"Father is gone again…" Miya says to herself as she peeks out of her room door. He forgot to lock the door again. Yue lies quietly in the living room behind the couch, which scares Miya at first thinking she might be dead. When she sees Yue is only sleeping she decides to take a breath of fresh air outside. Since it's so rare to walk out, this is the best opportunity for her though she will not try running away so soon again. She slowly opens the door and inhales the cold air and takes a step out onto the pebbled path with her bare feet. The only sounds are the leaves rustling in the wind, rubbing up against each other and the branches holding them, along with a bird flying over the house calling for other birds.
"So pretty…" Miya says softly looking at the beautifully shaded sky. Then looks down at her feet and stares at her dirty bandages. Her ankle still very sore, but she needs to gain her strength because she plans to run off again eventually, and this time she won't be brought back. While drifting away into her thoughts she starts to travel off from her house and finds herself in front of a lake.
"I've never seen this before…" She thinks to herself and bends down to touch the cool water. She takes a good long look at her reflection feeling like crying because she just doesn't understand what she did wrong.
"I'm not a monster!" She yells and punches her fist into the water breaking a rock into pieces. She stumbles back scared and confused and looks down at her bloody fist. Not even aware of how that was even possible, how she could break a rock like that and not even be in a lot of pain. Miya slowly stands herself up, thinking it's best to get back home before her father discovers she's gone again. When she looks across the lake she sees that same boy from the other day, Gen starring at his own reflection in the water. Unsure what to do, she stumbles into some bushes and sits on her knees watching him throw rocks into the water. While studying his face she discovers how sad and confused he looks. Without realizing it, she slips and slides down the slippery hill and falls into the water. Gen looks over startled that someone else was there with him. Miya doesn't know how to swim, but lucky for her the water is shallow. Clumsily she stands back on her feet dripping water and looking down at the ground knowing Gen as seen her.
"Oh it's you…" He says rather cold. He continues to throw the last rock into the water and turns around with his hands in his pockets.
"Wait…!" She says softly. He turns his head slightly to look at her.
"What is it?" He asks sounding not really interested. Miya unable to form a sentence looks down at her feet and sighs. Gen turns back around and starts to walk off into the woods leaving her behind.
"I don't know what it is, but…I feel like I know you," She says. He turns back around and stares at her with a blank expression.
"No. No one knows anything about me," He says and starts to walk off again. Miya starts to walk after him splashing water everywhere trying to get out fast. She trips and falls down face first into the water. Gen turns around all the way as he watches her struggle to get back on her feet. Miya feeling like maybe just maybe…. They could be friends. She's desperate to find a connection with someone other than her dog, and Gen just seems like the perfect person to be a friend to her. But there's something about him that slightly bothers Miya, and even Yue. A strange feeling, just not able to describe what that feeling is. When Miya looks up again she sees that Gen is no longer standing there. She sighs at her failed attempt and starts to walk home. But hears rustling in a tree above her and stops to look up and sees Gen looking down at her.
"Gen…?" She thinks to herself. He quietly jumps down and stares at her.
"Why is your body covered in bruises?" He asks. She looks at his orange shirt and gives an excuse that her and her friends play games and she always falls. The word friend makes her feel sad because just like her father has said to her many times, she will never have friends.
"Friends…?" He says quietly and his face turns into a harsh expression. "Well aren't you lucky."
"Don't you have friends?" Miya adds shyly. He tells her that's none of her business and starts to walk off again. Not even aware of her own actions she grabs onto his wrist startling him. He looks at her without a word and then gently pushes her hand off telling her he doesn't need anyone's friendship and especially hers, then disappears.
~.::.::.::.::.::.~ A few hours later ~.::.::.::.::.::.~
When she gets home she sees the door slightly opened, which makes her heart sink and sending her body into a shivering panic.
"No… he's home…" She whispers holding back tears as she takes a big breath and opens the door more. Opening it enough to peek inside, she can see her father lying on the couch, with blood all over the floor. Her first thought and worry is Yue as she quietly steps in. Her heart racing and thumping so loud it sounds like it's about to pop out of her chest.
"Yue…!" She whispers. Her father shifts himself on the couch, scaring her that he will wake up any moment. She sees the blood leading to a spot by the couch her father is lying on. She takes a deep breath and starts to follow the trail, seeing blood on her father's hands and a knife lying right next to it on the floor. Tears start to stream down her face as she sees a leg sticking out from the side of couch.
"Yue…." She sobs and sees her beloved puppy lying in a pool of blood, with its eyes closed. She sobs uncontrollably kneeling down next to Yue's body not caring if her father wakes up. The only thing she had worth living for is now gone, and for nothing. She nuzzles her nose onto the puppies back and cries even louder, waking up her father.
"Please Yue! Wake up! Please! I beg you!" She cries even louder. Her chest and head hurting from the screaming and sobbing combined.
"Why are you making noise!" He shouts and holds his head. With tears in her eyes she looks back at him with a nasty glare and picks up the knife.
"You're the monster not me!" She shouts and attempts to throw it at him but he smacks her hand and throws her against the wall. Her crying starts up again angering him as he yells for her to shut up.
"No! I HATE you!" She shouts and throws a lamp towards him making him stumble back. Never did she think she would have the courage to finally stand up to her father, but killing Yue was the last straw. She looks at the opened door and starts to sprint out as fast as she can. Ignoring the throbbing pain from her ankle and just running fast like the wind. Miya hears him call after her several times and when she does look back she sees him running after her.
"Help!" She shouts running even faster. "Someone help!" It starts to pour down rain, fogging her sight and making it harder to see ahead of her as the sky starts to darken. The rain making everything slipperier, but she continues to run anyways.
~.::.::.::.::.::.~ A few minutes later ~.::.::.::.::.::.~
Miya hides behind a tree panting and breathing heavily. The only sound is the raindrops falling, and she hears no footsteps coming, though she has to stay on her guard. When there is no sign of him anywhere she falls down to her knees and starts to cry thinking about the image she saw back a the house. She reaches down to see her ankle which is swelling up again and knows if her father finds her, he will kill her. There's no turning back now, her only option is to get rid of him, but how can she do such a thing when she's only a little girl?
"Such a pity…" Says an unfamiliar voice. Miya starts to shiver in fear thinking it's her father until she recognizes it as a voice never heard before. "You don't deserve this and you know it. You're not a monster, they are, if you come with us, we will show you how to live." The voice continues. Miya stands herself back up, scanning the trees and bushes but sees no sign of anyone.
"Miya…You are Ayakashi…and it's time to kill," It says.
A sudden surge of energy she's never felt before makes her whole body tingle as his words continue to repeat over and over in her head. As he adds he's part of an organization called the Kokuboro and they've been looking for her. Miya has never been able to hurt a fly and even the word kill scares her. The man stops talking and it goes quiet again until she hears footsteps coming towards her. Thunder clouds start to form in the skies above and before she knows it lightning starts to strike. Along with the building rage inside of her that she's been holding in for too long.
"Miya!" Her father shouts coming into the clearing. "It's time I end this. I've waited too long…and I know now that was a mistake. You demon child!"
"Shut up," Miya says in a cold voice, startling him. Never has she used a voice like that, especially towards him. It would be like suicide, but right now that doesn't matter, all that matters is that he needs to pay. It almost seems like something is taking over her, her emotions being consumed by her new anger, anger for vengeance.
"It's all your fault she's gone…and your brother would have never gotten sick if he didn't spend all his time with you. It's always been you! YOU! You and the curse you bring on this family! Just roll over and die already you worthless pathetic child!"
Miya stares at him with a blank expression, instead of the usual crying which intimidates her father. Her brother's image enters her head making her even angrier because she would never inflict pain on him, if anything it was her father's fault for being such a horrible human being. The thought of such a human suddenly disgusts her as weird thoughts enter her head urging her to kill him, tugging at her to go on and do it already. Her father continues on about her being the cause for her mother's death and ruining him. Her hands start to tingle and her heart starts to race even faster. A weird green glowing aura starts to submerge around her and pouring out of her hand as she sees her tiny little hands turn into bigger hands with huge sharp claws.
Her father takes a few steps bag stunned at the sight. It wasn't the age for her kind to be able to transform and being only half it shouldn't have come so early. Miya raises her head looking at him with piercing green eyes. Instead of her gentle ones, they've turned into glowing green with no pupils. Her intense glare sends a shiver down his spine as she lets out a painful scream when the aura intensifies. Such a frightening scream turning into roar, making her father take a few steps back feeling goose bumps all over his body, and something he's never felt from her, fear.
"Damn you…" He says quietly, and fights to keep his balance from the sudden strong current. Miya lets out another roar as she grows fangs and her skin starts to grow black fur, along with a tail. The hair on her head also changes to black.
"Stop it Miya! Just die already!" He shouts.
In a blink of an eye she moves and cuts through his shoulder sending him flying back into a tree. He falls to his knees as he coughs out a gush of blood and holds onto his ripped shoulder. Quickly he scans the area for her, and a figure speeds by him cutting off his arm. There was no time to react, no time to defend, the monster was unleashed, and he was going to pay. He screams out again as she flashes by several more times. After a few minutes of torture he falls to the ground all cut up and into his own pool of blood.
"Miya…" He stutters. Miya reveals her true figure, a black panther, with enormous fangs, and bull like features as well as three green stripes on her back, while still containing some human features. She lets out another roar as she goes for one more attack splattering blood onto the tree behind him. He falls forward without a word, without a breath, and with no pulse.
Everything was just a blur for her. When she finally came back to reality she had seen the bloody massacre before her. Looking around fearfully until she looked down at her tiny hands soaked in blood. Her clothes were also stained and the smell was heart wrenching and it was everywhere. She went up to her father to check if he had any sign of life left, but it was too late. She started to sob confused about what just happened, yet she knew she had done something she just didn't remember what it was. No one to turn to now, she was officially even more alone then she was before. Yue was long gone and would never come back. Nothing left to do, but take her own life, for there was no reason for her to live. She sees a knife lying next to what remains of her father's body and slowly lifts it up. Her hands shaking, while sending waves of fear through her body. Quit frankly, the sight of her father now was disturbing and just plain horrifying.
"I'm sorry…I was ever born," She mumbles and raises it to her neck. "I'm sorry…I-I…"
"You did good Miya, there's no need to punish yourself," Says the voice from earlier. She looks over and sees a man in a blue suit, with white long hair walking out towards her.
"Those people failed to see your potential; they would never accept you the way you are. Why should you have to change yourself for others? You should be happy you were blessed with such a thing. But with us, we are all the same, and we'll welcome you with open arms, as long as you come with me Miya….come with me and you'll see how it's like to actually live. Unlike the life that you have led till now, you'll experience just about everything you should, and get what you deserve. Because you and I are alike, we are Ayakashi, and we must stick together."
"I-I'm a monster!" She shouts crying again while staring at her red hands. The images flowing back as she shredded her father to pieces.
"You did what your instincts told you. You did it for yourself and for Yue," He adds. Miya wipes her tears smudging blood that was on her face. She looks into her reflection in a puddle of water by her feet seeing only a stranger. For she felt much different and she was even more scared of herself than ever.
"My name is Byaku," He says and starts to explain a little about himself to the confused girl. Though she seems to be fading out of it, and not really listening to his words. With all that had happened she collapses to the ground, making him grin.
"Of course she'd be worn out, I've never seen such immense power in such a tiny girl….such promising potential….she could surpass those idiots in no time," He thinks to himself and gently lifts the girl bridal style and starts to walk off into the woods as the rain continues to pour. Leaving the body there along with the last of Miya's past life.
