POV Isao Tsumugi
More than ten minutes had passed as we all rode in silence on the bus. I just didn't feel like talking, and because of that, there weren't any particularly long conversations.
Honestly, after sleeping, I'd rested a bit and cleared the fog from my head, and I had already started planning what to do and how.
First, get to Marikawa-san's friend's house, which Marikawa herself was already handling.
Second, as soon as we all get there, we'll need to inspect all the rooms, count how many people there are, and immediately decide who will sleep where.
Third, right after the second step, I need to go get futons. I think I'll just steal enough from the neighboring houses so my people can sleep well.
And fourth... hm, it seems these three are the most important right now. The rest, like refueling the bus and crossing to the other side of the river, can be done tomorrow.
I sighed, scratching my head a little, while we drove down the street. Marikawa's expression grew happier and happier with every second, showing just how glad she was to get to this place.
And to be honest, I was glad too, that despite all the horror that had happened to all of us starting this morning, at least half of the problems were about to be solved, and we'd all get a good sleep and rest.
The bus began to slowly decelerate, but I grabbed the handrails anyway, gripping them tightly, looking suspiciously at Marikawa-san, who gave me a mocking look as she stopped right in front of one of the houses.
"Are we here?" Instead of words, Marikawa answered my question with a nod, making me sigh and get up from my seat, letting go of the handrails. "Alright, guys, let's get out! We're here!"
Everyone slowly began to stand up, stretching their legs and cracking their backs. Especially the kids who, seeing what the adults were doing, tried to crack their backs too. It was damn adorable, and then... I remembered the Golden Shot and all that adoration vanished in an instant.
Yeah... it's too early for me to have kids. And having kids in THIS economy?
No, hell no! I haven't even gotten to Takagi's safe base yet, if it even exists, and I still need to see what's what there.
Not to mention the Evo-zombie we met a while ago, and... the only question is, will they be able to get to Takagi's Base? How well is it protected? And so on and so forth.
All these thoughts spun in my head while I was telling the guys what to do. The very first thing was for everyone who might be in danger to get inside quickly, and everyone else who was able-bodied? I, as a truly good person, put them to work.
Marikawa got back inside the bus, behind the wheel, while the guys and some of the girls—namely, only Rei and Saeko—guarded the open gate, while I sat off to the side, thinking about a few things.
"Isao, we're all set, what's next?" Takashi walked up to me, sighing tiredly.
I looked around. All the guys present were high schoolers I'd saved at the school, and there were also Rei, Saeko, and Marikawa, who was looking at me tiredly and pitifully.
"Okay, take all the boxes out of the bus, grab the hearty food and some various snacks and drinks, and take it all inside. While you're doing that, have Marikawa-sensei gather everyone in the living room so everyone can sit down and eat. Girls, help her." All the guys nodded, though you could see how tired they were, and headed toward the open bus door.
"And what will you be doing?" Hisashi raised an eyebrow, looking at me questioningly.
"I doubt a house where only two women live will have beds or even futons for two dozen people," I looked at Marikawa, who nodded, smiling at me. "So I'll go steal a few from the neighboring houses, or... hm, maybe I'll just take someone's car off the road and it'd be better to just go to a bedding store and grab them from there."
"You'll most likely have to do the second one, Isao-chan. This area is considered 'elite' and not many people live here. You'll be lucky if you find a house with more than two futons, and almost all the houses here only have one or two people living in them." Marikawa placed a finger on her lower lip, tilting her head slightly.
"Hah... alright, then I'll have to go into the city. We're not too far on the outskirts, so it's fine." I stood up from my spot, heading toward the already closed gate. "If anything, I'll be back in an hour. You guys can rest, and really, do whatever you want while I'm gone. Just don't leave the house and don't do any stupid shit while I'm gone."
"Allow me to accompany you, Isao-kun." I heard Saeko's voice from behind me and turned around.
"I don't think I need help, Busujima-san..."
"I don't think so. I can still see how weakened you are after using your ice lightning. Your hands are shaking slightly."
Huh? I raised my hands and noticed what she was talking about; my hands really were trembling slightly.
"So allow me to accompany you and be the sword that will aid you." Yeah, it seems she's really not all there, talking about herself as a sword, but aren't we all a little crazy? So I sighed and looked past her.
I saw them slowly unloading one of the three boxes, and Rei and Marikawa-san were already going inside the house.
Hm, there's no point in refusing help, after all, so I see no reason not to take Saeko with me.
"Alright, so be it. Let's go, Busujima-san."
"You can call me by my first name, Isao-kun." She gave me a cute smile, blushing a little.
"Alright, Saeko." Nodding, I opened the small door in the gate and stepped out. Saeko followed right after me, closing the door with a click, holding her sword at the ready by her hip. I need to find a sheath for this sword.
I scanned the street and saw only the bodies of a few already-killed dead ones, as I walked, shouldering the bat I'd grabbed earlier when the bus was parked in the courtyard.
"Let's go, Saeko. We'll find a car, start it, and go get the futons."
"I remember seeing a good car at the turn. The key is probably in the car, since there was a dead driver sitting inside."
We walked quietly down the street, looking around at the houses. The neighborhood really was nice; the houses were large, with high fences made of brick and other expensive materials.
And you could tell that normal people don't walk around here much, because... well, the lack of zombies? If people walked here often, there would be a lot of zombies. Luckily, there aren't many here yet, but that could change if the zombies start to wander. There was a bridge nearby where there were a lot of people—unarmed, trembling-with-fear people, who are easy prey for zombies.
And I would help them, really, but... my powers are too weak right now, I'm tired and can't do anything. But the military, or whoever closed the bridge? I hope they do their job with a clear conscience.
Eventually, we reached the turn and saw a black car. As I got closer, I saw who Saeko was talking about.
Inside the car sat a driver, buckled into the driver's seat, but the thing was, this guy was a zombie, and in his hands was a bottle of alcohol.
I get it. The guy realized he was going to die anyway and decided to sit quietly in his car, drinking away his last moments.
I quietly approached the driver's side, while Saeko went around the other side of the car, and opened the door.
"Grr..." The zombie slowly turned its head toward me and growled, and me?
I grabbed it by the chin with one hand, not letting it move its head an inch, while I unbuckled the seatbelt with the other. A few seconds later, the zombie was out of the car, and I calmly killed it with a strike.
And when I did, I noticed two things. First, its skull was much softer compared to the other dead ones. The influence of alcohol during the transformation into a zombie? Most likely, and second?
Saeko's unblinking stare, watching me while her cheeks were red as tomatoes. She noticed I was looking at her and swallowed, then slowly got into the car, into the front seat.
Am I... forming a harem? K-imoto, Saya, and now Saeko. Although Saya doesn't know about K-imoto, just as K-imoto doesn't know about Saya. Ugh, my little sister is going to be so jealous of me. The main thing is that she and Saya don't get into a fight. And how will Saeko and Saya react to the fact that I'm in a relationship with my younger sister?
Honestly, I just don't know what to do... I'm just going with the flow, saving people where I need to, going where it's safe, but that didn't mean I was active, no.
I'm just going with the flow, because I myself don't know what to do, other than the fact that I need tickets and they give me a lot.
I started the car and it came to life. It started with a quiet roar. Looking at the fuel gauge, I realized the tank was full and quietly started moving.
The car moved smoothly down the street, houses flying past us, while the warm wind rustled our hair through the open windows.
"What do you think, Saeko, did I do the right thing, kicking those two off the bus?" Saeko looked at me, perplexed, only then realizing who I was talking about, while I looked straight ahead, driving.
"Tsunoda and Miura deserved it."
"But is it right? They're people too, and they wanted to live too. And they had a chance, a small one, but still a chance, to change." She tensed up.
"Perhaps..." She looked ahead, at the road we were driving on, at the rare cars lying here and there, and the dead ones wandering on the sides of the street. "But you didn't kill them, and as long as they are alive, they have the choice to change or not. If you had killed them, I would say it was wrong. But you only kicked them out, so it's fine." Her voice was warm, almost calming.
"And killing Shido?"
"Shido was a disgusting person, and I won't condemn his murder. Unlike those two, he wouldn't have changed even if he had the choice."
"Hm, got it." The conversation died down on its own as we continued to drive.
There were no dead ones in front of us; it seemed that by evening they had all disappeared somewhere, except for a few wandering aimlessly.
I glanced at Saeko, who was holding her sword slightly to the side. After all, I had made it very sharp; it's easy when the metal itself obeys you. And fuck, she was just incredibly beautiful.
Her long purple-colored hair, slightly sharp features with clear skin, piercing dark blue eyes, and thin, pink lips that were now smiling as she looked off to the side.
And her huge breasts straining against her shirt made me stare at them, unable to look away, until she herself started to turn her head toward me, forcing me to avert my gaze.
"I wanted to ask, where did you learn to drive so well?"
"Mom's car. Sometimes my whole family would drive out of the city, and I would drive then. Like that, every time, for weeks, months, I learned to drive no worse than a regular driver." My sharp eye spotted a large, two-story building a few kilometers away, sandwiched between two shops, with a sign that read "Miss Min's Bedding Shop," and I immediately started driving toward it.
"That's... sweet."
"Yeah..."
"I'd like to ask one more question. What would you do with a person who enjoys causing others pain?" I glanced at her, noticing how she was staring at my profile, not taking her eyes off me, so intently it was as if everything depended on it.
"Depends on who that person wants to cause pain to. If it's children and ordinary, innocent people, then I'll be against that person. But if it's against various bastards... then honestly, I don't give a damn. Let them do what they want with them; I don't care about their fate."
"And what if that person was trying to find someone who would love them? Could you love a person like that?" Her voice was quiet, but we both understood what, or rather, who she was talking about.
"Yes." She flinched at my immediate answer, and I realized one thing. Even in this life, I wasn't made of sugar. I got into fights, making my mom worry, was often busy with my own stuff, not spending time with my mom or sister for days while I worked on my manga, but they loved me, just like in my past life. Even though I was a stupid bastard, always walking around and always making empty promises to change, my mom loved me. My mom from my past life still loved me very much. And who was I, I of all people, to deny other people my love because they're a little "psycho"? In Saeko's case, it's most likely mild or moderate sadism, but that doesn't stop me from being able to love her. "Yes, I would love that person no matter what."
"Hm... I understand." She turned away from me and looked out the window, smiling a peaceful and radiant smile.
We didn't talk after that. Pulling up quietly to the store, I stopped in front of it, and we got out of the car.
In just a few steps, we entered the huge store. Here and there were shelves without doors, with duvet covers on them. We found ourselves in front of the counter, which was the cash register, and further throughout the hall, you could see beds, various futons, and so on.
"Let's go, we'll grab like twenty-five, thirty of them and carry them to the car." I felt Saeko's trembling nod, her silky hair rustling from her nod.
I went first, my eyes fixed on a shelf full of futons. The shelf itself was parallel to a bed with white sheets. As I approached it, I felt myself get pushed onto the bed and fell onto it.
But I didn't feel any danger, because in the store, there was only me and...
Saeko, who crawled across the bed and slowly approached me, with a small, crazy smirk. But in her eyes, I saw trembling fear, and eventually, she ended up on my pelvis, pressing her weight through her skirt and my pants against my cock.
"I want to ask, Isao." The trembling in her eyes intensified for a moment, but in an instant, it was replaced by a slight madness. "Will you accept me, and will you make me your sword, one that you will use as you wish?"
I fell silent, looking at her face, mesmerized. Maybe someone else would have seen a crazed girl, but I saw a vulnerable girl, shackled by fear, and my answer was.
"..."
At my words, her eyes trembled, and then tears flowed down her cheeks.