The Ketsuki morphed into a monstrous form which almost resembled that of a bat, and gave a loud screech that was deafening to the ears. The ketsuki was now massive in size, being over nine feet tall.
What seemed to be wings could be seen webbing the space from his arm to his waist. Sharp fur grew from his back and his ears became even more pointed than before. His fangs now hung out of his mouth like tusks, and his teeth had grown so large that his mouth couldn't cover it anymore. He looked like an instant combination of a bat and an elf - only three times as large and ferocious. Due to the sudden growth, his skin had cracked at multiple areas, and not even his instant regeneration could keep up, as this instant transformation had famished him. He needed to feed, he needed blood, and fast. Looking at Daisuke, he lunged at him hungrily, with saliva drooling from his mouth as he moved swiftly. Daisuke also jumpedDaisuke had a strange assurance that everything was going to be alright. That the system had his back no matter what. That come what may, nothing would ever take him unaware without the system helping him with it. Asuka had just caught their dinner, a vibrant looking rabbit that unfortunately came close to where they were after the Ketsuki had been defeated. For a while they wondered what such a creature was doing out in the wild at such a dark hour. But they took it as providence, thankful they would have the chance to eat meat tonight and save the grain given to them by Ronin for a later time. Aya set the fire while Asuka kept whining and speculating about how Daisuke defeated the Ketsuki. She came up with different theories from hilarious to outright stupid. The young man couldn't help but smile as he saw Asuka going on and on while Aya barely paid heed to what she was saying. Aya had opened up the dead animal, pulling out most of the
Daisuke woke from his slumber as he felt a sudden cold rush through his body. He was panting heavily. Apparently, he had just been soaked in water, and before him he could see Satoru squatting with an empty wet bowl dripping out. "You are finally awake" Satoru said as he stood and turned away. Daisuke noticed that he was tied up with very strong ropes to a tree behind him. The ropes were tied so tightly that taking a long breath felt impossible. "Took you long enough, handsome" Asuka said from the other side of the tree. "Asuka?" Daisuke called. "Wait, what of Aya?" "I'm right beside you, though we can barely see each other", Asuka's sister said from another side of the tree, almost parallel to him. "And stop trying to free yourself, you are hurting us both." All three of them were tied to the large tree, each facing the opposite direction, and barely able to see each other thanks to the large and th
Mikasa took a deep breath as she began to explain to them. "As you all can tell, I and the others are elves. Those two outside are Ketsuki. However that doesn't mean that I support their race. But before that, I will talk about our race for a bit", she said, keeping Daisuke and the other's attention glued to her. "We once lived in the elven village with the other elves, but that was almost half a century ago. I personally had never been there, but my grandparents were", she said. "It wasn't recently when the Jinro had started oppressing the elves. It had lasted for over a century, and our grandparents couldn't take it anymore. True rebels by nature, they couldn't stay silent for much long. The Jinro were oppressing us, and our grandparents couldn't have it. They wanted to revolt, while the village chief and the others were too conservative about it. They couldn't take it anymore, and they decided that they would go on their own to fight against the Jinr
"Ah?" asked Asuka, looking at Daisuke with a sudden frown as she grabbed his ear, instantly squeezing and drawing it so hard that he almost cried out. "Don't go making decisions like that without confiding in us first." Daisuke held on to his reddened ear. "I'm not forcing you to join us. In fact, I would love it if the both of you sit this one out and head back to the village to live safely under Master Ronin." "And you think we would let you go without us?" asked Aya with a smile. "What do you take us for?" "What are you both angry about?" Daisuke asked, apparently confused about whether they wanted him to go or not, with or without them. "If you wanted to leave with me, then why are either of you complaining?" "You three seem to be enjoying yourselves" Mikasa said, taking note of their childish bickering. Then she stared at the ground while twiddlung her thumbs, as if remembering something she didn't want to. "I miss thos
Satoru stood outside, leaning against the wall as he admired the beautiful crescent moon. The view of it calmed him, and the urge to sleep was slowly dawning on him. It was then that his wife came beside him, resting her head on his shoulder while placing a hand on his chest. He welcomed this gesture by placing his hand on hers. "Its beautiful" she said, also gazing at the crescent moon. Satori said nothing in response, his eyes still fixed on the starry sky. "It's very late, come with us to bed" she said. "The Ketsuki are nucturnal. They will keep watch all night, just as they always do." "I overheard what you discussed with them" Satoru said. "I'm sorry" she replied, gradually pulling herself away. "I didn't mean to play you like that." But he pulled her close, keeping her as she was. "I haven't forgotten about the oath we made to our parents when they died" he said. "We will stay true to the cause, no matter what." "To the bitter end" they both said in unison. Then she
Daisuke opened his eyes and could still feel the two sisters by his side, sleeping soundly. At the other sides of the room he could see Satoru already up and out of bed, strapping on his sword as if readying himself for battle, and Hina, still sound asleep. Satoru looked beside him and saw Daisuke, looking back at him.Mikasa and Hina were still both sound asleep, and the atmosphere showed that it was still dawn, maybe and hour or two before sunrise. This most likely meant that Daisuke and Satoru had barely slept for three hours that night, which made the young man wonder if he had gotten a long rest in the previous afternoon. "I thought I was going to have to wake you up, brat" Satoru said to Daisuke. "Come on, we have a long day ahead of us."Daisuke sighed as he gently got out of bed, careful not to wake the other two.Mikasa had told him before bed that her husband, Satoru would teach him more about how to weild and idea sword. Part
Satoru could still remember what happened when Daisuke was pushed to his limit. He remembered the strange power he exhibited when Nobuharu made him desperate enough to win. But now, he had the tip of his sword at Daisuke's throat, with one plunge, he could kill him. But why hadn't he done so? "What's the matter, big man?" asked Daisuke with a mischievous grin. "Could it be that you are afraid?" Satoru closed his eyes, taking a deep breath before getting off Daisuke. "I've given you my warning, that's all that matters", he said, facing a different direction. "Now pick up your sword." Daisuke didn't know that the move Satoru had just made was an insult to him. A swordsman showing his back to either a trainee, comrade in sparring, or opponent was a move that showed the other was incompetent. But Daisuke had no idea, and Satoru clicked his tongue, realising his move didn't have the intended effect. "Alright, I'm ready"
"Aya, what sort of wood is this?" asked Hina, who obviously knew the answer to that question, but was just using it as a means of teaching the amateur archer. "Hawthorn wood" Aya replied as she picked a piece up and examined it closely. "I think it is." "Good" Hina commended, still picking up pieces of wood and metal. "Any idea why we chose this kind of wood for our arrows?" "Because wood from the hawthorn tree is especially strong and tough" Aya replied as she picked another piece of sharp wood. "Good" Hina said. "It is also because it burns with the highest level of heat when used to fuel fire. Now, how would this be effective against stronger opponents?" "It would be most effective by its durability and affinity to both hardness and heat" Aya responded as she stood erect, looking around for any stray piece of wood or metal nearby. "You have spokem correctly, Aya" Hina said. "Now look around you. The