Pacing back and forth in front of the bathroom, Kazuichi contemplated whether he should drive the girl out or not. He did still have the lingering memory of her hideous appearance, and he deliberately concluded that no amount of shower would fix that appearance of hers. 'But it's already nighttime... how could I drive away a lady when it's already nighttime, that wouldn't be polite at all, right?'
"Tsk! Since when did I care about politeness and appearances? She's heading out! Case closed!" Kazuichi grunted, mustering his courage to speak to the lady. "I'm going to drive her away no matter what!"
Slide.
With a soft noise of metal sliding against metal, the door to the shower room opened, and out came a lady with a towel wrapped around her. She had a slim figure, but the proportions were there, not to mention her silky blond hair and pale skin mutually complemented each other, exponentially increasing her allure and beauty. Her eyes blinked twice in confusion as she stared at Kazuichi. As her head tilted slightly sideways, her soft glossy hair waved to the side, revealing her nape. "You do know that it's rude to stare at a lady, right?" Arisu pouted her mouth before grabbing another towel to dry her hair.
"I um..." Hesitantly, Kazuichi extended his hand toward her. "I brought a change of clothes. They're mine so I don't know if they'll fit."
"Wait a second... you understood what I said?" The girl squealed, her eyes sparkling like the myriad of stars on a clear night.
"Of course I—" Kazuichi trailed off as Arisu jumped forward and squealed, giving him a big hug before she jumped up and down.
"YES! I didn't get infected! I DIDN'T GET INFECTED!" She continued, pumping her fists in the air before she shadow-boxed like a pro. "Take that, epidemic! Take that, virus! Sore— sore—!
Meanwhile, Kazuichi froze in place as he felt the sudden softness press against him without warning. His face reddened all the way up to his ears before he stiffly fell backward like a plank of wood. The sudden physical contact was too much for him to handle, and his mind short-circuited.
Arisu, on the other hand, got too carried away with her celebratory gesture that she forgot she currently wasn't wearing anything. While she was shadow-boxing, the towel unclasped herself from her body, slowly falling on the ground like an autumn leaf descending slowly, in a feather-like manner.
That was the final blow for Kazuichi, and he fell into unconsciousness for the second time. "M-my... eyes..." He muttered to herself before the whites rolled over his eyes. This was his first time seeing a woman's body, and it shocked him greatly, down to his very core.
"Eek~ sorry! I'll go get changed!" Arisu squealed before slamming the door to the shower room shut.
.....
When Kazuichi came to, he was back on his comfortable couch, lying down with a pillow on his head and a blanket draped over him. Well, it wasn't actually a blanket, but a dry towel Arisu found somewhere. Rubbing the back of his head, Kazuichi slowly got up from his bed.
"Oh, you're awake. I made some coffee." Arisu cheerily said, handing him a cup of coffee as she settled on the couch opposite his.
"Coffee, my butt." Kazuichi clicked his tongue. He caught a glimpse of Arisu in his shirt and boxers, and he barely had enough time to avert his gaze before the circuits in his brain got fried again due to overstimulation. "So?"
"Hmm?" Arisu tilted her head, her cuteness emanating from her casual expression and hitting Kazuichi like a volley of arrows aimed at his heart.
"So... um... who are you? And why are you here? Did my relatives send you? Tsk~" There was a hint of fury in Kazuichi's face when he clicked his tongue, but his expression softened a few seconds later when he took a sip of the coffee that Arisu handed him.
"It's good, right? I brought it with me!" Arisu deflected the topic while clasping her hands and smiling with her eyes.
"That won't work on me," Kazuichi muttered, even though her cuteness did reach him. "Tell me what you want before I kick you out of here."
"What do you mean? I don't want anything. It's more than enough that I barely made it out alive... thanks to you..." She mumbled while fiddling with her thumbs.
"What are you talking about? And also... is your arm all right?" Kazuichi asked, vaguely recalling that her right arm was severed.
"Ah... hmm... that's strange... eh?!" Arisu exclaimed, putting up her hand in front of her face. She tried moving it, and it moved according to her will. Somehow, wrapping it with a towel reattached her arm, and it felt like it didn't get severed in the first place. "It healed! Did you see that?! Awesome, right?"
"Sigh~" Kazuichi felt exhausted just from talking to the lady in front of her. "Sorede~ if my relatives didn't send you... then who are you? And what happened to you when you got here? Did you roll in the mud or something? I might be seeing things when I saw your detached hand. I'm glad it's all right."
"No no no, it was real. My arm did get detached." She waved her hand in front of Kazuichi. "Although... I'm not sure why but it's reattached itself again. Also... I should've been infected by now, but I still have my consciousness intact so I don't think I got infected... "
"... wait?! Oh no... this is bad.." Arisu pursed her lips.
"What are you talking about?" Kazuichi still couldn't tell what Arisu was on about, but he let her talk since he didn't feel the need to do it.
"If I got bitten... and I didn't turn... that means I have antibodies, right? I'm immune to the virus, right?!" Arisu raised her voice, slamming her hand on the table before touching her face with it. "I... I'm lucky! I was blessed with the power of the antivirus! Sore— sore—!" She started her celebratory shadow-boxing again.
"As I was asking... what are you talking about?!" Kazuichi's patience was running thin. He slammed the table with one hand since Arisu didn't seem to be listening to him.
"Eek~!" Arisu let out a soft squeal before returning to her seat. "Honestly um... you didn't know what's happening right now? You really don't have any idea?" Arisu asked.
"Yes! I don't! Why do you think I'm asking you?" Kazuichi pointed out the obvious while shaking his head. When he took another sip of the coffee though, his demeanor lightened once again.
"I think this will be the fastest way to explain things," Arisu muttered before grabbing the remote to the television.
For the first time in two years, the television which was only used for games and movies was finally put to good use. Arisu didn't think twice about scrolling through the channels before she found a news broadcasting.
"Oi~ what do you think you're doi—" Kazuichi exclaimed. He never wanted to watch the news nor did he want to associate himself with anything related to it. However, what lay in front of him made him pause midway, and he froze just when he was stretching his hand to grab the remote.