A.N.: I do apologize for the 2 month hiatus. I was really trying to find something to write, but a legit writer's block hit me like a brick. But, here's the new chapter which I think is one of the largest divergence from canon. So… yea….

Before we begin, let's answer the reviews:

To T-Biggz: I agree that they will have more difficulties from the L4D type zombies, but I think the main difference is that there will be far less swarms in here and definitely no witches. The next chapter might have a special appearance from a special zombie too though….

To Phazer12: Thank you very much. I will do my best to not disappoint.

To Jack: I actually did decide to add in Shizuka and Rika. However, Miku will most definitely be a villain in here because she has a special role in future chapters already.

Thank you also to the readers. Please consider reviewing if you enjoyed the chapter.

In addition, I will make a p*tr**n starting March also as a way for me to promote my personal projects. Please do consider supporting me through P*tr**n so I can write faster and hopefully better.

Recap: The group escaped from Taiei Shopping Town when some of Them had apparently evolved faster and stronger.

Chapter 13: Breaking the Dead Laws

The situation in Taiei Shopping Town had gone from bad to complete and utter FUBAR. The sprinklers had stopped and that meant there was no more water coming out from them any time soon, but They were already in the mall. Incendiaries would not be as effective and the floor was slick with puddles of water. Many of the electronics they had hoped to develop into a viable defense mechanism had also been ruined beyond a salvageable point.

Out of the original 50 something dwellers, perhaps only 30 now remained, including children and other non-combatants. Their number kept being reduced as more and more of Them poured in, they had to keep falling back deeper and deeper into the mall. Many of the desperate dwellers tried to find an opening in the encirclement, but they had been quickly butchered by the undead and turned into one of Them.

A horror movie fanatic, Yamazaki had foreseen this and knew that if he didn't do something, he would be one of the losers. He had scouted and prepared his own way out, regardless of the other dwellers. He had to look out for himself and if he had to sacrifice others, well… too bad.

He ducked behind benches and planters, making diversions by breaking windows or making noises. So far so good, the other dwellers had taken the brunt of Their attack for him. He had seen the sprinter from before and how he was tackled by a Runner. Learning from that, he made sure to go slow and safe. There was no point in making it out of the mall only to be killed by Them after stepping out.

He peeked to the sides… the coast was clear. He grabbed one of the light bulbs he prepared as a diversion and was almost out. One step, two steps,... there! He stepped out of the glass fortress formerly known as Taiei Shopping Town and basked in the sunlight. This was how it should be... not cowering inside, but a mobile hit-and-run. Fighting Them shouldn't be a siege, it should be a skirmish.

He looked to the parking lot, where he remembered the newcomers went to and followed. Either he would try to join them or he would make use of them and run away later. There was safety in numbers, now if only he could make them fight for him…

He saw one of the group, a yankee looking student with a long gakuran… one of those Showa-era types… a cho-ran, was it? He was fiddling around with one of the cars and if he could get it running, that means transportation would be secured. He headed towards the group when some of Them started to change Their path straight for him. Seeing no clear path to his own destination, he had to take a detour slightly further… then slightly further away, it was alright… he could always turn back.

He now looked at the distance between himself and his original intended destination and was starting to worry. The distance was easily a hundred meters… this would be nothing under normal circumstances, but the current situation was far from normal. The beeping of the alarm helped distract Them away from him; with about half moving away from him. The group he was aiming to join may benefit from his joining, he thought. Yamazaki climbed on top of a car, hoping to escape Them for some time until They got distracted or he was rescued. Of course the second alternative was far from preferable, but he was lacking in choices at the moment and beggars could not be choosers.

He underestimated how loud his footsteps on the cars were. Every thud, bump, and ding sounded like dinner bells to Them and like the starving undead that They were; They eagerly followed. The minibus Yamazaki was on looked like a solitary island in a sea of undead with no way out nor avenues of escape. He reached into his pocket only to find that he had somehow missed his only weapon and nothing he could use to distract the horde of Them. In a word, he was without a doubt… Fucked.

"He… Help!" stuck with no other choice, he called for rescue. He looked at Takashi's group, hoping that they would see him and help. However, that expectation was simply impossible. The space between them was littered by easily a few dozen of Them and any mistakes made would be the death of any living human there.

Xxxx

The constant beeping of the car alarm took a toll on the group's awareness. Without their ears, they had to constantly look around the parking lot and kill Them before They got close. Bodies of Them started to pile around in a macabre circle. Finally after what seemed like forever, Takashi managed to start the car and disable the alarm.

As the car alarm died, they could finally hear the cries for help. They looked towards Yamazaki who was waving his arms for help, but as they heard his calls; so too did the dozens of Them that was originally heading towards the group. Slowly, Their steps turned towards Yamazaki who at this point was becoming more and more frantic. His calls for help had turned into a frenzied yell that gathered even more of Them to his "island".

As a trained police officer, Asami's first thought was to rescue him no matter the cost. However, anyone could tell there was no point in it. She looked at the increasingly panicked Yamazaki and at her new group, as well as to her partner and her mind was made.

"Senpai, can you look after them? They're still kids after all." Asami said.

"Asami... don't." Ayaka could not agree at all to what her junior had in mind.

Asami looked back and gave her a slight smile and prepared to run. Her heart thundered in her head. Before she even took a step, she heard a bark of an order that was not aimed at her… and crumpled down. Behind her was Busujima Saeko who had hit her in the back of the head with her sword's pommel. She looked down to her… "patient" and looked to the potential danger to her group, the screaming mall dweller whose name she neither knew nor cared to know.

"We stick to our goal." Saeko stated. She didn't leave any room for discussion or debate and to everyone, it sounded like an order.

"Get on the cars. We're heading to the clinic. Hirano, can I ask you to take care of her?" Takashi asked.

"Eh? AH? Ah… alright."

Xxxx

Over on the other side, Yamazaki looked on in despair as the group boarded the cars and left… without him. He was sure he could hold out for another couple of hours as long as those runners or jumpers didn't show up and get him. He vowed that he would find that group and exact his revenge on them. How dare they just leave him behind like yesterday's trash?

He kicked out a wayward hand that had gotten a bit too close for comfort and looked around for any other possibilities for his survival. Finding no avenue of escape, he thought to wait it out. He was sure some other rowdy group would make another noise loud enough that he could escape with the distraction.

After the convoy of three cars had left, he waited on top of the sedan, swatting away an errant hand or head. It was probably at 3 PM that he heard a rhythmic whir. He looked up and saw… of all things, a helicopter. It was one of the types that the military would have used, painted in black and camouflage pattern. The thing was big enough to fit several people in it, so it should be a transport helicopter, but it was also equipped with heavy weaponry. It hovered and leveled itself for a few moments before opening fire with its heavy machine guns, mowing Them down and shredding Them to giblets.

That was it! Forget that group, this was the one he should be joining. Yamazaki waved his arms to the helicopter, calling them out to help him. If they just let their rope ladder out, he would be jumping to it in a heartbeat. He had his eyes fixed on the helicopter that he hadn't noticed an errant hand had grabbed him firmly in the ankle.

Yamazaki only felt a tug on his feet before he was dragged down from his perch. His gaze never left the helicopter even as his body was eaten and torn apart by the undead. At last, his vision was of a streak of glowing orange, a tail of smoke following it. His pain would be no more and his dreams snuffed even before it started.

Xxxx

"Tamaru-san, can you pull over there?" Takashi pointed at a convenience store nearby. They had driven for some distance away from the mall and They were nowhere to be seen, so it seemed like a safe place to rest in.

The cars were parked right outside the door; covering most of the glass panels for added protection against any surprises. With the necessary precautions taken, the group started their meeting after their exodus from the mall.

Asami was still unconscious, but it would take some time before she could recover from the horrible headache that would remain. The atmosphere was awkward, some of the members of the group needed to be reassured that this was the best move. After all, they had effectively kidnapped a police officer… who was on duty… and a lady… and (they hoped) was not a minor or the compounded lawsuits would mean lifetime in jail for the mastermind (Takashi) and active participating accessory (Saeko). What about the others? Would they also be considered accessories?

"I… might not agree with the method, but I must agree that was for the best." Ayaka said.

"I'd much rather have her as part of us rather than just another collateral damage." Takashi said. "What she wanted to do… if I didn't have Saeko stop her… it was only commendable under normal circumstances. Now… there's barely any point to it."

"You have to understand that it's our duty to help civilians, but at the same time… I understand that this is far from the best time to do it blindly."

"So now, we're in a pit stop… besides the regular stuff, what else are we short of?" Shizuka chirped in. The conversation was getting too grim for her liking, so she hoped to be able to distract them for a bit.

"Ah… I'm sorry, I'll go back to Asami. Just in case she needs any help." Ayaka excused herself and went back to the cars.

"Well, we got 3 cars now, might as well pick the whole place clean." Saya answered.

Rei looked to the others on scavenging duty and considered joining. Her gaze lingered a bit longer on Takashi who was chatting in hushed tones with Saeko. Their intimacy with each other made her feel like the most unwelcome person in the world. Fine, she thought. One day she would be there. Standing with him in where her current nemesis stood. Rei turned away from them and joined the others. Let them have their fun now.

"Waka, Ane-san, I really can't thank you enough." Hiro bowed low to Takashi and Saeko.

"Don't worry about it, Tamaru-san." Saeko answered for them. She was itching for another round of slaughter after hers was cut short earlier. She was twitching now and considered switching her lust for murder to simple lust and… embrace Takashi passionately, but she knew it wouldnt do much to calm her down. No. She wanted blood and she wanted it soon.

"Tamaru-san, can you help the others for a bit, Saeko and I need to talk about something… in private."

"Of course, Waka. I understand. Then, please excuse me." Hiro bowed one more time before joining his grandfather with the supply run.

Once everyone left far enough, Takashi turned towards Saeko and asked, "You alright?"

"...ain't nothin' fer ya' to worry about." She replied in Kyushu-ben. Now Takashi was getting worried. She only slipped into the accent when she was excited or overly emotional.

"Need you to chill, alright? No killing people that ain't have it out for us."

"Yea… I get it. No killin' any of the livin' 'til further notice."

"Good enough. You need somethin' for now? Water, chips, somethin' else?"

"This." Saeko grabbed Takashi by the lapel and kissed him. For his part, Takashi was pleasantly surprised and happily leaned into her. Their tongues caressed and fought for dominance. At that moment, they were alone in their own world and nothing mattered but each other. None of them realized how long they spent in each other's embrace and for a moment it didn't matter.

They were disturbed by Rei and Saya who could feel their jealousy burning at the sight. While she hoped her brown haired counterpart would take the lead, it seemed she was too far out of it to make a comment. Reluctantly, Saya cleared her throat and coughed. If it were anyone else, they would certainly separate from each other with red faces. However, she was not dealing with a common rabble. Saeko instead deepened her kiss and moaned into her lover's mouth, making sure that the two girls saw and heard her.

"Are you quite done?" Rei finally regained her senses and asked. To say she was unhappy was quite probably the biggest understatement since Z-day happened. She was steaming at the ears and had half a mind to march there and physically separate them. Probably give Takashi a good smack or two to vent her anger and a tongue lashing to Saeko whom she considered to be the man-stealing bitch.

In response, Saeko lifted a finger to tell them to wait and moaned once more before separating from her lover with a loud pop and a final lick to his lips. As they separated, Saeko smiled at the girls and said, "Now I'm done."

Xxxx

"It's very nice of you to take care of her, Kouta-kun." Umeko said.

"I'm not doing much. This is the least I can do for her."

While some of the group resupplied in the store, the others were resting in the cars. Especially the older Tamaru couple who couldn't move much and Asami who was still unconscious and nursed by Kouta. Using a box of tissue paper as a pillow and Kouta's gakuran as a blanket, Asami was as comfortable as they could manage. It wasn't long before she finally stirred and awoke.

She tried to sit up before falling back down. Her head felt like it was being split open and the pain was enough to make her drop back down onto the seat. Shizuka had to go search for medicines or things that could be used for medicine inside, but had given clear instructions to the ones inside.

"Here, drink this." Toshimi offered her a pain killer with water while Misuzu got Kouta to prop her up to make sure she didn't accidentally choke.

"Are you feeling better now?" Misuzu asked. She gave her a makeshift ice pack made of a cold water bottle and towel. Thankfully the cool autumn weather made sure the ice melted more slowly.

"How… did I get here? What happened? I… I was trying to get to that person on that car, then I heard something else and then… nothing else." Asami was trying to remember what led to her situation, but nothing came up.

"Uh… Um… well, try not to worry about it. You're recovering from… something after all." Kouta tried to divert the issue elsewhere, albeit unconvincingly.

"Asami, are you ok?" Ayaka returned to the cars with some food and water for everyone, including a small bag of doggie treats for Zeke. The pup would need his energy to make sure he didn't get sick. Shizuka was a doctor, but not a veterinarian.

"Matsushima-senpai… yes… a bit better. What hit me back then?"

"Ah… well… don't worry about it. What's important is you get better soon. Shizuka-sensei said you might get a bit of a bump, but it'll get better soon. Just compress it often. Try to get some rest, ok?"

Xxxx

The trip going to the clinic was fortunately only littered with a few of Them. The group didn't even need to get off the cars or shoot a single round to dispatch Them. Shizuka preferred to just run Them over, while Takashi actually played baseball with Their heads. Under normal circumstances, the group should have reached the clinic in less than 30 minutes, but constant detour from an infestation of Them or other more blindly violent survivors.

"Well, here we are." Finally after almost two hours the group reached the clinic for Umeko's transfusion.

There were no groaning sounds coming from the inside which meant there might not be any of Them inside. The front doors were also locked, but there didn't seem to be anyone inside at all.

They split into 2 groups; first to enter would secure the inside of the clinic and another as escort to the ailing Umeko. The interior was bare; there was nobody inside nor much of anything in it beyond medical supplies and apparently a lot of files.

"Alright, let's do this now." Shizuka said as she rolled up her sleeves.

Post Chapter AN: Not much here to say…. Next update will hopefully be in March. I am considering resurrecting Sengoku Youkai Taisen or completely rewriting TakaTora Monogatari. Which one would you be more interested in? Please let me know.