Hybrid Blood

"Sir Kazuichi, are you inside?" The burly man right behind the door spoke in a familiar tone. He had been expecting Kazuichi to answer the door for him, but much to his surprise, he smelled a faint scent of a girl instead.

"Who is this?" Arisu asked, trying to figure out who the person behind the door was. While she could tell that the man was aware of Kazuichi's identity, she didn't open the door for fear that he might be Kazuichi's enemy. In that sense, she decided to step back from the door.

"Are you perhaps... Kazuichi's girlfriend? I'm sorry, but can you please call master Kazuichi right now? I need to talk to him. Please tell him that his butler, Fujima Jurou is at the door." Jurou called out. He was none other than the burly man who killed Samayuki— a hound who tried to take over the nearby shelter.

"I'm sorry, but... I can't call him right now." Arisu vaguely answered. She didn't bother telling the person outside that Kazuichi wasn't present. After all, that might encourage the person to kick the door down and forcefully invite himself inside.

"I see..." Jurou trailed off, trying to figure out why his girlfriend couldn't call him at this time. He concluded that they probably got into a fight and Kazuichi might be locking himself inside his room or something along those lines. Jurou knew just how troublesome Kazuichi could get when he was in a foul mood, that's why he didn't speak of the matter further.

"Well, when he finally comes around, can you tell him that I dropped by for a bit? I have a father and daughter with me who haven't been infected. For now, we'll try to locate one of the nearest shelters and stay there, can you relay the message to your boyfriend for me?"

Right now, the only person she trusted with her life is Kazuichi. Even though there were still no signs of Kazuichi going back, she still believed that Kazuichi was somewhere out there, alive. Until then, she decided to lock herself inside his house, only ever going outside to gather and replenish materials. For now, there was no need to gather supplies so she just anxiously waited like a lost dog waiting for its owner.

"We'll be back in a couple of days, I hope Kazuichi would be in the mood to talk by then. And just a word of advice, just wait for him, all right? It might take him a month or so before he comes around. Please be patient, kanojo~san." Jurou asked as he bowed towards the doorway.

"I know Kazuichi can be a pain sometimes, but I hope you'll take care of him in my stead. He's a good guy, he just hasn't healed from his past scars." Jurou said, forcing a smile on his face as he reminisced about the past.

Upon saying that, the man turned around and headed away from the door. Arisu barely caught a glimpse of a father and daughter who meekly walked behind Jurou. This didn't change Arisu's mind at all, though, since she was well aware of how dangerous the outside world could get.

.....

"YOU MONSTER!"

"HOW DARE YOU SELL US!"

"WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?! YOU TWISTED LITTLE—"

"YOU'RE MESSED UP!"

Kazuichi wanted to cover his ears as he received the full brunt of complaints coming from the hybrids who were caged for the Hybrid Auction. If it weren't for him escaping the jeep before they were given to the auctioneer as products, he'd have ended up in one of those cages, sold to the highest bidder when the auction commences.

He didn't want anything to do with the other hybrids who were badmouthing him despite not knowing who he was. And as usual, the auctioneer remained quiet unless he had to explain what the products are all about.

Ninety percent of the products sold in the Hybrid Auction consisted of Hybrids caught by the Hybrid Hunters. Even though they were brought there against their will, Kazuichi didn't feel bad for any of them at all. They were as loud as the blows of a hammer that constantly rang in Kazuichi's ears, and if it weren't for the auctioneer constantly reminding him that he wasn't alone, he'd have snapped and screamed at everyone to shut up.

"What are those?" Kazuichi asked.

Shoved in a corner were a couple of products that were separated from the other products on display. It was obvious that they were important, and that the auctioneer didn't want Kazuichi to take a look at any of them. Fortunately, Kazuichi had a keen eye when it comes to these things, and he was able to conclude that the auctioneer was clearly hiding those products so he won't be able to pick any of them.

"Those are... well, they're different types of animal blood. And some of them are precious blood of hybrids." The auctioneer honestly responded as he nodded toward one of the men in suits who were roaming around the storage area, making sure that there were no intruders around. "We figured you wouldn't want to buy any of those so we just put them in the corner instead."

"Hybrid blood? What are they for?"

"They're for creating new hybrids. A lot of bidders are vying for it due to how precious they are." The auctioneer continued. "As you may have guessed, infected blood could infect people as the virus is transmitted through the bloodstream. That's why, if an uninfected is given the blood of an infected, they'd be able to inherit the virus within that blood. Of course, it works just like any other blood transfusion. You need the same blood type of an infected in order to 'safely' transfuse the blood with yours."

"The most popular blood type is O negative. I guess some things don't change when it comes to these, huh." The auctioneer continued. "In any case, we have plenty of O-negative blood extracted from hybrids. They're even labeled with their types."

"So... if I want to turn someone into a hybrid... all that I need is to transfuse the blood of a certain hybrid and they'll inherit their powers? Is that how it works?" Kazuichi confirmed.

"I mean... most viruses work like that, right? The zombie virus is more or less the same."