Alone In The Dark

“You are not Royal Guard Shinma Tokumaru.” Kanasagi laughed as he ventured from
the spring to grasp hold of his sword.

“Pitiful mortal soul.” the being announced, watching Kanasagi very carefully.

“Kanasagi-san be careful, he is not of my clan nor of yours.” she spoke out of
fear.

“Fear not, my beautiful sakura this man is not of any threat to either of us.”
Kanasagi said upon approaching the being and grasping his sword. He unsheathed
it and tossed the sheath back down to the ground.
“Sir, I know not how you’ve passed Shinma nor the meaning of you being here but
your presence has become one that is unwanted.” Kanasagi placed the tip of the
blade on the beings shoulder. The thought man sprouted two appendages, one from
both his left and right sides, spanning them out and its face catching a glimpse
of the moonlight as the wind blew the tree tops’ shade.

“Kanasagi!” she screamed as she looked at the fanged face of the beast of which
wings were spread in full as if a bird preparing for an attack. Kanasagi was
trapped in fear, he’d heard rumors of a monster terrorizing forests near
battlefields but he never thought those rumors may be true.

“Run, run as far as you can, now!” Kanasagi screamed to Miko, but she was far
ahead of him, tearing through the forest. Its hand grasped the smooth blade of
Kanasagi’s sword and broke it in half as it let out a deep growl. Kanasagi
trembled in fear as the being snatched him up by his throat, and stared deep
into his eyes.

“Death is upon you, and your King.” it let out.

“S,so you’re gonna k-kill me?” Kanasagi’s voice trembled as he held onto the
things wrist with both hands.

“I need a messenger.” the thing smiled maniacally, “Tell this to your pitiful
King, and next time we cross paths do not tremble so easily.” A sharp, seeming,
blade ran down Kanasagi’s side cutting into his ribs without breaking them.
Kanasagi closed his eyes and shuddered in pain. Suddenly there was a hand inside
Kanasagi’s chest, and he was tossed to the ground like a piece of trash being
disregarded.

“Don’t not worry, messenger, you will not die here tonight.” the being said as
his wings fell to his side and he wrote in blood on Kanasagi’s contorting face
and body. There was an awkward glow that poured from each of the symbols across
Kanasagi’s body but only as the wind blew the away the shade of the tree’s and
the moonlight hit it.

“Now, coward know thine name and utter it only in darkness.” after those spoken
words the beast vanished leaving only a ravished Kanasagi.

Kanasagi managed t o open his eyes, yet his vision faded in and out and as he
tried to stand he fell, face down into the spring.


“Kanasagi?” I asked wondering why he was face down in the spring. He didn’t move
as I stood there awaiting an answer.
I went into the spring without removing my armor leaving Eternity and my sword
dug into the ground around it.
I snatched up Kanasagi’s body, it was strange as he was breathing perfectly fine
as if nothing had happened yet his body was covered in dried blood. I slapped
Kanasagi across the face, he began to cry yet didn’t open his eyes. I remembered
an image from the previous night, as his eyes opened. I dropped him in
frustration, and climbed out of the spring.

“Sh, Shinma, don’t go. Come back here.” his voice was raspy, and fear struck.
I turned to Kanasagi, “Lets go, Messenger.” Kanasagi looked at me, wide eye. I
was surprised when he did not run. I stuck my hand out towards Eternity and the
Giant Axe’s pole flew directly into my hand as if it had a mind of its own.

“Are you. . .Togaru?” Kanasagi asked, struggling to get of the spring and
grasping hold of my leg.

“Look,” I said pointing Eternity towards the sky as the bright sun gleamed high
and mighty, “Do you see it?”

“See what, Togaru?” Kanasagi asked finally making it out of the spring and
falling to his knees as if I was his King. I kicked him over, without dropping
Eternity.

“The moon.”

“It’s morning, why would the moon be out?” He stood up, and retrieved his armor
that still lay on the ground around the spring.

“Why would that monster be here if the moon were not out?” I answered, but the
reassured Kanasagi just laughed in agreement. Although it still puzzled me what
exactly Togaru had don’t this weary mortal and why he wasn’t dead or in any sign
of pain.

“Where’d she get off to? And why do you act as if you feel not pain?” I asked,
bringing Eternity back down and picking up my sword and sheathing it in the
scabbard on the left side of my waist.

“I told her to run when the beast attacked.” Kanasagi answered, “I don’t know
what he’s done to me but I feel renewed.” He said this as we began walking
around the spring in Miko’s direction he’d pointed out.
I said nothing to him, wondering only of Miko’s whereabouts and what the hell
she was doing. A sharp whistle sounded from in front of us, we both stopped.

“It’s nearing.” I said just before it abruptly stopped and Kanasagi fell over
backwards. Even with his long hair over his face he still managed to catch the
dart in the forehead. The blood written signs shone bright red under his armor
and along his face as his body bled profusely. His body writhed in seeming pain,
I unsheathed my sword and impaled it into his sternum, he coughed up blood. I
stood there watching him awaiting another dart and trying to kill this mere
human. I pulled my sword out and slashed at the air letting the blood fly off
the blade before I sheathed it. His body vanished, as his voiced whispered in
the wind, “Thank You.”

I perked up as the familiar whistle came through the air, I closed my eyes and
listened to the wind. I listened to the wind around me form a vortex like
tornado, suddenly the whistling stopped and the needle dropped to the ground, I
knew there would be more so I stood there awaiting the array of needles.
For a moment none came until, the whistles of poison needles, whispers of
shuriken, and hail of arrows. I opened my eyes and the wind around me grew
violent, it spun violently around Eternity as I threw the Giant Axe out affront
me. It spun horizontally through the air as the torrent of wind violently sped
around it, catching the shuriken arrows and needles within it. I watched as
Eternity spun its way back to me, falling nicely in my hand, the torrent of wind
taking residence around me once more. Suddenly the wind around me stopped, there
was nothing except the floating weapons. They began to rotate, changing their
targets from me to whom ever they came. The wind picked up around me again and
sent the weapons flying back to their rightful owners. I smiled as I could feel
each dig into flesh, each breath lost, each pitiful piece of–--

“Shinma.” someone called from behind me. . .