Sharpening his spear, Oikawa had a grim expression on his face. A beautiful spring morning, birds were chirping, a gentle breeze ruffled his fluffy hair and he could smell the ricecakes of one of the elders of the village. Oikawa would have been in a good mood, but this was the day.

"Oikawa! You ready to go?"
Matsukawa tossed him a bag which Oikawa caught. It was heavy, filled with food and tools Oikawa could use to survive. He shouldered it and threw Matsukawa a grin.
"You know me all too well~"
He sat down next to him and nudged his arm, grinning back.
"I've told Tou-san to pack the best food he could make for you. You should survive a couple of days on that."
"I'm mildy pissed that you're not coming, Mattsun~"
The boy barked out a laugh and shook his head.
"I'm not a hunter and I'll never be. I like animals way too much. But I ain't all to pleased about you going alone. Isn't that too dangerous?"

Oikawa gave him a shrug and put down the sharpening stone, before tightening his grip on his spear.
"The village needs the others to hunt for food and keep the cattle alive. And... this is going to make me a man. I'm proud to do this by myself."
Oikawa winked at him, proudly raising his head.
"Also, you're currently implying that I ain't gonna make it, just for your information~"
"Aw come on, let a man be worried, Oikawa. You know how big those spirits are."

Oikawa slowly got up, adjusting to the heavy bag on his shoulders, before looking down at Matsukawa.
"I'd love to stay here and argue with you but those things aren't going to kill itself."
His lips curled up into a dark smirk. A rare one for Oikawa, Matsukawa noted.
"I'm going to return with this beast's fur as my trophy, or not at all."
"Alright alright, calm down. Let me at least accompany you to the edge of the village."
"I'd be offended if you didn't."

The two boys walked for a while, chatting inbetween one another, and Oikawa could see the eyes of the others following him. He knew they admired him, cherished his confidence and skill, and fuck did it feel good.
"Don't you fucking die, Oikawa."
Matsukawa slapped his back with an encouraging nod, and Oikawa nearly choked.
"Watch me return, Mattsun."

Oikawa took a step forward and looked up into the huge trees. The smell of moss was greeting him, and it was rare that he felt so small next to something, but only the hunters would ever enter the forest.
"Good luck!!" Matsukawa called after him and Oikawa chuckled to himself. He didn't need luck, he had his talent. The boy watched his friend disappear within the trees as his smile slowly fell.

I hope this idiot doesn't kill himself.

Oikawa took careful steps over moss covered stones and small puddles of water, hopping over branches and climbing over huge roots. He always kept an eye out- Oikawa knew he could die if he wouldn't.
The beasts would rarely go near the village during the day, thus Oikawa felt this was the best time to wander the forest and search for a good place to camp out.

Quietly brushing over the trees, Oikawa examined each and every one of them, feeling it would be the best choice to sleep in one of them- he wouldn't want to be caught on the ground, asleep, during the night.
For now his goal was to find anything that could lead him further to the beasts- and in the late afternoon, he was going to look for a good spot to set up camp.

It was almost peaceful around here- Oikawa spotted a few deers in an open spot a few meters further, and he could see a pair of black squirrels chasing each other across a few branches above.

It took a while, but suddenly Oikawa stopped dead in his tracks. That was... a print. In the mud.
The hunter crouched down and examined it, a deep frown on his hand. It almost looked line a human footprint, just larger and he could see the outline of fur pressed around it.

That... was the exact opposite of a common deer print.

Oikawa swallowed, then took a deep breath to keep his composure. It didn't seem all too fresh, probably a day old. And yet, it marked one thing to him: he was in their territory.
It seemed to walk on four legs, every single print laced with huge claw marks.

Gripping his spear tightly, Oikawa slowly began to follow it. He could feel his heartbeat rising; eyes glancing left and right for any movement in the corner of his eyes, and his ears were trained for any possible crunching leaves or twigs snapping around him.
He was going to kill this thing and bring it back home.

He was going to kill this thing.

He was going to kill this thing.

***

Oikawa didn't recall how much time had passed but he could feel the forest getting darker. How late was it exactly? He had no way of telling.
Oikawa stopped for a second and glanced around. Where could he possibly set up camp? He couldn't keep running after claw marks and prints all night unless he wanted to risk getting attacked by those spirits.

He was not going to let those things dictate their lives any longer.

Oikawa finally settled on a small rock formation- it had an opening to crawl into, and seemed secure enough to not crush him on accident. The entrance was small enough that no big animal could get in, and Oikawa decided to light a small fire in front of the cave to ward off any animals.

The hunter exhaled a sharp breath. He could finally let down his guard. But was he risking sleep? He had to; else he would become unconcentrated during the day.
Oikawa sat crosslegged on his makeshift bed; a small futon he had taken with him and opened his bag. Immediately, a grin hushed over his lips.

Mattsun you absolute legend.

The boy took a fresh onigiri and bit into it with a happy sigh. His stomach gave off a satisfied growl, and Oikawa watched the surrounding forest grow dark while eating.

It was even darker than he had expected- at least he had gathered enough dry leaves and twigs to keep the fire going the entire night, so no wild animals would be of any danger to him. He kept his spear next to him, just in case.

Oikawa could feel the eyes of something on him, deep within the forest, and it unnerved him to his very core.