Untitled Chapter 2
The next day was a bright one. The heat from the sun shone down on the village with no clouds to block its rays.
It was the day the young boy named Hiei was to venture into the woods for his first hunt. It was not a ritual; rather the boy himself decided it was time he packed up his things and go on a quest for adventure's sake. His idea would not appeal to his mother, however, so he took it upon himself to sneak away while she was at the market.
Packing his burlap bag full of hunting gear and supplies, Hiei left his home to begin his journey into Youaki Forest. Alone. The villagers knew well enough to stay out of the Forest that surrounded them unless many others accompanied them. Even then they avoided it. But this particular ten-year-old fearlessly trudged down the not-so-beaten path through the woods regardless. He felt a calm sweep over him as he walked further away from the village he came from. It was as though he belonged here. The Forest welcomed him, it seemed.
Demons. The boy snorted. There were no demons in the Forest during the day. He would be safe, he decided. Besides, he had special powers that held all evil beings at bay. His grandfather had told him so. Hiei never questioned his grandfather so when the old man told the boy he had a way of rendering demons helpless, the boy didn't question him, nor did he think twice about it. It simply was. And so Hiei had nothing to fear.
He had only walked for a few minutes when a snapping noise to the right of him made him stop in his tracks. There, looming on a rock a few meters away was a red fox. In its mouth hung a little dead bird. The snapping noise was the fox crunching bones. Hiei waved at it. Foxes weren't as scary as the villager's thought, Hiei decided. He had seen them many times scurrying about the forest floor. They were harmless really, the most he'd seen a fox do was screech threateningly when a human had cornered it. And even then it was more annoying than threatening.
And yet the Village people spoke of a certain demon frequently. A demon said to take the form of a fox. It seemed silly how the adults would change the subject when their children came into the room. Parents warned their children never to explore the great Forest. Hiei never understood them. He'd seen wild pigs attack the village before and once in a while he'd hear of a demon running about the village. By the time Hiei could rush past his mother to see for himself, the event would have passed. The creature always got away it seemed. Over the years, Hiei became skeptical. Having never laid eyes on a monster, he began to doubt the stories were true. He assumed they were made up to scare the younglings from straying out of the village.
The elders, whose stories Hiei liked best of all, hardly ever spoke of any demons or monsters. Instead, they spoke of their way of life before the end of the Crimson Dynasty. They spoke of glorious victories in battle, treasures and wealth and happiness in a land not so different from the one they were living in now.
Hiei put down his bag and sat cross-legged on the forest floor watching the little fox chew away at its meal. The fox accepted his presence and ignored him save for the odd glance. Hiei took out a piece of jerky and chewed on the hard meat, imitating the actions of the fox.
There is much you can learn from the animals. His grandfather had told him. Watch what they do and you will survive in the forest if you find yourself lost or alone.
Hiei wasn't lost and he didn't feel alone, but he thought it best to be mindful of the ways of the creatures that lived in this so-called threatening environment that the villagers feared so much. The little fox stopped eating suddenly and dropped its meal. Hiei froze where he was. The fox wasn't staring at him, however; it was staring at something behind him. From the way the little guy was shaking, Hiei was pretty sure he didn't want to know what it was behind him.
Twigs snapped next to Hiei as whatever it was paced back and forth behind him. He could feel the impact of large paws hitting the ground. Slowly, the boy turned his head to look. There, not two feet from him stood a huge and brilliantly silver dog-like creature with a massive tail and clever-looking golden eyes. The animal was not standard dog size; that much was for certain. Hiei inhaled at the sight of the captivating creature. It was…a giant fox. Hiei and the fox watched each other, neither making a move. By closer inspection, Hiei noticed as the fox moved, its fur shone several shades of light blue as well. The fox appeared hesitant to venture any closer, not out of fear but out of surprise. Surely any other human would have fled at the sight of him….
Hiei held out his hand with the jerky. The fox bobbed his head, curious as to what the young human was offering. "Go on. Take it. It's good."
The fox's large nose touched the meat before he snatched it. A few chews with large razor-like teeth later and the meat disappeared. The fox grew bold and nudged the boy in the back. Hiei giggled. "You want more do you? But I need some too." He reached his hand out fearlessly to stroke the animal's large snout.
The fox studied the boy carefully with clever eyes. This human was different somehow from the others. Lifting its head higher so the boy could no longer reach it, the fox glared at the other on the rock. The little fox still remained frozen in terror.
Recognizing its fear, the silver fox bared its fangs and lunged right over the human boy. Now fleeing for its life, the red fox dodged and swerved through the brush followed closely by the enemy.
" No wait! Come back! Leave it alone!" Hiei left his bag and took off after the sprinting animals. It didn't take long for Hiei to get lost in Youkai Forest. When it became clear to the boy how foolish he was to have strayed from the path, he started to panic. He tried to backtrack but nothing looked framilair in the forest. Every stump, tree, and rock looked different. "Help!" Hiei called out. His faith in himself suddenly diminished, he sat on a rock and began to sob.
The giant fox appeared at his side once more and Hiei lifted his head at the sound of it approaching. The animal dropped its prize at the feet of the tear-stained child. "The fox!" Hiei exclaimed, horrified. "You killed it! How could you do that? It didn't do anything to you!" The boy picked up the little creature's limp body and cradled it gently. He glared at the perpetrator.
"Hiei! Hiei where are you!" Another person's voice echoed throughout the forest. Hiei perked up. Someone was looking for him!
"Hiei! Are you out here! Hiei answer me!" A new voice called out. It was female.
"I'm over here!" Hiei set down the red fox and jumped up and down waving his arms. He stopped short when a growling emitted from the animal next to him. Teeth bared and saliva dripping, the enraged canine sprung forward and snatched the young boy's shirtsleeve. Reflexively, the boy tried to pull away but the fox began to drag him away from the voices. "No! Let me go! Ahhhh!"
"HIEI!"
It was no use. No matter how hard the human boy struggled and resisted the fox overpowered him easily, dragging him over logs and through fallen tree limbs that scraped against his bare arms. At one point Hiei slipped out of his shirt, hoping to flee in the opposite direction. Two seconds flat and the fox was in front of him with teeth bared, a low warning growl aimed directly at him. Hiei took a step back. His knees felt like jelly. What was the fox doing? Why was it acting so mean? Hiei held up his hands in surrender and walked backwards in the direction the fox had been pulling him. The fox followed, teeth still flashed warning him not to try anything funny.
"I won't run. But where are you taking me Mr. Fox? The village is that way." Hiei stumbled over a tree root, landing flat on his back. This time the fox loomed over him, its teeth grazing the boy's stomach as it gripped him by the waist of his pants. "Hey! What are you—Oof!"
Now able to carry the small human, the fox ran through the woods with ease. Hiei struggled at first, prying at the animal's black lips. And when he noticed the sharp incisors holding him two feet from the ground he stopped moving and grasped the fox's furry face for support. Help me someone. He silently begged. The voices of his saviors faded in the distance.
Before long Hiei could see the forest floor simply end. It appeared to be some sort of drop off in the middle of the woods. Thick trees covered the majority of the edge but as the fox ran full out towards it, Hiei's eyes widened in fright. "Ahhhhhhh!" He screamed, holding his hands over his eyes as they leaped from the edge and into the empty air.
Butterflies filled the boy's stomach as he fell. The fox still held a firm grip on him as they pummeled almost straight down fifty plus feet and landed in a reservoir of crystal clear spring water. The icy cold of the water came as a shock to Hiei, who jolted and took in a gulp of water instead of oxygen. He thrashed about in the bubbles and the fox released him, swimming to the surface. Hiei opened his eyes underwater and watched with burning lungs as the animal above him disappeared out of the water. He flailed and thrashed but did not get any closer to the surface himself. I'm gonna die! White covered his vision and he grew dizzy from lack of air. He made one last attempt to swim before his body gave up and he began to sink deeper into the cold.
The fox pulled itself up and out of the water, shaking its silver fur free. It looked back at where the child should have been but wasn't and dove back into the water.
Hiei slipped into a subconscious state where he saw a woman with flowing red hair reaching out to him through the water and bubbles. Why red hair? His mind wondered lazily. He reached out to the illusion with weak fingers. And then everything went black...
Hieiopened his eyes and coughed up water violently. Freeing his lungs of the cold liquid at last. Air came as a blessing and the boy breathed greedily for a while before looking up. Sitting across from him was the one who had pulled him from death's grip.
The person with red hair watched him with concern. Hiei wiped his mouth with his arm and sat upright. "You saved me." He coughed.
The other smiled warmly and wrung out their long red hair by twisting it sending water onto the rock below. Hiei couldn't take his eyes from his savior. The stranger's clothes were regal colours; purples and deep reds that looked even darker wet. And they wore black boots. Only his grandfather wore boots similar to those of this person. It was as though they were very old and yet looked vibrant and energetic, with smooth features and intense eyes.
Hiei glanced around at his surroundings. The sun was shining brightly through the canopy of leaves above them. The water flowed, undisturbed down the cliff that he had fallen from only moments before. The fox was nowhere in sight. Hiei breathed a sigh of relief. His traumatic capture was but a distant memory. Now he was alone with this very attractive stranger with long hair, pale skin and captivating emerald green eyes. Hiei couldn't help but say something. "You're beautiful…." He managed to say, his breath hitching once the words were out.
The other laughed at this; it was pleasant sound that rung through the trees.
"I'm not a woman." Was the reply.
Hiei didn't flinch. "I know. But you're beautiful, still."
The redhead studied the boy briefly before shaking his head with a laugh. This boy was not afraid to say what he meant. Ah the freedom of naïveté. The man stood up and held out his hand to the youth. Hiei took it without an ounce of hesitation and got to his feet.
"What is that?" The man asked, crouching down to take the necklace around Hiei's neck into his hand and turning it over. Hiei smiled proudly. "It was my grandpa's necklace. He gave it to me. That's a real ruby too."
"So it is…" The man said, studying it with intrigued emerald eyes. He rubbed the surface of the palm-size gem with his thumb. What was this boy doing with such a rare commodity? Was this what drew the fox to the boy? Such power inside… It made his fingers tingle on contact.
"Grandpa says it has the power to hold demons at bay." Hiei continued, boastfully. He was thrilled that the stranger was so interested in what he had to say. Even if he himself had no idea what his elder had meant at the time.
At this the man's eyes flicked from the gem to the boy's innocent irises. "Is that so? And has your grandpa ever met a demon?"
Hiei's grin faultered. "Umm. Probably. He says that the 'damned canine demon of Crimson deserves to die for killing so many Villagers'. He gave me this so I can fight it off if I ever saw it." He held it to his chest protectively. "Hey mister? Do you know what 'canine' means?"
The man looked sad. "It's a dog. The demon your grandfather was speaking of was a dog."
Hiei's eyes widened suddenly. "I remember! The fox! I saw a huge fox! It dragged me away…" He spun around, not so sure where he was anymore. It was clear he had not yet pieced together what the stranger had just revealed to him. "Where--?"
"I think you should go back to your village now."
Hiei spun back towards the red haired man with wide eyes. "What? Why? Aren't you coming too?"
"…No." The man pointed up the cliff. "The Village is that way. Your parents must be looking for you." He turned away and began walking in the opposite direction.
Hiei stumbled after him. "W-wait! I want you to come too! Please come with me! I'm afraid! Wait!"
The man stopped without turning, "What are you afraid of boy?"
Hiei wiped a tear as it fell to his pale cheek. "The fox might come back…" he sniffed.
The stranger with the long flowing hair and soft voice nodded to himself. "Yes. It will come back. It always comes back…."
Hiei gasped at that and took a quick look around himself just to be sure the animal wasn't around now. " Why does it keep coming?"
"…For the life of me I haven't been able to figure that out." The man turned to smile at the boy sadly. "But maybe you could help me, hmm?"
Hiei brightened up several volts. "Really! I'll do anything! You saved my life after all."
"When you are strong enough…I want you to kill the fox who took you away. Do you think you can do that for me?"
Hiei gaped at the man's request. What was he saying? Hiei had never killed a single creature in his life! And besides, when was he ever going to be strong enough to fight the fox that carried him through the woods in its teeth? Hiei set his jaw and gave the man his best 'I promise' glare. "I'll kill it." He said firmly.
"I will hold you to that vow, Charm Holder." The mysterious savior disappeared into the thick underbrush. The faint sounds of villagers calling out Hiei's name echoed throughout the woods moments later. The young adventurer clutched his necklace and ran to them, thoughts of the future swimming about his head.