"God it smells terrible, I'll never get this scent out of my clothes", the man made a variety of complaints as he walked forwards, with Mia a few steps behind. At first glance, the man seemed to be put off by the destruction around him but as he continued through the feeling of calmness was apparent, it seems as if he's used to this.
Who is this man? Wearing these strange clothes and carrying that shiny sword... I'm worried.
Mia continued to think and assess whether the man was dangerous, so far she was undecided. She continued to walk- "Oof", she ran into something.
"What are you doing running into me like that? I said that some of them are still around". "I'm sorry", she murmured.
--
Ten minutes later, they reached the end of the shopping district, and it was a horrible visual.
A part of Mia was relieved to be edging away from the horrors that she was a part of only a short while earlier, but another part felt regret. In her point of view, it was her fault that Aira had died and that she should've been the one to be killed.
Ugh, all these streets, all these people... I knew some of them. They were kind. Kind enough for me to think this world wasn't too bad... I guess I was wrong.
The man spoke up; "All alright kid I'll tell you the deal".
Mia quietly continued walking, disinterested but still listening.
"As of right now you're gonna be in my custody, we're gonna be heading towards the forest near here to escape all this shit". He looked over his shoulder, a mute expression on his face.
--
Feet away were the stables, many of the horses were lying dead, either crushed or torn apart.
The stables were always near the edge of the village, for some it seemed odd. Why were they in an inconvenient place? It's as if they were specifically built there to aid in an escape.
Mia's faint disinterested expression lingered, she stood there sifting through thoughts in her head, weighing her options.
"Heh heh, I know what you're thinking. How will we get out of here without a horse, oh boy am I gonna show you something mind-blowing". The man pulled out a small red pouch from his coat and held it up to his lips, it fluttered in the evening wind.
Mia, silently watched, the same uninterested look on her face as before.
--
He began to blow.
The balloon-like object expanded greatly and its mass began shifting. Its once spherical form contorted and twisted, red hooves began protruding from the bottom, and a skeletal tail burst out from the back.
It only took a matter of seconds, but Mia couldn't believe her eyes. What was once thought to be a balloon was now a red horse with six legs.
"NEIGHHHH", it shook its head and swung its tail around.
The man walked up to the horse and began petting its mane, "who's a good boy", he whispered.
"Surprised huh? His name is Seshi".
The horse looked over at Mia and bowed, clopping its back hooves on the ground.
"C'mon kid", he gestured for her to climb on the horse so that they could depart.
With a gulp she obliged and so the two left the village of Ako.
--
As they rode away Mia thought hard about the past twenty-four hours. She wished and prayed that it'd all go away, but deep down those horrible events would lead to her growth. With sacrifice comes rebirth, and closing one door opens another.
Her thoughts drifted, and she began to ignore the negatives and focus on everything else.
This mysterious man appeared out of nowhere and took her away from her home, well, the remnants of it. She had barely any strength to protest and didn't care either way. Her newfound happiness that she had for the past year was cast aside. Now, Mia would undergo a drastic change, her heart locked away, and her emotions forgotten.
--
She drifted off to sleep.
Mia opened her eyes, no longer on the horse with Gurren. Around her were sunny skies in all directions, clouds floating. She looked up and around, confused. It was quiet, she took a step. Splash, Mia immediately looked down, water? An ocean? She blinked several times, trying to regain her senses. All around her was a massive body of water. She took a step, expecting to fall... But she didn't, the ground was water but yet at the same time, it wasn't.
Where am I? From being on a six-legged horse with a man she just met to this, she was overflowing with confusion.
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Step step step, the sounds of footsteps came from the distance.
She turned around and frantically looked around, "hello? Is anyone there?"
Step step step, the footsteps grew louder and then stopped altogether.
--
"Above you".
--
Mia looked up and her eyes met with someone, she felt as if they were familiar.
They vanished instantly.
Mia looked around frantically again.
"Mia".
She turned around again, and this time a pure white figure stood in front of her.
Mia stood there in awe, a white figure with no features whatsoever, blank face, blank everything. Only one thing stood out, a voice. The figure's voice was as smooth as silk, as soft as a freshly washed blanket. It was a female voice, one that could've belonged to a goddess.
In the distance, a black being is sitting in the fetal position mumbling to itself.
"Don't worry about him".
"Who are you?" Mia asked, her face now showing a strained look. "Where am I? Wha-what is happening?"
The figure stood silent.
"Why is this happening, why why why why why?"
The figure continued her silence.
"It seems you can't see me yet". The figure then vanished into thin air.
"Hey kid, hey kid, god damn it, HEY KID!"
Mia shot up, "what? What?" She awoke back on the horse with Gurren. Looking around, they were now surrounded by trees and brush, riding at a significantly faster speed. "What's happening?" she asked, startled.
Gurren looked over his shoulder, slightly annoyed. "First of all, you should never fall asleep on a horse, don't you know how dangerous that is?" He paused and looked forward again... "Damn... We got company, four of them".
"REEEEEE! AKAKAKAKAK! SHIIIIIIIIII! AHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Four distinct howls came from behind them slowly getting louder.
--
"Tssk", Gurren clicked his tongue. "Shit, I don't think we'll be able to escape them this easily, they seem to be accustomed to this type of environment".
"What are they? Why are they coming after us?" Mia looked back, a worried look on her face as she tried to see the four creatures catching up to them.
Seconds passed, and the howls grew louder.
Mia and Gurren rode faster, maneuvering through the dense brush.
"Womp, womp, womp, womp".
Mia squinted, hoping to pinpoint the attacker's location.
For a moment everything was quiet...
But suddenly.
"REEEEEEE!"
A short creature shot forward nearly grabbing Mia, it had a humanoid face with a long nose and a body half the size of its head covered in hair. It wrapped its tail around branches and used its sharp finger and toenails to latch onto trees and thrust forward. Its blonde hair atop its head blew with every movement. The creature gnashed its pointy teeth as his serpentine eyes stayed focused on Mia.
"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!" She screamed, its sudden appearance gave her a horrid feeling.
"What do you mean? It's the same thing that you saw in the village... It's a beast".
Mia sat there, head turned, with a look of horror on her face.
"REEEEEE!" It jumped forwards once again and began picking up the pace.
"Shit, seems like the other two are trying to pincer us", Gurren bit his lip, slightly annoyed.
WOOSHCHHH! Out of the trees shot another beast. This one, maybe slightly smaller than the first, was covered head to toe in hair excluding its face. Its wide smile grew as it continued swinging forward.
To the left of them, another came, Also covered in long hair it used its hands and feet to speedily run across the branches.
"Damn it, where's the fourth? Can't deal with 'em if I don't know where they're all at".
I can't sense it in the trees.... Could it be flying? This'd be a lot easier without the kid, but I can't exactly leave her to die... Shit.
VOOOOSH!
A quadrupedal dog-like beast with a humanoid skeletal face lunged towards Gurren. Its mouth opened wide revealing small serrated teeth.
Mia looked over, eyes wide with worry. This man who she met not too long ago saved her and now he's going to die? The moment arrived, Mia quickly shut her eyes... SHIOOOOSH! Her eyes opened, her face turned expressing complete shock.
Gurren jumped up and whipped out his sword to slice the beast in half, blood spurted rapidly and drenched both of them.
"Don't worry kid, beasts like these don't stand a chance against me". He smirked and looked towards the other beasts, his blade glistening with a crimson hue.
The other three beasts continued their pursuit, this time at a faster pace.
Gurren took an offensive position, one hand holding his sword, the other open in the air.
ZEEEEEEEEEEEEeeeeoooo, He shot forwards, VOOMP, VOOMP, VOOMP, Bouncing off trees he quickly reached his target.
SHIOOOOSH! With another slash, the long-nosed beast fell to the ground and rolled away.
--
Mia, who was still riding on the back of Seshi, was in complete surprise at what she was seeing. Gurren was hopping between each tree cutting down anything in his way. She watched as he bifurcated the hairy beast. With each slash, a wave of blood splattered the trees and ground below
--.
One more to go... Gurren thought.
The final beast was scampering across branches alongside Seshi, keeping its eye on both Mia and Gurren.
SHIOOOOSH! SHIOOOOSH! SHIOOOOSH! With three slashes Gurren severed the beast's legs, decapitated its head, and gutted its stomach.
The now basically clumps of flesh that remained fell to the ground, destined to become a meal for carrion.
Gurren grabbed onto another tree and lunged forward, "Huwa!" He landed on Seshi and sat back down, lifting the reins.
"How did you- wha- -?" Confusion was too simple of a term to describe Mia's thoughts, for now, she'd just sit back and wait for their destination to arrive.