So last chapter the gang decided to leave the safety of Ouran Academy in search of their loved ones... Ranka is first! Let's see how this plays out shall we?
Chapter 11
It shouldn't have been a surprise to any of them that the world outside Ouran Academy was going to be far worse than what they had seen the last few days since the start of this epidemic but as they drove slowly towards their first location they couldn't help but feel horrified at what they saw. Not only had they been chased for the last ten minutes by a small crowd of zombies, they could now see what the rest of the city was like.
Nanako sat about halfway down the bus, watching out of the window as they passed by vehicles on fire, ones that had become overturned and ones that had crashed into each other… a clear sign that people had just panicked and tried to get out of the city as fast as they could. There was likely no way they'd be able to get out of the city now, given that the radio broadcast had said it was not permitted… its likely there would be some kind of border set up by the police to stop people leaving… maybe to try and stop the spread of whatever this disaster was?
"Hey you okay Yamada?" Ritsu plopped down in the seat next to her.
"I think so?" she turned to look at him "I just… I know we should have expected things to be worse outside of the school but I don't know… I just feel kind of… deflated?"
"I guess that makes sense" Ritsu nodded before calling over to Haruhi "hey, Fujioka, how long til we get to your place?"
"Uhm… I'm not sure, maybe fifteen minutes?" Haruhi turned to look over the back of the seat at Ritsu and Nanako "why?"
"Just wondered if I had time for a nap" he shrugged and leaned back, closing his eyes "fifteen minutes is a good power nap, wake me when we get there Yamada"
Nanako sighed and turned to face out of the window once more. They were moving too slow but she understood why… Sure, Mori was able to drive this thing but he had to be extra careful of other vehicles scattered across the roads as it would be no good to the group if he crashed their only means of transportation.
Nanako had to smile though; she could hear the rest of the host club further up the bus talking about plans for the upcoming days and how they'd need to determine groups for supply runs because food was going to become an issue quickly with nine of us, plus anyone else that might end up tagging along. It was weird, she never really thought the host club could transfer their hosting skills into survival skills but here they were… talking about this as if it was a host club event. Although to some people that might look like they weren't taking things very seriously, to Nanako she could see that this was their way of taking things seriously and honestly, whatever works, works.
Mori pulled onto the residential roads that lead to the side of the city Haruhi lived on and the further they went, the more it became apparent that the higher population in this area had caused some issues. Store fronts were smashed, cars had been broken into, homes had been ransacked, their doors wide open to the elements. Now usually, one of the host club (likely Tamaki) would have tried to make some endearing comment about commoners living but even he knew to keep his mouth shut right now and just stare in disbelief that the human race had turned so quickly.
Nanako's POV
I couldn't help but feel for Haruhi right now. Things didn't look good this side of the city and I could see it in the way she stared out of the window that she was starting to lose hope that her dad had made it.
Biting my lip, I called over to her "hey Haruhi… come sit by me?" hoping she'd do just that.
"Oh… sure…" she rose from her seat and came to sit in the one in front of me.
Being as careful as I could, I wiggled past the sleeping Ritsu and plopped down next to her "remember what I said before right? Your dad is a fierce guy… he can totally handle himself"
There was a long moment of silence before Haruhi spoke up.
"I know… but look at what's going on out there… is dad really capable of living through this?" her voice came out quietly, her tone a little flat.
"We have to try and remain positive" I nodded "we can't let disappointment set in too early or we'll end up losing the will to survive"
I had read that somewhere and it felt totally appropriate to use that line on Haruhi right now. I mean sure, being disappointed is a natural thing but if we all got far too down on ourselves we'd end up rolling over and dying… or getting sloppy and then getting eaten… either way, I couldn't hold the positivity train up on my own… I needed someone else to help me… Usually that would be Haruhi as it had been before but she was in a bad thought space so it was up to me to try and bring her out of it.
"I guess so" She sighed "but I can't help but be worried"
"Oh I understand" I wrapped an arm around Haruhi's shoulders and she rested her head on mine.
I'd met Ranka a few times before and I could see why Haruhi was worried. Her father tended to be a little… dramatic shall we say and there's really no telling how he'd cope with the undead bashing his door down. Somehow though, I had a feeling he'd be okay… he might be overdramatic and a total queen sometimes but he was tough and he took no nonsense so I couldn't see him just rolling over and letting himself get eaten.
Unlike most of Ouran Academy (host club aside) I didn't have that elitist attitude, nor had I treated Haruhi with any less respect than anyone else and somehow that had granted me some kind of special 'Ranka Protection' in the form of a slightly overbearing parental figure… as suffocating and irritating as that could be, I knew it came from a good place and Ranka was only doing what he felt was right… he just needed a reminder sometimes to step back and cool off, which he got constantly from either myself or Haruhi.
Now that I think about it, I was getting more than a little worried about Ranka right now too and I could feel myself growing antsy at how long it was taking to get to Haruhi's house.
Normal POV
Eventually the bus pulled up outside the apartments that Haruhi lived in and the group waited a moment before disembarking. They'd lost their gaggle of zombie followers a while back and it seemed as if there weren't any lurking around here… which was odd… but they didn't question it.
Mori locked up the bus and handed the keys to Nanako who had become the keeper of the keys since she was the least likely to lose them. Ritsu had moved to the front of the bus and popped the hood and began to fiddle with something.
"Kasanoda, what are you doing?" Kyoya spoke up, causing Ritsu to jump and whack his head on the open hood.
"Ow!" he grunted, rubbing his head "I am taking out the spark plugs so that nobody can steal it"
Oh now they had a grumpy Ritsu to deal with. Fan-fucking-tastic.
"Good idea Kasanoda" Nanako smiled, stepping between Ritsu and Kyoya and guiding Ritsu away once he'd shut the hood.
"Well… now is the moment of truth" Haruhi sighed out, leading the group up the stairs to the apartment.
Reaching for the door handle, she gave it a wiggle before digging out her keys and unlocking it. Pushing the door open, Haruhi stepped inside and called out softly.
"Dad? You home?"
The only thing that answered her was silence. Ranka wasn't here. Turning to look back at the others, she shook her head. Nanako frowned and gave Haruhi's arm a little squeeze.
"Well, come on in guys… we can't stand around out there all day" Haruhi stepped aside to slip her shoes off.
The rest of them followed Haruhi inside, making sure to shut the door behind them before slipping off their shoes and moving to sit in the living room. It was small but enough space for them all to find a spot to sit around the kotatsu table.
"So, what's the plan?" Ritsu asked, sitting himself down between Nanako and Honey.
"Well we are here now, it would be a shame to move on too quickly" Kyoya looked over at Haruhi.
"I'd like it if we stayed for at least tonight" Haruhi spoke up "dad might be out right now, he'd be even more worried if he came back and I wasn't here…"
Nanako knew what Haruhi meant. If they left too soon, they might miss Ranka and that would only cause him to worry more about his 'little Haruhi' being out in the world right now.
"I agree" Nanako spoke up "I'd like to wait for Ranka…"
Even if he was that overbearing parent-type, Nanako had a soft spot for the man and she wanted nothing more right now than to squeeze the stuffing out of him and see he was safe.
"In that case… I guess I'll make some tea" Haruhi stood and made her way out to the kitchen.
"I'll help!" Nanako stood and followed her friend.
"It's so adorable!" Tamaki gushed, his eyes sparkling "both my little girls working together in the kitchen!"
"So adorable" the twins agreed with Tamaki; all three of them watching the girls as they prepared the tea.
"We always wanted Haruhi to have a girl friend and now she has one and it's so perfect!" Tamaki squeaked happily.
"Is Suoh-senpai always like this?" Ritsu asked Kyoya, who sighed.
"Yes Kasanoda… pretty much" the raven haired host adjusted his glasses "you get used to it eventually"
"It's creepy…" Ritsu mumbled as he watched Tamaki and the twins gush more.
Somehow though, he had to agree that Nanako looked adorable as she chatted and smiled with Haruhi and he had to wonder if the world hadn't gone to shit, how adorable she would have looked making him tea at her house… and oh.. He was busted from his thoughts by his nose spectacularly exploding.
"Kasanoda!" Honey gasped "are you okay?!"
"Fine…" he grunted from behind his hand
"See!? Even Kasanoda isn't immune to the adorability of Haruhi and Nanako!" Tamaki exclaimed as Kyoya passed Ritsu some tissues.
"Can it senpai" Ritsu grumbled through the tissues.
"Is everything okay?" Haruhi asked as she and Nanako stood in the doorway watching the small amount of chaos.
"Yes! Everything is wonderful!" Tamaki exclaimed "we were just admiring how adorable you two are!"
Tamaki had that stupid look on his face that he got whenever he thought Haruhi was being adorable and if it was even possible, he'd have little hearts floating above him.
"Kasanoda got a nosebleed" Honey patted Ritsu's arm.
"Again? How are you not iron deficient?" Nanako asked "you have more nosebleeds in one day than I have ever had in my life"
There was a playful grin on Nanako's lips as she helped bring in the tea and took her seat next to Ritsu once more.
For a moment, with them all sat around the table, it didn't feel like the world was falling apart out there… it felt normal and it felt good. The groups' general aura was calm and stress free as they talked about sleeping arrangements and teased Ritsu a little more on his nosebleeds. Kyoya even agreed with Nanako's sentiment about iron deficiency because if Ritsu had nosebleeds like that on the regular, he'd surely be deficient.
At some point in the conversation it had been decided that Nanako and Haruhi would share Haruhi's bedroom, Ritsu, Honey and Mori would sleep on futons in the hallway to stop Tamaki and the twins from trying to take a peek at the girls while they slept. The twins, Tamaki and Kyoya would sleep in the living room on futons… nobody was given permission to use Ranka's room because both Haruhi and Nanako forbade it. What if Ranka came back? He would NOT be happy to find teenagers sleeping in his bedroom… no sir!
Once they had finished the tea and cleared the cups away, Nanako and Haruhi got to work sifting through what they had left in regards to food supplies. Combined with what food Haruhi had here, they'd need to do a supply run in the next day or so which wasn't ideal but it was what it was. Tamaki and the twins were spying on the girls, again gushing about how cute they were while Ritsu, Mori, Honey and Kyoya worked on setting up some kind of defense. Even if they didn't plan on staying too long, it was a good idea to secure the place just in case other survivors found themselves in need of shelter.
The upside of being here? Aside from it being small and easy to defend, was that there was a television, which Kyoya had switched on after asking Haruhi if it was okay. Immediately he flicked through the channels until he found a news broadcast.
"I am standing here at Koraku Bridge where, as you can see behind me, the police have closed off in a bid to stop the spread of this unknown virus. We are on day three of this disaster, which is thought to have originated from Kosai Laboratories and has created a number of hotspots around Bunkyo City."
A news anchor was standing just a short distance from Koraku Bridge and behind her, the police had created some kind of barricade to try and stop people crossing over. As she talked, people could be heard in the background shouting and begging for passage to the other side.
"Outside sources claim that the virus has now spread beyond Bunkyo city into the neighbouring cities where officials are doing their best to stem the spread. If you or anyone you know has come into contact with the afflicted please be aware this virus is spreading via saliva and other bodily fluids. The most common cause of transmission is through bites sustained while attempting to subdue the afflicted. Please remain inside your homes, lock all doors and windows and please do not try to reach friends or loved ones"
Ritsu snorted a little at that "I think somehow people aren't listening to the pleas for the public to stay at home"
Kyoya nodded "no, they really aren't… though don't they realise how much danger they are in all crowded on the bridge like that?"
Nanako looked up at Haruhi as the conversation went on in the background "hey Haruhi do we have any noodles?"
"Noodles? Hmm…" Haruhi got up and looked in the cupboard they hadn't gotten to yet, pulling out two family sized packs of noodles "They aren't fresh… but will these do?"
"Perfect!" Nanako grinned "I was thinking of making ramen for us all for lunch… we have the vegetables we swiped from the school kitchens, plus I noticed you had a bunch of meats in your fridge that are coming close to their time"
"We also have eggs too" Haruhi motioned to one of the bags "I think ramen would be nice… it's a filling, starchy meal and if we make enough broth now, we can save it for another meal"
Nanako grinned, glad to see Haruhi was thinking like her usual self again and began gathering ingredients to get a start on the ramen, all the while ignoring the three idiots who were still spying on them.
"Are they making ramen?" Hikaru rose a brow, nudging the other two out of the way a little so he could see better.
"Looks like it" Kaoru jostled his brother back.
"Ramen?" Tamaki perked, having found a love for what he considered commoner food "prepared by the fair hands of Haruhi and Nanako!"
Kyoya shook his head as he watched Tamaki and the twins swoon over the girls as they got to cooking.
"They are in the midst of a nationwide crisis and yet you'd think this was a regular day with how those three are behaving" Kyoya rubbed his face a little.
"I still say it's creepy" Ritsu muttered, turning back to hand Mori another nail.
Mori, Ritsu, Honey and Kyoya were in the process of boarding the windows up on the outside, keeping the front door open so they had a quick path back inside just in case anything went down. Thankfully they only had a couple of windows to board up so it wasn't going to take very long but then they also needed to consider blocking the walkway somehow and create a sort of gate for the stairway to stop anything from being able to come up and potentially get inside. The doors here weren't as secure as the ones back at the school and it wouldn't take too much bashing from a couple of the undead to break through the front door.
Nanako's POV
Cooking with Haruhi was definitely a lot easier than I thought it would be. Not that I thought she'd get in my way or that she wouldn't have a clue what to do but somehow it just happened easier than in my head. Tamaki and the twins had spent the entire time spying on us, oblivious to the fact that we knew they were there… I mean who wouldn't? They weren't exactly hiding very well and even if they were, there was no way they wouldn't be heard the way they were squeaking and swooning. Like I'd heard Ritsu say… it was kinda creepy but I let it slide for now. If they tried to spy on us while we were sleeping? Then I wouldn't be able to let it slide anymore.
With one last check, I could confirm without a doubt that the ramen was ready!
"Okay guys, who's hungry?" I called out.
"Me!" The twins and Tamaki scrambled to take their spaces at the table, almost tripping over each other in the process.
Once we were all sat down with our bowls of ramen it was as if someone had pressed the mute button. There was no talking, no whispering and no noises of any kind aside from the sounds of people eating. This was the first hot meal we'd had in about three days so I could understand why people were filling their faces instead of talking.
"This tastes better than the ramen place I go to" Ritsu broke the silence, all eyes snapping to him "what?"
"Did you just compliment mine and Haruhi's efforts Kasanoda?" I giggled as the realisation dawned on him.
"Shut up" he grumbled, his face a lovely shade of red as he went back to stuffing his face.
His reaction had everyone start laughing. Not at Ritsu, but at the situation itself. Never in a million years did anyone expect to hear Ritsu of all people drop a compliment so out of the blue like that but here we were!
"Oh come on guys, leave him alone" I snickered, shaking my head.
Poor Ritsu… he can't get a break anywhere with this lot. I don't think there would ever be a day they wouldn't tease him but… I think maybe it's because in some weird roundabout way, they saw the host club as family and although Ritsu wasn't in the club, they still thought of him as like the grumpy brother and it was sweet in its own way. Speaking of family…
"Well well… I didn't realise I'd have such good looking guests when I came back"