Z-Day+68

Looking back on some of my earlier entries, it seems almost unreal just how far along we've come over the last several days. Less than a week ago, it felt like we'd reached the end of the line: we were never going to reach Tokyo, we had barely any ammo left, no food or water left to speak of. You know, my brothers and I, we've never been the religious type. Father's training pretty much hammered any room for that superstitious nonsense right out at the beginning. But the timing with which we found this estate, this sanctuary, feels about as close to divine intervention as I can imagine.

I know I'm not the only one who thinks so. The sheer amount of good luck we've had in finding this place has lit a fire of inspiration under everyone. It has so much food, access to practically endless fresh water from underground, and the basement is a treasure trove of seeds, both for vegetables, fruits and even medicinal herbs, according to Shizuka-sensei. She's been working hard especially in that field. She pretty much spends all day with Rei and Saya-san, giving them a thorough schooling on first-aid and how to prepare those herbs I mentioned into pills, or how to use them for on-the-spot first-aid, or surgery, but for all our sakes, let's hope it never gets that bad.

She'd also been talking for a while about getting a garden started up so we can have access to at least one continuous supply of food. She originally wanted to use the greenhouse outside, but the combined threats of insects eating our vegetables, or a stray pack of 'Them' busting in and contaminating the crops by trampling them, pretty much shot that plan out the window. Fortunately, some stored wooden 2x4's and bags of fertilizer in the basement solved that problem. Shizuka-sensei's decided to use them to build an underground garden in a separate part of the basement. Marcus thankfully found some small UV lamps just lying about in the attic, and they look like they could work. Saya-san and I just need to finish working on getting the solar panels running again.

After I did some inspection, so far it doesn't look like the wiring for the fuse boxes have been damaged. Miku, by what I want to call yet another miracle, actually found some spare fuses lying in a drawer somewhere. So many of these coincidental findings of just what we need, it makes me wonder if whoever lived here before was some kind of billionaire survivalist. It's the only explanation that makes sense to me at this point. Why else would someone have such a stockpile of manuals covering every possible contingency I could think of to fully secure and utilize this place?

Thanks to those books, Saya-san and I have been looking into how to fix that big radio on the second floor. We're hoping we can maybe get some info on how things are at the Tokyo quarantine zone. If we're lucky, maybe we can send out an SOS and the SDF over there can send a team to rescue us. Of course, this is all hinging on us being able to get the solar panels running with those fuses. Everything else around this house has been a goldmine for us, what's one more little bit of good luck?

Of course, none of this stuff matters if we can't get the wall I had in mind set up around the house. I've mapped it out, foundations, boundaries and all, and one of the maps from the attic showed what looks like a nearby construction sight not too far from here. It'll take time, but if that place has enough materials, and if we can collect them and bring them back, we might be able to pull this project off.

As for everybody else, Minami-san, Kohta, and Rei's parents have taken it upon themselves to establish an armory and keep up constant maintenance on the guns. Everybody else is personally working on their melee weapons. Can't really blame them. That sense of familiarity you get is all too real. Thankfully, Minami-san found a JGSDF vehicle further up the road amid the wreckage outside the gate, and it had a good amount of guns and ammo stockpiled inside. I know that definitely made her and Kohta a lot more comfortable. We're lucky as hell nobody stumbled upon that goldmine before us.

Everybody's really managed to settle in nicely here. It's the first time I've seen any of them look genuinely relaxed in far too long. Something I've noticed over the last couple of days, however, is that Alice-chan has been having some coughing episodes lately. She says she feels fine, and from the outside she seems just as playful, energetic and upbeat as she's always been. Maybe it's just the summer allergies finally kicking in and I'm just worrying over nothing. God, actually putting this down on paper, I'm not entirely sure what date it is anymore. Actually stopping to think about that…it's actually a much sadder feeling than I expected. I suppose Frasier would say it's only natural to lose track of time in a constant situation of survival like this…but that notion doesn't help at all. I just hope being able to put our feet up and call this place home will finally bring back some sense of normalcy for everyone and we can finally start to actually live again.

Anyway, all in all, everything seems to be going smoothly, and right when I was about ready to give up hope. I know everybody else feels the same, and they're expressing it their own way. Thankfully, Frasier doesn't seem to be as tense anymore, and I know that's really helped lighten the mood for all of us. Then again, that could also be due to him not really lingering among us most of the time. I just hope he's spending his time doing something productive for himself; something that will do him some good emotionally.

I know we've had our instances of finding possible refuge, and it all goes to shit after a while, but I really want to believe we can truly make this place work out for us. But I know just sitting around and wishing for it isn't going to help. Well, with that being said, I need to get to work on setting up the foundation for our wall. Here's to another day of working toward survival.

Releasing a contented sigh as he closed his faithful journal, Noah stepped out of the confines of his and Miku's bedroom and made his way for the front entrance, ready to begin work on his most ambitious and vital project yet. For the first time in over a month, his shoulders felt free of any kind of weight. His heart felt free, ready to take anything the day could throw at him. This house had instilled a whole new confidence in him, and he was ready to work day and night to preserve the hope this place signified for him and his family.

Meanwhile, in another bedroom…

Frasier sat in his chosen bedroom in solitude, his constantly racing thoughts providing the only solace from the unbearable silence. He'd been sitting at the desk sitting next to his bed, poring over the open notebook before him for so long, he'd virtually lost all track of time. He'd been writing in it almost feverishly for the last few hours, putting down every thought that came to the forefront by pure instinct. For all intents and purposes, Frasier had numbed himself from the physical world around him to such an extent that he was actually unconscious to exactly what he'd been writing. But now, in his self-imposed contemplation, all he could do was go over everything he'd actually felt the need to put into words. The only issue now was how to act upon it.

It was only when his natural sense of awareness began to scratch at the back of his mind that the rest of him swiftly realized he was no longer alone. Quickly looking back over his shoulder, he calmed himself to find it was only Marcus standing in the doorway. From the look on his face, it looked like he hadn't been watching his older brother for too long. Good thing too; if it had actually taken as long as feared for Frasier's instincts of awareness to kick in, Marcus was exactly the kind of person to rub it in his face from now until the end of his days.

"What's got your attention so thoroughly today?" Marcus finally asked as he noticed the notepad his brother had been sitting at, but not taking note of how Frasier instinctively rose from his chair and stood himself in front of it, blocking the middle Lawson's view. "I'm just taking down a personal listing of all the food, water and gas we have. I know Noah and Saya-san both took that duty for themselves, but I just feel better having a copy of my own, just in case I come across something they might not."

"Okay, and what have you got so far?" Marcus hesitated to ask, as if he felt doing so would spur some kind of bad news from his brother. Instead, Frasier glanced back to his work and gave the slightest shrug. "Well, we're looking good in terms of food, water and gas, if you must know. If Shizuka-sensei is able to pull off that basement garden she suggested, we might do even better. The only thing I'm really not liking is our bullet situation. We were lucky to find that SDF stockpile when we did, but if this whole trip has taught me anything, it's that a seemingly massive stockpile of bullets can disappear before your eyes if you're not careful. I don't want us to ever end up in a situation where we're absolutely out ever again."

"Well, once we get things all settled here, we could be able to start sending scouting parties again, especially with that map Saya found. But honestly, if we're all the way out here in the woods, where barely more than four of 'Them' come out of the brush a day at most, I don't think we really need to worry about bullets as much anymore." Marcus chimed in, sounding mighty confident in their newfound capabilities thanks to the materials they'd found since clearing out this house. Alas, Frasier's ever-present grimace of deep thought didn't fade. "But what about when we eventually decide to head back onto the road and finally get to Tokyo? We've had our fair share of run-ins with large gatherings of 'Them' out in the wilderness. There's no telling what kind of numbers we could be looking at once we enter the city. I need to be sure we'll have the supplies necessary to keep us all safe if push comes to shove."

The sound of Marcus actually chuckling to himself in response left Frasier momentarily stunned before the younger Brit finally looked him in the eye.

"You know, it's funny you say that. The last couple of days, I'm hearing from Khota and Tadashi-san that you're actually calling it quits on Tokyo, and for the first time ever, I actually think you've finally started listening to reason. But then at the same time, I hear from Saeko-san that you're still as dead set on getting us there as you've ever been. And now finally hearing it from the horse's mouth, I just don't know which story to believe." Marcus made no effort to hide the frustration in his voice as he shifted his gaze to literally anything else, if for no other reason than to show how sick he was of his brother's indecisiveness. With that, Frasier could only think to let out a weary sigh.

"I get your frustration with me, Marcus. Believe me, I don't like the idea of getting back on the road any more than the others. I can see how tired they are. All I'm trying to do is just weigh our options, see how we're looking in terms of security and supplies, and let the entire group decide what we should do when the time is right. I'm done calling the shots for everyone," he admitted, which only earned a look of genuine surprise from Marcus. At this point, he'd become convinced Frasier would sooner die than actually step down from his long-held position of authority amid their ranks.

However, with Frasier's personal position finally out in the open, Marcus formed the smallest of smirks as he gave his brother a single understanding, if not appreciative, nod. "I'm…I'm glad to hear you say so, Frasier; I really am. Well, if whatever you're writing helps towards that, I guess I should let you get back to it," he conceded before turning on his heels and making his way out the bedroom door.

As Marcus began to leave, Frasier began to feel a deep, painful twisting in the pit of his stomach, as if more words were trying to force their way out his mouth before his brother would be gone. "Marcus, wait," he called out without thinking, bringing his little brother to a halt. What came next seemed to come automatically, without any forethought from Frasier himself; as if his instincts knew this was something that needed to be said.

"I…look, I just…about what happened back at the plane wreck…the things I said and…what I did with her ba—"Stop." Marcus swiftly rendered Frasier silent with a single raised finger; his green eyes glued to the floor while Frasier could feel his stomach continuously twist and turn from within. Whatever trace of actual optimism that Marcus had was just as quickly gone, as though what Frasier had started to say had managed to flip a switch in his brain.

"I know what you're trying to say, Frasier, but…I'm just not ready, alright? I-I don't know if I ever will be. Our stroke of luck with finding this place has helped me to get my mind off of all the other shit we've been dealing with, I will admit. It's at least helped me to not dwell on the subject of you as much. But if you have to listen to what I have to say just once in your life, this is the time: if you truly want what's best for us, if you truly want to make things right…then you won't ruin that by bringing…by bringing her up to me, understand?"

By the time he'd said his piece, Frasier could already hear the strain in Marcus' voice; the very thought of Hitomi causing him to become just as choked up as ever. Thankfully, realizing more words would simply ruin this moment, Frasier gave a solemn nod; the one clue Marcus needed to understand he was free to go.

Once he knew he was alone once more, Frasier let out a defeated sigh and planted himself back in his seat, looking contemplatively over what it was he'd been writing for the last few hours:

SHOULD I TAKE NOAH AND MARCUS TO TOKYO AND LEAVE THE OTHERS HERE?

PROS:

LESS MOUTHS TO FEED

WE"LL BE ABLE TO MOVE FASTER

NO COMBAT-INEFFECTIVE DEAD WEIGHT TO WORRY OVER

THEY'LL BE SAFER HERE WITHOUT US

MY BROTHERS ARE THE PRIORITY

IT'S WHAT FATHER ASKED ME TO DO

The more and more Frasier read off his listed reasons to go through with his plan, the more and more it made sense to him. Every soldier's instinct inside him was telling him that each day he was wasting valuable time getting his brothers to safety, to evacuation. For all intents and purposes, each moment he was spending here and not dragging them by the hair to Tokyo was another second lowering their chances of survival.

But every time his blue eyes fell to the last item he wrote, all his confidence in his mission crumbled to dust, and he was back in the infinite loop of indecision once more.

CONS:

NOAH, MARCUS AND SAEKO WILL NEVER FORGIVE ME FOR ABANDONING THE OTHERS.

A short while later, outside the property gate…

Saeko, Johann and Miku were hard at work prying open the gas caps of any large truck they could find amid the seemingly endless stretch of abandoned cars sitting before the gate of their new home. Aside from the occasional pop of each cap being forced open with a crowbar, the air was filled only with the incessant buzzing of cicadas hiding amid the trees. Their chirps at times nearly became hypnotizing as the relentless heat of the sun beat down on the three teenagers heads.

"Okay, this should give us three full cans to take home. After that, maybe we can grab some of the rebar from that pickup a little ways down. Noah did mention that for the wall materials, right? I mean he listed so much stuff." Johann asked as he rhythmically squeezed the bubble in the middle of the hose, allowing the airflow to continuously suck up the diesel from the tank of an overturned delivery truck while Miku stood at the ready to grab the can at his feet, and Saeko stood to the side, scanning the tree line.

"Yeah, he did. He also mentioned grabbing some cement bags. I think he said the idea was to dig some post holes along the perimeter, pour the mixed cement in, stick the rebar in after, and once that dries, we'll have some supports for the pieces of the wall itself. Once he and Takagi-san get the power up and running again, we could check out that construction site on the map; maybe grab a small cement mixer and a generator." Miku explained with confidence as the diesel finally stopped flowing and she quickly hoisted the tank, ready to get back home.

"It looked pretty far from here, though. Maybe we should worry about getting that Hummer in the garage up and running again, and then worry about a generator and a cement mixer." Johann suggested as the two rejoined Saeko; who still hadn't taken her eyes off the woods or the length of the road back the way they came. "Well, Noah-kun said that cars that aren't turned on in the event of an EMP have a better chance of being salvageable. Minami-san even said that Hummers are generally built with EMP protection in place to begin with. I'm sure once we get it fueled up, it'll be running like new again."

Johann and Saeko both couldn't help but smile to themselves to hear how brightly Miku spoke, not just about Noah, but about just how much they could be able to work with their current living situation. It was honestly the kind of confidence they all desperately needed.

"Actually, I think Noah might've misread something there. See, my uncle used to be a GSG-9 member back in Germany, and he knew a lot about mechanics in case of a citywide emergency. I remember he once mentioned that the kind of cars most capable of surviving an EMP are ones that predate the mid 1970's, because they didn't have electronics to run the engines. Maybe that Hummer does have built in protection, or maybe the fact that garage is built of concrete helped it work like a Faraday Cage. All I'm saying is that if we had a much older car sitting in there too, at least to serve as a backup plan, then we'd really be all set." Johann suddenly remembered, and while hesitant to potentially dampen either of his compatriots' spirits, he figured they at least deserved to know for future reference, if they ever had to scramble to get a car up and running again. But for all their sakes, he just kept silently hoping that wouldn't have to be the case. Thankfully, Miku's optimism didn't seem to falter at all.

"That is really good to know, just in case we ever find ourselves without a ride again. Thank you for sharing that, Johann-kun, but I'm sure Noah-kun was able to dig that up too, with how much he pores over all those books in his spare time. It's like he spends every waking moment just trying to find new ways to make this place work for all of us." Miku wasn't even trying to hide the admiration in her voice as she continued talking of the youngest Lawson's ingenuity and dedication to their survival. Her cheeks were even turning rosy, and her orange eyes became distant, as if she was now off in her own head as her words slowly died out. Saeko looked like she was actually trying to keep from chuckling to herself at how the young woman looked right now.

"You'd best hold on to whatever's going through your head right now, Yuuki-san. Maybe you can surprise Noah-kun with it during your next nightly bonding session," the young swordswoman finally chimed in with a tinge of sarcasm, but it nevertheless forced Miku's face to turn red once she finally returned to reality and processed the crack Saeko had just made. It was even enough to get a surprised laugh out of Johann.

"Of course, I personally don't have any right to judge you two for how you feel and what you do together at night. Hell, I'm still shocked Frasier hasn't even said anything about it to either of you or any of us. I mean it's not exactly like Noah-kun's a master of subtlety or hiding the lack of sleep he's getting as a result of you both needing to relieve yourselves. Honestly, the fact that he runs on so little rest and still manages to work so hard, both out here and with you in bed…I honestly can't help but…kind of admire that in someone so young." Saeko continued, stepping in so Miku had no choice but to look her in the eyes, if at least just to see for herself the purple-haired warrior's sincerity. Miku's embarrassment slowly gave way to a look of understanding, perhaps even a strange kind of gratitude that Saeko wasn't in fact mocking or judging her and Noah for their mutually healthy sex lives.

"Y-yes, he…he really is something very special; in mind, heart, and in bed. I…I-I really don't like bringing up my…my personal history with the subject, but I guess as someone with more than a little… experience under her belt, my sweet little Noah-kun is undoubtedly the best I've ever had, and ever will have from now on, if I have anything to say about it. And if that's regarding the youngest of those three, I'll bet it really makes you wonder what Frasier-san might be like if you two ever got around to it, right, Busujima-san?"

The way Miku switched such a personal conversation around to Saeko was so quick and subtle, it even managed to catch Saeko off guard as she now found herself at a loss for words and turning bright red in the face. But by the time she realized it, Miku and Johann were both laughing in amusement to themselves and making their way back to the truck with the rebar poles. Poor Saeko couldn't conjure words as her blue eyes stayed focused on the ground before she finally started following after them.

Soon after, the three dumped their respective payloads into the three wheelbarrows they'd left resting at the tail end of the traffic jam. Saeko moved with haste as she began to push her own towards the gate. However, just as she began to head into the coverage of the trees and bushes, her sharp ears suddenly realized the squeaks of Johann and Miku's wheelbarrows had stopped.

Looking back over her shoulder, Saeko was confused to find her partners looking back across the road towards the opposite tree line; their respective looks of amusement having given way to looks of…concern.

"Hey, what's wrong?" she asked as she left her wheelbarrow behind and started approaching her friends. Neither of them even acknowledged the fact she'd asked them anything until she placed a firm hand on both their shoulders, snapping them out of their surprise reverie.

"Oh, sorry, Saeko-san. I just…I suddenly couldn't shake this weird feeling I got." Miku said apologetically, only for Saeko to give her a glance that implored the girl to elaborate. "Yeah, me too. It's weird; I suddenly had this feeling like…like I was being watched." Johann quickly chimed in as well, and by now Saeko's curiosity had given way to that dreaded seriousness she always fell into when threatened.

"Are you absolutely sure? Where do you think it was coming from?" she asked in a whisper, as if speaking even a little louder would alert whatever threat her partners had detected. Without a word, Miku nodded her head towards the opposite tree line. Slowly taking a step forward and bringing her hand over the handle to her katana, Saeko began slowly scanning the foliage of the trees, her deep blue eyes slowly narrowing as she tried to look for even the slightest hint of anything being out of place.

The more she looked, the more she began to feel a similar cold sensation in the pit of her stomach. Goosebumps began to rise up her arms as she quickly recognized this foreboding feeling. It was something she hadn't felt in years, and had hoped never to experience again. In that instant she began remembering that fateful trip back home from club practice; that skin-crawling sensation of knowing she was being watched and followed.

Saeko's brow broke out into a frigid sweat, her teeth beginning to slowly grind as she began tapping her fingers anxiously against the sword's handle. Her head was pounding as her vision sank further and further into the foliage, as if she could feel herself becoming consumed in it; all before the impact of Johann's hand grasping her shoulder instantaneously brought the young warrior back to reality.

"Well? What do you think?" he asked almost silently as his green eyes just slightly nodded towards the woods, desperate for her opinion. When Saeko looked back, just as quickly as it had come, that stomach-churning feeling of being watched had vanished. All her senses of awareness gave her no indication there was anything to be wary of anymore. Just as it had been poised at her handle, ready for a fight; her hand now hung freely at her side, no tension to be felt anymore.

She couldn't begin to figure out what had just happened, but now that the memories of that awful night were no longer rushing through her head, she wasn't about to scoff at the relief she was now being given.

"It was probably just some curious animal or something. Couldn't have been one of 'Them'. Wouldn't have even noticed us, we were being so quiet. Whatever it was, it's gone now. Come on; let's get this stuff back home. There's still much to be done," she stated, brushing off whatever worries her friends still might've had as she hastily returned to her wheelbarrow and began pushing it further up the trail, with Johann and Miku quick to follow her lead.

Unable to shake their recent unease, the normally timely trip from the gate to the house felt twice as long, as nearly every sound spurred one or all three of the teens to look back over their shoulder, each time hoping to catch a glimpse of something at least darting behind the bushes. At least then they would know they weren't simply imagining they were being watched.

Only when they reached the familiarity of the valley did they finally feel safe again, making a beeline for the front yard. Just as the three brought their wheelbarrows to a halt, the front door opened for Noah and Saya to step out, both looking notably pleased once they saw the newly arrived fuel and rebar payload.

"Great job, you guys. With the rebar you dropped off yesterday and this, these should make enough supports for the wall to span the entire house." Noah confirmed proudly as the three scavengers couldn't help but smile at the good news. "Yes, and with all that diesel, we shouldn't have any problem getting the Humvee to and from that construction site plenty of times." Saya chimed in, a fire burning in her eyes as she could already imagine all the projects they could get off the ground with the raw materials now within their grasp.

"Well, there's still some rebar left in the pickup we've been taking from. Don't you think we should maybe grab the rest of it so we can have enough supports so the wall can at least also cover the greenhouse?" Saeko asked, sounding as if she were ready to make the whole trip back right now and get it over with. "I can appreciate the enthusiasm, Saeko-san, but you don't need to run yourself ragged like that. Shizuka-sensei's pretty set on the underground garden idea at this point. She had a good point, regarding the risk of bugs getting into the greenhouse. If we can just get the wall to cover the house and the garage, we'll pretty much be all set." Noah stated reassuringly as he already began grabbing an armful of rebar, carrying it to the garage.

"Well, he seems to be in really high spirits." Johann decided to point out as they watched the youngest Lawson go about on his way. To their surprise, Saya's first response was actually an audible chuckle, almost to the point of an actual out loud laugh. The glimmer behind her glasses only seemed to intensify that much more. "Well, why don't you all quiet down and take a good long listen to that," she proclaimed with her arms outstretched. Deciding to humor the genius; Johann, Saeko and Miku all tried to listen as hard as they could to whatever they could actually hear. Alas, the incessant chirping of the cicadas and the occasional singing bird was all that could be heard.

"No, I mean really listen close." Saya persisted, already able to tell from the looks on their faces they weren't following. With furrowed brows, the three tried to focus on anything that sounded remotely out of the ordinary. And that's when they were finally able to pick up on the faintest hint of a continuous humming sound. It wasn't like anything that nature could conjure like the distant rumbling of a raging river or the incessant hiss of the ocean waves. It was something much more…artificial. When they all seemed to narrow the source of the humming down to the nearby solar panels, it all seemed to come together in their heads as they looked at Saya in disbelief, to which she gave them a single affirming nod.

"Holy shit, you actually got them working again?!" Miku exclaimed, having to consciously keep herself from dropping her fuel canister as Noah returned from the garage with a proud grin. "That's right; those spare fuses you found really saved the day, they were the exact size the fuse boxes needed. We only just recently got them put in place before you guys returned, so right now I think the panels themselves are warming up before they can really start pumping some juice back into the house. If our estimates are correct, we should have a good amount of energy stored up by nightfall."

By this point, nobody was even paying attention to Noah's latest informational rundown, as they were simply blown away by the single biggest piece of good luck they'd had in months. Even when they'd started to give up on the prospect of hot running water, there was always an inkling of hope for it; but electricity was the one thing they had all given up any hope of ever having again; and yet here they were now, witnessing its return with their own eyes.

"Wait, won't that humming risk attracting more of 'Them'?" Saeko suddenly realized, to which Noah and Saya exchanged equally concerned glances. "Unfortunately, I can't say that wouldn't be the case. But all things considered, this form of energy is way quieter than if we had an irrigational power source, or god forbid, a wind turbine. Honestly, we're lucky to have this for a setup. And once we finally get the wall set up, we'll have that much less to worry about. In fact, if we can get the wall to surround the panels themselves, then we'll have no worry of any of 'Them' trying to tear at them cause of the noise."

Noah was barely able to finish voicing his train of thought before Miku practically threw her arms around him, nearly laughing joyously as she fussed with his messy hair and began planting multiple kisses on his face. All the while, Johann and Saeko had to strain to keep from chuckling as memories of their previous conversation with the orange-haired girl resurfaced.

"Remember what we talked about, Yuuki-san; save the congratulations for bed tonight. No sense spoiling the surprise." Johann called out, and like the flip of a switch, Miku took a step back from the now blushing Noah, her face similarly a deep red from embarrassment that she couldn't control herself. Before either of her partners could continue ribbing her, Saya broke the silence with a single loud clap of her hands. "As much as I'm sure you'd all love to continue giving Noah-kun and his girlfriend a hard time, don't forget we've still got all day ahead of us, and at least some of the necessary parts on hand now." With that, Noah immediately caught on and hurriedly rushed back to the garage, just as quickly returning with a can of white aerosol.

"That's right. With the rebar you guys brought back, we can finally get started on at least marking the spots for the holes for that and the cement. They'll ultimately make up the main supports for the wall. Once we're able to confirm the Humvee is running smoothly, we can finally start scavenging that construction site for a cement mixer, a generator, and some aluminum plates and wood for the wall itself. We could even grab some smaller beams to add further support in case we ever have a large number of 'Them' pushing from the other side. I can have some of the others help with the digging, but for now just help me with figuring out the best places to mark."

Roughly an hour later…

Having been informed of Noah and Saya's recent breakthrough; Frasier, Marcus and Tadashi decided to hasten the next big project by digging up all the spots surrounding the property Noah had sprayed before. Thankfully, the soil was fertile and moist enough from all the previous rain over the last two months that it was quite easy to dig up. Given how long and thick their collection of rebar was, they had to dig down to their chests each time so the cement foundations would have a strong enough foothold to keep any parts of the projected wall from simply being pushed over.

After a while, Noah had finally finished drawing up the schematic for the wall itself. Frasier was busily poring over the details while the youngest Lawson had decided to take his place in helping Marcus and Tadashi with the digging.

"So once Takagi-san figures out the most direct route to the construction site, that's where you plan on getting all this stuff?" Frasier finally asked as he looked over the listing of raw materials Noah had written down the side of the blueprint. It was quite a lot; definitely enough to require more than a couple trips if the dimensions he'd jotted down were to be believed.

"Yeah, or at least just most of it. If there were some kind of lumber yard on the map, that's where I'd suggest we get all the wood we need, but I don't think too much construction in Japan nowadays makes as much use of wood as it used to. What I'm really hoping we can get from the construction site is a cement mixer and aluminum plates. Those, I mainly envisioned for some protective coverage so that any mob of 'Them' can't just claw through the wood; or so that any trigger happy scavenger that stumbles on this place can't just shoot right through it." Noah explained as he poked his head out of his latest hole, still just smaller enough than everyone else that he needed a helping hand to get out, which Frasier hastily provided.

"And it looks like you've listed I-beams to serve as additional supports for the wall panels themselves. You do realize we'd have to devote most if not all our manpower to hoisting those things into the Humvee, assuming your Faraday Cage garage theory holds up and the thing is actually able to still run." Frasier pointed out as he folded the blueprint back up and stuffed it back in Noah's pocket, making no effort to hide his pessimism at the overall lengths required to make this project a success. However, Noah remained unperturbed.

"Minami-san's been poring over that thing whenever she isn't working with our armory. She seems pretty confident it'll pull through. In fact, I'm sure if it hadn't been for us working so hard on everything else around here for the past few days, she would've had it gassed up and running by now," he stated confidently as he jerked a thumb back to the garage, and sure enough, Rika was hard at work on the Humvee's engine like a woman possessed.

"Let's just keep our fingers crossed the battery isn't overloaded or dead. If so, I don't want to think what our chances could be of finding a replacement after that damn EMP." Frasier muttered as he watched their sniper and now mechanic hard at work through the garage doorway. "Come on, Frasier; things have actually been working out for us here so far, try not to let that all be for nothing. For now, can't we just enjoy the fact that for once, everyone's actually motivated enough to really try and get a head start on this thing? That kind of morale is something you should really try to hang on to." Noah slightly scolded his brother with a steady grasp on his shoulder, spurring Frasier to look at Marcus and Tadashi hard at work. It then forced him to remember just how much everyone else had been pulling their weight around the house as well.

Kohta, Rika, Tadashi and Kiriko's implementation of an armory had been a godsend; Shizuka's proactive steps towards making a fully functional underground garden on top of teaching Rei and Saya first-aid was equally vital; Noah and Saya's constant brainstorming of new ideas to make this new shelter self-sustaining after having already restored their single source of electricity was a marvel unto itself; and Saeko, Rei, Miku, Marcus and Johann's constant scavenging trips for fuel, construction materials and auto parts for the Humvee were no less essential than anything else.

Taking it all into consideration, Frasier couldn't deny that seeing everyone so motivated and working so hard towards the survival of their entire group was nothing short of inspiring, and despite how difficult he knew in his gut it would be to get everything Noah needed for this wall, he could actually picture everyone would have it in them to see it through. For the longest time, he didn't think it would be possible anymore for his charges to actually carry such a weight as this entire place on their shoulders, but alas, here they were, all equally carrying it together and then some. To see this odd assortment of teenagers and adults from all kinds of walks of life working together so well couldn't help but fill him with the strangest sense of pride, whether he felt he deserved to feel as such or not.

"You know something? You're right, Noah. Maybe god or whatever higher power you think is to blame for all the shit we've gone through, has finally decided to give us a break…and we should enjoy it. And as difficult and time-consuming as building this wall is going to be…we might just be able to pull it off at the rate we've been going." Hearing Frasier admit so had lit a fire inside Noah like no one would've believed, as he looked like he was about ready to cry to finally have gotten through to his eldest brother's well-hidden sense of optimism. "You'll see, Frasier; this is going to make this place a virtual paradise for us once it's finished. Once it's done and Shizuka-sensei is able to get the vegetable and herb gardens up and running in the basement, that'll just be the beginning. Saya-san and I are constantly tinkering with the radio upstairs to get it working again, and in the meantime we could also start trying to hunt wildlife in the woods for fresh meat. We've never come across any instances of 'Them' eating anything other than humans, so there's bound to be plenty of animals to choose from!"

Halfway through Noah's latest rambling of ideas, Frasier had inadvertently tuned him out when he noticed Kohta actually coming out, focusing solely on him as he was moving with considerable urgency. By the time the group's gun expert had arrived, Noah had nearly run out of breath from getting so caught up in getting his plans out in the open.

"Wow, looks like you guys are already making pretty good headway on the wall foundations." Kohta noted, causing Noah to once again grin with pride. "Yeah, but just you wait. Once we're able to get a generator and a cement mixer, we'll really be able to make some progress. Hopefully Minami-san should have the Humvee up and running soon."

"Yeah, I can't wait to finally see the whole thing get put up. Hey, Noah, do you think I could borrow Frasier-san for a minute?" Kohta hurriedly asked, trying not to seem rude to his friend while momentarily glancing to see he had Frasier's undivided attention. With nothing more needing to be said, Noah motioned for the chubby teen and his brother to go on their way while he quickly rejoined the others hard at work in the holes. Kohta urged for Frasier to follow him as they quickly made their way back into the house and into the kitchen. Upon confirming they were alone, Kohta let out a sigh of relief; but seeing the inquisitive look in Frasier's eyes as he crossed his arms made Kohta realize it was time to start talking.

"Okay, so I know it took a while for us to finally get all that ammo we found counted and sorted. Minami-san and Miyamoto-san's parents really wanted to make sure we were thorough going over weapon cleanup. Anyway, I've got it all written out now, not a single round out of place," he hurriedly explained before handing a slightly crumpled piece of notebook paper to Frasier, who looked it over intently.

20 magazines of 7.62 x 51 mm NATO rounds (13 spares)

17 clips of 9 x 19 Parabellum mm rounds (7 spares)

8 magazines of 10 mm Auto rounds (3 spares)

11 magazines of .308 Winchester rounds (no spares)

15 cylinders of .38 special rounds (1 spare)

"It really doesn't sound like a whole lot when you categorize them like this, does it?" Kohta asked regretfully as Frasier returned the list with a heavy sigh.

"No…no, it doesn't. That's what I was afraid of. Anyone else would think it's a lot, but if we ever end up in another situation where we have to fight against overwhelming numbers, if we're not careful, we could end up eating through all that ammo in a matter of minutes." Frasier agreed as he planted himself in the nearest chair, resting his face in his hand. There was silence for a few seconds, until he heard Kohta pull a chair for himself. When he looked up to acknowledge the bespectacled boy, he was surprised to see the look in Kohta's eyes was not of defeat, but of inspiration.

"I know you're right, Frasier-san; and that's why I wanted to run an idea I had by you, see what you think. See, lately I've been working up some blueprints of my own for a bullet press. I've seen tutorials on how to build your own on the internet, and I've even seen one in action in real life back when I was on vacation in the U.S. I feel confident that if we could recover the appropriate parts from that construction site Saya-san pointed out, I could be able to start making our own homemade bullets." The confidence with which he spoke was admirable, and Frasier had to admit he was intrigued by this idea. However, his sense of realism was there as always to snuff out that hopeful spark.

"Kohta-san, I like where you're going with this. If you were able to make one, we'd potentially be able to double our ammo count in a matter of hours. But those are very specific parts you'd need to make one for a specific caliber bullet, let alone one that could be adjusted to accommodate all the different calibers you've written down here. With this country's strict gun control laws, I'm willing to bet they also banned the more specific parts primarily used for at-home bullet manufacturing. Don't forget, the only reason we have as many different larger caliber guns as we do right now is because Minami-san either customized what legal ones she had, or purchased the others illegally.

"Look, I hate being the one to do this to you, but you need to think about this realistically. The chances this one construction site could have all the parts you need for a bullet press are…well, they're slim to none. The chances of us finding those parts anywhere remotely close to here are just as slim, too. The second best place to look for anything remotely similar would be a department store, but those don't get built out here in the countryside, they're always in the cities, and not only do we have no idea where the nearest large city is from here, but I'm not willing to sacrifice our lives trying to venture into one with who-knows how many of 'Them' wandering around inside it. I'm sorry, Kohta-san, but the way things are right now, this bullet manufacturing idea…just simply isn't able to pan out."

Frasier hated having to do this to his little brother's best friend; having to watch that spark of excitement in his eyes slowly die out like a candle's flame, but after all the struggling they'd gone through just to get this far, he wasn't about to put their lives in danger all over again by looking for mechanical parts that were most likely not even in the entire country to begin with. Trying to think up an alternative in the hopes of raising Kohta's spirits, the best Frasier could come up with was potentially trying to scrounge up what bullet casings they could find on the outside. He'd learned a long time ago how to make his own gunpowder. With that and the potentially large amount of brass they'd have on hand, perhaps they'd have a shot at crafting their own bullets by hand.

KNOCK, KNOCK

Before he could open his mouth, a steady wrapping at the wall got both boys' attention, looking to find Saya standing at attention, her orange eyes sharp and focused as always, as if she'd been listening in on their whole conversation. Without a moment to lose, she stepped forward, pulled up her own spot at the head of the table and pulled out a folded piece of paper of her own.

"Sorry to interrupt your little male bonding session, but I couldn't help but overhear what it is you're trying to do. While I think you're both jumping the gun when we should all just be focusing on getting the wall built, I can appreciate the initiative. Unfortunately, Frasier-san's right; Japan's strict gun laws would've no doubt thought to include the specific parts required to make your own homemade bullet press. However, I think I might have an alternate solution in terms of our actual ammo count." With that, she opened up the paper, revealing a much more crude-looking map than the one she had been poring over for the last several days.

"I found this in the pocket of the driver of that JGSDF truck we swiped all our ammo and guns from. It looks to be a much more localized map of the prefecture, and he even wrote what I guess were his orders on the other side. It sounds like he was taking all that gear to another SDF checkpoint they'd set up in Narusawa. I've done some comparison between this map and ours, and it looks like that's the nearest town from where we are. If I had to estimate how much, I'd say it's probably about ten kilometers south of us. I don't know what kind of condition the roads would be in if you wanted to try for it, but I've been trying to look up and catalogue what information I can read about any kind of local back roads we could utilize so we don't have to run the risk of running into more traffic jams."

This whole load of new information on their area couldn't have come at a better time. Frasier couldn't help but smile at the knowledge of a potential boost to their ammo supply being so relatively close. "Good. This is damn good work, Saya-san. For now, we'll focus on getting everything in order so we can get the wall built, but afterwards, first thing we're doing is checking out Narusawa and grabbing as much ammo as we can. For now, I suppose we can just hope that scavengers haven't already beaten us to the punch. I would go out on foot and check it for myself, but even I have to admit this forest is dense enough that it'd be way too easy to get turned around and lose my way." At this, Saya took back the crude map and gave the eldest Lawson a firm nod of agreement, but also smirking in satisfaction that he actually appreciated her input.

"That's right, Noah-kun needs all hands on deck to get that wall put together, and as loathe as I am to admit it, you are still physically the strongest out of all of us. So let's just hope Minami-san can get the Humvee running again, and I think first thing tomorrow is we should check out the construction site, get an idea what we'd be looking at in terms of 'Them' and what materials are available that we need. In the meantime, I'm going to keep trying to get that radio up and running again. I have to say, managing to get those solar panels working again has gotten me more than a little fired up!"

Meanwhile…

It had taken several nights for it to happen, but finally, the long-lost comfort of an actual bed to sleep in had gotten Kiriko to actually sleep in for the first time in months. The never-ending stress of trying to keep herself, her family and the entire group alive had forced her to forego her old troublesome habit, but now this place had finally gotten her feeling comfortable enough to actually let her guard down enough to allow herself that little bit of extra time to relax.

Perhaps that was what had the former policewoman feeling so bright, even cheerful as she made for the room her daughter had chosen for herself. Of course, having also gotten the news from her husband of their now-having access to electricity definitely helped. So much so, that she decided to do a little preemptive exploring of her own for a means of celebrating their newfound fortune.

When she rounded the corner to the hall Rei's room was in, she was surprised to find the door still closed. Her daughter always had an annoying habit of leaving her door open when she wasn't around, even back in their old family home, so this could've only meant one thing.

"Rei? Honey, are you awake?" she called out as she gently knocked, listening for if her daughter might've actually decided to sleep in as well; a rare occurrence in and of itself. "Hm? Oh, yeah, come on in." Rei immediately answered, to which Kiriko gladly did so. Upon stepping in, she was met with the sight of Rei still sitting under the covers, poring over a number of notebook pages spread out across her bed.

Joining her daughter's side, Kiriko looked over what could've possibly had Rei's attention so thoroughly; only to quickly realize through the numerous complex words written in katakana she couldn't have possibly begun trying to pronounce, that these must've been some of the notes Rei had been taking while under Shizuka's tutelage for first-aid.

"Have you been up all night looking over these?" she asked in both concern and amazement. "No, but I've been making a point of going over them every morning just so that it can sink in. I want to be prepared at all times in case someone gets hurt." Rei explained as she began gathering her notes and slipping them back into the drawer of the nightstand beside her bed.

"I see. That's good you're this dedicated. I'm sure Shizuka-san will be happy to know you're taking her lessons this seriously. Anyway, I'm sure everybody else has already eaten, since it looks like a lot of them are hard at work outside right now. I just woke up, so I was wondering if you'd maybe like to have breakfast together. It's been way too long since we were able to do that, just mother and daughter." Kiriko offered as she and Rei both got out of bed; not even trying to hide the motherly sentimentality in her voice as Rei smiled warmly at the idea. "Yeah…I'd really like that."

"Oh, fantastic! I know you usually did the cooking back home, but don't even think about it this time; breakfast is on me! My culinary skills haven't completely rusted, I'll have you know." Kiriko proclaimed with a confident smirk, only for Rei to cross her arms with an eyebrow raised. "Really? Is that why the last time you tried making takoyaki, we ended up having to spring for pizza instead; after we barely saved the kitchen from going up in flames?"

The smirk on Kiriko's face didn't leave, but the spark in her eyes did; embarrassed that Rei still remembered that humiliating culinary disaster. "Okay, you can help me out in the kitchen. How's that?"

Unable to keep from giggling, Rei gave an appreciative nod, and the two women began making their way down the hall for the stairs. Kiriko almost felt a tear coming to her eye; it'd been so long since she and Rei had managed to have some genuine-article quality time together. In fact, it had to have been quite some time even before the world ended that they last hung out as a family.

"I don't know if your father already told you, but Noah-kun and Saya-chan actually managed to get the solar panels working again. They think we might actually have electricity again by tonight," she said in sudden remembrance, unable to hide her almost childlike excitement that they could finally have such a return to normalcy at hand. "I decided to do a little looking around for some way we could celebrate tonight. I was able to find a whole bunch of vinyl records in the attic, and there's a whole closet full of DVD's in one of the bedrooms. Can you imagine? Tonight, depending what everyone wants, we could actually be able to listen to music or watch a movie again! I was honestly beginning to think we'd never have such a luxury again."

"Yeah, that sounds wonderful. Johann once told me he wanted to become a movie critic after graduating, so I can already guess what he'll vote for once you bring it up with everyone. Frasier will probably say we need to keep quiet, but I think we all need a night to just relax and enjoy ourselves for once. So, yeah, your idea sounds great." Despite her clear-cut support of the idea, Rei's overall tone was lacking the immense excitement Kiriko had been looking for. In fact, looking at her daughter now, she realized there was a kind of distance in her eyes, as though she wasn't entirely here even as she spoke. She actually looked to be deep in thought; as for why or what about, Kiriko couldn't hazard a guess.

"Alright, Rei, what's on your mind?" The instant Rei realized her mother was asking a question, she seemed to snap out of her delirium. "What? Nothing," she denied, coming across more defensively than she wanted, and the look in Kiriko's eyes showed she wasn't convinced.

"Is it something to do with Johann-kun?" she suddenly asked, and Rei's eyes went wide with surprise and confusion, unable to follow her mother's train of thought. "Oh, come on, Rei; I'm not blind. Anyone with eyes who's seen the two of you together could tell that there's something special between you, even if you might not acknowledge it yourselves. I've especially noticed it after that whole incident we had at the bridge."

Rei was too flustered to find any words to argue what her mother was suggesting. She wasn't expecting to suddenly get put on the spot like this, and even if she had, what was she supposed to say? Even after their humiliating incident a few days ago, she couldn't rightfully say that she felt nothing for the young German, not after everything else they'd gone through together. She definitely had to admit to herself that the emotions she felt towards Johann were stronger than the friendship she felt towards others like Noah or Kohta or, to an extent, Frasier. And besides, Kiriko was always scarily good at separating lies from the truth.

But that's when a much more distressing thought came to her: was her mother subtly expressing her disapproval? Tadashi had made no secret that he was uncomfortable with the idea of her being so close to a boy she'd known for such a relatively short time. Dealing with that had been hard enough coming from one parent, but if both of them were going to stand against her on this, that just made it feel so much worse.

Kiriko probably had gotten an idea what was going through her daughter's head, because when Rei finally looked her in the eye, she was surprised to find her mother was actually smiling warmly, instead of giving any kind of accusatory stare.

"Don't look so scared, Rei. Unlike your father, I think you and Johann-kun are the best thing for each other." The teenage girl was speechless, caught off guard by Kiriko's surprise declaration of support for her and Johann's mutual attachment to each other. "Honey, you don't need to hide the way you feel about someone from me. I've been in love when I was your age, too; Tadashi can attest to that. It's pretty obvious to me, if not to either of you, that the feelings you and Johann-kun have for each other go well beyond friendship at this point."

The more Kiriko spoke, the more Rei could feel a sensation of guilt stirring restlessly in her stomach. Regardless whether she could bring herself to fully embrace the feelings she had for Johann at this point or not, it didn't change the fact that Takashi had been in the ground for barely more than a month, and already her heart was opening up to someone else. Just knowing that, after the lifetime she and Takashi had shared, made her feel worse with each passing second.

Kiriko could see the conflict in her daughter's red-brown eyes, bringing the young girl back to reality as she pulled her into a loving hug. "Rei, I can only imagine what you must be thinking right now, but I'm sure I have a pretty good idea. Everything is so much more complicated these days, but it's up to you to try and instill some simplicity into your life, for your sake. The world has become so much more dangerous than any of us could've imagined, but we should at least try to find something that makes this life worth living while we can; and what could possibly be more worthwhile than having someone to love?"

Rei could understand what the former policewoman was trying to say, but her heart and her mind kept making such a maelstrom of conflicting emotions and thoughts that she couldn't figure out where to start. She couldn't decide for herself what was the right thing to do, say or even feel at this point.

"Mom, I-I appreciate what you're trying to say, but I just don't know. Johann-kun has done so much for me, for all of us, and I always feel at ease when I'm with him. And I…I even sometimes feel…protective of him, or like I always want to be by his side. But whenever I think about it, I keep wondering if…if I'm disregarding everything Takashi and Hisashi sacrificed in order to help keep me alive, or if I'm dishonoring their memories and the love I felt for them before. They both gave up everything for my sake, for all our sakes, and what if I'm essentially spitting in their faces by moving on, especially so soon after we had to bury Takashi?"

Rei's voice had begun to crack and her eyes began to water the further she went. This had been the first time she'd spoken these lingering fears of hers out loud, and to finally get it out in the open broke her heart all over again, especially when having to think about the sheer disrespect she had to have been showing the two young men she had loved before by even considering the feelings she'd been developing towards Johann for, admittedly, a while now.

Kiriko placed her hands firmly on Rei's shoulders in order to get her attention. She couldn't stand to hear her daughter berate herself like this, especially for something as pure as actually having feelings for another person. Her gaze must've expressed some of that distress, because Rei was rendered silent when she looked her mother in the eye.

"Rei, I want you to listen to me very closely: you stop that kind of thinking right there, you hear me? Don't for another instant think that you somehow deserve to be alone as some way of…what, atonement? You have nothing to atone, repent or even ask forgiveness for, understand? You did not force either Hisashi or Takashi to sacrifice themselves; they made that choice on their own terms. They made that choice because they wanted to ensure that the people they cared about and wanted to protect, including you, could survive.

"Honey, tell me, what good is surviving if you have to continuously suffer through it even when you're finally somewhere safe? The things, the people we have and find that bring us peace and happiness are what make survival worthwhile. I've seen the look in your eyes when you and Johann-kun are together. It's the same look you used to have back when you and Takashi were still together as a couple. If that doesn't tell me everything about how he makes you feel, then nothing will.

"Rei, you're still so young; you shouldn't have to go through this life all alone, no matter what the doubts in your head might be telling you. Don't you think you deserve another chance to be with someone you know makes you happy? Because I can guarantee you that anyone else here would say that you do; even your father. And I'm pretty sure Takashi and Hisashi would tell you the same thing if you could talk to them right now."

Rei could feel her knees give out under her as the tears ran freely down her face. Kiriko was right; of course she was. She could always read Rei like an open book, and for once, she was glad for it. She couldn't rightfully deny that she felt the same kind of emotions towards Johann these days as she once did for Takashi and Hisashi; and if she was to make the choice between pursuing the happiness she felt with him, or persisting in the cold emptiness of this emotional solitude her guilt was giving her, then of course she would pick happiness.

If the hope of her being able to find something or someone to live for again was part of what drove Takashi and Hisashi to make such incomparable sacrifices, then she knew the only way she could possibly dishonor their memories anymore was to carry on with this self-flagellating she'd silently been putting herself through. That's why she finally wiped the tears from her eyes as her mother wrapped her in a loving embrace again.

"I…t-thank you, for saying so, Mom. Thank you so much. But…but what would I say? With everything that's been going on lately, what could possibly be the right time for me to tell Johann-kun something so important?" she asked as she lifted her head from Kiriko's shoulder; her expressed concern being the only remaining doubt weighing her down. "That's not a question I can answer for you, Rei. I'm afraid you'll have to decide that for yourself. But you've always been a very smart girl; I think you'll know the right time to tell him when it comes. Now, is there anything else on your mind you want to tell me?"

Kiriko pulled Rei to her feet as the teenager quickly remembered what it really was that had left her so deep in thought and started this whole conversation. "Well, yes, actually, but I don't know. You see, it's weird, but I can't shake this feeling like…there's something we've forgotten."

Mother and daughter alike shared a look of confusion as to what Rei could've possibly meant by this. "What do you mean? Like some kind of security precaution we should've implemented when we got here?" Kiriko asked nervously, only for Rei to shake her head in denial. "No, no, nothing like that. It's like…it's like something important specifically to us that we forgot, but for the life of me, I can't figure out what it is."

Also meanwhile…

When the chance had presented itself and nobody else immediately needed his help with anything, Johann was the first to jump into the servants' showers to at long last purify his battered, tired body. Of course, this time he remembered to preemptively knock, lest a repeat of three days ago occur.

However, this time, once he was certain there was no one else lingering around, he immediately let the hot water fill the large communal bathtub in the center of the room, and after a few minutes, he was nearly consumed in physical bliss as he finally submerged himself in it.

It had been so long, too damn long, since he'd gotten to feel this refreshed again, feeling the grit, sweat and dirt fall from his thick hair and fair skin as he thoroughly scrubbed himself. It might've sounded like a cliché analogy in his head, but he felt the comparison to a butterfly shedding its cocoon to be reborn anew was actually quite appropriate here. He couldn't wait to see how he looked in the mirror once he'd finally be done here, but that was no excuse for him to rush things. The warmth all over his body felt so immensely good, he wanted to stay and enjoy this occasion for as long as he possibly could.

Resting himself against the tub's rim, listening to the blissful silence accompanied by his contented breathing, Johann felt like he was in paradise. It wasn't just this moment that made him feel so, either. This whole place, every single day, just felt more and more like it was too good to be true. What did it say that he'd become so used to all the hellish effort they had to go through just to survive a single day; that this place almost felt unreal to him, even when he could see and feel it?

It was a major adjustment he was going to have to take some time to get used to, but that didn't make him any less grateful for actually being here to experience it. And to see everyone else joining together and working with one another to make this estate the best shelter it could possibly be, only served to warm his heart that much more. For the first time in over a month, all the fear and suffering back in Tokonosu, back in the mall, all felt so far away, like a quickly vanishing unpleasant memory that deserved to be moved past.

All the food, water, security and isolation this place provided all just seemed to click together perfectly in his head as he stopped to ruminate over the weight of just what they had in their hands with this place. This was a chance at making something truly special; something that for once nearly everyone seemed to be in complete agreement upon, and that camaraderie alone was worth all the effort in the world to protect.

But like an ever-present and persistent itch came that single shred of doubt, slowly working its way to the forefront of his mind. Frasier's constant worries of their mysterious attacker from the bridge had merit. There was something about not having a body to serve as closure that could leave one constantly looking over their shoulder like few other things could. Yes, the forests were a veritable death trap for anyone foolish enough to trek through all by themselves.

However, many could have easily said the same about a group of teenagers, a little girl, and not even a handful of adults between them making it even this long through an undead plague. And yet, here they were. If they'd been able to get this lucky, who was to say their mystery sniper didn't fare similarly? And the possibility once again brought back the same dreadful questions: who were they; and why did they open fire on a bus full of kids? What did they want?

And this all of course brought Johann back to that immensely unsettling feeling he and Miku had felt outside the gate earlier today. That unmistakable sensation of being watched by someone or something they couldn't see. No matter how hard he tried to forget about it, he simply could not. It was pure animal instinct that made him recognize what it was; there was no way of mistaking it.

In fact, the feeling was so vivid, he could still feel it even now, almost as though he were actually being watched as he lay there, completely vulnerable. And so, as though his body for a fraction of a second had a will of its own, he opened his eyes ready to reel back on the defensive, but instead of the indescribable malevolent presence he'd been expecting, he was instead met with something…in a way much worse.

Right across the tub from Johann, Shizuka sat with a pleased-looking smile on her lips; her long blonde hair wrapped up in a towel, her legs spread wide, and her wet colossal melons out in full display. And on top of all that, her twinkling golden eyes were focused on him like a hawk. "Rise and shine, handsome. I was beginning to think you might've honestly fallen asleep there. Last thing we want is you drowning yourself by accident, right?"

All the unpleasant memories of the last time they were alone came rushing back as Johann immediately went into a fight-or-flight response, practically jumping up from the water and trying to make a rush for the exit. Unfortunately, Shizuka saw this coming, as she was just as quick to react. She caught up to him in a matter of seconds even in the waist-high water, getting her slender arms firmly around him before he could clear the rim and pulling him in close; nearly plunging his head deep into her breasts as he struggled in vain.

"Now, now, Johann-kun, there's no need to rush. And especially no need to leave the job half-finished. You haven't nearly washed yourself enough yet." Shizuka tried to soothe him with her soft motherly voice as his struggling quickly faded, whether from the realization of the futility of it all, or if he'd simply burned through what little adrenaline he had left already. "Then just let me go, and I can finish it up in my own bathroom or come back later when you're done. I can't just pretend you're not here." The way Johann muttered his response, it almost sounded as though he was about ready to resign himself to whatever absurd scheme the nurse must've been hatching next; knowing now that she was a lot stronger than she looked.

"Oh, you don't have to worry about my privacy, sweetie. I honestly prefer washing up with company, if it's all the same to you. And besides, you can only clean so much of yourself properly without a little…assistance. Why not let me make it up to you for what happened last time with Rei-chan, and let me wash your back for you?" Shizuka practically whispered the last part seductively in his ear, and even from behind, she could tell the poor young man's face was turning red from embarrassment, exacerbated when she couldn't help but giggle in amusement and squeeze him tighter, making him feel the warmth and softness of her boobs against the back of his head.

"S-Shizuka-sensei, t-that's not—"Oh, but it is necessary, Johann-kun. You've been out in the elements just as long as the rest of us, and you've had your cleaning unfairly put on hold because of me. I'm already here, so it's only fair that I make amends and help you finally clean up properly. Please, let me do what I can to make things right. Or…if you still want to try being stubborn, maybe I can just manipulate some of your pressure points so that you can't move for a couple minutes while I clean you up. It's your choice in the end, honey."

Shizuka's attempt at making amends taking such a sudden aggressive turn was one thing, but the fact her tone didn't lose an ounce of that adorable bubbly sweetness she was so known for while she said it, somehow made it that much more intimidating. Even if he couldn't turn around to look, he could easily imagine she was still smiling just as brightly while giving her ultimatum as well. With the options on the table, it was easy for Johann to just let out a defeated sigh and let all the tension in his body out, signaling to the busty nurse his surrender, making her smile with that much more satisfaction.

Johann couldn't recall ever feeling so awkward, so flustered as he sat on his knees. His green eyes were glued to the floor as he tried with all his will to ignore the sensation of Shizuka thoroughly washing his back and his hair. Of course, such was easier said than done when the nurse was meticulously running her fingers through his hair to get the tangles out, while using her massive breasts and toned stomach to wash his back at the same time. The nurse's fleshy globes were so hot and soft as they continuously squished and rubbed against the teen's back, and the unmistakable feeling of her nipples rubbing against his skin just made it all so much harder to even try and ignore. It was all so overwhelming, Johann had to keep his hands firmly planted over his crotch, lest his mental resistance finally broke and all his blood came rushing downward en masse.

"Try not to be so tense, Johann-kun. Just try and relax." Shizuka instructed, seemingly unaware of the mental war Johann was in the middle of with himself. He knew he needed to try and say something, anything at all, to try and get his mind off of this unbelievable situation, before god-knew-what would happen, or whatever she would try to do next.

"S-Shizuka-sensei, I've got to ask…w-why did you really come here? You obviously knew I was here, yet you decided to go ahead and step in anyway. Why?" His tone came out more accusatory than he'd intended, but it was the best he could do to try and formulate coherent sentences as Shizuka suddenly stopped her little body sponge routine. "Well, didn't I already say? For one, I wanted to try and make things right for the little incident I put you and Rei-chan in a couple days ago. Plus, I couldn't help but think you looked kind of lonely in this big room all by yourself when I saw you, so I thought you'd appreciate a little…feminine company."

Her answer seemed sensible and straightforward enough…perhaps a little too straightforward, almost as if she'd been practicing it just for this occasion.

"Alright…alright, here's another one: just what has gotten into you recently, Shizuka-sensei? Our groups have been together for nearly two months, and I've never seen you acting so…I don't know, perverted, or…or forward before. What suddenly changed?" That question was what finally seemed to catch Shizuka off guard as she once again paused, but then this time removed her fingers from his hair and pulled her heaving breasts from his back and shoulders; which finally seemed to make the young man fully relax. When he chanced a glance back over his shoulder, Shizuka seemed to actually be genuinely contemplative, looking down at the floor as she tried to put an answer together, before lifting her head to look him in the eye. For once, the sweet and approachable smile was gone, and the look in her golden eyes was…actually serious.

"I know I seem like an airhead a lot of the time, like I don't seem to fully grasp how serious everything is, but that's not true. I'm fully capable of taking things seriously when I have to. Up until we found this place, in one way or another, we were in constant danger, and I always wanted to be ready for that. So that's why I only ever wanted to focus on taking care of all of you in whatever way I could, whether it was as a nurse, a therapist or even as a teacher. But for the first time since this all started, we actually have a place that could be a home, a place where we could be legitimately safe, removed from all the danger, and actually be able to live a life. That's why I've finally decided to let my defenses down and just be able to relax and fully be myself with you all…for better or for worse. But everyone is still so tense, so I feel it's only right that I do whatever I can to help even one of us…relieve their tension. But only if they're willing to follow through with it."

Johann was honestly having trouble processing what Shizuka was explaining to him. So she was always this much of a pervert, and she was actually trying to utilize that for their betterment? It all sounded so absurd, he honestly couldn't tell if she was being serious, or if she was just messing with him, and for what reason? "So…let me see if I'm understanding this right. You're saying you're this lewd…just by nature? And through that, you want to try and help any of us…relieve our tension?" Christ, it sounded even more ridiculous hearing himself say it out loud.

"That's just about what I said, yes." Shizuka confirmed bluntly. While not the most helpful of explanations, at least it gave Johann a means to address what really bothered him now. "Okay, so with that all in mind, now I wanna know…why me? Why not do any of…any of the things you've been doing with any of the other boys?" Shizuka remained silent for a few moments, looking deep in thought until giving a sigh of resignation.

"Honestly, Johann-kun; you seem to be the only boy here remotely available. Let me explain:

"Frasier-kun is always so distant; plus Rika clearly has an attraction towards him. She and I once made a promise we would never try to make a move on a guy the other one of us liked. And that's not even considering throwing Saeko-chan into the mix.

"Noah-kun is just a little too young for me; plus he and Miku-chan are obviously inseparable, and I would never, ever want to tear apart such a strong relationship like theirs.

"Marcus-kun is clearly still grieving over Hitomi-chan, and there's something that just feels so…disrespectful to her memory about flirting with him in order to help him through his grief. I honestly feel he needs to take all the time he needs to help himself through it.

"Hirano-kun and Saya-chan are obviously madly in love with each other, even if neither one of them would dare admit it to us. Plus, the connection between those two is so essential for Alice-chan, and I'm not about to ruin her chance at another family by playing home-wrecker. And Tadashi-kun…come on, do I even need to explain why I wouldn't try crossing that line with him?"

Every reason Shizuka listed made perfect sense, Johann had to admit, but it also made his underlying point that much more essential as he finally decided to put aside his discomfort and turn around to look her in the eyes; ignoring her glistening wet melons and curvaceous body.

"Okay, that's all well and good, but what actually makes you think I would be any more available? I was starting to think Rei and I might have been coming across a bit strong in front of everyone these last few days. I would've thought that might've given everyone some kind of hint." Shizuka could clearly understand where he was coming from, but the look of confidence in her golden eyes didn't falter. If anything, his point only seemed to lend itself to hers.

"Well, you're not wrong. But the difference is that everyone else is clearly perfectly okay and accepting of their relationships with one another. You and Rei-chan, on the other hand; you both are so quick to go on the defensive whenever any of us even suggests you two might be turning into…well, more than just friends. I know Rei-chan definitely has been. You're both just so awkward about what's clearly brewing between yourselves, it leaves it up in the air for some of us if you two might be serious or not."

While Johann was dumbstruck by the nurse's reasoning, he also couldn't deny the merit to it. He knew he'd been less than clear about where he and Rei now stood, and up until now, he had no idea how Rei was about it. But now he knew the hesitation was mutual. It honestly left him kind of speechless, if not just the tiniest bit hurt. Being so much more comfortable with her own emotions, he would've thought, perhaps even hoped, that Rei would've been much more accepting of whatever this recent emotional connection between them had been turning into.

"Okay. So…how does any of that tie into you giving me the go ahead for the showers, and me running into Rei naked? What, was that-was that you trying to sabotage what we had so you wouldn't feel bad swooping in afterwards?" By now, Johann didn't even try to hide the accusation in his tone as Shizuka quickly brought her hands up in defense. "No, no, no, absolutely not! It was actually the opposite. I just thought that if you two weren't willing to admit your feelings for each other with words to any of us…then perhaps you'd be more willing to admit it to each other with actions. I just thought a literal push in the right direction would help you two. God knows there's not enough love left in this world, but I want to do whatever's necessary to secure even just a little bit of it between two young souls like you."

Johann once more couldn't decide if he really believed Shizuka's excuses or not. The intention seemed noble, but her actions up to and afterwards seemed anything but. But in the end, it did coincide with everything Rei had told him that night. "Yes…yes, when I woke up, Rei told me you'd said as much to her. But there's still one thing I don't get. You say you tricked me into going while Rei was still there in the hopes we'd let our hormones take over. As…utterly asinine as that plan is, at least your reasoning adds up to it; but then why all this after? If you're so dedicated to playing matchmaker with us, then what's the point of you suddenly coming on so strong, threatening to paralyze me so you can do this…this whole body sponge routine on me?"

Now Shizuka really did look caught off guard. Clearly, she hadn't been expecting him to call her out so straightforwardly. But with a defeated sigh, and a noticeable blush, Shizuka couldn't help but glance away from his gaze in slight embarrassment. "Oh, I can't lie to you about that, Johann-kun. I may want to help you and Rei-chan get together from the bottom of my heart, but I'm still just as much a human woman as she is, with wants and desires, too. Yes, it's completely selfish of me, but I've been aching for the loving touch of a man so much these last two months. And like I said, all things considered, you're essentially the most available of all the young men here. If things between you two were sadly unable to pan out, then at least you'd know you could always have me as a backup."

By now, her embarrassment had given away to a sense of resolution, and Johann found himself feeling intimidated again as Shizuka slowly began to approach on her hands and knees, once more eyeing him like her prey. "Y-Yeah, that…I-I'm sorry, Shizuka-sensei, but…but that's not going to happen," he stuttered nervously as he began trying to back away on his knees while trying to keep his hands over his groin. At this, Shizuka's expression surprisingly seemed to brighten.

"Oh! Does that mean my plan actually worked? Did you and Rei-chan really…confess after I'd left?" she asked eagerly, to which Johann paled at his newest place of hopelessness. She was way too smart to believe an outright lie. "Well…n-no, not exactly…" At this, Shizuka suddenly looked surprisingly frustrated as she swiftly closed the distance between them and firmly clasped her hands to his shoulders, forcing him to look her in the eye as she practically towered over him with this new domineering air about her.

"Why not?! You've both nearly gotten to see everything the other has to offer, you finally understand why things went the way they did, and you know as well as any of us how fleeting life is! You have every reason imaginable to just tell Rei-chan how you feel, so why would you still hesitate?!" Johann couldn't recall ever hearing Shizuka raise her voice to anyone, but to be on the receiving end of it was something else. He wasn't sure it was even possible for the nurse to ever come remotely close to sounding angry, yet here they were. Better yet, here he was without an answer for her. Thinking back on it, there was no reason for him to still be so cagey with his emotions for Rei; and that night after his little mishap seemed as opportune a time as any. So why didn't he take it? In fact, why didn't she?

However, the feeling of Shizuka's delicate fingers slowly walking up his chest to his shoulders, brought the young German back to reality, feeling a dry lump in his throat when Shizuka was leaning in close, her lips forming a mischievous smile, her golden eyes projecting an unreadable glimmer. "I think I may actually have an idea after all. Tell me, Johann-kun…are you by any chance a virgin?"

Her typically sweet voice was downright sensual as she whispered more and more softly the closer she leaned in, draping her slender arms over Johann's shoulders and bringing her hands together behind his neck. His whole body was quivering helplessly as Shizuka began inching her whole body closer; her nipples just barely rubbing against his chest; causing his whole body to jolt in reaction. But this didn't deter her one bit. If anything, this was exactly where she now wanted him.

"I understand you had a girlfriend back before this all happened. Young lovers these days; their passion glows so much hotter than when I was a student. From what I'd overheard, it sounded like you two were very close. Surely you must've taken a chance to consummate your love for each other back then, right?" The warmth of Shizuka's breath against his neck gave poor Johann goose bumps as he was at a total loss. He couldn't believe this was where today had taken him. How the hell was he supposed to answer something like that?

Unfortunately, his dumbfounded silence seemed to be all the answer Shizuka was looking for, as her cheeks turned a rosy pink and she couldn't help but lick her soft lips in excitement. "No? Such restraint among teenagers is so rare these days. Is it perhaps possible your lack of…intimate experience is what keeps you from just confessing your feelings to Rei-chan? Are you afraid that when and if the time comes, you won't be able to satisfy her desires? Understandable. I can think of few things more soul-crushing than to have built a bond like the two of you have through all our hardships, only for inexperience in lovemaking to bring it all crashing down."

By now, Shizuka had Johann completely at her mercy, hugging him tight as he helplessly grasped for any words at all. His face nearly getting smothered in her warm, bountiful cleavage didn't help, either. Even despite exerting his mental fortitude to control himself, his body was quickly forming a will of its own, as all the blood began rushing down while the warmth of Shizuka's body nearly enveloped him as she refused to let go.

"But you know, you don't have to worry about that, Johann-kun. I said I'm willing to do whatever I have to, to bring you two together, and I meant it. If lack of experience with a woman is what has you so hesitant to take the next step…then why don't you let me rectify that for you?" As the last words left Shizuka's mouth, her lips were almost kissing his fuzzy cheek as she whispered into his ear once more.

The simple implications of her offer was what finally made Johann's body lose all restraint, as he tried desperately to keep his shame behind his hands. Unfortunately, Shizuka didn't even have to look to know just what he was trying to hide, and so with a faux innocent giggle, she pulled her bountiful chest from his face and sat herself back on her knees opposite him. The moment Johann took to try and catch his breath was all the opportunity the nurse needed to swoop in and forcefully pull his hands away from his crotch. What practically came swinging out afterwards nearly made Shizuka jump back in surprise; at least before her whole face began blushing furiously and her smile went from mischievous to downright ecstatic at what her young target had been packing all this time.

Like a wild animal, Shizuka practically pounced on Johann before he could try to resist, pinning him to the floor with one hand on his shoulder while her massive tits were resting on his deep red face. All the while, her free hand was already hard at work stroking his rock hard shaft with incredible vigor, barely able to wrap her fingers all the way around its girth. The lustful blonde was practically salivating as she repeatedly switched her gaze from his impressive erect manhood to his adorable blushing face. His whole body was practically squirming in a futile attempt to escape, as if trying to resist the pleasurable sensation of her hand expertly rubbing and massaging his member into nirvana.

"Such an amazing size and thickness; so hot to the touch, and able to resist for even this long against my skills. Oh, Johann-kun, experience or not, I don't think you have anything to worry about as far as pleasing women goes. But still, perhaps it'd be best if you at least christen this gift of yours now, so you know how to really handle yourself when it finally comes time for you and Rei-chan to do what you need to." Johann of course couldn't answer beneath her heaving breasts in his face, but Shizuka could just imagine he was practically begging for her to stop. Unfortunately, such an image in her head only tempted her to want to follow through even more.

"Don't you worry about a thing, sweetie. You just let me guide you through this, and you'll be all the more suited for any future encounters down the road. We can do whatever your heart desires, too; I'm no prude. You can use whatever part of my body you want, as much as you want. If you just stop to think about it, everybody comes out a winner in the end this way." As she continued trying to reassure him, Shizuka positioned herself on her hands and knees above Johann; situating her already dripping wet womanhood over his towering erection. His whole body was still desperately trying to find the coordination to try and free itself from under her, but Shizuka wasn't going to let that stop her. This all made perfect sense in her head, and that was all the justification she needed. And besides, there was no way she was going to miss a chance to somehow taste something as incredible as what Johann proved to have between his legs.

Knock, Knock, Knock

The sudden echo of a firm knocking at the bathroom door was what finally managed to make Shizuka freeze just as she was about to lower her hips; momentarily paralyzed with surprise and fear, not knowing who could've possibly decided to intervene. However, as far as Johann was concerned, it was now or never. Planting his hands firmly on the wet tile floor, he practically pulled himself out from under the nurse's body, and like a bat out of Hell, he was on his feet and literally sprinting out the door, barely even thinking to grab a towel from the changing room before he burst out into the hallway and practically ran for his life, never once looking back.

Once it caught up with her what had just happened, Shizuka almost wanted to start crying from the sheer disappointment at what she'd just missed out on. At least until she chanced a glance back to the door and saw Rika in the doorway; arms crossed and a somewhat amused look on her face.

"Sorry for the literal cockblock there, Zu-Zu, but you were getting way too ahead of yourself there. The whole point of this clusterfuck of yours was to get the kid and Miyamoto-chan together, wasn't it?" she spoke firmly as Shizuka looked to the floor; ashamed that she'd let her own selfish lust blind her from what she'd originally set out to do. "Yes, it was. I shouldn't have let myself lose control like that. But oh my God, Rika, did you see him?"

"Not really. Boy took off like the devil was on his heels before I could really get a chance. Why, was it huge?" the purple-haired sniper couldn't but express her curiosity as Shizuka got that bright smile of childlike excitement again. "Unlike any other man I've had so far…or probably ever will, if we live that long. What Johann-kun is lacking in terms of muscle—"His unmentionables are more than making up for it; I get the overall gist, believe me. But I'll still bet Frasier-kun's packing more than just impressive muscles, himself. Anyway, best you just hope Johann-kun doesn't decide to tell Miyamoto-chan what you just tried to do, otherwise I don't think anyone's gonna be able to keep you safe from what comes next."

Later that evening…

The rest of the day had thankfully managed to pass without incident for everyone, and by the time Rei and Kiriko had announced dinner was finally ready, everyone was quickly gathered at the dining room table; the eagerness on most of their faces for a legitimate home-cooked meal easy to see amid the lit candles that had been set. Frasier and Rika of course chose to downplay their own hunger in exchange for the same air of distance and detachment, while others like Kohta and Alice looked like they were one step away from literally salivating at the thought of food. But once it all was brought out, the mood among the whole group was nothing short of joyous.

The assortment of rice, numerous vegetables, noodles and dried meats was quickly passed around as everyone proceeded to eat their long-deserved fill. Even the air was bustling with actual conversations among them; from Tadashi and Marcus praising Rei and Kiriko for their culinary efforts, Miku teasingly trying to spoon feed Noah despite his good-natured protests, much to Saeko's amusement; or Saya having to remind Alice and Kohta both not to literally stuff their faces like animals. All throughout, Johann even made sure to stay close to Rei, and avoid accidentally making eye contact with Shizuka, who'd thankfully been relegated to a farther spot at the table, thanks to Rika.

Overall, this evening was nothing short of perfect. Everyone's demeanor had become so much more pleasant; the food was the best any of them had eaten in two months, and there was just an overall easiness among them. Just as they had all silently hoped, this all actually felt like home.

Just as the sun finally set behind the trees and everyone had finished eating, having nearly cleared the whole table, Saya suddenly grabbed her glass and a nearby fork, tapping the two together to get everyone's attention as they'd begun to clear their dishes. Once all had quieted down, she stood up tall, with Noah quickly doing likewise, as though the two had long since decided they were going to do this.

"Everyone, if we could just have your attention real quick, please? Now, I'm certain you've all already heard by now, but Noah-kun and I have been hard at work judging how salvageable the solar panels are, and if we could be able to get them to work again. Well, thanks in no small part to contributions by all of you, and our own mutual tenacity, we're proud to inform you that since this morning, we've managed to get the connecting fuse box up and running again. We've been having the panels rejuvenating all day, and I think we might have enough juice by now. If anyone would be interested in testing the lights?"

Despite the looks of excitement on all their faces, nobody was willing to take the step forward, as though afraid they'd have the bad luck of getting everyone's hopes up, only to flip the switch and have it all be for naught. Then finally, Tadashi was the one to take the first step towards the nearby light switch, and with a deep breath, he reached and flipped it upwards.

The resulting flooding of light from the chandelier overheard was nearly blinding to everyone whose eyes had adjusted to the soft candlelight, but once they were able to readjust, they all looked like they were on the verge of screaming for joy. Electricity. Honest-to-God electricity was at their fingertips for the first time in what felt like years!

"Oh my God, I never thought I'd miss something as mundane as working lights! It almost feels like we're just a little closer to having an actual normal home again." Miku commented with the brightest smile, hugging Noah tight as congratulations for his contribution to their latest breakthrough. Before anyone else could get too caught up in congratulating their resident genius duo, Kiriko clapped her hands together hard, silencing the dining room.

"Everyone, believe me, I get why you're all so excited. I am, too, but let's not start throwing a party just yet. I want everyone to understand that this is a resource we need to keep guarded, so from now on, everyone chips in whatever they can to make sure we have all the parts and tools we need to keep that fuse box and those panels running if we're ever in danger of losing power again. Second, let's try to keep as much of the electrical devices this place has, off during the daytime so the panels can accumulate enough for night. And finally, let's make a point come morning to lay some heavy blankets or other draperies over the windows so the lights don't shine out into the woods. Last thing we need is some less-than-friendly scavengers finding this place lit up like a Roman candle. Agreed?"

Everyone nodded readily in agreement with the policewoman's guidelines, and as soon as she saw they shared her sentiment, her serious expression quickly softened to a smile of honest excitement. "Now then, as long as we keep it to a reasonable volume, I dare say this little reclamation of the old world calls for some kind of celebration. I was personally debating between rifling through some records and CD's I found in one of the bedroom closets, or maybe decide on an actual movie we can all watch together."

Kiriko's proposal had nearly everyone wide-eyed with excitement. Such common luxuries, once so out of reach and now within their grasp, felt like nothing short of an absolute treasure. Already, Kiriko could see they were all personally debating which they'd prefer. "Do you think we could all check the selections with you, Miyamoto-san? It's been so long since I've listened to anything I can dance to, I'm practically dying for it." Shizuka pleaded before Johann stepped forward. "Agreed. I have to see what titles we've got on hand with the movies; it's been way too damn long!"

"Of course you can all come and check with me, I'm not gonna take those choices away from you all. Hell, you know what? We've worked so hard to make this place even half the slice of paradise it is, I say we've earned a full night to just relax. Who says we can't do a little bit of both?" Kiriko conceded, eliciting a joyous cheer from Alice as almost everyone else began to form a single file for the exit; until Frasier once again elicited silence with a pronounced tapping of his fork against his glass.

"While I understand your overall enthusiasm, I feel I'd be remiss in not reminding you all to think about this in a practical sense. That electricity is great for leisure, but it's also vital for the future projects we've wanted to implement here: Shizuka-sensei's basement garden, powering a cement mixer to build the foundations for Noah's wall. If we have to spend an entire day or more just waiting to accumulate enough energy to provide enough for all those projects and anything else that comes to mind, we'd be putting ourselves at a serious disadvantage."

The eldest Lawson could practically feel all the joy get sucked right out of the room as everyone looked both frustrated at him, and also understanding of his logic. Seeing the looks on their faces, Rika was quick to stand up and join Frasier's side. "I agree with him. Look, guys, I know it sounds like we're the bad guys here, but that's not what we're doing this for. I want to be able to just kick my feet up, listen to some tunes, and pass the day with a bunch of movies as much as the rest of you, believe me. But I want to be able to do that knowing for certain we have everything we'd possibly need to secure this place and keep ourselves safe, full time if we have to; first. You all must surely understand that, right?"

Once more, nobody could come up with a cohesive argument to the duo's cold logic; no matter how much they wanted to. But when Frasier glanced towards Alice, what he saw made his heart drop to his stomach. She looked so worn out, not just by the day, but also by everything in general. Her once joyous purple eyes had dimmed, just as her once vibrant red hair had done. It was almost as if all the hardships had literally sucked all the life and color out of the small child. And the realization that he'd just thoughtlessly stepped in to take away the first real enjoyment she'd have in months just made seeing her in this sorry state that much more heartbreaking.

"Actually, Minami-san…maybe we can afford to just have one night without having to worry about work. Kiriko-san's right, we've put in a ton of effort already to regain what we've got here. I think they've earned the right to a night of enjoyment, don't you?" To hear Frasier of all people suddenly make an about face decision like this left more than a few of the onlookers a little skeptical, but once they could see in his eyes that he wasn't just messing with them by getting their hopes up, it was like the life had been shot right back into them, especially in Alice as she couldn't help but hurry to Frasier's side and hug his legs in gratitude.

"Well then, since we all seem to finally be in agreement, what do you all say we go up and each pick something to listen to or watch? Let's really just enjoy this mome—"Oh my God." Kiriko's declaration was swiftly cut off by the unexpected sound of shock in Rei's voice as her attention had been pulled away from everyone else. As everyone looked at the teenage girl in confusion, they soon all followed her wayward gaze to a small digital clock on the wall, whose display had been restored and had already adjusted itself to display the correct time.

While most of the others couldn't see what would have elicited such an exclamation from Rei, she and her parents all shared the same look of shock. The section that showed the date read that it was the 12th of June. After a moment's unbearable silence, Rei instinctively opened her mouth without thought. "It…it was my…my 18th birthday…just eight days ago."

This unexpected announcement drew looks of shock from everyone as Rei nearly collapsed back into her chair, with her parents instantly at her side as she looked to still be processing it all. "I…I'm 18 now. I-I kept thinking something here had been missing…but I couldn't figure out what. But…but now I know. I-I turned 18, and never even stopped to think about it, as if I didn't even know."

Her red-brown eyes began to shimmer with pooling tears before they began running down her stunned face. In front of everyone, Rei buried her face in her hands, not even trying to hide the heavy sobs as her whole body practically shook with the raw emotions she was drowning in. Tadashi and Kiriko tried to hold on to their daughter and comfort her, but none of it seemed to get through to her. Nobody dared say anything until Rei lifted her head and took several deep breaths to collect herself.

"Oh, God…I-I'm sorry, you guys. I-I didn't mean to ruin the—"No, Rei, don't even think that; you didn't ruin anything. I-I wish we could've done something to celebrate for you." Johann quickly intervened as the brown-haired girl began to apologize, hurriedly joining her side with her parents and placing a supporting hand over hers. Everyone else soon joined suit, gathering around Rei as she wiped the tears from her eyes.

"It's not even that. It's just that…seeing that date up there made me remember: it's hardly been more than two months since…since everything ended. School, hanging out with friends…loved ones…I-I can hardly even remember what life was like before this all started happening. I surely can't be the only one." Everyone exchanged contemplative glances with one another as she continued. Even without having to say so, they all knew exactly what she meant. Time's passage had been pushed so far to the back of their minds that they'd stopped trying to count the days as they went by. That was perhaps a worse sign of how consumed by this harsh world they'd become, than anything else.

"Just barely over two months. Back then, that kind of time went by before we'd even know it. But in just that time, we've lost so much. Lost our homes, our old lives, our friends…our families, people we loved more than anything. Some of it feels like it was a lifetime ago…but we haven't even been fighting through all this for a quarter of a single year. And up until now, I hadn't even stopped to think about any of that; I don't know about the rest of you.

"This…all this fear and struggling we've had to deal with every single day; worrying that every moment could be our last…whether it's by 'Them', or the elements, or even other living people; when was the last time any one of us has ever actually been able to just stop and actually be grateful for being alive? I…I feel like we've been so overcome with desperation to survive…that we've forgotten how to actually live."

Nobody could find a reason to tell Rei she was wrong. If anything, she'd simply found the courage to voice the one concern the rest of them were afraid to. The likes of Frasier and Rika had proven to have no problems adapting to the challenges of this world, but the rest of them, now that someone had finally said it, found themselves on the verge of tears themselves. The places they used to call home didn't even feel real anymore. The faces of those they held dear that they'd lost, with each passing day, felt like they grew more and more obscure; an unbearably painful thought for Rei, Johann, Alice, Saeko, Noah and Marcus especially.

That was when Alice finally decided to squeeze her way through the rest of the gathered crowd, climbed up into Rei's lap, and bring her little arms around the teen's neck in a loving embrace. And like clockwork, everyone else began to follow suit, bringing their arms around Rei and each other in a silent yet all encompassing show of emotional support. It told Rei everything they wanted to say, without having to utter a word. They all knew the pain she felt, far too well, but they all knew deep down they didn't have to keep suffering like this, and they never had to suffer it at all by themselves. This was their mutual declaration: this was no longer some ragtag bunch of teenagers and adults barely managing to hold their own. Hell, this wasn't even a group anymore.

This was a family, in the truest sense of the word, beyond words and even beyond blood. Through the mutual experiences and connections they'd built in their time together, they were a family in all of their hearts; a family that would never abandon one another or betray each other, a family that could never, ever be broken apart by anything. And amid the tears of joy running down her face, Rei smiled warmly as she tried to bring her arms around as many of the people around her as she possibly could.

A while later…

While the painful revelation of just how little time had actually passed, had managed to diffuse some of the excitement of the evening, no one let that dampen their spirits. If anything, the moment they'd all shared in the wake of that knowledge had left everyone feeling a strange sense of fulfillment, as if this had finally led them to fully come to terms with what they now were to each other.

While many still wanted to follow through with Kiriko's suggestion of some kind of celebration, there were others who now felt the need to have some time to themselves, namely Marcus and Saeko, who volunteered to conduct a perimeter patrol while the others took the night to actually enjoy themselves. If anything, Frasier actually looked relieved to see they were actually taking the initiative without having to be strong-armed into it.

The continuous chirping of crickets and the soft whispers of the wind blowing through the trees foliage made the two's silent march around the perimeter of the valley only a step short of mind-numbingly dull, but it still felt preferable to forcing themselves to look completely happy for everyone else. Honestly, after having suffered their respective losses for so long, only to be reminded that hardly any time had passed at all since then, having some time among themselves was exactly what they needed. But just as always, after a little while, the continuous rhythm of the crickets, the rustling foliage and their own marching footsteps became so monotonous, they knew they needed to say something, anything to break the silence.

"So…that was, uh…that was some pretty heavy shit for Rei-san to just drop on all of us like that, huh?" Marcus finally spoke up, while making sure not to take his eyes off the forest edge in case anything were to suddenly come wandering out. "Yes, while it might not have been the best for everyone's mood…I'm honestly glad she said something. I think it gave everyone some real perspective."

"What do you mean?" Marcus asked, barely looking back over his shoulder while Saeko kept pace, by now looking up at the myriad of stars glittering overhead. "Well, I think being reminded that even despite all the fighting and struggling we've gone through, barely more than two months have passed in all; is ultimately going to help everyone steel themselves for whatever comes next. Before, our lives were so hectic and fast-paced; we never really had the chance to actually take note of how fast time passed us by. Ever since 'They' showed up, we've just been applying that same fast-paced mentality into survival. As such, we all started fooling ourselves into thinking more time had passed than had actually been the case. I know I'm probably not making any sense right now, and a lot of what I'm saying is based around a pretty big assumption, but I honestly think being forced to slow down and take in everything we've gone through so far to get where we are now, will ultimately be for the best for our group."

Marcus couldn't think of what to say as Saeko expressed her honest feelings about just how much they'd gone through in so little time. In a way, what she was saying made some kind of sense, but in another, he couldn't think of how knowing how many people they'd lost in so little time could possibly benefit anyone. But what he didn't see as they continued marching was that Saeko's expression had now gone from contemplative to mournful.

"To think that we've all seen so much bloodshed and so much loss in so little time. You know, it's kind of funny…even though I now know we've only been fighting for two months, it honestly feels like I've actually been fighting for…for so much longer than that." As the young swordswoman began to reminisce on the real struggle she'd been referring to, she couldn't help but think back to the night at the shrine, the night she finally let Takashi in on her dark secret…the first time she'd ever opened up so fully to anyone. And with it, she once more couldn't help but feel her heart break all over again to remember he wasn't here to give her the support he'd promised.

"Actually, I know just what you mean. I honestly can't remember the last time I actually went a day without fighting for myself, in some way, shape or form. Sometimes, I even find myself wondering, or perhaps trying to remember, if fighting is all I've ever done from the beginning." Saeko listened intently as Marcus explained this, his voice low, almost as though he was actually deep in reminiscent thought while speaking. His pace slowed noticeably, forcing Saeko to stop before she'd crash into him. She could just imagine what was going through the middle Lawson's head right now.

While it definitely wasn't in the same way she had been, she could understand Marcus' sentiment when he said he'd been fighting all his life. Whether it was from what she'd personally witnessed or heard from Frasier and Noah, there always seemed to be something Marcus was fighting against: people that rubbed him or his brothers the wrong way, his own father, Frasier, or even just his own station in life, constantly being stuck in his family's shadow and being talked down to for every little thing he said and did.

In a way, Marcus was always on his own against the world around him, and the fact that at times that even included his own family, left Saeko unable to help but feel sorry for him. When someone even had to defend themselves in any way against their own blood, then they were well and truly alone. Even just thinking about it spurred Saeko to finally open her mouth and speak up.

"Marcus-kun, I know it's been a good while now, but I feel it's only fair to ask: have you by any chance…come any closer to forgiving Frasier?" The instant his brother's name came up, she could see Marcus' body visibly tense up. Yes, he'd managed to keep his composure in Frasier's presence, but when he was alone, there was no need to keep up the façade. Seeing his face begin to strain against the maelstrom of emotions raging in his chest, Saeko began to regret even asking in the first place. His physical reaction had been enough of an answer already.

"You know something? This morning, I actually felt like I was. I even legitimately talked with him for the first time in nearly a week. I would say that's…a step in the right direction. But he…I know he was trying to apologize; I know that. But when he mentioned…when he mentioned Hitomi, it was like I was watching him destroy her badge all over again, and all that anger I thought I'd gotten over came right back.

"I don't expect you to understand, Saeko-san, but there are just some things you don't come back from, and I think…I think that might be one of them for Frasier. That badge always helped me to remember her face, the way she was supposed to be, not that…that lifeless emptiness I saw in the end. But now that Frasier went and destroyed it, every single day I try to remember every detail of Hitomi's face. But no matter how hard I try to hold onto all of it…I know there are little bits and pieces, miniscule things that I'm now missing. I'm terrified that I…that one day I'm going to try to remember her…and I won't even be able to put a face to the name anymore. And when and if that day comes, it'll be as though she might as well have never existed. That would be the worst betrayal of all, to everything she did for all of us, and it's all Frasier's fault that I now have to deal with that fear every single day."

Saeko was speechless, not because of Marcus' answer, but for everything else. He'd managed to put into words what she had also secretly been dreading behind her pleasant demeanor. She hadn't wanted to dwell on it, or even think about it lest the idea take hold of all her attention and drive her mad. She didn't want to forget Takashi's face, on top of everything he did for her and the others. She didn't think that was possible. But to hear Marcus even admit that already he was beginning to slowly lose the image of the one he loved; she couldn't help but begin to feel the fear manifest in the pit of her stomach. But it was also that fear that encouraged her to approach the young Brit and place a firm hand on his shoulder.

"I understand exactly what you mean, Marcus. Even though I've been trying to restore the friendship Frasier and I used to have, I actually still feel that anger towards him that I had when Takashi first died. I keep trying to suppress it deep down inside, but I know it's still there. In fact, the constant reminder that unlike Hitomi, Frasier was actually there to do something about saving Takashi's life and failed…if anything, that makes the pain and anger I still feel that much worse."

"Then why the hell would you want me to forgive him if you feel half as strongly as I do? You even said he could've done something about it; and that's not even counting the fact he nearly gutted you not even a week ago! You more than anyone should want to never speak to him again! So what the hell happened?" Marcus made no attempt to hide the anger as he asked Saeko this impossible question. It was as if he were desperate to know he was justified in still feeling the way he did to the one he once called his brother. Even if all the others still hadn't forgiven Frasier for the things he said or what he'd almost done to Rei; their unanimous repressing of that anger did nothing to quell Marcus' own emotional upheaval. But nevertheless, this outburst didn't faze Saeko at all as she instead gently turned Marcus' head by the chin so he could look her in her deep blue eyes.

"What happened was that I decided to look at all of this outside my own perspective. If I didn't, I'd still be just as angry, looking for an excuse to just lash out at him, as you. I'm not going to pretend that I've forgiven him for everything he's said and done up to this point, but I'm not going to just keep shutting him out and leaving him emotionally isolated, either. I understand that underneath all the yelling, the cruel words, the seemingly thoughtless actions and his single-minded stubbornness regarding this fools' errand of ours…he's still trying to do the best he can by all of us. You and I both know he could've easily just taken you and Noah-kun and abandoned the rest of us when he had the chance. But he hasn't, even when we all denounced him. That should tell you something about his loyalty to this group.

"Look, Frasier's not perfect; far from it, and he has done things that even I can't bring myself to fully forgive him for, but I can't ignore that he's still actively chosen to work with us in making this place the best home for us it can be. However, no matter how much he might try to deny it, you severing ties hurt him more than you realize. In the end, family is the one thing he needs in order to be able to completely function. So for both your sakes, and for the sake of everyone we have here, that's why I strongly suggest you try, try to find it in yourself to forgive him and let him back in."

Marcus' first thought in response to this was to just keep walking along the perimeter without another word, but Saeko could see from the urgency in his movements that what she'd asked of him had taken hold in his head. She would've known that for certain if she'd seen the conflicted look in the young man's eyes as he kept moving on. There was no denying Saeko was right. Frasier was more stubborn than anything else, and had proven he was more capable of rash actions than most others. If he'd really wanted to follow through on his declaration of how useless the group was, he could've easily overpowered his brothers and carried them the rest of the way. And yet, days later, here they still were, and more importantly, here Frasier still was, actively trying to lead and work with everyone in spite of everything.

And of course Frasier had made no secret that everything he did was for his brothers' sakes. To put that kind of dedication to your own flesh and blood while dealing with all the dangers they still dealt with today, only for them to turn their backs on you and essentially leave you all alone in the unforgiving world; Marcus couldn't imagine how most, if any, people could emotionally survive that kind of abandonment. So perhaps there was some merit to Saeko asking him to try and put his feelings of mourning and resentment aside and be the family that Frasier needed.

But whether or not he could actually find the inner strength within himself to actually move past losing the first woman he ever loved, and forgiving Frasier for destroying the last thing he had to remember her by? Even he couldn't know that for certain. Only time knew that, and he wasn't sure if either he for Frasier would live long enough to see if that time were ever to come.

"Do you think you can handle this on your own?" Saeko's voice suddenly asked a notable distance away, spurring Marcus to look back over his shoulder to see she was lagging behind and heading towards the tree line. "Why?" he asked bluntly, more than a little concerned to see her heading into the woods on her own. Stopping in her tracks, Saeko let out an aggravated groan. "Just for a few minutes. I just need to…you know…take care of some personal business? Look, take the hint and just trust that I'll catch up, okay?" With that, it all seemed to finally click, and with a hasty nod of his head, Marcus hurried on his way, granting Saeko the privacy she so desperately needed.

A few minutes later, after deciding she was deep enough in the woods to relieve herself without even accidentally being seen, Saeko zipped up and began to head back the way she came, until her ears picked up the distinct sound of a twig snapping underfoot a ways away. In full combat mode once more, she quickly ducked behind the nearest tree, the handle of her katana in hand. Even if it was just one of 'Them', she knew she needed to be careful. This deep in the woods, the canopy prevented the moonlight from helping her to see. She would need to rely on her ears and be extremely careful not to trip over any rocks or roots.

Steadying her breathing and beginning to draw her sword, she listened intently for the predictable shambling footsteps to come creeping up that much closer. One by one, the unmistakable sound of footprints disrupting the fallen leaves and twigs was steadily coming closer to her position. The violet-haired warrior was listening carefully for which side of the tree 'They' would emerge from, thus judging her method of attack.

But it was when she momentarily stepped out of her mental strategizing that she realized something: the footprints had stopped. The young samurai was confused; there was no way she'd accidentally made any noise to reveal her location, or to even alert a wandering one of 'Them'. It shouldn't have been possible for her target to suddenly come to a stop in a show of self-awareness.

Saeko's grip on her katana grew that much tighter as she tried to figure out what to do. She could easily just lure it her way and dispose of it in the blink of an eye. But she'd been so intently listening to this one pair of footsteps, she wasn't sure if there were possibly any more of 'Them' nearby that could potentially hear her if she did. The last thing she wanted to do was unwittingly lure a herd of those monsters to the estate, not when everyone was still so exhausted; too exhausted to be as effective in battle as need be.

'Screw it, I need to take care of this now,' she thought to herself in resignation, finally drawing her blade out in full and taking a deep breath. "Is somebody there?" she called out loud and clear; bracing herself for the following snarl of an undead abomination having found its latest meal.

But instead, all she was met with was the sound of footsteps hurriedly running away from her and deeper into the forest. With a sudden flare of adrenaline racing through her blood, Saeko came rushing out from her hiding spot, trying to adjust her eyes to the darkness so she could see just whoever it was she'd inadvertently scared off; but more importantly to get an idea of just who was creeping around uninvited so close to her new home.

"Hey! Who are you?! Get back here right now!" she shouted, not even worrying about the potential risk in doing so as her eyes kept desperately scanning the darkness. Alas, there was no sign of anything disrupting nature's stillness. But this didn't calm Saeko's nerves in the slightest. If anything, it just made her tension that much worse as she turned on her heels and made a mad dash back to the valley.

She was in full-blown tunnel vision as she ran, seeing only the estate in her path as she finally came bursting from the tree line into the open; nearly crashing into a stunned Marcus on the way. The shocked Brit barely managed to get a hold of Saeko, unsettled to see the intense look in her eyes as she struggled to catch her breath. The sight of her sword being drawn never bode well, and Marcus couldn't hide the concern he now felt upon seeing it when he looked the young woman in the eye.

"Saeko, why were you just shouting? What happened?" he asked on instinct, and all Saeko did was grab him by the arm and begin stomping her way back inside. "Something's seriously wrong out there. We need to tell Frasier!"

Shortly after…

"Are you absolutely sure? Did you see anything, Marcus?" Frasier asked bluntly as he sat on the edge of his bed, looking deeply contemplative. Saeko and Marcus had come practically barging into his room, and the worried looks in their eyes diffused his anger before it could even manifest. Once Saeko had told him everything about her time in the woods, the eldest Lawson looked about as ready to act as she was. However, he knew he didn't want to potentially worry the others on the off chance this was all for nothing, and if anyone here could somehow serve as the voice of reason, it would be Marcus.

"I didn't see or hear anything unusual. Saeko asked me to go ahead without her and she would catch up. After I rounded the valley the first time, I suddenly heard her yelling at someone or something in the woods. I was going to check it out and see if she was okay when she nearly crashed into me. Wouldn't even tell me what was wrong before dragging me all the way here."

Knowing he now only had Saeko's account to go on, Frasier had to make a decision. It was foolish to think no one would ever stumble upon this place, be they living or undead. But at the same time, he knew quite well how being out in the woods by yourself, all the numerous sounds of the wildlife could potentially play tricks on your ears. Rising to his feet, he looked deep into Saeko's eyes.

"Are you absolutely sure of what you heard? How do you know it wasn't one of 'Them' being lured away by the noise of some distant animal? We still don't know for sure how sharp 'Their' hearing really is. It could be possible you didn't hear that and just mistook its hurried shambling for running." But as sound as that logic seemed in his head, the sharp glare Saeko gave him was quick to dispel that.

"Dammit, Frasier, I know what I heard. It was footsteps, slow at first. When I was getting ready to strike, they suddenly stopped. 'They' don't just do that without a reason. And when I tried to lure it over, those steps instead moved away, and I know what running sounds like. Whoever it was, they ran like hell when I called out." Frasier's expression darkened as he heard the seriousness in her tone.

There was no telling whom she could've potentially just run into. Sure, it could've been a scared straggler who'd been lost in the woods and frightened by suddenly running into another person. But it could've just as easily have been someone thinking they'd stumbled on an easy score with the estate, and got scared off when realizing it was occupied. Or even worse: it could've been someone somehow connected to their mysterious vanishing bridge sniper.

Needing no further convincing, he went for his pistol and knife on the nightstand—

SLAM!

The door to the bedroom suddenly flew open with a mighty blow as Rei burst in, her face showing only sheer panic. "You guys; it's Alice-chan! Something's seriously wrong with her!"

Minutes later…

The three teens were hot on Rei's heels as she guided them to Alice's bedroom. The instant her name had left the young woman's lips, they all felt their blood go frigid. When they finally reached their destination, they were met with the sight of everyone gathered around Alice's bed; the poor little girl looking pale as a sheet, her brow dotted in a cold sweat and her breathing labored. Shizuka was already at her side, checking all over her body with the most focused look on her face.

"What happened? What's wrong with her?" Frasier asked softly; the sight of Alice in such a vulnerable state penetrating all layers of his toughened bravado. Nobody else could say anything, too worried about the child, before Rei finally stepped in for them. "We were all just relaxing with a movie she'd picked, but shortly after, she started coughing. She'd been doing that sporadically for the last couple days, but she always managed to get over it, but this time it wouldn't let up. In fact, it seemed to only get worse, but before we could get her any water, she passed out. We got her here pretty much immediately after."

As Rei explained this, her face couldn't help but show guilt. The others looked much the same. Alice had been showing the most telltale sign of not being well for the last few days; how they couldn't have stopped to think this was something they needed to follow up on escaped them. And now here they were, looking at their mutual worst fear potentially being realized.

Finally, after a minute of unbearable silence, Shizuka stepped away and let out a heavy sigh as she towered over everyone, looking on at the nurse anxiously.

"Well, the good news is there's no sign of any bite or injury she might've thought to hide from us that could've gotten infected. But I'm afraid this is still quite serious. Alice-chan has a very high fever. My guess is that with her body still developing, her immune system hasn't fully matured yet. Our month or so on the road has exposed her to the elements for so long. I'm willing to bet that because we were constantly on the move, her body wasn't allowing the effects of exposure to manifest in her. But ever since we settled down here, all that exposure has finally caught up with her already exhausted body."

Everything she said made as much sense as any other explanation as the others listened on. This kind of thing was known to happen to small children who were outside all the time. But at least in those cases, there was always a doctor or a healthy supply of medicine they could get to. But now, with all of their nurse's medical supplies either lost in the water or used up, they were completely shit out of luck; and worst of all, so was Alice.

Without a moment's hesitation, Frasier stepped forward, his icy blue eyes burning with determination. "Just tell me whatever she needs, and I'll get it if it's the last thing I do, Shizuka-sensei," he stated firmly and without a shred of doubt in his voice. Everyone else looked on in surprise, having gotten so used to his apathetic demeanor. But that didn't make them any less grateful to see he wasn't about to give in to despair.

"Well, if this had come from an infected wound, I would need antibiotics. Normally when it's this kind of fever, what she needs is lots of rest and to stay hydrated. The only thing I would actually need in order to help accelerate her recovery is some common over-the-counter meds like aspirin." It didn't sound like much, but if Alice's health was on the line, Frasier was more than ready to do whatever he needed to, or go wherever he needed to in order to help. A thorough sweep of all the bathroom medicine cabinets when they'd first settled here had revealed that there were no such luxuries around as painkillers or even aspirins, but he wasn't about to let that stop him as he swiftly turned to address Saya.

"Do you still have that map of the prefecture?" he asked hastily as Saya quickly realized where he was going with this. Rushing to her room, it was barely a minute before she came back with the map clutched tightly in hand, only for Frasier to just as quickly snatch it and begin poring over it himself. Thankfully from the looks of it, the town of Narusawa she had mentioned this morning was in fact directly south of where she'd judged the estate was. Even on foot, he wouldn't need to make any drastic turns to get there.

"I'm heading to this town, Narusawa, to get everything Alice needs. With any luck, I should be back before dawn," he informed the others as he already began to make a beeline for the door, only for nearly everyone to get up after him. Looking at the intensity on all their faces, he could just tell they were all aching to go with him; undoubtedly in the hopes they could make it go that much faster and Alice wouldn't have to suffer nearly as long.

"No. Emotions are high among all of us here, and if we go out there together for this, all half-cocked, there's no telling what could go wrong. I get why you want to help, but just this once, let me handle this myself. I can move faster on my own. And besides, I don't want Alice to be without all of you to watch over her, especially if a number of 'Them' were to end up wandering through the valley. I need all of you here to protect this place in case that were to happen."

As much as they all clearly wanted to argue against his reasoning and practically force him to take them along, they also couldn't deny his logic. They were pretty much letting their emotions guide them, and at the end of the day, that's what leads to stupid decisions and people getting killed. And so with a silent yet begrudging look of resignation, they all quickly returned to Alice's bedside.

"If you're not back by sunrise, Frasier, we'll come looking for you no matter what, understand?" Saeko announced just before he was out the door. There was no room for interpretation in her tone, and especially not in the look in her eyes. She was straight up telling him how it was going to be. With a defeated sigh, Frasier gave an understanding nod of acceptance, and without another word with map in hand, he was practically bursting through the nearest exit and charging southward into the woods, with Alice's pained expression being the only thing guiding him on his way.