Punching Bag
Fortunately, Tris was level-headed enough to let out a scream before the guy grabbed her by the cheeks, covering her mouth in the process. That single cry for help was her only hope. And if that doesn't work, then she'd just have to improvise.
The man who pinned him down on the ground had a somewhat lanky build, but his muscles were toned enough to pin her on the ground. Licking his lips, the man admired Tris's curves but he couldn't do anything since it already took all of his strength to pin the feisty woman on the ground.
Meanwhile, Tris continued to struggle, trying to gauge the man's overall strength so she could formulate a plan in overpowering him. She could tell that the man on top of him was no ordinary human... he might even be a hybrid. That's why Tris didn't make any moves that would encourage him to bite her.
'If only my ankle's not sprained, I'd have been able to escape easily.' Tris said in her mind as she clicked her tongue.
Apparently, the reason why Tris survived this long was that she was agile, and her speed never betrayed her. Whenever she finds herself face-to-face with a horde, she'd always resort to the hit-and-run tactic wherein she'd stay at a considerable distance from it while thinning their numbers down, usually with a bow and arrow. Rarely does she ever engage them in combat, and whenever she did, she was confident that she would win.
Her situation right now was neither. But she had hoped that the man would let his guard down. That's when she'll strike and get out of there. 'I have to make sure that I knock him out though. Curse this sprained ankle!'
...
Despite the throbbing headache that plagued Kazuichi's head, he was still conscious enough to hear Tris's scream coming from the penthouse on the fifth floor. If he could hear a scream that far away, surely the other hybrids in the area would've been alerted of her presence as well.
With his waning consciousness, Kazuichi compelled himself to stand up, leaning on the wall as he did so. He was fairly certain that Tris wouldn't be too absent-minded to let out a scream without reason (she'd survive as a human for this long, after all). That's why when he heard the scream, he knew that it could only mean one thing— she was in trouble or something along those lines.
Struggling, Kazuichi climbed the stairs as fast as he could, going on all-fours since leaning on the wall proved to impede his ascent. For Kazuichi, it might seem like he was slow, climbing the stairs and all. However, if a third party saw him, they'd have marveled at his speed. His speed was comparable to a hound despite not being a hound at all. Then again, the way he climbed on all fours made him resemble the movements of a beast more than that of a human.
By the time he reached the fifth floor, his consciousness dwindled to the point where he could barely see anything. There was a certain darkness in the rim of his vision, he barely figured out the form of a man who was pinning Tris on the ground.
'Seriously?! Why would he go to such lengths pinning her down when he could just bite her?' Kazuichi asked himself. Just from the man's scent alone, Kazuichi could tell that he was a hybrid, more specifically a Merc Hybrid.
Compared to a Hound, a Merc is rarer, and they're more balanced in terms of their speed and strength distribution. A Hound can easily defeat a Merc, but the same thing could not be said for a Bulwark. If the Merc was not taken by surprise, it could easily defeat a Bulwark, which is the most defensive hybrid out of the three.
It only took Kazuichi a couple of seconds to realize what the man was trying to do. After all, if he really intended to infect Tris, or kill her, he'd have done so in an instant. But no, that wasn't his aim. His aim was something else... and Kazuichi finally realized what it was.
Subconsciously, Kazuichi tapped into his innate abilities as a hybrid, and his vision cleared for a bit. The headache was still there, and his joints ached all over, but all of those were overridden by his adrenaline, and he managed to pick himself up. Without thinking twice, he tackled the Merc, using his speed that could rival any Hounds out there.
His acceleration certainly surprised the Merc. And he wasn't able to react to the attack, not until it hit him like a truck, quite literally. By the time he got back to his senses, his back had already struck the walls that surrounded the rooftop. He gasped as the air was pressed out of his lungs.
"You— who are you?!" The Merc had been staying in this particular city for the past few weeks, even before he turned, he was already a resident. That's why he was familiar with the people who wander about the vicinity. This was the first time he saw Kazuichi, and that's why he just had to ask who he was.
"I'm no one." With bated breaths, Kazuichi muttered a few words before planting his fist on the Merc's face.
As mentioned before, the Mercs have pretty decent speed and defense. However, there was no way they could go head to head with a Hound since Hounds are way speedier than them. That's why even though he wanted to dodge the punch, there was no way he could do so.
Before he could recover, Kazuichi planted another punch on his face, then another, then another, until the Merc was knocked out unconscious. In between his punches, Kazuichi could've sworn that the man was pleading for his life, but he wasn't taking his chances.
"You all right?" Kazuichi took a deep breath after making sure that the Merc was unconscious, he then turned towards Tris to see how she was holding up. After all, she was this close to dying a couple of seconds ago.
"Y-yes?" Tris asked, unsure whether she should run away from Kazuichi or not.