CHAPTER 32 — Teeth in the Dark
📅 30 May, S.C. 1510
👦 Ren — 7
📍 Foosha Village Outskirts → Forest Edge
The sun was dipping below the trees when Ren finished checking the basins.
The day had been peaceful. Almost too peaceful.
Zemo followed him closely—still limping slightly but far better than before.
His tail was low, ears twitching constantly, as if expecting something.
Ren knelt beside him.
"You're restless again."
Zemo didn't respond with a sound.
Instead, he stared toward the tree line.
Rigid.
Silent.
Alert.
Ren frowned.
Kiro noticed immediately.
"What's wrong with him?"
Luffy shouted,
"HE SENSES MEAT!!"
Ren put a hand on Zemo's head.
"Not meat, Luffy. Something else."
Zemo's fur bristled.
Ren felt a cold prickle down his spine.
Something was watching.
PART 1 — SIGNS OF A RETURN
The three boys walked toward the forest edge.
Ren didn't plan on going far — just enough to check the herbs he was drying on a shaded rack.
But Zemo blocked the path, growling low.
Kiro stiffened.
"He wasn't like this yesterday."
Ren strained his senses.
Stillness.
But wrong stillness.
The forest wasn't quiet — it was hiding.
Even Luffy felt it.
He whispered, unusually serious:
"…Ren? Is there a monster?"
Ren swallowed.
"No. But something dangerous is near."
Zemo's growl deepened.
He wasn't scared.
He was warning.
PART 2 — THE ATTACK
The bushes rustled.
Not the soft movement of a rabbit.
Not the flutter of a bird.
Heavier.
Predatory.
Ren stepped backward.
Kiro grabbed a fallen branch.
"Be ready."
Luffy picked up a stick—
then dropped it.
Then picked up another.
Zemo crouched low, teeth baring.
Ren's pulse quickened.
The rustling stopped.
Then—
SNAP.
A large shadow burst out of the bushes.
Ren had only a second to glimpse it:
huge boar-like shape
long tusks
matted fur
amber eyes filled with hunger
The same kind of creature that injured Zemo.
A Ridgeback Boar.
Ren shoved Luffy aside.
"MOVE!"
The boar charged.
Kiro screamed,
"RUN!!"
Ren grabbed Luffy's hand.
Zemo leaped forward—
—but the boar swiped a tusk across Zemo's shoulder, sending him rolling into the dirt.
Ren shouted,
"ZEMO!"
The boar pivoted, lowering its head to attack again.
Ren's mind raced.
He couldn't outrun it.
He couldn't fight it.
He didn't have weapons.
But—
He grabbed a handful of dried herbs from his pouch.
Purple stimulant leaves.
He crushed them instantly and threw them into the boar's face.
The smell hit the creature hard.
The boar reared back, grunting violently, disoriented.
Kiro shouted,
"What did you do?!"
Ren yelled,
"Distracted it! RUN!"
PART 3 — ESCAPE TOWARD THE BAR
The three boys sprinted toward the village.
Zemo limped behind them, growling loudly, refusing to fall back.
But the boar recovered quickly.
It roared.
The sound shook Ren to his bones.
Luffy screamed,
"IT WANTS TO EAT US!!"
Kiro panted,
"Makino is going to kill us if we die!"
Ren dragged Luffy by the collar, shouting,
"Don't look back!"
They burst out of the tree line—
Straight into Makino.
Her face drained of color.
"WHY ARE YOU RUN—"
She froze when she saw the huge boar crash out behind them.
Her voice dropped to a whisper.
"…Ren."
PART 4 — MAKINO STEPS IN
Zemo leaped to stand in front of Ren, growling wildly, blood dripping from his shoulder.
The boar lowered its head.
Makino's eyes hardened.
She grabbed a long wooden broom from the bar door.
"Children. Inside. Now."
Ren hesitated.
"But Zemo—"
"INSIDE!"
Her tone left no room for argument.
Kiro shoved Luffy in.
Ren backed up slowly.
Zemo refused to move.
Makino planted her feet as the boar charged—
—and struck its snout with a full swing.
CRACK!
The boar stumbled back in pain.
Another strike.
Then another.
Makino shouted with fire in her eyes,
"GET AWAY FROM MY CHILDREN!!"
The boar staggered, snorting angrily, then backed away slowly into the forest.
Zemo growled until it disappeared.
Makino exhaled shakily.
Then turned to Ren.
PART 5 — THE AFTERMATH
Inside the bar, Ren sat quietly while Makino applied medicine to Zemo's shoulder.
Her silence was terrifying.
Finally, she said softly:
"Ren… why were you near the forest this late?"
Ren stared at the floor.
"…I needed to check something."
Makino sighed, exhausted.
"You could have been hurt. Or killed."
Ren clenched his fists.
"I know."
Her voice softened.
"You're a brilliant boy. But brilliance means nothing if you don't value your life."
Ren swallowed hard.
Zemo nudged Ren's leg, whimpering.
Makino added:
"And that creature trusts you. He risked himself again for you."
Ren placed his hand gently on Zemo's head.
"…I won't let anything happen to him."
Makino smiled faintly.
"And he won't let anything happen to you."
PART 6 — NIGHTFALL RESOLUTION
In his shed, Ren wrote:
Ridgeback Boar:
Aggressive
Fast
Dangerous
Weaknesses: sensory overload, strong scents
Need: defensive measures for future
Possibly a barrier around forest edge?
Zemo: protected us
Must help him recover
He paused.
His hand trembled.
The danger felt real.
Too real.
But so did the purpose forming inside him.
"…I need to get stronger," he whispered.
"For them."
Zemo curled beside him, breathing softly.
Outside, the forest rustled quietly—
watching.
Waiting.
The predator had returned.
But so had Ren's resolve.
END OF CHAPTER 32