I am so sorry I missed my upload on Monday! Here is it! :D you'll be getting another update as normal on Monday so its almost a 2 for 1
Chapter 23
"It's raining" Nanako sighed, peering out of the kitchen window as Misuzu dashed about, tending to dinner.
"Thank god" Misuzu chimed "it's been so dry and warm up here lately, a little rain is welcome"
"I just feel sorry for the others having to drive in the rain" she shrugged a little, passing a sieve to Misuzu who was measuring ingredients to make a cake.
"Yes… Ranka does hate to drive in the rain" he sighed as he sifted the dry ingredients into a bowl.
"Are you excited to see him?" Nanako hopped up to sit on the counter.
"Very much so!" Misuzu grinned "Ahh he is my best friend… my partner in crime… I was so worried about him when all this started. The phones weren't working and the news was saying that Tokyo had a number of contamination hot spots…"
"Namely the lab this all started from" Nanako shrugged "it was madness"
"Yea it was" Ritsu yawned from the kitchen doorway before ambling in and getting himself a bottle of water.
"You know the one thing that surprises me?" Misuzu asked as he began folding all the ingredients together.
"What's that?" Nanako asked, wrapping her arms around Ritsu who'd stopped in front of her.
"The fact we still have power" he nodded "in all those zombie movies the power goes out on the first day and its complete chaos"
"Well… hm… I guess eventually, with nobody to tend to the hydroelectric power stations, power will go out" Nanako rested her head on Ritsu's shoulder as they both watched Misuzu mix the cake batter.
"I guess we should use up any food that is fresh first then, save the canned and dried food for when the electric does go out" he poured the batter into two cake pans before sliding them into the oven.
"That would probably be the best idea… fresh stuff won't last forever anyway" Ritsu mumbled, taking a sip of water.
"I can't wait for the others to get here" Nanako smiled softly "I miss them… the goobers"
Haruhi and the others…
Karuizawa was only another few miles and everyone had finally woken up, so of course the chatter began about Pension Misuzu.
"At least we don't have to compete in a refreshing contest this time" Tamaki seemed happy about that.
"Oh I wouldn't put it past Misuzu to find a way to have a contest" Ranka chuckled "he'll make a contest out of anything… especially if it means he can get jobs done around the pension without having to pay anyone"
That sentence bought back so many memories for the group. It was true though, the refreshing contest he'd held had found all of them completing tasks around the pension; doing laundry or repairing things or chopping wood… the kind of thing you'd pay employees to do… yet they'd done it all for free… what a sneaky man Misuzu was!
"Yes dad… or having his friend's daughter be free labour for a week" Haruhi sighed a little.
Karuizawa was supposed to be Haruhi's week away from the host club and yet somehow that idea had burned down in flames and the entire club had arrived at the pension, destroying her week of peace…. Oh it wasn't so bad really… she loved those guys like family and as nice as it would have been to have a week of peace and quiet, having them there was kind of fun! Apart from when Hikaru got all jealous about Arai… hmm that had been an eye opener all around.
The group had noticed the distinct lack of zombies as they moved away from the city and by this point in the journey; they hadn't seen a zombie for around a mile and a half. Maybe Karuizawa would be a good place for them to set up camp for the long term?
Haruhi reached for the radio as they passed a sign that told them they were only three miles outside of Karuizawa and hit the button.
"Come in Nanako… it's Haruhi"
"Haruhi!? Ah! Where are you guys?"
Nanako's response was fast and Haruhi had to wonder if the girl was carrying the radio around with her all the time.
"Just under three miles away, we should be there within the next half hour or so depending on dads driving" Haruhi smiled softly.
"Oh? Are the roads bad where you are?"
"Not particularly, dad is just driving slowly because of the rain" Haruhi peered out of the window at the rain lashing against it. "How's the weather up there?"
There was a long pause before the radio crackled to life again.
"Raining pretty hard here, just a heads up, I think a storm is brewing"
Nanako knew Haruhi was terrified by storms and felt the need to pre-warn her that a storm was coming to better prepare her for it.
"G-great…" Haruhi sighed
"You should make it here before it happens though, I haven't heard any thunder yet"
"Okay well we'll be there soon" Haruhi pushed her astraphobia down as far as she could.
"Okay! See you soon!"
Nanako's POV
I watched from my seat at the bar as the van pulled up behind the car outside the pension, almost coming out of my skin as the group bundled out and headed for the door, their arms full of the supplies they'd gotten away with.
I ran over, unlocking the door and letting them in out of the rain, a bright smile on my face as I rushed Haruhi and hugged her tightly once she'd put her bags down.
"Haruhi! Thank god you are okay… all of you" I let her go to dish out hugs to all present.
"Ranka darling!" Misuzu appeared, embracing his friend tightly "thank goodness! I was so worried about you!"
Ritsu collected up some of the bags, helping Mori and the twins carry them into the kitchen so they could put everything away.
"How was the drive?" I asked as Haruhi took a seat at the bar with me.
"Long, boring… I slept through a lot of it" she smiled softly "though you were right… no zombies within four miles of Karuizawa… It's weird isn't it?"
"I thought so too!" I nodded quickly "as soon as we were away from the heavier populations the zombie count started thinning and then nothing"
"I was having this chat with Ranka while you were sleeping" Kyoya interjected "it's only a matter of time before they start moving outwards in search of food… we have to be careful and remain vigilant… we can't afford to get sloppy"
"You have a point" I muttered a little "but until then we can at least go out in pairs to get fresh air… we don't have to be cooped up in here all the time"
"Touché" Kyoya nodded "while it is safe, I don't see it being an issue… a little fresh air and exercise is good for you… it's not healthy to be cooped up indoors"
"Says one of the world's greatest shut ins" I snickered a little "aw c'mon Kyoya… you know I'm right! Before all this you were famous for never really leaving the house… always studying our doing something that meant you could stay cooped up inside"
"Yes well…" he shook his head "I'm going to go and take inventory on what we have…"
And off he went, heading into the kitchen.
"So… Haruhi… I have a question" I felt brave today!
"What about?" she seemed curious enough.
"You… and a certain blonde senpai of ours that a certain father thinks is an insect" I chewed my lip, a small smile peeking through.
"What about me and Tamaki-senpai?" her face was full of confusion.
"Come on now... don't give me that Haruhi!" I whined "I know you two like each other! So… have you told him yet?"
Haruhi's face went the most perfect shade of red as she stuttered her words out.
"I d-don't know what y-you are talking a-about" her eyes dropping to her hands in her lap.
"Aw… Haruhi really? Now is not the time to be shy! Now is the time to uh… carpe diem… seize the day!" I was adamant she was going to address her feelings.
"I… maybe I don't want to seize the day!" she hissed, trying to keep her voice down.
"Well… okay let me put it to you another way… " I rubbed my chin "could you live with yourself knowing you have these feelings and didn't tell him and he died tomorrow?"
Haruhi opened her mouth as if to say something but shut it again, clearly thinking. She stayed silent for a few more moments before answering.
"I… I suppose not?" okay so she said it more of a question than a solid answer but I was taking it!
"Right! Sooo… You should tell Tamaki-senpai how you feel, get it out in the open so you'll have no regrets if anything goes wrong" I nodded so fast it was no wonder my brains weren't scrambled.
"But my dad is here… how am I supposed to work around that?" she realised quite suddenly that her dad might try to put the kibosh on it.
"Oh now now… don't you worry about your dad… or Misuzu either… I'll think of something to keep those two occupied enough that you can have your time with senpai" I waggled my brows "trust me… I can keep them both plenty occupied"
I had a myriad of ideas on how to keep those two occupied enough to stop them interfering in Haruhi's confession and it may or may not have something to do with a refreshing contest.
As the evening drew on, we'd eaten dinner which I must say… Misuzu is a cooking genius! And we'd all been allocated a bedroom and now we were all just kind of a bit lost at what to do with ourselves… which meant this was the perfect time to enact 'Operation Refreshing Contest!'
"So… Misuzu… do you remember back on golden week when we all came up here and you had that refreshing contest?" I smirked behind my teacup as I took a sip.
"Oh my! Why yes I do!" he squeaked happily "It was woooonderful seeing so many refreshing young men tend to jobs around the pension! And besides… I ended up fully booked right up until the summer… well would have been if this hadn't happened"
"Well I couldn't help but wonder if another refreshing contest would be on the cards… you know, to lift everyone's spirits?" I could feel the others glaring into my soul with hot hot anger and I almost giggled.
"Why yes! I think that's a wonderful idea Nanako!" Misuzu chirped merrily "I think we should start tonight and put it across the next few days! The winner gets to upgrade their room and doesn't have to pull night duty for a week!"
That got everyone's attention, though I secretly just wanted to get Tamaki and Haruhi alone to have their little talk. I'd already made sure that Tamaki got a decent enough room when they were allocated and his room was next to Haruhi's so maybe he'd not be too eager to compete.
Misuzu got into the rules of the contest and I watched as the fire lit in each of them… aside from Ritsu and Tamaki… apparently they already had the upgrades they wanted.
Normal POV
With Nanako having laid the bait, the refreshing contest was on. There wasn't honestly much to do that evening as by the time they had done with dinner, darkness had truly set in until morning. It didn't stop Ranka and Misuzu from silently judging each of them as they set about fixing the routine for the night shift.
Tonight would be Nanako, Ritsu, Kyoya and Mori, which wasn't really a bad line up for the night, even if Ranka and Misuzu would probably be rambling around until the early hours having their little catch up.
Refreshing points were awarded and taken away with quiet whispers between the two men because 'who would let a lady take the night shift?' even though Nanako didn't mind it one little bit.
A few hours later…
The pension had fallen quiet as the others had retreated to their rooms for much needed rest, leaving the four teenagers to decide where each of them was going to keep watch. Misuzu and Ranka were still awake upstairs in Misuzu's room, a fact confirmed by the light shining from under the door and the hushed chatted tones.
"Well I think I am going to look at the plans for the pension and figure out where we can install some kind of security cameras while power is still on our side" Kyoya moved off with his laptop and a stack of papers to a table in the dining area.
"I'll take the attic and keep watch out where Misuzu does his personal laundry" Nanako nodded.
"Alright, I can watch out the front and back from the upstairs hallway" Ritsu stretched.
"Mori-senpai, are you okay keeping watch down here while Kyoya-senpai works on… well Kyoya-senpai things?" Nanako asked with a smile.
"I will be keeping watch out the back thank you!" Kyoya called from his table.
Mori nodded and took up a seat by the front doors.
Nanako's POV
With that decided, I ventured on up to the attic, the highest point in the pension to keep watch out over the immediate area. I had a feeling Ritsu would end up joining me here at some point during the watch because whether it be from the second floor hallway, or up here, we could both see the same area.
With the lantern I'd snagged from downstairs, I set up my space for the night; one of the spare dining room chairs, the lantern, a radio, a few books, a pair of binoculars and a blanket in case I got cold.
As I sat on watch, I had to wonder why we were still initiating a night watch, given that the area was free from zombies and I could clearly see nothing was coming our way. Then again, I had to remember it wasn't just about zombies but about other people who might try and screw us over like the people back in Tokyo did. The minute I remembered that, I felt my mood turn sour.
We could have safely ridden out this disaster in that house... but now? now it was either a zombie gathering ground or those people managed to take it over. I still held that bitter resentment about it all and hoped they had realised far too late the mistake they made by flushing us out like that.
Huffing a little, I shifted to get more comfortable, eyes watching out into the darkness of Karuizawa.
"Maybe things will be easier now…"