Sup, buds! New chapter! Hopew y'all enjoy it!
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POV Kiriko Miyamoto
Sitting at the wheel, she drove relaxed at the head of a small convoy of three cars.
In her car were her daughter, Takashi, and Hisashi; behind her were two vehicles, each carrying four Awakened—men whose powers Isao had awakened and who would follow her every command. For some reason, she didn't even question their loyalty. She still remembered that feeling of absolute terror that had grazed her back in Isao's office.
She was grateful that the sensation had only brushed past her, unlike the men, who, judging by their faces at the time, had felt the full weight of that pressure.
Yes… it had been a horrific feeling. Even though the pressure radiating from Isao had only clipped her, she still remembered it with a slight tremor. One moment everything was fine, her sense of self perfect; the next, it was replaced by a feeling of absolute hopelessness—the kind a person feels when watching something precious being destroyed, unable to do anything but witness the slow ruin.
That feeling had been like a wave washing over her and leaving her behind—a wave of fleeting Despair emanating from just one person. It served as a reminder to everyone there that the man standing before them was not ordinary; that in his hands was a power capable of killing everyone in the room with a mere thought. At least, that's what she believed. It was enough to see how Isao, using some metal sphere, killed zombies without even looking at them, all while driving a car and talking to her.
Honestly, it was simply astonishing!
And yet… how incredibly absurd her life had become in just two days.
A few days ago, if anyone had asked what she would do in a zombie apocalypse with superpowers, she would have immediately checked them for alcohol or drug use. But now, look at her!
She had the superpower to create Lightning Spears, and it was virtually impossible to catch her off guard—she meant that even sand in her eyes wouldn't make her blink. That alone would have been an amazing power, but the ability to manifest spears of lightning? It was unprecedented, bordering on the impossible and fantastic. Yet here she was, sitting and driving a car, knowing full well she was capable of such a feat.
And… she was glad. Incredibly glad to have such strength, and grateful that Rei had such a lover.
Unlike what she had… no, she truly loved Tadashi, but only after years of marriage and living together did she begin to realize how foolish and stubborn he could be at times.
Like a damn brat who purposefully goes against everything she says! He was too attached to that mythical code of justice he shared with his friend, Hisashi's father, Hayashi. Both of them were adherents of a damn, stupid, and unconscious brand of justice.
In any other situation, she wouldn't have minded. No, that's not right—she fell in love with and married Tadashi because of that code of justice! But it was his mindless, thoughtless adherence to that code that caused cracks in their once-strong marriage. His foolish actions, dictated by his "justice," nearly cost them their daughter's safety!
She still remembered with a sticky fear the day a letter appeared on her desk, with only one name written on the back: Shido.
No, she wasn't afraid of Koichi Shido. Koichi was useless, broken property exiled to some distant post by the one she feared to death: Ichiro Shido. A man rumored to be connected to the darkest dealings in all of Japan.
Everything from organ and drug trafficking to human trafficking, sexual slavery, and a much longer list.
There had been precedents. The news would show how the entire family of certain police officers, detectives, or "heroes" would vanish. No one knew where they went, only for their corpses to be found weeks or months later, bearing hideous traces of the horror they had endured. Among the bodies were year-old infants and the very elderly; no one was spared.
The one thing connecting all these people whose families disappeared was that they were digging into Shido. They were hunting like rabid dogs for any dirty laundry. So, when she found out Tadashi was doing the same, she was terrified.
She still remembered the day Tadashi revealed what he was doing, sitting so calmly in his office. She nearly lost her mind right then and there. The argument that followed was horrific; she felt ashamed before the neighbors, knowing her voice could probably be heard out on the street.
She got angry with him. She even remembered slapping him several times in despair… it was wrong, it was… humiliating. But even so, even feeling guilt for doing it, she didn't apologize. Because what was the point?
After all, he didn't seem to care about what was between them. He didn't seem to care that they had a daughter. What kind of man, knowing the rumors about the person at the top, would keep digging? Someone who clearly didn't care about what he had to lose.
For days and weeks, she tried to talk her sweet fool out of investigating Ichiro Shido's dark dealings. She did everything—screamed, pleaded, ignored him, talked to him like a small child—but nothing, absolutely nothing worked!
And god, the despair she felt when she found that letter on her office desk at home. The envelope alone was enough to make her feel something was wrong. And when she turned it over and saw that godforsaken last name? She felt despair. Holding that damn letter, without even opening it, she ran to Tadashi. Together, with a worried Tadashi, she opened that cursed letter containing only one word: Stop.
When she read that word, she was on the verge of shock and horror. But Tadashi… it seemed that one word only egged him on. As if that one word was a challenge for him to find all of Ichiro Shido's dirty laundry and lock him and his whole family up. He didn't understand that if he continued, things would get worse, and it wouldn't end with a single damn mafia letter out of some TV show.
That was when she realized what kind of dumbass she had married, what kind of idiot had slept in her bed for over 20 years, and from what brain-fucked person she had given birth to a beautiful daughter.
And then… everything broke. Within a few short days, all her feelings withered. Her sense of self got worse and worse; it felt like her body wasn't controlled by her, but by some robot living her life, while she sat in the darkest corner of her mind, emerging only to ask her daughter about her well-being.
She stopped going to work regularly and threw her self-care in the trash, which added several wrinkles to her face that hadn't been there before.
And Tadashi seemed not to care—not that his beloved was suffering, not that… he just didn't care about her. It made her feel so bad she could cry through the night and fall asleep only because she had no strength left for tears.
But everything changed a day ago… when the zombie apocalypse began.
It was as if she were a computer being rebooted. After a long period of inactivity, she went back to work with double, even triple the vigor.
She learned about the zombies from the news, and her thoughts immediately jumped to the safety of Rei and Tadashi, even if no feelings remained for the latter.
She had to snap out of it instantly. she dragged out all the weapons they had at home. Even though it was March and starting to get warm, she pulled out her leather motorcycle suit and dressed quickly. Only when she stepped outside did she realize it was already evening.
In any other emergency, she would have bolted from the house regardless. Но during a zombie apocalypse? Where zombies could be anywhere? No, she wasn't a fool. A few minutes of news was enough to know the virus was spreading at a breakneck pace.
So she stayed home. To her deep regret, she couldn't reach her daughter, but she reached her husband. She talked to him about everything happening, trying to find out if Rei was with him and where he was.
After that, she ended the call, locked all the doors, lay on the bed, and just… stared at the ceiling.
There were no thoughts in her head. She wasn't contemplating anything. The only thing she did was examine the white ceiling of her bedroom.
Falling asleep, she could only hope that… her daughter and Tadashi would be okay. And now, sitting next to her daughter, who looked healthier than the living, she couldn't be happier.
Her daughter had not only survived but had gained superpowers. Now Kiriko was sure no one could harm her. At least, her little Rei told her so, and feeling the absolute confidence in those words? She believed her.
And all of this, again, was thanks to one boy… rather, one young man. One who, despite having his own code of honor, didn't mind getting his hands bloody—someone behind whose back everyone could be safe.
"Mom?" She heard her daughter's voice from the passenger seat and glanced over.
"Yes, Rei? Is something wrong?" She had gotten used to her daughter's new eyes in a short time, but she still felt a sense of wonder every time she saw them.
"No, I just wanted to know why you're smiling." Hm?
Was she smiling? Yes, now that Rei mentioned it, she could feel the smile on her face. The kind of smile that appears on its own, without external effort—the one that shows up when you are calm and relaxed… it was refreshing.
"I'm just… happy, Rei-chan. Just happy…"
Her daughter watched her for a while; Kiriko could clearly feel the gaze on her face. But after an indefinite amount of time, Rei nodded and turned back toward the window.
And Kiriko?
She simply took a relaxed breath, continuing to drive and thinking about the young man who had changed so much just by existing.
POV Group in the Second Car
The silence in the cabin was normal enough for them all to feel comfortable, even though their lives had been turned upside down in just a single day.
First, there were the zombies, because of whom they lost several brothers in arms. Then there was the duel their longtime Master had lost so crushingly. And now… they all had superpowers. The very things they hadn't even believed could exist.
Despite all these shocks, they… kept themselves in check. There were no reasons to go against Master Isao. From the moment he defeated Master Soichiro, they were completely under his command. It would be utterly foolish to deny it, because… well, why would they? What would they gain from it?
Independence? What the hell would they need that for, when it was clear from the start that Isao—despite being a young guy and having the arrogance typical of his age in some aspects—was still a good guy and a leader?
A crowd of men surviving on their own somewhere on the edge of the city in a zombie apocalypse held no value, as everyone recognized. They would survive, their numbers would dwindle, and they would get zero enjoyment from such a life. The value of that life would literally be equal to the dust on the ground. They wouldn't be able to find loved ones, which meant no one worth protecting, which meant no children. The cost of surviving separately from Isao would be choosing Pride over Honor as befits a man. Instead of helping a young guy save more lives and co-found a new society of survivors, they would simply vanish into history in 30-40 years, since most of them weren't young anymore.
But they weren't fools. That's why they chose to bow before the new Master who had defeated their old one in a fair duel, and the fruits of that were visible from the very first hours.
Who would have thought—truly, who would have thought—that a guy with supernatural powers would be willing to share them with others? Yes, after awakening their powers, he threatened them with execution, but many in his place wouldn't have even been generous enough to share such a vital, game-changing resource. Simply no. No one would do that.
And this only further proved Isao's usefulness to them as their Master. Consequently, now they had to prove their usefulness to their Master to keep things fair.
3rd Person POV
Tokyo, Secret Underground Base, One of the Main Offices.
A luxurious office with wall colors that looked expensive even at a glance. The interior and furniture were made of dark lacquered wood, and an ornate chandelier hung from the ceiling, bathing the room in a warm white light.
In the center of the room was a massive sofa where a heavy-set man lay. In his right hand, he held a bottle of what was likely incredibly expensive alcohol. In his left, he held the bare, massive breasts of a woman of foreign appearance. He stared ahead at a television, watching through cameras as hundreds and thousands of men in military uniforms worked through the hour, dripping with sweat. The man's face was ugly—so much so that a first impression would be instantly negative. Standing behind him with his hands behind his back was another man, much younger and with a more pleasant appearance. However, unlike his father's plain ugliness, the son possessed a more "ugly" expression—one that expressed nothing, as if a corpse had been reanimated but given no purpose, and now it simply existed.
The very air in this office was saturated with money and power, but also with the rot of all human malice, and it emanated from just one person.
"Heh, things are getting interesting... Hoshi, did you find out where your older brother is?" A low, rasping voice belonging to the heavy-set man echoed through the room. It remained unanswered for several seconds—seconds that felt long to the woman in his hand.
"Unfortunately no, Father," the young man replied, his tone absolutely identical to his expression: empty.
"Then he's dead. Not surprising. I don't even know what I expected from that piece of shit." The man took several swigs from his bottle and exhaled heavily. "Throw his mom into the field camp. Let the bitch be useful for once and lift the men's spirits. After all, she only knows how to be a filthy whore!" He broke into a hacking, loud laugh and waved several times to his illegitimate son to go fulfill the task. The son merely nodded and headed for the exit.
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