Mandalay swallowed and forced her voice to remain steady. "So… someone is controlling them? Ragdoll, how fast are we talking?"
Ragdoll did not look at her. Her gaze was fixed straight ahead, past the ring of animals, toward the bears standing like silent sentinels.
"They're here," she said quietly.
As if summoned by her words, a heavy thud struck the earth near the bear whose eyes had glowed earlier
Every head snapped toward the sound.
What they saw left them staring.
A boy stood there, completely naked, his thin body smeared with dirt. Long messy white hair fell in a tangled curtain down to his lower back, and his bare feet rested lightly on the forest floor as though he belonged to it. But it was his eyes that got their attention: cold, sky blue.
The boy looked around slowly, taking in the weapons, the humans, the fear, and the bodies of dead animals. Then he spoke.
"You are not welcomed in our home. My friends tried to keep you away" he said. "But you kept charging in… and killed them."
As he stepped forward, his eyes began to glow.
Momo stared at him, blinking. Then in a small uncertain voice, she asked, "Is that a real Tarzan?"
No one answered.
Pixie-Bob broke the silence with a strained laugh.
"Okay," she said, forcing bravado into her tone, "that one ominous-looking boy right there"
"I don't know what this kid is doing here," Slingshot cut in, his unease replaced with resolve, "but it looks like he's the one in control. Look at his eyes, they're the same as that bear's."
Without another word, he raised his weapon and fired.
The sleeping pellet struck the boy squarely in the face.
Mandalay spun on him, fury blazing. "What are you doing?! He's a kid!"
"Put him to sleep, save our asses, and leave this cursed forest," Slingshot shot back.
Tiger grimaced. "Good job, Slingshot," he muttered. "You made him angry."
Slingshot just stared at the boy in disbelief.
The gas from the pellet drifted uselessly away as the child's gaze fixed on Slingshot with narrowed glowing eyes.
"How?" Slingshot whispered.
No one answered him.
Tiger took a few steps forward ahead of the group with both hands raised to show he meant no harm.
"We're sorry," he began. "We didn't mean to…"
Junsei did not let him finish. He was suddenly right in front of him.
One moment Tiger stood before them tall and strong; the next, Tiger collapsed with columns of curly smoke coming from his body as Junsei's hand touched his chest.
That simple touch made electricity course through Tiger's body, the combined electrical output of three species of electric eel.
Junsei noted that some humans had strong resistance to electricity; the amount of power he had used should have been lethal
"You bastard!" Pixie-Bob screamed, unleashing a massive wave of earth meant to hurl him away from Tiger.
But Junsei seized Tiger by the neck and leapt straight up, landing on a thick tree branch with the unconscious hero dangling in his grasp.
From above them, Junsei looked down.
"You are angry I hurt him," he said calmly, "but you were the ones who intruded on our home."
His fingers tightened. Tiger groaned faintly in pain.
At once, the animals began to move again. Bears stepped forward. Snakes slithered closer. Wings rustled overhead.
Mandalay glanced around at all of these animals and clenched her fists.
"Wait!" she screamed. "Don't hurt him!"
Junsei did not react.
Then a young girl's voice rose shakily from the center of the group. "M-Mr. Tarzan! Please wait! We can pay you!"
Junsei's eyes drifted toward the sound.
Momo stood there, pale but determined.
"Tarzan?" Junsei echoed faintly.
"Are you not Mr. Tarzan?" Momo asked.
Junsei shook his head, confused.
"Oh," Momo said. "I thought you were the real one."
Junsei blinked, thrown off by the sudden shift in tone.
Momo coughed nervously, then pressed on.
"My dad is rich," she said quickly. "He can give you whatever you want if you let us leave safely."
"I don't need anything from you," Junsei replied at once.
Mandalay seized the opening. "You're angry because your friends were hurt, and because we came here, right? But if you hurt us or if you kill us, more people will come. A lot more. And many more of your friends… maybe all of them… will be killed."
For the first time, Junsei hesitated.
He knew he was strong in this life. Strong enough to fight humans and have a chance at winning. But if they returned with fire from the sky, with bombs, with flames that could swallow the forest, could he protect the others on his own?
Seeing the change in his eyes, Mandalay pressed on. "We can stop that from happening if you tell your friends to let us leave…"
"Why are you here?" Junsei interrupted softly. "Why did you come so deep into the forest? Humans don't do that. Not in such numbers."
Mandalay faltered, caught off guard, her mind racing for an answer that wouldn't doom them all.
Momo spoke first.
"They work for my father," she said simply. "He wanted to check the forest for a business he had. He didn't know you were here."
Junsei said "None of you are welcome in this forest. I won't allow whatever your father wants."
Momo hesitated, her hands trembling slightly, then said, "Then talk to him yourself. These people are all working for him. They don't get a say in what happens, and he doesn't listen to me. You need to talk to him."
Junsei fell silent, weighing his options. He needed to keep his friends safe while making sure humans did not return.
He closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them again, his decision was made. He released Tiger, and as the man fell from the tree, Junsei vanished in a blur.
Before anyone could react, Junsei was at the center of the group. In the same breath, he seized Momo and leapt away, landing high in the trees once more. Momo screamed as the ground vanished beneath her feet.
Junsei's hand slid to her neck.
"Go back to where you came from," he said evenly. "Tell her father to come here. If I don't see him by tomorrow, I will slice her neck."
At his words, the animals moved, stepping aside. A clear path opened, leading back the way the humans had come.
The heroes, rangers, and officers stood staring helplessly. When Junsei had moved, none of them had been able to react. And even now, the army of animals watched them in silence. It was clear to all of them: they did not have the firepower to win this and save the girl.
Mandalay swallowed and looked at Ragdoll, who gave a small nod. Turning back to Junsei, Mandalay called out, "Don't hurt her. We'll come back as soon as we can. What… what should we call you?"
"Junsei," he replied.
Mandalay nodded.
"Momo, be brave," she said, her voice breaking despite her effort. "We're going to come back and bring you out of this forest."
Momo nodded, tears spilling.
The humans began to retreat. Only when they had gone some distance did Junsei leap down, Momo still in his grasp. He set her on her feet, though the animals remained close.
Momo drew a shaky breath.
"Why are you doing this?" she asked.
"To get your father," Junsei answered.
"No," Momo said quickly. "I mean… why don't you want us in the forest? What did we do?"
Junsei looked at her. "The forest is our home. We don't welcome humans. Isn't that what you do with your homes? You choose who is welcomed and who is not."
"You can't just say an entire forest is your home," Momo protested.
"Our home," Junsei corrected. "And stay silent if you want to live."
His gaze shifted past her.
Momo turned slowly and fell silent. Animals surrounded her on all sides, but it was the two enormous bears standing barely two feet away that truly terrified her. Her heart thumped hard in her chest.
Junsei walked past her and the bears. After a few steps, he paused and looked back. "Follow me," he said, then continued on.
Momo hesitated only a second before gathering her courage and rushing after him, doing her best not to look at the bears as she passed.
They moved deeper into the forest until they reached a shallow cave, wide enough to shelter them both. Junsei stepped inside, pointed to a flat rock, and said, "You can stay here."
Momo stared at the rock, then at him. "You want me to sit on a rock?"
Junsei nodded.
She looked back at it, hesitating. "It's too dirty," she said carefully. "Can I at least make a cover?"
"Make a cover?" Junsei asked.
"My quirk allows me to create items," Momo explained. "Can I show you?"
Junsei studied her for a moment, then nodded.
Momo extended her hand, and from it formed a simple brown cloth. She draped it carefully over the rock, smoothing it down.
Junsei watched without expression, though a flicker of surprise passed through him. Momo looked at him, clearly expecting some reaction to this.
"What do you think?" she asked weakly.
"Can you make food and water?" Junsei asked.
Momo nodded. "Yes… but the food usually doesn't taste very good."
Junsei nodded once.
He sat down opposite her on another rock.