Welcome back to another one of my bullshit ideas. This chapter's Silica/Keiko Ayano centered, but it should shift to general third person if I ever get around to posting another chapter.
While Keiko Ayano hadn't really messed up, it wasn't really hard to tell that she was totally and utterly screwed. Now, the problem wasn't really her actions, it was probably better attributed to her lack of action.
Under no circumstances was Keiko going to call herself a coward, no, perhaps it was just that she needed some time to gather herself from leaving her group, the one group she had been able to find since she lost her family close to when this whole apocalypse scenario started. Maybe she just prefered reading books while stowed away at her family's home, the one place she knew how to get to. Either way, being surrounded by intelligent creatures wishing to feast upon your flesh was not a good situation.
It all started nine months ago, when the first traces of alien activity on Earth were discovered in the form of a massive undersea spaceship located in a hidden corner of the Southern ocean, forming headlines and causing near 24/7 news coverage as scientists desperately tried to figure out just what had caused it to land there and what was inside. Given that it was a Chinese diving team that found it, the ship fell under jurisdiction of the Chinese government, no matter how much the United States and the rest of the UN opposed it. So, while Chinese scientists examined the ship in the Fujian province, the rest of the world could only watch as they figured out just how the ship worked.
It had been seven months ago when engineers finally broke through, opening a panel on the side of the ship that granted entrance to the inside. A team of ten researchers wearing kevlar infused biohazard suits and lights strapped to their heads entered the ship, livestreaming the full thing to other nations as they attempted to unravel the mystery behind the alien craft.
Perhaps the first sign something was wrong was when the lights on the head of the crew stopped working, leaving the ten in darkness as the audio files cut out, leaving the observers to wonder what happened as the camera feeds cut out.
Their curiosity was replaced with fear as soon after, something inhuman emerged from the ship, followed by smaller versions of it that ran outside and started destroying the surroundings and killing the workers nearby in ways that would give a horror movie antagonist nightmares for months to come.
After they took the site, the aliens gradually moved outwards, multiplying with each person that they killed, expanding to take China within the first week and most of Asia within the month. Nobody knew how it happened, but the aliens spread to the Americas soon after, destroying the surroundings and killing the people living there. So far, the only safe place seemed to be Australia and New Zealand, not counting all the lonely islands isolated within the various oceans. The policy the two main surviving countries had taken began days after the first aliens were spotted, forbidding entrance to the area as well as exits. They had effectively isolated themselves from the rest of the world, leaving them as the sole untouched inhabited continent left.
Japan had remained isolated too, if only for a short period of time. Given that it was an island nation, they had a bit of time to prepare for the inevitable invasion, and most of it was spent backing the research of one man: Kayaba Akihiko, creator of the newest version of the nuclear bomb. What Japan had done was strategically detonate bombs in the waters around the island in order to prevent the aliens from entering, but it failed when they were unable to reproduce more of the bombs, allowing seemingly endless waves of aliens to enter after brute forcing themselves for long enough.
Now, these bombs didn't have little effect on the island. While the fallout wasn't easy to detect, it was still there, and so it was still affecting the people on the island. Those caught in it for long periods of time gained what were known as 'gifts', traits that separated them from other humans. In most cases, these gifts were cancers, ruining the body and making it harder to survive. However, in some cases, these gifts gave blessings to those affected, helping them survive. Now, seven months after the invasion of Japan had occurred, it seemed that the survivors only had gifts considered blessings.
Keiko was no different, her blessing allowed her to hear what animals were thinking, and to a certain extent, humans. It had been this which allowed her to stay sane, talking to animals and understanding what they were saying back, the only way she could communicate with others for the past month. The only other gifted person she had met was someone who went by the name of Rosalia, hiding her name for reasons Keiko couldn't understand. She had been able to secrete pheromones from her skin that attracted people, mostly men, towards her and made them more likely to do what she said. However, it was this very gift that stopped her life, for she had used too much and attracted some unfavorable people as well as some aliens. Keiko was the only survivor of the encounter that day, 38 days ago.
"Pina, we're going to get out of this, right?" Keiko nervously asked her cat while sitting in the attic of her house, observing the dozens, no, hundreds of monsters that had gathered around her house.
"Meow," Pina responded, which Keiko knew translated to we will, or we die together, something that didn't reassure her in the slightest. At the very least, none of the aliens, poised on their four legs with gray skin and red veins flowing on the outside of their skin, had actually moved to enter the house, giving the girl some relief.
That relief turned to despair minutes later, when a much bigger version of the nearly identical creatures that stopped her from leaving her house appeared, moving through the crowd as the smaller versions parted, allowing it to go where it needed to go. Keiko observed from the window as the beast sniffed the air, then looked around, slowly moving its head until it stopped, and Keiko felt her heart freeze as the two, human and alien, locked eyes. Then, as if realizing what it had seen, the beast smirked, before unleashing an otherworldly howl, causing Keiko to stuff her hands in front of her ears in order to alleviate the pain. As the large beast howled, the smaller ones joined in, matching the cries with their own, before jumping forward, entering the house by breaking down the windows and climbing up the walls in order to find the human trapped inside.
Frozen with fear, Keiko could do nothing but watch as the large beast cleared the height from the ground to the attic with a single jump, landing right outside the window she observed her attackers through. The beast slowly stepped forward, raising one hand to swipe through the window as Keiko slowly backed away. The beast followed, keeping pace with her as she continued backing up, eyes locked with the monsters' as she retreated, space slowly dwindling between them.
"Pl- please stop," she begged, hands raised in a feeble attempt to defend herself as the beast continued forward. Her back hit the wall and she knew she was done, there was nowhere to run. Finally able to tear her gaze away from malevolent malachite, Keiko looked from side to side, hoping to find some way to escape. However, luck was not on her side, as the only exit to the attic was behind the monster. "Someone help!"
Raising a paw, Keiko got a good view of the underside of a foot, black claws sharpened to a perfect degree, designed to easily cut through skin and bone. The sight of it made Keiko gulp, murder weapons glinting in the dim light of the attic. Beginning their arc downwards, the beast smiled with the kill it would take, mouth wide to celebrate its victory.
For Keiko, time had slowed down, allowing her to see the motion of the claws as they continued, a second elongating to a minute as the paw was lowered, gradually slowing, then stopped, and fell limp to the ground. A small questioning sound escaped her mouth before the rest of the beast fell to the ground and she registered the sound of a blade hitting meat, much like the kitchen when her mother was cooking.
Letting her hands fall down, Keiko noted the figure in black, standing behind the limp form of the beast. Each hand held a bloodied sword, dripping black instead of the red she was used to. The light from the window illuminated his silhouette, leaving her unable to see much, but it still painted the picture of a ninja in her mind, clad in black and forever silent.
"Let's go," he barked, his voice much lighter and younger than she expected. Turning to the window and beckoning her to follow, the ninja jumped out and waited for her on the roof. Keiko stepped out, the light allowing her to get a good view of him for the first time as he looked for an escape route in their perilous situation.
A black hood masked his hair, though small bits of black strands peeked out from under it so she supposed his hair color was black. A similarly colored mask blocked everything out from under his eyes, leaving her staring at midnight orbs that never focused on one spot too hood connected to the rest of the hoodie, tapering off on the arms at some black fingerless gloves, allowing Keiko to see the pale white skin tone the man held. Combat pants held weapons like daggers and handguns, sleek silver contrasting the deep black tone the pants held. Finally, navy blue sneakers finished the outfit, clearly worn down with time given how the ends frayed.
"…cycle and get to a safe zone. Got all that?" Keiko heard the man saying, and realized that she had spaced out as he was explaining their exit plan. Scared slightly, fearing his reaction, she turned her vision down and shook her head in the negative, hoping not to annoy her so much.
"No, sorry," she informed him, not giving any reason as to why, and an audible sign was heard. A shriek from behind them caused Keiko to jerk her head to the window leading to the attic, where she noticed that a few of the smaller monsters had made their way upwards, peeking out at them though not approaching.
"Shit," the man cursed as he ran inside, grabbing a vial out of one of his combat pants, putting it next to where the cut existed on the larger monster, black blood dripping into the container. Raising his sword, the man cut off one of the paws, clipping it to the side of his pants leg using Velcro attachments at two parts. Running back out as soon as he grabbed and corked the vial, the other two beasts roared, and Keiko could hear the monsters downstairs roar in return as they got closer.
Grabbing her hand, the man simultaneously put the vial in a pocket while bringing Keiko's hands around his neck slightly above his shoulders. Keiko realized what he was doing just in time and wrapped her arms around the specified spot, legs locking around his waist as he jumped from her rooftop to the next. Keiko buried her head in the back of his neck, closing her eyes as he ran, trusting him to get her to safety despite only just meeting him.
Idly noting that the cries of the monsters were getting farther behind them, Keiko allowed herself a moment of relaxation even if she had done none of the work. It was scary, alright? Don't judge.
"What's your name?" the man asked once they were a sufficient distance away, slowing his running to walking speeds. Jumping to a shed and then to the ground, he walked in front of the random house they landed in, where a sleek black motorcycle rested in the driveway. Jumping on and fastening one of the helmets, Keiko decided now was the time to respond.
"Keiko Ayano," she said, still standing off to the side. "Thank you for saving me."
"We're not safe yet, Miss Ayano," the man told her. "My name's Kazuto Kirigaya, and we've still got a ways to go, so hop on." Keiko didn't know why she was excited, but she eagerly mounted the bike, sitting behind the newly identified Kazuto with her hands around his chest. Starting to drive, Keiko couldn't stifle the little yelp of surprise at how fast they accelerated, lowering her head into his back as they drove.
"So, what's your gift?" he asked, the roar of the wind deafening his voice slightly, though Keiko still got the question.
"I can talk to animals," the girl responded, burying her head back into his back. "What about you?"
"Better reaction time," he yelled back, still driving forward. The rest of the drive was spent in silence, speeding past empty houses and silent streets. Some monsters were seen, but they were all quickly outpaced. Luckily, none of the larger versions were nearby, for those might have easily caught up to them, what with their stronger legs and larger strides.
Eventually, the pair reached Tokyo, the once bright city now dead, lights switched off and a perpetual foreboding feeling nagging at the back of Keiko's mind as Kazuto took a path through the deserted streets. Eventually, Kazuto stopped, the motorcycle coming to a halt in front of a gas station. Keiko and Kazuto dismounted, the latter leaving his cycle parked against one of the gas vendors. Curiously not plugging a pipe to the bike, Keiko watched as Kazuto fiddled with the machine for a minute before he started to move.
"Come, we still have to walk to the safehouse," he told Keiko, walking away as the young girl scrambled to follow him. Barely sparing a glance back, the black clad boy walked with purpose, avoiding certain parts of the street as Keiko struggled to do the same, trying to step only where he did.
"What did you do to the machine at the gas station?" she asked, curiosity getting the best of her as Kazuto jumped over a piece of broken concrete and then around the wreckage of a car.
"Rigged it to blow," he responded, brushing off the question as he straightened his path, walking forward without sparing a glance backwards at Keiko.
"Why?" she gasped, thinking about why he would want his bike to be destroyed. It was clearly a valuable tool, there was no good reason to destroy it.
"So that nobody steals my bike," Kazuto explained. Turning at the corner, he began to walk down a mostly intact street, some potholes here and there showing that it hadn't remained untouched. "If someone moves my bike without deactivating the weight sensor, they die and my bike stays mine to the end."
"Oh," Keiko softly said, thinking about why he would want someone to die for stealing his motorcycle. "What about the weird steps? Were there weight sensors there too?" she asked, looking warily at the ground.
"Nah, you just looked funny when you were trying to copy my movements," he laughed, the first time she had heard any positive emotions seep into his voice. However, the moment was ruined by the content of the message delivered, making Keiko frown and move to smack him on the head for making fun of her like that. Seeing her make a move, Kazuto put his arms up defensively in an attempt to placate her. "Whoah, calm down! I do that to everyone, no need to feel special."
"You- wait, everyone?" Keiko wondered, pausing her strike midair and lowering her outstretched hand. "You mean there are others?"
"Well, yeah?" Kazuto shrugged. "What, did you think you were the only kid I saved?"
"I am not a kid!" Keiko protested, stomping on the ground in righteous anger, however it only served to prove his point. "Why does everyone say that?"
"There you go again, focusing on the useless part of what I said while ignoring the important parts," he muttered, slumping slightly. "Doesn't matter. Let's just get to the safehouse. While we're out here, we're exposed."
"But we haven't been attacked yet?" Keiko asked, running forward slightly to keep pace with him. "Why are we exposed?"
"Because even though I've killed nearly all of the monsters in this area, I'm not sure I've got them all," Kazuto mentioned, taking a right into a random apartment building that Keiko was half sure was going to fall apart. Waiting for her to enter, Kazuto closed the door behind the younger girl before walking forward and taking the steps downstairs, Keiko following close behind. Barely registering a number lock attached to a steel door, Kazuto blocked the view of the pad with his body, preventing her from seeing the code he inputted, through from the number of beeps it sounded like it was eight digits before the lights she didn't know existed blinked green and a low hiss was heard.
Pulling the door in the one direction she never suspected it would go, which was upwards, Kazuto gestured for Keiko to enter the hall, yellow lights illuminating it fully as clangs and sounds that were distinctly human were heard from the other end. After Keiko stepped forward, Kazuto pulled the door down and then did the same to a lever, metallic clicks being heard as steel slid over steel.
"I'm gonna get you this time!" a male voice yelled, the volume of metal on metal increasing as they walked forward, getting closer to a corner made of ventilation grates.
"Not this time you won't!" a female voice yelled back, before the clashes of metal started to increase in speed. Just as Keiko was about to step into the corner, Kazuto held her back as he slammed a button on the wall, before letting her go and stepping forward. Keiko nervously followed, turning the corner quickly and fearing what was there. Kazuto chuckled slightly before hitting a similar button on this side and kicking a small knife out from his boot. Dropping it on the corner tile, Keiko watched in horror as several small metal spikes came out from the ventilation, sure to skewer anyone who walked past without disabling the mechanism.
Kazuto retrieved the dagger while the spikes retracted by using a small string that Keiko hadn't noticed was attached to his wrist. Dropping the dagger back in his boot, Kazuto gestured for Keiko to follow him as they stepped into the main room, way too big to be underground.
The room was illuminated in whites and blacks, styled in unfinished stripes along the walls and tiles along the floor. Two staircases on either side of the room led to multiple rooms and a hallway, where even more rooms were likely situated. At the base of the stairs, two more halls were available, one leading to storage, restrooms, and water while another ended in an armory of sorts. A large blue mat was spread out on the floor, a red haired man with a bandana using a katana was sparring atop it with a chestnut haired girl who used a rapier. The girl was clearly winning, moving much faster compared to the man, who was barely blocking the hits and dodging more than a few.
Another girl, this one with purple hair, was painting the stripes in the corner, black paint spread along the walls to form a continuous pattern. She hummed happily to herself as she worked, kicking her legs slightly as she sat on a platform that was held up by multiple ladders. A white haired girl sat on a sofa on the upper floor, singing as she stroked the gray hair of a boy that looked about the same age.
A loud clatter drew Keiko's attention back to the central duel, where the chestnut haired girl had disarmed the red haired man, the katana clattering to the ground as she pointed the tip of the rapier at his neck.
"I yield!" the man cried out, extremely stressed by the deadly weapon ready to end his life. The girl laughed and playfully pushed him off the mat, making him stumble back with an audible 'oof'.
"Good fight, you two," Kazuto called out, walking forward from where Keiko was standing still, drawing their attention to him. "Ryotaro, you need to work on your footwork a bit more though. Remaining stationary during a fight is a death sentence. That being said, too mobile is bad as well, since you'll be expending too much energy on defense and not enough on offense, giving your enemy the advantage. Keep that in mind, Asuna," he noted, reaching up to take off his hood, unveiling the full head of messy black hair.
"Kazuto!" the girl, whom Keiko assumed was named Asuna, called out, dropping the rapier and rushing forward before jumping onto Kazuto, the boy barely moving except to shift his foot slightly backwards in order to better support her. Asuna secured her arms around the boy, Kazuto doing the same as he chuckled slightly, patting her back.
"Must you do this every time, Asuna?" Kazuto asked. "Anyway, get off, there's someone I'd like you to meet." Hearing these words, Asuna looked up and saw the girl off to the side, eyes widening as she got off.
"Should I call the others?" Ryotaro asked, standing up from the floor. "Most of us were around here, so it's just Suguha, Rika, Aiko, Eugeo, Alice, Tiese and Ronye." After he said this, he reconsidered his words and amended them. "Well, most of them aren't here, so should I get them?"
"Might as well," Kazuto responded. "It'd be easier to introduce everyone that way. Tell them to meet in the dining hall."
"You got it, boss!" Ryotaro affirmed, before running off.
"Anyway, where have you been?" Asuna asked, now attaching herself to Kazuto's side. "It's been two weeks. I thought you were just scouting out a route to the airport!"
"I was," Kazuto informed her. "It just so happened that the route I tested out this morning had a large amount of Beta and Gamma level hunters. So, I investigated, and found Miss Keiko Ayano after killing the pack's Alpha."
"Oh, you killed another Alpha?" Asuna asked, and Kazuto nodded. "Hey Yuuki!" she called out, the purple haired girl stopping what she was doing and turning to them.
"What, Asuna?" she asked, before noting the crowd and jumping down. "Oh, Kazuto, you're back! And who's with you?" On the other side of the area, the white haired girl stood up, hand in hand with the gray haired boy as they walked down, their pace considerably slower compared to Yuuki who was rushing down.
"Hi, my name's Keiko Ayano," Keiko introduced herself, stepping forward. "It's nice to meet you all."
"Nice to meet you too, Miss Ayano!" the white haired girl exclaimed, reaching forward to shake her hand. "My name's Yuuna Shigemura!"
"Eiji Nochizawa," the boy to her left stated, shaking her hand. "Nice to have you here."
"These two are the only couple we found," Kazuto said, making them blush. "Though we do think another one is gonna form soon. Come on, we'll do introductions with the rest."
"Anyway, Kazuto killed another Alpha," Asuna told Yuuki as they were walking to the dining hall.
"Another one? That means we finally reached the halfway mark!" Yuuki exclaimed, vibrating with excitement.
"Halfway mark?" Keiko wondered, stuck in the middle of the group as they surrounded her.
"Halfway to killing all the Alpha beasts in Japan," Asuna clarified. "When we found this safehouse, Rika repurposed one of Dr. Shigemura's, Yuuna's father's, sensors," she started, gesturing to Yuuna who nodded.
"So this is your house?" Keiko asked, looking at Yuuna.
"Yep, though we were considering running to a safer area than Tokyo," Yuuna stated. "But then, Kazuto found us and we showed him the house, and he managed to find this bunker. So, if anything, he's the reason we have this."
"I didn't do that much," Kazuto denied. "All I did was crack the code on the door by using some of your father's files."
"Anyway," Asuna cut in before Kazuto and Yuuna could start arguing about what he did or didn't do. "Rika, she's our engineer, repurposed one of the trackers by using samples of Alpha DNA compared to Beta and Gamma DNA, and managed to identify the 264 Alpha beasts that came to Japan. Of those 264, 197 died, the last one happening today."
"And that means that Kazuto has officially become the best alpha hunter in the country, killing 132 of them!" Yuuki added. "I only got to fight nineteen, so I am a bit upset."
"It's not fun, fighting them alone," Kazuto told her. "The only reason I think I was able to beat this one was because its attention was focused on Keiko. If not, I might have suffered injuries, a lot of scratches and stabs at the very least."
"Welcome back, Kazuto," a flaxen haired boy called out, waving to the group from where he was seated. On his left was a blond girl, harsh blue eyes looking critically at the new arrival, while on his right was a redhead dressed in blue, smiling warmly. To the right of that girl was another blue-eyed girl, this one with brown hair and stars in her eyes as she looked at the group, her attention focused solely on the man dressed in black.
"Good to be back, Eugeo," Kazuto responded, moving to sit opposite that group, sitting next to a black haired girl that looked similar to him. She was accompanied by a brunette that was fiddling with technology that Keiko couldn't begin to understand. Ryotaro was next, followed by a girl that looked like a sleep deprived version of Yuuki with shorter hair.
Asuna took a seat next to Kazuto, filling up that section, meaning that Keiko had to sit between Yuuki and Yuuna, Eiji on Yuuna's left. She looked around nervously, wondering if these people would judge her for simply staying in her home. All of them looked strong, like they routinely exercised, and Keiko doubted if she would even be worth anything to them.
"Anyway, I'd like to introduce everyone to Keiko Ayano," Kazuto prefaced, gesturing for Keiko to stand up. Doing so, Keiko continued to glance around nervously, Kazuto noticing her tension. "I found her doing scouting today, and killed the Alpha of the pack that was hunting her. I believe I speak on behalf of everyone when I welcome you to our cult."
"I'll get the altar ready," the black haired girl on Kazuto's right stated, standing up to presumably begin the proceedings.
"Can I do the incisions?" Yuuki's sleep deprived twin asked, lazily looking up.
"You- what-" Keiko voiced, stepping back as Kazuto, the blond girl next to the blond boy, the sleepy girl, and both redheads stood up and walked towards her. "H-help!"
"Oi, knock it off!" Asuna demanded, hitting Kazuto on the back of the head, though he didn't seem affected by it. Asuna, on the other hand, was holding her hand as if it was broken. "You're scaring the poor girl!"
"Don't lie, it was funny when we did it to you," Kazuto responded, before clapping his hands. "Sugu, get back here, Asuna ruined the joke again."
"Aww, again?" Sugu(?) responded, coming out from behind a wall. "You always do this, Asuna! Let us have our fun for once."
"I'll let you have your fun when it doesn't come at someone else's expense," Asuna told the younger girl, glaring slightly at her. "Anyway, as Kazuto was supposed to say, welcome to our-"
"Cult?" Ryotaro added.
"Happy little family," Asuna finished, staring at Ryotaro, the older man flinching. "My name's Asuna Yuuki, and it's great to have you here."
"Suguha Kirigaya," the black haired girl interjected. "And yes, Kazuto is my older brother."
"Yuuki Konno!" the energetic purple haired girl piped up, shoving her sleep deprived twin forward.
"Aiko Konno," she introduced herself, before moving to sit back down.
"Rika Shinozaki," the mechanic waved, before turning back to her machinery.
"Eugeo," the blond boy stated, making Keiko raise her eyebrow at the lack of a last name.
"Alice Zuberg. It is a pleasure to meet you," the blond girl introduced, blue eyes staring Keiko down.
"Nice to meet you, my name's Ronye Arabel," the brunette greeted, shaking hands from beside the redheaded girl.
"Tiese Schtolienen(someone let me know if I spelled it wrong it's 3 am so forgive me for forgetting character names)," the redhead introduced, shaking her hand as well.
"Nice to meet you all!" Keiko greeted, substantially more enthusiastic now that she met everyone.
"Anyway, if you have questions or if you want something from outside, ask Kazuto," Asuna instructed. "He's your go-to guy for everything you need."
"I thought I made you my lieutenant to avoid that exact scenario," Kazuto spoke, looking at her with an eyebrow raised. "Don't tell me I'll have to replace you with Sugu."
"No, not at all, sir!" Asuna rushed out, her expression turning pleading. "I was only saying that because you are the only one with any power here, being in charge and all that."
"But I'm not in charge?" Kazuto asked, leaning to the side as he turned his head to exaggerate his posture.
"Everyone here automatically defers to you for all important decisions," Asuna pointed out.
"Because I'm the only person going outside," he denied.
"You've made all the rules that stop us from going out on our own," Suguha pointed out.
"Because I want you to be safe!" he protested.
"You constantly work to get us supplies and keep us safe," Eugeo added, Alice and Tiese nodding beside him.
"Is that not something I should do?" he asked. Asuna sighed at his confusion.
"Hey guys, Kazuto's right," Yuuki piped up. "He's not in charge around here." Kazuto sighed in relief, happy that someone was taking his side.
"Yeah," Aiko agreed. "If anything, he's more like a father."
"I'm a what?" Kazuto asked, looking incredulously at Aiko. "You know what, your thoughts aren't coherent, you're barely functioning as it is."
"I dunno, she's got a point," Rika agreed from where she was sitting. "You are kind of like a dad, given how you act towards us all."
"You know what- I'm gonna leave," Kazuto sighed, before a lightbulb went off in his brain. "Oh yeah, Rika, this is for you." Saying this, he unclipped the piece of the Alpha monster from where it rested on his leg before handing it to Rika.
"Thanks daddy~" she smirked, before she was promptly bonked on the head by Sugu, making Rika whine.
"This is the horny police, you're going to jail," Suguha stated, trying to imitate a serious voice but failing terribly, making most of the room burst out into giggles.
Keiko looked around the room, observing the relaxed bodies and happy faces despite their situation. It was all very confusing, she noted, but soon after Asuna started to lecture Rika and Suguha on proper conduct, she found herself relaxing as Rika teased the 'mommy' of the group.
This was a strange family, but it wasn't one she was leaving anytime soon.
Kinda short, but I can't see myself continuing this for the chapter. Finished at 3:46 am, please let me know what I need to fix.
Thanks and hopefully I'll update something else eventually.
