[Lyon's POV]
We were currently standing in front of the wrecked convenience store, not close enough for our voices to be heard by the zombies who could be inside but far enough from the rest of the group to the point that they couldn't hear our conversation. We had already decided on our positions earlier so all we had to do now was discuss the finer details of the plan.
"Just a quick search of the shelves, I doubt we'd find anything there so checking the storeroom would be more worth our while." I tell the others, receiving silent nods as Alyssa just watches Misako. Though I assigned Alyssa to watch over Misako, I didn't mean it in a literal sense, or maybe she had another reason to observe her.
"The average gasoline station convenience store should have a storefront where all of the shelves are lined up, and a small store room separated from the main shopping area by a simple door." I explain to them, that though I've never been to this convenience store, the chances of it having a different design from the rest was highly unlikely.
"We clear out the shopping area first before we begin looking for scraps. The store room will be our last stop, kill the bodies and search for their wallets since the cash register might have been emptied by some looter already. Any objections?" I ask the others, I knew Alyssa would easily agree so I mostly just asked out of courtesy for Misako.
"Good, let's go then." I finish up the conversation after receiving shakes of refusal from my current companions. I start moving closer to the convenience store with my companions following close behind me, carefully and slowly stepping on the ground as shards of the broken glass wall and door began to hamper us as we got closer.
I enter through the broken front entrance, eyeing the checkered tiles of light blue and beige which alternated between one another to create a pattern. I observe the emptied shelves, a few packets of random supplies scattered on the floor as its contents were spilled on the floor, possibly after being stepped on by the store's looters.
The lights of the store itself were still working but the one in the middle was barely hanging onto the ceiling. Half of it was already dangling on the floor, threatening to fall to the ground and shatter with just a simple bump. Ignoring the state of the store itself, I went in deeper into the store, passing a few of the shelves while eyeing the dried puddles and trails of blood.
The convenience store was structured in a way that a single cashier was on the corner of the left side of the shop while the shelves and freezers consumed most of the store's space. Directly opposite the entrance of the store was a white wooden door that could've been hidden alongside the white walls had there not been a gap and a small door handle and lock to break its near seamless camouflage.
The shopping area of the store itself had five rows of shelves, all of which were separated by a slightly wide pathway in between each one that led to freezers that were now emptied of any beverages. The first row had a single zombie that stood in the middle of the pathway, the zombie's white polo shirt now stained red as the stomach portion was ripped open with the intestines itself spilled out on the floor as it was dragged on it whenever the zombie moved.
I pass by the rest of the shelves, finding two more zombies in both the third and the fifth pathway before checking the small area hidden behind the cashier's desk. There wasn't anything hiding in that small area though which meant there were just 5 zombies at least, more could be hiding behind the opposite end of the shelves themselves though so we should be extra cautious.
I tell them exactly that by typing it on my phone's notepad app, prompting all of us to separate from one another after they learned of their assigned pathways. The proximity between each zombie on the third and fifth pathway meant that killing one would alert the other so those two were the riskiest ones to handle.
I assigned Alyssa to the one on the first pathway since it only had one zombie and the only sharp weapon she carried was a kitchen knife. Using the shotgun was the last resort and would call every zombie near the area to our location so I'd rather not have her use it in this situation unless it was an emergency.
I assigned myself to the third pathway since I trusted myself to be more than capable of killing the two in a few seconds while I assigned Misako to the fifth pathway since she carried a bow. The silent long-range weapon gave her the ability to kill them from afar quite easily when a person had the skill to do it, a skill that I hoped she had for all our sakes.
I stood in front of the pathway I had assigned myself, the two zombies randomly shuffling about as one looked in my direction while the other had its back facing me. My first few steps were slow, silent as I began nearing them before suddenly increasing the speed of my footsteps to a faster pace for the plan to kill them that I had in mind.
My fastened footsteps caused a bit of sound to come from my direction, prompting the one closest to me to raise his head and look in my general location only to then have a machete slash into the middle of its temple. The blade embedded itself into the head of the zombie before it crumpled down while the sound of metal meeting bone causes the second zombie to attempt to look behind it.
It was limited to an attempt though as I kicked the zombie's left knee down, causing it to fall on one knee as one of my hands grasped onto the zombie's black hair, raising it and facing it toward the freezers in front of it. My other hand was still gripping onto my machete, I pull it out before using it to horizontally slash the zombie from the side of its head three times.
My first and second slash served to slash open its head with the contents slowly spewing out from the side while my third slash fully took off the portion of the head that I was holding onto from the rest of it, causing brain matter and blood to come spraying out as the zombie's body fell to the floor. I throw away the dismembered head of my second kill as the sound of a body falling to the ground on my right side while two more from my left followed in quick pursuit of one another.
'Good, that accounts for all of our assigned targets then.' I think to myself as Alyssa appeared in front of me while she stood close to the freezers that lay directly in front of me. I tried to sigh in relief but the sound of another body falling from my left rang out, I quickly moved toward the freezers before turning left, passing Alyssa who followed behind me as I went to the fifth pathway.
I found Misako laying down on the ground as another zombie tried to bite her, the only reason she hasn't gotten bitten yet was the recurve bow that she used to hold back the zombie's mouth. Stopping it from both screeching out loudly as well as biting onto her vulnerable neck, I quickly rushed toward the zombie and kick it to the side which caused an audible thud as it crashed into the wall.
I plunge my machete down the side of its head before it could even try to rise, thrusting the blade down its already motionless head three more times and riddling its head with more holes as blood began to leak from each one. I pause after the third stab, looking at Misako who slightly raised her body from the ground with her two palms as she stared at me.
I stared back at her, noticing a bit of drool that was mixed with blood slowly dripping down her right cheek. I didn't have a handkerchief with me so I opted to just use the cuffs of my hoodie to wipe it clean, our gazes never leaving each other during the entire process. I stand up and offer her my hand to pull her up, an offer that takes her a few seconds before she decided to accept, her surprisingly cold hands clashing with the warmth that emanated from mine.
"You okay? What happened back there?" I asked her after she fully stood up from the ground, dusting herself off before she wiped her recurve bow clean with the shirt of one of the zombies she had killed. I look around the pathway as well, taking note of the two fallen corpses that had arrows sticking out of their heads as the third one continued to slowly leak blood out.
"I... managed to shoot the two of them before I decided to push in deeper. I think the one you killed heard the corpses of the others fall to the ground so it suddenly rushed from the hidden side of the shelves into me before I could notch another arrow." She explains to me as she opts to face the floor, hiding the first emotion she showed other than her stern stare, embarrassment.
"No, it's fine. Though I do remember telling everyone to be cautious of those hidden sides." I slightly reprimanded her to a certain degree since I felt that I held a bit of responsibility for her safety since I was the one who planned this out. I wait for a reply or an excuse to come but none came in the few seconds that I waited, causing me to pass by her as I moved closer to the door that led to the storeroom.
Before I could get closer to the door though, I felt a hand clutch onto the same cuffs of my hoodie that I used to wipe Misako's cheeks earlier, prompting me to stop in my tracks as I turned to face behind me. I found Misako lightly clutching onto my hoodie with one of her hands, her head still facing the floor beneath her.
"Thank you... for saving me back then, and I'm sorry for messing up the plan." She tells me with a voice that remained confident and strong even though she was apologizing. I look at her for a few seconds, a blurry unknown figure seemed to overlap with hers as each second passed before I shook it off.
"It's fine, what's done is done, you should be more careful though since you have to go find your mother too, right?" I remind her with my free hand patting her head, the latter half of my words causing her to look at me strangely with wide-open eyes in surprise over how I knew of her plans.
It stays like this for a few seconds, stopping only as I spot Alyssa looking at me with a vexed expression. I take my hand off of Misako's head before turning back to face the direction of the storeroom as I moved closer to it. Misako remains motionless for a few seconds before she began to pull out the arrows that were still stuck inside the zombie's head.
I stood in front of the door to the storeroom and gripped tightly onto its door handle, waiting for the other two to move closer to me before I tried opening it. What happened next was quite disappointing though as we discovered that the door was locked which meant we had to either look for the key or break the door open through more aggressive means.
"It's locked, I'll go look for the key in the cashier desk while you two can go look for wallets from the corpses." I tell the two, causing the two of them to leave me in front of the door as they went toward the fallen bodies of the zombies we had just killed.
I went toward the cashier's desk and checked the register, finding it devoid of any form of paper cash as the looters left only the heavy and noisy coins. Coins that we won't even be able to use to refuel the car, prompting me to push the register close again as I resumed my search for the key.
'Damn, nothing huh?' I think to myself while kneeling on one leg after 2 minutes of pushing aside whatever could hide the key beneath it. I stand back up and find the two others waiting for me in front of the cashier's desk. Both of them left three wallets each in front of them, showing me the spoils of their tasks while I ended up empty-handed of anything to show them in return.
"No key, looks like we'll need to kick the door open or something." I tell them before receiving nods of acknowledgment for my decision. Though we already had more than enough supplies to last us 3 and a half months, gathering more wouldn't hurt since we've already mostly cleared the store out.
I moved closer to the door and touched the surface of the white door with my hand, taking note of its smooth surface that reminded me of wood instead of stone or cement. I sheathe my machete and kick the door, repeating it 3 more times, accompanying it was the sound of me forcefully shoving my shoulder to its surface before the sound of a breaking lock rang out as a slightly cold rush of wind came out of the room.
The inside would be the equivalent of a treasure trove of supplies for the future ruin scavengers. The storeroom had shelves of various products like bundles of bottled water, coffee, teas, canned sodas, and beers. It also had various types of snacks like potato chips, biscuits, yakisoba buns, and sandwiches as well as various desserts like shortcakes and tubs of ice cream.
What truly mattered the most to me though was the shelf that had a variety of canned goods and instant noodles, none of the shelves were fully stocked as though there was a large variety of products to choose from. Barely any of it was left which meant these products were delivered a few days before everything went to shit. There was also a shelf just dedicated to toiletries like shampoos, toothbrushes, toothpaste, and more but that was less important to me than the food.
"Alyssa, bring the 4 wallets with you and give them to Higashi while you keep the other two, tell the rest of them to bring the cars closer so that carrying the supplies out will be easier. Misako, go guard the storefront and wait for them, I'll stay inside and check the shelves outside of this room." I tell everyone, prompting the two to nod as they did as they were told.
I leave the storeroom with them before checking the shelves, finding all of them picked to the bone before I decided to drag all of the corpses to one corner of the store. I was dragging the sixth corpse away when I heard the sound of two cars coming to a stop in front of the store which prompted me to look up.
"Thanks for the help, this means a lot to us." Higashi tells me as all of the members of both groups go inside the store. I shrug my shoulders before telling Higashi that we should keep two guards outside to guard the cars while the rest brought out the supplies. The one member from each group that we chose to remain outside was Ren and Hoga while we went inside the storeroom.
"We'll take 2 of the 6 bundles of bottled tea, 3 of the 6 bundles of water, 3 of the 5 bundles of beers, 2 of the 5 bundles of bottled coffee, at least half of the canned goods, and the instant noodles as well as a few sandwiches, onigiris, and the shortcakes. A few of each type of hygienic supplies too, and that should be all of it." I informed them, earning strange looks from every member of each group. "What?"
"I don't know it's just... I didn't expect you to leave a lot for us." Higashi tells me while the others nod to his words. Well... he isn't exactly wrong, I left them with quite a lot of supplies even though I made sure to take half of the food that wouldn't spoil easily like the instant ramen. Maybe it was because of the kid in their group, or maybe it was because of the sense of Deja vu that I felt whenever I glanced at Misako.
Taking any more would just become a problem too if we were to end up losing the car for some reason. The duffle bags of supplies we had inside the car coupled with the supplies we kept in our backpacks are already quite heavy so bringing any more bundles of beverages will just become a problem. It isn't like the instant ramen which is very light after all so those were the main priority instead.
"Do you want me to take more then?" I sarcastically asked Higashi who laughs before shaking his head as we all began picking up our portion of the supplies and carrying them into our group's cars. It was when I was carrying a plastic bag of sandwiches when I found Amaya trying her best to drag one of the bundles of water with her.
I stood in front of her which prompted the child to look up at me nervously, scared for a reason I was entirely clueless of. I kneeled on one leg and took off my backpack, opening it up before taking out one of the chocolate bars that I had taken with me from the campus canteen. I hand it to her, receiving a thank you hug all of a sudden after she took the chocolate bar off of my hands.
I was slightly shocked for a few seconds before a smile found its way to my face, triggering me into weakly hugging her back as everyone watched our interaction with their smiles. We finished clearing the storeroom after half an hour, all members of each group standing in front of one another as we began to say our goodbyes.
"We wouldn't mind having you guys join us on our trip to the academy you know? We found out that the bridges that connected the city to the outside were blown up a few days ago so our only choice is to go to the evacuation site in the academy now." Higashi tells us which caused my companions to form shocked expressions since it had confirmed some of their earlier fears from the explosion we heard the other day.
"The bridge was destroyed?!" Ren asks worriedly, the volume of his voice slightly rose which prompted me to calm him down. Lessening their worries by telling them that we'd be able to find other ways to cross the river. I don't verbally remind them of the fact that I had Ren carry the inflatable canoes with him, but I'll make sure to inform them once we're in the car.
"No, it's fine. We have our plans too so we can't go to the academy just yet." I tell Higashi who nods to my words, offering me a handshake meant as both a goodbye and a thank you. I accept his handshake before handing him my spare kitchen knife and two low-battery phones that I had kept with me since we left school. He accepts it before bowing in gratitude as a goodbye so he can start up the car's engine. His little brother did a short farewell too while he held onto his little sister who carried a wide smile while waving us goodbye.
"Your name, it was Lyon Kagami, yes?" Misako, the last member who has yet to enter their car, asks me. I nod to her question, clueless as to why she would ask to confirm my name once more. She moves closer to me with mere centimeters separating the two of us before quickly kissing both sides of my cheeks, whispering to me a short goodbye before she entered their group's car as well.
Their car engine starts up, leaving both the gas station and us behind after a few seconds while we continued to wave our goodbyes. It was when they left that Chisato and Ren decided to excuse themselves by entering the car when I finally noticed Alyssa staring at me, a forced smile evident in her expression.
"Uhm... it wasn't my fault?" I tell Alyssa as she began moving closer to me as well. I wasn't dense so I understood quite easily what she wanted from me, I smirked back at her annoyed look before acquiescing to what she wanted. I gave her a deep kiss, just long enough to satisfy her but not as intimate as the one that we shared a few days ago.
"I love you, Alyssa. That is the one thing you do not need to form doubts about, we should go back inside the car. The other two are already staring at us after all." I whispered close to her ear with a grin, replying to my playful teasing with a smile of her own before finishing it off with kisses that overlapped Misako's previous ones.
"There, now that woman's lips have been replaced with my own." Alyssa whispers back before running back inside the car, her previous confidence disappearing after each second that passed. I smiled over how brave she would act when she felt jealous, finding the stark difference between her usual self from her intimate self quite funny as I opened the door to the car and sat on the chair, closing the door as Ren drove the car away from the gas station.
[3rd Person POV]
"Oh my, it seems that my cousin has formed an interest in Lyon" Higashi snickers back while looking at Misako through the rearview mirror. Misako ignores his teasing, preferring to touch her lips with the tip of the index finger of her right hand, remembering the sensation of how it felt to have her lips kiss Lyon's cheeks.
"Misako... we haven't traveled too far from them yet. You've helped us a lot already, so if you want you can try to ask to join them instead. It seems like they plan to cross the river too so maybe they'd be willing to help you look for your moth-" Higashi tells her with a guilt-ridden tone, it was quite obvious what he wanted to offer but she interrupted him before he could even finish his sentence.
"No, it's fine. I have a feeling that we'll meet again very soon." Misako tells him, a rare smile gracing her face as she looked through the window. She observed the passing houses as the car kept moving closer to their destination, her mind wondering about how fate planned to have the two of them meet once more.
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