Crowded streets are cleared away
One by One
Hollow heroes separate
As they run

You're so cold
Keep your hand in mine
Wise men wonder while strong men die

Show me how it ends it's alright
Show me how defenceless you really are
satisfy an empty inside
Well, that's alright, let's give this another try

– So Cold, Breaking Benjamin

It was dark. Dark, dark, dark. But that was good. Darkness was good. He didn't like the light. The light hurt. It burnt his skin. It blinded him. Yes. He much preferred the dark. The shadows couldn't hurt him. They were his friends. Unlike those kids. He could hear them now. Talking. Making a racket. They locked him in here. Trapped him like a monster. But he wasn't a monster. He wasn't. Well, at least he though he wasn't... It was hard to tell. Words jumbled in his brain. Memories blurred. There was only one thought that made sense anymore. Food. Hunger. He was hungry. And those kids were taunting him. Not only could he hear them, he could smell them too. They smelt good. Like fresh meat. He wanted them. He wanted to sink his teeth into their flesh. He wanted to taste their blood. He was hungry. Oh so very hungry.

But he couldn't move. There was something in his way. What was it called again? It began with a 'D'... Dorm? Door? Door! That was it. He needed to remember that. Important word. Good word. He smiled. Yellow teeth broke the darkness. He laughed, repeating his newly learnt word over and over again. Door, door, door! Only it didn't sound like door. In fact, it was nothing but a moan. A gurgle. He giggled. Again, it didn't sound like a giggle. It didn't even sound human. But was he even human? Yes, of course. He was... What was his name again? Door? No, that was the thing that blocked his way. So what was his name? Did he even have a name? Yes, of course he did. He had a name and a family. Family. Yes... he had a son. Big boy. Grown-up boy. His son had yellow hair... No, his son was blonde. Blonde. Another good word. So many good words.

Where was his son then? He missed his boy. Eccentric boy. Loud boy. Good boy though. Yes, he was a very good boy. He wanted his son. But what was his son's name? Why were names so hard to remember? He growled. Too much noise. Those kids were too noisy. He couldn't think straight. Why couldn't they just shut up? Why couldn't they give him back his son? Did they even take his son in the first place? He was confused. His head hurt. He was hungry. Hungry, hungry, hungry. Food. He needed food. A good meal would make things clearer. He couldn't go and get anything to eat though. The door was blocking his way.

There was another noise. He closed his eyes. He could hear them. His brethren. Ah, they made such a nice noise. It drowned out the commotion of the kids. It soothed him. They were close. His brothers and sisters were close. Maybe they could help him. Maybe they could free him. Their numbers were growing. If he just called to them. Hungry, hungry, hungry. Food, food, food. Door, door, door. Too many thoughts. Too many words.

The sun was setting. The others were coming out of hiding. There was something important about the night though. Something that tickled him. It had something to do with his family. To do with his boy. Something to do with food. Another 'D' word. Why did everything start with 'D'? Dine... To dine... to eat... to eat... dinner. To eat dinner. That was it. Night-time meant dinner time. Dinner time meant food.

Food, food, food.

Dinner, dinner, dinner.

Door, door, door.

Why wouldn't they let him eat? All he wanted was one of them. Maybe two. He was so hungry. Couldn't they see that they were being cruel? He could hear footsteps from outside the room. And voices. They were talking; their words fast, jumbling in his rotting brain. He groaned and held his head in his hands. Animalistic grunts puffed from his mouth as he stumbled backwards, falling to the floor and crouching over. He rocked. Back, forth. Back, forth. So hungry... He whined and clasped his hands tighter over his ears. The footsteps had stopped – had passed, yet the voices still echoed in his ears. Loud and happy. No, these weren't outside voices; these voices were inside his head.

They were voices from the past... what was it again? Memories. They were memories. He had memories. Happy memories. Memories of before. Before what? Had something happened? Did it have anything to do with his boy? His blonde boy. His blue eyed baby.

Another grunt. Another whine. He was hungry. Food. Food, he wanted food. Warm food. Bloody food. He wanted... he wanted his boy. He wanted to eat his boy. Wait... eat his boy? Was his boy food? No, his boy was his boy. Not food. Not food. Not food. His son. His baby.

Hungry...

So hungry...

He sniffed and grunted again, shifting his position, yet still rocking.

Food, food, food.

Hungry, hungry, hungry.

Escape, escape, escape.

He needed to escape.

The knife tore into the skin, hacking through the leathery flesh and thick mass of matted hair. Blood pooled around the limp body, soaking into the concrete and turning from an already dark crimson into an even darker mahogany. Kaoru felt nausea rise in his stomach, twisting at his insides, and he had to force himself to look away, eyes squeezed shut. It felt sick – so very, very wrong – to have to resort to this. To have to kill an animal. Dogs were man's best friend, huh? Yeah, well now it seemed that they were mans main food source. And Kaoru hated it, despised it, and yet he knew that despite every moral in his body, he was going to eat this dog. He would die if he didn't.

Two months. It had taken a mere two months for society in Japan to collapse – for the sickness to wipe out every adult, everybody over the ripe young age of eighteen. Well, 'wipe out' wasn't exactly the right phrase. Some of the grown-ups were still around, limping through the streets, gargling out noises. But they could hardly be called human. They were decaying, rotten shells of the people they used to be. They had become the very personification of the disease. They were practically zombies, only they weren't the living dead. They were the dying, but not yet dead. Yeah, that kind of made sense.

Kaoru winced as the sickening sound of squelching insides reached his ears, the dog's guts being removed and stored in an old shopping bag. One of those ones that environmentalists were always moaning about – the ones that wouldn't rot for fifty years or something ridiculous like that. That fact had turned out to be a lifesaver, though. Without those plastic backs, backpacks, suitcases and satchels, moving food from run down shops, medical supplies from hospitals, and various other necessities would've been impossible.

Although nobody but Kyoya knew how to use the medical supplies, and even then the older boys knowledge was limited. So many had died from infected wounds. But in a way, that was the best death. After all, it was either that or you were ripped to shreds by those yellowing teeth of the people you had once referred to as 'Mum', 'Dad', 'Uncle' and 'Auntie', 'Brother' and 'Sister'.

"Pass me the rope." A rough voice commanded and Kaoru briefly flicked his topaz eyes to another member of their little 'establishment', watching as he passed two lengths of rope into blood stained hands. It was a horrible sight to see – like something out of a horror movie, and Kaoru half halfheartedly complimented those make-up artists on their detailed work. Seeing it in real life showed you how skilled the people on movie sets really were – the fact that the blood was lighter of the skin, sort of watery, and then a deep crimson as it seeped into the cracks of the flesh. It was grotesquely beautiful.

The dog had been completely gutted now – small and large intestine crammed into a bag along with the creatures once beating heart, his lungs and various other organs. Now all that Kyoya was doing – the only one with skilled enough hands to know how to gut an animal – was binding the beast's legs to make it easier to carry. The dog's fur was pulled completely away in places, and the white patches of his fur were now a sickening red. He must've been such a remarkable looking Border collie in his prime.

The auburn haired boys heart gave a painful lurch, and again he wondered why the hell he was even out here, 'watching' this defiling of a living creature. He could easily be indoors. He would much rather be indoors. Like the coward he was. Staying behind the 'safety' of those thick wooden doors that barred Ouran High from the rest of the world.

But no – he was out here, the strong metallic stench of blood clinging to the hairs of his nostrils like the smell of smoke clung to, well, smokers.

Tired eyes flickered up to meet Kaoru's topaz orbs, light reflecting off of the scratched lenses of his glasses. He registered the pale complexion of his 'friend' and sighed, tightening the ropes around the dogs back ankles one last time before nodding to the other boy helping him. Said boy quickly slid a broken beam of wood through the gap of the beast's front legs, pushing it all the way through and out the gap between its back legs before using the cracking wood to heave the dog up and begin moving him away. Kyoya then stood up himself, groaning as his knees clicked. After all, pulling out the insides of an animal was no quick task. And now he was covered in blood. Brilliant.

"If you don't like it, why did you watch?"

His voice was cool, hiding the overwhelming tiredness that flooded his body. Kaoru, whose gaze had trailed away, following the dead dogs departure, jumped slightly and looked back to Kyoya, a sheepish smile on his face. Nothing like his old cheeky grin. More like an echo, a mimic of the once cheerful expression. Broken.

"Am I really that easy to read, Kyoya?"

No 'senpai'. Formalities were long gone now.

"You've always been easy to read, Kaoru. Much easier than your brother." Kyoya replied, voice clipped. He bent down and picked up a towel, wiping as much of the blood from his hands as he could, and turning the grimy grey into a crimson stained grimy grey. "So, why are you out here anyway?"

Kaoru's small smile immediately dropped and he swallowed, a thick lump suddenly forming in his throat.

"You already know that, too, Kyoya..." He mumbled, his hands furling into tight fists. "It's about 'him'."

Kyoya blew out a puff of air, sending some stray onyx bangs fluttering. He didn't look at Kaoru when he spoke – instead he went about his business, slinging the towel over his shoulder and tying up the ends of the plastic shopping bags. The likes of which already had flies buzzing around them.

"What about 'him'?" The black haired teen snapped, voice sounding harsher than he meant it to be. "Is he bothering you? Making too much noise, maybe? Or is he trying to escape again? If so, I wouldn't worry too much, he's too stupid to be able to figure out the lock."

Kaoru's gaze followed Kyoya's movements as the older boy spoke, topaz eyes narrowing and fists clenching harder with each word the upper-class man spewed. He hated when Kyoya done this – started spouting random questions without stopping, trying to prevent the other person from speaking. To prevent them from saying what they wanted to say, because he knew he didn't want to hear it.

"It's none of those things, and you know it, Kyoya." Kaoru growled, jogging to catch up with his ex-club co-member, who had started to walk briskly away during his earlier babble of questions. "I've already told you that it's not what he's doing exactly, but what he's attracting."

"Which is nothing."

Kaoru let out a frustrated whine, struggling to match the speed at which the other was walking, his body lagging slightly behind the taller male.

"I've seen them Kyoya – every night." Kaoru pressed, ignoring the angry look on Kyoya's face. "At least five at a time, sometimes less, sometimes more. They take refuge in the gym, over the other side of the school. And all of them look at 'his' window as they pass. As if he's, I don't know, calling them or something."

"You honestly have no idea how stupid you sound right now, do you?" Kyoya countered, cold tone bent to try and sound joking. It didn't work. "I mean, Kaoru, 'calling them'? Do you understand how impossible that is? You're tired – we're all tired, I get it. But Kaoru, you have got to stop with this. Two weeks is long enough, and I'm exhausted of listening to your delusions."

Kyoya's voice rose higher and higher, until he was practically shouting, a rough texture seeping into his words. His eyes were practically blazing by the time he was finished speaking, and his chest heaving. Then, he gripped the bags tighter and stormed off, leaving a slightly dazed Kaoru in his wake.

The younger twin blinked, shocked by the outburst, before he shook his head, anger seeping into his eyes, lighting them up like an inferno. His already tightly clenched fists grew even tighter, bitten down nails digging in his flesh and knuckles burning an intense white.

"Why won't you just listen to me?!" He roared suddenly, eyes fixed on Kyoya's back. Said boy halted in his steps and his shoulders stiffened.

"I'll listen to you when you start speaking sense."

"I can prove it though! Just let me out on the streets and I can show you that I'm not crazy, Kyoya!"

"No."

Kaoru bristled.

"Why the hell not?!"

Kyoya's posture sagged, arms becoming slightly limper and his head lowering slightly, so that, if Kaoru had been round his front, his eyes would be completely shadowed from sight.

"Because I promised your brother that I would keep you safe, and I don't think that letting you out onto the streets, especially when you can't even fight, would be classed under his definition of 'keep safe'"

Kaoru folded his arms over his chest and scoffed, eyes looking everywhere but Kyoya's back, a small knot of guilt pulling tighter in his stomach.

"He wasn't being serious when he said that, you know." He murmured, thinking back to the day that his older twin left, a wide grin stretched across his features. It felt like a million years ago that that happened – light years away. A different dimension.

"I know." Kyoya replied, before looking over his shoulder just as Kaoru looked back to his ex-school mate. Their eyes locked, topaz clashing with black. "But I think if he saw the situation we were faced with now, I'm one hundred percent certain he would want me to protect you as much as I can. And 'as much as I can' is keeping you behind the school walls where it's secure."

"And what makes you think I need to be protected?"

Kyoya looked away from Kaoru again, re-establishing his firm hold of the bags.

"Your vivid imagination."

And with that the older teen faded round the corner, going to dump the bags of guts somewhere for the festering maggots to claim as their own. Kaoru's shoulders sagged as soon as Kyoya was out of sight and his arms slackened, fists falling. His gaze wandered up towards the small office window on the second floor of the school – the only one where the curtains were drawn closed, keeping out the bright sunlight.

"Vivid imagination?" The auburn haired teen whispered to himself, before his eyes narrowed at the window, the orbs becoming mere slits on his face."Bastard."

Night fell slowly during summer, and the streets outside the school grew eerily dark, electricity having failed long ago, although they never grew pitch black unlike the nights of winter. Kaoru sat, perched on the window sill, his own little space that he occupied most nights. It was one of the biggest windows in the school, and gave a wide view of the front gate and the streets beyond, also giving him a decent look at the courtyard and the gym buildings off to the side.

He told himself, and others that asked what the hell he done there most evenings, that he was on 'night-watch', or something along those lines. A bodyguard that will wake everyone up if there was ever threat of attack. Well, it wasn't a complete lie. He was watching those sicko's, but only as a sort of twisted fetish of his. Next door he could hear him – that creature that used to be oh-so human. Oh so smart. He was moving, grunting, groaning. Longing. He wanted food. Kaoru knew that, Kyoya knew that – everyone knew. Yet no-one fed him. No-one was brave enough.

A muffled crash from outside drew the auburn haired teens attention over to the gates. He watched as a fallen mother picked herself up, one arm limp. She had knocked over a bin. Maggots spilled to the floor. Some had gotten onto her flesh and Kaoru could imagine that they were already filling themselves on the rotting mass. He grimaced before shaking his head and focusing on the woman – or what was left of the woman – once more, eyes pinned to her every move. She shuffled slowly across the ground, leaving a trail of blood and puss in her wake. Her destination seemed set – like a TomTom, programmed to take you a certain place. Kaoru smirked to himself, imagining that robotic voice in his head saying 'take the next right to reach your rotting brethren'. Her movements were sloppy, hair hanging limp over her face – grease and dirt congealing in the strands along with clumps of thick crimson goo. Blood.

Her feet seemed to carry her towards the other side of the school, were the gym lay old and abandoned. No, not abandoned. Kaoru had seen it, and no matter what the others told him, he knew. He knew that there had to be, what, one hundred adults taking refuge in that area? Two hundred? However many it was, it was a lot. And they were being drawn there.

There were more grunts and groans from the adjacent room and the woman outsides head tilted upwards, as if in recognition. Then she was moving again, her pace quickening from a slow shuffle to a fast waddle. Kaoru frowned, hands tightening into fists. If he could only show them – if he could only prove his theory, then they could put a stop to it. Maybe move to somewhere else.

It was in that split second that he got an idea. A stupid, insane idea. But he didn't care anymore – he was too hung up on proving himself to think about the risks. No, wait, he had thought about the risks, he just didn't give a shit anymore. If he went through with this spur of the moment idea, then there was a chance he was going to die. If he didn't go through with it, he was almost positive he was going to die. So what did he really have to lose?

His brother? Hikaru weren't there. Hell, he would probably never see his twin ever again anyway! His parents? Dead. He knew. He had killed his mum with his own two hands. Kyoya? Kaoru scoffed at that. Yeah right. So what if they had gotten slightly closer in the first few weeks of this fiasco, the black haired teen was treating him like someone from an asylum these days.

Flicking his eyes around the darkness outside once more, Kaoru took a deep breath before slipping off of his perch, grabbing the stocked up backpack he also kept nestle by the window and creeping out of the door and down the corridor, slowly descending down the stairs. He was silent – sneaky. He didn't want to wake anyone. Especially not Kyoya.

Checking over his shoulder one last time and feeling fear begin to settle in, Kaoru bit his lip and undone the latch on the door, wincing as it creaked open, the noise sounding so loud in the dead of the night. And then he was gone, locking the door carefully behind him and slipping into the shadows of the night.

The shadows of the outside world.

He hissed as the cold hit his bare arms before shifting his bag further up his shoulder and following the trail of blood left by the woman. He was going to solve this thing tonight. He was going to confirm his suspicions tonight.

He was going to change his life, and the lives of everyone holed up in Ouran, tonight.

Forever.

I decided to upload this two days early! Yay for me being early for something! (A VERY RARE OCCURANCE, BE WARNED!)

So, after a LOT of delays, and shifts of the dates, loss of planning and a whole bunch of other problems, the first chapter of my new fic is FINISHED! Now, this is the first time I'm writing a story with chapters over 1,000 words, so it takes a me a little longer to type it and write it and stuff, which is why this story will be updated one a month. The end of each month, probably, considering I've started it at the end of Jan. Sorry about that, but it's the only thing I can do to ensure I write the best chapters for you guys! Also, as you may have seen, I haven't finished my Fairy Tail fic yet because I've had a serious case of writers block for it, so I'll have to write chapters for that along with this – but those chapters are short and shouldn't mess with my time-scheme for this fic!

Thank you so, so much to everyone who's sent in an OC, and they will ALL be used, as I've mentioned before. I am not, however, accepting ANY MORE Oc's from this point out, so please don't leave one in the review section, or the review section of my Oc's entry form, because I'll feel bad about not using it and feel pressured by my conscious into using it even though I've already got more than enough – maybe even too many.

Any who, I really hope you guys liked this first chapter, and I hope you review (although I'm not going to force you, or threaten you to XD), and I guess I'll see you all soon! Bye guys!

(Imaginary prize for anyone who can guess who the zombie at the beginning is, although I think I made it fairly obvious :P)