Bonds and Blood
Yu Kanda
It was… quiet. Peaceful even. Up here, with only the sea breeze for company, I didn't have to worry about a thing. Up here, I could meditate without being annoyed by the likes of any one of those annoyan-
"Kanda!"
Fuck.
I glared down at whoever had dared to interrupt me, not at all surprised to find that that culprit was Komui, a stupid smile on that maniac's face. From what I could see, in his hands he held the clipboard he'd once borrowed from Lenalee. It now belonged to him, seeing as the man hadn't given it back, always making up one excuse or another as to why he couldn't. He probably just wanted it because it belonged to his 'beautiful and perfect' Lenalee.
I climb down the in-built ladder of the giant satellite pole with practised ease, seeing as I've been doing it nearly every day for about two years now. This place was roughly a kilometre away from land, isolated by the ocean on all sides. Apparently it had once been used as a star-gazing research centre or something, but I'd never cared enough to listen. All I needed to know was that this island was our own little safe-haven. And it needed to be, too, seeing as we now had over thirty people in our group of survivors.
That meant thirty people to shelter. Thirty people to clothe. Thirty people to feed.
By the time I'd reached him, Komui already held a few sheets out paper in his hands, obviously planning on handing them to me. Which he did. Not that I'd bother to read anything; if it was important, he'd tell me.
"When?"
He gave off a knowing smile at my curt reply. "Now. Form a team; pick whoever you want."
I strode off towards the dorms, throwing all that Komui had handed me into a nearby bin. It was useless to me anyway.
Supply runs like were a regular activity, normally occurring every couple weeks. Things like basic foods and medicines could be cultivated here, sure, but weaponry, toiletries and clothes were another matter. A raid or two on the nearby houses had once been enough to tide everyone over, now we could hardly keep up with how quickly they were all used up. I, personally, blame it on the women. Not that I would ever tell them that. Sometimes women could be just as bad, if not worse, than the zombies. Those, at least, I could kill.
Everyone pitched in. The rules here were simple; you don't work: you don't eat.
Even though I acted as if this were all some kind of annoying chore, I actually appreciated the chance to get away from this place. Slicing zombies was just a bonus. Surprisingly, it was the perfect stress-relief.
Spotting an aggravatingly bright head of red hair, my fingers twitched towards Mugen, already anticipating having to draw my cherished sword. "Oi, Usagi! Get Lenalee, Daisya, Marie, and Fou; we're going out!"
Lavi's head popped up at the sound of my voice, shooting me a grin as my orders registered in his head. "Sure thing, Yu-chan!"
It grit my teeth together as he ran off in the direction of the women's dorm area. Killing him here wasn't a good idea. Nowhere to hide the body.
Lavi Bookman. Lenalee Lee. Daisya Barry. Noise Marie. Fou.
These five were my ultimate team.
Lenalee was faster than I, though her close-combat abilities weren't quite up to par.
Lavi made up for that. At first, I'd thought he'd been kidding about using a long-handled hammer in a fight, yet somehow he wasn't dead yet. He smashed in zombie heads pretty well.
Daisya, on the other hand, excelled at mid-range fights. The bastard used twin hand guns that made my ears ring every time he fired them. That's why the entire team now owned earplugs.
Marie may be blind, but his hearing makes up for that. We all would have all died several times over if he hadn't been with us. Not that I'd ever tell him that; praise never did come easy for me. Marie was also a pretty decent sniper. Apparently he could hear where the zombies were so he didn't even need to be able to see.
And then there was Fou. Crappy at long-distance fights, close-combat being her strong point; that woman could kick the crap out of just about anyone, zombies never standing a chance. Well, unless she was up against a horde.
I was just about to take the boat keys from the hook when an almighty force slams into my back.
"How could you pick my darling Lenalee?!"
All I could do was roll my eyes at his antics, already long since used to them by now.
By the time I'd finally managed to pry Komui's arms off from around my waist, Lavi was already jumping up and down like the rabbit he was. "When we get to the car, I'm driving!"
Shooting him a glare, I shook my head once. Never again, I vowed, would that idiot be allowed to drive. Not after… I visibly shuddered at the thought of what happened on our last outing. Lucky to be alive…
I was the driver.
With Lavi now in the back, and Marie beside me, I breathe a sigh of relief. This I could handle. Marie was quiet. Marie did not make me want to commit seppuku.
This group of survivors would be fine without its main fighters for a while. For reasons still unknown, despite Komui's many, many experiments, these zombies had a natural aversion to water. It wasn't just salt water, either. They didn't give a damn if they'd been dunked in the stuff, but they would actively go out of their way to avoid it. Who honestly cared about 'why'? As long as they stayed that way, we'd all survive.
IXIXI
FUCKING KILL ME ALREADY!
Five hours in a confined space with that shit-for-brains Usagi had me just about ready to ram the damn vehicle into a brick wall and be done with it all.
My sour mood had reached all-time lows when I found his latest activity to be sticking his head out of the window to scream out nonsensical phrases. "I'm coming, Juliet!"
"Shut the fuck up!"
Lavi pulled his head back inside to give me a disappointed look through the side mirror, before sighing and resuming his childish games. This time, I definitely heard something that resembled 'Yu drives like an old woman' hollered into the wind.
Jerking the steering wheel to the left, then quickly righting it, I heard a satisfying 'ouch' from the backseat as the Usagi's head collided with the window's edge. "Who drives like an old woman?"
His physical pain brightened my mood the tiniest bit. And then a voice from the backseat had to go and ruin it. "Hey, Kanda?"
Glancing at Lenalee in the rear-view-mirror, I notice how pale she'd become. "Hn?"
"This place is…" She trailed off, biting her lip.
After trying to peer through the tinted windows fails to yield any plausible answers to the girl's obvious discomfort, I manually roll down the windows, air streaming across my face. Fucking wind…
I feel my eyes narrow, lip curling at the somewhat familiar sight, taking in the now crumbled buildings and winding pillars of grey smoke fading into the sky. Taking a deep breath, I remove my gaze from our surroundings; focus solely on the wheel between my hands, next words lost in the roaring of the winds rushing past.
"Two fucking years now…"
IXIXI
I'll just stand in the corner and take any criticism for my lateness like the man I'm not
