Volume 1 - Chapter 20

Breakfast Before Bad

As Aiko and I lay naked in bed, wrapped in each other's arms, the silence of night enveloped us.

The chaos of the world outside felt like a million miles away.

We talked in hushed tones, sharing stories from our pasts that we had never told anyone before.

I told her I had never met my biological family since I was abandoned to the system as a baby. I didn’t even know who my mother was.

Aiko listened intently, her fingers tracing lazy circles on my chest. She told me about her own childhood, growing up there in the mountains with her mother.

She told me about the long hikes they would take, the wildflowers they would pick, and the way her mother would always make her feel safe and loved. Then she discovered a love for baseball and the rest was history.

We had lived completely different types of lives.

As we talked, I felt a deep sense of connection forming between us. It was like we were sharing not just our stories, but our very souls. It went way beyond the physical.

Eventually, our conversation lulled and we drifted off to sleep. I could feel the warmth of Aiko's body pressed against mine, and being with her was the most comforting feeling in the world.

I felt safe, protected, and loved. It was strange to me. The world was normal just two days earlier and yet I seriously meant nothing to no one. Then the world went to garbage but I had found a perfect soul mate.

When I woke up Aiko had already left the room. The sun was shining in and I stretched, having had the best night of my life.

A few minutes later I entered the living space and the room fell silent.

I could feel the weight of everyone's eyes on me, and I was suddenly self-conscious. I took a deep breath and tried to shake off the feeling.

Aiko sat with the other women on one side of the table and Ryotaro by himself on the other.

Mio was the first to break the silence, offering me a cup of tea with a warm smile. "Good morning. How did you sleep?"

I took the cup gratefully, feeling the lukewarm bottom of the porcelain against my palms. I was sure it had been warmed by the fire.

"Thanks, Mio. I slept pretty well, all things considered."

Aiko nodded in agreement and winked at me, taking a sip of her tea. "Yeah, me too."

Chiemi cleared her throat, looking at us over the rim of her teacup. "Well, I'm glad to see you two are getting along so well."

There was a hint of amusement in her voice, and I felt my cheeks burning. I knew everyone in the room knew what Aiko and I did in the night, and it was making me feel a little awkward.

Ryotaro chuckled and leaned back. "Ah, young love. It's always so... invigorating, isn't it?"

I laughed despite my embarrassment. Ryotaro had a way of making even the most awkward situations feel a little less awkward.

Yuki, who had been quiet up until then, spoke up. "So, what's the plan for breakfast?"

The conversation shifted to more practical matters, and I was grateful for the change of subject. We discussed what supplies we had and what we could make with them.

Mio suggested more fruits and vegetables since cooking was difficult. We already had so much it would go bad before we could eat it, but it would also go bad just sitting in the store.

As we sat around the table discussing our limited food options, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of frustration. We had enough supplies to last us for a while, but we needed to find an easier way to cook our meals.

"We could try to find a generator," Mio suggested, looking around the table. "Like Chiemi said yesterday. That way we can cook some of this food."

Chiemi shook her head. "A generator would be too loud like we already discussed. It would attract zombies from miles around."

"Solar panels?" Yuki suggested.

It was a good thought. I had already considered the same thing, but I didn’t know anything about wires and batteries.

"She's right about the generators being loud," Ryotaro agreed. "And with solar, none of us know anything about electrical work. We could end up electrocuting ourselves."

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I sighed, running a hand through my hair. I had another option.

“There are those little camping stoves that use propane bottles. Maybe we can find some of those. It will be easier and quieter than other options.”

Again, Chiemi shook her head. "We will run out of those eventually, but it might work for now."

We all agreed it wasn't the best option and we wouldn't go out of our way to find camping stoves. But if we happened across them, we would take what we found.

Then Mio spoke up.

"Why don't we just cook on the fire?" she asked, gesturing towards the irori fireplace in the center of the room. She said, “I know it’s a pain, but it seems like the best option honestly.”

We all looked at her and then back to the fire in the center of the room. It wasn't burning right then, but the charred wood from last night remained. Cooking on the fire would require heavy duty pots and pans.

“Sounds like a pain," I said.

Mio answered. "Well, we have plenty of firewood, and the irori is designed for cooking. This home is old, from before any of us were even born, even Ryotaro!"

I didn't really have an argument for her.

Ryotaro laughed. "I am old, yes! I remember my mother cooking on the irori pit in my family home. We did not have an oven in that home. I still remember as a boy when my father brought home an auto-matic rice cooker!"

I nodded, realizing the truth he spoke. It was still hard to believe that just in just half a century all Japanese homes had pretty much converted to electric rice cookers.

Chiemi said, "damn, you are old."

Ryotaro laughed again. "I prefer the term experienced."

The woman smiled wider than usual. If he didn't notice it, I would tell him later. There might end up being more than one romance in the house.

"Yeah," Mio continued, "with the right setup, we could use it to boil water and cook with. It will be much easier to make my tea with a dedicated teapot or iron."

I stared at her for a moment and then slowly smiled. "That's actually a really good idea."

Chiemi nodded in agreement. "Yes, it is. And it would be much quieter than a generator."

Ryotaro clapped his hands together. "Well then, it's settled. We'll cook on the fire. We just need to find a store that has this type of camping equipment or old-fashioned cooking supplies."

After finishing off the last of the manju bread and some fruits and vegetables, we all gathered around the table to discuss our plan for the day.

Aiko, Mio, and I would take one vehicle, while Ryotaro, Chiemi, and Yuki would be in the other. We would head straight to the parking lot with the Halows and Komeri and Zag Zag stores.

Each of us already knew which stores we were going into.

"We need to be quick and efficient," Aiko said, looking around the table. "We don't know how many zombies are still in the area, or if they are still attracted to the car at the florist, so we need to be careful."

I nodded in agreement, feeling a knot of anxiety form in my stomach. I wasn't used to this kind of danger, but I knew it would be commonplace.

"We'll create a new diversion if necessary," Ryotaro added, his voice steady and confident. "But let's hope we don't have to."

Chiemi nodded in agreement with Ryotaro, "The less danger we have to put ourselves into, the better."

I felt relieved at her words. We all shared a collective sigh of relief, knowing we were on the same page.

Mio spoke up, "so, if the parking lot is still the same, Hachiro and Ryotaro will each find a new vehicle to load up?"

Ryotaro nodded, "That's right. We'll try to find vehicles that are in good condition and have plenty of room for supplies. We'll also need to make sure they have enough gas to make it back here."

Aiko added, "and we'll need to be quick. We don't want to spend too much time out there in the open."

I nodded in agreement.

Yuki remained quiet, her eyes focused on the table in front of her. I still felt a pang of sadness for her. I knew she was still grieving the loss of her family. It kept her mind from fully participating.

We continued discussing our plans, going over every detail to make sure we were all on the same page.

The more people that were with us the more important it was that we all knew what to do.

We talked about what supplies we still needed, and how we would divide them up among the vehicles. We also discussed what we would do if we encountered any zombies or roadblocks anywhere.

Finally, after what felt like a full hour of planning, we were ready to wrap up the conversation.

I looked around the table, making eye contact with each person. "Does anyone have any questions or concerns before we head out?"

There was a moment of silence as everyone thought it over. Then, one by one, we all shook our heads.

"Good," I said.

Ryotaro spoke up. "Alright then, let's get moving. We don't want to waste any more daylight when the big giant clock in the sky is ticking!"

"You think it's a countdown?" I asked.

The others looked at the old man when I did.

"Yes!" Ryotaro answered, "I assumed we all did. Seems fairly obvious to me that it's counting down from three hundred and sixty five, especially since it's three hundred and sixty three today."

I nodded. Mio and Yuki didn't respond. Aiko and I had already discussed it the night before, so I looked at Chiemi to gather her thoughts.

"Don't look at me," the older woman said, "I don't care what it is, so long as we don't die."

Aiko agreed. "Me either. This whole new world can fall to pieces. All that matters to me are you guys. Let's go get some more supplies, and let's be safe while we do it."

With our day planned out, we stood up and gathered our things.

I felt a sense of nervous excitement. This mission was important because it would make or break all our future plans.

If we couldn't quickly and easily bring supplies and vehicles back to the house then it was foolish to continue thinking we could live away from the city.

After gearing up, I saw all the women looked good in their bullet proof vests, long sleeves, and gloves.

In general it was hard to make most women look bad in my opinion, but I was especially amazed by Aiko. She looked gorgeous wearing anything or nothing.

Ryotaro was wearing a vest finally, but he was the only one with a helmet visor, so he still looked goofy.

Aiko came over to me, her eyes filled with a mix of concern and determination. She wrapped her arms around me in a tight embrace.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, savoring the moment.

She was just slightly taller than me, but I didn't care. I loved it. I felt like the luckiest man still alive on a sinking ship.

I wasn't sure how the vests would protect us from zombies, but they made us feel better. Aiko reminded me not to do anything stupid out there, and I knew I wouldn't just because I'd put some protection on.

"We both need to come back together safely," she said, her voice filled with emotion.

We stood there for a moment, holding each other tightly. Then, without saying a word, we leaned in and kissed each other passionately. It was a long, slow kiss that seemed to last forever.

I didn't realize how long we had been standing there until I heard a fake cough from behind us.

Aiko and I turned to look at Chiemi, who was standing there with a smirk on her face. Mio and Yuki were both giggling.

"Come on you love birds," Chiemi said, rolling her eyes. "Let's go."