Disclaimer:
I do not own anything from Love Hina or any copyrighted material. Any other characters used in this fic are mine, however.
Chapter 5 – Grim Reality
A thick fog masked Kitsune's surrounding, obscuring her vision. Surprisingly, the fox girl didn't feel as if she was in any danger – an air of familiarity flowed all around her, creating a sense of peace within herself. The sounds of her footsteps echoed all around Kitsune as she walked. After what seemed like an eternity, she found herself standing in front of a familiar set of stairs. She felt a strange force that seemed to beckon her to continue. A yearning stirred in Kitsune's mind, and she obeyed what her instincts were telling her to do.
A soft haze shrouded Kitsune as walked up the steps of the Hinata Sou. Walking through the front door, she made her way to the living room. Rounding the corner, she was startled to see that everyone was throwing a party. Walking toward the group, she saw the faces of her friends laughing, smiling, and having a good time. From a distance, Kitsune saw the tenants doing their thing: Su bounced from one side of the room to the other, trying to have someone play with her; Shinobu walked in with a tray of food, setting it down on the table with great care; Motoko, Naru and Keitaro talking amongst themselves, smiling and enjoying themselves.
Soon they noticed Kitsune standing a few feet way from them. They all turned to her and motioned her to join them, calling her name. Kitsune felt warm feelings of love and belonging stir from deep within…emotions that laid dormant for what seemed like an eternity. With a tear running down her face and a smile running from ear to ear, she moved as fast as she could toward her friends. Suddenly a bright light enveloped all that surrounded Kitsune, causing her vision to blur…
Slowly opening her eyes, Kitsune's vision readjusted to the morning sunlight. Placing both of her hands on her face she took a deep breath, realizing where she was and began to curse her luck. Gus made his way over to her and kneeled down to her.
"Glad you're awake Kitsune," he said.
"Wish I slept a bit longer…" she muttered as she got up. "It's been a long time since I had a good time with them."
Gus turned to her. "You say something Kitsune?"
"Huh…oh it was nothing."
Gus and Kitsune walked outside and back toward the car. While doing so, Kitsune made the consciences effort not to look at the aftermath of yesterday's fighting. After a minute of walking, they reached the car. Sandy and Jay were already at the car looking for any damages, and despite a few dents it seemed to be working order.
"What's the verdict Jay," asked Gus. "Can this car get us home?"
After finishing his inspection, Jay kicked the car's back tire and turned to face Gus. He scratched his head for a moment before giving his reply.
"It'll get us there…but for right now we need to get it out of this ditch," he replied.
"So with that settled," said Sandy, "it's time to get a little dirty."
"You really have a thing for understatements Sandy," commented Gus.
Sandy smirked. "Yeah…I get that a lot."
It took almost an hour or so, but with a combination of pushing and shoving, it finally was released from the earth's grip. It turned out that it was embedded in the ditch when Jay swerved off the road. All of them then proceeded to see it the undercarriage was still intact. From the looks of it, there wasn't any cracks or breaks visible – so far it looked as if their luck was holding out. Piling back inside, the four set off again to the Albanian border.
~~
The ride was silent and filled with tension once more. Trying to rest was out of the question, the main reason is the fact that the road was filled with bumps and potholes every half-mile or so. Despite being clearly marked as a press car, everyone kept an eye out of any signs of trouble – it didn't take long to find it.
"Jesus," said Gus. "Look over there!"
The rest turned to the direction Gus was pointing at. In the distance were several columns of smoke rising over the ridge. Jay instinctively turned the car and began to head over to whatever lay beyond it. Although they were trying to get out of Kosovo, they still had a job to do…even if it meant coming face to face with death. Kitsune pulled her camera out and loaded a new roll of film, as did the others. When they reached the source of the smoke Kitsune had wished they kept on driving.
"Oh my god," said Jay. "What the hell happened?"
The remains of a small village lay before them. The bodies of men, women, and children littered the area, staining the ground red with blood.
"I don't think I wanna know," commented Sandy.
Kitsune stared out the car window, trying to make sense of it all. The car slowly made its way through the streets, the sound of the gravel crunching under the tires made it all the more eerie – not a single living person was around to greet them.
"Look guys…I know this may sound crazy but…we have to take some photos of this," said Gus and then added, "we still have a job to do here."
Kitsune, Sandy, and Jay traded confused looks toward each other, and then turned back to Gus.
"Okay…but not for long," said Jay.
When Jay stopped the car, Kitsune was hesitant to get out. She had seen too much senseless destruction in her lifetime, and she felt no reason why she had to see it yet again. Only after a gentle prodding from Sandy helped her strengthen her resolve to do her job.
"Aright everyone," said Gus, "watch your step – there may be some booby traps or mines here."
Slowly making her way through the village, Kitsune stopped now and then to take a picture. But instead of taking pictures of the victims up close, she opted to take shots of the remains of the buildings…making sure that she stayed away from the corpses as much as possible. Unfortunately for Kitsune, fate had other ideas. Rounding a street corner, Kitsune stopped dead in her tracks. Her eyes widened as she gasped at the sight before her. Ahead of her were the remains of a small community park…as well as the bodies of five people – four girls and a young man.
Kitsune couldn't help but wander over to the grisly scene. From the looks of it, these people looked as if they were executed rather than victims of indirect fire. Kitsune pulled her camera to her face and began to take pictures of what lay before her. After the first few shots, it became harder and harder for Kitsune to continue pushing the shutter button. Through the viewfinder, the bodies began to take on familiar faces and similarities. They soon began to feel like the bodies were that of her friends back the Hinata Sou.
The two smallest girls, both shot in the back of the head, could easily have been Shinobu and Su. The third youngest sprawled out next to the fountain reminded her of Motoko, eve though the hair color was lighter. The last two bodies really struck home for Kitsune – they died in a last minute embrace, enter and exit wounds riddled their backs. An image of Keitaro and Naru formed in her mind, taking the place of the couple lying before her. Kitsune felt a wave of sadness overtake her as she imagined her friends lying there like that.
Taking several steps back, Kitsune placed her back against a wall and slid downward. Coming to a stop, she sat there and began to grieve for the dead. How can someone do that to one another? Who can justify such acts of cruelty? As she pondered over these questions, Kitsune heard footsteps coming toward her. Then someone called to her.
"Kitsune," it called, "come on, it's time to go."
Kitsune turned to the source of the voice and noticed that Sandy was standing a few feet away. Getting her emotions back in check, she wiped away any tears that welled in her eyes. Turing to the girl she got up and replied to Sandy's request.
"I'll be there in a sec…I just need to do something."
Sandy sighed, but nodded to her. "Well, just don't take too long."
Sandy walked off back to the car. Before leaving the area, Kitsune picked a small flower that was growing nearby. Slowly making her way back, she placed it near the bodies. Saying a small prayer not only for them but also for herself, she turned around and made her way back to the group.
"Ready to go?" asked Jay.
Kitsune turned to the direction of the park, then back to the others.
"Yeah…let's go," she replied solemnly.
As Jay pulled the car out of the road, Kitsune couldn't help but think about the people who died in the village. Closing her eyes, she searched for the answers that plagued her back near the ruined park. After much thought, she knew the truth of the matter – that there weren't any real or easy answers to begin with. All that she could do is understand why things like this happen.
That's all anyone can really do.
***
A/N – This was another difficult chapter to write in terms of the tone, so I hope you guys enjoyed it. If I'm starting to get off track at any time, let me know.
Anyway, my thanks go out to i won't tell and zero for reviewing chapter 4 and giving me some ideas, and to those who are enjoying my work.
Okay, that about does it for me! Read and review, and I'll have chapter 6 up soon! ^_^
