HOTD! Busujima's Step Brother

Back in the quarantine zone, Saeko ate dinner alone in the corner of the dark room. She had a late one today because she practiced a little too late and forgot to eat.

It had been three days since they arrived at the camp and two days since Daiki left.

Saya had been worried and looked for any way to get in touch with Daiki. But Saeko was different.

She knew he would be safe.

He would never leave her alone in a world full of zombies. It was the same thing that he did in Japan, fighting through hordes of zombies just to save her.

'If I had to say, I am a little disappointed.'

Respecting a man's wish and pride was a woman's duty. She let him go alone because he said that it was his own personal problem. But as his sister, it made her feel useless. Like she wasn't capable enough.

Saeko had thought about following him to Raccoon City. But the problem was, it was impossible to leave the quarantine zone without any authority. The border was heavily guarded and even if they tried to escape, there was no transportation. No vehicles or bikes that could be used.

Not only that, there was a danger inside this place. Daiki told him about it.

And Saeko believed him.

'...I can't believe it.'

The thought of someone trying to target their group after they had just arrived in America made Saeko shudder. The worst thing that she could think of right now would be someone kidnapping the girls. Or even worse, trying to do something unspeakable with them.

If that really did happen, Saeko would not hesitate to kill them.

After eating, she washed the utensil using the water in the basin.

Water was precious here, and Saeko made sure to use them wisely.

"I thought you were already sleeping."

When she turned to look at the source of the voice, she found Miss Rika leaning on the doorframe of the kitchen, smoking a cigarette. The older woman walked toward her with a smile and leaned her hips against the sink, next to Saeko.

"What, worried about the boy?" She asked, blowing smoke out from her lips, "Or are you thinking of going to the dangerous place?"

"Both," Saeko replied with a faint smile on her face, "But I won't do it. I promised that I would wait for his return, and that's what I am going to do."

"Is that so? That's nice."

Saeko's smile became a little bit wider, "I will just train so that I am prepared."

"Prepared?"

"For everything that will come at me."

Rika laughed, "Hahahaha! You are a funny woman, Saeko!"

"Is that so?" She replied calmly, a smile on her lips.

"Yes, you are." The older woman nodded, "You don't talk much, but you sure know how to make me laugh. You and the other girls are interesting. Even the kid."

"I will tell that to him." Saeko said.

"You can do that tomorrow. For now, let's get you to sleep."

"Yes, thank you for your offer. But I think I will stay up for a few more hours." She shook her head slowly and declined politely, "You should go to sleep first, Miss Rika."

"Is that so?" Rika shrugged, "Fine then. Just be careful, okay?"

"I know."

The older woman nodded before turning around, leaving Saeko alone in the darkness of the room.

When Saeko was finished with her dishwashing duty, she headed upstairs to the room they were staying in. Saya was sleeping on the bed with Miss Shizuka.

The bed wasn't big, but they managed to fit in. Maybe because Saya's small body was easy to handle.

"..."

Silently, Saeko grabbed her sword and sat on the chair.

Her duty, asked by her brother, was to protect people they were with.

And so she would stay until morning, just like yesterday. Because dangers lurked close.

***

As morning arrived, I woke up feeling exhausted. Sleeping in a dirty couch in an apartment in the middle of the apocalypse wasn't good for my body.

My body felt sore and heavy. My back hurt, my arms were sore, and my legs ached. But that wasn't important.

'Ugh...'

My priority was to leave Raccoon City before the military launched an airstrike. A nuke, to be exact.

With an outbreak happening here and it was too dangerous to send in more men, a missile or nuke seemed like the perfect choice. It was easy, fast, and would wipe out every single trace of the virus. It wouldn't take a long time for them to decide.

That's why I needed to get back to the girls quickly.

"Damn."

I stood up and walked over to the bathroom. My face looked hazzard and my body felt tired. There was no shower here so I had to clean myself up with my hand only.

Then I took my gun and left the apartment.

Slowly, I looked left and right to check if there were any zombies around.

Nothing.

I walked down the street slowly and carefully, looking for any signs of zombies or survivors. It was still morning and there might be a lot of zombies wandering around.

However, it was quiet today.

The sound of gunfire could still be heard somewhere else, but it wasn't as loud or frequent as before. And I couldn't hear any scream of terror or pain.

All the zombies might've been attracted to the noise or were busy chasing survivors, which was good news for me.

"Let's go."

My bike was busted. I saw it yesterday after I got out of the sewers.

So I had to find a new vehicle to ride on. Maybe a new motorbike or a car. Anything that would allow me to leave Raccoon City faster.

Unfortunately, there was nothing around. The streets were empty.

So, I kept walking down the street while being on the lookout for zombies or survivors. And I saw a zombie walking in a group. A large group.

'What the hell are they doing?'

It looked like they were heading to a direction. A place, somewhere in Raccoon City. All of the zombies seemed to be attracted by something. A loud noise or something like a beacon?

But I was still far from the group, so I couldn't hear anything from them.

'Hmm... Should I follow them?'

Maybe I could kill a few zombies on the way, or maybe even loot some stuff from their corpses.

No, that was too risky.

If this city's fate was the same as the series, then a nuke would hit this city in no time.

Also, what would happen to me if the military decided to bomb it now? What would I do?

What would the system do to me if the whole city was gone and I didn't complete any quest or mission? Would it give me another one, or would I have to wait until it decided to give me something new?

I had no answer for any of those questions, but I still had to get the hell out of here as soon as possible.

Thankfully, I found an old truck at the parking lot in front of an old building.

'Thank fuck.'

I ran over to it, checking inside to see if anyone had left anything behind.

Nothing. I had to wire it myself, then. I had knowledge about it but I never did it. So I had to try it first.

If I weren't wrong, I should cut this, twist that, connect that, and—

Vroom-

Success! It started.