Grrrrrrrrrr!

The mouths of the beast dripping with drool with growls like pots boiling over in the hot sun slapping the vine-filled field,

“This deep into the day?” Aki pushes Shiryu in front wrapping a bladed chain around his neck,

“Hey! No I’m not on they’re side, let me go we can fight them together,”

“Looks like you got yourself caught” the hyenaman cackles

“Grauuhhck!” 

The lion leaps at Aki,

Thwam!

She shoves Shiryu into it and then yanks him back with the chain,

“I can handle them myself, you just want to eat me now isn’t that right? 

Can’t take me on, on your own but now you have friends to help,”

Grauuhhhh

Brauuuhhh!

Both the bear and lion rushes at her this time,

Aki weightlessly leaps off the ground with Shiryu in–

–Crink♪

No, Shiryu uses the opportunity to snap off the chains himself, he also leaps up 

“Er-huh!” She lands on the back of the bear driving a dagger into it instantly

Crrkk!

The beasts skin hardens breaking the blade on it 

Brraugh!

Twammp! 

It swings a huge claw at the petite woman 

“ahhk!” she blocks the blow using two of her kunai

Krjj!!

Baddump!

The force from the blow still enough to sending her flying across the field,

On the other side during her altercation, Shiryu who had lept up, crashes into the hyena like a human missile,

“Ca-ah-aha-”

The beast opens it mouth wide and it’s grows in size like sharp stalactites

Garacho–

Kjjckckkk!!

It goes to chomp down on, Shiryu but he quickly runs his sharp claws through the beast’s throat dispatching it.

–Ump!

Shiryu hears Aki come down,

“Miss Ak….” He was about to call in worry but she picks herself up as quickly as she’d gone down,

“Graaahshkk” the lionman takes the chance to jump at Shiryu,

Meanwhile Aki charges at the bear this time however she avoids it’s swipe getting close to it’s menacing face the young woman blows out a white smoke in it’s wide nose,

The creature doesn’t go down but wobbles around drowsily 

Sttckccckkk!!

Sliding along fine, and sharp needle-like blade Aki drives it all the way through the bear’s eye socket into it’s skull

Thudumm!

It crashes down in a heap….

“Ah-hh-hhh” Shiryu is busy trying to fend off the lionman whose teeth are wrapped around his durable foreman 

“Get off!” Shiryu flings it away

The creature rolls back eyeing the now outnumbered situation,

“Siding with humans is a crime for us” growls at Shiryu then begins to change form, going from it’s bipedal lionman state to a pure lion, that mane shines in tandem with the hot midday sun,

The beasts eyes glows brighter and brighter it’s mane radiating a baking heat, the vines around the creature withers at once 

Even Aki sweats as she braces for what was about to come

ROAAAAAARRRRRRRRGGGGGHHHHH!!!

An eruptive blast of heat pulses out from the beast, hitting Aki and Shiryu head on,

The don’t even yell or scream just quietly burning up in the fire and black smoke….

Wait…

Quietly burring up?

Shhhlingk!

The smoke clears and the illusion fades–

The only thing being burnt was the already dead bodies of the other beasts.

–Aki slides out of the smoke under the lion slitting its throat, 

Thumdd!

And Shiryu dashes up punting the beast away before it’s hot body could fall and burn the woman under it….

….

“Hahh-hahhh-hahhh-hahhhh” Aki pants laying down on a bed of grass,

“That was easy,”

“Could have fooled me with all that heavy breathing,”

“Because it’s hot, I’m hot,

I could have dealt with the three on my own,”

“If I didn’t use my light magic to reflect the light of me and you who was nearby onto the other beasts right before that lion fired you would be dead now, give me some credit Aki”

“My smoke magic would have been even without you, I would easily just used my smoke substitution to avoid the attack and finish it off,

You only made it less taxing for me,”

“I was a big help admit it,”

“No, you were a small help, I can give you that at most,”

“I–

You know what, I’ll take that actually…”

“Weak”

“Wha?”

“Weak, you gave in so easily,”

“You wanted to me continue to argue??”

“No, but where I’m from a strong man always tries to win even if he is going to lose,”

“Well where I’m from the on with the higher intellect and power level always win,

Also when did you start acknowledging me as a man?”

“I–” Aki goes to reply but then remembers who she was talking to not another human but a beast,

….

“Put back on the chain,”

“Huh?”

“Put it on beast, now more than ever I can’t trust you,”

“I just saved yours what you mean??

You are really going to pretend like after that I haven’t proven myself?”

….

“……..” Aki covers her eyes with her hands and stares up at the sun for a few minutes

“Alright, 

Let’s say I decide to change my mind and believe that bullshit story of how you are a human but also merged with a beast,

Let’s say I decide to believe that now,

Answer me this then,

What beast are you?”

“……” Shiryu hesitates

“Go on tell me what you are mixed with then, a lizard, snake, some other reptile?”

“…. Promise you won’t tell anyone then”

“No, this is not a negotiation,”

“….A dragon,”

“A dragon!?” Aki parrots almost screaming it out

“Shhhzzzz!

Not so loud!

If any other beast hears you I’m done for,”

“I thought the beats serve the dragons,”

“Yeah, the powerful ones,

If I’m found out they would just eat me to divide my power,”

“You know in my culture we say being in a battle with someone short or long improves trust and understanding between them, 

After our short battle, I’ll give you a tiny bit my trust Shiryu Zadkiel the dragon,” Aki extends her arm out

(Is this love?)

…….

……

…..

A far distance away in the same field a pair of pointy ears twitch 

“Did you hear that, Geri?”

“That snake is a dragon, Freki!

It was good on your instinct to spare the thing back then”

“I had a strange feeling about it,

Should we tell Dracula of this?”