Bounty Hunter

Arisa went into a stable state where her body wouldn’t be in any further danger but her mana was still tearing itself apart. The condition had slowed down luckily but the longer Kira watched it unfold the more nervous he became.

He stepped away to head over to the stream that ran through the forest just outside the camp; it was where the villagers fetched water and fish. Ever since the incident with Tanji it became quite vacant, making it a perfect spot for Kira to mull over the situation.

Just past the large amounts of bushes he found a clearing surrounded by long bamboo and white branch trees. White stones made up the floor with a clear blue stream of water washing through the middle.

Kira perched himself on the stones just in front of the water and gazed deeply into his own reflection, he stared at it for almost an hour as he replayed various thoughts and memories. “What am I doing…”

A sudden snap of a branch from the distance caught his attention. Kira jolted up into a guarded position with his hand raised in front of him while the other rested over the hilt of his sword.

To his surprise a woman strolled out from the depths of the bushes on the opposite end of the stream, to say that she was a beauty would be putting it lightly. Her eyes glistened like shined jewels and her hair was a subtle white that paired nicely with her smooth pearly skin.

She wore a long blue Yukita with floral patterns around the trim, from the way she looked to the manner in which she walked Kira only had one word come to mind.

“Pretty…”

The girl walked towards the river unaware of Kira who sat on the other side of the water, she knelt down at the edge of the land and took a handful of water.

After gulping a massive sip she let out an energetic gasp of air, she seemed over excited from the drink of water and went for another. Her demeanour upon walking towards the water was elegant and seemed overly practiced but as soon as she tasted the water it all went out the window.

With a joyful smile she opened her eyes wide at the clear water and noticed a figure out the corner of her eye, she looked up only to see Kira sitting in confusion as he watched her. She fell back with a terrified expression and crashed onto her bottom.

‘Did she only just notice me now…is she an airhead?’ Kira thought as he cringed.

“Are you okay?” Kira said as he sprung up.

With a single leap, he cleared the distance of the stream and landed her by her feet, which was no easy task as the river was easily 7 meters wide.

“Stay back, I don’t have any money for you! Leave me alone or I’ll- or I’ll…” The girl replied gingerly.

She looked utterly afraid at his hand that was reached out, she crawled back in fear as her hands gripped into the stones.

“Money, do I look like some kind of bounty hunter? I was just asking if you are alright, but I guess there isn't a way to help being less of an airhead.”

“Air- airhead?! Who do you think you are, how can someone from the outskirts call me that!”

Kira let out a large sigh and averted his eyes, he tried to walk away but the woman grabbed his wrist before he could move.

‘This girl is a real pain…I have to lose her quickly before I get a headache.’

“So guy that sneaks up on people, should I just believe that you were here sitting alone for no reason?” She said aggressively.

“I wasn’t sneaking up on you; I was already here when you arrived. You should be more aware of your surroundings, Airhead. ” Kira gripped his hand into a fist and flexed the muscles in his arm. The girl’s hand that once fit comfortably around his wrist now had no room and she let go.

“Woah… you’re stronger than you look.” She glanced at his clothes and noticed the long black Katana resting on his waist. “Are you really not here for me then?”

“Why would I be, I have my own stuff to worry about.” Kira said as he stepped away.

“I see…well I’m sorry for assuming then, my names Inari by the way.”

“Kiramaru.” He replied.

“Are you a samurai then? I mean with the sword and the battered robes you look like you probably do a lot of fighting.”

“That obvious?” Kira looked down at the state of his robes, holes and dirty scratches were littered across the fabric and brought a frown to his face. “I guess I do need some new clothes, maybe something a little lighter?”

Before Inari could answer, he placed his finger over her mouth to shush her and froze in place. She looked at him with a confused stare but Kira seemed worried about something, he was somewhat paranoid.

Suddenly a figure burst out from the bushes behind them, a beast running on 4 legs pounced towards her with its massive claws spread out.

On instinct Kira pulled Inari towards his chest and drew his sword out, a flash of orange pounced into his vision as he sliced into the air.

‘That thing is quick; I didn’t even feel any contact when I tried to hit it.’ Kira thought.

“I finally caught you; I don’t think I have ever had so much trouble catching prey before.”

It was a woman covered in a tiger’s fur all around her back and limbs, her ears and teeth seemed sharpened as well. She had long bright orange hair that faded to black at the tips, as she stood up and relaxed her posture her hairs loosened and waved around.

From the way her body reacted it appeared as if she had full control over every inch of herself.

‘Is that a demon, but it’s talking so normally? I guess some of them are able to converse freely we can. Could she be here because of what happened with Demen?’ Kira pondered.

“What do you want?” Kira blurted out.

“Ha! What an amusing little mouse, it thinks that I would hunt especially for it. Stand aside tiny man so that I can catch my real prey.” The woman stated as she locked eyes with Inari.

The red in her pupils lit up and she bared her fangs, Inari stepped back with heavy feet and trembled aggressively; she looked like a dear in headlights.

“Her- what do the demon want with her? Do you know this woman?” Kira asked with a stunned expression.

Inari shook her head in denial and clenched on to Kira's robe, the warmth from her hand pressed against him as she stared at the beastly woman with disbelief.

The tiger woman retracted her claws along with the thick fur around her arms and feet, she looked much more human besides her massive size.

“Boring~ will you really not stand aside then, normally I would kill you myself but I still have to feed my cubs!” The large woman placed her hands on her hips in a relaxed manner as the bushes around them began to rustle.

To Kira’s right, a large male tiger skulked towards him with its head lowered from out the bushes. Suddenly a large roar broke through the trees to his left and a full sized male tiger raced forwards.

‘Those are demon too; they don’t look like humans thought so they must have been animals before. Could she really be their mothers then?’

The male tiger pounced but Kira planted his feet into the dirt and twisted towards the beast, his sword caught flame and drove into its belly.

The woman widened her eyes at the sight of Kira's flames. “Black fire… so he is the boy that master told us about!” She let out an excited laugh as Kira jumped around to fight off the tigers.

Suddenly she became even more enthralled and cheered loudly with enthusiasm as the tigers attacked him from both directions. Every time he would raise his guard and go in for a counter, he would be attacked from behind.

Kira pushed the male tiger back and left a large cut through its gut but the skin grew back almost instantly. Red blood dried up from its stomach and vanished out of sight as the wound closed up.

The moment it healed itself Kira prepared to rush in but was pushed down by the weight of the other tiger. It sunk its claws into his shoulder and crushed him with all of its weight.

He let out an agonizing screech as the tiger mauled his back; the male didn’t hesitate and jumped in to bite into his stomach.

As the male locked into his side with its jaw, a black flare of light burst out from the tiger’s mouth; Flames erupted around their bodies and engulfed them into a blazing inferno.

Both tigers jumped back with their faces and claws melted away trying to regenerate. They were repairing themselves at a slower rate due to the residual embers left on their bodies.

“Try that again you bastards!” Kira growled with a vicious glare as his eyes shifted like a flame.

**Note from author**

Please add a like for the chapter and add this to your libraries, it really helps support me and the writing. I'm glad to be back at writing with this new volume so please enjoy and let me know what you think~