High School of the Dead + One

「Fifteen Dead」

The white-haired middle-schooler practically jumped out of her desk and bolted out the door when the bell rang for the end of the day. It was a bright, sunny day, and her father was gone on another job interview, so it was going to be a good day, no matter what.

Especially since she'd managed to talk Takashi and Morita into picking her up at the gates—an attempt to keep Takashi from moping by himself again—so they could meet Hisashi and Rei at the arcade.

In fact, the only reason she had bothered going to her school instead of skipping with Morita and Takashi like she always did was because Hisashi had said that there wouldn't be any fun and games during the entire month before exams if he didn't think she was trying hard enough, so that meant bringing books and homework to Hisashi's after school to show him she really was trying; it was just too easy. Thanks to that, though, Hisashi had agreed on a Game Night with everyone today since it was Saturday: last day of classes.

She couldn't help grinning, thinking of all the games she'd beat Takashi and Morita at. Rei and Hisashi would probably find themselves a small corner to huddle together and play, but that was probably for the better—Takashi was getting used to Rei's relationship, but Yuki didn't want to push him too fast in case he shut down on her again.

"C'mon, Yuk!" Morita shouted, waving his hand. Ever since Hisashi had accidentally called her 'Yuk' in front of them, Morita had latched onto it, thinking it was the greatest way to shorten her name without calling her something completely different. "If we don't hurry, Hisashi's gonna grind us again!"

Takashi rolled his eyes, making Yuki grin.

"Oi, Hatsune!" a voice pulled her out of her thoughts, making her turn to Miku Yuuki. "What're you doing?"

Yuki stiffened. She wasn't sure what Miku wanted, but ever since she had hit her, everyone avoided her, especially Miku and her friends on the track team, so whatever she wanted to say with Morita and Takashi not even five feet away wasn't going to be good.

"Where are you guys going?" she wondered.

Morita was the one who said something. "The arcade," he said, grinning as he eyed Miku. "Ya ladies wanna join us?"

Taniuchi, one of Miku's older friends, grabbed Morita's arm. "We'd love to go with you two," she said, smiling up at him.

"Just one problem," Miku joined, latching onto Takashi. "We don't want to go with her."

Yuki's stomach dropped. She knew it was going to be something awful. The only thing that gave her hope was their faces. Morita, who had looked like he was in heaven when Taniuchi agreed to come with him, looked at both girls suspiciously, the cheesy smile falling into a confused expression. Takashi, on the other hand, looked uncomfortable from the moment Miku snatched his arm, which made Yuki feel just a little better. It was obvious by Miku's face that she realized it too, so she tried to situate his arm more in between her breasts.

"Uh, sorry, gals, but Yuk's comin' with us," Morita said, eyes Taniuchi on his arm. "If that's a problem, then I'mma have ta pass this time."

"Uh, same," Takashi agreed, gently prying Miku's hand off of him. "Yuki's the only reason I'm here."

She tried to ignore the warm feeling in her chest when they both tell them no and kept her expression cool, hoping that Miku would just take the lose and leave.

But, of course, that'd be too easy.

"Why would you want to hang out with her?" Miku demanded, putting her hands on her hip as she looked up at Takashi. "She's disgusting."