Highschool of the Dead: Us or Them

by HoTDFan

Three brothers from a military family are transferred to Fujimi Academy one day prior to the Z-Day outbreaks. Just when their lives seem to be getting back on track the world is completely unprepared for the living nightmare that opens up a new chapter in human history. The day humans were put back on the food chain. Rated-M. It is Highschool of the Dead afterall.

19. Chapter 19: Rise and Fall

Several days previously…

Z-Day+17

The inside of the makeshift torture chamber was as silent as the grave as Koichi Shido squatted down to look upon the carnage that had been wrought. Two of his people, the people he'd relied on to help keep his happy little family running; utterly brutalized and dead on the floor. One had nearly had his face smashed in, with a clear footprint upon his crushed throat to top it all off; and the other was missing one of his hands, which was currently sitting in the corner of the room with a scalpel still in its grip; and a grotesque blade wound upon his face, as though someone had rammed a machete right into it.

But what was worst of all wasn't the fact that two of his people, his followers, his soldiers, were now dead; but rather it was the fact that his prisoner, the one person he knew would've been able to grant him some leverage against those that had dared to stand against him, was nowhere to be seen. And better yet, nobody under his command, in their seemingly infinite uselessness, had any idea where he could've gone, or where the strangers that had decided to shoot up his stronghold in the dead of the night, could've fled to.

As he continued to gaze upon the carnage that even still had left this room painted in blood, all Shido could think to himself was how dearly he would savor every moment when he'd finally get his hands on the ones responsible for doing this to him, and taking all the time in the world to make every last one of them suffer in the most unimaginable and…in his case, enjoyable ways, until their last dying breath. The one thing that quelled the silent yet seething rage inside him was that he didn't even have to guess as to who was really responsible.

The timing was too close, too perfect. There was no doubt in his mind it was the eldest brother of those damned Lawson's; come back to reap vengeance on him and his school for holding his family prisoner, just as that upstart little shit Noah had vowed. Just the very thought that these…CHILDREN, had the sheer gall to do this to him where he slept, had removed all traces of any remaining fear in his heart and replaced it only with anger, hatred, and a disturbing sense of clarity; a certainty in just what he had to do to make everything right again.

"Shido-san, are you in there?" Tatsuya's unmistakable voice suddenly called from the other side of the door, momentarily snapping Shido out of his mental reverie.

"Yes, Tatsuya-san, what is it now?" he replied without even trying to hide the impatience he had for anything remotely trivial like he usually did.

"Well could you please come out here? I don't feel like yelling this through a door, plus it's pretty damn serious," Tatsuya asked; spurring the former teacher to practically throw the door open while his yakuza compatriot stood his ground; unperturbed by the deathly angry look on Shido's face.

"We've got a serious goddamn problem with the people right now. Take a look," the former gangster said while jerking his thumb towards the nearest window. With an aggravated grunt, Shido looked out, and what he saw struck multiple chords in him at once: shock, desperation, betrayal and rage.

Out in the front entrance of the school, over half of his people were crowding at the gates; each carrying a rifle on their back and as many bags of food or jugs of water as they could carry. And from the looks of it, those of his people that weren't trying to bum rush the gate were barely able to keep the rest back as it was.

"Looks like our uninvited guests stirred up a dormant hornet's nest, huh?" Tatsuya asked, obviously rhetorically, while Shido clutched the window frame to the point his knuckles were turning white. How dare these people think to take what he had helped them provide themselves with and leave him behind? How dare they turn their back on him and try to flee for themselves? He wasn't going to be left behind, not by worthless insects like these. He wasn't going to have gone through all the effort he did to rally them under his cause just to have them run at the first sign of trouble.

Looking upon the panicked mob now, Shido instantly knew he was going to get them all back under his control and more obedient and devout than ever, no matter how many of them he'd have to make permanent examples out of to do it.

But all at once did the people's panicked cries and Shido's maelstrom of thought get silenced by the piercing scream of a single woman, echoing out from somewhere else on the school grounds, quickly followed by a similar scream of horror from a man in the same direction.

As if a switch had been simultaneously flipped in everyone's heads; the crowd began to move as one around the main school building and to the athletic field; everyone coming to a stop when they were met with the sight of several of their fellow survivors either fleeing from or being ganged upon by a frighteningly large gathering of 'Them' scattered all across the field. And all the while, Shido and Tatsuya observed it all from the windows as they too had rushed to the other side to follow the screams.

"How the fuck did this happen? I thought those assholes only blew one hole through the wall out front? How could the dead have gotten here without everyone else noticing?" Tatsuya asked mostly to himself while Shido had to hold onto the window frame to keep from collapsing to his knees as he watched his people run for their lives from the massacre on the athletic field.

"Look. All that gunfire drew every last one of those things for kilometers all around. Those ones tore through the fences on the other side," the teacher barely managed to mutter before pointing out that indeed, the iron fence lining the other side of the athletic field had been torn down as though by a stampede.

Before Tatsuya could reply, the sound of panicked footsteps echoing down the halls drew both men's attention to a pale and terrified-looking Tsunoda collapsing to his knees; gasping for breath; his eyes wide and his face dotted in a frigid sweat of unparalleled fear.

"Shido-sensei, those monsters are all over the field, and there are more pouring in through the torn down fences! Nearly everybody who'd been setting up the tents out there's been eaten. Everyone's in a panic, and who knows how long before more start pouring in through the hole in the front?! What do we do, sensei?!" the teenage boy spoke in a rush, as if struggling to maintain enough composure to form words before Tatsuya yanked him back to his feet by his collar and gave him a single hard backhand to the face.

"What do you mean 'what do you do'?! You've all got guns! I've been training you all how to use them! What the fuck are you all running for?! You should be blasting those rotten sacks of pus to kingdom come right now!" the former gangster growled before roughly turning Tsunoda around by his shoulders and shoving him forward before quickly taking off himself down the hall.

"T-Tatsuya-san, where do you think-?" Shido began to speak out before Tatsuya stopped in his tracks and swiftly stepped up to the former teacher he clearly towered over in both height and muscular girth.

"Come with me, Shido-san. We're going to the armory, getting ourselves geared up, and you're going to show those people why they joined you in the first place. Why I joined you and agreed to train you and all those civilians out there in the first place. Make no mistake, the only reason I decided to stick with you is because you've got the organization and the ability necessary to truly make this place a godsend for your people. Now prove to me that my helping you up to this point wasn't a waste of my time."

Nearly two hours later…

The battle to clear out the quickly growing numbers of the dead that had poured into Fujimi Academy through both holes in the walls had not been easy. In fact, it had to instantly stand out as the single hardest period for every single person sheltered here since the day of the outbreak. Not only had nearly two dozen of their people been eaten by 'Them' before they'd even thought to fight back, but even after Tatsuya, Shido, and the rest of their security forces had come barreling out of the school with guns; fighting back with the ferocity and skill needed to finally inspire everyone else to do the same; the battle was still nearly overwhelming.

It seemed that with each one of 'Them' they'd managed to kill, twenty more would take its place, and just as everyone among them who had even a passing knowledge of guns had feared, it seemed like no time at all until their ammo count had become dangerously low; forcing the better fighters among them to take up the nearest blade or blunt object they could find to fight back the seeming waves of the dead.

What had only been a couple hours felt like an entire day once the stench of rotted flesh, gore and suffocating smoke from the fires that had by then consumed the athletic field had subsided. At long last, the virtual flood of 'Them' had been wiped out; littering nearly the entire school grounds with headless or dismembered corpses, not counting those once among the survivors unlucky enough to have gotten piled upon and torn to pieces.

There were no cheers, no cries of victory or relief of any sort. All that was to be heard was the collective gasping for breath of all the now battle-worn survivors as they could only gaze upon the carnage that had befallen what they felt was their one safe haven in this world ruled by death. As if getting raided by a group of marauding strangers wasn't bad enough, they had to go and leave a door wide open for those undead monsters to come in to boot, and the price these people all had come to pay was nearly astronomical. There were no cheers, no cries of relief or disbelief. Only the few and far removed sobs of those that had finally found the time to realize their loved ones and friends had been lost among all the madness.

No orders had to be given for all the bodies, undead and survivor alike, to be moved into a single pile far away from the school for burning. It had come to be routine on the few occasions the dead had piled up against the walls in considerable numbers; and in a way the people had come to realize this was no different.

All the while, as everybody else did what they could to clear away all the body parts and wash away the blood, Shido could only wander around what he had considered his domain; a psychological limp evident in his step, as though he were still in the reels of shellshock as he could only look upon all the carnage and destruction that had been wreaked upon what he had fought so hard to reclaim and rebuild. And every step of the way, Tatsuya was loyally at his side, keeping a watchful eye over the deathly silent teacher.

For the duration of the struggle, Tatsuya had to be the one to step out onto the frontlines, get everyone else's heads into the game, and give them the drive to fight back; which he knew was only helped by the fact that he'd been the one to train everyone here how to shoot and had come out decked in the hardware to back it up. All the while, despite Shido having come out alongside him, the teacher had been nowhere to be seen in the midst of all the chaos. Whether Tatsuya had simply lost track of him or the teacher had slipped back into the school like a coward, neither of the men knew that it really mattered. Even if the momentary glints of dissatisfaction in Tatsuya's eyes directed toward Shido when his back was turned said otherwise.

Tatsuya had really been hoping that seeing his own people getting attacked would've been enough to spur Shido into taking some real action, instead of treating everything like some kind of psychological strategy game like he had been before. But alas, for all intents and purposes, given the fact Shido looked to have no burns on his clothes, or tears or blood on him to be seen, it seemed like it simply wasn't meant to be.

But did the intimidating yakuza regret stepping up to secure this place as he had, even though the man called their leader seemed to have proven himself a coward? He couldn't rightfully say he did. Gangster or not, Tatsuya still lived by his own unbreakable code, even in spite of the society that code would've thrived under no longer existing. Sure, he had more than a few bones to pick with the cops as a whole, hence why he had no objections when Shido had ordered for that detective Miyamoto to be tortured. But personal grudges and criminal pastime aside, Tatsuya didn't consider himself to be heartless. He knew this whole situation with people coming back from the dead demanded the human race come together and cooperate for once in their miserable lives if they were to survive. And as such, he didn't regret still being here despite being under the leadership of a man who clearly lacked a serious backbone.

But despite his willingness to stick around to make sure these civilians could survive, he knew he didn't have the natural charisma or knack for organization and leadership that others did. The people that had that talent, he could just feel it in them when first meeting them. It was what drew him into his yakuza family in the first place, and it was what had convinced him into joining Shido's group, despite not a single one of them having a combat-effective bone in their bodies among them. But now, walking through the wreckage of Fujimi Academy, the former gangster found himself torn between his need for a real leader, and his unwillingness to just leave these people to die.

And as for Koichi Shido, whatever emotions he may have been feeling or whatever thoughts were going through his head as he looked upon the aftermath were a mystery to all but himself. The sensations of guilt, remorse and sadness for allowing so many of the people under his command to die never once had occurred to him. All he could see was that the place he called his home had been broken into, and his personal protectors and servants had been killed in the process, leaving him with lesser manpower to see his abstract visions for the future through.

And once more, it all came back down to those he knew were responsible. There couldn't have been that many people left in this goddamn city who would've had the equipment and sheer brass to pull something like this off. It had to be those Lawson's, and that forsaken group that Takashi Komuro was leading, just like Noah had told him.

The sheer disrespect he'd received from that little Miyamoto brat the last time they'd met was bad enough, but now they would go so far as to attack him outright, and kill his followers and spit in his face by leaving him with the wreckage? No…no, he wouldn't just go on his way this time. His pulse nearly skyrocketed as adrenaline sparked by utter rage filled his entire body. All he could see was red; red and the gleeful images of all those little vermin dead and bloody at his feet. One way or another, he was going to see them suffer for this if it was the last thing he'd ever do.

But before any more thoughts of caved in British skulls, bullet-riddled schoolboy corpses or choking the life out of disrespectful little bitch throats with his bare hands could cross his mind; the nearly deathlike silence was broken by yet another series of piercing screams.

"Oh, Goddammit, what now?" Tatsuya groaned to himself, before Shido suddenly took off in a dash toward it; spurring the visibly surprised former gangster to follow after him.

Even Shido himself was surprised by the sheer willingness his body was showing to the idea of approaching potential danger, but with every step he took, a different kind of clarity was forming in his head, as though he'd just come to realize the solution to all his problems, and the key to obtaining his new desire for blood.

Once he stepped out onto the smoldering remains of the athletic field, he swiftly weaved his way through the numerous gatherings of his startled followers as they collectively backed away through the choking white smoke that nearly filled the whole field. Once he was able to see even a foot in front of him, he could make out the sight of a handful of his female followers worriedly hovering over several other women and a couple men, all of whom were visibly bleeding from bite wounds on their arms, legs and shoulders. In spite of just how valiantly these same people had just fought to drive back the legions of the dead, no matter how much experience they had with fighting, it amounted to nothing once it came down to their friends, loved ones and even family being bitten. Shido could easily tell from the despairing looks in their eyes as they all looked to and fro for some kind of miraculous sign or offering of help.

The teacher's bespectacled gaze scanned over the entire scene, never paying heed to Tatsuya and the rest of his former students and followers watching the scene from behind him; most of them visibly surprised to finally see their once so dependable leader actually step out into the open.

But in a way, Shido knew their eyes were all on him, and he couldn't help but feel immense satisfaction from that fact. It's exactly what he wanted; exactly what he needed for what was about to happen next. This was the moment he knew was going to change everything back into his favor, at least in terms of the long run.

"Please, somebody! My brother, he needs a medic!" "Don't worry, dear, everything's going to be fine, we can help you!" "Satoshi, please, stop squirming, I need to get the belt tight enough to stop the bleeding!" "I know it'll hurt, but you're strong, Chizuru. Once we cut it off, you'll be fine, I promise," were only a handful of the desperate pleas Shido could hear all around him as he slowly approached the pitiful, and in his eyes pathetic, scene of so many of his should-be ruthless followers weeping over their clearly dying loved ones. If he hadn't been trying to keep up the unreadable façade, the sight of such weak-minded mentality would've made him want to puke. He didn't need people being weighed down by something as crippling as sentimentality; and now was the time to show it.

Only a couple of those in desperation and mourning finally noticed the shadow of the former teacher hovering over them by the time he'd brought his hand behind his back and smoothly pulled out the M1911 that Tatsuya had forced into the waistline of his pants when they'd left the armory to fight. The looks of speechless confusion, like that of a deer in headlights, that all his followers watching had didn't register to him. Koichi Shido's mind was one track, playing repeatedly over and over like a sacred mantra: arise, destroy, survive. Arise, destroy, survive. Arise, destroy, survive.

BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! BLAM!

The first shot had elicited a collective of shocked and even horrified gasps, but the rest were met with nothing; not even the hysterical screams he would've otherwise expected from those hovering over the bitten followers he wasted no time in putting down. The way his body seemed to move on his own, the way his aim never faltered, his hand never trembled, his gaze never left the faces of those he put a bullet into. It was like that of a soulless, well-oiled machine carrying out its ultimate purpose; one that would begin the new chapter of his nearly broken community.

The almost suffocating smell of burnt gunpowder emanating from the barrel of his pistol once all was said and done was nearly intoxicating as he silently breathed it in; gazing out over all the newly made dead bodies around his feet. The ones once trying to save them had now collapsed into inconsolable tears while he simply slipped his gun back into its place while he took a deep, almost refreshing breath to steel his nearly fried nerves, and come back to the role he'd come to perfect since the day this nightmare had all begun: the down-to-earth and compassionate leader who offered shelter and aid to all, so long as they would follow his word. Now was the time to don that mask once more, and reinvent it into something new, something glorious, something he knew would bring these dogs to his side once and for all.

And it all started with the shedding of a couple crocodile tears glistening in the rays of the now rising sun while his stunned onlookers didn't budge an inch, as if all silently demanding he say anything.

"I don't know what to say. I…I-I know you all thought I had all the answers, but…words fail me. I…I thought we would have everything settled and secure once we'd cleared and fortified this place. I never…I never thought things would turn out like THIS. I thought the dead were the only thing we would have to worry about besides maintaining food and water and supplies. I didn't think we would ever be attacked by…by OTHER PEOPLE like this.

"I'm so sorry, everyone…for everything. If I had known we would be in just as much danger here as we would be out on the streets, I would've tried harder to find us somewhere better. I'm sorry for deceiving everyone, including myself; into thinking we would have no more problems within these walls. And I'm sorry…I'm…I'm sorry that my naivety has cost us so much," Shido confessed as his voice began to crack and his knees began to shake, the show of emotional vulnerability drawing several of his onlookers to approach him.

"You all came to me seeking safety, protection, a chance to rebuild the lives we once thought we'd lost. We've all suffered in unimaginable ways to get this far, some of us even more than others; and it was only because I thought I could bring us all together to work towards a bright and glorious new future, that you all came with me through this nightmare in the first place. But I failed you all…and the price for my failure is more than I could ever ask you all to forgive.

"I believed we could all band together against this threat. I believed that for the first time in generations, we as a species could put aside our petty differences, and unite towards a greater common goal, one that has driven humanity since the dawn of time: SURVIVAL. I thought we would all be able to join hands, reclaim our home from those abominations, and create a world reborn more prosperous and unified than ever before. But I was wrong.

"No…in a way, I was both right and wrong. The living have all come to agree that our survival against the dead is the only thing left worth fighting for…but some have forgotten that it is only through peaceful unification that we can hope to survive long enough to see this plague through. Some have forgotten what it is to be a civilization. They have come to be as though we were in the Dark Ages once more: brother against brother for everything we have, innocent blood be damned," Shido's voice began to rise; his gestures more and more impassioned. By now, he had the rapt attention of all, even those over whom he'd just towered to put down their loved ones.

"And it is because of this fact that I have come to a most painful realization. What happened here was no random attack by raiders who just happened to find our home. This was deliberate, something planned and carried out by people…whom I regret to admit I know and allowed into our walls," Shido announced; mentally grinning as the nervous whispering among his onlookers could already be heard stirring.

"Some of you may remember those two foreign boys our dear Miku-chan brought with her three days ago; the ones I had you all restrain. I only did so because I needed to ensure their intentions, make sure they and their group were of no threat to us. I gave every effort I could to try and make them see how we do things, so I could convince them to tell their group to join our ranks and better our chances of reclaiming our city from the dead. But sadly, it was not to be. These boys, these…children, have already hopelessly lost their way. They've given in to their animalistic nature, discarded all semblance of civility and seek nothing more than to take what they want without hesitation! The younger warned me of the rest of their partners, that they would not take our holding those two boys kindly. I…I was a fool not to take his words to heart. I felt so sure he was only bluffing. It is yet another failure I must make up for.

"It is that very same group that is responsible for what has happened here today! They took Miku-chan hostage to ensure we couldn't pursue them, yet our brave Teru-kun and a few others took that risk to save our comrade…yet I fear the worst has happened to them in the process. It wasn't enough for them to kidnap that poor girl and do what I can only dread to imagine to her along the way, but they had to come in the dead of the night like a band of sneak-thieves, kill our friends and families where we sleep, and leave our walls wide open for the very monsters that forced us here in the first place!

"My failure of knowing when to speak softly and when to strike back against any form of aggression cost us all dearly, and that is a mistake I can only beseech you all to allow me to rectify! I had hoped we wouldn't ever have to come to this course of action, but those people have left us no choice. If we are to survive, we must show any that would wish us harm that we will not simply lay down and die for their benefit! We have sacrificed too much to get here, and we must learn to fight tooth and nail to protect what we have left! It no longer matters who it is we may have to fight, whether they be simple teenagers or not, those rules no longer have a place in this world. We are a community—no, we are a family, and we must be willing to take lethal action against all thieves and aggressors outside these walls, living and dead alike! Look and think of those dearest to you that have been lost because of those people…think of how swiftly and cruelly their lives, their hopes for survival were cut down by these monsters in human guise! Use that memory, that sorrow, that anger, and let it fuel your every action from this day forward; for that is what I intend to do. I will no longer sit at the sidelines and let whatever may come, do as it will. I will not rest until we have exacted our rightful vengeance on these soulless murderers…and if you desire so, I would gladly allow you all to help me down that path."

And all at once, the once dreadful chorus of sobs, whimpers and mournful lamentations was replaced with almost fanatical cheers and howls of mad devotion as Shido gazed upon the entranced looks in his followers' eyes; looking upon him as if he were the archangel Gabriel descended with flaming sword in hand. He had finally done it: Koichi Shido had brought these miserable husks back from the sorrowful brink and turned them into his ever loyal army with a single speech, ready and willing to kill, destroy, torture and die at his command without a second thought. He could just feel it on his skin, the sheer emotion hanging thick in the air, as the cheers never seemed to die down. The teacher could no longer resist the urge to let the most satisfying smile he could ever recall spread across his face.

"Let us start by repairing and reinforcing the fences and plugging the hole in the front wall. I will not allow a single one of us to fall victim to any prowling monsters in the night again. Then, come dawn…we'll begin our preparations to rain retribution on these murderous bastards."

Z-Day+21

The last two days had been a blur for Koichi Shido. Ever since his grand speech, everything around Fujimi Academy had changed. His once docile followers were now working around the clock to secure and re-fortify the walls. Tatsuya had taken it upon himself to double down on firearm training for each and every single person that lived there; forcing them to disassemble, deep clean and reassemble their guns for hours, and then practice shooting any nearby congregations of the dead until they were able to nail headshots from at least 15 meters.

After Teru's corpse and those of his party had been found, Tsunoda had been promoted to organizing and sending out scavenging teams all across Tokonosu to secure anything and everything considered useful, whether it was meds, food, water, guns, machine parts and even vehicles their mechanics could try to get running again. But in all honesty, the scavenging was nothing but an afterthought. Shido had made it abundantly clear to all that every moment they were outside the walls, they were to keep their eyes open for any sign of their uninvited guests and where they might have been hanging their hats. It was more than enough motivation to get them chomping at the bit to head out and scour the entire city, but so far no progress had been made.

As for Shido himself, once everyone else had started taking the initiative, sweet drawn-out vengeance was all he could think about, and it drove his every action: scrubbing the walls and floor of their makeshift holding cell in the basement until it was spotless, removing the cage and mounting hooks on the wall to attach a pair of chains and shackles. At least twice a day, Shido tested how strong the mounted hooks were; testing to see how much strain the chains could take, as though to see if they could hold someone trying to get out of them. And every time, the hooks never even budged.

Shido could just imagine it now: any one of the disrespectful little whores following Komuro and those infuriating Lawson's, chained up like livestock and helpless before the whims of he and his entire army. Any one of them would do, they were all equally guilty and deserving of his brand of justice. But one in particular carried a greater sense of satisfaction above all else. The one he would personally dedicate all his time to breaking if fate would smile on him.

Creak

The sound of the door above opening snapped Shido out of his reverie as the familiar suited form of Tatsuya soon stepped in from the stairwell; his eyes looking on in disinterest over the by-now familiar setup of the teacher's new torture chamber.

"Everything still prepared and functioning as you wanted, I hope?" the ex-gangster asked as Shido brushed some hanging bangs of hair from his face; shrugging his shoulders as though in feigned ignorance.

"Only ensuring everything's secure enough, just in case any troublemakers we'd have to hold down here won't be able to make another escape," he attempted to explain while Tatsuya just rolled his eyes.

"You don't have to lie to me, you know. Frankly, I could give two shits what you want to do down here. It's your plan, do whatever you want. Just, uh…depending who exactly you have in mind to use this on, don't expect me to be participating," Tatsuya retorted; not shaken by the visible look of disapproval behind Shido's glasses.

"I see; the idea of exercising your will on the fairer sex not pleasing to you? It's not exactly a fortuitous time for you to suddenly have morals, Tatsuya-san. Though I must admit I'm surprised someone like you was capable of having morals to begin with," Shido hissed while Tatsuya just stared back down at the scrawny excuse of a man. While his little speech and visible passion two days ago had definitely impressed the former yakuza, his little tendency to be on his own and making his little torture/pleasure chamber all hours of the day while everyone else was pulling real weight set Tatsuya right back on that same personal line again; teetering between his desire for a real leader and his unwillingness to abandon the others. The teacher's little attitude right now certainly wasn't helping either.

"Let's not go below the belt here, Shido-san. You wanted me to beat the hell out of that cop, Miyamoto? Fine, no problem. He got friends of mine put in prison, so that little bone to pick made it all the easier. But don't think I don't see what you're really up to down here. I remember what you said to him to get under his skin, how you'd let all the men take turns on his little girl. Don't go thinking I'm too stupid to put the pieces together."

"Well, good for you, you have a conscience somewhere in there. Nobody said you had to stay here anymore, Tatsuya-san. If my making sure everything's in place to make sure those brats get the comeuppance they deserve bothers you so much, then you can just head out that gate and be back on your merry way just like you were when my people found you," Shido didn't even bother pretending to sound sad at the prospect of his strongest cohort leaving; which only irked Tatsuya even further.

"You should just count yourself lucky I don't want to leave the others hanging. They've made considerable progress in their training, but it's still not enough for me to feel comfortable leaving them to their own devices with that kind of hardware," Tatsuya relented with a heavy sigh, while Shido smirked to himself while his back was turned.

"Very well, then. I'm glad to see we could get that little dilemma settled. Now, is there anything else of considerable importance you came down here to share? Any news from Tsunoda's scavenging teams on that smoke we saw two days ago?" the teacher asked, clearly bored with their talk while Tatsuya straightened himself out, ready to get back to business.

"Well, now that the flames died down, they were able to actually get close. Looks like it originated in what I could only guess was a hotel of some kind. Some of the neighboring buildings got pretty badly burned, but at least they're still standing. This place however got razed to the ground. We can't tell if it was maybe a result of a malfunction with the basement boiler or something like that," Tatsuya went down the mental checklist of everything Tsunoda had described.

"There was one thing that definitely got those boys excited, though. Outside the ruins, there were quite a lot of slain dead scattered around, with bullets and bladed weapons specifically. There weren't any remotely fresh bodies at the scene, either. All the corpses had been…well, relatively dead for quite a while. The only other clue we noticed was several differing pairs of shoe prints in the soot. They tried to follow them, but the trail faded before they could really cover any distance."

Tatsuya wasn't able to see it, but while his back was turned, Shido's eyes showed nothing but glee. He couldn't have asked for a better hint on where to find his prey. It took all his willpower to keep from laughing hysterically, but he fortunately swallowed it all down before he turned to address his bodyguard.

"That's good to know. Tell Tsunoda-kun I want him and his whole scavenging party to conduct patrols all around that general area, perhaps enough to cover a couple blocks in every direction. I also want you to put some of our best lookouts or sharpshooters, whoever we may have that can keep themselves out of sight, on the rooftops so they can keep an eye out. If any one of those brats comes crawling back to that spot, I want our people to try and track them, see where they're calling home now."

"Understood, Shido-san. Are you sure you don't want me to go out there with them, just to provide some extra muscle?" Tatsuya asked rhetorically. He'd come to recognize Shido wasn't the kind of person to take any kind of insubordination or anything he could misconstrue as disobedience well. If their minor disagreement minutes ago were any indication, he wouldn't have been surprised if the bespectacled man would've taken the first possible chance to get the ex-yakuza out of his hair.

"I don't think that's entirely necessary. Your guidance has proven more than satisfactory in that our people are far more capable of defending themselves and this place should the need to do so ever arise again. But it would still do my heart some good to know you're always by my side in case things should ever turn ugly. Besides, if the time may ever come I'm not certain of the benefits of my decisions, I would much appreciate your…carefully considered input."

Tatsuya didn't even bother to verbally state the irritation he felt at Shido's badly veiled little threat and his condescending attitude. He knew the man would never take input from anyone else. He just knew Tatsuya was exactly the kind of muscle he needed to keep his ass from getting blown or bitten off. And while the former gangster was definitely not one for being talked down to, he knew a hair trigger temper benefited no one in the long run, so he'd just swallow his pride and let that be the end of it.

Before another word could be said, the silence was broken by the familiar electric feedback of the walkie-talkie strapped to Tatsuya's belt. It's been a measure he himself had insisted upon once the new scavenging teams had been organized, in order to keep communication between parties going, and just in case anyone ever ran into trouble and needed backup.

By now realizing Shido had moved on to going over the assortment of surgical tools and other 'little toys' he had organized along the walls, Tatsuya moved back to the stairwell to address whoever had picked now to call him.

Shido meanwhile slowly ran his fingers along the assortment of scalpels, dentistry equipment, ropes, whips, needles and other little treasures he was only growing more and more eager to use. He impulsively licked his lips in delight at the idea of finally getting to drive one of these sewing needles into that infuriating little bitch daughter of Detective Miyamoto's in particular; the very thought of hearing her whimpers of pain as he screwed each one into any soft part of her body he wanted and getting to watch her bleed as a result producing an intense stirring in his loins. If he'd be so lucky as to bring her here alive, he swore to himself he'd make every day and night for her a living hell of unimaginable pain and personal shame; which for him couldn't have been a more pleasant thought.

The familiar strong grip of Tatsuya's hand on his shoulder shook Shido out of his fantasies of perverse bloodshed, and where he was expecting that same stoic disapproving grimace, he instead found a man who looked genuinely impressed, with what he couldn't guess.

"That was another of the salvage crews, the one we sent to the north edge of the city. They found what was left of a JGSDF checkpoint, looked like it either got overrun, or the soldiers abandoned it in a hurry. But they didn't leave everything behind. They found an APC with a mounted turret, and according to one of our mechanics that went with, it's still able to run. They're driving it back here as we speak."

"Didn't one of the arrivals that showed up with you say he was once an SDF instructor? Do you think he could be able to train any of our people how to operate that turret?" Shido didn't hesitate to ask; sounding like he was on the verge of flat out cheering.

"Yeah, I remember hearing someone here talking about that. Once the crew returns, I can smoke them out and see if they're up to it," Tatsuya accepted; deciding to head back up the stairwell and leaving Shido to his devices once more. Once the door up above shut, the teacher began chuckling to himself almost giddily, like a child on Christmas morning.

"Mobile, fully armored firepower…" Shido muttered to himself in astonishment, no longer able to keep from laughing hysterically. This was just too perfect. As if having a trained army under his heels wasn't good enough, now he had not only a vehicle capable of mowing down all that would ever stand in his way, but the perfect tool of intimidation he didn't even realize he'd always desired.

Z-Day+22

"You're absolutely certain about this thing being able to stop a bullet close range?" Shido asked the gruff-looking older man watching over him as he looked at his reflection in the mirror. He almost couldn't recognize himself with a tactical Kevlar vest underneath his open suit jacket.

"I wouldn't exactly have had much of a career training SDF recruits if I wasn't sure, would I? Take my word for it, Shido-san, if some asshole tries to pull a .357 on you, that vest is your biggest lifeline; so long as you don't advertise you're wearing it, otherwise they'll probably just shoot you in the head. Granted, you're still gonna feel that impact, and it's gonna hurt like a son of a bitch, but some major bruising and a few cracked ribs or a broken shoulder blade is better than bleeding to death like a stuck pig, right?"

While he didn't particularly care for the old man's blunt nature in answering his questions, Shido couldn't disagree. This vest would be his last resort for defense if push came to shove, and he would make sure he wouldn't set foot outside his walls without it.

He still couldn't quite believe it. When Tatsuya had said the abandoned SDF checkpoint still had some hardware left, even he didn't think the salvage crew would have come back with as much as it did. The APC he'd been informed of was practically a goldmine; perfect for the confrontation he knew was bound to come, especially since he took every opportunity he could get to get his people fired up for when the time would come for payback.

But the APC was just the tip of the iceberg. They'd come back with two crates full of frag grenades, even heavier caliber assault rifles, shotguns and pistols. Unfortunately there hadn't been any explosives or sniper rifles or any other long-distance equipment left they could've used, but he wasn't about to turn his nose up at the idea of backup firepower.

"And you're sure there weren't any more of these vests with what they brought back?" Shido asked as he finally nodded at his reflection in satisfaction and began buttoning up his jacket to cover up his vest.

"I looked it all over, top to bottom. Looks like you really lucked out, Shido-san. Everybody insisted you be the one to wear it," the old SDF trainer admitted; somehow not noticing the barely visible smirk on Shido's face.

'Excellent. Those mongrels are just as loyal as I could ever want them to be. Who cares how many of them have to get cut down when we take those little shits out? So help me, I'll be the one to see the end of all this, one way or another,' he thought boastfully to himself.

"Has anyone been able to pick up on your lessons on how to operate that turret, Watanabe-san?" he continued with his questions as he began making his way back out to the halls; the windows lining the length looking out over the entrance courtyard, where everyone was once again busy hauling away crates of guns, ammunition and everything else they could've possibly needed. By now, his once ragtag band of survivors looked like a legitimate army, and the courtyard now resembled more of a boot camp.

"A few of them have been getting the hang of it. Thankfully those things aren't too tough to handle, and we still have a healthy supply of ammo for it, so long as nobody goes crazy with it," the old man called Watanabe explained while Shido was now practically beaming. He couldn't have asked for a better turnout. All he needed now was a place, and he could have his entire army roll over anything and everything that would stand in their way once and for all.

However, just as Shido had reached the bottom of the stairs to the first floor entrance hall, he was greeted by one of the followers he remembered volunteering for city lookout duty; he vaguely recalled her name being Kim, or something along those lines, he didn't really care either way. What got his attention was the surprisingly excited look in her eyes.

"Shido-sama, I'm sorry to bother you, but I've got some…well, bad news, and some VERY good news, too," Kim didn't waste any more time; to which Shido only raised an eyebrow to show she had his interest.

"Unfortunately…I regret to inform you, Tsunoda-kun and his search party are…" she began; and just the way she was wording it drove Shido to sigh in aggravation; lifting his glasses so he could rub his eyes.

"How did it happen? Do you have any idea?" he asked while remembering to put on as much of an emotional front as he could without going too over the top. Of course, neither Kim nor Watanabe were any the wiser. Truth be told, Shido couldn't have cared less about that loudmouthed, hair-triggered little punk, Tsunoda. He was a shit student in the days before, and he was far too volatile, unpredictable, and prone to letting his own insecurities and emotions get the better of him to be of any legitimate use these days. He was just a good lapdog when Shido needed him to be. But now that he had an entire army at his command? What good was one sniveling little brat next to nearly 50 trained and willing killers?

"Earlier this morning, I was patrolling the rooftops down near the center of the city, around the Onbetsu River; when I got a call on the radio from one of Tsunoda's crew. I don't know if they were calling me specifically or if I was just on the same frequency, but that doesn't matter. I heard them say they'd found that kid from before, Noah, with Miku-chan, and they were searching through the ruins of that hotel before heading for a nearby hospital. That was the last I heard from them, so I booked it as fast as I could.

"By the time I finally got there, Noah and Miku-chan were coming out of the hospital holding hands. I could hear all the dead inside even from where I was, so I didn't dare get closer, but I know those two didn't see me. So I decided to follow them, and they went all the way to some shopping mall in the northwest part of town," Kim explained while Shido took everything in and kept repeating it in his head, as if to make sure he had all the facts.

"And you're absolutely certain that's where they went? You don't suppose they tried to lose you through there and come out the other side?" he pressed the woman further, to which she didn't back down and instead crossed her arms with a confident smirk on her face. "I looked the place over myself, Shido-sama. There were hardly any corpses all across the parking lot, which alone would tell me somebody's got a pretty nice sniper setup on that rooftop, not to mention the manpower to clean out the corpses when it's all clear. Plus I checked all around the perimeter, and the front doors were not only chained and padlocked, but they had a whole elaborate barricade of furniture piled up against it from the inside. Plus, the underground entrance for the buses still had its doors bolted shut."

"And this town's too small for a complex underground railway system, so that eliminates those means for anyone or anything to get inside through a station entrance. It really is the perfect setup. That has to be where they're hiding, no other place in the city would be that well secured," Shido whispered to himself as he began pacing in circles; running through a thousand options in his head at once while Kim, Watanabe, and soon enough Tatsuya watched him intently.

"So now you've got everything you wanted. You got an intimidating ride, you got the firepower and the numbers that know how to use them, and you know where those little brats are staying. You want me to round everyone up so we can move out?" Tatsuya asked before Shido suddenly stopped in his tracks; a razor sharp glint in his eye indicating he'd just struck a golden idea.

"Not just yet. If Miku-chan was with Noah-kun, and didn't try to make an escape when Tsunoda-kun's team followed after them, then I'm afraid that means she must be cooperating with them. But for now let's stick with what we do know for sure. If Noah-kun was able to get out of that hospital alive, and Tsunoda-kun and his team are all dead, there's no doubt he's going to tell everyone else in his group about that attack. Which means if we were to mobilize now, they'd be expecting it, and after the stunt they pulled on us here, I don't want to take any chances with what they could have in store for us."

"But how many of them could there possibly be? And what kind of firepower could they really have on them? Not to mention they're a bunch of kids, I seriously doubt they have the know-how to operate heavy-duty vehicles or heavy artillery. We could just form an offensive line, roll up with the APC and send them all into a panic," Tatsuya suggested, before Shido snapped his fingers and looked his bodyguard in the eye.

"What if, instead of confronting them all at once and taking them all out in the open; we instead bring one of them, their leader, to us?" he asked; earning looks of realization in any of his onlookers who were listening.

"You mean we lure him out and take him as a hostage to draw the others out?" Kim asked; a wide smile on her face at the teachers' strategic brilliance.

"Even better: we use their leader to tear them apart from the inside out. We arrange a one-on-one meeting at a location of my choice, I give him my terms, and if he doesn't go through with them, we kill him and every single person in his group. And if he does…well, the rest will become so disorganized by the time we arrive, it'll be like shooting fish in a barrel."

"Do you really think they'd even be willing to meet up with you like that, Shido-san? How do you know they won't just throw your invitation back in your face? These kids seem pretty ballsy from what they left behind last time," Tatsuya said with reasonable doubt, but Shido looked undeterred.

"If they have any real will to live, they'll listen to what I have to say. It'll get me the results I want much faster, anyway." Shido brushed off Tatsuya's concerns as he walked off confidently, no doubt to instruct someone else to get a message sent out. As he watched the teacher disappear from sight, Tatsuya had no idea what to expect anymore. Anyone else would've just taken the guns and the APC and recognized it for the perfect show of force to talk anyone out of attacking them. But Shido…he could just hear it in his voice, see it written all over his face: he wasn't going to back down from his original promise to the others. He was going to massacre this group of 'kids' as he kept insisting they were, no matter what.

Z-Day+24

"What makes you so certain Lawson's going to go for it, anyway? If he was gutsy enough to try that bullshit ruse with the bootlace, what makes you think he wasn't just agreeing to what you wanted to get you to lower your guard?" Tatsuya questioned while Shido remained seated behind his old classroom podium, gazing out the window at the light of the full moon above.

"I understand your being cautious, Tatsuya-san. I would be as well if things had gone any other way. But as I told you before, I have a gift for being able to read people, and that talent has never let me down before. Yes, Frasier-kun was cocky in trying to bluff us, but I think seeing firsthand how ready those people out there are willing to die for this cause knocked him down a few pegs. And if that didn't do it, the APC certainly did. I saw it in his eyes, all that bravado was gone. He knows this is the only real chance he has at getting out of this with his little brothers intact. But more importantly, he knows that if he even thinks of pulling anything else, he'll never get out of this city alive."

"Not that you ever planned on letting those kids live to begin with, right?" Tatsuya muttered under his breath, although fully aware Shido could still hear him as he focused his piercing gaze on the ex-gangster.

"Do unto your enemies as they do unto you. It's one of the oldest foundations of a system of justice. Those 'kids' snuck into our home, murdered several of the people we called our friends and brothers and sisters, and left our walls wide open for the dead to pick off even more of us. If we simply backed down and didn't seek a fitting retribution, not only would it make us look weak to any other strangers that would seek to take what we have for themselves, but it would make me look weak in front of my own people all over again. And I for one have worked far too hard bringing them all around from the verge of panic to simply let it all go to waste. Those people still want blood for their families and friends, and I intend to deliver," Shido hissed; his face almost turning red with barely restrained anger at Tatsuya's dissent.

"I get that, but we're still talking about a bunch of kids here. Yeah, that Lawson boy clearly has more of a backbone and willingness to kill than most people in general; even I could recognize that. If I have to take him out to keep myself alive, I'll do it. But the rest of his people, his brothers, they're just a bunch of dumb kids that are scared and desperate to survive like the rest of us. I'm not saying to forgive them, not in the slightest. When somebody does me wrong, I intend to make them pay in full for it. But are you seriously telling me you're willing to throw away all that fancy talk you made about bringing about a new, prosperous future for the sake of a vendetta against a handful of children?"

Even Tatsuya himself couldn't fathom where all this pent up energy and desire for reason within himself had come from. Perhaps it was the fact he could feel the tension in the air settling amongst everyone in the school, and it left him with a terrible feeling of foreboding, as if he could just tell what was soon to come. Or perhaps it was that pesky soft spot he'd always kept hidden deep down for those he knew were only trying to defend themselves against a power bigger than themselves. Or maybe it was just plain old selfishness and he didn't want to see the one place that could keep him sheltered in the middle of the apocalypse collapse. Whatever it was, he didn't have any more time to dwell on it as Shido turned his back on him, as if he felt the former yakuza wasn't even worth the effort of looking in the eye.

"I would tell you 'no'…if there were any children left. They don't get to be children anymore, not after what they've done to us…to ME. They've made it clear they wish to handle this deadly new world like adults, just like the rest of us. Well, now they're going to learn to face the same consequences as the rest of us. And if you want to continue living safely here for however much longer this undead problem persists, I'd suggest you swallow that bleeding heart of yours and do as you're told," the teacher replied coldly, to which Tatsuya just grunted in disgust. Yes, it was true, he had a bad habit of letting sentimentality or compassion cloud his otherwise perfect judgment at not the most opportune times, but what Shido was proving to be more than willing to do: murder a bunch of teenagers in cold blood, was something no instinct of self-preservation of his could convince him to just ignore.

"And how exactly does setting up a torture chamber for mutilating and raping someone's daughter fit into this little 'eye-for-an-eye' philosophy of yours? I don't exactly recall those people forcing themselves on one of our women when they came here," Tatsuya asked boldly, unable to help but smirk when he saw just how enraged Shido looked behind his glasses.

BKOOM!

But the distant sound and subsequent rumbling of an explosion stopped the two from sharing further verbal barbs as they rushed to the windows. Both men could instantly see the distant plume of black smoke rising from the glow of flames near the foot of the hill their school rested on.

"Holy shit…that's not the drop off spot we were supposed to meet the crew at, is it?" Tatsuya asked rhetorically. Shido had made such a point of gloating about every detail of his plan to his bodyguard, so of course he knew where they had to go. And he didn't even have to look to know Shido had realized it too, as his eyes were nearly bulging with rage. He looked to be on the verge of exploding as he began grinding his teeth; his hands clutching the windowsill to the point his knuckles turned white.

"Oh…oh, he didn't…!" Shido grumbled to himself in disbelief before he turned on his heels and bolted out the door; spurring Tatsuya to follow after him. Within a minute they were bursting out the front doors to the entrance courtyard, where everyone else had already gathered at the gate to try and see the fire.

"That stupid, cocky little shit, he wouldn't DARE!" Shido continued talking to himself as he shoved aside anyone in his path until he could get the clearest view from the gate. Everyone else was deathly silent, watching their leader anxiously as he looked positively gob smacked.

"You don't think Kim-san and the others ran into trouble with the dead on their way back, do you?" "Do you think this means that boy changed his mind about the deal?" "Do you think anyone might've survived? Maybe we should go down there and check," were only a few of the mumblings stirring among the worried crowd of onlookers while Shido hung his head, speechless. Was Tatsuya right? Did Frasier lie the whole time just to get Shido to let his guard down? Was he actually stupid enough to renege on their deal at the last second?

What did any of it matter? The writing was almost literally on the wall, now. And Shido, through the blinding flames of his rage and hatred, couldn't have been happier. Now he didn't need any excuses or reasons to wait. If Frasier wanted war, then by god, Koichi Shido swore then and there he was going to give him one and then some.

"I guess your little deal fell through after all, eh, Shido-san? What's the plan now?" Tatsuya asked; trying desperately hard not to smirk at the sight of Shido's infuriating confidence take a blow. Without wasting a second, Shido stood up tall and turned to address his onlookers; his bespectacled eyes practically glowing with the flames of righteous anger.

"This was their last chance, their last chance for any semblance of peace…and they have made their intentions crystal clear to me, to ALL OF US! If they want to fight, then we'll give them a fight they'll never be able to win! These people can't be reasoned with, or bargained with, or negotiated with! They are nothing but bloodthirsty animals that will destroy everything we've built. And what else can one do with savage animals than PUT THEM DOWN?! Everyone, gather your guns, make sure they're loaded, gather the foldable fences, and stack up in the trucks. At the first rays of dawn, we're going to that mall, and we are going to KILL THEM ALL!"

Z-Day+25

It had only been a few hours since Frasier had come clean about Shido's real intentions, and since then everyone had been going nonstop to pack up and horde as many supplies and food stockpiles as they could. All the while, Sho and his entire crew were working tirelessly on the final tune-ups for the buses.

Amid the constant hustle and bustle of everyone's panic, Johann eventually became so tired from the constant back and forth; collapsing against a pillar to collect himself. Having to wake up right before the crack of dawn and not getting any more sleep on top of everything else only made it worse. "Hey; are you alright, Johann-kun?" Tadashi's voice suddenly asked, noticing the young man on the floor before kneeling beside him.

"I'll be fine. Just need to catch my breath is all. I didn't think this was how the day was going to start," Johann reassured the detective, who could only nod in understanding. "I know what you mean; all this heavy lifting hasn't been that easy on my injuries either. I guess I really can't claim to be in my prime anymore," Tadashi acknowledged, his masculine pride making him hesitant to admit his new physical limitations.

"Here, drink this. You need to keep hydrated if you plan on keeping up," the former detective offered him a bottle of water. Johann smiled in gratitude before accepting it. "Are you two seriously stopping now? We need to keep a move on if we want any chance of getting out of here," Rika's voice suddenly chastised the two as she gave them that intense glare of hers that caused most in the group to shudder in fear.

"At ease. They'll be of no use if they can't even stand up," Frasier suddenly interjected, walking over with a canister of gasoline in each hand. "This is no time for-" she began to argue, only to be silenced when he held up a hand signaling her to stop after setting one of the canisters down.

"Enough. I like your enthusiasm, but now isn't the time for this. Take position on the second floor and keep a lookout for any signs of them," Frasier instructed, somewhat approving of her approach despite what he said. Rika didn't seem to have the patience to argue though, so she instead gave him a quick nod in acknowledgment before taking off, glaring at Tadashi and Johann as she made her way up the escalator to spot for any sign of trouble.

"Thank you, for a second I thought she was going to give us an earful," Tadashi said with a slight smirk, only to look up to see Frasier wasn't smiling either. "Five minutes, then I want you two back to work," he instructed bluntly, grabbing both canisters and heading up the escalator.

"I heard you fought alongside him around the beginning," Johann suddenly spoke up, as Tadashi seemed to become reminiscent. "As a matter of fact, I did. He even took command of me and over a dozen other cops, if you can believe that," the detective recalled, thinking back on that ferocious battle. It nearly felt like a lifetime ago now.

"You let him? Or he put himself up for the role?" Johann pressed on curiously. "Both," Tadashi retorted as he could still remember that look of confidence on the eldest Lawson's face.

"Do you think he can get us through this too?" the young German finally asked the one question on everyone's mind, hoping that Tadashi could give him a reassuring answer. "It's hard to say. We were fighting a bunch of the dead that time. Those things aren't capable of shooting back, and on top of that we had last second air support. I doubt we'll get that luxury again," Tadashi honestly answered, weighing out how much of it was leadership and how much of it was just dumb luck.

"So we're screwed then?" Johann struggled to ask the most painful question of all. "If there's one thing I know about him...it's that he's not just a grunt. That boy has the makings of an officer in him," Tadashi stated with surprising confidence, if not even a bit of admiration.

"I can see that too, but...he's still just one man. Hell, he's barely even an adult, like me," Johann noted, remembering that in spite of everything they'd gone through, they were still technically kids. "I know. God, it kills me knowing I'm having to rely on a teenager of all people to protect my own family," Tadashi muttered with a low sigh, sounding ashamed it had come to this.

"If it means anything, Miyamoto-san, even if Frasier may not be some kind of superhuman, we can still pull through this thing if we look out for each other," Johann tried to reassure the former detective. Tadashi couldn't help but crack a slight grin and let out a wry chuckle to himself. "I know it's only been only a short amount of time since I've come to join this group, but I'm very grateful my daughter has surrounded herself with good people like you, Johann-kun," Tadashi admitted with unexpected sincerity; Johann smiling to himself as if genuinely touched by such sentiment.

"Alright, back to work," Tadashi then said with a grunt as he got back to his feet; taking off to help his wife move one of the heavier crates. Just as Johann got back up as well, he was suddenly face to face with Rei herself. Even if he was momentarily startled she'd managed to sneak up on him, he still smiled as always to see her, which made him all the more worried when she did not return it.

"Are you alright, Rei?" was all he could ask before he suddenly felt her entire body press up against his as she wrapped her arms around him. The boy was silent the entire time as he likewise held her close. "No, I'm definitely not alright…I-I'm scared, Johann. I don't want this...I'm so tired of all of this, I just want to go home. I just want to go back to being afraid that I'm going to be late for class; not worrying if I'm going to be eaten or shot…or worse, taken prisoner by a bunch of psychopaths," Rei lamented into his shoulder, such fear in her trembling voice causing Johann to remain silent. How could he possibly give a reassuring answer to that?

"I don't want to lose my family. I don't want to lose any more of my friends. And…and I especially don't want to lose you," Rei began to sob, trying to keep it together despite tears already trickling down her cheeks. "Hey, hey, stop. Rei, look at me," Johann suddenly protested softly before he pulled back a bit for her to look him in the eyes; both hands now gently holding her shoulders.

"I know there isn't a whole lot I'm able to do, but I'm not going to let anything happen to you or your family or anyone else here. We're all going to get through this. I promise you, I will do whatever it takes to make sure we all get out of here in one piece, okay? I know it seems hopelessly bleak right now. The odds obviously aren't looking good for us, I get that...but if we give up now, then they've already won. I've already lost enough too many good people: my aunt, my uncle...Toshimi...I'm so sick and tired of watching the people I care about die. That's why I'm going to keep fighting for all of us. As long as there's anything I can do about it, I'll give it everything I have," Johann vowed, his voice slowly growing in determination and newly realized confidence.

Rei couldn't bring herself to say anything after that. She instead simply pulled him back up against her soft body and put her ear to his chest, listening to his heartbeat. She let out a somber yet calm sigh as she could feel all the apprehension and tension in her body magically fade away. In fact, she could still feel the indescribably pleasant warmth that seemed to emanate from her heart and fill her whole body to hear Johann reassure her with such gentleness and sincerity. Whatever it was about the young German in her arms, he somehow always knew exactly what to say to get her through her darkest periods of doubt. To just be able to bask in the pleasant, calming feeling of his physical presence couldn't help but make her entire body tremble with a strange delight.

"I believe you, Johann. Just...please be careful, alright?" Rei said in full acceptance; pulling away from him before either he could respond or she would do something they'd both regret. She instead kept mentally reminding herself there was still much work to be done. "I will…for you," Johann muttered to himself before looking over at the barricades. All at once, the confidence he felt at his desire to fight for the rest of the group multiplied a hundredfold.

Second Floor

Takashi hesitantly approached Rika from behind. There was an anxious look on his face as he was hoping her silence on her lookout meant only good news.

"Any signs of them yet?" he asked, only to be met with a momentary silence; as though the sniper had chosen to flat-out ignore him. "No, not yet. It would be easier to tell from the rooftop, but then I know I'd be the first one they'd shoot at," Rika then finally answered, pulling her binoculars back before looking at them with confusion.

"Say...did one of you guys mess with these? It looks like someone's been using them," she suddenly asked accusingly before adjusting them once more. "Wasn't me; I've been resting up. Nurse's orders," Takashi said defensively, audibly nervous as he could see Rika was clearly irked by the fact someone had been touching her stuff.

"Hmm, I hope you kids realize when this is all over, I want all my stuff back; including all the ammunition you've been using up," she then announced in a deathly serious tone, not a trace of humor in her words as Takashi's jaw dropped. "What?! Are you for real?! We must've used up hundreds of bullets and shells by now! In case you haven't noticed, I didn't exactly have a job before all this," Takashi couldn't help but exclaim in disbelief that she'd been keeping track this whole time. Rika then unexpectedly began to laugh before lightly slugging a loose fist into the teenage boy's shoulder.

"Relax kid, I'm just fucking with you. Geez, you couldn't even try to act tough, could you?" she said in a more laid back manner, realizing she wasn't going to get the reaction she wanted out of him. "I'm just going to go help load up the truck now," Takashi mumbled out of embarrassment; trying to preserve what little of his dignity he had left.

"Yeah, you do that," Rika dismissively remarked before lighting up a cigarette, taking one deep inhale before letting it all out. In spite of her poor attempts at lightening the mood for herself, she always found her mind going back to silently hoping their escape plan would work out. She then took a moment to walk over to the railing and peer down to see what the others were up to. Kohta, Noah and Kiriko could be seen trying to drill in broken off hunks of boards from the benches to the windows.

She then heard a sudden barking, her eyes shifting over to see that small dog of theirs running over to Frasier as he approached the slightly improved barricades himself. The young Brit peered between his feet to see Zeke looking up at him for some attention.

"Feels like I haven't seen you in a while, pup. I take it you've been keeping a low profile?" Frasier said softly while he affectionately rubbed behind Zeke's ears; watching one of his hind legs tap against the floor in both approval and excitement. "He's got the right idea if that's the case," Johann's voice suddenly answered; calling Frasier to attention as he could just tell something was on the German's mind.

"So, Frasier, I know you've got a contingency for this kind of thing, but..." Johann eventually began before trailing off, almost as if he wasn't sure how to finish his own sentence. "But you're concerned that something could go wrong? Something I might not have accounted for?" Frasier deduced; certain that was where this conversation was going.

"Well...yeah," Johann answered, hoping he wouldn't somehow take offense at the notion. "I'll adapt depending on the situation, like I always have. Although I have a feeling you have something else on your mind," the eldest Lawson said with confidence, but still no patience for unspoken worries.

"I do. See, I'm worried about Rei. I…I don't think she should be on the frontline with us," Johann admitted; earning a curious raised eyebrow from the Brit. "What? Why? She's become a half-decent shot with that rifle of hers, not to mention her natural hand-to-hand skills," Frasier explained, his expression clearly disliking the idea of lessening their fighting strength.

"It's not that I think she's incapable of defending the mall. Believe me, I've seen her use that thing, and I know she's more than capable of fighting," Johann agreed, unable to deny she was clearly one of their better fighters. "So what's the bloody problem here then? I don't exactly have a very large roster to pick from as it is. I need anyone and everyone who can even remotely operate a firearm to cover our retreat," Frasier asked, his patience running thinner by the second.

"Weil ich sie liebe (Because I love her)," Johann suddenly blurted out, instantly looking this way and that to make sure no one else overheard him, nevermind understood. Frasier was visibly surprised. After a moment, Johann bowed his head with a weary sigh, realizing there was no going back anymore. "Ich liebe Rei Miyamoto, Frasier. Zumindest ... ich möchte glauben, das ist, was ich um sie fühle Ich weiß, dass es klingt, als würde ich zu Schlussfolgerungen springen, aber wann immer ich bei ihr bin, fühle ich mich genau wie bei Toshimi. Ich weiß nicht, wie nützlich ich sein könnte, wenn ich weiß, dass sie an der Front und in Gefahr mit dem Rest von uns ist (I love Rei Miyamoto, Frasier. At least…I want to believe that's what I feel around her. I know it sounds like I'm jumping to conclusions, but whenever I'm with her, I feel just like I used to with Toshimi. I don't know how useful I could be if I know she's on the frontline and in danger with the rest of us)," Johann continued, his defeated posture soon giving way to one of relief, as if he'd just lost an unbearable weight on his shoulders. Frasier meanwhile still looked unmoved.

" Glauben Sie mir, wenn ich das sage: Ich würde mich lieber nicht auf eine Frau verlassen müssen, um an meiner Seite zu kämpfen, aber Situationen wie diese geben mir nicht Raum, um wählerisch zu sein (Believe me when I say this: I'd really rather not have to rely on a woman to fight at my side, but situations like this don't grant me room to be picky)," Frasier said sternly, leaving Johann silent. " Johann, ich weiß, das tut weh und weiß, dass sie in unseren Schlachten kämpfen muss ... aber vergiss nicht, was mit Toshimi passiert ist. Wenn irgendetwas mit Rei passiert, bete, dass es ein schneller Tod ist (Johann, I know this hurts, knowing she has to fight in our battles... but don't forget what happened to Toshimi. If anything happens to Rei, pray that it's a quick death)," Frasier then went on to say grimly. Johann was initially speechless, those horrific images and memories once again flashing before his eyes, as vivid as ever. But in the end, he knew Frasier was right again.

"Why…why does this keep happening to us? Is this really what we've been reduced to?" Johann lamented to himself, desperately trying to hold it together as best he could. "Get a grip, man! Don't focus on what's going to go wrong! Focus on how many of those animals you're going to kill to save this group. Fight for what you love. Let her inspire you to win if nothing else," Frasier hissed, quick to remind Johann that asking questions wasn't going to solve anything.

After several deep sighs and a moment to collect his thoughts, Johann nodded in acceptance that it was up to them to ensure everyone else got out in one piece. "You're right. Thank you, Frasier... for everything," the young German quietly expressed what gratitude he could. With that, he began to take his leave once again.

"Hey," Frasier suddenly called out; watching as Johann turned over his shoulder to listen. "Before you go…I just want you to know that…I'm truly sorry about what happened to Toshimi. I know it must be hard to believe coming from me, but not a day goes by where I don't wonder what could've happened had we found her sooner…if I could've done something different. Just…always remember that she loved you and wanted you to live on," Frasier said in sincere sympathy, even regret.

"You don't have to apologize for that anymore, Frasier. I get it now. You did all you could because I'd been so insistent on finding her, and you and your brothers nearly died because of it. Just...do whatever you have to do from now on. I don't know about everyone else, but I'll stay fighting at your side," Johann said with a faint yet understanding smile. Frasier simply nodded in acknowledgment; relieved to see Johann wasn't going to let the past hold him back anymore.

"Oh, just remembered something important: whatever happens, don't let them take you prisoner," Frasier suddenly gave one final reminder before handing over a frag grenade to Johann, who looked at it with surprise. It was more than unpleasant to even consider, but he also realized that if he was to die, the least he could do was go out on his own terms. Unable to conjure the words, Johann simply took it and walked away while Frasier returned his attention to the status of the barricade. He kept silently hoping deep down that his defensive plans would hold up to what he knew was coming their way.

Meanwhile…

"Noah-kun, do you have a moment?" Miku's soft voice called out from a nearby store as the youngest Lawson was marching past, coming to her side without question. "Are you alright?" Noah asked softly, quick to notice that she was visibly more shaken up than her previous tone had led on to believe.

"I'm…*sigh* I'm really worried about this whole plan," Miku admitted bluntly with both arms crossed, unable to even give him a proper answer. "Hey, we're going to be long gone before Shido's group can get anywhere near us. I swear I won't let them have you again," Noah reassured her; feeling 100% certain Shido and his fanatic following was what had her so on edge.

"Or are you worried about the Tokyo quarantine zone no longer being secured?" he then brought up after taking a moment to remember she'd brought up such concerns before as well. "It's neither of those things. It's when we're on the road I'm worried about. Your group is full of good, honest and genuine people. But I know if something were to go wrong out there, should we have to draw straws, I'm going to be the one to suffer for it. No matter how much you may try to talk to them, I'm still ultimately expendable to your group," Miku finally expressed, the worst part being just how convinced she sounded of it.

"Don't talk like that, Miku! They will do what it takes to survive, sure; but they're not going to abandon you on the road or leave you for the dead. They're not monsters," Noah said in their defense, shocked she'd even assume such terrible possibilities from their new family. "I wouldn't put it past Frasier-san, though. Would you?" Miku then asked the most complicated question. Noah was at a standstill, once again recalling how he had to fight his own brother to keep him from gunning her down on the doorstep when first meeting her. Ever since Frasier had executed that convict without even blinking, Noah could never completely stop thinking of how truly cold-blooded his eldest brother had proven himself to be.

"Well, I guess that's true…no, not even him, he wouldn't now that..." the young teen tried to say in his brother's defense, but unable to even finish his sentence when he knew there was no use in it. His lack of confidence showed, leaving the young woman silent. Miku bowed her head in defeat, knowing she was right to be afraid. There was no reason for the rest of the group to show her any mercy outside these walls. It was only a matter of time before her past finally caught up with her.

"Listen, I don't know what happens from here on out. I can't predict the future, I'm not strong and tough like the rest of the men in my family; but whatever does happen out there, just know I'll always be on your side. Let's say the unthinkable does happen and they want to leave you behind? Then they lose me too, no questions asked," Noah vowed with unbelievable confidence. He didn't care how insane he must've sounded; he was genuinely ready to lay down his own life for Miku. The youngest Lawson's sheer conviction left her bewildered, not expecting such boldness from someone she kept forgetting was only fourteen years old.

"You'd…really sacrifice your own well-being for me? You'd really leave your own family…just for me? Noah-kun, you're…y-you're crazy," she asked in disbelief, but still touched all the same by his heartfelt promise to protect her. "Of course I'm acting crazy. I'm in love, remember?" Noah said with a sly smirk; watching any trace of doubt and fear, if even just for this moment, vanish from her face. He instantly felt her soft lips on his cheek before she brought her arms around his sides affectionately.

"They also wouldn't get very far without this section of the map," he then added, pulling up a large and seemingly important section of their road map; earning a playful slap on the shoulder as Miku couldn't help but admire his intelligent planning, as well as the sheer guts it no doubt would've taken to steal that from under Frasier's nose. "Father always did say to plan two steps ahead. I just figured having some leverage could help too," Noah said with a smile, happy to see his woman wasn't so down anymore after what could very likely be their final moments together. Right now, he could only hope that they'd be able to get to the quarantine zone without any incidents.

From across the way, neither of them noticed Frasier could see them. He was stoically watching them lovingly embrace one another. He wasn't sure whether to feel angered by them halting their work, or to feel jealous at what they shared. He knew his little brother was in love, it must've been why he was acting so reckless by trusting a former enemy so blindly. But every single time Frasier tried to subtly separate them, it only served to make their bond even stronger. It felt so strange for Frasier to know he was for once absolutely powerless to stop what those two had.

'I just want to help you, Noah. I'm only trying to keep you safe and shield you from all harm; direct or otherwise,' Frasier thought to himself, trying not to blatantly stare at them.

"Let them be, lad. Can't you see how happy they are?" Mark's voice suddenly spoke up as Frasier bowed his head, not wanting to think about him of all people; his zombified figure still fresh in his mind. "You remember how hard it was for him to connect with anyone back home. He needs this," the voice continued in his mind.

"I have enough problems on my plate. Having to worry about whom he associates with should not be one of them. Hell, I don't even have the energy to constantly be on top of Marcus to top it off," Frasier argued with himself, looking across the plaza to see Marcus and Hitomi laughing together by the entrance. "So don't. Let them both live their lives and learn for themselves," Mark then suggested as Frasier could only shake his head in disapproval.

"I'm not going to shirk my duties as an older brother just because it's hard for me. They need my guidance and discipline, especially in times such as this," he muttered to himself, trying to drown out the sound of his uncle's voice. He then looked back one more time at Noah, only to notice for the first time how the youngest Lawson never stopped smiling whenever Miku was around. While it killed him to even consider admitting it, there was no denying that Miku was a good influence for Noah. Considering all he'd been forced to endure, it certainly was relieving to see the young teen still smiling.

"Maybe...maybe she isn't so bad," Frasier sighed in defeat before returning to the tasks at hand.

Later…

Twenty minutes of the group going back and forth had finally come to a halt when anything worth hauling with them had finally been loaded onto the two buses. Without any commotion or warning signs, it left the group in a rather optimistic state of mind.

"Hey, bookworm, give us a quick headcount, will you?" Marcus requested, earning a pissed-off look from Saya as she frowned at the choice of nickname. "Just about everyone has been accounted for...I just can't seem to find Kenji-kun or Isao-san. I haven't seen either of them all day, actually," Saya reluctantly answered before recalling their host's absence.

"I haven't heard from my guy, Osamu-san, either," Sho piped in concernedly as the rest of his crew exchanged worried looks. "Dammit! I don't have time to be playing babysitter today. Go find them and prepare to go over the maps one more time so we all know where to meet up if any of us are separated," Frasier cursed as he knew that not one detail could be overlooked if they wanted to get to the quarantine zone in one piece.

"Wait...do you guys hear that?" Hitomi suddenly asked, immediately leaving the entire group silent. Everyone listened carefully for anything potentially out of the ordinary. At first they figured she was being paranoid or simply hearing things, but after a few moments of dead silence, they were all able to distinguish a low humming sound. "That sounds like a bunch of engines running...doesn't it?" Saeko suggested; that conclusion causing all of them to sprint towards the front barricade.

One by one their hearts instantly sank once they could see outside. Several trucks and jeeps were lined up side by side in the parking lot, along with a single JGSDF APC. What looked like groups of nearly a dozen people, accompanied each vehicle. To make matters worse, they all seemed to be very well equipped; all carrying either shotguns, automatic rifles or carbines.

"Holy...shit. How did they get so close without us noticing?" Marcus whispered, as if concerned they'd be able to hear them. "The better question is: why aren't they already opening fire?" Saya practically hissed, far more concerned with their behavior.

"Maybe they don't actually know if we're here or not?" Kohta suggested out of hopeful optimism, which clearly wasn't as appreciated by the others as much as he'd hoped it would be. "Oh, they know alright. They're just taking precautions by the looks of it," Saeko sighed while keeping one hand instinctively close to her sword. As anxious as she felt, there was also fear deep in her gut. Now more than ever did she regret not taking advantage of firearm practice like everyone else had.

"That, or they have a plan we don't know about," Kiriko added before instinctively checking to see where Rei and Tadashi were in their defensive line. "Shit, where the hell is Rika? I put her on lookout, why didn't she say anything?" Frasier grumbled, backing up a few paces before looking up at the second floor to see if he could spot her; fortunately finding her descending the escalator to rejoin them.

"Why the hell didn't you warn us?" the young Brit hissed angrily as she came to their line. "Shh, I'm trying to scope out any marksmen of their own in the neighboring buildings," Rika hushed, waving him off as she required absolute concentration scanning the visible buildings outside through her scope.

"Did you catch how many there are?" Frasier then asked, his eyes jumping from vehicle to vehicle to try and get a headcount. "Hmm, I'd say they've got about fifty plus gathered in the front parking lot. They might have others gathered on our sides though. The entrance hall windows are my only viewpoint from here. I would've been able to get you a better answer from the roof," Rika answered as she began to shift her position further down the line for a better angle on the scene.

"But why? With numbers like that, they should be able to surround this place on all sides," Saeko asked, as it seemed odd that a group this large would only come in from a single direction. "It could be that whoever's calling the shots is simply overconfident how this will play out," Tadashi suspected, years of experience dealing with criminal psychopaths giving him an idea of how such men would think.

"It's a possibility. There's also a good chance they didn't have much time to prepare for this," Rei somewhat agreed, knowing it could've also been due to Frasier's sabotage from last night. "Well, whatever's going on...all of you just hold your fire unless they start shooting," Frasier instructed, knowing they were at a severe disadvantage and should hold off fighting for as long as possible.

"Do you think its Shido and his lot?" Noah asked, pretty much voicing what everyone already figured. "Who else could it possibly be at this point? Take positions along the gaps in the barricade. Find a target and line up those shots," Frasier said with a grim sigh.

"What about you? What are you going to do?" Takashi asked as they all crouched down and crept up to find a good position to cover. Before Frasier could even think to answer, the sound of a megaphone began to whine and echo across the parking lot.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything in there. I'm sure you're all quite busy, scurrying about like rats trying to abandon a sinking ship," Shido's voice suddenly announced for all to hear. Everyone was now trying to look and see where he was standing amongst all those people and their trucks. "Well, that's just not going to happen I'm afraid," he then called out, that fake friendly facade he typically played entirely absent, instead replaced with intense scorn.

"Shizuka, take Alice to the buses down in the garage and stay there. We'll handle this," Frasier quickly instructed once he noticed the little girl was actually up with the rest of them, peering through the cracks to see what all the commotion was about. "But I want to see what's happening," Alice practically whined, hating how she was being forced to leave to go sit on the sidelines once again when something important was clearly happening. But she made no further peeps the moment Frasier shot her a disapproving glare. "Do not argue with me this time, Alice. Now go," he practically snapped in a whisper. The little girl looked down to the floor, as if ashamed for speaking out of turn and taking Shizuka's hand.

"What about Kenji-kun and Isao-san?" Shizuka quickly noticed as she kept Alice close to her side. "I don't know where they went. I'll send them as soon as I find them. Now go," Frasier answered, feeling more than distressed that he didn't know where two of the most vulnerable people in the group were now of all times.

"Here, found this while I was packing up," Hitomi suddenly spoke up while offering a bullhorn. "Thanks. Let's just hope Shido is in a talking mood," Frasier replied, taking it in one hand before jogging up to the second floor to get a better vantage point of the situation. 'I highly doubt it, but it couldn't hurt to try and keep him distracted,' Rei thought to herself, knowing Shido was far too prideful to allow himself to come so far only to be denied. Still, a little optimism never hurt during times as critical as this.

"I know you're out there Shido. Show yourself, you coward," Frasier called out with one finger pressing down on the bullhorn's trigger, carrying his voice out loud enough for anyone in the parking lot to hear him. "I would NOT talk like that if I were you, Frasier," the crazed teacher suggested, keeping his temper in check behind an all too satisfied smirk. He then finally stepped out from behind the armored vehicle to reveal himself, only to start motioning for them to look over to their left, revealing Kenji, Isao and Osamu being marched out as well. Once Shido motioned for them to stop, three of his soldiers forced the three hostages to their knees at gunpoint.

"Friends of yours, I take it? Surely, I must have your attention now," Shido called out with sickening confidence. With one of his hostages being a small child, Shido felt practically untouchable. "Shido...if you kill them, you know there's no going back. You, and everyone who accompanies you, will be dead before this day is through. Let. Them. Go," Frasier said in an attempt to keep up an unbreakable front, while internally he was practically screaming at the sight of Kenji being used as a meat shield.

"YOU ARE IN NO POSITION TO BE MAKING DEMANDS, BOY! I am DONE playing around! No more tricks, no more games! Give me what I want, and I might consider making your death a quick one," Shido momentarily exploded with his long-repressed rage, beyond fed up with trying to keep up that fake, friendly facade of his. "If you'd simply done as I'd told you, then you wouldn't need to go through all this. But no! You just had to do the foolish thing, and try to be a hero! Well, mark my words, I'm going to make an example of you to all who even think defying me from now on," the furious teacher continued, sounding like he was one involuntary muscle spasm from ordering his entire army to unleash hell.

"You don't scare me, Shido! You're just a sad little man playing God; an insignificant teacher who sees himself as an Emperor. This is a warning to all of you out there: if you don't back down now, all of you who stand by him will be killed with extreme prejudice," Frasier shouted back, trying his best to intimidate the soldiers standing at Shido's sides.

"If me and my army don't scare you, then what's stopping you from just blowing us all away right here, Frasier, huh? What, are you afraid now that you see you've been outsmarted AND outgunned? Does it scare you, knowing that we could all easily just run in, kill you all and take what's rightfully ours? Or are you scared because you actually expected to double cross me and get away with it? Did you really think you'd get to ride off into the sunset after what you've done? This isn't a movie; you stupid, stupid kid," the former teacher began to taunt before he went right back to business; venom dripping from every spiteful word.

The worst part was that Frasier's silence had only confirmed it all. He set down the bullhorn, knowing he had nothing left that could be said. Now he began to wonder if he'd made the right decision by not staying behind last night to kill that bespectacled freak. "You have nothing left, Frasier. You're all like animals backed up against the wall-" Shido taunted, ready to relay yet another insult before stopping the moment he realized that Frasier had lifted his rifle and quickly took aim.

KRAK!

Without warning, a brief flash burst from Frasier's rifle as everyone flinched from the unexpected crack of his rifle. Shido had already ducked down, patting himself all over to see if he'd been struck. But it was Osamu who reeled back as blood pooled from his head. Kenji and Isao both looked at him in horror, considering they were close enough to hear the bullet whiz past them. Both sides had been unable to anticipate such a sudden strike, and neither party responded until Frasier got back on the bullhorn.

"Don't overestimate your hand! They ultimately mean nothing to me, Shido. No sacrifice is too great for me. That's your final warning," Frasier said in a brutally chilling tone through his bullhorn. Both sides were visibly paralyzed at the fact he'd just killed one of his own so callously.

"You fucking piece of shit-" Sho growled out of furious anger, lining up a shot on Frasier himself before Rika grabbed the rifle and pinned him to the floor. "Hold on. That didn't look like a clean shot to me," the markswoman noted before holding up a pair of binoculars to confirm.

"So fucking what if it wasn't clean? That monster's already killed my best friend, and he just did it again to another. He needs to be put down before he kills any more of us," Sho snapped, knowing he couldn't just stand by and let Frasier keep killing people on a whim. "If he wanted to kill your friend, a caliber that size would've left your friend's head nothing but pulp. It looks like he grazed him just enough to make it look like he killed him," Rika explained, knowing better than anyone just how devastating a calculated shot from the rifle he had could really be.

"For real? Why the fuck would he do such a thing? What if he missed?" Sho asked, understandably skeptical and truly unable to believe how someone so young was so quick to risk another's life without any forethought or regard. "As opposed to letting them be shot point blank by someone actually trying to kill him? It was a bluff. There's not much else we can do for them at this point," Rika suggested, hating how useless she felt in this moment. No matter how jaded she liked to make herself seem, seeing innocent people used like meat shields or bargaining chips was never something she could get used to seeing.

"They'd be dead anyway if a fight broke out. Hopefully this will make them reconsider," Tadashi noted, keeping a hand on his revolver out of sheer instinct. "Or at least give Frasier enough time to come up with a plan," Kohta whispered, trying to keep his aim steady while scoping out potential targets that stood out amongst the onlookers.

"Alright, Frasier, you've made your point loud and clear. It would be quite risky to attack someone so cold and unforgiving…" Shido suddenly announced, hiding another devious grin. "…So you can go ahead and finish off these other two so we can continue," he then suggested as he nodded to his followers to force Kenji and Isao to march forward into the open. The small boy and old man walked out, eyes forward, their bodies both visibly trembling as Shido's soldiers kept their guns trained on their backs. They eventually stopped perfectly between the mall and the army. The two just stood there trembling, frantically sweating, Kenji shedding tears out of sheer terror as Isao simply bowed his head. He knew if he hadn't been so insistent on trying to help Sho's crew, they wouldn't be here. Whatever would happen next was going to be his fault, and he knew it.

"Well? What are you waiting for? You don't care for them, right? You said so yourself. So what's the hold up?" Shido asked impatiently, tapping his foot in anticipation.

"Where's that lack of concern now? Is your shot not clear enough perhaps? Here, let me help you," Shido went on before putting a boot on Kenji's back and shoving him face first into the asphalt.

However, nothing changed. Despite Frasier holding up his rifle, there was no second shot. Whatever leverage he had with the invaders before was now gone. Everyone felt their stomachs tighten and twist, waiting for that single shot to burst out. Deep down, they were all almost a hundred percent certain he'd cross the line and kill a child to get his point across, yet it never came. Frasier finally just lowered his rifle and looked on to see what Shido would do.

"Hmm, I thought as much. That was a clever bluff indeed, Frasier! But it seems that's all you are: cheap words that go nowhere. I must admit: I'm rather disappointed in you," Shido said with a sigh as he pulled his foot back, allowing Kenji to sit back up; only to pull out a pistol and press it against the back of the boy's head, even switching off the safety and thumbing back the hammer.

"Wait! Just…stop. Take me instead," Frasier suddenly pleaded in desperation, sending a shock through the entire group below. They just knew the situation had gone from bad to cataclysmic if Frasier of all people had been reduced to begging. However, this forced Shido to stop for a moment, looking back up and placing a hand to his ear to better hear. "You heard me. Let them go and you can have me. I'm the one you want anyway," the young Brit repeated, swallowing his pride before gripping both fists when Shido started to chuckle through his megaphone; taunting him.

"I won't lie, that's a VERY tempting offer, Frasier. You're right, you ARE the one I want. However, I made you an even more tempting offer recently, and what did you do? You murdered more of my people and burned down a warehouse full of supplies we needed. Destroying what was mine was bad enough, but all the blood from my ranks that you've spilled? No offer you could ever give me would make up for that," Shido was quick to point out, listing the bare facts the facts as his patience for mind games had long since vanished.

"What you offered me back then wasn't a deal, there was no real choice! It was nothing but a demand at gun point," Frasier spat, disgusted at how he had to plead to such a despicable excuse for a man for mercy. "Be that as it may, you and your brothers got involved in matters that didn't concern you to begin with. This is what justice looks like, Frasier. Your actions have consequences, and now it's time for you to face them," the uncaring teacher warned before pressing the barrel harder against Kenji's head; the small boy now sobbing uncontrollably.

"It doesn't have to play out like this, Shido! We can still all go home and survive this nightmare if you just turn back. I know we both can pull through if you call off your people. There's been too much blood, too much killing, and too much death already. We're the only people left in this entire city now. We can both still make a change for the better. We may not be able to work together, not after everything that's happened. But we can still make the right decision for our people. You can still come out of this as the hero you want your people to see you as. You could be able to make something truly great out of what you still have, and help reclaim this city from the dead, be a god to these people. But that can't happen if we just mow each other down like animals. Just call your people off, return to the school, let us leave this city, and you can have it all for yourself. Let the boy and his grandfather go; and I swear none of us will open fire on you. We'll leave…you'll never see or hear from any of us ever again. It's not too late. We can all just…just walk away from all this violence, and make something greater out of our lives. Just move on…from all of this."

The rest of the group couldn't believe what they were hearing, not from the proposition Frasier was giving, but from the sheer sincerity with which he said it. None of them could have ever conceived of Frasier being able to sound so…vulnerable, so empathetic for the life of another person. It was almost as if he were begging for his own life, the way he pleaded for Shido to spare Kenji and Isao. And what was more, the emotion in his words seemed to resonate with Shido and his followers as well; some of them exchanging troubled and contemplative looks with each other, as if not sure what the right course of action was anymore.

And before them all, Shido looked to be genuinely moved; the twisted hatred, anger and shallow pride that once painted his bespectacled face now wrought with uncertainty and thought. He slowly removed his pistol from the little boy's head, looking upon it with confusion as he switched his gaze from the weapon in his hand to the two hostages knelt before him, and then slowly back to his soldiers, all looking upon him as if in desperate need for his guidance. With the gun hanging limply at his side, Shido slowly returned his gaze to the front of the mall, his yellow eyes focusing on the lone Brit upon the second floor balcony, the two locking gazes, as though silently trying to figure each other out. Finally, Koichi Shido let out a heavy sigh, his mind finally made up.

"It's all worth it."

Nobody could conjure the energy to gasp or even move as Shido swiftly raised his pistol back up and pulled the trigger; a single BLAM piercing the silence as a cloud of red mist exploded from the back of Kenji's head, spattering all over Shido's face, his glasses and his pinstripe suit. Frasier felt his heart stop as he watched Kenji's body collapse like a rag doll to the hot asphalt below; his blood already pooling from the exit wound between his eyes. All the while, Isao could only stare at his grandson's body, not even able to scream. And all Koichi Shido could do…was smile triumphantly.

"NOOOOOOO!" Frasier cried out; his once frozen blood now burning like white phosphorous as he raised his rifle to line up with Shido and madly pulled the trigger. The young Brit was too blinded by his despair and rage to even notice Shido easily dash out of the line of fire.

Before the others could respond, the rest of Shido's army began to open fire; instantly forcing them all to hunker down for cover and scramble away from the barricade. The windows all burst violently as the wall of lead easily kept everyone down on the floor. To make matters worse, a .50 caliber atop the one APC began to eat away at the barricade. No one was able to properly fight back with that kind of hellfire raining down on them.

All the while, tears streamed non-stop down Isao's face as he recklessly pulled away from his preoccupied captors; stumbling over to kneel at his grandson's body. Bowing his head in sorrow and shame for not being able to keep the poor boy safe. "Oh…oh, Kenji-kun! I-I'm so…I'm so sorry! Oh god, I'm so sorry! It…it s-should've been me," Isao sobbed hysterically, every last flicker of optimism and hope he once had reduced to nothing but ashes

Amid the merciless barrage of gunfire, only Frasier and Takashi were able to see it, in just another flash no less. As Isao held Kenji's body close, Shido popped out from his hiding place amid the carnage. He came up to Isao, and without even blinking, leveled his pistol to Isao's head and pulled the trigger. It was like another knife of ice had been twisted in their guts to watch the old man's body collapse right beside his grandson's. Before either of them could react, Shido had already retreated behind the APC like the cowardly snake he was. Just then, the massive turret on the APC suddenly started to turn.

"Oh fuck, Rika! Pull everyone back to the lobby. Make them come to us," Frasier quickly announced to her before tossing a smoke canister right at the APC in an attempt to block its line of sight through the entrance.

Rika wasted no time blowing into a whistle to alert the others. The others thankfully took notice whilst staying flat on the floor. "Fall back to the stairs! We can't hold them off from here," Rika called out, motioning them back while providing what little covering fire she could.

Luckily they managed to retreat back up the escalators just in time as the APC began to take concentrate fire on the front of the mall. The barricades of furniture and benches stood zero chance against the heavy munitions blasting them to splinters. Debris flew all over the entrance plaza before the APC started taking wild shots at the windows above, sending shards of glass high up into the air.

"That was way too fucking close," Johann cursed, brushing off bits of glass from his arms as they all huddled behind the makeshift cover on the bridge arching over the entrance plaza. "No kidding. Everyone alright?" Kiriko agreed before checking to see everyone was still in one piece.

"No, we're NOT alright! That fucking monster just killed Kenji," Marcus exclaimed; his voice sounding somewhere between heartbreak and furious anger. The rest of them looked just as devastated now that the middle Lawson had said the words out loud. "And his dogs are going to kill the rest of us if we don't think of something when that armored tank thing comes rolling through," Saya panted, breathing hard as the rush had been more than she could handle.

"Any ideas on how we can stop it?" Saeko asked, hoping someone would have anything they could work with. "No. We don't have any rockets or explosives strong enough to pierce that armor," Frasier answered bluntly; cursing that they had no conventional means of taking it down.

"What about tossing a grenade into the barrel?" Rei suggested, knowing they weren't entirely defenseless, even if the suggestion was still a desperate one. "Nailing a throw like that from up here with all these bullets flying by would be impossible. Your best bet would be to just run up to it and jam one in there, but I doubt they're going to leave that thing unprotected," Noah explained, well aware how organized that whole group had come to be.

"He's right. Those bastards are bunched up and working a lot better than I expected," Frasier added, trying to reevaluate accordingly. None of them could've possibly foreseen fighting what was essentially a full on militia. "Well, we need a plan if we're going to have any chance at surviving this," Rika brought up, scanning back and forth with her scope to see any opportunities for them to exploit.

"There's honestly nothing we can do aside from blinding them with smoke. Looks like they figured that out too, since they're hanging back," Frasier pointed out, making sure to observe how the opposition was acting before planning his next move. It felt like a game of chess at this point. Every move made could be the end for either side. It was hard to imagine how quickly their first line of defense had fallen. Were that APC to move into the mall, they had almost no way of slowing it down, let alone stopping it. The best they could do in that situation was to run and hope for the best.

When it could be heard firing outside, it caused the defenders to pause for a moment. Gunfire began to erupt from the rest of the people outside as well, to make matters even more confusing. Before they could begin to consider looking out a window to see what was happening, several of Shido's soldiers began running in, fingers hot on the triggers as bullets danced all about the place.

"This is it! Don't take a shot unless you know it's going to connect," Frasier warned as they all kept their heads down before they began to return shots of their own. Bullet casings bounced against the floor as barrels became hot and smoke became suffocating. The air was filled with deafening shotgun bursts and machine gun fire, intermittently joined by the snaps of new magazines and clips being loaded. Everyone's ears were ringing, as one would have to practically yell to the person next to them to have a chance of them hearing it.

As the seconds felt like hours, the group all realized this was nothing like the movies. Every time a bullet flew overhead or struck the barricade, it would cause their hearts to skip a beat. While those amongst them that were trained for this weren't as fazed by the reality of combat, it still left them as tense as anyone would be when getting shot at. It especially didn't help; knowing they only had so much ammo to spare and that every shot had to be spent wisely.

Well aware that trying to fight in the open would get them killed, Shido's group had some of the vehicles plow through the entrance doorframes and what remained of the barricade to provide mobile cover. The drivers had to duck down to avoid being picked off and blocking an entry point. Somehow managing to standout among the rest of the heavy gunfire, one of the trucks had another turret stand with an M60 setup on the bed. The rounds immediately began firing hard and fast, quick to catch the group's attention.

"That M60 is going to tear us apart," Marcus called out; knowing their last minute defenses wouldn't be able to withstand something so powerful. "SO LIGHT IT UP," Rika shouted before tossing an empty magazine aside and slapping in a new one. She peeked out of cover for only a split second before she managed to land a clean shot on the gunner. The rear window of the truck was painted with fresh blood as the man tumbled lifelessly out the back.

"Hirano! Forget everyone else down there! You focus your shots on any fool that tries to get back on that M60," Frasier instructed while he patted hard on his shoulder, knowing that was going to be key to their offense. "Right! You can count on me," Kohta acknowledged, keeping his head down until he spotted another follower going for the turret. He ultimately managed to take out seven of them until the rest figured it wasn't worth dying for. It couldn't help but thrill the overweight otaku to know he was actually managing to be useful.

'We've only taken out a few of them. We'll be out of ammo before we've even taken out a quarter of their forces,' Frasier realized before he pulled back and began to start going down the defensive line. "Saya, Rei, Saeko, cease fire! You're not going to hit anything from that distance without exposing yourselves. We're going to fall back soon and we'll need every last bullet," Frasier instructed firmly as he could tell what direction this battle was going.

"You two: take these and throw them at the barricades," Frasier ordered to Takashi and Marcus as he grabbed several bottles of scotch that had been lined up at their feet. Several rags were also set down beside each one for easy assembly. "You think this will do anything?" Johann asked; knowing that while it would certainly be effective if anyone were caught in the flames. His main concern was that the attackers would all see it coming and move out of the way in time.

"Of course I do! Why do you think I told the girls to use the wooden furniture for the barricades?" Frasier explained, and once more did Saeko see his tactical mind at work; unable to refrain from smiling at how calculating he'd proven himself to be. Her warm smile was suddenly cut short when a round punctured their cover and went right through her shoulder.

"AAAAGH," she cried out before instinctively grasping at the wound in response, almost tumbling forward from the unexpected and ungodly pain burning into her shoulder. Frasier's eyes widened as her clean white student shirt was already soaking up blood. "SAEKO," both he and Takashi bellowed out in shock, both rushing to her side.

"It's going to be okay. Just relax and take deep breaths," Takashi tried to comfort her, his heart racing as the sight of his girlfriend in such pain was making him sick to his stomach. "Saeko, stop moving! You have to let me see it," Frasier demanded, not even trying to hide his emotions as she tried to fight the pain best she could; eventually able to stop writhing long enough for him to observe it through the hole in her uniform.

"It's a clean shot I think. It must've went right through," Noah confirmed as he joined them, grabbing a cloth he was going to use for a Molotov and instead putting pressure on the bullet wound. Saeko's teeth clenched hard, a guttural growl of agony emanating from her throat as her hands formed tight fists; to the point her nails even punctured the skin of her palms and drew blood.

"I can still...fight! Don't worry about me," Saeko groaned, far too determined and proud to be giving up in the midst of battle. She tried to reach for her pistol again, only for Frasier to intercept and swipe it up for himself. "Don't you even fucking dare give me that right now! You're not fighting like this; you're done here. Fall back to the bus. That's an order," Frasier barked, not taking any excuse or risk. Not when her life was on the line.

"Get her to the bus! Don't stop for anything," he then ordered Takashi, only getting a simple nod before they both left the scene, Saeko hanging off Takashi's side like a rag doll. She was constantly looking back over her shoulder the entire way; hating a part of herself for allowing this to happen. She despised the fact she couldn't help protect those she cared for most in the world in their greatest hour. But most of all, she felt weak and dishonored to be seen like this by her leader and most trusted compatriot of all people.

"She'll make it, Frasier! Shizuka-sensei can patch that no problem," Marcus said in an attempt to put any fears or concerns Frasier might've had to rest about what was going to happen to her. However, Frasier didn't hear a word of it. His eyes just fixated on the trail of blood she'd left behind. His eyes narrowed before his heart rate instantly skyrocketed. His blood was boiling with such intensity it felt like his skin was going to blister from the inside. Without warning, he grabbed one of the Molotov cocktails, lobbing it clean over the entrance lobby and directly into the front barricades as planned.

While those near its flames managed to move out of the way in time, the fires were already spreading to more sections of their only cover between the mall's breach and the stairs the defenders were holding. "Oh, fuck! Watch those flames!" "Out of my way!" "Don't let it touch you," several of them screamed in warning; each one scrambling away, all of them rushing out of cover to relocate.

In a succession of five shots from the enraged Lawson, all three collapsed; squirming in agonizing pain with their hands grasped around their own throats to keep their blood from spraying out. The others could only look on in horror and disgust as their comrades' desperate cries only came out as sickening bloody gargles.

"Don't worry, Watanabe-san. I'm gonna get you out of here! Just-" a young woman tried to reassure as she desperately tried to drag the older man away from the battle, only to get cut off mid-sentence when the vengeful Frasier nailed her in the throat as well; her body tumbling over the man she'd selflessly tried to save as both her severed carotid arteries sprayed blood everywhere.

"You fucking bastards!" another one of Shido's men cried out before firing a burst at Frasier's last known position; effectively pinning him down.

"Oh God...Oh God! Oh God, just end it already," another pleaded as he was forced to watch all four of his friends choke on their own blood before they finally stopped squirming; lying motionless in an ocean of their own blood, eyes chillingly clouded over, lifeless. His entire body was trembling, as he couldn't even hope to steady a rifle. But there was no mercy to be found. Frasier had intentionally left him there to suffer the entire time to watch the others die, before one pull of the trigger made the back of his head explode with skull fragments and brain matter. This was the price they would all pay for following Shido here…for wounding the one woman Frasier loved.

"Don't stop now! Keep on fighting! Move up those trucks for cover," Shido's voice commanded; accepting no retreats or cowardice, as it was clear they'd be out of cover once the flames entirely consumed the wooden barricades.

"Looks like they're getting ready to push again! What's the plan?" Hitomi pointed out as the vehicles started to roll forward; the soldiers behind them tossing smoke canisters of their own to allow their people to temporarily pull back and reorganize the assault. However, there were no orders from their leader. The momentary silence on both sides caused the defenders to look and realize Frasier had disappeared. They were all both astonished and worried where he could've possibly gone off. Unable to go looking, they just hunkered down and began to reload while checking just how many shots they had left.

"Where the fuck did he go?!" Marcus asked rhetorically in disbelief that Frasier would choose now to run off. The gunfire on Shido's side immediately picked up again as the smoke began to clear up. As the bulk of the assault began pushing forward with the trucks and jeeps for cover, none of them noticed the eldest Lawson dashing through the remaining smoke to the parking lot outside. He was careful to move around their flank and back to where Isao and Kenji's bodies lay.

He quickly ducked behind one of the long-abandoned cars upon noticing the APC was facing away from the mall, but its .50 cal was still firing at random bursts. Frasier's focus then shifted to the portable fence Shido's group had set up along the outside of the parking lot. It was now holding back a massive amount of 'Them'; no doubt attracted by all the consistent gunfire. With the rest of the army preoccupied from inside the mall, the crew within the APC had resorted to using the turret to try and whittle down the undead's numbers. The heavy rounds tore into several of 'Them' at a time. Seeing they were clearly not paying attention, Frasier dashed the rest of the way, just past Isao and Kenji's corpses

Setting his weapon down, Frasier knelt to one knee besides the man from the construction crew he'd incapacitated with his first shot. He checked the side of his head to make sure that it was in fact just a grazed shot as originally intended. While the man's breathing was soft and quite a bit of blood had been lost, he was indeed alive. "At least I can save one of you," Frasier muttered to himself before carefully hoisting the man with one arm slung over his broad shoulders. Before he could do anything else, he suddenly found himself kicked HARD in the stomach. He rolled over on his sides, quick to get back on his feet and prepare to face his attacker; his vision slightly blurred from the immense impact.

"I figured you were up to something by sparing this man's life," Tatsuya's voice announced confidently as he paced back and forth in front of Frasier; feeling significantly pleased he was able to see through the ruse further than Shido ever could've. "Smart thinking, staying back while the rest of Shido's little cult moves up to take the brunt of the damage. Looks like it's just you and me now," Frasier noted as the sharp-dressed yakuza strutted about, seemingly unconcerned, almost pleased at the thought.

"I wanted to save you for myself. It's much more exciting this way," Tatsuya overtly stated, more than eager to really see how good of a fighter this young man truly was. He then reached into his coat, only to pull out two sai. He even pulled them out enough to open his coat to reveal there were no sidearms this time "You're out of your bloody mind, this isn't some movie! I'm going to gut you like a goddamn fish and leave you to 'Them'. Last chance: run now while you still can," Frasier scoffed without a hint of humor; drawing the knife Mark bestowed upon him, as he knew going for his gun would leave him momentarily vulnerable to attack; a risk he couldn't afford now of all times.

"That remains to be seen," Tatsuya said before shifting his stance into one that made it painfully clear he knew some serious martial arts. Frasier was quick to take a stance of his own to show he was no amateur neither. The gunfire erupting behind them hardly even mattered now as the two never once blinked. A constant eye contact was maintained while they began circling each other. All it took was one subtle change in posture, just one step out of line, to set the other off.

"KI-HAP!" Tatsuya suddenly shouted; darting forward only to stop to see if the young Brit would flinch. Fortunately, Frasier kept himself poised, careful not to fall for any faints. Tatsuya, however, seemed pleased by the boy's iron will and realized there was no more need for mind games. "KI-HAP!" The yakuza fiercely shouted again before closing the rest of the gap between them. The first sai moved lighting fast as the tip headed straight between Frasier's blue eyes.

"KAHH!" Frasier exclaimed back, reacting accordingly as he parried the sai with his own blade. While lacking the sai's reach, his knife was made of far stronger material and was easier to control. Tatsuya however, anticipated this; following through with his second sai cutting along Frasier's left leg. The young man let out a grunt of pain before tilting forward from his leg giving out. He looked up to see the first sai was now coming straight towards his right eye, like Tatsuya had planned this all along. That man was truly a skilled warrior compared to what Frasier expected to be a petty thug.

"NO!" Frasier suddenly cried out as he clenched his free hand and sent a solid uppercut into Tatsuya's groin. Both of his eyes shot wide from the dirty blow as the first sai missed its target. "I will not go out so easily," he continued before blocking the second sai that tried to stab at his neck. He then threw up his knee at waist level to block Tatsuya's leg from round-housing him in the kidneys.

As another sai came in to stab at his chest, Frasier spun inwards; getting closer to Tatsuya before grasping at his extended arm. His foot quickly kicked back at the gangster's knees to create an unbalance before swiftly hurling him over his shoulder. The experienced killer however was quick to rebound like it was second nature.

Back in the mall...

"Keep them at bay! Don't take a shot unless you know you're going to hit something," Rika instructed as it was clear they'd run out of ammo before even making a dent at the rate they were going. "Hey, you guys still have those grenades?" Kohta suddenly remembered.

"Yeah, what about them?" Johann shouted as he fumbled around trying to find any spare magazines. "I was hoping we'd be able to save them, but I think we should try to get at least one under a truck. The explosion could cause a chain reaction if we're lucky," Kohta explained as he figured it would just take a good throw to blow their mobile cover to smithereens.

Without any time to delay, one by one they tried to throw a grenade overhand to stall the invaders for as long as possible. After a series of failed attempts, with three of Shido's soldiers getting killed by one lucky throw, the rest were quick to pick up on what the defenders were doing. Bits of shrapnel flew everywhere, the drivers slowing down the push when their vehicles took some metal shards to the hull and windows.

"Hold back for now! Let them waste what little they have left. It will just make this all the easier for us," Shido ordered from the back of the frontline; knowing that it had to be some fleeting attempt out of desperation.

Meanwhile outside...

"You're good...really good for criminal scum. But I know you're still not good enough for what comes next," Frasier admitted; now sporting multiple cuts along his body, one even marking the side of his cheek.

[Stardust Crusaders OST - Noble Pope]

"Oh? I'm always open to new techniques," Tatsuya said with great interest as he had a few cuts of his own, some quite deeper than others. "This is how real S.A.S. boys fight! Are you ready?" Frasier boasted; both arms whirling about in the air as the knife seamlessly twirled between his fingers. Tatsuya glared intently at this most curious technique; never blinking once, as he didn't want to miss a bit. He carefully readied himself to defend against this mystery form.

Without missing a beat, Frasier's foot suddenly kicked up, sending his own boot flying directly at Tatsuya's face. Expecting such trickery though, the yakuza stabbed one sai into the boot before brushing it aside harmlessly. However, what he didn't count on was the handful of sand Frasier suddenly drew from his pocket before hurling the clump directly into his eyes.

"Argh! You...filthy little...fuck," Tatsuya growled, his eyes stinging intensely, rendering him momentarily blind. "Don't tell me you're going to start crying now," Frasier childishly taunted before rushing forward. His one boot stomped hard against the asphalt, dropping the knife as well, which echoed from the metal bouncing against the asphalt.

Still somewhat in control of his senses, Tatsuya managed to predict where Frasier was going to go next given how loud his footsteps were; letting the young man get close before trying to stab him with the first sai. The young Brit ducked down, expecting it as well.

CRUNCH!

The sai was dodged just in time, the blade piercing directly into the frame of a nearby car. It was now wedged in far too deep for Tatsuya to pull out without leaving himself exposed. Knowing that Frasier was sucking in his waistline for a devastating blow, Tatsuya kicked him back before sending his second sai straight out in pursuit.

"Fool," was all Frasier could calmly mutter before his wrist braced hard against the former gangster's; twisting slightly upon impact, which sent Tatsuya's arm to the side.

CRUNCH!

As if on cue, the second sai punctured the second car they were standing between. All it took was a second for Tatsuya to let go of them and defend himself freely. However, one second was all Frasier needed.

'He wanted me to focus on him this whole time! I'd completely forgotten where I was standing,' Tatsuya thought; realizing far too late that he was falling for yet another of the tricks this teen seemed to be full of. Without any restraint, the eldest Lawson's elbow pounded hard into Tatsuya's solar plexus, knocking the wind straight from his lungs, and forcing him to let go of both sai while gasping for breath. He was now unable to throw his hands up in time to defend from what was to come next.

At that moment, Frasier began thinking of Saeko's injury; that look of pain and shock on her face; a look he hoped he'd never have to see in his entire life again. He then clenched both fists as tight as his hands would allow. To see the woman he loved get hurt brought up an infernal pit of burning hatred within him. It was an emotional fire even she wouldn't have been able to put out.

Leading knuckles first, he unleashed a barrage of punches into Tatsuya's midsection; pounding and beating on him like a personal punching bag. He kept hitting with such fury, it felt like he was going to hurt himself as much as his target. While some of the hits were able to be blocked, they were ultimately made up for by the many more that hit their mark.

Had Tatsuya not been wearing his own personal body armor under his dress shirt, there was no doubt all of his ribs would've shattered and his guts left with severe internal bleeding. Quickly noticing this, Frasier reached for the collar of the shirt and vest and hoisted them both up until they blocked Tatsuya's face from view. Frasier instantly redirected his punches at the gangster's now unprotected lower abdominal. Frasier bellowed out from the intensity he'd just put himself through as he cocked one arm back behind his body before putting all his strength into one last punch; sending Tatsuya off his feet and into the ground with a hard thud.

[]

Now was finally his chance; the perfect moment to drive his knife as far as the steel could go into Tatsuya's skull. He didn't even need to outright kill him to win, but the satisfaction of such a victory against the people who'd hurt Saeko would be worth it. Before the final blow was struck, out of the corner of his eye, the young man caught a sudden glimpse of an undead police officer limping towards Kenji's body.

"NO! I will not let you take him," Frasier instinctively burst out before rushing over to the boy; kneeing the former cop in the sides to grab its attention before sending the blade into the side of its skull. Another of 'Them' suddenly grabbed him from behind, teeth a second away from his neck, only to be met with cold steel. The young Brit then hurled the second stiff corpse over his shoulder. Just when he thought he'd managed to regain control, one of Tatsuya's sai cut across his forearm. A sharp sting shot up and down his arm as blood gently seeped out.

Before Frasier could react accordingly, Tatsuya was already one step ahead; sweeping the leg before using the instability he'd caused to knock Frasier down onto his back, putting a foot down on the young man's wrist with just enough force to keep him from reaching his dropped knife. The young Brit breathed hard and ragged, looking up in defeat, as he knew he'd been bested.

[Stardust Crusaders OST - Hidden Thoughts]

"Why? Why did you come out here at a time like this? Surely you're smarter than this if you've lasted this long?" Tatsuya suddenly asked; intrigued by the unconventional behavior he'd come to expect from the militant youth. "What's it to you?" Frasier grumbled as he looked up with a dissenting glare in his eyes.

"Were you trying to escape? Were you abandoning your people when they needed you most, like a coward?" Tatsuya went on, his voice sounding far more intense, as though he was angered just by the thought of it. "Of course not! I came to see if I could save the man I purposely grazed. I had to know I was at least able to save…one of them," Frasier explained, motioning over towards Kenji and Isao's bodies. Tatsuya's face now looked genuinely surprised to hear the young man admit to trying to do something so noble.

"You had the perfect chance to kill me back there. I would've been totally at your mercy, had you followed through with that attack. So why didn't you?" the yakuza finally asked, this time much more softly. He wasn't even as shaken by the fact he would've died, as much as he was by the thought of how narrowly he'd avoided it. "Because I couldn't allow those things to eat the boy. I'd already failed him and his grandfather…I just couldn't allow their bodies to be desecrated like that," Frasier confessed with a deep sense of remorse that gave Tatsuya deep pause.

"Commendable...but very risky. Why did you come out yourself? You're their leader. You could've just as easily sent another to go in your place," Tatsuya then asked again, eager to know why Frasier would do this; almost shocked by what felt like an out of character decision from the brash young man.

"Because I didn't want to risk their lives any more than I already have for my mistakes. It had to be me," the eldest Lawson explained, slowly sitting up after Tatsuya's shoe lifted up from his wrist. The look on the yakuza's face was unreadable, but strangely…deep, as though he was trying to figure out a thousand conflicting emotions at once. When he finally lifted his head, the look in his once fierce eyes had softened, showing…regret.

"You know something? I'd almost forgotten what it felt like to see a TRUE leader in the flesh. I can see now why your people don't flee from such overwhelming force. Tell me…do you really think you can win?" Tatsuya said with great sincerity; looking over to see his group was still held up by the front barricades, but still fighting back regardless. "I really don't know anymore. Honestly, I never asked to be their leader. It should've just been my brothers and I this entire time. Yet, here I am...risking my life for people I've only known for a couple weeks..." Frasier then confessed while getting back to his feet, still weary from the debilitating hit earlier.

"If that was really how you felt, you surely could've grabbed your brothers, abandoned the rest and run for your lives once we showed up. But no…you stuck around till the end. You chose to fight instead of trying to save your own skin," the former yakuza noted; taking this moment to determine what he should do next. An inner turmoil now gripped his conscience. "This isn't my fight…it never was," Tatsuya expressed with a steely resolve as he looked over towards the fighting at the front entrance. He looked upon those who'd already fallen to the survivors defending the mall, and the rest who were fighting on like nothing had been lost.

"I was such a fool to listen to a word that snake said. This isn't what I wanted," he then lamented with a sigh as his gaze shifted down to Kenji's corpse, lost in those lifeless eyes. He couldn't decide whether to blame himself or Shido for this. For all the times his gut instincts had urged him to talk back and silently stand up to Shido, in the end he'd chosen to stick by him, and now this poor child and his grandfather were dead because of it. His mind momentarily slipped into the past for a few seconds, recalling the distant yet grizzly scene that initiated his career as a gangster in the first place.

'I've become the very thing I once detested so long ago,' the former yakuza's conscience echoed as he came to realize he was no better than the fools he once berated for following weak and spineless excuses for bosses, for leaders in life; a revelation that left an utterly sour taste in his mouth. The idea that his own unwillingness to be all alone again had resulted in so much senseless and undeserved death nearly made him want to personally burn away the elaborate dragon tattoo that adorned his back; the signifying mark of his very pride as a loyal yakuza…the one remaining symbol of his pride as a brave and personally just man.

He just stood there subdued, frozen in contemplation amid the raging battle. Had he not trained these people to look out for and defend themselves, they would've all perished a long time ago. On the other hand, him preparing them so well had ultimately fueled this conflict he was now thrown into. Both his knees suddenly bent until he loomed over Kenji and Isao's motionless bodies. In a subtle motion of the wrists, his hands gently brushed both their eyes, closed as if out of respect for the boy and old man. A deep, remorseful grunt could be heard from deep in his throat as he looked up at Shido's people again. They continued to fight and work together, just as he'd taught them. He knew he could easily go in and aid them, help them push onward and crush what little resistance there actually was.

However, his feet began to move in the opposite direction while his eyes remained fixated on the mall. Eventually, he was able to finally turn away and never look back; leaving the chaotic war zone behind him, as he knew that no matter what he did, it wouldn't change anything. However, one thing in his mind was for certain: he wanted no further part in this conflict, neither for better or for worse.

Ignoring the persistent gunfire, Tatsuya continued moving forward, silently burying these past couple weeks behind his already burdened conscious. Where he would go, he didn't know, nor did he really care. But as he continued walking, he couldn't help but wonder to himself how he could make things right with himself, and if he even deserved such a chance.

[]

Meanwhile, Frasier took this opportunity to hijack a nearby truck, pushing out the shot up driver's corpse; no doubt Rika's defensive handiwork. He carefully hauled Osamu's unconscious body into the passenger's seat. He then glanced once more over at Kenji and Isao's bodies, both his hands gripping tight around the steering wheel, nails digging hard into the leather. Not even buckling up, he slammed his foot on the gas pedal and headed straight for the mall entrance. He managed to run over several unsuspecting people in the rear flank before zooming past the main force. Their bodies rolled over the hood like rag dolls as the rest were caught entirely by surprise and scattered to keep from getting run over themselves.

CRASH!

The defenders of the mall were just as equally shocked to see another truck suddenly plow right through several invaders on the way in; screeching to a halt as the driver's door was facing them and opening up.

"Don't fire on that one! It's Frasier-san," Kohta announced, being the first to line up a shot only to realize just who it was. The others were bewildered at what he'd been up to this whole time before watching him drag out the unconscious construction crewmember. "He needs covering fire! Suppress those bastards," Marcus called out, holding his trigger down to lay down a heavy fire all over the cover vehicles lined up below.

Sho's eyes widened once he realized who the young Brit had slumped over his shoulders, dropping his weapon and rushing to help him pull Osamu back up to the second floor.

"Y-You saved him? But why?" Sho asked in disbelief as he was suddenly left holding up his friend alone. "Shut up and pay attention! Are the buses operational yet?" Frasier dismissively announced before demanding an answer; sparing no breath for unnecessary explanations.

"I...the first one is ready to go. I was just putting the final diagnostics on the second bus when those assholes showed up. We were making sure the extra weight doesn't kill the engine," Sho answered while Frasier seemed unsatisfied by the news. "Take your friend and get on it then. We'll hold them off to buy you some time," Frasier instructed before picking up Sho's rifle for himself.

"Hey, kid…" Sho began to call out as he left with Osamu draped over his shoulder, while Frasier glanced back to see what he could possibly need to say now. "…You're still an asshole," he finished with a genuine smile before Frasier nodded in acknowledgment; now somewhat grinning himself while Sho took off to make the finishing touches down below.

"What do we do now? Looks like they're getting ready to push again," Johann shouted, not liking the sight of so many people once again reorganizing despite their best defensive efforts. "Stick to my plan! Bring up those gasoline canisters on the double," Frasier ordered as he waved one arm in a circle and motioned Noah and Marcus to the two escalators; watching them crouch down and pop the caps off. The stench of gasoline instantly became abundant. "Pour it slowly. We don't want it to look obvious," Frasier ordered, knowing this tactic relied solely on the element of surprise.

"Now?" Noah asked as bullets continued to whiz by overhead; some punching through what was left of the glass barrier and wooden pallets. "No! Wait until they make another push," Frasier snapped. The dreaded fact was they only had one chance for this to work. His hands began tensing up, gripping and releasing as he glared intensely at the battle before him. His eyes widened in anticipation when several canisters were suddenly tossed out and a thick cloud of smoke began to bellow out; effectively concealing both sides. The cease of gunfire echoed throughout the mall and left everyone in awe with their ears ringing.

"They're moving in," Marcus pointed out in a whisper. At last, Shido's army had realized their only chance at victory was to push and keep pushing. "Not yet. Let them get comfortable first," Frasier halted, knowing patience was key now more than ever. Both his brothers flicked their lighters on, barely able to wait much longer as shoes and boots could be heard stomping up the escalators.

"Now," Frasier mouthed as he waved his hand down and watched as their lighters instantly ignited the trail of gasoline that led down the escalators. The heat was instantly abundant and nearly overwhelming to both the defenders at the frontline, and those of Shido's people that were caught in burning trail. Nightmarish screams arose from the people burning alive, some of whom vaulted over the sides while others tumbled all the way back down, crashing into one another. Whatever Shido's group did now, it wasn't going to involve heading up the two escalators anymore. Those still alive had now been forced to hang back and regroup until the smoke canisters cleared up.

"Don't waste your ammo on them. Let them burn," Rika suggested coldly. While it was a horrible thought to most of the defenders to allow human beings to suffer such an agonizing fate, they knew they didn't exactly have the ammo to spare. "This won't hold them back forever," Kohta brought up, looking over the ledge to see if he could spot anything noteworthy through the smoke.

"I know. Fall back and split up into your designated teams," Frasier nodded in acknowledgement, trying his best to keep cool and remain calm despite how a single failure or misstep could still wind up killing all of them.

"Are you sure about this? Shouldn't we be sticking together?" Rei asked nervously, almost certain if they split up, they'd be easy pickings. "If we bunch up, their superior firepower will overwhelm ours, no contest. If we split up, so do they; or they'll risk being attacked on a flank," Rika answered, well aware of Frasier's intent to use the cult's greatest strength to their own advantage.

"I get it...I just wish it wasn't so terrifying," Rei said as she could feel her body wanting to break out into frightened trembling, but she had to use every ounce of her willpower to resist it and press on. She couldn't afford to let her fears of what could happen to them all get in her way, not now. Frasier then stopped, all of them subsequently slowing down as he turned to face them. Despite how well things were going, he couldn't hide his doubt of certain victory in sight. He simply sighed, looking at them all with an earnest expression that showed even he didn't know what to expect from this point on.

"Everyone just follow your respective team leader and do your best. No one said this would be easy," he said before watching everyone break off into their pre-assigned groups. He could only hope for the best for every one of them before he went to his own sector to hole up in for an opportunity to outflank Shido's people.

As the attackers realized going up the escalators wasn't going to be an option, they stormed underneath the first arch and were quick to notice nobody was defending that location anymore. Not even acknowledging their burned up comrades, they instead kept moving down the main aisle until reaching the next set of stairs that led up to the second floor in the central plaza. The first ones to move up were considerably hesitant, considering the last team to go first had been incinerated. However, it seemed like they were going to be more fortunate once they reached the top without being set on fire. Noticing that they weren't being fired upon either, their zeal was now wholly renewed. They eagerly called for the others to follow them up.

Entire groups of people hustled up the stairs and jogged on to regroup and strategize. They all couldn't help but exude confidence that they had Frasier and his friends on the run. All the while, they failed to take into consideration that they were moving right past them; each of the defenders situated in several stores circling the plaza's second floor.

"NOW," Johann shouted; he and the others poking out from their hiding spots and laying down a volley of fire. Most of Shido's soldiers were left scrambling for cover while others were torn apart in the hail of gunfire. They had all begun to scatter in a panic, just as Frasier had predicted; pushing in all different directions with no organization.

"This is intense! You sure it's a good idea to let them get so close?" Takashi shouted to Noah as they vaulted over a counter to avoid a retaliatory hail of gunfire. The glass display above their heads burst just as the words left his mouth. "My brother knows what he's doing…I hope," Noah replied semi-confidently. Just as he finished talking, something tossed from outside suddenly flew over the counter and into their cover. To their horror, a frag grenade lay at their feet with no pin. "Grenade! Quick, toss it," Noah warned as Takashi took it in hand, throwing it out the doorway.

KABOOM!

The blast left their ears ringing as bits of shrapnel dug into the entrance walls and the counter. When the noise eventually died down, they could hear someone shouting in agonizing pain. Takashi quickly peeked over the counter to see a young man roughly his age sprawled out with his left leg blown off, trying to keep the stump elevated while feebly trying to crawl away.

"Should I...?" Takashi began to ask Noah as the pitiful sight left his stomach twisting in distaste. "What, put him out of his misery?" the youngest Lawson finished for him as he began to reload his shotgun, cocking it before holding up a nearby fragment of a mirror to check if anyone else outside was already taking aim at them.

"No need for it, it seems," Noah then announced as the horrified screaming from outside their position had suddenly gone deathly quiet. Takashi looked over one more time to see the crippled boy's body laid motionless, blood pooling from the stump of his leg. Even though that teenager would've tried to kill them at the first opportunity, it was still hard to stomach causing such a horrible death. The sight left Takashi silent but visibly shaken, taking in the cruel reality of what they were being forced to do.

Elsewhere in the mall…

Marcus and Kohta meanwhile had pulled back into an electronics department store after spending the remainder of what little ammo they had on the initial ambush.

"Why are you freezing up? I thought you enjoyed this kind of thing," Marcus said to Kohta as they hopped into a checkout stand to keep themselves hidden; recalling how reluctant his chubby partner had been to look out and shoot back. "I have a distinct love for guns and a newfound love for being useful to others…" Kohta explained with confidence as he took several deep breaths; clearly trying not to have an anxiety attack. "…but have I ever mentioned fighting up close or with an enemy that can actually shoot back absolutely terrifies me?" he then mentioned timidly.

"Oh, that's just great. Well today is the day to get over your fears," Marcus grumbled, wishing he'd known sooner before being paired up with him. Before he could finish reloading his assault rifle with some spare rounds he found in his pocket, both looked up to see a muscular-looking man with a shotgun aimed right at them; towering overhead on top of the shattered glass counter. "Time to die, assholes," he exclaimed with great excitement, only for Marcus to react in time by jamming his knife into the man's kneecap; causing his aim to swerve at the last second.

BKOOM!

Before he could fire again, Marcus grabbed the barrel and yanked it straight down from the well-built man's hands, before trying to turn it against him. The man quickly swept his foot in retaliation despite the injury to his leg; sending the shotgun flying across the room. Knowing that he now had to end this the old fashioned way, Marcus jumped for the man on the counter and tackled him to the ground. Both rolled around on the floor with a loud thud, trying to get in a punch or a clawing or two; mostly missing thanks to them moving around so much. Kohta meanwhile just stared at the hole in the carpet, realizing how easily that could've been him. Knowing he had just come inches away from death left him utterly paralyzed with fear.

'That hole could've been my head. Oh, this is bad. This is so very, very bad! I have to be dreaming all of this. No way this is actually happening,' his conscience began to prattle on, trying to justify it all as some kind of insane dream; and that he'd simply wake up in his old bed and his only worry would once again be being late for school.

Marcus meanwhile managed to get a few good hits in, but they seemed ineffectual when the brute just grinned in amusement. He then proceeded to pry the knife from his leg before attempting to stab Marcus with it. Out of instinct, the middle Lawson grabbed at the man's wrists before kicking at the knees in an attempt to disarm and trip him up. The buff man kept his grip firm on the handle though, effectively pulling Marcus down with him before rolling on top. He lifted both arms up before trying to slam the knife down into the teen's chest. Marcus saw this coming and pushed back just in time; putting up whatever resistance he could. Both his arms reached out and stretched as far as they physically could go, hoping that Kohta would be able to jump in.

Unfortunately, the near death experience had left Kohta absolutely frozen. He was still sitting behind the counter, lost in thought at how close to death he truly was. For the first time in what felt like years, he realized this was nothing at all like the video games he played; and that no movie could've prepared him for the terrified adrenaline rush he was going through. His heart raced to the point it felt like it was ready to burst from his chest and take off.

"What's wrong, you Bluto-looking wanker? Not strong enough to beat up a kid, so you have to use a knife?" Marcus suddenly taunted in an attempt to get under the man's skin; hoping that he'd lose his cool and make a mistake. "Shh enough talking, boy. Just relax and let me put you out of your misery," the man hissed sadistically, hatred seeping into his words as sharp eyes widened in anticipation of spilling blood.

Marcus' arms trembled from the incredible strain; having to put all his strength into making sure the muscular man's wrists didn't move. Every god-forsaken second, the blade drew closer and closer to his chest. Had they been upright, Marcus might've had a chance to break free or simply move aside to avoid being stabbed. But with the man pushing his whole body weight down, gravity was working with him, proving too much for the middle Lawson to handle. Icy sweat began to run down onto his face as he tried to squirm and wiggle out from underneath. A sharp pain suddenly flared in his stomach when the strong man placed a knee into his gut; effectively pinning him to the ground while the knife was already pressing into the cloth of his jacket.

"HIRANO! Get your thick head out of your ass and help me with this fucker," Marcus shouted as he could feel the last ounces of his strength quickly begin to fade. Just as the knife was seconds away from piercing his chest, Kohta finally mustered enough courage to move, wildly swinging his empty rifle at Marcus' attacker. The butt of the weapon smashed against the side of his face; thankfully spurring him to pull the knife away and get his knee off the middle Lawson, who was now gasping for air.

"Fucking fatass! I'll split you groin to gullet," the man growled before swinging the sharp blade at Kohta, managing to slice through the otaku's sleeve and cut into his forearm. Kohta let out a painful yelp as he stumbled back into the counter, grasping at his wound. The sharp pain pulsated, leaving him frozen with fear again. However, now having enough room to maneuver his legs back, Marcus reeled his feet back just enough to plant them under the man's chest before using all his might to launch him straight backward.

CRASH!

Tumbling backwards head first, the strong man had his head wedged in a television set. Glass punctured his face, several shards digging into his shoulders and cheeks. Before he could try to pull himself out, Marcus grabbed another TV from the shelf above and pulled it over the edge, slamming it down on his opponent's neck and chest, the freefalling weight breaking his neck. Once he was sure the strong man wasn't getting back up, Marcus spat on his corpse before turning to the shivering gun otaku.

"You alright?" Marcus asked worriedly when he realized how deep the cut actually was. Kohta's face was utterly pale from how shocked he was to be bleeding so much. "Y-yeah...just trying to...hold myself together," Kohta answered, trying to remain conscious and not freak out at how much it really hurt.

"You did great, man. But next time, just shoot the bastard, okay?" Marcus congratulated before motioning towards the shotgun lying just a few feet away from them. Kohta simply chuckled out of embarrassment upon realizing how easily he could've saved himself the pain.

The Rear Plaza…

Meanwhile; Tadashi, Johann, Saya, and Hitomi found themselves under heavy fire. Thankfully their cover remained sturdy, the bullets harmlessly sinking in or ricocheting off the processed stone wall. It didn't help however, that they were effectively pinned down and unable to peek out for even a split second to defend themselves. Amid all the firing, a narrow tube-shaped object had suddenly been thrown into their cover. Their attention was momentarily drawn to it before realization simultaneously hit them.

"Oh no! FLASH BANG," Hitomi announced before trying to grab Saya and Johann and pulling them to the floor. "COVER YOUR-" was all Tadashi could warn before all they saw was white.

PING!

Their ears were now filled with nothing but a constant ring. With their sight and hearing hampered, they were completely disoriented; staying in place in the hopes they'd be able to recover before their position was rushed. However, the invaders had prepared for this, and already the three men had begun to move in to intercept the subdued defenders.

"Get those assholes before they get up. It's payback time," a man wearing a black bandana ordered the others. Just as they were moments from getting their hands on the stunned survivors, Miku suddenly came running out of a nearby maintenance doorway. "What the hell? Miku-chan? You're still alive?" another follower questioned with great shock to see their former comrade in the middle of this madness.

"Yeah, thank god. These assholes kept me as their prisoner this whole time. I only finally managed to break out in the middle of all this fighting," Miku attempted to explain while catching her breath from running all the way here. "Well, Shido-sama will be pleased to know you're still alive. Help us finish these bastards off so we can take down the rest and go home," the third follower said with an earnest sigh of relief and eagerness.

"Take the first shot. Surely you want some payback," the bandana man suddenly piped in as he handed Miku the AK-47 slung over his shoulder. "Yeah... of course. I wouldn't want to have it any other way," Miku acknowledged with a grateful nod before taking it out of his hand. Her posture became rigid and focused as she took aim at Tadashi. Just when she was about to pull the trigger, she suddenly turned around with the barrel pointed right at the bandana man's face.

CLICK!

"Stupid fucking bitch," was all he muttered under his breath, a twisted grin spreading across his face. "You actually think I'm dumb enough to fall for that shit?! I knew you were weak-minded, but to turn on your own?! I'm gonna enjoy ripping that pretty body of yours limb from limb, you backstabbing whore," he growled; with one hand grasping her slender neck tight, while the other gently ran the side of a knife against her cheek. Had even the slightest amount of extra force been applied, the blade would easily cut right into her soft, smooth skin.

WRAM!

Without warning, one of the other soldiers cried out as Tadashi had blindly charged and tackled him to the floor. They rolled across the floor in a struggle, preventing the third soldier from lining up a shot. But thankfully the momentary distraction was all it took for Miku's survival instincts to kick in.

As the bandana man had taken the second to look at the commotion, Miku swiftly shot her knee into his crotch, causing him to fold over in pain. Without even pausing, she grabbed the wrist of the hand wielding the knife and pushed with all her strength; the slack in his body offering no resistance and causing the knife to drive deep into his throat, spraying Miku with his blood.

The unoccupied soldier immediately noticed the scene and quickly lined his rifle with Miku's head, but she noticed just as quickly and dove backwards to the floor, pulling the bandana man's body up over hers. The soldier blindly fired, emptying his rifle's whole clip into the body, which thankfully had been wearing some makeshift armor underneath to absorb the rounds while Miku remained still beneath him, trying to ignore the blood still gushing from his neck and onto her face.

Once the firing had stopped, her hand reached into her meat shield's jacket and felt the familiar grip of a pistol tucked into the waist of his pants. Once she heard the familiar sound of the clip being ejected, she threw the body off herself with all her strength and brought the revolver forward, pulling the trigger with a deafening bang and sending the man flying back against the counter with a dime-sized hole just under his left eye.

By this point, the rest of the defenders still huddled behind their cover had managed to regain their senses as they began to rise up, only now noticing Tadashi still struggling with the last remaining soldier. Just as they began to act once the attacker managed to land a punch and get on top; Miku, still on her back on the floor, swiftly shifted her aim and emptied the last four shots into the man's head and neck, sending him toppling off the detective.

Everyone looked in complete awe at who it was that had come to their rescue as Miku finally thought to get back on her feet, tossing the empty revolver aside as she struggled to reclaim her breath. Once she realized they were all staring at her with unmistakable disbelief, she couldn't help but blush at receiving so much attention; to the point she almost didn't register when Hitomi suddenly raised her own pistol in her direction.

The young girl couldn't even flinch when three deafening bangs echoed out, but she never felt the tearing impact of any bullets. In fact, as if on sheer instinct, she turned around to realize the policewoman had just blasted a fourth soldier outside the doorway who'd been leveling a shotgun at Miku's back.

Her heart rate skyrocketed at what had just happened as the rest of the defenders joined her side, pulling her into a grateful group hug, the first bit of affection she'd ever received from any of the group outside of Noah. The realization of that fact couldn't help but bring joyful tears to her orange eyes as she tried to bring her arms around Tadashi, Hitomi, Saya and Johann the best she could in return.

The quickly approaching sound of footsteps got everyone's attention as they all separated and got ready to jump whoever was about to come round the corner. But all tension faded when Rei and Kiriko were the ones to arrive, looking fairly shaken up themselves, even more so once they saw the bodies.

"What happened? Are you all okay?" Rei asked worriedly as she pulled Johann and Tadashi in for a hug before looking them both over for even a scratch. "We're fine, thankfully. These assholes got the jump on us at first…before SHE showed up," Hitomi explained while gathering the fallen soldiers' guns and handing them to whoever needed one, all before nudging her head towards Miku, who was still trying to keep her distance.

"They'd gotten us with a flashbang, and maybe I misheard some of what was said cause of the ringing, but I think she tried to convince them we'd been holding her prisoner so they'd give her a gun. I'll be the first to admit, I thought she was being serious, but she actually turned the gun on them and pulled the trigger. That would've been it if they hadn't given her an empty gun," Tadashi continued while Kiriko was already tending to the new bruise on his face. "Miyamoto-san actually rushed to help her. I still couldn't quite see, but I know what I heard: he was fighting one of these guys while Miku-san managed to kill another. Then there was a bunch of gunshots and a thud against the counter. That was the point at least I could see again, and Miku-san actually saved him by blowing the last guy away," Johann finished for the both of them, all while Rei and Kiriko looked simultaneously awed and horrified at just how close they'd all come.

When Rei looked to the unusually silent Saya, the pink-haired genius just shrugged her shoulders. "Why are you looking at me? If they'd been lying, don't you think I would've said something by now? It's true; Yuuki…er, Miku-san…she saved our lives. I would've sworn she'd double cross us and fight with these animals, but…as much as I hate to admit it…Noah-kun was right. We…I misjudged her," she admitted, and to hear her speak so humbly and admit being wrong was nothing short of a landmark moment. And all the while, Miku still stood away, as though trying to blend into the background. She'd become so used to just being accepted by Noah, that to suddenly have so much of the group speaking in her favor felt…strange.

She'd been so caught up in her own confused emotions in this moment that she failed to notice Rei and Kiriko until they were almost right in her face, causing her to nearly jump back in surprise. Poor Miku couldn't even think of words to say before mother and daughter alike suddenly pulled her into yet another hug; they being the ones to shed joyful tears this time.

"Thank you…thank you so much," was all Kiriko could say over and over, almost trembling from the thought of losing her husband again. "I'm sorry I ever doubted you, Yuuki-san. I don't care if you were with Shido before…Noah-kun was right about you all along. You belong with us just as much as anyone here. You're one of us," Rei confided through her barely stifled sobs while Miku herself looked absolutely overjoyed to hear them all say so; barely managing to wipe away the tears brimming in her own eyes as she smiled gratefully.

"Well, if you really mean that, then please just call me Miku from now on. Yuuki-san just doesn't sound right these days," she tried to lighten the mood as she knew Marcus no doubt would've, but the remaining emotion between them all still being too heavy for anyone to really give a laugh. "Hey, I really hate to spoil the moment, but we are still in the middle of a firefight here," Hitomi piped in as everyone simultaneously noticed the echoing gunshots from all across the mall again.

At that moment, several more footsteps began to grow louder until the familiar faces of Frasier, Takashi, Noah, Marcus and Kohta came running from across the plaza; nearly collapsing to a stop upon reuniting with the others.

"Is everyone still in one piece? We had to fight our way through a few more of them before Frasier showed up. How are things over here?" Takashi hastily explained while Noah and Marcus eagerly reunited with Miku and Hitomi, still struggling to catch their breath from the non-stop fighting. "We've been doing excellent so far, especially thanks to Miku-san saving our lives just a few minutes ago. If we can keep this up, they'll probably exhaust themselves in a couple more waves at most," Johann expressed with some much needed optimism; no one noticing the dumbfounded look in Frasier's eyes as he stared at Miku. He didn't know how to react knowing she actively chose to fight on their side and saved so much of the group's lives, especially when every instinct in his body screamed she would've chosen this situation to turn on them and rejoin the invading army. Even amid the maelstrom of conflicting emotions in his head, Frasier knew if they survived this, he would have a lot to apologize to Miku for.

"So what do we do now?" Rei suddenly asked; knowing they couldn't hold this section of the mall anymore now that those left in Shido's army would be expecting another ambush. "We fall back," Frasier bluntly stated as they all rallied around him with admirable loyalty.

"What? Shouldn't we be taking the initiative?" Takashi asked confusedly, feeling positive they should make use of their advantage while it was still there. "Yeah, taking the fight to them while they retreat sounds like the best course of action," Hitomi agreed, ready to finish this fight once and for all.

"We've been playing defense up to this point; they wouldn't expect us to suddenly go on the offense. You do the unexpected in times of war, don't you?" Saya added as she glanced over to Kohta to confirm her suspicions. "It's tempting, but they could also be setting a trap for us," Tadashi brought up, making it clear they still needed to be wary of their persistent enemies.

"He's right. We need to head to the buses now, and hold them off at all costs until Sho finishes the final tune up," Frasier confirmed, his rigid posture showing his mind was made up. They'd been pushing their luck enough as it was, they didn't need to take any more insane risks for this place. "They'll fall back and try to make a push from elsewhere. Once they realize we're not here, we can hopefully catch our breath back at the garage," Noah suggested before gunfire started going off again. Everyone instinctively ducked down, only to soon realize the shots weren't meant for them. In fact, the once calculated and conservative bursts of gunfire had turned sporadic, chaotic, as though the ones firing were doing so out of panic.

The group carefully moved to the edge of the walkway to see Shido's soldiers scattered below, firing at possibly the largest concentrated horde of 'Them' they had come across yet. 'They' had easily overtaken the vehicle barricade and sent the soldiers running every which way for escape, while more and more of the dead poured in through the gaping hole that was the front entrance. Even the APC had rolled into the mall, speeding in reverse while the crew desperately tried to keep the undead numbers quelled, running over as many as they could. Despite all the training they'd received, the people down below were no match for a horde numbering well in the thousands. Their screams echoed as they were being picked off one after another. The group could all tell it wouldn't be long until only the APC was left.

"Oh my God," Hitomi muttered as they watched the undead steadily push back Shido's followers closer towards them. "I completely forgot about 'Them.' I guess whatever barrier they set up didn't hold up as well as they'd hoped," Kohta noted as they saw more and more pour into the mall, like an undead flood. If the mall had been even semi-savable before, it was long gone now.

"It was only a matter of time with all that gunfire. I don't think we can rely on any set military strategy from here on," Hitomi realized, knowing the involvement of 'Them' would be unstoppable at this point. "This changes nothing. Everyone fall back to the garage. C'mon, move it," Johann advised in an attempt to remain calm, knowing it was time for them to get out of here while there was still a chance.

"Rika, you take point. I'm going to hang back and try to slow Shido's people down. Hopefully the dead can take care of the rest," Frasier suddenly ordered, remaining glued to his spot while the others followed after Johann. "Understood. You owe me for this when it's all over," Rika acknowledged before running with the others back to the garage.

[Beethoven - Moonlight Sonata]

The young leader simply stood at the railing with a distant look in his eyes, as if caught in a deep trance he couldn't break away from. He observed the ongoing carnage down below while his fingertips gently tapped at the metal railing. He hummed gently to himself while those fighting for their lives below tried to do whatever it took to stop the seemingly endless horde.

It would've been one thing to fire off a few shots in the city. Sure, it would echo for maybe a kilometer all around and attract any of 'Them' that heard it. When this did happen, 'They' wouldn't get very far before another, closer source of noise managed to get 'Their' attention. However, the constant shooting was able to draw in and hold the undivided attention of entire mobs. It had been a constant signal that ultimately resulted in drawing nearly ten thousand of 'Them.'

"Keep firing! Don't let those things push us back any further," one of the men shouted to the others, their weapons constantly firing into the sea of flesh that kept advancing with every limp and step; every one they were lucky enough to hit in the head, replaced by ten more. Terrified screams could be heard whenever one or two survivors would be pulled into the horde. Nightmarish sights of teeth and hands tearing into their flesh drained those still alive of any courage that somehow was left; forced to watch as intestines and other innards were pulled straight out with bits of flesh still attached, on display for all to see.

One woman stared at the rows of teeth and hands getting closer by the second; so distracted and afraid that she ended up dropping the magazine she was trying to load into her gun. She desperately tried to pick it back up, only to be grabbed by her long hair. The people fighting at her side couldn't even react fast enough before she was dragged down like a rag doll, being pulled in several directions at once before the force was simply too much and her whole body was quartered.

"Hey! Fucking help me over here," another man called out while trying to pry another survivor from the grasps of the dead. Three more men desperately tried whatever they could to help, only for all five men to be overpowered and pulled into the feeding frenzy themselves.

"Don't worry! I've almost got you," another survivor called out as he was dragging the upper half of a friend that had been severed at the waist. A thick trail of blood and his wrangling intestines dragging behind all but spelled out the man had already died. His friend dragging him didn't even think to realize that before the man's eyes shot wide open, and he lunged and sunk his teeth into his jugular before ripping his vocal chords right out.

"WHERE THE FUCK DID SHIDO AND TATSUYA GO?!" another cried out amid the panicked fighting before getting blindsided and piled upon by yet more of 'Them'. They were all hopelessly lost without any leadership to guide them.

"You! Hey! Help us," another man began to shout after he looked around for help, only to spot Frasier watching from above. With possible salvation in sight, the man desperately turned back to face several of 'Them' that were heading straight for him. Frasier might have been able to help them out, to give them a way out of this bloodbath. However, he just remained silent as he thought of Saeko's injury and the murders of Isao and Kenji. Those horrible moments were still too fresh in his mind as he continued watching over the ledge to witness every last excruciating moment in gruesome detail.

"YOU'RE KILLING US! YOU'RE-" the same man began to scream at the top of his lungs; unable to even finish when one of his own sank their teeth into his shoulder. The man let out a painful shout while desperately punching his attacker away. A large chunk of flesh broke off, going down to the bone. With revolver still in hand, he shot the former survivor in the face at point blank range. He even managed to shoot another undead old man approaching him before a third took hold of his forearm, biting down and pulling out tendons when the head reared back. Despite his fate being sealed, he still tried to get away. But he only made it a few steps before another hand grabbed his foot, tripping him up. Without any chance to break away, several of 'Them' were already on top of him; tearing one the last of Shido's followers to pieces while the few remaining others gave up on trying to hold their position. Finally they'd realized just how much of a lost cause this fight really was, and it was now everyone for themselves. With nothing left to see, Frasier decided to make a run for the front lobby once more.

[]

The APC finally rolled back, the .50 cal firing rapidly into the crowds of 'Them' that limped and staggered through the opening to the mall; hopelessly trying to break apart the ongoing tide of undead while those still alive in Shido's army had already retreated further into the mall to escape through any exit they could find. However, their clearing out efforts only delayed the inevitable, causing the inexperienced crew to back up in a panic until the APC was stopped just above the bridge Frasier was perched on.

"Only one chance to do this," he said to himself as he holstered his rifle along his back and vaulted over the railing.

THUD!

His feet landed hard against the vehicle's roof, trying to maintain his balance as it rolled forward and back. He grabbed a canister of tear gas strapped to his vest, opened the top hatch and tossed it in before kicking it shut. It only took a second before the cries and coughing could be heard echoing from inside the armored vehicle. Knowing the men inside had to open up for air, he kept a pistol aimed at the hatch. The moment it opened up, he looked straight into the watery eyes of the first crew member. Without hesitation, he blew his brains out; the blood covered hatch slamming shut as the body fell back in.

"SHIT! Some asshole's on the roof," a voice man shouted in warning between the hacks and gasps for air. "Bastard! I'll throw his ass off," another man cursed before the APC suddenly started to move at high speed; forcing Frasier to leap off and roll. Once he regained his senses, he noticed the vehicle was already barreling back toward him, forcing him to run for it.

His rifle flew off his shoulder, hitting the ground before disappearing under the heavy-duty wheels, crushed into hundreds of pieces. The groans of countless undead and the roaring engine was all Frasier could hear anymore as he ran as fast as his legs would allow. He could practically feel the exhaust from the tailpipe inching closer before he desperately leapt aside when he realized he was about to be crushed against a pillar.

CRASH!

Without any control, the APC crashed directly into a support beam; causing the overhead bridge to collapse. Amidst the resulting wreckage and debris, Frasier found himself pinned down beneath the rubble. Only one of his arms was free, the rest of him was practically buried.

'Oh shit...have to get out before those things can get to me,' Frasier mentally cursed, desperately trying to lift the large chunks of concrete off his chest. Before he could even get one piece to budge, he looked up to see the APC once again trying to back away; ramming into another oncoming horde of 'Them'. The massive wheels splattered and mashed those caught underneath before the vehicle came to an unexpected halt. Whoever had been driving had gravely underestimated their chances of being able to drive through so many of 'Them'. The wheels spun uselessly against the collected slick of rotted entrails, blood and fat painting the floor.

As 'They' piled around the sides, the practically frozen APC began to rock side to side until it was finally flipped over on its side. 'Their' teeth and claws uselessly scratched at the armored hull. While breaking down doors, weakened walls, and flipping over vehicles was one thing 'They' were capable of in mass numbers, tearing through solid steel was not something any number of 'Them' could do. However, 'They' were blindly patient and would try anyway until the prey inside would eventually be forced to come out. For better or worse, the crew inside was utterly trapped.

As the majority of the mob joined the aimless attack on the APC, some in the back took notice of Frasier, who was still desperately trying to escape from under the debris. Loose jaws sagged as the empty groans echoed across the mall. 'Their' feet started shuffling in a direct beeline for the eldest Lawson. Noticing he was about to be attacked by some of the stragglers, Frasier drew out his knife in anticipation; ready to fight to the last breath on his own. Five of 'Them' circled him, ready to drop to his level and tear into what little of him wasn't buried in the rubble.

BKOOM!

Without warning, three of 'Them' were sent flying back with the heads blown clean off. Frasier was barely able to cover his face in time from the dark brown blood splatter. He lowered his arm in time to see none other than Takashi firing what had to be the last of his shells. Once the trigger produced the first empty click, he began swinging the empty gun around like a club in an attempt to buy Frasier the time he needed to free himself.

"Looks like Shido bit off more than he could chew with 'Them'. We can still make it out of here if we reach the garage," Takashi explained as he dropped the gun and began to help pull off some of the heavier wreckage. "And the others? Where are they? Are they alright?" Frasier asked with a strained groan while trying to squirm out to little avail.

"They're waiting for us at the buses, thanks to you. I think we're going to be okay," Takashi answered, astonished that they'd managed to last this long and somehow come out relatively unscathed.

BLAM! BLAM!

Both of Takashi's eyes widened as he looked down to see he'd just been shot twice from behind. Blood began soaking through his shirt as he struggled to turn around to face his attacker. He was already breathing hard as he had to fight the immense pain just to avoid collapsing outright.

"Takashi…" Frasier muttered in horror, genuinely enraged as he looked past him to see a battered Shido moving in with the smoking pistol in hand. The deranged teacher quickly took a shot at an undead salaryman that stumbled towards him.

"You insolent little bastards just cost me everything! But at least I can kill you both before I make my escape," Shido snarled, never shown to be as angry as he was now. "You've lost...no matter what happens here...we beat you," Takashi announced in defiance as he had one hand held to his chest, clenching tight as he just grinned at Shido's infuriated reaction. "We'll just see about that, boy," Shido hissed before firing another shot into Takashi's thigh, causing the youth to collapse onto the floor while Frasier couldn't do anything but watch, powerless.

CLICK!

Apparently that had been the last shot in the clip, prompting Shido to toss it aside before approaching the defenseless Takashi, sending several savage kicks into his sides and stomach over and over. He was smiling every step of the way; taking great pleasure at the sight of Takashi's anguish.

"How does it feel, Komuro; knowing that for all your efforts, you're all going to die like a bunch of dogs?" Shido taunted as he stomped on Takashi's hand, twisting his shoe around. Takashi let out a pained yelp as bone could be heard cracking under the pressure.

CRACK!

Without warning, a rock-sized chunk of pillar hit Shido in the side of his head, causing his vision to blur as he staggered from the disorientation. His eyes flared with a seething hatred when he realized he was now bleeding. He began looking around frantically to see who was responsible before peering down at Frasier, who glared right back at him with another chunk in hand.

"What?! How...how dare you strike me like that, you insubordinate little SHIT?!" Shido snarled before noticing how Frasier was trapped and unable to put up much of a fight anymore.

"I really hope you enjoyed that…because now I'm going to make sure you die slower than he will," Shido hissed in a more relaxed manner before rolling up his sleeves, ready to pummel Frasier to death where he lay. He easily swerved to the side when the young Brit tried to throw another chunk of debris at him.

"Get away from them, you son of a bitch!" Rei's voice suddenly called out as she came seemingly out of nowhere and threw herself onto Shido's back; pulling back at his hair and knocking his glasses off, trying to get him away from the two wounded survivors as best she could. Her nails clawed into his neck and cheek in an attempt to distract him, causing him to drop his gun in the unexpected struggle.

"Oh, this just keeps getting better and better," Shido announced with great enthusiasm when he recognized Rei's voice; grabbing her arms and pulling out of whatever grasp she had him in, ignoring the burning itch that resulted from her scratches left on his skin. Despite being by no meaning of the word 'strong', Shido didn't seem to have any trouble going toe to toe with Rei, who was far more concerned with not letting him anywhere near Frasier or Takashi. Shido grabbed at her arms before throwing her off his back and into the hard floor. She rolled away just in time before he could stomp on her head.

"I was really going to enjoy taking my time with you…savoring every last delicious moment. So forgive me if this doesn't end as quickly as you might've hoped," Shido expressed with a sinister grin, both yellow eyes widened by the anticipation he'd become so accustomed to. Rei quickly stood right back up; there was no way she was going to allow herself to back down now. Her eyes quickly took notice that Shido's pistol wasn't too far away from them. All she had to do was grab it and put a shot or two into Shido to end all of this. However, if he were to grab it, she'd virtually have no chance at stopping him then.

"I'm surprised you stuck around this long. I figured without all your followers to protect you, you'd be long gone by now," Rei brought up as she tried to keep him focused on her and not where she was going to go. "They were just simple pawns. Every last one was entirely expendable. Sure, it might be tough for awhile on my own out there...but once I find another group, I'll be right back to where I was," Shido retorted, having zero empathy for those he so callously threw into the meat grinder. Any regard for their lives was entirely absent.

"You monster! I should've killed you back at the estate," Rei growled before she charged at him. Shido meanwhile remained entirely calm, a fist already formed at his side and ready to strike at her when she came into range. Just as she was about to pounce on top of him, he took the first swing. However, having been taught multiple means of defending herself by her father, Rei backed off at the last second. The punch harmlessly swung at the air before she kicked a leg out into Shido's side. Not expecting her to be so fast, the teacher let out a pained groan, which only further enraged him. Rei quickly pulled her leg back to avoid it being grabbed. Giving him no time to recover, she took another swing, this time nailing Shido in the side of his leg; nearly toppling him over as he fell down to one knee.

Certain she could now end this with one solid kick to the temple; Rei swung her foot directly for the former teacher's head. To her surprise though, Shido anticipated this and clasped both his hands around her shoe. Unable to pull away in time, Rei was swiftly pulled down to the floor, Shido already crawling on top. His balled fists mercilessly struck her in the stomach and across the cheek. One hand then pinned her head down as the other tried to line up for another devastating blow.

A part of him didn't even know how he wanted to end her life anymore. For days he'd been so certain he'd be able to take his time, to drag out every ounce of pain as far as he could. Being put on the spot made his attacks reckless and somewhat random. He knew there was no way he'd be able to take her back alive to his special torture room anymore; not with so many of 'Them' to get in the way, on top of her accursed constant resisting. It had to be here and now.

While he was momentarily lost in thought, Rei quickly took advantage of Shido's lapse in judgment by placing both her feet against his chest before kicking him off with all her might. His body launched back, giving her enough time to crawl over towards the dropped pistol. She practically crawled all the way over, just moments away from finally ending it. Her fingers wrapped around the grip, only to suddenly get stomped on by Shido's foot.

"Oh, I don't think so! We can't let the fun end so soon now, can we?" Shido taunted, his foot twisting back and forth; causing Rei to cry out from the crushing pain. It felt like the bones in her hand were going to snap at any second. "You should consider yourself lucky…" Shido said in a chilling whisper before grabbing Rei by the back of her hair; viciously slamming her head against the floor three times until she finally let go of the gun. He quickly kicked it away, robbing her of her last advantage. "…I had so much planned for you, but that's all going to have to be put aside now," he continued before noticing the dead were starting to move further into the mall towards the gunshots echoing from the garage below.

Giving the young girl no respite, he wrapped both his hands around her neck; all ten fingers squeezing as hard as they possibly could. Rei's face instantly turned red, on the verge of turning blue as every gasp for air gave her none. Her head felt light, her vision starting to blur. It would've been so easy to just let the darkness take her now, to just give up and embrace the end.

Meanwhile, knowing she wasn't going to last another ten seconds, Frasier looked around in desperation for something, ANYTHING to help her with. Without any sizable rubble left in his reach to throw, he glanced at his knife and carefully set it on the ground; knowing he only had one shot at this or else they'd all die here. He took a deep breath and took aim with the knife before suddenly sliding it all the way across the floor, the blade stopping just short of Rei's left foot.

Unable to reach out and grab it, the nearly asphyxiated teen used her foot to kick it up within her reach. Once she was able to wrap her fingers around the handle, without hesitation she gripped it for dear life and thrust the thick blade upwards, going directly the lens of Shido's glasses and into his right eye. A blood-curling scream pierced the air as he immediately lunged back off of her with both hands over the handle. He was practically howling like a wounded animal as he desperately tried to pull it out. Blood and pus gushed out of the brutal wound, his hands slicked with it. His once mad howls quickly fell to pitiful whimpering cries.

Rei meanwhile was heaving for air when it finally returned to her. Her whole face was a vibrant shade of red as she felt around her throat; coughing violently. Once she was able to breathe calmly again, she glanced over to see Frasier sigh out of relief; before turning back to see Shido trying to limp away. The knife had finally been removed and lay on the floor, with a severed eyeball still skewered to it.

Her blood burning like fire at the sight of the monster trying to flee, Rei slowly got back to her feet, easily catching up to the crippled Shido as he peeked over his shoulder at the sound of her footsteps. His one remaining eye was already filled with tears, almost like he was begging for mercy when he met her exhausted and furious gaze.

"Please...Miyamoto-san, y-you're better than this! P-please, don't kill me! Y-you know this is wrong... you're n-not like the rest of them. I-if you were, you w-would've shot me when you had the chance back at the T-Takagi estate," Shido began to plead and beg pathetically; hoping that she'd be able to take the moral high road and spare his worthless life just a bit longer.

But Rei didn't say a word. Save for a few huffs for air and a slight growl of disgust at this pathetic excuse for a man, she was silent as the grave. Before Koichi Shido could even think of another way to plead for his miserable existence, she lifted up a knee. In an instant, her foot smashed right into his eyes and nose. Unable to even cry out in pain, Shido just clasped both hands against his agonizing face; whimpering and groveling at such unrelenting anguish that burned like hellfire. All the while, Rei just walked away, not even looking back to see what would happen next. One more look at such a cruel monster would've made her sick to her stomach.

Both hands blindly guided Shido along the floor; trying to follow the sound of Rei's footsteps. Just when he thought he'd bumped into her, his hands felt up a leg far too cold and dry to be hers. That's when he heard several low, rattling groans coming from all around him. His vision then recovered just enough to see he'd stumbled right into the horde.

Unable to even get a word out, Shido was instantly pinned to the floor by just one of 'Them'. His struggling grunts and desperate shouts only drew more towards himself. His leather shoes squeaked against the floor as he tried to kick the monster on top of him away. He was barely able to hold even one back before several more at once joined in. Several sets of jagged, rotting teeth began to sink into his flesh simultaneously, chunks of flesh and tendons ripped right out. Sharp, broken nails peeled and clawed at his body, some even breaking off into his skin. The whites of his shinbones could be seen after the flesh had been messily torn from his legs. Several hands dug away at his stomach until it was literally torn wide open, his internal organs spilling out for all to see. At this point, not a single part of him would go unconsumed.

Horrid gargles and savage gnawing were to be the final sounds he'd ever hear. The nightmarish sight of former human beings eating different parts of him would be the last he'd ever get to see. The stench of rotting flesh, freshly spilt blood, and steaming guts was all he could smell now. The sickening copper flavor of his own blood gushing out of his mouth was all he could taste. All senses overwhelmed his brain to the point it drove him over the edge as he began suddenly laughing and cackling like a madman. At least until an undead teenager, wearing a Fujimi Academy male student uniform and a shattered pair of glasses attached to its mangled face, sank its teeth into his neck and tore his throat wide open. Shido's wicked laughs reduced to bloody gurgles before finally going silent, as the dead feasted on every last bit of him like a pack of animals.

"It's...it's finally over," Rei muttered to herself between her heaving breaths as sweat and blood trickled down her face from the laceration on her forehead. She was in utter awe at the fact she just took another human life, the life of a man she truly hated to the core no less. She knew this day would change her forever, but now was not the time to dwell on it. She quickly ran over to help Frasier finally get out from underneath the wreckage. Shido's corpse had luckily bought her more than enough time to get the young Brit out.

"Thank you. I'm…I'm glad you had what it took to finally end that bastard. I'm sorry I ever called you weak," Frasier said gratefully, speaking with the utmost respect for Rei as he glanced over to see what little of Shido was left in that feeding frenzy. However, they both knew there was no time to celebrate this otherwise short-lived victory. Both rushed to aid Takashi as he remained face down, trying to keep himself from bleeding out. He let out a painful groan when Frasier helped him back up onto his own two feet.

"Oh my God, Takashi...is he going to be okay?" Rei asked frantically, both hands over her mouth and tears running down her face, devastated at the sight of him like this. "He's lost a lot of blood. We need to get him out of here," Frasier noted before realizing just where he'd been shot, looking away with a grim expression that showed zero hope.

"Rei…y-you have to leave me," Takashi wearily muttered, using what energy he had left just to stay conscious. "What? No, don't say that! You know I'd never do such a horrid thing," she protested heartbroken, certain it was just the blood loss making him say such things.

"Frasier...please...please promise me you'll take good care of them. Don't let anything happen to our friends. Don't...let them..." Takashi groaned, as it became a struggle to even speak at this point. Every last breath was taking the heaviest toll on him. Frasier however, stayed silent; trying to fight back the agony he felt at seeing someone he'd unexpectedly come to see as a true friend this close to death. "Please, stop talking, Takashi! You need to save your strength," Rei pleaded. After all this chaos, all the killing, all the suffering, there was no way in hell she was going to give up on him now, not when they were so close to getting out.

"Rei…I'm…I'm so sorry…for all of this. For what I've…done in the past…to push you away. If I could...do anything over again, it would…be back when we were more than just friends. To do it right…and make sure I never lost you. Please...please forgive me," Takashi suddenly said with an earnest smile; reaching out to her one last time, feeling their hands intertwine like the good old days. "Oh, Takashi...I already forgave you…a long time ago. You will always have a special place in my heart," Rei expressed sobbingly; holding his hand tight while looking up to see his expression was now that of relief, just frozen on his face as both eyes remained eerily open, distant.

"He's gone…isn't he?" she hesitantly asked, unable to even think of checking to confirm it herself. Frasier stopped for just a brief moment with two fingers placed beneath Takashi's jaw. He bowed his head in sorrow soon after. "I'm afraid so…I'm so sorry, Rei. He died a warriors death…if that counts for anything," Frasier expressed, trying to keep calm, considering his raging emotions and the fact 'They' weren't too far behind them. An idea suddenly occurred to him as he began to set Takashi down.

"What are you doing?" Rei asked, uncertain what was going on inside his head. "Leaving him behind to slow 'Them' down so we have more time to escape. Realistically...he's just dead weight to us," Frasier attempted to explain, trying to ignore the conflict between the sentimentality in his heart and the cold logical thinking of his mind.

Rei clearly did not share the same sentiments as he did, glaring angrily at him for even thinking such a disrespectful notion before she knelt down and held Takashi's head up to hers. She was doing whatever she could to bottle up her emotions despite how bad their situation truly was. How he could even suggest she go through with such a cruel plan was beyond her.

"I know he meant a lot to you, Rei. He meant a lot to all of us, but now is not the time to be grieving. We'll be dead too if we don't hurry to the garage," Frasier warned, now whispering as the first of 'Them' began heading their direction. "How can you ask me to do such a thing?" Rei asked through her sobs, horrified that he'd allow Takashi to be consumed by those monsters while they practically abandoned him.

"Oh, I'm not asking for your permission. I'm telling you as your leader to let him go. I'd want the same had it been me. Do not allow his death to be in vain," Frasier demanded as he frequently checked to make sure 'They' didn't get too close before they could react. The collective groans and snarls were growing louder by the second. What was once considered aimless wandering, was now full intent to catch up to the two survivors. Rei knew they didn't have much time left to escape before every nook and cranny of the mall would be filled to the brim with 'Them'.

"I'm not leaving without him. You want to leave him to those things? Fine! But you'll be leaving me behind as well...then you'll have to explain it to everyone else," Rei finally said in protest, bowing her head after delivering her ultimatum. This left Frasier at an utter standstill, as he watched Rei desperately try to drag Takashi's body along without tipping over herself. On one hand, Frasier realized he could simply drag Rei, even knock her out, as he seemed to do with a lot of his problems. However, once she woke up, there was no telling if she'd expose him for what he did just the previous night, a gamble he knew he couldn't afford to lose.

"You're lucky I have no energy left to argue. Let's get out of here," Frasier grumbled before taking all the weight from Rei's back, hauling Takashi over his shoulders before taking the quickest route to the garage that wasn't blocked off by 'Them'. Time was of the utmost importance, now more than ever.

Down below…

Meanwhile, the garage was being fought over from two fronts. One exit had the handful of people left alive from Shido's cult trying to push through the garage; aiming to take one of the modified buses and escape. The second exit had the first of many undead shambling through like a slowly building flood. All the while, Marcus and Hitomi were trying to hold both fronts off behind the second bus. As the firefight raged on, another set of double doors burst open for Rei and Frasier to hastily make their way through.

"We're almost there, Frasier. We've just got to get across and board one of the buses," Rei announced as she quickly helped Frasier steady his step. The constant fighting had taken its toll on him, but to carry Takashi's body through the rest of the mall only sapped what little strength his body had left. "Only one left…gotta make this count," Frasier panted; motioning to a canister attached to his vest. Rei hesitantly pulled it off and began to look it over.

"Twist the cap, then toss it between us and the nearest bus," Frasier grunted, hoping Rei could finally secure their escape. "Okay...I think I got it," she replied before tossing it across the garage. The canister rolled on its side before spewing out yet another thick white fog to obscure the ensuing chaos.

The shooting stopped for just a few moments; the undead going in all different directions after the last few shots echoed and ricocheted from the walls. Rei practically guided Frasier through the smoke by his forearm, doing her best to keep an eye out for any of 'Them', the invaders, or the buses. Just when it seemed like they'd taken a wrong turn, they nearly ran headfirst into the second bus.

"Holy cripes, you made it! I KNEW you were too stubborn to die! Hurry, we'll cover you while you get on," Marcus announced out of relief once he realized who was coming through the smoke; frantically waving them to climb aboard as he and Hitomi continued laying down covering fire. "Let's go! Get us the hell out of here," Frasier ordered as he pounded a fist against the roof, signaling they were all here and finally ready to go. The engines to the buses simultaneously roared to life as the lights flickered on.

"Hey! They're getting away!" one of the last invaders shouted before yet another volley of gunfire began to rattle off through the smoky veil. "Stop them! If we're going to die, they're going down with us," another screamed, clearly driven mad by the brutal fighting that had claimed so many of their own.

No longer willing to waste time and bullets returning fire, Marcus ran and climbed into the rear bus for evacuation; whistling for Hitomi to do the same. Just as she was about to follow suit and climb aboard, she looked up to see Marcus offering her his hand as the bus began to go faster. With one foot on the rear bumper, she reached for his hand and felt him hoist her up. A feeling of grateful warmth emanated from within them both to see the other safe.

As Hitomi opened her mouth to speak, she felt a sudden intense pinch in her chest. Marcus at first looked at her with great confusion before glancing down to see freshly split blood on both of them. When his gaze returned to her face, a single trail of blood was running from her mouth. Hitomi's knees buckled and her body fell forward into his arms. His green eyes trembled in horror as he laid Hitomi on her back and tried to apply pressure to her chest to stop the bleeding…but the flow just wouldn't stop, seeping over his hands like nothing.

SLAM!

Frasier slammed the rear door shut as soon as Marcus and Hitomi hit the floor. As the buses drove up the incline and out into the daylight and across the parking lot, Frasier let out the deepest sigh of relief he thought possible. It was only the sound of Marcus' barely contained sobs that broke him out of his state of mental numbness.

"Where is she?! Where's Shizuka?! Somebody get her over here NOW," Marcus shouted between devastated sadness and uncontrollable anger, trying to keep Hitomi still so the sudden shaking wouldn't somehow make her wound worse. "She's on the other bus. I'm...I'm sorry, Marcus," Noah realized, his voice heavy with sadness. The more he looked at Hitomi's wound, the more the cold feeling set in the pit of his stomach that the nurse wouldn't have been able to do anything anyway.

"Hitomi...Hitomi, please don't struggle. Just hold on. We're gonna pull over, then Shizuka can patch you up. You'll make it, you hear?" Marcus pleaded as he could see her face turning progressively paler. "Just... please... just..." Marcus begged, unable to refrain from sobbing as he watched Hitomi's beautiful eyes lifelessly staring off into his. Her lips slightly parted as if to speak, but all he got was a cold silence that shattered his heart to pieces.

One of her hands wearily reached up to cup his cheek. Marcus gently placed one of his hands over hers and gave it a soft squeeze in response. The faintest smile crossed her lips before her head slowly lulled back, and her eyes slowly closed. Finally, her outreached hand fell limply to the floor. Time seemed to freeze as everyone in the bus watched with their hearts caught in their throats. Marcus hung his head in failure, unable to keep the tears back as his whole body trembled with his silent sobbing.

Noah and Frasier both knelt at his side, but at a loss of any words for comfort or reassurance. None of the things one would typically say in the wake of losing another felt real. In this moment, to have witnessed someone who'd become so close to the trio die…it gave the world itself an oppressive feeling of wretched emptiness; the kind that could kill the flame of one's spirit.

"Did everyone else make it?" Marcus suddenly asked, never once lifting up his head; sniffling as he couldn't bare to face anyone else. "Unfortunately…not everyone. We…we lost one more, and we need to bring the others here for that. But…the rest of us are still here because of Hitomi. Her sacrifice was not for nothing. Take what solace you can from that, Marcus," Frasier said somberly as he knew this was no time to be telling Marcus to toughen up. Watching his middle brother so overwrought couldn't help but make Frasier imagine what he would be like if it were Saeko at his feet like this. He wasn't sure his heart would be able to physically take that kind of sorrow.

Holding onto Hitomi's body for dear life, Marcus suddenly reared his head back and let out the most heartbreaking wail any of the group had ever heard. It was like listening to one's own soul whither and die; the death rattle of any semblance of hope or joy that remained in the group's one constant beacon of hope.

Giving the Lawson trio some desperately needed space, the other survivors in the rear bus looked out the windows to gaze upon the carnage that had unfolded in just over an hour. More of 'Them' poured into the breaches to the mall like vultures would to a fresh carcass, while others aimlessly roamed the vast and open parking lot, occasionally bumping into the scattered abandoned vehicles. Some even hobbled after the two buses passing by; those in front quickly being rammed to bits and pieces by the cowcatchers installed.

Smoke from both the explosions and fires were soon the only things the survivors could see when the mall was finally out of sight. Everyone was still shaken up and on edge at what they'd just gone through, at what they'd done, and what they'd lost. In time, their losses would be all they would remember. It was undeniable among them all that today, there were NO true winners. This was nothing more than a Pyrrhic victory none would ever boast of. It was just another rough, bloody, and ultimately pointless conflict in the world, that ultimately left the undead more unopposed than ever before.

All the two buses could do was keep on moving and never once turn back. The future was dreadfully uncertain for the survivors. There was no telling what they were to encounter on their journey to the Tokyo quarantine zone. And there was no way of knowing if any of them would even live that long, not after this day.

Despite the untold horrors and destruction wreaked by the undead all across the globe, at least 'They' never fought and killed each other like animals. Today, all the group could think was how today had proven the living to be a worse monster than the dead could've ever hoped to be; with the blood of their friends and loved ones to serve as the grim and eternal testament.