Meanwhile,

Arukawa Ryota woke up to the first light peering through the window as it shone directly on his face. He flinched before stretching his entire body and jumping out of bed.

Today was D-day, and yet he felt as if he was forgetting something. He was relishing the early morning sun and the relaxation that was brought about by the new day.

’Come to think of it, this was the first time I got some rest... I can’t believe I went through all of that and survived.’ Ryota said to himself as a satisfied smile appeared on his face. He still hadn’t realized that they were going to set off to the Yamanashi Prefecture today.

"Good morning," One of the residents greeted Ryota as he got out of the makeshift house that someone hurriedly built for him. The house was shabby, to say the least, and it wasn’t as pleasing to the eyes as it should be... but Ryota slept comfortably in there.

"Good morning," Arukawa Ryota lackadaisically greeted back as a yawn left his mouth. It was only then did he realized that it was already first light, and the memories of the past few days sparked in his mind— well, more like his thoughts exploded and he completely came back to his senses.

In a jiffy, Ryota dashed through the residential area and headed straight to the main entrance of the Kazuichi Stronghold. Of course, there was no way they were going to leave him behind, right?

Right?!

Panic slowly set in as Ryota picked up the pace. From afar, he could see the entrance to the Kazuichi Stronghold slowly close. One of the Bulwarks guarding the gate was slowly pushing through the gate, business as usual.

"Wait up!" Ryota screamed at the top of his lungs, causing the Bulwark to perk up and prepare for a confrontation.

As someone whose job was to guard the gate along with the other guards, this particular Bulwark was especially sensitive to screams. That’s why he was shocked when he heard someone running at him while screaming, flailing his arms around.

His face softened a split second later though, when he realized that the person running towards him was one of the stronghold leader’s guests.

"Please let me out! I need to catch up to them." Ryota let out. Although he still hasn’t fully recovered from the terrible injuries he suffered a couple of days ago, he still was willing to go. There was no way he would miss out on avenging his master— not when he could help it.

"All right." The Bulwark didn’t bother asking him for an explanation since he was more or less aware of the situation. Of course, that’s what everybody in the stronghold was talking about— the stronghold leader’s journey to the Yamanashi Prefecture to stop the stronghold wars

Dash~!

"Thank you- !" Ryota let out in one breath as he wiped the drool off his mouth. Turning his body sideways, he shimmied past the small gap between the front entrance before running at full speed once again.

"Kazuichi-san!!! Don’t leave me!" Ryota let out, almost as if he was pleading for his life.

— — —

When midmorning came, Kazuichi had no idea why he felt severely uninspired. It’s as if a huge burden was weighing on his shoulders and the sun directly overhead was not helping at all.

At that moment, they were on their way to crossing through the streets of Tokyo. And now that Kazuichi had thought about it, he probably felt a little demotivated since he didn’t want to get out of the comfort of his own home.

Then again, he decided to do this himself— to avenge a certain someone named Hasegawa Himeno. No one knew who Hasegawa Himeno was, but Kazuichi more than recognized the name.

Upon hearing the name, Tris was actually curious about the woman’s identity. Nevertheless, she found herself not fit to ask about her. After all, it felt like it was a sensitive topic for Kazuichi.

"Let’s camp out here for a couple of minutes." Kazuichi suddenly called out upon seeing a comfortable ramshackle house. Despite the unwelcoming surroundings, Kazuichi headed straight to the makeshift abode and sat at the corner of it.

"Right." Jurou let out. Although they just left a couple of minutes ago and were still in high spirits, they didn’t want to reject Kazuichi’s offer to rest. They pretty much needed the rest as well, that’s why they didn’t ask any questions. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Before they knew it, a small bonfire was already set up, and Kazuichi started cooking one of the rabbits he caught in the mountains before they set off.

A smile swept across Jurou’s face as he sat down. Satoru and Kojiro followed suit as they too started pulling out MREs from their pouches.

"Let’s eat," Kazuichi offered as he willingly gave a portion of rabbit meat to everyone in the group.

Even Ryota, who just caught up to them with bated breaths, managed to get a piece and he heartily and gratefully ate it.

The eating session lasted a little bit longer before Kazuichi finally found his bearings.

After sterling his resolve once again, Kazuichi made up his mind to continue the journey since they were already wasting precious time as it was. The others agreed with his sentiment and the journey continued.

Kazuichi couldn’t believe that the Tokyo scenery could change in a week. Of course, it already appeared as devastated as it was, but right now it felt even more demolished.

Not a modicum of life seemed to exist in the streets of Tokyo, and what was once a bustling city had completely turned into a ghost town. There were shelters and sighs of strongholds here and there, but outside those sections, there was no life present.

The more they walked, the more the notion sank in that they were in the middle of an apocalypse.

With that in mind, the travel continued, and it took another week before they arrived at the outskirts of Yamanashi Stronghold.