We walked out of the study quickly and with purpose. The effects of the earth-shattering revelations I had given the Takagis didn't seem to show on their faces but I knew that probably that evening, when they were hunkered down in whatever sort of bedding they would manage to scramble together on our trek, the entire family would be staring up into the night sky or the roof of whatever shelter they had. A deep feeling of dread and uncertainty keeping their minds racing and preventing them from sleeping until long into the night.
I knew that because the same thing had happened to me at least once a week since I had arrived here in this funhouse version of Japan. A cavalcade of doubt and fear would dance through my mind on those nights. I was not a decisive man by nature. I preferred to think long and hard before making a decision and I would often ask others for, if not their constructive opinions, at least an emotional approval of my actions and choices. If something out of left-field was thrown in my face I would be paralyzed for a few moments, at least that had been my nature when I arrived.
At some point early on, probably after my first date with Shizuka, I had come to the revelation that these people, who had only been animated characters at some level in my mind, were people. Flesh and blood, body and soul people who had no idea what was coming. And I was the only one who could change their fate. So I had forced myself every day, every hour, every minute to dedicate all my energy, both mental and physical, to one single goal. Save as many people as I possibly can.
That constant mantra of 'if not me, who?' along with a frequent short prayer of 'Lord give me strength' was what kept me going. It had been a long year preparing, and a longer... dear God how long have I been going? What day was it? We spent much of the previous night working our way through the post-apocalyptic hellscape, just to travel a mere ten kilometers to the Takagi residence and had arrived in the middle of the morning.
I'd been awake and running at full steam for over 24 hours, barring the 30 minutes of not-sleep I'd just about managed to pick up at Rika's place… And like the pebble that starts the rockslide, that revelation made my body itself realize just how exhausted it was. I was unable to stop myself from letting out a massive yawn, my eyes watered and my vision blurred, my muscles started to ache and there was that light-headed feeling a lack of sleep always gave me. My body was already telling me to sit down, shut up, and close my eyes. And I knew I still had days more to go before I could afford to shut down.
A small hysterical giggle escaped my lips. Oh no, not yet, not now, I couldn't start falling apart just yet, there was still so much to do. I wasn't one for coffee but I could kill for a coke or a red bull, anything to keep me moving. Only problem, where the hell could I find one in this madness… or ever again in the days ahead… that... that was yet another thing I was going to have to get used to... maybe honey-sweetened ice tea… no true Southerner would go without.
Realizing I was woolgathering, I cleared my head with a quick shake then followed the Takagis who had moved ahead without me, not noticing my pause. I quickly increased my pace to catch back up with them, both of the older Takagis noticed my delay and turned their head to watch me.
Mrs. Takagi was the one to ask the question that was on both of their minds. "How long has it been since you slept, Brody-san?"
Despite having just been thinking about it, I took a moment to respond. "I've been moving non-stop for at least 24 hours and I've eaten twice... I think." Saying it out loud made it worse and now I was starting to feel that lovely headache that would always form behind my eyes whenever I didn't get enough sleep. The bags under my eyes were a Brody trait, something the men in my family all had though exhaustion made it worse and combined with SOMETHING starting to bloom and making my eyes redder than normal and I was sure that combined with the dust, blood and gore splattered on me I probably looked like I belonged on the other side of the fence.
"Sensei." Saya snapped at me as she stormed up behind me.
I sighed. I was way too tired to deal with this tsundere shit. "Yes?"
Meanwhile her father simply raised an eyebrow and gave her a mildly amused but questioning look. He didn't say a word, but at the same time it said volumes. Mainly that he was both amused and annoyed in equal measure and that she had best have a very good reason for being so curt with a teacher whom he'd grown to respect.
She stormed up to me and held out a small can that in that moment was quite possibly the most beautiful item in the world. At least the most beautiful barring a way out of this fucking mess.
It was a can of Blue Ox, this world's completely not Redbull energy drink.
I could have cried.
"This is from my personal stock," she said calmly. "So I want you to follow my instructions closely..."
If I wasn't standing right in front of her very intense father with the very sharp sword I would have probably fallen to my knees declaring her a beautiful angel of mercy.
Or kissed her.
Maybe both.
"Proceed." I managed to croak out.
"You're going to use this to take what is called a caffeine nap. You are going to find a nice, comfortable place, and chug this all in one go. Then just lie down, close your eyes, and rest for twenty minutes." she stated in a tone that brooked no argument.
"Yes Doc." I slowly said, taking the can from her hands with all the reverence of a pilgrim being given a holy relic to safeguard.
I think I might have muttered 'my precious'.
"You may return to my den to refresh yourself." her father stated, glancing back the way we came. "None shall disturb you."
I couldn't help but smile at the sweet memory of the overstuffed leather couch. It had been softer than my bed and the leather it was so buttery I'd swear it was lambskin. Considering the location, it probably was.
It was almost in a daze that I made my way back, finally letting the exhaustion catch up with me, swaying with every step.
As I walked, however, I heard a rather amusing exchange.
"So, a caffeine nap?" Saya's father asked her.
"I use them to study. Mother taught me about them."
"Hmn," he said to his wife. "So that is how you do it."
"Daughter, we must really talk about you dispelling all of my mystery."
I couldn't help but smile as I heard husband and wife share a small laugh.
You know what? They were an odd family, and they were all probably all sorts of crazy, but they were still good people.
Well. At least when he wasn't making excuses for World War II.
--------------------
God bless you Saya Takagi, you fun sized super genius.
Thanks to her and the magic of her caffeine nap, I actually kinda sorta almost felt like a functional human being again.
Muhahaha! SCIENCE!
Okay. Back up. Maybe a bit too much caffeine in that nap.
Either way though, too much shit to do and not much time to do it.
Without delay, I made my way outside to make sure that nothing had caught on fire the moment I closed my eyes.
Thankfully, nothing was burning.
Next step would be to check with the Takagis again. I'd given them enough time to internalize the situation, process the details, and turn the power of their dual pinkette super-geniuses towards finding a solution. Time to see what the mother/daughter team had come up with.
"Takagi-dono!" I said happily as I approached the hard-faced man. "Thank you for lending me your den."
"You seem in high spirits," he replied. "Good."
He looked towards his own subordinates. "Take heed, men and observe Brody-dono's behavior. Even in these trying moments, he keeps his spirits high. Emulate this and you will survive any hardship."
The gathered men shouted an enthusiastic "Hai!"
I was being used as an example to inspire others. I honestly didn't know how to feel about that. I'll go with pride, I needed some sort of pick me up to see me through this shit.
"So," I said after a moment, "You come up with a plan to get your people to the storage park yet?"
He nodded. "Yes. My family and I discussed it." he said calmly.
My family and I. Not my wife and I. I couldn't help but smile. That meant that they were taking Saya seriously.
I guess she'd managed to prove herself to them. As her teacher, I couldn't help but be proud of the acid-tongued little midget.
"So what do you got?"
"You undoubtedly wish to return as quickly as possible, correct?"
I nodded. "That goes without saying. Right now I have some good people holding down the fort but..."
"But denying such a large group its primary leadership is dangerous at times like these." he finished.
I could only nod. Took the words right out of my mouth.
"We would like to make it to your lot before nightfall so we will all need to move as quickly as possible. It is our intent to leave a small contingent behind to secure the mansion."
I blinked. "Why?"
He smiled. "It is a fortress, Brody-dono."
I nodded. Yeah, I'd noticed.
"We will undoubtedly need to return to the city from time to time to scavenge for supplies and parts. Having a redoubt within its borders would undoubtedly be useful."
"Understood," I said. "Good idea. We'll probably want to return to the storage lot to finish stripping it as well."
"Undoubtedly." he replied with a nod.
"So, what's the plan in the short term? I'm sure the womenfolk have something genius in mind."
I could see the edge of his mouth twitch for a moment. Which was probably his version of a shit eating grin. "Yes. You should return to the lot as soon as possible. We would like you to scout out a path for our travels, when necessary using your vehicle to clear the road."
Good idea. Hummer drivers have a word for the average Japanese street car. That word being 'roadkill'. It might make a bit of noise, but I'd be able to push anything under a cargo truck out of the way with contemptible ease. If they had a straight shot, it would really minimize the risks.
"I can do that." I replied.
"Very well. I'd like Saya to accompany you as our representative." he said, surprising me a bit.
I thought he'd want to stay united with his daughter.
"Alright."
"In exchange however, we want one of your companions to remain behind. While they are enthusiastic, your... 'theigns' are a fractious lot with questionable discipline."
"Guilty as charged. Though in my defense, I was working with street gangs and only had so much time."
"That was not a accusation," he stated. "You managed to transform hooligans into a functional, albeit rowdy army. That is a respectable feat."
"Thank you." I frowned, however. I was not excited about leaving someone behind. In no way, shape, or form did that sit well with me. I was probably being overprotective, but for the large part the people with me were all on the list of the people whom I'd grown closest to over the past year, and simply letting them out of my sight made me get twitchy.
I sighed and began to think. I needed to ask someone, but who?
Rei was effectively a non-option. Takashi, he was a good kid but separating him from Rei and Saya would probably be begging for trouble. Besides, he hadn't been with the huscarls as long as most of them and hadn't even been there for the gang fights that had brought the theigns on in the first place. Shizuka? Hehe. No. Saeko? She'd do her best to make me proud, but at the same time I was honestly a bit terrified of what she'd be capable of if I let her out of my sight for more than five minutes.
That left Kohta. Who, actually thinking about it, was not a bad idea. He could kick the asses of any one of the boys if they tried something, was functionally one of my primary aide de camps which meant he could reliably speak with some small degree of authority without having to call me not to mention he was considered by most of my boys as the very first huscarl, which added a great deal of prestige. And more importantly, Asami was here.
He probably wanted to be separated from her just about as much as I was Shizuka, and knowing the girl, there was no way in hell she'd come with us. First, she was too loyal to her 'senpai', and second, it would have been a clear and unabashed case of favoritism to bring her along.
No. She had stay, and Kohta was going to stay with her.
"Alright," I said, "I'll talk to him."
-------------------------
Fifteen minutes later I was honestly beginning to get very frustrated.
Where in the fuck was that boy?
Sometime between when I'd begun to talk to the Takagis and now, Kohta had seemingly vanished into thin air. I'd asked the theigns. Nothing. Shizuka was busy helping manage the medical supplies. I'd found Rei and Takashi catching a quick, and honestly well-deserved nap under a tree and was loath to disrupt the adorableness. And Saya'd been with her mother the entire time.
"Saeko." I said with a sigh. "You have no idea how happy I am to see you."
She flushed slightly. "Thank you, sensei. How can I help you?"
You know, normally I'd have kicked myself about another slip that encouraged her borderline yandere crush, but at this particular moment in time, I was simply too fucking annoyed to care. I needed to find that boy, tell him what was up, and get out.
Probably after reading him the riot act because god damn it man...
"I need to know where Kohta is." I said bluntly.
She blinked and glanced off to the side. "I saw Kohta-san and Asami-san about fifteen minutes ago."
"Thank God." I sighed in relief. "Which way did they go?"
"They were walking behind the house," she stated. "Would you like me to show you?"
"Please."
She nodded and guided me back around the house.
As we walked I couldn't help but smile as I saw a familiar pain in the ass with a pixie bob looking pained as she loaded boxes loaded with canned goods into a truck under the watchful eye of Yuriko Takagi.
For a moment, my eyes locked with the pink haired woman. I raised an eyebrow and she simply replied with a smirk.
Well, that was one problem put to work. Quite literally.
A minute or two later we found ourselves behind the mansion.
I had to admit, they had a rather nice private garden back here, but again, no Kohta.
I looked at Saeko. "You sure he went this way?"
She nodded. "Absolutely, sensei."
I sighed deeply, before letting out a long grunt of frustration. Goddamn it boy.
I took a deep breath and closed my eyes to center myself. It was then that I heard... something.
My eyes opened and I scowled. What the hell was that?
Walking forward, I could hear it more clearly coming from the bushes near the wall.
Was that... giggling?
I closed my eyes again. Oh for the love of...
As I neared. Yeah, it was giggling.
Steeling myself, I glanced behind the shrubbery. "Alright, what the..."
Before the words even finished leaving my mouth I found myself retreating back with a near audible snap, my mind doing its best to blank out the last half second. Moments later, a disheveled Kohta came stumbling out of the bushes, blushing as red and bright as a Kryptonian sun, with Asami in his shadow, looking like she wished more than anything she could go invisible.
"Ah, sen-um-sensei!" he stammered out. "C-Can I help you?"
I sighed. "Kohta." I said with a growl. "Listen. We're about to leave. I need you to stay behind to coordinate with the Takagis and to make sure the Theigns don't do anything stupid. Can I trust you?"
He nodded maybe a bit too frantically.
"Good," I replied as I simply walked towards the front, doing my best to ignore the situation I was leaving behind, as well as the sideways looks that Saeko was giving me.
Ugh. Teenagers.
I at least hoped they were using protec-
I paused mid step and mid thought. My eyes went wide, as my blood began to run cold as I was overcome with grim realization.
Well.
Shit.
I knew I forgot something...