บท 9: Chapter 9
Kohta's eyes narrowed as the pair left the room, "Takagi-san? Are Komuro and Senpai a couple now?"
Saya shook her head as she also watched them leave, "I'm not sure what they are…yet."
She turned back to see Kohta looking thoughtful. "So, what do you think about all this?" she asked.
He rubbed his forehead, "I…I just don't know. It's a lot to take in, and to believe he is some kind of prophet? I'm not a religious person so I don't know about stuff like that."
"I don't think it has to be religious. I've been reading a lot about prediction and prognostication, but it's hard for me to accept that's what this is," she said.
"Well I've watched some shows on it and Nostradamus was said to do his readings by staring into a bowl of water. On the other hand, you have Edgar Cayce who was called The Sleeping Prophet. He always gave his predictions in a hypnotic trance." Kohta sat back and crossed his legs. "Again though, I don't know if that's what we have here."
"From what I've been reading, it seems like people have predictive dreams all the time, but most never remember them until after the incident happens, which means they could not influence it," Saya said. "In this case, he has been insisting it was only a dream even though the evidence is mounting higher and higher that it is something more."
She smiled as she crossed her arms under her breasts. "I'm impressed, Hirano. You're taking this better than I hoped. Plus you are really trying to contribute."
Kohta shrugged, "No use getting bent out of shape, it's true or it's not and if it's true, then we need to be as prepared as much as possible. Going to the shooting school is going to be a big plus in the end."
Saya frowned, "So you think this really could come down to killing zombies in the street?"
He shrugged again, "I don't know, but if it does I want to be ready to protect…those I care about."
"But I thought you said your parents were always in Europe…oh…" her voice trailed off as the boy looked her in the eyes. "Ah…you know what? I think from now on you can call me Saya, Kohta–san, not at school of course, but…like now."
He smiled and nodded, "Thank you, Saya-san." He got up and stretched his back. "It looks to be getting dark; didn't Takashi say they were going out your back gate?"
Saya got up also, "Yeah, I wonder where they got off to?"
They walked outside and stopped at the rail. After looking around a minute Kohta raised his arm and pointed down the street telling Saya, "Look, there they are."
Saya smiled as she saw the couple walking toward the mansion slowly, arm in arm, not really paying attention to where they were, but to each other. "Well, I guess that answers that question!" she said as Kohta chuckled.
000
Takashi and Saeko stopped outside the sitting room for one more kiss before entering. Not seeing Saya and Kohta inside, they checked the balcony and found them leaning at the rail talking.
"What are you two up to?" Takashi asked with a smirk on his face.
They both turned and looked at the couple with grins on their faces.
"Oh not much, talking about defending this place from zombie attack." Saya said. "How about you two? Have a nice…walk?" her eyes glanced down to where Takashi was still holding Saeko's hand.
Saeko blushed as Takashi grinned and rubbed the back of his neck and said, "Ah…yeah we did. Sorry to run out on you like that, but…well…"
"That's alright, we talked about several things…" Saya trailed off as Kohta's stomach rumbled loudly.
The embarrassed boy reddened and said, "I'm sorry, please excuse me!"
The others laughed as Saya said, "That's alright, Kohta; it is getting to be supper time. Tell you what, I got some zombie movies for us to look through, so you guys pick one while Saeko-san and I find us something in the kitchen."
The boys agreed as the girls headed out on their quest.
Looking at the choices Saya had, Kohta picked up one and said, "I think we should go with this one. It's funny and we could all use a good laugh."
Takashi nodded, "I know could use one right now."
000
"So…what happened on this little walk?" Saya asked the tall girl.
"Why, whatever do you mean, Takagi-san?" Saeko said with a fake surprised look on her face.
"Don't you dare…just spill it, Busujima! That's what girlfriends are for!"
Saeko laughed, "Yes Saya-san!"
She finished telling the story as they arrived at the kitchen. "So suddenly, we were in each other's arms kissing. Then the priest walked in on us and we said some prayers and left. You know the rest."
Saya opened a refrigerator door, "Ah, good! Cook did fix some stuff and leave it even though I didn't ask her to." She started pulling out several containers, "All we have to do is warm this up. So you went from simply taking a little walk to kissing? Seems kind of fast."
"Yes," Saeko acknowledged. "It was all in a rush, but…well I don't really know how to explain it, it seems right in some way."
Saya sighed, "There's a lot about all this that's hard to explain."
Saeko nodded as she opened the first food container.
000
"I just don't understand the obsession with 'Twinkie cakes'," Saya said as the first movie wrapped up.
"It represents a lost youth as well as a fear of something that will go away, never to be found again." Kohta said. "Plus it gives him something to quest for."
"I like some of the rules, but maybe not in that order and I think there are a lot more," Takashi said as he sat on the couch, his arm around Saeko as she leaned against him.
"So then enlighten us, O wise one," Saya said from where she sat crossways in a big chair with Kohta on the floor in front of her. "That's what part of this is about after all."
Takashi frowned, "Saya you're acting like this is all real now and not just my crazy dream. Why?"
The others exchanged looks and then watched him for a minute. Finally Saeko spoke.
"Takashi-kun, I think we all feel from the evidence Saya has gathered and things that have happened, this ismore than a dream."
"So you're all saying you think I'm seeing the future, or something like that?"
"That or time travel," Kohta said from the floor where he was reaching for some of the potato chips in a bowl on the table.
"Wait, what did you say?" Saya asked with surprise in her voice.
He turned to where he could see her, "Sure why not? It makes as much sense as anything else. Takashi said there were nuclear bombs set off to cleanse the city. We really don't know what goes on at the center of an explosion of that type because everything gets vaporized."
"But then why would it only happen to Takashi and not the rest of us?" the girl asked as her mind started going into overdrive.
Kohta smirked, "Think about it, Saya-san, he said everyone else was already dead, he was the last one standing."
Takashi felt Saeko shiver slightly under his arm.
"You okay?" he whispered. She nodded and squeezed his hand as Saya and Kohta continued their debate.
"So why didn't he come back a charred husk?" Saya asked.
Kohta shrugged, "Maybe that's not the way it works. Maybe it's a matter of the consciousness or soul that travels, not the body."
Takashi could see the gears in Saya's mind grinding. "That might explain some things," she said as she looked at Takashi. "You've only dreamed about the same events since then right? What about before? Did you ever dream about something like this?"
Takashi shook his head, "No, and I don't normally remember dreams."
"I've had times that something happened and I thought I had dreamed it before it happened," Kohta said.
Saya waved her hand, "No that's Déjà vu, I read up on that. It's the phenomenon of having a strong sensation that an event or experience currently being experienced has been experienced in the past. It's said to be a trick of the mind and something like two-thirds of the population does it."
"Has there ever been more than one nuclear bomb set off at the same time, in the same place?" Kohta asked. "Maybe that's why this has not happened before."
Saya shook her head, "I don't have the answer to that." She sighed, "The more we look into this the more questions come up."
Saeko cleared her throat, "Ah, I think we kind of got off the subject at hand…"
Saya nodded, "Saeko-san is right, so Takashi, tell us what you know about fighting zombies."
"Well first of all, the ones we had to deal with didn't run like the ones in that movie. They would shuffle along dragging their feet until they got close and then they might lunge at you. If you stayed quiet and moved silently, there was a much smaller chance of Themattacking. Several times Saeko-san simply pushed one or two back with her bokken and walked away. Later on when she had her sword, she would remove their head or thrust up into the brain to kill them."
Saeko looked thoughtful, "So as long as the brain was destroyed they died?"
Takashi nodded, "Crush the brain with a club, shoot it with a bullet or arrow, stab it with a blade or sever the spine at the neck, they died and stayed dead. Same thing with 'real' people, if you killed them after they were bitten, but before they turned, they stayed dead."
"Ugg," Saya said a disgusted look on her face. "I would hate to think any of us…" She stopped and looked at Takashi with fear in her eyes, "Did…did we have to do that to anyone, Takashi?"
Takashi lowered his head and nodded, "Yes we did, several times." He had not told of these deaths, especially not the young police girl, Asami-san.
"And how was this done, Takashi?" Saya asked, even though she really didn't want to know the answer.
The boy glanced at Kohta before saying, "I don't really want to talk about that, Saya."
Kohta watched Takashi for a second before pushing away the bowl of chips he had been munching on. "I'm going to guess since I'm the shooter…it was me who did it."
"Or I with a blade," Saeko said as Takashi hugged her closer.
Suddenly Kohta got up and went out on the balcony. Takashi started to get up to follow, but Saya stopped him.
"No, stay here, I'll check on him," she said as she got up and followed the boy.
Saeko watched the pink-hired girl leave and then turned to her new boyfriend. "Takashi-kun, will they…?"
Takashi nodded, "After much back and forth of denying it, they became lovers before the end. Saya drug Kohta along at first because she knew he would do what she told him to, but then he started protecting her. Her father even put her in Kohta's care when we left the mansion. They fussed, they fought and there was even another girl who liked Kohta, but in the end she accepted his feelings for her."
"Does he have those feelings now?" the dark-haired girl asked.
"I think so," Takashi said. "From the moment he met her he's been trying his best not to be stupid over her, because I told him how much she hates that. To be honest they're getting along much better than I hoped."
Saeko nodded, "Let us watch and wait then. Saya-san has opened up to me a little so maybe she will come to me to talk."
Takashi looked down where the beautiful swordswoman was laying with her head on his shoulder. "What about you, Saeko-chan? Are we moving too fast? I'm sure of my feelings for you, but we really have only just met."
She sat up and turned towards him, "Takashi I don't know why, but what happened today seemed like the most right thing in the world to me. Ever since that first day we met in the infirmary, I have felt an attraction to you, but not one like a young girl to a cute boy. I have had a crush or two in my time, but never acted on them because of…well you know why. With you…I don't know how to explain it, but it feels right, like I have found the place I should be, and that is by your side. Do you understand what I am saying?"
He nodded and pulled her close.
000
Saya came out of the door slowly, to find Kohta standing, arms outstretched, hands on the rail with his head down. She walked over and stood beside him for a minute, till she heard him take a big breath, and then she asked, "Are you alright, Kohta?"
Standing straighter, he nodded, "Yeah, I'll be fine. Thank you for asking, Saya-san."
"I guess that's a lot to think about, taking a life even though you are saving them…kind of."
"When I decided to go to the shooting school, I understood that when you pick up a firearm, you put power of life and death in your hands. The twitch of a finger and a living person ceases to exist. It's the responsibility of every shooter to be aware of what you can do if you make the wrong choices."
They stood silently for a little bit before Saya said, "I don't think you would make the wrong choices, Kohta. You're smart, smarter than I gave you credit for."
He nodded slightly, "Thank you, Saya-san. So…where do we go from here?"
"Well let's go back inside and talk about our next step in this."
"After you," the boy said as she smiled and preceded him through the door.
000
Saya and Kohta came back inside and Takashi looked for a sign if anything had changed between them. Not seeing anything he said, "So what now? More zombie stories?"
Saya shook her head, "Not tonight. What we need to do is plan where we go from here."
She and Kohta resumed their places in the chair and on the floor.
Saya looked at the others, "So what now? How do we use the information we have?"
"Are we back to 'save the genius, save the world'?" Takashi asked.
Saya grimaced, "Wish we had never said that one, but that is kind of the question. Do we try to tell someone? Do we bring others in on this? It was one thing for us to tell Saeko and Kohta, but how do we go about this?"
"I think what we have to ask ourselves is, what is our goal here?" Kohta said. "We have information that the end of civilization is coming. Can we stop it? Do we try?"
Takashi shook his head for a second, "How many times have you heard someone on TV talking about the world is going to end on this or that date? They are always treated like nuts and then it's proven, when the time comes and it doesn't happen."
"Well the way we convinced Saeko-san and Kohta-san is that you had personal private knowledge of something only they could know." Saya said. "Who else do you have info like that on?"
Takashi thought about it for a minute, "I know things about Rei's parents that I didn't know before it happened, also Minami Rika and your mother, Saya."
"My mother? What do you know about her that I don't?" Saya asked with surprise and concern in her voice.
"I know that she…ah…no, no I'm not going to say, because it will only be good for one try, and if I say it now…someone might say you gave me inside info."
Saya thought about this. She knew Takashi was right, but it gnawed at her that he knew a secret about her mother she did not. She pointed at him, "This better not be something bad, baka, or I'll hurt you."
Takashi laughed, "No, don't worry, Saya, in a way it's good and helpful, even though it's going to be a surprise to you."
She glanced over at Kohta who looked at her and shrugged his shoulders. "Now I'm really worried," she said. "Anyway, who else?"
"Rei's parents, Shizuka-sensei and Minami Rika," the boy continued. "In fact the last two are maybe the ones we should try to convince first. If we can win them over I think we can get our parents and others then."
"Why would you go to the bimbo nurse and cop first?" Saya asked.
"She may act like a bimbo, but she is a lot smarter than you think. Minami-san I have a huge secret on, and there is no way I could have that information being that she has never met me," he said with a grin. Looking at Kohta he said, "Kohta-san, I'll need some help from you on what guns we found in Rika's apartment. I kind of know what they are called, but if I have better info it will be a grand slam. I'll convince her…or get arrested for stalking a cop!"
"What can you tell me about them?" the chubby boy asked.
"Let's see…" Takashi rubbed his chin as he thought. "There was a shotgun, called an Ithaca. You said it was used by American forces in the Vietnam War."
"If it was a pump I bet it was an Ithaca M37. Nice shotgun if a little old school," Kohta said.
Takashi nodded, "I ended up liking it until I got the one from the police station. Then there was a bow…a crossbow you said. You called it a 'cat' of some kind, hot cat or…no! Wildcat!"
"Ah! A Barnett Wildcat! Good crossbow and would be good for something like this, and easy to get in Japan."
"Okay the next one is the gun Rei used as a spear. Springdale, Springhill M1 something, you put a knife on the end."
Kohta sat up taller, "A Springfield Arms M1A?! That's the civilian model of the M14 battle rifle! 7.62mm with twenty round magazines! You said Miyamoto is using that like a spear? Then what was I using?"
Takashi sighed, "That's what I'm trying to remember now. You thought at first it was a Night 25 or something like that, but it's not, just looks like it."
"A Knight's SR-25?" Takashi snapped his fingers and nodded when Kohta said it. "That would be highly illegal in Japan!"
Takashi smiled, "You said that, and then realized it was something else made to look like the SR-25. An Armlite, Armylight 10? It fired the same bullets the Springfield did, but you said it was the original design of a rifle that turned into the one the US military uses now."
Kohta's eyes bulged, and he began to drool, "An Armalite AR-10!? That's the prototype for the M16 battle rifle! It's badass as hell!"
Saya balled up her fist and reached out to pound Kohta in the head when she noticed a look from Takashi. He mouthed, "Remember what I said!" before looking at her sternly.
She stopped and thought for a second before opening her hand and patting Kohta on the shoulder, "Kohta! Calm down and stop geeking out!"
The boy stopped bouncing and focused on her, "AH…yeah you're right, sorry Saya-san. I just got excited to know I may actually get to see and fire these weapons."
"You will impress this woman more if you control yourself and stay calm," Saya told him.
"Saya-san is correct Kohta-san," Saeko told him. "I got the impression she is a highly trained professional that will book no nonsense."
"She made me think of you, Saeko-san," Saya said. "All power and control, but still beautiful."
"Why thank you, Saya–san!" the girl replied with a blush.
"So…where and how do we set up this meeting?" Takashi asked.
They all thought for a minute before Kohta spoke up, "Why not my house? It's big enough to be comfortable and to be honest, asking them to come here would be kind of intimidating…sorry Saya-san…"
Saya nodded, "No you're right. This is a big house of a powerful politician, and to call a police officer here…well I can see where it would put her on her guard."
"Let me invite them through Marikawa-sensei," Saeko said. "I can tell her we're getting together there because we wish to thank her for the help she has given Takashi-kun. I'll tell her to bring Minami-san along so she will not feel uncomfortable with just teenagers."
"Oh! You can also tell her that I am interested in a career in law enforcement and would like to ask questions!" Kohta said.
Saya smiled, "Good idea, Kohta-san! She already knows you and I were talking about guns and the SAT. I bet she would be willing to talk to you."
"What about after that? What would be the next step?" Takashi asked.
Saya sighed, "My parents maybe? I don't know, but they are going to want know what we want out of all this. It comes back to the question, are we trying to stop this as in 'save the world', or what?"
Kohta shook his head, "I'm sorry if any of you don't feel the way I do, but I don't see us ever doing that. Even if we get the support, the governments would never listen."
"I feel Kohta-san is right," Saeko said. "I think we should concentrate on family and friends. If others like Minami-san or Miyamoto's father want to try, that would be up to them."
Kohta stood up and held his hand out, "Then for family and friends."
Saya stood and lay her hand on top of his, "Agreed, for family and friends."
Takashi and Saeko joined them, Takashi's hand on top of Saya's and then Saeko's, "For family and friends," they both said.
They stood like that for a moment before Saya started to giggle.
"What's so funny, Saya?" Takashi asked.
"I've got two guys holding my hand at once!" she said as the others broke down in laughter. She blushed when, as the others let go, she for a second, felt Kohta squeeze her fingers before letting go.
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