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.

23. Chapter 23: No Other Option

Z-Day+63

Just outside Fujinomiya, Shizuoka Prefecture

From the moment the sun had come up this day, the group had been overcome with an unbearable, deathlike silence; a silence that made the mundane routine of traveling the seemingly endless country back roads of Japan seem to go by even slower. But for once, it wasn't the hopelessness of the world around them that had sucked away any desire to have idle chit-chat with one another. It was the once familiar but now equally feared and loathed figure of their so-called leader standing vigilantly at the front of the bus.

Frasier kept his stoic gaze focused on either the road map clenched tightly in his hands, or on the fortunately empty road ahead of them. He never once bothered to look in the direction of either Shizuka, or the rest of the group behind him. He could just feel in his gut the looks they were surely giving him, especially after all the hateful things he'd said in his rage yesterday. But there was only so much contempt and seething anger something like the spectrum of human facial expressions could possibly convey.

In the very back of the bus, Rei sat uncomfortably between her parents, both of them sitting with their postures rigid and tense, almost as though they were standing constant vigil over her. Johann wasn't much better, sitting as close to her family as possible, never taking his eyes off Frasier's back. Then again, after the payload of harsh truth that the eldest Lawson had dropped on them yesterday, Rei couldn't figure how else they were supposed to act. But that didn't make the sight of her parents repeatedly, almost instinctively, reaching for their sidearms while Frasier's back was turned, any less distressing.

"Mom, Dad, would you please stop that? You're even starting to make me tense up," she tried to reason with them in a hushed whisper, and while their hands did thankfully inch away from their pistols, their gazes never faltered. "Johann, you too. Please; I don't want to think what could happen if Frasier sees you with your hand like that," she continued further, noticing the young German was already reaching for his own pistol; his face nearly contorting with a barely contained conflict until he let out a heavy sigh and stopped himself.

"We'd put him down before he even gets a chance to do anything about it." Kiriko muttered to no one in particular, her knuckles turning white as she gripped the leather of her seat. "Mom, please don't talk like that. You're not only keying yourself and Dad up, but it's just not going to help anyone right now." Rei said in an attempt to calm her mother down, but the intensity in Kiriko's eyes when she glanced at her daughter reduced the teenage girl to stunned silence.

"It would help keep you safe from anything else that monster does, Rei. Why the hell are you even trying to talk us down right now?" Kiriko reprimanded Rei as the poor girl tried to think of what to say. "That's right; you're the one he almost gave away to those animals! How is it you're somehow not the angriest out of all of us? I would think you'd want him out of the picture more than anyone." Tadashi said in agreement; he and his wife not noticing how their daughter shrank under their judgmental gazes.

"Who says I'm not angry? I can't even remember the last time I was able to sleep with both eyes closed because of him. And that's nothing compared to how I was right after the fact; I wanted to kill him with my own two hands. But now that I've had all this time to think and reflect…I honestly can't hold it against him." The incredulous looks on Johann and her parents' faces nearly killed the words in Rei's throat, but she knew she couldn't afford to back down now.

"Think about it: Shido gave Frasier a choice. Either he stood his ground and died with the rest of us, or he gave me up to save the lives of his brothers and Alice-chan. No matter what he'd choose, there was no winning there. He made a hard decision in the hopes of saving his family. And even then, he admitted to me personally he was only using me as bait to kill Shido himself." The more she spoke, the more confident Rei felt she was getting through to the people around her, but reality is most times harsher than one could hope.

"Of course, he probably would only say so to try and sleep better at night." Tadashi said, fuming as Rei laid her hands on her parents' shoulders. "The point I'm trying to make is that he only did what he did to protect his family. He did what any other person would do with those options. Can either of you honestly say you wouldn't have done the same if it meant saving my life? Can you?"

Rei watched intently as her parents exchanged thoughtful gazes with each other, visibly contemplating their daughter's question, spurring a bit of hope deep in her chest. Finally, Kiriko let out a defeated sigh, her body loosening up with exhaustion. "No, we can't, honey. If it had been us, we would've done the same thing. But the issue is that you're our daughter. You're our child. You're not a mother yet, so you can't possibly understand what it feels like for us, to know we were so close to losing you forever, and at the hands of someone we thought we could trust, even. If it had been your child, I'm certain you wouldn't feel nearly the same as you do right now."

"Your mother's right, Rei. There are few things in this world that are stronger than a parent's love and need to protect their children. You can say anything you want in Frasier-san's defense, but that doesn't change the fact he risked your life." Tadashi agreed, and Rei could only feebly nod, unable to deny the sensibility of their feelings. Since they weren't currently reaching for their guns again, that was the most she could ask for. Then her gaze shifted to Johann; his head hung low, curly locks of his hair hanging over his eyes. Even then, she could see the strain on his face, as though he were trying to find the words that could properly convey what he wanted. Then, he finally looked her in the eye.

"There are so many things I want to say right now; things I know you've heard from me too many times to count at this point, Rei. I understand where you're coming from, and I understand where your parents are coming from. None of you are wrong. But I…all I know is that I-I can't lose you. Not after everything else. You're the one good thing left in my life anymore, Rei. I can't lose that."

Rei and her parents were both left speechless at the bluntness in the teenage boy's honesty, and the sheer depth of raw emotions in his tired green eyes as he said it. Rei couldn't even blush as she had done many times in the past whenever they spoke so honestly with each other. The exhaustion in his voice as he said it conveyed far too much to justify such a childish reaction. If anything did happen to her, then the poor German boy in front of her would no doubt die too.

Further up the bus, things were no better. Sheer contempt was all that could be seen in Marcus and Saya's eyes as they never stopped glaring at Frasier's back; all while Noah, Miku, Khota, Alice and Saeko could only simmer in their own thoughts.

"We shouldn't even be here. Not after yesterday. Tokyo isn't even worth it anymore." Saya began muttering to herself, earning concerned looks from all those around her. The usual look of judgmental anger the pink-haired girl usually wore had a much darker look to it than usual. Hers was an expression of pure disgust, coupled with exhaustion and hopelessness.

"Don't look at me like that. We're all thinking it. You all heard what he said. Hell, even if you decided to tune out halfway through, I think we can all agree he wishes we were all either gone or dead. Why should we stick around with someone who thinks of us like that? For God's sake, how long do you think it'll be before he decides simply saying so isn't enough, and he decides to remove us from the equation himself?"

"Saya-san, you can't seriously think that, can you? Frasier's not some kind of wanton murderer." Noah spoke up in an attempt to talk reason into her, but her sharp eyes signified nothing but disbelief at the young Brit. "Are you kidding me? Did you just choose to forget everything he said to us? Did you just decide to overlook the fact he chose to deliver Rei to a bunch of murderous rapists? Or how about the fact his idea of a first impression was to execute someone in cold blood in front of all of us?" The venom in her words rendered Noah silent as he lay back into his seat in defeat. Since the beginning he'd tried so hard to speak on his oldest brother's behalf, but even now, he couldn't find any way to argue with her points. Everything she said was true, Frasier had done all those things of his own volition, and there was no more justifying it.

"What would you have us do, Saya? Just head out into the wilderness on our own and just hope for the best?" Khota hesitantly asked; he and Alice sharing similar nervous expressions at the thought. "Well it'd certainly be better than letting our chances disappear by staying here with that psycho. You're handy with guns, and I'm a genius. If I could convince the others, we could all leave at nightfall and never have to look back. I'm sure we'd be able to put something worthwhile together afterwards," the self-proclaimed genius countered, but it didn't take much to hear the confidence in her plan dwindle once she said it out loud.

"He's still my brother, Saya-san. I don't agree with much of what he's done, and even less with what he's said, but he's still blood. You can't ask me to just abandon him." Noah piped in to protest, only for the sudden snap of Marcus' knife being forced back into its sheath to kill his bravado. "I said I was sticking around for you, Noah. That doesn't mean I'm staying anywhere near him if I can help it. If you don't want to go with, then I'll drag you along if I have to. He'd probably be grateful for losing all the 'dead weight' anyway," he spat angrily as the youngest Lawson kept switching his focus between his two brothers, as though caught in a mental-tug-of-war between them.

"Noah-kun, please just try to think about this. I know he's your brother, and I think it's good you want to stick with your family, but really look at him. I don't like saying it any more than you like to hear it, but I…I really think Frasier-san's reaching his wit's end. Can you honestly say with a semblance of confidence that the next time we get into a fight, he won't just snap and get rid of the rest of us in a blind rage?" Miku whispered worriedly into Noah's ear, holding onto his shoulders almost as though for protection as Frasier's frame seemed to practically loom over all of them. Noah couldn't help but swallow a nervous dry lump in his throat as he found himself leaning more and more towards everyone else's side.

"I personally think a lot of you are wildly overreacting. I know the last month has been incredibly unpleasant, but turning our backs on Frasier is not the answer right now. I think we can all agree he's helped guide us through more than a few fights on the road, and if we suddenly leave him, who knows what could end up happening to our team dynamic?" To hear Saeko speak so suddenly nearly caught everyone involved in the discussion by surprise, even more so to actually hear her speaking in Frasier's favor. But the look in Marcus' eye showed no sign of being convinced.

"Awfully quick to come to the defense of someone who nearly eviscerated you in one of those recently mentioned 'blind rages', aren't you? How is that feeling, by the way?" the middle Lawson asked, already able to tell from the brief wince on the swordswoman's face as she fidgeted in her seat, that the brutal cut to her midsection was still hurting something fierce. To have the proverbial dagger twisted in her gut even more only made the pain that much worse for Saeko as she could already feel that initial shock and horrified disbelief all over again; as if she were reliving that awful moment on repeat.

At that moment, the constant shade of the trees suddenly gave way to the bright afternoon sun as the bus was now approaching a sizable bridge overlooking a cove. While dotted with a few burned out car wrecks; the bridge itself, to everyone's surprise, was completely intact as the other end led back into more tree coverage.

"I guess the SDF and the Marines were too preoccupied to take care of this one. Finally some relatively good news for us." Frasier muttered to himself before Shizuka hit the gas again and sent them further on their way. As they continued, Rika looked out the window to the direction they'd just come from, and as they reached the halfway point of the bridge, she noticed a distant city near the mouth of the cove.

"Looks like we just passed Fujinomiya. Good thing we've got a map. One wrong turn, we could've ended up in a whole mess of 'Them," she pointed out, though nobody was exactly cheering at their leader's good judgment, not while still out in the open like this.

"Once we actually get to Tokyo, that'll be something worth feeling relief over. For now, let's just hope the roads are relatively clear from now o-"

K-KRAK!

The dull hum of the engine was interrupted by an instantaneous burst that sent the entire bus rocking and shaking out of control as Shizuka fought with the forward momentum. Everyone was practically thrown off their feet and flying across the bus as it lurched to the right.

SKRRRRCH!

Shizuka slammed her foot down on the brakes as the bus began heading straight for the concrete barricade, the last barrier before a several dozen-foot drop to the water below. The momentum was quickly stopped, sending everyone rolling down the aisle as the bus crashed through the concrete, the front half dipping over the edge before finally coming to a stop. The group barely had any time to regain their senses before Frasier got back to his knees, eyes burning with rage.

"What the fuck just happened?!" he roared; ignoring the pained look on Shizuka's face as she lifted her head from the steering wheel. "I-I don't know. It felt like we just burst a tire. Maybe there was some debris I didn't notice, or—"

K-KRAK!

The distant but pronounced crack of what sounded like a rifle suddenly sounded, and two of the windows right above Frasier's head suddenly imploded, sending everyone down on their stomachs.

"EVERYONE STAY DOWN! SHIZUKA, GET OUT OF THERE! WE'VE GOT A SNIPER!" Rika shouted at the top of her lungs. The nurse at the wheel practically dove from the driver's seat, just as the windows to the front passenger doors exploded with glass; the doors themselves now having a football-sized hole in them.

"Who the hell is shooting at us?!" Noah shouted over everyone's cries of panic and Alice's terrified wailing. "How should I know?! We've got to get out of here first; we're sitting ducks in here! Everyone get out through the emergency exit and get behind one of the wrecks! NOW!" Frasier ordered, and everyone thankfully did as he said with no argument. Tadashi practically kicked the rear door open and ushered everyone outside one after the other. Fortunately, a wreck of an overturned truck and an SUV was close enough that they could all quickly huddle behind it without being exposed for more than a couple seconds.

In almost no time at all, the whole group was huddled behind the wreck, another rifle crack sounding just as Frasier had been the last to come out, and punching another gaping hole in the emergency exit door. Everyone was shaking from head to toe in an attempt to gather their bearings, with Frasier and Rika already having their rifles at the ready.

"Where are the shots coming from? I didn't see any buildings before." Frasier asked once the noise had settled down, and all that was left was the sound of faint blowing wind, and the occasional creaking of the bus as it rocked in its precarious place. "They're obviously coming from across the bridge; how else would they have taken out one of our front wheels and the front passenger door? Plus, if they were coming from behind, we'd be right in the open for them right now, yet they haven't fired another shot yet." Noah explained as everyone had finally collected themselves enough to get their own firearms ready.

"That's not even the worst of it. You see the size holes those bullets are leaving? Whoever we're dealing with has got some serious firepower. But given how rapidly they were firing at the start, they didn't even open fire while any of us were running out. That kind of scenario's a sniper's dream: all your targets coming out of a single choke point, they're pretty much fish in a barrel." Rika further elaborated, not even caring how none of her points were exactly lifting anyone's spirits.

"So what you're saying is that they're toying with us right now, aren't they?" Saeko finally asked, to which Rika could only nod in grim confirmation. "They've got us right where they want us. We may have some cover, but the wrecks are spread too far apart for us to get from one to the other without them picking us off." A few barely restrained curses could be heard being muttered among their numbers as everyone started racking their brains for some kind of solution.

"First thing's first, we need to figure out where exactly they're firing from. That can at least give us an idea where to shoot, provide each other covering fire." Frasier pointed out, but everyone looked just as despondent as before. "Frasier, we don't have nearly enough ammo left to do that so we can all get across the entire bridge." Noah finally spoke up.

With a groan of frustration, Rika suddenly began digging into her pocket before pulling out a tiny foldable mirror. "If you want to find your target without drawing attention, you can't beat the classics," she said quietly with a proud smirk as she opened the mirror and slowly lifted it over the top of their overturned cover. For a few seconds, all was still as Rika slowly turned the mirror to scan as much as she could across the bridge, before another crack sounded, and she practically threw the mirror up and retracted her hand. The mirror exploded in midair as a chunk of the overturned truck was blown apart where Rika's hand had just been.

"Okay, bad news: that was my only mirror, unless anybody else has one. Good news: I've got an idea where they're firing at us from. I saw a muzzle flash just before I had to drop down. There's a building hidden just behind the trees up and to the left of where the bridge ends." Their sharpshooter's report was all Frasier needed as he drew out his knife and began to follow suit, looking in the reflection of the steel. Sure enough, his sharp eyes spotted what had to be a window within the dense foliage, just as another muzzle flash sparked. The eldest Lawson retracted his hand and knife just as the tire rim over his head exploded.

"Alright, I've got a bead on where it's at. Now we just need a way so we can get from cover to cover and get out of the shooter's killing field. Takagi, how many smoke grenades did we get from the ammo depot at the elementary school?" Frasier asked, momentarily catching Saya off guard before she shook her head back into the game.

"Eleven, last time I counted. I'm sure that was all that was left there anyway. But they must still be on the bus, I'm not seeing the bag anywhere here," she pointed out, and everyone collectively looked back, specifically at the exposed space between them and it.

"Dammit, fine, we'll have to make do without them. Everyone time your shots carefully, we'll take turns one after the other. We don't want to give the shooter any breathing roo—"REI, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!" Kiriko's voice suddenly cried out in panic as Frasier spoke; drawing everyone's attention to see Rei had taken off in a sprint and practically leaped through the emergency exit back into the bus.

"Goddammit! Everyone, covering fire! Don't let them get a bead on her through the windows!" Frasier commanded, instantly popping his head over the side of the truck and weighing his finger on the trigger, sending out scattered bursts of automatic fire into the tree line left of the bridge's end. Everyone else instinctively followed suit, with the exception of Tadashi having to hold Kiriko back from following after their daughter.

Inside the bus, Rei was hugging the seats and keeping her head below the window frames, carefully inching her way along to the one bag she could see lying near the front. That had to be the smoke grenades; it just had to be. The collective gunfire from outside was preventing Rei from even being able to hear herself think as she continued bit by bit down the length of the bus, until she was finally close enough she was sure her foot could reach it.

Clutching the supports for the nearest chair for dear life, the brown-haired girl slowly extended her right foot as far as her leg could go towards the duffle bag; her body tensing up every time the bus even slightly rocked this way or that underneath her. Soon enough though, her foot was able to hook the strap for the bag and begin pulling it forward, earning a long-held sigh of relief from Rei.

Suddenly, the entire bus seemed to shake, as if the ground beneath it had shifted, and within seconds, Rei could hear the sound of metal screeching against concrete, and gravity seem to give way from underneath as the bus slid further and further forward over the edge of the bus before nose-diving straight down into the water below. Rei was helplessly weighed down against one of the seats by the momentum, her heart pounding mercilessly against her chest, too terrified to even scream as she watched the deep blue waters loom closer and closer as the bus plummeted with her trapped inside, until finally the windshield and windows all imploded on impact and Rei's world was engulfed in frigid cold, icy blackness.

"REI! NOOOO! NO, MY BABY! OH MY GOD, MY BABY!" Kiriko shrieked despairingly as she and the others could only watch in horrified disbelief as the bus had begun lurching forward and tipped the rest of the way over the bridge, plummeting like a pile of rocks into the waters below. Tadashi somehow still had the self-awareness to keep his wife held back from trying to jump after her, but his heart was breaking into pieces as she wailed hysterically. The rest of the group couldn't believe what they'd just witnessed; Saya, Khota, Alice, Shizuka, Noah, Miku and Saeko already with tears brimming in their eyes, while Frasier, Rika and Marcus couldn't think of any other way to react than to keep firing with both determination and blind rage.

A third steady stream of gunfire suddenly snapped everyone else out of their shellshock as Johann kept his trigger down while backing away from their cover. Within seconds, his rifle went silent, but before Frasier could even think to yell for him to come back, the German boy had tossed his rifle aside, turned on his heels, and made a running jump over the edge of the bridge, plummeting out of sight before everyone's eyes.

"What the fuck is that idiot DOING?!" Frasier practically roared as he ducked down to load his second-to-last magazine into his rifle while Rika kept the suppression going with her own. So far it seemed to be working, as their attacker hadn't popped off another shot yet.

"He can't even swim! He's just getting himself killed!" Tadashi exclaimed upon remembrance; everyone going wide-eyed at what they'd really just witnessed then. But then, without a word, Saeko forced her pistol into Marcus' pocket and took off in a sprint, diving over the bridge's edge with her arms extended with exceptional grace, leaving everyone dumbfounded once more.

"Everyone focus, goddammit! We have to get out of here. I call your name, you move for the next piece of cover while the rest of us covers you. If we run out of bullets, we'll try to draw the sniper's attention. Now all of you, get your heads back in the game!" Frasier growled as he practically pulled Rika by her collar back below cover; the fire in his icy eyes forcing everyone to nod in understanding as he pulled the chamber slide for his rifle's first round.

Down below…

The waters were unforgivably frigid to those not ready for its icy sting. Every second came to a crawl as Saeko tried her best to see where Johann and Rei were amid the murky depths. Luckily, the air bubbles and supplies spilling out the back of the bus left a consistent trail for her to follow. About ten seconds in, she spotted Johann's body drifting just a few meters from the bus. Just as she'd feared, his impulsive actions proved little help.

The young swordswoman made a quick mental note of where he was before swimming further in until she was inside the now grounded bus. She could see Rei floating near the front, knocked unconscious from the impact. One of her feet was caught against the leg of a chair; hence why she didn't simply float out the back. With adrenaline pumping, Saeko freed Rei's caught foot and took her hand, using the seats to help pull them up towards the emergency exit.

With every ounce of energy needing to be spared, Saeko placed both her boots against the rear of the bus. With a single mighty push, she launched them up towards Johann, tightly grasping his collar before kicking as hard as she possibly could for the surface. Her lungs felt like they were on fire, and the wound beneath her chest was also beginning to flare up.

'Damn it all...I can't pass out now...this can't be how I die, blacking out while trying to save my friends.' Saeko thought desperately. She could feel herself slowly becoming light headed; it would've been so easy to just let the two go and save herself.

However, she instead tightened her grip on them before suddenly erupting above the surface. The young swordswoman gasped for precious air as she looked around to see where the nearest spot of land was. Gunfire was still erupting from the bridge overhead. That had to mean someone was still fighting, giving Saeko all the more drive to survive and reunite with the others.

Within moments of spotting a patch of sand under the bridge, she maneuvered over as fast as her body would allow; dragging Johann and Rei onto land after barely managing to pull herself up the shore. Her muscles were aching all over as her wound felt like it was on fire.

'I have to act fast while there's still time,' was all she could think before rolling Johann onto his back, crawling over to his side before planting both hands firmly against his chest. Two fingers quickly pressed up against the underside of his jaw, feeling only a faint pulse, yet it was clear he was not breathing.

"One, two, three, four, five..." Saeko muttered anxiously to herself before working her lips between his, trying to manually ventilate his airways by exhaling into him. It took several attempts before Johann's body suddenly twitched in response.

His eyes shot wide open as he turned his head to cough and wretch, violently wheezing for air and spitting up a good amount of water before trying to gather his senses. The continuous gunfire from above helped to quickly remind him of the immediate danger they were in. The last thing he remembered was crashing into the water after Rei, desperately trying to traverse the water to no avail. He felt his heart drop like an anchor the moment he spotted the girl just laid out before the two survivors.

"Oh God, is she breathing?" was all Johann could bring himself to ask as Saeko hurried over to determine Rei's condition. The grim look on her delicate face did not seem to bode well; leaving a gripping tension around Johann's heart as his throat, despite being full of water mere moments ago, felt as dry as the most arid desert.

"She doesn't have a pulse. I'm going to have to start compressions right away." Saeko announced, pressing both hands between Rei's breasts. At first, she was able to give a few compressions without fault; however, a sharp pain bolted from her gash. A powerful grunt of pain slipped past Saeko's gritted teeth as she grasped the bandaged up side of her chest. It was like several nerve clusters were suddenly on fire.

"Oh, fuck...Busujima-san, stop; you're going to reopen your wound if you keep that up!" Johann warned even though she was more aware of it than anyone else. "I'm fine! I j-just need to focus." Saeko stated dismissively before trying again. Unfortunately, the same surge of pain ultimately forced her to back off.

"Here, let me try," he then offered; confident he could resuscitate Rei himself. At first, Saeko seemed completely skeptical about this, but given their dire circumstances, she knew she didn't have any room to argue, quickly motioning him to take over as he centered both hands on her chest. His heart pounded hard against his ribs, every pulsating beat leaving him feeling more and more nervous.

"Wait! Don't put too much weight on her. You could easily snap her sternum if you're too rough..." the young sword maiden suddenly warned just as he was about to press down. Johann frantically looked back and forth between the two as Saeko collected herself to further instruct him through the procedure. "Press about 5cm (2") down, at about a hundred compressions a minute."

While he could barely think straight enough to even consider counting to one hundred, he knew he was Rei's only hope for survival now. The first couple of compressions were gentle, barely moving down on her at all. Saeko, however, motioned him to push deeper. Eventually, he managed to form a consistent rhythm that matched her instructions. But Rei's complete lack of response only made each compression that much harder to follow through with for the poor boy.

'C'mon, Rei; you're going to be alright! You just have to be,' he thought in desperation to himself; tears beginning to trickle down his cheeks as his best and only viable efforts seemed to just be for nothing. 'Goddammit, I can't lose you now! I might not have been able to save Toshimi, but dammit, I can at least do something THIS time!'

"Is it working? Why isn't she waking up?!" Johann lamented to Saeko, cursing how fate had to be so cruel as to leave him face to face with yet another precious person he was unable to save. Saeko swiftly put her fingertips under Rei's wrist, quick to look back at Johann as she did so. "Relax, Johann-kun. Now you need to put your lips to hers and slowly exhale," was all she needed to say to him before he replied with a simple understanding nod.

Just as Saeko instructed, Johann lined his lips against Rei's; gently exhaling until he had no air left to give. He took another deep before trying again, one of his hands gently cupping her chin while the other rested upon her forehead. Despite how cold his skin felt in drenched clothes, his entire world felt like it was on fire. His muscles trembled as he tried to keep his focus fixated on saving the girl beneath him.

'Please, God, don't do this to me again! If this fails...I'll have nothing left—' was all Johann could dwell upon before suddenly finding his mouth full of water. His eyes widened in surprise before reeling back and looking down to see Rei coughing desperately and staring straight up at him in a heavy daze.

It was truly the best feeling in the world right now for the young German; at first filled with dread and a chilling despair, now replaced with an almost overwhelming sense of joy. The sheer amount of relief he felt to see Rei conscious again couldn't be summed up with mere words. Saeko even managed to pick up on this as she silently observed the two.

"What...? Johann...? Why…why did you jump in? You said you can't swim," was all the dazed teen could ask upon seeing how drenched he was; coughing violently shortly after, as she was still trying to piece together what was going on. Johann couldn't help but bow his head in guilt at the reminder of how useless he'd ultimately proved himself to be.

"Well...because-" "It was clearly a fight or flight response. Clearly his body intended to survive, so his kicking must've been enough to keep you both afloat long enough to reach land." Johann began to say before Saeko was quick to intervene, leaving both he and Rei with looks of surprise on their faces. The young German shot her a look of total confusion before Saeko simply returned it with a glance of approval, as if she wanted him to take credit for it.

"I-I guess that makes sense. Not really a good time to be arguing right now, anyway. Wait...so why did you jump in, then?" Rei softly conceded before turning her attention to Saeko in yet more confusion. So much of what she was being told wasn't adding up in her head, but the delirium could've also been to blame. "I just had to be sure you two would be alright should anything go wrong. Not to mention we're also separated down here and most likely will have to go through some of 'Them' in order to regroup with the others," the violet haired teen explained bluntly.

"Oh God, that's right! How are they doing up there? Was anyone else hurt?" Rei asked as she realized it was just them down here. They all three promptly stared up at the busted section of railing on the bridge where the bus rammed through. Amid the chaos, it sounded like a series of distorted shouting could be discerned.

"I honestly have no idea. The sooner we join back up, the sooner we can help them," was all Saeko could answer with any kind of honesty, confident that if there was still shooting, then somebody from their group was still fighting back. If either Frasier or Rika were still alive, they'd no doubt be leading the others to safety by now. Either way, the young sword maiden would feel much better once she was there to aid them in battle.

"Can you stand, Rei?" Johann asked concernedly, offering his hand to the young spear fighter as she began to pull herself up. "Yeah; I'm still feeling a bit shaken, and will probably be VERY sore in the morning, but I'm not helpless…thanks to you, Johann." Rei answered, forming a look of minor dread just thinking about the pain she'd be feeling come morning. Yet she still managed to speak in a soft, affectionate tone that conveyed a deeply sincere appreciation for the rescue.

"Good, because we need to move while it's still daylight. I think this slope can lead to where we need to go." Saeko advised before motioning them to follow close behind her. Normally she'd have no trouble giving them some time to recuperate and catch their breath, but given the immediate danger, they had no choice but to keep moving.

Up above…

Several more shots from the mystery sniper had put numerous holes into one of many abandoned cars the rest of the group was using for cover. Their bodies froze with each crack in the air, checking themselves every time a bullet slammed into the side of their cover. They were all at a complete loss; each time someone began to check the shooter's position, it only brought on more gunfire. It was like they were being watched on all sides, giving them no element of surprise.

"What's the plan here, people? Doesn't look like our 'friend' is running out of ammo anytime soon." Marcus informed the others as he counted what must've been the fifteenth shot by now. "If I could just get a bead on the exact position..." Rika mumbled to herself, certain that if she just had another few seconds to check, she could pinpoint their attacker's position in that building where she'd spotted the muzzle flash.

"We don't have time for this! The longer we wait, the sooner 'They' will show up!" Saya exclaimed in grim reminder of yet another obstacle they'd soon be facing as a result of all this noise.

"What about Rei?! My daughter—" "Focus, Kiriko-san! There's no saving her if you two can't even save yourselves! I can guide you all through this, but you need to listen to me!" Kiriko began to lament, unable to even think of her own safety before her daughter's. Rika, however, was quick to intervene, not hesitating to take control lest they lost everything else. "Well? What's it going to be?!" the group's sniper asked through gritted teeth as Kiriko looked back to Tadashi before giving Rika a hesitant nod of understanding.

"We're ready over here. Who'll be running first?" Saya whispered, as if worried the enemy sniper would actually be able to hear her if she was any louder. "We don't have enough ammo to cover the group one at a time. We'll all have to run at the same time." Frasier called back as he had a pretty good idea of which room the sniper was holed up in. The others were a notably hesitant upon hearing this change of plans, but given how far they'd come, they knew there were no alternatives. They couldn't just turn back; not when they were so relatively close to the Tokyo QZ.

'Is he serious? That's risky as hell, but it would save us the ammo we'll need when we reach this son of a bitch.' Rika thought as she checked over how many spare magazines she had left; hoping deep down Frasier knew what he was doing, putting everyone's lives on the line.

"Once he starts shooting, be ready to move," she announced as she looked over her shoulder to see Frasier squatting behind a nearby truck; giving him a series of hand signals before he nodded in acknowledgement. With nothing left to do, she held up what was left of Marcus' knife still attached to the handle.

K-KRAK!

Just as they'd anticipated, the shooter would naturally target anyone trying to pinpoint his exact location. Rika was once again quick to retract the blade to avoid her hand being blown clean off. However, once the shot went off, like a second instinct kicking in, Frasier popped out of cover and finally was able to fire back.

K-KRAK!

The young Brit watched carefully as a small, barely visible window burst upon impact. Despite only being for a split second, he could just make out a figure inside, trying to react accordingly. Several seconds later, the eldest Lawson fired another shot at the same area, certain he'd officially suppressed their attacker when no shots were fired in retaliation. His eyes darted around what little he could see of the second floor of the building as still no further shots from the other side of the bridge crackled out.

"I've got about twelve more shots before I'll need to reload! Go, go, go!" Frasier barked as he watched for any subtle movements within that building; able to hear the others hustling for cover on his command.

They all thankfully did as instructed, bolting from one abandoned car to the next, all of them feeling their hearts racing faster each time another shot was popped off. Luckily, they were able to pick up it was only Frasier firing at this point. The young Brit was careful to pace himself so he wouldn't give the enemy sniper a chance to start shooting again the moment he had to reload.

"Alright, they're clear! Start moving up; I've got your back!" Rika called back to him as she was already setup to start providing covering fire of her own. She was rather impressed how quickly the tide had turned in their favor, even if a part of her couldn't help but worry about Rei, Johann, and Saeko's current status just down below.

Just as Frasier fired off the final bullet in his magazine, his eyes spotted something that made his heart nearly skip a beat. Right when the situation seemed to be turning in their favor, a second flash suddenly appeared to glimmer, if only momentarily.

[Stardust Crusaders OST - Dark Rebirth]

Frasier was certain he'd be dead any second now. However, as his body natural ducked down for cover, nothing came. No crack, no bullet tearing through him, nothing. Regardless, whatever confidence he had just moments ago from their counter-offensive was completely gone now.

'I KNOW what I just saw. That was no doubt another scope flash.' Frasier began to think frantically as sweat trickled down his face; both eyes narrowing with an intense skepticism behind them. 'Would be way too cheap of an excuse to say I was too quick for whoever that was. But...why was there no shot? So…it had to have been binoculars perhaps?'

'Is it...is it possible that someone else was watching this entire time? No, that would be absolutely mad! Shit, I don't have time to dwell on this! I have to regroup with the others,' was all the eldest Lawson could think in conclusion before taking off in a mad dash across the bridge; keeping a sharp lookout for any further abnormalities, as Rika continued to provide covering fire for him.

[]

Just as he slid into cover, Rika fired one more shot before ducking down herself to see he was still in one piece. The tanned woman gave a slight smirk; impressed to see he performed under stress quite well, especially for someone who, for all intents and purposes, lost their sanity just barely less than a day ago.

"Good work, kid. Ballsy move trying to have everyone run at once, but it's paying off." Rika commented; breathing a sigh of relief to see how his quick thinking managed to get them out of the kill zone.

"Is everyone alright?" was all he could ask, before realizing whatever genuine concerns he might've had would be seen as meaningless to them after yesterday's meltdown.

"About as alright as one can be while getting shot at!" was all Saya could answer with before things fell silent again. Not hearing round after round being fired at them felt like a miracle at this point.

"Don't worry, we'll get you all through this. Just keep doing as you're told and you'll be—" Rika suggested, only to be cut short when the sound of several fully automatic rifles went off at once. The hail of lead was so loud and abrupt, it practically caused everyone to nearly jump out of their skins.

"More shots? But where?" Kohta frantically asked what everyone was thinking while they kept low. Their hearts rattled against their chests, certain they were being fired upon again, only to realize they were completely fine to the contrary. In fact, they didn't even hear the pounding of bullets hitting their cover this time.

"Whoever that gunfire's meant for, it's definitely not us. Let's move up and get the drop on them." Rika explained before they all followed her towards the house. However, just as they set eyes on the beginnings of the road leading off the highway and towards the house, they also came across a steadily approaching gathering of nearly two-dozen of 'Them' coming down in the opposite direction towards the same spot.

Meanwhile...

"Do you hear all that? It sounds like a war zone out there." Rei pointed out woefully as Saeko and Johann stopped to listen. They simply looked at one another before Rei looked back, confused by their almost doubtful looks.

"How much ammo did we find, exactly? I'm no expert, but it sounds like someone else is fighting now." Saeko brought up; rounds still blasting away as Rei realized it couldn't have been their friends, since they couldn't have had more than several magazines worth of ammunition at best; not even considering how much was lost with the bus.

"She's right, but if that's the case, who the hell's fighting?" Johann added, unable to recognize any of the gunfire rapports coming from their group if Frasier, Rika, or Hirano were the ones shooting.

BKOOM!

At that moment, a sudden pulse in the air blew past them, moments before a deafening blast rang out, forcing the three to the ground as their ears rang from the sheer power of what had to be an immense explosion. The three slowly got back to their feet as they looked all around in a momentary daze from what they'd just heard.

"What the hell was THAT?!" Rei asked mostly to herself; able to see by the looks of her partners' faces that they were thinking the same thing. "Only one way to find out! C'mon!" Saeko instructed as she pushed onward, knowing they couldn't waste time standing around while their friends and loved ones were still in danger. Johann and Rei were quick to follow the young swordswoman's lead through the uphill woods.

Up above…

With the rest of the dead having been so swiftly wiped out by the seemingly out-of-nowhere explosion, the smoke cleared and the ringing in everyone's ears stopped. Knowing they couldn't afford to stick around to ask the obvious, the group began inching towards the front doorway, or what was left of it. The air was already thick with the stench of smoke, burning wood and blown apart rotting flesh, nearly making Noah gag while Frasier pressed on.

"Alice, stay here with Shizuka-sensei, Tadashi-ojisan and Kiriko-obasan, okay? It could still be dangerous in there, so you'll be safe with them." Saya instructed once she felt the little girl clutching the hem of her shirt nervously. While Kiriko still looked undeniably devastated after what happened to Rei and the bus, Tadashi fortunately looked to still have some semblance of awareness of their situation, giving an accepting nod to the pink-haired girl's request while keeping a supportive hand on his wife's shoulder to keep her from running off.

Alice thankfully did as she was told with no argument, and soon the group was filing slowly into the house, their melee weapons at the ready now that they had barely any bullets left. Frasier took point, with Noah and Miku right on his tail, Saya and Rika on theirs, and Marcus taking up the rear. The haze from the smoke was a lot more dense indoors, but Frasier was able to make out at least enough to see where he was going, motioning for everyone to stay quiet.

As they approached the stairs, Frasier stopped everyone in their tracks, scanning each individual step for another carefully hidden tripwire. If their attacker had the materials to set up one, it was hard to imagine they wouldn't have set up more. It was basic sniping tactics 101. The whole group had to manage their way up the steps one at a time, Frasier stopping them every time his eyes caught even a sliver of anything suspicious, though it was typically the few rays of light from outside playing tricks on his eyes.

In due time they reached the top of the stairs, and with all the other doors left wide open, there was only one still closed down the hall. Once again motioning for everyone to stay quiet, Frasier slowly drew out his knife, readying it for the kill as he practically tiptoed down the hall, stopping himself just behind every ajar doorway. His face was dotted with a cold sweat as he was just expecting there to be some other kind of booby trap waiting for him. But every single time, there was nothing.

Eventually, he was right outside the door, and when he pressed his ear to the wood to listen in, he couldn't hear a thing. Every instinct in his body was conflicted on how he should've felt about this. This could've either been a very good sign…or a very bad one. Not wanting to waste any more time, he slowly wrapped his fingers around the doorknob, biting his lower lip as he slowly began to turn it, and to his surprise, the door was actually left unlocked.

He began slowly pushing the door open inch by inch, his eyes focused on the floor for any other sign of a tripwire set right behind the door, but it was never met with any resistance. The eldest Lawson finally peered through the opening to try and get a bead on their sniper, only to be met with the sight of an empty room, and a single rifle rested against the bottom of the windowsill. Upon frantically scanning his flanks upon opening the door the rest of the way, Frasier was met with no resistance, no traps, no anything. Whoever their sniper was, they were long gone.

"It's all clear. Everyone come up," he called back as he collapsed against the wall with an exhausted sigh he hadn't even realized he'd been holding in. The rest of his team quickly filed in, all looking just as surprised, but noticeably more relieved, that there didn't have to be any more fighting on their part. "Well, this explains why there hadn't been any shots fired at us for a while, especially when our suppressing fire started dying down. Whoever was here must've bolted a while ago." Rika theorized as she lit up her second-to-last cigar to take the edge off.

"Oh man, you guys see that? That's a bona fide Accuracy International AS50, one of the most powerful anti-materiel rifles in the world! No wonder it could punch such big holes through the bus so easily, and fire so rapidly too! This is incredible! I don't think even you could've been able to get the components for this into the country if you tried, Minami-san!" Khota began ranting with excitement the instant he set eyes on the abandoned rifle, poring over every one of its details and features like a child in a candy store, as though he forgot this same gun could've blown them all away just a few minutes ago.

"Great, so whoever we're dealing with here has access to even more powerful guns than we could hope to find anywhere in the country. And I was just starting to think we got lucky that they ran off when they did, too." Saya grumbled angrily while having to practically drag Khota from the gun so he could focus on what was really important. All the while, Frasier looked noticeably…confused.

"What's got you looking so inquisitive all of a sudden?" Rika asked once she saw the look on his face, snapping the young Brit out of his reverie. "The AIAS50 is a British make, made for the British Armed Forces and the Navy SEALS. If what Khota's saying is true, that even you couldn't get the parts for this into the country, it must mean we're dealing with some kind of…foreign soldier." Noah piped in, standing in the doorway and staring at the rifle with the same kind of deeply concerned look in his eyes.

"What, you mean like someone who came into the country after all this shit went down? Okay, plenty of holes in your theory, kid, but biggest of all: why would a foreign soldier, in the middle of this whole mess, bother coming all the way out here to some random little piece of nowhere countryside with this kind of hardware, and then go to the effort of trying to kill us for no reason?" Rika's argument was certainly on a strong foundation, and to hear her say it out loud did make the theory sound that much more absurd and nonsensical. But Frasier couldn't shake the doubt.

Was it possible foreign soldiers like the US Marines or the Navy SEALS had actually managed to help the JSDF clear and secure the whole of Tokyo, and were now expanding out into the countryside as far as Shizuoka? Did they perhaps have lookouts set up this far to keep an eye out for other survivors? But then if that were the case, why would one of them open fire on them? And for that matter, why would they just run off and leave their hardware here for anyone to find? So much of what he was seeing wasn't adding up.

"Well, there's no food or stored water anywhere in here, and I'll bet you that bunch of 'Them' downstairs won't be the only one showing up here after all that noise. We need to get moving." Marcus announced from halfway down the stairs. "Should we maybe take that gun? If it's so powerful, it could really help us out, right?" Miku asked as everyone had begun to leave single file.

"No point, whoever was using it either used up all their ammo, or took what was left with them when they fled. We don't have the kind of caliber bullets for it, so it's useless to us." Rika said in rejection as they all made their way out the hole that used to be the front door, where Alice, Tadashi and Kiriko were still standing by as ordered.

"We can't leave! Not yet! We need to find Rei! She's still down there!" Kiriko argued the moment she noticed everyone was starting to head further down the road away from the bridge. Once they stopped, with the exception of Frasier, everyone exchanged deeply mournful gazes with each other, as if trying to figure out what they could possibly say to a mother who'd just lost their child. Finally, Noah was the one person to turn around.

"Kiriko-san, I know you don't want to hear this, and I hate having to say it just as much…but I don't think there's much chance she could've survived a fall like that." As soon as the words left the youngest Lawson's mouth, Kiriko's eyes nearly went ablaze with sorrowful anger.

"Don't fucking talk like that, you don't know for sure! She, Saeko-chan and Johann-kun could be down there and hurt! We can't just leave them behind!" Kiriko spat angrily, trying to wrestle out of Tadashi's grip, only for her husband to grab her as soon as she had slipped out. "Dammit, Kiriko, stop! Nobody's talking about leaving anyone behind! But we don't even know if there's a way to get down to the water from here. How do we know they didn't somehow make it to land and are already trying to find their way back to us? If we move, we could end up missing them, and have no idea where else to look," he scolded before she quickly writhed out of his grip again and began storming across the road.

"At least I'm willing to try, Tadashi! Our baby is down there, and I'm going to find her, one way or another; with or without any of your help!" Kiriko shouted over her shoulder before Rika stepped in to intercept, arm outstretched in her path. "Kiriko-san, I get it. You're worried for your daughter, as you should be; but you need to stop, take a breath, and—"

WRAM!

Rika wasn't even able to get the last words out of her mouth before Kiriko suddenly lunged with cobra-like speed, striking the purple-haired sniper with a well-placed right hook, knocking her off her feet and onto the asphalt. Everyone watching was rendered speechless, as Kiriko's furious face was wet with agonized tears.

"Don't fucking tell me to calm down! My child could be hurt, and I'm not there to do anything about it! None of you have a clue what that feels like! I'm going down there, at least to be sure; and if anybody else tries to get in my way, so help me God, I'll—" she snapped, eyes wide and pupils contracted with rage as everyone kept their distance while Rika could only feel at the large red mark already forming on her face, as though in a daze. But before the furious policewoman could continue, a distinctively loud snap could be heard coming from within the nearby trees, grabbing everyone's attention.

Frasier's hand instinctively reached for the handle of his knife while everyone else was visibly conflicted whether or not to do the same for their weapons. The woods remained quiet for several agonizing moments, before more of what sounded like footsteps could be heard approaching, and the bushes began to move.

"Don't panic, you guys; it's just us!" The wonderfully familiar sound of Johann's voice calling out to them defused everyone's attention almost at once. Just as soon as their German comrade stepped out of the bushes, his clothes soaked through and filthy with dirt and torn asunder with holes from the branches, Rei and Saeko quickly followed suit. They looked just as tattered and torn as he did, but the three were still the most welcome sight of all.

Kiriko practically bounded and swept Rei off her feet in her arms, collapsing onto her knees and wailing with raw emotion as she held her stunned daughter for dear life. Tadashi meanwhile had to choke back the beginning of his own tears as he hurried to join his wife and bring his family back into his arms.

"Oh, Rei-chan, my baby girl! Thank god you're okay; I was so scared! I thought we'd lost you!" Kiriko said between her relieved sobs as Rei embraced her parents in return; her heart pounding harder as the gravity of what had nearly happened to her fully registered at last. The young teen began to shed tears of her own as she could only express gratitude for being able to see her family again.

"Mom, Dad, I'm so sorry. I never should've tried to grab those stupid smoke grenades. I should've just stayed with everyone. I-I was so scared I'd never see you all again. I was afraid you'd both be left all alone because of me." Rei cried apologetically into her parents' shoulders as Tadashi placed a comforting hand on the back of her head. "Hey, enough of that now; you were just trying to help us, no one can blame you for that. It's what we taught you growing up, after all. The only important thing is that you're safe and sound, and that's all we can ever ask for."

"I almost wasn't. I don't think I'd even be here if it weren't for Johann." Rei suddenly admitted, earning surprised looks from both her parents as they looked to the young German, who was currently in the middle of being fussed over alongside Saeko by Shizuka, as she was anxiously trying to check them both for fevers while they stood in their soaking wet clothes. "But…but he said he can't swim. When he jumped in after you, we thought he was a goner." Kiriko muttered in confusion while Tadashi could only nod in agreement.

"I don't know exactly what happened, I blacked out after the impact. But when I woke up, we were on the beach, and Saeko said we'd just gotten lucky that the current pulled us to land. All I remember is waking up, and there he was, kneeling over me while I hacked up a bunch of water." Rei couldn't help but shudder reflecting back on it, down to the disgusting aftertaste of the seawater still lingering in her mouth. All the while, Kiriko was still staring at Johann intently, her eyes showing she was trying to put the pieces together in her head.

"So…Johann-kun gave you CPR? Through all this, even after admitting he doesn't know how to swim, he jumped in after you, somehow managed to get you both to land, and resuscitated you?" The more questions Kiriko asked, the more her surprisingly softened tone began to give away her real intentions. Rei's lips curved into a deeply content smile as she gave her mother an affirming nod. As if that was the cue they both needed, Kiriko and Tadashi were on their feet and practically rushing to Johann's side before taking him by surprise in an immensely emotional hug; all while Shizuka and Saeko could only step back and watch, with the purple-haired swordswoman showing a great deal of amusement at it. Rei could almost hear her mother breaking into emotional tears again from where she now stood.

As Johann could only stand there in shellshock at being given such a surprising welcome from Rei's parents, his eyes momentarily met hers, and she could suddenly feel her heartbeat skyrocket. Her whole body quickly became enveloped in this strange, deeply soothing warmth she couldn't put her finger on. She never even realized just how deeply her cheeks were blushing as she and Johann held that gaze for only a few precious moments.

"Hey, while I think we can all agree it's nice to see nobody bit the bullet today, need I remind you all we're now officially without any wheels to get us where we need to go? We might've thought to get our guns out, but now our smoke grenades and the rest of our medical supplies are underwater. On top of that, by my count we're officially down to two handfuls of bullets between all of us. I hate to spoil the reunion, but we're kind of royally screwed over here." Rika suddenly intruded loud enough for everyone else to go silent. The stern sniper began pacing, making fierce eye contact with everyone she passed in order to really hammer in the gravity of their new situation. Noah, Khota and Saya especially looked downtrodden when it came down to just how much ammo they had left. It might as well have been a ticking clock for how much longer the three of them would actually be useful in combat.

"She's right, we need to get moving. We would've been looking at another hour's drive before reaching the Tokyo Prefecture, assuming the roads would be clear from here on. Now, we could be looking at a full day, three tops as long as we don't stop moving. At least this way we don't have to worry about any traffic jams forcing us to turn back anymore." Frasier said in agreement, already beginning to power walk further up the road while everyone else stayed where they were.

"Frasier, wait! You're not being serious right now, are you? I mean, look at what we just went through. Don't you think we should at least take a moment to breathe at least?" Noah stepped forward to ask, but the look on Frasier's face instantly answered for him. Of course he was being serious about them not stopping. Why wouldn't he be?

"Frasier-kun, everyone is exhausted right now. If we do as you're suggesting, people will start lagging behind. One night's worth of rest isn't going to hurt right now. Tokyo will still be there." Shizuka spoke up in an attempt to reason with their icy-eyed leader, as he looked them all over like they had gone mad. "And if we stay behind, who's to say that won't eventually catch up to us? Then it won't be people falling behind we have to worry about."

Everyone's eyes followed Frasier's pointing finger to see the beginning of a large congregation of 'Them' just emerging from around the last turn before the other side of the bridge. Given 'Their' speed, it would take well over an hour to get to where the group was, so long as no more loud noises got 'Their' attention. It didn't make seeing 'Them' any less disheartening.

"As long as we find a place to hole up for the night and stay quiet, we'll be okay. We would know that much about 'Them' by now, I would hope. Look, Frasier, I get why you don't want to stop, but this is for the good of all of us…not that I'd expect that to sway your opinion, ever." Johann countered, his voice going low as the memory of the eldest Lawson's hateful rant yesterday came back in full force.

"If we are all physically able and at our best, we'll have a much better chance of reaching Tokyo unharmed. Right now, we're exhausted, and in some of our cases, soaking wet and exposed, and without any of Shizuka-sensei's supplies, exposure becomes that much more serious. Now we can either take the one night to recuperate for the rest of the trip, or we can risk some of us getting sick, and holding the whole group up for that much longer." Saeko's argument surprisingly seemed to diffuse any protest Frasier might've been cooking up as he could only look away and let out a familiar-sounding grumble of defeat.

"Okay, then we're all agreed. Now let's get the hell out of here and find someplace secluded and warm." Marcus announced as he took the lead, everyone readily following him while Frasier followed at a half-hearted pace.

"But what about whoever was shooting at us? If they ran off, how do we know they won't come back, or try to track us down?" Miku pointed out, but to her surprise, none of the Lawson's faltered or even paused. "With the woods being this dense, and them running off without their weapon, I think it's a safe bet they'll end up running into more of 'Them'. Won't be our problem anymore." Marcus stated with a cold matter-of-factness. It left the majority of the group notably unsettled that for the first time, they all found themselves hoping someone would end up getting eaten.

Later that night…

The group had managed to find themselves a little bit of luck well into their on-foot excursion from the bridge. A decently well-covered single-story house behind some dense shrubbery and a few trees provided just the kind of cover they were looking for tonight. The place looked to have been abandoned right around the beginning of the outbreak, and was likely one of very few places lucky enough to have been overlooked by looters or previous survivors, since the windows were all still intact, as were the doors.

But what made this place more worthwhile was the abundance of canned foods still left in the pantry. Clearly whoever had been living here was under the impression the military and the government would get everything back to normal in just a couple days. Well, that was all the better for everyone else in the end.

After locking all the doors and windows and even barricading them with whatever furniture they could move, the group had finally been able to lie down and just finally let their exhaustion overtake them. This place was a damn sight better than that filthy cramped bus, and for everyone to actually have some real space for themselves to stretch and sleep in comfort felt like an absolute godsend.

The sun was already well into its descent, the skies outside turning a dark purple as Frasier had insisted on keeping watch through the windows, whether for the large herd of 'Them', or for their mystery sniper. But while the herd had slowly but surely managed to reach this place; fortunately ignoring it and continuing blindly on 'Their' way, there was never any sign of the latter. Frasier could only find himself grateful for that much.

Shizuka, Miku and Alice had decided to not only stockpile as much of the canned food as they could get their hands on, but to also try and put together an actual dinner for everyone; the first authentic meal any of them had eaten in well over a month. Just the thought of the nostalgic smiles on everyone's faces once it would be ready made the idea that much more worth it.

But as for everyone else, the chance to actually lay down in a comfortable bed or sofa and be left to their thoughts ultimately brought them back to previous, much less pleasant memories. Such was the case with Saya, Khota, Noah and Marcus as they all lay in a circle in the master bedroom. Saya's brow continuously twitched as she kept thinking over just where they were, and just what circumstances they now had to deal with.

"This isn't good." Saya stated to no one in particular, but catching the others' attention regardless. "Well, yeah, there's a herd of 'Them' passing us by right now. That's not generally considered a good thing." Marcus pointed out, ignoring the sharp glare behind the pink-haired girl's glasses.

"That's not what I'm talking about, you smartass. I'm talking about everything. Yeah, we got lucky finding this place, but we still have no vehicle, barely any bullets left, hardly enough water to last all of us more than another two days, a mystery gunman trying to kill us who might potentially still be out there, and on top of all that, we don't even know if this damn Tokyo quarantine zone or whatever will still be there when and if we get there. Assuming it ever even existed to begin with."

Noah and Khota could both feel their hearts sink listening to Saya ramble on; mostly because they knew how right she was to feel so overwhelmed and frustrated. It seemed like every time things seemed to be going their way, it all just got ten times worse, and without any vehicles to get them anywhere fast, it was hard to imagine how much worse it could get.

"As long as we keep following Frasier-san on this suicide mission, we're just going to get ourselves killed," she finally stated her point, leaving the three boys to contemplate the gravity of it all. "B-But Saya-san, with the few bullets we have, do you really think going out and hoofing it on our own would have any different results? At least with Frasier-san, we have someone capable of coordinating everyone in a fight." Khota tried to counter, earning a nod of agreement from Noah and looks of disdain from Saya and Marcus.

"Yeah, as long as he considers any of you useful. Once things start going wrong, who's to say he won't just disappear on us in the middle of a fight and treat us like an afterthought?" Marcus stated with grim resignation. Noah clenched his hands into fists as he kept his head bowed down, deep in thought. "So if everyone heading off on their own is too dangerous, and continuing to follow Frasier is too dangerous, then what the bloody hell do you suggest we do? You're the one claiming to be a genius, so surely you've got some kind of answer all put together, right?" The way the youngest Lawson snapped at Saya was so unexpected, she'd been left momentarily speechless. But regardless, her determination quickly returned and she let out a heavy sigh.

"In all honesty, I think we need to cut our losses once we know for certain we're somewhere safe. If we somehow get to Tokyo unharmed, and this quarantine zone does exist, we part ways with Frasier-san once and for all, and whatever he feels the need to do from then on is his business and his alone. However, if we don't get there, but do find somewhere that's suitable to make our new home…we might want to consider some contingencies to make sure he doesn't endanger us all again."

Shortly after…

Frasier sat alone in the living room, staring through a crack in the barricade over one of the windows, watching as the seemingly endless herd of the dead marched on blindly past the house. He didn't know how much longer it could possibly stretch on for, but a smoldering of hope in his gut kept telling him they'd get through this so long as they remained quiet. Every now and again, his ears could pick up the sound of Zeke's whining as the tiny pup stared up at him, but he thankfully never started barking.

Surprising, considering Frasier could see in Zeke's eyes that he knew what was out there. It just went to show how accustomed he'd gotten to how 'They' worked, and especially how well Alice had trained him over all this time. Frasier could just imagine how useful Zeke could ultimately be as a hunting dog if they ever got far enough to need such a thing. But ruminating on the future like that wasn't going to help anyone right now, so he returned his focus to the window.

"Frasier?" Noah's soft voice suddenly broke the silence, but Frasier didn't break his gaze from the passing herd. "What do you need, Noah?"

"How're things looking out there?" the youngest Brit asked as he slowly, even cautiously approached his brother, keeping his voice just to that of a whisper as he could hear the continuous buzz that was the collective groans of the herd all amassed into one wall of noise. "Not good. If we have any luck left on our side, 'They' should all pass us by and the road will be clear for us come morning; if not, then we might have to wait here an extra day to put a little more distance between us. How is everyone doing?"

Noah had been so engrossed in everything his brother was saying, he'd almost failed to notice he was now the one being asked the questions. "From what I've observed, everyone's just glad we finally have a night to get off our feet and just rest the exhaustion away. I'm sure it goes without saying, but we found this place right when we needed to." Frasier let out a sigh of what sounded like relief as Noah gave him the most honest answer he could. Nevertheless, the eldest Lawson never left his vigil.

"That's good to know. Saeko-san was right when she said we need everyone at their best. Hopefully, if things look safe in the morning, everyone will be rested enough, and we can finally continue the last leg of this god-forsaken journey." While Frasier made his intentions perfectly clear, the hint of optimism in his voice did nothing to stifle the noticeable look of disappointment on his youngest brother's face.

"You're still set on doing this? After everything we've survived up to this point, you're still insisting we try to reach Tokyo? Frasier, when is enough going to be enough for you? We originally estimated this whole trip would take a week at most. It's been over a month now! We've encountered setback after setback once we left Tokonosu." The more Noah spoke, the more Frasier could feel his blood begin to boil, gritting his teeth and clenching his fists as his brother continued to relay nothing he didn't already know.

"I hope you're going somewhere with this, Noah; because I'm seriously not in the mood for having my time wasted with redundant facts," he growled, causing Noah to shake his head in disappointment. However, he didn't expect his oldest brother to respond in any other way at this point. "I know you're not someone who puts his faith in things like fate, God or anything that goes beyond what your own eyes can see, but don't you think all the difficulties we've faced so far should serve as some kind of sign? What I'm saying is…maybe we're not meant to get to Tokyo."

That was what finally pried Frasier from the window, glaring at Noah like he'd lost his bloody mind. But as was to be expected, the youngest Lawson didn't back down under his thinly veiled murderous gaze. "Noah, you're my brother, you're family, and to me, that still means something. But if you ever spout such defeatist sentiment to me again…I can't be held responsible for what could follow. We are Lawson's, and Lawson's do not give in to despair like that. I have a mission, and it is my duty to see that mission fulfilled by any means necessary. Do you understand?"

By now, Frasier was less than two inches away from his brother, staring him down as he was overcast in his shadow. Yet still, Noah remained where he stood, defiant, courageous and proud. "No, I don't understand. Look at where we are, Frasier; we are living in a real life zombie apocalypse, and have been for the last two-and-a-half months, and yet you still go about acting like everything is some grand military operation, or some such shite. There's no such thing as a chain of command, or superiors, or objectives, or anything father taught you about anymore. If you have any kind of mission anymore, it's to survive, and ensure the survival of the people that look to you to lead them. If our survival could be guaranteed by reaching Tokyo, I'd be with you on this; you know I would. But with things looking the way they are, and with our ammunition supply as low as it is, and with no vehicle, Tokyo is just not a part of the equation anymore."

Frasier's face remained steadfast, his eyes as icy cold as ever, and his response was only a chilling silence, permeated only by the sound of his heavy breathing, as though that was his way of trying to quell the urge to strike his little brother for his insubordination. But finally, when Noah felt almost certain this was only going to end in violence, Frasier finally spoke: "If that's truly what you think, then what would you have me do?"

"I think you already know the answer, Frasier. Just take this place for example. No part of it has been compromised, and that's even without any defensive measures set up. It gave us a good little addition to our food supply, and with it being so close to the coast, who's to say there isn't a freshwater stream nearby we can get water from? We could scout the surrounding area for other houses to load up on supplies from, set up a vegetable garden, or—"None of that amounts to anything if we don't have the bullets to defend ourselves with, Noah." Frasier said grimly, silencing his brother in the middle of his hopeful planning with a stern hand on his shoulder.

"I understand what you're trying to say, but it's not that simple, especially for me. It's always been my responsibility to look after you and Marcus, and if getting you to Tokyo so you can get evacuated is the one way I can ensure your survival, then that is what I have to do. I don't have any other option." To hear his oldest brother speak with such a grave sense of finality was too painful for Noah to put into words. But with that painful sadness came a deeper sense of anger. "Only because you won't allow yourself to have any other option. You're so dead set on following through with the one course of action you're comfortable with, you can't stand the idea of anyone else having any alternatives that could actually work. The reason you won't even consider just letting Tokyo go is because you're too goddamn stubborn, and too bloody prideful. Everything's always got to be about proving yourself as this great, untouchable soldier, when you have nothing left to prove to anyone.

"Do me a favor right now, Frasier; don't make your endangering the whole group about me and Marcus. We all know that isn't the case. If you're going to keep dragging us through this hell, at least have the decency to admit it's about your selfish pride." For some reason, those words were the most painful thing Frasier had received in all the time he'd been fighting to protect his brothers. Even the sheer venom Marcus had spat in his face after their fight couldn't honestly compare to hearing the one brother who had any faith left in him call him out as a stubborn, prideful, selfish fool. For the first time this entire day, Frasier couldn't think of anything to say. And that was apparently all Noah needed to see to know he'd struck a raw nerve.

He began to leave the living room, but just as he was halfway down the hall, Noah looked back over his shoulder to see Frasier once more standing at the window, but with his head still bowed down. "I just have one more question, Frasier; and please answer me honestly. All those things you said yesterday at the fuselage wreck…I didn't think it was possible for you to express that kind of disgust and hatred for anyone, let alone our friends. But then you've proven to be capable of a lot of things I didn't think you could do. So all I want to know is this: did you actually mean any of what you said? Or was it all just a bunch of blind frustration coming out, and we were the ones who just happened to receive it? Please…I need to know you didn't mean any of it."

For the remainder of that night, the horrible silence Noah was answered with would never cease to torment him. He had gotten the answer he most dreaded, without a word being spoken aloud.

Elsewhere in the house…

As soon as they had made sure the house was secure and clear of any undead, Rei's parents hade gotten to work chopping up whatever furniture they could afford to, in order to put together two separate fires in two separate rooms. Since then, Johann, Rei and Saeko had been forced to surrender virtually all their clothing, save for their undergarments, and confined under whatever futons they could find; all the while their clothes had been left to hang from a laundry line to air dry.

After all preparations had been made, and the word had been given everyone could relax for the night, Tadashi and Kiriko had made a point of keeping Johann and Saeko in a separate room from Rei, so they themselves could stay with her and tend to every need they thought she could have. However, the two were almost blissfully ignorant of the clearly embarrassed look on their daughter's face whenever they became overly concerned each time she either coughed or stifled a sneeze while sitting near the barrel fire they'd set up.

"Mom, Dad, would you please just calm down? I swear, I'm feeling fine," she insisted as Kiriko rested her forehead against her own to check her temperature, for about the 15th time since they'd gotten here. "Sorry, Rei, but after today, we're not taking any chances until we're absolutely sure you're alright." Tadashi stated firmly, to which Kiriko nodded in resolute agreement.

"Speaking of which, couldn't you at least have picked something to wear that covered a little more? Blanket or not, the last thing we need is you getting a cold from a draft." Kiriko suddenly asked, to which Rei hid half her face inside her blanket to hide her embarrassed blushing. "I would've, if any of the others would actually…well, fit me. Even this is just the tiniest bit small for me, but it's the closest I've got, so I'm sticking with it." Rei explained as she pulled the blanket tighter around herself, as though embarrassed someone would somehow catch a glimpse of her current getup underneath. Kiriko and Tadashi could only look at each other and give a mutual sigh of understanding that this was as far as Rei was willing to let the topic go.

"Now, I just have to ask, is there any particular reason you're still keeping Johann and Saeko-san in a different room? I mean, when we had to get out of our clothes, I understood; but now there's nothing to see, so why can't they just come in so we can at least all warm up together?" Rei suddenly asked, catching her parents off guard with such a sensitive topic. "Well, honey, we've already gone through the trouble of setting up two fires for the three of you, so I don't see why it would make any differe—"They're my friends, and they deserve to know I'm okay, and I want to make sure of the same." Rei cut her mother off once she recognized the tone Kiriko was going for, trying to play it off like it wasn't any big deal. With a heavy sigh, Tadashi then stepped forward.

"Look, Rei, everything that got the three of you in this position aside, you're still children, more specifically teenagers. Now, I trust Johann-kun and Saeko-chan, more than I thought I'd ever be able to trust a couple kids. But you're still my daughter, and I…I just can't bring myself to accept you and a boy his age being in a room together, knowing you're both nearly down to your unmentionables." It was rather astounding to Rei and Kiriko both that Tadashi would choose to be so blunt about this, but the way he kept deliberately avoiding eye contact with either of them showed it was just as awkward for him as well. However, Rei's bewilderment quickly turned to a mixture of embarrassment and aggravation.

"We're not kids anymore, Dad, nobody gets to just be called that anymore. After everything we've gone through, I think you'd both understand that better than anyone else. We've all done terrible things we once couldn't have imagined, and yet we've always stuck together through unspeakable hardships. When so many other people have become little more than animals, I think our perseverance should speak volumes to the kind of people we've become." The conviction with which Rei spoke as she looked deep into her parents' eyes was nothing short of earth-shaking for them. This wasn't the once bright-eyed, even naïve teenager they once knew. This was their daughter showing just how much of a truly world-wise adult woman this nightmare had turned her into.

"Rei, we understand what you're trying to say, but you need to understa—"No; just please let me say this. I'm not some dumb kid anymore, and you both need to realize and accept that. You can't keep trying to control my life, like when you forced me to quit my job at that café last year. I can make my own decisions, and you both know I can defend and look after myself; with that all being said, I trust Johann with my life, and he trusts me with his. After what he did, doesn't he deserve to at least see that I'm okay? Don't I deserve to at least see the person who saved my life is going to be okay as well?"

The words died in Kiriko's throat as Rei made her position perfectly clear, her confidence nearly overwhelming. But as her statement gave way to silence, Tadashi just let out a frustrated grunt as he struggled to think of some way to counter her argument and maintain at least some of his parental authority.

"None of that changes the fact that you're still our daughter, and as your parents, it is our duty to protect you from any real and supposed dangers this world has to offer; a job this damn world we're living in has only made that much harder. Honestly, adolescent hormones were bad enough before, but in a world where any one of us could die at any given moment, it could only be made so much worse. Once you're both fully recovered and back in your regular clothes, then you can see each other, but as long as the three of you are in such…immodest conditions, I forbid it, and that is final." With that, Tadashi stormed out of the room with Kiriko close behind, and ending the discussion with a resounding shut of the door. Rei could only pull her knees to her chest under her blanket, brow furrowed with frustration as she stared at the fire.

Outside, Tadashi ran a hand down his tired face with an exhausted groan while Kiriko crossed her arms, deep in thought. "My God, you weren't kidding, Kiriko; she just can't make these things easy for us anymore. I almost miss the days when she would just lock herself in her room and not talk to us whenever we told her she couldn't do something." Tadashi said in exasperation, all boastful air of authority gone without a trace.

"Me too. But…I don't know, Tadashi. A lot of what she said…I honestly get it." Once she said this, Kiriko looked to see her husband giving her a silent, pleading look, as though begging it not to be so that she was actually siding with Rei on the whole matter. "I'm sorry, Tadashi, but I do. It's not any easier for me to say, but in more than a few ways, she's not a child anymore. None of them are; in fact, I'd say they've grown up more in these last two months than most people would in their entire lives. And when everything I've seen for myself with them is taken into account, especially after today, I'd honestly trust Johann-kun with our daughter's life as well. He and Rei would clearly do anything for each other, and for you to suddenly come in and act like he would actually force himself on her or hurt her in any way…I think that really hurts her more than you'd think."

By this point, Tadashi's exhaustion had turned to guilt as he buried his face in his hands, letting out a mixture of a remorseful groan and a tired sigh muffled behind his hands as he nearly collapsed against the wall. When his hands finally lowered, Tadashi's eyes looked past the ceiling, looking utterly defeated. "So we either keep our distance, and risk her getting in over her head and killed…or we keep her too close and risk her resenting us for it. There's just no winning, is there?" he asked to no one in particular while Kiriko could only give him a sympathetic smile and an affectionate hug. "That's what we signed up for as parents, darling. It's a tough pill to swallow, but somebody has to do it."

Meanwhile…

Johann and Saeko sat in uncomfortable silence before their own fire; both huddled comfortably under their blankets. However, that didn't make the knowledge of just what little they were both wearing underneath any less awkward on Johann's part, since every time he glanced at the purple-haired girl, her unreadable expression betrayed nothing.

But when all was said and done, Johann would obviously have taken awkward silence over being left in an icy cold grave at every opportunity, and he couldn't deny the only reason that wasn't the case right now was because of the young woman sitting next to him; and if he didn't take the opportunity to express his gratitude now, when would he ever?

"Thank you," he blurted out. When all he was met with was silence, he couldn't help but worry he'd spoken too softly, but when he glanced in her direction, he was surprised to see Saeko was actually smiling in what he could only call satisfaction. "Well, here I was beginning to worry the cold had finally numbed your tongue, you were being so quiet. I'm sure I don't need to ask, but I will anyway: what for?"

The nonchalant nature of her attitude was surprisingly refreshing compared to how on edge everyone had been before getting here, so it thankfully managed to ease some of the young man's nervousness. "I mean, for what you did today; saving us, I mean. Considering we were in the middle of getting shot at and all, and considering Rei and I, or more particularly myself, aren't as combat adept as you, Rika-san and Frasier, I honestly wasn't sure whether to expect anyone to bother to rescue us amid all that."

Saeko finally broke her focus from the fire, and while Johann had been expecting her to give him some kind of disapproving or at least insulted glare, her expression was unusually soft, perhaps even sentimental. "I suppose my recent insistence on keeping an emotional distance from everyone pretty much earned a sentiment like that. But don't think that that means I'm actually that cold. Combat effectiveness or not, you and Rei-san are just as precious to me as everyone else here. I'm not sure if you feel the same way, or if anyone else besides me does for that matter, but this is more than just a group. In my eyes, we're a family, and family is meant to look out for each other. After all the…the losses we've suffered before, we need to look out for each other more than ever."

The simplicity of Saeko's reasoning was immensely touching as Johann could almost feel himself getting choked up to hear her of all people still express such sentiment. After all the despair of this failure of a journey, and especially after the vitriol of Frasier's meltdown, the young German had feared any sense of solidarity within the group had evaporated. But if Saeko Busujima of all people could still view their group as closely as a family, then there was no justifiable reason he couldn't as well.

"And here I was starting to think none of us could feel that way anymore, especially after yesterday. It really does me good to hear you still think that way about us, Busujima-san," he wasn't afraid to admit, earning an unexpected giggle of amusement from the young swordswoman as she laid a friendly hand on his shoulder and made him look deep into her piercing blue eyes, burning like brilliant sapphires in the firelight. "Please, Johann-kun; after everything else up to this point, the least you can do is just call me 'Saeko'. I think it's safe to say everyone has earned that right by now."

"O-Okay, Busu—I mean, Saeko. Thank you. Well, with that being said, how're your stitches feeling? I was actually worried for a while you might've ruptured them with that jump." Johann finally felt the courage to ask; honestly surprised Shizuka hadn't brought it up herself as soon as they'd returned from the beach below.

Without a word, but a noticeably nervous blush, which on the normally stoic young samurai was surprisingly adorable, Saeko opened up her blanket; allowing Johann an unobstructed view of her almost muscular midsection, with her sizeable chest concealed under a dark purple lingerie-like bra, and her stomach wrapped under a coverage of white gauze, without a single red blemish in sight. Johann only took a second to look before hurriedly averting his gaze, his face growing hot while Saeko could only giggle once again in amusement at how easily flustered he could get while she covered herself back up.

"As you could see, nothing to be worried about yet. If it does start bleeding, I won't hesitate to let Shizuka-sensei know, though I'm not sure what she can do without her medical bag right now. But so long as we're being honest, I can't lie that it's sore as all hell right now." With that being said, the two teenagers fell back into that uncomfortable yet familiar silence, listening to the sound of the burning wood in the barrel momentarily crack and snap as the fire burned it away to cinders.

"Saeko, there's just one last thing I have to know: why did you tell Rei that I was the one that saved her? We both would've died if it weren't for you, so why would you go out of your way to avoid taking the credit like that?" Johann suddenly asked, his voice barely above that of a nervous mumbling. Saeko let out a heavy sigh as she turned herself to face the young man, and likewise turned him to look her in the eye.

"I should only have to explain this once, so please listen closely, Johann-kun. I'm not sure if you've noticed it, or even if Rei-san has herself, but I have. This whole journey has done a lot to everyone here, including the two of you. Every time I've looked at how you and her are together these last few days, I can see that there's something wholly new forming between you; something that wasn't there back when we were living at that hotel, or maybe even as recently as the mall. You can go ahead and credit it to women's intuition if you understand where I'm going with this.

"This journey has put so much strain on the relationships we've made since this all began, and I've seen so many instances of our friends getting ready to just break away into oblivion under the weight of it all. However, I've never gotten that impression when looking at you and Rei-san. If anything, all this hardship has only made the two of you closer than ever before. Amid all the anguish, failure and sadness, you two have been emotional anchors for each other, keeping one another from collapsing into despair time and time again. And with our connections having been made so weak by Frasier-kun's outburst yesterday, along with getting attacked today…I honestly think that for Rei-san, believing that you risked your life despite your inability, just to save her, is exactly the kind of emotional boost she needs the most right now."

Johann couldn't find words as Saeko spoke with such a sense of emotional clarity and wisdom beyond her years. He couldn't rightfully deny that what she was saying, and her reasoning for why she did what she did, all made perfect sense from her perspective. At the moment, he honestly wasn't sure if he should've even said anything and risk ruining the moment, or just held his tongue and considered everything she'd said.

He couldn't deny that he had indeed begun feeling something far deeper for Rei over the course of their ill-fated journey, something he wasn't sure if he was able to put into words. All he knew was that amid everything else, that feeling whenever they were together was one of the only things that drove him to keep going in spite of all the constant hardships. But now that Saeko had actually put it out into the open with words, he wasn't sure how to react anymore.

"Excuse me, I just came by to let you guys know: Shizuka managed to cook something up for everyone downstairs." Rei's voice suddenly announced from the doorway. The two survivors looked back in surprise to see her looking right back at them with a pleasant smile and a hopeful gleam in her reddish-brown eyes.

Using the blanket as a top for now, Saeko was quick to get up; giving a grateful nod of acknowledgment, standing face to face with Rei before walking past her, only to see Tadashi and Kiriko weren't far behind. The young swordswoman then looked back at Johann before forming a slight grin. "We'll go check it out. Don't take too long," was all she said before suddenly closing the door behind her; leaving Rei and Johann in each other's company.

Johann was certain Saeko was up to something now. After what she'd been talking about, it was abundantly clear that she felt the two had a lot to talk about right now. Rei seemed completely unaware of this as well, but the inviting look on her face made it clear she wanted to talk about something anyway.

"How are you feeling right now? Any better?" Johann asked as he watched her sit down beside him, her golden brown hair and delicately beautiful face nearly glowing in the light of the ongoing flames. "Yes, I'm doing much better now. I had been meaning to take a bath, but that wasn't exactly what I had in mind. Hopefully we can find someplace with water that's a little warmer, and soon." Rei confessed while she began to shiver a little just thinking about it.

Before Johann could utter a word, Rei suddenly let her blanket drop from her shoulders, and he could finally see just what she had on underneath: a pink top with spaghetti strings going over her shoulders that clung tightly to her body, and a pair of white, frilly panties with a little pink bow at the top. The top seemed almost a little small for Rei, as it really seemed to cling tight around her already supple breasts, with two small but very noticeable bumps just barely poking out from them from under the fabric.

Johann could imagine his whole body was practically glowing red in the fire light as he gazed upon her; and he nearly felt his whole mouth go dry as Rei suddenly situated herself underneath his own blanket so the two were now sharing; barely any empty space between them.

Johann tried so hard not to stare at her voluptuous, athletic figure, barely managing to think back to the last thing she said before opening his mouth to keep the awkward silence from getting any worse.

"N-no kidding. I just hope none of us catch hypothermia. It would really suck if one of us got sick right now," the young German commented before it just as quickly became awkwardly silent again; quickly realizing now wasn't the best time to remind her of the obvious, grim reality they were still stuck in.

"So, I just need to know...why exactly did you let Saeko-chan give you the credit for saving us?" Rei suddenly asked; leaving Johann stunned, yet silent. How else could he have possibly answered her, other than just admit he wasn't exactly in a rush to correct Saeko back then? Instead, he only gave Rei a look, as if silently asking how she knew.

"Because while I immensely appreciate what you tried to do for me, and while the fact we've survived so much can't be considered anything less than a miracle, there's no miracle on earth that could've helped you to get me out of that bus AND kick us all the way to shore when you don't know how to swim. So with that all being said, I just have to ask…why did you even jump in the first place?" Rei suddenly and methodically pointed out. She almost sounded like her father at work, given how decisive and so matter of fact she sounded.

"I know. What I did was stupid, if not downright counterproductive. No matter how hard I was trying to flail my arms or kick my legs to stay afloat, I wouldn't even have been able to save myself, let alone you," was all the young German could hope to say to explain himself, not even trying to hide the guilt in his voice. Rei was visibly taken aback as Johann continued to lament his poor decisions. "I wish I'd just set the record straight there and then…but I just couldn't. Not when I saw—"

"Stop. Johann, I don't care that you lied about saving me. Do you want to know why? Because it doesn't change the fact that you jumped in after me without a second thought. Even when you knew you couldn't swim and most likely wouldn't have been able to do anything, you didn't even hesitate." Johann's continuous self-deprecating lamentations proved to be too much for Rei as she cut him off to make her true feelings known. With her heart pounding hard from the sheer emotion of what she was saying, she then placed a soft, gentle hand on his shoulder. Her warmth and oh-so nurturing touch left Johann quite at ease, almost like she had the magic touch on him.

"What you did; that was easily one of the single bravest things I think anyone can possibly do for someone else. For you to jump headlong into danger, even when knowing how much the odds are against you, all for wanting to save someone important to you? It was so sweet...so brave...but also incredibly reckless." Rei mused with a very deep sense of admiration flowing through her words, as it left Johann feeling his heart practically fluttering from such high praise. Although, she of course wasn't going to let him off the hook that easy as he looked down, knowing that his attempt to save her was considerably detrimental to the others.

"Would…would you believe me if I said I'd do it again?" Johann finally asked with a slight smirk as Rei playfully tugged on his ear lobe in a teasing manner. "As a matter of fact, I do. But please, while I greatly appreciate the sentiment of why you did what you did…please don't risk your life for me like that," she pleaded. It was clear by the look in her glistening eyes and the sheer emotion in her voice that she would never forget what the young man at her side did for her.

"How could I possibly not? I know I've said it so many times already, but that doesn't make this any less true: you've done so much for me already. You were there for me when I needed someone most. Rei Miyamoto…you're too important to me. If something ever happened to you—"

Before Johann even had a chance to finish that sentence, Rei's body slowly moved underneath the blanket with him, until he could feel she was sitting herself in his lap so that they could look into each other's eyes. Her soft, warm and sexy body, barely covered by her otherwise revealing undergarments; nestled up, bosom first, against his chest. Johann couldn't even blush before he felt her loving hands gently holding his face; her beautiful eyes shimmering like opals in the fire's orange glow.

[Jóhann Jóhannsson – Gummiskor]

Without a moment to contemplate the consequences or their own hesitations, the two teens' heads instinctively leaned forward. At first, Rei's lips felt cold against his, and a small quivering tremble could be felt from her end.

However, the cold feeling of her lips quickly turned to a warm and wet one. The rest of Johann's body felt so tranquil with the sheer notion that Rei was kissing him mouth-to-mouth. It all felt so sudden, but it couldn't have happened soon enough for him. The muscles in his body felt warmth, and an all-too familiar tingling sensation that left him in awe at how amazing this felt. Rei's shapely body pressing up entirely against him couldn't be described with mere words. Her bountiful chest felt so warm and soft against his skin, the poor boy nearly thought he would black out.

As their lips locked and passionately embraced one another, Johann slightly grinned at the soft touch of Rei's hands running across his chest. Caught up in the moment, he suddenly placed one hand across her waist, while his other hand gently held the back of her head, gently feeling how soft and smooth her hair was. Whatever cold they felt before was now just a distant memory at best.

Their hearts were racing, yet felt so calm at the same time. It didn't matter how bad the world was now. It didn't matter how desperate their band of survivors had become. The future was bleak, growing darker with each passing day with almost no end in sight. With nothing to light the way, certainly it would all end one day, but when was the ultimate question nobody had the answer to. But none of it mattered. What did matter was that there were small moments like this to keep the way lit, to kindle what few embers of hope still remained.

A deep sigh of unyielding satisfaction escaped Rei's soft lips when they finally parted. Her glistening red-brown eyes slowly opened to show that their first kiss was without a doubt beyond anything she could've hoped for. Johann just tried to keep himself composed, holding up whatever confidence he could, despite how excited he felt by this heartfelt moment. Their faces were both red and flustered to no end, but it was abundantly clear to them that there were NO regrets between them.

[]

Just when it all felt like the prelude to something much more, the sound of a metal spoon could be heard tapping against a pot. No doubt, someone downstairs was trying to remind them it was time for supper. Both blushing youths looked uncertainly at each other, as if waiting for a confirmation on what they should do now.

"Should we...?" Johann began to suggest, stopping short as Rei was already nodding in response and wrapping herself back up in her own blanket. "Yeah, the last thing I need is for my parents to get all protective again; nevermind whatever lecture they'd feel the need to give us." Rei explained, shuddering at the thought of her mom and dad overreacting to this. Johann didn't seem nearly as bothered by it, as he was beyond relieved to see with his own two eyes that there was very a mutual attraction from her.

"I'll join you in a little bit," was all he could muster up as Rei was making her way for the door. Looking back, she saw he was still keeping the blanket around himself, as if trying to hide something. "Hmm? What's the hold up?" was all she could ask before the young man hurriedly shook his head. "Nothing, I just need to wash up." Johann explained with a nervous blush. Rei simply shrugged her shoulders and left with an amused giggle, as Johann couldn't simply confess that their little moment together left him quite physically excited to say the least.

Minutes later…

"About time you two joined us. I was starting to think we'd have to send a rescue party." Marcus announced as everyone looked over to see Johann and Rei were finally coming down to join them.

"We're just fine." Rei said with a deep sense of satisfaction; glancing over at Johann to see he was looking back at her with a grin of his own. Both soon looked away to avoid seeming conspicuous with their newfound affection, especially under the sharp eyes of her parents.

"Good. It's such a relief to hear there's still some good fortune left after everything that's been occurring lately." Saeko commented as Rei and Johann knew exactly what she was implying. Nonetheless, they couldn't possibly have been happier for it.

All the while…

While the group continued to enjoy their hard-gained tranquility and shelter for the rest of the night, elsewhere in the wilderness, several men were encamped in a small clearing just a kilometer away. One held his forearm up, signaling his compatriots to quiet down as he spoke into his earpiece.

"Loxley, this is Sherwood. We have located the target. I can most certainly see why you sent me here now. He is far more tenacious and resourceful than I expected," was all his gruff voice could report before lightning cracked in the distance. It seemed like these forsaken rainstorms simply could not stop coming; like night and day it was so frequent.

"That will not be a problem for you, I hope, Sherwood. Do not make me send another in your place; because only one of you will return to me if that's what must be done," a feminine voice instructed with little to no amusement. Hers was a chilling tone so cold and heartless, it left a momentary silence amongst all those gathered and listening in before the young but rough soldier spoke up once again.

"On the contrary, mum; I look forward to the challenge. It's about time I faced him one-on-one," was all he could say, with an almost genuine enthusiasm driven behind it. "Be careful what you wish for, child. They say confidence is often a slow and insidious killer," was all the woman's voice could suddenly advise, as she failed to share in the excitement, showing no concern in this one's personal interest.

"But of course, Loxley. Sherwood, signing off," was all he could say before the transmission ceased. The electronics in his earpiece shut off before he found himself locking eyes with one of the other men under his command. His grizzled face held a look of uncertainty, a deep sense of mistrust gleaming in his eyes.

"I still don't understand why we just let them go. We could've been done with this hours ago," he began to question indignantly, while the significantly younger man seemed to almost entirely dismiss any concern with a cocky smirk. "All in due time, Captain Wallace. To hunt the deadliest prey, you have to know their limits first. Consider today just a test of what we can truly expect for next time," the young man expressed, almost condescendingly, as he began to pace around the concerned man while strapping on his tactical gear.

"I beg your pardon, but did you just say…'test'?" was all the man known as Wallace could ask, in a tone that bordered on contempt for what he'd just heard. "That I did," was all that followed, without a single hint of remorse or humor behind it.

"A test; a test for what, exactly? We had him exactly where we wanted him. Seems like a completely unnecessary risk to me; not to mention a major waste of time," was all that the captain could spout in his incredulity, unable to comprehend this young man's reasoning. His hands both curled into fists as he shook his head in disbelief at how badly he was being led on.

"Well then, it's a good thing I wasn't asking for my subordinate's opinion. Otherwise, I'd be quite disappointed in what I'm hearing right now," the young leader suddenly retorted in a sharp yet soothing tone that killed any and all words in his men's throats. It was initially quiet again until Wallace found the will to speak up again.

"So why didn't we just kill the people he was traveling with and deal with him later?" The in-name-only captain inquired; certain they could've easily picked off the compatriots of their target with little to no trouble.

"We want him to approach us, but preferably with his guard down. Had we merely gunned his companions down, he'd never drop his guard for even a second," the leader of this troublesome bunch expressed, as he seemed to have a very specific plan in mind for their target; albeit one the others didn't seem to understand, let alone agree with.

"I'm pretty sure shooting at them won't exactly help lower his guard, either," one of the other soldiers commented, which seemed to draw out agreement amongst the others. The young man calling the shots then narrowed his eyes at what was an otherwise good point.

"Are the rest of your men nearly as short sighted as you are? Now he's going to feel the pressure. With any luck, he'll become more and more desperate, to the point where once we arrive on the scene, he'll hardly even question it. If anything, he'd most likely treat it like a Godsend."

"He nearly took my bloody head clean off, in case you hadn't noticed! You can needlessly risk your own life if you so desire, but do not compromise ours, and by extension, the contract for a mere 'test'." Wallace interrupted, lashing out with particular venom as he recalled how their target's first counter-shot blasted a window just a few centimeters away from his face. The youth before him simply scowled before turning away to face the thickness of the trees and brush around them; knowing who was just a little ways out there.

"It is to my knowledge that you are all being paid quite handsomely, are you not? Do not tell me we invested in the wrong people for this delicate operation now. It would be most...disappointing," was all he could ask with an almost sinister undertone, to which the captain of these mercenaries simply replied with a confident, but stern voice: "Oh, believe me, we fully intend to follow through with our side of the bargain here: Bring back Frasier Lawson to the agreed upon location; Dead or Alive."