I gripped my Bokken hard enough my hand ached as I sprinted around a corner into a shadowed alleyway. Blood pounded in my ears, nearly drowning out the scornful taunts of the thing chasing me.
"You can't escape me, little squirrel." My breath caught on a sob as fear spurred my aching legs into even greater speeds. Skidding through a puddle, I dived into another alleyway, My mind racing to find a way out of this mess. Stumbling out into a road, I cursed under my breath. Not a car in sight.
"Just my luck..." I muttered, frantically trying not to think about the thing that was quickly gaining on me. A low chuckle set me off again and I dashed across the street to the half demolished buildings on the other side. My side was burning but I didn't dare stop again.
"Come on, little squirrel, I just want a taste. You smell so good, all that raw untapped power in such a lovely package." I fought back the whimper that rose to my lips as I ducked around an overflowing old dumpster, trying desperately not to slip on the rotting garbage. Another quick turn and I slammed into something solid and warm, tumbling to the ground on top of it.
"Oro!?" The strange sound distracted me for a moment and I realized with growing horror that I had knocked someone over. I had a brief glimpse of long vividly red hair and surprised violet eyes before I remembered the thing chasing me.
"G..gumendesai!" I gasped, scrambling to my feet as I glanced behind over my shoulder warily. I could still feel him, he was much closer now, but there was no sign of him in the shadows. Another low chuckle vibrated through the air and I shuddered, tightening my grip on my Bokken instinctively. "Sumimasen!" I whimpered, darting around the fallen stranger, but before I had taken more than a couple steps a hand caught my arm in a powerful grip.
"Wait, are you alright?" I stared at the man I had knocked over in surprise, catching the genuine concern in his oddly deep voice. He was only a few inches taller than me, and his slight frame gave no hint of the impressive strength I could feel in the firm hand on my wrist. His face was almost feminine, saved from perfection by a rather distinctive cross shaped scar on his left check. But his eyes were what caught me, dark violet and filled with mysterious shadows for someone who looked only a little older than me. Then an eerie laugh echoed down the dark street and I quickly shook off the compelling spell of his gaze.
"I'm fine, let me go!" I hissed frantically, tugging hard on my captured arm. For a moment he hesitated, his grip loosening just a bit, but before I could break free that horrible laugh twined around them. His eyes went wide and his grip automatically tightened.
"What..." He began, but that awful voice interrupted him.
"Why, thank you, good sir. You caught my little Squirrel for me!" I whimpered softly as fear fought with rage in my chest, still trying to pull away from the unfortunate man who held me prisoner. I didn't want him to get killed just because I had been too distracted to watch where I was going. A shadow stepped away from the building behind me and I whirled around to see a massive man whose rough face was covered with a dark scruffy beard, his dark cold eyes shining with glee. A bared katana gleamed in his left hand, his right clearly crippled and bleeding. "Time to pay your debt to me, squirrel. You owe me for what you did to my hand."
"Ha!" I snarled, momentarily giving up trying to free myself so that I could glare at him. Fear crept up my spine at his greedy sneer but I quickly fought it back. I might run, but I refuse to cower in front of him! "You attacked me, Gohei Hiruma! All I did was defend myself! He chuckled, clearly amused by my show of temper. Suddenly, between one moment and the next, he was standing right in front of me. I flinched and noticed with a strange mix of relief and horror that my captor's grip had loosened. Yanking my arm out of his hand, I just managed to get my Bokken up in time to block his swing. The sheer power behind the blow send me flying back into the wall behind me and I nearly collapsed as pain flared all over my back. Before I could catch my breath, he was on me again, his mangled hand lifting me into the air by my training gi.
"Now for a taste of that power of yours, squirrel." He growled, and magic pulsed from him in a sickly wave of shadow, sinking into my skin like oil. A shrill scream tore from my throat as agony ripped trough me, tearing me apart from the inside out. My vision went dark at the edges as I desperately struggled to get away from him, but even with his hand mangled, his grip was like iron. With the last of my strength, I lifted my Bokken in a last effort to break his hold. But before I could slam it into his hand, a blur of red flashed in the corner of my eye and Gohei released me with a cry of pain. I crumpled to the ground, clutching my heart with my free hand and trying to get a deep breath as the agony began to fade. Forcing my eyes open, I choked in surprise.
The stranger I had run into stood between me and Gohei, a strange looking katana in held in an expert grip.
"This one is not sure what is going on, but this one cannot just stand aside and let you hurt this young woman." His voice was deeper than before, and there was a dark tone to it that scared me more than Gohei. Yet somehow, I felt...safe, protected, in a way I hadn't experienced for over a year.
"You might want to stay out of this, Shorty. That 'young woman' you are foolishly protecting is a potential sorceress that just awakened into her magic this morning. I discovered her first, and I claim a right to her power." Rage flared in my chest at his words but that horrible spell he had used on me had sapped my strength. I couldn't even find the will to sit up, let alone stand. And Sorceresses were widely feared throughout Japan, even newly awakened ones like me.
"This one does not care what she is, you will not hurt her further." I gaped at his back, shocked by his casual acceptance. If I had learned anything over the course of this increasingly awful day, it was the fact that everyone cared what I was. I had lost more friends this morning than I had lost in years of being a tomboy who taught swordsmanship. For a stranger to willingly defend me, knowing what I had unwillingly become, was unthinkable. Yet he was. Warmth flared in my heart and the lingering ache from Gohei's spell faded away. Carefully, I pushed myself up, barely managing to keep myself sitting. Gohei growled, lifting his sword to attack, and the red head crouched in response, clearly prepared to fight to protect me.
"Auntie Karou? What are you doing sitting on the ground?" I froze in horror at the tentative question and my head jerked up to see a familiar little girl staring in confusion at the odd scene, standing only a few feet away from Gohei. The sharp grin on Gohei's face was all the warning I needed. The world around me seemed to slow to a crawl as Gohei lunged for the girl. My mind went blank with terror, except for one single frantic thought. Protect Ayume!
Gohei only managed to take one step, the red head desperately lunging after him, before I managed to raise my Bokken and slam it with all my strength against the ground. Power exploded from the wooden sword, a blinding white wall of raw magic that exploded in every direction. As my vision began to grey, too much power, too soon, no control, I don't even know what I did, I dimly noticed the red head leaping up out of the way, his eyes wide with shock and glowing a brilliant gold. Odd, I thought his eyes were violet. I had time to see Gohei's eyes go wide with surprise and fear before darkness pounced, dragging me into its inescapable embrace.