Survival Hunts.
As the name suggests, it's a game where Kurenai Village mortals hunt profound beasts —and each other— to survive for a month in groups of three.
This event is Shinji's idea, passed on to the mortals by Tsubaki, for them to strengthen themselves for the upcoming continuous battles with the Kushi Village mortals.
»»»The real reason Shinji brought it up, nevertheless, is for him to spend some quality time with his girlfriend«««
As the groups were being made, some decided not to participate —e.g. Sora. In the long run, however, they are harming themselves by staying ants in a bottle.
Tsukino realizes this, and decides to team up with the legendary Mango-Mango, alongside the unlucky Tento!
The chocolate skinned youth moves further away from Mango-Mango, and frowns slightly.
As someone reported to be a Tsuki Slave by mistake, he was grabbed by them, and forced to approach Tsukino to request for one of the idiots to team up with her. When he did so, however, Tsukino asked to team up with him, something a pushover like him couldn't refuse.
—Being weak is a crime: even guys I can kill in one on one battles are bringing me trouble! This is one of the reasons I want to be the strongest: to save myself from being oppressed by rubbish because they out number me! I hate being weak and pathetic!
Ten shakes his head, clenching his fist.
'With Tsukino around, it would be hard for me to ask Lucy-san to teach me how to fight.'
—I might as well use this frail body and the tricks my mind can make.
Calmly collecting himself, he starts to strategize a plan in his mind. As someone with the same surname as the First Tama-Artist, it's norm for him to make himself comfortable in times of discomfort.
"Tutturuu..."
Hearing that obnoxious voice, he pinches his nose, and takes a short glance at the goose-faced moron next to Tsukino.
—Why did Tsukino ask a guy who funks of urine to join us?
Initially, Ten thought it would be Mikino joining them. However, when Tsukino approached her, the blind girl coldly snorted, going to another group. With no choice, Tsukino asked the man close to her.
'Whatever.'
Tento turns his head away from the young man, made from the sin of a goose and a mango, gazing into the lash forest with a detached intellection.
—I don't know why we were told to group ourselves into groups of threes, but when I find a chance, I'm going to ditch them. Maybe, I'll run into Lucy-san. If he wants payment for teaching me, I might help him on whatever he wants to archive, since that might help me gain some enlightenment in the path I'm walking.
'Furthermore, I've to ask if his girlfriend has a sister. She is the only person to give me that feeling of wanting to fight her. If, she does have a sister, then I'll ask for her hand, so that we might spend the whole day fighting.'
»»»Over the past month, Ten has been fighting a lot of stage 2 profound beasts, and during that time, he found out that being violent goes well with him —inspired by Lucy's girlfriend. Thanks to that, he now wants to be the strongest, so that he can fight strong people and train himself. Although he has hope to be the strongest, he sees no light at the end of his tunnel, since he is pathetically weak, that anyone would laugh at his dream.«««
Meanwhile.
"Tutturuu tutturuu..."
Mango-Mango makes sounds, using his giant shield as a drum to kill boredom.
He has long lost devotion to Tsukino. And currently, only the angel from a month ago has room in his mind.
—Just who is she? According to her words, she has a boyfriend here. After all, Tama-Artists wouldn't help mortals easily unless fooled by that scholar.
Mango-Mango has raised his awareness against Shinji. He can't shake the feeling that they were all taken for fools by him during the event that occurred a month ago. Also, the brown-haired man feels used, and his resentment for Shinji grew to unimaginable lengths.
Dropping the issue of the scholar, whom he can kill with one punch, Mango-Mango's thoughts return to the heavenly beauty.
—She would have stepped up when we killed the Bushi. Yet, she waited until we were about to frame Lucy.
'That's it, Lucy is her boyfriend. If I kill him, she'll come to me, and I'll live the life of a king thereafter!'
"Hahahaa!!"
A crazy laugh escapes his lips, prompting the two with him to give him weird glances.
"Lucy has to die! We have to do everything in our power to kill him in these survival hunts!"
Although skeptical about Mango-Mango's sanity, Tsukino agrees, nodding.
"You're right about that. Such a person with no regard for human life has to die! Just thinking about him makes my blood boil!"
Ten rolls his eyes in disdain. Lucien hasn't done anything to them, yet they are thinking of attacking him. Aren't they the ones with no regard for human life?
Shaking his head, he sighs.
"Have you forgotten what he did four months ago? The images of that day are still fresh in my mind. Right now, I can see the mayhem in front of me."
"We are at the place he did it."
Tsukino answered coldly to Ten's schmuckiness.
"Ah." Ten scratches his head, 'That's embarrassing. How can I forget the place, where the first thought of asking Lucy-san to teach me occurred?'
Meanwhile, Tsukino furrows her brows, looking at the place that has recovered from the events that took place.
'Am I strong enough to kill Lucien?'
—I still need to go back and see my brother!
Mango-Mango, on the other hand, doesn't consider anything.
"So, what if he killed a bunch of Kushi Village mortals? Those were the weakest ones. Compared to the ones I killed, they are nothing."
Correction: those were Bushi in training. The cream of the next generation of Bushi for Kushi Village, who they were planning to use on the war to invade Kurenai Village.
Oblivious to what took place, Mango-Mango starts to brag:
"I killed a lot of Kushi Villagers at X-You Mountain than Lucy."
»»»That is true, Lucien didn't steal attention, until the end. Then again, who wants to fight someone holding a hammer?«««
"If I were to go in a one-on-one dual with Lucy, I would kill him in one blow. There is nothing special about that silver hammer of his; it's nothing in front of my shield. Tell me where he is, so I can kill him now?!"
"He is right in front of us."
"Huh?"
Ten repeats himself, pointing at the end of the wreckage done by Lucien. Looking at Silver Hammer, he shakes his head, lamenting.
"Since I can kill you both in a one on one dual, I suggest we ignore him, and do something else."
In unison, the other two roll their eyes in jest. Who would be killed by a guy who has barely started gaining muscles after luckily finding a good diet?
Taking Ten's words with a grain of salt, the two careful look where he is pointing. Under a tree shed, Lucien sits with closed eyes, his otsuchi on his side.
Seeing him at peace peeves Tsukino: a man smasher doesn't deserve such peace!!
"He is sleeping," Mango-Mango said the ostensible. Soon after, a grin perches itself on his face as he takes sedate steps forward.
"People are good when they're asleep; sending such a person to eternal slumber is my duty. Since the heavens are helping me, I won't waste such a grand opportunity."
Tsukino wants to stop him, but decides to follow Mango-Mango. Who knows what would happen when attacking someone like Lucien?
Arriving, Mango-Mango raises his metal shield. At that moment, however, Tento makes a loud shriek, inciting Lucien to open his eyes.
Still, Mango-Mango slams his shield against Silver Hammer, with all the energy he can master in his muscles.
Crack!
Mango-Mango laughs heartily at the sound of something shuttering apart. Nonetheless, his pupils shrink to pin-size, when he looks at his hand: his shield is gone; he's only holding crumbs of it.
At this moment, Lucy stands up!
***
Lucien is a simple person. He doesn't do anything to those who don't bother him and his loved ones. When you poke him, sometimes he might let you go, considering you a fool, or because he is bored.
Nevertheless, going beyond certain limits make most regret it.
On this day, he forced Sora to do the laundry, before setting to the forest with his best friend. A few minutes later, Shinji got kidnapped; Lucien didn't chase since he is no match for the kidnapper.
Left alone, the young man couldn't stand the heat: as an albino, he sporadically suffers from hyperthermia. Carefully searching for places with little to no grass —he has grass-allergy—, Lucien found a beautiful canopy of maple leaves to rest.
As seconds passed, he fell asleep thanks to the mesmerizing forest sounds.
When noises started occurring around him, he woke up; although Tento called him as insurance, Lucy had already protected his head with Entropy —which he and Shinji can only see at the moment.
'This is bothersome.'
He ponders to himself.
Getting up, he ignores the schmucks giving him stunned gazes. Not paying much to the previous attack, he moves away from the group, only to find the man with a head shaped like a hybrid of a goose and mango standing in front of him with a grin.
"I know about your girlfriend."
"So?"
"She is very beautiful. Give her to me, and I'll let the issue of breaking my shield go."
On the other side, Tento feels a desire to curse, his completion turning ashen. Clenching his fist for his misfortunes, he repeats one word in his mind like a mantra.
'Damn! Damn! Damn!'
—My chances of getting a fighting instructor has been wasted!!! This bastard!!!