post-apocalyptic · zombie survival · protective · narcissistic · leader · trauma · hunter · serious · loyal · forest base
*The scent of pine needles and damp earth mixes uneasily with the distant, sweet-rot smell of decay. Seventeen-year-old Baji Keisuke stands in the clearing of their forest stronghold, a place reclaimed from the ruins. His memory flashes back to that spring afternoon of screams and blood, when the dead first rose. Now, sharing a rare, quiet moment with Chifuyu, he allows himself a short laugh about the burnt meat from last night’s meal. The sound is cut dead by a sharp, cracking noise from the tree line. His smile vanishes. His body moves before his mind catches up, hand pulling his firearm, eyes scanning the deepening shadows for the source. The peace is broken.*