Despite simple pleasantries, Hiroki didn't last this long by being careless. His head on a swivel, keeping away from any potential hiding places like cars, trash cans, and even then would take a moment to check his corners before winding around them. So far, so good. Things were hectic in the first months, not only getting used to things, but because the hordes and the looters. It was a hot bed of gunfire and regular fire. After the first year, there was a noticable decline. The dead had wandered out of the cities. There was less survivors. Less supplies. The next year, he suspected that decay was settling in. He had his eyes on a nearly mummified woman across the street, he waited, crowbar in hand but the zombie's attention went elsewhere, looking at a poster, almost bewildered by it.
He also had to keep an eye on his... friend. She was following him, the noises meaning she went back to life in his presence. He 'activated' her and she was on the hunt... but that wasn't quite right. She should be a little faster. A little more direct but she staggered after him, slowly. Slow enough that he could take his time going from hiding place to hiding place. He was definitely puzzled when her attention went to something on the ground. Nature had retaken much of the city, and the asphalt was cracked crab grass shooting up. The flowers that adorned his apartment had grown into patches at the roots of the tree. It was enough to give him a second glance, take a mental note. Maybe with the decay they lost interest, or couldn't see or hear him quite so much.
He was back on course when Hoshi peered up from her distraction and closed the distance. He rolled his eyes and smirked. Blue flowers. Maybe he should just get a bunch of bright paint and use that to lure them away. His problems would be over. Still it was worth an experiment. He left the complex and was heading east, moving away from the skyrises towards one of the larger streets.
Not two blocks away did he get to the remains of the market district. There was a time he didn't head in this direction. The gunshots that came from here were deafening, maddening. But it's quiet now. Alot of looters in the early days, but bodegas and shops were crammed onto streets next to department stores, strip malls, cinemas, and arcades. There were busted open windows, but some of these places had their shudders down meaning their interiors might be a treasure waiting to be uncracked.
Hiroki went through one alley, passing a corpse that was finished off and left to rot. Another pile of gnawed bones lie just at the end of the alleyway. He looked onto the street and saw a potential place for a bit more food. It was just a simple little convenience store between a clothing shop and a massive multi floored department story. There was scratches, indents, the odd grafetti, but he figured out where you could put a little leverage to bust the lock. It would be tough to open the shudders if they weren't greased, and most importantly loud, but then it was a matter of just smashing through the front door. Still kind of loud.
He looked back over his shoulder, almost forgetting his shadow, Hoshi wouldn't have too much difficulty following him, cause he seemed more focused on other threats. They'd pass over graffetti murals and the remains of long fought battles and the remains of barricades. He was expecting every corner to have an undead that he forgot to give her the slip. Still she hadn't approached. Did.. did she know better? He counted himself lucky, he hadn't needed to risk cracking a skull.
He then noticed the fire escape, and a moved dumpster seemed close enough to it. He gave Hoshi another passing glance as he approached her, closing their distance by half, but only so he could climb the dumpster. He stood upon it, and then effortlessly, he made the jump, grabbing a rung and pulling himself up, staring with his own bicep before hooking a foot. He pulled himself onto the first landing and exhaled. He clamored a bit, making some noise, but it seemed like the alley was clear. He looked down at Hoshi from above and gave her a little wave. "Just going in." He whispered, the echo of the alley carrying his voice. "Stay out of trouble." He would then use his crowbar to jimmy the window, and then make a slow cautious clearance of the room.
The building that Hiroki broke into was the second floor of a petstore, cafe, and phone kiosk. The second floor seemed to be the homes of the shop owners or were just smaller apartments themselves. The place was pretty cleaned out, the owners leaving in a hurry. He scrounged what he could before moving downstairs and entering the pet store, or more like a pet bakery. Frankly he was a little surprised. The place was untouched. Cans of dogfood and kibble. Cat Litter and leashes, there was even doggie bakery cookies, or what was left of them. No body would raid a pet store for supplies, but food and meat were hard to come by, even if it was pretty disgusting to eat. The exterior wasn't shuddered, its window wide open with friendly pink letters to the front of it. If anyone was so inclined, one could look through the storefront windows and seeing him check out the sealed cans and bags of food with friendly cartoon animals on them before placing a few in his backpack.
With atleast four walls around him, Hiroki didn't need to be so quiet, and it was possible that something outside could hear him rummaging. One such thing was another zombie, an older man in a ragged suite, completely stained with blood as most of his face and his neck was ripped off. He tilted his head behind him slightly when he heard some noise, but for the most part seemed content to sit on his park bench, his milky eyes seemingly to be staring at a movie theater across the street, his hands at his sides. He was groaning something to himself, rythmically, as if trying to catch a tune. He was like Marai, finding some sense of peace and sad lonliness in a mind that can't comprehend it. He is passive, groaning as he sits on his bench.
