20: Mansion

Yuriko let out a sigh as she saw how her daughter and her group continued to ignore her, at least all but Ken and his daughter, who hadn't interacted too much with the young blond.

"The possibility existed, Yuriko-sama" - said one of her subordinates - "And you knew about it, although I'm still curious to know the reason about why you don't like the young Strife."

"It's something personal" - Yuriko replied with a frown - "Now stop worrying about me, and go do your job."

"Ok" - the subordinate simply nodded before retreating.

Yuriko was left alone, frowning as she sank into the past.

* * * * *

"Cloud..." - Saya muttered as she began to sob.

"Don't act like he died, Cloud is stronger than you think" - Miku said with a frown as she looked at the pink haired girl - "He'll show up in a few hours, I'm sure of it."

"Really?" - Saya asked as she smiled slightly when she saw how the orange haired girl nodded firmly - "Thank you."

"It's good to see you back to normal, Saya-chan" - said Rei with a small smile as she looked around and saw her group talking to each other, even little Alice playing with Kohta Hirano - "This place looks like a dream, it's so safe..."

"It's an illusion" - Shizuka said with annoyance because she was still furious that Saya's mother didn't save her beloved blond.

"She's right, this place is just a fantasy, one that can end at any moment" - Saya replied after regaining her composure - "My parents managed to create a safe zone, but I've seen what this has caused to the survivors"

"True, most of them have been arguing with the soldiers for more rights, which is stupid if we take into account that they are the ones protecting their pathetic lives" - said Miku with disdain - "That woman, the leader of the group of "revolutionaries", is just a clown putting on a show for her audience."

"That's a cruel, but true way of looking at it" - Saya muttered while shaking her head - "Anyway, the only thing we can do for now is to wait for Cloud to come back, and if I know him well, he'll come to solve his problems with my mother"

"Why did your mother act like that with Cloud?" - Rei asked with a frown. She could tell that the purple haired woman seemed to be hiding something as she looked at the blonde boy in the distance, it was certain emotions that she couldn't identify.

"I don't know, but they have been like that for 3 years now" - Saya replied with a frown.

Those in the room were silent, thinking of hundreds of possibilities, but none of them seemed to make sense, so they simply decided it was better not to probe further into the subject.

"What will we do when Cloud-san returns?" - Kohta asked curiously, though inwardly, he was upset that Saya's parents' subordinates had taken away all their weapons.

"We'll take a short break before we leave this place again" - Saya replied.

"But wouldn't that be counterproductive?" - Ken asked with a frown, after all, this was the perfect place to keep his daughter safe.

"You may not have noticed, however, this place feels unnatural" - replied Saya with annoyance - "It's like it's going to explode at any moment, and I honestly don't want to be here when that happens."

Kohta nodded when he heard this, he too noticed a small scent of gunpowder in the air, as if at any moment a bomb was going to explode in this mansion.

"Don't you think you're overreacting?" - Ken asked with a frown.

"No, what she says is true" - answered Kyoko as she shook her head - "This place seems safe, but it's not, at least not like we think".

Ken remained silent as he looked carefully at the bespectacled teacher, after all, she was the saner of the two adults, as well as the one who had the least emotions for the young blond, making her potentially the only one who could see things logically. If she felt this sensation as well, it was possible that he was ignoring something as he was focusing on his daughter's safety.

Saya was about to say something else, when she saw something out of the corner of her eye that made her get excited - "He's back!"

The group members looked in the direction where the pink-haired girl was looking, only to see how two silhouettes were slowly walking in their direction.

* * * * *

"We got here faster than I thought" - Saeko said while shaking her head. She was wearing a priestess outfit after her clothes ended up so dirty with blood that they were no longer presentable.

Cloud was wearing the priest's clothes, so the two of them were in a similar situation.

They both had a katana in their hands, something that made them take a little longer as they had to find a replacement for the blond.

"Yeah, the zombies weren't as many as we thought" - Cloud nodded as he saw the mansion in front of them, only to frown at the memory of that woman - "I wonder what kind of reaction Yuriko will show when she sees me alive?"

"I still don't understand why that hostility I noticed in her gaze from a distance" - Saeko replied with a frown.

Cloud simply kept silent, after all, the problem was between him and her, there was no need for other people to be involved, though a small part of him wanted to come clean with Saeko, after all, she was affected by his situation - "I'm sorry, but I can't say it, at least for now"

"I understand" - nodded Saeko as she put the topic aside and focused on the mansion - "I wonder how the others are doing"

"They're fine, look" - Cloud said as he pointed towards the back entrance, only to see how a group ran in their direction. The blond smiled when he saw that everyone was fine, though this should have been expected when they were escorted by Soichiro Takagi's subordinates.

* * * * *

"And that's what happened" - Cloud said as he folded his arms after finishing his story, obviously leaving aside what happened in the night.

"I see, it's good to hear that everything is alright" - nodded Saya as she let out a sigh with a complicated look - "I apologize for not helping you, Cloud."

"You don't have to apologize, you weren't the one to blame, but your mother" - Cloud replied while clicking his tongue - "By the way, I'm sure she must already know that I'm here, so I wouldn't be surprised if she sent someone to look for me"

And as if the world had heard him, someone knocked on the door before opening it, revealing a man in his 30s - "Sorry for the interruption, but Yuriko-sama requests your presence, Cloud-san."

"I understand, I'll come right away" - Cloud replied as he clicked his tongue and walked out behind the man.

"Will you be alright?" - Saya asked before running after him.

"Yes, she can't hurt me" - Cloud answered honestly - "I'll be back shortly".

The group members looked at each other not knowing what to say.

"Oh, Cloud left..." - Shizuka muttered regretfully - "I wanted to introduce him to my best friend."

"Your friend?" - Saya repeated in surprise, though she quickly understood the reason when she saw how the nurse was holding a phone in her hands - "I see..."

[What's wrong, Shizuka, who are you talking to?]

"Oh, they are my friends, the people who helped me survive until now" - Shizuka answered with a smile.

[Please put on speakerphone]

"Understood" - nodded Shizuka before pressing a button on her cell phone.

[Hello everyone, my name is Rika Minami, and I'm grateful for helping this idiot friend of mine.]

"Hey, I'm not an idiot!" - Shizuka exclaimed as she puffed out her cheeks.

[Whatever you say... Back to the point, I have no problem with you guys taking my stuff, after all it's an emergency, you can consider it as payment for helping me take care of Shizuka]

"As could be expected from the Ace of the sniper squad, your weapons are of the highest level" - Kohta said appreciatively.

[Nice to hear from a weapons connoisseur, but well, I guess the call is going to have to end here because I have a few... issues...]

"Are you okay?" - Shizuka asked with concern.

[Nothing I can't handle, anyway, sorry I can't talk more, however, I have work to do, see you later, Shizuka, stay alive, and we'll meet again sooner or later]

"Oh, she cut off the call..." - Shizuka murmured regretfully - "Her words were also a little worrying"

"That's because they are true, we have to keep surviving, or we won't be able to reunite with our families" - said Kohta while shaking his head - "That's why we have to get our weapons back and practice with them, so at least we can fight with our own hands"

"I guess that's the new phase of the plan, retrieve our weapons and train" - Saya said while adjusting her glasses - "Hirano-san, let's go to the warehouse to retrieve your precious weapons."

"Perfect" - smiled Kohta while showing his teeth.