NIGHT STALKER

"All these?"

Hanabi shook her head and gestured her hands across the cluttered counter, full to the brim with at least a wagon's worth of fireworks. "Yeah. You can take all these and light them up as you please."

The customer, an elderly sort of gentleman cocked his brow and gave the young firework maker a suspicious eye. "They're not gonna blow up on us, are they? People have been hearing a lot of explosions down here as of late."

Hanabi flinched slightly but kept her cool and discomfort in check. She couldn't deny the rumors since accidents do happen. So his worries were valid. "They shouldn't. I paid extra attention to make sure they were done right."

The customer gave her a cool warning. "And if they're not…there will be problems. You understand me, Hari-san."

Hanabi clenched her jaw but kept her voice steady. "Sir, I can take these back if you don't trust me, but these were all I made. You won't have any fireworks for the festival if I take these backs."

The man rocked his head back and forth and pondered on it for at least a minute. He decided on it though by silently tossing her a small pouch of coin. Hanabi gave him an appreciated nod before coming around the front and helping him load the fireworks on a waiting wagon outside.

"I won't be inside anymore today, so if you have any complaints about my crafts, come back tomorrow," Hanabi said while throwing a tarp over the fireworks.

"I understand. Enjoy the festival, Hari-san." The old man gave her a small nod before strolling off down the road, dragging the full wagon behind him.

Hanabi watched his fading figure for a second, and once she knew he was gone, she turned around and walked back inside her home. She closed the door behind her and leaned against it. "Didn't have to take it if you don't trust me. No skin off my back," she muttered against a groan.

She climbed up the stairs into her bedroom while untying the sash holding her long-sleeves up. She tossed them to the side just as she noticed her festival kimono and haori waiting on a stand in the corner of her room. It wasn't anything fancy really, or expensive like those at the Hibana Tailor Shop. The haori was the only thing she really did like. While the kimono was a basic black with a white sash, the haori was a solid shade of midnight blue with a gorgeous and colorful firework design decorating at the bottom.

Hanabi sighed while reaching around back to gather her raven black hair, which faded into a stark gold at the bottom. "Ameya is probably down at the river waiting. Should probably get a move on."

The night was silent and dark, so Ameya could easily hear the sound of chattering adults, mixed together with the laughter of children. The firework show hadn't started yet but she assumed it wouldn't be long. They always waited until it was well into the night so they could have the full array of colors on set to show off.

Ameya looked around a couple of times before breathing out softly. "She sure is late," she said while crouching down beside the riverbed and fiddling with the small pebbles that laid at her feet.

It wasn't long after that though when she heard a rustling of some sort coming from the woods behind her. Ameya stood up and turned around, easily making out the sound of crunching leaves. Footsteps, actually. She could even see branches moving aside like someone was trying to get by them.

"Hanabi-san?" Ameya approached the woods as the rustling got louder. She squinted her eyes to try and make out what it was, soon spotting a blacked-out figure emerge from the thick brush. "Hanabi-san. Are you trying to scare me? I can see you," she giggled innocently.

"Ameya?"

"Huh?" Ameya looked to her left and saw Hanabi walking alongside the road, completely in view and obviously not in the woods. "What? Hanabi...san?"

At that precise moment, the fireworks finally took off, and the sky shone with a myriad of colors, illuminating the towering figure which emerged from the woods. Ameya slowly looked back up and met with these glowing amber eyes with slit pupils that resembled a cat. Its skin was a dark gray, and its limbs were abnormally long, with these sharp nails protruding from its fingers. There were also twisted-looking horns coming out of its head, with long black hair covering most of its face.

Fear instantly rose up in Ameya's small body that made her limbs feel heavy and stiff. "Night…Stalker?" she said in a single shuddering breath.

The creature's inhuman eyes abruptly darted down to her, and its mouth slowly opened. Drool began to dribble down from its lips as it breathed in and out deeply, showing off these stained but sharp yellow teeth that were inside its mouth. His lips began to quiver as he raised his hand and reached out towards the small child.

"Ameya!" Hanabi let out a primal scream and began running towards them. She closed the distance in a split second and pulled Ameya away, but as her arms wrapped around the small child, the claws of the monster ripped into her left shoulder and sliced open her skin. "Ah-ha!" Hanabi cried out, nearly tripping over her own feet while panicking to get away.

The creature instantly froze on the spot and turned his nose up to the air, sniffing and only drooling more. His eyes went wide and soon enough his whole body began to quiver. "Marechi...marechi..." he muttered to himself.

"Hanabi-san? Hanabi-san!" Ameya cried out with tears in her eyes. She crouched down beside Hanabi who was hunched over on the floor, holding her hand against the bloodied wound on her shoulder. "Blood? Hanabi-san…you…"

"I know! Just stay behind me!" Hanabi hissed through her teeth before standing back up. She used her other hand to pull Ameya behind her before turning her attention back to the creature, now noticing that it was acting a bit strange. It was just standing there now, almost in a daze and mumbling something under its breath.

"Marechi…marechi…" the creature said.

"What...?" Hanabi spoke with a perplexed look. She moved her hand away from her bleeding shoulder and stared at the warm blood that dripped from her fingers. "Marechi...?"

"Oh God...it's a Night Stalker," Ameya spoke, shaking like a leaf behind Hanabi.

"No….I think the more fitting term...is a demon." She reached up to the sleeve of her haori and tore a long strip off to tie around her wound, which was immediately soaked through by the blood. It quickly put into perspective though just how deep the wound really was. "It's deep. That's not good," she said while glancing around them. Only to click her tongue when she noticed that there was no one around. Hanabi didn't even think calling for help would do any good. It would only be drowned out by the fireworks.

"Hanabi…san…are we going to die?" Ameya asked.

Hanabi flinched at the petrified tone of Ameya's voice. She looked down at the child and saw just how much she was really trembling. Clenching tightly to her kimono with tears streaming down her red cheeks. It astonished Hanabi, really. Of all people to cling to…it just had to be her. A useless firework maker.

"Everyone says you're not nice. But how can that be if you make pretty suns?"

Hanabi clenched down on her teeth and sucked in a deep breath. "Ameya, listen to me carefully. On the count of three…run to the right and don't stop running for anything," she warned her in a low whisper.

Ameya picked her head up. "Where are we going?" she asked.

"Anywhere but here. Okay? Listen closely." She placed both her hands on Ameya's shoulders and began to count. "1…2…3!"

On the last number, Hanabi gave the child a hard push towards the right of the path where she began to run. But while Ameya was running away towards the town, she quickly noticed that Hanabi took the left side with the demon chasing after her.

"What? Hanabi-san!" Ameya cried out.

It was just a hunch, but it turned out Hanabi was correct. Once her blood was spilled, she noticed that the demon had become strangely fixated on her, not taking his eyes away, and seemingly followed her every movement. It even abandoned Ameya, who was a harmless and defenseless child for a teenager.

The demon kept up with her, but Hanabi managed to be just a little faster. They ran through the dead of night with the fireworks blasting off, lighting up her path towards the edge of town where her house was. She burst through the front door and was barely able to close and lock it just as the demon rammed into it, knocking her onto her back. The wood splintered and cracked from the heavy blow, but it looked like it was going to hold for the time being. At least long enough to give her some time to think.

"Another couple of hits and that door is coming off its hinges…whether I like it or not." Hanabi said, wincing in pain from the wound on her shoulder. She turned her head to the side and saw that the complete left side of her kimono had been dyed red with the fabric beginning to stick to her skin. "All the gods in heaven…please let the day shine on me again."

She clenched her fists tightly and began to look around her house as the sound of splintering wood pressed against her eardrums. She stumbled through the dark for only a second before suddenly tripping over a barrel that was laying in the middle of the floor. While scrambling to get up, Hanabi quickly realized that it was the black powder barrel that was knocked over earlier in the day. She was so busy preparing fireworks that she had forgotten to clean them up.

"The powder…I forgot to clean it up!" Hanabi then jumped when there was this loud snapping noise coming from behind her. She looked back over to the door and saw the demon madly trying to claw his way in. Further creating longer cracks in the wood.

Hanabi was out of time and knew it, but the powder did give her an idea. It was without a doubt reckless and stupid, but it was the only thing she had. Desperately, she began to run around her workspace to start gathering the things she needed. A flint and steel on her table, and the failed fireworks that had too much powder inside them. She grabbed them all and started to scatter them all over her house. All the while further spreading black powder across the floor until her workspace was a total mess.

"Will this kill it?" Hanabi said anxiously when something suddenly dawned on her.

Why was it now quiet?

Upon returning to the door, Hanabi saw that the demon was no longer trying to break it down. She could even see lights from the fireworks bleed in through the crack in the wood. So she knew right away that the demon was no longer standing in front of it.

Hanabi took a hesitant step towards the door when she heard the demon give one last screech before ramming his entire body against the crippled structure, finally breaking off the hinges and falling inside. Hanabi nearly let out a scream but held it back behind clench teeth as the creature stood tall. His molten gold eyes darted up at her and he screamed this horrendous roar. This instantly made Hanabi run from the room with the demon right behind her. As she ran towards the back of the house, she grabbed one of the failed fireworks laying on the floor and quickly ignited the wick. The moment she reached the back door, she turned around and thrusted the firework onto the powder-covered floor, setting everything ablaze in a blinding white flash.