A vast open field stretched as far as the eye could see. Low bushes dotted the land in every direction, scattered unevenly across the plain. Because the area was wide, exposed and filled with bushes making it the perfect habitat for horned rabbit demonic beasts. This field was filled with them. Yet despite their numbers, few hunters chose to come here. The reason was simple—the demonic crystals of horned rabbits were small and lacked demonic energy. To earn anything worthwhile, one had to collect them in large quantities, around thousands. Worse, the moment these creatures sensed danger, they fled without hesitation. They were very fast, skittish, lacked sense of unity, they scattered in all directions at the first sign of fear. Hunting them was very tedious and time-consuming. Standing within that same field were two shapeshifters. One was a rabbit-girl with soft brown fur and long, upright ears. Up close, she was strikingly beautiful, her features gentle, almost innocent, giving the impression of someone untouched by cruelty. Beside her stood a fox-man, compared to the rabbit-girl, his presence felt entirely different. His sharp eyes carried a quiet cunning and there was something about the way he stood—relaxed yet alert—that made him seem sly, even dangerous by nature.
These two were Vayu and Ruru. Together, they had come to the field to hunt horned rabbits. The moment the nearby rabbits sensed their presence, horned rabbits bolted in every direction, scattering through the bushes in a frenzy, not wasting even a heartbeat. At the same instant, Vayu felt a sudden gust of wind rush past him. Ruru was already gone. The rabbit-girl shot forward like an arrow, her movements fluid and flawless. Being a rabbit shapeshifter gave her an overwhelming advantage over the horned rabbits—she understood their behavior, their panic, their escape routes. Within moments, she caught two of them.
Her staff came down hard.
Crack.
She crushed their skulls cleanly, then drew her knife in one smooth motion. A precise cut at the nape, as her slender fingers slided inside and she pulled out two small demonic crystals still faintly warm with energy. Vayu watched in silence.
He was genuinely surprised by her speed—something he could never match. But his expression didn't change. He remained calm and composed, as if nothing he had just witnessed was remarkable. He even yawned casually, leaning slightly as though he were in his own backyard, bored and half-asleep. Ruru noticed his expressions, she wanted to impress him but, seeing his complete lack of reaction, her ears twitched in irritation. She frowned, turned away, and rushed back into the bushes to continue hunting. Vayu followed her at an easy pace. In his normal state, Ruru was nearly five times faster than him. Even after transforming into a fox-man, he could barely close the gap—she was still almost twice as fast as him.
But speed wasn't everything.
As he moved, Vayu observed carefully. Every leap, every turn, the angle of her strikes, the way she anticipated the rabbits' movements. As a hunter himself, he understood that animals relied on instinct—and shapeshifters refined those instincts into perfection. Their reach, flexibility and intuition made them terrifyingly efficient while hunting.
Vayu could only absorb 10% of the power, so his goal was he polished his technique instead.
Watching.
Learning.
Adapting.
For now, that was enough.
Ruru moved with growing confidence around Vayu, as if his presence alone made her feel safer. With Vayu nearby, she felt strangely assured, as though he were someone far more powerful than he appeared. The two of them gradually pushed deeper into the field. Nearly two hours passed and they eventually found themselves near the far edge of the plain, next to the forest line.
"Let's rest for a bit " Ruru said, as she was slightly out of breath from all the running.
Vayu nodded and sat down beside her. He hadn't killed a single horned rabbit. It wasn't because he didn't want to—it was because he couldn't. They were simply too fast for him. So he kept his expression relaxed, as if they were not even worth his attention. Suddenly, movement stirred in the bushes ahead. A head slowly poked out, it was another horned rabbit and clenched between its teeth was a golden-colored carrot, faintly gleaming in the sunlight. The moment Ruru saw it, her eyes lit up. But before she could move, the rabbit darted back into the bushes and vanished, fleeing deeper into the field. The brief glint of gold lingered in the air. Ruru bolted after the rabbit without hesitation and Vayu followed immediately, he was certain that it would be over in an instant—but to his surprise, the horned rabbit vanished as if it had never been there without leaving trace. They went deeper into the forest. Nearly an hour passed as they searched, but found nothing. As they finally sat down to rest again.
The moment they did—
The same rabbit poked its head out of the bushes again. It froze when it saw them, just as surprised as they were and just like before, it darted back inside the bushes and disappeared. This time, Ruru was much faster and just like the last time nothing. Ten minutes passed as they searched frantically as they were about to sit again, the rabbit appeared for the third time. Ruru rushed forward instinctively—but this time, Vayu felt it, something was wrong and this feeling came from being in hunter squad for so long, the shapeshifters had tough bodies and they healed fast, but Vayu and villagers they were different, so while hunting they set traps and lured the animals slowly just like this rabbit. The rabbit wasn't fleeing.
It was leading them. This continued for hours. Each time the rabbit appeared, they followed—unknowingly drifting deeper and deeper into the forest. When this time rabbit showed itself again, Ruru moved to chase it— but Vayu grabbed her hand.
"Don't you feel it?" he said quietly. "It's taking us somewhere, We're already very deep inside the forest."
"I know the way back," Ruru replied stubbornly "and I want that carrot"
As they spoke, they didn't follow the rabbit this time, two minutes passed. Then the rabbit poked its head out again. That was enough to confirm Vayu's suspicion, his heart sank.
"We need to go back immediately" he said. But Ruru had already dashed forward this time, the rabbit was close. The moment it saw her approaching, it leapt into the bushes and Ruru jumped behind it.
A moment later..
A scream echoed through the forest.
Vayu rushed ahead and saw it—a steep downhill drop hidden by foliage, plunging nearly a hundred feet. At the bottom lay Ruru, with blood visible against her brown fur, without hesitation Vayu slid down after her, maintaining perfect balance as he descended. By the time he reached the bottom Ruru was already on her feet and her wounds had healed completely as she stared ahead at the cave entrance loomed before them, dark and silent.
The rabbit had gone inside, Ruru stepped forward but Vayu caught up with her and pulled her back hard "It's clearly luring us inside, something's wrong we're leaving"
"But I want that carrot," she protested.
"If you want to keep going" Vayu said coldly, " You can go in alone, I'm going back"
Vayu words were like cold water for her as greed disappeared from her eyes. She hesitated, then nodded. "Okay… let's go back"
But as they turned around. A pair of eyes flashed briefly inside the cave.
Watching and Vayu felt chill on his back as he turned his face to look back.