The peace and quiet one receives from solitude is all lost in the midst of a motley crowd of fish merchants, prostitutes, and artisans. Looking up at the cherry blossom tree in earnest I find myself drifting into a stream of peonies, and in between their clustered petals I see a fox mask drifting swiftly away from me. Absent mindedly I reach out my hands and grasp out…dropping my gun causing it to misfire into a high bun of an old sweet merchant now momentarily paralyzed from shock with two odangos in her hands. "Eh sorry…" I nervously scoot back from the tree. The poor lady didn't notice me run off to the west of her stall.
Running until I lost breathe, a stand of decapitated animals greets me. Just like the old sweet merchant I stand, momentarily paralyzed. True, I'm a hunter but no animal should be displayed in such a horrific manner. For they too have souls. Overcoming my shock I raise my voice in protest, "Who is doing this?!" A crowd of men turn away from the display then dart their eyes toward me. A tall dark man with green hair steps up with a derisive smirk. "Oh, and what if it was me?" And with a quick swipe, he took up one victim by the mane and swung it around, sloshing blood on my face.
In disgust, I run off hearing their raucous laughter behind me. Dodging the brightly colored shop signs is a man in a fox mask, the same fox mask I saw in my daydream, dashing in front of me. I turn my head towards the back, and see a group of shabbily dressed ruffians swinging their swords with greed. "CHARGGGEEE" they cry out in unison while pressing on, pushing me towards the doorstep of an old lady's broom shop. "tsk tsk" she mutters while sweeping off the dirt on my nose. I ignore her awkward gaze to look onwards. The group including the fox mask stole into the pockets of the merchant town. Who knows in which alleyway they are facing off now?
From my stubborn nature I refuse to let this incident go. Being of a curious nature, I want to see the face behind the mask, and if a fuse, to take it as my own prey. It will be the pinnacle of my hunting career. With a goal now in mind, I dashed blindly into an alleyway between a yarn shop and a futon shop. Scanning my surroundings I see nothing but pieces of futon covered in dirt. I meet the end of the alleyway. Once I do a foot lands on my head. The sole of the foot digs into the bun of my hair. "YEOOWW" I cry out, nursing my head. A pair of feet cling on the pavement behind me, I now hear something dripping, and I touch the back of my bun and glance at my hand, its blood. Frightened I twirl to meet the one behind me, and I see a young man with hair as white as cigarette smoke, eyes as red as candy apples, and a kimono of a feminine shade of pink, but most importantly, he had a fox mask in his left hand covered in blood. There wasn't just blood on his mask, but also on the bottom half of his kimono.
I am afraid, but have a greater resolve to kill this monster. With shaky hands, the fingers of my right hand wrap around the gun handle with my thumb hovering over the trigger, as my left hand desperately tries to keep the gun leveled on the same plane as the monster's head. "Wait" he murmurs. I shoot. Opening my eyes I see his mask lying on the dirt floor. He's gone. I can't tell whether I'm disappointed or relieved, but without a chance to collect my thoughts a hand smacks me hard on the back of my chest knocking me out.