Cu Chulainn

Expedition to Isekai

"C'mon, Ko-shit! Stop struggling! Just get flushed down already!" Ryusuke chided as he shoved the bleach-haired boy into the toilet while Akira stood by and poured more water onto the back of his head. The lesser Akito, ever the coward, only stood back at the door and kept a lookout for anyone who would pass by the abandoned bathroom.

"Shouldn't have gotten that home run, Ko-shit! Ryusuke's girl was watchin' the whole thing! He was 'sposed to be look god this practice, not you!" Akira snided as he filled the bucket in his hands with more water.

Kogen, held onto the held the edges of the toilet tightly, doing his very best not to let his head get pushed in. Whatever was in that bowl, even after being mostly flushed away by now, was rancid. The smell, alone, was enough for him to keep his head cocked back almost instinctively. All he could think of not getting whatever was in the toilet on his face... or worse, in his mouth.

At the same time, Kogen told himself it would be over soon. He just needed to keep holding on, to keep his grip on the toilet's edges. It would all be over soon, anyway. The stale water in his hair could easily rinse out and dry, the shoeprint on the back of his uniform can be washed out, and even if his face did unfortunately hit the toilet bowl, a hot bath would be nice. He just needed to endure.

Enduring was all he really did, anyway. He knew standing up to them would get his ass kicked again, and Kogen knew the other students wouldn't dare try to cross them in order to help himself. Ratting to the teachers would also do harm than good. After all, Ryusuke was the star player! And Akira's dad seemed to be paying the school a fortune keeping it running. All Kogen could do was wait for the torment to be over, for them to get bored and tired.

He just really did not want to eat shit.

The present wasn't any different. Kogen's head was once again shoved in a pretty smelly place, and he did not want it to end up slipping in. Incidentally, his arm was what was holding him back from being grinded into minced meat by the bearlephant's teeth. He was strong, but he wasn't quite strong enough to pull himself out, nor was he smart enough to figure his way out of this mess. No, all Kogen could do was the same he did that same day. All Kogen could do was endure.

Surely, this time, his classmates would come to help him... right? At least one of them, gifted with the same powers he had, would swoop in and get him out of this situation. He had spent a good deal of time helping them out of pickles, so it'd only make sense if they returned the favor. Yes, this will be over soon. It could only be over soon.

Kogen needed to be strong. More importantly, Kogen needed to be tough. Even if no one was going to come, even if he was abandoned by his peers, even if he was the only one still alive in this whole mess, Kogen needed to be tougher than he had ever been before. He knew it, deep in his mind, as the memories of his bullying filled his head. The memories... they burned through Kogen's mind like the flame of a lighter. No, it was much hotter, like hot coals in his face. Searing, white-hot memories more painful than anything he has experienced. More painful than the sting of betrayal. More painful than the night he had lost his eye.

And yet, Kogen gritted his teeth and continued to endure. Yes, this pain was not something he was a stranger to. It had always lingered within him, even long after those beatings. And yet, rather than allowing the pain to creep up on him, to take over, Kogen instead chose to wear the pain like armor.

To stop himself from being hurt ever again, he wore his pain like armor in the shape of a demonic persona. It was a metaphorical sort of armor, not like the protective padding catchers would wear in baseball... almost like the invisible armor worn by the beasts they had fought. Yes, that's what Kogen needed! He needed that armor that protected him from the shame the bullies had left on him. He needed the skin of a demon.

And so, Kogen "accepted" the pain that would sear his head, almost as if he was allowing it to swallow him whole. Instead of the beast's teeth, the boy would instead find his body swallowed by a white glow.

Proving Ground, ???

---

_{Mentions: @Nakushita}

The Demon spewed forth from the Bearlephant's gaping maw, body covered in bright steel. Kogen caught himself as he was spat out, quickly leaping to his feet as he did his best to get his bearing. His body still ached and his head was still frazzled, but Kogen knew that he was protected. How could he not? The lightborn armor that encased his body was quite obvious, after all. And it definitely was tough, too! Tough enough for that Bearlephant to spit him right out!

There wasn't much time to get a feel for his new look, however. Kogen knew that there were more pressing issues, namely these Bearlephants. Kogen also knew that he couldn't handle this single Bearlephant on his own. So instead, he elected to disengage from the fight, kicking up some dirt in the direction of the Bearlephant before running out of sight.

From here, Kogen could run away from this. He had armor, and enhanced physical and mental faculties. His safety wasn't assured, but it was definitely safer than where he was now. While he wasn't sure on his ability to survive, he would be in arguably better company. After all, everyone on that bus simply turned a blind eye from the suffering he had gone through. If anything, leaving everyone to die would just be returning the favor.

Kogen, however, was not the type to abandon his peers. On the day of his betrayal, on the day he lost his eye, Kogen had vowed to not leave another behind. He would not be like Ryusuke, Akira, or the rest of those fiends. He would not be like that rat, Akechi. And he definitely would not be like-

Well, that other guy isn't around now, is he?

Circling around the chaos, Kogen would once again rush into the frag, his eye centered on the Bearlephant trampling over Ayana. With a leap into the air, Kogen kicked his body back, allowing his legs to propel forward as if he was sliding in mid-air.

If the spears did not serve as suitable weapons, if his armor was hard enough to give a Bearlephant a hard time, then the only option Kogen had was to be the spear. With a heroic shout, a release of his kiai, Kogen exclaimed his intent as he flew directly towards the Bearlephant's center of mass.

_{Prelude to the Devil's Journey}
"Demonic Entry!"

Expedition to Isekai

Clearing, ???

---

_Mentions:

Kogen clicked his tongue in annoyance at seeing the shield appear again. Were their weapons useless against these beasts? It was surely an annoying thing to think about now that he's on top of the bearlepant. Maybe he should have driven that bear claw idea forward, after all, fighting fire with fire and all that. Well, it didn't matter now, since Kogen was now clinging to dear life on top of the Bearlephant! What to do, what to do...

For now, Kogen began to climb, doing his best to maintain a grip on the bearlephant's tough hide as he would try to get himself onto a more advantageous position. Finding himself atop the beast, Kogen's enhanced senses allowed him a moment to take in what was happening in his immediate vicinity. Thankfully, Masato had been flung away to who knows where, which means he's probably fine given the track record of everyone who has been flung by these monsters so far. The two other bearlephants were definitely giving his classmates some trouble, but between the two, the one that was crushing a certain idiot was the one that was of the most immediate concern.

Kogen thought to himself as he climbed the beast, those rusted gears turning ever so slowly as he forced his brain to do the one thing he was bad at. Humankind dominated the beasts in their world not through sheer strength or physical ability, but by their ingenuity and dominance. All beasts simply became tools with different uses, especially ones as big as this bearlephant. Horses, cows, even elephants all served as mounts to humans, broken to serve their will. Clearly, this beast was no different... at least, that's how it worked in his video games.

If Kogen could not easily break its flesh, then Kogen will break its resolve.

Climbing to the back of the bearlephant's head, Kogen would dig a knee into the back of its neck as his hands moved to cling onto its furs. With his other leg, Kogen would do his best to wrap it around whatever bit of the beast's body he could just so he wouldn't be so easily flung off. And with a yank, Kogen would pull with all his strength, pulling to the direction of the other bearlephant crushing Ayana.

"Bend to my will, foul creature! Bend to the will of the One-Eyed Devil!"

Expedition to Isekai

Clearing, ???

---

_Mentions:

While the class had been assaulted by its second set of monsters, Kogen was... sleeping. He was dead asleep, in fact, given that he spent a good chunk of his time in this strange new world being active in some way. That fight with the bearwolves took a number on him, the skinning was rather smelly, and his hand was still sore punching that tree for much of the night. It only made sense for an idiot like him to be knocked out of commission in a night like this.

It made a bit less sense for even an idiot like Kogen to sleep through such an attack.

"Hey... keep it down... Your hero is sleepi- AH, CRAP!"

At the very least, he had awoken at the nick of time, almost falling off his half of the bus as the hulking monstrosities came crashing along beside it. Talk about a rude awakening! Thankfully, the adrenaline quickly kicked in as Kogen launched himself out from the bus seat he was sleeping on and took a good look at his current situation. It was dark, but it was a good thing Kogen had just been sleeping! His eyes were quickly adjusting, almost too quickly... If Kogen were any smart, he'd put two and two together and figure out he had night vision. Still, this was definitely enough to work with. Right, there are more monsters outside... more monsters? Shit, they really need to find a safer place to sleep soon, huh?

Kogen's eye scanned the bus for anything usable, quickly landing on those sharpened sticks Inaba had made. Right, those would definitely help with what's going on. Kogen grabbed two of them before leaping out of the bus, hopefully not in the view of whatever's out there. If it was those bearwolves again, he was definitely prepared... Kogen knew he was strong enough to shred through their hide at the very least, and maybe they wouldn't even have that forcefield if he got the jump on one of them! All he needed to do was sneak around, maybe from behind the bus, and-

"W-when did they get that big..."

Right. Bearlephants now. Three of them, too. Change of plans.

Kogen stayed behind the bus as he began to think a new plan through. A few of his classmates are already fighting those big things already. It means Kogen could still definitely get the jump on one of them, too... The only issue was where he could strike. He could try and get a jump on them, but their towering height compared to his would just mean he'd stab a leg or an asscheek at best. He needed an avenue of attack they wouldn't expect, one that he could easily take advantage of.

"... The high ground! That's right! Thank you, O**-**n!"

Kogen slung one of the sharpened sticks to his back (which really meant he just stuck it inside the back of his shirt) as he began to climb the bus. It was a bit awkward with one of the sticks still in his hand, but his enhanced strength allowed him to pick up the slack with his arm and legs, yanking and leaping himself up to the top of the bus. As soon as he was there, he knew he needed to be quick. While there were suitable distractions all around (especially with Asahi's morbid cheerleading), the best target would be one that was already occupied.

And seeing that Ma-kun had, once again, gotten himself into a situation where he needed saving, Kogen knew just where to strike.

The boy ran quickly from one end of the bus to the other, giving himself a running start as he leapt into the air. He wound the arm he was holding his makeshift spear with back as he jumped, using his other arm to uncover his second eye. It was a cool trick Kogen liked to do when pitching, pushing his eyepatch to the side just when he was getting serious. Everyone else had turned their caps backwards, so he needed his own unique thing to stand out. The flame in his heart roared with anticipation.

As he soared through the air, time ticked ever so slowly. It wasn't by a lot, but it was noticeable. It gave Kogen a bit of time to do some quick thinking, something he wasn't quite used to doing, but thankfully what he intended to do was based more on instinct than tactics. Based on his position, he didn't need to account for things like distance, his grip on the stick, or even how much strength he needed to put into his throw. All he needed was the timing and a direct target, both of which were easily obtainable.

"Die, monster! An eye for an eye!" Kogen exclaimed, his mind too preoccupied to come up with something more intricate as he would launch the spear with all his might at the bearlephant pinning down Masato, aimed directly for one of its many eyes. As soon as the spear left his hand, Kogen would then quickly shift the weight of his body in order to propel himself just a bit forward, his hands reaching out to grasp for whatever he could.

Once again, he aimed for the same bearlephant he had just struck, aiming to land on top of it.

Expedition to Isekai

Clearing, ???

---

_{Mentions: @OwO}

Kogen stood up and let out a sigh of relief at the sight of the bearwolf's corpse. The boy looked at the hammer he was holding, the one he had used to kill the beast. It had definitely seen better days, especially before this debacle. His mauled shoulder ached with pain as he lifted it up and rotated it a few times. Really, he was almost surprised it was still there, let alone he could still move it.

Still, the damage on the hammer, the struggle he had to kill the bearwolf... it was all beyond normal. Not that the situation they were in was anything normal to begim with, but why did it take so much effort to kill the beast in the first place? And, more importantly, how did a couple of kids manage to pull it off? Kogen was almost certain they all would have died there.

As the dust settled and that peculiar warmth began to cool off, Kogen once again realized their current situation. Whatever happened before did not matter, as right now they were stranded in an unknown world full of things like that monster that would try and eat them. They needed to prepare for what was to come, even though whatever else would come after them would not be something they would be prepared to deal with.

Taking cues from Masato's angered response at the bear, Kogen would walk up to its corpse as well, kneeling down and jamming what was left of the hammer's claw into its own shoulder. As expected, its hide was quite tough, but not as tough as it was just moments ago... Now that Kogen had thought about it more, did the bearwolf perhaps attempt to will itself to resist his attack? And with that same logic, would that mean that whatever it was that allowed hum and his classmates to kill that monster, it was a similar sensation?

Eh, too much to think about, really.

Kogen would hand Inaba what was left of her hammer back rather awkwardly, flashing her a thumbs up before walking off as well. This time, however, Kogen would make his way a bit farther from everyone else, but he did try to stay within view of his classmates. Looking off into the deeper wild, Kogen would wonder just what else was out there for them to run into. Still, wonder as he might, there was one thing that Kogen knew for sure.

He killed a bearwolf.

"What? Is that all you've got, Otherside?! Send us more bearwolves if you want! Bearlions, too! Or better yet, throw us a Bearspider! Whatever you've got in store for us, it doesn't matter! This is a declaration of war! From the One-Eyed Demon King, himself!"

Kogen would shout almost triumphantly, attempting to raise his left fist into the air, realizing that it was still in pain and instead raising his right one instead.

Final Fantasy: Lightseekers

Balmung Castle - Courtyard
The True King

---

_{Specific Mentions:}

Aelphis croaked in relief as he heard everyone calming down. Focusing once more, he would turn himself back into a Faye and take a seat against the wall he was hiding behind, peeking over to see what's going on. Everyone seems to be safe, including the Lord they were serving. That's good... their paycheck is safe! With a sigh of relief, Aelphis would move to stand up and prepare to head back to bed. That is, until a familiar Mystrel would show herself once more.

"L-leadership? Right, right..." Aelphis paused to ponder what she meant. To be a leader of the team would be a hefty responsibility, and if the wrong person was chosen to be leader, then this expedition would be doomed to fail. It wasn't something Aelphis wasn't confident in everyone else deciding on, especially given there were much more experienced people than him in their team. In the end, he just shrugged and stood up, resolving to head to bed as well, although he'd wait a bit as he didn't want to walk by himself with the Limbtaker of all people.

However, as he waited for her to walk off, the gears in his tiny head began to turn once more. Whoever the leader is, they're likely to get the lion's share of the reward! It's either that, or they'll be the ones to distribute the gil they earned among the team. If that's the case, there might be a strong chance Aelphis will be cheated out of his share, whether it be due to his status as a magician or his lack of physical ability. Either way, it's unacceptable!

The Faye would march towards the courtyard with a newfound sense of determination, his chest dramatically puffed as he would begin to address everyone in the room. With a flourish, Aelphis would make his grand entrance.

"Hm, hm, so I see you all began to discuss the terms of Team Kirin's leadership without me..." Aelphis began, stomping resolutely towards his allies. "I'll have you all know that only the strongest among us should lead us to victory! And who else would truly possess such strength than a master of the dark arts such as I? To even have the gall to assume anyone else is more fit than I is prepostero- oh?"

Before he could finish his declaration, Aelphis would find his footing unstable before realizing he was standing over a sleek puddle of blood. He tried to balance himself, but it was all for naught as both his feet flew into the air. With a thud, Aelphis would crash onto the ground, falling hard on his ass as his staff went flying. The Faye could only barely process what had just happened before his staff had landed heavy-side first, hitting the Black Mage square on the top of his head with a rather audible bonk!

"Wha-... ahh... w-waaaaah..."

Between the pain, embarrassment, and the blood that ruined his robes, Aelphis eyes began to well up with tears. Slowly and softly, the Faye began to cry, sobbing quietly at the series of unfortunate events. This really was the worst first night he could've had.

Expedition to Isekai

Clearing, ???

---

_{Mentions: @Yankee@OwO}

This was it, huh?

Dying beside your peers, against beasts beyond your comprehension.

Life was pretty unfair, wasn't it? Being born in a backwater town where your only talent wouldn't get the recognition it deserved, covered in obscurity by a few jealous seniors.

You couldn't make your mark in the world, and now this is where life has lead you.

Dying in an unknown world, one where only a few will remember you...

Kogen's eyes fluttered as he slowly succumbed to his fate, the pain that radiated through his body becoming more unbearable as the bearwolf crushed him. Despite this, he still had some willingness to fight in him, the barest remnants of his instincts flaring from within.

Kogen launched an arm up, grasping hard on the bearwolf's arm. Maybe if he allowed himself to get torn up by this beast, if he squirmed just enough, Masato could crawl out from underneath him. It's the least he could do, after all.

He was too out of breath to really do anything else.

As he squirmed, Kogen noticed a glint in the sky. Was this a... hallucination? Were his delusions becoming real in his death throes? No, it couldn't be... is that Inaba, falling from the sky? Did a branch break, or... no. Her movements, stiff as they may be, seemed deliberate.

... Are you just going to sit and watch, or are you also going to fight?

The boy's body moved swifty, though he wasn't sure if it was entirely of his own volition. It's almost as if seeing his classmate's will to fight despite being totally dead filled Kogen with a deep-seated sense of resolve. He continued to grasp on the bearwolf's arm, digging his nails into its flesh as the pain that surged through his body began to disappear. His other hand clutched the hammer tightly, waiting for just the right opportunity to act. Fo fight.

The air that escaped his lungs was instead replaced with fire.

As soon as Inaba made impact, Kogen swung his hammer into the one of the bearwolf's elbows, throwing all his might into the blow. From its weakened grasp, Kogen used the counteracting momentum of his swing and the bearwolf's movment to throw his own body to the side while still clinging to the monster's arm.

Nothing else matters anymore. The only thing you need to do is kill it.

And so, Kogen would do so, raising the hooked side of the hammer and jamming it into the bearwolf's neck, before ripping downward.

Final Fantasy: Lightseekers

Balmung Castle - Courtyard
Catching Up

---

_{Specific Mentions:}

So... much... running...

Aelphis had paused for a bit in the middle of the hallway, resting a hand on the wall as he leaned over to recuperate. Gods, if he had to do this much running on the field, he'd probably be dead before he even had a lick of that Gil! Aelphis was regretting not investing into any materia that would increase his physique in any way. That would have been better than the one he was shackled with. Procuring the green orb in his sleeve, Aelphis actually wondered for a bit about its uses. Really, all he used it for was for pest removal, but the more he thought about it, the more he realized that toads are pretty fast and light. Maybe turning into one would help him catch up with the rest!

Speaking of the rest, Aelphis began to take in his surroundings, specifically the bodies littered around the hallways he was in. Truthfully, the dead never really bothered Aelphis in the past. After all, one of his earliest lessons in alchemy and magic involved processing carcasses to their base materials. What made the Faye a bit on-edge, however, was the fact that he recognized some of these bodies. For instance, the Sollan Vagrant he was leaning over!

Wait a minute. That guy spilled wine on Aelphis's shoes when they were making their way to their sleeping quarters. Aelphis gave his body a firm kick to the ribs, flinching backwards at the pain of kicking solid steel. Right, he was wearing a breastplate.

Well, between his bruised foot and his aching legs, there was no way Aelphis would catch up to the others in his condition! So instead, he would test his thesis out, procuring the green orb. Thank the Skaelans for their innovation! Thankfully, he didn't even need to come up with some magical mumbo-jumbo like he does with his spells! All he needed to do was focus on the aether held within the orb and...

Poof

With a puff of purple smoke, Aelphis's very form would change into that of a... toad. Nothing special or fancy, just a toad. On one hand, the shock of your body shifting into something smaller and slimier had induced the Faye into a bit of minor shock, but on the other hand, his feet were in less pain! Well, time to hop on over to the rest!

...

By the time Aelphis had reached the courtyard, a few people already had their weapons drawn on each other. At first, Aelphis thought more Valheimans were about, and prepared to recite (think very hard on) the incantations needed to turn back to his natural form. It was only after he realized that it was his team against those from the other group that he second-guessed that decision. Were they fighting each other already? And is that their boss over there? Things are looking pretty tense...

... and Aelphis has decided he is not having none of it, today. Instead of making his grand appearance, he would instead hop back into the hallway he was walking from and shift back, peeking over to see what would come about from this encounter.

Expedition to Isekai

Clearing, ???

---

_{Mentions: @Yankee}

Between seeing one of his classmates fly to their death and another who's also already dead in this situation sacrificing their life so that he could run, Kogen could not help but freeze up at what was going on. After all, he hadn't seen people die in real life before. It was just so unbelievable, seeing the classmates he knew not too long ago fade away as if they were nothing.

Was this really it, then? Were they all going to die out here, hunted by these bearwolves and whatever other monstrosities laid out there? Kogen's legs shook at the thought, before he took a big gulp as his resolve began to harden. If he was going to die, he'd be dying on his own terms.

If I ran headfirst into that bearwolf and gave it a good tackle, maybe karate girl'll fall off it. Ma-kun might have enough time to pull her away, carry her off...

Poised to speedrun his death so that at least some of his peers could survive, Kogen would turn to Masato. However, before he could spring off to commit to his plan, Masato had called out to Kogen first as he turned his head towards him.

"Wha- MA-KUN, WHAT THE FUCK?!" Kogen exclaimed, as the hammer flew right for him.

Thankfully, that season he had spent as a catcher paid off, as Kogen found himself armed with what was once Inaba's hammer. As he turned once more to question just what Masato's plan was, he saw that his childhood friend dove straight for the bearwolf! God damn it, was he stealing one of his ideas again?! It only took a split second for Kogen to realize what Masato had actually intended to do, and the opening it would create.

Withour a second thought, Kogen rushed forward as well, hammer clenched tightly in both hands. For some reason, he couldn't help but feel... slower than Masato. Was it the adrenaline, maybe all that hot air in his head pushing him forward? Nevertheless, Kogen primed the hammer back, his instincts as a batter flaring in his arms as he prepared to wallop the bearwolf right in the jaw!

Sadly, Masato did not account for the fact that Kogen was an idiot.

Final Fantasy: Lightseekers

Balmung Castle - Sleeping Quarters
Gearing Up

---

_{Specific Mentions:}

Aelphis wasn't quite sure what was going on, with his head whirling around and all. What he was sure about, however, was that the castle was under siege, and they needed to move. While everyone was busy either discussing plans of action or arguing semantics, Aelphis instead chose to get all the things he needs ready to head out, almost sneakily heading back to his pack.

The mage's main focus was hooking up his ether distiller to his arm, but he also needed another thing from his pack. Something he probably shouldn't have. It was a strange spherical crystal, green and hazy. With a quick peek over his shoulders, Aelphis stuffed the crystal into his robes, before ensuring that his ether distiller was properly hooked onto his wrist. Of course, this would likely take a bit of time given the intricacies of the device, but as soon as he was ready, he would quickly waddle back to the rest of the group...

... Only to see that much of the group has already made off.

"A-ah! Wait for me!" The Faye yelled out after his companions, doing his very best to catch up! Oh, how tiring running was...

Expedition to Isekai

Clearing, ???

---

_{Mentions: @Yankee@OwO}

Ah shit, ah fuck, I'm going to die, aren't I?

Kogen had, in fact, been eerily silent, huddled up as he allowed Tsubaki to do her work. Rocking back and forth, he was almost pissing himself in fear. Almost. For some reason, Kogen felt that if he had pissed himself, he'd be imitating someone else in a similar situation to him. Was it one of his peers? No, it couldn't be...

In any case, Kogen was indeed freaking out about the situation at hand. It wasn't because of the fact they could be in a portal of all things, but that his eye was still bleeding! Of course, if Kogen knew any better, he'd be aware that the cut on his brow was merely a superficial one, and it only appeared to bleed heavily due to all the little blood vessels in the face. To Hitotsumi-kun, however, it really did feel like he was going to die or, at least, bleed to death.

"A-an infection?" Kogen scoffed, his voice clearly breaking. "Oh please. I've held our collective misfortunes back in this eye for so long! A mere 'infection' would mean lit- Ow! That stings!

"... My eye's not going to fall out or anything, right?"

Kogen did his best to stay still, but he couldn't help but shake ever so slightly at the thought. Ironically enough, however, Akechi's comments, while adding more to the gravity of the situation, helped Kogen steel himself a bit more. The sooner he'd look vulnerable to that rat, the sooner he'd sink another knife into his back once more. And besides, if Kogen gave that rat anything else to work with, he'd be more of a pain in the ass to him. He knew it was better off to ignore him until he got bored.

It seemed that Ayana had it from there, anyway... probably?

When Tsubaki was done stitching his eye up and moved to work on Ayana, the blond-haired boy simply walked over to the edge of the gathering, away from everyone else, and laid down on his back, his arms spread out as he let out a pained sigh. Some music would be nice. Kogen reached to his pockets, and-

"I left my AirPods on the bus, didn't I?" He asked himself, before the smell of smoke filled his nostrils. Damn it. Ah well. C'est la vie.

...

Before Kogen could truly relax, however, the sound of ruffling leaves followed by... a scream? A yelp, was it? Damn, did infighting start already? Probably all Akechi's fault, the bastard that he is. Well, not his problem once more. He already saved someone today. If the only danger to their lives was each other, Kogen couldn't care less. After all, those damned normies would all throw him to the wolves again if he butted in. Better off conserving his energy and resting for the time being.

A fight could be fun to watch, though...

Kogen sat up to see what was going on, before truly beholding the horrors of the situation they had found themselves in. Two large, gray-furred shapes came charging towards them in the horizon, with a third one a bit farther away. It seemed to have cornered one of the mechanic weirdos (Kogen's one to talk) while the self-righteous karate kid attempted to help, to no avail. There was another, much more recognizable shape standing there, too. Was that... no. No. He was just bossing everyone around! How could he... before Kogen even could...

He shook his head, springing up onto his knee as he took account of the situation. The two bear-sized wolves... bearwolves? That sounds catchy, much catchier than any other denotation. Kogen took count of the bearwolves. It seems that two of them were charging the group, but a few his his classmates already seem to be dealing with them in one way or another. Meanwhile, the three that separated from everyone else looks like they need some help. Kogen inquired as he stood up and began his sprint, taking advantage of his disparate position from the rest of the group. Still, even as he ran, he could see how disorganized they were.

You asshole, running off like that... guess I gotta do your job, too, then!

"Cheese Pizza-kun!" Kogen shouted towards Fujita, a new nickname Kogen had given his disciple both out of disdain for his normiehood and pride for his glow-up, "Get everyone else together and look out for any more of those things! Strength in numbers!" Strength in numbers indeed, especially if this pack of bearwolves was only the tip of the spear. Having eyes in all directions would help, and remaining in this clearing would be wise until the immediate threats were dealt with. Probably. Kogen wasn't too sure about all this.

What he was sure about, however, was his ability to run wide circles, his sprint continuing through the perimeter of the clearing they had found themselves in. Of course, there was one thing Kogen was shockingly good at, one he didn't take too much pride in for fear of it overshadowing his steadily growing rock career.

It was his talent with baseball.

Hitting the dirt with a slide, Kogen had found himself a perfect eighteen-or-so meters away from the trio and the bearwolf that stood atop one of them. While on the ground, he would find himself conveniently next to a couple of nice, somewhat rigid rocks. It wasn't ideal, but it will do. Kogen grabbed a handful of them, before tossing one at one right for the bearwolf's eye.

"Ibar!"

Standing up and dusting himself off, Kogen scoffed as he looked upon the bear, tossing another one of the rocks playfully into the air.

"Oho, what have we here? A mongrel who would dare lay their claim to the Devil Hitotsumi's subjects?" He spoke, his voice sinking into a deeper tone as he had allowed his demonic person to take the reins. He would then look to Masato, briefly.

"Get these two and run back to the rest. I've got it." He stated, his pubescent voice nearly squeaking in terror as he faced the bear once more. And with that, another rock thrown at it. And another. Really, this would go on until the bearwolf's attention was pointed to him instead of Inaba.

Kogen was primed to run as soon as that monster had its attentions set on him, prepared to dash deeper into the woods if need be. Maybe he'll eventually run out of stamina, or maybe he'll trip on the branch. It didn't matter, as Kogen was never one to think too far into the future. All that mattered was that everyone else was relatively safe.

Safe from the horrors of this world.

Safe from pain. From torment.

From certain death.

It wasn't the first time Kogen had thrown himself to the wolves, after all.