The birds chirped, the sun was out, In the dimly lit confines of an abandoned office building in Yokohama, the air was thick with tension and the faint scent of seawater mixed with rust. Shadows stretched long across the concrete floors, disturbed only by the flicker of torches held by the guards. These were members of the Horde, the survivor group adept at navigating the treacherous post-apocalyptic world. The same group Seven, Cupid, Hel, and Gideon were involved in. Their attire was a patchwork of makeshift metal armor, each piece telling a silent story of battles past. In their hands, they clutch well-worn guns, their eyes scanning relentlessly for any sign of threat.
In the center of this cautious assembly sat a man, Yamato, his presence equally as rugged and poignant as his surroundings. Shirtless, his skin was a tapestry of old scars, each a testimony to his survival. His spiky grey hair and matching beard, peppered with hints of his younger days, were offset by his piercing dark yellow eyes. They held a depth of sorrow and fierce determination, speaking volumes of a life tumultuously lived. Before him, secured in a stark metal cage, was his wife, a zombie, her growls discordant against the melody he played.
Yamato sat cross-legged, a traditional Japanese shamisen cradled in his lap. His fingers danced across the strings with practiced ease, plucking out a hauntingly beautiful tune. Though his wife snarled and snapped at the air between the bars, Yamato's voice was soft and steady, singing a love ballad that seemed to transcend the chaos of their reality.
Around him, the survivors whispered in hushed tones.
"He never leaves her, you know," a young woman with a scar across her eye murmured to a newcomer, her rifle slung over her shoulders as she nodded toward Yamato. "Everywhere we go, she's thereâ€"always in that cage."
"Is it true what they say?" the newcomer asked, gripping his weapon a bit tighter as he glanced nervously at the caged woman.
"That he's searching for a cure?" the first responded. "Yeah. Says he won't rest until he finds Dr. Sato, who supposedly developed something before vanishing."
"They say Dr. Sato was one of us before he ran off with his research. Couldn't handle the pressure, I guess. There's a bunch of rumors going around within the Horde that surround his reason to run off with the cure," another survivor added, loading his gun with practiced hands.
Yamato's song rose above their words, filling the space with aching beauty. His eyes were closed now, lost in the memories evoked by the melody, his voice never faltering even as his wife lunged at the cage bars, her fingers clawing air.
"Even with all the danger, the zombie assassins lurking outside, the constant threats, Yamato never falters," the woman with the scar continued, her voice tinged with admiration and pity. "He's one of the best leaders the Horde has. Dedicated. Even now, he believes love can bring her back, that Dr. Sato's cure, if we ever find him, might save her. And maybe save the entire world."
"Hope's a dangerous thing on days like these," the newcomer remarked softly, his eyes shifting between Yamato and his feral wife.
"It is," she agreed. "But maybe it's also what keeps us human."
Outside, the wind howled through the broken windows, carrying with it the distant roars of unseen creatures, reminders of the constant peril they faced. Inside, guarded by his band of armed protectors, Yamato continued to sing, his voice a beacon of undying hope amidst the ruination, his heart laid bare in every note for the woman he refused to let go. Here in this forsaken setting, love and loyalty performed their timeless dance, watched over by warriors of the wasteland.
Yamato stopped playing, and he said, "Did you enjoy that song, Aoi?"
His zombie wife, Aoi, was locked in a cage, snarling at him ferociously, reaching for him through the bars, but couldn't get to him.
Yamato stood up, and said to the survivors behind him, "In the Horde, we support everything that spreads positive energy. Tell me, do you think my wife Aoi enjoyed the song?" He turned around to look at them with malicious intent, fear striking their hearts.
They panicked, replying:
"Oh, uh, yes! Yes of course!"
"I know she definitely did!"
"Hell yeah! I would've!"
Yamato sighed, "Good. Glad we've come to an understanding. Have any of you seen my son? Is he back at the safe house?"
"Jin is there…I think."
"I know it's tough on him too, wanting to see his mother back as a human, trying to impress multiple females here within the Horde including that girl Seven, even though he should be focused on curing his mother Aoi and killing zombies. Especially In this area of Yokohama. Assassin zombies are evolving around us, they've completely taken over this city. It's shitty, to be honest."
Yamato began to leave, and someone asked, "Do you want us to come with you? The zombie assassins outside."
Yamato began to light a cigarette, replying, "Nope, don't follow me. That's weird. Just keep watching over my lady. Or you're all dead. Note EVERYTHING she does, I don't care if she repeats the same shit over and over."
"AGH!"
"Just kidding. Geez, tighten the hell up."
The door shut behind him.
"Is he gonna be okay?"
"I doubt it. He's one of the leaders, so that must mean he's doing something right, right?"
"Not all the time. The leaders have been chosen weirdly, it was crazy that it was settled by literal fighting amongst us. And Yamato was the first to win."
Outside, Yamato was walking under the bright sun. Smoking his cigarette and walking alongside the sidewalk. He saw some boring lingering zombies in the distance.
'Remember this, Aoi? The walks we took. How we used to carry Jin's little hand together as he shit himself over and over. Years of memories destroyed In just three days of carnage. Dumb bastards ruining things, perhaps I should skin them and make you a coat, Aoi? No? That'll be too weird. I wouldn't want to remind you of your..zombieness. That'll make me a bad husband. I know some people think I'm crazy for this, but they would do the same. Tomorrow, Aoi, is date night again. What should we do this time?'
HISSSSS
Smoke began to grow around Yamato, and Yamato stopped where he was, but kept an uninterested face, still smoking his cigarette.
"Yawn."
SISSSSSS
The smoke rose, and Yamato lingered in the middle of it. And inside of the smoke, zombie assassins began to form from them, like their bodies were mingled within the smoke itself, their skin and suits morphing from it slowly, and all of their backs were turned to Yamato.
The smoke cleared, and Yamato stood with the zombie assassins. They were breathing super fast, and Yamato said, "How…dare you interrupt my train of thought when I'm thinking of Aoi? I'll kill you and leave your remains near her so she can feed."
The zombie assassins vanished in speed, but Yamato did at the same time. Leaving their previous location a blank canvas.
FWOOSH!
ZOOM!
KATHOOM!
The zombie assassins all bashed through a tall building, brutally wounded and rolling on the forgotten roads, landing on lingering slow zombies, crushing their brains on the ground.
Yamato whistled as he walked towards them, his eyes flaring menacingly with a black aura coming from his katana he was holding.
Yamato breathed deeply, and he bent his knees a little bit. The ground shook in fear, the pebbles rose around him, and he slashed his katana in the air like he was striking at an opponent. And in that moment, five buildings split in half from the middle, causing the air to crackle with a large thud. The ground cracked as well, and the buildings fell and crushed the assassin zombies.
Yamato coughed, taking the cigarette from his mouth, "Ugh, this stinks. Aoi wants to quit smoking. I can't just do it yet."
"Sir! Director!"
Yamato turned around, saying, "How dare you interrupt me when I'm talking to myself about Aoi!"
It was two members of the Horde, and they apologized, "Sorry! But it's just that there's an issue!"
"Oh yeah? What's the issue?"
"You're aware of the abnormal zombie we brought in, aren't you?"
"Why wouldn't I be? In the Director. Go on."
"The abnormal zombie turned into a human!"
"Oh that's nice."
"That's it..?"
Yamato twitched, saying, "HE DID WHAT?! SOME OF THESE ZOMBIES HAVE SOME KIND OF ABILITIES, BUT NOW THERE'S SHAPESHIFTING ONES?! Take me. Now."
In the abyss of Rykei's slumbering mind, shadows converged into a dark, echoing chamber, formless yet profoundly constricting. This was the battlefield of his psyche, a place where he confronted his darkest realities and fears.
"Great, just great," Rykei muttered to himself, or rather, to the grotesque, snarling version of himself that stood across the vague, shadowed semblance of a room. His zombie form stared back, devoid of the ability to articulate the turmoil it felt, its eyes a mirror of hunger and restrained ferocity.
"You know, I really hate that youâ€"we can't talk," Rykei continued, his voice echoing slightly in the dark expanse. "It'd be great to actually hear what you think about all this mess." He gestured broadly with his hands, encompassing the darkness around them.
"It's just..man, I'm terrified. Every waking moment, I'm scared I'll turn on Seven or anyone else. They don't deserve that. None of them do." He ran a hand through his hair, a gesture of frustration and despair.
"And the hunger, let's not even start on that. It's like being stuck between a rock and a hard place. Starving to death as a human or being perpetually hungry as... whatever you are." He pointed accusingly at his zombie self.
"You know, I wasn't always this... enhanced. As a kid, I was neither the fastest nor the strongest. Always picked last for teams, always the one left behind." His laugh was hollow, echoing off the unseen walls.
"But here's the irony: the strength I have now? I love it. I won't lie. It feels incredible. To not just be the underdog, to actually feel powerful for once." He gave a bitter chuckle, eyes darkening.
"At what cost, though? I came all this way to find her, to be with Seven, and now what? I'm just a ticking time bomb around her. Great job, Rykei. Really top-notch planning there." His tone dripped with self-loathing.
"Finding her was supposed to be the end of my journey, not the start of a nightmare where I might be the monster that ends it all." He shook his head, his expression tormented.
"And now I beat myself up about it. Seeing her face, it hurts. Why didn't I fix myself first? Why did I think it was a good idea to come here like this? Was I that desperate to see her? That desperate to not be alone anymore?" His voice cracked with raw emotion.
"You know, talking to you doesn't make this any easier. You can't answer. You just stand there, looking hungry and terrifying." He glared at his zombie counterpart.
"This place, this oddly weird and random, dark, endless void, it's a bit like how I feel inside, you know? Just an empty, sprawling darkness with no clear way out." He spread his arms, as if to embrace the void.
"I thought finding Seven again would fill that void, light it up somehow. But it feels like I've just dragged her into the darkness with me." A sigh escaped him, weary and long.
"What am I even doing? Is there a point to all this, or am I just delaying the inevitable?" His gaze fell to the floor, a picture of defeat.
"Do you ever think about that? About what it'll all come down to?" He looked back up at his zombie self, challenging it.
"Of course, you don't. You don't think. You just exist." His words were a whisper now, laden with the weight of his realization.
"Maybe that's what scares me the most, not the hunger, not the strength, not even the fear of hurting her. It's the thought that one day, I might stop thinking altogether. Just become... this." He gestured towards his zombie form, his face etched with horror.
"Let's hope it doesn't come to that, huh? For both our sakes." Rykei's voice trailed off, lost in the encompassing shadows. "Anything you wanna add or.."
His zombie form stated, "I don't care."
"HUH?! ARE YOU SERIâ€"."
Rykei opened his eyes, and he was in a cage out in a courtyard of some apartment buildings, and was surrounded by members of the Horde. He was in his human form, and he looked all around him, saying, "Ohhhh shit."
The members said:
"He's awake!"
"What's he gonna do?"
"He can't break out, that's a magic cage or something."
"He's actually pretty good looking."
"He's probably a zombie with a shapeshifting ability. Don't be fooled guys."
Rykei stood in the cage, and he began to sweat, "Waitttt waitttt! I'm a human! You can ask Seven! I was her boyfriend before the apocalypse started!"
All of the girls exclaimed while blushing with a smile in unison, "Boyfriend???!"
All the men exclaimed in anger and jealousy, "Boyfriend??!! Kill him!"
Rykei got nervous, grinning, "Oh trust me, we did a lot of—."
"SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP!"
Hel, nearby, sat perched up on top of a piece of debris, holding a small book.
'The boy is unique. He for one is a human. Even if others do not believe it. For the demands of reality is more of an illusion than the journey we take. I should write that down in my book of knowledge. Letters to my lost mistress.'
He started writing In his book, it was like a daily journal, he was writing what was going on, which he does everyday, every once in a while, he throws the paper out in the world so they can travel, hoping to reach the love of his life.
Kaido was standing beside Hel, asking, "Are you up here being edgy and monologuing to yourself."
"Hmph. The edge of the darkness rises intensely."
"WHAT DOES THAT EVEN MEAN?!"
"Time will tell."
"Right. Look, what do you think about this?"
"Thy boy is a human. I smell it on him."
"Of course he's human, he TRANSFORMED. That sneaky bastard is trying to blend in with us. I'll be there to stop him."
"You shall lose. You've seen thy capabilities of the dark humanoid."
"Yeah he's strong, but I'll go all out against him. I didn't get an awakening power yet, but once it comes—."
"It won't."
"DON'T CRUSH MY DREAMS! MY POWER WILL COME ONE DAY! Until then, I will watch this bastard zombie like a hawk. He's my ultimate enemy. He's probably the king of them all. I've seen him heal over and over. I haven't seen that from any zombie."
Approaching the cage, was a little 13 year old boy with brown hair in a small ponytail, and hazel eyes with white headphones over his head covering his ears, and he was dressed in a white shirt sleeve button up, khaki shorts, white shoes, and high white socks. His name was Renn.
He stood near the cage, eating a bag of chips, saying, "Hey mister. Are you a zombie?"
Rykei shook his head, "I'm HUMAN. When the apocalypse started, I was bitten by a zombie, but then instead of fully turning into one, I can only become one at night. I swear I'm not an enemy!"
'Shit! How can I make these people believe me?! They've seen all sorts of zombies, I'm not THAT surprised that they're suspicious of me.'
Renn tilted his head, "Show your bite mark."
'This little kid is strange.' Rykei thought.
"I don't have the mark anymore. I heal from any wound I get."
"Oh cool-."
BOOM!
Rykei's brains were shot out by a shotgun blast, shocking the entire crowd. A large muscular woman standing beside the cage holding a shotgun. She had curly blonde hair, black fingerless gloves on, a blindfold over her eye, and scars on her face.
She smirked, "Hehe, he said he heals from any wound, I just wanted to see if it was true or not."
Renn stood up, his small frame facing the muscular woman, saying, "That was really mean, Yuuma."
"Hoh? Are you getting mad? Getting angry? Come on, do something. I love a challenge."
"I'm getting angry."
"Yes. That's it!"
Yuuma grabbed Renn by the head, holding him up high, "If he gets up from a blow like that, I'll face him in a fight to the death, a good fight is always worth participating in; especially when you've spent your entire life in an arena mowing over everyone."
Cupid saw all of this, saying, "Hey! She's holding my best friend Renn!"
The others said:
"Yuuma came back alive from her mission?"
"I heard she brought back a zombie crocodile head!"
Renn said to Yuuma, "I advise you to let me go."
"Oh yeah? Or what?"
Yuuma bashed Renn through a wall, making him fly through there.
She stretched, and yawned, "Ughhh! I'm feening for some action here."
ZIP!
Renn was above Yuuma, his arm turned into black vines, he wrapped it around Yuuma's head, and he spun super fast in the air, both of them twisting mid air line a helicopter blade. He then let go, and made Yuuma's body bash into the ground super loud, causing the ground to shake and many of the Horde members to fall.
Rykei, now regenerated, yelled, "WHY ARE YOU TWO FIGHTING?! AND WHY DID THAT BIG BASTARD TANK WOMAN DO THAT TO ME?!"
A member answered Rykei, "They always fight. And Yuuma fights with everyone, especially Cupid and Kaido. And Yuuma shot you because she's clinically insane and loves a good fight. She's spent most of her life destroying people in the ring, and she's grown into it, so a worthy opponent, like you, would satisfy her."
"Ah. But satisfying her just sounds nasty."
"It does huh?"
'These people are strange.'
Something grabbed Rykei from behind, the back of his shirt was grasped.
"Huh?"
He was yanked through the back of the cage, the cage bursting open, but no one really noticed because Renn and Yuuma were fighting. And Cupid was on the side cheering them on:
"Go, Renn! Kick her big ass!"
Yuuma scoffed at Cupid, "You'll be next, runt!"
"Yay!"
And Kaido was trying to get in between them with his juggernaut armor, "SETTLE DOWN BOTH OF YOU!"
As Renn was fighting with black vines, he kept a straight face, saying. "She started it."
Rykei was getting dragged super fast upstairs, saying, "Who is this?! Hey hey look, we can talk about this, wherever you're taking me!"
'They're moving so fast, I can't turn upward to see them!'
They blasted through a door, and Rykei was slung on top of a bed. Rykei said, "What the—?"
He gasped, Seven was standing in front of him. No words were said, Rykei's heart pounded. Before he could say anything, Seven got on top of him fast and kissed him. Her legs wrapped around Rykei's waist, her hands cuffing his neck softly, her lips pressing against Rykei's lips.
Seven said, "Rykei.."
Rykei responded, "Seven."
They laid down, and Seven kissed on his neck, her hand slowly rubbing down Rykei's chest. She made her way back up, kissing his face even more. Her thigh sat up on top of him, and she grabbed his hand, and made him squeeze the inside of her thigh as she kissed him more.
Seven asked, "Where were you..?"
"I was bit..then I was fine, until the night, I turned into a zombie."
Seven stopped, and she slowly moved away from Rykei.
"You do reek of a zombie. And I've come across zombies with abilities, but never with shapeshifting abilities. I meet new ones all the time. I'm sorry. I got ahead of myself. Seeing the love of my life again after believing he was dead got the best of me. I can't—I can't believe you're Rykei. You're a zombie, and with the kind of abilities they have, I can't easily trust you."
Seven sobbed, a tear ran down her eye.
"I hate this so much. Why? Why did you turn into him? Why did you turn into Rykei?"
Rykei grabbed Seven's arm, saying, "I am me! I'm him! Rykei! I know it seems weird, but I really got bitten, then all of sudden, I can turn into a zombie at night. I have this shit too, It gives me more power, but the cost of having any control over my bloodlust. Why do you think I didn't attack that juggernaut man during the fight with the zombie monkey assassin?"
"You saw us. You knew we were up there."
"I did. But only until after the battle. I try my hardest to not go crazy and bite a human or kill them because of my zombie form. It really sucks. It's the same as I was when I was a child. A childhood I told you about. I didn't want to scare anyone off or avoid making friends because I was awkward, and I was a big ass nerd."
"How do you know that?"
"That's why I'm trying to tell you, I'm the real Rykei."
"I can't wrap my head around this. I've seen too much. Been through a lot, all in just three days. My only goal was to I guess heal from losing you—losing Rykei, because I knew he was dead. He wasn't strong, fast, but I loved him. For someone to get bit but remain human, seems impossible. I seen everyone who got bit turn into those monsters.
"You have to believe me, Seven."
"I can't. I don't know what Jin wants with you, or what his true intentions are, but you don't mean any harm in his eyes. But if you do anything to jeopardize our trust, I will find a way to kill you."
"So be it then."
"So be it?"
"I'll prove to you I'm Rykei. I'm not some shapeshifting zombie. I have memories from when we were together, everything we did."
"Who knows? A shapeshifting zombie could maybe access the memories of the person they're shapeshifting to."
"Okay."
'So uptight! This is gonna be harder than I thought.'
Seven walked away, ready to leave, but Rykei said, "Seven."
"What is it?"
"Just know I do love you."
"…Bye."
She walked out, and Rykei said to himself, "So she's just gonna leave me here?"
A man was standing behind Rykei, and he had long dark gray hair in a ponytail, and dark yellow eyes. He was around 26, with a young face. He was Jin.
"She did. Didn't she? What a shame."
Rykei thought, 'H-How? How did he get behind me?'
Jin smiled, "I'm Jin. Third leader of the Horde. It's nice to meet you. Mind if we have a little chat, zombie man?"