigh.
The group heads over to Seth, waiting in his tank, and Takashi calls for him.
"So, you make a decision yet?" the blonde inquires.
"Yeah. We'll take you up on your offer. But if you try anything, or if we don't like the look of things, we're leaving," Takashi says, his voice portraying his seriousness.
"Sounds fair enough. So, who's riding up top this time?" Seth asks, a slight smirk appearing on his face.
"Ooh, me! I wanna ride on top!" Alice raises her hand and jumps with excitement.
Kohta stands by her. "Alice and I will ride up top this time," he states, making his standing as the little girl's protector clear to Seth.
"Okay then, can you shoot?" Seth asks, nodding his head towards the heavy caliber rifle mounted onto the roof of the tank.
The gun master grins. "How accurate is it?"
"It doesn't have to be. It's an M61 Vulcan, custom fitted with a VERY powerful silencer for reconnaissance."
"They make silencers for vulcans?"
Seth grins. "I do," he replies. "And it works."
Kohta suppresses the urge to squeal in excitement. "How did you do it? How quiet is it?"
"It's quiet enough so that it's only audible on the street you're on. Now, can you shoot it?"
Kohta's smile gets wider. "My pleasure, sir!"
"Great. So, any of you willing to learn how to fire the big gun?" Seth asks, making Kohta freeze for a moment at the fact the he might miss out on a chance to make something explode with a live artillery round.
Rei steps forward. "I'll learn."
"Great. Takashi, think you can learn to load?"
The leader of the group nods his head. "Sure."
"Ok, let's roll out."
…
Three hours later, the tank stops. "We're here!" Seth calls out, letting Kohta and Alice know that they are coming out.
Once everyone files out, Seth turns to them and spreads his arms out wide. They are under ground, a door leading to what must be the rest of his living quarters. He moves to the entrance of the garage and presses a button, moving a very heavy looking garage door down to seal the room.
"Well, this is it. Let's head in and say hello to Da," the host says, motioning for the group to follow him. He heads through the door and calls out, "Da! I'm home! And we have company, so make sure you have clothes on, please!" When there is no response, Seth just sighs. "Whatever, I'll give you the tour, I guess."
Already, Saya's opinion of the group's decision was falling even further than it had before. Not only did these people live underground where they wouldn't be able to see their surroundings through I window or something, but there only seemed to be one way out, which could be easily guarded. Plus, the inhabitants were apparently naked most of the time!
"So, who's this 'Da'?" Takashi asks, slightly unhappy that he wasn't informed beforehand of another person being present.
"It's short for Dakota. Da is a good friend of mine. We've been through almost everything together, since it all began. We were both heading East, in an attempt to find survivors, and so we joined up. Been hopping around secure locations ever since," Seth tells them.
"So, you trust him?"
Seth smiles deviously, turned away so the group can't see. "With my life."
…
The tour almost over, Seth approaches one last door. "The bunks," he says. "I'll be right back, just stay here and wait for my say."
Seth heads into the room and closes the door, and the group can hear him yell at his friend. "Hey, Da, wake up! Get some damn clothes on, we've got guests!" there comes a mumbled reply, but nobody can hear it well enough to make out what it says.
After a moment, the door opens once again, and Seth is on the other side, ushering Takashi in and telling the others to stay put. "These are the bunks, and the red-head over there is Da."
Takashi's jaw drops as he takes in the sight of a beautiful woman stretching out the kinks in her back. Her short, flaming red hair falls just below her ears, the bangs around her face reaching down to her collarbone. Her… assets aren't quite as large as Shizuka's, but are about Rei's size. Her mouth is open wide in a yawn, and when she's done, she opens her eyes a little sleepily and looks the young man over once or twice before a smile cracks her lips.
"Oh, Seth, I always knew it! I mean, when you refused my offer, I was a little suspicious, but now that you've brought a cute boy home, there's no denying it!" she says in excitement.
"For the last time, Da, just because I'm not willing to 'repopulate the Earth with you' does NOT mean I'm gay!" Seth groans in frustration. "Besides, he's not the only one. There are five others, and most of them are GIRLS, thank you very much!"
"Oh, no need to get all defensive now," Da says, stretching a hand out to Takashi, who is still trying to wrap his mind around things. "Hey, name's Da. What's yours?"
"Ta… Ta…. Takashi…" Takashi trails off.
"Well, Tatatakashi, I think you might want to pick up your jaw from off the floor," she says with a smirk.
"Wha… But… I thought… you were a…"
"A what?"
"A… guy…"
"Ugh, did you do that AGAIN Seth?" Da asks in an annoyed fashion as she rolls her eyes.
"Do what again, Da?" Seth asks innocently.
"You led them to believe I was a guy again!"
"No, they just assumed you were. I just didn't correct them," Seth replies with his own devilish smirk.
"What's going on in here!?" Saya yells as she tumbles into the room. She looks at Da and if she's surprised, she doesn't show it. However, she doesn't look at Da's features as much as what she's wearing: a black tank top and matching black cargo pants, with black military combat boots to bring it all together. Once she is satisfied that nothing will be seen by Kohta that she doesn't want the otaku looking at, she lets the others into the room.
Even though Da's clothing is completely decent (a change in the group's usual attire), that still doesn't stop Kohta from drooling.
"Jeez, you stupid fat otaku! Roll your tongue back up!" Saya yells at him, hitting him upside the head.
"I'm sorry, Saya, it won't happen again," Kohta apologizes from the corner of the room.
"Well, you all are a lively bunch," Da says, grabbing their attention.
"It's nice to meet you, I'm Rei," Rei says, bowing.
"I'm not bowing, sorry. How about a shake?" Da suggests, sticking her hand out. Rei looks at it for a bit before smiling and taking it.
"My, she seems just like Rika…" Shizuka says to herself, quietly missing her friend.
"Don't worry Shizuka, we'll find her," Takashi assures.
"Find who?" Seth asks.
"My friend Rika! I haven't seen her in so long…" Shizuka says before anyone else can interject.
"Wait, are you talking about Rika Minami?" Da asks in wonder.
"Y-yes, why? How do you know her? Have you seen her?" Shizuka asks, her growing excitement showing in her voice.
"No, but I know who that is. She's one of the best snipers in the world!" Da exclaims, her admiration obvious.
"Oh," Shizuka sighs, put out.
"Don't worry; If Da's heard of her, she's got to be good. She'll be fine. We'll help you find her, if you like," Seth assures.
"Would you do that?" Shizuka asks hopefully.
"Sure," Da says. "We know how it's like to lose a friend. We don't want that to happen to you."
"Thank you!" Shizuka exclaims, pulling Da in for a massive hug, filled with boobs and slight suffocation.
"Cant… breath…." Is all Shizuka hears from under her large breasts before she releases her hostess. As she starts frantically apologizing to the gasping Da, Seth turns to the others and notices that most of them have lots of blood on them.
"Why don't you all pick out some clothes and get washed? We found some clothes here when we got here, and there are all sizes, so just go ahead and pick out what you need," he says, pointing towards the large closet.
"Thanks, we'll do that," Takashi says.
…
An hour later, and the sun is setting. Dinner is being served to the small band of survivors; lasagna.
"This looks delicious!" Rei says excitedly, waiting for permission to eat.
"Thanks, go ahead and dig in," Seth responds.
"Wait, YOU made this?" Saya asks incredulously.
"You, he did, you got a problem with that?" Da says in a warning tone.
"No, she doesn't, she's just surprised is all," Kohta tries to explain.
"Surprised about what?" Da asks, her anger starting to rise.
"Da," Seth says. "It's alright. Men don't usually cook anything that isn't on a grill, and I don't mind."
"Whatever," Da says, shooting one last death glare over at Saya before returning to her food.
"So, where did you learn how to cook this well?" Rei asks, trying to lighten the mood.
"My mom. She taught me everything I know about anything to do in the kitchen," Seth explains, blushing slightly at the compliment.
"It is good," Saeko agrees.
"Yummy!" Alice exclaims.
"Thanks," Seth says, smiling sheepishly.
"So, what's after this?" Takashi asks.
"Well, we usually do one last perimeter check, make sure all the entrances are clear, fuel up the tank and call it a night. Sometimes, if we get done early, we play a game or something," Seth says.
"What kind of game?" Takashi inquires.
"Well, it depends on where we are. Unfortunately, there are no EMP proof game consoles, so we go outside and find something to do. Recently, we've been lucky enough to find a basketball, so all we've got to do is go out into the garage and hang a basket on the wall."
"Basketball, huh? Well, what do you guys think?" Takashi asks the group.
"Sure!" Rei says.
"Why not?" Saeko joins.
"I'm in!" Kohta agrees.
"Sorry, I'm not really cut out for running around," Shizuka declines.
"No way!" Saya yells.
"Umm, can I play?" Alice asks.
"Well, of course! It wouldn't be fair if we didn't let you play just because you're little!" Seth says.
"Really!?" Alice says excitedly.
"Yep, but first we've got chores to do. What do you say, wanna help wash dishes?"
"Yes!"
…
After chores were done, everybody files out into the garage. A bench is pulled up to the wall beside the area that is to be the basketball court. Seth pins the basket to the wall using a gas powered nail gun, and Kohta smiles in remembrance of his first weapon.
"Ok, stand in a line. Since Takashi is your leader, I suppose it's only fair that he be the a captain," Seth says, standing in front of everybody, signifying his being a captain as well. The others do as he says while Shizuka and Saya sit down on the bench.
"You're the guest," Seth says, motioning towards the line of people. Takashi points to Rei.
"Rei, I choose you," he says.
"Ok Ash Ketchum, Da, come on," Seth says. Da sniggers at the comment, and Saeko tries to cover a small chuckle as well.
"Oh, very funny," Takashi says sarcastically. "And I was going to choose you, too. Alice, come on," he says in mock hurt.
"Hmm, if he was gonna choose you over Alice, you must be good," Seth considers. "Alright, c'mon. Saeko, right?"
"Yes," she replies, walking over to stand at Seth's side.
"Aww, why am I always last?" Kohta whines.
"Hey, somebody's gotta be last. Don't worry, we'll win," Rei assures.
"Don't be so sure about that," Da says in a challenge.
"Alright, enough talk, more play," Takashi says.
The match starts, Takashi's team with the ball first. It's only a half court game, so the two captains check the ball. Takashi passes to Rei, who goes to shoot the ball. However, Da blocks and grabs the ball out of the air.
Da passes to Seth, who dribbles around Takashi and passes it back to Da, who dodges past Kohta and launches the ball into the makeshift basket.
Shizuka, who has decided to be score keeper and referee, calls out "Seth's team one, Takashi's team zero!"
"Ugh, you idiot, a regular shot is two points!" Saya scolds from beside the bumbling blonde.
"Oh, then, umm… Seth's team two, Takashi's team zero!" Shizuka corrects.
The ball is checked again, and Takashi calls Kohta's name as he passes to him this time. The gun otaku shoots from what has been predetermined to be the three point line and sinks the basket.
"Seth's team two, Takashi's team two!"
"Those are worth three points," Saya corrects, on the brink of giving up. "Shots behind the line are worth three points."
"Oh, thank you Saya, you're being most helpful," Shizuka says in appreciation.
"Of course I am," she sighs, annoyed once more.
Now the ball is in Seth's hands. He checks, then passes the ball to Da, who call's out Saeko's name and passes her the ball.
Saeko catches and immediately starts moving. She dodges Takashi and ducks past Rei. She jumps towards the basket and quickly puts the ball straight through, dunking it.
"Whoa," is all the Seth says in astonishment.
"Nice. I can tell you're a good fighter since you're so agile," Da compliments.
"Oh, you have no idea," Takashi says.
"Thank you for the compliments, but let's play," Saeko says, polite as always.
Takashi checks once again, but this time calls Alice to him.
"Ok, now just shoot from here, and we'll be in the lead again," Takashi says, smiling down at her.
"But, I can't make it from here," Alice says, unsure of herself.
"Don't worry, I have faith in you," Takashi assures the little girl.
"Yeah, go Alice!" Kohta encourages.
"C'mon, you can do it!" Rei cheers.
"Ok," Alice says. She musters all of her strength and lobs the ball with both of her arms towards the basket. It hits the wall above it and bounces onto the rim, teetering on it. Just as it's about to fall out, though, it suddenly tips over and back into the basket, scoring three more points. Everybody cheers, and Alice's face is in a huge smile, grinning as Kohta lifts her onto his shoulders and parades around the garage.
"I know what you did," Da says quietly to Seth, out of the other's earshot.
"Yeah, but she doesn't. She had it in her, she just needed a little nudge," Seth responds, tucking his slingshot back into his pocket.
"Oh well, let's go make those points back up," Da calls, gathering the other's attention. They play well into the night and share laughs and fun until Seth checks his watch and calls for lights out.
"Aww, but I'm not tired yet!" Alice whines.
"Yeah, but if you wait until you are, then it'll be even worse tomorrow," Da tells the girl. "You want to play again tomorrow, right?"
"Yes!" Alice responds excitedly, jumping through the door.
"So, what's the verdict?" Seth asks Takashi, away from the group.
"I think we'll stay a while. But on one condition," the leader responds.
"And what would that be?"
"Rei and I are still looking for our parents. We haven't seen them since the day 'they' came."
"Don't worry; we'll help you find them, along with Ms. Minami as well," Seth assures.
"Thanks," Takashi says with a smile.
…
"Psst, Saeko, are you awake?" Rei whispers to the purple-haired girl, peering down from the bunk above her.
"Am now," Saeko whispers back politely as possible.
"Sorry. So, what do you think about Seth and Da?" Rei asks.
"I think they're trustworthy. What do you think of them?"
"I don't know. Seth is kinda cute, but nowhere near as cute as Takashi," Rei giggles.
"What are you talking about?" Saeko asks.
"Hey, I'm just trying to keep your options open," Rei says innocently, shrugging her shoulders as best as she can while hanging upside down.
"Well, you can stop, since I've only my eyes set on Takashi," Saeko says confidently. "Goodnight, Rei."
"Whatever you say. Night." Rei still isn't totally convinced that she can't get Saeko to back off of Takashi by replacing him with Seth. She is determined to have Takashi all to herself.