The Blue Eyed King of Kuoh

The Black Swordsman

Kuroka had just finished setting up a single tent, and making sure the second was well hidden, when Athena approached her while shaking her head.

"You're a sly little cat, aren't you?" She commented whilst crossing her arms under her bust. Kuroka giggled and nodded.

"I'm already behind in this race, I have to catch up to Gremory somehow nya?" Kuroka responded with a smirk as her tails swayed behind her.

"I must ask young youkai, there haven't been many of your species that have reached a two tailed state as you have. Not only that, I sense that there is more to your mismatched eyes than there appears. How did you come by possessing that eye?" Athena asked in a somewhat demanding tone, causing Kuroka to shiver slightly as she withdrew somewhat into herself at the memories.

"It was thanks to some horrible devil scientist injecting some weird serum into me that made me this way. The weird thing is, once I had my change, I felt connected to Rune. I've been told that this is some sort of link that is supposed to happen naturally among those that love and are loved by Rune. But, just because I got this link through that serum doesn't mean I don't care about him. He's an amazing guy Lady Athena. Strong and brave, but also gentle and warm. The way he helped take care of my little sister and I, I can't help but want to have him as my mate. Besides, we'd for sure have some strong kittens nya!" Kuroka spoke with with clear conviction in her voice, an air of clear admiration in her tone that made Athena smile.

"I see, thank you for your honesty young youkai. However, something to think on. Do you truly love him? Or do you simply admire him? That link is not proof of romantic connection, but a link that is fraudulent in nature. I am not telling you to leave or to not follow him, you do as you wish. But, think about my question. You'll see that you'll only become what you are meant to be once you have your true answer." Athena responded with a more gentle tone as she imparted Kuroka with her impromptu homework.

Just as Kuroka was about to respond to the question however, she felt an immense amount of pain in her chest. She fell to her knees, holding her chest as she breathed heavily.

Athena quickly came to the nekoshou's side to see what was wrong, when she noticed Kuroka's right eye change from the normal bright magenta to a deep flaring red.

Athena gently placed the palm of her hand on Kuroka's head, a soft golden glow momentarily rising from her hand, before holding on to the now passed out Kuroka.

The goddess of wisdom looked towards the forest and saw a far off red glow, before hearing a deep thunderous roar. 

Her eyebrows furrowed in worry, but knew that she could not intervene. She picked up and carried the passed out Kuroka into the single tent, gently laying her in the sleeping bag and tucking her in.

Once Athena came out, she merely stared into the forest with concern, her spear and shield in hand should the worst occur.

==========

A bead of cold sweat fell down Rune's cheek as he remained focused on his surprising foe. He did not understand why this man stood before him, but he knew that every step he took from here had to be calculated perfectly if he wanted to leave in one piece. 

The Berserker growled, the deep red eyes of his helmet shone brightly, his strong armored hand gripped his massive sword tightly as he slowly leaned forward, and exploded into motion.

The ground he was standing on crumpled under the force of his acceleration as the Berserker narrowed the distance between himself and his target in a single breath, sword arm poised to slam the massive blade onto the spear wielding boy.