A/N ;; Wow, I updated so soon? Is that because I already had most of this chapter already written up? Well, yes, that's the reason why. Anyway, this chapter is nearing eight-thousand words, and that's the longest thing I have ever written ever. I'm proud.
Ah, before I forget... updates are going to be very limited in August. I don't know if I'll be able to post any at all, when I think about it. But there's a reason behind that! I'm going to be in a whole different country on a whole different continent for the whole month of August, and because of that, that's going to leave me not so much time to write. But there will be things to post when I get back in September if there's nothing in August.
Anyway! I forgot to thank the people who reviewed last chapter, so I'll do it here!
So, thank you to everyone who reviewed the last few chapters.
And extra super-special-awesome-chocolaty-fudge-covered-thanks-accompanied-with-a-wireless-chocolate-fountain goes to BoudicaFlamespirit and Daughter of Kabegami for giving me their opinions on my question. It means a lot, really.
And, in conclusion to that question I asked last chapter, I have decided that I will be writing different spin-offs/companions to Desterrado within the coming months. I have two in mind, and both of them are going to be connected to Desterrado, yet they're also going to be drastically different. I hope to post at least one of them before December, since I want to get Desterrado further into its plot before I release anything relating to it, and I hope you will enjoy them when I do!
Ren's eyes once again snapped open as he heard her voice echoing through his mind, suppressing a growl as the events of the past few days came rushing back to him. He felt lighter, and felt nothing underneath where he lay. All around him, there was white, and he shifted uncomfortably, trying to readjust himself.
A column of bright light shone in the distance, faint at first before gradually becoming brighter, to the point where he had to close his eyes, and even then, he could still see it behind his eyelids.
After the light had faded, Ren opened his eyes again, looking around uncertainly in the huge room he now found himself in.
And to say it was huge was an understatement.
It wasn't even a room – it was an expanse; by sheer size alone it must have taken up the entire area of Sei'an City itself. The great chamber only grew wider as the walls rose, expanding outwards like a great stadium. It took massive torches – great copper bowls, nearly bonfires themselves – to light to huge room almost to daylight, casting everything in a light gold-orange glow.
In the ceiling of the chamber, which was painted with the ancient legends of Nippon, intricate star maps, and names of the gods that ruled over the land, was a large round gap through which one could see the stars – and perhaps, when the time was just right, the full moon itself. And it happened to be just that time, as the silvery starlight blended with the gold of the fires to shine down upon the center of room, where Ren himself was standing. Banners of silk lined the cool stone walls, embroidered with the finest of threads, precious metals, and bright jewels, most baring the signs and pictures of the thirteen brush gods.
Along the high, clifflike walls – polished smooth by centuries of hard work – were cut spacious ledges and shelves, each one sized for the comfort of a sitting kitsune, each seat bathed in orange-hued shadows. However, every one of those places remained empty, except for one, and Ren's gaze was instantly drawn to the woman who sat neatly on the highest ledge. She stared down at the tiny fox-turned-human in utter, impassive silence.
Inari.
Ren stared up at the gigantic chamber, eyes wide in awe. He had never felt smaller or more insignificant in his life, and before he could even try to take a step forward, Inari was in front of him.
It was indisputable that Inari was old, even being older than the first incarnation of Amaterasu, but because she was a god, her body was forever frozen in the appearance of a young woman. Her clothing was elaborate, layers of silk kimono in the colors of Autumn tied with bright obi, subtly enhanced with jewels and embroidery. Her snow white hair was done up impeccably, not a single strand out of place, and her amber eyes grew softer as a smile crossed her face.
"Hello, Ren," the goddess said at last, her tone the very incarnation of politeness. "Welcome home. It has indeed been a long time since you last graced my domain with your presence."
He managed a shallow bow. "I am honored to be in your company once again," Ren replied stiffly, more rote speech than an honest response. In the presence of a god, a lot can happen in the space of an instant's glance – and most of those things included blurring violence and a quick death. Although the majority of gods proved to be benevolent, there were some that had quite the short temper and did not put up with any rudeness or run around of a being that was lower than themselves.
The look that crossed in her eyes made him bristle; though she looked like a harmless woman, there was something in her cold, pale amber gaze that unsettled him.
And Inari's bow of reply dipped not a millimeter lower than his own.
"My Lady," Ren spoke hesitantly, trying hard to keep his comments to himself. "May I ask why I have been summoned here?"
Smiling, Inari stepped closer – standing three meters away, then two... then one. She only stopped when Ren just barely drew back, just enough to keep himself out of her arms' reach, bristling slightly. "My, my," she muttered, shaking her head. "You've grown older again. I feel as though it just the day before when you were but a tiny pup!"
Ren's mouth only creased slightly in a small frown, though he didn't say anything. He had to fight the instinct to lash out defensively, forcing himself to stand straight and still. Her closeness to him had sealed his voice.
The goddess didn't bring her gaze away from the fox in front of her. He was tense and guarded – more so than Inari had ever seen him before, in any meetings in the past. His jaw was clenched, his eyes narrowed just barely, and his hands were gripping the fabric of his pants. And as she looked just a bit closer, she almost couldn't believe that she saw fear glimmering faintly in the red eyes of her companion.
The thick tension between the god and the kitsune could have been plucked from the air and used as a doorstop – hell, it might have been heavy enough for even the massive pair of doors that led into the chamber. Ren could feel it; it made the thin fur that covered his human body stand up all the way down his spine. Consternation was the only thing he could think about, and apprehensive alarm kept his eyes trained solely on the young woman in front of him. Though neither of them moved now, the glaring tension burned and crackled between them like a physical aura.
"My lady–" Ren's words were abruptly cut by the loud creaking of the two doors on the other side of the room. His sensitive ears twitched at the noise, and he whipped around as Inari simply smiled and waved at the intruding visitors.
Before he could even register who was in the doorway, the other kitsune were already approaching him and Inari, snapping him out of his slight surprise. He forced himself to hold his ground, to remain standing straight and to keep his claws relaxed at his sides – no matter that his first impulse was to snarl and leap away from these kitsune, who had him both outnumbered and definitely overpowered.
The procession that approached consisted of two men and several women, each of them finely dressed in the finest of garments. They came closer, and though he tried not to draw back, his apprehension must have been obvious; the elderly-looking man in the lead suddenly stopped, smiled, and held up his hands.
"Be at ease, young one. We mean you no harm," the old kitsune said, his voice deep and rough, sounding quite aged. He was a kitsune indeed, but by far the most ancient one that Ren had ever seen – with the possible exception of Inari, but she wasn't much like a kitsune herself – though the claws were still sharp – and his face was creased with centuries, rough and wrinkled like old leather.
Though most kitsune never did grow facial hair, this one was so old that his cheeks and jaw had begun to sprout a pale white half-beard, which made his face look even more fox-like, evidence of his great age – but his eyes were sharp, colored a pale amber, burning with awareness and intelligence. Despite his advanced age, Ren knew that this old kitsune was far from senile.
"What are you waiting for, Ren?" Inari prodded. "Introduce yourself properly!"
Ren drew himself up, trying to find his tongue. "I'm..."
"We know," the elder said with another smile. "Ren, the youth that fled from the domain of Inari just a little after he received his third tail. You're still the subject of much talk around here."
The whole group bowed to him – which startled him, though he kept it hidden; he'd never been really bowed to before. He couldn't seem to think of what was proper to say in a situation such as this one; it was rather uncomfortable, and he felt more like a penniless, unkempt ruffian of a kitsune than he ever had before, if at all. "I..."
The man laughed gently, his voice carrying throughout the room. "You don't remember me? I am Jimmu, of the high council," the elderly man said simply – then gestured towards one of his companions, a man with the eyes of a dark thundercloud who seemed to be in his mid-sixties – but was in truth probably centuries older. "This is Hideaki, another member of the high council, and a very good friend of your father's. Our third member, however, could not be here at the moment, though she sends her best regards."
Ren regarded the gruff-looking, grizzled kitsune curiously, seeing a hint of friendliness in the hard, stormy eyes. He nodded quickly and briefly to the kitsune in what he thought would be a respectful enough greeting, almost afraid to be anything but respectful as he counted the odds against him. After a moment, he turned his gaze back towards Jimmu.
Inari had dropped him off in the middle of her domain, he only had half a soul, and he'd been stupid enough to not take his weapon along with him as he tracked the girl – how much worse could it get for him if he refused to play along with these kitsune? They were all older than him, more experienced – and probably much more powerful than anything he had fought before, taking their ages into mind.
Hideaki sniffed the air then, narrowed his eyes, and looked towards Ren. "Boy, where is your Hoshi no Tama?"
Suddenly alarmed, Ren stepped back, his hand automatically reaching for a sword that was no longer there – until Jimmu's iron grip on his elbow dragged him a quick stop. Startled, the half-souled kitsune froze where he was, rigid – staring at the two powerful kitsunes that stood beside him. Jimmu remained impassive, so Ren once again fought the urge to lash out defensively.
Once again, it seemed that the rigid formality that had been in the air was gone; the room broke into murmurs and shuffling as the visitors began to speak amongst themselves. Most notably was the conversation between Jimmu and Hideaki, to which they would look back at Ren frequently, nod in his direction, and then turned to Inari, ask her something, and then repeat.
After a while, Jimmu turned back to Ren, clapped his hands together, and simply said, "Well, you don't need it anymore."
It took Shin a long time to reach the City Checkpoint, even if he'd managed to keep a steady run all the way there.
He was already beyond exhausted. His feet ached and his muscles shook, and he felt terribly cold even though he was sweating profusely from all the exertion of walking, running, jogging through Southern Ryoshima Coast. He got a few strange looks from passersby – a bedraggled, gasping boy running and stumbling down the path that led to the City Checkpoint was certainly a sight to take a second look at.
Once he got to the entrance of the City Checkpoint, that was where his real problems began. Standing there, staring down the bridge, his arms wrapped around himself against the early morning chill, he started to feel the edges of desperation and frustration beginning to creep in again.
Great. This is just great. Now what am I supposed to do? he growled silently. "Meet me at the City Checkpoint," she says. Well, woman, where the hell are you?
He glanced around at the two guards that flanked either side of the entrance; though it was still dark, it still wasn't all that late, and there wasn't a lot of people about. She's not coming – what was I thinking?
Shin was just beginning to fall into the depths of despair once more when a cooing flutter caught his attention. Startled, he whipped around, catching sight of a pigeon beside him – a pigeon, lacking the usual yellow, red and gray that usually marked its body. Instead, it was pure white, like the first snowfall of winter.
The white pigeon strutted closer to him, cocking its head to peer up at him with one shiny dark eye. It turned in a small circle and cooed at him, regarding him almost as if it were impatient.
Despite his tiredness, Shin managed a faint half-smile. "Follow you, huh?" he said, more to himself than the pigeon. "Of course..." Why would I expect anything less? He took a step towards the bird, and it remained where it was for a moment before launching back into flight, heading away from the Checkpoint and into a nearby patch of trees.
With a bone-weary sigh, Shin unlimbered his arms and followed after the pigeon, skittering across the ground, not really paying attention to anything but the bird that was flying high above him.
They continued the follow-the-leader game for a while, with the pigeon leading the way and Shin stumbling along behind. They moved in a generally straight line, heading right through the trees – probably since the bird had been instructed to find a subject and return, but pigeons weren't all that smart – and occasionally the bird would flutter back to perch on a tree or turn in a large circle if Shin fell behind too much.
Eventually, however, the snow-white pigeon flew down to the ground at the entrance of a shallow cave, stopping there and turning one last circle as Shin stumbled up, panting. The bird cooed at him softly, unafraid of his proximity, as Shin covered his breath and peered into the dark depths of the cave. It was much further from the City Checkpoint and the area around them was quiet and empty.
It was so quiet for a moment that the flutter of the pigeon's wings startled him as the bird took wing once more, vanishing into the morning sky.
Wary, and a bit confused, Shin looked once more at the sky, noticing that the sky had again darkened. He sighed and stepped forward into the cave. Now what? he thought. Is she in here?
Then he got the feeling. There were eyes on him.
He passed into the shadows where the remaining moonlight couldn't reach, his steps slow and deliberate to allow his eyes time to adjust as he walked further into the depths. There was almost no direct light here, but as his eyes quickly grew accustomed to the dimness he could make out large protruding boulders and a few larger insects as they scuttled across the ground – and further down, he could see the back wall of the cave.
There was a faint breeze through the cave, just enough to make him shiver. All around him were rocks, above him was a dripping ceiling, but there was still no one here besides him. Or at least no one that was immediately apparent.
The watched feeling was growing more intense by the minute, making every hair on his body stand on end and his spine tingle with alertness. An edge of adrenaline drowned a bit of his exhaustion, making him stand a bit straighter in the darkness.
And even as his body reacted, his mind banished the alarms – he already knew who was probably watching him. He knew who, he had a vague idea of why, but he didn't know where.
"'I'd be willing to help you. It's your choice whether or not that you accept my offer,'" he quoted into the darkness around him – and with the sound of a low sigh, Shin turned his eyes towards the back of the cave, left corner. "Right, woman?"
"Sharp as ever, I see," replied the soft, ironic voice of the woman, as a shadow shifted in that sport – a dark shape that was invisible until it moved. "You took the words right out of my mouth."
"I don't have time for games." Shin took a few steps closer, gazing at the woman standing in the corner. "You said meet at the City Checkpoint, and I followed your bird all the way here..."
"Ah, yes. My pigeon... I thought she would be an excellent choice. I think she likes you."
Shin's eyes narrowed – not with anger, but with impatience. "You flatter me. So tell me what you know. Where's Kazue?"
"Safe, at least I think..." the woman replied, before taking a few steps forward, coming to stand about two meters from Shin and not offering to approach any closer.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Shin demanded.
"Relax, Shin," the woman warned, not exactly unkindly. "You want to know the information I have, but you have to keep calm. This–" She gestured to Shin's bedraggled, exhausted, emotional state. "–doesn't seem like you at all."
"I'm fine," he nearly growled. "You said you know where Kazue is."
"Yes, I do." The woman's hands went to her sides and she fixed Shin with a firm stare. "She was lured to a cave–"
Shin had already switched modes – directly into panic. "She was what? Who did it? Who–?"
"Stop, Shin," the woman interrupted, the unusually urgent tone in her voice halting the boy's babble like a solid brick wall. "I told you to keep yourself calm. I think she's safe with who she's with now. The one who lured her had been keeping track of her for a few days–"
"What?"
"–but listen to me. Don't worry about the one who took Kazue. His companion will take care of her. He has a certain... sympathy for humans and he feels guilty. Nothing will happen to her as long as she's with him. But this really isn't the time for long explanations. She might have jumped the fire, but there's an inferno on the horizon."
Her voice had become so serious, so abruptly that it almost startled Shin. "What happened?" he asked, already on edge and trembling with slight anxiety.
"We don't have much time before something major breaks loose," the woman said, once again ignoring Shin's question. "It's already reached Sei'an. I don't know how fast it will spread."
"You mean I don't have much time," Shin half-yelled, his eyes already flaming. He didn't seem to register, or at least not acknowledge, her last two sentences. "I have to get where she is. Where is it?"
"I don't think you're going to like this," the woman replied, her tone almost apologetic. "He might end up taking her to Yakushi Village to obtain medicine for some of her injuries."
Shin's jaw dropped – and so did his heart, all the way to the pit of his stomach. "But... no! How am I supposed to get there from here? I can't go there!"
"Precisely." After a thoughtful pause, in which the woman regarded Shin with measuring eyes, the woman took several slow, careful steps forward – as one of her hands opened to reveal a small golden coin. "This is a mermaid coin. There are mermaid springs spread all over Nippon, but one is not able to see them unless one holds a mermaid coin. There is one in Taka Pass that you can use to get to Shinshu Field. Just tell the spring where you want to go. You can find your way to Yakushi Village from there."
Shin stared at the paper for a half-instant before taking it, carefully, his fingers barely brushing the hand of the woman. He repeated the information she gave him over in his head once, then looked back up at the woman, who had taken a step back. "T...thank you..." he stuttered, gratitude tightening his throat. "I really..."
"So don't worry about it," the woman replied with a shrug.
"But – doing this..." Shin still stared up at her, eyes large in his pale, tired face. "Why? Why would you do this?"
Again, the woman shrugged, glancing away for only an instant. "Because it will benefit both of us in the end."
"But–"
"Didn't you say that you had limited time left?" the woman cut in, her voice firm but in no way harsh, waving a dismissive hand. "Get moving already!"
Shin took a step backwards, more surprised at the change in the woman than with being told to hurry up and get to Kazue. The sudden look of danger – as well as two threatening step towards the boy – caused Shin to shy back, surprised at the woman's lunge and reacting automatically to avoid being touched. Realigning his thoughts back towards finding his friend, he whipped around and ran towards the mouth of the cave, stopping to look back only when he had reached the edge of light and darkness.
When he looked back, the woman had not moved any further – but was instead grinning at him. Only briefly though; with a jaunty wave and a swift movement she returned to the darkness.
Shin didn't stay after that. With a wry smile that only lasted an instant, he began to run back in the direction he'd come from. Above his head, a snow-white pigeon swooped low over him with a soft coo, as if to encourage him, before turning upwards, back towards the cave – back to her master's side.
The woman, Airi, was resting high in an old tree, a rather petulant, grumbling look on her face as her claws dug furrows in the branch upon where she sat. She had lost track of her main prey yet again; the kitsune she sought had once again disappeared right under her nose.
"That little jerk doesn't even know that I'm tracking him, and he can still get away from me?" she growled to herself. "What does that say about your mighty hunting skills, Airi? I've been a pampered house-pet for far too long, that's what."
She let out a rather unladylike snort and laid back against the trunk, her feet dangling off the edge. "I am such an idiot. How could I let her talk me into something like this?"
In answer to herself, a small smile slowly spread across her face. Of course you know, Airi, she replied to herself. This is the only way I can secure myself a place on the high council...
Airi sighed. The Lady was much more concerned with keeping power within their grasp than she was; Airi merely liked the attention that she would receive being on the council that personally aligned themselves with Inari. And being in charge of others lower than herself was fun; though she was only just beginning to learn what that kind of power meant, she quite enjoyed the rewards that she knew came with it.
The Lady's plans had been wonderfully simply – well, at least part of them: Bring Ren back and they would set him up as a figurehead, while they would be pulling the power from behind. Every kitsune knew that Ren would have easily taken over Jimmu's position on the council, simply because of the connections he held.
Airi's face turned down in a frown. Most of the kitsune in Inari's Domain had heard of Ren's recent exploits; for a five-tailed fox, he was shockingly powerful even with his lack of proper training. And in that way, many of the higher kitsune were afraid of him; while he was a kitsune himself, he had run away from the protection of Inari, and there was nothing stopping him from turning on his own kind.
Though personally, Airi highly doubted he would – unless, perhaps, they did something that he found unforgivable. Besides, compared to her, he was still just a kid.
But in another century or so, when he reaches his prime... she mused appreciatively, he'll be one hell of a kitsune. He'll be magnificent...
She was a hot-blooded kitsune herself, after all – far older than Ren, but still very young for a kitsune. She had not yet reached her seventh century – young enough to still be wild and reckless, old enough to be powerful...
Airi smiled slyly to herself, her eyes growing distant. But when Ren's all grown up, very few would be able to stand in his way – probably not even The Lady...
With a quick sigh, Airi shook her head free of thoughts, and pushed herself off the tree, landing on the ground without a sound. "One down... how many more to go...?" she muttered to herself, playing with the spare mermaid coin she held in her hand.
And then she was gone.
Kazue held on, but it was with the grip of one wearied and weakened by pain and injury. She eventually had lost the battle with the darkness, her hold hold fading away even as her rescuer tried to keep her awake by speaking.
She would never remember the shadow rushing in and out of her sight, carefully peeling away layers of her kimono to reach some of her wounds. She would never remember the hour of drifting in and out of consciousness, unable to respond to the efforts of the shadow, though he never seemed to stop speaking to her.
Even her initial rescue and moments of her first awakening would fade into fragments, those memories being washed away in spite of her wanting to keep hold of them. Until her brain could begin to heal itself, memories once lost would never be found – and even then, some of them would never be seen again.
The second time she became aware of being awake, she didn't hurt so much.
Her hazy memories of waking up in pain made her present headache seem so much more tolerable by comparison. Even so, it wasn't very pleasant either, and she still felt a bit muggy and slurred.
There was a steady rustling from beside where she lay, soft but still very incessant. The noise of it increased even as she listened.
She could recall a boy's face, a concerned voice, pain, being carried...
She was tired of the darkness. So she opened her eyes.
A dark blue sky greeted her overhead, lit by the soft light of the moon and the rising sun in the far distance. Dozens of stars still littered the sky and she could feel her hair fluttering in the breeze. She was propped up against something, though she was comfortable, and at a good angle to look around as her eyes slowly traced her surroundings.
There was a boy sitting beside her, watching her. She blinked, startled, when he met her eyes.
He was slim, though still pleasantly built, with the lightest shade of hair she had ever seen and a face that looked lined with worry. He regarded her for a few seconds as she stared at him, a smile beginning to pull at his lips. "You're awake, finally?"
With a gulp, she opened her mouth, but a rusty squeak was her only reply. For an instant, although she could easily understand the boy's words, she wasn't certain just how to speak them.
He was leaning forward suddenly, offering her a small cup. She almost flinched as she noticed that the boy didn't have hands, but instead claws. Bright blue claws... But she kept her mouth shut, mostly in fear of angering her savior. "Poor girl, how are you feeling?"
Her left arm, she discovered, would not willingly move. Dull ache turned to lancing pain as she twitched it without thinking, her shoulder protesting loudly at any sort of activity. She reached over and took the cup in her right hand, wincing as muscles complained on that side too, though not so vocally. The water was cool and sweet as she swallowed it, soothing the parched feeling in her throat and stickiness on her tongue.
"T-thank you..." she said, still a bit raspy.
The boy took the cup back, looking very pleased with himself. "No problem. But now that you're awake... I need to..."
He stood up then, smiling and patting her lightly on her good arm. In a moment, he was gone, and Kazue was left alone.
She took this time to look about some more, to look down at herself and see what exactly had happened to her. Her left arm was bandaged, her shoulder stiff and too painful to move. She could feel something wrapped around her ribs, tight but not too uncomfortable.
She'd been hurt pretty badly.
The boy came back then. He laughed. "So, you really are awake! I thought it had been another small moment." He crouched beside her. "How do you feel?"
She stared at him for another moment, swallowing, trying to remember the right words. She wasn't sure why, but she felt somehow afraid – not quite shy, but uncertain. But still, he also seemed safe, more familiar.
"Hey." He placed a hand – claw – on her good arm. "Relax."
"Sore..." she managed to get out. "I think..."
The boy hummed, green eyes shining with something akin to amusement. "How's your shoulder feeling?"
She glanced down at her left shoulder. "It hurts... a lot."
"I think that's to be expected," the boy replied. "When I found you, it was completely out of place." He looked over her. "You also have a head injury. A pretty bad one, I'd say."
Frowning, she reached up, hesitant fingers finding the bandages wrapped around her head.
"You took a bad blow there." He looked down and she couldn't see his eyes anymore. "Say, do you know what exactly happened to you?"
She opened her mouth to reply – and there was a flash, a bright, rolling light, something shifting, and something golden and angry eyes – and as her temples throbbed she discovered that she could not remember what happened to her. There was nothing but a few scattered impressions that flickered and died like candles even as she tried to reach for them.
"I... I don't... remember..." she said softly, dropping her own gaze to her lap. Her eyes were suddenly large, almost startled that she couldn't recall anything.
"I see..." The boy hummed thoughtfully. "I understand. These kind of injuries can do that to you," he said, pointing at her head, "making you lose some of your memory. If I were to guess what happened, though..." He stared at her for a long while. "...I would say that you looked you had been dropped from a good height. Took the blow with your shoulder..."
Kazue took in each of the words carefully, considering each one of them carefully – trying to see if any one of them would trigger a response. A memory, a flicker, just anything.
It unsettled her when nothing came.
"Although..." Something flashed within the boy's eyes, and his face became more solemn. "Maybe it's best that you really don't remember what happened..."
And in the distance, nightmarish screams began to erupt from Sei'an City's interior.
It wasn't that Mizuki really meant to be inattentive. Honestly, she knew how important it was to be quiet, sit still, and above all listen to someone when they were talking to her. She didn't mean to be distracted by the birds that always seemed to be circling endlessly above her when her mother was talking to her, or to occasionally daydream while her father tried to teach her how to write.
It was just so hard to pay attention when she already knew of it. Kaiya and Shiori had already taught her to read well enough, and she even knew how to put numbers together a bit.
She didn't really mean to be like this. She just wanted to be a good girl and be normal like her mother and father wanted her to be. She really tried. But she was always so bored.
At least she played a lot like the other kids did. As her mother told her she leave their small hut, Mizuki looked forward to the time she had outside before she'd have to come back inside and her mother would once again try to push her lessons on her. As soon as her mother would give her the okay, she would cut loose for the trails.
Mizuki might have played like the other kids, but still not the same. Most of the other kids in the village shied away from playing with her; she was different from them, and even if they were young and silly and naïve, they could still sense it somehow. Mizuki liked to play games that had goals and rules and other things that were just a little too complex for the other children her age. What they wanted to play involved little more than finding out how many different ways you could roll down a hill, or discovering who could get a hold of the largest stick.
So, like most other days, Mizuki played by herself. Sometimes she could busy herself collecting fruit for Mrs. Orange's delicious pies. Other times she would have to content herself with climbing as high as she could in the old Konohana tree – often alarming Kaiya when she would accompany her, who didn't think that little girls her age should go that high.
This morning, Mrs. Orange didn't need any help and she didn't feel much like climbing, so she wandered out through the exit of the village, beginning to walk down the path that led to Shinshu Field. It was much quieter there and the sun still wasn't very high in the sky; she could hear the soft calls of the birds over the more-distant shrieks and laughter from the other early-rising children in Kamiki.
There was a large ant-hill near one of the trees at the end of the path, and she lingered there for a moment, squatting down to observe the scurrying little black workers. She always found them interesting, always doing things – carrying bits of food, smaller dead bugs, pieces of leaves and dirt, going about looking for things to eat and lugging them back home with them.
There were many different kids of ants, she knew, even in one tiny nest; they all had different jobs, just like a tiny city. Kaiya told her that the ants had a queen, somewhere down in the ground, just like Nippon had a queen of its own.
A few steps away from the ant-hill, she spotted a large, shiny insect that caught her eye. It was nearly the size of her thumb, with a brilliantly bright backside, but she couldn't tell what kind of bug it was. It looked like it could have been some sort of beetle; it was certainly large enough and had very long feelers. Shiori would probably know what it was – Shiori knew everything.
Maybe she could catch it, and bring it back to Kamiki Village – it wouldn't really take her that long...
"Mizuki?"
Mizuki looked up from her intent study of the beetle-bug-thing in question, glancing around for the source of the voice that had called out to her. She was a bit startled when she noticed the speaker; standing a bit behind her was an older girl with long white hair and light brown eyes, looking down at her with a small, strange smile on her face that made her frown at the older girl in confusion.
"How'd you know my name?" she asked, standing up to her full height, being careful not to step on the beetle. "I'm not supposed to talk to people I don't know. You're not from the village."
"My, my, such a shrewd little girl," the older girl muttered, her smile quirking up at one corner. "But I know a lot of things about you, Mizuki. My name is Airi, and I used to be very good friends with Kaiya."
"Kaiya's friend?" she repeated. Now she was puzzled. After all, friends were different from strangers – even friends of friends. But she'd never met this strange girl before, and she wasn't sure that she liked that smile. "How come you used to be?"
"I had to go away for a while," the strange girl explained softly, her honey eyes softening as Mizuki's frown began to fade into cautious curiosity and thoughtfulness – an expression she knew all too well, but the eyes that accompanied this expression were not red, but instead a deep brown. "You look just like your sister..." she caught herself whispering.
Hearing mention of her sister made Mizuki's eyebrows pop up in surprise."You know Kazue, too?"
The stranger's smile cracked slightly. "Yes, I do. I know a lot about your sister and her friends." Much more than you, anyway...
"You know mama?"
"Yes, I've met your mother as well..." she lied. And I'm sorry that I don't have enough time to do this gently... Really. "Mizuki, I need you to come with me for a bit."
Instant hesitation. The little girl took a step back, all her previous wariness returning tenfold. "Go with you? Away from the village?"
"It's very important, Mizuki," Airi persisted, taking a step forward so that the smaller girl wouldn't get too far away from her – and besides that, she didn't have any time to waste; if someone spotted her or if she took too long... "I need your help."
"But I-I don't know you." Mizuki was shaking her head rapidly. "Mama didn't say I could!"
"We can't get your mama's permission with this," Airi told her, frowning. "I need you to understand, Mizuki – something is going to happen very soon, and it will be very bad for you and for everyone you know unless you come with me right now. If you wait until it happens, something may come and... and hurt you. Do you know what that means?"
Looking frightened – but amazingly, still not panicking or crying – Mizuki nodded. "Take me away from mama... somewhere I don't want to go. Airi... are you going to hurt me?"
"No." So don't make me. Come on, Mizuki, if you're as smart as you're supposed to be... please understand what I'm talking about – I know you can. You have to come with me! "Listen to me, Mizuki," she began, fixing the child's gaze with her own. "This is very important; more important than anything you've ever done before. Your sister is in trouble–" Mizuki let out a small gasp. "–and I need your help to save her. If you don't come with me right now, something could happen to you, and then I won't be able to help your sister from someone very bad."
"Kazue's in trouble...?" The little girl took a shaky breath, brows low and worried eyes. "What bad person?"
"Someone horrible." One more second... just a bit more convincing... Airi measured the distance between herself and the smaller girl, should she have to make the decision for her. "Mizuki, come with me. Please?"
Mizuki looked up at her, her chocolate-eyed stare strangely piercing – thoughtful and measuring – and locked her eyes with Airi's own honey ones, all but freezing her in her tracks. She only glanced away once, at the shiny beetle that was now skittering away into the deeper grass. "I want to help–"
"Mizuki!"
"Oops," Mizuki muttered, more to herself than to Airi, eyes going back towards the ground. "There's Mama now. I have to go tell her–"
"I think she'll understand if you don't, just this once," Airi chuckled, grabbing the little girl by the back of her kimono.
"Mama!" Mizuki screamed as she felt herself being lifted off the ground. She was pushed against Airi's chest, muffling her voice. "Mama, help me!"
The soft chirping of the birds, a mother's anguished screams, and a child trying desperately to fight against her captor were the only sounds that were heard in the village that morning, even as darkness began to gather and swirl on the horizon.
Airi dashed through the halls of the Inari's Quarters, making a beeline for her destination – and she probably could have been traveling much faster had she been in her fox form, but the precious bundle that she carried was far too valuable to risk dropping.
In the more public sections of the vast building, she had passed many kitsune – all of them much more powerful than herself, all of them in their fox forms, all of them having eight or nine tails – foes she couldn't hope to go against on her own. But where she ran now, in the back halls of Inari's chamber, there was no one – so very few kitsune were given the honor of stepping a paw within these passageways.
She skidded to a quick stop at the end of a darker hall way, just in front of a particularly ornate pair of doors – and they were quite large, too, requiring a good deal of her strength to slide it open. When she had created a small enough gap for her to fit through, she squeezed into the brightly lit interior, quickly composing herself and straightening out her kimono.
"Great Lady, I have come!"
At the far side of the chamber, shrouded in darkness, something massive stirred. The sound of low, deep breaths echoed through the large room, heavy footsteps making a slow, four-beat rhythm on the floor. A monstrous shadow could be seen at the very edge of the light, bright amber eyes reflecting the illumination of the single dim lamp.
Suddenly, the shadow shifted, shrinking. The huge shape – which dwarfed the largest of demons – slowly dwindled down to the size of a mere man, taking the form of a human being. And when the transformation was finally complete, the shadow stepped forward into the light.
Her eyes had not changed; they were still cold, ruthless, dangerous, burning pale yellow-amber and full of spite. But the figure that stood now illuminated was anything but threatening – a finely-dressed lady, very old, but her body would show no signs of it, with long, silky hair and a long, white, puffy tail curled primly around her feet.
She stood still, regarding the younger kitsune with cool welcome. "So you've returned, Airi."
Airi smiled warmly, happy and excited though she held her manner respectfully. "Yes, I have, and I have so much to tell you."
"Return to your homes immediately!" thundered a powerful telepathic voice. "All who resist shall not be spared!"
"–what the hell is going on here?"
"–where is that voice coming from?"
"–running out!"
"I can't!"
With that announcement, an assembled group of demons began marching down the stone pathways, joining the others that had already taken to the streets. The remaining residents of Sei'an City began fleeing in all directions as the massive group of demons advanced towards them. People began running into random buildings out of desperation, and soon enough, doors were being slammed shut in people's faces.
"All who disobey shall not be spared!"
An old man, wheezing and gasping for air, tripped up on one of Sei'an City's chipped roads as he struggled to make it back to his home. He fell to the ground in a graceless heap, feeling a burning pain stem from his hip as he collapsed. Before he could even try to recover from the impact, he saw that a red imp had already caught up with him. The red-clothed demon seemed to almost be dazed, but the man could see clear murder in its yellow eyes.
"No..." he whispered, while he feebly attempted to crawl away from it. "Please, no–"
His pleading turned into agonized screams as the red demon tore into him without a second thought. Crimson blood splattered all over the ground, even as the other demons swiftly made their way past the grisly attack. Within a few seconds, nothing was left of the old man except for a bloody pile of meat and some shredded clothes.
General Michi Himura watched and grimaced as his troops mobilized all over the city, and listened to the confused cries and screams that were steadily filling the air. No one seemed to have any idea of what was going on, and things were not looking good. As it was, he was receiving news of chaos in Northern Ryoshima Coast as well, and it had only been a few minutes since the swirling vortex had appeared. Hopefully, the Tao Troopers were fairing better against the attack in the north.
Of course, it certainly didn't help that a significant number of his forces had already been killed by the strange demons that came from the swirling phenomenon.
"Get those–" he began, only to be cut off as something swiftly appeared in front of him. "...Now what?"
"I think it's time for you to take your leave, general," came the chillingly unfamiliar voice. The owner, a red-haired individual standing in front of him, laughed, the eight tails that sprouted from behind him moving with him. Michi narrowed his eyes and gripped his sword tighter.
A kitsune?
"Who are you?" he demanded. "Are you the cause of all this?"
"The times are changing," the kitsune cackled, as Michi heard a sickening crunch. His eyes instantly moved in the direction of the sound and saw one of his own soldiers being held up by the neck. In a moment, the soldier's body went limp and the red-haired man simply dropped him, shrugging casually. "That's what will happen to you, if you continue to resist the changes I'm going to bring. I'll let you live if you align yourself with me."
By the time Michi could blink, the strange man was gone – all that remained around him was the remains of his soldiers. Most had died with their necks being snapped, but for some, their bodies had been quite literally ripped apart.
Soon enough, the morning was filled with the nightmarish screams of those souls who never did manage to make it home on time. No one who was on the streets was spared – the groups of demons made sure to that. A couple people tried to battle their way out of being killed, but the result was the same either way.
The changes were beginning to come to effect.
A/N ;; Oh, yes, there are some characters' names mentioned in this chapter that will become important for the two companion/spin-off stories that will come along with Desterrado. Guess which ones? (It's obvious, but still...)