Hello Mr. Wolf (6)
"Oh really?" Kenjirou said, as if not believing Kano's tale.
Kano knew that telling anyone about magic and teleportation and potentially evil witches was a long shot. Kano knew that he told lies often, jokes, pranks and anything of that ilk. Yet now Kano was just trying to make sure that Ayano stayed out of harm's way.
"Are you lying to me?" Kenjirou asked slowly, slurping up the rest of his stew.
"No." Kano replied. The boy carefully examined the man, watching him for his response.
"Alright. I'll see what I can do." Kenjirou sighed, slumping onto the table to rest his head in his arms.
"Thanks." Kano bounded off, back to the kids to eat and drink and enjoy himself, feeling all the better for having brought the issue to Kenjirou's attention.
It was just too bad that doing so would doom them all.
A week later, and Ayano was off once more, on her way to Azami's house, gift basket in one hand, the other securely holding her magic pebble in a pocket.
Ayano waved at her friends and her father, wishing a good day to those who were at home and a farewell. It was only a day and a half in real time, but Kano had told Ayano it sometimes felt like longer.
Ayano did what she did every two weeks: she ran off into the forest, making sure to lose anyone that might be following her, like Kano had three months earlier. Once Ayano was sure that she was a safe distance away, that no one could possibly catch her in the act of using a magic tool, she finally fished the pebble out of her pockets, the pale red glimmering in the morning sun.
Ayano concentrated and within seconds found herself at Azami's place; it took much less time now than it had before after numerous uses. There, Azami was waiting, a table set up with food-stuffs already prepared.
"Good morning!" Ayano called out, setting the village's gift basket down on the table alongside the food. The magic table-setters automatically moved the basket, retrieving its contents, and arranging it into a more suitable form.
"Good morning." Azami smiled, leading Ayano past the table, around the house. Ayano glanced back, the table suddenly becoming wreathed in an icy mist, preserving and protecting the food.
"Ayano, have you by any chance… ah, well nevermind." Azami trailed off,
"What is it?" Ayano prodded the magician, verbally and physically.
"Nothing, nothing." Azami waved it off, dismissing her words from earlier.
"What was it?" Ayano prodded again, poking the magician's rounded cheeks.
"Nothing important! Now, let's see, you wanted to see the flowers in bloom, right?" Azami immediately changed the subject. It was a bit odd, coming from the magician, but Ayano knew that there were some things Azami just didn't like to talk about. In a way, the shorter but infinitely older woman was even more stubborn than Kano at times, absolutely refusing to talk about certain things.
Things like why Azami was all alone in the forest. Sure, Marry had once lived there, but aside from that lone exception, Azami lived by herself. Azami didn't like to talk about her family, Marry being that outlier once again. Azami refused to say why she hid herself, and by extension, her family away in an obsolete forest. The magician would always clam up, change the topic, and move on.
Still, that left a lot of things to be answered by Ayano, things she could only speculate on. Ayano was genuinely curious about Azami, the fairy-like "monster" of the forest.
It was just too bad that Ayano would never get the chance to ask most of them.
Later that day, as the sun shone brightly with a nice afternoon breeze, Ayano chatted amiably with Azami, bringing up Kano's most recent scandal. Although in the past few months, Kano had become more… tame in his actions, the blonde was still a troublemaker through and through.
Shintaro bounded along beside the two, providing odd company for two girls, both young in appearance. The wolf was easily taller than either if it stood on its hind legs, and had a maw large enough to squeeze a body to death. This wolf, however, was their accomplice. Their friend.
It was then, on that oh-so-fateful day, when Azami stopped them. It seemed odd, for the shortest of the group, the most fragile looking of the group, to stop the rest with a single hand, but Azami was the kind of person to break such expectations.
"Stop." Azami hissed, putting a hand to her eyes, covering them to see what only Azami could see. She froze up, body locked solid for a few lengthy moments.
"Shintaro, run. Ayano, you hide in the behind the curtain of grape vines over there." Azami commanded. The wolf hesitated, tilting his head as if he hadn't heard right.
"Get going, shoo. It's dangerous, an accursed one is about." Azami whispered.
"What's an-"
"Ayano, get behind there, and don't come out. Now." The usually tender tone in Azami's voice was gone, eradicated, as if it had never existed. What replaced it was the voice of a commander, one used to the ideology of "I say it, you obey it". So Ayano did, scampering off to the garden, forging through the other plants to squeeze into the gap between the walls and the mottled barrier of vines.
Ayano watched for a few minutes in silence, as Azami hurriedly grabbed for a bunch of things: a long stick, a hat, a few vials, and every single enchantment that littered the large expanse. One by one, the enchantments lost their life, disintegrating into mush in front of the magician, flame burning out, water splashing down, earth falling to the ground.
Azami downed all six vials in seconds, before collapsing down on her bum, big archetypal witch hat draped over her face and the stick balanced over two palms. The magician almost looked like a statue, not moving, no indication of life aside from the tiny mouth movements that Ayano could barely make out in the shadow of the huge hat.
It all seemed a bit overkill for a joke, and Azami was much too serious for anything of that nature. Putting out the lives of every augmentation? Those were tedious to build, and shutting them all down willy-nilly seemed a bit out of the ordinary. Everything pointed towards Azami preparing something, and with the mention of an "accursed" something, it was all the more likely.
Yet despite all that, Ayano saw nothing. Nothing came, nothing attacked, nothing fought. It was silent, completely silent aside from the winds in the trees, and the birds chattering-
No, not even that. There were no birds, no songbirds or pests. No living creatures populated this garden for once, all the animals scampering away. There were no bugs to be seen, no pests to catch, nothing at all.
And then Ayano caught a glimpse of it.
It was huge.
It was enormous.
It was a monster, a real monster, not like the tales of Azami.
It had three heads, one familiar, one unfamiliar, and one feared. A goat, a familiar face, a furry head of golden fur, and a serpent arching upwards like a bolt of skyfire. A chimera.
Dark blood dribbled from the furry one's open jaw, and it spat dark fur to the side. Had the chimera caught Shintaro? Ayano began to shiver in the confines of her hiding place, in the warm hazy sunlight. Ayano was hidden, sure, but what good would that do? How could Azami fight this thing, even with magic? It was twice her height, probably five times as fast, and seven times more deadly.
Then, and only then, did Azami stand, pointing the stick directly at the chimera, as if the thin twig could possibly stand a chance against the agile beast of a monster. The chimera roared, but stood in deadlock, staring the tiny magician down.
Three seconds of nothing. Four, then five. It seemed like forever had passed in such a short time, that in those few seconds, the world had begun, climaxed, and come to an end all in that time.
Then, after sixteen full seconds, the chimera pounced, diving in Azami's thin frame. Ayano shut her eyes tight, not willing to watch the carnage, but again, nothing. Ayano heard no screams, no voices, and no noises aside from the three simultaneous growls of the chimera.
Slowly, ever so slowly, Ayano cracked her eyelids back open, and saw something strange, so unexpectedly out of the ordinary that in any other situation, she might've laughed.
The chimera was flying. Or, to be more precise, it was floating, held up by a wavering red barrier that surrounded Azami in every direction. The barrier moved, almost of its own will, and tossed the chimera around as if playing with the enormous predator.
Maybe it wasn't going to be so bad after all. Maybe, just maybe, Azami could get them out of this, with all of them alive. The chimera roared again, pounding on the barrier to no success. Ayano saw Azami's self-assured smirk, the magician easily dominating over this powerful enemy. How strong was Azami anyway? The magician could win after all.
Then Azami's grin faded. It vanished, like a puff of fresh air, whisked away by the winds. Azami's barrier shattered like the see-through substance, known as glass, when it received an impact. The chimera pounced down, going toe to toe with Azami like a game of cat and mouse. Azami ducked, weaved, dodged and waved, but this was the chimera's strongpoint.
It had three heads, all of which larger than Azami's one. It could maneuver its body in inconceivable manners, whizzing one way and next the opposite seemingly at random, just to catch the elusive magician. Yet despite all the advantages, physical and not, the chimera still failed to touch Azami even once.
The chimera roared again, clearly frustrated by the match. It lashed out in all directions, pinning Azami to the wall, between the goat and serpent heads. The golden head purred contently, as if already assured of its victory.
Yet again, Azami proved herself extraordinarily overpowered by the standards of the regular person. Ayano watched in fascination as the chimera froze up, locked in place as a grey virus engulfed the huge animal, from all three heads to toe. It was almost like a stone, a huge well sculpted rock.
"Well, now I know not to look you in the eye. A pity I know, for such a pretty old lady like you." A much too familiar voice echoed through the vicinity.
No.
It couldn't be.
Ayano's father was here.
Kenjirou Tateyama was here, completely unharmed, sounding entirely safe and sound.
That could only mean one thing. As illogical as it were, as dumb as it sounded, Kenjirou's presence only meant one damn thing.
It meant that Kenjirou Tateyama, Ayano's father and sole parent, was responsible for this attack. It meant that Ayano's own father wanted Azami dead, and had manipulated a chimera just to kill her.
Ayano watched in cold horror as her father sidled up to the chimera's stone-dead body, tapping it as if examining what it was made of.
"I figured the controller was somewhere around here. A chimera alone can't shatter my magic." Azami sighed, as if tired of being attacked. It was almost as if Azami was used to this, that accursed beasts were typical everyday foes.
Was this why Azami lived by herself in seclusion?
"Indeed. But I can. Would you like to give in now monster, or would you like to resist?" Ayano's father remarked lightly, as if they were discussing how to properly groom a sheep.
"I'll just kill you." Azami replied nonchalantly. "Why risk it?"
"No reason in particular." Kenjirou shrugged. "I just don't feel safe knowing that the monster, the enemy of humanity still lives."
"They still call me that?" Azami groaned. "That name was awful. But enough of the chit-chat. You still want to die?" Ayano's father laughed. Laughed.
"I could go for some of that." Kenjirou smiled, lunging for Azami with a hand outstretched, easily a head taller than the magician.
"Okay then." Azami dodged, nimbly evading Kenjirou's every attack with effortless grace. Ayano's father launched projectile after projectile of arcane runes as he attacked, but each one was neutralized by Azami's own. The air became so full of magic that even from the distance Ayano was hiding from; she could feel the crackle of it on her skin and in her mind.
Within a single minute of this conflict, Azami had again, easily established complete and utter dominance over the fight. The magician was playing with Kenjirou, curling his hair as he desperately grabbed for her neck.
Then it seemed as if Azami got bored of the one-sided war, and pulled Kenjirou down onto the ground. Azami suppressed Ayano's father, her thin stick now a fine rapier, the tip prodding Kenjirou's neck.
Ayano's father flailed and kicked around and all about, but Azami stood on his back, a red barrier pushing him to the ground. Kenjirou was helpless to Azami's every whim.
Azami glanced up once, catching Ayano's eye, her oh-so-fearful gaze.
Azami glanced back down, staring at the man she was about to put down.
Azami stopped in her steps.
Azami lifted her rapier, dropping it to the side and let it fall, the shining silvery blade transforming back into a thin twig.
Azami released the magic suppression, allowing Ayano's father back up, the man staring in disbelief, too confused to act.
It was then when Ayano felt it. A foreign mind probed into hers, dominating all thoughts. It was unknown to her, yet strangely memorable.
It was Azami. Ayano felt it, the presence within her mind, strange yet friendly.
Azami pushed memories onto Ayano, tons and tons of them, so many that it would take years to delve through them. Azami threw down on Ayano her thoughts, experiences, recollections, everything that made up the petite magician.
There were feelings too, like happiness, sadness, despair, everything and anything. It was as if Azami was leaving herself to Ayano, with all the data that Azami deposited into her mind.
Then, at the very end of the sensory rush, just one message ran through clear as crystal.
I'm sorry.
Ayano blinked away the hazy spots, her vision clearing back up, just in time to see her father behead Azami.
The fairy-like visage flew through the air, severed clean through the neck, before coming to rest on a tuft of grass. Blood spurted everywhere, from the body to what remained of Azami's head.
Ayano's father laughed in the scene, wiping blood off his front and licking it, greedily tasting the crimson liquid.
Ayano had one question. One large, important, overbearing question that dominated all, everything.
Why. Why had her father killed Azami?
Azami had let him live.
Azami had let him get up.
Azami had spared him.
Yet Ayano's father killed her all the same.
Ayano stumbled out of the curtain of vines with ragged breaths and wide eyes.
"W-why? Why did you kill her? Azami was going to let you live, even though you tried to kill her. Why did you murder her?" Ayano demanded answers, walking straight up to her own crazed father.
"Because I wanted to." Ayano's father slurped up another smidge of blood from his arm, sticking his blade deep into Azami's headless body to cause more of the crimson to well up.
"Why? Why are you-"
"Shut up." Ayano's father punched her, sending her reeling.
"What?" Ayano crawled back. Her father had never hit her before. Ayano's father had been kind, considerate, caring. Who was this? Was this her father?
"I don't need to care about someone I need to erase."
Erase?
She was going to be erased?
That was
odd
strange
out of the ordinary.
To be erased?
How would
one
become erased?
Ayano closed her eyes, not even bothering to fight back. Ayano knew that her father, if that was truly him inside, was perfectly capable of killing her. So Ayano lay herself down, ready to die. She heard the blade whistle through the air, and Ayano made no move to stop it.
But, there's always a but.
A familiar growl, and a whine, and Ayano felt no pain. Ayano opened her eyes, staring down at Shintaro's now limp body. The wolf had but one injury, a long slash wound, evidently caused by a sharpened blade.
"Any more pets? I don't have all day." Ayano's father coldly stated.
Ayano curled up into a ball, feeling the futility of resisting. There was no point. She was dead, dead as Azami was, with her headless body, and Shintaro, with his side split in deep.
Ayano was going to die. It had been delayed by Shintaro's needless sacrifice, but in the end, it made no difference. Ayano was destined to die, by some cruel fate's decisions up above. Perhaps if… no, the blame game was pointless.
And this was the "present" that Ayano saw. It was the last few moments of her existence, and she could only wonder how differently her life could've been, how much longer the status quo could've lasted, if only she hadn't done that one itsy-bitsy mistake.
Seconds later, the swoosh came again, and Ayano thought no longer.
WHOPEE! HAPPY ENDINGS! This story arc took me way longer than I thought it would. I was expecting to get to Ayano's death by the second or third part, but instead it took me six and just over twelve thousand words. Now I'm scared of reading it, for fear of it all being complete and utter trash. Oh well.