Vengeance Upon Fate - Chapter 29

“Urghhh, how long have we been walking? Can we take another break?”

“Will you shut it already? We just took one five minutes ago!”

Hiroki would not stop complaining about all the walking they were doing. Kurogane didn’t say anything, since he understood that an hour of walking would be a pain to any average individual, even with a small break in between.

Taro pushed himself to keep going and would get irritated if Hiroki said anything, since pretty much all of it was procrastination to him – the last thing he needed to hear.

“Look, if you both want, we can rest a little more.”

“Not a chance! At this rate it will take the entire day to reach Furren. Coming this far out took long enough with this guy on board!

“Would you look at that, Taro-Senpai trying to look tough for once…”

“I told you to stop calling me that dammit!”

“Ooohohoo, I can see the drops of sweat tickling your face buddy, you need a break just as much as I do!”

Kurogane closed his eyes and frowned in annoyance, emitting a sudden, frightening aura.

Both brothers fearfully realized that he had enough of their childish bickering, and turned their heads away from each other while they continued to walk down the path.

“We’re taking another break.” Kurogane murmured.

“But…”

Taro tried to say something, but was interrupted by Kurogane, who gave a cold glare in return.

“It’s because I want one, you’re free to keep going if you like.”

“O-Oh.. right… absolutely, no problem!” Said Taro, who forced himself to nervously agree with Kurogane.

“Hehe, a man of culture!” said Hiroki, grinning to himself.

Within a few more minutes of walking, the three eventually found a large, twenty foot tree that shaded a generous diameter.

It sat in an open patch of land in the middle of the jungle. The tree trunk was thick enough to lean and rest on for the three of them.

“Check it out! I’m about to be out for hours under this baby!” Screamed Hiroki in excitement as he ran over to the tree.

Taro sighed, face palmed and shook his head.

“He just never changes.. I swear.”

Kurogane walked over and sat against the tree, folding both arms behind his head and leaning against them as he dozed off for a bit.

“Here, catch!”

A lumpy, orange reddish fruit fell from above. Kurogane caught it just in time, surprised for a brief moment at first.

The fruit was a little bigger than his hand and felt pretty cold for something out in the warm woods during a sunny day.

Hiroki slid down from the tree, hugging it tightly to keep himself stable. He was now carrying several more of the mysterious fruits.

“What are those?” Asked Taro, who seemed surprised as well.

“You never heard? They call them Armongoes! Not only are they sweet and juicy, but they also tend to stay cold since these types of trees tend to give off cool temperatures with their shade, hehe.”

“Okay, your excitement makes a lot more sense now…”

Taro observed the armongo on his hand and stared at the shiny, ripe body in amazement, eventually gulping out of thirst and hunger.

“Don’t worry bro, the skin is edible so just dig right in.” said Hiroki whose face suddenly appeared a few inches away from immersed bother.

“Huh?! Yeah okayyy! just give me some space will you?”

“Fine fine, I’ll leave you to it. Just hurry up and try it already, jeez.”

Taro continued to stare in amazement for a few more seconds before slowly biting into the soft, succulent insides of the fruit, chewing slowly until briefly pausing with his eyes widened.

He then proceeded to eat and chew faster, not being able to get enough of the wholesome texture. Wuxiaworld for visiting.

His cheeks were full and his eyes were closed – it was as if he were in a different world altogether.

{Mmmmhmhmmm}

Juice began to drip from his lips onto his chin. He could not help but squeal in pleasure.

“Perfection, perfection I say!”

Hiroki stared and blinked his eyes several times, eventually letting out a wide smile.

Kurogane took a good look at the fruit then proceeded to have his share as well.

(I guess if his brother ate it, it shouldn’t be a poisonous trap.)

His eyes grew slightly before coming to his senses and controlling himself. Surely was not going to let himself get overly excited around two people he still considered to be strangers.

The skin was mildly sour, but the insides were so sweet and juicy that it would mix the tastes, producing the perfect balance of unreal satisfaction.

Small amounts of juice began to flow under his lip, so he slid his tongue and wiped his bottom lip clean. Every ounce of its juice was now a treasure to him.

“Hey… your armongoes.. give them to me.. all of them…” Said Taro, who now looked as if he deviated further from his sane self.

Hiroki looked at him with an uneasy expression.

“Uhmm, it wasn’t easy getting these you know… maybe y-”

Before Hiroki could finish what he was saying, Taro had already grabbed several fruits from him and began to make a run for it.

“MINNNEEE.”

Taro had a somewhat deranged tone while shouting and sprinting away.

“WHY YOU…”

Hiroki dropped the remainder of his fruits and began to chase Taro into the open field, as if a cat were going after a mouse.

Kurogane raised an eyebrow while staring at the two, unsure on how to judge them at the moment.

…?

The sounds of loud, rumbling footsteps caused both brothers to freeze. Kurogane also noticed that something was wrong and quietly listened. They were coming from the trees up north, several meters from where the two brothers had sprinted to.

It took a few seconds before the footsteps were bolder and clearer, signaling that whatever it was, that it was now getting very close.

…

“You can’t be serious…”

“How the…”

From shadows amongst the trees and bushes emerged a large, terrifyingly bloodthirsty creature, otherwise known as a fully-grown dark beast.