บท 68: Dinnertime

Even though Kazuichi was shivering, he felt as if he had regained control over his mind due to the sudden spike in temperature. It was like being in a daze and then slapped the second after. While it felt a little uncomfortable, it gave him the extra push he needed to rein in his desire to bite someone.

Since he already felt rejuvenated, thanks to the ice bucket dump, he removed the handcuff from his hands by simply tugging at his hand. He did it so easily that he was taken aback. Even though it was unnoticeable to everyone in the room, he was fairly certain that he had gotten stronger.

"If you're done, can you help me with Yamishiro?" Ayaka asked, gesturing toward Kazuichi to come over to where Yamishiro was tied up. "How are you feeling?"Ayaka turned her head back at Yamishiro.

Upon hearing Ayaka's words, Yamishiro let out a grunt, biting down to the point where his jaw locked in place. He still hadn't completely turned, but the urge to bite someone was too overwhelming that he had to bite really hard to stop it. He felt like he would bite someone the moment he opened his mouth, and he didn't want that to happen.

In the end, the only thing that Yamishiro could do was nod his head in response to Ayaka's question. It didn't even mean anything since the question was an open-ended one.

To Yamishiro's surprise, however, Ayaka nodded her head as well while smiling. The guard who had been in the room suddenly appeared in Yamishiro's peripheral vision, holding a huge bucket on top of his head.

SPLASH!

"Wagh~!" Yamishiro exclaimed as he started flailing for the second time. This time though, he wasn't flailing because he wanted to get out of his bindings, he flailed because it was cold. "What was that for?!" He exclaimed in surprise as he bolted upright.

Another surprise came to Yamishiro when he realized that the ropes constricting his movement had snapped the moment he tried to get up. He had gotten unfathomably more powerful than when he was a regular human and it creeped him out a little bit.

"Looks like it worked. I knew you'd live. Good job hanging in there." Ayaka greeted, aggressively patting Yamishiro on the shoulder. "This is a rare occurrence, two of you surviving the virus together. We should celebrate this outcome, you know."

Upon saying that, Ayaka seemed to remember something and she brought her fist down her palm in exclamation. "Before anything else, you should probably catch up with Tris, Kazuichi," Ayaka advised. "I'll go prepare dinner for everyone. As for you, Yamishiro, I'll leave you with calling your team for the dinner. See you then~!"

Kazuichi waved his hand as Ayaka disappeared from view. The guard who was in the room shrugged in confusion before he helped Yamishiro back on his feet. With a grunt, Yamishiro finally managed to stand up with minimal difficulty. With a nod, Yamishiro walked out of the 'basement' with the assistance of the guard. He was brimming with energy, but somehow his body just wouldn't cooperate. This is a normal start for those who turned into a Hybrid. Even in Kazuichi's case, he slept through his entire turning, and when he woke up he was already auctioned in the Underground Stronghold.

After making sure that the basement was locked so no curious children would walk in, Kazuichi rejoined Tris who was still pacing back and forth outside.

"Kazuichi!" Tris exclaimed, running up to him in haste to check if there was anything wrong with him. Even though she was aware that he was a Hybrid, she didn't hesitate to approach him like a good friend. She was relieved to see that he looked the same, but that didn't explain anything though.

"Are you all right? What were you doing to yourself?" Tris gently reprimanded. Up until now, she still had no idea why Kazuichi did something so crazy. Then again, it was already over, and it seemed like nothing detrimental happened to him.

"Yes, never better. I can't believe that worked. For a moment back there, I thought I was going to die." Kazuichi scratched his head. He made it sound as if it was a light problem but quite frankly, it wasn't.

If a Hybrid were to turn into a mindless zombie, it is much worse compared to the infected. Hybrids are formidable and more threatening than the normal infected. In terms of physical abilities, they are incomparable to them, and their regeneration speed is not something to laugh at. A Hybrid could easily overturn a shelter but a mindless Hybrid could do it more easily. Unless there's a Hybrid defending the shelter, there's no way that it would stand a chance against a mindless Hybrid.

Kazuichi's impulsive actions didn't just endanger his life, but they also endangered the lives of everyone in the Scarlet Blood Stronghold. Then again, with the headcount of Hybrids in the stronghold, Kazuichi assumed that he'd be put down easily.

"In any case, Ayaka told you about dinner, right? We should probably prepare for that." Kazuichi instantly changed the topic before Ayaka could say anything.

Sensing what Kazuichi was trying to accomplish, Tris just nodded along. In the end, Kazuichi was all right, and nothing will happen if they were to bicker about the topic.

As if on cue, a man in his late twenties approached them. "The stronghold leader has prepared a room for the two of you, please follow me." The man simply stated, slightly bowing down towards the two of them before he led the way.

One sniff and Kazuichi could tell that the man is a Hybrid. 'Seriously, how many Hybrids are there in this stronghold? I'm surprised not a single one of them caused any trouble.' Kazuichi was a bit worried but so far, Ayaka never mentioned anything about problems within the stronghold so there was probably nothing to worry about.

"Wait... did he just say that we're going to stay in one room?" Tris briefly stole a glance at Kazuichi as her face reddened.