“So I want you to clear out a department store for me where I can choose a swimsuit.”
“You’re kidding, right?”
“All you have to do is tie up all the zombies inside.”
“Don’t make it sound so easy… I haven’t checked out any department stores, but there are probably thousands, maybe even tens of thousands of zombies in a place like that.”
“Catch ten thousand a day, and you’ll be done in a few days.”
“You’re evil.”
“Is that a no…?”
“Of course it’s a no. Don’t you have a swimsuit at home?”
“We don’t have swimming for PE at high school, so I only have the one I used to wear back in junior high. It’s the school swimsuit, and it’s really tight around my chest…”
“……”
“You just looked at my chest, didn’t you?”
“No.”
“I’ll let it go if you help me find a swimsuit.”
“I said I didn’t look.”
“I want something cute, since I’ll be showing it off to you. You’d like to see me in a swimsuit, too, wouldn’t you?”
“Not particularly.”
“Be honest, or I’ll show everyone the video I took and tell them you’re my obedient little dog when it’s just the two of us.”
“…I want to see you in a swimsuit.”
“Which would you rather see, me in my school swimsuit or in a bikini?”
“I mean…”
“I also have photos of you in that cage.”
“Bikini…!!”
“I thought as much… You do your best to find me a department store, and I’ll try to look as cute as possible. I’ve never worn a bikini before,” Haruka said with a shy smile. It seemed like she was convinced I would do anything to see her in a swimsuit.
Not that she was wrong.
“Since it’s almost impossible to tie up every zombie in a department store, I’ll think of something else,” I told her. “Like, what if we found a clothing store where I can get rid of all the zombies…?”
“Yes, please!”
“But that still won’t be enough to guarantee your safety, so I’ll always make sure I’m by your side whenever you go looking for a swimsuit.”
“I’d want nothing less. You can help me pick one out.”
In other words, I’d get to accompany Haruka when she went looking for a swimsuit…!!
That was all the motivation I needed.
“—Wouldn’t you all like to take a bath?”
It was just after three in the afternoon, and Haruka had gathered everyone in the cafeteria to tell them our idea.
“…What do you mean, Hyuuga? Didn’t we agree not to use the bath since we can’t use the tap water anymore?”
“I’m glad you asked, Tsukishiro. Thanks to all of Yuuma’s hard work, we can now use a drum bath. And that’s not all; there’s also a clothing store where we can pick up bathing suits.”
Haruka explained to the other three girls that I’d gone to the river nearby and tied up all the zombies lurking about, found a small pickup truck to take the oil drum to the riverbed where I’d set it up, and found and secured a clothing store.
“So anyone who wants to take a bath can come with us down to the river. Tell us if you want to go out.”
“……”
Our three dorm mates looked at each other with confusion. I couldn’t blame them; how could anyone say yes to a suggestion like that on the spot?
“…You’re asking if we’re willing to risk our lives to take a bath…,” Tsukishiro mumbled.
When she put it that way, I saw that we were asking them to make a huge decision…
“Okay. Then Yuuma and I will go today, and once we know it’s safe, you can all go tomorrow—”
“Absolutely not,” Tsukishiro said flatly. “We’re all working together to survive. We can’t keep letting the two of you risk your lives for our sakes…”
“It’s not that big of a deal,” I said. “It was just an idea Haruka came up with because she was thinking about herself.”
“Um… I wouldn’t mind going,” Lisa chimed in. “It’s tough being unable to take a bath for such a long time, but there’s more to it than that… I think it’s about time I got a look at what’s going on with the outside world.”
“…If it isn’t too much trouble, I’d also like to come,” Ichinose said with a determined look. “We can’t stay in here until we die, and this sounds like a good opportunity…”
“Then it’s decided: All five of us will go out today,” Tsukishiro said, every bit of hesitation gone from her expression. Lisa and Ichinose nodded.
Our three dorm mates had readied themselves to venture into the outside world.
We grabbed a change of clothes, then got in the car and headed to the clothing store with Haruka driving. But as soon as we left the dormitory—
“…It really is a mess…,” Lisa said, overwhelmed as she took in the bizarre sight. She was sitting on the right side of the back seat. “It looks like something out of a video game… I hadn’t quite believed it up till now, but it’s real…”
Lisa hadn’t been outside once since the zombies first appeared. She sat there looking out the car window, and it seemed like the reality of the situation had finally sunk in.
The same went for Ichinose, sitting on the left side in the back. She silently stared at the zombies roaming the road and the charred husks of crashed cars.
Tsukishiro sat in the middle between Lisa and Ichinose, and she didn’t even attempt to look outside. She’d been guarding the gate all this time, but she was probably running on fumes…
We eventually arrived at the clothing store where I’d cleaned out the zombies. I first went in alone, to check that it was safe, then invited the others to join me.
We were walking toward the swimsuit section when Haruka came up to me and asked teasingly, “What sort of swimsuits do you like?”
“Why do you want to know?”
“I’ll use that to help me pick.”
“Just choose whatever you like.”
“Hey, I’m going out of my way to ask what you like because I’m such a nice person.”
“What do you want me to say…?”
I wondered how to react to that as I gazed at the swimsuits on display.
To be honest, I thought Haruka would look cute in any of them, but if I had to choose, I’d prefer one that revealed as much as possible. After all, it wasn’t like I had to worry about other guys seeing her.
Still, I didn’t have the courage to say that to Haruka. I didn’t want to lie and say I liked more covered-up swimsuits, either, though. It was a tough question to answer…
“Are you having trouble picking one when there’s so many to choose from?” Haruka commented pointedly with a half smile.
“I never said that,” I denied automatically. “And why do you need to limit yourself to one in the first place anyway? Wouldn’t it make more sense to get a few if you’re going to wear one to take a bath every day?”
If she had to wear them anyway, I thought it might be nice to see her in a variety of swimwear, but Haruka just pouted at me.
“Don’t be such a downer when I’m having fun choosing a swimsuit.”
“You’re the one who dragged me into this.”
“Fine then, I’ll choose one myself. At least tell me what colors you like.”
“Hmm…”
I took another look at the swimsuits on the racks. Haruka would probably try to find a swimsuit in whatever colors I told her I liked. That said, I didn’t have the faintest idea of which to choose. Black and white seemed nice, but red and blue also suited her…