The battle had begun and it wasn't going the way that Haruto had originally planned it to. The Behemoth had focused on him and kept him away from Saeko while the Predators attacked her full force. She wasn't being pushed over by them by any means, though. She was able to hold her own. One of them came in for a quick slash but she was able to sever its hand at the wrist. It roared and leaped back, letting its partner into the thread.
Saeko looked behind her just in time when she heard a roar. She saw the other Predator upon her and brought up Kitsune-hi to block the claw. A small tremor was felt when the two clashed and she was able to push the creature back. About to go in for a strike, she was oblivious to the other until it slashed her across her back with its unharmed hand. She gasped in pain and turned, only for her attention to be taken from the second one that caught her sword arm, causing her to drop her blade.
Haruto saw this all happen even through his unending bouts with the Behemoth. He caught one fist with his hand and ran Shukketsu Souru deep in between the knuckles of his index and middle finger, getting a roar of pain from the creature as it pulled its fist away along with the sword still lodged into his hand. Haruto jerked back and staggered slightly when his blade was ripped from his hands.
He looked over and saw Saeko trying to keep an eye on the Predators with Kitsune-hi laying five feet away from her. He ran past the roaring Behemoth and slid to grab the blade as he did. Standing, he quickly took off the Predator's arm that charged him. Saeko stood behind him with her bloodied arm cradled in her unmarred one, though she had no way to aid the gash across her back.
The blonde swordsman watched as the Predators ran to the raging Behemoth, as if waiting for orders like good little soldiers. These things are working as a team! What the hell is going on here? He paid close attention as the undead giant charged with the Predators running zigzag formations behind him.
As it neared, Haruto handed Saeko her sword back and she took it with her unwounded arm with a small smile of thanks. He turned back and met the fist of the Behemoth with his own, the momentum of the beast causing Shukketsu Souru to slide free from its boney prison and back into Haruto's waiting hand. He caught the sword and quickly severed the Behemoth's other hand as it tried to catch him off guard.
While Haruto was preoccupied with the monster, though, the Predators had rushed past him towards Saeko who was barely able to block the incoming barrage of attacks. Haruto heard the sounds of the attacks and growled as he pushed the Behemoth back with one last forceful push. Charging his blade with chakra, Haruto ran forward and jumped with all his might at the thing's head.
It brought up its
bleeding stump and tried to block the attack but it was easily cut through as Haruto blew through both the arm and its neck like a vengeful angel. He landed with a strong gust of wind blowing past him as he quickly sheathed his blade, causing it to convulse and its head to fall off to the ground.
He turned quickly and ran to the battle site of Saeko and the Predators, but found that they were no longer attacking her. They had stopped and were staring at the corpse of the Behemoth. Haruto raised an eyebrow at this. What the hell? Is the Behemoth a controller for these things? He was torn from his thoughts as the Predators ferociously charged at Haruto. He jumped slightly as he brought Shukketsu Souru up to block the claw of the wounded one.
Shit! Alter, what the hell is going on with these things? As he dodged and attacked to the best of his abilities, he heard Alter giving him an explanation. "They are obviously working as a group, there's no doubt about that. This is nearly a dead giveaway, though. Someone is definitely behind this outbreak. It was only a thought when we first saw the Behemoth and the Predators… but the fact that they are developing a sense of teamwork... They were originally simple minded creatures that had only one thing in mind; eat. Now they are working in teams and they are coming after YOU specifically. This is the work of engineering and research on whatever virus does this. We NEED to find whoever started this and shut them down!"
Haruto growled as he blocked another strike and sliced the already wounded Predators head from its shoulders. The other one turned far more feral than it had been and began to get wild with its strikes until a sword found its way through the creature's head. Haruto was stunned as the face of the monster was only six inches away with the blade barely a centimeter away from his forehead. He leaned to look past the thing and saw Saeko, huffing and holding the blade with her only good arm.
He smiled as she pulled the sword from the Predators head and let it collapse to the ground. Haruto walked over and put his hand on her shoulder and she smiled back at him before shakily sheathing her blade. He looked back to the bodies of the creatures with a frown as he spoke. "These things are getting smarter, Saeko-chan… that's not good..."
She nodded as she tried to walk forward to stand beside him, but grunted in pain. Haruto heard this and looked back to see her hurting. Smiling, he walked over and quickly swept her up into a bridal carry, getting a blush from her despite having slept with him the night before. He looked around and was about to move until he stopped himself. "Um… Saeko-chan..." She looked up, ready for whatever question he was going to ask. He then looked down with a sheepish smile as he spoke. "Where are we going?"
The area was silent except for the slight breeze that went through the air. Saeko simply stared at him with a dumbfounded look on her face. "Are you being serious with me?" Haruto scoffed as he tried to play it off but found quickly that he couldn't and hung his head. Saeko just grinned and giggled. He's smart and strong… but he acts like such a kid...
She used her good arm to point in the general direction that they were to be heading. He smiled and nodded as he took off faster than she thought possible. They shot through the trees and Haruto soon saw that they were coming up on buildings going up a hill towards a manor-looking home. He took to the rooftops and spoke while dashing. "So which one of these houses is Saya-chan's house?"
Saeko had to narrow her eyes as they began to water from the rush of the wind and she had to speak louder than normal to be heard of the gale that rushed them as he ran. "Hers is the house at the very top. It's the one that's surrounded by the gate and it more than likely has guards so we're going to more than likely have to go through them and convince them that we are with her."
Haruto nodded and decided not to freak out because the first girl that decided to console him in this horror-ridden world was the daughter of someone rich and probably famous. He smiled at the thought, though. Funny… one of the ones that loves me is from a line of prestige… kind of like me I guess… being the son of the Yondaime Hokage and all.
As they ran faster, Haruto saw that there was a small roadblock in the road with two people and a forklift standing behind it. It was made of small walls of concrete and Haruto scoffed at the sight. "The man hires some stupid ass help." Saeko looked back past his shoulder and saw what he was talking about. When they were out of view and they neared the mansion she spoke. "Putting up a barrier will hold them back, though."
Haruto shook his head as he slowed down on the last rooftop to a walk. "No it won't. I've seen the strength of these things first hand. They may be frail in body but when it comes to their muscle power they have it in spades. They could probably make it through the barrier in maybe five minutes if not controlled. And if my suspicions are correct, then they are stronger than the ones that I faced back in my outbreak."
She sighed as she tried to lay her head down to rest, only to have a different voice interrupt her attempts. "Halt and identify yourself, stranger! Speak now or we will kill you!" Haruto took offense to this as he jumped from the small rooftop to the ground, landing in a crouch and surprising the men, only for them to raise their guns seconds later. He stood with Saeko in his hands and began to walk forward with a kind smile on his face. "My name is Uzumaki Haruto! What's your..."
He wasn't able to finish as he heard a loud "BANG", a quick scream from Saeko and he felt something slice his right cheek open slightly, causing a drop of blood to trickle down to his chin. He stopped dead in his tracks as he felt the warmth slide down his face. He saw the barrel of the man's gun smoking and he knew that he had shot at him.
Haruto carefully sat Saeko on the ground as he felt his cheek begin to burn from Alter's corrupted chakra healing his wound. He stared the man in the eyes with his piercing blue orbs. "I did as you wanted me to… yet you fire at me? That makes me very angry." He was about to draw his blade until he heard a voice from the other side of the gate. "Haruto-kun!"
He looked past the guards and saw Saya running for the entrance and he smiled. She wore a white, frilled, button-up shirt, a black skirt and black slipper-like shoes with knee-high white socks. "Saya-chan, I'm so happy to see you!" The guards were dumbfounded by the display the two were giving and tried their best to look innocent.
Saya ran past them and tackled Haruto to the ground, showering his face in kisses. This got a slight cough for attention from Saeko and the two looked up to see the aforementioned standing over them, cradling her wounded arm. Haruto then looked back to Saya. "I think that there are a few things that you need to know, Saya-chan."
She looked worried but ultimately nodded as she stood to let Haruto up. He stood and brushed off his dusty butt before Saeko walked past them and into the courtyard of the compound. Saya hooked her arm through Haruto's as they walked. He noticed that it wasn't affection that took her, though… it was something else… not fear exactly… but something similar. He wondered what it was that made her feel this way but decided that she would tell him if she wanted to.
The house was rather large and when Haruto thought about it, it was far too large for his tastes. They walked around the fountain that adorned the middle walkway to the stairs leading up to the main house. Haruto kept looking around in wonder as he saw people working, putting stuff where it belonged and loading boxes into large trucks.
It didn't take long until they made it to the house and they were inside. Saya pulled him in the right direction that they were meant to go. "This is where Rei-san's room is. She has to rest because of the treatment from the weapon that Takashi used her as a balance for. It hurt her breasts and bruised her back slightly." Haruto nodded as he and Saeko followed her.
They went up the stairs and down a hall lined with a beautiful red carpet with windows letting the dazzling sunshine radiate throughout the hallways, negating the need for lights. She took them to a door and found that the people that needed to be gathered were there. Rei was lying on her belly naked on the bed with Takashi sitting in a chair besides her talking to her. Shizuka sat in a chair wearing a blue turtleneck sweater with white Capri's and a pair of white heel socks. Kohta sat in the corner playing with little Alice and her dog, Zeke.
Saya let go of Haruto's arm and walked over to the window, speaking the whole time. "We were actually getting ready to have a group meeting before we heard the gunshot at the gate. I rushed out to see what it was and found you two. I'm happy you two are okay and I wish that you could rest before you were dragged into this… but this meeting must take place now."
Haruto looked confused and she spoke without even turning to him. "We need to make our decision now. Are we going to stay here… or are we going to leave them and go off on our own?" Takashi spoke up. "Why do we have to go? They have a plan here! They have supplies, manpower and a good plan."
Rei spoke next. "What about our parents, Takashi-kun?" He stopped when he heard her ask this. "That's right… we need to find them first." Haruto watched the display between them with an odd interest. Conflict… even if this is only a friendly reminder of the objective, it could get to be more than that… this is very bad for a group. With Saya-chan giving the two choices and Takashi-san's clash of ideas it would create different ideas in a group. Different ideas can cause conflict and can make the group become less than efficient and will get people killed. If this escalates then it could end very badly. I can't let that happen. That goes against my mission.
He pushed off of the wall that he had let himself lean back on and walked over to where Saya stood before turning to the room. "Now… we don't need to fret over something like this." Saya turned to him. "What are you talking about, Haruto-kun? This isn't a small decision. This is a very important choice to make. We can either assimilate or we can break away."
Haruto nodded in understanding as he began to pace. "That is true. But you see… there are advantages to the different choices… but there are far more severe consequences. Tell me, Saya-chan… how old are you?" "I'm sixteen." Haruto nodded. "From what I have seen, the group that we would assimilate into is comprised of adults that make the decisions, thinking that we are nothing but teenagers that need to be protected, when we have been through the same things that they have. Actually, I doubt that they have been hit by Behemoths and Predators so we have been through more than them and they would readily waste or experience with these things."
Saya nodded, as did everyone else in the room. She looked to him again and spoke. "Those all sound like consequences. What would be the advantages?" She already knew them, but she wanted to know just how much Haruto could pick up in the short time that he had been at the compound. He leaned against the window and crossed his arms. "There are very numerous if the number of workers is anything to go by, but that could be a pro or a con… though more con than pro. Their numbers would create noise and it would make it hard for them to get around quietly. Also, if one of them were to be bitten without someone knowing then it would ultimately tear the group apart from the inside out."
Saya smiled as she nodded and looked to everyone. "See? That's what could happen to us! We would become part of a group that would waste our strengths and cast us aside, calling us useless children when we have been through more than them!" Everyone nodded again and she was about to continue until Saeko spoke. "Well then… since it's pretty clear that we are staying together as a group… I think that there is something else that needs to be addressed."
Haruto knew what she was talking about and started to break into a little cold sweat. "I told that it wasn't that important, Saeko-chan..." She got serious. "And I told you that something like that isn't very trivial." Kohta raised an eyebrow at what he was hearing. "What are you two talking about?" Everyone had eyes on Haruto in a single second. He immediately began to twiddle his thumbs as he chuckled sheepishly. "Uh… Hm… well… it's nothing really! Just a minor detail… it's really nothing to worry about!"
Saeko sighed as she walked over beside him and turned to everyone. "He's being modest… I guess it's only right that I tell you all..." "NO!" This caused everyone in the room to jump when they heard Haruto snap. He looked up with a solemn face. "If they are going to be told… it has to be by me..." He pushed off of the window and left Saeko to stand by it by herself. He stood in the middle of the room at the foot of the bed that Rei was lying on and began to try and pick his words correctly.
Finally, after what felt like forever, he was able to speak. "I… oh boy… I'm..." Saya was worried for him as he still couldn't pick his words right. He's going to tell them… he's going to tell them about his demon... She closed her eyes and waited for him to come out with it, but found that what she was really waiting for… never came.
"I'm not from this time...I'm from the past..." The room was quiet as everyone stared at him after what he had just said. Takashi was the first to regain his ability to speak. "Um… what?" Haruto sighed as he spoke again. "I'm from the past… three thousand years to be exact. I came here after my own outbreak to stop this outbreak and to protect this group. A friend of mine said that I was a wildcard in this thing..." Saya stared at his back with a newfound interest… but also a slight fear… but not fear of him… fear for him as she had felt on the balcony. Just how much burden will be placed on his shoulders until he can finally walk away from it all? He's already been through one of these...and then someone forced him to go through it again… for the sake of us?'
After nearly and hour of quietness, Haruto began to walk out of the room as the deafening silence took hold of him. No one stopped him as he opened the door and left. As he walked down the halls… he felt a pang at his heart. Why didn't Saya-chan say anything...? He didn't have an answer from Alter as he backtracked the way that Saya had led them through the house. When he came to the door leading outside he simply opened it and walked out, not glancing back as he closed the door.