Cagaster of an Insect Cage: The Before Times (Kidou x Reader)

1: Cagaster

At the end of the twenty-first century, a rare disease began to manifest itself among humans. It was called Cagaster. The likelihood a human would contract Cagaster was about one in every thousand. It acted fast and it could not be cured. The infected lost their humanity and were transformed into massive insects. These infected humans devoured other humans and bred with each other, increasing their numbers. Humans had survived many diseases: black plague, Spanish flu, yellow fever, HIV, H1N1, ebola, drug-resistant tuberculosis, drug-resistant gonorrhea, coronavirus and more. All were treatable, none were curable. But Cagaster? Only death could fix it. Eventually, the survivors accepted the fate that they would have to exterminate the infected. But by this time, two thirds of humankind had already been devoured...

Meanwhile, in 2125 in Southwest Asia, a man strode across the
plateau as if the uneven ground was a track made for him. A loud, cracking noise signaled the rise of one of the dreaded Cagasters behind him. But Kidou was skilled. Extremely skilled. With a simple vault-like jump, he flew into the air and landed on the diseased's back. Swiftly, his serrated sword pierced the neck and gave him enough time and space to begin firing his rifle. It was mere minutes in which the battled ensued. Then, it was over.

"Woo-hoo! That was awesome!" Jin the merchant called out from his van's roof. "Impressive as always, exterminator!"

Kidou wiped off his face, hoping to ward off the pimples he sometimes got from the dirt and grime of work.

"Strong! Invincible! Super human! Bugs fear him! What a sexy man!" Jin continued, "I'll pay your escort fees with my body! Kidou-samaaaa~"

Kidou quickly turned and landed a boot directly on the merchant's face.

"Just hand over the cash! Idiot merchant..." He scowled. "I want no part of that body!"

Jin, however, was fine besides the pain of rejection.

"You're the only one that would come with me to a place like this, Kidou-chan~ Look at that gigantic insect cage!" Jin gushed.

"The area just past here belongs to the bugs. Enter carelessly and you're just another meal... and yet you're still willing to come here. I used to think you were insane, but now I see you're just an idiot." Kidou chuckled to himself.

"But being an idiot pays off handsomely! Look at this! All the scraps left behind by merchants that were attacked by the bugs!"

This didn't sit very well with Kidou. He remembered traveling through areas like this. It used to have dirt roads. There used to be people here. But now it was a goldmine for this flamboyant man.

"How can you call yourself a merchant if you're scared of some bugs? You're insane, thinking of this grave site as a goldmine." Kidou sat down and huffed, thinking back to the time before this. Before the near-extinction of humans.