A lot to say but I hate to clutter up the heading. Please check the Author's Note below.
We do not own Highschool of the Dead or its characters. All British Marines and their companion characters are owned by MarshalZhukov.
Chapter 21
Zday+230: 0700 hours
Saeko came out of the building they were using as a barracks intent on heading to where the mess hall had been set up. She had taken the time to meditate a short while before the missions of the day and this put her behind the rest. She stopped and smirked as she saw a scene that, to be honest, she was not really surprised at.
"I see you made a new friend," she said as she walked over to where Alex was sitting with a half grown monkey on her lap getting his belly scratched.
"Well I was eating some dried fruit and he came easing up and started begging. I figured some of them are about half tame so I gave him a treat and now he's all friendly," the girl said.
Saeko smiled as she looked down at the primate who was grinning and happily munching on his snack. "He is very cute, but we should be getting ready for our day."
"Yeah I know," Alex said as she picked the little fellow up and sat him on the ground. "Go on now and find your friends."
The Macaque chittered as if to say thanks and scampered away toward the trees.
"Makes me wonder about other animals," the red-head said. "What happened to all the ones locked away into the zoos?"
"I do not know," the sword wielder replied. "It pains me to think that such beautiful creatures died of starvation in their pens after the fall. I know it has been discussed that we acquire cattle and pigs for the farms to raise. Horses were brought up also, but I do not know where we stand on that at this time."
"Oh well, it's above my pay grade at the moment," Alex said as she stretched her arms behind her head.
They arrived at the mess just as Kuma stood up and said, "Everyone on rotation for today's ops be in the meeting hall in ten." With that, he and Isaac marched out.
"Better eat quickly," Takashi told them as they sat at the table with the boys. "We've got a long day ahead."
The two girls did as he suggested and walked after him to the main keep afterward.
Saeko looked around as they knelt in the open hall. The lower level of the tenshu, or main keep tower, had been an exhibit space during the castle's time as a museum. The display cases on the main floor had been pushed back to the walls to open it up for meetings. Plans were to store the artifacts away since they were of no current use to the survivors. What interested Saeko, though, was on the upper floors.
Up on levels three and four were several sets of samurai armor.
But that is for another time. She thought as Kuma stood in front of them.
"There are two disaster shelter warehouses in the city," he said pointing to a map hanging on the wall. "We don't know if they have been opened or raided, but that is what we will find out today. Lieutenant Minami's Humvees and Strykers will roll in and set a perimeter while two squads will insert by helicopter. Whether or not we land nearby or set down on the roof will be determined when Rika's force gets on site."
Alex raised her hand and Kuma motioned to her. "Do we know for sure there is roof access? I would rather land there and then go in. That way we will be above any Zeds and can look down on them before taking them out."
"Yes, all the buildings have roof access," the man replied.
The girl nodded as the men went on with the briefing. As she watched though, she noticed Saeko's eyes seemed to continually drift upwards toward the upper levels of the tower. I know what's up there, Alex thought. I wonder, what is she thinking?
As they wrapped up Lieutenant Takawa call out to Saeko, "Busujima-san? May we speak with you for a moment?"
Nodding to Takashi that she would meet him outside, she approached the man. "How may I help, Lieutenant?"
"Let's walk upstairs," he said.
She followed and on arriving on the third level, she found Rika and Kuma waiting next to the very objects of her thoughts. "May I ask what this is about?" she said.
Takawa sighed, "It has been decided that something must be done with the exhibits currently in the tower. That being said we also feel that with your classical training, you are the best person to advise us on how to proceed. We also feel it would be best if the armor went back to Onohira with you. Any other items you deem historically worthy would be shipped to you or somewhere of your choosing when things get more settled."
Saeko bit her lip slightly and let her eyes wander over the laminated plates of the Edo Era suits. Glancing over the side of the platform, she also looked over the cases of display items pushed to one side of the lower floor. "I think we can go through the exhibit case quickly, as I have noticed many of those items are reproductions or replicas. Oddly enough there were no weapons here." She stopped and let her hand drift over the front of the armor clad mannequin in front of her. "This one, however, I feel might be of use in the future. I would like to test its effectiveness against the undead myself at some time, but before that it must be disassembled, cleaned and all new ties installed before I would trust it to hold up in battle."
"It won't stop a bullet, but I can see where it would stand up to the Zeds pretty well," Rika said.
"But right now, with the condition the joints are in," Saeko shook her head as she tugged on one and it broke in her hand. "I would not even want to put this on. It will take many months of reconditioning before it could be used. But," she said with a smile. "I will accept the job of doing so, with your permission, of course, Rika-san."
"Oh yeah," the older woman said. "You're the expert, or as close to one as we have in this. Do what you wish."
The girl smiled, "Then when we get back from the mission, I will arrange for these to be packed away and readied for transport when we leave."
000
Two hours later in the skies above one of the disaster warehouses:
"Roger, Blackdog; I see a group of about thirty tangos massed on the north side of the warehouse. Give me a minute and we will hose them down for you. Over"
Takashi and the others listened over their headsets as the Blackhawk gunships handled clearing the enclosed lot around the warehouse while Cowboy Flight flew top cover up high in case they were needed.
"Two minutes to drop off!" Giba called out as he waved his hand where everyone could see him.
Takashi nodded and squeezed Saeko's hand as he felt the helicopter start to lose altitude.
"Be careful, my love," she said as she checked her equipment once more.
"You too," he replied.
"Open the door!" Giba called out as the machine hovered in the air next to the building.
The pilot placed the right side wheel on top of the roof and held the Blackhawk in place as the troops poured out the door. He paused there for a minute, making sure everyone was away before lifting up and rolling to his left, diving away from their landing site.
Unlike the first disaster warehouse they raided months ago, this building was brick with a flat top and a curtain wall around the edge. Along with the normal air-conditioner and other mechanical equipment found on roofs, there was an entry door that led down inside the building.
"Pop it," Giba ordered one of the troopers that held a crowbar. Seconds later the door was open and the man was pointing his suppressed pistol down the dark stairwell.
"I will take it from here, Giba-san," Saeko said as she and Takashi stepped forward. She unsheathed her sword and started in as Takashi clicked on a flashlight, holding it overhead and pointing it ahead of her, a suppressed pistol in his other hand.
The others queued up behind them as the onna-bugeisha moved forward into the darkness.
Two flights later, the girl stepped out onto a metal catwalk that extended either way into the gloom. Thanks to light from skylights, looking over the side she could see the concrete floor about five meters below.
Not seeing any undead on the catwalk with them, Takashi turned to Giba and asked, "Looks clear up here, what do you want to do?"
The other man smirked and held up several large ball-bearings in his hand. Reaching out over the edge, he dropped one and watched it bounce around below them with a loud, clear 'ping'.
Takashi nodded and smiled as several zeds groaned and shuffled toward the metal on stone sound.
Holding up his suppressed pistol, Giba grinned. "Death from above!" he declared as he leaned over and popped a round into the head of one of the undead.
Takashi and several others laughed as they followed suit. Soon all the undead in sight were in a pile on the floor.
"There are metal stairways down on either side," one of the other troopers told them.
Giba nodded, "Okay, we split into two groups. Takashi you take command of the second. We'll work our way down and do a search and clear of the main floor. Everyone be careful and don't shoot anybody from our side."
Saeko took point with Takashi behind her as four others fell in behind them. Giba and rest went the other way.
An hour later they met back in the center of the building.
"All clear as far as we can see," Takashi said. "We made sure to check the generator and basement rooms also."
"Good," replied Giba. "Now we just wait for the word that Team Two is done."
000
Across the city:
The second disaster center was not a single building like the first. It had one large central building, but also included half a dozen smaller building and garages.
That is where the problem came in.
"Damn! We're in a tight spot!" Alex hissed as she and her team found themselves surrounded and cut off in a remote vehicle storage building. She had signaled a quick quiet and her troopers all held their blades edge out as they formed into a tight box against a wall. Close to two dozen zeds shambled between them and the exit they had come in.
Shambling towards them.
We're getting low on ammo, Alex thought as her head swiveled back and forth looking for a better way than to fight the undead that put her people in jeopardy. As packed together as the troopers were, they ran a real danger of hitting each other with bouncing ricochets or missed blade strikes.
Toujou gently slipped a hand into one of her vest pockets, careful to avoid making any noise. She pulled out a somewhat battered cardboard box and held it for Alex to see.
Alex smirked and nodded. Toujou then pulled one of the small, white pellet-shaped items from the sawdust packaging and threw it against a far wall. The small pop drew the attention of the twenty or so zombies, enough for Toujou and one other trooper to remove several heads.
Agonizing minutes passed as this process repeated three more times before the group could gain enough fighting room to clear the rest out with greater ease.
"Sound off!" Alex called as the last body hit the floor. She counted all her troopers, safe and sound. "Alright. Bite check." She then carefully searched each trooper in turn before she submitted to Toujou.
"You are bite free, squad-leader," she said, smiling and gently clapping a hand on Alex's shoulder.
The girl heaved a huge sigh. "Damn! That was close. I never want to have that happen again."
"I agree," Toujou said. "That could have gone so horribly wrong so quickly. I am thankful I thought to grab those poppers when I did."
"Alright. While we have a few minutes, I want to work out why that happened in the first place. We're better than that. How did we get caught so easily?"
"If I may," Toujou said. "I believe we got ahead of ourselves."
Alex cocked an eyebrow. "Okay. Explain what you mean by that."
"We were sufficiently anxious enough to want this section cleared that we simply blundered into this," Toujou said, sweeping her arm around. "A common enough mistake in any endeavor. You want an objective completed, particularly as the day comes to an end and you get a little lazy."
"Lazy," Alex said, chewing on the word. "You think we got a bit lazy?"
"It is the most likely explanation," Toujou said. "As you said, we are better than this. We are all expertly trained and more than experienced. This was not a rookie mistake. We simply got tired and so got lazy."
Alex fell silent as she considered Toujou's words. She spared several glances to the windows and noted the sun was already well to the west, shadows lengthening as she stood there. "Sounds good to me. I'll let Ops know we are running out of steam and we need to consolidate what we got before we wrap up in the morning. Thank you for that assessment."
000
"Lazy?" Kuma stood next to Rika as Alex radioed in her after action report. "That doesn't sound like her."
Rika smirked, "It's not. I've worked with her enough to know that she's just tired, but doesn't want to admit it." She sighed deeply, "Still trying to live up to her old man."
Kuma cocked his head at Rika. She chuckled, "Dad was Army, First Infantry, died in combat and it hit her really hard." She quickly jabbed her pointer finger towards the big man. "Don't you dare tell her I said anything."
"My lips are sealed LT," Kuma held his hand up. He turned to look at the sun sinking toward the horizon. "Oh, well. We need to round everyone up and hunker in for the night before it gets dark. Want to put out the call or shall I?"
Rika handed him the mike, "It's your op, LT. I'm just riding shotgun, remember?"
"Oh yeah, I forgot I got bumped up," Kuma snorted. He keyed the mike, "All insertion teams. The sun is going down. Repeat, the sun is going down. Secure what you can and return to the main building of each compound if you can. Repeat. Secure what you can and fall back if you can. We are done for the day. Cowboy and Blackhawks, thanks for all the help today, really came in handy." Kuma waited until all teams clicked reply or called back, then looked at Rika. "All teams accounted for."
"Ground this is Cowboy, come back, over."
"I read you, Cowboy," Kuma replied. "What's yer twenty, over."
"Colorado is gonna take the hawks back to the roost. I'm gonna hang around until sundown in case you need anything else. Over."
"Copy all, five by five, Cowboy. Thanks a bunch. Ground out."
"All in a day's work, good buddy. Cowboy's over and out."
Kuma replaced the mike and sank back into his seat and watched as the insertion teams filtered back in.
000
"Tiger Team, huddle up," Alex said as they secured the vehicle hut. "I am not keen on driving through hostile territory at night with only a squad –well trained though they are. I want to find someplace quiet, cleared and easily defended and hunker in for the night."
"If I may?" Toujou said. "We did clear out a small storage room, off the main hangar that meets your criteria. Plus, I noticed some food and water stores, so we will not be hungry."
"Agreed," Alex said. "Let's move the truck close to the door and grab the comm gear. If shit goes down tonight, at least we'll have the radio to call for an evac."
000
"Copy, Tiger Team," Kuma repeated into the mike. "You be safe, Lance. I am not including any condolence letters in my after-action report, you hear?"
"Aye aye, LT," Alex's voice replied. "Over and out."
000
Tiger Team quickly dismantled the radio equipment out of the Humvee, along with gas cans, extra ammo, rations and everything else considered 'man-portable'. They did a cursory sweep of the small out building, sealed and barricaded both doors and then set out bedrolls. Two troopers set the radio on a table and powered down the rechargeable power-pack.
The sun was low to the west, shadows creeping between the buildings of a dead city, the silence deafening. All ears were on high alert to the smallest sound as a potential threat.
"Here's how it's gonna work," Alex said to her team. "I'm going to take first watch, two hours, then Toujou, then Ikari-kun then Misaki-san. Mizuhara-san takes last watch while we load the truck and get ready for tomorrow. Try and get some sleep, gonna be a long day tomorrow. I'll see if I can get some more warm bodies out this way to help us clear this station."
Tiger Team all nodded their consent and set about their evening routines. Toujo set up the sword cleaning kit on a work bench and dismantled her weapon for a good cleaning. Kanie Ikari and Isuzu Misaki set to work cleaning and servicing firearms – in between flirting with each other, Ikari quite successful getting Misaki to giggle and blush like a school girl.
Geh, those two are gonna need their own room, Alex groaned to herself, before remembering her own wife back home. She then turned a quick eye to Ritsu Mizuhara; the quiet one. She sat seiza in a corner; head bowed reverently, palms together. Then she did a most peculiar thing. Alex watched the normally reserved and serious young woman cross herself Catholic fashion before pressing her forehead to the floor. She then sat up and looked directly at Alex.
Alex said nothing as Mizuhara then slid quietly across the floor and positioned herself next to Alex.
"Hey, I thought I told you to get some rest," Alex whispered.
"My shift is last and I generally only sleep for six hours a night," Mizuhara said. "I am happy to keep you company if you do not mind."
"Meh, why not," Alex shrugged. "May I ask you a question?"
"Of course."
"Are you Catholic?"
"My family all converted a few generations ago, before the war," Mizuhara said. "I was raised Catholic, but I really only attended church on holy days…I didn't go on Sundays usually, especially once I started school."
"Right," Alex said. "Because the school week is six days long here."
Mizuhara smiled, "Yeah. I wanted to spend my only day off with friends, rather than hear a priest drone on and on."
"So… how is it going?"
"Going?" Mizuhara cocked her head. "I am not sure I understand the question."
"I can't imagine there are many who share your Confession in camp," Alex clarified. "Must get lonely sometimes."
"Oh, not really," Mizuhara smiled. "For I know The Lord is with me in all things. Besides, I am not terribly religious and I mostly keep my faith to myself."
"Wow," Alex said. "Not the usual attitude where I grew up."
Mizuhara chuckled softly at that. "Not to worry, Team Leader. I think I know where you are going with this line of questioning. I have no objections to your living arrangements, nor am I bothered with how you express your affections. Above all, The Lord commands us to love each other and I am happy that you have someone you can share your heart with."
"You aren't taking the piss, are you?" Alex stared at Mizuhara, her imitation of Lance Corporal Edmonds spot on.
Mizuhara stared slack-jawed at Alex. The British slang had thoroughly confused the poor woman. "I… ano… I have no need to…um…"
Alex mentally smacked her head again. She had spent entirely too much time hanging out with her friends from the embassy detachment and it was really starting to show. She shook her head, "I'm sorry. I've been hanging around the Brits too much. I meant to say, you aren't making fun of me, are you?"
Mizuhara smiled again and held Alex's hand, "I assure you, I am quite sincere."
Taken aback, Alex could only blush "I, uh… thank you…?"
"But I am taking you away from your duties, Team Leader," Mizuhara released Alex's hand. "I shall leave you to it."
"Oh…right," Alex stammered. "Please try and get some rest. I want to be up and ready by first light."
Mizuhara smiled and nodded, then returned to her place in the corner and set about servicing her side arm.
000
Zday+231: Back at Odawara Castle
Dawn broke over the city and Kuma called the Teams troops together except those on guard duty. Alex and her team rolled up in their scavenged trucks just as he started.
"So here's the bad news," he said as he looked over the group. "The Iwo had to bail out on us. They got a call from an American convoy out near Guam that was hit with a bad storm. A couple of ships got damaged enough that they might have to be abandoned so they will be doing search and rescue for a while. Good news is they left us one Blackhawk and one Gunhawk, which we were supposed to keep anyway."
Alex raised her hand and the LT pointed to her. "So what does that mean for us?"
Kuma sighed, "Meaning we will only be able to transport a couple of loads of MRE's and medical supplies back to the castle by air. After that, it's a case of diminishing returns because of the amount of aircraft fuel we have on hand. Until we can acquire more stocks of fuel from an airport or airbase, we have to conserve as much as possible."
Alex and several others nodded, it just made good sense in the long run to save the fuel for important missions and emergencies.
"So what we do have is good stocks of vehicle fuel at both depots," the man contained. "With the trucks and Humvees we have acquired, we should be able to move enough supplies back to base to at least cover the home team for the rest of the winter. Honestly, unless the weather really gets bad, we should also be able to make more runs at a later date."
"Next question is what do we do about getting home?" Alex asked about herself and the other Onohira troopers.
"Road trip," Rika said with a smirk. "It's not like we haven't made this run before, plus the Pathfinders and a couple of other convoys followed our tracks since we moved into Onohira. It might be a little tight with just our own vehicles, but it also should not take but a long day to get home if the roads are still clear."
"I really want to find us some Strykers or some type of armored vehicle as soon as possible," Kuma said.
"We are not that far south of the East Fuji Maneuvering Area," Lieutenant Takawa said. "There are garages, fuel depots and weapon stores there. The JGSDF and the US Marine Corps all have vehicles, equipment, fuel, ammunition and – most importantly – spare parts and radio equipment."
"Assuming they haven't all been looted," Kuma said. "I have no problem sending in a scout mission, but without eyes in the sky, we are driving blind."
"I have spent several deployments at that particular location" Takawa volunteered. "I am more than happy to share my intel with you."
Kuma nodded, "I wish the Iwo left us a drone, though. I hate sending warm bodies into potentially hostile territory without some idea what's out there."
"Why don't we task a satellite to look in on things," Rika suggested. "Not like there are a lot of eyes competing for use time."
"Can we get comms to reach all the way down to Onohira?" Kuma asked.
"That's not a problem," Takawa said. "Before The End, I was a radio engineer. I can have a fairly good VLF antenna strung up from the topmost tower of the castle. We cannot move a lot of data with it, but its low power and all we need is to confirm the existence of hostiles and approximate locations. I can begin drawing up a map with the most accurate coordinates I can muster."
"Hey, what's VLF?" Takashi whispered over to Kohta.
"It's an English abbreviation," Kohta whispered back. "It means Very Low Frequency. Armed forces around the world used to use it before satellite communication to transmit radio instruction to units stationed in remote or hard to reach locations."
Takashi nodded and gave a thumb up.
"Make it happen," Kuma said. "In the meantime, all teams are on RnR – rest and relaxation. Take this time to rest up, explore the castle, practice. But no one goes alone and no one is unarmed, even though the castle is secure. And no one – I mean no one – is allowed outside the gates until we mount the expedition to Fuji. Got it?"
The entire battalion stood up and saluted. "Sir, yes sir!"
As they started to move, a radio technician ran in and handed Kuma a dispatch.
"Everyone hold up!" the big man called out as he showed the paper to Rika and Takawa.
"That's not good," Alex muttered as she, Saeko, Takashi and Kohta stopped.
Kuma shook his head, "Change of plans! According to meteorology, that storm off of Guam has turned north by northwest and is heading right for us. At the speed it's moving the main body will be here in three days. They are predicting heavy wind and driving snow in excess of one meter."
"Onohira team, that's means we're leaving," Rika said as she handed the dispatch back to Kuma. "Get your gear together and be ready to load in three hours. Busujima-san, if you are taking your new toys you have to load them now."
"Hai, Lieutenant," the girl replied.
"It won't take me a minute to stow my gear, "Alex said. "Once I do I'll hustle back and help you take down the armor."
"Thank you, Alex-san," Saeko said as she nodded. "I already have boxes prepared so it should not take long to dismantle."
"I will handle packing our personal items, Saeko. Go ahead with your work," Takashi said as the girl nodded.
"Oh ho?" Alex said with a grin. "You aren't just trying to get some private time alone with Saeko-san's delicates are you, Takashi-kun?" causing the couple to blush.
"Ah-hmm! I'll just go get that done," the boy said as he ducked out before the Amazon could tease him more.
"To your duties!" Rika snapped as she quickly walked by with a smirk on her face.
"Aye aye, LT!" Alex replied as she charged after the older woman.
Saeko, still red, started up the stairs as Kuma and the other Pathfinders made it a point to be looking anywhere, but at the embarrassed onna-bugeisha.
000
Three hours later:
"We'll get Sarah on the next flight north," Rika was telling John Zimmerman as everyone lined up for muster. "It may be after this storm blows out, though."
"I miss her but I'm not that worried about her," he replied. "She and Takagi-san get along well enough and I'm sure she's stayed busy. I'm glad she has opened up to some of you, even if she hasn't started talking again yet."
"Give her time, John," the woman said as she clapped him on the shoulder. "You never know, one morning she may get up and start rattling away like she never had a problem."
"I really hope you're right, Rika-san," the man said as Alex walked up.
"All troops accounted for and ready to roll, LT," the girl said.
"Good, get in line and tell Giba to call them to attention," Rika told her.
Thirty seconds later the Onohira troopers snapped to as Rika posted up with her back to them in the commanders position.
She popped a salute as Kuma and Takawa walked up. "Team Dahlia, all accounted for and ready to depart!" she shouted so everyone could hear.
"At ease!" Takawa called as he and Kuma returned Rika's honor. "Please indulge us for a minute before we cut you loose," he told the woman.
"Sure thing, Base Commander," she replied with a smirk.
The man raised his voice, "I and the Odawara Base team would like to thank each and every one of you for the service and support you have provided. May your travels always be pleasant and your blades always sharp." He turned to Kuma, "Anything you want to say?"
The big man nodded, "I have to say that over my years of service I don't think I have ever dealt with a more diverse group of people." Everyone chuckled as he continued on, "But I am proud to say I wouldn't want to change any one of you. Well, that is to say, if any of you want to transfer to our unit…well, I'm just putting that out there…" Everyone laughed as Rika mouthed the word asshole to him before he grinned and spoke up again. "Seriously though, I really hope we get to work together again. Domo arigato to each and every one of you. You have taught me and my Pathfinders a lot."
With that he and the rest of the Odawara Base team bowed low to the Onohira group. When they stood again Lieutenant Takawa called out, "BANZAI!" to which his troops echoed three times.
"Attention!" Rika shouted. "Salute!" Holding the pose for a five or so seconds she called, "Return!"
"My final order to you is DISMISSED!" Takawa called out.
"Fall out and into the trucks!" Giba cried as Alex shouted, "Follow me!"
"Bye, Rika," Kuma said as he gave her a hug.
"Bye, big guy," she replied, hugging him in return. She then turned and, to his surprise, did the same to Takawa. "You've got a great second in command there, treat him right and keep him safe," she whispered to him as they broke.
"Thanks, I will," he said back quietly.
"Call us if you get in it too deep!" she said as she jogged down the hill to the truck park set up on the old market grounds.
Isaac and David stepped up next to their officers. "So, what now?" the mustached man asked.
"Now we plan," Takawa said. "While you Pathfinders start looking to see if we can find any survivors here."
"Oorah," David said. "Oorah."
000
Four hours later:
Alex and Kohta were riding the hatches of Stryker 1 as they rumbled down Hwy 135. They had already passed through Manazuru and Yugawara and were coming up on Atami. They both had on woolen face masks with goggles and gloves to protect against the cold.
"Hey Paddy hold up!" Alex called out as she waved her hand over her head for the convoy to stop.
"What's wrong?" Kohta asked.
"Give me a minute," the girl said as she ducked down into the cabin. "Hey Rika, come up, I need to show you something." With that, she pulled herself up on the top deck between the two hatches so the sniper could climb up the left hatch.
"What's the problem?" the woman asked. "Why did you stop us?"
"There's a freaking castle up there! Why haven't we taken that?" the American girl said as she pointed to a keep on top of the hill above them. "The damn highway tunnel goes right under it."
Takashi and Saeko climbed out of the back hatches and moved forward to see what was going on as Rika shook her head.
"Hey, Busujima-san, your sword sister is concerned about this castle up on the hill. Do you think we need to look into it?" Rika asked the younger woman, a sly smirk on her lips.
"Hmm, Atami Castle, it does have some beautiful views of the ocean to the north and south, but I am not sure. What do you think, Rika-san?" the dark-haired girl said, doing her level best not to break character.
Alex frowned as she looked back and forth between the women and then at Takashi who seemed to be stifling a laugh. "Okay what's so funny? I get the feeling I'm being played."
Takashi smiled, "Atami is what you in the west would call a 'tourist trap', Alex. It was built late in the Showa era, umm 1950's. It's a museum with a hot springs hotel down closer to the water."
"You know it really might work as a good highway outpost," Kohta said as he pulled his mask down so he could talk. "It is built like a normal castle, but we would have to do something about outer fortifications though."
"Plus it was the site of a famous battle too," Rika said with one of her classic smirks. "When was that, Kohta-kun? Do you remember?"
Kohta nodded, "1963 King Kong vs. Godzilla. They fought several places around the country but their last battle was over Atami Castle before falling off the cliffs into the ocean. JDSF called it a draw and left them alone since they did not come back on land."
"What the fuck Japan!" the red-headed girl exclaimed. "I mean seriously, what the fuck!"
The others all broke down laughing as Paddy started the Stryker moving again at Rika's orders.
000
Zday+231:
Darkness came quickly that time of year and Rika called the convoy to a halt since she did not want to deal with any road obstacles at night. Deciding not to clear a building, they tucked in next to a three-meter tall retaining wall that protected the highway from winds and weather coming out of the east off the bay. To their west a few business buildings and houses climbing the hillsides that looked as if they were already getting ready to fall apart.
There were very few undead around and Rika had ordered just let them be unless they tried to climb the vehicles. All had wandered off once everyone was settled and quiet.
The main body of the troops 'dog piled' in the back of the two deuce and a half trucks. Dog piling meant they put what cargo they had along the sides of beds for windbreaks and filled the middle with sleeping bags and blankets. Troopers rotated a single watchman throughout the night while the rest 'got friendly' by burrowing into the middle of the pile to stay warm. This sounded bad in that they were a mixed group, but the Onohira fighters had been together long enough that they completely trusted one another not to get grabby in the night. Plus the guys knew the women were tough enough to kick their butts and they all feared what Rika would do to them if anyone acted inappropriately.
Stryker crews also rotated watches and Kohta had the dawn shift. The boy was propped in his hatch looking into the hills with a set of binoculars when Alex opened the left cover and rose up to check on him.
"Whatcha' doing?" the girl asked her friend in a childlike voice intending on her next words to be a series of "Why?'s".
"Trying to find something up on the hill," he replied while staring through the glasses. "I saw a couple of flashes of color moving up there that didn't look like zeds."
This was more concerning than her teasing and the girl reached down to pull out a set of field glasses for herself. "What kind of color?" she asked.
"Orange…dark yellow maybe? Not sure, saw it twice out of the corner of my eye."
She panned back and forth for a minute as he did, before freezing on a target. "See that two-story house about halfway up? The one with the big wooden deck on the north side?"
"Yeah I see…HOLY FUCKING SHIT!" the boy shouted as he grabbed the .50 cal and swung it in the direction they had been looking.
"What are you doing!?" Alex shouted.
"Do you know what that is!?" he shouted back.
"Yeah, looks like a tiger to me!" she replied.
"Tiger!? Tiger!? Does Rika know about the tiger!? You damn right she don't!"
"What the fuck has gotten into you two up here?" demanded the woman in question as she pushed her way up beside Alex.
"Kohta's freaked out over a little pussy!" Alex declared with a huge grin on her face.
"Fuck you, Alex!" the boy snapped off, glaring at the girl.
"You wouldn't like it, I just lay there!" she shot back as Rika rubbed her hand over her face.
"Both of you shut the hell up!" she said. "Now someone tell me what the fuck is going on?"
Alex handed her the binoculars and told her where to look. Rika focused on the target for a minute, lowered the glasses and rubbed her eyes before looking again.
"Well ain't that a load of shits and giggles," Rika said as she continued to watch the big cat lay on the edge of the deck looking back at them.
"Ain't it!" Alex declared with a grin. "Saeko and I were just talking about stuff like this a day or two back. I was wondering what happened to the zoo animals."
"What's going on?" Paddy asked as he, Saeko and Takashi climbed up from the back hatches.
"Seems we got a kitty cat problem," Rika said as she passed the field glasses to the Boston boy.
Takashi tapped Kohta on the shoulder and got his set from him. He put them to his eyes for a minute before handing them to Saeko and pointing where to look.
"Oh my, it's beautiful!" the swordswoman declared.
"Beautiful…yeah, it's gonna look beautiful on the floor of my bedroom for me to sleep on," Kohta said as he leaned down behind the machine gun putting the sights on the area.
"Don't you fucking dare pull that trigger!" Rika ordered. She took the binoculars back and placed them to her eyes again. "Ah hell…" she said trailing off. "It's got cubs."
"What!? Where!?" Alex exclaimed as she grabbed the glasses from the woman.
"Look just to our right. They are peeking over the edge of the deck."
"Oh, I see them!" Saeko said as she focused in.
"SO CUTE!" Alex declared as she watched two little faces look over the edge. "I want to catch one and take it home!"
Rika frowned as she lit a smoke. "You will not be capturing a wild animal and try to make a pet out of it. You could not afford to feed it and I would not blame Zeke if he bit your face off for bringing it home."
"Poo," the girl said as she handed the binoculars back.
"Umm, Rika those cubs don't look very big," Takashi said. "How long does it take for a mother tiger to give birth?"
"I knew some Thai commandos who had to deal with tigers in the wild in northern Thailand, they told me a lot about them," she replied. "Mothers give birth about three and a half to four months after they are fertilized. Those cubs look to be about three months old from here."
"So that would mean there has to be a male tiger around somewhere," Paddy said, now looking around as if expecting another big cat to suddenly jump out.
Rika nodded, "She must have got knocked up after the outbreak." She looked at her gunner who was now silent. "Come on, Kohta-kun, you don't want to kill a mama now do you? That will mean you killed her cubs too."
The boy shook his head as what she said sank in.
"Good, I didn't think you were that cold-hearted," the woman said with a smile. "Well, we will have to report it to command and let them worry what to do in the long run. For now, we just need to be careful of wildlife when we go over the ditches. Everybody be on alert. Eat, use the toilet or whatever, I want to be moving in thirty minutes.
As everyone went back inside to get their day started, Alex looked at mama tiger and her babies again. One was crawling on its parent while the other stood on the deck edge and tried to roar.
"So freaking cute!" the red-head said again before she dropped back down inside.
000
Four hours later: about 10:00 hours,
Onohira base personnel stopped and listened as they heard the convoy roaring up the north road. Many dropped what they were doing and came out to watch as Stryker 1 crossed the first drawbridge.
Tomasa, Shaun and Tatsumi arrived downstairs in front of the mess hall as the APC pulled to a stop in front of supply.
"Get them checked as quickly as you can, Tomasa told Tatsumi. "I'm sure there are a lot of people eager to get closer to them."
Tatsumi nodded and waved for a group to inspect the returnees for bites.
"All clear!" the Sergeant called out as Rika and company moved forward and formed up in from of Tomasa.
After snapping to attention, Rika called out, "All present and account for. I am proud to report no losses and no injuries, Captain. Also, mission accomplished!"
Tomasa smiled and returned her salute, "At ease! Welcome home, everyone! We will debrief at 0900 tomorrow. For now, get fed and take the rest of the day off. Dismissed!"
"KOHTA!" Saya cried out as she dove on her man with Alice and Zeke only a step behind.
"Rika!" Shizuka squealed as she glomped the woman while the others laughed.
"Rei!" Paddy said as he grabbed her and spun her around before letting her feet back on the ground.
"Hey Shaun," Alex said as she hugged her foster father. "Where is everyone else?"
"At our house," he replied. "Your mom and Misa have been helping with the babies. They knew when you should be in, but really wanted to welcome you home in a little more privacy."
Alex nodded, "Ah I understand. Mom had too many years of seeing Dad leave not knowing if he would ever come back...then one day he didn't." She shook her head as if to cast away a bad memory. "Plus I totally understand Misa's outlook. I better go on and see them. To be truthful they are both probably chomping at the bit wondering where I'm at!"
The engineer laughed, "Go ahead then, I'll be in before lunch time."
The red-head cut between the trucks and ran down the lane bordered by the shotgun houses. Coming to Shaun and Asuka's she paused for a moment before stepping onto the front porch. Taking a deep breath, she tapped on the door, opened it and stepped inside. "I'm home!" she called out as she unlaced her boots in the entrance.
"Yukarin!" her mother cried out as the woman rushed up to throw her arms around the girl. "What took you so long? It seems like it's been hours since we heard the trucks come in!"
"It's only been like twenty minutes, Mom," the girl replied. "We had to go through bite checks and then muster out before I could get away. Shaun told me you were all waiting here, so I came as quick as I could."
Alex's eyes lit up as from behind her mother she heard, "A-chan?"
Seiko smirked and stepped out of the way to reveal Misa. "I'll be in the living room with Asuka-san," the woman said as she moved away.
"Hey honey, I'm home," Alex said quietly as the smaller girl dove into her arms. They locked lips and held a kiss for several long seconds before drawing back to take a breath. "Damn I missed you," the big girl whispered before kissing Misa again.
"It seems like you've been gone so long," Misa replied as she hugged her mate tightly. "What took so long?"
"Ah well, those are stories for later. Right now I want to see Asuka and the kids. Shaun said he will be in around lunch time and we can all eat together."
"Come on then," Misa said as she took Alex's hand and led her into the light of the living room.
000
It was almost an hour before Saeko and Takashi could get away and carry their gear to the main house. Once inside the dropped their rucks and weapons in their bedroom and took a deep breath.
"Ahhhh, it really feels like coming home doesn't it?" Takashi said as he took Saeko in his arms.
"At home in our own room where we can, after many long days, finally get some private time together," the tall dark-haired girl whispered as she pressed her lips to his.
"So what would you like to do?" he asked with a smirk. "Bath, eat or…"
"Oh I feel the need to work up a sweat and earn my bath and dinner," she replied as she unzipped his combat vest and began to unbutton his tunic.
"Oh good," he replied as he returned the favor to her. "And here I was afraid you would only be hungry for food…"
Saeko laughed the beautiful laugh he knew so well before pushing him to the floor and saying, "Itadakimasu!"
000
"So what's the word?" Rika asked Tomasa as she leaned against the front of the mess hall smoking before going in to eat.
"All operations are shut down for the duration of the storm and maybe even the rest of the season depending on how bad the snow gets."
Rika nodded then frowned, "What day is it?"
The Captain laughed, "Fourth Thursday of November. In America, it's also known as Thanksgiving Day."
"Ah, that's why I smell turkey cooking! Well, I guess we got a lot to be thankful for, a good base, a great team, good food and solid roofs over our heads."
"Yep," Tomasa agreed. "Hopefully, it only gets better from here."
000
Ten kilometers away in Shimoda:
They stood like statues in the woods and along the roadsides. Hundreds of undead had been playing follow the leader who seemed to hear some noise in the distance he was attracted to. They had finally stopped when the weather had gotten so cold the muscles that science said should not work, locked them in place. They stood in the dark and cold waiting…waiting for the weather to warm and they could continue on to their destination.
A/N: Props to Blackbird2266 who gave us the idea of Saeko finding the Edo style armor.
The Marshal and I are still suffering from a horrible writers block on this. That being said we do have another couple of chapter almost ready to post though.
As many of our long-time readers know I had a bout of cancer about four and a half years ago and the first half of this year I have been going through extensive testing due to my five-year checkup coming up. Even though I feel much older and more tired than I did back then I am happy to say so for nothing has come back up.
We thank everyone for bearing with us and please keep on reading!
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EN: 1st Posted 7/11/16