I open my eyes as the sun berates me. Immediately I feel my body ache and the many open cuts across me burn from exposure to salt water.

With a groan I sit up and shake my head to dry my wet hair. Pushing it out of my eyes I look down at my torso which is barely covered by a shredded black cloth. The many scars I’ve endured from my life of combat reflect in the sunlight the most noticeable of which has yet to grow. A massive gash across my torso from my belly button up to my nipple stretching diagonally. Thanks to the salt water it’s only been infected slightly with a single thin strip of green pus like film around it.

“…”

Looking up at the blue sky above me I recollect my thoughts and memories, the last thing I remember is fighting the boy with the Unkillable Aura… Kanako was his name. Yes he swung his katana at me and then there was a flash of orange. Then everything went black and I woke up here.

My heart beat is normal and so is my breathing… though I’m sore It seems like my muscles themselves aren’t freezing up or constricting… The venom must have cycled through me completely. Though I’m no longer envenomated, my Mana pool is nearly empty, surely from my body working overtime to keep me alive for however long I was floating around the ocean before washing up here.

“But where exactly is [here]?” I mutter, rising to my feet steadily.

Below me is sand which leads down to the deep blue ocean which laps against the shore. Behind me is a large forest full of tall dark green trees that sprawl out for what seems like many miles. In the distance I can make out a vague mountain-like shape also colored a dark green.

The thick sweet smelling air is rather humid and rich with Kami [Natural Mana]. So much so that It’s suffocating and brings the image of a party of animals dancing in the woods while listening to music and sipping tea to mind.

Turing my attention back the gaping whole in my chest I frown. “My mana pool is too low to heal myself… I’ll need to use natural methods until I can use advanced enhancement again.”

I rip what remains of my shirt off and tear it into two pieces. Wrapping one around my arm I douse the other in warm conjured water and clean the hole in my torso as best I can. The bleeding is minimal but it’s still too dangerous to leave alone so I’ll need to make a natural remedy.

After I’m done I turn and venture into the forest in search of my first target. A beehive, honey is essential in this cocktail being a natural antiseptic that also prevents infections. It Was one of the first things I was taught as a child, if I’m injured in the wild find honey and lather it across my injury.

“...” Scanning the trees above me as I walk I find what I’m looking for rather quickly. A small yellow lump under a tree branch with black flecks fluttering about it. Turning behind me and scanning the low hanging branches I find a thin and solid one which I rip from the trunk and snap in half over my knee.

Placing my foot on an exposed tree trunk to hold it still I quickly scrape the edge of the branch against it. After a few minutes the branch has a dull chiseled end much like a spear.

Returning to the beehive I conjure a flame around the end of the spear and throw it up into the foliage. It flies directly into the middle of the beehive with a puff of fire and the honeycomb crumbles down to me in golden chunks.

Grabbing a large piece out of the air I take a bite from it. Grubs and thick yellow honey fill my mouth and drip down my chin and neck. The crunchy flavor, mixed with the sweetness of the honey and bitterness of the grubs is rather foul. Swallowing what's in my mouth I ring out the remaining bit of honey comb and let the liquid drip into my wound. With a wince of pain and diligent eyes I make sure no solid particles or grubs fall into my wound before moving to my next target.

Next on my list is a natural herb or vegetable, there’s a myriad of options and as I don’t know where I am It could be any of them so I’ll need to pay even closer attention.

After walking further into the woods and scanning the bushes and weeds around my feet I find what I’m looking for [Allium Ursinum] or wild garlic. I grab a bundle of the small bead like vegetables and crush them in my hand tight enough that they’re reduced to a fine powder which I rub into the honey across my chest.

“Urk!” I grunt as it burns against my exposed muscle and nerves. I clench my teeth until the pain subsides and let out a deep breath.

I take the piece of cloth wrapped around my arm and tear the strings out of it with my teeth. With shaky hands I twist the threads around each other in a spiral pattern and using a thin yet sharp splinter of wood I suture my wound closed.

Allium Ursinum, native to the Verous Union, Neverland, Porous or Golosita. Based on the trees around me I’ll assume I'm either in the Verous Union or Neverland. Both of their native tongues are Shinkai so I’ll be able to communicate with anyone I come across. Hopefully there’s a small town or village up ahead that I can steal some better supplies from. Tch, to think I’d be living like this again… I might despise that bastard but he sure did know what he was teaching me… Kageki Dou…

After only a handful of minutes the gaping wound in my chest was sewn shut and I relaxed against the tree trunk behind me with a sigh.

“I’ve been shot, stabbed, sliced open dozens of times… so why does this hurt the most?” I growl smacking my head against the trunk behind me. The image of Kanako perforates my mind.

“No, I didn’t lose to him. Our battle was simply interrupted by unforeseen circumstances… yeah if we were on land or I wasn’t even fighting the venom then I would have crushed him!” I know what I’m saying is a lie, my hand trembles as I speak those empty words. I’m just coping with my loss in the worst way possible. I instigated the fight while injured and lost. It’s on me and no one else that I lost.

“!”

To my right under a bundle of leaves I see something move, a small animal which I catch with my right hand. Pulling the creature from the foliage I see it’s a small rat, a young brown one which squirms in my hand clawing into my skin.

“Sorry.” I mutter as I snap its neck with a flick from my thumb. It dies instantly and blood drips from its nose and eyes as I pull [Tsubashinai] out of my Shadow.

Placing the rat on a small flat stone before me I carefully remove the fur and gut it. A foul smell perforates my nose but I keep going. I’ve eaten worse, corpses taste and smell far worse than a rat ever would.

Stabbing the rat in the middle with a stick I let it roast over a conjured flame. I slowly cook the meat until It’s close enough to be edible. My stomach and immune system are many times greater than a normal person but in my current conditions I might as well be a normal person so I need to treat my food and water as such.

Once it’s done I devour the rancid meat, I eat like I haven’t in years, my stomach grumbling as I do so and the urge to vomit growing yet I continue to eat until nothing is left of the creature.

“Blegh.” I gag falling back against the trunk with a slump. Based on the sun's position it’s probably around [16:00], it’s currently the middle of summer so the sun won’t set for another few hours. I need to either venture further into the wilderness to search for a settlement or camp out here in the woods…

# # #

The sun is setting as I make my way further east, I’ve been walking for hours and my stomach is growling in pain. I’ve drank water from a small pond to avoid wasting mana but It wasn’t enough to quench my overall thirst. Other than that rat and those bees I’ve yet to find a single animal, sure there are small insects and birds up high in the trees but not a single fawn, fox, hare or goat that I can eat.

“Damn it.” I sigh, clenching my fist. I’ve experienced this before, long ago when I was young this same thing happened to me.

Crunch!

Looking down under my foot I see a small chunk of a wooden fence. One which has fallen over and been covered by dead leaves and chunks of bark.

“?”

Turning my head to the side I can see the vague outline of a wooden cabin, a small one maybe the size of a large shed obscured by bushes.

“MURRR!”

The sudden scream of a horse pieces my ears and I jump to the side right as a black mass runs past me. It stops ahead right before the bushes and we make eye contact. It has yellow eyes with square pupils like that of a goat.

“!”

I leap forward as fast as I can, my surroundings a blur as I do so, the air crackles and I swing [Tsubashinai] down at the horse which lunges forwards away from me.

“Damn!” I grunt falling to the ground with a roll and running after the horse. The bushes shake as it runs through them and I follow behind closely, ready to slice its legs off.

“Gurrrah!” I cry as I emerge on the other side of the bushes swinging my katana.

“!?”

But the horse was gone, flicking my eyes around. I look for foot prints or it hiding behind a tree or the cabin but I see nothing. I should have been able to catch a glimpse of it running away. I was maybe a second behind it at the most and yet it just vanished.

“Damn.” I sigh feeling my body ache from the intense exertion of energy.

The cabin before me looks rather decrepit and old, what remained of the fence which once stood around it was nothing more than a few withered and rotting pikes barely sticking out the ground. The cabin's walls were filled with holes some big enough for a tanuki or other small animal to climb through and the roof was caved in at a slope.

walking to the Cabins entrance I attempt to open the cabin's front door but it’s jammed closed, the hinges probably rotted long ago.

“Hmph.” I grunt kicking the door in, it flies through the cabin and slams into a wall with a bang. The entire cabin shakes and bugs fall from the roof.

The cabin's interior is just as decrepit as the exterior. A large room with an ancient kitchen in the corner and a broken kitchen table greet me as I walk inside. There's a door in the back corner which I’m assuming leads to a bedroom. This was probably built before plumbing or somewhere remote enough that plumbing wasn’t an option so the toilet must be a hole in the ground outside.

With a frown I walk into the kitchen and start opening the cabinets. Dust and cobwebs fly out at me and I find a few glass jars filled with a mysterious goop inside. Another has what looks like some kind of mortar and pedestal with veils of herbs and other strange powders.

“I doubt there's gonna be Ibuprofen in here…” I frown leaving the cabinets and moving to the bedroom door. Perhaps due to being inside and not exposed to the elements as much the door opens with a firm push and I enter the dark room. Conjuring a flame on my finger tip I see nothing but a bedside table and an old rusty metal cot. In the corner is a closet full of blankets and clothes covered in holes from moths and silverfish.

I begin to rummage through the closet looking for a suitable change of clothes and bedding.

"?"

Inside of a yellow and green tartan blanket I find a small bible. The cover’s worn and barely eligible with a similarly ruined interior. I can make out the vague marks of a pen underlining and writing notes next to certain verses. The once blank pages are covered in scribbles depicting what looks to be a horse like creature and something that's a mix between a fox, human and goat.

“Evangelicals…” I mutter tossing the bible behind me and continuing to rummage through the closet. Eventually I find what I’m looking for. A Black turtleneck in perfect condition and some gray wool pants also absent of holes. Changing into these new clothes I then make the cot into a suitable bed with the bedding I found to be of the highest quality. While It’s not pretty it’s better than nothing and I collapse onto it with an exhausted sigh.

“Urk..” I grunt, rubbing my hand on the fresh stitches across my chest which burn so subtly.

Closing my eyes I let the cool wind blow over me and the smell of a cold night fill my nostrils. The sound of rumbling storm clouds grow near and the chirping of crickets fills my ear.

Like that I fell asleep, in a proper bed for the first time in years.

# # #

Falling rain diluted the ocean of blood before me. The sounds of laughter and cries of pain fill my ears and the wind threatens to blow me over.

I crawl out of the ruins of my home, awoken by the roof collapsing on top of me I’m plunged into this massacre.

“Kosei…”

Hearing my mothers voice I turn behind me and see her crushed under a wooden pillar, her legs look like dried out tubes of toothpaste and her right arm is twisted around multiple times.

“...” I don't respond, I simply look at her with wide eyes watching the life fade from her.

“Hey we have a survivor!” A voice behind me calls out. I turn around right as I’m smashed in the face with something cold and hard like metal. I flip backwards flying through the air and crash into the pile of rubble which was once my home with a grunt of pain.

Men of all sizes surround me and I rise to my feet. Some have Katanas and other metal bats. They look at me with wicked smiles. Blood drips from their black coats washed away by the rain as if clearing them of their crimes.

“Aw it’s a kid, I’m gonna feel bad about this one.” One of them says with a smile.

“We already killed the others not too long ago so the quicker we do it the faster we can go home and party.” Another laughs.

I look at the men surrounding me with a blank expression. If their words are true then my younger siblings are already dead. Their faces pop into my mind and I feel a slight sting in my heart. I didn’t know them very well but they were my siblings none the less. Unlike my older siblings they’d never harmed me so I hold no ill will towards them.

“Gurrrah!” With a cry the first man runs at me and the others follow. They know better than to attack me one at a time even if I’m a child I’m still the son of Kageki Dou.

As a katana comes for me I duck down and thrust my elbow upwards snapping the man's arms at the joint.

“Gah!” He grunts dropping the Katana which I grab from the air and swing at the men around me. I duck under two bats which aim for my head and slice into a man's belly gutting him completely.

“!”

Something hits the back of my head and I fall forwards with a roll before jumping in the air to avoid the incoming swing of a katana.

I land on the floor with a skid and the men chase after me with curses and cries of pain.

Flicking my eyes around me I find the weakest link and pursue him. With a flip forwards I throw the Katana out at the right time and slice the man's head clean off. I land with a spin and slice the Achilles heel of another man who falls forwards. The rest charge at me and I continue to fight, I’m grazed a few times but I don't let them deal any serious wounds. My small size and speed make up for my lacking physical strength. Though I’m still many times stronger than them. Something I prove to myself as I pick one up with my hand and slam him to the ground in front of me. As he lays on his back I stab him through the heart with my Katana. He cries out as blood flies from his mouth with a death rattle.

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

With that the last man is slain. Around me are the other men's corpses, around ten in total.

I tune my ears in search of the sound of conflict but I hear nothing. Dead silence across our entire estate.

“!”

I hear the voice of Kageki Dou. Though quiet and muffled by rain I hear it and charge forwards. If anyone is to kill that man it is me, the thought of it being stolen from me fills me with rage making me run faster.

As I emerge onto the scene where Dou is kneeling on the ground I see a man standing above him. A man of average height with slicked back blonde hair and prominent cheekbones. Though I don’t know his name I instantly recognize the insignia on his haori. The symbol of the Toumeikan. His aura is overwhelming and I hesitate, ducking down into the shadows with a shiver.

I watch him with hawk-like eyes as sweat and rain pours down my chin.

“...”

I can’t make out what they’re saying. The rumbling of thunder drowns their voices and a flash of lighting blinds me.

I adjust my eyes for a moment and when I open them the blonde haired man is standing before me.

“!” I hold back a grunt of surprise. Though he’s in front of me he’s not looking at me nor has he noticed me. His hand drips fresh blood and he lets out a sigh.

Seeing my chance I strike. I jump forwards, throwing my stolen katana before me.

“!”

The man sensing my incoming attack moves out of the way just enough for the Katana to miss his vitals instead piercing his side in a non lethal way.

He looked down at me with eyes full of anger and surprise and I met him with my own glare. I feel my lips curve into a smile and I use [Kagepo] the slip away riding the large shadows of the night to somewhere beyond his sight. Somewhere to hide.

# # #

The sound of thunder clapping forces me awake. I jerk out of bed with a gasp and grunt of pain from my chest.

Rain drips through the ceiling and small holes in the wall. The humidity is enough to choke me so I roll out of the cot and conjure a flame on the tip of my finger. With that small amount of light I walk into the kitchen.

“!”

I feel a chill run up my spine as I see the front door back on its hinges. [Tsubashinai] falls down into my hand from the roof and I scan my surroundings with observation.

“...”

Though I see nothing I can sense a presence, a strange non-human one much like a Yokai. Whether that be a conceptual creature, elemental or some other entity I’m not sure.

I lower my guard and walk over to the front door and inspect the hinges which have been fused back to the wood as if never broken.

“Time was rewound?” I mutter pursuing my lips in thought, if I’m correct in my assumption then whatever entity is stalking me rewound the doors personal time to a point in which it was not broken off the hinges.

I know of no such creature in Neverland or the Verous Union nor do I know much about their cast of creatures and monsters. In the worst case scenario this is a local deity which I’ve invaded the home of.

My lips curl into a smile and I look around the room in search of anything strange.

Creak…

I flick my head behind me and see the door to the bedroom slam shut the entire house shaking from the force.

"MURRRR!"

The sound of thunder rumbles across the earth and a horse's cry follows it soon after, I feel something come flying at me and I duck down to the ground right as a wooden chair flies into the wall where I was standing. It explodes into splinters of wood. The flame on my finger was put out in the commotion so I’m plunged into darkness with nothing other than my thoughts to hear.

I tune my observation as best I can and sense nothing near me, anxiety grows and I feel my chest throb in pain where it’s been stitched closed.

“...”

I stay silent, waiting for anything.

Then I hear it. Like the crackle of electricity it appears atop the kitchen table. A mix between a man, cat and horse. Though not exactly accurate it looks remarkably close to the scribbles inside the bible.

I stay silent not a fraction of a decibel comes from my person as I watch the creature walk around in the darkness. It moves strangely with no elegance. Its large ears are somewhat rabbit-like yet with the sharpness of a cat's. They bob back and forwarth as it stumbles across the wooden table. Its hooved feet clack against the old wood and its digitigrade legs like that of a feline pop as they move.

“...” I continue to observe the monstrosities every action waiting for an opening to strike.

“He who lurks in the shadows like a cricket in the home, tell me of your self and all shall be told in return.” The creature said, its mouth moving in a strange way. It was as if its jaw unhinged with each syllable, its voice was deep, warm and smooth. Like hot porridge being poured into a bowl.

“...” I keep silent as the creature looks straight at me despite being obscured in complete darkness.

“Does a cat have your tongue? Have you wished to not speak to the Phooka of the woods? The hermit of the cabin where a wise man once lived?”

I still don't respond, I lay there silently with eyes focused on the beast like a hawk.

“If you choose to not speak then I shall have at you as I please.” With that declaration the Pooka points its long three jointed finger at me.

Now! I think dipping down into the shadows on the floor.

[Kagepo!]

I appear behind the Pooka who’s taken aback. Its eyes wide and ears flickering. I swing Tsubashinai at the creature's neck.

Right as I graze the fur along its neck it leaps down to the floor avoiding certain death a few locks of black hair flutter through the air.

“Damn you child of darkness!” The Phooka grumbled, thrusting its finger at me again.

“!?”

My body freezes and a cold aura creeps over me, my vision blurs and I relive a memory.

# # #

“Stupid Bastard!”

I’m thrown to the floor with my head searing in pain as blood drips down my face.

“Why!? Why are you the next head!? I’m the first born! I have the most noble of mothers and the purest of blood! I’ve lived over thirty years longer than you! I should be the head of the clan, not you!” My eldest brother Ubashikawa screams kicking me.

“Guh!” I grunt being thrown backwards with a roll.

“To think a dirty blooded son of a lowly concubine like you would have any remnants of potential let alone eclipse me and all the others… What a cruel joke. If there is a God he surely is sick.”

Ubashikawa spits on me and walks away leaving me alone on the training room floor.

“...”

"..."

After a minute or two passes I sit up and rub my forehead which stings from the fresh wound.

“Kosei-Chan?” A voice calls out.

I turn my head and see Seto, another of my older brothers, he is said to be second to me in line for the clan head title. “I’m fine.” I say standing to my feet and turning to walk away.

“Don’t act so cold~” Seto says, grabbing me by my shoulder firmly.

“Release me.” I growl looking at him with the nastiest glare I can conjure.

“Oh scary! Those eyes don't match someone who’s barely seven years young. I can see what our father sees in you.” He hums with a smile.

“...”

“Did Ubashikawa-Kun do this to you?” He asks.

“...” I don't respond. I turn my head away from him.

“I take your silence as confirmation.” Seto says.

“You’ll have to forgive him for this behavior, it’s wrong for him to take it out on you but you should be able to understand. Despite being the oldest his potential and power is mediocre. To be eclipsed by his younger brother like me is laughable enough but for the son of a whore like you to eclipse him… Why, it makes him look like a complete failure. So you should just keep this between the three of us and not tell father.” Seto rubs his thin fingers across my face as he says this.

“Father says that if you weren’t a complete fool he’d have you replace me. He told me you have many children out in the world which you have no relation or contact with. You don't even pay alimony, what would you know of your family?” I say with a smirk.

A vein grows across Setos forehead and his grip on my shoulders tightens. A bolt of pain shoots across my right shoulder down to my fingertips.

“You’re funny Kosei-Chan, maybe I should pay your mother a visit to see if she shares your humor.”

I rip his hand off me and spin around prepared to defend myself.

“Do you think you can stop me, you little brat? I’m the vice captain of the Assassin squad! Even if your supposed potential is greater than mine you’re nothing more than a child.” Seta growls.

“What are you doing here!?”

Me and Seto turn our heads in the voices direction and see our father. Behind him are more of our siblings dressed in their training uniforms.

“Oh father, me and Satoshi were just talking-”

“Silence!” Our father roars.

Seto seals his lips and bows his head down in submission.

“Kageki, what is the meaning of this?” He asks looking to me.

“Me and Seto were sparring when I hit my head on the floor.” I answer.

“Tch, you bled from scraping your head against the floor of a polished Dojo? What has become of our clan? If the Soutou or Hojo saw this I’d kill myself in shame. Seto leave this place now, this room is no place for fools with no brain.”

“Of course father!” Seto happily agrees. He bows deeply before scurrying out of the dojo.

“Kageki, you’re to stay here and train with me. I need to toughen you up.”

# # #

“!”

I gasp for air as I kneel on the cabin floor. My vision slowly adjusts once again to my surroundings.

“What a memory…” The Phooka muttered, its ears drooped down.

“You rat.” I growl looking at the creature with narrow eyes.

“Allow me to see more, my little prince, my interest grows from the stories in your mind.”

I try to jump forwards to attack the Phooka but I’m thrust back into the past before I even leave the ground.

# # #

I sit across from my father who drinks from a large black gourd. Its cracked surface tells of its ancient age and the fine alcohol inside is no doubt worth a mountain of gold.

“...” I stay silent as I watch him, wondering what he summoned me here for.

“I can’t stand the look of you.” He says lowering the gourd and wiping his mouth.

“...” I don't respond.

“You’re the spitting image of my father, the previous head of the Kageki clan.”

“...”

“Why don't you speak to me?! Do you look down on me!?” My father roars slamming his hand on the table breaking it apart.

“I have no response to give.” I answer.

“Hmph, you’re just as cowardly as he was then! He had the most potential out of anyone, in the entire history of the clan he was second only to our found Jima. Yet he did nothing with that strength, he squandered it and spent his time with women and drinking! How infuriating he was. I couldn’t help but feel pure bliss at his death yet as if to haunt me from the grave you were born. From the son of a common whore no less. I only took your mother as she was a beautiful singer yet she bears the greatest of my children. How humiliating! Just looking at you makes me sick.”

“...”

“I’ve tried to have more children but it seems as though my age has gotten the best of my body. In my nearly eighty years of life I’ve not birthed a single worthy child. You’re all failures with no value. Don’t think highly of yourself just because you were chosen as my successor Kageki, you’re nothing but an insect compared to even the weakest of my generation.”

“...” I keep silent, my expression stern and heart calm. I’m used to these conversations, when my father gets drunk he berates me with insults and tells me of how tragic his life is. I simply listen and once he’s enraged enough he’ll throw me out and I return to my mother. It’s a near daily occurrence at this point.

“Look at me, speaking to a ten year old child as if you understand what I speak of. Ah, I’m sure that bastard is laughing up at me from hell!” He cries, smashing the gourd against the ground. It explodes into chunks of clay and a spray of red liquid. “Tch, make yourself useful for once and fetch me another!”

“Yes sir.” I answer, bowing my head and leaving the room quietly. I walk through the house and out onto the Engawa hallway following the route which leads to the wine cellar.

“...”

My hand trembles as I walk and my eyes grow moist. Dont cry, dont let that bastard make you cry! The head of the clan does not cry! I shake my head to clear my mind and continue to walk.

“Yo, Kosei!” I hear a deep voice call out.”

Looking to my left I see my elder brother Keheya, beneath him covered in blood is a servant, one of our distant cousins from a long line of failure who was relegated to a life of slavery from birth. This is what happens to those unworthy, those weak. This is what those like me and siblings deserve in our fathers eyes.

“What did he do?” I ask.

“He spilled Chanko-Nabe on me.” Keheya huffed kicking the man below him.

“P-please Keheya-Sama, I- I didn't mean to I-”

“Silence!” Keheya yelled, stomping on the servants back.

The servant let out a horrible scream which echoed throughout courtyard as his spine was shattered.

The sight is rather disgusting so I turn my head away and continue my journey. Keheya calls out for me but I don't respond. He threatened my mother once, something I’ll never forgive or forget. When I become the clan head I’ll have him beheaded. A pig like him deserves no more than to be slaughtered. Father said such.

# # #

“!”

Once again I’m pulled back to the present, my head throbbing as I gasp for air.

“Your mind is akin to a maze! The deeper I venture the more wicked things I discover! Truly interesting!” The Phooka laughs.

“Stop!” I cry between gasps for air.

“Ho?” The Phooka hums tilting its head.

“Stop doing that.” I growl clutching Tsubashiani harder.

“I think I’ll do one more before I leave you!” The Phooka says with a wide smile. Its teeth are a mix of sharp canines and flat molars.

“I said sto-

# # #

“Are you okay Koshi?” My mother asks, patting my shoulder.

“I’m fine.” I muttered not looking back at her.

“What’s wrong? Why won't you show me your face? I love your sanpaku eyes, you know that!” She hums, pulling my head towards her gently.

I try to look away but I can’t fight her.

“!”

She gasps upon seeing my left eye swollen shut, dried blood stains my cheek and my nose has one nostril plugged shut with a tissue.

“Who did this to you…?” She mutters with tears growing in her eyes.

“I fell.” I answer, turning my head back to the book beneath me.

“Don't lie to me, Koshi!” She cries, pulling me to her chest. “Who did this to you? I won't let them get away with it!”

Though her words are admirable her power is nothing, she has no power in this family, we live in a roach infested shack in the back of the estate with our only neighbors being the servants. Our existence is a blight on my fathers name.

“I fell during training and hit my head on a stair, Akishouka-Chan helped me home.” I lied.

“Akishoka did this to you!? That bitch! I knew from the moment I met her that she was a no good brat! Her beating the servants is one thing but to strike her brother, a four year old at that! I’ll tell Dou right now!” My mother roars, jumping to her feet and walking to the front door.

“Dont!” I argue my voice is as powerful as I can muster. “I swear, I hit my face.” I say with a crooked smile.

“...”

“Leave it be, Please.”

“Are you lying to me?” My mother asks with a frown.

“Of course not, I never have.” I close my eyes as I say these words, I can’t bear to look into her eyes as I say such an obvious lie.

“....If you say so Koshi…” She sighs.

# # #

“Please stop!” I gasp as I’m thrown back to reality. “Don't go poking round in my mind!" I yell. I dont want to see those again.

“For a dark prince to bow his head to a beast and beg for mercy? Such a strange occasion this night happens to be…” The Phooka muttered stroking its long goatee.

“ I’ll leave in the morning.” I growl looking at the Phooka. I can see the creature be taken aback by my glare, a tinge of fear in its eyes.

“I mean no harm to you prince!” The creature says with a bow. “I simply am doing as I’ve done my whole life! A creature like me devours the memories of those in our path! It is what I’ve done since the days in the other world's forest! Your memories are so flavorful I lost control of myself there.” It laughs.

I rise to my feet with a sigh, I’m pouring sweat and my body trembles.

“My belly is full so I’ll part with you here. If you desire to meet your kind, follow the way the wind blows and the smell of manure. It shall bring you to a village rampant with youth.”

“...” I don't say anything, I watch the creature looking for an opening. I try to hide my blood lust but it seeps out into the air around us. The creature's hairs stand up as it does so.

“I shall be on my way now Prince Kosei! If you decide to stay another night I hope you will share more of your memories with me.” It says with a smile.

“!”

Seeing my chance I lunge at the beast, the tip of my Katana pierces its chest and sticks it into behind it.

“I-Impressive!” The beast grunts, its eyes dilated and teeth chattering. “Truly impressive you are the winner of this fight young price!” No blood comes from the monster even though it looks to be in pain. With a wink the creature vanishes into thin air.

Did it turn invisible!?

Immediately I swing my Katana around the cabin not missing a single pocket of air. Raindrops falling through the gaps in the roof are sliced into quarters as I do I don't cut into any flesh.

"Coward! Come back and fight me!" I yell the house trembling from my raising aura. I feel my heart beating fast and my stitches ache from exerting myself.

"..."

I hear nothing, the creature vanished without a trace.

"A town's up north huh?"