To the Death, My Love

by Darkpenn

This collection consolidates all the incidental Darkpenn HOTD stories relating to the narrative 'The Chronicle of Takashi Komuro'.

TO THE DEATH, MY LOVE:

STORIES OF THE SEVEN

This collection consolidates all of the Darkpenn HOTD stories that relate to the central narrative of 'The Chronicle of Takashi Komuro'. The arrangement is chronological, and where each story fits in the timeline is indicated in the Author's Note.

Z minus 1 – Saeko's Story

Z Day – Shizuka's Story

Z Day – Saya's Story

Saeko and the Long Goodbye

Saya's Really Expensive Shoes

Close Encounters of the Sleeping Bag Kind

Saeko's Secret Story

Peppermint Schnapps, or the Upside of Armageddon

Takashi Finds True Love

Kohta and the Tsundere

Grandmother's Gift

Girls' Day Out

A Stranger Riding By

Zombie version 3 point 0

Nightmares

Return to Tokonosu

Miss Marikawa and the Yamazaki Whisky

Saya and the New Arrival

Miss Marikawa's Graduation

The Ohona Incident

Rei and the Very Big Ship

Fall

Seeds

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Z minus 1 – Saeko's story

After doubts and delays, Saeko takes a romantic plunge – but her timing is lousy

[Author's Note: This story takes place the night before the day on which the first zombie comes to the gate of Fujimi High School.]

As usual, it was after midnight when Saeko Busujima returned to her apartment from work. She did not mind the hours, and the job was not difficult. All she had to do, she reflected, was serve saki and beer to businessmen while she was wearing her underwear. The bar had a strict 'look but not touch' policy, although she often received quiet offers from customers. She always politely turned them down, but she admitted to herself that she did not mind the attention, and that she liked to be looked at.

And, of course, the money was good. Unlike many of the students at Fujimi High School, she did not come from a wealthy family. There were school fees, the rent on her apartment, and kendo tournaments that often required travel. And university next year would be expensive as well.

She turned on the television, hitting the mute button as she did so. She activated her computer and poured herself a drink: whisky, her preference. She told herself that she would have only the one tonight, but the next thought was that that probably would not happen. She usually ended up having at least three. Yes, tomorrow was a school day, but she had become very adept at hiding hangovers. It was school: how much could happen?

The world news on TV seemed to be more chaotic than usual: military forces doing things in developing countries, riots or something in North America and Europe. Ho-hum.

Her computer beeped: email. It was, of course, Akhiro: no-one else ever sent her emails.

The message said: Hello, Saeko. Thank you for the picture.

She had been corresponding with Akhiro for nearly six months now, after meeting him at a kendo tournament. She had been matched against him in the second round, and had beaten him without much difficulty. He had taken defeat with grace, realising that he was simply not in her class. She had been surprised when, later, he had asked her for coffee; she had been more surprised that she had agreed. Most surprising of all, she had given him her email address when he had asked her for it. Generally, she did not do that sort of thing. But this time she had, and she did not really know why. So there had been a trickle of messages back and forth, always initiated by him.

A month ago, he had asked if she would send him a picture of herself. Eventually, she did: her official school photo, with the long skirt she usually wore as part of the uniform. It was the least sexy picture she could possibly imagine, chosen for just that reason.

She typed: It is not as if you have never seen me before.

- Hard to get a good image of someone when they are beating you about the head. I still find it hard to believe you are in high school yet knocked the crap out of me.

You are not the first to think that I am older than I am. Perhaps it is because I am tall. I will be going to university next year.

- What will you be studying?

Shakespeare.

- ?

Henry V, Julius Caesar, Macbeth, The Tempest. You know, Shakespeare.

- Does tragedy make you happy?

She considered. Then she typed back: I am not generally a happy person. Yet to find my place in the world, perhaps.

She poured herself another drink. She glanced at the television: there was a news article about some sort of crisis in the north of Japan. Police and soldiers had been called out to keep order, apparently.

Another message appeared: Are you still working at the burger place you mentioned?

She typed back: Girl's gotta pay the rent.

She wondered why she had lied about her job to Akhiro. She drained her glass and re-filled it.

You like him, she said to herself. Admit it, moron. You only met him briefly but you think about him when you're in bed alone. So grow a pair.

She typed: I have been thinking about what you asked me a while ago.

About a date? A proper date?

Yes. I would like to do that. I can meet you tomorrow, early evening.

She suggested a place and a specific time. He agreed.

Will you be wearing your school uniform? Or your kendo outfit? (A joke.)

No, and not my work clothes either. You will have to accept me as I am.

I will be pleased to do so. See you then.

They both signed off.

She sat looking at the blank screen, sipping whisky. Well, she thought. How about that. Samurai girl has a date.

On the television, talking heads were talking, animatedly but silently. Someone from the government was saying something. She turned it off.

"Tomorrow," she said aloud, "is going to be an important day."

END

---

Z Day – Shizuka's Story

Life is not exactly as good as it might be, reflects the school nurse. But it's going to get a whole lot worse

[This story takes place a few hours before the first zombie comes to the gate of the school.]

"Whoa is me," said Shizuka Marikawa. "No, wait, I think that's supposed to be 'Woe is me'. Or something."

Fortunately, no-one heard. This was not surprising, since she was sitting alone in her little Mazda, in the parking garage of her apartment building. The issue she was considering was whether she should go to work at the Fujimi High School today. She sighed.

Her head hurt. That was, she thought, entirely understandable, since she had had a few drinks of peppermint schnapps the night before. Perhaps a few more than a few. She had not really meant to, but she had been invited out by a couple of girlfriends, and that had led to a bar, and that had led to the peppermint schnapps. There had been a man involved somewhere along the way, she seemed to recall, but to tell the truth that part was a little hazy. As was much of the evening. Peppermint schnapps will do that.

Which did not resolve the question of whether she should go to work. On the negative side, the traffic looked really bad. She had looked out her apartment window a few minutes ago, and there seemed to be traffic jams and roadblocks everywhere. There had been a lot of police cars and ambulances all over the place, and that had been going on all night. Which had not helped the hangover in any way whatsoever.

The thought of police reminded her that she should not, in fact, even be driving. It was a secret, but her licence had been suspended a month ago. Presumably, this was because she kept hitting things: no people or animals, but poles, parked cars, rubbish bins, that sort of stuff. So if she was pulled over by a policeman, she would have to hope that it was one who could be charmed. Fortunately, she had worked out how to lean out of a car window at exactly the right angle to display her … assets. And how many buttons had to be undone. Two buttons were adequate for most situations, although three were sometimes necessary. But there was always the possibility of a lady cop. For some reason, they seemed to hate her on sight.

Still on the negatives, she had to attend a performance review with the school principal soon. That was not good. She was, after all, only a temporary employee. She was doing a night course to upgrade her qualifications but, well, some of the classes just weren't that interesting. Like the one on delivering babies, for example. Now how could that ever be useful? So she had done something else that evening, she forgot what, something with Rika maybe.

She had a bad feeling that the review would not go well. Sure, the students seemed to like her – there was a constant stream of them, especially boys, to her office – but some of their parents seemed to not be so impressed. Maybe it was because she was willing to hand out various types of contraceptives without asking too many questions. Well, gosh, it was a high school, after all. But the bottom line was that she might be looking for another job by the end of the week.

Another negative: her head hurt. No, wait, she'd already mentioned that one.

Now, the positives. Were there any? Well, the job paid well, and most of the time she enjoyed it. Getting paid was important, since her credit cards were pretty well maxed out.

One of the main reasons for the parlous cash flow situation was something she was wearing right now. It was a really nice Dior skirt. She had been sensible when buying it: it had been marked down. By five per cent. Sure, that meant that it was only outlandishly expensive, compared to ludicrously expensive, but five per cent was five per cent. And, yes, the skirt was so tight it was difficult to walk in, but it gave a really nice shape to her butt, which was important for someone who was, how could she put it, on the top-heavy side.

Another positive: during class hours, her office was seldom busy. If she stayed home, she wouldn't be able to get any sleep, what with all the sirens and everything. At the school, she could put her head down on her desk and have a nice little rest. Oh, and aspirin from the medicine cabinet as well. Quite a lot of aspirin, possibly.

Okay, that sounded like a deciding factor. She would go to work and take it easy. She started the car and pulled out of the garage, narrowly missing a mailbox that, she was sure, hadn't been there yesterday. So maybe the situation was not totally woeful. It should be, at least, a quiet day.

END

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Z Day – Saya's story

Saya thinks that it might be a good day, for once. She is wrong

[Author's Note: This story takes shortly before the first zombie comes to the gate of Fujimi High School.]

The chauffer opened the door of the limousine for Saya. She climbed in, to be greeted by a Mozart adagio.

"Fuck it," she said to herself. She tried to remember the name of the chauffer, but it escaped her. There were so many people working at the Takagi mansion, she could hardly be expected to remember them all. Or, indeed, any of them. She took a CD out of her schoolbag and passed it over the seat to the chauffer. "Please play this instead of Amadeus," she said.

" 'The Akeboshi Rockets'," read the chauffer. "I hardly think that your mother would approve, Lady Saya."

"I'm totally sure she would not," said Saya. "Just put it on. And please don't call me that."

"As you like, Miss Takagi."

Saya sighed. I hate my life, she thought.

At least the chauffer put the CD on, although his air of marked reluctance spoiled any enjoyment she might have otherwise got from it. As they left the grounds, she took out her computer and called up the schedule for the day. Classes: Advanced Maths, Accelerated Scientific Methodologies, Advanced Studies in … something or other. High Level Whatever.

She sighed again. At least there were no sporting activities today. That was good. Not great, but good. No sport meant no repetition of that unpleasant incident over who was running the goddamn volleyball team.

She closed the Class schedule and called up Social Plan. Lunch with the second- and third-wealthiest girls in the school. Not particularly appetising, but necessary if she was to stay abreast of the school gossip. If she was lucky they could get a balcony table, so they could watch the boys' football team practising. That might make up for the lunch company.

After school, a visit to the local mall. She enjoyed that, mainly because she could walk there rather than having to go in the limo. She couldn't see why so many of the people at school liked riding in the limo, when she thought to make the offer to them. It was really just a well-padded branch of the family prison, with wheels.

Ah, here was something positive at the mall. Hairdresser appointment. Always good. And then she could go to the designer shoe shop nearby, where they served her champagne without worrying that she was under the legal drinking age. Champagne was good, it stopped her from worrying about … things. She wondered vaguely if there was a way to get the hairdresser to serve it as well.

There seemed to be a lot of traffic jams today, and a peculiarly high number of vehicles with sirens going somewhere or other, but eventually the school came into sight. "Please turn into the next side-street and stop," she said to the chauffer.

"But we are not there yet," he said.

"Just do it," said Saya. "I would like to walk the last couple of blocks." So no-one will see me arriving in this thing, she thought.

"Very well … Lady Saya," said the chauffer.

She let it pass, just glad to get out. As she walked through the gates, she saw the usual things. That stupid chubby guy who was in some of her classes, Hitano or Hirona or something, was getting bullied again. Well, nothing to do with her. There was Komuro, who she had known since kindergarten, standing on the balcony of a stairwell. She had seen him moping around there before. She remembered a piece of gossip that Rei – what was her second name? Miyomata? Miyamoto? anyway, the girl with the weird hair that stood up like a pair of antennae – had dated him for a while but was now with … some other guy. Komuro was probably feeling sorry for himself over it. I'll go up there and tell him he's being more stupid than usual, she thought.

All in all, the day was shaping up as mostly a pile of crap. She would go to the first class of the day, because that subject wasn't as totally boring as the others. Maybe she would cut the next couple. Maybe all of them. It was not like she needed to go; she had learned the work weeks ago. And what could they do, expel her? Ha, that would give her parents a surprise, if they noticed.

It sounded like a plan. She was good at planning. She would tell Komuro how stupid he was, and then go to Maths, and then would take the rest of the day off. Go to the mall or somewhere. Take a bus – a bus! – to the boutique district, perhaps. Drink some champagne. Maybe a lot of champagne. Maybe she would talk to someone she hadn't talked to before. Maybe buy another Rockets CD, since she had left the one she had in the limo.

Maybe today would be the day when she would finally make it over the fence. And speaking of fences, there seemed to be some sort of commotion at the school's front gate. Well, nothing to do with her.

"This is going to be a good day," she said to herself.

END

---

Saeko and the Long Goodbye

What really matters is what we take with us, and what we leave behind, and what we keep in the secret places of our heart.

[Author's Note: This story takes place when the group is staying at the Takagi family mansion; specifically, within the time period of Episode 11. It relates to images that appear in the credit sequence.]

In a secluded corner of the garden of the mansion, Saeko removed the sword that Saya's father had given her from its sheath and examined it closely. It was truly beautiful. She tried a series of practice moves with it. It felt as if it belonged in her hand, or perhaps her hand belonged to the blade. She returned it to its scabbard.

She looked up at the sky. Clouds were gathering: rain was on the way.

"Hello, Saeko," said a voice. Saya. "Not doing the kimono thing anymore?"

"Please thank your mother for the loan of it," said Saeko. "But it is not appropriate for what I have in mind. I am planning an excursion. To my apartment. It is not far from here. I have told Takashi I would be going."

"I'll have some of the staff drive you."

"Thank you, but I would prefer to go on my own. I will not be gone for long."

Saya nodded. "Sure, I get that," she said. They went to the gate and Saya directed the guards to allow Saeko to pass through.

Saeko walked through the empty streets, carrying the Hokusawa blade. She wondered why she was going to the apartment. There was not really anything there that was important to her. There was a cabinet full of meaningless trophies. Some clothes: also meaningless. Not much else.

Perhaps it's a matter of bidding farewell to the past, she thought. A way of accepting that everything you thought you were, everything you thought you knew, was built on sand.

She turned into the street where she had lived; the building with her apartment was at the end. She stopped.

"Well, that's one way of saying it," she said to herself.

The building was no longer there. It was just a burned-out frame and a pile of smoking ashes.

"Don't move, girlie," said a voice from behind her. She felt the barrel of a pistol on the back of her neck.

She had heard that voice before. She had heard those words.

She remembered. It had been night.

"Drop the sword," said the man.

She wondered if she could move quickly enough. But the gun was pressed against her skin, and it was very likely that the man holding it knew how to use it.

She put the sword down.

"Now put your hands behind you," he said. "And don't think that I care whether you're alive or dead when I get you down on your back."

She did so. He bound her wrists with a plastic tie. He pushed her into an alley that ran off the street.

"Turn around," he said.

She did, to face him.

"You're a pretty one," he said.

"As you have already told me," she said.

"What, we've met before?"

Saeko said nothing.

"What's your name, girlie?"

"You would be afraid to hear it," said Saeko.

He peered into her face.

"You," he said at last.

"Yes," she said. "The girl who beat you. With a stick. Tell me: how did that story go down in jail? Did everybody laugh?"

He pressed the barrel of the pistol onto her chest. Then he moved it down so it was between her breasts.

"Oh, I will enjoy this," he said. "And if you behave yourself, maybe I won't feed you to the zombies afterwards. Maybe I'll keep you. Maybe."

He put a finger to her lips.

She opened her mouth – just a little. She let her tongue run across his finger.

"So you're one of the ones who likes it rough," he said.

"Find out," she said softly.

He put it into her mouth. She smiled.

And then she bit. Hard.

He yelped in pain and jumped back.

There was the taste of blood in her mouth. "What's the matter?" she said. "Not rough enough for you?"

She kicked out, a looping kick that knocked him down. But with her hands tied behind her she could not get enough force into it to do much damage.

She ran – back to the street, to where her sword lay. She knew she would only have a few moments.

It began to rain, heavy and cold.

She threw herself down and brought her legs up to her chest. With an effort, she managed to get her hands under them. Thank god for kendo exercises, she said to herself. She was still cuffed but at least now her hands were in front of her. She took the sword out of its sheath as the man came running out of the alley, gun in hand.

Then he stopped, fear and surprise frozen on his face. He was looking past Saeko, along the street.

She glanced behind her.

There was a group of zombies, a dozen or more, coming for them.

"Run," she said to the man.

They ran back into the alley. But another group of zombies appeared at the far end, cutting them off.

The man raised the gun and shot one of them. It went down – but there were many others.

"That isn't really going to help, unless you have a lot more bullets," said Saeko.

She looked around. There was a large dumpster rubbish bin, the type on wheels.

"Help me with this," she said. The two of them pushed the bin to block the alley. It would give them a few moments, but no more. The zombies were already trying to shove it aside, and the first group was advancing along the alley.

Saeko put the sword on the ground, blade upwards, holding it in position with her foot. She ran the plastic tie binding her hands over it. It fell away. She stood up, sword in hand.

And found the man pointing the gun at her chest again.

"Go ahead," she said. "Finish what you started. Here, I'll make it easy for you."

She stepped forward so the gun was pressing into her breast. She closed her eyes.

She heard a shot. But felt nothing. She opened her eyes.

The man had shot one of the zombies advancing on them.

The zombies were only a few metres away now. She lifted her sword and swung. One down, two, then three. The man shot another one.

Suddenly, there was a gap in the throng.

"Come on!" she said.

They ran through the opening. They made it – just. Saeko scooped up the sheath of her sword, and the two of them ran along the street through the soaking rain, the zombies following.

They turned a corner and ran up another street. They stopped, panting for breath.

Suddenly, a zombie lurched at them out of the shadows. The man tried to turn his gun but there was not enough time, the zombie was on him. Saeko slashed out, and the zombie's head left its shoulders.

"Fuck it," said the man.

He had been bitten on the hand.

"Hold out your arm," said Saeko.

He did.

In a single motion of her sword, she cut it off, just above the elbow. The man cried out in pain. There was a gush of blood over the wet pavement. The man slumped against a wall.

Saeko took the scarf from around her neck. She wrapped it around the wound, screwing it tight to act as a tourniquet and a bandage.

"Will that stop me turning?" gasped the man.

"Maybe," said Saeko. "Maybe not."

There was the low moaning of zombies from along the street, advancing towards them.

"You have lost too much blood to be able to run," said Saeko. "They will reach you soon. I cannot fight them all. And even if I could, I do not believe that you are worth fighting for. Under other circumstances, I would kill you myself. Gladly. But you have a gun, and I suggest you use it."

The man stared at her.

"Who the fuck are you!" he said.

"I am Saeko Busujima," said Saeko. "I kill things. And I enjoy it."

What's past is prologue, she thought. I am a creature of the brave new world, now. This is what I was trained for. This is what I was born for. I am the darkness made flesh.

The rain had turned her clothes transparent. There was nothing left to hide. She sheathed the Hokusawa blade.

She looked down at the man. There was no more to say. She turned and walked away.

The man, sitting against the wall in a spreading pool of his own blood, watched the zombies approach.

He put the gun to his head and pulled the trigger.

Click.

"Damn," he said.

And then they were on him.

---

Saya was at the gate when Saeko arrived. They walked to the mansion together.

"Did you do what you wanted to do?" said Saya.

"Yes," said Saeko. "I said goodbye."

END

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Saya's Really Expensive Shoes

On a shopping trip with Hirano, Saya finds more than she bargained for.

[Author's Note: This short story is meant to be read as an incidental part of the story cycle The Chronicle of Takeshi Komuro rather than as a component of the main narrative stream. It takes place while the group is in the city, at the mall; that is, within the time period of the story Dead and the City. Specifically, it takes place shortly before the story Close Encounters of the Sleeping Bag Kind.]

"I don't know if this is such a good idea, Saya," said Hirano.

"Of course it is, since I thought of it," said Saya. "This might be my last chance for some serious retail before we leave the city. Anyway, there doesn't seem to be any of them around."

"Still, I don't think it's a good idea to be wandering around by ourselves, without telling the others where we were going."

"Oh, I told Takashi we were going to look for more gas cylinders for the stove."

"And yet here we are in the boutique district." He looked around. Designer shops as far as the eye could see. At least the area was relatively untouched, by the look of things. Some other parts of the city were not much more than ruin and rubble.

He sighed. He did not really know why he was here, but on the other hand he would go with Saya pretty well anywhere that she wanted to go. He hefted the automatic rifle that he had liberated from the abandoned police station near the mall.

"Versace," read Saya, as they walked down the street. "Gucci. Prada."

"Those are people, right?" said Hirano.

She stared at him. "You really are hyper-challenged in normal things, aren't you?" she said.

"No! Well, sometimes. Yes, I suppose I am. Are we looking for anything in particular?"

"Yes, and here it is. Welcome to paradise."

It was a shoe store. An extremely expensive shoe store.

"This is absolutely wonderful!" said Saya as they went in. "I have the whole place to myself. Oh, these are really cute." She took a pair of turquoise pumps from the display case. She sat down and tried them on. Then she looked at the price tag. "Humph," she said.

"What, too expensive?" said Hirano.

"Not expensive enough," said Saya.

"Huh?"

"You really don't get it, do you?"

"Obviously not."

She tried on another pair. And another. And another. And so on.

"You know," said Hirano. "None of these are very practical in our current circumstances. A solid pair of boots would be better. You really need something you can run in. As in, away from zombies."

"Jimmy Choos?"

"Can you run in them?"

"Not really. You know, this whole shopping thing was much more fun when there were lots of salespeople around to suck up to you. Serving champagne and stuff. What do you think of these?"

"They're lovely."

"And what about these ones?"

"Also lovely."

"And these?"

"Yes, lovely."

"You really don't know, do you?"

"No. On the other hand, do you care anything at all about my opinion?"

"Of course not. I was just being polite. Although why, I don't know."

Then she saw them. Manblo Blahnik. Three-inch heels. Hand-tooled. Red as a ruby on fire. With a charming little strap. "Oh god," she said, reverentially taking them out of the cabinet.

"I don't see a price tag on them," said Hirano.

"If you have to look at the price, you can't afford them," said Saya. She put them on. "Trust me, these are ludicrously, amazingly, outlandishly expensive. Oh, these will impress everyone."

"Uh, there might be only seven people left in the world," said Hirano. "I doubt Saeko would care, she doesn't strike me as a shoe person. Alice is only eight or so. And I would be impressed with you if you were naked. Er, I mean, if your feet were naked. Bare. If you had bare feet, I mean. Wearing nothing … on your feet."

She stared at him. "Three point seven billion men in the world and you happen to be one of the last two," she muttered. "How come you survived when all those really cute boys on the football team got killed?"

"Because I … uh, do you hear something?"

From the street, just outside the store, there came a low moaning. Zombies. They began to pound on the glass windows.

"Run!" said Hirano. "That way, into the back!"

They ran into the back of the store. They heard the glass give way.

"Good thing we both have guns," said Hirano. He looked around: they were in a small store-room. He closed the door, but it was not much more than a plywood partition and would not last long when the zombies went to work on it.

"Uh, about that," said Saya. "I … don't."

"What! You didn't come prepared for this?"

"I thought we were going shopping for shoes! I didn't think zombies liked shoes! Anyway, you've got a gun. You can shoot them."

"There's a lot of them."

"But you have a lot of bullets, don't you?"

"Er … well, just the one clip."

"Huh. Didn't come prepared, eh?"

"Okay, so the moral of the story is that you should always carry your Luger and I should always carry extra clips. There has to be another way out."

There was no other door to the room. They could hear the zombies shuffling about in the next room, looking for them. They would find them before long.

Hirano turned to the wall at the back. It was plasterboard.

"Through here," he said.

"That's a wall," said Saya.

"Yes, but I can shoot a hole in it. Enough to weaken it, anyway. Of course, as soon as I do the zombies will hear it and come pouring in."

At that moment, a zombie began to bang on the door to the storeroom.

"Do it," said Saya.

Hirano took aim and then fired a burst, vertically up the wall. There was a shower of plaster.

A zombie hand came smashing through the door.

Hirano ran at the wall. He crashed through, landing in a heap on the other side.

Saya stepped through the hole, trying to avoid the plaster and dust swirling through the air.

"Well, don't just lie there," she said. "We should be moving along."

Hirano got up. They were in a hallway. There was a door at the end. They went through it, and found themselves in the alley that ran behind the store.

Hirano ran to the corner and peered around it, into the street. Then he realised that Saya was not next to him. He looked back; she was still coming along the alley. She couldn't run in the Manblo Blahnik shoes. She had left her other shoes in the store, which was now infested with zombies.

"Take those damn things off!" he said.

"No," she said. "They're really nice, and really expensive, and I'm not leaving them behind."

"You really think they're worth dying for?"

"Hmm," she said, thinking about it. "Hmm."

"Look, here's our situation," he said. "There's zombies on the street, zombies over there and there, and zombies coming up behind us. That's a lot of zombies."

Saya looked around. "So here's what we do," she said. "We go into that Dolce store across the street, the two-storey one. There's a fire escape at the side, leading to that laneway over there, you see it? That laneway leads away from the street, so there probably won't be any zombies there."

Hirano nodded. "Yeah, that might work," he said. "Very good tactics."

"Well, I am a genius," said Saya.

"But we still need to get across the road. That means running pretty fast."

Saya sighed. Reluctantly, she took off the shoes. "Okay, I guess I can carry them for a while," she said.

The zombies were starting to come through the hole in the wall and into the alley.

"We'll go together," he said. "Get ready – "

"Wait a second," she said.

"What is it!" he said.

She grabbed him by the shirt, pulled him to her, and kissed him. "For luck," she said.

He was a bit dazed. "Uh, yeah, right, for luck," he said.

Then he just stood there, looking at her.

"What, you've never been kissed before?" she said.

"No, not really," he said.

She rolled her eyes. "Well, we should go," she said. "And, you know, avoid the zombies."

"Oh, right. The zombies."

They ran for the Dolce store.

The zombies in the street immediately heard them and started after them, but they made it to the store. They closed the door behind them and pushed a cabinet up against it.

Then they looked around. There were four zombies in the store with them. They were all wearing tags saying D&G.

"Oh, they work here," said Saya. "Or they did, when they were alive, at least."

Hirano unslung his automatic rifle and fired. Three of them went down. Then the gun clicked on empty.

Hirano took it by the barrel and swung it but the last zombie caught it and wrenched it out of his hands.

"Uh-oh," said Saya. "That can't be good."

The zombie heard, and started for her.

"No!" shouted Hirano. "Over here!" he ran to the other side of the store and banged on a cabinet. "Here, over here!"

The zombie turned away from Saya and began to advance on Hirano.

"Saya, run!" called Hirano. "Go, you can make it!"

Now Hirano was cornered and defenceless. The zombie reached out for him.

"Hey, moron," said Saya from behind the zombie. It turned again – and Hirano saw Saya hit it with something. It fell backwards, dead.

One of the Manblo Blahnik shoes was on the zombie's face, the stiletto heel in its eye.

"Wow," said Hirano. "Death by fashion item. Pretty cool." He bent over to extract the shoe from the zombie.

"Uh, I don't think I want it now," said Saya. She tossed the other one onto the zombie. "Hirano, you were going to sacrifice yourself for me."

"Well, er … " He turned red. "And you sacrificed your really expensive shoes for me," he said.

They looked at each other for a long moment.

Zombies were starting to hammer on the door.

They found a staircase at the back of the store and ran up to the second storey, and then to the window which led onto the fire escape. They went down the metal ladder to the laneway – and then stopped.

The laneway was covered in broken glass.

Without a word, Hirano swept Saya into his arms.

"Oh my," she said, putting her arm around his neck. "You're stronger than you look."

He carried her until there was no more glass. By the time he put her down, there were no zombies in sight.

---

When they entered the group's camp at the mall, they saw Takashi. "Did you find any gas cylinders?" he said to Saya.

"No," she said. "But I think that maybe I found something more important."

END

---

Close Encounters of the Sleeping Bag Kind

It had to happen, didn't it?

[Author's Note: This short story is meant to be read as an incidental part of the story cycle The Chronicle of Takeshi Komuro rather than as a component of the main narrative stream. It takes place while the group is in the city, at the mall; specifically, during the night following the story Saya's Really Expensive Shoes.]

Hirano, having finished his watch, settled into his sleeping bag and closed his eyes. He was dozing off when someone started shaking him.

It was Saya. "Hirano!" she whispered.

"Is it trouble?" he whispered back, reaching for his gun.

"No," she whispered. "Well, there's the whole end-of-the-world zombie thing, of course. But no, no trouble."

"Then what do you want?"

"Move over. I want to get in."

"Uh, why? Don't you have your own?"

In the darkness, he could feel her staring at him.

"Hirano, are you stupid?"

"You keep telling me that I am."

"Well, maybe I was … uh, just move over, can't you?"

"Why are we whispering?"

"Because I don't want the others to hear," said Saya.

"Hear what? And why not?"

She made a 'grrr' sound.

So he moved over. She slid into the sleeping bag beside him. With a shock, he realised that she was fairly close to naked. Oddly, and despite the fact that it was dark, she was still wearing her glasses.

"Do you know what to do?" she whispered.

"N … no," he whispered.

"Why aren't I surprised. Fortunately, I know. You're lucky I'm a genius."

"So you keep telling me."

"Hirano, I want to make clear that this is entirely a one-off situation driven by the present circumstances. The zombie thing, I mean. Now take your clothes off."

It wasn't easy in a sleeping bag, with another person there, but he managed to take off his shirt and trousers.

"And the rest," she said.

"You haven't."

With a sigh, and with an effort, she wriggled out of her pants and bra and put them next to the sleeping bag. Hirano also managed to take his underclothes off.

"So," she said. "Now we are both naked and next to each other in a sleeping bag."

"Uh, you still have your glasses on," he said.

"What? Oh, so I do." She took them off and placed them on her underclothes.

"Aren't we supposed to kiss?" said Hirano.

"Yes, I suppose so," said Saya. She kissed him on the cheek. Then she kissed him on the lips. And then again, for longer.

"You're supposed to kiss me back," she said.

"Er … "

"Oh, for … here, like this." She showed him … sort of. Then she put her hand on his chest, and moved it down until she found what she was looking for.

"Whoa," she said in surprise. She ducked inside the bag. Then one hand came out. "Give me that torch," she said.

He handed her the torch that was beside the sleeping bag. It went down and clicked on. "Whoa," she said again. She popped up.

"Is that … alright?" he said.

"Uh, yes. That's fine. Actually, a bit more than fine. I don't have all that much experience, but from what I've seen before, that's … more than fine."

"How much experience do you have?"

"Some. Several. I know what goes where."

"Even I know that. In theory."

"Then let's move to the practice." She put her hand on him again. "Oh my," she said.

She showed him where he should his hands on her. She started to kiss him again – passionately this time. Then she moved so she was where she wanted to be, and started to do what she wanted to do.

"I want to reiterate," she said after a while, "that this is … unhh … just the one time … oh, that's, yes that's … that's very … mmm – "

She gritted her teeth. She kissed him hard on the lips to stop herself from crying out. After what seemed like a long while, she sagged down against him.

Hirano was gasping. "Is it … is it always like that?" he said.

"No," she said. "In fact, when I've done it with other guys it … it wasn't like that at all. I mean, it was alright … but … that was … whoa."

Then she drifted off to sleep.

An hour later, she woke. "Hirano … uh, Kohta," she whispered. "Are you awake?"

"Yes," he said.

"Kiss me," she said. "And then … the rest."

---

Saya awoke to someone shaking her gently. She opened her eyes.

Saeko.

Uh-oh, thought Saya. She turned her head. Hirano was next to her, sleeping silently.

"You are in Hirano's sleeping bag," said Saeko in a low voice. "With Hirano."

"I … I was cold," said Saya.

"Perhaps that is because you are naked," said Saeko.

Saya sighed. "This is a one-off thing," she said.

"If you say so," said Saeko. "Do you need help getting out of there?"

"No … well, yes. Thank you."

Saeko helped Saya slide out of the bag without disturbing Hirano. There was no-one else awake. Saya put on her underwear and glasses. She went to her own bag and retrieved her other clothes and started to dress. She realised that Saeko was on watch, and had woken her so she could get out of Hirano's sleeping bag before the others woke.

"Thank you," said Saya. "Uh, Saeko, have you ever encountered … something … which just isn't what you expected? In a good way, I mean."

"Not really. Care to elaborate?"

"Er, no."

"You are aware that the world effectively ended a few days ago, and that at any moment we could be attacked by a horde of zombies and horribly killed, aren't you?"

"To tell the truth, that is why I wanted to do it. That, and … well, when we were at the school, and since then, he saved me … sort of. Once or twice. Four times, actually. And a few other times. Don't tell him I've been counting."

"I don't know why you would want to keep it a secret, but alright."

"In fact, can you keep this … whole thing … secret? Since it's a one-off thing."

Saeko shrugged. "If that is what you want," she said.

---

It was the next night. Hirano, after finishing his watch, was settling into his sleeping bag. He closed his eyes and began to drift.

Out of the dark, someone poked him.

"Kohta, are you asleep?" said Saya.

"Not any more," he said.

"Move over," she said.

"I thought it was a one-off thing."

"Well, maybe it's a two-off thing. Do you object to that?"

He moved over. Saya got in beside him.

"I was hoping that this would happen," he said. "I've been, er, well, sort of studying."

"You've been … what?" said Saya.

"I have a book," said Hirano.

"Huh?"

"I have a book. When I was at the bookstore getting books on repairing engines, I got this one as well."

He reached into his pack by the sleeping bag and pulled out a book, and handed it to her. She shone the torch onto the cover.

How To Please A Woman.

She gave a little laugh. "That was very thoughtful of you, Kohta," she said. "Since you've put that much effort into it … maybe you should show me what you've been reading."

---

Miss Marikawa was doing not very much when Saya came up to her.

"Hi," said Saya.

"Hi," said Miss Marikawa. "What can I do for you, Saya?"

There was a long pause. A very long pause.

"I … er … need something," said Saya in a low voice. "Uh, um, Kohta – Hirano – and I … well, we are … well … "

"Having sex," said Miss Marikawa. "And I'm guessing you would like me to give you some contraceptives."

"Uh, right. How did you know?"

"Honey, I was a nurse at a high school. I know the look. I spent most of my time handing them out. Sorry that I don't have much to choose from. Just condoms." She opened her medical kit and took out a pack of ten. "And this is all I've got. After that, you'll have to locate some more, next supply run maybe."

"This will be fine," said Saya. She looked at them closely. "Say," she said, "there aren't any that are … bigger, are there?"

"One size fits all."

"Are you sure?"

"Well, men think that there are three sizes: large, extra large, and oh my god, but that's just a myth. Are you trying to tell me that Hirano is … "

"Yes. Bit of a surprise, really. A good surprise."

"So everything is going alright, then?"

"Oh yeah. Of course, he's an incredible dork and he drives me crazy sometimes. Pretty often, really. But once we're down to business … oh yeah."

"Good to hear."

There was another long pause.

"But I like him as well," said Saya. "I like him a lot."

END

---

Saeko's Secret Story

Master swordsman and stern warrior she may be, but a girl needs what a girl needs.

[Author's Note: This story takes place while the group is in the city; that is, within the time period of the story Dead and the Better Zombie.]

"Thank you for coming with me, Saeko," said Miss Marikawa. "Even before the zombies, it wasn't always safe for a girl to walk around the city by herself."

"I know," said Saeko. She looked back: the hotel where the group was temporarily based was quite a distance away, fifteen blocks or so. The two of them were looking for a medical supplies store, aiming to replenish their stocks before leaving the city. "I don't much like staying in the hotel anyway."

"Really?" said Miss Marikawa. "You seem to spend a lot of time in your room."

There's a good reason for that, thought Saeko grimly. When she had volunteered to accompany Miss Marikawa she had had an ulterior motive: she was hoping that the nurse could offer some assistance with the issue that Saeko had come to think of as 'an excess of stimulation' – or abject horniness, to put it another way. Maybe tranquilisers. Strong tranquilisers.

It's the fighting and the constant danger, Saeko said to herself. Makes a girl want, well, everything. Hence, you spend a lot of time in your room.

But now that she was alone with Miss Marikawa she couldn't think of a way to raise the subject. She had never before been particularly interested in sex, although there had been a number of lovers along the way. She had seen other girls preening themselves and talking obsessively about men, and she had not been able to really understand why. Now, she was finding it difficult to think about anything else. She put her hand on the hilt of the sword in her belt. Long and hard, she found herself thinking. She sighed.

Miss Marikawa was chattering about something. "Desserts!" she said. "I really miss desserts! Especially soufflés! Do you think we'll ever see a soufflé again?"

"No," said Saeko.

They finally came to a medical supplies store. It looked safe enough, but Saeko asked: "Are you armed?"

"Yes, Hirano gave me this," said Miss Marikawa, holding up a stubby machine gun. "It's an Easy, apparently."

Uzi, thought Saeko, although she said nothing.

They went in, and the place seemed to be clear. Miss Marikawa began to gather supplies.

Saeko walked to the front of the store and looked across the street. There was a small shop, with a sign: ADULT TOYS – ALL TYPES.

Hmm, she thought.

"While you are collecting your supplies," she called out to Miss Marikawa, "I might just … go … over – "

There was the sound of shots. Three.

"Out," said Saeko. "Now."

Miss Marikawa quickly threw a few more items into her bag and they ran into the street.

Two more shots.

"This way," said Saeko. "Not far."

They ran up the street and around the corner, and then into an alley.

And came to a dead halt.

There was a man there, holding a bloody machete in one hand and a long-barrelled pistol in the other. His shirt was torn, revealing a pair of broad shoulders. There were three dead – that is, more dead – zombies around him. As the two women watched, a bead of sweat trickled out of his dark hair and ran down his tanned, muscular chest.

"Whoa," muttered Miss Marikawa. "Momma."

My sentiments exactly, thought Saeko.

"Hello," he said to them. "It's a surprise, and a very pleasant one, to see someone who isn't trying to eat me. I'm Yuudai."

Then they saw a woman and two young children behind him, cowering against a wall.

"Is this your wife?" said Miss Marikawa.

"No," said Yuudai with a charming smile. "My sister, and her children. I have been taking care of them since … everything happened."

"So … no wife then," said Miss Marikawa.

"I am not married. Who are you?"

Suddenly a zombie lurched at them out of the shadows. Saeko drew her sword and removed its head with a single sweep of the blade.

"Mummy, who is the scary lady?" said one of the children.

"I am Saeko Busujima," said Saeko.

Miss Marikawa said: "I am – "

"Are there any more in your party?" said Saeko.

"Yes, six more people," said Yuudai. "We were on our way out of the city, and were looking for supplies and petrol, but we got separated."

"You have a working vehicle?" said Saeko.

"Yes, a truck. I repaired the electrics after the EMP."

Handy with a tool as well, thought Saeko.

"Our group has some vehicles too," said Miss Marikawa. "I drive the bus."

There was the sound of zombies from the street. A lot of them.

"We can't stay here and we can't go back that way," said Saeko. She saw a door at the back of the alley. It was locked. She kicked it open.

Saeko led the way, sword ready. Yuudai hustled his sister and her children in. It was the rear of a store. They ran into the next room. Another door took them into a large open courtyard.

There was a clutch of zombies there. They started to advance.

"Here, let me," said Miss Marikawa, stepping forward. She lifted the Uzi and pulled the trigger. Nothing happened.

"Funny, it's supposed to shoot," she said.

"Release the safety catch," said Saeko.

"What, this thing?" said Miss Marikawa. She pushed something. The magazine dropped out and fell to the ground. Miss Marikawa picked it up and looked at it.

Saeko sighed. She raised her sword and charged at the zombies.

"Uh, shouldn't we help her?" said Yuudai to Miss Marikawa.

"How many are there?" said Miss Marikawa, trying to work out which end of the magazine went into the gun.

"Five," he said. "No, four. Three."

"Probably not necessary," said Miss Marikawa.

Saeko finished off the last two with a single, extremely impressive, stroke of her sword. She wiped off the blood and re-sheathed it. She looked at Yuudai. Oh my, she thought. She bit her lip.

"Now, how can we locate your friends?" she said.

"We were supposed to meet back at the truck, a few streets away."

"Then let's go before more company arrives."

It took only a few minutes to get back to the truck. When they arrived, three survivors emerged from hiding. They had some supplies. "Good to see you," said Yuudai to them. "Where is Ken?"

"He's with the other party. Should be back in a few minutes," said one of them.

"Good, start loading up," said Yuudai. "Did you find any medical stuff?"

"No, couldn't locate any."

"We just collected some," said Saeko. "You can have it, and we'll get more."

"That's very generous," said Yuudai.

Saeko looked at Miss Marikawa. Miss Marikawa didn't do anything. She was staring at Yuudai, slack-jawed.

"Perhaps you should put the supplies on the truck," said Saeko to her.

"Oh, right," she said. She went off, reluctantly.

Saeko and Yuudai walked to the end of the street to check for zombies. There was a shop on the corner, almost untouched. It had a sign: QUILTS AND CUSHIONS R US.

"I don't know how to thank you," said Yuudai.

"Since you mention it, I have an idea about that," said Saeko. She glanced at the shop, and started to undo the top button of her shirt.

"Yuudai!" came a man's voice. "Yuudai, I was so worried about you!"

"Ken!" said Yuudai.

Ken, a rather weedy-looking young man, came running up to them. He leapt into Yuudai's outstretched arms. They hugged. And kissed. Passionately.

Son of a bitch, thought Saeko. Son of a goddamn motherfucking bitch. I can never catch a break.

Yuudai and Ken finally finished their embrace. "Uh, what were you saying?" said Yuudai to Saeko.

"I was saying that seeing you and your people safely on your way is all the thanks we need," she said.

So, a few minutes later, Saeko and Miss Marikawa were waving goodbye to Yuudai, Ken, and the rest of the group.

"You know," said Miss Marikawa, as the truck disappeared into the distance, "perhaps there is really no need to tell Rei and Saya and the others about this."

Saeko sighed again. "No need at all," she said.

END

---

Peppermint Schnapps, or the Upside of Armageddon

Dangerous liquors, chocolate, and more revelations than are, strictly speaking, necessary

[Author's Note: This story takes place after the group has left the city and are heading towards Tomo; that is, after the story Dead and the Better Zombie.]

It was several days since they had left the city. They had stopped at a roadside camping area for the night. They had cooked a meal – canned meat and noodles, again – and now the four women and Hirano were sitting around the campfire. Alice was asleep in the bus, and Takeshi was on guard duty, walking slow circuits of the encampment.

Rei said: "You know what I miss?"

"Boys?" said Saya.

"Those little pastries that have fruit in the middle," said Rei. "And lingerie stores. And tampons."

"And on that note, I will take some food to Takashi," said Hirano. He put some food from the pot onto a plate, and left the group.

"It's not that I need any at the moment," said Rei. "Tampons, I mean. It's just that I like the thought of them being available. What do you miss, Miss Marikawa?"

Miss Marikawa thought about it for a while. Then she said: "Game shows. And booze."

"Interesting combination," said Rei.

"Which reminds me," said Miss Marikawa. She looked around to make sure that Hirano and Takeshi were not in the immediate vicinity. Then she reached into her pack and pulled something out. It was a bottle. "I've been saving this for a girls' night," she whispered.

Saya took the bottle. "What the hell is peppermint schnapps?" she said.

"Find out," said Saeko.

Saya tore the lid off and took a swig. She gave a gasp. "That's …. pepperminty," she said.

"Told you," said Miss Marikawa.

"No you didn't," said Saya. "Anyway, since the guys aren't here we may as well have these too." She took something out of her own pack.

"Chocolates!" squealed Miss Marikawa. "But since we have to watch our figures, we shouldn't have too many of them."

Rei laughed. "Waistlines not really an issue, since the world ended," she said. She took the bottle from Saya, as well as a couple of chocolates. She took a good dose of schnapps and passed the bottle to Saeko. "Kind of a relief, in a way. You know what else would be a relief? This." She took off her blouse, and then her bra. She put the blouse back on, doing up only a couple of buttons. "Mmm, that's a whole lot better," she said. She shook herself so her newly-freed breasts rocked back and forth.

"Heh, that's funny," said Miss Marikawa. She had a shot of the schnapps and then passed it to Saeko. Rei passed the box of chocolates on.

"What do you miss, Saeko?" said Rei.

Saeko took a gulp from the bottle. She considered. Eventually, she said: "Oral sex."

"Uh, what?" said Saya.

"Oral sex," repeated Saeko. "You know, when a man – "

"Yes, we know what it is," said Rei. "It's just a little surprising to hear that it's the only thing on your list."

"It's funny," said Miss Marikawa.

"Did you have a serious boyfriend before?" said Rei. "I mean, before … everything … happened."

"No, and I hadn't had one for a while," said Saeko. "Just wasn't that interested. And when I had been with a man, I didn't much care one way or another. But now that the possibility simply doesn't exist, I miss it. Like you and tampons, Rei."

"Not sure there's a parallel," said Rei. "What about you, Saya?"

The bottle had come back to Saya, and she took another gulp before answering. "Contact lenses," she said. "My laptop, it had a lot of really cool stuff on it. My hairdresser, she was really good and it took me ages to find her. Funny, there's a lot of things I definitely don't miss. Like having to keep up with the school gossip, that was a pain. Worrying that I wouldn't get an invitation to the next party. Worrying that I might miss a mark or two on an exam. That sort of stuff. And I certainly don't miss being Lady Fucking Saya of the Oh-So-Mighty House of Takagi.

"It seems pretty silly now, looking back at all the things I worried about. I guess Armageddon gives you some perspective. And I have a boyfriend now, if you can call Kohta a boyfriend. So that makes up for a lot of things. I'd had a couple of boyfriends before but it was kind of, you know, so what. But Kohta can … oh my. Oh very my. Don't tell him I said that."

"He adores you, you know," said Rei.

"Yes, I know," said Saya. She giggled, and then hiccupped, and then giggled again. "And he's built like a cannon below the waist. That was a surprise, let me tell you. A good surprise, I mean. A fucking – " She suddenly stopped. Her eyes began to glaze over. Slowly, she slipped off the log she was sitting on and plonked to the ground. Like a tree falling, she slumped sideways.

"Either drunk or turning into a zombie," said Rei, looking at her. "Or both. If she turns into a zombie, I have first dibs on killing her. Or even if she doesn't turn into one."

Saya began to snore.

"Well, she's not a zombie," said Miss Marikawa. "I warned you that this stuff is stronger than it looks."

Rei took the half-empty bottle of schnapps from Saya's limp hand. "Well, that's all for the genius," she said. "Do you think she knows how lucky she is? To have a man, I mean."

"No," said Saeko. "She may be very smart but she can be extremely stupid. Although the cannon reference explains a few things. Tell me something, how does she get her hair to do that?"

"Willpower," said Rei.

"Mousse," said Miss Marikawa.

"Hmm," said Saeko.

"You know what I don't miss?" said Miss Marikawa. "Having guys hit on me constantly. I mean, all the damn time. Even in the supermarket. Especially in the supermarket."

"There are two good reasons for that," said Rei.

Miss Marikawa sighed. "Yeah, I know," she said. "And I can't say that I didn't take advantage sometimes. Since I was thirteen, all I've have to do to get whatever I want is lean forward. But it's like no-one sees past them. I could have an advanced doctorate in particle physics and I would still be known only as P.H.-double D."

"No," said Saeko. "You drive the bus."

"Pardon me?" said Miss Marikawa.

"A few weeks ago," said Saeko, "maybe you were known by your cup size. And maybe that's how you thought of yourself. Having had a part-time job in a bra bar, I can understand that. But now you're one of us. You have survived and contributed."

Miss Marikawa thought about it. "Yes," she said eventually. "I guess I have."

They were quiet for a while, passing the bottle back and forth and listening to Saya mumble and chuckle in her sleep.

"Rei," said Miss Marikawa, "what's Takashi like when it counts?"

Rei noticed that Saeko was looking at her intently.

"Uh, we've never … actually … done it," she said. "We dated for a while, last year, but never got to the bedroom stage. When we were little, about five I think, we made a pinky-swear that we would marry each other when we grew up. I don't know what that means, now." She took another swig. "You know, as you drink more it gets more schnappsy and less pepperminty."

"Sure does!" said Miss Marikawa. She giggled.

Saeko took the bottle back. She took a swig. "I agree," she said.

"It doesn't seem to affect you," said Rei.

"That's how it might seem," said Saeko.

"I bet there's more going on in Saeko's pretty head than anyone really knows," said Miss Marikawa.

"Is there?" said Rei.

Saeko was silent for a long time. She took another dose of schnapps.

"I'm frightened all the time," she said eventually.

"What, you!" said Rei. "But I've seen you tear into a pile of zombies with nothing but a stick!"

"I'm not frightened of zombies," she said. "In fact, I like fighting them. It makes me feel as if I've discovered my purpose in life. But I'm scared of that, scared that I like fighting. Scared that it's going to become the only thing I do, and the only thing I like. Even before the Outbreak, most people were wary of me. None of the men that I had stayed very long, and I didn't want them to. And now, after everything that has happened, I can let my true self out, fighting and killing and enjoying it. But the other side of that is that I might never love anyone, and never have anyone who will love me. That's what frightens me."

She finished the contents of the bottle. "And that's all she wrote," she said. She found the lid to the box of chocolates and put it on, and then put the box into her pack. "The rest are for Alice," she said.

"All who wrote?" said Miss Marikawa.

"Never mind," said Rei.

"In a way," said Saeko, "we fit into this world better than the one before."

The three of them stared into the embers of the fire.

"Wait … a … minute," said Rei. "Saeko, what did you just say about having a part-time job working in a … what did you call it, a bra bar?"

"Yes, two nights a week, sometimes three. All I had to do was let men look at me in my underwear while I poured saki. Which I didn't mind – and the house rule was that you could look but not touch. It was good money, which I really needed since I was saving for university and renting an apartment."

"Huh," said Rei. "Well, it beats flipping burgers, I guess."

"I always thought so," said Saeko.

Hirano and Takashi came up. They looked at Saya snoring peacefully, and at Rei's bra on the ground. And at the empty bottle.

"You wouldn't have liked it," said Miss Marikawa. "It's a girl thing."

Hirano sighed. "Well, I'd better put her in the bus rather than let her sleep here," he said. He started to lift her.

She woke up, in a bleary way.

"Mister Cannon!" she said to Hirano. "Are we going to have sex now?"

"Uh, maybe later," he said. He got her into his arms and started towards the bus. She waved a sleepy bye-bye to the other women. Miss Marikawa waved back.

"I will take the next guard shift, Takashi," said Saeko. She got to her feet and picked up her sword.

"Sure you're alright to do it?" said Takashi.

She looked at him.

"Er, sorry," mumbled Takashi. She went off.

"That was fun," said Miss Marikawa. Then she, too, slumped onto the ground, asleep.

Takashi looked at Rei. "If you expect me to tell you why I'm not wearing a bra," said Rei, with something of a slur, "you can forget it."

---

It was the next day. Takashi was driving the bus, and Alice was sitting beside him in the jump seat.

"So let me get this straight," he was saying to her. "His best friend is called Patrick, and Patrick lives in a pineapple. Under the sea."

"No, of course not," said Alice. "Patrick lives under a rock. He couldn't live in a pineapple, he's a starfish. That would be just silly."

"Yes, obviously silly," said Takashi.

Saya staggered to the front of the bus.

"Hi!" said Takashi cheerily.

"Not so loud," said Saya. "And can you drive … more quietly?"

"Not really, no."

"Well, try it. Do you know where Miss Marikawa's med kit is?"

"Have you asked her?"

"She's asleep. Or unconscious, it's hard to tell with her."

"Hmm. So I assume you are looking for headache tablets or something like that."

"Whatever is available. Decapitation is also an option."

"You look … sort of … green," said Alice to her.

"You should see it from my side," said Saya.

"One might think you had never been drunk before," said Takashi.

Saya said nothing.

"Ha!" said Takashi. "First hangover! And you had to wait for a zombie apocalypse to do it!"

"Fuck you," said Saya. "Er, sorry, Alice."

Alice giggled.

Hirano appeared beside them. He handed Saya some tablets and a bottle of water. "Thank god," said Saya, taking them. "Uh, Kohta, do you know if I … well, it's possible that last night I … said something … to the girls … about … certain things … "

"Yes, Rei was just telling me," he said. "Everything."

"Unhh," said Saya, closing her eyes.

"Well, this looks like a good place to take a break," said Takashi. He pulled the bus into a roadside stop. There was a little stream nearby. Saya immediately jumped out and ran down to it. There was the sound of vomiting.

"So what did Rei tell you?" said Takashi to Hirano, as they got out of the bus.

"Nothing," said Hirano. "She's still asleep."

Saeko came up to them.

"No hangover?" said Takashi to her.

"I would not say that," said Saeko. "But it is not my first one. It is my – " she paused to do the maths " – seventeenth."

"Whoa," said Hirano.

"I'm a bit older than the rest of you, remember," she said. "Peppermint schnapps is a first, though. It's clearly a dangerous liquor. Alice, I have – we have – something for you. You were asleep last night when we opened them, but we saved these for you." She handed Alice the box of chocolates.

"Yay!" said Alice.

"I had better go and save my girlfriend from a fate worse than zombies," said Hirano. He headed off to the stream.

Takashi turned to Saeko. "Sounds like all of you had a good time," he said.

"Depends on your definition," she said. "But I think it is fair to say that we know each other a bit better now. I suppose that's a good thing."

"Yes," said Takashi. "I suppose it is."

END

---

True Friends Have Sniper Rifles

Stitches, secrets, and a rabbit

[Author's Note: This story takes place in the time period of the story Dead and the Road Home, the fourth story of the Chronicle of Takashi Komuro; specifically, while the group is staying in the barn, on the road to Tomo; while Saeko is recovering from being shot.]

Three days after the fight with the marauding soldiers and Miss Marikawa's makeshift surgery, Saeko was able to walk, although she was still weak.

"I would like to go the stream to wash," she said to Takashi, who was cleaning the weapons with Hirano. "I have been cooped up here for too long."

"Sure, but don't go alone and don't go far," said Takashi. "You're not ready for much in the zombie department. Rei is on watch in the loft but there are some spots that you can't see from there."

"I'll come with you," said Saya. She checked her Luger, and Saeko picked up her sword – as well as soap and a towel.

The two of them walked down to the stream. It was not wide or deep enough to swim in but it was sufficient for bathing. Saeko stripped and waded in. After a while, Saya did the same, although rather incongruously she kept her shoulder holster with her gun on.

Saeko carefully splashed water over her stitched wound. "I believe that this will be a nice scar," she said. "Thank you for helping Shizuka, Saya."

"You know, guys dig scars," said Saya.

"They do?"

"Uh, to tell the truth I have no idea. They probably don't, being guys. Oh, I remember now, it's chicks that dig scars. On guys, that is."

"Do you?"

"Not in the slightest."

"Nor I. It sounds like a myth made up by guys with scars. But perhaps we should ask Rei."

"Knowing Rei, she probably … no, I don't want to think about it."

The two of them got out and sat on the bank, letting their hair dry in the sun. Saya picked up the Hokusawa blade and drew it from its sheath.

"This is very beautiful," she said. "My father really liked you. Probably more than me. He tried to show me how to use a sword once – I must have been about ten – but I got into a snit about something, or maybe I was already in a snit, I don't really remember, so things didn't go very well. The same thing happened when my mother tried to show me how to shoot. I always had the feeling that they thought I should be the best at everything all the time, without much effort. Part of being Lady Fucking Saya of the Oh-So-Mighty House of Takagi, I suppose."

"But you were always the top student," said Saeko.

"Sure, because I spent nearly every night studying with very expensive tutors. Being a genius is really hard work. You know what I was going to do on the day of the Outbreak? After the first class, I was going to cut the rest of the day. Find somewhere that would sell me booze and get drunk, maybe. Go anywhere but school or home."

"Huh. Do you know what I was going to do? After the school day, I had a date."

"But you had a lot of dates, surely."

"No, I just screwed around a lot."

"Really? How much?"

"3,746 times."

"What!"

"It's a joke, Saya. I should probably not try and make jokes, since I have no sense of humour whatsoever. No, the truth is that I had had a couple of lovers, none of which I considered to be of great consequence. But I'd been talking to this guy for a while, and I was really looking forward to that date. I had a feeling that it might lead somewhere more important than bed."

"Goddamn zombie apocalypse. Why couldn't it have happened a week later?"

"I don't think it is the sort of thing where you can choose the timing."

"I suppose not. Did you live alone?"

"Yes, I had a little apartment. Burned to the ground, last time I saw it."

"Where were your parents?"

"My father was attending a kendo tournament overseas. But we were never particularly close. The only thing we had ever really done together was train. He really hurt me a couple of times when I was little, whacking me with a training stick during practice. Make me fast and tough, he said. I guess it worked."

"What about your mother?"

"She died when I was eight."

"How?"

"She committed suicide."

"Oh."

"After that, I stayed in various boarding schools, until I was old enough to live by myself and go to Fujimi High School."

They were quiet for a while, feeling the sun on their skin.

"You're wrong, I think," said Saeko eventually, "about your parents. I believe they loved you very much. More than anything else. But some parents are not very good at showing it."

Saya considered it. Then she said: "Maybe. Well, I'm going to tell my child that I love them every single day. I'm going to tell them bedtime stories and keep them safe and stay beside them as they find their way in the world. Fight for them, if I have to."

Saeko raised an eyebrow.

"Er, I mean, when that time comes, of course," said Saya.

"Hmm," said Saeko.

"Did you have any brothers or sisters?" said Saya.

"No," said Saeko. "And I assume you didn't as well."

"That's right. You know, I hadn't thought about it before, but Takashi and Rei don't have any either. And I've never heard Kohta mention any."

"Maybe that's why we have all come together," said Saeko. "Maybe in our own ways we have all been looking for someone to love."

"I did not realise that you thought about love so much," said Saya.

"All … the … fucking … time," said Saeko. "I sometimes feel as if the lack of it has hung over me like a shadow for most of my life."

"Yeah, I get that. But you know that you have people now who love you, right?"

"I have only known all of you for a couple of weeks."

"Which makes no difference whatsoever."

Saeko thought about it. "I suppose you are right," she said. "Tell me, do you love Kohta?"

Saya smiled. "Oh yes," she said. "Sometimes I think that I love him so much my heart is going to jump out of my chest. Please don't tell him I said that."

"If you like, but why not?"

"Because, uh, well, let me think. I suppose that I'm worried it might, er, scare him off. It's like I've got years and years of love stored up and now it's all pouring out. It might be too much for him. So I tell him that I'm only in the relationship for the sex. Which, I must say, is really really good. And the things he says to me! When I think of all the time that we were in the same class and I didn't even think to … Saeko, have you ever had a man who makes you feel like that?"

"I have not been that fortunate."

"You should try it."

"Yes, that is certain to happen in our current circumstances. Saya, I think you may be under-estimating Hirano."

"I am not that loveable."

"Now you under-estimate yourself. I think Hirano loves you very much."

"Really? I hope so."

Saeko laughed. Then she said: "Ouch," and touched her wound.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm just not used to not being able to do the things I usually do. Not that I laugh very often."

There was a rustle in the nearby bushes. It stopped, and then began again.

The two women, still naked, stood up. Saeko unsheathed her sword. Saya drew her Luger and eased off the safety catch. The bushes rustled again. They held their breath.

A rabbit jumped out.

They laughed, and put down their weapons so they could dress.

Then a zombie lurched out of the bushes and came rushing at them.

There was a shot, and the zombie fell back, dead.

Saeko and Saya looked back to the barn. Rei was standing in the loft, her sniper rifle still smoking. She waved.

"Good to have friends," said Saya, waving back.

"Nothing better in the world," said Saeko.

END

---

Takashi Finds True Love

Sometimes, what you are looking for finds you.

[Author's Note: This story takes place about a week after the group arrived at Maresato farm.]

Z+36

"Grandfather," said Takashi, "please tell me what this is about. Why are we going to this town, Muliko? And why did you not want to tell the others about it?"

"You will find out soon," said Grandfather Maresato. "We are nearly there."

The two of them were in the utility truck that Takashi and Hirano had repaired. Takashi had been rather surprised when Grandfather Maresato had approached him and asked him to drive to the small town, about an hour's drive from the farm. But in the short time he had known him, Takashi had developed great respect for the older man, and he took the view that if Grandfather Maresato wanted to do this, and not tell the others, then there was a good reason for it.

They came into the town, and Grandfather directed Takashi, who was driving, to a particular building. Takashi drove slowly, checking for zombies. He saw none. He had his pump-action shotgun within easy reach but he knew that the zombies were getting smarter, and were capable of setting traps or taking the unwary by surprise. Grandfather had his double-barrelled shotgun.

"So you have been here before," Takashi said.

Grandfather nodded. "The place we want is just up ahead," he said.

Takashi pulled up as Grandfather directed. There was a sign in front of the building: AUTO REPAIRS AND CLASSIC CAR RESTORATIONS.

They got out of the truck and found a side door that was unlocked. They went in. There was no sign of life.

In one corner of the garage was a large car covered with a tarpaulin. Grandfather pulled the tarpaulin away.

"Now this," said Takashi, "is a nice car."

"It is a 1975 Cadillac Eldorado convertible," said Grandfather. "American-made, which is why the steering wheel is on the other side."

It was long, and low, and sleek, and red.

There was a note on the windshield. Grandfather pointed to it. "That is to you, I think," he said.

Takashi was puzzled, but he picked up the note and began to read it aloud.

To whoever finds this.

I have been working to restore this car for years, with my Dad's help, and now that it's ready to roll the whole world is hitting the fan. I've fought off the zombies for as long as I can but I'm nearly out of ammo. Can't hold out much longer.

I regret that I was never able to take this car out onto the open road. That's where it should be. I can tell that it wants to be driven. So if you're human and you're reading this, it's yours. Treat it right and it will take you wherever it is you want to go.

Good luck

Fusao Maresato

PS The keys are in the ignition.

PPS Third gear still sticks a little. So give it a bit of extra clutch when you're changing out of second.

" 'Fusao Maresato'," repeated Takashi.

"Yes," said Grandfather. "My son. My youngest. He worked here, although this car was his private project. I used to come over to help him with it sometimes. But we never told Grandmother about it. She would have said that working on an old car was a foolish indulgence, especially since it couldn't be legally driven on the road. But I guess now the road rules don't count for much, eh?"

Takashi looked around at the deserted garage. There were bullets holes and bloodstains everywhere although, as usual, no sign of bodies.

"It looks as if Fusao didn't make it," he said. "I'm sorry about that, Grandfather."

"I'm not surprised," said Grandfather Maresato. "I kept trying to contact him, right up to the EMP burst, and when I couldn't reach him I assumed … well, as the note says. So much was lost so quickly. But this car – his legacy, in a way – remains. It would not have been affected by the EMP, since it does not have modern circuits and chips. It is a survivor, in a word. And now it is yours."

"Mine?" said Takashi. "No, Grandfather, I couldn't. I am not good enough for this car."

"You are," said Grandfather Maresato. "Trust me in this. And as Fusao said, this car needs the road. He would not have wanted it to be shut up here, slowly mouldering and rusting. Look at the licence plate."

Takashi did. It said: TRUE LOVE.

Takashi was silent for a while. Finally, he said: "I understand, Grandfather."

"I had a feeling you would," said Grandfather Maresato. "Well, why don't you try it, son."

Takashi smiled. Then he opened the door and got in. He turned the key.

And TRUE LOVE roared into life.

Takashi revved the engine, enjoying the deep-throated throb. Finally, he turned it off. He got out of the car.

"A thing of beauty," he said to Grandfather Maresato.

Then they heard it: a low groaning. From outside, but getting louder. Zombies.

Takashi looked around. There was the side door, still open. There was a large door on the other side of the garage as well.

"They're likely to come from both sides," said Takashi. "You take the small door, Grandfather, and I'll watch the big one." The two men, standing back to back, lifted their guns.

The groaning stopped. There was a long moment of silence.

And then zombies burst through both doors at once: four through the small door, six through the large door.

The boom of the shotguns filled the garage. In the confined space, the noise was deafening and the result was deadly.

Grandfather Maresato killed two zombies with the first blast, and another with the second barrel. He broke the gun and shook out the spent cartridges. He took two more shells from his pocket and inserted them, and raised the gun again. And then he stopped.

The zombie before him was wearing a work shirt with a name sewn onto the breast. Fusao.

The zombie was close enough to push the barrel of the gun aside. It grabbed Grandfather Maresato and with a savage hiss leaned forward to bite him.

Then the barrel of Takashi's shotgun came over Grandfather Maresato's shoulder. It was only an inch from the zombie's face.

Takashi fired.

The zombie, decapitated, collapsed backwards.

In a single motion, Takashi swung back towards the last zombie on his side, re-cocked the gun, and fired again.

Slowly, the echoes of the shots died away.

"I'm sorry I had to do that, Grandfather," said Takashi.

"No need to be sorry," said Grandfather Maresato. "Fusao died weeks ago. What you did then was put him out of his misery."

---

When they arrived back at the farmhouse, Takashi driving the convertible and Grandfather Maresato driving the truck, the others came out to see.

"Very cool," said Hirano.

"It must be worth a fortune," said Rei.

"To someone," said Takashi, "it was worth everything."

END

---

Kohta and the Tsundere

Some unthinking words, some hasty decisions, some zombies, one thing leads to another, and it ends with a bang.

[Author's Note: This story takes place a few weeks after the group arrived at the Maresato farmhouse.]

Z + 39

Saya was bent over a pile of papers spread over the kitchen table of the Maresato farmhouse, muttering to herself about figures and ratios. Hirano was creeping up on her, planning to surprise her with a kiss on the back of her neck.

He was almost in range when Saya, without turning, said: "Don't even think it. I'm busy."

He sighed and sat down beside her. "Can I help?" he said.

"Do you know anything about tolerance limits, speed calibrations, and alloy weight specifications?" she said.

"Er, no."

"Then you can't help. This is the design for the windmill that will give us electricity. We have the materials from that abandoned factory but getting the operating maths right would be hard even if I had a computer. But the most sophisticated tool I have is this pencil. So unless you want me to stick it where the sun doesn't shine I'd appreciate it if you would just leave me alone. Kill something, why don't you. Go away and let me do the important stuff."

Hirano gave a grunt and left the room. He saw Takashi and Rei on the porch, sitting at the cane table. He went up to them.

They were looking at a map of the region, showing nearby towns that were infested with zombies, with an estimate of the number. This was part of Takashi's plan to gradually rid Tomo prefecture of the undead, allowing for the steady re-population of the area by human survivors. The group had already cleared several villages.

" – so perhaps Itako should be next on the list," Rei was saying.

"Maybe, but we should do another recon first," said Takashi.

"Doesn't seem too hard, only about a dozen of them there," said Hirano, looking at the map. "We could do it this afternoon, it's only about an hour's drive away."

Takashi looked at him. "We go slow, we go careful," he said. "I know you like to bust in with guns blazing, Hirano, but some of us have to think about these things. Maybe you should just let us get on with the planning, and we'll call you when you're needed."

Hirano grunted again. Then he got up and left.

A few minutes later, Takashi and Rei saw the mini-truck roar down the driveway, Hirano at the wheel.

Miss Marikawa came onto the porch. "What was that all about?" she said.

"What was what all about?" said Saya, appearing at the door.

"I just saw Hirano throwing some guns into the truck and going off," said Miss Marikawa. "He didn't look at all happy."

"Umm … " said Saya.

"What did you say to him?" said Miss Marikawa.

"I, uh, told him I was busy," said Saya. "I told him to go away and kill something."

"Oh," said Rei. "That … might be bad."

Miss Marikawa looked at her and Takashi.

"We, er, sort of also told him to go away," said Rei. "Say, you don't think he would have gone to Itako to clear it out by himself, do you, Takashi?"

"I'm afraid so," said Takashi. "And that's really bad, because that figure of a dozen zombies there is not much more than a guess. There could be a lot more of them than that. That's why I wanted to do another recon trip."

"That man," said Saya, "can be such a total idiot. I don't know why I put up with him."

"Uh, Saya, if that's what you think, and you don't want him anymore," said Miss Marikawa, "do you think I could have him?"

"What?" said Saya.

"Well, I'm just saying, if you and he are splitting up, then I would like to put my hand up for his, you know, attention. And whatever else he offers. Assuming he lives, of course."

Saya stared at her. Then she turned to Takashi. "I'm taking the bike and one of the M-16s," she said, turning to go.

"We'll follow in the convertible," said Takashi to her as she left. "Rei, Miss Marikawa, get some weapons. I'll meet you at the car."

As Rei and Miss Marikawa were taking guns from the rack, Rei said: "Would you really be interested in Hirano?"

"No, he's not my type," said Miss Marikawa. "But Saya doesn't know that."

Rei chuckled. "I did not know you could be so devious," she said.

"It never hurts," said Miss Marikawa, "to remind people of what's important. Or to help them remind themselves."

---

With Takashi driving, the convertible caught up with Saya on the motorbike at the edge of the small town of Itako.

"Why do I feel," said Rei, "that this is a really bad idea?"

"That would be because it is a really bad idea," said Miss Marikawa.

Saya stopped on a little rise and Takashi pulled up next to her.

"We should stay together," said Takashi.

"Yes, you should do that," said Saya. "But I'm going to find my honey – " she glanced at Miss Marikawa " – before someone else does."

"You know," said Rei, "this would not have happened if you were not such a tsundere all the time."

"A what?" said Miss Marikawa.

"A tsundere," repeated Rei.

"Oh," said Miss Marikawa. "Well, yes, she certainly is that."

Saya sighed. "We are what we are," she said.

There was the sound of gunfire from a building along the street.

"That's him!" said Saya. "I'd know the sound of his shooting anywhere!" She roared off. With a shrug, Takashi followed.

They came to a garage.

"It was in here, I'm sure of it!" said Saya, jumping off the bike and running in.

Takashi, Rei and Miss Marikawa followed. They found Saya standing next to a machine gun tied to bench. There was a string tied to the trigger, with the other end going to a weight.

"This looks like the sort of thing that Hirano would set up to attract zombies," said Rei. "But once he got them in here, how would be keep them in?"

"Whoops!" said Miss Marikawa. "Heh, I tripped over this little wire in the doorway. What do you think it was doing there?"

Suddenly, the metal door at the front of the garage crashed down.

"Tripwire," said Takashi.

"Yes, I've already said that," said Miss Marikawa. "I tripped on it and it was a wire. But where are the zombies?"

There were two other doors to the garage, a wooden door at the back and a glass door that led to an office. With a hissing growl, zombies suddenly appeared at both.

"Oh, there they are," said Miss Marikawa.

"And a lot more than a dozen," said Takashi. They began to fire. But there were many zombies, and they began to spill into the garage.

"Fuck, I wish Kohta was here," said Saya.

"Yeah, we could use his machine gun," said Takashi.

"What?" said Saya. "Oh, yeah, his machine gun, right. That's what I meant."

There was the sound of a horn and a screaming engine. With a crash, the mini-truck, with Hirano at the wheel, smashed through the glass door that linked the office with the garage, with several zombies going under the wheels. Hirano leaned out of the door and sprayed the zombies on the other side with bullets.

"You realise," he said to Takashi and the others as he paused to re-load, "that this was meant to be a trap for zombies, don't you?"

"Be still my thundering heart," muttered Saya.

They clambered onto the back of the truck.

"Just what are you doing here?" said Hirano.

"We came to rescue you!" said Miss Marikawa.

"Well, that was a nice thought," said Hirano. "It's a good thing you didn't set off the explosives." He began to reverse out. In a few moments, they were back in the street.

"The what?" said Rei.

Hirano drove back to the convertible and the motorbike, and the others jumped off the back of the truck.

"You get going, I'll cover you, and meet you at the edge of town," he said.

With Saya on the bike and the others in the car, they set off, with Hirano firing from the truck.

Saya was almost at the end of the street when she looked back.

The truck was not moving. From here, she could see why: one of the zombies that Hirano had run over was still under the truck, and was still alive. Somehow, it had disabled the truck. Hirano was shooting but the zombies had him surrounded now, and were closing in.

Saya glanced the other way, to see the convertible disappearing around a corner. Takashi and the others would not know what was happening.

She turned the bike back towards Hirano with one hand, hefting the M-16 with the other. She fired, bringing down several. Hirano saw her.

"Hold on, honey!" she shouted. "I'm coming!"

"Like I've never heard that before," he muttered to himself.

She emptied the clip into the crowd of zombies, clearing the way to Hirano. She tossed the big gun aside and took out her Luger, taking aim and firing again. She pulled the bike to a screeching stop. Hirano jumped onto the back, firing again to clear their path of escape. They zoomed past the garage again, the crowd of zombies running after them.

"You might want to brace yourself," he said to her.

"Why?" she said.

There was a shattering explosion from the garage, incinerating most of the zombies.

"There we go," he said.

"Very funny," she said.

They rode to the edge of town, where they met Takashi and the others. Saya explained what had happened.

"You go on ahead, we'll follow," said Saya. Takashi and the others set off. When they were out of sight, Saya turned to Hirano. "Sorry if I was a tsundere before," she said. "And, er, generally, as well."

"Well, maybe a little bit of a tsundere," he said. "Just a bit."

"I love you, you know."

"Yes, I know."

"A lot."

"Well, I'm glad to hear that."

"I mean, a real lot."

"I'm a one-woman guy, I guess."

"Yes, I love you too."

"So if Miss Marikawa makes a pass at you, you'll ignore it, right?"

"Right … uh, what was that?"

"Because those big breasts … and that angelic face … and she's always so gentle and pleasant, no matter what you say to her … I could understand if you were tempted."

"Er, well, she's a good friend, but … well, I'm a one-woman guy, I guess."

"Good. As long as the one woman is me."

"Sure is."

She was quiet for a long moment. Then she said: "I don't suppose you'd like to have sex, would you?"

"What, you mean, here? Now?"

"Uh-huh."

"Er, there are still some zombies wandering around, I think."

"Oh, right, I forgot about them. Goddamn zombies. When we get home, then?"

"Sounds great."

They got onto the bike. "Hold on tight," said Saya. "Because I intend to go really, really fast."

END

---

Grandmother's Gift

Family is what you find in the strangest ways.

Z+47

Saeko sat in her caravan at the Maresato farmhouse, mending her school shirt with a sewing kit borrowed from Grandmother Maresato. She knew that, if she wanted, she could salvage any amount of new clothes from one of the nearby towns but she felt a particular fondness for this shirt. They had been through a lot together. And she liked sewing; it was something her mother had taught her when she was a child. It was one of the very few memories she had of her mother.

She reflected that she, like her friends, had very few possessions. Perhaps it was because new things were easily available, or because they had travelled a long way to reach safety. More likely, it was because the old world of possessions – mere stuff, really – had been left behind. Now, if something wasn't obviously useful and tough enough to last, it just wasn't needed. Finding out what was really important had, Saeko realised with a little surprise, taken only about six weeks. But it had been a very long and hard six weeks. A lot of blood.

She finished the shirt and looked around for something else to do. Even though it was getting late and she had worked hard on the farm during the day, she was in no hurry to go to bed. She never was. Her bed was a cold and lonely place. Funny, before the Outbreak she didn't think much about sex at all. She had known that if she wanted a lover it would be easy enough to get one – perhaps someone from school, perhaps someone from the bar where she worked. Of course, they would not stay around for long, but that was alright – what she preferred, in fact. She wondered what might have happened if she had met Akhiro for their planned date, the one she had deferred for months – why? – before finally agreeing to. But the world had ended before it could happen. Goddamn zombie apocalypse.

There was a knock at the door. It was Grandmother Maresato.

"Please come in, Grandmother," said Saeko, bowing in welcome. "I have finished with your sewing kit, thank you."

She liked Grandmother Maresato. Always gentle but you could sense the steel beneath. And she appreciated the traditional formalities that Saeko had learned as part of her training but which often seemed inappropriate around Takashi and the others.

They knelt on cushions on the floor. Saeko poured a cup of tea. Grandmother Maresato picked up the shirt and inspected it. "Good," she said. "Good work."

"Thank you, Grandmother," said Saeko.

Grandmother Maresato was carrying a package, something wrapped in silk. She placed it between them.

"This is for you, my dear," she said.

Saeko opened it. She gave a little gasp of surprise. It was an artificial penis. Hand-made, perfectly stitched, black leather rolled and folded into a foot-long cylinder. It had a dull shine, with a surprising softness on the outside and a pleasing hardness at the core. It was smooth, in the way that much-handled, much-loved things become smooth over a long period of time.

"Did you think you were the only woman who has ever been lonely?" said Grandmother Maresato. "And there is also this." She took a ceramic jar from her pocket and handed it to Saeko. It was a lotion that smelled of chrysanthemums and sunlight.

"Certainly, by no means as good as the real thing," said Grandmother Maresato. "But when we can't have what we want we can seek alternatives, can't we?" She picked it up. "My mother gave me this. I believe she had made it herself, under instruction from her mother. My mother made one for each of my sisters – there were four girls in my family – but since I was the oldest I received hers. They were given to us when we turned fifteen." She handed it to Saeko. "Feel the weight," she said. "I hope it is suitable for you."

Saeko took it with respect. She examined it carefully, sensing its history. "This has been used many, many times," she said.

"Oh yes," said Grandmother Maresato. "Did you know that Dai – Grandfather – was in the army when he was younger? We were often apart for long periods, both before we were married and after. I think that my mother's gift saved my life during those times. That is how I felt, anyway. And I believe that my mother would have used it very often as well. I always regretted that I did not have any daughters – five sons but no daughters – to pass it on to. But now there is you."

Saeko bowed deeply. "And I will pass it to an appropriate woman when the times comes," she said. "But Grandmother, are you … ready … to part with something so valuable?"

Grandmother Maresato smiled. "I have Grandfather trained pretty well now," she said.

Saeko nodded. "Despite the fact that so much has been lost in the recent troubles of the world, I envy your happiness," she said.

"My happiness has greatly increased since you and your friends arrived," said Grandmother Maresato. "In that short time, I have come to love you all. My grand-daughter, who has grown so much in so many ways. The woman who sometimes pretends to be not very bright. The brave girl who can see into hearts. The boy with his guns, who has such great courage and love. Even the very clever girl who likes to tell everyone else what to do. You love them too, I think."

"Yes," said Saeko. "I do. Especially the last one, strangely. But you did not mention Takashi."

"Ah, Takashi. The leader who does not want to lead, and is a good leader for exactly that reason. And the man that your heart wants and your soul needs."

"Is it that obvious?"

"Only to an old woman, perhaps."

"Then you also know why I cannot tell him of my feelings."

"Yes. But sometimes, Saeko, the universe works these things out. You may have to simply wait and see. And while you wait, perhaps this gift will assist you."

"I am sure it will, Grandmother."

They finished their tea. Saeko helped Grandmother Maresato to her feet. She handed her the sewing kit. They walked back to the farmhouse together.

"Thank you, Grandmother," said Saeko. "Thank you for everything."

Grandmother Maresato smiled. "And thank you, my child," she said.

END

---

Girls' Day Out

It's inevitable. When girls go shopping, clothes will be considered, matters of the heart will be discussed, and zombies will be fought.

[Author's note: This story takes place about three weeks after the group arrived at the Maresato farm; that is, about a week before the story The Promise, chapter 5 of The Chronicle of Takashi Komuro.]

"So our situation" said Rei, "is not good. Injured, surrounded by zombies, low on bullets, and no help in sight."

"We should face the fact that this might be the end for us," said Saeko.

"And worst of all," said Saya, "this shoe store that we're stuck in has nothing worth even trying on."

---

It had started well enough. Not long before, the three of them had been in one of the mini-trucks that the group had salvaged and repaired, driving from the Maresato farm to the small town of Joriho, forty minutes away. Their mission: clothes.

"These school things were never meant for continuous wear, let alone zombie fights," said Rei, who was driving. "They've gotten so thin that you can see pretty well everything a girl possesses."

"Not that I've heard Hirano or Takashi complaining about that," said Saeko.

"Unwise to expect them to," said Saya, from the back seat. "The world has ended, there are zombies everywhere, and most of the population is dead, but guys will still be guys. Speaking for myself, I need to find some things with a bit more room. Six weeks pregnant and I'm already having to borrow things from Grandmother Maresato. God knows what it will be like six months from now."

Rei gave a little laugh. "Maybe I'll go for a leather jacket look," she said. "With boots. What about you, Saeko?"

"I need underwear," she said.

"Sexy or practical?"

"The same as I have now, except not falling apart."

"That is not answering the question."

"I know."

"Hmm. Saya, do you need underwear stuff as well?" said Rei. "Does Hirano have a preference?"

"To tell the truth," said Saya, "he would like anything, as long as it ends up on the floor next to the bed. But I'm glad he didn't want to come on this little trip. Last time I went shopping with him, it didn't go very well. Shoes. Zombies. On the other hand, we ended up in a sleeping bag together, so I guess that means things worked out."

Johiro came into view. It was a small town: before the Outbreak, the population had been about three thousand. Now it was zero.

"When we went through here on the way to the farm, the place was as quiet as a graveyard," said Rei. "Although these days graveyards are not always that quiet."

They passed a deserted construction site with a half-finished building, and pulled into the main street. There was a large truck, the type that carried shipping containers, jack-knifed across the middle of the road.

"Funny, I don't remember that being there before," said Saya, as Rei pulled up. "But there's room to get around it, isn't there?"

"Uh, sure," said Rei. "It's just that … I don't like … unexpected – "

Then the back of the truck opened with a crash. Zombies came flooding out. Several of them carried bricks and chunks of concrete, and they began to hurl them at the mini-truck. One crashed into the windscreen, turning the perspex into a web of cracks.

"There are more behind us!" said Saya. "A lot more! Go forward!"

Rei put her foot down and swung the wheel. "Saeko, knock the windscreen out so I can see!" she said.

Saeko braced herself against the seat and kicked. After the second kick, the windscreen fell away.

Zombies were trying to leap onto the mini-truck, and others were still throwing missiles. Rei ran two down but another leaped onto the front of the vehicle. He grabbed the steering wheel and tried to wrench it out of Rei's grasp.

Saya fired her Luger over the seat, hitting the zombie in the head. But it was too late. The mini-truck began to swerve uncontrollably. The truck skidded along the street, and then smashed into an abandoned car. It bounced off, and then careened into a brick wall.

Inside the mini-truck, there was a moment of ghastly silence. Then Saya said: "Fuck."

"Fuck indeed," said Saeko.

Rei groaned. Her head was bleeding from a massive gash from where she had hit the steering wheel. Saeko opened the door and got out – or, rather, fell out. She had been hurt in the crash – she was not sure how badly, and there was no time to think about it.

"Saya, help Rei," she said, drawing her sword and throwing the sheath down. The zombies leading the pack were only a few metres away.

She pushed the pain to the back of her mind, lifted the sword, and charged.

Saya helped Rei out of the driver's seat.

"I'm … I'm alright," gasped Rei, leaning on Saya for support. "Just … give me a moment."

"Can't do that," said Saya.

Saeko had decapitated three zombies. She was trying to keep the zombies' attention on her rather than Rei and Saya. She was succeeding. Now they had her surrounded.

Rei took her Glock pistol from its holster. Saya lifted her Luger, and they fired together. They cleared a path of retreat for their friend. Saeko, limping, joined them. "Get in there," she said, pointing to the nearest building, a shoe store. "I'll hold them here."

Another group of zombies was almost on them. Saeko slashed and stabbed, bringing more zombies down. Then one leaped towards her. Saeko stabbed out, impaling the zombie through the chest. But it was not enough to kill him. He grabbed hold of her. She punched him, and he staggered backwards, pulling the Hokusawa blade out of Saeko's hand and ripping her shirt.

"Saeko, come on!" shouted Saya from the doorway.

The three of them made it into the store.

"Saeko, take this," said Rei, handing Saeko the Glock. "I just … have to … sit down for a second." She sagged against a wall.

Saeko looked at the pistol. "What do I do with it?" she said.

"Just point and pull the trigger," said Saya.

Standing in the doorway, they lifted the pistols and fired. Half-a-dozen zombies went down. The rest began to retreat. In the few moments, the street was empty.

Saeko looked at the Glock. "I can see why you think these things are handy," she said. "But I feel naked without my sword."

"You're half-way naked anyway," said Rei, struggling to her feet. She pointed: Saeko was showing a lot of flesh, with her shirt torn and one bra strap broken.

She looked at herself and shrugged. "We have bigger problems," she said, handing the pistol back to Rei. "How many bullets do you have?"

"One extra clip, that's ten shots, and three in the slot," said Saya. "Not good."

"Seven for me," said Rei. "Damn, my Super Match is in the back of the truck, and there are more clips for the Glock there as well. Might as well be on the Moon. And I have to say I'm seeing double from that bang on the head."

"I am not in good shape either," said Saeko. "Maybe some cracked ribs from the crash. Hurts like hell whenever I breathe, whatever it is."

"I got out with scrapes and bruises, which I guess makes me the lucky one," said Saya. "If that is the word that applies in these circumstances." She tore a piece of material from her skirt and used it to bandage Rei's wound. It stopped the bleeding, at least.

"So our situation," said Rei, "is not good. Injured, surrounded by zombies, low on bullets, and no help in sight."

"We should face the fact that this might be the end for us," said Saeko.

"And worst of all," said Saya, "this shoe store that we're stuck in has nothing worth even trying on."

"Hey, take a look at this," said Rei. She pointed up the street.

Saeko's sword was there, stuck in the ground. It was a hundred metres away, not far from the open door of a building. A trap.

"Son … of … a … bitch," said Saya.

---

Saya came back from checking the rest of the store. "There's no way out back there," she said. "But this might be an option." She pointed to the grille of an air vent. "In a row of stores like this, there's often a single vent, basically a narrow tube that runs all the way along. So it might lead out."

"It looks pretty small," said Rei.

"You two might be able to make it," said Saya. "Maybe. If you squeezed."

"But not you," said Saeko.

"Even before I got pregnant, I was quite a bit wider than you guys. But you – "

"No," said Saeko.

"But – "

"No."

Saya looked at Rei.

"If you think I could get through there," Rei said, "you under-estimate my bust size."

"Really?"

"That's my story, and I'm sticking to it. Bottom line: we stay together."

The three of them looked into the empty street. "What are they waiting for?" said Rei.

"They don't know that we're almost empty," said Saya. "Damn, they're getting smart. A month ago they were so stupid you could kill them with a stick and get away from them at a brisk stroll."

"The good old days," said Saeko dryly.

"It's likely that Takashi and the others will come looking for us when we don't get back to the farm on schedule," said Rei. "It's a question of whether they get here in time."

"And whether they can actually do anything against this many zombies," added Saya.

"Then there is nothing we can do but wait," said Saeko. "We should try and get some rest. I'll take the first watch."

Saya nodded and handed Saeko her Luger. She settled into a soft chair and closed her eyes. In a few moments, she was asleep.

Rei looked at her. "Funny the way she can just go out like that," she said. "But then she is a very odd person."

Saeko nodded. "You should get some rest too," she said.

Rei shook her head. "No way I could get any sleep," she said.

The two of them were silent for a while. Then Saeko said: "I feel that the loss of my sword is a bad omen. If I fall and you survive, I would like you to do something for me."

"What is it?" said Rei.

"It involves Takashi. And the promise between you."

"The … promise?"

"He needs someone. So you should fulfil that promise. And I believe he would love you in return."

"Saeko, I don't understand. Why are you asking me to do this?"

"Because I want him to be happy. That is important to me. Very important. It has been important since … another time, another place. When he saved me. From myself, I suppose. He told me that I was worth something. No-one else had ever told me that before."

"But I … I might not be the one for him, Saeko. Not at all. You see, I've never really been in love with anyone. Sure, I used to go out with Takashi. A big part of that was that he was a pretty popular guy at school, and I liked the status that went with being his girlfriend. Then another guy came along, Hisashi, and he was popular too. So I started going with him instead. I guess I've always tried to attach myself to whatever guy seemed to be the most prestigious. All that looks pretty stupid now. Stupid teenager stuff. And that promise is a kid thing."

"It is important to Takashi, I think. And the leadership role he has taken has made his sense of honour even greater."

"But he has given no sign of any great feeling for me, aside from the sort of thing that any guy with a working set of hormones shows. Not the way that Hirano loves Saya. Deeply. Madly. Bone to bone. I don't think I would want to be loved any other way."

"Neither would I. But it is not about what I want. It is about what Takashi needs. There should be someone who loves him."

There already is, thought Rei. I hadn't realised it but it was staring me in the face. She would give him up if that is what it took to see him happy.

But me, I've always jumped from one pretty face to another. Maybe it's time for me to grow up.

"So," said Saeko. "Will you do this for me? I ask you as one woman to another."

"I … I … hey, what's that noise? What's happening out there?"

Saeko shook Saya a little. In a moment, Saya was awake. The three of them looked out the window.

The zombies had turned a car on its side and were pushing it along the street, inch by inch. They were using it as a shield.

"That's a worry," said Saya. "Slow but steady. What do you think, sixty minutes, seventy?"

"About that," said Rei. "They'll come right up to the door and we won't be able to stop them." She looked at her watch. They had been trapped in the store for over three hours. She wondered when Takashi and the others would come after them, and how long it would take them to arrive. There was no way to know.

They watched the car creep along. There were dozens of zombies sheltering behind it.

An hour passed. The car was only ten metres away now.

"Get ready," said Rei.

"Need any help?"

"Eh?" said Saya.

The three of them looked at each other. "I didn't say it," said Saeko.

"Up here," said the voice again. "In the vent thing. It's pretty dusty in here, so it would be good if you could take the cover off so I could get out."

"Alice!" said Saeko.

"I was the only one who would fit," said Alice. "And there were a lot of spiders as well. But I didn't mind."

Rei put a table under the vent and climbed up, removing the cover and helping Alice down. Alice was carrying several small machines gun as well as extra clips for the Luger and the Glock.

"Presents from Kohta," she said. "He thought you could use them."

"Great," said Rei. "But there is still that car coming."

"Cavalry is on the way," said Alice.

They heard another noise, a deep-throated engine. They looked out again. There was a massive bulldozer from the construction site rolling along the street, Miss Marikawa in the driver's seat. Hirano and Takashi were either side of her, big guns at the ready.

"It's, er, fairly slow cavalry," said Alice.

"I think it will do the job," said Saya.

Zombies were trying to climb onto the bulldozer but they could not get a grip on the caterpillar tracks. And Hirano and Takashi took care of any that came too close.

The zombies pushing the car saw the danger. Some of them charged on the store, but Saya, Rei, Saeko, and Alice, fully armed now, hacked them down in the doorway. Other zombies tried to hide behind the car. The huge blade of the bulldozer raised up, and then crashed down. The car was rolled over like a toy, crushing the zombies behind it.

"All aboard!" shouted Takashi to Rei and the others.

They clambered onto the bulldozer. Hirano hugged Saya so hard she gasped.

Takashi saw that Saeko's shirt was torn, one breast nearly exposed. Without a word, he took off his jacket and put it across her shoulders. She bowed her head slightly in thanks, and drew it around her.

So tender, thought Rei, watching the two of them together. So gentle.

"I didn't know you could drive one of these things," said Saya to Miss Marikawa.

"Neither did I," said Miss Marikawa, as she turned the machine back the way they had come. "But it's quite a lot of fun. Do you think I should drive it all the way back to the farm?"

"Uh, just to where we hid the car will be fine," said Takashi.

"Killjoy," said Miss Marikawa.

The remaining zombies were retreating back into the buildings along the street.

"I want to get my Super Match from the truck, over there," said Rei.

"And I would like my sword," said Saeko.

"I'll get it," said Takashi to Saeko. "You don't look like you're in great shape."

"I've been better," admitted Saeko.

"I still didn't get any new clothes," said Saya. "Can we – "

"No!" said everyone else.

"Damn," said Saya.

Takashi jumped off the bulldozer and ran to Saeko's sword. He pulled it out of the ground and turned back towards the bulldozer.

A huge zombie came lurching out of the nearby doorway towards him.

There was a volley of machine gun fire. The zombie fell, dead.

Rei lowered her Super Match. If any of the others had been near her, they would have seen a tear run slowly down her cheek.

She wiped the tear away and started towards the bulldozer. As she did, she saw the sheath of Saeko's sword on the ground. She picked it up and walked to the others.

She climbed onto the bulldozer and handed the sheath to Saeko, who took it with a nod of gratitude and put the sword into it.

"We made it after all," said Rei to her. "So the question we were talking about does not really need an answer."

"I suppose so," said Saeko.

But I think I know what the answer has to be, thought Rei.

END

---

A Stranger Riding By

An unusual visitor raises questions as well as possibilities for the group.

[Author's note: This story takes place a few days after the story Girls' Day Out and a few days before the story The Promise, chapter 5 of The Chronicle of Takashi Komuro.]

"Shopping was a lot more fun," said Saya, "when you didn't have to carry weapons and post a lookout."

"After what happened at Johiro, the last time we tried to get some new clothes, it's surprising that we're doing it at all," said Rei.

They were in a clothes store in the village of Sheroda, the closest town – now deserted – to Maresato farm. It was several days after the episode at Johiro, when the three of them had been ambushed by a horde of zombies. This time, they had come with Takashi and Hirano, who were on guard in the convertible outside, with machine guns.

"The need is great," said Saeko. "Everything I have – which I admit is not very much – is held together with safety pins and hope."

"I see you are still wearing Takashi's jacket," said Rei.

"It fits," said Saeko.

Saya was holding up a skirt against her waist. "Will have to be bigger, and have an elastic waist," she mused. "Nothing suitable on this rack. I'll check to see if there's a storeroom in the back."

"I'll come with you," said Rei. The two of them went into the rear of the store, leaving Saeko to sort through a pile of not-very-interesting lingerie.

"All this stuff really sucks, fashion-wise," said Saya.

"And of course fashion is very important now, when there are so many people to impress," said Rei.

"Girl's always got to look her best," said a voice from behind them.

They instantly went for their guns.

"I wouldn't do that," said the voice. "Just turn around. Slowly."

They did – slowly.

It was a woman, wearing a patched-together outfit of leather and metal. She had a bright red jacket and heavy motorcycle boots, and had a short sword in her belt. She was holding a bow and arrow, pointed at them.

"Are you good guys or bad guys?" said the woman.

"Does our answer determine whether we get skewered or not?" said Saya.

"Not at all," said Saeko, from behind the woman. The tip of her sword touched the woman's cheek.

The woman let the bow go loose. "The fact that I am still alive tells me that you are probably good guys," she said.

"Yes we are," said Rei. "How about you?"

"Pretty good," said the woman. "Depending on who you ask. Will you put the sword down now?"

"No," said Saeko.

"And just what are you doing here?" said Saya.

"Same thing as you," said the woman. "Looking for some decent damn underwear."

---

Takashi and Hirano were astonished when Rei, Saya and Saeko escorted the woman to the car.

"Great lookouting, guys," said Saya.

"Well well, what have we here," said the woman. She looked at Hirano. "You're a handsome one," she said.

Hirano glanced behind him to see if there was someone else standing there. "You mean me?" he said.

"Oh yeah," said the woman.

"Hands off, bitch," said Saya.

"My name," said the woman, "is Shun. Shun Yamiashi."

"It's still: hands off, bitch," said Saya.

"There was a Shun Yamiashi in the Olympic archery team," said Saeko.

"Yes, that's me," said Shun.

"You won the bronze."

"It was better than fourth. And you are … ?"

"I am Saeko Busujima."

"Ah, I thought you looked familiar. I saw you compete in the kendo championships in Iwaki last year. So you've upgraded to a blade. May I see it?"

"No."

Takashi introduced himself and the others. "How did you get here, Shun?" he said. "Do you have a vehicle?"

"A motorbike. It's parked a few streets back. But I'm nearly empty."

"There's a petrol station at the south end of town," said Saya. "You can fill up there and be on your way to wherever it is you are going."

"Oh, I'm not going anywhere special. Drifting south, killing zombies as I go."

"Have you seen much of the country?" said Takashi. "Can you tell us where there are safe areas, and where there are zombie concentrations?"

"Sure," said Shun. "For what it's worth."

"Then you must come and stay with us, at least for the night, and tell us about your travels and adventures," said Hirano.

Saya, Rei and Saeko looked at him.

"In the spirit of good neighbourliness," said Takashi.

"I wouldn't mind some decent food and some friendly company," said Shun.

"Humph," said Saya. "Well, I'm not going anywhere until I get some more clothes."

"Seconded," said Rei.

"I agree," said Saeko.

"Me too," said Shun.

The four women went back into the clothes store, leaving Takashi and Hirano staring foolishly after them.

---

"So," said Shun to Rei and Saeko over a rack of shirts, as Saya was trying things on in the back room. "I get that Überbitch owns the cool dude. Do either of you have dibs on the other one?"

Rei and Saeko looked at each other.

"Yes and no," said Rei eventually.

"Which answer goes with which woman?" said Shun. "Or is it still to be decided?"

"It is not your business," said Saeko. "Although on the dibs side, I think the answer was put best by Saya."

"That is: hands off, bitch," said Rei.

"Okay, okay, you two can fight it out if that's what you want to do. Are there any other possibilities at the farm you mentioned? Been a while for me, you see. And riding that damn bike doesn't exactly get rid of the itchies."

"There is Grandfather Maresato," said Rei. "But you would have to fight Grandmother for him. I would not recommend it."

Shun sighed. "Goddamn zombie apocalypse," she said.

---

They were around the dinner table at the farm. "I appreciate the hospitality," said Shun, who had washed and changed. "The food is very good, Grandmother, and I am not saying that just because I have eaten nothing but beef jerky for the past week."

"You're very cool," said Alice to Shun.

"Well, so are you, Alice, from what your friends have told me about you," said Shun.

"I am?" said Alice.

"Shun, can you tell us about the situation in the rest of the country?" said Takashi.

Shun sighed. "Not much good news," she said. "I come from Akita, up in the north, on the west coast, and I've been moving south since the Outbreak. It seems that it started somewhere around Sendai and spread from there. It got to Hokkaido as well, although no-one knows how the zombies got across Tsugaru Strait.

"It only took a couple of days for everything to collapse. I tried to get to Tokyo but by the time I reached it the whole place was ablaze. Nagoya was pretty much a ghost town, not counting zombies. South and west of that, there are some pockets of survivors. It looks as if concentrations of people actually attract zombies somehow. I saw some towns that had built walls to keep the zombies out but I can't say I like their chances of surviving long-term. I think that staying in farms and houses in rural areas is a better idea."

Takashi spread a map over the table, and Shun began to mark various areas. She drew a line showing her circuitous progress across the country.

"It seems that zombies prefer towns," she said. "I don't know why. They don't like open areas much, and they don't like the mountains. So here in Tomo might be a good place to re-build. You guys seem to be doing pretty well here."

"Are you on your way to anywhere in particular?" said Takashi.

"Maybe Kyushu, maybe the Osumi Islands off the south coast," said Shun, pointing to the map. "Wherever I can get to that might have a decent number of survivors."

Everyone else exchanged glances.

Eventually, Saya said: "If you wanted to stay here, we could make room. With the permission of Grandfather and Grandmother, of course. It is their house, after all."

"We would be pleased to have you," said Grandmother Maresato.

Shun looked around the table. "Thank you very much for the offer," she said. "But what I am looking for is not here, I think."

"I understand," said Grandmother Maresato.

"As do I," said Saeko.

"Well, at least we can offer you somewhere to sleep for the night," said Grandmother Maresato. "I will make up a bed for you in the front room."

"Uh, would that be a single bed?" said Shun.

"That is all we can offer," said Rei.

"Maybe not," said Miss Marikawa. "She can stay in my room tonight."

Everyone stared at her. She stared straight back. "That is, in my bed," she said. "That is, with me. That is – "

"We've got the concept," said Rei.

"If she wants," said Miss Marikawa.

Shun looked at her. "She wants," she said.

---

It was the next day. Shun was about to leave the farm. Grandmother Maresato handed her a large parcel of fresh food and drink.

Shun shook Takashi's hand. "I hope it works out for you," she said.

"Uh, what works out?" he said.

"You'll find out," she said.

She turned to Miss Marikawa. "You know, Zu, this bike could carry two," she said. "If we sat close together."

Miss Marikawa considered. Then she said: "Thanks, but my place is here. I'm not really a road person."

Shun nodded. "Pity," she said.

"But if you're passing this way again … you might … "

"I would," said Shun. "I most certainly damn would."

They kissed. Passionately. A kiss for parting. For now.

Somewhat reluctantly, Shun got onto her bike and started for the gate. The group watched her until she was out of sight.

"What a whiner," muttered Saya.

"Well, Shizuka," said Rei, "I didn't know that you rolled that way."

"First time for everything," said Miss Marikawa. "I probably won't be making a habit of it. But she is certainly … charming … company, and these days, you take whatever opportunity presents itself, and you make the most of it, don't you?"

"Maybe," said Rei.

"Perhaps," said Saeko.

END

---

Zombie version 3 point 0

Looking for human survivors, Takashi and Saeko find … the last thing they expected.

[Author's Note: This short story comes after the chapter The Promise in The Chronicle of Takashi Komuro.]

Z+73

"I've always wanted a convertible," said Takashi, as they sped along the country road with the top down. It was three days since they had left the Maresato farmhouse on their mission to explore the Tomo area in the hope of finding more survivors. "Pretty cool, eh? And with a beautiful woman beside me."

He looked at Saeko. Yes, she was truly beautiful: her long hair flying in the wind, her dark eyes shining behind sunglasses, her lips showing the trace of her secret smile.

"It is not unacceptable," she said.

"Is that a joke?"

"Perhaps."

"Uh, is that a joke?"

"Yes."

"Ha! The samurai girl made a joke!"

"We are allowed to do so, occasionally," she said. She looked at the map she held. "You'd better slow down, we should be coming up to the next one. The village of Turona, population of 126. Formerly."

"Let's hope we find something soon," said Takashi. "We've been to two villages and four farms and haven't found a thing. Not sure where all the people went. You think that zombies got them all?"

"Maybe. But I remember one of the last television broadcasts saying that the government was collecting together everyone who was left so they could protect them better."

"That idea probably didn't work so well. Having a lot of people in a confined space is asking for trouble. But I guess they didn't know that then. Not like they had a whole lot of experience to draw on. Hey, what's this?"

He brought the car to a stop.

There was a large tree across the road.

Takashi drew his Mauser pistol. "It's broken, not cut," he said. "Could it have fallen over in a storm, maybe?"

"No," said Saeko.

"So someone put it here."

"Yes. But this would not be an effective obstacle to the undead. Only to vehicles. And if human survivors had sought to block the road against marauders, it would have been cut or chopped."

"Meaning … ?"

"Meaning that we should explore the village of Turona further. On foot." She got out of the car and took her sword from the back. Takashi took the automatic MAC rifle to add to his Mauser.

They took a circuitous path, moving for safety rather than speed. Eventually, they worked their way to the top of a hill overlooking the village.

"Zombies," said Takashi. "A couple of dozen, maybe. But what are they doing?"

They watched them for a long time. Ten minutes. Thirty minutes. An hour. Two hours. Eventually, Saeko said: "Nothing."

"They just walk from one place to another," said Takashi. "They stop there for a while, and then they walk to another place. You're right, they're doing nothing at all. And look at their clothes. Rotten. These zombies have been zombies for a fair while, maybe from the early days of the Outbreak."

"We should go down there," said Saeko.

"What, walk into a nest of zombies?"

"Yes," said Saeko.

"Are you serious?"

"Yes."

He smiled. "Well, then let's go," he said.

They walked down into the town, not hiding but on their guard.

They came to one of the zombies, who was shuffling from somewhere to somewhere else. It stopped and looked at them. Takashi raised his gun. Saeko prepared to draw her sword.

The zombie looked at them for perhaps a minute. Then he shuffled around them, and proceeded on his way to whatever insignificant place he was going.

Takashi watched him go. "That was odd," he said.

They continued towards the little park at the centre of the village. On the way, they encountered several zombies. Some, after a pause, went around them. Some turned and went back the way they had come.

"In its own way, this is scarier than being attacked," said Takashi. "And they're so quiet. None of that growling or hissing stuff. Do you think that this is what they do all day? And maybe all night as well? I don't think zombies ever sleep. Maybe this is what zombies do when there are no people around."

"Look at their clothes," said Saeko. "These people are not from this village. They came here after they became zombies."

She drew her sword.

"What's the matter?" whispered Takashi.

"They've stopped," said Saeko.

All of the zombies had stopped moving and were now simply looking at Takashi and Saeko.

A dozen of them began to come toward the two humans. Takashi lifted his gun.

"No," said Saeko. "Not yet."

The zombies shuffled forward until they formed a loose circle around Takashi and Saeko, five metres away.

"Now what?" said Takashi.

The zombies were staring at Saeko's sword.

One of them, a woman, shuffled closer. She gave a low groan. She lifted a fetid arm and pointed at the sword, and then at Saeko. Then she leaned forward.

"I think … I think she wants me to kill her," said Saeko.

The woman gave another groan, and shuffled forward another step. She seemed to close her eyes.

"I … I don't think I can," said Saeko. "It's not like they're attacking or anything."

Takashi looked around. "This would be a terrible existence," he said. "Living like a shadow, and knowing that it is going to go on for years and years. Maybe forever. Maybe they remember some of what life – real life – used to be. They've tried to get a bit of it back by coming to this place. But they can't, really. They may have evolved from what they used to be but this is as far as they can go. We've encountered plenty of aggressive ones but these ones have gone in a different direction. They're more advanced than they were at first, when they were blind and slow, but they're not the smarter belligerent ones either. This is Zombie version 3.0. They're aware – but all they can be aware of is that they're dead. I can't think of anything worse."

A tear formed in Saeko's eye.

Then, in a single perfect motion, she decapitated the woman.

Another one, a man, shuffled forward, and stopped in front of Saeko. He leaned forward as the woman had done. Saeko swung again.

There was another, and another.

And that was all. The others turned and resumed their meandering.

Saeko looked at the four bodies. She bowed her head slightly.

"Time for us to go, I think," said Takashi.

They were almost at the edge of the village when one of the zombies made a noise, something like a cough. He shuffled up to them. Takashi raised his gun. The zombie pointed towards the west. Then he pointed to Takashi and Saeko. Then he pointed west again.

"I think he's trying to tell us that there are people in that direction," said Takashi. "Maybe it's his way of thanking us for helping the ones that were ready to die. Maybe he understands that we're looking for survivors."

"Then we should drive west," said Saeko.

So they did. And they found more survivors.

END

---

Nightmares

Saeko discovers that late-night terrors are part of the business of being a survivor – but she also finds that she is not alone in dealing with fear.

[Author's Note: This story takes place about ten weeks after the Outbreak; about six weeks after the group reached the Maresato farm; and about two weeks after Takashi and Saeko became lovers.]

The zombie reached out for her, she could feel its foul breath on her skin and the stench of its rotting flesh in her nostrils. Her sword! Where was her sword! Why wasn't it in her hand!

The zombie had her in its grip now, it was pulling her towards its stinking maw and she was defenceless –

Saeko awoke with a snap, automatically reaching out for the Hokusawa blade. It took her a few moments to realise where she was: in her bed, in her caravan at the Maresato farm, Takashi sleeping silently next to her. Her naked body was covered in sweat and she was still shaking from the dream. It was not the first nightmare she had had – indeed, they happened every few nights – but it was not the sort of thing that became easier with repetition.

She knew she would not get back to sleep easily. Being afraid to close your eyes is a bad sign, she thought. She got out of bed and wiped the sweat away with a towel. She put a kimono on, glad for the cool feel of the silk. Perhaps a cup of tea would help. Rather than worry about waking Takashi, she decided she would go into the farmhouse. Instinctively, she picked up her sword as she left.

She was surprised to find a light on in the kitchen. Someone was sitting at the table. It was Alice, in her pyjamas. She turned when she heard Saeko.

"Mind if I join you?" said Saeko.

"Kettle has just boiled," said Alice. Saeko saw that Alice had a cup in front of her. Saeko put her sword on the table and began to make herself a pot of tea.

"I couldn't sleep," said Alice. "Nightmares. About zombies. Of course."

"Me too," said Saeko.

There was a knock at the door of the kitchen. It was Miss Marikawa, looking a bit bleary-eyed.

"Sorry if we woke you," said Saeko.

"I wasn't asleep anyway," she said. "Dreams. Like it's not enough for the zombies to bother us when we're awake."

Saeko poured a cup of tea for her. "I thought that I was the only one to get them," she said.

"You're not," said Alice. "It's not surprising, after all we've been through. Rei sleeps holding her Glock sometimes. She says that it helps."

"What are your nightmares about, Saeko?" said Miss Marikawa.

"I dream about not having my sword. What about you?"

"Being back in Fujimi High School, mainly. Being chased by them and not being able to find the way out. Just going round and round. How about you, Alice?"

Alice shrugged. "Various things," she said. "The most common one is … the night we first met. You know, Kohta told me that he has bad dreams as well. Saya – "

"Let me guess," said Saeko. "Sleeps like a log."

Alice laughed her girlish laugh. "Right," she said.

"Saya is lucky," said Miss Marikawa. "In many ways. Having a guy who loves her, for one thing. But now so do you, Saeko."

"Really?" said Saeko. "Sometimes, I wonder."

"Crazy, crazy, crazy in love with you," said Alice.

"And you are such an expert," said Saeko, smiling.

"Even a nine-year-old can see it," said Alice. "Everyone can. Except you, apparently. Even Saya."

"Uh, why do you say 'even Saya'?"

"Because she's an idiot. Also a genius, but an idiot when it comes to people. If she didn't have Kohta to make her something like normal, someone would have killed her by now, because she can be so incredibly annoying. Probably me."

Saeko nodded. "True," she said. "I've never had a sister, but I suppose I think of her like one. I love her but sometimes I feel like putting a sword through her. But you talk about crazy in love, well, Saya loves Hirano so much it's almost scary. I don't know if he knows that. She hides it from him, I think. I'm not sure why."

"Mmm. Boys aren't that bright, are they?"

"No, but they have their uses," said Miss Marikawa. "As I recall, at least. Let me tell you, I'm damn sick of having to – " she looked at Alice " – go without."

"Well, maybe we can find you one," said Saeko. "We're slowly locating more survivors."

"I hope there are some more kids," said Alice. "I really miss having friends. I mean, you guys are great … but it's just not the same."

"Does it seem to you," said Miss Marikawa, "that there are more women than men in the groups of survivors we've encountered so far? How did that happen?"

"Maybe girls are just better at it," said Alice.

"Yes, I think that's right," said Saeko.

"Right or not, it sucks," said Miss Marikawa. "I'm afraid that I'm going to end up as the last non-zombie un-partnered woman in the world. Now that's a nightmare."

"It would, indeed, be a terrible shame to see all your … assets … go to waste," said Saeko.

"It sure would," said Alice.

They both looked at her.

"Hey," she said, "I might be young but I'm not stupid."

Saeko laughed.

"Saeko," said Miss Marikawa. "May I see your sword? I've never really had the opportunity to look at it."

Saeko handed it to her. Miss Marikawa took it from the sheath.

"This is certainly beautiful," she said. "I can see why you love it."

Saeko was quiet for a long moment. Suddenly she burst out: "I hate it! I hate the goddamn thing! All it does it kill! It's become my entire fucking life!"

Tears began to run down her face.

Miss Marikawa and Alice stared at her.

"You're wrong," said Alice. "You're not a killer. You might think you are but you're not. You fight when you have to but you can do so many other things. We love you, and not just because you've saved us … god knows how many times. It's because you're you, and because we know you love us."

"I've seen you do calligraphy, and it's beautiful," added Miss Marikawa. "And I've seen the way you look at Takashi, especially when you think he's not looking at you. I've heard you make jokes and I've heard you laugh. This sword might be a part of your life but it's only a part. So if you can't see all the good things in your life – "

" – then get over yourself, girl," finished Alice.

Saeko looked from one of them to the other. Eventually, she said: "How did you two get to be so wise?"

"Well, I've watched a lot of television," said Alice.

"I've drunk a lot of peppermint schnapps," said Miss Marikawa.

Saeko laughed. Suddenly, she was struck by the sound: it was hearty, solid, deep. "I suppose you are right," she said. "Yes, you are right."

She finished her tea and stood up. "I think I will go back to bed now," she said. "To lie beside the man I love."

"Give him a kiss for me," said Miss Marikawa.

"Me too," said Alice.

"I will," she said.

She was entering the caravan when she realised she had left her sword in the house. Well, she thought, I'll get it tomorrow.

She undressed and lay down next to Takashi. He was asleep, but she kissed him gently on the forehead. "That one is from Shizuka," she said softly. She kissed him again. "And that one is from Alice." Another kiss. "And that one is from me."

She put her head down on the pillow. She closed her eyes and slept. And this time she did not dream.

END

---

Return to Tokonosu

Intending to deal with whispers from the past, Takashi and Saeko go back to the place that was once their home – and find some missing parts of themselves.

[Author's Note: This story takes place about three months after the Outbreak; about two months after the group reached the Maresato farm; and about a month after Takashi and Saeko became lovers.]

"Saeko," said Takashi as they shared breakfast in the little caravan, "there is something I need to do."

She put down her fork.

"I need to go back to Tokonosu City," he said. "I need to find out what happened to my parents. I know it has been a while, but things are going well for our group here, and I'm no longer needed to do the leader thing, at least not on a day-to-day basis. So I think I would like to deal with this unfinished business. Even if it means simply finding out that they didn't make it."

She considered. "When shall we leave?" she said.

He started. " 'We' don't leave," he said. "I leave. You stay here."

She stared at him. Eventually, she said: "Ha."

Takashi sighed. "I don't suppose … if I told you firmly … ?"

"You could try. But it would be a waste of your time, and mine."

"It might be dangerous."

"All the more reason that I should go with you. Basically, I am a better fighter than you."

"There is that, I suppose. Well, okay then. I'll tell the others at dinner tonight, and we'll leave tomorrow."

Saeko was quiet for a moment. "In fact," she said, "there is something that I would like to retrieve. Something personal. From Fujimi school."

"Hmm. Well, fair enough," he said. "We go together, then."

Saeko smiled her inscrutable smile. "We have been lovers for about a month," she said. "I find that I like it. Where you go, I will go. And if you were to die, who would fuck me?"

---

They had been driving for several days, in the convertible. The map provided by Shun Yamiashi, showing areas where there were few or no zombies, had proved very useful in planning their stops along the way, to rest and re-fuel in secure places.

"Just tell me if you want to drive for a while," said Takashi. He looked at Saeko. She seemed, by her standards, remarkably relaxed. She was wearing dark sunglasses, and she was leaning back in the seat, with her long legs stretched out and her bare feet resting on the upper edge of the door. God, she's beautiful, he thought.

"I don't know how to drive," said Saeko.

"Huh?"

"I said that I don't know how to drive," said Saeko, a bit louder.

"I heard you, I was just surprised," said Takashi.

"And I can't ride a motorbike either," she added. "The first time I had ever been on the back of one was with you, that day when we rode into a pack of zombies to help the people on that boat. I can tell you that being on the back with you is much more pleasant than being with Saya. Difficult to know where to put your hands with her. I assume that that is not a problem when she is riding with Hirano on the back. Those two can hardly keep their hands off each other at the best of times."

"You continue to surprise me," he said.

"Girl's got to have some mystery to her," she said, with a smile.

They crested a hill, and Tokonosu City came into sight. Takashi stopped the car and they got out. Saeko studied the city with the binoculars.

It had been three months since the Outbreak. The fires had gone out, although some parts of the city – especially those where the military had tried to fight the growing ranks of the undead – were not much more than fields of rubble.

"Any sign of our friends?" said Takashi.

"I can't see a single one," she said. "Not one. But they're there, I'm sure of it."

"Any sign of survivors? There might still be some, holed up in defensive positions."

"Maybe," said Saeko. "But I can't see any. And there is something else. I can't see any bodies. Either human or zombie. None."

"Odd, and a bit disturbing," said Takashi.

The freeways leading into the city were blocked by abandoned vehicles but there were smaller roads that were passable. The school was closer than Takashi's old apartment, so they decided to go there first. They drove slowly through the deserted streets.

"I don't really know what I was expecting," said Takashi. "But I don't think this was it."

Eventually, they reached the school. The gates were, unsurprisingly, still open.

"I recall Miss Marikawa smashing through here in the bus," said Saeko.

"Seems like a long time ago, now. More like ten years than three months."

Saeko nodded. Then she said: "Takashi, how old are you?"

He thought about it. "Eighteen," he said. "Funny, I don't feel eighteen. How about you?"

"I am nearly nineteen. But like you, I feel much older. I would not be surprised to find grey hairs in my head. I can remember being a student here. I know it happened. But it is like remembering another life."

Takashi stopped the car in the courtyard, near the entrance. He took his shotgun from the back, and checked his Mauser pistol in the holster strapped to his thigh. He put on a backpack of supplies and extra ammunition – just in case. Saeko took the Hokusawa blade.

"This way," she said.

There was still blood on the walls. Discarded shoes and clothes in the corners. Bits. Pieces. Paper and rubbish blew around in the draft from the smashed windows. But no bodies.

They walked along the main hall. "Last time I saw this, we were going the other way," said Takashi. "At high speed."

"That was the first time that we fought side-by-side," said Saeko.

They went into the main part of the school. They came to a row of vending machines. They had been smashed open and emptied.

"I didn't know that zombies liked candy and pop tarts," said Takashi.

Saeko looked around. Takashi noticed that she had her hand on her sword.

"We are being watched," she whispered.

"Zombies?" he whispered back.

"If it was, they would have attacked by now."

"Survivors?"

"Just one, I think."

Saeko continued to lead them through the hallways. Takashi realised that they were heading towards the senior school lockers.

Saeko stopped in front of one. She looked at it. There was a combination padlock.

"Do you remember the number?" said Takashi.

"Yes," said Saeko. "But now I am here, I am not sure I wish to open it. It seems like part of a different life. A life I did not like much."

But she turned the padlock to the right number and opened the door. A pile of schoolbooks, papers, and stationery fell out.

"Yours?" said Takashi, surprised at the disorder and clutter of the locker.

"No," said Saeko. "Somebody else's." She pulled the rest of the stuff out, burrowing for something right at the back. Eventually, she found it.

It was a small photograph. She showed it to Takashi. It was an older man with a young Saeko, perhaps twelve. She was holding a small trophy.

"My first kendo tournament," she said. "My father was very angry with me because it was only second place. I didn't care that I hadn't won. I told him that I had had a lot of fun competing. That made him even angrier. And I didn't know what to say or do."

Slowly, she began to sob. Takashi took her in his arms and let her cry.

There was a sound from behind them. In one motion, Saeko broke away from Takashi and drew her sword, and swung.

"Wait!" cried Takashi.

The blade stopped, an inch from the throat of a girl. She was skinny, filthy, her skin pale but her eyes glittering. She was about fourteen. She was wearing what had once been a Fujimi school uniform.

She saw the tip of the blade. She reached out and touched it. Then she giggled. "It's sharp," she said. "Shiny."

Saeko pulled the sword back. She returned it to its sheath.

"Got anything to eat?" said the girl. Then again: "Got anything to eat?"

"Sure," said Takashi. He took off his pack and pulled out a bottle of water and an apple. He handed them to the girl. She took them and looked at them. Gently, Takashi took the bottle from her and removed the cap, and then gave it back to her. She started to drink, cautiously at first and then as if she was dying of thirst.

"What's your name?" said Takashi. He took another bottle of water from his pack and handed it to her.

She stared at him. "My … name …?" she said. She looked blank.

"Were you in the Junior School?" said Saeko.

"Yes," said the girl. "Yes. The Junior School. My … name … the Junior School. I was in the Junior School." Then she giggled again.

"Have you been here since the Outbreak?" said Takashi.

"The … Outbreak?" she said.

"When the zombies came," he said.

"I hid," she said. "In – " she pointed to one of the air-conditioning vents. "I live there. They can't get you there, you see. They can't. There was a lot of them. Everywhere. But they left. They took everyone else with them. Everyone who was dead. They took them and they left. But I stayed. I had nowhere else to go. I stayed. No-one else."

She began to eat the apple. Juice ran down her chin. She giggled again.

"You can come with us, if you want," said Takashi.

"No, it's not safe," said the girl. She began to back away.

"We know a safe place," said Saeko. "I … I'm a student from the Senior School. You can trust me."

The girl began to laugh. Then she turned and ran, back along the hallway.

Takashi and Saeko ran after her.

They saw her crawl into a tiny vent. Then she was gone.

"Lot of places to hide," said Takashi. "Do you think we could find her?"

"I don't think we should try," said Saeko. "Some things can be fixed. Some things can't be. After spending all that time hiding among dead bodies, running from zombies, scratching for food and water, it's hardly a surprise that that young girl has lost her mind. There is nothing we can do for her, even if we could find her."

She was still holding the photograph of her and her father. She looked at it. "I think that perhaps I was lost before," she said. "But you – you and Rei and Saya and the others – helped me find myself. That young girl had to cope with all this alone. I didn't. That's the difference. That's why I'm not like her."

She touched the photograph with tenderness. "I'll keep this," she said. "To remind me of what once was, and what might be. And to remind me to be thankful for it."

Takashi nodded.

They left as much food and water as they could spare near the vent. Then they left Fujimi High School behind them.

---

"This is where I used to live," said Takashi as they made their way into the apartment building. They were climbing the stairwell, using torches for light. "I'm glad it was only the third floor, I wouldn't want to be stuck here if we meet any of our friends."

"So far, no sign of anything," said Saeko. "It was odd that the girl said the zombies had taken away all the bodies. That would explain why we haven't found any. But why would they do it? And where would they take them? And how could they get organised enough to do something like that?"

"We know they were getting smarter, so maybe that's got something to do with it," said Takashi, as they came out of the stairwell and into a wide hallway. "You know, now that I think about it I don't remember seeing any zombies actually eat humans. Bite them, sure, but that was more to kill them or turn them than to sustain themselves. I wish we knew more about them, really. Know more about what we are really up against."

"I recall Saya saying much the same thing," said Saeko. "But I doubt that any of them would volunteer for medical tests and in-depth interviews."

They came to a door. It was open. They went in.

The apartment where Takashi used to live was strangely untouched. But it was dusty: no-one had been here for some time. There was the unpleasant smell of rotten food.

They went through the main area and into Takashi's room. It was the room of a teenage boy: some posters of scantily-clad female pop singers, some more of flashy cars, an unmade bed, a pile of schoolbooks and a computer on a desk. It was all very normal.

"I can't believe I once lived here," said Takashi. "Only three months ago. Saeko, where did you live?"

"I had a little place of my own," said Saeko. "Not far from Saya's family mansion, in fact. I went to see it when we were staying there. It was a pile of ashes. I can't say that I cared much." She looked around. "Any sign of your parents?"

They returned to the other room.

"Here," said Saeko. She picked up a note from the table and handed it to Takashi. It was a woman's writing, obviously written in a hurry. It started: Dear Takashi –

Saeko stepped back, concerned that this was a private matter for Takashi.

No," he said to her. "This is for you, too, I think."

So they began to read it together.

Dear Takashi –

I don't know if you will ever read this. I don't even know if you are still alive. I assume that what happened at my school happened at Fujimi as well, just as it happened all over the city, and maybe all over the world. I came back in case you had come here, but looking out at the city and seeing everything burning I hope you don't – I hope you manage to get to somewhere safe. I know you have never thought of yourself as a strong person but now you will have to look inside yourself and find the courage that I have always known is there.

I have tried to contact your father at the office of his company in Sendai. The news from that area is very bad. Do you know the last thing he said to me when he leaving? It was: 'It's just another business trip, as boring as all the others. I'll be back in a couple of days.' I wish that we could have been together at the end, the three of us, but it was not to be.

I wish I could wait for you, Takashi, and I wish I could look for you. But I can't. You see, my dear son, I was bitten. Just a few minutes ago, when one of them attacked me on the street outside. So for me there is no future, I think. But I will not turn into one of them. I will end it myself before that happens. My prayer is that you escape and find a place to build a future for yourself, with someone you love.

All my hope goes with you. Goodbye.

"She sounds like she was a remarkable woman," said Saeko. "I wish I had met her."

"I think she would have liked you, as well," said Takashi. He folded the note and put it carefully into his pocket.

They left the apartment and walked down the stairs and back to the car.

The sky was a cerulean blue, there was a gentle breeze, there were birds singing somewhere.

"Is our business here concluded?" said Saeko.

"Yes," said Takashi. "Let's go home, my love."

END

---

Miss Marikawa and the Yamazaki Whisky

A routine visit to another survivor group turns into a deadly challenge from a dangerous enemy.

[Author's Note: This story takes place seven months after the group has reached Maresato farm.]

Z+260

Rei, Saeko and Takashi were harvesting fruit from the Maresato farm's orchard. Rei stopped and walked to the edge of the orchard, looking out across the fields.

"Not good," she said, as Saeko and Takashi joined her.

Miss Marikawa's horse was trotting towards the farmhouse. There was no sign of Miss Marikawa.

The three of them walked across the field and met the horse. Takashi took it by the bridle.

"Could she have been thrown off, or maybe attacked by zombies?" said Rei.

"Her rifle is still in the holster," said Takashi. "So probably not an attack."

"And not an accident, since her med kit is missing," said Saeko. "She doesn't go far without it."

After they had put the horse into the barn, they checked the Departure Schedule. This was a security measure that Takashi had put in place: whenever anyone left the farm they were supposed to say where they were planning to go, what they were going to do, and when they were going to return. Miss Marikawa had written: Riding to Kanoyama farm to provide medical checks, likely return around 2.00 pm.

It was nearly 2.00.

"It's a good thing that her horse could find its own way back," said Takashi, as Saya, Hirano and Alice joined them. "The Kanoyama farm is about an hour's ride, less by car."

"Then let's go," said Alice.

---

Takashi, Saeko, Rei and Alice rode in the convertible; Saya and Hirano were on the motorbike.

The farm had been deserted before the extended Kanoyama family, nine people in total, moved into it. Before that, they had been at Kaga Base. Takashi's group had visited them several times, giving them supplies and assistance to help them get the farm operating.

But now the place was empty. The group divided into teams of two and examined the place, and met again in the front yard.

"There's half-eaten food on the table inside," said Saeko. "There's also a couple of things that look like they come from Miss Marikawa's kit, but not used. I would say that everyone left here pretty quickly, perhaps not willingly."

"Not by their own vehicles," said Rei. "Nothing touched in the garage. And no sign of zombies anywhere."

Hirano was looking carefully at the ground, where several sods of earth had been turned over.

"This is bad news," he said. "These tracks are from military vehicles, an APC and a heavy truck, I would say."

"From Kaga Base?" said Rei.

"That's not the direction they came from and not the way they went," said Hirano.

"Renegade soldiers, maybe," said Takashi. "Or some survivors who got a hold of some military equipment. Hirano, can you follow these tracks?"

"As long as they stay on dirt roads, sure," said Hirano. He pointed. "That way."

---

Miss Marikawa swam back to consciousness. The last thing she remembered was being hit by a big man with a big rifle. Now she was in the back of a truck bouncing along a dirt road.

There were other people in the truck. One of them, a woman, passed a canteen of water to her. Miss Marikawa recognised her as Megumi Kanoyama, one of the women from the farm.

"Are you alright?" said Megumi. "What's the last thing you remember?"

Miss Marikawa thought about it. She had gone to the Kanoyama farm to perform some routine medical checks; it was a regular service that she provided to new arrivals in the area. In this case, she had intended to check a minor injury that one of the Kanoyama teenage boys had accidentally inflicted on himself a week before, a cut from a hoe. She had checked the wound and found it to be healing well. Megumi and some of the others had put out some food for lunch, and had invited her to stay, as a way of thanking her for the medical help.

Miss Marikawa had been about to apply some antiseptic cream to the cut and put on a fresh bandage when she heard her horse neigh in alarm. Next moment, the front and back doors of the farmhouse were kicked open, and a half-dozen men burst in. They wore patched-together military uniforms and had machine guns.

"You people are now under the protection of the New Guard," announced one of the men, the toughest-looking one. "Anyone who doesn't do exactly what they're told will get a bullet. Now, everyone outside." He looked at Miss Marikawa. "What do we have here?" he said. "A doctor making a house call?"

"I'm a nurse helping some friends," said Miss Marikawa. "And just who are you?"

"I'm Sergeant Jiro of the New Guard," he said. "We are gathering people from the area so we can protect them from zombies."

"If that is the case," said Miss Marikawa, "why are you pointing guns at us?"

"Because some people don't know what's good for them," he said. "Now, outside, all of you."

They went outside. Jiro spoke into a walkie-talkie, and in a few moments an Armoured Personnel Carrier and a big truck rolled over the hill and stopped in front of them. The soldiers began to push people onto the truck.

"Just a moment," said Miss Marikawa. "I'd like to make sure my horse is okay." Before they could stop her, she went to where her horse was tied up. She quickly undid the reins from the tree, and pushed the horse away. She slapped the horse hard on the rump, and it began to trot away – in the direction of the Maresato farm.

"I don't know what you're up to," said Jiro, "but you need to learn to follow orders, bitch." Then he hit her with his rifle, and that was the last thing she remembered.

"Are you alright?" Megumi was saying. "That was quite a knock you took."

"Hell of a headache but I'll be okay," said Miss Marikawa. "Do you know where we're going?"

"No, but it looks like we're there," said Megumi.

The APC and the truck had reached a collection of buildings: a large, expensive-looking country house surrounded by work buildings. Miss Marikawa and the others were pushed off the truck and into one of the large sheds.

There was already about twenty people there. One of them, an older man, stepped forward. "I'm Ohira," he said. "Good to see some new faces. Sorry the circumstances aren't better."

"What's going on?" said Miss Marikawa. "Who are these pricks playing at being soldiers?"

"They say they used to be an army unit but I think they're just a bunch of thugs that got hold of some weapons," said Ohira. "They've been rounding up any survivors they can find. They say it's so they can protect us but it's really just so we can work this farm for them. They took my group a month ago and we've been here ever since. I think their boss has got some fantasy of setting up a private little empire. They don't think twice about killing anyone that they don't like the look of."

Miss Marikawa sighed. "I've met some guys like this before," she said. "I think they're worse than zombies. At least you don't see the zombies turning on each other when things get tough."

A woman entered the shed and came up to Miss Marikawa. "Come with me," she said. "The Captain wants to see you."

"Maybe I don't want to see him," said Miss Marikawa.

"You can walk, or you can be dragged naked," said the woman. She leaned closer and lowered her voice. "And believe me, these assholes would just love to do that. I advise you to come along."

Miss Marikawa looked at the woman, wondering which side she was really on.

The woman whispered: "Please."

"In that case, let's go," said Miss Marikawa.

As they walked up to the big house, the woman said: "I'm Satsuki. You're a doctor, right?"

"A nurse. My name is Shizuka Marikawa."

"If I was you, I would tell them you're a doctor. The Captain likes people with skills that he thinks he can use."

"Are you his partner in this little enterprise?" said Miss Marikawa. "What skills do you have?"

"I used to run my own IT company, before the Outbreak," said Satsuki. "So those skills are now worth absolutely zip. I suppose you could say that I'm the Captain's partner – for now. He likes women, and as long as he has guns and men who follow his orders I see playing along as the best course. The only course, really. It beats working in the fields for sixteen hours a day. But just barely."

They entered the house. It was large and opulent, more like a manor than the house of a working farm. In the large entry hall, there were armed men lolling about on the armchairs and couches. They stared at Miss Marikawa as she walked past.

"How many of them are there, all up?" she said to Satsuki.

"Fifteen, counting the Captain and Sergeant Jiro," said Satsuki. "Jiro is the worst of an evil bunch. He's the killer."

"We've met," said Miss Marikawa.

They went into a large room, something that had once been a library or study. There was a heavy-set man seated at an ornate desk. He was examining Miss Marikawa's med kit.

"I am Captain Hiroki Shinen," he said. "You're a doctor, are you?"

Miss Marikawa nodded.

"Good, we need a doctor," said Shinen. "You work for me, now. But I'm sure we can find other things for you to do as well."

"A girl does what she needs to do to get along," said Miss Marikawa. She saw a bottle on the desk, and a half-empty glass in front of Shinen. "Say, that wouldn't be Yamazaki whisky, would it?"

"As it happens, it would," said Shinen. "Whoever lived here before had a pretty good cellar. Would you like a taste?"

"It's certainly been a while," said Miss Marikawa. "For many things."

Shinen produced another glass and poured some of the whisky into it. Miss Marikawa picked it up and downed it in a gulp. She picked up the bottle and poured some more into her glass. She topped up Shinen's glass and handed it to him.

"Here's a toast," she said to him. "To better times." She emptied her glass.

Shinen started a little. Then, not to be outdone, he downed his drink as well.

Miss Marikawa sat down at the desk and re-filled both glasses. She undid the top button of her shirt. She glanced as Satsuki. "I don't think we need a chaperone," she said to Shinen.

Shinen turned to Satsuki. "Get lost," he said.

"Now," said Miss Marikawa once Satsuki had left. "What shall we talk about?"

---

"At least a dozen, possibly more, and most of them have automatic weapons," said Hirano.

"That's about what I count," said Saya. "This is going to be a lot different to clearing out a nest of a few zombies."

The six of them were lying on the top of a small hill, studying the complex of buildings.

"That's a lot of firepower," said Takashi. "There are two of them by that shed – that's probably where they're keeping the people they've grabbed – and two more at the back. Most of them are in the house. That's probably where Shizuka is, as well."

"So what do we do?" said Rei. "Walk up to the door and knock?"

"Good idea," said Takashi.

---

The two soldiers guarding the prisoners in the shed were complaining: about the duty, about the heat, about the world in general.

They stopped complaining when they felt the barrels of guns on the back of their necks.

"If you want to shout to your friends, go ahead," said Rei. "Because I would really like a reason to blow your head off."

"Open the door," said Takashi.

One of the soldiers opened the door. Rei and Takashi pushed them inside.

"Hi," said Rei to the astonished prisoners, as she handed the soldiers' guns to them. "Say, you wouldn't happen to have seen a friend of ours, would you? Tall, blond, breasts like howitzers?"

---

The two soldiers at the back of the house were surprised to see a little girl walking up to them.

"Hello," she said.

If they had not been distracted by her they might have heard a sound behind them. Then again, maybe not.

---

Saeko walked up the steps and into the front hall of the house. Immediately, a half-dozen soldiers pointed their guns at her.

"Here is what you are going to do," she said. "First, you will hand over your weapons. Second, you will deliver my friend. Third … actually, there is no third. The first two cover everything."

"And who might you be?" said a soldier with stripes on his arm.

"I am Saeko Busujima," said Saeko. "I kill things."

"Get the Captain," said the sergeant to one of the men. The man ran off.

"I can wait," said Saeko. "For a little while."

The man came back. "Can't get him," said the man. "The door to his office is locked."

"Ah," said Saeko.

"Uh, what do we do?" said one of the other men.

"Well, obviously, we, er, we should, uh, I suppose we should kill her," said the sergeant, although without orders from his officer he seemed at a loss as to what to do.

"You can try," said Saeko.

The sergeant pointed to the blade in Saeko's belt. "Isn't that just like a woman?" he said. "Bringing a sword to a gunfight."

"It isn't all I brought," said Saeko.

There was a rattling sound. It came from the chimney.

Out of the fireplace rolled two grenades. The soldiers began to back away – fast.

From outside, there was the sound of an engine revving. Then a motorbike came smashing through the big glass window. It was ridden by a pregnant woman with remarkable pink hair, and on the back was a man with a large gun. At the same time, the sound of gunshots came from the back of the house.

Saeko drew the Hokusawa blade. She looked Jiro in the eye. "Yes," she said. "I brought a sword to a gunfight."

---

"What's that?" said Shinen with a slur. "It sounded like shooting."

Miss Marikawa, now sitting on his lap, batted her eyelashes at him. "Just the beating of my heart," she said.

He swore, and pushed her – with some difficulty – away.

He ran to the gun cabinet, unlocking it and taking out a big machine gun. He went to the door and tried to open it. It was locked.

"When the hell did that happen?" he said.

"About five minutes ago," said Miss Marikawa. She held up the key. "If you hadn't been staring at my tits so much you might have seen me do it."

"Lying bitch!" he shouted. He lifted the machine gun and fired at her. But he was so drunk he could hardly see straight, and Miss Marikawa had plenty of time to duck behind the heavy desk.

He pointed the machine gun at the door and fired. The lock burst off.

He ran out of the study and looked around. And then Miss Marikawa smashed the whisky bottle over his head.

---

The motorbike screeched to a halt on the polished floor, scattering three soldiers.

"Weapons down, hands up!" said Hirano, pointing his machine gun at them. Stunned, they did it.

"Aww!" said Saya. "I really wanted to shoot someone!"

The soldiers put their hands up further.

Saeko had already put two others out of action – choosing to only wound them – and was now facing Jiro. "Okay, okay, don't do anything rash," he said to her, putting his automatic rifle on the floor.

"I never do," she said, putting her sword back in its sheath.

Takashi and Rei entered the hall. "The ones in the other room tried to put up a fight," said Rei. "Didn't work."

Alice came through the front door. "How did the grenades-down-the-chimney thing go?" she said.

"Excellent," said Saeko.

"You would have thought they would have seen that they still had the pins in," said Alice. "Some people are just as dumb as bricks."

Then another soldier came rushing down the stairs, firing wildly. Takashi and Rei saw him and fired together. He went down, toppling over the railing.

But Jiro saw his chance. He reached for a pistol hidden in his shirt, intent on killing Saeko, at least.

A shot cracked out. Jiro fell backwards, a hole in his forehead.

Alice. Remington .25. She looked shocked at what she had done. Nine years old. And she had killed a man.

Saeko knelt and wrapped her arms around Alice.

There was a sudden scream: "I'll kill you all!" A man in an officer's uniform, blood gushing from a wound on his head but drunkenly waving a machine gun, ran into the room. He aimed at the group.

And then he froze. A sudden spurt of blood came from his mouth. He slumped forwards onto the floor. There was a knife in his back.

"Bastard," said Satsuki. She wiped her hands on her skirt.

Miss Marikawa came in. She had a dark bruise on her jaw from where Shinen had hit her after she had whacked him with the bottle but was otherwise unhurt. Nevertheless, she grasped a chair for support.

"Are you alright?" said Takashi.

"I have had a bit too much to drink, I think," she said. She started to sway.

Takashi and Rei caught her as she began to fall.

---

Without their guns and with no-one to give them orders, the nine soldiers still alive seemed like a rather pathetic bunch.

"What should we do with them?" said Ohira to Takashi as his group of people climbed onto one of the trucks.

"I suggest you take them to Kaga Base, since it's not too far out of your way," said Takashi. "Hand them over to Major Arimake. She might lock them up for a while, or she might simply shoot them. She's not a person known for a generous soul but since these people are soldiers I suppose it falls into her jurisdiction." He turned to Megumi Kanoyama. "Will you be okay to get back to your farm?" he said.

"Yes," she said. "Is Miss Marikawa alright?"

"Drank too much whisky in the line of duty, but she'll live," said Rei. She was holding the med kit, which she had recovered from the study in the house. "She's sleeping it off. Not her first hangover, probably won't be the last. It usually involves peppermint schnapps, though."

"Well, when she wakes up, please give her our thanks," said Megumi. "And we're very grateful to all of you. Is there anything we can do to repay you?"

"Hmm," said Saya.

"No," said Takashi.

"Except live long and prosper," said Hirano.

Ohira's group and Megumi's group set off.

Saya turned to Hirano. " 'Live long and prosper'?" she said.

"Sure, why not?" he said.

Saeko came up to them. "Is Alice going to be alright?" said Takashi to her.

"I believe so," said Saeko. "I wish she hadn't had to do it, but I am certainly glad that she did."

Takashi nodded. "Enough blood has been shed this day," he said. "Time for us to go."

END

---

Saya and the New Arrival

When a baby decides it is time to enter the world, it will do so – even if there's a zombie battle going on

Author's Note: This story takes place a bit more than seven months after the group arrived at Maresato farm, and about a month after they visited Kaga Base for the first time.]

"Just a couple more weeks," said Saya, "and then things will be back to normal. Or what passes for normal these days."

"We can't really be too precise about it," said Hirano, "since we don't know the exact day when … it … happened."

"Which is entirely your fault," said Saya. "Entirely your fault that I'm in this mess."

"That's not how I remember it," said Saeko, from the front seat.

"Yeah?" said Saya. "Well, we'll see how much you laugh when you're this big."

"Don't mind her, Saeko," said Hirano. "She just grumpy because she's pregnant."

"You think?" said Miss Marikawa.

"Very pregnant," said Saya. "So I'm allowed."

Saya was, indeed, somewhere around the eight-months-plus-some-days mark. As a result, she was considerably more bad-tempered than usual.

"How are things going with you?" said Hirano to Saeko. "How far along are you now?"

"Seven weeks or so, I guess," said Saeko. "I throw up every morning and I think about pickled eels with ice-cream a lot."

"Entirely normal," said Miss Marikawa. "You know, I would really like some ice-cream too."

"Humph," said Saya.

"If I am that grumpy at the eight-month mark, someone take my sword and put me out of my misery," said Saeko. "Please."

"Ha!" said Hirano. "The samurai girl made a joke!"

"We are allowed," said Saeko. "Every now and then."

Saya grunted. "I don't even know why we're making this stupid trip," she said.

"You said you wanted more batteries, cables, and circuit boards," said Hirano. "For the windmill for Kaga Base."

"Humph," repeated Saya.

The four of them were in the utility truck, on their way to a factory that had made windmills for small-scale power generation. They had discovered it not long after they had moved into the Maresato farm, near a town an hour's drive away. The place was deserted, and a bit damaged, but there were plenty of pieces and tools. Saya had worked out how to put one of the windmills together and get it operating, which gave them electricity for the farm. When they visited Kaga Base, Major Arimake had asked if Saya could build one for use there. Saya had reluctantly agreed. Now, the four of them were on their way to the factory for more components.

"What I mean is, I don't know why we're doing this for Kaga Base," said Saya. "I don't even like those people."

"It falls into the 'right thing to do' category, my sweet," said Hirano. "And with not too many people left in the world, we need to make as many friends as possible."

"Humph," said Saya once more.

They pulled into the factory complex: a cluster of workshops and other buildings around an open area. It was quiet.

Miss Marikawa backed up the truck to one of the warehouse-workshops, the one where they had collected supplies before. Hirano helped Saya out – not easy – and they went in. She started to select what she needed, and they began to put the components into the back of the truck.

Saeko stopped. She walked away from the truck a little, into the open area. She looked around. Nothing. The drive-through doors of the warehouse opposite were closed. The open door of the building next to it, an office of some kind, moved slightly in the wind.

Hirano walked up to her.

"Anything?" he said.

She didn't move. But he noticed that her hand was on the hilt of the sword in her belt.

He walked quickly back to Saya and Miss Marikawa.

"Get in the truck," he said. "We're leaving."

"Who says?" said Saya.

"The hairs on the back of Saeko's neck," said Hirano.

"Good enough for me," said Saya. She put down the spool of cable she was holding and went to the truck cabin. Hirano helped her into the back seat, and then got in himself. Miss Marikawa got into the driver's seat again. Saeko walked back and, without a word, got into the passenger seat in the front.

"Go," said Hirano to Miss Marikawa. "Now."

At that moment, the sliding doors of the warehouse opposite opened. Several large barrels came rolling out, heading straight for them. A dozen zombies came bursting out of the office, and more spilled from other buildings.

"Go!" shouted Hirano.

Miss Marikawa slammed her foot down and the engine roared. She dodged one barrel, and then the second. But the third rolled directly under the front wheels of the truck.

The truck slewed around, the barrel wedged beneath it. Miss Marikawa fought for control. And then, with a scream of metal, the truck rolled onto its side. The driver-side doors were pinned shut against the ground.

"Everybody still alive?" said Hirano.

"More or less," said Saya.

"Okay," said Miss Marikawa.

"But we won't be for long," said Saeko. She pushed the door open – upwards, now – and clambered out. She jumped to the ground, sword at the ready.

Saya was still wedged in the back passenger-side seat, held by her seat-belt. "Not sure I can make it out by myself," she said to Hirano. "And I don't think you can get past me to get out this way."

"Always an alternative," said Hirano. "Give me your Luger." She did. He fired at the windscreen. After three shots, it cracked and broke. Miss Marikawa used her med kit to push it out. She climbed through, followed by Hirano. Hirano jumped up onto the side – now the top – of the truck cabin and opened the door. With an effort, he managed to lift Saya out.

"Whoa, you're heavier than you used to be," he said.

"Again, entirely your fault," she said. With Miss Marikawa's help, they managed to get to the ground.

Saeko had already killed three zombies. The rest, wary now, were circling her, looking for a way to attack in a mass. There was a lot of them, perhaps twenty or more.

"I can't hold them," said Saeko over her shoulder.

"Back to the warehouse!" said Hirano.

The four of them ran into the building. The zombies started after them.

Inside, Hirano and Saeko each grabbed one of the large sliding doors, and pushed. The doors slammed just as the zombies reached it. Hirano picked up a heavy chain and used it to secure the doors.

"Safe for a while, at least," he said. "Those things are getting way too smart."

"There's something I should probably mention," said Saya.

They all turned and looked at her.

"Baby on the way," she said.

"Yes, we know," said Hirano.

"No," she said. "I mean, baby on the way … now!"

As a result of the crash, her waters had broken and labour had started.

"What … what do we do?" said Hirano. "What do you do? What do I do?"

"You don't actually have to do anything," said Miss Marikawa to him.

"I think I would like to lie down," said Saya.

"Let us not forget the zombies outside," said Saeko. "I am going to check that this building is secure." She headed off.

"I think I saw another room in the back, an office or something," said Miss Marikawa. "Yes, through here. Hardly the maternity ward of Tokyo Private Medical but the best we can do." She found some cushions and helped Saya lie down on the floor.

The zombies were hammering on the metal door of the workshop. Hirano checked it: it looked as if it would hold. For a while.

Saeko came back. "As far as I can see, there are no other ways in – or out, for that matter," she said. "Here, I found this." She handed Miss Marikawa a reasonably clean piece of canvas. Folded over several times, it would be a little more comfortable for Saya to lie on.

Miss Marikawa opened her med kit. "Hmm," she said.

"Don't do that!" burst out Saya.

"I was just thinking that the course I did had a class on this," said Miss Marikawa. "It's a real pity that I didn't go to it. Would have made everything much easier, probably."

"But you've done this before, right?" said Hirano.

"Uh, I've read a book about it."

"And what book was that?" said Saya. "The Idiot's Guide to Delivering Babies?"

"No, it was called Midwifery for Dummies. Of course, I don't have it now. Left it at home."

"How very appropriate, at so many levels," groaned Saya.

"How hard can it be to have a baby? People have been doing it ages," said Miss Marikawa. "Anyway, you should start having contractions soon."

Saya gave a yelp of pain.

"There we go," said Miss Marikawa.

Saeko drew Hirano aside. "There are other issues we have to think about," she said.

"Huh? Oh, right, the zombies."

"What weapons do you have?"

"Just Saya's Luger. Three shots used, so that means seven left."

"Where's that big machine gun you had before?"

"Back in the truck. It got wedged under the seat in the crash, and I had to choose between retrieving it and getting Saya out. Couldn't do both."

They went over to Miss Marikawa, who was trying to persuade Saya to not push yet.

"Miss Marikawa, do you have a gun?" said Hirano.

"Just this," said Miss Marikawa. She took a little pistol from a holster strapped to her thigh and handed it to Hirano.

"Remington .25," said Hirano. "Pretty little gun. Might stop a charging duck, if you aimed carefully." He handed it back to her. "Keep this for a last resort," he said. "For both of you. Saya, you wouldn't happen to have any more clips for the Luger, would you?"

"Of course not," said Saya. Then she shouted: "And you zombies out there, enough with the banging on the door already!"

Miss Marikawa was looking at her watch, to mark the time between contractions. "Funny, it doesn't seem to be going," she said.

"Uh, is that an electronic watch?" said Hirano.

"Yes, I think so," said Miss Marikawa.

"And you were wearing it when the EMP hit?"

"Uh-huh."

"So it probably hasn't worked for months."

"Oh. Well, that explains a few things."

Hirano sighed. Saeko gave a little laugh. Saya said: "Fucking moron!"

"There, there, we can't all be geniuses, can we?" said Miss Marikawa. "Now, you just focus on … you know, the baby thing."

The banging on the door stopped.

"Do you think that they heard Saya?" said Hirano.

Then it started again, louder and harder. Metal on metal. The zombies were using something more than their fists to batter the door down.

"Way too smart," said Hirano. He and Saeko went to the door and inspected the supports. They were starting to work loose under the assault.

"How long before we might expect help from Takashi and the others?" said Saeko.

Hirano considered. "Five, maybe six hours," he said. "Too long, I think."

"I agree," said Saeko. They went back to Saya and Miss Marikawa.

"How's it going?" said Hirano.

"How do you think it's going!" groaned Saya.

"She's fine, and we'll start pushing soon," said Miss Marikawa. "How are things out there?"

"Uh, well, not really as good as they might be," said Hirano. "More zombies than bullets, basically. Need more weapons."

"Make one," said Saya.

"Er, what was that?" said Hirano.

"We're in a fucking equipment warehouse, lunkhead!" she snapped. "There's petrol in a tank at the back, I saw it before. And tubes and valves to make a pump. And I saw a portable welder too, a self-lighting one."

"You mean … a flamethrower?" said Hirano.

"No, I mean something to throw custard pies! Of course I mean a fucking flamethrower!"

"Push now," said Miss Marikawa.

"Grrr!" moaned Saya, pushing.

"Very good," said Miss Marikawa.

"Shut up!" shouted Saya.

"So let's see if we can make a flamethrower," said Saeko.

There wasn't much petrol in the tank: only a few litres, but it was better than nothing. Hirano found a small drum that could be made airtight, and he worked out how to connect a hand-held pumping mechanism to it. He attached a narrow tube that could be used to shoot the petrol in a stream, over the flame from the welding unit.

He started to pressurise the drum, using the hand pump.

"Let me do that," said Saeko. "You check on Saya."

Hirano went into the back room.

Saya was going: "UNNNHHH!"

Miss Marikawa said: "Here, Hirano, take a look at this, it's really interesting. Look, you can see the top of the baby's head, right here. That's called crowning. Isn't that interesting?"

He leaned over and kissed Saya on the forehead, and wiped her sweaty face.

"Thank you," she said.

"Anything else I can do for you?" said Hirano.

"Well, you could shoot Shizuka. Or do you have any really strong drugs?"

"Sorry, no to both," he said.

"Nearly there," said Miss Marikawa. "Couple more pushes."

Saeko, near the big doors, called out: "They're almost through!"

Hirano gave Saya another kiss, and then went to join Saeko.

The big doors were almost off their supports. Another few blows would do it.

Saeko handed Hirano the improvised weapon. She drew her sword. Hirano turned on the hand-held welding unit, which burned with a blue flame.

---

"GRRRUNNNHHH!"

---

With a crash, the doors finally gave way and the zombies began to surge in.

Hirano turned the valve, and there was a stream of petrol that turned into a savage orange tongue. It leapt onto the group of zombies. Several of them were incinerated immediately. A number of others collapsed to the ground, their clothes and flesh aflame.

Then the drum was empty. Hirano threw it aside and pulled out the Luger. Better odds now, he thought.

Saeko charged into the remaining zombies. She took out two in a few moments but several others, armed with iron bars, started to push her back.

Hirano, on the other side, aimed carefully and fired. Three down, then four. But two got through. One was wearing a bulletproof vest and a protective helmet – once, it had been a riot-squad cop. It was carrying a crowbar as a weapon.

The zombie lashed out at Hirano, sending him flying. He slammed into a rack of pipes and cables, which came down around him.

The other zombie – it had been a middle-aged woman – had made it to the door of the back room. It saw Saya and Miss Marikawa, and started to advance on them.

"Almost … " Miss Marikawa was saying, guiding the baby into the world with both hands.

Then Saya saw the zombie. She snatched Miss Marikawa's little pistol out of its holster and fired. She hit the zombie but it kept coming. She fired again. She shouted: "Can't you see – " fired again " – that I'm fucking busy! Now just die, can't you!" Last bullet. Finally, the zombie toppled over, dead.

"Hello there, little one," said Miss Marikawa.

Saeko had cut the zombies on her side down to two. There was still the zombie in the police gear. The zombie looked at Hirano, and then at the room where Saya was, undecided about which way to go.

"Hirano!" called Saeko. "How many bullets do you have left?"

"One," said Hirano. Lying on the floor, he was still tangled in the pipes but was aiming the Luger with remarkable calmness, looking for a vulnerable spot between the jacket and the helmet.

"Have you got him?"

"Yes," said Hirano evenly. "I've got him."

He fired.

Saeko decapitated the last one confronting her. She ran to Hirano and helped him out of the mess.

"Not so hard, was it?" said Hirano. Saeko laughed. They ran into the back room.

"Kohta," said Saya, now propped up on some cushions. "Meet our daughter." Saya was holding the baby, who was wrapped in Miss Marikawa's shirt.

He knelt next to them. He kissed the baby on the top of her head. "She's beautiful," he said. "Like her mother." He turned to Miss Marikawa. "Is everything okay?" he said.

"I think so," said Miss Marikawa, as she continued to clean the baby with a cloth from the medical kit. "But there is a problem. I don't have anything to cut the cord with."

Hirano looked at Saeko.

"No way," said Saeko.

"Please?" said Hirano.

Saeko sighed. "Oh, alright," she said. She handed over her sword. "You'll be using it to open packets of noodles next."

Miss Marikawa wiped the blade clean and splashed it with disinfectant from her kit. She tied the cord at the appropriate spots, and Hirano cut it. He handed the sword back to Saeko. Then he took off his jacket and put it over Miss Marikawa's bare shoulders.

Miss Marikawa finished the delivery.

The baby began to grumble a little.

"That means she's hungry," said Miss Marikawa to Saya.

"Well, what am I supposed to … oh, right," said Saya. She shuffled her shirt and bra off and began to feed her child.

"What is her name?" said Saeko.

"I … I haven't thought about it," said Saya. "What do you think, Kohta?"

Hirano considered. Eventually, he said: "Nozomi."

"Nozomi," said Saeko. "Hope."

Saya nodded. "Nozomi," she said.

END

---

Miss Marikawa's Graduation

Sometimes, the best medical treatment you can give is a sense of hope.

[Author's Note: This story takes place about 15 months after the group arrived at Maresato farm.]

Z+424

In the cool of the evening, they had laid out a picnic table in the front yard. The party was to mark Nozomi's six-month birthday. There was food, drink, and laughter, but every few minutes Takashi checked his watch. And every few minutes one or another of them looked towards the farm gate.

Hirano came up to Takashi. "How long is she past due?" said Hirano quietly.

"Going on for twenty minutes," said Takashi. "It might be nothing but if she's not here in a couple more minutes and I'm going to look for her."

"You and me both," said Hirano.

"There she is!" shouted Alice, pointing.

Miss Marikawa, on horseback, was coming through the gate.

Takashi gave a soft whistle of relief.

Miss Marikawa came up to the table and dismounted. She looked exhausted.

"You're just in time for birthday cake," said Saya. "You will be pleased to know that I didn't make it."

Miss Marikawa forced a weak smile. "Maybe I'll take a pass," she said. "Could someone put my horse in the barn, give it some feed? I have to go to bed."

Grandfather Maresato took the horse and led it away. Miss Marikawa started towards the farmhouse.

"Shizuka," said Rei. "What is it?"

Miss Marikawa stopped. Over her shoulder, she said: "I lost him. I should have been able to save him … but I lost him."

---

The next morning, Takashi drove to the Irie farm, where Miss Marikawa had been. He was met by Yushiro Irie, the father of the family.

"She was pretty upset when she got back," said Takashi. "What happened?"

"It was our son Shimon," said Yushiro. "He'd been thrown from his horse, he had broken something inside, he was coughing up blood. She did everything she could, even CPR. She kept on with it even after he had stopped breathing. We knew he was gone. I think she blamed herself for it but really there was nothing that anyone could have done. It was just a tragic accident.

"Shizuka has been a lot of help to us since we moved here, and she has never asked for anything in return. Is there something we can do to help?"

"I don't know," said Takashi. "I am sorry for your family's loss, Yushiro."

He drove slowly away, thinking.

---

It was noon when Saya pushed open the door to Miss Marikawa's room, carrying a tray.

"I brought you some breakfast, or maybe lunch," said Saya, as Miss Marikawa sat up in bed.

"Thanks," said Miss Marikawa.

Saya put down the tray and looked around. She had not been in Miss Marikawa's room before. She was surprised to see several shelves of books. When she looked closer, she saw they were medical books. Diagnostics, drug uses, anatomy, basic surgery. There was even a dog-eared copy of Midwifery for Dummies. "I didn't realise that you knew so much," she said.

"I have these books," said Miss Marikawa, "because I don't know much. Everyone treats me like a doctor but I'm not. I've collected all these but I hardly understand most of them, no matter how hard I try. I go to people who've been through hell and half the time all I can do is give them a couple of aspirin and some antibiotics."

Saya stared at her. "You know that I was there when Nozomi was born, right?" she said. "And you'll be there when it's time for Saeko as well, any moment now."

"Babies are easy," said Miss Marikawa.

"That's not how I remember it," said Saya. "I know I bitched all the way through but there was no-one – no-one – I would have preferred to have had there. And I remember you saving Saeko when she got shot, as well. How many times have you stitched up people around here from various wounds and things?"

"A couple, I suppose."

"How many?"

Miss Marikawa considered. "Maybe twenty-five, thirty," she said.

"And how many times have you given people medicine and treatment that they needed?"

"I … I don't know."

"Meaning too many to count."

"Maybe. But I just make it up, you know. I just do whatever looks like it might work. I'm not smart, Saya, not like you. I should just give it up. Stop trying to be something I'm not."

Saya walked over to her. Then she slapped her.

"Bullshit!" she said. "Snap out of it! You're needed! You're the one that holds it all together!"

"You don't understand!" cried Miss Marikawa. "He died because I didn't know how to save him! I tried and tried but I still lost him! I didn't know what to do! I'm just a school nurse, and I wasn't even a good one!"

"Whatever you were before doesn't matter," said Saya. "It's what you do now, today and tomorrow, that counts. And what you give people isn't just pills and bandages. What you give them is hope. The sense that there can be a decent future. The knowledge that we can all still care for each other. So you lost a patient. I'm sorry about that. But it doesn't change all the good you've done, and will keep doing."

There was a knock at the door of the room. It was Alice.

"Miss Marikawa," said Alice. "You have some visitors. Come outside."

Puzzled, Miss Marikawa and Saya followed Alice onto the porch.

There was a crowd of people in the front yard. They were from the surrounding farms and houses.

One woman stepped forward. Miss Marikawa remembered her: she had had an injured leg after a zombie encounter; it had required careful bandaging, some painkillers, and follow-up checks to ensure there was no infection.

"Takashi told us what happened, Miss Marikawa," said the woman. "We've come to tell you how important you are to all of us. You've helped every one of us at some time or another."

"Really?" said Miss Marikawa. "All of you?" She looked around at the people. Yes, she remembered each of them. Here was a broken arm that had to be set, there was a fever that had to be treated, an appendix that had to be removed, cuts that needed stitching, babies that needed to be delivered, pregnancies that had to be monitored.

Each of the people came forward. They shook her hand and spoke words of gratitude. Several children gave her flowers they had picked. Yushiro Irie was there as well. She looked at him; he gave a nod of thanks.

"I … I don't know what to say," said Miss Marikawa.

"Say that you will continue to be the doctor for our community," said the woman.

"I'm not a doctor," said Miss Marikawa. "I don't have a degree or anything."

"You have all the qualifications you need," said Saya.

Saeko, standing next to them, put her hand gently on Miss Marikawa's arm. "Shizuka," she said. "It is time, I think."

Miss Marikawa looked at her and nodded. Then she looked at the people standing before her. She wiped her eyes. "Thank you," she said. "I wish that right now I could speak to you, each of you. But I will just have to say that I will see you soon, on my rounds. Because, as it happens – " she glanced at Saeko " – I have work to do."

END

---

The Ohona Incident

Finding another group of survivors, Takashi and his friends encounter some old ghosts and some new dangers.

[Author's note: This story takes place about sixteen months after the group arrived at the Maresato farm.]

"Somehow, that just doesn't seem natural," said Takashi to Saeko. He was looking at Saya and Hirano, riding ahead of them on the motorbike – Saya on the front, Hirano on the back holding on tight.

Saeko, next to Takashi in the convertible, smiled her inscrutable smile. "They seem to be having a good time," she said. "Perhaps they are simply glad to get away from parental responsibilities for a little while. I don't mind it myself, and Grandmother Maresato loves to look after Nozomi and Rise."

"They're a strange pair, but they do seem to be pretty attached to each other," said Takashi. "Mind you, I'm pretty attached to you as well."

"And I suppose I do not mind your company," said Saeko. She looked at the map she held. "Ohona City is another two kilometres, so we should stop and scout."

Takashi sounded the horn. Saya stopped the bike and Takashi pulled up alongside. "Ohona City is just up ahead," said Takashi. "We haven't been there before, so we should take it easy."

"How big is Ohona?" said Hirano.

"According to the Tomo guidebook, it used to be about thirty thousand people," said Saeko. "Big enough for us to get some more supplies, and also big enough to have a zombie problem. And possibly survivors, as well. There's a cliff overlooking the city, not far from here. We should be able to see everything from there."

They found a road leading to the top of the cliff. There was a lookout platform located there.

Hirano held his telescopic sight to his eye. "There!" he said, pointing.

In the middle of the city was a store, two storeys, with a flat roof. There were human survivors, a dozen or so, in sight. In front of the building was a throng of zombies, maybe thirty.

"Damn," said Saya. "And I was hoping that this would be a nice quiet supply trip. Pick up some baby powder and chocolate."

"Chocolate would be very good," said Saeko, as she studied the scene with the binoculars. "Alcohol as well."

"Maybe we should think about helping those people first," said Takashi. "If we can see them, they can probably see us. But we need to get their attention."

"Hmm," said Saya. "Kohta, give me that telescopic sight." Hirano did so.

Saya angled the sight into the sun until it caught a flash. She kept flashing towards the people on the roof.

"They've seen it," said Saeko after a while. "They're waving."

A few minutes passed. Then one of the besieged survivors held up a large piece of cardboard with writing. How many of you?

Saya made four flashes.

Armed? One for yes, two for no.

Saya flashed once.

Fifteen of us. Some guns but low on ammo. Have vehicles but out of petrol.

Saeko surveyed the rest of the city. "There is a petrol station about five blocks away," she said. "Looks reasonably intact. Doesn't help them much being that far away, of course."

"Saeko, Saya, what are your feelings about the survivors?" said Takashi.

It was an important question. They had encountered survivors before who were almost as dangerous as zombies. Takashi did not want to lead his friends into danger, and then find that the people they rescued started to point guns at them.

Saeko considered. "There appears to be several family groups, parents and teenage children," she said. "Going on what they said about petrol, they probably do not come from Ohona. They were probably passing through when they got ambushed and trapped."

"I think they are telling the truth about being low on ammunition," added Saya. "They are picking their targets, which indicates that they are fairly experienced at staying alive and they are careful about resources. They're keeping the zombies at bay at the moment but once it gets dark they'll be in trouble."

Takashi nodded. "Do you think we can take that many zombies?" he said. "Or scare them off, at least."

"Well, we have the element of surprise," said Hirano. "That's been pretty important in the past few fights we've been in. The zombies might be getting smarter, but that means that they're getting more careful, so they'll probably retreat if we can hit them hard enough. Do a shock and awe thing."

"I agree," said Saeko.

"Your call, Takashi," said Saya.

Takashi took the binoculars from Saeko and studied the situation.

"Okay, then," he said at last. "Here's what we'll do."

---

Maseo Ohmae continued to study the spot on the cliff where the other survivors had been.

"Do you think they'll help us?" said his son Hayate.

"We can only hope," said Maseo. "I can't say that I like our chances at night." He had split the people he led into two groups: one was stationed on the ground-level floor, trying to keep the zombies away from the doors and windows; the other was on the roof, shooting at any target that presented itself. But ammunition was short.

Then, from one end of the street, behind the zombies, there was the throb of an engine. From the other end, there was a similar sound, higher-pitched.

---

"Ready?" said Takashi to Hirano, who was kneeling on the front seat of the convertible, his big gun resting on the top of the windshield.

"Just don't hit too many bumps," said Hirano. "This thing isn't exactly a Rat Patrol jeep. Hey, maybe we should put a gun mount onto it."

"Don't even think about doing anything like that to my car," said Takashi, laughing. "Hang on."

He put his foot down and the car zoomed along the street. As soon as the zombies came into sight, Hirano started to fire. Takashi took out his Mauser pistol and began to shoot as well, one-handed.

From the roof, Maseo and Hayate saw the convertible careening up the street. At the same time, from the other direction, a motorcycle roared into action. It carried two women, their long hair flying in the slipstream. The one in the front drew a heavy pistol from a shoulder holster. The one on the back carried a samurai sword.

Most of the zombies turned towards the convertible. Fuck, that guy can shoot, thought Maseo, as he watched zombies fall to the machine gun.

The motorbike ploughed into the throng from the other side, skidding to a halt and knocking several zombies down in the process. The woman on the back leaped off, slashing left and right with the sword. The other woman, still astride the bike, started to fire her pistol, taking out three of the undead before they could even turn around.

The convertible smashed through the crowd, running several more zombies over. It screeched to a stop next to the bike.

The zombies started to scatter, and run. Some of them reached the cover of buildings further along the street. Then they were gone.

The woman with the sword started to go after them but the man driving the convertible called her back.

"We don't know how many more there might be," Maseo heard him say. "Let's get these people to a safer location, and get our supplies."

Maseo turned to his son and the others on the roof. "Hayate, I guess that answers your question," he said.

---

Saya was counting the zombie bodies. "Twenty-two," she said. "Not bad, but it means there are enough left to be a problem. And of course there could be others."

"We put a scare into them, so we should be safe for a while, at least," said Hirano.

A heavy-set man came out of the store, leading a rather bedraggled group.

"Thank you very much for the rescue," he said to Takashi and the others. "I am Maseo Ohmae. This is my son, Hayate, and – " he pointed to a teenage girl, about fifteen – "this is my daughter, Kotone."

Takashi introduced himself and his friends.

"We have already met," said Hirano evenly, looking at Hayate. "We went to the same school, Fujimi."

"Oh, I remember you now," said Hayate.

"I went to Fujimi too," said Kotone. "I was in junior school when the Outbreak happened, and I suppose you guys were in the senior part."

"Saeko was in the senior part, Hirano and Saya and I were in the middle school," said Takashi. "It all seems like a very long time ago now."

Kotone was staring at Saeko. "You are the coolest person ever, with that sword," she said.

"Saya is way cooler than me," said Saeko. "Way. She can ride a motorbike, after all. And she has a Luger."

"Yes, that is pretty cool," Kotone agreed.

"Saya … Takagi?" said Hayate, looking at Saya. "The … Saya Takagi?"

"I … I suppose so," said Saya.

"We should be moving," said Takashi to Maseo. "You said that you had vehicles but they were out of petrol. There is a petrol station a kilometre or so up the road. I'll drive some of your people there and we'll bring some petrol back."

"We should find a place to stay the night," said Hirano. "There is a building a few blocks away which would be good. This one here is not very suitable for defence, too many glass windows. What sort of store is it, anyway?"

"It's a liquor store," said Maseo.

"Very good," said Saeko.

---

"For nine months or so after the Outbreak we stayed in an apartment block on the outskirts of Tokonosu," said Maseo to Takashi as they re-fueled the group's vehicles. "But eventually it just got too dangerous to go out to find food and water. So we left, looking for somewhere safer, a little town maybe. There were 32 of us at first, but we lost more than half over time, including my wife. If we stopped for more than a couple of weeks, the zombies would find us, one place after another."

"Yeah, they've got a lot smarter since the Outbreak," said Takashi. "There's a military facility called Kaga Base a few hundred kilometres south of here that provides decent security. I'll give you a map showing you how to get there. It's as safe as anywhere can be these days."

Hirano guided some of the members of Maseo's group to a sporting goods store. He found Kotone by his side as they collected ammunition.

"Did you say that you knew my brother in school?" she said.

"Yes," said Hirano.

"You were friends?"

"No."

"What then?"

Hirano sighed. "I don't know what you think of him," said Hirano. "And I don't know what he's like now. But back then he was something of a bully. In fact, he and his mates made my life hell. Every day for years. But it's a long time ago now, and a lot has happened since then."

"Oh," said Kotone. "Well, I know that Hayate isn't exactly the nicest fellow in the world, so I'm not really surprised to hear it. But he's good at killing zombies. He's killed 64."

"64, eh? Well, that's … good. 64 is good."

Kotone was quiet for a few moments. Then she said: "I'm sorry to hear that he caused you trouble. Is there something I can do to make up for it? And also to thank you for rescuing us today." She put her hand on his.

Hirano looked at her. She was, in fact, quite pretty. "Kotone, how old are you?" he said.

"Old enough," she said. "Dad says so."

"Hmm," said Hirano.

"So … is there anything I can do? Anything?"

"Yes, there is," said Hirano. He handed her a crate of bullets. "You can carry this."

---

It was night. Saya was on watch in the front room of the building that Hirano had chosen, standing by the window that looked into the street. She had her Luger but also carried Hirano's machine gun. The room was lit by an oil lantern.

Hayate came into the room.

"I thought everyone else was asleep," she said. "My shift does not end for an hour yet."

"Then we have an hour to get to know each other better," he said.

She looked at him. "Humph," she said.

"Oh, don't be like that," he said. "It's not every day that a guy gets the meet the Lady Saya Takagi, the wealthiest girl in the school and the sole heir to a vast empire."

"Which now counts for absolutely zero," she said.

"Huh," he said. "Still the rich bitch, eh?"

"You're half right," she said.

He smiled. "I'm sure I could make you a bit happier," he said. "Since we have an hour." He leaned close to her.

"You think so?" she said. "Let's see."

Suddenly, she grabbed him by the crotch – and squeezed. He gave a yelp of pain.

"Is that it?" she said. "Right there? I mean … is that … all? Because it's kind of … small. Nothing like what I'm used to." She gave another squeeze.

"Used to?" he gasped. "You mean … you have someone? But I thought that Takashi was with the girl with the sword."

"He is," said Saya. "My guy is Kohta."

"What, you mean Fatboy? But that … that just doesn't make any sense."

"He's more of a man than you'll ever be, asshole. In many ways. Especially the ways that are really important to a girl."

Finally, with a last squeeze, she let him go.

"You know," he said, "I could force you. Right here, right now."

"I doubt it."

In reply, he pulled a switchblade out of his pocket.

Saya laughed. "That's not a knife," she said. "This is a knife." She took her butterfly knife from her belt and, with a flick of her wrist, snapped the blade into position. She said: "I guess you just have a lot of small things."

He turned red. Then he walked stiffly to the door.

"One more thing," said Saya. "Kohta is not just the guy who keeps me warm at night. He is also the father of my child, our daughter. I love him. I always will."

---

It was the next morning, a beautiful day of blue sky and birdsong. Maseo's group had fuelled their vehicles – two trucks and a mini-bus – and were now loading the food and other supplies they had gathered from the town. Takashi had given Maseo a map showing the way to Kaga Base.

Hirano and Saya had collected some supplies and loaded them into the convertible. Now, they were in the liquor store where they had first encountered Maseo's party. Hirano had been telling Saya about his conversation with Kotone.

"So she hit on you?" said Saya. "Well, how about that."

"Oh, was that what it was?" he said. "It's never happened to me before, you see. I do not think that you climbing into my sleeping bag counts."

"It doesn't. Well, I got hit on too – by Hayate. More like attempted rape, really. I gave him a bit of a touch up where it did the most good." She started putting bottles into a carry-bag. Saki for Grandfather Maresato, whiskey for Saeko, and peppermint schnapps – a dangerous liquor – for Miss Marikawa.

"Huh. I'm not surprised. He was always a thug. Gave me a hard time back at Fujimi."

"Oh, he was that guy? Wish I'd known. Would have cut his little dick right off and stuffed it down his throat. Hey, there's still time."

"I think he's probably learned his lesson."

They went out to the street, where the motorbike was parked. They put the bottles into the saddlebags and got on.

"Wait a minute," said Hirano. "Do you hear … ?"

Saya listened. "No, I don't hear anything," she said.

"That's what I mean," said Hirano. "The birds have stopped."

---

" – the base is under the command of Major Arimake," Takashi was saying to Maseo. "Tough woman, but – "

Saeko was standing beside him. Softly, she said: "Takashi."

He glanced at her. "Where?" he whispered. He put his hand on his Mauser pistol.

"Everywhere," she said.

"Maseo," said Takashi. "Prepare yourself."

"For what?" said Maseo.

There was a sound – from above them. Two zombies came leaping off the roof of a nearby building, landing only a few metres away. More followed.

"Fuck, it's raining them!" cried Maseo.

At the same time, dozens more zombies burst from nearby buildings.

"Looks like they brought some friends," said Takashi, pulling out his gun and starting to shoot. "Maseo, get your people into your vehicles and get them moving. We'll try and cover you." Maseo nodded and ran off.

Saeko drew her sword and took out the two closest zombies. But even more were coming down.

Some of Maseo's people were already in the vehicles. The others drew their guns and started to shoot. But they had been taken by surprise, and several went down quickly.

They're smart, thought Takashi as he fired. Close in, our guns are not such a big advantage.

Takashi was trying to get to his car; his shotgun was in the back. Saeko was doing her best to clear a path but there was a lot of zombies, and they were coming from all directions.

Five zombies burst from a doorway. Takashi lifted his Mauser – but before he could fire one of the zombies leaped at him, knocking the gun out of his hand.

Uh-oh, thought Takashi.

And then there was an explosion of machine-gun fire. The zombies went down in a bloody pile.

"That'll be Hirano," said Takashi, as he retrieved his pistol.

"He's a handy guy," said Saeko, from behind him.

Saya brought the bike to a skidding stop and Hirano jumped off. He laid down a stream of covering fire so the rest of Maseo's people could get onto the vehicles. Takashi was able to get to his shotgun.

Saya, still on the bike, saw two people running towards them. It was Hayate and Kotone. They were heading towards the vehicles, but as Saya watched a group of zombies cut them off. Hayate and Kotone ran into an alley. It was a dead end.

"Goddamn it!" she said to herself. She could see that Hirano, Saeko and Takashi had their hands full. She gunned the bike and zoomed towards the alley, drawing her Luger.

Hayate and Kotone were at the back, trapped. A group of six zombies was advancing on them. Hayate had killed three others but now was out of bullets. He held his rifle by the barrel, to use it as a club. Kotone was unarmed.

Saya shot three of them from the bike, then turned and smashed into another one, throwing him into a wall. Then she was off and running towards Hayate and Kotone. She shot another one as she ran, and heard the Luger click on empty.

Hayate swung the rifle but the zombie caught it and tore it out of his grasp. With a vicious growl, the zombie reached out for them.

Saya, moving fast, threw the gun aside and took out her butterfly knife. She leaped onto the zombie's back and with a single motion slashed its throat, almost decapitating it. There was a splash of black blood, and the zombie went down, dead.

"Wow!" said Kotone. "Saeko was right about you being über-cool."

"Uh, thanks," said Hayate.

"I didn't do it for you, asshole," said Saya to him. She picked up her Luger and re-loaded.

The three of them ran out of the alley and back to the others. The zombies had started to retreat, leaving dozens of their number dead.

"Hello again, Saya," said Saeko, as she took the head off the last one confronting her.

Maseo came up to them. He hugged his son and daughter.

"You should get going," said Takashi. "Our friends might re-group and try again."

"Dad, my score is 67 now," said Hayate. "Pretty good, eh?"

"Heh," said Saeko. "67. Heh."

"But Hirano said that 64 was good," said Kotone.

"He was being kind," said Saeko.

"Well, how many have you killed?" said Hayate to Hirano.

"A … fair few," said Hirano.

"1,259," said Saya. "Counting today and yesterday but not including the group efforts and his explosive booby traps."

"How many?" said Hayate incredulously.

"1,259."

"Fuck me," said Hayate.

"I didn't know you were counting," said Hirano to Saya.

"Well, I have been," she said. "As for you, Hayate, I suggest that you get out of here, before I forget myself and slice something off that you are likely to miss."

Hayate looked at her, wondering if she was joking. Then he concluded that she probably wasn't. He headed quickly to the bus.

"Hirano," said Kotone. "Would you give me a kiss goodbye?"

Hirano looked at Saya. She shrugged.

" 'Fraid not," he said.

"I will," said Saeko. She swept Kotone into her arms and gave her a passionate kiss on the lips. When she let her go, Kotone staggered backwards. Then she went crimson. She turned and walked to the bus, a little shakily. Takashi gave a little laugh.

Maseo looked at the four of them. He shook his head. "You are a strange bunch," he said.

"You should meet the others," said Saya.

Maseo smiled. He walked to the bus, and the little convoy set off.

"Time for us to be moving, too," said Takashi.

Saya was looking at Saeko. She raised an eyebrow.

"Well, somebody had to," said Saeko.

END

---

Rei and the Very Big Ship

On an aerial reconnaissance mission, Rei and Benaro Tatagi find something different to what they had bargained for.

[Author's note: This story takes place about 21 months after the story The Promise. It takes place immediately before the story Dead and the Last Show, and the concluding section of this story acts as a prelude to that story.]

"You're getting good at this," said Benaro Tatagi. "You'd be almost ready for a pilot's licence, if there was still such a thing."

Rei did, indeed, seem pretty comfortable at the controls of the little plane.

"Takashi once told me that riding a motorcycle without a licence was the right of every high school student," she said. "I guess the same thing applies to a plane."

"Really?" said Benaro. "Of course, anyone can fly straight and level like this."

In response, Rei put the plane into a banking turn. As they approached Tokonosu City, she took the plane lower and swooped through a canyon of tall buildings.

"Very funny," said Benaro. "You know, I don't remember teaching you that."

"Hey, there's the hotel where we stayed for a while," she said, pointing. "What's left of it, anyway. Hirano blew up a chunk of it. And there's the park where we killed about a thousand zombies."

Benaro nodded. "And there's the bridge where I first saw you and took your picture," he said. He was inspecting the city with binoculars.

"See any of them?" said Rei.

"No, not one, which is a bit odd," he said. "When I've passed over here before I've seen at least a couple of dozen of them wandering around. Swing to starboard."

"Eh?" said Rei.

"Go left," said Benaro. "I see something off the coast."

They headed for it.

"Whoa," said Rei as they approached. "That's a very big ship."

It was an aircraft carrier. A tattered American flag hung from the mast. There was a name on the ship's side: USS FORRESTAL. It was drifting, and it looked as if it had been drifting for a long time.

Rei circled. There was no sign of life, although there were several planes and helicopters lashed down. There were letters painted roughly on the deck: HEL

"My English is not great but I assume that that was meant to say HELP," she said. "Looks like the writer got interrupted by … something."

"So there are probably zombies on board, but maybe also survivors," said Benaro. "Pity we can't do anything about it."

"We can land," said Rei. "It's an aircraft carrier, after all, and the deck looks clear enough."

"Uh, did I mention that there are probably zombies on board?" said Benaro.

"And also possibly survivors. If we can help them, we should."

Benaro looked at her. "You people are way too brave for us simple soldiers," he said. "But if we're going to land, then maybe I should do it."

Rei nodded, and they changed places. They circled again, and then Benaro brought the plane down. He taxied to the control tower and brought the plane to a halt. There was no sign of life.

"What are you carrying?" said Rei as they got out.

"Excuse me?"

"Guns."

"Oh. Well, I have my service pistol."

Rei sighed. She pulled out the duffle bag she had put in the back of the plane. She handed Benaro an automatic rifle and took out her Super Match, with extra clips. She took two grenades from the bag, putting one in her pocket and giving the other to Benaro. She had her usual Glock point-7 in the holster that she wore at the back of her belt.

There was a door, hanging open, in the control tower. They went in.

"Now what?" said Benaro. "We don't even know if there is still anyone alive."

"So we send a message," she said. "A warship is mainly steel, right? So … "

She started to bang on a steel pipe with her gun. Bom bom de bom bom.

"I know that tune," said Benaro. "It's, uh … "

" 'Shave and a Haircut'," said Rei. "And the last bit is two more bangs."

They waited. Nothing.

She banged again.

Nothing.

She banged again.

From somewhere in the ship, came: bom bom.

"Survivors. Or zombies with a taste for old jingles, which doesn't seem very likely," Rei said. "I think it came from the front of the ship, and a couple of decks down."

They started to make their way through the ship, along corridors lit by flickering fluorescent tubes. They started to come across the corpses of sailors, decomposing. There were also dead zombie bodies. It was not a pretty sight, especially in the half-light.

Occasionally, they stopped to send more signals, and the responses became louder.

Eventually, they came to a heavy bulkhead door. It was locked, with a series of levers and bars. There was someone on the other side, knocking out 'Shave and a Haircut' against it with a piece of metal. Rei banged twice on the door.

A muffled voice, American, came from the other side: "Identify yourself!"

"I'm Luke Skywalker and I'm here to rescue you!" shouted Rei.

There was a long pause. Then the voice said again: "What the fuck!"

"Tell us how to open this goddamn door!" shouted Rei.

Then there was another noise – from along the corridor, behind them. A rasping growl.

"Ben, I hope you know how to use that rifle," said Rei, hefting her Super Match. "Fire as soon as you see a target. None of that 'wait till you see the whites of their eyes' crap. Go for the head, and double tap if in doubt."

Four zombies, in bloody sailor uniforms, came charging out of the shadows at them.

Rei and Benaro fired together. In a few seconds, all four zombies were down. Rei checked the bodies, putting a bullet in the head of each. Making sure.

The voice came from the other side of the door: "Are you still alive?"

"And kicking zombie ass!" shouted Rei back.

The person on the other side started to give them instructions on how to open the door, which involved moving the restraining bars and turning the wheel in the middle first one way and then the other. It was slow going, especially as Rei's understanding of English was at the high-school level. Benaro could understand some of the language but could not speak much of it.

Finally, it opened. There were two sailors on the other side. "Damn, it's good to see some friendly faces," said one of them. "We've been stuck down here, and this fucking door was locked from that side."

"Hey, you're Japanese," said the other.

"Of course," said Rei. "Are there any more of you?"

"Ten of us left, all up," said one of the sailors. "We'll take you to the others."

---

The other survivors were astonished when Rei and Benaro walked into the mess room they were using as a base.

"I'm the ranking officer, Lieutenant Connell, although actually I'm a doctor," said an exhausted-looking middle-aged woman. "Are you from the Japanese military?"

"No, unless you count high school," said Rei. "My partner is with what's left of the JSDF Air Force, which isn't much."

"Can you tell us where we are?" said one of the sailors. "We've been trapped here for weeks. No, months."

"You are adrift off the west coast of Japan," said Rei.

"Fuck," said the sailor. "But Japan is still okay, right?"

"No," said Rei. "Japan is not okay. As far as we know, the population of Japan is no more than two thousand people. And a lot of zombies."

"I remember when the first man turned," said Connell, as they drank coffee at one of the mess tables. "He was brought to the infirmary in a coma. Then he suddenly woke up and bit two orderlies. We thought he'd gone crazy. We tried to restrain him but he broke out and attacked a couple more people. Then the two guys that he'd bit started biting others. Before we knew it, it was chaos. By the time we realised that you had to shoot them in the head to kill them, it was too late."

"Just a moment," said Rei. "How did the first one turn? If he was the first, then no-one could have bitten him."

"We asked the same question," said Connell. "When we still had communications with the US, I talked to other doctors about it. We wondered how the Outbreak could have happened more or less at the same time all around the world. The best guess we could come up with is that a small proportion of people, maybe one in a hundred thousand, turned without being bitten. So I guess we were just lucky to get one.

"There were plenty of theories about what triggered it, from solar flares to dormant genetic mutation to God getting pissed with us. Take your pick.

"We did tests on some zombies that were captured and on people who were bitten but nothing we found really helped us. Some people turned within twenty or thirty seconds of being bitten, some people took fifteen minutes or so. Once someone was bitten, there didn't seem to be any way to save them.

"There seems to be a virus of some kind involved, transmitted through saliva, like rabies. One thing we did discover is that the zombies don't actually need to eat people to survive. They seem to do it out of instinct rather than hunger. In fact, nothing seems to kill them except shooting them in the head or otherwise knocking their brains out."

"Fire is pretty effective," said Rei.

"Hmm," said Connell. "We didn't think of that. Not that we really had the opportunity. The zombies cut us off from the armoury. The only parts of the ship that we control at the moment are this mess hall, the kitchen and supply rooms next to it, the infirmary, and some staterooms and offices. And communications, not that there's anything left to communicate with. The last military signals we received, and the last media broadcasts we monitored, said that things had gone to hell pretty well everywhere, including home.

"In the first days after the Outbreak on the ship we thought we could control it. Fifteen hundred people on the ship, maybe twenty zombies, we had guns, how hard could it be. By the end of the first month, we had nine hundred people and there were four hundred zombies. Two months, and we'd lost control of a third of the ship, including the engines. By six months, there were more of them than there were of us. And the end of the first year, we started to think about barricading ourselves into secure parts of the ship, areas with supplies of food and water. But they kept coming – through air vents, maintenance shafts, anything. They even worked out how to unlock doors, except the double-bolt watertight hatches.

"They've slowly pushed us back to here, and we're all that's left. They mount an attack every few days, and they're wearing us down, bit by bit. We've killed a lot of them but we think that there are still three hundred or so. And now ammunition is a real problem. We're down to only a hundred rounds. We're expecting the next attack any time, and I'm not sure that we can hold them.

"That door you came through was a real problem for us, so thanks for opening it. At least we can get to the deck now. The only other way out of this area has been through the maintenance hangar, and that's full of them."

Rei nodded. "We think that they've evolved since the Outbreak," she said. "Getting smarter. More tactical. We've seen them make some pretty clever traps, and wait for the best moment to attack. They seem to be able to work together, too, and they can use simple weapons."

"Can you get off this ship?" said Benaro. "On the deck, we saw – " he made a circling motion in the air with his finger, not knowing the English word.

"You mean helicopters?" said Connell. "Unfortunately, none of us are pilots. Could you fly a chopper?"

Benaro shook his head. "And our plane is very small," he said.

"There's a sea-going launch," said one of the sailors who had first met Rei and Benaro, an ensign called Fraser. "Big enough to get us back to the States. It's at the stern. It's attached to the outer hull, and it can be lowered into the water using on-board pulleys. But of course we haven't been able to get to it."

"Can you reach it by going across the deck?" said Rei. "Climb down the outside of the ship, maybe?"

"Possibly," said Fraser. "If we had some ropes."

"There might be ropes on the helicopters on the deck," said Rei. "For lowering soldiers to fight on the ground."

"Very likely," said Connell. "This sounds like a plan."

"But the deck will be dangerous," said Rei. "Being in the open is asking for trouble if you have limited ammunition. Trust me, I've been there. What we need is a diversion to buy us some time. We need the zombies to think that everyone is still holed up here. That means making some noise." She considered the options. Then she said: "Show me where the zombies come from."

There was a wide corridor that led from the mess hall to the maintenance hangar. There was no door between the two but the humans had built a makeshift barricade at the mess hall entrance. According to Connell, this was where the zombies usually attacked. There was dried blood everywhere, but no bodies: after each attack, the human survivors collected the corpses and threw them overboard through a porthole – otherwise, the smell would have been intolerable.

At the moment, most of the zombies appeared to be congregated in the maintenance hangar. None of the survivors knew what they did there, and no-one wanted to go and find out.

Rei explained her plan. It involved, among other things, an office chair, tape, and several lengths of string.

---

Rei moved carefully and silently along the corridor. She reached the corner and looked around.

There were zombies, perhaps several hundred, in the enclosed hangar, some wandering slowly around and others merely standing still.

She hefted the Super Match. She looked back along the corridor to where part of the barricade had been removed, and Benaro and Connell were waiting. Benaro nodded: all ready.

"Here we go," said Rei to herself. She fired a burst directly into the crowd of zombies. Immediately, they turned and began to come at her. She fired another burst, taking down several. Then she turned and ran back towards the mess hall.

The zombies came boiling along the hallway. One of them triggered a tripwire, which pulled the pin from a grenade taped to the wall at head-height. Several zombies went down. The rest reached the barricade and began to tear it apart. The second grenade went off.

There was a burst of machine-gun fire, scything across the wave of zombies as they came through the door. But the zombies found no humans in the room: the gun, the automatic rifle that Rei had given to Benaro, was taped to an office chair on wheels, and it swung back and forth, attached to a series of strings that looped across the doorway.

And then the gun clicked on empty.

---

Connell led her people onto the open deck of the carrier.

"Whoa," she said, as she saw the nearby coastline of Japan. The current was carrying the Forrestal towards the beach: it would run aground soon.

Rei and Benaro, followed by the group of sailors, ran towards the nearest helicopter. There was a storage compartment on the craft, locked. Rei drew her Glock and blew it open.

"You're a handy person to have around," said Connell, as the sailors grabbed the ropes. "Will you be coming with us?"

"No, we've got our plane," said Rei, pointing to it.

"You weren't kidding when you said it was small," said Connell.

"Does the job," said Rei. "Do you have enough supplies to make it to America?"

"With what we brought from the kitchen and the supplies on the launch, we should make it," said Connell. "The launch is already fuelled, and it has a sail as well."

The sailors had already tied the ropes to brackets on the deck and were starting to climb down to the launch.

Benaro was in the plane, and had started the engine. He started to taxi to the end of the carrier deck, to gain enough room to take off.

Then a troop of zombies came up one of the stairways and started running across the deck at the group of humans.

Rei fired a burst at then, driving them back. She and Connell ran to the edge of the deck, to where the sailors were rappelling down. Rei kept up the covering fire but she knew that eventually the zombies would break through.

"This will have to be a short goodbye," said Connell. "Thanks for everything. I hope it works out for you."

"You too," said Rei. "Good luck."

They shook hands.

"Rei, come on!" called Benaro from the plane's cockpit.

Connell took hold of a rope and launched herself over the side. Rei ran for the plane. It was already moving when she jumped in.

Groups of zombies emerged from other parts of the deck and started to run towards the plane.

But Benaro was taxi-ing fast now. "Going to be close," he said. "Hold on."

Rei strapped herself in as the plane's wheels left the deck. One zombie ran forward and made a leap for the plane – and then turned into a red fountain as the propeller hit him.

And then they were through, and off.

They circled back, so they could see the launch hit the water and set off. They swooped low and Benaro dipped the wings. Connell gave a waving salute.

"I don't know what they're going back to, but I guess everyone needs to go home," said Rei.

Benaro turned the plane towards Tomo.

---

They had been flying for a while. Rei was surveying the ground below with the binoculars, her brow furrowed. She turned the binoculars to look ahead of them, and to the west.

"Holy shit," she said softly. "Ben, take us over there, and get lower."

"God," said Benaro, as he saw what Rei was looking at. "That can't be what I think it is … can it?"

Rei had taken out the digital camera and was snapping photographs.

It was a huge formation of zombies, an army of the undead on the move. They were heading towards Tomo, and towards the village of Sheroda, and towards the Maresato farm.

END

---

Fall

The end

[Author's Note: This story takes place within the last section of the story Dead and the Last Show; specifically, after Takashi Komuro is killed, and before the coda section sub-titled Z+1277.]

"Goddamn!" said Major Arimake, as the 50-calibre machine gun jammed. Five zombies were climbing onto the APC now; they were only a few metres away.

Then the heads of the two closest ones left their bodies in a gush of blood. The other three fell a moment later.

"Saeko!" said Arimake. "Thanks – "

But she stopped, and gasped, when she saw Saeko's face.

Saeko was in another world now, the universe of the sword. She would not be coming back.

She leapt off the APC and into the throng of zombies.

"My god … " said Arimake, watching her. Then she remembered: the 50-cal. She cleared the jam and started firing again. She tapped the intercom on her helmet. "All APCs form up on me!" she shouted. "Mow through, mow through! We've got to get to the volunteers on the right!"

---

It was a world of black blood and a roar like thunder. Slash, stab, this one, here, that one, kill the next one and plunge into another group of them –

---

Alice climbed onto one of the APCs. Her sniper rifle was empty but she had picked up a machine gun from a fallen soldier, and she was spraying a group of zombies with bullets. The soldier firing the APC gun shouted out to her: "Welcome aboard! Hey, you're just a kid!"

"Not really," said Alice. "You wouldn't happen to have any more clips for this, would you?"

---

Saya walked into the battle, firing her Luger, one shot after another. Now it was out of bullets. She reached into her pocket for another clip. There was a trio of zombies coming straight for her. No rush, she said to herself. Concentrate. Then the clip was in. Three more down.

She didn't even feel angry. Indeed, she felt immensely calm. She walked on.

---

The four APCs pulled into a line abreast. Their heavy guns were hammering and the soldiers – and Alice – clinging to their sides were firing as fast as they could.

"Forward!" shouted Arimake.

---

Smash this one, take this one's head, there are two on the right, slash and burn, burn, burn –

---

They're drawn to her, thought Arimake, as she watched Saeko tearing a swathe through the crowd of zombies. They want to kill these people. And now she has a reason to kill them as well. It's personal. To the death.

Saeko was now the focal point of the battle. Arimake watched as a group of zombies tried to leap onto her, and for a moment she disappeared beneath the crowd. Then they were thrown off, most of them in bloody pieces. The two swords were silver blurs, cutting through the mass of the undead.

---

Saya was knocked down by a zombie that had got behind her. He raised a club … and then was smashed aside. Miss Marikawa reared the horse, and then it stomped into the zombie on the ground. She wheeled Buttercup and charged into another group of them, shooting as she went.

Saya scrambled to her feet and lifted the Luger again.

---

She rammed the temple sword into the skull of a zombie; as it fell back the sword was pulled out of her hand. And then another zombie, wielding a jagged-edge bar, slashed her across the stomach. She decapitated the zombie with a single stroke of the Hokusawa blade, but she could feel the blood flowing from the wound. Not yet, she said to herself. Not yet.

---

The APCs were ploughing through the crowd. Arimake could see the civilian volunteers now, hacking away at the flank of the zombie army and doing pretty well, too. There seemed to be two older people, a man and woman armed with double-barrelled shotguns, in the middle, directing the fighting. The end of the line was anchored by a broad-shouldered man with a long-barrelled pistol and a machete.

And between the soldiers and the volunteers was Saeko, now standing atop of pile of zombie bodies. The zombies were trying to charge on her, and the more that came the more she killed. And their focus on her was leaving them exposed to the closing pincer.

Arimake started another belt on the 50-cal. "Form up and wheel right!" she shouted into the intercom.

Faced with so many enemies, the line of soldiers began to falter. Someone jumped from the next APC onto Arimake's vehicle. It was a young girl but she was firing a gun as if she had done it all her life. She shouted out to the soldiers: "We can take 'em!" The line responded, finding a new strength and surging forward again.

---

She had taken another wound, and then another, but she continued to fight even as she felt her life drifting from her.

For a moment, the crush of zombies fell back, as they prepared for another onslaught.

"Takashi," she breathed.

"I am here," he said. "Take my hand."

She did. The pain began to fall away.

"Time to go," he said.

"Will we be together?"

"Always, my love."

---

Saya saw Saeko fall. "Goodbye, my friend," she said softly.

---

"FORWARD!" roared Arimake.

Almost suddenly, the APCs were through to the volunteers. The zombie line fell back, wavered … and broke. They began to retreat … and then run.

The soldiers and the volunteers, linked together now into a single force, began to advance, firing as they went. They knew that they had to finish every last one of them.

And finally … finally … they did.

And then, as the echoes of battle died away, Miss Marikawa came walking out of the dust and smoke, carrying the body of Saeko Busujima in her arms, to lie it next to that of Takashi Komuro. It was over.

END

---

Seeds

The end of one thing is the beginning of another.

[Author's Note: This story takes place six years after the Outbreak and about four years after the Battle of Sheroda. It is the final, concluding part of the Darkpenn HOTD stories.]

Z + 2192

Alice looked around at her extended family and circle of friends, seated at long tables in the front yard of the Maresato farm. She wondered how she would break her decision to them.

There was Saya and Hirano, with their three childen: Nozomi, now almost six, Sachiko, and baby Isamu. Alice smiled when she remembered that Saya had told her that she wanted another two, at least.

There was Rei and Benaro, with their adopted child Rise, recently turned five, and their own two-year-old, Hotaru.

There was Miss Marikawa and her partner Shun Yamiashi. Miss Marikawa had recently announced that she was pregnant – the father being an old friend called Yuudai, apparently. Everyone (except Shun) had been surprised, and everyone had been pleased for her.

There were her grandparents, and Major Arimake, who was visiting from Kaga Base. And there were thirty or so people from the nearby farms and houses – including several of Alice's friends from school, and a surprising number of younger children. There were also faces that she recognised from the market days regularly held here at Maresato farm, and some from the barn raising that had taken place at the Badushi farm a few weeks ago.

Hirano, at the head of the table, rose to speak. The parents around the table signalled for their children to sit quietly and pay attention.

"Today," said Hirano, "marks six years since the Outbreak. It is in memory of all that has been lost that we mark this day. Many sacrifices have been made, although many battles have been won.

"But we are also here to point to the way forward. We are building, slowly but steadily, and in the past year I think we have passed the point of merely surviving and are now forging a new community. While everyone shares in this achievement, I believe there are two people who deserve special mention.

"The first is Saya – and I am not saying this just because she is my wife and my true love – who has not only devised solutions to critical problems – the saya-mills, the solar panels, and the irrigation system she has designed are only some – but as our schoolteacher is playing a crucial role in educating our next generation.

"The other is Miss Marikawa – and I know that calling her that might seem inappropriate but it is how I have always thought of her. As the community doctor – and as the person who has delivered every child here, including those of Saya and me – she has provided the sinews for our growth. And her recent news has made us all very happy for her.

"So I offer a toast. To Saya, to Miss Marikawa, and to the future."

Everyone applauded, and then drank the toast.

Then Hirano said: "And I believe that now Major Arimake has an announcement to make as well."

All eyes turned to Major Arimake, who rose in her place.

"I'm not a big one for speeches so I'll make it short," she said. "Bottom line: I'm stepping down as commander of Kaga Base. It doesn't need a military boss any more. I plan to throw away the uniform – what's left of it – and do something else, I don't know what, pottery maybe. I'll be there if the need ever arises, as many other people will be.

"But Kaga Base – I hope it will be known as Kaga Town from now on – will still need a leader. It has to be someone who is widely known and respected. So I have asked Rei if she will take the job, and she has agreed. I'll make the announcement to Kaga when I get back. Good luck, Rei."

There was a round of applause, for both Arimake and Rei.

Alice got to her feet. Everyone looked at her.

"I have something to say too," she said. "I … I'm leaving. I'm leaving Maresato farm.

"I've been thinking about it for a while. It's time. And I want to find out about the country beyond Tomo, and maybe the rest of the world. There's still a lot we don't know. I'm going to try and find out. And come back to tell you about it."

Everyone was silent. Then Hirano said: "We will miss you, Alice. But yes, it is time for you."

"Yes," said Grandmother Maresato. "It is."

---

It was the next day. Saya and Hirano were standing at the top of the hill. They had considered it important to tell Takashi and Saeko about Alice's decision. They said what they had come to say, and then stood in silence for a while, thinking about the past and the future. Hirano took Saya's hand.

They began to walk to the farm gate, where the group had gathered to farewell Alice.

"Somehow, this feels like an ending, watching Alice spread her wings to fly away," said Hirano.

"Had to happen, one way or another," said Saya. "I can't help but feel a bit sad about it. She has always been precious to us, but now she has to make her own way.

"You know, Kohta, you were right when you said that we passed a particular point this past year. We're no longer living off the bits and pieces of the old world. There's not that much left of it, anyway, pretty well everything that could be salvaged has been. Now we're creating something new, I think. Maybe this is part of that."

As they reached the group, they saw that Grandfather Maresato was handing something to Alice. It was a large wad of banknotes.

"What's this?" said Alice.

"Money," said Grandfather Maresato. "You can use it to start a fire. Or maybe you'll run into someone who still thinks it's valuable."

Alice looked a bit dubious about the concept but took it and stuffed it into her saddlebag, alongside things like a little tent, a hatchet and other tools, a flint, a small pair of binoculars, and a supply of food and water.

Miss Marikawa handed her a cloth bag. "Here are some medicinal herbs, and some antibiotics, although they're pretty old so I can't guarantee their effectiveness," she said. "And … something else as well. Just in case."

Alice, puzzled, looked into the bag. She gave a little laugh and pulled something out. It was a strip of condoms.

"Really?" she said to Miss Marikawa.

"Hey, those might be the last ones left in the world," said Miss Marikawa.

"Have you given your horse a name?" said Saya, patting the animal on the flank.

"Riku," said Alice.

"Ah, that's good," said Rei. "Land."

"I still think you should take one of the bikes," said Saya.

"Bikes need petrol, and there can't be much left," said Alice. "Riku can eat grass and can carry more than a bike."

"Have you got your crossbow?" said Hirano.

"Yes, and Rei has given me her Glock," said Alice. "Let's hope it's not going to be needed. But good to know it's there."

"And the seeds?" said Hirano.

Alice nodded. Hirano had given her a bag of various types of seeds from the farm: vegetables, fruit, sunflowers, corn, even rice. Alice was not sure what she might use them for – trading, perhaps, or as goodwill gifts – but it seemed like the sort of thing that might be useful.

"My husband the farmer," said Saya. "Oh, my pounding heart."

"He is a very good farmer," said Grandfather Maresato. "Alice, please come back to us one day. Before too long."

"I will, Grandfather," said Alice.

She gave each of them a hug, including Zeke, who wagged his tail sadly. She stepped back, and looked at Hirano, Saya, Rei and Miss Marikawa, standing together. "What a long and strange story it has been for us," she said.

"With much lost and much gained," said Hirano.

"It has been a story about how you find out who you really are," said Miss Marikawa.

"And about how people become a family," said Rei.

"But most of all, it has been a story about love," said Saya.

Alice nodded. She wiped her eyes. Without another word, she mounted her horse and rode down the track. The others watched her until she disappeared over the far horizon.

"What do you think she will find?" said Hirano.

Saya considered. "At the end of the road," she said, "I think she will find herself. As we all have."

"Amen," said Rei.

END AND AMEN

---

[Post-script: What happens after]

Saya and Hirano eventually have five children. They remain at Maresato farm, which in time grows into the centre of the Tomo community. Saya divides her energies between her family, her schoolhouse, and her love of finding solutions to problems that no-one else can. Hirano never again picked up a gun after the Battle of Sheroda, a point of which he was proud. He becomes known as a mentor and adviser in the community.

Rei becomes a popular (and later elected) and effective leader of Kaga. She and Benaro continue to fly the little plane as often as possible, and she returns to Maresato whenever her duties allow. She and Benaro have several more children after Hotaru, although Rei once tells her husband that Rise will always have a special place in her heart.

Miss Marikawa gives birth to a boy, Kazuki, and maintains a life-long friendship with Yuudai. She and Shun foster numerous children without parents, and Shun eventually joins Saya as a teacher at the school. Miss Marikawa, aside from continuing her regular doctor's rounds of the community, establishes a clinic at Maresato and develops her expertise in herbal and natural remedies.

Grandfather and Grandmother Maresato live into ripe old age, happily surrounded by those they think of as their children and grandchildren. They die, eventually, within a few days of each other, and as per their request they are cremated and their ashes are scattered in the fields they loved.

Takashi and Saeko are never forgotten. Their story is told and re-told, and eventually becomes the stuff of legend. Many years later, Saya reveals that the Hokusawa blade had been buried with its one true owner.

And Alice? Well, that is a story for another time.