Untitled Chapter 3: The Attack
Theme song to chapter: "Klouny" (Clowns) by T.A.T.U
Ten years later
The animal burst through the side of the Village pub without warning. Pieces of wood and furniture flew every which way. The people who were caught in the mess, scrambled to get away, both shocked and terrified.
"Oh my god, it is real!" someone screamed, "It's the demon fox!"
A sense of panic swept through the structure and the silver creature panted heavily, its fur shimmered in the dim lights and saliva dripped from its bared canines. It growled and focused its attention on one terrified person at a time, its icy golden glare sweeping from one person to another slowly. It appeared to be searching for someone specific. Searching for the perfect victim.
"RUN! Everyone get out of here!" yelled the bartender as he picked up and hurled a barrel of wine at the animal. It hit its target square in the face. The animal screamed an unnatural scream and reared on its hind legs, trying to wipe the stinging, red alcohol from its eyes. The trapped villagers took this opportunity to flee through the pub doors and the hole in the wall. Once everyone was outside, the men grabbed up their pitchforks and whatever weapons they could use against the demon and formed a circle around the damaged building.
Now angrier than ever, and covered in red wine, the giant fox snarled a warning at the waiting men with their primitive weapons. It leaped clear through a second wall and snatched a surprised man by the arm with its teeth before even landing on the ground. The man screamed and flailed, dropping his weapon as he was tossed around like a rag doll in a dog's mouth. The other villagers attacked the silver animal with their weapons, forcing it towards the woods.
"HELP MEEEE!" Screeched the doomed man. He was bleeding badly and no longer flailing in the jaws of the creature. "Hold on, Amos! You're going to be fine! Hang in there buddy!" another villager encouraged, stabbing at the monstrous thing holding his friend hostage with a wooden spear. The fox snarled and backed away defensively.
"Take this, you monster!" One man thrust a heavy metal sword deep into the oversized fox's hindquarters. Surprised, the animal released the human man from its jaws and snapped at its assailant, tearing the sword out of its leg.
The villagers managed to force the demon fox off village grounds and out onto the dirt road leading out of the forest. Injured and livid, the demon roared its frustration and made one last desperate attempt to damage the village. Crouching like a cat, the animal dug its claws in the dirt and leapt at the line of defending men, using its sharp teeth, huge tail and hind legs to toss them this way and that. As the fox scrambled towards the center of the village once more, a woman carrying a young child caught the animal's eye. It lunged straight for her. Glinting canine fangs met human flesh, tearing right through bone and muscle. The woman was decapitated instantly; her body fell to the ground in a pitiful heap. The baby fell with it, landing in the dirt next to its dead mother, screaming.
Seeing this as an opportunity, the demon snatched up the baby and took off for the safety of the Forest.
"No you don't!"
Just as he was nearing the edge of the Forest a human with hair as dark as the night appeared in the way with fire in one hand and a katana in the other. The blade glinted in the moonlight and the demon froze in place in front of the bold human. They stared at each other for a moment, neither moving. Blood dripped from the fox's mouth. The human took notice and screwed his face up in anger.
"Drop whatever it is you have in your mouth, beast. Or you will never again see the sanctuary of your forest."
The villagers were catching up now. Coming closer with their weapons and fire. The fox hesitated; then he gently lay the still breathing but unconscious baby in the dirt.
"That's right. Now go. Before I kill you myself, demon."
But instead of taking off into the bushes, the demon seemed to smile with its golden eyes. Its lips curled into a devious grin. It was the kind of grin that sent a chill up the spine of the one in the way. The human lowered his torch and backed away a step. But it was too late. The fox had other plans for him.
By the time the other villagers caught up, both Hiei and the demon were gone. Only the unused katana, a burnt out torch and a lucky infant lay in their place….
When Hiei came to he was face down in the dirt in middle of a small clearing. The sun shone brightly through the leaves of the trees overhead. He must have been out all night. When he sat up his head throbbed and he touched his fingers to his forehead. When he pulled them away, fresh blood coated his fingertips. "Great. Just great. Damn fox split my head open." He shook his hair free of dirt and leaves.
"Can I help you?"
Hiei jolted backwards on his butt at the sound of the strange voice. A well-dressed man with deep red hair and regal looking clothes sat casually on a large rock, watching him.
"Where did you come from?" Feeling somewhat put on display, Hiei attempted to stand up to brush himself off.
"I wouldn't do that." The stranger commented from his place on the rock.
Hiei winced and fell back on the ground clutching his leg. "Oh wow, that hurts like a—"Hiei eyed the other skeptically as he got up from the rock and began to circle him, hands in his pockets. The stranger made no move to help him; he only seemed to be interested in studying him from all angles. "Yeah, don't help me up or anything… Are you a tourist or something?"
The redhead chuckled. "No." He knelt down in front of the injured teen and examined his leg. The boy's pants were stained in blood and there were non-repairable tears caused by what appeared to be the teeth of an animal.
"You're a man of few words I see." Hiei commented, somewhat peeved by his silence.
"The monster get you?"
"What, you mean that stupid fox? Yeah, he got me."
"Stupid?" The man laughed half-heartedly and slapped Hiei on the knee.
"Ow! Hey! Watch it buddy, that hurts!"
"Oh that's right. You can't run anywhere in the shape you're in. It would be a pity if I were to leave you here for the 'stupid fox' to find you."
Hiei studied the stranger's face, trying to figure out whether he was indeed seriously considering leaving him or not. Hiei decided not to take his chances. "Alright, what do you want from me?"
"Put your arm around me."
"What?"
"Put. Your. Arm. Around. Me."
"You're one of those guys aren't you?"
"Oh for goodness sake!" The redhead grabbed the smaller by the wrists and forcefully flung him off his feet.
"Ahh! Watch the leg! Watch the leg!"
"Lean on me."
"Okay, okay. Hang on a second, geez." Hiei hopped up and down quite comically, trying to gain his balance. "Now what?" he asked, one arm slung around the other guy's neck. He smelled like jasmine and something sweeter….Hiei couldn't quite put his finger on what it was.
"We go home." He answered, walking slowly so the other could keep up.
"Home? And where exactly is 'home'? I've never seen you at the villa--…"
The stranger pushed aside a collection of thick tree branches revealing a magnificent castle of stone almost twice as high as the cliff they were standing on the edge of. Hiei made an astonished whimpering noise and leaned heavier on the redhead. The sight before him made him remember his fear of heights and he stared in awe at the castle, clinging for dear life to the person next to him. The castle itself was almost entirely covered with plant life. Glimpses of stone could be seen here and there between vines. Chipped and weathered statues of gargoyles and other mythical creatures stood regally above the castle walls as if protecting the structure from all angles. Only the tower remained untouched, scraping at the clouds above them. Even from a distance, the monument was intimidating. Turkey vultures that had made roost on the tower's shingled rooftop shrieked at the visitors as though to warn them away.
"W-Wha--? Is this Crimson Castle?"
"Yes it is."
"Wow. I mean….wow. I knew it was here somewhere, but I never—I never saw it with my own eyes until now. It's forbidden to come here you know." Hiei let go of the man helping him and leaned against a very old pine tree whose branches extended out over the edge of the cliff. Despite his better judgment, he looked down. Water seeped from the ground beneath their feet and flowed gently down the side of the cliff in multiple streams, collecting in a large pool at the foot of the rocks.
"Why don't you go have a look?"
"What? Go down there?" Hiei asked incredulously. It was absurd! No one was allowed to venture this far in the woods alone, least of all walk up to Crimson Castle. Hiei stared in disbelief at the redhead who calmly admired the structure before them with deep green eyes. There was something about this guy. Confidence radiated from him and Hiei found himself drawing from it. He dared to sit on the protruding tree limb and let one leg hang on either side. What a breathtaking view it was.
"You're content to sit here and stare at it aren't you? I figured as much. Very well, I will leave you here. Someone will find you eventually." With that, the man with the long red hair left Hiei and disappeared back behind the bushes. Hiei nearly fell off the branch. "HEY WAIT! Where are you going! Don't leave me here! HEY!" Scrambling to get off the tree branch and wincing as he did so, the teen limped after the stranger.
It took him a few minutes to actually find the man again. When he did catch a glimpse of him he was halfway down the cliff, sliding along a narrow trail skillfully. It was obvious the man had done this many times before and was familiar with the twists and turns of the steep path. Hiei groaned. This wasn't going to be so easy with a bum leg. "Wait up!" he called, taking an uneasy step down onto the earthy trail. He leaned over cautiously and whimpered at the sheer steepness of it. "Well at least there's water at the bottom. I could always just swan dive down there." He muttered to himself grimly.
Wait a minute. Water at the bottom? He had nearly drowned in a pool of spring water not so different from the one below him now. That was years ago, but he could still feel the icy water on his skin, claiming him, willing him to die. He had been hurled off a cliff by the demon fox and then saved by a man with red hair…Red hair just like—
Hiei stopped where he was. "You…" He whispered, putting the pieces together.
As if to hear Hiei from meters below, the man stopped. Slowly he turned to face him, giving Hiei a good look at his features. Familiar emerald green eyes locked on him from behind wispy strands of red hair. The very air seemed to sigh. A breeze blew between them rustling the plant life growing from the cliff. Hiei sat down on the nearest rock. This can't be happening. It makes no sense! How can a guy save me as a child and reappear years later unchanged? It was no mistake. The man with red hair and piercing eyes appeared no older than Hiei remembered him. His clothes were torn in places and his long-sleeved white shirt was no longer white, but overall he appeared to have been outside no longer than one afternoon, Hiei judged.
"Is something wrong?" The man made his way back up the path and sat down in the dirt next to Hiei's rock. He reached out and plucked a leaf, tearing at it with long fingers.
"Who are you?" Hiei asked, staring at him incredulously.
"My name is Kurama."
"Kurama? That's it?"
"I can't remember my last name."
"What are you, dead or something?" Hiei sneered, refusing to believe the man beside him was anything more than a trick of his mind. He had learned that dehydration often lead to strange mirages…
"I need your help." The red head spoke.
"Why should I help you?"
The man hesitated, not looking up from the leaf in his hands. He studied it intensely. "You said you would."
"I don't remember saying anything like that."
"You were young then. I had hoped you would remember…"
"I was a kid when I last saw you! And you disappeared for years! No one could live in Youkai Forest alone for that long! You're not real! You can't be!" Hiei stood up forcefully sending a shooting pain up from his injured leg. He winced and backed away from the stranger, using vines and plant stems to pull himself up the path and away from the castle. "I must be crazy." He panted, shaking his head.
"Don't go. I need you." The man dropped the leaf and stood up watching the other leave. "Please." He begged softly hoping the spiky haired teen would change his mind.
Hiei continued to pull himself up the cliff. He felt the need to put distance between himself and the man who had to be an illusion. "You know something," Hiei panted, talking more to himself now than the man below him, "I told my friends and parents about you when I got back to the Village that day. I told them you saved me from drowning. How you appeared out of nowhere and pulled me out of the freezing water. How you had hair so brightly coloured it hurt my eyes at first. I even told them how you made me promise to kill the demon fox someday." He chuckled at the distant memory.
"You do remember…" The redhead watched in mild awe as the young man left him behind, climbing higher still.
"You know what they said to me afterwards?" Hiei stopped, breathing hard, "They said I was crazy. That I was under the influence of the demon. My friends stopped playing with me because of it, Kurama. They told me I was cursed. And that I should have died that day in the jaws of the fox." Hiei wiped his forehead and glanced back down the cliff despite his better judgment, catching the saddened gaze of the one listening to him from below. "My mother believed me though. She said you must have been my guardian angel. Ridiculous isn't it?"
"I don't think so." Kurama replied softly.
Hiei shook his head dismissing the comment upon hearing it. "Yeah well, she's dead now. And it's all because of you and that stupid fox!" Hiei grabbed the nearest rock and hurled it down the cliff at Kurama with an anguished cry.
Kurama caught the stone easily and let it drop to the ground at his feet. "Hiei…?"
Hiei paused upon hearing his name. "How--? How do you know who I am?"
"I have heard the people of your village call you by that name." He covered.
Hiei gave him a skeptical look that Kurama couldn't quite decipher. "You've been watching me haven't you? You've come to the Village before. Why hasn't anyone seen you but me?"
"They have seen me. Only…"
"Only what?"
"Your mother…was it the demon who killed her?"
Hiei gritted his teeth. "Stop changing the subject!"
"Did the demon kill her?!" Kurama lost his composure and fell to his knees on the dirt path, shaking. Hiei thought he saw a couple drops of dark liquid fall from the stranger's lips to the dirt. He couldn't bring himself to answer.
"It was, wasn't it?" Kurama pressed, "The demon took her away from you when you were a boy. I'm sorry, Hiei. You have no idea..."
"Stop it!" Anger swelling up in him, Hiei grabbed a handful of stones and dirt and threw it at Kurama. "Don't you think I've relived that night enough?! It's not something you forget, okay?!"
The red head said nothing more, and hardly winced at the impact of the stones as they hit him. "I'm sorry for all you have lost." He got to his feet, slowly regaining his composure. "You must help me defeat it. Come to the castle, won't you?" He stretched out his hand to Hiei. There was blood on Kurama's bottom lip...
Hiei frowned at the invitation. Everything about him made Hiei uneasy. And yet…Hiei sighed, giving into his sense of adventure. The scent of jasmine filled the air as a gust of wind blew through the trees. How were the two of them going to stop a demon that had been ravaging these lands for decades? Both his mother and father had been killed trying to save him from it. What made him believe he stood a chance?
Hiei suspected the red head had played on his weaknesses all along. Somehow he managed to win him over. With some difficulty, Hiei stumbled back down the path towards Kurama and took his hand. A strong sense of familiarity and assurance filled him at the touch of his hand. The man named Kurama seemed to be daring him to trust him. Hiei soon found himself following Kurama as blindly as a child towards Crimson Castle and its mysteries.