Chapter 24

Time passed and soon enough it was the middle of July. A month had passed since the start of all this mess and everyone had started to relax. The refreshing contest had ended in a tie because Misuzu couldn't pick between Mori and the twins for most refreshing, so instead he'd let all three of them get out of the night shift for a week. Haruhi and Tamaki had managed to have their little talk and Nanako had found amusement in their awkwardness in the days following… always blushing and scurrying away or finding excuses to help one another with things around the pension.

When the outbreak had occurred, many people in Karuizawa had fled in fear that the small town would become overrun quickly, so aside from those at the pension, there were only maybe four or five other families dotted throughout the town. Misuzu of course had put word out that the pension was a safe place for all to gather if they felt unsafe in their own homes and they'd ended up with the remaining residents flocking to them. Arai produce had bought all their supplies over to the pension since that seemed to be the base of operations now.

One of the adults in the town, Kasama Tatsu, had been a member of the military and had gone out of Karuizawa with a few other people to try and find weapons for everyone to be able to defend themselves with and had returned with various guns and sadly a couple of people lighter. Everyone old enough to lift and aim a gun was walked through how to properly use them in case of an emergency.

Today however, Nanako had taken up the responsibility of doing a lap around the town to make sure they were still safe, rifle on her back and radio on her belt in case of emergency. In all honesty, it was her turn for it and nobody else seemed all that eager to head out into the summer heat to do it.

Nanako's POV

I was still unsure of the whole rifle thing but Tatsu-san had insisted that I and the other members of the group deserved to have one, considering how we had all managed to survive for so long unaided.

I shifted the strap of the rifle across my back as the summer sunshine washed over me, only slightly hindered by the shade provided by the trees I was walking under. It was definitely the warmest it had been so far this year, a day that if the end of the world wasn't here, would have been spent at the beach or the water park or at someone's house in their pool. Nothing had happened in the last two weeks and things were looking calm as ever up here… so did that mean the worst had passed?

I would be naïve to think that really wouldn't I? but it was so easy to relax and let your guard down when things were so safe and serene up in the mountains.

I moved through the town onto the mountain path, making my way up to where you could see over the city. At night it had been a beautiful view of neon lights and bustling life, a contrast to the peace up here. Now though, I imagined it was likely to be smoke and disaster, something I thought would never be possible.

The trail itself was quiet and it dawned on me; there were no birds singing today. A frown descended my features as I slid the rifle from my back carefully, very aware that just because I hadn't seen any since we'd been here, it didn't mean there might not be some random zombies hanging around up here. In my life experience, the lack of birdsong where it was usually prevalent could be the sign of a disaster about to happen. It'd happened the day the zombies struck, it'd happened when I was a kid and there was a huge earthquake and so now it had me waiting for the other shoe to drop.

I reached the vantage point, gun clutched in my hands as I walked out to the edge and stopped at the fence that protected me from falling off it. I could feel the tenseness in my shoulders as I raised my binoculars up to my face and looked out over the city below… plumes of smoke were rising from various places in the city, cars abandoned, bridges blocked… it was a lot to take in. I could see a vehicle making its way down towards the city and figured that it was probably a supply run.

I stood there for maybe half an hour or more, just scouring the city below for anything unusual, though what I laid my eyes on next had me scrambling for my radio.

"Nanako to Misuzu… come in!"

Normal POV

Back at Pension Misuzu…

"Now Misuzu… we need to decide on a group to head into the city and gather supplies"

Kasama Tatsu had a map of the city rolled out over the largest dining table, scribbles and markings all over it to show where the Host Club and Ranka had already hit up and also showing where the blocked roads were for vehicles.

"Oh I know… but we should wait for Nanako to come back, she is as much a part of this group as everyone else" Misuzu nodded, moving to pass out cups of tea and coffee to those present.

"Misuzu…" Tatsu rubbed his face "she is off on patrol and we need to leave soon if we want to make the most of daylight"

"Fine fine…." Misuzu pouted a little.

"I propose that myself, my son Akira, the Kinomoto boy, Haninozuka and Morinozuka head on down to the city, We should be back by nightfall" Tatsu looked around for opinions.

Honey and Mori nodded in agreement, though Tamaki looked like he was going to argue until he caught the death glare from Ritsu, daring him to be dramatic right now.

Sure, splitting their little group wasn't ideal but Honey and Mori were capable fighters and it was only going to be a short trip down to the city for a few supplies and then tomorrow it would likely be another group so they could maximise their reach.

With everyone in agreement, those designated for the supply run piled into Tatsu's van and were off, driving down towards the city.

Misuzu watched the van drive out of sight and sighed, heading back inside.

"I hate that two of the most refreshing boys here had to go!" he sighed dramatically.

"Yea well, everyone has to take their turn Misuzu" Ranka sighed "though Tatsu seems intent on not letting any girls go down there… that could provide a problem in the future"

"What makes you say that?" Kyoya asked, adjusting his glasses.

"Well, us girls like to feel useful!" Ranka smiled

"For once I agree with dad" Haruhi nodded "if he keeps up with this sexist nonsense I can see a fallout occuring"

"Especially from Nanako…" Hikaru shuddered.

The first time Tatsu had refused to let Nanako do night watch, she'd respectfully stepped back and let someone else do it but the second time, she'd pushed back, wanting to know why she shouldn't do it. He'd placated her with some rubbish about needing her on the breakfast run because she was far more efficient than his son at it. After that, he'd made any and all excuses to keep Nanako and the other girls from doing anything other than cooking, cleaning and menial 'womens' jobs.

Nanako had of course tried to keep her cool but in the end had erupted into a tirade about how women were just as good as men at surviving and how dare he think less of her because she's female! In the end he'd backed down and allowed the girls to take on night watch and patrol if they wanted to, even if he wasn't happy about it.

About half an hour or so later, Misuzu was in the storeroom, tidying up and making space for when the scavenger group returned with more supplies. He was humming a soft tune as he counted over the potatoes they had when he heard his radio buzz to life from the crate of veggies that he'd stood it on when he'd come in here.

"Nanako to Misuzu… come in!"

Misuzu reached for the radio and cheerfully responded "how can I help you Nanako sweetie?"

I know! I didn't write up the confession but I do plan on having it written up and uploading it as one of a few short stories that take place during this crisis and it will be titled as a different story so keep your eyes peeled for that! :D