Hello everyone! This is Israfella and The Last Youko is my first fanfic. It's based off the 1982 movie The Last Unicorn. I got the idea to make this fanfic while reading Chaseha-Wing's The Sea Prince. It was based off The Little Mermaid and gave me the idea to try and write a fanfic based off another children's fairytale. I'd really appreciate it if you would at least read the prologue before deciding whether it might be worth reading or not. If you don't like the prologue; then thank you for giving it a chance. If you do; then you get to wait until I finish chapter one. XD
Since this is my first fanfic, please do not expect the greatest thing in the world. I am a beginner writer and I'm sure as you read you will find this out. I will do my best to keep everyone in character, and also make this fanfic somewhat my own without getting too far off the original plot. Pointing out mistakes and giving tips on how to improve my writing skills are always appreciated. Thank you for reading and please enjoy The Last Youko!
-Israfella
Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho, or the plotline.
Prologue
The sound of horses' hooves and a dog's bark echoed throughout the forest. Two men, one an old man and the other a young male, possibly only nineteen, rode on two darkly colored horses down a worn out path. Both men carried with them a bow strapped to their backs and next to that a basket with a collection of arrows placed inside. This, of course, left no creature curious as to why these men had entered their home.
The dog that accompanied the men let out another bark and ran to a bush, but upon reaching his destination turned his head and darted across the wide path to different one. The dog repeated this action again, but only with a tree, before giving off a whining noise.
"Perhaps there are many different scents in this forest. Hojo is getting extremely confused and keeps running around in circles." The younger of the two suggested.
The old man didn't say anything. With a stern face he kicked his horse in the side, making it go further ahead. Out of the wild plants in the forest darted a silvery blur. It glided across the path, snapping at the horse's legs and disappeared into a bed of gorgeous purple flowers. The old man's horse, out of fear, reared up its front legs causing the old man to slide off its back and hit the ground below with a hard thump.
"Mother fuc-!"
"Grandfather!" the younger man quickly dismounted his own horse and ran to his fallen grandfather's side.
As the boy helped him up, the old man rubbed his sore lower back and turned in the direction that the silver mass had disappeared into. "You bloody fox! I'll get you for that!" he cried out, reaching for his bow as he did so.
The man's grandson gave him a confused look at his outburst. "Grandfather did you hit your head? That animal was far too big to be a fox and it wasn't even the right color. Foxes are red, not gray."
The old man laughed at the boy's ignorance. "Any man could tell that that was no ordinarily fox. It was a youko." He said as he stepped off the dirt path into the forest. His bow was in front of him, really to fire at anything that moved.
"A fox demon . . . ?" The younger male muttered, now clearly worried about his grandfather's sanity. "Please Grandfather. We need to get you home so you can rest."
"I'm not leaving after what he did to me! Get out here you demon!" The old man continued. Hojo, who had ran after the light gray blur since it first appeared, was now quickly coming out of the shadowed forest whining as if he had sensed something that his masters hadn't.
"Grandfather, please. It couldn't have been a youko. Demons don't exist." The grandson pleaded again, and it seemed to work. The old man put his bow down and began to move out of the forest as while. Muttering something along the lines of "bloody coward" under his breath as he did so. But when he reached the dirt path he fell again, only this time on his face.
The man's eyes flashed to his feet and his mouth dropped at what he saw. "The root! He moved the root to trip me!" he exclaimed, pointing at the root of a tree that was, indeed, high enough for someone to trip on.
The grandson gave off a tired sign and helped the old man up once again. Slowly and carefully, he helped his grandfather back onto his horse before settling on his own. "We'll find another place to hunt Grandfather, after you get some rest." The young man promised as he guided both of their horses down the dirt path.
"It's just my luck." The old man pouted, making his prideful and wise face look somewhat childish. "To hunt in the forest where the last youko lives."
"The last?" His grandson questioned. "What makes you say that?" The boy didn't know if he had asked out of curiosity or to entertain his grandfather, but supposed it didn't matter.
"Before there would have been no question as to what that beast was. When I was a child, I remember hearing tales of youkos tricking samurai or messing around with a princess, but now that I am old I haven't heard any. And kids like you don't believe in anything just because you never see it!" The old man explained, looking around as if he expected the demon fox to pop out at any moment and attack him.
"Grandfather, people back then were very superstitious. Maybe over time they realized that youkos are just made up creatures." His grandson reasoned, but the old man continued to be stubborn.
"Then why do we still hear stories of dragons and other demons. Why were we warned about hunting in this forest before coming here? You may not believe, but I know the truth. The youkos have disappeared, but there is one left and it's in this forest!" the old man was getting too excited and his grandson decided that the best course of action would be to end the conversation now.
As the men rode silently out of the forest, two golden eyes watched from behind the leafs of a thick green plant. The owner of the eyes lifted up his head once the two were out of sight. The creature was the size of a dog, but defiantly had the body of a fox. Two light gray ears twitched slightly and four bushy tails waged slowly behind him. Giving off a huff, the youko vanished into the shadows of his home. That human was wrong.
Well, that's the prologue. Short, I know. I hate them when they are short too. Hopefully I can make the first chapter longer. Feel free to leace a review! -