The Group Grows, Again (I)...

Kanae finally arrived on the ground floor along with her group and she couldn't help but release a sigh… Thankfully, her plan for escaping the top floor worked just like it was supposed to. She could have brought Zaku Samada's faction with her, but that might have turned out to be a disaster. If the Leader of this group refused to let them enter, then there was a chance that Zaku might have tried to blackmail them…

Kanae shuddered at the thought, but for now, she decided to forget about that fool. Now, she needed to convince the Leader or the members of this group to let them join. Kanae didn't expect it to be too hard since all of her group members were ready to fight. Even though Kanae would have liked it if all of them stayed indoors, she knew that it was a fool's dream. Everyone needed to earn their keep. This was one of the reasons why Kanae decided to leave the top floor.

Most of the food and resources were collected by her group, but she had to share them with everyone. She could have refused, but then they would have kept nagging her and Kanae wasn't cruel enough to let them starve. Kanae was a delinquent, but she had never killed anyone or caused anyone's death. So, there was no way that she could simply kill a person out of the blue. Then she was also worried about her group. Cowards who were also desperate could be extremely dangerous.

"Stop! Who are you?" Kanae froze when all of a sudden she heard a voice coming from inside a shop. Kanae turned toward the shop and found the bespectacled boy pointing a gun in her direction, she couldn't but frown as soon as she saw the boy. She could have sworn that the boy was in a different store when she last saw him.

"Hirano-san, you need to calm down! We don't own the shopping complex. They are also free to take the resources, as long as they don't cause any trouble, I think it will be fine…" The purple-haired woman, who had arrived with the second team walked out of the shop. Kohta relaxed a bit, but he didn't lower his weapon.

"No, they came from that direction. I am sure that if they had entered from the back entrance then either Busujima-san or Bella-sama would have come to inform us" Kohta explained, making Yuriko frown. "Which means that they have come down the stairs" Kohta concluded with a huge grin and his glass shined comically.

Kanae and her group members were completely gobsmacked. Kanae knew that beating around the bush was going to cause more problems, so she simply decided to come out clean. "Yes, you are right. We were staying on the top floor, but we saw you clear the ground floor. So, I decided to join your group, if that is possible" Kanae explained with a wave of her hands.

As soon as Kanae's words registered inside Kohta's mind, he tensed up. If they had seen them clear the ground floor, it was possible that they also Kemono kill Aoba and Tsukomo. This was not good… not good at all. So, before Yuriko could say anything, Kohta decided to speak up.

"It is not up to us… You need to talk with our Leader, only he can make that decision" Kohta blurted out hurriedly. Yuriko didn't interfere since Kohta was right, the decision wasn't up to them.

"I don't have any problems with that… So, where is your Leader?" Kanae asked as she continued to stare at Kohta.

"I am here" Kanae's head snapped towards her left and she saw the boy who had arrived with the second team walking in their direction followed by the woman who used fire…

~~With Daichi~~

"You know, you don't need to hide it from me, I know you killed them" All of a sudden, Daichi spoke up while putting food in one of the empty bags. Kemono was surprised by Daichi's words, but she quickly realized what Daichi was talking about.

"Yeah, as soon as I saw you, I was supposed to tell you how I killed them, right?" Kemono snarked sarcastically and Daichi released a sigh.

"No, mom. I don't mean that. I mean you could have told me after we entered the store. I understand that you killed them and I am not angry at you for killing those two fools. In fact, I am quite glad that you killed the two of them, but I would have if you could have trusted me with the truth…" Daichi explained why he wasn't happy with Kemono.

Kemono frowned after hearing Daichi's words, but after a few seconds of silence, her features softened. "You are right, I should have trusted you with the truth, You aren't small anymore and you know me quite well to know about my personality" Kemono said softly as she approached Daichi. She placed her hand on Daichi's cheek and after a few moments, she gently caressed his cheek.

"Don't worry mom, it is fine. I also understand where you are coming from, you simply wanted to spare me the burden of truth, but as I said it is fine. I can share your burdens" Daichi softly smiled and he placed his hand over his mother's hand on his cheek. Then he slowly lowered his head and captured his mom's lips. Kemono gently returned the kiss. After a couple of minutes, the two of them finally separated.

"Daichi, it was my bad, from the next time, I will tell you if I kill someone" Kemono said with a serious look on his face, and a smile formed on Daichi's face.

"I am glad" Daichi added softly before he leaned down for the second time to capture his mom's lips. Kemono grinned and wrapped her hands around Daichi's back. The two of them started to make out without caring about anything else, but luck was not on their side. They had to stop when the two of them started to hear voices from the outside.

Kemono groaned in annoyance as she let go of her son, she was kind of angry at the person who had dared to interrupt her private time with her son. Though she wasn't going to complain out loud. If the person who had dared to interrupt her was annoying, then she was going to make her grievance known by killing this person, but otherwise, she would leave them alone for the time being.

"Don't worry, mom. I will make it up to you after returning" Daichi realized what Kemono was thinking, so he decided to calm her down. Kemono beamed at her son, displaying her large canines. After that, without wasting any time, Daichi made his way toward the store entrance and Kemono followed her son with a grin on her face.

Daichi heard some snippets of the conversation, but that was enough for him to understand what was going on. Some of the survivors who were staying on the upper floor had decided to join their group. When Daichi finally exited the shop, he heard the Leader of the other group, which was surprising a girl ask about him. Technically, she asked about their Leader, but since he was the Leader, he decided that she asked about him.

Daichi thought that this was the best time to speak up. "I am here" Daichi called out and all the members of the other group turned towards him. Daichi noticed that girl had a delinquent vibe just like the rest of the members of her group. Their whole group was dressed in the uniform of Nishimiya Highschool and the said Highschool had a reputation for allowing delinquents to enroll in their school.