A lesson on fire
Last edited 9/20/16
There is a heart wrenching sound in the smoke filled air, it congests his head with pain and sorrow and it is all he can do to keep moving through the rubble, to ignore the wild, faint, sobs of a far off spirit. It has to be one of the spirits, all the humans are dead. The wails stop and he is alone in a silent world of heat and pain and smoke and there is blood, oh so much blood. He is cold, wearing only his thin robes to ward off the cool night. Rubble shifts and sensei is there, white fur stained red, the place at his side where his grandmother usually stands is empty.
'I'm not alone,' he thoughts are hazy even as his vision dims, 'Don't leave me alone…' his world fades into black.
….
"You stupid creature! Snap out of it!" Madara snarls at an unnamed youkai, one of the servants of a clan member from over the sea. The crane youkai, still in shock over the bond between it and its human so suddenly broken, looks up at him in relief and stops it wails. 'Good,' he thinks, 'at least they will still listen to my orders'.
"ASSEMBLE!' He roars to the red, fire-lit sky, he ignores the injuries down his side where an attacker had aimed to hit Reiko. The call is like a beacon of hope to all spirits in the area. Their masters and mistresses are dead, they know. The bonds that bind them and label them with the scorned title of skikki are gone; but many were also bound to the clan of Natsume, not only specific humans. Until the last Natsume died, they would be tied to the human as servants. He does not know who of the Natsume clan still lives, but there is only one dim presence he recognizes as he searches for a survivor.
Youkai who have heard his call are moving toward him, seeing him as a figure of authority. "Where is Reiko-dono? Reiko-dono?" they call to him and search for the woman who is the creator and head of the clan, their jailer and their queen. He snorts at their pitiful cries. They have nothing to worry about, the Book of Friends with all its names and contracts is hidden in the main Kyoto temple, far away from the flames that eat at the supports of the husk of what once was the main house.
"Move all still- bound youkai to the southern house, I'll meet you there! Hinoe, Mizu, Kagura! You're in charge!" He bounds to the fading presence of the nearest human, away from the horde of youkai who now move with purpose. The rubble of the once majestic Clan mansion digs into his paws but he has to find him. He winds around what resembled the splintered support beam of the northern wing and he sees who is left, and cannot help but wonder if it isn't best if Takashi dies here. There is rubble for miles around and bodies flung to the farthest reaches of the property and the only survivor is this little six-year-old boy who has followed him around the mansion since he could walk, considering his every move with wide wonder-filled silver eyes. He knows Reiko had planned, out of the hundreds of members of the Natsume clan, to make this one little human her heir anyway and does nothing to muffle the snort of irony at the situation.
Takashi doesn't stir and he thinks his wish, made in the emotions of the moment, has come true. Madara jumps down to stand over the body of the boy who had lost everything in one horrendous blow, relieved to hear the faint heart beat and shallow breaths. He only has time to let out a relieved sigh before a bird youkai raises the alarm. Humans are coming.
'Probably to finish the job,' Madara snarls in rage, his lips pull back over his teeth and he bellows his challenge to the red sky. Before, it was red with fire and blood and screams and now there is only fire and blood and silence and the appearance of the sun to mark a new day. At his bellow, there are shouts from the just arrived exorcist.
"Madara-sama!" There is a cry from a crow youkai above, one of the many who live in the forest around the mansion. They, too, were bound to Reiko through contract so they had sensed her pass and the shift to a new master. He looks up and unknowingly scars some of them for life. Right then, crouched over the body of who they know is the last live Natsume, bathed in the light of the fire and the red sun, lips pulled back in a rage filled snarl and a murderous glint in his eye, the crows who were only old enough to hear the stories of Madara's wartime past, could fully believe the tame beast who sat by Lady Reiko's side was a monster in his own right.
"Madara-sama!" The oldest lands and bows respectfully, he keeps his weapons lowered and struggles not to make any sudden moves in the presence of the youkai who will protect on instinct. "There are Matoba shikki in the forest closing in fast! The other crows said the other exorcist clans don't know what is going on and the Japanese Exorcist council is in an uproar. All the humans know is one minute the Natsume clan was here, the next minute all contact was cut and there was a huge explosion of bad energy. What are your orders Madara-sama?" As the report progresses, the sound of the exorcist grows in volume. The beast youkai tilts his head up and scans the area.
"Hmph," he grumbles, his temper under control as his mind works to analyze every possibility, "Spread the word to everyone to relocate to the southern clan house. There is to be no retaliation, it could only worsen the situation. Tell Hinoe I said to get ahold of the man who controls all Natsume assets and activate the freeze period until I say so."
"Hai, Madara-sama… where-" the crow is cut off as Madara lowers his head and lifts the child off the ground in one smooth motion. It is disconcerting for the crow and his companions to see the jaws that were ready to rip them to shreds moments ago cradle the boy so carefully. He gives the crows one final glance before he lunges into the air, running across the currents of the wind and away from what was once the home of the hundreds of people and thousands of youkai of the Natsume clan, now scattered in pieces across the land.
