Free The Psyche Diver Trilogy: Demon Hunters by Baku Yumemakura Page B

sip, “it’s been a while.” He looked directly at Biku. He seemed to be smiling under his beard.
    So, he’s testing me too , thought Biku. Just as he was using the bear in an attempt to gauge Hosuke’s capabilities, so was Hosuke ready to test Biku in his own way. Alright then. Biku smiled for the first time, his red lips pulled into a tight line. The smile was enough to make anyone shiver, cold and seductive in equal measure. It was the kind of smile you might see gracing an image of Buddha, an expression of cunning. The sound of the creature continued to approach through the darkness.
    “Strange, isn’t it?” Biku said.
    “Indeed.” Hosuke sipped at his coffee taking no apparent notice of the danger.
    They both knew that it was almost unheard of for a wild bear to approach them like this. All wild animals, bears included, have an instinctive fear of humans. In almost all cases, if the animal notices their presence first, it would choose to avoid them. Bear attacks occur mostly when they are caught off guard. This happens when the two have wandered close without noticing each other. Even then the bear will choose to turn away if there is enough distance between them. A little closer and the bear will enter into a staring match. Even then, the bear will still look for a chance to get away. The worst-case scenario only occurs when someone stumbles right in front of a bear, particularly if the bear has a cub with it or the person surprises it by shouting out.
    In Honshu, home to the Asian black bear, such human error is responsible for the majority of bear attacks. The mountains are bear territory and humans are the trespassers. The fact is that animals fear the invading humans. But this bear continued to approach them, that was the strangeness Biku referred to. There was no chance that the bear had failed to notice them. They had a campfire.
    There were a few possible scenarios. The first was that the bear was on the verge of starvation, a possibility if the bear was old and no longer able to hunt; it would be drawn by the smell of the meat. There had been cases where bears had stuck their heads into hikers’ tents while foraging for food.
    Another possibility was that the bear had been wounded. If it had been shot by a poacher, but the bullet missed its vital organs and the bullet was lodged against a nerve, the bear would be in constant pain. That would impede the bear’s judgment, and the pain would make it difficult for the bear to hunt. Hungry, injured, and full of anger...those factors combined would give rise to the most dangerous type of predator in the mountains. If the bear approaching them was in that state, the two of them were in extreme danger.
    “I’ll let you handle this,” Biku said. He was looking forward to the spectacle.
    Hosuke sat scratching his head. Before long, the gigantic black beast was upon them. It snorted heavily through its nose. Its large frame shuffled through the darkness. The firelight cast the dark outline of its body in a faint resolve. Hosuke gathered himself up, holding the remaining skewers from the fire together with the remains of the uncooked rabbit. He moved with fluidity that made it look like he was being carried forward by an unseen breeze. Instead of heading toward the bear, he was circling around to a point a few meters away from it. A deep growl issued from the bear’s throat. The growl could have been a mark of hesitation. At the very least, it was not obvious provocation. Hosuke crouched low and lay flat on his stomach, now just a few meters away from the bear. He used his elbows to prop his torso up so that he faced the bear. If the bear attacked now he would be utterly helpless.
    In a confrontation between animals relative eye height takes on great importance. Looking down from a higher point is an open sign of aggression. Hosuke had positioned himself far lower than his opponent. He took the meat he had been carrying and carefully put it between himself