After the guys got their full nights rest, except for the blue eyed man, they packed up their gear and drove off. They ate the expired cereal as they traveled to the supermarket across town. Car rides to their destinations often start with a game of Would You Rather, I spy, or even 20 Questions. As the boys were close to guessing if Makoto was some type of candy or dessert, they arrived to their destination.
Rei turned the car around and backed the van precisely in front of the store in the empty parking lot, so they could manage to transport the goods easily and efficiently. Haruka and Makoto got out first. They cupped their hands around their eyes as though they were binoculars, pressed the side of their hands against the dusty window and surveyed the store for any signs that there might be traces of the living dead. Once the coast was clear, they beckoned their friends over. Rin knocked on the glass door and waited, with his shotgun pointed at the door. When nothing happened, he pulled the glass door open and entered the store. Inside, they saw that the store was relatively tidy, with the exception of a few bags of chips on the floor, some shotgun shells and large puddles of dried blood. From the looks of the blankets laid out and small stock pile by the coolers, it seemed that a group claimed the store as their camp. On the other hand, the large amount of blood on the floor meant that it's most likely vacant.
Makoto's attention was caught by a slightly open white door that he thought was the storage room. He pulled on Haruka's black sleeve and asked, "I think that's the storage room over there. Wanna check it out with me?"
"Sure," he replied in his usual, monotone voice. Haruka opened the door of the storage room, flicked the light switch up, and entered first as Makoto waited outside. After a few moments of stealthy maneuvering, he called Makoto in when things were clear. Inside the storage room were loads of candy, large cans of food, bulks of bottled water and even some guns. Makoto's face was plastered with a big smile and Haruka was wide eyed by the amount of supplies in the room. They thought the supplies could last their group a good couple weeks without needing to travel for a while.
Rei scanned the gum packs near the window until he was startled by two zombies that slammed their faces against the window in front of him. As Rei let out a feminine scream, he receded and tripped over a can of corn. He fell back onto a rack of chips, to which the chip bags fell onto him.
Nagisa couldn't help but let out a loud laugh. He held onto his stomach and rolled on the floor while he chuckled, "Oh my god Rei! What kind of scream was that?!"
"This is not funny Nagisa! There are zombies outside!" He exclaimed as he removed the chips off his body.
Nagisa managed to get back up and wiped a tear from the side of his eye. "Don't worry. I'll take care of it.," he smiled as he grabbed an icepick from the shelf. The blond walked out the door, without catching the attention of the zombies, and stabbed them one by one in the head with the icepick.
"What happened?! Is everyone alright?!" Makoto asked frantically as he rushed out of the storage room.
"Don't fret Makoto. Everyone is alri-." As Rei got up, he felt some suspicious, chalky substance on his hands. He looked at his hands and his jaw dropped. "M-M-My hands. T-There's b-blood on them. T-T-T-his is not b-beautiful at all," he stuttered as he starred at his bloody hands.
Makoto sensed Rei's distress. He walked over, handed him a clean tissue, received a "thank you" and walked back in the storage room. Once Rei scrubbed off the blood, he adjusted his red spectacles and got back up.
Rin was in awe at Nagisa's zombie killing capability for a moment, but he continued on with his business. He scanned through the candy and magazine isle when he spotted some magazines that he thought he and his friends would be interested in. A grin strapped onto his face as he stuffed them into his backpack. He also grabbed some chocolate Kit-Kat's® and a few boxes of strawberry Pocky® for his sister before he was called outside by Rei.
Rin, Nagisa and Rei stood in front of an escape ladder on the side of the concrete building. "Since you both have the sharpest eyesight and shooting skills, you two should go up on the roof and stake out up there in case any other zombies come," he instructed. "Haruka, Makoto and I will continue to stock up. If anything happens, whistle." He glanced at Nagisa and stated, "And please don't play around. Especially you Nagisa."
Nagisa saluted and said, "Okie dokie artichokie." When Rei began to walk back to the store, he leaned close to the redheads ear and whispered, "Hey Rin! I bet I can shoot the most zombies!"
Rei's keen hearing picked up on Nagisa's voice. He came back and ranted, "What did I just say Nagisa?! Do not play around! This is serious!"
"Please don't play around. Especially you Nagisa," he restated in his imitation voice for Rei that was spot on. "I know what you said. But this is a contest. And it involves taking down zombies." He explained. "And its obvious I'm gonna take down more anyway."
Before Rei could say anything else, Rin boasted, "Pft. As if! I have the highest record for most zombies taken down. I'm 200% sure I'll take down more zombies than you."
Nagisa smirked as he climbed up the escape ladder, "Well we'll see about that now won't we!"
Rin balled a fist in the air and shouted, "I won't lose to you Happy Feet!" He traded his shotgun for the long range rifle and a silencer that Rei carried. He rested the strap on his right shoulder and climbed up the escape ladder.
Rei sighed and came back inside the store, feeling defeated.
As Rin and Nagisa patrolled the roof top, the three filled their camping backpacks with a few cords of sturdy rope, batteries, some goodies for them, random array's of canned and packaged food and other assortments. The larger, bulkier items were placed in the trunk, like large canned produce, guns and shells. Rei checked things off from the list as the supplies were being loaded.
While Makoto was loading the boxes in the trunk, he saw Haruka with pink tint's on his cheeks and sweat forming. Haru placed the large box on the bench so he could catch his breath. He sat on the bench and leaned his head back to rest. Once Makoto placed the box in the van, he walked toward his breathless friend. He handed Haruka a water bottle, picked up the box and intended to go to the van, but was interrupted.
"I was just taking a short break," Haruka defended. "I'll load it later."
Makoto gave one of his signature, soft smiles. "Don't worry about me. I like manual labor." He then proceeded toward the van, "You look like you need your re-."
They heard a shot.
Rin attached the silencer to the nozzle of the gun and aimed it the zombies obscure cranium. Through the scope, he observed the zombies horrendous facial features. It's jaw hung from only a few strands of tissue and its skull cracked, revealing its grey, revolting brain. The mere sight of the creature made him cringe. It took a single shot to take out the creature. Its shattered brain matter and skull fragments scattered all across the street as it's lifeless body collapsed onto the pavement.
"Hah! That's my second one!" Rin boasted as he turned to face Nagisa, who was on the other side of the roof.
Nagisa fired a round. He shifted the sniper slightly to the right and fired another shot. He looked back at Rin and grinned, "That's still two less that how many I've taken down."
He looked through his scope and saw a few more coming toward the store. He thought this would be the perfect chance for him to catch up to the exuberant blonde. But his ebullience quickly turned to trepidation. He hastily called Nagisa over to his side to help him debunk the situation. They shot a few craniums before coming to the conclusion that there were far to many for them to deal with.
Rin pressed thumb and index finger, put the finger tips in his mouth and whistled loudly.
Haruka, who was still outside, heard the whistle. He rushed back inside and warned the other two. They hastily carried what they had in hand to the trunk and slammed it shut. Rin and Nagisa slid down the railings of the ladder and rushed to the car. Rei dashed to the driver seat, after everyone hustled to their seat,and grabbed the key from the glasses compartment. He inserted the key and started the ignition. Once the doors were closed, he droved toward the street they came from, but stopped when he saw the horde up ahead.
Rin shouted as he clutched the head rest, "What the hell Rei? Drive the fucking car!"
"I can't! There's too many blocking the road!" He shouted back.
"Then run them over!"
"I cant! They'll damage the van!"
The guys looked at the oncoming horde with shaken hands and their hearts pounding. The undead groans could be hear louder and louder as they approached the van. The guys were almost about ready to hop out and take them all at once. Then, Nagisa thought of a risky idea.
The fuchsia eyed blonde rolled the side window, sat on the window frame, and leaned his upper body outward a few inches. "Mako! Hold onto my legs so I don't fall off!" After Makoto pinned Nagisa's ankles against the door, he shot multiple rounds at the horde. Then, a small pathway began to form.
Rin also rolled down the window. "Good idea! I'll go on the other side!" He sat on the window frame and fired at the horde. "Haru! Hold onto me!" After Haruka pinned his ankles, Rin shot at the horde aswell.
One by one, the creatures dropped onto the floor, creating a body filled pathway. Once enough were taken down, Rei stepped on the pedal and drove the van through the aisle of corpses. The sound of crushed bones mixed with gunfire and groans filled the air. The remaining zombies would try to catch up to the van, but ended up tripping over the dead bodies. It seemed as though they would go home with out a problem as they reached the edge of the undead crowd, their joy later turned into fear.
As Rin fired rounds from his machine gun, it suddenly ran out of bullets. He threw the gun away from the van and asked Haruka for a new one. However, as Haruka reached out to grab one from the floor, he lost his grip on his friend. Rin fell out of the van and plummeted onto the gravel.
"Rin!" Haruka cried out.
Rei stopped the van. The guys watched with dread as Rin was surrounded by dead bodies and will soon be approached by the living dead. The stench made the redhead gag a bit, but he quickly lifted the bandanna above his nose. Once he felt able to, he tried to get back onto his feet, but he felt a sharp pain in his arms and right calf. He didn't have the time to be able to check his injury, but he felt warm streams of blood run down his leg. As he watched the zombies come closer and closer, he quickly laid back down, grabbed a corpse that had been shot, and hurled it on top of his body. He intended that the corpse would cover his smell and act as camouflage.
As the zombie drew a mere few feet close to Rin, they smelled the air. They seemed confused, almost adrift even.
Haruka used this chance to get his friend back. He hastily grabbed a pistol and slid the car door open. "Nagisa! Cover me!" He shouted as he dashed out the car.
As Nagisa shot the zombies up ahead, Haruka hurried toward his friend. Suddenly, something latched onto Haruka's ankle, which caused him to trip. Thankfully, his arms broke his fall, but they were scrapped pretty badly. When he turned back to see what caught him, it was a zombie. The creature hadn't been shot in the skull, but its side of it's head was grazed. It's mouth was open and ready to bite, which revealed its grey tongue and golden yellow teeth. Haru kicked the zombie in the face repeatedly, but it seemed to have little effect. He then pressed the mouth of the pistol onto the zombies head and shot it. Its brain matter and dark red blood dripped onto his pale ankle. He quickly got back up and traversed the dead bodies.
When he arrived, he grabbed the corpse, and hurled it away from the redhead. With some difficulty, he managed to get Rin up onto his feet. He rested Rin's right arm over and across his shoulder and placed his arm to his waist, which supported the injured man. They then hustled back to the van. A few zombies came up to the side of them, but the blue eyed rescue man managed to take them down before they could cause any harm. Makoto hopped over the seat and to the back. He opened the doors and shouted at the men to hurry. Both Rin and Haruka stumbled in and sat on the boxed of preserved food in the trunk.
Once both Rin and Haruka were secured in the car and the doors were shut, Rei stepped on the pedal and sped the car away from the horde. The guys watched as the horde grew farther and farther away from them.
Makoto pulled out the first aid kit under the seat and pulled up Rin's pant leg. A large gash was revealed on his pale leg. He sprayed some anti infection spray, which made Rin jolt with the stinging pain, and placed a large, square bandage on the scar. He then used the linen to wrap the injury to secure it. Makoto repeated the steps with his bloodied arms. He then moved over to doctor Haruka and the scratches on his arms.
As Makoto applied first aid on Haruka, Nagisa pushed himself back in the van. He looked back and said, "Oi, Rin. Guess what?"
"W...What... What is it?" He responded in between breaths.
Nagisa snickered, "I shot down the most zombies."
...
After they convenient store ordeal, they scoured the neighborhood for a suitable house for the night. It was extremely difficult to find a house that wasn't dilapidated, but they found a house just as the sun settled.
The windows were shattered, which would cause a problem since it would let in the frigid winter air. Once again, they settled in the living room. After they set up the "beds", Haruka took the night shift. Again.
Everyone slept on the floor while Haru starred at the painting of the bouquet of flowers above the fireplace. He tiled his head against the sofa frame and rubbed his eyes occasionally, a sign that the sand man tried to put him under a deep sleep. Suddenly, he heard some small rustling behind him, but paid little attention to it. He then heard a someone whisper behind his ear, "Hey Haru. Wanna see my junk?"
Haruka's eyes widened and his face flustered. "Huh?!" He exclaimed as he turned his head. It was the messy haired Rin. A green blanket was wrapped around his body.
The redhead placed his index finder on his lips and told him to hush. He whispered again, "Do you wanna see my junk?"
"What?" He whispered loudly. Still confused as to why Rin want's to show him his "junk".
Rin dug through his backpack that rested behind the sofa and pulled out some magazines. "Do you want to see my magazines?"
"Oh," he sighed. "Sure."
Rin went around and sat next to his friend on the sofa. He laid out the thin booklets on the coffee table and a few on their thighs. "Some of these I got for you guys ," he said. He picked up a dessert cookbook. "This one can be Nagisa's. It even has a page dedicated to strawberry short cakes. That's his favorite." He set the magazine down and picked up two others. "This one can be for Rei 'cuz it contains a lot of astronomy and space stuff. And the other can be for Makoto because he's into cute stuff and cats."
"Did you get me anything?" He asked as he starred at him with his glimmering blue eyes.
Rin grinned. "I did, but you have to close your eyes. It' a surprise," he insisted. Once Haru closed his eyes, he dug through his backpack again and pulled out a magazine, still in its plastic wrap. He turned over Haruka's pale hands and placed it on the palm of his mans. "O.K. You can open it."
Haruka opened his eyes. He cut the top and slid the magazine out of the plastic. His body and mind was filled with felicity. His hands shook and the sides of his lips curled up. He marveled at the magazine, "F-Famous Japanese M-M-Mineral Springs and Me Monthly! But this is s-super rare! Where did you find it?!"
"I got it back at the convenient store we went to earlier today. Do you like it?" He snickered. He already knew what the answer was going to be, but he asked just to make sure.
"Are you kidding me?! This is in mint condition! And it came with the DVD! I love it!" He looked like an excited 5 year old who visited Disney Land for the first time. Rin was a bit surprised by the volume of his voice, it was still soft, but unusually loud for his friend. But he felt elated at the fact the Haru admired his gift. "Thank you so much Rin! I'll treasure this forever!" He exclaimed as he pressed the magazine close to his chest.
"No problem. Think of it as another of the many gifts that I gave for saving my life," he stated.
Haruka's enthusiasm died. He looked into Rin's crimson red eyes with a concerned look and held onto his warm hands. "Rin. You don't need to reward me just because I saved you. I would risk my life for you at any moment of any day of any second. I don't expect a reward from you every time I rescue you. You being alive and well is enough of a reward for me," he commented solemnly.
Rin's face flustered redder than his hair. He tried to come up with something more suave, but all he could rely was, "I-I-I get it. I w-w-would do the s-same too."
Haruka gave Rin a small, soft smile. A rare sight nowadays since they world turned into a place where smiles can literally be ripped apart. He released Rin's hands from his grip and asked, "Anyway, what did you get?"
"M-Me? Nothing. I just got them as presents that's all. I even got some stuff for my sister. I'll give her them tomorrow when I see her," he explained as he tried to cool himself down by fanning his face with a Men's Fashion magazine.
"Oh. Well thanks aga-." He was interrupted by his own yawn. He tried to close his eyes and sleep, but he kept getting frosty chills that ran down his spine. Seeing his friend shiver, Rin wrapped his arm around Haruka's shoulder and drew him closer to him, which wrapped the blanket around his body too. Haru's cold feeling quelled. He nuzzled his face onto the blanket and murmured, "Thank you, Rin." He felt the heat radiating from Rin's body. "Good night."
"G-Good night, H-Haru," he replied, still flustered. He picked up a Men's Fashion magazine and read as Haru dozed off.
From that point on, the night had been an exceptionally silent one.
