After seeing Katniss recovering a little, he told her about his current objective and left, reassuring Ciri that he would visit again after finishing with clearing the remaining floor.
Katniss objected to his actions as reckless, but she nodded after he told her that all walkers were already cleared, and she heard the silence out.
It took him an hour to get through the last three unchecked apartments on the fifth floor before finally heading back to "his" apartment.
It was now noon, and he figured a new bath would be good. He already stored 6 water tanks that were on the roof, leaving only one filled that was connected to his apartment.
He got to know that water in Katniss's apartment was no longer available.
Thus, after a quick bath, he took a heater and a small gas container he found in one apartment and began cooking a simple meal: boiled rice.
The only one he can do with his current arsenal.
Katniss and Ciri's situation kept playing on his mind; Sasuke knows that now after meeting them...
Unless they betrayed him or tried to end his life, which he knows wasn't really on their plan. Then he would take care of them.
Keeping them safe at least.
He just wanted to, for the sake of Ciri, that cute and obedient little girl, and Katnis...well, maybe her beauty helped too, but he wasn't really one to fall in love for such a thing quickly; otherwise, he wouldn't have been mocked as the eternal virgin.
"Well, at least I finally got to meet some kind and normal people...somehow," he nearly spat in disgust, remembering the last four months spent trying to win the trust of those rich monsters planning to do their atrocities.
Four months of bottled anger and vengeance while working like a literal dog to win their trust.
And now here he is, in a world seen only in movies and heard about in stories, with a superior body and knowledge, and now companions...real ones, hopefully.
He only has to keep moving forward, getting stronger, and making sure to keep himself and others important to him safe.
After changing, he covered the plates with food preservation plastic and headed down to their apartment.
The building now was eerily quiet and stinky. But he already plans to leave it soon, with them hopefully.
Knocking on their door, he waited for a moment before it opened; this time it was Katniss, still weak and leaning on the wall with Ciri peeking behind her.
"Were you here keeping watch from the beginning?" He asked, not hearing any footsteps before she opened the door.
And Katniss just nodded, telling him to enter, eyeing the tray curiously. She didn't tell him that she was here from the moment he left, keeping an eye on the other side of the door, ready to take her sister and run if he ever headed down to leave the building instead.
In case he was going to call for other companions.
She would never trust others fully now, but it seemed she was just overthinking it, maybe.
Sasuke, unaware of her inner thoughts and uncaring, put the plates in front of the duo at the table they cleaned, gesturing for them to eat, even taking a bite from each plate to show he didn't put anything in there.
And even then Katniss waited without eating, while Ciri followed even when they were painfully hungry and the smell of the warm meal kept assaulting them.
'I like her; this cautiousness would at least make her survive in most scenes.' For Sasuke, that was the best thing, to have this kind of survival instinct.
If she simply trusted him in a few hours just because he looked good and gave them some food with a smile, he would be disappointed, slightly.
As that would've made him know he would need to keep them from doing stupid things later and endangering themselves.
At least Katniss was cautious, and Ciri was obedient enough to follow and trust her sister's judgement.
"I don't mind, really; I understand. But at least make Ciri eat something first."
She didn't accept; Katniss took the plate in front of her and pushed it toward him, telling him to eat it fully.
While she told Ciri to eat only a quarter of hers.
Even when Ciri didn't understand, she nodded quietly, eating silently and very slowly, as if savoring the best meal in a long time.
'What a woman, overcautious, but I can't blame her,' he nodded, eating his plate clean in seconds before taking a can of meat and passing it to her.
"Eat; I will make something warm for dinner again."
"I'm sorry." Katniss lowered her head in a quiet apology before accepting the can he opened for her.
No one would like to be ungrateful to their benefactor, but...she wasn't alone.
And she promised their grandpa to take care of Ciri.
If she failed due to carelessness and stupid ideals, she would never forgive herself.
Thus, she apologized to him due to her actions and watched while eating as he nodded and got back close to the window, watching the outside world while starting to clean his blade, which was already clean.
"The place here isn't suitable." After some silence while the duo ate, Sasuke spoke calmly.
"How is that?"
"Unprotected, visible, too many corpses, which may result in some kind of disease or infection spreading from their rot"
"Yeah, but we didn't have an option really; there were just too many walkers, and that's why other survivors didn't break in. That many walkers in such a tight place like stairs—it is hard for them to break through."
He nodded. 29—that was the number of walkers he killed on the stairs and corridors of the building.
A small group would be overwhelmed, especially considering the ones in the apartments.
"I am planning to leave and search for some better location, but first I need to find places to restock. But I'm not familiar with the area around here."
"Alone?" "Yeah."
"That's a suicide. I don't know how you managed to clear the building as you said, but out there...there are too many walkers that would crowd you in seconds once they spot you, and let's not forget other hostile survivors. Yet you plan to deal with them alone. With a sword?"
"You don't have to worry."
"Ha ha, you flatter yourself; I just don't want our new friend to kill himself in the most idiotic way," she snorted and busied herself with the can.
"Well, I'm honored. Seriously though...can you give me a description of the surroundings, anything that may seem useful? A mall, shops, a police station, or a hospital. Anything nearby that can help us?"
"Look, Sasuke, I admire your courage, really. But you are alone; please just admit it. Even if you are good enough to not be killed by walkers, you won't be able to loot those buildings alone.
How are you planning to loot a whole mall with only a backpack, making multiple trips to and from? That's even worse. And we can't exactly change location to there; it's wide open and worse than this building."
"So you suggest we sit and wait here?"
"Yeah, until I recover a little better, two persons can hold much more than one."
"It's not about how much I or you can hold, Katniss. Just tell me about the area. You know I can simply leave and search myself; I just don't want to waste time."
'Why is he so stubborn? This idiot won't be able to live much longer with this suicide mindset.' While Katniss found herself frustrated with the man, Sasuke was no better.
How was he supposed to explain that the problem she is thinking about, how much a single person can carry even if he "risked" himself heading to the mall...is the least thing he worries about.
He didn't plan to expose the storage, not now, and maybe not to anyone. Thus, he didn't find a way to make it clear that carrying things wasn't the focus now.
'Let's play on her emotions. Sorry, but I need answers before night.'
Standing up, Sasuke marched to where he put the big backpack. Katniss watched in confusion as he turned and emptied it on her bed.
Canned food, bottled water, some gauzes and meds, and even a bag of rice.
"What are you doing?"
"Everything is yours; I will leave those here. Just tell me the nearest place to restock our food or anything useful. Trust me, alright...I have what it takes to survive out there, and I will find a truck or something to help with the load."
"Why are you doing this? We don't even know you? Have you lost your mind...why would I take your things?. Pack them; I didn't do this to take your things. I just don't want you to kill yourself.
A truck will only make it worse; walkers are sensitive to sound, and an engine would be akin to a bell calling them over. You will just dig your grave if you go alone." Katniss walked to the bed and started packing the things on his backpack again.
"There's...a pharmacy and a restaurant behind the basketball court over there," Ciri, who didn't want them to fight anymore, spoke to Sasuke, pointing from the window to the direction a small court should be two blocks away.
She didn't really understand what they were fighting over and just thought that if she helped Sasuke, he would not abandon them and would give them warm food again like he promised.
"Ciri!!"
"Thank you, princess." Sasuke got on one knee, patting the little girl who looked guilty as her sister shot her a glare.
"Katniss, just trust me on this one, okay? I will be back before dinner. Here," he said, tossing a set of keys to her.
"What is this?"
"The keys to the apartment I'm living in now, number 18. Go there and rest; It's empty and there's water too if you want to bathe." With no more, he turned around, picked up his blade, bid them farewell, and left the apartment.
He didn't go to the main entrance down but climbed up the stairs until he was on the roof.