A Bulwark Encounter

After an hour, the rain finally let down, its steady downpour turning into an uneven drizzle while the group rested under the shade. They had their fill of rabbit meat and their fair share of short naps. Now they started packing up, preparing to resume their journey back to Kazuichi Stronghold.

"We're going to pass through the forest and a city first before we could get to Kanagawa. It would be nice if we won't encounter trouble in the adjacent city... but there's a good chance we might so best be prepared." Arisu repeated as she slung her bag on her shoulders. "Kanagawa is just a city away, and there's a good chance that trouble's already spread to neighboring cities."

Kazuichi couldn't tell whether the war breaking out between strongholds was that serious or not. In any case, Arisu was serious when she mentioned it so it might be more dangerous than he assumed. Whether or not they meet trouble was not the concern, but whether or not they'd get pulled into trouble.

"Everyone ready?"

Receiving a unanimous nod, Kazuichi beckoned for the group to follow him. Once again, they reentered the forest, attempting to cross it before they were met with trouble. They had no idea what else was lurking inside the forest. And back when Arisu crossed the forest, she cleared it so fast she didn't notice anything amiss.

Now that they got ample recovery, the group returned to the forest, taking in the natural air with a hint of rain. A mist at ankle height added surrealness to the forest, adding to the air of mystery and the threats within.

With Kazuichi taking the lead and Arisu taking the rear, the group slowly moved forward, cautiously watching their surroundings in case, a Hybrid or an infected jumped onto them. Arisu's olfactory sense finally returned and she could finally use it at a hundred percent capacity.

"There were a couple of uninfected, but they lingered by the edge of the forest. No Hybrids nor Omega Zombies around either." Arisu relayed. From time to time, she also gave Kazuichi the directions he needed so they won't lose their way in the forest.

"That's pretty weird. I'm sure there should be a lot of infected here in the forest. Did they take cover because of the rain?" Kazuichi asked. It was still a mystery to him if that's what the infected does. Then again, he heard from a couple of scouts that the number of infected drastically decreases on a rainy day.

"That... or maybe the Omega Zombie drove them away. I've seen it walking through the rain, heading to the Ice Wing Stronghold." Tris said. Apparently, she also saw the Omega Zombie strolling in the city, destroying buildings in its wake.

"Ice Wing Stronghold?" Arisu asked, but she didn't pry into the stronghold any further. She was just curious about what it looked like.

Kazuichi was fairly surprised that Arisu never encountered a stronghold on his way to meet them. Well, she probably passed by a couple of them. She just didn't bother checking them out since she was in a hurry.

"It was a pretty huge Omega Zombie, probably twice the size of a normal Omega Zombie. Or maybe my eyes were just playing tricks on me." Tris said. She was incredibly sleepy back then so she didn't trust her eyesight.

"No, it was big," Kazuichi said back. Initially, he also thought that he was seeing things. But now that he thought about it, there were a lot of unexplainable things that occurred after the outbreak transpired. An Omega Zombie double its size isn't really that unusual.

"I hope the Ice Wing Stronghold's doing all right." Kazuichi continued. He didn't want to raise any flag, but he had to say it out loud to let it out of his system.

"Kazuichi," Arisu suddenly called out, bringing Kazuichi back to reality.

For now, Kazuichi put the thought of the Ice Wing Stronghold at the back of his mind as he looked at Arisu. The moment he did so, he noticed that the air around them had changed. Someone was approaching them, and from the scent of it, it was a Hybrid... specifically a Bulwark.

At first, Arisu thought that the Bulwark might be Jurou. However, his scent was entirely different compared to his.

"You know him?" Arisu asked. She thought that maybe Kazuichi was familiar with the scent.

However, Kazuichi also had no idea who it was. Shaking his head, the group waited for the Bulwark to be in sight to see whether he was a threat or not.

"How did you know that it's a guy?" Tris asked, confused. Even though they haven't seen the person, they already knew that he was a man.

"We can smell it." Kazuichi simply answered.

As if on cue, an undergrowth from afar parted and a Bulwark burst out from it, gunning it at full speed. He immediately noticed the group in front of him and his eyes lit up as if he had seen light at the end of the tunnel.

"Oii~!" He called out. He waved his hand at Kazuichi since he assumed that he was the leader of the group. "Oiii~!" He repeated, increasing his speed so he could get there faster.

"What is it?" Kazuichi asked. He was surprised that a Bulwark could actually run that fast. Then again, when he arrived in front of them, he was so out of breath that he fell down on his face due to exhaustion.

"I'm glad I found you... I wasn't sure about your scent because of the rain, but I'm glad you were really here." The Bulwark spoke as he rolled on his back. "I'm... my name is Kirihara Takahara... please, I need your help."

"Help? For what?" Kazuichi asked.

"My wife and I... we were traveling to get to a stronghold when we were attacked by dogs," Takahara explained. "They dragged my wife to their lair, probably to store her as food supply. I'm going to rescue her... but I figured I might as well take my chances and ask for help."

"A bunch of dogs attacked you, you say?" Kazuichi couldn't believe what the Bulwark was talking about. If they were attacked by a bunch of dogs, then they could've easily defended themselves, right? He's a Bulwark after all.

"You mean... Zombie Dogs, right? If they were just a bunch of dogs, then you could've easily butchered them." Tris corrected him, indirectly explaining to Kazuichi what the Bulwark was talking about.

"I know about them, they're rare Hybrids, and they work seamlessly in packs." Arisu informed them, repeating what she heard from one of the residents of the Kazuichi Stronghold.

"Yeah, they're dangerous. I'm sorry, Takahara-san, but we don't think we're capable enough to help you." Tris politely rejected his plea as she slightly bowed down. Even though she felt bad for the guy, she didn't want to jeopardize the team. Besides, they really were not capable of helping him.

"..."

"..."

A look of helplessness was written on Takahara's face as he stood up. He already caught his breath. "I-I'm sorry for bothering you. I... I figured I'd take my chances, you know," Takahara said, bowing down towards them before he headed back, retracing his footsteps.

"Wait!" Kazuichi called out, causing Takahara to stop short in his tracks.