"Over here!"
Kouga tightened his grip on the spear he held and turned, moving quickly through the sparse forest in the direction of Kano's voice. He didn't normally carry such a weapon, preferring the directness of unarmed combat, but in a situation like this where the enemy was unknown, it seemed wisest. These were dangerous times.
Bad enough that their tribe's long-standing feud with the Gokurakuchou was flaring up again, more violent than ever, but recently a new enemy had appeared in the surrounding area. No one who had actually seen the beast (whatever it might be) had survived, but the creature was growing ever bolder, venturing onto the Yourouzoku territory with increasing frequency, taking down their game--and the occasional hunter who was unfortunate enough to encounter it.
Earlier this evening, Kano had abruptly announced his intention to take a small hunting party out to stalk and put an end to the beast before it killed again. Kouga, of course, had volunteered right away. The bold young leader was one of the few that Kouga not only respected, but actually looked up to, and he was eager to show his worth. Two other hunters and a handful of wolves rounded out the party.
Now, with Kano in sight, Kouga was beginning to pick up hints of an unfamiliar scent on the air, as well as the metallic tang of blood. Lots of it, and fresh, too. He leapt over a scrubby growth of thorn bush and stopped at Kano's side, the young warrior squatting on his haunches as he poked at the mangled corpse of what had been a deer. The body was crushed and torn apart, as if massive jaws had done their work on it before tossing it carelessly aside. Kano turned and glanced up at Kouga. "What do you think?"
Kouga scratched the back of his neck as he scrutinized the body. "Can't be long dead, can it?" He squinted. There were pools of yellowish saliva on the corpse and the ground near it, slowly bubbling. He poked at a small puddle of the stuff with the blunt end of his spear, scowling as the acid began biting into the wood. "Ugh. So where is this thing?"
Kano shrugged, standing. "That's the question, isn't it? I can't smell anything, but it must be nearby. We can still track it." He shouldered his spear and frowned.
Montaro emerged panting from the trees, a half dozen wolves at his heels. "It's not here, Kano?" The large hunter wrinkled up his nose in disgust at the sight of the slaughtered deer. "Bastard didn't even eat it. Meat's tainted now; no good. A waste."
Kouga nodded absently, scanning the ground for tracks or some other sign. Whatever the thing was, it didn't seem to have a strong scent and the fresh blood was covering it well. His eyes swept over his surroundings. There. A broken branch a few feet away. Forgetting the others for a moment, he wandered over to investigate. It was their quarry, all right. At the jagged edge where the wood had snapped, a few drops of dark blood glistened in the moonlight. Kouga touched a finger to the thickening substance and smelled. Youkai, definitely, but that they already had figured. It was not a scent he recognized, but it seemed familiar. Reptilian, most likely.
Close by, a wolf let out a sudden, high yip of pain, then was silent. From somewhere in the darkness of the trees, there came a crashing: a large creature, coming fast.
"Shit!" Montaro's voice rang out. Kouga was there in a flash, his spear at the ready.
The creature burst from the trees and let out a challenging roar.
Kouga wasn't sure what he was seeing. The thing was big, crouched down on all fours, though it was clear by their shape that it would be able to rise up on its hind legs. The body was long and sinuous, covered in a scaly hide. It was the head that was most unusual, fully twice as large as one would expect in relation to the body, supported by a squat, thick neck. The jaw was even more disproportionate, elongated and erupting with masses of jagged fangs, streamers of acidic drool dripping down to land on the ground with a fizzing plop.
"You made a big mistake, ugly," Kano answered back almost nonchalantly. "This is Yourouzoku land and you're...not...welcome." He punctuated the words by hefting his spear and brandishing it, aiming the point right at the thing's head.
The creature gave an angry whuff of breath and charged. Kano's sharp nod launched the others into action as he rushed to meet the beast head-on. Kouga, with Montaro right behind him, made a dash for the thing's right side.
Kouga had always been fast, his reflexes quick. Even so, he barely had time to react when the beast abruptly swung out its head to the side, meaning to knock the two warriors from their feet. Kouga jumped, hearing Montaro go down with a pained grunt, and kicked down hard as he landed on its snout. He allowed himself an instant of satisfaction as he felt the solid flesh buckle and give from the force of his blow, then he was moving again, thrusting his spear forward before the beast had a chance to throw him off. The point connected, piercing the soft flesh of the creature's left eye. Black blood and viscera gushed as he plunged the spear more deeply, then it was jarred from his hands as the beast screamed and tossed up its head, throwing Kouga to the ground.
Wolves were swarming around the thing's feet, snapping at its legs. A few lay whimpering and broken, their bodies crushed by frantically trampling feet. Kouga rolled quickly to one side to avoid the same fate himself. He looked up to see Kano, a look of grim determination on his face, holding his ground as the thing rushed him head-on. The beast didn't slow, even as it ran itself onto Kano's spear, even as the weapon penetrated its throat and Kano, instead of retreating, moved even closer, his grip never faltering. The enormous jaws opened wide, the head twisting down to rake wicked teeth across Kano's arms and torso, the acidic saliva already eating away at the flesh it touched. Then in an instant the maw snapped shut and wrenched up and back, and part of Kano was no longer there. The air was thick with a red mist of blood...
Dimly, Kouga heard himself give a frenzied battle cry as he made a leap onto the beast's back. He took a few running steps, then launched himself, feet-first, into the back of the thing's skull. There was a satisfying crack and the thing stumbled, toppling over forward. Kouga jumped from his position, catching at the spear still caught in the creature's eye on his way down and yanking it free. The beast made a valiant effort to right itself, but the momentum was too strong and it pitched over its own feet. It might have looked almost comical were the situation not so dire.
The beast's head connected with the ground, the tip of Kano's spear now forced up through the back of its head with the power of the impact. Kouga and Montaro fell upon it--Kouga absently registered that Taji was there now too; better late than never--not stopping the work with their spears until the thing's screams of pain rattled and died in its throat.
For a moment the silence was deafening. Then Taji exhaled loudly, turning away from the creature's body to face Kouga. "Kano?" he asked, though he must have seen what was left of the Yourouzoku leader's body--even missing his head and half of his upper body, even with the flesh burned off him in strips, the corpse was unmistakably Kano's.
Kouga shook his head. "Dead. This thing killed him." Speaking it didn't make it seem real. Kouga snarled and gave the beast's body an angry kick. The body gave another twitch.
"This bastard's still not dead?" Montaro said with disbelief.
Kouga growled, stomping with all his force on the already shattered skull. Blood and bits of bone and brain matter flew everywhere as the head collapsed completely beneath the second blow. "It is now." He eyed the thing with disgust. How? How had this creature been so hard to kill? How could it possible have killed Kano? What had made this thing so strong?
As if in answer, a hard glint caught his eye from within the dark blood. He knelt, picking the objects up carefully: two tiny pieces of a sort of jewel he didn't recognize, jagged and uneven as if shattered from a much larger gem. They didn't look like much, but he knew the instant he touched them that these things were powerful. "What is it, Kouga?" came Taji's voice. He ignored him. Without a conscious thought as to what he was doing, Kouga drove first one, then the other, into the flesh of his legs. The effect was immediate, energy and invigoration surging through his entire body. And it felt right.
He forgot Kano, forgot Montaro and Taji and the wolves--for a moment, there was only him and the new power that was his alone. In that moment, Kouga knew three things:
He knew that with these shards, he was indisputably the heir to Kano's position.
He knew he could use them to bring the tribe to victory in all things.
And he knew he wanted more of them.