Kira's past

Kira heard Herro's excited call and she slowly opened her eyes. The first thing she saw was the elated, messy face of Herro. Then she slowly looked down and saw that the claws in her hands had already vanished.

"YES!" Herro exclaimed after his success in removing the claws in Kira's hand.

"Thank you Herro for everything," Kira said as she bent down her head in gratitude.

"It was nothing. You even save my...." He was about to thank Kira for saving his life before, but then he remembered that it was Kira's fault after all.

The mood turned awkward as Kira turned silent due to embarrassment. Herro was thinking about how he could break the ice. Then he remembered something.

"Was that miraculous pill I took, was the last pill you have?"

Kira nodded and said, "That was indeed the last one that I have."

"Thank you for giving it to me. So it means that I have repaid my debt to you, right?" Then he laughed. Kira also followed and both of them laughed joyfully.

Herro then remembered something and asked Kira, "Did you feel stronger than before?"

Kira frowned as she heard Herro's question. She had nearly died and it was amazing how she got perfectly healed, but to feel stronger? But how?

"Why did you ask such a silly question?". Kira replied as she waved her hands, telling him it was impossible.

"Listen to me and just test your strength, then tell me if you have gotten stronger or not." Herro impatiently said as he urged Kira to test her strength.

Kira sighed about how ridiculous Herro's question is. Even though she didn't believe in Herro, she still stood up and walked towards a large chunk of a building's wall. She grabbed it and lifted it and she felt that she was, indeed, stronger than before.

If she lifted this large debris before the incident happened, it will require a lot of effort to do that, but now she could lift it up easily with much lesser effort.

She was so astonished, as she said, "I indeed became stronger even after experiencing a near-death situation. Do you know why did this happen?"

Herro just smiled and said, "It was also an effect of my skill. I can absorb my enemies into my body. They can heal me and I can absorb their strength, speed, agility, stamina, and even intelligence only if they are higher than mine."

"As I can see, the mutant is clearly stronger than you and when I transferred the effect of absorbing the mutant towards you, you also absorbed its strength and other points, making you stronger than before," Herro explained to Kira, who was still astonished by this time.

"Your skill is too overpowered, isn't it?" Kira said as she chuckled.

Herro sheepishly chuckled. Then he escorted Kira back to their base. After entering the base, Herro place his bag on the table and opened it. Kira was shocked when she saw the large grapes on the table.

'Was this the first time that Kira saw grapes this big?' Herro thought on his mind.

"Where did you find these?" Kira said with a serious face as she pointed the grapes on the table.

"Ohhh, I found them on the house on the southern part where the tall buildings end. It looks like a subdivision and the grapevine wrapped around the house." Herro said while he frowned in confusion.

'Kira, have scouted this place already. It was confusing why she would still ask where that place is.' Herro thought in his mind.

Kira slapped her forehead in exasperation towards the situation.

Then Herro remembered something and said, "I also found this set of armor and these two katanas."

Then, Kira scrutinized Herro and found out that he was indeed wearing a set of armor and two katanas on his side. After realizing what Herro had done, she was not able to hold back and she did a facepalm as she massaged her temples in frustration.

Herro, who didn't know what the heck is going on, smiled sheepishly, showing that he did nothing bad.

"Sorry for not telling you beforehand, but that house is the last place I should go even though I have no food left. Why? Heh, that was just a base of three mutants." Kira said this as her palm was still on her face and massaging her temples.

When Herro heard this, he felt his body froze and was not able to move for a couple of seconds.

After coming back to his senses, he then said, "Ahhhh, I see. That was the reason why a mutant suddenly appeared after that time, I got excited."

It was as if Kira didn't hear a single word Herro had uttered and said, "Did you encounter a mutant there?"

Herro sheepishly smiled as he said, "I barely escaped alive and unscathed."

Kira sighed and stopped her facepalming. She stood up and was about to take a rest when her stomach growled. She held her stomach as she was embarrassed

When Herro heard this, and, seeing Kira in her embarrassed state, he smiled and said, "You should eat those large grapes. I'll eat later coz I'm not hung....." Before he could even finish his sentence, his stomach also growled.

Kira chuckled and Herro also followed. Then both of them ate the large grapes.

It was not enough for Kira, but it was more than enough for Herro. Kira is considered a superhuman back in the 21st century. Her appetite was quite big for a normal person because of the BES that was injected into her body.

Even though she ate foods in large amounts, she was still slim and that was because of her fast metabolism.

After eating, they both decided to take a rest. They were not just tired physically, but also mentally. The event that almost cost their lives leaves a big burden on their minds.

It was still noon, but both of them fell asleep as soon as they closed their eyes. The temperature was cold enough to make both of them feel comfortable.

Both of them woke up later at night and both of them greeted each other. They have grown closer after the incident even though they knew so few things about each other.

Then Kira to the kitchen to cook some vegetables and chickens she got earlier.

Chickens could be found everywhere. They have also evolved, but not in sizes, but in their ability to reproduce. Their fast reproduction along with the flourishing of nature resulted in their overpopulation.

Herro was not able to find chickens when he went south earlier because it was the territory of mutants.

After a while of waiting, Kira finally called Herro to eat. Herro immediately stood up and went to the small table.

What was waiting for him was not just the food on the table but also a beautiful lady wearing an apron. He smiled as he looked warmly at Kira.

Kira smiled back at him and as she said, "Come, let's eat before the food gets cold."

Herro sat down at the chair. What was waiting for him was a vegetable soup with chicken and unripe papaya.

He couldn't wait any longer and picked up the bowl and drank the soup. He could feel the hot soup running down from his mouth towards his throat.

He let out a soft sigh of fulfillment and said, "It was still the tinola that I love." Then he placed down the bowl.

He scooped some rice and put some soup in there. He also ate the chicken and the unripe papaya.

Kira smiled as she saw how satisfied Herro is with her cooking.

They joyfully savored their food and finished it within 20 minutes.

"That was so delicious, Kira!" Herro exclaimed as he caressed his bloated stomach.

"It was the traditional food of our place, so it is expected that I know how to cook it!" Kira proudly said. Herro nodded in agreement with what Kira had said.

"Kira, are you the only living person around here?" Herro was clueless about the situation in this world, so he could only rely upon a native and ask her about things.

Kira sighed and looked at the ceiling, as if she was holding her tears back.

Then she said, "I was left around here by my so-called trusted buddies." After saying this, Kira couldn't help but sigh as she placed her head on her arms that was resting on the table.

Herro felt bad for asking asd said, "If you're not fine with this topic, I'm not gonna force you to tell so you can just ask me things."

Kira raised her head and looked at Herro's eyes as she said, "No, we will be together for a long time, so we should learn things about each other."

Herro felt the warmth of Kira's words and was touched by it.

Kira exhaled a deep sigh and then started to talk: "I was on a team with my friends. We were tasked to hunt animals and find useful materials we could use on making devices and equipments."

"It was going smooth at first, but we were chased down by four mutants that dominated this area. The scouts didn't notice this guy before, so we were not ready on fighting them."

"Our leader proposed an idea. He said that since I can pass through things, I will be able to avoid their attacks and run. So they gave me a super stinky food that immediately grabbed the mutants attention."

"I believed at his idea since I trusted him and started to run. They said that they would be regrouping outside the city were we camped before entering this city."

"I ran as fast as I could, but the mutants were faster than me, so I needed to use my skill to avoid their attacks. I finally got tired and threw the bag of stinky food away. They followed that food and I escaped by passing through a wall of a building."

"I rested for sometime and after getting back some of my strength, I started heading towards our meeting point. But when I reached our meeting point, there was nothing there at all! They left me behind as a sacrifice! They sacrificed me to save their assess!" After letting out all of her hidden frustration, she cried.

Herro immediately stood up and hugged her. She cried on his arms. "I don't want to be lonely again, so please don't leave me behind!' Kira said as she cried.

Herro felt pain in his heart as she heard her saying those words.

"I will be always with you and will never leave your side. We will be together forever, Kira." Herro was sincere on his words. He will never leave her behind and will stay by her side.

Kira continued crying to vent all of her frustration that was hidden for only she knows how long. She didn't mention how long she was hiding on this place.

Kira slept on Herro's arms while her eyes were wet with her tears. Herro carried her towards her sleeping bag and put her inside.