Hey Guys! It's been awhile.

Before you start reading, I just wanted to let you know that for Masutaro's voice just imagine it's Nicholas Cage.

Now, onto the slaughter!

My head hurts. The rest of Sumaru hurt, too, but it was eclipsed by the pain in his head. It's like someone put my head in a vice when I wasn't looking.

A growl resonated through Sumaru's body, "Ah yo awae yeh?"

Oh, it's just Marrow. Sumaru's head really hurt. She sounds close.

"Ih yo don' say som', Ih gon ea' ya."

The pain intensified, and Sumaru's eyes shot open, "Ow!"

Marrow spat Sumaru's head out of her mouth, "Boo. You had to wake up now, didn't you. I'm so hungry, too." She sat and her ears dangled.

Sumaru sat up and rubbed his head, "My head." His hand came away red, "Huh?" He looked up at Marrow, and his brain made a connection, "You were gonna eat me?!"

Marrow was curled on top of a mossy stone like a discarded fur scarf. The dog-like weasel creature twisted in what Sumaru figured to be a shrug, "You weren't waking up, so I figured it would be fine."

"You were gonna eat me because you thought you could get away with it?" Sumaru crossed his arms, "What a scary way to think."

"C'mon, it wouldn't be that bad. You humans are all gonna die eventually anyway, what's the harm in getting started a little bit early?"

"That's like saying, 'The world is gonna end eventually, so it's fine if we blow it up now.' No!" Sumaru jammed a finger at Marrow, "That is not okay, and it will never be okay. Where do you get off thinking that anyone would be okay with getting eaten alive?"

Marrow's eyes glistened, "Does that mean I can eat you if you happen to die?"

Sumaru stared, "Why are we even having this conversation? Where even are we?" The sky was dark, and there wasn't a campfire, but he could make out the shape of the trees, "The forest?"

Behind him, Sumaru heard a content sigh, "Yep. You really got yourself in a pinch, didn't you? You were trying so hard to find me, but instead you got captured by goblins of all things." A tongue clicked, "Disciple of mine you still have much to learn."

Sumaru stilled. Marrow was in front of him and her mouth hadn't moved. His thoughts came out, unbidden, "No way."

"I can understand how you might be overwhelmed with feelings of relief and admiration at the sound of my immaculate voice," Masutaro burped, "I'm sure you will be happy to hear, disciple of mine, that I did not come find you until the sun had set. As we agreed upon, you are officially and irrefutably my student from this day on."

Sumaru buried his face in his hands, "I don't deserve this. I don't deserve this. I'm just a regular guy, I don't deserve any of this."

Masutaro gave Sumaru a pat on the back, "Save your feelings of inadequacy, you have a big day tomorrow. I've been going easy on you until now because I didn't want you to get cold feet about this whole thing." A shiver ran down Sumaru's spine, "But now that you're committed, I don't need to worry about that anymore." Masutaru stood, "Speaking of which, I need to get everything together for tomorrow."

Sumaru looked at Marrow with tears streaming down his face, "Save me..."

Marrow through her head back and cackled, "And end the fun before it's even started? I don't think so." She grinned, "And besides, I really would've eaten you if that master of yours hadn't shown up when he did."

Sumaru rolled his eyes, "Gee, that's great to hear. Now I get to look forward to knock-off hell before I go to the real one." In the face of Marrow's laughter, he scowled, "I hate you."

Marrow waved one of her stubby paws and pretended to caress Sumaru's face from across the clearing, "Don't you worry, little morsel. I'll eat you eventually."

Blood dripped from Sumaru's nose, "I hate you so much."

"Uhuh," Masutaro took a drink from his ever-present goblet, "You'll be thanking me when you're fighting off a hoard of gremlins with nothing but your flimsy little knife." He twirled the branch he held in his other hand, "Don't worry, it'll hurt less when you get good."

"Right." Sumaru gripped the snapped twig that he'd been armed with, "Tell me again why we're doing this?"

Masutaro squinted, "I suppose you would have a concussion or two after taking an hour long beating." He turned to Marrow who was lounging on a low tree branch, "What do you think, Furball? Should I tell him again?"

Marrow flicked her tail and barked out, "As much as I enjoy watching our little friend get pummeled, why don't you have mercy on him. He's just too stupid to get it on his own."

Sumaru grit his teeth, "I'm right here, you know!"

Marrow cooed at him, "Shshsh! The adults are talking."

Masutaro nodded, "Alright, my cute little disciple. I'll tell you however many times you need for your puny brain to get it."

"Does it have to be an insult?" Sumaru threw his broken twig and grabbed a fresh one from a dwindling pile.

Masutaro ignored him, "We're sparring because you don't know how to fight." The words stabbed through Sumaru, "You're easily distracted, reckless, and obviously untrained. I watched you take on those frogs, and the only reason you got as far as you did is because of your tenacity. That's what impressed me about you, actually." Sumaru perked up at the sound of a positive point, but Masutaro wasn't done, "But tenacity can only go so far without the support of actual skill."

Sumaru didn't like that, "But I have skills! I can-"

Masutaro cut him off, "I mean real skills. Sure, you can get any old warrior to swing a sword for you and spend points for the basics. But what I mean is true skill. The kind that you get from life long training, even if you don't have the points to spend or the right class for it."

Sumaru nodded, "Okay. That's great and all, but why can't I have a big stick too?"

Masutaro's face was completely serious, "Well, son, not every man is created equal."

Marrow barked with laughter, "I guess I can't blame you for being jealous, you do seem to be lacking in that department."

Sumaru blushed, "That's not what I mean and you know it!" He shook his fist at Marrow and Masutaro, "Why do I have to use these flimsy twigs when you're using an actual branch!"

Marrow barked out, "That is an excellent question!" She looked down at them, "How come the kid only gets a stick? I missed the explanation."

Masutaro held out his branch, "Well since you're officially my disciple, Sumaru, that means I can finally start teaching you my secret spellsword technique." The air around the branch shimmered, and then he swung it at a large rock. The rock split in half, but the branch was immaculate, "Anything can be as strong as a sword with this, and a blade can be stronger than anything."

"That's cool and all, but how do I do it? I know we're in a forest, but eventually I'll run out of twigs."

Masutaro gestured with his hands, "You have to run your magic over it, let your mana be the edge. Here, look." The glow intensified, and Sumaru could clearly see a line of light tracing around the middle of the branch, "All you really need is a straight line, but when you get good you can do cool stuff like this." The line of light twisted and curled around the branch in a spiral.

"But I can't do that yet!"

"I can see that."

"So what do I do? This can't be the first step."

Masutaro held up a finger, "Let me think." Seconds passed, then he snapped his fingers, "Now I remember!"

Sumaru crossed his arms, "You only remembered just now? What, did you have me busting my face on the last step without preparation or anything?"

Masutaro waved away Sumaru's grievances, "Don't sweat the details."

"You're terrible."

Masutaro slumped, "You don't really mean that, do you?"

A dark look crossed Sumaru's face, "Do you really want me to answer that?"

Marrow barked, "Careful, boyo. Any more and that master of yours might blush!"

Masutaro coughed into his arm, "Anyway, first you need to feel your magic in order to shape it without using a spell."

Sumaru cocked his head, "So what do I do?"

"Close your eyes."

Sumaru shrugged, "Alright." He closed his eyes.

"Now concentrate on your mana pool."

Sumaru furrowed his brow, "What is that even supposed to be?" He gripped the twig in his hand, I feel dumb.

"Look for the warm feeling you get when you cast a spell."

Sumaru shook his head, "I can't feel it."

"Concentrate. Keep your eyes closed and cast a spell. Don't focus on what it does, focus on yourself."

Sumaru pointed his free hand in a direction, "Spark." It was like his stomach clenched and relaxed, "Oh, I did feel something."

Marrow clapped, "Congratulations, you've learned the first lesson that weak novice wizards are taught."

Sumaru scowled, "Could you at least try not to sound sarcastic?"

"No."

Sumaru pointed his open hand in the direction of Marrow's voice, "Spark." He smiled at the sounds of movement and distress that followed.

Masutaro spoke up, "Now I want you to hold onto that feeling for as long as you can."

Sumaru nodded, "Got it."

"Do you have it?" Sumaru nodded, "Good. Now all you have to do," As Masutaro spoke, Sumaru leaned forward. This is actually interesting. "Is block my attack!"

"Huh?"

Masutaro's branch slammed into Sumaru's face, and everything went black.

Masutaro clapped his hands, "So, I think we all learned a valuable lesson today."

Marrow cackled, "I know I did!"

Sumaru sat cross legged and scoffed around the bruise on his face, "Yeah, I won't ever listen when someone tells me to close my eyes again."

Masutaro chided them, "The lesson, my cute little disciple, is that you are lacking in more places than I first thought. We need to begin work on your spacial perception, as well as your magic basics immediately."

Sumaru crossed his arms, "Is that why I woke up blind?"

Marrow slapped Sumaru with her tail, "You're not blind, it's just a blindfold."

Sumaru sputtered and missed grabbing the tail, "Why can't I just learn one thing at a time like a regular person?"

Marrow slapped him again, "Because, if you did it that way you would just be crippling yourself."

"Since when do you care so much?" Sumaru snarled, "I'd rather be a cripple than deal with either of you for the rest of my life."

"I don't care. But, if you're going to get yourself killed, then do it where I can see you. A girl's gotta eat, you know."

"Uhuh."

Marrow rustled around on the ground, but that was all Sumaru could tell.

Masutaro spoke up, "Anyway, you're going to live with that blindfold on until you can use your raw mana at will. Considering how slow you are, by the time that happens you won't even need your eyes to fight!" Sumaru heard Masutaro take a drink, "I call it Plan: Get Well Soon."

"I don't like how that sounds," Sumaru was already reaching for the mask, "How do I even do that?"

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Masutaro sounded smug, "While you were unconscious, Marrow and I put a curse on that blindfold."

Sumaru's hands stopped centimeters from the mask, "C-curse?" Sumaru could hear Masutaro's retreating footsteps, "What's the curse?!"

"If you take off that blindfold without my permission, the little thing will suck out your eyes when it comes away from your face." Masutaro's spoke with a pleasant tone as opposed to his normal harsh half-yelling, "Now, why don't you meditate on that for a while?"

"Uhh." Now that he thought about it, Sumaru could feel a sensation around his eyes. Like something is latched on to them. His stomach churned, "You really are the worst, I- I think I'm gonna be sick!."

"Not where I'm napping you're not!" Marrow shouted, "Go over to those bushes!"

"Huh? Bushes?" Sumaru stumbled to his feet, and took a few steps in a direction. Then his foot hit something soft and he fell over.

Marrow screamed in his ear, "Get off of me before I bite your face off!"

Sumaru gasped, "I can't hold it!"

Marrow snarled, "Don't you dare!"

Sumaru's cheeks puffed out, and then he spewed chunks. The sound echoed among the trees, as did the pained scream that came out of Sumaru when Marrow bit into his arm.

For Sumaru, the days blended together in continuous darkness and frustration. Between trying not to trip over the world and tightening his grasp over his raw mana, Sumaru also sparred with Masutaro and slept through lectures from Marrow(his ability to sleep sitting up was improving by leaps and bounds).

One day, while Sumaru was slouched over his breakfast, Masutaro said, "I feel that your hold over your mana has improved enough for you to move onto the next step."

Sumaru paused and gestured to his blindfold, "Do I get to take this thing off, yet?"

"Nope, it's very important for the next step."

"So what is it?"

"I'm getting to that." Masutaro cleared his throat, "So you've been working on grasping your mana for awhile, now."

Sumaru would've rolled his eyes, "Tell me something I don't know."

Masutaro slapped Sumaru, "Shut up when I'm talking to you!"

Sumaru rubbed his stinging cheek, "It must feel great to beat up a kid wearing a blindfold." His voice mimicked that of an unrelenting reporter, "Could you tell me how it feels to be an asshole all the time?"

Masutaro took a long drink, "That was just a baby tap compared to what's gonna happen if you don't learn what I'm trying to teach you."

Sumaru leaned back against his favorite rock and spread his hands, "Then by all means, teach away." The split in his lip stung when he smirked.

"Anyway," Some of Masutaro's drink splashed onto the ground, "I want you to grab onto your inner mana, and stretch it into the space around you. That shouldn't be too hard for you, right?"

"I don't get it." Sumaru had a pinkie in his ear, then he pulled it out and blew the wax off of his fingernail, "Stretch my mana? What's the point of that?"

"The point, is that if you can't realize why you do things on your own, then why would you expect me to tell you? Figure it out yourself."

"What? You're not gonna give me any tips or anything?"

"I'm giving you a day before we I start beating it into you. You should be grateful."

"Grateful? I didn't ask for any of this, you cruel old man!"

"Have fun." Masutaro left.

"Hey! Get back here! I wasn't finished with you!"

Marrow snickered from her perch, "What will you do now, morsel? If you don't get it together, you really might die from what Masutaro has planned." She licked her lips, "Don't misunderstand, it's better for me if you die. I'm just amused by your futile struggles."

Sumaru wiped his mouth and pulled himself to his feet, "Great pep talk, Marrow. Have you thought about being a personal trainer?"

"You know, I never considered it. How about you become my first client?"

"You'd just eat me." Sumaru shook his head, "No way man, I need some space."

"I'm not moving." Sumaru could practically hear Marrow shrug.

"I wasn't expecting you to. Just don't follow me too closely, I want to at least enjoy the illusion of privacy."

"Uh-huh." Marrow yawned, "Let me know when it's time to wake you up from your delusions. 'Till then, knock yourself out."

Sumaru waved over his head as he picked his way between the trees and bushes. I think I'm getting better at this. His foot hit a rock and he hissed in pain. Not perfect, but better.

Sumaru had a particular tree that he liked to try new things around, the smell helped him think. He stood under the shade of that tree and leaned on it's trunk, "What did he mean when he said to stretch my mana? How do I even do that?" Sumaru focused inward on his mana. He was able to grasp it much quicker than when he'd started, But I'm not sure what to do next. How can I stretch it?

Sumaru visualized his mana as a ball inside himself and tried to imagine a way to stretch it. The orb morphed into a taller shape, "Oh, I feel something!" Then it snapped back into a ball, and pain lanced through his chest, "Agh!" He fell over, and gasped for breath. Okay, that didn't work. What if I try a different shape? Sumaru imagined his mana as a string that stretched from his head to his feet. He waited a moment, but the pain didn't come to him that time, "So far so good, now I just have to stretch it." Sweat dropped down Sumaru's cheek as he visualized a way for the rope to spread out. Almost immediately, his body was wracked by pain and he fell over screaming.

When the pain finally subsided, Sumaru just stretched out on the forest floor and breathed. He let the dirt and grass cool his back as he tried to think. Why does it hurt when I do that? I must be doing something wrong. That's all pain is, after all. It's just signals that the body sends to the brain to say "Something's not right!", I just have to figure out what it is. Sumaru scoffed, "That's so helpful, I could cry. I think I'll just lay here and try again." He propped his hand up by the elbow and tried to imagine a string of mana between his fingertips.

"No pain so far, time for step two." Sumaru grit his teeth and made the string into a ball. A moment passed, "Huh?" And another, "It doesn't hurt?" He shook his hand, "The mana is still there, but it doesn't hurt. So what's different?" He focused for a moment and changed the ball into a flat triangle, "Is it because it's not in my body?" The triangle became a spring shape, "That's what it has to be, right?" Sumaru tried to touch it with his other fingers, but they passed through the space, "It's not solid, but it feels weird when I touch it. I can't feel it with my fingers, but I feel when they pass through. How does that work?" He smiled, "Who cares, I did the thing. At least now I can show off a little to that furball."

With that thought, Sumaru sat up and pulled himself to his feet and began picking his way back to his favorite rock. It hasn't been long, so Marrow should still be there.

Sumaru had to be careful to avoid tripping, so he was taking his time on his way back when he heard someone say, "Come on, I won't tell. Trust me, I never go back on my word."

Sumaru raised an eyebrow. Marrow? I've never heard her whine like that. Sumaru crouched. Maybe she'll say something embarrassing, and I can use it to blackmail her. He rubbed his hands and perked up his ears.

"Why would I tell you anything?" That was definitely Masutaro, "My business is my own, the only reason you're still here is because you're amusing."

A chill slid down Sumaru's spine. What's this feeling? Masutaro is weird, and cruel, and strong, but he's not scary. Right? Despite his self reassurances, Sumaru was shaken by Masutaro's cold tone.

"So is the kid just here to pass the time, too? Why put any effort into him at all? We both know that sooner or later you will-"

Masutaro cut Marrow off, "Quiet."

Sumaru held breath.

Marrow whined, "C'mon, how come you're wasting your time with this human?"

"I said be quiet."

Marrow lowered her voice, but Sumaru managed to catch her next words, "I know who you are, you know."

"You say that as if it were news." Masutaro didn't sound impressed, "Still, if you know what's good for you, you'll stop right there. I already told you not to say anything when you first mentioned it, and I expect you to comply."

"What's wrong? It's just you and me. The kid is off trying to piece together that vague explanation of yours. Why are you even trying to get him to learn Mana Sense anyway? I mean it's not like a human could use it to it's full potential anyway, but still! That's a monster skill!"

Masutaro sounded ready to kill, "Remind me which one of us is the weak little nature spirit who can't do anything right?"

Marrow growled and then sighed, "Me."

"And remind me which of us is one of the Demon King's Generals?" Sumaru's eyebrows shot up. Demon General? What's he talking about?

That really cowed Marrow, "You are, Demon General Hans."

Sumaru's eyes widened, What?!

Nyahahahahahahahaha! What a twist! What a cliffhanger! Now of all times?! Aren't I evil?!

Anyway, it looks like things aren't quite what they seemed. I already have my ideas about how the next chapter should go, all there is for me to do is put it in the keyboard. It shouldn't take quite so long to come out. I had some major decisions that needed to happen for this one, but now that I've set a little ground work it should work out well.

Who knows, we may even get a bit of Sharingan action next time.

As far as the Masutaro Hans thing goes, Masutaro was a fake name derived from the word 'Master', and Hans can shape-shift so he could've infiltrated the town whenever. Why he's here? Well, that's his business. 0w0

'Til then, bye.