章節 351: Heart to Heart

Saeko frowns when she hears Saya's words, "Takashi-san did that?... I may have misjudged him..."

Saya nods while wiping her eyes, "That stupid dickless idiot! Did he think I'd laugh it off when he told me on the bus!? He was lucky I didn't try to kick him out of a window!"

"Well, look on the bright side Miss Takagi, now you know what sort of man he is. Any relationship you could have with him would be marred by the presence of Miss Miyamoto. Realise this and look for someone else who would truly care for you, care for you in the same manner Takashi-san cares for Miss Miyamoto."

Saya chews on her lip but can't do anything but accept Saeko's words, they were right, but that didn't make it any easier to accept. You couldn't force yourself to stop loving someone, only convince yourself until it makes sense.

She shakes her head, sniffing and wiping the moisture from her eyes before turning to Saeko, "What about you? Your true self? I can't imagine you being a bad person, Saeko-san..."

Saeko's expression dips slightly as she thinks about how to express herself. "Let me tell you a story, Miss Takagi-"

"C-call me Saya..."

...

Saeko nods, "Saya... When I was fourteen years old, I was walking home from Kendo practice, when a man stopped me on the street. There was no one else around, and he looked odd to me, but, I was taught to never judge a book by its cover. This turned out to be wrong, as he jumped at me, grabbing my breasts and trying to bring me to the ground..." she says, causing Saya to hold her breath at the progression of this.

"I struck him in the throat, forcing him from me and using my wrapped bokken to beat him... I wasn't scared, only furious. I hit him and hit him, I have no idea how long I spent like that, but by the time the police arrived, the man was a bloody mess." she says as she reminisces the moment.

Broken arms, legs, fractured skull, broken ribs, punctured lung, ruptured kidneys, damaged liver-" she lists off robotically, having memorized every injury she'd given the man. "His testicles were so badly damaged that they had to be removed, he would never try to harm another girl again... The police described the scene as if a bull had attacked him with intent to kill." she looks to Saya with her expression crumbling, a morbid grin peaking through her facade, "And I enjoyed every moment of it." she states.

"W-what?" Saya asks, completely shocked by the surprising turn her story had taken.

Saeko nods, "The feeling of his bone-breaking, his wails of agony, his begs to stop... I'd never felt so fulfilled before in my life. Miss Miyamoto once asked why I never sparred with protective equipment, and it's because of this... I simply enjoyed hurting them."

...

"I-is that why you're always smiling when you fight? I hadn't thought much of it but, you looked like you were having fun when you were killing the zombies..."

Saeko nods, "To you, this apocalypse has been a nightmare, worrying about everyone and everything, hoping to just survive... But for me? The only thing I felt was, relief... It's disgusting, isn't it?" she asks, knowing that any normal person would be horrified by her admittance.

...

Saya doesn't answer, unsure what would come out of her mouth if she tried to speak honestly. So instead, she focuses on something else.

"Is that why you're so enamoured with that guy, Michael?"

Saeko smiles at the name, "Partly... I've always admired the strong, but seeing someone like him do all of that." her voice lowers, becoming almost sensual, "I've never been so attracted to someone before... I had almost thought myself Asexual... Until now."

Flashback end :

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Saya's relationship with Saeko was closer than ever, yet still strained by this new, semi-unwanted knowledge... It wasn't every day you learned that the 'bis sister' of the group was a hardcore sadist. Still, this left her closer with Saeko than anyone else.

The group soon departed the Takagi estate with guns, supplies, and car in tow. They'd left behind little Alice with her dog and father behind, but they'd probably be safe... Right?

The group was headed for the police station to try and get a hold of Rei's father, but they stopped midway after encountering a group that was trying to get to the evacuation center. Which left them in a bind...

Should they go to the evac, they'd potentially be abandoning their families who were unable to get there... On the other hand, they'd miss their one opportunity for asylum if he ignored the evac...

"What of the bridge? My father would have been there with everyone else?" Rei asks.

"T-the bridge!? That place is utterly fucked! All of them left, abandoning the survivors to get to the evacuation site!"

...

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Hours later :

"Oi, is that a workin' car!?" the blonde teen working for Shido, Tsunoda asks as he spots Takashi's group driving down the road.

"I-it is! Fuck, and it's those guys as well! How did they find the only working car left!? First the bus and now this!?" Miura growls with a baseball bat tucked under his arm.

Tsunoda shakes his head, "Not only that, look what they got!" he exclaims, pointing at the rifle Kohta was holding while leant his upper body on the roof of the car, taking out the occasional zombie in their path.

"Fuck, it must've been them who looted everything! When I get my hands on them!"

"And their women, we'll see how fucking smug they can be under us!" Tsunoda laughs and glances behind him, "Get everything ready, we'll grab them, their girls, and their car! Let's just hope the other group is ready or around when shit hits the fan!"

With that, the group begins preparations for their ambush, getting the various traps they'd set up ready. A few were less than excited to fight against an armed force, but when they remembered Shido's words, they pushed themselves forwards regardless.