Here's Chapter 7
Sorry and Thanks for the wait!
…
XXX
XXX
XXX
Act 7: A Life's Worth
Rentaro exhaled through his nose as he placed a black duffle bag down, next to another larger one. He took one last glance at the group of bags that he had placed during the last couple of minutes near the entrance of his residence one last time, confirming everything was in place.
"And, that's it".
After supper was ready, he went and personally delivered a plate to everyone, so they could eat, plus the dessert he prepared. First he had to wake up Shizuka and Saya, then went to give Takashi and Rei their plates who he found out were at the stairs, although he found them in a very compromising situation, since they were kissing, very passionately if he might add.
So, did he leave them alone?
No.
What? He got interrupted by some kettle whistling, if he was getting cut short, so were they, especially because he was holding two plates full of food waiting for them like a mannequin, and it didn't take long till he started getting uncomfortable by the sounds they were making, so he very politely shouted 'food is here!' which quickly got them separated; they then very shyly took their plates without saying a word. It was quite the task for him to not chuckle out loud at their reactions. Finally, he delivered the last plate to Kohta, who almost cried when he got the food. Poor lad was dying to eat something.
After all of that, he finally ate his food in the kitchen along Saeko, very silently worth noting, aside from him complimenting the flavor, not much else was said. Finally, after finishing, and everyone brought their plates back, he started washing the dishes, although it didn't take long for Saeko to interrupt him and insist that she would wash the other half, which she ended up doing. With nothing else to do, he decided to prepare everything for tomorrow ahead of time; he got all his clothes he could or would need in a bag alongside other tools that could also help, like flashlights, a swiss-army knife, torchgun, duct tape, etc. Also managed to convince a still very sleepy Shizuka to go and take some of Rika's clothes and put them in a bag so the girls could use in the near future, something to which she begrudgingly complied before going to sleep once again.
He finally was done, so he made his way back to the kitchen, where Saeko was; once he arrived there, he noticed that Saeko had finished washing the dishes and was now cleaning the counter with a cloth. Once she noticed he was coming back her way, she smiled at his direction lightly, which he returned.
The still silly teenager side of his brain pictured them as a happy little married couple.
He half-cringed, half-laughed at his thoughts.
"Done?" he heard her ask.
"Done" he replied right after.
Ren headed to the counter and grabbed his worst enemy – the kettle – so he could serve himself and Saeko some matcha tea again. He walked to the kitchen island and handed a cup to Saeko, which she took with a silent thanks. Both zipped in silent, enjoying the taste and the moment.
"Thanks for helping with the dishes" he broke the ice, resting the cup on the counter. "And once again thanks for the food. It was delicious".
"No problem" she replied with a smile. "The dessert was great as well".
"I have my moments" he replied with a prideful tone, to which she giggled a bit.
"You do, I… we can't thank you enough for everything you've done for us" she said with a gentle smile.
Damn, she was hitting him right in his soft spot.
"I'm just doing my part" he replied before zipping some tea again.
"Still, I really appreciate it, and I know the rest feel the same way. Thank you".
Ok, at this rate he was going to melt.
"Just doing my part" he replied with a smile, a bit shyly. Couldn't really say anything else at the moment.
"You even gave me some clothes" Saeko continued.
Ren chuckled a bit at this. "To be fair, I do understand that Rika's clothes aren't for everyone".
Not that walking around in just an apron and a thong was the better choice but... not like he hated it. He was going to carry those images in his brain till the day he died.
He hoped she didn't mind.
"Don't worry, the t-shirt and the shorts work just fine. Surprisingly comfortable" she replied.
Shorts?
"Those aren't… shorts…?" he muttered, his mind juggling for a second if he should say it or not, but his mouth was ultimately faster. He quickly figured it out though... Saeko had thought that those were shorts.
"They are not?" she asked almost immediately after.
He felt a little bit embarrassed, and a little guilty at the fact that he didn't immediately tell her at the time that they weren't shorts and instantly assumed she wanted to wear his underwear. One half of him felt like not telling her... but his other half felt like he had to be honest, plus, he couldn't miss her reaction.
He was a lost case wasn't he?
"That is my uh… underwear" he said a bit shyly, while sipping some tea.
"..."
He witnessed her whole reaction, from the eyes slightly widening, to the blush taken over her face, she glancing to the opposite direction of his out of shame, and the awkward silence that followed for a few seconds.
He loved every moment of it.
"Sorry" she muttered shyly. "I will take it off…"
"N-No, don't worry about it" he responded immediately, feeling a little bit guilty that he was making her this embarrassed. "I uh… don't mind".
…
Did he really say that?
He did.
…
Saeko blushed even more; God knows what she could have interpreted from his words.
Ah yes, I like seeing you in my underwear that I gave for you to wear without a problem because I totally have the hots for you.
Facts… but still.
Of course, an awkward silence followed.
"Thanks".
Until Saeko uttered those words.
If there was one way to make this situation even more silly, it was like that. And now they were both blushing and too shy to look at each other.
It could fly under the radar a lot, but despite being the two most mature of the group – which meant a lot, considering the only adult from the group was a bit of an airhead – at the end of the day, they were still teenagers that hadn't even graduated from highschool; so of course they would and could have this type of –very fitting for a teenager romcom – moments.
At least it was a bit romantic, wasn't it?
Thankfully, they were both interrupted by a certain 4 legged good boy who started rubbing his nose against Ren's hand.
"Saved by Gutsy".
"Hey there boy" he greeted his 4 legged friend by scratching him on the head. "How you doing?"
Saeko, who seemed to finally break out of the embarrassment loop she had been caught in, also tried to greet the dog by extending her hand towards his direction.
And much to Rentaro's surprise, after a few sniffs to her hand, Guts welcomed Saeko's greetings without a problem, which earned a raised eyebrow from him.
"He's lovely" Saeko said with a smile while she kept scratching the pet. "Guts, right?".
"Yes, Guts, or Gutsy if you'd like" he replied. "He is very chill and friendly, but it normally takes time for him to open up to someone. Quite the shy big fella, so it's honestly surprising he's this calm around you. He even took a while to open up to Shizuka".
"Well, I'm glad he likes me" she said with a smile.
Not like he needed any more messages from the universe to know that she was the one.
Guts finally finished greeting Saeko and turned to look at Rentaro right in the eye, then he gave out a quiet woof.
"What?"
Guts then licked his lips before whining.
"There's absolutely no way you're still hungry bud. You ate like 4 cans of food".
Another whine.
"Really?"
Another woof.
"Very talkative, isn't he?" Saeko added with a smile.
"Tell me about it…"
For the next couple of seconds, it looked like Ren and Guts entered a staring contest, which amused Saeko, especially thanks to the seriousness in Ren's features, while Guts also didn't break eye contact at all.
After a few more seconds it looked like Ren finally gave up as he sighed.
"Fine, just one more can. Got it?"
Guts barked happily at this while wagging his tail.
Saeko giggled at this.
"And persuasive" Saeko chipped in.
"He's too smart for his own good".
Ren walked away towards the bags he had placed near the entrance, in order to get Guts some food, since he had already stuffed all the cans in a duffel bag in order to take them once his group left the house. It's not like he could leave Guts behind, and the big boy needed to eat.
He finally got back after a few moments, and headed to the kitchen island with a can opener in hand, but not before standing near Guts and looking at the him in the eyes once again.
"You know the rules boy" he told the dog before resuming his walk. Guts proceeded to sit down, while Ren proceeded to open the can. All while Saeko watched in silence.
With the can now open, Ren then emptied the food on Gut's plate which was on the floor nearby, before throwing the can away in a nearby trash can. Ren then silently walked to the spot he was before, took his matcha tea cup and took a sip.
Saeko seemed a bit confused and looked back and forth between him and Guts who hadn't moved at all while he just stared at Ren instead of the food plate as patiently as ever.
Rentaro then clicked his tongue twice, to which Guts responded with a light bark, before walking towards the plate and starting to eat.
Saeko seemed slightly surprised by this but smiled nonetheless.
"You seem to have trained him well" she said as she watched the dog happily eat.
"Well, when having a pet that big and strong is kind of a must" he replied. "Rika also made me promise I would, it was the sole requirement she needed before allowing me to have him".
He had adopted Guts 3 years ago; it was his birthday gift from Rika. He had to admit that Rika could 'spoil' him a lot. If he asked for something, she would get it almost immediately, which is a reason why he avoided asking her lots of favors, despite her being totally ok with it; and she usually gave him big gifts, like a motorcycle for his last birthday for example, despite him just asking for a new pair of shoes, which he also got.
But having a pet was probably the only time Rika wasn't totally onboard with immediately, and he almost had to beg her. He sometimes could feel pretty lonely, especially in such a big house, since Rika was out because of work a lot of time, although Shizuka visited often, so he thought a dog would be fantastic, and he always wanted one since he was little. Rika, despite being very laid-back most of the time, had second thoughts, especially because a dog is such a big responsibility, something she made sure to remind him a lot. In the end, she managed to convince her and made him promise he would train him very well, which he did, and like in most cases, Rika also ended up falling in love with Guts.
"I'm not an expert when it comes to having pets, but you've done a great job" Saeko told him.
"Thanks, am very proud of it. It was a promise after all" he replied. "Also knowing Rika would have kicked my ass if I hadn't served as the ultimate fuel".
Saeko chuckled at this and for the next couple of seconds a very comfortable followed.
"Rika-san…" he heard Saeko speak, so he turned his head to look at her; he could see slight nervousness in her features. "Your cousin… do you know where she is?"
It was a question that she had to ask, since all of them were basically on a mission to save their family members before evacuating the city. He had reassured the group that she knew how to take care of herself, but looking for her and making sure she's 100% fine was something to consider as well.
He averted his gaze and looked at the insides of the cup he was holding right now, his mind also wondering the same. He didn't know where Rika was right now, but…
"I don't… but I just know she's fine, it's a gut feeling you can say" he replied with a smile, looking to ease Saeko's mood as well. "Talked to her through the phone back at the school. My phone died shortly after escaping, so I have it charging back at my room. I will most-likely call her tomorrow morning before we leave the house".
He took one last sip of his tea to finish it before placing the cup on the counter.
"Depending on the conversation, we'll see what we can do about it. But as of now, making sure Takashi's, Rei's and Saya's parents are ok is the goal right now".
Saeko nodded at this.
"What about your father, do you know where he is exactly?" he asked.
"I might have a faint idea, but not sure really, just know he's overseas" she replied. "But I know better than everyone that he'll be fine" she finished confidently.
"Most definitely, it is the famous Busujima-sensei we're talking about" Ren thought.
"So as I said back in the bus, the only thing I must focus on right now is helping the group and making sure to honor my vow with you" she said with a smile while looking at him in the eyes.
He smiled back.
"Ah yes, the she'll 'have my back' promise" he thought, which reminded him of his thoughts back at the bus after he heard it for the first time.
"Does that mean she's not leaving my side?"
"I'm most definitely grateful for that" he replied, maintaining a smile. "Surely having you by my side sounds like a great way of going through this whole thing".
She giggled at this. "And why's that?" she said, almost in a flirty way.
Or most definitely in a flirty way.
Ren chuckled at her teasing. "Because you're a badass kendoka of course. Why else?" he replied with a raised eyebrow and clear tease in his tone.
Saeko almost laughed out loud at this, and had to bring the back of her hand to her lips.
"Well, you yourself aren't so bad either. I'm pretty sure you know how to take care of yourself as well" she said.
"Won't deny it, but I'm still a bit rusty from all these years of lack of practice, so having you is that extra reassurance" he replied.
"Then, I guess sparring with me could help you out" she said.
Ren once again raised an eyebrow at her words. "That sounds like… fun".
Saeko smiled once again. "It does?".
"Why yes, having the high school national champion helping me out with my kendo sounds fun" he replied.
Saeko smile grew wider at this while she also raised an eyebrow.
"Says the former middle school national champion?"
"That was quite a while ago" he replied. He did win various tournaments and competitions back at middle school, but 3 years was quite the time. He was slightly convinced that he would lose against his younger self, he was stronger now of course, but you can't brute force yourself to victory in kendo. It would take him a considerable while to get back to his former self, skill-wise.
"I'd say you still move well" she said.
"Thanks, but I still need to polish my movements".
"So the sparring will come in handy".
He chuckled at this.
"Will look forward to it," he said while looking at her in the eyes.
And just like that, for the next couple of seconds they maintained eye contact. Both of their minds started to race gradually as the seconds went by.
"I want to kiss her again" he thought as his eyes landed on her lips.
The atmosphere was heavy now, both not daring to say a word.
Ren then felt Saeko's fingers grazing his hand, which he was resting on the counter. He almost immediately almost by instinct also reached towards her hand, which had also been resting on the counter.
That action gave both of them the signal that they had been sharing the same thought, as they intertwined fingers.
So they slowly started moving closer to one another. Ren felt Saeko's hand tucking the front of his shirt as only inches separated their lips.
They were about kiss.
They would have kissed.
But sadly, they were interrupted by a sound that made both of them widen their eyes.
Gunshots.
Both looked up towards the direction the faint sound of gunshots could be heard. Ren's first thought was that he was going to give Kohta a good scolding and ban him from using the weapons without permission, but a couple of seconds later, he realized that those gunshots weren't close enough to be Kohta's doing, in fact they sounded like they came from quite afar, but still, uncomfortably close.
Both Ren and Saeko crossed eyes and immediately after, headed upstairs to the balcony without needing to say a word. While heading upstairs Ren noticed a confused looking Rei sitting by the stairs by herself; it seemed like Takashi also headed towards the balcony to check on the situation.
Both finally arrived at Rika's room and quickly noticed that Takashi and Kohta were both at the balcony staring at the distance, Kohta with what seemed to be binoculars and Takashi with the shotgun in hands.
"What now?" Ren asked as he approached the two, with Saeko following behind.
Kohta didn't say anything and simply handed him the binoculars, which Ren took without hesitation and used them to take a look.
The first thing he noticed was a random dude, that looked between his early to mid-twenties fighting a bunch of them with what seemed to be a shotgun.
"What an absolute fucking idiot" Ren muttered under his breath.
Not only was he dragging even more of them towards him, but also towards the area; it was only going to be a matter of time till he was done. He also quickly noticed several other individuals, alive, running around the area, away from them obviously.
He also noticed a little puppy barking at them; Ren stared at the pupper for a couple of seconds, distracted by the fact they seemed to ignore the little guy, despite being attracted by the noise it was making.
"Interesting".
He then proceeded to hand the binoculars to Saeko who was standing right next to him. He also noticed that Kohta was also checking on everything with the scope of the AR-10, while Takashi also looked, holding the shotgun tight, with a bewildered expression.
He hoped he wasn't planning on doing anything stupid.
"Looks like it isn't so safe anymore around here" Ren said, before heading towards the light switch of the room and turning the lights off. "Worst case scenario, we might not be able to sleep the night here".
"I believe we shall wait a bit more to see how things play out" Saeko added while putting the binoculars down.
"Dammit!"
Ren heard Takashi groan out.
"Ren" Kohta called while looking back at him. "Do you think we should shoot?"
"Absolutely not" he responded immediately.
That seemed to rub Takashi the wrong way.
"This is just too cruel!" his best friend said before turning around, with shotgun in hand.
He was kidding right?
Ren quickly stood in his way and grabbed the shotgun by the barrel, making it point upwards. Takashi stared at him in confusion.
"What are you doing?" Takashi asked him, almost in shock.
"No, what are you doing?" Ren fired back.
"We should shoot them!" Takashi said, a bit too loud for Ren's comfort, who made a grimace.
"Have you forgotten?" they both heard Saeko say and turned to look at her. "They react to sound".
They both stared at Saeko silently, who walked towards them.
"Also" she continued. "Survivors will come flocking here when they see us. However, even if we use everything we have, we don't have the power to keep that many people alive. They have to survive on their own; that's exactly what we're doing".
Ren took the opportunity to snatch the shotgun away from Takashi and throw it as gently as he could on Rika's bed.
"We can't afford to be heroes" Ren added. "I get that leaving all of those people to die is… horrible. But there's simply nothing we can do about it realistically if we really want to survive. If we save someone out there, do you think they will just thank us and leave? They'll try to join us and it will be contradictory to turn them down. It would cost us food, ammunition and means that we would be risking our lives, and we can't just do that for random people that we don't know if we can't trust".
Takashi still seemed a bit defiant, but his previous feistiness had clearly gone away.
"Did you forget?" Ren continued. "We left a group of people, of our own school, not so long ago, because we couldn't trust them; even if we weren't so sure if they were going to live or not".
Ren knew deep down that it was not really the same situation, since they technically didn't leave Tsunoda's group to die, but he hoped Takashi got the message.
And thankfully that seemed to do the trick, since Takashi lowered his gaze, in defeat apparently.
"I'll understand if you disagree" Saeko continued. "I heard from Miyamoto and saw myself, that in spite of severe circumstances, you rose like a man and faced them".
Saeko then proceeded to hand over the binoculars to Takashi.
"But look for yourself" she said, in a serious tone and matching expression, almost in a scolding manner. "Get used to it; by now the world has become a place where those noble causes alone won't survive".
Takashi took the binoculars, almost shyly, with a dissappointed expression. While he still clearly didn't agree with both Ren and Saeko's view, he seemed to understand he had to accept it for the greater good of the group.
"I got the impression you two thought differently" Takashi muttered, disappointment in his tone.
Ren sighed at this not feeling like arguing with him anymore, while Saeko turned around to look at Takashi one last time.
"Don't get the wrong idea Komuro-kun, I'm just stating facts" Saeko said with a slight smile, almost looked like an understanding one. "You don't have to like it or anything".
With that said, she finally walked away out of the room, leaving the group of boys behind, not before looking back at Rentaro one last time, who nodded at her lightly.
He was going to stay behind and see how everything turned out, and she got the message, so she nodded back before exiting the room.
Takashi, with binoculars in hand, then silently walked to the balcony, followed by Ren.
"Make sure to do it discreetly" Ren muttered to his best friend.
Takashi then proceeded to look around the area with the binoculars; while Ren couldn't really tell exactly what was happening, just by the noise, he could figure out what it looked like.
And just like if Takashi had read his mind, he muttered exactly what he was thinking.
"It's hell…"
Ren then took the binoculars away from him, to which he showed no resistance. He figured that for Takashi's mental health, it was better for him to simply not look anymore,
"Go talk to Rei, she must be worried; and make sure to sleep" Ren said. "Save whatever strength you have to protect her and keep yourself alive instead".
And with that, he himself used the binoculars to check the perimeter, although he noticed that Takashi stayed in place, to which he said nothing.
In short, he saw dozens of them around, eating people alive; he also noticed that the guy that had the shotgun was gone too. Unconsciously, he started looking for the little puppy he saw not so long ago, little thing had been loud as hell too. Thank God Guts was well trained, or he'd have to deal with a constant headache.
Finally, he noticed the little puppy barking at a small group of them bravely. While he was a bit annoyed at the fact that the dog was being loud, he was kind glad that it looked like animals, or dogs at least, couldn't be zombified or more like, they simply ignored animals, which was a relief. The thought of dealing with undead animals honestly was not pleasant.
But what he noticed right after not so far away from the puppy, froze him.
It was a man, that looked between his early to mid-thirties, that seemed to be carrying a wrench, but that's not what made him react like that, it was whom he was holding hands with. A little girl of pink hair, that looked no older than 8.
A little girl.
That seemed to echo in Ren's mind non-stop.
"Kohta" he muttered.
His friend didn't seem to respond for the next couple of seconds.
"Yeah, I see it too" he finally responded.
"What is it?" Takashi questioned.
"It's a little girl... and probably her father" Kohta responded immediately.
"What?" he almost shouted in confusion. Ren could almost instantly feel Takashi's gaze on him. "A little girl?"
A shiver traveled to Rentaro's entire body, and his mind started racing like crazy.
"It's a little girl" he repeated non-stop in his thoughts.
His gaze was now glued to the little girl that looked, as expected, as terrified as ever while she looked around clueless, while the man, that Rentaro assumed to be her dad, looked around, clearly looking for shelter while leading the way. Thankfully, it didn't seem there were many of them around them… for now.
Ren who had been holding his breath the entire time, finally gave out a loud sigh.
"For fuck's sake".
Ren handed the binoculars to Takashi and basically ran towards the spot where he last saw the handguns with the flashlights attached; he grabbed the two of them and quickly went back to the balcony and handed one to Takashi before taking the binoculars once again.
"Those aren't made for long range" Kohta muttered.
"I know genius" Ren fired back. "Takashi do the same as I, just don't shoot" he said before turning on and off the flashlight under the handgun's barrel towards the direction the little girl and his father were, which Takashi started imitating shortly after. Kohta had explained to them how the flashlight worked not so long ago, which was pretty easy.
"Please work" he thought, as he still looked at the duo through the binoculars.
"Morse code?" Kohta said. "Do you know morse code? What are you telling them? Would they even know morse code?"
"No Kohta, I don't know morse code, but am pretty sure this means 'we are here, come if you wanna live' very clearly" Ren responded.
"Are they seeing it? I hope this flashlight are strong enough" Takashi muttered.
"I hope so too" he muttered back.
Ren almost sighed in relief as he saw the pair, or more like the father, notice the flashing, just right before they almost attempted to enter a random house that had the lights on.
"They saw it" Kohta confirmed.
"Takashi, go turn the lights on and off a couple of times, just for a bit" he said, and almost immediately he heard Takashi's footsteps running towards the light switch.
"Now" he announced, and his friend turned the lights on, Ren then proceeded to wave at them for a short bit, signaling them to come towards their direction. "Stop" he said shortly after, and thankfully Takashi did so.
He didn't know if this was smart or stupid, but it was something and he hoped it worked.
"They definitely saw us now" Kohta confirmed once again.
Bingo.
Through the binoculars, Ren noticed the father now waving his hands back at them. He then started using the flashlight once again.
"Hey!" he heard the shout in the distance, and couldn't help but make a face
"Oh shut up dude, c'mon, just move!" he muttered under his breath.
Finally, the man seemed to tell something to his daughter before pointing in their direction, before finally, and to Ren's relieve, start moving towards their direction.
"They're coming this way!" Kohta confirmed once again.
"We are a bit over hundred meters away" Ren announced.
"But there's still a bunch of them around" Takashi said, and Ren knew this. One didn't need binoculars or a scope to notice this.
"They will encounter a group of them in no time coming this way" Kohta said.
"Yeah, we can thank that shotgun twat for that" Ren added.
"We must get them" he heard Takashi say after placing a hand on his shoulder. "Ren…"
He had seen this coming anyway.
"My bike's in the driveway" he said, and it didn't even take a second for Takashi to dash downstairs.
Just before he could think or do anything else, he noticed once again a faint barking in the distance.
"You little…"
Not only was the puppy barking, and gathering a bunch of them nearby, with the sound of the bike and the father's shouting not so long ago, a bunch of them were going to be around them in no time once they reached them. If he was going out there with Takashi, he was going to need a plan in no time or not only the father and daughter duo weren't going to make it, but him and Takashi were going to suffer the same fate. And it was not like a bike could carry 4 people and they could bail out of there as quick as soon as they reached them.
They needed something that could serve as a distraction.
"Think, think…!"
Puppy. Barking. Shouting. Bike. Engine. Horn.
Horn?
Ren then heard more barking, this time a bit clearer.
"I swear, if only I had duct tape to make him shush…"
Wait.
Duct tape?
Ren darted towards the locker were the guns and other materials were, and it only took him a couple of seconds to find what he was looking for.
Duct tape.
Now it was time to go.
But would the little girl and her father were going to be safe before they arrived?
"Kohta!" he called his friend, turning his head around before exiting the room. "Can you-".
And before he could say anything, he heard a gunshot, this time from right behind him.
"Bullseye!" he heard Kohta exclaim excitedly. "And this was only my first shot; I must be a genius for real!"
Yep, Ren didn't need to say anything at all.
He smiled before dashing downstairs with duct tape in one hand and the handgun in the other, following Takashi, who had exited barely over a minute ago. Right on time, he remembered he needed the keys for the bike that were in his room, so he went to get them and found them in no time.
It didn't take long for him to find the exit that lead to the driveway, only that to his surprise he didn't only find Takashi in there, who somehow found the time to also put his school blazer on, but also Rei who was currently talking to Takashi and Saeko standing nearby. It didn't take long for Ren's eyes and hers to meet.
"Takashi has already informed me of the situation" Saeko said, as calm as ever.
Ren exhaled through his nose slightly. "What can I say? Turns out I am not as cold as I thought".
"You've made your decision…" Saeko said, before walking up to him. "And I respect it" she then handed him his personal bokken. Ren put the duct tape in one of his pockets before taking the bokken with his now freehand.
"Thanks Saeko" he said with a smile, which she returned before nodding.
"We'll take care of things here" Saeko announced, taking a few steps back. "Don't worry, now go".
Ren nodded before walking towards Takashi.
"You have the other handgun right?" he questioned.
"I left it upstairs-" before he could finish, Ren shoved the handgun he had into Takashi's chest, which he grabbed immediately.
"Only shoot if it's really necessary, we don't want to make that much noise" he said.
"The bike will already make a lot of noise" Takashi replied.
"Yeah, but a gunshot even more" Ren fired back quickly before walking pass Takashi who placed the gun in his belt.
Ren then opened the door to reach the driveway and immediately found the bike with his eyes. It was a black Kawasaki ZX-6R, which had been Rika's gift when he turned 18.
Ren then handed the bokken to Takashi before mounting the bike and turning the engine on and the front light. He then took the duct tape out of his pocket and used one of the bike handles to hold it.
"Don't you think I should drive?" Takashi said before sitting behind him.
"Yeah right, who do you think taught you how to drive?" Ren said without looking back.
"That doesn't mean you drive better" his friend fired back.
"It doesn't, but I still drive better" he shot back.
Takashi chuckled at this, a bit more than expected.
"What's so funny?" he asked.
"Nothing… It's just that I guess we can afford to be heroes after all".
Ren scoffed at this.
"Yeah right, heroes? if that man was alone we probably would have done nothing. We are just being softies because it was a little girl".
Takashi chuckled at this.
"Plus, I would be the worst looking hero ever; am basically in my fucking pajamas".
And he was, since he was still wearing his white tank top and black sweatpants… not to mention flip flops.
At least Takashi dressed up.
Before they could continue with their argument, they noticed Saeko and Rei standing by the driveway gates, ready to open them.
Ren took a deep breath, preparing himself mentally.
"You ready?" he asked Takashi.
"Uh… No" Takashi replied.
Ren chuckled at this. "That makes two of us".
He finally gave a nod to the girls who nodded back and started opening the gates. Ren made the engine roar a couple of times, while his eyes were fully focused towards the exit.
He immediately noticed that a small group of them had already gathered outside, but that didn't make him hesitate.
With the gates fully open he drove towards the exit, using the momentum to make the bike jump over the group, using the driveway as an impromptu ramp.
In no time, he noticed that the streets were already flooded with them, but there was no time to stop. He rolled the throttle and raced through them, dodging them left and right.
He was on full autopilot now, no time to think, just drive and trust your eyes and instincts.
And he did just that, for almost half a minute, until he finally slowed down after he visualized the father and daughter duo, who were now surrounded by a considerable amount of them.
With the puppy somehow finding his way towards the duo and barking at them, which attracted even more.
Ren didn't even have time to complain about this.
At least Kohta was dropping zombies like flies from the distance.
"Takashi!"
His friend immediately got the message and jumped from the bike, which was going slow enough for it to be safe… safe enough at least.
Ren drifted and managed to knock down a couple of them before driving near the three again.
"Are you the guys from that balcony?!" he heard someone question, whom he quickly identified as the father.
"Yes!" Takashi responded, as he swatted one zombie away with Ren's bokken.
"Are you going to-?!"
"We're here to help, that's all you need to know!" Takashi confirmed.
"You guys are just kids!"
Really?
"But thanks!"
There we go.
Ren grabbed the duct tape that was being held thanks to the handle and started wrapping it around one of the handles as tight and fast as he could to trigger the horn.
Every second he looked to his front, making sure no zombie was close enough, although he had to thank Kohta for pretty much dropping any zombie that came close enough.
Finally, after a quick moment, he was done with the thing, which resulted in the bike horn going off non-stop.
He rolled the throttle again, with one thing in mind.
Sending the bike crashing against the group of them in front of him.
He would apologize to Rika later.
Ren jumped off the bike before it collided with them and fell to the floor, and quickly tried to stand up.
Only to find one of them right above him.
"Fu-"
Which didn't last long, before it was knocked off his personal space by a bullet to the head.
"You really are a genius man" he silently thanked Kohta before standing up and joining Takashi and the rest.
Ren then took a quick look at the father, who was looking around for any threat with the wrench in hand, while he shielded the little girl, who was hugging him from behind. Takashi on the other hand was taking care of any zombie that came too close with the bokken.
"The horn will serve as a decoy but there's still a bunch in the way to the house!" he announced to the small group.
He then heard the little puppy bark.
"You shut up buddy!"
"We gotta move!" Takashi said as he nailed another one right in the head with the bokken, before tossing it towards Ren, who caught it.
Ren then witnessed the father hitting a zombie with the wrench right in the jaw, but barely grazing it, only making it stumble backwards. Taking care of zombies while shielding his little girl didn't seem to be an easy task.
He quickly darted towards the zombie, hitting it in the head, successfully taking it out.
"You'll have to hit them harder than that!" he told the man.
"Thank you!" he heard the dad say.
"Save that for when we're all safe, man" Ren said, before noting that a zombie was approaching Takashi from behind and immediately tried to call his name.
"Onii-chan, behind you!" they all heard the little girl warn, who had finally said something after their arrival.
Takashi quickly turned around, while taking the gun from his belt out and pointing at the zombie right in the head. At that distance it was impossible to miss, which he didn't, as he took his shot and nailed the zombie right in the head, whose limp body fell backwards.
"Shit!" Takashi exclaimed. "I think I like this thing!"
"You only have 14 bullets left, be smart!" Ren said remembering the info Kohta provided them about the gun, before hitting another zombie in the head with his bokken.
"You guys have guns?!" the adult questioned.
Fair question, but not the right time.
Ren took a look at what was going to be their path to reach the house. There was a considerable amount of zombies, but thankfully a good chunk of them were being distracted behind them thanks to the horn, which was loud, very loud. Back at the school him and Saeko only had to push the zombies aside without engaging in combat; right now they needed to make the best out of the situation and simply put, move as fast as they could, hoping the zombies ignored them and went towards the bike, pushing anyone of them that got too close.
And trusting Hirano Kohta's aim.
Something which Ren was totally willing to do. And if the two zombies that were getting close to them being dropped by a headshot with barely a second between each shot didn't make him do that, he didn't know what would.
Ren hit another zombie in the head before moving in front of the group, taking another 2 zombies out with blows to the head.
"I'll lead the way" he announced. "You guys stick close and just move as fast as you guys can".
"Do you mind if I use that?" Takashi asked the adult, pointing at the wrench he was holding.
The adult almost immediately handed the wrench to Takashi, surprisingly.
Ren on the other hand contemplated their path once again.
The house was a little under a 100 meters away, the father and her daughter barely moved closer to it, something that Rentaro couldn't blame them for, in fact, any difference between the spot they were originally at and the house was huge considering the situation.
"Stick close".
And they moved, as much as they could, with Ren and Takashi bashing zombie's heads left and right while covering the little girl and his father, with an occasional shot from Kohta taking care of any zombie that they two didn't notice.
Ren didn't know for how long, realistically for a short while, but that felt like an eternity.
He struck one last zombie and cringed as he felt the graze of another one near his shoulder; he quickly jumped back and struck the zombie in the head.
Once again, he checked the path they had left and his heart almost sunk.
Was he going crazy or there were even more zombies now?
It was a horrible mix and miscalculation of a lot of things.
He had underestimated how many zombies were around; dozens was not the right word, but hundreds.
The father screaming, the horn, the barking, the handgun being used, all of that attracted even more near them.
The only thing in their favor was that the ones that could have come from behind were too busy gathering around the bike, and most of the ones coming from ahead of them as well. Which they could use to their advantage.
"We can't go through there" Ren said.
"Then what now?" Takashi asked.
The father on the other hand started calming down the little girl, telling her everything was going to be alright.
"Think again, c'mon!"
"Let's climb the wall!" Takashi suggested, referring to the cement fence that separated the house a the streets.
And there was clearly no better option than that.
"Go, I'll cover you guys!" Ren said, striking a zombie that was in the way.
He did his best to take out any zombie that was nearby with the help of Kohta, while Takashi helped both the father and his daughter climb the wall.
"Ren, let's go!" he heard his friend call.
He turned around to find all three sitting at the top of the wall now, waiting for him.
Time to move.
"The puppy!" the little girl cried.
"You've got to be kidding me".
Ren turned his head to find the little doggy biting on a random zombie's pants nearby. What a brave little soul.
He wasn't going to do it was he?
Zombies completely ignored animals.
The puppy was going to be fine.
"Ah, fuck me!" Ren muttered under his breath.
He darted towards the zombie and hit it in the head, before grabbing the puppy with one hand and carrying it close to his chest. He quickly ran towards the wall again and without a second thought, threw his bokken over it, before jumping and getting one of his arms over the wall, and thankfully, with the help of Takashi and the little girl's father, he quickly went over the wall with the rest.
Now on the other side, inside a random property front garden, Ren made sure to check that no zombies were planning on throwing down the door that currently was keeping the zombies away, alongside the cement wall.
Ren picked his bokken up with his free hand before walking as silently as he could towards the group, who were crouching, while basically still hugging the wall before he got down on one knee.
"The horn will keep on distracting them" he whispered. "But we still need to be as quiet as possible".
All of them nodded.
He then felt a little someone licking his jaw.
He had totally forgotten that he was still carrying the puppy close to his chest.
"Especially you" Ren told the puppy, who thankfully didn't seem to have any plans to bark at the moment.
A couple of minutes went by without any of them saying a word, with only the horn going off in the distance. The gunshots coming from the opposite direction, courtesy of Kohta, had also already stopped.
They were save but not really; while the horn was going off, none of them were coming towards them, but still, no matter how thick that cement wall was, it was never going to feel 100% safe with a bunch of them on the other side of it.
All this because they were big softies for a little girl.
Was it worth it?
Ren looked in the direction where the little girl was, who was now holding the puppy, who was as well behaved as possible in the girl's arms. It almost seemed unreal, how she could smile innocently while petting the puppy amidst this situation. It also helped that her father was right beside her.
"What's next?" Takashi whispered right next to him.
Ren was silent for a couple of seconds.
"There's still between 40 to 50 meters for us to reach the house…"
"For how long will that horn go off?" his friend questioned.
"I've read it can go off for almost an entire day, depending on the battery. And mine was brand new".
Silence followed through for a couple of seconds.
Both of them then noticed the father walking towards them, while scratching the back of his head.
"Umm… am sorry you two" he began speaking. "But would you mind turning around for a bit? My daughter needs to… go to the bathroom… sorry".
Both Rentaro and Takashi looked at each other before turning around, facing the wall.
A few seconds went by before Rentaro elbowed Takashi lightly, winning his friend's attention. Ren signaled Takashi with his fingers that he was going to check how it looked on the other side, to which his friend nodded.
Ren used both hands to climb the wall and sit on top, carefully to not have any part of his body exposed to the wrong side.
He still didn't like what he saw.
There was basically a sea of them where he had left the bike and a considerable amount making their way towards the bike, from his house direction.
But it's not like they could just stay there till all of them magically went away.
Once the path was a bit clearer, they would move; with Kohta's assistance they could make it. He hoped Kohta was still keeping an eye on them, since the gunshots had vanished for a while now. He looked towards the balcony's direction and threw his hands up, hoping Kohta would see him, although in his case, he couldn't figure if his friend was still there or not considering how dark it was.
Ren climbed off the wall as quietly as he could.
"So?" Takashi asked.
"Still no good" Rentaro replied.
Takashi sighed at this and none of them said a word for the next couple of seconds.
"Then what? We can't wait here forever?" his friend whispered.
"I know pal, but we still shouldn't move" he replied. "In just a few minutes the path should be much clearer".
Which was important. If it was only him and Takashi, he would feel more comfortable, but the fact they had to look over the little girl's safety was big, and also her dad. Not like they could leave him to die, especially in front of his daughter.
"Hey".
"Mhm?"
"We could walk on top of the wall towards the house direction, we just need to keep our balance" Takashi suggested.
Ren looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "That's very smart… but also reckless as shit".
"You have anything better?"
"Nope".
"Then we can try".
"Or maybe the guys come to pick us up with the Humvee"
Takashi chuckled at this. "Sounds like them".
They both remained in place for a couple of seconds… but then both heard a sound in the distance, getting closer by the second.
Rentaro and Takashi turned to look at each other simultaneously before both throwing their arms up to climb the wall, just enough to peek their heads over it.
And they saw it.
"Holy shit, they actually did".
The rest of the group had actually come for them with the Humvee.
And both him and Takashi couldn't help but glee at this.
Ren climbed down and turned to look at the father and daughter duo.
Thankfully the little girl had finished taking care of her situation already.
"C'mon, let's go!" he exclaimed, not caring about watching how loud he was being anymore. "Our group is here to pick us up!"
No more words needed to be said since the father quickly stood up alongside his daughter while she still carried the puppy.
While Takashi once again helped the little girl climb the wall, followed by her father, Ren took this opportunity to climb himself; he noticed that running over a number of them now before stopping close, almost right next to them, which was perfect, because they could jump from over the wall towards the top of the Humvee.
It was also worth noting that during the whole time, Saeko was on top of the Humvee, looking as great as possible.
At least in Ren's opinion.
Kohta was also peeking from the sunroof, or gunner's seat in this case.
He watched as Saeko jumped from top of the Humvee, towards them, in pure awe, before she instantly started making quick work of the zombies that were nearby.
"There's no way I'm not joining her right?"
"Takashi, you got this?" he asked his friend.
"Yes!" the teenager responded immediately.
And with that said, Ren jumped off the wall, with his bokken in hand, landing almost right next to Saeko.
Right after landing on his feet, by pure instinct Saeko turned around, basically ready to strike him, but stopped herself once she noticed it was him.
"Woah, woah, am still alive miss!"
She looked at him for a moment and Ren almost could see a smirk taking over her features but she quickly dashed pass him and struck a zombie that was getting close from behind him.
Rentaro joined her and started bashing the head of any zombie that came too close.
After a few moments of just the two of them taking zombies out, they found themselves back to back.
"You guys were taking your sweet time" Saeko said.
"I had everything under control" he replied, sarcastically.
They continued taking zombies out, while Kohta also did the same, this time with the shotgun.
After a few moments, finally Takashi, alongside the father and her daughter, had entered the car.
"The couple over there, inside will ya?!" they both hear Saya shout at them.
Both Rentaro and Saeko chuckled at this, knowing it was probably payback from when they were getting on the bus back at the school.
"Go, I'll be right behind you" Ren told Saeko.
She nodded at this and headed to the Humvee, not before hitting one last poor zombie of course.
Ren on the other hand hit one last zombie as well before turning around to head towards the vehicle as well. He noticed Saeko waiting for him at the rooftop, with her hand extended.
"Going to the other side of the river, you coming?" she said, with a smile.
Ren couldn't help but smile back at her.
"Do I have a choice?" he replied before taking Saeko's hand and joining her on top of the Humvee.
"Hit it!" Saya told Shizuka who was at the wheel, signaling her to finally drive away.
Which caught Ren by surprise who ended up with his face buried in Saeko's chest.
He didn't know if he should feel grateful for it or annoyed.
Probably the former.
She at least didn't seem to mind as she simply proceeded to fully enter the vehicle, followed by Ren.
He fell on his ass while entering and immediately was assaulted by the little pupper, who immediately started to lick his face.
Ren chuckled at this before petting his new little friend, apparently.
Despite the fact that he played a big part into getting them into some real trouble.
But dogs had a talent for making you not be angry at them no matter what.
Funnily enough, the puppy then was joined by Guts, who was of course inside the Humvee as well.
"No-Not you too big boy-" Ren muttered, trying to break away from the two dog's affection.
"You ok Ren?" he heard Rei's voice.
"Y-Yup!"
"Ren, Takashi, you saw that?" he then heard Kohta speak out. "I hit them with headshot after headshot after head-!"
"Shut up fatso, stop bragging about it!" that was Saya.
He finally sat up and looked around.
Shizuka was at the wheel with Saya right behind her, while Kohta was sitting right next to her. On the other hand, Rei was checking on Takashi who were basically right next to him. Saeko on the other hand was sitting not so far away from him.
The man and her daughter were sitting at the back.
Ren sighed finally, relieved.
It had been a crazy, crazy event, but everything was fine in the end.
"Uh-Um…!"
Him alongside the rest of the group minus Shizuka, turned around to look at the father, who was holding his daughter in arms.
"I-I…!" he stuttered. "Thank you…! Thank you so much!" he said while holding his daughter and it didn't take long before he broke and started crying while still trying to stutter 'thank you' a bit more.
The fear, shock and adrenaline had finally gone away and it hit him.
His daughter was save, and so was he.
"Thank you!" he said once again.
No more words needed to be said, really.
They were complete strangers that decided to help him and his daughter in the middle of a Zombiepocalypse, while putting their lives on the line.
"Don't mention it" Ren muttered while smiling.
Ren heard the little puppy bark once again and turned to look at him.
"Alright" he muttered before grabbing the puppy with one hand. "You go back to your friend there" he then handed the puppy back to the girl.
After getting a hold on the puppy, the girl, who had been silent the whole time, finally smiled at him before she started giggling as the puppy started licking her face as well.
They didn't need a 'thank you' from the girl or anything.
That smile and those eyes still shining was enough.
He didn't care if the world had gone to hell, if the better and most safe option for survival was everyone for themselves or if anyone who learned this story would call him foolish for doing it. An innocent kid dying that young, without not even knowing what was happening isn't fair, no matter if it's in a normal world like everyone used to know or the current mad undead world, it wasn't right. He didn't do it to be some kind of hero or something, but simply because it wasn't fair and it sucked. Nor was it fair for her to lose her father, no matter if the world was hostile and impersonal, now more than ever.
And this experience right now, had been important not only to him, but also for the rest of his group. It had clicked in all of them, as they sat silently on the Humvee; they didn't consider themselves heroes or good people because of it.
They realized that they could still be humans.
Yeah… it had been totally worth it.
XXX
XXX
XXX
Hello?
Yeah, it has been a long time, I know.
This past few months I was a bit too busy but thankfully I managed to find time to add to the chapter every now and then, and finally I finished it.
AND YES! ALICE DAD HAS BEEN SAVED TOO!
Perhaps this is the chapter that I went through with my mind the most so far till I finally decided to go and save the man as well.
Cuz why not?
Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter and that you guys agree with my decision.
Many thanks for keeping on reading my little fanfic and I hope y'll had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
See you on the next one.
And have a good one!