Vanilla Smoke (Blue Exorcist)

Chapter 18

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Survive--------- Still a flashback

"Excuse me, Father Sir. I don't fully understand the point of this exercise, or why we have to come all the way out into the forest for it," An older Shukura asked.

Shukura had been training for 4 years after the entrance exam and had mastered most of the incarnations her teachers, and father, had given her. Summoning, fatal versus, offensive, defensive, melee, range attacks, mid range attacks, omnidirectional, she'd studied them all. There wasn't a thing she couldn't, or wasn't prepared for in the forms of combat. Because to be surprised, was to die.

"This exercise is to ensure your survival as the Moon Temple's priestess and as a Hunter. You are to use all sources at your disposal. This is a survival test, extra training so to call it."

"I understand that much, sir, but what am I supposed to do here a goal? Am I going to receive any supplies to draw a magic circle at night while I rest or rations?" She asked, her hair was pulled up into a high ponytail, it got in the way most of the time, but she refused to cut it. When down, it came to the middle of her back.

"You have all the supplies you need. Information and a weapon. You've have learned enough to survive here until I send someone to retrieve you. As for a goal, and survive for a week until dusk." Her father said, then when Shukura turned around to face him her eyes wide at her goal. He was gone, without a trace, and she was stuck in the middle of nowhere, and nowhere just happened to be infested with demons.

Shukura cursed something that was definitely not appropriate for an 11-year old to say, then scanned the forest. She checked about how much time she had before dusk to make fire and get food. At times, she really hated her father. He could be so cold at times and never seemed to care for her. Any step out of line, anyone at all, would earn her a punishment. She had about 3 hours maximum.

Shukura didn't have any friends either. It's either they were always afraid of her or thought she was a freak, having a gift of foresight in the form of visions and prophecies. In her training, Shukura was top of the class, but her father never acknowledged her. He had started to pay slightly more attention to her, but not the positive kind, but attention nothing less. This was just the next step in becoming a hunter, to make her father proud.

Shukura's head snapped up at the sound of a rustle from the bushes, taking out one of her blades, and securing it to her wrist with the velcro wristlet attached to it. With a quick flick of her wrist, she tossed it at the place the sound had come from, a black rope streaming after it. An animal squealed in pain before it whimpered in fright. Shukura crept over to the bushes silently, to avoid making any noise to alert the potential threat of her presence.

Shukura peeked over the bushes, her other knife at ready to strike the potential demon. A little dog looking demon whimpered, a puppy. It had messy grey fur, and it's ears were nicked. With it's tail between it's legs, it shivered in fear and licked it's wounds. It had large, stormy blue eyes. When it spotted Shukura and whimpered again, ears back terrified. Her knife had injured its leg, making it so it couldn't flee. Her heart panged like any other child's would at the sight of an injured animal, especially a baby one. She knew better, she should kill it now before she got attached, it as very uncommon for a Hunter to have a familiar, especially one that wasn't able to be summoned. But she couldn't bring herself to kill the puppy demon hound.

"Shhh, it's alright. I won't hurt you. I'm so sorry I thought you were some big scary demon coming to kill me. Here, I'll even put my weapons up to prove I won't hunt you." Shukura cooed at the injured puppy, skillfully putting her daggers back into their sheathes.