A/N: First off, I'd like to apologize to all of my fateful readers and those who likes this story so far. I've been sloppy and I've lost a bit of passion due to new ideas and other stuff in my life. But I've pushed through and come up with a new chapter as often as possible just to please my readers but in doing so, I felt that I rushed the story and lowered the quality. So for that; I am sorry. For this chapter, I've tried to really push the plot forward a bit so we can finally get Yuki reunited with the gang among other things. So please enjoy this while I go through and editing/rewriting phase of the last 9 chapters.

Also, WARNING: THIS CHAPTER WILL CONTAIN RACIAL LANGUAGE. AND I DO NOT CONDONE ANY OF IT

"What in the world are you doing?" Isabela didn't think she had ever sounded so frantic before as she grabbed Yuki's wrist. "Going after Carlo-nii. I need to find him and introduce my friends to him. He has to meet the one who is going to marry you, Megu-nee!"

"Ma-marry me? Little One… it's dangerous outside." Isabela pulled harder. "You should wait until Carlo gets back."

"C'mon, Megu-nee!" The girl pleaded and pulled harder. "You're not being nice, Megu-ne!"

It was too risky. Isabela couldn't allow Yuki to just wander off. She found the girl crying and miserable, alone amidst a horde of zombies, without a single scratch. She had completely avoided a single drop of blood on her. But it was only an insane stroke of luck and Isabela knew that it would not happen again.

"I know you want to see those dear to you. But I can't let you go out on your own. There are many bad… people in the world." Isabela sighed as she pulled harder and with the sudden shift of force, Yuki stopped. The pink-haired girl turned to Isabela. There was a pleased smile on her lips as she gently pried Isabella's fingers off.

"Don't worry, Megu-nee. I'll be careful." And before Isabela could object any further, Yuki was gone.

Kurumi wiped sweat off her forehead as the needle pierced through her skin and she saw the liquid being poured into her body. The vision made her dizzy, more so than she already was. She sighed deeply when the needle left her body. As soon as that happened, she tried to sit up.

"Where's my shovel?" she fumbled her hand across the ground.

"Easy, now. You're in no state of fighting."

"I'd be dammed if I wasn't. Now where's my shovel?"

"In the mall."

A round of awkward silence entered as Kurumi lay down again. The cold ground was oddly soothing for her. Frank cleared his throat. "We'll get you a new one."

"…It's ok. And thanks for helping me." She almost whispered after a long pause. She looked away to avoid Frank's gaze. The photographer shrugged. "Don't mention it." He picked her up, supporting her with his shoulder.

"You don't really need to carry me anymore." She lied. "Also…"

"Hm?"

"Sorry that I was such a bitch. I was just… everything was wrong. With Yuki-chan gone, nothing really feels right."

Frank was horrible at comforting people. Perhaps that was the biggest reason as to why, he managed to remain a bachelor for all of his life. Thus he chose to listen to Kurumi's plight. He could feel the pigtailed girl's muscles tense up as she stopped speaking.

"I don't blame ya." He simply clapped her on the shoulder. "We all got pretty shocked when that happened." He paused. "Think to yourself. She is in a better place now."

"I think I feel like believing you." Kurumi sighed.

A few meters away, Miki and Paul walked cautiously towards a sulking Steven. The store owner was curled up in a ball, flashing his back to the pair as they stopped to discuss their next move.

"So what do we do?"

"Paul, what do you do when you want information from others?"

"Uhm…talk?"

"Correct. That should answer your question."

Miki took a few steps towards the man, keeping her distance before speaking. "Sir," she began, taking a deep breath along with some courage before speaking again.

"If you'd so kindly tell us where the supplies are." She tried her best to be polite and confident, just like her mother taught her. Yet she could not deny that she was unnerved by the store owner's upcoming reaction. Until now, his behavior had been most unpredictable and straight up violent.

But his actions now were underwhelming in comparison. With slow movements, he pointed towards a truck further down the parking lot, between two cars and sobbed.

"My store is gone… everything that I have ever lived for is gone… it doesn't matter anymore."

"I'm sorry, sir." Miki glared at Paul, who shrugged by her aggravated stare. The blonde walked up to him, her eyes not wavering from his.

"When it comes to terms of responsibility, I think you should give this man an apology." Miki's good upbringing brought out the old her. A person, she was not proud of. And to make matters more confusing, neither she or Paul owed Steven nothing. He had tried to kill her and managed to harm her at several occasions, while insulting someone as jittery as Paul. So why did he deserve an apology? For the sake of survival.

"He tried to kill us." Paul pointed out, more annoyed than anxious.

"In a fit of unrest. I believe that we can try to make him our ally, if we get on his good side. And bring him out of his crippling depression." Miki said, remembering that he killed on of their own. Even when she hated herself for saying such things, she was aware that a zombie apocalypse was needlessly cruel to moral ethics. And with Steve on their side, he could perhaps inform them of where he got his store supplies from. Miki prepared to leave the scene when her wrist was suddenly grabbed by a hand with lanky fingers.

"He-he called me a pussy!" He began panicking, his eyes shifting restlessly around behind his glasses.

"Paul! Please do it… for my sake." Miki pleaded, as Paul slowly let go of her. There was hint of a timid smirk on his lips as he tried to establish eye contact with Miki. They stood and looked at each other a bit, the atmosphere getting increasingly awkward.

"If you say so."

"Thank you." Miki smiled briefly before she made a steady turn of heels and ran across the parking, to the truck further away. But as she neared the vehicle, her mind was suddenly not focused on getting the supplies but on Paul. Why though? The blonde shook her head, taking her time to inspect the truck and forget about the young man for a while. Blood was splattered all over the front window and the driver sat in the passenger's seat, dead from a bullet to the head. Miki shrugged, chills running down her spine. But she mustered up all of the courage she could get and opened the door to the driver's seat. Thankfully, the keys lay on the seat and Miki grabbed it. She hurried to the back of the truck, quickly unlocking the doors and jumped inside. Before resuming her quest, she took a few breaths. By this point, she had grown accustomed to the world of death for longer than she ever wanted to and still she found herself anxious every time, she had to look death in the eye.

Her backpack was relatively empty so she could stuff good amounts of supplies in it. The blonde fetched the flashlight from her back, turning it on to navigate around the cramped spaces. She needed to proceed with caution if she wanted to avoid being crushed. For now, canned food and Zombrex were her top priority.

Even Miki was amazed of how agile she was. It was unlikely, to say the least as she had been spending her time in the literature club before the disaster happened and she hated sports with a passion. But ever since the day where she escaped, her physical capabilities had grown considerably. Running from zombies and fighting them was a surprisingly good form of exercise.

Thankfully, canned sausages were what she found first. It was close to the entrance of the truck, so Miki could easily push the two boxes out without much difficulty. With a loud thump, the boxes landed on the ground and the blonde returned to find more supplies.

Canned food and Zombrex.

Canned food and Zombrex.

Those two words kept floating in Miki's head as she dug deeper. With every move that she made, the entire contents of the tuck rocked, alerting her. She crawled closer to the wall and soon found herself a tiny spot where she could rest for a bit – and be safe. She closed her eyes, feeling the exhaustion wash over her as she drifted away. Now was not the time to do so but she could barely keep her eyes open.

"Get your ass out here, whoever you are!" she heard the clicking of a loaded gun as a stranger threatened her. Miki wondered for how long she had been gone. Her blood turned cold and she held her breath. She could stay in here until they thought that no one was here but what if they saw her enter?

"Miki!" Paul's frantic voice called out for her with a strong hint of anger. "Get away from there, you-you dirty bastard."

"One step closer and I'll blast you to kingdom come." The stranger snarled with an eerily calm tone. He sounded relatively young, barely older than Rii-san. Perhaps another survivor from another school.

Something within Miki stirred and she forced herself in the open, tumbling over her feet as she did so. Sure it was a foolish move but she would rather expose herself than to have Paul being shot. On the other hand, she could maybe try to ally herself and the others with the stranger. The clicking of the gun had alarmed her and she regretted that she had no fighting skills. Just in case, everything went to hell.

When she looked outside, she saw a panicked Paul ready with a Molotov cocktail, an overweight young man around the same age as herself and a slightly older man, with a red cap, both with a loaded shotgun.

"Huh, no wonder the dweeb came flocking." He pointed the gun at Miki. "Gotta save the princess, after all." His eyes turned to Paul as he smiled viciously.

"Tell your girlfriend to step away from the truck. And don't you even think about throwing that thing at me."

"We can share supplies!" Miki tried to hide every hint of uneasiness but she found herself more stressed as the situation went on. "There's enough for-"

"Listen up, Rice-picker. Get away from the truck or four-eyes here gets his head blown off."

"Big brother… maybe we should listen to what the girl says. We-we can share, right?" the younger one with the glasses spoke for once, his voice meek and timid as a mouse.

"Shut up, Kenny." His older brother snarled at him, lowering his gun and thus his guard. "It's a matter of survival and this Jap right here ain't gonna take my God-given right to live in my own country!"

Miki was appalled. Furious even. She clenched her fist, shaking as she did so. Her blood was boiling and her muscles tensed up like never before. She was seeing red and with that all common sense slowly left as anger was taking over.

"We're Americans, Kenny. We were here first and she ain't down with that, she can piss off back to whatever rice field she came fro-" before the man with the cap could finish his rant, a strong fist was planted straight to his jaw, by Miki who had almost flown over to him. In all the confusion and anger, she punched him a second time. And a third. And a fourth. His shotgun landed on the ground, going off by accident but Miki paid no attention to that.

"How dare you! You racist, bigoted redneck! How can you be so self-absorbed with your own apple pie culture!"

After recovering from the shock of the shot, Paul stood completely flabbergasted at what he saw. Never had he imagined Miki to ever react like this. He wondered if he should step in or immobilize the other guy with the gun, who was even more shocked than himself. And then another thought appeared in his head. This had to a trap. It had to. Steven refused to really talk when Paul approached him; perhaps it was all a trap to take them out one by one. The was no doubt about it; Steven had lured them in! And now Miki could die! He could die! Everyone would die!

But not this time; he needed to be strong. For her sake.

"Shoot her-ouch! Shoot, Thomas!" The man with the red cap grunted as he tried to shield himself from Miki's rain of punches. "For fuck's sake, put a bullet in-ow-her already!"

The shot had alerted Frank and Kurumi, who quickly headed towards the source of the sound.

"Shit! What now?" Kurumi cursed under her breath. She feared the worst, she could afford to lose another friend. Her heart sank as they got closer. Not to mention that she was already fatigued after running a few hundred meters and she needed her shovel now than ever. Especially when the chance of zombies attracted to the commotion was growing bigger.

"Hope for the best, be prepared for the worst."

Through the outskirts of the streets, Yuki sprinted at fast as she could. She looked wildly for a mall, as Megu-nee had described begrudgingly. It was the same place where Carlo-nii had gone to and thus Yuki ventured on to find him. Thankfully, it was close by.

High spirited, Yuki happily made her way through the many masses of people, heading one direction. She pink-haired girl stopped to catch her break as she found a spot further away from the crowd. She wished, she had bought a water bottle. It did not look long before she continued on the quest. Soon, Frank would finally meet Megu-nee and she could finally see her friends again.

But then her stomach growled. Rather loudly.

"Oh shoot." She looked around for any stores, oblivious to the incoming danger that had been attracted to her carefree attitude. She paid no mind to the zombie that slowly snuck up on her, not before it was close to attacking. It opened its mouth with its rotting breath and vile, decomposing pieces of flesh between its teeth. In a split second, Yuki's life could be brought to an end. But fate did not allow it.

The zombie was promptly knocked off its feet, flying across the ground as a startled Yuki shrieked. She sat frozen, completely unaware of the yellow motorcycle that had saved her life.

"Are you okay? You' haven't been bitten or anything?" an unfamiliar voice tapped her shoulder, causing the frightened girl to look up. For a couple of moments, she saw Frank. Then Carlo-nii, only to see an unfamiliar face at last. A man in a yellow jacket stood before her. He helped her on her feet before he looked around, staying alert of any incoming danger. They were surrounded by zombies but there was some distance between the pair and the horde. But it was only a matter of time before they found themselves in a tight spot. They needed to get away from here.

"I'm uki!"

"That's… good to hear." The man concluded before he grew more stern. "What are you doing out here? Are you alone?" he led her to his motorcycle. It had a very detailed design, nothing like Yuki had ever seen before. Her eyes grew big as teacups.

"I'm looking for my friends! And Carlo-nii! Megu-nee said that he might be at a mall. Uhm…" Yuki tilted her head, deep in thought as she tried to remember what Isabell had told her.

"The Willamette mall?"

"Bingo~! Hmph!" Yuki grunted as she tried to climb on the vehicle. She lay on the seat with her stomach, sprawling like a fish on land.

"…I'm going there myself. I'm looking for someone too." The man in the yellow jacket helped her up, making sure that she sat properly.

"Oh? Who?" The pink haired girl asked with great curiosity.

"My daughter, Katey. She's around your age."

"18?"

"Wait, what? No." he paused before facing her again. "By the way, I'm Chuck."

"I'm Yuki! Pleased to meet youuuuuu-eeeeeeek!" The motorcycle drove off with great speed as Yuki snaked her arms around Chuck's torso and squeezed hard. Occasionally, she would open her eyes in brief seconds before closing them again due to the velocity. But she managed to catch a glimpse of something in the horizon. Perhaps, her destination?

End note: Yay, I got to smack two flies at once. Chuck and the crazy Halls! Yeah, I know that the latter use sniper rifles and not shotguns but I could imagine that since they appear to be gun-nuts, they have all kinds of firearms.