“Help! I’m the Chosen One (and I Didn’t Sign Up for This)!”

The trio trudged down the dirt road, leaving Clucksville behind them in a haze of feathers and shame. The sun was setting, casting a warm orange glow over the horizon, but no one was in the mood to appreciate it.

"Never again," Kazuya muttered, rubbing his aching shoulder. "I'm never going near another chicken for as long as I live."

"I'm burning this cloak," Mika said for the fifth time, holding the tattered remains of her red cape.

Lyria, however, was in a remarkably good mood, humming a jaunty tune as she floated alongside them.

"How are you so cheerful after what just happened?" Mika snapped.

"Because we survived," Lyria said with a grin. "And because you have to admit, that was hilarious."

"No," Mika said flatly. "Nothing about that was hilarious."

"Come on," Lyria said, nudging her. "You have to admit, the look on your face when the chicken started chasing you was priceless!"

Mika glared at her, but Kazuya burst out laughing despite himself.

"She's not wrong," he said, grinning. "You did look pretty ridiculous."

"Oh, shut up," Mika growled, but her cheeks turned pink.

Campfire Confessions

They set up camp a few miles down the road, too tired to continue any farther. Mika busied herself with starting a fire, while Kazuya gathered some water from a nearby stream.

Lyria, of course, did nothing productive. She lounged on a rock, inspecting her nails as if she hadn't just been part of the most absurd battle of their lives.

As the fire crackled to life, Kazuya plopped down next to it with a groan. "My everything hurts."

"You should be thanking me," Lyria said, smirking. "Without my genius, we'd still be running from that chicken."

"Your 'genius' almost got us killed," Mika snapped, skewering a piece of bread on a stick and holding it over the fire.

"Oh, please," Lyria said, waving a hand. "You're alive, aren't you? And now you have a great story to tell."

Mika muttered something under her breath that sounded suspiciously like a curse.

The Chicken PTSD

As they ate their meager dinner, Kazuya found himself staring at the shadows dancing on the ground.

"You know," he said, breaking the silence, "I think I'll hear clucking in my nightmares for weeks."

"Same," Mika muttered, chewing her bread aggressively.

"Aw, you're both being so dramatic," Lyria said, rolling her eyes. "It was just a chicken."

"A giant chicken," Kazuya corrected.

"That tried to kill us," Mika added.

"And almost succeeded," Kazuya finished.

Lyria sighed. "Fine. I'll admit it was... slightly more dangerous than I expected."

"Slightly?" Mika and Kazuya said in unison.

Feathered Hauntings

As the night wore on and the fire burned low, Kazuya found himself jumping at every little noise.

"What was that?" he whispered, clutching his broom-spear.

Mika sighed. "It's just the wind."

"Are you sure? It sounded like clucking."

"Stop it," Mika said, glaring at him.

"I'm just saying, what if that chicken had friends? Or worse, a mate?"

Mika groaned and threw a rock at him.

"Hey!" Kazuya protested.

"Go to sleep," she snapped.

Dreams of Doom

Kazuya's sleep was anything but restful. He dreamt of a world overrun by chickens—giant, glowing chickens that clucked ominously as they chased him through endless fields of corn.

Lyria was there, laughing maniacally, while Mika swung her sword in vain.

"Why are they everywhere?!" Kazuya shouted in his dream.

"Because you owe them rent!" one of the chickens clucked back.

He woke up in a cold sweat, gasping for breath.

"Bad dream?" Lyria asked, smirking from her spot by the fire.

Kazuya glared at her. "You don't want to know."

Moving On... Maybe

The next morning, they packed up camp and continued their journey, though the mood was still tense.

"So, what's next on our list of ridiculous adventures?" Kazuya asked, trying to sound cheerful.

"Hopefully something normal for a change," Mika muttered.

"Normal?" Lyria said, grinning. "Where's the fun in that?"

Mika shot her a withering look. "If I see another chicken, I'm quitting this team."

"Oh, come on," Lyria said, winking. "What's the worst that could happen?"

Kazuya groaned. "You just had to say it, didn't you?"