It was cold afternoon when Masaki Taisho returned. He was already in a foul mood because he was tasked with more work than was expected during this period. Their weekly quota was increased and the level of advanced tier beast cores required by the the district has increased. Although they are not the only squad in Hinokagura castle town, they are the main group in charge of hunting.
He rinsed dirt and sweat from his beardless face and his clean shaven bald head, he dried himself with a cloth before responding to Wasuren.
"it is not wise for you to go against a decree from a Hatamoto Ren" Masaki Taisho said while getting ready for the weekly hunt"
"They think nothing of me, they send me to hunt, they send me on guard duty, but never anything of real importance, and suddenly they wante to go to Aoshima." Wasuren retorted.
Masaki scoffed, "spare me the attitude boy. Now hand me my hammer"
Captain Masaki is a brown skin bald headed man of small stature, he is 5'5 inches, despite his height, his biceps are as big as powerlifters thighs. He is what you would by no means called a small man. Although his subordinates joked about his height behind his back, no one dared insult him to his face. He might look like a muscular-extremely muscular toddler but he was a scary extremely muscular toddler.
"What's your problem with Aoshima anyways" Masaki asked,
There was a few seconds of silence before Wasuren replied, "it is my birthplace"
"I see" Masaki said with a nod, "come on, it's time for the hunt."
There are a little over 50 men under Masaki Taisho including Wasuren Hoshigami. Through out their lives they had made a name for themselves within and beyond the capital of Hinokagura and the entire state of Tsukihana. They call themselves, Okami no Banshi; Wolf Wardens. They have been sent on missions through the different villages of Hinokagura district. They protect the people of Hinokagura and hunt for them and Masaki is their Commander.
No one knows if that's his surname or his first name. He was appointed his position by Lord Harunobu so no one questioned itand besides, he proved to be a good and reliable commander.
The only history known about him, is that he's from Tsukigane; a mountain village of monks and bell makers. It is one of the neighboring villages under the Hinokagura district. Although.... There are rumors that he is the last son of the previous head of Tsukigane and nephew to the current head of the village; Ayaka Tsukigane.
People say Ayaka Tsukigane stole rulership of Tsukigane from Masski's father and was scared of Masaki taking rulership from him so he banished him, as he couldn't outright kill him. But those are just rumors. Who knows what is true in these parts.
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Hebimori; forest of the serpent.
Long ago, it was whispered that one of the spawns of yamato no orochi, the eight headed serpent slithered deep into the thickets of an untamed jungle. Over centuries, its bloodline rooted itself in Hebimori, the Forest of the Serpent. Locals believe the air itself carries a lingering malice—dense mist coils between the trees like scales, and strange hissing sometimes echoes at night.
For generations, hunters and villagers only spoke of shadows and snake-tracks too large to belong to any natural beast. The Wolf Wardens, proud hunters of Hinokagura, often entered the forest to provide meat and beast cores for its people, returning with tusks and meat of monstrous inoshishi (boars) or pelts of feral beasts. And only once had they encountered a serpent. It was a two headed 6 foot tall serpent, but it slithered away before they could kill it. But since then no news of a serpent had reached them. Most of the wolf wardens believed that a much stronger beast had slain the serpent before it could mature to it's full strength. Others believe that it was still alive, it's simply was too deep in the forest for them to encounter.
"So you think it's dead" one of the samurai asked his comrade.
"Of course its dead, it's been years and we still haven't seen it" the other samurai replied.
"You think a descendant of the great Yamato no orochi, the eight headed, eight tailed serpent, whose body stretched across eight valleys and hills would be killed by Inoshishi?"
"Oh please, just because it's a decendant does not mean it is that strong, and besides, there are stronger beasts and monsters than Inoshishi in Hebimori."
"Stop!" Masaki Taisho called out and the troops stopped moving. Then he urged one of his men, "Go, scout and report".
He went forward and observed the area of the forest that caught Masaki Taisho's attention. There had been damage to the bark of trees, and the area surrounding the damaged trees looked a mess, like a battle had occurred. He observed some more then returned to Masaki before reporting.
"They lead beyond those Cedar trees, it's most likely a battle between Inoshishi and a panther" he reported.
Masaki Taisho thought for a moment before responding, "Alright, we'll move forward, let's move cautiously and with silence, if it's Inoshishi then we have no problem, but if its panthers then we have to tread carefully because they are sneaky little bastards."
The Wolf Wardens moved quietly through the dense forest. As they passed by shrubs, oak and cedar trees they grew more skeptical as they observed more destruction. Burn marks on tree barks some carcasses of Inoshishi that looked to have been melted by acid.
"Masaki Taisho, Wasuren Chujo," one of the lower ranked samurai called, "this seem to be the work of a beast with poisonous abilities, all clues point to a serpent.... Perhaps.... It has returned"
"We should not jump to conclusions, it could be a simple serpentine beast. But we shall not let our guards down as hunters or it will be our deaths."
They stumbled upon an opening in the forest and what lay before them was nothing short of carnage. Several bodies of Inoshishi lay dead on the forest floor, skin and bones melted with fang-like puncture wounds on their hide