Bleaktooth: Kyoushi, now standing tall and broad, walks the road away from his village. Two days into his journey toward Stormhallow. After the fight with Kazuco, he realized he needed not only more training, but more experiences. He thrived for the new sights, new magic, and new enemies to test himself. Emiko packed his bag of food and clothes for the journey, the memories of their goodbye still fresh in Kyoushi's mind, it's his pushing force to walk.
"I'll be back mom, and you'll see how strong I've gotten."
After saying this a wave of regret washes over his heart, as memories of her playing the lute, him healing her and the house with his music, even when she brought him out of the berserk state. Smiling to no one but himself
"Welp it's about time I start *really* moving, Bass"
with his familiar crimson hugging his legs, he makes off with thunderous booms following each step.
"I gotta say, after training my body hasn't responded this well to my powers. I feel almost no strain anymore. Now Crimson Clad..."(monologue)
Growing an awkward smile after the thought.
"Wait, how far am I from another village?"
Stopping in place and starting to bounce his legs back and forth increasing the speed
boom boom boom boom boomboomboomboomboomboom
Legs grow brighter every step and then
BOOOM
off Kyoushi goes into the air, hovering above the sea of green, trees large and small ranging in size and vibrancy, giving an almost breathing feel with a strong wind. The colors of the scenery take Kyoushi captive for a second,
"Oh right, village."
BOOM
North,
BOOM
East,
BOOM
South,
BOOM
finally West. Spotting not only smoke, but what seems to be watchtowers, just peaking over the trees.
"Ah ha!"
Returning to the ground
BOOM
he sets off straight ahead again. Bassing his way down the road, taking sharp turns, he stops.
"Huh?"
Stomping the ground and closing his eyes, he gets a vibration response,
"rapid tapping, running? No, they're scattering"
stomping the ground he gets something stronger,
boom boomboom
his eyes shoot open,
"Going now, this sounds too serious to ignore."
BOOM
looking in the direction of the vibrations, he see trees falling, tree limbs fly through the air, then he see's it. Kyoushi locks eyes with something, large black, it's bloodlust is palpable from where Kyoushi is. Falling back to the ground,
BAM
"What. the. HELL. was. that!?" (monologue)
He hits the ground hard, no cushioning, leaving a crater, but also realizing something else.
BOOM
"There are people there already, this isn't a lost cause."
He blasts off again, not on the road, through the trees, closing in he hears screaming, yelling, growling. Stopping behind a tree and crouching down Kyoushi peers through some branches and sees a battle, rabbit people, and that thing.
"Well that's two new things I've seen."
Now able to see this monster, he freezes, the very sound of the growl drops Kyoushi's bass, nearly buckling him.
"No, you fought Kazuco. A god. This damn *mutt* is nothing."(monologue)
A Shadehound, but nothing Kyoushi has seen, this towered anything he's seen, coal black fur and eyes that could tear you apart, claws that disfigured the ground from simply standing, it's fangs a bleak, ash gray. No blood, no flesh, nothing, just gray. Steeling his nerves he readies himself
"I know I'm gonna pay for this later but"
, growing a devilish smile
"Who cares?"
His grin widens into something wild.
"Crimson Clad."
Watching closely, the rabbit people are standing there with their spears, that's when they do it.
bap bap bappabap bap bap bappabap bappabap
Kyoushi's eyes widen,
"they're using my move!"(monologue)
the rhythm building faster and louder with the whole group in sync,
BAPPABAPBAPPBAPBAPPABAPBAPPAPBAP
FOOSH
they all scatter at blinding speeds. The shadehound now watching all over, trying to watch all of the warriors at the same time, cuts here cuts there.
"Ahh so they use their rabbit bodies to get massive speed advantages. Interesting to say the least."
SNAP
"AHHHHH!"
caught by the leg a rabbit person is bit
BOOM
out of the bushes Kyoushi shoots out and closes in on the shadehound,
"BASS BLAST!"
delivering a devastating kick to the head of the shadehound
BOOM
grabbing the rabbit person from it's mouth and setting them down.
"Just wait here, I'll be back."
The rabbit is still confused and processing what just happened, the pure white coat that had nothing but war paint, is now sullied with blood. Running to the front lines with the other rabbit men, the shadehound
"What's the deal with this thing! I've never seen them do *this*!"
"He's known as Bleaktooth, he was a shadehound but now he's been corrupted by shadow magic. Now he's *that*, also thanks stranger."
"No problem, I sensed so-"
cut immediately
"LOOK OUT!"
Bleaktooth, with his mouth gaping, is closing on Kyoushi, turning around and showing a face less than displeasured
"I was saying-"
BOOOM
a large punch right into the mouth of the beast, sending it flying back the direction it came.
"Something."
Turning back around and looking at the rabbit men, all who's dumbfounded by the feat of strength just put on display.
"Anyway, I sensed something was wrong. Anyway to beat this resilient bastard?"
they all grow serious and readying themselves, getting the message.
"Bleaktooth may be corrupted, but it's still a beast! It can still be hunted!"
Hearing those words,
"Oh, I have an idea then..."
clenching his fist tighter and stepping in front of everyone.
"Everyone cover your ears."
Not understanding, the rabbit men do it anyway, some even folding their ears, slouching over and taking a lung full of air, that smile returns.
"Rebel Roar"
Coming up and throwing his arms out to the side, the rabbit men all see the same thing, the fire orange glow emenating from Kyoushi's throat.
"RRRAAAAAAAAAAHHHH"
*The* primal scream has returned, with a new refined sound that is now Kyoushi's voice, now not forced or fueled by anger. A sound wave of pure rebellion and mind crushing pressure, it robs Bleaktooth of it's strength and control, falling to the ground and it's eyes rolling. The scream fading out, Bleaktooth lays there dazed, holding his throat and speaking through strained words.
"Everybody, use your speed and at the same time strike his head!"
The rabbit men looking at him like he's crazy
"Our weapons can't penetrate his *skull*!"
"Damn, that's right. Why didn't I think that!?"
"Keeping it's skull mostly intact...."
His eyes firing open,
"Kick him! Use your speed to drive a blow right into his head! You can kill him without breaking the skull!"
Kyoushi pushing himself straight up, his legs charge.
"Follow me!"
Boom. Boom. BoomBoomBoomBoom
The eyes of all the rabbit men get wide as they watch this stranger, a human, using their technique. Nonetheless they trust him and begin with him.
BappaBapBappaBapBappaBapBappaBap
"Man they have a really nice beat!"(monologue)
Bleaktooth huffs out, starting to regain consciousness.
"NOW!"
FYOOM
Everyone scatters and starts bouncing around Bleaktooth and seemingly out of nowhere,
"ON ME!"
BOOOM
A Bass powered leg, beautifully complimented by many other rabbitmen legs.
BOOM
FYOOM
another scatter is seen and the rabbitmen regroups in front of the monster they just thoroughly rattled and triumphed. Kyoushi, found the earlier rabbitman's leg more concerning. Studying the rabbitman, his face contorted in pain, breathing is shakey, the leg that was bitten is now slowly turning black and twitching unnaturally, like it possesses it's own soul. Kyoushi pulls around a lute, not his typical one from before, this one was a gift from Raikou and Yume. An added touch from Emiko was a the note "Luh".
"The notes in this world also have names and symbols. Each note has gained a meaning through songs that prioritize those notes. Vah is for Power, Luh is Healing, Zeh Instinct, Kah Focus, and Ryn Speed."(Kazuco)
Gripping the lute and readying,
"Let's see this work geezer..."
he begins to play and strings glow a vibrant green that dulls the forest their in. The aura envelops the head and leg of the rabbitman, the black fur now returning to the pure white it once was and the wound closing with no marks, not even a scar. The blood left on the fur stays as a reminder of the danger that can lurk. The remaining rabbitmen have stopped and stared at Kyoushi, before the leader walks up,
"You've healed him...."
staring at the leg in disbelief,
"as well as remove the corruption..."
raising his gaze to Kyoushi.
"Who exactly are you stranger? Not many would heal us, let alone help in a fight."
"Well to be honest, I didn't know I could clear the corruption. I always knew about the healing! As for who I am, I am Kyoushi, I left my village towards the city of Stormhallow. That's when I felt a fight happening."
The look of surprise only growing.
"You must come meet our Elder, he would like to see you. My name is Talleba by the way. Thank you for the help."
Kyoushi getting up, to find his body rejecting his desire, he falls back to the ground.
"Ah damn, I knew I would over do it."
Talleba gets under his arm and picks him up, saying nothing but a nod, more than enough for Kyoushi to understand.
"Round up! Back to the village!"
The remaining rabbitmen get up and start to move as a group back to the village, almost like a military, Kyoushi and Talleba were in the middle while rabbit men surrounded us.
"A wounded stranger and their leader in the center, they have some military strategy. As if the battle didn't scream that loud enough"(monologue)
"You said your elder would like to see me, do you know why?"
Talleba's face grows cold,
"There was a girl in our village, she went out when she shouldn't have been and encountered Bleaktooth. She was more than lucky to leave with her life, the same can't be said about her mind. Soon after she returned, her fur turned black, her eyes red, thrown into a predatory frenzy. If you were able to heal one of our mens legs, you might be able to help her too."
Kyoushi's face grows much softer and his hand clenches grabbing some fur of Talleba, who has a face of shock, realizing what Kyoushi was just thinking.
"I won't promise you anything but I will definitely try, if you don't mind me asking how long has she been like this."
No response but a pat on the back paints a dark shadow ahead of Kyoushi.
"How long has she been like that? Why didn't he say anything? It's been very long then, hasn't it?"
The group make their way through the forest before they stop. All that is heard then,
BAP BAP BAPBAPBAP
...
BAP BAPBAP BAP
we continue walking down the path like nothing has happened.
"What was that about?"
Not moving his head, Kyoushi peaks around the trees and notices it, rabbitmen scattered through out the greenery. Kyoushi can already feel the stares from all of them, some of curiosity, some of skepticism of the choices of the other rabbitmen. A large wooden gate is now in sight, with watch towers at the corners, it towers over everyone else,
"Those must've been the towers I saw."
passing the main gate and moving into the village. Kyoushi looks around seeing Tents of rabbitfolk, some cleaning, some eating, some just standing and talking, others though staring down the only human in *their* village.
"Where is the elder? We need to meet urgently! This man could help the girl!"
Talleba shouts across the whole village, it goes quiet and everyone has the same stunned look at the words just spoken. A rabbit, visibly older with gray fur and shorter than the rest, walks out and walks up to the group that just entered. Kyoushi brings himself off of Talleba and takes a step forward to stand to the Elder, looking down at the elder he drops into a bow.
"It's a pleasure to meet you elder. My name is Kyoushi."
An audible gasp can be heard scattered through the rabbit people at the action Kyoushi did. The elder smiles,
"It's nice to meet you Kyoushi. Please rest here for the night, we shall talk in the morning."
walking off back in to the very large tent at the back of the village. Kyoushi raises himself,
"Come, Kyoushi. I'll show you you're room for the night."
nodding to Talleba, he follows to a tent that looks just like the others, upon entering behind Talleba.
"Hey, how was the hunt?" a female voice can be heard speaking to Talleba "We probably wouldn't have made it out, if it wasn't for our guest."
The young rabbitwoman, covered in patches of grey and white fur, smiles at Kyoushi.
"Well thank you for saving my husband, I'm sure he made your job extra hard!"
They start to chuckle, leaving Kyoushi with an awkward smile and laugh. He begins to bow but get's stopped,
"Ah, ah, ah. I know you're different, but no formalities. Call me Omae"
she grabs his shoulder and brings him back up.
"I'm different? What's *that* supposed to mean?"(monologue)
"Either way, good thing I made extra, please join us for a meal."
Kyoushi just nods and sits down, and takes a bowl and spoon from Talleba
"It's Shadehound Stew, you ever had it before?"
Kyoushi remembers when Haruto saved him from that shadehound, a tear falls into his stew, as the memory slips his mind.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hit a soft subject or anything."
Kyoushi snaps back to the moment.
"It's nothing! I had it once, my father saved me from a shadehound when I was young, so we tried it then..."
Talleba and Omae faces soften quickly,
bap
"I bet you're old man was the greatest, Kyoushi."
Talleba smiling right at him.
"Thank you both for hospitality. I deeply appreciate it all."
They smile and Omae even chuckles a bit.
"If we are being honest, we are thankful *you* are being so nice to *us*. Most humans look at us as monsters to be honest with you, to them we are a gross screw up in magic that allowed human and beast to combine. it's like that for most of our tribes, not just this one. Some have been fully attacked..."
CRACK
The spoon that was in Kyoushi's hand is now a handful of splinters and chips on the ground.
"Whoah! It's ok! We don't have it as bad as that!"
Loosening his grip,
"That's not the point. The behavior is disgusting, the arrogance through magic is abhorrent as is, but *that*, *that's* not acceptable."
releasing a breath of air, he regains his composure.
"I'm sorry about your spoon, my emotions take control far too often. I will repay you for the damage."
"Don't worry, getting another isn't hard haha."
Continuing to finish their meal,
"Thank you for treating us as people, some of us may not trust you yet, but you're ok here."
they end the night and lay down on the bed rolls laid out. Kyoushi lays awake longer than Talleba or Omae,
"What is this beat? It's so broken and desperate, wishing for a rhythm it can't find."
rapid mindless vibrations are felt by Kyoushi before giving into the night and drifting to sleep. The morning arises and the feeling of the others getting up, wakes up Kyoushi. Wiping his eyes and coming to his feet, he stretches his arms and back out.
"Mornin' kid, how'd you sleep?"
Looking up to see Talleba standing with the tent's entrance curtain open.
"Pretty well actually. It's more comfortable than I expected!"
"Glad to hear, we didn't know how a humans body would deal with *our* bedrolls so we stuffed yours up a bit, by the way you might wanna go see Elder Miruin while he has time."
Kyoushi walks over to the door way and nods
"Miruin huh? Alright thanks, I guess I'll be off then."
Talleba just smacks his back and smiles. On his way out he shields his eyes from the blinding sun, looking around to see many rabbit folk just out and about, moving his gaze to the back of the village he sees Miruin's tent. Walking closer to the tent he sees that Miruin is actually outside of his tent, expecting Kyoushi, taking him by surprise he approaches Miruin,
"Expecting me, Elder?"
replying with a laugh.
"Yes boy I was, there was something I wanted to ask of you."
A look of confusion spreads across Kyoushi's face,
"what exactly do you want?"
Maruin retains his smile points to his legs, to which Kyoushi looks down.
"The rabbitmen told me you wore a red branded armor that was able to hurt Bleaktooth as well as allow you to fight much like us. They also told me of a music vocal attack you did."
The look disappears from his face and an embarrassed smile appears,
"Ah hahaha ok."
Stepping back into the more open area behind him he gets into a wide stance,
"Crimson Clad"
the familiar crimson aura covers his arms and legs.
"This would be the "armor" they were referring to. I call it "Bass" individually but "Crimson Clad" and with my legs I can do this..."
Boom
Boom
BoomBoomBoomBoom
He does his normal bouncing to charge his legs.
BOOM
rocketing off into the air
BOOM
BOOM
BOOM
BOOM
he dashes across the air, before finally
BOOM
CRACK
landing back where he started, leaving his signature small crater. The rabbit folk and Maruin alike are all amazed by the show presented,
"As for that "magic vocal attack" I unfortunately can't do it again, it has some drawbacks to it still."
Maruin nods and closes his eyes.
"You're telling a lot for a village you just met, how do you know we aren't taking advantage of your kindness?"
Breaking out in almost hysterical laughter, leaving a sour face on some of the rabbitfolk,
"I'm sorry, I don't laugh to insult you. I believe if you truly viewed me as a threat or enemy, you would've killed me before I came in the gate. Your men knew how rough I was, I couldn't have fought if I wanted to, regardless against *that* many rabbitfolk."
Maruin bursts into a laughter himself before waving Kyoushi into the tent, to which he follows and inside he feels those same vibrations from the last night, they are much stronger now though, Maruin is also seated in a chair at the end of the tent and has a pillow in front. Kyoushi walks in and sits on the pillow present,
"They also told me you have some incredible healing abilities. You were able to cure the corruption from someone bitten by Bleaktooth. We have another case, I understand Talleba told you already?"
Kyoushi nods to confirm.
"This girl was bitten when she was young, she's been corrupted ever since, about 10 years."
Kyoushi's eye's shoot open as his anger raises to a boil, bringing himself back with a few deep breaths as Maruin continues.
"We hope that you can help her."
Meeting Maruin's eyes,
"I'll tell you the same thing, I didn't even know that I *could* clean the corruption. Something this saturated, I don't know."
Maruin closes his eyes coming to terms with what he's said.
"That's ok, even if you can't. You shown us all a greater kindness than we could ask for, that was more than enough. Would you like to see her now?"
Kyoushi nods and stands, he is then led to a door in the back of the room which leads back outside. Outside he feels nothing but the vibrations now as he lays his eyes on the girl, chained to a pole behind Maruin's tent.
"Her name is Aika..." Maruin speaks with deflated words.
Kyoushi's chest tightens as he approaches the almost rabid girl. Standing directly in front of her, holding his lute firmly in his hands, he takes a deep breath. The air is thick with tension.
With a gentle strum the song begins. It starts slow, but it's clear from the first note that this isn't just music - it's Kyoushi's very essence pouring into the melody. The song glows bright and vivid, wrapping both him and the corrupted girl in a warm, ethereal light. It's a hymn of healing, the same one Emiko played for him.
As the notes ring out, Kyoushi can feel the mana building, his heart beating in sync with the music. The carving from Emiko on his lute flickers to flie, glowing with a brilliant green that matches the aura surrounding them.
Aika, who had been on the verge of losing herself, suddenly stills. Her body halts in its frantic movement, and she stares at Kyoushi blankly, her eyes distant yet calm.
The aura around them intensifies, growing brighter and brighter, It's light pulsating like a heartbeat. Aika's once blackened coat begins to heal, patches of it's original white fur reappearing, though some parts remain marked by black splotches - evidence of the corruption still within her. The aura swells to a brilliant crescendo before it suddenly dissipates. As the light fades, a hushed silence fills the air. Aika collapses to the ground, her coat now a light, ash-gray color still marked by the erratic black patches scattered across her form.
The spectators around them watch in awe.
"Her mind and soul may have been healed, but her body... it's been through too much trauma, She can't forget it all, not yet."(Kazuco)
"Did it work?" Maruin asks, his voice tinged with concern as he looks down at AIka.
"I'm pretty sure it did," Kyoushi responds, a thoughtful frown on his face. "I didn't feel any different when using it this time compared to yesterday."
Aika slowly starts to raise her head, groaning like waking from a long nap, she looks up at Kyoushi first and then the other rabbitfolk nearby. Kyoushi bends down from where he is,
"Hey, you alright? Need help getting up?"
Aika is still really confused but nods anyway. The shackles are released from her wrists and Kyoushi helps her back to her feet and slowly make their way into Maruin's tent, where she ultimately gets caught up on everything that's happened. Maruin looks over at Kyoushi,
"Do you know why her fur didn't change like the rabbitman yesterday?"
Kyoushi looks up at Maruin
"I'm not too sure, if I had to guess it would be because of how long Aika's been corrupted. It may be a *permanent* side effect."
Aika's eyes grow very wide, knowing what that means for her.
"Hey Elder, may I ask a question?"
"Yes, Of course. What is it?"
Kyoushi bites his lip,
"Should I really ask? I'm sure of the answer already, I just *need* to make sure."(monologue)
"I'm pretty sure of this already, but why are there no other rabbits with black fur?"
Maruin sighs, not out of annoyance but concern.
"Rabbits with black fur are a rare occurrence in this village, those who have black fur are typically seen as evil. Regrettably, they get abandoned most of the time."
Kyoushi looks over at Aika and steels his nerves.
"Then would it be too far of me to ask, may I please take Aika with me. I know she won't be accepted anymore, hell, she'll be feared. Even if her coat is still mostly gray, I'd like to spare her the suffering of ridicule. Of course the final decision is hers."
The air stands still and silent for what feels like lifetimes.
"....I will...."
a quiet, soft spoken voice rings out just loud enough to hear. Kyoushi grows a smile,
"Thank you for trusting me."
Aika looks over to Kyoushi
"Thank *you* for saving me."
The Rabbit Spar: Kyoushi and the newly freed Aika sat outside Talleba's tent, watching the center of the village where two rabbitfolk were sparring. Every move - every swing, dodge, step - was picked apart by Kyoushi's eyes.
"What makes *their* dash more effective? We use the same ability don't we?"
Closing his eyes and placing his hands flat on the ground.
"Even their vibrations are a complete mess. This close, moving this fast I can't make out a damn thing. It's like the ground is screaming at me."
Sudenly the match ended. Kyoushi opened his eyes and focused back on the sparring pit. The two new combatants entered the circle. Regaining his concentration, Kyoushi locked onto their moves again. This time, the vibrations told a different story.
bappabap
bappabap
bappabap
"Wait... are they *double tapping*?"
He narrowed his eyes, watching more closely. Two impacts from the left leg, one from the right - two on the right and one on the left.
"But how could *I* do that? I don't even think that's possible as a human."
His gaze never left their feet, squinting, straining
"This seems familiar, what am I missing? They're *rabbitfolk*, we have almost the same bodies....."
A flash of memory - a horned rabbit flashes in his mind, the horned rabbit him and Haruto hunted when he was young.
"Their legs *are* different."
Focusing harder, he noticed it: the combatants moved on the balls of their feet.
"They're compensating. Using the balls instead of the whole foot - maybe because they don't have the angled leg structure..."
"Hey, Aika," he said, keeping his voice low, "have you ever fought?"
Aika didn't look up, just shook her head.
"Could you answer something, then?"
Another small nod.
"Your people - you don't have the same leg structure as a horned rabbit, right? Is it safe to assume you move on the balls of your feet to make up for that?"
A nod, more certain this time.
"Okay," Kyoushi said, flashing a small smile, "I'd like for us to spar. Nothing serious, I wanna test something, you and me."
She hesitated, long enough that he thought she might refuse - but then, a quiet,
"...Okay"
Kyoushi's eyes widened. He smiled brightly.
"She actually said something again... I hope this continues. For her sake."(monologue)
The fight ended faster than they both expected, and before long, they found themselves standing across from each other in the sparring circle. The circle was crudely drawn, a rough 20-foot diameter scratched into the dirt at the center of the village - a makeshift battleground, where villagers often gathered for entertainment and sparring matches.
"You ready, Aika? Don't worry about hurting me - like I said, I'm just testing some stuff!"
Aika's hands trembled slightly as she raised them into a guarded stance. The "referee" throws his hand down to signal the start of the fight.
Almost in sync, they both rose onto their toes - Kyoushi with uncertainty, Aika with a robotic stiffnes, like she was following an old order. Kyoushi dashed forward, throwing strikes. Aika dodged and blocked without trouble. He mixed in kicks, complex combos - two left hooks, an uppercut, a roundhouse - but Aika brushed them all off like a machine.
"Something's off. This is almost *automatic*. She's not here right now....is she?"(monologue)
He shifted, lowering himself close to the ground.
"bass"
The word left under his breath. He zipped right under Aika, cocking an arm back for a strike - only to meet her empty, emotionless gaze. The light was gone from her eyes.
She jumps over him and resets herself on the other side,
"I knew it. It's time to push her."
Kyoushi charged again, this time channeling his bass into his arms instead of his legs. Aika reacted instantly - a punch to the inside of his elbow and a sharp kick to his knee dropped him on the spot. Like snapping out of a trance, she blinks a few times and finally *sees* Kyoushi on the ground, her face contorting slightly.
"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!" she cried, dropping to the ground besid him, practically pleading.
Kyoushi sat up, stunned. Then smiled, laughing warmly.
"Hahaha, don't worry. You really took me by surprise!"
He reached out and ruffled the back of her head,
"You did great in my book."
Around them, the villagers wore faces of fear, whispering to each other about what they had just seen. Kyoushi ignored it for now, his focus only on Aika.
"There was more power for sure... and a lot less tiring. But I need to learn how to control the output."(monologue)