Time seemed to slow as gravity seized control of them. The roaring waves grew louder with each passing second, muffling their otherwise piercing cries of fear. The wind whipped against their faces and the world around them became a blur. Yakeru screwed his eyes shut to avoid seeing the raging river rushing up to greet them while bracing himself for the inevitable collision.

𝘚𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘩!!

A searing pain shot through their bodies the moment they impacted. The rabids, having no sense of self preservation, tumbled in after them. After Fuyumi had finished off the remaining rabids from above, Kenji rushed to the edge of the cliff, hoping to see Yakeru and Kaneki resurface.

"Come on! There's only one way they could've gone!" Fuyumi urged before dashing away. She glanced back to see Kenji stuck in a trance with the same horrific look etched on his face, glaring down at the rapids below. "Kenji!"

Snapping back to reality, he retrieved his staff and sprinted behind her as they rushed downstream off the path.

Moments later, both Yakeru and Kaneki exploded to the surface, gasping for air. They flailed in a desperate attempt to stabilize themselves, the unforgiving rapids pummeling them with churning waters. The furry creatures that had miraculously survived the initial fall raced past them, making unsuccessful attempts to nip at the two. Yakeru could only catch glimpses of Kaneki through the turbulent waves.

"Kan-!" he struggled to find his words as the fierce waters tried forcing its way into his lungs. "H-Hold...on!"

The merciless current dragged them farther downstream and into a minefield of rocks and debris that jutted from the rapids. The river slung the surviving rabids downstream, exploding into a mist of red each time they slammed into a rock. As Yakeru tried swimming to what he thought was Kaneki, a jagged boulder came into view before darkness filled his vision.

*****

The dull sound of crickets chirping became more clear as Yakeru slowly regained consciousness. His eyes fluttered open, finding himself lying on solid ground, his body feeling cold and disoriented. The once blue sky was now a shade of orange blending with a vibrant red.

With a groan, he struggled to push himself into a sitting up position, a dull aching sensation throbbing in his head.

"Oh, you're awake! Thank goodness...!" a familiar voice said in relief.

Yakeru touched his head to feel a cloth strapped to it with bandages but jolted when a sudden sharp pain demanded he leave his injury alone. His hair and clothes were still damp as well. He surveyed his surroundings which appeared to be more forest and Kaneki, furiously rubbing his arms to heat himself.

"What happened? Where are we?"

"You hit your head after we fell in the river. Luckily, I wasn't banged up too badly."

His blurred vision became more clear as his fragmented memories pieced themselves together. An unstable bridge, the rushing wind from falling, a violent river, a large boulder...then he found himself here.

He just then noticed Kaneki's scrapes and bruises through his tattered wet shirt but overall he looked to be relatively okay.

"We got swept pretty far downstream but I managed to grab you and pulled us out once the water was a little calmer. As for where we are...I'm not really sure."

"...do you still have the map?"

Kaneki shook his head somberly, squeezing what water he could out of his shirt.

"It was in my bag when I lost it...sorry."

"Oh, don't be. I'm just glad to be alive. If it weren't for you my sister would've probably ended up alone. So thank you."

Kaneki scratched the back of his head, embarrassed by the praise.

"Oh, it was no problem...actually, I struggled quite a lot to get us out so I guess it was a problem."

They both couldn't help but chuckle. Kaneki reached into a satchel beside him and offered an apple to Yakeru. It took a few pats on Yakeru's hips for the confused rookie to realize that was his satchel. Nonetheless, he accepted.

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"I found the food on you, but they're a little wet."

"It's alright. I'd rather have wet food than no food at all."

He bit into the apple, its sweet juices melting onto his tongue. Kaneki peeled an orange in the meantime before looking up.

"So you mentioned you have a sister. You have any other family?"

"No, just her and I. She's been taking care of me for as long as I can remember. She's the reason why I wanted to be a ranger."

"Oh, that's cool." he finished peeling the orange, biting into it.

"Yeah. What about you? You have any family?" he wondered.

"Just my mom and dad. They live in Hanataru. In fact, I grew up there."

"You did?"

"Yep. Everyone's so kind to each other there. Although the village isn't really doing well financially speaking and they don't get much support from the capital. That's why I wanna do what I can to help them out, you know?"

His honorable quality made Yakeru break into a smile.

"I see. You have a good heart."

Kaneki remained silent, not sure how to respond to his compliment as they resumed eating the remaining food they had left.

*****

Meanwhile, twigs snapped, and leaves crunched under Kenji's and Fuyumi's feet as they cut through the thick forest. Nightfall began creeping up on them and they hadn't found any sign of the others.

"How far do you think they went?" Kenji asked.

"Don't know."

"Well, we're going pretty far. We should've seen some sign of them by now."

"Those were strong rapids so they were probably swept pretty far away." the cool-headed Fuyumi rationalized. "Let's just keep looking. It'd be a bad look if we failed our first mission. A low-ranking mission at that."

Pushing past some shrubbery, they stumbled upon something unsightly. From afar, it appeared to be a bloody mangled mess of a body but couldn't identify what it used to be from the distance they were at.

"What the?!" Kenji blurted.

It swarmed with flies and its bones jutted from a gash in its side. Instinctively, Fuyumi gripped the hilt of her daggers while Kenji fought the urge to vomit. As she approached it, Kenji worriedly grabbed her shoulder.

"Wait! Whatever did this could still be nearby!"

Fuyumi calmly brushed off his hand and looked down at the soil.

"I don't think so."

She pointed toward the ground and he realized what she was alluding to. A set of large tracks were imprinted in the soil leading away from the corpse.

"It left?" he asked no one in particular, confused.

She knelt to examine the body, blood still oozing out from where its head should've been. Its ravaged corpse made it nearly impossible to identify from afar but judging by its fur and coloration, she was almost certain it was a santsuno deer.

Kenji's nerves shot into overdrive, his hands trembling as whatever did this could still be in the vicinity. As he scanned the luscious greenery, he spotted something lodged in a tree. Since there was barely any sunlight left, he cautiously approached the object and even then he had to squint. The texture was metallic and it shared the appearance of a needle...if needles were several times larger.

"Is this a...quill?"

"The fact that the corpse isn't giving off an odor means it died recently too." she gathered, standing to her feet.

Kenji studied the quill for a moment before realizing what it signified: A territorial marking. His eyes shot back and forth from the quill to the carcass and finally to the tracks the beast had left behind. They were twice as big as his foot and the streaks above each toe suggested it had claws.

He deduced that forest lurkers would've been too slow to catch an animal as agile as a santsuno. Rabids, on the other hand, could potentially catch one but ultimately aren't physically strong enough to completely decapitate one, let alone take it down. Besides, the tracks were too big for either monster.

He looked toward the river to see Kaneki's torn bag caught on a rock nearby. Some of its contents had already been swept away by the current.

"Whatever did this must've seen something more appetizing...we need to find Yakeru and Kaneki fast! If we follow the tracks we can find the others!" he hurried away, dashing at speeds his party member didn't think he was capable of.

*****

Yakeru and Kaneki finished the remaining food they had left. Yakeru glanced around, just now noticing something was missing.

"Where's your bag?"

"I ditched it after we fell in the river."

Realizing what he'd just said, Yakeru wondered,

'So does that mean we failed the mission?'

Kaneki used his sleeve to wipe his mouth.

"It's been a while now. I was hoping your team would find us by now. Do you think something happened to them?"

"With Fuyumi's natural talent and Kenji's brains?" he stifled a chuckle. "Not likely."

Although he hadn't known them long, he was certain a duo like them wouldn't croak to the likes of inner rim monsters. He was certain they were on their way. Even so, he wished they'd pick up the pace since their wet clothing made even the lightest of breezes unbearable. They hadn't stopped shivering during their entire interaction. Yakeru contemplated whether or not to keep moving but without the map, they'd be wandering aimlessly. He didn't expect being a ranger would also entail a battle against the elements. Just when he thought their best option was to gather firewood, they perked up to the sound of rustling leaves and bushes nearby.

"Speak of the devil." Yakeru breathed a sigh of relief, turning to see a shadow emerging from the brush. "See? Now that we're all here, we can..."

He trailed off as they watched the shadow lift itself on its hind legs, its top half now illuminated by the sun's rays barely peeking over the horizon. Sweat droplets formed on their faces as Kaneki mumbled "...holy...", his lips quivering in fear.

They froze in place as the towering beast loomed over them. Its fangs protruded from its jaws and saliva oozed from its red-stained mouth. Scars stretched from one side of its chest to the other in a diagonal pattern and quills of steel coated nearly every inch of its body.

"What's a steel-quilled bear doing here?!" Kaneki yelped.