4) The Murderer in the Woods

Part 5

Matt's deduction was correct revealing the killer of the forest and the victims is rabid Kishu Inu. Every girl, including Negi, gasped. The rabid dog kept staring at the team aggressively as it was ready to attack. Negi and the members panicked a little.

"What do we do with him?" Setsuna questioned Matt while she was shivering her body.

"It's too late to save him," Matt responded, "only one option." Matt sighed, "We have to kill it."

Everyone looked at Matt with their mouths opened a little. "What…? But… But Matt…" Asuna spoke in fear.

"No, Asuna," Mana interrupted her, "We have to. If we don't, that dog is going to kill more innocent people that pass by this forest as we speak. Even worse, it might go into the academy grounds."

Everyone understood Mana's words, but everyone struggles with this situation. They all paused a moment with frightening confusion and stared at the rabid Kishu Inu. Then their faces became firm and raised their fists up. They were ready for a deadly battle.

"Alright team," Matt calls to everyone. "Let's do this."

Kaede nodded to Matt as she took out one of her Kunai and throws it at the Inu. The dog growled as it quickly moved out of the way. The knife sticks to the ground. "HUH!?" surprised Matt when the Kunai missed the dog. Then the dog was nowhere in sight. "Where it go!?" Matt shouted as he was looking for the killer dog.

Everyone looked around to find where the dog has hidden. "Stay on your feet," Eva commanded to everyone.

Tch! Tch! Tch! Just then, they heard the bushes surrounding the team making noises. Everyone concentrated carefully to figure out where the dog is going to pounce on the team. The bushes kept rustling until Eva sensed something. She turned around and…,

"Yue! Haruna! Look Out!" Eva shouted.

Yue and Haruna turned to see what Eva is looking at, and in their view is the dog leaping towards the two librarians. The two girls flinched as it got closer by the second.

Then in quick haste and perfect timing, Fei Ku leaped and used her martial arts kick to knock the dog out of the way. The dog was pushed back into the bushes, and Fei Ku landed safely on the ground. "How'd you like them apples?" Fei Ku said with great success.

"Thanks Fei Ku, you saved us," Yue complemented her in relief.

"Don't thank her yet," Matt told Yue and Fei Ku as he pointed his head towards the dog in the bushes.

The dog slowly stood up out from the bushes and slowly starts to walk back close to the team. The dog was now even more aggressive than before, and its mouth had more salvia foam. The girls and Negi flinched to see this shocking surprise.

"But… my kick should really knock it out cold," Fei Ku exclaimed.

"Unfortunately, Fei Ku," Matt said, "rabid dogs never stop being aggressive and don't give up. They keep attacking until they collapse."

"ARF! ARF!" The dog shouted. It charged and leaped into the team once again.

"Look out!" Chao shouted.

Everyone quickly dodged the attack of the rabid dog. Then the dog ran into the bushes again to hide from the team.

"It went into the shrubs," Setsuna stated.

"Stand your ground!" Matt shouted and commanded.

Everyone heard Matt as they looked all around where the next attack the dog would strike. They can hear the bushes rustling all around them. Then suddenly in a flash, the dog leaped out from the bushes and behind Kaede. Matt quickly turned towards the dog and shouted, "Kaede! Behind you!" Kaede quickly turned around, and in an instant second, she took out one of her Kunai, and she slices and pushed back the dog, leaving a scratch mark on the right side of the dog's neck.

"That was close-degozaru," Kaede said in relief. But she and the gang flinched when the Inu slowly stood up again and started growling at the team. "It still doesn't want to give up." The dog quickly rushes back into the bushes to hide once again.

"No c'mon! Not again!" Haruna complained.

The bushes around the team began to rustle as they know the dog is encircling the team once again ready to pounce on them. The Inu leaped into the air and targeted Negi. Negi turned to the dog and screamed in fright. Fortunately, Asuna stops the pouncing dog by using her harisen and knocking it back to the ground again.

"At this rate, that mutt is going to keep attacking us out of the blue until one of us gets attacked," Asuna stated and complained.

"We won't be able to predict where that Kishu Inu is going strike next if he keeps hiding in the bushes again," Yue stated.

"If only we had some sort of clear advantage that we can spot that doggy from a good view," Chamo said as he popped onto Negi's head.

Matt heard Chamo's words and starts to look around the vicinity. He looked thoroughly and quickly around the forest for a good advantage. Then he sees the thick branches high up in the trees. Matt blinked and hatched an idea. "Everyone quick! Get up in the trees!" he shouted to his members as he pointed to the big branches in the trees. "Once we're up there, we have a clear advantage to see our killer, and that dog won't catch us from those branches up there."

"A brilliant idea, Matt!" Setsuna declared.

Then the team saw the dog slowly getting up as it is ready to start fighting again.

"Hurry Everyone!" the twins shouted.

Negi got his staff and flew up with Asuna and Matt, Yue uses her pactio card to summon a witch's broom and uses it to fly up with Haruna at her side, Chachamaru grabbed Mana and uses her hovering rockets, Setsuna uses her wings and grabs Fuka, Eva uses her levitation magic and grabs Fumika as both went upward, and Kaede, Chao, and Fei Ku jump from tree to tree to climb up with the rest of the gang.

The Inu quickly recovers itself as it sees the team flying up into the trees. It quickly reacted as it race towards a tree and jumps high into the air, pulling himself from the tree he climbed. The dog tries to bite Fei Ku as she was about to reach a branch, but the dog missed her foot about a few inches apart. Everyone was on a thick and tough branch in the top part of the trees as the dog landed to the ground feeling more aggressive than ever before.

"That was close," Fuka said.

"Too close if you ask me." Fumika followed.

"That crazy mutt won't reach us now," said Haruna with a cheeky mood.

"Yeah, but it still wants to fight, look," Yue told everyone as she pointed to the dog started that jumps over and over again to reach the team.

"I know for sure he can't reach us," Matt stated to everyone. "So we need to use this time to take down that mutt. Hurry and attack everyone!"

Kaede got her Kunai and throws them at the dog below. The dog missed some, but a few got stuck on his body. Although the kunai made contact, the Inu kept standing and eager to fight back.

Yue summoned her lightning spell to send an attack at the dog hoping to fry it up, but the dog was still on its paws.

Mana watched this terrifying fight as she begins to moan. "If only I had my gun, I could easily kill this mongrel in a blink of an eye," she said with her left fist tight.

Matt heard Mana's complaint and turns to her. "Don't worry Mana, even without your gun, we can still win this fight," Matt said comforting Mana.

The fight was still going as Kaede, Yue, and Haruna kept throwing objects at the dog. The dog is wounded a lot, but it was still up on its paws.

"It still wants to fight," Kaede said in surprise, "and I'm running out of Kunai-degozaru."

"We're running out of magic too," Yue said to the team as she was panting tiredly.

"How can this dog keep going?" Haruna complained as she was panting hard as well.

The twins saw the three tired girls down to their last breath. "Don't give up! You can do it!" Fuka shouted.

"Yeah, keep it up!" Fumika followed. She had her left hand on a small branch that was connected to the tree. Suddenly, the branch Fumika held snapped off, and she lost her balance. She tries to gain back her balance, but she slipped and fell. "AAAHHH!"

"Fumika!" cried her twin sister.

Fumika kept falling until she landed on a bush. The noise got the dog's attention. Fumika rubbed her head to snap out her dizziness from the fall, but when she opened her eyes, the rabid dog was right in front of her. Fumika turned white and completely froze herself in fear.

"Oh no!" Fei Ku cried.

"Fumika is in trouble!" Asuna yelled.

"What do we do? What do we do? What do we do!?" Negi cried and panicked.

"I'll aim right on the dog's head and completely knock him out cold-degozaru," Kaede said in a panicked yet anger mood.

"NO DON'T!" Matt shouted to Kaede. "One false move, and you might hit Fumika by mistake!"

"But what are we supposed to do!?" Chao yelled at Matt. "We have to help her!"

Matt watched Fumika in fear as the dog got closer to her. Seeing Fumika in a fearful matter made Matt worried as a memory came into his head.


"Of course not!" Fuka exclaimed.

"W-w-we aren't afraid, o-o-of anything." Fumika followed.

"It's okay to be scared, girls." He then patted their heads. "When you show your fear, it tells me your honest to others, and you need help. And a good and honest person like me is destined to help that person to regain your smile again."

"Is it okay that we help you hunt down that killer, Matt-san." Fumika quickly asked.

"It's just that one false move from you girls, and you might get hurt. I'm concerned about that." Matt said.

"We will be careful," Fuka noted.

"Yeah, we'll always watch our noon and six." Fumika followed.

"Pleaasssseeeee." The twins said in sync with their eyes widen like a dog's sad eyes.

"Alright, you can tag along," Matt answered to them.

The twins smiled and looked at each other and nodded. "Thank you, Matt," The twins said in unison.

"You sure about them, Matt-san?" Chisame questioned in concern.

"I trust them, and they trust me. I promise to watch out for them even if it means risking my life for them."


After the memory Matt remembered, He shook his head and makes a firm look. Matt needed to act and think fast, so he started to observe his surroundings on the ground. Then, just about a few yards away from Matt's position, he spotted Mana's gun on the grassy ground. He looks back at the rabid dog again, and he begins to shift his eyes left and right thinking of a plan. After a few seconds, Matt blinked and jolted as an idea came to him. "Everyone, stay here." He told his members. Negi and the girls heard and watched Matt hopping down from branch to branch. Everyone became confused.

"Matt, what are you doing?" Eva asked.

"I promise to protect the twins, even if it means risking my life," Matt responded with a smile and firm look to Eva.

Eva paused for a moment, and then she flinched. "Matt, NO!"

Matt landed to the ground safely and looks at the Inu with its mouth foamed up, which is about to attack the scared Fumika. Matt looks around the ground, and he spots and picks up a small rock with his right hand. He then flicks the rock and hits the back of the Inu's head. The dog turned around to see who the culprit was.

"Hey, you mongrel!" Matt yelled to the rabid dog. "Come and get me!"

The dog growled ferociously and makes a leap to Matt Oda. Matt ducked the attack, and the Inu landed in the bushes. Matt makes a run for it to retrieve Mana's gun on the ground. The Inu got up and chased after Matt Oda. Fumika, now in safety, watched Matt run away with all his might from the rabid dog. The others high in the trees observed Matt Oda as the Inu was behind his tail.

"Run Matt! RUN!" Fei Ku shouted.

"Don't look back!" Haruna yelled.

"What the hell is that Matt Oda thinking!?" Asuna screamed.

"I don't know," Chamo replied, "but he better get away from that crazy rabid killer fast."

Eva stared Matt feeling so worried. "Please be careful," Eva said while panicking a little.

Mana watched Matt Oda run away from the Inu with confusion. "What is he doing!?" Mana thought to herself. She looked up ahead to see where Matt is heading, and then in surprise, she saw the gun she dropped on the grassy ground. "My gun! Matt, you're crazy!"

Matt jumped over every bush while he is in pursuit by the Inu behind him. He was just a few feet away from Mana's gun. The Inu observed the runaway Matt and he makes a leap to him. The dog opened its foaming mouth, and when it got close to Matt, it bit Matt's left fist. Matt reacted and he screamed in terrible pain.

"Matthew!" Negi, Chamo, and the girls shouted as they all saw Matt in pain.

Matt tries to pull his left hand out of the dog's mouth. Matt uses his right hand to clutch tightly onto the Inu's nose so it can open up the mouth to breathe, but Inu's mouth was still gripping to Matt's hand. Matt struggles and suffers the pain as he sees his hand starting to bleed and the dog's teeth going through the hand's muscles.

Matt frantically looks around the area for some way to get him free from the Inu's mouth. He then spots brown mushrooms with white polka-dots on it. Matt grabs one with his right hand and shoves it into the Inu's eyes. The dog's eyes stung when the mushroom's powder made contact. The stinging pain causes the Inu's mouth to open, making Matt's left hand to be free. Matt escaped and grabbed his left hand, which is scrunched up in pain. He then makes a dash to Mana's gun. The Inu tries to shake off the mushroom's powder from its eyes.

Within inches, Matt leaps towards the gun and grabs it. Using only his right hand, Matt set and loaded the gun as fast as he can. The Inu recovered from the powder and spots Matt on the ground. The Inu makes a dash to Matt, eagerly to kill Matt for good. Matt turns to the dog as it was coming in on him. He quickly loaded the gun's barrel and positions the gun with his right hand. "Matt! LOOK OUT!" Fuka and Fumika yelled at Matt. The Inu makes another leap aiming for Matt's head. Matt turns around and aims at the Inu. It was all so fast, but then…

BOOM!

Negi, Chamo, and the girls' jaws dropped in shock as they saw exactly what happened. At that moment, the Inu's mouth had the gun and Matt's right hand inside. But in a flash, Matt pulled the trigger and the bullet shot through from the mouth to the head of the dog. The Inu's eyes suddenly froze and blurred as Matt knew he shot the Inu right into the brain. Using his left arm, Matt opened the Inu's mouth to release his right hand. He let go of the Inu, and it collapsed to the ground.

Everyone from the trees, including Fumika on the ground, are amazed by Matt's bravery and daring task. The gang started to descend and landed safely to the ground. Everyone was still astounded by Matt's heroic scenery.

"Matt did it…" Chao said calmly. "He really did it…"

"…Incredible…" Setsuna said in astonishment.

"Un…be…lievable…" Mana said in a complete surprise.

They all kept staring at Matt, seeing the bravest act he ever did. The twins' eyes started to widen as tears came out of them. The twins scrunched up their mouths and started to cry. The two young girls race towards Matt with their crying faces. "MATT!" the twins shouted as they got close to Matt. Matt heard and turned to see the twins coming in close and makes a big hug around him.

"Oh Matt! You're alright!" Fuka cried.

"We were so worried about you!" Fumika followed.

Matt watches and hears the twins crying as he hugs them back firmly. "Oh girls, I'm glad you're okay…, especially you Fumika."

Fumika looked up to Matt with her tearful face. "Thank you, Matt-san," she said while she was crying. "You saved my life. I'll never forget your heroic deed to me."

"Matthew, that was the most brilliant and boldest deed I've ever seen," Asuna complimented him as she and the others came close to Matt.

"Damn! That was so sick, Matt!" Haruna shouted giving him a thumb's up.

"I have to admit again, you were amazing as last time," Setsuna said with delight.

"That was something I'll never forget Matt-san," Chao said with a smile.

Eva smirks and says, "For a young gentleman, that was one of the most memorable acts I've ever seen in my eternal and immortal life. I'm starting to like you, even more, Matthew Oda."

"I, too, am delighted to your heroic act, Oda-san," Chachamaru said with delight as she bowed to Matt.

Kaede and Fei Ku came in close to Matt. "You are one brave young man," Kaede admired to Matt. "Matthew-dono, I am moved by your courageous act-degozaru."

"Mmm-hmm, you are one brave shiny knight-gentleman," Fei Ku said with glee.

"Thanks you guys," Matt replied to everyone, "I know it was crazy, but I had to do something to save Fumika." He then sees Mana right in front of him. "Mana, I do believe this is yours." Matt gives the gun to her. "It's already on safety."

Mana receives the gun, and then she smiled. "In all my years of marksmanship, I never expected a young man like you to wield one of my guns to do something so heroic." She puts her gun away and grins at Matt. "You really are something, a gentleman to go beyond the limits." Matt smiles back at Mana.

"Yes Matt," Negi said with a smile, "you really know how to shine in front of us."

"Y'know Matt," Chamo speaks, "you might be a gentleman and did a crazy and dangerous thing, but you've shown us a sight like something that I want to remember and heed. You impressed me, Bigger Bro." Chamo winks at Matt.

"Gee, thank you, guys," Matt replied.

"Hey guys!" cried a girly voice. The gang turned to see who it was, and it was Konoka along with Nodoka, and Satomi up from the rear. Everyone waved to see Konoka and the other girls again. "Well, did you get him?" Konoka asked as she approached the team.

"Sure did." Asuna replied as she shows Konoka the dead Inu on the ground. Konoka, Nodoka, and Satomi were a bit surprised, but they were glad that rabid Inu is finally over.

Then Matt groaned in pain as his left hand started to sting again. His groaning caught everyone's attention. "Aaah… it stings," Matt moaned in pain.

Satomi crouched to Matt on the ground. "Here, let me see," Satomi said as she observes Matt's injured hand. "Oooo… looks bad. The Kishu Inu bit you?" Matt nodded. "I see. No problem we have the solution." Satomi turns to Konoka. "Konoka."

Konoka nodded and pulled out her pactio card. "Adeat," she commanded. She turned into her Kansai Kimono dress again, and this time she has huge fans in her hands. She got close to Matt and told him to stick out his injured hand. As Matt did what Konoka said, she waved her fans as a cool sparkling breeze blew on Matt's severed hand. Matt watches as the bite and blood marks started to disappear from his hand. Matt also feels his left hand is better. Matt widens his eyes a little with great amazement.

"Pretty cool, huh?" Satomi said to Matt. "Konoka has the magical power to heal any injury."

"Wow," Matt said in surprise, "Am I really lucky to have magical friends like you?"

Then they heard someone else coming towards the group. It was Chisame and Satsuki, along with the old man, who is feeling much better and can walk with both of his legs. The three spotted the group and the dead Inu on the ground.

The man noticed and ran up to the dead dog. He slowly starts to frown in shock. He looks back at Matt with his sad expression. "Is he...?" he said while whimpering.

"Yes…, he is dead," Matt said calmly as he nodded to the man.

The man looked back at his good dog and started to cry in sorrow. Tears came down from the old man's sad eyes, and the Mystery club members stare at this sad and mourning sight. The old man lost his best friend.