Chapter 11：Compromising and Sharing

Knowing that it was not conducive to keep our negative emotions to ourselves, we decided to share some of our grievances with each other. Like him not eating Japanese eggplants which later he said he is allergic to and me removing any access fat on poultry. I told him that I find them creepy and nauseating. He made up his mind to cook his own if he wished to have them 'fully fat'. So, we compromised with each other.

Although we were shoved into this situation by our family members, we knew that we need to be a team to fully function as a unit. After observing my husband for the past few months, I decided to give this marriage a try. There was not much to loose but more to gain instead anyway.

"Hey, Tatsuya san. I've a few things to share with you," I said. He switched off the television and gave me his full attention. I noticed I like this about him; focusing on what I wanted to say. "In two months time, zombies will appear. No one knows how they came about but since we're a family now, I want you to know this," I said, hopping he would not think I was crazy. "It will be difficult to find a safe place and get necessary things in just two months. We need help," he said then added after seeing my shocked face, "It seems you don't know about 'us'. Your clan isn't the only one in the world to have abilities."

To prove his point, he took some metal scraps and started shaping them. The end result was a small stool. I gasped and asked, "A metal wielder?" He shook his head and said, "I'm good with my hands." I pretended I did not hear the ambiguity of that sentence.

"Alright. Since you shared yours, I'll show you mine," I said while grabbing his left arm. The scene changed into my now familiar space. "This solves some problems. Why are the animals all over the place? No sprinklers? Why is there a hill of boxes over there?" he questioned me. Good thing he has an ability too. There was no need to explain how illogical it was to have one.

"I couldn't find anyone to make animal enclosures, so I let the animals wander around a bit while I build the fences you see over there," and added, "I didn't want some random people to enter my space so getting a sprinkler system installed was out of the question and those boxes are the things I bought ever since I learned about the zombies." "It will take some time to build a house," Tatsuya said after a few minutes of contemplation. "Oh! I ordered some mobiles homes and was thinking of getting them from Nagoya in two days time," I spoke. "Alright. I need to go through the boxes to see what else we might need," he said.

"Here. There is ten million yen in the card. If you need more, just let me know," I offered Tatsuya. "An chan, can your space accommodate two more people?" he asked hesitatingly. "Yes, I can bring in up to 21 people. Who do you want to bring along?" I asked. "My cousin and his friend. The two witnesses for our ceremony. It won't take much to persuade them to believe in the existence of zombies," he answered. "OK. We'll need more hands to manage the space anyway. I don't have enough food to feed them though. I need to buy some more," I stated. "I'll get Riku to join you after I explain the situation to him," said Tatsuya.

We also finally got the mobile homes to which I generously gave the other couple one. I kept four for myself, one as a communal area and turned two into stores. While the men worked their ass of under the sun, I spent my sweet time in the kitchen as I salted, canned, dried, froze and pickled a quarter of our food supplies. I should not bully them to much. I better prepare a lavish dinner for them after this.

Tatsuya was right yet again when he said Ashikaga Riku and his 'friend' Keith Allen were easy to convince as I stood in front of a shopping complex next to Riku. I took out my shopping list and shoved it into his hands. He growled a bit at the one meter long list and dragged me with him. Ah, why did it feel like having a 'girlfriend' accompanying you shopping. It felt nice to have a local help you with your purchases while you help him push the trolley instead. He was even nice enough to buy necessities for his friend.

Riku and Keith moved into our house three days later. Keith also handed in his resignation letter not long after. I only learned later on that Keith was once a visiting lecturer at Riku's university. I noticed some weird vibes coming out of the two of them but decided to continue my observation. Being a busybody that I was, I convinced Riku to join me in watching Hitorijime My Hero. Noticing his uncomfortable stares, I asked Keith who just came out of the kitchen instead since I could not understand Riku most of the time. "Does he hate that anime that much?" I asked. "You're ok with that genre?" he asked me back instead. I decided to answer truthfully and asked, "Are you his seme, Keith?" He groaned and said, "I can't believe you're a fujoshi." I grinned at them both. If you want to blame anyone, blame Tatsuya for introducing that world to me.

Preparations were also done outside of my space. Doors and windows have been reinforced and barricaded as we waited nervously for winter to come. We switched on the television and listened to the radio for signs of the impending apocalypse. Soon, it came ...