Ah. I guess this is it for me.

Shun thought to herself. The jaws of death are coming to take her life. Time seemed to slow for her as the beast charged right at her. Her vain attempts to blind it were rendered moot, and the beast was faster than any living organism she'd ever witnessed in her life. So, this was what a monster from a portal was like. A beast that couldn't be described in any human values. Faster, stronger, and most likely more intelligent. The strength in her hand had never felt so weak before. There wasn't a way to avoid this. It would end with her in that beast's stomach.

Thoughts of her family flowed through her head. They always warned her about getting herself into a dangerous situation. Things like, "You have to be more careful, Shun," and, "We're just worried, Shun. Can you please stop what you're doing?" In all fairness, their words had merit. They were doing their jobs as parents, loving and caring for their children. Shun never listened to them, but she did love them as well. It was a shame that she couldn't talk to them one last time.

Satoshi-Chan as well. Her moped that she's had for a couple of months. It would have been nice driving her child around the town one last time. The breeze flowed through her hair as she left a trail of dust behind. Perhaps she would have let one of her classmates, Higasa maybe, experience that wild feeling that made her heartbeat. Too bad that Satoshi-chan would probably be left to rust now that her mother was dead.

Right, her classmates. Hopefully, they would be able to get out of this alive. While she didn't pay much attention to them, they were people she had known for almost a year. When she died, Shun hoped that they'd be able to get over her death quickly. Being the reason for people lagging behind was depressing. It'd be nice if Higasa wrote a poem about her death. Shun was curious about what he could muster.

Well, goodbye, guys.

Shun's eyes closed as she braced for impact. However, it did not come from the two-hundred-pound beast from her front. It came from her side. "Ah!" Shun screamed aloud. Her body tumbled onto the grass along with her fragile branch. Shun's barely had enough time to open her eyes to see Higasa fly inside along with the wolf bear inside of the smoking bus.

For the first time, she froze. "H-H-Higasa?" Shun's voice spoke. It was the first time her voice came at a lower pitch and the first time she stuttered. Higasa had pushed out of the way and took the wolf bear in her stead. In the corner of her eyes, she saw multiple students darting off in different directions of the forest. Some were even vainly trying to subdue one of the bears, piling on top of the bear to wrestle it onto the ground.

Why didn't he run? This would have been the perfect time for Higasa to run away along with everyone else. Why did he have to save her? She didn't ask to be saved, but neither did she want to die. Shun's briefly thought about the time on that rainy night. It was so dark outside that she accidentally crashed into a railing when her bike hit a big rock along the road. Her arms and legs were scraped, and she felt like she had somehow twisted her ankle. Then Higasa came. He helped her up and offered her shelter on his family's farm. While it was quite stinky, Shun had always felt touched by that act of kindness.

Despite her previous pessimism about their chances of death being extraordinarily high, Shun refused to believe that Higasa was dead. Her heart burned with unknown heat. Something had turned on the ignition in her body. Was it rage? Was it anguish? Either way, that goddamn six-eyed bear was going to pay for it. "Higasa!" Shun screamed aloud. Immediately getting back on her feet, she immediately rushed to enter from the back of the bus herself. Her body felt nimble, her muscles felt like they were bursting with strength, and her senses felt like they were taking in things that were unknown to her.

She felt like she could take on the world.

But most of all.

Shun felt like she could mutilate that goddamn bear.

Climbing up to the door, Shun spotted the bear straight ahead of her. "HRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!" Without any thought, her body flew straight at the bear. Shun had no weapon in her hands, nor did she have a plan to take down the bear. Well, if her plan involved one action, then. "HAAAAAAAAA!" In one movement, she stomped right in front of the bear, and her body turned. With all of her momentum, she threw a punch at the bear.