Rangers Endgame

Chapter 127: Back into the Wild

Yakeru pinned a forest lurker beneath his boot and pulled his blade from its corpse. From his periphery, he watched as a second lurker lunged toward him with a screech, preparing to plunge its claws into his ribs. Its arm then suddenly started glowing amber before its strike veered aggressively off course and drilled into the ground at his feet.

He casually went to its side as it struggled to free itself and decapitated it with one clean swipe. Giving his blade a good whip to flick the blue blood off, he nodded to Kenji in acknowledgement.

Looking to his right, Itsuki was taking the low-stakes opportunity to test his prosthetic. As he pushed radiance into it, it flared with energy. Easily slipping a lurker's claws, he sent his metallic fist crashing into its exposed sternum with a haunting crystalline thud, visibly shattering its bones and sending it hurtling into a tree.

"Daisuke, you're too good to me,” he muttered under his breath as he caught another lurker by its claw and crushed its hand like putty.

Fuyumi was sheathing her daggers as she came over to regroup, nonchalantly leaving behind a dozen dismembered lurkers in her wake.

Kenji's eyes remained on the fallen lurkers, a look of nostalgia crossing his face. "It seems like only yesterday we were freaking out about these things crawling out of the ground."

Scenes of their very first mission together played before Yakeru's wistful eyes. It truly didn't seem very long ago when Fuyumi did the heavy lifting. A strange feeling of comforting remembrance came over him when recalling her colder personality towards them.

"Yeah." He responded, snapping out of his trance.

Itsuki made short work of the remaining lurkers, drawing his claymore not one time, before turning to everyone. "Before we actually start heading to the outpost, we need to pick up a buddy of mine."

Yakeru perked up with both confusion and curiosity. He'd never heard of any party allowing others to tag along during an ongoing mission. And as far as he knew, the guild didn't tolerate any pillaging. Was there some loophole he wasn't aware of?

"Why are we picking people up in the middle of a mission?" He inquired.

"Not a person per se," Itsuki confirmed, giving him a knowing look. "But I think you'll appreciate a little reunion with your old training partner."

Fuyumi and Kenji still had questioning looks, but Yakeru's face immediately flashed with remembrance at his words.

He opened his mouth to question it, but only a sigh came out. "Let's go get him then."

Itsuki smirked and took the lead. Fuyumi and Kenji looked at Yakeru, but he only gestured with his head to follow.

Around an hour of trekking led them to a main road that ran through a small village with a stream winding through the quiet countryside. Yakeru recognized the wooden houses from his frequent visits, but it was only when they approached the only brick house that the sentimentality began to stir.

It was just as he'd remembered. Dead patches of grass still dotted the dirt yard, and old and new craters were scattered within the miniature wasteland in the backyard.

Fuyumi and Kenji lingered behind as Yakeru and Itsuki walked up to the makeshift training ground. The old ranger snapped his fingers a couple of times, and a small shadow darted through the dead logs and crushed boulders in response.

Yakeru couldn't help his softening expression as Dash sprinted to greet Itsuki eagerly. The little critter jumped and licked as if he'd been gone for ages.

"Yes, I'm back, buddy," he chuckled, patting his belly as he rolled over. Looking over his shoulder at Fuyumi and Kenji, he added, "This little guy is Dash, my twin-tailed fox."

After a minute of playing, Dash finally turned his attention to Yakeru. He trotted up to him and prepared to give him a warm greeting, but it only took one sniff for his entire demeanor to change. Dash stepped back and glared at him before snapping his head away in a sour pout.

Yakeru smirked and kneeled to his level. "I see you're still taking your loss well."

He scratched him behind the ear, and though the little gremlin's face held onto his pouty facade, his twin tails wagged. Yakeru playfully shoved him, and Dash retaliated by nibbling at his hand.

When Yakeru stood, Dash went to Kenji next. The conjurer watched as he circled his legs to register his scent. He then went to Fuyumi and did the same. To keep him from circling her, she knelt and offered her hand, which he accepted. Unfortunately for her, he went the extra mile to give it a good lick, and she reflexively snapped it back.

"It seems you two will get along well." Yakeru teased.

She stared at her dangling, slobbered hand with suppressed disgust. "Lucky me."

As Kenji snickered at her failed attempts to shoo away the mischievous fox, Yakeru turned to Itsuki. "So what's the real reason we're taking him?"

"Twin-tailed foxes have keen senses that may be a huge help when tracking wildlife that has gone missing. It'll also save us from having to carry artifacts with the same function. And it's a good opportunity for him to stretch his legs."

A few houses down the road, a carriage pulled up to a neighboring home and dropped off a family of four. Itsuki started walking towards it, and Dash casually scaled his form to sit on his shoulder. "Let’s keep moving. I know a pit stop that's along the way."

*****

Yakeru passively listened to the low rumble of wooden axles as he watched the scenic meadow meander by. Dash continued to excitedly explore the interior of the carriage even though he was probably already familiar with it.

At some point in Itsuki's conversation with Kenji, the conjurer tactfully prodded the veteran ranger to learn more about his experience in the Mid Rim. Itsuki happily obliged and delved into brief stories of his past, some of which Yakeru perked up to when he brought up Akari.

"Its scales were so tough, I dumped all my reserves into my arms just to crack open its armor for her to get to work. I was sore for weeks after that." He chuckled wistfully. "Looking back on it now, I could've approached it differently. Most of us, including myself, used to rely on her, yet she never complained about doing the heavy lifting."

"Sounds like a certain party member of ours," Kenji said, looking to his left at Fuyumi. "But it was more so me that relied on others starting out."

"And now look at you," Yakeru said, his cheek still resting on his fist. "A certified C-rank."

"By the way, Yakeru, you never told me how that recent raid went?" Itsuki asked, his eyes subconsciously examining him.

"He didn’t end up bedridden in an infirmary for once." Fuyumi butted in, a teasing note in her voice.

"Was it really that common?" When both Fuyumi and Kenji nodded in unison, Itsuki cupped his chin as something occurred to him, and he returned his attention to Yakeru. "Huh. No wonder Akari was so adamant about getting a bodyguard for her precious brother."

"Precious?" Kenji echoed, his mouth quirking into a smirk as Yakeru pretended not to notice.

"Oh yes. Back in the day, she'd always ramble about her adorably innocent baby brother every chance she got." Itsuki confirmed heartily.

The two started laughing, and Dash looked between them and Yakeru. He must've figured they were poking fun at him because he didn't waste a moment to bark out his own laughter as well.

Yakeru rolled his eyes at the gremlin. "You don't even know why they're laughing."

The carriage suddenly hit a bump in the road, tossing Dash into the air. The frightened fox flailed and landed not-so-gracefully into Fuyumi's lap, startling her too.

Yakeru lifted an amused brow as Dash clumsily tried to get his bearings. "What happened to that energy?" He asked sarcastically.

When Dash gathered himself, he was about to get down when he stopped. He tested the softness of her lap again, circled awkwardly, then lay down. She could only stare, traces of embarrassment flickering across her stoic expression as her hesitating hands reflected the contemplation going through her head.

Yakeru couldn't help the amusement tugging at the corner of his lips. "You hunt monstrosity after monstrosity for a living. Don't tell me a mere fox is all it takes to fluster you."

She narrowed her gaze at him, but it lacked the usual icy intent behind it. "I'll sic him on you."

"I’m sure he’d happily do so without being told to," he chuckled and resumed watching the passing scenery. Kenji and Itsuki slipped back into a droning conversation, and from the corner of his eye, he caught Fuyumi laying a gentle hand on Dash's dark coat when she thought he wouldn't notice.

The rest of the ride was uneventful, which made it easy to spot the distant fields of vegetation exploding out from cavities that dotted the landscape and rocky spires that split the clouds on the horizon that bordered the Mid Rim. When their carriage turned to head in its direction, he knew it was their destination.

'I guess that's Hollow Valley.'