10 Forest Streams and Fire-Power

  [Player: Kazuki Arata]

  [Level: 2]

  [Waza: Black Hand, Thread Cutter, Aura Sense, Dark Rider]

  [Kegare: 12%]

  [Objective: Travel to Karasu Peak]

  ---

  The cobblestone path of Kagura Village dissolved into a winding dirt trail swallowed by a lush forest. Trees arched overhead like arthritic guardians sharing secrets with one another and the birds. Sunlight filtered gently through the thick canopy, creating shifting patterns across the path, the air rich with the scents of moist earth, mushrooms, and the faint aroma of unseen blossoms.

  “Stay close,” Suzume warned softly, her voice tight as she scanned the trail. “The Listening Forest isn’t named just for atmosphere.”

  Fleet bounded a few paces ahead, oblivious as usual, pausing only to poke a luminescent toadstool. "What’s it named for? What’s it listening to?"

  "They say that it can hear your hidden thoughts," Suzume replied, eyes drifting briefly to Kazuki, her expression guarded.

  Kazuki felt a prickling on the back of his neck. Didn't those cliffs - the Ridge of Whispers, do the same thing? And they warned him that Kuro was setting him up. And they were right... At the memory, Kazuki's forearms itched and he felt the disturbing sensation of something just beneath his skin. He looked at his wrists and saw the veins, marked black just under the skin by his growing kegare corruption.

  Corruption? What did that even mean? He felt... different. But he didn't feel... evil.

  Kazuki was about to ask Suzume but there was a subtle distance in how she was holding herself, how she was walking just ahead of him and Fleet. Is she worried about me... or herself?

  Fleet scampered ahead, kicking some ferns. "Not so scary! It’s just listening. Like I do when Kazuki talks in his sleep."

  "I don't talk in my sleep!".

  As dusk claimed the forest, they made camp beside a small stream, the scent of fresh water mingling with the cool evening air. Suzume quietly sharpened her arrows, eyes distant. Kazuki fumbled to ignite the fire while Fleet shouted “POW!” at every spark.

  “You don't have to do that, you know,” Kazuki muttered, finally coaxing flames from the tinder.

  Fleet cackled softly, rummaging through snacks he had apparently stolen from the village before their departure. “That's why you brought me, Cursed Prince - fire-power. And snacks.”

  Kazuki sighed, gaze drifting towards Suzume, who stared into the small fire. She looked older and tired. He hesitated. "Are you alright? You seem... distracted."

  Suzume's expression softened slightly to a sad smile. "I'm just thinking about my father. He expects so much - and now this." Her voice dropped to a whisper. "Sometimes I wonder if I can protect anyone."

  “You already have,” Kazuki murmured. “You've saved me.”

  Suzume's eyes flicked up, briefly meeting him before she quickly turned away, adjusting her arrows with exaggerated care.

  Fleet offered Kazuki a rice ball, his tail wagging nervously. “Is this an emotional moment? Should I break the tension?”

  Kazuki laughed softly, feeling a flicker of warmth even in his uncertainty. “Why don't you show me what snacks you've got, Fleet? Any of those dried apples left?”

  Fleet grinned. “No promises!”

  ---

  Morning found them walking beside a slow winding river, water flowing gently over smooth stones, sunlight reflecting brightly in dazzling patterns. Fleet skipped ahead, laughing and splashing in the shallows.

  Suzume's voice was low, cautious. "Be careful near rivers—kappas hide in them. Always bow politely; they're proud."

  Fleet's ears twitched. "Kappas are slow! I outran one easily yesterday!"

  "That was a frog..." then Kazuki's senses flickered suddenly, his Aura Sense prickling and shifting his sight to the spiritual realm. Incandescent green filaments were snaking just beneath the innocent looking water surface.*

  "Fleet! Get back!"

  But Fleet, laughing, stepped deeper into the river. Suddenly, a webbed hand shot up, grabbed his ankle and dragged him beneath with a sharp splash.

  "FLEET!"

  Kazuki rushed forward, drawing Shirayuki Blade, heart pounding as three kappa surfaced. Water streamed from the plates on their heads and over their scaly, green bodies, their beak-like mouths snapping hungrily. Fleet squirmed upside down, yelling indignantly as his tail was grabbed tightly.

  "I'll bow! I'll bow!" Fleet spluttered, spitting river water.

  "Drop him!" Kazuki commanded, tension coiled in every muscle.

  The largest kappa’s eyes glittered in the morning sunshine. "Give ochugen..."

  "Ochugen? Kazuki, they want a gift. A summer gift." Suzume explained, voice tense. Kazuki imagined leaping forward and sinking the Shirayuki Blade in the Kappa's chest. But could he reach him before the creature hurt Fleet?

  And... did he need to? Kazuki hesitated, Suzume's earlier words returning to him - politeness. He slowly lowered his blade and bowed deeply.

  Without thinking, the kappas mirrored his action, water spilling from the dishes on their heads. As soon as it dit their strength drained and they swayed, dazed.

  "Now, Suzume!"

  Her arrow released with a resonant thrum, and landed in the arm of the kappa holding Fleet, who wriggled free, launching into Kazuki's arms, damp but unharmed. The three Kappa turned and dove back into the water of the river so quickly it seemed like they melted away into it."

  Fleet remained close to Kazuki’s side, shaking water from his fur. Kazuki noticed the kitsune's shaking - he was scared. He placed a reassuring hand on Fleet's shoulder, "We've got each other's backs, okay?"

  Fleet's eyes brightened, a small smile returning.

  It took a while for the shock of the encounter to fade but they continued on their journey. In mid-afternoon, as the three of them continued downriver, Kazuki spotted a distant mountain peak, crowned by a dark torii gate - Karasu Peak. The gate looked like an offering by the mountain to the white clouds and the blue sky. It also looked tiny in the distance and far away.

  “That's it, isn't it?" Kazuki asked softly.

  Suzume nodded solemnly. “Yes. And the Grand Shrine is waiting for us up there. And... judgement.”

  ---

  They had been following the river since daybreak, its gentle murmur transforming gradually into an angry roar. By mid-afternoon, what had been a peaceful stream had become churning white water, crashing against jagged rocks and fallen trees. The path ahead narrowed, forcing them to a treacherous crossing.

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  Fleet danced nervously at the water's edge, his ears flat against his head.

  "I don't like this," he whimpered, sniffing the air. "The water's moving but it doesn't smell like it's moving."

  Suzume stared at the rushing water. "We have no choice. The path continues on the other side, and going around would cost us days."

  The crossing point was narrow - perhaps fifteen feet - but the current surged wildly. Several fallen trees created a precarious accidental bridge but their bark was slick with spray.

  "Fleet should go first," Suzume decided. "He's the lightest."

  The kitsune-boy looked doubtful but nodded, his small tail twitching anxiously.

  "I'm very brave," Fleet said quietly.

  Kazuki watched as Fleet approached the makeshift bridge, testing the first log with a careful foot. The wood held. With grace, the kitsune loped across, occasionally pausing to regain balance as the current sprayed him with mist.

  "Made it!" Fleet called from the other side, shaking water from his fur.

  Suzume adjusted her bow across her back and approached the crossing. "Watch my steps - the logs shifted under Fleet's weight."

  She moved with confidence, her feet finding holds where the bark wasn't too slippery. Halfway across, she paused on a large trunk, carefully testing the next section with her foot. Just then Fleets' ears perked up and his head snapped around to stare at Suzume...

  Then it happened.

  Her leading foot caught in a tangle of branches and leaves that hadn't been visible from the shore. She tugged, but her ankle was trapped.

  "Kazuki!" Her voice barely carried over the roar of the rapids.

  Without hesitation, Kazuki was on the logs, traversing the distance between them at speed. His heart hammered against his ribs as he reached her side.

  "Don't move," he said, examining the tangle. The wet branches were wrapped tightly around her ankle, cutting into her skin. "I'll cut you free."

  His hand went to the Shirayuki Blade at his hip, the knife gleaming with cold light as he drew it. Just as he was about to slice through the branches, the water beneath them exploded.

  A massive webbed hand - not leaf-green like the kappa they'd encountered before, but a mottled gray-blue - erupted from the churning foam and clamped around Suzume's trapped ankle. She screamed, more in shock than pain, as six more enormous kappa burst from the white water, surrounding them on all sides.

  These weren't the smaller river kappa from yesterday. These were oni-kappa - mountain river demons, their bodies covered in hard scales and their beaked mouths filled with jagged teeth.

  "Give blade," the largest demanded, its voice a wet, guttural snarl.

  Kazuki tightened his grip on the Shirayuki Knife. "Let her go!"

  The lead oni-kappa's mouth stretched into something like a smile. "No. Give blade or she drowns."

  Fleet wailed from the shore, helpless to assist.

  Kazuki swung the knife toward the kappa's arm, but another demon struck from behind, its webbed hand slamming into Kazuki's wrist. Pain lanced up his arm, and the Shirayuki Knife spun from his grasp, glinting in the sunlight before splashing into the rapids.

  "No!" Kazuki lunged for it, but a third kappa tackled him, dragging him under the surface.

  The world became a chaotic blur of bubbles and current. Kazuki thrashed against the demon's grip, his lungs burning. Through the churning water, he glimpsed Suzume, still trapped on the log but fighting with ferocious determination. She had somehow freed her bow and was using it, unstrung, as a staff, striking at the kappa surrounding her.

  Kazuki's vision tinged red as panic and rage built inside him. The dark lines of Kegare beneath his skin began to pulse.

  [Skill Activated: Black Hand]

  Energy surged through his body, coalescing around his fist. With a muffled underwater roar, he drove his fist into the kappa's chest. The demon released him, reeling backward as Kazuki broke the surface, gasping for air.

  [Kegare: 14%]

  "Kazuki!" Suzume's voice cut through the chaos.

  She held the Shirayuki Knife - somehow she'd retrieved it from the water. Her movements were a blur of precision as she wielded the blade in sweeping arcs, driving back two oni-kappa with each strike. Her form was flawless, each motion flowing into the next like water itself - Aikijujutsu with a sacred blade.

  Fleet had reappeared on the logs, darting between the kappa's legs, biting ankles and causing confusion, snarling.

  For a moment, it seemed they might prevail. Suzume disabled one kappa with a precise strike to its throat, while Kazuki channeled another Black Hand strike into a second demon, sending it tumbling into the rapids.

  [Kegare: 15%]

  Then the lead oni-kappa, nearly twice the size of the others, surged from the depths directly beneath Suzume. Its massive arms wrapped around her waist, lifting her from the log. The Shirayuki Knife flashed as she slashed at its face, opening a gash across its beak.

  The demon roared. In one brutal motion, it seized both of Suzume's wrists and squeezed.

  The sickening sound of bones snapping cut through the roar of the river.

  Then Suzume's scream tore through Kazuki like it was, itself a knife while the real blade fell from her useless fingers as the oni-kappa released her broken hands and snatched the blade from midair.

  "Mine now," it growled, triumphing in its small black eyes.

  Something broke inside Kazuki.

  The Kegare lines across his skin blazed like molten metal, no longer confined to his veins but spreading in jagged patterns across his flesh. Power flooded his system, burning and freezing simultaneously.

  [Level Up: 3]

  [Waza Activated: Retribution]

  Time seemed to slow. Kazuki saw everything with crystalline clarity - Suzume's face contorted in agony as she cradled her broken hands; Fleet's wide, terrified eyes; the oni-kappa's smug, vicious grin as it examined its new prize.

  Kazuki launched himself forward, his body a blur. A surge of alien power clawed through his veins, not from within, but from somewhere beyond - invading, borrowing his body. His skin writhed as Kegare veins burst outward like black vines, squirming across his flesh with invasive hunger.

  It wasn't him controlling the power; it was the power borrowing him.

  The dark energy consumed his vision, pulsing beneath his skin. His right fist, encased in pulsing darkness, connected with the oni-kappa's chest. For an instant, nothing visible happened.

  Then a thunderclap - and the demon's body exploded around Kazuki's fist.

  A perfect circular hole appeared in the oni-kappa's torso, the edges cored by a shockwave of dark energy. Its expression froze in shock as the Shirayuki Knife tumbled from its grasp, spinning end over end before plunging into the deepest part of the rapids.

  The remaining kappa stared in horror, their small black eyes wide. Then, as one, they dove beneath the churning water, vanishing into the river's depths. The last thing Kazuki saw was their webbed hands reaching for the knife as it sank into the darkness below.

  Silence fell, broken only by the continuous roar of the white water and Suzume's quiet, controlled gasps of pain.

  Fleet appeared at Kazuki's side, tugging at his arm. "Cursed Prince? Your skin..."

  Kazuki looked down. The Kegare lines had receded, but they were darker now, more defined. He could feel the corruption had spread deeper, changing him in ways he didn't yet understand.

  [Kegare 35%]

  Shaking off his daze, Kazuki rushed to Suzume's side. She sat on the log, her face pale, her hands held against her chest at unnatural angles.

  "Suzume, I—"

  "The knife," she whispered, her voice tight with pain. "It's gone."

  "I'll find it," Kazuki promised, though he knew the kappa must have it already. "But first, I need to help you."

  As gently as he could, he lifted her in his arms. Fleet darted ahead, clearing the path to the shore. Suzume's head rested against Kazuki's shoulder, her breath coming in short bursts.

  "I failed," she murmured, her eyes closed. "My father entrusted me with the Shirayuki Knife, and I lost it."

  "You didn't fail," Kazuki said fiercely. "You fought harder than anyone I've ever seen. We'll get the knife back, I swear.."

  Her eyes opened, meeting his. "What happened to you back there? Your power..."

  Kazuki didn't answer immediately. The memory of the destructive force that had flowed through him was both exhilarating and terrifying.

  "I don't know," he finally admitted. "But when I saw you hurt, something... changed."

  They reached the shore, where Kazuki carefully set her down on a flat rock. Fleet hovered nearby, his small face creased with concern.

  "We need to set her bones," Kazuki said, though the thought made his stomach turn. "And then we need to find shelter."

  Suzume nodded, her eyes steely despite her pain. "There should be a small shrine not far ahead. We can rest there." She paused, looking past Kazuki toward the river. "The kappa king will have the Shirayuki Blade soon. It's one of the great treasures of our world - he won't give it up."

  Kazuki followed her gaze to the churning white water. The oni-kappa blood had already been rinsed away.

  "Then we'll just have to take it back," he said, the dark lines beneath his skin pulsing in agreement.

  Above them, unseen, the Karasu Tengu watched silently, dark eyes inscrutable behind his mask. Then he vanished silently into the canopy, leaving only rustling leaves.

  ---

  [New Achievement: Butterfingers]

  [Next Chapter: The Red Door]

  Thanks for reading!

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  Also, I highly recommend checking out Depthstrider by richie204; it's a fresh exciting LitRPG story in a cool aquatic setting!

  Why do the kappa want the Shirayuki Blade?

  Drop your theories in the comments—I read every one.