Shen let out a heavy sigh; his hand pushed against his thigh so he could rise from his crouched position. Lacerations decorated the remains of a man. Blood was splattered everywhere in what he assumed was the master bedroom. "What have we done to upset such a demon?" That sentence echoed in his mind-He heard it every time they went to check a murder, hoping to find another lead. The smell was intoxicating. It was clear the body was decomposing prior to anyone finding it, but the signs were there: this site was as gruesome as the rest, and the crime was carried out in the same horrific way as the other murders that spread like wildfire in Ionia. Shen figured this was enough, as his senses began overwhelming him. He felt bile rise up in his throat as he exited. He spat out the bile that made its way up and let out an uncomfortable cough, before greedily breathing in the fresh, crisp air.
Zed was quiet, contemplative, and deep in thought. He ran his hands through his choppy, midnight-black hair. "Everytime we think we have a clue, another murder pops up. Then another. It's nonstop..." He mumbled out before resting his arms down on his knees, then placing his forehead against his arms. He looked so vulnerable, defenseless, and torn up.
Shen felt the corner of his lips twitch into a frown.
"It's okay, Zed!" A young Shen carried a young, injured Zed on his back while he trekked all the way up the many stairs of the temple's entrance.
Zed sobbed behind him, "I-it hurts!"
"The mighty warrior Zed, taken down by a scraped knee?!" He let out a hearty laugh, "No brother of mine will go down that easy!"
Zed sniffled and tried to quiet his whimpers. He took a terrible fall while he was training; blood flowed down his leg and pooled around his shoe.
"See!" Shen said as he took a step back and looked at the clean, bandaged leg of Zed, "you're all better!" He placed his hands on his hips, smiling broadly, proud of his attempt at bandaging his adopted little brother.
In return, Zed looked up, cheeks tear-stained, and smiled so large his cheeks puffed up, giving him the appearance of a squirrel.
'I was always able to protect you back then..' Shen thought to himself as he watched the vulnerable form of Zed. Guilt suffocated his heart as he knew this was something he couldn't protect, nor help Zed with, not until they could put a stop to this 'Golden Demon.'
A scream echoed in the background as a woman tried getting through the guards so she could see her husband one last time. Shen and Zed blended into the background as Master Kusho stepped up to get a closer look. The investigators allowed him to pass without question.
"I need to see him one last time! Please!" she continued. More tears flowed freely from her beautiful, baby-blue eyes. Soft, peach-colored lips were parted as the woman was breathing hard and hiccuping, "I didn't get to say goodbye, let me through!" She continued trying to pass through the men.
Shen's heart throbbed. He needed to comfort her, needed her to feel better. He made his way towards her, and as gently as he could, pulled her away and into a hug, "Shh, shh.. It's okay." A trained response he learned to give.
"No it's not!" She was crying harder now, her eyes meeting his electric blue ones. She punched his chest over and over again, and he allowed her. She wasn't very strong; she was fragile, and small. He knew that hitting something, taking her frustration and hurt out, was the best coarse of action.
She finally collapsed onto the ground hours later. The sky darkened. The moon slowly kicked the sun out so her and her children may shine brightly. Shen sat down and held her in his lap. He continued to rub her back in soothing circles until she fell asleep, her head resting on his broad shoulders.
"Zed, Shen, we must go." Master Kusho broke the two out of their reflection. He looked up at the sky-it was only midday.
The two students nodded, and wordlessly followed their master.
Master Kusho finally broke the silence, "This isn't a demon," once they were safely out of earshot.
"What?" Zed growled out. This was the first word he'd spoken in what seemed like ages, and it was dripping with malice. "If it's mortal, we should put an en-"
The Eye of Twilight raised his hands to silence the crimson-eyed kinkou. "You must rid yourself of poisonous thoughts, lest they overwhelm and overtake you," came the sharp reply. "There is one traveling group of performers. Everywhere they go, there are four murders." They made it to their camp, where Master Kusho pulled out a map, marked with notes and 'X's. "I didn't think there was a pattern, nor a lead, but then I began mapping it out.." he spoke out, allowing the other two to digest this new information. "If you take a close look at all the murders, they're sharp, clean cuts. They were made with a blade. If an animal, or demon, truly did it, their claws would leave jagged, messy incisions." He began explaining before he rolled up the map, "And the next performance by Zhyun's Traveling Performers is in Jyom Pass. Let's pack up and head out." He rolled up the map and began packing it, along with the rest of the camp, away. They needed to move fast if they wanted to catch the next 'performance'.
More venomous words dripped from Zed's mouth as he began taking down the tents and backing them up, "What a sick human being."
Shen was again lost in memories and thoughts.
Khada attempted to finish putting away all of the stage props. The actresses and actors were still being bombarded with attention - attention that was supposed to be his. He made all the props. He painted them. They were exquisite! He wiped a bead of sweat off his forehead with a cloth that he carried in his pocket. He noticed three men that weren't from the Zhyun Province going around and asking questions, almost like they were playing detective. One figure stood out to him - A man with red hair. Even though it was gaining streaks of white, he knew exactly who it was.
He finished packing the props into the wagon before gingerly picking up a case and heading towards the wood line. He had a show to create, one that would give him the attention he deserved. He didn't get what was rightfully his. He was no mere stagehand. He deserved the applause, the standing ovations. All of it.
Shen frowned once again-no one found anything suspicious. The performers were all comfortable with each other. If someone was comitting these heinous murders, they'd have to do it at night, once everyone was tired and going to bed. The murders appeared to take a lot of time, so whoever was behind them would be exhausted. But none of the performers reported anyone that fit the description.
Just as he was about to give up, a shadow danced in his peripheral vision. He turned to see a lanky figure walking towards the forest. It was holding something, but he couldn't tell what. He took a glance at the sea of people before making a decision, and took off after the unknown person.
Shen berated himself, 'How could I lose someone? The one lead we had!' He jumped from one tree branch to another. The figure he was trailing was dashing in and out of trees. He either knew where he was going, or he knew someone was following him. Shen assumed it was the former, which had to make him the suspect.
A soft and melancholy tune broke him out of his thoughts. He froze on a tree branch and listened intently. He began quietly making his way towards the sound and found the tall, lanky figure that was making its way towards the tree line.
Shen was enthralled. How could something so sad carry a mixture of happiness and hope? He recognized the instrument to be a violin, and the handler expertly glided the bow over the strings as his hands danced on the neck of the instrument. He sat down with his arms on his thighs, balancing himself on the tree branch as he watched the player continue to mesmerize him with that tune.
The figure was swaying their body gently as they rocked with the rhythm of their song. The person had a dancer's type of body, though his upper arms were toned. Shen didn't recognize the figure but saw them leaving the traveling wagon, so it had to be a mere stagehand. Even though the person's eyes were closed, Shen could still tell that the violinist had a very symmetrical face. Once the song finished, Shen felt his breath hitch. "Did you like what you heard?" Blood-red eyes slowly opened to meet Shen's. A smirk tugged at one corner of the stagehand's lips.
"I did, in fact." Shen spoke while he mentally berated himself for not staying unknown. He jumped down to get a closer look at the violinist, who was now gently putting the instrument back in its case, along with the bow.
"Well, if you'd like to hear more, I play in every one of our shows." Two snaps followed the sentence-he closed the case. "Name's Khada, I work with the Traveling Zhyun Performers," He shrugged his shoulders
Shen noticed a hint of sadness was detected in his voice, though he couldn't pinpoint why. Shen was dumbstruck. His jaw clenched uncomfortably tight. What could he say or do now? He was mesmerized by this man, the alignment of his face, the way he carried himself with poise, and the way he played his song.
Khada's eyes twitched into a glare. He noticed the stare Shen was giving him-he felt inspected, like he was some sort of suspect. Blood-red eyes met electric blue. Symmetry was so boring, yet everyone thought it was perfection, 'It's not! Only you create perfection with our art, our vision!' His conscience seethed. "Well, if you just came to hear me play," Khada rummaged in his pants pocket and pulled out a ticket that admitted one in their next show, "here's a free invitation." There was a bitter tone in his voice.
Shen grabbed it and glanced down. It was folded cleanly four times, and other than the four fold lines, it was crisp. "Thanks, but I don't think I would have time." He offered the ticket back towards the stagehand, who reached down to pick up the violin case. He then straightened up and walked towards where they came from.
"Keep it." He gave him a backwards wave, "I'm sure we'll meet again." Jhin's drawl carried over the night wind as he exited, leaving Shen alone and dumbfounded.
"Where were you, son?" Master Kusho didn't look up as he agitated the fire with a metal skewer in an attempt to prolong the fire's life.
"I thought I found a lead," Shen answered, shaking his head. He noticed neither Zed nor his father pitched his tent, so he went about setting it up. "Did you and Zed find anything?"
"No." came the curt reply.
The moon was high up in the sky; crickets sung, wolves howled, and the wind gently fluttered the leaves on trees. The symphony of nature's sounds was nice, but Shen much preferred that sad, hopeful song Khada was playing. He crawled into his tent and began peeling his armor off before he replayed this evening's events in his head. He pulled out the now-crumpled ticket and examined it. He played with the idea of going on his own, but how could he sneak out? How could he go without raising questions from Zed and his father? Shen shook his head, trying to rid himself of thoughts. He had a mission to complete, but this was a nice breather from the gruesomeness of the task. He briefly forgot about it when he was spending time with Khada. He set the ticket aside and rested his head down on the soft pillow. Slowly, his eyes closed and he prayed that he would be taken to pleasant dreams, not horrifying nightmares.
Screaming, full of anger and malice, abruptly awoke Shen from his peaceful sleep. He sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He recognized the voice belonged to Zed. An animalistic growl escaped Zed, "How could this happen?!"
'How could what happen?' Shen was still in his morning stupor.
"We stayed with every performer until they had to retire!" A bang completely awoke Shen, and he rushed out of the tent, finding the campsite in disarray. Zed, in his frustration, had knocked over a lot of things.
Master Kusho looked disappointed, and a hint annoyed. "Calm yourself Zed, what use could you be if you're letting your emotions get the best of you?"
Shen took a deep breath, "Father, what happened?" His voice was level, much softer than Zed's destructive, angry one.
"Another four murders occured last night." The Eye of Twilight's voice was dry.
Every day Shen noticed that more of his father's hair had turned white and that Zed's outburst were becoming more and more frequent. This made him wonder: had he changed too?
A/N: Thanks so much for my amazing fiance' for spell checking my first chapter! :) I want this to be a novelization and slight AU of Shen's journey to capturing Jhin.
The piece that Jhin is playing when Shen finds him:
/watch?v=NguIpRFLM4M
I will do an update every Tuesday. My plan is to have a 100 - 150k word story. Reviews are GREATLY appreciated and absolutely, 100% make me want to write more.