N
{Kazu}
Kazu didn't know what to think exactly about Morita. They'd been in different classes but had known of each other regardless. The blond had seemed more concerned with having fun or talking to cute girls, something which Kazu had become very aware of when he'd told him about his goal to find his friend Sachiko. She'd been one of two people he started worrying about when the zombies came, the other being Toru, Okada's younger cousin. What he'd found had been depressing. At least he hadn't had to kill him.
He paused, still having trouble wrapping his head around everything that had happened. Okada. He'd been laughing with him without much to worry about less than 12 hours ago, now he'd trade just about anything to go back and forget all this.
They'd made it this far, but with every passing hour, Kazu found his body getting tenser as he imagined what could go wrong. Getting to Sachiko's they could find everyone that lived there being monsters that wanted for nothing but flesh. They could get swarmed on the way, dying just short of her house, last thoughts focused on the excruciating pain that would no doubt follow being torn into or the crushing regret of being so close. Theycould-
"Hey," Kazu snapped his attention towards Morita, feeling the sweat that had begun to break out stream down his face.
"Mhs?" Whatever he'd meant to say came out a strangled mess in the face of his nervousness.
"Ease up, you look stiffer than that street sign dude," Morita said, nodding to the sign outside as Kazu just fixed him with a look of disbelief and some envy.
"How can you be calm? There are zombies. Zombies!" His breath was starting to get shorter, picking up notes of hysteria.
He soon found a hand covering his mouth, a strained look on Morita's face betraying his feelings. "Quiet down, you're gonna get us killed." He fell back into his seat when he was sure Kazu wasn't about to get them killed, running his hand through his hair. "I'm not feeling too good either, I just don't wanna die 'cause I flipped my shit." He didn't look too pleased with the image that brought to mind. "Just, try not to have a heart attack. We can't reach your friend unless you're alive."
Kazu looked down, realizing the validity of that statement. It was hard. The courage he'd found as he'd been trying to protect Marikawa-sensei seemed to only come when they were actually in the midst of zombies, and even then, Kazu sometimes found himself being reminded of their previous humanity; it had almost gotten him killed seven times already. Afterwards, it would drain out of him and leave him a nervous wreck, or close enough to not really matter.
"What if we're the only ones left?" Kazu muttered, looking down at the floor and gripping his weapon, a simple, yet durable, golf club they'd found lying around the streets.
"We aren't, there was that screaming nutjob."
Kazu grimaced, "Going by the stuff he was saying, I wouldn't expect him to last long."
Morita drew back upon hearing that, not expecting that response. He soon regained his footing and found a suitable reply, "if a guy like that survived that far then some normal people had to make it too, right?" He seemed to settle on an answer himself, nodding his head. "Of course, I'm sure all the really tough people are out there, we just have to hope one of them finds us." Despite the rough patch at the end, the words seemed to lift Kazu up a bit. He took a shaky breath and found something to prop up his resolve.
"Yeah. Yeah, you're right, if someone like me made it out, I'm sure others did too," Kazu stood up, wanting to get going while he was feeling better. Morita stood as well, glad his new companion wasn't so gloomy now.
Kazu handed the bottle he'd been drinking from back to Morita, who just put it in his pack. Morita grinned and clapped his schoolmate on the back, going past him to exit first.
"How long do you think we've got until we reach her place?" Kazu started to think, not sure about the exact distance from where they were.
"An hour? Maybe two?" Morita looked outside, happy to still see daylight.
"Cool." He adjusted the straps of his backpack, looking around for any signs of zombies. Seeing none he took another deep breath and signaled to Kazu. They set back out, keeping an eye out for anything, zombies or otherwise, that would cause them problems. Seeing as there wasn't much room for good to happen at the moment, they were hoping to avoid any surprises.
o0o
{Morita}
Morita stood inside Sachiko's house, gaping as he slowly moved about to gaze upon the large building. What's up with my friends being rich? He honestly wondered if he was just lucky, or maybe unlucky depending on how this affected his survival.
After getting his fill of gawking, he turned to look at another group of people that Kazu's friend had helped.
Morita hadn't caught their name, but they looked a bit uncomfortable around him, though he couldn't remember doing anything since they'd arrived, and he didn't think Kazu was the type to do anything either.
Looking around, Morita couldn't see Kazu or his friend anywhere. Guess I'll just wait for them to come back.
o0o
When Kazu came back, Morita saw he seemed much calmer than before, he was even smiling. Next to him was a pale girl, who he guessed was Sachiko.
"Sorry about leaving you behind Morita-san," Kazu looked a bit sheepish, rubbing his head and averting his eyes.
Morita just shrugged his shoulders, an easy-going smile on his face. "No hard feelings here." Kazu looked at him and smiled in thanks, his shoulders loosening up a bit. As the two of them reached Morita, Sachiko spoke up, trying to get everyone in the room's attention.
"Pardon me, but I would like to hear how the both of you got here. Ah, but you don't have to force yourself if it's too painful."
Morita wasn't really sure what the point was but figured it couldn't really hurt. At least his and Kazu's story wouldn't. He started to think about how he would begin his story, looking to see if Kazu was waiting for him to go first, a bit surprised that wasn't the case. "Well, everything had seemed normal enough, I was just helping our nurse…"
o0o
Morita finished his account of things, his confusion rising as he saw that some of the others were openly avoiding looking at him now. Sachiko looked between Morita and the other group, honestly worried as to how things were going if they were already having trouble communicating.
"Um, like I said, I was just curious, you don't have to-"
"No, it's no problem, I'll tell you," A man best and most simply described as rugged spoke up, looking among his family to make sure they were okay with it. No one spoke so he decided to go ahead. "I'm sorry we haven't really talked to anyone, we were-" he pauses as he mulls over the phrasing, "-we lost someone." The others continued to be silent, some of them seemed to be holding back tears. "I'm Kouno Saburo," he moved his arm to point at those near him, introducing them individually. When he was done he bowed, something which the others followed, albeit more subdued, ending the bow with a 'nice to meet you.'
"For us, this started yesterday. My father called everyone up, telling us he felt something ominous in his gut. This, along with some other things left us wary and we'd never really known his instincts to be wrong, so we checked to make sure everyone was okay. Nothing had come up at the time, so we loosened our guards." His face tensed up and he clenched his fist before he continued on, "But earlier today my brother, Aoi, went to my parent's house, leaking blood on the floor, he'd started telling them about some crazy guy that he'd tried calming down, only to get his fingers ripped off. He'd been on the way to my parent's house and decided that was as good a place as any to cool his heels as he waited for someone to take him to the doctor's or the hospital."
Saburo and the rest of his family apparently couldn't hold it in anymore as they began crying, though Saburo's was rather subdued as he attempted to power on through his story.
"Hardly an hour had passed before my brother started displaying symptoms, in that time he'd made it apparent he knew just what had bitten him and he wished for me to take care of him if he did indeed turn. He did, but no one was hurt thankfully, and I-" He choked up once more, "I did what he asked. I killed him." Saburo fell apart at this point, turning to his family and hiding his face from the others. In his place came who Morita assumed was his father, a man with a face that spoke of many days smiling and caring for others. He smiled, albeit softly, at his son for having the strength of will to speak up for his family when they could not.
"After my son passed, we began to head for my brother's house, he lives outside of the city, in the sticks, and we figured there would be little trouble. A bunch of those, monsters, appeared before we even got to the outskirts and we were forced along a different path, eventually ending up here, surrounded. Our only hope was that there was someone inside alive and willing to accept us in." His smile returned and he deeply bowed to Sachiko, "For that, this old man humbly thanks you, for saving his family."
"Please, sit up, I only did as I was raised to," Sachiko seemed a bit uncomfortable with the praise, seeking to bring the man up from his position on the floor.
"So what's your deal?" Once everyone had settled into relative quiet Morita found himself wondering about how Kazu's friend had found herself alone in her house and asked her.
"I'm not actually alone. My brother, Kei, and our butler, Yamaoka, are off poking about the area. As for my story, there's not much to it, I woke up today to some rather loud noises and looked outside, only to see those outside eating each other," Morita was impressed with how calmly she was telling her story until he looked a bit lower and found her hands on her lap, the knuckles white from how tightly she was clenching them. It was nonetheless impressive that she could at least appear calm.
"I must admit, I panicked at the sight. Thankfully, Yamaoka was there to soothe me and bring me up to speed. There were people attacking each other, my father had been called and convinced and my brother was taking stock of all the disaster supplies we had. We talked things out and went about trying to prepare. A few hours after that the Kouno's arrived, then you," She said this to Kazu, smiling as she did. Morita was jealous a beautiful lady like her was paying attention to his friend but knew it made sense.
"What now?" He asked, seeing the sentiment being shared among Kazu and one of the Kouno's.
Sachiko raised a finger to her lips, taking up a classic thinking pose. "I suppose we could wait until my brother and Yamaoka get back before discussing things further."
Everyone agreed, separating naturally into groups so they could talk amongst themselves.
o0o
{The Mansion Group}
It was already well past 10 when Kei and Yamaoka came back, the older one politely announcing their return while the young man muttered his greeting.
"Welcome home." Sachiko returned, glancing between the two hopefully, waiting for any good news. Yamaoka looked to Kei, waiting for him to speak first. Kei looked up from his musings, looking around the room. "Is this everyone?"
"No, there are a few in the restroom."
"Please bring them over here, I would like to discuss some things before the night is out." He found somewhere to sit and resumed thinking. Sachiko left to tell the others and Yamaoka left for the kitchen to get drinks ready.
A few minutes passed before everyone was gathered, Saburo and his wife having finished what they were doing. Kei waited until they were in their seats and introductions were made before talking. "I'm sorry if you were busy, but I thought it imperative that we talk through some details before settling in, like the general state of things or what role everyone will have for the time being. However, if you wish to wait until the morning comes, then I am willing to wait." Saburo looked as if he didn't appreciate Kei's wording.
"'You're willing to wait? You say that as if you're in charge." Whether that statement was meant to be aggressive or not was unknown to all but Saburo.
Kei nodded. "I am."
"You didn't clear that with anyone, did you?" Now, the aggression was clearly intended, and while most of the people in the room started to tense up, Kei was calm, relaxed, even.
"I did not, it was my father's wish. This is my house and my family, they knew things were going to be this way." His reply was clipped. As if no more needed to be said.
Saburo was visibly frowning now, actively holding himself from stepping into the kid's personal space to intimidate him. "Does anyone else get a say in this?"
Kei remained calm, firmly rooted in place. "No. As I said, this is my house and my responsibility."
Saburo let himself step forward now, although the threat wasn't as effective with him looking up at Kei. "A child shouldn't be leading, not in these circumstances."
Kei's demeanor dropped a bit, the only physical change being the shift of his eyes to Saburo. "Who else would be stepping forth for the role? Your parents? They have not been arguing on their own behalf, and anyone unwilling to step forward at this point does not deserve to take charge. You or your wife then perhaps? There's hardly any difference in our ages, so surely that's not it. Besides that, do you really think a few years of life as you've led it would prepare you for a role such as this? That any amount would?" Kei waited for Saburo to counter his claims, continuing when no rebuttal was forthcoming.
"I do not mean to be so forceful, but I have been working to take up our father's position for several years now, leading is something I am quite used to." Even as he eased up on the authoritativeness of his tone, he saw the family warily looking at him, quite far removed from comfortable or trusting.
"I am doing this for me and my family, as you are for yours. I'm not asking for absolute loyalty, merely everyone's cooperation." Kei let the silence settle, waiting for everyone to come to their conclusions before speaking again. Kazu and Morita needed no convincing. From the start, Kazu was planning on staying with Sachiko, as that had been all he'd really had left that he knew of. Morita had no desire to leave since the only people he knew were halfway across town and traveling at this hour sounded like a sure-fire way to get chomped.
The Kouno's, while conflicted and of differing opinions, eventually decided to stay as well. Satoru believed in Kei and his wife trusted her husband's instincts. Saburo would follow his parents and Mamiko would follow him. Akane just wanted the fighting to stop and Suzume saw the intelligence and charisma that Kei had.
o0o
{Kei}
When everyone made clear their intention, Kei sought to move on. "Introductions have been made but I would like to hear more about everyone, what your jobs, hobbies or talents were, as they will help in settling who will be taking what role."
"I had a job in construction, prepping sites, moving things around, that kind of stuff. No hobbies really, other than relaxing with my family when I was free." Saburo went first, he scratched his face as he thought over any kind of particular past-times he had, his numerous muscles shifting as he did so. It was clear to Kei what kind of role he would take, even before he'd spoken up. Nonetheless, it was good to have confirmation.
"I was aiming for a degree in law, so you can imagine I didn't have much time to do anything other than study." Suzume's response was short but enough to tell Kei what he needed to know.
"My wife and I ran a store, when we weren't busy with that, we spent time with our children or relaxing outside." They could be used for resource and task management, and judging by how he saw Satoru's family follow him when it came time to decide, he was most likely used as emotional support as well.
Things went in much the same fashion for the next hour or so, with everyone save for Kei's family talking about themselves and bringing up whatever details they thought would help.
Eventually, the roles were settled upon. Morita and Saburo would be the vanguard, the ones going out and about to take care of problems that had a simple five-fingered solution. Kazu and Akane would handle everyone's health, as both had ample experience in treating people's injuries.
Suzume and Sachiko would act as advisors, attempting to cover up for subjects that Kei was lacking in or making decisions if he was indisposed.
Satoru and Ayame would take care of inventory and the like, having literal decades of experience doing so.
Which left Saburo's wife, Mamiko. She would take care of the children, parts of the house in use, and preparing meals.
He and Yamaoka would fill in for whatever tasks were needed, trying to make sure everything was nicely filled out, although they had responsibilities they favored above the others.
All said and done, Kei was grateful his sister had taken in those that had sought aid. Doing so had been dangerous, no doubt, as well as put more of a strain on what they had to offer, but that didn't change the fact that more hands available meant they could do more, something that would be vital to long-term survival. Though that would all be determined by who chose to stay after he told them the news.
Kei breathed in deeply once everyone had accepted their roles, glad to have that over and done with. "It is already rather late as is. I wished to discuss more but that can wait until tomorrow." He saw that that didn't sit well with Kazu and Suzume. "Is something the matter?"
Surprisingly, Kazu was the one that spoke. Even if he'd known the boy for all of 3-5 hours, he could tell from the very beginning that he wasn't one to speak up often. "I'm not sure if I can sleep without knowing everything I possibly can about what's going on." Suzume nodded, sharing most of the sentiment.
"The gist of it is that despite how things are looking, there is hope in this situation. I know you would like to hear more but that will have to do, for now, the both of us are filthy and I would like some rest before I collapse in a pile a filth." He politely gestured to Yamaoka, who excused himself upon being acknowledged to clean himself up.
Kazu relaxed a bit upon hearing that there would be good news while Suzume still seemed discontent, even if she nonetheless relented for the moment.
As Kei rose, slowly stretching again before setting off, he felt his body stiffen up. Regardless of how in shape he was, the day had taken its toll. Once he was clean, he hoped he could stay awake long enough to properly get into bed.
o0o
{Morita}
After Sachiko's brother had left, everyone gradually separated again, this time in slightly higher spirits. His good mood was dampened by the fact that he still felt the Kouno's were mostly ignoring him, although now he was relatively sure that it was not out of spite.
Morita sighed heavily, rubbing his face. The group was kinda like a bunch of grapes or something, loosely connected, but still together. Some parts sweeter than the others, hopefully, none of them had seeds though, Morita always hated finding those in his grapes, he figured Kazu or Sachiko's brother were seeded grapes, they seemed like the type to-." Morita slapped himself awake. He must've been exhausted if his mind had drifted like that.
He supposed it made sense. He'd been up for at least 16 hours and he hadn't gotten much sleep the night before, nor did he catch that nap he'd intended on during school.
The thought of school made Morita feel as if something important was missing, or that he should be worried.
Morita's eyes widened. School. Takashi and the others. He'd forgotten about them. Again. He quickly pulled his phone out and was relieved to see that it was still alive. He got ready to contact Takashi or Thomas but stopped. What if they were surrounded right now? What if they hadn't shut their sound off? What if calling them up now got them killed?
Now that he wasn't immediately in danger of dying, he found it easier to start working up some panic.
What if I'm the only one left?
He was brought out of his thoughts by a sharp pain. He'd been clenching his hand hard enough to start piercing skin and his phone was creaking in his other hand from the pressure. Morita took a deep breath and blew it out, repeating the process when he found it wasn't enough. A few minutes had passed by the time he'd calmed down.
He would believe in his friends. They were the closest thing he had to family. They couldn't be dead.
"Don't die on me you bastards, who else am I gonna fuck around with?"
o0oo0oo0o
And that's a wrap!
Now I know I'm on my way to becoming a great author. My first hiatus, even if it was only 3 months.
Honestly, most of it was just laziness, most of the times I didn't know what to write I would just shrug and stop there for the time being, other times the same part I was stuck on would just loop over and over in my head and I would do the same thing. But once I got going I tore through this so I'm pretty happy with that.
On the chapter, I wanted to include this in order to let people know what was going on with some of the other characters I'd thrown in. Originally, I'd wanted to try and squeeze in a cameo of Tom Brody from Brian Boru's Land of the Dead but decided against it since I thought it would be rude to do so without asking and getting past that I didn't think it right to have him without his gang of buff bois. (Thank you for updating, by the way, I derive great pleasure from how uncomfortable Tom gets with Saeko's advances).
But uh, yeah, let me know how the chapter was since I'm not really too sure about the quality. Like, I feel like it's good but not at the same time, you know?
Pairings: Everyone else is pretty much the same but I'm not sure if I wanna have [SI/Keikaku/Saeko]. Something just feels off about pairing myself with a fictional character. Not really scummy or anything just, off.