It's a supermarket

About fifteen minutes had passed since we successfully found the bridge that Saya mentioned. From there, we took a turn to the left and kept going straight. Or well, we tried to go straight, but the road ended up being blocked. So we instead took a right turn before turning left again two intersections later.

(Based on Saya's information, the supermarket is next to the stream. It's three floors in height, yet the structure itself is not supposed to be very big, about two medium- to small sized houses in width and three to three and a half in length...or, from the way she explained it, I'd say about twenty to thirty meters in width and fifty to sixty in length. Not too big, but not small either...)

"Turn left here, it should be around here..." Saya cuts off my thought as she points towards the left, her eyes staying focused on the map.

"I just hope that place ain't a corpse hangout" I respond as I slow down the car and take the turn she just mentioned.

"Hey, you asked me for a supermarket, so I'm telling you where to find one. It's not my fault if it's overrun" Saya responds as she turns to me with a slight frown...

"Of course it's not, or are you the one responsible for this outbreak?" I ask as I glance at her and raise an eyebrow.

"I'm not even going to answer a question that's that stupid...keep your eyes on the road..." She answers as she groans slightly before turning to look back at the map.

I just laugh through my nose and turn to look back at the street...

And as I kept going forward, I noticed a different building in the distance, one that was visibly bigger than the ones around it. It also seemed to have some open space next to it.

"Hmm...The building also has a blue roof if I remember correctly" Saya adds up as she keeps looking at the map.

"In that case, I think we found it" I respond as I keep looking at the building in the distance.

Saya lifts her head to my response, then leans toward me as she keeps looking through the front windshield. She narrowed her eyes and kept staring at the building as it slowly grew in size the closer we got to it...until...

"Yea, that's the one" She responds with a slight nod before leaning back on her seat.

"Ok. Let's see how bad things are over there." I shut down the engine and let the car roll to a stop. While that was happening, I turned to Saeko.

"Did you find any binoculars while looking at the stuff back there?" I ask, Saeko shakes her head.

"No, the only set we had. I think Kohta had it on him" She responds.

"Hmm, and the Mp5 and Scar H don't have the level of zoom we need, they lack any type of magnification attachment" I put my hand on the back of my neck as I turn to look at the street ahead.

By now, we were close enough to have a clear view of the building and its parking field...

"We can just check it on foot, can't we? I don't see any corpses roaming outside, only a couple that are laying on the ground" Saeko responds as she leans between the two front seats.

"That is why I 'don't' want to check it on foot" I answer as I shake my head. Causing Saeko to turn her head towards me with a questioning look.

"The lack of corpses means it might have survivors inside..." Saya adds up as she folds her arms.

"Exactly. And if it has survivors that are able to keep the nearby location clear of corpses, it might also mean that they are armed. Of course, the ones on the ground might also be leftovers from the unlucky humans that were here when the outbreak first started. Or, They might be 'alive' corpses, waiting for somebody to pass...but I don't want to risk going there on foot. If that place has survivors, who knows if they're friendly or not." I fold my arms as I keep speaking.

"And I suppose using the car is a no go as well? As you didn't even mention it." Saya asks a few seconds later.

"Look around us, driving there, even if I shut the engine before we get 'too close', will make everything crawl up to the field around the store. Plus, if it has survivors that are hostile, they will see us before we see them. Point is null, we still get jumped on" I respond as I shake my head.

"Well we'll have to take a risk then, there are no other shops that are this big around here." Saya closes her eyes and pushes her glasses with her index finger before turning to look at me...

"I can go check it." Saeko speaks up.

"Out of the question, I'm not letting you go there by yourself. Uhh, We'll just do it with the safest method available" I respond as I glance at Saeko. Then knock on the front windshield.

"We will drive up the front door with the Humvee. While this thing is not an 'up-armored' version. The glass it has is thick, so I suspect it's at least partially protected.

Stores like that one have glass front doors. We can check it to see if it's barricaded, along with seeing how the insides look. That obviously means that we'll be putting ourselves on a timer though, as we'll go with the engine running, in case we need to bail." I add up.

"So, we just drive up there after all?" Saya asks right after as she tilts her head and raises an eyebrow.

"Yes, but we need to make up the plans on how we will act right now" As I finished speaking, we heard a single 'thud' from the backside of the Humvee.

"They reached the car?" Saeko asks as she turns to look behind her.

"Doesn't matter, we are going to move forward, not in reverse. And they ain't getting through the trunk, except if they can somehow claw through steel." I answer.

"I see, sorry for interrupting you" Saeko responds as she turns to me and nods.

(You know, I've noticed that Saeko is usually very polite, is it because of her upbringing? Or because of her years-old 'act'?)

"Naier?" Saeko, probably due to my silence, speaks up again.

"It's alright. So, as I was saying, we need to make up the plan on how we will act right now. That being, if it's inhabited, if it's overrun, or if it's completely abandoned" I respond as I nod.

"Well, obviously if it's inhabited we should high tail it as fast as we can. Even if they aren't hostile, the people there will see the car and what it has inside. While I don't want to attack them if they won't pick a fight, I'm not about to start handing off our supplies to every single random Joe." Saya speaks up as she folds her arms under her chest.

"Agreed on that." I nod.

"True, I find such a decision to be the best for us as well." Saeko adds up.

"If it's abandoned, or overrun...We can block the front door with the car and all of us go inside. That way once we return, we can instantly go to the car without having to deal with the probably infested road by then. So we won't have to worry about the ones outside like that. Only the ones inside, if it's overrun that is." Saya starts speaking again as she lowers her head slightly and closes her eyes.

"Hmm, good call, except for one thing" I responded, causing Saya to open her eyes and look at me.

"We can't leave the car unattended while it'll be in full view. And, if the insides have corpses, then the one on the car can snipe them off while staying inside the hatch. For one, Corpses can't climb up the Humvee so they will be safe to shoot, and second, we don't know in what position we'll be when returning. We might end up having to shoot corpses with the Humvee being behind them. And I don't want to find out whether this Humvee can withstand bullets by shooting at it." I tap on the car's steering wheel as I continue speaking...

"...Uhh...you have a point. So who..."

"I don't know how to use a gun, there will be no point if I stay in the car" Saeko cuts Saya off as she turns to me, much to Saya's frowning dismay.

"You have a point." I say as I glance at her, then turn to stare at Saya. She looks at me, then at Saeko, then back at me.

"Yea fine ok, So me and Saeko will..."

"You are staying in the car." It was I that cut Saya off this time, much to her even bigger frowning dismay.

"No I'm not, I can't drive and you are a better shot than me." She responds with a frown.

"You won't have to drive, worse case you will have to shoot, but without the danger of them reaching you, it's actually the reason why you 'should' shoot instead of me. Also there are two more things I want you to do, and one of em, only you can really do" I respond. Saya stayed quiet as she stared at me, the frown, or more like, the pout still being obvious on her face.

(Also, you're not exactly frontline fighter material)

"First, I need you to mark any locations you remember on the map, gas stations, other stores that might have things we could use, stuff like that" I point at the map on her lap as I speak.

"And what makes you think I remember this area so well idiot?" Saya responds as she narrows her eyes.

"You knew about the supermarket, but yea, I understand. In that case, if you can't remember anything it's fine, just do the second thing then. Set up our night lookout location, and shifts" I nod slightly as I keep speaking...only to see both Saeko and Saya staring at me with a blank stare...

"What. Just because 'we' go to sleep does not mean everybody else does so too. We're only three people now, getting sneak attacked while we're asleep is much more dangerous than from when we were almost ten." I respond as I fold my arms.

"Hmm, makes sense." Saeko nods as she answers...Saya, just keeps staring at me with a frown.

"I'm going to give you a double night shift..." She mumbles as she turns to look at the map.

(...Huh, moody much?)

With that thought, I turn to look at the supermarket.

"Let's see..." I turn the car engine on and press on the gas.

"The main door of the store is right now to our right, so if we keep going straight, we will end up seeing it from the right doors. Stay on the right seats and check it, I will stop only for a couple of seconds unless I have confirmation that it has corpses inside or that it's abandoned." Saeko nods as she listens to me and disappears on the back seats, Saya does not answer, but she turns to look at the supermarket nonetheless.

The moment we passed the parking field, I steered to the right, climbing over a small patch of greenery and going into the supermarket's parking field. After that I kept going straight, until the door was just a few meters away. Where I steered sharply to the right and started to slow down. Until the closed glass door was next to us.

(If people are in there, the way I'm driving might make them think we're aggressive...not that I see a problem with that)

"You have five seconds" I say as I stop the car. The girls didn't reply, they just stayed glued to their respective windows.

(4)

"I see something moving inside, but it's too dark to make out" Saeko speaks up.

(3)

(2)

(1)

"Time's up" I turn the steering wheel to the left, press the gas and...

"Wait! It's a corpse! It's a corpse! There are zombies inside!" Saya shouts causing me to press on the break and switch to R.

I turned the wheel to the left, and drove reverse. Once the car was looking at the glass supermarket doors, switched to D and moved forward, until the hood touched the glass door.

"Hmm, this is the first time you called them something else other than 'Them' " I respond as I close the engine and glance at Saya.

"I had to make sure you understood and didn't drive off like an idiot" Saya folds her arms as she turns to me with a slight grin.

"We should move, timer or not we should not dawdle" Saeko speaks up as she reaches for the hatch.

"Huh, Of course you would want to hurry up 'now'..." Saya pouts as she whines in a low tone and turns to look at the window to her right. Her mood making a full turn compared to seconds ago.

"Saya, keep an eye around. I will take one of the radios, if we lose contact because of the range. Three clicks mean 'get back pronto' " I ignore Saya's remark as I move towards the back. Saeko had already moved to the car's roof.

"I know, I know get moving..." Saya responds with a slight groan.

"And Try not to ruin my night shift too much ahh?" I add up as I grab one of the walky-talkies that were on her 'old' seat.

"Hum, I will keep you up all night, stupid" She answers with a slight huff as she leans between the two front seats, the grin coming back on her face.

" 'You' will keep me up all night Saya?" I respond with a slight smirk as I reach for the hatch and turn to look at her.

"G..get lost you pervert!" She shouts as her eyes widen for a second before she starts glaring at me, her face taking a shade of red...

After I got on the roof I turned to look at Saeko, who just tilted her head at me and smiled.

"Let's go?" She asks as she hands me the Scar-H, a flashlight, and my bag. I just nodded before taking the items and walking on to the car's hood.

"The door is closed shut" I give the door a slight push as I speak.

"Fuck it" Before Saeko could respond, much less get on the hood, I lift the scar-H, and with a strong hit from the gun's stock, the glass shattered into pieces.

"We're already being loud as hell, no point being sneaky about it now" I crouch slightly and enter the building, Saeko following behind me.

Once we entered the Supermarket I looked around. Now that we were inside I had a much better view of the dimly lit place, as I didn't have the sun glare on my face, letting my eyes adapt to the darker environment...

Our 'entry point' was right behind the register counters. There were six of them, lined up horizontally, behind them I could see five aisles, all extending forward towards the wall opposite of our location. Three between rows of double racks and two in the corners. The side ones had a double rack on one side and an in-wall refrigerated rack/open fridge on the other, or well, what used to be refrigerated.

Most of the remaining items I could see on the racks, or the ground around them, were foodstuffs. And judging from the smell, not the edible type ones.

Now, on the right wall, just over the rightmost cashier counter, I could also see an elevator, about ten meters away from us. Deeper down, near the end of that same wall, was another elevator door, and right where that wall ended and the far end wall started, I could see a heavy-looking metal door, one that looked a lot like the one that led to the stairs in the mall. But, you know what they say, nothing's ever easy.

Between us and that door...yea, about ten / fifteen corpses that I could see between the rightmost aisle and the one next to it, no idea if there were any more hiding behind the aisles, or behind the door itself. And as we were not exactly silent, all of em were heading our way.

"Maybe loud and stupid was not such a good idea..." I groan as I look at the corpses.

"Should we fall back?" Saeko asks as she turns to me.

"No, let's check the aisles to the left, maybe we can go past them, worse case, I shoot. Though that will get a horde on the Humvee's backside" I shake my head and go through the nearest counter, the bokken on the ready in case I get jumped on.

After that we ran through to the left, checking each and every aisle...and...

"No good, while not all of the aisles are occupied, corpses have taken over the other side of the store completely, no getting through them" I respond after glancing around one more time.

"It's a shame the elevators don't work, we could have just skipped all this. But, I don't really mind" Saeko slowly draws her sword as a grin appears on her face.

"Wait, the elevators. Maybe we 'can' use them" I motion Saeko with my hand and start running towards the elevator that was next to the rightmost counter.

" We, can? How, there is no electricity" Saeko asks the obvious question as she puts her half-drawn blade back into its sheath. She also sounded a bit, disappointed?

"Yes, but not in the way you think" I respond as I reach the door and check it.

"Hey you two! They're starting to get close! What are you doing!" Saya shouts from over the Humvee's hatch.

Ignoring the shouting chundere, I stab the bokken between the two folding metal doors of the elevator, and then twist it, causing a small opening to appear, I then let go of the bokken and put both hands on one door and start pulling it. Saeko looks at me for a couple of seconds before running next to me, grabbing the other door.

"Leave that one, we can fit through just by opening this one halfway, just keep an eye on the elevator opening, in case it's 'occupied'" I respond as I glance at her, She nods and backs away before leaning to look through the opening…

"It's too dark inside...but…" She puts her hands on my door, and starts pushing it while occasionally glancing at the opening…

"I see a lot of blood inside, but nothing that looks like a body, standing or otherwise" Saeko keeps looking through the gap as she speaks.

The moment the door opened enough for us to pass I let it go, grab the broken and go inside the blood-soaked elevator, then look up.

(Come on, come on, elevators always have a hatch for the maintenance crew...)

After a quick scan, I noticed one square board in the ceiling's corner that seemed to have an outline, compared to the rest which was all one unified plate. I walk up under it, and give it a strong stab with the bokken, causing it to detach from the elevator and reveal an opening.

(gotcha)

"We'll have to climb up a metallic rope, if you think you want to stay back, now it's the time" I respond as I turn to Saeko, who was also inside the elevator.

"I'm coming with you" She answers plainly.

I nod and crouch down slightly, then get in position to leg her up.

"I know you can probably just jump up there like a ninja, but I gotta do something to not feel like I'm totally useless around here" I chuckle slightly as I look at her.

"Well, I actually really prefer it when I can have your help." She answers with a slight smile as she puts her boot on my hands.

"I see" With that, I get up and raise my hands, lifting her up.

She goes over the opening, and seconds later, I feel my hands lighten as she lifts herself up and completely disappears into the dark hole, only to appear with her hand extending towards me.

"I would like to believe. That you also feel the same?" She asks as I take her hand.

"Obviously" I answered as I held myself back from chuckling for a second time. Not wanting my answer to seem like a 'joke'.

Taking Saeko's hand, I also climbed up the hole in the elevator.

"Holy shit, it's pitch black here" I look around the claustrophobic vertical 'hallway' as I speak, then put the bokken back in it's 'sheath'.

Normally you see these places being a very open space with the elevators hanging in the air by a bunch of cables, well not this one, this was pretty much a tight fit.

Just then, Saeko opens her flashlight while pointing it upwards.

"Ok, now we climb this rope and...uhh...none of the other doors are open either…" I stop in the middle of my sentence as I also look up.

"At least this means we won't have them falling on our heads" Saeko responds.

"Hey, are you two alright? They have gathered in front of the elevator you just entered" I hear the radio go live just as Saeko finishes speaking.

"Yea we're fine, we won't be exiting the elevator, we're going up" I answer.

"Ok. This place usually has it's seasonal items on the third floor anyway." Saya answers back.

"Got it, thanks" I responded before shoving the radio back into my pocket.

"Third floor...no pressure. Just a closed door that I have no idea how we'll open and a drop that will probably be fatal if we slip and fall while we try…" I say as I open my flashlight and look back up.

"Humm, you take me to the most exciting places" Saeko responds with a slight giggle in a joking manner.

"Yea, roller coasters with no safety measures" I answer as I grab the metallic rope and give it a strong tug, and then with a jump, grab on to it.

"Sounds scary, maybe I would need you to hold my hand" She replies as she keeps smiling.

"With how much fun you seem to be having right now? I find that hard to believe" I respond as I glance behind me, seeing her right under me on the rope.

"That's because. If I can be honest, I missed the moments when it was just the two of us, I'm excited" She replies with a smile on her face…

"Are you trying to make me feel guilty now? Because...you know.." I let out a silent sigh as I speak. Saeko stays quiet for a few seconds…

"...I, trust you. That you will keep your promise to me. But, I'm still a woman. I do, get jealous..." She answers in a slightly more serious tone.

(...She's putting it lightly. I mean, think of it the other way around, what if it was Saeko that had both me and Takashi...yea, not so fun now is it?)

I stop climbing and turn my head to her.

"Thanks for putting up with me" I say as I keep looking at her, she just tilts her head and keeps smiling as she closes her eyes.

"Just remember. A jealous person can just, snap, if not catered for" As she talked I think I saw her smile turn into a small grin the moment she opened her eyes.

"...Noted" I respond with a deadpan voice before continuing to climb the metallic rope.

(Ok I just felt a shiver run up my spine with the way she said that.)

After that we reached the third elevator door in relative silence.

Once it was next to me in height, I stopped climbing and turned to look at it.

(Hmm it has some beam frames protruding from the wall, I could stand there. Thing is, how do I go to them? Jumping is out of the question. High chance I will just end up bouncing off the wall, the beam is too narrow)

"Uhh, got any ideas on how to go on the support beams" I ask as I point around me in a circle.

"Hmm...I got one" Saeko replies a few seconds later.

"No jumping, too risky" I answered.

"It does not include jumping" she chuckles as she replies.

"Ok, what do we do then?" I ask after nodding and turning to look down towards her.

"Stand still" She says as she grabs on to my shoes, and pulls herself up. Until she was holding on to me with her head next to my shoulder.

She then wraps her legs around my waist, right under the bulletproof vest. And leans backward while turning her upper body to look towards the door.

(...I should have asked her what 'she' was thinking of doing...Ok me, ignore everything you feel from the waist down, including what you feel on your back...One wrong step, and broken legs will be the 'best' outcome)

"Got it" Just as she says that she 'let's go' of me, and ends up hanging right under the door. She then climbs up, ending with her back to me.

"Ekhem, Ok. We need to open the door now. Just, be careful, you have no place to hold on over there." I turn my sight to the closed elevator door as I 'clear' my throat.

Saeko nodded and as her flashlight was now on her hip, under the belt that held the katana, she placed both her hands on the spot where the two doors touched, then tried to pry it open...with little success, her hands kept slipping. She shakes her head and takes off her gloves before trying again, again with no success…

"Wait, got an idea, wear your gloves." I say as I shove the flashlight in the side pocket of my pants and pull the bokken from the bag's side straps, then extend it to her.

"I don't think I will be able to jam it between the doors while being in the position I'm in" She replies as she takes the wooden blade.

"You won't, just place it between the doors for a sec, I think I can kick it from this distance." I respond as I slightly shake my head.

Saeko nods and does as I asked.

(Ok, let's see)

I turn towards the door and let go one hand from the metal rope to balance myself, then wrap the rope around my right leg, lift my left leg, and 'stomp' the blade's hilt.

With a relatively loud thud, the wooden blade digs between the two doors. I guess the tension of the rope must have been pretty high, as I didn't even wobble during all this.

"It's through, let me do the rest" Saeko puts one of her hands in the slit between the doors and starts pulling the door. Taking the bokken out the moment the door started to move.

"Wait, don't open it anymore" I respond as I take the flashlight out and aim it at the small opening…

(...Can't see any corpses, but the opening is too small to see effectively)

"Ok, keep going, I will tell you if you need to stop, and throw the bokken through the opening so you can use both hands" I glance at Saeko as I speak, she nods and starts pulling again after passing the bokken through the gap.

And slowly, I started to see the insides of the third floor...or well the rack that was facing the door, but more importantly, no corpses.

"Ok, looks clear from here. We can fit through that gap, but can't see the corners, be careful" I say as I keep aiming the flashlight at the opening. Saeko nods and crouches down, then peeks through the gap…

"Three of them on the left end of the wall, they are coming towards us. Wait here" She gets up and slides through the gap, then turns to the left…

"...Oh, ok. I'm just gonna, hang out here…" I respond to nobody in particular…

(I think I just heard a 'ta dum tss'...god my jokes are crap)

And seconds later, I hear a relatively loud thud, followed by another, and another...

Saeko then appears before the gap, sheathing her sword. She lays down on the floor, the upper part of her body going over the door's gap, and extends her arm to me.

I let myself slide down a little to come to the same height as her hand, and grab it.

Then let go of the rope completely. And end up sort of 'slamming' the wall under the door.

"Are you alright?" I hear Saeko ask.

"Yea, I'm fine, me and landings just don't get along very well, I can take it from here" I respond as I grab the support beam with my other hand and release my grip on Saeko's arm.

She nods and lets go of me, then slides back after lifting herself up, because you know. Her chest kinda didn't 'fit in', for her to just slide backward.

After I hoisted myself up and went through the elevator's open door, I picked the bokken off the ground and looked to my left, at three decapitated corpses. Then looked behind me, at the empty aisle.

The place looked identical to the first floor, except that instead of the registers, it had one extra row of two-sided racks in their place, and the refrigerated selves were replaced by hanging hooks, also, everything on this aisle was 'summertime'. A butt-load of lotions and sunscreens along with bottles I could not really make out the use of on one side. Along with swimsuits, sandals and various types of hats on the hangars on the opposite wall. But most importantly…

"This place is completely untouched, compared to the first floor that was wrecked and empty at least" I whisper as I look around.

"Maybe only the locals came here after the outbreak? So they went to the first floor that seemed to have food and perishables?" Saeko responds with a question.

"Yea, or the second floor is a bloody mess" I answer as I look towards the closed metal door on the far right that leads downstairs.

"Could be, if there are more corpses on the floor below it would make sense why this one looks untouched, as I think we are also the first ones to come up here by using the elevator, as the door was closed" Saeko responds as she looks around.

"It also seems to be a bit darker here" I add up as I turn to look at the windowed walls to our left.

"Hmm, I am pretty sure that the third-floor windows, when I saw them from outside, looked like mirrors. Maybe they are covered with a one-way film?" Saeko again answers with a question.

"Possibly, would explain why this floor is darker too" I nod before looking at the bokken.

(Hmm, there are some scratches on the 'blade', still, not too shabby considering what I just did with it.)

"In any case, don't spread out, let's check every aisle and door in this floor first, staircase excluded, if it has corpses, I don't want them coming in here until we're done" I tap my free hand lightly with the bokken as I turn to look at Saeko, she responds with a silent nod.

With that, we moved from our aisle and went left, to the row that had replaced the cashier counters. After checking both sides of that row, we then entered its right side and checked each aisle to our right as we moved forward…

(As empty as it gets, the only corpses on the floor were the ones Saeko killed. Hmm, why were they all in one spot?)

I stop in my tracks and motion Saeko to turn around as I start walking back the way we came, she tilts her head questionably before turning following me. After reaching the end of the aisle we were in, I turn to look to my right, at the corner of the building where the corpses met Saeko, and their end, for a second time.

And, there was a door there…

"Saeko, where are these three in front of that door?" I ask as I point at the metal door.

"Hmm, I think so? I didn't really check as they were already moving by the time I saw them" She responds as she folds her arms.

I nod and move to the door…

(...There are bloody handprints on it, rather cliche, but it means they tried to get inside. And failed)

I then try to open the door, only for it to get stuck after opening a couple centimeters.

"It's barricaded from the inside?...huh" I back off from the door and turn to Saeko.

"Let's leave it for now. Shopping first." I point back at the rest of the room.

"Alright, So what should we look for?" Saeko nods as she asks.

"Hmm, The hard plastic swimming pool, anything we can use as curtains for it, like waterproof sheets, normal towels, electric devices that might still work. I got batteries in my bag to check em.." I stop for a minute as I fold my arms.

"We can also check if this place has any mini generators or binoculars, though I doubt it" I nod slightly before looking back at Saeko.

"Alright, should we split up?" She asks right after.

"Yea, but in the same aisle, stay within sight" I respond, Saeko nods once again.

With that, we moved back into the previous aisle we were in, the one that led to the other aisles from its right side.

(Hmm this aisle is mostly flip flops, hats, and plastic shoulder bags...nothing we need)

We then moved to the first aisle in the line, the one by the wall.

(Like I saw when I first entered this floor, the left racks here seem to be full of bottles and the hangers on the right have swimsuits, hats, and sandals)

I moved closer to the rack with the bottles while Saeko casually strolled towards the swimsuits.

(Sunscreens, lipsticks, hand creams, bug repellents. This place has a rather big variety for its si...wait?...hand creams?)

I narrow my eyes and look at the lined up plastic tubes as I fold my arms…until my eyes stopped in front of a Strawberry hand cream tube.

(Right!...I promised Saya I would get her a new one in the cop station didn't I?...Heh, my selective memory sometimes amazes me)

I smile slightly as I pocket a couple of them, some with different flavors, because why not, they're free after all.

Turning around, I see Saeko with a female swimsuit in her hands.

"You're going to get a swimsuit?" I ask. Saeko shakes her head slightly then puts it back on the hangar.

"No, I already have one, the one from the island" She replies as she turns to me.

(...'swimsuit'...she would look less provoking if she walked around naked rather than in that to be honest…)

"Now that I think of it, you don't have one right? You never wore one during our time on the island" She asks after a few seconds.

"No, I didn't. And I'm damn glad about it." I respond as I fold my arms. Saeko just puts her hand over her mouth as she lets go of a giggle.

"Maybe you can get one now." She turns to look at the swimsuits as she speaks.

"Uhh, why not" I shrug slightly as I walk up to the wall and grab a pair of black board shorts, then take off my bag and shove them in...only to realize that my bag actually had a lot of free space inside, more than it should..

"Huh? Did my bag increase in size? It feels like there's way more space here than there should be" I tilt my head as I raise an eyebrow.

"Oh, I took off some things that we would probably not need, to make space for the things we might get from here. I took off the extra clothes for example. I...I'm sorry I didn't ask for your permission, I thought..."

"Don't, it was a good decision. Come on let's go on" I cut her off as I close the bag and turn around.

"Umm, Naier?" Saeko speaks up the moment I turn my back to her. Causing me to turn my head back.

"You won't make sure it fits you?" She asks as she keeps looking at me.

"These things have laces rather than elastic waistbands, it should be fine as long as it's not comically larger or smaller" I respond as I shrug.

"Oh...I see" Saeko blinks a couple of times before she starts walking towards me…

With that, we went to the second aisle, this one. This one had a variety of inflatables on one side and toys on the other. Stuff like plastic buckets, shovels, small ships...

"Hmm, you think the hard plastic pools are here?" Saeko peeks over my shoulder as she speaks.

"No idea, but, we can use the normal ones too" I respond as I walk up to the inflatables. Saeko tilts her head and follows me.

"Put one under a sleeping bag and you got yourself a bed that doesn't suck." I add up as I crouch down and check a couple of boxes with bed sized inflatables.

"Hmm, nice thinking. But, won't they be too noisy? These things usually squeak way too much" Saeko lowers herself to my height by also crouching down, until her knees are touching her chest, she then wraps her arms around her legs.

"Depends how you set them up, cover the bottom with towels to avoid punctures and soften the ground, then cover the top with a sheet or more towels to avoid skin contact with the plastic, and it should be relatively quiet. The material and how inflated it is also matters" I respond as I take a box out of the shelf and turn it around.

"Have you used them like that before? You seem knowledgeable on the subject" She asks as she keeps looking at me.

"Yes, a couple of times" I responded.

"Hmm..." She hums silently as she also takes a box and adjusts her posture by sitting seiza style, so she can place it on her legs.

I casually turn my head towards Saeko and look at the box she picked...

(…That one is, for 'two' people...)

"You will need a pump for this thing, you 'don't' want to fill it up by blowing it" I respond as I put my finger on the box she was holding.

"You don't mind that it's meant for two people?" She 'asks' with a slight smile.

"It's better than trying to share a couch..." I respond. Saeko stares at me for a few seconds, then her eyes slightly open as she starts blushing, as if she 'just' remembered that she actually slept on me when we were in the rich folk's house.

"You really don't like giving straightforward answers, don't you?" She answers back as she tilts her head slightly, the blush still on her face.

"Not going to deny that" I responded as I folded my arms.

"And that couch. Was the best sleep I got in years…" Saeko then speaks up as she glances away from me.

"So that's why you drooled on me?" I 'ask' as I raise my hand.

Saeko darts her head back to me and starts to actually blush now.

"That, it was an accident. I don't normally do that, really. It was just, I was tired and I fell asleep in a weird pose. I'm surprised myself that it actually happened." Saeko was now hugging the cardboard box she had on her legs. Something that I think she did seem to realize, as she was way too focused on explaining herself to me.

(God I'm getting cuteness overload here)

"Well, guess we'll find out if that's true tonight" I responded as I pointed at the box she was now hugging.

Saeko blinks a couple of times before she lowers her head to look at the box…

"Thank you…" She didn't move her head as she whispered...

"Wait. I get to sleep with the girl that was ranked as the sexiest student in the academy, and I'm the one getting thanked? The world is damn friggin weird I tell ya" I respond as I frown slightly.

Saeko just raised her head and looked at me with a weird expression.

"I was ranked. What?" She asks as she keeps staring at me.

"The sexiest student in the academy? You didn't know?" I ask back

"N..no, I didn't pay too much attention to school gossip…" She responds with a slightly surprised expression.

(While she did distance herself from others, this, is almost comical…)

"Well now you do, though most of your fans are walking corpses by now. Then again, I should be glad about that, if they knew I kissed you, they would try to gut me alive. Well they'll still try to do that, but not for the same reason" I answer with a slight shrug.

"Not if I gut them first" She replies as her expression returns to normal. Well, if you call smiling with a blushing face 'normal' for Saeko.

(God, why must this happen in the middle of an infested supermarket while we have the car attracting a shitstorm downstairs...I see the friggin death flag-raising if this goes on)

"So, uhhh. I don't mean to be the mood killer here but. We are short on time...how about we continue this, chat, in a place where we are not on a horde timer?" I ask as I place my hand on her shoulder and stroke it slightly.

"I understand, and, I'll look forward to it" She closes her eyes and nods.

(Talk about going commander cockblock on myself...)

"So, uhh, we're going to need a single bed as well. For two reasons" I say as I get up and look around for a more expensive inflatable.

"Hmm, two reasons?" Saeko asks as she opens the package and puts the folded inflatable in her bag.

"Yea, one is, there are three of us. It's called a two-people size for a reason. And second, the third one of the 'us' won't let me hear the end of it if we bring only the double-sized one" I respond as I turn to Saeko and fold my arms.

She puts her hand over her mouth as she starts giggling.

"I guess you're right" She answers before turning to look at the other inflatables.

"So, you said we also need a pump?" She asks as she gets up while still looking at the boxes in display.

"Yea, I didn't see any pumps being sold separately yet, so look for expensive inflatables, they might have one inside, we also still need the tub" I answer.

"Hmm, how about we check the rest of the floor first?" Saeko asks as she turns to me.

"That could work too." I answer as I grab the most expensive 'single bed' inflatable, open it, and shove it in my bag.

With that, we moved to the third Aisle. This one seemed to have 'furniture' for the lack of a better term, foldable chairs, tents, plastic tables and electrical appliances.

"Hmm, a foldable chair 'could' be useful if we stay in a place with no chairs. But in any case, let's check the electric stuff first" I say as I open my bag and grab a couple of batteries.

Saeko nods, takes some of them and moves ahead of me, towards the end of the aisle.

I started by looking at the ones next to me…

(...God the selves here look like a circus. Fans, juice makers, ice makers, cameras, portable air conditioners...blenders?...no I think that's an ice cream maker...but, all of these things have cable cord...hmm?)

I stop browsing along the stuff and grab a small box with a palm-sized fan, take it out and then flip it around.

(This definitely takes batteries)

I open the bottom cover and place a battery in the hole, then close the cover and turn the thing on…

(Nada)

I take the battery back, throw the burnt fan behind me and pick another one.

(Nope, let's try a different brand)

I then pick a fan from a different stack and put the battery inside it...a silent whirring sound starts the moment I close the cover and press on the switch.

(Ohh, it's alive)

I then pick a couple more fans of the same brand and test them out…

Three out of the five turned out to be alive the moment they had a battery inside.

(Hmm don't know when we'll need them, but well, they are small so whatever)

I open my bag and throw the small fans inside. Then take a few steps to my left and stop over what seemed to be solar power banks.

(Wonder if these things still work or not)

I take one out of the box and look at it.

(Uhh, nope, can't tell like this. And I doubt they are normally charged to check on another appliance…)

Nonetheless, I put a couple in my bag and kept looking.

"Found anything?" I hear a voice next to me as I keep looking at all the stuff we can't use without a generator.

"Battery-powered fans and some solar power banks that I have no idea whether they work or not" I respond. Saeko just tilts her head questionably...

"What about charging them, the sun is still out" She asks.

"Yea that could work, but one of us will have to stay by the window" I respond.

"Hmm. Ok, I can go by the windows and hold the power banks out while you check the rest of the aisles" Saeko looks at the windows as she speaks.

"We have been making enough noise till now for any hiding corpses to jump out, still, keep your eyes inside the building" I nod as I turn to her.

"Of course, can I have the power banks?" She asks right after.

"Give me a sec, they're in my bag. If they don't work, there are more over there" I point behind me and to my right as I take off my bag, open it and hand her the power banks.

"Alright...How do I know that they work?" She asks as she takes the palms sized gadgets and starts staring at them.

"They should have an on button somewhere, and a sign of how fully charged they are. I don't see a hud on them so I guess they should have light indicators that they have power." I respond, Saeko nods as she keeps looking at the power banks before lifting her head towards me.

"Ok, I'll head to the next aisle. Hmm before you go, check if you can find a chair or two that can fit in your bag" I throw my bag over my shoulder and turn around, Saeko nods and also turns around..

Now the next aisle had clothes. Summertime clothes, not swimsuits. I only briefly checked that aisle. As well, summer clothes would have even worse protection than our clothes. And both Saya and Saeko don't lack in terms of 'summertime' clothing collection.

(Now that I think of it, I need to get some actual bite resistant, waterproof clothes. As long as they can keep saliva out of wounds, a bite should but be just that, a bite. Painful, but not deadly.

Uhh, where is Amazon when you need it...that place would definitely have bite-resistant stuff. I know Japan has a couple of their warehouses, but hell if they are not lotted. I still have the trenchcoat, but I have not checked how much of a stab resistance it has.)

And so, I went to the last aisle, this one to my surprise, was mostly bathroom stuff. Shampoos, a billion female accessories, toothbrushes and some actual bathroom items, like handheld shower hoses and bathroom towels.

(Hmm, I could use one of these waterproof shower curtains, and the towels, I think I saw some beach towels on the racks by the wall with the stairs, the ones on the other side of the room, but ehh, these are softer. And we do have some towels in the car. Or I think we do, since we left Saya's house.)

With that, I picked a couple of shower curtains that were not see-through, because come on. Have some class, and a couple of towels. And just as I was starting to move forward…

"Hey what is taking you so long? And did you just open a window?" I hear the radio go live.

"We are almost done, and yea we opened a window. we're checking some solar power banks" I respond as I bring the radio close to my face.

"Well hurry up, they have surrounded the car." Saya responds.

"Yea, we will be back soo…" As I speak my eyes stop in front of a couple of toothbrushes...

"Question, you need a toothbrush?" I ask on the radio.

"...What?" I hear Saya ask back.

"Do you have a toothbrush?" I ask again…

"Of course I have a toothbrush you idiot. " Saya groans at me.

"Alright, I'll focus on finishing here then." I respond as I let go of the talk button and shove the radio in my pocket, then grab a bunch of toothbrushes.

(Who knows when we will get another chance, better have some just in case. And toothpaste.

Still, It makes me wonder. Does the whole tooth decay gig work like body smell here, in other words, it doesn't? I mean in the anime I never saw any of them brush their teeth, and sure the bath scene was pure fanservice, but here it means that they, well, took a bath. Yet I never saw them brush a tooth, Nor ever complain about bad breath to each other, and you know, some of them tended to spend a lot of time next to each other's...mouths.

While I 'have' been brushing my teeth whenever I had the chance to do so, it's only because I have been doing it so long that I'm used to it. Yet, I have also noticed that everybody here has perfect teeth, corpses included, because you know, they tend to show them a lot when they try to bite chunks out of you. Huh, between overpowered E.M.P.s, broken shotgun physics, non-existent body smell, the ability to bash skulls in with a plain bat. Guess I can add this in the 'weird stuff list'...Don't look a gift horse in the mouth, literally.

But ehh, old habits die hard, better safe than sorry.)

After also raiding the toothpaste sector of the rack, I close the bag and turn to head towards Saeko. Whom I found leaning on an open windowpane.

"Any luck" I ask as I walk to her.

"I think so" She responds as she backs away from the window and walks up to me.

"This one lights up, the other two do not seem to react" She shows me one of the three power banks in her hand as she speaks.

"Hmm, alright. Let's take a bunch of power banks for us to check in the car. Don't know what we can use them for, as they are normally used for charging cell phones or other very small appliances, but we'll see. There are other things I'd like to check, but we have no time left. So we look for the pump and 'tub', then bail" I respond, Saeko nods at me and turns to walk towards the aisle with the power banks, me following behind her

(I'm not even going to ask her about the toothbrush thing. I had enough 'close ups' with her to know that she either has one, or people here indeed don't need to brush.)

I then take the radio out.

"We'll be going down soon, is the elevator still blocked?" I ask.

"Yes, but I can shoot them. If the gun gets stuck again, I can deal with it." Saya responds.

"Alright, I'll give you the go when it's time." I respond before closing the radio then grab a couple of solar power banks, shoving them in the bag.

"Ok, pump and tub left" I fold my arms as I look further down the aisle.

"...Check for the pump, I will see for the pool, if there isn't anything like that around, I will take one of the 'boaty' floats I saw, they can act as a mini tub" I turn to look at Saeko as I speak, she nods and walks past me.

(Ok let's see…)

I keep browsing the inflatables, until my sight stops to a box that writes 'Small above ground swimming pool'.

(Ohh, lucky break is me)

I take the box and look at it.

(One meter huh? This would do perfectly, not too big, but not knee-deep either and the box is rather small, it can probably fit in the bag)

I keep looking at the image in the front cover, and see that it also had a pump inside.

(Aaand we. Are. Done)

I open the box and take out the folded 'tub' then also take the small pump and shove them both in the bag.

"Saeko, I found both, we're leaving" I speak up as I look at her, she turns to me as she leaves a box back in the rack and nods.

With that, we moved back towards the elevator door. Once there, I pulled out the radio.

"Open fire, we're coming down" Then put the radio back in my pocket, slide through the door gap, and jump. Grabbing the metal wire with both hands before wrapping my legs around it, letting myself 'slide' down.

Once I reached the bottom I moved away and looked through the hole on the elevator.

(No corpses in the elevator itself)

And just then, I heard a gunshot, followed shortly after by more shots, all fired in slow succession.

"Now we wait until Saya gives us the all-clear" I fold my arms as I speak, glancing at Saeko who was next to the metal rope.

"You think she will be able to shoot them all? There were quite a lot of them on the first floor" She asks as she walks up next to me.

"She has a car full of ammo and knows the basics, even if she misses half her shots, that's twenty or so bullets. The Mp5 holds fifteen. Worse case, she gets jam combo-ed and will have to reload the clip or use the handgun. In other words, we'll just have to wait longer up here, also corpses can't get on the Humvee, so the only problem is leaving. And with the humvee's ability to go four-wheel rough terrain mode, it will manage just fine" I respond as I fold my arms.

"I guess you are right." Saeko nods slightly as she glances at the elevator hatch.

And just then, the gunshots stopped.

"Hey, I cleared them all" And the radio comes alive.

"Is it clear down there from what I can see " I hear Saeko speak as she leans next to me, looking towards the hatch.

"Yea, let's go. Next time, I'll try not to take you to a claustrophobic dark vertical hallway for an outing" I nod and jump down, Saeko following behind me.

"Ohh? It's a promise then." Saeko raises an eyebrow before she smiles and leans towards me.

(Me and my big mouth)

"For now, let's get out of here" I ready the Scar-H for good measure, and slide out of the door.

Several corpses were on the floor to our left, the same way we needed to go to reach the Humvee.

"Well Saya, I trust that you shot them all dead, if one bites me. Shoot me in the head!" I shout as I start walking towards the corpses.

"...W..Waht?! S..Stop! Go around them you friggin idiot! HEEY!" And Saya end's up mixing her words as she shouts.

(She just said waht didn't she?)

I chuckle slightly as I take a path where corpse bodies were not blocking the way until I reached the car, then turn around to see Saeko behind me.

With that, I jumped on the hood and back to the hatch, while Saya crawled back inside. After that, I left my bag and went to the driver's seat. As Saeko got in, I looked in the side mirror.

"You weren't kidding, they have indeed swarmed the car." I say as I switched the car to 'R'.

"Told you so" Saya responds as she folds her arms.

"But you know what they say. Stand in front of tanks? The tanks are gonna win." I press on the gas as I grip the steering wheel with one hand.

The car, with a roar, knocks over the corpses that have gathered behind it and climbs over them. Once we were clear of them, I turned the car around and switched to D.

"I wonder what the second floor had" I glance at the supermarket as I press on the gas.

"I don't know. I know what it doesn't have. Windows" Saya responds plainly.

"...Suddenly, I'm glad I didn't check it. In any case, Saya I'ma need directions to the convenience store" I give the supermarket one last glance as I shake my head slightly...

(I also didn't check that sealed of room in the third floor...but whatever)

...And like so, I stepped on the gas, and drove away…

…

..

.

*supermarket's third floor…*

A person was standing behind the blocked off door, peeking through the small opening. Camera in his hand…

"WHY DIDN'T YOU KIIITHH!11!?"