Disclaimer: I do not own High School of the Dead.

Note: Again, unless it's changed from what we know in the Anime, I am not going to write it here. Yeah, that means you gotta watch the Anime, I am so sorry… not.

Note: House Rules is going to take a minimum of 3 chapters due to alterations to the overall story.

House Rules part III

Formal dinner with Souichiro and Yuriko Takagi was not quite as traditional as most people would have imagined. While the seating arrangement was traditional, the table and chairs were decidedly western. The meal itself was a mix of cuisines, the tomahawk steak was served with a special steak sauce and the salad was tomatoes, cucumbers, and onions in Italian dressing. There was the standard miso soup, rice, and pickled vegetables. Hot sake was available to everyone but Yuuki and Alice who were enjoying orange-pineapple juice instead. Conversation was initially light and restricted to small talk, but it wasn't long before Souichiro was probing each of them for small tidbits of personal information.

"I have noticed something about you, Anderson-san. You refer to each of the women and girls in your group as Hime. You even call my wife Hime." Souichiro turned his attention to the American after he completed his assessment of Takeshi Komuro. "Obviously it has some meaning other than just being a compliment."

Scott Anderson had the dear in headlights look as he had just popped a rather large bite of rare steak into his mouth when Soichiru had started speaking. He couldn't just swallow the large hunk of meat, and chewing it would take at least a minute. There was no way he was going to speak with his mouth full. He moved to raise his hand to ask for a moment, but found that someone else was answering for him. One of the last people he expected to understand.

"Scott-kun sees himself as a Knight sworn to protect the lives and honor of his Princesses." Shizuka Marikawa started to explain what she knew of Scott's personality and motivation. Despite her usual ditziness, Shizuka easily understood Scott's thought processes and her explanation was accurate. "The women and girls he calls Hime are the ones he is willing to kill for. That protective streak does not end there, he would do the same for Kohta-kun and Takashi-kun, and if I have not missed my guess just being Saya-chan's father put you on the same list as the rest of us."

"Ah, I understand that sentiment." Souichiro nodded as he got the answer to the question that had intrigued him. He'd been very sure that Scott had not meant anything romantic when he addressed Yuriko. It was clear the young man was besotted with Saeko and Yuuki as much they were with him. "I do have the same feelings with my wife and daughter. I did have another question, it is my understanding you were able to manufacture dynamite. Would you be agreeable to teaching a few of my men the same skill?"

"Sure, I will need Saya-hime as an assistant. Your daughter was able to discern what I was making just hearing the ingredients." Scott had managed to enjoy his bite of steak and swallow in the time Shizuka had explained. "I can also teach how to make build a stone wall like those used in European fortifications. Something you might need to consider when holding the dam. I also know how to make Roman concrete, but unless you have the volcanic sand and limestone, I doubt I can do more than give you the recipe."

"Scott-sempai is a bit of a survivalist." Takashi decided to speak up as he saw the look of slight surprise on Souichiro's face as Scott offered to teach more than just a few skills. "Without his input I doubt we'd be as well off as we currently are. I'm still unsure why he doesn't wish to lead."

"We already have a perfectly good leader, Takashi-kun." Yuuki Miku spoke up. "You aren't getting out the job by fobbing it off on others." There were murmurs of agreement from everyone in the group aside from Anri Utsunomiya, but that was only because she hadn't really seen Takashi in action. "Yeah, I go where Scott-kun goes, but I'm happy with you as leader. You're smart enough to take advice from experts and generally do a good job making overall plans out our suggestions."

"I agree with Yuuki-san." Saya chimed in. "You accept the situation we are in and act accordingly. The few times you've hesitated have been something that made us all hesitate. You also trust us to do the jobs we are capable of without micromanaging, but at the same time you can tell when we need some help." The pinkette genius was quite frank in her appraisal of Takashi's strengths as a leader. The fact she had been his lifelong friend gave her insights into his character and knew he needed a bit of an ego stroke so he wouldn't doubt himself.

"Oh my, yes." Shizuka Marikawa voiced her agreement. "I feel much better with you in charge rather that Shido-san." The bubbly blonde shuddered causing her massive assets to jiggle in marvelous ways. "Heaven knows what that man would have us girls doing now."

In the small parking lot of Kumo-Hachi grocery a slightly battered Fujima Academy Bus sat in the rain. Almost every window was fogged as the massive vehicle slightly rocked left and right. Outside the one clear window, a black haired teen pounded on the metal frame as he screamed for the occupants to let him back in. The young man completely unaware that he his cries for help attracted the nearby undead. Only the fact that the rain muffled the shouts kept the crowd small.

"And so a foolish boy dies." Koichi Shido commented as he watched one of his former followers fruitlessly struggle against the undead. "Hide-san was weak and thus unfit for this new world. He was unlike you. His concern for his parents would have led you to your deaths. His unwilling to help breed the next generation endangered the future we wish to forge." As he said that Koichi motioned to the restrained women in the back of the bus. Alongside Toshimi Niki and Misuzu Ichijou was a pair of dark-skinned beauties obviously in their early twenties. The first was tall with voluptuous curves and snow white hair. The second had flaming red hair and a slimmer more athletic build. Each of the women was tied down and clearly drugged. "He even protested our raid on the grocery citing it would be wrong to procure what we need from those less deserving. So don't weep for Yamada-san, he is not worth of your tears. Instead, let us celebrate our successful raid and secure our future."

There were cheers among the loyal followers of Shido before the cultists moved to follow his orders. The five young men present moved to the rear of the bus as they pushed their pants and shorts down. Meanwhile Tanuichi and Kawamoto worked to unbuckle Shido's belt as they knelt in front of him.

"I don't really want to think about that." Rei Miyamoto muttered as she had a fully body shudder. She still remembered that man's awful taunt over her having to repeat the grade. Of course that taunt hadn't come until after it was too late to make any appeal. "It's bad enough he managed to kidnap Ichijou-san and Niki-san."

"What's this? One of your Senseis kidnapped a few students?" Yuriko Takagi had been content to just let her husband speak at first. She had gotten the chance to speak with a number of her daughter's friends, including the new ones. She wanted to allow the love of her life the same pleasure. "And why do you fear what he would do to girls?"

There were glances back and forth through the group of Fujimi survivors. While they couldn't yet hold complete conversations silently, they could communicate at least one thing. The shake of Scott's head and the nod towards Alice told everyone that they needed to wait. It didn't take them all to agree that the American was correct.

"Sorry, Yuriko-sama, we should wait until Alice-chan is put to bed before we discuss our suspicions." Takashi started to explain. "What we can say is Koichi Shido abandoned us at a fuel station taking the bus as well as sedating two young women and attempting to kidnap Shizuka-sensei and Yuuki-chan."

"I see." Yuriko's normally calm and kind demeanor darkened for a moment before she let it pass. It was fairly obvious she realized exactly what the group did not want to say in front of the child. "Didn't we recently associate with a Shido, darling?"

"Indeed, and it was an unpleasant experience, one that is at an end." Socihiro had mangled a soup spoon as he realized just what his daughter's friends were unwilling to expose a child to hearing. The fact that his precious Saya could have been subjected to that made him want to kill the man for his presumption. "If you would be so kind to provide descriptions of the perpetrators and the young women, I will make sure my men keep an eye out for them."

"Scott-ojisan why are you talking about the evil Sage?" Alice had only been half listening to the conversation as she ate her food. She'd been quietly humming a little song that she made up to go with the story of Yuuki had told her. The mention of Koichi Shido's full name had grabbed her attention. Now in her defense, Yuuki had phrased her story like it was a historical event from days of the Daimyos. "Did he come back? Did he kidnap more girls? Yuuki-neechan told me all about him!"

Everyone's head snapped to Yuuki Miku who's complexion was now white as a ghost. There was good reason as there were death glares coming from Scott, Saya, Yuriko, Rei, and most of all Saeko. Luckily there was only confusion from Takashi, Kohta, Naomi, Anri, and Soichiro. Only one face was amused and that was Shizuka, but that was because the woman had already figured out what happened.

"Wait, it's not what you think." Yuuki waved her hands in front of her in the hope of that they would stave off the deathglares. "The night that Scott-kun and Saeko-chan were making their way here, Arisu-chan wanted to hear a story. So I told her one. I've always been really good at that. So I told her the story I call The Legend of he Knight, the Samurai, and the Geisha." She couched to clear her throat and offered an apologetic shrug. "She loved it."

"I would like to hear this story, Yuuki-chan." Saeko's death glare had vanished, but the mischievous expression that graced her face was little better. "Especially if it has Arisu-chan so concerned."

"I think I'd like to hear this as well, Miku-san." Yuriko's expression had softened but it was clear the woman was just as serious. "If it's as entertaining as the story of Scott-san's rescue of Arisu-chan, I am sure we'll all enjoy it."

"Oh God," Yuuki muttered as she hung her head. "Well, I am mostly full, so I will see if I can remember it properly." Yuuki lifted her head and took a long breath as she called up the memory. "In the Takagi Prefecture there was a beautiful Geisha with ginger-red hair by the name of Miyuuki. She wasn't the most talented of the Geisha, but she was well loved by clients and the children of orphanage she visited every chance she could. For you see this Geisha was more talented in story-telling and singing than she was dancing or the Way of Tea. One day the vile Sage of Fujimi, Koichi Shido, decided he would take Miyuuki and make her his alone. At first he tried appealing to her greed by presenting her a mountain of gold. When that failed he tried to appeal to her vanity by promising her eternal youth. Again he failed, so he offered her knowledge, promising she would be the most skilled Geisha in the world." Yuuki paused as she saw everyone was enraptured with her story as she continued to tell it. "When that failed, the Evil Sage called forth his Oni: the brutish yellow oni Tsunodo, the dark oni Kamikuro, the red oni Tomoo, and the blue oni Hikaru. Now the Oni were forbidden from harming Miyuuki, so to capture her they had to trick her. They threatened to eat Toshimi and Misuzu if she didn't agree to be Shido's slave. Faced with that, Miyuuki surrendered to save her fellow Geisha."

Yuuki had weaved a story so entertaining that as she continued all conversation stopped. Her audience ate their meal and dessert as they listened to her. Any interruption was quickly shushed and even the staff lingered to hear the tale. Only Alice missed the parallels in the characters and the members of Takagi's group. Yuuki had even included a new character: the Geisha Utanhri who had informed Lord Takagi of the Sage's perfidy and then travelled with the band of heroes.

"…with the Sage banished to Yomi, the spell that bound Miyuuki to his will ended." Yuuki was bringing her story to an end after nearly two hours of speaking. She'd been forced to go through three cup of Throat Coat tea to keep speaking. "According to legend, Saekojima, Anderscott, and Miyuuki were inseparable forever afterwards. Even today their reincarnations seek each other out."

"What about Takamuro? Did he finally marry Reimiya?"

"I am not that much of a tsundere!"

"Fufufufu, actually she nailed your personality perfectly, musume."

"Even in a story I'm the Christmas cake? That's so unfair."

"Hmm, the story pacing was excellent, but your action scenes need a touch of work. Still it was a great story and I enjoyed it."

"Thank you for cleaning up Takamuro's language as well as Anderscott's. Alice-chan learns enough bad words from us as it is."

"Sailor? Don't you mean pirate?"

"Good depiction of Geisha."

"We have to record this the next time you tell it. It's awesome."

"I must agree with Kohta-san." Soichiro said after he let everyone talk over each other for a minute. "That is one of the best bedtime stories I have ever heard. Once I have a grandchild I would be honored to read it to them. And maybe a companion story where the Archer woos the Sorceress."

"Tou-san!" Saya screeched out in embarrassment.

"What? I have never hid the fact that I hope that one day you find love like I did. Just don't allow your successes to stop you from being a better parent than I have been." Soichiro said after a moment. "Half of everything I did was to make sure you wouldn't have to spend most of your life away from your family, like your mother and I were forced to. I pray you'll never understand the regret we both suffer. "

Saeko Busujima was the study of grace as she sat in perfect seiza on the cushion provided. She hadn't expected any other form of seating when meeting Soichiro Takagi in the dojo. She remembered when the man had visited her father dojo and followed all the ancient traditions the elder Busujima clung to. What she hadn't been expecting was to be presented a sword. The katana that Scott had found in the shrine was a fine weapon from a lesser known smith, but still had a number three. It would do for as long as she had the proper oils and wax for the weapon. However what Soichiro had presented was perhaps the finest sword she'd ever seen.

"There is almost no curve. It's a prime example of a Kissaki Moroha-Zukuri Gunto." Saeko was reverent as she examined the sword and relayed her thoughts. "It's possible this is the Murata-tou."

"Yes. When I was told of the skills of the Sword Maiden travelling with my daughter, I had no doubt that you were indeed Saeko Busujima." Souichiro Takagi was sitting seiza directly facing Saeko as he spoke. "Sensei always spoke of you with great pride, even when you defied him in order to attend school. The Way of the Sword is your blood and Sensei is sure you will surpass him in his lifetime." The man smiled. "This is indeed the blade forged by General Murata in the Tokyo Armory. It's said that as a test he cleaved the head of a wild hog and it did not even scratch the blade."

"It is indeed a fine weapon. It will serve you well, Souichiro-sama." Saeko would have normally used the man's family name, but they had all been told to use his given name at dinner. Sliding the Murata-tou back into it's sheath she moves to return the weapon only to be stopped when her host raises his hand.

"I am presenting this weapon to you. Partially to repay the debt I owe your father and partially to thank you for helping protect my daughter." Souichiro explained with a hint of a smile on his lips. "I have my family sword to serve me."

"Your daughter was instrumental in saving my life as well, so that debt has been paid." Saeko replied as she continued to hold the sword towards the older man. "As for repaying my father, perhaps you should give it to him."

"HAHAHA!" Souichiro laughed loudly. "As I expected from Sensei's daughter. Please accept this gift. Saya-chan might have repaid her debt to you, but a Father's debt goes beyond that. I owe your entire group and there is only so much I can do. This sword is just a small part of that. Kohta-kun is receiving a weapon worthy of his skills. I am also including some supplies you will need."

"You could give this sword to Takashi-kun or Scott-kun. Both of them are quite worthy." Saeko replied as she thought of the leader of the group and her lover as candidates for the gift. She really didn't see herself as worthy. "Both have done at least as much as I have."

"I have known Takashi-kun for some time. He has never used a sword and while he would be worthy, it would be a hunk of sharp steel in his hand." Souichiro shook his head. "As for Scott-kun, he would much prefer to use the weapon he forged for himself. I don't know him all that well, but I can tell that much. Giving you this blade would make both of them much happier."

"Then I will accept this gift and offer my thanks, Soichiro-sama." Saeko responded as she bowed respectfully.

"Your thanks are unnecessary, but welcome none-the-less." Souichiro responded with a smile.

"So what do you think, Kohta-kun?" Yuriko Takagi smiled as she addressed the young man she hoped her daughter would make her son-in-law. She had nothing against Takashi, but it was clear he didn't love Saya in the romantic sense. Meanwhile it was abundantly clear that Kohta did. "There was exactly one of these in JSDF Armory and no spare tripods, but we did have the NHT ring mount for your Humvee. There are only ten ammo cans available, eight of which are loaded in the trailer."

"That's an ASP-30!" Kohta Hirano could barely keep himself from squealing in delight. "It's a gas-operated thirty millimeter chaingun that was designed to give infantry and light vehicles credible firepower to counter light armored vehicles. The 30mm KCB High Explosive Dual Purpose rounds can handle infantry and APCs. It has selective fire which allows it to fire a single round or full automatic."

"A bit of overkill against the Undead…" Saya Takagi commented as she processed what Kohta was saying. She was a genius, but she understood that Kohta knew more about guns of all kinds than she ever would. "However if come across any SDF gone wrong, or just some idiots who cobbled together a makeshift tank this would be an equalizer."

"That was your father's thought. It's also multi-purpose unlike the TOW launchers or Mortars we found." Yuriko nodded in agreement with her daughter's assessment. "We will also make sure you have a crate of dynamite for your use as well. With Scott-kun teaching our people how to make more, we can spare some for you."

The ladies conversation was ignore by Kohta as he was examining the newest weapon in the group's arsenal. His month in America had covered the basics of how to use support weapons, but he still needed to familiarize himself with the specific foibles of the ASP-30. To his delight there was a Operator's Manual to help him figure everything out. Of course he was exceptionally giddy when he found that the ammo cans were all HEDP so he didn't need to worry about switching ammo. The chubby gun otaku was so animated in what he was doing that both women wondered how he ever packed on the slight bit of weight he carried.

"I must say, you have pretty good taste in men, Musume." Yuriko chuckled softly as she turned her attention towards teasing daughter a little. "He's not who I would pick for myself, but he most definitely is a good man. And it's clear he cares about you. Not to mention he share one of my passions, so we'll get along."

"I…I… I am not even going to rise to that bait, Kaa-chan." Saya went to deny her attraction to the gun otaku, but knew her mother would never believe her denials. Nor would she ever let up on the teasing if she kept her up her protestations. "Kohta-kun is a good man, but so is Takashi-kun. He just never saw me that way."

"True, he didn't, but that isn't a bad thing. One of my regrets was never giving you a sibling." Yuriko was a little wistful as she embraced her daughter. "Takashi-kun gave you that sibling relationship that you needed. For that he will always have my gratitude. Don't let your lingering crush on him ruin what could be the love of your life. After all you are most definitely your father's daughter and Kohta is much like myself at his age... even down to the extra weight."

"Ah, here we are. Souichiro-sama wants me to help you install this in your Humvee." Matsuda Hamada announced to Naomi Hyoudou, Rei Miyamoto, and Takashi Komuro as the trio joined him at the workbench. In the background Kohta Hirano was still going over the ASP-30 that had already been installed. However it was the contents of bench that had the attention of the three teens. "It's a Joint Advanced Special Operations Radio System Secure Manpack Radio! This is the next-generation radio, slated to replace Singcars with US special operations units and agencies like the CIA, NSA, and DIA. It only has a 24 km but can be used with portable satellite uplink subsystem, which we are also installing. It is a frequency-hopping radio so you won't need to worry about people listening in unless they capture one of the personal units. We're including keyboards, dash camera, and a hardened laptop. We're going to be setting one up at the Dam, and one should be arriving at the Evacuation Site in the next week."

"That's fucking nice." Takashi Komuro blurted out. Yeah, he was excited by the firepower they were being given, but communications gear was a real advantage. "We were wondering how we were going to communicate with you guys after we left. Those personal units look like they have throat mics."

"I recognize those." Naomi piped up. "My dad uses ones just like that while racing. They're vibration activated hands free personal radios. We just have to talk and they'll transmit what we say to the rest. The transponder is a little bigger than the one my dad uses, but I guess it's to work with the frequency-hopping, right."

"Got it in one, Hyoudou-san." Matsuda chuckled. "We've included the hop-sets for the local JSDF, the Police, the Evac-site, and the Dam. Soichiro-sama wants to ensure that you have all the tools needed to achieve your goals."

"That's nice of him." Rei Miyamoto chirped happily. The auburn haired girl was quite pleased with the windfall. Phones were of limited use so the radio was just what they needed. "So what would you like us to do."

"Yeah, the compound is pretty nice. They're still accepting survivors and refugees." Kurokami Muroyama spoke into cellphone he'd liberated from the store. Between the technical knowhow of the young men following Koichi Shido it had been easy enough to activate the phones and commandeer one of the cell towers in the city. This allowed them to use cellphones despite some of the collapsing infrastructure. "The civilians are getting restless and it would not be hard to converts some of them to our cause."

The dark haired smiled as he listened to the orders of his leader. Kurokami had always looked up to Shido-sense. The man had managed to help him befriend Tsunoda-senpai and that brought an end to the bullying that was sent his way. That Kurokami had to start bullying others was a price he was more than willing to pay. He had always disliked Gaijin and Otaku. In his opinion neither had a place in society. There were the Thinkers and the Doers, those were the only people who mattered. Kamikuro was a Thinker, much like Shido-sensei. He would plot and plan, then he'd let Tsunoda-senpai choose which strategy they would go with. Even what they did to Yuuki Miku over two months ago had been his idea.

"I will start laying the groundwork here there, Shido-sensei." Kurikami replied. "The refugees will be calling for a new leader. We will also have another chance to get revenge on Anderson-san and the others. They're here, but separated from the refugees, so they won't be able to stop us. Well, I better go. We don't want people to know we are in contact."

"I have just received some good news from Kamikuro-kun," Koichi Shido announced after he ended the call from his most promising proselytizer. The young man had already proven that when he managed to convince two young women to join their group when they'd found them shivering by the riverbank. Currently the bleached blonde by the name of Mei was demonstrating her oral skills on Koichi even as he addressed the rest of his apostles. "He has located a large group of survivors who are crying out for better leadership. They are languishing under the uncaring ironfisted rule of Souichiro Takagi and his Rising Sun Democratic Party. Make no mistake, that name is a clever lie. Takagi does not believe in Democracy, he's an Ultra Right Wing Nationalist who would bring back the days of the Daimyo. Any dissent with his opinion is met with just one fate: death."

The rest of the occupants of the bus never paused in their actions. Kazu Ishii was behind Kawamoto holding both her arms in the motorcycle position as he slammed himself into her, much to the brunette's delight. Tsunoda piledriving into Tanuichi as the bluenette played with Kawamoto's breasts. The new recruit Hana was moaning in delight as Mura and Hide were double penetrating the raven haired beauty. Toshima and Misuzu's eyes were glazed over from the drugs used to keep them compliant, but that did not stop Tomoo and Hikaru from rutting with them in that state. The dark skinned beauties from their earlier raid were making out as their hands roamed each other's bodies. It was clear they'd been with men earlier as both had fluids dripping from their abused nethers. This was what Shido referred to as 'Free Time', a reward for the group after successful looting expeditions. It wasn't abnormal for Shido to sermonize as his apostles basically fucked their own brains out. This was a calculated measure on the teacher's part as he was using positive reinforcement to cement his control on most of the group.

"Kurokami-kun is at this moment paving the way for us to begin our campaign of liberation." Shido continued on taking pauses as needed as Mei pleasured him. "Make no mistake it will not be easy. We will need to undo the brainwashing that the Rising Sun has undoubtedly subjected those poor refugees to. You will need to show them the loving way of our family. But I warn you that the Rising Sun is not alone, Anderson-san and Komuro-san have been spotted there spreading their corruption. We will need to keep our efforts secret at first, at least until we have enough support to cleanse the evil from this world."

Scott Anderson was having a ball with teaching. Quite a few of the Refugees and the Rising Sun Party members had turned out for survival chemistry class. He'd started things out with the making of Charcoal, but in such a way they could gather the ashes of the hardwood for making potash. He even explained why he did that. Then came the lesson on making grain alcohol, which was really just making the mash. After that was the lesson on making both chlorine bleach and lye. He finally ended the first day with a twin lesson on nitroglycerin and dynamite since they were related. The second day had everyone making potash as well as black powder. At the end of three days he'd ended the lesson on distilling alcohol and used the potash and rendered fat to make simple soap. Finally he'd handed out printouts of several old fashioned recipes for things that made civilized life easier.

Saeko Busijima and Rei Miyamoto took it on themselves to instruct those who were willing in the basics of Kenjutsu and Sojojutsu. Their classes were quite popular, though whether it was because of their skill or their beauty was up for debate. It was noted that most of Team Takashi attended these lessons with the exceptions of Shizuka Marikawa and Scott Anderson. Not because neither of them wanted to attend, but because they were busy.

Shizuka Marikawa found that her skills as a Doctor were in demand. There were a few other medical students and nurses at Takagi Manor, but none of them were as talented as Shizuka. That wasn't to say they weren't good, as all of them were in the top ten percent of their classes. It was just that for all her airheadedness about everything else, Shizuka was a phenomenal Doctor. The only reason she worked as a School Nurse is because that's what she loved.

The Humvee underwent some modification to install a dozer brush guard and extend the seating area into what had been the trunk space. The front of Rika Minami's pride and joy now sported a wedge shaped hunk of metal that was designed to protect the headlights, grille, and engine from impact. Any Undead or small obstacles they struck would be shunted off to the left or right instead of just being run right over. The sloping rear of Humvee was replaced with an extended cab that folding benches for more passengers or cargo. A second spare tire was located in case of the destruction of any of the milspec run-flats. Finally, a small gun shield was built for the ASP-30 that would protect the gunner, but not movement through the hatch.

Overall, the next three days at Takagi manor went relatively smoothly.

Hangar Twelve was the most isolated building at Tokonosu International Airport. Originally it was used to house private aircraft. Since Z-day it had been used to house one thousand technicians and their families. Unfortunately, one of those family members had been bitten, did not turn immediately, and brought the infection into the shelter. Now there were over three thousand Undead milling around the Hangar. The only reason they had not left the building was the rain was masking the sounds of the other one thousand people on the island. That and they were currently attracted to the group of humans that had been driving the Fuel Truck that had doused them with jet fuel. Of course the fact that the Fuel Truck had tipped over after the driver swerved too sharply meant the Undead weren't chasing prey they couldn't catch.

"Whoever came up with this plan needs to die." Rika Minami snarled as she slapped a new magazine into the Knight SR-25 that she had to press into service after her PSG-1 bought the farm. She didn't blame the rifle as it simply wasn't rugged enough for extended combat. Still it was disappointing as the PSG-1 had been her baby, though her current rifle was certainly earning it's keep. Once she racked the cocking lever she started picking off Undead as quickly as she placed the crosshairs on their bloodlines.

"Well, considering that Hiro-baka's neck snapped when the truck rolled means it already happened." Tajima muttered as he put a 9mmP round into one of the Undead that had been sneaking up behind them. "We need to get to the LAV-25 if we want to live."

"You don't think I know that?" Rika retorted as she shot another two undead by putting the same round through both their heads. The armored reconnaissance vehicle was sitting there just ten meters away with it's back hatch open. "How many mags you got left?"

"Six." Tajima replied as he grabbed one of the pouches off Hiro's corpse. "We run for it and you get in the driver's chair. I'll keep them out."

Rika wanted to argue. The LAV-25 was the opposite direction from the zombie horde, so her rifle would be useful for a few seconds at the least. The issue was she was down to her last magazine. Instead she just gave the handsign to run. Immediately the pair dashed towards the vehicle leaving the Undead behind. Unfortunately they were making a fair bit of noise so of course the blind abominations were able to follow. Rika climbed in first setting the Knight SR-25 on a bench as she made her way to the driver's seat. Tajima was standing outside the ramp picking off the Undead as they came.

"Shit, the battery has enough charge to start the engine or raise the ramp." Rika muttered to herself as she glanced at the gauges. She didn't even wait for a response from Tajima, but instead started the diesel engine, which while not deafening still grabbed attention.

"Tell me when you… ARRRGH!" Tajima had made a horrible mistake. He's assumed that every undead that went down was immobilized so he developed a bit of tunnel vision concentrating on the heads. What he'd missed that one of the 9mmP round had gone through one skull and deflected downward severing the spine of another undead. The paraplegic monster had literally pulled itself forward and sank her teeth into Tajima's shin through his pants. He did respond by putting a bullet through the undead woman's head. "I've been bit. Close the hatch and get out of here, then blow the damn truck."

Rika's heart nearly dropped out of her chest as she heard that. The internal debate to put a round into Tajima before driving off was answered when she looked back and saw him running towards the overturned fuel truck while firing sidearm. The MP-5 and magazine pouches he'd been carried had been tossed inside the hatch. With a heavy hearted sigh, Rika flipped the toggle that would close rear hatch and put the LAV into gear. She was a quarter klick away when she triggered the remote on the incendiary bomb.

"He murdered his best friend in front of you? That's appalling. And he told you that you would have to fight in order defend yourselves? Isn't that what the walls of this estate are for? Isn't that where there are Soldiers and Police Officers?" Kochi Shido's tone was perfectly sympathetic as he addressed the growing group of disaffected refugees. 'As expected these sheep have no idea what the world is actually like now. None of them have actually encountered one of the Undead as they evacuated before the plague reached their doorstep.' Like his father, Shido was a calculating manipulative man. His every relationship was built molding the other person into what he needed and wanted. In this new world, Shido saw the opportunity to rule like a Divine Emperor. He understood that most people just wanted to feel secure. They'd do anything for the man who promised them safety. "It sounds like Souichiro-san is not confident that his people can keep you safe. He might even have cause for him to believe that given he could not protect his best friend. A leader who lacks confidence will only bring ruin to those who follow."

There were numerous men and women muttering their agreement with Koichi Shido. Most of the refugees were upper middleclass salarymen and their families. The last time they even attempted to pick up a sword or bow was in High School. Even then the vast majority of them didn't do much more than the bare minimum for physical education class. Even if pacifism hadn't been drilled into them relentlessly, they were ill prepared for any sort of fight. Each of them knew this, but rather than change themselves, they wanted the world to change. If that wasn't possible they wanted a Leader who could protect them.

"It's worse than that, Shido-san. They have already announced will be leaving this safehaven." Kaiya Kaneko a short haired woman in her mid-thirties was recently divorced, and quite bitter about how her Right Wing husband not only got custody of the children, but managed to escape alimony as well. She hadn't quite owned up to the fact that it was her numerous affairs that destroyed her marriage. Instead she blamed her husband's political position and of course the party he belonged to. "We've been told they are only taking the people willing to be laborers or famers at new location. We've been told if we aren't willing to perform hard labor, then they won't bring us along. They won't tell us how much they are willing to pay us. It's like they see us as slaves."

"I see." Koichi Shido steepled his fingers as he centered himself. 'Yes, definitely delusional. Anyone can see that the world has changed. Money is worthless and the only reason the Strong would keep the Weak around was as labor or to breed.' The Fujimi Academy Teacher was quite accustomed to disguising his surprise at people's stupidity. "I can understand how that would be an issue. Not only do you feel your skills would be wasted, you aren't even guaranteed anything more than shelter and sustenance. I too would balk at such circumstances."

"Exactly! I'm a Production Manager." Kaiya continued. "Most of us here are Management in some form or another. Without us, nothing would ever get done properly, but we're going to be treated as serfs!"

"Oh, that just wouldn't do. Your talents would be wasted as menial labor." Shido clucked as he shook his head as if ashamed for how the Takagis were treating these people. "I assure you, if I was in charge you would not labor for long before you rose to the level of Management again. After all, with this Pandemic we would all need to rebuild while an effective treatment is found. Once we have a cure your efforts will be rewarded and you'll be honored as one of the leaders of the New World Order, all of you would be."

"Tomorrow night will be our last day of rest before we head out to find our families." Takashi Komuro announced as Team Takashi was enjoying their dinner. "So I'd like to hear how everyone has been doing on our preparations."

"Minami-san's Humvee has been modified and I pray she forgives us for what we did." Naomi Hyoudou announced. "This will let us keep everyone inside most of the time. We can still car surf, but we've installed actual handholds and attachment points for safety lines. We loaded almost all our supplies into the trailer, but there is a day's worth of food and water under our seats."

"I scored us some useful things to make life more comfortable." Scott Anderson smiled warmly. "A peddle powered washing machine for our clothes, a small still, solar battery charger, some shovels, empty sand bags, sleeping pads, a modular initial deployment latrine, refugee health comfort packs for both genders, a steel drum full of charcoal, some buckets, two spare truck batteries, ten liters of yogurt culture, ten liters of brewers yeast, and twenty liters of bleach, lye, and potash."

"Jeeze, way to overachieve, Scott-sempai." Saya Takagi shook her head in amazement in what the self-proclaimed survivalist had gathered "Well, Yuuki-san and Saeko-san helped me gather some food stuffs. We have a pallet of Self Defense Force MREs, twenty kilos of Powdered Milk twenty kilos of dried eggs, fifty kilos of rice, twenty kilos of sugar, and a few coolers filled with frozen beef and pork. That's atop the food we looted from the Import store. We also have a gravity fed water purifier that can handle a thousand liters before we need to replace the filter. And we have twenty spare filters."

"We seem to be making ourselves a target. Well all our ammo cans and magazines have been topped off." Kohta Hirano explained. "We also have an ammo can of .38Special Hollow Points for our Airweight. We were also giving a hundred hypertac bolts for our crossbow. We have plenty of rifle bore cleaner as well as honing oil for our whetstones. So I'd say we are covered for firepower."

"Our medical supplies are in excellent condition." Shizuka Marikawa chirped happily. "We even have a Field Surgery Kit and a Field Dentistry Kit with extra supplies. They said it was to thank me for helping treat some of the tougher cases."

"You know, I was almost nervous we are heading out on our own, but you guys are really on the ball." Anri Utsunomiya shook her head in amused disbelief at how crazy prepared the group of mostly teens were being. "I mean short of arranging some entertainment…"

"Actually, Arisu-chan and I have some of that covered." Rei Miyamoto interrupted as she ruffled her adoptive little sister's hair. "We have an assortment of Novels and Manga, some of which we can't let Arisu read till she is at least twenty…"

"Awww, why do I have to wait so long to read about some High School or some Birds?" Alice 'Arisu' Maresato playfully whined. She was doing it mostly for show as Rei had already told her some Manga were strictly for adults. She understood that not everything could be kid friendly.

"I have also acquired playing cards, some classic boardgames, and we have a massive collection of Dungeons and Dragons books to keep it all from getting too stale." Rei continued on. She smirked as she saw Kohta, Takashi, Yuuki, Scott, and most surprisingly Saeko perk up at the mention of D&D. "They are all edition three and a half, but I figure that even if none of knew how to play, we'd learn quick enough."

"Oh, Scott-kun knows how to play." Yuuki Miku volunteered. "He was talking about some of the campaigns he's played in. He could probably be our DM."

"Oh lord," Scott muttered as he saw all the expectant eyes turn towards him. "Alright, I will DM, but we have to remember work first, then play. We can't end up like my cousin Jimmy who's probably still in his father's basement."