ZRP-2: Chapter Two, Paradise in Hell

"Akira...Rei...And Rai...Sora...Kairi...Oh! And Suzaku." She grinned,

(James)
=I chuckled a little=
"And you say you can't think of any names....those work."

"Sora and Akira are unisex, so those are good." She shrugged.

(James)
"Hmm, I guess. I just wonder how we'll raise them."
=Opening my eyes just a little, I spoke in a soft voice=

"Say we do it. Kill the Shepherds, have nothing but zombies to deal with. Where do you want to live? In a lockdown town? On the road?"

"By the beach...I want to live by the beach." She answered. "Somewhere safe...safe for us...safe for our child...for Eve, for Sam...Miranda and Andrew..."
She sighed. "With the army, we could do it."

(James)
"Maybe.....yeah, we can do it."
=I smiled a little=

"So, a beach? Enjoy long walks do we?"

"The surf...the smell...walks...I love it all." She grinned. "Plus, seashells."

(James)
=Grinning from ear to ear, I couldn't help but enjoy the conversation. It wasn't just that it was with Hibiki. It was simple, it was plain, it was human. It was a remnant of the world we both used to live in, and I think we desperately needed more conversations like this=
"You collected seashells?"

"I did. Whenever I got a chance to go to the beach, I'd collect seashells and keep them in a box. I don't know if the box is even in existance anymore..." She sighed. "I left it behind, along with the bike I was building and so many memories..."

(James)
"In Baltimore, right?"
=The question was loaded. I think I wanted to see if she wanted to go back to Baltimore. Hell, I would have happily gone if she said yes. Besides, from the sound of it, the seashells and bike she had meant a lot to her. It would mean a lot to me, to see them reunited=

"Everythingis in Baltimore..." She sighed. "It's gone by now...And I got the bike of my dreams waiting downstairs." She grinned.

(James)
=I couldn't tell if that made me happy or sad, that she didn't want the seashells back. On the one hand, it meant she was already happy with what she had now. On the other, it meant she didn't want a reminder of her old life, of the things that made her happy. It put something of a sad expression on my face=

Hibiki frowned. "What's wrong James?" She snuggled closer. "Did I accidentally hurt you?"

(James)
"It's nothing. I guess I was kinda hoping that there'd be a rorad trip back to your old home to recover your seashells."
=A thought struck me=

"What kind of place did you live in?"

"I don't think the shells would be there...and it was small. Just three bedrooms and a garage in a suburb. I didn't need much; I was single." She answered.

(James)
"Three bedrooms and a garage? Kinda large for a single occupant."

"One bedroom was used as storage. The other bedroom was a guestroom. And finally I needed the garage to store my stuff for the bike I was making." She shrugged.

(James)
"Still, not once did you ever get lonely in there?"

"I was always lonely. But I never found someone." She admitted.

(James)
"No one at work, no friends?"

"Cooper obviously. I had friends, but I didn't really hang out with them much. Sometimes I'd go drink with them, maybe go to the movies. It wasn't that I'm antisocial or shy, it's just...I don't know. I just didn't do that stuff."

(James)
"Guess that makes me the opposite then. When I had the time, I'd hang with my friends, go out, see movies, walk around malls and stuff."
=It dawned on me how different I was then, compared to now. Back then, I was open with people, strangers even. Now.....now, I was withdrawn, and kept to tight knit groups. I had changed=

"We're pretty different, yet we're pretty much married. Isn't life fun?" She said, laughing.

(James)
=Smiling, I continued to stroke her hair=
"Hey, opposites attract."

Hibiki smiled, closing her yes. She bent her head closer, enjoying the attention. "I guess they do."

(James)
"So.....when should we head back to the lockdown town and give Marcus the good news?"

"Depends on if we can get Eve and Sam to leave this place." Hibiki answered, laughing. "I dunno really. Soon I guess."

(James)
"Yeah, though I guess before we leave......well, now that I can stand, it seems long overdue that I take a shower."

"Go take a shower." She quickly rolled off the bed, landed and easily turned the falling roll into a grace crouch.
She stood and sat on her bed.

(James)
"Wow that seemed.....eager. Having ideas are we?"
=But I grinned sheepishly, as I rolled off the bed as well, standing up and walking for the bathroom=

"You're smelly." She said, deadpan. "And if I had ideas, you think I'd be sitting on my bed and not leading you into the shower?"

(James)
"I think you'd probably be waiting outside the door for the right moment."
=I said it with a smile, as I walked into the bathroom, closing the door behind me=

"No, I'd join you instead!" Hibiki called back to him.

(James)
=Chuckling, I stripped out of my clothes, turned on the shower, and stepped in. God, it felt so much different from the bath, and better to. Cooped up in that chair, stressed to hell, I had worked up a lot of tension, and the hot water cascading down my shoulders, my chest and my back helped to ease it all out. I let out a sigh of relief at the sensation=

Hibiki laid down, closing her eyes and just waiting.

"I hope Sam and Eve are ok..."

(James)
=I'll be honest: I was starting to wish Hibiki had joined me. Be real, what guy wouldn't want that? Especially since before the outbreak, and before the internet went down, there were how many shower scenes online? I'm sure every guy wanted at least one moment like that. And that's where my mind was as I rubbed soap over myself, though I stopped to look at my left hand now and then. It was still bandaged, but the missing finger was obvious. It may have been a small part, but it was my part by thunder, that was gone. It made me feel incomplete=

Abel kicked the trash can down before launching himself into the window, so that nothing had a chance of climbing in through. He fell over a kitchen sink and unto the tiled floor in a ruckus. After making the loud thud sound, Abel stood up quick to attention, grabbing his sword off the floor and pointing it to the kitchen entrance, which was just a merge to the living room type deal.

(James)
=The shower was done soon, and I smelled fresh, clean, and I felt more awake than before. My clothes were in a heap on the floor, so I grabbed a towel, drying off before wrapping everything below my waist in the towel. Granted, nothing Hibiki hadn't seen before but it was a common courtesy. I stopped to look in the mirror for a moment, and once more saw the scars along my chest, arms, and even when I turned, my back. I really wasn't the same James I was two years ago. With a sigh that betrayed how weary I still felt, I walked out of the bathroom=

Abel inched his way towards the living room's brown carpet, broadsword in front leading him in. A bead of sweat rolled down his cheek, then dripped off of his chin. He took a quick step into the room, reading his sword for a swing... he saw nothing. He then checked the rest of the house, finding it was clear.

Hibiki looked over at him. "Going commando are we? And you didn't invite me!" Hibiki laughed.

(James)
"Was almost hoping you'd join me."
=I walked over to my bag, getting out my other clothes. They were still kinda smelly, but not as bad as the clothes I just got rid of. Without a hint of modesty, I dropped the towel, and got dressed, not caring that Hibiki was right there=

"And it would have ended with sex, which you've been avoiding." Hibiki said, rolling her eyes. "So. Backto the lockdown town, then what? Hoover?"

(James)
"Maybe Hoover, maybe somewhere else. We need more info about any other surviving groups out there."
=I pulled a pair of boxers up and over my crotch, jeans following soon after=

"Still though, where to look...."

"Besides Hoover?" Hibiki frowned. "Well, New York has Madison Square Garden, right? How hard would it be to convert that into a fortress? And LA has the Disney Concert Hall...Oh, maybe a hotel? Isn't there a huge Hilton somewhere?" She said.

(James)
"Probably......hell, I wouldn't be surprised if there were some Elites that got their yachts together and are sailing the high seas."

"I wouldn't put it past them to take an aircraft carrier." She chuckled.

(James)
"hmm, maybe. Though I'd wonder how they get an aircraft carrier, or any military vessel to be honest."

"Same way these guys got a tank and stuff." Hibiki retorted. "They stole it."

(James)
=Chuckling, I pulled on a t-shirt, sitting back on the bed=
"Hard to imagine how they could steal an aircraft carrier."

"Eve turned out to be an enemy spy, but now is dating the girl who had a crush on you and is on our side. Hell, I'd believe the aircraft carrier is made of fucking DUCKS at this point."