บท 59: The Turning

Yamishiro groaned in pain as the virus climbed up his body through his bloodstream. It was only a matter of time before he was completely infected, getting rid of his sanity and making him a mindless, soulless puppet that only exist to bite the uninfected. Just the mere thought of turning into a zombie pained Yamishiro. But even then, he proceeded to do his duties, making sure that he'd be able to save the shelter before he turned.

With a far-off gaze, Yamishiro stared from afar, noticing Rima and Peruva (the third guy in their group) as they did a spectacular job at the subjugation. There was Kazuichi as well, and Yamishiro was impressed by how well he moved. It's as if he wasn't human at all, and he was as strong as everyone on the team.

"What a waste of talent. He should be in the Scarlet Blood Stronghold, not here." Yamishiro called out.

The inevitable headache plagued Yamishiro after a minute or so. By now, the subjugation was almost over. Not only did Kazuichi and Rima clear the horde by the wired fence, but they also sealed it completely. Yamishiro heaved a sigh of relief as the headache had aggravated to the point where he felt like his head would explode. He gritted his teeth, trying so hard to keep himself from falling down. He could tell that he was about to lose consciousness at any given moment.

His vision darkened, coupled with his muscles cramping and numbing at the same time. He couldn't pinpoint where the changes were occurring in his body, but from his mind down, he could tell that he was slowly shifting into becoming infected.

Cheers from the members of the shelter erupted as the fight drew to a close.

"That was a close one. You're a pretty good fighter, aren't you." Rima complimented as she repeatedly patted Kazuichi on the back. Even her pats pack quite a punch, and Kazuichi was left wheezing every time.

"I've just seen some many old movies." Kazuichi bashfully responded, rubbing his nose as he did so. Somehow, being complimented by a girl tugged at his heartstrings (even though the girl was more adept than him when it comes to fighting).

"Great work out there, Rima." Peruva greeted. Despite moving quite a lot while assisting all of them, Peruva barely broke a sweat and was barely out of breath.

Meanwhile, Yamishiro acted as if he was still fine, just exhausted. Holding his head, he slowly sat down on the ground while his breathing became ragged. Everyone figured that he was just exhausted, but such wasn't the case at all. He was slowly turning, but no one could tell since they didn't see him get bitten...

... well, most of them didn't notice it, except for Kazuichi.

Kazuichi did not exactly notice Yamishiro get bitten, but he saw him struggling with his ankle and he noticed the blood dripping out from it. It was already way past sunset, and the sky was transitioning into a nice purple color. Since the surrounding was a bit darkened by the transition, it was hard for the naked eye to see fine details like the trail of blood streaming down Yamishiro's ankle. It was easy to mistake the liquid for water, that's why no one thought about it that much except for Kazuichi who could clearly see that it was blood.

'He had been bitten. There's no doubt about it.' Kazuichi said in his mind as he approached Yamishiro. He didn't want to attract any attention so he slowly walked toward Yamishiro with the intent of helping him.

When he was halfway there, Tris called out his name before running up to him. "Are you all right, were you bitten anywhere?" Tris whispered, worriedly patting Kazuichi's shoulder and sides to see if there were any bites. Kazuichi had the urge to shake her off, but he opted not to since this was Tris's way of showing her concern.

"No, I wasn't bitten anywhere. Yamishiro, however..." Kazuichi trailed off as his gaze landed on Yamishiro who seemed to be having a mild seizure. No one noticed it since Yamishiro was suppressing his muscle spasms.

"Don't tell me, is he—" Tris asked, leaning towards Kazuichi just in case Yamishiro went feral.

Kazuichi nodded. "I need to talk to him. Can you stay with the evacuees for now?" Kazuichi asked. In response, Tris nodded and rejoined everyone who was staying on the farthest side of the shelter.

The headache was unbearable now, but Yamishiro still did everything he could to keep his consciousness.

"Are you all right?" Kazuichi concernedly asked. "You were bitten, right?" Kazuichi asked.

Yamishiro's eyes widened in surprise as he realized that Kazuichi knew of his situation all along. "How did you know?" He asked. "Was it that obvious? No... it shouldn't have been. I mean, even Rima and Peruva haven't noticed."

"No, I just saw the blood on your ankle. Are you going to be all right?" Kazuichi asked, somewhat repeating his question.

"I'll manage. I don't think I'll turn into a hybrid, however. I was bitten by a normal zombie. There's already a small chance of turning into a Hybrid when you were bitten by a Hybrid... but there's an even smaller chance of becoming one." Yamishiro explained. "I mean... if my choice is either turning into a mindless zombie or turning into a Hybrid... then being a Hybrid is not all that bad."

As they continued their conversation, Kazuichi sat beside him. He was prepared for the worst, but if he could do anything, then he would do it without thinking twice. Rummaging through his pockets, Kazuichi found a towel and handed it to Yamishiro. "Here you go," He offered.

"Thanks," Yamishiro responded, gratefully receiving the towel and wiping his sweat with it. His condition was getting worse, and he could tell that he'd turn any moment now. Even then, he wanted to remain with everyone for as long as possible.

"You're a good fighter, right? If I turn... don't hesitate to kill me, okay?" Yamishiro asked.

"Why are you wiping yourself with the towel?" Kazuichi asked out of nowhere.

"What do you mean? Didn't you hand this to me so I could wipe my sweat with it?" Yamishiro asked, confused.

"No, you're supposed to stuff it in your mouth." Kazuichi shook his head and answered as if that was the most normal thing to do when someone handed a person a towel.

"What?"