Disclaimer: I do not own Highschool of the Dead or Resident Evil. The following chapter is a nonprofit fanbased parody. All rights belong to AT-X, TV Kangawa, Tokyo MX, Chiba TV, KBS Kyoto, TV Aichi, TV Saitama, Sun TV, Madhouse, Daisuke Sato and Capcom. Please support the official releases.
After leaving the safety of the Takagi Mansion, Jack and his small group of survivors drove down the road while Alice looks back at the fire and smoke rising where the Takagi Mansion is. She looks up at Miss Shizuka with a worried expression.
"Shizuka-san? Is everyone going to be ok?" She asks with concern as Miss Shizuka looks down at the little girl, looks at the fire burning in the distance, then looks at Alice again with a reassuring smile.
"Yes, everyone will be fine, Alice-chan. I'm sure of it." She tells the little girl with a nod before Alice hugs her tightly.
Jack looks ahead of the road, but was listening to the conversation while hoping that the former school nurse was right and that all their friends still alive and well at the Takagi Mansion.
As they all continue silently down the road, they could all see the train station off in the distance. Saeko leans over to Jack and whispers quietly so she doesn't draw unwanted attention from the undead. "How long do you figure until we reach the station, Jack?" She asks curiously, to which Jack shrugs.
"With the rate we're going, without any trouble from the zombies, less than an hour. Longer if we bump into any." He admits as he continues to keep his eyes on the road and on any undead stragglers that are playing dead. Saeko also keeps an eye out for any of the undead as the vehicle they are all riding in continues down the street.
Everything is dead quiet until it begins to rain. The group, except Jack, look up and all groan quietly from having to be out in the wet and cold. "Great. Just great. It just HAD to start raining, didn't it?" Saya began with a frustrated sigh. "We're not away from safety for an hour and we're already starting to have problems again." She says as Jack now begins to drive carefully as the road becomes slick from the rain.
The group eventually comes upon an abandoned neighborhood as the rain continues to fall. The surrounding area felt depressing and ominous as the group, Alice included, kept a close eye on all the empty and abandoned houses as they cautiously made their way towards the train station.
Then suddenly, the group sees a lone figure off in the distance walking towards them. Jack stops the jeep and squints his eyes to get a better look at the figure, but couldn't due to the rain. Kohta raises the sniper rifle and looks through the scope. "Say the word, Jack-san. I'll put the fucker down right now." He enthusiastically says to his friend.
"No, calm down, Kohta. Just wait." Jack replies before quickly reaching in the back of the jeep to open one of the bags and grabs a pair of binoculars they brought with them. He puts the binoculars up to his eyes and looks through them to get a better look at the figure.
He could see it more clearly now, but the figure had a hooded cloak covering their face, so Jack still couldn't see if the figure was human or one of the undead. "Damn it. I still can't tell. Whoever, or whatever, it is, they're face is covered by a hood." He whispers in frustration to group before looking over at Kohta, who still had the rifle ready. "Kohta, fire off a warning shot at their feet. Let's see how they react." He tells the young, eager sniper.
Kohta glances at Jack with an uncertain expression. "Jack-san, are you sure about that? What if there are more around?" He asks his friend worriedly. Jack just nods before answering.
"Yeah, I'm sure." He says before pausing to look at the figure in the distance. "I want to be sure who or what we're shooting at before we decide. I don't want to accidentally kill anybody still alive if it can be helped. We'll deal with any stragglers if they show up." He continues as Kohta nods with understanding.
"Ok then." He says before looking back through the scope of the rife at the figure.
BANG!
Kohta fires off a shot before they hear it ricochet on the road, which causes the figure to yelp in surprise before quickly hiding behind cover. "Hey, hey! Don't shoot! I'm not one of them! I'm still alive, assholes!" A feminine voices shouts angrily at the group as they all look at each other, but Rei freezes in shock when she hears the voice, recognizing it.
"I know that voice." She whispers softly before hopping out of the jeep and runs towards where the figure hid.
The group desperately tries to stop her, but she was already halfway there. "Rei, wait! Stop!" Saeko yells before tapping Jack's back quickly to get him to drive the jeep towards Rei and the figure. Rei runs closer to where the figure hid then stops in shock before she smiles happily when she sees that the figure is in fact her mother, Kiriko Miyamoto, who is a spitting image of her daughter, but with shorter hair.
Rei's eyes begin to tear up just as the rest of the survivors catch up to her. She rushes forward and embraces her mother in a hug as the group moves to see the two holding each other. Seeing Kiriko, Jack lets out a deep sigh of relief now knowing that she is still alive and well.
Kiriko, looking at her daughter in shock before finally hugging her herself, quietly laughs tearfully before looking up at the rest of the group then notices Jack. "Jack-kun?" She asks with surprise. Jack just smiles and nods as Kiriko and Rei continue to hug each other in a tearful embrace.
After a few minutes, Kiriko and Rei finally break their hug and wipe their tears away before standing up. Kiriko walks over to Jack and gives him a quick hug before smacking his arm with an angry glare. "Ow." He simply says as Kiriko crosses her arms.
"You wanna tell me why one of you shot at me? I'm clearly not one of those walking corpses." She says to them calmly with narrowed eyes as most of the group timidly avoids her eyes while Kohta tries to hide the sniper rifle behind his back.
Rei gently taps her mother's shoulder before she explains. "That's the thing, mom. We couldn't tell if you were or not. Jack-kun looked through some binoculars, but still couldn't tell because of your cloak. Your hood specifically." She tells Kiriko, who nods with understanding before looking at the other survivors, Alice especially.
"How about we take this conversation somewhere else? Preferably out of the rain so this little munchkin doesn't catch a death of cold." She says to the group, who all nod before they hear the echo of moans from the undead off in the distance. "And I suggest we get a move on. I have a safe place nearby that we can hold up until it's safe." She continues before she and the group scramble back to the jeep while Kiriko leads them all to her safe house.
Minutes later, Kiriko's safe house...
Jack drives the jeep into the yard and cuts off the engine before following the group, and Kiriko, into the safe house where they all begin to relax, but still stay alert in case any of the undead pass by. Kohta decides to keep a close eye out for the undead by vigilantly watching through the windows in the living room before deciding to head upstairs to get a better view.
Rei runs over to her mother and hugs her again, causing Kiriko to smile tenderly while hugging her daughter. She pulls away to look at her and the rest of the group before walking into the kitchen. She opens the refrigerator to pull out a few apple slices for Alice and hands them to her with a kind smile.
Alice takes the apple slices and bows her head in thanks. "Arigato, Kiriko-san." She says politely before eating the slices.
Kiriko chuckles lightly before looking at Jack and the rest of the group, minus Kohta. "Alright, one of you need to start talking to me. What are you doing all the way out here instead of heading to the Takagi Estate?" She asks them all, but they all gain sad expressions on their faces before Jack steps forward.
"The Takagi Estate's been compromised, Kiriko-san. Most of the group here were there for a little over a week, almost two weeks even. I was only there for almost a week." He begins to explain as Kiriko nods and just listens. "Then earlier today, Shido showed up and tried to worm his way into the Estate and take it over secretly, but Lord and Lady Takagi wouldn't allow it. So they banished him, and his followers, from the grounds." He continues as Kiriko's face sours from the mention of Shido.
"After that, we had to push our plans to leave the Estate a little early while the remaining survivors stayed behind to fend off the undead that had managed to get through the gates. Not much else to say since we came here after we left the Estate." Jack says to Kiriko, concluding the story as Kiriko nods then begins pacing back and forth in the living room to figure out anymore questions she may have.
After a moment, she pauses and looks at the group again. "Alright, now answer me this. You left the Estate and came here." She states as the group all nod before she continues. "Ok, so, what is it that you were planning to do? I mean, why risk going into the city where the dead reside? I hope you're not going to look for any survivors? Because if they didn't make it to the safest area in all of Japan, then there might not be any survivors left. If what you just told me is true, and that the Takagi Estate has fallen, then no where is safe." She says to the group of survivors, who all lower their heads embarrassingly before Rei walks up to her mother.
"Mom, it's true that no place is truly safe. We've learned that lesson plenty of times since this all started. But there are people, survivors, still fighting at the Estate to get it back under control. And we all chose to leave in order to direct and help anymore survivors towards there to help with the retaking of the safe haven." She explains as her mother listens. "It wasn't an easy choice to make, but we don't regret it for a moment. We were all forced to grow up in a short amount of time if we wanted to survive, and we've done just that. We've been there for each other, cried together, bled together, and no doubt we'll continue to do so down the road. And you can berate, discipline, or even yell at us, Mom, but we're not going to change our minds. No matter how hard you try." She says to Kiriko calmly, standing firm in her belief as Kiriko narrows her eyes.
The group all stand nervously as they watch the mother, daughter duo stare each other down before they see Kiriko begin to smile then hug her daughter tightly. Kiriko laughs lightly before pulling away to look at Rei. "Look at you. My little girl, all grown up and not so hot headed." She says proudly as both she and Rei smile at each other.
After taking a another bite out of one of the apple slices, Alice tilts her head a bit. "Oh, but she's still a little hot headed, Kiriko-san." She chimes in as Miss Shizuka suddenly appears behind her and quickly covers her mouth to keep her from saying anything else and potentially ruining the moment.
"Hush now, Alice." She whispers quietly as Kiriko smiles again with a chuckle while Rei looks in shock at what the little girl just said. Saya and Saeko each do their best to hold in their laughter so they don't ruin Rei's loving moment with her mother.
"Yeah, I guessed as much. She may have grown, but she still has her hot head streak going strong. Just like her father." She says as Rei looks back at her with a smile before shrugging.
Saeko steps forward and decides to speak. "Kiriko-san, I understand if you wish to continue towards the Takagi's in order to find a safe space, but should you get there, you might get caught up in the chaos. So..." She says before looking over at Jack, who nods, before she continues. "If you like, maybe, you could come with us to look for any survivors. We won't turn down an extra pair of hands. Plus, I'm sure Rei would like to have you along as well since she's been separated from you for so long." The female samurai offers the woman, who looks over at her daughter with a pondering expression.
After a moment of thinking, Kiriko makes a decision as Rei watches her eagerly while waiting for her to say what her decision is. "I appreciate the offer, Saeko, but I'm afraid that I'll have to turn it down." She says as Rei and the rest of the group looks at her in shock before she continues. "If there are still people fighting for their lives at the Estate, then they'll need all the help they can get. Besides, if you all have managed to make it this far without help from too many adults, then I'm confident that you'll do just fine without me around." She says confidently with a smile.
"But... But, Mom." Rei says with a trembling tone as she looks at her mother with fear that she'll lose her just as she found her, but Kiriko puts her hand on.
"Rei-chan. Sweetie. You can do this. I know you can. From what Jack-kun has just told me, however little it was, it seems to me that you've all been doing just fine. And like I said, I'm confident that you'll continue to do that even without me around." She tells Rei, who has tears building up in her eyes as her mother brings her in gently for another hug. Rei clenches her mother's shirt tightly as Kiriko continues. "I'll be fine, Rei-chan. I promise. I haven't come this far just to die when I found out that my daughter is still alive." She whispers soothingly to Rei before pulling away slightly then gently brushes some hair away from Rei's face.
Kiriko smiles and nods lightly before looking at the rest of the survivors. "Now I'm gonna go ahead and go. The rest of you can rest here for a moment or two before continuing on to your destination. This place has been my safe house for a while now, so, whatever supplies you feel you need, go ahead and take them. You'll need as much as you can get." She tells them as they nod before looking back at Rei with a reassuring smile.
"Don't worry, Rei-chan, we'll see each other again soon. I just know it. But there are more people that need help, just like you said. So, splitting up is the best course of action in order to do that." She tells her daughter, who dryly chuckles with a shake of her head.
"That's... That's a bit ill advised mom." She tells her mom, who laughs with a nod.
"Yeah. I guess it is, isn't it?" She says before hugging her daughter again then looks at the other survivors.
Her eyes land on Jack before she nods to him, which causes him to nod back before she grabs her cloak and puts it back on. She covers her face with the hood and walks back out into the pouring rain before stopping to turn around and take one last look at Rei. She smiles and gently waves at her, causing Rei to wave back, before she walks way and heads towards the Takagi Estate to help the Takagi's themselves and the remaining survivors there.
After she leaves, Rei lets out a deep, sad sigh as Jack walks over to her and puts a hand on her shoulder. "Rei-chan, you gonna be ok?" He asks her with concern as she looks at him before nodding.
"Yeah, Jack-kun, I'll be ok. I just don't like that she's leaving so soon after we found each other." She explains as Jack nods.
"Yeah, I can understand that. But at least you know now that she's alive." He tells her as she looks over at him before placing a hand on his shoulder.
"Don't worry, Jack-kun. I'm sure your mother is just fine. She's a lot like my mom if you think about it. They're both kick ass moms and are both tough as nails." She days to him confidently with a smile, which causes him to smile too before he nods.
"Yeah. You're right." He tells her as she nods before walking away to help the other girls with anything they can find to add to their supplies.
While the girls searched for more supplies, Jack decides to head upstairs and check on Kohta, who was in one of the bedrooms. Walking inside to see Kohta surveying the area with the sniper rifle, Jack walks up to the young man and gently pats him on the back. Kohta looks up at Jack before looking back through the snipers scope. "How are we doing, Kohta? Any stragglers since Kiriko left?" He asks him, wondering if the gun enthusiast has seen any undead since they fired off the warning shot earlier.
But Kohta shakes his head. "No. None. They honestly should have been here by now or close by at the very least. It doesn't make sense." The young man says tensely as he continues to look back and forth for any zombies through the scope.
Jack couldn't help but agree, where were they? The entire neighborhood is completely deserted, and the warning shot from earlier should have brought them here by now, or close by. It didn't make sense to Jack until the moment he looks out the window and sees that the rain is still pouring down. That's when a idea began to dawn on him. "They only react to sound, right? Besides the Nemesis, the zombies are blind, so they can't see." He begins to says as Kohta looks over at him with a confused expression, but still nods.
"Yeahhh, that's right. But what's that got to do with-" He begins to say, but is interrupted when Jack suddenly points out the window at the falling rain.
"Sound, Kohta. The continuous rainfall is all over the place right now. They can't focus on where a sound is coming from for the time being because the sound of the rain is overwhelming their sense of sound." Jack explains as realization dawns on Kohta's face.
He smiles brightly before looking back at Jack. "Holy shit, Jack, you might be right." He says proudly as he continues to look at Jack, now with a laugh. "Son of a bitch, are you thinking what I'm think now?" He asks enthusiastically as Jack nods with a smile.
"I believe I am, Kohta." He says before he pats his friends shoulder then stands up. "Let's let the girls know. If we want to get to that train station, we better use the zombies dulled senses to our advantage." He says before he and Kohta head back downstairs to let the rest of the group know.
"Hey, girls, hurry and pack what we need because we've got a-" Jack says while running down the stairs, but stops when he sees Miss Shizuka, Alice, Saya, and Rei all asleep on the couches that were scattered in the living room, while Saeko kept watch through one of the boarded windows.
She looks over at Jack when she heard him and Kohta coming down the stairs. "Jack? What's wrong, babe?" She asks him with concern as he walks towards her with a sigh.
He laughs quietly and shakes his head before embracing Saeko in a hug then softly kisses her. "No, Saeko, nothing's wrong. It's just that Kohta and I figured out why the zombies haven't shown up here yet. And we were going to use it to our advantage." He tells her as they both look over at the sleeping girls before looking at Kohta.
He chuckles before shrugging. "I'll head back up stairs and keep an eye out." He says to them quietly before making his way back upstairs.
Jack looks back at Saeko, who looks at him with concern. "Are you sure nothing is wrong, babe? Should I wake them up?" She asks him, but he shakes his head.
"No, no. Let's let them get some rest. It's been a long night. We can only hope that the rain continues on until we get to the train station. I'll explain in the morning. Until then, I think we all should get some sleep." He tells her before asking her to help with moving the girls upstairs so they are close by and none of them will be separated should the zombies show up.
Saeko took Alice upstairs while Jack brought Saya before heading back downstairs to grab Miss Shizuka and brought her upstairs to the room where the rest of the group were now sleeping. All the while Kohta kept a close watch with the sniper rifle through the window.
After making sure that the safe house was secure, Jack finally decides to fall asleep beside Saeko. But before he does, he notices Kohta still keeping a close vigilant watch. "Kohta, buddy, you've gotten the group out of some tight spots with your marksmanship, but you won't be able to keep that up if you're exhausted. You're not a machine, pal, you're still human. So, just do yourself and all of us a favor and get some sleep." He explains before lying down beside Saeko and falling asleep.
Kohta sighs deeply and eases up, but still stays close by the window in case anything does happen so he can hear. After taking a few deep breaths, he eventually falls asleep with the rest of the group and drifts off into a deep and peaceful slumber.
For tomorrow, their quest for survival continues.