"Say your prayers,

Cause I ain't leaving here without you."


The black-haired man was back before Hotaru could perfect her explanation of her emotions towards her teammates; the urge to kill was something not out of evilness or anything along those lines, it was mere excitement.

"Excitement? Over the thought of killing?" Kamiko gawked at Hotaru derisively. "Sounds psychopathic to me." she rolled her eyes and placed her empty bento box back in Hachiro's backpack.

"Like I said earlier dipstick; it's not something I can explain. It's just...a really strong feeling. I can't wait to fight, get my adrenalin rushing…it'll be so much stronger compared to reaching my limits during a training session."

Ryota cleared his throat while looking at the sky. Dawn began to break as the navy above them gradually burned in fiery red, entwining with the atmosphere of scorching orange clouds. He began to think that the bird could easily camouflage in such a palette, which could be one of the reasons to why it chose to fly out during this time of day.

"Hotaru, are you ready?" the senior asked as he looked down to his students.

"Mhm!" Hotaru beamed up at him, already holding the bow and arrow in a tight clasp. "Just give me the signal when it's in sight, sensei."

A few minutes passed but it only felt like mere seconds to Hotaru.

"Don't get nervous," Hachiro said steadily. "Can't aim when you're shaking this much, Aru-chan."

"I'm not nervous…I'm excited!"

He rolled his eyes but his features voiced nothing but content. Looking up at the sky, he pressed on her shoulder lightly. "OK, get ready."

She followed his gaze and before Ryota could say a word, she had already spotted The Scarlet Ibis. Her eyes glowed as she followed its movements, her smile stretching across her face.

"You don't have to tell me twice." Hotaru said as she closed her right eye and aimed ahead of the wondrous being. She pulled out three more arrows – judging by the size of the bird, one was nowhere near enough.

If my guesses are correct, it'll turn around after passing that rabbit-looking cloud, Hotaru thought. But I'll get it before it could make that turn.

"Clever move." Hachiro mumbled, placing a thumb over his lips.

"She's trying to predict the bird's next whereabouts," Ryota explicated to the interrogative Kamiko. "And is going to attack based on her predictions."

"What if she's wrong?" Kamiko asked, arching an eyebrow. "The bird will become alarmed and turn the other way, not coming back here again."

"Don't doubt me, dipstick." Hotaru commanded. "I know what I'm doing."

But Ryota didn't answer, since Kamiko's questions were not ones a fool would ask. If she is wrong, then we'd have to change course and wait a whole other day for the next sighting of the ibis. Don't mess this up, Hotaru. We're counting on you.

Their heartbeats soon picked up as Hotaru's posture lingered on for more seconds; while she could hear nothing but her breathing and the sound of her pulse, she decided to trust her instinct and close her eyes.

"What is she thinking?!" Kamiko hissed, stepping forward.

Ryota let his hand hover in Kamiko's direction. "Let her concentrate."

Minutes went by; Hotaru released an extensive exhale before she let go of her arrows. She refused to open her eyes, not until she could hear the sound of her prey's yelp.

As if time were taunting her, it felt like exaggerated seconds went by before the satisfying sound reached her ears. She opened her eyes and smiled triumphantly as the bird tumbled through the air, landing on the surface of the river and threatening to sink.

"YES!" Hotaru exclaimed, already running to the bird.

"Wait!" Hachiro shouted, but she was already splashing her way to the oversized red mammal.
Ryota was the one to stay behind as the three genins ran to the ibis; Hachiro pulled Kamiko along with him, knowing that the arrows couldn't have possibly killed it.

"You have your tranquilizers, right?" He asked the girl running behind him.

"Of course I do!"

The Scarlet Ibis's eyes were closed but it was shuddering tremulously. Hotaru began to caress its feathers as she hummed.

"Miko-chan, give me your tranquilizers." she blindly extended her hand to the ones behind her.

Rolling her eyes, Kamiko asked, "The old fashioned way? Or a dart?"

"Obviously a dart, you dingbat." Hachiro groaned.

Kamiko tsk-ed before reaching into the pouch that hung on her back and handing Hotaru what she asked for.

Feeling remorse for the animal that she had just hunted down, Hotaru continued to caress the area below the bird's long neck, beginning to hum again. Her little arm was lost within its gigantic, red feathers.

Placing the thin needle of the dart close to home, she shut her eyes and pierced the animal's skin, exhaling heavily and turning away once she was done.

"You two can pick it up, right...?" the brunette asked, opening her eyes and trying to let herself relax.

"Why don't you simply merge with the water and carry it over to shore?" Kamiko questioned. It was as if she wasn't even trying to be irritating – she naturally was.

Sighing, Hotaru nodded and merged her body with the water beneath her, soon carrying the heavy bird with the waves. I'm so sorry.

As soon as they arrived to the shore, Hotaru could no longer contain her excitement. "I can't believe it!" she said delightfully, slowly lowering the bird's head on the ground. "First animal; done!"

Ryota couldn't help but smile as he walked over to its slumbering body. "Good job you three," he allowed a smile to spread across his features. "Hachiro, your turn to get ready this time."

Nodding, Hachiro crouched low and opened up his backpack to produce a scroll for the bird.

Before he could open it though, his fellow kunoichi's voices were loud in his ears.

"Miko-chan!" Hotaru screamed, instantaneously grabbing Hachiro's attention.

Also hearing his superior curse out loud along with the shuffling of his feet, Hachiro looked up to see a man wearing a flak jacket and everything else a chūnin or a jōnin would wear; except, he couldn't quite locate his forehead protector.

"Walk away from the bird and I won't kill her." the man said roughly, holding Kamiko in a tight headlock with a kunai pointed to her abdomen.

At the sound of his words—notably, the subject of his sentence—did Hotaru's blood rush. The velocity of her heartbeat picked up as her entire body shook with the satisfaction of a willing prey, causing her breaths to become hefty as a sadistic smile pulled up the corners of her lips. Her eyes glazed over in the blackness of her pupils, like a cloud of cephalopod ink: spreading and blackening the ocean.

"Finally," she purred, still sounding as eager as she previously was, but with a twinge of menace to it. "Finally...!"

Even though she stood behind Hachiro, he couldn't help but stiffen at the intense aura she was releasing. It had dawned on him after a few seconds that this whirlwind of invisible needles was the feeling of her bloodlust—pure, unadulterated bloodlust, searing through the little openings of his cells.

Kamiko expanded her eyes at the youngest genin. She lost herself again. I-I don't want to be here! Not with that...that feeling... she began to thrash and move about as the man tried to hold her down, lightly pressing the sharp tip of the kunai deeper into her hips.

It was the first time Ryota underwent the ferociousness of one of his own students; he didn't know whether to be alarmed or enthralled; what surprised him was the fact that one of his genin students discharged such a strong desire for violence...

"Hotaru, stand down." he ordered.

Hachiro couldn't even begin to understand how his superior spoke to her whilst she was in that state. He looked up to the criminal.

"What are your conditions?" he leisurely brought his hand above the pouch on his lower back.

"Don't try anything funny!" the man's voice was quaking in fear from the look on Hotaru's face; from the sudden force that radiated out of her, like a meteor slamming itself on the ground. "Just get away from the bag, throw down all your weapons and hand over the...the bird."

Hotaru let out a scoff. "Or else?" she provoked, arching an eyebrow and letting her smile broaden.

"Or else...?" he released a panicked respire before driving the kunai further into Kamiko's skin. "Or else...she-she dies!"

"Leave me!" Kamiko cried, squirming in the man's clutch. "You have the ibis; just get on with your mission and leave me. That's what's most important!"

"What makes you think we give a damn about her?" Hotaru smirked.

Things were ensuing all at once yet in sheer slow motion; Hachiro opened up a sprint to the ibis's direction, causing the man to pull Kamiko away. She continued to scream in defiance, clawing at the man's arm with her nails.

Hotaru stepped to Hachiro's side, a soft breath escaping her as she licked her lips.

"Hotaru," Ryota said. "We have the bird. We'll send it at once and leave." Our objective is to retrieve the bird and nothing more; they know this, especially Kamiko, who's taking the fall.

But this wasn't in Hotaru's agenda; she surged off the ground, straight to the man ahead.

Shit, Hachiro thought as he began to quickly form a hand seal. The man that was now quaking started to shout and, out of fear, rammed the kunai into Kamiko's hip.

Do they not care about their comrade? The man thought, straightaway regretting his action. These sand shinobi are...insane! To trade the life of an animal to one of a human being's?

Kamiko closed her eyes and shrieked. As soon as she opened them, Hotaru was in front of her; rosewood colors of the ether fitting with the bloodlust in her eyes.

Hotaru pulled out her kunai.

No! Kamiko screamed in her head, terrified. No, I don't want to be here! Tears soaked her eyes, not soon after were they rolling down her cheeks.

Ryota couldn't comprehend the way Hotaru's teammates were behaving; especially Hachiro, since Ryota felt bloodlust regularly excrete out of the boy. It was true that Hachiro's urge to kill was not as austere as Hotaru's currently was, but it was extant nonetheless.

The youngest genin clenched the kunai tighter. When she was almost ready to charge at the man, the ravenous look in her eyes waned.

All too quickly did the bloodlust dissipate around her, befuddling her audience at the back.

She felt confusion, out of all things; overpowering perplexity at the touch of the object in her hands. Scowling, she let her brown eyes lower to the gadget, leaving her mind to drown in questions. What is this? The man's going to kill Miko-chan; what the hell am I doing?!

Her knees buckled and she allowed her body to drop to the ground. Her heart was still pounding, fleetingly thunderous, but her fortitude was substituted by the unreserved sensation of bewilderment.