High School of the Dead: The Decent into Darkness Chronicles (Wingshadow and Mech)

Souji saw the slap coming, just as he expected it would come, but did not try to avoid it or defend himself. He could have, but didn't, and let her do as she wanted, only turning his head to the side. His cheek swell instantly after the slap, the skin hot were she hit. The pain on his face though, was nothing compared to the pain in his chest as he saw he made her cry. He kept his cool even then. When he spoke, his voice came calm, but determined.

"Hitting me doesn't change anything I said. I'm merely stating facts here, he IS a hindrance and he should be the first one to realize he's putting everyone in danger, much more so by acting as a leader without thinking things through..." - he answered, without looking at her, his fingers playing with the gun's slider. He wanted to let things slide but his pride got in his way as it always did - "And don't you dare lecture me about growing up just because you were born a few years before me. You know nothing about me, so don't go judging my maturity based on me saying the things you don't want to hear..." - he finished, seeing her storm out of the room.

He could understand she being angry at him, and hated himself for having to be the one to say all that but it was needed. Everybody was looking at him as if he was some kind of monster but he was used to it. He could be the bad guy. He had always been the bad guy, since High School started and he could take it. Still fighting with her was... painfull. It was the first day he had touched her, or talked so much with her and yet, he had made her sad and Tomoki would be the one to make her feel better again.

The boy clenched his teeth when Tomoki said his last words before leaving. He knew it were destined to him. To scorn him about he being the one comforting her, embracing her as she slept. He did his best to ignore it and kept cleaning the gun. Emiko took a shook Kirino to the living room. Yukihito looked at Souji with a troubled expression, but decided to say nothing and got out as well, leaving the boy with the gun and his own thoughts.

The gun was ready half an hour later and Souji proceeded to clean up the room. He did the dishes as he usually did at home, and it made him feel better as always. After that, he went to the bath. He took his time washing his wounds. A big bruise could be seen in his left elbow, from his upper forearm almost to his shoulder. No wonder he was having trouble moving it. The cut on his forehead was big, but shallow, just bled too much. After that, he entered the bathtub, soaking in there until the water became cold. His body was sore and tired. He was worried about his father, that was probably somewhere out there trying to save people... or maybe already dead. He was too scared of knowing the truth so he could not bring himself to call him.

He left the bathroom, dressed only in his pants and a simple white t-shirt he used beneath his hoodie, the pistol stuffed in the back of his pants. He got to the living room in time of hearing Kirino complain she wanted to call her family. As far as he could see, there was no line in the house yet, and as cellphones were forbidden inside school, the students couldn't take them off their bags and teachers should leave them in faculty room. Which made him, the one who disobeyed the rules, the only one who had his cell with him.

"Here... Call them..." - he offered her. She looked at him, suspiciously. He sighed. - "Yeah, be thankful I don't follow school regulations..."

"Thanks..." - she said nodding, and took the phone from him.

He didn't wait for her to finish the call, and simply made his way to the balcony. The night had a cool breeze blowing and he could see several lighted spots where fire was rising strongly. Police sirens, car horns and gunshots were heard in the distance. Chaos was spreading fast. He could see some of those creatures in the streets around and he could hear the groans of many more in the distance. He was so caught up in it he didn't saw her walking in behind him.

"What happened in there?" - he heard Kirino's voice, she was looking at him curiously but did not seemed angry anymore.

"Nothing. Just said what nobody else wanted to face..." - he answered plainly. Of course he also wanted to make clear he didn't liked Tomoki, and maybe... No, he couldn't know what part his love for her played in the previous fight.

Kirino accepted it, nodding slightly. - "Ok then. Just try to be a little more delicate next time..." - she added.

That pissed him off again, and he turned to her, ready to give her a piece of his mind, but she beat him to it.

"Thanks... For saving us in the school... You didn't have to, but you did it anyway. I don't know why you did it too, but I really don't think it matters. I'm just thankful for it. So, really. Thank you." - she said it, trying to smile to him. It was probably the first time a classmate smiled at him, since high school started. Then she offered his phone back. - "For the cell too."

"Yeah..." - he took the phone, smilling back at her and deciding to simply let it go. - "You're welcome..." - he finished, putting the device away in his pocket.

She blushed slightly as she saw his smile and turned away, leaning against the balcony and looking at the city. She seemed ok, so he figured her parents were ok, and did not asked about it. He just stood there in silence with her, watching as hell broke loose right in front of his eyes, but too far away for him to actually see it.

---
OoC: Hey, if you finish the night with your post, I ask you not to start the morning scene, because I'm planning some action for the night, maybe.

Also, I'm adding pictures for the three students. Do you mind it? If you do, I'll take them away.
---

Yamada Kirino - Class President / Civilian Class


Kanagawa Emiko - Classmate - Civillian Class


Oda Yukihito - Classmate - Civillian Class
 
(Nope, I'm fine with the pictures... But if I can't write the morning scene then that doesn't leave me with a whole lot I CAN do, now does it?)

Hitomi played the scenario over and over inside her head. Why was he acting this way? Why did nothing she say get through to him? He was always the one who was right in his own mind, and no one else seemed to matter. However, this wasn't anything particularly new to her, and yet it bothered her so much more now than before. Why was that? She honestly couldn't say for certain, but she thought it was related to the fact that their group mentality was slowly falling part, which she blamed on one person alone.

Of course Tomoki didn't know about Souji's house being close, or even that he would have access to his father's jeep. That wasn't something that teachers typically knew about their students even if they did happen to be trouble students. In Hitomi's mind at least, Souji was acting in a very overcritical, self-righteous, and immature manner, not just because he was acting rude but because he did not even for one second consider other people's thoughts or feelings. The only person in the world who had any value was himself. Then, she began to wonder if she, perhaps, was partially at fault. Wasn't she his teacher, responsible for his physical as well as mental well being?

"Tomoki," Hitomi whispered, "Do you think I am a poor teacher?"

"Why do you say that?" Tomoki's hands reached around her, conforming to her every curve. To say the least, it made it very difficult to focus on the conversation.

"Souji... As my student he is my responsibility, not yours. I want to believe that he is better than this, that what he said is not what he truly believes... I want to believe that I had trained him better than this, but deep down inside I feel that I have not. I have failed him, and I have failed myself."

"Honey, don't say that," Tomoki began to massage her shoulders, "You have been worrying over Souji for nearly a year now. If I didn't know better I would start to suspect that you had a thing for the kid since he's your trouble student and yet you treat him like he were your pride and joy."

"I'm... not in the mood for that tonight," Hitomi mumbled to him.

"Oh, my poor leg!" Tomoki pretended to be in agonizing pain, "I must... have your warm embrace to make it feel better!"

"Stop that," Hitomi smiled and smacked his hip in a playful manner.

Everyone in the house, except for Souji perhaps, gradually calmed down and went to sleep... Unaware of what would be waiting to meet them the next morning.

----

Hitomi stepped down the stairs with a yawn, once again wearing her somewhat cleaned gym uniform as she stumbled over to the kitchen to prepare some breakfast for them. She wiped some sweat from her brow, wondering if someone had forgotten to close one of the doors late last night, but let the thought pass as she started opening cans of Spam for fried spam sandwiches.

A low groaning sound reached her ears as she began to slice the processed meat, "Come on sleepyheads, its nearly past eight thirty already... And Spam really isn't all that bad once you get past the fact that its Spam."

She turned to see who had stumbled out of bed, only to face one of them smearing its face on the patio window. Her breath caught in her throat as she tried to quietly step over to the guest room and wake up the students in order to alert them to the danger.

---

Tomoki walked down a short while after Hitomi. The swelling in his leg had subsided significantly and he was walking with hardly any limp but still probably wouldn't be able to run without hurting himself again. He looked over the crackling grill with only half of the spam slices filling the cooking surface but no one tending to them, then over at the window. He jumped back and remembering that Souji still had the pistol, quickly stepped over to the closet and drew out a wooden bat. It wasn't as sturdy as a metal one, but it would have to do.
 
Souji kept awake throughout the night, sleep as fleeting as ever for him at that hour. He was so used to sleep his mornings away on the school's rooftop that he couldn't bring himself to sleep at night anymore. So he stood there on the balcony, just watching whille hell unfold itself in the city. All that seemed to be neverending. To top it all, he didn't have television or internet to keep him distracted anymore. He remembered about his phone and took a look on the news, but it only said what he already knew. Shit had hit the fan and was spreading all around.

He considered calling to his father, to know if he was alright, but decided against it once again. Convinced himself he didn't needed too, even though he was just scared. Scared he wouldn't pick it up, scared he could be already dead, and even more, scared he would be wandering around as a mindless cannibal. So he just put it back on his pocked, without calling. - "Tch... I'm such a coward when it comes to this things..." - he realized, slightly disappointed in himself. He was always so confident, always so sure he could make through everything, never affraid of dying or getting hurt, but when it came to his own feelings he was always scared, always hiding. 'Maybe she's right. I'm just immature...'

But he was a man wasn't him? He lived like one, or tried his best to. Along with Tomoki, only him did not despair in that situation, so that proved he was just as prepared and mature as the other, right? Definitely. Being jealous had nothing to do with maturity anyway, so case closed. Doubting himself would only get in his way. He had to believe it. That he was invincible. That no one could overcome him. That nothing could stop him. It was the only though that could keep him fighting to the end, no matter the circumstances.

It was past five in the morning and he was keeping himself busy with counting the walking corpses in the street over and over. 27 of them that he could sse. That's when he saw that the light pole on the street fickle a few times before dying completely. - "Shit, it happened way faster then I expeceted!" - he stated to himself, but noticed that a large part of the city, in the distance, still had light in it, so it was just a local problem. Maybe someone hitting a pole with a car, or some of those other dumb mistakes that could bring disaster in the end. He didn't panicked though, as morning would come soon, and they were still really safe inside the house. That was until he heard the click of the front gate, that made him shiver. 'Shit... Its and eletronic gate. In unlocks in case of power failure so no one gets trapped inside.' - he realized, hearing the groans of the zombies outside. If he heard that click, those things that were closer would also have heard it. And they would certainly come to it, the same way sharks would be attracted to blood on the water.

Everybody was still asleep, and probably making no noise at all, but Souji couldn't just trust those big glassy windows the house had. He needed to take care of it, as silently as possible. He could see the sun starting to rise on the horizon, barely illuminating anything, but enough he could at least know if something stood in front of him. Quietly he made his way to the first floor, put his sneakers on, and got out. He wouldn't let those things disturb her anymore thant that. He had already done that on his own last night and the least she deserved was a good rest after all of that.

'Ok freaks, bring it on! I'll put you all down one by one' - He was somewhat glad that happened. It took him out of the guilt of what he did to her, and gave him something to do. He didn't care it was dangerous. That he could die and turn into one of them. That was something he was good at and would take his mind off of things he didn't know how to handle.

He smiled slightly and silently started to take them down.

---

Morning came faster than he imagined it would be, so caught up he was in killing them. He had to be stealthy, and discovered a lot of things could be used against 'them'. They could easily be outsmarted, and distracted by soft noises in an oposite direction, and a broken neck would put them out of commision silently and efficiently. They were obviously unorganized, and easily hardly a threat to a skilled fighter on their own, so killing them silently and one at a time was fairly easy. As long as one would take care not to caught the attention of the whole horde at once. That's how he managed to kill twenty six of them, the bodies scattered all around the yard and some on the street, only one of them banging its head against the glass window. Souji ignored him for the time being and blocked the front gate with everything he could find, It was a small barricade, but the street was almost cleared and if they didn't make any noise, they could still stay for a while.

After he blocked it, he calmly made his way to the remaining one, seeing Tomoki grabbing a bat inside the house as he appeared. He smiled wryly at his teacher as if said "Beated you to it", and took the monster's head, one hand on its chin, the other on the top of his head. The zombie stopped banging his head, as if wondering who could that be, before Souji quickly twisted his head the wrong way, leaving his chin almost pointing to the sky. The laid the body carefully, without a noise, as he did the rest of the night.

He entered the house soon after, locking the door behind him. He was once again dirty, sweaty and most of all covered in blood from the monsters. His left arm was hurting a lot, the swell a lot worse due to all the strain he put on it throughout the fight, so he supported it with his right hand, at the same time trying to conceal the big bruise from the others. He didn't need anyone fussing about something that was already puting him in a tight spot. He only went through danger two times in the entire fight, and both of them because his left arm failed to fullfill its objective.

He looked to all those who were already awake inside the and stated calmly. - "Light's out, so the gate unlocked in the middle of the night. I've taken care of those who entered and barricaded the gate, so we're good for now, as long as we don't make too much noise." - Souji started making his way to the bath. - "So just eat and we'll figure what to do afterwards..."
 
Hitomi and the others filed into the room in time to catch Souji walking by towards the bathroom. The girls gasped, not sure what to make of his appearance but most of all the swelling in his left arm.

"Souji, I'm not going to tell you how reckless your actions are since you won't listen to me anyway, but at least let me look at your arm. It looks terrible," Hitomi reached out and grasped his shirt, trying to make him stay and talk with her.

"There isn't anything manly about shouldering everything and putting on a tough face," Tomoki swung the bat behind his head and shoulders and started to do some stretching exercises with it, as if that had been his intention with the bat all along, "It just makes people get worried about you, wondering what you are trying to prove or even what you are trying to hide. I appreciate what you did, kid, but don't get in over your head or you might find yourself without anyone there to bail you out."

Emiko took over the cooking operation while Kirino hurried about to set out the dishes.

"You will be heading over to your house as soon as you are ready to go," Tomoki nodded to Souji, "We could use some decent equipment in case things get bad, and if its transportation that you need, why didn't you mention it earlier?"

"But Darling, we can't all fit on your bike," Hitomi sighed.

Emiko dropped a slice of Spam, "W-what, a bike?"

"Its electric too, so its practically dead silent," Tomoki held up the keys in his left hand, "Catch my drift, kid? Head on over and bring your dad's jeep to us. Its much safer that way for the rest of us and I think it will suit you just fine."

"You can't possibly be serious!" Hitomi shook her head and flung her hands into the air, "Do you think he can drive in the state he is in?"

"Why don't you go with him then, if your worried? You can drive too, right?" Tomoki shrugged.

"Fine," Hitomi sighed, "But you all had better not be dead when I get back, or you will have hell to pay."

"I'll take it that she means she will kill us again with her own two hands," Tomoki chuckled with a slightly unpleasant grin.
 
Souji stoped as soon as her hand reached him. He was lightly annoyed with her words though. - "How reckless I was? About what? Saving your sorry asses?" - He retorted, starting to get really annoyed with all the lecturing. - "All I did was stand guard while you all slept. I'm not trying to be cool or put on a tough face or anything, I just do better on my own. If I had woken up all of you to help me, the commotion would catch the attention of them and someone could've get hurt." - he explained, sighing. Suddenly it seemed pointless to argue with them. They wouldn't understand him anyway. Hell, they would probably even try. Not that he was any different. Their mindsets were just too far apart to mingle together - "Forget it. Just blame it in me being immature. I don't care as long as you don't bother me with it again."

He let Hitomi take a look at his arm but he knew all to well she wouldn't be able to do anything about it. Maybe something to help with the pain, but other than thatn only thing they could do was wait for his body to work its magic, the same as Tomoki's leg. Souji took a look at Tomoki's key, when the bike became the center of the discussion, and nodded. - "Fine by me." - and then added, looking slightly annoyed at Hitomi. - "I can ride a bike just fine!" - but his tone quickly became more embarassed. - "But... I do need someone to go with me. I'm not a really good driver when it comes to cars..." - he finished. He had barely started learning how to drive one. Bikes were easy and he was good at it, but he would be a complete fiasco with the Jeep.

He watched their last sentences and then something he couldn't have predicted happen. He laughed at Tomoki's words. It was a soft laugh, but true. It was a bad joke, due the circumstances but for some reason, in some dark and twisted way he found it funny. Mainly because he could really picture her doing it, out of rage.

"Ok, as you wish. We'll go and fetch everything... As soon as I take a bath and eat something." - he added, and after Hitomi finished looking at his arm, he did went to the bath. It was a quick one, but made him feel renewed. He needed some sleep too, but it seemed he wouldn't get the chance for now, so the bath would have to do the trick.

After that, he ate in silence after a brief "itadakimasu", just listening at the other conversations. After hearing from their family's the three other students seemed to be in a better mood, and a lot more talkative. Souji was ready to go as soon as breakfast was finished. He followed Tomoki and Hitomi to the bike, and before she could take the lead, he sat in the driver's sit. - "Hop in, teacher. We'll ride with the dead this morning..." - he said dryly, looking while Hitomi and Tomoki parted with each other. 'God, this makes me sick...'

When she sat on the bike, he thought he could at least get revenge for his words on the other night. Souji took her hands and crossed in front of his body, with a smirk. - "Hope you don't mind I borrowing you girl for today, Ishikawa-sensei..." - He said if all the maice he could muster, and then sped up before he could hear a reply. He hoped it would get Tomoki as pissed as he thought it would.
 
Tomoki gave Hitomi a small peck on the cheek and whispered into her ear, "Just take care of yourself, alright?"

Making a smirk at Souji's snide remark, Tomoki merely reached over and rubbed the boy's head, "Find yourself your own girl, then we will talk."

Hitomi nodded and slipped in behind Souji, wrapping her arms around his midsection and holding onto him tightly as he started the bike up and drove off down the road. With one final backward glance she mouthed to her fiance: "I love you."

---

The sudden lack of early morning traffic and the scene of utter death and devastation turned Hitomi's stomach. There were cars and trucks leaned up against buildings and splatters of dried blood on the sidewalk. windows were smashed in, either from those seeking to escape the dead or possibly by vandals seeking to steal whatever could be of value inside the abandoned and wasted storefronts. As they drove up the winding streets toward Souji's house, she laid her head against his back and closed her eyes, letting herself indulge in his distinctly pleasant scent and the warmth on her cheek.

In the distance, both of them could hear the sounds of shouting and the deep hum of a large propane engine growing closer and closer. All of a sudden, there was a loud crash and a metallic groan. A large bus slid across the road directly in front of the bike's path and smashed into the traffic light to the far left, spreading shards of glass into the air. Hitomi's eyes snapped open and she she braced herself for however Souji might react.

Apparently the bus was filled with survivors fleeing to the Town Hall but seeing to avoid the backups that clogged up the main highways they had condemner a bus and drove it downtown through the residential area expecting to run into fewer of them. However, one of them had been bitten and in the ensuing panic after he or she had transformed into one of them the bus had been thrown into choas.
 
Souji was slightly surprised he did not felt so offended about Tomoki's playful remark, not even angry at the fact that he rubbed his head. He didn't know exactly why, but simply ignored it, driving off. Feeling the arms of the woman he loved around him was something that couldn't be explained, even if it didn't meant anything. He wondered how it would feel to be Tomoki, and be embraced by her arms with all the strenght and love she could gather, only for him. He was somewhat saddened by the thought.

The boy was focused on the road, avoiding obstacles and even zombies they find along the way, so he did not gave too much of a thought about the condition of the street. He was expecting such devastation since the other night, but he did not expect for her to lay against his back like that. He felt on the top of the world, even when he passed a zombie feasting in a corpse. He wished he could just speed the bike and move on forever, tightly in her embrace.

But reality was cruel and quickly pulled him back to Earth, were he saw the bus sliding and blocking their way. He could've just swerve and take a detour around the block. He wanted to. Just keep moving with her, leaving that behind. But he was breaking even before mind decided what to do. They could do little about it, and he knew it. He wanted to help them, but know he couldn't do much. Even then, he turned to her. He needed her blessing to go.

"We have to help them..." - he stated, sounding a lot more authoritarian than he meant to. It was supposed to be plea, not an order... If she said they shouldn't he would step on his feelings about it, and move on, because he also knew it was helpless. But he hoped she wasn't that kind of person.
 
"That goes without saying," Hitomi's eyebrows drifted slightly closer together, as if it was not even something he had to ask her permission about. She placed her hands onto his shoulders and lifted herself up, twisting her body and dismounting from the bike without waiting for him to slow down or stop. She carefully positioned herself and rolled as soon as she hit the ground, quickly jumping up and running toward the overturned buss. She reached the door quite quickly, and grasping a nearby rock she smashed the window and reached in through the opening, pulling the emergency release lever. She quickly jumped back and the doors swing in and allowed her to get inside.

The passengers were scrambling, trying to get the windows open or crawling toward the now-open door near the front of the bus. She looked over at the driver, who was now unconscious, and unfastened his seat belt and started pulling him up and out as quickly as she could. She couldn't see where the zombie was, if there was in fact one inside.

After successfully pulling the driver out she worked on helping the others out of the seats as well and out the doors, but from the screams and cries of anguish from the back of the bus she wasn't sure how much more time she had before she too had to bail out. Upon lifting a young girl out she glanced up and to her right, quickly pulling herself up and out of the doorway as she realized that all the commotion was drawing the attention of them. She looked about, but the survivors had already scattered for the most part and were out of sight, except for the little girl she had just helped out. Grasping the girl's hand she ran back to Soiji and left her with him. Then, arming herself with a nearby stop sign for a weapon she approached the group of the dead which staggered closer and closer to the buss.

She dashed forward with a wide back swing she sliced off the heads of the two in front, using the edges of the stop sign as a blade. Continuing the motion she then struck the next three with the side of the pole as she continued to spin her body, mowing them down line by line and finishing with a downward strike to the head of the last one, smashing its skull. She then swirled the sign around herself and held it in her left hand before running back to the bus to check on Souji.

"How much further is it to your house?" she asked.
 
Souji quickly followed Hitomi, waiting until she opened the door and then helping her take the passengers off the bus. "Come on people! Get out of here!" - he shouted trying to organize their retreat, as he stood in top of one of the seats, not to get in the way of their retreat. He ran after Hitomi a moment later, leaving the bus.

He took the girl by the hand, and watched in awe as Hitomi started to decapitate zombies with a sign blade. It was simply amazing. Of course, he was no novice with melee weapons, but that was simply insane. The way she handled the sign as a blade and fought, was something out of a movie. Surreal.

"That onee-chan. She's amazing..." - he heard the little girl say, as much impressed as he was. himself. So much that only then he felt her little hand in his.

"Yeah... She sure is..." - he agreed, looking at her, and then smiled. The girl, even though she was frightned smiled back. - "Are you ok?"

"Yes... But I miss my mother..." - she said, softly, cocking her head a little.

"I bet." - he kneeled so he could look her in the eyes. - "What's your name, little girl?"

"Miho. Tachibana Miho" - she answered, her voice little more than a whisper now.

"Ok then, Miho-chan. I'm Souji, and this one with me is my teacher, Marasaki-sensei. We'll take care of you until we can find your mom, ok? Do you want to come with us?" - he said, a lot more softly than Hitomi had ever heard he speak. He always had a soft spot for kids and for some reason they always seemed to like him back - "You don't have to worry about anything ok? Just stay close to us." - he smiled.

"Right. Arigatou, Souji-onii-chan!" - she smiled, and threw her arms around him. Souji couldn't help but embrace her. She was a strong girl making her best not too break down and cry, and he admired that, specially in one so young.

"You're welcome." - he smiled tenderly at her, and then turned back to his teacher when the girl let go of him. He blushed when noticed she was there the whole time, seeing that softer side of him. - "W-what are you looking at? Yeah, we're close. Ten minutes top." - he said, regaining his composure.

"Lets just go, ok? He turned around and hopped back in the bike, taking Miho by her armpits and sitting her in front of him, her little hands right beneath his own in the controls. - "Ever drove a bike before Miho? Let's see how you do, ok?" - he smiled at her and as soon as Hitomi hopped in, he left, Miho laughing as he sped up the bike, using her tiny hands for it.
 
Hitomi was a bit astonished herself at what she had just pulled off, given that she had never actually wielded such a thing before as a weapon let alone slice through living, dead, or undead bodies. There were many ways in which she had changed over the short time of one and a half days, and she didn't think all of it was good... In the very least, she was becoming much more daring and bold with the use of her body.

"I didn't know you were good with kids," Hitomi teased him gently, the streets becoming gradually less grim as they rode closer to Souji's house. Miho seemed to be enjoying the ride, and even though bikes were not technically supposed to be ridden by three people, no one of course was going to pull them over and question them. The police all had better things to be doing at the time.

As they pulled up to Souji's house, it as well as the rest of the neighborhood appeared to be in relatively good shape. Hitomi helped Miho down and took her hand as she turned to Souji, "Do you think your dad is home?"

She might have just stepped on a conversational landmine without intending to.
 
There's a lot you don't know about me, Marasaki-sensei..." - he said, softly, but there wasn't any hint of agressiveness in his tone. He was merely stating a simple truth. While they rode, he could see the weather becoming dark and dark, heavy clouds blocking the midday sun. A storm was coming...

He was glad though, to see his neighborhood in good shape. He smiled as he parked the bike in front os his house. - "Here we are." - he said, parking in front of a two stores house, that had mostly ocidental style, only hinting at japanese traditional architecture, partially hide behind big walls, an a sturdy metal gate.

He opened the gate and made his way to the door as he heard her question. - "Not likely..." - was his only answer. She would soon enough see why he said that. He entered the room which had a simple style, but was rather cozy. It was well furnished, with sofas, tables. Nothing really worth of notice, but three things.

In the far wall, two shelves could be seen. Both of them were filled with medals, trophies and pictures, one of the shelves belonging to Souji himself, another to his father's. Souji's one had a lot of pictures of him, in two different attires. One was a okinawan Karate kimono, and the other, a traditional Aikido kimono, from all ages, since he was a little kid. The medals and trophies ranged from 3rd to 1st place in both sports going from school tournments to the very nationals. His father's had pictures of him in his officers uniform and tactical uniform, his medals and trophies relating to inner championships of the police department both in firearms and hand-to-hand combat. Being a cop was the reason Souji said his dad wouldn't be home. With all that going on, he would be out on the streets helping people, dead, or out on the streets killing people.

The third was a cabinet sit open, with a well decorated altar where the picture of a beautiful woman in her early twenties, with light brownish hair and a great resemblance to Souji himself. Incenses, candles and flowers decorated it. - "Make yourselves at home..." - he said to the visitors. He felt really good about being home. - "We got here just in time for lunch too..."

After he said that, he gave a quickly tour of the house to them. - "Bathroom is down the hall. Dinning room and Kitchen over there. Three rooms upstairs. My dads, the guest room, and my room. My room is out of limits by the way. I'll make us lunch so feel free to do what you want"

That said, he got up and left for the kitchen, putting a pink apron with the saying "Bad boys can cook too". Then he started working, happy with the perspective of eating some home made food, as it could be his last oportunity to do it.

He had three bowls of Katsudon ready in no time, which whe was confident would be delicious.
 
While Souji cooked, Miho went down the hall to use the restroom and wash up before lunch and Hitomi roamed about the other rooms, being careful not to go into Souji's room since she respected his request for privacy... even though she was desperately curious as to what he might have in there and if it might provide yet more clues into her troubling student's life (other than the trophies stacked up in the living room and the altar in loving memory to Souji's mother).

"I appreciate you making this for us, but shouldn't we be hurrying back to the others?" Hitomi pointed out, eating the Katsudon without hesitation as she was already aggressively hungry from all the calories she had been burning lately, "It looks like that storm is going to be a doozy, and I would hate to think what could happen to them if we don't get back quickly."

"What's a doozy?" Miho asked with a mouthful of Kutsudon.

Hitomi laughed and rubbed Miho's head affectionately.

After lunch Miho wandered off after putting up her dishes and Hitomi followed after her a short while later, only to find the young girl passed out on Souji's father's bed. She sighed and decided it would probably be best to let her sleep for a while, going out to check with Souji to see if it would be alright.

(Lol, I would love to see one of those aprons in real life)
 
"Nope. We need to eat too. Plus it can be the last time I can enjoy food like this, so I'll enjoy it to my hearts content..." - he replied, looking at her. - "Don't worry, the barricade will hold and they'll be fine." - he finished, still eating.

Miho seemed to enjoy her meal, and as soon as they were finished, Souji cleaned up, wearing his ever so cute apron once again. Then he made his way to his room. It was a simple room, with a bed, against the wall, by the window, a desk with his computer on top, wardrobe, TV and his Video Game collection. A black and white Fender Stratocaster and an amplifier finished the furniture along with some shelves full of manga. The walls were decorated with posters of his favorite artists, mainly japanese female idols and some anime posters. Some mech models were adorning the shelves along with some pictures he liked. One was of his father in his police uniform, hugging his mother who had him, still a little baby, in her arms. Another one he bought at school from a guy from the photography club and kept beside his computer. It was Hitomi in the middle of girl's pool class, in her swimsuit, a sweet smile on her face while she talked to a couple of girls.

He sat on the bad, looking at his room, and felt sad when he realize it would probably be the last time. Everything was changed, and would probably never got back to normal. His old life was over and only now, a day after it happened he finally realized it. He felt like crying for the first time in many years, the horror of all of that finally sinking in. But he hold it back. He took his guitar and started from its support and took a few notes out. An old song came to his mind and he played its solo. he was still playing when Hitomi found him.

He stopped playing then.

"Sensei." - he looked at her, the guitar on his lap, and sighed. - "Told you my room was off limits, didn't I?" - he said with an annoying look, but did not meant it. - "Come on in, then, intruder..." - he said giving her some room in the bed. He listened to her and then nodded. - "Yeah, it's better to let her sleep a little. Plus, I remembered it was on the news yesterday a Typhoon could come this way. Its already dangerous as it is out there, so we better stay inside until it goes away." - he stated, and seeing she seemed concerned, he tried to comfort her. - "Don't worry, they're alright. They're safe inside the house, and have plenty of food for 4 people for some days. We can wait and play it safe, alright?" - he said, looking at her.

He had a lot to tell her about what was going on his head, but he was affraid she would just call him immature and lecture him agains, so he decided to wait a little. They had time after all.
 
"Yes, I suppose that would be for the best," Hitomi nodded, not feeling very inclined to talk at the moment as she sat beside him on the bed.

The clouds in the distance thundered ominously as the distinct sound of approaching rain whispered in their ears. Her hand brushed against his as she leaned back to look over the various things in the room, searching for something to distract her attention from the fact that the two of them were alone in his room. It was the first time she had been in one of her student's rooms, as even on the few occasions that she had done home visits with the family the entire visit had taken place in the living room and kitchen areas. Her attention was abruptly drawn to the photos on his shelves, particularly the one of herself in a bathing suit.

"Um," she pointed at the picture in question, "Why do you have that? Isn't that one of those candid shots that a first year student took of me sometime last summer?"

Although she didn't know about it right away, she had caught wind of some black market business going on around the school sometime around last fall. Upon further investigation she discovered, to her amusement, that the students were simply selling off pictures of herself among themselves. The fact that such a photo still existed was not what she was surprised about... It was the fact that Souji of all people was one of the students that had one. The cat was officially out of the bag.
 
'Crap! Totally forgot about it!' - he thought, freezing for an instant - 'Shit, I'm as dumb as a door!'

He did not show any signs of disturbance though. - What? Oh, that... Yeah, it is. I was going to and blackmail you into raising my grades or edit it to appear as a ecchi pic and send to the prefectures Ethic Comission..." - he said, seemingly unfazed, and went back to look at his guitar. - "The damn kid whot took the pictures sold it to everyone though, and soon everybody knew about it.... Damn shame... It costed almost fifty bucks..."

"Well... I did got it back with interest by making him pay for my lunch for a month, though..." - he sighed - "Still, damn shame... Kept it anyway, Figure I could make a darts game out of it at some point... One hundred points for each eye, baby..."

It was the best lie he got, even though he knew it was lame. Though he could still deny everything to death....
 
Would Souji spend fifty dollars just for a picture to use as a dart board? Hardly.

Would the Souji she know even consider using a picture to blackmail her into getting better grades? Since when did Souji actually care about his grades?

While at first she simply looked away, without warning she slid her leg over his and sat down on his lap.

"Lies," Hitomi's eyes told him clearly that she didn't buy a single word. (A bit of word play there since Hitomi means the pupils of the eyes in Japanese) She grabbed him firmly by the shoulders and brought her face mere centimeters from his, an intense look spread across her face. She held him there, determined to make him confess the true purpose of the photograph.

"I won't be mad," Hitomi said firmly, "just tell me the straight out truth... Do you like me?"

She felt confident that even if he continued to deny it there was no possible way that his expression would not.
 
Souji was petrified when she suddenly sat on his lap. What the hell was she doing? He couldn't keep a blush from crept its way onto his cheeks. - "What are you doing?" - he asked nervously.

He got even more nervous when she got so close to him. He had only dreamt of having her face so close, her hands on his shoulders, her firm but against his lap. He would probably have an erection if it wasn't for the terror he felt at that moment. The boy could feel her alluring breath on his face, drawing him closer, the wish to kiss her becoming almost unbearable. Still, he held on, his hands squeezing the sheets on his bed, tightly.

His eyes were betraying him, he was sure. He would never be able to hurt her like that. His body would punch him out cold automatically if his mind even considered it. He sighed. - "What do you want to hear huh? It was my first year in high school, I was fifteen and stupid, so I had a stupid crush on you." - he admitted, but twisted it a little. It could convince her. - "So I bought the foto. I didn't know you had a fiancee... I got over it after a few weeks..." - he was scared of her reaction. So much he could feel he was starting to sweat.

He could never admit he still loved her. It woundn't sound romantic. It wound just sound silly. Stupid even. He could feel like a man all he wanted, to the rest of the world, he was just a boy with a bad atittude. - "Every boy at school lusted after you, and most of them bought the damn picutre, and you know it. Its your fault for being so hot, anyway." - he finished, hoping to sound convincing.

That should better convince her.
 
"If it was in the past, then why do you still have it on display, hm?" Hitomi backed off a bit but still sat on his lap, "In any case I'm glad that you are finally starting to open up to me. I was starting to think I would never manage to break through your mask and get to the real you."

She smiled and placed her arms under her breasts and raised them slightly, "Although I do admit, that aside from my looks its partially my own fault that those photos went around. Even after I knew what was going on I didn't report it or do anything else to stop the circulation. I'm not sure why exactly, but I guess its just my vain personality that allows me to enjoy the prospect that I'm pretty popular despite the fact that I am already engaged."

Hitomi poked him in the cheek with her right pointer finger in a playful manner, "See? I can be honest too..."

"For some reason I find teasing him unbearably pleasant," Hitomi mused to herself, "Plus the fact that he is enamored with me painted all over his little face makes me feel all giddy."
 
"Because I paid for it, so don't go seeing a hidden meaning where there is none..." - he said, looking at her - "And I'm not wearing any mask. You see in me what you want. I'm honest all the time, ain't I?" - he said, looking away. He did embrace her when she needed it and said things that could've given a hint. She didn't catch it because she didn't wanted to. But it was only half true. He did not told her how deep it went. How much he loved her and how for he would go for her."

He listened to her quietly and blushed when she poked at his cheek. He was feeling like a little boy when she teased him. She was miking clear that was all he was. A kid she could tease because. She didn't know how deep that could hurt him. How it hurt for him not even being able to clearly tell her that it wasn't a simple crush. It hurt. It hurt a lot.

Suddenly he grabbed her hand, squeezing it tightly in his own, a rush of anger giving him the courage he need to just lay it all on her. Could she really laught at it then? Knowing how he really felt? But it felt him soon enough, leaving just her hand on his. - "But if you want honesty, ok then..." - his eyes looked at her showing what his words would deny her, but it was probably too subtle for anyone to see it. Maybe only Tomoki had seen it. - "... you tell me. Why are you sitting on my lap right now? Why did you get so close to me? Just to tease me? Because its fun? Would you tease every boy in school who lusted after you like this?" - He didn't expect that to turn into something. He even expect fer for simply to say yes, but she had teared most of his armor away.

"Because you know you shouldn't, even with the given circumstances it is way out of line for a teacher, not to say an engaged one. So tell, me, Marasaki-sensei. Why are we like this?" - He was desperately trying to get some time off the spot light.
 
"I was simply trying to get you to speak to me as an equal for a change since talking to you as your teacher was not getting me anywhere at all," Hitomi let him hold her hand, her large round eyes blinked slowly showing that she wasn't being intimidated by his sudden show of forcefulness, "I can't argue with the fact that I find what I do amusing, but that was hardly the reason why I am doing it. I'm doing it so that you will stop throwing lies at me because of your fear of the truth. If I know anything at all about men, its that there is no way on earth that they can stand the approaches of the woman they love. Not Tomoki, and not you either."

"No, I am not the sort of woman who would just use these sort of measures on any young man who fancies me," Hitomi replied, "I live by one principal, and one principal alone when it comes to my body:"

She finally eased off his lap and stood up before striking a mildly playful pose, "Looking is fine, but touching is another matter entirely!"

Hitomi let out a heart-felt laugh, "You know, I haven't been able to let myself go like this for a while now."
 
He was hurt by her words, way more than she could possibly imagined. He was already hating himself for allowing her to come into her room. But he did not allow it to show, and simply let her get off of him. - "You're giving yourself too much credit if you think I love you, Marasaki-sensei. I won't say I don't fancy you, but that's a long way from love..." - He said, looking at her. He found it funny he was even more sad then he was angry, and surprised he could act so normally in front of her after all of that. He knew he probably wouldn't convince her that he didn't loved her anymore, so he just stoped trying.

He just looked at her while she played around striking her pose and felt like a fool for loving her. That put an end on his doubts about what he should do and he decided it was about time to drop the bomb on her. Nothing could have been worst than she stepping on her feelings out of pure curiosity so he couldn't care less about what would happen next. His next words came devoid of emotion. - "Glad you find toying with me, amusing... Now that you finished, let's skip to what really matters. Come with me..." - he got up, and left the room, leaving to his dad's office.

It was a plain room, with a big desk and big shelves with books, pictures also decorating it. The only thing different about the room, was three shelves made entirely of glass, and beneath the glass, password activated metal shutters. - "This is my father's office." - he said, walking to a panel. He quickly tapped the code and the shutters went up, while the window like glasses unlocked. beneath the shutters all kinds of guns were stored, from pistols, to assault rifles, carefully exposed on the wall. - "And this is my dad's hobbie. Collecting guns... That's why I wanted to come home." - he took a pistol from the stand, admiring it. - "You can have weapon you want... And I'll trade dad's Jeep by Ishikawa-sensei's bike. But I won't come back with you..." - he said, still looking at the gun.

"And before you start linking one thing to the other and getting to wrong conclusion, know I decided it last night, after we argued." - he said, expressionless and put the gun back on the stand. - "Just wondered when would be the right time to tell you. Guess now is as good a time as any..."
 
Hitomi seemed genuinely taken back when he flat out denied that he loved her, "I wasn't toying... I was trying to show that I trust you."

By that point, however, the conversation was practically over. She followed him over to his father's office and watched with wide eyes as he unlocked the hidden gun compartment and started pulling out fully operational firearms. She looked them over carefully and picked up one of the longer rifles.

"What's this one called? I think I could put it to good use," Hitomi placed her eye at the sights and pointed it out the nearby window, "I only took a few shooting range courses, so I am technically not certified to carry one of these, but I know how to use them."

She nodded as he told her that he didn't want to ride back with her, "Well, I suppose that's to be expected."

Hitomi shouldered the rifle and filed out of the room, taking a few packs of ammunition with her before leaving. She didn't clarify what she meant by her last words, and to be honest she might not have known either.

----

She didn't seem particularly inclined towards talking to Souji for the rest of the afternoon, instead she simply took apart and reassembled her rifle while watching over the little sleeping girl in the next room over. It was like a game she was playing with herself, only she could never be the winner. A thunder bolt sliced across the sky, and she merely glanced out the window in a half-assed manner before turning her attention back to the rifle.

After shouldering it once again, Hitomi glanced over at Souji's room and seemed to be considering something before she walked back down the steps to the living room and reclined onto it. She closed her eyes and decided to take a nap until the storm lightened up enough to allow her to have decent enough visibility to drive. She hardly even felt welcome here anymore as it was.
 
Souji spent the rest of the afternoon in his room, reading his old Gundam mangas. It gave him a feeling of normality again. Being in his own room, with his own stuff, reading such a good manga. After all, how could flesh eating zombies exist in a world where people draw gundams, and mahou shoujo mangas? It simply did not made sense. Every time he finished a page though, as he turned to the next he remembered it was all real. He wanted yesterday back, when he was napping on the roof, waiting so he could ogle her a little mor, not a care in the world.

He hold on on his reading when he saw the rain starting, wind blowing strongly out there, and thunder roaring through the sky. It gave everything an ominous feeling but at the same time gave him the sense of normality of his mangas. How many times had he spent the afternoon on his bedroom while the rain fell that hard outside? He couldn't explain it, but enjoyed it anyway.

It was dark when he finally went down again, to find Hitomi sleeping in the couch. She had a troubled expression on her face, but he figured only kids would be able to sleep peacefully in that situation. He wanted to hold her again. Tell her everything was going to be fine, and feel her warmth. But knew that would only make things worse. But he reached out to her, his hand caressing her cheek, as softly as a feather. He traced her lips with his fingers and then caressed her again. He wouldn't see her again after the typhoon. So he hoped it would last forever.

He snapped out of it moments later, and went to the kitchen, preparing himself to cook dinner. It always made him feel better. He took some ingredients, wondering what he could make and decided to just send it all to hell and feast. 'Sukiyaki it is...' he thought as he started cooking. It took him sometime to get it done but it was over after some time. And smelling great.

He made his way to wake Miho up, but she was sleeping so peacefully that he decided against it. She could eat it afterwards. He made it back to the living room and softly woke Hitomi up.

"Marasaki-sensei? Dinner is ready..." - he said, and went to the dinner table, taking his apron off and sitting. He waited for her to get her share first and then helped himself with it. - "Itadakimasu..." - he said softly, claping his hands together, and then starting to eat. Eating something so good made him feel better instantly, even if having her with him at his dinner table took away all of his sense of normality.

As the silence became too much unbearable to him, he spoke up.

"You can have a bath afterwards... I'll pick some clothes up for you... And you can use our wash machine to clean up your jersey..." - he said, eating in a very polite fashion.
 
Hitomi didn't seem to have noticed his caresses while she slept, but awoke pretty easily when he spoke her name. She shook her head slightly as if trying to clear it of thoughts as she sat up and followed him into the kitchen. She sat down at the table with him, sitting in the chair opposite him and eating the sukiyaki in complete and utter silence. She refused to even make eye contact with him until he broke the spell that seemed to be cast over her. She looked up at him finally, but her eyes were telling him to back off.

"Thank you for making dinner," she said blandly and put away her dishes, "I don't need a bath, after all women like me just need ready and willing boys, right?"

"I wouldn't take any of your mom's things anyway," Hitomi shouldered her rifle and walked over to the master bedroom to wake up Miho, "I know they must mean a lot to both yourself and your father. You wouldn't want to waste them on someone like me, now would you?"

The little girl still looked pretty groggy from the abrupt waking but managed to give Souji a farewell kiss on the hand before Hitomi took her away with her to the garage.

"Whatever you are looking for in life," she said with a final nod, "I sure hope you find it, whatever the hell it is."

-----

The lights on the jeep blazed through the dim haze that hung over the road as she pulled down the driveway. Miho sat in the back seat, still half asleep but thankful that they were finally on the road. Hitomi's rifle lay across the seat beside her with the jingle of the keys the only sound that reached her ears. There was no slowly thinning rain. There was no distant crash of thunder.

There was certainly not a pain deep inside Hitomi's heart.

-----

Tomoki stood by the front door as the other students filed into the seats of the covered jeep, "Where the heck did Souji run off with my bike?"

"Shut the hell up," Hitomi grabbed Tomoki's shoulder and pushed him toward the car, "Get your ass inside or you'll be hitchhiking the rest of the way to Town Hall with a few hundred of your old pals from the high school."

"Well, someone's on her period," Tomoki blinked, not sure what to make of Hitomi's attitude but stepping inside the car without another moment of fuss, "you just had to say he's still alive."

Hitomi shifted the jeep into gear and peeled out into the road, heading directly north... North towards where they hoped to find protection, safety, and most of all peace of mind.

What they would find could not be farther from the truth.

---end of chapter 2---

survivors: 7

Chapter 3: The Journey to the Center of the Dead
 
Souji listened to her in silence and simply sighed at the end. - "And you accuse me of being immature... Yeah right..." - but did not protested about her leaving in the middle of the storm. It was better that way. At least that was what he hoped. - "If you want to leave, leave, but don't blame it all on me, and distort my words like that. I did not meant it like that." - he answered, hurt. His pride was getting in the way, over and over.

While she went to wake Miho up, Souji made his way to his dad's office and stuffed a big bag full of guns. Four pistols, 2 sub-machine guns, a sniper rifle and one shotgun and two assault rifles. The rest he filled with mixed ammo. They would have enough for the ride, he was sure of it. He took a piece of paper, and then wrote on it:

By the way, that's a M110 Semi-Automatic Sniper System, baka.

It has a capacity for 20 rounds each clip, so count it well. I'm sending a bayonet in the bag. Attach it to the rifle, and you'll be able to use it in melee range.

For the things I did wrong, I am sorry.

Be safe,

Souji

And then put it inside the bag too, closing it quickly. The next bag he stuffed with clothes. His own, some of his fathers and some of his mother. No matter what she said, he didn't think they would be able to just stop to gather it along the way, so it was better to have some with them. He put the too bags at the back of the jeep, without her knowledge and left it there so she couldn't complain about it. He was waiting for her in front of it, spinning the key in his hand.

He threw the key to her and stepped away, kneeling and kissing the girl tenderly in the forehead. - "You be a good girl and listen to Marasaki-sensei, ok?" - he smiled at her, and then, upon hearing her parting words, he simply sighed.

"Look around you, sensei. There's nothing to look for in life anymore except survival." - he said it, harshly than he expected. - "Be sure to remember that, or you'll end up in trouble. Have a safe trip."

After they left, he locked up and took a bath, bandaging his wounded arm, and then proceeded to watch old videos until he finally fell asleep on the couch. He couldn't go to his room anymore. Not with her picture haunting him...

Chapter 3: The Journey to the Center of the Dead

Souji woke up in the morning, still hearing the thunder and the rain outside. It seemed the rain would last for a while still. He had little concerns though. He made some light exercises, took a morning bath and had something for breakfast. It was almost like any other day. The streets were clear, no signs of any freaks out there, so he figured he could pick up some provisions on the nearby convenience store.

He went by bike and took all he could carry. Most of it was canned stuff or snacks, things that couldn't go to waste so easily. He had no trouble going out there or going back to the house. It seemed like a ghost town, only the rain to keep him company.

He wondered how the others were. He was worried about them, even if he didn't want to acknowledge it...
 
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