Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Blood of the Gods: Part One- When the Sun Sets ❯ Masquerade ( Chapter 12 )

Masquerade

 

 

The sliding door eased open across the room from Moriko and her yellow eyes narrowed with suspicion. A girl came in, her little foot edging the door open a little wider. She was balancing a tray in one hand while trying to open the door with the other. Moriko gazed at her from under the dark hair that had fallen over her eyes. This girl seemed about ten summers old, maybe older, she wasn't sure. She had shoulder length dark auburn hair that fell in messy waves over her head, almost covering her earthy green eyes; heavily tanned skin suggesting that she spent a lot of time outside in the sun, but expensive red and pink dress robes saying that she was of higher rank then servant girl or farmer's daughter. The girl's clothing was what looked like a soft pink silk dress, cut a knee length, with a red cotton robe over the top, pink maple leaves embroidered onto the left sleeve. Moriko smirked when the girl swore after squeezing through the stubborn door, “Such offensive language coming from a refined young lady such as you? What is the world coming to?” Moriko's smirk grew when the girl turned to her with wide eyes. She stepped closer, the door still open, “Shut it you! Be good or I will call the guards!” Moriko's smirk turned dark, “I believe that you are lying little one.” The girl glared defiantly. It reminded her of Aki. Moriko saddened at the thought of her sister. She sighed dejectedly, “That for me?” The girl stared at her with a confused look on her face. What happened? She was fine a moment ago, threatening even, but now she is all sad. Moriko stood and walked up to the girl. She grinned a little when the girl's green eyes went wide and her little form froze, “Peace. All I want is the food. I will not harm you.” Moriko continued to move closer and quietly took the tray from the girl. She returned to her place by the wall and looked down at her food. A loaf of bread about the size of her fist, a small fruit and a small bowl of water, all three looking a little old. Simply delectable… She ripped a bite off the bread with her teeth and began to chew on it before glancing up at the sound of the girl's voice, “How did you get free? Are you not supposed to be tied?” Moriko shrugged, talking around her food, “I do not do restraints well. You will forgive me, I am sure.” She stuffed the rest of the bread into her mouth and reached behind her. The girl squealed when Moriko tossed a couple pieces of rope at her, “Here.” She picked up the fruit, “You can have it back if you want it.” The girl stared at the rope for a moment, eyeing the gnawed looking ends while Moriko was more concerned with suspiciously eyeing the little fruit. How did she get out of these? Moriko sniffed the fruit.

Moriko watched the little girl watch her as she drowned the last of the water and pushed the tray back over to her with her foot, “Thank you.” The little fruit was still on the tray. “So?” The girl looked up from the tray, “So what?” “What did you come here for? I know that you are not a servant girl so it cannot be that you were told to bring me food.” She began to fidget with the ropes Moriko had thrown at her earlier, her eyes planted on the floor, “I wanted to see if it was true. The men said that father brought back a great prize.” Moriko blinked owlishly at her for a moment, “You joke.” She shook her head. “What is your name girl?” “I am Hanna.” “Well Hanna, your father is full of shit. I am no prize.” Hanna glared at her, “He is not and yes you are!” “How do you figure?” Hanna stood, “I will show you. Stay here.” Moriko watched in slight amusement what he girl got up and ran out of the room, the door sliding closed behind her. This should prove to be interesting. Moriko leaned back against the wall to wait for Hanna's return.

Hanna padded down the corridor as fast as she could without making to much noise, her yes bright with determination. She rounded a corner and stopped. Her father and some of the other hunters that brought the cat lady were down at the end of the hall. How do I get into father's office with them standing so close to the door? She glanced around before sighing softly to herself, “Here we go.” She slid against the wall, slowly slinking closer and closer to where her father and the other men were talking; hoping none of them turned and saw her. She was not usually allowed in this part of the manor. Her feet made a soft squeak on the polished wooden floor just as she slipped into her father's office. Yes! Hanna glanced around the room. Alright… Where is that paper? She moved over to the small desk and searched through some other tings in search of the paper she wanted. She frowned. Where did he move it to? She turned in a small circle, her eyes scanning the room for the paper. A small poster was tacked to the wall behind her. There it is! She yanked it off the wall and rolled it before shoving it into her sleeve. A dull shine caught her eye. She looked down to see a sword leaning against the wall, the light of the late afternoon sun reflecting off the blade's black sheath. When did father get that? She reached out to touch it when the paper in her sleeve brushed against her skin. Her head snapped up. Oh yeah! Hanna moved over to the door and peeked out into the hall. No one was there. She grinned and ran down the hall, determined to get back to the cat lady her father locked in that room on the other end of the manor.

Leaves flew sporadically up into the sky as a soft breeze shifted the air at their feet. Atama stared out ahead of him, his sister walking close behind him as if he would vanish should she move away. Kannashi and Aki walked just ahead of him, his arm around her in silent support. Atama stopped, bright emerald eyes narrow. “Brother?” “Mother is near.” Aki froze for a moment before turning to him, “What did you say?” “My mother is close.” She turned to Kannashi, “What is lies there?” “A small village. It is mostly supported by a big time game hunter if I remember correctly. He lives in a large manor. Very wealthy.” Atama nodded slowly, “She is there.” Kannashi shook his head, “I do not think so Atama. None of those men seem like wealthy game hunters.” The boy turned to him, capturing him with his intense emerald gaze, “She is there.” He released Kannashi from his stare and began to walk in the direction if the indicated village, his little sister holding onto his left arm as she followed after him. Aki called out, “Atama! Hikari! Wait! You cannot know for sure if Moriko is there. And I agree with Kannashi. None of those men seemed wealthy.” Atama turned back to them, eyes lit with a deep seeded anger, “You cannot stop me. My mother is there and I will get to her.” “You do not know that.” “Yes I do. She is there. You should come with me if you wish to find your sister, but I cannot force you to come. And before you say anything, you cannot keep us from going. When you are awake, you may be the stronger, but even you have to sleep sometime.” Aki's and Kannashi's eyes went wide at the statement that still hung heavily in the air around them. Blue eyes narrowed. Such an intense child. Does he fear losing her so much that he would attempt to go through me and Aki to find her? Kannashi sighed, “Alright. Lead the way.” Atama nodded and began to walk once more toward the place he knew his mother was, Hikari next to him with Aki and Kannashi following closely behind.

Moriko looked up when Hanna slid open the door to her room with a triumphant grin on her face. “Here it is!” She unrolled a piece of paper pulled from her sleeve, holding it out for Moriko to see. Yellow eyes went wide with horror. By the gods… Not again. The paper that Hanna was holding told her everything that she needed to know. It was a wanted poster with the ink image of Katsura, the murderer. Her bounty was written at the bottom of the page along with a list of all the people they knew she'd killed. No. Please no… Not again. I cannot bear to deal with it again. Hanna stared at Moriko, “Are you alright?” Moriko opened her mouth to speak, but found that she had lost the ability to do so. The girl dropped that paper and moved closer to Moriko, a concerned look on her face. Moriko's eyes followed the paper. Moriko felt something move inside of her, something shifting in the deep, closed off part of her soul. Her eyes went wider, dulling with some kind of mist. Katsura… The sound of Hanna's voice next to her head snapped her out of her stupor just enough for her to regain the ability to speak. She took a shaky breath, “Do you know how to read Hanna?” “What?” “Do you know how to read?” “No.” Moriko tried to smile at her, “It's alright if you do not know how to read. It is fine.” She took a deep breath in a feeble attempt to calm her nerves, her panicked eyes sliding closed for a moment. “Do you know what that paper means Hanna?” “Father said that if he found the lady in the picture, he would get lots of gold.” “Good. Do you know why I am here?” Hanna went to speak then paused, her small brow creasing in concentration. “No.” Moriko re- opened her eyes, “I am the lady in the picture Hanna. That is what I looked like a long time ago. It has been many seasons since that is who I was.” Her face lit up, “Really? Then father has your sword!” Moriko's face broke out in a look of total disbelief, her claws digging into the wood of the floor. Her father has my sword? Her eyes dulled again. Kukushinbou… Her attention snapped back to Hanna, “I have to get my sword Hanna.” “Why?” “It is important.” “The sword?” “More like who has possession of it.” “I do not understand.” “You father cannot have possession of my sword. It is-” Moriko faltered when Katsura moved again, shifting a little closer to the surface, “Different. It cannot be wielded by just anyone.” “Why?” Moriko's stare darkened causing Hanna to take a step back, “Because that sword… it is possessed. Possessed by someone from a long time ago.” Hanna stepped back again, fear swimming in her earthy eyes, “Possessed?” “That sword was possessed by the soul of its only master. A woman who had no name. A murderer with a legendary hatred for humanity. She was said to have been slain by a demon and in her anger, possessed her blade so that the future generations to come could finish was she started. I found the sword in the forest, the demon's black blood still dried to it, even after so long. I claimed it as my own, ignorant of what I had just brought down upon myself. Then, when a simple woman was under my blade, she named that woman Katsura… For the moon lit ice that runs through her veins.” The girl backed away from her, “Does that mean you are possessed?” Moriko stared blankly at her, unimaginable horrors shifting and twisting just below the surface, “Of that, I am unsure.” Hanna shook her head as if to rid herself of something then glared at Moriko, “You are my father's prisoner! You cannot leave!” She turned and ran out of the room, the door slamming shut behind her. Moriko growled softly when she heard the wooden bar used to lock the door on the other side slip into place. You cannot keep me here! She stood, her hand slipping the wanted poster off the floor and into her boot. I have to find it. Katsura moved closer to the surface, grinning at the thought of Kukushinbou in her hands again.

The moon rose slowly into the sky, her light trying in vain to break through the thick foliage if the trees and into the dark world below it. Atama and Hikari stared longingly out at the small village from their perch in the limbs of a tall pine tree, gazing at the place they knew their mother was, but saddened at their own inability to help her. Aki walked closer to the edge of the forest, her eyes wide, “She really is here…” Her eyes grew wide and misty, “My sister!” “Back away!” Her head snapped up to see Atama growling softly, the sound fluttering dangerously on the breeze. Emerald eyes flashed, “Do not leave the forest. If you do, someone will see you and the whole place will know that we are here. Do not act to irrationally/” Aki stared at him, even as he turned away, completely awed at his knowledge of what was going on around him and wondering how he could be so mature when he was, at the same time, so young. I do not understand. She leaned back into Kannashi, her face hidden in his chest, “I do not get that boy.” Kannashi looked down into her mass of dark hair, blue eyes bright from the glow of the village, “He is lost.” “Lost?” “Yes. Without Moriko, he feels lost. She found them, right?” “Yes.” “Then my guess is that he has lost a mother before and, when he did, he did not know what to do with himself. Then, he had to mature much too quickly in order to be able to take care of his sister and himself for a very long time. You see-” Kannashi looked up at Atama, “When I look at him, I see a man far greater then most, just in a smaller package.” Aki glanced at the boy as well, “I see what you mean.” “Then you should see that now that he has lost his mother again, but can do something about it, he will not allow anything to get in his way. Not even you.” He tightened his hold on her for a brief moment. They al turned at the sound of screaming coming from within the manor at the far end of the village, sharp hearing easily picking up the sound. Eyes went wide when the spicy smell of Moriko's blood permeated the air around them. Atama and Hikari leapt to the ground and began to run towards the manor, twin emerald eyes wide with panic, “Mother!” Aki and Kannashi went out after them, but were soon outrun by the frantic children.

Moriko flexed her fingers while she glared at the door that was supposed to lock her in this wretched room, her ears laid back against her head. Something shifted in her eyes and they grew colder, but as soon as it came, it was gone. She snarled, “No one holds me!” She put her fist through the thin wood of the door and ripped a large chunk out of it, the wood falling to the floor at her feet. She reached around on the other side of the door until she found the wood that locked it in place. She grinned. There you are. Moriko moved it up so that she could slide the door open just enough to get out. The stick clattered to the floor. Her head snapped up when she heard the sounds of heavy boots running through the halls. You have got to be kidding. Armed guards came running around the corner just after Moriko had run down a hall on the opposite end of the corridor. She glanced back. No guards. She ran faster, her body moving closer to the ground until her upper half was just about parallel to the floor. She slid around a corner and stopped just as that hunter who captured her turned to stare wide eyes into her face. She snarled, tail lashing the air, “You!” She grabbed him, her claws digging into the soft flesh of his neck while his hands instinctively reached up to grab her wrist, “Who are you?” He stared at her for a moment before stuttering out an answer, “Youhei-” “Where is my sword Youhei?” “You had no sword.” Moriko reached down and pulled Katsura's wanted poster from her boot. She let it fall open in front of his face, “This sword. Tell me where it is or I throttle you.” Youhei struggled until Moriko's grip tightened, trickles of blood trailing down his neck to stain the color of his cloths. His eyes bulged with panic, “My office! It's in my office!” “Where is that?” “Two corridors down at the end of the second hall!” Moriko dropped him and bolted down the corridor. She ran passed one hall and slid into the second one, her eyes watching for the door Youhei spoke of. There. She slowly came to a stop in front of her would be captor's office, something familiar pulsing inside. She walked stiffly inside, her eyes searching the small place for the item she wanted. She stopped. There, leaning against the wall, was Kukushinbou. She stared at it. It looks just the same as it did all those seasons ago. She walked closer, her fingers itching to hold it again. The sheath was still black and polished, the hilt still wrapped in that black silk ribbon, but what of the blade? She reached out and slowly let her fingers close around the hilt. The long dead sensation of angry power coursed through her body like fire, bringing her blood to an intoxicating boil. Katsura howled when she felt the hilt of her blade beneath her fingers again. Moriko felt herself falling into the background as Katsura took control, a chilled voice echoing in her mind, “Back once again.” Her yellow eyes turned cold and her face broke out in a blood- thirsty grin. She slid the sword into the cloth belt around her waist and pulled the blade from its sheath. Perfect. The blade glinted in the dim light that poured into the room from the moon outside as Katsura studied it. A sharp pain bit harshly into her back and then she heard her own blood splatter against the wall.