Days later.
"Thank you so much for accompanying us here. We really owe you our lives."
Fujima Jurou rubbed his nose, smiling. "Well, I'm just glad you're okay. It would've been nice if we were to stay by the master's house but he wasn't there. I apologize for taking you with me on my week-long journey." He continued before he knelt down.
The little girl who was with his father all this time flinched as Fujima Jurou patted him on the head. It had already been two weeks since they first saw Fujima Jurou walking through the streets of the city, and as if by a stroke of luck, he was also the one who saved them when a shelter was taken over by a Hybrid. She flinched not because she was afraid of Jurou, but because the journey made her a tad bit jumpy.
Their experience as a trio traveling through the cities was eventful, and the father-daughter duo learned a lot traveling with a hybrid like Jurou. Simple survival skills were now ingrained in their memories, and even if they found themselves in the middle of nowhere the next day, they were sure that they'd be able to survive.
"In any case, this shelter falls under the protection of the Scarlet Blood Stronghold, right? I guess I should pay them a visit before I leave." Jurou muttered to himself, pulling out a paper from his pouch and marking something on it.
Upon closer inspection, the father realized that Jurou was holding a map, and there were a couple of marked places with x's and o's. The man watched as Jurou marked another x on the map.
"Are you looking for someone, sir, by any chance?" He asked before realizing that Jurou had already talked about it a couple of times. "Oh, that's right. The young master... you're looking for the young master, right?"
Fujima Jurou nodded his head as he forced a smile to appear on his face. "I... I owe the young master a great deal, that's why I swear upon my life that I will protect him. Right now, I'm atoning for my shortcoming by looking for him. I should've been there when the outbreak struck."
"I wish you all the best, Fujima-san."
With the farewells out of the way, Fujima Jurou decided to head deeper downtown where the Scarlet Blood Stronghold was situated. Every single time he goes to a certain stronghold or shelter, he was hopeful that the young master would be staying there. While there were no guarantees that the young master was still alive after everything that happened to him, he still clung to the notion that he is, and that somewhere out there, he was doing all he could to survive.
Before he could get near the entrance of the Scarlet Blood Stronghold, two guards stepped in to block his way. They were skeptical since Jurou had a pretty muscular build, and they made sure not to get too near since he might attack them as a Hybrid.
"State your purpose of visit and identification!" One of the guards raised his voice in a fit of panic. Fortunately, he managed to suppress his stutter when he spoke.
"Oh, um, is your leader here? I'd like to speak to him." Jurou calmly asked, wondering why the two guards were hesitant to go near him.
"State your purpose of visit and identification!" The second guard exclaimed, repeating what the first guard just stated.
Scratching his head, Jurou pulled an identification card from his pocket, flashing it to one of the guards. With the world already overturned, Jurou wondered why they'd need identifications in the first place. It's not like an ID Card would show whether one is a Hybrid or not.
"Please wait a moment," The first guard who barely suppressed his stutter turned around to address one of the people who were sitting idly by the entrance. One of them nodded his head and ran inside the entrance.
Since Jurou couldn't really do anything to speed things up, he decided to sit a couple of meters from the entrance while he waited for their leader to show up. Here and there, zombies began spawning, dragging their feet as they made their way to the Stronghold. It was a common occurrence, but it still surprised Jurou since zombies don't usually approach him in normal circumstances.
"All right, I guess it's time for me to make easy work on these zombies."
Without further ado, Jurou stood in front of the entrance, eyeing the zombies that slowly made their way to the stronghold. He stood a couple of meters away from the two guards so they won't notice what he was about to do. As soon as the zombies entered the vicinity, Jurou let out a low growl which was almost inaudible to human ears. The growl was a warning to the zombies, marking his territory and telling them not to approach or else he'll end them.
The zombies seemingly understood his intent and they turned away, much to the two guards' surprise. Even when their leader showed up, they were still in great shock since Jurou just displayed a decently invaluable skill.
"Ooh~ that's a neat skill you got there. Jurou, was it?" Someone spoke from behind him, causing him to flinch before he slowly turned around.
A lady in her twenties appeared, wearing a loose crop top and pants that had rips on all sides. Jurou assumed that she was the head of the Scarlet Blood Stronghold. After all, she exuded an aura befitting a leader, and he figured that she won't be addressing him if she wasn't the leader.
"Greetings, I'm Fujima Jurou. I presume you're the leader of the Scarlet Blood Stronghold?" Fujima Jurou bowed his head.
"I'm Akina Akayuki. And yes, you're talking to the leader of the Scarlet Blood Stronghold. How may I help you?" Akayuki asked, crossing her arms in front of her. She assumed that Fujima Jurou wasn't there to join the Stronghold.
"I'm looking for a person. His name is Takemi Kazuichi, would you happen to know his name? He's my young master, and I've been searching high and low for him." Jurou asked. He didn't dilly-dally around since he was pressed for time.
"I see..." Akayuki's red lips curved upwards as she turned away from Jurou. "Fret not, Jurou-san, you hardly need to look for him. He's a legend amongst the Hybrids so I don't think he'll be that difficult to find."
"Huh?" Jurou let out.