Settling In - Rika's Apartment I

Sorry for updating so late guys. As soon as I began writing we had a sudden emergency and we had to put out a fire before it spread since it was a huge tree that could've fallen on top of my house. The worse part is that we can't have it removed because it is not in our property. Luckily nothing happened.

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Before anyone left the bus, Ryo thought of the zombies present there. Since clearing them was the priority so they would be safer, he picked the people he trusted the most in taking care of them.

"Kouta, Saeko, Yuki and Hiratsuka-sensei, we'll go gown first to clear any zombies in the building" he ordered. No one tried to renege of his order, either because they didn't dare -like Kouta, or because they didn't want to -like Miku.

Saeko was happy so long as she could kill undead and Hiratsuka thought that, as an adult, she couldn't depend on her students forever. Even though they weren't her students anymore. There was someone though, who didn't like his call.

"Why didn't you call me too?" asked Saya as she stood up with her "weapon" in her hands. Ryo just looked at her and, in the most natural of ways, walked up to her and patted her head. He answered her in a soft tone, as if he was talking to his little sister. "Ask me that question again when you stop shaking, okay?"

As soon as he said that, Saya fell back to her seat, crying. Ryo only smiled wryly, realizing his words weren't the kindest. But it was what she needed to hear. So long as she kept shaking, he wouldn't allow her close to the zombies. The same applied to Rei, but she was so reluctant to killing them that she didn't complain at all. In fact, she was grateful to him for being so sensitive.

After the short episode was done, with everyone looking at Ryo in a new light after seeing such a soft side of him, the five designated fighters left the bus and began clearing the zombies near the place. Thankfully, there weren't many zombies in the building itself, so it didn't take too long for them to clear it completely. Once they made sure it was safe by double and triple checking, they called the rest.

"Ok, we won't unload our supplies from the bus" said Ryo after Shizuka opened the door. He then went inside and turned on the lights. As he did so, he began checking how the place was built. "Ok, girls can go take a bath first, we'll go later. You'll sleep upstairs and me and the guys will stay here"

Once he finished giving orders, he called Kouta to check the house for guns. He instantly regretted that. Having Kouta nerd-out on guns wasn't his favourite hobby. Ryo would've much preferred to be smothered to death by Shizuka's twin peaks. Still he now knew what they counted with.

A Springfield M1A Super Match rifle, an Armalite AR-10T rifle modified to resemble a Knight's Armament SR-25, an Ithaca M-37 shotgun, and Barnett Wildcat C5 crossbow. When talking to Kouta, about what each weapon did, Ryo decided to do something simple for the fatty.

"Ok, I want you to give a weapon to whoever you think is going to use it best and keep the one you feel most comfortable with" Ryo said as they gathered all the weapons in one place, not caring about Kouta's comments on how most of them were illegal in Japan. "I'll just take the Barnett, since I don't have to worry about wasting ammo"

Having been done with that, the guys waited for the girls to be over with their bath. Ryo, instead of resting, went to check the Humvee they had seen in the parking before.

'This is exactly what I need' he though as he checked the materials and the inside of the vehicle. The Humvee was triple copper plated, which was the reason why it could survive the EMP blast. What Ryo had planned was dismantling it and use the copper plated parts to cover the electronics of the bus, safeguarding them against the blast.

He would begin working the following day though... he was blasted.

*

After the girls' bath, Ryo, Kouta and Yamada headed to the bathroom. As exhausted as they were, both mentally and physically, they were able to relax without thinking of many things. To their dismay, they went out to find three drunk teachers and Rei following their example. Ryo could only sigh, seeing the less than presentable state they were in.

"Hashimoto-kun~ I'm tired... why don't you carry me to the bedroom~..." said Shizuka as she hung from his neck, pressing her huge tits -which were covered by only a towel- against his back. With little option left, as she had fallen asleep as soon as she did that, he lifted her in a piggyback and carried her upstairs into the room. "Sleep well, Shizuka-sensei"

Going back downstairs, he went to the fridge, took a beer and sat where Shizuka had been minutes before. Feeling the atmosphere in the living room, he sighed. Everyone was too relaxed after finding a temporary haven. Chugging the can in one go, he smacked it against the table. Sighing once again, he took a package of cigarettes he had taken from the convenience store and took one out. Without saying anything, he offered one to Hiratsuka.

"Since when do you smoke, Hashimoto-kun?" the teacher asked while looking at him disapprovingly. Seeing he didn't care, she just took the cigarette offered. "And how did you know I smoke?"

"I smoke since my parents died... and I knew because when I met you in the morning you smelled like tobacco" he said plainly as he took a puff out of his one roll. He was neither a heavy smoker nor drinker, but he did do it when he felt extremely stressed. And Ryo counted a zombie apocalypse and the situation they had been in as one that required a cigarette and a good drink. He was slightly surprised when Miku walked up to him and sat by his side, not caring at all about how close to him she was sticking.

Ryo didn't actually mind, since his impression of Miku was a very good one. At least it was better than Rei's, who was too weak-minded to kill the zombies in order to survive. If he hadn't been there she would've died because of her own kindness. Still, he felt like something was wrong with Miku.

"Miku, you're doing this on purpose, right?" he said while looking at her seriously. He got an idea, but quickly threw it out of his mind. Miku wouldn't get close to him in order to survive, or she would've slept with Shido or Tsunoda way earlier, making her life easier.

"So what? Can't I want to be close to you?" she asked, slightly scared of Ryo's answer. After all, he was currently the only person whose oppinion of her she cared about. Ryo had, unkowingly, taken a spot in Miku's mind and heart that couldn't be replaced.

He sighed, realizing that the girl really just wanted to be close to him. Ryo wasn't terribly dense, but he also couldn't completely understand what others thought. As such, he simply made guesses and assumptions based on small hints he caught in the way they looked at him and acted. His guess on Miku? She just wanted to be with him.

"*sigh*... do as you please, Miku" Ryo said while taking another puff of his cigarette. Kyoko was smirking at their interaction, clearly amused by how he tried to delay the inevitable. Ryo, on the other hand, failed to see how two other girls were slightly jealous of Miku's position.

After around half an hour, where Ryo had drank two more cans of beer and Miku had drank her first one, Saeko walked up to them, wearing nothing but an apron and a thong. Ryo was surprised when he saw that. She really hated herself to show like that in front of anyone, not caring of their oppinion of her. He couldn't deny he liked what he saw, but as he had stated earlier, a man should know when not to drool.

"Ryo-kun..." Miku called him and turned his head. She looked at him while pouting. "You're not allowed to look only at Saeko..."

He sighed, knowing that Miku was too deep to go back now. He just stood up and did what he thought was most wise.

"Is the food ready, Saeko?" he asked nonchalantly, clearly stating that he wasn't going to act like a hormonal teenager just because he had a beautiful girl pretty much naked in front of him. The purple-haired girl just smiled at him and nodded. "Ok, Shizuka's sleeping so save some for when she wakes up"

After eating, everyone went to sleep. The girls, Saeko in particular, quickly fell asleep. It was understandeable, since she had been fighting by his side against the horde in the school's gate. He somehow managed to keep himself awake, thinking on the many things he had to do to ensure survival. One, for example, was finding a fixed base he could always go back to.

As much as he liked the idea of staying in the Takagi's State, he knew he wouldn't be able to stay put for too long. Besides, he had promised Hisashi that nothing would happen to Rei and he planned to keep that promise until she found her family. That couldn't be achieved unless he moved out of there.

"What are you thinking about?" said Hiratsuka, the only other person awake, before taking his cigarette from him and taking a puff out of it. "You don't mind sharing, do you?"

Looking at her up close, under the moonlight, he couldn't help but think that she was really beautiful. Still, he couldn't help but want to tease her after she had taken the first shot.

"You do realize that is an indirect kiss, don't you, Hiratsuka?" he said, only to smirk when he saw the blush that had appeared in her face. She quickly tried to think of something to say, but no words left her mouth. Ryo, seeing the mature, iron-fisted teacher acting like a little girl embarrassed because her crush teased her, couldn't help but laugh out loudly. He barely held back so as to not wake the others up.

"Moo... don't tease your teacher, Hashimoto-kun!" Hiratsuka said, acting as if she was angry with him. Unluckily for her, Ryo didn't fall for her act. Taking back his cigarette, he took a long puff and, after blowing out, spoke to her calmly. "Ryo. We'll be surviving together from now on so... I don't see a reason on calling me Hashimoto-kun... or acting like my teacher when you clearly see me as the leader here"

Hiratsuka was surprised when she saw his handsome face under the moonlight, but unlike his reaction to her own beauty, she was actually captivated by his. His serious and sharp blue eyes felt as if they were piercing straight to the future. His posture, even when he was using the balcony's sailing to support his weight, looked confident and strong. There was also the fact that he was bare chested and all of his muscles where showing.

"Then... call me Shizuka too" for the first time since she understood the difference between girls and boys, Hiratsuka Shizuka felt attracted to someone else on more than one way. Her thoughts couldn't help but be bitter. "Sorry no can do, with two Shizukas, you remain as Hiratsuka... but I'll make sure to search for a cute nickname on the meantime"

'Shit... I'm an adult! I can't fall for an eighteen years old kid that was supposed to be my student..." she thought to herself as she looked at his face, which gave off a slightly misterious vibe because of the smoke from the cigarette. 'But I've fallen, dammit'

Ryo, sensing her distress, unknowingly made her fall deeper. He wasn't dense and knew when someone was making a move on him, but he didn't know how stupidly attractive his actions were. Putting a hand on Hiratsuka's chin, he lifted her head up and looked at her seriously, his eyes exuding worry and warmth.

"Are you okay? You don't have a fever right?" he said as he pressed his forehead against hers. Right then, Hiratsuka felt like a little girl being played by an experienced man. Unluckily for her, Ryo wasn't trying to get into her pants. "It seems you're alright. Well, I'll be going to sleep, Hiratsuka"

'Damn you Ryo...'

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A filler that develops a bit on the future and what is going to happen on the next chapters. They'll be spending a bit of time on Rika's apartment, but I don't know if one or two more chapters.