Flipping my head to the call of my grandfather's voices, I drop the white clothes in the straw-woven basket and jump to my feet the embrace of the rock quickly leaving my butt.
What could Papa, possibly be calling me for? Oh right.
Fixing my kimono, tied back up my hair with the black lace that is wrapped around my forearm and dashed off.
1…2…
In a heartbeat, I leap onto the branch of a tree and hurl to another, using the memories that I have engraved into my mind since childhood to the pathway of my house.
6…7…
Syncing my breathing with the steady rhythm of my heartbeat, I pressed onward. I recall every knoll and glen in this forest. The largest river lies precisely two miles to the west, with a cave nestled just a few feet from its banks.
9…10…
My house is just a few more feet away, but still, I had to worry about—
Just as I’m about to move forward, a boulder tied to a rope comes hurtling toward me. Using every ounce of strength in my lower body, I twist my muscles, tighten them, and extend my foot, landing on the boulder for a brief moment. With precision, I push off, launching myself onto a nearby branch.
The hidden traps.
15…16…
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
Finally, breaking through a bunch of leaves, I see my house hidden amongst the trees. Yet as I rush forward, pleased that I’m about to make it on time, a bolt of lightning strikes right on the branch I’m on, causing it to snap.
Fucking Lightning fox!!
THUD!!
Gripping my head, I shift my hands from my temples to my back, unsure which part aches more, groaning with every movement.
The soft crunch of grass and snapping twigs behind me sends a jolt through my already aching body. I can’t turn to look, but I don’t need to. The familiar laughter that follows confirms exactly who it is.
With anger boiling inside me from the rigid game, I shout out loud. “Don’t laugh at me, Papa!” My cheek burns cherry blossom and my eyebrows furrowed.
“Don’t be mad, Sou-Sou,” he chimes, his voice carrying an obvious hint of mockery, laced with just enough amusement to make my blood boil.
“Fucking old man,” I grumble under my breath and receive a sharp hit at the side of my stomach from what I know is my wooden sword. “Fuck!!” I yell in pain.
“Ungrateful brat!” He hisses which almost makes me laugh through the pain.
“Cheater with his little cheating ass familiar.” I retort as his spark familiar comes out from the shadows of a tree, and nuzzled itself right next to his feet.
Fur as white as snow and eyes that mirror the sparks of lighting. His lightning fox.
“Now, don’t call my sweet Snowbell that.” He bends down, his white hair, tied back in a ponytail with a red tie, flops over his shoulder as he scoops up the mutt. Gently brushing his fingers through its fur, he glances back with a calm expression. “Don’t be mad just because you lost,” he says, turning away with an air of quiet triumph.
“Because you cheated!” I mumbled again and he flips around instantly but I look away. “Nothing!”
“Well now that you lost.”
Because you cheated!
“Go get the clothes and return. Uragiri should be returning any minute now, " he says calmly as he walks away, holding his mutt, which pokes its head above his shoulders and sticks out its tongue.
Fucking mutt!!!
Getting back on my feet, I stretch to work out the knots and aches that have settled in. With a sigh, I turn around and head toward the basket of freshly washed clothes.
Master Omotaru, my adopted grandfather, and Uragiri, my adoptive brother—one of Papa’s grandchildren, though more of a disciple than I am—is finally returned after months away on the expedition Uragiri set out on.
Still even I am afraid of going beyond this protected forest.
Beyond the borders of this protected forest lies a world plagued by monsters, political strife, and widespread suffering—the fractured foundation we humans and creatures forged during the Kuju beast reawakening.
Stopping by the basket, I silently pick it up and momentarily view myself in the crystal clear water. “Shit, I mess up my kimono too, for this dumb rigid examination.” My fingers trail along a busted hole along the hemline.
I hate that fucking MUTT!!
Turning around I stomp my way back to the house, I grumble out all my anger. “I swear, if a miracle do strike and I get the mark of the phoenix, everything is over for that little shit!”
-Next chapter: Mark of the phoenix-