He secured all his blades where he could easily reach them. A total of 12 each, and more that he carried with him in a light backpack. Some of them were different lengths, sizes, and types of blades, but Izaya was skilled with them all.
Kadota was the only one he trusted with a guns, generously supplied by Shiki. Even with the suppressors on, they were only to use guns in dangerous emergencies.
Erika was ready with a few, safely stored, Molotovs and some homemade bombs. The bombs, much like the guns were only for emergencies. The smoke bombs were silent and used for cover. For a close range she usally carried around an old cosplay sword. The thing was useless at first but after sharpening it, it was lethal. And Erika really knew her way around the sword.
Togusa always carried around a different weapon. He'd switch off every once in a while. Either a crowbar, a barbed baseball bat, hatchets, other dangerous garden tools, and he even managed to find a police baton somewhere. Between him, Kadota, and Izaya they would take on the LDs.
Izaya felt as though it had to do with chivalry or something. The three men usually did the dirty work. They protected her, not because she couldn't handle herself, oh no. Erika was a very capable fighter. Cold, calculating, and ruthless. They all had to admit that it was scary. When she got like that, it was usually hard to calm her down. She'd fight with a completely blank expression. When they were out there, everything else disappeared. She focused on her targets and took them out in one swing. She never looked back.
The unfortunate thing was that it always took its toll on her. They could all see it. Whenever they got back from these trips she would seclude herself for days. They used to leave food out for her but when she never ate it, they had to stop. It was a waste and they couldn't afford it.
They had their own dress code, as requested by Izaya. Dark clothes, since they stuck to the shadows. Not thought of as the best idea, but it served them well if they ever had to go out at night, which was incredibly rare. They've only gone out at night, once and they had the van that time. LDs tended to be in wide clear spaces during the day so it was easy to take the back alleys with their dark clothing. Some lurked around in the back alleys, but those came in few numbers and were easy to take out. Gloves were essential as well. Thick ones. They didn't have much knowledge of how the virus spread other than bites or scratches. They didn't want to risk getting blood on their skin, and that risk was increased when all their weapons were hand held.
"We leave at 11. Should take us about half an hour to get there." He checked the current time. 10:47. His nerves were starting to act up. He really didn't know how those three could do this most of the time, even with an armored van. "Where the hell is Namie?" She was supposed to be up this early. When Izaya wasn't here, she was in charge of monitoring the cameras and reporting any abnormalities. She hasn't been over here and Togusa had already went to knock at her door. No answer. Izaya didn't see her on the cameras so she was probably hiding in her apartment contacting her 'friends,' when she should be here!
A strong hand was placed on his shoulder, giving him a reassuring squeeze. "We'll be alright Izaya. And Shinra's still here too. This place is good."
"I know that. But she should know her job by now." He grumbled. It got annoying after a while. They all had a job to do and she did contribute, but she wasn't very timely about it. It's not like they could wait for her all day.
Kadota gave him a firm pat on the shoulder before stepping back. "Don't worry. I know it's a little nerve wracking. Just stick close, you can handle yourself well enough."
"Izaya, she's coming, but she's not in a very good mood." They all turned towards Togusa who had just walked in.
"Thanks. We'll be leaving soon anyway, so we won't have to deal with it."
Namie came back in, sloppily dressed with her hair tied up in a ponytail. She looked pretty pissed about being woken up but Izaya didn't feel sorry for her. It's not like she worked during the day. All she ever did was lay around doing nothing and sometimes help out Shinra in their makeshift lab.
The lab was a few floors down to give them all the space they needed and they were even able to use the lower level basement for testing. Kadota usually went down there with them too, for security, since the lower levels were directly below the parking garage. They only exited the building from the parking garage since the front door was thoroughly barricaded.
Shinra and Namie had tons of medical supplies, but a majority of the supplies were kept safe, far away from their testing. After all, they all needed the supplies more than their test subjects did.
"I don't have to tell you what needs to be done Namie, just do it. Kadota, lead the way."
Izaya remembered when he used to love going out for some fresh air. Nowadays he almost wished that he could somehow defy his need for oxygen. They once feared that the virus was airborne but it was soon discovered that the air was clean enough. That didn't stop the fowl stench of rotting corpses from spreading though. The smell lingered in the air and when it rained, it only got worse. The smell of blood and flesh would emanate from the ground the next day. He missed that earthy scent from the rain.
Luckily there were not many LDs shuffling around the garage. Kadota took them out and Togusa had to finish the job for the one that kept crawling towards them. Silence was key. Noise was to be kept to a minimum. Even talking in a normal voice was dangerous. Since they always walked so close together, it was okay to whisper. They had to keep their voices low because LDs seemed to easily pick up on language. In the city, LDs were everywhere and anywhere. They popped up at random places, which is why they kept their tight knit formation. They only separated to check around street corners and alleyways. With such a big population in Shinjuku, there could be an entire hoard of LDs waiting for them just around the corner. They were nearly overwhelmed one time. The only reason they got away was because Togusa came rushing in with the van.
In this new world, they had to learn from their mistakes and fast. They couldn't afford to make much error. One wrong move and they were dead.
Kadota stopped at the corner, his back glued to the wall. "Stay close. Weapons ready." They followed his orders, fixing their stances and slowly following along. The leader snuck a peek around the corner and flashed them his hand. Five. He pointed two fingers in our direction. That was the signal for just Togusa. Izaya would stay with Erika and they would keep a lookout.
The two went into the alley and Izaya flinched at the sound of bodies dropping. He didn't like any of this, but it was something he just had to deal with. He hated everything about them. The way they limped around, the hissing, gurgling noises they made, their filthy emaciated bodies, the smell, everything. It wasn't often he caught a glimpse of one in person. He shuddered. He's killed plenty of them, nowhere near as much as Kadota and Togusa. They usually did all the dirty work.
He looked over when he felt a tap on his shoulder. "What is it?"
Erika was pointing to a few other LDs coming towards them. Not many, but he could handle them. Taking in a few deep breaths, he pulled out a Kaiken. "Stay here." He was afraid to leave her, but if worse came to worse, she could handle herself. As soon as he stepped out, the saw him. Their pace quickened, scrambling to get to him, even though it didn't make them that much faster. He kept his defensive stance all the while facing the blade towards them. One of them snarled at him and swung it's boney hand. He dodged the pathetic attack and with one swift motion, stabbed the knife through its head. Their blood wasn't even red anymore, more like a dark brown. It was disgusting. He attacked the others, bringing them down just like the first. The last one snuck up on him but a katana went straight through its head right before it could touch him. It's body slumped to the ground, revealing Erika behind it. Her eyes were wild, but empty. She clutched onto the handle of the sword with two shaking hands. Her shoulders were tense, as if she was expecting something to happen.
Kadota and Togusa came out of the alleyway, watching the scene before them. Izaya slowly stepped closer to the girl. He held the knife loosely in his hand and he raised them both in the air to show that he wouldn't harm her. "Erika, it's okay now. We have a mission to get done. Let's go."
"Erika." Kadota put a hand on her shoulder. She flinched and turned on him, but she relaxed when she saw it was him. Kadota had a calming effect on her, and it saved them most of the time. If she wasn't stopped, she'd run off looking for more to kill. "Erika, let's go."
She nodded, putting her sword down. They continued on, for about half an hour. There were more LDs along the way but they avoided them as best as they could. Izaya kept an eye on Erika the whole time. He thanked her for saving him back there and she simply nodded as a reply.
Izaya spotted the armored cars up ahead and they ran the rest of the way. Men in suits stepped out and walked towards them. Shiki was among them and stepped forward. "Orihara, what did I tell you about making me wait?"
"My apologies Shiki-san, but we're early." Izaya glanced down at his watch. A few minutes early, but still early. When it came to deals with Shiki, Izaya did all the talking. He was better with his words and he knew the yakuza leader on a personal level.
"I remember telling you not to make me wait. So you're late." Shiki's expression was stern. He didn't like being out here and wasting his own gasoline either. With his finger, he motioned for Izaya to come closer. The smaller raven went as he was ordered, yes ordered. He knew what was to come. "Big Boss doesn't have time for these kinds of things anymore. So you're going to have to give us something as a trade. Since it doesn't look like you have anything now, you know what I have to do. No hard feelings Izaya."
Izaya saw it coming but if he so much as flinched, he would be worse off. One swift punch from Shiki was all it took to go plummeting face first onto the ground. The other yakuza joined in on the assault. They kicked him until he was a bloody, swollen mess.
Kadota wanted to do something, but against this many armed men, they didn't stand a chance. Togusa was tense as well, and Erika wasn't looking. They couldn't do anything but let it happen.
After a few minutes, Shiki raised his hand as a signal to stop. He grabbed Izaya by the collar and shoved him onto the hood of a car. He pulled out his own knife and rolled up the back of Izaya's shirt. "Don't worry, this knife is clean." He carved in a long, jagged tally mark. Izaya bit his lip, holding back the pained cry threatening to escape his lips. He was not going to show weakness in front of these people. Izaya Orihara is not supposed to show weakness.
"That's one. Now go, get out of here. Next time you radio in, have something useful for me." Shiki shoved him back towards his group. Kadota went to retrieve the small container of gas before helping Izaya back up. The ex-informant brushed him off. He didn't need help and he didn't need to make himself look more pathetic then he already felt. He got off the ground and stood on wobbly legs. When he was okay he walked on ahead, the rest of their group followed. He wanted to get back home.
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"I'll give you credit for this one. Kadota said you didn't budge." Shinra applied a topical anesthetic to the surface near the wound. Izaya winced at the contact, but quickly regained his composure.
"If I would have let the pain show on my face that would have just give them the satisfaction they wanted." Shiki wasn't a bad guy, he was just following orders above him. That was understandable. They still followed the hierarchy within the yakuza because of respect. Even though the world has gone to crap, maintaining that order kept them organized and made them powerful.
The doctor frowned at his response, "I don't think you should contact him anymore. We have nothing to trade so there's no point."
"Shinra he's the only one that goes out far enough to find gas. It might not be a big necessity but it's something we should have in case. If we ever have to leave, then we'll need it."
"That's 'if' we need to leave. I don't think we'll ever have to. It's safe here, we have plenty of food and water, and enough room for everyone to live comfortably. The only reason we need fuel is for Kadota to go out and find anything that's useful. I hate to break it to you Izaya, but there's not much out there. Everything disappeared as soon as this mess started." The looters took anything they could get their hands on. Stores, homes, building, everything was emptied out within hours. It worked to their advantage since everyone was so busy grabbing things, they didn't do a good job of protecting themselves from the LDs. "Feel anything?" He asked, poking the skin right by the wound.
"No. And there are plenty of supplies and resources out there, you just need to look in the right places."
Shinra stitched him up, wondering why it was just one line. Izaya told him it was to mark his mistake, but he couldn't be sure if that was really it. Shiki was a very confusing man. One minute he would be buddy buddy with Izaya and the next he does this!
"Are you sure about that?"
Izaya rolled his eyes. "Yes I am. I actually decided that we would go out tomorrow to look for more. They didn't find much yesterday but some scrap for the van, spark plugs, and a whole bunch of other stuff that Saitou could probably use."
He finished stitching up the cut and sprayed some antiseptic . "Sit up. So what could you possibly be looking for now?"
Following the doctor's orders, Izaya pushed himself up into a sitting position. "Nothing in particular, whatever we can find really."
"Are you going to take the van?" Shinra pulled out a small roll of gauze bandages and began wrapping them around Izaya's midsection.
"No, we still have to conserve gasoline. I have to find something good to trade with Shiki-san so we have more. I think it's better to save it now so we have plenty when we need it." He wasn't going to make the same mistake as today. And Shiki would not be impressed with any old thing, so it would have to be good.
The doctor cut the small piece and secured it so the rest of the bandages wouldn't slip off. "Did you already tell them?"
"No, I was going to after you finished patching me up."
"Is it too tight?"
Izaya gave it a second before shaking his head. "Thanks."
"No prob, and don't let Shiki do this again." He gave Izaya his shirt back to put on. "It's dangerous you know."
The raven slipped his shirt back on and hopped off the table, grabbing his jacket as well. "I know, but I won't let myself get infected so easily."
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"I don't know Izaya. We just went out today and it didn't turn out so great." Kadota didn't mean to bring it up since Izaya probably felt humiliated by what Shiki did to him and in front of all of them.
Izaya didn't want that thrown back in his face. It was too soon. "Well we're not going to meet up with Shiki, we're just going out to see what else we can find besides parts for the van."
"And you don't want to take the van?"
"No, it would be a waste to use up the remaining fuel we have. If we get something valuable to trade with Shiki he'll continue giving us our ration of gasoline. We'll store every gallon we get and when we have plenty, then you can use it. It's better to save for now."
Kadota thought about it. They did need gas if they ever wanted to drive somewhere. Walking around the city was very dangerous, but they knew the streets around here, they could manage. Togusa wouldn't really mind going but Erika wouldn't like it. He could try and talk her into it, but right now he wasn't sure she would agree.
"I'll have to ask Erika for now."
"She doesn't have to go if she doesn't want to."
Kadota shot him a glare, "You know she won't let us go without her."
That was actually something he was counting on. She wouldn't let Kadota and Togusa leave without taking her along too. They were together all the time and that started about a year and a half ago. It was a weakness of hers that he used to his advantage, but if it offered any consolation he would be going too. "Look, we really need this. We'll make the trips minimal and space them out to give us time to rest up. It's just to stock up on gas, but we can't do that if we don't give Shiki what he wants."
Izaya could be a cold bastard sometimes, but he was the leader and Kadota had to respect that. He wasn't much of the leader type, no matter what people thought. He was more of a follower who sticks with doing the right thing, which was why he left the Blue Squares so long ago.
He didn't always agree with Izaya's leadership but it's helped them survive this long and he owed Izaya a lot for letting them stay here with as much resources as he had. In the end he wasn't really sure if they were all just using each other to survive or if they were really sticking together as 'friends' to stay strong and pull through. No one really socialized around here. Shinra was usually by himself ever since Celty left, Namie never came out of her apartment, Erika didn't talk, and Togusa would sometimes hang out with him but it was usually awkward and quiet! And Izaya, well he was probably the loneliest of the bunch. He didn't have anyone, not Namie, not Shinra, not even them. He had no one. It was actually sad and maybe also another reason Kadota stayed against better judgement. He remembered the first time he saw Izaya breakdown. He was like a scared little animal and the sight was so unnatural that it was enough to make Kadota stay. Not that it really was any different now, they still didn't really talk, but he knew that just being here put the raven at ease.
He sighed, "Alright, but for every nightmare she has, it's going to be your ass I beat to the ground."
"Fine."
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They were awakened by more gunshots. The only reason they noticed them were because they sounded much too close for comfort.
Erika's eyes shot open as she suddenly had trouble keeping her breath even. She hated guns, the sound of bullets being fired always made her sick to her stomach. She hesitantly got out of bed and walked towards the window to see if she could spot any activity this late at night.
It was too dark to tell from here, but as usual she could see the filthy creatures lurking around down there. There were so many in the city. Sometimes she wondered if they would ever leave Tokyo, go somewhere much more secluded. They were safe here, but she hated seeing them all the time. She wanted them all to die and if she could, she would burn down the whole city. Maybe the world.
She could see a figure in the dark, it was going faster than most LDs could. Must be a live one. She didn't see many of them often, but it's not as if there was something she could for them. Izaya's word was final, no one is allowed in without his permission and no one was to know of their location. The last time they let a stranger inside it didn't end well. Saitou and Shiki-san were the only ones who were supposed to know where they were.
Another shot fired.
Whoever this was, had to be pretty stupid to fire rounds in the city. Too dangerous, just because the stupid beasts are slow doesn't mean they don't stand a threat. They had numbers on their side and that was enough to overwhelm anyone. It was too bad, maybe they actually could have helped this guy.
She watched as a dark hoard closed in on him but then this person did something that she least expected. They charged straight through the crowd of monsters and as soon as they were free, they ran. Now she knew that this person had to be a complete idiot. No one should ever risk charging through a hoard of LDs. A single scratch would be the end of you. Those things reach out and claw at you until they have you in their clutches. That person probably had a few scratches from doing that, meaning they were already dead, just like…
Erika shuffled back into bed, flinching every time she heard another gunshot. That poor person was still fighting to stay alive even after they were already dead.
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Kadota was listening intently to the sound of the gun. Each had their own distinct sound, even if others couldn't pick up on it. This one was a small hand gun, and it sounded like the ones law enforcements used. So it was probably a Glock 19. 9mm. Whoever was firing the shots picked this gun up from a police officer and by the number of shots he's heard so far, they didn't have many left. It could only shout 15 rounds at a time and this person was wasting them like there was no tomorrow, which probably fit right about now. They probably wouldn't see tomorrow.
He felt bad that this person was most likely going to die, but that was how life was nowadays. Hopefully they would survive and hopefully they would find a safe place to stay. But who knew how long that would last until he went hungry or he made a fatal mistake? In their case, not long. He would just have to lay back and let it happen.
Even if he wanted to help the guy he would have to wake up Izaya and tell him, and from past experiences, Izaya would not want to help. Other than that, who would want to go out in the middle of the night and risk being eaten alive? Definitely not him, but he still wanted to help that guy. Things have changed and he just couldn't afford to be making stupid impulsive decisions. He had to look out for everyone here. Izaya might act like he was strong but he was probably the weakest link. Putting on a mask to keep his true feelings hidden. If he kept holding things in, one day he would just lose it and he wouldn't know how to handle that.
When the bullets stopped he assumed the person ran out of ammo. They probably wouldn't make it long enough to see morning. That's just how life was now.
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Izaya stayed in bed, holding the pillow over his ears, trying his hardest to just block out the sound. It wasn't working. The city was so quiet now and a noise as loud as a gunshot could be heard from miles away. He hated it, but sleeping was never a better option. He couldn't stand dreaming and then waking up to this again. He couldn't stand any of this.
He was so relieved when it was quiet again. He sniffled, wiping away the tears. Crying had become an ugly habit for him. It was something he tried to avoid but sometimes the feeling was just too overwhelming. Sometimes he would wake up and realize that he passed out from so much distress. He couldn't handle it no matter how much he built himself up every day.
Shinra knew and he worried about it, but Izaya kept as much to himself as possible. He hated to admit it, but he hated loneliness. He hated it so much. Everyone had someone here, even Namie. She had her own communications with people from Nebula. They were still around but they didn't tell her where and so she was stuck here with them. Izaya had no one. No one trusted him and they all hated the way he ran things, despite it being efficient. He would never let it get to him, but now it was different. He was a lonely man and he just wanted someone he could be close with.
Loneliness. He hated it because it just proved how human he really was. Humans are social creatures who need other humans in their lives. He was no exception to that. He needed someone because these humans didn't want him.
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I know this is a few months late, but...
SURVIVING WINS!
This one received the most votes on Archive and after this fic is over (which might not be for a while) the next one I will be continuing will be "How to Train a Vampire" then "Forever" and then "What Happened?"
As promised this chapter is longer and I don't have a set schedule so I will just cross my fingers and hope that you guys will follow me until the end! Another reason I don't have a schedule is because I will be starting college in the fall and then off job hunting so I realize it might not be the ideal time, but I will get them up as soon as I can!
Sorry for spelling mistakes and grammatical errors. I hardly have time as it is so it's hard to reread through it and look for things, but if you see anything don't hesitate to point it out! If it gets really bad and you think it's a problem let me know and I will put tons more effort into checking for errors. Sorry I'm just sooo lazy!
And now I just want to thank you all who voted, all who are currently reading/following/etc. I want to thank all those who stumbled upon this recently and those who have patiently waited for the next chapter! I wanna thank all my future readers and anyone else who I might have unfortunately missed...THANK YOU ALL!
-Somniare28