Hate

Chapter 3

Memories

Waka POV

Most of his life Waka had been given visions of what had yet to happen; however, it wasn't until he was an adult that he began to research and put together the pieces of the puzzle which was the future.

Recently his visions were all concerning a roaring beast cloaked in darkness that was terrorizing Nippon. Each vision seemed to be the same, the large demon roaring its head off while it destroyed a village, only the village seemed to change. He knew that these events weren't going to happen anytime too soon since the air was relatively free of large amounts of evil energy. Lately he had gotten into the habit of going to the edge of the celestial plain where the view of Nippon was best to scout for any large sources of evil.

On that day the air had seemed cleaner than before, so he hadn't been expecting to see an enormous cat that reminded him so much of the demon from his visions. He was experiencing a mixture of awe and horror at the power the cat possessed in being able to reach that size; however, Waka was beyond surprised when the cat reached up and put its paws onto the celestial plain.

He was slightly apprehensive about facing the demon cat in battle, but before he could even draw his sword the cat quickly started to shrink while giving off copious amounts of evil energy. It stopped for a short moment, but Waka could only stare at the smaller, though still abnormally large cat. The silence was broken when the cat let out a pitiful meow and another wave of dark energy escaped its body. Immediately due to the dark energy, Waka felt his vision darkening and his body beginning to fall towards Nippon.

When he finally woke up, Waka instantly knew he was in Hana valley. Looking around, he noticed there were only two imps by the fire. He was surprised and slightly insulted that they had underestimated him so much as to not even try to bind him. Gracefully, he got up and began to head deeper into Hana valley.

Waka had just come up to where the bridge used to be when he saw the cat that he had seen before he had passed out. It was sleeping peacefully, occasionally twitching in its sleep as though it were dreaming. He was cautious about getting too close to the creature since it is obviously a demon and might just be waiting for the best moment to strike.

Waka knew his absence would soon be discovered when he heard the sound of footsteps approaching where the imps were sleeping. With ease he jumped across the gap and headed toward the guardian sapling. Waka briefly noted the sapling's condition before jumping onto one of its shriveled limbs and taking out his flute, preparing for his dramatic and hopefully surprising entrance.

As he began to play his signature tune Waka almost immediately heard a person running towards him. It only took a few moments for a tall guy with black hair and red eyes to enter the scene, quickly followed by the cat.

"Hark! The call of the heavens, the earth, the sea... They summon me forth to defeat evil! Waka, the gods' gift to man is here! Bonjour!"

The cat stared at him with wide eyes that seemed to be asking him what kind of drugs he had been smoking. After a moment the cat's eyes narrowed and it began to hiss threateningly. The man silently drew the sword at his waist.

Responding to the man's threatening gesture, Waka drew his sword and readied himself for battle. Just as they were about to leap at each other the cat leapt between them and rounded on the red eyed man, hissing angrily. Obviously surprised by this betrayal the man quickly fled, leaving Waka and the cat alone.

Unsure of the demon's intentions, Waka didn't know whether to sheath his sword or attack the cat. He watched the cat to see if it planned on attacking him, but it seemed to be listening for something because it was practically ignoring him. Deciding that if it really meant harm then it wouldn't be giving him an opening like this. Waka leapt down from the guardian sapling and hesitantly stroked the cat's fur. Immediately it began to purr and lean into his hand. Chuckling a bit, Waka was surprised by the cat's reaction.

"Heh, you're just a big house cat."

After he said that the cat gave him an 'are-you-kidding-me' look that genuinely amused him. Stroking it for a few more moments, Waka contemplated the meanings behind the cat's actions. Why would it turn on its ally? Was it trying to protect the guardian sapling? How could it be so at ease in his presence?

Turning to the guardian sapling Waka decided to revive it both to help cleanse the evil energy and to see the cat's reaction. He heard an angry his behind him as he approached the tree but that was quickly silenced as he revived the sapling. When he turned back to the cat he was surprised to see that it seemed to be in awe.

He began to idly scratch its ears when he was caught off guard when the cat's head connected with his chest, and began to purr so loudly that his own body seemed to vibrate with the sound while it rub itself along his body.

As Waka walked back to where the imps had left the fire, passing by where the cat had obviously killed them; he wondered about the cat's motives. He was positive that it was the cat he saw in his visions, but its actions seemed rather strange considering how it looked so blood thirsty as it destroyed the villages in his visions.

Waka waited until the cat had settled down to sleep before he left to gather information and hopefully figure out the puzzle surrounding this strange demon.

-Line-

Two pairs of eyes shone in the darkness, one set was as high as a house and as big as a man's head; the other set of eyes were mere specks close to the ground. A voice came from the larger creature in the darkness. It was unnaturally deep and rough, obviously demonic.

"Take the beads to the full blood. Make sure the humans put them on her. If you fail he will punish you."

A sound of a mixture of fear and affirmation came from the smaller creature in the darkness.

Waka steadied himself against a sakura tree as a vision suddenly assaulted him. The moon was shining above him as he made his way down the sakura liked road to Kamiki village. Despite his questions about the new evil threatening Nippon he could only continue his journey for answers to these eerie visions.

-Line-

Junko POV

I woke up right around dawn, stretched a bit, and then groomed myself. This is my typical morning ritual, my feline equivalent to getting up and putting on clothes before venturing out to do some chores.

Only today I had a guest. Walking down Hana Valley's paths I began to feel a bit worried. Why couldn't I hear anything, no humans were perfectly silent. Not when they breathed, when they ate, when they moved, not even when they slept. Entering the clearing my suspicion was immediately confirmed.

He left. Damn it! I should have slept with him last night! Ew, that sounds dirty. Sadness washed over me, then loneliness. Confusion overwhelmed me after that. Why had I thought he would stay? Waka isn't human, that I know. Then again he definitely isn't a demon. He isn't made of darkness like me. I pulled him; really he fell, from the celestial plain. So of course he's some kind of divine being. Of course he wouldn't want to waste his time with a demon.

I couldn't help the self hating hiss that escaped my parted jaws, nor the low rumbling roar that came soon after. I didn't even notice my self control slowly slipping away, or the red haze clouding my vision. The next thing I knew my claws were deep in the bark of one of the fruit trees, with my jaws open releasing a deafening roar.

My mind slowly cleared as I tried to remove my claws from the tree without damaging it further. Once my claws were free I immediately noticed the damage they had inflicted the poor tree. Bitterness, it was in my mouth, my stomach, just about everywhere. I couldn't tell if it was guilt at harming the tree or the irrational feeling of abandonment.

Mitsuru, I need to go to her, the uncomfortable bitterness in my stomach seemed to fade the closer I got to her. I curled myself under the grand tree's leafy branches, as close to Mitsuru as I possibly could, and the bitterness almost completely disappeared.

-Line-

Large cat-like eyes watched the black haired woman cautiously as she put a plate of rice balls in front of her. The older woman with long black hair and brown eyes also watched the younger green eyed child. The woman took note of the child's cuts and bruises, her untrusting eyes and the almost feral way the little girl ate the food she had been offered.

"What's your name?"

The girl practically jumped at the sound of the woman's voice, her lips drawing back to reveal her small, sharp teeth. It was hard for the woman to not stare or look shocked by the girl's strange reaction. For a second she could only blink at the little girl sitting in her kitchen but then she calmly looked away and stated nonchalantly.

"My name is Mitsuru."

Though Mitsuru couldn't see it, the girl visibly relaxed once she blinked and looked away. Of all the strange messages the woman had been sending through her body language these were among the only that the girl could understand. Slowly the woman's intentions became clearer to the small girl.

"Meow"

Snapping her head towards the source of the sound, Mitsuru saw the girl looking shyly at the table. What was with that sound? Was it that girl? But it sounded exactly like a cat, a kitten maybe. Sighing, Mitsuru wondered what had been going through her mind when she decided to bring this strange little girl into her home and feed her.

Every day Mitsuru saw the child as she went about her daily routines, occasionally catching short glimpses of the mysterious girl. Mitsuru's observations could only tell her so much about the strange youth like her wild green eyes that seem so clear and expressive. How she ran so quickly when confronted. Her short black hair that looked so much like fur, it always seemed so dirty and ragged. How lonely she looked as she loitered around the outskirts of Kamiki Village.

After gathering as much information as she could about the strange child from her neighbors and her own rare sightings of the girl, Mitsuru began to almost constantly think about her. Where did she live? What did she like to do? What is her favorite food? Who are her parents, where are they? Why does she look so small, is she eating enough? Why doesn't she talk? What is she doing right now? Is she okay? Has she eaten anything? Is she happy, lonely, or sad?

Soon Mitsuru felt the urge to approach the child and speak and interact with her, but whenever she even stepped towards her the young girl would almost immediately flee. Her first and possibly last chance presented itself. Mitsuru had been walking towards Kamiki from Shinshu Field and she saw a small figure curled at the base of one of the sakura trees that paved either side of the path. It happened to be the mysterious little girl that had been occupying Mitsuru's thoughts recently. She had numerous scrapes and bite marks marring her tanned skin, but she seemed relatively unharmed and slept deeply. She hardly even stirred when Mitsuru lifted the small girl up and took her back to her house.

As soon as they reached her house, Mitsuru bandaged the little girl's wounds and allowed her to rest in her bed. Once she woke up the little girl seemed extremely distressed at being within the confines of Mitsuru's house. Mitsuru had also been wary of the wild child whom she had never imagined being able to get so close to. However at the sight of the child's wounds Mitsuru couldn't suppress her maternal instincts.

Yakizakana (1), she absolutely loved it, really she loved any food with fish in it. That was the first food Mitsuru had fed her when she woke up. Just the smell of the food had seemed to calm her down and she ate it eagerly when Mitsuru offered it to her. She had left soon after that but Mitsuru saw her often after that. Feed a cat once and they'll keep coming back that much was very true for Mitsuru. Occasionally she would see the small girl trailing quietly after her and wandering near her house after that, but she rarely got close enough for Mitsuru to even touch her again.

It had only been a few weeks after their encounter that Mitsuru noticed the girl once again seemed to be injured. Cuts and bruises as usual but her skin was pale and she seemed lethargic, not even glancing up as Mitsuru approached her. She merely mewled weakly when she was picked up and once again carried to Mitsuru's home.

After feeding her some kayu (2) Mitsuru was surprised with how quickly she recovered, but also somewhat sad since she knew the little girl would leave again as soon as she was able to. Mitsuru was partially correct, the girl was gone by the time she woke up the next morning, but at different times throughout the day she would catch glimpses of the child. When she arrived home for the night she was amazed to see the girl curled up, seeming to be patiently waiting for Mitsuru to arrive and she followed Mitsuru into the house without a word.

Looking back towards the girl, Mitsuru smiled and decided that the strange, wild little girl was definitely worth the trouble.

"Then I'll call you Junko."

Junko, obedient or pure child, Mitsuru didn't know why it seemed to right for the child but she couldn't help but feel that Junko was her child now. Junko looked up at Mitsuru, her wild eyes so fierce but innocent. Part animal, part child, Mitsuru reached out to stroke Junko's hair. It felt so soft despite her ragged appearance, just like cat fur.

"It looks like you need a bath though."

Junko watched Mitsuru with questioning eyes, unaware of what was to come.

-Line-

Darkness, I've been aware of its subtle presence in my life since I was a child. I hadn't been aware that I was doomed to drown in it until Mitsuru died.

Shuffling, claws scraping across flesh and the faint drip, drip, drip of blood, these sounds chilled me, they were all too familiar. I opened my eyes, almost expecting to see a group of them around a small black haired girl with tan skin and green eyes. It was Waka. They had surrounded him and they were clawing him to death, his blood was pooling on the ground and staining their claws.

Why wasn't he defending himself? I wanted to yell at him 'Fight back, they'll stop, don't let them kill you!' but my cat body wouldn't allow the vocalization. Come on! Waka, you have a sword! Fight! Get away from them! Even as a child I could do it!

I could see his movements grow weaker and his bright blue eyes begin to glaze over. I wanted to rush in, crush them in my jaws, and tear them apart with my claws. Hurt them as much as they were hurting Waka and had hurt me in the past, but I couldn't move. I felt as useless as when I was just a child. Unable to really fight back when they attacked me, only able to make them back off for a short time.

I could only watch as Waka slowly died from their relentless attack. His blood poured from gaping wounds they opened in his skin, falling in streams to the earth. The smell began to make me feel sick. My eyes began to tear up and my vision became blurred, I began to gasp for breath.

Just before Waka died… I woke up.

-Line-

It literally means grilled fish in Japanese.

Japanese rice gruel, kinda like oatmeal I guess.

Okay so I noticed that the order of some of the events/POVs in these chapters were messed up so I wanted to fix them before I start writing new stuff... I hope this helps make everything more understandable XD I'm going to fix any plot holes I see real quick then go ahead and start writing new chapters :D