1. Second Chance.

"Damn you all to the pits of hell." They had taken everything from him. In his bout to survive, he had lost it all, his heart bled for those he had failed to save along the way. "Never again... I won't stop until you're all dead. I'll kill you all." He snarled, baring his teeth and staring into the very depth of their souls with hatred bitter enough to make the very land wither. Strips of neon bolts crackled and exploded across the sky in atmospheric warfare while the downpour slowly washed the corruption and filth from the damned field of horrors down below, the light brought him sight of nothing but enemies as far as his eyes could see. Reminding him once again, of just how alone he was, he had failed in his only quest, Mankind had fallen, there was nowhere left to go, nobody left to protect. As far as he knew, he was the last survivor. There was nothing but the stench of death, coating upon itself layer after rancid layer. Holding onto the weapon that had brought him thus far, Tatsumi screamed to the heavens and jumped off into the hoarde of monstrosities. "I'll slice you all into a million pieces, and devour your flesh!" He screamed as he fell, and then it was all over, whatever manner of death he had received even he couldn't fathom, it happened too fast for him to know, and now all that surrounded him was nothing but pitch darkness, the last sight he had seen was teeth; rows of jagged sharp teeth and then nothing. Idiots Mankind is made up of fools leading fools, it's how the species remain in an annoyingly constant state of struggle for balance, they saw the changes and just rolled with it instead of trying to right their lifestyle, they sought to evade the blinding truth that something was wrong with their world. But what difference would it make? Nobody could ever comprehend or even attempt to stop what was coming. It started on January first, With the disappearance of every animal from the face of the earth, a disastrous event that reshaped the way humans lived their lives, even the seas and oceans stopped giving life, rather in haste, they had to turn to artificial bio-technology. That was the first wave of sudden unnatural events. The second wave was the silence that followed. On Valentine's Day, the entire world went still, the winds kept blowing, you could feel it, but it was never heard again nature had gone completely mute, waterfalls and all. A month later, all surface volcanic activity ceased, the waves on beaches quieted, and the northern and southern ice caps halted in their demise. It was as if earth had stopped breathing, holding her lungs to provoke a change. It was the last official day of summer, another silent Saturday that promised trouble from its birth at Midnight's stroke. Tatsumi; the Tatsumi of the past was sneakily climbing up the side of a house clad in black from head to toe as he the sound of heavy metal blasting from the second floor's window, he climbed through smiling widely at the purely blue and white decor that reminded him instantly of the girl it belonged to, and his current target, walking further in he removed the hood fromnhis head and ruffled his messy hair, his light grey eyes scanned the room for any signs of activity, but the girl was obsessed with order, nothing would ever seem out of place wether she was there or not. He frowned and was about to go back through the window when he saw a photo on her bedside table and picked it up instead. "Yukiyo, where the hell are you damnit?" He flopped onto her bed and took out his phone, and in that same instant he heard the destinctive creak that her bathroom shower faucet would make. "Yukiyo?" Tatsumi sat up and looked at the door intently. "Eh, Tatsumi?" "Yukiyo, why haven't you been answering your phone, do you have a clue what day it is today, do you know what time it is right now?" He snapped as soon as he was sure it really was her in there. He was sent by her parents to collect her after she had failed to show up on time. "My phone is dead, just gimme a little more time and I'll be out." She sighed as she began pulling the towel around herself. "I'm coming out right now." She added a few seconds later and with her words Tatsumi's head snapped to her general direction as his eyes became shadowed by his hair. “Now?” He questioned himself thoughtfully. “Doesnt that mean she's not wearing anything, probably just a towel to cover her bare body... I'll be in the same room as her... And nobody's home...” Tatsumi's mind began racing, but then all of a sudden he felt a sharp pain hit him and he stumbled forward and keeled over on the bed unconscious. A second later Yukiyo opened the door and peeped through, expecting his usual lecherous self to emerge and try snatching her, but instead she found him passed out and sweating. "Tatsumi!" She ran around to the other side of the bed and climbed stop him after flipping him over and slapping his face, but he was unresponsive. "Stop scaring me you idiot..." Yukiyo raised her hand and whispered a silent prayer before swinging with all her strength for a slap that could wake the dead, but before her hand reached Tatsumi's face he caught it and stood up causing her to roll off him awkwardly. "What the hell just happened?" Tatsumi was looking around confused and disorientated he scanned everything, from the blue and white walls and columns, to the hardwood floors, to the furniture and wall decor... it filled him with a powerful sense of nostalgia, and eventually, his eyes fell on a pair of legs, his eyes followed the damp legs up to the thighs and then he twitched as his view of beauty was abruptly cut by a towel that hid from the hips up to her breasts, she had tall platinum blonde hair tied in a bun and bright cerulean eyes, and her skin was the picture of perfect maintenance, this body, that Hari, the spotless creamy skin, the bubblegum lips that needed no highlight, Tatsumi almost broke down into tears as he stood looking down at the blushing girl. "Yukiyo... You're... Alive?" He asked, unable to speak any other words as he was overwhelmed with shock and emotion. "What the hell is that supposed to mean you bed-defiling bastard?" She quickly stood up and took his hand dragging him off her bed. "Do I look any less alive than I did when I last saw you three months ago?" She smiled suddenly and pulled him in for a tight embrace and began running her fingers through his hair. "Let's have some fun, we've been apart for too long, I've missed you." She whispered in his ear, tangling her leg with his and placing a kiss behind his ear. It took a moment, but eventually, he settled and relaxed his tense muscles. "Yukiyo." Tatsumi called her calmly. "Yes, Tatsumi?" She replied with mock child-like innocence. "What day is today?" He asked. It just didn't make any sense, he was supposed to have died by the hands of flesh-eating monsters, why was she there before him? And why did she look so young again? From what he could remember, Yukiyo had struggled beside him for years before being killed in a surprise monster attack on their settlement after the second wave...Wave... “No... no.. I died...I don't remember the specifics, but I definitely felt my body being torn apart... maybe this is what the afterlife is supposed to be?” He broke into thought, only stopping his train when Yukiyo kissed his collar. "Today is the first of September, we have a meeting at the town hall... and we're already late, so let's just skip the whole thing. "September... How old am I?" He asked another seemingly random question to her. "You're seventeen, Tatsumi are you sure you're okay, you were unconscious a second ago-" "Yeah, yeah... I'm fine, more than fine I'm great!" Tatsumi held her and embraced her even tighter than she had held him, if it was really the first of September then he had two more weeks to prepare for the first attack, the initiate invasion that would turn the world upside down and into utter chaos, he had time to properly prepare, it was unbelievable, by some great streak of luck he had been thrown into the past after dying a terrible death, he simply couldn't have this opportunity go to waste, it was a once in a lifetime case of stupidly ridiculous luck. "There's a meeting right, I came here to get you... you're late!" He pouted, quickly falling into his old character. "Yeah, I know." She admitted with a groan, rolling onto the bed on her stomach and fixing her towel, once upon a time, he had been crazy in love with this girl, but that was in his first past, his feelings weren't his own now, his heart belonged to someone else from another timeline. "I'm supposed to meet Teru around now," He looked at his phone and saw several missed calls from the same person he'd mentioned. "I'll wait at the stairs, don't be too long." He smiled at her before swiftly retreating through the window and down the side expertly, he felt it, he knew it was going to happen again, but this time he had a chance of saving them, he would make sure he was as prepared as anyone could be in two weeks for the end of the world, two weeks... "I have time." "Tatsumi's become even more attractive than before." Yukiyu blinked herself back to reality and looked around, tapping her chin. "What should I wear?" She wondered aloud. "I want to look good for him today." She had only put on her undershirt and uniform skirt when she heard what sounded like a crash and groan at her door, followed by the silence she had gotten used to over the passed months. "Mom?" She called, but there was no reply "Mom, Are you there?" She called again, and was about to open the door when a low growl echoed from the other side, unrecognisable in nature. Her body began going through a series of nerve shattering shakes as the growl continued to rise until the sound had caged her in paralysis, the first bang on the door snapped her out of her stillness and she stumbled backward, falling over her sofa and continuing until her back slammed against the wall opposite to the door. Another crash against the door shattered it into chunks and a large grey muscular four-fingered arm came into her room, spanning almost four metres long, and upon seeing the appendage she dived beneath her bed. It took some effort for whatever the thing was to get through the frame of her door, and she watched horrified as blood and thick grimy saliva, fell in front of her face while she tried her hardest to keep silent. The creature lowered it's hidden head closer to her, and it's massive mouth and nose came into view as it sniffed like a hound normally would, pausing when she quietly exhaled after the fire in her lungs became unbearable. The lips of the creature peeled back, revealing rows upon rows of jagged teeth. Her muscles tensed as she prepared to move, but she was suddenly surprised when a claw tore through her bed, ripping into her shoulder and opening up a wound, hesitation fled her body instantly, and before she knew what she was doing, she was rolling down the side of her roof after crashing through her window, and the second she landed in the yard she was on her feet again, running away from her house after hearing a heavy thud behind her. Meanwhile, Tatsumi was sitting in silence, waiting. Dismay crept through him as he did, waiting for Yukiyo to arrive always drove him nuts in his former life and the same stood true for Teru, both of them were time challenged; their internal clock s were broken. Even though he'd caught her coming out of the shower nearly half an hour ago, she was still late, the meeting had started some minutes ago, he wanted at least this one day to go back home and see his parents again, both of them were sick and taking care of them during the first days had resulted in Teru dying and his other friends abandoning him, he wouldn't be visiting those friends now though, they didn't last much longer anyways. "Hey dude," someone suddenly said in his ear, making him gasp. "You waiting for your girlfriend again?" A small chuckle escaped Tatsumi before he sighed again, turning to see blue eyes and a head of bleached blonde hair; it was Teru, but when Tatsumi only nodded in extreme mock disappointment, Teru set his stuff on the stairs and sat down. "You know how she is," Tatsumi finally replied in a sarcastic drone. "I guess I shouldn't have expected her to change much over summer, huh?" He looked calm on the outside, but he really wanted to hug the guy after seeing him alive again, Teru was his best friend. "Guess not." Teru replied with a yawn as he felt the silent winds brush past his face. The two of them sat in silence after that, but it quickly turned into a very comfortable one. Waiting for Yukiyo, after all, was a fairly typical situation, so they were both more than used to it even by Teru's late standards. "Damn, what's taking her so long?" Teru finally said with bored, half-lidded eyes; after a moment, he looked at his watch and facepalmed. "The meeting started thirty minutes ago! It's probably gonna end before she gets here!" Tatsumi said nothing, choosing to stare off into space and think about how he would pull it all off. Just as Teru turned to say something else, they both heard it: "Tatsumi, Teru!" Both of them sprang to their feet at the sound of her shrill and terrified voice, but when Tatsumi looked her way, he froze in his tracks, heart missing several beats and nearly stopping at what he saw. Yukiyo was bleeding from the cut in her shoulder, running towards them as fast as she could go with her hair flying and her arms pumping, and behind her was a horrific monster quadrupling her size, and it was hot on her heels. It's small beady black eyes trailed her every step. With every other step it took it's muscles tightened and relaxed like powerful springs right on the verge of explosive power, the creature stood a stunning ten feet tall even though it hunched with it's palms slapping against the ground as it chased her. A nasty snarl escaped it's mouth, jagged sharp double-rowed teeth filled it, with a long loose tongue swaying left to right covered in thick dripping saliva and blood. "Holy f**k!" Teru snapped in fright. "What the hell... this isn't happening..." Tatsumi silently breathed, It wasn't time what happened to the fifteenth? Why was an Akugami appearing already? "Yukiyo!" Teru cried, watching as she struggled to stay on her feet. "What the hell is that?!" He didn't even need to think about it, Tatsumi's legs were already moving on their own, it was instinct carrying him in the direction of the monster that was chasing her, he could take on several at a time, sure his body wasn't adept to fighting them yet, but with his mind and knowledge all he needed to do was stay alive long enough to train his muscles again, but against one, he could definitely win. "No, Tatsumi!" Yukiyo screamed, flailing. "RUN!" Teru sprinted past his friend in what Tatsumi assumed could only have been a boost of adrenaline. He was moving so fast that he'd look like a blur in anyone's peripherals. "No!" Yukiyo wailed again. "RU-!" Her command devolved into a screech as the mammoth creature folded it's tongue inside it's mouth and then sent it stretching a staggering five metres ahead where it snagged her legs and jerked them from under her causing her to flip forward and hit the ground on her stomach like a sack of potatoes, arms outstretched and face screwed up in pain she couldn't express outside of screaming. Running forward Teru tossed his things to the side and with a scream, he jumped over Yukiyo's head and skillfully spun in midair using the momentum of his action to plant an axe kick In the creature's head. Tatsumi watched carefully as he grabbed Teru's bag and pulled something out, he wanted to see the creature fall, but the beast only flinched. Teru; although just eighteen, was a skilled martial artist with several Martial art techniques mastered and proven. His kicks had broken bone on several occasions in competition globally, yet this beast absorbed it as though it was a leaf on its head Tatsumi began running even faster when the beast took a step back and gave Teru a look he remembered, it was mad. It released Yukiyo and folded it's four-fingered fist dropping it in an attempt to smash Teru, but e dodged the blow, and when the beast swung its other hand, Teru skillfully swung himself out of harm's way a second time then escaping another attempt from the beast, he grabbed Yukiyo's hand, and dragged her upright. "Tatsumi!" Teru shouted, picking Yukiyo up and running towards the hall, but he gasped when all he saw was a blur passing him. Pumping power into his page Tatsumi felt strain as he made a single leap that placed him high above the monster with the object in his hand revealed to be Teru's prize blades from winning his most recent martial art competition, Tatsumi remembered how Teru never left them wherever he went after that, and had he not had them this encounter could have been much worse. "I'll be damned..." He thought as he began descending toward the creatures opened mouth as it prepared to catch him within a bloody embrace of jagged pierces. "I'll be damned to ever let you bastards live a second time, I'll kill you all!!"