A glistening blade stared right at Kazuichi’s eyes as he was pinned to the ground. He couldn’t move since there was someone holding down each of his appendages, rendering him completely immobile. His struggle was futile, and there was nothing he could do about the helplessness he felt.

A girl smiled from ear to ear, sitting right on top of Kazuichi as she held the knife in her hands. The knife was too big for her liking, and her grip couldn’t even hold the knife properly, causing it to quiver in the air.

Sunlight bounced off of the knife, partially blinding Kazuichi as he continued his struggle. He felt like prey to a snake which slowly wrapped around his body, constricting his movements before killing him.

"It won’t hurt, we’re just going to remind you to know your place, okay?" A soft gentle voice came out of the girl’s mouth while she brought the knife upward. Putting her entire body into it, she swung as mightily as her little frail body would allow.

STAB!

...

From a distance, the sounds of children’s laughter could be heard. If one were to hear it, one would assume that they were just laughing innocently. Behind those laughs, however, was a violent secret, one that would echo in Kazuichi’s mind, etching the experience in it so hard that he could remember the memory every waking moment.

Kazuichi could’ve sworn that he felt the stab right in his chest. But the moment he opened his eyes, he bolted upright, bumping his head on something soft akin to pudding.

When he fell backward, he noticed that he was actually resting on someone’s lap. His mind then brought up the recent situation— he just absorbed a sizeable meteorite ore, and while he was successful at it, he almost lost control over himself.

"What’s going o—" Glancing sideways, Kazuichi then saw that Tris and Amaya weren’t near him. Tris was actually at his side, while Amaya was quietly eating from a can. By the looks of it, Kazuichi was fairly certain that there was someone else with them.

’Now that you mention it...’ Kazuichi said in his mind as he slowly turned towards the woman who was giving him a comfortable lap pillow. He had no idea who she was, but she smelled rather familiar.

"You’re awake," Arisu greeted softly tapping Kazuichi on the forehead while she wore the most comfortable smile in front of him.

’No wonder she smelled familiar!’ Kazuichi exclaimed inwardly as he stood up. At this point, he was already fully awake, and he realized that it was actually Arisu in front of him, in the flesh! 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"Arisu?!" Kazuichi bolted upright. He couldn’t believe his eyes. The first-ever Hybrid he met was actually right in front of him. There was the issue of her leaving his home but they could talk about that later. Right now, Kazuichi had a hard time internalizing that Arisu was actually right there with them.

"What are you doing here? How did you get here? What happened? Are you all right?" Somehow, the floodgates blocking Kazuichi’s speech were opened and words overflowed out of his mouth. He lost his awkwardness in an instant, probably because he was still confused as to what was happening right now.

"Ah... calm down, Kazuichi, we have the entire trip back to talk about it." Arisu calmly explained. "Long story short, I met Jurou, and he’s currently taking care of the house."

"Ah, Jurou-san, that guy," Kazuichi mumbled. He could vaguely remember that he was supposed to visit him before the outbreak started. That explains how the two of them ended up meeting each other.

Before Kazuichi could say anything, Arisu started tearing up. At first, she was just smiling quietly, and then the dams in her eyes opened. There were no sniffles, but tears steadily flowed from her eyes.

Now that Kazuichi thought about it, their parting didn’t even come close to sweet sorrow. It was just plain cruel altogether. For one, they were attacked by a Hybrid and Kazuichi jumped in the fray to save Arisu. And then he was kidnapped by Zombie Hunters only to be sold at the auction.

By a stroke of good luck, he was able to get away. In the middle of it, he met Amaya, which he saved using his financial power.

Silently, Arisu jumped into Kazuichi’s arms, hugging him as tight as she could while she cried on his chest. It was an understatement to say that she missed Kazuichi. Ever since that circumstance happened, not a day passed by when he didn’t think of him.

Even though every fact screamed that Kazuichi was dead, she believed deep inside that he was alive. That belief turned into reality when she heard the good news from Jurou. She just had to take care of a couple of things, that’s why it took her this long to finally start searching for Kazuichi.

At first, it was Jurou who was monitoring Kazuichi, but he didn’t dare approach him since he found the setting a bit awkward. In the end, he left the search to Arisu, whom she assumed was closer to Kazuichi compared to his relationship with him.

Of course, she was the first ever woman that Kazuichi invite into his place. Even his family members couldn’t even step foot into that house ever since his foster parents died. Then again, they were only after his money, and he saw through their intentions.

"I’m glad you’re still alive, Kazuichi," Arisu mumbled, her voice muffled by Kazuichi’s chest.

Meanwhile, Kazuichi froze in place. He had no idea how to react since this was the first time someone hugged him. His experience as a shut-in got the better of him and his mind short-circuited. He was tempted to close his eyes, but he knew that doing so would just enhance his sense of touch.

And right now, he could feel two soft things on his stomach. He knew exactly what those were, that’s why he tried hard not to think about it.

’But right now’s my chance, right?! RIGHT?!’ Kazuichi’s mind went into overdrive and his innate character as a Hybrid was overpowering his sense as a shut-in. While his mind argued, he extended his hands and returned the hug that Arisu gave him.

That’s when his gaze wandered to Tris, who was glaring at him like some wild animal. Kazuichi could’ve sworn that she was growling as well.