Canon Fodder

CHAPTER 35 MAKING FRIENDS

Shidou eventually started talking to the group again. It took time but slowly his voice started getting louder. I couldn’t make it out at first, but as he talked I understood that he really had lost it. He had somehow brought up Jesus, Gandhi, and Ghengis Khan in the same sentence. The sad part was a lot of the kids ate it up. 

There were some people out there that were naturally good at talking. Shidou was one of those people on cocaine. He was more a cult leader as he turned people to his way of thinking in a short amount of time. I understood it of course, these were impressionable kids. They were looking for answers, someone to take charge. 

“Look at the bridge,” Shizu said as she stopped the bus. I jumped up. The bridge across to the main part of town was ahead. But there were people shambling and cars burning up there. 

“Well, that’s out,” I said. I was pretty sure this was the point they split up from the group. “Alright, dictator talking!” I announced. Shidou scoffed at the back, but he was not in my line of sight. Kids stood in front of him, blocking my view of him. 

“I resign. I’m relinquishing the bus to whoever wants it,” I said. “I’m heading into town.” Opening the door I stepped out without another word. 

“How are you going to get there?” Saeko yelled out the door after me. 

“Walk or swim,” I said. “Care to join me?” She chewed her lip. 

“Hold on,” she said, going back into the bus. A few cars in the street I tried the doors. A couple were open and I raided their spare change. Throwing it in my status screen I pulled crowbars out and whatever I thought was useful from the cars. I had stolen a backpack at school and was slowly accumulating random items inside. 

It took time but the main party was soon out of the bus. There was an addition though. The dark haired plain looking girl that had been giving me looks. 

“We want to go,” Saeko said. I looked to the bus and one of the students was already at the driver’s seat, kicking it in reverse. 

“I don’t know if I trust you though,” Takashi said. He was the lead. Dark hair, he was a little handsome. Baseball bat in hand he eyed me up and down. “Kohta says you wanted to go with us.”

“I wanted to go with him,” I said. “We are old friends.” 

“And you’re done with your crazy act?” Takashi asked. “No more knife throwing at people that piss you off?” 

“I can’t promise that,” I said. The group looked around to one another, hesitating. “But I can promise I won’t hurt any of you. Some jackass tries to pull something, and I will put him down.” 

Takashi looked to the others. There were mostly shrugs. Kohta was a little embarrassed, but I was sure my gift of a gun had made him put his neck out to ask. Saeko appeared to be warming up to me too. I could tell she had the fighting spirit and of all of them she was equipped to survive in this world already. I might have changed some character development for these people, but I felt they had a good chance of surviving still. 

“And you are?” I asked the dark haired girl that wasn’t in the original story. She was short, the shortest of all of us. Long black hair, glasses, no chest whatsoever, she shyly looked up at me. 

“Emi,” she said. The others turned to stare at her, almost surprised she was there. She blushed, but no one said anything. 

“Guess we should all introduce ourselves,” the nurse said. “I’m Shizuoka.” Long blonde hair, she wore designer clothes. Her long black skirt was ripped along the side showing plenty of skin. She had the largest chest of all. 

“Saeko,” the kendo girl said. Long purple hair, she had an almost bored look on her face. Long legs and semi-muscular arms made her stand out from the others. Perhaps B-cups, but perky. 

“Rei,” the brown haired girl said. I couldn’t help glancing at her and the other girls. I knew she had lost her boyfriend that day, and was still moving on to Takashi, but every movement caused their chests to jump. Probably the next largest chest at D or DD. 

“Saya,” the pink haired girl said. In her glasses she was rather cute, but she wore a resting bitch face. Always cursing at Kohta in the background I thought about getting her to stop, but he might be the type into it. Her chest was a large C or small D. 

“Kohta,” the nerdy guy said. Black hair that was longer for a guy. Husky, he had a large chin that barely wasn’t a double chin. He had some extra weight but we weren’t running marathons so it wasn’t dire. He was maybe a big A cup. 

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“Takashi,” the leader said. Dark hair cut short he was a little above average height. A constant sneer on his face he seemed to be working through some anger issues. I had to take it back, he had the flattest chest. 

“Weston,” I said. With my increased muscles I guessed I was a big A cup. About 5 foot 11 inches I was near my full height of 6 feet. The closest to me in height were Seako and Shizuoka. 

“Okay,” Takashi said. “It looks like it’s getting dark. We need to make a plan. I would like to go into the city.” He pointed to downtown Tokonsu. There was a wide river between us and it. “The bridge doesn’t look safe. But there has to be a way to make it across the river.”

“We can’t cross the river water,” Rei said. “At least once a summer I hear about a kid getting caught in the current and dying.” We could if I used chakra, but we weren’t in a bad situation so I didn’t offer. 

“There should be low spots, maybe we will get lucky,” Takashi said. 

“Yes, but tomorrow,” Shizuoka said. “Not all of us are prepped to fight against these undead. It’s getting dark. If we can’t see, it will be a lot harder. I have a friend that lives nearby. I have their apartment key. We can stay there tonight.”

“Oh, is it a boyfriend?” Saya asked scandalously as she pushed her glasses to the brim of her nose. 

“No, it's a girl,” she said. “She’s out of town a lot so I keep an eye on her place. It’s right along the river, and there’s a convenience store nearby.” 

“As good of a reason as any,” Takashi said. “Lead the way.” 

We walked down the street. Surprisingly there was no one out and about, not even the undead. At first people were too scared to talk, but the tension got too much so people broke the silence by asking questions. Unluckily they were to me. 

“Where is your Jitte?” Saeko asked. “You didn’t leave it on the bus, did you?” 

“No,” I said. “I have it.” 

“Where?” She asked. 

“Hiding,” I said. “It only comes out when I whistle.” 

“Like Flying Nimbus?” Kohta asked with a laugh. 

“Exactly like that,” I said with a smile.

“Prove it,” Kohta said. 

“Fine,” I said. Whistling I pulled it out of my status screen. There were stunned gazes as I waved it around then made it disappear back into the invisible screen. 

“What the fuck! How did you do that?” Kohta asked. 

“Magic,” I said. 

“How are you doing it?” Saeko asked. “That’s not the only thing I’ve watched you pull out of thin air.”  

“When I know all your secrets, you can know mine,” I said. I could have shown them, and was on the fence about it, for now they could wonder. 

“When did you get so cool?” Kohta asked. “I remember us otakus sticking together.” 

“We are sticking together,” I said. “Why do you think I’m here? But, gotta grow up sometime.” 

“You’re taking the situation very well,” Shizu grumbled. “Part of me wants to just give up.” 

“Fight or flight,” I said. “I’m sure you all went through your own stuff before we met up. That nail gun you have hooked up is pretty cool, Kohta.” He had a nail gun with the safety latch pressed down at all times so he could use it like a gun. 

“Right? I found it where they were doing that construction in the school. If we could find more ammo, I’d like to just use this gun,” he said, caressing the 9mm gun I gave him at his side. 

“You have any idea how to use that thing?” Shizu asked. 

“I do,” Kohta said. “I went to America and trained with this militia group when I was younger.” 

“What kind of person does that?” I asked. I didn’t remember that at all. I thought guns were just a hobby for him. Then again I was probably just reading the manga for the huge tracks of land. 

“My family travels a lot,” he said, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment. 

“Right,” I said. “Mine too, but I’m usually stuck here.” 

“Oh yeah,” Kuora said. “Your dad still do military contracts? And what did your mom do, again?” 

“He does,” I said. “Mom goes to America a lot for her family business.” I knew them well since I had memories of them, but they hadn’t stayed in Japan much. Usually leaving me with friends or by myself. No wonder I was such an otaku. If your parents didn’t want you with them, what kind of low self-esteem did you have? 

“What was your dad? Jeweler?” I asked. He nodded. 

“He’s in Holland on business, and my mom is abroad too,” Kohta said. 

“Jeez, my parents are boring,” Rei grumbled. “My mom is a housewife, and my dad is a cop.” 

“We gonna go look for them?” I asked. 

“I plan to, but you guys don’t have to,” Rei said. 

“Hey, we need to stick together,” Takashi said. “We should try to find all of our families. And some safe spots. I’m sure the military is taking care of things.”

“Speaking of,” Shizuoka said. Pointing at a large Humvee parked next to an apartment. “This is my friend’s home. She is in special forces.” 

“Whoa, is that hers?” Kohta asked running up to the large military vehicle. 

“Must be,” she said. “Maybe we can find some keys inside.” She pulled out her own set of keys and we ran in the apartment. There was an exterior set of stairs that led up to the large apartment. It had 2 bedrooms, a large living space and a huge bathroom. 

“Let’s check the news,” Kohta said. It was almost fully dark outside, but the lights still worked. People dropped down to couches or on the floor to get off their feet for a minute. Takashi and I began moving through the kitchen checking for supplies. 

A newscaster on the TV began to do a report as we settled down a little. “Because of the alarming rate that this “killer disease” has spread-” 

“What’s the killer disease?” Shizu asked. 

“I heard it on the radio at the school,” Saya said. “It’s what they are calling this virus people are going through.” 

“Ohh,” Shizu said. “Look like zombies to me.” 

We started listening to the broadcaster again. “Just before we lost contact with Vatican City the church assured us that this was not a Divine Punishment. The researchers at the ministry of public welfare had to abandon their headquarters in Tokyo, but they assure us they will continue to research this epidemic. Over 2 million people have contracted the disease in the country, and there have been many more worldwide. We will need to cease broadcasting for the time being due to the widespread nature of the disease, and those it affects. Despite what rumors have been saying, face masks do not help prevent the vir-” 

Shizu turned off the TV. “Depressing,” she said. Hugging her knees she hid her cleavage. 

“What next?” Saya asked. 

“Me, I’m taking a shower,” Rei said, standing up it wasn’t long until all of the girls followed her into the back. I remembered a very heated exchange in the bathroom. Sorority sister fantasy kind of exchange. I was tempted to take a peek, but it hadn’t been a day since I had my fill of Reina and Hina. 

“Think there is anything in there we need to protect them from?” Kohta asked. I looked over, and noticed all 3 of us guys had been staring at the bathroom door. 

“Besides themselves? No,” I said. Giggli and loud laughter began sounding out from the bathroom. “Didn’t Shizuoka say that the lady that owned this place was in the military? Let’s see if she has a gun safe.” 

We got up and began searching the rooms. The master bedroom had a large metal cabinet. I pulled out the crowbars I had taken from cars and the 3 of us began prying. It took time but we got it open to reveal guns and ammo. Kohta began listing off the names of the guns. I saw them as rifle, bigger rifle, shotgun, and handgun. They were nice, but I was there to learn the sword. 

Kohta found some binoculars and other items that might be useful. We split the ammo between our bags and waited in the living room. The girls were letting out moans and giggling from inside the bathroom. 

Takashi turned on the TV again and found a news broadcast going on with protesters in the background. “That’s the police station,” Takashi said. “It’s over the river there.” A small balcony attached to the apartment, we walked over to it. Kohta looked through binoculars. 

“Jeez, they really are protesting in a time like this. Kind of surreal.” 

“That’s an understatement,” I said. “Who could have known we would wake up to the zombie apocalypse today.” Except me of course. 

“I need to get over there,” Takashi grumbled. “My mom was working today. She teaches 1st grade. I bet she’s stuck in her room with a bunch of kids.” 

“Where?” I asked. “Exactly where?” I had been so selfish. I hadn’t thought about kids stuck in this kind of world. 1st graders, kindergartners, newborns, kids that relied on those around them for protection. I should have been doing more, but I was stuck in the canon, not looking into what I could be doing to help. 

“5 miles, that way,” Takashi said. “Onbetsu Elementary.” 

“Alright, we should go get them,” I said. 

“What? No,” Takashi said. “If we did, where would we take them?” 

“To that-” I stopped myself. I seemed to remember the group running into a well protected compound at one point. Within the next day or so too. I should stick with them until that was found, then try to save who I could. Breathing out I nodded. “You’re right. Tomorrow.” 

“You changed a lot, Weston,” Kohta said. “You looked like you were ready to jump down there.” 

“I can’t believe the lies you’re spreading!” Protestors on the TV yelled. “This is obviously some sick collaboration between America and the Japanese government to thin out the numbers of the 99%. We will not be fooled by your ‘killer virus’ this is a culling of the masses to get more control-” 

“We will need to ask all of you to disperse,” A policeman on the TV yelled over a microphone. “We have officially been declared in a state of emergency. Martial law will start now. A curfew is in effect. If you do not leave we are authorized to use lethal force.” 

“See-See, this is what they want. Complete control. I for one will not be going anywhere!” The leader of the protest said. Orders went through the ranks of policemen. An officer walked over to the newscaster, speaking to her the broadcast was cut off. From the balcony we heard gunfire from the other side of the river. 

We were in a stunned silence for a moment as the situation sunk in. The police weren’t expected to help anymore. It was every man for himself. And if you didn’t do what the police said it was death by firing squad. I knew it would happen, but it was very different to be stuck in it. At first I had thought there was a modicum of safety, but I was a ninja, not Iron Man. Bullets could still kill me. I would have to watch how I interacted with some people.