demon days (P)

[Yahiko]

★ DEMON DAYS ★
the tale of kikkawa akatome

Chapters

Chapter One - Red Sun

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Chapter Two - XXX

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Chapter Three - XXX

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[Yahiko]

Red Sun

The flames that had been eating away at my insides were extinguished the moment that I threw the javelin. My breathing slowed and my body calmed as the last remnants of the peculiar pain fizzled away. Peace, I thought with a sigh of relief; for the time being, anyway. Having experienced this -- this bizarre change in my physiology several times since my withdrawal to the forests, I knew that the little relief that I'd felt was only fleeting. The inevitability of the 'burning bones syndrome', as I had so artfully deemed it, was as ever-present as the bone-like structures that I'd thrown into the tree ahead of me. Whatever was wrong with me wasn't getting better. If anything, my condition was only worsening.

I raised my hand up to my head, closing my eyes and pulling my lips into my mouth in fear -- fear of what I was 99% sure was there. I felt it only for a moment -- bland, sleek, adamant -- before I retracted my hand. It's growing, I thought. On the third day of my exodus, the last of the rations that I had packed for my trip had run out. A growling stomach and a body yearning for a proper bed convinced me to return to my home. Near the end of my trek, where the untamed wilderness ended and the man-made trails began, I came across a small stream. A large trout, flailing and hyperventilating, caught my eye near the edge of the stream. Hungry as I was, it didn't feel right to take advantage of the beached creature, so I made my way over to it and nudged it into the stream with my foot.

I watched as the fish bent and curved its way beneath the ripples, vanishing into the deep. And as the ripples died, a reflection took form. I recognized the narrow eyes and the pale skin and the stringy, messy black hair. But the familiarities stopped there, as the ivory growth protruding from my crown was tragically new to me. I backed away from the water in fear -- fear of myself and what I was becoming. I heard the chatter of people nearing and I backed into the obscurity of the forest. A couple jogged by on the trail that lied across the stream, completely oblivious to my presence -- to the presence of a monster. I hadn't dared to return to Kusagakure since that day. I couldn't.

I hadn't even seen myself since that day. I wasn't interested in seeing what other bizarre developments my body had gone through since then. I didn't have time for that. I made my way over to my target tree and took one of the javelins in my hands. With a tug, I plucked it from its wooden sheathe and held it up to inspect it. It was sharp and sturdy and clearly lethal, which was good. It would have to be those things for me.

It was time for breakfast.