Fan Fiction ❯ Advent Of The Goddess: Book 1-The Awakening ❯ Prince Of The Manbeasts ( Chapter 4 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

How long has it been, I wonder? Days? Weeks..? Months...? The god-child pondered to herself as she lay back against the smooth, dewy grass of the rose garden.
All around her, an explosion of colour watered her eyeballs and tantilized her nostrils, breathing in the divine scent of the summer's breeze.
She did'nt know how long she'd been living with Ayumi...nor did she mind, for as much as a cliche it was, ignorence was bliss.
The lavender haired woman had searched for hours on end to find the child's parents, but to no avail. She tried orphanges, hostills, foster homes, but everything came to a dead end...so, being the kindly woman she was, she adopted the young girl as her own.

Now, at long last, the child was with a name....with an identity.

She was Shastania Musashi, daughter of Ayumi Musashi, a young girl of ten who lived on an Japanese island paradisce known as Emerald Isle, just off the coast of Hokkido. That thought made her smile through her fringe of magenta pink, shielding her emerald eyes from the harsh glow of the evening sun.

She had someone who cared...someone who loved her deeply...yet, Shasta was still uncertain. There was an unnamed feeling behind her eyes, a tiny stab of doubt that came to the surface whenever she seemed at peace.
It was a fear of the unknown...a fear of the life she led before awakening on that sandy beach all that time ago. Something she could'nt remember was calling out to her, a tiny, faint voice cutting through the dark fog...

"Shasta! Supper!" came a welcome voice, jolting the young pink-haired girl back to the land of the living. Sitting upright, she turned towards the converted tea-house she called home, a warm smile weaving itself across her features as her gaze fell upon her new mother, all smiles in her frilly blue apron, deep lavender haired tied up in a messy bun save for several wispy locks that fell before soft greyish blue eyes.

"Coming, Mom!" the young girl called back, her voice high and floaty on the summer's breeze. Getting to her feet, she ran along the dirt track lined with a rainbow of roses, straight into the open arms of the one she loved.

"Ohh, you're all covered in grass-stains! Honestly, child! What am I going to do with you?" Ayumi said, half-exasperatedly as she pulled a twig from her 'daughter's waterfall of silky magenta.

Grinning in spite of herself, Shasta brought her arms out from behind her back, revealing the little bouquet of wild pansies from behind.

Ayumi's face lit up at the sight of them, her exasperation forgotten as she brought one of the mulitcoloured flowers to her nose, breathing in the rich scent of honeybees and nectar, reminding her of the happiness she'd found. Her wish upon the stars had indeed been granted, the child she so desperately longed for staring back at her with that smile that could melt even the hardest of hearts.

It had been almost six months since they found each other, yet it was as though they'd know each other all their lives. Perhaps it was destiny at play, the fates bringing together mother and daughter, two lost souls in need of guidence. Those six months were the most precious of Ayumi's life, she knew, and she cherished every single moment, knowing then that her dearly departed husband was smiling down upon them, happy that his gift had been so well recieved..

"Thank you, sweetie. They're very beautiful." she said softly, hugging the young girl to her chest in thanks. Shasta smiled and hugged back, feeling happiness spread like warm sunlight through her body.

This person, just one of the millions of people upon this green planet, was the only one who made her feel special...feel loved. She was her mother and she a daughter..

"Dinner's ready. I made your favorite-Yakitori chicken with ramen noodles! Go! Eat it before it turns cold." the lavender haired woman cooed, grinning as her daughter let out a squeal of delight, practically tripping over the tatami mats in her bid to reach the kitchen. Shaking her head at the display of silliness, Ayumi placed the flowers in a vase upon the hallway table and followed the young girl into the kitchen.

Once an old-fashioned tea house, number 8 Fujitsu Falls was a save haven to all that saught comfort in it's screen-panelled walls. Located on the banks of a private beach, the little house played home to Ayumi, Shasta and several travellers who seeked food and shelter on their journeys.

One of these travellers was a regular guest at the quaint little beach-house. His name was Badero Eldorado, otherwise known as Badero The Hustler for his extraordinary skills in gambling.

Constantly on the run from the Mexican goverment, loan sharks, irrate Yakuza and scorned women, he sought solstice in Ayumi's company, entertaining the regulars with tales of drunken debaucery and daring escapes as well as paying off his stay by doing odd jobs around the house.
He was a nice man, if at times a little eccentric, and had even been dubbed an honourary uncle by Shasta, who idolized his tales of adventure overseas.

Tonight, as it would so happen, he had just returned from Puerto Rico after a long month of festivities, full of tales about brightly coloured birds, flaminco dancers and flamboyent drag queens and was devulging some of the more child-friendly versions to the entrilled Shasta over plates of chicken.

"...so, I returned the wig to Ms.Fantasica, who got up and sang 'I'm Coming Out' for all of Puerto Rico..and thus saved the grande carnival!" he exclaimed with guesto as Ayumi entered the kitchen, his pseudo-bearded face lit up like a box lantern, his dark eyes glinting with school-boy mischief inside the tangled black curls and dreads that framed his richly tanned face.

"Have fun in Rio?" Ayumi quipped in amusement, causing the raven haired man to jump in alarm, whirling around on his stool.

"Oh, Senorita Ayumi! Did'nt see you there!"he exclaimed in pleasent supprise, Mexican-accented voice deep and gritty from years of smoking stolen Havana cigars.
The lavender haired woman chuckled heartily and kissed his cheek in affection before seating herself between the two.

"And what kind of sordid stories are you currently warping my daughter's brain with tonight, Badero?"she said coitishly, batting her long lashes and giggling as the raven haired Mexican blushed beneath his mop of shaggy dredlocks. He grinned cheesily, moving to take a swig from his glass of pure tequilla, glancing thoughtfully up at the ceiling.

"Why, my dear Ayumi! what kind of man do you think I am if you believe me to pervert your only child?" he exclaimed in false offense, casting Shasta a knowing smirk.

"I'd take you for a drunkard, a theif, a swindler and a bakayaro!"

Shasta struggled to supress a giggle, almost choking on her piece of Yakitori chicken. Ayumi gave her a quirk of one thin eyebrow, the kind of look that suggested she could get into trouble for this sort of thing.

Feigning a cough, the young pink haired girl quickly washed down her meal with a glass of icy milk, peering with curiousity at Badero as he began to unwrap one of his fine Havana cigars with his rough, scabbed fingers, the nails blackened with dirt and grim.

"Badero-san, have you heard about the breakout?" she queried, causing him to look up in wonder.

"Breakout?"

"Hai! About two weeks ago, a tiger escaped from the local wild-life sanctuary! It was on the news. Apparently, it managed to disable the electro-fence in the enclosure and chew through the wire. The police are offering a reward to anyone who can kill it.."

Shasta's face fell as she uttered the last sentence. To think, a rare Siberian white tiger was stalking the forrests of the quiant little island, probably weak from lack of food and water, constantly on the run from poachers and rangers intent on putting a bullet through its' head..kind of like Badero in a way, she mused to herself.
Two rogues living rough on the streets..

"A reward, you say?" Badero replied, causing Shasta to jump. "How much?"

"About two hundred thousand yeni...it's considered to be extremely dangerous..from what I've heard, this particular tiger has already mauled three people in the last two weeks and one of them's in a critical conditon. Got her by the neck, ya' know-"

"Let's not speak any more on the matter! T'is fightful bad luck to speak of such omnious things!" Ayumi snapped irritably, casting her daughter a disapproving look.
Shasta nodded, feeling her face flush pink and clashing with her hair.

"Gomen...I forget you disapprove of violence.."

"Two hundred thousand yeni, huh?" Badero mused as he bite the tip off his cigar, lighting the end with a swift flick of his ornamental silver lighter; "Can I keep the pelt?"

"BADERO!" Ayumi and Shasta yelled in unison, eyes widdening as large as saucers. A bead of sweat trickled down the Mexican's temple and moved one calloused hand to rub sheepishly at the back of his head.

"Whaaat? Tiger pelts make good money in Tijuna!"

"As much as I fear dangerous animals, I am all against killing them for sport! Let's just wait for the police to trap it safely and return it to the zoo, then we can all sleep with our windows open again. For now, it's time YOU"; she glanced at Shasta; "..were off to bed, young lady!"

"Awww, but I wanna hear more about Puerto Rico from Uncle Bad!" Shasta whined, lips curling into a childish pout. Ayumi mimicked her face, folding her arms in a stern stance across her chest.

"You can talk more tomorrow. Badero has had a long trip and is no doubt as anxious to get some sleep as you obviously are!"

"But I'm not tired, Mom!" Shasta pouted, only to let out a loud, slothish yawn, her eyelids fluttering with fatique. Getting to his feet, Badero placed a hand on the lavender haired woman's shoulders, casting her a reassuring smile.

"It's alright, Senorita Ayumi. I think I can manage one more bed time story before I hit the sack!" and with that, he promptly escorted the young girl into the long corridor, leaving Ayumi to collect her thoughts in the kitchen.
She shook her head, smiling in spite of herself. Damn that Badero, she thought in exasperation; He should be setting an example, but instead he's encouraging her...ohh, those two will be the death of me..



Shasta's bedroom was located at the farthest end of the house, facing the magestic view of Dolphin's Cove.
It was small but it was enough, the walls and doors adorned with scaps of multi-coloured paper boasting images of lions and tigers and bears, princesses with long flowing hair and great Shogun warriors attop flaming horses.

In between the many pictures and doodles, the screenwalls were a faded yellow, several of the paper panels ripped and torn in places.
Beneath the rectangular window that took up the middle of one whole wall was a spacious futon bed, the sheets soft lavender tie-dye and hopelessly crinkled, several plushies of anime characters lost within the valleys of the soft fabric.

"Goodnight, Shasta..you sleep tight, you hear?" Badero whispered to the girl resting herself beneath the sheets, a semi-conscious smile etched upon lightly tanned skin. She turned to him, looking at him with wonder and a hint of mirth in her emerald eyes.

"Badero-san, can I ask you a question?"

"Sure. I'm an open book, mi amigo."

Sitting upright, Shasta hugged her knees to her chest, folding her arms ontop and resting her chin upon them.
"Do you like my mother?"

The raven haired man arched an eyebrow, seating himself on the edge of the bed with his arms folded over his muscular chest.
"If by like you mean I enjoy her company as a friend, then yes...why? What are you implying?"

"Oh, nothing.." the pink haired girl chimmed in a sing-song tone, failing to stiffle a giggle; "...It's just I've seen the way you look at her. It's the same look I get whenever I see Gackt-san.. puppy eyed and dribbly."

Frowing some more, Badero lightly chuffed the back of his 'niece's head, his face flushing pink enough to rival a sun-rippened tomato.
"Now wait just a damn minute, senorita! Are you suggesting I'd like to be more than meer amigos with your Mama?"

"Hai! You'd make a cute couple!"

"Heh...you're sweet, kiddo...but her heart belongs to another and I respect her too much to intrude. Still, it would've been interesting to see how that went. Besides, if it's a father figure you're after, well let's just say I'm not exactly the role model you need.."he sweatdropped again, forcing a cheesy grin as Shasta gave him a dubious look.

"Well, I'm not!" he continued; "...I'm rude, I'm loud, I'm constantly drunk, I'm a liar and a theiving bastardo...I'm everything your mother said I was. Not exactly Father of The Year, no?"

Shaking her head at his crest-fallen expression, Shasta reached up to pull him into a friendly hug, her spindly fingers curling affectionly around his ebony dredlocks.
"Yes, you're all of those things, Badero..but you're also kind and sincere and a good friend in times of need. Why else would my mother keep you around?"

"I...er....Hmmm....well, you've got me there, compadre..." he mused thoughtfully, hugging back with a smile etching it's way across his stubble-covered face.
Holding him at arm's lenght, Shasta gazed with affection into his deep ambery-brown eyes, seeing a mischievious soul glinting back at her, an eternally young frat boy screaming to be unleashed.

"Don't beat yourself up! I know I would'nt have you any other way and neither would my mother!"

"Hrmph.....get your butt into bed, ya lil' brat!" Badero pouted half-heartily, shooing the young girl under the covers of the futon as he got to his feet and crossed the paper-strewn carpet to the door.

"Honestly, I don't know why you love hangin' out with an old ass like me.."


Meanwhile...


Sapphire eyes clenched shut against the pain that stabbed at the mind beyond them, a thousand invisable knives stabbing relentlessly as he tore through the mess of lush greenery, wanting so bad to escape the agony...to escape HER stranglehold..
"I am not your puppet any longer....leave me alone, you acursed woman!" he thought angerily with a low growl, vision blurred as he stumbled through a mass of thorns and poison ivy, the pads of his paws bloodied and bruised as he struggled to break free.
"Ah-ah! If only things were so simple, my dearest Taigoshin.." came a dark, repungent female voice calling distently inside his head; "...You will never be free from my control, no matter how much you desire it so. I order you to kill the god-child and kill her you shall."

"No! I'm not a killer anymore! I've changed! I've-"

"Reformed?" Pandora mused sardonicly, a dark cackle reverberating inside his skull; "You cannot escape that which is written in bloodied stone, my dearest Taigoshin. You are the Overfiend, the dark prince of the Manbeasts. The primal instinct to kill is in your blood and no matter how much you bleed out, you will never free from your dark fate. It is...inevitable."

"NO!!" Taigo screamed out loud, his strenght leaving his sleek body as he slumped against the sand, quivering against the unforgiving chill of the night air.
"Nooo...! Leave me alone..!" he mused to the Dark Lady, feeble and weak even in mind as he curled into a ball, wanting so badly to be released from this mental torture she inflicted upon him for what felt like an eternity.

Expecting to heard a snide retort, only silence waifed through his pricked ears, the mental link with the Dark Lady abruptly severed to leave only the soft swish of waves upon the sand, the gentle calm of frothy sea-spray curling enticingly beneath his bloodied paws. He hissed throatily through pointed teeth as the ocean's salt penetrated his wounds, but it was a dull pain.
Nothing could ease the aching throbs in his head and heart, rid him of the anguish that forever plagued his being....the anguish of a puppet on a string, every whim manipulated by a sadistic master of whom he had no control.

Taigo could've kindly let himself drown there and then, the tide lapping at his fur-covered paws, silently begging him to leave the protection of the shore and wade into the dark shallows that would soon become his watery grave..but something stopped him.
Was it determination or meerly royal arrogence? The Overfiend did'nt know...but all he did know was this.
He had to live...to fight the darkness that threathened to consume his being. He had to stand up and take back his dignity for himself....to reclaim his pride and his honour.

Slowly, he got shakily to his feet, feeling the raw pads scream in protest as the sand shifted beneath them. Blinking the blood from his blurred eyes, he lurched unsteadily towards a dark object in the near distence..a tiny house half hidden in the shadows of a dense forrest...



Shasta blinked in her sleep, nose twitching as phantom dust tickled her nostrils. Brows crinkling in her sleep, she did not awaken, but rather, rolled onto her stomach and thus kicked away the thin sheets covering her pajama-clad body, limbs splayed about the futon with reckless abandon.

Clunk.

She blinked again, eyes slowly opening half-way at the sudden noise.
"Huzzah?"

Clunk.

There it was again, louder this time, snapping the young pink-head fully conscious. Sitting upright, she glanced around wildly, looking for the source of the noise, only to be met with her own little room, casted in inky darkness but for the moonbeams shining pleasently down upon the futon from the open, uncurtained window.
Probably just a tree branch brushing against the roof gutters, she thought to herself as she dismissed the noise, intent on returning to the land of jellybeans and plushies once again when-

CLUNK!

"Hnnff.....hnnnfff.."

Shasta now knew something was outside, lurking beneath her window. A cold chill cut through her body despite the warmth of the summer night, all colour draining from her skin as she slowly inched towards the rectangular hole, barely concealed by a thin sheet of muslin pulled taunt over the empthy window pane.
Peering through the semi-transparency, her eyes widdened in the upmost terror..

...She was staring into the cold blue eyes of a tiger.




((A/N:Good place for a cliffy, eh? Don't worry! I'm not that evil! ^_~ ))


For what felt like an eternity, she did'nt move a muscle, too paralysed by fear to even gasp, let alone scream. The tiger blinked at her, two haunting orbs of intense sapphire peering out from sockets lined with inky black set against pearly white. Hesitently, he placed one paw on the window-sill, as though testing for sturdiness before, feeling confident, he bent his powerful back legs and jumped gracefully through the window, tearing a hole through the fine muslin with razor-sharp claws.

"Hnnnff....hnnnff.." The tiger's breath came in short, ragged bursts, his gaze fixed upon the frightened young girl before it. Feeling some of the feeling return to her body, Shasta fought the urge to scream. That would only provoke it, she knew...a dangerous thing to do when face with a wild animal...
..and yet, she felt compelled to reach out to it.

"Hnnnfff...hnnnff...." the tiger recoiled against her outstretched fingers, the last ounce of strenght in his graceful body leaving as he collasped, unceromoniously, against the stiff tatami mats. Ignoring all common sense, the young pink haired girl slid out from the futon, crouching low so she saw eye to eye with the beast.

"What...what a beautiful creature...!" she whispered quietly, the fear that once gripped her being replaced by awe as she brushed her fingers lightly through the sleek white fur, marred by intricate black patterns that wound around powerful thighs and arms, encircling haunting blue eyes and a powerful jaw that could crush her at a moment's notice.

Tracing the intriging black markings along the tiger's back, her fingers soon reached his forehead. It was here Shasta noticed the steady stream of blood oozing from a cut upon the beast's forehead.

"Oh, you poor thing...what's happened to you?" she whispered, as though expecting an answer. Taigoshin could only blink in reply. His primal instinct was to wrench her head clear of her body, but all his strenght focused on fighting such wicked urges and it all he could do to prevent from popping his claws out. One quick slash would be all it takes...

"MMMRRRR!" he let a low growl escape his blackened lips as her fingertips brushed the wound, making him forget his urges for now as he screwed his eyes shut in pain.
Shasta's brows furrowed...something was embedded in his forehead. She could feel it...something round and smooth, surrounded by sharp fragments.
Most likely a hunter's bullet and some shrapnel..but she could'nt be certain..

"Don't be alarmed...I only want to help...here..I'll clean up that wound for you." she whispered soothingly to the fallen beast. Inside, her brain was screaming for her to stop acting as though the beast was a sick kitten, urging her to scream for Badero or her mother to awaken her from what obviously must be a strange nightmare, yet as her emerald eyes met the beast's sapphire gaze, she could find no aggression inside the deep blue orbs.

Only pain and a sense of immense sadness.

Shasta could'nt explain it, but those eyes looked almost..human...

Shaking the thought from her head, she got up and headed towards the ensuite bathroom nearby, lighting up the tiny tiled room with a flick of a switch as she proceeded to fill the washbasin with cool, clear water.

Taigo watched her with blurry eyes. He could barely see her for the red tinge that dribbled down from his forehead, but somehow, he knew he could trust this girl.
For starts, she was the first person not to scream in his presence or to pull a gun on him and fire rapidly...that and she was willing to help him, to cleanse the pain of the jewel embedded deep within his skull.

A soft smile crossed his wary, fur-covered features. At last, someone who did'nt look down upon him....someone who saw past this fur-covered vessel housing a tortured soul..

"Okay..hold still..there's a lot of dried blood to remove.." Shasta whispered gently as she kneeled before him, taking his large, blood-encrusted head into her lap and tenderly dabbing away the congealed flecks of crimson with a dripping washclothe. Taigo whinced slightly as the icy cold droplets stung the open wound, but he knew it was for the best. Soon, he would be rid of this blinding pain....soon, he could finally sleep...

...At least, so he thought...

Coating the tweezers with some antiseptic tonic, Shasta silently urged Taigo to keep still, stroking his cheek reassuringly as the flat blades inched dangerously close to the jewel embedded deep within his forehead, pushed in by a stray hunter's bullet.

"Hold very still, now..it'll only hurt for a moment.."

Taigo clenched his eyes shut. He could already feel the phantom cold of the steel upon him...it stung...but that was nothing compared to the sudden pain he felt next as the young girl pinched the tweezers around the dark object. Eyes shooting open with raw agony, he could'nt control himself any longer and let a loud roar of pain escape his throat, claws emerging from between his toes to instinctively lash out blindly.

Shasta let out a scream, feeling a sharp ripping sensation across her abdomen. Looking down in alarm, she could see the tattered remains of her bed-shirt, the olive skin beneath baring three perfect claw marks, already beginning to form crimson streams of blood, tiny red droplets dripping onto her lap where, in the sudden alarm, the strange object in the tiger's forehead had dislodged itself.

As suddenly as it had appeared, the pain in Taigo's forehead disappeared in an instant and a wave of calm washed over him like the tide on the sandy shore. No more pain..only the oddly soothing sensation of blood swirling around the little crevice where the deep ebony crystal had lodged itself, Pandora's stranglehold lessened...for now, at least...
Moving towards the young girl who had save his life and his sanity, the silvery-haired tiger was about to open his mouth, revealing to her the uncanny ability to speak when the sliding doors of the quiant little room opened with such a sharp bang that he stumbled backwards into the bed.

"SHASTA! What's going on?! I heard a scream-AAAHH!" Badero's voice filled the screen walls, swiftly followed by a yell of supprised as his ambery-brown eyes fell upon the sight of the beast before him.

Taigo narrowed his eyes at the man before him. A towering brick wall of solid muscle, he was a good six foot tall and three feet wide, naked from the waist up, showing a huge chest adorned with an equaly huge Native American wolf spirit tattoo and an assortment of silver scars. Hairy as a Wookie almost as volitile, he let out an animalistic snarl and tightened the grip on the metal baseball bat held in one gigantic, Frisbee-sized hand.

"Shasta, get out of here! It's very dangerous-"

"No, it was all a misunderstanding! I was just cleaning his wounds and-and he paniced! Really! He was in a lot of pain, Badero, but he's really very nice-"
Just before Shasta could finish her sentence, however, an almighty gust of celestial wind made the ruined hangings on the window billow and dance like strange, shapeless masses, ruffling the numourous drawings and anti-demon charms on the walls.

"HOLY SHI-!" Badero and Shasta managed to muster, jaws dropping at the sight before them.

Where a tiger once lay attop the little futon, there now sat cross-legged a young man in his twenties, sapphire eyes glinting with amusement within chiselled sockets lined with dark circles, shadows falling in the soft hollows of his cheekbones as he smirked.

He was stunningly beautiful-not handsome, but beautiful. If ever the word bishounen was invented for one man, he was it. Hair the colour of moonbeams shimmered softly in the dim light of the moon, falling poker straight past his strong shoulders and prominent collor bones, pooling in his lap and concealing part of a taunt, toned abdomen, spilling over the edge of the futon to only just touch the tatami mats of the floor.

"I've never been ..'NICE'.. in my whole damn life, woman.."he mused in a soft, faintly regal accent, ignoring the stupified look on his host's faces; "...but for your hospitality, I'll do my best..to be sweet."



Needless to say, Shasta promptly fainted...