Behind The Bite

The news didn't even show a news reporter, which was weird considering that news channels were always famous for their newscasters. This immediately hooked Kazuichi's attention, and he continued watching the broadcast.

It was an epidemic... of sorts, which started happening worldwide. The disease in question made humans feral, and they act like crazy people, transmitting the disease through their saliva, just like rabies. Cities have fallen, and most countries had already opted for hasty countermeasures in order to deal with the epidemic. The news reports then showed the military using grenades, flame throwers, and even tanks just so they could stop the advance of the infected humans.

[If you're uninfected, we advise that you stay at home at all times. Save up on water, and ration your food until help arrives. If you're infected, please distance yourself from the uninfected before you turned. This is a repeated broadcast. I repeat, this is a repeated broadcast.]

All the colors drained from Kazuichi's face as he slowly turned toward Arisu. His pupils dilated as he shakily pointed an index finger to Arisu. "You... you were bitten, right?"

Arisu nodded. "B-b-but! It's been at least an hour and I didn't turn yet! I think I'm immune to the virus!" She shook her head vehemently, assuming that Kazuichi would get rid of her as soon as she admitted to it.

"Sigh~" Kazuichi grabbed his forehead. After mumbling a couple of things to himself, he pointed back at the television.

Before he could say another word, Arisu turned off the television and apologetically bowed her head. "S-sorry..." She stammered in a soft-spoken manner.

"The news... you mean to say everywhere is like that? Even outside?" Kazuichi confirmed, to which Arisu nodded in response.

"I... I was supposed to meet my family at the airport... but when our plane came down, the airport was already overrun by the infected." Arisu narrated. She abhorred the fact of calling them undead, or zombies since she didn't want to believe that such an epidemic was actually happening.

"From the airport? You mean to tell me you came here all the way from the airport?" This time, it was Kazuichi's turn to raise his voice. "You know what, suit yourself, you can stay. Just don't bother me. And yes, bothering me includes seeing you in my peripheral vision."

Arisu exhaled in her nose as she nodded, pumping her fist. "I'll do my best, thank you so much for having me."

"Also... if the army... or a couple of scientists come knocking at my door, I won't hesitate to give you to them, okay? You did say you have the antibodies, right? I can't guarantee your safety, but I at least can guarantee you a place to stay." Kazuichi continued.

"Eh?!" Arisu pouted her lips as she watched Kazuichi head upstairs.

"I'm going to sleep. Don't waste food, we have limited supplies." Kazuichi then reminded him.

"Uhm... my name's Kamagawa Arisu!" Somehow, Arisu felt the need to introduce herself.

"Takemi Kazuichi." Kazuichi casually replied before disappearing to the second floor.

...

...

Pant! Pant! Pant!

It was Kazuichi's turn to breathe raggedly as he clutched her throat the moment he got to the second floor. He tried to sneak in a glimpse at Arisu, which made his heart beat rapidly. "Who was that girl? Is she an angel? Where did she come from? She's a foreigner, right? How come she speaks perfect Japanese? And what's this about a virus and zombies... and the infected... AARGHHH!" Kazuichi fell to the ground with a thud as he tried to even out his breathing.

"To think that a-a-a girl would come barging into my house... no, calm down, Kazuichi, you're a man, you can handle this professionally. Just continue your casual treatment towards her... what if she finds out that I'm a shut-in?"

Kazuichi stopped short and he also forgot to breathe. But then, after contemplating it for a couple of minutes, he realized that that won't be a problem at all. He may be a shut-in, but he still had the basics down pat when it comes to interacting with other people. He shouldn't have any problems in regards to conversing with her, he just had to act normally.

Wiping the sweat off his brows, Kazuichi regained his composure as he stood up.

"Ano~ are you all right, Kazuichi?" Arisu asked. She had been standing in front of him for quite some time now but he didn't seem to notice.

Kazuichi scampered to his feet before rushing to his room. He didn't even have the luxury to answer her question since his mind already panicked as soon as he heard her voice.

Bam! The door to Kazuichi's room slammed shut, causing Arisu to flinch. "Is he all right?" Arisu asked herself.

Quite frankly, there were still a lot of questions revolving around Arisu's mind but she knew she shouldn't think about it too much. At the very least, there's a roof over her head, and she's already eaten. For now, that's more than enough for her. After all, she had been this close to dying a few moments ago. It couldn't get any worse than that— or so she thought.

"I... I'm alive." Arisu said to herself, heaving a sigh of relief. "I was infected... but I'm still alive. "

.....

Meanwhile, in the middle of the city,

A lone man with a gigantic stature walked in the middle of the streets, growling a low growl as he scanned the surroundings. Smoke came out of his mouth as he exhaled, and a fake smile was permanently plastered on his face.

A father hugged his daughter as tightly as he could, almost squeezing the air out of her. The two shook as they hid by the corner of an abandoned convenience store, not daring to make any noise.

"Father... I'm scared." The daughter whispered as softly as she could while his dad wiped the tears off her face.

"Don't worry, if we stay quiet, the scary people won't come and get us. So we have to stay reaally quiet, okay?" The dad tried to sound as calm and collected as possible even though he was scared out of his wits deep inside. The last thing he wanted was for his daughter to start panicking.

"Oum~" The daughter nodded in response while gripping her dad's shirt. She buried her face in her dad's chest as she tried to forget all the scary things in her mind.

"..."

"..."

"Boo!"

The daughter flinched, but she didn't make any sound. Instead, she buried her face in her dad's shirt even more, all the while pretending that she didn't hear anything.

"Good girl. That's how it should be, all right?"

The source of the playful interjection was none other than the burly man who was walking in the middle of the street. The dad assumed that he was infected since the other infected ones avoided him as if he weren't there. But as it turned out, he could speak...

... so that must mean he's a human, right?

"..."

"Please, don't hurt us." The dad pleaded. "You're not infected, right?"

"Me? Pfft, I'm better than those guys, RIGHT?!" The burly man screamed his last word, attracting the surrounding infected ones much to the father's dismay.

"Eek~!" The dad exclaimed while the infected ones staggered towards them.

But just before they could go near the group, the burly man kicked down one of the infected and growled at it. Threatened, the infected turned back, not daring to approach the prey of the burly man for fear that he'd stomp on them.

"Wha... how did you do that?" The dad asked.

Without saying another word, the burly man showed the bite mark on his neck. "How did I do that? You don't want to know." He continued before going on his merry way. "Be careful out there dude, and take care of your daughter." He casually waved off.

"Remember, it's not the infected ones you should be worried about, it's us." He continued, his sneer conveying a thousand words as the father felt a disturbing chill up and down his spine.