Soft Reality and Harsh Reality
Here is a picture of what Ryo's weapon looks like, since I didn't upload it on the previous chapter. Just use your imagination to combine the images guys.
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One more day had passed and Ryo woke up beside Yuriko once again. The previous night they didn't do any of the dirty stuff, but had a loving night. He wanted to show her that he wanted more than just her body, so he hugged her tight against his chest and hummed softly until the mature woman fell asleep.
Seeing her face once again in the morning, he couldn't help but smile. He really liked that feeling of seeing someone sleeping so peacefully by his side. Still, Ryo had to get out of the bed. He had plans for the next one or two days.
"Wake up, Yuriko" he said softly, rocking her body carefully. "Come on I have things to do..."
Slowly, she woke up and stretched her beautiful body, not caring that her boobs were fully on display since she slept without a bra.
"*yawn*... mmm... Good morning, Ryo~" she said as she hugged him and gave him a good morning kiss. He couldn't help but feel like the woman was just too good to actually exist. "Good morning, beautiful"
*
Much like the previous day, breakfast was tense because of a certain group of girls. This time though, Hiratsuka wasn't so mad and just sat as close to Ryo as possible. Of course, that was by Shizuka's side, since the nurse latched on to him as soon as he sat on the table. Miku still had that robotic feel to her every movement and Saeko looked just as dejected and numb. He sighed, knowing that he had to hurry up and talk to them.
'If finding the opportunity was easy...' he thought was he finished his breakfast. Ryo shaked his head slowly, focusing on more important things. "Guys, you all know Taiei Shopping Town, right?"
Everyone in the table looked at him an nodded, of course aware of the famous shopping mall. After all, it was the closes place to Fujimi Academy were students could go on weekends to have some fun. Some, like Yuriko, Saya and Hiratsuka looked at him with confusion, already guessing what his intentions were.
"I want to go there to see the situation in a more populated area..." he said while looking at their reactions. When he saw they didn't react badly, he continued. "... and from there we can go and check on Rei's neighborhood for her parents and other survivors."
Rei was on the verge of tears when she realized Ryo still intended to help her find her parents if possible. He had gotten a lover and a group of people under him, but he still cared about her enough to help her.
"I think that, so long as we are careful and fast, we can do it in just one or two days" he said thoughtfully. After all, he didn't want to leave Yuriko alone for too long. "I think out usual group is more than enough, and I need Yuriko and Saya here in charge of this place"
When Saya heard her name, her mind went back to the previous day.
*
Ryo and the others had left for the nearby market when she confronted her mother about her relationship with Ryo. Yuriko, not being embarrassed by it, admitted that she had slept with him and became his lover, even retelling how she had talked to him about Soichiro's true nature the day they arrived at the Estate.
"Why?! You just met him!" Saya yelled, trying to find an excuse to separate her mother from him. She knew she was being petty about it, but she didn't care this time. Yuriko's answer woke her up from her frustration. "Well I for one knew I wanted to be with him from the moment he stood up against Soichiro. I just did what I had to to get to him"
Saya understood. She had never even shown a reaction to the boy, clearly embarrassed by her own emotions. She was too grateful and too enamored by him, who could make her drop her act of being above everyone else. But she was also too prideful to act on it. She wanted Ryo to make a move on her, but she realized how wrong she was when he saw him with her own mother by his arm. She tried too hard to look unattracted that her own mother had gotten the upper hand.
"I envy you so much..." Saya said slowly, while tears began welling up in her eyes. "Why can't I be assertive and agressive... Miku is, Shizuka-san is... even Hiratsuka-sensei is assertive towards him"
"Well, if you've realized it already, can't you begin being assertive now?" Yuriko's words made Saya open her eyes wide. Those words seemed to imply that she should try to get with him, but he was dating her mother so how could that be? Yuriko knew what her daughter was thinking about, so she told her about her small conversation and even retold her the words she had said to him. "I know, sharing with my daughter might be uncomfortable at first but... he is man enough for all the girls around him, isn't he?"
Saya seemed to be deep in thought. but her mother's words rang strongly in her eardrums. Wasn't he man enough for all of them? He was, wasn't he? After all, he had found food for everyone, protected everyone and made sure everything they needed was covered. Hell, he even went against Soichiro because of her mother, if what Yuriko said earlier was true. Yuriko didn't allow Saya's mind to settle, pushing her a bit more.
"Besides, the world has gone to shit already. Why should we care about normal morals and decency? If we all want him and he can accept us all, why not just go with it?"
With those words left for Saya to ponder, her mother waked away from the secluded hallways they were in.
*
Remembering her decision at that moment, Saya stood up from her seat. Everyone thought she was going to have one of her angsty Ojou-sama moments, but they were surprised by her actions. Ryo himself was the most surprised. Saya had walked up to him, hugged him from the back, pressing her breasts agains his neck, and given him a kiss on the cheek.
"I'll do my b-best to help you with what I can" she said before hurrying back to her seat. Just doing that had taken all the courage out of her, but she was happy she did it. Even if Ryo didn't accept her, she didn't have anything to regret. She would be happy knowing she tried to be with him.
Ryo just smiled wryly. Hiratsuka was giving him a look that promised pain, even though he knew that is was impossible for her to make good on that promise. Shizuka just pouted cutely and hugged her arm, pressing her unnaturally -even for the standard in that world- huge breasts against his arm, enveloping in them. Yuriko just chuckled, clearly amused by her daughter's bashful behaviour after such a bold move.
What worried him were Miku and Saeko. They both looked even more dead and robotic than before. He sighed, knowing that if he didn't deal with them both quickly, something bad would happen.
"Thanks, Saya. I know I can trust you and Yuriko to keept things in order here" Ryo said with a smile. Even if he had a lot of things to do, he had already made up his mind on doing good for the girls that he liked. He still couldn't say he loved anyone, but he did like them. All of them.
"Ok, we leave in half an hour. Kouta, I want you to grab all your weapons, things might get dangerous the closer we get to Taiei" he said to everyone and then directed an order to the walking battalion, as some people had taken to calling Kouta because of the absurd amount of guns he carried. "Girls, prepare your weapons too, we might be gone for two days at most"
*
Half an hour later, Ryo was in front of the bus. Hiratsuka, Shizuka, Saeko, MIku, Rei, Kouta, Chie and Niki had gotten on with him. The other members of the original gang, being Yamada, Ayako, Misuzu, Ichiro and Kyoko wouldn't go with them. They didn't like fighting and they preferred to stay in the Estate, helping with what they could in there. Alice of course stayed behind with her father. Zeke, surprisingly, sat besides Ryo. Everyone realized the pup was extremely loyal to him for some reason, but they didn't pay much attention to it. Knowing Ryo, he wouldn't allow even his dog to get hurt.
After kissing Yuriko goodbye with an "I'll be back later" and Saya hugging him and telling him to be careful, Ryo got on top of the bus with Zeke and drove away.
The trip towards Taiei was surprisingly peaceful until they crossed the bridge. The other side was full of undead, confirming Ryo's theory of where they had gone. Not caring about them at all, he revved up the engine and went above them. Undead mush was the only thing left on the bus's path. Ryo had only seen the anime, so from here onwards, he knew nothing of what would and could happen.
As they were going through the streets, in the general direction of the shopping mall, Ryo spotted someone running towards them with urgency. It was a woman, not any taller than Rei, with black hair style in a bob haircut. She had blue eyes that shined in hope towards the bus. Behind her was what looked like a small horde of about 100 zombies. If the gang hadn't arrived, she would be dead already.
"Kouta, Niki! On the roof!" Ryo ordered the gun maniacs. Kouta had been teaching Niki how to handle weapons all the time since they first talked and, much to everyone's surprise, she happened to be very telented with them. After the time spent in the Estate, she was good enough to defend herself with a gun. Still, she acted as support for Kouta, who was the main shoot of their group. He began providing cover fire with the bolts.
As the zombies behind the woman fell to the floor, Ryo stopped the bus, grabbed his Fauchard and went down, running towards the undead. He was soon followed by the girls, bar Chie, though by the time they arrived 20 zombies had already been beheaded. Ryo was simply too efficient and brutal with his weapon. After the small horde was over, the group quiclky entered the bus. The woman was already sitting there, drinking a bottle of water Chie had given to her.
"Thank you *huff*... very much for helping me" she said as she huffed, slowly recovering from the sudden rush. Ryo introduced everyone in the group before himself. "I'm Hashimoto Ryo, we come from the other side of the bridge. What is the situation here?"
"I'm Matsushima Cho... and it's... it's hell... the mall..."
When Ryo heard those words, his mind began running at full speed. There weren't many zombies around the Estate. Ryo was sure that, if given two or three days, they could clear all zombies there. But that meant that all the zombies there had gone somewhere else.
"How many?" he asked, already knowing that he wouldn't like the answer. Matsushima's answer was indeed a grim one. "At least a thousand..."
"Fuck!" Ryo allowed his mouth to curse. Reality came to kiss him in the morning and then to slap him in the afternoon.
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Author: That's why I say reality is a bitch
Ryo: Shut up you bastard! You better write a good chapter out of my disgrace of I'll fucking kill you!
Author. WHAT?! I swear I had already locked you up!
Ryo: Bitch I broke the wall! As if you could lock me u...
Author... Few... just had to erase a few lines, thank god. Wait, I'm God here... hehehehe...