High School of the Dead Feet

Upon reaching the bottom of the stairway, Saeko steered you towards the closest door to the stairway – an outside corridor that led to the gymnasium. Your confusion for her haste disappeared when you heard the school burst into an uproar behind you. Saeko plowed through the double doors with you close behind, as the both of you narrowly avoided the blind stampede of students trying to escape the coming slaughter.

“What the hell were those things that attacked me?” Your frustrations started to show themselves.

“I’m afraid I do not know. You have more experience with them than I do, but it seems that they’re not up for negotiations. That leaves us with one option – which is the reason I’ve brought you here.” Saeko walked down the shaded pathway, with you still tailing closely behind her.

“Just tell me what I can do to help.” After declaring your willingness to help, Saeko looked back with a kindhearted smile. She looked pleased with your answer. “Well, if you can wield a simple brick with such devastating efficiency, then you’ll be unstoppable with an actual weapon.” Upon reaching the end of the pathway, Saeko stood in front of the door to the girl’s locker room. She turned to you and handed you her wooden katana. “Please keep this door clear for a couple of minutes.”

Although you were surprised by the sudden turn of events, you accepted the wooden katana from Saeko. “I’ve never used a wooden sword before…” Never had you practiced using a sword before, so it was only natural to doubt your proficiency with such a weapon. In the wake of your complaints, your senior grinned. “I thought that all men knew how to use their wood.” Saeko joked before strutting off into the locker room, closing the door behind her. Even if you had a response to her adult humor, the warmth that filled your cheeks kept you silent. It was clear that Saeko had a rather dirty mind.

Gripping the hilt of the wooden katana, you wandered away from the locker room entrance and stood guard underneath the shaded pathway. Trying to ignore the ruckus inside of the school building was impossible, especially when the terrified screams of its occupants seemed to grow by the moment. There was a twinge of guilt in your mind for not helping them, but you felt no urge to risk death at the hands of your fellow students. A much closer scream reached your ears not long after deciding this. You glanced in the direction of this scream, watching as a female student rounded the corner by the front of the school. She ran towards you, but tripped and collapsed to the ground.

“Oh, shit.” You uttered, watching as those reanimated students surrounded her collapsed frame and begun feasting upon her flesh. Judging by her horrifying screams, it was safe to say these creatures lacked the intelligence to put a victim out of their misery. Three more deceased students rounded the corner with a new banquet in sight – you.

You raised your weapon in preparation for their arrival. As you had noted earlier, you had no idea of the technique required to wield this weapon correctly. However, it packed plenty of weight within its bulky, durable structure. If technique was thrown out of the mix, this weapon could facilitate the type of aggressive frenzy that you displayed back in the school building. Perhaps, this was what Saeko intended. You lowered the katana, wielding it in your dominant hand as you walked forward towards your new opponents. Rage was filling your mind once again.

The first of these reanimations broke off from the pack and lunged towards you. With a simple side-step, you evaded this attack and smashed the wooden katana against the back of its skull as it passed. A spray of murky blood appeared around the area of impact, as you felt the vibrations of its skull cracking through the hilt of your katana. The thrill of combat was returning to your system, as the motionless carcass of your target flopped to the ground. You turned to face the remaining two reanimations. These two shuffled towards you at the same pace, prompting you to charge forth and launch an indiscriminant attack on the one closest to your katana. Your weapon met with the face of this second reanimation, completely rending its jaw as it toppled to the ground. On its way down, however, the second corpse glanced the third reanimation, resulting in an unpredictable wobble amidst its lunge towards you.

Your attempt to get an attack off on the third was a failure, and resulted in your blade being shoved into the mouth of this creature. Its teeth clamped down against the wooden frame, as it forced you backward and pinned you against the school building. You groaned, resisting the superior strength of your opponent, but it was a fruitless effort. The rage you felt moments ago was quickly being replaced with terror. Here you were again.

And just as before, you noticed a whitish, metallic gleam in the corner of your eye. “Don’t move.” That was Saeko’s voice, albeit more serious than before. Trusting her words, you held up your defense and waited. In a flash of movement, something sliced through the neck of the third reanimation. It was an instant defeat. As your attacker fell, you found Saeko holding a traditional katana. It was an admirable piece of hardware, complete with a sheath that was now fastened to her waist. Retrieving this weapon must have been the reason for her detour.

“I’m sorry… you had to save me again.” You felt only shame for inconveniencing Saeko once again. These words drew her attention, as she lowered her katana and walked towards you. With her main hand, Saeko reached out and cradled your cheek. The smoothness of her skin was welcoming, as was the gentleness of her movements.

“There is no reason to apologize.” She was speaking directly to your pride as a man, through her understanding as a woman. Her words held a deep level of intimacy that was unexpected from a girl you barely knew. “You did exactly what I requested of you, and I am grateful for this.” Saeko withdrew her hand as she strolled away, treading past the slain reanimations. You were enchanted by her ability to waive your conflictions like they were nothing. “Besides, it would be a far greater inconvenience for my new companion to perish before I could even see him in action.”

A strange feeling welled up inside of you. The desire you had to form a relationship with Saeko was still there, but it was minimal compared to the sudden attachment you felt for her after this moment. Though hesitant to call it love, something drew you closer to Saeko, and it was a hard feeling to ignore. “Shall we leave?” Saeko glanced back at you with a pleasant, little smirk. Even now, amidst all this killing and death, she was the exact same person that you had met before. You wanted a response that would suit the perfect, noble existence in front of you. “Of course… my lady, Saeko.”

You trailed Saeko across the school grounds, eventually reaching the side gate that was left wide open. This would be your exit. As Saeko split off for a moment to finish a nearby zombie with a clean, precise sweep, she led you out of the school and down a path further into the city. While you were unsure of your destination, as long as Saeko was there, you would be too.