We watch for awhile longer before Hirano heads to bed. Its just me and Takashi sitting there talking about how the day went by when Takashi is suddenly grabbed from behind by a familiar busty blond.
She starts reaching all over him. “mmm this is for being a good boy earlier Haru!” She says kissing Takashi on the cheek.
He begins trying to push her away but ends up pressing on her chest that’s covered by a towel thankfully.
“Ah um sorry about that!” he quickly brings his hands back down.
“Wait a second you’re not Haru… Oh! There you areeee.” She begins crawling over towards me. I feel like I’m a statue I can’t move. I’ve killed undead.. I’ve killed people but at the moment it feels like all the blood in my legs has gone somewhere else and I can’t move.
“Okay look lady this is not the time” Takashi pipes in. Damn him I mean uh good job protecting me?
“Aww don’t be like that its just a little kiss. Besides I just need to give Haru a little reward~”
Takashi starts looking awkward now.
“Shizuka you need to be quite and uh please go down stairs.” Takashi is slowly leaving me alone here as she climbs towards me and I slowly back away.
“Please please leave me alone.” I don’t want Saeko to kill me…
“boooo its not thaaaat baaaad just one little present? It’ll be over in just a moment~” I stumble as she catches up to me.
“Nope! Just please go downstairs.” I wince realizing what I said.
“Hoho so forward~” She floatedly smiles at me.
“NOT LIKE THAT!” Her eyes start to droop a bit as she just lays down on me.
“Nuuu~” She just clings to me. Then promptly falls asleep.
“Alright I guess.... This is good? I’m a good boyfriend I’m a good boyfriend.” I start whispering to myself as I stand up holding her somewhat awkwardly since she climbed up into my lap. God this looks bad. I just have to get her to bed and avoid anyone from making assumptions.
“I’m going to bring her downstairs. I don’t want Saeko to misunderstand and kill me in my sleep or something.” I start to walk down Shizuka making moaning sounds and other noises which is making me more awkward.
“Shhhhh Hey Takashi come down here.” A very clearly Drunk Rei calls out to me.
I sigh and get Takashi to let him know Rei is drunk and needs him.
He goes through a few emotions before going down after her.
I go down and set Shizuka down in her bedroom she shares with Auntie. Thankfully Auntie actually has the decency to wear clothes unlike Shizuka who is still clinging to me in a towel. I peel her the rest of the way off before leaving and closing the door. I hear a faint “nuuu my prize….” From inside as the door finally shuts.
“Hey Haru, cheating on Saeko with that big chested nurse? Hmph here I thought you were better then that. Maybe you’re not as good as I thought.” I hear Saya speak up behind me.
“Oh, please I was putting her to sleep my Aunties in there I wouldn’t do anything.” Shit and there is the convenient person catching me…. Shiiiit.
I turn around to see she too isnt really wearing much just a tank top and panties.
“OH, um hi Saya, uh can you put some pants on or something please?” I start awkwardly trying to avoid staring at her looking at the ceiling. She already teases me relentlessly no reason to add to the fire.
“Why? Am I that ugly? Do I not even entice you a little bit? -tch- you’d be lucky to even see a genius like me.” I look down a little to meet her eyes, shes pouting at me very red faced and clearly drunk. -sigh- I thought I asked them to let someone be the designated sober person.
“You know… When we were kids. I uh I had a bit of a crush on you.” She admits that’s a bit surprising though since she always hit me and called me an idiot after I’d correct her. We would sometimes talk about stuff for awhile and she would get this blank stare for awhile before I’d wave in front of her face. She used to come to my kendo matches and cheer for me but that was about the nicest thing she did. Otherwise, it was just a lot of teasing while we hung out with the other kids.
“Really? You were kind of just mean to me?” I mean If I’d known I may have been even nicer back then. She was my primary source of food as a kid our finances would have been even worse without her help. Her family probably fed me more in a day of hanging out then I got in a week at home. Even then I was only invited whenever Takashi and Rei were invited too. So, I figured I was just sort of a part of the package deal.
“I MEAN ITS NOT LIKE I LIKED THAT I LIKED IT BUT ugh you know. I just! I just… don’t worry I am a genius after all I can easily get over you. After all, your just the only one that’s ever talked to me as an equal… and listened when I was hurt instead of going on about your own problems… but I know if you cheated on Saeko, you wouldn’t be the kind of person I’d like…”She starts strong but goes down to a whisper while pulling down on her shirt a bit in frustration and staring at the floor. I don’t know what to really do so I just sort of copy something I’d heard from tv.
I somewhat robotically pat her head. “It’s okay Saya, I’m uh sorry that I can’t really return your feelings. If I wasn’t with Saeko I probably would. But I’d never betray her like that its just wrong.” I rub her head.
“You don’t think I don’t know that! You think I’m some sort of idiot? If you werent like that it wouldn’t be so hard for me to not like you damnit! Be worse or something. Be mean be be I don’t know just stop smiling at me! Stop helping me and just erg, you know what? This was a mistake. I don’t even want that stupid prize anymore.” Saya just starts crying. I start to move to stop her, but she pulls away and runs to her room. I feel a bit guilty about that. I always just assumed she was angry at me.
“What was that about? What prize?” I hear a giggle coming from the kitchen area. Walking over there I see Saeko boiling some food on the stove. In only an apron.
“huhu I think that’s my fault.” I come up behind her and hold her as shes stirring the noodles. Finally, something somewhat normal.
“Not that I’m complaining but why the Apron?” It’s a bit distracting and there are people that might see us.
“Well, if I didn’t wear it, I think you’d kill one of the other boys if they got a peek.” She pokes my cheek. While smiling.
I pinch her butt “You know what I meant.”
“-Yeep!- -giggle- Well we are doing a load of laundry and theres nothing here that really fits me or a lot of the other girls really Shizuka’s friend was built like her. I figured I’d just make due while I’m waiting for it to be cleaned.”
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
“Makes sense, are the other girls all asleep in their rooms?” I take a look around for the first time. I was a bit distracted by Shizuka then Saya to really pay attention to anything else but I see a bunch of almost naked or in some cases fully naked girls sprawled out on the couches and floor surrounded in beer cans or one or two sake bottles.
-sigh- “Were going to have to drag them to bed arnt we?” Turning my attention back to saeko.
“I mean we don’t have to but thats the nice thing to do… We could just let them think of this as a lesson~” she has a bit of a mischievous smile.
“Bad Saeko” I flick her lightly. “No emotionally scaring other girls, also whats this about a prize?”
“-giggle- I made a bet with them that if one of them could seduce you I’d let them have you without kicking their ass.” She trails her hand down my arm and holds my hand.
“You know I wouldn’t do that.” You would literally kill me, you promised you wouldn’t kick THEIR ass nothing would protect me. Plus, a lot of those girls are way too annoying. Sex would be fun but that's not worth a ruined relationship when i genuinly love my girlfriend.
“I know but sometimes a girls just got to be a little vulnerable. I feel like it helped Saya get that off her chest. It’s been eating at her for years now. When we first met, and she found out that we spent nearly every day together she hated me. -giggle- She would show up to my matches just to boo me. Some of which were pretty far so it was kind of surprising how dedicated she was.”
Huh I never heard about that. She went to some of our matches, and I remember her cheering me and sure she didn’t cheer but I don’t recall her booing Saeko. Then again, I didn’t go to all of Saeko’s matches I had other stuff to work on and we were just friends early on.
“Then we started dating and she just avoided me, darting away when I walked into the same room. She cornered me one day though and told me that I didn’t deserve you. That I was only going to hold her space until she could take what was hers. Then she panicked about the idea of me telling you, apologized then ran.” Saeko brakes into a full-on laughter at this point.
“That poor girl, shes so focused on everything that she just doesn’t think ahead sometimes.” Saeko turns to me smiling up at me.
“I’m glad I won though.” We cuddle for a bit as she finishes up the noodles.
“Come on let’s get these girls in bed so you can claim your prize.” Saeko smiles at me. If that didn’t put a pep in my step, then I don’t know what would. We pick up Miku by the arms and legs shes wearing nothing but the golden necklace from that gangster and her headband. She even has some sharpie on her stomach that says “on the pill ;)” with an arrow pointing down. Me and Saeko just toss her into her room crumpled on the floor. Shes going to have a sore back in the morning.
“Man, shes desperate. I hope she can get with one of the other guys.” We start leading Taniuchi the girl with blue braided hair and big glasses. We carefully place her in her bed. She clings to her friend she came with in her sleep crying a bit. We gently put her glasses on the bedside table and leave.
“All these kids they went through a lot today.” It’s kind of sad seeing all of them like this. Broken when they are seniors in highschool or some of them are younger. Saeko gives me a look.
“Arent you a kid too?” I mean I never told her how old I was in my last life. I guess she may have assumed I was kind of young.
“I mean technically sure but I’m also mentally older though.” We finish up and have a nice drink while leaning against the wall. It gets a bit awkward after we hear some moaning from one of the rooms. We get a bit curious and look for which one but its my Auntie and Shizuka…
“Ewww Auntie.” Well that just scarred my image of Shizuka now its like she just hooked up with my mom.
Saeko laughs at my discomfort then tugs me along to what was supposed to be her and Sayas room.
“Saya, its Saeko can we come in?” Saeko gently knocks on the door before opening it.
“Why? So you can rub it in that your with him and that I messed up!? I heard him before. If I’d just gotten the courage to ask him earlier then you. I’d have been with him instead of you. You stupid stupid stupid” Shes just crying into a pillow. I don’t think she realizes I’m there too.
“Well, he is pretty amazing” She looks at me giving a light kiss. “I fell in love with him the night he stayed with me after I’d just beaten a man to near death for attempting to molest me… I thought I’d become a monster. He stuck nearby and hugged me despite being covered in the man’s blood and called me beautiful and that I was perfectly fine the way I was. So, I don’t regret taking him at all. But…” Saeko smacks Sayas butt as she continues to bury her face into the pillow.
“That doesn’t mean I can’t share a little. He needs a special prize for being so loyal too afterall. And if you’re willing, I’m sure we can come up with something between the three of us.” She smirks at me.
"I... I don't know how I feel about this." I don't have any particular feelings for Saya. Hell she's been a borderline bully for most of my life but she always provided food and such for events so i never pushed her away...
Right as all the blood starts to rush to my head, I hear a yell coming from upstairs. GOD DAMNIT TAKASHI. -sigh-
“Can we just uh put this on pause for a moment and maybe discuss this more in depth later?” I ask looking at a Saya It looks like she is really fighting herself with something on the inside. “Fine, that's probably something important anyways. You think about it Saya. We’ll be back.” Me and Saeko run upstairs to see Takashi looking through some binoculars around at the other places.
“Guys quick theres a little girl her father was stabbed by another survivor we have to help her.” Takashi is already running down towards us.”
“Where? At?” I see Hirano aiming with his rifle and see a group of zombies moving towards a particular house and crying in the distance.
“That way. Let’s go Saeko” I grab her weapon off the bedside then her in a princess carry before I jump from the balcony.
“Woah!” Saeko squeals a little on the way down before we land.
“You idiot don’t do that I forgot you were stronger than a normal person.” I continue to run towards the girl. I start to hear bullets being fired from Hirano as we close the distance. I set down Saeko when we get about 15 meters away and she draws her sword. My legs are burning but I can’t let a little girl get eaten. I realize now that I still don’t have a better weapon then this Bokken I should really upgrade. I start smashing those around me with brute force. The problem is I can hear the girl crying and a little white dog barking near her.
“Hey kid don’t cry we got you! Don’t worry!”
I yell out to draw the attention away from her. Jumping up on the side of the fence to get to her quickly I see the little girl more clearly. Shes about seven years old with pink hair and purple eyes. I Jump off the fencing with a flying Kick into a zombie with a hoodie on reaching for her. Rolling into a stand next to her I kick out the legs from another zombie beside it and follow up with a jab to its spine.
“Got the gate closed!” Saeko calls from the side. Having closed the green gate keeping the zombies away from us.
The little girls looking up at me as I hold my hand out to her.
“Come on let’s get you somewhere safer then here.”
She seems to flinch back from my hand at first and looks at a body on the ground. That’s when I take stalk of the situation and look around. I see the man with a stab wound to his chest that’s fallen back against the wall. Oh… shit.
“Hey um mr that man… Hes my father.” Damn uh what do I do? Do I just tell her tough? Um no that doesn’t seem right. Uh what do they do in the movies?
I walk up to the body and close his eyes. “Rest better now. You got her to safety.” That seems right? She begins to cry and hold on to her father. I drape my jacket over him. I don’t know what to do. Saeko is giving me the ‘we will talk about this later’ eyes as I awkwardly have a little girl crying on me. There are undead clawing at the gate but they aren’t much of a threat yet. There arnt enough to knock down the gate.
That’s when the door behind us opens.
“He-hey get away from here! This is our place! W-we had to defend ourselves!” A middle-aged man in a sweater vest is pointing a broom stick with a knife tied to the end of it at me and the little girl. That’s when I realize what happened fully.
“What the hell man. Not only did you kill her father but then you try and drive us off too? We werent even trying to get inside!” I yell. The little girl flinches before crying harder at the mention of her father dying… that was probably not the best thing to say. Saeko is glaring at the man and me.
“GET BACK! I HAD TO DO IT! I HAD TO! I… I needed to protect my family so just. Get the girl and get out of here or I’ll need to put you down too.” hes stammering out while some other people are behind him in the doorway watching us.
I move forward quickly grabbing his makeshift spear and yanking it from his hands before he can think. I kick him in the chest sending him flying backwards to the ground.
“What a waste. You most likely won’t make it the night and you had to ruin that girls li-“ One of the people behind him brings up their shaking hand in it is a gun. I whip the spear out cutting their hand, but she still gets a round off. The round hits the floor, but the sound is loud. Likely drawing the attention of all the zombies nearby. Hirano at least was using a silenced weapon.
“Saeko grab the kid we need to get out of here.” I keep the spear and slam the door shut as we start to run away. I trade the spear with Saeko for the kid and the dog as I dodge my way through the mass of zombies that are coming. As we are running back I feel a warmth on my back but its probably just the kid crying or something.
Saeko being less burdened is able to keep up with me. It takes us much longer to get back then it took us to get there and by the time I’m at the gates I’m huffing. I’ve worked my legs way too much today.
Finally passing through the doorway I crash. Getting half carried by Saeko and Saya.
“I -phew- I uh need a brake.” Being half carried up to one of the rooms.