The Twelve Kingdoms Fan Fiction ❯ A Legend Forgotten ❯ Wounded Beast ( Chapter 11 )

(Disclaimer: The Twelve Kingdom Characters belong solely to Fuyumi Ono, but Mariette and the other unknown characters I am writing about belong to me. If this disclaimer is wrong, then please do not sue me.)

 

 

Chapter 11: Wounded Beast

 

A light appeared forcing Yoko to shut her eyes. Yoko opened her eyes again to see that she was in darkness.

 

 

“How much time has passed in Mariette's time frame?” asked Yoko, knowing full well what the light had meant.

 

 

“A year.”

 

 

Yoko smiled and said, “So she has turned nine”

 

 

Yoko was soon surrounded by trees making her confused.

 

 

“Am I still in Kei?”

 

 

“You are, but this is the woods part.”

 

 

Yoko nodded and looked around the trees for Mariette. She spotted Mariette and her two friends sitting around a campfire telling stories. Yoko smiled at the scene.

 

 

“She sure has grown,” said Yoko as she looked at Mariette.

 

 

Toshi smiling menacingly as he told his ghost story.

 

 

“In the deepest part of Kei, there is a cave. Within it is pure darkness.”

 

 

“We all know that you are afraid of the dark,” interrupted Wuya causing Mariette to giggle. Toshi glared at her and claimed, “Am not.” Toshi cleared his throat and continued his story.

 

 

“If you enter the cave of pure darkness, you will see absolutely nothing.”

 

 

“Obviously,” Wuya interrupted again.

 

 

“Would you stop that? It's really distracting!” screamed Toshi. Wuya promised to stop. Toshi continued his story.

 

 

“If you go even deeper into the cave, you will begin to see a figure. As you get closer, the figure gets clearer and you realize…”

 

 

Mariette began to shake and asked, “Realize what?” Toshi suddenly sprung up and screamed, “IT'S A MONSTER!” Mariette screamed causing her cat features to pop out. Toshi burst out laughing, while Wuya shook her head.

 

 

“No matter how many times we hear the story, it still scares Mariette,” said Wuya. Mariette gave out a whimper as she tucked in her cat features.

 

 

“I just get surprised when Toshi screams like that,” said Mariette honestly. Toshi chuckled and said, “Well it's still funny.” Wuya nodded in agreement.

 

 

Mariette gave out a sigh and looked at the campfire.

 

 

“I like camping out once a month, but it gets scary sometimes,” said Mariette as she gazed into the fire. Toshi chuckled and placed an arm around her shoulders.

 

 

“Don't worry, Mariette. When we are older, I will become the king of Kei and prevent you from getting scared ever again,” said Toshi happily. Wuya gave out a sigh.

 

 

“Here we go again. How many times do I have to tell you that it's impossible,” said Wuya. Toshi glared at her, while hugging Mariette.

 

 

“You'll see, Wuya. I am going to become king, marry Mariette, and live to be a hundred,” said Toshi. Wuya smirked at Toshi and said, “Keep dreaming.”

 

 

Wuya crossed her arms and added, “But one thing in your plan might come true.” Wuya glanced toward Mariette.

 

 

“You might marry Mariette,” said Wuya. Toshi smiled and hugged Mariette closer.

 

 

“Of course that can come true,” said Toshi as he cuddled Mariette. Mariette blinked in confusion.

 

 

“Why would that happen?” asked Mariette. Wuya smiled at Mariette and said, “Because Toshi is the only one I can tolerate you marrying.” Mariette blushed a little.

 

 

Mariette squeezed out of Toshi's grasp and gave a small bow to Wuya and Toshi.

 

 

“I'm going to go for a small walk,” said Mariette. Wuya and Toshi nodded and watched Mariette walk off.

 

 

“Stay in the light of the moon, so it's easier to spot Youma!” called out Wuya. Mariette gave a nod before disappearing into the woods.

 

 

Mariette walked down the rough path, while staring up at the moon.

 

 

“I wonder why Toshi and Wuya don't want me to get married to anyone else?” Mariette said to herself. Mariette suddenly heard a groan and stopped in her tracks.

 

 

“What was that?”

 

 

Mariette looked around the trees and flinched when she heard the groan again. Her cat features popped out. Mariette gave a whimper.

 

 

“What is that sound?” said Mariette clearly scared. Mariette suddenly remembered what Wuya had told before she left.

 

 

“Could it be Youma, the creatures that hunt humans,” said Mariette as she began to shake. Mariette heard the groan again and became stiff.

 

 

Mariette looked ahead of her path and saw a huge bird approaching her. It had a red body, blue wings, a yellow tail, and a black beak. Mariette wanted to scream in fear, but her voice wouldn't come out.

 

 

Definitely a Youma.

 

 

The Youma gave out a screech causing Mariette to finally give out a quick scream and run as fast as she could. The Youma ran after her with her crying.

 

 

“Don't eat me!” screamed out Mariette. Mariette was ready to run back to camp, but then she remembered Wuya and Toshi. She didn't want to put them in danger, so she took a sharp turn and abandoned the path. She ran through the trees with the Youma still hot on her trail.

 

 

Mariette pushed through the trees and soon found herself near a huge lake. She ran toward the lake with the Youma still behind her.

 

 

Mariette tripped over a rock and fell to the ground near the lake. Mariette looked behind her and saw that the Youma was dangerously close to her. Mariette shut her eyes thinking that it was the end for her.

 

 

Suddenly, everything fell silent. Mariette opened her eyes and saw the Youma standing right in front of her completely frozen.

 

 

“What…?”

 

 

The Youma fell over giving out a groan. Mariette gasped in surprise and crawled to the fallen Youma.

 

 

“Mr. Youma?”

 

 

 

 

Mariette looked at the Youma closely and saw that it had a huge bloody gash on its side. Mariette gasped in surprise and looked down at the Youma.

 

 

“Were you chasing me asking for help, Mr. Youma?” asked Mariette. The Youma seemed to cringe. Mariette bit her lip and looked at her surroundings. She looked down at the lake and gave a nod. She cupped some of the water from the lake and tossed it onto the Youma's wound. The Youma gave out a cry, but then settled down. Mariette examined the wound again.

 

 

“The blood around it seems to have harden, so this was made days ago. It was probably hurting because it was infected,” said Mariette. Mariette looked at the wound closely and saw what looked like a puss pocket. Mariette cringed.

 

 

“I have to pop that thing, so the puss can come out.”

 

 

Mariette looked around again and spotted a pointed rock. Mariette picked it up and used it to pop the puss pocket. The Youma cringed as the puss poured out of the wound. Mariette looked down at the Youma and said, “I have to squeeze it, so bare with the pain.” The Youma nodded causing Mariette to smile.

 

 

Mariette looked seriously at the opened puss pocket and squeezed it with all her might. The Youma cringed as Mariette forced the puss out. When blood began to come out, Mariette stopped squeezing and splashed more lake water on the wound. Mariette tore off a piece of her shirt and used it to wipe the wound clean.

 

 

Mariette noticed that blood was still coming out from the place she pierced. She thought the squeezing it would make the wound messy again, so she placed her lips to the wound and sucked the blood out causing the Youma to groan. Mariette pulled her lips away and spat out the wasted blood. Mariette did this three times. When there seemed to be no more blood leaking out, she wiped her lips with a smear of blood still around her mouth.

 

 

Mariette rinsed the cloth she was using before and then placed it on the wound. She patted the Youma on the head and said, “This should be all right for now.”

 

 

The Youma gave a nod and licked Mariette's hand. Mariette gave out a giggle. She suddenly heard her friends calling out to her desperately.

 

 

“Wuya, Toshi!” Mariette called back. Wuya and Toshi emerged from the woods panting.

 

 

“Mariette!” they called. They sighed in relief when they saw Mariette, but then froze, when they saw the Youma lying in front of her.

 

 

“Youma!” screamed out Toshi. Wuya was shaking in fear. Mariette smiled at her friends and yelled, “It's all right. This Youma is nice.” Wuya and Toshi were still unsure, but they believed in Mariette, so they made their way to her.

 

 

When they reached her, they saw the blood around Mariette's mouth and the wound of the Youma.

 

 

“Did you eat it?” asked Toshi in surprise. Mariette shook her head.

 

 

“I just treated its wound,” said Mariette. Wuya gave a groan and said, “Then why is there blood around your mouth?” Mariette blinked in confusion. She looked in the reflection of the lake and saw the blood around her mouth. Mariette gasped in surprise and began to splash her face with the cold water.

 

 

When the blood was cleared from her face, she looked back at her friends and asked, “Were you guys looking for me because you heard me scream?” Wuya and Toshi nodded.

 

 

“You nearly gave us a heart attack,” said Toshi close to tears. Wuya nodded in agreement. Mariette smiled at her friends and gave them a hug.

 

 

“Thanks for looking for me,” said Mariette. Toshi and Wuya hugged her back with tears still in their eyes.

 

 

The Youma gave out a cry getting their attention.

 

 

“So what do we do with the Youma?” asked Toshi. Mariette went to the Youma and hugged it around the neck.

 

 

“It's still hurt, so can we keep him?” asked Mariette with puppy dog eyes. Her ears were pointed downward as she gazed up at her friends. Wuya and Toshi gave out a groan.

 

 

“We really can't say no,” they said in unison. Mariette gave out a cheer with her tail swaying happily. Toshi and Wuya tucked in her cat features and looked down at the Youma.

 

 

“By the looks of it, this Youma species is a Tenken,” said Wuya.

 

 

“Tenken?” asked Mariette curiously.

 

 

Toshi nodded and said, “Youma have different species and this one is a Tenken.” Wuya nodded. Mariette gave a nod of understanding and then looked down at the Tenken.

 

 

“I called the Tenken a `he', but is that really its gender?”

 

 

“How should we know?” Wuya and Toshi said in unison. Mariette stared down at it and asked, “What gender are you?”

 

 

The Youma gave a small sound making Mariette smile.

 

 

“So you are a boy,” said Mariette happily. Wuya and Toshi looked at her confusingly.

 

 

“You understood what the Tenken said?”

 

 

Mariette nodded and smiled brightly.

 

 

“It must be because I am a half-beast,” said Mariette. Toshi and Wuya looked at each other completely confused.

 

 

Mariette crouched down in front of it and asked for its name. It made another small sound.

 

 

“He doesn't have a name, so I can give him one,” said Mariette happily. Mariette thought awhile and then said, “There is a full moon tonight and I met you under the light of the moon, so your name should be Usagi.”

 

 

“Usagi?”

 

 

Mariette nodded and added, “Usagi means `rabbit', but it also means `moon.' It's also a girl name, but it sounds perfect for him.” The Youma made a sound causing Mariette to giggle.

 

 

“I knew you would like it,” said Mariette happily. Toshi stared at the scene and then asked, “So what do we feed Usagi?”

 

 

Mariette gave it some thought and looked down at the lake.

 

 

“Fish should be good for him,” said Mariette.

 

 

“What makes you think he'll eat it?” asked Wuya curiously.

 

 

Mariette asked Usagi if he would eat fish and he gave a nod. Mariette held a thumbs-up at her friends making them smile.

 

 

Wuya crossed her arms and said, “We'll watch him till he gets better, but he has to remain in the woods.” Mariette nodded and hugged Usagi around his neck.

 

 

“Usagi.”

 

 

Yoko watched Mariette hug Usagi and found herself smiling.

 

 

“So she became friends with a Youma,” said Yoko. Yoko remembered how Mariette was able to understand Usagi and said, “How did she understand him?”

 

 

Yoko then looked toward Toshi and asked, “And does Mariette marry that boy in the future?”

 

 

“Just watch.”

 

 

Yoko smirked and looked back at Mariette, who was still cuddling her new companion.

 

 

(This took a while to write. I'm not a medical person; so if the first aid written down was wrong, don't scream at me. Thanks to the three people who have reviewed. I am updating because of them. Please continue to read and review. There should be another small time skip in the next chapter.)