The hike to find another way to the Takagi Estate was just about as hard as trying to drive there. Dodging zombies and gangs was easier said than done and two hours later the small separated group of Ed, Rolf, Saeko, Ben, and Nikolai ducked inside a bike shop to catch a break.

"Rolf's legs are like the jelly Nana makes for Papa's birthday..." Rolf sighed as he caught his breath.

"I have Vodka, but something tells me you kids aren't in the mood for that," Nikolai said as he unclipped one of his bottles and took a swig.

Saeko found a cooler behind the counter of the shop and fetched some drinks before handing them to Ed, Rolf, and Ben while keeping one for herself. Ben's helmet unfolded so that he could drink while Ed chugged his in one go.

After relaxing for a little bit, the five made their way to the maintenance area in the back. Two managed to catch their eyes; an eight-wheeled ATV and a Harley-Davidson Fat Boy.

"These'll suit our needs nicely," Ben noted.

"Can Ed even drive?" Saeko asked as Ed was imagining it being like Mario Kart.

"We need keys first, дети (children)." Nikolai pointed out.

The group looked around, Saeko eventually managing to find keys for the two vehicles underneath a desk that was about to break any second. She handed them to Ben and Nikolai, Nikolai taking the ATV with Ed and Rolf hanging on and Ben and Saeko taking the Fat Boy.

As the five drove off, they needed to be mindful of the abandoned cars and hordes of zombies littering the streets. At one intersection there were so many that they were forced to cut into a park to escape them. More were there and they had to make a blind turn into a plaza.

"Ugh, the hell pigs are everywhere!" Nikolai cursed as he disembarked the ATV and began opening fire with his AK-74u, which still had some ammo left.

Ed bashed two zombies with his Spiked Bat before another tried to bite him from his left only to meet Rolf's hatchet to the back of its head.

Ben was covering Saeko's flank with his SCAR as she slaughtered every zombie in her path with her bokken. However, she suddenly stopped and the nano suit-enhanced boy was confused at his Vice-President's cessation of action when he saw what she was seeing:

Children. UNDEAD children, at that. Saeko was staring at them with wide-eyed horror and Ben couldn't help but understand exactly what she was feeling. With a heavy heart, he took out his Desert Eagle and fired shots into each undead child's head, putting them to rest.

"We'll need to sacrifice one of the vehicles!" Nikolai said before taking a broken piece of the plaza fountain and wedging it into the accelerator of the ATV. "Go! Go!"

"You guys go! We'll catch up!" Ben said as he, Saeko, and Ed were bunched together. Nikolai and Rolf wanted to protest but alas, they took the Fat Boy and drove off.

"COME BACK TO US, ED-BOY!"

"WE WILL, ROLF!"

The three managed to escape on foot and found a small dojo to take shelter in. Ed and Ben barricaded the door while Saeko sat in the main hall and removed the protective pads she had on over her knees, elbows, and hands. After the boys finished barricading, Ben lit one of the candles found and made a mental note to see if the swords up at the altar were real, Saeko's bokken was getting kind of rough and cracked.

"Saeko, are you okay?" Ben asked as his suit disengaged, returning him back to his regular clothes as he sat down with his Disciplinary Vice-President.

She sat there for a minute staring at the wall before finally replying.

"It wasn't the kids. Not really. I saw them and I was thinking about nothing more than killing them and moving on to the next. But then it all just kind of crashed. I thought about the world right now and I thought about us and whether a monster like me deserves to love."

"Monster?"

"Please, I just want to get it off my chest. You did ask after all."

Ed had finished checking around for anything useful and had caught the tailwind of the conversation. Ben nodded to him and he sat down to also hear the story.

"Four years ago, in middle school, I was on my way home at night when I was attacked by a man. I had my bokken with me. I started hitting him and once I started, I didn't stop, I couldn't stop. I was… he… was." She shuddered and took a breath to brace herself. She looked at Ben and Ed, giving a weak smile. "I wish I'd have known you back then."

"Four years ago...That was before my family moved to Okinawa base..." Ben noted.

"After I told the police what happened, they gave me a ride home in their police car."

"It was clear-cut self-defense."

"It might have started out that way, but if I'm honest… I enjoyed it. Just letting the rage out. Against someone. There was nothing but… joy." Saeko admitted. "When I realized I had the upper hand, I felt so calm. I pretended I was terrified. And when I had him where I wanted him, I fought back. I fought until there was just blood and bones. And it was bliss. Absolute pleasure."

A mad glint started taking over Saeko's eyes, making Ed shiver and Ben to tense his shoulders. In the years he had known Saeko, he had never seen her like this. Now, he seemed to understand her much better than he ever did before.

"That's me! Can't you see? That's who I really am. The feeling of power, of control over the life of another. I love it! Does anyone like that deserve love?" Her breath was quick now with manic giggles every now and then.

Saeko was suddenly shocked when Ed and Ben both embraced her, making her eyes widen as the boys held her close.

"Saeko...you're not the only one to feel that way." Ben admitted. "To be honest, five years ago, I had the power over someone's life as well...and I snuffed it out."

Saeko stared at Ben as he broke the hug, waiting for him to tell his story, which he did after a deep breath.

"It was supposed to be a Retrieval Mission. My dad had felt I was ready enough to partake in it along with his crew. What we saw horrified us..." Ben said. "It was a Child Prostitution Ring, using the country's disarray to do whatever heinous hedonistic sin they wished to commit...on goddamn CHILDREN!"

Saeko and Ed both listened intently as Ben continued.

"I found the ringleader of the whole thing. He had tried to escape like the rat he was. But I shot out both his legs and left him crawling...then when he was begging for his pathetic miserable excuse of a life...I snapped. It was all blank, all I felt was the euphoria of making someone suffer."

"How did you make him suffer? Do you remember?" Saeko asked.

"Yes, in vivid detail. I violated him the same way he violated those kids. I shoved my goddamn combat knife up his anus, I throat-fucked him with my guns, I ripped off his goddamn arms, and choked him with my bare hands! He was crying, begging me to stop...and that just made me go even harder on him. He didn't even die after I was done...he was just this pathetic gurgling bleeding pile of still-living shit!"

Ed and Saeko stared in shock as Ben breathed heavily, having let all of his rage and bad memories out in those words. He clenched his fist so tight, it looked like he'd draw blood as he continued.

"Dad...he killed the guy after that. One shot to the head was all it took. But at that point, I feel like the bastard might have been begging for death to finally take him from his living hell." The army child sighed. "Dad covered for me, but that just made me feel worse...You think you're the only monster, Saeko? I'm worse, I'm so much worse. Don't think you're a terrible person when there are more that make what you did look like a child slapping another."

Saeko and Ben were silent before Ed pulled them both into a hug. The lovable oaf's ever-big and compassionate heart taking center stage now.

"Come here, brave soldiers..."

The three remained that way until exhaustion overtook them and they all soon fell asleep, Ed making sure to find some blankets for them.

The next morning, Ben and Ed awoke to see Saeko curled up against them both. Ed gently shook her awake as she moaned, rubbing the drool from her mouth as the three got up and prepared to leave.

"Wait, Saeko, should we take these swords?" Ben asked as he brought some blades he found by the altar.

"Oooh! We can be like the Samurai Zombie Slayer Corp!" Ed excitedly cheered as Saeko inspected the swords with a practiced eye.

"This looks like a late Edo or early Meiji-era katana. The same kind of sword I've been training with for years. The other would be a nodachi by the length of it. A sword used by mounted and foot soldiers against cavalry. It was usually carried on the back or by a servant because of the difficulty drawing it from the waist."

"Something tells me Ed's big enough to handle the Nodachi." Ben chuckled as he tossed the blade to the lump. "A nice step up from that boring old bat, right?"

Saeko took the other sword and the three made their way outside into the warm spring morning. The vista was breathtaking from the top of the hill with sakura petals blowing in the breeze.

"So beautiful..." Ben sighed.

However, the trio noticed a shrine maiden zombie shambling up the stairs. Ben placed a gentle hand on Saeko's shoulder and nodded his head as his nanosuit covered him.

"No turning back?"

"No turning back."

"By the power of Greyskull!" Ed began as he drew his new Nodachi. "I HAVE THE POWERRRRRRRRRRRR!"

A pretty short chapter and Nikolai and Rolf have broken off to head to the Takagi Estate. Ben and Saeko have a heart-to-heart with Ed acting as the sweet emotional support dog he is.

Next chapter, the trio ends up running into a surprising face who helps them out of a pretty big jam.