There was a big crack in the front window of Haruka’s car from last night’s battle, so we’d need another one. The small pickup truck was still in one piece, but it was a two-seater…
Before heading out, I caught Haruka in the hallway of the dorm to go over the plan.
“I’ll drive the pickup to the same supermarket as before. What’re you gonna do?”
“You’re letting Tsukishiro sit in the passenger seat, right?”
“Well, yeah.”
“Tsukishiro—and not your girlfriend.”
“Don’t sulk.”
“I’ll drive my car and follow you.”
“Are you sure? The windshield’s cracked.”
“With my driving skills, it won’t be a problem.”
“You’re so reliable. Thanks, that’s a big help.”
“Don’t worry about it. Well, then, I guess I’ll enjoy my car ride all alone…”
“…Don’t let Tsukishiro hear you talking sarcastically like that.”
“I won’t. I only say things like that when we’re alone,” Haruka said, glaring at me. Apparently, she still wasn’t happy about the situation between Tsukishiro and me.
With the three of us split up into two vehicles, Haruka, Tsukishiro, and I arrived at the parking lot of the supermarket. Our first order of business was to get a new vehicle.
Using the car keys I found on the zombies lying in the stockroom, we went around starting the cars in the lot. I eventually found a blue sedan that had almost a full tank of gasoline and decided to take it.
The automatic door had stopped working due to the power outage, so I pried it open, and the girls and I went into the store looking for battery-powered lights. Walking around, we found flashlights and electric lanterns, as well as several types of motion-sensor lights. Nighttime guard duty should be a little easier if we attached these to the gate.
I was packing the assortment of lights into the car when I noticed Tsukishiro looking down at the ground in embarrassment.
“Tsukishiro…?”
“…Sorry. It’s been almost six hours, so…”
“Oh…! Right…”
“But…it’s embarrassing to do it out here, so I was hoping we could do it in the car…”
“Sure thing.”
We got into the sedan I’d just picked up and closed the doors. I leaned over from the driver’s seat to kiss Tsukishiro, who was sitting in the passenger seat. Haruka stood outside glaring at us as I began to give Tsukishiro my saliva.
As I did, Tsukishiro’s tongue, which she’d hardly moved when we’d kissed before, worked its way between my teeth and began invading deeper into my mouth. It squirmed around and sucked up the saliva.
…Shit. She was getting me excited.
Even though I kept telling myself that this was nothing more than a medical procedure, I couldn’t stop my body temperature from rising. The guilty pleasure was intoxicating, but somehow, I managed to stay rational. I ended the kiss after about three minutes. Our lips parted, and we stepped out of the car breathing heavily.
Once we were back in the supermarket, we picked up portable stoves and gas canisters, then went to the frozen food section, took items that were beginning to thaw out, and carried everything back to the car.
That was the end of our grocery shopping for the day. We returned to the dorm, and after I finished eating lunch, I went around the building installing our new lights.
When it got a bit later in the afternoon, we headed out to the riverbank for a drum bath. We brought five portable stoves and gas canisters, so we figured we’d be able to make more hot water than we had the day before. As we waited for the water to heat up, we all changed into our swimsuits, and I noticed that another six hours had passed since our last kiss.
Tsukishiro and I were pressed together in our swimsuits, and we gazed out at the sunset as we kissed. It was tough to keep my lower body from reacting to the feel of her breasts on my body.
That night, we’d all moved into the new bedroom, and Tsukishiro and I were about to kiss before going to bed. Figuring it’d be easier to give her my saliva with the help of gravity, I had Tsukishiro lie on her back as I kissed her.
As soon as I finished kissing her, I heard a scream.
“—Aaahh!! I can’t take this anymore!!” Haruka shouted. “You’ve been kissing her all day long!! In the car, on the riverbank as the sun set, in bed!! You’ve been kissing her in all sorts of different settings!! I’m jealous!!”
Haruka suddenly closed the distance between us, and glaring at me, she made an outrageous demand.
“Yuuma!! I want you to kiss me, too!!”
“You know I can’t do that.”
“Sure, you can! It’s okay, as long as I don’t get your saliva in my mouth!”
“What if I give you the zombie virus?”
“If it takes turning into a zombie to kiss you, then I accept!”
“Don’t say something so ridiculous…”
Although I was dumbfounded, it seemed dangerous to ignore Haruka’s feelings any longer, so the two of us left the bedroom and went up to the rooftop where we wouldn’t have to worry about the others.
“…Haruka. Do you really want to kiss me that badly?”
“—Yeah, I do,” she said with a look of determination.
“…Okay, then. I’ll kiss you.”
“—! You will?”
“Yeah. But just remember, you’ll be kicked out of here if you turn into a zombie and lose your mind.”
“I’m aware of that.”
“Good. Oh, and just so you know…even if you’re kicked out, I’ll keep on kissing Tsukishiro every day.”
Even though I was only stating the obvious, Haruka scowled at me.
“Also, Tsukishiro told me she likes me yesterday.”
“What?!”
“I didn’t reply to her, seeing as I have a girlfriend now, but if you turn into a zombie and disappear…you know.”
“N-no way!! You should mourn me until the day you die!!”
“I can’t do that. Besides, Tsukishiro is the only person I can have sex with.”
“Ngh… Hngh…!!”
“Okay then, you ready?”
I took a step closer, but Haruka covered her lips with her hands.
“Yuuma, that’s not fair. You know I’d do whatever it took to stop you if you said you might get together with Tsukishiro.”
“So now you do care if you become a zombie?”
“Not only that, I’ll even drink muddy water if I have to—just to survive. I will never allow you to live happily ever after with anyone besides me.”
Her purpose in life was so backward it was scary.
“Relax, Haruka. I’ll make sure you never have to drink muddy water… I’ll protect you, forever.”
“—Huh?! Forever?!”
“Yeah, I have to, since the world’s full of zombies.”
“Yeah, but…forever, huh…? Hee-hee-hee.”
A dumb smile crossed Haruka’s face. I guess her mood had improved.
“Okay. I’ll be counting on you, then. But…I have one request. You kissing Tsukishiro is like torture to me, so I want you to find a way for her to stay human without kissing her.”
“You’re asking me to find a way to kill the zombie virus inside her?”
“That’s right. Let’s figure out what exactly it is that’s turning people into zombies and create a vaccine.”
“That’s a pretty high bar…”
“Then I’ll make it an order instead of a request. Find a way for Tsukishiro to stay human without kissing her,” Haruka demanded with a glare.
I’m the strongest in this zombie world, but I can’t beat this girl.