Abandoned Mall

Kazuichi could have stayed in the Underground Stronghold instead of going to the surface as the night lingered. However, he wanted to deal with only a few people at a time. It would also heighten his desire to bite someone if people surround him; that's why he chose to go to the surface instead of staying underground. Besides, he's got a so-called Canary with him, as well as animal and Hybrid blood. There was nothing he feared aside from hybrids that might attack them.

The full moon stared back at Kazuichi when he looked up. A cold breeze ruffling his hair made him impulsively shiver. He was even wearing a coat, courtesy of the manager, who gave him another one after throwing the girl. Kazuichi noticed that the girl still wore the suit he had given her. Even though she wore two layers of dress to keep her warm, she still clung to the oversized coat that looked like a trench coat when she wore it.

"I'm Takemi Kazuichi... your name?"

"Amaya," Amaya responded, her puffed cheeks bouncing when she did so.

"Which stronghold are you from?" Kazuichi felt like asking even though he was well aware the young child wouldn't be able to answer it.

Stealing a glance towards Hajime, Amaya shook her head in response.

Under the night of a full moon, with the occasional breeze that blew through the empty, trash-filled streets, Kazuichi and Amaya continued their stroll. The usual low moans of the infected could be heard at random intervals, sending chills up and down Kazuichi's spine, although he was already infected. There were no streetlights, and even if there were, the most they could do was flicker instead light up the usual streets as per their duties. The roads, which were supposed to be filled with late-night cars driving past, were filled with nothing but rubble. Scraps of paper flew around here and there, and the usual plastic bag would roll across the street, disturbing the nearby infected with their crunch of a noise.

For the first time, Kazuichi felt regret deep within as he recalled how the world looked like back then. Due to circumstances that shaped him into becoming a shut-in. He took the world for granted, and now the world had changed into an irreversible state. A global outbreak broke out, and there was nothing he could do to make everything revert to how it was. He had finally gotten out of his shell, the only protection he had called home, but what of it? He couldn't enjoy the world back when everything was still normal.

He was forced to go out, and just when he finally did, the world was nothing like it used to be.

Kazuichi took in the scenery before him as he heaved a huge sigh. He still clutched onto Amaya's hand.

"Where are we going?" Amaya called out of nowhere after realizing that Kazuichi was aimlessly walking through the streets. To be fair, Kazuichi really didn't have any plan in mind.

And just as expected, not a single infected approached them, thanks to Amaya being a Canary. Despite the many infected roaming the area, Kazuichi didn't see a single presence around him. Sure he could sense them; he could hear them skitter around and smell their rotting pungent odor... but they were nowhere to be seen.

"We need to find shelter. We may be safe because you're a Canary, but it's still nighttime; other hybrids might target us." Kazuichi pointed out that even though he was the one who was attracting unnecessary trouble themselves by aimlessly strolling through the streets. Finally realizing the point Amaya wanted to come across, Kazuichi picked a particular building and headed inside.

The building was actually an abandoned mall, and based on the smell of the vicinity, Kazuichi could tell that there was no infected inside. At first, he found it weird since there should be at least one or two wandering infected inside buildings, but Kazuichi brushed it off as being lucky.

"We can spend the night here," Kazuichi muttered under his breath. Even though there were no infected in the premises, he still defaulted to speaking at a low volume, just in case.

Feeling that there was danger inside, Amaya held her breath as she nodded along. She shuffled closer to Kazuichi, holding his hand with her pudgy fists. As they walked inside the mall, her entire left side was pressed on Kazuichi's right leg. Even though she was just a little girl, Kazuichi felt slightly uncomfortable that another person was too close to him. He didn't complain, though, since he didn't want to alarm the little girl. He did have second thoughts about getting the girl out of there... he felt like he had just added another layer of responsibility in his life.

"All right, let's go to the staff room," Even though the interior of the abandoned mall was pitch-black, Kazuichi could still see through the entire place, thanks to him being a Hybrid. He continued taking the lead while Amaya brushed against his right leg.

The darkness that enveloped them caused Kazuichi's senses to heighten. Slight movements at the corner of his eyes, weird smells that would waft in the air, and even the instinctive feeling of danger activated at once as Kazuichi delved deeper inside the abandoned mall.

Growl...

Growl...

They were halfway through the mall heading towards the staff room when Kazuichi heard a faint rumbling sound. Amaya was hungry, but she didn't say anything about it. This was probably because she was more afraid than hungry since she couldn't see anything. Her hands clutched onto Kazuichi's as if she was hanging on for dear life. After all, one slip and Amaya knew she'd be lost in the shadows with no hopes of finding Kazuichi in the dark.

And if Kazuichi decided to abandon her by then... there was nothing she could do about it.

Without saying anything, Kazuichi headed to the deeper parts of the mall, grabbing a couple of canned goods which were still in good condition. He then turned to the right and headed towards the staff room where they'd spend the night.

That's when Kazuichi detected a faint scent of sinister bloodthirst. He immediately ducked for fear that someone might see him. Turning around, he saw a deeper shade of black emerging from one of the mall's hallways. Someone walked from there; Kazuichi didn't need to overthink to realize that such was the case.

"Quick, Amaya," Kazuichi hissed as he slinked towards the staff room, closing the door behind them as quietly as he could.