《Evolution of the Living》


 Chapter 1 - Waking up

    I felt myself sink into the darkness. Despite my strength, I couldn''t save them, my family, my lovers, my friends, they all died because of my indecisive behavior at the start of the apocalypse.


    My name is Akira Kurosawa, I was called [Humanity''s Strongest Weapon] and I was a special type of Human called an Evolver. We could run faster, hit harder and do so for longer than any other Human, but we weren''t unrivaled.


    On Valentines Day, 2019, a Meteorite came from the sky and hit the Pacific Ocean. The resulting impact didn''t cause much damage, even to coastal cities, and the world carried on with their business with the exception of the Governments around the world investigating it.


    Unluckily for them, before they could find it, the first infected appeared. From what I remembered the Meteorite was holding a highly adaptable virus which when it came in contact with water became a water-borne virus which spread to the main continents and lay dormant in anyone who came into contact with it.


    Finally, the virus spread to the air and infected the rest of the people around the world. After a few months after the meteorite hit the Ocean, every one of Earth passed out while the Virus changed their bodies.


    70% of the world became what everyone else would never expect to exist; Zombies. Or as people started to call them, The Infected.


    While the other 30% of us gained the ability to Evolve through surviving harsh conditions. There were other ways but most didn''t have access to them...Anyway, right now I seem to be dead and drifting to the afterlife.


    Honestly, I''m kind of glad, the pressure of being one of the last people alive in a country full of infected was really starting to grind me down despite my strength. Well, you know what they say, one man can only do so much.


    But as I felt myself sinking deeper into the dark abyss, I felt something shaking me.


    The shaking continued and it was becoming quite violent. In all honesty, it was starting to piss me off. But that was when I heard it--


    "...ki..." a soft voice, so soft I could barely hear it was whispering in my ear, "...A...ki...." it was slowly getting louder and I could hear that it had a definite feminine sound to it. For a minute I thought I was in Heaven and an Angel was calling me but for the last time I heard the voice and was greeted by a sight I hadn''t thought I''d see ever again.


    "Aki!" my eyes shot open and I looked in front of me to see two people. The one to the left was a normal looking teen with black hair and eyes, he had an average build but I could see the toned muscle under his loose shirt showing that he regularly exercised. His face could be seen as above average in looks but his indifferentexpression was slightly intimidating to those who didn''t know him.


    But I knew him.


    Looking at him, I couldn''t believe my eyes and words failed to form in my mouth.


    ''This couldn''t be...right? Hiro...? But he died shortly after the attack...--!'' in my confusion I clutched my head with my arms, not knowing whether this was a dream or whether it was some kind of sick game God was playing on me - reincarnating me into the Hell I had just left.


    Before I could sink further into my confusion-filled frustration, a pair of lithe but strong hands grasped the blazer I was wearing and shook me back and forth, "Aki! Answer me! DO! YOU! WANT! TO! EAT! WITH! US!?" I looked up, my heart in my mouth and threatening to burst it''s way out.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    I saw a girl with beautiful blue eyes, glaring down at me with a playful smile on her face. Her short brown hair was left loosely hanging from her head and it reached her chin. Her skin was a lovely tan brown and looked incredibly soft, unlike mine--


    I looked down and saw my hands. They looked so unbelievably soft compared to what I was used to seeing on my hands, it was like my past 10 years hadn''t happened and I had--


    "Been transported back in time??" I couldn''t help but blurt out, feeling like my eyes would fall from their sockets from the disbelief I felt. I started to think about what was happening while ignoring the confused and worried gazes from the two people in front of me.


    The boy in front of me, Hiro, leaned over me with his hand on his chin and a serious expression on his face, "Rui, I think Akira''s brain''s been ruined by how much chocolate he eats...I think we should take him to the hospital..." he smirked, showing his playful attitude that he only showed around his friends.


    "What?!" Rui, the tan girl, didn''t seem to understand his sarcasm and instead looked worriedly at me before moving my red hair out of the way and placing her hand on my forehead, "...But he seems fine, Hiro..."


    Hiro simply put his head in his hands and sighed before rapping me on the head with his knuckles, "Oi, Akira, you coming to eat with us or not? Rui got some pocket money from her parents because she won that Track Competition...plus, she wants you to reward her~" seconds later, Rui slapped the back of his head, "Ouch! Watch out using that Gorilla strength on me, Gorilla Girl!" Hiro glared at her, looking down on her with the sort of glare you see delinquents pull off in anime.


    Rui, hearing his comments, blew up, "You plain-looking bean pole, come here and let me slap some sense into you!" Rui proceeded to chase him around the empty classroom, all while I was thinking more about what had happened to me.


    ''If - and I really do mean IF - I''ve been sent back to the start, this is a few days after Rui won her Track Competition as Hiro said, which means it''s 5 months until the world passes out and the Infected rise up...'' I felt sweat on my back. Not from fear, but from my determination and excitement at having a second chance at the apocalypse, ''I could get it right this time! I could save Hiro and Rui, my family, all of them!''


    Suddenly I stood up from my seat which caught Rui and Hiro''s attention. I smiled at the two of them, feeling so happy that this wasn''t a dream and even if it was, I don''t think I''d be very bother...it was a lovely dream after all.


    "Let''s go and eat then, Rui, Hiro...But you''re buying Rui!" I rush over to the two of them and sling my arms around their shoulders, pulling them into me.


    Both of them looked up at me weirdly. Hiro raised his eyebrow at me, "What''s with the sudden intimacy, Akira? You''d usually act all embarrassed about stuff like this and be much more reserved..." his suspicion was a valid one as I remembered how I was when I was younger; Shy, Timid and Indecisive.


    Bad memories came up remembering my past self, but I shook my head and replied to Hiro, "What do you mean, Hiro? Can''t I be happy to spend some time with my two precious childhood friends? Plus, school''s finished for the next two weeks, so I''m pretty happy about that~" Hiro accepted my answer and laughed along with me.


    While Rui seemed fidgety about my close contact with her, plus her pretty face was lit up with a red blush when I said she was precious to me, even if it was only as a friend.


    The three of us were on our way out of the school but before we left, I saw a bathroom and quickly excused myself - I had to see something.


    I entered the bathroom in a half-jog and quickly rushed to one of the mirrors. What greeted me was a face that was both unfamiliar and familiar to similar degrees.


    Blood red hair and emerald green eyes which seemed to shine, pale skin without the blemishes and prominent scars I had after ten years of fighting. My tall figure was still the same at 6''3" but it was lacking all the muscle I''d built up over the years and quite frankly, it looked incredibly weak. Like when you look at an especially long stick that was thin, my body looked quite brittle.


    But I shook my head at that negative thought. I had time to build the body back up with the experience I had from my ten years of physical training anyway, so if it looks weak now it doesn''t really matter because what really matters is how it looks 5 months from now when the apocalypse starts.


    I turned around and quickly used one of the cubicles for my business before washing my hands and rushing back outside to my childhood friends who were impatiently waiting for me.

 Chapter 2 - Preparation

    The rest of the day proceeded just how it did in the past. Hiro, Rui and I went out to our favorite fast food restaurant, ate food, messed around like normal 17-year-olds and finally went home.


    That''s when the day changed from how it was in the past for me. I got home, saw that neither my sister nor my mom was home so I went to my room and got into suitable clothing before starting to work out.


    I had 5 months and I was planning on turning my lanky body into a more suitable one, ready for combat and the process of evolving.


    I started off with light exercise - in my own opinion, at least - with 100 push-ups, sit-ups, squats and pull-ups. When I finished those and was fully covered in sweat from the lack of stamina this body had, I picked up some shoes and walked to the door.


    But before I could reach the door, it opened to reveal my mother and sister. My mother was a foreigner and also where I got my red hair and green eyes from, she also had a tall figure and she was about 5''11" with a very toned body from the years of military service she''d done in her youth.


    My little sister, however, didn''t really look like either me nor my mother, she followed more after my later father. She had his black hair and brown eyes but she was definitely my mother''s daughter as she had a definite mix of Asian and European features on her face. Sadly she took more after her Asian side as she was quite a bit shorter than both me and my mom at around 5''4".


    I remember how I always used to tease her about it, about how she was so much shorter despite only being a year younger than me. I was pulled from my memories when my mothers smooth but firm voice entered my ears, "What are you doing Akira?" she seemed confused as she could tell I''d been working out - she had a functioning nose after all and I wasn''t smelling too pleasant.


    "Ah, mom, I''m about to go for a run. Don''t mind me, I''ll be back in a while," I hurriedly wanted to leave as I felt like my chest was going to burst. My mother died protecting the useless me back in the apocalypse, the amount of emotion I was feeling now shouldn''t be underestimated.


    But I knew I couldn''t make a scene otherwise she''d think I''d gone mental.


    As I walked past them, I caught my little sister smirking, "What are you smirking at, midget?" her smirk instantly turned into a scowl and she started raining down on me with all her weak fury.


    "I''m still growing, you idiot!" her small fists continued to rain down on me and I continued to laugh. I felt more guilt about my sister''s death than I was willing to admit...I''d definitely protect her this time. My sister, on the other hand, mistook my happiness-filled laugh for me taunting her, "I was smirking because I was thinking you''d finally got your mind in gear because you heard that Rui-neechan likes muscular boys...~" my little sister giggled and my mother soon joined him.


    Feeling this atmosphere, I felt strangely at peace compared to my earlier chest-bursting emotion. Like something inside of me had been banished.


    ''Ah...it''s the guilt, isn''t it...? Because they''re alive in this world, I don''t feel guilty for their deaths but happiness for their lives, right?'' I shook my head with a smile on my face. Out of the blue, I pat my little sister''s head which caused her to freeze in surprise, her big brown eyes looking up at me suspiciously.


    I smiled down at her, "It''s good that you''re okay, Mika..." and with that, I turned around and walked out of the house, quickly putting on my shoes and starting my run. I didn''t know that I''d left behind two very confused women in the house.


    . . .


    I was panting heavily when I returned from my run and quite frankly, I felt like shit. I wanted nothing more than to collapse half-way through that run but I pushed forward. I might have pushed myself a bit too far as I threw up a part of my lunch, but I had to up the intensity to get the results I needed.


    Most people''s bodies - if they are untrained - would break under the pressure I''d just put my body through, but I had a secret weapon; A Breathing Technique!


    Well, less of A Breathing Technique and more like The Breathing Technique as it was the only one anyone used in the apocalypse. Right now it was pretty useless as the virus in my body hadn''t been activated but it could serve as something that could help hold my body together through this torturous workout and also help speed up my recovery while increasing the returns from the exercise.


    I trudged through the house and walked into the kitchen. It was pretty late at night, so my mom and sister were in bed, so I tried to be as quiet as possible as I walked to the fridge to replenish my lost food from the running-induced vomiting.


    I ate all the leftovers in the fridge and started making my way up the stairs with unnatural quietness - another perk of being in an apocalypse full of sound-sensitive zombies is that you learn how to be quiet.


    Before I knew it I was back in my room and I quickly sat down on my bed and crossed my legs, closed my eyes and slowly slipped into the familiar breathing pattern that had helped me survive longer than I should have.


    The goal of the breathing technique was to activate the parts of the virus in the body and bring out their potential for mutation and in the process change the body and push the quality of the body up giving a normal Human Superpowers.


    There were many different types of what we called Evolvers. Each type had a specific strength which allowed them to fight off the undead horde and there were even tiers of different Evolvers. There were 3 tiers, with the first tier belonging to the weakest Evolvers and the third tier belonging to the strongest Evolvers.Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!


    For example, I was a 3rd Tier Power-Type Evolver, it''s pretty much the upgrade on a Strength-Type Evolver - which is a 2nd Tier Evolver Type - with higher strength and durability and an add-on ability called [Muscle Strengthening].


    It was the reason I was called [Humanity''s Strongest Weapon], I could punch most, if not all, infected into the ground and kill them instantly when I was in the 3rd Level of Evolution. But it still wasn''t enough.


    ''If only I could merge with a piece of the meteorite...'' thinking this, I felt myself feel down once again but soon shook my head, ''Stop. I will get a piece of the meteorite this time and continue my evolution while also helping those around me to the peak as well...This time Humans will prevail!'' resolving myself, I let the breathing pattern heal what it could before I stopped and slowly slipped into the comforting embrace of sleep.


    . . .


    I pushed my arms up, pushing the bar away from my body with ease. I was currently at the local Gym for the area I lived in. It had been 5 months since I woke up back in time and the big day was slowly approaching.


    I set the bar into it''s resting position and sat up only to hear two voices I was beginning to dread, "Aniki!" "Brother!" I looked over at the two enthusiastic voices. On one side there was a tall, burly man with a bald head. He stood taller than me at around 6''5" and unlike me, he had massive muscles which looked like they belonged on a bear, not a human.


    To his side was a tall woman with blonde hair. She had pale skin and amber eyes, and she was currently wearing some tight fitting gym wear which showed off her muscular body. She wasn''t overly muscular like the man next to her but she had lean muscle which made her look like some kind of runner or swimmer.


    Looking at the two of them, I sighed, "Didn''t I tell you two to stop calling me ''Aniki'' or ''Brother''?...*sigh*...Whatever, are you two doing anything this weekend? If not, you wanna get something to eat?" I looked at the two of them and saw the stars in their eyes.


    Both of them nodded very eagerly and I could only sigh once again, ''I really wish I didn''t come to check my limits during the day...'' thinking of it, I felt myself slip back into the memory of that time.


    2 months ago~


    I had been training for 3 months straight and I had seen some abnormal results. Well, for a normal human anyway.


    I looked at my body in the mirror and saw it completely full of compact and lean muscle. Not even an iota of fat was present on my body and I looked like some kind of Greek God. Put together with my red hair, green eyes, and a handsome and sharp face, I was now a certified lady killer.


    ''Rui can''t even look me in the eyes anymore,'' thinking about this I couldn''t help but chuckle. The chuckle didn''t last for long as I felt the dull ache in my chest again, "*sigh* I can''t help but feel that this is the dormant virus in my body, collecting in preparation for a pattern...but that couldn''t be happening, right?" I shook my head in disbelief.


    Little did I know that I''d been ingesting the virus through my water supply and because of my use of the breathing technique I''d been stockpiling the virus. It hadn''t done anything like give me superhuman strength yet, but its uses would soon be revealed to me...


    Meanwhile, unknowingly being a virus carrier, I had put on some clothes and started my walk to the local gym. I was going to test out my strength after pushing my limits for the last 3 months while using the breathing technique.


    I arrived at the gym and got a few stares but as they were used to tall muscular dudes, the stares soon left me. I already had a membership at this gym, I''d signed up online, so all I did was show my membership pass to the reception to the side of me and walk into the room.


    I walked up to the first piece of equipment I''d be using - the bench press. I started stacking weights onto both sides but stopped halfway as I felt two pairs of eyes staring at me still.


    One pair was over by the treadmill, while the other was next to me on one of the other benches.


    I looked over at the one nearer to me and saw the giant man looking at the amount of weight I was putting on the bar with wide eyes. I looked at the weight and saw that it should be around 195kg. In my past life in the apocalypse, this wouldn''t mean much and even in the world now this wasn''t anywhere near the record but it was still a lot of weight.


    I was now around 95kg, so this would be like bench pressing 2 of me. Also, take in mind that most people can''t even bench press over 60kg.


    Anyway, I ignored his staring and got in position under the bar. I lifted it up and let it drop down to my chest and pushed up with only one thought in my mind ''Easy''. Seeing as it was too light for me, I put it back onto the bar holder and got up to add more weight to it.


    Knowing how light it was for me, I had a rough idea on how much to put on to make it decently heavy for me.


    The man watched as I continued to pack on the weights, his eyes going from curiosity to shock. By this point, I''d reached around 250kg.


    I got under the bar again and felt a definite strain this time, but it wasn''t my limit. By this point, the person over by the treadmill had come over to look at me, even going to the point where she was talking to the big man next to me.


    I knew my limit would be in the 300kg area and I knew how much shock that would cause, so I stopped my limit testing for this specific thing before I got up and went to other pieces of equipment and machines to test my limits further. Of course, my ''entourage'' followed me to each machine.


    In the end, I found that my limits lay at the upper reaches of a human in most, if not all, categories. Not quite peak human but definitely better than most people.


    It was when I''d finished all of this that I heard the two next to me speak, "Aniki, how did you get so strong? It''s the first time I''ve seen someone as lean as you lift so much!" "Brother, how do you run so fast? And for so long as well..." both of them continued to bombard me with questions.


    I didn''t see any harm in answering them. But little did I know that they would continue to bug me for the coming months.


    Present time~


    I was walking home while typing out a message to my two childhood friends Rui and Hiro. I pretty much asked them the same thing I asked Kentaro (big bald dude) and Yumiko (toned blonde college student) - I asked them if they were free on the weekend and wanted to go camping with me and my family.


    They both replied with yes and all I had to do now was ask my mom and sister if they wanted to go out on the weekend to a secluded camping spot I''d scouted out. It should go down well because my mom has a few days off work and my little sister despite her stubbornness to my ideas usually takes any chance she can get to go out of the house.


    I''ve stored the weapons around the camping spot and I only have to retrieve them before I pass out. I''ll take the food I''ve brought with us when we drive there.


    I knew bringing Kentaro and Yumiko was a big risk as I didn''t know whether they''d stay as Humans or if they''d become infected but I could deal with them if they became infected, I had that amount of strength at least. Especially after my intense training these past 5 months.


    I will survive along with those around me. No one can stop me from doing this, not this time at least.

 Chapter 3 - Night Before The Fateful Day

    I was sitting around a campfire, feeling multiple stares directed at me.


    I looked to my left and saw Hiro and Rui staring back and forth between me and Kentaro and Yumiko, while my mother and sister were doing the same thing. I guess I have to give it to them that it''s pretty weird of me to bring two people they didn''t know to a camping trip but it''s not like it''ll matter for long.


    Tomorrow morning we''ll all pass out and after we wake the world will be so different they''ll probably forget about this awkward situation.


    Kentaro and Yumiko seemed oblivious to the situation, however, as Kentaro kept trying to get me to drink with him, while Yumiko continued to playfully flirt with me - to the annoyance of my mother, sister, and Rui.


    "Aniki, come, let''s drink underneath the stars!" Kentaro put his arm around my shoulder, pulling me out of my pondering. I looked over at him, smiling at his slightly drunken behavior. Seeing no harm in it, I went to take a beer off him but before I could do so, two voice practically forced me to stop.


    "Akira!" "Akira, don''t you dare!" I looked over at my mom and Rui who were both standing with their hands on their hips, glaring at me. I still took the beer anyway. "AKIRA!" my mom stormed over and wanted to take it from me but I pacified her extremely quickly.


    "Calm down, mom, it''s a single beer. We''re out camping for the weekend, so let''s enjoy ourselves, okay?" I looked at her before holding the beer up, "Here, mom, let''s have a drink together, alright?" I smiled at her, genuinely wanting to have a drink with my mother before all the shit hit the fan.


    She looked at me and my happy smile before snatching the beer and a ''Hmph'' came from her mouth and she stormed back over to her seat. She sat down, opened the beer and took a massive swig of it.


    Kentaro laughed along with Yumiko and did the same thing, which earned the two of them a glare from my mother. But luckily from that point on, the ice had been broken between everyone and we all started drinking. Well, other than Mika who everyone soon took to teasing.


    Yumiko and my mom were talking by the side while I and Kentaro were laying back while looking at the stars. Shortly after Hiro came over and Kentaro welcomed him with open arms - quite literally, as he bear-hugged the poor guy.


    Rui and my sister were chatting between one another and because I was getting drunk with my self-proclaimed brother, Kentaro and my childhood friend, Hiro, I didn''t see them both occasionally looking over at me before going back to chatting.


    It all carried on until my mother let out a snort before laughing hysterically, causing all of us to look over at her and an incredibly red Yumiko.


    My mom was slightly bent over, slapping her knee and seemingly choking for air. I smiled looking at her doing this and wondered what had happened. I looked over at Yumiko, "Yumiko, what happened? Do you plan to kill my mother through laughter or something? Hahahaha!" Kentaro, Hiro and I, in our slightly drunken states started laughing at my small joke but when after a while Yumiko didn''t answer, I looked up at her.


    To my surprise, she seemed to be even more red, just a few shades away from looking like she was covered in blood. She wouldn''t meet eyes with me, which caused me to smirk slightly and because of my drunken state, I felt like teasing her would be a fun idea.


    "Hm? Were you talking about me perhaps?" her blush spread down her neck at this point and she quickly wanted to pass it off as drunkenness, so she downed her newly opened can of beer which set my mom off on another laughter spree which both Kentaro and I followed her on.


    "S-shut up, Akira!" Yumiko cutely stuck her tongue out at me before opening another beer to distract herself. I didn''t see Rui glaring at the two of us, otherwise, I''d have probably laughed even harder.


    The group was slowly coming together even further as we drank more. We didn''t go over the top, I made sure of that as I knew what we had to deal with tomorrow, but we had fun.


    This was both vital because of the fact we were probably going to be a group in the oncoming apocalypse and we needed the ice to be broken thoroughly and also because this was the last time we were gonna be able to cut loose for a while.


    I looked over at Kentaro who was speaking to Hiro about food and felt I was right about my suspicion - I knew who he''d become in the future. Or more specifically, I''d see who he''d become.


    And looking over at Yumiko I knew who she was as well. Looking at the two of them, I was shocked that I had the luck to run into some pretty high-grade evolvers before the apocalypse even happened.


    His original plan was to build a group of him, his family and his two childhood friends and see if he could make an elite-group. There was a chance Rui and Hiro wouldn''t have good evolver types but he wouldn''t abandon his friends because of that.


    But now that he had Kentaro and Yumiko who were above average evolvers, leaders of their own gangs in his past, he already knew he could make a first-rate gang and even push them further than their previous strengths were.


    It was a risk as he didn''t fully understand their personalities but he''d known them for 3 months and he''d spoken to them nearly every day, even having gone out with them on occasion. So, overall he knew that despite his intimidating appearance, Kentaro was a friendly giant and despite her gyaru appearance, Yumiko was a surprisingly pure and sincere woman. I knew they weren''t hiding any darker sides as after spending years upon years around deceitful humans in the apocalypse, I developed a pretty uncanny sense for people like that.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    Plus, looking at Kentaro''s sincere face as he discussed his profession with Hiro (he was a chef), and Yumiko''s red face from the earlier embarrassment, I knew that they weren''t twisted people. Twisted people simply don''t act like this, I would know, I''ve killed more than a few.


    Anyway, the night went on with Kentaro cooking some stuff over a fire for us and us having some lovely food to go with our beer. It was nice, really. I hadn''t had such a good time for as long as I could remember.


    I guess it was only fitting to have an amazing night before one of the worst days for humanity.


    As everyone was falling asleep, I excused myself with a half-lie before getting up and walking to the edge of the camp. I searched around for a while, kicking leaves and dirt out of the way before I finally found a long and wide locker that had been put on its side.


    I opened it up and found multiple weapons I''d brought over the months. I couldn''t get anything that was intended to be a weapon because of my age but I was well-aware on how most things could be used as weapons against the undead horde.


    I saw baseball bats, fire axes, crowbars, big wrenches, etc. Everything you could use to bash a Zombies head in.


    *Crunch..*


    I quickly spun around after I heard a crunching sound. I got into a stance and slowly stepped forward to the source of the sound. But when I found it, I let out a sigh of relief. "Rui...What are you doing over here? I thought you were a wild animal..." I let out a nervous laugh, ''I actually thought she was a Zombie...she''s lucky I didn''t take her head off...'' thinking this, I couldn''t help but sweat anxiously.


    Rui was holding a can of beer and from the look of her red face, it wasn''t her first either.


    "Akiiii~" her slurred words came out with laughter as she tripped over to me, "What you doin'' over here, Akiii~? You having a pee~?" I couldn''t hold my laughter as she truly was too cute when she was trying to flirt.


    She seemed annoyed at my laughter and she threw her can of beer at me, "Woah!" luckily the can was pretty much empty and my reflexes were quick, so I caught it mid-air, "Calm down, Rui!" I felt a bit annoyed at her behavior, I only laughed, what''s bad about that?


    At my reprimanding tone, she only pouted. I looked at her before secretly kicking the leaves back over the locker along with the dirt for some more cover. I couldn''t have any of them find the stuff yet if they did they''d probably think I''m a psycho.


    After hiding the locker somewhat, I walked over to Rui who was pouting still but he eyes had gone a little red and I could see tears in the corner of her eyes. I looked worriedly down at her but I paid it no mind, for the most part, she''s a teenager and her hormones were probably raging. Plus the beer and she''s probably a bit emotional by default.


    "Ehhhh!" she let out a cute yelp as I swooped her up in a princess style carry. She was pretty drunk, so I decided to carry her back. There were a lot of tree roots sticking out of the ground, so I didn''t want to risk an injury before the fateful day.


    Rui didn''t resist but she kept murmuring some stuff about me being a dummy and an idiot, not that I minded much as for the most part she was right. But those mutterings soon stopped when she nuzzled her head against my chest and fell asleep.


    I quietly walked back into the camp but I saw my mother waiting there with a beer in hand. When she saw me carrying Rui, she smirked, "It seems my boy is becoming quite the lady-killer. First, it''s Rui-chan and then I found out about Yumi-chan, don''t you think you''re mother will get jealous?" her light green eyes had a weird light in them as she smiled at me, her full lips spreading in a playful smile.


    Seeing her flustered face, I could see that she was drunk, just like Rui. I just ignored her before saying, "You should get some sleep, mom, it''s gotten pretty late..." I didn''t look back and walked over to Rui''s tent the had been set up ages ago.


    I slipped it open and moved her into her sleeping bag, I zipped it up and gave her a pat on the head which she seemed to unconsciously enjoy.


    When I exited the tent, I saw my mother still there, taking small sips from her beer with a sad expression on her face. Seeing the expression made my heart ache weirdly, so I decided to go see what was up with her.


    "Mom? You okay?" my voice surprised her and I could see her try to hide her sadness behind a forced smile.


    "Oh, Akira, there''s nothing wrong, I just think I''m a bit tired haha~" she forced out a small laugh but I knew it was fake and I could feel the sadness behind it. This wasn''t the first time this had happened, so I knew what she was thinking about - my late father.


    I sat down next to her and put my arms around her subtly shaking shoulder. Not in a weird way or anything, but a supportive way, to show I was there for her.


    Feeling my arm around her, her shoulders started shaking much more visibly and I pulled her into my side. She took this as I intended and leaned on my shoulder, using me as emotional support. She wrapped her own arms around me and relaxed into me.


    She then went on to speak about how she wished dad was here and I couldn''t help but agree with her. My dad was a great guy and I knew he''d have loved this night but obviously, I wasn''t as emotional as my mother as she was already sniffling while drinking her beer.


    "Calm down, mom, I''m sure dad wishes he was here as well...but he''d also wish you were happy, you know? Not crying over him," I rubbed her back as I said this and it seemed to placate her heavily.


    "He''d want me to be happy...?" her voice sounded slightly disbelieving but she seemed to have had some energy injected right into her as she perked up instantly, "Hm...I guess he would wouldn''t he?" she looked up at me with a bright smile.


    I let out a sigh of relief at the return of her good mood, I slowly nodded at her before standing up, "Well, if you''re better now, mom, I''m pretty tired so I''m gonna get some sleep now, okay?" I looked down at her before yawning for added effect.


    She nodded her head before getting up herself, "I think I''m gonna do the same, Akira...and thanks for caring for your old mother when you have two beautiful women around you~" she winked at me as she covered her giggles with her hand.


    I rolled my eyes before thinking I needed to fire something back. I smirked as I looked at her, "What do you mean old, mom? You''re still young and beautiful, it''s a son''s pride to look after their wonderful mother''s right?" I winked back at her before walking off leaving her a little stunned.


    What I didn''t see, however, was the slightly hungry look in her drunken eyes. If I had, I would''ve probably felt pretty scared.


    Nonetheless, I went to my tent and started meditating with the technique as it was pretty much instinct by now. I knew I needed to be prepared for tomorrow so after I meditated, I went straight to sleep as I tried to ignore Kentaro''s snoring.