Chapter 1
Smoke. Blood. Screaming. Fire. Pain. Cheering.
The village sat at the base of a large, grassy hill and was surrounded by a luscious, green forest that had been there for centuries. Usually, this small town was filled with peace. It wasn't a large city, like those filled with bars, violence, and prostitution. It was a community brought together by a strict social order. Everyone had their place and they knew where they stood. For the most part, there was minimal contention. When problems arose, they were brought before the leader of their town, who would lay out a fair resolution. Firm laws were set in place and to not follow them was unheard of due to the harsh punishments. But all-in-all, everyone lived comfortably and happily. It was just a small, calm, happy town.
Usually.
A scream resonated through the air, sounding above the cheering mass of people in the center square. The quaint shops surrounding the mob forced them to stand close together, the smell of angry sweat and the feeling of fear, fury and triumph hung thickly in the air. Not to mention the beginning scent of burning wood and flesh.
In the very middle of this horde of demons was a ten foot pole, standing straight up toward the darkening sky and engulfed in flames. A cat demon, looking to be in her mid-thirties or so, was tied to it. The edges of her neon-orange hair were singed from the fire. Her blue eyes were wide with pain and red cat ears twitched this way and that. Her matching red tail thrashed violently, trying to escape the heat.
She screamed again, the fire licking at her flesh hungrily. The air was beginning to smell of cooking meat and blisters appeared on her skin. Off to the side, a group of dog demons held her young 15-year-old daughter by the arms, preventing her from any form of escape. Her orange hair, identical to her mother's, hung limply in her tear streaked face. "MOM!" she screamed, struggling in vain against her captors. On an ordinary day, she would have been able to free herself—they weren't that strong—but this wasn't an ordinary day and the girl was too upset to really use her strength. "Let her go! Please! Just let her go!" the woman's daughter sobbed, near hysteria.
Another woman in the crowd, a fox well known and respected in the village, stepped forward angrily and stood in front of the young girl. Raising her hand, she swiftly brought it down and across girl's cheek, leaving it tingling with pain. "Be quiet, girl! You're next!" the woman snarled above the continuous cheers of the others. She spat at the woman's daughter. The glob of saliva ran down her shirt and hit the ground but the girl didn't care.
"A…ki…na…" the woman at the stake said, her head hanging low. The sound of her voice was wracked with pain and it barely carried over the sound of the crowd. The girl's silver ear twitched as her sensitive cat hearing picked up her mother's words. "Get out of here...save yourself..."
The young girl, Akina, stared at her mother through the golden eyes she had inherited from her father, tears never ceasing. "I can't just leave you!"
"Akina, listen to me!" the woman said hoarsely, causing her daughter to fall silent as she finally raised her head. "You're young! You need to live!" Her lips were chapped from the heat and Akina stared up at her, wanting so badly to be able to help her. "Find your father! Don't-"
"Quiet, bitch! The only place your daughter is going is straight to hell!" another woman in the crowd shrieked, picking up a rock at her feet. With her face twisted in concentration, she pulled the rock back and let it loose. It hurtled through the smoky air and connected solidly with the woman's stomach with a dull thud. She gave a small grunt of pain but kept a defiant look on her face. It was obvious she wouldn't last much longer.
"You will never be able to touch my daughter. She's stronger than you think. She'll escape and live a happy life. She'll-" The orange-haired woman was cut off as the other villagers follow the fox's example and began chucking rocks at her. She took it all without a sound as Akina sobbed quietly on the side. "Stop it...please..." she whispered pleadingly.
Akina's mother turned to look one last time at her precious daughter, her eyes the only thing revealing how much pain she was in. She stared at Akina and their eyes locked. "I'm sorry Akina. I love you so much...please forgive me," she said, just loud enough to be heard. She stared at Akina for just a second longer before her face twisted in agony and she fell limp for the last time.
"NOO!" Akina screamed, trying to break free of the demons holding her arms. She pulled as hard as she could, panic rising into her chest and clawing at her. Her breaths were coming fast as she hyperventilated and screams tore at her throat but she didn't care, too consumed as she was by the knowledge that her mother was truly dead. "NOOOO!" A fresh wave of cheers erupted from the crowd. Some clapped, some whistled, most cheered. All save one boy who stood to the side, watching with evident horror and sorrow written all over his face. "She didn't do anything! How can you just kill an innocent woman?" Akina screamed as the men holding her firmly began walking her towards the still burning stake. Toward her death. She planted her feet into the ground but it was no use.
A man walked forward and stood in front of Akina, towering over her. Her captors stopped walking and the crowd fell silent out of respect. His black eyes were cold and hard as they stared down at the girl before him. As he stood there, his forked tongue appeared before immediately disappearing in a reptilian way. She stared up at him, trying to calm her breathing. "Shut up, wench," he said. "Your whore of a mother was anything but innocent. She signed her death wish when she had you. And now that she's not here to stop us, we will kill you once and for all."
Akina froze and stopped breathing altogether. Her gold eyes widened, then narrowed and her silver cat tail twitched as a temporary spell of anger came over her. They could beat her and call her names, spit at her and drag her toward her death. But kill her mother and then call her a whore? That's where Akina drew the line. The snake demon, also the leader of the town, noticed the flash of anger in her eyes and smirked. "Try all you want, girl, but you'll never be able to kill us all. Besides, you can't even move," he sneered, gesturing to the men pinning her arms to her sides.
The young cat growled low in her throat as her demon energy gathered around her. With an angry yell of frustration, she blasted some energy into her arms, causing the dog demons holding her to yelp and jump back as her arms became too painful to hold. With another yell, she leaped forward, sliding a dagger from a sheath on her wrist to her hand and attacked the snake before her. In less than an instant, he was on the ground, unable to make noise as his throat was sliced open. A pool of blood began to form around him.
Everything fell deathly silent. The only sound was that of the fire crackling as it consumed the stake and the remains of the woman. Around her, the mob was in shock, having just witnessed the murder of their town leader. Akina stared down at the man, lost in hatred before a turning back to her mother. She had already forgotten the snake.
There wasn't much left of the older cat demon, just charred bones and flesh that fell away in chunks. The smell of cooked meat and burning flesh filled the air completely now. Tears pricked at her eyes and threatened to fall again as she realized that she was alone. Her family was gone. Well, there was still Kagami but she had disappeared a few days before to take care of her daughter. And she wasn't even blood related. For that matter, she was a human. But none of that mattered at that moment in time. Even though Akina knew her own life was at risk, her mind flashed back to a memory, right there in the middle of an angry city who wanted to see her dead.
It was late in the evening. The sun was just barely sinking behind the mountains, leaving just enough light to see one's surroundings. In a hut on the outskirts of the village, a mother sat inside on the floor, her 6-year-old daughter in front of her as she brushed it through the little girl's hair. They were laughing at something Akina had said. The atmosphere was light and happy.
"Mommy?" Akina started after a minute of silence.
"Hmm?" her mother, Takara, replied. Her voice sounded as though her mind was far off in a distant place.
"Why did daddy leave?" Akina asked softly in that cute, little voice six year olds usually have. She knew her mommy didn't like to talk about it but all the kids she knew had daddies. She'd seen it. How come they got to play with their daddies but she didn't?
The brush stopped moving halfway through Akina's orange hair and Takara gave a small sigh as she debated on how to answer. "Because he loves us," Takara answered softly, pulling the brush the rest of the way through.
"But if he loves us, why didn't he stay here?" Akina asked, turning around to face her mother. She cocked her head to one side, waiting for an answer.
Takara smiled sadly and placed the brush off to the side then folded her hands neatly in her lap. "Well, he did some things that weren't very good and he wanted to protect us and make sure we didn't get hurt because of him." Absentmindedly, Takara's right hand wandered up to the back of her neck. Her fingers moved back and forth, feeling the indention—the bite mark—her mate left behind. It was the sign that she had been claimed, the most sacred signs amongst the demons. It meant that she was his and no one else's. It was irreversible.
"Is that why the kids won't talk to me and the grown-ups are mean to me? Because he did something bad?" Akina asked with dawning realization. If this was so, then it would explain a lot.
"Yes," Takara replied sadly, bringing her hand down back into her lap. Her heart twisted painfully in her chest, longing for her mate, but she pushed the familiar feeling back. This was a pain she had become accustomed to in the last six years. "But don't blame them, they're just scared. They're scared that you'll become powerful like your daddy."
Akina shifted so she was kneeling on the floor, her hands on her knees. "Well, I think he should have stayed. If I were him, I would have. I wouldn't leave someone I love. And if I did decide to leave, I'd take them with me," Akina declared solemnly.
"You never know, Akina. Love does funny things to people," Takara replied, looking down at her young daughter. She felt her heart swell and burst with the love and pity she had for her little girl. The others in the village always picked on her, just because of her father. At times, Takara wondered the same things Akina did: why did he leave? And at other times, she cursed herself: why hadn't she gone with him?
"You won't leave me, will you mommy?" Akina asked, eyes wide as she crawled forward, moving her hands from her own knees to the older cat's knees as she stared up into her mother's face. "You'll always be here? Forever?"
Takara gazed down into her daughters golden eyes. 'So much like her father's...' she mused to herself. "I will never leave you, Akina. I promise." With that she reached forward and grabbed the half cat, half fox. Squeezing her tightly, she turned her onto her back in her arms and began tickling her sides. Akina's childish squeals rang through the air as she pleaded for her mother to stop.
"You promised me you wouldn't leave me alone," Akina whispered. The heat of the fire was on her face, almost to the point of pain but she refused to back away. Tears pricked once again at her eyes, and finally spilled over, streaming down her already tear-stained cheeks. "Where do I go now? I don't have anybody—"
"Akina!" The call of her name brought her back to the situation at hand. The young boy, the one who refused to participate in the cheering, stood off to the side of the angry mob. They were coming out of their daze and the looks on their faces were murderous. "Run!" he screamed, waving his hands, motioning for her to come to him. With tears still streaming steadily, she looked around wildly for a place to run, to get to the boy who was willing to help her. The crowd was beginning to move toward her, hate driving them forward. There was no way out.
An idea came to her and she disappeared suddenly. Everyone looked around wildly and the shouts of "Where'd she go?" could be heard.
"There she is!" shouted the kitsune woman that had slapped her earlier. A little silver kitten could be seen on the ground, running swiftly through the legs of the throng. After nearly being trampled, she made it to the boy and changed back into her original form. He looked at her, his eyes filled with concern, but quickly turned to the angry crowd. He twisted his hands into different signs while chanting under his breath. His eyes were closed in deep concentration as a blue shield of crackling electricity appeared in between the crowd and the two kids.
"Nyoko..." Akina said through a sob, staring at the young boy.
In truth, he was more of an adult at this point, rather than a child. He was 16 years of age, one year older than Akina. He had long, dark brown hair that was always pulled into a ponytail at the base of his neck. His dark green eyes were always friendly and held a smile. His face was angular, cheekbones prominent.
While growing up, Akina had been shunned but one little boy had always been by her side. They played together, laughed together, got in fights with the other children together. Sometimes, his parents banned him from seeing her, saying she was the cursed child and had bad blood but he always said he didn't care and snuck out to play with her: Akina was his friend and he was hers. He taught her what it meant to be accepted. He taught her what it meant to be a friend. He taught her what it meant to be loved.
He often teased her for being so short. While she stood at about 4'8" and would not grow any more, he was about 5'4" and would eventually be 6'7". He often teased her, calling her "shorty" though he never meant it to be rude. The truth was, while everyone hated and loathed this girl, just because of her parentage, young Nyoko had fallen madly in love with his little friend.
He never dropped his hands as he turned slightly to look at the distressed girl, his emerald eyes piercing into her. "Run Akina. I can't hold them off for very long but at least you'll get a head start." Akina started to protest, to tell him that he could not endanger himself for her. But the electric demon cut her off. "Damn it, Akina, run!" Nodding dumbly, she turned and darted into the thick forest, not looking back at the only friend she ever had and not knowing if she would ever see him again.
She stumbled through the trees, tears blinding her and sobs shaking her body. She was only able to run a short distance before cheers sounded out and reached the neko's sensitive ears. Panicking and realizing that Nyoko could no longer hold them back, she tried to run faster, for she was not running at even half her usual speed. If she was able to just calm down a little, she could either run faster or stop and fight. But as it was, she was hysterical and could do nothing but pray that she get away.
As if hearing her very thoughts, a young boy dropped out of a tree and landed in front of the neko. Akina stumbled in surprise and stopped abruptly, almost falling forward. She caught herself and stared at him.
He was dressed in all black and had black hair with a white starburst in the front. He was about two inches taller than her, making him shorter than most people. His hands were shoved in his pockets and he looked disgruntled, almost like he had been woken up. Akina looked over her shoulder and saw that the mob had decided to take the term to heart and had brought out the torches. There were only a few people in pursuit, all men, and they were getting closer. Akina rounded on the boy in front of her, desperate. "Please. Help me. I'm begging you..." She fell to her knees and looked pleadingly up at the boy. He stared down at her, startled, and then looked back up at the angry mob.
"Hn," is all he said in reply. He sidestepped the girl and stood behind her. She heard the sound of metal and, standing up again, turned around only to see the boy with a katana drawn.
"No! Don't kill them!" she pleaded. He looked over his shoulder, surprise obvious in his features. "They don't know what they're doing. They're just afraid. Please don't kill them," Akina begged, taking a step forward. The boy in black looked back to the approaching mob, not saying anything except another "hn" before disappearing. Akina blinked once or twice. Did he just leave her to fend for herself? Confused and terrified once again, Akina turned to run but stopped when she heard yells and muffled thuds. Looking at the mob she watched as they collapsed and torches were put out. A blur moved around them but finally stopped when all members of the mob were down. Akina, tears still running down her face, took a cautious step forward. There was not one single drop of blood on any of them. The boy glared at them, his katana hanging loosely in his hand at his side.
Akina stared at the men on the ground. She turned her attention to the boy. "Thank y-" She stopped when he turned on her and pointed his katana to her throat.
"Who are you?" he asked, speaking for the first time. "Why were they after you?"
She looked down at the katana, then back up at the face of the boy. Hard, crimson eyes stared back at her. Akina dropped to her knees and touched her forehead to the grass in a respectful bow; the manners her mother taught her were taking over.
"My name is Akina," she said softly, voice slightly muffled by the ground. Her heart was racing and it was taking a lot of willpower to be able to focus on what she was saying. "Thank you for helping me." She sat back up so she was kneeling and stuffed her shaking hands into her lap. The mob was no longer chasing her, but she still felt the panic. "May I ask who you are so I can thank you properly?" she asked. Her voice didn't betray the fear she still felt. The boy continued to glare at her, his katana pointed in her direction. They stared at each other, neither one moving. Finally, after a moment, the boy sheathed his katana and turned to the side.
"Why would I tell you my name?" he asked bitterly.
Akina wiped her cheeks and frowned at the boy. She closed her eyes briefly and took a deep breath. That helped and she opened her eyes. "I just wanted to know so I could-"
"Hiei, boy! Where are you?" a deep voice yelled, the sound ringing through the trees. Hiei whipped around to look past the girl he just saved and glared hard when he saw who it was. Akina, however, paid no attention to the arriving group of people.
"Hiei, is it? Well, then, thank you Hiei." she said, face straight and emotionless. Her tears finally stopped falling and her breathing was beginning to come easier as an eerie calm began taking over her. A distant thought in the back of her mind told her she was going into shock. She looked down at herself and realized in a detached sort of way that she was covered with the snake demon's blood. 'I must look awful,' she thought to herself. Her hair was disheveled and her face pale from running. Her silver cat ears were covered in blood and small patches of soot covered her here and there. She realized she didn't care.
"Oooh, what have we got here?" the new voice said, this time right behind her.