Author's Note: Hi again!
Not much to say besides the fact that I am very proud of myself at having kept my updates frequent. That and thanks for the comments, for all that I would much have enjoyed some more substance. Oh, well. Beggers can't be choosers. And drifters can't be winners, as you'll soon find out!
"You're coming with me," he told me. His breath smelled rotten. My eyes watered. I couldn't tell if it was from the fear or from the stink.
"Let me go!" I screamed as he threw me over his shoulder. "Let me go! Let me go!"
I pounded at his back, but it was like beating on a big drum—I could feel the muscles under his thin and torn clothing. There was no way this guy was going to let me go unless he wanted to. But that didn't mean I wasn't going to give him hell anyways.
"Let me go!" I screamed again, kicking and hitting every part of him I could reach. "Let me go, let me go, let me go!"
Then, quite suddenly, he did. I was dropped to the pavement as the drifter was rocked backwards by something. He stumbled and looked around wildly, as if searching for something.
"Who's there?" he called out. "Who hit me? Show yourself!"
I watched as the drifter was violently knocked back again. Had the rain just...? No, it couldn't have!
"Who's there?" the drifter called again. "Come out and face me!"
Now I was sure; the rain had taken the form of a human and was fighting this man! I watched, wide-eyed despite the falling rain, as the heavier raindrops collected into the fist of the man figure and punched the drifter straight in the jaw. This time, the drifter didn't get to say anything before the next attack. And the next. And the next.
With each hit, the form that the rain took became clearer and clearer. Soon, I could see skin, hair, clothing, but it was all from the back. All I could tell was that his clothing looked very outlandish, and while his skin was pale, his hair was black.
A water spirit! I thought to myself, ignoring the small part of myself that told me how ridiculous that idea was. That part had gotten a lot smaller since the rain had come together and started assaulting my attacker.
Soon, the drifter was too scared to remember what he had come up here for, and ran away,whimpering like a frightened puppy into the rain, which was beginning to let up.
I simply sat there on the road, looking up at my savior's back, unable to speak. He relaxed from his fighter's stance and stood straight. He wouldn't turn around and look at me. Why wouldn't he turn around?
The rain was getting rapidly lighter, and I allowed myself to blink, but I still couldn't speak. Then I realized that as the water was getting dimmer, so was he. He was fading away.
"No!" I cried before I knew what I was saying. I got to my feet and reached out towards him. "Wait!"
He turned and I stopped dead in my tracks.
I knew those eyes. I had been seeing them every night in my dreams since I had found the hair tie. The dragon's eyes. They were looking at me, and I couldn't breathe.
It took a couple more seconds for me to realize that he was fading quickly now. His body was practically made of smoke by the time I came to my senses.
"Wait!" I called to him. "Don't go! Don't leave me here, Kohaku!"
But he didn't listen to me. He faded away into the night. I was alone.