Asami Nakaoka

Asami Nakaoka (中岡あさみ, Nakaoka Asami) was the police officer in charge of the survivors at the mall. Initially, she seems like an incompetent leader, but after she acquires the Smith and Wesson M37, she gains confidence and earns the respect of the survivors. She was a member of Takashi's Group until she was trapped by a group of zombies and she was killed by Kohta Hirano.

About
Asami is a young patrol woman in Tokonosu Higashi Police Station's traffic department and she is in charge of guarding the mall and protecting the group of survivors sheltering there until her superior returns with help. She speaks in a third-person speech pattern, such as replacing "I" in her sentence with her name, though this is because the police in Japan refer to themselves in third-person. The proper way to do this is to say "this officer", but Asami has not yet mastered this. She is very loyal to her superior, Officer Matsushima, and she will do anything she can to maintain order in the mall until Matsushima returns. She usually appears optimistic when around the survivors in the mall, but in more private settings, she constantly doubts her abilities as a police officer. During the group's stay at the mall, she develops a deep affection for Kohta Hirano, which evolves into mutual feelings of love between the two by the time the group leaves the mall.

Appearance
Asami is a small woman with short, light brown hair and blue eyes. The front of her hair is pushed to the right side of her face, partially obscuring her right eye. She wears the standard female police uniform of the Tokonosu Higashi Police station which consists of a white shirt, a black tie, a blue jacket, and a blue skirt. She also wears a green band around her left arm with two white stripes on it and gold earings in the shape of stars (19 years).

Personality
Asami usually appears outwardly optimistic when around the people in the mall who she is in charge of. However, when she is away from them she is often seen crying and seriously doubting her ability to be a police officer. She tries to assert her authority as an officer to the people in the mall, but they have no respect for her and don't take her seriously. After receiving the Smith and Wesson, she is able to gain the confidence to use her power as a police officer to keep order in the mall. Throughout the group's stay at the mall, Asami constantly says that Officer Matsushima will return with help, which is why she is able to stay optimistic, but when she sees that Matsushima has become one of "them" she loses all hope and breaks down, no longer caring about protecting the survivors in the mall.

History
Little is known about Asami's history except that she had a boyfriend before the outbreak who broke up with her because she didn't do well at the police academy.

Plot
Asami is first seen when Shimada gets angry at Saya Takagi and Kohta Hirano for taking food from the mall. She steps in and tells Shimada that they have only been in the mall for a day and don't know the rules yet. She then tells him to gather food quickly since it will be a lot harder without the skylights, and he walks away without really taking her seriously. Kohta thanks her, and she formally introduces herself as a patrolwoman of the Tokonosu Higashi Police Station's traffic department. Saya looks unimpressed and asks Asami if she was the one who organized everyone in the mall. Asami says no and that it was Matsushima, her superior officer. When Saya asks where Matsushima is, Asami tells her that she left the day before to go to headquarters and get support. Saya and Kohta exchange apprehensive looks, so Asami quickly explains that Matsushima is a veteran officer who has received lots of honors, and she assures them that she will return with plenty of support. One of the men living in the mall calls to Asami that they should start their meeting, and Asami runs off.

A short time later, Asami and the survivors from the mall are having a group meeting. The survivors complain and criticize Asami, asking when they will be able to leave the mall. Asami becomes distressed and tries telling them that Matsushima said to stay there until she returns with help. They won't listen and scream that she has no right to keep them there but rather a duty to protect them. The survivors continue to yell at her as she begins to cry, telling them she didn't get very good grades at the police academy and she's only one girl. Kohta, who had been observing the meeting, cuts in and says Asami dropped something. When she asks what it is, he hands her the Smith and Wesson handgun. She is very excited and states that it is the gun that the prefectural police use. The mall survivors instantly stop their rant, and gain a new respect for Asami. Kohta tells her he trusts she will use it wisely and salutes her, and she salutes him back and says that she will.

When Shimada is about to rape Shizuka Marikawa, Asami steps in to stop him. At first, he just smirks, but he is surprised and frightened when he sees that she has a gun. She tells him to let go of Shizuka and drop his weapon. However, her hand that is holding the gun is shaking, and, seeing this, he says he doesn't believe she will shoot. As Takashi Komuro, Kohta, Saya, and the mall survivors arrive, he starts to ridicule her, telling her to shoot him. Asami starts crying and says that she has to shoot but continues to hesitate. Kohta suddenly appears behind Shimada and begins to strangle him with a piece of wire attached to two handles until he drops his knife. Asami is still pointing her gun at him, not realizing that it is over, so Saya tells her it's over, and Alice Maresato tells her that Kohta saved her. She looks at Kohta and then repeats his name while dreamily staring at him.

Later, Kohta is on the roof surveying the area, and Asami walks up to him. She asks what he is doing, and, when he says he is surveying, she says it's amazing that he's just a student but still much more thorough than herself. He tells her that she is a great officer, but she says she would have been dead if he hadn't been there, and she thanks him. When he tells her it was nothing, she hugs him and begins crying, thanking him again and saying that she is useless. After she has calmed down, Asami tells Kohta that she promised her boyfriend she would become a great police officer, but she didn't do well at the police acedemy, so he broke up with her, and now she is single. Kohta says that's not good, and Asami moves closer to him, saying she is the type who really dedicates herself to her relationships. She moves even closer to him and begins to talk about when he helped her earlier, but the two are interrupted by Tamaru yelling from the parking lot. He tells Asami that the old woman is not well and needs a blood transfusion, and the blood is in a clinic nearby.

Asami is next seen with the group and the mall survivors while they are gathered around the bed of the old woman. When Takashi and the others decide they can't help the old woman, Asami volunteers to go and get the blood for the tranfusion. Kohta tells her it's too risky, but she says it is a police officer's duty to ignore danger for the sake of the citizenry. Alice and Shizuka are happy when they hear this, but Takashi and Saya are not.

Takashi, Kohta, and Tamaru decide to join Asami as she goes to the Kawashima clinic to pick up the supplies necessary for the transfusion. When they reach the clinic they are relieved to find it empty at first, but then a group of "them" bursts through the door, and they have to fight. Asami is a little scared and doesn't join the fight. More soon come through the front door and Takashi says he will hold "them" while Kohta leads Asami and Tamaru to get the plasma and supplies. They have to fight more of "them" when they are getting supplies, and, when Kohta is nearly attacked by one, Asami stabs it through the eye. Takashi gets overwhelmed at the entrance, and the four get trapped in the examination room. With no other way out, Asami suggests they go through the ceiling, and Takashi blasts a hole for them to climb through. Kohta climbs through first then pulls Asami up. As he gets her through, she tells him to call her by her first name from now on. Takashi climbs through, but Tamaru is grabbed by "them" before he can make it. He begs for them to kill him, but Takashi can't do it, so Asami decides to to it. She asks him his name and says he will never be forgotten, then shoots him. The three make their way onto the roof and back to the mall.

Back at the mall, Asami, Kohta, and Takashi rest at a table. Kohta tells the other two they need to talk, but they say they are too tired. However, he insists they talk now. He goes on to explain the mistakes they made which led to the death of an able person. When he begins to bring up Tamaru, Asami stops him and says nobody wants to talk about that now. She then says that she killed him and begins to cry. Kohta says they need to talk about why it came to that and continues the discussion.

The next time Asami is seen, she is back to her usual, cheerful self. She lets Rei, Saeko Busujima, Saya, Shizuka, and Alice into the room after the discussion has ended. The group sits at some tables, and Asami and Kohta are sitting together. She tells him she feels a lot better now, and she says that when she was at the police academy, they told everybody to speak with a superior after seeing a bad crime scene, since it would be too painful otherwise. She then says that Kohta is only a high school student but already knows that, and she starts to cry, saying that she is useless. Kohta tells her she is incredible, and she stops crying. She catches him off guard by asking if he is going to leave. He says they need to find Takashi's and Rei's families. She asks him if only he could stay. Then, taking his hand, she says if he is worried about what she can do, she will do anything and everything for him. He releases his hand and tells her he already has companions he is with. Asami looks devastated by this and struggles to hold back tears for a few moments, but she regains herself and smiles as she says it's okay and she had a feeling he would say something like that. Alice sees something at the window and calls Asami over. Asami is shocked to see that it is officer Matsushima, and she has become one of "them". She begins crying and yells out that there is nobody coming to save them, which is heard by the mall survivors. She becomes hysterical as she loses all hope and begins to run out of the room. When Kohta tries to stop her, she gets angry at him, calling him a "four-eyed pig", and she runs up the stairs to the roof.

On the roof, Asami sits and talks to herself about how she is useless and says that her boyfriend left her and Kohta doesn't even like her. She is distracted from her thoughts when she notices the elderly couple stamding near the edge of the roof. She tells them that it's dangerous over there, and they just ask if she is all right. She says she's a little tired. They thank her for everything that she has done, but she says she didn't do anything, and they should be thanking Kohta. They assure her that it is her they should thank, and, as she denies this, Kohta arrives on the roof and calls out to her. He asks her to come with him, and she struggles for a moment, not sure what to say. She makes her decision and runs over to Kohta, hugging him and saying she will stay with him. They hear a yell coming from down the stairs, and they run off to investigate it.

Asami and Kohta join back with the group as they prepare to escape from the mall. They run into one of the survivors who says that "they" have broken in. They decide they are going to leave, and Asami tells the man that the mall survivors will be on their own now and must make their own decisions, and she is going to quit being a police officer. They leave the man behind and begin their escape. As they are running through the mall, they encounter a group of "them" breaking through a barrier on one of the escalators that Shimada is trying to hold. As they fight, Asami kills one and is almost attacked from behind, but Rei saves her. They reach the other survivors, and Takashi sends Asami and Kohta to secure the emergency exit.

As Asami and Kohta make their way to the exit, she tells him that she gets it and everything is clear to her. He asks her what she means, but, before she can answer, they go outside and find the parking lot full of "them". Asami suddenly relealizes something and runs off, telling him she will be back. As she passes Takashi, she says there is something she needs and to cover her, so Rei goes with her. She runs to the fireworks store, where she searches for something which Rei identifies as cracker balls. Asami grabs these as well as a wide assortment of other firecrackers, and she puts the cracker balls in a paper bag which she gives to Rei, telling her to give it to Alice. Rei suggests they test them out, so Asami gets a lighter from one of the mall survivors and lights some firecrackers. She throws them at one of "them", and it is sufficient in attracting the attention of all of "them" in the area. The group, along with Asami and Shimada, make their way to the emergency exit, quickly devise a plan, and run down to the parking lot.

As they make their way through the parking lot, they notice the kid who let "them" into the mall is stranded on top of a car. When Shimada goes to save him, Asami decides to go and back him up. Kohta tells her not to go, but she says that she has a duty as a police officer, which is what she understood earlier, and she can't give that up. Asami and Shimada are able to fight them for a while, but, when the kid falls off of the car, Shimada is overwhelmed while trying to save him. Asami shoots one of "them" which is biting him, drawing even more towards them, and Shimada is killed. Asami uses the gun, but she soon realizes that she can't escape, as she is trapped between two cars. She yells out to Kohta that she hates him and never liked him to try and get him to leave her behind, but he won't. She then tells him not to let her become one of "them". As she waits for him to shoot, she says that he has always understood her and begins to say that she loves him, but he says he knows, and she doesn't need to say anything and then shoots her.

Killed Victims

 * Hiro Tamura (Out of Mercy/Before Reanimation): When he was grabbed by "them" he begs Takashi to kill him but he couldn't do it, so Asami did it instead after asking what his name was and saying he will never be forgotten.
 * Numerous counts of Them.

Trivia

 * The name Asami has many meanings depending on the different kanji symbols:
 * "Hemp, beauty" (麻美)
 * "Morning beauty" (朝美)
 * "Morning sea" (朝海)
 * Asami's surname Nakaoka means "middle" (中) (naka) and "ridge, hill" (岡) (oka).
 * Asami is one of the only two female characters (the other being Misuzu Ichijou) that has a very small bust compared to rest of the females in the HOTD universe.