Author's Note: I know this one is pretty short, but it just needed to be isolated. They will be getting longer with each chapter for a little while. Anyway here's the second chapter, enjoy.
Chapter 2: Souske's Choice
Souske searched the village for some time. Hoping against hope that he may yet find someone alive. However it was a fruitless search. Souske was the only survivor of the attack. However he could not fight against the truth forever. He eventually gave in and accepted the fact that everyone he had known and loved was dead and gone.
"They're all gone," Souske muttered under his breath, "everyone, my family, my fellow villagers, even the little children. All of them." Souske walked over to the body of his sister. "Amelia, I'm sorry. I never showed you how much I loved you all. I took you for granted. Now you're gone. And I don't have a chance to change anything. All I can do now is give you a proper burial." Souske picked up the body and carried it into the center of the village. He laid her gently onto the ground. Souske began to walk with a purpose as he went over to a nearby house and picked a shovel up off the ground. For the first time since the attack happened, Souske began to pull himself back together. He dug fervently and wouldn't allow himself a moment's rest. When he was finished he again lifted his sister's body from the ground. He leaned over and gently laid her on the bottom. Tears fell from Souske's eyes and landed on his Amelia's chest, where they were quickly covered by dirt as Souske began to fill the hole again.
Although Souske was the sole survivor in the village he was not alone at the moment. A cloaked figure hid within a tree, crouched down on a branch. He watched Souske closely as he continued at his task, oblivious to the observer.
"It seems you've finally begun to move on," the cloaked figure spoke to himself, "just as I expected. Yes, you will be strong indeed, I will see to that." The man pulled his cloak over him and melded into the surroundings. The leaves rustled slightly as he leapt from branch to branch invisible to the eye.
Souske finished filling the hole and left in search of sticks and a vine to make a small cross. He walked over to a small tree off to the right.
"This always was your favorite tree, only fitting that it give its wood to your cross." Souske said, wishing that Amelia could be here to hear the words. He snapped off two sticks from the tree and took a vine off of the trunk of another nearby tree. He quickly lashed them together into a cross. He walked back over to the grave and drove the cross into the ground at the head. Souske knelt down and said a short, but heartfelt prayer to his sister.
He slowly rose to his feet and left. However as he walked away he couldn't help noticing the bodies of Ayane, his mother, the elder, and all of the men who had fought with the village guard. Souske knew that these people deserved graves too. So he set himself to the task of digging graves for everyone in the village. All the while being watched from the trees by a mysterious man.
It took Souske several days, but he finally had finished with the graves. He said the final prayer and got up. He turned from the graves and looked out into the sky.
"What should I do now?" Souske asked himself. "There is nothing left here for me, and I have nowhere else to go."
"Where you go from here is a choice only you can make." Replied a voice from behind. Souske spun around and looked up at the speaker. It was the same man that had been watching Souske from the trees. However Souske had never noticed him.
"Who are you? What do you want?"
"My name is of no consequence, all you must know is that I am someone who has great interest in the demons and the legends surrounding them. As for what I want, that is simple, I wish for the downfall of Onime and his legions."
"Onime? What's that?"
"The question is not what, but who. Onime is someone whom I believe you know all to well."
"He was the one who lead the assault on my village."
"He leads not just attacks, but the entire demon legion itself."
"But why is he helping the demons, he's human isn't he? And what was that black energy he was using?"
"The answers to those questions, and many more, you will find out in due time. However I have not come to entertain your curiosity. I have come for a very different reason. I've come to ask for your help in fighting the demons."
"Me! You must be mistaken. I may be skilled with a sword, but I'm no match for their numbers, not to mention Onime. I'm sorry, but there's nothing I can do to stop them."
"How can you still believe that you are no different from a skilled swordsman? After what you did on the night they attacked."
"What are you talking about; I failed that night, everyone died."
"Wrong. You survived." Souske opened his mouth as if to counter the statement, but he stopped before saying anything and closed his mouth a puzzled look appearing on his face. "You can't deny that. The demon army has burned many villages to the ground. In all the others they left no survivors. How can you possibly say that you're no different? You survived because Onime ran from you."
"Onime ran. You mean he ran from me."
"Yes, he ran because of you. Because he was afraid to take you on."
"But, why? Why would he run from me, I didn't stand a chance against him?"
"Wrong again. True had he stayed he may have won against you. However, you may have won that fight. That was a risk Onime was not willing to take, not this early."
"But why? What could I ever do that could defeat him?"
"If you want the answer to that question you must follow me. Come with me and I will teach you everything. I will aid you in achieving your full power. The road along which I will guide you is not an easy one. If you choose to take it your life will be full of pain and suffering. The choices along the path will be difficult, but if you follow it, then maybe, just maybe, you will defeat Onime and put an end to the demons once and for all. The choice is one that only you can make. I'll give you one week to decide. After that time I will return. Give me your answer then." The man threw his cloak around him and disappeared.
"Me, defeat Onime." Souske chuckled at the thought. "But, there is something about that man that makes me want to believe him. Something I can't quit describe, but something I can feel."
Souske turned from the building where the mysterious person had been. He went over to the edge of the woods and rested his back on a tree. "Can I really defeat him? His power is incredible, but I did survive. That is the one thing I can't deny. Somehow, for whatever reason, I survived." Souske continued to ponder what the man had said. Lost in thought, he didn't notice as the hours slipped by, and before long it was dark. Souske let himself slip down onto the grass and shortly after that sleep claimed him.
The early morning sun awoke Souske the next morning. He squinted as his eyes began to adjust to the bright light. Souske was granted a brief respite before the memory of the mysterious man from the previous day. Yet again he was faced with the choice of whether he should follow the man or simply move on with his life. It was a choice that he could not bring himself to make. The days past and Souske spent all of his waking moments trying to come to a decision. The seventh day had come and the mysterious man was coming soon. Souske still did not have an answer. He paced around the burnt remains of the village, his mind racing trying to come up with a solution. But one would not come.
Souske found himself in front of the graves he had dug for the villagers. He stopped and stared at them. He picked out the ones that held his sister, his mother, Ayane, and the elder. All of them had died at the hands of the demons and Onime. Souske remembered the pain he had felt when he saw Ayane killed before his very eyes. He remembered the suffering it had caused him to burry the people he had spent his whole life with. Finally, Souske had his answer.
At that very moment, as if knowing Souske had made his choice, the man arrived. He leaped from a tree in the nearby woods and landed softly in front of Souske.
"Have you made your choice?" He asked.
"Look around at this village. There is so much death here. So much pain and suffering. What happened here must never be repeated again." Souske took a deep breath as he prepared to make his choice once and for all. "I will go with you, that is my choice. Regardless of the road that I must take, if it can prevent something like this from happening again, I will take it."
"Then we leave now. The first step of your journey begins here."
"Will you tell me where we are going?"
"Not yet, you must trust me fore now."
"How can I trust when I don't know anything about you?"
"My name is Subaru. The rest you will learn in time. Now, we must leave now. We have a long journey ahead of us and the demons will not wait for us to complete it."
Anyway, what did you think. I like the way it's coming out. This may be the first story of mine that I actually like. In the next chapter there is going to be a good deal of explaining. Like what is special about Souske and where Subaru is taking him. Anyway til next time.
Chapter 2: Souske's Choice
Souske searched the village for some time. Hoping against hope that he may yet find someone alive. However it was a fruitless search. Souske was the only survivor of the attack. However he could not fight against the truth forever. He eventually gave in and accepted the fact that everyone he had known and loved was dead and gone.
"They're all gone," Souske muttered under his breath, "everyone, my family, my fellow villagers, even the little children. All of them." Souske walked over to the body of his sister. "Amelia, I'm sorry. I never showed you how much I loved you all. I took you for granted. Now you're gone. And I don't have a chance to change anything. All I can do now is give you a proper burial." Souske picked up the body and carried it into the center of the village. He laid her gently onto the ground. Souske began to walk with a purpose as he went over to a nearby house and picked a shovel up off the ground. For the first time since the attack happened, Souske began to pull himself back together. He dug fervently and wouldn't allow himself a moment's rest. When he was finished he again lifted his sister's body from the ground. He leaned over and gently laid her on the bottom. Tears fell from Souske's eyes and landed on his Amelia's chest, where they were quickly covered by dirt as Souske began to fill the hole again.
Although Souske was the sole survivor in the village he was not alone at the moment. A cloaked figure hid within a tree, crouched down on a branch. He watched Souske closely as he continued at his task, oblivious to the observer.
"It seems you've finally begun to move on," the cloaked figure spoke to himself, "just as I expected. Yes, you will be strong indeed, I will see to that." The man pulled his cloak over him and melded into the surroundings. The leaves rustled slightly as he leapt from branch to branch invisible to the eye.
Souske finished filling the hole and left in search of sticks and a vine to make a small cross. He walked over to a small tree off to the right.
"This always was your favorite tree, only fitting that it give its wood to your cross." Souske said, wishing that Amelia could be here to hear the words. He snapped off two sticks from the tree and took a vine off of the trunk of another nearby tree. He quickly lashed them together into a cross. He walked back over to the grave and drove the cross into the ground at the head. Souske knelt down and said a short, but heartfelt prayer to his sister.
He slowly rose to his feet and left. However as he walked away he couldn't help noticing the bodies of Ayane, his mother, the elder, and all of the men who had fought with the village guard. Souske knew that these people deserved graves too. So he set himself to the task of digging graves for everyone in the village. All the while being watched from the trees by a mysterious man.
It took Souske several days, but he finally had finished with the graves. He said the final prayer and got up. He turned from the graves and looked out into the sky.
"What should I do now?" Souske asked himself. "There is nothing left here for me, and I have nowhere else to go."
"Where you go from here is a choice only you can make." Replied a voice from behind. Souske spun around and looked up at the speaker. It was the same man that had been watching Souske from the trees. However Souske had never noticed him.
"Who are you? What do you want?"
"My name is of no consequence, all you must know is that I am someone who has great interest in the demons and the legends surrounding them. As for what I want, that is simple, I wish for the downfall of Onime and his legions."
"Onime? What's that?"
"The question is not what, but who. Onime is someone whom I believe you know all to well."
"He was the one who lead the assault on my village."
"He leads not just attacks, but the entire demon legion itself."
"But why is he helping the demons, he's human isn't he? And what was that black energy he was using?"
"The answers to those questions, and many more, you will find out in due time. However I have not come to entertain your curiosity. I have come for a very different reason. I've come to ask for your help in fighting the demons."
"Me! You must be mistaken. I may be skilled with a sword, but I'm no match for their numbers, not to mention Onime. I'm sorry, but there's nothing I can do to stop them."
"How can you still believe that you are no different from a skilled swordsman? After what you did on the night they attacked."
"What are you talking about; I failed that night, everyone died."
"Wrong. You survived." Souske opened his mouth as if to counter the statement, but he stopped before saying anything and closed his mouth a puzzled look appearing on his face. "You can't deny that. The demon army has burned many villages to the ground. In all the others they left no survivors. How can you possibly say that you're no different? You survived because Onime ran from you."
"Onime ran. You mean he ran from me."
"Yes, he ran because of you. Because he was afraid to take you on."
"But, why? Why would he run from me, I didn't stand a chance against him?"
"Wrong again. True had he stayed he may have won against you. However, you may have won that fight. That was a risk Onime was not willing to take, not this early."
"But why? What could I ever do that could defeat him?"
"If you want the answer to that question you must follow me. Come with me and I will teach you everything. I will aid you in achieving your full power. The road along which I will guide you is not an easy one. If you choose to take it your life will be full of pain and suffering. The choices along the path will be difficult, but if you follow it, then maybe, just maybe, you will defeat Onime and put an end to the demons once and for all. The choice is one that only you can make. I'll give you one week to decide. After that time I will return. Give me your answer then." The man threw his cloak around him and disappeared.
"Me, defeat Onime." Souske chuckled at the thought. "But, there is something about that man that makes me want to believe him. Something I can't quit describe, but something I can feel."
Souske turned from the building where the mysterious person had been. He went over to the edge of the woods and rested his back on a tree. "Can I really defeat him? His power is incredible, but I did survive. That is the one thing I can't deny. Somehow, for whatever reason, I survived." Souske continued to ponder what the man had said. Lost in thought, he didn't notice as the hours slipped by, and before long it was dark. Souske let himself slip down onto the grass and shortly after that sleep claimed him.
The early morning sun awoke Souske the next morning. He squinted as his eyes began to adjust to the bright light. Souske was granted a brief respite before the memory of the mysterious man from the previous day. Yet again he was faced with the choice of whether he should follow the man or simply move on with his life. It was a choice that he could not bring himself to make. The days past and Souske spent all of his waking moments trying to come to a decision. The seventh day had come and the mysterious man was coming soon. Souske still did not have an answer. He paced around the burnt remains of the village, his mind racing trying to come up with a solution. But one would not come.
Souske found himself in front of the graves he had dug for the villagers. He stopped and stared at them. He picked out the ones that held his sister, his mother, Ayane, and the elder. All of them had died at the hands of the demons and Onime. Souske remembered the pain he had felt when he saw Ayane killed before his very eyes. He remembered the suffering it had caused him to burry the people he had spent his whole life with. Finally, Souske had his answer.
At that very moment, as if knowing Souske had made his choice, the man arrived. He leaped from a tree in the nearby woods and landed softly in front of Souske.
"Have you made your choice?" He asked.
"Look around at this village. There is so much death here. So much pain and suffering. What happened here must never be repeated again." Souske took a deep breath as he prepared to make his choice once and for all. "I will go with you, that is my choice. Regardless of the road that I must take, if it can prevent something like this from happening again, I will take it."
"Then we leave now. The first step of your journey begins here."
"Will you tell me where we are going?"
"Not yet, you must trust me fore now."
"How can I trust when I don't know anything about you?"
"My name is Subaru. The rest you will learn in time. Now, we must leave now. We have a long journey ahead of us and the demons will not wait for us to complete it."
Anyway, what did you think. I like the way it's coming out. This may be the first story of mine that I actually like. In the next chapter there is going to be a good deal of explaining. Like what is special about Souske and where Subaru is taking him. Anyway til next time.