Fan Fiction ❯ Silver Tear ❯ At First Glance ( Chapter 13 )

At First Glance

The sunlight glowed red on the green forest floor and trees. Also being warm and dry, it seemed as if the woods were ablaze. The air had a taste of fire to it as Hoku took in a deep breath.

"So this is it…" she said as she looked around.

Noshiro appeared next to her.

"Yes, this path leads out of these woods." she nodded. "There is also a village not too far from here. I'm sure if you get close enough, you can smell it."

"Thank you." Kitasato said as he appeared at Noshiro's other side. "We owe you one."

"What?" Noshiro's eyebrows raised. "Oh no… I'm the one that owed you. If it wasn't for you and your friends, I'd be wandering around all alone wondering what the heck was what."

"But it was my fault…"

"I should had been more alert…"

Hoku sighed and stared down the red path. She and her friends had been stuck in the eastern forest for almost three weeks in their search for the dog demon Marrowind.

"Hoku?"

Hoku turned and received the stares of her travel companions. She felt invaded.

"What?"

"Shall we take our leave?" Kit asked.

Hoku looked from him to Sukura. She was being oddly quiet.

"Hey, Chirpy."

"Me?" Sukura frowned.

"Yeah, are you ready to go?"

Sukura nodded.

Hoku turned to Noshiro. She gave her a slight smile.

"Listen, Noshiro." she said. "Though you were possibly more of a pain then help I'd like to thank you anyway. I know that the cat isn't a true Zodiac, but as one, I still don't respect what you are."

"I understand." Noshiro said. "I'm sure that you're not the only one out there with the same feelings. We Zodiacs have been loathed for many years, even before the humans came here, and the torment that you cats have faced is enough to make a strong person like you even fall weak to hatred."

Hoku only grinned.

"I am strong," she said. She then leaned forward into Noshiro's ear. "But let me tell you a little something. The secret to being strong is the strength of your will as a woman. Don't let any man get the best of you. Just keep your head in the game and you could be the strongest woman alive."

Hoku backed up.

Noshiro smiled.

"What was that about?" Kit asked.

Noshiro pulled out the plank of wood and Kit flinched and jumped back.

"Just kidding!" Noshiro laughed.

Sukura just shook her head.

"Well…" Hoku said as she turned and faced the path. "The road awaits us… Let's be going. I want some sushi before nightfall."

"I can't tell what's on your mind more…" Kit sighed. "Fighting, or fish…"

"She's heading this way…" a woman's voice said from the shadows. "Do you want me to make preparations?"

"No…" a youth replied. "I'll handle it."

"If that is your will…" the woman said, though there was a little disappointment in her tone. "Forgive me to say, but you should relax and let me…"

"That is unnecessary." the youth interrupted. "We'll send someone for now. Let's both sit back and see what power she really has… If she is the one who can end it all, then I have a right to know."

"As always, your ideas are reliable to good cause."

"That is something you should take note of."

"Yes."

"By the way, how is our little pet doing?"

"He's collected many so far." the woman replied. "I've been watching him. He's getting stronger."

"Let's just hope he gets strong enough in time…"

"Indeed."

"Actually…" the youth said as he stared out the window to the outside. "I wish you to investigate. Watch her."

"As you wish." the woman bowed.

"Look!" Sukura exclaimed happily as she fell back on a cotton sleeping mat. "This is so soft! Nothing like the hard ground. My back still hurts."

"At least you didn't sleep on a sharp rock…" Kit chuckled as he sipped his tea. "That took a while to dig out."

"Who cares about sleeping…" Hoku said as she stared out the window. "As long as there aren't any nasty six legged freaks crawling around."

"Can't you relax for just a moment?" Kit asked her. "You've been standing there and staring out that window for hours now."

"Yeah, what's up?" Sukura asked. "Is there something wrong?"

"I'm not sure." Hoku said thoughtfully. She then kept her mouth closed. She wasn't willing to say what was on her mind.

"There's no spiders outside either…" Kit sighed.

Hoku turned away from the window and glared at him.

"I know!" she hissed. "Anyway, I'd rather sleep with the bugs crawling on me then sleep in here with you."

"I'm sorry." Kit grinned. "Do I snore that much?"

"Where are you going to sleep then?" Sukura asked.

"…" Hoku stared out the window some more. She could hardly see anything on the ground, but higher up, she could see the treetops and mountains in the distance. She stepped back when she saw a large animal bound across the cliffs. She knew that she was being followed again and it'd be only a short matter of time before she faced him again.

"See anything interesting?" Kit asked.

"No…" Hoku said as she stepped away from the window. She then heaved a sigh. "I guess I'll stay in here tonight…"

"She must have seen another crab scuttle across the village." Sukura giggled.

"Close it chirpy." Hoku yawned. "Even if you are the almighty bug goddess you're still smaller than me."

"Grumpy, grumpy…" Kit shook his head. "Maybe you do need some sleep."

"Maybe." Hoku said.

"So, how are we going to pay for this anyway?" Sukura asked as she pulled the covers over her.

"Beats me…" Kit shrugged. "Hoku said it was on her, didn't you?"

Hoku looked over her shoulder at him and grinned. She wasn't about to tell him that the sack of gold she obtained came from a hunter she found in the woods before they reached the village.

"I've got it taken care of…" she said. She then went over to her sleeping mat and sat down. She leaned back against the wall, then blew out the candle lighting the room. Everything was dark. Hoku sat there with her eyes wide. She was deep in thought about the events that were showing themselves throughout their journey. She never had expected it to get so complicated. It seemed that there was something stirring in the land of the east. She could taste it in the air. It was a sensation that made her uneasy. Slowly, Hoku fell asleep.

After a while, Kit sat up. He felt warm to his very bone and he was sweating all over. He wasn't sure if it was too warm for covers or if it was some dream he had that he couldn't remember. He glanced over at Hoku. Once he saw that she was fast asleep, he got up and went outside.

A steady wind blew from the west. Like before, it was warm and dry like smoke. Kit leaned against the side of the inn and glanced upward. It was cloudy. The sky was a deep black except for the round circle that glowed through them. Kit felt a pulse deep in his chest. His heart raced at the sight.

A wolf howled from afar.

Kit continued to stare. Feeling a drowsy sensation take over him, he continued to stand there until a sound grabbed him from his thoughts.

"What are you doing out here?" Hoku asked.

Kit looked at her for a moment.

"Hello?"

"Yeah?"

"Shouldn't you be getting some sleep?"

Kit didn't look away from her. He didn't smile.

"I didn't mean to wake you." he said.

Hoku stared back. In the darkness, all she could see were the soft glow of his blue eyes. Something was different about him.

"What's going on?" she frowned.

Kit looked away and up at the round sphere in the sky.

"Do you see that?"

Hoku looked up too.

"Yeah, it's the moon."

"Exactly…" Kit said, not taking his eyes away from it. "It's kind of strange… How something so far away could be so controlling…"

"What do you mean?" Hoku asked. She was starting to feel a little concerned.

"Have you ever heard?" Kit asked. "About the moon and it's bond with the dog kind?"

"I hear them howling." Hoku said. "It drives me crazy."

"They howl," Kit said. "Because they know that they are being heard."

"This is dumb…" Hoku said as she leaned against the wall next to him. "All I hear are the annoying sounds of mutts…"

"That's because you can't understand them." Kit said.

"Really," Hoku said. "Then what do they say?"

"They say how lonely, sad, angry, or happy they are." Kit replied. "It is the only time when they can express themselves. The full moon is inspiration to them. It is like a spirit that is always listening. It is a spirit of freedom."

Hoku murmured.

"I'm sorry." Kit said as he took his glance away. "You should be getting some sleep. Don't worry about me."

"Who said anything about being worried?" Hoku hissed. "I was just wondering. Anyway, what else is with you. I see that your hair has gone black again."

Kit still didn't smile.

"Well?"

"Remember how I said that the full moon is a time of expression?"

"Yeah."

"Well, this is my expression." Kit said. "Since we foxes are unable to communicate by sound such as howling, we are more in contact with our inner spirit. Since I am the way I am, my inner spirit comes out. It's difficult to explain."

"Whatever." Hoku yawned. "I'm going back to sleep. Once you're done and your inner self decides to give it a break, you should get some shut eye too. I might need you tomorrow."

Kit smiled.

Hoku stared at him for a moment. She felt somewhat violated.

"What?"

"Nothing…" Kit said as he stared back up at the sky. "Goodnight Hoku."

"Weirdo…" Hoku sighed as she walked back inside.

She went back to her room and leaned against the wall. She could hear Sukura's light breaths as she slept soundly on the other side of the room. A little jealous of her, Hoku glanced out the window once more. She couldn't sleep. Her mind was too full. She continued to stare until a sudden light made her eyes burn a little. It took her a moment to realize that the cloud covering up the moon had moved, and the full light beamed. Hoku sat up a little more. The scene she saw earlier that day was visible once more. On the cliff face where she'd seen someone earlier, stood someone else.

The wind picked up and the moonlight went away.

At first glance, Hoku had seen a figure of a woman with long, blonde, flowing hair. Her white Kimono seemed to glow. Now it had been swallowed in darkness once more. Hoku tried to adjust her eyes to the sudden lack of light, but by the time she could see again, the woman had disappeared.

Hoku slid back down. Trying not to let anything else get to her, she slowly closed her eyes, and drifted off to sleep.

The birds chirped at early light. Awakening, Hoku's eyes fluttered open, then stared up at the ceiling. It took her quite a while to realize that she was awake and wasn't dreaming anymore. She lowered her head and gazed around the room.

Sukura's head was hardly visible under the blanket that covered her. She was sleeping soundly.

Hoku wondered if she'd always slept so sound. She then looked around for Kit. Like the night before she found him outside, he wasn't in the room. Not surprised in the slightest, Hoku stood up and stretched. She thought about weather or not to go looking for him. Making up her mind, she headed outside. She paused at the doorway when Sukura sighed and turned over. Then she stepped out into the brilliant morning sunlight.

She received many strange looks as she walked around. She figured that Demons must have gotten more respect in the east because nobody spoke to her or tried to drive her away. It didn't take too long to find Kit. He was found in one of the smaller huts on the outskirts, tending an injured man's wounds.

"Good morning." Kit said as Hoku walked up behind him. He was kneeling in front of a man who was wrapped in bandages nearly from head to toe. He looked like he'd been burned.

"Cut the crap." Hoku hissed. "You could've at least told me where you ran off to instead of making me look around for your sorry butt."

"Are you saying that you were worried about me?" Kit grinned as he dipped a cloth into a bowl of cold water. He then placed it on the man's forehead.

"No," Hoku spat. "Never mind… It's not like it matters anyway.

"You sure seem uptight about something that doesn't really matter." Kit said as he stood up and faced her.

"I'm not." Hoku stomped her foot.

"Temper, temper…" Kit smiled. He then pointed at the man. "Look." he said. "Last night, I went for a short walk and I found this man in the woods. He was conscious long enough to tell me that he was attacked by a dragon."

Hoku just frowned.

"So." she said. "Why would I care about that?"

"The dragon was a Zodiac."

"What?" Hoku's eyes grew wide. "A Zodiac dragon? Here? I thought they only lived in the northern areas."

"Exactly." Kit said. His face turned serious. "Do you remember the snake?"

"You needn't remind me." Hoku hissed as she looked away. She was deep in thought once more.

Just then, there was a screaming from outside. Hoku and Kit bolded out and saw a horrific sight.

One of the pagodas not too far from them had caught fire. Not only that, it was a storage area for explosive material, and the place had blown up. There were people crawling away from it with terrible burns and even a missing limb.

Kit was way ahead by the time Hoku noticed he was gone. She went after him, then suddenly, something swooped down in front of her.

"The dragon…" she gasped as she stared up at the huge beast.

The dragon leered down at her with its yellow eyes. It was entirely red and was about six times taller than Hoku. It had no forelimbs, only large powerful wings. Its legs looked powerful and on the end of each toe, was a razor sharp talon. The Zodiac dragon symbol was in plain sight on its forehead.

Hoku jumped back.

"Kit!" she called. "A little help here!"

The dragon let out a roar, then a jet of flame burst from its mouth.

Hoku smiled. Instead of dodging the flames and missing the opportunity of a successful attack, she sprinted into the flames and slashed at the Dragon's throat. Her body felt warm, but that didn't stop her. Hoku's ability to handle fire made her invincible to flame.

The dragon however, saw this maneuver and stepped back as Hoku made her move. It then spun around, making its tail collide with her skull.

Hoku soared backward for a moment until she got her senses back. She landed at a crouch on top of one of the pagodas. Wondering where Kit had gone, she looked around for a moment. When things were oddly silent, she gazed at the area where the dragon once stood. She stood up.

"Damn…" she hissed as she looked around. "Where'd it go?"

"Right here." a woman's voice said smoothly behind her.

Before Hoku could turn, she was struck in the back and was sent to the ground. Her face hit the dirt and rocks as she roughly made her landing. Feeling a small stream of blood trickle down her head, she got up and turned. Unafraid.

There was a woman standing up there. Her green kimono hung loosely on her scarlet red body and her long, evenly cut hair was jet black. She had a look of amusement in her yellow eyes. There was a little jewel in the middle of her forehead held on by a jeweled chain that went around her head.

"So, this is the cat demon Hoku." she said. Her voice was smooth and calm. "Interesting… You're not at all as I'd pictured you. Are you really her?"

"Who want's to know?" Hoku hissed boldly took a step forward.

"I am Moro." the Dragon replied. "I've come for you Hoku."