Author's Note

I HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY!!!

I... am upset. Not because this story is not doing well, not because I got a single negative comment on the first, none of that. What has me upset is that someone went after one of my readers when they defended me. This is unacceptable! If you have a problem with me or my stories, that's fine, I can't please everyone, but if you go after my readers, there will be consequences. And if you feel the need to absolutely leave a negative comment about not liking my story, tell me why so I can improve as an author! That is the point of the comment section. And I don't mean something stupid like, "Oh my god, another Displaced story, what a waste of time". That doesn't help and if you don't like Displaced stories, why are you here? There was a clear label in the short description of this story, so why did you click on it?

My rant about being respectful to your fellow FimFic users aside, this chapter is extremely context heavy, meaning absolutely nothing really happens to further the story except understanding the main character that much more. Furthermore, this story will be the last in the chain to get an update meaning that Equestrian Psycho and When the Bass Drops are taking priority over this project. So, with all that said, if you see a mistake, have an idea, or just want to be silly, leave it in the comments. Please, please respect your neighbors, and, until next time, have a good one.

Chapter 2- Kill the Feeling

Chapter 2-

Kill the Feeling

...Calm. That’s the word that Hikan had been searching for the last several hours as he stared into the flames before him. He felt calm… and yet, he couldn’t get the images of his fight from his mind. He tsk’d and drew his knees closer to himself, his arms wrapped around them.

Why are you worried? It’s not like this is the first time you’ve killed something.

But this is the first time I’ve killed something! All those other memories, they’re not mine!

You’re Hikan Kanashi, an assassin of the Revolutionary Army’s Night Raid.

My name is Jeremy Ward, Texan born and bred!

A scuffling shift caught his attention and he cut his back and forth with himself off to look at Starlight Glimmer sleeping on the other side of the fire, tucked away deeper within the shallow cave they had found. Hikan’s eyes softened as he looked at the mare. Poor thing, he thought, his mind going back to their trek. She hadn’t stopped her shuddering until he had gotten her into the shelter and started a fire. It hadn’t taken her long to lay down, and an even shorter amount of time for her to start shivering again. This had led to the young man removing his coat and laying it over her, the shivers stopping soon after.

I wonder what she was more afraid of….

Stop that.

Hikan shook his head and put his chin on his knees, still watching Starlight in her slumber. He stayed like that for he didn’t know how long before the mare finally began to stir. She gave a soft groan and shuffled beneath the heavy coat, her eyes blinking a bit. She slowly lifted herself up into a sitting position with a yawn. She looked around herself blearily, her gaze coming to a rest on the fire before lifting slowly to stop on the young man across from her.

The hunter cracked a small smile and let go of his curled up position, extending one leg as he leaned back and rested his hands behind him. “‘Mornin’, sunshine,” he said with humor laced in his tone.

This only earned him an eye roll and another yawn from the unicorn. “Wheeere are we?” She asked through her yawn in a fairly unladylike manner.

“A little cave I managed to find last night,” Hikan answered simply, adding a little shrug before he looked into the flames and let his smile fall. “How much do you remember from last night.”

Starlight hesitated in her answer, subconsciously drawing into herself and pulling the long coat tighter around her shoulders. “...I remember everything,” she admitted, giving a short shudder. The young man just stayed quiet where he was, not speaking about the massacre he had caused the night before while Starlight stared at him over the fire between them. “...Why did you do it?”

The question caught Hikan by surprise and he looked up at her with a shocked expression. After a few moments, he looked away again in shame. “...I don’t know,” he answered, drawing into himself a little once more. “I just… reacted.” “Reacted?” Starlight repeated skeptically, frowning at him. “A reasonable reaction doesn’t lead somepony to murder others in cold blood.”

“They attacked us first,” Hikan argued, a glint of anger starting to shine in his eye. “What I did was self-defense.”

“Oh, yeah,” the unicorn answered with a roll of her eyes. “That totally justifies you killing all the ones that tried to run away!”

“What the hell do you want from me!” Hikan shouted, his anger clear in his face which caused the mare to flinch. “An apology? An explanation? A promise that I won’t do it again? I’m sorry, but I don’t have anything!” The man huffed for air as he stared at Starlight with his scowl, the pony having scooted back and raised a hand in front of her, eyes wide in fear. After a few moments, he realized he was looking down at her. He took stock of his current position and found that he had stood to his feet and clenched his fists as he had started shouting. His eyes widened a bit and he swung his head to look at the mare on the other side of the fire, seeing the fear in her eyes.

The young man’s face once again fell to that of shame. He dropped his fists, his entire body seeming to go limp as he looked away. “...I’m sorry,” he said quietly, turning and starting to walk out of the cave.

Starlight watched his back for a second before she realized what was going on, her eyes widening. “Wait!” She cried out, standing to her hooves. To her surprise, the young man stopped in his tracks and looked back at her. “Just… just come sit back down.”

Hikan looked at her over his shoulder for several moments, seemingly searching her for something. After the brief pause, he looked away and sighed before turning and going back to sit next to the flames, locking his unfeeling eyes on them.

Starlight Glimmer watched him for several moments before she slid back down to the ground. She glanced away for only a second to watch where her hand went and that’s when she noticed the hunter’s coat that had fallen from her shoulders. The mare paused as she processed the information and what it meant about the being sitting across from her. After a moment, she sighed and lifted the coat up in her magic and moved it around the fire to the man. “This is yours?”

Hikan lifted his eyes wordlessly and, with sluggish movements, took his jacket, light flickering off of the black and orange bracelet on his wrist before he looked back to the flames. This served to catch the unicorn’s attention and she quickly looked to the accessory, her curiosity peaking even as it disappeared in the sleeve of the overcoat. “What are those things?” She asked, nodding to the two devices on his arms.

The man started at that and looked at his wrist at one of the tools. “This?” He asked for clarification, raising his arm and pointing at the circlet with his other hand. “This is my Teigu, Dorkifu.”

“Your whos-a-ma-call-it, whatcha-ma-say?” Starlight questioned, raising an eyebrow in confusion.

Hikan sighed. “My Teigu, or Imperial Arms, Dorkifu,” he said again, saying the words carefully as he put his arms down.

He only received a series of confused blinks. “A Teigu?” She questioned before giving a tired sigh. “I’m going to need more than that.”

The assassin’s eye twitched a bit and he gave a long, deep breath. “A Teigu, meaning Imperial Arm, is an extremely powerful weapon with extraordinary powers and abilities. They were created by a great emperor with the help of the greatest minds and smiths in all the world. These weapons are so powerful that it is said that if two Teigu users clash, only one will walk away.”

Starlight sat silently as she processed this new information. After a moment, she thought she had a good enough grasp on the concept to ask her next question. “And your… Dor-ki-fu is one of these weapons?” She asked, taking great care with the name.

Hikan nodded an affirmative. “Each Teigu is unique,” he began. “Dorkifu is an armor type. From it, I can summon and form armor and weapons that boost my natural abilities. The only drawback is that I can only use a portion of the armor at a time or else I put too much strain on my body.”

“Is that how you were able to defeat that soldier so easily?”

The young man simply nodded his head sullenly. “Yeah, but I was still pretty new to using Dorkifu, so the armor was way to rough and could’ve given rise to the downfall.”

Starlight looked confused. “I thought you said Dorkifu was your Teigu and that it only had one drawback.”

Hikan was silent for a moment. “...That’s… that’s where things get tricky,” he said, starting to bring his legs back to his chest. “I have the memories… I know how to use it… but my body isn’t used to it. I have no muscle memory to go along with my knowledge.”

“That doesn-”

“Let me finish,” Hikan interrupted, raising a hand to stop her. “I’m… I’m not from around here, that much is obvious… but the problem is, this isn’t… I’m not me anymore. When I got… transported, I woke up like this, with new memories from who this body belongs… used to belong to. He knows how to use Dorkifu, and knows what it means to kill… all without invoking the drawback.”

Starlight Glimmer was stunned into complete silence as her mind tried to keep up with everything he was feeding her. “...And the drawback is… what, exactly?” She asked, still wearing her look of confusion.

The hunter gave pause for a time as he figured out what he should and shouldn’t tell her. Eventually, he came to his conclusion. “The first thing you have to realize about Teigu is how they were made,” he began again. “What gives them their powers is the materials they were made from… most of which came from extremely deadly creatures called Danger Beasts. The emperor and his scientists researched the beasts to figure out what they could do, then hunted them down and used parts from them to create the Teigu. Some of the Teigu… are still technically alive.” Hikan paused for a moment, rubbing his hands together. “Dorkifu is one such Teigu… though, that’s more my- his fault. Hikan wanted a Teigu so he could take his revenge on a group of soldiers that slaughtered his village. He searched for a Teigu that would give him the power he needed, but… it was half-destroyed when he found it. In desperation, he searched for ways to reforge it, and he found it in the form of beasts known as Wil-O-Wisps. They were masters of construction and served to rebuild the armor beautifully… but it also healed and revived the original Danger Beast it had been created from….”

By this point, Starlight’s eyes were locked onto the young man as he told his story. “...Then what?” She questioned, sounding much like an enraptured filly, even to her own ears.

Hikan looked up at her for the first time since starting his monologue. He stared at her for a long moment before a smile slowly crept up to his face, suddenly reminded of why he had started writing fanfiction back in his world, to begin with. “The Wyvern, no longer dead within Dorkifu, but alive, fought to control Hikan, but its influence was limited by how much armor was active at one time. Hikan was eventually able to fight the Wyvern and unlock Dorkifu’s full potential… but his body paid the price.”

He fell silent and the quiet permeated the small cave, neither of them wanting to break the spell, Hikan from the fear he had developed and Starlight from her enthrallment. After a few minutes, the mare blinked. “That’s it?” She asked, the spell broken from her as she lifted her head. “How does he do it? How exactly did he get experience.”

Hikan blinked in surprise at this. “You… want to know his story?” He questioned looking at her. “It’s… not exactly a nice story.”

“It’s not like we have anything else to do,” Starlight answered with a shrug. “Besides, you can’t expect life to be all flowers and rainbows for everypony.”

Hikan nodded his head after a moment of silence. “Okay,” he said before shifting a bit to get comfortable… just before lightning lit up the dark sky and thunder crashed in their ears. Hikan winced a bit and he looked over his shoulder just as rain started pouring down, pounding the sand outside the cave. With the storm hammering around them, the young turned his head back to Starlight.

“That’s ominous,” he said, giving a joking chuckle as he rubbed the back of his head.

“Yeah…,” Starlight replied, rubbing her arms for a moment before drawing her cloak in around in place of Hikan’s long coat. “But anyway, what about that story?”

“Right, right,” the young man said, once again fidgeting to get comfortable. “Now, I’m just going to paraphrasing the more important details of his life, or else we’ll be here until next month. Anyway, it all starts in a little village in a great forest. The people there are all hunters, fighters for lack of a better word. Each man was an expert with a staff and knife, and the woman were certainly no pushovers, but, at the end of the day, they were all like family, caring and kind to one another and strangers. It was here that Hikan was born and raised.

One thing that must be understood about the village is that it was within the Borders of a mighty empire, and the villagers did not only support their government, they practically worshiped it. It came as little surprise then that, when Hikan was eleven and a group of soldiers arrived, the soldiers were treated like royalty. They were served the greatest the village could offer, even if they had little to give. The men were ever so grateful for what the villagers had done for them, and they decided to repay them….” Here, Hikan’s tone turned dark and his gaze lowered to the flames once more.

Hikan watched with wide, frightened eyes as another of his village was cut down in front of him, blood spewing forth from the wound the large sword had left behind. The soldier who had cut down the man looked up at the trembling child before him. The man said something that the young boy was too afraid to hear as the murderer stalked closer to him.

A blur of motion came from behind Hikan and engaged the soldier, whose eyes widened in surprise. Several metallic clanks and meaty thuds sounded out alongside the sounds of screaming, fire, and running feet. The armored man fell forward with a loud crash and the figure turned to Hikan and ran back to him.

“Run, Hikan!” His mother shouted taking him by the shoulders and forcing him to look at her. The boy’s breath suddenly escaped his lips and he immediately went into action, turning and running away from the horrific scene, his mother not far behind him, staff in tow. The two ran through the burning night, dancing around the violence raging around them. A second soldier, this one carrying a mace, lunged from the shadows, giving an inhuman roar of bloodlust.

Hikan’s mother rushed forward and engaged the attacker, disabling him with ease in a flurry of movements, first striking his stomach then his face. As the man’s head snapped back and nose broke, the amazonian woman brought her hands closer together at one end of her weapon, spinning once to knock the man’s knees out from under him, and once more to bring the staff down on the back of his neck, an audible crack sounding out as his neck broke.

The woman didn’t stop to celebrate and turned quickly to urge her son on, quickening her pace and putting a hand on Hikan’s back, pushing him forward. Their footsteps were soon joined by raindrops, a flash of lightning and crash of thunder adding to the already grizzly scene as Hikan and his mother ran for their lives… only for a sharp whistling to sound out. Hikan’s mother cried out in agony as an arrow pierced her flesh between her lower back and hip, blood flowing quickly to stain her animal hide dress.

“MOM!” Hikan shouted, stopping and grabbing his mother’s arm as she stumbled to the ground.

She was breathing heavily, her breaths ragged and labored, but she raised her eyes all the same. “Go, Hikan,” she said, her voice tight. “Run.”

Hikan’s eyes widened and tears started forming. “No, mom, please-” he pleaded, only to be stopped as she put a hand on his arm.
“I’m right behind you,” she said tiredly before pushing him. “Now, go!”

Hikan nodded quickly before he turned and continued his all or nothing sprint. He only knew of one place he could go to be safe. Home. He ran through the nightmare that was his village, finally spotting the small cabin that was home to him, his father, and mother. He crashed through the door, shattering the small latch that held the door shut as he stumbled inside. He stood for a moment, breathing rapidly as his eyes darted around before he spotted what he was looking for. He went to the stone fireplace and started pounding on the rocks of the chimney until a hollow thud sounded out. He pulled his hands back for a moment before separating them a bit and lunging in with his fingertips. They scraped against a rough surface that protruded from the rest of the stone and tightened, the boy pulling with all of his strength. The stones ground against one another as the secret hideaway was uncovered. Hikan quickly set the stone cover aside and crawled into the tiny space. He turned as best he could and grabbed the edge of the stone and began to drag it back into place… just as he saw a figure step through the door, the sounds of chaos following close behind it.

The child’s eyes widened and he hastened to put the cover in place, but not before the shadow turned in his direction and lunged at him, grabbing the tablet before Hikan could seal himself in. The young boy wrestled with all of his strength to take back his only hope… but to no avail. The stone was ripped from his hands and he backed into the corner, wrapping his arms around his legs and burying his face in his knees, waiting for the end to come.

“...Hikan….”

The boy’s eyes and head jerked up, a shocked expression spread over his face. “M-mom?”

Hikan’s mother smiled kindly at him, even as a trail of blood led from her lips to her chin. “Hikan,” she repeated, keeping her soft, loving tone. “You must stay here and hide.” She paused and reached behind her, showing off the long, crimson stain going down the lower back and side of her dress, the broken arrow shaft pinning the clothing to her as she grabbed a small bundle and brought it forward. “Take this.”

Hikan brought his hands forward and grasped the roll given to him. “W-wha-”

“Your grandfather’s staff and knife,” his mother explained, giving him yet another smile before she gave him a stern look. “Stay here and don’t come out until you can’t stay here anymore. If anyone finds you, fight back and don’t let them take you. Nod if you understand.”

Hikan was frozen in place for a second or two before he slowly nodded his head in understanding, pulling a little further into himself and drawing one last smile from his mother.

“Good,” the woman said before leaning back a bit and taking the heavy stone in her hands once more. “Stay safe, Hikan, and remember… we love you.” With those words said, Hikan’s world became darkness.

Hikan stared into the flames of the crackling fire as the memory died away. “...The soldiers slaughtered the entire village and razed it to the ground,” he said, looking up in time to see Starlight’s shocked expression. “By the time Hikan left the hidden space, there was nothing left but smoldering ashes, mud… and bodies….”

The mare before him simply stared over the fire at him. “They killed… all of them?” She asked, receiving a nod in return. “...What happened next?”

Hikan continued his chain of silence before looking up at Starlight Glimmer. “He buried everyone in his village,” he began. “Dug the graves and buried them, going so far as to even create grave markers from what he could find… then he hunted the bastards down and slaughtered them in their sleep.”

Starlight gasped and drew back, her eyes wide. “He… he did?” She asked, fear more than obvious in her tone.

Hikan stared at her for a moment before lowering his eyes back to the fire. “No,” he answered. “Though, he certainly wished he had. He did hunt them down and challenged their leader to a duel… but he refused. Instead, he forced the newest recruit of their squad to fight Hikan.... Hikan had no mercy in facing the recruit and beat him soundly, even going so far as to cut a cross in the soldier’s eye. But, before he could land the killing blow, the others ambushed him and held him down while their leader beat him… just to show him that no one crossed the empire and lived.

They left him there to suffer and die, barely clinging to life… and he did so for two days. Just before he would have given in, an old man stumbled upon him and took him back to his own village. Turns out the old man was the leader of the village and he and his granddaughter took care of and treated Hikan until he was back to full health.”

Starlight seemed to take a little sigh of relief. “So, he finally got some help?” She asked and smiled when she received a nod in response… but Hikan was in no way enthusiastic.

“He spent a year there,” the man continued on. “He and the elder’s granddaughter grew close, and, for a while, he could almost forget what had happened… but then the anniversary came around. He couldn’t stop himself… he had to go back. He went back to the grave site of his village and stood before his parents. ...It was here that he formed his resolve. He would still avenge his friends and family, but he knew he couldn’t do anything against the soldiers who had attacked him. Hikan thought long and hard before his memory provided him with the solution. He had seen a book in the old man’s library, the cover untitled, the spine unmarked, and the entire thing wrapped in a dull leather binding. He had picked it up once and opened it to find the details on the creation of extremely powerful weapons. With a single thought in mind, he returned to the village and packed his things before going to the elder’s library and searched for the book… only to find it, missing….”

“Where the hell is it?” Hikan asked, moving books aside roughly on the shelf to find the one he was interested in. After several more moments of searching, he let out a frustrated growl. “Damn it!” He muttered, hitting part of the shelf with his fist.

“Looking for something?”

Hikan spun around in surprise, instinctively bringing a hand to the hunting knife on his belt. He stopped when he saw the moonlight shine off the golden locks of the elder’s granddaughter, Taigari. He slowly relaxed as she smiled at him with the ever-present mischievous look in her purple eyes. “Oh, thank god, it’s just you, Tai,” he said, straightening up. “I’m sorry, I'm just going to do some late night-”

“Hikan?”

“Yeah?”

“Shut up.”

“...Yeah.”

Taigari chuckled and walked over to him in her short straight skirt, tan leggings, sandals and cotton shirt. “You look like you’re about to go somewhere,” she observed as she approached him.

“Y-yeah,” Hikan answered, knowing it was useless to attempt to hide anything from her sharp eyes. “I was planning on going on a little outing.” Then again… he didn’t know how she’d react to him leaving.

“Then why are you in grandfather’s library?” She asked as she circled him, leaving his sight.

“Thought I’d brush up on my medicinal skills,” the young man replied easily. “You know, study a few herbs and stuff.”

“Herbs, huh?” Taigari questioned, her voice directly behind him. “You sure you're not looking for… this?” Something was suddenly thrust into his field of view, and it took him a moment to process just what was in front of him.

“How did you-!?” Hikan started jumping forward and turning around only to see the triumphant smirk on his friends face.

“Feminine intuition,” Taigari bragged, bringing the book closer to her and examining it smugly. “Now,” she turned to look at him seriously, “where are you going.”

Hikan was frozen in place for several moments. “...I’m going away, Tai,” he said quietly. “I’m going to go away and find one of those Imperial Arms, and I’m going to hunt down those bastards and I’m going to-”

“Get yourself killed,” Taigari interrupted sternly. “What are you thinking, Hikan? That you’re just going to run off into the wilderness, dodging Imperial soldiers and Danger Beasts and god knows what else, and then somehow find some random weapon that you don’t know whether or not it works, all so you can find people that almost killed you last year!”

Hikan winced at her words but he soon corrected himself and let his look of steely resolve show on his face. “I have to Taigari,” he said. “I… can’t shake this feeling. I can’t help but feel like I need to do this, so… I’m going and I need that book.”

The girl stared at him for several moments before glancing at the book in her hand and back at him. “No,” she said simply, stunning her friend.

Hikan stared at her with wide eyes before his face became angry. “Taigari…,” he said in a low tone, taking a step forward… only to stop as the blonde raised her hand.

“I’m not giving you this book,” she said before giving her mischievous grin. “So you’re just going to have to take me with you.”

“Tai’s grandfather met them at the gate,” Hikan stated, looking up from the flames to observe Starlight’s reaction. To say the least, he wasn’t surprised.

Starlight Glimmer’s smile lit up the small cave more than the fire. “So Hikan went on his travels with Taigari and they found an Imperial Arms?” She questioned, her voice positively buzzing with excitement. This delight only grew as Hikan gave a small nod and smile of his own.

“They spent six years searching for an Imperial Arms,” he stated. “They grew closer with each passing day, and, eventually, that closeness blossomed into something more. So much more.” Hikan gave a breath of laughter and shook his head slightly as his gaze grew distant. “Tai was so… fiery. She had a life to her that always recharged my more… downtrodden personality….” He stopped and looked up to see Starlight staring at him strangely. “What?”

“You said ‘my’ that time,” the unicorn pointed out, causing the young man to blink in confusion.

“I… I did?” He asked, receiving an affirmative nod from her. “Oh… I apologize for breaking the immersion.”

“No, no, it’s fine,” Starlight said, waving her hands rapidly in front of her. “Just thought I’d point it out. Please, keep going.”

Hikan gave a short chuckle and raised a hand to calm her back down. “Okay, okay,” he said, his little bit of humor reaching his voice and getting the mare to calm herself to a reasonable level. “They didn’t exactly find an Imperial Arms. What they found was fragments, the broken up remains of an armor type Teigu called Dorkuhato. Luckily, and only thanks to the book they’d been given, they had the knowledge needed to not only repair but even upgrade the armor. So, they did. It was surprisingly easy for them and they finally started to return home after their six-year journey, their new creation in tow….” Hikan’s smiling expression suddenly died away again and he stayed silent… very silent.

Minutes ticked by and still the quiet persisted to the point that Starlight began to grow worried. “Hikan, are you…?”

Hikan looked up suddenly and wiped his face quickly of the streams running down it. “I’m fine,” he said, his voice tight and wobbly. “But, uh, I think that’s enough for tonight.”

“Hikan.” The hunter rose his eyes up to meet the worried gaze of the unicorn he had come to think of as a companion. “...What happened?”

The words that came from Starlight shook him for some reason. Something about her tone… something in the way she formed the words. Slowly, Hikan felt his mouth begin to move on its own and he suspected magic, but a quick glance at her horn told him he was wrong. “We made camp for the night,” he began. “We were so… joyful that we were almost home. We decided to crack open a bottle of wine that we had gotten during our travels. Nothing too much, just a few drinks apiece. Unfortunately, what we thought was an easy drink wasn’t. The guy we bought the stuff from was known for selling alcohol that was much, much stronger than what he said it was. We were wasted in minutes. And that’s when…,” Hikan trailed off and gave a sniff, wiping his nose on his sleeve before wiping away a few tears with the palm of his hand. “That’s when we made a mistake… we didn’t watch our backs….”

Taigari laughed loudly as she held her wooden cup high, rocking back a bit in her mirth. Hikan, on the other hand, was looking rather pouty with his own ‘wine’ held between his clasped hands. He didn’t even brighten up when his girlfriend nudged him with her elbow. “Oh, c’mon, Hickey,” she teased, using the nickname she’d given him after their first night truly spent together. “It was funny!”

“Maybe to you…,” Hikan muttered, looking away a bit. “I didn’t exactly find it humorous when I tripped over that tree root….”

At the mention of the tree root, the young woman exploded into yet another fit of laughter. “You were so embarrassed! It was like watching a poor puppy fall over for the first time!”

Tai’s laughter only made Hikan sink his head down even further, his blush growing even brighter on his face. “It wasn’t funny,” he muttered before looking up at her. “And what about all the times you fell over?”

Taigari’s laughter halted suddenly and she looked at Hikan, a hurt look on her face. “Why’d you have to bring that up?” She asked, a bit of an ache in her voice… until her face lit up again. “Oh, I know why….”

The sudden shift from hurt to soft and sultry caught the young hunter’s attention and he looked up at her only to find her staring at him with lidded eyes and was starting to crawl towards him on the log she’d been sitting on while Hikan sat on the ground with his back to said log. “Tai…,” he said slowly, turning and starting to push himself back, away from the extremely predatory look his girlfriend was giving him. “What’re you-”

The young man let out a sudden gasp as Taigari lunged at him, pinning him to the ground as her long blonde hair hung down and tickled his face. “Oh, you don’t like it when I jump your bones,” she purred, coming a bit closer to his face. “But when it comes to me, you just aren’t all that shy in trying to get some.”

“Th-that’s not-” Hikan tried to argue only to find a soft finger on his lips as Tai shushed him.

“Just admit it, Hikan,” she said, her purr still present behind her words. “You really, really want me right now….”

The young man gulped a bit at how suddenly aggressive Taigari had become… but he wasn’t struggling against her anymore. Tai noticed the change in his demeanor and removed her finger from his lips only to place her own there in a soft kiss. Hikan closed his eyes and sank into the kiss, matching his girlfriend’s passion with his own which only caused her to pour out more, resulting in an endless cycle. The simple, soft kiss quickly evolved into something much more heated. It soon became painfully obvious that the young woman was straddling him as she began to move her hips back and forth teasingly.

Hikan lost touch with reality as his senses were overwhelmed by Taigari’s stimulation. The deep kiss held him enraptured as she held him down tight to the ground. He could feel his lust growing like a wildfire through him. The intensity grew and grew until a buzzing filled his ears, making his senses go numb to everything else but the woman on top of him. The kissing and grinding continued for several moments, Hikan’s drunken mind swimming with pure ecstasy… until Taigari pulled away with a small gasp.

Hikan simply laid there with his eyes closed, a happy smile on his face as he breathed a little heavily. The seconds ticked by and Hikan’s heart slowed to a steady beat before he started to open his eyes. “Ready to take it up-” The young man froze as he looked up at Taigari’s wide, frightened eyes. Her body jerked as the sound of tearing flesh echoed through the air and she slumped forward. Hikan’s own eyes widened and he brought his arms up and wrapped his hands quickly her. That’s when he felt it. The sticky, warm sensation of blood between his fingers.

Hikan’s eyes widened further and he lifted his hand to stare at it, finding a thick coating of the life essence over the appendage. And yet the buzzing still continued. Hikan suddenly lifted his eyes from his hand to see a blur of motion coming towards them. Hikan tightened his arms around his girlfriend and rolled out of the way just as something slammed into the ground where they had been moments before.

Hikan pushed his weight off of Taigari, and twisted into a kneeling position, cradling the young woman’s head in his arms. Hikan looked at her for a moment before lifting his gaze and finally discovering the source of the buzzing in his ears.

In front of him was a brown creature that stood a little below waist level with armor-like chitin plates covering its body. The monster before him was all brown, armored plates covering its elongated body. Two sets of arms ending in sharp, three clawed hands extended from either side, just under its dome-like head, an insect-like face extending forward with a pair of glowing red eyes over vicious mandibles. A set of insect-like wings buzzed across its back as it yanked its claws out of the dirt.

An Earth Wyrm, Hikan realized, recognizing the minor species of Earth Dragon. By themselves, they weren’t very effective unless they caught you in an ambush… but that’s where the problem lay. They rarely hunted alone. The young man’s eyes looked up from the monster before him to the surrounding woods and found the glints of many a red eye, all of which were trained on him.

The buzzing in his ears suddenly grew from behind him and he reached behind his belt and grabbed his tristaff, expertly flicking his wrist out and setting down Taigari’s head, rising up and slinging the linked rods around as his body twisted. The furthest link slammed into the side of the wyrm trying to charge him from the rear. As Hikan’s eyes fell on the beast, the sound of buzzing filled his hearing to his rear left. He turned and with deft movements he flicked the staff in the direction of the next pest, slamming it down over the head of the wyrm with enough force to send it into the ground, blood spilling from the resulting wound on its head.

In an instant, Hikan knew he had made a mistake. All the other eyes that had simply been waiting for him to wear down rushed him altogether, the added smell of more blood in the air breaking their resolve. The hunter’s eyes widen and he flicked his wrist as his other hand went to the knife on his belt. The staff snapped together and Hikan brought the two weapons together, forming the spear he had grown proficient in using. He spun the bladed weapon around his body, acting as a blender for anything that got too close to him and Taigari. Unfortunately, his drunken state was causing far too much excess movement, quickly drying up his energy. Sweat poured down his face as blood filled the air, the bodies of dozens of the small Danger Beasts littering the ground around him.

His spear was suddenly whistling through the air, no sounds of crunching chitin or splitting flesh following it. Hikan lifted his gaze and brought his weapon to rest. The blade pointed down and the staff rested diagonally across his back as he looked at the crowd around him. The wyrms were gathered in a circle around him, their wings buzzing every once in awhile as their mandibles clicked. They were waiting, and the young man knew exactly what it was they were waiting for. A slip-up. Hikan widened his stance and slowed his heavy breathing, narrowing his eyes as his face distorted into a scowl. Buzzing filled his right and he smoothly brought his left hand up to the butt of the staff extending from over the same shoulder. His feet and legs twisted and he brought the spear up and over his head, splitting first the skull of the Earth Wyrm charging his right from bottom to top before his follow through skewered the monster trying to sneak in on his left. However, he didn’t count on the third insect-like dragon following directly behind its unfortunate comrade.

Hikan’s chest was fully exposed to the reared back claws of the beast as it approached, and for a split-second, the man’s mind panicked. This was it. This Earth Wyrm was going to plunge its claw into his chest and tear out his heart, and he and Taigari would be gone. His wide eyes watched and a few tears formed in his eyes… until a metallic whistle sounded through the air and a thin red line traced diagonally across the center of the beast. Blood spewed out as the wyrm dropped to the ground, split perfectly in half.

“C-c’mon, Hikan,” Tai said, slumping to lean on him for a moment, her tonfa blade dropping to her side. Her blood stained lips parted in a small grin. “Don’t get sloppy on me now.”

Hikan’s shocked gaze looked at her for a moment before a blur of motion behind her caught his attention. His body moved on its own, spinning and hefting his spear to slash the approaching wyrm horizontally, severing its head from the rest of its body. Hikan came to a stop behind Taigari and she pressed her back against his, raising her bladed weapons up as the Earth Wyrms tensed up around them.

Hikan heard Taigari give a huff of laughter. “Just like old times, huh?” She asked as she raised her blades.

Hikan was quiet for a second before his scowl turned into a smirk. “Yeah,” he replied before the Danger Beasts rushed them and they ran to meet them. Hikan’s world became a blur as he twirled his spear about, the blade slicing through chitin like paper and sending bloody mist into the air. He caught very few glimpses of his girlfriend as she fought her own battle across the glade, but those he got brightened his hope of them getting out of this. A scratch along his cheek brought him back to his own fight and he attacked with a new vigor.

It wasn’t long before the glade was little more than a mess of body parts and blood. Hikan stood on his side of the clearing, breathing heavily as he held his spear in his hands and small streams of blood ran down his arms and chest from the small scratches and scrapes he had received. His body shook with exhaustion, and his mind still swam in small fits of drunkenness. He let the butt of his weapon fall to the ground, leaning heavily against it as he turned to face the rest of the battleground. Taigari cut down the last Earth Wyrm as his gaze found her, her weapons glistening in the red life of the beast.

The hunter’s tired features turned into a smile and he picked his staff off the ground before walking across the glade towards his partner… only to rush forward and throw his weapon away as she began to collapse. He only just managed to slide on his knees and catch her before she hit the ground, cradling her head and torso. “Tai?” Hikan said worriedly, moving a bit of her hair out of her sweat covered face. “Come on, talk to me, Tai….”

Taigari slowly opened her eyes and looked up at him with a smile. “Did ya get’em all?” She asked jokingly, her voice a little strained through heavy breathing.

Hikan laughed half-heartedly at her attempt at a joke. “Yeah,” he answered, using his thumb to rub her shoulder comfortingly. “Yeah, we got’em.”

Tai’s little smile grew a little and she closed her eyes, relaxing her body. “Good…,” she muttered quietly, causing Hikan’s worry to skyrocket.

“Taigari, stay with me,” he said, shaking her a bit, causing her eyes to open a bit and look at him. Hikan returned her gaze with his own, fighting back his own tears. “I’m going to get you out of here, just stay with me.”

Tai’s eyes came back into focus and she hardened her face into one of determination before she sat up on her own power with a groan, Hikan leaving a hand in the small of her back as she did so. “I’ll hold on,” she said, her voice tight with pain. “For you, I’ll hold on. Help me up.”

Hikan nodded and stood up, helping her gently to her feet before turning his back to her and offering his back. “I’ll carry you to the village,” he said softly. He heard her soft footsteps step forward just as the first drop of rain hit his face. He waited patiently for her to climb up, ready to get her home to get patched up, refusing to lose another loved one. And then everything happened at once.

A skittering sound lit up his senses to his rear left and it was followed by the hastened steps of Taigari. He started to turn his head in alarm and straighten up, only to feel a pair of hands press against his back and shoving him forward. Hikan hit the ground and rolled on his side, coming to a stop and looking up as buzzing and the sound of ripping clothing filled the air. The young hunter’s eyes widened in shock at what he was seeing. An Earth Wyrm, one arm and wing missing and a slash across its back flew through the air, a claw extended as blood followed it from the large gashes that now ran slightly diagonally across her chest. Time slowed down as Tai, wyrm, and blood fell to the ground, Hikan having to watch every instant.

Hikan was frozen as the rain began to pour down even faster around him. A flash of lightning and crash of thunder shook him from his paralyzed state as the Earth Wyrm rose back up to its feet. His surprised eyes turned angry and he leaped to his feet, giving a roar of rage as he lunged for the dragon, only to be knocked away like a ragdoll by two of the beast’s arms. The hunter landed solidly on his back, knocking all the wind from his lungs and causing a burst of color to envelop his vision. The sound of skittering and buzzing caught his attention just in time for him to throw up his hands and catch the mandibles of the jaw trying to come down on his throat. The wyrm and man struggled against one another, one’s jaws snapping open and closed while the other’s hands began to bleed from the sharp, thorn-like protrusions all over the mandibles.

The wyrm was slowly beginning to beat the human’s struggles, pressing forward slowly. Hikan’s mind began to panic and he started to throw his eyes around, looking for some way to defend himself. He spotted his spear off to his right but it was too far away to reach. Hikan raised his eyes back up to the slobbering jaws trying to end his life. He was frozen. The feeling of impending death brought back only one memory….

Lightning flashed in the night sky and Hikan came back to reality. He looked passed the bug towards Taigari’s motionless body, the rain forming furrows that allowed streams of red to flow from the young woman. The gravity of the situation hit him, turning his face into shock then into rage.

Green eyes turned back to the monster on top of him, his scowl returning in full force. He would get out of this and he would save Taigari. He owed her that much. The Earth Wyrm surged forward and Hikan jerked his hands left, guiding the monster's jaws to snap next to his ear. The beast pulled back and the hunter could feel it tense up for another strike. Another bolt of electricity lit up the night and a pair of glints off the bracelets on his wrists got his eyes. Hikan’s gaze narrowed and he looked up into the Danger Beast’s eyes. The snapping mandibles and jaws suddenly stopped and the monster stared at him with confused eyes as a dangerous smirk quirked Hikan’s features.

“Voice activation,” Hikan said in a low tone, the accents of the bracelet suddenly glowing with amber light. “Code word… slaughter the heartless.” The glowing circlets radiated pure energy as bright lines traced themselves like digital trails down the young man’s arm and across his back, black armor following soon after and solidifying. Amber energy raced from where the armor had begun to form, filling up little trails across the armor and injecting a new, burning strength into Hikan. The Earth Wyrm, realizing something was very off, began to struggle, trying desperately to get away only for the man’s reinforced hands to hold it in place by its mandibles.

Realizing there was no escape, the beast reared back the one remaining claw on its right side and throwing it down to skewer the young man… only to find its claw held in the hand of the hunter. Hikan’s right hand suddenly shot across, his fist slamming into the side of the monster’s face before twisting and grabbing it by the left side of its head. The man jerked his hands in opposite directions, straightening the beast out and causing it to screech in pain as its arm was stretched to its limit. The sounding of splitting chitin filled the air alongside its screams, tearing flesh soon joining the symphony.

Hikan watched on, his scowl becoming a grimace before he let out a yell of rage and tore limb from host, blood spurting from the wound and splashing over him. The monster gave a strangled cry as it was tossed away, landing with a thud that cut off its cry as a pool of red formed beside it.

Hikan watched as the Earth Wyrm lay still for a while before it started struggling to haul itself away with its remaining arms. The young man simply stared for several moments before giving a snort of irritation and standing to his feet. He turned slightly further right than where the monster had landed and started to walk slowly over to his spear, throwing away the arm in his hand with contempt. He came to a stop and squatted down, taking his spear in his hand before straightening back up. He faced the monster once more, finding a crimson trail leading from the large pool of blood that had formed, the Earth Wyrm on the other end as it made its slow escape. The hunter tsk’d and started forward, easily catching up to the injured monster before angrily stomping a boot down on its back, filling the air with a pained scream and the sound of cracking chitin as Hikan felt the flesh beneath begin to give way.

For several moments he stood there, listening to the danger beast’s cry before rearing his spear back and thrusting it down into the suffering creature’s head. The blade pierced the base of the skull, going through easily and throwing up another spurt of red liquid. Hikan let go of staff and removed his foot, staring down at his prey before him… before a shuffling sound and small gasp got his attention.

With widened eyes, Hikan spun around and sprinted back to Taigari, dropping to his knees beside her and gently picking up her shoulders with one arm while his wrapped around and supported her waist. The woman’s breathing was ragged and labored, her chest quivering as it rose and fell, her eyes unfocused and glazed over. Hikan stared down at her with fear in his eyes as his jaw trembled. “T-Tai?” He stuttered out, hoping for some sort of response.

“...Hikan?”

The young man gasped as Tai’s distant gaze settled on his face. “Y-yeah, it’s me, Tai,” he said quietly, giving a shaky chuckle even as tears built up and spilled out over his face. “I’m here, don’t worry.”

Taigari stared up at him for several long moments before she sighed deeply. “It’s cold, Hikan…,” she muttered, her own tears forming and running out of the corners of her eyes. “...Is it raining, Hikan?”

The young man was silent for a moment before he raised his face to the sky, letting huge droplets slam into his eyes, nose, and mouth before looking back down to his love. “...Yeah, it’s raining,” he answered, looking her in the eyes.

“Oh…,” the young woman breathed, eyes giving a slow blink as she turned her head to look at the sky. “I always hated the rain…. Hikan?”

“...Yeah?”

“Don’t cry too long.”

Hikan let out a breath of surprise and jerked his head a little. He opened his mouth and tried to argue, only to stop as a hand touched softly on the side of his face, drawing his attention back to her as she gave him a soft smile. “Don’t keep your mind on me…,” she said. “Keep going on… and live, Hikan. Live a full, happy life, and never stop to look back…. If not for you… please, do it for me.”

Hikan was quiet for a long moment as he struggled to swallow the forming knot in his throat and tears flowed unrestricted down his face. “I-I will,” he finally promised, his voice strangled. “I promise I will, Taigari.”

Taigari looked up at him with her happy smile, her purple eyes lighting up for just a moment as she pressed her palm a little more into his cheek, causing him to close his eyes a little as he brought up a hand to press against her’s. “I know... you will,” she said, her breaths coming slower and slower. It was obvious she was struggling to stay conscious, her body giving another shudder as she forced herself to hold on just a little longer. “Hi… Hikan…. I… I love… yo….”

Hikan’s eyes opened to their fullest as he felt her hand go limp in his own. He looked down at her face to find her eyes still half open and mouth agape, frozen as if there was still something she needed to say. Hikan grimaced as he stared at her, slowly lowering her hand to rest on her waist before bringing his own fingers up to her face and softly closing her eyes and mouth. As he moved his hand back, he realized that she almost looked asleep. Hikan’s grimace grew and he closed his eyes tightly, the tears still flooding down. Lightning flashed and he threw his head back, joining the crash of thunder with his cry of sorrow and pain.

Starlight stared over the fire at Hikan, tears built up in her eyes as the salty droplets ran freely down the man’s face. They were quiet for a long time as the rain pounded outside, howling winds and booming thunder adding their voices. The mare dropped her gaze from the man, drawing a bit into herself as she wrapped her arms around her knees. “Hikan, I’m-”

“That’s it for now.”

Starlight looked up in surprise to find the tears gone from his face, his face neutral. Her mind came to a complete halt as she tried to figure out how the saddened man could do a complete one-eighty in attitude. She was still processing this when said man stood to his feet and walked towards the entrance of the cave. He stopped right before sand that was darkened by rainwater, putting his back to the wall and sliding down so that he was sitting on the ground again. He leaned over and reached down his side with his right hand and drew his knife, lifting it up underhanded and stabbing it into the sand before looking off into the rain.

“I’m going to get some sleep,” the assassin said quietly, his voice even and toneless. “When the storm clears, wake me up and we’ll get going.”

Starlight watched the young man lean his head against the wall and go still. She was still trying to wrap her head around how he could go from such a strong sorrow to being like the war machine that had slaughtered the changelings earlier. She looked down into the fire once more, wondering what else could have possibly happened to him to allow him to flip the switch so easily from emotional being to heartless killer. On the other side of the cave and unknown to her, droplets of water were slowly adding themselves to already wet and dark sand that was within the rain’s grasp.