24. Break from the DEAD

After turning off the broadcast, the guys in the living room looked at each other.

"Things are going to get worse, huh?" said Takashi with a heavy tone.

"I'm really worried about my parents. They told me they were in a safe place in the afternoon, but now I'm not so sure they are completely aware of the danger," Takuzo said next.

"I didn't even get to speak with my mother, she's a teacher in an elementary school. So, if things there got as bad as they did in our school..." Takashi spoke. "At least the building was built during World War II, and it has a bunker for emergencies. I hope that she managed to hide."

"Look, I can't tell you guys that everything will be fine, or that we'll find your relatives alive. What I can say is that we won't give up until we check every possible place," Kazuki said seriously. "Now, about the future... I'll tell you now and then tell the girls. I plan to steal a boat and find a small island near the coast to set up a permanent base."

"Why an island? Wouldn't a farm be better?" Takashi asked genuinely curious.

However, Kazuki didn't directly answer Takashi's question, opting to engage in a mental exercise.

"How many inhabitants are there in the Tokyo metropolitan area?"

"Huh? About 35 million," Takashi replied somewhat uncertainly.

"What do animals do when food becomes scarce in an area?"

"They... migrate?" Takuzo initially responded without much confidence, but as soon as the words left his mouth, he understood the crucial point of the question. "35 million zombies, migrating from one place to another." He concluded the reasoning with a face as white as paper.

Takashi, who was beside him, even trembled with fear.

"No matter if we're on a farm, if 1% of those zombies happen to come our way, it's over," Takashi said, stating his conclusion.

"That's if they're moving by chance in the first place. We don't know anything concrete about the zombies besides their blindness, heightened senses, and super strength. If even we are undergoing mutation, imagine them," Kazuki commented. "I don't know if they can swim, but an island seems easier to monitor. And even to escape in an extreme situation."

"KYAH~ AHN~ Ufufu~" The sound of the girls playing in the bathroom echoed in the silence.

"They seem to be having fun," said Takashi with a wry smile.

"They need to relax a bit. The world ended today, the fact that they can smile means their mental state is strong, which is good for us. There are only four of us guys, unfortunately, we can't afford to protect dead weight," Kazuki said with a slight smile. Then he looked at Takashi and brought up a topic he had wanted to discuss for a long time. "Takashi... What's the deal with you and Rei? You seem close, but at the same time, there seems to be a gap between you two."

Takashi grimaced a bit before answering, then told Kazuki and Takuzo everything that had happened between them in the past and how Saya was also his childhood friend. He told everything until their meeting at school.

Kazuki, now completely above suspicion, was the first to speak. "Rapaz, você é burro hein, puta que pariu. (Man, you're freaking stupid, whore who has given birth!)!" Seeing Takashi and Takuzo's completely confused looks, Kazuki realized he had switched languages again. "Sorry, I was so incredulous that I reverted to Portuguese. So you're telling me that instead of just confessing to a girl who was clearly in love with you for YEARS, you let her get fucked by your friend?! You Japanese are insane, man. I could never."

"HEY! I didn't let anything! She pushed me away and went to him."

"But did you confess to her, though?"

"... No."

"And, you're telling me you got mad and shouted in her face when she didn't want to tell you what happened that made her repeat a year?"

"... Yes."

"And when she screamed like a banshee at the mere notion of letting Shido enter the bus today, you treated her like she was a monster?"

"... I didn't know at the time..."

"Deliberately not even apologizing?"

"..."

"Look, man, I can't defend you. You're probably carrying a lot of resentment, but you still like her. Okay, she could have confessed to you too and not just wait for you to take action, if she trusted you, she could have asked for help, but man... If you don't stop being a cabaço, I mean, let go of that resentment, you're going to become an involuntary celibate."

"A what?"

"Never mind, anyway... I'll try to help you. I'll talk to her a few times to try to break the ice and try to make it easier for you to resolve things. It may take some time or it may be quick, a lot has happened to us in a very short time, after all."

"Thank you, Kazuki. Thanks for the conversation with you laying out the facts so clearly like that, much of what was stuck in my throat doesn't seem so complicated anymore."

"Relax, it's my job to maintain group cohesion. And you, Takuzo, everything okay with Naomi?"

A little flushed, Takuzo replied, "Yes, it is."

"Look, forget about being ashamed to hold hands. You guys don't have time to take things slowly anymore. And although limited, I think we have a stock of pills for a year, and I found out reading the label that the pills here are 100% effective."

Suddenly, Kohta entered the room in a hurry and panting, apparently he had been running.

"Guys, I found something!" Kohta motioned for them to follow him.

The trio looked at each other and with a shrug got up and went after him. Their path leading to Rika's bedroom. In front of them was a big black cabinet with two doors, one was already open, marks of Kohta's efforts to break it open, and the other had a heavy padlock.

The surprise of the three could not be contained, many boxes with various types of ammunition, multiple add-ons for weapons, and other small equipment like compasses, a pair of binoculars, and other little things.

"Wow, Kohta, you struck gold," said Kazuki.

"Don't celebrate yet, Kazuki, I bet there are even better things inside this other cabinet. Can you guys help me?"

"Wait a moment, I'll get the hammer, with its pointed end it should be easy to break this padlock," Kazuki said.

Kazuki then went back to the living room to get the hammer, which was leaning against a wall. Returning to the room, he asked them to step back, and after a few firm blows using the pointed side of the hammer, the padlock broke.

Opening the cabinet, Kohta had to cover his mouth to muffle the cry of joy he let out. None of the other three could blame him; after all, inside the cabinet were heavy weapons, weapons that certainly have restrictions on their circulation.

"Just as I thought..." He said with a feral smile and a maniacal gleam in his eyes.

"This is the house of Shizuka-sensei's friend..." Takashi commented, looking amazed at the weapons. "But what kind of friends does she have?"

Kohta immediately grabbed the first weapon and after a series of clicks, he seemed to be in a trance as he spoke.

"A Springfield M1A1 Super Match, huh? But it's only semi-automatic." Kohta began to describe each of the weapons. "Well, the M14 series is full-auto. This one is less wasteful when it comes to ammunition."

"Ehh, Hirano?" Takashi tried to get his attention, an effort that proved futile.

"This is a 20-round magazine! This is illegal in Japan. It's illegal. Hehehe hehe he."

"Heeey, Hirano."

Picking another weapon he continued.

"A Knight's SR equipped with a scope... No. You can't get that kind of thing in Japan, so it must be an AR-10 that was modified from top to bottom!"

"Dayum, that's insane," spoke Takuzo by the side.

"There's also a crossbow still in the locker. It looks a bit like the one that Kazuki has. But this is a Barnett wildcat C5, it's a hunting crossbow made in England."

And then, seeing Takashi taking a shotgun from the cabinet, he described it as well.

"That's an Ithaca M35 Riot Shotgun! It was designed by Americans. It is one badass shotgun, it was even used in the Vietnam War."

Takashi turned to Kohta while carrying the Ithaca, making him freak out in fear.

"NEVER point a gun at another person unless you're absolutely certain it isn't loaded!"

"Sorry, I should only point it at them."

...

"Give me a hand here, guys, it's difficult to put the bullets into the magazine," Kohta said after a while.

"Did you learn all this with airsoft guns?" Takashi asked.

"Of course not. They were real guns," Kohta replied, a hint of pride in his tone.

"You've handled a real gun before?!" Takuzo and Takashi exclaimed together, surprised.

"I already told Kazuki this, but once when I was in the United States, I went to military training... And a Green Beret instructor took me in and taught me for a month."

"Wow, did you already know that, Kazuki?" Takuzo asked.

"Yeah, he told me when we were talking in the cafeteria. At first, it's hard to believe. But looking at his skills, there's no denying it, the guy is good," Kazuki replied.

"Thank goodness we're not enemies," commented Takashi before changing the subject. "By the way, what kind of person is this friend of Shizuka-sensei's? All these weapons are definitely illegal."

"They're not just illegal. You would have to get all the parts and weapons separately by special order, and even then it would be illegal to have them. But if you're in the armed forces..." Kohta completed.

"Would a police officer have this kind of thing?" Takashi asked uncertainly, after all, Rei's father was a policeman and he had never seen a cabinet like this when he visited as a child.

"Maybe she wasn't a regular officer?" Takuzo asked.

"In fact, she's from the special forces. If I'm not mistaken, she's a highly decorated sniper, Shizuka told me about her a while ago," Kazuki interrupted their speculations.

"Oohhh," the three guys made the same sound of awe, and Kazuki laughed looking at their expressions.

"All right, let's organize this ammunition."

...

"Ah~" Rei stretched in the bathtub, finally relaxing after the absolutely crazy day she had. The girls divided themselves into two bathrooms because of the space. In Rika's house bathroom were Rei, Shizuka, Saeko, Kyoko, Saya, and Shura. In the other house bathroom were Miku, Momo, Taniuchi, Naomi, and Kasumi.

Rei was in the bathtub sharing space with Shizuka. Saeko, Saya, and Shura were soaping themselves while sitting on the small stools. All naked with their beautiful bodies exposed.

Looking at Shizuka's breasts, which seemed to float in the water, Rei couldn't contain herself.

"Wow, sensei, they're huge."

"Yeah, they are~" Shizuka said with a slight smile on her face, her hands holding her breasts from below and lifting them to emphasize, a proud expression on her face.

"Ugh, you're so conceited..." Rei said after seemingly taking damage from the nurse's action. Then she stretched her hands and held them too, massaging them a bit.

"Ahn~ They're sensitive~"

"Damn, they're softer than mine."

"No~ Not there~"

On the stools, Saya, even without her glasses, looked away embarrassed.

"What's this, it's starting to look like a hentai scene..."

"Ufufu..." Kyoko just gave an amused giggle while covering her mouth with her hand, looking at the situation.

"Why do we have to take a bath together anyway?" Saya asked rhetorically, having little resistance to this kind of scene.

"You already know why, don't you?" Saeko said from the side.

"Yeah... but... HYAAAAAAAAHN!" Saya shrieked. Saeko had opened the cold water tap and sprayed it on her back.

"... Your voice is nicer than I thought," Saeko said with a mischievous smile, her prank succeeding.

While Saeko was distracted, Saya filled a bowl with cold water and poured it on her lower back.

"Nn. Hyeeh. Ahn~ Phew."

"Damn, that's not even a proper reaction," Saya grumbled.

Meanwhile, Shura watched the situation with curiosity. She never thought that so many different people would be together in this place and would interact so well with each other. She simply continued her bath while humming a tune.

"You're very quiet, Shura," Kyoko spoke, drawing everyone's attention to her.

"That's true! What was that in the room?" Rei exclaimed, pointing at her.

"Well? It's exactly what you saw. I want Kazuki, and I know you all do too!" Shura was, as always, straight to the point.

"Ugh, not me!" Rei tried to say, thinking someone else would support her, but the silence around her informed her otherwise. Looking to her side, she saw Shizuka looking like a cooked tomato, hiding her mouth in the water while her eyes glanced around. Saeko continued with a slight smile on her face, and Saya.exe stopped working, while Kyoko-sensei maintained the same 'Ufufu~' on her face.

"Wait, seriously? All of you?" Rei asked.

"He's an excellent man, it's not that hard to like him," Kyoko said.

"SENSEI?!" Rei and the rebooted Saya exclaimed at the same time.

"I don't know why you're surprised, but I'm sure Kyoko-sensei has already had a taste." Shura said with certainty in her voice. "Remember he was living with her. By the way, Kyoko-sensei, I'm sorry for doing that, but the way things are going, I don't know when I'm going to become one of them, so I couldn't stop myself. I was already a little interested in him, but after he saved me today, I kinda went off the rails for a bit."

"No problem Shura, let's support him together." Kyoko said.

"I KNEW IT!" Shizuka stood up from the bathtub, her large breasts jiggling, causing the girls to swallow.

'Damn, they really are big.' The thought was shared by all of them.

"I knew you were having something! Having that kind of relationship with a student!" Shizuka tried to be a responsible adult, but all her bravado was shattered when Kyoko replied.

"What are you talking about? You've been drooling over him since you first saw him. And Kazuki's of age now."

This time the whole of Shizuka turned red. They all looked at her with a knowing smile making her just sit again and hide her face in the bath.

"I was surprised that Takagi-san was also interested in him," Rei said, staring at her.

"Kyah! I, I... I'm not interested." Surprised at suddenly being called out, Saya tried to pretend without much success.

"Of course, of course, the smile on your face whenever he praises you says otherwise. It's fine really," Rei said.

"And, and, what about you?! I saw your face when Shura was kissing him, you were envious! Even though you already have Takashi."

"Ugh, it, it wasn't that. And I don't have anything with Takashi... yet," Rei said talking loudly before finishing in a small voice.

"Ah, so you want to give Kazuki a ride before committing, huh," Shura said as if the truth was finally revealed.

"SHURA-SAN!" Rei was boiling.

"Hahaha." Everyone laughed.

"But seriously, there's too many girls wanting him. I believe at least half of the other girls want him too, at least for a night. And the adrenaline of the situation is messing with us, my urges are really strong now," Shura said. "What do we do, Kyoko-sensei? It could put us all at risk if things get out of hand."

"Isn't that simple?" Saeko intruded. Seeing as everyone was paying attention to her, she continued. "We just need to share."

They all looked at her in shock. Shura had said something similar earlier but this coming from Saeko Busujima of all people shocked them.

"Oh! Saeko I never thought YOU would be the one to suggest that," Shura said surprised.

"Why? Kazuki is a good man, he is responsible, resourceful, strong, and kind. It's quite natural that he would attract many women," Saeko said simply.

"That's a Yamato Nadeshiko for you," Shura said amazed. "She accepts even her husband's mistresses."

"Every second that passes this seems more and more like a trash harem anime," Saya said with a scowl.

"C'mon Takagi, the world has gone to shit already, for all we know we can mutate tomorrow and that's it. Who has time to be preoccupied with social norms?" Shura said before continuing. "Look, even Miyamoto is interested." She pointed to Rei who was also hiding in the water.

"I'm not!" She said quickly before continuing after a few seconds of hesitation. "Well... A little bit? After all, he was really manly the entire day, he kept us safe and seemed to always have a plan. But it's not like I like him or anything," she added at the end.

"Now that you said it... it has just occurred to me that it has only been a day. Look at all the shit that happened, felt like months," Saya said. And everyone nodded.

"In so little time, it seems we lost a few screws huh. Only a day and we're talking about making a harem," Kyoko said chuckling nervously.

"Well, we can only distract ourselves by talking about silly things, or we might go insane if we focus on all the killings, or being afraid for our family out there," said Saya seriously. They finished their bath in silence after that.

Today they saw more blood than they could ever imagine, scenes that will likely cause nightmares tonight, that is, if they can even sleep.

The fear and worry about their families' situation consumed them from within, the uncertainty of the future provoking the worst thoughts in their minds. However, looking at their group, none of them seemed to have the intention of giving up. The attitude of all was positive, and they all knew that the main reason for this behavior amidst the desperate situation was a specific person, Kazuki.

'Perhaps survival is not impossible if he is with us' was the thought in their heads.