Crimso's Notes

There's nothing like a good cup of hot chocolate. No, really. I love winter because hot chocolate comes with it, and I can have it without my mom yelling at me for having something she deems to be too unhealthy. Well, that's not the only reason why I love Christmas. Snow can be fun, too. The roof of our house gets so much snow and it's really fun to play in. I went up there with my friend one time during a snow day last year and he nearly sunk in all the snow. For that matter, I did too.

Note: It's Watanagashi.

~~~~X~~~~

Chapter Thirty-Two: Festival

A sigh escaped Rena's mouth as she wandered towards the Furude shrine, knowing that it was time for the Watanagashi. She planned on meeting up with Keiichi, but it seemed as if he had already left, as he wasn't at home when she came to check. Satoko, Rika, and Satoshi were all coming from another direction, and as for Takeru… well, he'd give anything to be with her, but Oryou for some reason informed him that she would not be coming to the Watanagashi and that he would take her place this year, meaning that she was left all alone.

She would find Rika and the Houjou siblings at the festival, she hoped. It was always reassuring to have someone to stand by while the gruesome murder took place. Besides, sometimes Satoshi's hands over her ears weren't enough to block out the loud screams that came from the person who was being tortured. He would probably need help with that, and she definitely wanted to help. She couldn't imagine forcing poor, young Satoko to suffer in such a way. They would scold people for doing so if they caught them, but it was very rare that they managed to catch someone doing it. Satoko was a lot smaller than most people, so she didn't really stand out. It was okay for them to do so.

She had not heard news about the man who had killed Kimiyoshi and stolen the demons he had not killed being captured, so she didn't know whom the sacrifice could be. Well, they often didn't announce when they captured someone until the Watanagashi, but this was a big one, and they probably would inform everyone. Of course, they may just be setting up for a big surprise.

Last year, the person who was killed was an unknown person who suddenly attempted to kill Oryou. That was a bold move for a person near the Watanagashi. Usually, if a crime was committed, it was way before the Watanagashi took place as no one wanted to be in danger of getting his or her stomach ripped open. The other executions, while the thieves obviously still avoided getting caught, were much quicker and less painful. It usually just involved the downward strike of a sword and they would be done. Sometimes, they would cut their head off, but it was done quickly. The Watanagashi was slow and painful.

Her father and mother had moved away from the village when she was seven in fear of what was going on and also because he found a new job and found that as an opportunity to get away, but returned with only her father eventually because the poor girl began to get very, very, very scared about what was going to happen to them for betraying their home land. Onigafuchi was a dark village. There could be a curse set upon them by the local god, Oyashiro-sama. They had come back last year, so she didn't know about what had happened before. She had heard from Takeru that they had captured a serial killer who went about killing random villagers for the small amount of demons that they owned, and they didn't actually announce the capture until they went up in front of the Furude Shrine and saw him. Maybe it was possible he had been caught… maybe.

She was beginning to get closer, and she was searching the area frantically for her friends. She caught no sight of them, though. There were whole bunches of people crowding the paths, a grim face painted on every last one of them. No one was happy about the Watanagashi ceremony. No one really wanted to watch such a thing, and it was never a very fun thing for anyone.

Everyone was focused on the area ahead of them all, though. No one's gaze was drifted off to the side aside from Rena, who now stood there as crowds of people went by her. She moved out of the way so that people behind her could go ahead, since she could see looks of irritation grow on people's faces. No one dared say anything during the start of the festival, though. There wasn't much to say.

No sign of either of the siblings or Rika. Rika was one of the only people with blue hair her color in the village, so she should be easy to spot. There weren't too many blondes either. Most people in the village had black or brown hair, for some odd reason. She sighed as she looked about. Maybe they had already gone into the festival grounds. It was possible that Rika was helping the set up as the head of the Furude family, but usually only Sonozakis were around the area at that time. Seeing as they were crowned one of the Three Great Families only for this reason, they took their job very, very seriously.

But when Rena spotted blue hair very far in the distance, she was surprised to find that it belonged to a man. She didn't know any men with blue hair. Slowly, the man turned around and met her gaze.

"…Wait… Kai?"
The demon before her had golden eyes that were completely barren of all emotion, along with a Kimiyoshi collar around his neck. She was in complete and utter shock. What was he doing here? He had been captured! She felt like she should tell someone, but who to tell? The head of the Kimiyoshi family was nowhere in sight. Maybe she would find Masaru later at the grounds.

"Rena!" a voice suddenly called to her, one that was shrill and undeniably one that belonged to Satoko.

She turned around, smiling. "I was looking for you guys!" she cried out, spotting her, her brother and her best friend.

They walked over to her. "Of course. Who wants to spend this morbid festival alone without some comfort?" asked Rika, a very small smile on her face. It was very hard to smile when you were going towards a festival that would involve guts and bloodshed. "We're glad we found you, Rena. We're going to need someone to help Satoshi with her ears."

Satoshi nodded. "It would be nice if you could help…"

"Of course I will!" She looked over at the people. "We should get going. We don't want to end up in the front."

"Yeah," Satoshi agreed. "Let's go."

And as the four of them began to walk off, Rena turned around to look at Kai once again, only to find that the demon had disappeared. Why he was there, she would never know, but she had a very bad feeling about it…

~~~~X~~~~

Keiichi's vision and mind had been spinning on and off all day, to the point where he would temporally regain consciousness only to lose it again seconds later. His whole mind had been a complete mess, and right now was one of the times he was beginning to regain himself again. During those times, he would hear bits and pieces of conversation, but never did he process any words or what was going on around him.

There was noise. There was a whole lot of noise. There were sounds of people walking about and footsteps hitting wood. He didn't know what was going on, but whatever it was, it seemed very odd. There was no way that he would be in a place with a lot of people. He had been attacked by that man.

He realized now that he had finally gotten a pretty good grasp on his full consciousness, enough to process the noise around him, so he decided to open his eyes.

And when he did, he nearly fainted.

He was on the Furude Shrine, in front of a crowd of people. His limbs had been restrained, and it took him a few seconds to realize that he had been placed on the restraining board used for executions. He realized now that he was at the Watanagashi festival… and he was the sacrifice.

He looked about frantically. On the shrine near him was a man he recognized as one of Takeru's uncles, Yasuo. On a chair near the front with his back facing him was none other that Takeru himself. What in the world was he doing? Why wasn't he helping him?
"Takeru!" he called out to the boy. "Takeru!"

Takeru turned around, an apologetic look on his face with a bunch of sorrow. He shook his head as if to tell him that there was nothing he could do, and then he returned his uneasy gaze to the audience.

He cursed under his breath when he saw such an action. He was the heir of the Sonozaki family. Surely there was something he could do, right…?

But the head had the say in it, and Oryou was probably furious when she found out he had stolen her granddaughters, and she was probably set on killing him. They had not found the man who had killed Kimiyoshi and the rest. He was the only person available. No matter how hard Takeru tried to convince the old woman, it was very unlikely she would comply. She had a say in it. Takeru didn't.

In fact, he could now remember a part of his day, something he had picked up but not processed when he was in one of his semi-conscious states. Akane, Takeru's mom, had been arguing with Oryou about her choice for the festival and how it was too severe, but the old woman simply said that he was the only one and that her mind was made up. There had been no changing it.

"All right, we're beginning the festival!" yelled Yasuo. "Please, everyone quiet down!"

The talking, which consisted of uneasy chattering and whisperings of how scared they were, died down. Yasuo cleared his throat.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I thank you for coming to join us on this clear night for the Watanagashi. I'm very excited to be your speaker today, and it is a great honor to have been selected from numerous Sonozakis to lead tonight's ceremony by the great Sonozaki Oryou herself," he told the crowd, who was dead silent. There was confidence in his tone, and he didn't seem the least bit upset about having to lead a ceremony where a sixteen-year-old boy was to be killed. Then again, he had always been like that, hadn't he? He hadn't cared in the slightest when Akane was talking about how Mion and Shion had supposedly died at birth, and he had done terrible things to Mion and Shion, according to them. …Well, they were demons, but considering how he had been interacting with them… it was not doubtful that he found it a disgrace.

"I am afraid that Oryou herself cannot be present at this year's festival, so Takeru has kindly replaced her as the position of the heir of the Sonozaki family. Her daughter, Sonozaki Akane, and my own brother, who is her husband, have also stayed behind to keep watch on her since there are no one but servants there, and it is always helpful to have a family member near by."

That was interesting. Why couldn't she come? Keiichi was curious, but he obviously didn't say anything. Right now, he was only thinking about how he could escape. Was there some way… was there someone?

He looked at the crowd. He could see Satoshi, Rena, and Rika standing there with horrified looks on their faces. Satoko's vision and hearing had been obscured. Did she know that he was the sacrifice? He wanted to motion for them to find some way to help, but he could not. His arms had been tightly restrained. He tried moving them, but it was just too much.

He looked down his arm, finding that the bracelet was still there, much to his relief. It would be some form of comfort during this. …At least he had that to look at, so that he could be reminded of how much he loved Mion before he died. A tear trickled down his face. This was going to be the end of it all.

The pain would be unbearable, and it would match the amount of emotional pain he had gone through during his stay in Onigafuchi. It made him really wish he had never come here.

"We shall start out today by speaking a little about the history of Onigafuchi, and the great hero named Kimiyoshi Koichi, who took down the evil Demon King that went by the name of Makoto," Yasuo started out, not even looking at the boy. Takeru was looking back at him and the crowd, a pained expression on his face. He really wanted to do something, Keiichi realized, but he could not. He eventually returned to just the audience, fidgeting in his seat. He could not seem weak in front of the crowd, and he had to appear serious. "Kimiyoshi Koichi was brought up by his father, who was also a great leader. He was taught how to lead a village perfectly, and went through many hardships and pain to learn. It was no surprise that he turned out to be a great hero when he became the head."

"The problem of demons had always been a great one. They were ferocious beasts, ones that ran wild and killed humans for the sake of it. They were vicious, and without a doubt evil. Past heads had tried to do something about it, but there was very little they could do." Yasuo paused for a moment. His voice was composed and steady. He really was a great speaker. "That's when a man named Takashi came to him one day, a golden orb in his hand. He said that the orb had the power to control demons. Unsure and doubtful, Koichi asked him to demonstrate. It was true. That's when he came up with a wonderful plan. The man, along with his demon, would go out and slay all the demons. The orb could force a demon to obey anything. When someone was to kill his demon, he would just posses another one. Koichi's orders were perfect. The Furude Head also played a minor role in it, asking him to come to her for reports every week as some of her men guarded the land. The Sonozaki Head ordered everyone in her control to guard the other side of the land, making sure that no demons attacked."
"But while Koichi didn't do much of the fighting, he controlled everything. His plan was masterful. The amount of deaths decreased greatly on the human side, and dead demon bodies were being thrown away every single day." Yasuo looked at the crowd, making sure that they were all listening. Satoko was too small to be seen by him, and Keiichi had only barely managed to spot her. "He was an amazing man."

"But one day, when Takashi came to him and explained that the orb had been stolen by a demon who was smart enough to attack him instead of the demon he was controlling, Koichi had come up with a plan. He himself would come and slay the demon. He trained for days and days, working hard on his skills to defeat the monstrous demon who dared attack Takashi." He tended to stick a negative adjective on any action a demon did, or just the demons themselves every time they were mentioned.

Keiichi thought it was interesting to hear the tale from his side. He had only heard it from Makoto's. He was attempting to distract himself from the fact that he was going to die by listening as intently as he could. That didn't mean that thoughts were constantly popping up in his head, though, causing a great amount of fear.

Yasuo's watchful eye caught no one looking away. Everyone was intent on listening, too. "But before such a thing could happen, the demon came to him first. His name was Makoto."

Keiichi cringed at the use of a masculine pronoun for Makoto. Had he really read the tale?

"Makoto announced a plan, which was nothing but a big trick. He wanted humans and demons to come together and live in peace, with the demons being allowed to kill humans whenever they wanted to simply for food." Yasuo smirked a little at the mention of the plan, though he tried to make it fade away as fast as he could. "No one believed him at all. Who would believe a demon? He thought that the sacrifices of humans were okay, when it was obvious that it was not. He was a good actor, but Koichi saw through this façade instantly."

It wasn't a façade, and she wasn't a good actor! She was serious! …And also, would you please stop calling her a male? His distractions were getting a little better. Maybe he could forget about death for a little. It was something he didn't want to think about, even though it was useless. He looked at the restraints holding him, his eyes wide. He really was going to die… wasn't he?

"Koichi attacked, killing one of his demons instantly. An outburst happened after that. Makoto claimed that he was serious, but it was useless. His trap had been seen through within seconds. Then, he went mad. He controlled a demon with the orb, ordering her to attack everyone. She managed to take down a few humans before being killed, and then Makoto switched demons again. This went on and on, until Makoto ran, ordering the rest of the demons to attack Koichi."

He glanced around again, his eyes narrowed as he spotted someone who was looking away. He did not say anything about it, though, and simply looked at one of the Sonozaki servants at the side, who nodded his head and ran into the crowd. "Koichi defeated all these demons, showing his true skill and bravery for taking on such a huge pack of demons. He ran through the crowd of dead bodies, red and black blood staining the ground. Then, he found Makoto in the woods, watching in fear. He knew that the enemy was too great for him, and that he was to die."
"When he positioned his sword in front of his throat, he asked if he had any dying words, and Makoto said that he did. He spoke of two twins who would arrive and bring downfall to his village, destroying it completely. But Koichi didn't listen. It was not true, after all. Koichi spoke of a great hero who would arrive and save Onigafuchi from the evil twins, a hero who may be even greater than he was." He paused, glancing to Takeru briefly. "And then, with a great swipe, he killed the evil demon king."

"After that, he took the orb and forced all demons into slavery. He divided the demons amongst the Three Great Families, and he took the most demons for himself. He then split Makoto's three strongest demons amongst the families, one for each, and then called them the head demons. They were named Kai, Kaede, and Kenji." He paused to clear his throat again. "He took Kai for himself, and the Furude head picked Kaede. The Sonozaki head was left with the remaining demon, Kenji, though she said that that was the demon she wanted anyways. Thus ended the war on humans and demons, with the victory on the human's side. We triumphed over these monsters, and they are now nothing more than our pets."

Keiichi hated the way he spoke about demons. They were not just things to be thrown away and mistreated! They had feelings, too!

Then, he looked to Takeru once again, who stood up. He walked beside his uncle and cleared his throat. He seemed a little nervous, but that was only to be expected.

"Dear Onigafuchi citizens! I am Sonozaki Takeru, heir to the Sonozaki family. I will one day lead this village through times of great despair, and I will be known as a great leader," he yelled out to the crowd as loudly as he could. That loudness had to have hurt his throat. "But today, that is not what I am hear to talk about." He looked to Yasuo, nodding to him. "I am here to announce a great secret to all of you." He breathed heavily, his body a little shaky. "…I, Sonozaki Takeru, am the Hero of Onigafuchi."

Eyes widened amongst the crowd, shocking passing through the area. There were murmurs, though guards and Takeru himself instantly silenced them.

"Today is going to be a blood filled day. Today is the day that the twins will come out of hiding, and a war will take place. I can feel it in the air, and I'm sure that you can too. I want you to all know that as the Hero, I will protect Onigafuchi and all of you. I swear to Oyashiro-sama that I will do nothing but protect this village from its destruction, and destroy those evil twins!" he cried out, throwing his arms out. "If that's not true… then I'm not Sonozaki Takeru!"

There was a loud cheering coming from the crowd, something that was rare for a festival like this. He bowed to the crowd, a smile on his face at the support he received.

"All hail the Hero, Takeru!" the audience yelled.

"He will protect us!" another screamed out.

This screaming continued for a while, until Yasuo finally silenced them. He turned to Keiichi and looked at him, an evil smirk on his face as he stared at the boy. It was a reminder to him, a reminder that his life was going to end in less than a few minutes. It would be painful and horrifying.

A tear trickled down his face. Would it really end like this? Would no one come to save him? Why wasn't anyone protesting against this? It wasn't right to kill a young man like him. So why wasn't anyone questioning this? Were they really all just going to watch as he died? It just wasn't right. Someone had to come and save him. No, someone was going to come and save him. Right? Right?

"Ladies and Gentlemen, with that, I present to you the sacrifice for tonight. This is Maebara Keiichi, a young man who has recently moved here. He was thought to be a new light to the village, one that would calm the atmosphere, but time proved that he was nothing more than a criminal. He broke into the Sonozaki Manor and stole two demons." He looked at the audience, who were murmuring to themselves quietly. "Not only that… but what he did with them… is disgusting. The one demon that we have caught came back acting like a human, saying that demons had no right to be bossed around. He taught her that. He is for these horrible creatures."

More murmuring. Takeru was completely silent.

"Not only that… but this man… was in love with one of the demons."

There was louder murmuring.

"Disgusting. Completely disgusting. How could you stand such a vile beast, Maebara Keiichi? Or are you just as vile and messed up as she is? Well, it's evident by the fact that you love her." He looked to the side, to the entrance of the Furude Shrine. "But today, his life will come to an end. He will be sacrificed to Oyashiro-sama, and his intestines shall be drifted down the village. So… now… let us begin."

Panic arose in Keiichi. There was fear in his heart, fear that caused it to beat like never before. He was more scared than the time the man had broken into his house and killed his parents, or the time that he stole Mion from him. The fear he felt when he first moved to the village couldn't even compare! It was because this time, he really was going to die, and there was no way out of it. He gulped and closed his eyes tightly, wishing that everything would just end already. Life was too cruel. He didn't want to spend another moment in the world. It was probably happier somewhere else.

And in that somewhere else… perhaps his parents would be there, waiting for him. How long had they been waiting for him? It was his fault that they died, anyways. And maybe when Mion and Shion were punished, maybe even killed, they would join him too, and the three of them could spend their time close to each other, not having to worry about the Sonozaki family. In that place, they would have all the food they could eat, and they could sleep on the futon. They would have a name and they wouldn't be owned by anyone. They would also be able to explore the gardens outside, and see the colorful flowers and the deep blue sky every day. There would be no limits. They could be happy.

It seemed perfect, until he realized that the only place that that could exist was in Onigafuchi.

Onigafuchi had been a happy place… then it would be exactly that. There was no such thing as such a land elsewhere. And it was already too late for any of that.

"Demon, kill him!" a voice cried out from the darkness that made up his world. He refused to open his eyes.

He waited for a swing of a sword, the swing that would rip his stomach open, and then hands pulling at his intestines. What would it feel like? How much would it hurt? How early would he die? He gulped. He had to brace himself for the pain.

…But it never happened.

He opened his eyes, confused. What was going on?

In front of him stood a demon, a demon who instantly caused his eyes to widen and his heart begin to race.

"Mion...!" he whispered to the demon before him.

Mion was there, a sword in her hand as she stared down at the boy with wide eyes. She was breathing heavily as she clutched the hilt, staring into his blue eyes with fear in her own green ones. She was hesitating, obviously not wanting to kill the boy in front of her. He had to wonder why she of all demons had been chosen to kill him. It was probably for the irony, but there was no way that Mion would listen to such an order. Then again, Akane and her husband were at the manor, so they wouldn't notice her and find out. But really… she was in love with him! Her hands trembled as she raised the sword ever so slightly, only to place it back down at her side again.

"Number Twenty-Seven, kill him!" Yasuo shouted again.

There was no response from Mion.

"Number Twenty-Seven…!"

"No."

Blinking came from Yasuo. "What did you just say?"

Keiichi looked at Mion's face. When did it grow so determined? Before, there had just been fear. Now, the girl was looking at the man with defiance in her eyes. She would not kill the boy, no matter how hard the man tried to make her. She really was a poor choice for this.

"No," repeated Mion. "I will not kill him."

Gasping came from the audience.

Yasuo looked around nervously, his teeth gritted. "You have to. It's the rule."

Mion walked over to him, the sword in her hand. "I will not listen to you!" she screamed out, staring into his eyes directly with her green ones. "I am no longer a demon under the control of you! I am a free demon! I no longer have to listen to what you say, now that I am a free demon. I can wander about Onigafuchi without that, and I can do anything I wish to do!" A gigantic gasp came out from the audience as the sword was positioned in front of Yasuo's throat, the blade about a half a centimeter away from touching it. "That's why… I'm never going to listen to you ever again!"

Hope filled Keiichi. She was going to save him! He applauded her in his mind for being so brave and standing up to the man in front of her, the man who had a hold on her for so long. She was finally telling him off, breaking the binds he had on her.

Yasuo looked around nervously, slight fear in his eyes. Keiichi saw the man reach into a pocket, one that was seemed to be containing something in it. It looked very full and puffy. Slowly, he slipped the object out, clutching onto it tightly.

It took less than a second for Keiichi to realize what it was, but when he did, the action had already happened.

"I told you, Number Twenty-Seven," he growled. "YOU WILL OBEY ME."

There was a flashing from his hand, and the audience gasped as they looked at what was in it. There it was, an object that was recognizable by every single citizen in Onigafuchi.

It was The Orb of the Demon Kings.

Mion's sword instantly was removed from Yasuo's neck, and she didn't say a single word. Slowly, she took a few steps backwards, her face pointed towards the ground as she positioned the sword at her side.

Then, slowly, she turned around. Her eyes, which were once a wonderful shade of green, were now a pure gold, and her face, once one that was full of happiness when she spoke of games and laughter when she spent her time with him, was now plastered with a smirk. But this was not the same smirk the fun-loving Mion would usually wear. It was not smirk that contained hint of the girl he knew, the girl he loved. It was not happy, and it did not have playfulness in it. It was a smirk of pure madness.

"Well then," the girl licked her lips as she stared at the boy. "I guess we should begin, shouldn't we?" She let out a large laugh as she staggered towards the boy, clutching the sword tightly.

Any hope within him instantly died when he realized that his only frined, who had been willing to help him, instantly turned into a monstrous demon that wanted nothing more than to kill. He realized that The Orb of the Demon Kings was truly powerful. Someone so fun loving and wonderful had become what the village thought demons were, just plan sadistic and evil.

She smirked even more as she gazed upon the boy, seemingly not recognizing him at all as she opened her mouth slightly, revealing her sharp fangs. Keiichi had seen them before, but they never seemed so deadly to him as they did now. Her gold eyes scanned the boy, finally resting on his stomach. As that happened, she slowly began to raise the sword.

"Mion!" he yelled to her. "Don't you recognize me? I'm Maebara Keiichi! Your friend! Don't you remember?"

She licked her fangs, giggling darkly at him.

"We played games together, remember? I freed you and took you outside! I taught you your name and emotions! You have to remember me!" he screamed out to her, desperately trying to reach the Mion he knew was within the demon standing before him. "…Don't we… love each other?"
Yasuo laughed, while Takeru stared at Yasuo with wide, horrified eyes. "Give it up, boy. The Orb of the Demon Kings controls her now. That orb was the same orb that was used to slaughter evil demons, and the demons did not question it. She is not the same demon you know! She is nothing more than Number Twenty-Seven!" he yelled out. "So for that reason…" He looked at Mion. "Number Twenty-Seven, waste no more time. Do it now!"

Mion laughed madly as she raised the sword up in her air, nothing but excitement at having to kill someone in those unfamiliar gold eyes of hers. She grinned wildly as she brought the sword to his stomach, not touching it. She could not destroy any organs with a downward slash. She had to cut it open finely. She licked her lips again, moving to slash the boy's stomach.

"STOP!" a voice screamed out.

This was enough for everyone's attention to glance around, trying to find the source of the voice, including Mion. The sword still was at his stomach, but she had forgotten about killing him as she looked around frantically for the source of the voice.

"Who's there?'" yelled Yasuo. He turned to the demon. "Number Twenty-Seven, step back for now! I need to find out who this guy is!

Mion obeyed without question.

"Good! I was afraid you wouldn't listen to me," the voice spoke.

Yasuo looked around. "Show your face! Who dares interrupt the Watanagashi!" he yelled out, anger and irritation in his eyes.

The crowd parted away as a man began to advance towards the shrine, everyone eyeing him with shock as he walked through the path created by the people. He went up the stairs, right up to where the execution was taking place. There was an old book in his hand, one that seemed to be falling apart and was very dusty. There was a determined look in his eyes as he stepped on the stage, then turning around to face the audience.

"Kimiyoshi Masaru!" growled Yasuo. "I thought something was funny. I didn't see you when we were setting things u—"

"Stop it, Yasuo! That's enough of your blabbering!" he yelled out. He stared angrily at the man, his body a little shaky. The man had never totally gotten used to his position as head after the sudden death of his father, and he often stumbled about, but this was different. He was a little shaky now, but the anger and confidence in his eyes overcame that. No one had ever seen him with such fierceness in his eyes before.

Masaru faced the crowd. "That boy…" he pointed towards Takeru. "…Is not the Hero of Onigafuchi!"

There was a gasp, and Takeru's eyes went wide as he realized everyone's eyes were on him. He looked around robotically, the expression on his face not changing and his body not moving aside from his scanning head.

Yasuo growled at him. "Masaru, you've always been a liar and an idiot. Would you move aside and—"

"No!" he snapped at Yasuo. "You're the liar! The whole Sonozaki family is made up of liars!" he yelled out. He turned to the audience. "Listen to me, my citizens of Onigafuchi! I am Kimiyoshi Masaru, current head of the Kimiyoshi family and descendant of the great Kimiyoshi Koichi! And I am here to tell you the truth!"

He held his hand up, showing off the old book in his hand. "This is the first copy of The Legend of Makoto and Koichi, the one that Kimiyoshi Koichi himself wrote! I was unsure about reading it at first because of the oldness of the book, but when I did, I discovered something." He looked at the two Sonozakis. "The Legend of the Hero is a complete and utter lie!"

Chatter came from the crowd, chatter that was not simply murmurs. It was loud and ferocious.

"…There is no such thing as the Hero that will save Onigafuchi!" he once again pointed towards Takeru. "This boy… is not the Hero! In fact… this boy… according to the legend… is the enemy."

Gasps sounded out, and chatter began. Keiichi's heart filled with shock. Had Takeru lied to him about this? He looked at the audience and found that his friends were no longer covering Satoko's ears.

"Makoto proclaimed that a man would come to the village and slaughter them all, and then Koichi said that there would be twins born… who would save it. There is no'the Hero of Onigafuchi.' But there is 'the Heroes of Onigafuchi.' The legend we speak about today is backwards!" He turned to Yasuo. "And on top of that, Makoto is female, not male. Have you really read the story?"

Silence on the stage. The audience was chatting and yelling loudly at such words. They couldn't be true. The Legend of the Hero was something that they had followed for years. Now, this man was saying that everyone had it backwards.

Yasuo growled. "Masaru, I always knew you were a liar, ever since you lied about breaking the Sonozaki family's prized vase when you were a kid. But this… this is unforgiveable. This is a lie that defeats all other lies. This… is…—"!" Yasuo stepped forward, lunging towards the man.

But an arm stopped him, an arm that belonged to Takeru. He had been silent the whole time, and he was now looking at Yasuo with stern eyes. "Yasuo, stop it."

"But Ta—"

"No." Takeru turned towards Masaru, seriousness in his eyes that Keiichi had never seen before. "…There is no need to fight this man."

No one said anything, even the audience. The only thing that Keiichi could hear was the pounding of his heart. His eyes locked on the scene before him, and at Mion who was doing nothing but watching with narrow golden eyes.

Takeru turned to Yasuo. "Yasuo, say it."

Yasuo blinked at Takeru. "What are you—"

"Yasuo," snapped Takeru. "Just freaking say it!"

Yasuo looked around, and he gritted his teeth. A mumble came out from his mouth.

"I didn't hear you, Yasuo!" yelled Takeru.

"I… il… hi…" grumbled Yasuo.

"YASUO!" screamed Takeru.

Yasuo clenched his teeth as he turned towards the crowd. "I… did it…"

Masaru narrowed his eyes. "You…"

"I killed Kimiyoshi. I did," Yasuo admitted loudly. "I killed his eight demons, stole the forty-three of them, I am the one who has been kidnapping all the children!" He turned towards Takeru. "Are you happy?"

Screams broke out amongst everyone, screams that consisted of the words "murderer!" and "liar!" Keiichi felt his heart freeze in his chest. Now that he thought about it… Yasuo really was a buff guy. He was very large, too, and his voice did seem familiar… Anger burned in his veins. This man had taken Mion away from him, and not only that, he had killed his parents. He wished he could kill him on the spot, but he was restrained.

Takeru stepped in front of the crowd. "Listen, everyone!" he yelled out. "Allow me to introduce myself again. I am Sonozaki Takeru, the heir of the Sonozaki family. I thought I was someone great. I thought I was the Hero of Onigafuchi, until I read the true story of Makoto and Koichi. I thought that I would become someone that people would look up to and admire… someone great." He stepped up to the crowd, at the very edge of the shrine. "But that was all false. The legend had been twisted by generations, and the truth was unveiled. … And while I may not be the Hero of Onigafuchi… I will become him now."

And that's when everyone in all of Onigafuchi realized that they were teetering right on the edge of death.

He turned towards the door of the shrine. "Demons! Attack!"

Suddenly, a whole swarm of demons ran out from the shrine and into the crowd. Keiichi instantly noticed who they were. They were Kimiyoshi demons, the ones that had been stolen. All forty-three of them dove into the crowd, and screams were sounded out as their claws began to tear at all of the villagers. They went right by Keiichi, who was scared and confused. What was Takeru doing? Had his friend had really just ordered the demons to kill everyone? It was a real shock. Takeru was not the type of person to do that. Masaru hesitated as he watched all his demons break loose, and then ran off in the direction of the Kimiyoshi Manor.

He looked at the boy. "Takeru!" he yelled out.

Takeru looked at the ground, grumbling. "Keiichi, you should know why."

Yasuo turned towards Mion. "Number Twenty-Seven, you too. Kill them all. Do not spare a soul." With that order, the man also leapt into the crowd, pulling a knife from his outfit.

Mion gave Keiichi one last glance before she too leapt into the crowd, and Keiichi heard a scream come out from a villager as her claws raked against them, killing them on the spot.

Takeru whipped around and wandered off down the steps on the side of the shrine, not saying a word or even giving the boy a last glance as he disappeared into the darkness.

Keiichi struggled against his restraints, all alone. He could only watch in fear as all the demons began to tear at the villagers, allowing dying screams to pass through the air. He wanted to get out and do something about it, but there was nothing he could do. The restraints were too heavy. His eyes widened as he watched a classmate fall to their knees, blood staining his clothing. He was dead within seconds.

Rika… Satoko… Satoshi… Rena! Those names echoed in his mind. Would they be okay? Or were they already dead? Now more than ever he wanted to rip those restraints from his body and go save them, but there was no one there to do that. He wondered why a demon hadn't gone to kill him yet, as he was such an easy target. But they were just too focused on the scene in front of them to do anything.

Keiichi wanted to scream as he saw a demon grab Chie-sensei by her throat, then using her other hand to tear open her stomach. The teacher instantly fell to the ground, bleeding horribly. If that wasn't enough, the commotion going on caused many to trample over her body. If the wound wasn't the thing that killed her, that certainly was.

Chie had always been nice to him, and she was one of the only ones to have a friendly and safe air around her when he moved here. Now, she was gone. He struggled in his restraints. He needed to go and help before someone else he knew died… or else!

"Someone, get the restraints off!" he yelled out. "Someone—"

Suddenly, he felt the restraints being undone, and he instantly shot up. He felt wonderful at having been freed. If he could find some way to get help now, then he could try to turn the tables on this fight. But how? How would he do that?

"You," a voice spoke to him, probably belonging to the person who had freed him.

Keiichi whipped around.

"…I sense something about you… you seem strong. You… were really upset when they were talking about how demons were evil, weren't you? Good. You… believe in my master…"

He blinked. "K-Kai?"

Right before him was definitely the demon Kai, but something had changed about him. His eyes, once a golden color, were now returned to being blue. There was sadness in his eyes, and he seemed quite horrified at the same time. For once, he was showing some sign of emotion.

Since the orb was now controlling Mion, he had broken free of the spell he had been in for the last few years. There was no sign that he was going to go ahead and obey what his new master said. The only reason why he did so in the first place was because the orb forced him to. He had been too resistant of Koichi's orders.

"Maebara Keiichi, is it?"

Keiichi nodded.

"Allow me to assist you. …You… understand Makoto… For someone like that, I'd do anything."

His eyes went wide, and he simply nodded. Having a demon like him on his side would help him. He indeed did believe in what Makoto was saying, that the demons and humans needed to get along. "Thank you, Kai." Keiichi stood up and looked at the scene before him. Many, many people managed to run away as there were only forty-three Kimiyoshi demons, Yasuo, and Mion, but many people weren't so lucky.

He wondered if his friends had run away. He hadn't spotted anyone he knew aside from Chie. His head was a mess right now. His friends could be dead, Mion just involuntarily betrayed him, and Takeru also betrayed him, except he did so very voluntarily. He was the one conducting this war right now… and he was nowhere to be seen.

"Keiichi!" a voice cried out to him from the crowd.

His eyes went wide as he spotted Satoshi running up the steps, carrying Satoko in his arms, who was bleeding quite a bit from her right arm. Rena was behind the two of them, attempting to distract the demons from the three of them with someone else. It was sacrificing one life for another, but the three of them knew that they had to survive, no matter what the cost was.

"Satoshi, Satoko! Rena!" he yelled out to the three of them.

Satoshi and Satoko stood in front of them, and Rena joined them once she successfully made the two demons that had been chasing them go off and attack someone else. She had a look of guilt on her face for doing such a thing. She hadn't been specifically telling them to kill someone else, but it was just like going right up to someone's face and telling them to go murder someone else.

Kai blinked at the three of them. "Your friends?" he asked.

Keiichi nodded.

Rena inspected the demon in front of her. "Kai! I saw you when I was heading up."

Kai nodded. "I know. I'll explain later." He looked at the crowd. "…I think that we need to go to a spot where the demons aren't. …No one's behind the shrine."

No one questioned why he was helping the four of them out, but there was no time to do that right now. The demons were still massacring people caught up in the crowd in front of the shrine, and once they did away with them, it was possible that they would be attacked. No, it wasn't just that. Anyone can come up and attack them at any moment. It was just that they were distracted by the mass amounts of people that were down there.

The five of them dashed behind the shrine instantly, leaving behind the scene before them. It felt wrong to just go ahead and leave like that, but something needed to be done. There was no way they could accomplish anything by rushing into the battle. The only thing that could happen was that they would be killed!
They stopped behind the shrine. No one was there. All they could see was people running away to the safety of their homes, though they did spot a demon or two trying to track them down. Not that they noticed the five of them.

"Where's Rika?" Keiichi asked instantly.

"She went to get Kaede and the rest," he answered. "Don't worry… I saw her get away from the demons."

Relief flooded Keiichi. All of his friends were okay.

"Keiichi-san, I can't believe what almost happened to you," Satoko said. "Did you really steal demons?"

Keiichi clenched his teeth and nodded. It was hard to admit this to them, but it really had been said already, so what was the point? "I… I don't know how to explain what happened. I went down to the Sonozaki basement, and I saw the two of them… and they were just so… terribly treated and broken. The two of them weren't fed, they had never seen the outside before… they didn't even have names. I know most demons don't have names or are fed… but these two… I couldn't leave them." He looked down at the floor, balling up his fists as he remember the state that he had found them in.

But to his surprise, Satoshi just smiled. "Good. I know how you feel, Keiichi."

Keiichi blinked in surprise.

"Listen, the demons you stole… were they identical twins?" Satoshi asked.

Keiichi didn't know how that guess would come to him, but it shocked him once again. Satoshi was very surprising. "Yeah, they were. The one that they tried to use to kill me with… she's one of them. The other one got separated form the two of us when we were attacked by that man." He paused. "No, that was Yasuo. He separated us. We went looking for her… but... we couldn't find her. The demon who tried to kill me just then, Mion, was heartbroken. The two of them were so close…
Satoshi looked over to his sister, looking a little hesitant. "…Actually, Keiichi, Shion's with me."

That was another surprise that rattled him. "What?"

Satoshi nodded. "She was passed out on the floor of the forest, so I took her in and we've been taking care of her. She is an interesting demon. She loves flowers." He looked apologetic. "If I had known, I would have given her back. I'm sorry…"

Now that he knew the truth, he desperately wanted to bring Shion back to Mion as soon as possible, but that couldn't happen until he brought Mion back to normal. How would he do that? He would have to steal The Orb of the Demon Kings from Yasuo, who was completely powerful and could easily kill humans. Then there was the whole matter of the war and Takeru… there was so much on his hands right now.

"I must also apologize, Keiichi," Kai spoke up. "I was the one who told Takeru that you were the one who stole the demons."

Keiichi whipped towards the demon, blinking. "Huh?"

Kai clenched his teeth. "That evil man who controlled me… I wasn't supposed to say anything until he asked me to, and I could not do anything without an order. So that's why when I saw you outside with the two of them, I didn't say a word to him. But when Yasuo stole me and brought me to Takeru… he asked. I told him, and he sent Number Forty to take a look. She came back with the report that you really did." He hung his head in shame. "I'm sorry."

Keiichi didn't know what to say. It really wasn't his fault, because he had been controlled. "…Well, you were being controlled, so I guess it's okay," he finally spoke. It was very bad that he had said it, though. Of course, he had no say in the matter. His orders, as The Orb of the Demon King said, were that he could not have emotions and had to obey every order.

All this revalations were hurting his head. He had to deal with them and what was going on around him.

"That cursed orb has your friend now, doesn't it?" asked Kai. "It's no easy matter getting out of that spell. I have been under it for years… ever since… Makoto died…" There was a look of pain in his eyes, something that had not appeared for years and years. When was the last time he had felt something like this? "I only broke out of it because it is your friend's soul that is now bound to it… but I think you can do it. I had no right to steal from my... 'Master.'" He spat that word. "He was never going to let me go. But Yasuo took the orb from him…"

Could he really break Mion away from that orb? That would mean killing Yasuo and stealing the orb from him, or just defeating him and managing to snatch it away. Kai had failed to protect his master, even under the control of that orb.

Keiichi looked about the people. "…Hold on, we need to figure out what we're going to do. We need to fight, and we need to get the truth behind this, and we need to let Mion go from the orb…"

There were screams in the background as they spoke. It was very unsettling and a bitter reminder that they had to think of something fast.

"I'm going to speak with Takeru-kun," Rena said suddenly, causing them all to look at her. "I know it sounds crazy, because he's the one behind this all…" It seemed unsettling for her to say that. "But I have to. I'm his girlfriend. There's no way that he's going to hurt me. I can easily get the truth out of him."

That was a good idea. Rena could easily try to stop him from doing whatever he was doing, and if not, get the reason why he was doing all this. They had a good idea from what he had said, about becoming the Hero, but it still didn't make much sense.

"Rika's gone to get the other demons. I'm sure she saw the other twin demon, and recognized her. Shion will be amongst the demons brought and she'll be looking for her sister the whole time," Satoshi explained. "I… I think that Keiichi should go chase the other demon. Mion, was it?"

Satoshi then stopped and blinked. "Keiichi, is it true what they said? About you being in love with the demon girl?"

Keiichi could only nod.

He smiled. "Well, that's one reason to go and chase after her. You should definitely do that."

Rena looked towards the boy. "Keiichi, I saw Mi-chan run off to catch a few humans that got away. She ran east from the Furude Shrine." She pointed towards the way that she had gone. "That way."
That was certainly helpful. Since she was alone, he could confront her easier.

Satoko puffed out her chest. "I'm going to set up a few traps around the village. It may be able to hold them off. Yasuo was trapped in my trap when he tried to capture me before!" Satoko looked to her brother, noticing that he was wearing an uneasy face. "Nii-Nii will come with me and defend me."

Satoshi looked surprised. "But… Satoko…!" he cried out. "I can't protect you from those demons! It's too much!"

But that was untrue. Keiichi knew that better than anyone. "What about that time where you chased away that demon when he threatened to kill Satoko? You were good then. You could surely do the same thing again." He gave him a reassuring thumbs up. "You could do it! I'm sure!"

He looked unsure, but all he did was nod. "I'll try… but no promises."

Kai stepped up. "I think I will hold off the fighting and defend the villagers being attacked, but I think it wouldn't be wise to fight that Yasuo guy until we come up with a better plan. …There are only two that can defeat the evil in this village, and those are the twins. Nothing can be done until the other twin demon is snapped out of that evil orb's trance."

Keiichi's eyes lit up in realization. He had forgotten all about that! Mion and Shion… they were the true heroes. They were the key to solving this. If the thing about Takeru being evil proved to be true, then the thing about Mion and Shion being the heroes of the legend also had to be true.

"All right, I think that we have everything set!" cried Keiichi. "Shall we go off?"

They all nodded.

"Good! And whatever you do, don't die."

Everyone then dashed off in all directions, determined to stop what was going on around them.

Keiichi looked around, then turning east towards where Mion was.

One thing was for sure.

He had to find her at all costs.

~~~~X~~~~

Crimso's Corner V.2

Wow. First chapter finished in class! Well, sort of. It was finished at lunch, but the only thing I did was write the last three lines. Yeah, so technically English. I was going to finish it… but then my English teacher called me over to talk to me about my terribly analyzed quotes (Actually, they were okay. He wants me to revise anyway, though. That's my English teacher for you.)

By the way, Kira subs came out. There's a download for the video files, but they haven't been put on websites yet. They still need to make a smaller version of it. I'm going to watch it when I get home. Once again, I'm in school, so I obviously can't watch it now unless I want to get yelled at by my English teacher, who is in hall duty (I'm actually talking to my friend about him right now… as I'm writing this.)

Annnnd I'm back from eating. My god, my English teacher really does hate me. I told him about my problem (I don't have a partner to work with for the project… stil) and he looked at me like. "Crimso. You have too many problems. Just go find a group and be done." …AAAAAHHHHHHHHH! I'm scared, guys.

I hope that this chapter was good enough for you guys. It was… dramatic. Please let me know if you find any errors or anything that should be changed AT ALL and I'll go ahead and fix it. I went back and made a few changes to make things better, but I need input. It's very hard to be focusing on so many characters at once. Please review and tell me what you think of what just happened! Have some of my lunch. I didn't eat it all… It's good. Also, typos!

~Crimso