(Hmm, I did remember to lock the gates, didn't I? Got to open them up and get the jeep with the corpses out of the way. Heh, I like how I keep saying 'I' all the time, why don't 'I' just let our glorious leader decide who does what? Ugh.)

I let out a silent sigh and slightly shook my head.

(Come on, hold it together, Naier, no need to be spiteful. Takashi is just surprised and is trying to protect the group… Albeit in a very retarded manner. Hah, really there's no need to fret about the matter, it will sort out eventually… Or maybe it won't. Well, what's the worst that can happen? Get kicked out of the group? And even if it does come to that, then I'll just play with the cards that I've been dealt with. Still, no matter what happens in the future, I mustn't add fuel to the fire. And, for some reason, I got this nagging feeling that Takashi ain't saying all the reasons for his little outburst.)

"We're almost there," Saeko speaks up.

"The doors should be locked, if you guys want to use the garage, there is a jeep in there with corpses inside." I say right after her.

"Alright, so, do not get too close, I will go with… "

"No need, I'll go." Takashi cuts off Saeko, before she could finish, causing the rest of the group to turn towards him.

"Are you sure? I have been there before." She asks as she looks at him.

"Yes, I'll handle this." He says as he extends his arm towards Saeko, who looked at his extended hand for a while, before giving him the keys with a short nod.

Once the house was twenty or so meters to our left, Saeko touched Shizuka's shoulder, causing her to stop the car and turn off the engine. Takashi then exited the Humvee and carefully went straight towards the gate of the house.

As this was happening, I noticed that Shizuka was glancing at me.

"Umm… I didn't know you had such a nice house, Naier." She says as she keeps glancing back and forth between the house and me.

"It's not mine." I answer back.

"Huh? But you had the keys?" She responds.

"Took 'em from a corpse." I answer shortly again.

"Oh…" She lowered her head and began staring at the steering wheel.

"Sorry… " She responds shortly after.

(God damn it, Shizuka, do I look like a guy who would own a house like that? Or are you actually trying to guilt-trip me here?)

I shake my head and turn to her.

"It's fine, I'm not mad, not even at Takashi, much less at you. Why the hell would I be angry at you to need an apology in the first place?" I ask as I tilt my head.

"Oh well, it's because… Uhm, you know because… umm." She just trails off as she keeps thinking for a reason that obviously did not exist.

"Relax, once everybody calms down, we'll sort this thing out." I say as I turn to look at the house.

Shizuka nods and turns to me with a slight smile.

"Oh, come on now, how can Takashi think that you're a danger to the group? I mean, just look at what's happening right now? All this crap, and you're still trying to cheer up Shizuka" Kohta says shortly after.

"A… This Asami agrees with Kohta." Asami, sitting next to Kohta, added right after with a nod.

"I guess it's true what they say, idiots do have a thick skull, seeing how you seem to be totally unaffected by the fact that it's your head on the line here… " Saya folds her arms as she turns to look outside the window.

"So… his thick skull saved your home?! That's amazing!" Alice, who was sitting on Rei's lap, asks excitedly as she tilts her head and then lifts both arms in the air in an excited manner.

"S… silence munchkin! And I said that it's Big Sister for you!" Saya seems to almost be leaping at Rei as she grabs Alice by her cheeks and starts pulling them.

"Gah, hey! Take it easy, Saya! You're going to crush me!" Rei shouts as Alice and Saya begin excitedly moving around, and as the group's atmosphere begins to lighten up. A strong bump on the door next to her quickly hushed the festivities. We turn to the noise, to see a corpse that had planted its bloodied face on the window.

"Mood killer… " I say as I stare at the corpse.

"Tell me about it. But, well, we did get a bit, loud." Kohta says as he looks at the corpse that was grinding its face against the window as the rest of the group sat in silence.

Less than a minute later, we see Takashi opening the front gate, he then motions us to go to him. And so Shizuka drove up to the house, and the moment we got near.

"Oh! This Asami thinks we should use the firecrackers! That way, they won't just gather outside the house because of the car engine." She says as she takes a couple of firecrackers out of her pocket.

"Huh, I guess in the end we didn't have to use them at the mall because Naier came with the Humvee right after we exited the building." Kohta adds right after.

"Hmm yeah, that is some good thinking there Nakaoka, we can use the car's hatch to throw them." Saya answers as she points at the hatch.

"Alright, and you can all call this Asami by her first name." She replies as she moves towards the hatch and pops out of it.

(Uhh, you know, I always thought that Asami was short, and it's just now that I actually realize that she is about the same height as Saya. Who, well, is actually the shortest one in the group, with Saeko being the tallest. Actually, how tall am I? Hmm, about the same height as Saeko I guess? Didn't really bother checking before.)

Seconds later, I hear the sound of firecrackers going off behind us as the car enters the house's front yard. The garage door was open, but the other car was still there, and the back exit of the garage, the one that leads to the backyard facing the ocean, was also open. Takashi then walked up to the driver's door.

"I pulled the handbrake, you should be able to push it out of the garage with our car." He says as he points at the SUV.

Shizuka nodded and slowly drove towards the silver SUV, softly bumping it with our Humvee, moving it along. As the car started to move in reverse, I noticed that the Boat was still attached to it, and was starting to turn to the right.

"The boat will block us like this… wait, I'm going to push the boat away." I say as the Humvee stopped. I then exit the car, run-up to the back of the SUV, quickly detach the trailer holding the boat and start pushing it as I walk towards the back exit of the garage, taking the trailer along with me. The moment I got out, I turned to the right before leaving the boat in the backyard.

(Huh, that was surprisingly easy. Is the boat really that light?)

"Guess you will have to wait here, huh." I muttered under my breath as I looked at the wooden boat.

Finished with that, I turn around to see the silver SUV pop out of the garage. It then kept rolling until it pushed up against the back gate, which started slightly tilting towards the outside. I then walked back inside the garage to see the rest of the group getting out of the Humvee.

"Well… I'll be on the second floor, second room to the left. Do tell me if you decide to chop my head off, throw me out of the window or something. Oh, don't forget to close the door and lock the gates, have fun." I say as I move towards the door that leads to the living room and waved my hand at the group as it stood behind me.

(I know I said to myself to not be spiteful. But, UGHH, could not resist…)

I started taking off my bag and guns as I kept walking, leaving everything on the big table before climbing up the stairs. I then head straight into the kid's room, entering the room after taking off my shoes. Better late than never, right?

I close the door behind me and turn to look at the room. The bed was in front of me, it's head' touching the wall to my left. Beyond the bed, straight ahead of me, was a relatively big window, a desk next to it with some textbooks and a lamp on it. On the other corner of the room, an expensive-looking PC on another desk.

The wall opposite of the two desks consisted solely of wardrobe doors.

"Well, I'm home… heh," I say as I lift my hands and instantly let them drop.

I walk around the room for a bit before stopping by the window. I could see the boat in the backyard from here.

(I was aiming to somehow verify if we could get to the 'OVA island' with it. I mean, sexual hallucinations aside, if we blast that cave closed? A safe house with no corpses. Well, ok, there are still going to be some corpses around, but if you can somehow root them out, then the place will be clear. And worst-case scenario, you can just cause controlled 'forest' fires. Corpses light up like Christmas trees after all, and do die from fire. Plus, it would be much easier to gather them all in one location, as the place has no real walls to block them. Except if they're so retarded that they can actually end up getting stuck on tree trunks. Though, lighting up a forest fire there would mean that you'll either need to have a gas mask on, or be prepared to wake up married to a broom.)

I let out a slight chuckle at the stupid joke and shake my head.

(But, now, that has to be postponed until a certain 'somebody' stops being a hardass.)

I take a couple of steps towards the bed, before sitting on the corner of the bed.

(Jokes aside, if they do kick me out, what do I do then? Uhh, I can either take the boat and go to the island by myself, or find where Takashi's mom works at and go there. It was supposed to be an evacuation zone, and in the manga, Shido ends up there… Something that obviously won't happen now.)

My thoughts then got interrupted as I heard the door open behind me, turning around I see Saeko closing the door behind her.

"I fail to believe you all made a decision this fast," I say as I turn to look back at the window.

"We have not even started talking yet," She replies as she walks over to the bed and sits next to me.

"And you won't be part of it?" I ask.

"I will… but, I just wanted to see how you are doing. And… She stops talking in the middle of her sentence and lowers her head.

"Ask why I never mentioned this to you?" I ask again as I turn to look at her.

"Yes… but mostly to apologize that I didn't do anything to stop Shimada." She responds.

"You didn't, 'didn't do' anything, you couldn't. You couldn't have done anything. There is a big difference there," I say as I keep looking at her as she just smiled slightly at my answer.

"So, Naier, why did you not tell me? You do not trust me…?" She asks as she turns to look at me.

I take a deep breath as I take off my mask and balaclava.

(Better if she can see that I mean what I'm about to say.)

"No, I trust you, but I didn't… I didn't want you to believe that the reason that I said that I want you with me is because I've done worse than you. I would still have said the exact same thing to you, even if I hadn't killed any of them." I kept staring at her eyes as I spoke, and she didn't react as she just kept staring at me.

"And, well, there was a second reason." I say as I look away.

"Which… was?" She leans slightly towards me as she asks.

"I didn't want to make the whole thing look like a competition of who had it bigger. I was afraid I might, lose…." I said as I tried to keep a straight face while turning to her. But, uhh, ok, I ended up smirking in the end.

Saeko stared at me for a couple of seconds before bringing her hand up to her mouth, holding herself back from laughing.

She then placed her free hand on mine, while still keeping the other hand over her mouth, and 'bumped' her head on my shoulder.

"I, will stay with you. Even if the group decides to kick you out, I will stay with you as long as…" She kept her head lowered as she spoke.

"I keep my promise." I cut her off as I put my free hand on her head and ruffled her hair.

She stayed like that for a couple of minutes before getting up after taking a deep breath. She smiled at me and turned to leave without saying anything else, meanwhile, I put my balaclava and mask back on. Yet, the moment the door started closing, I could hear Saeko speaking with someone outside.

"Uhh… we're all eating, and since nobody seemed to bother, I…" I hear a female voice from behind the half-closed door.

"I am sure he will appreciate the gesture." I hear Saeko reply to the other person.

"I uhh… I'm doing this just so he won't end up starving, you see, no other reason." The other voice answers.

And seconds later.

"I… I'm serious, so stop looking at me like that!" The same voice says with a much higher volume.

Well, with so much tsundere-ism dripping from the voice, it wasn't much of a surprise when I saw Saya walking through the open door.

With her face slightly red, she walked over to the desk with the books and left a tray with a plate of food on it, before turning around and started marching back out of the door. All without looking at me at all.

"Thanks." I say as she heads towards the door.

"We're all eating, I didn't…"

"For stopping Shimada," I cut her off.

She stopped at the door, but didn't turn to look at me.

"I can't let them kick you out…" She whispered to herself in a very low tone.

"B… because you're an idiot, and you wouldn't survive a day without me!" Saya shouted before I could ask what she was talking about, then bolted out of the room. And right before the door closed, I saw her going into the upper floor bathroom, her face beet red.

I chuckled at the antics of the local tsundere, before turning to look at the food.

('Wouldn't survive a day without you', huh? Heh, I guess that was Saya's way of saying 'I won't let them kick you out, because I'm worried about you'.)

I take off my 'face attire' again and sit by the desk that had the plate on.

(Shame she reverted back to calling me an idiot again, but, eh, one step at a time. I mean, I still remember how it went the first time I 'met' her. 'Hey, idiot, are you deaf?' And all because I was in her way on the stairs. Wonder if she even remembers that.)

I found myself chuckling as I took the chopsticks that were next to the plate and started eating.

After I finished my food, I went to the upper bathroom to clean the plate… Don't judge, going downstairs now would have been way too awkward.

After finishing the chore, I started taking a closer look around the room. Did you know that this kid had seven different handheld consoles? Yeah, did you know that none of them worked now? Yeah, and here I thought I'd found the jackpot...

I then searched the wardrobes next, and I couldn't help but raise my eyebrows at what I found.

The one that was right next to the door had a butt-load of Tuxedos, ties, a couple of shiny shoes and other formal shit, all 'grown-up' size. Definitely not something in the size and style that a child would wear.

The next one had other adult-sized clothing, most of it being Adidas-styled exercise pants and shirts, things that you could go for a run with, or perhaps as the prescribed uniform of a Russian gopnik, though it was still missing the beanie hat a bottle of vodka, and the will to put a jet engine in your BMW.

Finally, the last one was filled with kid's clothing… talk about wardrobe invasion. Two out of the three wardrobes in the kid's room were filled by the parent's clothes.

And after I finished snooping around? After that, I tried to remember a moment in my life that was more boring than right now. And? And I couldn't find anything…

-Sometime later-

I was sitting on the office chair, my legs against the bed, looking at the ceiling, the sun long since having given up and diving into the sea...

(It's ten-thirty? And we've arrived here, about Seven?)

I groan as I look at my watch, then rock myself on the office chair…

(Three hours. They've been down there, for three fucking hours)

"I'm booored!" I push the chair with my legs, making it slide across the room.

"You're under arrest, for being a Ninjaaa!" I spin on the chair, ending up with my feet on the wall opposite of the bed, pushing off of it to return to my 'original' position.

"A PC made for gaming, and I can't play anything because some genius decided to push a button and launch H.A.N.E. missiles. I'm so going to sue their asses, if I survive this whole mess." I found myself chuckling at the silly image as I stared at the dead computer.

"Ugh… Fuck my life." I groaned as I leaned on the chair and began staring at the ceiling.

"The group downstairs is freaking out over my actions, well mostly Takashi, and here I am cracking jokes. Maybe I am nuts, after all." I slowly spun around with the chair as I kept staring at the ceiling.

"Uhh… why can't they just make a decision? Waiting like this with nothing to do is just horrible, it almost felt like going to the doctor. You spent five agonizing hours, and three of these five hours are actually just waiting for your execution. If you're going to kick me out, then just do it, so I can kick you before I get kicked." I groan as I close my eyes.

"Oh, I'm also going to steal your samurai," I chuckled before taking a deep breath.

"Maybe I should just go to sleep, it's already dark out, and if they decide to kick me out while it's dark, then I'll have another bone to pick. Hmm, I don't feel like stripping down before sleeping, though, for obvious reasons. And, sleeping with my clothes on, is… not a good idea."

I get up from the chair and go to the wardrobe with all the Adidas look-alikes.

"Well… you lot just got demoted to P.j.'s!" I grab a pair of black pants and a full-sleeved shirt, before glancing at the closed door. Expecting someone to come barging into the room as I began taking off my clothes.

"Yeah, as if…" I chuckled to myself and changed clothes, leaving the ones I wore on the office chair, then ran straight to the bed before jumping and performing an elbow drop.

In retrospect, it was a very bad idea. Too bad that I only realized it after the bed decided to fight back and bounced me to the side, ending with me face flat to the floor with a loud thud.

"Owww… fuck." I lift my head and shake it.

"Got owned by a bed… " I chuckled as I casually looked under the bed, half expecting to find a bag with some hidden treasure in it. Yeah, there was nothing. What I did see, though, was the door to the door to the room swinging open, and a pair of legs.

"Naier?! What happened! Are you alright?!" A female voice shouted the moment the door opened.

I pop my head over the bed to see Saya, uhh… with no pants. Well, she was technically wearing 'pants', if you can call what she's wearing that. They looked like the ones she wore in Rika's house. She was also hugging a pillow with one hand, the other hand on the door's handle. Oh! And her hair was down.

There might be no lights, but the moon gave enough illumination for me to be able to see clearly.

"All's good. I, uhh… did I wake you up? If so, sorry, didn't mean to." I say as I keep staring at her.

(Oh, you slipped there Saya, you called me Naier again.)

"Uhh… no, you didn't wake me up, everybody just went to sleep a couple of minutes ago. I'm… I'm here to tell you that, we haven't decided on… that." She was slowly talking slower and slower as she went on, to the point that she stopped and shifted her eyes away from me.

"Hmm, I see…" I replied quietly as I kept staring… Yet, she did not move, nor did she try to cover herself more, she just stayed by the door, holding it open, while hugging a pillow. Her face was looking at… well, anywhere but my direction.

"You gonna sleep here?" I ask and Saya darts her head to me and goes beet red.

"W… well, everybody has gone to sleep and there are only four bedrooms. Kohta and Asami took one, Rei and Takashi another, while Shizuka took the other bedroom with Alice and Saeko. And… " Her face kept getting more and more red as she spoke, her eyes darting all around the room, not once focusing in my direction.

"Well, I guess it's only fair that I don't hog the bed, no?" I say.

"Yeah… yeah, that's right!" Saya nods, multiple times.

"Want me to sleep on the chair?" I ask as I point at the office chair.

"Uhh… you won't be able to sleep there, Naier. And… uh, if you can't stay awake tomorrow, it will end up being my fault. Uhm… you… you can sleep on the bed. B… but don't let it go to your head!" She raises her voice slightly at the end, as she turns to stare at me.

"Of course." I say as I get up from the floor and dust myself off. Not that the floor was dusty to begin with, but, you know, habits.

"Uhh… what are you wearing?" She asks as she raises an eyebrow.

"What I'm…? What are YOU wearing?" I asked back before pointing at her… everything. And she lowers her pillow slightly, not that it helped, as now, it was the 'upper parts' that were revealing.

"Quit staring, you pervert… " She narrows her eyes as she tries to hide herself behind the pillow, her face still as red as ever.

In response, I just flop on the bed and crawl under the covers while facing the window.

A couple of seconds later, Saya finally walks into the room closing the door behind her, then, I feel the bed moving.

"If you turn around, I'm going to punch you." She says quietly as the bed slowly stops moving.

(Jeez, what a violent one this person is.)

"Did you manage to search the electronic store back at the mall?" I ask without turning around.

"Uhh, yeah, I found a couple of working flashlights, and some decent walkie-talkies that still worked, but I don't know if they can still reach their max advertised distance. I have them in one of our bags." She replies.

"I see… thanks. And, good work Saya" I answered.

"Thanks…" She replies a couple of a second later with a voice equal to a whisper.

I give one last glance at the watch I left on the nightstand, before getting comfortable on the bed. And after that, we went to sleep.

Feels damn good sleeping on a bed again, though. It's quite the luxury, as it seemed I had made a habit of sleeping in places that are not really meant to sleep on. Car seats, recliners, floors, and ok, I do know that a person can sleep 'anywhere' if need be. But, uhh, you get the point.

So, I guess it was a nice change of pace being comfortable for once, soft pillow, soft sensation on my back, soft bed, warm blanket. Call me weak all you want, but a good night of sleep can make quite the difference when push comes to shove.

With that last thought, I fell into the darkness...

-Unknown time later-

…

(My face feels heavy…)

I opened my eyes to see my hand covering my face.

(Wow, I passed out cold as soon as my head was on the pillow. Plus I can't even feel my hand...)

I lift my other hand, pull it out of the covers and land it on my face, well mask.

(Forgot to take off my mask again? Huh… figures.)

I then intertwine my hands and stretch them out with a yawn, popping them out with some satisfying crack while still laying down. Then, I look at my hands, both of them, and then at the hand that was on my face, I mean mask.

(One, two, uhh… three?)

I blinked and looked at the hands, and counted again… still three. I turn my head as I follow the arm that the hand belonged to, and end up bumping my mask against Saya's nose.

She reacts with a quiet moan, nuzzling against my neck as she lowered her head.

(Uhh, ok, this is happening? I'm pretty sure I'm not dreaming, so uhh… did she move in her sleep?)

As I slowly took off the blanket, I also realized that she had passed her other arm under me, as I could feel it under me.

(She also somehow managed to sneak her arm under me while asleep? I smell foul play here. Saya is either a sneakier Ninja than me, or she really moves a lot in her sleep.)

I silently get off the bed as I lift her head, then slowly place it on a pillow before covering her back up. She didn't react through all that, other than moaning once again before hugging her pillow. I then pick the wristwatch to look at the time.

(Five A.M? Hmm, it was ten and something before I went to sleep, so I slept for about six or seven hours?)

I turned to look at the window to see that it was still dark outside.

(Heh, I remember when six hours of sleep were nowhere near enough. While now, I feel just perfect.)

I slowly walk towards the door as I give the sleeping Saya one last glance.

(That sure was a nice way to wake up, though. Let's see if the rest of the day will go this well.)

After a quick visit to the bathroom in order to wake myself up, I went down to the first floor and the first thing I noticed? Saeko. She was asleep on the recliners, yeah, the same recliners we slept on when we were here last time. As I walked up to her, I saw that she was also covered with a blanket and was hugging a pillow, so I guess she didn't sleep here on a whim.

(Uhh, Saeko had shown to occasionally 'restrain' herself in the manga. Like when she started calling Takashi by his last name after Rei started getting a little bit 'too' jealous. So, don't tell me that she actually decided to sleep with Shizuka because I told her that I also like Saya…)

I kneel down next to her and pat her head as she reacts with a soft groan as she tries to hide her face deeper into the pillow.

(Great, now I'm feeling guilty. Uhh, I have to figure out a way to solve this conundrum, so I don't end up hurting them both.)

As I turn around, I notice a shadow outside the window behind me, next to the small hallway that leads to the front door. Takashi was going outside, straight to the front gate?

(And, making the two of them split from the group ain't what they need. So you know what? Let's start by finishing this little shitshow, let's see if the others talked any sense into our glorious leader. If they didn't? Well, I will… But first…)

I got up and walked up to the kitchen. I glanced around the place to see the textbook that I had given to Saya at the estate next to a bottle of water, a metal cup, and a couple of unopened soda cans.

Checking the opened textbook, I spotted 'Creating ice' written in large writings at the top of the page. Under it, were several lines marked with a different number of asterisks.

The first one, a damn fridge with one asterisk next to it…

Next, portable ice maker and two asterisks next to it…

Then, cold season nights with three asterisks next to it…

And lastly, vacuum pump and bell jar with four asterisks next to it…

Under that, a wall of text, each with a different number of asterisks in the front, that explained in detail the how-to on each mentioned plan. Yeah, even on how to use a fridge. Does Saya really think that we are THAT stupid? Actually, I don't want to know. And finally, under all of that, with a different colored pen, 'Ice and salt make for better refrigeration' was written.

I flip through a couple of pages, looking at some of the other things written in the textbook, some pages even had drawings. From how to connect cables correctly to how to identify edible mushrooms and even a drawing of them.

(Holy shit, Saya can draw… And her handwriting is amazing, makes me want to rip the first couple of pages as they were pages that I filled.)

I let out a silent chuckle and flipped back to the ice-making page, before taking the two closed soda bottles and turning towards the window.

(We should be glad that much of the population is now, well, dead, at least we still have running water because of that. The hydration system is dependent on electricity, after all. I guess, the only reason we still have water is because it's left in the 'pipes' or the main reservoir or something? And with a lot of people being mindless meatbags, it means that they ain't going to be using the water taps. Or, I think it might be something like that? Don't really know how this type of infrastructure works.)

Once I got to the window, I stopped and stared at Takashi's back. He didn't seem to have realized I was there yet. I slowly open the window and crawl out, sneaking up behind him.

(I really want to go all boogeyman now, but uhh, if he starts screaming like a little girl right now… Yeah, let's not do thaaa… ?)

I stopped right in my tracks before staring incredulously at his shoulder. I'm pretty sure that his shirt was black, but, I'm sure that that white 'thing' I was seeing stuck there, was not part of 'his' attire.

(Is that what I think it is?)

I walked up next to him, to the point that he finally realized that I was next to him, he looked… rather surprised actually.

"Life is hard, eh? It's warm, probably tastes like shit and will actually make you even thirstier, have one" I say as I pass one of the cans to Takashi, which he takes it without much of a fuss.

"Must still taste better than warm beer, people always say it tastes like crap when warm," He says as he opens the can and takes a sip.

(He seems rather calm now, wonder if sleeping cooled him off. Or if the soundproofing in these rooms is 'that' good. Still, this could be a perfect chance for the two of us to talk.)

"I don't get you, Naier. You go out of your way to help a guy that just pointed a gun at your face, all because you believed that he wanted to help us. Us, as in the group. Even then, you keep trying to act like a lone wolf, despite the fact that you are now part of a team. It's not just killing Shido and the kid that's bothering me, the thing with the power plant too. You didn't even warn us, or even tell us what you were planning to do. Even, even if we wouldn't be able to do anything like you said, we would still be willing to at least try." He starts talking first, looking at the corpses walking around beyond the front gate.

"And, I, don't really know if you have done anything else behind our backs either… The group made it pretty obvious to me that they trust you, but try to see this from my side. Say that you end up turning on us, if a member of the group dies because of that, it will be my fault because I let you do things behind our backs." He turns to me as he speaks.

I let out a sigh, and then took a deep breath before speaking.

"Takashi, if I was to 'turn' on the group, me going off by myself, or shooting the ones that deserve to be shot wouldn't really affect that outcome." I say as I look at the front gate.

"Of course, but we would still have a better chance of realizing it if you didn't disappear every five minutes." He says as he also turns to look at the gate, and I let out a chuckle.

"So, you do admit that the reason you don't want me going by myself is because you want to keep tabs on me?" I ask.

"Naier, it's because of your own actions that I 'need' to keep tabs on you. Out of the rest of the group, you seem to be the most… unpredictable." He answers without turning to look at me.

(Oh, you wish? You better hope I will do a good job on keeping Saeko's 'needs' in check, or you will be in for a rude awakening, buddy.)

"Well, no matter how this ends, some things won't… no, can't change. If there's somebody that I deem a threat, I will act accordingly, whether you like it or not. Even the filthiest and evil of actions are going to go unpunished now, and people will take advantage of that. Call it fighting fire with fire if you want to." I turn to glance at the house behind me as I speak.

"Just… answer me one thing, Takashi. That outburst yesterday… Was it solely because of what you said to me just now?" I added before Takashi can say anything.

"Huh, what do you mean? What…?" He turns to me, a confused look on his face.

"It's about how you feel about Saeko and Saya…" Takashi blinked several times before he realized where this was going, and he looked away.

"You asked me the same question, and after we returned from the clinic, you kind of forgot that everybody else existed. You became so obsessed with Saeko that it was actually kind of sad to watch." I say as I fold my arms.

"I… I did?" Takashi turns to me and raises both eyebrows, completely surprised.

" Yes, you did…" I answered as I tilt my head slightly.

(Well, actually, you didn't, all you did was warn her that what she did was dangerous, while ignoring the fact that I was there as well. But, I'm also gambling with what I know from the anime in this, so…)

Takashi stays quiet for some time, before chuckling.

"Am I that obvious?" He asks with a slight smile as he looks away.

"Uhh, I mean, come on. She is kind, strong, pretty, and uhh, I kind of saw her in nothing but an apron and a thong, yet she acted like it was all fine. What was I supposed to think…?" He says as he begins staring at the can.

"And, uhh, Naier, can you do me a favor? Don't tell Rei I'm saying any of this, she will skewer me alive." He adds right after as he keeps looking at the can.

"You know that you can just kick me out of the group if you want to make sure, right?" I say as I fold my arms with a grin under my mask, as Takashi shakes his head, chuckling.

"Really, are you joking? Saya has been practically ignoring my existence ever since coming here. I can't even remember the last time she was this pissed at me. And Saeko, after everybody turned in for the night, she pretty much declared that she will stay by your side, no matter what I or the group decide. Kohta is flatly against it too, and even Shizuka was mad at me, if you can believe that. Kicking you out would destroy the group, it's just… " He says as he turns to look at the gate.

"You bit off more than you can chew, and now you can't just back down after raising a ruckus because it will make you look weak as a leader?" I say as I look at the gate as well.

"Uhh, something like that. I'm really not cut out for this leader crap, am I? You sure you don't want to take the spot? Everybody in the group already likes you, as you can see…" He says as he tilts his head from left to right before turning to me.

"Dude, weren't you just trying to kick me out? You just jumped from one side of the scale to the other. And no, there's no way I'm taking that job. Being a good leader isn't about being liked. Sure, it's important. But, being able to make decisions without stuttering is what really counts. And so far, you seem to be able to… even if some of them are, kinda… meh." I say as I turn to him when he doesn't respond.

And after a minute of uncomfortable silence later…

"Ok, tell you what, I'll meet you halfway here. I won't go 'lone wolf', as you say it. But, don't expect me to change the way I… deal with people that I deemed a threat. Even if you disagree with me, that won't be changing. And, if you want me to change some of my behavior, you have to promise me something…" I stare at him as I speak.

"Don't worry, she already made it clear with me who she wants to be with, I don't intend to try anything stupid. And… you're right, some people are beyond saving, I won't disagree with that" He cuts me off.

"Heh, good to see we agree on that at least. But, no, that was not what I wanted you to promise me…" Takashi raised an eyebrow as I paused.

"To first answer the question you asked me at the Humvee about Saya and Saeko. If you have not realized it yet, I do like them… more than I like myself, in fact." I say as I keep straight at Takashi.

"So, you have to promise me, if something does happen to me, you will take care of them." As I finished, Takashi seemed to flinch back, before sighing and making a weird expression as he looked at me. Something between worried and annoyed?

"Naier, come on, really? What are you…?"

"You. Will. Stop them. From doing anything crazy… And I don't mean by taking advantage of the situation, either, especially if you are not even sure if I'm alive or dead. I don't think I need to explain why now, do "?" I cut him before he could speak up and stare at him.

"Only if you'll also watch after Rei if something happened to me. Same deal with yours… oh, and no more secrets." He says after a long sigh and stares back at me.

I extend my arm to him.

"Truce?" I ask.

"I'd prefer to have friends in my group… And I'm sorry about yesterday." He takes my hand for a western-style handshake.

And as the sun begins to rise, I can't help but make a quip as he looks ridiculous with that 'thing' on his shoulder.

"I can live with that… And, uhh, are you gonna keep walking around with that on your shoulder? Quite bold of you if I do say so. Don't know if the girls will approve, though." I say with a slight smirk as I point at his right shoulder.

Takashi tilts his head questionably as he takes a sip of the soda and grabs the item with his left hand, bringing it to his eyes, and his eyes go wide. Something in my brain then screamed at me to get out of the way. So, I instantly leaned away while moving out of the way.

"PPPFTT!" And the Soda that Takashi just sipped came out the same way it came in.

"I think Rei will be looking for those… and you kinda just washed them over with soda. I mean, those belong to Rei, right?" I say as I look at him.

"Uhh, about the no secret thing… Can we keep this as an exception?" He said as he looked at me with an awkward expression.

"Well… Look at the bright side. At least we didn't end the chat in a depressing manner." I say with a chuckle, not really answering his question.

"Can I still kick you out of the group?" He 'asks' me as he turns.

"Nope, too late for that, we're friends now. BUT. That doesn't mean that you can go and get all freaky with Rei on my bed, though…" Takashi glances between me and the uhh, soaked panties, before he starts going red. I chuckle and turn around, heading back towards the window, open it and jump back inside. Leaving Takashi alone in the front yard to stew in his embarrassment.

Saeko was still sleeping, so I silently walked along the room, leaving the still closed soda can on the table.

After a quick scan of the room, I found the keys for the Humvee on the same table, which I took and went straight to the garage. Once there, I went to the Humvee, unlocked the back door and took a shirt, a pair of pants and a new jacket, and you know, socks and underwear.

(Well… that went smashingly, good job me, if I do say so. Still, it's weird, Saya charged into my room the moment I hit the floor, yet nobody heard Takashi and Rei getting 'personal'? Hmm, don't tell me she was actually peeking through the door or something? If she did, there goes my cool persona.)

I throw the clothes over my shoulder and head straight to the second floor after locking the car, my face slightly heating up by the idea that somebody was looking at me while I was being, uhh… stupid.

The moment I arrived, I went straight to the bathroom. Or, I was going to at least, until I heard a voice coming over from my room, and I noticed that the door was slightly open.

(Hmm?)

I glance around the hallway and walk up to the door.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid, ugh." I could hear Saya speaking from inside the room.

"He wasn't supposed to wake up before me! Ahh! Why didn't I move back before falling asleep? God, I'm so stupid!"

I glance around again to see if there's anyone that could see me here.

(Uhh, interesting… But, am I really going to eavesdrop on Saya? And to think that I just thought that she might have been eavesdropping on me before. Uhh, come on man, show some class.)

As I'm about to move away, Saya continued to talk loudly.

"Ok, ok, Saya, think of a good excuse! Ok, I just moved in my sleep! Yes, that would work! I moved around in my sleep, and then when I woke up, found that he wouldn't let me go… So I just fell asleep like that…"

And I end up moving back to the door to eavesdrop some more. Don't blame me, she was acting way too cute for me to just ignore it.

"Ugh no, no, no, that sounds horrible! Like I just gave up and decided it was fine to sleep like that… Even though it was indeed comfortable… Ahh! Quit daydreaming, you stupid idiot! Uhh, I will just say that I moved around in my sleep… Yes! Just that, plain and simple. Ugh, why couldn't he just stay asleep for a bit longer?" After that, I started hearing some ruffling, and I quickly moved away.

(Yeah, ok, let's go before we get caught here.)

I silently head to the bathroom sporting a smirk on my face.

After taking a quick bath, with relatively cold water, and changing to my new clothes, I exit the bathroom and turn back to the kid's room, which was still slightly open.

After a small knock, I open the door, finding Saya on the bed, sitting and wrapped up in the blankets.

"Morning," I say as I casually walked into the room and headed towards the chair with my old clothes.

"M… morning." She says as she stares at me, her face going slightly red.

I take everything out of the pockets of the dirty clothes and put them in the pockets of my new pants.

(I left the guns downstairs, and I still took the ammo with me? Seems legit.)

"J… just so you know, the reason I ended up on your side of the bed was just because I moved around in my sleep…" Saya says with a huff as she tries to look serious.

(Aww, putting your rehearsal to use, I see. I really want to tease her here, but that can backfire horribly if she finds out that I was eavesdropping on her while hiding behind the door.)

"Yeah, figured as much, hope I didn't wake you up?" I say as I strapped the pockets closed and turned to her.

"N… no, I just woke up." She replies as she turns her head to look out of the window, hiding the lower part of her face under the blankets.

"Well, I'll get out of your hair then," I say as I move towards the door.

"Huh, where are you going? Won't Takashi get mad if you start wandering around?" She asks as she turns to me.

"Nah." I say as I go back out.

"No need to worry, Saya, everything is going to be fine." I add up as I turn back to her when she doesn't reply.

(Huh that's weird? Figured she would go all 'I'm not worried, you idiot! Now get out, so I can change or something like that?)

Seeing nothing to it, I close the door behind me and move to the first floor. Once there, I looked at the recliner to see that Saeko was not there, while Takashi was sitting by the big table with a glass of water in his hand.

"Told you, that crap will make you thirsty." I say, as I move towards the table.

"And yet, you were the one who gave it to me." He replies.

"I'm an evil overlord, after all. So, feeling corrupted yet?" I ask as I take a seat, Takashi chuckles and shakes his head.

"Uhh, not that I don't enjoy your company or anything, but where's Saeko?" I ask as I point at the recliner.

"The bathroom inside the study," Takashi replied, and I nodded.

"So, you all have a plan on how to act from here?" I ask and Takashi nods.

"The police station that is responsible for this region is the one that Rei's dad works at, so we will go there first. We decided that, some time ago in the mall, and we even had a 'vote' on it and everything, but we couldn't find you anywhere to let you know." He says as he looks at the glass.

"To find her dad?" I ask and he nods.

I then glance towards the backyard, towards where the boat should be at.

"Before we leave this place, there is something that is on my mind for some time." I lean slightly on the table as Takashi turns to stare at me.

"Based on what I know, and from what Saya had found out, these things can only hear and feel and not actually 'see'. But, the feeling part is a bit weird, as they seem to ignore inanimate objects entirely to chase after humans, so I don't know if it comes down to heat or something. And as I never had the chance to see how they react to a hot inanimate object, I can't really be sure. I do remember that they kept clawing at the Humvee's hood when I used it to block the hole in the estate. But it's not a good way to confirm anything…" I paused to see if Takashi was following me before continuing.

"Anyway, the reason I mentioned this, is because I think that they can't function well underwater. They probably can't drown, but if they also can't walk or swim, that means the only way for them to move under the sea is by current. So, as long as they are not already out in the deep-sea, they should not be able to 'move' by sea… But we can." I say as I point towards the boat outside.

Takashi narrows his eyes at me and lowers his head slightly as I get up and walk towards the window in order to get a better look at the boat.

"We do need to find a place that is permanently safe-ish from the corpses, don't we? Who knows when we will find another boat that can function without electricity." As I finished outlining my idea, I heard a door closing.

"Ah, good morning Saeko," As Takashi speaks I turn around towards where he's looking.

"Good morning…" Saeko was looking at me as she spoke.

"Morning Saeko. I'm sorry, but, could you please get the others? There is something that we need to discuss." I say as I look at the stairs that lead to the second floor before turning towards her.

She looks at me before glancing at Takashi, and nodding, then moves towards the stairs. The moment she left, Takashi and I returned to discussing the boat idea.

"Of course, such a decision should be a group decision, so we can decide what to do next based on what the whole group thinks. You can say that it was your idea, in case you think that saying it's mine might affect the vote outcome." I say as I walk up to Takashi and sit on a chair nearer to him.

"We should also tell them that I'm not kicking you out, before everybody starts giving me the cold shoulder. Or colder ones, at least." He drops his shoulders and shakes his head as he speaks, while I just nod in response.

A couple of minutes later the whole group was down, all of 'em that is, except for Rei.

"Rei said she can't come down right now…" Saeko glances at the stairs as she speaks.

(Hah! Called it! Hope she can still walk… And I do have to thank her, their private time probably calmed Takashi down enough to make him see how retarded he was being. Especially as it was partly because of Saeko that he… Wait! Uhh, does that mean that I almost got kicked out of the group because of Saeko? What a weird event, considering that she would be the first one to leave the group too should that happen. Maybe that's why Takashi backed out so easily? Ugh, human relationships are weird)

As I was deep in thought, Shizuka, with an oddly serious face, started speaking.

'Takashi… I will say it again, stop this now. It's…"

"It's alright, Shizuka," I cut her off before she could ramp up, as I raised my arm.

"No! Naier it is not. It's not r…"

"Naier is going to stay, we've… come to an agreement." Takashi was the one to cut her off this time.

"About time you see how stupid this whole thing was." Saya folds her arms as she glares at Takashi.

"Yes, yes, I'm sorry… I overreacted." He raises his arms in surrender as he speaks.

"But, I do agree with Takashi on something… I prefer it, if you no longer hide things from us…" Saeko added right after as she turned to look at me, and I found myself grinning.

"Ohhh? No secrets, huh? Ok, Takashi, why don't you go first? The 'thing' you told me outside?" I say as I point my thumb at him, and the whole group turns their attention to him.

"Huh! What!?" He turns to me as his eyes go wide.

"Yeah, no secrets!" Alice then ran up to Takashi and began tugging at his pants.

"Uhh, it's nothing really." He says with an awkward laugh as he shoots a glare at me.

"Ohhh, I want to know, tell me, tell me." Undeterred, Alice keeps tugging on Takashi's pants.

"R… really, it's nothing!" Takashi almost shouted, as he started sweating and turned to me with a glare.

"Ohhh! This looks fun! I want to know too!" Shizuka runs to him and starts tugging his shirt jokingly as she keeps giggling.

"Uhh, I swear I have no such secret! Naier is just messing with you all, right!?" He turned to me again… and began mouthing something.

'You promised!' He mouthed with his lips.

"No I didn't." I answer back with a smirk.

"Fine, if he won't be sharing it, I will. Ok, you see, Takashi told me that…" The whole group then turns to me, along with Takashi. His expression was difficult to explain… Something between glaring and pleading?.

'That the day the outbreak happened, he actually forgot to wear underwear, and he only realized it only after he exited his front door. In other words, he nearly welcomed the outbreak while going commando." I say as I fold my arms.

And then the group broke out into a cacophony. Laughing, scolding… and talking? I think it was a mix of all of the above.

And while the group was causing the commotion, Takashi leaned in my direction.

"Naier! What was that for!?" He asks me in a 'low' tone.

"Just count it as payback for what you dragged me through yesterday. I was bored out of my mind in that room with nothing to do, so now we're even." I say to him in a low tone.

"I thought you said that you were not mad!" He complained.

"I'm not," I respond as I turn to look at the boat in the backyard.

(Static electricity, you have my thanks.)