Dry Your Tears

~Chapter 2~

The night sky shimmered with bright, shinny stars. Impact was currently looking at them up above, Cyanide having fallen asleep in his lap after eating too much and growing tired. Yuzuki was more in the festival, having fun with the other humans. He had told Impact to tell Cyanide that he would be home later, and to go about her life as usual without worry. Of course, the wolf knew his friend wouldn't mind anyways. She never really paid too much mind to Yuzuki, only when he was complaining about how hungry he was or how he wanted to go on an adventure.

Impact looked down, gently removing the leaf from Cyanide's head, allowing her to transform back into her kitsune form. She squirmed around a bit, but finally got comfy once more and curled her tails up to her body for extra warmth. He smiled at this, allowing him to return back to his original form as well. Once more, the female squirmed slightly at the sudden change, but not once she did she wake from her slumber.

"You're such a heavy sleeper," Impact spoke softly, smiling as she grabbed his paw and held onto it protective. "C'mon. Gimme my paw back." Trying to pry her off wasn't a smart idea. She simply nipped at his limb, making him draw back sharply. He sighed, shaking his head. The shinning puddle in front of him caught his attention. The stars glowing above made him smile.

"Mmm... soba..." Cyanide mumbled, finally releasing Impact's paw and rolling over, falling out of his lap and onto the ground. He just smiled, rolling her back over so she could lay on her back.

"So, you dream about food?" he asked quietly with a chuckle. She only murmured something inaudible, before allowing her head to lull to the side, continuing her blissful sleep. He smiled, before crawling over to the puddle. He admired his black fur and the red designs. His eyes seemed to match the sky this night; darker than ink, but shinning bright. As he continued to stare into the puddle, his mind slowly drifted away. He just sat there, staring into the little pool as everything else seemed to vanish.

"MY MOCHI!" Impact jumped in surprise, looking back at Cyanide. She just sat there, breathing heavily as she looked around, before spotting Impact. "...You okay~?"

"No. You scared the holy hell out of me," he confessed, shaking his head. "What's wrong with your mochi?"

"I had a dream someone ate them all," she whimpered, a frown on her face. "It made me really sad."

"Someone did eat them all," he told her, watching as her mouth fell open. "That someone is Yuzuki."

"I'm going to kill that boy later," she hissed quietly, muttering something about revenge afterward. He chuckled, both standing up. Cyanide stretched happily, her tails igniting for a second before going back out.

The festival was finally starting to die down. Impact was already back at his den, and upon hearing the celebration get quieter, he figured that Yuzuki was finally going home. He could already picture Cyanide shouting at him when he returned home. He smiled slightly, curling up and ready for rest. Though, before he did, he took one last look into the beautiful night sky. He swore he saw something fly across the dark abyss above, but passed it off as a bird or bat. He laid his head down, allowing his eyes to slip shut and fall into a deep slumber.

The next morning, Impact awoke to a frightening sight. He quickly rushed out of his den, his black eyes taking in the sight before him. The land had been reduced to basically nothing. The nature had all died away, as dark clouds hung in the air, a bone-chilling wind sweeping over and making him shiver.

"What happened...?" He ventured further away from his den, finding that Kamiki Village was actually worse. Ash littered the ground, as there wasn't a soul in sight. 'Did a huge fire happen while I was asleep?' Impact wondered. He couldn't smell any trace of a fire, but still. What was up with the ash? They weren't located near any volcanoes. He sighed, deciding to walk to Cyanide's house. Maybe she knew what was going on?

"Cyanide?" Impact called once he reached the kitsune's home. He felt his stomach drop and his heart shatter when there wasn't a reply, and when he saw that the garden had withered away. Even Cyanide's bonsai tree that she loved so dearly was dead. "Cyanide! Please answer me!"

Upon hearing only silence, he allowed himself into the house, looking around. Nothing had changed, and nothing had been touched. Not even her bed was messy like it usually was. He frowned as he continued to look around a bit more, praying she was hiding from him.

"Cyanide! Yuzuki!" he tried once more before accepting fate. "I'm sorry I wasn't here..."

It seemed like a lifetime had passed. Impact was sitting on the floor in the kitchen, his back leaning against the wall as his head was hanging.

"Thanks for walking back with me, Impact!" Cyanide smiled up at her friend, her tails swaying back and forth happily. The wolf nodded.

"Of course! Couldn't let you walk back alone!" he chuckled, before gently pushing her shoulder. "You could've fallen into a ditch. Then I never would've seen you again!"

"Oh, shut up!" she giggled, pushing him back. "Ya might wanna watch what you say. You never know. I could end up missing one day!"

"Why did you jinx yourself?" Impact whispered, the walk from last night coming back to him. Tears started to slowly build up in his eyes, but forced them back.

"I swear, I hate children, man!" The wolf lifted his head up when he heard Cyanide's angry voice. He could feel the joy flood his body. His friend was alive! "I am never having them! Never, I say! Never!"

When the kitsune was in his sight, he quickly got up and ran towards her, his arms wrapping around her body and pulling her into a huge. She yelped in surprise, her tails igniting and burning Impact. He quickly pushed the girl away, smothering the flames that had managed to start on his jacket.

"Impact! Why!" she cried, looking back at him with a frown. "What is your problem!"

"I couldn't find anyone in Kamiki Village!" he told her, a worried expression still on his face. "And when I came here, I couldn't find you either, so I thought you finally did die!"

"Well, I'm fine," She smiled, embracing the wolf in front of her. "But, Kamiki Village isn't."

"What happened to it?" he asked, following her outside.

"I dunno," she sighed, crossing her arms as she looked at her dead garden. "Yuzuki was saying that it was the work of an evil spirit."

"Well, what do we do?"

"Not sure if you're up for it, but I'm gonna get rid of that spirit. Just have to find a way to weaken it first..."

"There's no way you're doing this alone. Hey! Since Yuzuki is so small, he could get information on the spirit!"

"Yeah! Then we can weaken it and fix Kamiki Village!" Both happily discussed their plan, awaiting for Yuzuki's return. Though, as they talked, Impact couldn't help but feel something deep in his gut. And this something was not good.