Resolve of the Undead

H.O.T.D.

Summary: Before Takashi's fierce team hit the road on a quest for survival he crossed paths with the talented Saeko. Hisashi wasn't bitten and survived the initial invasion of the school. Tensions are high amongst the zombie-slaying team. Can they survive the zombies, their feelings, and their burdens?

Days before the Zombie pandemic…

It was the first week of school in the fall semester. She was a third year student, captain of the kendo club, a prodigy by all accounts, and Japan's Kendo National Champion. She did well in her classes. And half the male population at her high school had a crush on her. None had acted on their crush, most likely due to their intimidation of her hard stare and cold demeanor. Only one boy, just one, had looked her straight in the eyes. His eyes were a honey-brown color.

At the end of last year she met him in the hall on her way to her locker. They'd bumped into each other and he apologized. Those simple words, "Excuse me," had such a profound impact on her. It was the first time since she could remember that a boy her age hadn't stammered, blushed, or stared at their feet the whole time while addressing her. His name was Takashi Komuro and he was in the class below her at the time, though she had been optimistic about seeing him around campus.

Takashi was stubborn, athletic, quietly contemplative, and skipped a good portion of his classes to brood on the school's rooftop. She'd never actually held a conversation with him outside of that brief exchange in the hall. She did know that he was in love with someone else. He had been in love with a girl named Rei Miyamoto and she had broken up with him last spring. She was the vice president of the martial arts club and was dating Hisashi Igo, the Captain of said club.

The kendo club and the martial arts club often rivaled one another for school funds. Rei wasn't Saeko's favorite person, but she wasn't her least favorite person either.

The dark haired girl in the desk next to her raised her hand. "Teacher?" she asked.

The physics teacher turned from the projector where he was writing out equations and explaining some of Einstein's theories about energy and mass. "Yes, Miss Hotohori?"

Hotohori clutched at her temples. "I have a terrible headache, sir."

Saeko was scribbling a grocery list in her notebook. Her father was overseas in an international martial arts tournament. Her mother had died years ago and she was an only child. She didn't mind grocery shopping. In fact, she loved to cook and enjoyed purchasing the various ingredients, but it was no fun to cook meals for one. She missed her father, especially whenever he wasn't around to share in her cooking.

The teacher sighed and then directed his gaze at Saeko. "Miss Busujima, I believe you are familiar with the nurse's office. Could you guide Miss Hotohori?"

"Of course," Saeko agreed. She set her pen down and closed her notebook. She pushed back her chair and moved for the door. Hotohori quickly scrambled out of her desk and joined Saeko in the hallway. She was quite familiar with the campus clinic having taken several kendo opponents there after an intense sparring session. Nurse Shizuka Marikawa was competent enough, though sometimes she seemed more concerned about wearing fashionable clothing than about the welfare of her patients.

After having dropped off Hotohori, Saeko weighed the idea of heading back to class immediately versus making a detour. The hallways were empty as it was halfway through the class period. She decided to head up to the roof for some fresh air.

It was there that she saw him.

Leaning with his forearms balanced on the rail, the wind tussling his dark hair, stood Takashi Komuro in his black school uniform. Saeko took a deep breath, tugged on the green skirt of her school uniform, and prepared herself to hold a conversation with the boy that had the courage to look her in the eye.

"I can't believe you!" shrieked a golden haired girl marching up the opposite stairs to the roof.

Takashi sighed and turned toward the irate young woman. "Rei," he greeted.

"You!" she shouted. She prodded him in the chest viciously with her index finger. "What is your problem?"

"My problem is that you're a straight A student that elected to be held back a year so you could be with your idiotic boyfriend," Takashi answered.

Saeko smirked. She was familiar with the members of the rival club. Captain Hisashi, a silver-haired, sophomore, martial artist with a black belt in Karate was strong in combat. She'd heard the rumor that his girlfriend had requested to be held back a grade, but here was validation. It seemed unlikely, but who was she to judge.

"And you felt the need to tell my father this!" Rei yelled, her cheeks flushed red in anger. "It wasn't a choice that I was held back!"

"I respect your father. He is an honorable officer of the law. We've known each other's families since before we started kindergarden. When he asked me for the reason you were being held back in school I told him," Takashi answered. "Why else would a straight A student be held back a year?"

"That wasn't the reason! And now father will…"she trailed off. "You're just jealous that I chose your friend Hisashi and not you!" Rei hissed.

Saeko cleared her throat. Both Takashi and Rei turned to face her. The girl's mouth snapped shut and her eyes narrowed in anger.

"Sorry I'm late, Takashi. I would have met you here sooner, but I had to take a classmate to the nurse's office," Saeko explained. She allowed a flirtatious smile to spread across her lips as she sauntered toward the stunned teenaged boy. She ignored Rei completely, but she could sense the other girl's outrage.

"It's fine," Takashi said, catching on to the opportunity to escape more hurtful words by the girl yelling at him.

Saeko crossed the distance and laid a hand on Takashi's shoulder. She leaned close and brushed her lips across his cheek. He reacted stoically without a hint of a blush to the kiss. Why wouldn't she have a crush on this man? Saeko then turned her attention to Rei. "Hello, Rei. I didn't realize that you and Takashi knew each other."

She had to give Rei credit for recovering quickly from her shock. "Hi Saeko. Takashi and I have been friends since before we ever started school. We dated for two years. I didn't realize that you knew Takashi." She had the decency to look embarrassed. "If you don't mind, we were having a private discussion," Rei said, laying a possessive hand on Takashi's arm. Her expression turned smug.

Saeko stared at Rei's hand and contemplated her next move. "I do mind. The girl that dumps my lover for his best friend isn't privy to having a private conversation with him," Saeko said. She grabbed Takashi's wrist and tugged him away from Rei. "We only have a short amount of time before I need to return to class. Broom closet on the second floor?" Rei's eyes grew wide and she stepped back a step in shock.

"Uh, yeah," Takashi agreed. "Sorry, Rei. We can finish this discussion later," he said raising his free hand in a farewell gesture.

They descended down the stairs, Saeko still holding his wrist. Takashi twisted his arm and reversed the grip, so that he, was holding her wrist. He pulled her to a stop on the second floor landing. "Why did you help me?" Takashi asked, his honey-brown colored eyes searching her face.

Saeko stared back at him in uncertainty. "You're a good guy, Takashi." She slipped her hand out his grasp and hurried down the stairs without looking back though she dearly wanted to. At least he knew her name now. It was only the start of the school year. There was plenty of time to cross paths with him again. Right now she was angry. How could someone that so clearly held Takashi's heart, stomp on it so severely?

Unfortunately for her kendo teammates, she had a lot of aggression to work out of her system. Saeko enjoyed inflicting violence on others, it was important that she channel that dark energy into something productive. Maybe that's why no one looked her in the eyes. Perhaps they could see the violence brewing just below the surface and they were right to be scared.

OoO

Takashi watched the beautiful girl with the cool icy blue eyes and long violet hair hurry down the stairs away from him. He wasn't sure who she was, but she at least helped him save face in front of Rei. His old childhood sweetheart had recognized her, which made him think it was someone in the martial arts club.

Her name was Saeko.

He would have asked around, but he didn't have many friends. Rei and Hisashi had been his only real friends for years. At least, they had been until they started dating each other. He couldn't really blame Hisashi, but Rei had changed a great deal in the past year ever since she joined the martial arts club. All she ever did was complain that he wasn't interested in her problems, that he didn't sing enough at karaoke, that he was boring, he wasn't thoughtful enough, he wasn't cute or sweet, and he was too quiet. Maybe Morita or Saya would know something about her.

"What would we have done in the broom closet?" Takashi wondered aloud rubbing the back of his neck.

It looked like the school year might be a little more promising than he anticipated at first. It was time to make some new friends.

He waited for the bell to ring and headed to lunch. Perhaps, if he was lucky he'd be able to find this Saeko amongst the students that shared his lunch period. Normally, he ate lunch on the rooftop, but the thought had been spoiled by his most recent argument with Rei. By the time he made it to the lunch courtyard the line for the cafeteria was pretty long. Unfortunately, he had left his lunch at home.

Takashi started to join the lunch line when he spotted violet hair by the large century tree in the middle of the courtyard. Without so much as a thought, he altered his course for the tree and the girl sitting underneath it. He could get food later. She was eating out of a black lacquered bento box with a plum tree embossed across the top and sides. She was staring absently into the distance.

"Mind if a join you?" Takashi asked, with a nervous smile, standing in front of her with his shadow falling over her.

Her ice blue eyes traveled from his shoes, up the length of his body and then settled upon his face, then back down to his empty hands. She held out her bento box to him. "I have plenty to share," Saeko greeted, her face expressionless. If she was surprised, she didn't show it.

Takashi took the box out of her hand, as well as the chopsticks she held to him. He sat next to her with his back pressed against the century tree. The food within the box was delightful. It melted in his mouth in culinary ecstasy. "This is amazing!" he said turning to her, his mouth full of rice ball.

"Thank you," Saeko said with a small smile. "I enjoy cooking almost as much as I enjoy wielding a sword."

"So, you're on the kendo team then?" Takashi asked. He'd eaten half the bento box before he realized that she might want some of her own lunch. He held the box out to her. "It's really good," he said sheepishly.

Saeko's smile was full blown. "Thank you," she pushed the box back toward him. "You eat it," she offered. She reached into her khaki backpack and pulled out another box. This one was also black lacquered, but with a red cherry blossom tree on it. "I have extra."

"So, I'm Takashi Komuro," he said. "Nice to meet you."

"Saeko Busujima," she replied. "We met last spring."

"I think I would remember you," Takashi answered. He racked his mind and he couldn't remember meeting this beautiful dark haired woman. His miserable summer break would have been a little less miserable if he'd had her to think about in those lonely hours. It would have been a better use of time than visiting the old junk yards with a baseball bat and bashing in the windows of the junk cars slated to be compacted.

She shrugged. "We just bumped into each other in the hall."

He tried to think back. Last spring was when Rei dumped him. He'd walked in on her and Hisashi in the martial arts club dojo. They weren't doing anything bad necessarily, but they'd been sitting on the steps together and he had his arm around her. They were cozy. It was possible that could have been the day of their encounter. Otherwise, there was no possible way he'd have forgotten her. "I'm sorry, I don't remember."

Saeko shrugged. "It wasn't a big deal," she assured him. She concentrated on her bento box and quietly ate.

It was a big deal obviously or else she wouldn't have helped him with Rei on the rooftop. "I really appreciate what you did for me on the roof earlier."

"You didn't deserve to be yelled at like that," Saeko said quietly.

Takashi grinned and gestured between them with his chopsticks. Maybe he did and maybe he didn't deserve to be yelled at. "So, we're lovers, huh?"

A fierce blush spread across Saeko's cheeks. "That was presumptuous of me, my apologies."

"Presumptuous? You're beautiful. A guy should be so lucky as to call you his lover," Takashi argued. He glanced around the courtyard worriedly. "You don't have a real boyfriend that's going to kill me now, do you?"

Saeko chuckled softly. "Hardly." She tucked away her empty bento box and then took his empty box and secured them back inside her school bag. "You should head to class soon. If you keep skipping you'll end up being held back like your friend."

"You know about that?" Takashi asked with a cringe. Great, now she thought he was a lazy idiot. Just like Rei.

"I had hoped we would be in some of the same elective classes this year," Saeko confessed staring down at her knees. "I was disappointed to not share any classes with you."

"Oh," Takashi said. He stared down at his hands unsure of what to say. After all Rei's rejections it was hard to consider the possibility that someone else might find him worth while.

Saeko rose to her feet gracefully and soundlessly. "If you would like, I could bring you a lunch tomorrow," she offered.

Takashi stood up quickly. "I don't want you to go to any trouble," he protested holding his hands out in front of him.

"It's no trouble at all, Komuro," Saeko said. "Try to make your classes this afternoon. I'd hate for you to be held back."

"Please, call me Takashi." The corner of his lip curled into a smile. "Let's meet here for lunch tomorrow then."

"Okay, lover," Saeko agreed with a wink. She walked away from him and out of the courtyard. Stunned, Takashi couldn't withdraw his eyes away from her retreating figure.

When she was no longer in view he shook his head to clear his thoughts. With an enthusiasm he hadn't felt in months he made his way to his fifth period class. It was a subject he shared with both Rei and Hisashi. Thanks to Saeko Busujima he was eager to face the pair confidently.

A/N: I'd been toying with writing a fanfiction for this series for years. I recently re-watched the 12 episode first season and I'm such a huge Saeko x Takashi shipper. I really don't care for Rei much as I think she's selfish and only likes Takashi now because there are no better options. Though, she's pretty decent in a fight with her spear attacks. Saeko seems to truly respect Takashi and I'm curious in the series why she is so attached to him. I assume it's because he is the one she had a crush on before the zombie apocalypse. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this!

3/25/14, Special thanks to my new Beta Gentizm for helping me polish this chapter!