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Yuriko Takagi
It did not escape her notice that Tsurugi's eyes glinted slightly the moment she mentioned Isao's name. It made her wary, but... for the moment, there was nothing she could do about it, as the man sitting before her was someone they needed.
"Then, Ururu-san, if I may ask, how many civilians are there here?" The man sitting across from her pondered for a moment, his black hair falling over his eyes as he tilted his head in thought.
"Well, there are definitely at least two thousand civilians. As for people with at least some form of military training, there's about fifteen from my own SAT squad, a hundred airport security and police officers, and roughly twenty of Shihido's group. In total, 135 people capable of fighting off the dead." Rather than stopping at the civilian count, the man listed almost everyone present before coughing. "Though... I wouldn't count Shihido's men; it's highly doubtful he'd cooperate with us." He shrugged.
"I see. I assume... you know what kind of man he is? Or rather, whose man he is?" At her words, something flickered in Ururu's eyes.
"Of course, how could I not know? He's Ichiro Shido's loyal hound. Honestly, I even know why they're here, if you're interested." He smiled slightly, likely trying to gain a sliver of her trust. She decided to play along with his unspoken request to continue. "One of his men let it slip that Shihido and his squad were sent here to retrieve his son and take him to a much safer place—some base in Tokyo where he holds power, but..."
"They didn't find him." She finished the sentence for him, recalling what Saya had told her. Shizuka's expression seemed to give them away.
"Hm, judging by your partner's expression, you know something?" He looked at Shizuka with interest, then shifted his gaze back to her. "Care to share that information?"
"..." Shizuka looked at her apologetically, prompting Yuriko to let out a weary sigh. She looked back at the man. "I don't mind, but in return, I want to ask for a favor."
"Hm?" He looked at her inquiringly and nodded.
"We need to get rid of Shihido and his entire squad." The steel in her tone surprised him, though it didn't trigger as strong a reaction as she might have expected.
"Hah, allow me to say one thing, Yuriko-san: I wouldn't mind getting rid of them myself, but to do it just for information about a man I'm not even interested in? Not exactly a profitable deal, don't you think?" He looked at her with mild judgment, the way one might scold someone for foolishness, making her sigh internally.
"Then, allow me to demonstrate something. I ask that you do not react too strongly." She reached for the desk and took the cap off a pen, then turned her gaze back to him. "But before I do, I want you to know: if what I demonstrate is worth it, we will dispose of Shihido and his group immediately."
"I can promise you that on my Mistress's honor." He smirked, which made her frown slightly. Mistress? A special response team is sponsored and fully run by the government, but some squads can be sponsored by private individuals, allowing them to effectively own a unit as long as they don't act against Japan's interests. But it takes astronomical sums of money to do that, and there was only one family in all of Japan wealthy enough to afford it... the Shinomiya family.
The man sitting before her was a servant of Kaguya Shinomiya. She had become the heiress of her house just a year ago, inheriting everything from her father. She was a true genius—a genius who could outshine even her own daughter. Souichiro had been deeply unimpressed by their daughter's intellect precisely because he had seen someone only a year older than her who was ten times sharper and craftier.
But... why would those people be interested in Isao? She had seen Ururu's eyes ignite at the mention of Isao. Did they know something about him that she didn't? And how valuable could that information be if even the Shinomiya family was taking notice?
"Then..." She raised her hand and poured just a tiny drop of her energy into the pen cap, tossed it into the air, and instantly detonated it with a tiny blast.
She felt Rika and Tajima snap to their weapons, but Yuriko remained still, not twitching a muscle in her body or face. Had it not been for Ururu raising his hand, the two behind her would have already had her in their crosshairs.
"Ha... I see... Souichiro Takagi is a man who craves power. Ever since you mentioned that Isao is your leader, I've been wondering why he would serve some stranger whom even I—let alone others—know nothing about. So that's what it is... the person you serve is capable of granting such powers..." His dark eyes studied her, and she sat there, holding his gaze. "Let me ask a question—no, two. Is Isao's ability limited to just explosions? Or can he grant other abilities? And... it would likely be safe to assume that everyone you came with possesses various abilities, wouldn't it?" He grinned. She was stunned by the level of his intellect. She decided to be honest; if she tried to hide anything now, it might become the final nail in the coffin of her relationship with the person behind Ururu.
Kaguya Shinomiya was not someone you wanted to cross. Despite being kind to many of her own, she had zero tolerance for enemies and would crush them systematically. Right now, Yuriko didn't even have intel on how many military assets the Shinomiya family had under their thumb.
"Isao can grant various abilities, but it depends on the person. And yes, all of those who arrived with me possess abilities." She nodded. Ururu chuckled.
"The world is becoming more interesting by the day. First zombies, then information about them mutating, and now information that there is a man capable of giving others superpowers..." He scratched the bridge of his nose, then nodded at her. "I don't mind cooperating with you. And after you've revealed such delicate information, I'm even prepared to get rid of Shihido and his clique myself... but I have one request: I want to meet this Isao of yours."
"If you are looking for powers, that is not in my hands. The Master himself chooses who to awaken. But perhaps if you cooperate with us with the utmost dedication, he might consider it." She nodded, instantly cutting off any unnecessary hope, then offered a glimmer of it on the condition that he remained as compliant as possible.
"Oh, I don't mind at all!" He nodded, then asked, "So, what is your Master planning to do? What are his next steps? I'm curious what he intends to do in a city where, most likely, there isn't a single safe place left due to the rapidly mutating zombies." She didn't have to answer, but she realized that if his Mistress was interested in Isao, she might send them even more support if she learned where they were sailing.
"The Master is currently gathering all survivors from known locations. Once that is done, we will head to the port, clear it of all the dead, and sail to an island on ferries." She didn't mention that Isao-kun intended to clear the port alone; it was better they didn't know even a fraction of his true power. It would be much safer that way.
"Hm... I see. You're likely planning to sail to Kotsu Island, aren't you? There are wind turbines there that, if repaired, would provide you with electricity, farms, and a village that can be refurbished. It's removed from the main island, so the chance of zombies being there is quite low, though not zero... I have but one question: did Isao think of this himself?" He smiled mockingly, but it was clear that it was a facade—all he wanted was to gauge Isao's intelligence.
"Yes, that is correct." She nodded. It might have seemed like she was telling him everything he wanted to know, but in reality, she was just giving him a false sense of confidence. "Now... how can I be sure that we will get rid of the human trash represented by Shihido?"
"Oh, I can let my men tear them to pieces right now if you wish." Ururu smiled, looking at her expectantly. She nodded; it was better to get rid of the garbage than to let it live. "Then, allow me to take my leave. I have business to attend to..." He offered a mysterious smile, devoid of any warmth. As he stood, he nodded to Rika and Tajima—likely a signal for them to stay behind—and walked out of the office.
Tsurugi Ururu
Tsurugi was ecstatic. Isao Tsumugi was not only alive, but he possessed superpowers that no one else had. And, thanks to these abilities, they might be able to reclaim Japan from the zombies—not to mention the fact that a certain alliance was bound to form between his Mistress and Isao.
Honestly, for everyone working under the Mistress, Isao Tsumugi was practically a target whose monitoring was considered standard training. Anyone who went through the Shinomiya-sama training structure had shadowed him for at least a week at some point. And yes... they knew about the strange relationship with his sister, but Shinomiya-sama didn't give a damn, so why should they worry?
Even then, despite Isao Tsumugi being a fairly ordinary man in every other aspect, he displayed many talents, listing which would be boring.
And right now, someone working under his command had come to him and revealed most of his information—even his plans? This was the jackpot. Now he could calmly do everything necessary to get to him, but first...
He was sitting in the briefing room, where most of the police, his own men, and Shihido's men had been discussing things just a few hours ago. Right now, there were about six of his own men in the room, holding their submachine guns in the open to keep the paranoia of those arriving in a few minutes at bay.
Eventually, Shihido's men began to wander in, sitting on the sofas and looking at him with mockery—a bunch of stupid animals he was about to put down.
After a while, Shihido himself appeared, holding a bottle of beer.
"Oh, goddammit, Ururu... why the hell do I need you?! If this isn't related to my mission, I'm gonna puke all over your place! Souichiro and I were having a good conversation!" He stumbled over, swaying, made it to the sofa opposite Ururu, and collapsed into it. His men chuckled at his words and muttered their own.
"Yes, it is related to your mission. I received the necessary information from Yuriko-san while you were talking to her husband." The man sitting before him tried to pull himself together but only managed to belch and look at him with a question. "But you know...? I'm not going to tell you, because the dead have no use for that information." Immediately after he finished speaking, his men opened fire.
For over a minute and a half, submachine guns with extended magazines tore into the men, who had no idea what was coming. It was more than enough time to kill anything, even a mutated zombie. The automatic fire was nearly deafening, but he held his ground. When they stopped, he stood up and looked at the riddled corpse still clutching the beer can, which was now leaking liquid from a stray bullet hole.
"Our task here is complete. I have obtained the information about the primary mission. We will gather the civilians and head to the city, to our sensei's base." He grinned, noticing that some of his men were perking up, realizing they would finally be allowed to interact with the man who had brought so much color into their lives through his work.
Yes, everything was perfect. Now, just transport the civilians and report to the Mistress that they knew where her beloved was located.
Isao Tsumugi
A few hours later in time
Driving out of the city toward the port, he felt a strange sense of wariness and could only sigh, hoping he wouldn't run into some overly dangerous abomination. It would be too much of a pain if he met someone truly formidable.
It wasn't that he'd get hurt, but it would definitely give him more work than he was expecting right now.
On the other hand, he slightly regretted not saying goodbye to Saya and Saeko, as the likelihood that Saya was furious right now was incredibly high. But he hoped not that she wouldn't be angry, but that she wouldn't beat herself up for the fact that he hadn't taken her with him.
He had another half hour to drive... damn it, when would they reach that fucking island? He was just so tired of all this!
As soon as he reached the island, he'd spend the first week working, and after the first week... he'd take a good, long rest, enjoying the company of his women.
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