Charms
Geez is this really chapter 20? Well, there's more where that came from. Thanks for reveiws and please reveiw if you haven't. I like to hear from my readers.
Chapter 20
Kurama walked alone. His red hair whipped and tossed in the bitter winds as he followed a path deep into the woods. Where do these woods reside? In a dark and hidden forest far beyond Genkai's temple. The old wood and new moss writhed with life. The ground was still and ancient, the rains yesterday had made the dark earth slick.
{"A demon?" Kurama's tone told his disbelief. "You...you're lying." the fox demon frowned. His hands shook, his heart ached. "I wouldn't have known!" Seeing Genkai's stone expression drove his pain inword. "I...I should have known." he clenched his teeth and hung his head.}
"Ah," his footing broke loose. He reached out to a berried bush as a tiny land slide scattered down the short cliff. When the red head got a foot hold, he eased his hand off of the sharp thorns. He winced covering the punctures with a scrap torn from his black shirt.
{"Look." The old master told him plainly. "I never said it was your only option, just the best one." she took a drag of her cancer stick.}
Kurama climbed down the cliff into the bryer patch of thickets that clung to the trunks of massive trees. The farther he went the older everything seemed to be. There were fewer animals here in the thick flora. Fallen trees with knarled branches that were still growing looked like a field of corpses reaching for final release. The macabre expanse was cluttered with thousands of little leaved fingers thet pulled at his clothes and hair as he pushed on.
{"Hikari-san, you shouldn't go!" Yukina begged the advancing teenager.
"No, Hikari-san." Kurama turned back and put a blocking hand in the air. "I told you. You must stay here with Genkai-sama and Yukina-san. I can't..." The blue eyed boy put his palm gently against Kurama's. Those stormy eyes looked at his, not into them or past, just looked at green eyes. "I can't protect you." His heart sank at these words. To admit his helplessness was too much.
"Not yet, anyway." Genkai worked a spell with her hands at blinding speed. The teen jerked and then all at once went limp. Kurama caught him and eased him to the ground. "It's just to bind him." she assured. "I'll keep him here until you come back."
"I leave him to you." Kurama wondered if he had acctually looked at Yukina's blue eyes, so similar to his friend's. She nodded and leaned Daiki against her. As Kurama began to walk away Yukina called.
"There's still time, you know. You don't have to go." she seemed worried.
"But...you're wrong." he assured her and walked away.}
Scratched and torn, his flesh bled but he didn't care. //It's easier to draw him out this way.// He told himself. The fox demon crawled threw a particularly large, thick and surprizingly brittle shrub that colapsed when he touched a part of it. //Strange, like it's been cooked or something.// He carefully navigated to a bright space at the end of the fragle network. It opened up to an empty space.
Not quite empty...His hope was crushed and shattered into the wind when green eyes saw the tragic end to his journey. A sea of burnt and still smoking twigs that had once been magnificantly old forest. The memory of the fire in the forest in his mind hit him like a brick. He caught himself, stepping back to regain his balance.
//I feel sick.// Kurama held a hand over his mouth. //What's happening to me?// In the center of the destruction was the charcol pillar that, until now, housed the most ancient plant spirit on earth. Drops of blood tapped into the ashes stirring up tiny puffs of grey.
{"He's the one with the scar isn't he?" Genkai asked Kurama. "Show it to me."
"How did you know?" he obeyed. Unbuttoning the boy's shirt. Kurama tried not to blush, why was that Daiki looking at him so much?
"I'm old not dead." she said simply. The old woman looked at Daiki's scar. "This arrow like shape," Genkai examined, "It's been changed." she said definately. "The original shape was the symbol of Rinroga."}
//The storm last night.// Kurama thought. //A stray lightening bolt must have...// Kurama touched the black column of crystalized life. He concentrated hard, reaching deep within himself to find the other in this tree. //Who are you to Daiki? Why did you mark him?// The fire had spead to it's core, all appearances was death. //If Rinroga is here...I will find you.//
Kurama loosed the bondage on the punctures in his hand and let the blood run on the ground.
{"The ancient one is a neutral creature, it won't respond to a request. It wants something in exchange." Genkai explained.
"What does it want?" Kurama asked.
"You'll know when you find the creature." the old woman half looked at Yukina. The lady ice demon was seemed withdrawn, kneeling a few feet away. "You'll sense it when you come close enough. It's always thinking selfish thoughts. Those thoughts will penetrate the air and infect the scent of it's blossoms."
"It's blossoms?" this was odd how she mentioned it. "but it's fall, how could it be..."
"It's always blooming." she told him. "Except when the snow falls." there was a solmn tone in her voice.}
//nothing?!// Kurama was close to rage. //Why?// He struck the black trunk with his bloody hand. //Come on you blood sucking monster! You're the one, aren't you?// he pounded his fists on the crumbling charcol. //You can tell me why this is happening. You can tell me what's happeing to Daiki!// the red head fell to his knees, wanting to cry. What's happening that everything surrounding Daiki seems to turn into...this...
"Daiki." Kurama hid his face alone in a helpless, heap of burnt forest.
The wind stirred and a strong force...no...hundreds of smaller forces began to well up from the ground. Kurama felt the a massing of power and stood on gaurd. the red head became aware of voices whispering all around him. The energies were drawing closer with every breath.
{"Kurama," Genkai gave him this last bit of knowledge before he left, "This is no ordinary spirit. It was the first cherry blossom tree. I'm sure you've probably heard of the legend."
"Legend?" Kurama was confused. "Are you refering to the story of how Cherry blossoms got there pink color? How there's a body or something under each tree so that the blood taints it's normally white blossoms?"
"Yes." she nodded. "Well, it's true. An obsessed and terrible person killed for Rinroga, watering it with the blood of innocents and enemies
After all these centuries, it's still feeding. But how..." the old woman shrugged. "no one, not even I know for sure."}
Kurama stirred the ashes as he moved, hoping to gain a proper defencive positon. Just a foot away from his left shoe a tiny white speck glowed. Kurama moved another foot away.
@creatures speaking@
@You smell like him@ a small body appeared where the speck once was. It was a chibi, big head and small body. Green eyes looked around hearing other voices millions of them. So many tiny specks and other misshapen sprite like things.
@you smell like him@you do, you smell like him@are you him@i don't think that's him@it has to be him, he smells like him@he smells like him but he smells like something else too@he never smelled like that@yes you're right, but he does smell like him@he must be sent by him@that's it, you must be right@yes, i think so too@who cares he's got blood@blood will heal us@yes, he smells like him@i can't smell since the fire@
Kurama was completely surrounded, he hesitated because these creatures did seem to be making any moves...at least not yet. There were so many, one false move could trigger a chain reaction. There were so many voices so similar he couldn't tell who or what was talking. They seemed threatened and so he waited.
@he smells like him@yes, just like him@but he smells like something else too@what are you saying@i said what i said, you heard me@they're at it again@who cares@as long as he's got blood@i'm hungry@yes, hungry@he smells like him, he'll probably taste as sweet@did you bite i'm@i wanted to@but did you bite him@can we just get him already@yes, he's got blood@
Geez is this really chapter 20? Well, there's more where that came from. Thanks for reveiws and please reveiw if you haven't. I like to hear from my readers.
Chapter 20
Kurama walked alone. His red hair whipped and tossed in the bitter winds as he followed a path deep into the woods. Where do these woods reside? In a dark and hidden forest far beyond Genkai's temple. The old wood and new moss writhed with life. The ground was still and ancient, the rains yesterday had made the dark earth slick.
{"A demon?" Kurama's tone told his disbelief. "You...you're lying." the fox demon frowned. His hands shook, his heart ached. "I wouldn't have known!" Seeing Genkai's stone expression drove his pain inword. "I...I should have known." he clenched his teeth and hung his head.}
"Ah," his footing broke loose. He reached out to a berried bush as a tiny land slide scattered down the short cliff. When the red head got a foot hold, he eased his hand off of the sharp thorns. He winced covering the punctures with a scrap torn from his black shirt.
{"Look." The old master told him plainly. "I never said it was your only option, just the best one." she took a drag of her cancer stick.}
Kurama climbed down the cliff into the bryer patch of thickets that clung to the trunks of massive trees. The farther he went the older everything seemed to be. There were fewer animals here in the thick flora. Fallen trees with knarled branches that were still growing looked like a field of corpses reaching for final release. The macabre expanse was cluttered with thousands of little leaved fingers thet pulled at his clothes and hair as he pushed on.
{"Hikari-san, you shouldn't go!" Yukina begged the advancing teenager.
"No, Hikari-san." Kurama turned back and put a blocking hand in the air. "I told you. You must stay here with Genkai-sama and Yukina-san. I can't..." The blue eyed boy put his palm gently against Kurama's. Those stormy eyes looked at his, not into them or past, just looked at green eyes. "I can't protect you." His heart sank at these words. To admit his helplessness was too much.
"Not yet, anyway." Genkai worked a spell with her hands at blinding speed. The teen jerked and then all at once went limp. Kurama caught him and eased him to the ground. "It's just to bind him." she assured. "I'll keep him here until you come back."
"I leave him to you." Kurama wondered if he had acctually looked at Yukina's blue eyes, so similar to his friend's. She nodded and leaned Daiki against her. As Kurama began to walk away Yukina called.
"There's still time, you know. You don't have to go." she seemed worried.
"But...you're wrong." he assured her and walked away.}
Scratched and torn, his flesh bled but he didn't care. //It's easier to draw him out this way.// He told himself. The fox demon crawled threw a particularly large, thick and surprizingly brittle shrub that colapsed when he touched a part of it. //Strange, like it's been cooked or something.// He carefully navigated to a bright space at the end of the fragle network. It opened up to an empty space.
Not quite empty...His hope was crushed and shattered into the wind when green eyes saw the tragic end to his journey. A sea of burnt and still smoking twigs that had once been magnificantly old forest. The memory of the fire in the forest in his mind hit him like a brick. He caught himself, stepping back to regain his balance.
//I feel sick.// Kurama held a hand over his mouth. //What's happening to me?// In the center of the destruction was the charcol pillar that, until now, housed the most ancient plant spirit on earth. Drops of blood tapped into the ashes stirring up tiny puffs of grey.
{"He's the one with the scar isn't he?" Genkai asked Kurama. "Show it to me."
"How did you know?" he obeyed. Unbuttoning the boy's shirt. Kurama tried not to blush, why was that Daiki looking at him so much?
"I'm old not dead." she said simply. The old woman looked at Daiki's scar. "This arrow like shape," Genkai examined, "It's been changed." she said definately. "The original shape was the symbol of Rinroga."}
//The storm last night.// Kurama thought. //A stray lightening bolt must have...// Kurama touched the black column of crystalized life. He concentrated hard, reaching deep within himself to find the other in this tree. //Who are you to Daiki? Why did you mark him?// The fire had spead to it's core, all appearances was death. //If Rinroga is here...I will find you.//
Kurama loosed the bondage on the punctures in his hand and let the blood run on the ground.
{"The ancient one is a neutral creature, it won't respond to a request. It wants something in exchange." Genkai explained.
"What does it want?" Kurama asked.
"You'll know when you find the creature." the old woman half looked at Yukina. The lady ice demon was seemed withdrawn, kneeling a few feet away. "You'll sense it when you come close enough. It's always thinking selfish thoughts. Those thoughts will penetrate the air and infect the scent of it's blossoms."
"It's blossoms?" this was odd how she mentioned it. "but it's fall, how could it be..."
"It's always blooming." she told him. "Except when the snow falls." there was a solmn tone in her voice.}
//nothing?!// Kurama was close to rage. //Why?// He struck the black trunk with his bloody hand. //Come on you blood sucking monster! You're the one, aren't you?// he pounded his fists on the crumbling charcol. //You can tell me why this is happening. You can tell me what's happeing to Daiki!// the red head fell to his knees, wanting to cry. What's happening that everything surrounding Daiki seems to turn into...this...
"Daiki." Kurama hid his face alone in a helpless, heap of burnt forest.
The wind stirred and a strong force...no...hundreds of smaller forces began to well up from the ground. Kurama felt the a massing of power and stood on gaurd. the red head became aware of voices whispering all around him. The energies were drawing closer with every breath.
{"Kurama," Genkai gave him this last bit of knowledge before he left, "This is no ordinary spirit. It was the first cherry blossom tree. I'm sure you've probably heard of the legend."
"Legend?" Kurama was confused. "Are you refering to the story of how Cherry blossoms got there pink color? How there's a body or something under each tree so that the blood taints it's normally white blossoms?"
"Yes." she nodded. "Well, it's true. An obsessed and terrible person killed for Rinroga, watering it with the blood of innocents and enemies
After all these centuries, it's still feeding. But how..." the old woman shrugged. "no one, not even I know for sure."}
Kurama stirred the ashes as he moved, hoping to gain a proper defencive positon. Just a foot away from his left shoe a tiny white speck glowed. Kurama moved another foot away.
@creatures speaking@
@You smell like him@ a small body appeared where the speck once was. It was a chibi, big head and small body. Green eyes looked around hearing other voices millions of them. So many tiny specks and other misshapen sprite like things.
@you smell like him@you do, you smell like him@are you him@i don't think that's him@it has to be him, he smells like him@he smells like him but he smells like something else too@he never smelled like that@yes you're right, but he does smell like him@he must be sent by him@that's it, you must be right@yes, i think so too@who cares he's got blood@blood will heal us@yes, he smells like him@i can't smell since the fire@
Kurama was completely surrounded, he hesitated because these creatures did seem to be making any moves...at least not yet. There were so many, one false move could trigger a chain reaction. There were so many voices so similar he couldn't tell who or what was talking. They seemed threatened and so he waited.
@he smells like him@yes, just like him@but he smells like something else too@what are you saying@i said what i said, you heard me@they're at it again@who cares@as long as he's got blood@i'm hungry@yes, hungry@he smells like him, he'll probably taste as sweet@did you bite i'm@i wanted to@but did you bite him@can we just get him already@yes, he's got blood@