The Hunt for the Two Tailed Beast
The lightning from those behind us strikes the trees ahead as the chase through the forest begins. Our pursuers are right on our heels, and nothing I do is able to throw them off.
I sigh as I pick up my pace. These attacks are never going to end.
I've been hunted ever since I had the two tailed beast put inside of me when I was two. Attacks like these have become too common for us. All of the holders of the tailed beasts, there are nine of us, are being hunted by all five major villages, even though they are the ones who put the tailed beasts in us in order to contain their powers. But after the recent alliance of the Second Great War, the major villages voted to kill the beasts off for good.
I can understand some of their logic; the tailed beasts have in the past destroyed whole villages in a rampage. They have caused fights and wars over village's attempts to gain their power. But like most of the past holders of the two tailed beast, I went through training in order to learn how to control the beast inside of me. I know now that Matatabi doesn't want to hurt anyone. . . most of the time. Okay maybe she can be a little bloodthirsty, but so was the rest of the world.
"Do you need my assistance Keaira? (Key-ah-uh)" Matatabi asks as she begins to awaken.
"Not yet," I whisper back. I want to avoid a fight if possible. These attackers aren't that much of a threat, so it would be a waste of power. But they are also from my home village, and that is like hurting family. Even if that family out-casted you and is now hunting you. . . it's just something you don't do.
"Give up Keaira!" One of the pursuers calls out. "You can't run away forever!"
"Yes I can!" I scream back. I stared at the vast forest in front of me, completely lost in this world of shrubs and vines. My wavy red hair is cluttered with twigs and leaves from the off course travel. I had been heading towards the Land of Sand, but I think I am far off from that desert now.
"Come with us now and we won't hurt you!" Another desperately cries out. Lies, lies. Anger begins to boil inside me. Are they completely clueless? Like I would actually believe that.
"You're getting angry Keaira, you sure you don't want me to come out? We can just scare them away," Matatabi purrs, seeming to be amused by the situation. She knows she's going to get a chance to fight, and she knows how to convince me.
I stop suddenly, deciding to give in to Matatabi and allow for a partial transformation. She could be right, if running away wouldn't get them off our tail, then maybe scaring them away would. I hear our pursuers cautiously start to approach us; at least they are smart enough to not barge straight into a battle.
My skin feels like it's on fire as the transformation begins. My nails grow to a sharp, dangerous length as the cat demon's ears and tail begin to appear on my body. All over I am beginning to glow red as a layer of energy from Matatabi covers me.
But I have control of this demon inside of me, I won't let her take full control of me. She listens to me and stops here, but I can feel her excitement bubbling inside of me.
"Leave us alone, stop chasing us! We don't want to hurt you, but we will if we must," I call out to them, my voice fusing with the beast, beginning to sound unlike my own.
"She's transforming! Subdue her, quickly!" One of them orders. The small group begins to circle us like we're their prey. But they are wrong. We are the monster, we are the attacker, and we refuse to be hunted any longer.
I let out a lion-like growl as I glare each of them down. They seem intimidated, but don't back down.
"Time for plan B, go for it. They mean nothing to us, just get rid of them so we can escape," Matatabi taunts.
I ignore the provoking of the beast, but I roar again. "Go away!" I jump forward towards the closest person to me, my claws reaching to attach onto them. He rolled out of the way, but I am quickly bouncing towards him. He tries to run away as I chase, my claws scratching deep into his skin. He screams as the blood spills and splashes. My claws are already tainted with the crimson color.
I turn my attention to the next one, who had pulled out his sword and was advancing towards me. I easily knock the sword from his hand and lift him up, throwing him. He hits a nearby tree and crashes to the ground.
The more I fight, the more I feel myself slipping out of control. Matatabi is hungry for a chance to fight, knowing I'm too gentle to want to hurt them. The fighting didn't last long since we had the clear advantage over them. After a few scratches they were beginning to realize their mistake. I collapse to the ground as they begin to back away.
"Fall back, retreat, whatever you want to call it, just get the hell out of here!" The leader of the group calls out to his bloody, defeated team. I breathe heavily as Matatabi's power begins to calm and I begin to reverse the partial transformation. The group is gone within seconds.
"That was fun," Matatabi comments with a chuckle. I sigh, too drained to argue or even stand back up. I look up, seeing an unfamiliar figure standing before me. A boy with no marking of affiliation to any village, but with the weapons and scars of a fighter.
"Who are you?" I ask as the boy holds out his hand. I take it, and he lifts me to my feet. The blood on my hands smears onto his, but he doesn't seem to mind.
"My name is Rafaj." He replies with a smirk. "But most know me as the deadly six tailed beast master." He pauses to examine my reaction, but I'm not impressed or shocked. He sighs as he reaches forward, picking some of the leaves out of my messy hair. "Anyways, come with me, the others are waiting."
"Others?" I question as I step back, reaching up to clear my hair myself.
"The other beast masters like us, duh!" He answers as he runs his hand through his fluffy dark hair. I have the sudden urge to pet it, but I think it's just Matatabi's cat instincts. . . or so I hope. "So, are you coming or not?"
"If you want, I can eat him," Matatabi comments with a chuckle. Once again, I ignore her.
"Why should I? We've been fine on our own so far," I shoot back, mostly just curious to what he is planning.
"We need you. The tailed beasts are going to fight back."