On par with it, he furiously roared.
"GO AWAAAAAAAAAAY!!!"
And as quick as it was to pounce on him, it was launched into the air just as fast. Only leaving a blur of yellow and green behind.
There was no way that the branch should've been able to knock the tiger back, but somehow, it did.
Rustle Rustle.
"Damn it, I almost died there!"
As the tree branch he let go of swung violently, he soon turned his back on the tiger that re-emerged and ran towards his destination once again.
He had to make sure he got to it, or his hope of winning this fight would fade into obscurity.
Surely, he wouldn't be able to buy himself time forever, so he had to make every second count and assure he wouldn't arrive a moment later.
"Wait, which way is it again?"
He traced his eyes along his entire environment. He had to figure out the direction he was heading toward once again.
He had to figure it out once more.
He had to retrace his footsteps. He had to remember the correct trajectory he took. He had to take into account the weight of it.
He had to think hard before he—
"—GRAWR!!!"
Swoosh.
As he turned around, he saw that once again, the tiger caught up to him and swiftly brought down his claws upon him. He shouldn't have taken so long focusing elsewhere!
Now, all he could see were the individual claws attached to its paws. He could see the semi-translucent color they took on. He could see the sharpness that exceeded a knife. He could even smell the scent of grass that stuck to the tigers paws.
Would he lose his eye?
Would blood spew out from his neck?
Would a scarlet line be traced along his chest?
"..."
Unfortunately, he couldn't dodge this time.
And so he had to accept his fate.
*****
"..."
It was quite funny, honestly.
"... Oh yeah."
He completely forgot.
Though, when he locked eyes with the tiger, he remembered once again.
After all, it would've been rude of him if he had forgotten about the red eye he caused.
But he had no time to apologize or even dare to contemplate it. He couldn't dare waste anymore time.
"Hah!"
With a hard thud, he felt his foot connect with the tigers jaw, and with it, a jolt of pain shot up his entire body. But with that, something small else flew up.
As Yohan watched it carve an arc before landing onto the grass, he wondered how he could have possibly done that.
"Damn, I don't think I've ever knocked someone's tooth out before. Heheh, woah!"
Once again, those violent claws swung towards him, this time, they led towards his eyes.
Swoosh
And once again, he managed to dodge those deadly claws with nary but a step. By a hairs breadth, it couldn't touch Yohan at all.
Its vision was too bloody for it to aim properly. And because of that, Yohan could run away once more.
"Tch! Come get me!"
Even when each step he took sent a painful shock to his spine, he continued to move through the forest.
That tiger could still catch up to him even if he sprinted at full speed. But that didn't mean he was in danger.
"Hup."
When he rolled to the side, he saw the tiger miss him once more as it began to pounce on him again.
Rustle
He rolled again. And the tiger missed him once again.
As he rolled, he delivered one slap to the ground, which brought him up to a crouching position. In less than a second, he was already standing and sprinting away from the tiger.
He would weave through the trees that stood in his way while he sidestepped the tiger. Even though he played so many tricks on it, he still hadn't lost it, and it still remained hot on his trail.
Maybe he had no actual way of slowing it down.
So what?
Rustle Rustle
His feet would not stop moving throughout this forest. No matter how long or vast or painful it was.
Whenever he saw a tree, he would weave past it without slowing down.
If a tree tank stood in his way, he would roll under it and return to sprinting like nothing happened.
When he saw a trench or hole, he would jump over it without a second delay.
When he saw a bush, he would effortlessly fly over it without so much as stumbling.
Whatever obstacle stood in his way, he could clear it without falling.
(... Oops.)
When he jumped over the thorny bushes he ran toward, he realized that he shouldn't have looked down.
He wished he hadn't noticed the vertical drop he would take down the slope.
Hrk!
Beyond the bushel he paid no heed to, was no more than a ridge, or whatever geographers would refer to it as.
And so, he rolled uncontrollably along the slope.
Thud!
"Cough! Cough!"
As soon as he hit the ground, a cloud of dust exploded, dirtying his clothes and making him cough profusely.
He hadn't rolled down for too long, that he could thank god for. After all, that meant that he would've died from the fall otherwise.
"Kh! I need to hurry!"
Once again, he unhealthily ignored his pain and forced himself to get up on his feet. Even though he took a long time to do so.
Vwoosh... Thud!
That was when he heard the sound of something moving through the air and landing perfectly on all fours.
Now he was too late.
Once again, the tiger had caught up to him, and it didn't seem likely he could shake it off his trail anymore.
"... Huh?"
This wasn't right.
All this time, the tiger chased him relentlessly. It endlessly tried to kill him. And now that it caught up to him, it ran away¿
By no means was Yohan strong. He didn't display the ability to kill the tiger. Even though he had been drenched in the white monsters blood, the tiger had not felt a tinge of fear earlier ago.
So why did it choose now of all to run away without so much as turning to him?
"... Could it be?"
It was astounding that he could always keep calm, but maybe he was just smart enough to pass off his stresses as trivial so he could focus on what was important.
"... Did it not see me? Cough..."
Maybe he could thank this ridge or whatever it was, even if it hurt like hell.
"Lucky me, I guess. Now, what way do I go again?"
As he retraced his steps and memorized his route once more, he smirked as he came to realize how lucky he was.
"Vamonos."