Chapter Thirteen: Back To The Forest

As the hours slipped by, I found myself wandering aimlessly, the night marked only by sporadic bursts of rain. I trudged from east to west, circling back on my own tracks more times than I could count. I hoped this would throw Shōhei and his goons off my scent if they were still on my tail.

By 4, I think, I was perched on a rock, mindlessly chewing on a strip of jerky. I slapped at my neck – those annoying mosquitoes were everywhere, thanks to the rain. My thoughts drifted to my short stay at Monkey Village. I missed the comforts they had – a soft bed, hot tea, those luxurious baths, and the ease of talking to someone. It felt like a distant memory of normal life in the middle of my messed-up journey.

I looked up, a piece of jerky dangling from my mouth There it was, the night sky – a canvas so vast and dark, speckled with a thousand tiny lights that seemed to tell stories older than time itself. But then, something unusual happened. A seagull, not just your run-of-the-mill seagull, but a colossal one, crossed this starry tapestry. Its dull feathers didn't gleam in the moonlight, which somehow made it all the more extraordinary, especially this far from the sea.

And at night I thought.

The gull danced in the air, climbing high and then diving as if something caught its eye. I wondered what that something was, I wondered a lot of things – Could it see its beach home? Why was it so far from the sea? I took another bite of jerky. I imagined feeling the wind under its wings, hearing the air rush past. The world must seem so different from up there.

As the gull's flight widened, it became clear it was hunting – probably for an early breakfast. It paused in mid-air, like time stopped for a second, and then it shot south, vanishing from my view.

The mosquitoes kept buzzing around, humming and buzzing, an annoying soundtrack to my current predicament. I swatted at them absentmindedly, their bites leaving a trail of itchy red welts across any exposed skin. I found a fresh cluster of bites on my neck and scratched at them, my nails leaving angry red marks. I longed for bug spray, but wishes, like so many things, were as useless as the wind, and finding some repellent was as likely as me finding a bed in the woods.

Something moved in the darkness. My heart leapt into my throat, and for a moment, I was paralyzed by fear, unable to move, unable to think. What was this thing?

No. I shook my head. Well, there were any number of things in the deepening shadows of the woods that could move, so why was I spooked?

I strained my ears, trying to pinpoint the direction of the sound. For a few heartbeats, there was nothing but the pounding of my own heart and the constant whine of the mosquitoes. Then, to my right, a louder rustle. My breath hitched. My eyes darted from shadow to shadow, trying to make out shapes in the dim moonlight filtering through the trees.

Just when i decided i must have imagined the noise, a creature larger than a horse exploded from the underbrush, scattering leaves and branches into the air, and hurled itself at me in a pinkish streak.

The next thing I knew was darkness.

*****

"Happy birthday, Inoshiro!" they sing, their voices ringing out in the park.

I can't help but beam, feeling that familiar flutter in my heart, like a bird eager to soar. "Thanks," I whisper, almost shyly, as I step closer to the centerpiece of the celebration: a chocolate cake. My favorite. I lean in, the candles casting a playful dance in my eyes, and with one determined puff, I send the flames scattering into the afternoon air.

"Ready for your presents?" The question snaps me back to the moment.

"Yeah!" I throw my arms up, barely able to contain myself. The anticipation is like a balloon in my chest, expanding with each second.

My parents bring out three packages, all wrapped in colorful paper that seems to shout 'celebration'. My dad hands me the first one, long and slender, wrapped in glossy purple paper. I tear into it, the paper crinkling and tearing under my eager fingers, revealing a kunai. It's not sharp, made hollow for young hands like mine.

"Try it out," Dad encourages, his eyes bright with excitement. He shows me how to hold it, his large hands guiding mine. "Now, look at that tree. Right at that and swoosh", he said while moving my arms, "Give a little tap with your foot for momentum and swoosh."

He let me go. I nod, concentrating. I tap my foot hard against the ground, feeling the earth solid beneath me. The kunai flies, but falls before gets anywhere near the target I had in my mind. It thuds to the ground, and I stare at it, puzzled and a bit disappointed.

Dad's laughter breaks my concentration. He's taking a photo of me, capturing this moment with his old camera. "Why didn't it go?" I ask, turning to him, my face a mask of confusion.

He just smiles, his eyes crinkling with mirth. "It's all about practice," he says, his voice warm and encouraging. "You'll get it next time. And if not, you keep trying.".

"Why?"

"Because it's all we can do. Now, come on.", he took my little hand, "We need to open your others presents."

*****

"Ah", I groaned, my own voice sounding distant and muffled, like I was hearing it through a thick wall of cotton. "What was that?"

My head was throbbing, each pulse a hammer against my skull. It was as if my brain had decided to go on a solo trip, bouncing around inside my head, hitting every corner.

I tried to open my eyes, but they felt like they were glued shut. When I finally managed to peel them open, the world was a blur of greens and browns, the forest floor beneath me a patchwork of shadows and light. I was lying on my back, the ground pressing up hard and unyielding against my spine. My uniform seemed to be whet with something, and moving around my body?

A sudden, sharp pain shot through my ankle, a white-hot lance that seared up my leg. I bit back a cry, my breath catching in my throat. I attempted to reach down, only to realize with a jolt of horror that my arms were numb, lifelessly trailing behind me. Trailing…?

Dragging. I was being dragged. The world around me shifted in dizzying patterns.

My eyes flickered open, revealing a sight straight from a horror tale. Clamped onto my ankle was the iron grip of monstrous translucent tail. I looked at the creature. The giant axoatl. They had found me, how?

Pain and terror threatened to drag me back into unconsciousness, but I fought against it. I knew too well that surrendering to the darkness wouldn't save me. So, I screamed, a raw, primal sound born of fear and desperation. I twisted and turned, fighting like a cornered beast, but the tail's grip was unbreakable, its hold tightening excruciatingly, slicing into my flesh.

The pain was excruciating. I tried sitting up, still being dragged, and attempted to pry the giant tail off with my hands. But it was like trying to bend a knight's plate armor – impossible. The tail wouldn't budge, and my toes started to feel numb. Exhausted, I fell back, my hands uselessly trailing in the leaves, my head throbbing so intensely that I thought I might vomit. Where was this creature taking me? What did it want?

Fuck… My heart pounded against my chest as if trying to break free. Calm down, calm down, I told myself. I took deeper, longer breaths, striving to relax my tense muscles as much as I could. My head bounced on a rock and sparks of light burst before my eyes. I groaned and felt the back of my skull. I winced as i touched one egg-sized bump. Rocks and roots continued to scrape my back as i was dragged along.

No. I wasn't going down like that - I needed a weapon, anything. I pushed my numb arm, urgency pumping through my veins, as I try to go for my back pocket. My fingers started to pull a kunai…. Shit. My hand brushed against a stone, it's point edge almost braking one of my knuckles. Making my Kunai slip away, mocking my desperation.

Fuck. I crawled my hands back to it. My weapons seemed to betray me, my fingers grazing, sliding off, never securing their grip. It felt like an eternity before my fingers finally wrapped around a kunai's hilt. Then, a jolt sent a shuriken skidding painfully against me, nearly tearing my fingernail off. Agony blazed through me, but I held on, gripping my last sliver of hope.

Pinned, dragged on my back, my world became a dizzying, chaotic blur. Trying to aim was a gamble, but fueled by a burst of willpower, I hurled the kunai towards my captor—bizarre, alien like skin. The throw was a desperate, futile effort, the kunai bouncing off harmlessly, only serving to draw its full, unsettling attention upon me.

"That wasn't very nice," it spoke, its face a blend of charming and terrifying. "I said your action wasn't very nice."

I could only stare. Its gills, delicate as feathers, fluttered in the breeze.

"The thing you did," the creature – Ittetsu – tried again.

I inhaled sharply. Ittetsu drew me nearer, it's tentacles reaching out.

I couldn't hold back the scream that erupted from me when it touched me. The sensation was indescribable – a harrowing mix of pain and… tickling. Desperate, I clutched at one of the tentacles, its surface icy and rough against my palm. Our eyes locked, and for a heartbeat, a flicker of understanding passed between us. Then, it shook me, hard. Pain exploded in my ankle, a white-hot agony that blurred my vision with tears.

I needed to free my legs, I needed to…

⋘ Bara Bara No Mi…⋙

Suddenly, I was falling, tumbling to the ground. A brief moment passed before I realized I was free – but my foot wasn't attached to my body anymore. I tried to stand, only to fall back with a sharp cry. My mind was a whirlpool of chaos, emotions and sensations crashing into each other.

Determined, I got up again, balancing precariously on my right foot, refusing to put any weight on the left. Ittetsu, that bizarre creature, was still fixated on my severed ankle.

"What's this?", Ittetsu asked me.

I didn't answer. Instead, I hopped away, each jump a jarring thud through the underbrush.

"Where are you going?" Ittetsu called after me.

I glanced over my shoulder, only to see my own foot, now severed from my body, being tossed at my head.