Fujimi Academy was a very exclusive school in Japan where families who were well-off sent their kids. Politicians, police officers, lawyers, doctors, the works. Double-D's parents, due to their high-paying and high-demanding jobs, were able to get Double-D in. As it turns out, Ed's Dad was a respected businessman who helped his son get in, followed by Eddy's parents pulling a few strings of their own.

In the months they had enrolled at Fujimi, the Eds had settled in quite nicely, even meeting many of Hisashi, Rei, and Ben's friends in the process.

Hisashi and Rei's childhood best friend Takashi Kumuro was the first person at the school they had met. At first, Takashi didn't give The Eds much attention except for Double-D since he was overall the sanest of the trio. It wasn't until a fight with some punks that Ed and Eddy helped him out with did Takashi ended up warming up to the other two boys.

Ben had introduced Ed to one of his close friends, Kohta Hirano. Ben and Kohta had first met a couple of years back when Ben's father took him for firearms training under a senior operative of a private mercenary security group. The two boys had hit it off almost immediately with Kohta being very knowledgeable about guns and military tactics himself.

Needless to say, Ben was pleased to see his pen pal and Kohta hit it off just as quickly as he did with him when they first met. Ed and Kohta's friendship was only further solidified when Ed protected him from bullies.

Double-D had also met somebody important during the school year; Yuuki Miku, who was arguably the hottest girl in all of Fujimi Academy, who also had a reputation of being a shameless flirt. The two first met when, by complete chance, they bumped into each other on their way out of class. Double-D had apologized profusely and that surprised Yuuki, since she had expected him to just stop and drool at her like nearly every other boy in school.

Needless to say, after a few days of just passing each other by, Yuuki ended up coming to Double-D for help with schoolwork, which he politely accepted. One thing led to another and before either of them knew it, they were dating, which surprised everyone at school since they figured Yuuki wouldn't settle down for anybody.

Last but certainly not least, Eddy had ended up running into the one person that Hisashi and Ben had honestly expected him to connect with the most; Saya Takagi, the smartest student in school besides Double-D, of course.

Eddy had bumped into her by complete chance and almost immediately became smitten. It also helped that she was two inches shorter than him, which made him feel proud that he wasn't the shortest person around anymore.

Now, the reason Eddy had bumped into her was because he was running away from a teacher after pulling a prank on them. The two ended up getting into a shouting match with each other, which allowed the teacher to catch up to Eddy and was about to haul him off to the headmaster's office when Saya stopped them, telling them a lie that Eddy was with her the whole time. As the teacher let Eddy go and left, he could only ask her why she saved him.

Saya's response? "Don't ask questions, slave."

Needless to say, Eddy knew that he was pretty much stuck with her from then on.

All in all, The Eds were settling in nicely at Fujimi High, but things were about to change very, very soon...

"Why I'm carrying your books again?" Eddy grunted as he tried his best to not drop his and Saya's books, which she had made him carry for her, on her foot.

"Because I'm the only one who even bothers to get your ass out of trouble," Saya smirked.

"No, you don't."

"Yes, I do, baka."

"I would remember if someone helped me get away."

"Well, it seems like you can't."

"Then tell me, Officer Takagi," Eddy said with a frown on his face as both of them reached their class.

Saya put a finger to her chin before grinning. "Hmmm, Officer Takagi I like that nickname."

Eddy could only sigh, knowing he lost the battle AND the war yet again. As both of them entered their classroom they ignored their classmates' whispers about them "dating".

"Seriously! What do people see in us?!" Was Eddy and Saya's unanimous thoughts on all the gossip.

"Same old, same old, it seems." Double-D sighed as he saw this while heading to his own class, Yuuki clinging to his arm and giggling playfully.

"Seriously, they need to start fucking. It's the only way to get all that tension off their chests!"

Double-D shook his head. After dating Yuuki long enough, he had grown accustomed to her raunchy language. When other girls and even some guys asked how he put up with her, he simply replied:

"I just so happen to know the real deep sensitive girl underneath that lecherous exterior."

As for Ed, he was running with Ben to their class, the two pen pals just barely making it to their seats in time. As they sat down, they noticed two girls waving them over.

"Hello, Ed-Kun! Ben-Kun!"

Ed beamed and waved back happily. "Hi, Toshimi-Chan! Misuzu-Chan!"

Toshimi Niki and Misuzu Ichijou were best friends that Ed had met just a month and a half into the semester. He, Ben, and Kohta were at the mangaka shop, just talking about their favorite anime, when they heard a cry for help from the next alley.

The three boys headed over to the source and found Toshimi, Misuzu, and a few other girls from their school being cornered by a gang of creeps who were no doubt planning on having their way with them.

Ben and Ed sprung into action while Kohta called the police. Ben used his training under his father while Ed showcased the boxing lessons he had recently been taking before moving to Japan, taking down the thugs with aggressive precision.

Toshimi had gotten her top ripped and Ed had been kind enough to give her his jacket, which was thankfully washed. As the police were brought over to arrest the punks, Ben, Ed, and Kohta took them to Ben's house for shelter. Fortunately, Ben's parents were home and he was able to explain things to them as well.

After giving answers to a news reporter about the incident and also realizing that video surveillance had recorded the boys' heroic actions, they became the talk of the school. Eddy and Double-D congratulated Ed for his bravery and even Kohta got a few admirers for helping alert the authorities to trouble.

As for Ben, he just waved it off, saying that helping people out was second nature to him. It also helped that he was part of the Disciplinary Committee, so it was kind of his duty to make sure his classmates stayed safe.

Still, to make a long story short, ever since that day, Toshimi and Misuzu had been smitten with Ed in particular, especially since he was generous enough to let Toshimi keep his jacket.

As the teacher began his lesson on Japanese History, Ed was reading a note from Toshimi. Mizuze and Toshimi look at each other before nodding their head in agreement. They had both decided to share Ed since they knew the other had a crush on him as well and neither could bear to let their mutual attraction to the kind simple-minded boy separate their friendship.

Ben just smiled at the cute scene between the three before wincing privately to himself. He had been feeling a strange pain in his back, almost right in his spine, it seemed. He didn't know why, but he had a feeling that it could only be a bad omen to come...

After First Period, Eddy was following Saya as they walked down the stairs when they both noticed Takashi brooding by the rails.

Saya just sighed as she came over. "Takashi, are you fantasizing about Rei again?"

"For the last time Saya I not thinking about it," Takashi said while refusing to turn around.

"Yes you are if you weren't then you shou…" Saya began speaking before Eddy interrupted her.

"If he said he's not thinking about it then he obviously doesn't want to say anything."

"And what would you know about helping a friend." Saya huffed, though she was a bit surprised at how insightful Eddy was sounding.

"More than you know, Saya."

"I said call me by my last name, idiot."

"Why? I barely let people call me by my last name. Besides, I'm American, what's your excuse?"

Rei and Takashi had been dating for three years when she had just broken things off without explaining why. Recently, she had started dating Hisashi but it didn't seem like it had the same passion as it did when she and Takashi were together.

Luckily, Ben's parents had some good connections, and thanks to his father's digging, they found out that Chairman Ichirou Shido was to blame. Rei's father, Inspector Miyamoto, had been digging into the man's shady back dealings and Ichiro had gotten his son, Koichi, to hold Rei back a year as a warning message.

Koichi Shido was as much of a sleazebag as his father was. He was a teacher at Fujimi High and he was as crooked as they come. The other teachers didn't trust him but he seemed to always have a way with his students. The man spoke like a televangelist, always encouraging some students' worse traits while also putting down those he didn't like.

Unfortunately, Ben's parents couldn't get involved much since it was out of his father's jurisdiction and didn't involve American assets or interests. Politics, am I right? Still, Ben's Mom, being fully Japanese, promised to keep her ear to the ground and find ways to put the Shidos in the ground and hopefully get them off people's backs once and for all.

Anyway, back to the present, Takashi was starting to get annoyed with Saya and Eddy's bickering. Honestly, he wished he could just tell them to start kissing already but he knew better, it'd only set them off.

"Well, see you in class, SKIPPER," Saya said, using Eddy's middle name just to piss him off before leaving.

"Screw you too, OFFICER." Eddy bit back, the two flipping each other off as Saya disappeared. With that out of the way, the de-facto leader of The Eds turned to Takashi. "Sheesh, at least she isn't as bad as Lee Kanker back in Peach Creek."

Takashi smirked. "To be honest, you two DO make a nice couple."

"Feh, that's like saying fire and ice mix, which they don't."

"Yes, they do," Takashi said. "It's a little something called 'Water'."

"Fuck you, man."

The two friends just settled for lounging on the railing, watching time pass by slowly. However, they then noticed someone banging their head on the school gate, much to their confusion.

"What's that guy's problem?"

It wasn't until several teachers met the man outside to confront him about trespassing. One of the teachers just so happened to be Eddy's older brother, Matthew.

Matthew had often bullied Eddy when they were younger and it was a confrontation with him that led to The Eds finally being accepted by the other kids at Peach Creek. However, lately, Matthew had mellowed out, at least a little, and in the last two months had decided to put his teaching degree in World History to good use for a change by enlisting as a teacher in Fujimi.

Matthew looked like an older Eddy almost with a goatee, standing at 6'2 in height while wearing a dirty brown newsboy cap that was passed down to him by his and Eddy's grandpa. The cap covered his wild jet-black hair, and he also wore a yellow sports jersey with the number "62" on it in light blue along with the neck collar, red flannel jacket, khaki pants with a wallet chain, and greenish-grey shoes. Covering his burgundy eyes were a pair of white sunglasses with green shades.

Accompanying Matthew was Kyoko Hayashi, one of the Homeroom Teachers and also the school's Ping Pong Club advisor. She was one of the most beautiful women in the school with dark red hair and sharp brown eyes that matched her strict attitude and E-Cup breasts that Matthew had unashamedly stolen a few good looks at here and there.

Also, there was Teshima, the school's PE teacher. He was unpopular with the students, who often joked about him behind his back due to his arrogant attitude. Matthew himself got in on the fun, calling Teshima the Coach who couldn't even coach for the Little Leagues. Ben was also there, being a member of the Disciplinary Committee and all that.

"What's with this bum? He's been banging on the gate for half an hour now!" Teshima grumbled as the three teachers approached, accompanied by the janitor.

"Sir, this is school property. Please turn and leave at once!" Kyoko demanded in an orderly tone but the guy kept banging on the gate, as if he didn't even hear her.

"Sheesh, this guy must be more deaf than my dad after Mom at Karaoke." Matthew joked before noticing something off about the guy. "Wait...his skin..."

"Hey, asshole! Didn't you hear what the lady said?!" Teshima barked, slamming the guy's head into the gate, hoping to look cool in front of Kyoko. However, the light shone on the guy's head and Matthew got a good look at him, his eyes widening in horror at what he saw.

"TESHIMA, GET THE HELL AWAY FROM HIM!"

"Or what, McGee? You are going to let this man continue to-AAAHHHHH." Teshima screamed in pain as he let go of the man who had bitten him in the arm, taking a good chunk out of it too.

Kyoko was about to rush to Teshima's aid but she was grabbed by Matthew as the janitor came to Teshima, who began thrashing violently while screaming in agony.

"D-Does that man have some kind of disease? That shouldn't be a fatal wound so why does it look like he's dying?" Kyoko asked in fear, seeing Teshima's skin turn grey before going limp. The janitor quickly checked his pulse before turning sadly to Kyoko and Matthew.

"He's dead."

"That's impossible. He was just alive a second ago." Kyoko said, still deeply shaken.

"We need to get back and alert the rest of the school." Matthew said with utmost seriousness. "Right goddamn now."

The old man moved to get up but was stopped as a hand grabbed his wrist. We all looked down at the dead man as his eyes opened, now a blind milky color.

"Hey, look at that! He's okay!"

Matthew quickly pulled Kyoko further away

"No, he's not."

The janitor looked at him weirdly, "You must've been wrong then. Mr. Teshima is fine, he's going to be okay, he's-AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!"

The body of Mr. Teshima lunged forward and tore into the old man's throat, tearing chunks off as they were consumed. Just a few seconds later Teshima slowly got up and so did the corpse of the janitor with most of its throat missing.

"Oh my god..." Kyoko whispered, covering her mouth in horror.

"Ben...run and alert everyone," Matthew said sternly. "Kyoko, come with me...NOW!"

The three still living people looked to the gate where there were now dozens of walking corpses, all with the same dead eyes and grey skin.

Ben quickly nodded and ran to the school, seeing Takashi and Eddy staring in horror, having witnessed everything.

"Guys, run! Warn everybody else in the school! GO!" He cried, the two boys not needing to be told twice as they quickly bolted back inside.

The gate came crashing down as Matthew pulled Kyoko by the hand to the front office, neither of them daring to turn back. Ben followed after them but grunted in pain as he felt the pain in his back skyrocket to unbearable levels.

"Kid, you okay?!" Matthew asked.

"I-I'll be fine!" Ben groaned. "You and Hayashi-Sensei go! I'll see if I can find some students and get them to safety!"

Ben then turned to go in a different direction, hoping to find some of his classmates or fellow Disciplinary Committee members to warn them of the incoming danger. Praying for his safety, Matthew and Kyoko continued to the front office.

"Matthew, what the hell is going on?!" Kyoko asked, her head dizzy from everything that was happening so suddenly.

"Dammit, what the fuck is going on?! Everything was fucking normal in the morning!" Matthew thought.

Ben was starting to limp now, the sheer pain in his back was becoming too great to ignore. However, his determination to warn his classmates and teachers of the incoming danger made him push on.

Soon, he bumped into somebody, that somebody being one of Takashi's close friends, Morita. Also with him were Imamura and Miura.

"Wow, what's going on with ya, Ben? You look like Hell!" Morita said as he tried to help Ben stand up.

"That doesn't matter! We're in danger! I think it's-!"

Suddenly, one of the corpses made its way through the window, crashing through as Morita screamed like a little girl, hugging Imamura and Miura as they also paled in terror.

"ZOMBIES?!" The three boys screamed.

Ben suddenly fell over, unfathomable pain burning through his spine, unable to ignore it anymore. As he hunched over and screamed, the zombie moved over to bite him. However, before it even had a chance to do so, its teeth and jaws shattered on contact.

"B-Ben...?" Miura asked nervously as something truly shocking happened next.

A black liquid seeped from Ben's pores, starting from the base of his spine and spreading across his entire body before hardening into a metallic suit of ebony muscles, bright silver metallic lining formed around it next.

Before the eyes of the other boys, a red visor lens appeared over Ben's eyes as the suit finished, a metallic synthesized voice booming out of seemingly nowhere.

"NANOSUIT ACTIVATED."

The Outbreak has begun...Can The Eds and their friends survive?

Also, why does Ben now have the Nanosuit from the Crysis video games? Well, you'll learn about it as the story progresses!