Seven Years Ago

Chapter 23: A Past Tainted With Blood

"Haro, Haro! Come back Haro!" Kirakazuka chased after her little puppy through the forest.

She chased the little dog until they had made their way home. Kirakazuka opened the front door and her little puppy went scampering in. She let out a small laugh and then made her way to the kitchen where Haruna, her caretaker, was cooking supper.

"Home I see, did you have fun playing in the forest?" Haruna asked.

"Yeah!" Kirakazuka responded as she took a seat at the table. Haro jumped up on to her lap and she let out a little giggle as he licked her hands. Haruna looked back over his shoulder and smiled.

"You know that Haro can't sit at the table with us Kirakazuka-san," he said as he served the food and took a seat.

Kirakazuka smiled and gently pushed her little dog off her lap, "I know,"

"Good girl, now eat up,"

"Haruna-kun," Kirakazuka started sounding a little disheartened.

"What is it?" Haruna asked.

"Are there are other little girls and boys my age that I can play with?" she asked.

Haruna was surprised by the question but also knew that a time would come when she asked it. He had thought about what he would say but he seemed to have forgotten now.

"I mean, I love you and Haro, but sometimes…sometime I still get lonely. There must be other people that I can play with…"

Haruna knew the answer to that question. It was too dangerous to let her go around anyone. There was too much of a chance that she would hurt them. He did not want awaken that blood thirst he knew laid dormant inside of her.

Haruna smiled at Kirakazuka, who looked up at him, "You are a very special little girl. Did you know that you're a special secret?"

Kirakazuka's eyes became wide with curiosity, "Really?" she asked.

"Of course, that is why we live out here in the forest by ourselves,"

"But I still don't understand," she said confused.

"You will one day, wanna know another secret?" he asked trying to cheer her up.

"Yeah!!!"

"You have a sister that is just like you,"

"A sister?"

"Yes, and she is special just like you,"

"Does she live alone too?"

"Yes she does,"

"Well than maybe one day she can come over and play with me and Haro!"

"I don't think so Kirakazuka-san,"

She gave her caretaker a confused look.

"See your sister is traveling right now, she is going all around the world,"

"Why does she get to go places and meet people?"

"You will understand one day…"

"But I want to understand now!"

Haruna smiled at her eagerness, "Do you love your little animal friend?"

Kirakazuka gave him a weird look and then looked down at Haro. She smiled as his cute little face looked back up at her.

"Yes,"

"Than he is your friend,"

"And you are too? Right?"

"Yes I am,"

"Can I at least go and see other little girls and boys?"

Haruna looked at her. He felt so bad as she looked into his eyes. Such an innocent child should not have to suffer as she did. It was hard enough containing what she really was out here in the forest when it was just the two of them. He had strict rules on his room where he had kept his weapons. He didn't want anything awakening inside of her.

"I guess I don't see the harm in it,"

"REALLY" Kirakazuka called. She jumped off her chair, ran over to Haruna, and wrapped her little arms around him. When she let go she picked up her little dog and started dancing with him as she playfully sang about going to see other little girls and boys her age.

From the shadows of the trees surrounding the park Kirakazuka and Haruna stood holding hands watching the little girls and boys play. Kirakazuka had a longing expression on her face but seemed to understand that she could not go play with them. She watched as they went about playing childhood games.

When it was finally time for the kids to go home their parents came and got them one by one until there was only one child left. He sat at the swings for a while before he got up and a started walking away. Haruna had recognized the boy at once; it was the boy with the demon inside him.

"Why hasn't that boy's parents come to pick him up?" Kirakazuka asked.

"There are some people who also know what it is like to be alone in this world Kirakazuka," Haruna said.

Kirakazuka looked up at her caretaker with a sad expression.

"Are a lot of people alone like me?" she asked.

"Many know the pain of being alone. That boy has no parents and the people of the village hate him for what he is. I don't know if you noticed but some of the parents of the children that were here before scolded their children when they found out that they had been playing with that boy."

"But what did he do?"

"Nothing,"

Kirakazuka looked up at him confused. Haro whined at her side. Then suddenly Haro took off away towards the boy. Quickly Kirakazuka started to chase her dog. When she finally caught up to him she saw that the boy who everyone hated was petting Haro. He looked up and smiled at Kirakazuka.

"Is this your dog?" he asked.

This was the first time that she had come in contact with another person other than Haruna. She was scared and nervous. Shyly she nodded.

"He's a cute dog," said the boy, "My name is Naruto, what's yours?"

Kirakazuka did not answer as Haro returned to her and jumped into her arms. She just stood there as Naruto stared at her, waiting for an answer.

"Hey I know who you are! You always sit at the back of the class and you never talk to anyone. Your name is Sayuri right? I've never seen you out of school before!"

Kirakazuka gave him a confused look. She heard Haruna call for her to come back to where he was standing, still in the shadows of the trees. Without another word she took off back towards Haruna.

"Did you say anything?" he asked as she approached.

Kirakazuka shook her head. She didn't understand how the boy had known her. Than she remembered that she had a sister. Sayuri must be her sister's name. Why would she always sit in the back of the classroom though? Didn't she want to make friends? Kirakazuka felt a little angry that her sister had the chance to make friends and didn't.

"Let's go back home," Haruna said.

Kirakazuka nodded and took Haruna's hand as they walked off back to home.

The next morning Kirakazuka went outside to play with her doggie as usual. When she got tired and came across a clearing she decided to rest. A noise caught her attention and she looked over to where it had come from. There was a man lying in the grass and blood poured out of an open wound. Kirakazuka looked down at the man. She had an overwhelming interest in the blood that was spilling out onto the ground.

"Little girl, please go get help," said the man.

Kirakazuka just stood there staring at him. The man kept telling her to run for help but she didn't move. She didn't want to move. Something in the man's hand glistened in the sunlight. Slowly Kirakazuka bent over and picked it up. It was a long slender piece of metal. The moment that Kirakazuka took a grip on the handle of the sword she felt something she had never felt before.

Naturally she swung it around and took a fighting stance. The man that was on the ground would not shut-up and was starting to annoy Kirakazuka. Swiftly she brought the sword down on the man and his complaints stopped. She looked down at the man's cold lifeless eyes.

Pulling the sword out from his body she dropped it on the ground next to her. She searched the body and found some other interesting things. She found some metal stars and a few knives in a pouch at the man's leg. She also undid the harness for the sword and tied it around her own waist. She threw one of the small metal stars at a tree and it hit the target right on.

Picking up the sword she sheathed it. Kirakazuka thought that it would be best if Haruna did not know about the incident. She could easily hide the small weapons but she did not know what to do with the sword.

I'll just clean it in the river and say that I found it lying on the ground she thought.

Kirakazuka walked over to the riverbed and knelt down next to the water. She unsheathed the sword and placed it in the stream. Running her hands along the blade to clean it she got a small cut on her hand. She lifted her hands and the sword out of the water and stared with an avid fascination at the blood running down her arms. She felt her heart pound and a yearning burned through her veins.

Bathed in blood she forgot everything that had happened before this moment, she had become the natural killer she had been born to be.