Disclaimer: This story has spoilers for the Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear light novel #3. If you want to avoid spoilers, hit the back button.

Ever After

Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear!

"There's is a LOT of magic in this universe," Quill noted as they appeared nearby a deserted road, surrounded by trees.

"I can feel it," Lilith agreed.

"It's not going to make it harder to find Hatsumi?" Hazuki checked.

"No, it's fine," Lilith reassured her.

Hazuki nodded, "Well, don't push yourself too hard..."

Lilith flashed a smile, "Okay, let's try to find where Eve is."

Hazuki kept her sword ready as Lilith activated the searching spell. Quill, nearby, was holding her staff and frowning.

"Trouble?" Hazuki asked.

"There's a LOT of life forms in the woods around us," Quill noted. "I'm not sure if they're hostile, but..."

"Huh. Best be on guard," Hazuki agreed.

Lilith pointed up the road, "That way. But there's a lot of magic that way, too."

"Well, let's go look," Hazuki started when they heard a scream.

Quill cursed as Hazuki raced off. "Most people run away from yelling," she sighed as they hurried after her.

"Well, that's Hazuki," Lilith shrugged.

They came around a corner, seeing a large group of humanoid monsters attacking several people. Eight huge humanoids, versus four people trying to guard a carriage. With no hesitation at all Hazuki raced in to cut one that was threatening a woman clear in half.

"Ack!" the mage-looking woman yelped as she was splashed with gore.

Lilith lead Quill forward as she complained, "Hazuki! We didn't HAVE to get involved."

"Lilith, I'm not leaving innocents in danger," Hazuki replied firmly. "Quill, help the woman with the carriage, I'll assist the others."

"Right!" Quill agreed, blasting one orc and letting the swordswoman deal with the other.

"Thank you," Marina said, "Who...?"

"We're.. travellers," Quill said, not sure how much she sould say.

Nearby, two warriors were facing off with four of the huge monsters, and Hazuki rushed to help them. She cut down one from behind, as the two reacted in surprise. She wondered what these fantasy style heroes thought of her school girl uniform...

Lilith was casually handling the last monster, and just blasted it with raw magic.

"Thank you," the leader of the group addressed Hazuki, "you saved us..." She seemed mildly stunned at how easily the three had turned the tide.

"I'm Hazuki," she introduced herself, "this is Lilith and Quill."

"Marina," the long haired swordswoman nodded, "that's Masrika, Iria and Elle."

Elle's clothes were somewhat shreded, and the busty mage was trying to cover herself awkwardly. She was also, annoyingly, looking at Hazuki with some interest. As usual, Hazuki was unaware of it...

"What are you doing out here in the woods?" Iria asked curiously.

"We're looking for a missing woman," Quill admitted and then explained to them about Hatsumi/Eve and her world travelling.

"And she's...?" Marina wondered.

"Roughtly that direction," Lilith pointed up the road.

"That's towards the Capital. We're headed that way too," Elle noted.

As they were talking a older man and young girl had gotten out of the carriage and walked over to them. "Thank you, all of you," the silver haired man said.

"This is Lord Gran Fahrengram, and his granddaughter, Misana," Marina said.

"What strange clothes," the little girkl noted. She smiled, "Pretty!"

"You're heading towards the Capital as well?" Gran asked them. He asked, "Why don't we all go together, then?"

"You trust complete strangers like this?" Quill had to ask.

"You could have just passed by and left us," Gran noted wisely.

"Point," Quill admitted.

(In another version of events, the bear clad adventurer Yuna became involved, but not here. The quick defeat of the orcs meant she didn't need to get involved, and instead just went around them to keep her two charges safe.)

"Please come!" Misana added, smiling shyly.

Lilith shrugged, "I don't mind either way."

"All right," Hazuki agreed.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Marina was used to the responsibilities of being a party leader, and was somewhat wary of the three women at first. They might be planning to kidnap Lord Fahrengram, or try to grab his grandaughter in some plot! But...

"What." Marina watched as Hazuki CASUALLY cut multiple attacking wolves down.

Later...

"What." Elle blinked as Quill CASUALLY used her magic to shield them, AND blast a enemy to ribbons.

Later still...

"What." Iria blinked as Lilith FLOATED ALONG SIDE THE CARRIAGE, seemingly at will.

"These people are NOT normal adventurers," Masrika noted, the swordswoman shaking her head in disbelief that evening as they cooked dinner and made camp..

"I was worried they were plotting something, but they wouldn't need to trick us. They're strong enough to beat us all," Marina noted, shaking her head.

"I WANT that weird amulet Quill uses," Elle said intensely. "I'm sure it's the source of her magic," she added.

"We are NOT trying to fight her for it. She'd destroy us," Iria pointed out.

Elle slumped, "Oh yeah."

"Well, at least having them along means we're safer," Masrika noted. "And Misana seems fascinated with Miss Hazuki."

"Not that I can blame her..." Marina muttered softly. Miss Hazuki was really, really attractive in an odd kind of way.

As they were talking Hazuki walked up, still dressed in her strange garb. "Are we going to be standing watch tonight?' she asked.

"Please," Marina nodded.

"Trouble?" Hazuki asked insightfully.

"There's been an increase in monster activity on the highway," Iria noted with a sigh, "and of course, bandits."

"So the orc attack was unusual?" Hazuki checked.

"They don't normally go near the roads and such, yes," Marina said. "It's worrying..."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"I noticed something odd," Quill started.

"We appeared here nowhere near Eve," Lilith finished for her, the three taking the first guard shift that night.

Hazuki poked the fire, keeping a wary eye out. "We usually pop up nearby where she appears," she nodded thoughtfully.

"Did the high levels of magic throw our arrival off?" Quill wondered.

"Or something else about this place," Hazuki mused. "It FEELS off, somehow."

Lilith nodded, "Even more so than other 'books; we've travelled into, this world feels created. I'm not sure how though."

"Can we do anything about it?" Quill asked reasonably.

Hazuki looked questioningly at Lilith.

Lilith shook her head, "Other than keep our guards up, no."

"Hopefully we can just find Hatsumi and get out of here," Hazuki sighed.

Quill sighed, "Somehow I doubt it'll be that easy."

The three were, of course, unaware of the large band of bandits that had been shadowing them farther down the road...

To be continued...

Notes: The Adventurers in Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear are REALLY weak compaired to Yuna, so I'm pretty much continuing that vs the Yamibo characters. Plus Quill, specifically, is probably more powerful than any of the sorcerers in the book, other than Yuna.

More next chapter...