And it was in that moment that she realized that she didn't just mean reveal her darkness to Takashi. She meant in general, to truly let it out. She was afraid of what it would mean for her of what it would do to her as a person. After keeping it in check for so long, how would it affect her to let that darkness out and embrace it, truly embrace it. And what would he think of her after seeing it? She was afraid to find out.
Without really thinking about what he was doing, Takashi suddenly maneuvered around Saeko and grabbed her from behind. His hand came up and aggressively grabbed her breast in a mockery of the position they had fallen asleep in last night, and he gripped her painfully tight, his fingers digging into her flesh through her clothes, snapping her back and keeping her in the reality of the world.
Saeko winced as he squeezed her breast to the point of it hurting, yet a blush still spread across her face at his touch. The pain and placement of his hand was enough to yank her out of whatever depressed mental state she had allowed herself to slip into, and she glanced at him over her shoulder.
"Stop," she whimpered. "What… What are you doing?"
He just gripped her breast tighter, his voice hard and authoritative when he spoke. "Don't even think for a minute that you're quitting on me now, you got it! We've come too far, there's no way we're giving up! To die like this, have these dead motherfuckers take us down here, it's not gonna happen! You're coming with me!"
A breath escaped her as she caught the double meaning of his words. He didn't mean just how far they had come in terms of survival, he was also referring to the two of them in general, of how far they had come as people, of how much they've grown as individuals, and of how close they had become. He was not willing to accept defeat after all that, not when they still had room to grow and see where this new world took them.
His voice grew harder, becoming almost angry, and he squeezed her breast even tighter, to the point where a pained cry escaped her. "Because whether you like it or not, I need you!"
She cried out again and threw her head back as he squeezed even tighter, her cry pain-filled, but also with a hint of pleasure. But the pain kept her grounded, assuring that she heard his words and registered the full impact of them so she wouldn't get lost in her morbid thoughts like she did last night when he had tried to console her.
Takashi was aware that he was hurting Saeko, and he didn't like that he was, but he needed her to hear him, because he meant every word of what he said. He really did need her, not just to survive, but in his life, to the point where he was afraid of what would happen to his own sanity if he did lose her. And, in a way, perhaps that too was another survival coping mechanism. Mental state was just as important to survival as one's physical state, and the thought of losing Saeko, he couldn't stand it.
Actually, it infuriated him. And the thought of how she didn't think of herself as worthy of life and love utterly filled him with rage. He would do anything to keep her with him, and wasn't going to let anything take her away. If that meant accepting her darkness, no matter how deep it ran or how sadistic it was, then he would do it, and he needed to convey that to her so there was no longer any doubt in her mind.
In fact, the darker she was, the better. It would only increase their likelihood of survival. In this dead infested world, a nature like that was beneficial. What would be looked down on in the old world was now of value in this one. So of course he would accept it, just as he accepted and embraced his own darkness. And if she needed a reason to go on living, then he would become that reason. And in return, he would keep her safe as well, and accept full responsibility for her, in all things.
"Maybe that son of a bitch deserved to die," he continued, driving his point home, "who knows!? I don't give a shit about what you did before, I just care about what you do now!"
The wind blew through the entrance to the shrine as the dead approached, emitting mindless groans. And as they stood there as the zombies got closer, he felt Saeko relax in his arms and let out a breath. He loosened his grip on her breast as they both returned their attention to the approaching problem at hand, and Saeko glanced back at him.
"Thank you," she told him, sounding calm and back to normal. "I'm ok now."
He could hear it in her voice, a new kind of acceptance, one different from the despairing resignation from before. And as she stepped out of his arms, he let her go, sensing a change in her. She calmly walked towards the dead before pausing and looking back at him, a small smile on her face.
"What are you waiting for?" she asked in an equally calm voice. "Let's go."
She then turned back to the zombies and took a fighting stance. Her hand fell to the hilt of her sword, and she unsheathed it. Usually when deal with Them, she would keep her sword in its sheath so as not to dull the blade, but not this time. And Takashi realized that she was about to do it, she was about to let the monster out of its cage and show him the full extent of the darkness she had kept hidden for so long.
With a grunt, she charged forward, and slayed the zombie of what appeared to be the shrine maiden. She then immediately turned to the next closest one and attacked it as well. Takashi looked on as she continued to attack, stunned at what he saw. When she had attacked Them in the past, it had always been for the purpose of survival. And while she was doing that now as well, there was also a brutality to it that hadn't been there before.
He could see it, she was enjoying herself, immensely. It wasn't just an enjoyment as in her having fun either. No, the look on her face was akin to the one he had seen last night while he had been inside her. She was taking actual sexual pleasure in what she was doing. And it was beautiful.
Takashi stood frozen in place as he watched Saeko got to work, unable to tear his eyes away. She was utterly mesmerizing with the way she cut down all those in her path. He supposed he could understand why she would be afraid to show this side of herself to him, to anyone for that matter. But he wasn't repulsed or horrified. No, he was completely enraptured. What more, he was glad that she was finally showing this side of herself to him, and he found himself respecting and admiring her all the more. This was her, the hidden side of herself finally laid bare, and he couldn't help but be amazed.
He finally snapped out of his stupor when he realized that she had become surrounded by three of Them coming at her at once from different sides. Realizing that she was cornered, he called out her name in warning. She calmly glanced back at him, looking completely unconcerned. And then a confident, borderline sadistic smirk crept across her face, and she went on the attack again, easily cutting them all down.
It was a massacre. And when it was over, a pile of severed, bloody bodies lay in pieces all across the yard, those whose heads were still intact continuing to move with whatever limbs they still had left. And while other people may look on in horror and disgust, Takashi didn't so much as hesitate as he rushed to Saeko's side, completely unfazed by all the carnage.
"Saeko, this way!" he told her, making a run for it before any more showed up.
She immediately followed after him, and they rushed down the stairs of the shrine and down to the street. They continued running down the road together, heading for the Takagi Estate where they would meet up with their friends.
"Wait a minute!" Saeko called after him, and he paused for her to catch up. When she did, she immediately grabbed his hand, and gave him a look of complete adoration, a blush present on her cheeks that had nothing to do with the exertion she had just built up from fighting off the dead. "You meant what you said, right?"
She gave his hand a squeeze as she stared at him with a smile on her face. One spread across Takashi's face as well as he squeezed her hand back, giving her a serious look that held so much promise for their future.
"Hell's yeah!" he shouted out, with no care of whatever undead were nearby to hear his cry.
THE END.
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