《Night Tremors》 Chapter 1 Restless I feel so restless And in this changing world I am lost for words I feel so restless Ain''t got no interest I couldn''t care less Can''t be a success ~New Order, Restless Chapter 1 This story began in a dusty schoolroom, with the sounds of pencils and erasers, and the ever so often cough heard in the background. Sitting at my desk, I watched as the clock slowly ticked the time, minute by minute. Why was I feeling so restless as I watched the time go by? Perhaps it was because after school was the only time I could feel like myself. Or maybe it was the only time I felt sane. The possibilities seemed endless to me, as if pondering them might help me pass the time, when I was supposed to be studying. ¡°Tick, tick, tick¡­...Buh-ring!¡± My heart leaped as I heard the bell ring, I could hardly contain myself. I instantly sprang upright from my seat and began to collect my things. Behind me, a voice spoke up omnioulsy ¡°And just where do you think you''re going Satsuki-chan?¡± I jumped at the sound behind me. I turned to see my fellow classmate and childhood friend, Ryu, standing behind me. A creepy smile was on his face, as if pleased that he was able to scare me so easily. ¡°EEP! Don¡¯t you dare try to scare me like that again Ryu-kun! What pleasure do you get from it?¡± I shouted, as I smacked him across the face. Ryu leaned over my desk with that same creepy smile on his face and looked up at me and said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry for the scare, but I was wondering what you were doing tonight and all.¡± I looked down at Ryu and said in a cool tone ¡°The only thing I do every night Ryu-kun, studying. It''s the most important thing for a student to do. That''s something you would never understand, seeing as you practically just copy from my notes.¡± ¡°And your notes always help me pass each test ¡°Sensei¡± Said Ryu in a funny sounding tone, emphasizing on the word ¡°sensei.¡± ¡°I¡¯m really surprised how they never seem to notice how similar our test responses are,¡± I replied. ¡°Maybe I was graced by the hand of God, and have him in my corner or something. I dunno.¡± I begin to walk past Ryu, on my way to the classroom door. I brushed my long hair aside as I walked past him. ¡°Then we will just leave this conversation on that note then. I wouldn''t want the great Ryu to be without his precious notes.¡± ¡°Y-your the best friend ever Satsuki-sensei! How could I ever repay you for all your hard work?¡± Asked Ryu, with a grin. I turned my head and flashed a scary smile to him. ¡°You can make me whatever food I want for a whole year! Or better yet, several years, seeing as that¡¯s how long I supplied you with my notes.¡± ¡°S-sure, whatever you say Sensei!¡± ¡°Then it''s settled¡± I said, and with a slight wave, added, ¡°See you tomorrow Ryu-kun.¡± Ryu perked up from his slump, waved and replied ¡°See ya tomorrow I guess. Have fun with studying, I look forward to reviewing your hard work soon.¡± ..................................................................................................................................................................................................... I soon walked out the front door of my school, the sun was low on the horizon of the tall buildings, shining down on me. The light chirping of birds can be heard, and a slight chill could be felt in the air. It was November, which meant that soon I would have to begin switching my after school activities. I don¡¯t want to make myself look like i¡¯m trying to distance myself from Ryu and the others. I just can¡¯t help myself, I always end up going out alone. I looked up above to see the leaves falling from the trees as I walked underneath them. My face was perhaps a mix of guilt and shame as I silently thought about being with my friends. I just can¡¯t help but to feel ashamed for hiding what I truly do every night from them. But it''s for the best, they would never be able to understand any of this. Suddenly, my mind is taken from my thoughts as I begin to sniff the air around me, smelling a delicious aroma. ¡°Mmmmm, that doesn''t smell half bad to me,¡± I say aloud as I start to follow the aroma with my nose, walking past scores of people. My nose ultimately lead me to the entrance of a park. I slowly walked through the the park gate and noticed a ramen cart, the origin of the pleasant aroma that lead me here. I instantly perked up at the sight of it and ran up to the cart owner. I Shouted my order to him. ¡°I want a bowl with all the toppings you offer Vendor-sensei!¡± ¡°O-okay¡­¡­¡± The vendor replies, as he hands me a bowl of piping hot ramen. ¡°Enjoy your meal¡± I quickly grabbed the bowl and started to skip away, smiling ear to ear. ¡°Ahhh, this looks good! I will have to add this to my list of vendors to visit.¡± I soon spotted a park bench and seated myself on it. I voraciously began to shovel ramen into my mouth. ¡°It''s hard having to keep that high and mighty school girl image of myself up all the time! I barely let myself find the time to eat properly, always being stuck helping someone out somehow.¡± I say between mouthfuls of ramen. I soon start to slow down now, silently thinking to myself. Why do I even bother trying to keep up this half lie/secrecy from everyone? One day, someone is bound to walk past me and see what i¡¯m up to and figure everything out. Then everyone will look down on me and think i¡¯m some sort of freak or something to that effect. I put the now empty ramen bowl beside me on the bench and lean my head back, looking into the trees above me. But this is all for the best, I know. I can never let anyone know that I love going out on my own during the night and practice my ¡°art¡±. I smile at this thought. My ¡°art: is unlike anyone else¡¯s, I practically have the will to do anything with a simple thought, or even a few words. ¡°Magic¡± it¡¯s called, and I love everything about it. I slowly force myself to stand up from the bench, grabbing the empty ramen bowl as I do so. Every night, I find myself out somewhere in the city, practicing magic wherever I go. I have no fears as I do so, for Tokyo is a rather big city, and the odds of someone I know seeing me in the act is nearly zero percent. I even make a big deal to go as far away from my district as possible. I throw the empty bowl into a nearby trash can and walk down a long cobbled stone path, with the odd light pole on either side. ¡°But, there is one person I wish I could tell about this.¡± I say to myself silently. I Want to tell Ryu-kun all about this, to bring him along with me and show him. I¡¯ve known him since we were little, and we never keep secrets from each other. He was my only real friend, having met him after my parents dumped me at my aunts and never came back. ¡°I wonder who they were.¡± I murmured. ¡°I never really knew who they were, and I can never get anything out of my aunt. She¡¯s barely even home anymore, and I¡¯m sure she knows what i¡¯m up to as well.¡± Maybe they had magical powers as well, and I just inherited them? I really wished they were still here. I don¡¯t hate them for having dumped me at my aunts, but I wish I knew why they di. They probably had a good reason for it, and maybe it was because they had magical qualities as well. Maybe that was the whole reason they dumped me in the first place, so that I could have a decent life. I was suddenly torn from me thoughts as the park lights began to shine on me. Nightfall seemed to have come quickly as I was lost in my thoughts. I swished my head back and forth, making sure I was alone. When I finally thought I was truly alone, I opened my mouth and said, ¡°Alright looks like i¡¯m alone here, and that means one thing.¡± I look down at all the fallen leaves around me and continue. ¡°I want all the fallen leaves in this park to form one giant pile! And make it quick as well.¡± Then suddenly, as if a giant wind had come out of nowhere, the leaves began to lift from the ground and fly towards me at high speed. The only problem was that they were beginning to form a pile around me! Desperately looking around me, I begin to panic. ¡°W-wait! I didn''t mean form a pile around me! If this keeps keeps up, i¡¯m going to be buried alive.¡± I yelled at the leaves flying towards me, as if they could listen and see reason. Unfortunately they didn¡¯t stop, and my panic soon turned into distress. I mustered as much energy as I could and began to hightail it as fast as possible, but the leaves soon changed course with me. As I ran through the park with a trail of leaves following me, I yelled at the top of my lungs. ¡°PLEASE, JUST STOP FOLLOWING ME AND DROP TO THE GROUND!!!!!¡± Behind me, out of nowhere was a large sound, that seemed to grow louder as it neared me. ¡°FWUUUUMP!¡± I skidded to a stop and tumbled into a tree from a great force behind me. I got up and steadied myself as best I could. To my surprise, all the leaves had fallen into a great long and winding wall, leading up to me. ¡°I think I should just give it a break for tonight.¡± I say aloud to myself as I survey the leaves before me. ¡°Well¡± I continue, unphased at what just happened. ¡°That was educational for me at the very least. Now I know I shouldn''t attempt to clean a park up, it¡¯s much more dangerous than it looks.¡± I spot the path again ahead of me and make my way towards it. ¡°I¡¯m sorta glad no one was around to see that sight. I¡¯m sure Ryu-kun would never had let me hear the end of that.¡± I laugh as I say this, because in a way, it was pretty funny. It¡¯s not everyday a person gets chased by a cloud of leaves through a park. I continue speaking aloud to myself. ¡°This is one of those moments that makes you want to just give up and never try again. I may attempt to try, but I will never be able to fully grasp magic on my own. I wonder if there are others like me in the wor¡­.¡±Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. Out of the corner of my eye, something bright red caught my attention, shining in the park lights. ¡°Is that¡­¡± I mutter to myself before I fully realize what i¡¯m looking at. In utter amazement I blurt out loudly, ¡°Blood?!¡± Laid out right before me is a long trail of blood, leading down the long winding park path. I pick up my pace and begin to follow the crimson trail down the cobbled path. I finally come to a dead stop, noticing that the trail seems to have died. ¡°Is that the end of this?¡± I wondered to myself. Then, to the left of me, a low and pained sounding voice could be hear. ¡°H-help m-me...please.¡± I slowly turned my body to the sound of the voice, unaware of what I might see, ¡°Oh my!¡± I manage to gasp, at the sight of a boy no older then me, slumped in the grass with his head against a tree. There was a large pool of blood around him, and he was no doubt in a great deal of pain. ¡°What happened!¡± I yell as I rush to his side, kneeling down beside him and ignoring the pool of blood. He looked up at me and with a pained smile, and replied. ¡°It¡¯s a really long story, and the same could be said for the blade that pierced me. Instead of a long story, perhaps a hospital would be better?¡± ¡°There''s no way you could survive a trip to the hospital!¡± I tell him, as I rip his shirt open to see the wound. I gently placed both my hands over his large wound and pressed down hard, in an attempt to slow the blood loss. In response to this action, even more blood came out then before. I looked at the boy and could see the light slowly begin to vanish from his eyes. ¡°The wound is worse than I thought. You must have had an artery rupture, which would explain the amount of blood being pumped out of your body.¡± ¡°So you''re saying that if this keeps¡­.up, i¡¯m going to die? What a pity that my life had to be cut so short, I was really dying to try that new okonomiyaki place.¡± The boy begins to laugh in a pained tone, which ends in a bloody cough. I calm myself down as much as possible, and with a determined look on my face, say ¡°Don''t just give up now! I won''t let you die on me! Your lucky I ran into you out here.¡± ¡°J-just leave me to die peacefully, i¡¯m in agony as is already. I would rather see me bloodied t¡­.then you.¡± The boy''s breath begins to slow, the hand of death was about to take him from the world. I had no choice but to rely on my magical power, no matter how uncertain the outcome might be. I pressed my hands down harder on his chest and began to think clear, vibrant thoughts. I thought of his heart and his body mending itself and him living. ¡°Let this boy live somehow!¡± I yelled into the night, tears beginning to drip from my eyes. And as if my prayer had been heard, a bluish light began to emerge from under my hands. I could feel a pulsating energy come from my hands and begin to slow down the blood loss. I cried heavily now and yelled loudly. ¡°I won¡¯t dare let you have him!¡± Then, with a bright flash, the bluish light vanished, and I slowly lifted my hands. I looked dumbfounded at the almost non-existent wound. Only a scar in the shape of a crescent moon could be seen now, in place of the moon. The boy stares at me in shock and probably awe, maybe going to far as to think he¡¯s dead now. ¡°W-wait, am I dead, or did you just somehow save me?¡± Then looking down at his chest, adds. ¡°And why do I I have a moon instead of a massive wound now? Nothing''s making sense anymore.¡± ¡°Well, trying to explain how I saved your life might take awhile. But as to the moon shaped scar, I have no clue. I swear it on my school grades.¡± The boy lifts himself up and begins to chuckle to himself. ¡°Well, guess I will have to just settle with a name then. What are you called?¡± ¡°My names Satsuki.¡± ¡°What a wonderful name. Its very nice to meet you Satsuki-san, i¡¯m called Kusaki. And I am very grateful for you being here in the right place and time.¡± I start to blush a little at hearing his kind words. ¡°It was nothing really, but i¡¯m glad I was able to help you Kusaki-san.¡± ¡°It was very much a big deal, so don¡¯t put yourself down for it! I¡¯m guessing you used some sort of healing magic to save me. Just my luck that I was able to run into a healer out here.¡± I stand upright quickly, surprised at hearing him say this. ¡°Wha-what?! You mean to tell me that¡­...there are other magic users!¡± ¡°Well duh, you must live under a rock to not know this. Are you not aware of the families?¡± ¡°Families?!¡± I shouted at him ¡°You mean there are entire families of magic users in Tokyo? That¡¯s incredible!¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s not like you think. Not every ¡°family¡± is strong in magical powers. Many are suited for other things, such as battle with sword, battle with fangs, battle with wit, etcetera. The list really goes on.¡± Kusaki explains to me. He starts to stand up slowly, obviously still weary feeling. ¡°And¡± he continues, ¡°I was attacked by such a family. Or rather in this case, a faction of a family. If you are unaware of all this, it would be best if you got away as fast as you can. It could get ugly soon.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not going anywhere until you explain better. You owe me that much for saving your life at least .¡± ¡°Ugh.¡± Exiles Kusaki, as he prepares to explain more. ¡°Very well, I will try to lay it out for you. I was attacked by a group of assassins in masks, and they ¡°killed¡± me. Or so they thought. They are undoubtedly on there way to kill us right now. You really should run away now Satsuki-chan.¡± I flinched a little at hearing the words assassin and kill, but calmly toss them aside. ¡°You say they wore masks. What kind of masks did you see? A large crunching sound of leaves could be heard suddenly, getting closer to us. Soon the sound of more leaves being crushed under pressure could be heard joining it. I gulped at the sounds, realizing there was no chance of me running away now. Around us, about ten or so men wearing crows masks materialized from the brush. One of them walked a little closer to us. His mask was different from the others, being red colored instead of the others black markings. He had to be the leader of the group. And as if he sensed my thoughts spoke up. ¡°Ahh, we finally found you now Kusaki. I¡¯m really surprised at how fast you were able to run, even with such a large wound. How unfortunate this girl was able to save you, because it makes my job harder now.¡± ¡°W-why is it harder now.¡± I asked, in obvious terror. The red masked man begins to laugh in a low, maniacal way. ¡°It means that I have to kill you as well. Which really is a shame, you have such a sweet and gentle looking face. But oh well, it¡¯s apart of the job.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you dare come closer to us.¡± Kusaki shouts, with a fire in his eye. The red masked man tilts his head in a joyful manner, as if pleased that his prey wasn''t about to give in. ¡°Looks like you don¡¯t want to go silently. I admire that in a victim.¡± One of the other assassins speaks up from behind Kusaki. ¡°Ahh come on, enough talk already. Lets just kill ¡®em already!¡± ¡°Yeah! And how about we cut the girls still beating heart out and show it to her?¡± ¡°Or¡± another killer interjects, ¡°We just kill them now and wish them a happy afterlife.¡± The man in the red mask speaks loudly to his subordinates. ¡°We will do no such thing to a beautiful looking young girl. I want her to die quick, yes, but the other¡­¡­..I want him to die cruelly.¡± ¡°Heh heh heh!¡± The other masked men begin to hiss and laugh at me and Kusaki. I could feel a shiver run up my spine as they laugh at us. I was about to die here and now I thought. What did I do to deserve such a fate? As if reading my mind, Kusaki put his hand onto my shoulder, as if to reassure me. I closed my eyes tightly shut, putting the images of the men out of my vision. WHile my eyes were shut, I could hear the men get closer to us, the leaves crackling under their footfall. As I began to despair at my coming doom, I heard something I thought I would never hear. A loud ¡°Wuuuud!¡± was heard, followed by some of the men shouting out in what sounded to be pain. I opened my eyes and was taken by surprise by what I saw in front of me. Standing right in front of me and Kusaki was a man dressed in a black and white hakama and wearing the mask of a fox. He seemed to be aimed at the crows masked men, and not us. Some of the fallen men got back up and walked a little bit away from the fox mask. The red masked man spoke up to break the silence. ¡°Now this just keeps getting better and better. Not only do we have to kill these two, but also a member of our own broken family. Maybe I will even get a bonus for your death! Now that would be something.¡± Wait a minute, I thought to myself. So what Kusaki told me is true then, there are families like these in the world. But why would one of their own protect us?! As if Kusaki could read my thoughts, he whispered in my ear. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, this guy is on our side. These two factions of their family don¡¯t really get along anymore.¡± The man in the red mask continues on. ¡°Step aside now and I may let you live. If not, then you and your beloved leader will be on my¡­...our kill list next.¡± The man in the fox mask remains silent, as is beginning to look down at the ground. ¡°The silent treatment huh? Well it was nice knowing ya!¡± The man raises his hand to signal to his fellow killers. ¡°Kill ¡®em however you want to boys! I don¡¯t want any of them breathing by the time I get around to ¡®em!¡± His subordinates begin to laugh hysterically now and start approaching with a nasty array of weapons drawn. The man in the fox man in the fox mask continues to remain silent, but raises his hands a little now. Kusaki begins to do his best to become a barricade between me and the assassins. ¡°Satsuki-san, the minute things go from bad to worse, I want you to run as fast as you can.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not going anywhere! I saved your life, and i¡¯m going to remain here to see that you remain that way!¡± ¡°Your courage is quite¡­.Unusual.¡± Kusaki looks back at me as he says that, slightly smiling. I look back at the man in the fox''s mask and hear him say something under his breath to me. ¡°If I were you, I would hit the ground as fast as possible.¡± I¡¯m too shocked to say anything, but Kusaki grabs my arm and drags me down to the ground with him. Satisfied, the fox mask shouts something into the airs, and swings his arms in a blinding flash. It was too much of a blur, but I could hear him shout a few words. ¡°HAMA RYU O JIN!¡± My eyes were blinded by the dust that followed his actions, but just as quickly as I was blinded, I could start to make out something. To me and Kusaki¡¯s utter amazement, we saw only the man in the red crows mask, and our savior left standing before each other. I could see the man in the fox mask brandishing two long and ancient looking Katana¡¯s. All the other assassins had knocked away from us and were still alive, all that could be heard from them were groans of pain. The man in the red mask begins to to laugh, but his tone has changed slightly out of fear. ¡°Wow! You sure are something! If it wasn''t for that, I might never had been able to recognize who you were¡­..Kurogane. I am right am I not? The fabled warrior who was able to wipe out an army of a thousand warriors?¡± The man in the fox mask-Kurogane as he seemed to be called, was silent. The man in the red mask continued on. ¡°I will withdraw for now, but remember this. We will kill the boy and the girl, whether or not you are in our way. And if you do decide to continue to be a nuisance, I will show you my true power.¡± And with that, he turned and began to walk away. His subordinates got up slowly and walked away with him. They were very upset at Kurogane''s interruption at what was supposed to be our execution. ¡°T-thank you! You saved our lives! How can¡­.¡± ¡°You can keep your compliments to yourself. All I did was follow my order, and now it looks like you two may want to come with me.¡± Kurogane said. Kusaki in a very serious tone, spoke to Kurogane. ¡°Where are you going to take us?¡± ¡°Somewhere you will be safe until the dust has settled. And perhaps learn more about what transpired here tonight.¡± And with that, he turned and started to walk away. Kusaki ran after and started shouting something at him. I just looked up at the night stars and thought to myself what would follow this and what would happen to me. Then, I ran as fast as I could to catch up to them. Chapter 2 - Family Chapter 2 -Shibuya, Tokyo - 12:23 AM On top of an abandoned high rise in the center of Shibuya, the man in the red crows mask- Tatsumi as he was known by others, gazed over the massive city from his lofty perch. Silent footsteps were heard approaching behind him as he admired the brightly lit city. He turned his head slightly at the the shadow behind him, but as usual, could only see a feminine outline standing there. ¡°I see you have come to collect your reward for an unsuccessful kill Tatsumi,¡± The voice said. Tatsumi turned around to face the person behind him. He brought a black gloved hand to his mask and began to slowly remove it, speaking as he did so. ¡°In all fairness, I did exactly what you payed me to do lady. You wanted the boy dead and I delivered, How was I to know some girl would show up and save the day?¡± The voice from the feminine figure replied to Tatsumi with an even more unfriendly tone. ¡°That boy needs to die! If he doesn''t and he begins to realize what powers are held within him, this will be all for nothing!¡± Tatsumi lowered his mask and his face shown from the side in the pale moonlight. His eyes were calm yet aflame looking. ¡°When I kill someone, they remain dead. The next time I run into them, I will put them on a platter for you.¡± ¡°The figure began to turn away, but in a chilling tone, parted with a last few words. ¡°You will not harm the girl. I want her brought to me alive¡­.however¡­..¡± She looked back at him, ¡°You may kill him in anyway that pleases you. Once you complete this simple task, I will pay you triple the amount of what I originally paid you for. But if you fail once again¡­..¡± She let that trail into the night as she disappeared from view. Tatsumi let out a slight sigh, and after he felt she had left him alone, yelled into the night, ¡°Gaah! What a bitch! This is starting to get more complicated than I originally thought¡­..¡± He turned his gaze back to the city and began to plan his next moves. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ - Shinjuku, Tokyo - 12:30 AM Here I was, walking down a deserted street, in the middle of the night, with a boy I barely knew and a dark brooding man in a fox mask leading us God knows where. I sighed loudly to them, ¡°Ahh, where are you leading us? We¡¯ve been walking for a good hour and a half at least.¡± With a loud gruff, Kurogane replied to me without looking at me, ¡°You will see soon enough, now keep quiet.¡± Kusaki dropped back and walked beside me. He spoke to me, but made sure to not be heard by the uncheerful Kurogane. ¡°He really is a happy person isn''t he?¡± ¡°I wouldn''t say happy, more downright scary.¡± ¡°Oh come now!¡± Says Kusaki grinning at me, ¡°Sure he doesn''t look like parent material, but i¡¯m sure deep down inside, he''s a sorta okay guy.¡± ¡°Um, Kusaki-san...do you mind if I asked you a little bit more about the families?¡± ¡°Sure, but i¡¯m afraid I don¡¯t know everything about them. I will try to do my best to answer your questions.¡± ¡°Well, I wanted to know what kind of family¡­.you are apart of. I hope it¡¯s not too much to ask of you. Kusaki looked at me and I could see a little bit of sadness in his eyes. He bit his lip for a seconds, but then managed a smile in the end. ¡°My family? Well, there really is not much to say about us, other than the fact that me and my mom are all that¡¯s left of it. Hell, it''s really just me anymore, I haven''t seen mom since dad disappeared. I heard a lot of tales about our family, and they all talked about how great we once were, and how we kept the peace in the world. But now¡­..its almost non-existent.¡± I looked at him and could he was a little upset. I guess it was understandable¡­..I missed my family as well. It was sort of nice to be able to have someone else to share that with, someone who could understand me. I sort of felt a little more closer to Kusaki...which seemed weird to me¡­...but I enjoyed the thought for some reason. ¡°I¡¯m sorry that I had to ask you a painful question Kusaki-san. If it makes you feel a little better, I too miss my parents. To be more honest with you¡­..I never really knew them. But even with that being said, I kind of know what you''re going through now.¡± ¡°Knowing that does help make me feel better Satsuki-chan¡­..I hope you don¡¯t mind me calling you that! I just thought since you and I shared some closer details about our past¡­.it might be easier.¡± I smiled brightly at him. ¡°Okay¡­.Kusaki-kun! Now¡­..what do you know about Kurogane''s family?¡± ¡°Good question, and one I only know a little about. Kurogane is apart of the Takasima faction under Lady Kitsune, and his mask is that of a fox, which represents that fraction of the family he is apart. There are four factions headed by the four siblings, and they each have are represented by a mask. SO, the people who ¡°Killed¡± me were wearing a crows mask, which means they are apart of another family. I don¡¯t know the other names, but I do know they are three very strong warriors in their own respect,¡± he took a break for a second, then continues, ¡°And, they have been at odds with each other for hundreds of years.¡± I was shocked at hearing that, it seemed impossible to me that someone could live for so long. ¡°If that¡¯s true,¡± I replied, ¡°Then they have to be very, very old¡­.right?¡± ¡°Quite the contrary,¡± replied Kusaki, ¡°They seem to have some sort of power that enables them to live long and healthy lives. They haven¡¯t aged a day in 300 years I hear. And¡­.i¡¯m afraid that¡¯s all I know¡± ¡°Well, thank you for telling me that, it helps me learn a little more about what''s going on. The more I know, the more I might be able to--¡± ¡°Hey you two!¡± interjects Kurogane, having stopped walking and was starting to remove his mask. ¡°We''re here now, so you¡¯d better stop gossiping now.¡± As he told us this, he had fully removed his mask and I could finally see his mask. He seemed to be a rather handsome looking man in his late 20¡¯s, and he wasn''t pleased looking. But where was ¡°here¡± exactly? I looked up at building next to us and all I could see was a typical Tokyo highrise. Kusaki took quite an offense to hearing the word ¡°Gossip.¡± ¡°Gossip!? What do you think I am? A school girl!?¡± Kurogane looked dead serious and simply replied, ¡°I don¡¯t know, are you?¡± Kusaki was practically butting heads with him now, as I looked on in silence. ¡°You take that back!¡± ¡°No, I won¡¯t, not until you stop acting like one right now.¡± I decided now was the best time to stop them before things got more out of hand. ¡°U-um...guys? Shouldn''t we head inside or something now?¡± They both stopped and looked over at me, as if they had forgot I was standing right there, watching the whole thing. ¡°The young lady seems to understand much better then you¡­¡­.whatever your calle-¡± ¡°I¡¯m Kusaki! And you better remember it!! ¡°Right, whatever you say kid. Now if you would just walk through those doors, we might be able to not attract anymore attention to ourselves.¡± Kusaki silently stared at Kurogane for a second, in obvious anger, but then just turned away and walked into the building. Kurogane beckoned for me to follow suit. I walked past him and grabbed the door handle and walked inside. When I was indoors, what I thought I would see would be a typical high rise drab lobby, but instead I was surprised by something totally out of this world, something seemingly impossible. What lay before me was an ancient japanese courtyard, with an equally ancient castle overlooking it. In awe, I stuttered my words. ¡°H-have we gone back in time?¡± Kurogane walked beside me spoke in that sual gruff tone of his, ¡°No you haven''t traversed time. What you see before you is the power of Lady Kitsune, everything here was created by her magic.¡± ¡°Amazing. This is all from her magic?¡± I asked him in wonderment. He just stared at the castle as we walked to it, silent once again. I guess I would have to wait and find out about this Lady Kitsune in due time. We had finally come to a dead stop in front of an ornate looking door. Kurogane put his hand on the door and pushed it open, then pointed inside to us and told us, ¡°You two will have to go in there alone now.¡± A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.I looked up at him and saw a look on his face that more or less read ¡°Get your asses in there, you''re gonna be fine!¡± Kusaki didn¡¯t seem to pleased with the thought of us having to go in alone, but in the end just shrugged and went inside. As I walked past him, I looked back and said, ¡°Thank you for helping us Kurogane-san. I hope we haven''t been a terrible burden for you.¡± He seemed to have reacted well to me telling this, at least by the look that was slightly generated on his face. It was a stark contrast from his usual ¡°Warrior¡± look that I had seen most the night. ¡°Its no problem¡± He replied, ¡°I just can¡¯t stand to sit and watch as a girl¡¯s life is threatened. I was just doing my duty.¡± I smiled once more at him, then went inside. After I had walked inside, Kurogane looked up at the night sky and whispered to himself. ¡°I will spend the rest of my days protecting what I swore I would protect, and kill anything that gets in the way of that duty. I made that vow to you so long ago.¡± ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ Kusaki was waiting for me inside. He wasn''t to pleased looking, and I could see why. We seemed to be in an empty room, with no signs of life other than ourselves. He spoke up when he saw me. ¡°There''s nothing here, just an empty room.¡± ¡°That¡¯s quite the opposite,¡± said a feminine voice from behind Kusaki. In shock, we both turned ourselves to the voice. To our surprise, the empty room had been replaced by a lavishly furnished room, and in its center was sitting a beautiful looking woman. This had to be Lady Kitsune I told myself. She was wearing a long black kimono, and her beauty was like that of an ancient princess. She even seemed to carry the air of royalty as she began to get up from her seat. ¡°Welcome to my home, Satsuki¡­¡­.Kusaki. I¡¯m glad you both were able to come relatively unharmed,¡± she said to us, to break the ghostly silence in the room. I spoke up after a few moments and asked her, ¡°Are you the one called Lady Kitsune?¡± ¡°Yes, I have been called that,¡± she replied in a friendly tone. She walked over to Kusaki and placed a hand on his cheek as she continued to speak. ¡°Your Kusaki¡­.Ichihara, am I right? I was expecting to come yes, but¡­.¡± Her hand began to slowly move to down to his torn shirt. She moved it aside and revealed the crescent moon scar on his chest, and her face became a little surprised looking. ¡°I did not expect that you would be able to get such a mark. This shows that you have a much stronger role to fill¡­.one that is unknown to us as of yet.¡± I decided it was time to get some answers, so I spoke up. ¡°What do you mean? Why am I even here?¡± Lady Kitsune turned and smiled at me. ¡°You have just as big of a role as he does. When that role will be revealed, that is also unknown. Such is the way of the universe. But¡­..you and me are quite alike.¡± ¡°How are we the same?¡± Lady Kitsune walked to me in a light manner, as if she floated over to me instead of walking. She looked into my eyes and answered me. ¡°We both share jade green eyes, what a lovely happenstance and¡­..we even share the ability to practice magic.¡± She turned and walked away from me know, but then looked over her shoulder and continued. ¡°But there is one slight problem. You are unable to fully channel your arcane powers. In the end, something goes amiss from your practice.¡± She now walked over to a bookshelf and delicately selected a book from it. I was surprised how she was able to know what happened when I practiced magic. I spoke with a little uncertainty now. ¡°Y-you know all about that? I always thought I kept my actions a secret and I-¡± ¡°Yes, I know¡± interjected Lady Kitsune, walking towards me with a book. She then placed the book in my hands, which I could do nothing but hastily accepted. I glanced down at the book¡¯s title and saw that it read ¡°Arcana Majora¡±, and I was a little stunned at how small and light it was for such a massive subject. Lady Kitsune placed her hand on the book and gave me that same smile again. ¡°This¡± explained Lady Kitsune, ¡°Is a very old book that was entrusted to me when I was very young, and now I feel it is right to entrust it to you. This book will propel you through the world of magic. And, it may look small, but never, ever, judge a book by its cover.¡± ¡°Not to be rude, but could you explain a little more about what happened to me? I was the one that got stabbed to death after all.¡± Interrupted Kusaki, looking clearly serious. I couldn''t blame him, I would want to know why someone wanted to kill me too. ¡°That is not very clear to me right now, but I suspect it has something to do with your family heritage. Beyond that, I am unable to discern. I we know is that someone in one of the other factions tried to have you killed. But i¡¯m afraid that is all I can say.¡± Kusaki looked down a bit and I could see him clench his hand into a fist. I thought he was about to get loud and argue with her, but instead he just looked up and smiled at her. ¡°It¡¯s fine I guess. I will just have to wait then.¡± Lady Kitsune put a reassuring hand on both our shoulders and spoke in almost a paternal way. ¡°I want you to both know that you are safe now, and that no one will try to lay a finger on you while you are here. In light of these events, I have decided to make you full-fledged members of the family.¡± She paused for a moment, then continued, speaking to me ¡°Now Satsuki, I know this will be hard for you to accept, but i¡¯m afraid you won''t be able to go back to your old life again. You do understand don¡¯t you?¡± I was honestly upset at first to hear her say this, but then I began to kinda understand. I was on a kill list with Kusaki, and if I tried to go back to my way of life, I would only endanger Ryu and the rest. Finally I looked at Kusaki, then back to her. ¡°I understand. Its sorta funny, but I have always dreamed of this moment...but under much better circumstances. If I can finally learn how to muster even a fraction of my magical abilities, then I will give up my old life. As long as Kusaki-kun is here with me. Starting right now, he''s the only person in the world who I trust and the one I want to train alongside with.¡± ¡°Then it is settled. You both will begin your training in the morning. You, Kusaki, will learn the arts of how to protect yourself and others. Satsuki, you will train with a few others in a small group. ANd that book will also help to speed the process.¡± She snapped her fingers and a few attendants appeared from a sliding door to her left. ¡°We will continue the conversation over morning tea. Now, will you please show these two to their new rooms?¡± ¡°Yes ma¡¯am.¡± Replied the attendants. They began to lead us out of the room. Kusaki was the first to leave, with him looking back at me a little red faced. As I was about to leave next, Lady Kitsune stopped me for a second and spoke. ¡°Satsuki, it would be best if you did a little reading in that book before you go to sleep. I think you will find it very¡­.enlightening.¡± ¡°O-okay!¡± I was then was lead out and quickly shut into my room before I knew it. I turned and looked at my new surroundings. It was a modest room, with a bed and what looked like a kimono on top of it. I noticed a door on the other side of the room with a light on it. I went over to it and was overjoyed to see a steaming bath that had been made ready for me. It would feel great to get all of this blood and dirt off this body. I set the book on the counter and began to slowly remove my clothes, throwing them down on the floor. I soon stood completely naked and quickly jumped into the warm waters.The water felt wonderful as they washed over my tired and weary body. After I thought I was sufficiently clean, I got up and dried myself off. I then went to pick the book up on the counter, so I could give myself something to read as I lay in bed, but I was stunned by what I saw in the mirror. I placed a hand down on my lower torso as I looked at it in the mirror. Right there, on my body, was the marking of a cherry blossom¡­.a sakura flower. Before this night, I never had such a marking before in my life. I ran over to the bed with the book in hand and made sure to put the kimono on and then restlessly flipped through the book, looking for any clues for this. But there was no writing about what was on my body, but I knew it had to do with something about the night''s events. As I flipped and flipped through the book, something caught my eye. ¡°Takasima Family History¡± I stopped on the page, and again I was disappointed. There was not a line of text whatsoever on the pages after that. I was about to just give up and go to sleep, when slowly, my vision seemed to dim. And then¡­.... blackness. Chapter 3 - Lady Kitsune Part 1 Kusaki¡¯s Quarters - 1:07 AM Kusaki was lead into a new room, and before he knew it, the door had shut on his face. Kusaki just sighed aloud, ¡°Ahhhh, what a night. I guess I should just try and get some sleep, and prepare myself for tomorrow''s events.¡± He spotted the fresh clothing on the bed and grabbed them. He quickly changed out of his bloodied clothes and into the fresh and clean kimono sleepwear. After he was finished getting dressed, he just sat at the end of the bed and thought to himself. ¡°Man, this had to be the worst and best day ever.¡± he thought. Not only had he been stabbed by a group of assassins, but he was also saved by a seriously pretty girl. ¡°Wow, she is something,¡± He said as he laid back, grinning, ¡°I''ve never seen anything like that before. It was amazing to see.¡± And now because of her, he was a part of the Takasima family. He shut his eyes and began to fall asleep. He muttered a few more words before he fully fell asleep. ¡°I wonder what¡¯s really going on¡­¡± Then, he fell asleep, and dreamt of old memories. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­. Lady Kitsune¡¯s Room - Same Time The Lady Kitsune sat on the floor and gazed upward at the small shrine in front of her. She bowed low and then brought her head up and spoke to the shrine. ¡°Everything is beginning to take place, just as you said it would so long ago. Apart of me is still fearful over what that one is up to. They undoubtedly had some meddling in tonight''s events.¡± Lady Kitsune looked sad as she talked to the shrine. ¡°I prayed and prayed that the events wouldn¡¯t play out as they have, but I am unable to effect the future when it¡¯s already been written in advance. I fear that soon I will have to go to war with my brothers, something I wholeheartedly hope I can avoid.¡± She got up and solemnly walked to a window in her room and placed a hand on it. She looked at her reflection, speaking still to the shrine behind her. ¡°And now, I am certain Satsuki has begun her journey into our history¡­..you and I, and the entire families. I¡¯m afraid this will be the hardest thing, seeing our past.¡± Lady Kitsune turned her focus back to the shrine and added one more little detail. ¡°And Kusaki¡­..I wish he didn¡¯t have to go through this either. It must be hard on him, going through life without a family, and now running for your life. I feel like it is my duty to make him the man his father would have wanted him to be, and he does seem to share qualities like him.¡± Lady Kitsune shut her eyes and said one last thing. ¡°Those two have the power to change the world and bring people together. I¡¯ve seen¡­..even you saw it when she was young. So it only seems natural that they would have opposition¡­.a great opposition I fear. That is why I must train them as fast as I can.¡± And with that, Lady Kitsune fell silent and let her worries melt into the night. She began to think about the future¡­¡­. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­. Just as my vision had blacked out, I was suddenly awake, standing in the middle of a foreign room. I had the book still in my hands, and it was opened. I swished my head back and forth quickly, then looked at the book. I saw something completely new¡­...words had appeared on the pages now. What had just read ¡°Takasima Family History¡± now had pages and pages of text underneath. And another shocking addition was the change of scenery that I had noted. I was wearing the same kimono that I had put on after my bath, but now I was in a new room, and the sun was shining. I walked around a bit, but I couldn''t seem to remove my hands from the book. It was as if someone had superglued them to the book. As I was walking around, I heard a young girl''s voice behind me. ¡°MAMA! What¡¯s taking so long?¡± I quickly turned around to see the girl, and was about to issue apologies for being where I shouldn''t be. But it seemed she couldn''t see me, as it looked like she was just staring right through me, obviously waiting for her mother. She looked to be about seven years old and had green eyes¡­.just like me. She walked past me, yelling loudly for her mother. In another room, I heard another child''s voice.Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. ¡°C¡¯mon Kitsune! Stop bothering mother!¡± I was stunned to hear that one name¡­...Kitsune¡­..Lady Kitsune. But that was impossible! She had to be in her early twenties, far older than this girl. ¡°Unless¡± I glanced down at the book¡­.¡±This is her past...being shown to me...¡± The girl¡­.Kitsune, walked past me and I began to follow her out of the room. ¡°I am not bothering her at all Yatagarasu! I¡¯m just wondering what¡¯s taking her so long!¡± I followed her out of the room, and saw her face down this Yatagarasu¡­.who I suspected to be one of her brothers. The boy was about a few years older, and just shrugged his shoulders to her. ¡°Mother is always busy¡­.there nothing you can do about it.¡± ¡°What do you want anyways big brother?¡± ¡°Dad wanted you to walk outside with him, so¡­¡± Kitsune rushed past him and was out the front door before I could catch up with her. Panting, I looked down and noticed my hands flip the page of the book. This definitely was like reading a story and watching a movie at the same time. I watched as Kitsune ran and basically tackled what must have been her father. ¡°Father! You came back! How was everything? Are you okay? Did it hurt? What was it like???¡± Her father just laughed and held her tightly, then set her back down. He spoke in a deep voice to her. ¡°Everything¡¯s alright! I recruited more members for the family over in Kyoto¡­..and then I got ran out by that Karitoriki family. Guess they weren''t too pleased with me stealing prime candidates for their family, heh.¡± Kitsune smiled brightly and spoke to her father. ¡°So, what did you get this time for me? Something fun I hope.¡± Her father got up and walked to his side. A small child was seen standing behind him. ¡°Well Kitsune¡­¡­.I ran into him in the slums of Kyoto while I was recruiting members. And I invited him to live with us for as long as he wishes.¡± He bent down and whispered in her ear now. ¡°And¡± he began, his words echoing loudly in my ears, ¡°I would like it if you and he could be good friends.¡± Kitsune sort of blushed and looked at the child, then smiled. ¡°O-okay!¡± Then the page turned again, and so did the scenery. I saw Kitsune once again, but she was much older now, I would say about thirteen. I was surprised at how far the story jumped ahead, but then I just began to follow her. She was with the boy once again, who looked healthier than he did before. Kitsune was in the front of the building she greeted her father years ago. She was holding her hands out in front of herself and had them aimed at a glass of water in front of her. The boy watched in awe. She said something and the water began to rise out of the glass in front of her, hoovering about. The water began to float over to the boy as he sat and watched it, stunned beyond belief. ¡°Amazing! I wish I could do something like that! ¡° Kitsune smiled at him. ¡°I¡¯m sure you could do something like this. Maybe you have some different kind of magical powers?¡± The boy frowned. ¡°I dunno, I never thought about it. But I doubt I could be like you or your brothers.¡± ¡°Nonsense! Here, I will put the water back in the glass and help you.¡± And just as she said it, the water silently fell back into the glass. Satsuki went over to the boy and grabbed his hand. She held his hand up and made sure his entire hand was outstretched in front of him. I could see him redden up a little in the face. ¡°Alright, now just concentrate about having the water lift up out of the glass¡­¡± And just before she could say anything more...the water rose just a little bit. ¡°It¡¯s working!¡± shouted the boy gleefully, ¡°How is this possible!¡± The girl smiled and held his hand a little tighter now. ¡°Well, sometimes all you need is a little help¡± The water began to rise violently from the glass and came at headlong speed at them. Kitsune and the boy looked a little nervous at it now. The boy was really scared looking, as the water about reached them. ¡°U-ummmmm¡­.is this supposed to happen!?¡± ¡°Stop thinking about the water, try to think about it falling dow-¡± But it was too late, the water suddenly splashed them both. The boy was momentarily blinded by the water and bumped into Kitsune, knocking her down to the ground. Kitsune looked up at the boy, as he was kneeling down over her. He reddened up in the face, and Kitsune blushed. ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry! I guess I accidentally bumped into you and¡­..¡± I would have expected Kitsune¡¯s face to redden up now and see her smack him across the face like some anime, but her response caught me by surprise. Instead of anger, she looked at him and moved her face upward, passionately kissing him. He looked shocked as she kissed him, but then closed his eyes and kissed her back. She moved her head back slowly and told him ¡°I love you Yasha¡­.¡± He spoke back to her in a shaky voice¡­..he must have been surprised and happy at the same time. ¡°I-I think I love you too¡± Then once again, the scene was replaced by something new. Once again it was a jump in years, but this time I was in a room full of people. I suddenly recognized this from an old book I read once. This was an ¡°old fashioned¡± Japanese wedding¡­.at least, old fashioned from the time I came from. And I was able to quickly judge that this was Kitsune¡¯s wedding, and I was soon answered that when I saw her enter the room, wearing a fox mask. After the traditional ceremony, the couple kissed each other and began to walk away together. I noticed the brother I had seen before, Yatagarasu, stand up and talk to Yasha. ¡°Keep good care of my little sister Yasha! I wouldn''t want to see her get into any trouble. But knowing her, she will be the one getting you into trouble.¡± He grinned as he said this and Kitsune gave him a nasty look. ¡°Don¡¯t listen to him¡± said another voice I recognized, the voice of the father from years before, ¡°She will be fine¡­.But still make sure you protect her¡­.the family has been getting a lot of threats lately.¡± Yasha looked at the father and kindly bowed, then spoke, ¡°I will do everything in my power to do so. I love her after all.¡± Kitsune smiled at hearing him say that, and then shot a nasty look at Yatagarasu. ¡°Have you been getting into trouble again big brother?¡± He began to walk away, but turned and said, ¡°Nah, just the usual, helping father out with the members. You should ask the other two that though.¡± With that, he placed a crow¡¯s mask over his face and turned away. I was dumbfounded at the mask. It was the same kind of mask like that of the assassins. I took it that the killers from tonight must have been from his faction¡­. ¡°So that¡¯s the leader of the crows¡­.¡± I said to myself. Once again, the story changed pages, and so did the scene. At this point I figured that I was seeing the past of Kitsune¡¯s memories. I watched and saw a very pregnant Kitsune sip tea to herself. A sudden commotion was heard outside the room she was in. An attendant busted into the room and shouted to her. ¡°Lady Kitsune! Something awful has happened! Your husband and father have gone missing!¡± I saw Kitsune have a look of anguish on her face. It even looked more like fear to her. She got up and ran as fast as she could humanly possible with how pregnant she was. ¡°No, please tell me this isn''t so!¡± The attendant moved out of the way and frowned. ¡°I¡¯m afraid so...it seems that the Karikoriki¡¯s have ambushed them and are holding them for ransom¡± I saw Kitsune¡¯s face and all color in it flush to white. Even was worried for her. These were the same people that her father stole members from, and it seems they had a score to settle. I feared what came next as I followed her¡­¡­ Chapter 4 - Lady Kitsune Part 2 Chapter 4 ¡°You can¡¯t go out Lady Kitsune! It¡¯s much too dangerous for you and your unborn child!¡± Lady Kitsune was rushing out the front door of the same house she had always seemed to have lived in as fast as she could. She, as well as me, had heard moments before that her father and husband had been attacked and were being held ransom by another family. I could understand why she would rush out as fast as she could, she was very close to her husband and father and would do anything to protect them. But the only problem with this action was the fact that she was very pregnant, so it was very unwise to act like this. I was running with her, feeling the pain radiate off of her. Before she had made it passed the courtyard¡­..the very same courtyard I had seen her meet and subsequently tell Yasha she loved him, a familiar voice was heard behind her. ¡°It¡¯s much too dangerous for you to go out there Kitsune.¡± She turned and glared at the person behind her. ¡°If you try to stop me Yatagarasu, it will turn into a fight.¡± ¡°I have no intention of stopping you, but it would pain me to see you get yourself hurt. That¡¯s why I¡¯m going with you.¡± He stepped up to her and lowered his head. ¡°I¡¯m only doing this for you. It would pain me to see my little sister hurt.¡± Then he put on his crow¡¯s mask on and Kitsune and he walked down the street. I followed close by and saw something that intrigued me. The streets were modern paved roads, made of asphalt and not what I would have thought to be dirt roads of old Japan. As they walked ahead of me, I muttered to myself, ¡°This Yatagarasu¡­..he may be the leader of the crows, but he doesn¡¯t seem like the kind of guy that would kill someone without a good reason¡­¡± I stopped short, for it seemed that we had reached our destination, and I was shocked by what I saw. My suspicions about the roads were proven right, when right before me lay the modern buildings of todays Tokyo. I had thought we were long in the past¡­.maybe we were at one point. Kusaki had said that these siblings have lived a very long time, so when I first saw Kitsune when she was a child, that must have been much longer in the past than this. It seemed we had gone up to modern times now. Suddenly, hoots and hollers were heard from all around us. Kitsune and Yatagarasu readied themselves, with Yatagarasu pulling out a long blade and Kitsune holding out a fan angled down in front of her. A muddle of voices were heard, but one out voiced the rest. ¡°Well well well, lookie here, if it isint two of the Takasima children. Have you come to save daddy?¡± Laughing was heard all around. Lady Kitsune spoke up loudly, ¡°Where do you have them!?!¡± The voice responded instantly, as if they knew she would ask this. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we have them nearby. But, I¡¯m afraid one of them is beginning to lose their life little by little¡­¡± ¡°What the hell are you playing at?¡± This time it was Yatagarasu yelling, he was searching all around for the voice. A crowd of footsteps began to get closer, as if to respond to his question. ¡°Tack¡­¡­.tack¡­¡­tack.¡± In front of them a horde of men appeared before them. One of them bowed before us¡­.he was the clear leader of the group, but something was a little odd with him and the rest. They all seems insane, as if they wanted to spread mayhem and destruction without even blinking an eye. The men behind their leader were almost unable to hold their hands still, eager to cause bloodshed. The man brought himself back up from his bow and flashed the smile of a man gone insane. ¡°I¡¯m not playing at anything, but I am serious. One of your own is dying not too far from here. If you wish to save him, all you have to do is pledge your life to her.¡± Yatagarasu held is blade out before him and replied in a very cool tone, one that was surprising to have for the moment. ¡°To hell with that¡± replied Yatagarasu, ¡°I don¡¯t know what you think you¡¯re talking about, but I assure you, I will never bow before another.¡± The man sighed aloud, then shrugged. It seemed he was somewhat upset about hearing this. But rather then show it, he responded to Yatagarasu. ¡°Well, if you wish to fight, then so be it. Alright boys, have at them!¡± The men standing behind them were grinning ear to ear in a way I have never seen before, the very word ¡°Evil¡± was written on their faces. A good bunch of the men went after Lady Kitsune, obviously thinking she would be the easier to kill of the two. She showed them no fear as they rushed towards her, and just pulled her fan upward. She held it fully extended from her body and whispered a few words. The next thing I knew, all the men were on fire and screaming. But it wasn¡¯t the screams of pain, but of pleasure. As soon as the screaming started, it swiftly stopped when the men died. But just as they had been felled, they were replaced by another horde of men. This time, Yatagarasu swooped in and attacked them, ending their pitiful lives quickly. He held out his hand to Lady Kitsune and yelled, ¡°C¡¯mon, there¡¯s too many of them, we have to get outta here! Their only trying to wear us out and slow us down!¡±Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. Kitsune grabbed his hand and began to run with him, casting spells as Yatagarasu cut scores of men down. I could only stand and watch as all chaos broke out around me. It was as if the peace of the world had been replaced with the destruction of hell. They¡­.we I should really say, were being chased by a horde of men all that had the eyes of an insane person. We stopped and Yatagarasu swung his sword behind him, slaying multitudes of men. But just as they were cut down, a new set of men replaced the dead. Yatagarasu was about to cut them down more, but Lady Kitsune put a hand on his arm. ¡°Stop. They don¡¯t know what they are doing. It¡¯s as if they have had their minds wiped of all reason.¡± ¡°And what do you propose we do instead? We just hope they see through their idiocy and beg our forgiveness?¡± Lady Kitsune didn¡¯t respond and instead turned herself to face the oncoming men, extending her fan once again. In one swift motion, she whispered a few words and simultaneously swung her fan in one great movement. Just as she did this, all the men froze in their tracks, as if someone had pressed the pause button on a remote. Yatagarasu seemed pleased and surprised and his response echoed that, ¡°Well, that was a new one. Where did you learn that one?¡± ¡°I found it in a book I was given long ago. But I can¡¯t guarantee how long it will stay in affect.¡± I looked down at the book in my hands and wondered if the book she mentioned was this very same book she gave me. Yatagarasu and Lady Kitsune took a few more steps forward and were confronted by the leader of the insane men. He laughed at them, then spoke, ¡°Well, you are much stronger than expected by her,¡± he told them, then continued on, ¡°Well, your almost there. You¡¯re so close to your precious family members, so close, that they could be right behind me! But unfortunately the older one died just now. Guess that¡¯s what you get for messing with her grand scheme.¡± He laughed louder at us now. The crow, Yatagarasu, crouched low and said nothing, but Kitsune looked like she had been shot. Then I realized it. Her father was dead, at the hands of these mad men and ¡°Her¡±. His body could be seen as the laughing man made a side-step. Next to him was Yasha, who looked like he was bleeding out. The man continued to laugh, and then began to flip his hands around. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we made sure he died pleasantly. But now only one is left, and I dunno how long that will be! AHAHAHAHAHA!¡± I couldn¡¯t bear to watch this any longer, even I wanted to get in on the fight. But it seemed that Yatagarasu was also tired of hearing the crazy ravings of this man. With a swift dash, he swung at the man, with his blade at his neck. The man bent his body at an angle that surly would have harmed him, maybe even kill him. Yet it seemed to please him, and he became even more raving mad looking. He drew a blade from the ground and swung it all around the place, forcing Yatagarasu to retreat back a little. As he was battling the insane man, Kitsune ran to her husband, Yasha, and placed a hand on his head, He opened his eyes to her and smiled. ¡°O-oh¡­..-I¡¯m sorry. They called us to a meeting¡­to¡­become allies¡­.¡± Kitsune began crying, the tears running down her cheeks and falling onto his face. He looked at her and continued to smile, not even worrying about the fact that he was dying. ¡°D-don¡¯t cry¡­.I never want to see that beautiful face wet with¡­tears¡­¡± ¡°W-why...¡± Started Kitsune, chocking on her tears, ¡°Did they lie to you and father. They would never be able to pull of such a thing. Not this family.¡± Yasha held a hand slowly up and placed it on her face. She put her hand over it and teared up more. ¡°I-it was a coup¡­¡­set up by¡­..some woman¡­¡± His breath began to falter now, death slowly overcoming him. ¡°D-don¡¯t die on me! You can live! All I have to do is¡ª¡° ¡°N-no. There is nothing that can be done¡­¡­But¡­..that book I gave you as a gift long ago¡­..can. It can teach how to save a life¡­¡­¡± His hand began to slip from her face now. ¡°I must go now¡­.but remember¡­.that passage can also bring one back¡­.¡± And then, he died, and Kitsune cried loud and louder than anything, as the two closest people she loved we¡¯re wrenched from her. Yatagarasu looked back at her and yelled. ¡°We need to go now! I hear more coming! Quickly, use travel magic!¡± Kitsune looked at with a mix of fear and anger on her face, or to be honest, any mixture of emotions one would get from such an event. She solemnly raised her fan and said a few words. A large wind was generated and swept them to a new location¡­a location I had seen before I had met her. It was the big high-rise in Shinjuku. They were alone, having traveled what I figure was far away from the crazed men. Yatagarasu was badly wounded, but I could tell he was fine, but it was surprising that the leader was a match for him. He crouched low and hugged Kitsune close and hard and spoke soft words. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry sister. I promise I will help keep you safe¡­.I wish this hadn¡¯t had to happen to you. He was a good man and should have lived¡­..¡± Kitsune looked up at her brother and teared up even more so. ¡°What¡­are we going to do now? They killed father too¡­.¡± ¡°We will do the right thing first, we will give them a proper burial, than worry about family matter¡¯s later.¡± He pointed the building and added, ¡°Let¡¯s get in there. It may have to serve as our new home, seeing as whoever orchestrated this catastrophe will very likely come after us.¡± He picked up both bodies and began to walk to the doors, with Kitsune silently following. Once they had made it inside, Kitsune closed her eyes. As she did so, everything began to change. The drab interior of the old building was soon replaced by the castle and courtyard from earlier. Then it dawned on me, this would be her new home for who knew how long. And then, just as before, the pages turned and the scene changed once again. It was just a short time later, and now Kitsune looked to be in labor. She was going to have her child! The attendants were all over her place, even bumping into each other. Once they all got their bearings, one yelled out to her to push. Kitsune did so and screamed as she did it. The scene seemed to speed up now, the labor must have been a very long one. But as soon as it started, everything began to slow down again and the attendant helping to deliver the child spoke up. ¡°Here you are Lady Kitsune¡­.it¡¯s your daughter!¡± She handed the child to Kitsune. Kitsune smiled lightly at the small life that she held in her arms. She cried a bit and spoke low to herself. ¡°I wish you could see her love, she has your nose. Hehehe.¡± She looked down at the child and held her close. I could hear her whisper to it. ¡°I wish your father could be here to see you¡­no¡­..he is, in some way, I¡¯m sure. And I will call you the name he wanted me to¡­¡­.Satsuki.¡± I looked down at the child, then her¡­I was dumbfounded, impossible this had to be! She called the child my name! As I was running over everything in my head of the past events, I saw her look directly at me. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry that you had to see all this Satsuki. Yasha¡­..your father, was a good man. I¡¯m sorry you had to find out about this so late, this many years later. In fact, I¡¯m sorry for everything.¡± My mouth was hanging open now¡­¡­until now, I was never noticed¡­so how could she know I¡ª ¡°How do I know you¡¯re here, looking at my past? Simple, that book was the very same book your father gave me so long ago. When I handed it to you¡­..or to be honest, when I will hand it to you, it will have these memories imprinted onto it. It¡¯s hard for me to explain right now, when you were just born. But now, it¡¯s time for you to wake up¡­..wake up¡­¡± The scene began to drift away from me. As It drifted away, I could hear Kitsune¡­my mother, say one last thing. ¡°I love you Kitsune. I¡¯m so very sorry for everything I caused you.¡± Suddenly, I was awake in my room. The sun was shining on my face as I woke up. I got up a bit and saw the book in my hands still, the words of the story I saw in my sleep were now on the pages. I shut the book and set it aside. The, I curled up on my side and began to cry.