Saya and Eddy were still in utter shock that their father and older brother respectively knew about each other and talked with such familiarity at that. Eddy decided to break the awkward tension by elbowing Matthew in the side.
"Bro, how do you know Saya's old man?"
"Heh, back when I first left home, I took a job here in Japan as a driver. Turns out Old Souchiro here paid big bucks for me to be his personal chauffeur." Matthew chuckled. "We kinda traded stories about our lives here and there while I was at it."
"And then you returned to your hometown to work as some cheap carny before finally deciding to make your teaching degree useful before this tragedy struck." Souchiro dryly responded.
"Geez, don't remind me of Mondo-a-Go-Go..." Matthew groaned in embarrassment.
Eddy then stood rigid when Souchiro turned his gaze toward him. The powerful man's mere presence instilled the fear of God in the short boy.
"I take it this is your younger brother, Eddy?"
"Yup, this Pipsqueak that I always used to push around. He's ALWAYS been little." Matthew smirked as he rested his arm over Eddy's head.
"Fuck you, Bro..."
"I've heard that you've been looking after my daughter," Souchiro said to Eddy. "I would like to sincerely thank you for your noble efforts in keeping her safe."
"Yup! After the first time we met, I didn't want to make a bad impression!" Eddy grinned nervously, sweat dripping off him in buckets.
"Ah, the pipsqueak is getting a little too hot under the collar." Matthew chuckled before scootching Eddy away. "Come on, let the grown-ups talk things out. You hang out with your little friends."
Eddy scowled and flipped his brother off, Matthew playfully returning the gesture as Souchiro sighed at the immaturity. Eddy then huffed and returned to the rest of the gang. Saya, having kept silent until now, quickly ran after him.
"Well, at least he didn't reveal any of the embarrassing things that happened between us..." The pink-haired genius thought to herself.
"So, how was it talking to Big Man Takagi?" Ben asked.
"About as terrifying as the first time I met him..." Eddy said, trying to ease the shaking of his legs.
"Yeah, Saya's dad does cut an imposing figure..." Takashi said, rubbing the back of his head.
"Hirano is still off brooding. I'm worried about him." Toshimi said, Misuzu nodding in agreement.
Yuuki smirked mischievously as she leaned down to Eddy, much to his confusion.
"What are you looking at?"
"Did you tell Saya's Daddy how close the two of you have been getting~?"
Eddy took a second to fully process the words before his face flushed bright red. Saya, who had just caught up with him, shrieked and smacked Yuuki over the head, making her laugh.
"WE ARE NOT IN ANY KIND OF RELATIONSHIP, YOU NYMPHO!"
"Are you sure about that? You guys do share a room together right now." Takuzo pointed out.
"And even before this whole outbreak started, you've been acting like an old married couple," Naomi added.
"Don't try to deny it, you two," Double-D said, giving a rare playful smirk. "You two do have quite a lot of chemistry without even realizing it."
Ben and Ed had broken off as Eddy and Saya continued to try and defend themselves from the playful accusations of their friends. The two were worried about Kohta, who seemed to be in quite a bad mood since the talk about swords being ineffective compared to guns.
"Please tell me you're not doing anything stupid, Kohta..." Ben thought to himself.
"I hope you're okay, my friend..." Ed thought.
Soon, the two found Kohta and hurried over to him, only to see he was being ganged up on by some of Souchiro's men. The chubby boy was desperately holding onto the weapons he had gotten at Rika's house.
"I said NO! I'm borrowing these from someone. And besides, there's no one here who can use these guns better than I can!"
One of the men nodded to the others. "We don't have time for this kid's whining."
The other men started closing in on him, intending to take the guns by force. However, Ed moved in, faster than the eye could track and shoved the closest guard back from Kohta.
"Who the hell are you, punk?"
"I am Ed! And I am defending my friend from bullies!" Ed declared.
A loud gunshot rang out as the guards all flinched to see Ben, his nanosuit forming over him as he fired his Desert Eagle into the air. His helmet formed over his glaring eyes as he stomped over.
"You punks should take 'No' for an answer sometime."
"What the hell is all this?!" Souchiro bellowed as he made his way over, accompanied by Yuriko and Matthew.
"It's just a kid, sir. He doesn't have any business with these guns." One of the guards said.
"Really, then what does that make me?" Ben said with his grip on his Desert Eagle firm.
Souchiro said nothing as he stood before Kohta, who went rigid as Ben and Ed stood protectively by their friend's side.
"I am Souchiro Takagi, former lord of Tokonosu, the master of Tendo Sokun Ryu. What is your name, young man?"
"Ko-Kohta Hirano. I go to Fujimi Academy. I'm in Class 2-B roster number thirty-two."
"Edwin Horace Alba! Transfer student from Peach Creek!" Ed said, giving a salute. "Private Do-Not-Enter is ready for duty, Chief!"
"You know who I am, sir." Ben chuckled as his helmet unfolded. "Benjamin Torekuroshi, son of Colonel Gerald Torekuroshi and Dr. Kimiko Torekuroshi. I am currently acting under my father's command until stood down."
"And why are you standing against my men?"
"Ed was simply defending a friend. As for me, the safety of Fujimi students is my top priority. Your men were attacking one who also happens to be my friend. Those guns are the property of Rika Minami of the prefectural police. I was able to get in contact with her about the guns and she asked me to ensure they made their way to her."
"So why does this brat have them then?" asked one of Souchiro's men.
"Since I am currently a US military agent, I am forbidden by law to take possession of them. A compromise was reached and my classmates were given permission by Ms. Minami herself to carry, care for, and use the guns if necessary. Kohta is very skilled at using them and I trust him with my life in combat. The number of people with that honor can be counted on one hand."
Souchiro merely nodded before turning his attention back to Kohta, who gulped nervously as he could see it was clear he wasn't out of the woods yet.
"The evidence before me tells me that you have spirit. I'm quite sure you went through a lot before you made it all the way here. I take it you don't intend to hand over your weapons?"
"NO SIR! I don't want to." Kohta said in a panicked tone. "Without the guns, I'll go right back to the way I was before. They'll make fun of me again. I don't wanna go back there. I finally figured out what I can do."
"What exactly can you do?" Soichiro asked. "TELL ME!"
"He can protect your daughter, sir."
Ben and Ed smiled as the rest of the gang came in, all of them forming a protective grouping around Kohta.
"Ko… Komuro?" Kohta choked out.
"Komuro… interesting." Souchiro mused "Yes, that name sounds familiar to me. You were friends with my daughter since she was little, were you not?"
"Yes sir. Still am." Takashi nodded. "But Hirano here has been the one protecting her. We've all been working together, sir. He keeps the guns."
Arisu came running then and threw her arms around Kohta.
"I'll have you know, I've seen his bravery with my own eyes." Saeko added as she stood beside me.
"This guy is a crazy son of a bitch!" Eddy laughed. "I can see why Ed became fast friends with him when we first went to Fujimi. He's one of the few who can keep up with his brand of crazy!"
"Kohta may seem rather unhinged at times, but he has a truly considerate heart and cares for his friends." Double-D added.
"They're all correct, Daddy." Saya spoke up. "He's just a military otaku, but without him I would have been one of those zombies by now. That's right Daddy, he's been the one protecting me. He did your job."
"He-Who-Loves-Guns Kohta-Boy is a warrior if Rolf ever saw one!" Rolf said, placing a hand on Kohta's shoulder. "Rolf declares that he keeps his weapons so that he may continue to lay waste to the undead menace plaguing us!"
"Takagi. Everyone. Thank you." Kohta very nearly sobbed.
There was a tense silence before Souchiro cracked a proud grin, aimed especially at Saya.
"Well done my daughter. You've surrounded yourself with capable people and are willing to stand beside them in their time of need. You represent the Takagi family well. I am proud."
Yuriko broke into a wide smile and rushed forward to embrace her daughter. Saya was, unsurprisingly shellshocked and could only stand there with her mouth open. Soichiro turned to address his men.
"The young man keeps the guns. That is my final word on the subject."
"Yes sir!"
"OY! YOU FUCKMUNCHERS WERE HARASSING A FUCKING KID?!"
Souchiro's men all stood rigid and terrified as an American man with short dark brown hair, peach fuzz, and dressed like a WWI-Era Soldier stomped in with a pissed-off look on his face.
"D-D-Dempsey-San! We-!" One of the guards defended before being backhanded across the face.
"SHUT YOUR PUSSY-LIPPED MOUTH! I'M HAVING YOU DO 100 LAPS AROUND THE WHOLE ESTATE! I WANNA SEE THOSE FUCKING LEGS EXPLODE AND BLEED OUT!"
Terrified, Souchiro's men began running to do their laps as the man took a deep inhale from his nostrils before breathing out of his mouth. A laugh from Nikolai caught his attention as the Russian man ran over and hugged him.
"DEMPSEY, YOU ЁБАННЫЙ УБЛЮДОК (MOTHERFUCKING BASTARD)!" Nikolai laughed. "I KNEW YOU WERE STILL ALIVE!"
"Hey, good to see you too, ya husky rusky..." The man known as Dempsey smirked as he pulled Nikolai into a headlock before seeing the confused looks on the other kid's faces. "Hey, haven't introduced myself, have I? Tank Dempsey, Marine Recon Team and right now acting Chief of Security for the Takagi Estate."
"All we need are Takeo and Richtofen and our gang is complete again!" Nikolai bellowed. "This calls for a drink!"
Souchiro chuckled at seeing the two friends reunite as Tank noticed Ben and walked over, pulling the kid into an armlock for a noogie.
"Hey, Little Bro! Glad to see you still among the living! I dig the suit, where'd ya get it?"
Ben could only laugh as he struggled to get out of Tank's hold. The Fujimi Crew were all relived to see a crisis averted but there was still more troubles to come moving forward. Still, despite it all, they would face it together.
We now have another of the Nazi Zombie Main Four in our party! Tank Dempsey, the foul-mouthed American Hard Badass voiced by the legendary Steve Blum himself!