Crimso's Notes:
Yes, it's been too long. Yes, I know this. Yes, I have been incredibly busy with school. In fact, this week, I had three tests… two of which I haven't gotten back yet and one of which I did worse than I hoped to. And yes, I do plan to continue on this fanfic, except this time, slowly. Have any of you guys been with GED, following the updates when it was still in-progress? I know a lot of you have. You may remember that at the end, I was uploading chapters like crazy. The chapters after the Watnagashi festival to the day after the Watanagashi (Twenty-Seven to Thirty-Four, I believe) were uploaded in a matter of… what? Two weeks? I did rush myself with GED. That's what I'm attempting to avoid with BFB. I have so many things I wish I could have included in GED to the point that I'm planning on rewriting it all together after WAN. We'll see, though. I have too much inspiration for that.
Thank god for long weekends, by the way. My goal is two chapters before Tuesday. We'll see how long that lasts for… and if I can even pull it off.
One: Once again, time is skipping about.
Two: IT IS THE BEGINNING OF JUNE RIGHT NOW IN THIS FANFIC. THIS is important. Why? Because you are probably lost at this point. For the sake of this fanfiction, Keiichi came around the middle of May.
Three: Updates on weekdays may be INCREDIBLY rare, unfortunately.
~~~~X~~~~
Chapter 11: Older Brother
It was just like any other morning. Keiichi was seated in his chair near his desk, chatting a little bit with his friends. School hadn't started yet, but judging by the time, it seemed as if Chie could walk in at any moment. It wasn't like her to be late very often. He let out a sigh as he leaned back in his chair, observing his friends chattered about various subjects, some of them seemingly having no relevance in their lives. Satoko and Rika were talking about the color of vegetables again, while Takeru, Rena, and Satoshi were discussing what they had for dinner the night before.
"Cauliflower or Broccoli… which is green?" Rika asked her friend.
"Cauliflower…! No wait… broccoli… or was it actually cauliflower?" answered Satoko, at first sounding completely confident on her answer.
Rika pat her on the head. "It's okay, Satoko. You'll learn someday…"
Keiichi had to wonder why the color of cauliflower and broccoli was such a heavy debate for the two girls, especially Satoko. It seemed to him that she just didn't seem to know the answer. Hm, perhaps she's colorblind? That would make a lot of sense. Though I suppose it's a little rare for a girl to be colorblind… I heard that guys are more likely to be colorblind than girls. …Though Rika, that's kind of rude to be teasing Satoko about being colorblind… even if you pat her on the head…
"Rika can really cook some good meat," Satoshi was saying to Takeru and Rena, ignoring his little sister's conversation. "You should come over and try it some time. Satoko's really good, too. Of course, I'm still trying to learn…"
Takeru laughed out loud. "My grandmother taught me a little bit, but I wasn't too into the idea of cooking. She said that it would probably be more fun with a granddaughter, anyways." He suddenly stiffened up, his expression growing incredibly grave for a few seconds. "…Which I suppose is understandable! Not like I care all that much, anyways. I much prefer the food the servants make for us. We only hire the best, after all."
"Hau… it must be easy for Takeru to get food. I always have to make my own," Rena commented, looking down at the ground.
"I should really be cooking more and not putting the job of feeding all three of us on Satoko and Rika, but what can I say?" Satoshi sighed. "Satoko wants to be responsible for it. She wants to show me that she can be strong without my help."
Keiichi was growing a little curious, so he got up and walked over to the three other teenagers, who all turned around to look at him when they noticed his arrival. Something about what Satoshi had been saying to the others just seemed to be a little strange to him, and since he was his friend, why not confirm his suspicions? "Satoshi, you were saying something about feeding Satoko and Rika. …Do your parents not like cooking or something like that? Because leaving the task to little children seems a little strange. …And does Rika live with you, by any chance?"
All three teenagers wore uncomfortable looks on their faces, and Takeru and Rena simply looked over to Satoshi, silently telling him to do all the explaining. "Ah, it's not that my parents dislike cooking… it's that… ahaha, they're dead," he replied.
"Dead? Your parents are dead?" cried Keiichi in alarm, his eyes widening. How did he not know about this before?
Satoshi nodded slowly, a grim expression on his face. "They died a few years back, on the day of the local festival. I'm not sure what happened, but they were vacationing with Satoko… and they apparently fell over the rail while standing on a cliff's edge and into the stream below." His feet shuffled nervously. "I wasn't there, so I don't really know. But we've been living alone ever since, and when Rika's parents died a year later, we moved in with her in the little building in the forest…"
"And no guardians came or anything like that?" Keiichi asked him.
"My uncle and aunt were going to come… but they decided not to. They said something about how they didn't want to bother with a village like Onigafuchi and left us alone. …No one ever seemed to notice that they didn't come, though, as no one told anyone," he replied. "But I think things are better that way. I've heard stories about my uncle and aunt from my step-dad. They don't seem like the kind of people I'd like to be around."
Keiichi just nodded his head in understanding. He could get why his uncle would refuse to come to a place like Onigafuchi, as he too had been very disapproving of the idea of moving to a little rural village that was supposedly infested by demons (which, as Keiichi found out, it really was). Still, he had to wonder how Satoshi, Satoko, and Rika managed living on their own. He couldn't imagine having to live by himself in a rural village with demons like this one. It was just be too frightening, even if he did know two good demons…
"Well, I guess things really are better like that, even though it's tough for you," Keiichi commented, attempting to break the silence that had momentarily filled the room.
"I can't imagine what a guy like him would do to Satoko," replied Satoshi.
Just as he said that, both Rika and Satoko ran into the group of teenagers, smiles on their faces. It seemed as if Rika had challenged Satoko to a race in the middle of the classroom just for the fun of doing so, though Satoko instantly froze when she heard the conversation at hand. "Huh, why are we talking about me?" she asked, her race with Rika instantly forgotten.
Satoshi patted her on the head. "Don't worry, Satoko…"
Rika didn't see that Satoko had stopped until a little too late, and ended up crashing into the wall when she turned her head around to check on her. She fell over onto the ground, her vision spiraling. "Mii, that hurt. Satoko, please tell me when you decide to stop."
"Rika-chan!" cried Rena as she ran over to the blue-haired Furude on the floor. "Are you all right?" she asked her. "Let me take a look." The orange-haired girl turned Rika's head and began to pull her blue hair apart so she could take a look at her scalp. "…. I don't see any bruises, so I think it'll be okay!"
Rika smiled. "Thank you, Rena."
As Keiichi observed this scene, he couldn't help but realize how close the friends really were. Rena was checking Rika for an injury as minor as a head bump, which while hurt quite a bit, didn't cause too much damage. Perhaps this was why Rika, Satoko, and Satoshi could go about the village without their parents. Their friends were there to help them. It makes sense now. Rika and the others are strong because of their friends. …It's really amazing how Rika can manage all the things the Furude Family need to do. Do her friends help her out with the demons?
He was about to ask her that question, but he was interrupted when Chie walked into the room, causing Keiichi to wonder why she was late. He scurried to his seat and sat down as quickly as he could, his friends following him. She sat down in her seat, shuffling through a few papers that were placed on the desk.
"I'm surprised there's no trap today, Satoko-chan. Usually, you and your friends are scurrying to get place cleaned up," whispered a young boy in Satoko's ear.
"I just didn't feel like it today," Satoko whispered back.
Chie flipped through a packet of papers until she got to the one she was looking for, and then she began to scan down it. "Before anything else today, I want to take attendance," Chie spoke. "If you guys could possibly wait for a little bit…"
People murmured amongst each other, but a hand held up flat by their teacher silenced them.
Chie nodded. "All right. If you hear your name, please say 'here' or anything similar to that," she replied, looking at the class lists and then at the number of desks. "Sonozaki-san?"
"Here," Takeru replied.
"Ryuuguu-san?" Chie called out
"Here!" Rena piped up.
She nodded and crossed Rena's name off of the list. "How about Houjou Satoshi-san?"
"I'm here," Satoshi answered.
She scratched his name off of the list as well. "Maebara-san?"
Keiichi yelled out a "here," when his name was spoken. Looking around the classroom at the extra desks that were decorating the room, he could have sworn that there were more empty desks. He shook that thought off, though. That was probably wrong. He had never really bothered to count the number of desks, for that matter.
"Houjou Satoko-san?" Chie cried out after she checked Keiichi off.
"I'm here!" Satoko cried out in her shrill voice.
Chie scratched her off the list. "Satou-san?"
A little boy raised his hand and cried out a "here."
"Sasaki-san?" Chie called out.
And she went down the list, and as she did, Keiichi allowed himself to space out a little. He thought to himself about how things had been going for him in the village so far. It wasn't as bad as he expected. After all, he had already met seven new friends. Those seven being Takeru, Rena, Satoko, Satoshi, Rika, and of course Number Twenty-Seven and Number Twenty-Eight, even though they were demons. Those two twins weren't nearly as bad as people said demons were. He could hardly imagine them killing anyone. It just didn't fit.
"…Kimura-san?" the teacher yelled out.
Silence.
"…Kimura-san?"
Still, no one spoke a word.
Chie let out a sigh. "Kimura-san, are you here?" When no one responded yet again, she scanned the many empty desks. "…Okay, have any of you seen Kimura-san at all today?" And once again, when, there were no answers, Chie sighed. "Okay, how about you, Sasaki-san? Aren't you Kimura-san's best friend? Do you know if he's sick or if he's out of town or anything similar to that?"
The boy Chie had been speaking to shook his head. "Yoshio was fine the other day. H-He didn't tell me about leaving or anything like that, so I think he should be in school…"
Chie slapped her attendance list down on the desk. "I'll be back," she told the class before walking out the door, a single book tucked under her arm. As soon as she left the classroom, a series of loud murmuring took place. Keiichi looked about, seeing grim expressions plastered on many of his friends' faces and worried ones on the ones belonging to some of the little children, but with the exception of him and about one or two others, everyone else was speculating about what could have happened to the boy out loud.
"…It can't be this again," murmured Rena to Takeru. "I thought that this stopped three weeks ago!"
Takeru said nothing. He was busy staring at his desk.
Keiichi began to wonder to himself. Was it really that the boy was just sick, or was it something else? It was possible that his friend just didn't know that he had fallen ill. He could have just gotten randomly sick last night and had decided not to show up for school or something similar to that. He drummed his fingers on his desk as he tried to come up with explanations, but none were crossing his minds.
About five minutes later, Chie walked into class, wearing a strangely grave expression on her face. The moment she set foot into the room was the moment all conversing died, and not a word more was spoken until Chie went up to her desk and decided to break the silence. "Class, I talked to Kimura-san's mother," she told them all. "…He's not sick, and he's not on vacation or anything like that. …But his mother told me he never came home yesterday, and he wasn't even there in the morning."
Looks of terror flashed across faces, including Keiichi.
"Could it be another disappearance?" Satoshi yelled out, standing up from his seat. Keiichi looked a little surprised. It was unlike Satoshi to yell so loudly like that.
Chie nodded her head, not even bothering to scold him for standing up or yelling in the middle of class. "It hasn't happened in three weeks, but it seems as if another child has gone missing. …I believe that makes eight gone now."
Keiichi recalled what he had been told before, about children randomly disappearing, causing the increase in empty desks. He gulped as he realized he was right about the number of empty desks being a little higher today, and unfortunately, it looked as if that was going to be a permanent change. None of the children had come back. This boy certainly wasn't going to be an exception.
"Do we still not know who has been doing these things? !" Satoshi cried out as loud as he could, his eyes wide. "How do we not know? ! Have we not been searching for the culprit? !"
Chie looked taken aback. "Well, of course they have, but no one has found anything. We don't even know if those children have been killed or if they are being held captive, or if-."
"Then what? !" cried Satoshi, his voice raising. "Are we going to sit back and watch all the young children get taken away from us?"
"Satoshi-san!" cried Chie, her voice full of surprise. Never had anyone seen Satoshi act like this before.
But Satoshi did not sit down, nor did his tone of voice decrease. He still wore that look of fear on his face, and he still used that loud tone that seemed so unlike him. "What about my sister? !" he cried out, causing Satoko's eyes to widen. "She's the same age as Kimura Yoshio-san! She's the same age as everyone who has gone missing! What if she goes missing? What if they take Satoko from me? ! What if they kill her? !"
"Nii-Nii," whispered Satoko in awe.
Chie didn't bother to tell him to sit back down. She knew that anything she said to him would be useless. "Satoshi-san, I know where you're coming from, but understand that if you protect her, something like that won't happen!" she cried to him. A look of frustration marred her face as she looked down at the desk, her fists clenched. "It was my job to take care of all the students who have been taken, and I've failed as a teacher in that regard. I have trust in you, Satoshi-san."
"But what if I can't? What if I fail her? I would never forgive myself if something like that happened!" he replied, not even taking in what Chie said.
Chie was about to answer, but the shrill voice of a young girl stopped her before she could say anything. "Nii-Nii," Satoko spoke to his brother, who instantly looked down upon her. "It's okay."
"No it's not! Satoko, do you know that it's possible they might take you?" he spoke to her, fear completely coating his purple eyes.
Satoko gave him a reassuring smile. "Who are we talking about here, Nii-Nii? I'm Houjou Satoko, the master of all kinds of traps! Do you you think that someone like me would be caught easily? I have a few traps up my sleeve… quite literally," she replied with a grin on her face. "So you don't have to worry about me!" she laughed. "Besides, I have my Nii-Nii to help me if things go wrong!"
Satoshi seemed to calm down a little after listening to his sister's words. He realized that she was indeed right. Satoko wouldn't be someone that would be easy to catch at all. If they tried to attack her, she could just throw one of her smoke-inducing items at them and run away, perhaps catching the face of the kidnapper in the process of doing so. But still, he felt a little uneasy about the last part. "I don't know if I could protect you, Satoko. I'm too weak…"
"Not true!" Satoko replied, smiling. "I trust in my Nii-Nii, no matter what, and I trust that he could protect me and be strong!"
"Satoko…" whispered Satoshi.
He took his seat once again, though the expression he wore on his face was still rather dark. Keiichi was rather surprised by his behavior, to say the least. He would have never expected a guy like him to have an outburst like that in the middle of class, though it made sense. Of course Satoshi would be worried with all the young kids disappearing. Satoko could be next, for all anyone knew. He was pretty sure they wouldn't take Rika, as she was the head of the Furude Family, but Satoko was not an unlikely option. He wasn't sure what they needed the kids for, but that really didn't matter. If he were Satoshi, he would be scared, too.
Satoshi can really stand up for his sister, can't he? …He's braver than he thinks…
~~~~X~~~~
The school day went by, and soon enough, everyone was walking out the door, the subject of Kimura Yoshio on their minds as well as all the other children that had gone missing. Satoshi hadn't been able to wipe that grave look of worrying off of his face all day, even though Satoko's words to him had done some good for his mind. And even as he was packing up, that look remained on his face.
"Satoshi, wait a moment!" Keiichi cried out to him.
The boy turned around. "Yes, Keiichi?"
"Are you guys going to head straight home?" He asked him.
Satoshi nodded.
"Then please let me come with you! I haven't been able to go to your house yet, and I would like to take a look. Besides, I think we need to talk a little, don't we?" he requested. He was hoping to spend a little more time with him, Satoko, and Rika after Satoshi's outburst during class. Perhaps he would feel a little safer with someone else his age around the two young girls.
He looked a little surprised by the offer. "Oh… sure," he replied.
Keiichi grabbed his back and followed Satoshi, Rika, and Satoko out of the door. The two girls seemed excited that a friend was coming over to play with them after school, and they were bustling with conversation. Satoko was conversing loudly with Rika about what kinds of traps she was going to set off on Keiichi, which unfortunately would be quite the failure now that he had overheard everything that she was planning on doing to him. However, seeing as Satoko was the trap master, the fact that she had given away her traps might be the trap itself. She always had something hidden up her sleeve, and Keiichi wondered if that would be any exception.
The group of friends wandered through the thick woods, making their way through the many trees that bunched together. He wondered how things were for the three of them, living out and away from everyone else in a little abandoned house in the middle of the forest. He couldn't imagine doing the same thing. It must be tough with them without parents to help them around or anything like that. They had to live all by themselves without any help from anyone.
They eventually reached their house, when they did, Keiichi realize that their house was really nothing at all. It looked like it had two small floors and could hold a kitchen, a bathroom, and maybe room for the three of them, but the whole house just looked old. It looked a little like it was falling apart in areas of the roof, and it wasn't really well made. He questioned how they managed to live in such a place.
"I know it's not anything, but it's where we live, so…" Satoshi spoke, gazing up at the building.
Rika nodded. "It really isn't anything, but I like it… let's go inside."
Keiichi followed them into the house. The inside of it really wasn't much, either. They owned small kitchen, which was probably fine for a small group of kids like them. Their bedrooms were probably upstairs, as all that was in the bottom floor was the kitchen and some decorations, along with a table for them to eat at. Satoshi wandered over to the table and sat down, gesturing for Keiichi to do the same.
"Mii, do you want some rice? I made too much for lunch so I have extra," Rika asked the two boys as Satoko wandered over to the refrigerator.
"That would be nice, thanks," Satoshi replied, smiling.
The two little girls went off to retrieve the rice while Satoshi and Keiichi sat down, waiting for the two of them to do so. Satoshi wasn't really saying much, Keiichi noted. He seemed to be deep in thought, and Keiichi automatically assumed that it had to do with the case of all the missing children. Who in the world would capture little children? He didn't really know. The idea of doing so just seem sick and twisted, especially if they were killing the poor kids. Killing a child was just brutal, and didn't seem right in any way whatsoever.
"Are you still thinking about Satoko and the kidnappers?" Keiichi asked him.
Satoshi nodded his head. "That's right. I can't help but feel worried, Keiichi. As an older brother, it's my duty to protect Satoko. …I just don't know if I can. You know, those mothers really loved their children. I'm sure they were trying to protect them just as much as I am trying to protect Satoko, if not even more than me. It may not end any differently," he replied, fiddling with the hem of his shirt nervously.
Keiichi couldn't quite understand the brother-sister bond the two of them had, as he didn't have any siblings, but he could understand that their connection was quite strong. Satoshi really was trying his hardest for her. "I think you just have to believe in her," he told him. "She told you that she wouldn't be caught, and I for one certainly believe in that. Do you know how much those traps hurt? I doubt the kidnapper could get close to her."
"For Satoko's sake, I really hope that's true," he whispered, looking down at the smooth wood making up the table.
Rika and Satoko returned, carrying bowls of rice. Rika placed one in front of Keiichi and then sat down with her own bowl. Satoko did the same to Satoshi, and after giving him the bowl, she began to dig into the soft, fluffy rice greedily. She was chewing rather loudly.
"Table manners, Satoko," Satoshi reminded her as he gripped his chopsticks.
Satoko paused. "Oh, sorry," she replied with a mouth full of rice.
Rika laughed at the two siblings before her. "Mii, Satoko should really watch her manners sometimes. But I guess that she's just hungry today, because the others kept picking at her lunch! Nipah~!" she said.
"It was Rena, wasn't it?" Satoko said after she had swallowed her rice, staring at Keiichi. "It couldn't have been anyone else. Satoshi and Rika have the same lunch as me, and Takeru was practically eating all of her lunch. I feel sorry for her sometimes."
"Well, his plans to get her certainly aren't working," Rika replied. "I think that the flirty lines are a little overkill, and eating her lunch is just plain rude…"
Satoshi stared into his bowl. "But I don't think he realizes. He's just trying a little too hard to get her, that's all."
"I still like Takeru. He just needs to watch himself sometimes," Rika added on.
Satoshi nodded in agreement.
"Well, since it's rude to talk about other people while they aren't present, especially our friends who we love and care for, I believe we should move on," Rika replied after she had finished swallowing her mouthful. "I know that it's probably a dark subject… but Kimura Yoshio…"
Keiichi stiffened at the mention of the boy's name. "I wonder who is sick and twisted enough to capture little children, and possibly even kill them."
"It's all a mystery," Rika added on. "Yoshio was a good friend of mine. I feel so bad…"
"So, even the great Furude head doesn't know a thing?" Keiichi spoke, though after doing so, he realized that he shouldn't have said anything. It sounded just downright rude, like he was accusing her or something similar to that. "…Not that I'm trying to accuse you of anything. I didn't mean it like that," he added on in order to save Rika from getting the wrong impression.
"Don't worry, that wasn't my impression to begin with," replied Rika with a large, cute smile on her face. If Rena were there, she would surely snatch her up in a matter of seconds. "I know what you were trying to say. You were saying that as the Furude head, scary information about big bad guys should go to me, right? Well it doesn't, really. I don't know who is doing it, but I certainly have an idea."
Keiichi blinked. "And what would that be?"
"Kimiyoshi," Satoshi answered before Rika could say anything. "…Rika's told us what she thinks about him. He has so many demons, so it's possible that he could be using them as food…"
Using humans as food was certainly free, but when Keiichi went into the Kimiyoshi Demon Storage Area, he noted that all of them were incredibly skinny and looked as if they hadn't been fed in months. Kai, when he saw him at the execution, looked normal, but that was probably because he was fed due to being the head demon. "They seem kind of skinny, though. Do you really think that?"
Rika nodded. "A little boy like Yoshio should be satisfying enough for some demons… and it's possible they just looked skinny because Yoshio was the first one in three weeks."
Well, that certainly made sense, and it was an answer to any doubts he had about the whole idea. "I think that makes sense, then. But why would he only be kidnapping little children? Why not older ones? I'm sure… I'm sure they're more… filling." Saying such a thing made Keiichi shudder.
"Just think about it. What if Kimiyoshi tried to grab Takeru or Rena? Do you think that would be as easy?" Rika responded.
Even if he used demons, Takeru and Rena may be just a little harder to grab than someone like a little kid. He had seen Yoshio around in the class, though he didn't talk to him ever. He really was a small kid. It must have taken no effort at all to grab him and take him to the demons. And if they really did kill him, it would have taken no effort to do that, either. Poor kid…
That's when he realized Satoko hadn't said anything the whole conversation. She just looked a little depressed. She had probably been good friends with Yoshio, too.
"Those demons are starving. Rika here makes sure that something like that doesn't happen," Satoshi said as he looked over to the blue-haired girl. "I've been down to talk to the demons every once or twice. She often brings Kaede up to talk with us. She's really kind even though she's a demon." He paused. "Not all demons are bad. Kimiyoshi's demons are, though, because he's not nice to them…"
Although Keiichi thought this was probably true, he remembered Number Twenty-Seven and Number Twenty-Eight were also nice despite their treatment. Perhaps it was possible for any demon to be nice. Maybe Kimiyoshi just chose the rotten ones. "I'd understand that. I guess there are some demons who are different from the rest."
Satoko suddenly piped up. "Kaede's really fun to be around! She's kind and sometimes, she even plays games with us!"
Rika nodded. "She enjoys Satoshi and Satoko's company."
For one of the head demons, Kaede didn't seem to be all that bad. Kai just seemed to be the emotionless type, someone who would be hard to talk to it. He looked like he took his work very seriously. Of course, there would be no way in knowing whether or not Kenji was a nice demon. He was dead, after all. "Well, I guess it's nice to have a demon friend to play with," he said, thinking back to playing cards with Number Twenty-Seven.
Rika smiled. "How about if I go get Kaede now and we go for a stroll in the woods? I'm sure she'd like that, and I'm sure Keiichi would like to meet her," she suggested as she pushed away her empty rice bowl. "It's a nice day, after all."
Satoko grinned. "Sounds like fun!"
Although he didn't say it out loud, Keiichi was excited to meet one of the head demons. He wondered if she was really as nice as they said, and if she was similar to Number Twenty-Seven and Number Twenty-Eight. And I wonder if she can't feel emotions… either… or so demons claim.
"Then let's go!"
Satoko, Satoshi, and Keiichi went outside the house, and Rika told them to wait there so she could grab Kaede. She began to run off into the woods and soon disappeared in the mix of the many trees.
"The place where she keeps the demons is just a little that way," Satoshi explained to Keiichi. "It's by the Saiguden, which is a tool shrine only members of the Furude family are allowed to enter. I don't think Rika plans for us to go in that direction on our little walk. The storage looks a little like the Saiguden from the outside, too. I can't say if it looks the same on the inside, though. I've never been in into the Saiguden…"
"I think she told me it was similar, once," Satoko commented.
"Right. I'd think so, too…" murmured Satoshi.
Keiichi nodded. It seemed as if the areas the Great Families kept their demons in were all different. Kimiyoshi's was attached to his house, Rika's was in a storage that looked a little like a tool shed, and the one belonging to the Sonozakis was in a hidden basement in the middle of their forest. I wonder where the other demons get to stay, the ones belonging to some of the villagers. Maybe they're just kept in the house? In any case, they're probably in better shape. It must be easier to feed them…
A minute later, Rika came running back with a orange-haired woman behind her. "I brought Kaede!" cried Rika as she stopped running, meeting up with the three friends.
Keiichi turned to get a better look at her. She had bright orange hair that reached about halfway down to her waist, and her eyes were of a lime green color. On her neck, as expected, was a metal collar, reading the name Kaede. However, her collar was different from the spiked ones worn by Sonozaki demons or the ones engraved with patterns the Kimiyoshi demons had. Her collar was embedded with a brown metal, going up and down in waves all across her collar.
I guess it's different for every family? Keiichi thought as he stared at it.
"It's a pleasure to see you again, Satoko, Satoshi," Kaede spoke. "…And who might this be?"
Rika smiled. "This is Maebara Keiichi," she introduced. "And Keiichi, this is Kaede, as I've told you before. She's the head demon of the Furude family, and has been that forever!"
Keiichi grinned at the demon as best as he could. She didn't seem like the evil type of demon. Besides, Rika of all people owned her. There was no way that someone like Rika would order her to kill him or anything even close to that. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Kaede!" he cried out.
The demon observed the boy in front of her, studying him with her lime-colored eyes. "Oh, yes, you were telling me about him before. This is the boy that your friend spoke of."
Keiichi raised an eyebrow. "Friend?" he inquired as he looked at Rika. "Which friend?"
Satoko let out a sigh. "Are you talking about your imaginary friend again, Rika?" she asked her.
Rika frowned. "She's not my imaginary friend."
Satoko was about to respond, but Satoshi placed a hand on her shoulder, causing her to turn and look at the boy. He shook his head at her, and Satoko remained silent after that. It seemed like the topic of her imaginary friend was something that Rika took seriously.
"In any case," Keiichi spoke, deciding not to think much of the topic of Rika's imaginary friend. She was a child, and it wasn't unlike a child to have an imaginary friend. "How about if we head off?"
"Right!"
The five of them went off into the forest, chatting with each other as they went by many trees. Keiichi glanced at Satoko as she spoke happily with Kaede about how things had been for her since Keiichi had moved in. She went on to talk about the different kinds of traps she had set for him in the past, and how he had fallen for many of them. She called herself an expert at traps. And then, she began to mention how there was one right in front of Keiichi…
…And by the time Keiichi had processed that, he had already fallen into it. The next thing he knew, he was dangling from a tree with a rope wrapped around his ankle. How she had managed to make such a trap, Keiichi would never know. "Hey, Satoko, let me down from here!" he cried out as he looked at her, who was upside-down in his vision. "That wasn't very funny!"
Satoko laughed. "Ohohohohoho! It looks like you're still no match for me, peasant!" she spoke, a smirk on her face as she observed the dangling Keiichi.
"I'm glad to see you haven't changed, Satoko," Kaede commented as she stared into Keiichi's blue eyes, which were silently begging for someone to let him down.
"Did you think I would change, Kaede?" Satoko replied. "Traps have always been my specialty!"
"No. I expected this all right…" she replied.
"Hey, isn't anyone going to help e down!" cried Keiichi as he struggled about. "I'm still dangling here!"
With a sigh, Satoshi undid the rope, unfortunately causing Keiichi to come crashing to the ground on his back. Grumbling, he stood up, rubbing it. "Urgh… thanks Satoshi. Ow… that really hurt though…"
Satoshi shot him an apologetic look. "I didn't mean for that to happen… sorry…"
"It's fine," he responded, though still rubbing his sore back.
Keiichi glared at Satoko, who smirked and laughed at his misfortune. He knew for a fact that she was just playing, so he shouldn't get so mad at her. Besides, if he were to be too harsh, Satoko might start to hate him, and then Satoshi probably would too for saying such words to her. Really, it was only child's play. "Well, it looks like you're still really good at traps. You didn't set one up this morning. …How did you set it up so that the rope would attach to my ankle like that?
"A trap master never gives away her tricks!" taunted Satoko, waggling her finger. "I will never tell you the secret to my abilities. If you want to find out, why don't you take some time to study it?"
"Urgh, no thanks," mumbled Keiichi as he poked his back. "Ow…"
The five on them continued onwards, with Keiichi still rubbing his back. As he went along the paths, he kept giving glances to Satoshi, who still looked incredibly worried. And at that time, Keiichi was sure that he would never wipe that look off of his face. Rika was conversing with Satoko and Kaede, with both humans speaking fondly of the many events that had happened since Keiichi moved in.
"I think he's a great person!" cried Rika. "He's so much fun!"
Satoko laughed. "He's a wonderful guy but… ohoho… he's also a stupid peasant unworthy of the great Queen Satoko!"
Rika looked at Kaede. "She doesn't mean that, Kaede."
"Yeah, but still, he can't beat me at anything. Anything he could do I could do better," she boasted, crossing her arms in front of her chest and shutting her eyes, a smirk of pride on her face. "I think it's safe to say that I'm certainly better at traps!"
When Keiichi heard this, a competitive flare ignited inside of him. Anything he could do she could do better, huh? Saying such a thing was basically just begging for a competition. "Oh really, Satoko? Do you actually believe that?" he asked her, a grin on his face. "I don't think that's true. In fact, how about if we race to that big tree over there?" he asked her, pointing to a gigantic tree visible in the distance. Before she could even respond, Keiichi took off.
"Hey! No fair!" screeched Satoko as she ran off, though at that point, Keiichi was already about a quarter of the way to the tree. He turned his head around to look at her, a smirk similar to the one she had been wearing before on his face, and then returned his vision to the tree. He picked up the pace, feeling the air rush by him as his feet hit the ground. Surely he would win. There was no way that he couldn't!
And soon enough, he reached the giant tree, having beaten Satoko. He grinned with victory. So much for what Satoko had said earlier! "Hah, take that Satoko!" he cried out. When Satoko said nothing in response, he turned his head around to take a look at the girl who was surely quite a bit behind him.
But when he looked, he found that she was not alone.
A figure stood before her. The figure wearing a rather brightly colored kimonos and a collar around his neck, indicating that he was indeed a demon. Keiichi instantly froze when he saw him, though that only lasted a few seconds. The next thing he knew, he was dashing towards the girl and the demon. "Satoko!" he cried out, appearing next to her in a flash.
"It looks like there's another human here," the demon commented as he observed the two humans in front of him. "Well, it looks like I have no choice but to kill you both." He was holding a knife in his hand, a knife that was now pointed at both of them. "I have no choice but to do so."
Keiichi gulped. Right in front of him was a demon that would actually kill him. He looked over to Satoko, who had fear in her purple eyes, and who was now backing up. "H-H-Help!" she cried out.
Keiichi didn't know what to do. Right before him was a demon that was going to kill them both. The demon before him was surely fast, and would be able to catch him if he ran away, even if he had won that little race he had with Satoko. He gulped as he stared at the large knife the demon was holding, the sun reflected in the sharp blade. Was he really going to die here? He wasn't sure what he was going to do.
And then, out of nowhere, another figure came running from behind him, a fierce look in his eyes. "Don't you dare touch my sister!" Satoshi screamed as he ran forward, instantly catching the demon's attention. He was shocked, to say the least. Satoshi then jumped right in front of his sister, his arms spread wide apart. "You can kill me if you want, but I won't let you touch her!" he growled. "In fact, I won't even allow that! Get the hell out of here!"
The demon raised an eyebrow. "And why do you think that I'll spare you?" he questioned. "You're just a human being, and I have orders to kill anyone who gets close to here!"
"I don't care!" he snapped back. "Get away from here, right now! I'll show you a hell worse than the one you came from, demon!"
He growled. "Is that a threat, boy? You don't look like you could take me on even if you tried."
"I could!" Satoshi replied. "I could take you on! Maybe I won't win, but I can put up a good fight!"
Keiichi's eyes went wide. Satoshi really could become defensive of his sister when he wanted to, showing off the fact that he had the ability to protect Satoko within him. He claimed that he wouldn't be able to do such a thing, but in truth, he really could. The fierce look he gave the frightening demon in front of him was enough for Keiichi to know that he would be able to take down the demon, even if he was only a human and the one in front of him a demon. At that moment, there was no doubt about it.
"Oh really, then I'll just have to-" the demon began to speak.
However, he was cut off by two other figures appearing out of seemingly nowhere, the two of them standing across from him. One of them wore a fierce look in her blue eyes, and the other was fidgeting a little bit. "Number Fifty-One! What in the world do you think you're doing?" one of the new figures asked.
The demon looked surprised. "I'm just obeying orders, Number Forty! They told me to kill anyone who went around here!" he yelled.
"You dumbass! He told me to guard this area and stop people any suspicious actions. He told you to stay by the Kimiyoshi Manor and kill anyone that tried to kill the demons!" she yelled at him. "Even I know that, and I wasn't even given your orders!"
The second new figure frowned. "Forty? Maybe you're being a little harsh on him… I mean… all he did was mishear orders…"
"Shut up, Number Thirty-Nine. I know what I'm doing!" she hissed at him.
Keiichi blinked in confusion, and Satoshi's harsh eyes died. They were both just incredibly puzzled by the scene before them. As he looked at their collars, Keiichi noticed the patterns engraved in them and came to the conclusion that the Kimiyoshi family owned them. The one who was yelling at the other had the number forty engraved in her collar, and the quieter demon had the number thirty-nine engraved in his. And finally, the one who had tried to attack them before was Number Fifty-One, the human that had turned into a demon at the execution.
"Excuse me," came Kaede's voice from behind the group. "Is there any reason why a Kimiyoshi demon has gone on this territory and attempted to kill? You know the rules of Onigafuchi doesn't allow such orders," she hissed at them.
Number Forty looked a little hostile towards the demon, but that instantly died when she realized that the demon in front of her was Kaede, the head demon of the Furude family. "Forgive us. This stupid, new demon right here misheard orders. He's supposed to be killing anyone who gets into the Kimiyoshi Manor to steal demons. Number Thirty-Nine and I are here monitoring. We're supposed to be looking out for the kidnappers."
Kaede nodded her head in understanding. "Understood. Just don't let it happen again."
Number Forty dipped her head. "Thank you, Kaede. Now, Number Thirty-Nine, let's drag this idiot back so we can tell Master about this," she told the other demon before turning to give Number Fifty-One a harsh look.
"All right," sighed Number Thirty-Nine as he grabbed the newer demon's arm before Number Forty did the same. They led him away from the group of friends, while he screamed about how he had thought those were his orders.
Rika, who hadn't spoken up until that moment, let out a sigh. "Kimiyoshi really needs to be taking better care of his demons. Not only are they not fed, but they aren't understanding orders, either. Though I suppose that the whole thing about looking for the kidnapper goes against my theory of using the little kids to feed the demons, huh?" she commented, walking up to the stunned group of friends.
"That was kind of weird," Satoko spoke, the fear in her eyes now gone. "But I guess it just shows how bad Kimiyoshi is at keeping his demons. In my opinion, Rika will always be the best!"
Rika grinned. "Thank you, Satoko."
"It's no problem. I'm just speaking the truth!" replied Satoko with a grin.
Kaede rolled her green eyes. "I'm glad that I'm not a part of that family. It's hard enough to be sitting around a place with thirty-four other demons. I'd hate to be in a place like the Kimiyoshi Manor. That guy has to start to learn how to be more responsible. Fifty-one demons is too much to manage," she commented as she crossed her arms. "He should sell a few to the Sonozaki family or something."
"Yeah," agreed Rika.
"Ah, oh well. Let's just forget about the whole thing for now and move forwards. Master Rika, I'm assuming you'll speak with Kimiyoshi about this later…" Kaede spoke.
"I certainly will," grumbled the girl.
And so, the friends continued on with their stroll, chattering to each other about this and that. However, as they did so, Keiichi observed Satoshi. He still looked worried, but was there a reason for him to be worried? He had just shown off that he could protect Satoko and anyone else if he tried, even if he did act a little shy and quiet at times. He shouldn't be so scared. Even if Satoko had been a little startled by the appearance of those demons, if someone had actually tried to kidnap her without delay, she would be sure to defend herself.
"Satoshi," Keiichi said to the boy, causing him to turn to look him in the eye. "Are you still worried?" he asked him.
"A little," responded Satoshi.
Keiichi grinned. "Well there's no reason to be. Satoshi, you should have seen the look in your eyes. You could scare off anyone with that, and with that bravery, I'm sure that Satoko won't end up in the hands of a killer."
He looked surprised by that statement. "You think so, Keiichi?"
"Yes," replied Keiichi, looking at him with confidence in his blue eyes. "I really do think so, Satoshi. So no more worrying, okay? Just think positive thoughts." He grinned at him. "Satoko is never going to get hurt with a big brother like you around. I'm sure that she's glad to have you."
The shock on the blonde-haired boy's face soon softened, and a smile replaced it. "Thank you, Keiichi. Your words really mean a lot to me," he told him softly.
"I'm glad," he replied.
Yes, there was no way that Satoko would ever be caught, and that was certain. Satoshi was a stronger person than he thought he was, and a stronger person than he sometimes acted to be. Even though he was shy and quiet, there was no doubt that he was a strong person, and there was no doubt that he made the perfect older brother for Satoko. And I'm sure that together, the two of them could catch the kidnapper. Between Satoko's strength and Satoshi's willingness to protect her… I'm sure that if they ever come across them, they will be able to expose him and save the village from any more threats. I have no more doubts about this. This is the complete and utter truth.
~~~~X~~~~
Crimso's Corner V.2:
It has come to my attention that many people seem to forget that Satoshi is not only Shion's love interest, but Satoko's older brother and the person that protected her all those past years. Really, when you think of Satoshi, most people think about Shion. But when I think of Satoshi, I think about Satoko and how he protected her. I feel like this isn't something that's highlighted in fanfics, and so, this chapter was made. The development was a little fast, but Satoshi's realization of strength was never something I planned to dwell on nor was it something I planned to make a big plot point, anyways. Satoko and Satoshi have been neglected in this fanfiction AND Green-Eyed Demon, so what can I say? I will tell you that this is not the end of Satoshi's and Satoko's brother-sister relationship in this fanfiction. There's going to be more.
Hopefully we'll have the next chapter up tomorrow or Monday, but no promises on that one. …Can it be Winter break all ready? I'm in the mood for that right now. I'd rather be on vacation than sitting at my desk doing homework all day. Just be happy with how this chapter turned out. I was planning 4,000 words, and now its twice as long. This was an accident.
Review! Reviewers can get a Satoshi plushie! Have I given that one out all ready? Well, I if I have, then have another one! People who point out typos and Paragraph scrunches will get a book on traps and how to make them. You probably won't be as good as Satoko, but honestly, who is? The next chapter will have a ton of Shmion, so look forward to that.
And now, I am off to watch episode two of Fate/Zero, which I have been eagerly waiting to do. Until next time!
~Crimso