Chapter 2

Akaze was nothing but a fool to only think it was a couple of walkers passing by, it was more than enough to fill up a whole local shopping center parking lot. As the dead passed on Akaze at least counted twenty of them and more were coming through. The snarling and moaning took over his ears drums but in the distance, he could hear a faint scream.

(Am I hearing that correctly? Is someone yelling? )

After a while, the screaming had stopped and he focused again on the walkers passing by.

(Must be my imagination.)

The group's nightmare was slowly coming to an end when the snarling had decreased and they didn't see any more legs coming into their field of vision. He looked down at Andrew and could see the boy was overjoyed that the dead had gone away and that made the man thrilled to see a smile finally on Andrew's face.

" You did great, I'm proud of you," Akaze whispers at him to make sure it doesn't draw any attention and Andrew shyly nods his head as he turns away from Akaze. The Japanese man was quite curious as to why Andrew didn't say anything.

"Did you-"

A blood-curdling scream grabs everyone's attention as they all snap their neck in the direction of where the noise came from.

"That's Sofia." Andrew finally spoke.

The both of them rolled over from underneath the car and headed to the edge of the highway where they had seen the rest of them in the group.

"What happened? Where is she?" Akaze threw two questions at them.

"Walkers chased after the girl and Rick went after her," Shane responded to him as he held his shotgun close to him turning around to make sure there wasn't any more surprise coming after them.

"And none of you went after her? Just him?" Akaze squinted his eyes at the group with disgust in it. Everyone was quiet as they looked away from the man because they could see how he was appalled towards them. He saw Carol crying out as Lori held her down from running after her child. Akaze went to the weeping woman. "I will try to find both of them. Don't cry. It will be alright." he gently whispers to her as he gives her shoulder a little squeeze.

Carol fell to her knees her heavy tears shed down her face, having both of her hands in a praying form, wishing for someone to bring her daughter back and Akaze would do his best to grant her wish. Akaze looks back at Andrew before he climbs over the iron edge.

" I will be back, stay strong." that's all he said before rolling down the dirty hill and landing on his back.

"Fuck, I surely didn't think that through," he mutters as he did a kick up from the ground. As he looked around to scan his area to make sure it was clear he began tracking footprints on the dirt and noticed many prints that led a pathway ahead.

( Bingo.)

Without a doubt, Akaze was running for the hills as he multitasked on looking in front of him and always down below to make sure he was following the same tracks. He didn't mind the tree branches harshly smacking his body or the slippy muddy dirt he was running on. On his mind is to find the two and make sure the girl is safe because he has no worries about Rick defending himself. Straight ahead he heard grunting and yelling and he discarded the tracks and ran where he heard the noise.

( Shit, shit, shit, shit. I don't want to be late.)

Determination had taken over his mind and his body pushed past his limits and he forced his body to go beyond what he normally does. Before he lost hope because the loud grunt had died down, light lit in his eyes as he finally saw Rick down in the lake. A walker was coming up from behind the sheriff and Akaze wasted no time screaming to gain its attention.

"Ayo fucker, come here! " he shouted loudly as he clapped his hands together while Rick was fighting off the other walker. When the Japanese man saw his target coming his way, he took some steps back before running at full speed to jump high over the small edge to land a blow in the walker's face with both of his feet. The living and the dead fight with the swallowed water trying to get up first before the other does the Japanese man beats the dead first in a three-second difference he doesn't waste any time and pulls out his gun and tosses it in the air to have his hand to hold the barrel part of the gun and aim the grip to the walkers head. He did a quick spin kick to the walker's head to have the dead unbalanced and used that to crush the walker's head with the grip of his pistol. The dead were fighting the man at first but with the quick attack into its skull, the walker's movements stopped and the man finally took his first fresh breath of air from this whole time.

"Thank you, Akaze." the sheriff's voice called out to the man and realization finally hit Akaze that he could finally be at ease. He looks from the batter head walker to Rick and sees the cowboy lending his hand out to him and he accepts it without thinking a second.

"No worries. Where is the girl?"

Rick tilts his head in confusion as the panic takes over his orbs, " she's not with you guys?"

"Not that I know of. I was following the tracks and then I saw you. I didn't see that girl on the way over here."

"Oh shit!" Rick took off to where the group was with the Japanese man following him right along.

(oh shit indeed. Goddamnit I hope nothing happens to her. I don't want any beef with a grieving mother.)

*****

" Well she was here, now I have no clue where the hell she went," Daryl uttered as he kept his eyes trained on her small prints.

" Jesus Christ. Why did she go the wrong way?" Akaze grimly muttered to himself but the group of men still heard him.

"Maybe if you two didn't send her off we wouldn't be in this mess," Shane's sassy back made Rick feel ashamed of himself as Akaze glared at the older fellow.

" First I ain't send her to run away and second if you didn't have your wannabe macho ass standing there like a stick we wouldn't be in this mess." Akaze stepped up to Shane and the two men looked eye to eye with nothing but anger towards each other. "You stood there like a little bitch while two walkers chased after a little girl. At least we did something." Shane was gripping his shotgun a little too tight as Akaze didn't back down from his space. He was getting tired of this man who stood in front of him.

" Hey, hey, hey. Calm down. We have to find the girl." Rick came in between the two men. Akaze scoffed at Shane once again before leaving his personal space.

" Glenn, Shane. You too go to the highway and don't let the group panic, we three will look for the girl. We will bring her back." Rick gave his orders and Shane sucked his teeth as he stared at Akaze once again. Shane had forgotten that the man whom he was picking a fight with knew his dirty little secret.

*****

" Oh god. I ain't doing that. Oh hell nah." Akaze turned his head around watching the two men about to gut a walker.

" We will know for sure," Rick replied, trying to encourage the man to change his mind.

" Then continue it on while I look at the sunset."

" Come on, Jap."

" Fuck no." Akaze stood his ground as he looked the opposite way from them.

" Okay." Not a second later he hears stabbing and tearing and his body winces just imagining the things inside the walker's stomach.

" Yeah, that sounds amazing, " sarcasm spilled out his mouth.

" No sight of her here." Daryl finally said.

" What will we tell the group? They are expecting us to bring her back and we still cannot find her." Akaze stated the obvious but the other two males were saying the same thing in their heads.

Daryl starts walking to the highway, " Doesn't matter what we say, the woman ain't going to like it."