Running late for school

(Huh...it's kind of weird how empty the streets are...we have yet to see a single corpse, much less a group of them. Normally, i would be glad about that, but now it just feels...weird for some reason. Then again, a helicopter is supposed to be loud as fuck. So is it possible that the ones that Saya saw caused all of the corpses around here to move away?)

While i was in my own world, i failed to realize that the two girls in front of me had stopped walking. So, i ended up bumping right into the person that was right in front of me, in other words, Saya. Who then turned to me with a frown and moved her lips to the words 'Are you stupid?'.

"My bad" I whispered as i shrugged slightly and glanced past her...

The road still looked clear as ever...but the reason the girls stopped turned out to be pretty obvious. As in the distance, I could see the bridge where we left the car at. Saeko then turns around and walks up to me...like...really close up to me. She leans forward and brings her face over my left shoulder.

"We're near the bridge, should we keep moving forward?" She asks.

"I don't see the corpse horde anywhere for us to have a reason to stop. Saya did say she saw helicopters...and these things are as loud as hell. If they passed from this direction, they might have baited everything away..." I whisper back...

"Yes, that's true..." Saeko backs off and nods. I then turn to Saya and motion her to come to me. She...glances around, then looks at me for a couple of seconds, before finally walking over to me with her head slightly lowered...

(...Don't tell me she's being shy now...)

"You said you saw helicopters right?...Do you remember which direction they were headed?" I ask the moment she got near. She nods and turns towards my right. She then looks around before putting her hand under her chin.

"Hmmm...they came from there...and landed there..." She points her finger to her right, in other words, behind me and inland, then runs her finger along towards her left.

"After that, they took off and continued straight" She then keeps moving her finger to the left.

"Hmm...so, if they didn't circle around the area or had another extraction point to head to. Then that means they went from point A to point B, and then headed towards point C...in other words. The base they took off and the base they returned was different...that's good..." I nod as i whisper.

"Good? Because they didn't return to the same base?" Saeko asks.

"Well, if that was the military, then it means that they have more than one functioning base. More bases means bigger influence and longer reach...so, as long as they ain't trying to kill us all, that's good" I whisper as i turn to Saeko.

"Huh, don't be stupid, why would the military try to kill us?" Saya asks right after.

"Dono, but it tends to be a very common trope in zombie games...they usually end up being the bad guys that were developing the virus and then released it by accident or otherwise" I answer with a shrug...Saya just silently face palms and lowers her head as she shakes it.

"How...did you even survive this long?" She 'asks' as she turns back to me. I just shrugged once more.

"In any case, let's move on" I add right after. Saeko nods at me, turns around and starts walking. With Saya following suit shortly after.

...A couple of minutes later, we were by the bridge. With the road to my right being the one with the car that ended up on the other car's roof, thanks to the dynamite that i tossed...

I then turn to my left and look past the bridge, on the road on the other side of the river.

(The car is still surrounded by corpses. Good, this means nobody tried to wriggle their selves in, or they did, they then failed miserably)

"Should we head back to the car?" Saeko, who had once again crept up behind me without me realizing whispers to my ear...

(I honestly just felt a shiver run up my spine just now...)

"No point, we don't have the keys and we made sure to lock everything" I shake my head as i turn to look at her.

(Real shame too, the Scar-H is still in there, along with ammo and food...i could really use a better gun right now)

"So, we keep moving forward?" She asks as she takes a couple of steps backward, i nod.

"In that case, we can go straight ahead" Saya, speaks up next as she looks at the road ahead.

"I can see a couple of them...but nothing like the horde that used to be there, we can probably just walk past them" She adds up. Both me and Saeko nod in agreement.

And like that, we started moving again.

After we passed the first intersection we started to find the first signs of resistance...take that with a bucket of salt though. As most of that 'resistance' consisted of corpses that were stuck under cars, behinds poles...or walking up against the railing, overall, the road was clear.

So it didn't take too long for us to reach the next intersection, the one with the hole in the railing. To be honest, i sort of expected to see tire tracks all over on the place, but the only part of the road that did see any was right before the smashed railing. Then again, i didn't press on the brakes for the wheels to grind again the ground.

(Hmm, this is the second intersection...so we need to move straight two more, then six blocks up)

As we walked past the intersection, Saya stopped and grabbed my sleeve, then pointed towards the ground on my left.

"Look" She whispered.

(Huh...these are..bullet casings? They look rather long, 7.62'mms? or 5.56'mms? They ain't shotgun or handgun casings for sure. So...if nobody came here after our group and opened a can of whoop-ass, then these are Kohta's...did he open fire here?) I turn to look at the hole in the railing, then back at the casings.

(They ain't too close, the casings are near the intersection's end, the hole is about in the middle...)

Saya then tugs my arm, turning to her she motions me to move forward with her head. I nod and start walking.

(Did they try to bait the horde away from the hole? Hmm...Saya did say that a river of corpses passed through while they waited)

I then look past Saeko.

(And i can't see any corpse hordes down the road...Well, the school should be six blocks up from here. If military helicopters passed to pick up people, then they were probably transport helicopters and i suspect that these are hella loud, double rotors and all. If they left by going straight from here. Maybe the rest horde, the part that didn't go swimming, got baited by them?)

"Did you hear any gunshots while in the river?" I ask as i walk up to Saya.

"Uhh..." She narrows her eyes and looks at the ground " I don't know...i think? Along with the rushing water and constantly getting submerged...i could not hear very well" She replies as she turns to look at me. I nod at her.

"Saeko what about you?" I ask after i move closer to her. She just shakes her head.

(Hmm, so if they did shoot. It was not right after we landed in the river)

Just as we reached the next intersection i saw an increase in bullet casings, which made a 'line' to my right, towards the uphill road that led inland...and on that road...

Saeko turns to look at me, i shake my head and point forward, she nods...and we walk past the corpse infested road...

(Well, at least we found where the remaining part of the horde treaded off too. So...on to the next intersection, then we see if we can go up)

On the way to the next intersection, i also noticed an increase in corpses, maybe these broke off from the horde?. Nothing too alarming though, they were still all scattered about.

So after a couple of zigzagging, we reached the next intersection.

"Looks clear enough" Saya whispers and she narrows her eyes, looking at the uphill road.

"Let's hope it stays that way" I turn to look at the road we just took as i speak.

And with that, we started going up the road.

The road till the first intersection was completely empty. Minus some crashed cars and a couple of corpses that i could see through the glass fronts of some of the stores that seemed to make up the majority of buildings around here.

Once we reached the first intersection we come to a stop...While the road straight ahead, after the intersection, looked clear. The intersection itself was...uhhh...

(Shit...now what? We don't have any dynamite...)

The intersection was littered with corpses that were moving from the right road towards the left one.

I look around me as i let out a silent sigh.

"Should we turn around?" Saya whispers as she leans next to me.

"And go where? Try the road next to this one?...Most corpses are moving towards that direction..." I shake my head.

"So?...We just wait?" Saya asks back.

"Well. We can wait...or..." My eyes stop on a nearby yellow sports car that was abandoned behind Saya...

"Or?" Saya tilts her head and glances behind her, then looks back at me.

"Or we let the car crash like we did last time, it should draw the corpses to it, we can go inside a store or something while they pass." I fold my arms as i speak.

Both girls looked...'skeptical' as they glanced at each other.

"Are you sure?" Saeko asks as she turns to look at me.

"If i stopped trying to do something every time it failed, i would have stopped breathing the first time i chocked" I answer.

"In other words, you like repeating your stupid ideas even after they are proven to be stupid?" Saya responds as she puts her hands to her hips and smirks as she raises an eyebrow.

"Yes" I answer flatly as i walk up to the yellow sports car.

"Uhh, as long as you are not on the driver's seat. I'm never letting you drive again" Saya groans audibly as she walks up behind me.

"Hey, for driving a car off a twenty-meter drop on purpose, i think i did just fine...the passing out part, excluded" I say as i open the door and look inside the car.

"Where will we wait then?" Saeko asks right after.

(Hmm, good question. Other than the nearby stores, we can use another crashed car that's a little further down. Wait on top of it until the corpses pass. Shame there are no concrete fences around here, what with most buildings being stores)

"Either that orange car down there or inside a store" I answer. Saeko then glances around.

"All the nearby stores that i can see inside have corpses in them, should we clear one out first?" She asks as she turns to me.

"Hmm. It's that, the car, or going to the right part of the road and firing a shot, then leaving from the left part" I turn around as i glance towards the right part of the street.

"The last one is way too risky, we'll end up being too close to them" Saeko instantly answers as she shakes her head.

"Yep, disapproved" Saya adds up.

"Sooo?" I ask as i lean my back on the yellow car.

"We can shoot and then wait inside this car" Saeko points at the sports car behind me as she speaks.

"Uhh...and i suppose somebody will have to wait in the trunk?...It's a two-seater..." I tilt my head as i glance behind me.

"Or somebody can sit on somebody" Saeko responds with a calm tone as she tilts her head.

"Huh...w..wha...who what?" Saya darts her head to Saeko.

"We just need to decide who will sit on who" Saeko adds up as she leans her upper body towards the car's insides.

"A...and how we'll even decide that?" Saya asks as her face goes slightly flushed.

"Rock paper scissors" I say with a chuckle as i fold my arms and look towards the intersection.

"Hmm, good idea, who goes first?" Saeko leans back out of the car and she turns to me...

"Wait...for real?" I ask as i also turn my head to her.

"This plan is safer than waiting on a crashed car that will also be closer to where the sound will originate, as here we can decide where we want to shoot. Clearing a shop obviously means we'll have to fight." Saeko tilts her head slightly as she speaks.

"...T...then stop wasting time like idiots and let's just do this already, we're wasting time and we need to get to the school. I...will start off against Saeko." Saya walks up to Saeko with hasty steps as she speaks.

"So...the winners sit on the same seat?...or the losers?..." I ask as i tilt my head. Both girls stop and look at each other...

"God damn it Naier..." Saya groans as she closes her eyes and drops her shoulders.

"Let's say winners" Saeko adds up right after. Saya nods a couple of times and then opens her eyes.

"On the count of three, one win. We rematch if end up with a tie" Saya puts her hand behind her back and turns to me.

"The one that is not facing off counts" She adds up, I nod and walk up next to them.

"Ok...ready?" I ask as i glance at Saeko, then at Saya. They both nod. I raise my hand slightly.

"Alright, word of advice, no shouting. We still have corpses next to us...so, three, two, one...Go" I bring my hand down and both girls bring their hands to the front.

Saya had rock.

Saeko had rock.

"Again" Saya puts her hand behind her back again, Saeko follows suit. I lift my hand once more.

"Three, two, one, go" And, i let my hand drop.

Saya had paper.

Saeko had rock.

"I win" Saya grins slightly as she speaks up...i think...i heard Saeko click her tongue?

"Now you go against Naier" Saeko then lifts her hand as Saya turns to me.

"Hum" Saya just nods as she stares at me.

"Three, two, one...go" And Saeko drops her hand.

I had paper.

Saya had Scissors.

"I win again~" Saya huffs triumphantly. She then narrows her eyes as she keeps staring at me.

"A..and You better not get any funny ideas now, I'll chop your hands off if you let them wonder" She says with the smirk still on her face...

"Actually Saya, we said winners sit on the same seat, you won both times, so you sit...with you" Saeko cuts her off as she folds her arms.

"Huh, t...that makes no sense..." Saya's smirk instantly turns into a frown as she turns to stare at Saeko.

"Well, that's what we said, winners sit on the same seat. Now...as you did win. You 'can' sit with Naier, if that's what you were actually after" Saeko grins slightly as she speaks.

(...Holy...shit, Saeko just sucker-punched the crap out of this whole gig)

"Aaahh...Don't say something so stupid, i didn't..." Saya cuts her sentence in the middle as she glances at me.

"So i guess it's settled then. I sit with..."

"Me." Saya cuts Saeko off...

(...Ehh?)

"As the winner, i want you, to sit with me" Saya folds her arms and looks at Saeko.

(...And Saya counterattack's...)

Saeko puts her hand to her mouth with a slight chuckle.

"If that's what the winner wants" She responds.

"Y...yea, that's what the winner wants" Saya ends up grumbling as she looks at the car's front wheels.

"So...uhh...i walk down the road and shoot?" I ask, Saeko turns to me and nods.

"As we will need more space, we will sit on the passenger's seat" She adds up.

"Alright." I nod and start walking down the road.

(This whole thing...was way too surreal...heh, i wonder what would have happened if i said that all of us can sit on one seat...other than Saya calling me a pervert that is)

I chuckle as i turn around and look at the car, Saeko was waving at me with a smile while sitting on top of Saya. Who was looking away with the face of a rich kid that just got denied a new toy.

I pull the handgun out and aim to my right.

(...Ok, focus back on the task at hand...for a moment there i sort of forgot we did all this in the first place...)

I pull the trigger...and turn to stare at the intersection. The moment i saw corpses turning towards me, i nod, holster the gun and run to the car.

The moment i reached it i swing the door open and get inside.

(Don't slam the door)

Then slowly close the door.

"Now...we wait..."I say as i glance at the side mirror.

"You better keep your fingers off that handbrake" Saya responds, the pout still on her face.

"Why the long face Saya? Wasn't this what you wanted?" Saeko asks with the smile still on her face as she turns to look at the pouting girl. Saya just grumbled as she turned to look at the window to her right.

"...I can't believe i got outplayed..." She whines with a low tone.

And just then, the first corpse shambled past us, causing us to turn silent. Then another...and another...and soon, the street had a parade matching down on it.

Saeko's grip on her bokken tightened as she stared at the corpses...not that she would be able to do anything if we got spotted now.

This view...continued for some time...

(Why does it feel like there are more of them walking down the road, compared to how many were on the intersection?)

I think as i glance at the side mirror.

(Hmm, wait. I think they are starting to thin out back there)

And true enough, shortly after, the corpses gradually started to decrease in number. The moment there were only a couple of them left behind us i turn to the girls, only to see that Saeko was staring at me with her hand on the door handle.

"Silently, no need to make them all turn around by screaming like monkeys" I whisper as i turn to my door.

"You're the only monkey in here..." Saya grumbles in a silent voice as Saeko slowly opens her door.

I open the door, get out of the car and look at the corpses ahead of us, we had one coming straight at us from the middle, one from the right side, three from the left and then one more further back in the middle.

I turn to Saeko and point at the lone corpse to the right, she nods and starts running up to it. I follow behind her after i motion Saya to follow us, and to keep an eye on the other corpses to our left. She responded with a nod as she pulled and gripped her luger with both hands.

The moment we reached the corpse, Saeko turns to look at me, i show her the combat knife. She nods and with a swift motion, she slides to the corpse's left side and taps the bokken to the ground, causing it to turn its back towards me. Using the opening, i switch the knife to a reverse grip walk up to the corpse grab it by the shoulder with my free hand and sink the knife on the side of its head. As it goes limp, i keep holding onto it and placing it on the ground, then pull the knife out. After that, i glance at the girls and motion them to move forward.

With no other corpses ahead of us, we quickly reached the first intersection, and after that, we kept going straight with a fast jog.

We run past the next road in silence, which compared to the intersection, was empty. well, actually, compared to everything we have passed through so far, it was empty. So we ended up on the next intersection in no time. Thankfully, that one was clear too...but...there was another thing.

"Police..." Saya keeps staring at the cop car that was parked in the start of the next street we needed to take, a couple of small hip sized fences were also placed to its left and right, with some of them being toppled.

"You think the school's guard perimeter reached this place?" I ask as i walk past a fallen fence and look around.

"Possible, my Papa had about three to four blocks set up as a perimeter" Saya follows behind me as she speaks.

"Really? I remember the distance from the entrance to the barricade having like one or two intersections" I check the cop car's truck as i respond.

(Locked)

"That was only on the front side, in order to have faster access to the building" Saya answers.

I then go to the front at the passenger's door and look through the window after checking the once again locked door...

"I see...hmm there's a baton there...and that's that. Can't see the keys anywhere...hmm...smashing the window will be loud...and we might come back down this road when we leave as this street is relatively clear. I'd rather not risk flooding it with corpses for a bet that might return nothing" I back away from the car and turn around.

"No point wasting time here, let's keep moving, if we decide to open this, it will be after we searched the school" The girls nod at me and follow suit.

(This must be the third road, so, three left)

As we kept moving, the road started to actually get better. For starters i could see fewer car wrecks, corpses were nonexistent, with the only ones i could see being inside the buildings, like on the second-floor windows for example...

So, in the end, we reached the next intersection as easily as the last time.

"Ok, not too much left now, two more intersections after this...wish the hill would stop being so frigging steep though" I take a deep breath as i look around, both the left and the right street of the intersection looked clear.

(No point going on one of the other roads, let's keep going straight)

And just as i was about to take a step forward. I heard a loud...Growl...coming from right behind me...

(Huh?)

I turn around...and see a blushing, wide-eyed Saya hugging her stomach...

"W...what do you want?...i haven't eaten since yesterday noon" She pouts as she looks away...

"Hmm...this place is surrounded by stores, so there should be something with food around here...then again, that type of food is probably rotten..." I turn around and look at the three diverging roads...

"You think they might have a convenience store around here?" I ask.

"I don't know...if it was a school for older kids, i would say yes, as the kids there might have an allowance to spend, but an elementary school?...i don't know..." Saya keeps looking away for a few seconds before looking back at me.

"Hmm, let's keep going up for now, if we find anything that looks like a convenience store or supermarket, we will check it" I nod at her and turn around.

"Maybe the school itself has some rations left, i will admit that i feel rather peckish my self..." Saeko adds up as we start walking.

And with that, we move on to the next street...

(Hmm...a clothing store, flower store, another clothing store, a video rental, a printing store, a bookstore...)

I then end up stopping in front of a motorbike store...

"Huh...why did you stop?" Saya, who was next to me stops and turns towards me.

"You can drive a bike?" Saeko asks.

"Somewhat...but uhh, the store just reminded me something, nothing to do with bikes though" I answer.

"Really? Is it ok for me if i ask what it was?" Saeko asks once again.

(...What it was ehh?...Takashi and You stopped by a bike store when found that hybrid vehicle in the anime...then you went to the shrine and got all freaky with him...probably)

"A movie i saw once, don't know why it stuck to me now" I answer bluntly.

"Anyway let's get going...didn't see any markets or convenience stores nearby" I add up as i turn to the road ahead and keep walking.

"Why when you need something, it's never there..." Saya groans as she also starts walking.

"Tell me about it" I respond with a slight chuckle.

In the end, we reached the semi-last intersection without seeing anything worth of mention...now the intersection itself...

"The next road is barricaded again, this time with actual barriers...judging from their color, these things look plastic" I keep looking at the orange Jersey type barriers as i speak.

"Well they are not too tall, we should be able to go over them without any real problem" Saeko starts walking towards the barricade as she speaks.

"Hmm, true, well let's..."

"Ahh, wait...there's a convince store over there" Saya cuts me off as she points to my left.

I look towards her pointing finger and see a small store with the sign '7' over it.

"Ohh...that's...convenient" I say with a deadpan voice... Saya turns to look at me with an equally deadpan face.

"That...was horrible" She says as she keeps staring at me.

I just chuckle and turn to Saeko, she nods at me, and we all headed towards the store...

The moment we reached the front door.

"Well...we'll either find what we want in here really fast...or we won't find it at all" I say as i look at...what i could only call 'a hole'...

"I can't see any movement inside...but the insides are not very well lit either, so let's be careful non the less." Saeko grabs her bokken with both hands as she speaks.

"Yea, let's go" I walk up to the glass front and look through it...

The main room was rather small. It had a counter with the register to the right, behind it a wall with no doors or windows. To the left were two shelves facing in the opposite directions, one was looking at the counter, the other was looking at the wall on the opposite side, which also had a row of shelves on it. Thankfully, all the shelves i could see from here still had some items on them. On the wall straight ahead of me, was a fridge to the left, to the right, a closed metal door, and In the center of that wall, was a straight corridor that led to a back door. Inside the corridor, i could see a toilet sign to the left...and i think one more door after that?

I push the glass door and it opens effortlessly. Saeko then walks in and checks around the room's blind spots, like the shelves and behind the counter.

"There is a trail of blood here, it leads to the closed-door" She whispers as she leans over the counter and looks behind it.

I nod and walk up to the door, Saeko silent following behind me.

(The door's made of metal with no windows...can't see inside...but...i hear 'something' from in there)

I bring the knife close to my face as i lightly push the door...and as the door slowly opened, i saw them...three of them, all huddled up together in one side of the dimly lit room.

Well, i say one side, but the room had actually very little room to move, as there was a giant table in the middle.

(Shit...we can't fight them in there...no room to move...and we can't just leave them there either if we're going to search this place)

I turn to look at Saeko, point at the corpses, then point to where i was standing. She nods.

(Ok here goes nothing)

I slap the door as i keep looking at the corpses, who, instantly turn to 'stare' at the door...

(...Zombies in semi-dark rooms...whats next?... A long-haired woman with unnaturally long limbs crawling towards you in a long white corridor?...Ughh...shit...i actually just scared my self)

I shake the thought out of my head, then take a step to the left, crouch down...and wait...

The moment the first corpse shambles outside, i grab it by the arm and pull it as i trip its legs with my own, and after it hit the ground, i slide on top of it and burry the knife to the side of its head. I then turn to look behind me as i pull the knife out of the corpse skull...only to come face to face with it's two 'friends'...

Yet, before they could even react, one of the two remaining corpses got its skull split open by Saeko's bokken. Attracted by the sound, the third and final corpse turns towards Saeko. She takes a step back and brings the wooden blade's hilt right under her chin while pointing the edge of the bokken at the corpse's face. Then, with a quick motion, she stabs the corpse as she lunges forward.

The bokken ends up going right into the corpse's mouth. Which in turn, stumbles backward a couple of steps, until it's back was against the wall with the wooden blade still in its mouth. Saeko narrowed her eyes...and as her lips curved up to a one-sided grin, she swiftly twists the blade...what followed was an audible 'crack' as the corpse fell to the ground motionless...

Saeko lets go of a deep breath as she pulls the bokken out of the corpse's mouth, she then closes her eyes as she places her free hand on the back of her neck...and after a couple of deep breaths, she opens her eyes and turns to look at me...

"Are you alright?" She asks as she walks up to me and extends her arm.

"Better than these two" I point at the two fallen corpses with my head, then take her arm and get up.

"I'm not going to let anybody hurt you..." She whispers as she looks at the fallen corpses ...

"W...when you two are about done, we still have the rest of the shop to check..." Saya grumbles as she folds her arms and looks away...

"Right, let's check the room that the corpses were in, then we..." I didn't manage to finish my sentence...when an awful stench creeped out of the room where the corpses used to be...

Saeko puts her hand over her mouth and nose then moves to peek into the room...only to close the door shortly after.

"These three...were in the middle of their lunch, a lunch that must have been going on for quite a while" She turns to look at the three corpses as she speaks.

"Ughh...i suddenly don't feel so hungry" Saya puts her hand over her mouth and backs off.

"Yea we can't stay in here..." I turn to look at the shelves behind me.

"Look for anything edible that's still sealed, we'll take it outside" I walk up the shelves as i speak.

"Yea good idea" Saeko nods and moves to the fridge.

"So only items in closed plastic packages" Saya adds up as she walks up next to me.

"Yep" I nod as i pick a sesame - honey candy bar.

"Uhh we better take some 'actual' food Naier" Saya groans...only for her eyes to stop on a bag of country Ma'am...

"Please, Pasteli is awsome. Plus it has a long shelve life" I respond as i start stuffing my pockets with the said item.

"You're hopeless..." Saya smirks as she turns to look at the less 'sweet' foods that were not rotten to the core by now...while still occasionally glancing at the bag of country Ma'ams...

(She's the one that's hopeless...)

I chuckle as i take the bag she was eyeing...

"Saeko, how is it looking over there?" I ask as i turn to her.

"There are still some cans of tea left in here, along with a couple of water bottles. The rest seems to have been taken, Also, everything is warm" She responds.

"Yea most of the 'normal' food that should still be edible is gone as well" Saya responds while holding a package of...i think was mixed nuts?

"Well in any case, let's get out, this smell is starting to engrave itself into my system" I motion towards the exit with my head as i start walking, the girls nod and follow suit.

Once we got out, we went back to the barricade and sat on the barriers, after making sure that the surrounding area was safe. With Saeko sitting to my left, and Saya to my right.

"Well, let's eat" Saya grabs the package of mixed dry nuts she was holding with both hands and opens it.

"Ahh, Saya wait." I stop her before she could put her hand inside.

"What, i'm hungry you know" She replies with an annoyed tone as turns to me.

"Saeko can i have a water bottle?" I turn to her as i ask, she nods and hands me a closed one. I then hand it to Saya.

"Uhh..." She just stares at the bottle after taking it.

"Wash your hands with it" I respond as i fold my arms...

"I...i knew that..." She glances at me she opens the bottle.

"Saeko you're wearing gloves right?" I ask as i turn to her.

"Yes, my hands should be fine, we should conserve as much water as we can" She nods as she responds.

"Well i'm sorry i'm the only one wasting water..." Saya grumbles as she keeps trying to somehow wash both her hands while holding the bottle with one hand...

"It's fine, we just ended in a situation where we had to eat outside, and the town still has tap water, it's not like we are dying of thirst" I take the bottle from her hands and help her wash them.

"What about later? Nothing is really 'running' right now..." She asks as she keeps looking at her hands.

(What, is she aiming for us three to wander around till the end of days?)

"We'll see when we get to that point, maybe we will be like we are, maybe we will be at a camp, maybe the corpses will end up getting pushed back, or maybe we'll get nuked to space...point is, don't spend too much worrying about it...if it can't help you to come to a conclusion, then it won't do you any good...and after all, you're a genius, you'll figure what you...what we need to do when the time comes" I lift the water bottle and leave it next to her.

"Yes...yes of course...and my papa and mama are still out there too...it's not like we are completely alone " Saya replies as she takes the dried nuts package.

"Don't forget that the military is still around too. Thinking of the worst-case scenario can prepare you for it, but you should not let it command your every step." Saeko leans over next to me as she looks at Saya.

"Jeez. Ok, ok. I get it." Saya groans as she picks a seed and places it in her mouth.

I nod and take off my gloves, then take the bag with the country ma'am and open it...yet before i could even pick one.

"Hey, idiot, eating sweets is not a good replacement for normal food...I'll be kind to you and trade you one of the mixed nuts packs for it" Saya instantly speaks up as she turns to me, her eyes glued to the soft cookies...

(...UGHHH...don't laugh...don't...)

"Khh...ehehe" and i failed miserably...

"W...what are you laughing about idiot, this is a serious matter. If you don't eat someth..."

"I actually just picked them because i saw you eyeing them" I cut her off as i leave the bag on her legs.

"I...i was not..." Saya glances at me as she shoves another seed in her mouth.

"Oh, so you don't want..." I slowly extend my arm towards the bag, only for it to get pushed away.

"You gave it to me, now it's mine," She mumbles as she takes the bag and leaves it next to her, away from my reach.

(Heh...)

"Humm, i don't mind sharing some of my food with you" Saeko shows an energy bar to me as she speaks.

"Nahh it's ok, still got these" I pull out a bar of honeyed sesame.

"Ohh, right...how did you call them again?" Saeko tilts her head as she looks at the item in my hand.

"Pasteli? It's actually Greek...well the name itself is Italian but the thing itself is Greek...i don't think it has an actual English name, not one that i am aware of at least. First time i had one i found the name 'Honeyed Sesame' to be a bit too...scientific? So i looked it up and found more information about it...also, it' might be called a 'candy' but it's actually much better in terms of food quality. Normally, for example, it should not contain any sugar because of the honey. Think of it as a high-quality energy bar" I respond as i rip the plastic cover, lift my headgear and take a bite.

"I see..." Saeko keeps eyes the bar on my hand...

"Can i try it?" she asks after a few seconds.

"Sure why not" I take a second bar out my pocket and give it to her.

"Thank you" She bows slightly as she takes the bar...while all that was happening. Saya was glancing at our direction with her head slightly lowered...

(God, don't go making them puppy eyes on me Saya...)

"Want to try one too?" I ask as i take another bar and extend it to Saya...

"Ok, since you're offering. It would be rude to not take it" She says as she takes the bar while leaving the pack of mixed nuts on her legs.

(So calling me an idiot instead of my name is not rude?...)

"Humm...this is actually pretty good...and you said it has a long shelf life too?" Saeko asks.

"If it has nothing extra inside?...About forty to fifty months" I answer casually.

"What?!" Saya's eyes go wide as she almost spits out the bite she just took.

"You know that's like four years!" She shouts as she turns to me.

"Yea" I answer casually.

"So, did you take all of the bars from that store?" She asks again as her face turns serious. Though it was a bit 'hard' to take it 'too' seriously. What with that small part of sesame that was stuck on the right side of her cheek...

"Uhh, didn't really search, just took the ones i found" I respond.

"Well, we are going back in there then, we are emptying that place of them" Saya almost jumps off the barricade as she grabs the bag of mixed nuts she had on her lap.

"You think she likes them?..." I ask with a chuckle.

"I don't see why not, it's sweet, it lasts long, and it's not unhealthy like normal sweets. if i knew about it i could have used it in my diet" Saeko responds as she gets off the barricade as well before turning to me.

"Diet?" I ask i also get up.

"Well, being the leader of the kendo club and the daughter of the Busujima family. I couldn't go around eating things that didn't benefit my body, i needed to eat correctly in order to have the energy to train efficiently." She answers with a smile as she tilts her head slightly.

"Hmm, makes sense" I nod as we start walking towards Saya, who was already peeking through the store's front door while holding her nose.

So, in the end, we ended up going back inside that smelly place, and after searching around for a while we found another couple of packs that ended up in the bag. After that, we exited the building once again.

"So, ready to keep going?" I ask as we headed back towards the barricade.

"Yea, i'm ready" Saya responds.

"Ready here too" Saeko adds right after.

"Ok, then let's...uhhh...Saya?...Are you taking these or not?" I cut my own sentence the moment we reached the barricade...and point at the bag of County Ma'am's that was still sitting on the barrier.

"...Right...it's still food, so we better take it" She blinks a couple of times before running up to the barricade, she then takes the small bag and places in the backpack after folding the open top part.

(And not because you've been eyeing these soft cookies from the very first moment you saw them? heh...)

"The school should be somewhere around after the next street, let's move" I lower my headgear and vault over the barrier.

(I just hope that we won't leave empty-handed from that place...if we do...guess we can try the police station then, we can check the other evacuation centers there...if there are any left...)