Kamigawa Arisu looked out of the window with a troubled expression. It had been a month since Kazuichi disappeared. She had no doubt that he was alive, but he was getting rather impatient since he has not yet returned.
The huge expanse of land surrounding Kazuichi's 'castle' was now slowly turning into a small-scale city.
Wooden houses were being built everywhere, and more and more people kept coming in. Hybrids were welcome as well, that's why the community grew all of a sudden, ballooning up in size like the start of civilization in an apocalypse.
Whenever there were disputes, Arisu would personally deal with them. And thanks to her superior sense of smell, she could sense the wariness of people as well as their lies and truths. She managed to avoid plenty of arguments thanks to her innate characteristic, and it also helped her gather powerful and loyal allies.
Because Kazuichi was the owner of the place, Arisu allowed the community to name the place Kazuichi Stronghold. It's not like she planned to create a stronghold herself, it just happened.
Now that it had come to this, she decided to keep on improving the place until Kazuichi arrived. She really believed that Kazuichi was alive out there, even though he was taken right in front of her.
At the very least, the place had transitioned into something safer. It had gotten a tad bit noisier, but it made the place slightly less lonely compared to before.
"You have to come back soon, Kazuichi," Arisu heaved a sigh as she leaned her head on the side of the window.
.....
Ice Wing Stronghold,
"Here we are," Eugene extended his hand towards the normal-looking house by the far end of the street. No one would actually notice that it was the stronghold leader's place since it looked just like the other houses. "Well then, if you'll excuse me,"
Eugene and his two other friends bowed toward Kazuichi before they got out of there. Their task of bringing the newcomers to the stronghold leader. Kazuichi didn't find it weird at all so he let them leave.
Letting out an exhale, he knocked on the door of the house.
"Come in!" A vibrant voice of a man enthusiastically called for them.
As it turned out, the door to the house was actually open. Either the stronghold leader was confident that no one would sneak inside his place, or he just wanted to make the newcomers feel welcome.
As soon as they entered, Kazuichi caught the scent of mushroom soup, mashed potatoes, and meat. He had no idea what kind of meat it was but it did make his mouth water.
Amaya, Sano, and Tris had the same reaction as Kazuichi. They were rather hungry after all that running around.
When they entered, they noticed a man at least six and a half feet tall, walking around in his underwear and apron. He was bringing a pot of soup to the table which seated five people. He had long blue hair and a familiar grin.
Tris immediately noticed the familiar face and her face contorted into anger. Bloodthirst suddenly emanated from her, and she pulled out two daggers.
"Um, Tris? What are you doing?" Kazuichi trailed off but he already knew what Tris was about to do.
After all, his senses as a Hybrid were enhanced, and he could feel the animosity seeping out of Tris's skin.
Woosh~!
In an instant, Tris ignored her rumbling stomach and she lunged at the defenseless man. Her eyes were bloodshot, and she sliced right at his neck.
"Whoa~!" The man said as he subconsciously put down the pot he was holding before leaning backward. He avoided the strike by a hair's breadth... well, sort of.
As soon as he paused, a drop of blood appeared on his neck, lining up the superficial wound that Tris inflicted on him.
"What are you doing?!" Shocked at Tris's sudden shift, Kazuichi couldn't help but exclaim.
"Get away, Kazuichi, he's dangerous." Tris extended her hand, stopping Kazuichi from stepping forward.
Tris didn't wait for Kazuichi to utter another word.
Without hesitation, she propelled herself at the man, slicing both daggers in the air while she grunted under her breath.
"Urk~! Triciana! Calm down!" The man called out, extending his hand forward as he calmly requested Tris to stand back.
Nevertheless, Tris didn't listen, she charged at him for the third time, flying above the table and bringing her daggers upward in an attempt to stab the man in the head.
Since he was playing the pacifist, the man didn't bother retaliating. He leaped out of the window, barely avoiding the attack.
"Stop, relax Tris! I'm not here to fight!" He said.
This time, he raised his hand as if he was surrendering at Tris. He also decided not to avoid Tris's attack.
Filled with doubt, Tris didn't listen to the man. She just jumped out the window and proceeded to attack him.
He aimed at his shoulder, bringing her dagger with as much force as she could.
Stab!
Since the man didn't bother avoiding nor parrying the attack, the attack connected, much to everyone's surprise. The dagger dug deep into the man's shoulder, piercing through it and coming out the other side.
Tris let out a confused gasp. The man had plenty of time to dodge the attack since he was way faster than her, and yet he stayed still.
"I told you, I'm not here to fight." The man forced a smile as he withstood the pain of the dagger on his shoulder. His shoulder twitched uncontrollably as blood dripped from it. "If I'd wanted to, I'd have surrounded you with all the other Hybrids here. Don't you think I'm being serious this time?" ]
Tris gritted her teeth as she pulled out the dagger from his shoulder. The man let out a pained exhale before clutching onto his injured right shoulder.
"What a nice way to greet someone after a couple of weeks of not seeing each other." The man said.
Tris turned away and rejoined Kazuichi and the others who were still inside the abode.
"Consider that dagger stab as payback. We'll at least hear you out, but there's no guarantee that I won't attack you again." Tris warned him, sheathing her daggers as she finally regained her composure.