A gentle wind drifted across Buraun; goosebumps formed on the skin of the villagers. It was a calm day. With the reconstruction of their previously destroyed village coming to an end, people started to feel safe once again when departing from the family they left at home. The invasion drastically altered the mood of every civilian in the village, resulting in rational fear inducing everyone's actions and minor protests breaking out in response.
Attacks on villages weren't exactly common in the new era of the three nations, but it has happened before…
"...And it always is a pain to clean."
With his blonde hair swaying from the breeze, Kono yawned sluggishly, his flat palm covering his mouth. Since the day of the invasion, the fox-like male had healed his previous injuries over time, allowing his Aura Sense to do all the work. However, despite being unharmed, the blonde had never left the perimeters of Buraun—sticking close to the walls of the village without detection.
"Not much else has occurred since then; I haven't been this bored in ages, and Lord Phoenix always found the dumbest of tasks for me to do." Kono murmured, entertaining himself while casting a watchful eye over Buraun.
It was amusing to watch villagers revolt against their own government officials—mainly toward the Council of Buraun—but Kono wasn't sticking around for that.
He was there to observe someone.
"They should be out here any second…"
Suddenly, Kono could feel cold steel pressed up against his neck, the object threatening to slice with the smallest amount of force.
"Who are you!?"
It was a warrior from Buraun, his sword angled at the fox-like male in preparation to subdue him. Although the warrior had snuck up on Kono, the blonde male didn't move an inch, his arms folded over his black shirt carelessly.
Kono huffed in exasperation and said, "When do the academy kids get out?"
The warrior's mind blanked momentarily, confused by the man's nonchalant question. Grounding his teeth together, the warrior gripped the hilt of his blade tighter.
"Why are you here!?"
Kono frowned. "I feel like my question would hint at what I'm looking for."
"Stop being smart with me, boy—!"
Before the warrior could finish speaking, a purple tail wrapped itself around his head, burning his flesh upon contact. The warrior's eyes widened in pain and anguish, then his sword was swiped away by Kono.
Sighing, Kono looked at the warrior with contempt. "I'm trying to stay hidden, so please call out your little brigade of warriors that are hiding in the trees around us."
Within an instance—*rustle*—numerous warriors emerged from the leaves, the majority wielding luminous blades stored with their Aura Sense.
Kono cracked his neck, simultaneously snapping the neck of the warrior that was wrapped in his purple tail. Afterward, Kono conjured three more tails using his aura print, staring down the warriors in his sight.
"Oh, come on—don't make me go after you; I'm the one who's surrounded!" Kono complained, hollering at his armored opponents.
*BOOM!*
Seemingly responding to Kono, a yellow beam discharged at the fox-like male, prompting Kono to use one of his tails to swipe at the incoming attack, the beam of yellow light dissipating with a small explosion.
With utmost ferocity, a blur of Kono's form dashed at the first warrior, his opponent's head being slashed off in a second.
"Nice reaction time, dude." Kono mocked, tossing the warrior's head away like trash.
With anger surging in the remaining warriors, Kono was forced to dodge an incoming slice, proceeding to jump and duck over a rapid succession of swings and slices. Each swing was fast enough that any regular person would no longer be able to perfectly spectate without failing to comprehend what was occurring.
"Alright, even I'm starting to get sick of this." Kono claimed, throwing a violent punch into the attacking warrior's chestplate, shattering his armor. Then, to finish him off, he placed his palm over the warrior's mouth—*boom!*—releasing a purple blast that instantly covered the area with debris.
The warriors watched in shock, their faces morphing into intense rage as their eyes darted all over. They had no clue who this man was—they could barely sense him until he was right in front of them!
"What rank are you guys? You seem too slow to put up much of a fight." Kono's voice was heard behind a certain warrior, warranting a swift and defensive strike upon turning around, only to be stopped by Kono's hand.
Kono eyed the bright blade next to his face, feeling the heat that exuded from the warrior's Aura Sense—good thing he caught it.
Without much warning, another warrior jumped at Kono from behind, giving the blonde male the brilliant idea of shifting his body and throwing the warrior in front of him to the one behind, the immense strength behind the throw apparently concussing both of them upon colliding.
Standing tall, Kono exhaled tiredly. "Hopefully that'll keep me hidden for the time being."
XXX
"Try to apply more of your Aura Sense through your entire legs before jumping!"
Traversing through the forests of Adonai, Asami and Tanjo hurdled from one tree to another. However, Tanjo struggled slightly, his footwork being menial compared to Asami's seasoned hops.
Ever since he first left the village, he hated traveling by the trees; every once in a while, he'd trip or miss a branch by a long shot. He never made it far enough into the academy to learn how to successfully lunge from distant places.
But now… he didn't have much of a choice.
"Three, two, one… I got it!"
With a valiant jump, Tanjo lunged from the branch of a tree, directing his body onto another. With what may be luck, he managed to stick the landing, the branch bouncing up and down from the force of the landing. You never want to break the branch when jumping, so being gentle is debatably the hardest part of traveling with this method.
"Now keep going with falling!" Asami ordered, mirroring Tanjo's jumps.
Their trip to Shanti had already begun, but Asami quickly learned of Tanjo's lack of skill when it came to maneuverability—one of the most important things when being a warrior.
For several minutes, Tanjo was forced to perfectly transition from multiple trees at a much faster pace than he'd ever gone, including the night he fled from Buraun.
Asami smirked as an idea formulated in her mind.
"Hey, you're going to slow! Dodge!"
With a perplexed expression, Tanjo craned his head to the side, only to see as a tendril of ice was shot at him, making the boy leap over it in mid-air, his body smacking into the thickness of a tree.
"What was that for, Asami..?" Tanjo muttered, standing back up. Fortunately, his Aura Sense made the boy quite durable, which only made Asami more curious as to how far he could go when training.
Asami halted, eyeing Tanjo. "You need to learn how to move around, and quickly. Consider our travels to Shanti as training."
"Are you going to be doing that the whole trip, then?" Tanjo asked, nervous.
Asami shook her head. "Probably not. I'd only get bored."
"Thank you… Woah!"
As Tanjo calmed down, another shard of ice darted at the boy, prompting him to dodge immediately. Asami snickered childishly as her index finger was pointed outward, indicating where the ice shot out from.
Tanjo breathed, his mind becoming clouded. Training, he thought about. He was reminded of Kronos, and the kidnapping of Mizuki.
"Asami, do you ever doubt yourself?" Tanjo questioned, his blue eyes meeting Asami's.
The cloaked woman raised an eyebrow. "Are you having second thoughts?"
Tanjo shook his head. "No. I was just thinking about my own aspirations, but I'm apparently on the clock. I'm not sure if I've made much progress when it comes to fulfilling myself or my goals. I know nothing is relatively easy, per se, but has it ever been too much?"
Asami's countenance became reflective, her grin fading. "Tanjo, if you're worried about being too… late to accomplish something, then you're only holding yourself back. Life tests the strongest of people through fear and doubt—if you hesitate now, then you'll never learn to overthrow your worst nightmares."
Tanjo clung to every word, his mind wrapping around his own situation, then fitting Asami's advice into the mix. She was right. Despite his temporary naivety, he improved much faster when he refused to back down. His performance in the class battle exemplified this.
"You never answered my question: have you ever felt that way?" Tanjo asked once more.
Asami smiled softly. "Yep. Still do, every day."
Tanjo tilted his head to the side, confused. "But what about—"
"Not everything I say applies to me, Tanjo. Trust me, I'm hypocritical when it comes to various things." Asami concluded, putting a hand up to silence the teenage boy.
Tanjo nodded. "Then I won't push it." Tanjo then said, preparing to jump. "Come on, I still need to practice my maneuverability!"
Asami grinned. "Don't let the ice impale you, then!"
Never before had Tanjo jumped faster in his life.
XXX
I'm getting back into the groove of things, and everything for this volume should be set in stone! What person in particular is Kono looking for? Will he be caught? Will Tanjo succeed in perfectly traveling from the trees, and will he overcome his self-doubt!? Stay tuned for more!
Have a Great Day!
Peace - Cr1ticalz_