World's End Antholoy Chapter 1 [Discontinued]
Title - World's End Anthology
Genre: Horror, Apocalypse, (romance in future chapters)
Bands: Alice Nine, Gazette, just Byou of Screw, more if I feel like it
Chapter- 1/ ???
Rating for this Chapter - PG-15
Warnings for this chapter - Horror moments, language, a wee bit of violence
Pairings - Tora/Hiroto, Saga/Shou on the side
Disclaimers - Somewhere in an alternate universe there is a happy land where these pretty boys fuck like bunnies. But this is the 5th dimension where so such happy things happen. In short, I don't own people. It's illegal in America.
Summary: Humanity has created it's own downfall. In the aftermath only us chosen few are left standing. At the end of the world, all we can do is hold on for our lives. Even if the world ends, we don't want to end with it. So I swear to stand by you for you are the truest light in this, the darkest of days.
Author Note: This chapter was so easy to write! I hope this is a good sign for future chapters. I dunno if you can tell from the writing, but it is my personal opinion that doctors are hot. Also, I hope you enjoy everyone's characterizations in this. I tried really hard to make their personalities click nicely.
Unnerving. Walking the deserted streets of this once thriving city was scaring Tora witless. Every shuffling noise and every sinister shadow had his adrenaline rushing through his system in full force. He clutched a metal pipe firmly in his hand and rested the other hand on the strap of this backpack. This was beyond the apocalypse, but Tora knew he couldn’t be the only one left alive. As far as he knew, he had one fellow survivor. She was waiting for him back at the hospital that had become their base of operation for the past few days.
The daily routine involved Tora venturing out in the early morning when it was safe to explore the empty city districts one by one. He would write down what he could find and taking back anything that was highly useful to sustain their lives. Tora would also search for any other signs of life. So far his attempts were fruitless, but he had an overwhelming amount of city to search through. Then, when the sun began to set, Tora would rush back to the hospital. At dusk, they would come, beating and attempting to kill each other. The Spawn. It was clear now to Tora that the sun was their enemy. The blaring golden rays sent the creatures scurrying below the city every morning. Lately, he had chosen to sleep through these events as to be fully rested in the morning for his daily venture.
Today he was exploring a mainly residential district. The streets were narrow and the apartments looked at him with sleepy glass eyes. The occasional small family-owned restaurant was dotted here and there. The sky was a much too cheerful blue that overlooked the demons that were laying in wait beneath Tora’s feet. It was till only about ten in the morning. Today’s was rather a monotonous task which included knocking on every door of every apartment and calling out. “Hello? Anyone? Anyone still… alive? I’m here to take you to safety.” It wasn’t uncommon for him to find a door left simply wide open with a trail of bloody foot prints leading out the door that left Tora with a horrible sense of dread.
Tora approached an apartment building that was smaller than the rest. The building had a few straggly bushes around it’s perimeter, sitting imobile. Even the wind had died. He ventured closer and saw that the door closest to him was left ajar. “Anyone there?” he called out experimentally. A small noise answered him. Normally, an open door was a bad sign, but perhaps the person within was just too hurt or tired to close it. Hopeful, Tora strided closer and pushed open the door. At first, he couldn’t see anyone. The apartment was small and quite normal in appearance. Then his eyes strayed to a shadowy corner between the couch and the wall. Tora drew in breath shakily. One of the creatures was crouched there, its bony fingers twitching. Fresh blood gurgled and oozed from its mouth. He knew it couldn’t see him, but hear him? Probably. No, definitely. It crawled toward him emitting a wheezing sound that almost resembled laughter.
The single Spawn reached for Tora’s ankle, but he was too fast for it; hitting the side of its head with the pipe. When it stumbled back and howled, Tora took the opportunity to run back into the street, nausea rising in his stomach. He could hear the sickly slap, slap of the monster’s feet as it followed him. Then to Tora’s surprise it stopped and was replaced by a hideous scream. Covering his ears, he turned and saw a most curious thing. The creature, having ventured into the sunlight, had caught ablaze. Its sensitive skin bubbled and blackened under the light. Tora stared, astounded at this bizarre sight. Within a few minutes, the monster had been reduced to a pile of ashes shaped like a corpse. Mentally shuddering one last time, Tora moved on to the next building.
This apartment complex dwarfed all the others considerably. If someone was still alive in this district, it was a good chance they were here, he concluded. He started on the first door, knocking on its faded paint and calling out a greeting. Silence. He continued to the next one, and the next one each as unresponsive as the last. He grumbled to himself in annoyance. This job was awful, but necessary. He half-wished that another monster would appear and shake up the dull atmosphere. After a half hour Tora came full circle around the first floor, dragging his feet as he went. He started towards the stairs to go to the next floor, when he smelled smoke; cigarette smoke. Peering around the wall, Tora nearly had a heart attack. A person. A real honest-to-goodness person. A boy that seemed to be in his late teens to early twenties at that. He was moving his head slightly to the music that was filtering through his flashy headphones, a cigarette balanced lightly between his fingers. Tora could hear the young man’s music too, signaling its obscenely loud volume. No wonder he couldn’t hear Tora. The doctor was annoyed by his arrogant air. Doesn’t the kid know that we are living in a state of ruin? Deciding it was time to make an appearance, Tora stepped out from behind the wall. The blond turned and was just as shocked by Tora as he was of him. He slipped his headphones around his neck. “Another survivor…” he muttered, standing and dropping his cigarette in astonishment.
“Yes. That’s right.” Tora replied, crossing his arms. But the other didn’t reply. In fact he dashed past Tora and stomped up the stairs. “Hey wait! You! Stop and talk to me!” Tora started turning in the direction the other fled in. He hurried after him up the stairs. The boy didn’t look back as he dashed up the stairs to the third floor. Tora continued his pursuit. “Where are you going? “, he shouted after. The mysterious blond didn’t stop until the fifth and final floor. By this time, Tora really needed to catch his breath. To his surprise, the other waited for him. “Ready? C’mon. I’ve got to show the others.”
“Others? You’re shitting me.” Tora gaped. The blond nodded and started off at a strut down the open hallway. Tora shuffled after him. “What a bastard. To think I’m going to be stuck with these miserable people,” Tora thought, thinking of Himiko as well. The nurse was kind and smart enough, but not very strong in the emotional department. And this guy, Tora could tell, was of an impatient and devil may care variety. The blond stopped at a door and knocked twice. Tora could hear general pandemonium behind the door. The boy shoved his hands in his jean pockets, looked up at the ceiling and frowned, waiting for the discord to settle down. The door handle shook for a moment, someone swore behind it, a lock clicked and the door swung open to reveal yet another bleached blond looking rather flustered. ”Oh great. This must be a tribe of Harajuku frequenters” was Tora’s only thought.
“Yeah, Ruki? Oh-! You found someone! Nice going there! What’s his name?”
“Yeah…” Ruki said in a nonchalant manner and turned to Tora. “Hey, what did you say your name was, again?”
“You didn’t ask. You just went bounding off before I could say anything.”
“Oops.”
Tora shook his head slowly and sighed “I’m Doctor Amano Tora from the hospital that’s north of here.”
“Riiight. Got it. Shou, his name is Amano Tora and he sort of found me, actually.”
Shou laughed slightly as Tora rolled his eyes. “Well come in and meet everyone else. They have apartments here, but they all come here during the day to keep from getting too lonely.” Shou opened the door wider and gestured for them to come in. Ruki entered first, kicking off his shoes and joining four other people watching a movie on a flat-screened television. Tora, followed, bending down to properly untie his shoes and placed them exactly next to each other and leaving his backpack up on a hook and the pipe leaning against the wall. Tora counted the people he could see and came up with seven including Ruki and Shou. Five watching television, one sitting on the kitchen counter and Shou beaming at him as if all his wishes had come true. Seven survivors. Tora had definitely struck the jackpot. But now was not the time to smirk at his success. The others had turned to look at Tora curiously. “Everyone, this is Amano Tora. He’s a doctor! Everyone introduce yourselves… and turn that off! It’s freaking me out. ” Shou said pointing at the screen. Tora sighed exasperatedly at the screen. They were watching a horror movie. Didn’t the others know of the actual horror that waited for night to fall?
“I’m going to go talk to our friend Kai. He’s taking care of someone, so excuse me.” Shou apologized to Tora and left for what must have been the bedroom.
“Reita! Give me the remote! Didn’t you hear Shou?”
Tora’s attention turned back to the others squabbling on the sofa. “How annoying” Tora mused. “Excuse me.” He started but the person on the counter cut him off. “Don’t mind them. When they sort it out they’ll introduce themselves. I’m Murai Naoyuki or just Nao. Shou’s real name is Kohara Kazamasa, but he’ll throw a fit if you call him that. ”
“Nice to meet you, Nao-san.” Tora responded with a slight bow.
“Hey!” Nao suddenly shouted at the others bickering over whether to turn the movie off or not. They turned and looked at him. “You bastards have completely forgotten your manners. Introduce yourselves or so help me I’m going to let whatever attacked Hiroto get you too.”
“Well he’s Ruki.” a honey blond said, pointing to the man Tora met earlier.
“Yes. I know that. But who are you?” Tora said, beginning to lose his patience with the whole lot of them.
“I’m Uruha.” Uruha nudged the dark-haired man next to him.
“Aoi.”
“Saga.”
“Reita’s the name.”
“And in the other room are Kai and Hiroto. Hiroto came back all beat up a few days ago. We’ve not a clue what happened. He was too shocked to speak.” Uruha commented.
“I think I know what happened. But first I have some questions. How did all of you manage not to get infected and why didn’t you get vaccinated?” Tora asked critically, raising an eyebrow.
The boys on the couch all looked at Ruki. Ruki looked sheepish under their stares.
“Well, my roommate, his name was Byou, got infected with Cerberus… and this was before the vaccine was out too. But at first it wasn’t that bad y’know?”
“Yes. It’s not contagious in the beginning. Only when the scabbing appears.”
“Right so, I’m a seriously germophobic actually. When he started to get sick I told him that he’s got to go to a doctor, so he did. He went out to see one, but then he called me and said they were going to do a trial vaccination on him. He didn’t come back for a while, so I called the agency that was doing the testing and they…” Ruki trailed off, looking at the others.
“They said he died during testing.” Reita supplied. Ruki nodded, frowning and added “And they said if I ever told anyone, the government would arrest me. Other people in this apartment got sick from Cerberus too. One of them even died here. It was really shocking when the ambulance came and pulled out this awfully deformed dead body. It was after Byou got sent away. I couldn’t stop thinking of him looking like that…” Ruki trailed off and the others gave him sympathetic expressions. “So what d’you think happened to Hiroto?” Uruha questioned. Tora paused. He didn’t want to rush into telling them about the Spawn if they were that clueless. It would definitely take some time to explain. So instead he said, “I think I’d like to see this Hiroto first, actually. Then I’ll give you my verdict.”
“He’s in the bedroom. Make sure you knock first.” Nao said. “And you guys, turn that off before Shou-san sees! This is his apartment after all.”
“Yeah. You guys, fucking turn this off before I get sick.” Tora heard Saga’s voice say as he walked down the short hall to the bedroom. He rapped on the door a few times and it was promptly opened by a man with dark brown hair that must have been Kai. “Ah! You must be Tora-sensei. Great timing. I was just about to get you because you’re a doctor and all. I want you to have a look at Hiroto-kun here.”
Tora was ushered into the dark bedroom. Shou was kneeling next to a futon in the corner of the room, his expression filled with concern. Shou gestured for Tora to come closer and so Tora stood next to Shou, studying the slender man asleep on the mattress. He had a messy mop of light brown hair and abnormally pouty lips. With his eyes closed, he was certainly the picture of innocence. “How old is he? He looks around sixteen” Tora said in surprise.
“Oh…” Shou laughed, “He’s actually twenty-four.” Shou shook Hiroto’s shoulder carefully as not to hurt him, trying to rouse him from his slumber. “Hiroto-kun, there’s a doctor here to check you out. Wake-up… We gave him medication to dull the pain and sleep.” Shou explained. Hiroto blearily opened his eyes. “Shou…” he croaked. “Who…?”
“This here is Tora-sensei! He’s going to help you feel better. He’s a survivor like us. Now let him examine you, okay?”
Hiroto nodded slightly.
“Where are your injuries?” Tora said, kneeling down.
“Basically all over…” Hiroto grumbled. Tora could tell he wanted to go back to sleep badly.
“Okay. I’ll make this fast.” Tora reached for Hiroto’s shirt helping him out of it. Hiroto struggled slightly to get out of it without straining his injuries. Tora saw immediately that his chest was covered in neatly done bandages. “I put those there.” Kai explained. Tora simply nodded before beginning to unwrap them from the smaller man’s body. Hiroto watched his marred flesh being revealed with an expression that was a combination of fatigue, curiosity and disgust, his lips parted slightly. Tora bit his lip as the injuries were revealed. The contrast of the half-healed cuts to pale skin was dramatic in Tora’s eyes. He tapped a few lightly with his fingertips, tracing the cuts on Hiroto’s stomach with utmost care. Hiroto bit his lip from the sharp pain it caused even so.
“They still sting, even with the medication.”
“I see.”
Under close inspection the appeared to be inhumanly deep bite marks. A shiver ran down Tora’s spine. His assumption had been correct.
“Listen, Hiroto-san. Do you remember anything at all from the night you got attacked?”
He looked the younger straight in the eyes, trying to urge the truth from him. Hiroto nodded slowly, his eyes never tearing from Tora’s piercing gaze.
“Won’t you tell me then? I really must know.”
“I’ll tell you, but I don’t want to worry them. Kai, Shou-kun…”
“We understand.” Kai frowned. He turned to leave, his hand on the door handle. “C’mon Shou.”
“Right. I hope they turned that movie off. I’m going to have nightmares, Kai.”
Hiroto waited for the door to close before he spoke.
“Well... This story is a bit far fetched. I’m not crazy, though. This really happened. Okay?”
“That’s fine. I’ll take it.”
Hiroto was quiet for a moment, gathering his words. “I was out wandering, not really looking for anything. Just out. I wanted to get away from everyone because they were bugging me, but I didn’t want to stay at home.” He stopped for a moment, looked at Tora nervously and continued. “I didn’t realize it was getting dark, but I knew where I was. So I started heading home and the streetlights turned on and stuff. It was a nice night and I was walking slow and enjoying the stars. I love stars… Then I heard something and I thought it was Nao or Shou out looking for me so I said ‘Hello?’. They didn’t do anything so I started walking towards the noise. And, I’m not sure what happened ‘cause I was suddenly on the floor and there were slimy hands all over me…”
Hiroto looked disturbed so Tora let him gather his composure once more.
“Are you alright?”
“Do you mind if I stop talking for a bit? It’s hard for me to talk about this. I don’t sleep well because of it.” Hiroto laughed nervously. Tora nodded, looking around the room absent mindedly. “This is Shou’s bedroom?”
“Yeah. He lets me stay in here. Shou and Kai take care of me mostly.”
Silence once more.
“Do you mind if I open the shades?”
“Not at all. It would make talking easier for me. Light makes everything more cheerful.” A nervous laugh again. Tora didn’t know why he was being so much more tolerant of the younger. Perhaps because he was hurt and not whining too much about it. He opened the shades slowly, letting light spill into the gloomy room. Hiroto sighed for a moment, closing his eyes and then opening them again and blinking to get used to the light. Tora sat beside Hiroto once more.
“Are you ready to tell me about what happened next?”
“It bit me!” Hiroto exclaimed. “At least I think it did. It was awful nonetheless. And I think it scratched me too. But what stopped it was another creature. It left me and started fighting with it and that’s when I saw what they looked like. I won’t forget it. I can’t forget it. They were disgusting creatures. Screaming and bleeding. Even though I was hurt pretty badly, I ran as fast as I could back home. I’m surprised they didn’t follow. If that other…thing didn’t come I think it would have killed me for sure. I must have lost a lot of blood though because I collapsed on the stairs apparently.”
Tora was quiet for a moment, letting himself process Hiroto’s story before speaking.
“I’m a little concerned that these cuts might get infected. Also, has it ever occurred to you that the monsters might carry some sort of disease? I think it would be wise to go back to the hospital with me. Actually I think it would be wise for all of you to come with me. The hospital is bigger and sturdier and I have a lot of supplies stored there. It’d be easier for all of us I think. Plus there’s one more survivor who is staying there. ”
“Amano-sensei, I don’t want to leave. I don’t think anyone does.”
“I really think its best. This way you don’t have to risk going outside as often and we can organize some sort of plan. I already have a plan actually, but it would be easier with more people.”
“But this is our home. I don’t mean to be rude, but you can’t just make us leave.”
Any sympathy Tora felt with Hiroto left at that moment.
“I’m going to ask your friends. If they say yes, we’ll start the moving now. We only have so much time before night falls. For now I’m going to ask Kai to re-bandage you. You can sleep again for now.”
And with that Tora left the room, sighing in annoyance. This is what he had to work with. Nobody else. He left so speedily that he missed Hiroto’s whimper of “Don’t leave me by myself, please.”
This fan fic has been discontinued because it's one of my older ideas and I just can't find the inspiration to write it anymore. Plus the plot is quite tangled...
Genre: Horror, Apocalypse, (romance in future chapters)
Bands: Alice Nine, Gazette, just Byou of Screw, more if I feel like it
Chapter- 1/ ???
Rating for this Chapter - PG-15
Warnings for this chapter - Horror moments, language, a wee bit of violence
Pairings - Tora/Hiroto, Saga/Shou on the side
Disclaimers - Somewhere in an alternate universe there is a happy land where these pretty boys fuck like bunnies. But this is the 5th dimension where so such happy things happen. In short, I don't own people. It's illegal in America.
Summary: Humanity has created it's own downfall. In the aftermath only us chosen few are left standing. At the end of the world, all we can do is hold on for our lives. Even if the world ends, we don't want to end with it. So I swear to stand by you for you are the truest light in this, the darkest of days.
Author Note: This chapter was so easy to write! I hope this is a good sign for future chapters. I dunno if you can tell from the writing, but it is my personal opinion that doctors are hot. Also, I hope you enjoy everyone's characterizations in this. I tried really hard to make their personalities click nicely.
Unnerving. Walking the deserted streets of this once thriving city was scaring Tora witless. Every shuffling noise and every sinister shadow had his adrenaline rushing through his system in full force. He clutched a metal pipe firmly in his hand and rested the other hand on the strap of this backpack. This was beyond the apocalypse, but Tora knew he couldn’t be the only one left alive. As far as he knew, he had one fellow survivor. She was waiting for him back at the hospital that had become their base of operation for the past few days.
The daily routine involved Tora venturing out in the early morning when it was safe to explore the empty city districts one by one. He would write down what he could find and taking back anything that was highly useful to sustain their lives. Tora would also search for any other signs of life. So far his attempts were fruitless, but he had an overwhelming amount of city to search through. Then, when the sun began to set, Tora would rush back to the hospital. At dusk, they would come, beating and attempting to kill each other. The Spawn. It was clear now to Tora that the sun was their enemy. The blaring golden rays sent the creatures scurrying below the city every morning. Lately, he had chosen to sleep through these events as to be fully rested in the morning for his daily venture.
Today he was exploring a mainly residential district. The streets were narrow and the apartments looked at him with sleepy glass eyes. The occasional small family-owned restaurant was dotted here and there. The sky was a much too cheerful blue that overlooked the demons that were laying in wait beneath Tora’s feet. It was till only about ten in the morning. Today’s was rather a monotonous task which included knocking on every door of every apartment and calling out. “Hello? Anyone? Anyone still… alive? I’m here to take you to safety.” It wasn’t uncommon for him to find a door left simply wide open with a trail of bloody foot prints leading out the door that left Tora with a horrible sense of dread.
Tora approached an apartment building that was smaller than the rest. The building had a few straggly bushes around it’s perimeter, sitting imobile. Even the wind had died. He ventured closer and saw that the door closest to him was left ajar. “Anyone there?” he called out experimentally. A small noise answered him. Normally, an open door was a bad sign, but perhaps the person within was just too hurt or tired to close it. Hopeful, Tora strided closer and pushed open the door. At first, he couldn’t see anyone. The apartment was small and quite normal in appearance. Then his eyes strayed to a shadowy corner between the couch and the wall. Tora drew in breath shakily. One of the creatures was crouched there, its bony fingers twitching. Fresh blood gurgled and oozed from its mouth. He knew it couldn’t see him, but hear him? Probably. No, definitely. It crawled toward him emitting a wheezing sound that almost resembled laughter.
The single Spawn reached for Tora’s ankle, but he was too fast for it; hitting the side of its head with the pipe. When it stumbled back and howled, Tora took the opportunity to run back into the street, nausea rising in his stomach. He could hear the sickly slap, slap of the monster’s feet as it followed him. Then to Tora’s surprise it stopped and was replaced by a hideous scream. Covering his ears, he turned and saw a most curious thing. The creature, having ventured into the sunlight, had caught ablaze. Its sensitive skin bubbled and blackened under the light. Tora stared, astounded at this bizarre sight. Within a few minutes, the monster had been reduced to a pile of ashes shaped like a corpse. Mentally shuddering one last time, Tora moved on to the next building.
This apartment complex dwarfed all the others considerably. If someone was still alive in this district, it was a good chance they were here, he concluded. He started on the first door, knocking on its faded paint and calling out a greeting. Silence. He continued to the next one, and the next one each as unresponsive as the last. He grumbled to himself in annoyance. This job was awful, but necessary. He half-wished that another monster would appear and shake up the dull atmosphere. After a half hour Tora came full circle around the first floor, dragging his feet as he went. He started towards the stairs to go to the next floor, when he smelled smoke; cigarette smoke. Peering around the wall, Tora nearly had a heart attack. A person. A real honest-to-goodness person. A boy that seemed to be in his late teens to early twenties at that. He was moving his head slightly to the music that was filtering through his flashy headphones, a cigarette balanced lightly between his fingers. Tora could hear the young man’s music too, signaling its obscenely loud volume. No wonder he couldn’t hear Tora. The doctor was annoyed by his arrogant air. Doesn’t the kid know that we are living in a state of ruin? Deciding it was time to make an appearance, Tora stepped out from behind the wall. The blond turned and was just as shocked by Tora as he was of him. He slipped his headphones around his neck. “Another survivor…” he muttered, standing and dropping his cigarette in astonishment.
“Yes. That’s right.” Tora replied, crossing his arms. But the other didn’t reply. In fact he dashed past Tora and stomped up the stairs. “Hey wait! You! Stop and talk to me!” Tora started turning in the direction the other fled in. He hurried after him up the stairs. The boy didn’t look back as he dashed up the stairs to the third floor. Tora continued his pursuit. “Where are you going? “, he shouted after. The mysterious blond didn’t stop until the fifth and final floor. By this time, Tora really needed to catch his breath. To his surprise, the other waited for him. “Ready? C’mon. I’ve got to show the others.”
“Others? You’re shitting me.” Tora gaped. The blond nodded and started off at a strut down the open hallway. Tora shuffled after him. “What a bastard. To think I’m going to be stuck with these miserable people,” Tora thought, thinking of Himiko as well. The nurse was kind and smart enough, but not very strong in the emotional department. And this guy, Tora could tell, was of an impatient and devil may care variety. The blond stopped at a door and knocked twice. Tora could hear general pandemonium behind the door. The boy shoved his hands in his jean pockets, looked up at the ceiling and frowned, waiting for the discord to settle down. The door handle shook for a moment, someone swore behind it, a lock clicked and the door swung open to reveal yet another bleached blond looking rather flustered. ”Oh great. This must be a tribe of Harajuku frequenters” was Tora’s only thought.
“Yeah, Ruki? Oh-! You found someone! Nice going there! What’s his name?”
“Yeah…” Ruki said in a nonchalant manner and turned to Tora. “Hey, what did you say your name was, again?”
“You didn’t ask. You just went bounding off before I could say anything.”
“Oops.”
Tora shook his head slowly and sighed “I’m Doctor Amano Tora from the hospital that’s north of here.”
“Riiight. Got it. Shou, his name is Amano Tora and he sort of found me, actually.”
Shou laughed slightly as Tora rolled his eyes. “Well come in and meet everyone else. They have apartments here, but they all come here during the day to keep from getting too lonely.” Shou opened the door wider and gestured for them to come in. Ruki entered first, kicking off his shoes and joining four other people watching a movie on a flat-screened television. Tora, followed, bending down to properly untie his shoes and placed them exactly next to each other and leaving his backpack up on a hook and the pipe leaning against the wall. Tora counted the people he could see and came up with seven including Ruki and Shou. Five watching television, one sitting on the kitchen counter and Shou beaming at him as if all his wishes had come true. Seven survivors. Tora had definitely struck the jackpot. But now was not the time to smirk at his success. The others had turned to look at Tora curiously. “Everyone, this is Amano Tora. He’s a doctor! Everyone introduce yourselves… and turn that off! It’s freaking me out. ” Shou said pointing at the screen. Tora sighed exasperatedly at the screen. They were watching a horror movie. Didn’t the others know of the actual horror that waited for night to fall?
“I’m going to go talk to our friend Kai. He’s taking care of someone, so excuse me.” Shou apologized to Tora and left for what must have been the bedroom.
“Reita! Give me the remote! Didn’t you hear Shou?”
Tora’s attention turned back to the others squabbling on the sofa. “How annoying” Tora mused. “Excuse me.” He started but the person on the counter cut him off. “Don’t mind them. When they sort it out they’ll introduce themselves. I’m Murai Naoyuki or just Nao. Shou’s real name is Kohara Kazamasa, but he’ll throw a fit if you call him that. ”
“Nice to meet you, Nao-san.” Tora responded with a slight bow.
“Hey!” Nao suddenly shouted at the others bickering over whether to turn the movie off or not. They turned and looked at him. “You bastards have completely forgotten your manners. Introduce yourselves or so help me I’m going to let whatever attacked Hiroto get you too.”
“Well he’s Ruki.” a honey blond said, pointing to the man Tora met earlier.
“Yes. I know that. But who are you?” Tora said, beginning to lose his patience with the whole lot of them.
“I’m Uruha.” Uruha nudged the dark-haired man next to him.
“Aoi.”
“Saga.”
“Reita’s the name.”
“And in the other room are Kai and Hiroto. Hiroto came back all beat up a few days ago. We’ve not a clue what happened. He was too shocked to speak.” Uruha commented.
“I think I know what happened. But first I have some questions. How did all of you manage not to get infected and why didn’t you get vaccinated?” Tora asked critically, raising an eyebrow.
The boys on the couch all looked at Ruki. Ruki looked sheepish under their stares.
“Well, my roommate, his name was Byou, got infected with Cerberus… and this was before the vaccine was out too. But at first it wasn’t that bad y’know?”
“Yes. It’s not contagious in the beginning. Only when the scabbing appears.”
“Right so, I’m a seriously germophobic actually. When he started to get sick I told him that he’s got to go to a doctor, so he did. He went out to see one, but then he called me and said they were going to do a trial vaccination on him. He didn’t come back for a while, so I called the agency that was doing the testing and they…” Ruki trailed off, looking at the others.
“They said he died during testing.” Reita supplied. Ruki nodded, frowning and added “And they said if I ever told anyone, the government would arrest me. Other people in this apartment got sick from Cerberus too. One of them even died here. It was really shocking when the ambulance came and pulled out this awfully deformed dead body. It was after Byou got sent away. I couldn’t stop thinking of him looking like that…” Ruki trailed off and the others gave him sympathetic expressions. “So what d’you think happened to Hiroto?” Uruha questioned. Tora paused. He didn’t want to rush into telling them about the Spawn if they were that clueless. It would definitely take some time to explain. So instead he said, “I think I’d like to see this Hiroto first, actually. Then I’ll give you my verdict.”
“He’s in the bedroom. Make sure you knock first.” Nao said. “And you guys, turn that off before Shou-san sees! This is his apartment after all.”
“Yeah. You guys, fucking turn this off before I get sick.” Tora heard Saga’s voice say as he walked down the short hall to the bedroom. He rapped on the door a few times and it was promptly opened by a man with dark brown hair that must have been Kai. “Ah! You must be Tora-sensei. Great timing. I was just about to get you because you’re a doctor and all. I want you to have a look at Hiroto-kun here.”
Tora was ushered into the dark bedroom. Shou was kneeling next to a futon in the corner of the room, his expression filled with concern. Shou gestured for Tora to come closer and so Tora stood next to Shou, studying the slender man asleep on the mattress. He had a messy mop of light brown hair and abnormally pouty lips. With his eyes closed, he was certainly the picture of innocence. “How old is he? He looks around sixteen” Tora said in surprise.
“Oh…” Shou laughed, “He’s actually twenty-four.” Shou shook Hiroto’s shoulder carefully as not to hurt him, trying to rouse him from his slumber. “Hiroto-kun, there’s a doctor here to check you out. Wake-up… We gave him medication to dull the pain and sleep.” Shou explained. Hiroto blearily opened his eyes. “Shou…” he croaked. “Who…?”
“This here is Tora-sensei! He’s going to help you feel better. He’s a survivor like us. Now let him examine you, okay?”
Hiroto nodded slightly.
“Where are your injuries?” Tora said, kneeling down.
“Basically all over…” Hiroto grumbled. Tora could tell he wanted to go back to sleep badly.
“Okay. I’ll make this fast.” Tora reached for Hiroto’s shirt helping him out of it. Hiroto struggled slightly to get out of it without straining his injuries. Tora saw immediately that his chest was covered in neatly done bandages. “I put those there.” Kai explained. Tora simply nodded before beginning to unwrap them from the smaller man’s body. Hiroto watched his marred flesh being revealed with an expression that was a combination of fatigue, curiosity and disgust, his lips parted slightly. Tora bit his lip as the injuries were revealed. The contrast of the half-healed cuts to pale skin was dramatic in Tora’s eyes. He tapped a few lightly with his fingertips, tracing the cuts on Hiroto’s stomach with utmost care. Hiroto bit his lip from the sharp pain it caused even so.
“They still sting, even with the medication.”
“I see.”
Under close inspection the appeared to be inhumanly deep bite marks. A shiver ran down Tora’s spine. His assumption had been correct.
“Listen, Hiroto-san. Do you remember anything at all from the night you got attacked?”
He looked the younger straight in the eyes, trying to urge the truth from him. Hiroto nodded slowly, his eyes never tearing from Tora’s piercing gaze.
“Won’t you tell me then? I really must know.”
“I’ll tell you, but I don’t want to worry them. Kai, Shou-kun…”
“We understand.” Kai frowned. He turned to leave, his hand on the door handle. “C’mon Shou.”
“Right. I hope they turned that movie off. I’m going to have nightmares, Kai.”
Hiroto waited for the door to close before he spoke.
“Well... This story is a bit far fetched. I’m not crazy, though. This really happened. Okay?”
“That’s fine. I’ll take it.”
Hiroto was quiet for a moment, gathering his words. “I was out wandering, not really looking for anything. Just out. I wanted to get away from everyone because they were bugging me, but I didn’t want to stay at home.” He stopped for a moment, looked at Tora nervously and continued. “I didn’t realize it was getting dark, but I knew where I was. So I started heading home and the streetlights turned on and stuff. It was a nice night and I was walking slow and enjoying the stars. I love stars… Then I heard something and I thought it was Nao or Shou out looking for me so I said ‘Hello?’. They didn’t do anything so I started walking towards the noise. And, I’m not sure what happened ‘cause I was suddenly on the floor and there were slimy hands all over me…”
Hiroto looked disturbed so Tora let him gather his composure once more.
“Are you alright?”
“Do you mind if I stop talking for a bit? It’s hard for me to talk about this. I don’t sleep well because of it.” Hiroto laughed nervously. Tora nodded, looking around the room absent mindedly. “This is Shou’s bedroom?”
“Yeah. He lets me stay in here. Shou and Kai take care of me mostly.”
Silence once more.
“Do you mind if I open the shades?”
“Not at all. It would make talking easier for me. Light makes everything more cheerful.” A nervous laugh again. Tora didn’t know why he was being so much more tolerant of the younger. Perhaps because he was hurt and not whining too much about it. He opened the shades slowly, letting light spill into the gloomy room. Hiroto sighed for a moment, closing his eyes and then opening them again and blinking to get used to the light. Tora sat beside Hiroto once more.
“Are you ready to tell me about what happened next?”
“It bit me!” Hiroto exclaimed. “At least I think it did. It was awful nonetheless. And I think it scratched me too. But what stopped it was another creature. It left me and started fighting with it and that’s when I saw what they looked like. I won’t forget it. I can’t forget it. They were disgusting creatures. Screaming and bleeding. Even though I was hurt pretty badly, I ran as fast as I could back home. I’m surprised they didn’t follow. If that other…thing didn’t come I think it would have killed me for sure. I must have lost a lot of blood though because I collapsed on the stairs apparently.”
Tora was quiet for a moment, letting himself process Hiroto’s story before speaking.
“I’m a little concerned that these cuts might get infected. Also, has it ever occurred to you that the monsters might carry some sort of disease? I think it would be wise to go back to the hospital with me. Actually I think it would be wise for all of you to come with me. The hospital is bigger and sturdier and I have a lot of supplies stored there. It’d be easier for all of us I think. Plus there’s one more survivor who is staying there. ”
“Amano-sensei, I don’t want to leave. I don’t think anyone does.”
“I really think its best. This way you don’t have to risk going outside as often and we can organize some sort of plan. I already have a plan actually, but it would be easier with more people.”
“But this is our home. I don’t mean to be rude, but you can’t just make us leave.”
Any sympathy Tora felt with Hiroto left at that moment.
“I’m going to ask your friends. If they say yes, we’ll start the moving now. We only have so much time before night falls. For now I’m going to ask Kai to re-bandage you. You can sleep again for now.”
And with that Tora left the room, sighing in annoyance. This is what he had to work with. Nobody else. He left so speedily that he missed Hiroto’s whimper of “Don’t leave me by myself, please.”
This fan fic has been discontinued because it's one of my older ideas and I just can't find the inspiration to write it anymore. Plus the plot is quite tangled...