Shizuka's friend's apartment was as near to perfect for the survivors' needs as they could hope for. High walls all around. It sat on a hillside so one corner was significantly lower, giving a perfectly clear view of the crossroads there from the balcony at the front of the apartment. True to her story, there was a convenience store just a few dozen yards down the road. A strong gate for the driveway led up to the garage where there was a goddamn Humvee as well.
As for Ben's family apartment, it was interconnected with the other apartment, effectively making it a kind of townhouse, which would be perfect for the large group of survivors to all have room to reside in.
"Holy crap is that a frickin' HUMVEE?!" Kohta cried, looking ready to bust a nut in his pants. "And it's a military model too!"
Shizuka giggled. "I told you it looks like a tank!"
"Exactly what kind of friend is she?" Saya wondered.
Rei checked along the perimeter fence. "The walls look high enough that I don't think they can get over. We should be able to have a nice safe rest."
"Whoo-Hoo! Rest and relaxation, baby!" Eddy cheered, giving Miura a high-five in the process.
"We can use the bus to brace the gate," Double-D added noting the steep angle of the driveway.
Suddenly, Ben felt a warning ping on his suit's HUD. He held a hand up to everyone to make sure they stood back.
"I'm sensing a hostile in this area...and it's different from the other undead."
Suddenly, Ben's suit locked up, causing him to realize that a new update was coming...and right when the hostile made itself known.
A snarling roar came from a hooded man with his hood shrouding his eyes, his teeth were sharper and his mouth stained with blood. His fingers had extended into blood-stained claws and he was moving at high speeds on all fours before pouncing at Ben.
"BEN, LOOK OUT!" Eddy cried as he swung his crowbar at the hooded-clawed zombie, only for it to just barely lose trajectory.
"System Override: Maximum Armor." The suit suddenly boomed as Ben's suit was surrounded by some kind of hardlight aura. As soon as the hooded zombie reached it and began trying to tear him to shreds with its claws, it did absolutely nothing.
"I shall save you!" Ed said, smacking the hooded zombie off Ben and then bashing it over the head continuously with his bat until he was absolutely sure it was dead.
Ben regained movement in his body and heard the suit begin to talk again.
"Armor Mode increases defense output. Reducing damage from all attacks and increasing survival probability from exploding munitions. Armor Mode requites suit energy."
"This suit's just full of surprises..." Ben muttered to himself before suddenly feeling weak again, just like when the Licker attacked.
"New T-virus strain added… Stand by."
"Looks like Ben's getting another upgrade or something," Morita noted.
Shido saw this as an opportunity to kill Ben. However, he was being watched like a hawk by Rei and Matthew.
"Don't even try it, Shido. I know what you're thinking." Matthew growled lowly to his nemesis.
"New strain added. System reboot. Suit upgraded."
Ben slowly regained his strength and clenched his fist a few times to make sure he was feeling alright. He then gave a nod to his friends, which they returned, glad to see him okay.
Shido in the back just ground his teeth in anger. He would find another chance, he just needed to wait for it.
The group split into smaller groups to spread out and gather resources. The Eds went with Saya, Yuuki, Toshimi, Misuzu, Takuzu, Naomi, Kurokami, Tsunoda, and Imamura to raid the convenience store. Kohta took a group of guys next door to find clothes as it was agreed that, since Shizuka's friend was female, they'd be very unlikely to find any male clothes there. Takashi and Ben took Rei and Saeko to search the house and ensure no zombies were present. The rest aided Shizuka, Kyoko, and Matthew in positioning the bus to rest against the gate.
The duplex ended up having a rather large bathroom and three bedrooms so at least there'd be plenty of space to spread out and relax. The girls commandeered the two top-floor bedrooms and left the boys to the master bedroom on the second floor.
Ben had his personal bedroom over at his apartment and allowed Matthew and Kyoko to take up residence in his parents' master bedroom. Ben's family apartment had a large kitchen, two large bathrooms, one of them being Ben's private use one, and even a sound-dampened indoor gun range in the basement.
The teachers and the others would secure blankets and futons and make their sleeping arrangements in the living room. Being gentlemen, the boys let the girls have the first crack at the bath.
While the girls were relaxing, the boys decided to bide their time with other things. Matthew decided to take a nap on the couch, which was big enough to sit three people. Double-D was reading a book and sharing some details of it with Kurokami and Takuzo. Eddy and Takashi started up a conversation while casting a look at Tsunoda, who scowled and looked away. Ben went to his family's apartment, which was connected to Shizuka's friends' duplex by a walkway, and holed up in his bedroom to get some things.
As for Ed, he had stumbled across some rifle ammo and immediately went to show it to Kohta, since he knew he'd want to see it first.
"Hey Kohta do you know which guns could have these?" Ed asked.
Kohta's eyes widened as a smile slowly crept up to his face.
"Ed, where did you find these?"
"By the stereo."
The boys found a safe and tried to open the safe. Ed, Kohta, Takashi, and Eddy used the latter's crowbar to pry it open, falling back as soon as the safe door swung open.
"Sheesh, nice catch." Eddy sarcastically said to the other boys while rubbing his head.
Kohta got up and the very second his eyes landed on what was inside, a wild grin spread across his lips as he jumped to his feet.
"GAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I JUST KNEW IT!"
The rest of the boys looked at the guns stashed in the locker with awe.
"Just who is Shizuka-Sensei's friend? Sarah fucking Pallen?!" Hisashi wondered.
Kohta immediately grabbed one of the guns, checked it out, and then posed with it, making some of the guys back up in surprise.
"The Springfield M1A1 Super Match. It's semi-automatic but M14 series full automatic is nothing but a waste of bullets anyway."
"Cool!" Ed said.
"I can fit twenty bullets in the magazine. That's illegal in Japan. ILLEGAL!" Kohta began giggling like a lunatic as he searched through the locker some more.
"Hello, Hirano." Takashi awkwardly tried to get his friend's attention. "Why isn't Ben here to hold him back?"
"Nice, an SR-25-" Kohta began before fully taking out and inspecting the next gun, his glasses gleaming wickedly. "No, you can't get that in Japan so they just completely modified an AR1-10!"
Tsunoda was starting to sweat a little, recalling the times he had bullied Kohta back at Fujimi, which Ed and Ben had put a stop to. He was starting to realize that he definitely dodged a massive bullet when he learned bullying Kohta was off-limits after Ben and Ed got through with him.
"Hey, Hirano, what about this one?" Takuzo asked as he pulled out a large crossbow.
"Oh man, that's a descendant of the one Robin Hood used!" Kohta grinned. "It's a Barnett Wild Cat C-5, made in Britain! You can even kill a freaking BEAR with it!"
"Good lord!" Double-D gasped. "Such dangerous weapons!"
"Gotta say, Shizuka's friend has some great security measures!" Eddy laughed as Takashi took out the next gun, making Kohta gasp in excitement.
"That's an Ithica M37 Riot Shotgun! It's a super sick shotgun made in America! Played a big part in the Vietnam War too!"
"I know what it is, Kohta. After all, we're American." Double-D chuckled playfully. "But this is your moment, so I didn't want to impose."
"You're a good guy, Double-D." Kohta grinned. "But yeah, I know a few people who could use these...though we should wait for the girls to get out of the showers first."
"Hey, you found Minami-Senpai's stash?" Ben's voice was heard as everyone turned to see him come in, his suit turned off and back in his normal clothes as he brought in bags full of stuff, which he placed down and opened.
Kohta nearly salivated when he saw the bags contained even more guns and a few other notable weapons. A Beretta 1301 Tactical Shotgun, a pair of 9mm pistols (A CZ P09 and a H&K VP9sk), a Taurus Model 444 Raging Bull .44 Magnum Revolver, and a Desert Eagle .50 AE. There was also a serrated machete, a butterfly knife, and a tomahawk.
"That's a lot of heat..." Kurokami noted.
"Come with me to the shooting range. It's in my family's basement." Ben said. "And don't let Shido get his hands on any of these."
"Roger that!" Kohta saluted.
For the next hour or so, Ben and Kohta worked together to teach the rest of the boys how to shoot. They wouldn't be winning any sharpshooting competitions but at least they felt comfortable passing a few weapons around to the more responsible ones.
Meanwhile, inside the bathroom were the girls. In the tub were Rei and Shizuka, the latter trying to get away as the former was trying to grope her breasts. Saya, Yuuki, Naomi, and Saeko were sitting on stools while washing themselves and Kyoko, Toshimi, Misuzu, Taniuchi, and Kawamoto were occupying the shower.
"Rei, please don't touch there!"
"Just what size are they? There's no way they can be real!"
Saya could only close her eyes while rubbing her temples, trying to drown out the shenanigans nearby. She could only look at the window in front of her while washing her hair. Before she could think more about her situation Saeko suddenly asked a bizarre question.
"So, do you like Eddy?"
The pink-haired genius' eyes widened as she stared at the older woman with a blush.
"Why the hell would you say that?"
Saeko giggled as Yuuki and Naomi joined in as well.
"C'mon Takagi face it. You like Eddy."
"No, I don't! I can't stand even him!"
"Are you sure? You seemed pretty happy when he came to your rescue back at the school."
Before Saya could respond to Yuuki, she shrieked as she felt something cold on her back. She quickly turned around to see a giggling Saeko.
"I bet that he would enjoy that voice of yours for one night."
Yuuki and Naomi also joined in the giggling as well. Before Saeko could make another joke, she felt something cold on her back as well. Saya grinned evilly before frowning when Saeko just let out a small moan.
What followed was Saya and Saeko getting into a splash fight as Yuuki and Naomi laughed while watching, only to get splashed themselves. Instead of being angry, the two just filled up their own buckets and joined in.
"Oh now you're gonna get it!"
Kyoko could only sigh, trying to calm herself down. She tried to keep her mind off the insanity the world had fallen into before hearing Misuzu's voice.
"Hayashi-Sensei, can I ask a question?"
"What do you need?"
"How do you get a boy's attention?"
Toshimi also paid attention to her best friend's question as well. Kyoko, while initially surprised by the question, thought carefully before realizing that only one boy could have Toshimi and Misuzu's attention.
"All you have to do is be like his best friend."
"That's it?"
Kyoko nodded. "Pretty much you could ask Matt-Kun about how to get a boy's attention as well."
"Thank you, Hayashi-Sensei."
As soon as the girls finished showering, the boys took their turn in the shower. Once everyone was finished, they gathered around to sort out who would get what weapons.
Rei got the Springfield M1A1 with an attached bayonet for her spear techniques. Kohta took the AR-10 for himself, as the only other sniper-level shooter in the group, it was a good match. Takashi was almost passed over for the Ithaca M37 shotgun when he flippantly said that if all else failed, he'd just swing it like a club.
Kyoko took the Wild Cat C-5 with some rags and a bottle of gasoline, she provided her own lighter. Morita and Imamura got the CZ P09 and H&K VP9sk respectively. Ben kept the Desert Eagle and gave his MP5 away to Hisashi while keeping his SCAR and Kohta passed the G36C over to Takuzo.
Everyone with a gun got two full magazines, while the spare magazines and ammo boxes were either kept in Ben and Kohta's bags or stashed in the bus.
As for Double-D, he had been thinking to himself for a while before getting an idea and asking if there were any spare objects around the apartment. He then went through both apartments and gathered what he could find before setting them on a table with several rolls of duct tape. He also asked for the Berretta 1301 shotgun from Ben.
"Wonder what Double-D is doing." Miura wondered.
After a half-hour, Double-D presented his inventions to everyone; he had put the shotgun together with a pitchfork from Ben's father's backyard shed, dubbing it 'The Boomstick', a sledgehammer with two fire axes attached called 'The Defiler', a box of nails stuck into Ed's bat which was simply called a 'Spiked Bat', several knives strapped to a pair of boxing gloves and dubbed 'The Knife Gloves', a parasol stuck into a leaf blower to become a makeshift spear-like weapon called 'The Parablower', a machete strapped to a broom dubbed as 'The Pole Weapon', and an old water gun used by Ben in his childhood hooked up with a fire extinguisher to make a 'Snowball Cannon'.
"Sockhead, you never let us down!" Eddy grinned wickedly as he took the Boomstick.
"Hehehe, I was right, you do got spunk, Girlfriend." Matthew chuckled, giving a practice swing with the Defiler.
"I guess I can use this," Shizuka noted as she inspected the Snowball Cannon.
"I am now almighty!" Ed declared, raising his new Spiked Bat in the air.
"I guess this works..." Toshimi awkwardly said while holding the Parablower, Misuzu having taken the Pole Weapon.
"Heh, Mr. Shido will like these." Tsunoda chuckled as he put on the Knife Gloves.
"Say, where is Mr. Shido?" Yamada asked.
"That weasel said he was gonna settle in one of the rooms for right now and wait for something to happen." Matthew frowned. "Honestly, I think he's just waiting for the right time to pounce."
With everything settled, the group spread out a map Double-D and Yuuki had found at the store and started marking out people's homes and getting figures for how many family members could potentially be found at each home. Saya pointed out that her dad would have likely gathered survivors from the area around their estate and brought them in for protection as it was well-known how right-wing he was and that he had a small private army of bodyguards and retainers. It was agreed that the Takagi estate would be the group's first port of call as it was the most likely place for the largest number of family members to be.
Double-D then sighed sadly as he took out a sheet of paper and placed it down.
"What are you doing, Double-D?" Takuzo asked.
"I hate doing this...but I want everyone to record anybody they knew at school who either didn't make it or turned. I just...I need to make sure their families are informed if we met them and they're still alive."
It was a somber chore, but everyone agreed that they would remember the fallen and give closure to grieving families if they could. It was just the right thing to do, and the group hoped that anyone present would do the same if any of them were to fall. Then they made a second list of the missing, those they didn't know the current status of but weren't with them so at least there was hope. It was a much shorter list.
After all that unpleasantness, Matthew, Shizuka, and Kyoko gathered many of the students and held a sort of group confessional so they could clear their consciences of the sad or deplorable things they had to do to survive. It gave the kids a chance to decompress from the stress of survival. Those who didn't join the group therapy session either went to the kitchen to prepare food or, in Ben and Kohta's case, went upstairs to scope out the area.
Double-D was now in the hallway by himself reading a book before suddenly hearing footsteps from his right and closing it. He sighed as he saw it was only Yuuki, only for his face to redden as he saw Yuuki was in nothing but her red lingerie with matching red stockings.
"Um, Yuuki, what are you…"
Before Double-D could finish, Yuuki kissed him full on the mouth, her tongue forcefully entering his. After breaking the kiss, she smiled lustfully as a blush spread over her face.
"Just let me take care of you..."
The two fell onto the ground, wrapping their arms around each other while continuing to make out before Yuuki began removing Double-D's clothes...
Matthew had the TV on and the news was reporting about some protesters on Onbetsu Bridge which the group had been trying to cross earlier. The police were losing control and Kohta was observing the same bridge through some binoculars upstairs.
"The media is calling it a killer pandemic. They're just spreading half-truths and the protesters are using that against the police to sow chaos." Takashi noted, also watching the TV with Matthew and a few other boys.
Matthew nodded and pointed at the head troublemaker leading the chants. "He's a problem. Eliminate him and the police can try and restore just a bit of order."
"But what can we do?" Takuzo asked.
"We could try taking him out," Kohta suggested.
"Hirano, don't you think that's a little too far?" Takashi asked, aghast.
"Why not? We've been killing people for two days now. This is no different."
"Yeah, but those people are already turned. It's totally different." Takuzo pointed out.
"Not really, kid. If that guy keeps going, he's going to cause a lot of people to die when the police lose control and get overrun." Matthew argued, agreeing with Kohta. "Then they'll all turn into zombies anyway."
In the living room, most of the group had gathered around the TV to watch what was happening, live. The bridge they had been trying for yesterday, was packed with terrified people just trying to escape the living nightmare that their lives had become. The police were stretched to the max, and to make it worse a group of protesters was making things even more difficult.
"Daddy!" Taniuchi gasped, recognizing her father among the police. Suddenly the news camera focused on a police officer approaching the lead protester pleading for him to leave. The belligerent just spat in his face and told the police to leave.
"You don't understand, you're in danger here."
"What could be more dangerous than the corrupt police and their government virus!?"
Suddenly, a pair of glowing blades erupted out of the lead protestor's chest, making his eyes widen in shock as he looked down at the blades before they were ripped out from behind, followed by the blades crossing across his neck, splattering blood everywhere as he fell over dead, his head barely hanging on to a few threads of flesh from how deep the neck was cut.
"Me." A voice spoke up. It was cold, emotionless, and diligent.
Ben was watching using Vision Mode from his suit and he recognized the body shape of the person who killed the lead protestor, who uncloaked as the police quickly assumed defensive postures protecting citizens. The protesters scattered all over, some even jumping off the bridge into the water below. A second later, the feed cut back to the news anchors.
"Spectre..."
"You know him?" Kohta asked.
"He's a member of my Dad's specialist squad back home. If he's here, guess they were sent here to help try and keep the peace and hold back the undead."
"Well, if he's part of your dad's group, he's gotta be badass." Eddy chuckled.
As everyone was hanging out, Shido kept to himself, drumming his fingers on a table while rubbing his chin. He smirked, eagerly waiting for the right moment when he could strike Ben down when nobody else could stop him and take whatever suit he was wearing for himself.
"With Torekuroshi-Kun's suit, I will have what I need to become the leader this poor misguided flock needs to guide them to salvation..."
Don't worry everyone, Shido won't be causing problems for long. Trust me on this.
Also, it seems Double-D has made some of the Combo Weapons from Dead Rising for the survivors to use. We also have an acquaintance of Ben's family showing up to keep the peace by any means necessary.
If you want to know who Spectre is, he's one of the Specialists from Black Ops III.