High School of the Dead + One

「Five Dead」

"The fire hose..." Takashi starts, "Not too shabby."

I smile, walking down the stairs behind Rei. "Thank you; I do try."

My leggings slosh around in my shoes because of how wet I am, and every step Rei and I take splashes from the water, but none of us acknowledge it as Rei takes her place by Takashi and I stand next to her, not in the mood to set her off for being too close to him.

"I think it's okay now," she says enthusiastically.

"How I admire your optimism," he says sarcastically, causing me to chuckle. "You sure about this?"

As if to say yes, she steps down to the same step as him and holds out his bat. He reaches for it, but their fingers brush against each other, causing them both to stop. They stare, surprised, before Takashi grabs a higher end of the bat, looking away.

"Let's go," he says plainly.

Rei looks away and nods, flushing.

Again, the jealousy burns my chest, making me clench my teeth.

This is no time to be getting worked up by some high school crush, Yuki!

I shake off the bitter feeling as Takashi and Rei start running towards the door, knocking over the undead as they attack us. We take the stairs two at a time, heading down to the outside hallway. Without wasting any time to look at the havoc all around us, we speed into the school building, coming into contact with more undead. Surprisingly, there aren't as many as I expect—considering the amount of students in school—and we easily deal with them.

We don't talk much, focused on getting through, but when we reach the stairs to the second floor, Rei speaks up.

"Where are we going?" she asks.

Takashi pauses, taking a minute before turning to us, smiling. "My house," he says. "We'll go there to get supplied we need, and meet up with other people who haven't been bitten yet. Then we'll work together and get someplace safe."

I study him, disbelief filling my features. Sure, his plan is logical, and probably the best thing to do, but his smile worries me. I can still see a hint of something in his eyes—fear? Worry?

"Yeah, you're right!" Now that I know my dad's okay..." She pauses, glancing back at me. "Yuki, we should call your house and see if everyone's okay. You too, Takashi."

The thought of my father being okay makes me nauseous.

Rei's eyes widen as she realizes what she just said. "You lived with Hisashi..." she says slowly, processing it and connecting the dots. "Did you two live together...alone?"

It's a question that causes my heart to speed up. Familiar, angry grey eyes flash in my mind. A sharp pain in my back, glass shattering, Hisashi frantically talking to me...

"Yuki?" Rei reaches out a hand to me, but I cringe away from her touch.

"S-sorry," I mumble, trying to pull myself together. "Y-yeah... we lived together alone."

"For how long?" she persists, getting angrier by the minute.

I gulp, not willing to answer.

"How long?" she repeats, now glaring at me.

"Rei, leave her alone," Takashi snaps, pulling me behind him. "She doesn't want to talk about it."

I blink, surprised. Takashi standing up to Rei? For me? That has to be some sort of miracle.

Her eyes narrow, but she sighs, giving in as she looks at Takashi. "What about your parents, Takashi? We should probably call them."

"Waste of time; nobody's home. My dad won't be back in town till next week, and my mom's a school teacher, so she won't be home till five," he explains, turning towards the stairs. "Besides, they get on my nerves."