So, it's been awhile, but finally got some ideas for this while daydreaming during The Walking Dead. That show holds my attention so well. xD Enjoy this chapter. It gets dark, so turn on a light.

TEN

Lupin pressed his back against the side of a partially blown out building. In the distance voices yelled out, the taunts getting louder as the sounds of hurried footsteps got closer. Lupin glanced across the street to where Zenigata and Fujiko crouched down besides a burnt out rusty car.

Zenigata glared at Lupin and held his hand up, letting him know to stay there.

Fujiko looked around in worry.

An explosion shook the ground, making the three that much tenser. Screams followed, the agonizing yells overpowering the loud demands to be quiet.

Lupin watched the scene unfold as it reflected off the broken shards of a security mirror nearby. He saw two people holding their wounds, pressing their hands against them as hard as they could while they writhed on the ground. Four men, wearing a mismatched combination of military and police gear, stood over them and screamed a variety of insults as the two people begged for their lives.

"Get rid of them," one of the men said as he walked from the scene.

"My pleasure," a man with wild eyes and a psychotic grin said as he pointed his gun towards the two people and pulled the trigger twice. He then laughed as their lifeless bodies bled out onto the street.

"Let's see what they got," another in the group said as he started searching their clothes and possessions. He straightened himself and kicked one of the deceased out of frustration.

"Nothing?" one of the other men sighed.

"We ain't found shit in weeks," the one who searched the bodies yelled at the one who walked off. "This is a waste of time! We should be going back to Tokyo!"

"Too dangerous," the other man yelled back. "Besides, we've already planned on going to Kawasaki!"

"Then what the hell are we still doing here?"

There was a pause as the man thought about it. "Yeah, you're right, I think we've bled this place dry. Let's go back and get the others."

The man nodded, he and the others walking off.

Lupin waited until their voices were barely audible before he let out a sigh of relief. He stepped away from the wall and quietly made his way to the others.

Fujiko watched as he crouched down near her before punching his arm.

"Ow," he said as he rubbed his right bicep. "What was that for?" he hissed.

"You know what that was for," she growled. "It was your idea to come here and now we're hungry and thirsty and-"

"Come on," Zenigata said as he crouched over and ran to the area Lupin had been.

Fujiko looked at him and then gave Lupin a questioning stare.

Lupin shrugged and followed.

Zenigata peeked around the corner of the building before bolting into the street and hiding behind a toppled dumpster.

The others followed, but didn't have time to say anything before Zenigata was off again.

Zenigata reached the intersection before them and glanced over the top of a car as the voices of the four men grew a little louder. Needing a visual on them he ran forward to the next car. From there he made his way into an alley, hurrying to the end of it and pressing himself against the building. He took a deep breath and peaked around the corner, seeing the four men as they walked, their backs to him, down the street. He pulled himself back into the alley and glanced at Lupin and Fujiko as they made their way towards him.

"We need to get into that building," he told them.

Lupin stepped towards the end of the alley and peeked into the street, noticing what was left of a five story office building. He saw the two top floors were gone, the debris scattered onto what was left of the third floor and in the streets around the building.

"The far corner on the second story," Zenigata whispered.

Lupin looked and noticed the windows in that area boarded up. He nodded and pulled back into the alley.

"That's where they are," Zenigata said. "That's where their supplies are."

"And they're just gonna give us some of their stuff?" Lupin scoffed. "You saw what they did to-"

"They won't have a choice," Zenigata said as he glared at Lupin. "We're taking it from them."

"With what?" Lupin asked in a loud whisper. "We don't have any weapons!"

"Which is why we're taking their stuff," Zenigata clarified.

"Okay, you know what? This is stupid. We don't even know how many guys are in there or what kinds of weapons they have. You want to storm that building, you can go ahead and do that, but I'm out. I'm not-"

Zenigata grabbed Lupin and threw him into the side of the building, pinning him there as he got into his face.

"Hey," Fujiko said, trying to pull Zenigata away from Lupin.

Zenigata pushed her away, his anger-filled eyes not leaving Lupin's. "You think you have a choice? Don't forget whose idea it was to come out here, Lupin! We could have stayed at the QZ, where we were safe! Where we had food and water and didn't have to worry about being eaten by those things! But, no! You had to leave, didn't you?"

"Hey, keep it down, okay?" Fujiko whispered while still trying to pull Zenigata away, though now with less effort.

Zenigata gave Lupin another shove into the wall and let him go, stepping back and pointing a finger in his face. "You aren't doing anything to help us out here! You haven't come up with one good idea! I should have let that thing eat you down in the sewer."

"Hey," Lupin said in anger as he hit Zenigata's hand away. "If it wasn't for me, then we'd-"

"Then we'd what, huh? Then we'd what, Lupin? We'd be standing in what's left of a city forced to not only fight whatever the hell those things are but also humans who want to kill us and take what we don't have? Yeah, this is working out so well! I'm so glad I came!"

"You could have stayed there," Lupin yelled. "In fact, maybe you should just go back! Maybe we don't need you!"

Zenigata took a deep breath and stepped away. He stopped a few feet from where Fujiko and Lupin stood and turned towards them, his eyes staring at Lupin. "You know why I came," he said in a serious tone. "You know why I need those weapons. My wife... my ex-wife is still out there somewhere. I couldn't save my daughter, but I can still save her."

"Guys..." Fujiko said as faint growls became audible in the distance.

Lupin gave Zenigata a sorrowful look. "It's been two years. You don't know if she's-"

"She's out there," Zenigata insisted. "And if she has turned, the least I can do is put her out of her misery."

Lupin could only nod. "Yeah, I guess."

"Guys, we need to go," Fujiko said, panic hitting as the growls got louder.

"Out here, it's us or them," Zenigata said as he placed a hand on Lupin's shoulder and stared seriously at him. "And if it's up to me, it sure as hell isn't gonna be us."

Lupin stared back and gave a nod.

Fujiko looked from the end of the alley to Lupin and Zenigata. "Now that you two have had your moment, can we go now?"

"Follow me," Zenigata said, ignoring her comment.

Fujiko started to follow him when she was stopped by Lupin.

"We're gonna make it," he told her.

She gave him an unsure look. "If you say so."

"I do," he said with a determined stare. He let her go and watched as she left the alley. He glanced back as a group of infected started into the alley.

...

An explosion echoed through the streets, Jigen looking up from the card game he was having with Goemon and Ren. "That never gets old," he laughed, a look of satisfaction on his face. He stood and grabbed a shotgun propped up against the wall next to him.

Goemon watched as he walked by, not saying a word.

"Be careful," Ren said as Jigen approached the door.

He looked back at her and smiled, giving a nod before leaving.

Ren glanced down at the cards in her hand and sighed. 'Wish it was my turn to reset the trap,' she thought to herself, hating to be alone with Goemon.

Goemon set his cards face down on the table and closed his eyes, deciding to meditate the time away.

"I was born in Yamato," Ren said in a low voice as she stared off.

Goemon peeked an eye open at her for a few seconds.

"I had a mom and a dad and a brother," she continued. "My dad changed jobs a lot, so we were always moving. I was always going to a different school, so I never had many friends."

"Your point?" Goemon asked, his arms folded tightly across his chest and his eyes open and glaring at her.

She glanced at him for a moment before quickly looking back at her cards. "I'm not some kind of monster," she mumbled. "I'm not one of those things out there."

"You are infected, though."

Her body tensed and she threw down her cards, jumping to her feet and glaring down at Goemon. "I am not, okay?" she yelled.

"You're bit."

"Yeah, well, being bit and being infected are two different things."

"They are both connected," he said in a louder voice. "I've seen what happens to those who are bit. I have been forced to kill them."

"And do you think you're the only one?! I've seen them, too! My parents were-" She bowed her head as her eyes began to water. "They tried to kill me," she said loudly, looking up at Goemon as the tears rolled down her face. "I had finally found them and they had become those things! So don't act like you're the only person who's been there!"

Goemon stared at her for a moment before speaking. "You may not have turned then, but you will turn eventually. Everyone who gets bit does. And when you do turn, I will kill you."

Ren gasped in shock, fear on her face as she stared at Goemon, watching as he stood up and left the room.

...

Gunshots came from the second story, the infected screaming and rushing towards the building as they piled out of the alley.

"So far so good," Lupin mumbled as he followed Zenigata and Fujiko through a pried open door in the back of the building.

"Yeah," Fujiko said. "Who knew that you two arguing would actually be helpful."

Lupin had a half grin and shrugged. "Well, it was Zenigata who came up with the idea of drawing those things towards the building."

Fujiko looked back at Lupin with a confused look. "So you're saying you had no part in this?"

"What?" His grin faded as he became annoyed. "I helped."

"Yeah, by yelling and drawing those things towards us."

"Hey, I did not-"

"Shut up," Zenigata hissed as he looked back at them in anger. "Just shut up. The infected aren't going to be standing much longer, so grab something to use while we still have this distraction."

Lupin and Fujiko were brought back to reality, their expressions sobering as they looked around the room they were in and in the rooms nearby for any kind of weapon.

Zenigata found an old chain and part of a window pane with a shard of glass sticking out of it.

Lupin found a two foot piece of a wooden handle, the end where it had broken off jagged and sharp. He looked over at Fujiko as she stared down at a piece of wood in her hands. "Hey," he said.

She looked up at him, fear in her eyes.

"I don't want you involved in this," he said as he walked towards her. "You don't need to do this, okay?"

She looked down and slowly shook her head. "It's okay." She looked up at him and stared into his eyes. "I can do this. I've... I've killed people before."

He forced a smile and nodded.

Zenigata looked towards the ceiling as the gunfire started to slow. He walked into the room Lupin and Fujiko were in and glared at them. "We're running out of time."

Lupin looked over at him and nodded. "We're ready."

Zenigata gave a nod and motioned for them to follow.

They made their way up debris covered stairs, moving slowly as they avoided stepping on anything that would alarm the scavengers of their approach.

The gunfire got louder and also sparser, down to a shot every few seconds. The voices of the men got louder, more talking being done once the infected threat outside became more of an annoyance.

The three got to the top of the stairs, Zenigata stepping into the hallway and hiding in the shadows. Fujiko started to follow just as a scavenger came out of the darkened room in front of her.

Fujiko and Lupin froze as they stared at the man.

The man grinned as he looked up and down Fujiko. He then set his gaze on Lupin and lifted his gun.

The noise echoed throughout the floor as multiple shots were fired, the bullets missing their target as the gunman struggled for breath, the chain held tightly in Zenigata's hands wrapping tighter around the man's neck.

Lupin watched as the man started to grab a knife placed on his lower thigh. Knowing the knife would be used to kill Zenigata he ran forward and stabbed the broken handle into the man's chest. He backed off as the man started choking on his blood.

Zenigata loosened his hold on the man and let him fall to the floor.

"Hey," a scavenger yelled as he entered the hall. He started to lift his gun, but before he could Zenigata ran at him and stabbed him in the side of the head with the piece of glass, the man dying instantly.

"Get that gun," Zenigata said to Lupin, pointing to the rifle that laid next to the first man they had killed. Zenigata then took the gun of the man he had just stabbed.

Lupin grabbed the rifle and followed Zenigata.

Fujiko stayed standing by the stairs, unable to pull her eyes away from the body in front of her. Her body flinched as gunfire erupted, the piece of wood she had been clinching falling to the floor as her body went numb. Yelling and screams of pain mixed with the gunfire, Fujiko putting her hands to her ears as she started to sob.

...

The door to the roof opened, Jigen stepping through it and staring at Goemon as he stood near the roofs edge.

Goemon glanced over his shoulder as Jigen approached.

"Ren told me what you said to her." Jigen was doing his best to stay calm, a hard task after seeing how upset Ren had been when he got back.

"I just told her the truth," Goemon said, turning towards and glaring at Jigen. "A truth you should already know."

Jigen inhaled deeply before exhaling slowly. "If you were anyone else I'd throw you off this roof and watch happily as your body slammed against the pavement."

Goemon scoffed at the empty threat.

"Unfortunately," Jigen sighed, "you're my friend. But I swear I won't hold back if you think of doing anything to Ren."

Goemon looked at Jigen with a smirk before laughing. "You're just full of them, aren't you?"

"Full of what?" Jigen wondered angrily.

"Words that have no meaning."

"You don't think I'll kill you?"

"When you refuse to kill a girl who's infected? No, I don't."

"She isn't infected, okay?" Jigen yelled. "I know you can't see that, but I know what I saw! I saw her going through thick clouds of spores without a mask on and breathing that crap in! Something that would have had any other person gasping and writhing on the ground and there she was breathing that shit in with no problem! And that was over a year ago and nothing!"

Goemon made no reply, only stared.

Jigen took a breath and calmed a bit. "Look, I don't know what you've experienced since that day. I never had a group. I never had to watch them die. Or had to kill them myself. All I've had was her. And if she tells me she isn't infected... and after all that we've been through she wouldn't lie about that. She'd want me to kill her so she wouldn't become what her parents became. So, when she says she isn't infected I believe her."

"You may, but that doesn't mean I do."

"You don't know her, so I don't expect you to. What I do expect is for you to believe me." He gave Goemon a serious glance before walking off.

Goemon stared at him as he walked away. He let out a long sigh before turning his head back in front of him, his eyes now glaring off into the distance.

...

The building went silent, bodies and blood covering the floor. Zenigata, blood splattering his skin and clothes, looked over as he heard a whimpering. He walked to the noise, one of the scavengers laying on the floor and bleeding from his chest.

"Puh, please," the man begged as he held his hand up towards Zenigata. "He...elp me..."

Zenigata glared down at him, pointed the rifle he held at the dying man's head, and fired once.

Lupin turned from the scene and dropped the rifle in his hands. He crouched down and held his head. "This isn't who we are... This isn't who..."

Fujiko walked to the doorway and stared at the scene before her.

Zenigata glanced back at her before staring down at Lupin. "You're right. This isn't who we are. But this is who we've become. It's us or them, Lupin. Pick a side. While you're busy making your decision, help me gather up anything useful." He looked up at Fujiko and stared at her. "That goes for you, too."

Neither noticed Zenigata walk by them, nor did they see him walk back into the room and start searching the bodies.

Most of this chapter was written around the time I added the last chapter here, but I got stuck on a couple of parts. I found it funny how many times I had Lupin grinning in the first draft, which considering the character wouldn't be that strange, but it just seemed out of place. While reading the original argument Lupin and Zenigata had I was annoyed that I had done what The Walking Dead does and one of the reasons I yell at my TV while watching that show. Infected all around them, yet none while they stand and have a long conversation/argument. I just get so annoyed at the convenience for the sake of conversations used in shows and movies. Yet here I am, using the same thing. xD Oops. I'll just have to read my own stories and yell at the monitor about the hack fraud who writes these things. =P