A Simple Twist of Fate
It was a cold, snowy night in a forest, one where the bright moon kissed the white covered land. Critters of all shapes and sizes hurriedly sought the warmth of their homes, but they weren't the only ones out seeking something. Loud footsteps crunched through the snow, echoing throughout the quiet night. Angry yelling was heard not far behind, soldiers were after the owner of these large footsteps.
"Kill the fox God!" the soldiers yelled in unison angrily, torches leading their way.
'Insolent bastards..' the fox God thought to himself as he picked up his running pace. His large body ached, and blood oozed from his many wounds onto the pure white snow. He stopped a few minutes later when he had quite the lead from the soldiers, and looked around with his one eye.
'Even if I manage to stray them from my path, they will find me eventually..' he thought grimly as his breathing became shallower by the minute. Through the maze of trees, he saw a distant cave, and decided to run to it. When he exited the forest, he found himself in an open field covered in snow, and across it was the cave. He limped weakly to the cave, the wounds oozing blood onto the snow, creating a trail leading right to where he was. When he walked into the huge cave, he plopped his body down and curled his 9 tails around him, laying his head down on the cold ground. He could faintly hear that the soldiers had gotten lost and confused in the maze of trees, and were going the opposite way of where he was.
'Heh.. And to think I'm going to die like this..' he thought. His body ached and pained, his vision becoming blurry. 'At last, maybe I can be at peace..' He slowly closed his eye, and heaved a heavy sigh. Suddenly, the sound of the snow crunching made his ears perk, and he opened his eye as the steps got closer and closer. 'Another human..' he thought as he rose his head and growled. Clouds covered the moon as the human stood in front of the cave, which made him growl again. An almost inaudible gasp was heard as the clouds uncovered the moon, revealing the human. The moon glimmered upon stunning, long, dark hair.
'A woman..' he thought as he tried his best to inspect her with his blurred vision. His yellow, orange eye met with darkened eyes, and he was unable to determine what color they were. Her tanned skin stood out the most because of the white snow, and she was also wearing light armor. He caught sight of a katana strapped to her hip, and he growled again, baring his teeth at her.
"You poor thing.." her voice said, sadness in her voice as she stepped forward.
"Do not come any closer, leave me to die," he said in a dangerous tone as his eye narrowed at her.
"You want to die? Why is that?" her soft voice asked, which had left him speechless.
'Why isn't she afraid of me? I don't understand..' he thought.
"I said leave me to die! Leave now while you're still alive," he repeated, not answering her questions. This made her eyes tinge with sadness.
"I can tend to some of your wounds. I am aware you are a god, but even a god cannot survive the state you're in. Please, let me help you," she said with a small, sad smile displaying on her face.
'She wants to save me..? I don't understand. She doesn't seem like other humans. There's something almost genuine about her.. No, humans are all the same..' he thought and suddenly became angry.
"I said leave!" he snapped and lunged his head forward at her, baring his teeth again in an attempt to frighten her. Much to his dislike, she didn't budge in any way. She just looked at him confused, and reached out to touch his snout gently.
"If you really wanted to hurt or kill me, you would have done it by now. You know, you never did tell me why you wanted to die," she said calmly and peered into his open eye. Her touch warmed his face, and then eventually his body, and as much as he despised humans, he couldn't move away from her. He was completely perplexed, why was she so hellbent on the matter? Why was she being so nice to him? Why didn't she just leave him to die? Afterall, that's what he had wanted. He was going to die either way, so he might as well humor the woman for a bit.
"I never wanted to fight, all I ever wanted was to live in peace. Instead, I've had to kill many men in order to live. My very existence is a sin, I cannot bear to go on any longer with this damned soul of mine. Please, just leave me to die" he said quietly, his eyes lightening upon her as she gently rubbed his snout. She gazed at him for a minute before she spoke.
"You think that you're the epitome of sin, huh? You think that there's no justification if you keep on living? Why do you beat yourself up so?" she asked softly with sadness in her eyes. At her questions, another surge of anger shot through his body as he shook her hands off his snout.
"What do you know of my anger!? What do you know of my sorrow!? How could you possibly know anything of how I feel!?" he yelled, leaving the woman in her thoughts. She rested her arms back at her side and looked down at the ground, and then she spoke.
"You're right, I don't know," she said and looked back up at him. "But I have experienced my own anger, sadness, and pain, so it's not your burden alone." The fox God's expression lightened, and his eye gazed upon the strange woman in front of him. Minutes passed, and the both of them said nothing.
'This woman.. She is very different.. I haven't met anyone like her before..' he thought as sudden yelling was heard approaching the two.
"Monster! Think you could fool us, did you? Now you will die!" the soldiers yelled, almost echoing throughout the quiet night. The woman turned around to face the direction of the soldiers.
"See? I am a monster.. Please, leave while you can," he said quietly and rested his head back on the ground, preparing for death. The woman unsheathed her katana, which had made his ears perk up.
"..No.. can't you see? Humans are the monsters, we always have been. But you? A monster? Never," she said and turned her head to lock eyes with him. Just then, a group of 10 men ran out of the forest, torches and swords in hand.
"There he is! He's in that cave!" one of the soldiers pointed. The fox God tried to stand up, but his body had given up on him and strength did not come, new and old blood staining his white fur.
"Since you do not wish to live, I will wish it for you. Will you accept my wish, fox God?" the woman said quietly, and turned back to face the men. He was awestruck, why was she doing this? Why was she saving him? Why did she refuse to give up on him? Questions flooded his mind one after another, overlapping each other.
"Kill that woman too if she gets in the way!" another soldier shouted.
"Let's kill 'em both!" the leader yelled as they all rallied and charged at the two. The fox God broke out of his thoughts, pain filling his body.
"You must go! They will kill you too!" he pleaded as he watched her unmoving body, hoping that she'd listen to him.
"You'll have to go through me to get anywhere near this cave!" she yelled and readied her katana in hand.
'No! Please! Run!' the fox God thought helplessly as he watched the woman run straight to the men. She began to fight them, dodging attacks from every which way skillfully. A soldier on her right had left himself wipe open, and she took the chance to slice his neck. As his bloody body fell, another soldier took his place.
"You bitch!" the leader cursed and grabbed the back of her hair. Before he knew it, he was up above her. She had lifted her leg up behind her and tossed him overhead, cutting his chest to stomach, his body also falling to the snowy ground. The fox God watched in complete awe. 'She's.. she's protecting me.. Risking her life for my own,' he thought. 'Will you accept my wish, fox God?' her soft voice asked over and over again in his head.
"Wh- what the hell are you-!" one of the soldiers asked in horror as his head was then cut clean off his body. Another soldier behind her aimed his sword straight for her head. She barely had enough time to react, as the sword cut her chin to cheek. She whipped around quickly and stabbed her katana straight through his back, and then ducked down under the sword another soldier had lunged at her. She kicked him back and sliced his stomach open, his organs peeking through the large cut as he fell backwards lifelessly. After she had killed all of the men, she stood up straight and sheathed her katana. Taking a deep breath, she ignored the pain as blood gushed down her face onto her armor, and walked back to the cave. When she entered the cave, his eye was closed, was she too late? She quietly walked up to the large fox, and fell to her knees in front of his snout.
"Hey.." she said quietly and reached her hands upward, resting them on his snout once again. His eye slowly opened, and gazed down upon her bloody face. She smiled lightly, and pet the sides of his snout gently. Her touch was kind and loving, the warmth of it even began to warm his cold body.
"I will grant your wish," he said quietly, which made her look up at him, shocked.
"W-what?" she asked, unsure of what he had said. He moved his snout upward a little, and licked her face, cleaning the blood off of her face.
"I will stay here.. Just for a little longer. I will grant your wish," he repeated, his gaze soft.
"I'm so glad!" she said happily as a big smile formed on her face. He rested his head on her lap softly, and she wrapped her arms around his snout, giving him a hug. Her warmth, her touch, everything about her made him feel lively again, maybe life was worth living. It was this moment, right this instant, he knew he loved her.
"I'm Gentoka," his voice said softly.
"And I am Yukiko, it's very nice to meet you," she looked up at him and smiled. His cold heart ached as the ice that enshrouded it began to melt, warmth filling it once again. This is the story of Gentoka, a fox God with a tragic history, and Yukiko, a shrine protector with a tragic fate awaiting her. What will happen in this tale?