The steady pitter-patter of rain hit against the pavement, creating a rhythm that matched Kazuichi’s even pace as he made his way through the city, cutting through the dilapidated structures until he arrived at the outskirts of the forest.

Once he crossed the border, he immediately noticed the sheer drop in temperature as the mist enveloped his body. Muffled raindrops seemed to echo all over the forest as the leaves caught the falling rain.

Back then, Kazuichi never contemplated on a rainy day. All he knew was that he enjoyed the chilly weather it brought, adding to the air conditioner’s freezing wind. Not once did it cross his mind to go out in a rainy climate, much less in any weather.

"I can’t believe I’m doing this now," Kazuichi said, chuckling. When he was a shut-in, the last thing on his mind was to go out. And now, more than three months after the outbreak, he was so used to the outside world that the thought of becoming a shut-in had become a faraway dream.

And it was. Honestly, Kazuichi would kill if it meant he could relive his time as a shut-in. In fact, that was the reason why he wanted to go back home as soon as possible. He wanted to spend his time inside the house without ever going outside.

Then again, that was nigh improbable. There would be times when he’d have to go outside.

"Well, let’s not think too much about that. What’s going to happen will happen. It’s just a matter of adapting to the situation and not losing one’s mind in it." Kazuichi said to himself.

Even though his sense of smell was severely dampened, he could still somehow use it. The air brought about its usual smell of petrichor, wet bark, and wild animals. There were a few of them nearby, and Kazuichi started tracking them down.

Although he doesn’t have enough experience when it comes to hunting. He’d watched a plethora of animated shows and documentaries which gave him the knowledge. Physically, he was capable of hunting, it’s just a matter of knowledge and skill.

To Kazuichi’s surprise, he immediately caught wind of a rabbit’s smell. It was faint, but the air carried it downwind, which meant that the rabbit was up ahead.

Looking down on the ground, the faint tracks of rabbit’s feet could barely be seen on the ground which was slowly washed by the torrent of a low flood. If it were any other regular human beings, they wouldn’t have glimpsed the track, but Kazuichi picked it up so easily.

"Lucky," He muttered to himself, crouching down on the ground as he caught a whiff of the rabbit. It was stronger now, and it gave him a vague idea of where he needed to go.

Sprinting upwind, Kazuichi realized that there were a lot of infected wandering in the forest. They had no idea which way to go, and the over-stimulus from the pouring rain disoriented their already-messed-up senses.

They turned and fidgeted, growling at each other while they keenly listened for movement. Some of them even chased nothing since they thought that the rain was people’s hastened footsteps.

"Imagine ending up like that," Kazuichi said to himself, heaving a sigh.

Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw a certain movement that was different from the infected. His head immediately turned to that direction and he sprinted at full speed.

He finally caught sight of the rabbit and he’d go to great lengths just to capture it.

With the mind of a hunter, Kazuichi slinked through the trees, weaving back and forth as silently as he could so as not to alarm the infected and the unsuspecting rabbit. On the other hand, the rabbit continued to take cover, nibbling on its paws as it waited for the rain to end.

Kazuichi could tell that the rabbit was ways away from its burrow since it wasn’t underground. The rain probably caught it by surprise, and he was going to catch it by surprise in return, talk about a double event for the unlucky rabbit.

It hasn’t been that long since Kazuichi hunted a rabbit. And now that he thought about it, he was also hunting one when he met Tris. Somehow, their journey had come full circle with the presence of a rabbit.

Closing in, Kazuichi finally slowed down as he sneaked upon his prey. Even though the rabbit was trapped in all four corners of the root opening, he knew that its hind legs shouldn’t be underestimated. It could jump in a flash as soon as it sensed danger.

That’s why Kazuichi opted to sneak up til the last moment before launching himself at the rabbit. If he were to do this, there won’t be any commotion, and it would be a clean capture as well.

Replaying the initial plan in his mind, Kazuichi crouched behind an undergrowth while observing the rabbit. He was careful not to emit too much bloodthirst since the rabbit might sense it and flee. Then again, it would think twice about fleeing in the rain so as long as it was oblivious to Kazuichi’s presence, the initial plan would work.

Slowly, Kazuichi approached the rabbit, careful enough to not rustle the undergrowth too much. And just when his head was about to come out of the undergrowth, he used all of his explosive power to launch himself at the rabbit.

Rustle. Rustle.

With arms outstretched, Kazuichi flew in the air as if in slow motion. From the perspective of the rabbit, its life flashed before its eyes when a great figure suddenly appeared right on its face. Its pupils dilated and its muscle tightened due to extreme fright.

And right before Kazuichi grab ahold of it, it died due to a heart attack.

"Sheesh, what a poor rabbit," Kazuichi muttered to himself, picking it up easily as if he was picking berries. "I guess that would be dinner then. I should head back."