Chapter 10: Survival
Zenith ran towards the house and moved the rubble to see if there was a body underneath it. Luckily, he didn't find anything, which gave him hope that Kurogane was still alive.
"Kurogane, please stay alive. I still have to repay you for what you have done for me," Zenith said as he began searching the nearby house.
He found a blood trail nearby and followed it. The trail led to a body that was burnt almost to ashes.
"I am sorry, Kurogane. Please forgive me for not being able to be there with you," Zenith broke down into tears.
A person came from behind and said, "Why are you crying so much? you know that guy tried to kill us."
Zenith recognized the voice and turned around to verify its source. As he suspected, Kurogane stood there with a few scratches on his face and a smattering of blood.
"I thought you died," Zenith said and ran into him for a hug.
Kurogane responded, "Do you think I'd succumb to such a trivial threat?" He then reciprocated the embrace.
"Thank god you are alive," Zenith replied still in tears.
Zenith asked, "How did you find out he was trying to kill us?"
Kurogane said, "I felt a presence in the forest activate, which made me worry about both of you. Then, he started acting a bit unusual," pointing at the body. "It made me question their actions, so I thought to question him, but before I could he turned into a snake, which made the house collapse."
"So, it was their plan from the start, I guess," Zenith said after hearing.
Kurogane said, "Yeah, guess I shouldn't have invited them to stay."
"No, you were just being nice. What are the chances they were trying to kill us?" Zenith comforted Kurogane.
Kurogane replied, "Yeah, but now we got to rebuild the house."
"I am injured, so it should be a good pastime for me," Zenith said to make Kurogane feel better.
Kurogane inquired, "How's your body holding up? I hope you haven't gotten more severe injuries."
"I'm fine," Zenith reassured.
Kurogane said, "If you say so, let's go back to the house."
Both of them headed back to the house and removed the rubble. After that, Kurogane went to the hidden shed in the training grounds and brought out materials to fix the house.
"You seem quite prepared for this," Zenith said after seeing him bring everything necessary for the rebuild.
Kurogane said, "Never can be too safe," with a smile.
"Okay, what should we do?" Zenith asked.
Kurogane said, "It's already late; let's just begin rebuilding tomorrow."
"Okay," Zenith said. "But what should we eat for dinner?"
Kurogane said, "Maybe we should."
Before he could finish his sentence, Zenith cut him off and said, "The meatloaf seems to be fine," pointing over at the meatloaf on the kitchen counter, perfectly fine with not a single problem noticeable.
'How does everything I care about in this house get destroyed, but the one thing I actually wanted to be destroyed is fine,' Kurogane thought and said, "I am not hungry; you can eat."
"Are you sure?" Zenith asked.
Kurogane said, "Yeah," with a thumbs up using his hand.
"Okay," Zenith said and took a bite out of it, instantly wanting to vomit the food. 'How did I manage to screw this up so much? That girl Alexia must have poisoned it. I haven't made food this bad in my past life,' he thought.
"Why didn't you just tell me it was bad?" Zenith asked.
Kurogane said, "Because I didn't want you to feel bad and I might have wanted to make you feel the same feeling I felt when I ate it," with a grin.
"I guess I deserve this, but it was all Alexia. I would never make food this bad," Zenith said.
Kurogane replied, "Are you sure?" jokingly.
"I am not going to take another bite of this," Zenith said, threw it on the floor, and asked, "What should we eat for dinner?"
Kurogane said, "I was going to say we could cook some meat before you cut me off."
"Yes, I would dig for some meat right now," Zenith said with hungry eyes.
Kurogane said, "Okay, wait here while I get a few Slivins."
"Okay," Zenith said and made a small tent for them to sleep in for the night.
Kurogane came back in twenty minutes and said, "I am back."
"Did you bring the meat?" Zenith said eagerly.
Kurogane replied, "Yeah, I did, but what is this," pointing at the tents, which were made with scraps from the rubble.
"Oh, that tent? I made it out of the rubble," Zenith said.
Kurogane asked, "What's a tent?"
"You don't know what a tent is?" Zenith said, a bit shocked, and explained, "It is a place to sleep outdoors which will help you feel less cold at night."
Kurogane said, "Oh, that's smart."
"Yeah, I know. Okay, let's eat," Zenith said.
Kurogane replied, "Okay," and ignited his hand like it was a lighter, cooking the meat in a pan that wasn't crushed.
"All done," Kurogane said, handing the cooked meat to Zenith.
Zenith savored every bite he took, finishing the meat in a few minutes and then complained, "It's already done."
"You can have the rest of mine," Kurogane offered.
"No, it's fine. We can just get more tomorrow," Zenith replied, feeling guilty about taking more things from Kurogane, even if it was just meat.
"Okay," Kurogane said and finished the meat.
Zenith said, "I'm going to head to sleep now," feeling tired from all the fighting that had happened yesterday.
"Okay, good night," Kurogane said.
Zenith replied, "Good night too."
The next day, Zenith and Kurogane woke up early to start rebuilding the house. Kurogane worked on creating the house structure, such as the walls and windows, while Zenith helped by keeping the parts in place.
In the middle of their rebuilding, a black crow flew over them and dropped a letter near Kurogane. He picked up the letter, noticing a fiery postage stamp.
"What is that?" Zenith asked.
Kurogane said, "It's just a letter," and opened it. As he read, his face grew angrier with each passing moment.
"Anything wrong?" Zenith inquired, concerned.
"We have to move," Kurogane finally responded.
"Why, did something happen?" Zenith pressed.
Kurogane remained silent, and the quietude unsettled Zenith. Despite his discomfort, he didn't want to impose on Kurogane to respond, so he uttered, "Alright, let's proceed."
"Thank you," Kurogane said. Both of them quickly gathered whatever they deemed valuable and loaded it into Alexia's wagon. The urgency in Kurogane's actions heightened the tension, leaving Zenith anxious about the unknown threat that prompted this sudden decision to relocate.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone