Chapter 144: A Little Way’s Away From Home

The deaths of a couple of Hybrids soon became the number one gossip between the East and West Yamanashi Strongholds. While some of the residents believed that it was just a simple gossip, the Hybrids knew better. After all, the weaker ones were beginning to die of unknown reasons.

There were no outside factors aside from the interaction between the East and West Yamanashi Stronghold, and in turn, the suspicions between the two strongholds began to aggravate. It all started with basic rumors floating around, to actual dead bodies showing up in unlikely places.

Of course, both sides brushed it off since the last thing they wanted was to wage war against each other. They just conquered both the North and South Yamanashi Stronghold and divvied up the territory. Of course, there was a possibility of one betraying the other, but they just allied themselves. There was no way something like that would happen, right?

But bodies continued showing up as days passed. And at this point, both sides were nearing their limits. If they remained silent about the matter while keeping most of the residents in the dark, then it would only be a matter of time before something worse happens.

As much as both sides didn’t want to confront the other, they had no choice but to do so since it was clear that they were attacking each other by killing the Hybrids of the other party.

"I heard another body was found."

"Really, where?"

"It was James. I saw his throat slashed through. The higher-ups told us to remain quiet but... how could we when our headcounts are rapidly decreasing."

"The other’s side is also losing a lot of Hybrids. I think it’s our stronghold’s way of warning them."

"However, neither side is stopping. If we let this be, who knows, we might be the next ones to die."

"Oi~ are you crazy? Don’t say something so ominous easily like that."

"I’m serious. Our friends already fell into the hands of the other stronghold. We might be next."

Tension between the two strongholds continued to rise while the Hybrids tried to figure out who was behind all the killings. Had they known that the massacre was caused by two powerful Hybrids seeking revenge, they would’ve completely understood why the merciless killings were happening.

The two stronghold leaders weren’t just lazing around either. They were carefully investigating as to why the killings were happening. As mentioned, it was only a matter of time before the two strongholds turned against each other, and then the continuation of the stronghold wars was inevitably bound to resume.

After all, it would only take a seed of doubt for two parties to turn against each other. And in the end, they would drag their strongholds down with them, rendering both parties defenseless and making it easier for opportunistic strongholds nearby to invade the Yamanashi Prefecture.

— — —

Meanwhile,

Kazuichi instantly woke up when he realized that Jurou was right there with them. His pupils dilated as he froze in place, wondering how he was going to react now that he’d reunited with Jurou.

Out of all the acquaintances he’d met throughout his life, Jurou was the only one whom he developed a connection with, probably because they had the same upbringing. In the past, Jurou was also an orphan, and at his lowest point, he encountered Kazuichi who offered him a job to become his personal assistant.

Since then, he had assisted the ’young master’, going out of his way to deal with his relatives since they were trying to wring money out of Kazuichi when his parents recently died.

Jurou also respected Kazuichi’s nature of shutting himself from the world. Although he wanted Kazuichi to live his life since he was still young, Jurou also didn’t force him to go out. Instead of leaving him behind, he continued assisting him, bringing him food and checking up on him from time to time.

Then the zombie outbreak struck, and Kazuichi was forced to go outside. At first, Jurou was gravely worried for Kazuichi. After all, it had been a long time since he last left the comfort of his own home. Then again, not once did Jurou doubt Kazuichi’s skills. He knew that wherever he ended up, he would survive.

And he was proven right. He’d heard countless stories about a certain Hybrid who’s been going around, getting rid of Aberrant’s nests while building rapport with other strongholds.

"Young master, it’s been so long." Jurou greeted, bowing his head slowly while his eyes teared up. Although his demeanor was as stiff as a rock, his face was all scrunched up and tears started streaming down his cheeks. He may look like a rigid wall on the outside, but he was a softhearted person.

He couldn’t word out how much he missed the young master, how much he was glad to see him alive in person. That’s why he just bowed his head while he tried to regain his composure.

Kazuichi, who was frozen all this time, finally found the right time to move. Instead of acknowledging Jurou before he warmed himself up in the campfire, Kazuichi actually approached him.

Before Jurou could realize what was happening, Kazuichi hugged him and pounded on his back before separating from him. "It’s been so long. I thought we weren’t going to meet each other again." Kazuichi let out, smiling.

"Let’s head over to the stronghold right away. We’ve accomplished a number of things earlier so we could welcome the stronghold leader more appropriately." Jurou then listed everything that they built up in the stronghold, and it made Kazuichi all the more excited to see how it went. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

"Finally, I could laze around again before we deal with those guys in Yamanashi," Kazuichi whispered to himself. Everyone heard what he said though, since he whispered it a little too loudly.

"Your thoughts are leaking out, you know," Tris commented.

From their position, the Kazuichi Stronghold was only a couple hundred meters away. Kazuichi could’ve sworn that he could taste the home-sweet-home air from afar, and he couldn’t wait to return to his abode and shut himself out once again. Just for a little. Just for a little.