Nosferatu sighed. "You know, sometimes I envy your keen sense of smell", he said. "But remembering it's several years of lazy gluttony that made you get like that makes me not want it anymore." "Buzz off!" Nobuharu said to him. "Tell Lord Vlad that this is my territory now." "HIS TERRITORY, NOT YOUR'S!!!", Nosferatu corrected him as his eyes glowed brighter in a way that frightened the lesser Ketsuki. In less than a second, Nobuharu was tackled down to the ground with the superior general's body pinning him down and his multi-fanged mouth wide open at his neck ready to rip off the lesser's flesh and drink all the blood that would flow from it. "I'm sorry, it was only a mistake", Nobuharu said in desperation. "Please, I meant no disrespect to Lord Vlad! Don't do it, please!" Hearing his subordinate's pleas, Nosferatu closed his mouth. "Know your place, general!" he said as he got off Nobuharu. "Let this be the last time you show even the slightest hint of disrespect towards Lord

Coming down the Highlands that marked the Jinro territory, they began walking around with more discretion. It was still mating season for dragons, and those flying beasts could be seen circling the sky every few minutes, with males sparring in the skies over the cave of a female to establish who would mate. This happened in multiple places, almost everywhere they found a cave, they would find several male dragons duking it out several feet above. It was an exciting sight, and if this were happening over a week ago, Asuka and Aya would have been delighted to see them, knowing that several nests of dragon eggs would be found nearby. But that wasn't the case this time, as they had new aspirations and ambitions. They walked for a few more hours, and it was well past noon, approaching evening. Now they had to find a place to rest soon, preferably a place where they could set a huge enough campfire that would deter the Ketsuki shoul

The Ketsuki morphed into a monstrous form which almost resembled that of a bat, and gave a loud screech that was deafening to the ears. The ketsuki was now massive in size, being over nine feet tall. What seemed to be wings could be seen webbing the space from his arm to his waist. Sharp fur grew from his back and his ears became even more pointed than before. His fangs now hung out of his mouth like tusks, and his teeth had grown so large that his mouth couldn't cover it anymore. He looked like an instant combination of a bat and an elf - only three times as large and ferocious. Due to the sudden growth, his skin had cracked at multiple areas, and not even his instant regeneration could keep up, as this instant transformation had famished him. He needed to feed, he needed blood, and fast. Looking at Daisuke, he lunged at him hungrily, with saliva drooling from his mouth as he moved swiftly. Daisuke also jumped

Daisuke woke from his slumber as he felt a sudden cold rush through his body. He was panting heavily. Apparently, he had just been soaked in water, and before him he could see Satoru squatting with an empty wet bowl dripping out. "You are finally awake" Satoru said as he stood and turned away. Daisuke noticed that he was tied up with very strong ropes to a tree behind him. The ropes were tied so tightly that taking a long breath felt impossible. "Took you long enough, handsome" Asuka said from the other side of the tree. "Asuka?" Daisuke called. "Wait, what of Aya?" "I'm right beside you, though we can barely see each other", Asuka's sister said from another side of the tree, almost parallel to him. "And stop trying to free yourself, you are hurting us both." All three of them were tied to the large tree, each facing the opposite direction, and barely able to see each other thanks to the large and th

"Ah?" asked Asuka, looking at Daisuke with a sudden frown as she grabbed his ear, instantly squeezing and drawing it so hard that he almost cried out. "Don't go making decisions like that without confiding in us first." Daisuke held on to his reddened ear. "I'm not forcing you to join us. In fact, I would love it if the both of you sit this one out and head back to the village to live safely under Master Ronin." "And you think we would let you go without us?" asked Aya with a smile. "What do you take us for?" "What are you both angry about?" Daisuke asked, apparently confused about whether they wanted him to go or not, with or without them. "If you wanted to leave with me, then why are either of you complaining?" "You three seem to be enjoying yourselves" Mikasa said, taking note of their childish bickering. Then she stared at the ground while twiddlung her thumbs, as if remembering something she didn't want to. "I miss thos