Volume 1 - Chapter 33

Kiss of Death

I didn't realize how tired I was until I was walking uphill towards the house.

The muscles in my legs were burning, and my feet hurt. My arms and shoulders felt sore anytime I moved them.

I wasn't accustomed to the physical requirements this new world had in store for me. I had spent the last several years sitting in a cubicle most of my days.

Pushing too hard each day might cause an injury that would get me killed. Sitting down for a while with some water, and eating something would be nice.

Stepping into the house, the air hit me like a punch to the face. The stench was overwhelming and I almost vomited.

I smelled a putrid mix of rotten meat and spoiled seafood that permeated every corner of the room. I wrinkled my nose and groaned.

“Oh god, what's that smell?"

Mio and Ryotaro were both in the kitchen, frantically sorting through our supplies.

It occurred to me before anyone answered that we had forgotten about the meat and seafood Ryotaro grabbed the day before.

Without a real ice box or a freezer to keep it in, the ice had melted and the meat was already spoiled.

They were trying to isolate the source of the smell and bag it up before the smell got any worse. We didn’t want the odor to contaminate everything else.

We hadn't smelled it going bad until after we left and then came back, and I wondered how they had spent so much time inside while I was with Yuki.

The sight of them working so quickly was almost comical, but the situation was far from funny. I was glad I chose to sit with Yuki earlier, so I didn’t smell like rotten tuna steak.

Mio said, "I can't believe we forgot about it.”

The woman’s voice was muffled by the mask she was wearing. She had a garbage bag in one hand and several containers of spoiled meat in the other.

"I took too much!" Ryotaro said. "Too much heat got to the meat, boy-oh!"

The old man shook his head. He was holding a bag of rotten fish, the smell wafting up from it like a cloud of death.

“And I didn’t get enough ice!”

I joined them in the kitchen, grabbing a garbage bag and helping. We all complained animatedly about the smell as we restacked the supplies to get at the source.

We got the rotten meat handled quickly, bagging it up in multiple trash can liners. Ryotaro took it outside to dispose of.

When we were finished, the kitchen was still a mess, but at least the smell had dissipated somewhat.

“Air freshener?” Mio asked.

She began looking for something to mask the odor before I could respond. She was opening drawers and cabinets in search of a scented candle or an aerosol spray.

I was still trying not to breathe too heavily. I coughed, trying to back towards the door where I could feel a warm breeze helping to clear the smell out.

Mio found a bottle of purifying spray. It was unscented but I was sure it would work just fine. She started spraying it generously around the entire house.

As she did that I remembered Aiko had asked me to bring her some items for Yuki. I nearly forgot after walking into the stench of bad meat.

The rotten smell had already been diminished when I grabbed two bottles of water, a towel, and a cleaning bucket for Yuki to puke into if she needed.

It was an easy task. On the way back to the shed I returned to the van I drove home in. The back was half-filled with various health items, bandages, medicines, and other remedies.

I started digging through the pile looking for anything that might be good for Yuki’s ailments.

Finding Paburon, EVE, and Benzablock, I figured that was plenty of options. They all seemed acceptable to me and I dropped one of each in the bucket.

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I carried it all down to the shed. Aiko and Chiemi were sitting on either side of the victim. Yuki's face was more pale than before and her eyes were deeply sunken, making her look like she was on the verge of death.

Aiko looked up and thanked me for bringing the items. She took the bucket and set it down next to Yuki. Chiemi gave me a small nod of acknowledgment, but her focus remained on Yuki.

I didn't want to do anymore thinking about that. It was time for me to sit down and relax for a few minutes.

I noticed Haru had found something to keep himself occupied. He sat quietly in the corner, engrossed in whatever he had discovered.

It didn't matter to me what he'd found since Aiko and Chiemi didn't seem to be upset about anything. Kids were naturally curious, and I figured he was pretending a random object was something else.

Leaving, I trudged back up the hill towards the house, my legs feeling heavier with each step.

Inside, the smell of rotten meat had dissipated somewhat, but the lingering odor still made my stomach churn. Mio and Ryotaro were still spraying disinfectant everywhere, trying to remove the stench completely.

Exhaustion washed over me as I entered, and I collapsed onto the nearest chair. My eyes grew heavy, and before I knew it, I was drifting off to sleep.

The world around me faded away, and for a brief moment, I found solace in the quiet darkness. We had been through an intense morning, and a nap was exactly what I needed.

A soft voice pulled me from my slumber. Mio stood there, a look of concern etched on her face.

"I'm sorry, Hachiro," she said. "Didn't mean to wake you. Would you like something to eat?"

I rubbed my eyes, trying to focus. "Sure, that sounds good," I replied, my stomach growling in agreement. Mio smiled and disappeared into the kitchen, leaving me to gather my thoughts.

The house was quieter then, that frantic activity of purifying the air earlier replaced by a more subdued atmosphere.

I could hear her doing something in the kitchen. I closed my eyes again, doing too much thinking.

Before I knew it, Mio brought me a plate with an egg sandwich on it and a cup of tea. Most places where I had eaten one like it before called it a tamago sando.

I knew Mio made a few of them using eggs from the store that were boiled in water over the fire. It looked delicious, and we both started eating.

She started talking about all the different basic sandwiches that she was going to offer in her tea shop. She was going to have desserts as well.

"So, besides the tamago sando, what other sandwiches were you planning to offer?" I asked, taking a sip of my tea.

"Well, I was thinking of doing a katsu sando, a breaded pork cutlet, but I was also trying to stay super simple and easy. And maybe a fruit sandwich."

"That sounds amazing," I said, genuinely impressed. "What about spam?"

"Oh, no," Mio shook her head. "Too much sodium. I was thinking maybe a hummus and avocado sandwich. I want to make sure there's nothing too hearty since we would close in the early afternoon."

"And what about desserts?" I asked, already feeling my mouth water at the thought.

"I'm still working on that. But I was thinking of doing some traditional sweets, like mochi and anmitsu. And then maybe some Western-style desserts, like brownies and cookies."

"That all sounds incredible," I said, taking another bite of my tamago sando. "You put a lot of thought into all that."

"Yeah. It's a shame really, since I know it will never be a reality now that we all died and ended up in this other place."

I nodded. "Yeah, kinda sucks, kinda doesn't, you know? We could be like non-existent dead. At least we get a second chance."

"At what?" Mio teared up. "Getting killed by zombies or turned into one of them?"

I sighed, finishing my bite as I thought about her words. She was right. It was a harsh world before, but now it was even worse. At least I had a friend who could make me a good sandwich.

It was kind of her to make it for me, and it seriously hit the spot. She was a generous and pleasant person to be around, and she would have made an excellent tea shop owner.

"I don't know, honestly," I said, "but I do know that all my new friends are important to me. That includes you. Thank you for the sando. It’s delicious.”

Mio nodded, her eyes sparkling with understanding. She moved closer to me, and I didn't think much of it at first. We were all just trying to find comfort in each other's company during these trying times.

But then, she leaned in and kissed me.

I was taken aback, and I pulled away from her, heart racing. "What are you doing?" I asked, my voice laced with confusion and anger.

Mio looked at me, her eyes wide with surprise. "I thought... I thought you wanted this," she stammered.

"No, I don't. And I love Aiko. You know that."

Mio's face fell and she looked down at her hands. "I'm sorry. I guess I just... I don't know. I thought maybe you were flirting with me."

I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. "I wasn't flirting with you, Mio. I was just being nice. I brought you tea because I thought it would make you feel better. I said nice things about you because I genuinely like you as a person. I asked about your tea shop because it's polite. But I'm with Aiko. I love her!"

Mio nodded, looking up at me with tears in her eyes. "I understand. I'm sorry. I guess I just... I'm scared, Hachiro. I'm scared that we're not going to find any other survivors before it's too late. I'm scared that we're all going to die out here!"

"I know. I'm scared too. But you can't just go around kissing people! What were you thinking? That was stupid. That was such a stupid thing to do!"

Mio bolted out of the house, tears streaming down her face. I didn't move, didn't follow her. I was relieved to be alone, still trying to process what had just happened.

Why had she kissed me? Did I do something to lead her on?

My mind raced with questions and doubts. I had always been a bit of an introvert, preferring to keep to myself. I avoided drama that way. And now here I was, smack in the middle of it.

I groaned and rubbed my temples, feeling a headache coming on. I didn't like this. I didn't like the way my heart was racing, the way my stomach was twisted in knots.

Exhaling with frustration, I tried to calm myself. I just wanted to relax, and then this happened. I didn't like the way I felt guilty, even though I knew I hadn't done anything wrong.

I needed to think rationally; to figure out what to do next. But my thoughts were jumbled, and I couldn't focus.

I stood up and paced around the room, trying to shake off the anxiety building inside me. I didn't want to deal with this. I didn't want to have to talk to Mio or Aiko about it, apologizing for something I didn't do.

But I knew I couldn't avoid it forever.

This new zombie world had more dangers than I imagined. Now I was having to navigate relationship drama.

What a stupid thing for her to do. All I could think about was why Mio had thought that was okay.