Another world (lonely)

Chapter four

Giyuu focused his sight ahead to the woods, moving in between the many copper trees with soft green leaves, only a few of them starting to fall. Giyuu looked up to Blob, their round soft body resting on his shoulder, wide eyes looking down to him.

Giyuu rested his hand onto Blob, rubbing their back gently and watching their body move joyfully like a wagging tail. Giyuu looked up to Kanzaburo gliding swiftly above the canopy with his black wings tipped in silver from age. Giyuu's sight slowly drifted downward, his movement coming to a halt.

He gazed to the scene in front of him observing mutilated trees around him. They were embedded with sharp slashes that once had jaggedly tore bark, and the pungent fumes of blood were in the air.

Giyuu felt sweat drip off his face and hands shake, but he moved closer as he moved towards a fallen soggy tree overgrown with moss and fungi. Giyuu looked downwards, inspecting the claw marks, each one of them embedded deep into the log, all of them rapid and mad.

He could feel the pungent fumes of blood emitting from burns deep into the log, and his attention darted to another mark of what looked to be a what was meant to be a spider crossed out in several vigorous strikes. Kanzaburo flew down beside Giyuu, letting his talons sink into the bronze dirt.

Giyuu looked beside the previous mark to see what was written. Whatever it was seemed to be crossed out kanji, sharply written lines forming letters and words that honestly looked like they'd been drawn by a raging drunk mixed with a wolf. From what Giyuu could see— albeit, it was very little, the jagged lines etched onto the dark log almost indecipherable—it seemed to read
"lower five"

Kanzaburo shook a few feathers, falling and sinking into the bronze ground and gazed up towards Giyuu before saying, "Mr. Tomioka, I think it's best we leave..." Giyuu's gaze shifted as he cocked his head down towards his crow, nodding quickly, before getting up and sweat dripping off his body as he rushed away.

Giyuu tried to shove the scene he saw aside to the back of his mind, trying to focus on the forest scenery he moved through. He saw several tall trees, some curved some not, Giyuu walked at an uneven pace, his eyes shifting to a river down below.

Giyuu focused on the river moving below. He tried to move his hand to his shoulder but nothing was there, he noticed a black shape down below.

Giyuu looked down towards his friend Blob, watching them splash into the water below. A few drops splash onto Giyuu's face, as Giyuu move down trying to move his shaking body to even land as soon enough he found his way to the riverbank.

Giyuu slowly dipped his leg into the water, finding footing in the rapid river. He moved closer towards Blob, only from his knee was drenched in the water, as Giyuu watched Blob's little body move away towards something while Giyuu was steadily walking behind.

Giyuu moved closer, watching Blob swim into a tunnel from a few feet away, "only a minor delay, nothing too much..." Giyuu thought as he followed Blob into the damp tunnel, noticing fireflies lighting up in front of him flying away, illuminating the darkness.

Giyuu moved forward, seeing moss which grew onto the stone titles of the walls. Giyuu took a step closer, wiping away a small patch of moss off of the wall to see strange drawings painted into the wall below.

The drawings were strangely familiar until you look closer, like a cat with eyes on their tail, or a simple turtle with curved wings.

Giyuu stared into them, his eyes widening trying to notice each one of black brush strokes and their width that he could tell in the fireflies light, Giyuu lifted his damp legs out of the water in setting closer to them.

Giyuu heard some movement in the distance and he turned around, moving through the stone halls that were illuminated by dim firefly light, viewing all he could on the mossy walls.

Giyuu looked at two doors above out of the water only slightly slid open and covered in moss, as well as vines, dulled colors and any sort of design long since faded. He put his hands through the gap between the doors, sliding them open to reveal the room in front of him.

Giyuu saw several cracks above in the room, seeing light, not the dim ones of fireflies but the gentle light of the sun above. He looked towards the life size paintings on the wall, and Giyuu noticed some of the shapes looked just like his little friend Blob.

Giyuu stepped closer seeing kanjis below one of the paintings, round and simple like Blob, reading, "Lonely - stage one."

Giyuu stared at the paintings, before looking at another painting longer than the previous one with two eyes in the illustration and a hooked tail, "Lonely - stage two."

Vivid memories flashed in Giyuu mind―Blob's sharp teeth, their hooked tail, how furiously they had lunged at her, and his second set of eyes.

Giyuu looked up, seeing a painting of a wing with three curved silver feathers that held an eye. Outside of a single black brush stroke that was all that was left of the painting, the rest of it was hidden by moss and cracked stone.

Giyuu wide gazes slowly shifted down to see Blob, their little black body staring up at the images above with him. Blob turned their head to stare at Giyuu with his large round eyes. "Tomioka.."

Giyuu looked back, seeing Kanzaburo there, feathers damp and body on the floor. Giyuu picked up Kanzaburo's wet body, back around to see Blob crawling up a cracked opening.

Giyuu walked over to Blob, Kanzaburo still in his hand as they rested their body on dry stone covered in a patch of moss. Giyuu stretched his arm out as Blob crawled up it, resting on his shoulder.

Giyuu looked upwards, seeing that he could step out of here through the opening above, maybe just a bit awkwardly. He gently picked up Kanzaburo and stepped onto one of the rocks, careful not to slip.

Each time he placed his hand or feet onto stone he waited and calculated his every move as he climbed out, resting Kanzaburo on the soft green grass. Giyuu looked to his shoulder―Blob was gone. "Tomioka." Giyuu's attention shifted as he looked down to his crow Kanzaburo as he slowly flapped his damp wings.

"Why did you have to go through a damp tunnel with bitter bugs.." Kanzaburo said, spitting out two fireflies still twitching. "... Sorry, Kanzaburo." Giyuu replied to him, petting his back gently.

"Well I'll forgive you, I no longer have time for petty hate." Kanzaburo laid there in the grass breathing deeply and slowly as Giyuu just stared at him. Giyuu noticed something next to him—it was Blob with red fresh berries.

Blob moved towards Kanzaburo as they dropped the berries on the ground, and Kanzaburo moved his beak plucking one of the berries slowly swallowing it. "Kanzaburo, don't give up yet, you still have a few good years." Giyuu picked up Kanzaburo as he slowly flapped his damp wings.

"You have guided me well, Kanzaburo." Giyuu moved his hand down to Blob letting them crawl up and rest on his shoulder.

Giyuu walked away, Kanzaburo in hand and Blob on his shoulder.

A/N:sorry this took so long guys  I was really busy