The early morning sun paved a path for me. Its brilliant rays brushed against my silky baby cheeks, leaving the messy dark brown hair of mine behind it and moving onto illuminate the prey's thick fur. Intense and irritating itchiness sprouted from my thighs. The ticklish sensation brought by the grass at my feet unsettled me as well, but I ignored them both, as I'd done for the past few hours. Before me, a spotted white-furred rabbit with a glistening horn atop its head curled onto its stout paws while running around. Today it was my prey. Its poofy self was still unaware of this. But judging from the way its crimson eyes rummaged the surroundings every few seconds, its otherwordly senses probably caused it to experience a nagging sensation that something wasn't right.
Everything about this rabbit screamed for me to devour it. From the tension in its muscles produced when it went from one bush to another to the way, its fur basked in the sun's rays, causing it to seem all the more delicious. Subconsciously, my lips parted, and a small amount of saliva began making its way down my chin. Nevertheless, I was wise enough to acknowledge that maintaining my current position a little longer was the key to filling my stomach with generous portions of fresh rabbit meat. With my back arched straight, both knees bent in a thirty-degree angle, and the tiny hands of mine in a bow-ready posture, I prepared myself to launch an arrow.
Everything halted. It was as if I'd entered a trance or if someone had hit a pause button. My lungs took a break from their arduous task, and so did the rest of my body. All the muscles inside this body contracted, and the usually tranquil breathing became faint. I'd become as still as a statue. Father had taught me this technique when he was still alive. A sharp sensation emerged from my chest at the thought of him, but I ignored it to the best of my ability. Right now, it was only me and the prey. Drawing the bow to its maximum capacity, I softened my breathing once more and aimed at the horned rabbit in a quiet mannerism. Today I'd finally get the juicy taste of fresh meat getting crushed in between these Iron teeth of mine. With the patience of a vulture awaiting its next meal, Itsuki waited. And waited. Who would've thought that it would take so long for a rabbit to eat?
For the past half an hour, it had done everything but eat, from running back and forth like a hyperactive child to digging deep tunnels that lead to god knows where. Through it all, Itsuki hadn't moved a muscle. However, the intense feeling of itchiness from his thighs was beginning to get on his nerves, and the ticklish sensation the forest grass produced when it made contact with his skin wasn't helping at all. In actuality, Itsuki had never gone hunting before. Thus, he knew nothing about it, especially the fact that it was so frustrating. In the last-ditch effort to reignite his resolve, Itsuki decided to relocate. Crouching low to the floor with his bow on his back, he headed towards the shade of a large tree that resembled the oak variation from earth. On the trees' vast surface was a collage of insect holes. 'Let's just hope that none of them are home.' Itsuki thought to himself.
Step by step, he placed a child-sized foot before the other and crawled his way towards his new hunting spot. The dull edges of the grass were akin to serrated razors. They made multiple tiny incisions on his skin during the short relocation period. All done in a matter of a few seconds. Even though they were numerous, the accumulated damage was trivial. Plus, the ticklish sensation only got worse as Itsuki's skin exposed itself to even more grass. Overall, the entire procedure that would usually take twenty seconds ended up being a whole minute. However, in Itsuki's mind, it might as well have been an eternity of perpetual stress as he had to constantly reassure himself that the target hadn't noticed his presence or elected to relocate. What bothered him the most was that this rabbit was always on the move, but it had never travelled outside of this specific area. Do monsters have territories or something of that type? If that was true, then I guess I couldn't consider them mindless beasts anymore.
The trunk of this massive tree made contact with my foot as I finally arrived. Some seconds later, I got into my hunting posture as steadily as possible and began the diligent task of staring at this annoying prey of mine once more. Just as I was gawking at the surreal beauty the forest plants had to offer, it happened. From the corner of my eye, I saw it, the rabbit plopped itself to a stop and began...pooping?! Wait, was it constipated this entire time?! You're telling me that out of the million other horned rabbits in this forest. I got the only one that was constipated. A wave of jarring anger and annoyance that I'd never, in all twenty-two years of my life, felt before swept by me. However, even while my mind was reeling in indignation, my body was up to something else. Stretching the bow to the maximum draw, it aimed towards the spotted rabbit. Pshaw, ping. A noise that cut through the stillness of the forest was released, and the arrow flew towards its target.
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As it had passed through four generations of bushes and was about to hit the target, it landed an inch away. It missed. Immediately after the first arrow, the rabbit took off at blinding speed. Tiss was the fate of an individual with [Intermidate Archery]. Nevertheless, Itsuki acted as if nothing had happened, drawing the bow back and releasing another arrow. One after the other, Itsuki fired a volley of arrows directed at the poor spotted rabbit. If one missed, he would fire again. As long as the rabbit hadn't become motionless, Itsuki's arms didn't take a break. This ridiculous scene continued for another half a minute until the rabbit had managed to escape. Unexpectedly, there was a brilliant smirk atop Itsuki's face. As far as he was concerned, there was no reason to be discouraged. After all, this was his first hunt, and he had managed to land two arrows on the animal. But judging from its thick fur, they weren't embedded far enough to be lethal.
The pale blue sky dimmed, a reminder that it was time to head home. Making quick work of it, Itsuki stepped out of the bushes. Even though he was covered from head to toe in the forest floor grass, the stoic grin never left his face, not even for a second. In his mind, this was a victory. Resolving himself to return home before the sun completely set, Itsuki made sure to act with haste. Thus, he made a prompt decision to let the wounded animal escape as he would most likely end up getting tangled into unnecessary trouble. Plus, he already had enough food to support him for a while. Itsuki ricocheted around the place as he fetched his recently fired arrows from multiple different locations. Some were embedded deep into tree trunks, while others found themselves buried amidst the thick layers of earth and grass. A few minutes later, and Itsuki was back to travelling. The destination, his new temporary home, the comfy branch of an ancient tree.
The forest tended to be louder during the night, indicating that even more monsters were active at that time. Unknowingly, this caused Itsuki to proceed at a quicker rate than usual. After all, anyone with a sane mind would be afraid if they were alone in a forest full of monsters more powerful than oneself, and with some even having the capability to kill you instantaneously. As of this moment, Itsuki had made it past the halfway mark already. The tree wasn't that far from the rabbit's home. Shortly after, he arrived, right in the nick of time as well, seeing as the sun had just barely set. Ascending with diligence, one foot at a time, he soon found himself on top of the tree branch. The quiet chirps of the birds rang in the background as Itsuki unpacked.
He may not have obtained juicy rabbit meat today, but consequently, he'd gained something of even higher value. Experience, through the continuous use of his bow during the hunt, he'd gained two levels in his archery skill. Adding on to that fact is the sweet surprise of landing a few shots. All of it was truly exciting, but at the moment, he was starving. His belly growled, demanding a hearty meal. Soon enough, Itsuki adhered to its relentless pestering. While downing his piece of chicken and an assortment of fruits, Itsuki took the time to replay today's events in his mind and reflect further on more effective methods for the next time. During a few school tests, this method had helped. But it was useless most of the time as he was naturally untalented when it came to school. Time flew by as he engrossed himself in the meal, occasionally pausing to let a few tears escape whenever the thought of his parents arose. Other than that, this was Itsuki's first time feeling less down since 'it' occurred.
Itsuki's reflection ended as the moon finally stood above his head. Night had officially arrived, the time to sleep and recuperate. And Itsuki did just that. Closing his eyes and resting his sore neck atop the back of his bag, Itsuki fell asleep. It wasn't a quiet sleep, nor a peaceful one, but it was a night of sleep nonetheless. One that he needed very much as his body was utterly bruised and aching from the days' activities. And like that, the first week of aching sleep and uneventful hunting passed in the blink of an eye.