05/28/2015, 05:11 AM #4212 Hieda Manor | Human Village
"If so, then..." Sazanami breathed in, out, then began his story:
Week ago | Forest of Magic
"A'ight, that's about good enough lumber for today." Sazanami uttered to the workers that the day is over for them. The lumberjacks gradually lowered their axes and sighed in relief that they can finally go home. The day was indeed coming to an end, with the western skies dyed red and orange while the eastern skies were a gradient of purple and deep blue. Several tree stumps replaced what was once a patch of thick trees isolated from the Forest of Magic, with the felled trees stacked neatly on a pile. "Everyone reconvene tomorrow; we'll carry the lumber off and begin renovating the town hall."
With the word of Sazanami, the rest of the lumberjacks took off to the human village. They seemed to be in a hurry, even though they were exhausted from hours of hard labor, possibly because of the recently increasing threat of unnamed, newly born Youkais. Sazanami, however, didn't seem to be in too much of a hurry as he gathered smaller logs and began tossing them next to the larger logs.
"Sazanami, you not comin'?" One of the lumberjack asked Sazanami, who shook his head.
"I'll catch up to you later; just wanted to finish gathering the smaller ones." Sazanami answered to the lumberjack's question.
"A'ight, but be careful, dem Youkais lurk at nighttimes."
"That's that." Sazanami sighed to himself as he finished stacking the smaller logs adjacent to the larger logs. The sun has already set, and the darkness crept across the land. The moonlight was the only source of light at these times, and the wild animals' cries made the atmosphere eerie.
"Better be careful. They come out during these times..." Sazanami gulped as he began trekking back to the human village, his woodcutter's hatchet handy in case a wolf or even a wild Youkai jumps. He was proud of his own self, and has fended off several feral animals that jumped him or one of his crew member from time to time... but with the news of a new Youkai attacking several tourists near the trek, he can't let his guards down.
The half-hour journey was quite uneventful. No beasts jumped him, and no Youkai attacked him. The village gates were in sight, thanks to the torches lit by the watchguards. it would only take a few minutes to reach the gates.
But something compelled Sazanami to stop in his track and turn back.
Slumped next to the road, unseen by Sazanami the first time, was a young woman, her bare, pale body gleaming bright. She had her back turned against Sazanami, and her head was declined. She had quite a lengthy hair, black like the night itself, falling across her skinny back.
Sazanami couldn't help but approach the woman.
He took the short walk to the woman and bent over to check if anything was wrong-
The rest of the memory was faded to black.
"I can't remember anything after that." Sazanami finished his story. "I woke up here afterwards. I was told that Ryukaze, the lumberjack who warned me of Youkai attacks, came back up the trek to find me lying on the road, bleeding from a slash wound to my stomach and close to death. That was about... 3 days ago."
Lu and Ciel's Apartment | Barcelona, Spain
"YES!" Kongou cried a shout of happiness as she sat on the chair of a now-ruined balcony. The first-sight opinion of the two being meanie-buttheads have been dissolved to nothing; they are now a dear companion in this glorious tea time. "I'll have black tea and scone DESU!"
Sana's Studio | Manhattan, NY
"UGGGGGH!"
I... have never been so angry...
EXCEPT NOW!
"RUN, LADS!" Demoman shouted as bolts of lightning shot up from Sana's hands and began crackling down towards Soldier, her eyes burning with rage. "We're not going ta be safe!"