Conversations.

[RedHuntressLive]: You're not gonna drink that, are you? I don't want you ending up like Uncle Qrow (Distressed Little Red Riding Hood Emote).

Oh! Red's back. Looking at the viewer count, I could see it had gone up to twelve; everyone was here. Putting the rest of the drinks in my inventory, I returned to the hallway.

"Nah! I just don't want trouble. A house full of teenagers and alcohol? That's a recipe for disaster." I don't want a repeat of what happened this morning. As tempting as it might be, I don't think it's the time or place to try anything. I'm not desperate for sex or anything like that.

[GeniusBillionairePlayboy]: Bah! Boring, you're alone with all these girls, and you're not gonna try anything? Swing the other way? (Suspicious Iron Man Emote).

[YellowHuntressLive]: Not the words I'd use, but close enough. Are you gay or something, no offense, just asking. (Suspicious Yellow Bear Emote).

[JiraiyaIsAnIdiot]: It's strange indeed, disappointing even...

I could feel a vein on my forehead pulsating with irritation. Damn, just because I don't want to do anything right now doesn't mean I'm gay! I'm not exhibitionist enough to do that in front of the stream, and I don't want to spend five hundred SP just for sex.

And what the hell? Disappointing? Since when would Orochimaru be disappointed by something like this? I suspected—before I could finish my train of thought, I heard a sound of metal hitting metal. Hurrying to the source of the noise, I found the two teenage boys in the house trying to break open a cabinet in the hallway.

They seemed to have successfully broken open one of the cabinet doors, which appeared to contain various types of military ammunition and equipment, and now they were attempting to break open the second door with a... crowbar? Where did they get that?

I sighed as I approached the two before they either injured themselves using the crowbar incorrectly or attracted the attention of a horde of zombies with the noise. It was free SP for me, of course, but cleaning blood off the body was a pain. I didn't want to do that right now.

"Just stop. Do you know how much noise you're making?" I held the crowbar before they hurt themselves. "You're lucky the idiots on the bridge are attracting all the zombies in the area."

The two looked embarrassed, and then Takashi pointed to the open cabinet door. "Kohta thought there might be something in the cabinets because of the army car outside. He said it was army stuff or something." He then pointed to the closed door. "We found ammo in this one, so we thought there might be guns or something in the other one."

It was a good thought. I remember watching the anime, and they had guns. Was this where they got them from? "Alright, give me some space; I'll open this door."

Seeing that both of them stepped back a few paces, I placed the crowbar on the cabinet door and began to push. I didn't need much effort to break the locks on the door and have the cabinet swing open. Putting the crowbar in my inventory, I went to look to see what was insi-

[RedHuntressLive]: WOW!

"WOW!"

Kohta let out a happy exclamation, just as Red typed hers. I just hoped in the next part Red didn't do the same because the group's sharpshooter had the most psychotically schizophrenic smile on his face that a patient in a psychiatric ward would seem saner than him right now.

"I knew it!" He looked like a child who had received the best Christmas present. It was a strange combination with his current smile. Takashi, for some reason, seemed to find this smile normal and asked normally.

"Did Shizuka sensei say that her friend used to live here, right?" He paused, swallowing uncertainly. "What does this friend have to do with all this?"

Excellent question, was she in the army or something? Yakuza? I don't remember much of that part of the anime, except for...

"Hiyahhh!"

That's it. The girls were taking a bath together, right? I remember that scene well, even though I watched it more than five years ago...

As one, the three of us turned to the side where that moan had come from. Takashi was the first among us to speak.

"It sounds like they're having fun..."

That seemed to be enough to snap Kohta out of his psychotic episode for a moment, and he asked.

"Do you want to sneak a peek like a real man would?"

I looked at him and shook my head. Takashi seemed to be considering that option too... Teenagers were a pain, weren't they?

[JiraiyaIsAnIdiot]: Are you going to spy, by any chance? That's something that stupid super-perverted toad would do...

Super-perverted? Wasn't that the... never mind, I'll think about it later. For now, I have two horny idiots to discipline.

Sighing, I smacked the back of their heads, causing them to turn towards me. "I'm going to teach you something, boys. Take this to heart, if possible." I hardened my voice as I looked into their eyes.

"If a man has to hide like a rat to see a woman naked, then he's a rat." I stared at the two of them as I continued.

"Are you two men or rats?"

I don't know what they saw, but they quickly nodded and exclaimed.

"Men!" / "Men! Sir!"

Kohta even straightened up and gave a military salute for some reason. Well, at least they understood.

[GeniusBillionairePlayboy]: Damn, dude... I feel sorry for your daughter's future boyfriend... (Iron Man sweating emote).

[WiseWizardGleam]: Wise words, my friend. (Old wizard wisdom nod emote).

[GryffinHouseMatron]: If only half, no, a third of the boys at Hogwarts thought like this, my job would be much easier... (Defeated cat sighing emote).

[RedHuntressLive]: I knew you wouldn't peek! Yang owes me 100 Liens now! Woohoo! And you look pretty cool like this, your scar just makes it even cooler!! (Little Red Riding Hood dancing emote).

[JackMom]: Besides the bloodshed earlier, maybe I should let my son watch your stream too, the gods know he needs a male role model in his life. (Goldfish waving emote).

Alright... So, basic decency seems to have become rare? The folks in the (CHAT) seemed surprised by this?

Shaking my head, I turned my attention back to the boy who was still in a soldier's pose.

"Kohta, come over here, I don't know much about guns, and you know more than I do, could you explain?" I said, pointing to the cabinet with the weaponry. That seemed to be enough to make the boy snap back to normal and smile like a maniac again. Was it some kind of switch or something?

He rushed over to the guns and picked one up, then began talking as he inspected it.

"Springfield M1A1 Super Match..." He tinkered with the gun a bit before explaining, "It's good to be semi-automatic, as the M1A automatic series just wastes bullets."

He didn't even seem to be explaining to me, just talking to himself as if knowledge were leaking out of him. Takashi had already calmed down from the verbal scolding I'd given him earlier and walked past me while waving to the shooter in the group.

"Hey, Hirano?"

The boy didn't seem to hear, continuing his monologue.

"The magazine holds twenty rounds. That's illegal in Japan!"

Before I could ask why it was illegal, he placed the gun on the floor and turned, heading back to the cabinet while muttering rapidly.

"Rifle Knight's SR-25 enhanced!" He grabbed the gun from the cabinet's resting place and began inspecting it, ignoring us; at this point, I wasn't even sure if he remembered we were still here.

"Wait, this is illegal in Japan, so it must be a modified AR-10!" He said excitedly.

"And there's a crossbow in the cabinet too! It's a descendant of the one Robin Hood used, a Barnett Wildcat C5!-" Okay, here he lost me, Robin Hood? "-Made in Britain! You can kill a bear with this!"

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Takashi sigh before reaching for one of the guns in the cabinet. I hoped it was a trick of the light because the gun enthusiast's glasses seemed to gleam before he pointed to the gun Takashi held and exclaimed happily.

"It's an Ithaca M-37 assault shotgun! It's a great American weapon!" He paused for a second to catch his breath before continuing. "It played a significant role in the Vietnam War!"

I could see Takashi put his hand on the gun's pump and reload it, already anticipating the trouble he was about to cause. I grabbed the barrel with my hand and pointed it down before he could aim it at Kohta; the boy was enthusiastic but didn't deserve to die.

"Don't point that at anyone, even if it's unloaded." He was what, three years old? He looked at me sheepishly like a child caught doing something wrong and lowered the gun.

Kohta seemed to agree with my words, and I raised my hand while pointing at the window.

"That's right! You can only point it at..." Takashi seemed to understand without Kohta or me needing to explain.

"At them... right?" The zombies, it didn't need to be said.

He looked grim and gazed at the ground. "But... what if we don't only need to aim it at them?" He raised his head and looked at me as if expecting advice. I could see Kohta looking at me too, waiting for me to speak.

I sighed. I hated having to be responsible, but if the two of them were counting on me, so be it.

"Listen," I called their attention. "I can't guarantee that you won't have to point your guns at humans, or that you'll never have to kill humans, understand?" They nodded slightly.

"Out there, the most dangerous thing isn't the zombies, they're slow, dumb, and all they want to do is bite and kill you, but the humans..." I paused for a moment before continuing.

"Humans are much more dangerous; they are capable of much worse than just killing, so if it's necessary to point that gun to protect yourself..." I pointed at the gun in Takashi's hand and then at him. "To protect your friends..." I pointed at Kohta, who was standing beside him.

"To protect those you've sworn to protect, want to protect..." I pointed in the direction of the bathroom, which seemed quieter. "Grit your teeth and shoot; it's better them dead than you, understand?"

No response from them. I could see they looked confused. I could understand, how couldn't I? I had never killed a human being; just the idea of doing so made my stomach turn, but unfortunately, it was their current world... At least it would only be humans they would need to kill...

Images of the horrors of Terraria flashed through my mind before I forcefully pushed them away.

Seeing that they were down, I exclaimed again.

"Do you understand?!"

Takashi looked at me along with Kohta; they didn't answer me, but they nodded. I could see in their eyes that they were serious about it, so I nodded back; now, let's try to lighten the mood.

Placing a hand on both of their shoulders, I pulled them close with a hug and gave them a smile.

"At least you can rest assured that while I'm here, I'll block whatever I can, be it zombies or humans, understand? While I'm here, you can count on me." I couldn't help but ruffle their hair and chuckle a bit. I could see they seemed more relaxed with my words.

I wasn't saying this to play the hero or deceive them with false security. I was saying this because if I were in their shoes, I would want someone to help me, so I'll help them the way I would want others to do for me.

"Now, how about helping me reload these magazines?" I pointed at the bullets and empty magazines. I could already tell this would be a pain. Luckily, I had company.

[...]

POV: Saya Takagi.

Looking around, I could see that all the girls were silent, mouths slightly agape. I didn't need to look in the mirror to know that I looked the same.

"That idiot... saying things like that out of the blue... who does he think he is? A superhero?" I couldn't help but mutter to myself, but unlike the words coming out of my mouth, my tone was cheerful, accompanied by the smile on my face.

Glancing at the bizarre plush cockroach in the corner of the bathroom, I could only feel my smile grow...

I could see that the others had the same smile, in different ways. Saeko seemed to have found someone she wanted to follow; I could see pride and adoration, along with something more in her gaze.

The well-endowed nurse clutched her ample bosom while waving to the air and smiling. I couldn't say I knew what was going on in her head, but I knew she was happy. But...

Rei was the problem. Looking at her, I could see she was blushing, not from the steam in the bathroom, no, she looked and was a blushing teenager who had heard her crush say something heroic. That....bitch.

Hisashi-san hadn't been dead for even two days, and she already looked like a horny slut! Didn't she like Komuro-kun? Or did she want both of them?! I could feel a vein on my forehead pulsating.

I could admit that I had a crush on Komuro-kun, but after years of seeing him chase after her and ignore me, that crush had basically died.

Of course, I knew that what I felt for the only man out there was just a crush, not love or anything like that. Normally, I would just dismiss it. He was much older than me, looked to be around twenty-four or so, and I had just turned eighteen. It wouldn't normally work.

But in the current state of the world? Where the law hardly mattered, there were flesh-eating monsters on the loose, and people were killing each other? I would be crazy not to want a man who could protect me. If he happened to be my crush, that was even better!

I didn't care that he was older; he was muscular, not ugly, above-average even, not a model or anything, but still easy on the eyes, and that scar on his face only made him...

I bit my lower lip. Maybe growing up among my father's yakuza had left my taste in men unusual, but it didn't matter! If that bitch thought I'd let her interfere and steal the guy I liked again, she had another thing coming!

I lifted my chin and approached the blushing minx until I felt my breasts pressing against hers. Ignoring the sensation of our nipples brushing against each other, I looked into her eyes. I could see that she seemed confused but stared back at me.

I brought my face closer to hers and growled the words in a low tone.

"He's mine! Got it?!"

I could see the smile disappear from her face. I knew she wouldn't give up, but neither would I!

[...]

POV: Devas Asura.

I could feel a shiver down my spine, instinctively straightened up, and looked around. What the hell was that? Has streaming every day made me paranoid or something?

The three of us had climbed the stairs to the second floor of the apartment to sort out the bullets more calmly.

Running my hand up and down my face a few times, I grabbed a bottle of water and drank, offering it to the other two who were helping me load the clips.

"Anyone want some water?"

I saw both of them nod in agreement. Pulling two more bottles from the inventory, I tossed them to them before stretching; sitting like this sucked.

After the two finished drinking, we resumed loading the clips. Kohta was the first to express his dissatisfaction.

"Seriously, loading these clips is a pain." He complained but hadn't stopped working.

Takashi seemed curious about the statement.

"Have you done this before?" He paused to take another sip of water before continuing to load the bullets. "I mean, with a real gun?"

It was a question I had as well; he had gone for a course abroad or something, right?

Kohta shook his head and replied with a slight smile.

"No, with real guns." I just raised an eyebrow at that; it wasn't that uncommon outside of Japan, but Takashi seemed quite surprised as he exclaimed with wide eyes.

"You've actually held a real gun?"

Kohta simply nodded as he continued working.

"When I went to America, I was trained for a whole month by a professional instructor from Blackwater." He seemed excited to tell this story; I suppose he doesn't go around telling everyone.

"He used to be a Delta Force captain!" He finished with an exclamation.

"Impressive." I couldn't help but comment; those were my genuine thoughts. I don't think he's lying; that must be why he's so good.

The kid seemed to light up with my praise. Damn, if that's enough to make him this happy, what was his life like before this?

Takashi seemed impressed too.

"You seem like an expert on this subject," said the boy wielding the baseball bat as a weapon. "I'm glad you're on our side."

True, I'll see if he can give me some tips. I'm not a complete amateur with guns, but he's clearly more experienced than I am. Speaking of weapons...

"Aren't these weapons kind of illegal? I don't know Japanese laws very well, being from outside, but this seems a bit much, doesn't it?" I pointed to the small arsenal in front of us.

"True! Who is Shizuka-sensei's friend anyway? These weapons are totally illegal!" Takashi seemed to share the same opinion. Luckily, Kohta had the answer to one of these questions.

"Technically, they're not illegal if the parts are bought separately," he paused to drink some water, "but it becomes illegal as soon as they're assembled."

She had said her friend was part of the special forces, right? An active agent, perhaps?

"Everything gets sorted out when you work for the police, right?" Takashi said that. Our friend in the red shirt had a somewhat strange opinion, but maybe it's like that in Japan?

"Well, I don't think it's just the police." I pointed to the luxury apartment. Even a regular cop couldn't afford that. "Regular police officers don't have the money for this. Either she has rich parents, she's dating someone rich, or she's involved in something serious."

Kohta nodded in agreement, along with Takashi. At this point, we were almost finished loading the clips. The girls in the bathroom had also resumed making noise, to the point that Kohta commented.

"They're making a lot of noise. Is that going to be a problem?" He didn't even seem tempted to go spy. It seems he really took my words seriously.

I shook my head in denial and pointed to the balcony, specifically to the bridge in the distance with sirens flashing. Takashi grabbed one of the binoculars on the floor and went to take a look.

"Aniki is right..." Aniki? "There's a lot more noise coming from the bridge." He seemed to search for something for a while before exclaiming. "There's some kind of TV station there. Turn on the TV, maybe we can see what's happening."

Well, I don't know if I should be happy or worried that Takashi sees me as some kind of older brother. I'll take it as a compliment and be happy. Nodding, I grabbed the remote and turned on the TV.

"Indeed, it's a report from the bridge back there." I pointed to the bridge over my shoulder. "Looks serious."

On the TV, a man dressed in a construction helmet and a yellow vest was shouting something about the pandemic being caused by biological weapons developed by foreign governments or something like that.

Shortly after, the channel was switched to a female field reporter.

"We're reporting live from the protest of those who are against the establishment," she looked scared but still took her job seriously. My attention was drawn away from the TV by Takashi speaking.

"Fatal pandemic?"

"She must be talking about the zombies," Kohta was the one who responded. I couldn't help but comment.

"It's foolishness. The guy is an animal. Even if this were a biological weapon, it would be foolish to let it out. It's basically suicide..."

That's what I thought. I could be wrong, of course. Who knows how the governments in this world behaved? I didn't even know how the governments in my world behaved!

But at least Stark and Stane seemed to share my opinion. Maybe I wasn't so wrong after all.

[TechTycoonStane]: There's no businessman or politician in the world who would release something like this without having insurance, a vaccine, or something like that. Could it be?

[GeniusBillionairePlayboy]: It's futile; the virus spreads too fast. It must be able to mutate quickly too. Any vaccine he made before will just act as a buffer at this point!

I simply believed in Stark and took his words as my own. I wasn't a biologist or virologist, and Stark wasn't either, but he had Jarvis, so the chance of him talking nonsense decreased significantly.

"The virus spreads too fast, it must be able to mutate quickly too. Any vaccine made by him before will just act as a buffer at this point."

The teenagers in the room looked at me surprised that I seemed to know about the topic and nodded in agreement. Stark seemed a bit indignant about it.

[GeniusBillionairePlayboy]: HEY! I said that! You thief! (Indignant Iron Man emote).

I shrugged. I had stolen, or rather, borrowed half the stores in this city. Taking his words wasn't a big deal, and I'm pretty sure it was Jarvis who said that.

Returning to the TV, the scene seemed to have changed. The field reporter was now holding a pamphlet and explaining the conspiracy theorists' theory. The scene was cut again to a group of zombies attacking, and the protesters getting even angrier, until the police intervened.

The captain, or what I assume is the captain on the bridge, approached the man who seemed to be the leader of the protest. He said a few words before shooting and killing the man. Then the footage was cut.

The two boys looked shocked. They weren't the only ones.

[RedHuntressLive]: Why did that police officer kill the man? Wasn't he supposed to protect the people?

[YellowHuntressLive]: I'm going to talk to her, be right back.

Oh Red... I feel sad that she has to see this... Sighing, I turned to the two in the room. Yang should be able to comfort Ruby. The rest of the viewers didn't comment, so I guess they were more used to this.

"Don't dwell on it too much, just focus on what we need to do, and we'll be fine." They just nodded at me. They still seemed a bit lost with the news, but they were okay.

Before I could say anything else, I heard footsteps coming from the stairs. Looking at them, it was Saeko. She was already dressed in the extra clothes I gave the girls when they went to bathe.

"We've finished bathing. The bathroom is free if you want to go." She pointed downstairs. "Rei and Saya are in the kitchen, they started making dinner, and Shizuka-sensei is helping. It'll take a while, so you can take a bath if you want."

I waved to her and turned to the other two.

"You two can go take a bath. I'll stay out here on the balcony for a breath of fresh air. I'm not really in the mood for a bath right now." I'd accept a bath, but I preferred to bathe alone, well, at least not with other guys. I'll let the two go first.

They just nodded and went downstairs. Saeko gave me a look I couldn't quite understand. Before she went down, she turned and spoke to me.

"I'll help the other girls with dinner. If you need anything, just call me, Devas-dono." Then she turned and went downstairs.

"Dono"? What did that mean again?" I murmured. Whatever the stream did, it gave me knowledge of language, writing, and speech, but there were some words I didn't know the meaning of. "Dono" was one of them.

Well, shrugging it off, I turned to go to the balcony. I didn't think Saeko would be offended by anything, so it shouldn't be something bad.

Now on the balcony, I leaned my body and enjoyed the view. The cleaning I had done of the zombies this afternoon must have helped because there weren't many zombies in the street.

I just stood there watching the street while feeling the wind on my face, not thinking too much. I found myself gazing at the night sky, something I hadn't done in a long time, to be more specific, since I arrived in Terraria.

The sky of this world had the same problem as Earth's, in this case, this planet was also Earth, but never mind. It was polluted; I couldn't see the stars properly, but that didn't take away from its beauty.

I enjoyed the calmness and the beauty of the night, only to be interrupted by distant screams coming from the streets below.