35: Taiei (3)

"Leaving aside the blond's appearance, it's true that we have to take things calmly, and remain composed" - said Captain Matsushima as she looked around - "They have special forces in their ranks, although we don't know how happy they will be to have more civilians in their ranks."

The members of their group remained silent, though their expressions changed when they began to hear the sound of gunfire.

The group quickly ran to a railing that gave a view for the first few floors, only to see how the group of newcomers were annihilating every zombie that got in their way.

"Impressive..." - Asami muttered as she watched closely as the armed team was doing what they had been unable to do for the past few days.

"Great coordination, and those soldiers know what they're doing" - Matsushima said as she frowned slightly - "Though I find it worrying that the assault group has a bunch of kids as members despite how talented they are."

She wasn't lying, Matsushima was surprised to see how fast and cold those three children were. The first one, was an overweight black-haired boy, of the three, he was the most technical, a huge experience in firearms, demonstrated thanks to his unerring marksmanship.

Next, was a beautiful purple-haired girl who was cutting down all the zombies that approached her, and what was more "exciting", was that she seemed to be dancing on the battlefield while her laughter echoed throughout the building.

"Ok, that bitch is crazy" - Tamaru said while wiping the sweat from his forehead - "And no matter how hot she is, it's impossible for me to put my dick inside her."

The other members of the group gave him a look full of disgust, although they had to admit that this girl didn't look sane.

"Well, to survive in this world you have to be crazy enough to do what you have to do" - said the lone older man as he snorted with disdain.

Matsushima was silent as her attention was focused on the last of the three young men, a handsome blond boy who was looking directly in her direction. He could be said to be the middle ground between the previous two boys, he knew how to use a firearm and katana with utmost ease, though it seemed not to the level of his two companions.

"If they keep this up, they'll clear the second floor in less than an hour" - Asami said as she looked carefully at the new group, especially the bespectacled and overweight boy. For some strange reason, she felt a small connection with him, as if they had met before.

"That's good" - Tamaru said as he nodded, though he quickly backed away when he heard a new hail of bullets.

The others mimicked his actions, after all, they didn't know if this new group wasn't going to shoot them or mistake them for monsters.

"I think the best thing we can do currently, is to throw a stuffed animal or something with a message to let them know that there are survivors up here" - said the lone man with a serious expression.

"Sounds like a good yet bad idea" - Asami said with a frown - "However, at least that way we won't have to worry about them shooting at us..."

"Unless that's their goal" - said Tamaru as he folded his arms.

* * * * *

"Cloud..." - Yuriko said as she watched a stuffed animal fall in front of them.

"I guess the survival instinct is much greater than the fear of knowing if we are allies or enemies" - Cloud replied as he took the stuffed animal and took out a note - "Let's see... survivors, two policemen, three old folks, four young ones, ok, that's not many."

"We'll save them, right?" - Rika asked with a frown.

"Of course" - replied Yuriko with a frown - "I guess we'll have to move faster if we want to get this finished as soon as possible."

"Let's go" - nodded Rika as she looked up with a serious expression.

The group continued to clear the second floor, until they had secured it completely, at which point they set their sights on the second floor, though not before securing enough so that the zombies wouldn't come down while they sealed the stairs.

Cloud quickly ordered the soldiers to protect the civilians to start the barricades while they protected them from the second floor.

"Enemies at 12 o'clock!" - Yuriko exclaimed as the soldiers fired left and right, though that only made the zombies come in their direction - "If we keep this up, we're going to end up clearing the top floors a lot faster than I thought!"

"It's because the zombies are coming down because of the noise we're making" - Cloud replied calmly as he pondered - "How many bullets do we have left?"

"Enough to secure this floor" - Kohta replied as he checked his weapons.

Cloud nodded when he heard this as he looked around the second floor - "Groceries, this is perfect."

"The problem is the next floor" - Rika said as she shook her head - "The circuits for the appliances on the third floor have to be burned out thanks to the EMP wave."

"Although it's not like we can't find extra parts, not to mention we just have to replace those circuits with the ones we have, so we can fix them" - Yuriko said as she folded her arms - "Anyway, it's not like we're trying to fix the TVs."

"You have a point, the appliances can be fixed, and by doing so, we would also facilitate our future" - muttered Rika while frowning - "Although to do that, we would have to first fix the nearby power generators, or at least put up some solar panels, so we can accumulate enough energy."

"That's the next phase of the plan after eliminating the zombies" - Yuriko replied calmly - "Anyway, we can see about that later, now we have to continue with the operation"

"Understood" - exclaimed Cloud and Rika as they ordered to start the reconnaissance of the second floor.

* * * * *

"How long have you been glued to the railing, watching that group?" - Matsushima asked as she looked at her subordinate - "Four hours?"

Asami looked at her boss with red eyes, as if they were bloodshot - "Five hours..."

Matsushima was silent, though her expression changed when she heard the sound of gunfire just downstairs, which meant that Yuriko Takagi's group were about to arrive at their current location.

"Clear!" - Kohta exclaimed as he scanned the area with the scope of his assault rifle, though for a few seconds his vision stopped on Asami, who was simply watching him silently.

"What's wrong, Kohta-san?" - Saeko asked as she walked over to the bespectacled boy.

"Hey! Oh, no, it's nothing" - Kohta replied as he shook his head.

Saeko was silent before nodding - "I understand, I'm going to inform Yuriko-san that this place has been cleaned, and it's time to move the corpses outside to start with the cleaning"

"I'm going to continue investigating the area" - Kohta replied as he coughed to change the subject - "I'm also going to see if I find any danger nearby"

"Understood, don't do something stupid, Kohta-san" - Saeko said before leaving.

Kohta remained silent before looking in Asami's direction, who had stopped leaning on the railing, which made the boy let out a sigh. He didn't understand why, but just seeing the blonde police officer, made his heart skip a beat, as if she was one of the most important persons in his life, something he had felt during his first meeting with Saya, although unlike the pink-haired girl, this feeling didn't disappear after his first encounter with the blonde woman.

"I think this is a good time to talk with them" - said Matsushima while looking at Asami, who was pensive - "Is something wrong?"

"No, it's nothing" - Asami answered while shaking her head, though her expression didn't change.

"Speak up, I know something is bothering you" - Matsushima replied as she folded her arms and looked at her subordinate.

"It's that fat guy" - Asami replied after thinking about it a little more - "I feel strange when I see him, like I've known him since forever."

Matsushima let out a sigh before grabbing the bridge of her nose - "I'm too old for this shit."

"I'm sure you're at most 30 years old" - Asami replied as she tilted her head to one side.

"Listen, what you're feeling it's possibly love at first sight, a fucking cliché, but it happens in real life" - Matsushima replied as she folded her arms.

"Love?!" - Asami exclaimed with a red face - "Impossible, I don't like underage boys!"

"That's what it sounds like to me, at least from the description you gave me..." - replied Matsushima while rolling her eyes at her - "Answer these questions..."

"Ok" - nodded Asami as she thought carefully.

"Do you feel something strange when you look at him?" - Matsushima said as she began to ask her one question after another.

Asami was a bit skeptical at first, but the more she answered, the paler her face became - "Oh no!"

"Congratulations, I guess" - Matsushima said as she shrugged her shoulders.