Chapter 3: Marebito

AN: I'd really appreciate some reviews, tell me how I can improve.

The chirping of exotic birds and buzzing of insects was what greeted Rosa as morning arrived that day, she had not moved an inch throughout the entire night. She blinked as a foreign parrot looked down at her from atop her head, it had yellow and blue feathers. A minute later and the bird was gone, flying off into the horizon which was filled with the rising sun of a foreign land. Ever since she had arrived, which had been two weeks prior, she found herself enjoying life among these anthropomorphic animals. Life back home or what was left of it had been boring and dreary, nothing of note happened which is exactly why it was so boring. Rosa stared at her two companions, in the short time that she came to know these two people she had enjoyed life more than ever before. She enjoyed life in this strange land because it gave her new creatures to consume, her moral compass had never really gotten in the way when it came to consuming things. Traveling with both Eiden and Dakini had also done wonders for her loneliness, before arriving in this strange land she lived alone in the rural countryside.

Turning her head to the right Rosa took in the sleeping forms of Dakini and Eiden, she focused on Dakini in particular. Dakini's hair had gold accents, this time around she had orchids in her hair, and her two-piece swimsuit had become somewhat raggedy. Rosa wanted to know more about Dakini, unfortunately she rarely spoke and wasn't capable of reading or writing which left her methods of communication very limited. Rosa reached out a hand to pet Dakini's head however Dakini woke up and she hesitated, Dakini's eyes slowly drifted open. Dakini observed the outstretched hand reaching towards her and took it in her own comparatively smaller hands, a cheerful smile spread across her face. Dakini's smile was infectious and a smile also appeared on Rosa's face, the two stayed like that for a moment before separating. Soon afterwards Eiden had also awakened, he stretched his arms and gave a lengthy yawn.

"Morning Rosa, did you sleep well?" Eiden said, Dakini simply did her usual flower gesture with her hand.

"Actually, I stayed up all night to keep watch over the two of you" Rosa replied.

"What?! Doesn't everyone need sleep?" Eiden said, surprise clear in his tone.

"That isn't the case for a Blacklight being such as I, I'm not bound by fatigue, hunger, or life expectancy" Rosa said.

This statement left Eiden perplexed since he couldn't comprehend how something so impossible was standing before him, she didn't even have any bags under her eyes. Despite all that he knew about Rosa a seed of doubt still found its way into the corner of Eiden's mind, he wasn't going to believe it despite being a witness.

"Well, we better move on with our day" Rosa said, this snapped Eiden out of his train of thought.

"Eiden why don't you check our position on the map and Dakini could you make sure we're headed in the right direction by use of your horn" Rosa said, Dakini quickly got to work by sprouting a horn out of her forehead.

"Sure" Eiden said nonchalantly, he fished inside his handbag and took out his map.

It only took Eiden a moment to figure out that he and his companions had ended up a little bit to the west from where they fought the Silver agito. Observing Dakini's horn and the direction that it was pointing towards Eiden took another moment to bring up his compass. The needle pointed north east which meant they were still heading north in general. "If we keep heading in this direction, we will reach the city of Karakuma" Eiden said.

"Well, I hope there are some noteworthy sights to see there" Rosa remarked.

"It's an old city but one with a lot of attractions, I haven't been there myself though" Eiden said.

"Interesting" That was the only response that Eiden got from Rosa.

The trio started their trek towards the city of Karakuma, undoubtedly this would be the site of their next battle against the Sky Golems. While walking Dakini continually barraged both Eiden and Rosa with questions regarding the local wildlife, any plant she came across, and even inanimate objects like clouds. While walking Rosa became lost in thought which meant that Eiden became the one to answer any of Dakini's many questions. She thought of how Eiden questioned if she had killed anyone before, especially within this land. When she had told him that she hadn't murdered anyone by consuming them it was lie, a lie that had managed to slip past Eiden's radar. Upon arriving in this nameless land Rosa maintained the form of a mass of writhing black tentacles which was small in overall size. For several days she searched for any outstanding or special individuals to consume, only on her third day of searching did she locate a suitable target. She had spotted what the natives of this land called a "Marebito", after consuming a random native she found out more information regarding the so-called Marebitos. These creatures were known for their unusual physical traits which their species wouldn't normally possess. For example, a sheep bearing scales or spines on their body, this would be enough to categorize someone as a Marebito.

Rosa had spotted her target in the center of some city, said target being a seven tailed kitsune which interested her to no end. As a tiny black mass of writhing tentacles, she hopped along the roof tops of each building going completely unnoticed. Eventually she followed her target to a decent looking condo, she never bothered getting the names for the surrounding locations. Rosa was focused solely on her objective to consume the seven tailed kitsune and receive her target's genetic data. As day turned to night Rosa waited for the moment that she could strike, she didn't want to traumatize her target so she'd wait for the kitsune to fall asleep. Rosa snuck into the closet containing the kitsune's wardrobe and began biding her time, this would soon be her moment. Several hours later and the kitsune climbed into her silken bed, the bed itself was something that Rosa felt a tinge of envy towards since she could never have the opportunity to possess one. Squeezing out from under the closet door and reforming into her true form, the human known as Rosa inched her way towards the kitsune with utter silence. Without a moment to lose Rosa gripped the Kitsune's head and twisted with every ounce of her strength, throughout this moment the kitsune barely even had time to open her eyes before her neck snapped.

Rosa looked down at the lifeless green eyes of the kitsune and thrust her arm forward, her arm pierced the dead kitsune's chest. The body of the seven tailed kitsune was engulfed in several black tentacles, the tentacles themselves breaking the body down into biomass and drawing it into Rosa's body. A rush of memories flooded Rosa's mind however the memories she focused on were of the kitsune's identity. The kitsune's name was Kana Hoffman, she was living by herself and was a popular rising star in the music industry within this land. Rosa didn't feel any remorse instead opting to peruse through more of Kana's memories, she took notice of Kana's myriad fans and friends. Taking a moment to think of a solution Rosa came up with a plan that would surely allow her to avoid suspicion, biomass began leaking from her finger tips and pooling in Kana's silken bed. The biomass took the shape of Kana however she was by no means a powerful lifeform or Blacklight being, she was weak and unable to consume any living being. Rosa did this so that Kana could continue her life, unfortunately the original Kana was dead and a clone had taken her place.

Rosa looked back mournfully at the past however she still didn't regret her murder, soon her reverie was interrupted by a passing comment from Eiden. "Is that smoke in the distance?"

Following Eiden's gaze Rosa's eyes fell upon a thin column of smoke that was rising from what looked like a nearby cave. Using her augmented sense of smell she could tell that the smoke smelled like GBR, in fact it was GBR and a particularly strong type too. Without a moment to lose Rosa ran towards the direction of the cave leaving her two friends in the dust.

"W-wait for us Rosa!" Eiden shouted, Rosa did not slow down.

Eiden and Dakini were suddenly left to chase after Rosa as she made her way to the cave at alarming speeds, once at the cave she began examining the source of the smoke. Rosa noticed that the smoke was coming from a round container made of clay, the container had several signal line patterns on its surface.

"Is that GBR in the form of incense?" Eiden said, Dakini had a curious expression.

"Yes, as I'm sure you can see" Rosa answered.

"Here take this" Rosa handed the incense to Eiden who began explaining what it was to Dakini who listened eagerly. Looking deeper into the cave Rosa noticed the light that was emanating from within, she walked further in to investigate. What she found in the small cavern deeper inside gave her a little bit of a surprise, a fox variant was slumbering within the small cavern. The fox variant had white black tipped ears like Rosa, large claws for hands, and strangely enough a pair of hooves for its feet. Rosa observed that the variant also had a buxom chest, her hair is white and done in a ponytail, and she sported wide hips. Last but not least the variant wore a large orange turtle neck along with a thin pair of overalls, she was somewhat taller than Rosa. Rosa stood over the variant pondering on her next course of action when Dakini and Eiden walked in behind her. Unlike Rosa Eiden's surprise was clear on his face, on the other hand Dakini merely had an expression of curiosity as she tilted her head slightly.

"Is… is that a Marebito? No, more importantly why is she just sleeping here?" Eiden queried.

"Well, I'd imagine she hid here in order to get away from all the great beetles" Rosa answered.

"Right" Was all that Eiden had to say.

Dakini could not resist her curiosity and tugged on Eiden's coat in order to ask him about the fox variant, she tilted her head slightly to express her question. "Hold on, let me just illustrate this a little on my sketch book" Eiden said.

Taking out his sketch book Eiden drew pictures of three dogs, the first canine had nothing remarkable, the second canine had a pair of horns, and the third canine had a coat of scales. "Here's an example, I belong to the canine family and a canine Marebito would look like…"

Eiden pointed to the second canine that he had drawn as well as the third canine, he paused for a very short moment before continuing. "This is what a Marebito of the canine family would look like"

Dakini was somewhat mesmerized by the simple illustrations and Eiden's explanation, perhaps it was because she now knew that creatures that were considered different like her existed. Eiden continued with another statement. "Long ago while I was still a child the Marebito were seen as monsters and were openly hated"

At this statement Dakini showed a tinge of concern in her expression, she didn't want people to hate her even if it was just a little. "People discriminated against them because they weren't ordinary beings, not knowing what they are is frightening" Eiden concluded.

Dakini's expression still held its concern as she took hold of Eiden's sketch book, she pointed at the drawing of the first canine and then pointed at Eiden.

"Yeah, that's me" Eiden said.

"Hey, we shouldn't be tarrying here any longer. Remember our mission" Rosa said

"Right but we can't just leave her here. Her GBR has just about run out" Eiden reasoned.

"Then take her with us, just carry her" Rosa said.

At that statement Eiden attempted to lift up the variant however this was to no avail as he lacked the strength required for such an action. "H-heavy… I can't… carry her at all!"

For all the struggling done by Eiden he could not carry the variant even an inch forward, seeing his struggles Dakini took over the endeavor and carried the variant with ease.

"Oooh as expected! Ah! Wait!" Eiden said.

The trio left the cave and arrived in front of the Agito shell which had been left at the front of the cave, stopping in front of the shell Dakini gently deposited the variant in the Agito shell. They would use the Agito shell as a makeshift sled, before anyone had noticed what little space was left had become dominated by flowers of all kind. Dakini had decorated the Agito shell with a myriad of flowers, the variant now lay in a bed of flowers.

"Dakini don't you think that's enough floral décor?" Eiden said.

Dakini's response to this was to jump just high enough to place one more flower among Eiden's hair, enough was never enough for Dakini when it came to flowers. Suddenly Rosa sensed something headed their way, it was faint at first but quickly the tremors grew in intensity. In the distance both Rosa and Dakini managed to spot a large herd of Silver Agitos headed in their direction. At this revelation Dakini unsheathed her sword which drew some surprise from Eiden, what could possibly be happening now he wondered.

"Dakini, what the hell…?" Eiden queried, before anyone could answer him, he spotted exactly what had everyone on edge. Wordlessly Eiden jumped into the unoccupied front of the Agito shell and Dakini kicked the ground at the back in order to get the shell moving down the slope in front of them. Rosa decided that she'd just use her abundant agility to run alongside her two friends, quickly the Silver Agitos began to make contact by arriving at each side of the sled. In response to this Rosa shifted her arm into a long blade and decapitated a nearby Agito, the Agito was consumed in a surge of black tentacles. The sled began to make its way into another section of the jungle as they passed by the blurred images of trees. Several more Silver Agitos came up beside the sled however they all met the same fate as the first Agito, they had been decapitated. Rosa ignored the surge of memories and resolved to peruse them later, she had other priorities to worry about like defending her friends. By now the herd of great beetles were demolishing every tree that got in their path, the sound of falling trees echoing into the distance. Another half minute of defending her companions and the sled exited out of the tree line and into a clearing. This clearing was like any other that the trio had been in however with one extra detail, it had a deep trench.

"Ei!" Dakini made a sound in order to notify Eiden of the oncoming trench, they'd have to do something quickly or fall to their deaths. Seeing this new development Rosa made the split-second decision to carry the Agito sled over the trench. Increasing her speed, she surged forward and took the Agito sled in both her hands, stopping abruptly she leapt into the air with absurd strength. A small crater was left where she had made her jump, now the trio was flying through the air with the wind rushing through their hair. Both Eiden and Dakini were thrilled much like they were riding an amusement park attraction and not fleeing for their lives. On the other side of the trench Eiden spotted something that would definitely ensure their safety, it was a signal line.

"If we make it past that signal line, we should be home free!" Eiden exclaimed.

Several seconds later and the three companions had reached the other side of the trench where they quickly passed the signal line that Eiden had seen. Everyone took a moment to compose themselves after such a hectic escape, Dakini for her part took her unsheathed sword and began to draw something in the air. Eiden noticed this and was surprised to see that she was drawing a signal line in the shape of a circle, she knew that now they would be safe. Rosa simply stood there and smiled alongside her two friends since the fighting was officially over, now she could relax instead of having her heart beat on high. Rosa detected some movement within the Agito sled as the fox variant stirred, slowly the variant rose up into a kneeling position where she rubbed her eyes clean of debris.

"W-where am I? Ooooh, what to do?! I have to get to Karakuma immediately!" The variant said frantically.

"I have to warn them of the Sky Golems!" The variant said.

At this statement Eiden and Dakini grew concerned, what could the fox variant possibly be talking about, what about the Sky Golems? Quickly the fox variant took notice of the other individuals within her immediate vicinity, she rushed up to them with a clearly distraught expression.

"Excuse me! Where are we!?" The variant asked suddenly.

This sudden invasion of personal space caused Dakini to come up between Eiden and the fox variant, she wouldn't let anyone do anything to her treasured companions.

"P-probably the first Karakuma signal line!" Eiden spouted as quickly as he could.

Another question came as quickly as he answered "When did those straight thunders fall on Enoth?!"

"Uh, three days ago…" Eiden said meekly.

Upon hearing this the fox variant became further distraught and rushed off the sled, the force of her action rocking the sled somewhat.

"Wait a minu…" Eiden never got to finish his sentence before the variant had made it a fair distance away from them.

Wanting some answers and not wanting the variant to escape them Rosa rushed after the variant, as she caught up, she restrained the variant in her inescapable embrace. This only caused the fox variant to struggle with renewed vigor however Rosa did something that no one expected. Rosa kissed the variant square on the lips and she used her tongue to force the variant's mouth open. A liquid with no viscosity forced its way down the fox's throat and the instant it entered her system she calmed down. Rosa had just administered a liquid pacifying agent to calm the variant down, throughout the entire process the variant had a deep blush and a wide-eyed expression. After the variant had calmed down Rosa separated from her as the variant stood stock still, she was completely stunned that someone would actually be so intimate with her. Eiden and Dakini approached the only other two people within the clearing, they like Rosa had questions that needed to be answered. The fox variant still sported a deep blush with the addition of a nervous expression when Rosa decided to begin questioning. "My name is Rosa, may I ask who you are?"

"I'm Prakasha" The fox muttered meekly.

"Why do you need to get to Karakuma so urgently?" Eiden queried.

"W-well, its just that Karakuma will be attacked soon and I don't even know if the attack has begun already. Through my research and my report, they should be warned, hopefully they'll evacuate after being convinced" Each member of the group, excluding Prakasha, donned a thoughtful expression upon hearing the driving reason for Prakasha's state when she was discovered in the cave.

"Well don't worry about it, we will help you reach Karakuma in any way we can, I'm Eiden and this little girl is Dakini" Dakini did her usual flower gesture as Eiden introduced the both of them.

Upon hearing this Prakasha burst into tears and began sobbing loudly, tears of joy began falling down the sides of her face in a profuse stream.

"T-thank you, this means a lot to me!" Prakasha gushed.

The trio could only smile at this appreciation and Prakasha's sobbing lasted for at least five minutes before she calmed down. Now that everyone was ready to make their way to Karakuma Rosa advised Eiden to map out the location of the nearest bus stop. Compass in hand he gave the map a quick look over before responding. "The nearest bus stop should be north west of our current position"

Hearing this her hope in her current endeavor became renewed, Prakasha eagerly trotted in the direction that Eiden had indicated. Wordlessly the other three members of the group followed the marebito, Prakasha's gait now held determination. The new quartet made their way into the tree line with a sense of urgency, if they could evacuate the entire city the battle would be much easier. Thinking to herself Rosa wouldn't have to protect anyone and could instead focus on assisting Dakini, that prospect made her excited despite loathing the promise of combat. The trees of the Karakuma jungle passed them by at a brisk pace now that steady progress was being made to reaching their destination. Thinking further about the upcoming battle Rosa knew that she'd have to create minions out of her biomass if she intended to save civilians throughout an entire city. Afterall she couldn't be everywhere at once but with the use of biomass clones she could effectively save almost everyone if not everyone. Half an hour later the quartet found themselves exiting the tree line once again, an open road that stretched on for as far as the eye could see lay before them. On the opposite side of the road a lone bus stop sat there covered in some slight rust, it seemed that it had fallen into a bit of neglect.

Walking up to the bus stop and taking a seat the two companions plus Prakasha sat quietly waiting for the next bus while Rosa took a look at the transit schedule. Luckily Rosa had already gained knowledge of this land's language from consuming the locals that lived here, the next bus would arrive in twenty minutes. The waiting was completely uneventful and so to pass the time Eiden began chatting with Dakini about literally anything, while this was happening Prakasha's gaze was fixated on Rosa. For her part Rosa was staring blankly into the sky as her mind wandered to thoughts about their upcoming battle. Prakasha was mesmerized by Rosa's beauty and she simply could not look away however she did have something to say to this stunning symbol of beauty.

"Rosa may I speak with you for a moment?" Prakasha said, her voice still meek.

"What is it?" Rosa said

"You remind me of my mother, its really calming" Prakasha said.

"Is that so? Well I'm glad to be a pleasant presence" Rosa said, she had a thin smile on her face.

"Before your introduction, why did you kiss me?" Prakasha questioned.

"Because I can" Rosa said with a sly smile.

Hearing this gave Prakasha nothing but frustration even if it was just a little, she didn't want to be kissed by someone she barely knew. On the other hand, it did feel nice to get intimate since she'd never had anything like it outside of her time studying. Just thinking about it made her blush however she didn't want to say anything further about it with Rosa. Several more minutes passed before the growling of someone's stomach could be heard, everyone turned their heads to Prakasha who looked down in embarrassment.

"Sounds like someone is hungry" Both Eiden and Rosa said simultaneously.

Rummaging through her hand bag Prakasha found that somewhere along the way she had lost her wallet and thus her ability to purchase the amount of food that she regularly enjoyed evaporated. This caused her expression to become crestfallen, at this development Rosa laid a hand on her shoulder and gave her a reassuring expression.

"Worry not young Prakasha, I have something that'll help" Rosa said.

Rosa began leaking biomass from the tips of her fingers and this biomass took on the shape of a cube, it was a cube of jelly half the size of a basket ball. Rosa handed the newly created jelly cube to Prakasha. "Here, it's a Blacklight ration"

Prakasha hesitated to ingest the strange food that Rosa had just produced but seeing the expression that Rosa bore gave her the resolve to go through with it, Rosa's expression held no ill intent. Shoving the entire cube in her mouth the instant she began chewing Prakasha found that the ration's flavor was that of mango pudding. The most peculiar thing about the ration was that after she had finished the cube off her hunger disappeared completely, she had been utterly satiated.

"Thank you Rosa" Prakasha said.

"No problem" That was the response that she got. The rest of their time waiting for the next bus to arrive was spent in relative silence since Eiden and Dakini were the only ones conversing. Soon the quartet could see their bus arriving in the distance. It was a large red double decker bus that greeted them, as all four of them got on Eiden paid the fare for four people. Having paid for their bus fare the driver stepped down on the gas pedal and rushed forward, the electronic display above him read next stop Karakuma. Getting seated the four intrepid defenders of the nameless land set out to stop their enemy from spreading tragedy, their heads held high.