The Takagi's brought thousands of people into their home to protect them. Most of those people were currently furious, losing their minds in front of the Takagi mansion. They were crowding around their makeshift camps and yelling, waving hastily crafted signs with red paint on them that read: 'Murder is not mercy. Save the sick!' It seemed that about half of the survivors were now rebelling, but rebelling against what exactly? The sound of all these people yelling and chattering in one place was far too loud, were they trying to attract every undead in the city to the Takagi walls? The sheer number of these idiotic protestors…I couldn't understand what what they could possibly be thinking.
This was one of the only stable places in the entire city right now, and they were risking it all...and for what? How could they forget what they'd had to survive to get here? Or were they such rich, privileged fucks they'd ended up here right off the bat and had no idea about what it was really like out there? Death and decay. Murder, rape, the end of the damn world.
But that wasn't what pissed me off the most, that isn't what made my hand drop to the hilt of my katana. It was something else entirely. Leading the group was none other than Professor Shido himself, and the look in his snakish eyes as he stared down his nose at us made me regret not slicing open his gut when he'd first stepped foot on the bus so long ago. I tensed up, and clenched my fist around the hilt, squeezing for the life of me. Trying to resist the urge to sprint forward, and submit to baser urges, and end him right here and now. But that would just cause an even bigger commotion, wouldn't it? I licked my lips.
I wanted to, if not just to put a smile on Rei's face.
I should have let Rei blow his head off, I could see in Saya's father, Souichiro's, solemn expression that he was thinking the same thing. Shido was an unpredictable man, that was unarguable. I couldn't wait to hear what the snake of a man had to say, standing there arrogantly with his sweaty, pasty skin and lifeless, cold eyes. Shido adjusted his dirt-coated necktie as he stepped forward. The Takagi's militant-minded guards, all wielding katanas, were facing him with stone-cold looks in their eyes, ready to kill at a moment's notice.
Rei was pale-faced and fuming, the rifle in her hands visibly shaking as if she was resisting the urge to try to raise it and blast him away right now. She probably was, considering she'd already tried before and we'd stopped her. I wanted to reach out to her, to comfort her, but the expression on her face was all I needed to know it'd just set her off. I wondered what I could possibly say to her that would make it up to her. It was never my intention to get in her way, I just didn't want her to end up like me. And that was the truth of the matter. Rei felt my stare, and I could tell she was actively avoiding meeting my eyes.
Our scuffle the night before had not been forgotten, even after I stood up to Shido about her. I'd told the man how I really felt, how I trusted her, how we all did. At the end of the day, Rei and my relationship had always been chaotic and fun at best, but it was unstable and based on both our emotional whims. It was exhausting, for both of us, I think. But I loved her, and I wanted to be with her, I wanted her to be a permanent thing in my life, and we needed to stand together, not against each other. It was rare for me to be sentimental like that, to use sense, but they all brought that out in me, Rei, Shizuka, everyone.
I turned my attention back to Shido. My struggles with Rei could wait until later, and the drama show wasn't over yet. It wasn't just Shido who was leading the mob, there was another person, a woman with short black hair, cream-colored pants, and a purple shirt. She looked like she could be someone's mom, and her face was crimson and sweaty with rage.
Souichiro stood there, boldly, and his booming voice rang out, "You have something to say? Koichi Shido… and Anko Hasegawa, was it? The Human Rights activist, hmph. I told you not to cause trouble. I'm very interested in hearing what was important enough to disrupt our already tumultuous situation."
The black-haired woman shook her head rapidly, clenching both of her fists. "You can't talk down to me like that, you-m-murderers! You're working with the government, you want to kill the sick! A disease that makes someone murder another- that can't possibly be true!"
"How can you say that?" Takashi spoke up, "Shido, you were out there with us. You saw the madness, and yet you stand next to this woman claiming none of it is real? Have any of you guys even been out there?"
The protestor in the purple shirt, Anko, scowled and her expression said she couldn't believe he had the audacity to speak up.
She scanned our group up and down with her laser-beam eyes, clearly disgusted, but she glanced at our former professor, and waited to hear for Shido to speak. So what, she was his lackey? Leave it to Shido to put his hands on any woman he could.
The black-haired man wiped the sweat from his brow as he began to speak. "What's going on here...it's wrong. I am a teacher, and I think about...the idea of having to tell the future children of Japan what took place here, in history. The way the Takagi's trapped civilians, and gunned down the sick and dissenting…I saw the world out there, and I survived without killing. We can still retain our purity, our humanity, we don't have to kill them. The Takagi's just take pleasure in it, and they're dragging our children into it. They want our kids to be murderers!"
Saya had been staying calm until now, but at that she changed, like someone flipped a switch. I couldn't blame her, I was seething inside myself and this was her family they were accusing and talking about. All the Takagi's wanted to do was protect people. Maybe they had other motives, probably politically if our society somehow survived, but not nefarious enough to warrant a protest like this. I had a feeling Shido had poisoned an already shitty situation.
Saya didn't bother trying to stay calm, "I watched them rip apart my classmates and then eat them. Shido, how can you lie? They're not sick, because they're already dead !"
An audible murmur traveled through the crowd at that. I heard the words "zombie" and "undead" whispered, and shook my head. Did these people really not have a clue what was going on outside these walls? They were better off dead at this point.
"Remember what my father showed you yesterday?!" Saya continued, gesticulating. As she spoke she was starting to calm down, to become more sure of herself. She smiled at me and visibly exhaled. God, she looked beautiful in her white blouse, her amber-gold eyes piercing and unwavering as she stared down the two adults and their massive pack of braindead followers. "My father's best friend wanted to devour him alive, without a care in the world for who he was, but he did the right thing, just like all of you need to!"
"And your father shot him down, without a care in the world for who he was! The right thing? Despicable murderers!" Anko hissed. The crowd went from hushed to loud in a second, nodding in agreement. "We don't believe you, we won't fall for the lies! People dying and then coming back, then eating one another!? I've never heard something so utterly ridiculous!"
The crowd began to chant. "Murderers! Murderers!"
Shido hopped back on his soap box, and started about how we had to create a new world where the sick and poor were accepted - "nay, loved." It was sickening hearing him of all people talk like that, considering I knew his actual motivation. He had lost all of us, including the girls he'd actively shown a desire for, myself, Rei, and Saya included. At the start of all this we'd opposed him, and so all this time Shido had no one. He'd survived alone. He would probably do anything to get a new group, to create that "new world" of his, including destroying this temporary safe haven. It was going to be anything but pretty if Shido got his slimy little hands on any power.
Souichiro had said nothing up until this point, just silently took all the nonsense in. I had to applaud his composure. Saya's father looked like a guardian statue at that moment, his hands folded on top of his pommel, the tip of the sheathe pressed against the ground. His chin was up high, and his fierce stern eyes swept the scene, taking in every face. It was two hundred plus people, but they all withered beneath his glare. Quite a sight. The Takagi patron had a way with his expression and body language that could control an entire crowd, and it was one of the things I respected about him. I took in his quiet composure, his red-hot, but silent stare...it was behavior I'd have to emulate in the future if I was going to make sure our group stayed out of trouble.
As Shido lied over and over, making claims like how killing the undead is killing innocent people, I saw Souichiro's composure start to slip.
I knew why. We'd all seen the display. Shido, Takagi's father, took the safety of everyone very seriously. He took the sickness, THEM seriously. He'd had no choice but to kill his best friend in front of everyone, to show them the ugly truth - these zombies were just that, monsters from movies that would stop at nothing to kill and eat and destroy. Clearly, yesterday's display had taught them nothing. They still didn't see how serious the situation was.
The Takagi patriarch raised a single white-gloved hand, and Shido immediately went silent. Anko began to chitter now. Crazy-eyed and shrill, she cleared her throat and spoke loudly. She was practically screeching, "You-You can't silence us! We won't stand by and watch you kill the innocent! We refuse! We refuse!"
The people began to chant again. It was like a quiet song at first, only a few picked it up, but in seconds the entire crowd had their fists raised. They'd been scared of Souichirou before, but now they were angry and bold, and ungrateful. Shido and this foul woman had an aggravating charisma.
Souichiro sighed, stepping forward. One hand dropped to his side, and he raised his sidearm.
"If any of you don't like it here, you can leave." He said calmly. "But you will not besmirch my family name, nor will you cause another commotion like this. Unacceptable. Return to your shelters at once."
Shido gasped dramatically. The man's eyes widened, and he began to scream, racing away.
"They are trying to silence us when all we speak is the truth. And they'll kill us before they let us help the ones who need it!" He shrieked. "Do not let our voices be swallowed, they are scared because we have the numbers advantage, let us take it!"
It seemed Shido really would do anything for a new world, anything to survive. He knew that the crowd would eat this up, and he wanted an even bigger following for his inevitable escape. They followed him, and the group swarmed toward the gate. I realized immediately what Shido was about to do. He wanted to take the entire estate down, and the sneaky bastard would likely survive to tell the tale. The guards were prepared for an attack, not something as stupid and unbelievable as the people actually opening the gates from the inside. Takagi's guards began to fire, before quickly being overwhelmed by the numbers and trampled. The bullets flying into the crowd only seemed to make the agitation fester even more. The anger only rose as their numbers began to fall.
I wasn't about to start butchering people, and as I listened closely...I realized I could hear it. Them. On the other side of the wall, quiet, wet little moans full of hunger and ill-regard for life. Danger, to my friends, to my partners - to my family. Takagi guards had set up a perimeter, but it seemed all the noise caused them to be overrun. I feared how big the incoming horde might be. Souichiro and I met eyes, and my fear was reflected back at me. He jerked his head in a "get out of here" motion, and I nodded. This was going to get ugly very quickly.
Regardless of the outcome: control or destruction of the mob, with the barricades broken the estate was now meaningless.
"H-Have you all lost your damn minds?" Saya screamed, but it was like screaming at a wall, no response. "Father, why are they doing this? You have to stop the-"I grabbed her arm and started pulling her away. She struggled.
"Wha-Saeko? Let go!"
""It's done, Saya, we need to leave."
"What do you mean, we're safe, we just need to get control of- " Some of the rioters had reached the gates, and one began to work the door controls, while others just literally tried to physically rip them open. The estate slowly, but steadily opened.
One of Them came in. Time seemed to slow as I observed the scene, like a car crash in slow motion. Half of his skull was missing, bloody clumps of hair dangling down over one ear. One of his feet was missing, and he groaned as he limped, lunging forward, proceeding to grab the nearest protestor. His lips snapped open like a slavering dog before a meal, and he savagely bit, tearing into the man's bare shoulder, the sound of bones snapping stopped the riot before the victim's horrifying scream ripped through the air almost like a siren calling out to a sailor. The first man was the start of a chain reaction, once the rioters comprehended what was happening it became pandemonium, dozens of grey and bloodied, decaying hands followed. Their groans grew louder and louder, hungry wet moans filling the air almost like Hell's dreadful chorus.
Thankfully, there was a giant wall of people between Us and Them. These people had ceased to have meaning to me the moment they expressed a desire to "rise up" for such illogical and emotional reasons. It was sickening, and they deserved what they were about to get. I only wished I could stay and see their faces twist with fear and the realization of their own stupidity. Some say my thought process is humane, I call it survival of the fittest.
But Saya was still struggling, trying to go back as I drew her away. "Wait, daddy, why aren't you coming with us?"
"Rei, get the other's to the humvee! Saya, please come with me," I pleaded.
She was barely paying attention, her retreat was sluggish too. She had a dark look in her eye as she stared back, searching the mob.
Souichiro was giving commands to Yuriko, Saya's mother, and his men now, all business. Staying true to her word, Yuriko was really coming with us, and the moment between her and her husband was anything but tender. It was like a business transaction.
Souichiro's amber eyes were stern as he looked back at Saya. The incoming mob was washing over the civilians like a tidal wave, eating and devouring. Blood was coating the estate like a mudslide, as hundreds of humans started being ripped apart, screaming. "Busujima is right, my girl. It's time we all go our separate ways. Our home has served its purpose. My men and I will buy you time to get to your vehicle, and leave. Now, before it's too late."
"F-Father, not like this" I began to pull her away, not without resistance. Saya began screaming and pushing me away, running back. Saya shrieked, "How can you call this a goodbye daddy?! Come with us!"
Yuriko was the one to grab her daughter this time, placing her in an affectionate hug, and whispering in her ear, just loud enough for me to hear. "It's time to go, sweetie. It's alright." Tears were streaming down his face, but he was still smiling. "You need to stay strong, Saya."
"Alright, men. Hold for as long as possible, do not let a single one through. The Takagi name will live on. Humanity will live on." He walked off with his guards like some kind of hero. I admired his bravery, but I was also alarmed by the rapidly spreading wave of zombies at the gate
Still Saya shook her head. "We can't just leave him-"
My frustration reached a breaking point. "Saya! Knock it off, now!" I hissed.
She froze, and her teary golden eyes blinked. She stared right at me. "O-Okay…I'm sorry. Okay," She ran right past me, her mother following, and joined the others, still sobbing. Shizuka, the ever-loving school nurse, wrapped an arm around her and held her tight. The blonde woman whispered something to the pinkette. Good, someone had to take care of her right now, and it couldn't be me.
I looked back one last time as we left. My eyes widened. The sheer number of them flowing in was enough to make me sick with fright. Hundreds of zombies had pushed their way through the gate, turning the people who'd been trying to "Save them". It was our school all over again. In seconds, our peaceful reality had transformed into the bloody, ugly new world order.
"Get to the Humvee! As fast as possible" Rei ordered. Souichiro nodded with approval.
"Alright, everyone, let's do this!" Takashi exclaimed.
It seemed like everyone was actually prepared to leave. We'd been wanting to go on our own, regardless of all this, just not so suddenly and not like this. We darted across the estate, making our way around the many tents laid out. Our destination was the huge Takagi garage where we knew not just ours, but multiple other vehicles, were stored. We'd probably all fit in the military-grade humvee, but it was going to be a tight fit. We were going to need to get another car. And soon. Our group had become big…
Big enough that I almost didn't notice it when Rei snuck away. And what she stopped for. , creeping silently away from the commotion. Shido.
"Rei, what are you going?"
Our communication was good. The gang stopped and turned to me, but we couldn't all pursue Rei. Some of us had to go, and start the Humvee. Rei was making a horrible decision right now. An irrational, emotional one. "Go!" I snarled at them, "I'll grab her!"
"S-Saeko, I love you!" Saya called after me as I started to follow Rei. I smiled, Saya was ever romantic. As I rounded the corner of the building, someone ran straight into me. A random person, whose neck was gaping open and bleeding from a zombie bite. "H-Help!" He screamed in agony. Rei glanced back at me but kept going. Was she really trying to separate from the group?
"ARGhhhh!" The guy began to scream. I lost my patience. I didn't have time, or empathy, for this particular individual or his struggle. I used my katana to slice his head off with one smooth, clean motion. With a thud, the head tumbled across the ground. The pair were quick. It seemed Shido had become aware that Rei was pursuing him, but she was athletic and naturally agile on top of it. She was catching up, and he never had a chance. Shido burst into the garden in the back, with the koi pond, and I burst into the scene after them after half a minute.
Rei had her rifle pointed straight at Shido's head. The snake of a man was sweating visibly but even with death right at his front door, inches from his face once again and with no one to stop it this time - no spectating crowd- he managed to smile. Truly a reptilian humanoid. The girl I'd grown to know during this terrible ordeal was no longer there. Rei's eyes were cold and lifeless. She didn't care about the massive swarm of the undead around us or the screams of civilians as they were torn apart, murdered, and turned.
Or that we had a group to get to, now.
"I couldn't let him live, Saeko. He'd just do this again. He'd never stop. I had to follow him."
"D-don't do anything hasty, Miyamoto!" Shido stuttered.
"Even if it meant that you had to leave us?"
"Even then."
Rei was gone, and in her place stood a young woman determined to get vengeance. I recognized myself in her, and I hated seeing Rei like this. She was a sweet and emotional girl, and only Shido awoke the rage in her. Only Shido gave her the capacity to kill another human being, something she'd yet to do. Logically speaking, letting Rei do this was the smart choice. Reason A being she wanted to. Reason B being she might need to be able to kill a human being someday, that shred of innocence in her would truly only hinder her. Especially now that the Takagi mansion had fallen, one of few truly safe places. Who knew what we'd face out there?
But my one reason for not letting her do this far outshined the rest. I loved her.
"You're a dead man, Shido," Rei whispered harshly. And her finger lightly grazed the trigger. Before she could deliver the killing blow I swept forward and pushed her aside. She gasped in surprise and managed to catch herself on a nearby wall. Gripping my katana hilt, I turned to Shido, slicing three times quickly, then sheathing the blade. Shido tried to speak but only gurgling was heard
Rei's eyes widened and she gasped, face pale. "Saeko, no!"
Shido clutched his throat with one hand. He glared at me with contempt and pure black hatred. I could see in his gaze that he had wanted Rei to be the one to kill him. Probably because he knew that some part of him would live on in her like some sick legacy. Blood burst from his three gaping wounds. The neck, the belly, the groin. I sliced his nutsack open like a hot knife out through butter. Shido groaned and gurgled, and his hands dropped to his sides. Another rush of sickly red blood sprayed the air as his intestines began to slip out of his stomach like wet slugs.
Shido fell back into the koi pond with a huge splash of water and crimson. I was satisfied with the kill, and I expected Rei to be too, it was grotesque- but Rei wasn't satisfied. She was everything but. She spun on me with hatred in her eyes.
"Why Saeko?! You knew I wanted to kill him! Why would you fucking do that?!" She shoved me.
I kept my expression calm as I steadied myself. "Calm down. A gun would've been too loud. More importantly, we need to find the others.."
I turned to walk away but she grabbed my arm, and when I spun to face her she had her rifle leveled at my face. My eyes widened. I didn't expect that. Rage, yes. But to have my life threatened by Rei? Never. I felt my own black anger stir in my chest but I inhaled deeply and tried to settle down.
"You've denied me twice now," Rei said coldly as she shoved the head of the gun into my cheek so hard it hurt. "Why? Cut the bullshit. I can tell when you're lying. You thought I was too weak to do it, didn't you? You thought I was bluffing?"
I scowled and slapped the gun away. "Stop being ridiculous, Rei. I wish you were bluffing. You're going to be our leader! It's important that you have a level head and don't lose yourself to rage-"
Rei moved before I could react, slamming the butt of the sniper into my face. I was shocked when I saw crimson explode from my nose and lips, both busted. I stumbled backwards. On the ground, I slowly reached and touched my upper lip seeing the blood, rage filled me, but before I could even protest it.
I heard a familiar sound. Rei did too. I pushed myself up from my knees. They were here. Three of them rounded the corner, moaning softly, stumbling slowly toward us.
As I stood I slowly unsheathed my katana, dropping the saya down. I shifted my anger from Rei to the zombies. Grabbing the hilt with both hands, I rushed towards the three, sliding the katana through the mid section of the first one using the motion to keep my fluidity from the horizontal in a diagonal direction going upward. Before the body of the second one even hit the ground I proceeded to decapitate it. Dropping my katana, I caught the head as it fell, and proceeded to beat the third one's skull in with his friends. The sound of bones crushing bones, the blood covering my fingers, just made me... Ecstatic
A shiver rippled up my spine, and I practically moaned as I turned back toward Rei. Bits and pieces of brain matter were on my face, and I wiped them off with one hand, picking my katana back up and facing Rei. "Now where were we? Hopefully past the you trying to kill me part, all things considered." Rei stared at me, and pointed the gun my way. "Guess not." Rei pulled the trigger. I flinched, my ears ringing from the explosive sound. I barely noticed the sound of a body dropping behind me.
Rei's smile was cocky, and I couldn't help but let out a relieved laugh. My ears were still killing me, but slowly, my senses returned to me.
"Hah, you're unbelievable. You really think I hate Shido so much that I'd kill you?"
Hmph. That's the thing with you. You still don't realize how much I love you, and I wonder why I even do. I mean, look at you…covered in blood again. And you love it, don't you? Probably more than all of "your girls" combined. We hold you back. Admit it."
I could hear the shuffling of feet, both our eyes flickered toward the sound. I turned my blade towards my body, grabbing the pommel with one hand and the hilt with the other. I pushed it backwards, forcefully shoving my blade backward. It hit flesh. before turning quickly around. Pulling the blade out of the ribcage of the zombie, I reached inside, breaking a rib off. I planted both it and my katana firmly in the monster's skull, shoving deep, and twisting. As I pulled out, mushy brain and blood squirted out like water from a faucet, soaking my clothing.
I didn't want to answer Rei's question, my emotions were too complicated and after that display…I didn't bother. We both knew the truth of the matter. When I was with my girls, I was always something akin to a restrained beast. Silently seething, never fully satisfied, hungry for blood. I belonged in the same kind of world that Shido did. I was a monster, but that didn't mean I was going to let her be one too. I stopped her from killing Shido because I loved her. I controlled myself for them because I loved them. I wanted to protect them from all of this, from that part of me.
"You know" Rei kept talking. A sudden sadness, and an emotion that almost seemed like desperation flooded her features. "because of you… you didn't let me kill him, so now this entire place is being overrun! Everyone is dying. Because you stopped me. Not once but twice."
I nodded and swallowed. "I know I shouldn't have let him survive…But Rei...you need to calm down"
"Calm down. How can I calm down when the guy that ruined my life was handed to me on a silver fucking platter. And you like the bloodthirsty bitch that you are- you just stole that right from me. That was my kill."
Rei laughed, "You knew I wanted to be the one to do it, and you didn't care!"
"Rei, it's more complicated than that. We can't just stand here, once the bulk of the group get to us, there's nothing either of us will be able to do. All this talk can wait. We need to .
I grabbed her hands." If I can convince you of anything please let it be this….I never want to get in your way, I'm yours. Okay?"
It seemed that actually got through to her.
Rei nodded, and we finally set off toward the humvee - together.
No undead had reached this part of the estate yet, that was a relief. We sprinted toward the garage. Suddenly, Rei stopped. Was she about to act crazy again?
"Saeko, stop please, just one second-"
I dragged her along, glaring. "We don't have one second, Rei."
"It's important!" She snapped, "it's…it affects all of us. It's something I've been struggling with, alone, Saeko please-"
I sighed, and stopped. "Fine. quickly."
"I…Haven't been feeling myself lately. I've felt off."
"What do you mean?" A dark, cold feeling had begun to grow in my stomach as she spoke. I could tell from the look in her eyes and the tone of her voice that there was something serious going on. Quickly overtaking the rage I'd been fostering. I exhaled, forcing myself to calm down, and actually listen. "You can tell me anything."
Tears began to drop down Rei's cheeks. The brunette girl came up to me, burying her arms around my frame and placing her face in my neck. Her voice was a shivering whisper against my ear. "I've been...throwing up. I've been even hungrier than usual and...my moods have been… s-severe. And...my period is late."
My eyes widened as I realized what she was saying.
"It's not possible," I cut her off. "Enough of this, let's go. It's too soon anyways, isn't it?"
"Saeko, listen, don't shut me out-"
I started walking off without her. I was infertile. "If you're pregnant, it's someone else's. And therefore none of my business," I snapped. I almost shut down then and there. Even if this was true, what did that tell me about her as a person? Rei was willing to put herself, and this supposed baby, at risk just to get revenge on Shido. How long had she known about it?
Then, I felt a frustrating flutter of excitement. Hope. I hated myself for feeling it. But the idea of it, something that had always seemed an impossibility to me, practically made me shiver. Then, the dread came. Were we truly about to bring a child into this world?
"Saeko, it's yours! I knew it was a risk, the day we did it. I was supposed to have my period by now, but I haven't, okay?…You said you were infert- "
"I am! Rei, I am! It's not possible. You need to be quiet about this Rei. We can't talk about it now, or around the others.!" I snapped harsly, "Let's go!"
Rei swallowed hard, a single tear dripped down her cheek. "It's not someone else, please don't think that way about-"
"Let's. Go. I won't say it again."
Rei finally relented, desperately grasping my hands in hers. For a moment, I just held her, and squeezed. We were going to get through this, together. Whatever that meant.
EMP INCOMING, lmao...
Hope you enjoyed.
-MrRen