The next day the group were in a mall called Taiei Shopping Town. They arrived yesterday. Their humvee broke down and they were forced to walk to the mall. They already met the survivors inside.
Hirano and Takagi were shopping for food. Hirano grabbed a piece of meat
Hirano – this isn't spoiled yet, is it Takagi?
Takagi – the power failure was yesterday! Check the expiration date. You should also check to make sure it doesn't smell
A muscular man wearing a black shirt and hat arrived. He was pushing a shopping cart
Shimada – hey you, hold it right there! We already decided we're going to dry or smoke all the raw meat and fish and you're going to eat that for yourself? You know how hard things are now, so follow the rules
Asami – wait just a minute Mr. Shimada
Shimada – oh its you
A police woman named Asami arrived. She has short brown hair
Asami – th-those kids only got here yesterday. They don't know the rules that Asa- I mean this officer ad the others have set! Besides, um.. you need to finish gathering the food quickly. It will be a lot harder without the help of the skylights
Shimada – tch!
Shimada then walked away
Hirano – thanks, uh..
Asami saluted
Asami – Tokonosu Higasashi Police Station's traffic department. Patrolwoman Asami Nakaoka, at your service!
Takagi – so? With everything that happened yesterday I forgot what you told us. But are you the one who organized everyone here?
Asami – no, um, it wasn't Asami. It wasn't this officer. It was Matsushima who guided everyone here
Takagi – and where is that person?
Asami – oh! It was safe here so she went back to headquarters to get support. That was yesterday afternoon. D-Don't worry! Matsushima is different from Asa- I mean the officer standing here now. This one's still in training but she's gotten lots of honours and is a real veteran! She'll definitely come back with plenty of support!
Another man arrived who they haven't gotten the name yet
Man – hey police girl, lets start today's meeting!
Asami – ah! Right, right, right, she's coming!
Takashi and Alice then arrived
Takashi – the entrance was securely blocked off
Takagi – with a veteran police officer around like they had before it makes sense that they'd have a good barricade set up
Takashi – by the way, about the guns we hid.
Takagi – the people here aren't as settled as my dad's subordinates were
Takashi – we don't want to risk the guns being stolen..
Takagi – right, everyone would want to make use of them. We just don't have enough ammunition for that
Hirano – you want to change your clothes?
Alice – yeah, I was sitting a long time in the car so I'm really dirty, and I haven't taken a bath!
Hirano thought about what Alice said
Hirano – huh..
Takagi then pulled his right ear
Hirano – d-did I do something wrong?
Takagi – don't let some kid distract you
Takagi – anyway, this place isn't going to last.
Takashi – what? They have plenty of food and water
Takagi – the foundations holding the group together have fallen apart. This healthy environment they have is going to go sour fast! Their fresh fod is started to go bad. You guys find some stuff we can use! Just make it stuff we really need because we don't want to get that other group all riled up!
Takashi and Hirano went up the second floor and met up with Tetsuya
Tetsuya – hey guys
Takashi – hey bro
Hirano – hey what's up?
Tetsuya – I'm just checking around. This place hasn't been looted yet so it has a lot of equipment
Takashi – is it really okay that you should be carrying your machete?
Tetsuya – yeah, if we don't have anything around us the other group will get curious on how we were able to defend ourselves. So we should at least show a little offence
Takashi – yeah, you're right
Hirano – by the way, should we try talking to that police woman? She seems unreliable, but it looks like she knows all the stores here
Takashi – I'm glad we hid the guns
Hirano – huh?
Takashi – I just don't think it'd be a good idea to carry guns like those around a police officer here
Tetsuya – yeah, you're definitely right
Hirano – but there's only so much we can do without them
Takashi – you do know your guns. What are you talking about?
Hirano – its nothing really, just wondering whether we should put them to use
Tetsuya – lets not get ahead of ourselves Hirano
Hirano – but you get what I'm saying, don't you guys?
Takashi – I guess
Tetsuya – yeah
Rei – Takashi!
They turned to a store full of bicycles. Rei and Saeko were there. Rei hid her gun away with the others but Saeko has her katana with her
Rei – we can use bikes from here on. This store has a bunch already assembled
Takashi – yeah, this would really be nice
They then heard a man's voice
Man – how long are we gonna sit around here for!?
Hiro – bitch said we'd get help soon but those motherfuckers out there just keep coming. And on top of that shit, the power and phones and shit are all fucked up!
Old man – I-I'm fine with anything but my wife needs to have her weekly blood transfusion, so can we go to the clinic soon?
Man 2 – you know I still need to contact my office somehow!
Asami – um.. officer Matsushima said to wait here until she comes back with help. So Asa. No, I mean this officer will do everything she can to-
Woman – you have no right to keep us as prisoners like this! What you do have is a duty to protect us!
One of Asami's group was holding a knife and was shaking. The other one was sulking in the corner. The man who shouted was an old man who was lighting his cigar
Hirano – they all seem to be causing a lot of trouble
Takashi – looks like it
Tetsuya – glad our group is more organized than this.
Takashi – is their group falling apart?
Hirano – if that was all there wouldn't be a problem. Groups are supposed to be together for certain purpose. That's not the case with them. They're just clinging to the authority of the police
Takashi – but they're putting all the blame on her
Hirano – they've realized there's no use in relying on the police anymore
Tetsuya – I agree Hirano, they've realized the police aren't saviours they thought they'd be. So they're placing all the blame on the police woman. In times like this. If something goes bad, it really is easy to blame the one in charge. They're bunch of bastards
Takashi – yeah
Hirano – guys, I know we don't have time to come to the rescue of every last person we meet who's in trouble
Takashi – yeah
Tetsuya – yup, but..
Tetsuya and Hirano grinned
Tetsuya – that's boring!
Hirano – lets make things more interesting!
Takashi – what are you guys planning?
Man – what is talking like this going to do!?
Woman – if you were a respectable police officer you'd do something about the monsters outside!
Asami – b-but this offi- Asami didn't get very good grades at the police academy and she's just one girl..
Tetsuya walked over to Asami
Tetsuya – excuse this lovely guy for a second will ya?
Man – cant you see we're in the middle of a very important conversation!?
Tetsuya – I found something the police officer dropped so I wanted to give it back to her
Asami – I dropped something?
Tetsuya – yup
Tetsuya handed a pistol to Asami. This was the first gun that Takashi and Rei found
Tetsuya – this, isn't this a police officer's gun?
The others went calm as they saw the gun
Asami – yes it is! It's a Smith and Wesson M.37 Airweight! The police use this gun to enforce the law!
Hiro – woah! Fucking yeah! With that thing you can wreck those motherfuckers out there!
Hirano – but.. if the gun goes off those so called motherfuckers you call them, will all come gathering to the source of the sound wont they? It would put us all in danger to use it like that. Plus, there are only about as many bullets as there are people here
This took the people aback
Tetsuya – but anyway, the police officer should be the one with the police officer's gun. She is a police. I can give it to the one who's in charge but seeing that you people are blaming her that means she is the one in charge. Well then, I trust you will use it wisely!
Asami – I will! Thank you for your cooperation!
Tetsuya walked away and towards Hirano and Takashi
Tetsuya – how'd I do?
Hirano – great, I think that should work out fine
Takashi – are you sure that was the right thing to do? If she has a gun like that, she may have more responsibility than she can handle
Hirano – many years ago, the sergeant majors in England's military forces used not muskets but spears. Even today, high-ranking officers on the battlefield use relatively weak handguns. Why do you think that is?
Takashi – so that they can defend themselves?
Hirano – its to maintain the unity of the group. Its to show that they're in a position where they can be stab or shoot to death any soldier who don't follow orders
Takashi – is that all you were getting at?
Hirano – yup
Tetsuya – think about it, imagine the position that police woman is in now that she has a gun. Before they were threatening her because she was unarmed, but will they continue to threaten her now that she has a gun that can kill them? No. Its better this way
Takagi – oh really?
The three of them turned to Takagi and Alice who changed their clothes
Takagi – those guys are already on the edge, aren't they? Besides that.. what makes you guys so sure she can even use that gu?
Hirano – she's a police officer. She's definitely received some training, so her not being able to use the gun isn't an issue. Everyone over there was-
Takagi – what if they think she wont shoot? Well, that's just one possibility. I mean, its not like we can save everyone we meet
Tetsuya – yeah, but we can still try and help them. If they would try and test her knowing she wont shoot, I'll handle them myself
Takashi – you sure want to help that police woman
Tetsuya – their group are starting to threaten us too. That old geezer from before shouted at me for carrying my machete. I told him that I need it for defence but he told me that I'm just a violent and idiotic youngster like the rest of us in our group
Hirano – well fuck that guy! He doesn't understand what's out there
Alice – hey Saya!
Takagi – its big sister!
Alice – where's Ms Shizuka?
Tetsuya – I saw her in the store that sells beds, she was being accompanied by a guy. She was a little dazed out too
Takagi – wait.. is the guy you're talking about the one with the black jacket?
Tetsuya – yeah, that's the one
Takagi – he was staring at Ms. Shizuka's tits since we got here!
Then all of them gasped except Alice
Tetsuya – that bastard, to the bed store!
Everyone rushed to the bed store
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Nearby at the bed store Shizuka was on a bed cornered by Shimada
Shimada – come on, just once
Shizuka – um, wait, that's not-
Shimada – come on, you're the one who said you wanted to come here, aren't you?
Shizuka – no, I just meant that I wanted a bed because I'm so tired
Shimada climbed on the bed
Shimada – I don't give a shit! Just let me fuck you, okay? With all the monsters roaming around now, I'm not gonna meet any more women like you with such nice bodies. If I'm not being clear enough..
Shimada grabbed his knife. Asami then arrived and pointed the gun at him
Asami – s-stop it, Mr. Shimada!
Asami – what, you want some too police girl? Sorry but you're just not my type
Shimada turned around and saw Asami pointing a gun at him
Asami – drop you weapon and let her go! I'm warning you!
Shimada gasped
Shimada – h-hey now..
Asami – let go of her and drop your weapon now! Or else..
Shimada saw Asami's arm shaking and he grinned
Shimada – you'll shoot? You're shaking like that, and you expect me to believe you're gonna shoot!? If you're gonna shoot me, then shoot me!
Takashi, Tetsuya, Takagi, Alice, and Hirano arrived. They saw the scene. Hirano looked around and went inside a store. He grabbed a pair of pliers, a long wire, two door handles, and crafted them while grinning. Inside the bed store the scene continued
Shimada – what's the matter!? Shoot me! Or is the little police chikie too scared!?
The rest of Asami's group arrived
Asami – she can shoot.. she has to shoot! Asami's a police officer so she has to shoot to protect the citizenry!
Out of nowhere Hirano wrapped the wire around Shimada's neck from behind and pulled it. Shimada was choking as Hirano pulled the fire around his neck while grinning
Hirano – you finished?
Shimada was trying to get out but he cant
Hirano – its no good to resist. Its digging into your skin so you wont get it out. So, what're you gonna do now? Are you gonna listen to the police officer's orders or.. am I gonna have to kill ya?
Shimada dropped his weapon and Takashi picked it up. Shimada was nearly unconscious as Hirano let him go
Takagi – you can stop now
Takagi grabbed Asami's pistol
Takagi – its over already, you don't have to shoot anyone
Alice – its okay, police lady! Kohta saved her!
Asami – ah.. right. Yeah, uh..
When Shimada caught his breath, he gritted his teeth and stood up
Shimada – you fucker!
Shimada pulled his right fist back and charged at Hirano
Tetsuya – hey..
Tetsuya elbowed Shimada's stomach
Shimada – guf!
Tetsuya – haaa!
Tetsuya sent a high right kick to Shimada's chin, this knocked the large man down on the ground
Hirano – awesome kick Tetsuya!
Tetsuya – remember, I know boxing, taekwondo, kickboxing, and judo. I'm practically a mix martial artist. So if you don't have a gun, don't fight me!
Takashi was tying Shimada's hands while Tetsuya held his machete to restrain him. Asami then glanced at Hirano and blushed
Asami – Kohta..
Takagi – huh?
Hiro – uhh.. police g- officer, come here a sec
Asami – ah, okay!
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At the café store Takashi's group assembled
Rei – how long are we going to stay here?
Takashi – everyone's exhausted so-
Rei – how much longer will we be staying here!? How can we relax at a place with a guy who has no problem raping women in front of other people!? I could be next you know!
Takashi – ah..
Rei – fine Takashi, go get yourself raped by some bodybuilding like hard gay! Then when you come back maybe you'd understand what I'm talking about!
Takagi – Miyamoto, can I say something?
Rei – what!?
Takagi – lay off of dunce-cap here a bit. If you guys want to reach your goal you'll need a plan ahead and planning takes time
Saeko – I agree you need to figure out how toget there first of all. that's when you can start thinking of other problems. Do you know how much food and water you'll need? Will we be able to keep in contact? After figuring all that out, you should try to find the best route to your first destination and-
Rei – my house is a twenty minute walk from here!
Tetsuya – and how much of those things will we encounter in that twenty minute walk? Last time when the rest of us got out of the bus we only walked over five minutes until we got to the bridge and look what happened there? We got cornered and nearly killed! A twenty minute distance can take as long as a whole night in this situation! Surely you know that by now Miyamoto
Hirano – uh.. Saya
Takagi – eh? Wh-What is it?
Hirano – I don't know a while lot about electromagnetic waves and stuff but.. could that EMP blast really break every last piece of electronic equipment? Isn't there equipment that's made to be able to withstand lightning? I just feel like if there's any place that was sheltered the equipment there should probably be fine
Takagi – protection against lighting wouldn't do shit! The limit any of that stuff could handle would be surpassed immediately. Shelter wouldn't help either. Buildings are made so electronic equipment inside can receive incoming signals through antennas. Well, I guess it also depends on how much area the explosion affected. But its not like we can figure that out easily
Tetsuya – what about my machete? The electricity works fine
Takagi – only the electricity. But the electronic scrap you attached to it doesn't work. The only thing that's useful to that is transferring electricity. Nothing else
Takashi – what about cars?
Takagi – any cars with electronically controlled engines are no good. Besides there's also the possibility that the engine's spark plug got fried too
Hirano – then if we had a spark plug and an old car, we'd be good to go!
Takagi – sure, but do you know where we can find a spark plug that still works?
Takashi – what about old diesel cars? They don't use spark plugs, but they have manual transmission and I think we could get the pistons moving with the crank so we could get it moving on its own
Takagi – its possible, but where would we find something like that? And besides we'd need to go on a big adventure getting rid of all of them in the area and it'd just be a huge delay to everything else
Saeko – what about things inside a vault at a bank?
Takagi – there's a possibility that they'd be okay
Shizuka – lets look after we finished this meeting today. Maybe we'll even be able to find a laptop or something. There's a bank here, so I'm sure there's a big safe! Don't you think? Even if there isn't if we have bicycles we'll be able to move faster than them!
Takashi – you're right Ms Shizuka! Lets check that out!
Takagi – that'd be great, but what if that other group wants it?
Everyone then got silent
Takashi – I'm fine with sharing but.. only if we find two of the same thing
Tetsuya smiled
Tetsuya – then that's that. We have our leader's orders. Let's get going!
Takagi – yeah!
Rei – ah, wait a minute
Takashi – what is it?
Rei – there's no ice but the drink dispensers here are fully functional. Those people haven't found this place yet. So there was bottled water too. There's enough for everyone
She handed the coffee to everyone
Saeko – you're quite good at this
Rei – I worked part-time at a café one summer. My dad found out though so I had to quit after a week
Shizuka – wow, this is good!
Alice – coffee's gross..
Rei – there's some juice here too
Rei – the petshop here will probably have toys for Zeke too
Alice and Zeke burst in happiness at Rei
Tetsuya – so leader, what should we do?
Takashi – lets see.. lets split up now. We should leave the guns hidden. The girls should all go check out the bank. After that, go to the bike store and pick out a few bikes we can use. Tetsuya, Saeko I'll trust you two to take care of things if there's an emergency
Saeko – understood Komuro
Tetsuya – roger that bro
Takashi – I'm going to check the offices and see if there's anywhere the electronic waves didn't reach. Hirano, you go to the roof and check to see how things are around here
Hirano – yes sir! Oh I'll stop at the camera shop and the book store on the way and pick up some extra binoculars and a map.
Unknown to them Asami saw Hirano walking away
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