#jta

Shōko and Count glanced at eachother before the woman waved her axe at Shōko’s face.

“Ey, drop the stick, lil’ lady. Or I might decide to cut you down where ya stand…!”

Shōko immediately complied, dropping the stick and throwing her hands into the air.

“Good girl. Now, why don't you answer my question. Who are you, and where are ya from..?”

Shōko hesitated. She didn't want to reveal anything to this dangerous woman, but at the same time it's not like she had anything she needed to keep secret.

She took a slight breath, steadying her breathing before answering. “My name is Shōko, and this…” She said, pointing with her eyes to the cat. “...is my associate, Count. W-we’re from Isenn, the little town on top of the cliff, and we fell off a cloud on our way to Lavden…”

Sweat was beginning to drip down her face again. If it wasn’t for the miasma that started to re-enter the empty space around them, it would have been noticeable.

She steeled herself again before continuing. “W-we didn't mean to— uhm, i-invade?— your territory, we were just passing through...”

“Is that so?” The woman asked rhetorically. She glanced behind her shoulder for a moment then rolled her eyes, almost like someone just said something that annoyed her.

“Yea yea, I'm getting to it. Can't believe you're naggin’ me again..” She mumbled before continuing. “So, why are you tryin’ ta get ta Lavden, ey? It's not really a town meant for tourists, now is it?”

The lady’s question made Shōko scrunch her face in annoyance. Coupled with the incoming miasma, and her head started pounding again. This time, it felt like thousands of needles were repeatedly stabbing her scalp.

“That's not an important question. You know we’re of no harm to you, so can't you let us—”

“Nuh uh uh~” she mumbled as she waved the axe in Shōko’s face once more. “I'm the one askin’ the questions here, alright? Now you're going to answer and you're going to answer truthfully. Why ar-#-#-#-...”

Her words faded out as Shōko glanced at the cat once more, but this time not out of fear or anxiety. Well, mostly not, anyway. No, this time it was for confirmation. This woman clearly couldn't be reasoned with in Shōko’s mind, so she wanted to act. Count nodded knowingly and Shōko realigned her gaze.

“...Well?” The woman asked, waiting for an answer. Shōko closed her eyes and steadied her breathing, her hands already hot with spiral energy.

She then opened her eyes and replied. “Well, the reason... uhm...? I-is because—”

She then threw her hands down and forward, towards the woman. Her hands made contact with the woman's bare neck as she pushed her backwards, the heated spiral energy transferring from Shōko’s hands into her neck, making her muscles and wind pipe tense and tighten.

The woman began to choke as she stumbled backwards, a side effect of her airways suddenly closing. Her free hand flew up to her neck, feeling it and the surrounding area before the tightening subsided and her throat opened up, allowing her to breathe.

She dropped her hand as she opened her mouth to breathe in a big gulp of air, but before properly being able to do that, Shōko threw her Spirally charged fist forward with a loud grunt, her knuckles making contact with her Adam's apple. The woman made an exasperated sort of sound, one mimicking that of gagging and coughing as she lurched backwards involuntarily, leaning forward as she stumbled back even more.

Her hand came up once again to hold her throat, her palm covering her Adam's apple while her index finger, her middle finger, and thumb finger held the spot where her lower jaw connected to her neck.

“I'll— guegh—!” She gagged as she tried to speak, so she instead swung her axe wildly, despite the pain and confusion. “cuegh eugh—... I'll kill you, you b-brat!!” She continued as she regained some of her senses.

The miasma was thickening and quick to fill in the empty space. Shōko may be using that to cover herself, but the woman has her ways to counter it.

She gripped her axe tightly with both hands before taking in a deep breath using her core, then spinning around with speed and vigor, her movements clearing the space of the miasma temporarily. Until it fills it again, that is.

The now clear and visible area revealed Shōko who was holding her knuckle in pain. The woman, however, wasted no chance and immediately threw her axe Shōko’s way.

It whirred past the girl as she narrowly dodged it, her eyes following the axe’s trajectory. Once it was past her, she focused her sight in front of herself once more and saw the woman charging at her before throwing a clearly heavy footed punch directly into Shōko’s face. Luckily for the girl, she managed to react in time and block it with her forearms. But, despite her forearms being filled with blood and adrenaline, the hit still hurt like a bitch.

“Guuhng!” Shōko grunted as she got hit back. She wasn't used to taking hits like that. She wasn't a fighter. “Hah!!” But despite that… “Is that all you're made of? My cat scratches harder than that~!”

She exclaimed as she pointed towards Count.

Genius-like, Shōko. Bravo, bravo!!

She thought to herself. The woman, on the other hand, wasn't impressed by Shōko’s obvious bluff. And neither was Count.

The woman dashed backwards before she extended her hand, opening it wide. The sound of the axe metal cutting through the air managed to hit Shōko’s ears before the metal itself did, and she managed to jump out of the way once again.

“You're pretty nimble for a little girl. Since I'm plannin’ on killin’ ya, might as well make it fun. Whas your name, sweetheart?” The woman asked provocatively, the manic grin covering her face again.

Shōko opened her mouth to answer, but the incoming miasma made her feel queasy, and she paused before managing to answer in a strained and annoyed voice. “I-it’s Shōko, you old hag…! Didn't you ask that already? And the cat you amputated is my a-acquaintance…” She then brought her shaky hands up to massage her temples, the pressure easing the throbbing slightly.

The woman seemed to reply but Shōko didn't notice. Instead, she noticed the cat’s whispering. “Flow, Shōko. You must use zhe Flow form!!”

“Wha— h-how am I supposed to do that, Count?! I can't focus during a fight—”

“Yes, you can! Exactly how you're feeling Spiral in your arms, you need to feel it in your entire body or else you'll suffer like before!!”

Shōko held a puzzled expression before she turned back to face the woman. She sighed briefly before trying to focus on the feeling of her blood spiraling in the vessels throughout her body, and to do this she needed to buy time.

“Wh-what about you, lady? What's your name—”

“You're ignoring me??” She said, abruptly cutting the girl off. “During our fight too?!”

The woman's agitated response had Shōko feeling a little distraught and hopeless. She continued trying to feel the blood spiral through her despite the clock ticking down.

“N-no, not at all! I just now asked you what your name is, does that not count as focusing on you??!” Shōko pleaded. Her body was aching all over. The sweat left her feeling drenched and her head and chest felt like they were being squeeze by a professional hugger.

The woman grinned before answering. “Oh, you’re interested in me? How swell~ My name’s Melaina!”

…She's a little special isn't she…? Shōko thought to herself.

Melaina brandished her axe once again and threw it at Shōko. The sudden shift from conversing to attempted murder surprised Shōko, and therefore left her frozen for a moment too late. As she leaped to the side to dodge the attack, the axe had already made contact with her shoulder, slicing off almost two centimeters of her side deltoid.

The axe landed somewhere behind her, probably lodging into a tree or something. Shōko, on the other hand, landed onto her right side, making some of the leaves and dirt fly up.

It was painless at first, reason being the adrenaline coursing through her arms. But in the time it took to leap and land, the pain had already set in. Her right hand flew to her shoulder and she—

“Gaaahnng..!!”

Screamed loudly, the sound echoing, making the birds nesting in trees fly off. She clenched her jaw and gritted her teeth as she tried to hold back her groans.

“Aww, gonna cry love?” The woman asked as she recalled her axe, the weapon flying in a straight line. Meanwhile Shōko lied there, immobilized by the intense pain, leaving her very vulnerable. “I guess this is where it ends then, for you and your little cat thing. Hehe~!”

The woman lifted her her left arm high, clearly intending to end it in one singular blow. Shōko glared at her as she did so. She knew what was coming, but wasn't going to accept it. Through gritted teeth and tears she rolled left, onto her back, her hand still holding her shoulder as blood flowed through her fingers. She swiftly lifted her legs and pointed her feet at the woman, intending to take the blow with them. It would leave her very injured but also very alive. She shut her eyes hard for a tiny moment before opening them and glaring at the woman with a fierce will to live, her body tensing up to endure the impact.

*Plunk, crack.*

Instead of the sound of a metal blade cutting into thick leather and inevitably flesh, along with the sound of a little girl screaming, it was the sound of a metal blade hitting cloth and wood, the wood cracking slightly as a little cat grunted in pain.

“C-count!!” Shōko shouted as the cat fell to the ground as the axe was ripped out of his chest. Shōko nearly leaped up onto her knees before crawling over to him. “C-count wh-why—”

“Focus, girl!!”

He pushed himself up and onto his little leg nubs to headbutt her chin and push her out of the way of the swing of Melaina’s axe, before falling forward onto his face.

“F-frow Schōko!!” His words were muffled by the leaves and dirt, but it went through. She gritted her teeth hard, hard enough that she could feel her teeth hurt despite all the other pains. She leapt to her feet and squeezed her shoulder, making her blood spurt out all onto her hand. Her body shuddered and she winced, but she continued moving.

If I keep moving, then I won't feel anything!!!

She stepped forward and threw her right arm towards the woman's face, not to punch her but to grab her. She managed to get a hold of her facial planes and covered it with her blood, effectively blinding the woman. Her fingers gripped tightly as she pulled her closer, and then hit her mouth with her forehead.

They both stumbled back in pain. If not for the tree behind Shōko, she would have fallen over. Melaina held her mouth as her tongue felt for any loose teeth. She also gagged slightly as she tasted the blood. After feeling no loose teeth, she spat onto the ground, the combined blood of her and Shōko exiting her mouth. She looked up at Shōko, who was still recovering from the sudden impact with the tree, and grinned again. The very same manic one.

“Nice one, girly-pop! Who knew you had it in you~?”

She stepped forward and used her left arm to swing her axe horizontally. Shōko proceeded to duck, falling onto her butt as the axe hit the trunk of the tree.

The swing rebounded, and Melaina held her left arm, as it was quite strained from repetitive use.

Yes! My chance!

Shōko grinned, then chared in low to tackle her. There was an obvious weight difference between the two, which would pose a problem, but with proper technique and taking advantage of surprise, she could pull it off—

*Swish. Pshhh.*

She was baited. Melaina’s arm wasn't actually tired— she was just playing possum. And because of that, she managed to get a good— or in this case for Shōko, a bad hit in.

Melaina swung her axe upwards and sliced Shōko’s left forearm, along with a portion of the bone. Shōko's head bumped into Melaina’s navel as she fell forward, then to the side and onto her back, knocking the wind out of her, not even allowing her to scream in pain. Her forearm – which was filled with blood due to spiral usage – sprayed the fluid upwards, covering Melaina’s upper body, staining her clothes and covering her face, blinding her for the second time.

She stumbled back as Shōko finally managed to scream in agonizing pain. Melaina spat and clawed at her face, trying to wipe the blood off while gripping her axe handle.

“You b-bitch! I'll make sure to see myself gutting you... but... blegh-blergh…”

Despite her clearly violent personality, blood makes her queasy, which resulted in the violent vomiting.

Shōko held her arm, the pain overwhelming her.

I-I need to get, up but… I-I can't..! It's to much...

The voice in her head was shaky, then it whispered.

Flow…

She widened her eyes despite the tears and realized.

Sensation.

That was the most important factor in fully utilizing Uneri, and right now her entire body was filled with various sensations– Pain. It was pain….

A shuddering, bone clattering, jaw clenching, tear inducing pain.

And, she could feel it all. Sure, it was reduced by the adrenaline and all, but her blood flow. Her heartbeat. Her breathing. She was aware of it all, and it somehow brought out a calmness she didn't know she could feel in such a moment.

She moved her arms away from each other and held them at her sides, using them to slowly push her up into a seated position. She couldn't hear anything as the blood pressure in her ears was quite high, but that didn't matter. No, not at all.

She breathed in deeply using her diaphragm, then breathed out, the sudden influx of oxygen energizing her. She slowly stood up, her left arm still profusely spilling blood onto the ground, but way less than before. She walked up to the woman, who half-finished puking but was still reeling from it. She wiped her mouth and glanced to her left, but flinched as she saw Shōko standing there with a calm, deadpan expression.

Shōko’s right hand placed itself onto her latissimus dorsi – her back – then it slowly snaked it's way up onto her mid trapezius, then onto and around her neck. She pulled back and locked her arms together tightly, holding Melaina in a rear naked choke hold. This was incredibly frightening to Melaina who was frozen with shock, but when the pressure around her neck was applied, she suddenly regained her senses and started flailing around to free herself. She tried to lift her left arm to swing her axe into Shōko's face, but Shōko just tightened her grip which made Melaina flinch again. She wasn't sure what it was, the girl’s sudden calm and strength that somehow managed to rival her own, the incoming miasma that was once again filling the space, or the fact that it was a choke hold.

But the woman, Melaina, was scared.

Melaina started to slump down as strength began to exit her body, Shōko followed the fall but didn't release her grip.

“Just die. Please.” Shōko whispered into her ear.

The words made Melaina shiver and she tried to struggle again as a memory that wasn't quite hers flashed in her mind. She dropped the axe and tried to claw at Shōko’s face, but it didn't stop her. Her grip just seemed to tighten and tighten util…

*Thud.*

Melaina’s arms dropped. It wasn't just oxygen deprivation, but also the pressure on the vessels and nerves that aided in her death. Shōko let out a shuddering sigh before releasing her grip. She gently put the woman's head onto the ground and closed her eyes before standing up. Her right hand came up to her shoulder which was starting to become unbearably sore. I guess sore isn't the right word, but it was agonizing.

She turned to face Count and somehow smiled.

“I-I did it. I survived…”

She said in a soft peaceful mannner, loud enough for him to hear. The cat nodded, and the hallucination of her younger self appeared next to him. They both spoke at the same time.

“-”But you killed someone…”-”

The tears began to drip, not from sadness or regret, but from the increasing pain.

She replied, her voice strained. “Y-yeah, I did. B-but I'm alive. And that's all that matters..”

The cat and the hallucination smiled together as they replied again. “-”Yeah, that's true. Surviving is all that matters…”-”

Shōko chuckled at their reply, a hearty one filled with tears and snot, but a happy one nonetheless. She stopped and sighed. Her body began to feel cold and weak, and she knew that she might pass out. She tried to focus on the sensations again as she fell onto her knees, but it just wasn’t happening. Her eyelids fell over her eyes before she fell onto her face, passing out at once.

The cat, seeing this, immediately began crawling over to her on his hands and nubs. He wasn't very fast, but he was persistent.

Once he reached her, he felt her neck to see if she still had a pulse. And luckily, she did. It was a strong one, too. He sat down onto his butt and began to unbutton his coat, then began untying the headscarf she had tied around his chest. Once he was done he could clearly see the gaping hole in his chest. It was very strange, to say the least, but it wasn't a bother.

He then wrapped it around her shoulder like bandages, then used his tie and wrapped it around her shoulder as well, but higher and tighter, using it like a tourniquet to lessen the bleeding. Her shoulder wound was severe enough that she could bleed to death, after all.

He glanced at Melaina, who was lying dead on the ground behind Shōko. A sigh of relief came from his face hole before he, too, collapsed onto his back, passing out. He may be a doll who was effectively immortal, but that didn't mean he had infinite energy. That is, after all, impossible…

(:note:)

They hadn't been walking for very long – maybe fifteen or eighteen minutes worth. Shōko had her flashlight to light up the dark of the night, but it didn't do much because of the thick fog that seemed to suddenly appear out of nowhere.

Shōko’s gaze was set forward, either looming at the map on her phone or at the ground in front of her. Count, on the other hand… Well, he was just looking around, analyzing their surroundings, making sure to keep pace with her.

She glances back over her shoulder at the cat. “Notice anything, Mr. Count?” She inquires, getting eerily anxious. Must be the fog, and the weird sounds… She mutters in thought before listening to the cat’s answer.

“Indeed, I have. I'm sure you are avare zhat almost as soon as zhe sun had completely set, zhe fog appeared— instantly, almost. How very peculiar.”

“Yes, I have. What's your point??” Her words were shaky and clearly on edge, a stark contrast to the cat who remained fully calm.

“Vell, I vould suspect zhat zhe fog comes from zhe trees. I know it doesn't make sense, but even if it vas rainy, it usually still takes a vhile for zhe fog to appear. But zhis appeared almost instantly, and nothing else fits zhe bill more zhan zhese trees…”

Shōko stopped suddenly and turned around to face the cat. Her breath was heavy and she seemed to be on edge.

She then spoke, her voice low and shaky. “H-how could… fog come… from t-trees? Of all things, Mr. Count…?”

The cat observed her with an eyebrow raising, as she was acting a bit strange. He looked around a bit at the fog surrounding them. It had seemed to thicken, turning from a gray mist into a dark, desaturated purple miasma.

He sighed before replying. “I don't have zhe answer to zhat, Miss Shōko. Although one thing I can say is zhat zh-zhis fog is very dangerous. Ve'd better do vell to exit it quickly and find zhat shelter—”

Shōko scoffed before interrupting the cat. “You think I don't know that?!” She turned around back onto the path before finishing. “Gosh you're insufferable. Damn cat…”

She began walking, while the cat just stood there, surprised by her behavior. He followed after and tried to wrack his non-existent brain around it. He looked up at her and noticed how she was looking around erratically, her head swishing and turning around. He managed to noticed how clenched her jaw was, despite the faint moonlight that was being filtered out by the miasma.

They walked on for a bit more before Shōko stopped again, her chest clearly heaving underneath her shirt and coat. She took the makeshift cane and held it out in front of her, almost like a lance. Her breath was hot and visble in the cold air of the night, very clearly seen despite the miasma.

She spoke in a soft tone. “Mr. Count. There's something infront of us. I don't know what it is, but it seems dangerous...”

The cat raises a confused eyebrow, looking forward and seeing nothing. Alright, maybe it's because he’s short and the miasma is blocking his view. So he steps in front of her and still sees nothing.

“I don't see anything, Miss Shōko. Could you point to vhere you are looking at…?”

Shōko points in front of her with the stick. The cat squints his eyes but still can't make out anything.

“Vhat does it look like?” He asks, trying to see if he'll spot it if he knows what the shape of the silhouette looks like.

Shōko replies, her voice still soft. “I-I’m not sure. It seems like a large animal, l-like a wolf, maybe?”

The cat takes a step closer but still can't see anything. He walks ahead and says. “Vait here. I'll go check.

“Wait what?! N-no you can't—”

Despite Shōko’s protests, the miasma has already blocked him from her view, leaving her standing there alone, scared, and trembling. She gulps hard, her eyes darting every direction, her flashlight doing little to illuminate the path due to the thick miasma.

A few anxious seconds passed, and Shōko could see a small figure approaching her. She took a step back, brandishing her stick before the cat appeared.

“Zhere's nothing zhere, Shōko. Are you alright? I zhink this fog is messing vith your perception...”

Shōko dropped her stick slightly, her breath leaving her in little huffs. “Th-then, how come you're alright, Mr. Count??”

The cat held his chin and replied. “Hmm, vell maybe zhat’s because I'm a doll. And zhe stuff I breath in can't affect me, because I don't have organic internals.”

Shōko sighed slightly, one of relief. But then she asked. “O-okay, but then why were you smoking a pipe when we met yesterday?”

“Can't a cat have a hobby?” He replied with a question, his eyes meeting hers. He noticed in the faint light how bloodshot her eyes were.

He turned around and added, “Vell, ve should really hurry up. Who knows vhat vould happen if you stayed in zhe fog too long.”

Shōko nodded and gulped, her anxiety lessening slightly. She continued walking with the cat right beside her.

They continued walking quietly and stealthily. Little words were exchanged, only Shōko pointing out something in the path and Count cofirming or denying; mostly denying, which proved his theory that the miasma is some sort of hallucigenic true. I mean, a few times Shōko exclaimed that something was right in front of them or charging at them, while Count was the one to deny and calm her down.

They were close to their destination now, a couple hundred meters away. She could feel it. And so could the cat. But then they heard it – a twig snap and a branch crack far off into the distance behind them.

Both their heads turned to face the sound before turning to look at each other, with Count confirming that what they heard was real. Shōko dropped her dress and pocketed her phone, holding her stick with both hands as she stepped back and to the side.

“C-count..! I-I’m not imagining things, right? Something’s there...”

The cat nodded as his expression hardened.

Shōko turned her head to face the cat and asked, “Count, do you think we should confront it, or run?”

The cat held his chin, and before he could answer, something whizzed past inbetween them. It made a loud *bang* or *thud* sound behind them as it lodged into a tree. Their heads snapped behind them, and their eyes caught an axe lodged into a tree.

The axe vibrated in the tree before suddenly flying backwards in the line it came from. Their eyes met, both filled with confusion and realization. It's the axe Shōko had spoken of earlier.

Shōko immediately went behind the tree she was next to, while Count crouched down, his short stature and the thick miasma practically making him invisible. Shōko stood there, her head pounding, her hands gripping the stick. Meanwhile, Count focused his sight and noticed a figure approaching.

Their footsteps were audible. Not loud, but audible. Count managed to make out the axe in their hand, held tightly in their grip. They turned to the cat’s right and charged their weapon, throwing it akin to one throwing a rock to skip it across water while muttering something faint.

“Log Splitter…”

The axe flew past, clearing the miasma in it’s path before coming in contact with a tree, slicing right through it, then falling to the ground behind it. The sound of the tree falling echoed through the night, with branches breaking, twigs snapping, and bark splitting. The axe then flew back towards the person and landed in their grasp as the tree hit the ground.

“A-argh, stop talking! I'll handle— I'm handling it, alright…!!” The voice yelled out, seemingly to no one. Their voice was clearly agitated and aggressive. “For the love of Mila, just. Shut. Up.”

The cat crawled closer to Shōko. “Shōko, zhis'll probably end in a fight so you'll have to prepare your Spiral energy—”

The cat stopped talking and payed attention to her shivering, quivering body.

“Shōko?” He asked as he stood up slowly. He gazed at her face and noticed that there were tears streaming down her face.

“Shōko? Shōko, are you okay??” He asked again, his worry accumulating.

She pointed in front of her, making Count inclined to look.

“A-are they real, Count?

The cat looked confused, as he didn't see anything. He shook his head and turned back to face her.

“No, Shōko, vhatever you are seeing is just a hallucination induced by zhe fog... Don't be fooled.”

“Okay…” She muttered as she slumped down, her body shivering violently.

Count put his hand on her shoulder in an attempt to calm her. “It's okay Shōko, it's not real…”

He could tell that whatever she is seeing is something from her past.

By now, a couple trees had been cut down, the sound of crashing trees masking Count and Shōko’s conversation. Count could tell they were getting closer, as the tree they were ducking behind was one of the only ones in the perimeter.

He steeled himself and spoke again. “Shōko, I'll distract zhem, and you'll find a chance to run. Okay? Run as far as you can!”

“W-wait what—?” Shōko tried to protest, but the cat had already run off into the nearest area that had been cleared of miasma by the axe whirring past. The person spotted him, their expression hardening as they charged their axe.

“Found you, intruder! I'll have your head...!!”

“Try your hardest, you scoundrel!!” He yelled back before narrowly dodging the ‘Log Splitter’ attack.

The attack cleared quite a bit of miasma, so much that if it wasn't for it being nighttime, Shōko would have been spotted.

The cat turned around and dodged the returning axe with relative ease. The person caught the axe and took a few swift steps forward before throwing the axe once more, only for the cat to dodge both the incoming and returning of it. All the while Shōko watched, clutching her stick to her chest.

I-I have to help him but... no, I must go, that’s what I should do...! She thought, not truly knowing what to do.

She turned around and began to slowly crawl away, the sound of the person’s grunts and insults along with the cat’s taunting fading into the background. She stood up and began to run before stopping in her tracks, the sight in front of her not only shocking, but also frightening.

“Are you going to run away again?” She spoke in a soft, dejected tone, her posture slumped down, and her little pleated dress flowing in the miasma.

“Ah— I… uh… n-no, I'm... W-wait how are you… no. You're not real, you're just a hallucination. C-count told me so...!!” Shōko protested to the little girl, clutching the stick to her chest even tighter.

The girl looked up at her, her dead eyes seeming to glare into her soul.

The girl – no older than nine or ten – spoke again, the malice in her voice increasing. “No, I'm not real. But what happened is. It is real, and you know that, you coward…”

She took a step forward, her expression slowly shifting into a scowl.

“Are you going to let the cat die, just like you let –#– and –#– die?” She asked, the last word muffled by a weird sound. Although Shōko knew full well what she was referring to.

She swallowed hard, her head pounding and sweat soaking her entire body. She stepped back and held the stick in front of her in a mock attempt to defend herself. “N-no! No no no no...!! That's not, I-I had no choice then, a-and I don't have one now—”

“NO!! Stop lying to yourself, coward!!”

The commotion of Shōko yelling at the figure – at herself – had attracted the axe wielding person, their gaze snapping onto her general area before they threw their axe, with it whizzing past her and clearing some of the miasma.

“Found you~!” They exclaimed before the axe whirrled back towards them, landing in their grasp, their arm charging up once more.

“Shōko!! Vhat are you doing?! Look out..!!” Count yelled as he started running towards her. Meanwhile, she was still lost in her own world. Being confronted by her past self…

Her expression suddenly changed from one of fright and regret to one of anger.

“You can blame me for the mistakes of the past, but don't forget that it was actually you who made them, not me!!”

“Well you're about to repeat them, you coward...!”

Shōko continued to argue with her hallucitory past self, all the while Count dashed towards her – yelling for her to get out of the way – all to no avail. The person threw their axe, aiming it straight at Shōko, who still hadn't come to her senses.

Time seemed to slow for the cat, his eyes shifting between the flying axe and Shōko, his expression turning grim. He pushed his soul to it’s limit, his feet digging into the ground to propel himself faster than the axe.

And luckily, he did.

He leaped forward, directly into Shōko, pushing her out of the axe’s way and bringing her back to reality. He yelped loudly as the axe made contact with his legs, slicing through both and making them fly off as he and Shōko landed.

“Shit!!” He yelled, the pain as immense as getting impaled. He lied on top of her, huffing heavily before pushing himself off and rolling onto his back.

“You damn idiot, are you trying to get yourself killed, Shōko??! I zhought I told you to run...!!”

Shōko sat up abruptly and noticed the cat’s missing legs through the disorientation, the situation reminding her even more of back then. She looked down at her hands, images of the blood that stained it all those years ago flashing in and out. The throbbing in her head still hasn't died down, and all the surrounding noise isn't much help to her situation.

She hears a faint call for her name, but can't quite make it out. Only when she looks up does she notice where it’s coming from.

The cat.

“Shōko!! You need to escape from zhis area right now! Zhis is not a request but an order from me as your guide...”

“B-but then, what about you—?”

“Forget about me, I'm functionally immortal... even if I'm chopped into bits, I von’t die.” Despite him saying that, it didn't do much to calm Shōko. She clutched her stick, holding onto it like a lifeline before nodding at the cat as she stood up.

“I-I’ll come back for you, Count. I promise—”

“Ey, no you won't…”

The voice said as they held the axe blade to Shōko's throat. She looked up at the person and took in the sight of them. It was a woman, with long curly crimson hair and dark skin, as dark as dark chocolate. She held a manic grin as she stomped her boot on the cat's chest.

“Now,” She began, her eyes shining at an opportunity. “Where did you two bloody come from?”

Special thanks to @frost-to-shadow-ratio & @ghoulishnero for being my editors/proofreaders.

She dropped her hand from her hair and shook her head, her hair falling into place over her head. A trick she learned from her mother, which she still unconsciously does. She took a step forward and took a breath before speaking.

“Alright, Mr. Count, here's what I am going to do. I am going to climb the tree, and once I get to the branch level you are at, I'll try and shimmy you off of it. Sounds good… kind of… And uhh, you can still move, right?”

The cat simply nodded in reply to her statement and questions, the pink hat still gripped tightly in his hand.

She slowly walked to the tree infront of her, the one that the cat is currently stuck on.

“Oh gosh, I haven't climbed a tree in years.” Shōko said with a sigh as she stretched a bit. She gazed at the rough bark of the tree and sighed again. She took off her dress, as it would be a hindrance to climbing the tree, so in turn she was left in a tightly-fitted white long-sleeve shirt, with sleeves long enough to cover half of her palms. She neatly folded her dress and placed it on top of her coat before she started scaling the tree.

The cat was about eight or nine meters off the ground, so she had quite a bit of distance up to climb. Grabbing onto a branch, finding a place to put her feet, then pulling herself up and grabbing onto another branch in the process. The leaves smacking her face as she climbed were annoying, but not much of a hindrance. The process of ‘feel for a branch, grab on tight, then place your feet and pull yourself up’ repeated multiples times, but it only took her about three minutes to climb onto a branch near the cat. Not particularly fast, but for someone who hadn't climbed a tree in years, it wasn't too shabby.

She continued pulling herself along the branch, shimmying and scooting her butt along the branch until she was right next to Count, her legs straddled over the sides of the branch. The wind picked up slightly, which made the branches sway around more than before.

“You said you can't feel pain in the traditional sense. Right, Mr. Count?”

The cat nodded.

“So that means I can just, sorta, yank you right off??”

He nodded again, but slower this time. “Sure, but you must be careful not to damage more of my body, as I can feel zhe pain of vhen a vound is inflicted…”

Shōko nodded as she heard that, realizing that Count probably felt the pain of being impaled, but not of having a gaping hole in his chest.

She inched and scooted closer to him, practically sitting on the end of her branch, the swaying wind not doing much to calm her. She reached her arms out and gripped his shoulders and tried to reach around to his waist.

She took a breath before saying, “Alright. On the count of three, I'll pull you off. Ready, Mr. Count?”

The cat nodded.

“Okay...”

She took a single, deep breath.

“One…! Two—!”

Immedietly after the second count, she pulled up as hard as she could, trying to pull his body evenly up. The sound of the cats wooden body scraping against the branch made a disgusting screech, and Count gasped sharply in shock. His body fell back onto her, making her lose her balance. Her weight shifted and she started leaning off of the branch.

“Oh no!” She exclaimed before rotating off the branch, her legs locking around each other, making her now hang upside-down.

“Uwah—! J-just hang in there, Count…!!” She said as she swayed slightly, her hands gripping the cat’s calf and his shoulder, leaving them both in a very precarious position, with the risk of falling nine meters or so.

She gripped the branch with her legs even tighter, the faint slipping coupled with the billowing of the wind making her anxious. She tried to lift herself and the cat up with a hanging-sit-up sort of movement, but her strength wasn't enough.

Noticing this, Count interrupted. “Uh, Shōko, don't vorry about trying to lift us both up. Just drop me, I'll be fine~!”

His cheery smile was unnerving to Shōko. She wasn't sure if he held other intentions, but even if he didn't she wasn't very intent on dropping him.

“A-are you crazy!!! That is a ten-meter drop! In your state, you definitely wouldn't get out unscathed…!!” She yelled at him, still trying to lift them both up. She continued, her words straining as did her body. “I'll definitely get us—”

“Shōko!!” The cat interrupted, surprising her. He grabbed her arm and wiggled his leg out of her grip, leaving her only holding him by the shoulder, the aforementioned grip of hers slipping and loosening.

His eyes were steady and set, and he just nodded, knowing that words weren't needed. Shōko bit her lip and grimaced slightly before replying, “Alright, I'll trust you, Mr. Count…”

Her grip slowly loosened even more before she dropped him. She gazed downwards as he fell backwards instead of diving, like he did off the cloud. He rolled backwards in the air and, with perfect timing, rolled backwards as he hit the ground and onto his feet, putting the pink hat on his head and straightening his coat as he stuck the landing, a wide grin on his face. He looked up at Shōko and waved at her.

“Perfectly fine, as you can see!!”

Shōko was baffled at his display of bodily control.

How did he do that?! Was it because he was lighter? A-and the rolling probably took away most of the kinetic energy right? So… Yeah, that's probably how…!!

Her thoughts were all over the place as per usual, but she calmed herself. She could get her countless questions answered on the way to Lavden, not only the ones about his stunt, but the other ones too.

She simply smiled back at him before doing that sit-up motion to grab the branch and pull herself up back onto it properly. As she was now straddling said branch, she inched and scooted backwards until her back was against the main trunk. She grabbed onto a nearby branch and used the leverage to lift her left leg over onto the right side. She proceded to climb down the tree the same way as she climbed up, just sorta a reversed version.

Once she was about one to one and a half meters away from the ground she dropped down, her boots making a *thud* sound as it collided with the sand and dirt. She turned around and made eye contact with the cat, a cheeky smile forming on his face.

“Are you alright, Miss Shōko? Zhe climb vasn't too hard??”

She nodded, untying her headscarf and letting her arms drop as she held it. The breeze blew and tousled her hair whichever, making her inclined to brush a bunch back and behind her ear using her right hand, as the headscarf was in her left.

“I'm the one who should be asking if you're alright, Mr. Count.. You are the one with a gaping hole in your chest, after all…” She said as she approached him and crouched down.

“Here, lift your arms.” She said, with the cat complying curiously. Shōko then began to tie her headscarf around Count’s torso, making sure it covered the backside of the hole before tying it's corners.

Afterwards she began buttoning up his coat and explained. “My headscarf is only large enough to cover the backside of your unfortunate hole, so you'll have to button up your coat to cover the front. But it'll be fine. Once we've made it to Lavden, we can then get you properly patched up…”

Once she was finished, she stood up. “How is it, Mr. Count?”

The cat moved around a bit, turning his torso and jumping in once spot.

“It should hold…” He replied before he realigned his gaze with hers. “Many zhanks, Miss Shōko, you didn’t have to~”

Shōko shook her head. “No no, we have to at least maintain some semblance of dignity. It's exactly times like this when we should be at our best. But alas, we should begin heading out and finding some sort of shelter,” She looked up to the sky.

“It's getting dark, and frankly we have no idea what could be out at night. We got off lucky surviving last night...” Shōko added before going to pick up her things. She decided to only put on the coat and hold onto the dress, in case she ever had to do some high-movement activities.

As she was gathering her things, the cat crossed his arms and replied. “Uhn, yes. Speaking of last night... While I was stuck impaled on zhe branch, I felt a strange aura surround me, like a ominous mist encasing zhe surroundings. It seemed to have appeared like regular fog, but at zhe same time it seemed like it came from zhe trees…”

Shōko approached with her dress in her arms, an eyebrow raised. “I didn't encounter anything like that. Or... at least, I think I didn't…” She replied to his statement.

The cat, curious as ever inquired on her uncertainty. “Vhat do you mean vhen you say you zhink you didn’t? It seemed to me like you vere running from somezhing. You vere in tears. Speaking of vhich, I heard you—”

Shōko held her hands and waved them in an attempt to interrupt the cat, not wanting him to question her about why she was begging forgiveness.

“Ahh, uhm, that's… because…” She dropped her arms and gazed down, sighing before grabbing her right arm above the elbow joint and continuing.

“W-well, the reason I was so distraught i-is because...” She hesitated. Just the thought of it all had her in turmoil again. But she continued on.

“I died. O-or, almost died, s-since I'm… you know, still alive and all…”

She dropped her left hand and took a step forward as she looked at him again, her passion resurfacing as she added, “B-but I-I swear I died. I-it all felt so real and I was laying in a pool of my own blood and all—”

“Woah, woah, hold on now, Miss Shōko, you didn't even tell me vhat zhis danger you were running from is.” He crossed his arms once again as he sighed. He continued, “Ve vont’t be able to figure out vhat to look out for if ve are both left in zhe dark. So take a breath and calmly explain to me, Shōko...”

Shōko nodded and took a breath to calm herself.

“Yes, you are right. I apologize for losing my composure there, Mr. Count.”

The cat waved it off. “It's alright. Your attitude is reasonable, since you almost died as you have said. Now, please. Explain vhat attacked you...!”

Shōko nodded briefly before holding her chin in thought. She thought back to the moment when that axe whirred past her. She didn't even remain to see the perpetrator, she just ran off. But something wasn't adding up. She could feel like there was a gap in her memories.

Trauma? Can't be. The incident didn't happen more then 2 hours ago, but knowing Shōko and her ability to bury memories, it might not be as far-fetched as it seems.

She took a breath before realigning her gaze with Count. She then began.

“Well, it seemed to be a person. I didn't manage to see if it was a person, but I think it is due to the fact that they launched an axe right at my skull…” She said while tapping the side of her skull, right behind her frontal lobe.

The cat dropped his arms, shook his head in surprise and exclaimed in bafflement. “VHAT!!? An axe!? H-how, huh??”

He walked right infront of her and grabbed her arm, pulling her low enough so he can examine her head.

“A-and you are alright? You're not hurt, are you??” He inquired while feeling up her head, his concern quite evident.

Shōko giggled slightly before replying. “Well, I think so. If the attack did hit me, I don't think I would be talking to you right now, Mr. Count. Hehe~!”

The cat released her head and stepped back slightly, embarrassed by his own sudden display of affection. He held his left hand behind his back, while his right came up to his mouth, as he did a mock cough to clear his throat “Ahem, ahem. V-vell, zhat’s good, zhen. But vhat do you mean vhen you said you ‘died’? And zhat you vere in a pool of you own blood? You don't seem to have any injuries, so I'm quite befuddled and curious…”

“Ah—! W-well…” Shōko was befuddled herself. She wasn't sure what she experienced— only that the axe had lodged into her skull, and that she fell over, and then…

And then what? There seemed to be a gap in her memories of what happened between laying on the ground with the axe in her skull, and when she appeared back on the rock.

Oh, Mila, I.. what was it that happened??

She shook her head and waved off to the cat. “Ah, s-sorry, Count. I'm not sure why I said that. I'm not sure what I experienced myself, just that…” She couldn't find the words, for whatever reason.

The cat noticed this and decided to drop the matter for a later time. “Zhat’s no problem. You survived, and zhat’s all zhat matters. But ve need to be cautious, since there are probably people vith malicious intentions lurking in zhis forest. I mean, I doubt a beast vould zhrow an axe at you...” He said while holding his hands behind his back.

He looked to the sky again, and the orange and red glows from the setting sun were beginning to dissapear. And Count was beginning to worry. His gaze snapped back to Shōko, who was still in thought and turmoil over what happened.

“Miss Shōko. It's best to ignore zhat for now; ve have bigger problems at hand, as you can see...” He said, pointing towards the darkening sky. She snapped out of her predicament and focused. She then reached into her coat pocket and pulled out her phone and opened the map app. “Ah well, I assume our number-one agenda is finding shelter, so… let me just see if there's anything mapped in this forest...”

Count just stood by, kicking his foot or something. I mean, he wasn't even tall enough to tip-toe and see what exactly she was doing.

She kept on tapping the buttons on her keyboard, looking at the ‘Unnamed Forest’ on the map. After a couple of minutes, she exclaimed. “Ah! Uhm... Huh?”

“Hmm? Vhat’s wrong?”

Shōko looked up from her phone and saw the cat’s curious face through the fading sunlight.

“Oh, nothing’s wrong, it's just… I, uhh… I found something. And, well, I just didn't expect to find anything, honestly…”

The cat nodded, holding his chin thoughtfully. “Okay, but vhat did you find...?”

Shōko’s eyes widened slightly, and she realized how ditzy she was behaving. “Oh, yes, right!”

She walked over to Count, bending over slightly to show him what she found on her phone.

She held her phone infront of his face as she spoke. “See, here it is. It seems to be some sort of building… Like a cabin, of sorts. It's right in front of this cave over here, you see...”

The cat simply nodded as Shōko continued. “I think this'll be our best bet, for now. And compared to the distance between you and me originally, it’s much closer so… should we?”

The cat looked at her and nodded while tapping her shoulder lightly.

“Yes. Zhat seems like zhe best course of action. Erm, it'd be best if we move with haste, Shōko. It's like… uh, zhe sun has set already…”

Shōko looked up at the sky and was shocked.

Woah, it was still light just a moment ago… but well, it is almost summer, so the nights are getting shorter...

She stood up straight and turned to the direction they needed to go.

“Shall we, Mr. Count?”

The cat fell into step beside her.

“Yes, ve shall!”

Watched the Minecraft movie today (I know, way over due) but all I can say is. Despite how corny it was I loved it. it didn't take itself seriously and it was goofy so "Absolute Cinema ✋️😳🤚"

Thanks to my editors/proofreaders.

@ghoulishnero

A brief, light, gust of wind.

Yes. That's the sound Shōko heard.

A brief. Light gust of wind.

Echoing through her skull...

Special thanks to my editors/proofreaders

Shōko lied on the cold ground, sand sticking to her previously wet body. She was fluttering in and out of slumber the entire night, too sore to properly fall asleep and too sore to properly get up.

Her eyes fluttered open slightly, the light too bright to see anything. She felt something on her right arm, like a ticklish tapping.

She rolled onto her left side, groaning as she stuffed her eyes into her upper arm.

“Argh, mom, leave me alone… I'm tired… let me sleep…!”

Despite her words, she kept on feeling the ticklish feeling now, only at the back of her elbow.

It was slightly different now.

It felt soft.

And wet?

She opened her eyes and looked back over her shoulder, and saw a small fox-like animal licking her arm. She swung her arm, scaring it off before dropping her head on her arm again with a groan.

“Auugh… Why can't this have been a dream…”

She lazily pushed her aching body up into a seated position. She glanced around and spotted her coat and dress scattered on the floor. She crawled towards her coat and pulled out her phone from one of it's inside pockets. She turned it on and checked the time.

Three o’ clock.

She dropped her phone before sitting up straight. Her back was aching, probably from sleeping on a hard, cold surface the entire night. She looked at the water surface of the lake she plunged into. It's clear. Crystal-clear, fully see-through, like glass.

She pushed herself up off the ground and stood up on shaky legs, the pressure on her foot agonizing, her vision turning black from the sudden change in blood pressure. She stood there for a couple shaky seconds before her vision returned to her.

She looked down at her shirt, gripping the edge of it and pulling it up off over her head, practically peeling it off her skin before tossing it onto her coat. She took off her boots, then pulled down her pants and underwear, leaving her fully bare. A sudden chill coursed through her body as the cool air hit her bare skin. Which woke her up a bit, but it wasn't enough.

She limped forward towards the lake, entering it. First her feet, then her knees, followed by her waist and torso. The water was cold— frigid, even, which shocked her awake. It wasn't too bad though, as she was used to always taking cold showers back at home.

She continued trudging further into the icy water, making sure to keep her arms raised up, out of it.

The water was now at clavicle height, and her arms were still dry. She took a breath to steel herself before slowly lowering her arm into the water. It burned against her raw, red skin, making her grit her teeth, but she kept lowering her arm. The raw flesh felt like it was burning all over again. She rubbed her arm with her left hand, brushing off scabs and cleaning it.

She dipped her head into the water, letting it soak in through her hair and onto her scalp before coming back up. She splashed the cold water into her face, wiping her eyes and rinsing her mouth.

The water tasted like sand…

After soaking in the cold water for a couple minutes, she slowly trudged out back onto the bank, her limbs cold and numb. Especially her right arm. She stood underneath the leaves, letting the filtering light dry her body.

“I wonder where that damn cat is, and why’d he even jump down for that hat anyway?! What color was it, pink?” She questioned, monologuing to herself. “That color didn't even match his outfit! N-not that it looked particularly bad, though, but—”

By the time she finished her self-monologuing and yapping, she realized she was dry. She dusted her clothes before putting them on, the warmth comforting.

She then threw her coat and dress onto a random nearby branch to let them air-dry.

While she waited, she sat near the bank, nibbling on some dried fruit she had in her purse, while checking her phone. Despite the plunge, it seemed to work fine, so she opened the map app and checked her current location. It was about three and a half kilometers away from Isenn Station, and the way the cat fell wasn't more then a few tens of meters away from the station. So all she had to do was walk back to where the station roughly is, through the weird forest-like place.

She continued looking at the map app, specifically at the forest she was currently in. It had a weird skull symbol next to the name. Or, at least, where it’s supposed to be.

She used the keyboard arrows to select the symbol, and a small info bar appeared.

'This forest is very unexplored and in turn is very dangerous, due to unknown flora and fauna. Enter at your own risk…'

“Are you serious…? I'm seriously stuck inside this unexplored, unnamed forest?? Oh, Mila, this is not my day…”

She turned off her phone and gently put it onto the ground. She finished her piece of dried fruit before getting up and gathering her clothes off the branch and putting them on.

She gathered her other things – phone and boots. But before heading off, she looked around and found a perfect cane-shaped stick to use, since her right foot was injured, probably even broken at worst.

She followed the map’s directions, making sure to avoid any underbrush and rough terrain. Time went by and she hadn't encountered anything dangerous, mostly just small vertebrates and invertebrates like foxes, squirrels, raccoons, some small reptiles, and weird bugs. She was about a kilometer away from her destination when she spotted a small stream and decided to take a break. She took out a small glass bottle of water, which she emptied along the way, and filled it with the stream’s water.

I should probably boil this water. “But I don't have any materials for boiling water on me...”

Being a bookworm, she's obviously read a lot of books, some of those being about wilderness survival and outdoor camping. And with her acquired knowledge, she knows that even if the water is clear, she should boil it. By using that knowledge, she could probably even start a fire with a couple of tries. But without anything to boil the water in…

She thought for a bit. Naturally, her gaze landed on her right arm. The red skin around her hand made her think back to when she was on the clouds, using her ability. The heat it generated was definitely enough to boil a small bottle of water.

She took off her coat, folded it, and gently placed it onto the ground. She then rolled up her left sleeve before grabbing the bottle with her left hand. She started to control her breathing once more. Using her diaphragm to breath in deeply through her nose, then slowly out through her mouth. Feeling the oxygen merge with her blood cells and feeling it flow through her arm and yadayadayada…

Her arm started heating up as it filled with blood. Since glass is quite a good conductor for vibrations, the spiral energy quite easily transferred from her arm into the bottle and through the water. She made sure not to focus too much on her arm as to not have it end up like the other arm.

To aid this, she did it even slower. Hyperventilating every few seconds to deactivate her technique, then reactivating it to heat up the water, then deactivating it and repeating the cycle. This went on for a few minutes, and as the bottle started reaching boiling temperatures, she submerged her hand in the stream to still hold on. The water started bubbling, and she remembered to remove the cap before the pressure got too much.

She held onto the bottle for as long as she could before it got too hot. She hyperventilated to deactivate her power, put on the cap and left the bottle in the stream to cool down.

She sat down onto a nearby rock, using her folded coat as a cushion. Some of the tension in her body escaped with a deep sigh. She waited for the water in the bottle to cool down, occasionally glancing at the bottle the water from the stream, it’s water morphing in shape as it rushed over it.

The seconds turned into minutes, and she wondered if any of the ‘dangers’ in the forest would find her, before shaking her head wildly. “Argh, Shōko you idiot, don't jinx it. The dangers can wait till after you officially become an Adventurer…!!”

But despite her words, she knew that hoping that danger would wait for her to be ready was wishful thinking. Something only a one-dimensional protagonist in some dumb shōnen manga would actually believe…

She turned her head to the right, away from the stream and towards the trees. The light breeze seemed to die, and she heard the faintest sound coming from the direction of the trees.

“Log Splitter..!”

A flying bladed object was whirring to her at a high speed. Her pupils contracted, and she seemed to see things move in slow motion, the swaying leaves and branches along with the bladed object spinning towards her, then—

*Blshh*

The weapon – an axe – hit her directly in the left side of her face, lodging itself into her skull. She slowly fell backwards, landing on the sand of the bank with a thud, her arms splayed wide, and an absurd amount of blood leaking out of her head, pooling onto the ground and staining the sand.

Shōko just died…

@ghoulishnero @frost-to-shadow-ratio

Editors/Proofreaders.