Fantasy ❝ 𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐃𝐎𝐌 ❞

[B E A R]

❝ KINGDOM . ❞ 𝖿𝗈𝗋 𝖼𝖾𝗇𝗍𝗎𝗋𝗂𝖾𝗌, 𝗍𝗁𝖾𝗋𝖾 𝗐𝖺𝗌 𝗉𝖾𝖺𝖼𝖾 𝖺𝖿𝗍𝖾𝗋 𝗅𝗈𝗇𝗀 𝖻𝖺𝗍𝗍𝗅𝖾𝗌 𝖺𝗀𝖺𝗂𝗇𝗌𝗍 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝖻𝖾𝖺𝗌𝗍 𝖿𝗈𝗅𝗄𝗌 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗁𝗎𝗆𝖺𝗇𝗌. 𝗇𝗈𝗐, 𝖺𝗇𝗈𝗍𝗁𝖾𝗋 𝗄𝗂𝗇𝖽 𝗈𝖿 𝗍𝗋𝖺𝗀𝖾𝖽𝗒 𝖺𝗉𝗉𝗋𝗈𝖺𝖼𝗁𝖾𝗌. 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗐𝗈𝗋𝗅𝖽 𝗁𝖺𝗌 𝖻𝖾𝖾𝗇 𝗌𝗉𝗎𝗇 𝗂𝗇𝗍𝗈 𝗎𝗍𝗍𝖾𝗋 𝖼𝗁𝖺𝗈𝗌 𝗌𝗍𝖺𝗋𝗍𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗐𝗂𝗍𝗁 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗉𝖺𝗌𝗌𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗈𝖿 𝗍𝗁𝖾𝗂𝗋 𝗄𝗂𝗇𝗀, 𝗐𝗁𝗈 𝗅𝖾𝖿𝗍 𝖻𝖾𝗁𝗂𝗇𝖽 𝗁𝗂𝗌 𝗈𝗇𝗅𝗒 𝗌𝗈𝗇 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗁𝗂𝗌 𝗉𝗋𝖾𝗀𝗇𝖺𝗇𝗍 𝗐𝗂𝖿𝖾. 𝗇𝗈𝗐, 𝗍𝗁𝖺𝗍 𝗂𝗍’𝗌 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗒𝗈𝗎𝗇𝗀 𝗉𝗋𝗂𝗇𝖼𝖾’𝗌 𝗍𝗎𝗋𝗇 𝗍𝗈 𝖻𝖾𝖺𝗋 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗁𝖾𝖺𝗏𝗒 𝖻𝗎𝗋𝖽𝖾𝗇 𝗈𝖿 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝖼𝗋𝗈𝗐𝗇, 𝖺 𝗆𝗒𝗌𝗍𝖾𝗋𝗂𝗈𝗎𝗌 𝗉𝗅𝖺𝗀𝗎𝖾 𝗌𝗉𝗋𝖾𝖺𝖽𝗌 𝗂𝗇 𝗁𝗂𝗌 𝗄𝗂𝗇𝗀𝖽𝗈𝗆. 𝗋𝖾𝗉𝗈𝗋𝗍𝗌 𝗐𝖾𝗋𝖾 𝖼𝗈𝗆𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗂𝗇, 𝗍𝖺𝗅𝗄𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝖺𝖻𝗈𝗎𝗍 𝗍𝗁𝗂𝗌 𝗌𝗍𝗋𝖺𝗇𝗀𝖾 𝖾𝗉𝗂𝖽𝖾𝗆𝗂𝖼 — 𝗁𝗎𝗆𝖺𝗇𝗌 𝗐𝖾𝗋𝖾 𝖾𝖺𝗍𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗁𝗎𝗆𝖺𝗇𝗌. 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗈𝗇𝖼𝖾 𝖼𝗈𝗇𝗌𝗂𝖽𝖾𝗋𝖾𝖽 𝖽𝖾𝖺𝖽 𝗐𝖾𝗋𝖾 𝗋𝖾𝗏𝗂𝗏𝖾𝖽, 𝗆𝗎𝗅𝗍𝗂𝗉𝗅𝗒𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗂𝗇 𝗍𝗁𝖾𝗂𝗋 𝗇𝗎𝗆𝖻𝖾𝗋𝗌 𝖺𝗍 𝖺𝗇 𝖾𝗑𝗍𝗋𝖾𝗆𝖾𝗅𝗒 𝖿𝖺𝗌𝗍 𝗉𝖺𝖼𝖾. 𝖿𝖺𝖼𝖾𝖽 𝗐𝗂𝗍𝗁 𝖺 𝗇𝖾𝗐 𝖻𝗋𝖾𝖾𝖽 𝗈𝖿 𝖾𝗇𝖾𝗆𝗂𝖾𝗌, 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗉𝗋𝗂𝗇𝖼𝖾 𝗆𝗎𝗌𝗍 𝗋𝖺𝖼𝖾 𝖺𝗀𝖺𝗂𝗇𝗌𝗍 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝖼𝗅𝗈𝖼𝗄 𝗍𝗈 𝗎𝗇𝗋𝖺𝗏𝖾𝗅 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝖽𝖺𝗋𝗄𝗇𝖾𝗌𝗌 𝗍𝗁𝖺𝗍 𝗌𝖾𝗍𝗌 𝗂𝗇 𝗁𝗂𝗌 𝗄𝗂𝗇𝗀𝖽𝗈𝗆 𝗍𝗈 𝗌𝖺𝗏𝖾 𝗁𝗂𝗌 𝗉𝖾𝗈𝗉𝗅𝖾. 𝖻𝗎𝗍, 𝗍𝗈 𝖽𝗈 𝗍𝗁𝖺𝗍, 𝗁𝖾 𝗆𝗎𝗌𝗍 𝖿𝗂𝗇𝖽 𝖺𝗅𝗅𝗂𝖾𝗌.

 

[B E A R]

— ✦ MASUI , KAZUMA ⁞ three months had gone by since his father’s death and nothing has been the same since. the good old days when he’d sneak out into the busy town, disguised in cheap, simple dull brown fabric was gone. now, staring in front of him was a stranger clothed in luxurious silky, red kimono lined with gold threads. massaging at the temple of his head, he stayed alone in a lit room signing documents after documents, reviewing through them like the proper king he had to be. “ kashi, “ he called out and within a span of a second, a middle-age man came in with a bow before he lifted his head, waiting for his next orders. “ prepare my horse. “ the bodyguard only seem to replied back with a confused expression, “ your highness, it’s about to get dark out there .. how about going tomorrow? “
“ with each passing day, this unknown disease has been killing more and more of my people. “ gritting his teeth together, “ i can’t just continue being stuck in the palace doing nothing .. i’ve sent hundreds of royal doctors out to investigate, none of them has reported back to me yet. “ his retainer open his mouth, wanting to argue back but before it could happen, kazuma had interrupted him. “ please .. it’ll be short trip. i’ll be back before dinner even starts .. there’s a small hospital that’s near here. “

 

[B E A R]

Yuuna, Mayu

• The Leopard
• Mayu

• 
• 

THE DOCTOR

Location	clinic
Company	patients
Mood	panicky

as the sun was descending behind the mountains and the temperature was also dropping down , a 5 ' 2 " girl was wandering around in the bushes , rustling about . " ahah ! i found it ! " it was a semi - smallish bush with silver lining around the greenery , connecting to the top of the plant are small blue-ish purple flowers . pulling the knife from her waist , she cuts most of the shrub and before throwing them behind her where her basket was resting . a small sigh of relief but also disappointment escaped her lips , it just took her so long to find this common herb plant . although it is the beginning of winter , herbs are getting scarce nowadays but the hospital is in desperate need of getting more . . . " this will have to do . . . " mayu had said before standing up and readjusting her woven basket on her back , looking ahead of her while carefully tucking the dagger away . snow white hair cascading down her back , as she was dressed up in a thick attire to keep herself warm . pulling on her large knit scarf before grabbing onto the reins of her dapple grey horse , leading it around as she was continuing her little journey . " just a little bit more , maron . " the part beast female had said as her long snow leopard tail waved around behind her . it wasn't even a minute before she caught a very faint scent of something familiar . it had such a metallic scent to it , causing for the short female to stop in her tracks and letting go of the reins - putting down her basket slowly and crouching on the ground , she placed her hand onto her dagger and crept forward with slow steady steps . holding the dagger backwards , she was creeping over to the scent of blood . it was getting stronger and stronger till she reached a body . a body that laid on the ground , she still couldn't let her guard down as it seemed a little suspicious . the body of a female who seems to be around her age or possibly older , " uhm . . hey . . " her long thick tail curled up behind her in defense , she was on the edge because it seems like this female was covered in bite marks but it didn't necessarily looked like animal bites . but it was hard to make it out since it was covered in blood and with it covered in dirt , she couldn't be 100 % sure . gently poking the body laying there before relaxing a little , she stayed still for a moment to listen to the surroundings - to make sure it wasn't a random ambush before she pushed on . " i can't simply leave you laying there . . " mayu had said to herself , hearing the tattered breathing of which belongs to female . she tucked her weapon back into the sheath before grabbing a hold of the unconscious girl , heaving her back to her horse and onto the back of the horse .

it didn't take her too to bring the unconscious female back to the hospital , " aaaah ! move out of the way , please ! " mayu had exclaimed as she had rushed into the hospital , dragging the girl across the ground . it didn't take too long before mayu had received some help to carry the girl onto the bed . little does she know , during the transportation of injured female , her breathing had completely stopped and that also includes her life . but as soon as yuuna had found out about that , she screamed at the top of her lungs - " oh no ! take care of her , clean her up please ! " she jolts right up , covered in blood , she dashed out of the room with the dead corpse before running into the medicinal room . scavenging through the cabinets , trying to find the right herb that she needed to use . scurrying over to each and different cabinet , the half beast's ears were laying flat on her head as she was really anxious and was desperately trying to find what she needed . " oh please , please let me be able to make it in time . . " she had pleaded quietly to herself as tears build up in her ashe evergreen eyes . scavenging and hurriedly grabbed bottles of medicinal herb mixes , she had rushed back into the other room just in time to witness something she had never expected to see . the female who had stopped breathing was sitting there , but something seemed off . " uhm . . you shouldn't be up ! you're injured badly and you've just . . stopped breathing miss . " mayu had said as she was about to head over there , the female seemed to have turned her head towards mayu - slowly her head dropped to the side , tilted . her mouth slowly gaped open and bit into one of the workers that was part of the hospital . it wasn't just one singular simple bite , the bite seemed so . . aggressive and . . wild . " l-let go of her ! " mayu had shouted as she was about to go and help her worker , it was too late . the bite was deep and ripped out basically almost her entire throat out . the bottles that were carried in her arms were shattered , the scene in front of her had sent her into shock , she really couldn't process anything that just happened in front of her face . all her senses had screamed for her to run , run as fast as she could but at the same time , she couldn't rip her body from the scene . the growling sound as if it had belonged to some sort of rabid beast . . she only snapped out of the trance as soon as she saw the rabid female slowly crawling over to her , the pace started out slow before gaining speed with time . yuuna scrambled to slide the door shut but it didn't go as well as she had planned . the female had her head between the sliding door and the frame of it , instinctively she had let go and stumbled backwards . " w-wait ! wake up ! you're out of control , you're just in shock , miss ! please ! " she had shouted , but none of her words had gone through . another employee walked by to see what the ruckus was all about , but it caused for the rabid female to charge at the employee as soon as she had spoke . " no ! don't ! "

it was too late again , she couldn't save the people that had worked for her , she was always a step too late . tears were swelling up in her eyes , she already lost one person and now she's lost another . what is exactly happening right now in her clinic ?

 

[B E A R]

— ✦ MASUI , KAZUMA ⁞ it seems this was going to be a lot harder than he thought . while avoiding the intense gaze of the horrified middle age eunuch in front of him, kazuma unconsciously moved his body towards the exit — where his true freedom truly lies. however, he did feel a bit guilty putting the eunuch in yet another difficult situation because of him. “ i should be the one begging you here, your majesty .. if you like, should i get on my two knees? would that make you change your mind? “ he asked dramatically with tears filled eyes, clutching stubbornly onto kazuma’s long, silky sleeves. bright blue hues made contact to teary, desperate onyx orbs which was soaking with sheer desperation. “ please wait a little longer ! i’m sure one of the royal doctors will send something in soon .. your majesty, you are the king of this country. with there being a disease out there .. if something happens to you, our nation will fall ! “ impatience was yet another flawed trait of his, kazuma’s felt his blood rise at that comment and he burst out, full of emotions, “ what good is me being king if the people don’t even have faith in me? “ he retorted, his gaze shifting down to his feet. he was the son of a concubine, not a legitimate child. in his memories, everyone had always turned their back on him because of that. yet, the fact he had his father’s blood in his veins was a fact that can’t be erased. however, the tide will soon change once the crown queen deliver her child and if it’s a boy, his reign would permanently come to an end. kazuma bites down on his lips, completely frustrated by his own helplessness. he had no one to call allies behind these walls, he felt terribly constricted. breathing in a gulp of fresh air, he slowly begins to calm himself down, closing his eyes and counting one, two, three .. “ fine. i won’t go, “ kazuma concedes, opening up his eyes one by one, after thinking things through. kashi glowed in bright happiness at the news thrust upon him as he hugs the young royal, praising him for his wise decision. however, it was too soon for happiness as kazuma cruelly delivered the final blow, all while giving his guardian a cheeky grin, “ just not alone. “ before his servant could squeak out his protests, kazuma grips onto the male’s shoulders with a serious look casting over his face. “ i’m the king , kashi. i’m their king. even if they don’t have that much faith in me. even though i can’t do anything at the moment, what i could do the least is show myself to my people .. let them know everything will be okay. “ determination glazed hotly in those oceanic blue hues, rather than the calm blue sea, kazuma had always resembled the fiery flames that could burn a human’s flesh. “ like you said, i’m not a doctor or anything. even if i go out there, i won’t be able to help much , but people are scared. there are vicious rumors circling around. if i can’t even be there for my people when they’re at the worst, then i’m no king. i’m just a fool wearing a crown on his head. “ tears only seem to be filling kashi’s eyes much harder from kazuma’s words. the hands that were stubbornly holding on to kazuma was finally losing it’s grip as the older man fell down on his knees. kazuma crouched down along with him, patting his back as he brings him in for a hug. “ you know, you really are such a crybaby, kashi .. “ he laughs, a soft smile etched on his lips. “ how could i not? i’ve been watching you ever since you were little .. i promised your mother i’d keep you safe after she had died. and, yet everyday, you would recklessly chase after death ! “ the eunuch sobbed even harder, his tears and snot soaking into the luxurious red clothes but kazuma never let go. “ i know, i know .. and, you kept that promise. back then, whenever i would fall and bruised myself, i never felt any pain, you know? “ grabbing hold of kashi’s face, the young king broke into a wide smile, “ because i had a friend who’d cried just like this to make all my pain disappear .. that’s why, kashi, i’m going to be okay. i’ll come back and not a scratch will be on me. “ kazuma promised, planting a kiss on his foster father’s head. “ fine, but .. t-take five, no. ten guards with you. make sure to cover your whole body. put a mask over your face and keep warm and— “ interrupting the worried-wart eunuch, he puts one index finger over the man’s mouth. “ hm! i get it, “ kazuma laughs, slowly pulling the older man back up on his feet. it took a few minutes for kashi to finally calm down, but he wasn’t the head for nothing. taking immediate control, in five minutes, five guards came in, completely dressed in black. it was the same outfit that the current king had changed into as well, allowing for much more movements. “ listen close. there’s a doctor who goes by the name of tanaka hitoshi in a small village about twenty miles from here. it’s close. “ kashi began, his red and swollen eyes scanned each guards up and down as a strict look plastered on his chubby and round face. “ the prince needs to be back by 8pm for the royal banquet tonight. he cannot miss it, so many important people are coming .. “ the stress was quite evident the more kashi spoke that kazuma quickly toon over with a peppy and cheery atmosphere. “ relax, you’re scaring them .. i’ll make sure i’ll come back, okay? “ he reassured but it was anything but reassuring to kashi fujimoto. the last time he had made this type of promise, he had ended up coming home several hours late. before kashi could change his mind, kazuma quickly push each of the men out all while blowing a good bye kiss to his eunuch.
sitting on top of his white horse, the journey begins for him. like kashi has said, it was a rather short trip as they passed through many forest. “ so, do you guys have a name? “ kazuma asked, trying to make a conversation to the five guards that surrounded him. they quickly all chimed in and within a span of fifteen minutes all of them were quick to be best friends. the first guard was named touya who was a half-beast with ears like a wolf, green eyes and mid-short brown hair. the second was a more an enthusiastic type who would tell a lot of corny jokes, makoto, who was a human with dark hair and eyes. the third was less talkative, seemingly wanting to blend into the background every chance he had, yukito and his identical twin brother, hinata who is more outgoing and spoke. the two had orange hair and hazel eyes and reminded him of a little brother. last but not least, the captain of this chaotic team, a 34 year old man covered in all sorts of scars, gin. “ oi, you brats. pick up the speed, are you trying to make me fall asleep? “ somehow, this was a shock. he had never quite met an adult who was this blunt with him before that he couldn’t help let out a laugh. with his hair tied tightly into a pony tail and the winter wind breezing past him, he felt like he could finally breathe again. however, perhaps he might have spoken too soon. “ what in the world .. “ gin cussed, his one eye looking to the distance where smokes were seen. a had fire broke out through the village in front of him and the four other men behind him tense, quick to act as shield for the young king. the loud scream pierces through kazuma’s ears and his body automatically lurches forward, but he was stopped. “ once we get out of the forest, that’s where the hospital, “ gin said, pointing in the opposite direction from where the screams were. “ something is happening in the village, we have to go— “ kazuma’s word we’re cut off, “ with all due to respect, your highness. our mission is to escort you to that hospital. there is no need to stop by the village .. i’m pretty sure it was just a petty crimes of theft, it happens pretty often with people going mad with hunger, you know? “ gin waves his hands, stretching as he released out a yawn. “ now, let’s go. the faster we get there, the faster we can go back to the banquet .. “ a little bit of drool was tainting his lips and within a short second everyone followed his lead. and, very quickly he finally arrived at the hospital. everyone had stopped what they were doing when they saw kazuma’s face. all took their stance and bowed politely down and one man walks up to him as he hops up from his horse. “ y-your highness, what might bring you here tonight? “ in which he answered, “ can i speak to hitoshi, please? “

 

[B E A R]

Yuuna, Mayu

• The Leopard
• Mayu

• 
• 

THE DOCTOR

Location	clinic
Company	patients
Mood	panicky

one by one , more people were bitten and become corpses in mayu's face - this is one of the worst thing a clinic worker can ever imagine . their job are to heal people , help them get better , not to see all of this blood being shed all over . each time she tried to protect someone , it seems as if they just slip out of her grasp and just turn into this rabid beast , without and sort of conscience and just attacking everything that moves . she was trembling out of fear , her senses felt numb to her as if she couldn't feel anything but just fear . biting the inside of her cheeks , she snapped out of her trance once again and grabbing the dagger from her waist ; " everyone get out of here ! " yuuna had exclaimed throughout the building , running down the halls and cutting off a limb of a zombie or two . it was not going well in here , it seems like they were multiplying . cursing under her breathe , the snow leopard was cursing everything that's happening as she couldn't help but to blame herself for causing this . she couldn't continue to think like this , it's going to consume her whole and it wouldn't help anyone ! running into different rooms , she slid open the door , " run ! there's no time to explain but just run ! " what is there to say to people about the situation ? that the dead came back to life and decided to come after them , one after another , and if the dead didn't finish the corpse then you turn into one of them ? how do you explain that ? " w-what's happening , mayu ? why are you in such a rush ? " yue had asked , another employee that works with her , but she really couldn't spend the time and explain what she had saw to someone each time . " we don't have the time for this , please ! " after yue had left , mayu had ventured deeper into the building . yue was scampering away while encountering other moving corpses , she couldn't help but scream in fear and scampering out of the building . " there are - . . . there are . . . there are moving corpses ! they are . . everywhere ! " shouting at the top of her lungs , but she was also out of breathe from running away from the rabid corpses .

meanwhile over at mayu , she was trying to usher as many people out of the clinic as she could while trying not to get caught herself . even when she was half beast , she could not protect everyone and help everyone in the building . yuuna's evergreen eyes were carrying clear tears , streaming down her face . she couldn't protect everyone , she couldn't help everyone in the building . she had not fulfill her role as a healer , it hurt her heart to know that she had let them down . there were patients that were bedridden and she couldn't carry them all out by herself before they got caught in the bloodbath . " how pathetic . . " whispering to herself as she ran throughout the building , double checking that she has gotten everyone that she could be she had to go herself . turning a corner , the hall was flooded with the walking dead . her heart was thumping hard and all she could hear over the sea of groaning and moaning was just her blood rushing throughout her body with the constant beating of her heart . clasping a hand over her mouth as more tears streams down her face , she saw people that she used to take care of and people she had worked with for years . in one moment , they were all alive and the next , they became this desensitized to their surroundings and their actions . she's not capable of just running through them without becoming one herself , she was trapped and with the dagger being capable of doing so much , she was stuck there on the second floor . time was ticking , the living dead was slowly closing in on her as she made a ruckus from running throughout the building . there's only one way , which was through the window . sliding the window open , she had thrown herself out the window and best thing to do when you're out the window which is tuck and roll .

hitting the ground , getting the window knocked out of her body as she gasped in pain and for air . coughing as she finally sat up , she doesn't know what just happened , it was as if everything that she ever knew was just gone and shattered . covered in blood , mayu most definitely look like a psychotic person right now if you don't know what just happened . but as she was just sitting there , her emotions had finally caught up with her and she just cried as she sat there on the ground . " i - i . . . i couldn't save them . . they got bit . . " she had sobbed out , constantly wiping her tears away . this really wasn't the time to be having a mental breakdown , mayu , there's a whole hoard of zombies in the building that is going to be coming out .

 

[B E A R]

— ✦ MASUI , KAZUMA ⁞ the royal doctor made his way out of the building as paid his respect to the young king. “ your highness, you should come in .. it’s cold out here, “ hitoshi said gently as he guided his arms toward the entrance inside. however, kazuma shook his head, blue eyes gazing up at the tall building with around three floors, perhaps? glass was still considered a rare delicacy in this country, but this was one of the biggest royal hospital — it only made sense that only the best materials should be used to built a place for healing and care. “ i won’t be here for long .. i just came to receive reports from you. what is this disease spreading around my kingdom, hitoshi? could it be stopped? “ he asked, gazing down at the doctor who’s complexion only pale at the question being addressed. sweat dripped down from his chin as fidget in his steps and avoids any eye contact being made. “ i’ve sent 100 royal doctors from the palace to several places. none have replied with any news, whether this outbreak is getting worse or it can be oppressed .. that’s why, i have come here tonight. “ kazuma continued to explain, his arms folding behind his back as he took a step closer to the scholar before him, just trying to understand what it is that was making him look .. so scared. “ if you know something, tell me. “ he ordered and that’s when something surprising happened. CRASH ! .. the sound of shattered glass was heard loud and clear as he gazed up to the source. all five of his guards immediately had their hands on the hem of their swords, all getting ready to go into battle, completely alert to their surrounding. the darkness made it hard to see, but what idiot dare to destroy the windows from a place of healing? kazuma eyes only seem to widened even more when he saw silhouette of something falling down, no .. someone was falling down from there. his own body moved before he could think, however he didn’t react in time. instead of catching the person, he ended up acting as a human cushion. a small groan escape from his mouth, feeling the impact of the heavy weight crushing the air out of him. there were long ashy silver hair attacking his face, covering his vision and rather than a sweet scent .. it was the metallic smell of blood that made him suddenly feel just a tad bit nauseous. “ mayu ! “ the royal doctor gasped as he rushed to help pull the girl up from the ground, separating her from the young king. kazuma slowly rises up too, “ do all your staff members have a habit of throwing themselves off windows, hitoshi? what on earth is going o— “ his words died off when his gaze landed on the girl. tears were streaming down her face hysterically. “ i - i . . . i couldn't save them . . they got bit . . “ she cried out, her words not making any sense to him or his five guards. but, however to the hitoshi, he did. with a horrified look spreading over his face, it had brought shivers even to him, the king. with a forlorn, serious expression casting over the royal doctor’s face, looking almost as if the end was coming soon, “ your highness, you must go back. it isn’t safe here .. “ he had only said, fist clenching as he pulls the frightened young girl into a hug, telling her that it wasn’t her fault over and over again. “ i’m the only one alive now, your majesty .. you sent 100 out and only i have returned. we tried to stop it, we buried all of them .. those monsters. b-but, before we even even knew it .. before we knew it .. it just kept spreading, “ the doctor fell to his knees, it was his turn to sob uncontrollably now. “ i thought that it’d just go away .. that somehow, this was just a bad dream .. never did i think it’d come all the way here. it’s over. this country .. it’s people, everything .. i’m so sorry . “

 

[B E A R]

Yuuna, Mayu

• The Leopard
• Mayu

• 
• 

THE DOCTOR

Location	clinic
Company	kazuma, boy scout, & dr. hitoshi
Mood	fear, despair, and guilt

her plan of jumping out of the building didn't necessarily end up the way she had imagined , she had landed on something cushiony ? it was just not as hard as she had imagine , definitely surprised her . looking down with her tear filled eyes , she saw that she was just sitting on someone's back . when did they start using human cushions for softening someone's landing ? before she could really process what was happening , she heard a familiar voice calling for her . the owner of that name looked up , it only caused for more tears to pour down from her face . " i couldn't help everyone , hitoshi . . some of the other workers also got bit . . . " she sobbed out , grabbing onto the sleeves of the royal doctor . mayu heard the royal healer had said something about " your highness " ? what does he mean by - " oh my ! i'm so sorry ! are you okay ? " dusting herself off , the doctor bowed her head as she looks back at the building . the female wipes her tears away till there was none left running her cheeks , they were just clinging onto her silver lashes . " hitoshi , we can't stay here . . i've gotten as much people out of the building . . " mayu had said before she heard the groaning noises coming closer . getting closer . . . getting closer . . . " there's not a lot of time to explain everything that had happened . . . but i am sorry , i've brought the corpse back to the clinic . . " the female had said as she had bowed her head , the deepest bow that she could do . but there's literally no time to be standing there and talking about their feelings . placing both her index fingers into her mouth , blowing - blowing a whistle to call for maron which caused for the outbreak of the living dead to break down the door of the building . " oh no . . " the emotion that keeps everyone alive had kicked in , fear , fear had overcome her entire body . the faces were people that she knows and had taken care of , the feeling of regret constantly kicks in whenever she sees them . it seems so wrong to see the dead to be walking around , desensitized . " i'm sorry , your highness , you've came over at a terrible time . . . but we seriously have to go . " mayu had commented , grabbing the reins of her dapple grey horse and also grabbing onto hitoshi , she couldn't tell what this man will do as he seemed to have also broken down . . pulling the doctor up , she helps him up onto her horse before getting onto the horse herself . " ah , no ! i have to try and get everything that's left in the medicinal cabinet ! " it's winter , sources are getting scarce since a lot of the needed plants are grown in the winter weather . " hitoshi , please bring them out of here for now ! i will catch up with you guys in the farm . " yuuna had said before looking at one of the guards , she just randomly grabbed one of their swords that were sheathed in . " i'm sorry , but i will have to borrow this ! i will return it back to you when i can ! " she totally did not just take a sword off of one of the royal guards . . . there were zombies coming out of the building but it was still dangerous to go right in from the front , so the half beast decided to go in from the back side . she can't hear anything but the blood rushing through her ears , mayu bites down on her bottom lip before taking a deep breathe and letting it go . " it's okay . . . everything will be okay . . . " she had whispered to herself before tilting her sword slightly around the door corner , checking to see if the coast was clear or not .

 

[B E A R]

— ✦ MASUI , KAZUMA ⁞ the horses were restless, kazuma noticed. he remembered a long time ago during one of his hunting trips, his father had mentioned animals were sensitive to their surroundings — the change in their environment and the nature that surrounds them. it was something else if it had came from the mouth of just the strange halfling girl, but for the royal doctor to be trembling in fright again. kazuma couldn’t help but feel rather unsettled at this whole predicament. “ shhhh, calm down, hoshi .. “ he whispers to his horse, his blue eyes reflecting back to the feeble figure of the royal doctor, who was still on his knees, just sobbing. “ is he high or something? what are those two going on about? ” one of the twins whispered to his brother only to have his other half reply back in an extremely irritated manner with a huff while crossing his arms together, “ how should i know? do i look like i was came from crazy town? “ both gin and makato howl in laughter at the amusing interactions from the twins. the wolf beast man, touya was standing still the entire time, looking extremely pale as he had the palm of his hand covering over half of his face, the scent of nauseating blood filled his highly sensitive nose. kazuma looks up towards the shattered windows where the strange girl had fell from a while ago, squinting his eyes, he could see multiple figures from there, the moaning sound getting louder and louder .. and louder. he consciously took a step toward the noise as all the five guards behind them started to be on alert again, each had on an unease expression plastered on their faces. with one loud whistle from the girl a horse appeared and all hell seem to have broken loose. the shut door before them was forced opened and from the windows, bodies roll one by one down onto the ground. the nasty sound of bones smashing against the hard earth made him wince but what made him felt extremely appalled was the fact that the being was still moving with it’s destroyed limbs .. crawling it’s way towards his group, teeth chattering nonstop. gin crouched down to examine the creature, however his actions only seem to have provoke it as it got even more aggressive, trying to get a clear bite of the guard. his sheathed sword immediately pinned down the creature in defense, “ oiya, oiya, what is this? .. a human? “ his one eye looks down at the being beneath them with amusement clear in those onyx orbs before finally put a hole through the creature’s heart. kazuma shut his eyes, unable to watch as touya who recently had his sword stolen start to vomit far in the corner of the tree unable to take it anymore with the smell. both the twins had on a disgusted look as makoto gaze to the gate, “ there’s more of them heading slowly toward us and since touya’s the only one weaponless now .. i say we throw him in and use him as a distraction for our escape. who’s in with this plan? “ everyone quickly raises their arms up into the air excluding kazuma, the doctor and the victim, himself, “ makoto, you asshol— bleugh .. “ kazuma gave the male a deadpanned look, almost pitying him before realizing, “ it’s not dead, “ he said in shock, looking at the body that gin had just ran his blade through the heart at. the creature quickly stood up, regaining it’s momentum as it once more tried to take a bite of gin. a whimper was heard from the royal doctor who held onto the beast girl’s horse, looking toward the direction she had ran towards before looking at the scene before him. “ the head .. you have to aim for the head.. “ he instructed fearfully. quickly responding with action, gin took back his sword and within a second, the head was cleanly sliced off .. however, the creature was still chattering it’s teeth and the body was still moving despite there being no head. “ i’m going to vomit, “ touya muttered, clutching onto his stomach with kazuma replying back on the side as he sweatdropped, seriously wondering if the half-beast male was going to be alright, “ didn’t you just puke your guts out earlier? “ turning his attention back to the creature, “ gin, try the brain .. a recent research has shown that even after death, apparently the body is still active because thoughts are involved, “ he explained, with gin nodding and did as asked. this time around, all activity ceased and the body finally dropped. “ your majesty .. please save her .. mayu .. she’s still a young child .. “ the doctor begged. “ that little brat took my sword, i’m going to — bleugh “ touya continued on, emptying his stomach out as the discussion went on without him. “ uhhh, captain? so, like?? more of these monsters are in there and uhhh .. she sorta just went inside just now?? “ hinata said, trying to finish his train of thought, but only to wind up confusing himself in the end. his twin on the other hand shoved him, “ the bitch’s dead, so can we just get out of here?? “ the whole group continued on with their debate on what to do for a short five minutes with each of the guard taking turn on killing off the monsters one by one before finally, kazuma made his final decisions. “ i’m taking touya and gin with me inside. you said you left your notebook in the room, right, doctor? all the more reason why we have to go, “ kazuma decided, “ makoto and the twins will go to the village taking hayashi with them. we’ll go to you by sunrise and if not, leave without us and head straight to the castle and warn the people of what you’ve seen tonight. “

 

[B E A R]

Yuuna, Mayu

• The Leopard
• Mayu

• 
• 

THE DOCTOR

Location	clinic
Company	zombies, like a lot of them
Mood	fear, despair, and guilt

mayu crouches down onto the ground , her leopard tail brushes against the dusty ground . she had caught the comment that the doctor had said , aim for their head . within each floor there two rooms filled with herbs , each room is at the opposite ends , this is definitely not going to be easy . " why can't this be just another normal day ? . . " she whispers to herself before shaking her head , checking the hallway one more time before slowly walking into the building . yuuna would have to be very careful about where she steps since the building is made out of wood planks , creaking would definitely happen and possibly inevitable . which each step she's taken , it was taken with extra precautions , although there aren't as many zombies as earlier , it is still better to keep your guards up . the half beast looks around from left to right , there five over to the left and around four to right , at least from what she can see . her ears flicking around , trying to catch any extra sounds that is created by some beings that are hidden behind the walls . so far , there wasn't anything that she can pick up , so it seems safe for now . she's not too sure if they are blind or not , she does know that sounds would definitely would draw them over though . it seems like their hearing is a lot more sharper than her's or maybe the same , possibly better than her's . " let's take care of the right side first . . " mayu had said to herself , but how was she going to do that though ? there's like four corpses wandering around while there's five on the other side . . maybe if she can lure them into a room and get rid of it one by one . the snow leopard let out a low growl in frustration before making her way towards the right side . her steps are light and quiet , carefully maneuvering around some loose planks . the first zombie was further away from the other three by the end , one arm swung around the lonesome corpse's neck , dragging it into another room before sliding the door shut . one of her foot was placed onto the living dead's corpse , pinning it down on the ground before holding the sword with both of her hands penetrating the skull . the blood of the living dead splattered onto the ground and onto her right leg , the one pinning it down . oh how she wishes that she doesn't have to be so aggressive to the undead , especially to people she recognizes . " i'm sorry . . " mayu really doesn't know how to feel and know what to do but to put them out of their misery , it feels wrong for them to just be walking around aimlessly . . there's still three more . . she was waiting for everything to calm down before she had slide the door open . grabbing onto the dagger , she held it with her right hand while holding the other weapon in her left . sliding the door open just a tad bit , peaking around the corridors to see where they were at and planning on how to attack it . her thick white tail sweeping the ground roughly , this was stressing her out and giving her a lot of anxiety . one wrong move , she'll get herself killed and bit , becoming one of them . . . sliding the door open slowly before creeping outside , she can't make any mistakes . . not even one . . breathing in through the nose , breathing out through the mouth , and repeat . hopefully this isn't going to attract the other zombies from the opposite end , hopefully she does everything quickly and hopefully as quietly as she can without attracting any unnecessary guests . pouncing onto the closest corpse , causing for the corpse and mayu to topple over onto the ground with her on top -- the female stabbed the corpse with the dagger , stabbing through the eye socket and slanting up so it hits right into the brain . standing up immediately , pulling the dagger right out of the skull with the help of her foot stepping down . yuuna sweeps her foot under one of the living dead corpses , throwing the dagger right down at the head of the zombie before sticking the sword harshly into the last one's head , pinning it into the wall with the sword . blood was splattered everywhere and no doubt that she was also covered . looking down the hall , she saw that some were heading her way and it was definitely not reassuring to see that . " oh dear . . " mayu had said before grabbing her weapons immediately and just running into the medical room to stay there for a while . sliding the door open and immediately shut , she doesn't know if she had really just put herself into the wrong spot or not . . she might have to wait it out , but while she waits , she'll just store all the medicinal herbs and liquids into her woven satchel . grabbing everything and stuffing into her bag accordingly , organizing it too so that she will have more space for other things later . the thumping noises against the door made her slightly nervous , she grabs the broom and putting it slanted across the frame and the door so that it'll not fall or slide open . " this is great . . " she had whispered to herself , before backing up and continue to store more things into her bag .

 

[B E A R]

— ✦ MASUI , KAZUMA ⁞ “ fuck, fuck, fuck, “ the twenty-six year old half-dog man cussed, his eyes gazing back behind him to see a whole trail of the undead following after him. running down the corridor, his shoes hitting harshly against the wooden floor as the sound seem to have bounced off, awakening more of the sleeping instincts of these creatures. they all bared their teeth, chasing him in hunger. the smell of rotten flesh hits his nose along with traces of nasty metallic red blood. biting his cheeks, touya wanted nothing more but to vomit again. “ that shitty leopard .. this is why i hate felines, always so goddamn self-centered. “ he muttered under his breath, his eyes seemed to have heightened, almost glowing in the dark as his sharp claws forcefully grew. as one of the creature came close to him, attempting to take a large bite, he stuffed it’s mouth with a hard cylinder old clock he had found, thrusting it all the way inside until it completely tore all the way to the other side. touya looked in disgust as it was still moving, before finally stomping onto it’s brain, shattering the soft bones as blood splattered all over his shoes. he grabbed the body up effortlessly, using it as a meat shield, adding onto his defense. “ fine. you want me as bait, i’ll fucking be the bait .. i’ll be the best damn bait ever, “ he growls, pushing his way through the army of monsters, “ when i find that bitch again .. i swear to god, i will make sure she doesn’t touch my sword ever again. “

“ um .. is he going to be alright? “ kazuma asked once more to gin, still looking rather worried after abandoning their comrade behind. “ didn’t he just barf out his guts a few minutes ago? “ he asked, sweatdropping, still remembering the scene. however, the thirty four year old male didn’t seem all that worried as he wave his hand up to the hand lazily, a half chesire smile accompanied along with it, “ nah, don’t worry about it. when he’s in combat mode, he’s like a mad dog .. there’s no stopping him. “ a serious look soon shadowed over gin’s face as he extend out his arms to the young royal, silently signaling him that one of the monsters still roam amongst the hall. they had sent most of these creatures away on the opposite side of the building, letting them follow after touya. their goal right now is to go up to the tallest floor, the third, where the doctor’s room is at .. but, that’s where .. “ that girl .. kaya? maya? anyway, she fell down around there didn’t she? which means, the source of the disease comes from there. “ kazuma noted, feeling rather anxious about this predicament as he tightly squeeze the helm of his swords. the fresh red crimson stain on his hand remained after his first kill and the memory still vividly remain inside his brain. from here on out, he’ll have to continue to do this in order to survive. “ i rather not kill these creatures, but pass through them all peacefully. “ he said, voicing his hopes, “ you saw how agitated the others got when we killed one of them .. like, it only made them seem more aggressive. “
“ then, what do you suggest we do? ask them not to kill us? “ gin asked, sarcasm coated on each of his words. the young royal squinted his eyes at his guard, already knowing how the male felt about him in particular. “ no .. that’s not what i’m suggesting at all. just, i’m curious .. as to how these creatures are able to differentiate between their allies and foes, “ he explains, eyes observing the scene before him. he had received brief instruction from the doctor on the layout of this hospital .. if they continued on going down on a straight path towards the end, the stairs up to the floors will be there. looking closer, there are very few of these monsters .. most had been drawn to touya, but the some that lingered here, it was like they’re here for something. his eyes quickly widened, “ she’s here .. the girl. “ running out from the hiding spot, revealing himself to a group of five undead creatures, he took his sword and give it a deep slash onto the soft, decaying flesh. “ cover my back, “ kazuma ordered, continued on walking a straight path as one after these creatures came for him. he opens up one of the door to confirm his suspicions, a small smirk on his lips as he pointed to the body inside the room. even without kazuma explanations, gin could guessed what had happened and gave out his compliment, “ clever girl. “ the young king nodded in agreement, “ she’s behind one of these closed rooms .. she wouldn’t have thrust herself back into danger for no reasons, there has to be a reason .. “ kazuma muttered under his breath, beginning his rambles as he tried to deduced her next move. from what he gathered, she seemed to be a very empathetic person who cared deeply about the lives of others .. well, if he was someone like that, where would he go? “ the medicine room, “ he answered, snapping his finger victoriously. finally deciding their next course, both him and gin moved into action, opening each closed door while watching each other back before finally they stopped at the last one. when he tried to open it, it wouldn’t budge as though it was locked shut in the inside. gin moves the young king away and decided to force the door to open himself, slamming his body against it with force .. thump, thump, thump .. with one final clash, the door was finally forced opened and the sound of the broom falling to the floor was heard. kazuma who was directly behind gin finally connected his blue hues to those evergreen eyes that was staring back at him.

 

[B E A R]

Yuuna, Mayu

• The Leopard
• Mayu

• 
• 

THE DOCTOR

Location	clinic
Company	kazuma & gin
Mood	fear & anxiety

footsteps , she can clearly hear footsteps that belongs to more than just one thing . they were pacing around back and forth , back and forth in front of the door . the bleak grey and blurry silhouettes cast against the rice paper and bamboo door , she can tell there were corpses wandering in front of her door because of the noises she had created and let me tell you , mayu was definitely on edge . " it's okay , it's okay . . you can just wait it out , while you probably make more medicinal packages . . " trying to lighten the mood in the room that she was stuck in , the clean silver hair drapes down her back , moving around as she continues to quietly move in her room . there's still a lot of room in her bag , so she decided stock up a bit more . her feline features twitches and sways out of natural instincts , listening for any weird noises that could be happening right outside of her door . the young adult grabbing a handful of dried flowers , placing them into a mortar and pestle , grinding them gently and quietly . every once in a while she would pour a little bit of oil to make it into more of a thicker paste that would stick together . opening up a cabinet to grab a handful of dried herbs , she placed it into the paste like formula and grinds them together until it smooths out . although it may seem like she's extremely calm right now , yuuna can promise you that she's screaming at the top of her lungs in her head . if she's allowed to scream , she would be screaming all the stress and anxiety out of her system . just because she can't , mayu is distracting her mind with making herbs , since it keeps her occupied while waiting for things to settle down . after mixing everything together and it became a paste like consistency , the female grabs an empty jar , opening it and putting the paste inside the jar . this will definitely come in handy later on , this is just for scratches and cuts , minor ones at least . in this situation , she doubts that people can just survive without having to get small injuries here and there , so it's just like a small first aid thing .

while packing the paste into the glass bottle , her leopard ears twitches from hearing a sudden noise that didn't blend into what was happening outside . it sounded like there were a lot of sudden movements happening right outside in the hallways , there's voices speaking to each other but since it's so muffled , she thought they were just weird groans but why are there suddenly so many noises happening outside ? placing the jar into her bag , the female placed a hand back onto the sword and another hand holding the dagger . at first , it sounded like the noise was away from her , which she was relieved about that until she hears footsteps heading towards her side once again . she hears doors sliding open and close , throwing her into a panicked state . for all mayu knows is that these corpses might have the ability to open and close rooms , this entire situation is new to her . from what she knows , she told the people from earlier to go ahead of her , so she doesn't know what's happening . " a-are they . . . attacking each other ? . . " yuuna had questioned , she can hear the muffled noises of things being destroyed . her imaginations are running wild and it's suffocating , it seems like within each ticking moment , the noises are getting closer and closer . her chest was getting tighter and tighter as the sound was getting closer and closer , her anxiety was skyrocketing into the sky from this . the noise had stopped for a moment , for a split second , she thought she was fine until she heard clothing rustling right outside of her room . the sound of things being cut and body parts thumping onto the ground , yuuna held her breathe and bite down on her tongue with the hopes of whatever it is would leave her alone . it didn't . thump . the door shook but it didn't move , whatever it is , it's crashing into her door and that only freaked her out even more . is this how her life ends ? is this how her story ends ? the thumping wasn't going to stop until this door was going to be knocked down .

the last crash against the door , the broom had snapped in half and fallen onto the ground just like the door . mayu's feline instincts kicked in which caused for her to hiss aggressively , snow leopard ears flat against her head and with her tail laying low but not touching the ground . her left arm lifted up high , about to to throw her dagger that would have aimed at head level but she stopped . her deep green eyes had a cold look at first , but it had soften up as it had connected with a pair of oceanic shimmering blue eyes . " it's your majesty . . i - i . . i'm so sorry . . i didn't know . i just thought you were with the others . . " yuuna had said , trying to explain herself while lowering her weapons and lowering her guard . " did you all stay back ? where's everyone ? " the feline had questioned , looking behind them before down at the ground where the corpses of the dead , stayed dead . " are you two okay ? any scratches or cuts ? " questioning even more , just a bit worried about their well being , besides the fact that kazuma was a royalty and he has a guard with him . she wasn't underestimating them , but she's just concerned . walking over to the knocked down door , the female looks from left to right before letting out a sigh of relief . " i thought you guys were another type of living dead . . " she had voiced her concerns , the hallway was empty for now and she was slightly relieved about it before she tensed up again . " was that guard with you ? the one i took the sword from ? i feel like he might want to kill me for this . . " mayu had said , awkwardly laughing before rubbing her shoulders . " so what are you guys doing here ? " she asks , looking back at the two males .

 

[B E A R]

— ✦ MASUI , KAZUMA ⁞ the strong scent of medicinal herbs blast in his face the moment he took a step inside. he could guess what the girl was doing inside. walking past her, his hand grabbed onto the jar, flickering his blue hues over to the empty bowl with remnants of the same mixture. “ you talk too much .. “ kazuma whispered with a glint of amusement seen in those oceanic blue orbs. while he felt the urge to pat onto that silver head of her, he couldn’t with his hands stained with dried blood. instead, he settled to giving her the warmest smile he could offer as he sets the bottle he had just picked up back into the bag. “ thank you for your service, and sorry for scaring you .. “ he connected his gaze to the female, the echoes of moans and groans could be heard from outside, the sounds bouncing from the walls. “ i wouldn’t recommend going out the same way you came from .. there’s a crowd of them being drawn in that direction. “ kazuma had an uncertain expression on his face, his eyes now laced with guilt from his next words. she’s done enough for tonight securing all of the medicinal herbs that could be used to saved hundreds later on. those bags filled with glass jars seemed rather heavy .. but, despite that, the entire time in this room alone she had filled the bag one by one while ignoring the impending doom right behind that rice bamboo door. “ instead, i would like you to come with us, “ he spoke slowly, almost fearing he might wind up being rejected. with a sheepish yet awkward aura surrounding him, “ i saw what you did with them .. luring them out one by one and taking them down .. which, i’d assume was from that same dagger you were about to throw at me and my guard earlier .. “ he points to the weapon in her hand, suppressing his laughter before continuing once more. “ this means you’re skilled and right now, i need skillful people with me .. “ placing himself onto the wooden chair, and with gin standing outside being on guard, he felt his stiffened body relaxing. erasing all the fears and uncertainties coming from the back of his mind, he spoke once more hoping to convince her to follow along. but, what would make her accept? he was deep in his own thoughts until his sight landed on the same bags that contained the glass bottles. “ there’s a lot more up the stairs compare to down here. but, from what i’ve heard, the doctor said there are more rooms like this placed at the end of each floors .. we could grab more bags from here and secure more medicinal herbs. i .. no, we could help. “ again, the uncomfortable feeling sets in, his heart aches from asking the girl to do any more she had done for the night. “ i also need a guide to the royal doctor’s room .. his notes in regards to these creatures are in there .. if we have it, we might have a clue on how to stop it from spreading. “

 

[B E A R]

Yuuna, Mayu

• The Leopard
• Mayu

• 
• 

THE DOCTOR

Location	clinic
Company	kazuma & gin
Mood	anxiety & a little relieved

“ h - huh ? “ mayu evergreen eyes shines with confusion and mixed emotions , was that supposed to be offensive or was that supposed to be some kind of compliment ? the leopard wasn’t sure if she was supposed to be offended or not , so she just stood there being dumbfounded . “ if i am not talkative , then who else would be carrying the conversation and the flow ? “ the feline had questioned before offering a smile to the royal prince . although her mind still haven’t settled down with a decision , she still find herself answering the male’s question with the upmost attitude . “ you are weird . “ the comment seemed to have just slipped out past her rosy pink lips , she wasn’t sure why she had even thought of that or how it had led her to say it . was it the way this particular male decided to portray himself ? or was it the way he had talked but with a different emotion hidden behind it ? maybe it’s the way he seem so mysterious but at the same time , he seemed like an open book ? it’s kind of a blur , maybe she’ll understand the man later on , right now he’s like an unsolved puzzle . her long thick silver white tail sways left and right , gently but swiftly , watching the male’s every movement instinctively and subconsciously . the bottle being placed into the bag that would be collecting herbs later on , her gentle mint green eyes travels back up to meet the bright sapphire blue gems . “ oh , it’s fine , i am afraid that i nearly threw a dagger at you which i am sorry for . just survival instincts kicking in , we never know what these things are capable of . we still need to know what these things are and how to deal with them , besides striking them in the head or crushing it . “ a sigh and a pause between her words , “ i am just hoping there’s some sort of way to stop it from spreading or that there’s a more humane way to eliminate them . “ it was a mere hope , she wasn’t sure if it’s going to come true or not , or even how long this has been happening . the royal doctor seems to have more knowledge about these beings than any of them do , so they would definitely have to ask him when they’re met up with everyone or even get new information , that’s a possibility but almost impossible to acquire because of the conditions . what were they supposed to be looking for ? the way they move ? they’re all aware of the fact that noises attract them and it seems like they’re eyesights aren’t the best , but they’re definitely not fully blind , almost though . “ i wasn’t planning on it , maybe i can go out the window again ? “ yuuna joked , laughing a little at her joke before that laugh became an awkward laugh . “ sorry , wrong time . “ the female had commented before rolling her lips inwards , keeping her mouth shut . hearing what the royalty had asked , which kind of surprised her - if he had wanted to , he could’ve commanded her to do that , instead he was asking her . her answer either way would be a yes , “ that’s fine , i think that’s better anyways for us to be moving together rather than by ourselves . higher success rate , considering how many dead bodies are walking around aimlessly . “ she wasn’t planning on rejecting him , there’s no reason for her to reject him , if she did , then she’ll be putting her whole life on the line once again . mayu could have gotten herself killed if she were to venture out of this room by herself , she might get bitten and become one those living dead corpses herself . that will definitely not help anyone around here , so she had agreed . “ i , yuuna mayu , will help you as much as i can . “ the cheerful feline had said , bowing her head before offering the biggest smile she can muster up . “ that also means i will guide you around the building and find the safest route around the building . hitoshi’s office is on the second floor , we can start heading over there first , as that’s probably the most important room for us . “ the leopard had said before picking up her bag , swinging it over her head so it’s like a crossbag . putting the dagger back into its rightful place , the sheath attached to her waist and gripping the sword tightly by her side . “ lets go . “ mayu has said before walking out of the room , waiting for them to get their stuff ready before she had continued down the hall , sliding open another door which leads to a flight of stairs , that would lead them straight to the second floor . waiting for a moment , she placed her index finger over her lips , gesturing for them to be quiet for a moment as she hear movements above them and close to the stairs . it sounds as if there were at least four zombies wandering close to the stairs or by the second floor door . gently walking towards the stairs , she was careful about where she steps and how much effort she is putting into it , not wanting to alert anymore unwanted guests to them . when the sounds of footsteps has faded away , far from them , yuuna had slid the second floor door open . “ hitoshi’s room is the third door on the left side , it shouldn’t be too hard to reach there . “ pointing over to her left , checking left and right . it seems like there’s only two zombies to their right . . what happened to the rest of them ? ! this is not right . .

 

[B E A R]

— ✦ MASUI , KAZUMA ⁞ kazuma had a rather dumbfounded expression on his face before placing one hand over his mouth, trying his best to suppress his laughter. his entire body trembled, lips spreading out wide and he felt the heavy pressure being placed on his back lightened up severely. with him calming down, his glimmering blue sapphires met flourishing forest evergreen. “ i’m weird? hmm, i guess .. “ he nodded, acknowledging that fact, “ but, at least, i don’t make it a habit of jumping off from the windows .. “ kazuma could imagined why she did what she did, but for some reason he found this fact to be all too amusing for him that he couldn’t help but poke fun of her for it. “ yes, i definitely noticed .. “ he chuckled, remembering the scene when she had her dagger aiming at them, her eyes were cold and rough, not a trace of hesitation seemed to linger within those green orbs when she welded her blade. was it because she’s a half-beast? is that why she was so strong? why she seem so attune when it comes to survival instincts? no, that can’t be right. these half-beast, in term of their combat skills, they are all just like normal humans. this girl .. she’s definitely hiding something. she has experienced when it comes to fighting, someone must have taught her. however, kazuma lets this go, a teasing smile curved his lips, “ be thankful for those monsters out there, i could have had you executed tonight for baring your blades at me .. “ he said in a very serious tone, before finally adding, “ ah, that was a joke .. i guess wrong time? “ yet another grin spreads on his lips, handing the girl’s joke right back to her before he walked right passed her, bending down to pick extra bags to hang around his shoulders. his eyes scanned the table to see various tools were sprawl all over, scissors, tape, glue and knives. there were also lots of papers too, newspapers, perhaps? no, some were posters too. a lot of scraps were here. he took a few and handed them to gin who immediately knew what to do as kazuma too wrapped the thick layers of papers around his arms, letting it be the first barrier of defense to guard his flesh. once he was done, he gently took the girl’s arms in his and did the same. the sound of tape squeaking as he stretched it out was heard before plastering it onto the paper and applying pressure to the female leopard’s arm. “ to protect you .. “

while both he and gin had eliminated most of the monsters here on the first floors, that doesn’t mean they should drop their guards down. the wooden floors continued to creek with even their lightest steps, the sounds of moans and groans could still be heard, echoing down the hallway. the further down you travel, the darker the path gets. his heart squeezes when he thought to the wolf he had sent to lure the rest down with him. was touya alright? and, what about the rest he had sent away on the horses to the village? .. rather than simply looking for a way to eliminate this disease, they had to slow down the spreading somehow. hundreds of people lived in his kingdom, and from what he understood, this plague thrive on the most where there are a lot of people. with everyone in this three person team on board and caught up to the plan, they made their way out of the door and began climbing up the stairs. the order went with the leopard girl in the front, leading them and kazuma right behind her. gin remained in the back, guarding the rear end of the line formation. “ once we get the book, we need to burn down this building, “ kazuma spoke, “ if any of these creatures get out, it could spread the plague out even further to the capital. “ the silhouette of a person casted a shadow from the door and without realizing it, he had held onto his breath. behind him gin, stiffened, his hand already on his sword, ready to draw it out. all three of them pressed their back against the wall as though to hide from the monsters. it took several minutes for the shadow to clear away before the young girl continued, bravely sliding the door to the second floor out and instructed them on where to go next. however, there was two more of those creatures lurking down on their destination. seeing this, gin pushed the two out of the way, drawing his blade out. as the one-eyed male got closer and closer to them, the two creatures became very agitated, their teeth chatters loudly, a growl vibrating from their throat, drool trailing down their crack, dead flesh. “ come to, daddy, “ gin ushered, raising his one palm up, beckoning them both to come. and, that’s exactly what they did as they ran to him hungrily, their unbalanced body clumsily bumped into one another, red blood spreading and painting onto the wall from their open wound. licking his lips, gin effortlessly slashed his sword through one’s skull before drawing it out. a mad grin danced on his lips, his arm thrusting into the second one’s teeth as it chewed aggressively to the scrapped thick papers wrapped protectively around his arms. “ look at these creatures, my king .. they’re hilarious ! “ he laughs, raising his arm, easily lifting the creature up as he had it faced the leopard, “ is this one of your buddy, girl? you think you can talk some senses into him? .. to get him to stop biting? “

 

[B E A R]

Yuuna, Mayu

• The Leopard
• Mayu

• 
• 

THE DOCTOR

Location	clinic
Company	kazuma & gin
Mood	anxiety & a little relieved

gasping in a rather dramatic way , " how dare you , i don't make it a habit of jumping out the window , i'll have you know . desperate time calls for desperate measure . " squinting her eyes at the male , although she knows the male was joking but she just wants to say it still . throwing her hands in the air , shaking them in a mocking way . " oh no , you scared me around times like these , i can't protect myself . " placing the back of her hand onto her forehead , pretending to faint before giggling , shaking her head . " it's okay , the timing is fine . " mayu had reassured the male , she feels like she should thank them later for being here . not only because it's better to work in groups but it's also the fact that they're here , it keeps her mind at peace and not think too much about the people that are harmed here . yuuna could not help but wonder what is happening outside of this building , is it also the same outside ? it really doesn't sit well with her , it just doesn't make sense to her how this can possibly happen . all she can think about is how is everyone doing outside of this building , is everyone going to be okay ? is it going to be contained or not ? can they find a cure ? how did this even happen ? there's so many unanswered questions and it really is throwing her off the edge . if you can see how she looks mentally right now , she's basically having a panic attack . the wave of thoughts were all washed away when she had felt someone grabbing her arm - " what are you - " her question seems to have gotten caught in her throat when she had noticed what was actually happening . the paper plastering over her arms , forming a protection layer over her arm . " oh thank you . " dipping her head down , it was as if she was bowing a thanks to the male when she had done that . rubbing the paper mache around her arm , double checking it , securing it to her arm . " i really hope i don't have to use my arm as a shield , probably a weird feeling to have someone gnawing on your arm ." commenting and imagining the feeling , she can't really imagine it - probably this weird pressure rubbing on her arm .

wait , did gin just said burn down the building ? this building holds meaning to her , this is the place where she spend almost her entire life at besides being at home helping with her mom . mayu couldn't bring herself to speak up , she could only sigh and nod her head . it's definitely hard to let this place go as it's filled with a lot of memories but the guard has a point , to set this place on fire . " i wouldn't be surprised if some of these things had even escaped this building . . the question is how many . " the half beast female had said before tapping her chin , wondering the amount of creatures had escaped . " it's also getting dark , so maybe people wouldn't be attacked ? since they would be at home . . unless these things can easily break down the door . . " she can't help but wonder since the nights are harsh around here , so who would be outside ? yuuna would not be surprised if someone is outside . . oh no , what about her mother ? yeah , mayu's mother lives on the outskirts of the town but she likes being outside more than being inside . who knows what will happen to her mother ? " we need to hurry up , please . . " her voice , pleading for them to pick up the pace - voice laced with worry and urgency . yuuna would never know what to do if something happens to her mother . . and her father ? she has not seen that man since she was 12 , whether or not he's alive is still a mystery to her really . they've been living without him for a while , so who knows ? doesn't mean she doesn't love her father , but he betrayed her and her mother . her breathe was caught in her throat , causing for her to cough a bit - yuuna covered her mouth and it can only muffle her coughs . " very . . funny . " mayu had commented , looking at the figure that was gnawing at the male's arm . a sharp feeling hit her heart , it felt uncomfortable and naturally , she grabs the piece of clothing that is over her heart . " one of our patience , he couldn't move from the bed and i guess this just cured him , but not the way he would've wanted . . " the leopard had commented before cutting the head clean off from the body .

" come on , this is the doctor's office . " mayu had said before sliding the door open , closing it as soon as everyone was into the room . looking around , she could see that the floor and desk was littered with documents , books , and paper everywhere . " i didn't know his office this much of a mess , oh my . " frowning at the mess , yuuna thought the doctor was a rather organized male but this is just not it . picking up some documents and flipping through it , some were data about patients in the clinic but there was another one that didn't seem to be about the people here . " take a look at this flower . " the female had said before showing them a paper , it seems like it had vague details and information about this certain flower , yet it seems to have some sort of connections to the break out around here .

 

[B E A R]

— ✦ MASUI , KAZUMA ⁞ this hospital was a infamous site to house all sort of patients. when the female had questioned how many, kazuma felt his heart dropped. entering into the office, his eyes flickered to the hundreds of scattered books, bending down to the floors to gather each and every one of the documents into his arms as he started flipping through each book, page by page. “ these creatures .. is there a way to revert them back? “ he asked, staring at the stain of blood to his hand. he furiously wipe them onto his clothes, the uncomfortable feeling once more resurfacing again. “ they all were once humans .. not to mention, these people they have family and friends who would worry about them. “ for a moment, kazuma found himself wondering what his father would have done if he was still here. he grips onto the book tightly, knuckles turn white as he had an internal battle with himself. chewing on his lips with glimmering blue eyes riddling in worry, conflict and hesitation. “ this is sacred ground .. if we set this place on fire, i’m sure there will be a rebellion. “ there were already so many nobles family who were against him being king, surely with the destruction of this place, they would be using it against him. drowning in his thoughts, mayu’s voice brought him back to reality. “ a flower? “ he said, echoing back her words before turning his heels around and walk over to her side. he was close, the gentle heat comforted him with their shoulder blades touching one another. he caught himself staring briefly at mayu before flickering towards the flowers imprinted in the page. “ are they grown here? did it mention where it’s at? “

gin watched the two talked the entire time from the corner of the room, sitting lazily on the chair. he pops open a small bottle jar he had carried with him, drowning the burning alcohol down his throat, swallowing huge gulps of it before finally releasing out a long and satisfied sigh. “ we bust our ass to get up here and the only piece of information we found is about a fucking flower .. great. “ sarcasm coated with each of his words as he gave out a loud puff, “ well, i think we can all agree that this is a waste of time .. humans or not, it’s better to kill them all and just hurry the hell out of here. “ his eyes was cold and lifeless, a grin spread on his lips, “ for the honor and prosperity to our kingdom, right? you should know, your highness, those two things don’t come so easily without bloodshed. “ taking yet another sip of the sweet alcohol, his eyes narrowed at the half-beast girl. “ just ask her .. the war between us and them may have ended, but that’s only for appearance’s sake. there’s still some prejudice lingering around .. “ taking one a huge breath, he laughs, “ at the end of the day, this whole incident will need a scapegoat and the were-beasts are always there for that .. this will spark yet another century war between us and them. “

 

[B E A R]

Yuuna, Mayu

• The Leopard
• Mayu

• 
• 

THE DOCTOR

Location	clinic
Company	kazuma & gin
Mood	tiny bit flustered, concerned, & guilt,

flipping the paper over , checking if there’s any information on the back of the paper - yuuna had froze for a moment when she felt the presence of the royalty standing by her side . it’s not the fact that she’s never stood next to a guy , but it’s more of the distance between them . the warmth in this winter night , it was definitely very comforting but at the same time , odd . she felt piercing blue and the midnight black orbs watching her for a moment . what was happening ? ! was there something on her face ? or maybe they were having a moment together ? oh my god , they were having a moment ! mayu seems to be wondering about it in her head and it only got her all red with embarrassment . clearing her throat and turning her head slightly away , just barely enough to hide her face . “ man , it is hot in here . . ahah . . “ awkwardly whispering , not sure who she is trying to say this comment to but it came out . “ uhm . . it didn’t pin point the place , but it’s the on the outskirts of the town down southwest , yatama . it’s kind of far too . . last time i went to visit , it took 3 days and 4 nights to get there . “ looking down at the piece of paper , her tail sways slightly from side to side before letting out puff of air . her ears twitched to pay attention to the guard , guarding outside . gin definitely have his way with words , doesn’t he ? such aggressive words but mayu couldn’t help but to only agree silently . hearing her being pulled into this , her silver evergreen eyes widens up and with an awkward smile on her face , pointing at herself , as if she was just double checking he’s talking about her . “ i wish i can deny this with confidence , but i am afraid that it definitely will cause some sort of war all over again . there are just some people that doesn’t want to be equal to other races . . “ shaking her head before sighing , that’s just how this world is like unfortunately .

“ but still , there has to be a way to turn them back , if they were to turn due to a certain cause , then should be able to revert back . . “ but the question was , how did this even start ? scrambling around in the room , she was just trying to see if there’s some sort of information laying around that she can find . maybe they can find some answers for the million of questions that they have , like where is the first place it happened with these living corpses that thrive on fresh flesh ? was the flower only from yatama or is there more ? what does the flower have to do with these corpses ? biting on her bottom lips , gnawing in frustration , she doesn’t know where any of this had started . this was the first time this had happened . . and it happened because of her . wait , this happened because of her ! the guilt had hit her , it hit her hard like it did earlier . her mind subconsciously made her forget it , now that it had resurfaced , mayu stumbled backwards and into a table . “ i brought it here . . i caused for it to spread over here and into here , i literally caused the deaths of many . . i caused the death of the people that i was trying to save . . i - “ words caught in her throat , her left hand clasped over her throat . it felt like she was suffocating from the guilt that she felt . it was getting harder to breathe by each second , her right hand pushes her silver strands back from her face , as if it would create a better airway for herself . “ i am so sorry . . i just brought someone back , then this happened . “ it felt unreal to her , everything felt like a whole nightmare but she couldn’t find a way to escape it now . sitting down onto her legs , mayu seems to be sitting there and not moving . the werebeast doesn’t even know how to respond to these emotions once again .

 

[B E A R]

𝐊𝐈𝐘𝐎𝐒𝐇𝐈 》Hearing the sobbing cries of men of many different ages beside him, a mass murderer known as kiyoshi had a look of annoyance plastered across his face. As anyone could guess, this wasn’t his first time. In fact many of the other convicts have seen him already as they awaited for their hanging. If they were counting, this was his fifth time being hung. “Any last words?”. The deep voice of the executioner’s echoed as each man gave their last pleading cries. Once it finally reached the peach haired man, the only words that escaped from his lips were; “are you sure it’s going to work this time?”. Shortly after, the floor beneath the men dropped. Gasps rang out in the crowd, but it wasn’t for the men who were swinging lifeless from their broken necks… it was for the kiyoshi who was now sitting under the gallows after his rope had snapped. His face was portraying anything but relief. He was disappointed. Kiyoshi was praying for today to be the day he would leave this bitter world, but once again disappointed beyond imaginable. How could a rope snap five times?! Is that even possible? Were these people just messing with him?! As whispers broke out amongst the crowd, the executioners rushed to grab kiyoshi and force him to his feet. Mumbling amongst themselves, something must’ve been said about the man’s release as all the crowd could see was the convict’s bright smile and shimmering eyes.
Sitting in a large cauldron full of lukewarm water, Kiyoshi had a face of pure bliss. Even though getting boiled alive was a very rare occurance for capital punishment, it was their only choice for a successful execution. I mean, all they had to do was light the fire from under the cauldron and watch this man get boiled alive! “Hey hurry it up. I don’t have any time to spare here-”. Leaning over to stare down at the torch with sparkling eyes, his dream was finally coming true! And it seemed like those who were present to his execution were also finally convinced that this would be the murderer’s end! haha… ‘end’.

“Are you fucking messing with me right now?”. Stepping out of the cauldron, Kiyoshi held a look of hatred in his eyes. Even as the executioners called for the others to apprehend him, the convict swiftly unsheathed one of the mens weapons. He was no stranger when it came to sharp blades, and he was even more familiar to the dropping of lifeless bodies. Within seconds, the head of the executioner slid off and fell onto the floor. It took the others a few seconds to come to terms with what had just happened and following after were the sharp screams of the crowd as they all began scurrying away for dear life like rats getting discovered in a pantry. “Pests… I might as well help them out”.
It took over half an hour before he snapped back into reality. In his hands were the locks of a woman's hair as her head was separated from her body. Dropping the corpse to the ground, kiyoshi peaked his head out from the inside. If there was any better saying than a town painted in red, he would definitely use it to describe the scene of the streets. Setting his bloodied blade against the door frame, Kiyoshi collapsed on the ground after only making it a couple feet from the home he was just in. His clothes were bloodied and wet only causing him to shiver due to the icy winds that blew through the now lifeless town. Seemingly he had also endured some injuries during this spree, but only now feeling the consequences. However, this was nice. Maybe he’ll bleed to death. Or freeze to death! Whichever was faster! Staring up at the darkening sky with no lanterns to be lit, Kiyoshi was finally finding peace.

 

[B E A R]

THERE WERE SURVIVORS. clinging together in pack, the patients all clutched tightly onto their brooms, books, pillows, and was that a chicken? " s-stay back, you m-monster ! " an older man, slightly on the chubbier side, had shouted. his brown eyes filled with fright, body trembling, looking just about ready to wet himself as he sobbed uncontrollably into the comfort of his warm-blooded, soft feathery livestock. toya's stomach growled in response, his stares was becoming rather intense when the chicken returned his gaze -- however, his hunger didn't quite quench the confusion and the fears the survivors had, it only made them panic even more. " you can't have shuu ! " the old man screamed hysterically as a young lady next to him, tried to calm him down, throwing toya an apologetic look. there was a total of five people here; crazy old chicken man, two middle aged lady, a young boy and a lady who's absolutely his type. under better circumstances, with his body not drenched in blood, he would have totally flirted with her. a little flustered, toya started to comb his hair back a little, extending his hand out, " hatake toya, i'm 34, single and they say dogs make lovely companion for a life time. so, how about it, lady? would you like to grab some dangos after we get out of this thing? "

KAZUMA HUGGED MAYU. they both just remained that way for a long one minute before he finally said something. his brain, he could recite the first chapter of several history books, yet finding the right words to comfort another has always been a difficult task for him. his mind was spinning on what to do, what to say that the only thing that came out was a, " good job. " another strain of painful silence embraced the two, the scent of metallic blood and herbal scent of plants coming from their bags and the old books from the room didn't exactly calm him down. but, it was warm. her body, the heat. and, she honestly sorta smelled good -- like a flower he couldn't quite come up with a name for. " haha, you're right .. it is rather hot here, " he whispers to her ears, awkwardly continuing where he left off, his hands gently patted her back. " i- it's not your fault. you didn't know. nobody did. nobody. " pulling away, kazuma had his hand placed upon his shoulder, his the azure flames sparked in his hues, " you didn't bring in a disease, you brought in a person. you wanted to help and that's never a bad thing. " there were things he wanted to say more. he wanted to tell her she did a great job deciphering the messy scribbles the doctor had printed out in his notes. to let her know that he needed her right now, but he didn't quite know how to express that out. and, he wasn't quite sure if his words could provide her with any means of comfort -- i mean, he hopes that it did. did it? " today, we lost people. good people, and that's why we have to move on. we must carry on living for them, bury them in our hearts and move on. tomorrow is coming, may. there's hope -- this flower .. it's our cure. it's our second chance. " his gaze flickered to her shade of hues only to stray towards the door. there was something out there, a presence. the footsteps, he could hear it thundering loudly and it was coming close to their direction. kazuma's handheld onto the handle of his sword, ready to pull it out of his sheath. gin, too, stood up, gulping down one last taste of the sweet alcohol, " ah, finally, some action. " the silver one-eyed man was the first to jump out of the door only to come face to face with a living giant hulk. its face was so deformed that there were no traces of human features left. from head to toe, it was a literal living ox ogre, " watch out ! " kazuma shouted, his body lung towards mayu to cover her, the walls collapsing, dust and foggy debree was all that was seen around them. breathing heavily, his eyes widened, " what is that? .. that thing .. "

 

[B E A R]

SHE WAS PLAYING HIDE AND SEEK. sayaka couldn't process what was happening, one moment she was within the crowd in her mother's arms and now, she's trapped inside their closet. why did her mom tell her to stay in here? when was she coming back? why were people biting each other? that peached-haired big brother, he had such a happy face .. all the others before him had such terrified expression, but he looked happy, how strange. if she were to see him again, saya wanted to ask him what made him so happy, but her mother told her he was a bad man. that's why he's being executed. " ah, i'm so hungry .. " the child whispers, her head leaning against the wooden frame, it's been so long -- she counted like ten sets of one thousand so far, how much longer must she wait? the six-year-old breathe hot air into her hands, trying to warm herself up, her lashes fluttered, feeling rather sleepy from the cold. there were so many things she wanted to say to her mom, how she wasn't a baby anymore -- that she could help out with their livestock, she could wake up early every day to go collect the eggs. mischief filled her violet hues, gently peeking through the crack of the door before finally opening it. one by one, she carefully jumped out. giggling to herself, she wanted to surprise her mom, be the first to find her instead. entering the kitchen, she saw the back of a familiar figure. running forward with glee, she hugged the bottom of the woman's leg, " mom ! " she shouted happily, however her smile faltered when she saw the woman's face .. a massive chunk of the right brain was missing. " ah .. " the child stepped back slowly, her face stricken with fear, her hand covering her lips, tears streaming down on her face yet not a sound could come out from her. just as the figure jumped at her, she had tripped, hands covering her head. by sheer luck, the being had impaled itself upon the sharp edges of the spinning wheel. blood splattered upon her small body, her trembling fingers touched the warm liquids that tainted her face. her quivering lips let out a small whimpered, unable to process what was going on -- was that really her mother? that couldn't be. breathing heavily, she tried to gather all her thoughts together, what should she do? " my mother .. she's hurt .. she needs help .. oh no. " everything was so blurry, her eyes something burning and wet was in it. she tried to wipe it out, but it continued to overflow. stepping up slowly, her body navigated her to the outside, hoping this was all just a dream.
the small village she grew up in, everything dyed in red. bodies laid on top of each other, forming a mountain. a gasp escaped her lips when she saw several people walking, but their eyes -- they look so lifeless. the color of their face didn't look good either. her legs, she couldn't move. both of sayaka's hands were over her mouth, preventing any sounds that could have come out from there, her gaze continued to linger to the group of walking people, observing them carefully. more and more continue to head to that particular direction, why? " it's fine .. they're nice people. i have to be brave for mom, just a few steps away. so, feet, please .. move .. " she whispered pleadingly. slowly, taking yet another step -- like a mouse, she moved quietly, away from sight. getting a better view of the crowd, she became speechless when she saw they were eating a person. tearing him limb from limb, his intestine was ripped. his heart, oh god .. " bad people .. they're bad, i have to get away .. " she was panicking, she didn't know what to do. what's more, she made a sound, foolishly cracking a twig with her step, informing them of her existence. the hunger rages in their eyes, their bloodied teeth chattering, face snapping towards her direction.
she ran like crazy. not daring to stop, she had to go back home. ah, but home was where her mom was .. her poor mom, she still needed help, she's bleeding. her head, she was hurt and - " ah ! " tripping twice again today, her knees became scraped but she didn't feel the pain. her thoughts were geared more towards her mom, and .. " i know you, " she whispered under her breath, looking at the sleeping figure in front of her. the peach-haired big brother she had seen earlier .. he still looked normal. well, except for the overflow of blood, but he was still breathing ! that's good ! looking around frighteningly, there was simply no time left -- those creatures, they were chasing after her. she gathered up the last bit of courage she had left and started dragging the man into the house, sweat forming as she gritted her teeth, using 90% of her muscles, her face turning red. " so .. heavy .. " thankfully, the foot made it past the door and she quickly dropped him, the sound of his head hitting the ground made her wince but right now, she had other things to be concerned about. three figures were sprinting towards them both and immediately rushed to the door and closed it shut. however, it was too late, they had spotted her. thumping against the wooden door angrily, they tried to open it, but on the other side, sayaka pushed back most of her weight to it, an attempt to buy time and hope they'd go away.

 

[B E A R]

Yuuna, Mayu

• The Leopard
• Mayu

• 
• 

THE DOCTOR

Location	clinic
Company	kazuma & gin
Mood	flustered, embarrassed, anxiety, & fear

SIR , DISTANCE , D I S T A N C E . understandable that he was just trying to comfort this feline , but damn , take her out for dinner first before you make a move , sheesh . nah , nah , it was alright , it was comforting for her to feel warmth from another source or being . it removes the image of a massacre that is basically happening outside while the sun was basically almost gone , ya know ? the long thick tail was just slowly brushing behind her , she's not too sure about how she's currently feeling . is she annoyed by the fact that someone is just hugging her like this or is she enjoying this ? not 100% sure , a bundle of mixed feelings swirling in her stomach or maybe she is just hungry . . . hearing a voice whispering gently into one of her round white ears had caused for it to flick , it's just out of pure instincts that her ears just twitches a bit when hearing a certain sound or noise . " thank you . . uh for that . . " well , that was a moment , not entirely sure if that's a good thing or not , possibly good . hopefully it was good , mayu was still trying to figure that out in her head , she was having her moment of breakdown about this whole entire thing and suddenly being hugged by the crowned prince ? who was pretty and hot , by the way ahem . . the feline werebeast claps her hands onto her face a couple of times , nodding her head in agreement of what the crown prince had just said . " you're right , we have to continue on , we have to keep on living just because they have lost their lives . " mayu nods her head before getting right back to work , sorting out through the papers that would have any details about the flower , shoving any paper that she can find that has even the smallest detail about it.
" there's barely anything here , what am i supposed to do with this at all ? " questioning herself , there's barely any helpful information about this flower to the whole situation happening outside . something in her guts was telling her that this definitely has something to do with the flower , but not entirely sure in what way . " if only we can get our hands on this flower , then we would know more about it . . . " more moments of her just thinking out loud , literally during this time , it seems like gin and kazuma was noticing some pretty heavy footsteps -- unfortunately , this leopard was kind of in her ocean of thoughts . " could you guys stop walking so loudly ? i'm trying to think here - " oh shit . just the moment that she was turning her head around , she felt someone's weight colliding against her -- protectively . instinctively , grabbing a hold of her bag tightly , trying to not let any of the papers and medical equipment fly out of her bag as they were going for cover on the ground . well , part of the room was teared right open , through the debree was clouding up her pools of silver green eyes , she couldn't see anything clearly . through the debree , you can easily spot a giant silhouette and again , oh shit , oh shit . OH SHIT . WHAT THE HELL IS THAT THING ? ? the dust was clearing up and it feels like the air was snatched out of yuuna mayu's lungs , this was new . " i don't know . . . it looks like some sort of mutation has happened within this one . . " her eyes were wide in surprise and well , fear . looking around , she didn't have touya's weapon in her hand , it was basically across the room from her . oh great . . . " well , gin , got any plans on this big fello here ? " nervously laughing while looking between both kazuma and gin , the feline got herself up before helping the prince up . " oh , it's attacking again !! " the female had warned them before running to one of the still intact walls , mayu is really just trying to get the sword on the ground , trying to reach for the weapon that was basically by the foot of the being that swung at them just now . hey , maybe this isn't that bad , this dude seems pretty slow -- well , taking that back . the feline just witnessed the zombie on a ridiculous amount of steroids just charging at gin , her eyes widens up and just praying to god that gin will be able to dodge that . ya know , because he's old .

 

[B E A R]

𝐊𝐈𝐘𝐎𝐒𝐇𝐈 》The murderer’s moment of bliss was instantly cut short. Just when he thought a little demon was there to drag him to the deepest levels of hell, it actually ended up being some little girl with a very unsightly face. Keeping his eyes closed, Kiyoshi prayed that this girl would eventually give up trying to drag the man like a rag doll, but to no avail. He was eventually dropped right on his head once they made it into a building. Cursing under his breath at the moment of impact, the twenty eight year old pulled himself up into a sitting position as he stared at the little girl fighting to keep the door closed. If he remembered correctly, something else also happened during his little killing spree. There were strange grotesque ‘things’ who cannibalised off of each other; especially the living. So why did this girl keep the door shut? Sure their demise would be painful, but they could finally pass onto the next life whether that be heaven or hell. Ah… maybe it was because she was young. Even though children lived in their own little world with little to no knowledge of reality, they strived to survive. It was admirable, but Kiyoshi has never had that kind of feeling in his life. He has only ever wished to die with every passing moment in his fortunate life. So why did he get up to help this little girl?
Kiyoshi’s body was sore and aching from the wounds he bodied earlier, but strangely made his way around the back of the home with ease. On a chopping block, a cleaver sat ominously upon the surface. The blade was sharp and heavy. Something he would consider as a lucky find, but with his head already made up. He wasn’t going to use this on himself. Grabbing the back of the little girl’s shirt, Kiyoshi pulled the girl back behind him as he swung the door open to reveal… nothing? Are you kidding me? He pulled off such a cool move and they lost interest?! You know what- maybe he should just use this cleaver like how he originally wanted to. Turning back to face the little girl, Kiyoshi pointed the heavy blade at her face; “Look around the house for some blankets. You’re gonna freeze to death if you don't warm up”. He couldn’t help but feel pity for this little girl, but he didn’t have time to babysit. Although, it doesn’t hurt to at least make sure she’ll get through the night. “I’ll take a look around to see if they have any fruits lying around. And forget about what happened earlier! I already knew they left! It was just annoying that you sat there like some sort of training dummy!” With crimson ears developing, Kiyoshi hurriedly shut the door before beginning his scavenge for food.

 

[B E A R]

𝐌𝐀𝐒𝐔𝐈, 𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐀𝐄 》“He still hasn’t made it back? Pfft! That sounds just like him!~” lifting the heavy mood in her quarters, a pristine woman sat patiently as her followers finished prepping her up for the banquet. Everyone was clearly stressed, but Hanae, the first legitimate daughter of the late passing king, was calm. Even though ill-mannered words had spread of the current king’s outing, the girl couldn’t help but smile about her brother’s little getaway. Although, one thing did bother her… With kazuma absent from the banquet, the power ultimately rested in the queen’s hands. However this wasn’t something that the princess couldn’t handle. In fact, she always had a way to get things to swing in her favor in order for these kinds of events to go by smoothly! “Could I have a moment please? I’ll call you all once I’m ready”. Each word that slipped from her lips were like honey. Smooth, rich, and sweet. Everything about this woman was pleasant… from her voice, aura, and even her looks in general. Anyone could tell she was royalty. So therefore, her followers had given her a bow before all scurrying outside of her room.
As soon as the last maiden left through the chamber doors, the princess made her way over towards the mirror. The Junihitoe she wore was heavy and quite overwhelming, but it was necessary for her to dress appropriately as relations to the royal family. “At least those six won’t see me in something so ridiculous… I could probably even scare them looking like this haha!” Giggling at her own jokes, hanae couldn’t help but laugh in the mirror at how she was fixed up for the night. Even though it was per tradition, she never saw the need for makeup to this extent. In fact, she fancied the idea of being fully natural, but under the queen? She conformed to most of these high standards in order to not bring problems within the queen’s area of rule within the castle. “I’m ready, let’s head over-”. As the doors opened, the girls parted a way in order for the princess to head out first before following in rows of two behind her. Her steps were light, almost as if she were gliding towards the banquet hall, and as soon as she arrived the room was hushed over in order to listen to what the late princess had to say. “Good evening to your Majesty and all of our honorable guests. Forgive me for such a late appearance, I sincerely hope we can all get along tonight and only discuss the brightening future of our ever growing kingdom“.

 

[B E A R]

" FUCK . " his fingers gripped tightly onto the handle of the sword, the veins popping out, the pool of evergreen silver raged, glaring at the monster before him. flickering to the windows, what time is it? he could see the crescent moon, so obviously night time. he search for the stars, immediately found the brightest one, the north star. ' when you're ever lost, it'll be the star that'd guide you back to me .. ' gin couldn't help but chuckled a bit at the sudden remberance of those words, back to when the times were much more simpler. back to where days, where the stubborn princess would dragged him to the library just to fill in useless knowledge to his brain. to the nights with the old branches of the blossom tree covering them, where they would laid down upon the soft grass and would just star gaze. " unfortunately, i don't have time to deal with you .. i'm already late, you see .. and, if there's more of you monsters out there, then this isn't the place where i'm meant to be right now. " gritting his teeth, he bear through the pain, jabbing the end of his sword to the ground to help pull him up. the impact of the punch had left him with a few broken bones, but it wasn't so bad that he couldn't move. breathing heavily, he turns his attention to the other two trapped inside, he couldn't see them from all of the foggy dust, and " oh , it's attacking again !! " immediately pulling his blade out, he grunted preparing for the impact, his feet digging into the ground, taking one step after another, pushing back against the sheer, powerful force thrown at him. as if that wasn't bad enough, the creature let out a roar, screeching angerly, awakening the other sleeping, dormant undeads. it wouldn't be long until they all come speeding in their direction. " the plan ? " he almost wanted to laugh at the question, " the plan's to stay alive. "
" yeah, no shit. " the prince fired back, adrenaline kicking into system, his body moving on it's own to provide gin with some assistance. his own blade digged into the creature's thick layer of green flesh. pulling away to slash at it's heels, but as he slashed and slashed, the wounds were closing up. it wasn't budging nor moving an inch -- as though it could not feel a single thing. or maybe, he was wrong, it did feel something: anger. just, so much anger. another roar was heard erupting from it's throat, it's tail swung at kazuma with such powerful force it slammed him to the nearby wall, causing a huge crack to form. coughing out his next words, he wheezes, " mayu? you mention mutation .. any chance the doc has anything written in the journal? the cause?? " just as it was to launch another attack at kazuma, gin quickly used this chance to recover, moving faster than before. the blade was so fast, the prince could hardly follow as one after another, parts of the creature body was being hacked quicker than it could heal.
but, the abnormal beast was just as stubborn as them all. bloody tears stream down it's grotesque face, words .. it spoke back surprising them all, even leaving gin to pause in his movement. " i .. don't .. want .. to die .. " opening it's wide jawline, before both men could react, it extended it's tongue out, aiming to pierece the snow leopard who was still inside. for the very first time, kazuma felt fear blooming inside of his heart. he wanted to run towards her, chase after it, but he was still just too far away, he wouldn't have made it in time. his own body was failing him, his mind torturing him with the image of her heart getting pierced, her face. oh god, the expression on her face had his own painted with anguish agony. the idea of it made his heart burn with pain. the prince looked to mayu desperately, swinging his blade down to cut the ends of it, hoping it'd stop. he dropped his sword, taking hesiatnt step towards, weakly calling out her name, " mayu ? "

 

[B E A R]

HAPPY. these were happy tears. listening to the male's advice, she grabbed the soft blanket she found and held it close to her heart. however, she turned around, he was wrong. the big brother, he was gone ! panicking, tears began to form once more in her violet hues. the outside world was so horribly scary, her mother -- she still had to save her too ! sayaka raced to chase after the figure, running to him with her bare feet. her shoes, the straw shoes her mother had weaved so delicately had fallen apart during her escape. but, even still, she continued to move, she was fine ! she could hardly feel the pain as it pushes down upon cold snow and sharp rocks. she knew if she was a moment too late, he would disappear before her very eyes, and so stubbornly, she ran. ran as fast as her legs could take before finally she extended her hands out to hug the man's leg, wrapping them tightly and holding onto them for dear life, all while sobbing uncontrollably. but she separated herself quickly, slapping her cheeks hard -- turning the fair, milky white bloomed into the same red hue that haunted their entire village. her quivered lips brave into a smile, bowing down to the older brother before her, offering him the blanket, " it's cold. you said it's cold .. you'll freeze .. here, for you. so please, don't leave me alone .. " she reached to hold on the fabric of the male's pants, tugging on it gently, wanting nothing more than to follow him. " i won't be a bother. i'll be super, super quiet, i promise !! "
perhaps it was adrenaline that caused sayaka to be so fearless. it had allowed her to forget the momentary horror she had just experienced moments ago, dealing with these unknown creatures. just as mutants plagued the hospital that was located several distance away, the same could be said for here too. it's body was shaped like a balloon, growing more and more as it swallowed everything in it's path, " i'm .. so .. hungry .. " it wailed in agony, hands extending out in long length to eat the dead corpses of humans, it's allies, the trees, the brick.