"There is barely any food left," Rei said, looking at the almost empty shelves while holding a shopping basket in one hand and covering her exposed breasts—visible through her torn blouse—with the other.
"We won't be able to carry that much anyway, so let's just get enough for both of us."
At Nach's remark, the two of them grabbed what the basket could hold—a few bottles of water and energy drinks, some biscuits and bread, protein bars, and chocolates.
"Why are you getting beers?!"
"There's one pack left, so it would be a shame not to take it."
While Nach and Rei were debating whether to take the six-pack of beer, a group of four high school boys wearing Fujimi Academy uniforms entered the store. The moment they saw Rei, all four charged at Nach, brandishing metal rods, clearly aiming to beat him to death and take Rei for themselves.
Rei could tell that much just from the madness in their expressions—the same look the thug who assaulted her had.
Her body froze from the memory of the assault and the lingering sensations she could still feel in her body: the cold knife pressed against her neck, the rough groping on her right breast, and even the pressure on her entrance as the thug rubbed his erection through his shorts and her panties.
She couldn't run nor defend herself. She couldn't even raise her makeshift staff or drop it to reach for the revolver behind her waist. She couldn't open her lips to call for Nach.
Not that she needed to.
Nach grabbed Rei over her shoulder, pulling her closer as he used his right hand—still holding the baseball bat—to grab the door of one of the drink refrigerators. He abruptly swung it open and slammed it into the face of the first guy who had already reached him.
The glass door shattered on impact, the shards falling to the floor along with the first boy, who lay bleeding from the head, his legs twitching as blood pooled and soaked the floor.
"Sensei… did you kill…?" Rei murmured, her voice trembling at the thought that Nach had killed a high school student from their school.
"Kazuto!" The second boy shouted as he continued charging at Nach—only to have his face smashed in as Nach swung the baseball bat.
The remaining two boys halted—not to retreat, but to draw their handguns, five-shot .38 caliber revolvers identical to the ones Nach and Rei had salvaged from dead police officers. But before they could even raise them, Nach dropped his baseball bat, swiftly drew his own revolver from behind his waist and—Bang!—shot both of them in the arms, forcing them to drop their guns.
—"GYAAHH!"—
"Gahhh!—Please don't kill me…"
"Fuc'—If you want Miyamoto, then she's yours…"
The two consecutive gunshots caused everyone inside the store to panic and run away—including the two injured boys—leaving behind their revolvers and their two unconscious classmates.
"Sensei…"
Hearing Rei's terrified voice, Nach shifted from his heightened combat senses back to his usual laid-back demeanor.
"Do you know them, Rei?" He asked, since one of the boys had shouted her last name.
"I think they're delinquents from our school."
They attacked first, so it's their fault, Nach thought, reassuring himself—not that he felt guilty, since he wasn't a real teacher, just an Extra in the story.
"Don't worry, I don't think they're dead yet," He said, trying to ease Rei's worries, though even he wasn't sure of that.
Not bothering to check whether the two boys were actually alive, Nach picked up the revolvers and placed them in the shopping basket.
"Let's go choose some new clothes next."
From the snacks and beverage aisle, Nach and Rei moved to the clothing and tools section.
Nach simply chose a full set of black gym clothes in his size without giving it much thought, even taking the pair of shoes from the mannequin, since his slippers were almost falling apart.
Rei, meanwhile—as if the plot insisted on keeping her as the main heroine of Highschool of the Dead—found a mannequin wearing a Fujimi Academy female student uniform in her size.
"Why is there a student uniform here?" Nach asked—not really directing the question at Rei, just voicing his thoughts.
"Maybe this store was owned by someone from the school," Rei said as she stripped the uniform off the mannequin.
They headed to the fitting room, since Rei refused Nach's suggestion to change clothes right where they stood. But just as they were about to enter the tool aisle, Nach abruptly stopped and stepped back, hiding behind the last clothing shelf, causing Rei to bump into his back.
"Why did you suddenly stop—?" She peeked beside him, but her voice cut off as she saw what was at the center of the hallway.
"Are they…"
"That's right, Rei," Nach said, then added more than what meets the eye.
"It's the—I don't want to die a virgin so let's do it before we turn undead—kind of situation, probably."
Nach's indecent remark made Rei flush as she watched—unwillingly—a pair of high school students having sex in the middle of the store, the girl straddling the boy on the floor. Despite her embarrassment, she also noticed the bite wounds on the girl's leg and the boy's arm.
"What are we gonna do, Sensei…?" Rei whispered, looking to Nach for instruction.
Killing them before they turned undead would be the logical choice. But Nach wasn't the kind of shit bastard who would interrupt a couple having the last intimacy of their lives—or possibly their first.
"They still have some time before they turn, so let's get dressed and leave right away," he said, his sympathetic expression making Rei feel sad for the couple as well.
As they passed silently through the tool aisle, Nach didn't forget to grab more items: a large camping backpack for their loot, an axe, a sledgehammer, a knife, duct tape, and a wooden staff, all while heading toward the fitting room.
Isn't this READER'S VIEWPOINT supposed to give me some kind of item bag? Nach thought as his hands became full of the items he picked up.
"Why are you carrying so many items, Sensei?"
"If I had an item bag, I wouldn't have to..."
"What do you mean by that?"