25: Bad feeling

"The evacuation should have ended hours ago" - said a beautiful woman with purple hair, tanned skin who was wearing a military uniform fitted to her curves. She seemed to be annoyed with the top brass of the operation while the surrounding soldiers were growling with irritation.

"Captain Rika, it's much worse than you think, the chain of command seems to want us to stay as a distraction, it looks like they know something and don't want to inform us" - replied a soldier with a frown.

Rika Minami, Shizuka's friend as well as the captain of the sniper squad, simply kept silent while frowning slightly - "This is ridiculous, we have given them no reason to get rid of us..."

"Captain Rika, those things are starting to pile up outside, and when I say that, I mean there are thousands of them" - said a second soldier with a pale face.

Rika looked in the direction of the electrified grids, frowning as she saw how these were starting to pile up, which meant that it was a matter of time before those things managed to collapse their last line of defense.

"And the good news continues" - Rika said sarcastically as she felt her throat go dry - "Right now how I wish I had an ice-cold drink, even if it is that carbonated beverage crap..."

"You're lucky, I just found a machine that still has cans of cola" - said a soldier with a slightly joking tone because he knew what was what would follow.

"Tch, had I known you would grant my wish, I would have ordered some cans of beer" - Rika said with disdain as the others let out a laugh.

Rika shook her head before frowning slightly as she had a bad feeling.

"Stay sharp, I want you to inform me as soon as possible of any change in the behavior of those things" - Rika said seriously as she took her trusty sniper - "Second thing, I want one of you to go and tell those sons of bitches to hurry up, because I don't think our defenses will last long, even if we put up a resistance."

"I'll go right away, captain" - answered one soldier as the others let out a sigh.

They were the elite squad of the city's military force, they were what every soldier in this place aspired to be, and here they were, being martyrs so that the higher ups would survive.

"Anyway, I think this is a good time to plan our escape" - Rika said seriously - "The moment the last plane flies, we'll leave."

"Hai!" - exclaimed the soldiers.

Rika smiled slightly because these were good subordinates. They were brave, steadfast and loyal.

The captain of the sniper squad, stood silently, thinking about the future, and if she could see her best friend again, and who knows, also meet the person who got that idiot to finally know love, although this made something inside her darken, after all, she had been single for years, having small encounters with men and women in equal parts.

Oh yes, she was bisexual, though it wasn't as if this mattered in the old or new world, not when their lives were at stake.

"Maybe the three of us can have a little fun?" - Rika muttered as she decided to think about this another time, after all, her life was hanging in the balance.

* * * * *

"That's the report, Yuriko-sama" - said one of the yakuza under her husband's command.

"I see..." - Yuriko muttered with a frown - "What do you think, Cloud?"

"It's simple, those idiots in the military are trying to extend as much time as possible to get civilians, the problem is that we don't know why" - Cloud answered while clicking his tongue - "What I can assure you, is that it's not a good thing, at least for the rescued civilians."

"Motive?" - Yuriko asked with mild curiosity.

"I'm sure you heard what happened on the bridge" - said Cloud seriously.

"Yes" - nodded Yuriko as she thought carefully, only to open her eyes, surprised that she hadn't noticed it before - "It doesn't make sense for the military to rescue them when they had been killing civilians before."

"Exactly, that's why I have a feeling that things are not as simple as we think" - Cloud replied while frowning, mostly because he knew that before long the chaos would resume thanks to the wave produced by the bombs exploding in the Japanese sea.

"I feel like you're not telling me something important" - Yuriko said with a frown.

"It's because even if I did say it, I'm sure you won't believe me" - Cloud replied while shrugging his shoulders.

Yuriko gave him a neutral look before grabbing him by the neck and kissing him on the lips.

Cloud quickly kissed her back, though they did nothing more- "I thought we had made it clear that we wouldn't do something like this again, let alone with your husband on his deathbed."

"I need your support, so if I have to sacrifice my conscience for my husband's stability and wishes, then I will" - Yuriko answered seriously - "Though I also have to be honest with you, I want you, and you want me, we both know that"

Cloud was silent before clicking his tongue because he had to admit that of all the women he had slept with in this world, Yuriko had a special place, not because she was the best, but because this feeling of conquest he got from subduing her, was something no other could compare.

There were times when he wondered if this was his true character, or it had simply been distorted by all that he had been enduring in his original world, mixed with the experiences he had lived through in this world.

Cloud wasn't sure, which was why he had decided to enjoy this new life as best he could.

"Sacrificing it sounds like you don't want this as much as I do" - Cloud said with a frown - "I don't think it's the time though, not to mention that I don't think I feel pleasure in having you in this kind of situation where we're worrying about other things."

Yuriko simply shrugged.

After accepting all of her reality, her relationship with this boy much younger than her, as well as her husbands upcoming death, she decided it was best to stop lying to herself and live the best she could. Then she would worry about the consequences, as well as the hatred her daughter would possibly throw at her for sleeping with the boy she liked.

"Back to the point, I have a feeling they're about to bomb Japan, though not directly" - Cloud said as he shook his head.

Yuriko frowned slightly because this didn't make sense, though at the same time, Cloud didn't seem to be trying to trick her - "Are you serious?"

"It's just a hunch, though I wouldn't be surprised if it happened, I mean, the zombie outbreak spread in a matter of hours all over the country, the chaos produced by the explosion of a nuclear bomb in the territorial sea doesn't sound so far-fetched" - Cloud answered while trying to make his words sound like they made sense.

Yuriko was still skeptical, though after a few minutes she decided that it was better to do something about it, after all, it was better to be safe than sorry.

Cloud smiled slightly because this was excellent, with this his job would be much easier.

Yuriko was a good ally, one that had a similar goal to his.

"Ok, we'll do this, I'll ask my mechanics to modify as many vehicles as possible to resist the EMP wave" - Yuriko said seriously - "It's going to be a bit of a pain, but at least with this we can cover one possibility."

Cloud nodded when he heard this.

"Second thing, I already sent someone to have your weapons sent to you, start practicing as soon as possible" - Yuriko said seriously as she signaled the blond to leave because she still had something to talk to her husband about, and this time there was no way she was going to leave without saying it.

Cloud nodded before leaving the room silently, thinking about what the future held for them now that fate was slowly changing.

According to the original plot, the EMP wave caught the protagonists off guard, who had to escape with little to nothing, however, this would no longer be the case. With Yuriko's orders, the group would now be perfectly prepared for the moment, they would also be much more than 7 people with almost zero experience.

"The only problem, is that the mission was corrupted from the start..." - Cloud muttered with a frown, after all, Soichiro's cancer had been going on long before the creation of the main mission.

"Cloud?" - Saya said in surprise as she saw the blond thinking silently.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't feel your presence, Saya" - Cloud said while shaking his head - "Did you say something?"

"Yes, I wanted to ask you if you had seen my mother" - Saya replied as she folded her arms.

"Yes, we were in the middle of a meeting until recently, so she has to be at your father's now" - Cloud answered honestly.

"Oh, I see" - nodded Saya as she walked towards her father's office, so she could talk to them.