Work Text:
A biting chill passed between the canopy's branches as leaves shuttered in their place. Every living thing, mobile or immobile, could feel the impending winter slowly creeping its way across the land. It would still be several good weeks before the first snowfall arrived, yet not many were eager enough to wait until then, choosing instead to leave while the sun and its heat was still breaching through the clouds. Some fled to the West's warm wetlands, others to the East's sun-kissed fields, while the most desperate headed for the Center where they'd find refuge in its pink and white forests. Yet, many still stayed in the South, either to hunker down and build provisions for the coming white nights or to live their lives at their fullest until the unforgiving cold snuffed them all out like candles.
A dash of crimson flew through the yellowing leaves as it pursued its breakfast. Transparent wings beat with a dizzying speed as the fly-like insect made mad dash after dash to try and lose its pursuer, but it was determined, membrane wings beating just as fast. A fatal mistake caused the bug to take a wrong turn as it almost flew face first into a tree, steering itself back at the last minute, more than enough time to allow its chaser to launch its jaws forward, closing the little distance left between the two instantly as it chomped onto the hard cheratin, dragging its latest meal down into its “beak” as its fate was sealed. The red creature landed on a naked branch, insect-like legs gripping hard onto the bark as its wings folded back, body shaking ever so slowly from its rapidly beating heart. Flight wasn't the cheapest form of locomotion, especially at the speed required to catch other flying critters, but it was well worth the effort, one its ancestors traded their marine life for, deciding to play catch up to their cousins 400 million years later. The Kibiwarou took deep breaths as its mouth slowly opened wider and wider, scales shimmering in the sun's rays, dorsal fin lowering and tail relaxing. A fish that swimmed through the air instead of water was a peculiar sight, but Takamagahara's life wasn't the most conventional to begin with, the Kibiwarou being one of thousands of examples to demonstrate such a notion. But as the flying fish stretched its wings, ready for takeoff, it couldn't help but feel like it was still hungry even after such a sizable meal. Jumping forward and going into a several meters free fall before its wings began beating, allowing it to dart high up in the air and using its momentum to propel itself forward, the Kibiwarou went on with its day, simply choosing to search for another meal to satiate its growing hunger.
“Alright!” Haruka shouted as she took on a stance, blade held at an angle in front of her, ready to strike.
“Haruka-chan, I really think that you should reconsider this!” Megumi said worryingly from the side, holding tight to her gohei.
“Oh come on, it'll be fine!” Haruka said reassuringly as her eyes drifted to the miko, before focusing back to what was in front of her.
The contraction that loomed several feet away from the Drone resembled a turret, albeit one eaten by rust and age, one of its legs having been replaced with a wooden plank to allow it to stand up. Besides it stood Aigami, who wore a similarly cocky expression as Haruka, arm leaning on the barrels of the aged killer.
“I'm ready, Aigami!” Haruka said as she lifted the blade close to her eye level.
Aigami gave a thumbs up as he pressed on a button, the turret shaking back to life as several lights turned on, an interface appearing on its screen with three options in the left corner.
“[Single Fire]”
“[Rapid Fire]”
“[Automatic Fire]”
Pressing the first button, the turret let out a sudden screech as its inner components began moving once again after so much time had passed. In an instant, the machine shook with recoil as it shot its first bullet.
“HARUKA-CHAN!” Megumi screamed in terror as the bullet rapidly approached her friend, but Haruka showed no fear as her right eye flashed a warning sign before it turned into a bullseye, blade making contact with speeding metal as the ronin deflected the bullet, flying in a nearby tree.
Both Aigami and Megumi were left silent as Haruka barely managed to contain her excitement.
“It actually works!!” she said as she fist pumped in joy.
“Wh-...What was that?” Megumi asked, the shock of the previous action still present in her voice.
“The projectile tracker! It actually activated!” Haruka said as she pointed at her right eye.
“Told you!” Aigami called from further away as he waved at the two.
“This is what I've been working on for these past two weeks. I've found the program in an old security drone and wanted to see if I could adapt it to a Worker Drone software. And it seems like I've succeeded!”
“...so you weren't sure if it was going to really work?” Megumi asked.
“What? No. I was absolutely confident that it would.” Aigami said, eyes betraying his unsure thoughts.
“And what if it didn't? What it if failed and the bullet struck Haruka-chan?”
“Oh come on, you worry too much, I would've been fine! My powers would've stopped the bullet mid air if the program failed.” Haruka said with confidence.
“Right, Aoi?” she said in a whispered tone.
“No I wouldn't have. You know I'm really bad with fast projectiles.” Aoi's voice spoke in Haruka's head.
“Anyway!” the ronin‘s voice faltered a bit before returning to its previous bravado.
“We know it works with single bullets, let's try it now with multiple ones!” she said as she took another stance.
Giving a thumbs up, Aigami pressed the rapid fire button, the turret once more screeching as it unleashed a stream of hot bullets one after the other. The program flared with activity as it displayed the location of each bullet and their velocity, calculations happening in fractions of a second. From Haruka's POV, it almost looked like the bullets were moving in slow motion as they approached her, her blade swinging as it hit each projectile. One last bullet fired from the turret as it too was deflected into an empty bottle, shards of glass flying and landing like drops of water. The turret shook in its place as it reloaded its ammunition, wisps of smoke emanating from its barrels.
“One more time!” Haruka shouted, Megumi looking between her friend and the turret with nothing but fear and worry in her eyes.
Complying, Aigami once more pressed the button, the turret firing another round and once again each bullet was deflected. This process was repeated two more times before stopping, Haruka taking in deep breaths as she trembled with excitement.
“Well, guess we can call it a success!” Aigami said as he sat on a chair.
“Yep! This'll be an incredible tool for me! Thanks a lot, Aigami!” Haruka said as she sheathed her blade.
“OK! You've made your point, it works, that's enough!” Megumi said as she approached Haruka, trying to take on a more stern tone
“Megumi, you don't need to worry so-”
“Worry so much!? Worry not enough, you mean! You were putting your life in danger over there!”
“Oh come on, you saw how I didn't let a single bullet touch me and with so little effort too. I wasn't in any danger!”
“Yes you were.” Aoi said.
“Shush.”
Megumi kept looking on with disapproval, but her serious look quickly began to dissolve as she took a sadder expression.
“I just don't want to see you get hurt, Haruka-chan.” she said as she brought her gohei close to her chest.
“Hei, as long as I'm sure I'll be fine, there's no reason for you to be worried. Believe in the me that believes in you that believes in me or something like that.” she said as she brushed her hair.
“In fact..” Haruka unsheathed her blade and looked back at Aigami and the turret.
“Oy! Let's try one more round!”
“H-Haruka-chan!” Megumi's expression became mortified as she looked at Aigami, silently begging him to not do it.
Aigami, however, was already looking at the screen, ready to press the button. But then his eyes drifted at the Automatic Fire option and wondered. This could've been the final and perfect test for the system, but at the same time, Megumi's words did plant some doubt in him over Haruka's safety.
“Hei! Are you gonna press the button or not?”
Acting a bit too quickly, Aigami pressed the Automatic option and jumped back as the turret shook heavily, clicks after clicks coming from it as it suddenly went quiet. Three seconds of silence later, a hailstorm of bullets was unleashed as the device sprayed used shells beside it like confetti. Megumi jumped to the side as she took cover, while Haruka began deflecting each incoming bullet, the system going into overdrive. Aigami looked in shock at the turret as it kept firing and then at Haruka and how she was able to seemingly keep up with the onslaught. Sparks then began flying from the device as a piece of metal flew out of it, making loud whirring sounds followed by a hard clank as its firing speed increased dramatically. The construct was being pushed back by the force of its shots, smoke ever so slowly making itself visible from it. Haruka was trying her hardest to keep up pace, but she could feel one or two bullets passing dangerously close by her, all the while the bullet storm seemed to never end. Finally, the turret couldn't take it anymore as its back side exploded, causing it to buckle and topple over as the bullets stopped being fired, black smoke flowing out of it in a thick column as it let out its final cry before going silent. Aigami, trembling, looked over at Haruka, worried of what he might have seen. Haruka was breathing heavily as she too had a shocked expression, although less of excitement and now of fright. With shaking hands, she inspected herself to see if she was alright.
“HARUKA-CHAN!!!” Megumi screamed as she rushed towards her friend, also trying to make sure that she was ok.
The two quickly noticed the tears on the sides of Haruka's dress and on her shoulders, along with a few singed marks.
“What did I tell you!?” Megumi shouted as she hugged Haruka, almost on the verge of tears.
“OK yeah maybe that was a bit excessive.” Haruka said as she looked on, shock still present in her gaze, an overheating warning beeping in a corner of her visor.
A small bird perched itself onto a branch as it began preening itself, not aware of the hungry eyes that were looking at it. In a flash, the Kibiwarou lunged at it, jaws opening wide as it clamped down, but the little avian had faster reflexes, taking flight and disappearing in the depths of the forest. The red fish let out a shriek in protest, furious that its meal got away. Its body shook sideways as it kept shrieking, wings beating hard. Something wasn't right, and the Kibiwarou could feel it. Its hunger was out of control, being the only thing on its mind as its jaws gnashed at nothing. Another flying fish landed next to it, seemingly in a similar sour mood. The two locked eyes and shrieked at each other, but then suddenly stopped.
“Megumi, I really don't think it's that badly torn!” Haruka said as the miko dragged her by the arm.
“We're going back home and I'll stitch it back together while you are done for today with your training, ok!?” Megumi said, having taken a bossier tone.
“OK, OK, jeez, no need for shouting.”
The two fish were locked in an odd trance as they kept staring at each other, pupils seemingly growing in size as something was being actively changed inside them.
[-]
“And no more of that bullet deflecting thing!”
“Damm ok, I swear you're Okaasan with the way you're talking right now.”
“You're lucky I was there with you and not Okaasan!”
Their simple minds could never hope to understand it, but on that day, a deep primal instinct was awakened. The process would've been more gradual, but it had lost all its patience, wishing to be free once again after being locked up for so long. Whether it was an actual intelligence or something that should've happened much earlier, but for unknown reasons kept getting delayed, it did not matter anymore. It had arrived and it only had one singular command:
Consume
In that instant, the two Kibiwarou took flight, going high above the canopy and into the open air. But they weren't the only ones. Three more sprung from between the leaves. Then ten. Then twenty. Then one hundred. Two hundred. Five hundred. With each passing second, more and more Kibiwarou coalesced into the growing red cloud, swirling and writhing like a storm as its color became more and more intense. The last few Kibiwarou left joined the red mass as it pulsated and shimmered high in the sky, the beating of wings and shrieks of hunger all melting in a terrifying cacophony. It was something the forest hadn't seen in a long while and many of its denizens had hoped they wouldn't have to see again. A Crimson Storm had formed and it was starving. A lonely Kasagi would be the first victim of this swarming terror, descending onto the poor thing like a red blanket, hungry mouths biting and pulling at skin and flesh, organs diced and swallowed with utmost greed, bones scraped in second of their last trances of meat. This same scenario repeated itself with many, many more as the forest began to be filled with the wails of the living and those being consumed, birds flying away in swarms if their own, every animal with legs sprinting in any direction they thought would guarantee their safety. Ironically those that chose to hide, whether voluntary or involuntary, fared off better than those that tried to outrun the Crimson Storm as the ground was stained with the color of cherries. The Storm had no true direction, it simply spread across the forest almost like the wind was carrying it, and now that imaginary wind was blowing it up north, making its way faster and faster towards Inoshima.
Haruka impatiently tapped her finger on the table as she waited outside, occasionally drinking from a cup filled. They had made a small detour on their way to her house after she told Megumi that she had no thread or needle back home, stopping at a textiles shop. Megumi wanted her friend to come with her, but she also knew that these kinds of places bore her to tears, so it was better if she just stayed outside, even directing her to a food stand if she wanted to pass the time faster. A pink and white butterfly then landed on the table, wings shaking a little as it tried to gain its balance. Its trunk was unfurling and furling as it moved around, Haruka following its steps as she kept tapping on the wood.
“Sorry little fella, the flowers you like are probably all dead by now.” she said as she kept staring at the arthropod, hoping for Megumi to come back faster.
The butterfly, not even acknowledging her words, kept looking around, wings opening and closing ever so slowly as the bug walked almost like it was drunk. It then stopped as it looked at Haruka, or more specifically, her cup. The Drone's eyes shifted focus between the two, realizing what was going on.
“Yeah no, go buy your own Amaifu* drink!” she said as she grasped the cup with both hands, but the butterfly remained unflinching.
The two were locked in a standstill, each grueling second sluggishly passing by until Haruka let out a groan.
“Uuurgh, fine.” she said as she let a drop of the magenta fluid fall onto the table.
The butterfly flew towards the liquid like a man that was trapped in a desert finding an oasis, slurping it up in no time. It then raised itself to gaze up at Haruka in an almost begging fashion.
“No, no, that's all you're getting.”
The butterfly would've continued its silent stare if it didn't suddenly jump and landed on its side, scrambling to pick itself up as it desperately tried to take flight, passing by the Drone at a speed unusual for a butterfly.
“That was…odd.”
As she looked at the horizon, though, Haruka understood why the butterfly suddenly hightailed it. A shifting red mass was slowly consuming the sky as it approached the town, waves flowing on it like it was some kind of fluid. Looking around her, she saw the rest of the townsfolk also eyeing the approaching mass, various levels of fear plastered on their faces. She wasn't really sure what was going on, until the first scream rang out further ahead before being joined by maddened hackles and sounds of wing flaps. A Drone came running with red things attached to them, their tails flailing wildly. Acting on instinct, Haruka raced forward and sliced the biting terrors to pieces, their heads falling off the Drone as they seemingly still tried to bite something. Looking at the critters she had slayed, realizing that they were Kibiwarou, it all clicked in her head, eyes going wide in the same terror that was worn by everyone else. She had no time to think as another Kibiwarou tackled her from the side, its gnashing jaws trying to bite her face off as she kept it at bay with her sword. The air was then filled with hundreds of ear piercing shrieks and hard flapping noises as the Crimson Storm hit Inoshima.
“RUN, YOU BAKAS!!” the ronin shouted as she sliced the annoying fish in half and looked back at the crowds of people.
Chaos erupted as everyone ran for the hills, some jumping in bushes and taking cover under baskets while others tried to reach back to their homes. Inside the shop, Megumi kept trying to find the perfect tread to match the color of Haruka's dress, but with little luck. A sudden burst of shouting caught her attention as a ton of people came rushing through the shop's entrance, begging for the doors to be closed, which were promptly done so as hard thumps could be heard from the fish colliding with them. Megumi tried to make her way through the crowd, but it was useless as everyone was in a panicked state, preventing any advances to the door. Back outside, four Kibiwarou darted towards a mother and her kid as they struggled to keep pace with everyone. The fish didn't have a chance to take a bite out of them, however, as all of them were hacked to pieces in one swirling slice. This same scenario repeated itself over and over as Haruka tried to take on as many Kibiwarou as she could, her projectile tracker system flaring to life as it took in almost every flying terror that flew by, allowing for pinpoint accuracy, but it was already struggling to keep pace with the Kibiwarou as they didn't move in one straight line, but instead almost swam through the air with hard u-turns and dashes. Still, Haruka hardly gave up as she kept cutting through the swarm, blood and guts staining the ground with a red color. But it seemed like with each Kibiwarou she killed, ten more would fly around her and try to sink their teeth in her. Somewhere down the road, she saw how an unfortunate Drone was dogpilled by several fishes, sharp teeth hitting hard metal, but it seemed to do little to deter their maddened minds as they kept biting until they reached the soft polymer of the abdomen, at which point they seemingly went crazy, tearing into the material as oil and green tendrils spilled out, the bitter taste causing the Kibiwarou to recoil in disgust. More and more fishes descended onto the town as the Crimson Storm shimmered and swirled with feverish excitement. There were far too many to realistically take on, yet Haruka kept slashing the flying nightmares to pieces, jumping onto and from rooftops as she took out all those that tried to eat a town person, making sure they locked themselves inside any houses they could. One speedy fish managed to knock her off the roof, however, catching herself on the last second before she impacted the pavement below, but there was no time to rest as several Kibiwarou surrounded her. An AS hologram appeared as she was ready to use a metal bar as an improvised spear, but a sudden explosion broke her focus as she was thrusted back a bit, smoke now wafting in the air.
“HARUKA-CHAN!” Mr.Takahashi's voice could be heard as he rushed to check Haruka.
“Takahashi-sama!” she said as she looked at him in shock.
“Are you alright? Still in one piece?”
“Yes! But what was that?” she asked as she kept dusting her dress.
“These things hate loud bangs and explosives are fairly good at making them reel even if they aren’t that powerful and you don't hit any of them.”
Haruka looked at the Kibiwarou as they scuttled on the ground with seemingly no direction, screeching like they were in pain.
“Takahashi-Sama, is this…”
“Yes. A Crimson Storm.”
Haruka took in her environment as the Kibiwarou flew in the air like a coordinated mass while others crawled onto houses, searching for anything to consume.
“Wasn't something like this supposed to happen like three years ago or so, though?” Haruka asked.
“You are correct, which explains why this Storm is so big.”
A fish came flying from the right as it tried to bite Mr.Takahashi, but Haruka was faster as she bisected it.
“What is that supposed to mean!?”
“Kibiwarou form into a Crimson Storm once they reach a certain number, which is typically once every 5 years.” Mr
Takahashi explained.
“But for some reason the last Storm didn't form when it should've, being delayed by three years and now we're seeing it in full force.”
“So what is the plan, then?” Haruka asked as she hacked three more fishes.
“We head for a safe place and wait it all out. That's what you do during a Crimson Storm, you know that.”
“But what about the rest of the townsfolk that haven't made it yet to safety?” she asked as another explosion could be heard.
“My men have been working to gather everyone, there's no reason to keep fighting these things.”
A Kibiwarou dashed by and tried to aim for Haruka's left arm, but she was able to intercept the attack, getting a clean cut on the side of the fish. The thing screeched in pain as it tumbled onto the ground and into another Kibiwarou before scuttling back to its feet, the other fish not far behind. But as it was preparing to take flight, the Kibiwarou beside it suddenly bit into it, making the cut Haruka made on its side so much bigger as flesh and intestines were yanked out, a fishy scent filling the air as yet another Kibiwarou joined in the feeding. Haruka and Mr.Takahashi looked at the macabre show as more Kibiwarou came and began cannibalizing each other. Haruka then noticed how all the fish she had slain were being gobbled up by other Kibiwarou, which in turn caused them to attack others of their kind.
“They…they're eating each other now.” she said.
“That's how a Crimson Storm always ends, a feast of its own kin's flesh. But this early?”
“Haruka-chaaan!” Megumi's voice could be heard further down the road as sounds of a struggle were also audible.
“Megumi!?” Haruka shouted as she rushed for the source, Mr.Takahashi not far behind.
Reaching close to the park area, the two Drones saw the miko fending off the ravenous fish, using a broom as an improvised staff as she kept pushing back or even beating into the ground any of the flying critters that dared to get too close. One of the fishes, however, got a good bite down on the broom’s handle, managing to almost yank it out of Megumi's hands as another fish dashed in for a bite, but its head was separated from its body as Haruka's blade came swinging down.
“Haruka-chan!” Megumi said with relief.
“What are you doing out here!?” Haruka said, a tinge of anger in her voice.
“Wasn't staying in the shop a better idea?”
“About that, things were getting too hectic there and I just couldn't stay knowing that you were potentially out in the open!”
A smile formed on Haruka's face as her eyes took on a softer disposition.
“Haruka-chan is right, Megumi-chan. It was a bad idea to try and find her when you were already in a safe spot!” Mr.Takahashi said with his usual stern tone.
“Takahashi-sama!? G-Gomen…”
Haruka paid little mind to the two, however, as she kept looking at the Kibiwarou she killed, blood slowly forming a pool around it as the previous altercation between the fishes cannibalizing each other played in her mind.
“...Takahashi-sama.”
“Hm?”
“Can you hand me some of those explosives of yours?” Haruka asked, holding out an outstretched hand.
“Of course!” Mr.Takahashi said as he handed her the double cylinder device.
“I have an idea.” Haruka said as she smiled.
“Megumi, do you have any thread with you?”
“H-Hai!” Megumi said as she took out a large roll of sewing thread.
“This was the closest color I could find for your dress…”
“That's fine!” Haruka said as she grabbed the roll, then began tying the body of the Kibiwarou to the explosive, with another one next to it.
“Can I get more, Takahashi-sama?”
“Sure! But, what exactly are you doing?” he asked as he kept handing her his explosives.
Four Kibiwarou screeched from behind as they tried to do a sneak attack, but Haruka did quick work of them as she attached their bodies to the remaining explosives. Finally, the four makeshift meat bombs were done, Haruka using her powers to levitate them as she looked in the direction of the town hall.
“You two hide there, I'll be joining you soon, ok?” she said as she pointed at the building.
“Haruka-chan, what are you trying to do?” Megumi asked, worry spilling out with every word she spoke.
“It's a dumb stupid idea, but I live by dumb stupid ideas, you should know that.” she said as she pointed at the singed marks on her shoulders.
“Now go!”
The two Drones wasted no time, Mr.Takahashi using his second to last explosive to make way for him and Megumi. Sheathing her blade, Haruka used her other hand to take control of a metal sheet of a rooftop, hovering her way above the building houses around her as she flew forward with great speed. The sudden burst of movement caught the attention of several Kibiwarou as they all chased her like a funnel of death, jaws snapping with ravenous hunger. She did her best to avoid each flying fish that kept appearing in her way, trying to head in the more densely packed areas of the Storm. Reaching a particularly crowded part, she lifted the first of the explosives, the pin flying off as she threw the fishy bomb into the swarm. As expected, all the Kibiwarou flew away from the explosive like a coordinated school, the flash of light followed by a loud bang causing many to screech in pain, but what some weren't expecting was to be showered in gore as blood and guts flew everywhere, a strong miasma filling the air. Like a domino piece falling, the Kibiwarou that were stained were attacked by others, which then began causing more to join in on the frey as the smell of blood made itself known in the air.
“Oh my.” Aoi said as she saw the flying fishes turning on each other.
“Let's do it again!” Haruka said as she threw one more bomb into the swarm, followed by another one some way back.
She was going to throw the last one, but she was intercepted by a Kibiwarou, knocking her off her hoverboard. A tree broke her fall as she clung onto a branch, the last explosive falling to the ground and detonating. Even though she didn't possess a nose, her sensors could still feel the strong fishy scent coming with the smoke. Pained shrieks and hackles could be heard from almost everywhere now as she tried looking between the branches to see what was happening, even though in her mind she knew what was unfolding above. This was further proven when she saw other Kibiwarou from high above biting into the ones that were flying low to the ground. It was exactly like how Mr.Takahashi said, a Crimson Storm's last meal will always be the flesh of its own kind.
The sun was approaching ever so gently its rocky cradle as dusk arrived, the sky turning to a brilliant orange. The few Kibiwarou that weren't consumed in the feeding frenzy flew back into the forest, their minds having been returned to them as the primordial hunger finally vanished. Inoshima was left looking like a war zone, red stains everywhere along with many, many dead fishes stinking up the place. Those unfortunate enough to have not reached safety were left in medical assistance, oil mixing with ruby red to paint the streets into a macabre art piece. Such injuries would've been instantly fatal to any organic being, but machines could hold out a while longer even with their own guts hanging out. There were those that lost more oil than their bodies could've handled and lost the fight for survival, but their numbers were small compared to those that were in need of abdominal surgery. Haruka and Megumi walked down one of the main streets as they took in all the visceral details.
“I guess it's over.” Megumi said as she grabbed at her gohei.
“Yeah, but you ain't catching me cleaning this place up.” Haruka said with her arms by her head, still feeling the fishy scent that somehow seeped itself into her dress.
“That's fine, Haruka-chan.” Megumi grimaced a bit.
“I wasn't going to either…”
Despite the terror they had just endured, many townsfolk were helping with the cleaning in their own ways, picking the Kibiwarou that were mostly intact and gathering them in baskets or cool containers. A common saying among Takamagahara's people was that nothing goes to waste, everything has its uses. Megumi was fully aware of this teaching, despite her stomach churning ever so slightly.
“Yeah you're not catching me eating sushi for the following week.” Haruka said.
“I'll also ask Aigami if he can tinker a bit more with the program, I don't think it likes targets that don't fly in a straight line.”
The forest was letting out its first yawns as dusk was slowly making way for night, shadows having already conquered the forest floor. On one branch still holding onto its leaves laid a Kibiwarou, breathing slowly as its fins opened and closed before folding back. Its huge pupil returned back to its original size along with the shine in its eyes, no longer possessed by that primeval force. A gust of chilly wind made the fish shiver, signaling that winter was still approaching and that soon there will be no more warmth to bask into nor enough food to fill a day. But there was still time left until that deadly season arrived and the Kibiwarou knew how to take advantage of it. A large dragonfly-like insect landed on the tip of the branch as it required rest from a long day of flying. Not wasting any time, the crimson fish lunged at the arthropod, but it was much quicker and flew off with almost sonic speed. The Kibiwarou accepted the bug's challenge, opening its wings and diving forward, fins beating with an energy the fish didn't think it still had left.