Shining Owl

Chapter One

The rain continued pouring down on the poor village. The once friendly, busy town had been run down for a long time, and most people had already left, except for Fukurou and a few more people.

Fukurou was sitting under the tree on top of the large hill near the village, silently watching over everyone. She saw the old man who lived in the apartment building go buy something from the shop that Mr. Lee had started when he first moved into town. She saw the diner owner's daughter splash in the puddles with her beat up boots. Things seemed to go smoothly, except for the fact that everything was soaked.

No one had visited the town in a while, so Fukurou didn't expect anyone to show up today. Suddenly, the rain lifted and the sun glistened through the clouds. Something is going to happen today, isn't it, Mom, she thought. Fukurou's mother had died when she was young, but she believed they were still connected.

Her thoughts were right, for she spotted some people walk into town from the south. She gave a small smile before shaking her head. If she got too comfortable around the visitors and they were actually criminals or simply dangerous, then the town would be destroyed from existence. Fukurou stood up and quickly headed down towards the village.

She watched from behind a building as the four people walked cautiously. They seemed a little scared, but in the condition that the place was in, anyone who was new would feel the same way. Fukurou cocked her head. The four had an odd aura about them. Were they…+Anima? Like her?

She was startled by the silence breaking when one of them started to talk. "Ah, why do we have to stop here?" one of them complained.

"It looks like this town could really use some brightening up," another said.

Fukurou smiled. They were just passing by. It was sad, though, because if there was a fairly nice inn on the west side of the town. They could eat, rest, and be rejuvenated for the next day. She let out a long, deep sigh. Before she knew what else was going on, she was clawed in the face, then falling to the ground.

She shook her head and tried to look at her attacker, but everything was blurry for a minute. There were murmurs and voices of people. Finally, things cleared and she could see things vividly again. Her eyes widened. Those people! They really were here to do harm! She jumped up and glared at the four people. Her arms turned into beautiful white wings.

"Don't hurt anyone," she growled.

One of them beamed and held out his hand. "Hi! I'm Cooro! You're a bird +Anima too?" he exclaimed happily. "I am too! I'm a crow!"

Fukurou lowered her wings and looked at him confusedly. Was he trying to distract her or was he actually trying to be nice to her? She carefully shook hands with him. The boy named Cooro shook roughly and jumped up and down. He surely was an excitable one. And he said he was a +Anima too, right?

He gestured to the other three, introducing each of them. "These are my friends Husky, Nana, and Senri! They are +Anima too!" he told her. "What about you? Don't you have a name?"

Fukurou backed up a little. She was still nervous about the new faces. "F…Fukurou…" she stammered.

One of the other boys (Husky) rolled his eyes. "Great, she's a +Anima. Great, she lives in this horrible ghost town. Can we leave now?" he said impatiently.

Fukurou shot him a look before turning her attention back to the others. She had no time for the likes of him. She held up her hands, her expression saying that she had no time to hang around and chat. If anything, the least she could do was say "hi" before running off to help the villagers some more.

Nana frowned and looked at Husky angrily. "Ugh, Husky, you just love to get on everyone's nerves, don't you?" she snapped. "This is why you don't have a girlfriend."

"I don't need a girlfriend! It's bad enough I have to travel around with you, a stupid girl!"

Husky stormed off, grumbling to himself. Nana apologized for his behavior. Husky never liked girls, and traveling with an overly energetic boy as well as a girl seemed like it was too much for him. It made Fukurou wonder why he had not left the group. Had he ever tried to?

Fukurou looked at the last boy—or, a young man at the least—who had remained silent the entire time. She tilted her head, questioning the fact that he did not talk that much, rarely ever. He glanced at her before turning away. He seemed embarrassed. He was probably the one who had hurt her. She couldn't blame him. She shared his living to protect the ones he's close to.

Suddenly, there was a low growling. "Fukurou, is there any food in this town? If I don't get something to eat, I'm going to die!" Cooro moaned. "Please!"

Fukurou laughed a little. She motioned the three to follow her. "There's a small inn. It's over there," she told them. "Nice food and shelter will be waiting." She walked along the streets, waving to the people who said "hello" to her and the others. Walking past the tailor and the houses of some of the more elderly folk, they eventually reached Mrs. Garrett's Inn.

Mrs. Garrett welcomed the three. She led them to a cafeteria in the back room. Suddenly, the four stopped in their tracks as they saw Husky looking at them in surprise as they entered.

"W…What are you guys doing here?" he shouted.

"Fukurou showed us!" Cooro answered cheerfully. "Now, hand me some of that apple pie!" He took a seat across from his friend and started to devour the food.

Senri sat down next to Cooro and decided to have something as well. He hadn't eaten in a day, and he needed something to keep his body going, no matter how strong he was. Nana joined in as well. She didn't want all of the boys to wolf everything down before she even got to have a nibble at something.

Mrs. Garrett turned to Fukurou, who was about to leave the building. "Why don't you have something too, honey? There's plenty to go around," she said with a smile.

"Yeah, come eat with us, Fukurou!" Cooro chimed.

She smiled and sat down next to Husky and Nana, who complained about having all of the girls sitting next to him. Fukurou took some food and placed it on her plate. This group didn't seem so bad. Maybe they could get along and become friends. They're all +Anima…people who have been shunned from the world. This town greeted her when she first arrived. A few more might not be so dreadful as it may seem to some people. She decided to think about it later and continued to eat with the rest.