Author's Notes: On this chapter, I'm gonna focus on the rest of the group; indeed, I could have switched over to Saeko and Takashi and switched the scene with them up a bit, but I've decided to leave it as it happened in the anime; the only real difference will be their...uh, bonding, I guess...and the fact that Takashi has the Remington M870, not the Ithaca 37. In the anime, Takashi halfheartedly admits he only accepted Saeko to further his own survival; in this case, that factor only pushes him to make the decision faster, because he was falling for Saeko anyways, he was just confused over his feeling for Rei. Uh, before I get too far into this, I'm gonna start the chapter; leave a question in a review if you need to, and also review just for the hell of it, 'kay?
Chapter 6: The DEAD's House Rules
For the rest of the day, the group were on their toes, even after having been brought back to the Takagi manor; there, along with many of the survivors from the surrounding area, they were offered food, shelter, and security inside the walls of the manor. None the less, everyone was waiting for Takashi and Saeko to get to the manor themselves. However, night came, and Kaede convinced Kouta to come down from look out, stating that Takashi would be smart enough not to travel at night like this; his assumption was right on the mark, since Takashi and Saeko had taken refuge in a shrine not too long after dark.
Kaede and Kouta began returning to the room they shared in the house; since they were friends of Saya's, the group had been allowed to stay inside the house, as apposed to sleeping in tents like the rest of the survivors taking refugee at the Takagi manor. When Kouta made a left, Kaede took a right, deciding on checking in on the girl's room. He knocked and there was a 'Come in!' from the other side of the door; Kouta was quick to follow after seeing what Kaede was doing.
"Ah, Himoura-kun, Hirano-kun" Shizuka greeted the two from the bed Rei was laying on her stomach, naked except for a towel resting across her backside; she had a look on her face that told that her pride had been hurt in someway along with her back. "I was just giving Rei a dosage of medicinal ointment to help with her back, though she squirms a bit too much; maybe you can help next time, Himoura-kun?"
"W-well...we'll see about that..." Kaede replied nerviously, feeling Rei glare daggers into his side, and chuckled nerviously, looking over at her out of the corner of his eyes.
"Was there something you two needed, or did you just come to try and peak on us girls?" Rei snapped at Kaede sarcastically, catching Kaede's glances and making him quickly avert his eyes from her body.
"O-oh, right. Nothing really, just checking up on you, basically..." Kaede muttered in response, looking up at the ceiling as he scratched his chin. "But, uh, we'll be leaving now. Kouta..."
"R-right" Kouta nodded, gulping hard as Rei's glare was turned on him, even if he hadn't given her a second glace(the first being enough to give the otaku a light nose bleed) since he entered, and turned towards the door with Kaede. "Good night, Alice-chan. Sleep tight!"
Kaede likewise bid the girls good night, and the two quickly made their escape, sighing heavily as they walked across the hall to their shared room; Kaede went straight to his bed, throwing himself onto it while Kouta sat tiredly on his, picking up the AR-10 leaning against the bedpost and going through a quick check through it before going to sleep.
"You should give the guns a through cleaning tomorrow, since we have the time now..." Kaede said, absent mindedly as he heard the AR-10 click a few times, figuring what Kouta was doing and thought he should to the same to the Ithaca; the thought drifted through his mind, but he was too tired to keep it there and actually do it. Before Kouta could complain, Kaede had rolled over and was already asleep.
Kouta sighed and shook his head at Kaede as he finished his check on the AR-10 before setting it back in it's place. He took his glasses off and slid into bed himself, falling asleep quickly as well, his dreams filled with zombies and guns and a few images of Saya from earlier, when she was using the Ithaca...
The next morning, Kouta was awoken by Alice jumping on his bed, Kouta freaking out and falling out of bed in a tangle of sheets and his body parts; the resulting crash and Alice's laughing awoke Kaede as well, who sat up and yawned to find Zeke on his bed, probably with the same task as Alice. Kaede stared at the small white dog for awhile, his mind drifting to his own dog, a three year old female Akita Inu named Yuki he had raised from a puppy.
As Zeke began barking, Kaede brushed him aside and sat on the edge of the bed, yawning again; Zeke tried retailiating, but Kaede pushed him over onto his back with a small smile, rembering how he use to play with Yuki like this and lightly grabbed at Zeke's nose, then went for his stomach, rubbing it until the dog's paws tried catching his hand, and he'd start over again. Thinking about Yuki eventually brought his mind to his mother, then to his late father; with a sigh, he gave Zeke one last belly rub before standing and walked towards the door.
"Ah, Kae-nii-chan, where are you going? Breakfast is ready, down stairs." Alice said, looking over to Kaede as he began heading for the door as Kouta finally untangled himself.
"I'm just going to the bathroom; I'll meet you two down there" Kaede replied over his shoulder as he turned down the hall and disappeared from sight.
"Let's head down then, Alice-chan" Kouta said when Kaede was out of sight, smiling at the little girl and watched as she and Zeke began leading the way down into the dinning room of the manor.
Along the way, Kouta couldn't help but to let his mouth hang open at the size of the place and the rich decorations adorning the walls and stands, ranging from old paintings to statues; he had no idea Saya came form such a rich family, though he did know her father was a extreme right-wing nationalist. None the less, he still didn't expect their house to be like this, not in the least. It seemed like Alice was leading him around for quite awhile, which was really only a few minutes, before they entered the large dinning room, completely empty save for Shizuka already sitting, and the table set already for four people with a simple Japanese breakfast waiting.
"Good morning, Hirano-kun~!" Shizuka chirped, waving at Kouta, her breasts swaying slightly making Kouta miss a step and nearly fall with his face red. "Ah, where's Himoura-kun...?"
"Toilet~" Alice chimed in as she walked around the table and sat next to Shizuka; luckily or intentionally, the plates were set up at the end of the table, two on each side, so this was easy for Alice to do.
"Miyamoto-san couldn't come down?" Kouta asked as he took a seat on the opposite side of Alice, noting there were only four plates made. "And Takagi-san's not-?"
"I told you people to call me by my first name!" Saya studdenly yelled from the doorway Kouta and Alice had come through, with Kaede in tow. "Jeez, Himoura's the one I hardly know, yet he's the first one to comply with my wishes! And I ate already, so it doesn't matter."
"You can call me by my first name to, I don't mind. You too, Shizuka-sensei" Kaede chuckled lightly, scratching the back of his head as he walked over to sit next to Kouta, Saya following suit and sitting over by Alice. "So, what about Rei...?"
"She shouldn't be up yet, so they brought her meal up to her" Shizuka replied with a smile. looking from Kaede to Saya as she sat down. "So, did everyone have a good night?"
The was a series of grumbles from the group, Kaede and Alice having started eating already; this lack of response quited Shizuka for the time being as Saya gathered her thoughts, having much to say, but wondering if she should wait for Takashi and Saeko to return, if they were or not. Being back with her parents made her feel uneasy, and she found herself doubting a lot more things, like her parents had doubted her survival...
"Well, the way I see things, Takashi and Saeko should be returning sometime today" Kaede said, he and Alice not the only ones eating anymore; at some point when Saya was drowned in her thoughts, the conversation had turned to the two absent member of their group. "I'll take up look out, if you wanna get started cleaning the guns-"
"How do you figure that?" Saya suddenly butt in, looking across the table at Kaede, who looked away from Kouta after her comment.
"Uh, well..." Kaede said, scratching his cheek, putting up and intimidated look. "We weren't too far from your house when we got separated, right? They probably found somewhere near by to wait the night out, and should be on their way here right now, right? And of course Takashi's safe; he's got Busujima-san with him, eh?"
Saya blinked, slightly surprised at Kaede's assumptions; they were positive, unlike hers, and they were backed up by what they already knew; if Takashi didn't remember they were more active at night, Saeko sure wouldn't have. Plus him mentioning Takashi had Saeko with him did put a dent in Saya's assumption for the worst; she sighed lightly, concluding she should wait to discuss what was on her mind with the group until later at least, simply giving Kaede's reply a 'hmph' before crossing her arms and looking away.
A few unrelated conversations were brought up during breakfast, but the chatter died down as they finished up, the group slowly parting; Shizuka to go keep an eye on Rei, Kaede and Alice going to a balcony to keep an eye out for Takashi and Saeko, and Kouta leaving with Saya after asking her to show him the garage. After stopping off at the room to grab the Ithaca and AR-10, Saya dropped him off at the garage were the humvee was at and left without another word.
Back with Kaede and Alice, with Zeke tagging along, they made it to the balcony without getting lost; Kaede was watching the rear gates and the surrounding area through the binoculars which had actually been left on the balcony the night before by Kouta, while Alice played with Zeke behind them. A while into the lookout, Kaede sighed, leading against the railings, watching Alice and Zeke for awhile; Alice noticed this after a moment or two, and looked up at Kaede.
"Mmm, Kae-nii-chan?" Alice asked, seeing Kaede's full attention on her now, since it seemed he was zoning out watching them.
"Uh, y-yeah?" Kaede replied, blinking once and shaking his head; he had been wondering about Alice; she was able to keep such a cheery attitude, even after the horrible things she had seen, especially having her father die right in front of her. "Yeah? What's up, kid?"
"How do you know Takashi-onii-chan and Saeko-onee-chan are coming from this side?" Alice asked with a bit of a pout on her face. "And don't call me a kid; you're a kid too, you know!"
"Because if Takashi wanted to sneak in without drawing their attention to this place anymore, they'd come through the back. Heh, alright, alright, I get it...kid" Kaede replied with a small laugh as Alice stopped her foot down with a cry of 'Kae-nii-chan!' as he turned, raising the binoculars to look through them once more; as he did, he caught a figure out of the corner of his eye standing near a tree below the balcony.
Kaede looked over and lightly smirked, seeing Saya likewise looking out for Takashi, probably having had the save thought as he; it gave him light satisfaction in knowing he had thought of it first, but he doubted it would matter beyond that point. With the smirk still on his lips, Kaede looked through the binoculars and looked around the area beyond the gates.
Nearly an hour had passed, and Alice had stopped playing with Zeke for the moment, sitting against the wall with Zeke curled up next to her foot, napping. As for Kaede, he was still on diligent lookout for Takashi and Saeko, and so was Saya; she was now sitting in the shade of the tree, waiting. Kaede pulled away from the binoculars and looked over just as Zeke shifted and hopped up, Alice likewise watching the little dog.
"Zeke...? What's wrong?" Alice asked the dog as he began barking out at towards the house's rear gates.
Curious, Kaede pointed the binoculars towards the gates and looked through them, a smile spreading across his face as he saw Takashi and Saeko supporting each other as they walked; neither looked horribly injured, and Saeko had a real katana at her side, finally.
"They're back!" Kaede yelled, letting Alice look through the binoculars as he looked down to the tree. "Hey, Saya! Have someone open the gates!"
Saya jumped, seemingly to have fallen asleep, but when she saw the two figures in the distance, she was quick to awaken and to start barking orders.
"Get the gates open! Quick!" Saya yelled at the closest of her family's retainers, looking up to where the voice had woken her to see Alice and Kaede returning to the house quickly, no doubt to rush down and see how the two were doing; she smiled slightly, guessing Kaede must have though along the same lines as her when it came to Takashi approaching the manor.
Saya watched as the gates were pulled open and ushered Takashi and Saeko in as Kaede and Alice arived in the courtyard; Kaede stopped near where Saya was standing as the two passed through the gate, but Alice kept going, jumping and tightly hugging both Saeko and Takashi around their necks, drawing them together in the precess.
"Onii-chan! Onee-chan!" she cried out as she hugged the two happily, Takashi chuckling softly and Saeko smiling as they lowered her back onto the ground.
"Look's like you two made it back in one piece...right?" Kaede asked, cautiously as he eyed the two; he didn't like doubting Takashi or Saeko, even though he had really only met them a few days ago, but their current situation called for a little extra caution.
"We're fine; we weren't bitten" Takashi replied with a nod to Kaede before looking down at the Remington in his hand; Takashi raised it and held it to Kaede. "Here, sorry for taking it like that."
"Not problem; as long as you come back alive, I don't care what you take from me. I let you use it in the first place, remember?" Kaede said with a laugh, taking the shotgun and placing his arm around Takashi's shoulder, ignoring the looks from the Takagi family vassals who had opened the gate as the gun was handed over. "You two look like you went halfway to hell and back. How did things go while you two were out? Anything happen between you and the Lady Saeko?"
Kaede added the last part in a whisper, nudging Takashi in the ribs with his elbow and laughed lightly when Takashi looked away with a light tint of red on his cheeks as Takashi remembered how he and Saeko had gotten closer; that, plus the kiss, and Takashi's little 'ecnouragement' for Saeko, and there was plenty of room for misunderstanding.
Leaving it at that, Kaede rested the shotgun on his shoulder and walked towards the house,and Saya stepped forth, wrinking her nose.
"You two need a bath and a change of clothes" she stated, looking at the two vassals and they left to find clothes for the two. "Come with me, and I'll show you to the bath houses..."
A while later, Takashi was walking through the halls of the manor, his hair slightly damp after a bath and dressed in clean clothes, on his way to see how Rei was doing, having gotten directions from Saya. As he neared the door, the sounds from inside stopped him in his tracks.
"N-noo~! Dont, Kaede! It hurts~!" Rei's voice came from the room, Takashi face flaring; Rei's voice didn't really sound urgent, like Kaede was doing something bad, but it sounded more like a sort of...moaning.
Nervously Takashi neared the door only to stop mid step again, his face darker than before.
"Hold her still Kaede-kun; my hands are too slippery. Make sure she doesn't get away..fufufuu..." Takashi recognised Shizuka's muffled voice, followed by almost evil laughter, and more of Rei's protesting moans.
Takashi swallowed hard and decided to just continue on and pretend he didn't hear anything, even though his mind wouldn't forget. Once he was out of earshot, another muffled sentence could be heard from Shizuka.
"When you fell from the car, you hit your back, so we need to spread som ointment or it'll get worse~!"
Yeah, but you two are enjoying...mmhhnnn! You're enjoying this too much!" Rei whined shortly after...
Takashi turned another few corners and shook his head, resting his forehead in the palm of his hand as he sighed, thinking about what he though he had just overheard.
"Jeez, I don't know who I'm more suprised about...Rei, Shizuka, or Kaede..." he muttered lightly to himself as he walked down the halls, hearing something else even further down; yelling.
An argument echoed down the halls, but Takashi couldn't quite hear what was being said. Curiously got the better of him and Takashi walked towards the source of the heated voices, but theysuddenly cut off. Takashi shrugged slightly to himself and took a moment to think about what to do next when heavy footsteps began approaching. Takashi turned back down the hall to see Saya storming towards him in a huff, angry tears in her eyes.
"Takagi-" Takashi started to be quickly cut off, Saya releasing her wrath on him at his slightest of 'screw-ups.'
"I told you to call me by my first name!" Saya yelled, whipping on Takashi and completely ignoring his apology. "Don't lower your head to me like any other guy would! Oh, whatever...why would you be any different! I thought at least you would..."
Saya looked away from Takashi suddenly, almost on the verge of tears before rushing down the stairs to their right.
"I can't take this anymore!" she screamed as she disappeared from Takashi's sight, leaving him confused and slightly troubled for his friend.
"I really upset her, didn't I?" a voice came from behind Takashi, making him turn around to come face to face with Saya's mother, Yuriko Takagi, who was looking to were Saya had rushed off.
"No, I don't think..." Takashi started to find out were Saya had gotten that habit of cutting people off from.
"Have you seen this side of her before?" Yuriko asked as if Takashi hadn't said anything and looked at him with a sad smile. "You've been her friend since Kindergarten, haven't you?"
"Haha, well, kinda...yeah" Takashi said with a halfhearted smile before trying to change the subject and looked around the hall. "Anyways, this is really amazing. I knew your house was big, but this is just...wow."
"You've never come over to play before?" Yuriko asked with a bit of surprise in her tone which troubled Takashi a bit; if Yuriko had forgotten something like that, what else could she had forgotten...?
"Well, no, I guess not" Takashi said, shaking his head slightly as he tried not to think of things like that as Yuriko chuckled lightly.
"Did you find the house of the leader of an ultra-notionalist group a little frightening even then?" Yuriko asked, jokingly.
"Possibly...frankly I find it frightening even now..." Takashi replied with a nervous look as Yuriko smiled at him.
"I like boys who are honest." she replied with a soft laugh, making Takashi shift slightly and look away from her and laugh nervously.
"Um..but, we're not overstaying our visit or anything, are we?" Takashi asked with awkward politeness, it being a bit over due and maybe a bit pointless in his opinion.
"Oh, not at all" Yuriko replied with a light smile and shook her head, looking out towards the window and into the courtyard, where a bus was being fortified with steel plates; her mind wandered, and she ended up speaking about something completely irrelevant to Takashi. "Right now, much like with it's water, Tokonosu is getting it's electricity from the dam up north at Okunako. However..."
Elsewhere in the masion, namly the garage, Kouta was working on the guns, having given his AR-10 a thorough cleaning, he had moved onto the Ithaca, reassembling the parts as he cleaned them with a cheery smile on his face.
"It looks like you're enjoying yourself" Saya's sudden comment made Kouta jump and turn to see her standing in the doorway, watching him. "Well, it's fine for you to just sit around having fun for now. You won't be able to do that for much longer anyways..."
Of course, this got the desired reaction from Kouta, and Saya smugly crossed her arms, waiting for it...
"Why's that, Takasgi-san? We're in this fortress-mansion, so we should be safe now..." Kouta asked, only serving to make Saya smirk, and to only confuse himself more.
'Ah, if there's anything lardo's good at, it's making me feel better about myself~' Saya thought, reveling in her own genius before answering Kouta's questions, eliminating any trace of smugness and turned it into her usual 'you're an idiot' look.
"Haven't you thought about how hard it is to secure electricity and water? Isn't that something they teach kids in primary school?" Saya asked, acting as if Kouta was really some idiot, which wasn't easily disproved; Kouta looked back at her with an obvious look of confusion on his face. "Jeez, you're hopelss..."
"So, what are you trying to say...?" Kouta finally asked when Saya was silent, he arms crossed, obviously looking down at him. "I...don't know where you're going with this..."
Again, Saya let her lips tug into a small smile at his stupidity, making her feel superior as usual. She quickly wiped it away though, and sighed disappointingly before continuing.
"The only reason that massive network was able to operate continuously was because every day, countless specialists could feel safe about going to work, and leaving their families at home." Saya explained before pushing her glasses up for effect. "And what about now? The world is filling up with them, and the people at the power plants and water plants obviously aren't trained to fight against them!"
"A small part of the Self-Defence Force was on standby in case of terrorist attacks, but they've been deployed elsewhere by now." Yuriko spoke, informing Takashi on the things to be after the outbreak of them, not because she felt like she needed to, but because she wanted to get it off her mind; as she looked at the teen, she saw he was in deep thought, but it looked like he was slowly understanding things.
"Then...in that case, what about the maintenance workers?" Takashi asked, bringing up the most important thing, and Yuriko looked back out the window to the bus. "...how long do you think they can keep working? Besides them, they have their own families to worry about..."
"Yes, that is true. You see that bus out there?" Yuriko brought Takashi's attention to the bus and things started coming together for him. "We're taking it and anything else, and making a run to the dam to hopefully extract the works and bring them somewhere else, were they will be safe and they know their families will be safe, so they can continue working...yes, we will take full responsibility, but we will only take those with the will to survive with us!"
Kouta cocked the Ithaca confidently, everything sounding just right and the gun almost feeling clean in his hands, and peered through the scope; everything seemed to be in order with it, so he lowered it, noticing an older man walking in, a surprised look on his face when his eyes fell on Kouta with the shotgun.
"H-hey..." the man started, stopping a few feet from Kouta.
"Uh, yes...?" Kouta asked, a bit awkwardly.
"Hey, is that thing real? It's not something a kid shout be playing with." the man said, taking a step towards Kouta; luckily, Saya was still in the garage and intervened before anything came of this little encounter.
"Is that all you wanted to say, Matsudo-san?" Saya asked harshly, stepping towards the man, obviously killing the confidence he had before.
"Ah, Saya-sama...well, um..." Matsudo started, wanting to say something but knew it was dangerous to try and back talk to any of the Takagis. "I...I'll go help and try to finish the repairs on the vehicle you arrived in."
"Very well, thank you." Saya replied with a smug smirk as the man bowed deeply to her before rushing off, and turned her gaze to Kouta to see stars in his eyes. "What...?"
"You're just like a real princess!" Kouta commented, Saya quickly stopping him before he said anything else to disgust her more.
"You're the last person I want to hear that from!" Saya bit at Kouta, whipping the look off his face; Saya frowned slightly before remembering something, and jabbed her finger at the gun in Kouta's hands, as well as his AR-10 resting against the work table. "More importantly, those things! You need to do something with them!"
"With the guns?" Kouta asked with more scepticism in his voice than anything that only served to anger Saya.
"Exactly! Didn't you hear what he just said? The adults are in charge here, and what are we? Take the guns to them, or keep them out of sight for now!" Saya yelled at Kouta; Kouta's initial reaction was to deny any thoughts of giving up the precious guns, so it took a second for what else Saya said to sink in.
"Let's...ask Komuro what he thinks" Kouta said finally, his grip on the gun tightening.
'Finally, he's said something good...' Saya thought to herself as she smirked.
Takashi made his way down the stairs into the room with the front door, his mind still thinking over his conversation he had just had with Yuriko; she wanted him to basically convey her plan to Saya, which she had already tried herself, but Saya was against it completely.
"Persuade Takagi, huh...I haven't won a single debate with her since kindergarten..." Takashi sighed hopelessly, when the sounds of a struggle drew his attention to two men moving a huge box of something; one of them semed to be on the verge of dropping his side, so Takashi was quick to help.
Lifting one of the sides, Takashi was able to raise it enough for the man to get a better hold on the box, and they both gave him a thankful look.
"Ah, thanks" the one he just helped said as the other began getting impatient.
"That's good enough, kiddo. We've got it from here" he said with a light smile as he started moving back, but Takashi wouldn't let go so easily.
"It looked like you guys were having trouble, and I wanna help!" Takashi protested, but the two quickly moved the box from his grip and started off.
"Don't worry yourself! This is an adult's job. You kids just kick back, eh?" the other man that Takashi had help said, taking a joking tone about it as the two continued on, despite Takashi's will to help.
The two left Takashi with his fists clenched and a frown, until he heard a familar voice from the stairs he had just come from.
"You don't look so good..." Saeko said as she walked down to stand with Takashi, dressed in a simple yukata, yet it looked beautiful on Saeko, and Takashi couldn't help but notice this, blushing darkly; Saeko noticed something was wrong, but didn't quite put it together. "What's wrong, Komuro-kun?"
"N-nothing really. Uhh, just...it looks really good on you..." Takashi said shly, avoiding Saeko's curious look; when he peaked up, he saw Saeko blushing and likewise looking away, and quickly took it the wrong way. "No, uh, I didn't mean anything weird!"
"Ahh, don't worry about it" Saeko said, waving her hands in front of her, blushing a darker shade. "I didn't take it in a bad way or anything..."
The two looked at each other and Takashi cracked a grin; Saeko soon smiled, and the two started laughing. To anyone else, it would have looked like the two had cracked under the pressure of the Outbreak, standing there and seeming to be laughing at nothing. Well, anyone other than Alice or Kaede.
"Huh? Nani, nani~? Did something good happen, Onii-chan?" Alice's voice asked as she walked up to the two with Zeke on her heels, and Kaede not too far behind them; Takashi noticed he had likewise changed, into a black hamaka and a white sleeveless shirt, it seeming to be his personal prefeance to wear just the wide pants instead of the whole kimono.
As he approached, Takashi couldn't help to remember what he had overheard, well, what he thought he overheard, and looked away awkwardly for a second, Saeko taking the moment to answer Alice's previous question for him.
"We were just talking about how glad we are that you're doing so well, Alice-chan" Saeko replied with a smile, looking at how the young girl slmiled cheerfully back at the two, and nodded.
"Yup, I'm doing really well, Onee-chan~!" Alice replied with a smile as Takashi's thoughts wandered.
'She really is been doing well. But, from what Shizuka told me earlier...she cried for a long time last night and kept herself up until Shizuka held her in her arms until she fell asleep...' Takashi thought, looking back at Kaede to see a concerned look on his face as he looked to Alice as she held Zeke up for Saeko to pet him a bit, much to the dog's pleasure; Takashi guessed Kaede was told the something and frowned, looking to Alice as well. 'She's really adapted to this hell, were she's lost the parents she needs...what about us? Will our parents be alright?'
His eyes again drifted to Kaede, then to Saeko, pondering the question that plagued all of their minds.
'Would I also cry and keep myself up at night if my parents turn out to have died...?'
Takashi's thoughts were interrupted by muffled voices on the other side of a nearby door, which eventually opened to reveal Saya and Kouta, who was carrying a canvas bag from the humvee on his back, and seemed he had been carrying it for awhile.
"Ah, it's Saya-chan and Kouta-chan!" Alice said, happily as Takashi and Saeko turned to look at the two as they entered the room as well; Kaede vaugly noticed that this was the first time the group had been gathered completely since they had gotten to the Takagi manor, well, save for Rei and Shizuka.
"Ah, we finally found you guys, and you're all together too..." Saya said with a soft sigh as she fixed her glasses. "We were looking for you all..."
Well, that explained why Kouta was so worn out looking.
"Why's that, Takagi-san?" Takashi asked; luckily for him, Saya basically ignored him.
"Komuro. I think we should talk" Saya said, her eyes wandering over everyone. "All of us."
"Am I coming too, Kouta-chan?" Alice asked, tugging on the otaku's pant leg.
"Of course! Alice-chan and Zeke are part of our group of companions too!" Kouta replied, giving her the thumbs up.
"...oh sure, let's all just asseble here..." Rei muttered sarcastically, still naked and on her stomach but she was covered with more than just a towel this time; she shifted under the blanket and shot Takashi a dirty look, who avoided it.
"W-well, there wasn't much we could do about it..." Takashi muttered as Rei grumbled under her breath. "With you not being able to move yet..."
"So what is it that we need to talk about?" Shizuka asked as she peeled a banana, having no idea what the topic was, like everyone else; they could tell it was important, but only Saya and Kouta really knew what the 'meeting' had been called for.
None the less, what Saya decided to start with was completely different that what Kouta though was needed to be discussed.
"The next time you set out, I'm not so sure I should accompany your little 'band of companions'." Saya said from her spot near the balcony windows looking out into the courtyard with her back turned to the group.
Almost instantly, Saeko and Kaede caught on, both frowning, and Saeko was the first to say something.
"Of course...now we've banded together with a bigger, stronger group..." Saeko said with a grave look on her face. "In other words..."
"Yes, I have two choices!" Saya cut in, truning to the group. "Can you understand that?"
"...split up?" Takashi finally asked, not as quick as Saeko or Kaede. "But why?"
With a scowl on her face, Saya pushed open the doors and stepped out onto the balcony and threw her hand out to the streets outside the gates, the group following her out save for Rei and Alice.
"Maybe you should look around and see for yourself! If you still don't get it after that..." Saya turned and glared at mostly Takashi and Kouta. "Then I revoke your right to call me by my first name!"
"You mean the streets...?" Takashi muttered as Kouta handed him the binoculars from the bag he had set down in the room already.
With one look through the binoculars, Takashi saw several of them who had found a fresh meal and were devouring the corpse. Takashi gulped and lowered the binoculars after a moment.
"...it has gotten worse. It's like a whole other world out there." Takashi commented, and took a look at the courtyard were the adults were busy, but they were all safe, no immediate threats or the need to fight for your life inside the manor's gates. "Your dad is really handling this well, especially for being a right-wing elite...your mom is amazing too."
"Yeah, they're amazing! They have a lot to be proud of!" Saya replied with a heavy sarcastic tone in her voice that made Takashi and nearly everyone else on the balcony look at her in disbelief; Rei was still in bed since she couldn't move, and Alice was also inside, 'keeping her company' when Rei was actually keeping her away while the group talked about such things Rei could only guess.
"Even now they're always away, dealing with this..." Saya continued, her voice now angry and hot tears welling in her eyes as she turned away from the group again. "But, if they can do this much, then..."
"Takagi..." Takashi tried saying something, anything, comforting even, but Saya quickly lashed out at him.
"Call me by my first name!" Saya yelled, turning on Takashi, but he didn't back down.
"You shouldn't talk badly about your parents, especially considering how things are right now. It's rough for everyone" Takashi replied harshly, the pain of not knowing what was to be of his parents shared by everyone, everyone but Saya, and she was bad mouthing them like this; it just didn't seem right, let alone helpful to the others.
"That sounds like something my mom would say!" Saya shot back, and hesitated, looking up for a second before suddenly snapping again. "I know, I know, my parents are the best! Even when something totally unexpected happened, they took action right away and protected their mansion and staff! They're great, they're the greatest, they're the best!"
Everyone was shocked about Saya's sudden outburst, Takashi almost disgusted; he could hear the sarcasm dripping off every word that cam out of Saya's mouth, and he hated every second of it, but kept to himself. Maybe it was best to let Saya let it all out like this...
"Of course, it's not like they forgot about their daughter! She's the apple of their eyes, so why would they!" Saya continued, tears now streaming down her face.
"Now that's going too far..." Takashi grit his teeth, but Saya paid him no heed.
"As expected! They're really amazing! I shouldn't expect less from my papa and mama!" Saya's voice quickly filled with malice, yet she kept the same cocky air about her, as if she really was proud of her parents, yet her voice and the tears betrayed the look. "They didn't think I survived so they gave up immediately!"
"Saya!" Takashi finally snapped, grabbing Saya's blouse and lifting her clear off her feet, her glasses falling off at the sudden movement and Saya's eyes wide with shock, and her mouth hanging open; either from Takashi finally calling her by her fist name, or his sudden roughness was unknown. "Stop this shit right now!"
Needless to say, the group was likewise shocked, both Saeko and Shizuka gasping and Kouta looking like he could kill; Rei had kept her shock hidden for the sake of Alice, who was playing with Zeke with her back turned, so she was completely oblivious, and Kaede simply frowning. He sure didn't agree with Takashi's methods, but Saya needed to be calmed down; even so, he could hear the pain behind Saya's voice everyone else didn't when she mentioned her parents forgetting about her, and his mind slowly began forming a plan, but to what means? Two were for sure...
"Ah...that was pretty sudden..." Saya said, more conserned with Takashi finally using her first name than anything. "It took you long enough to call me that..."
"It's not just you! We're all the same!" Takashi yelled, shaking Saya roughly to get her mind on what really mattered now, snapping her out of the sort of depression she was in. "We're all having an equally tough time! No...you know your parents are okay now, so your actually better off!"
The shaking had actually helped somewhat in helping Saya quickly recomposed herself she lookedfrom Takashi's face to the troubled looksof her 'classmates', understanding what Takashi was saying. Her gaze turned back to Takashi, and she frowned.
"Alright, I get it. So let go of me already." Saya said shortly.
"Sorry" was all Takashi said as he dropped Saya back onto her feet, and she swooped down, picking her glasses up first and putting them back on her face.
"Yeah, you should be. But it's fine" her way of saying 'thanks' for snapping her out of her little break down. "Well then, it's about time we got to the matter at hand, right?"
"Oh yeah..." Takashi muttered, remembering about what they had actually gathered for in the first place. "Erm, so what was it?"
"As expected, you still have no clue, huh?" Saya asked with a sarcastic tone, but she was back to her regular self, and that's all that mattered really to Takashi; Saya scoffed lightly and started. "Well, Hirano and I have already encountered it...here, we will be nothing but children. Out there, we're more, but we also have to fight for our lives day in and day out."
"Your point?" Takashi asked, since it seemed like he and Shizuka were the only ones who weren't getting it; it had already been explained to Kouta earlier, and Saeko as well as Kaede had caught on by now.
"It means we have two choices, like Saya-sama's already said" Kaede cut in, adding the honorific just to tease Saya, something he had been doing since she insisted on being called by her first name.
"Exactly as Himoura said; we either stay here as children, follow their rules, their orders, and, on top of that, give up the guns to them" Saya said, ignoring Kaede's offer to be referred to by his first name as well, and motioned towards the room where the guns had been left, Kouta noticably cringing. "Or, we leave this all behind, and face the world ourselves..."
The last part of Saya's sentence was followed by the rumbling of multiple trucks; Saya let out a long sigh, already knowing what the sound meant as the other's went to the balcony to see a black SUV leading a small convoy of gas tankers and three black vehicles with the Japanese flag painted on the sides.
"Is that...?" Kouta started, looking to Saya as she turned with the group to peer down as the trucks came to a stop in the courtyard.
"Yes, it is." Saya replied, her face hardening as the lead truck's door opened, and a tall, muscular man in the traditional Japanese military uniform* "He alone determines what's right or wrong...my papa!"
As Kaede peered down at the man, his power obvious from just the way he stood, he made up his mind, with the goals necessary for the better of the group. A long grin formed on his face, unseen by anyone else as he looked into the man's sharp eyes from the distance and knew it would be this man, Takagi Souichiro, that he, Himoura Kaede, would be able to use that ancient style on, for the first time in his life.
Chapter 6, end.
Authors notes: Sorry for taking so long to update; I've been working on some other fics that I'll hopefully be getting up soon. I'm working out a schedual so hopefully I'll start updating with new chapters on a more regular basis, with my other fics I'm working on.
*= I'm not sure what they're called, but I think that's what they were, military uniforms, for, uh, ceremonial stuff, I think. Correct me if I'm wrong, cause it would be greatly appreaciated.