The bear dozed off, letting its entire body fall onto the grass, enjoying the sunlight, hoping it would curb its hunger.
The squirrel watching it thought it might be a good opportunity to escape once it confirmed the bear was asleep. But it had to make sure first. If only something passed by the bear without waking it up, then it would dash out as fast as possible.
Then, it heard someone crawling, so it peeked its head out of the tree hollow. Coming face to face with a dog, more specifically, a Shiba Inu.
Meanwhile, Tenma jumped in fright, causing him to fall to the ground after grabbing onto the hollow to try to stand up. The squirrel retreated back into the hollow, trying to catch its breath. Another predatory animal was even closer now. It thought this was the end.
Tenma, on the other hand, tried to stand up again, only to hear a growl behind him.
Quickly, he turned his head, finding the bear asleep, giving him a huge scare that made him try to enter the hollow tree as quickly as possible.
The squirrel tried to escape at the same time as the dog entered the tree, horrified to see his organs exposed and the dog's pale face. Clearly, it didn't take long for it to vomit.
The dog tried to settle in as best as he could, sighing somewhat calmer. Now, the question was to hide enough for his regeneration to complete.
On the other hand, for the squirrel, there was no doubt. It was to leave that place now or never. It couldn't bear so much stress, especially not with a dog split in half. It jumped out of the trunk, running through the green undergrowth, disappearing shortly after.
Now Tenma was alone. He had the hideout all to himself. If he had to stay there for a long time, he would. Even if his hunger returned.
Then, Tenma realized.
He no longer felt hungry. But before being killed, he hadn't even had breakfast. So why... did his appetite disappear?
"Could it be... that when my body regenerates, it also resets the full stomach?"
Tenma tried to think of some explanation for what was happening, but he only came up with silly ideas.
So, time passed. He thought about how long it would take for his body to complete the regeneration, how his siblings would be doing if no one had adopted them yet, and if Miss Rotenmeyer would welcome him back with open arms.
But, listening to the bear's yawn, he raised his head slightly from the tree hollow, watching as the beast moved to another place.
The dog's body had regenerated a little more. But he was sure of one thing.
For some reason, the regeneration process was still much slower than on previous occasions.
He simply shook his head and took a breath. If he could escape alive from that forest and return to that city at the beginning, and if he could live again with that kind old lady, then he wouldn't have to worry about it anymore. No more deaths, no more regenerations, no more being exploited or devoured.
He wasn't a wild animal; he should live in a comfortable home with a simple life. That's how he wanted it, and that's how he had always lived.
Tenma closed his eyes at midnight, several hours after that incident. Tenma was now fully regenerated, but he preferred to stay in the trunk and find the way out of the forest tomorrow morning to escape more safely.