Around the Firehouse
It was early evening by the time he'd got back from the mall; having to run, hide and divert around groups of them instead of firing a shot and drawing more attention. He was tired and all he wanted to do was take a shower, eat and sleep. So, after handing over his loot to Shizuka, he grabbed his towel and headed for the shower.
Hirano braced himself for the freezing cold water and turned on the shower. Everything tensed under the initial blast of ice water, before relaxing with a deep and contented "Oh, God…" as the firehouse's propane system caught up and produced blissful hot water.
"Enjoying yourself in there, Otaku?" A familiar tsundere asked in a tone that was somehow disapproving and playful.
Kohta sighed contentedly. "You know? You never realise how much you miss a hot shower until you go a few days without one." He replied as he ran his hands through his greasy hair.
"Hmph," Saya grunted. "Well, don't make such lewd noises! Other people have to use these showers too you know!"
Being a wise man Kohta decided not to bring up the noise she and the other women had made during their group bath in Rika's apartment and changed the subject. "Did you come in to berate me, peak on me, or is there something I can do for you Saya-Chan?"
"B...Baka! I came to ask you if you found anything useful on your scouting run!"
'And that couldn't have waited till after I was done?' He thought. He wasn't sure if she was stammering out of genuine outrage, embarrassment at the idea that she would be peaking on him, or just being caught off guard by a bit of fairly played turnabout. He sighed, hoping that she took it for general tiredness before answering her.
"I found some useful stuff and handed what I grabbed over to Marikawa-Sensei. There was other stuff but I want to wait till dinner so I can tell everyone all at once." He paused for a moment as a thought occurred. "Any sign of Komuro or Minami-Sensei yet?"
"No." She replied, sounding distanced instead of angry. "It'll be getting dark soon. I'm worried that they won't be able to get back if they're out too much longer."
Hirano silently agreed. Being out after dark was dangerous; sound travelled further and it was all too easy to get snuck up on. Takagi was right to be worried, so he decided to appeal to reason to reassure her.
"Well, they know what they're doing and they're well-armed." He said, trying to sound unconcerned as he continued to wash his hair. "They'll go to ground for the night if they have to. If they aren't back by mid-morning, we'll go looking for them."
"Hmph, just don't take too long use all the gas and hot water, Baka!" She snipped, turning on her heels and walking towards the door by the sound of her retreating footsteps. "Dinner will be ready soon and some of us want to have showers too!"
Once he was sure she was out of earshot, Kohta sighed again. He was really getting tired of Saya acting like this. Ok; she was a genius, and she was pretty, and he swore to her father that he'd protect her… but did she have to act like such a tsundere to everyone and especially him all the time?
Then again, they were all threadbare since Shintoko Third Elementary.
It had all started out well enough at first. After fighting their way through a substantial hoard of them, they made it to the safe zone. They were met by Rei's father, Assistant Inspector Tadashi Miyamoto among other officers, and after hearing their story and explanations, Inspector Miyamoto deputized the teenagers and his wife: they didn't have enough police officers to keep the school secure and keep a lid on the panicked civilians, so they were deputizing any able volunteers. Shortly after Takashi was reunited with his mother, who as it turned out knew Alice as well, and things for a few days were beginning to look up… until they suddenly didn't.
The SDF evacuation never came.
All air traffic over the city ceased and their already limited communications were cut off. As soon as the idea that help was not coming entered the minds of the civilians gathered at the school, things began to fall apart. General unease began to set in, some fights broke out, some people even jumped the fence in the night. Despite the police and deputies' best efforts to maintain order, the final nail in the coffin was the arrival of Rika Minami.
The chief of the first squadron prefecture police arrived at the front gate two days after the evacuation was meant to happen, and she looked like hell. Battered and bruised, she and Shizuka were overjoyed at being reunited and even thanked the teenagers for protecting her after Shizuka and Tadashi told her of how they'd survived. But when someone asked her about the SDF evacuation, her mood darkened. The evacuation fleet had been attacked by Chinese submarines and missiles. Among the ships lost was the flagship – the helicopter carrier Akagi. With the loss of the Akagi and its helicopters, and now engaged in a shooting conflict with China, there was no possibility of the SDF evacuating the civilians from Tokonosu.
Word seemed to spread through the camp like wildfire and true panic set in. Supplies went missing. Fights and even small riots broke out. Some people expected the police to evacuate them themselves, while others even demanded the police arm them and let them leave. And all compounded by the need for at least half the deputies and police officers to be manning the perimeter to keep them out. It was only 5 days after the planned evacuation before someone died; stabbed over a sleeping bag they'd allegedly stolen from another survivor.
People were getting more and more desperate and violent, and the group; now including Rika, Tadashi, and Komuro's mother, decided that protecting their group - their family - was more important than the rioting mob they'd been trying to protect. Taking their weapons and all the supplies they could, they left before first light on day 13 of the outbreak.
Kohta wasn't even sure how long ago that was now; certainly a few months, but he couldn't say for certain if it was June, July, or August at this point. What he did know was that it wasn't noticeably hotter or colder than it had been when the outbreak started, but it was colder than high summer in Japan was supposed to be. He suspected they were in for a hard winter, and that was something they were not prepared for. And that scared him.
Having reflected for long enough, Kohta shut off the shower. Despite the way she said it, Takagi did have a point; they only had a limited amount of gas and water; a gift they wanted to make last as long as possible.
They were 'patrolling' through the suburbs the afternoon of the day before yesterday, they gradually headed south when they came across the firehouse they were currently living in, and it was a lucky find. The three-bay doors were open, and the fire appliances were gone; once they swept the interior, they found more indications that the place had been abandoned in a hurry but no signs of a struggle. It was as they were going through the place for anything useful that they found that the station had its own independent propane systems for cooking and heating, water source and pumping system; heated and powered by solar panels on the roof. That first night of hot showers and hot food had done wonders to raise morale in the group. They decided to take a few days to rest, recuperate, and scavenge what they could from the surrounding area; hence why Kohta, Takashi, and Rika had all gone out on scavenger runs.
The firehouse was laid out over two floors; the ground floor was given over to the vehicles bay, tool storage, and a separate public reception, while the top floor was where the offices, bunk room, gym, kitchen, common room, and showers were located. After towelling off and changing Kohta made his way to the common room.
"Konbanwa." He greeted as he entered. The common room was adjacent to the kitchen, so he got the benefit of the smell of dinner, but it was the other thing that assailed him on entering that put a smile on his face.
"Kohta!" Alice shot up from the table and bounded over, tackling him in a loving hug.
"Hey Munchkin." He smiled, patting the girl he'd come to see as a younger sister on the back. "How're you feeling?"
"Ok." She replied, her throat catching her slightly but nonetheless smiling up at him. "Those throat sweets are helping."
"Good." He clanked up at the figure sitting at the table and the collection of books, notepads, and pens on it. "Have you been working hard for Komuro-Sensei?"
"She has indeed." Komuro's mother nodded from the table with a smile. Saori Komuro was a woman approaching middle age with Takashi's same hair and eye colour. An elementary school teacher by trade, she had been at Shintoko Third since the outbreak started. Like Shizuka, she was a total non-combatant, but after reuniting with her son and joining their group she had pretty much taken over resuming Alice's education, as well as looking out for the general welfare of the group. "Today we've been going over times tables, map symbols and we practiced some English."
"Is that right?" Kohta asked. Alice nodded energetically at him. "Go on then. Say something in English."
Alice detached herself from him and took a step back before bowing before proceeding in unsteady, but understandable English. "Hello… my… name is… Maresato Arisu. Nice… too… meet… you."
"Good job Munchkin!" Kohta applauded, genuinely impressed, and held a hand for her to high-five. "Just remember, in English your family name goes second. So, how would you introduce yourself?"
"Arisu… Maresato?"
"You got it!" Kohta nodded. "If Sensei has finished with you…" he glanced up at her and received a nod in confirmation. "Why don't you tidy your books away, then go and give a hand with dinner?"
"Hai!" she replied and went to her task as Hirano took a seat at the table. Oh, to be an innocent child again…
"Tea Hirano?" Rei called from the kitchen through a breakfast bar-style hatchway, where she and her mother were fixing dinner.
"Yes, please!" Hirano replied. They'd got into a routine that every time they stopped for any significant length of time, they'd divide up tasks such as savaging, supply runs, guard duty, cooking, taking care of Alice, etc among themselves. There was no fixed rota of who did what, but seeing as Hirano, Takashi, Tadashi, and Rika's cooking was largely limited to cup noodles and ration packs… it usually fell on the women to do the more adventurous cooking.
"You sound tired Hirano." Tadashi Miyamoto was also sat at the table, apparently on general 'reserve' detail – being on hand to deal with anything that anyone else was too busy to take care of. "Have you been sleeping properly?"
"Not really." He admitted, waiting until Alice was out of earshot. "I'm worried about what comes next."
"Aren't we all?" Saori put in. Hirano shook his head.
"We've been reacting to circumstances for months now." He elaborated. "Living day to day with what we can find and carry on our backs. Things are good now, but it's only a matter of time till someone gets sick, injured, or caught…" he trailed off for a moment before sighing again. "We need a win."
A cup of tea was set down in front of him before anyone felt like replying.
"We'll make it through," Rei said with a smile. "We always do."
Hirano found her smile and tone reassuring. Maybe they would be ok… though he had no idea how it was going to happen.
Meanwhile, Alice had been laying the table for dinner and had just been bringing some plates for dinner through from the kitchen when she stopped suddenly and listened before speaking.
"Is that a car?"
…
"Toyota Gibraltar Shareholdings?"
Rika nodded. "They're a branch of the Toyota corporation that specialises in providing specialist vehicles for the UN, Government, and Non-Government Organisations." She explained between mouthfuls of curry and rice. "Utility vehicles, trucks, ambulances; all sorts. And almost all based on the 70 Series Land Cruiser. All stock built in the factory then rebuilt in the workshop to the customer's spec. Tow bars, roof racks, extra fuel tanks, radios. You name it."
"I've heard of them." Tadashi nodded. "They ship vehicles all over the world. Africa basically runs on them, and the government uses them a lot for vehicles too. Our converted prisoner transports were HiAce Commuter Buses done by them."
"But why did the one you came back in work?!" Takagi cut in, irately voicing the question they all had on their minds.
Alice's ears had not deceived her, and after she'd mentioned it they all had heard the sound of an approaching diesel car engine; a sound none of them had heard in months. After grabbing their guns and preparing to fight whatever or whoever was approaching them, they were relieved when it turned out to be Rika and Takashi returning with that rarest of commodities; a working car. After getting the station wagon stowed away securely in the Firehouse's vehicle bay, the inquisition began over a dinner of canned meat curry and package rice.
"A 70 series Land Cruiser is about as basic as a modern car can get," Kohta answered. "No onboard computer. No central locking or car alarms. Most don't even have electric windows! You take the key out of the ignition, there's no power going through them. They are inert. If any civilian car was going to start after an EMP, it would be a 70 series. That's why the military started using them as jeeps."
"Of course, you'd know that you Otaku…" Saya pinched the bridge of her nose before she continued. "So what? You found their workshop?"
Rika nodded. "Their Asia branch is located on an industrial estate just outside of town. There were hundreds of Land Cruisers there in underground storage. Some stock. Some modified. But all brand new."
The table was silent for a moment as the gravity of what they'd found sank in. The prospect of no longer having to walk everywhere kept them in stunned silence until Alice raised her hand with a question.
"Yes, Alice-Chan?" Rika favoured her and all heads turned to the child.
"Why did you pick a green one?" She asked. Rika blinked, moments later they were all grinning and some were trying to stifle a laugh at the simple question.
"We found some that were meant for the military," Takashi answered her. "But most of them were white."
"When we go back for more, can we get a pink one?" She asked. That bought them back to reality and heads turned back to Rika.
"I don't think there were any pink ones Alice-Chan," she replied, much to the child's disappointment. "But we are certainly going back."
"We can all fit in the station wagon we got if Alice sits on someone's lap." Tadashi said, "But we should grab another one or two vehicles. Maybe even three if we want space for supplies or a specialist one."
"What I don't understand is," Rei cut in. "If there are so many working cars there, why has no one taken some?"
"They have." Replied Rika. Surprise must've registered on more than a few people's faces so, after another bite of curry, she elaborated.
"When Komuro and I went into the admin offices looking for the keys, we found the key draw smashed open. We also found the carbon copies of two military civil emergency requisition forms. Both were signed by the same Air Force officer. The first was dated two days after the EMP hit for a pair of mobile generator trucks, a pair of ambulances, and a few station wagons. Registration plates and everything. The other," she paused for dramatic effect, "was dated last week. We found this too…"
She rummaged in her tunic pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper. She unfolded it and tossed it to the middle of the table, everyone leant in or stood up to read it. It read:
'To whoever finds this note,
Chubu Centrair International Airport is currently Secure. A joint Military/Police safezone has been established. Relief is provided to all survivors who can make it.
If you find this message and are able, please make your way to Chubu Kokusai Kuko – Ise Bay, Tokoname City.
Major Tominaga Teruo
JASDF
"It's dated the same day as the first requisition form," Kohta noted, reading the date as two days after the EMP hit.
"So what?" Saya looked at Rika. "You think we should take some cars and head there?"
"It's at least worth considering Saya." Takashi put in. "It's the first sign of anything organised we've seen in months."
"We don't know it's even still there!" Saya snapped back.
"True. But we won't know until we go and see." Takashi replied. Being the 'leader' of the group, and having known her for the longest, Takashi had developed an 'Anti-Takagi' tone that he used with counterarguments whenever she started snapping. It was undeniably effective, especially when she knew what he said was true.
"If we have cars and can go anywhere, why should we even bother?" She retaliated. "You think the Air Force is going to listen to a bunch of kids?! It'll be just like my parents all over again!"
The teens thought she raised a valid point, but this time it was Tadashi who responded to placate the irate genius.
"No, but they'll listen to Minami and me." He replied calmly. "I'm an assistant Police Inspector and she's a Squadron Chief in the SAT. Those both carry quite a bit of weight Takagi. And don't forget; I deputised all of you as per the Police Emergency Powers. That will officially put you a cut above any civilians in their eyes. If they're stealing small numbers of cars from a parking lot, I doubt they've got the manpower to turn away and ignore talented and proven people like you all."
Takagi considered the words and eventually nodded slowly, conceding that he had a point. "Who has the atlas?
"I do," Saori said. "Alice-Chan and I were using it earlier." She picked it up off a nearby shelf and opened it out on the table, and the group took a moment to orientate themselves.
"We're roughly here." Saya pointed at the map. Alice threw a pencil eraser to her which Takagi took with a smile of thanks and placed as a marker. "And the airport is here." She pointed to an island in the Ise bay to the South East. The whole airport was on an artificial Island connected to the mainland by a bridge.
"It's not far," Shizuka observed.
"Doesn't mean it'll be easy," Saya replied. "But if the air force were able to drive back there must be a clear route…" She turned to Rika. "How much fuel was at this workshop?"
"Plenty." She replied. "They had an onsite industrial diesel tank. Once Komuro and I worked out how to hook up one of the generator trucks to the pumps it worked fine. We topped off both tanks in the one downstairs so it should be good for about 1400 kilometres."
"Wow! Ok…" Saya considered the map for a moment before nodding. "Ok. Yeah. Yeah, this could work."
"Good. But before we head there, we need to make a stop." Kohta said. Now was the time to brief them about what he'd found at the mall.
"I take it your scavenging run was worthwhile, Hirano-San?" Tadashi remarked.
"Hai Miyamoto-Sensei." Kohta nodded. "I found an indoor shopping mall about twenty minutes from here. There were a few of them, and the place has been looted but not many and not badly. Most of the store's security shutters are down. If we can secure it for a few hours and find the keys, the place will be a gold mine for us. And that's not all…" He turned to Rika and Tadashi. "Minami-Sensei, Miyamoto-Sensei. Does the name 'Futashi-Tactical' mean anything to you?"
Tadashi shook his head but Minami nodded. "Yeah, they were an online military surplus and airsoft store weren't they?"
"Hai, they were." Kohta nodded. "But their physical shop is in the shopping mall and secure. If we can…"
"We're not taking over a shopping mall so you can raid an airsoft shop you fat otaku." Saya interrupted dismissively, only briefly looking at him contemptuously before going back to study the map. Kohta leant forward, placing his knuckles on the tabletop with a resounding THUD loud enough to get her and everyone else's attention without sounding aggressive.
"I'm not fat. Takagi." He said evenly.
While this was true – after a few months of hard survival and fighting, he was now closer to Takashi's pre-fall waistline than his own had been – that was not the point. His tone and body language brooked no argument. They would hear his case. And she Would Not dismiss him out of hand. They stared each other down across the table in an uncomfortable silence before she folded her arms.
"Fine. Continue." She relented. So, he did.
"'Futashi-Tactical'is not an Airsoft store." He continued, before pausing and shrugging. "Ok, they sold airsoft guns but that's not why it's important. As well as being a Japanese military surplus store, they were also one of the few import stores for foreign brands of tactical gear; Crye Precision, Haley Strategic, Spiritus Systems, Esstac, Trex Arms… Even some of the lesser-known European brands like NorArms, Arktis, and Varusteleka!"
"And why would we be interested in any of that Hirano?" Takagi asked, not unreasonably though her tone could have been less hostile.
"Do you not want bite-resistant clothing and a proper sleeping bag?" Kohta countered. She looked surprised at this and suddenly, the whole room looked more interested. Kohta continued.
"We're not talking about the basic old garbage issued to conscripts or made in China here. This is premium-made, heavy-duty tactical ware that not much short of barbed wire is going to tear open easily! And that's just the start; we can get chest rigs and battle belts so we're not carrying magazines in pockets. Proper rucksacks and bags for storing our stuff in. To say nothing of sleeping bags, jackets, cold and wet weather gear, ration packs, and camping kits. You could quite literally, equip an entire special force soldier minus his weapon, comms, helmet, and armour plates, in this one store!"
He paused for a moment, both to take a breath and also to reassert control over himself before he lost them to his enthusiasm for military kit.
"They were also a major civilian outdoor shop with their own brand. And I checked; their security shutter was down and locked. We just need to find the keys in the security office and it's ours for the taking. If the airport doesn't work out, we'll be in a better place to survive with that stuff than without, to say nothing of the rest of the mall. Even securing it for the unlocked pharmacy I raided would be worth it." He let his words hang for a moment before taking a seat. "Now I'm done."
The room was silent for a moment, most of the occupants around the table looking between Takagi and Hirano, watching her face gyrate between surprise, astonishment, anger, consideration, and something that might have been respectful consideration.
"Kohta's right." She eventually said, turning to Takashi. "Even if his store is a bust, the rest of the mall will be worth taking over for a while."
"I agree," said Takashi, "but after we've got more cars. Tomorrow, we scavenge more rides. The day after we hit the mall. Then we head pack up and head for the air base. Minami-Sensei, it's your lead tomorrow. Who do you want?"
"Myself, Inspector Tadashi, Kiriko, and Boobzilla are drivers." Rika decided. "Takashi, you know the place as well as I do, and Kohta for extra security."
Takashi nodded and briefed the rest of the group on their tasks. "Saya, while we're gone, I want you and Saeko working up a list of what we need from the mall. Catch her up on everything after dinner. Rei, you and mom hold down the fort while were all working. Alice, you and Zeke keep up morale. We go at 08:00 tomorrow. Questions? Problems? Queries?"
There were none until Alice raised her hand.
"Are you sure there are no pink ones?"
A/N: And that ladies, gentlemen, attack helicopters and that random dude who helped me bench at the gym the other day (Thanks man!) is a wrap... at least for now.
I'm going to be taking a prolonged break from writing due to starting a new career. I do not know when I'll get the chance to do some writing, but its not likely to be soon.
Please drop a Review, it does feel good to get and read them, and if you feel like it, follow/Favourite.
I shall return. But for now, it has been a pleasure to (hopefully) entertain you.
The Shredded Snorlax