Hey guys. I first want to start out apologizing with the long hiatus. My laptop got destroyed and I lost all my files relating to the story. I had given up on it but saw the reviews of you guys wanting more so I decided to reinvest in the story to make my readers happy. I gave you guys an extra long chapter for the wait!
Also, there is a mature scene in this chapter indicated by the MA. If you wish to skip this, I did mark the beginning and end parts of it.
The Mall – With New Friends Comes Gifts
It's been two hours since leaving the mini-mart when finally, the group saw the mall coming into view. Taiei Shopping Town. This was the local mall in their city, a moderate sized complex that had about 30 stores and restaurants. "There it is, up ahead" Takashi shouts. No sooner did he say that, a loud bang erupted from the front of the car. The car immediately started slowing down, "I'm hitting the gas, nothing is happening." Shizuka shouts frantically, as she tries to control the cars continued momentum until it was finally able to come to a stop.
Takashi and Kohta got out of the car and walked over to the front. Popping the hood up, the boys immediately recoiled and covered their faces as a plume of smoke erupts from the exposed engine. Coughing and waving his hand to disperse the smoke, Kohta leans in and looks at the engine. "Damn, the timing belt snapped. This car is ruined." He declares angrily. "It's ok, we are almost there anyway, Saeko and Rei grab our supplies, Kohta, grab our ammunition." Takashi ordered out, keeping an eye on their surroundings.
The car had broken down maybe a block or two away from the mall, so it wasn't a terribly long walk. Once everybody had gathered their respective supplies, Takashi started leading the way with the group right behind him. As they got closer, they stumbled upon a half-eaten corpse. The body was still somewhat fresh so he couldn't have perished that many days ago. It appeared that he was a mall security guard. "Must've left to go look for help" Rei murmured sadly.
Shizuki shielded Alice's eyes from the grotesque body as they walked past it, eventually releasing her once they safely passed the decomposing body. As they got even closer to the mall to see it better, they saw that there were indeed signs of human survivors here. The main entrance of the mall had makeshift boards creating a guard wall. Huge stands that must've been used for mannequins were retro fitted into the wall to create spikes.
"Okay before we go in, we should secure our guns somewhere, we don't want them knowing we have anything like that." Takashi said as they approached the mall, only a few buildings away. Kohta nodded, "Good idea" and starts scoping the area for a stash spot. He found a dense group of shrubbery located in front of one of the modernized houses around them. "This should be a good spot" He muttered.
Unstrapping their weapons, they found a fully bloomed bush that securely concealed the duffle bag full of weapons. "Ok, lets head on over." Takashi said. The group got maybe 20 feet from the door when a female voice called out "Who goes there?!"
"We are just survivors!" Takashi shouted back at the unknown person, "We came from our High School!" It wasn't a lie, they did originally come from their high school, but these people didn't need to know where they have been since.
"Very well, hold on." The voice replied one last time, before sounds of something heavy being moved came from behind the main mall door. After a couple of seconds of this the plywood wall blocking the entrance was moved, revealing a blond-haired girl in a security guard uniform.
"Stay there, we are going to search you. Please put your swords on the ground." She said in an authoritative voice. Takashi's group looked at him first, and he nodded to the rest, unstrapping his sword and putting it down on the ground. Saeko and Rei followed suit with their own weapons and waited for further instruction.
Two men walked forward and started patting down the boys first, they checked their pockets, socks, anywhere a concealed weapon might be. When they were done, they gave a thumbs up signal to the girl, and walked over to the girls in the group. As they were about to pat them down, Saeko looks at the men with silver in her eyes. "Don't even think about it. She's more then capable" Saeko said, insinuating the female leader. The men put their hands up and slowly stepped back, fear in their eyes. The girl clearly unnerved them.
"It's ok boys, she is a lady after all." The woman said with a shaky voice trying to compose her authority. She seemed to be a bit unnerved by the girl's eyes, but handled it a lot better than the others. Walking over she patted the older females down. When it was Alice's turn, the lady squatted down so she was at eye level. "I'm gonna pat you down really quick to make sure you don't have anything bad ok?" She said sweetly. Alice nodded her head and lifted her arms up. The lady gently patted her down, and once confirming the entire group was unarmed, stepped back and addressed them.
"Well now that the unpleasantries are out of the way, Welcome to the mall!" The lady says with half hearted humor. "By the way you guys can call me Asami." She said cheerfully. "My names Takashi, and the other boy is Kohta." Takashi said, pointing over to the boy. Kohta gives a small wave while smiling sheepishly, his cheeks tinted cherry red. "If you follow me, I'll find somewhere for you guys to stay. You can gather your swords, but keep in mind if you decide to cause any trouble, you will be dealt with." Asami said sternly before giving them a bright smile and turned around, leading the group into the mall.
They walked through the doors and arrived in a small lobby area. It appeared to be the security area for the mall, a big desk type thing was situated in the middle of the wide corridor. It appeared to have been retrofitted as the second line of the defense. There were two turnstiles on either side of the desk. What appeared to be various sizes of conference tables were jigsaw puzzled together to create a doorway on either side. The entrance way was a rectangular piece of metal, as though it can support something heavy.
Walking through that second security area they arrived in one of the main concourses of the mall. It was an octagon shaped area, with the mall extending towards the north. It was two floors here with a glass arched ceiling that showed the blue sky above. The various stores that once thrived in this mall now sat in darkness, but some of them had emergency lights flickering on." You have power?" Someone asked, "We only run the generators at night for 3 hours a day, or whenever someone has a valid need for it." The lady said cheerily as she looked at their awed faces and answered the groups question.
"How many people are here?" Takashi asked, "we have about 30 people, but over half are on the other side of the mall and don't interact unless it involves meal time." Asami chatted away casually. "This side of the mall has the guards living quarters up on the second floor." Looking up the group could see about 5 stores that had been remodeled in the front. Some of them had patchworks of blankets and sheets to use for privacy, while others used industrial sized curtains to shield their makeshift houses.
Halfway through the concourse to the other end of the mall, they came upon what must have been the old food court in the mall. There were a huge assortment of metal tables and chairs sprawled out among the area. The area was filled with various people walking through, their ages ranging from little kids to aging seniors. "What is this area?" Takashi asked Asami. "This is the cafeteria or the dining area, each day we ration out food twice, once in the morning and once at night. It's during those two times that this area will be most packed." After listening to Asami's explanations about how everything worked, the group was finally led to a small store area situated near the back of the mall.
"Since you are still new to our group, we unfortunately will have to separate you from the rest of our group, just until we get to know you." Asami says shamefully. This was clearly no way to treat guests, but given todays world precautions must be taken. "Of course," Takashi said respectfully. "We completely understand, this is perfectly good accommodations for us." He said with a smile. Asami was glad to hear this, "Ok well if you need anything else there will be a guard posted 2 stores down. Pleasant dreams!" She said smiling cheerfully at the group as she walked off.
The group quickly settled in with Rei, Saeko and Takashi positioned near the entrance, leaving Alice with Shizuka, and Kohta with Saya, all sleeping in the back. Once everybody had settled in, they quickly fell asleep. This was the first time in a while, if ever, that they were able to sleep peacefully without worrying about an attack. A few hours had passed, and the moon had already started making its way down when Saeko woke up with a startle, sweat dripping down her back.
Something's wrong
Ever since Saeko had that dream a few days ago, she had started to notice weird things happening to her. At first it was her vision. She was able to see things far away like an eagle, or up close like it was magnified. She originally thought it was just the adrenaline causing this, but it never went away. Then when they confronted Barry, it became her hearing. Heartbeats could be heard now, the racing of the pulse boomed in her ears when she focused. Unbeknownst to her, Takashi had been experiencing the exact same things, but both of them were too afraid to tell the other.
This time…. It didn't have anything to do with her five senses, it was as though it was a 6th sense. But this wasn't that 6th sense that people claimed to have to see the future or other eerie abilities. No, this one was different. It was almost as though she was sensing…. Saeko's eyes fly wide open. She finally figured out where she's felt this feeling before, she's felt it within herself. This was Killing Intent.
Quickly crawling over to Takashi, she shakes him to get him to wake up. Takashi turns over groggily, but upon seeing Saeko's face, it was though cold water had been doused on him. He immediately went on alert and looked around. His senses weren't as keen as Saeko's yet, but they were developing fast. Despite this he was still able to pick up a trace of the Intent. "You feel that right" Saeko whispered to Takashi. He nods his head and reaches over grabbing his sword. "It's faint, so I don't think its coming from inside the mall." Takashi whispered back to Saeko. Saeko nodded her head in agreement.
All of a sudden without warning, the Intent disappeared without a trace. "Go back to sleep, I'll stand guard." Takashi said quietly to Saeko. Moving his body over, he positioned himself directly in the entrance of the store, his eyes monitoring the floor of the mall. Moonlight poured down in splashes, lighting up most of the surrounding area. If anyone tried to approach them, Takashi would clearly spot them from a good distance away.
MA
"Takashi you asleep?" Saeko whispered out softly. "I'm standing guard silly, yes I'm awake" Takashi's answers, his eyes still keeping guard outside the store.
"Can you hold me." Saeko says softly, her soft tone surprising Takashi. He's never seen this side of Saeko before. "Hey are you ok?" He says, taking Saeko in his arms. "Yes, I'm just…" Liftering her head up she looks into Takashi's eyes. "I'm scared to lose you." With this being said, Saeko kisses Takashi's lips, her small lips being skillfully taken in by Takashi's. Takashi embraces Saeko, holding her tight as they continue to kiss. Without warning Saeko pivots Takashi off of her, ending up with her now straddling Takashi like a horse.
Leaning down, she lightly grazes her teeth down his neck. "I want you… to be my first…" She softly whispers in his ear. Takashi's breath catches as he fully grasps Saeko's intentions. He shyly blushes, and whispers, "You would be my first too." Takashi had some experience when he dated Rei, but the two of them had never gotten this far.
Without any more discussion, Saeko pulls off Takashi's shirt before slowly taking hers off. The white glow of the moonlight shown off of Saeko's jade like skin, illuminating her like a fairy. A thin fabric bandeau and her silky lace undergarments were all that was left when Saeko finished undressing.
Saeko slinked down and skillfully pulled off Takashi's pants leaving them both in only their undergarments. Takashi's sword was fully unsheathed and pressed up against Saeko's valley. The rubbing alone caused dew to blossom in the valley, Saeko's heavy breathing turning into soft moans.
"Shh, we don't want to wake the others." Takashi quietly said with shy smirk. Saeko's face blushed a deep red in embarrassment and buried her face into Takashi's neck to smother her sounds. Takashi pushed the lace to the side, and with a quick thrust entered the tight valley. This never before felt warmth was ecstatic to Takashi, as he quickly craved more, he began to slowly speed up his rhythm. Saeko bit down on Takashi's shoulder, the initial pain almost too much to bear, the entrance stretched to its outer limits. Almost as quick as the pain came, intense pleasure quickly rushed through her body, her sensual moans being swallowed up by Takashi's loving lips.
After what felt like an eternity to the two of them, neither one wanting it to end, the dam finally broke. Both of them had reached climax at the same time, and something strange happened. Unbeknownst to them, their auras had joined mid-coitus, with not only their bodies as one, but their very essences becoming linked as one.
MA
The next morning….
Takashi slept soundly in the back as Saeko and Rei were getting ready for the day. Other than their moment of passion it was an uneventful rest of the night. So Saeko and Takashi thought it would be best to keep last nights incident quiet for now.
As the rest of the group started waking up, footsteps could be heard approaching their area. Saeko looked out and spotted Asami walking towards them, a smile on her face. "Good morning! Hope you had a pleasant night's sleep." She said with a smile once she arrived. "Is anyone hungry? We are serving oatmeal this morning."
As Asami said that, the little girls stomach let out a loud grumble. Shizuki laughed as Alice blushed in embarrassment. "I think the little ones hungry, why don't we girls go get some food for the boys, hmm?" Shizuki said to the group. The girls nodded their heads in agreement and prepared to head out.
Following Asami into the cafeteria, the group was led to a little food store that was reconverted into a lunch counter. Behind the counter were three workers that were handing out bowls of food from large silver vats. "Due to the lack of resources we tend to have to resort to whatever is available. Right now, we had recently come across a large amount of feed that happened to contain oats. By boiling it down once and then cooking it again in water, it removes most of the impurities and makes edible. It's not much but its something." Asami explained to the group.
The group nodded their heads in understanding and went on line to get their food. After getting all the bowls, with Takagi and Saeko carrying the extras for the boys, the group began heading back to their area.
"My group is going on a supply run later on, we could use some experienced hands if you guys are interested." Asami mentions to them as they walk. "It's up to Takashi" Saeko says bluntly. Asami was clearly taken aback by the girls determined way of answering. It made it clear to Asami that it wasn't Saeko's decision. "Very well, let me know when you have an answer, I will be near the front entrance if you need me.
Upon arriving, Saeko noticed Takashi had awoken. "Here you go Takashi." Saeko says gently has she hands him the bowl of oatmeal. "Oh, you didn't have to do this! Thank you Saeko." Takashi said cheerfully as he digs in. Upon eating a spoonful, his face suddenly sours a bit, and he emphasizes the swallow. "Very flavorful." He says wryly, as the group laughs and began sitting down to enjoy their food.
After eating for a little bit, Saeko remembered to ask Takashi about Asami's request. "Hey Takashi, so Asami mentioned earlier that she was going out with some others for a supply run, and wanted to know if we were interested in helping out since we have experience outside." Takashi listened to Saeko's words, his face deep in thought.
If Saeko had to take a guess, she would most likely think that it was last nights events that gave Takashi such pause. There was clearly something out there that gave off that intent, and who knows where that thing went now. After finishing another bite of food, Takashi finally came to a decision.
"Saeko and I will go out with them, meanwhile I want you guys to start stocking up on supplies. Just in case..." He adds on at the end. The group nods their head, acknowledging Takashi's decision.
After the group had finished eating, Takashi and Saeko strapped on their swords and bid their farewells to the group. "We should, at the latest, be back by tomorrow." Takashi says to them. Turning to Rei, "You and Kohta take care of the group while we are out." Rei nods her head in acknowledgement. "Ok then we're off" He says with a wave bye to the group.
"So where are we going now?" Takashi asked Saeko. "She said that she will be at the front entrance, so let's go there." She replied. Takashi nodded and followed Saeko to the entrance. As they turned the corner to the entrance, they spotted Asami with four other men. These men were mostly middle aged and were very tough looking. Asami waved them over and started making introductions once the two of them joined the group.
"This is Saeko and Takashi, they are outsiders that joined us yesterday." She said to the men. One of the older men looked over the two youths, and spotted the swords strapped to their backs. "Swords huh? Silent weapons but only good for one on one", he said with a laugh. "You kids got any experience dealing with these things?" He said skeptically.
Takashi ignored the rudeness behind his comment and simply said, "We can handle ourselves." The man's eyebrows raised, and Asami gasped at the callousness from Takashi. Before things got really intense the old man broke out in laughter. "Hahaha, I like your spirit. Let's see that in the field huh? My names Brock, these are my men Jake, Jose and Kevin. We were auxiliary forces for the police force before all this shit hit the fan."
"So, where we going today?" Takashi asked Brock and Asami. Brocks pulls out a map and motions the group to come over. "ok so this is where we are," pointing at a red circle signaling the mall. "Over here is an old storage unit that the police used for confiscated weapons and other things that they obtained through raids. Before everything went down the department did a big raid on one of the local Yakuza dens. We are talking at least hundreds of rounds in ammo and assorted weapons." He said to the group. Takashi's face lit up at these words. This location alone was a gold mine in this new world. The weapons they had stashed were very low on ammo, so this trip could be a huge reward!
Saeko stared at the map intensely for a few seconds and noticed something. "I see the catch though." She muttered. Everyone but Brock looked at her cluelessly. "Your absolutely right." He says gravely, pointing at the spot that caught Saeko' eyes. "This was the local clinic, when the first wave of Them came, a lot of the 'survivors' ended up here. I'm sure you can imagine what happened shortly after."
The two youths hung their head down their faces darkened, the horrors of Takagis house and the High School still fresh in their mind. "According to our scouts, the horde of Them that lurked there have suddenly thinned out drastically. This may be our only chance to go get those supplies with the lowest risk."
"Couldn't we go around the clinic?" Asami asked Brock. "We could but both ways around go through densely populated housings. It could be better or it could end up ten times worse. At least with this determined route, it's the most direct path, with the widest area making it hard for us to get blocked in."
The group nodded at Brock's analysis; it was a well thought out plan. "Ok so here's how this is gonna work. You brats are going to come with me and Asami. We will clear the path there so my men can come in with the truck. Once the truck comes, we secure the location, get the supplies, and get the hell out of there! Got it!" Brock barked out to the group. The 3 men with Brock immediately saluted. "Sir yes Sir!" the shout in unison.
"Alright kids let's move out!" One of the front entrance guards lifts the gate, allowing the group to quickly slip out and began making their way to the warehouse. "I'll take point, Asami you bring up the rear" Brock quickly ordered out. The two youths followed this man for about three blocks until they ran into their first obstacle.
The main way Brock was taking them had been blocked by a collapsed building, making them have to detour down an alleyway to get around. As the group rounded the corner of a T intersection, Brock immediately put his hand up to stop the others. The silence that followed the last footstep was quickly interrupted by moans coming down the alleyway in front of them and to the left of them. The left pathway still had no signs of the enemy but the sounds were much louder. The pathway in front of them only had about 10 of Them but they were rapidly approaching. "Fuck ok, try to draw them out from the group and…"
The moment Saeko and Takashi stopped in that intersection a tingling sensation surged through their bodies. Both of them could sense the horde that was to the left alleyway, the number of Them was so staggering they knew that way wasn't an option. Which left the path in front of them as the only option. With barely a glance at each other the two rushed forward in sync, cutting off Brock midsentence. With quick precision they drew their blades and immediately pounced on the first two bodies.
The two warriors danced in a ballet of blood, as every twirl and spin resulted in a sliced limb. The partners dove and weaved with one another, leaving not even an inch undefended, one guarding the other, a perfect harmony of offense with defense was displayed in a sea of blood.
Every move Saeko made, Takashi already saw coming, as their minds became one. The two were completely unaware of the shimmer forming around their bodies. When the last creature was slain, a sudden blue dyed the area, as though someone put blue stained glass in front of the sun. Time around them seemed frozen except for the two of them. Right as Saeko was about to speak, a voice filtered out from the sky.
"I know you have questions; they will be answered in time."
"For now, know this, there are the old ones who have been awoken from their slumber. Some of them like this new world and have aided in factors that can turn this nightmare into a new living hell. But... There are others who still believe in humanity, and would wish to see its survival."
The voice paused as if to let the words soak in. Saeko immediately came to two realizations. The first; whatever these weird new abilities and strengths came from, this person(god?) had given it to them. The second; They aren't the only ones who got gifts, and by the sounds of it, some of them aren't nice people.
"So why me?" Saeko asked the voice. For a long pause there was silence until a whisper sounded out." Because I see something in you girl, the desire to kill, and something else…"
"As for you boy, my consort also see's something in you, and I believe you two have already met." The voice said dismissively.
"Whatever other questions you have, it is of no matter. We have given these gifts to you and others have given their gifts to your friends as well, but these gifts shall vary on the person. Use these gifts wisely, and you will start to understand more once you learn about what you have given."
With that being said the world was suddenly dipped in dark for a split second before time once again started.
High above them in the sky, a woman cloaked in darkness appeared. A man materialized next to her, taking the figure into his arms. "Do you think we have chosen well my love?" He asks the woman, "Erebus," The woman says coldly, her mere presence shaking the very starlight. "Do you doubt me?" The man chuckles, "never my love," and with that the two of them disappeared into space.