"You're not thinking anything weird, are you, Sensei?" Kohta said, voicing the same concern as Hisashi after noticing Nach's massive erection bulging through his black fitness gym shorts.
"And you two aren't?" Nach replied, not hiding the fact that he was indeed getting excited and aroused from the girls' chattering they could faintly overhear from the adjacent bathroom.
They might not be as big as Nach, but even Kohta and Hisashi couldn't deny the bulge in their pants.
Still, the difference wasn't only the size but...
"You're a teacher, and we're students just like them," Hisashi added firmly, making sure Nach understood that his thoughts weren't proper or reasonable in any way—yet not even showing the slightest sign of being annoyed at him, despite his girlfriend being among the girls they were talking about.
Whether Hisashi trusted that Nach wouldn't do anything—That's total bullshit!—Nach thought.
He wouldn't mind if Hisashi punched him in the face for his perverted remark. After all, he would if another guy said the same thing to him. But for Hisashi to not say anything about it made Nach start to doubt whether Hisashi truly liked, loved, or was at least interested in Rei.
---
While Rei, Saeko, and Saya were enjoying themselves in the bathtub on the second floor, Shizuka was in the living room on the ground floor, treating Mr. Maresato's deep cuts on both of his hands with the first aid kit she found at Rika's apartment, with Karen next in line for treatment of the scrapes on her knees and hands.
Alice, on the other hand, was playing with the dog Zeke. Her mother was in the kitchen, preparing a meal from all the canned goods they had gathered not only from Rika's apartment unit, but from the other unit as well.
As for Imamura, he was barricading the large overview window in the living room with the dining table and chairs.
That left Nach, Kohta, and Hisashi to break open the steel cabinet safe containing Rika's guns in the front bedroom adjacent to the bathroom, where they could faintly overhear Rei, Saeko, and Saya's chattering—giving the three of them a bit of erotic fantasy about whichever girl they were thinking about.
---
"Here comes the second one."
—Bam!—
Nach swung his sledgehammer, smashing the second door of the steel cabinet and breaking its lock just like he had done with the first door, which contained ammunition and other supplies, including the Barnett Wildcat C5 hunting crossbow.
"Yatta!" Kohta shouted in delight as soon as Nach opened the second door and he saw the guns inside the cabinet.
First, a Springfield M1A Super Match with the bayonet included.
Second, a modified Knight SR AR-10 complete with scope.
Third and last, an Ithaca M35 Riot Shotgun.
"Do you know what kind of person Shizuka's friend is, Sensei?" Hisashi asked while taking out the ammunition and handing them to Kohta.
From what Nach remembered about Rika's character in the original story of Highschool of the Dead, she was a Prefectural Police sniper and the chief of the First Squadron. She was also an expert markswoman and top 5 in Japan.
But it wasn't like he could give that answer without looking even more suspicious than he already was. After all, his background story was that he was a newly hired part-time instructor and Kyoko's lover, not Shizuka's.
"She was probably a police officer to have this kind of rifles," Nach replied as he assembled the hunting crossbow.
"Being a police officer alone won't allow her to have all these illegal guns," Kohta said, grinning and laughing excitedly with each bullet he put into the magazine.
---
With the guns loaded and all ammunition and supplies gathered in bags, Nach, Kohta, and Hisashi came down to the living room as Alice called them for dinner. At the same time, Rei, Saeko, and Saya came out of the bathroom.
I guess even they would feel embarrassed with other people around, Nach thought, seeing Rei, Saeko, and Saya wearing white shirts they found in Rika's closet instead of only camisole bras and panties like in the original plot of the story.
Missing the chance to see Saeko wearing only a white apron was indeed a shame. As for Rei's panty, it was still there, peeking from the edge of her shirt. Saya, on the other hand…
"Stop ogling us, pervert!" Saya grumbled, throwing her towel straight at Nach's face—only for Nach to catch it and use it to rub Saya's head, drying her hair.
"I said stop touching me or I'm gonna sue you for sexual harassment!"
"I'm not touching you, though, since there's a towel in my hand."
"Idiot! Are you saying you're not groping someone if they're wearing clothes?"
"See? You're always getting pampered," Saeko said, flashing a sweet smile while watching Nach and Saya squabbling, causing Saya to blush and get flustered.
"Knock it off, both of you!"
---
Since Imamura had used the dining table and chairs—even the sofa—as barricades, they were left with no choice but to sit on the floor as they all gathered for dinner.
Regardless, no one said a single complaint, not even about the fact that they were only having canned foods and cup noodles for their meal.
And as they picked their choices and started eating, the realization that they had already lost their regular lives and peaceful days sank into their minds as the taste of the food sank onto their tongues.
"Sob... Sob... Sob..."
"Aren't you a delinquent… Sob… Why are you the first one crying…" Saya retorted at Imamura despite her voice trembling as she held back her own tears and cries.
Although she understood that Imamura had every reason to cry, it wasn't like she knew what to say to console him—not that she or any of them could say anything.
The next to cry was Rei, with Hisashi sitting beside her, embracing and consoling her. Then Shizuka followed, with Nach sitting beside her, using the opportunity to embrace and console her as well.
Then the rest of the girls, including Karen, Alice, and her mother—except Saeko, who remained calm and composed, eating beside Saya.
"What's wrong with all of you… Sob… Don't make this dinner even more awkward…" Saya murmured as she continued stuffing her mouth with food, chewing while crying, swallowing it together with her sobs.
But no matter how fast she devoured her food, her crying never stopped as she worried about the safety of her parents.
At least until Nach stood from his seat, leaving Shizuka for a while and walking toward his backpack to get the item he picked up from the undead along with the key of the van.
"I'm not sure if it'll work, but why don't you try calling your house to check if your parents are okay?" he said, offering Saya a phone as he crouched down in front of her and patted her head to ease her crying.
"See? You're always getting pampered," Saeko teased again, causing Saya to grit her teeth—not to hold back her crying, but her embarrassment.
"If you had a phone, then say so from the start, you idiot!"