Birth Of A Stronghold

The two men heaved a sigh of relief. They were surprised that the Hybrid they met was reasonable enough to spare them. During their travel, they met a handful of Hybrids and all of them were drunken in power. This was the first time they saw a Hybrid which was down to Earth, she didn't even harm the child who let her guard down while hugging her on the leg.

"Minami, was it?" Arisu whispered. "I won't tell them about what you did. Why don't you go back to the tent? I need to talk to your dad." She asked.

With a nod, Minami headed back to the tent. Arisu then turned around to face the two men. "I smelled the scent of a human so I decided to check things out. Your wife is in the tent, right? And she's exhausted?"

The man, who was kneeling on the ground, nodded his head as he broke into a sweat. They were still not out of trouble yet. He was aware that one wrong move would be the difference between life and death.

"Then you can stay. Just... do your best to mask your scent so I won't have to drive away the infected or the Hybrids that would wander in. If you can mask your scent, then mask the scent of your family and the others as well." Arisu heaved a sigh. She concluded that the man was able to sneak up behind her since he masked his scent with the natural smell of the place. That was the only explanation for it.

For a second time, the man aggressively nodded his head before bowing toward Arisu. "Thank you, thank you so much for sparing us. We will leave in a few days' time and head towards a shelter."

"No... you can stay, in return—" Arisu then explained a couple of things to the two men before she walked away. After receiving their thanks for the second time, she decided to leave them be.

"Where are you going?" A voice belonging to a child suddenly spoke up from behind, stopping Arisu in her tracks. She turned around, and Minami was waddling her way toward her. "Can't you stay with us?" She asked.

The two men gulped as they saw Minami run towards Arisu and grab her by the leg again. She stared deep into Arisu's eyes with her puppy eyes, not wanting to let go of her leg.

Arisu almost choked on the sweet scent that lingered in the air. Her brain told her to just sink her teeth into the girl's skin and be done with it, but she knew that giving in would make her succumb to her inner ferality. Her mind was trying to overtake her, but her control over her desires was much more refined.

Without breathing, Arisu held Minami's hand and softly unclasped her grip. She then pointed at the huge house a couple of hundred meters away from camp. "See that house up there, my friend lives there and I'm currently guarding it. He went away for now, so I'm guarding it." Arisu explained.

Once again, Arisu had the urge to pat the girl's head, so she did. Looking from afar, she saw that the two men were still mildly panicking but they didn't raise their weapons. Instead, they just let Minami do her thing. They concluded that it was already too late for them to act since Minami was far away. Even if they drew their weapons, the Hybrid was one slash away from killing the girl.

"I haven't introduced myself, have I?" Arisu then continued before she stood up. "I'm Kamigawa Arisu, and I guard this place. Tell your dad, and everyone in your camp, that you can stay here for as long as you want."

Minami nodded her head and waddled back to the camp as if Arisu just sent her on her first errand. As the two men welcomed her with sighs of relief, Minami relayed what Arisu told her.

"Then that settles it." Minami's dad said, letting out an exhale as he picked up his axe from the ground. At first, the other man thought that the dad was going to do something he'd regret, but before he could speak up, Minami's dad headed back to the camp while carrying the wood and the couple of rabbits they hunted.

"That settles what?" The other man asked.

"We're staying here. This is a rare opportunity, Hiiro," Minami's dad pointed out. "We have a Hybrid letting us in her territory and providing us protection as long as we abide by her rules. And in an apocalyptic world where safety is always an issue, this is as good as it gets."

"I guess... Minami approached her twice and she didn't do anything to her. She was probably just shocked that we sneaked up on her like that. In any case, are we really going to stay here... if so, then we have to do that thing she asked for, right?" Hiiro confirmed.

"Right. You know... that thing is a small price to pay for protection. It's like giving a tribute once a week, except the tribute is not money. This is as good as it gets."

"You're right."

"Thank the heavens... thank the heavens..." Hiiro finally understood what Arisu meant and he couldn't help but collapse to the ground as a stray tear fell from his eyes. Not only did they receive mercy in the eyes of a Hybrid, but they were even offered protection for a small price.

"If we're staying here, then we have to do all we can to improve this place. Let's not take her—" Minami's dad then looked at Minami since he forgot the Hybrid's name.

"Arisu. She said that her name is Kamigawa Arisu." Minami recited.

"Right, Arisu-sama. Let's not take Arisu-sama's mercy lightly." He continued, patting her daughter on the head since she was the one who made this ceasefire possible.

As Arisu returned to Kazuichi's abode with a satisfied smile on her face, she didn't think that her decision that blossomed from goodwill would eventually turn into one of the greatest decisions she had made in life.

On that day, one of the most powerful strongholds was founded, and it could very well rival the other three strongholds with the most power in Japan.