Kenjiro sat on a mat placed in a different section of the campus. The doctor on duty gave him a thumbs up on his condition.

He opened up the bento, and a generous portion of shrimp tempura sat on a blanket of rice. Tentsuyu, the sauce for the tempura was contained in a small plastic container. On the side, fried vegetables were placed prettily. Kenjiro was so impressed by the quality of the boxed lunches they've had so far, that he started talking to himself.

"I wasn't expecting these kinds of lunches. Who the heck funds these?"

"Haiiro Corporation!" A loud voice with a thick accent yelled behind Kenjiro.

"What the heck, man!" 

An electric shock made Kenjiro jolt away. He scurried to catch bento. A

piece of shrimp tempura fell onto the mat, he quickly picked it up and whispered. 

"Five-second rule."

He turned to look at a woman holding a shocking pen. The young lady was another acquaintance

that Kenjiro.

"Hey!"

The woman called Yumi giggled, "Hehe, you were scared."

"I wasn't scared, you literally shocked me with a shocking pen."

"Hey, at least it wasn't Kochi."

Yumi pulled out a large Shiba Inu keychain or what looked like a toy. This made Kenjiro scrunch his eyebrows together in confusion.

His eyebrows rose as Yumi pulled on a latch and pushed a button. The puzzled expression slowly formed into cold horror as a loud noise pierced through the air. Electricity shot out and buzzed from the inconspicuous Shiba Inu taser.

"Hey, is that even allowed in here?" Kenjiro asked in genuine concern. He looked around as if anyone else condones this.

"Duh, it's necessary at a time like this. Don't you know that people go crazy, attacking other people in apocalyptic settings?"

Yumi replied as if it were obvious, swinging around the oddly cute but dangerous taser.

Kenjiro still looked unconvinced.

"Pfft, you'll see once these rations get depleted... people will kill people just for their own sake."

"I mean, it's not unlikely but isn't that too rash? We're not at that point yet." Kenjiro said although at the back of his mind there was a hint of anxiety that crept over the shadows.

Yumi shrugged, "Not yet. Better be prepared for the worst. No?"

Relenting to the Yumi's extreme logic, Kenjiro finally surrendered. "Yeah, I guess."

Yumi smiled with satisfaction and tucked her taser away.

Kenjiro sighed and gave his attention back to his lunch.

While chewing on the crunchy fried tempura batter that enveloped the sweet and salty taste of the shrimp, Kenjiro made small talk.

"Are you done with volunteering work in the High School Department?"

Yumi hummed in agreement, "Everything went much more smoothly since people had picked up the pace compared to the day of the incident."

"Oh, I see. So, how are your parents?"

"They’re good, my dad's condition is getting better. My mom's taking care of him, although she had to take care of other injured patients too."

Kenjiro smiled, "That's good news. You should tell your mom to take some rest." Kenjiro leaned closer to Yumi and covered his mouth with one hand.

"She's getting really old too."

Yumi laughed, "Hey, that's not what you said yesterday. You told her that she looked like a young maiden."

Kenjiro laughed along, "That's what you call flattery."

Yumi pouted, "That's called lying."

"So, you admit that your mother's a grandma."

"Hey! I didn't say that!"

Kenjiro grinned, "Well, that's what you implied."

Yumi relented, "Ugh, fine."

"So you finally admit that she's old."

"Yes, yes, she is old so nothing I can do about that." 

Yumi gave Kenjiro a stare. 

"You still had the guts to call a sweet and hardworking lady old."

The Shiba Inu taser made a reappearance. 

"Do you wanna say hello to Kochi again?"

Kenjiro handed Yumi his melonpan.

Yumi snatched it from him. 

"My lips are sealed."

Kenjiro couldn't help but laugh after that.

After some playful bickering between the two, Jonathan approached and waved at the pair.

"Hey there Yumi."

"Hi, Jon-senpai." Yumi smoothly transitioned to a respectful tone.

"There's going to be a meeting for the volunteers at Keio High, I think it'd be better if you went ahead now.

"Oh really? Then I gotta go." Yumi turned to run however Jonathan stopped her.

"Here, this is for you." Jonathan tossed her a melon pan.

"Oh, great! Now I have two." Yumi mockingly waved the two melon pan at Kenjiro.

"Hey, give the other one back." Kenjiro tried to snatch one of the bread back.

Yumi stuck her tongue out and made a run for it.

Jonathan laughed at the frustrated Kenjiro. Kenjiro replaced his frown with a genuine smile after Yumi was out of his sight.

"Well, she's full of energy."

Jonathan nodded. 

"Indeed. I guess that's one way to cope with her father's illness."

Kenjiro drew a confused look on his face.

"What do you mean?"

Jonathan looked back and forth at Kenjiro and the spot Yumi was moments ago.

"She tells people that her father's condition is getting stable, however, it's actually the opposite."

Kenjiro's expression turned sad.

"Well, I think you need to know. I think you're the only few who tolerate her antics."

"She's a good kid, it's just that she's a bit eccentric."

Jonathan agreed with that.

"Anyways, sorry for bringing down the mood. I do have some good news though."

Kenjiro's curiosity was piqued. 

"What is it?"

"Communication lines could be restored as soon as tomorrow, the signal towers were said to take a while. You could still try and contact your family using a landline."

Kenjiro's eyes opened wide and stood up. "Really? Oh, man... finally. I wish they're okay."

"Think positively, they'll be in great condition." Jonathan gave Kenjiro an encouraging pat on the back and a confident smile.

Kenjiro realized how vast Yumi and Jonathan were but a mix of excitement and anxiety overwhelmed anything else. He took a few deep breaths in and out to help calm himself down. Jonathan clasped his hand tightly on Kenjiro's shoulder, "Hey, everything will be fine, just have faith."