In a grocery store

Kiku's rational mind quickly came up with a plan. He knew that he needed food and water to survive, and that he needed to find more people. Chances were he wasn't the only one in this ghost town. However, it wasn't a very good idea to wander this strange place alone. It seemed to be quite vast, and it kept Kiku on edge.

However, he realized that he needed to eat, and to do that he had to find food. To do that he had to move. Besides, it would be much easier to find help if he were walking around, and he had his katana with him.

Soon, Kiku wandered upon a grocery store. He stepped inside. It, like the town, was vast and seemingly empty. He heard rustling noises, but was sure that it was his imagination again. Seeing as there was nobody in this town, he wouldn't have to pay for anything in the store. He found some fish and started to eat it, drinking a bottle of flavored water he found. "I wonder if I will find anyone in this strange place," he mused. "I hope I am not truly alone."

Vash, too, was a rational man. He knew he needed not only to find his allies but food and water as well. Bullets would come later, as he always conserved them anyway. He turned yet another corner, and walked down the road quite a bit before he finally found a grocery store. It was most likely abandoned like the rest of the town but he didn't want to take any chances. He cautiously came up to the building and slowly opened the door. A quick look around the front aisles and he went in, stepping around anything that could possibly make any noise and give away his presence. That when he heard a noise and dropped to the ground. With a military crawl he came closer and closer to whatever was making that sound. He would never take any chances, though in the back of his mind he truly hoped it was an ally.

Once Vash was close enough he jumped up and aimed, taking whatever or whoever was there by surprise. He was just about to pull the trigger when he realized who it was. One of his closest allies, Kiku. Or...was it? He wasn't going to trust anything in that place. He could possibly be an illusion. And so, he didn't lower his gun and kept it trained on Kiku's fore head. Silence, except for his heavy breathing, as he tried to figure out what to do.

Kiku stared in the direction of the unknown person that took him by surprise, which was usually unlikely. However, he was lost in his thoughts. He should have known better in this strange town. He didn't know how hostile this person was, but he could assume by the gun pointed at his forehead that they were very hostile.

He looked more closely and saw his close ally, Vash. However, Vash was a very distrusting man, and Kiku's rational mind told him that he would not be trusted easily, especially under such strange circumstances. He put his hands on his katana; if he were going to die here, he should at least die an honorable death.

"Konnichiwa, Vash-kun," he said coldly.

Vash took one step forward, cautious. This Kiku knew his name even if it was somehow an illusion. An illusion of his own mind, then, perhaps? No, there was no way he would let something like that happen. He was always careful of that, not letting his mind play tricks on him and staying calm. Not even that city could play tricks on him. That put him a bit at ease but he still didn't trust the man infront of him. He had to find out if it was truly Kiku, for he never wanted to make a huge mistake like that.

"Kiku?" he questioned, lowering his gun just slightly. "Kiku Honda?" He glanced to the katana. He had remembered seeing it before, at Kiku's house. So perhaps it really was him? "How did you get here?" He started drilling him with questions. Kiku's answers and the way he responded would determine if he was real or not. "Where was the world meeting? What did your letter say?" Questions only the real Kiku Honda would know.

Kiku answered each question flawlessly. "Hai, watashi wa Honda Kiku. I have no idea how I got here, just that I was invited to a world meeting and awoke in a storage shed. Apparently, there was no meeting, since both you and I are here right now. And as for my letter..." he pulled out a neatly folded letter from his pocket. "See for yourself." He read it aloud.

"Now, what about you?" he said. "How do I know that you are really Vash Zwingli? How do I know that you are not an impostor, the culprit in disguise? I know that, if you are truly Vash-kun, as you appear to be, then answer me these same questions. If you are an impostor, then I will fight you to the death."

Vash kept his gun trained on Kiku until he was done answering every question. And he answered them flawlessly. With a content sigh he eventually lowered his gun. But then the same questions were shot at him. He remained calm and answered them just as Kiku did, flawlessly.

"I remember walking in the room for the world meeting," he began. "No one was there and I became worried. I was somehow knocked out, however, and ended up here, in an abandoned pet shop. My letter said the same as yours, and you can see for yourself if you like." He took the letter from his pocket and threw it to Kiku, it landing at his feet. He also took out the folded papers he was planning to read from at the meeting, each in his own handwriting. He showed them to Kiku as well, from afar. "I am Vash Zwingli of Switzerland."

Kiku nodded, lowering and eventually sheathing his sword. "Watashi wa Nippon no Honda Kiku," he said. "There must be others in this strange place if we are here as well. I walked through the town, as I'm assuming you did, and saw no one. However, the stores such as this one are completely stocked. I have not checked any of the houses yet. It is as if the residents of this town all mysteriously vanished, or evacuated. Our sole purpose now, aside from staying alive, is to find the others, and then to find a way out of here."

Vash strapped his rifle back onto himself and nodded as Kiku spoke. He was thinking the exact same thing. "I haven't run into much, but I can tell this town is dangerous," he admitted. "We need to find the others and make sure no harm comes to them. And we need to stick together." He went over to the shelves and looked at his food options. He didn't like taking the food without paying, but they truly had no choice in the matter at that moment. Though he'd be lying if he didn't admit getting food for free was absolutely fabulous. "You said you hadn't run into anyone else, ja?" He picked out an expensive package of cheese, expertly containing his joy for being able to actually eat it now. "How about anything?" He sat down next to Kiku after getting a bottle of water. He would go through the rest of the store later on to stock up.

But before Kiku could answer he heard something in the store. It wasn't a big enough noise to be a human, more like a rat or a cat. Still, Vash put a hand near one of his concealed pistols just in case.

He looked at the papers and nodded, accepting the Swiss man for who he obviously was, and listened to him talk. He smiled at the sparkle in Vash's eyes when he picked up the expensive cheese. Just as he was about to answer his ally's question, however, he heard a scuffling noise. It could be some small animal, but it could also be a monster or a demon or something equally as sinister.

Kiku narrowed his eyes and put his hand on the hilt of his sword, ready to draw it at any sign of trouble. "I have not encountered anyone or anything," he said. "However, I believe whatever that was negates that fact."

Vash ate a bit of his cheese but kept a look out around them. As usual he was ready for an attack, yet he still wasn't sure exactly would attack them in that place. Human, inhuman, animal? Neither of them really knew. Even as Vash spoke he didn't take his eye off of their surroundings. "We should explore the rest of this town and try and find survivors," he explained, his natural ability as a strategist clearly showing now. "I'm sure the other countries are here as well if we were able to meet up. Even if they are your enemies we need to stick together now. I'm neutral so I'll try and rally everyone I can. They might listen to m - " He was cut off by a louder noise, perhaps some cans following. In one swift movement he puts the cheese in one of his jacket's inner pockets and gets to one knee to better his aim.

What he saw made his eyes widen. It looked somewhat like a rabbit, yet not at all. Its face was like a human's but much smaller with stretched and peeling skin. Its fur was a dingy gray with patches missing everywhere and its feet had long, dark red claws. It opened its mouth to growl, and as it did bright green liquid fell from its mouth and hit the floor, corroding it on impact. Acid.

Vash kept his arm as steady as he could be he had never seen anything like the grotesque monster before. It scared him in a way he never thought he could be. It felt like the fear was building from his soul, from the inside out, making his body react in that way. And before he could even take a shot the demon lunged at them.

Kiku heard a louder noise, like a shelf was being knocked over. He stood up and unsheathed his katana, waiting for whatever had made that strange noise. He thought he was ready for anything, but that grotesque rabbit demon caught him completely off guard. When it started to spit up corrosive acid, he narrowed his eyes and steeled himself. It lunged at them suddenly, and Kiku held out his katana, slicing the monster. The way it was shrieking, he had probably fatally wounded it.

Vash gave the monster a shot to the head, redeeming himself for not acting quicker by giving it the final blow. "What was that thing?" he asked, though he wasn't expecting an answer. But then there was another noise, a window of the store breaking. He turned around, aimed, and once again fear struck him. It was another grotesque monster, this one a bit bigger than the last. A dog-like body, tail of a donkey, and two heads - one a cougar, the other a mix between a hawk and perhaps a bear? There was no way to tell. The entire monster looked as though someone took a handful of their favorite animals and horribly shoved them together. Then, much to Vash's surprise and terror, another monster followed it, then another. They were the same as the first, only with a different array of animals. One had three heads and five legs, the other only one head, but with no skin anywhere on its body and one eye hanging loosely in its socket.

Vash backed away as far as he could, somehow able to keep his hand steady this time. "Kiku...start heading towards the exit," he instructed calmly. "The back exit, if there is one. I'll keep them at bay then follow after you. But don't look back...just keep running. Alright?" He didn't wait for an answer, however. He knew Kiku would listen, or at least hoped he would if he was sensible enough. He quickly took out his second pistol and shot at every disfigured head, sending the demons into a rage. "Run!" Vash himself led the demons away from Kiku, still shooting to keep them distracted.

Kiku found no honor in running away, but when Vash started shooting he realized he had no choice. The creatures' hides were too thick for his sword to kill them, only wound them until Vash's bullets got to them. He felt useless.

He took one last look at the Swiss man shooting at the hideous mutants, wondering what exactly went on in this town, before he ran out the door. Vash was taking care of himself, and Kiku knew that he would only get in the way if he stayed. He ran out the back door, finding himself alone once again.

It took longer than Vash would have liked to keep the monsters back and eventually defeat one. But he needed to conserve his bullets, and after having to waste so many to take down one there was no way he was going to do that again. It was his turn to get out of there. He, too, did not like running away but there was truly no other option at that moment. Maybe after he found more weapons or bullets he would try again, but for now the choice was flight. He pushed over a small shelf of flower, improvising to cover his escape as he went out the back door. He then locked it behind him and quickly pushed a few things in front of the door. He stumbled back as the two remaining demons ran into the door then started scratching at it. He had no idea how long it would take them to get through, but he wasn't taking any chances. He ran, hopefully in the same direction as Kiku.

Vash ran until he couldn't see the store anymore, and he still couldn't find Kiku. It seemed he listened a bit too well when he told him to not look back and keep running. Oh well, at least they both got out of there alive. And he knew Kiku was capable of taking care of himself, as most of the nations were. But he still needed to get everyone together. He vowed to make that his sole duty in that place, at least for the time being. And as he heard a growl to his left that was too close for comfort, it gave him inspiration to run and try and find others.