~Chapter Seven: The Attack
I was too bewildered by Kukai's beaten up appearance to manage to say anything. Ikuto stood up, a concerned frown on his face, and Miki looked like she had just been struck. Rima seemed less confused and more scared/terrified, her eyes wide from shock, and I assumed that if I could see my face, I would have a similar expression.
Kukai walked past us to the back of the kitchen then pulled out a key, pushing it into the lock on a door that I'd never seen the other side of before. He walked inside the dark room, and came back out again with an armful of weapons, dumping them on the table. There were guns, knives, and even a few swords. "Take your pick."
I stared at him, and he met my gaze with a weary and somewhat angry expression, his icy eyes glinting in the light. His face held a sort of animalistic, wild look, and it surprised me how completely and utterly different he was from how I'd known him before. His wet clothes were plastered to his body, and most of the torn parts were stained with blood. His upper lip curled back slightly, revealing sharp canine teeth, and he snarled in warning. I snatched up the closest thing to me—A small, silver revolver pistol. It had intricate designs etched into the sides, and if it weren't meant for killing, I would've considered it pretty.
Miki picked up a short sword without hesitation, her gaze determined. Ikuto was scowling, but he took a knife, shoving it with its sheath on in his pocket. Rima didn't take anything, just stared with wide eyes at the pile of weapons. Ikuto nudged her arm, and, shaking, she picked up a gun that was similar to mine.
Finally I stuttered out a sentence. "W-what are these f-for...?" I asked, my voice higher pitched than normal. Kukai was really scaring me, and I didn't like the looks on Ikuto and Miki's faces. What did they know that Rima and I didn't?
"To defend yourself. We're under attack." Kukai had taken a few of the smaller weapons and put them in his pocket, and was now carrying the rest back into the room. Why was there a room with weapons anyway? He locked it behind him, and I spoke up again.
"From... Who?" All four of them exchanged a look with each other, and I clenched my teeth. So there was a secret they were hiding, and even Rima knew about it.
"It's hard to explain," Kukai said briskly, walking back to the front door. I noticed it had started to rain, explaining Kukai's soaked clothes. "Come on, it'll be safer if we go to the Loft." Just as he said the last word, there was a sharp, wild cry that sounded from just outside the house. It didn't sound human—But it didn't quite sound animal-like either. "Shit," Kukai muttered, then said louder, "I'll take care of it—Wait here."
No one objected. He pushed the door and closed it quickly behind him. There was another loud howl, and my eyes were drawn to the window near the door. The porch light wasn't on so I couldn't see much, but before I could look away or close my eyes, I saw a dark figure drop down from the roof and land next to Kukai with it's hands—Claws?-Outstretched, just inches away from his throat. With a quick motion of his hand, Kukai pulled out a pocket knife and slashed it through the figure's arm, causing it to howl with pain.
Unable to look away now, I watched as the creature, whatever it was, lashed out at Kukai, swiping its claws through his chest. He doubled over and I was almost sure that the creature would kill him, but Kukai suddenly dropped his pocket knife and pounced on the creature, both of them rolling into the grass and out of view. I drew in a sharp breath and held it, expecting the worst to have happened, but Kukai stood up a minute or so later. I couldn't see him very well, but I could tell that he was shaking. I opened the door and tried to go outside, but Ikuto grabbed my arm. "You'll regret it if you see what's out there."
I furrowed my brow in frustration and went back inside as Ikuto walked out to help Kukai. When they were both safely inside the house, we shut and locked the door tightly before helping Kukai into the kitchen.
His breathing was labored and there was a thin film of sweat covering his face. He sat still as Miki peeled off his ruined shirt and inspected his wound—He had four deep cuts slicing diagonally down his torso, starting at the top of his chest near his heart and ending just above his waist. The claws had sliced deep into his skin, tearing through flesh and muscle. Besides near the wound, he also had blood on his face, especially near his mouth, and he was basically just a bloody mess.
As Miki went off to look for medicine and bandages, we tried to decide what we should do. How were we going to bring Kukai to the Loft if he couldn't really move?
"Maybe you guys should stay here, and I'll go find out what's happening outside," Ikuto suggested.
A frown tugged at my lips. "What if another one of those things come here? Kukai obviously won't be able to fight it..." I pointed out.
"Miki is a good fighter, she'll be able to fight it off. And anyway, that'll only happen if it manages to get inside. The doors and windows are locked, and I won't be gone long—You all even have weapons. You'll be fine," he insisted.
I frowned down at the floor for a while, then looked up at Ikuto. "Fine. But... I want to go with you."