Fan Fiction ❯ Silver Tear ❯ A Boy and His Dog ( Chapter 6 )

A Boy and His Dog

"They're getting close." a boy said.

"They aren't the threat." said his mother. "They may be powerful, but that's nothing compared to what is out there."

"But mother... aren't you worried?" the boy asked.

"No." the woman said. "If it's a fight she wants, it's a fight she gets. She already chose her fate long ago."

"I think she can change." the boy wined.

"People like that..." the woman said. "Don't change."

Hoku looked around. She had gotten up at the crack of dawn to see what lied ahead of them. A scent in the night stirred her. It was a familiar scent that caught her attention right away.

"What are you doing up there?" Kitasato called up the tree that Hoku sat up in.

"What would you say if I replied you father." Hoku called down.

"Well... for starters I'd be jealous."

"Are you sure you two aren't lovers?"

Hoku growled and stared down at the woman who appeared next to Kitasato. She was still angry at the fact that Kit allowed a human to travel with them.

"Can it human."

"Well..?" Kit asked.

"I smell a dog nearby." Hoku answered. "But I'm not sure if it's the mutt we're looking for, but I also smell the stench of human blood."

"Do you see anything that can give us any leads?"

"As a matter of fact..." Hoku murmured.

There was a ribbon of smoke that flowed from the trees. Hoku had been staring at it for some time. It wasn't until she saw it up close that she realized that, that little cloud of smoke was once a village. The place was nearly destroyed. Only a few pagodas remained untouched. There were bodies scattered everywhere along with their blood.

"Who would do this...?" Sukura gasped as she looked around.

"Why don't you ask them." Hoku growled while she lightly kicked a body. "Kit, can you smell Marrowind anywhere?"

"I do smell a dog." Kitasato replied. "I can't really smell anything else. The blood is too strong."

Hoku took a few steps forward. She stopped when something caught her eye. She bent over and picked up a small glinting object off the ground.

"This is... silver." she said while examining it.

"Look." Sukura said while pointing at the ground. "There's more."

"Do you think that this village was desecrated to be robbed?" Kit asked.

"No..." Hoku said. "This was a slaughter. It was definitely a demon. Wait... I hear something."

Hoku strode up to one of the destroyed huts and peered around the corner.

"Well..." she sighed. "I found our dog."

There was a dog there indeed. It was a large black dog. Next to it, was a little boy sobbing loudly. When he heard Hoku speak, he looked up and gasped.

"A... demon!" he exclaimed. His eyes were red and soaked from his tears.

"Pathetic." Hoku hissed. "Crying over a mutt..."

"Don't be afraid." Kit said as he appeared next to Hoku. "Please, tell us what happened here."

"Silver tear."

Hoku took her eyes off the boy and onto a woman that stood in the doorway of one of the pagodas.

"Who?" Kit asked.

"The plague that kills all." the woman said. Her cheeks were shining wet. "It was a good thing that half our villagers were gone at the time. It was fortunate."

"I'm sorry." Sukura sighed.

"Who are you?" the woman asked.

"I'm Sukura." she bowed. "A samurai of the emperor."

"How odd of a human to travel with demons." the woman scowled.

"Look woman." Hoku growled. "I may agree with that statement, but don't ever say demon in that tone of voice while I'm around."

"What my friend here is trying to say..." Kit added. "Is that we don't appreciate being discriminated like that."

"Well... if you'd been through what we had..." the woman said. "Then you'd hate them too."

"I understand your meaning." Kitasato said. "I do not like being disrespected... may we do something to make it up to you?"

"Say what?" Hoku asked.

"There's nothing you can do." the woman said.

"Nakata..." A man said. "Who are you talking to?"

"Just a few travelers." Nakata replied.

A man appeared behind her.

"Demons?"

"Here we go again..." Hoku hissed. "Look... we'll leave if that's what you want."

"No." Nakata said while wiping her eyes. "I'm sorry... this has been a lot for us. Imagine, leaving for a day then coming back to find your home destroyed and all your friends dead. You can stay for as long as you want. There's an Inn over there... if it's still standing."

"Thank you." Kit bowed.

The inn indeed was still standing. It was a large building that was hidden in the trees.

Hoku didn't see the point of staying. It was still morning, and they had all day to travel, but she didn't complain. There was a warm bath involved, and she felt gross.

Kitasato found something else to do. After checking in and getting a bite to eat, he decided to help the villagers clean up the mess and start re-building.

Sukura wanted to help too. She helped bury the people that were killed. It was a sad moment for her and the rest of the people.

Hoku was finally clean. Though her friends were getting their hands dirty, she decided to do something else. Now this village was a pretty good size, and there were many places where a demon could hide. So, she decided to search around for something that had her confused from the start.

"Boy." she said as she walked up to the child she saw earlier.

"Y...yes?" he shuddered.

"Was that dog yours?" Hoku asked him.

"Yes." the boy replied. "His name was Kiro."

"I don't care about his name." Hoku growled. "Did that demon kill him? Did you see it?"

"No..." the boy sighed. "I was with the rest of the villagers. We went to the big place to get the food we cannot grow. It takes a lot of us to carry it all back. Anyway, when we arrived, we found that half the village was destroyed... and my dog..."

"Idiot." Hoku hissed when the boy began to cry. "Listen, there's one thing to being a demon, and that one thing is knowing how a demon is born. Don't give that dog a reason to come back."

That night, Hoku returned to the inn. She asked a lot of people, but the only thing she found out was the only ones who seen the demon, were those who were dead.

"I can't believe you didn't help." Sukura huffed while she ate. She, Hoku and Kit were eating and finally resting after a day's work. "Do you have any idea how many ditches we had to dig?"

Hoku ignored her. Unlike Sukura, Hoku had learned something from this experience. Now she just hoped that her theory wasn't correct.

Just before she fell asleep, Hoku heard some screaming from outside. She sat up.

"Damn it!!" she hissed as she ran out of her room. "That stupid kid!"

"What's going on?" Kit yawned as he peered out of his room down the hall.

"We've got trouble." Hoku said as she bolted past him.

Hoku and Kit ran outside to find an unpleasant sight. There were people outside standing in the darkness. All their faces where white. They were terrified. A few people even fainted.

"What's going on?" Kit asked a man.

"A demon!!" he exclaimed.

"Idiot." Hoku sighed. "I had a feeling this would happen."

There were more screams coming from inside one of the pagodas. A group of women ran out screaming at the top of their lungs. None of them looked hurt or injured, but like everyone else, their faces were white like the dead.

"I warned him." Hoku said. "I knew this would happen. Come on Kit, let's take care of this."

Hoku and Kit walked up to the empty Pagoda. They walked inside. It was pitch dark.

Luckily for Hoku, her eyes were made for darkness, but in this case, she wished they couldn't.

A black dog stood there. Its face was twisted with fury and his white fangs were beared. The worst part was that its eyes were glowing red.

"Oh... shit." Hoku gasped. She grabbed Kit by the arm and pulled him out of there just as the dog charged.

They ran outside and dodged out of the way as the dog rushed past in a blur of black chaos. A strong wind started up. People and objects in the dog's way were blown aside.

Hoku stood up as the dog disappeared. She dusted herself off and turned to the people. She saw the boy and pointed at him.

"Now look what you've done!" she yelled. "You're out of your mind not to heed what I tell you."

The boy gasped. He looked around nervously as the people around him started to glare at him. He got up and ran away.

"Kit..." Sukura was standing there. Her face was pale too.

"Sukura...?" Kit asked. "I'm sorry, did we wake you?"

"It's hard to sleep with all the commotion." she shuddered. "What's going on?"

"Nothing for now." Hoku said as she turned and headed back to the inn. "The show's over. We leave in the morning."

"But... Hoku." Kit said. "We have to help them. That thing may return again."

"Listen Kit." Hoku said. "That thing is no ordinary demon. It was dead, and now it's alive. No... it's not alive. It has no scent. Meaning that it's still dead. Ghosts aren't like demons. You can't kill them twice."

"But you can help them find peace." Kit said.

"Whatever." Hoku sighed. "You can do what you like, but I'm not waiting around for you. I'm going to focus on the real mission, not running around helping humans."

Hoku turned and walked back to the inn.

"Let's go." Kit sighed to Sukura.

Sukura practically grabbed his arm.

"Okay."

"What's wrong?" Kit asked as they walked back. "You look afraid."

"I'm not." Sukura said with a blush. "Do you really think Hoku's going to leave?"

"I have a feeling she isn't." Kit said.

That night, Hoku snuck out. This time she made sure not to wake anyone up, especially Kit. She didn't need to have him see her do a good deed. She knew what to do, and she knew where to go. The real challenge would be getting the subject to come.

Hoku sniffed around until she found the scent of the boy. She followed it into a small shed. She entered to find the boy sitting there hugging his knees. He was crying again.

"Pathetic..." Hoku sighed.

The boy looked up at her and hugged his knees even tighter.

"Go away." he sobbed. "I don't care anymore. Everyone hates me now."

"Shut it." Hoku said. "Do you want to fix this or not?"

The boy wiped his eyes and nodded.

"I have an idea, so you have to do exactly what I tell you to."

Hoku sat up in a tree and watched. She had to make sure the plan was going correctly, and she could not be seen.

The boy stood just below the tree on the outskirts of the village. He was calling his dog. Just as Hoku instructed him to do. He was shaking from head to toe. Everything was dark.

A soft growl came from the shadows. A pair of red glowing eyes appeared and a jaw full of white teeth.

The boy was shaking uncontrollably as the dog approached him.

"Come on kid." Hoku said quietly. "Don't be afraid. That'll just make it angry."

The dog was standing right in front of the boy now. It wasn't snarling anymore, but its eyes were still glowing.

The boy gulped. He had to do it. He held out his hand and patted the dog's cold head. His hand went numb.

"Good boy." he said, trying not to sound terrified.

The dog's eyes stopped glowing. He lost all his ghostly appearances and now looked like a normal dog again. He wagged his tail, then vanished.

The boy stood there for a moment in shock, then dropped to his knees.

"I did it..."

"I'm amazed Hoku." Kit said as they left the village. "I didn't think you'd pull through."

"Well... I knew you wouldn't leave if that thing was still running around." Hoku sighed. "And I need you to help me in finding Marrowind. Anyway, I didn't think you'd know how to handle it."

"Whatever you say." Kit said with a smile. He looked at Hoku.

"Come on you two!" Sukura called from ahead.

Hoku took her eyes off of Kit and on to Sukura. She grinned and began walking.

"Hey, Sukura." she said in a mocking tone. "Kit here tells me you're afraid of the dark."

"I am not!!"

Kit sighed.

"And it continues."