Fan Fiction ❯ Silver Tear ❯ Awakenings ( Chapter 7 )

Awakenings

"Mommy!" Kyra giggled as she skipped toward a woman with a freshly picked flower in her hand.

The woman kneeled down and took the little blue flower her daughter had picked for her.

"Thank you dear." the woman smiled.

Kyra just giggled again and smiled joyfully. She was a tiny girl, no older then seven. Her mother always kept a close watch on her in the dangerous times. So many tragic things could happen to such a frail person.

Kyra's mother took her cold little hand and held it to her cheek. Tears began to wallow up in her eyes. The thoughts of how her daughter used to be kept flashing in her mind. She couldn't help but wonder what happened as she stared down at Kyra's still body. Kyra had fallen asleep, and hadn't woken up for some time. She was still breathing, but it was as if she were living dead. Her mother feared the time would come when she'd starve to death. The girl began to grow thin. The other villagers would say just to let the child go, but Kyra's mother wouldn't. Sadly, they all watched the drowning mother suffer slowly with her daughter.

"You don't think he's watching do you?" Sukura asked nervously as she peered around.

"No way." Hoku said with a flick of her hand. She began to strip. "He's not that perverted. Anyway, even if he does try to look, I'd enjoy beating the hell out of him."

Sukura hung her Kimono on a tree branch next to her pants. She then turned and walked into the hot spring.

"This is so nice!" she smiled as she leaned back against a rock. "It's been a while since we last took a hot bath."

Hoku hung her clothes as well. She was very glad to have a bath. About a day ago, she slain an ogre and it was all a big mess. Hoku hated being dirty or messy. There was no villages and they were running low on things to trade to stay at an inn. They wouldn't have had a problem if they weren't robbed by a monkey while they slept. Hoku blamed Kit like she always did. The thought made her smile as she slid in the spring.

"What are you thinking about?" Sukura asked her. She'd normally avoid asking Hoku too many questions, but she figured that since they'd be traveling together, now's the time to get to know one another. She kind of looked up to Hoku in a way. Hoku was a warrior and a woman, and didn't seem to be afraid of anything. She was strong and brave, and Sukura respected that.

"Nothing…" Hoku said as she looked away from her.

Sukura sighed.

"Well… You know what?" she said. "I think, you know, since we're traveling together we should at least learn to get along."

Hoku sighed and looked at her with her ears pulled back showing her annoyance.

"Listen." Hoku said. "I don't want to get to know anyone. Especially not a human."

"You and lord Kitasato seem to get along just fine." Sukura said tentatively.

"Not as much as you may think then…" Hoku hissed. One thing that annoyed her about Sukura was the fact that she called Kit, Lord Kitasato, and Hoku, Lady Hoku.

"Well… I think you're just hiding your feelings from him." Sukura said. "I can understand it if you don't like me… I am human after all. At first, I thought all demons were bad since the death of my father, but since I met you guys, I'm kind of jealous."

"About what?" Hoku asked.

"That I'm just a mere human and not a powerful demon like you." Sukura said shamefully as she avoided Hoku's green gaze. "I'm sorry… I know it's silly."

"I don't blame you." Hoku grinned. "It is a great way to live…"

"Yes." Sukura let out a chuckle. "I suppose it is…"

Hoku looked at her for a moment. She was puzzled by the sad look in Sukura's eyes.

"Guess what!!!"

Both girls jumped. They stared at the blonde head that just came out of the trees. They stared at each other for a moment until Sukura screamed and threw a rock at it.

It hit Kit on the forehead and bounced off.

"You pervert!" Hoku trembled with anger as she sunk in until only her head could be seen. "This had better be good."

"It is…" Kit said as he effortlessly shielded his eyes that were tearing from the pain of the goose-egg that was growing in the place where the rock had struck. "I just came back from a village that caught sight of Marrowind. If we get there quickly, we can catch her."

Hoku didn't wait around. She got dressed as quickly as possible and transformed into her animal form. Sukura jumped on her back and they followed Kitasato to the village.

Sukura was terrified at Hoku's means of getting there. Climbing up steep cliffs and tall trees and jumping long distances at great speeds made her stomach churn.

Hoku was enjoying it.

"What do you mean she just vanished?" she hissed at a villager. She had the poor man by the collar and was tugging him upward like a rag doll.

"She strode through the village and just disappeared." the man cried. "Honestly!"

Hoku hissed and dropped the poor guy.

"Do you think she could be hiding somewhere?" Kit asked as he watched the man scramble away.

"Maybe." Hoku said. "But if she is then she's doing a good job hiding her scent because I can't smell her."

"Let's look around." Kit said. "This place isn't very big. There aren't too many places where she could hide."

They walked around for a while. Hoku was getting tired of the strange looks people gave them as they walked by. Nothing really got her attention until a woman ran out screaming.

"Someone!" she cried. "Help me! She isn't breathing!"

Hoku would have ignored it if it wasn't for the fact that Kit rushed past her to the woman's aid. Hoku and Sukura followed him into a pagoda to see a tiny girl lying on a sleeping mat. The woman was kneeling by her side and weeping loudly.

Kit was kneeling too. He placed his hand over the girl's mouth. He then sat her up.

"What are you doing?" Hoku asked.

"Just a second…" Kit said. He then cupped his free hand and hit the girl on the back.

The child let out a gasp. She was breathing again.

Kit laid her back down. He then looked at the girl's shocked mother.

"Tell me, when did this happen?" he asked.

The woman took a few breaths to calm herself down.

"She'd been asleep for a long time." the woman panted.

"Did you child fall pray to a demon?"

"I don't think so." the woman replied. "She never wanders off alone."

"Kit…" Hoku said. "Do you think Marrowind might have something to do with it?"

"I'm not sure." Kit replied. "Hoku, you and Sukura go and continue to search around."

"And what are you going to do?" Hoku asked.

"I'm going to revive her." Kit said.

"That's just strange." Hoku muttered as she and Sukura continued to walk around. "What does he think he is? A priest or something?"

"He can't be." Sukura said. "I lived with a priest half my life. He doesn't look like one… don't they usually wear robes and stuff?"

"I think he's lost his mind." Hoku sighed.

"DEMON!!!"

"What!?" Hoku spun around. "Where?"

Sukura turned just as a group of people ran past them. All of them were panic stricken.

Hoku was on go. She jumped over the crowd and followed her nose. A strange scent was coming from somewhere that had her really concerned. She jumped up on a roof and looked around.

"Do you see anything!?" Sukura called up to her.

Hoku ignored her for a moment. She was too busy staring at something moving amongst the pagodas. She then realized that it was headed right at Sukura.

"Sukura!" Hoku called to her. "Run!"

"Huh?" Sukura turned and then screamed in fright as a massive force burst around the corner.

"Damn you…" Hoku hissed as she grabbed her and jumped onto another roof just as the thing sped by. Hoku sat her down and looked around.

"What was that?" Sukura gasped.

"I don't know…" Hoku said. "But I don't like it."

"Should we find Lord Kitasato?" Sukura asked.

Hoku thought about it for a moment.

"No, he can take care of himself." Hoku said finally. "You stay here and I'll go kill that thing."

"Why do I have to stay?" Sukura asked angrily.

Hoku glared at her over her shoulder.

"This is dangerous." Hoku said. Though she didn't admit it, she didn't want Sukura to be exposed to something that even a demon was confused about. "It would be best if I handled it."

"But…"

Hoku transformed and jumped off the roof before she could even hear what Sukura had to say. She found a trail of foot prints and followed them. The strange scent also gave her a lead. She'd never smelled anything like it before. She sped around a corner and found herself face to face with a gigantic snake with large read eyes.

The symbol of the Zodiac snake was on its forehead. It was a demon.

Hoku jumped back as the snake launched itself forward and attempted to strike her with its huge fangs. Something green landed on her shoulder. It began to burn badly. Hoku roared.

The snake hissed loudly. Green ooze dripped from its fangs.

Hoku could smell the poison. It was so strong in the air that her eyes and nose began to burn.

The snake struck again. It missed as Hoku jumped out of the way. Like lightning, it spun around and attempted to bite again.

Hoku was fast, but not this fast. She realized this when it was too close to call. She started to panic when her glare didn't effect the beast.

The snake seemed to grin as it glared back. It must have had the same glare attack as Hoku, but luckily, it didn't affect her either.

Hoku was starting to have trouble seeing with all the poison in the air. She began to feel dizzy. She attempted to use the hell fire attack but she missed completely. She then did something dumb. She tried to bite the creature, but only ended up with a mouthful of poisonous scales. She roared in pain as the snake's coils began wrapping around her body and squeezing her tightly. It got harder and harder to breath. A fog seemed to hang in the air making it hard to see.

Hoku couldn't do anything now. She was shocked that a mere snake demon got the best of her. Then again, she'd never run into a snake before. She'd never fought one. Hoku feared that she'd have to give up when she felt a sick snap in her chest. She felt as if a spear was run through her in that same place. She opened her eyes a little when she smelled something familiar. There was nothing but milky white. Then, with a sharp jerk, she fell to the ground. The wound in her chest let out a sharp jolt of pain.

Wondering what happened, she opened her eyes again trying to see what was going on. She could hear the snake thrash around and hiss angrily.

"Hoku." Sukura's voice said as she felt someone touch her paw. "Let's get out of here."

Hoku tried to jerk her paw back but it wouldn't move. It just limply hung in Sukura's hands. She couldn't move at all. She didn't even have the energy to transform into her spirit form. She let out a soft bellow to show that she couldn't move. The vision of Sukura standing over her was coming into view. She noticed that Sukura wasn't looking down at her, but over her, in the direction of all the noise. Hoku waited a while before she could turn her head and watch the fray.

Someone was fighting the snake. It was nobody Hoku recognized.

This person had very long black hair and wore strange clothes. It appeared to be a man. He was holding a long wooden staff out in front of him.

The snake was withering in pain like it was being tortured. Its body appeared to be glowing.

Sukura was speechless. She hadn't left Hoku's side or even let go of her paw.

With a gigantic thud, the snake fell to the ground. Its mouth hung limply open with its forked tongue hanging out.

Hoku froze as the strange man turned to her. Since her nose was burning from the poison, she couldn't smell who or what he was. There was a familiar look about him though.

"Who are you?" Sukura asked him.

The man ignored her. He walked up to Hoku and kneeled beside her and sat his staff on the ground. He then placed his hands over her body. There wasn't a smile or any sign of emotion in his young face. There were strange red markings on his cheeks and forehead. He didn't even look down at her, his blue eyes were on his hands.

Hoku wondered what he was doing to her. After a while she was sick of it and sat up. The pain in her chest hadn't gone away, but it wasn't as bad as it was before.

"Lady Hoku." Sukura gasped. "The poison wore off… you can move."

Hoku's eyes were on the strange man. He had healed her with a touch of his hands. Her sense of smell was working again perfectly, and she knew right away who this person was. She transformed back into her spirit form. Her chest was now heaving in pain, but she ignored it.

"Kit?" she marveled. This defiantly wasn't the person she remembered. "Is that really you?"

The youth smiled slightly. He then began to glow. Within seconds, Kitasato was standing in front of them. He was his normal self again.

"What…?" Sukura gasped.

Hoku stood up. She placed her hands on her chest as she felt blood begin to seep through her clothes. She was confused and angry.

"What… the hell was that?" she hissed.

Kit merely smiled.

"That would be my Guardian…" he said simply. He acted like it was no big deal. This made Hoku even angrier.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" she growled. "You're not making any sense."

"I'll explain later…" Kit said. "You should get that bandaged up."

"I'm fine!" Hoku lied. It was getting harder to stand up. She figured that she must have broken a rib.

"Hoku…" A hiss came from behind them.

They turned around to see that the snake wasn't entirely dead. It was in its spirit form as a woman with the top half of a woman and the rest a snake's. She looked like she was on the brink of death.

"Will you just die already!" Hoku shouted to it.

The snake let out a hissing laugh.

"Hoku… Don't think this was your last battle…" the snake hissed in a strained voice. "I won't be the last… We're coming for you… it won't stop until you are destroyed…"

"What… what are you talking about?" Sukura shouted.

The snake didn't get a chance to answer. She fell over once more and didn't move. She was finally dead.

"What…?" Hoku murmured as she fell to her knees.

"Come on…" Kit said as he grabbed her shoulders. "Let's get that taken care of."

All four of them sat around the little girl and watched as her brown eyes slowly opened.

"Kyra!" her mother gasped.

"Mommy?" Kyra blinked. She then smiled up at her mother. "Mommy… I'm hungry."

Kyra's mother laughed as she held her daughter close. She then looked at Kit.

"Thank you so much!" she sobbed.

"It was nothing…" Kit said with a flick of his hand.

Hoku stared at him for a moment. His modesty always made her angry. The pressure of the bandage around her chest made it hard to breathe, but it was better than bleeding to death.

"So…" Sukura said. "What was wrong with her?"

"You know that snake?" Kit said, "It was hiding under this room. The venom and shouki created some kind of reaction that made her sleep. It didn't effect her mother because she was old enough to where it wouldn't effect her as badly."

"Where do you think it came from?" Sukura asked.

"Well…" Kit said. "I don't really know. I've never seen a snake demon in these parts. She must have traveled a long way."

"…To kill me." Hoku hissed as she stood up. She then looked down at Kit coldly. "You still hadn't told me what happened back there. Look, I don't know what's going on, but something's stinks here, and it's not the humans."

With that, Hoku strode out of the pagoda.

Not too long after, Kitasato found her up in a tree outside the village. He was getting used to this.

"There might be insects up there!" he shouted up to her.

Hoku let out a mock laugh. She didn't look at him, but when he appeared on the branch next to her, she stared in misbelieve.

"You didn't tell me you could climb!" she exclaimed.

"Well," he shrugged, "I guess you'll have to find a different way to get away from me."

Hoku looked away from him and folded her arms.

"Look," he said. "I'm sorry. I should have told you."

"That's just it." Hoku hissed as she turned to face him again. "You didn't tell me anything. I'm starting to think I don't know you at all!"

"Well…" Kit said. "I thought you didn't want to get to know me."

Hoku growled and looked away from him again. He was right.

"Okay," she said. "I admit I'm curious. We've been traveling for a while now, and I don't even know what you are."

"I'm a shaman." he said.

"What the heck is that?"

"Well… It's not something from around here." Kit explained. "I'm really from far away from here. My family originally came from way up north of the world. We called our medicine men shamans. They are what you'd call priests. Only, unlike regular priests, we have a Guardian spirit."

"How did you become a shaman?" Hoku asked.

"You can't become one." Kit said. "You're born one. It was one in a million that a shaman would be born in my family. The tribe we came from was aloud to have only one shaman, so they wanted to kill me, but my parents didn't want that, so we moved here."

"That's a long ways to move." Hoku said.

"I know." Kit sighed. "The tribe's shaman was powerful. He had a powerful Guardian as well. My parents feared that he'd find us."

"But why would they travel all the way here just to kill you?" Hoku asked.

"They didn't want our custom to leave the tribe." Kit replied.

"I see…" Hoku said. She looked out at the blue sky. It was still midday. "So… what is a Guardian spirit?"

"Well…" Kit said as he looked out too. "It's kind of hard to explain. Think of it as a form of yourself in a different form. A familiar you'd say, only with special powers to heal, and fight. They exist only in the mind, but reveal themselves by merging with the body and giving it strength. They don't really have a form like you or I though."

"That's strange…" Hoku said.

"What about you?" Kitasato asked. "Why did you move here?"

Hoku dreaded he'd ask that question, but since he finally came out, she figured she might as well too.

"I was sent here by my family to restore them." she said. "And to eliminate all dogs…"

"Why dogs?" Kit asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Do you know the story of the Zodiacs?" Hoku asked.

Kit nodded.

"Well… That isn't the way it really went. It wasn't the rat that tricked the cat, it was the dog." Hoku said. She felt a bit remorse for telling this to Kit. Foxes were dog-like. "The god that created the Zodiacs found out about it and made us cats Zodiacs too, but not true ones. In case you hadn't noticed, I don't have a symbol."

"I see…" Kit said thoughtfully. "And I suppose if you kill the dog's you and your family would have your revenge?"

"Not only that." Hoku said, "But we'd become true Zodiacs. It isn't fair that we got left out of the deal and we're forgotten because of it."

The two sat quietly for a moment staring out into the sky.

"I wonder what that snake really meant…" Hoku wondered.

"There you two are!" a voice called up to them.

The two looked down to see Sukura staring up at them at the base of the tree.

"Oh, sorry Sukura." Kit grinned. He then patted the branch next to him. "Come on up and have a seat. There's plenty of room."

"Oh, you're a riot!" Sukura shouted. "In case you didn't know the lowest branch is way the hell up there!"

"Too bad for you then…" Hoku grinned. She liked picking on her.

"Hoku, there's a spider on your shoulder!"

"AAAHHH! Where!!"

"Got you!" Sukura laughed.

Hoku jumped out of the tree as Sukura started to run away.

"Get back here coward!!"

"Do I always have the last say in this?" Kit wondered as he watched the girls chase each other around. "You know… a guy could get used to this."