MH - Daiki/Rivaster - Warnings

It was a rather nice day outside.

That was weird, especially since it was October and it shouldn't be this sunny on normal occasions, but Daiki figured she'd make the best of it. Walking down the steps of Bellingham, the blonde pondered many thoughts that swam around in her head, both good and bad. Good being that she wasn't feeling as depressed as she was lately, not since she realized what she truly had to do in her magi life, her new found ally, that dark-haired male named Aaron. Of course, he didn't tell her his last name, though that actually seemed pretty smart when she thought about it. It was stupid to tell him her full name, though she purely did that out of habit. That needed to be broken.

But then there were other things. Willy was one of the bad guys, according to Aaron, along with Abhaya Aghanashini... It really didn't make sense, he seemed so nice... But oh well.

Then there was Lastien. The girl didn't want to believe he knew something but he had acted slightly off at one point and what Aaron said was true, those wounds in Roni's body were from a blade, not a blunt weapon. She really didn't want to believe that he...

She sighed. This was getting out of hand and it caused quite a deal of stress. Maybe she should go hang out with Arisa today.



It IS a nice day outside today!

And that is what Rivaster loves most. He loves the warmth of the sun as well as the bright days it brings along with it. Nothing could ever go wrong on days like these! Oh how he would -dreaded- the upcoming winter. Rivaster absolutely HATED the winter and cold in general. It was bad enough he wore jackets and hoodies constantly, but once winter came? He'd have to dig out all of his heavy coats to wrap around his tiny body. Maybe even stay home from school just so he could lay in front of a heater all day. Luckily they hadn't reached that point yet, but...soon.

Either way, Rivaster was in such a great mood with little to no worries in the world. Nothing depressing has happened to him as of late and, really, he was beyond happy at this moment. Like, he wanted to sing kind of happy! Lately he had a pretty nice date with Delilah and then the dance. The dance has been sooo fun. Well, until raccoon girl appeared. But otherwise! That night had been amazing. Riv had so much fun at the dance and playing little games with Delilah as well as flirting constantly. Best night as of late.

At the moment, Rivaster happened to be walking around nearby the Bellingham area. It was near the park which was where he was currently heading. He hadn't noticed Daiki juuuust yet though.



Ohh god. Daiki really couldn't reflect his emotions. Not that she was wallowing in despair at that moment... Well, she kind of was, but it wasn't her main focus at that moment, magi were... Always suffering.

But that wasn't the point, while you had happy-go-lucky Rivaster, you had the blonde girl who was worrying about everything that was going on. Ahh... Well, she could agree that she, too, was kind of dreading winter. She loved snow but it got so cold. That's what she disliked. Thankfully, it was a brighter day.

Had she been paying better attention, she may had noticed Rivaster sooner, but instead she noticed him a few moments later, looking as if he could start skipping and dancing while singing a song out of pure happiness.

Somewhere deep inside, it made her feel a little sick, but she was glad the boy had alright. At least /he/ hadn't died... Yet.

Daiki smiled his way and waved. "Rivaster!"



Rivaster perked up a little at the sound of a somewhat familiar voice, stopping in his tracks. The voice was calling his name...who was calling him? Some female voice? The boy started looking around for the source of the voice. A glance here a glance there, until he turned just right and spotted her. Daiki! That girl that he had fought a familiar with! It had to be her, the only girl he had known to wear her hair up that exact same way all the time.

Smiling genuinely, Rivaster waved back to the other in such a carefree and happy way. "Hi Daiki~" Welp, no use standing around huh? Within seconds, the boy started to make his way over and was soon standing right in front of the blonde. "I haven't seen you in awhile!" Was his first remark, just grinning widely and tilting his head ever so slightly in wonder. "Have things been okay for you? It's been awhile since I saw you that one time." Oh if only he knew how depressed the girl may truly be.

It really had been a while since they last talked, huh? Well, time to change that. When Rivaster finally got up to her, she noticed again how happy he seemed.

Daiki got that sick feeling again, so she blocked it out. Again, it was good that he was happy at least.

"Hi Riv~" she greeted him. "Long time no see, huh?" She let out a small chuckle before smiling back at him, which was both forced and genuine...? She didn't know which. Maybe she still felt bad about lying to him before. But telling a nice kid who got tricked like the rest of the magi about such things just seemed so wrong at that time.

Not like she knew that he found about the soul gems anyway, but whatever.

Oh... that question. How can she answer that? Things hadn't been okay, honestly, buuuuut she wasn't going to openly admit that.

"Ah, things have been okay...!" She said. "A few issues, but I'll be fine."

"What about you? You seem rather happy~"



Oh gosh. Rivaster just couldn’t help but imagine how much time had exactly passed since those days Daiki had first met him. He had been such a newbie! Well, he still considered himself a newbie. Even though he’s been at this...what…two months now? Sure didn’t feel like that. So much had happened though since that day. So many good things as well as a couple of bad things. Mostly good things though, right?

Rivaster would start with the good. That was the easiest to talk about and he was just in too good of a mood to ruin it juuust yet, let alone go accusing her that she had hid information from him back then. Because he knew now that she had been hiding things for his sake (Which was actually a good thing because he would NOT have handled it well).

“Mhhhm~ Lots of good things have happened to me lately. Like…” How should he word himself? What should he mention first? “Well, I have a girlfriend now! My childhood friend too…” Riv blushed for a moment, though quickly tried to stop that. No, not now! That would be embarrassing to show in front of senpai. “A-Anyways…she ended up contracting because of me and now we protect each other. It’s pretty nice~”

Hmm what else was there? There was definitely more. “Oh! I’ve also been to a couple witch fights. I actually got the killing blow on the last one~” Oh boy had that moment been so exciting. It was like nothing had touched him throughout that whole fight and he had done so splendidly. Just for that brief moment, Rivaster had felt on top of the world from how much he had shown off that day. “Ah…sorry. I kind of talked too much.”



Rivaster you lucky little kid. Daiki probably couldn't say the same thing about mostly good things happening lately, but she was beginning to move on from a few things. Not everything, but some. But yeah, it's probably best to start with positive aspects just for having a generally good mood to start with. Daiki perked up at his first comment, which was about getting a girlfriend. That... Was adorable! Childhood friend, too? Even cuter! And d'awwww he was blushing. She grinned at him. "That's great, Riv! I bet it feels great to have someone that special~" she listened in on the next part about the girl contracting because of him and... Had a few mixed feelings. Yeah, it was great that they had each other and all, but at the same time she still worried that they might be betrayed at some point.

But, she ought to feel happy for him nonetheless. In a way she did the same thing, contracting for someone else. "Ohhh, who is the girl?" the blonde finally asked, genuinely interested in finding out.

"A killing blow?" she asked, slightly surprised. "Actually, I don't think I've gotten a killing blow on any witch fights yet, but that's great for you!" It really was kind of funny how her little kouhai got a killing blow before she had. Daiki shook her head. "Nono, it's fine! I talk a lot sometimes as well~" her face turned to a bit more of a serious expression. "But, although it can be fun to fight witches and team up with people..." she glanced to the side for a moment. "You still need to be careful, and try to focus mostly on the people most important to you so you can do an easier job of protecting them. And..." Should she mention the group to him? It would be a scary thing to add, but it would also be for his own good, too. "There are some pretty bad magi out there as well. Try to watch out for those kind, okay?"



All of this stuff was kind embarrassing to tell to another girl, but man. Rivaster had no one else to tell about it since all of the other guys he ran into were tough and fierce and would just…laugh at him. And the way he gushes about Delilah sometimes? Riv could only imagine receiving a bunch of eye rolls and being told to stop acting so girly. And then bullying. Surely it would lead to bullying. A shame he could never express himself to any boy around his age.

“Y-Yeah it does. I know she contracted for me and all, but I want to protect her. She’s always protecting me…and I just wish I could do the same. That’s why I’ve been trying extra hard to power myself up and kill witches.” At least Rivaster FELT like he was getting stronger with each fight. “Oh umm…her name is Lacie. She goes to the same school as me and we even have a couple classes together.” Alright Rivaster. Enough about your sweet girlfriend.

Rivaster was absolutely excited when Daiki had told him she had never dealt a killing blow. Well, he felt a little bad about the thought, but still. He had managed to do something that even his idol hadn’t been able to do! “Ohhh maybe one day you’ll be able to. You seem strong~” Once the stuff about the group of bad magi was mentioned, Rivaster frowned a little with a small nod. “I know what you mean…Lacie told me about them before. That’s so unfair though! Why are magi just like us causing all of those terrible things?” He let out a little huff. Just like school, there were always those type of people who were just terrible bullies, weren’t there? “Being a magi is so nice…if they were gone, there’d be nooo terrible things about being a magi! We…We shouldn’t have to worry about getting hurt from someone just like us, you know? “ It just made no sense to the boy. “There should be like…a good good group of magi to keep them in check~ There can’t be too many bad magi around here, I think.”



Awww, don't be so embarrassed, Riv, Daiki wasn't a bully. She wouldn't make fun of you, but it was understandable why he'd stop. Still, Daiki was happy for him and simply smiled at him.

"Even more reason to focus on protecting her when necessary, right? Of course, it's good to try your best to protect other friends, but if there's someone special, they take priority." It may sound a bit horrible to say someone takes priority over someone else, but in the end it really was the truth. She found this out the hard way and got that sweet advice from Lastien. "I actually got a boyfriend recently."

That boyfriend of hers... Was Lastien. It was awkward, but it was nice. But then at the same time, she was slightly suspicious of him. There was a theory about him she had in the back of her brain that the blonde was denying with her entire soul. She didn't want to believe that he...

No, nevermind.

"Lacie?" Well, that was a name she hadn't heard before. "That's a cute name~ and it's always good to have classes with people you know well."

She perked up when he said she could do a killing blow one day and felt a little touched to be honest. "Thanks! I hope so too~"

Rivaster then mentioned that he knew of the bad magi, followed by Lacie telling him about it, followed about it being unfair and they should go away...

Then the good group.

God, she and Rivaster were thinking so similarly about it that she actually started laughing. When she eventually calmed down, Daiki looked at him awkwardly, and then apologetically. "S-sorry about that, I'm not laughing at anything you said, it's just that I've actually been thinking about things like goodie groups countering the bad groups and everything." Daiki frowned. "I also agree that it's unfair... And that they shouldn't be here..."



His girlfriend took priority…yeah. Rivaster supposed that was right. But he was the type that wanted to protect everyone--well. Except for the bad guys. Those guys could all just to leave to another town as far as he was concerned. Just go ruin someone else’s life, just not his! “Mm yeah. I would definitely protect her first if I had to, but so far I guess I’ve been lucky? We haven’t been in any witch groups together yet since one of us would end up busy or too far away at the time.”

At the mention of her boyfriend, Rivaster’s eyes seemed to sparkle a little. She had run into good fortune too! Now it wouldn’t just be him gushing about his special person. Riv could only wonder what this guy looked like. “A boyfriend? That’s good~ I bet he’s really cool and strong too, right? Is he someone I might know?” More like someone he would -never- want to run into. Ever. But Rivaster sure didn’t know that. He could only imagine Daiki would have gotten together with some strong magi just like herself, whereas he was just such a beginner who had to wish for strength.

He and Daiki really did think alike on the terms of having a good team though. All he ever wanted was for things to be nice and safe. Just to never have to worry his friends may one day try to kill him. Wasn’t it bad enough they had witches to worry about? It was so sad and unfair. Rivaster just blinked as Daiki laughed, wondering what had gotten into her. Well, until she explained herself. “Ooooh.” He tilted his head slightly, wondering about possible goodie groups. Maybe…? “Do you know about any good groups? If I could…I’d like to help out and get rid of that bad group. Lacie wants me to stay far away from them, b-but I want to help. I just want everything to be safe…”



Daiki was that type of person too, or at least used to be. She still got horribly upset when people died, but she was slowly starting to grow used to it, learning to not be as terribly affected by it, it was a dull pain that hung over her most of the time. She had to protect the most important individuals... "Oh? Well that's kind of a bummer, it's always fun to fight with your friends. While still being careful, of course." She was really trying hard to get that last part through to him, just out of future notice, cause the blonde didn't want him getting upset over the death of someone important. For many reasons.

The girl smiled a little bit at his question about her boyfriend and nodded, "he's really strong, yes~ in fact, he's helped me out with a few things magi-related too, so that's good. I don't think you know him, though? He goes to Bellingham, so you may not have run into him yet." And he probably wouldn't want to, in all honesty. Daiki was still feeling a few mixed emotions toward him at the moment, too, so that... Didn't help.

They really did think too much alike, in a strange way. Only... Rivaster was surprisingly a tad more naive than she was at the moment, or at least that's how it seemed, it was almost like listening to her older self talking about going against bad guys and fighting with friends.

It was kind of painful, but... Nice at the same time. Daiki still felt a bit awkward after bursting out in laughter, but didn't dwell on it. "Good groups?" She asked and hummed in thought. "I can't really think of any official groups set out on fighting against them, but there are probably still some good magi around here somewhere. But..." The blonde had to be honest, the thought of a nice kid like him getting involved in fighting such a group was just... It didn't seem right, especially since Rivaster was new. "I think you should listen to this 'Lacie' girl. I understand that you want to help and standing back might make you feel, well, not good, but... I think the last thing she would want is you getting involved and potentially getting really hurt."

Or even dead.

"Just... Again, try to be careful, okay?"

“Yeah…maybe someday though.” Rivaster sighed. He hoped that someday was soon and not like…months from now. That was no fun.

Back to the boyfriend thing, Riv tried to remember back to the dance. He knew for certain he had seen Daiki there, so maybe that boyfriend had been there along with her. It would make sense. He tried thinking about it for a good while and theeeen he remembered. No much since he hadn’t really been paying attention, but he remembered a flash of red next to that light blue costume of Daiki’s. “I think I saw him at the dance. Had red hair I think?” Rivaster shrugged, completely guessing at this point. There was a sure chance he had been wrong, but he swore there had been some dark black and red mass next to Daiki at the party. “If he goes to Bellingham, I’ll probably never run into him though.” That was a good thing though.

Rivaster couldn’t help but be naïve. He was really young for a just starting magi. And it is believed the younger you are, the more innocent you are. At least it felt that way when you looked at a small boy like himself. Sure he had experienced a few things already, but not enough to break him. Not the way Daiki had been broken. “So there are good groups?” He beamed for a moment, only to be disappointed by what Daiki had to say next. How could she think something like that? Rivaster pouted with crossed arms. “If someone doesn’t do it, then who will?” He asked briefly, and then continued. “If I can help…I really want to. I don’t like sitting around and just watching other people get hurt. Why not do something if I have the ability to stop what’s happening in front of me?” The boy frowned and then quickly looked away. “I’d definitely be careful if I had to be though.”



She smiled a little at him, and gave him a small pat on the head. "I'm sure you'll get the chance." But yeah, having to wait that long would suck, geeeez.

Rivaster had good eyes if he was able to remember who she went to the dance with, especially since the boy seemed so... Distracted that day, by that brunette girl. Wait, was that his girlfriend? That girl definitely had /LONG/ hair, but there was nothing wrong with that! It was just... Harder to take care of. Well, there was another person she knew was a magi, well, assuming she was right. "Oh, yeah that's him! Also, that brunette girl at the dance, was that the girl~" Daiki leaned in a bit and gave him a teaseful grin before chuckling and leaning back, "well, I'm happy for you, in that case!" She blinked and nodded, "yeah, we both have sixth period together, too. And lunch."

Well, it was good Rivaster liked to be goodie-goodie and fight for justice, but she really hoped he wouldn't let that hope rise up only to be crushed. Being hopeful and optimistic was good, but don't ever... Don't ever let that get to you too much... Or it'll destroy you inside.

Daiki was still naive in the end. Although her end wish was dark- being that she kind of wanted to die and join her friends- but it was also probably more hopeful than most. There were tons of magi in the world that cried at night, feeling helpless.

"There might be, one day. Maybe even very soon." She reassured him. The girl's expression faltered a bit at his last comment and sighed, looking away a bit sadly. "I know... I want to help too. But, again, getting yourself potentially hurt or killed... Nobody would want that." She looked back at him. "I can't make you just stand back, I can already tell you want to fight, but... If you're going to try, then please just... Be very careful about it. Don't let the enemies know much about you, either, don't let yourself be targeted by them. I don't know if you saw what was in the warehouse, but..." She shook her head, "it was horrible. I don't want that happening to you."



Oh boy, Daiki had found him out. That girl with the long hair at the dance had definitely been his girlfriend. Delilah was her true name, but Rivaster was respecting her wishes in calling her 'Lacie' around the other magi. To him, Daiki was already a wonderful friend who he was so sure would do no harm to Delilah, even if she did know her name, but for Delilah's sake he would go on with that nickname. "S-She was. T-That was her." Riv found himself stuttering, his cheeks reddening a little at the memories of that night. The dance had been so fun and the both of them had been flirting so much. It was a shame the party ended so abruptly thanks to that raccoon girl. "Thanks..." Come on now Riv. Stop getting so flustered about it.

Just like Daiki though, Rivaster was very naive. He really wanted to believe in everyone around him and never worry. Even if he was met with such darkness now, he'd still continue to fight and keep on living. He would only feel bad for his mentor if she chose to lay down and just die from all of the pain. That was just too sad of a thought.

Riv nodded to her, trying to show off his courage and possibly failing terrible. "I'll be very careful! I won't tell anyone much about me...I'll try to keep in the background." Hah, he had failed that part already. Rivaster was the one who showed off at that last witch fight just how strong he was and how helpful he was to the other magi as well. A naive and stupid boy for sure. "At least...At least I won't do anything alone from now on. If I stick around Lacie or another friend, I should be fine~" He smiled a little. "I just...I know it's dangerous to stand out and help others, but I can't help it. I can't just stand and watch others get hurt, you know?"



Ahhh, it was just so cute! Young love was always adorable~ Wait... He was only a grade below her.

Oops.

Still, she got this way every time her friends were in relationships, it was something that the girl simply couldn't help. "Hehe~" He was blushing even more, that just uplifted the topic even more. "Well, I wish you two luck, then~" Oh, Rivaster. Those sad thoughts you were getting, if only Daiki could see them herself.

Daiki stared at him and pondered her thoughts. Why... Was she so against him fighting back against that bad group? I mean, if anything Daiki was being hypocritical or even selfish for saying he shouldn't fight, and then trying to do things to fight against them, and the blonde was now realizing this. Of course, now she felt bad.

But... The girl couldn't help it. Rivaster had friends to fight with, and to cling to, he wasn't as hopeless as she was. Maybe she wasn't completely lost, but in the end Daiki didn't fear death nearly as much. In fact, sometimes she wanted to die.

So it only seemed natural to let the ones with no other choice, or had little no nothing left for them to risk their lives and fight, right? But at the same time it just... It seemed so unfair for her to tell him 'no'.

"I understand, Riv..." she replied. "All I can say is that I can be your ally and help you when necessary. If you really feel you should do something, then... I shouldn't be telling otherwise." He seemed to have his mind made up, anyway. If Rivaster was actually planning to work against them, then that meant he needed all the allies he could get, as well. "I'll also try my best to keep a watch on this 'Lacie' girl if I ever run into her and find that she's in trouble, since she's important to you and, well, like you said it sucks when people get hurt for obvious reasons." She perked up in realization. "Oh, do you have my phone number?" She pulled out said device. "We should swap numbers and let each other know when something's up."



Yes Daiki. You're only one year above him. It's hard to realize that sometimes with how tiny both him and his girlfriend are compared to those in their sophomore year. Unfortunately, Rivaster hasn't reached his growth spurt just yet either. He was stuck as a small, weak looking boy until. "Thanks~" He grinned widely. Both him and Delilah would definitely need all of the luck in the world to continue to live in this crazy and depressing magi city of theirs.

Rivaster would be so depressed if he could hear any of the depressing thoughts going on inside Daiki's head. To him, she was a role model that he looked so highly upon. It just seemed like she had been at this for such a long while and had so much experience that she could teach to him. Riv was actually pretty scared to die. After finding about the soul gem and everything else after the whole contract and wish thing? He had become scared for himself and Delilah. Why that girl had contracted for him while knowing full well what the contract was about, he just would never be able to comprehend. Not that any of that mattered anymore.

The small boy's eyes sparkled when Daiki finally agreed that she would help him if need be. It was no longer a complete 'no' for an answer. Just a 'if you do get in trouble, I'll be there for you' kind of thing. Oh, and she said she'd protect Delilah too! That was definitely good. They could all protect each other and no one would ever have to die~ At the mention of phone numbers, Rivaster nodded instantly and pulled out his own phone. "I don't, but we should swap now~ It's a good idea to keep in touch." Rivaster then recited his number for her, waiting for her to tell him her own number or to just send him a text so that he could add her from there. Either way. "Oh, and I should probably get going now. I was on my way somewhere and almost forgot."



Ah, well, even if he hadn't had his growth spurt yet, she still thought he had great potential, and his weapon was really cool, too! "No problem!" Yeah... Rivaster really needed all the luck he can get, but then again, everyone does. Being defenseless, alone, with no allies, and having to watch so many gruesome events is just... You need /someone/ with you in all of that. Even if they're a childhood friend with some kind of close bond or even just one little friend you met yesterday is better than nothing. Thankfully, Rivaster had Delilah and now her.

Ahh, well, at least she wasn't crying herself to sleep, she was used to death now. It was depressing but there was nothing to be done about it now, and Daiki didn't want Riv to hear some her thoughts at times because... They got dark. Having the boy see the real her would inevitably make him upset too, and it just felt cruel to do that to him. But in the end he was right, she had been at this longer than a lot of the magi around town and could say she was pretty experienced.

The blonde wondered for a split second if he knew about the soul gems yet. A lot of time had passed, so... Maybe he had? If he did, was he mad at her? She had basically lied to his face that night so Daiki wouldn't blame him if he was, but he didn't seem to be upset with her, so... Either he didn't know, didn't realize yet she lied, or already forgave her for it. And to be honest, hearing about the girl contracting for him made her happy to see two people so close, but then immediately felt a sadness build up for obvious reasons. Such conflicting emotions, the girl hated it so much.

But it was too late.

Daiki didn't bother with talking him out of fighting. She didn't want him to get hurt or get himself killed, and it was clear that she was against his idea for the simple fact that having him get dragged into it all when he didn't deserve it just seemed so bad, but again, it was unfair because... Oh, nevermind. Daiki would at least have his back from now on. Daiki told him her number and put his number in as well. "Okay! Got the number. Oh, and before you go, I should probably warn you about something. There's a girl that goes to your school, her name is Abhaya Aghanashini." Her face gave off a more serious tone again. "Watch out for her, so far I've heard terrible things about her and her... Hobbies." But that, she meant murder, and Rivaster was probably smart enough to catch on to the fact that those hobbies were no good. "Again, I was only told this but it's best to give you hints about it in case it's true. She's apparently short, dressed in red and carries a large mace. I would also recommend not going out as a magi at night, at least not too often. There are dangerous magi around that hang around at night."



Rivaster did know about the soul gems. Delilah had told him and he had been SO upset. Sure, he had sworn to her that he would have been fine with the information. He would have been strong and handled whatever it was like a man. But as soon as Delilah described in full detail about the soul gems, Riv just…broke. How could he ever expect such a thing? That they were really dead since their souls had been forcefully yanked out of them and squished into this one tiny gem? That if this one tiny gem broke, they’d be dead and gone for good? It had been too much for the young boy who wished out of pure desire to get stronger and be able to stop getting bullied so much. It had all been a game to him at first, but now…it was just so different.

In the end though, Rivaster couldn’t be mad at Daiki. He had figured out by now that either she had been hiding it from him, or didn’t know herself. She had to know though…she’s been at this for months. But he would never hold it against her. He would have just broken down into depression if he had found out so early on. That was good on Daiki’s part.

Just as he was about to start walking off, he blinked as Daiki mentioned one more thing. Something about an…Abhaya Aghanashini? Wow that was a mouthful. Riv listened with some interest, wondering what was so important about this random girl. It turned out it was about all of those dangerous people Delilah had mentioned to him before. Daiki was basically telling him to be careful of any magi he came across, but she had gone the extra mile of giving him a name and a description. That…he would remember that. He’d tell Delilah too just incase she wasn’t sure who to be careful of as well. “I-I’ll do that. It’s hard not to go out at night though since I can’t really do it during school hours.” Rivaster shrugged, but nodded to show he understood. “And…I’ll watch out for her. Thanks.” With that, he waved back at Daiki. “Well, s-see you later!” And with that, the boy ran off.



She really wished she could comfort him, whether he knew or not. It was a habit of hers to be comforting to those who were in pain. But... She just had to assume that it was for the best, which she truly thought it was. How could she had told him 'hey, your soul is in that gem not your body' without feeling even an ounce of guilt or self-hatred? It was unthinkable to her.

But, she didn't believe anymore that they were dead, or like zombies, their souls were just somewhere else. They still felt emotions, they could still feel things around them. If she really was dead or a zombie, she wouldn't be able to feel pain. But she was able to, and that was enough. Daiki just worried that if you had a simple accident it could mean death, when on a normal occasion for regular people, it shouldn't.

They were forced to fight... Or die. That was the painful truth, and to be honest, she was so, so tired of fighting.