As a day went by the party eventually encountered monsters deeper into the forest. According to Kajima, beowolves and gengiri were common monsters that could be usually found near Shisayama.
The beowolves ranged from 1 to 2 meters in length and had an average height of a little under 1 meter. They had black fur with red streaks in its mane, blood red eyes, and sharp wolf-like teeth.
They were both strong and quick animals which made them hard to deal with but due to how they were a species that did not hunt in packs like the wolves from Azi's memories they could be easily overwhelmed.
These wolves either hunted solo or in pairs with their mate, which would make it easy for their investigation team since they would outnumber the wolves in a confrontation.
On the other hand, the gengiri were an overgrown insect type monster that looked like a millipede. It usually stayed in packs of 4 to 6 so when encountering them the party would either engage as a group to prevent themselves from being picked off.
With each one being on average a size of 1 meter in length and half a meter in height, they weren’t a garden variety insect. They used their long front feelers to push up the front of their long bodies to make themselves look taller and had insect fangs with multiple string-like and wiggling flesh tongues coming from their mouth.
A pair of curved insect jaws jutted from the sides of their mouth, both hard and sharp enough to clash with steel weapons and sturdy enough to make a dent in a metal shield.
If there were too many, the investigation team would need to flee and try to outrun the gengiri. But it would be unnecessary since Kajima and Shizu were quite formidable warriors.
“Hmm, I get the feeling I’m like a third wheel.” Azi couldn't help but comment as he watched both Kajima and Shizu go wild on a much larger group of gengiri.
For a moment, he felt a bit bad for the insects since it was a one-sided massacre, but he had to remind himself that these were monsters, creatures with the capacity to kill and the intent to do so.
He shook his head and raised his shield as he stepped forward to see what he could do to help.
“Hup! Ha!”
Shizu grunted as she used her metal umbrella to swing in a full horizontal strike that made the surrounding wind audibly swish. She struck 3 sizable gengiri and they were blown back.
Parts of their insect carapaces broke off and a moment later, they laid motionless on the ground with purple blood leaking out of the freshly exposed purple flesh under their shells. Shizu then turned her head in the direction where Kajima and Azi were battling with their own foes.
“Hmmm, they seem more agitated than my last time in the forest. Hiya!”
Two gengiri clacked their jaws together in rapid clicks. They faced Kajima, one directly in front and another on his right flank. He struck out deftly with the tip of his halberd and skewered the gengiri in front through its maw. The tip traveled until it was out the back of its head with a gush of purple blood.
He then pulled the tip of his halberd out deftly and spun to swing his weapon horizontally with the axe head of his halberd. In one full revolution of his body, he decapitated the gengiri on his right and continued his swinging motion. Following through, he split the previously skewered gengiri across its midsection.
A pool of purple blood poured onto the white snowy ground, ending his fight, but it wasn’t over.
“Argh!”
Reacting quickly to Azi’s outcry of pain, Kajima moved to Azi’s left to support him. Shizu did the same but didn’t jump in since Azi hadn’t really been hurt. He had just been startled when the large insect snapped at him.
He blocked, but the force of its strike made Azi gasp. Shizu and Kajima would let Azi have this fight to himself to teach him. Self defense or any small martial arts was a basic skill for anyone in Shisayama. So like a hawk, Kajima and Shizu watched over him.
Azi was on the defense due to his unfamiliarity with combat. Unskilled as he was, he still knew to at least hold his ground. Running was pointless and exposing his back to an enemy was common foolishness that he wouldn’t let get the better of him.
He breathed in as he gripped his shield tightly. Just in time as he did, the Gengiri’s jaws snapped again at him, hitting him square into his shield.
“Dang it! For a bug, you hit pretty hard.”
With each strike from the gengiri, Azi could feel the impact travel up his left arm and slightly rattle his brain.
His stance was awkward as the snowy ground made it difficult for him to move the way he wanted. The extra and cumbersome white flecks covering his leather boots up to his ankles were the cause. Cold seeped into his body, taking some of his sense of touch away.
His left hand was starting to become numb from the cold and as well from the gengiri's attacks. He could not properly brace his shield to absorb the impact and his inexperience showed its effects.
When the gengiri saw an opening he had made, it lunged. Azi’s left arm could not reposition his shield in time, it was as if he was moving through water.
“Shoot!.. Got to.. Dodge! Ack!”
The gengiri bit into his leather armor and in response, Azi pushed the gengiri away with his shield and jumped back to get some distance when he was able to separate it from his shoulder.
His left shoulder was grazed by the gengiri's sharp jaws, luckily the leather armor was tough and prevented its jaws from digging in too deep. The armor now had a noticeable cut that went into the leather revealing a bit of his skin, and a few drops of Azi's blood stained his undershirt underneath.
The gengiri landed a couple paces away from him and lunged back at Azi's attempt to come forward and swipe at it. Azi missed and the gengiri tried to lunge again at Azi but saw Kajima's glare. It reconsidered performing a follow up lunge and instead took its own defensive stance.
Its instinct told it to be careful of the other two humans. It wanted to run but knew that death only awaited if it did. It was scared but knew the boy in front of it was weak and could be easy prey to kill and eat.
If it killed the weak child, then the other two humans would have to tend to the weak one and then it could escape if it ran fast enough.
Hearing the ominous clacking of the gengiri's jaw made Azi shiver a bit. Composing himself as he felt the weight of the sword in his hand, he dug up a bit of bravery and decided that he should try for a killing blow rather than be on the defensive to tire out his opponent.
He didn’t recklessly charge earlier since he wasn’t confident in his strength, he wanted to prolong the battle to ensure he would be able to slowly damage the gengiri. But now? His head was telling him to change tactics and to do it soon.
He had to end the fight before his left arm became too numb which would leave him vulnerable to the gengiri's attacks.
Holding his shield up to cover the majority of his left side, he then took a somewhat crouched stance with his left foot forward. He positioned the short sword he held in his right hand forward at the gengiri. Putting power into his legs, he rushed forward in a low crouch.
The gengiri struck out to attack Azi's exposed right side but was instead met with the flat of Azi's shield. He had moved it under the gengiri in time, using the creature's own attack to get it into position. Pushing his shield up, he stabbed his short sword twice into the underbelly of the monster.
“Hiyah! And Again!”
The first stab cutting deep into the fleshy body of the gengiri. The follow up stab landed in the exact same spot, piercing a deeper hole into the monster's belly. Purple blood stained his short sword and began to flow down his sword’s hilt and hand.
“Gross.” Azi mumbled, a bit disgusted to the point he shivered, but maybe it was just the cold? No, no it wasn’t that. This was the act of taking life, it’s.. Surreal.. True.. and.. visceral.
Azi quickly pulled his sword out and performed a backstep to observe if the gengiri was still alive. He was relieved to see that the gengiri slumped to the ground with purple blood pouring from its body.
Calming his senses down he took stock of his surroundings and then himself. Feeling an odd sensation, he looked to his sleeve and realized that he had a tingling sensation in his arms.
In fact, during the exchange, Azi could feel his arms slightly tingle after every strike he made. Man, this is exciting and scary but I need to calm down.
Remembering those new and overly real emotions, he became inattentive. Fear made him remember his time in that one dream, that one before he woke up in the mountains. He was all alone and scared and lost and..
“Hey! Stop standing around, it’s your first kill, so smile a bit will you.”
Azi was drawn away from his thoughts by Shizu. She shook his shoulder and called to him.
"You’re ok right? You’re not shaken by a little blood, are you?"
Azi had to pause for a moment before nodding and noticing the slight teasing tell in Shizu’s voice.
“N-No, of course not.” He said, trying to look serious, to which Shizu responded by giving him a pat on the back.
“I know you’re lying but not bad. Your straight face could use some improvement though and the same for your fighting for. Just don’t get too cocky with your first victory.” Shizu then turned to Kajima.
"No other enemies nearby on my side, how about you Kajima?”
"It’s clear over here as well. Azi. You going to be okay?" Kajima dashed over and patted him down. He seemed the most overly concerned of Azi’s situation, it was like he was treating Azi as his own first born son.
It was endearing and Azi couldn’t help to smile at Kajima’s overly doting attitude. Kajima sure takes all this fighting seriously, well, he’s a soldier, so he understands the dangers. I should probably be straight with him.
"Hey Kajima, but yeah I’m injured. There is a small graze on my left shoulder. Hand me a canteen of water and a bandage. I'll fix myself up." Azi patted the snow off of his clothes and sat down near a tree, but not before making sure that nothing dangerous was growing near the base of its trunk.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
The reason for his caution was how the forests near Shisayama was a dangerous place not only because there were monsters and predatory animals. There was also an assortment of poisonous plants that could easily make you sick if its pollen got into your wounds or if you touched them.
This was what Kajima taught him and was why he was being sure to be aware of his surroundings. As lessons went, this was the first forest survival lesson he had.
After bearing the slight pain as he cleaned his wound with biting cold water from a water skin. The graze he had on his shoulder numbed. He then wrapped it with a bandage. Shizu helped him through the steps of properly securing the bandage so that it didn’t fall off while in combat or while moving.
She was a bit forceful but Azi wasn’t going to complain.
"Thanks for your help Shizu. So, what's the plan?" Asked Azi. “Do we need to go any further?”
“Let’s set up camp here for now.” Said Shizu. “The number of monster encounters is increasing as we get closer to the mountain. I don’t want us to get ambushed in the night, so here will do.”
“How long do you think this investigation will last, we have a lot of forest to cover.”
“You're not wrong Azi, but one step at a time. We’ll base our investigation in this area. Any objections?”
“None here. How about you Kajima?”
“Same here, going any further with our current party would put Azi in danger, so move with a hand of caution.”
“I.. um I’m sorry.”
“Oh no Azi, I didn’t mean it as an insult.”
“I know, but I’m getting in the way of Shizu’s work.”
“Not a problem.” Shizu said. “Even with the hindrance, we’ll get the job done.”
Azi could help to sigh at how she called him a hindrance, but he let sleeping dogs lie, he couldn’t refute that he was still weak. A pang of pain and inadequacy struck Azi and he found it odd how hurt he felt when he dwelled on that fact.
I really am a nuisance. I wish I could help them in some other way.
“By the way.” Azi asked. “What’s the range of our search area? Are we close to today’s goal?”
"Yes, we have already reached the boundary of our search area. We already made it to the clearing before the path that goes up the mountain. There is a lot of forest in between our area of responsibility, so let’s hurry to set up.”
Azi took a glance of the surroundings, it didn’t seem right to set up here. The trees were too dense and there were a lot of blindspots.
“We can move back to a better position if it will help with the investigation. I’m fine with a bit more work today.”
“What is this all of a sudden? You’re quite eager to keep going, aren’t you tired?”
“Umm, well I am, but I can push myself.” Shizu gave Azi a once over and she had to disagree. He was obviously tired and his legs looked somewhat near the edge of their limit. The last fight had shaken him.
His determination and forthcoming suggestions were gracious of him, but a person should know his or her limits.
“It’s fine Azi. Making camp here will be enough.”
“Are you sure?”
Shizu quickly reasoned a way to get him to stop persisting on the notion he could go on and pointed over to the forest.
“Look, I know you’re eager and excited to be out and about, but I don't think we should move much at this time of day. With our pace we won’t make much headway to a better position if we could. The trees here are overly packed but not overly, so this is the most optimal place to be within reach. Also, The forest is highly dangerous to travel through at night. Daylight is burning, so we shouldn’t let ourselves be caught off guard and be too ambitious with our camping location.”
After Shizu finished explaining, she looked to Kajima and motioned for him to begin unloading the camping gear he was carrying.
“Oh.. I.. okay.” Immediately shutdown, Azi moved over to help, setting up two tents, a campfire, and other arrangements. One tent would be for him and Kajima, and the other for Shizu. They were small but would get the job done as a temporary shelter.
From time to time as they gathered firewood and prepped a meal, Shizu couldn’t help but glance at how oddly meek Azi was right now.
He’s incredibly self conscious about what he’s doing, what happened to that meticulous self of his. There wasn’t a problem with how Azi presently went about the work, he was still reasoning and thinking things out, but there was a hint of hesitation.
Is it pressure or something else?
Not wanting to hinder Kajima and Azi, Shizu looked around and told the pair.
"I’ll be out on patrol to ensure that the surroundings are clear. Be sure to keep an eye out, alright?"
“Sure thing, but are you sure you should be going alone?” Azi asked.
“I-I’ll be fine.” Shizu was somewhat taken off guard. Usually, no one would ask to go out with her on patrol since people knew how strong she was, especially since she was an ordained knight. She knew that going in pairs was safer but had gotten used to working alone due to her status and how soldiers, even her own brothers, kept their distance from her when it came to simple patrols.
To sum up how they saw her, Shizu was trouble, a confident fighter, but was also too gungho for her own good. Of these three opinions, Shizu only knew the second opinion of the three.
“You sure?” Azi asked again. “A girl like you shouldn’t go out alone. I can watch camp as Kajima goes with you.”
“Heh, Heh heh, Hah hah hah!” Kajima suddenly burst in laughter. He was in the know about Shizu’s situation and his sudden gafor made Azi confused while Shizu started to blush. “You hear that Shizu! Azi here still sees you as a weak girl after all that! Bwahahaha, it's hilarious, I can’t believe the infamous man killer is getting doted on by a boy. Bwahahaha.”
“Uncle Kajima! I told you not to call me that! And you!” Shizu pointed threateningly at Azi. “Don’t underestimate me! Got it!”
“Oh, Alright? But are you sure you still want to go alone? It’s---”
“Bwahahaha, I’m dying, I’m dying over here. Bwahahaha.” Kajima was rolling on the ground at this point and Shizu grimaced.
“Ugh.”
Sure, her failed attempts to find love ended poorly, and a bit bloody, but she wished it didn’t exacerbate and twist her already strange title from the past. She turned away in a huff, nursing a headache. “I said I’ll be fine!”
With stomping feet, she left, leaving Azi at the camp with the still laughing Kajima who was rolling on the ground as if in pain.
Ignored Kajima’s fit of laughter, Azi got to the task of setting up camp, albeit in an awkward mood. When Kajima recovered from his fit of laughter, they continued their lessons in forest survival.
How to light a fire, how to find the right tinder, and how to create a fire starter with a stick and some bark.
All the while, Azi was curious about that nickname Kajima mentioned. Man killer, Huh? I know Shizu’s a meathead, but Man killer seems over the top. Feeling a chill up his spine, he quickly preferred not to delve into any metaphorical closets and happen upon any chance skeletons.
Luckily, what took Azi’s interest away was Kajima's lesson on medicinal herbs and edible plants.
Pointing and moving over to a nearby plant that grew at the foot of a nearby tree, Kajima explained as his hands delicately worked to dig around it.
"This plant with the heart shaped leaves are known as Alole and the insides of the plant's stem is edible, but it is better used as a skin ointment that helps with sunburns and dry skin. You can use it as food in emergencies or to help keep the skin on your feet from getting too dry and from developing calluses.”
Kajima plucked the plant out of the ground and then worked to seemingly dig up another. Initially, Azi didn’t know what Kajima was doing digging in the snow but understood when he brushed away the top layer of snow to reveal a colorful plant that was hidden away.
“Oh, so these can grow under the snow? Interesting, what is this one called?”
“Nice guess Azi, this yellow flower here is called benweed and it causes intense pain to humans if exposed to wounds, but if you mixed it with water and then boil the mixture down, you can create a poison that dulls the senses. It can also be used if mixed with a lot of water as a way to get rid of stomach parasites.”
With focused and attentive eyes, Azi was hanging off of Kajima's every word as he had a giddy expression on his face. His fascination with the knowledge Kajima shared with him tickled his adventurous mind that he was discovering he had.
Eventually, Shizu returned and with a quick forest stew of wild herbs and plants ready, the three shared a hot meal. Sitting around a campfire as he ate was novel to Azi. It definitely felt like his first time and overall it was enjoyable.
The next couple days passed in a blur. At night, everyone took turns keeping watch, usually in pairs. In the morning and afternoon, they patrolled the forest and eliminated any dangerous monsters.
Azi was getting a feel with his weapon and his lesson with Kajima progressed quite rapidly, in part due to his natural intelligence and over fascination in detail. On one night, Shizu yawned as Kajima stoked the fire.
“You know Shizu, you can sleep if you want to. I can easily stay up on my own.”
“I think I’ll take you up on that offer Uncle, it’s been so boring and I haven’t been able to put my weapon to good use yet.”
The recent patrols had yielded less monsters, so either they were doing well in repelling the monsters, or there was some reason as to why they hadn’t been appearing as much as she thought. Either way, the lack of combat grinded on Shizu’s patience.
She was a noble, but also fine warrior and statesman, though her warrior aspect was her more preferred personal. To Kajima, it was like seeing father like daughter. He sighed.
“Boring is good Shizu, it means there's less fighting and bloodshed. I prefer this peace over the old days.”
“I get your meaning Uncle, but I at least wanna keep my skills sharp.”
“I suppose you do. Well, nothing we can do about it, so how about you go sleep for now?”
Shizu thought about it and glanced at the tents. Inside one of them, Azi was sleeping and she grinned. “Yeah I think I will.”
“Hah, if you think I don’t know what you’re planning, you better think twice.”
“Aw! Come on, I’m only teasing Azi, it’s not like I’m doing him any real harm.”
“You’re not wrong, but that doesn’t mean you’re right. You’ll never get a man at this rate Litte Shizu. One day, you might have to settle for an old fart in the future, and I know you’d hate that.”
That possible future made Shizu shiver. The thought of marrying an older man was disgusting. If she didn’t get married in the next four years, then she would lose her appeal to the younger society of men.
Women were expected to marry before 25, anyone after 25 would have less luck.
“I know I know Uncle, but there aren’t any good men.”
“You mean any good men that meet your standards.” Kajima corrected. “Really Little Shizu, your taste in men is very specific, and your requirements are even more so.”
“Hmph! Well it’s not like I’m going to change what kind of people I find attractive.” Breaking from the conversation, Shizu got up. “If you’ll excuse me, I’ll go have some fun to blow off some steam.”
While Kajima was loath to leave Azi to his fate, he knew Shizu still meant no harm and it was rare that Shizu got along with anyone of the opposite sex. With a moniker like Man Killer, she put off a lot of men and she could pound a few into the ground.
So let the girl have her fun, but only for now.
“Okay, fine but don’t torment the boy too much Shizu. You know as well as I that he has.. Issues.”
“I’m well aware, plus, seeing his dumb face will help pass the time.”
Leaving Kajima on watch, Shizu entered Azi’s tent. While improper for an unwed man and woman to share a tent in the night, it was only a formality. She had been to war and had many a time shared a tent with men, specifically her foolish brothers.
“Oh ho ho, now what’s this?” Noticing a notebook on the ground, Shizu took to reading it. “Pfft.” She held in a laugh. To her surprise, the notebook was a journal, but more like a diary written by Azi.
Hmm, his penmanship is getting better but he’s writing in a simplistic manner. And he’s still using that weird scribbling of his. What is it and what language does it even come from?
“Eh.” She shrugged and put the notebook away.
Moving herself over, she sat next to Azi, who still seemed to always drool when asleep.
“Jeez, he’s such a slob.” Wiping his cheek, she began to play with his malleable pair of round cheeks. It was fun seeing him wince and squirm, and what made it even more enjoyable was that she knew he wouldn’t wake up.
Azi slept deeply, it seemed like only a loud noise would wake him up, but touching him didn’t even elicit a reaction. It was a new and unique situation that Shizu took for granted. Though, she did watch over him like a mother would.
Suddenly, from time to time, Azi began to mummer unintelligibly and then his brows would furrow so deeply. He’d sweat and swelter.
As much as she disliked and found him to be annoying, she was still protective of people, it was her role as a noble, and they were comrades in this hunt.
“Another nightmare.” Shizu muttered and took to comforting Azi. She set her hand on his forehead, which seemed to run with a slight fever. It was nothing too dangerous, but it helped to be sure.
As she nursed him, a few understandable words came out. Words like, alone, tired, monster, and.. His name. To Shizu, Azi sounded as if he was suffering from a trauma. Soldiers had had the same symptoms after war, coming home different, muttering and ailing with dreams of horrendous memories.
Eventually, Azi went back to normal and fell back into whatever peaceful dream he had, though she wondered what he had experienced to hurt him so deeply.