Welcome to Gaia! ::

The boat rocked as it was nudged by gentle waves on its trip towards Kyushu. The mass of land in the distance that was Kyushu grew steadily closer as the fishing boat moved along. Humans busied themselves with fiddling with nets, manning the sails, or, for those who were simply there for the ride across, gazed out over the water with a smile.

There was a rather large group of Kuniku on board; family and friends on a trek towards the sunny island of Kyushu. The eldest male of the group, Masao, was not enjoying the trip at all. He was spread out on the deck, looking extremely ill whenever a wave gave the boat a particularly hard push. For many of his companions, this was the first time they had ever seen the calm and serene male in this sort of state.

Yasashiku stepped out from the hold where his mother and sisters were resting and watched his father with a worried frown. Masao had told him of his dislike of boats, however he hadn’t quite realised how badly the older male would be affected. Poor Masao. Yasa rather enjoyed the boat trip and the crisp sea breeze ruffling his fur.

Hm, where had Kyou-kun gone?

A red and white Kuniku raced up and down the deck, delighting the people on board. Suzuki was sooo excited to be on a boat trip. Her bells jingled as she leapt and danced and ran and twirled and never seemed to run out of energy. “Look Masao-sama! Look, it’s a seagull! Sho-kun, Sho-kun, the waves sprayed me! Saza, they’re going to be bringing up the fish soon let’s go take a look! This is so exciting! I’m so excited! We’re going to Kyushu!”

It had been months since the lovely Sazanami had been on a boat; the experience was actually pretty refreshing. Although no, she wasn't headed back home to Hokkaido, she knew this long awaited voyage would be just as exciting. She had missed the salty smell of the ocean somewhere deep down, and the breeze was also enjoyable as it ran through and over her thick fur. "Alright, Suzu. I'll come with you in just a minute." She called to the red and white female, who was obviously pleased to be here. She stood and smiled at her eldest son, who only slightly seemed to be enjoying himself. "Will you be joining us, Unagi?" She asked, hoping to pull Unagi out of his lazy sprawl on the deck.

"No, mother. I can't stand that girl." Unagi said with a scowl. The whole time they'd been on the boat all she had done was run back and forth like a fool, like a dog. Maybe the humans thought that the behavior was cute, but all it was doing for Unagi was giving him a headache. He rest his head on his paws as he lay in a corner of the deck with his mother and younger brother, Vidar. He wasn't technically seasick, but there was an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach, so he was a bit grumpier than usual today despite the fine weather. He just hoped that they could all get off of the boat without any more idiocy from Suzu or Sho, the runt that Unagi saw no usefulness in.

Speaking of Sho, where was he? Ah, that're right. He was up at the hull of the boat, looking out at the waves as they parted for the boat as it made its way through the water. He was enchanted by the engineering of the ship: certain humans working with the sails, others were elsewhere on board doing other tasks to maintain the ship's course safely. It was all very incredible to him, and he wished he could figure this process out. "Yes Auntie Suzu, I saw!" He replied with a sweet smile.

Now the fun begins! ;D

Yasashiku grinned back at Kyou, leaning ever so slightly towards his friend. “I don’t think my dad could eat anything for breakfast at the moment. In fact, it looks like he’s about to empty up last nights dinner.” He gave another sympathetic look towards his seasick father. The young male lifted his nose into the air and took in a large breath. “It’s nice here. The air is so fresh. I like the salty tang.”

Suzu bounced and jingled, back and forth, back and forth. When the fishermen began to gather about, preparing to pull up the nets they’d lowered earlier, she made her way over and peered over the side to watch as the people heaved in the heavy rope net. Very soon the wriggling forms of silver scaled fish could be seen; caught and trying to get free. Suzuki really felt kind of sorry for them but humans needed to eat too. She leant closer, ears perked up happily, when a darker form appeared below the surface

”Saza.... come here Saza...” She called, nearly half of her body leaning over the side of the ship as she inspected what must be a very large fish. She wrinkled her nose thoughtfully. The form drew closer to the top of the water and Suzu frowned. It wasn’t very fishy. A claw shot up from the ocean and clamped down on the side of the boat. Suzu’s eyes grew wide.

As the female came to face to face with the glaring gaze of a Sea Oushi, she gave a terrified scream.



From his hazy, tumbling world of the seasick, Masao lifted his head, hearing the shouts of the humans and his dear Suzu’s scream of terror. Shrugging off the illness that surrounded him he pulled himself upright, barking out a quick order. “Yasashiku, Unagi, get to Suzuki now. It’s a demon! Destroy it.”

Yasashiku had never fought a demon before but he leapt froward, glancing once towards Sho, willing his brother to keep back and retreat to the safety inside the ship. Humans were flailing backwards away from the demon as he launched itself on board.

The peaceful trip descended into chaos.

(I'm so happy for this Oushi, you guys! Let's have tons and tons of fun, okay? =D)

Sho had never thought it possible, not in a million years, but here he was, face-to-face with a Sea Oushi. Oh no. His eyes widened in shock at the large demon as it climbed aboard the ship, only a few feet away from him and Suzuki. "....!!" Sho's mouth opened in a silent scream, whilst his ears flattened back and his tail immediately curled between his legs in a display of utter fear. His heart was pounding impossibly fast in his chest, he could feel his legs shaking, and his paw pads were beginning to sweat. There was no way he could fight this demon... No way at all. However, his head whipped around at the forms of Kyo and Saza leaping forward to confront the Sea Oushi.

Sazanami smiled at both of her sons, having understood the body language of Vidar perfectly. Perhaps it was because she was also a bit quiet in personality that she was especially able to read him so well, whereas Unagi sometimes didn't understand the meaning of his brother's gestures. "I'm coming, Suzu." She called, before turning away from her boys and walking to the front of the boat. Just as she was about to round the corner of the deck, a terrified scream sounded in the air. Saza's ears perked up and her calm exterior quickly became one of intense worry. She dashed forward to the aid of her friend, figuring that nothing could frighten Suzu like that other than a demon...

Upon reaching the front of the deck, Saza spotted three main things. One, there was a Sea Oushi on board the boat. Two, Kyou had moved forward to protect Suzu, and finally, Sho was petrified to the spot."Sho, get to the cabin and quickly!" She sharply barked at the younger male. She knew that he'd be unhelpful in killing, or attempting to drive the Oushi away so she didn't bother telling him to do anything other than hide. "Suzu, go with Sho and stay with the humans until Masao or I come get you." With her first order given out, Saza began watching the Oushi to size it up; she knew she and Unagi could do a good bit of damage to the demon, but was unsure if Kyou and Yasashiku would be willing to help them in the fight.

Unagi grunted as Vidar pestered him about the boat trip. It wasn't his fault that certain Kuniku were pissing him off and ruining his chances of having fun. "Yeah yeah, I know how nice it is out today... And mother is really happy that we want to come with her, but there's no way I can enjoy myself around a bunch of idiots." With that last comment, Unagi's tail thumped firmly against the deck, signifying that he was done talking about that matter. He was about the change the subject to food on the boat when he was interrupted by the sound of Suzuki screaming.

His head turned in the direction of the sound and his face clearly expressed his confusion about what was going on. It was then that he heard Masao yelling about a demon getting on the boat, when the largest grin ever spread onto his maw. "Finally! Something to make this trip worth it!" He howled with delight, before jumping up from the floor. "See ya in a bit, Vidar. I've got some fighting to do." Unagi called, before racing toward the front of the boat, opposite all the humans. His hearty laughter could be heard as he crossed the deck, already getting drunk off of the adrenaline rush of an upcoming battle.

Suzuki couldn’t move. She crouched, feeling the wet deck against her belly and was aware of shouting around her as the humans dropped the net and got as far away from the demon as possible. But despite what was going on around her, as she stared into the eyes of the demon, she was a pup again, back in the damp, cold of the Hokkaido caves. The air filled with the stick of demons and blood. So much blood. Brothers and sisters; dieing, crying out for help. Please, not again.

Her vision was abruptly blocked by the form of Kyou and she was able to breathe again. A voice managed to snap through her shock and fright. “S-saza!” Suzu still couldn’t move, she simply crouched down lower. “Masao-sama... please help...”

The demon swung its head from left to right as Kuniku began to run towards him from all directions. It opened its powerful jaws and let out a sticking roar before swiping at the Kuniku that was directly before him; Kyou. A Kuniku smashed into its side before the hit could connect; sending the beast stumbling sideways.

Yasashiku hit the side of the Oushi and then tumbled backwards a few steps; clearly dazed from his own attack. All he’d had in his mind was ‘protect’. Terror at possibly loosing his first true friend had coursed through him; giving his body a strength he didn’t know he had. His gaze quickly swept over Kyou and judged him safe and sound.

“Suzu, you must move!”

The Oushi recovered quickly and went in for the next attack, using its strong forearms to propel it forward.

Masao cursed; pushing away his seasickness in order to move closer, sizing up the demon. ”Suzu, here now!” His voice cut through all the noise of the boat and battle, finally snapping his little ‘sister’ out of her fear.

Suzuki finally scrambled backwards; stumbling away from the demon towards Masao.

Sho shook violently when the demon roared. He had heard Saza's comand to move, but was unable to since he was rooted to the spot. He felt like his body now weighed a thousand pounds, and he was having a difficult enough time just trying to remember to breathe. "Auntie, I can't..." He whined pitifully.

Sho then whimpered as the demon tried to attack Kyou. He wanted to do something to protect his brother's friend, but was rooted to the spot from fear. It was when Yasashiku slammed against the demon that he actually was able to stop shaking for a moment, perhaps due to expriencing a different kind of shock.

"Out of the way, pup!" Unagi yelled to Sho as he intentionally knocked into the creamy male, making his way over to the Oushi. "You inexperienced guys oughta watch and learn something!"A confident growl errupted from Nagi before he charged right for the Oushi, his mouth open wide as he aimed for the bulky demon's foreleg. He knew that the attack was an obvious one, but to him, that didn't matter. All he knew was that evenually, that demon was going to be torn to shreds by him. It didn't matter where or when he placed his bites and claws as long as they struck appropriately.

"Unagi!" Saza yelled in alarm as her son recklessly jumped ahead to attack the Oushi. She knew it was like him to not wait for anything, but she feared for the worst always when it came to him; Unagi was strong and she knew that, but a battle could be won much more easily if a Kuniku thought ahead. After mentally reciting a quick prayer to the Gods, Saza turned to face both Kyou and Yasa. "Unagi is right that you two are less experienced in combat, but I'm going to ask you this. Are you willing to fight with me and Unagi, to defend those who are unable to protect themselves? I'll guide you so that you can learn what a battle really is like, and I'll do whatever I can to keep you both safe, but I can understand if you're afraid. Unagi and I can manage." Saza's normally calm tone was now replaced by a very serious one. She didn't mean to frighten Yasa and Kyou from wanting to help her, but she also didn't want to encourage an unwise decision.

Saza hoped that the boys would make up their minds quickly, but would actually think hard about her proposal. She could come up with a strategy with or without the two in the mix, it's just that it would be easier if the two were willing to fight, while also obeying her commands.

The Oushi gave a guttural roar as Unagi stormed in from the side; powerful claws barely missing from disembowelling the young male. It was now completely on the deck and its strong tail hit the ground with a crack causing the wood beneath it to splinter. With its attention on Unagi the Sea Oushi threw itself forward towards the reckless youngster; mouth agape and ready to bite the Kuniku’s neck.

A blue bird darted out of the sky and fluttered angrily around the Oushi’s head, before zooming over to Sho and attaching its little clawed feet to the youngster’s ear. With an anxious twitter Sorano tried to get Masao’s son out of danger.

Yasashiku was able to steady himself once he felt Kyou behind him. He stared at the terrible Oushi; alarmed at how Unagi threw himself forward into battle. Fighting was a necessary part of life if you wanted to protect those you loved, however Yasa didn’t believe it should be enjoyed. Death; even a demon death, was never a good thing. Yasashiku planted his paws firmly on the ship deck and prepared himself.

“I will fight with you Sazanami; tell me what to do.”

Suzuki has scrambled to relative safety and was now pressed beside Masao, eyes closed and her breathing coming out in short, painful gasps.

“Sho! Do not let your fear hold you captive. Come to my side now.” Masao feared desperately for the lives of his children. Yasashiku would fight; he could see it in the male’s stance and he was proud of that resolve. But his dear, soft-hearted Sho could not handle this sort of situation.

Sho, having been horribly startled when Unagi purposely ran into him, let out a fearful bark. His head whipped around with confusion as he tried to find his father who was calling for him; everything was hazy in his line of vision. It wasn't until Sorano pulled on his ear that Sho managed to stumble his way over to Masao and Suzuki, while avoiding the Oushi thanks to Unagi's attack.

Unagi laughed cockily as the Oushi charged right at him, not even concerned that it was aiming for his throat in its attempt to kill him. "Too slow! Hah, you must be an old timer!" He called, before jumping to the side and just out of biting range. Unagi then used his thick tail to slap the Oushi in the face, luckily missing the teeth that protruded from the demon's gaping jaws. While the demon was momentarily stunned, he lunged for the gills just above its shoulders.

Saza nodded, the tip of her tail wagging a little when Yasa and Kyou accepted her offer to help get rid of the demon. "Thank you, both of you." She said, before turning to study the Oushi as Unagi fought it alone. It was painfully obvious that going to the forelegs was a no; they could easily cause serious injury. Attacking the well-muscled tail was also not a good idea, because it could probably use enough strength to throw someone over the railing of the boat into the water. She settled for directing Kyou and Yasa to each attack the hind legs. "Yasashiku, I want you and Kyou to aim for the demon's back legs. If we're able to unbalance it, that should be easier to take it down."

Saza had judged that if the demon were on its side, it would probably be less coordinated in using its front legs to grab and swipe. That however, only meant that it would become meaner when one of its weaknesses was taken advantage of. "Be sure to avoid the tail. It's strong; you saw how it broke through the flooring." She warned, a frown forming on her pretty face.