Chapter Text
Kohane Azusawa was a simple girl by all means.
She loved her perfectly simple, normal, boring life. Since her life was so perfectly boring and normal. She couldn't fully grasp when her parents started shaking her awake at an ungodly hour, frantically telling her to pack a few clothes.
She shoved her glasses on and sat up. Her parents are still rambling about whatever. She couldn't really understand, as it was wayyyy too early.
Then, the thing that caught her attention was that she had to leave Count Pearl behind.
They never left Count Pearl behind. Every trip they had, she came along.
A moan echoed through the house, causing her parents to jump up. Kenta gave Yui a look before turning around to face Kohane.
"Listen, you need to be quiet. Climb out the window and go to the library. There will be some people there who will help you."
Kohane peered at the window and back to her parents. Kenta had sweat dripping down his forehead. Another moan– this time closer. Much closer.
"Kohane! Get out of here!"
She couldn't move; her parents were asking her to leave them behind during such events! "Kenta...hold the door." She was suddenly wrapped in a familiar hug, "Kohane..you have to be brave, okay? My brave girl."
Kohane started blubbering nonsense with tears running down her face. Kenta looked at her, "Mom and I love you so much, koha." Kohane was gently pushed towards the window by Yui, warm hands cupped her cheeks as a kiss was placed on her forehead. She hesitantly opened the window and turned back to Yui.
"We love you, Koha."
She felt hands push her backwards before the window was shut tight.
The sound of a door being kicked down caused her to run. Scaling the roof wasn't easy, especially for her frail body. But utilizing the vine planters, she managed to get on the ground. She forced herself to turn away and run from her house. Loud bangs came from her room, quieting as she got further away.
A scream.
Two screams.
Silence.
Kohane fought the urge to turn around. Just looking at her surroundings, she could tell this was serious. Cars were flipped, windows broken, and blood splattered around the streets.
The lights from the library were in sight now. Only being around a mile from her house, but it felt like 10. Her feet were cut up on the pavement. Sweat stuck to her forehead. Long hair, wild and dried, tears stuck to her cheeks.
By now, the library was just a few 100 feet away. She felt hopeful, relieved since this ordeal started.
Which was immediately shattered when Kohane felt a body slam into her.
She crashed to the ground hard, warm and sticky hands pinning her down. When she peered, her eyes opened, Kohane was greeted with a mangled, green mess of a "human".
It was hideous. Patches of hair were ripped out, and the side of their lip was ripped off. Bullet wounds covered their arms; someone had clearly tried to fight off this creature.
Kohane screamed once she fully registered that this creature was trying to hurt her. Its mouth was wide open, going for her torso. Her hands were desperately pounding against its body as a way to fight it off.
No no no
Kohane couldn't die like this. Not after her parents bravely sacrificed themselves for her.
With sudden strength, she punched it in the gut and poorly kicked it off her.
Kohane forced herself up and limped to the library's door. The creature was now slowly getting up. With the fall, she ripped open her knee and probably sprained her ankle. So she wasn't very mobile.
The creature was now hobbling towards her, faster than her limp. The door was just in front of her, although it was locked. She pounded on the glass door, hoping someone would come and open it.
It was now nearing her, close enough to smell the putrid stench it was emitting. She turned around, covering her head. She faced the creature as it hovered over her.
Kohane slid down the glass door, fully giving up now. It was over. Kohane was going to die. It was grabbing her shoulder and bringing it's mouth towards her shoulder.
Kohane shut her eyes and hoped it would be over quickly. Barely registering the sound of a gun going off, and a body falling onto the pavement.
Strong arms carried her into the library, setting her against a wall. Kohane opened her eyes and was met with a few other people huddling in fear. What caught Kohane's eye was a girl with black hair fading to blue, rushing around the building to aid others.
Bright orange eyes settled onto her before running over. She grabbed a first aid kit on the way and slid onto her knees. Kohane turned her head in the opposite direction and let the unknown girl do whatever.
Gentle hands worked on her leg, picking out rocks and dousing it in disinfectant, causing Kohane to wince slightly. The dull sting wasn't anything compared to the gash on her leg. It was raw, red and angry, fat exposed.
Once the girl was done with Kohane's leg, she moved onto her feet. They were cut up by the harsh road pavement, pebbles embedded in cuts. Kohane's eyes were dull, once what held bright brown orbs, reduced to a dull brown lacking any emotion.
The girl moved to Kohane's face, taking her glasses off and wiping her dried tears. Once she looked directly into Kohane's eyes, she finally spoke up.
"My name is Shiraishi An, and my dad and I are taking care of some survivors here, providing a safe place. You came alone, so I'm guessing your parents are–"
"Dead." Kohane cut her off.
An winced but continued, "We have limited food here, so there will be some people coming and going searching for supplies. I will be monitoring your wounds for the time being." An paused before continuing, "What's your favorite animal?"
Kohane blinked and frowned, "Snakes...?"
An hummed before tapping Kohane's shoulder before leaving. She went to a random bin full of blankets with her eyebrows furrowed. An's eyes lit up once she found what she was looking for.
An rushed back and laid a blanket next to her, with snakes in hats with a light green background. "We uh..found a store with a bunch of animal blankets."
Kohane felt tears pouring down her face. Here she is beaten and battered, and some random girl treated her with such kindness.
She didn't know if she was just tired or really just that emotional, but she gripped the blanket and brought it to her chest. "T-Thank you." An beamed and gestured towards a mat with a pillow. Kohane really could use a nap. Maybe forever.
An gently leaned her down onto the mat, carefully spreading the blanket over her delicate body. Kohane felt her eyelids become heavy. Before An could leave, "My name is Azusawa Kohane."
An hummed, "Goodnight Kohane.".
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Kohane's eyes fluttered open. The sound of people talking filled the room, and the smell of food flowed through the building. When she tried to sit up, a shot of pain racked throughout her body.
Kohane let out an involuntary scream; it felt like her leg was about to burst open. She thrashed around, hands clutching her head.
Suddenly, a pair of hands gripped her shoulder. "Hey–Kohane look at me." An carefully guided her hands away, pulling them onto her lap. An gave a harsh look to anyone who stared at little too long.
Kohane's breathing leveled out, her eyes now less fuzzy. Which revealed a striking girl in front of her.
"Where am I?"
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