Chapter Text
Heizou had a hand up to his mouth, holding his breath. He had basically just ran a marathon and now was crouched down behind a cabinet as the undeniable sounds of clicking and screaming echoed throughout the room. He was currently hiding in an abandoned shop. A mall he had stumbled upon since the outbreak at the camp happened.
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Someone had came in, knowing they were infected. Yet they still kept it quiet. Heizou knew their security on it didn't seem very secure. His intuition told him that they weren't going to be at said camp for every long. It was still a terrifying experience.
He had trouble falling asleep that night. He sat on his bed, a few others in the other beds around him. When he finally started letting his eyes droop, he heard an ear defeaning scream come from the hallway. His nerves were suddenly at it's peak as he rushed into the hallway just moments before the woman who had been screaming was tackled to the ground by a man.
It was a little too dark to tell at first but when the man bit down on the woman's throat and ripped out her vocal cords, the blood from her neck spitting out and spalshing onto the floor and wall near them... he knew. The woman's scream was cut of with a horrific choking sound before the now infected man continued to chew down on her. She stared at Heizou with pleading eyes but there was nothing he could do.
The sound of more infected in the room that one just came out of rang out. Heizou, without hesitation went back into the room he was in and woke everyone up. He had shut the door before any could get in. There were more than just them in the building but there was a way out in here.
Some people just... don't know what to do in these kinds of situations. Not like Heizou does. They all started panicking. Heizou tried so hard to get them to calm down. To get them up but they wouldn't move.
Some frozen in fear and some yelling at Heizou to open the door because their loved ones were still out there. Heizou gave in, quickly ran to get his things and shoes. He wasn't alone through this.
Kazuha. Kazuha was with him every step of the way. He too realized they could not help these people. They gathered their things and crawled out the window just as they opened the door. Heizou could see a few infected immediately barge into the room. It was a grousesome sight. One that was going to haunt Heizou. Kazuha did little to pay attention but Heizou knows those screams were going to eat at him.
They climbed down the side of the building and had started making their way out, people running around, hysteria broke out. It was difficult to stay with Kazuha as people kept bumping into them. Infected getting in their way. People begging for their help. As selfish as it was, it will always be them against the world.
Heizou kept running until he smacked straight into an infected. Heizou hit the ground and the infecteds attention was on him. It was.. a child. A recently turned one. Heizou knows this kid. He's given him rations before and played ball with him.
The boy flung itself on top of him. Kazuha yelled his name, bringing him back to reality. Just as Kazuha was about to come help him another infected popped up. Kazuha just nearly dodged it. It fell to the ground and struggled to get to his feet in its frenzy.
"Heizou!" Kazuha yelled again but he couldn't get to him because more infected came his way, pulling out his sword that the two of them stumbled apon one day during their travels. Kazuha doesn't use it much, only for close battles like these. The fear that enlightened in both of them was fueling their actions. Kazuha was in danger and Heizou was struggling to kill a kid.
"Kazuha! There's a mall near by, do you think-" Heizou couldn't finish his sentence as the kid wacked him in the face before going for his neck. Heizou used his gun to block his teeth. The kid had that same look of pain in his eyes. The one all the new infected have.
Heizou had to. He needed to do it. The boy was suffering. The gun shook in his hands as the boy still fought to take control.
Thankfully, he didn't have to pull the trigger today as the boy was suddenly ripped off of him. His mother looking worried and not knowing. It happened so fast. He couldn't stop it. He couldn't help her. He couldn't warn her. As soon as she turned the boy around, he bit her wrist. She screamed and fell to her knees. It was more than just physical pain that did that.
She was realizing that her son... wasn't her son. The boy jumped on her and continued to finish her off. Heizou felt sick. He couldn't watch anymore. He sat up to look for Kazuha but he was nowhere to be found. Heizou quickly got to his feet, not looking back the woman that was still screaming as her son..
Heizou ran. He ran out of there, following the footsteps he saw on the ground that he knew were Kazuha's but there were multiple others with his. He was obviously being chased. Heizou followed them, ran as fast as he could.
The camp was growing distant now. He could still hear the screams. The agony. The infected. He needed to get to Kazuha.
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Now here he was. The trail had led him to the mall, the place they agreed to meet, but he was bombarded as soon as he got here.
They were fast, hungry. Heizou barely got away. He could barely breathe and yet he couldn't make a sound. They were too close to relax. He couldn't think. The noises they made were sickening.
One of them sounded like it started choking on it's own vomit. Heizou was shaking. Usually, he was composed. He's been in these situations more times than he can count. The problem? He was running on little to no sleep.
Not only that but his companion, his only person that he could trust in this world, was missing. He couldn't find him. The thought of him being dead somewhere. Or worse, turned into one of those things. Heizou is afraid he'll find him when it's too late.
Silent tears ran down his cheeks but he forced the emotions back. Forced himself to keep quiet. His chest heaved. Burned. Heizou glanced around wildly at anything that could help him.
An open vent in the wall caught his attention. There was a shelf near it so he could easily climb it. Oh he was so desperate to get out of here. He moved ever so quietly to peak his head over the counter. Three infected. Two on the other side of the room and another near him.
This was doable. He could manage. It took a moment to build up the courage to move but he did eventually. Slowly. He crawled across the floor to the end of the cabinet. He leaned over to see where the infected were. There were now two that were close to him. Dammit. Heizou had a knife in one hand, his gun still holstered, he'd rather not draw anymore attention.
Heizou slowly rose to his feet but did not rise too high. Each step that he took, he felt his adrenaline spike. Afraid to make a wrong step. A wrong move. Breathe the wrong way. It was all at risk.
He was almost there. So close. Another infected, one he had not seen or focused enough to even hear that there was a forth. It spotted him. Screeching loudly and alerting the other infected. There goes being quiet. He had to make this quick.
He was moving before he was thinking, bolting for the shelf. He jumped on top of the shelf, climbing as fast as he could. The infected were right behind him. Their bodies slammed into the shelf, making it shake and unsteady. One was able to grab onto his leg, digging it's nails into his skin and ripping his pant leg. The blood gushed out.
It burned. Heizou cried out but bit his lip to bite back the pain. He continued climbing even if his leg was now attempting to hold him back. He crawled into the vent but didn't stop. He kept going. Afraid the infected were going to get smart and climb up the shelf too. He crawled through the vents, a blood trail following him.
He crawled for who knows how long until he finally crawled out into a different store. One that seemed safe enough. It was actually way cleaner. Untouched. Heizou felt relieved. He collapsed when he got out of the vent, finally able to breathe. His lungs burned and his leg was in so much pain. He lay out, using a flashlight to take a look at it. It was bleeding profusely. Very deep it seemed. Probably infected.
This was really really bad. Heizou put his bag down, rummaging through it. Not many bandages nor water. Absolutely no antibiotics or alcohol. Maybe there was some in the near by stores. Heizou decided to continue searching before doing something about his leg.
He limped to the door, the door was slightly stuck and with a little bit of force, he opened it. Only to be face to face with yet ANOTHER infected. This time, there were way too many to outrun. Heizou quickly slammed the door shut.
They banged on the door but there was no way they were getting in. He locked it. He was trapped. Heizou took a few steps back from the door before pain shot through his body from his leg. Causing him to fall back. He felt tears come in his eyes again.
He was stuck, alone and oh so scared. The events from the night were something he still hasn't had time to process.
Allowing himself a second to feel something, he cried. Not too loudly but he could still hear the infected outside banging against the wall. They knew he was inside. They could probably smell him. He was bleeding so much.
His body was exhausted. It was so cold.
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Hours passed. He had finally patched up his leg with the little medical supplies he had with him but he knows it won't do much. The fever will set in soon and he'll only get weaker without much food or water. With all of those infected waiting to devour him out there while he could do nothing but lay there. He had nothing to start a fire with.
So he was stuck being cold. Putting on the second coat he had found. Shivering still. He was so tired but everytime he felt himself drifting off to sleep, the sound of clicking jerked him awake. It made his heart beat faster than normal.
It was horrible but he figured that it wasn't too bad. He could have it worse. He could be one of those unfortunate people at the camp. He misses Kazuha. Where was he?
Time passed in a blur. A fever had set in by the next day and he was close to delirious. Going in and out of consciousness constantly. The sound of the infected still there. They cried. Those cries slipped into Heizou's small nightmares. His leg burned and his body felt weak.
He lay on the floor on the far side from the door, as far as he could get. Is this how he dies? The world was fading.
He has no idea how much time has passed as he lay there, curled up in a ball. Waiting for death to take him.
At this point he was convinced Kazuha was gone. He was dead. The grief was overwhelming. He wished he could've saved him. Why was he the only one with a 'gift'?
He couldn't even cry anymore because of how dehydrated he had become. The infected continued to remind Heizou that they had not gone anywhere. Half of him hope they were just break through those doors and finish him off.
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Kazuha couldn't breathe. Death was right behind him. His legs felt like they were going to fall off. He could barely feel them. The sticks and leaves crunched under his feet, nearly making him slip a few times.
The infected behind him were not as close as they were but they were bound to catch up. Kazuha was not a superhuman. He could only run for so long. Being with Heizou though for the majority of his time in the infected world, he has learned to push himself.
To become faster and stronger. Heizou always gave him a will to live every fighting and crucial day they went through together. Before, Kazuha use to be very, intensely weak even if he tried to deny it. Not physically. Mentally.
He didn't grow up in the harshness of the QZs like Heizou did. He grew up in non governmental organizations that were built by people who didn't trust the higher ups. They had every right not to.
He was born after the outbreak, like Heizou was. From the moment he was taken out of his mother's womb, he was trained to survive. Feelings were a burden. Slacking off was a sin. His father was one of the leaders of this place. It only made sense that his training was the most detrimental.
Kazuha was trained to not hesitate. He was trained to use a sword, a gun, a knife, many many other weapons and ways to kill. This organization taught their children to be robots to the world around them.
Innocence taken from them all too early. Heizou knows all about Kazuha's trama. The both of trama that they weren't properly taught to deal with but little by little, they help eachother through the rough days.
Which is why Kazuha has trouble leaving Heizou's side. It's most likely separation anxiety. Kazuha depends on him so much. He needed to find him. He could feel his chest hammering, the sound of screeching behind him, blood curling gags, making his adrenaline run deeper through his veins.
He was running through the mall, the exact place Heizou told him to meet at when things go wrong. He ran all through that place. He knows Heizou wasn't here yet. Last time he saw him, he was wrestling with an infected child.
Kazuha couldn't help him. Heizou knows how to handle himself. He turned a sharp corner. The infected snarling at the loss of sight. They were smart though. Kazuha quickly ducked behind a wall before they could come around the corner and see him.
He placed a hand over his mouth and pressed himself against the wall as much as he possibly could. He could feel his limbs shaking. He was so incredibly afraid.
Alone in a dark and freezing cold mall. Probably surrounded by infected. They whizzed passed him, tripping over eachother as they desperately ran in the direction they thought Kazuha had gone in. All recently turned. One of them had it's guts hanging out, the blood rushing from it's mouth, eyes, nose, every part where it could. The blood dripped to the floor, nearly freezing on impact.
Once they were out of his own sight, their footsteps and agonizing screams growing distant, he let out a heavy breath and slid down the wall. His whole body was sore from running for so long. His chest rose up and down too quickly.
Struggling to catch his breath. Even though it was near freezing, sweat dripped down his face. He doubt it would be there for long. The cold would dry it up and soon he would be freezing again. He hates the winter but loves the fall. Heizou loves the summer. He loves being able to find a nice pound and go swimming once in a while.
Kazuha sat there for a moment before standing, breathing still slightly uneven. He sheathed his sword. He had to get moving. Find Heizou and-
His thoughts were cut off as a hand went to his mouth, forcing him back against the wall. It was a man, taller than him. Golden long hair and golden eyes. Kazuha didn't think. He thrashed.
There was sudden concern in the mans eyes. "W-wait!" His voice whispered but Kauzha was having none of it. He grabbed the mans other wrist and dragged him to the side, making him stumble. Then dragging him forward so he lost his balance completely and fell to the ground.
Kazuha quickly grabbed his gun and pointed it at the man, it making a clicking sound to implie he was about to pull the trigger. The blonde lifted his hands up.
It was too late. His finger was already pulling the trigger but another hand dabbed at the gun. Causing him to miss. The gunshot rang out in the mall. Kazuha didn't get the chance to see who this newcomer was before something hard struck him from behind. He fell unconscious quickly.
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When he came to, there were soft voices. He felt unusually warm but so cozy. It made it difficult for him to wake. Where he rested was comfortable enough.
Kazuha groaned as a sharp pain suddenly attacked him, his head throbbing. The voices grew quiet for only a moment. Until someone started speaking to him.
His senses slowly coming back to him, he heard a woman's voice. "You awake?" She spoke curiously, tapping on him a bit.
Kazuha whimpered softly, having yet opened his eyes yet. Everything hurt. "I see. You were hit pretty hard. I assume you have a mild concussion. Can you speak?"
Why must she ask so many questions? He felt an unusual amount of safeness, despite her being a stranger and his location unknown to him. He squinted his eyes open. The woman had purple, sharp eyes.
Her gaze was very observing, nearly made him feel subconsciously about the way he currently looked. He sat up only to feel his head spin. Wincing, he grabbed a handful of his hair. "You should probably lay back down. Like I said, you were hit pretty hard." Her gaze swiftly glanced behind her only for a moment.
Kazuha looked around and saw there were more than just them. 3 other men and another woman and a little girl. One of them he recognized as the blonde from earlier. Now that he was looking at him, he didn't seem all that harmful. The guy next to him however..
"Xiao, stop looking at him like that. You're scaring the guy." The other woman in the room quacked, causing the dark haired man to roll his eyes but finally stop death glaring him. Kazuha felt shivers.
The woman in front of him noticed. "The extra jacket isn't helping? That's never a good sign for someone with a head injury." She reached up to feel his head and sighed. "No fever. I think you'll be okay. Let me get you some water and food."
She stood up, walking to the other side of the room before coming back with a can of peaches and a bottle of water. Kazuha was very grateful but he couldn't voice is currently. He didn't have the strength. The woman seemed to understand this as she sat with him while he ate and drank the water. Getting his energy back up.
"..thank you." Kazuha finally spoke softly. The woman smiled, "No problem. I'm Shinobu. The one who basically saved your life after getting in a fight with my two boys over there, Aether and Xiao." She chuckled.
The blonde was Aether and the dark haired one was Xiao. He didn't seem to happy. Aether did wave a bit, "Sorry for scaring you. I should've known you were on edge after that." The man's voice was surprisingly gentle.
The other woman's name was Hutao, the other man's name was Itto and the child's name was Qiqi. She was very quiet but her eyes were filled with curiosity. The other woman was probably more lively than her.
"My name is Kazuha-" He suddenly remembered that he had to find Heizou. They didn't look like they were in a mall anymore. More like a home. Panic surged within him. Just how far away was he from the mall?
"Where am I?" Kazuha asked frantically, his tone rushed. Shinobu picked up on that.
"We're in a near by neighborhood. No infected around as of recently. I believe we are safe." She reassured but that was not Kazuha's concern. He quickly stood, dizziness tried to consume him and he nearly lost his footing but he hung onto the wall.
"Whoa! You shouldn't be-" Shinobu tried to stop him but he gently pushed her away.
"No. You don't understand. My partner. We got separated. We were suppose to meet in the mall." Kazuha stated, his nerves suddenly a reck. How long has it been? How long has Heizou been stuck without him?
Shinobu stood with him, glancing over at Aether and Xiao again. "He's alone?" She inquired.
"Yes. I need to find him as soon as possible. I truly appreciate your hospitality but I must go now-" Kazuha was looking around for his things, not knowing where the group had put them while he was unconscious.
There was a silence between the group. Shinobu and Xiao obviously having a conversation with their eyes before Xiao sighed heavily. Both him and Aether stood, the child looking a little disappointed.
"We'll come with. I'm pretty sure you'll need some help with those demons." Xiaos voice was rough but quiet. What a funny thing to call them.
There were a few bid goodbyes and Hutao wishing them luck. Kazuha still felt incredibly dizzy but pushed passed it. He needed to find Heizou. He was told that he was out for nearly 2 days. Heizou is probably somewhere still at the mall, waiting for him to find eachother.
Xiao lead the way. Aether sticking close to Kazuha. It wasn't said but he knew he was making sure Kazuha didn't tip over or anything. Head injuries were no joke. He can recall the time Heizou had received one during battle with a few thieves. Those thieves escaped with nothing. Not even their lives. It took days for Heizou to recover from it.
More like it took Kazuha days to let his worry over him fuzzle out. He had been throwing up the first day but seemed fine after that. It still terrified him.
The way to the mall was longer than he thought it would be. His body reminding him of how sore he was when they finally reached it. "We're gonna have to do some climbing to get it. Going in through the front is too risky." Aether stated.
Xiao nodded. Aether then lead the way and Xiao stayed close to Kazuha. They found an entrance, a hole in the wall that had many things to climb on to get to it.
It wasn't long before they all made it safely inside. The breeze was not kind to them. "It's going to snow soon. We should hurry." Xiao announced. It was deathly silent.
The three of them walked through the halls. Only being on the second floor. The sunlight they had didn't do much in the darkened place. They avoided all the infected. Kazuha wasn't in good shape and the other two decided it would be safer to just avoid them.
It was easy enough. On the third floor, it was less crowded. That was until they heard a painful, agonizing scream. Banging on walls. It was multiple of them. Aether was about to turn the corner but Kazuha walked torward the noise.
"Hey- what are you-"
Kazuha summoned his sword.
"We have to check it out. They are obviously attracted to something. It could be Heizou." Kazuha spoke in a whisper, his eyes razor sharp with focus and determination as his body attempted to give out on him.
Xiaos face hardened, "You are being reckless. You don't know that. We could be walking into a trap."
Kazuha was unfazed as he glanced over his shoulder. "I will go alone then." And with that, Kazuha walked slowly torwards the sounds with his sword ready to strike.
Aether gave Xiao a surprised look before giving him a sheepish smile and pulling out a knife, "I kinda wanna see what he's gonna do with that sword of his." He chuckled softly. Xiao only glared at the man before sighing. The two of them caught up to Kazuha not long after.
Kazuha feeling relieved they did. He had no idea how long he would've last alone in a fight against these things. A step closer and he saw them.
At least 5 of them surrounding a closed off shop. One of them banged on the steel curtain while the others roamed around as if waiting for their prey to come out. There was nothing that indicated Heizou being here but that one infected banging on the wall. It was his only hope.
Kazuha looked and both of them had weapons, ready to take them down. He nodded subtly to them and then went in for the kill. His skills were slightly sloppy due to the state of his body but nonetheless clean. The first one he came into contact with, he sliced it's head right off. One attempted to jump at him but was quickly taken down by Xiao.
Aether was handling another. Kazuha handled the last one with ease.
A small laugh of excitement left Aethers lips. "Ah! That was so exciting to witness. Where did you learn such swordsmanship?"
"Not now." Xiao scolded. Kazuha smiled softly at him, huffing a bit but he was too tired to get into it right now. He only had one goal.
He went for the door but it was locked. There was silence on the other end.
"Let me." Xiao spoke, Kazuha stepped aside and let him do his work. Within seconds, the door was unlocked and opened slowly.
Xiao entered first, checking to see if everything was clear. No sign of infected. There was blood on the floor however. A lot of it. A trail of it lead somewhere to the back of the store. Behind the shelves.
"Stay behind me. Aether, flashlight." Xiao ordered. Kazuha made sure to shut the door behind them in case anything tried to come in. They moved slowly, following the trail. Xiao was ready to strike. He peaked behind the shelf with Aether holding up the flashlight to see what was leading the trail of blood. Kazuha couldn't see anything.
Xiaos stance suddenly slackened at the sight and Aethers eyes widened. Kazuha moved himself in front of them and there he was.
"Heizou." Kazuha breathed, hesitance and worry laced in his voice. He was shaking as he stepped torward him, Xiao and Aether weary of the unconscious man of the floor.
Heizou was unmoving. It didn't even look like he was breathing. No sign of life. He was pale, his lips blue. Kazuha fell to his knees by his side, seeing frozen tear streaks on his cheeks. It broke his heart.
Slowly, his shaky hand went to his neck. He felt around for a pulse. He prayed silently for one. It took a very long moment but he finally felt it. It was so weak he had almost missed it.
"Oh Archons. Heizou! Heizou wake up!!" Kazuha shook him gently. Aether kneeled down by his leg. It was wrapped in very blood soaked cloths. Aether unwrapped it to look at the wound. Deep marks trailed down his leg. The marks around it make his skin look unrecognizable. As if his leg wasn't his. It was obvious infected.
Aether then looked up at his face, shining the light at his pupils. "He's in a coma I think. The cold has put him to sleep but his legs wound is really bad. I wouldn't doubt that's also why he isn't responsive. We need to get him to Shinobu."
Kazuha felt tears in his own eyes, worry clenching his heart. Aether dug around in his bag and placed new clothes on the wound, wrapping it tightly. "This should help. Xiao?" Aether called out. Xiao not missing a beat.
It was all a blur from here. Aether helped get Heizou onto Xiaos back. Kazuha grabbed Heizou's bag and they made their way out of the fast.
It was difficult to get sneak around the infected now. Heizou's leg was still bleeding and they could smell him. Kazuha and Aether fought through them, making a pathway.
By the time they were out of there, the sun was beginning to set. The walk back to the house was much quicker this time but Kazuha felt incredibly weak.
The only thing keeping him conscious was the fact his partner was in someone else's arms and at the brink of death.
The moment they got into the house, Shinobu immediately lead them to the mattress that Kazuha had been laying on when he got here. It was one of the many they had. Heizou was placed on the mattress gently, still shivering and unconscious.
Shinobu paused when she saw his face but it was so brief no one really caught it. At least, no one but Kazuha. "I'm gonna need a few things." She spoke before even seeing what she was dealing with.
Aether and Hutao were on it. Xiao looked tired and walked away from everything that was going on. Qiqi followed him into the other room. Kazuha wondered how close they were.
Everything she asked for what brought to her. Kazuha wasn't paying attention much to anything but Heizou and what Shinobu was doing to him. "Is he going to be okay?"
"I'm not sure. His breathing is weak. He's severely dehydrated and starving. His leg.. I'm not confident there is much I will be able to do to save it but I will try everything I can. Alright?" She sounded frustrated but Kazuha knew she didn't mean anything by it. She was just stressed.
She removed the wraps, more like peeled them off because of the blood that immediately soaked them. Itto, who wasn't that far from them, gagged into his hand when he saw how bad it looked. Shinobu glared at him and he quickly left the room after.
Kauzha couldn't blame the guy. The wound looked horrendous. The skin was practically decaying. The smell didn't help either. There was a fire in the fire place. Heizou should start warming up soon.
Shinobu removed any clothing that had been stained with the infected blood around the wound. She mentally prepared herself for the next part which was cleaning the wound.
"Aether, Kazuha. I need you to hold him down." She spoke firmly to them. Kazuha was at her side and so was Aether but he seemed confused.
"You think he's going to wake up?" Aether asked.
"Yes. This is going to be very very painful for him considering how long this wound has been bleeding and how badly infected it is." Shinobu explained, not looking at either of them. She grabbed a rag and poured some alcohol on it. Straight from the bottle, not even the medicine kind.
It was definitely going to hurt. Kazuha placed his hands on Heizou's shoulders while Aether held down the lower part of his body. Shinobu took in a deep breath before pouring the alcohol onto the wound then quickly pressing the wet rag down on it afterwards.
It was immediate. Heizou's eyes shot open and he started to squirm. A painful yell coming from his lips. His voice too hoarse and dry for it to be louder than a regular yell. He looked panicked. Not knowing what was going on.
He opened his mouth to speak but was hit with another wave of pain as Shinobu repeated the same process that woke him from his comatose state. He arched his back slightly, face contouring.
Kazuha felt himself aching from the sounds Heizou made. The strained breaths and horrible gagged gasped of pain. Shinobu began cleaning the wound, ignoring his cries. She wasn't gentle but she was trying to be as quick as possible.
"Sst-...op!" Heizou slurred out, trying to get out from them. He didn't understand what was happening or what was going on around them. It was obvious how terrified he was.
Shinobu did the opposite. She kept going. It was difficult to stay here and hold him down while he was trying to thrash about and get away. "H-Heizou. You must calm down." Kazuha spoke softly near his ear.
The sound of his voice made his body slacken, his eyes traveled to find Kazuha's. The look in his eyes was all that he needed to know that he was safe. "Y-you-" Heizou's sentence cut off as another rush of pain hit him once more.
He winced and struggled to keep still. Now that he knew Kazuha was here, he felt much safer. Even though he still didn't know what was going on. "You're okay. I've got you." Kazuha assured him gently, leaning down to give him a peck on his cheek.
Heizou started crying again because of how overwhelmed he felt. He was probably so relieved. He didn't get a moment to breathe as he bit his lip to hold back another scream.
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Heizou woke up slowly. His whole body was engrossed in pain and he could feel the fever causing sweat to drip down his face. He hated being sick.
He was so weak. He let out a small cough that was suppose to be a breath. There were faint footsteps coming near him.
They didn't speak but he could feel their presence hovering over him. He started shivering again as he looked up to find a golden pair of iris eyes. They were so distracting from the rest of his dark appearance.
"I'm Xiao. You need to drink and eat something. Sit up." The man's voice was rough as he gently grabbed Heizou and sat him up against the wall. Heizou didn't get a say in what was happening but nor did he complain. Xiao seemed harmless enough.
A can of peaches were placed into his hands, a bottle of water placed beside him. Heizou let out a tired breath even though he barely moved, let alone move on his own. "I'm suppose to make sure you get these things. Are you too weak to feed yourself?" He asked, clearly a bit impatient with him.
Heizou's eyelids drooped, a frown on his lips as he gathered the strength to speak. "I can feed myself. Thank you." His voice was so hoarse. He reached for the can and picked it up, using his hands to get the peaches out and took a bite of one. Sweet.
Xiao seemed to relax once he saw this, sitting down near him. "I'm surprised you're awake. You are... very strong for someone so small." He commented.
"You're one to talk about being small." Heizou snickered but it lead to a small coughing fit. Nearly choking on his food. There was some shifting on the other side of him. He looked over and his heart leapt at the sight of Kazuha. Sleeping peacefully at the edge of his mattress.
He actually came for him. Kazuha was alive. That fact warmed his heart and it made him wanna cry. He had been so scared in that shop by himself. In the freezing cold with no supplies and too many chompers on the other side of the door all while wounded.
Heizou's hands shook as he thought about how close to death he was. He looked down at his leg, wrapped up and looking better than what it had been last time he was conscious enough to see it. He hadn't lost it. Which was good.
"How did you guys find me?" Heizou asked, finishing the peaches and going for the water.
"It was Kazuha. I don't really know how we stumbled across you. It was more of luck. It's been two days since we brought you here. Shinobu thought you weren't going to wake up for another few days. It started snowing outside so we had no choice but to wait." Xiao explained, rubbing his eyes. He looked tired.
"First watch is rough, isn't it?" Heizou chuckled when Xiao looked at him and nodded.
"I get insomnia most of the time so it works out for me. I usually end up staying up the whole night. It feels safer that way." Xiao looked over at the window that was boarded up. Some moonlight shining in.
"I guess we have something in common. The only difference is, it was just me and Kazuha out there." Heizou sighed, thinking about all of the nights of sleep he lost for Kazuha's safety. It was scaring knowing how easy it was to loose him.
Especially considering Heizou's condition. He would be all alone in a world that he couldn't die in. The thought kept him awake at night. Which was why he took most first shifts.
A thought popped up in his head and he turned to Xiao, "Did you say 'Shinobu'?" He inquired.
Xiao nodded and pointed to a sleeping woman on the other side of the room with green hair. Heizou let out a small laugh which made Xiao look confused.
"I can't believe she's alive. I never thought I would meet her again." Heizou smiled softly. Xiao waited for him to continue on what he meant.
"We were in the same QZ together." Heizou finally explained.
"Ah. How did you guys get separated." Xiao inquired.
Heizou didn't speak anymore. Instead his face fell slowly as he remembered what happened. What lead to him not being able to come back. How he was almost killed in the process. How he lost..
"We don't have to talk about it." Xiao then said, standing and walking torwards the window, sitting by it instead so Heizou could have some space.
"Get some rest." Xiao ordered. Heizou didn't have much room to protest. He was already feeling himself slipping back asleep. He lay back down, this time closer to Kazuha. His warmth. Oh how he missed it so much.