Chapter 4

“You can’t go out Lady Kitsune! It’s much too dangerous for you and your unborn child!”                                                                      

  Lady Kitsune was rushing out the front door of the same house she had always seemed to have lived in as fast as she could. She, as well as me, had heard moments before that her father and husband had been attacked and were being held ransom by another family. I could understand why she would rush out as fast as she could, she was very close to her husband and father and would do anything to protect them. But the only problem with this action was the fact that she was very pregnant, so it was very unwise to act like this. I was running with her, feeling the pain radiate off of her. Before she had made it passed the courtyard…..the very same courtyard I had seen her meet and subsequently tell Yasha she loved him, a familiar voice was heard behind her.

“It’s much too dangerous for you to go out there Kitsune.”    

She turned and glared at the person behind her.

“If you try to stop me Yatagarasu, it will turn into a fight.”

“I have no intention of stopping you, but it would pain me to see you get yourself hurt. That’s why I’m going with you.”

He stepped up to her and lowered his head.

“I’m only doing this for you. It would pain me to see my little sister hurt.”

Then he put on his crow’s mask on and Kitsune and he walked down the street.  I followed close by and saw something that intrigued me. The streets were modern paved roads, made of asphalt and not what I would have thought to be dirt roads of old Japan. As they walked ahead of me, I muttered to myself, “This Yatagarasu…..he may be the leader of the crows, but he doesn’t seem like the kind of guy that would kill someone without a good reason…”

I stopped short, for it seemed that we had reached our destination, and I was shocked by what I saw. My suspicions about the roads were proven right, when right before me lay the modern buildings of todays Tokyo.  I had thought we were long in the past….maybe we were at one point. Kusaki had said that these siblings have lived a very long time, so when I first saw Kitsune when she was a child, that must have been much longer in the past than this. It seemed we had gone up to modern times now. Suddenly, hoots and hollers were heard from all around us. Kitsune and Yatagarasu readied themselves, with Yatagarasu pulling out a long blade and Kitsune holding out a fan angled down in front of her. A muddle of voices were heard, but one out voiced the rest.

“Well well well, lookie here, if it isint two of the Takasima children. Have you come to save daddy?”

Laughing was heard all around. Lady Kitsune spoke up loudly, “Where do you have them!?!”

The voice responded instantly, as if they knew she would ask this.

“Don’t worry, we have them nearby. But, I’m afraid one of them is beginning to lose their life little by little…”

“What the hell are you playing at?”

This time it was Yatagarasu yelling, he was searching all around for the voice. A crowd of footsteps began to get closer, as if to respond to his question.

“Tack…….tack……tack.”

In front of them a horde of men appeared before them. One of them bowed before us….he was the clear leader of the group, but something was a little odd with him and the rest. They all seems insane, as if they wanted to spread mayhem and destruction without even blinking an eye. The men behind their leader were almost unable to hold their hands still, eager to cause bloodshed. The man brought himself back up from his bow and flashed the smile of a man gone insane.

“I’m not playing at anything, but I am serious. One of your own is dying not too far from here. If you wish to save him, all you have to do is pledge your life to her.”

Yatagarasu held is blade out before him and replied in a very cool tone, one that was surprising to have for the moment.

“To hell with that” replied Yatagarasu, “I don’t know what you think you’re talking about, but I assure you, I will never bow before another.”

The man sighed aloud, then shrugged. It seemed he was somewhat upset about hearing this. But rather then show it, he responded to Yatagarasu.

“Well, if you wish to fight, then so be it. Alright boys, have at them!”

The men standing behind them were grinning ear to ear in a way I have never seen before, the very word “Evil” was written on their faces. A good bunch of the men went after Lady Kitsune, obviously thinking she would be the easier to kill of the two. She showed them no fear as they rushed towards her, and just pulled her fan upward. She held it fully extended from her body and whispered a few words. The next thing I knew, all the men were on fire and screaming. But it wasn’t the screams of pain, but of pleasure. As soon as the screaming started, it swiftly stopped when the men died. But just as they had been felled, they were replaced by another horde of men. This time, Yatagarasu swooped in and attacked them, ending their pitiful lives quickly. He held out his hand to Lady Kitsune and yelled, “C’mon, there’s too many of them, we have to get outta here! Their only trying to wear us out and slow us down!”

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Kitsune grabbed his hand and began to run with him, casting spells as Yatagarasu cut scores of men down. I could only stand and watch as all chaos broke out around me. It was as if the peace of the world had been replaced with the destruction of hell. They….we I should really say, were being chased by a horde of men all that had the eyes of an insane person. We stopped and Yatagarasu swung his sword behind him, slaying multitudes of men. But just as they were cut down, a new set of men replaced the dead. Yatagarasu was about to cut them down more, but Lady Kitsune put a hand on his arm.

“Stop. They don’t know what they are doing. It’s as if they have had their minds wiped of all reason.”

“And what do you propose we do instead? We just hope they see through their idiocy and beg our forgiveness?”

Lady Kitsune didn’t respond and instead turned herself to face the oncoming men, extending her fan once again. In one swift motion, she whispered a few words and simultaneously swung her fan in one great movement. Just as she did this, all the men froze in their tracks, as if someone had pressed the pause button on a remote. Yatagarasu seemed pleased and surprised and his response echoed that,

“Well, that was a new one. Where did you learn that one?”

“I found it in a book I was given long ago. But I can’t guarantee how long it will stay in affect.”

I looked down at the book in my hands and wondered if the book she mentioned was this very same book she gave me. Yatagarasu and Lady Kitsune took a few more steps forward and were confronted by the leader of the insane men. He laughed at them, then spoke,

“Well, you are much stronger than expected by her,” he told them, then continued on, “Well, your almost there. You’re so close to your precious family members, so close, that they could be right behind me! But unfortunately the older one died just now. Guess that’s what you get for messing with her grand scheme.”

He laughed louder at us now. The crow, Yatagarasu, crouched low and said nothing, but Kitsune looked like she had been shot. Then I realized it. Her father was dead, at the hands of these mad men and “Her”. His body could be seen as the laughing man made a side-step. Next to him was Yasha, who looked like he was bleeding out. The man continued to laugh, and then began to flip his hands around.

“Don’t worry, we made sure he died pleasantly. But now only one is left, and I dunno how long that will be! AHAHAHAHAHA!”

I couldn’t bear to watch this any longer, even I wanted to get in on the fight. But it seemed that Yatagarasu was also tired of hearing the crazy ravings of this man. With a swift dash, he swung at the man, with his blade at his neck. The man bent his body at an angle that surly would have harmed him, maybe even kill him. Yet it seemed to please him, and he became even more raving mad looking. He drew a blade from the ground and swung it all around the place, forcing Yatagarasu to retreat back a little. As he was battling the insane man, Kitsune ran to her husband, Yasha, and placed a hand on his head, He opened his eyes to her and smiled.

“O-oh…..-I’m sorry. They called us to a meeting…to…become allies….”

Kitsune began crying, the tears running down her cheeks and falling onto his face. He looked at her and continued to smile, not even worrying about the fact that he was dying.

“D-don’t cry….I never want to see that beautiful face wet with…tears…”

“W-why...” Started Kitsune, chocking on her tears, “Did they lie to you and father. They would never be able to pull of such a thing. Not this family.”

Yasha held a hand slowly up and placed it on her face. She put her hand over it and teared up more.

“I-it was a coup……set up by…..some woman…”

His breath began to falter now, death slowly overcoming him.

“D-don’t die on me! You can live! All I have to do is—“

“N-no. There is nothing that can be done……But…..that book I gave you as a gift long ago…..can. It can teach how to save a life……”

His hand began to slip from her face now.

“I must go now….but remember….that passage can also bring one back….”

And then, he died, and Kitsune cried loud and louder than anything, as the two closest people she loved we’re wrenched from her. Yatagarasu looked back at her and yelled.

“We need to go now! I hear more coming! Quickly, use travel magic!”

Kitsune looked at with a mix of fear and anger on her face, or to be honest, any mixture of emotions one would get from such an event. She solemnly raised her fan and said a few words. A large wind was generated and swept them to a new location…a location I had seen before I had met her. It was the big high-rise in Shinjuku. They were alone, having traveled what I figure was far away from the crazed men. Yatagarasu was badly wounded, but I could tell he was fine, but it was surprising that the leader was a match for him. He crouched low and hugged Kitsune close and hard and spoke soft words.

“I’m so sorry sister. I promise I will help keep you safe….I wish this hadn’t had to happen to you. He was a good man and should have lived…..”

Kitsune looked up at her brother and teared up even more so.

“What…are we going to do now? They killed father too….”

“We will do the right thing first, we will give them a proper burial, than worry about family matter’s later.”

He pointed the building and added, “Let’s get in there. It may have to serve as our new home, seeing as whoever orchestrated this catastrophe will very likely come after us.”

He picked up both bodies and began to walk to the doors, with Kitsune silently following. Once they had made it inside, Kitsune closed her eyes. As she did so, everything began to change. The drab interior of the old building was soon replaced by the castle and courtyard from earlier. Then it dawned on me, this would be her new home for who knew how long. And then, just as before, the pages turned and the scene changed once again. It was just a short time later, and now Kitsune looked to be in labor. She was going to have her child! The attendants were all over her place, even bumping into each other. Once they all got their bearings, one yelled out to her to push. Kitsune did so and screamed as she did it. The scene seemed to speed up now, the labor must have been a very long one. But as soon as it started, everything began to slow down again and the attendant helping to deliver the child spoke up.

“Here you are Lady Kitsune….it’s your daughter!”

She handed the child to Kitsune. Kitsune smiled lightly at the small life that she held in her arms. She cried a bit and spoke low to herself.

“I wish you could see her love, she has your nose. Hehehe.”

She looked down at the child and held her close. I could hear her whisper to it.

“I wish your father could be here to see you…no…..he is, in some way, I’m sure. And I will call you the name he wanted me to…….Satsuki.”

I looked down at the child, then her…I was dumbfounded, impossible this had to be! She called the child my name! As I was running over everything in my head of the past events, I saw her look directly at me.

“I’m so sorry that you had to see all this Satsuki. Yasha…..your father, was a good man. I’m sorry you had to find out about this so late, this many years later. In fact, I’m sorry for everything.”

My mouth was hanging open now……until now, I was never noticed…so how could she know I—

“How do I know you’re here, looking at my past? Simple, that book was the very same book your father gave me so long ago. When I handed it to you…..or to be honest, when I will hand it to you, it will have these memories imprinted onto it. It’s hard for me to explain right now, when you were just born. But now, it’s time for you to wake up…..wake up…”

The scene began to drift away from me. As It drifted away, I could hear Kitsune…my mother, say one last thing.

“I love you Kitsune. I’m so very sorry for everything I caused you.”

Suddenly, I was awake in my room. The sun was shining on my face as I woke up. I got up a bit and saw the book in my hands still, the words of the story I saw in my sleep were now on the pages. I shut the book and set it aside. The, I curled up on my side and began to cry.