• Chapter 3 revisiting the past

    Mizono-san made some tea for us as I prepared to tell the tale. I took a long sip and then placed the cup on the table.

    “This is the story passed down from each generation of the Yuroto clan to the next. It’s a long and possibly annoying story so try and keep up. Ok Mizono-san?” I asked her. She nodded like a giddy little kid wanting a cookie. I sighed.

    “Alright then. Let’s begin,” I said.

    About 60 years ago the world was at peace. The guardians of the north, south, east, and west were at ease and maintained the balance. Ryuuken, the dragon of the north, was among the strongest of the four. Fushi, the phoenix of the south, was wise beyond that of any creature. Kamene, the turtle of the west, coveted virtues that only those with open minds would accept. Last was Toraku, the tiger of the east. He was the most dominant in his own right. These four protected humans and demons alike. And for a time, all was at peace. It wasn’t till 60 years ago that things changed. A human by the name of Miroken, corrupted the Ryuuken, causing him to go insane and power hungry. He fought with the other guardians and amassed an army of demons to do his bidding. Ravaging the landscape and plunging the world into chaos. The turtle and the tiger were banished to the continents that represented the west and east. We know them now as America and Asia. But as for the Phoenix he didn’t give in without a fight. He had 3 loyal followers that he took into battle. These warriors were 3 demons. A bird, a wolf, and a lynx. With the help of his followers Ryuuken was defeated and hurled into an endless abyss. In thanks for their work Fushi bestowed the 3 with the powers of fire, water, thunder, wind, light, and darkness. After which Fushi was never seen again.

    Mizono-san looked at me stunned. She was taking it all in and was amazed by this tale.

    “What happened next?” she asked intently.

    The story goes that during 30 years of peace something unexpected happened. Once the next generations of the bird, wolf, and lynx clans were born the powers infused in their parents escaped and scattered, but only 3 powers remained. The birds controlled fire. To the Lynx water was bestowed. And to the wolves thunder was given. No one knows what happened to light, darkness, and wind. My father was the new wielder of fire. They learned that they could control the powers given and use them to protect the ones they love. A prophecy was also passed down. That the dragon would return. The only way to defeat it would be if the 6 powers are gathered with the warrior of the land and sky and the army of 5. Today I can sense the dragon regaining his power. He wants to destroy the warrior before he can find his army. But that warrior has his own trial. He most tame the wild beast within before he can truly become the warrior of land and air.

    “And that’s the story,” I said finishing. Mizono-san looked at me with big puppy dog eyes filled with excitement. She was truly touched and felt all tingly. She stood up and started shouting to the heavens.

    “I shall find that noble hero and join him!!! You should join him too!!! Who is he anyway? Do you know him?” she shouted and asked. I nodded.

    “Then who is he?” she asked. I raised my hand. Her jaw dropped and then started to laugh. My face flushed as she laughed and pointed.

    “You’re joking right? You? The warrior of the land and air? Prove it,” she said while laughing.

    “Ok,” I said. I closed my eyes and let out a long breath.

    “戻るには、土地の薄明,” I whispered. This is a spell that hides the true form of the caster. My body began to glow with a black aura. Mizono-san stopped laughing and stared intently. As the aura faded my back started to throb. I hunched over writhing in pain and agony. Mizono-san started to walk over to me.

    “Get back!” I said. I let out a bone chilling scream as a pair of brown wings burst out of my back. I panted for a while before the next major change happened. My ears had shrunk into my head and reappeared on the top of my head in the form of fox ears. The last thing to happen was I grew a long dark brown tail. I gasped for a while then got to my feet. My eye color had also changed from dark brown to cat’s eye yellow. This was my true form. A demon.

    “This is what you wanted to see right? Hmm? Mizono-san?” I asked looking around. She vanished. Then I felt something pull on my tail. I used my tail to flick it. It grabbed again and this time pulled.

    “OOOWWWWWW!!!” I screamed. I turned to see Mizono-san with my tail in her hand. She looked at me then smiled.

    “KAWAIIIIIII!!’ she screamed throwing her arms around me. We toppled to the ground with her on my back and wings.

    “Mizono-san, please get off. You’re crushing my wings,” I said straining. She got off me then started to play with my wings. She had a huge grin on her face as she fiddled with my feathers. I broke her hold on me and faced her.

    “Do you understand what I am? I’m a demon. An unholy freak of nature. Do you know what that can do to your reputation anywhere on this planet?” I asked her nearly screaming. She looked at me puzzled for a second.

    “I don’t care about that,” she said. My face went blank as she said it. I couldn’t believe that someone would unconditionally and genuinely not care that they were making friends with a literal demon. As I stared into space again she got in my face once more.

    “So Yuroto-kun, where are your parents?” she asked. My expression changed. It was a solemn and down trot look. As if I knew I was about to die and only had a month to live. This was one truth I wished I could escape from. She noticed the look of despair on my face and backed off.

    “I’m sorry,” she said. She waved her hands in the air in frenzy as I attempted to regain some manner of composure.

    “Its ok. When my father told me of my destiny, he sent me on a training mission. A mission to home my demonic nature and my swordsmanship. While I was away. Ryuuken sent a group of dragon demons to my house and killed both my mother and father. And to make sure they killed me in the fight they burned down the house. They had received information that I was just a boy. They didn’t know that fox demons age faster and look like a 17 year old at the age of 13. When I hit 14 I returned to a pile of ash and soot. I couldn’t contain the amount of pain that I felt. They were everything to me. They loved me. I stayed with Koyomi-sensei till I was 16 then moved to that alley,” I said with a straight face. It was my life’s story so I shouldn’t feel sad about it, thought Mizono-san’s face told a different story. She glommed me crying heavily.

    “Yuroto-kun I’m so sorry,” she said crying into my shoulder. I patted her on her head and converted her.

    “It’s not your burden to carry,” I told her. She stopped crying then got serious.

    “You’re moving in with me,” she said.

    “Say what?” I asked.

    “You heard me. You will stay with me from now one,” she said.

    “Thanks for the offer but,” I started. This time she got in my face with anger and fury in her eyes. Eyes that told me if I don’t obey then my life is over.

    “You’re staying here. Got it?” she asked with a demanding tone.

    “Yes Mizono-san,” I said in a scared voice. She backed off and smiled.

    “Oh yeah. If you’re going to stay here we need to take care of something,” she said turning around. I had a puzzled look on my face. She turned back around holding a pair of scissors. I instantly knew what she was going to do.

    “Time for a haircut, Yuroto-kun,” she said with a devilish smile. During all the excitement I had all of my wounds had reopened and paralyzed me. She came over and started lobbing off clumps of my hair. She handed me a mirror and I looked at it. My hair was still down and sorta spiked and the ends, but it was just shorter.

    “Not bad if say so,” she said. I played with it for a while. Then something in my mind clicked.

    “Umm Mizono-san, where is my shirt?” I asked. She laughed and walked over and started stroking my chest. She got really really close.

    “Is that important now?” she asked in a playful voice. My face exploded as I darted for the nearest corner. I opened all my wounds and stood there sweating. I don’t know how to react to girls. I’ve been alone for years and never had anyone special. I got the feeling that this is going to be a weird time in my life.

    End of chapter 3