16 Yuriko Takagi

I forgot to do something on chapter 14 so I've corrected it. I added the rewards for modifying the bus. [Intelligence +2 - Dexterity +1 - Charisma +1]

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After the shopping stop, the gang kept driving until they crossed the bridge. On the other side, they met with a stupid amount of zombies. Ryo, who was driving, knew about the barbed wires that closed the road towards the Takagi's house, so he stopped right by it.

Everyone wondered why he had suddenly stopped, until Saeko commented on the wire in front. Ryo wanted to stay on the bus talking to everyone until Saya's mother arrived, but he saw something that picked his attention a lot.

[Host may want to clean-up the zombies in the area for a while.

Rewards: <Kenjutsu (Beginner)> switched to <Spearmanship (Beginner)>]

Ryo thought about the pros and cons. Swords were, overall, easier to find and maintain. Spears on the other hand, were easier to make and had a longer range. But the most important point was that he didn't have a way to know how long it would take for Saya's mom to arrive. It just wasn't worth it. Unluckily, even if he wanted to stay there, he couldn't.

"Ryo-kun, we should clear up the area around us a bit" said Hiratsuka as she approached the drivers seat with abottle of water. Ryo took a gulp and lit up a cigarette. He couldn't tell them that he knew that Saya's mother was going in their direction when he himself wasn't really sure, considering the amount of things that had changed from canon. "*sigh*... Ok, get Saeko, Miku and Kouta ready. If anyone else wants to fight, the improvised weapons are more than enough"

Ryo got up from the drivers seat before cracking his neck and stretching slightly. He felt different in a way that he couldn't understand completely, so he decided to check his Status for any abnormalities.

[Name: Hashimoto Ryo

Level: 2

Strength: 18

Agility: 19

Intelligence: 17

Dexterity: 18

Charisma: 21

Skills: <Essence Reading> <Immesurable Talent> <Cooking (Beginner)> <CQC (Experienced)> <Kenjutsu (Beginner)> <Driving (Expert)> <Mechanic (Expert)>]

Ryo opened his eyes widely when he realized his Level was now 2. He had no idea how the Level was supposed to be raised, since there had not been any reward related to it. But upon greated inspection, he realized that his Charisma was now 21. It was higher than 20, which made him assume that the level went up because one of his stats went over it. That meant that if it reached over 30 he would be level 3, didn't it?

Being in a better mood once he saw his level go up by one, Ryo opened the front door of the bus and left through it. Before anyone could take action, a bloodbath was taking place. Quickly after him Saeko, Miku, Hiratsuka and Kouta jumped into action. Saya wanted to help, but she was shaking. She was looking at Ryo's back, that seemed as huge as a mountain to her right now. She didn't know what to do. Then, just form the corner of her eye, she caught sight of Niki and Chie picking up some of the improvised weapons Ryo had made in the school. Since Shizuka's friend didn't have any cold weapons, they were still using those to avoid spending ammo and making too much noise.

When Saya saw Chie and Niki, two girls who she thought were of lower status than her, a genius, she couldn't help but get angry at herself. She had to move forward and help those who had kept her safe!

*SLAP*

Slapping herself, which shocked everyone inside the bus, she quickly moved outside and began helping the others. Her hand was still slightly shaking, but she got over it with time. The problem... was that there were just too many zombies.

After the hundredth zombie fell down, Ryo had to cover for Saya, Niki and Chie to go back into the bus. He could see how the girls were growing more and more tired with every following zombie after that, so one by one he tried to send them back to the bus. Much to his surprise, they denied him completely. They didn't want to leave his side in such a situation.

"Heeeh?!" Ryo shouted as he pierced a zombie's head. Shizuka, the bubbly nurse, the clutz, had grabbed one of the legs he had tore off from a table and was smashing zombie heads left and right. "Shizuka-san I get it that you want to help but you are a nurse we need your knowledge so please go back into the bus!"

He had a sense of urgency when Shizuka left the bus. He needed the nurse to be safe at all times, after all, her knowledge wasn't something he could replicate unless she taught him. But she couldn't teach him if she died! Besides that, how could he allow the bubbly blonde to suffer even the slightest of injuries?! It would hurt his heart!

"No can do, Ryo-kun! I also want to fight with you!" was the only answer he got. Sighing at the strong-headed females around him, Ryo smiled wryly while facing more zombies. If they wanted to fight even when tired... he just had to kill more zombies than the girls could reach.

But even Ryo had a limit. Sidesteping to avoid a zombie lunging at him, he realized his own movements were becoming more sluggish the more time they spent fighting. He had already forced himsef beyond his limits by a lot. If he wasn't estimating wrong... they had killed two hundred zombies in the bridge!

"Why are there... so many fuckers here!" he screamed in a weird moment were Ryo cursed. The group hadn't heard him curse too much in the time they had spent together. "Motherfuckers fucking die!"

He alone had killed at least 80 of them, but more just popped up wither from the bridge or the surrounding area. When he was about to give the order to retreat, a voice shocked everyone.

"Everyone to the floor!" was the order they heard. Ryo, sure that it was Saya's mother, relayed the words. "Do it!"

Then, the sound of pressurized water was heard. When the zombies in the area were finally pushed back, someone in a firefighter suit approached the gang. Ryo dropped to the floor, not caring about his appearance, and released a long breath he didn't know he was holding.

[<Kenjutsu (Beginner)> switched to <Spearmanship (Beginner)>]

"Thank you saving us... Miss" he said before the person that had approached him could take off her helmet. Yuriko Takagi, who was about to reveal herself, felt surprised when the young man in front of her instantly knew she was a woman, even if the firefighter suit managed to hide her hourglass figure. She just took off her helmet. "Sure, no problem"

Yuriko Takagi was a beautiful woman with a top tier beauty. She had wine-colored hair and purple eyes. She was a beautiful woman already in her mid to late thirties, but she didn't look a day older than thirty.

"My name is Hashimoto Ryo, me and my group come from Fujimi High" as he said those words, Yuriko's eyes opened wide with hope. She looked towards the bus but couldn't find her daughter with her eyes. Still she didn't lose hope. "Saya, Saya Takagi, do you know her? Do you know were she is?!"

Ryo just smiled wryly at the woman's sudden desperation. Parents would be parents, even if they made mistakes. He just turned around and, without answering, went towards the bus. Saya had hidden under the windowsill, but Ryo wasn't having any of it. Once he entered the bus, he grabbed Saya's hand and dragged her to her mother.

Yuriko, seeing her daughter, ran towards her and tried to hug her, but Saya didn't want to see her. She began arguing with her, asking why they hadn't tried to search for her or anything. When Yuriko said that Saya's father and her thought she was already dead, Saya lost it and began screaming, saying that they were oh so great parents and whatnot. Ryo's cup was full already, but it overflowed when Saya said she hated them.

*SLAP*

It was way stronger than the time he had slapped Rei. At least enough to leave a handprint in her cheek. The most surprised wasn't Saya, but her mother. She wanted to reprimand him for slapping her daughter, but when she saw his face, she couldn't do it. She recognized the emotion behind Ryo's eyes. It was the grief of loosing everything.

"Are you stupid?!" Ryo admonished her. He was angry and frustrated in a different way than when he saw Shido. "Do you know how much grief and pain she must've felt?!"

"At least you have your parents alive you fucking dumbass!" he continued. Everyone heard the slap and was looking at them. Saya felt embarrassed of herself. She had the worst kind of attitude and she knew it. Whenever she was frustrated, she took it out on somebody else. Ryo, time and again, had to remind her of how reality worked. Of how she was being stupid when acting like that. "*sigh*... sorry for that, Takagi-san. I understand if you wish to hit me"

As he said those words, Ryo bowed towards Yuriko in a ninety degree angle. She smiled warmly when she saw his actions. She already had an idea of the kind of character he had and the kind of person he was. When she say the amount of people that came down from the bus following him, she realized something.

'He is a natural...'

Yuriko had always been good at reading people. And she knew that Ryo was the reason why the group managed to stay together firmly, while supporting each other. They had taken him as a pillar they all could rely on and, under his orders, managed to reach this far in one piece.

"No. I should be thanking you" Yuriko said as she bowed to him. "You did what I as a parent couldn't"

After that, Ryo asked Yuriko if they could open the wired fence so that they bus could go through. She asked what was so important about the bus and he said that, besides it having all of their supplies and a lot of useful things, he had modified the bus with everyone's help. He showed Yuriko what they had done to it on the inside and outside.

"Please don't divulge what I just showed you, Takagi-san" said Ryo as he closed the bus's hood. He told Yuriko because he thought of her as a trustworthy woman, but he didn't want more people to know about it. After all, it would only bring trouble for them since their bus would be extremely coveted. Yuriko acted as if she was thinking. "Hmm... If you call me Yuriko instead of Takagi-san I won't say a word"

Ryo couldn't help but smile wryly. Wasn't this lady a bit too old to be flirting with him? Then again, he wouldn't mind it... if she wasn't married already.

"Aha-ha... ha... sure... Yuriko-san"

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[Danger, Danger! Sexy milf identified! Spotted deterrent! Marriage ring!]

Ryo: NO! Why?! Why did the sexy milf have to be married!

Author: Ask the original author, not me you dumbass!

Ryo: This is a fanfiction! You are to blame here!

Author: Shit! He became too powerful after breaking the fourth wall!