Code Zulu Alpha: Nerd in the Apocalypse!

A lot of things have changed over time but if we were talking about historical accuracy, tachis were tied and hanging from a samurai's waistband with the blade facing down while katanas were simply inserted or tucked inside the waistband with the blade facing up.

Granted there were vast differences in how samurais wore them—and in recent examples—how Isaac and I wore them, but let's just say Isaac was wearing his katana in the traditional sense while I was doing a mix of both.

It was because I had my katana tied tightly to my war belt, not hanging down, and the blade was facing downward.

There wasn't any particular reason for the way I was doing it because I even used to wear my wakizashi—that was now on Kaley's hips—horizontally on my back, and it was partly for coolness but more along the lines of comfort and just how it felt right.

A few perceptive ones quickly noticed the difference as to how Isaac and I wore them differently but Isaac looked at me like he failed as my student.

"S-Should I have done it that way?"

"No, no… It's just that this way is more comfortable for me and the techniques I'm using are—"

"But I'm under you, right?"

"Yes, but you were my student for not that long ago. You're still relearning everything but if you kept the same way of wearing it for some time while still under me, it wouldn't matter as much as you think it would. This way just works for me and that way just works for you.

But in the traditional sense, you kinda have to do it this way if you're using a tachi though the blade should be hanging from your hips. It's weird, I know, and that's why I'm trying to tell you to find your own style."

"I see, I see… I just need to find what works best for me, huh?"

"Exactly. But yeah, that's pretty much it because their main purpose was always for cutting down anything that stood in front of them but the funny thing is, wakizashis were always used alongside them for the user's off-hand. You would think a tachi user would use a katana for their off-hand but they'd always opt for a wakizashi or just hold their blades with both hands."

"A-And why is that?"

"Well, there was some rule back then that samurais had to carry two blades—usually a katana and a wakizashi—but it's whatever now. I'm not technically a samurai, if anyone asks, but I should know a bit about this stuff since I'm wielding one of their weapons, no?"

Alexa just had to do it, "W-What other weapons do s-samurais use?"

"ALEXA!"

"HE WAS JUST ABOUT DONE—"

"EXCELLENT QUESTION, ALEXA! Now that you mention it… Hmm~ Oh! Right, there were chokutos at first—double-bladed shortswords—even before tachis but there were also naginatas—a spear with a curved blade at the end—the katana itself, a wakizashi like the one on Kaley's hip, tantos—which are basically daggers—and yaris which are basically spears.

But yeah, there are a lot more like odachis, nagamakis, bows and arrows, and yeah, even firearms that samurais used back in the day. Just know that if a country is at war, they'll use everything in their arsenal to win."

"Whew~ I thought we'd be here for an hour…"

"Say something?"

"N-No! I said that it was interesting! Ahaha…"

"Yeah, we did take an hour or so, huh? But yeah, we'll be here for a lot longer if we start to discuss each weapon's history and how they were used back then. But now, what's important is if they could work against the undead, nothing more, nothing less."

Thomas commented, "Amen to that. I understand the niche, it IS cool, but not a lot of people could make them, right?"

I nodded, "That's very true. The only thing I could take away from this is that my blades were custom-made for me and it just feels really good using them but in turn, I feel kinda off when I handle other weapons in the same category. It doesn't happen with guns though, just these stuff. That's one of the reasons I'm making Isaac get used to that tachi— Anyway, how much is it?"

Royo waved me off, "With the truck, the food, and the story? I still owe you. Look around, you might find some more things aside from bladed weapons. There's a cart over there on that side and we'll see what you and your guys roll up in a little bit later."

"Got something to do?"

"Heh. A dumbass ordered a big-ass Rambo knife while one other dumbass—no, a decent one ordered a shield. Don't see a lot of folks asking to fabricate defensive shit— well, he specifically requested spikes on it and it should be mountable on a jeep door, so there's that too."

"Alright, alright… We'll take a look around but we're taking that tachi for sure."

"Alright, brotha… Just— Just no sex on the building, alright?! I know it's big and spacious but do your shit outside! I can't keep cleaning the gunk people be leaving behind!"

"You sound like you have other sets of problems, huh?"

"Haaa~ Tell me about it. But yeah, I'll dive in my project over 'ere while you guys do your thing, yeah?"

"Yeah."

With that said, aside from the firearms section that was locked tight in a sector with a passcode, it seemed like we were in a mall following a certain theme because it just had about a little bit of everything. Granted we can't just spot Morningstars or steel-plated boots on display on regular ones, but let's just say that it was relative to the time we were currently living in.

But yeah, I easily found a couple of knives Megan and Alexa appreciated once they knew that I'll purchase those for them, but finding a fucking bra that could fit Quinn's humungous udders was fucking scary.

"NO FUCKING WAY! QUINN! IT'S THE PERFECT SIZE! OW—"

"IT HAS COW PRINTS, YOU ASSHOLE!"

"WHAT?! WHY DOES IT MATTER?! IT'S EVEN BETTER IF YOU ASK ME!"

"THEN WHY DOES IT COME WITH THIS CHOKER WITH A LITTLE BELL, THESE HORNS, AND THAT PLUG?! THIS IS SOME FETISH TYPE SHIT!"

"BITCH—" I then whispered with intensity, "You can fit fists in your ass and you're grossed out by a cow costume?!"

"YOU—"

In any case, let's just say that even though we didn't have sex in the warehouse five minutes in, it did sound like it because I almost got beaten to death by Quinn who had never been so red in her life.