The sun dipped low over the treetops as Kagetsu crept through the underbrush, bow slung across his back, eyes sharp and focused.
He had one job: find food.
Ezren was no help. The guy couldn't tell a boar from a boulder and almost set their tent on fire trying to toast bread.
"Of course I'd end up being the responsible one," Kagetsu muttered, hopping over a fallen log.
After about an hour of tracking, he found it, a sun-dappled clearing.
And in it?
Rabbits.
No, a rabbit paradise. Tiny, fluffy, wide-eyed creatures bouncing around like cotton balls with legs. Dozens of them.
Kagetsu crouched low. "Jackpot."
He moved like a shadow, quick and quiet. One rabbit… two… three… four…
CRUNCH.
Not from a rabbit.
The ground rumbled. A heavy thud followed. Then another.
Kagetsu froze mid-reach. Slowly, he turned.
Behind him stood the biggest rabbit he had ever seen.
Eight feet tall. Nearly 500 pounds. Red, glowing eyes. Muscles rippling under fur like it bench-pressed tree trunks for fun.
It stared directly at him.
"…You've gotta be kidding me."
The giant rabbit growled.
Kagetsu lunged first, hoping to land a hit before it could scream or summon more oversized woodland nightmares.
He dashed in, fists up.
WHAM!
The rabbit slapped him out of the air like a baseball, sending him flying into a tree. Bark cracked and splintered behind him.
He slid down the trunk, groaning. "Okay… it's not just big. It's pissed."
Blood ran from his lip. Ribs aching. But his focus sharpened.
Use it.
Kagetsu dropped into a stance—legs wide, one hand forward, breath steady.
"Void Flow... engage."
A soft pulse of dark energy rippled from his chest.
Void Flow. A martial art no one else knew. Silent. Efficient. Designed to end fights in a single, perfect move.
The rabbit charged.
Kagetsu met it head-on. They clashed in a blur of fists and dodges, speed versus brute strength.
Boom. Boom.
Every hit shook the clearing.
But the rabbit wasn't slowing down. It was learning. Adjusting. And Kagetsu… was getting tired.
Another massive paw came down—he blocked, barely, but the force pushed him back, carving trenches in the dirt.
Then—he was grabbed.
The beast lifted him into the air.
"This is it? Really?"
He grit his teeth, muscles tensed.
Then, light.
A golden flash. A blur.
Suddenly, Kagetsu wasn't in the rabbit's grip anymore—he was in someone else's arms.
Not crushed, held.
He blinked through the brightness.
Standing over him was a tall boy with short golden hair, wind-swept and glowing faintly. One arm held Kagetsu. The other aimed a glowing spear at the monster.
"Hey. You good?" he asked casually.
Kagetsu pulled away and stood up. "Yeah. Thanks. Who the hell are you?"
The boy smiled, easy and confident. "Name's Kaguro. I was nearby. Figured I'd save your butt."
He raised a hand. "Asteron!"
A radiant spear shot through the air and landed neatly in his palm.
The rabbit roared and charged again.
Kaguro didn't flinch.
He danced around its attacks like he'd practiced with lightning itself.
Then, the air pulsed with magic.
"Light Magic: Heavenfall."
A blinding beam of divine light crashed down from the sky.
The giant rabbit vanished—burned to ash in a flash of gold.
Silence returned.
Ash floated on the breeze.
Kagetsu stood there, breathing hard, staring at the empty space where the beast had been.
Kaguro turned, spinning his spear on one finger. "You good, tough guy?"
Kagetsu dusted dirt off his shoulder. "I had it under control."
"Sure you did."
"…Shut up."
Kaguro just grinned.