Fortunately, Amaya was still there where Tris left him. A sigh of relief escaped Tris’s mouth. For a moment back there, she thought that Amaya had woken up and she had to look for her again. The inward fear of losing Amaya again was at the forefront of her mind. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Even though the possibility was there, she still didn’t hesitate to help Kazuichi escape the Zombie Plant. And thanks to her, Kazuichi could see another day.

"Phew~ I thought I was dead," Kazuichi said to himself as he collapsed on the ground. The adrenaline finally left his body, and all that remained was an exhausted husk of a Hybrid that couldn’t even defend himself.

If a Hybrid were to show up right now, Kazuichi knew that he’d be as good as dead. That’s how exhausted he was.

An hour or so ago, they were on schedule, and they expected to cross the forest in a day. But right now, they were back to square one, and they lingered by the edge of the forest to get some rest.

Midday slowly descended and the sun overhead heated up the entire city and the neighboring forest.

Resting under the shade, the trio decided to rest first before they circle the forest. With the appearance of the Zombie Plant, Kazuichi and Tris didn’t want to meet another monstrosity in the forest. That’s why they decided to just circle the forest in order to get to the next city over.

Now that they’ve returned to the same place where they first entered the forest, Tris finally found the space to retrieve her t-shirt from Amaya. The dangers of the Zombie Plant hypnotizing them were already nonexistent since they went to great lengths to get rid of it.

Even if she were to take off the shirt that was wrapped around Amaya’s head, she won’t go towards the Zombie Plant anymore.

And also, Tris couldn’t avoid the mindless gazes that Kazuichi gave him since she was only wearing undergarments for his top. It’s not like Kazuichi could see anything, but then again, she felt exposed so she growled at him.

Clearing his throat, Kazuichi stood up as Tris finally put on her shirt. (Nope, not giving her sizes heh~)

"I’ll make fire." Kazuichi volunteered before walking back into the forest to gather some more firewood. He was wondering when Amaya would wake up, or why she was unconscious in the first place. Then again, it was thanks to her unconsciousness that she didn’t wander around.

Suddenly, Amaya’s eyes opened and she bolted upright without warning, causing Tris to flinch. The moment their eyes met, Amaya turned away and immediately ran towards Kazuichi who was heading to the forest.

Although she was in a trance back then, she still remembered what she did... or what happened, for that matter. That’s why the memory of her older sister hitting her on the nape was still fresh in her mind, and the thought made her back away from her sister.

Honestly, Amaya understood her older sister’s intention... but she disliked how she did it.

"Older brother, I’m coming with you," Amaya gently said as she tugged on Kazuichi’s shirt.

Since Kazuichi didn’t see anything wrong with it. He nodded his head before he shifted his attention to Tris. "Amaya wants to come too. We’ll be back in ten minutes." He announced.

Tris sniffled when the two of them walked away. But then again, she could only blame herself for her younger sister’s harsh treatment.

At that time, there were probably other ways of dealing with the situation. However, the urgency of the matter forced her to do it... that’s why she couldn’t really pass the blame on her younger sister.

Also, it wasn’t like Amaya was the only one who was fooled by the Zombie Plant back then. If any, it was her fault for being blindly attracted to the pleasant smell.

"Uuu~ my younger sister hates me now... sniffle~" Tris muttered before she rummaged through her backpack to pick up some canned goods they could heat up.

They packed enough food for the trip. And on the slightest possibility that they run out of supplies, they could always scavenge for more.

That’s why supplies were the least of their concern.

...

"Just gather the dry sticks," Kazuichi instructed Amaya, showing her that dry sticks break easily. "And don’t venture too far, there might be a couple of infected nearby. Then again, you’re a Canary so you don’t have to worry about it too much."

Amaya silently nodded as she started picking up sticks. Just to make sure, she started breaking them. It didn’t take long before she gathered a handful, and then she gave them to Kazuichi.

"Thanks," Kazuichi uttered.

When they got back to Tris, she had already lined up a couple of canned goods which they were going to cook for the day.

"Amayaaaa~" Tris called out, sniffling.

Amaya didn’t go away when Tris shuffled towards her, hugging her tightly while she sniffled.

"What are you doing?" Kazuichi asked, wondering why there was a sudden shift in Tris’s demeanor.

While the two of them were experiencing their own usual reunion, Kazuichi decided to set up the fire and cook the canned goods.

They finally got the time to eat something before they continued their journey... but Kazuichi had different plans.

"Eyy Tris, you should eat first, I’ll go camp in the forest," Kazuichi called out, pointing to the huge meteorite that he carried with him.

For a moment, Amaya and Tris paused when they stared at Kazuichi. They were fairly aware of what Kazuichi sought to do— absorb the meteorite ore so he could become a stronger Hybrid.

Then again, it’s not like they could stop him. Moreover, it would help them in the long run, provided that Kazuichi didn’t get consumed by the virus.

"Sure, just be careful out there. Take as much time as you need so you won’t go berserk." Tris reminded him. This was not the first time she saw Kazuichi undergo the process of absorbing the meteorite. That’s why she wasn’t the least bit worried.

"I’ll be going then," Kazuichi said.