Okay! So this is the continuation of Kiku's POV and the last one didn't really have much to it so I decided that this continuation would have more action involved! Yeah! I actually might make this into three parts but… We'll see how long this one gets then I'll decide to split it up… So! I hope you enjoy reading and a big thank you for all those who've followed and favorited! Also! Sorry for the super long wait! It's been what? A year now since I've uploaded? Been having a hard time finding time to write in the past few months but I still hope you enjoy!

Kiku's POV 2

I didn't want to waste any time. As soon as Matthew was up, I decided that our search for Alfred was top priority and wanted to start as soon as possible. Of course, the teen's safety was my main concern but I didn't have a clue at where to begin at finding his brother. It had been a year since the outbreak so the American could have gone anywhere. The sooner we started the search, the sooner we could find his brother and who knew how long that would take.

We travelled by rooftop. The area used to be a shopping centre so the roofs were close together and we had a high vantage point. It was also the safest way to go around the area for sticking to the ground would lead to disaster if one was not quick enough. Matthew was hesitant at first and it was obvious that he had not thought of going by such a method before. However, he was a smart boy and knew that was the only sure way that we safely pass through this area without trouble. I often wondered how he survived this long, true I do not know his strengths but he passed off as one who didn't enjoy violence.

I looked to check if Matthew still trailed behind me and surely enough, the young man was right there. I often wondered what possessed me to drag along a child since children never survived that long and always hindered ones travelling pace. However, I knew that calling him a child would be to use the wrong term. He was a man but I couldn't admit it.

I estimated that we had already taken two hours to reach where we were. We travelled quite fast and Matthew hardly showed any hint of exhaustion. What a tenacious boy. I had asked him many times whether he wanted to take a break but he would always tell me to move on.

I decided early on that there was no use in searching the immediate area as I was sure that Alfred would have probably left the city. No doubt to search for his brother. However, I always pondered that if that were the case, then why the brothers hadn't met up any sooner. I soon discarded that thought when I factored in the circumstances; I knew that anything could happen during an epidemic such as this. However, I did wonder if that was true, who knew if this disaster had spread outside this country. Who knew if my homeland was safe? I knew this wasn't a time to be thinking such idle thoughts and sighed, momentarily closing my eyes.

I knew I was a deep thinker and would often get lost in my thoughts but hadn't realized how deep I had been thinking to have nearly lost my life.

"Mr Honda!" I heard Matthew's alert tone behind me and opened my eyes. I skidded to a halt as I saw a ledge looming up towards me. I turned around to see Mathew's knitted up brows in half worry and relief. I looked across the ledge to find that the row of shops had ended. Surely if Matthew hadn't called out to me then, I would have died. I felt the child's presence beside me as he asked if I was okay. I turned to face him, his pale blonde hair fluttering in the wind and bowed.

"Arigato Matthew-kun. Thank you for what you did, it saved me."

When I lifted my head I noticed the slight tint in the boy's cheeks from embarrassment, "It was nothing."

His voice only came out as a whisper but it comforted me to have such company. Months of solitude never did do a man much good.

Looking back at the edge of the building, I realized that a jump to the next ledge wouldn't have saved me. We reached a gap in the buildings where the shopping district stopped as the buildings and concrete slowly faded into the greeneries of the nearby park. It seemed to me that from this point on we had to continue our journey on foot. Looking around, I managed to find a fire escape mounted to the side of the building. I motioned Mathew to follow me as I began to descend the weathered steps of the escape. A third of the way down I cursed myself for having high expectations as the stairwell fell away, leaving nothing but a long way to jump. We couldn't possibly make it. I turned around to face Mathew and was met with an anxious face, "I'm sorry Mathew-kun, but we might need to find another way down."

He leaned his head to look past me to see what I was referring to and upon seeing the escape's deteriorating condition, his brows knitted even more together. He glanced about for a moment and upon seeing a nearby window, proceeded to then attempt to open it. Finding no way in successfully opening the window, Mathew shot me an anxious, but sheepish look as he whispered, "I thought it could work but… I couldn't find a way to open it…"

"Is it locked?" I inquired as I stepped towards him.

He nodded. In inspecting the window, I could see nothing on the other side for it had been covered with layers of dirt and dust that had been collecting. It was evident that no one had been to this place in a while. "Have you tried breaking it?" I asked as I took a closer look at the glass.

"Umm…" he replied once again with a slight blush on his cheeks. "No… I thought it would make too much noise so… I didn't think about it."

"I see…" I took a moment to think. The boy spoke some truth, if there were something in there, it would surely hear whatever noise we would make. However, in our current situation, there would be no better option. We would just have to be prepared for whatever may be waiting for us inside. I turned back to Mathew, "It looks like we may not have any choice but to break the window. It would make some noise so we have to be ready for whatever is in there."

He gave me a slight nod as he took out a concealed pistol from the inside of his hoodie. This caught me off guard as I had not though this child capable of wielding much less obtaining such a weapon by himself. Yet, as Mathew stood there, gun in hand, intently staring at the window, he seemed confident in the handling of the firearm. He looked up at me suddenly with an expression of confusion. "Is there something wrong Mr. Honda? You've umm… been staring at me for a while now…"

Shocked, I averted my gaze. I didn't realize I had been staring for that long, "I'm sorry Mathew-kun… I just didn't realize you had a weapon on you…"

He looked down at the pistol for a moment, staring for a moment before answering, "It was my brother's he taught me how to shoot…. I grabbed it from his room before I left… I would prefer not to use it if necessary…" He gave me a slight smile before focusing back at the task at hand with his brows still knitted together in anxious determination. I grabbed my blade and with the handle, smashed a hole through the glass.

As light filtered through the hole, the room inside began to take shape. As we stepped inside I noticed a small bed with side table and lamp atop it, a dresser, wardrobe, mirror and a few paintings adorning the interior of the room. Nothing moved, nothing made a sound. It seemed that for now we were safe.

We began to make our way out of the small room and into the hallway. From the photos littering the place, it seemed that the owners of the store front below lived up here atop their storefront. As we made our way through the house, the dust swirled and danced as our footsteps disrupted their slumber. It had seemed that this place had not been disturbed for quite some time. From the way that documents, clothes and other things that were left in disarray, it seemed that the tenants of this house left in a hurry and never came back.

Mathew and I made little conversation as if both feeling the oppressive force that our situation had brought upon us. Coming into this home seemed to sombre us, these people had a child, two pet cats and a wonderful business that was all left behind. Gathering dust. Forgotten. We tried our best not to disturb their belongings as much as we can, after all, even in our dire situation, it seemed wrong to go through taking this family's belongings.

Through our 'rummaging' around, we managed to find a study, left in a pristine condition. Yes, dust was everywhere but the room looked as if it could have come out of a fairy-tale. A hidden room of some sorts. Books lined four large, ceiling to floor book cases, a large wooden desk sat in the corner with more books piled atop it. We undoubtedly were entranced by this sight, for it is not one that you see often in situations such as ours.

As Mathew stepped into the room, he whispered under his "This reminds me of those libraries that people would put in fantasy novels…" Enchanted by the atmosphere of the room, we had both failed to notice the slight dip on the floor's surface. As Mathew stepped deeper into the room, a loud crack enveloped the room as the floor gave way beneath, shaking dust as he fell.

Ughhh… again really sorry for the long wait… I'd been finding it hard to find time to write these days… Also… I'm really sorry for the endless cliff hangers… I just can't seem to figure out how to properly have a satisfying ending just yet… Only goodness knows when I'll get to finish writing this whole thing so who knows if I'd even get to end up writing their continuation! After all… I did kind of put a 2 chapter cap on each character at a time till I run out of characters to write about… Which I promise won't be that many! Nevertheless! I will try my hardest to get these chapters out to you guys! Thanks for reading, a review is always appreciated!