A/N: Whoops, sorry for the wait! Forgive me if there's any mistake and do tell me what you think about this chapter ^^; Enjoy XD

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Tzuyu had known Momo for the entire span of time she had lived in Korea and if one were to ask which quality drawn her to the blonde despite their constant misunderstanding caused by their limit in grasping the language, their and how Momo was a bit too loud for Tzuyu's liking, it would be the fact that the older girl was so compassionate and loyal.

Frankly speaking, it would be a big fat lie if Tzuyu said she had never had an ounce of doubt for the goofy blonde. Momo along with Jeongyeon earned their infamous title of ‘the rebellious pair’ because of their carefreeness. It was definitely not a once in a blue moon occasion that they got caught skipping classes, running away from detentions and flirted with every living things they passed by. Tzuyu craved for non-binding lifestyle, that was true, but even she couldn't imagine herself being that... reckless.

Despite the flippant disposition, Momo understood more than what people would give her credit for. Yes, most the times she would have this dumb, blank look whenever she was quiet but it was to mask the rolling gear inside her brain. She was, in a way, observant, and often Tzuyu caught herself in surprise whenever the blonde was able to detect her mood (or anyone's really) even before she could say a word.

(Tzuyu was a closed person due to her personality. She preferred to keep things to herself rather than sharing it with others, even if it cost her a few stressful, bad days. So it was such a nice change to meet the duo because finally she was able to confine whatever her heart was feeling, whether it was in a thunderstorm or a sunny, bright lawn.)

All in all, Momo had this certain glint in her eyes, almost like a comforting assurance that would emerge whenever she spotted someone in distress. The same glints that would make people conveyed even their deepest secret because Momo was just trustable like that once you get to know her.

And now, standing head to head with the girl she had regarded as a part of her family, a sister, with sharp, sharp knifes against each other's throats, no sign of backing away, she was mortified at how those glints had faded.

No, it disappeared.

No trace of warmth or kindness. Just a pair of black circles serving as pupils, nothing more, nothing less.

"Momo." She whispered, because there was no hint of acknowledgement reflected in Momo's face, not with the way her lips were pressed into thin line and her brows approaching each other in the center.

Then without a warning, there was a brief, throbbing pain in her eyes, like there was wild, tiny hammers trying make her pupils dilated by force. Her breath hitched and she almost lost the hold on her katana if Momo didn't inch her sword closer that Tzuyu swore a thin mark had been carved.

With a newfound strength she pushed herself an arm-length away from Momo, staggering to keep her balance in check. Momo didn't insist and lowered her sword down, and that was when Tzuyu breathed out a sigh in relief, because she would rather die than having to fight her.

"Momo, where've you been?" Tzuyu asked tentatively, unsure whether what she did was right. Momo could be a predator for all she knew, or worst, she could have lost her mind (though she was skeptical about which was significantly worse than the other) and having her arm outstretched for a friendly pat in the shoulder, a gesture that was like a habit whenever they were together, might not be the brightest idea. "I thought... I thought bad things happened…"

Momo titled her head; it was almost robotic and should have aroused suspicion. But Tzuyu wasn't ready to be left hanging over a false hope, not when she finally found one of her friends.

Fortunately, there was something flashed across Momo's countenance and Tzuyu could barely decipher it as confusion, as hesitation.

"Are you one of those?"

"No!" She denied quickly and flinched when Momo lifted her sword up again for a defensive stance after her little burst out.

Tzuyu shook her head and dropped her katanas and boldly unstrapped her gun from her waist along with its holster. There was a clank, following with a muffled thud as it landed beside her ankle. Tzuyu flourished her empty hands, twirled around to emphasize her unarmed state and faced Momo with an expectant look.

"I'm not them." Tzuyu said seriously, locking gaze with Momo who was somewhat staring intently at her eyes that Tzuyu thought she could read whatever passed through her brain at that moment. It was probably because of the change in colors, she guessed, though another voice inside her told her that it wasn't.

Momo stepped back, gravels crunched beneath her boots, suspicion still apparent on her squinted eyes. She revealed her blonde hair completely from the veil of her hood and Tzuyu tried not to gasp at the nasty mark on her left cheek, barely concealed by her tresses of blonde. She took one last look at Tzuyu and peeked at Sana who was behind her shoulder, before she fetched her sword that had ended up beside a toppled car and put both of them to its respective scabbards.

"Tzuyu..."

Tzuyu was thorn between deciding whether it was a calling or a random musing. It felt more like a test, to get used of the way her tongue rolling to pronounce her name. Nonetheless, Tzuyu smiled because anything familiar brought comfort to her distraught mind. For now, Tzuyu wouldn't point out the blaring oddness of the blonde girl, or how Momo looked as though she had been battling thunders and lightning (although Tzuyu had long believed that even the most absurd phenomenon could happen if it was bound to be) because Momo was here and that was what really matters.

Tzuyu looked to her side to see that Sana had made her was to her.

The two older girls exchanged glances, or at least Sana still had the courtesy to make it subtle while Momo just blatantly scrutinized her. Tzuyu could feel the tension radiating between them, more so when Sana carefully angled her torso toward her, her right shoulder behind Tzuyu’s left, her hand snaking its way to hers while the other free one clinging to her robe.

Sana wanted to say something, and it seemed urgent from how she inhaled a lungful of air once she had terminated the mini staring contest. Tzuyu squeezed her hand back and faced the front and furrowed her brows when Momo directed her gaze to their intertwined hands, as though this kind of view was too rare for her.

"Food... Give me a second." Momo mumbled and stalked off deeper to the alley. If it was under different circumstances, Tzuyu would scoff because she had never experienced a minute without Momo eating. But now just wasn't any ordinary circumstances. There was no dreaded Monday mornings, just dreaded everyday in general because waking up meant you have to fight, to kill for safety. That law had been made since the first day of the apocalypse.

Tzuyu was about to call out for Momo until the grip on her forearm interrupted her.

"Tzuyu, I don't have a good feeling about this." Sana murmured worriedly.

Tzuyu gave Momo's retreating figure one last look before she faced Sana properly, pinching the bridge of her nose. "About what?"

"Momo."

"What do you mean?" Tzuyu asked with a frown. Sana shifted her weight between her legs and suddenly, the hem of her black pants was far more interesting than their conversation. Tzuyu put her index finger under Sana's chin to level their eyes together. "Sana?"

"I don't know." She let out an uncharacteristic huff. Sana sounded frustrated, and it miffed Tzuyu because she couldn't find any reason that could make the former felt that way.

"Then how am I supposed to respond to that?" Tzuyu threw her arms to the air exasperatedly. How could Sana distrust her friend like that? Moreover, Momo knew Sana longer than she had known the blonde herself and it strangely felt like a personal insult and betrayal to Tzuyu, even if it didn't regard her in any way.

"Tell me Tzuyu. Does that person," Sana pointed at the dark alley behind them, the sunrise light barely able to get through to lit up the whole passageway except from its entrance. "Behave like Momo to you?"

Tzuyu exhaled a breath through harshly and sweep her overgrown fringes back. "Sana, if she's by chance not Momo or if she's Momo but she had gone crazy like the rest of the ing population, then she would've killed me in the first place. I wouldn't be standing here, explaining to you why that person over there is our friend and not some kind of bastard of a predator."

Majority of the city's population might have been evacuated to a safe zone, in which Tzuyu had begun to question its existence. But of course one batch wasn't enough. There were still people who were scheduled for the second batch (basically those who weren't quick enough to toss themselves to the available carriages). However, months passed and those choppers and trucks never came.

At the end, only god knew what happened to the unfortunate ones, whether they had resorted in killing themselves, got killed by the predators or salvaging a dying hope that help would eventually came, just like what Sana and Tzuyu did. The last option was that they had given up, both living and dying, and this usually meant nothing but a threat. They believed that their case was just impossible and fading was their humanity. They murdered others for food, for weapons, for everything that would ensure their lives. So in a sense, not only they had to deal with the predators but their own kinds who had lost their sanity as well.

Sana scowled at how Tzuyu didn't filter her words and grown silence after that. Tzuyu noticed how Sana was ruffled by how she didn't directly answer her question. But Tzuyu couldn't. She couldn’t because she knew if she were to g