Hello people, and welcome back to Highschool of the Dead: Resurrection. That was probably the most subtle cliffhanger I left my audience on ever last chapter, now the fruits of the group's labor should be stored just around the corner, just let's sink our teeth into them.
After the battle, Kohta and Takashi followed Masato back to base, with the former pair laughing, slapping hands, and in Kohta's case, grinning like a maniac. Masato of course continued to remain as hard-shelled as ever; there were bound to be significantly more zombies out there, and he wasn't going to be happy until they're down and out. The day wasn't over however; there was still a matter of preparation to take care of.
Back at the base, Shizuka gave each of the girls a physical one by one, just like she did with Masato. Each one of them checked out as well as he did, which of course was reflected in their performance over the last several weeks, nevermind recent times, but as with Masato, it was better to be safe than sorry. Alice in particular was an attention-grabber since she was still growing up, so seeing how much and how well she was maturing was good to see.
"Takashi!" Alice exclaimed as she rushed up to the trio.
"Alice? What's the matter?" Takashi asked.
"Guess what? We discussed that I should help fight the zombies, with guns." Alice said.
"I'm sorry, what?" Kohta asked seriously.
"It's true! Both Takashi and...Corporal Toriyama, talked about it too." Alice said, and Kohta looked at both of his teammates.
"What else have you not told me?" He asked seriously.
"I'm sorry, but I was going to tell you." Takashi said.
"Well, good job letting me know you were going to make Alice a child soldier..." Kohta said.
"She herself agreed." Masato said.
"With all due respect sir...was this even an informed decision?" Kohta asked.
"She said herself that she's willing to do what she has to." Masato said.
"That's not what I said." Alice said.
"It might as well be. Now, get started on training her as soon as you are able." Masato said.
"Wait..you want me to do it?" Kohta asked.
"You are the most qualified with guns, next to Corporal Toriyama of course." Takashi said.
"Why don't you do it? You have-" Masato cuts Kohta off.
"Out of the question. I have yet to see how well-trained the others are, and you require training the least, so this little girl is in your charge until further notice. Does anything I said not make sense?" Masato asked.
"No sir." Kohta said.
"Good." Masato said before walking off, and Takashi shared a look with Kohta before shrugging a following Masato.
"For what it's worth, Saeko isn't that into guns in the first place..." Takashi trailed off.
"I'm aware. It's the others that concern me." Masato said as simply as ever.
"Well...Saya is pretty good with her MP5, but between you and me, she could use an upgrade." Takashi said.
"That is no problem; she can use one of the suppressors for an M4 of her own. You could all use suppressors for that matter, although it is a shame not all of our weapons can accommodate suppressors." Masato said.
"Maybe Itachi would have one less thing to grill us about..." Takashi groaned.
"What of the last two women?" Masato asked.
"Well, you've seen what Rei can do now, and I'm pretty sure she's training that sweet ass of hers off right now trying to get better." Takashi said and Masato stopped walking and looked Takashi in the face, which made him inhale sharply as the steely look in Masato's face.
"And what of the nurse?" He asked.
"I...I've never seen her fight; I don't even think she can." Takashi said.
"I will see to her later, but for now, I have one last place in this base to investigate, and I expect the rest of you to continue whatever you have to work on until I return." Masato said before walking off.
"Yes sir." Takashi said before deflating.
Meanwhile, Kohta walked Alice over to the base's shooting range and looked around.
"This is where Rei and Saeko had their shooting contest." Alice said.
"Yes it is, and it's also where you and me will get started." Kohta said.
"I can't wait to be able to help you and everyone more." Alice said, and Kohta shared her smile.
"And I can't wait to see you do it. First, let's start off easy, with this." Kohta said before pulling and showing a pistol. "This is a Berreta, also know as an M9."
"O.k..." Alice trailed off.
"Now, there are many kinds of pistols, and they actually have different things going for them, but let's just focus on this one. It holds 15 rounds, and weighs only
"Are we using that?" Alice asked while pointing to the SAW.
"Not a chance. Not only is it so heavy even I have a hard time lifting it, but it's too extreme for you." Kohta said.
"What is it?" Alice asked.
"It's called a SAW, which stands for Squad Automatic Weapon." Kohta said.
"What does that mean?" Alice asked.
"A squad is a group of soldiers. Automatic means that instead of pulling the trigger over and over, you can just hold the trigger, and it will just keep firing until it runs out of bullets, you let the trigger go, or the gun jams, whichever comes first. A weapon is obviously something you use to fight with." Kohta said.
"O.k., but what happens when a gun jams?" Alice asked.
"It's when a gun stops working." Kohta said.
"What?!" Alice asked seriously.
"There are times where a gun is either too damaged, has something stuck inside it, or the user doesn't use it the right way, and the gun stops firing, and of course, if it stops firing, it's almost useless. But this one here...well, look at it. There's no damage, no dirt, no signs of misuse, nothing." Kohta said.
"That's good." Alice said.
"Yes it is, which is exactly why I'm giving you this one. Now, with that out of the way, let's lay down some rules." Kohta said.
"O.k." Alice said.
"First off, always...and I mean always, treat a gun like it's loaded. Even if you made absolutely sure it's not, treat it like it is." Kohta said.
"Why if it's not loaded?" Alice asked.
"Because everyone else may not know that, and they'll probably get scared." Kohta said.
"Oh...well, I don't want to scare anyone..." Alice trailed off.
"Now, some people are brave enough to handle a gun being pointed at them, but you shouldn't expect that. I'm pretty sure even Corporal Toriyama wouldn't like that...and he's not scared of anything." Kohta said.
"He would probably get mad at me though..." Alice said.
"That is also true, and...God help anyone who makes him mad." Kohta said.
"Like that man he shot..." Alice breathed out.
"Oh...that...well, I knew the man Corporal Toriyama shot, and he was not a good man, not at all." Kohta said.
"Was he as bad as the zombies?" Alice asked.
"I don't know, but I actually threatened to shoot him myself, and I was going to do it too." Kohta said.
"I don't want to think about this..." Alice said seriously.
"Yeah, good point. Shooting living people is a pretty messed up subject, but that's not what we're training for; we're training to kill zombies, which is totally different right?" Kohta asked.
"Right." Alice said.
"Now, rule number two, don't intentionally point a gun at anything you don't plan on shooting, otherwise...why point the gun at it in the first place? Doesn't make alot of sense if you think about it." Kohta said.
"Right." Alice said.
"Rule number three, if you don't think you can hit your target, don't shoot it." Kohta said.
"Because why shoot in the first place?" Alice asked.
"Exactly." Kohta said.
"Is that it?" Alice asked.
"For now yes, ready to start?" Kohta asked.
"Yes." Alice said with a determined smirk, and Kohta went to set up some targets, and once he did that, he went back to Alice, who was assessing the situation.
"Alright, you ready?" Kohta asked.
"Ready." Alice said before pointing her pistol at a target, but Kohta stopped her.
"Not so fast. It's not as simple as just pointing a gun at a target and letting the bullets fly. You have to keep yourself loose, otherwise the recoil will hit you harder." Kohta said.
"Recoil, is that why guns move back?" Alice asked.
"Exactly, and pistols luckily don't have much recoil, but even then, if you just lock yourself up and fight it, you'll wind up hurting yourself more. So relax." Kohta said, and Alice bent her elbows and loosened herself.
"Alright..." She breathed out.
"Now, aim for the heads on those posters. Those bullseyes markings? Ignore them; the head is your target." Kohta said.
"O.k." Alice said.
"Also, I completely forgot to mention something: squeeze the trigger, don't pull it, otherwise you'll put more force into it than you need to and it'll throw of your aim." Kohta said.
"O.k." Alice said.
"Alright, I won't interrupt anymore, shoot when ready." Kohta said, and Alice focused on the target, and squeezed the trigger. The recoil shocked her, and the bang sound shocked her even more, but the target's cheek was struck by the bullet.
"I forgot how loud that was!" Alice exclaimed.
"Sorry, I should've given you ear muffs. But look!" Kohta said as he pointed at the target, and Alice beamed.
"I got it!" She exclaimed.
"Yes you did, on your first try too. Although, it was a bit of a grazing shot, but still. A real zombie's head is bigger than that, and would be moving closer, which means it would be easier to hit." Kohta said.
"Alright." Alice said.
"You want to keep going?" Kohta asked.
"You bet!" Alice said seriously, before Kohta put ear muffs on her, and she opened fire at the targets some more.
Meanwhile, Rei was on a tower using her rifle to get some target practice with some zombies that were roaming around in the distance. First things first, she stabilized the gun on a railing, and made sure her breath was stable. Luckily, handling the gun's weight was not a problem; weeks of fighting zombies tends to make even women more robust, especially if they prefer fighting up-close like Rei did. The replacement scope she got for the one that the nuke fried worked wonders as well; she could see the zombies as if they were an arm's length from her...and they might as well have been.
One bullet zoomed through the barrel of her Springfield, and blew the contents of her target's head out the other side of it's head. Rei then took a moment to silently celebrate, then went back to what she was doing; there were dozens more zombies out there...and they heard the noise. She then panicked and looked through her scope again at another zombie's head, and pulled the trigger. It was a grazing shot, but it still pierced the zombie's brain, and even hit a second zombie in the gut, not enough to kill the second one, but it was more than enough to make Rei get the mess: she needed to focus more.
She then fired more and more bullets into the small horde, sometimes hitting multiple heads in a row, sometimes hitting only one, and crippling another one by hitting it's leg, or shattering it's hip. She then took a moment to compose herself, and then went back to shooting more zombies...but she two more rounds before running out of bullets.
"Fuck!" She exclaimed...and then heard footsteps before seeing Takashi's hand reaching out with another magazine.
"Will this help?" He asked, and Rei smirked before reloading and aiming at the horde again. Takashi then leaned against the wall, and watched the zombies drop like flies. Eventually, the last few fell, and Rei checked her clip.
"And I still have seven shots." Rei said proudly.
"Knowing you, that means 14 zombies will get fucked over instead of seven." Takashi said, and Rei rested her rifle on her shoulder.
"I wish I learned to use this thing sooner." She said.
"Well, better late than never." Takashi said, and Rei looked down and deflated.
"That is very true..." She said, and Takashi put a hand on her chin and made her look at him.
"Hey...that's water under the bridge now." He said softly, and Rei shared a smile with him, before sharing a brief but sweet kiss with him.
"I love you." Rei whispered.
"I love you too." Takashi said before Rei leaned her rifle against the wall and hugged Takashi. The two then stood there simply holding each other, and feeling each other breath during the moment of peace.
"So...why did you come up here?" Rei asked.
"I just wanted to see your work up close." Takashi said.
"And? How did I do?" Rei asked, and Takashi huffed in amusement.
"I never thought I'd say this, but you are much hotter when you're shooting that rifle." He said and Rei patted his chest.
"Don't tell me that too often or I'll wind up like Saya." She said.
"You? Please, only Alice is more innocent. Oh, speaking of whom, she should be training with Kohta as we speak." Takashi said.
"I'm still not comfortable with her using guns...but if we have to, we have to." Rei said.
"Who knows? She might take a page out of your book someday...which as we jut saw, is really saying something." Takashi said.
"That...would actually be nice to see." Rei said.
"Also, where did Saeko go? I haven't seen her since this morning." Takashi asked.
"Last I saw her, she was walking around the base, or maybe she's keeping an eye on Itachi. God knows why..." Rei said.
"Hey, I hate him too." Takashi said.
"I know, I know, he'll get his. We went over that, but still...that man needs to get his head out of his ass." Rei said.
"Maybe he will, or maybe someone will need to kick his head out of his ass." Takashi said.
"Was...that supposed to be a play on words?" Rei asked.
"Not really..." Takashi said.
"I hope not, because that sucked." Rei said.
"Very funny." Takashi deadpanned and Rei giggled.
"Let's just go have some lunch." She said.
"It's a date." Takashi said before walking her down the stairs to the ground heading to the storeroom the food was at.
Meanwhile, Kohta was reloading Alice's M9 for her, and then they looked over the targets she shot at.
"15 shots, 11 hits...not bad for a first time." Kohta said.
"I wish I got those last four shots." Alice said.
"Hey, don't beat yourself up over it. This is your first time afterall; most kids wouldn't even try this, let alone do this well." Kohta said.
"Alright. So what's next?" Alice asked.
"Next, let's try the M4." Kohta said before grabbing one.
"Wait...this is what Corporal Toriyama used." Alice said.
"I can see why; not only does it hold twice as many rounds as your M9, but it's range puts the M9's to shame. It hits harder too." Kohta said before giving it to Alice.
"It's heavier too." Alice said.
"It's just bigger, and unlike the M9, you have to use it with both hands. Well, technically you can use it with one hand, but...that's anything but a good idea, unless you're a complete beast like Corporal Toriyama, but even then, there's no way he's not smart enough to know that wouldn't work." Kohta said.
"O.k." Alice said.
"Now, let me try something." Kohta said before taking the M4, and screwing on a suppressor.
"What's that?" Alice asked.
"Just something to make the gun less noisy." Kohta said.
"You can do that?" Alice asked.
"Apparently." Kohta said before giving the M4 back, and helping Alice aim it...before she put a bullet through the center of a target's head.
"Wow...that is less noisy." Alice said.
"I told you. Now, there's one thing I need to mention with the M4: see that switch on the side?" Kohta asked and Alice looked at it before humming in acknowledgement. "That's how you set the fire mode, from single-shot, burst shot, which is when you shoot three bullets at once, and full-auto which is exactly what it sounds like."
"And full-auto isn't a smart thing to use against zombies." Alice said.
"Not unless they're alot of them extremely close to you...then again, try not to think about it." Kohta said.
"You don't have to tell me..." Alice said.
"O.k., I think that's enough for now or your brain will explode. Let's go find the others, and have some lunch." Kohta said.
"O.k." Alice said as she followed Kohta to the storeroom where the others were, including Saeko.
"...and she landed 11 out of 15 shots." Kohta said.
"Did she?" Rei asked.
"Not bad." Saya said.
"Way to go Alice." Takashi said.
"Impressive." Saeko said.
"Thanks..." Alice said.
"I also showed her a thing or two about the M4, but then we decided enough was enough and came here." Kohta said.
"Smart. Half of the time one spends training is spent on resting." Saeko said.
"My thoughts exactly." Kohta said before the group continued eating.
"Hey Saeko, where's Itachi?" Rei asked.
"Scouting most likely. I left some food at the gate for him, and left him to his own devices as he would want." Saeko said.
"He's still scouting? For what?" Takashi asked.
"Who knows, who cares. As long as he's out of our hair." Saya said.
"Actually...where's Miss Shizuka and the corporal?" Kohta asked.
"Miss Shizuka already ate, and she's still at the clinic. Corporal Toriymama is-" Masato cuts Takashi off.
"Present and accounted for." He said, and he and Shizuka walked in and sat down.
"Welcome back sir." Kohta said.
"Did you do as I asked?" Masato asked.
"Of course sir, and Alice succeeded with flying colors. I taught her how to use an M9, and even showed her a thing or two about the M4." Kohta said.
"Very good." Masato said.
"So...may I ask where you were sir?" Rei asked.
"I was at the other end of the base, the last place I haven't checked. It was not worth my time, but unless I checked I never would have known. Anyway, there is something I failed to mention." Masato said.
"Is it bad?" Alice asked.
"That depends on how you look at it. It turns out, the military is well-aware that this place is occupied, and they intentionally dropped supplies here because of that." Masato said.
"What? Do they even know who we are?" Takashi asked.
"Unlikely, but they could probably tell that I, or at least a member of this base's former staff was here via satellite recon, and knew that the Ghosts populating this place were trustworthy as a result." Masato said.
"We're not Ghosts." Rei said.
"Officially, everyone who is not military is a Ghost. However, if any of you wish, I could put in a word for you with my people and make you part of the actual military, but that is neither here nor there. We have more important matters to attend to." Masato said before grabbing some food.
"Ummm...Corporal Toriyama?" Alice asked.
"Yes?" Masato asked.
"What's...satellite recon?" Alice asked.
"It's when the military uses special computers in Earth's orbit to look over an area, either to learn more, or to make sure that what is learned beforehand is still true." Masato said.
"You can do that?" Alice asked.
"Few things are impossible Alice." Masato said.
"What else is there?" Alice asked.
"I'm sorry, but I'm sharing too many with too little hesitation as it is." Masato said.
"But sir..." Takashi trailed off.
"I am part of this group because you are aiding my mission to destroy the undead; if I do anything aside from that very thing, it is only to help my mission in the future instead of just the here and now. Do not forget that..." Masato said before going back to his food, and the rest of the group shared looks with each other before they finished their own meals.
When they were done, the group split up yet again, and Shizuka went back to the clinic...and ran into Masato who was leaning against a wall with his arms crossed.
"Corporal Toriyama?" Shizuka asked.
"What can you do against zombies?" Masato asked.
"Well...I have this?" Shizuka said as she pulled a net launcher out from between her breasts...and Masato just stared at it.
"A net launcher? All you have...is a net launcher?" He asked.
"Umm...yes..." Shizuka said.
"You have no skills with a weapon?!" Masato asked.
"Not really..." Shizuka said.
"That must change." Masato said.
"What?!" Shizuka asked.
"Come with me. You need to be able to handle a firearm as well." Masato said.
"Now wait just a minute! I've already tried driving a...what's it called? An APC! I think I've learned quite enough." Shizuka said seriously.
"Not even close. If you are not able to kill zombies rather than simply slow them down, there is little to no reason for you to be here! Now, collect yourself, and join me later." Masato said before walking outside, leaving Shizuka behind to shake her fists, squeal in frustration and then cross her arms while pouting. Once she got it out of her system, she walked outside still sulking. Masato then spotted her and motioned her to follow him as sternly as ever. They then stopped when they spotted Itachi rushing through the gates.
"Hey!" He yelled, and everyone came out one by one.
"What's the matter?" Takashi asked.
"I should be the one asking you people that. I don't know what the fuck has gotten into you making this much noise, but you kicked a hornet's nest. There's a horde of zombies marching this way." Itachi said, and Masato marched over to the storeroom. "Hey! Where are you going?"
"To get the tools I need to kill zombies." Masato said before grabbing a SCAR, slinging it over his shoulder, holding the M32 in his left hand and brandishing the SAW in his right before walking outside.
"Have you lost your damn mind! There must be a thousand of them." Itachi said.
"There's about to be a thousand less." Masato said, before Itachi gets in his way.
"O.k...I don't know what you're thinking, but not even all of us can handle a horde that big." Itachi said.
"Do you have a better idea?" Masato asked.
"Yes! Leave!" Itachi snapped...and Masato looked at the humvees by the gate, especially the miniguns and M2 Brownings they have on the roofs. He then handed Kohta the SAW and Takashi the M32 before running off to the humvees.
"Now what's he up to?" Saya asked.
"Shizuka, prepare a vehicle to load the supplies into, then help me position those humvees back there in the distance by the entrance! The rest of you keep those zombies busy!" Masato yelled.
"I have a better idea, I'll go help Shizuka, then join you later." Saya said.
"Wait! What's going on?" Alice asked.
"Those humvees have extremely powerful guns on them, and Corporal Toriyama wants us to use as many as we can to kill as many zombies as we can." Takashi said.
"Never mind that this horde puts the last horde to shame..." Itachi groaned.
"Then give us a hand oh great and powerful Itachi!" Saya snapped.
"Well, I did my part; now I'm going to help prepare an escape vehicle for us." Itachi said before running into the storeroom then grabbing some crates full of food and heading outside, just in time for Shizuka to drive by with a Stryker.
"Everyone! Get moving!" Takashi yelled, and Saya helped Itachi load the Stryker, and Alice did as well...with the smaller things of course, and then went to fetch Zeke when she remembered him.
Takashi, Kohta, Saeko, and Rei all rushed through the gates...and saw that Itachi was telling the whole truth.
"Ah shit dispensers..." Takashi groaned.
Batten down the hatches much? Anyway, this is Itachi's house all over again, and this time they're in even further over their heads, but at least the good Corporal has a plan to kick ass and chew bubble...and he's all out of gum (Anyone who gets that reference gets an imaginary cookie). So, there's an even greater zombie massacre coming your way, so be sure to Rate, Review, and Share, while I get cooking. Stay tuned...