To Go Out

"You're heading out? Why?" Arisu asked in surprise as he saw Kazuichi preparing himself to go out. He wore combat boots, thick pants, and two layers of long sleeves as he did so. There was also a helmet strapped on his head, and he slung a huge rucksack on his shoulders.

"I need to check something," Kazuichi replied a matter of factly as if heading out during a global outbreak is the most normal thing to do. Even Arisu was surprised. For a shut-in, he was determined to go out. Surely there's a valid reason behind his reasoning.

"Let me go with you." Arisu volunteered. Never in her life did she expect to invite herself to accompany a guy. Even she was surprised by what she blurted out. Somehow, she felt a bit concerned about Kazuichi. She could tell that the guy was not used to going out, judging by the fact that he wore an extensive amount of protection when it would just drag him down.

While his outfit would certainly protect him from most bites, there was no way he'd be able to run if he were to go out like that.

"First off, you can live without the two layers of clothing on you. And why are you wearing combat boots? Can you run on those? Also, the helmet's useless. The infected only aim from the neck down. Have you seen anyone get bitten on the forehead?" Arisu commented, heaving a sigh as she approached Kazuichi without warning.

'She's coming with me? Really?! The two of us... going out... is this considered a date? This should be considered a date, right? There's no way this is not a date!' Kazuichi inwardly screamed but his expression remained placid. His face did redden though. Fortunately, Arisu was too preoccupied with his outfit that she didn't notice his flustered face.

At that moment, Kazuichi once again stiffened. He still wasn't used to Arisu's presence so seeing her approach him so casually like that caused his mind and body to freeze up in an instant. Without further ado, Arisu unstrapped the helmet from his head and untied his shoelaces. While she was doing that, Kazuichi had already forgotten to breathe.

"You don't have to worry about the regular infected ones. I can handle them myself. Just tell me where we're going and what we're going to do outside." Arisu twirled his index finger in the air as she spoke, her mesmerizing gesture and enhanced allure preying on Kazuichi's weakness of human presence.

"I can take care of myself." Kazuichi returned, although he wasn't sure whether he really could. It had been so long since he last got out of the house. The outside world was pretty much unknown territory for him. Frankly, he didn't know what to expect. Before he could overcome his inner reluctance of going out, the world drastically changed, adding another layer of difficulty to his personal trial.

Arisu didn't retort when Kazuichi said what he said. Even without her enhanced senses, she could tell that Kazuichi was uncertain of his comment. While she had no idea what Kazuichi went through in the past, it was obvious to her that he had an underlying fear of going out.

"Why do you need to go out? It's not like we're running low on supplies." Arisu was perplexed at how Kazuichi was acting. He didn't have to force himself to go out, and yet he was doing it, inwardly making it harder for himself instead of taking the easy route— he could stay in the house while she do all the necessary trips outside. And yet he didn't opt to take advantage of that fact.

"Water's out. I told you we have a natural source of water, right? Something blocked it and now we barely have water coming out of the faucet. It's up the mountain behind this house so we'll just walk along the river line and see what's causing it."

"Something's blocking the water source?"Arisu repeated, mildly disturbed by the sudden situation they have in their hands. "Does this happen most of the time?" She skeptically asked.

Kazuichi nodded. "Usually rocks, but I have my butler take care of it whenever that happens. And if you're wondering where my butler is right now... he's on call most of the time. I don't allow anyone inside my house."

Initially, Arisu had some suspicions regarding the timing of the situation, but hearing from Kazuichi that it usually happens gave her mind some sense of peace. At least there's a chance that the situation was not a setup to lure them out of the house.

After much contemplation, Kazuichi listened to Arisu's advice, removing his boots and the two layers of long sleeves he wore. He also decided to not carry the rucksack and instead, hand-carried the golf club in it.

As for Arisu, she didn't bother preparing anything at all. She was convinced that the infected ones wouldn't target her. After all, she's also infected, just like them.

What she's worried about though, was the presence of another hybrid in the mountains. If they meet someone stronger than her, then there's no way they could make it out of there alive.

A regular human can survive without food for three weeks, but it's a different case when it comes to water. Three to four days is the maximum one can survive without it. Right now, Kazuichi and Arisu didn't have that much of a choice. Their water source was cut off all of a sudden before they could even save up some water. As much as Kazuichi hated going out, he had to go through with this, otherwise, they'd die of dehydration. (There are multiple bottles and cans of soft drinks in the fridge, but it's only a matter of time before their supplies run out. Better to act early than to act too late)

"You ready?"

Arisu silently nodded. "Um, do you have another golf club with you? I might need one."

"Sure, here," Kazuichi handed him another golf club. He was supposed to bring two golf clubs with him, but now he could only bring one since Arisu got the other one. "Let's go?"

With a nod, Arisu grabbed the door handle and twisted it, a resounding creak could be heard reverberating in the house, marking their departure.