~~~~~~~~ Ghosts of the Past & Spirits for the Future ~~~~~~~~
~~Chapter One: The Journey ~~
Two figures stand silhouetted in the light of the setting sun at the edge of a vast forest, one tall and one short. The tall figure appeared to be a male tiger demon, wearing furs and armor, signifying his place in a clan. His piercing green eyes glowed in the fading light. His hair was a flowing, dark black as was his tail, a stark contrast to his white colored furs and on his head, were two triangle shaped cat-like ears. His face was peering down at the small, imp like figure in front of him.
"Are you sure?" questioned the demon.
The small imp nodded. "Yes, the remnants of the clans traveled west towards the continent after the great massacre, lead by the mighty Lord Kojinma."
The tiger nodded and peered out on the horizon. Finally, he had found what could be the remnants of his shattered clan.
"Will that be all Kojou-san?" piped up the imp.
The tiger demon nodded and the imp ventured into the forest. The demon named Kojou turned towards the horizon and set out on journey that would take him west, far west, towards the sea, and then to the continent.
For as long as Kojou remembered, he had searched for his clan. When he was young, his entire clan was wiped out by humans along with other clans. He was the only one to survive. He traveled alone for months until he was taken in by a wolf tribe from the south. When some of the members had ventured east, he followed. He had even become friends with a young female wolf demon named Arisa. For years, the two remained happy, growing up together, until today that is...
Kojou looked into the sky. He had lied to Arisa, saying that survivors of his clan wanted him to live with them so he was leaving. In truth, he was going to find them. He was going to travel to the continent; there, he will find fellow tigers, fellow demons, fellow friends.
He wore the same clothing from his tribe, even though they had long since been wiped out. At his hip, he carried a kattana that he received after joining the wolf tribe. Kojou was glad that they took him in; life on his own was tough, agonizing. He wondered how long his journey would take. Days, months, years, no matter how long he thought, he would keeps searching until he found others, others like him.
As he walked, he stumbled into a group of bandits who immediately held up their knives to him.
"Gives all your money, spouted one bandit," and who knows, we might let you live.
Kojou eyed them. "You expect me to hand over my traveling funds to a bunch of lowly humans such as yourselves?
One of the other bandits gasped. "W-wait you're... a... a..."
"A demon," he finished, "so unless you wish to live, I suggest you step out of my way."
Two of the bandits backed off, but another pulled out his kattana and stood forward. a! As if I run from the likes of you! He then charged at Kojou, his sword held over his head, ready to strike.
The demon sighed and flexed his claws. uch feeble creatures He dodged the attack with ease and rammed his clawed hand through the bandit armor and chest, exiting out through his back.
The bandit coughed up blood and soon life faded from his eyes. Kojou pulled his hand out and the bandit fell to the ground in a small pool of blood. The other bandits panicked and ran, fearing for their own lives. Kojou stood their and licked the blood from his claws and hand. Like any demon, Kojou enjoyed the taste of human blood, but since he had not killed a human in so long; he had nearly forgotten the taste.
When he finished, he continued his journey. It would indeed be a great while until he reached the continent, but he did not care. If the rumors were true, if other members from his clan had survived, then time and distance did not matter in the least. In fact, it would make the journey so much more worthwhile.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Nine hours had passed, and Kojou had made his way to a small portside town. He had attained a hooded cloak as to disguise himself. He did not want to frighten away any possible ways to get to the continent.
He walked through the village, glancing left and right, looking for anyone who might take him to his destination. Then he saw it, a small shop with a sign over it that read: xcursions to the Continent! Destination: the mysterious lands of China!
Kojou was uncertain if this "China" was the place the imp spoke off, but this was his only lead. He walked into the shop and looked around. There were few customers and only one shop keep present. He walked to the counter and spoke to the one shop keep present.
"I would like to purchase an excursion to the continent."
The shop keep nodded. "Yes sir, will this be a one-way or two-way venture?"
Kojou thought and reached a decision. "A One-way venture if you don't mind."
Again, the shop keep nodded. "Yes sir, we have a ship leaving in ten minutes down by dock three. The price will be ¥25,728."
The young tiger demon reached in his cloak and pulled out the necessary money. Oddly enough, this was exactly how much money he had, expending all of his funds. After he paid, the shop keep gave him a small slip with writing on it, explained to give it to the captain, and wished him a good journey.
Kojou, whom was being particularly nice, nodded and exited the shop. He was only being nice for the moment so that he could obtain a ride. On any other occasion, he would never treat a human with any form of respect.
He walked to the dock listed umber three and headed to the boat. As he boarded, he was stopped by who he assumed was the captain.
"Your pass, sir," he asked.
Kojou handed him the slip he was given and the captain let him board. He found a secluded spot and sat himself down on the ship deck. He saw that others eyed him with a slight suspicion, but no one spoke.
Minutes passed and the ship started to move. Kojou assumed that they had finally begun to sail off. He leaned back against a crate and relaxed himself. It was going to be a long journey so he might as well get relaxed. However, he kept his guard up. Ever since the massacre, he never trusted humans, so considering that this ship was full of them, he decided it was best to keep his guard up at all times. He would rather not kill the entire ship.
He looked around the studied his fellow passengers. There were two families, one elderly male, three adolescent females, and one human who appeared to be a mercenary. Out of all of them, the mercenary appeared to be the only viable threat should his identity be revealed. However, no mere human could possibly defeat him, no matter how strong he may boast his is.
He turned his gaze to the sea. The waters were calm, with few clouds over the horizon. He knew little about sailing, but considered this was ample weather.
He heard one of the passengers walk up to him, and he glanced up. It was none other than the mercenary. The human grinned and sat next to him.
"So, what brings you on such a somnolent journey," asked the mercenary in a friendly voice.
Kojou eyed the human suspiciously, but answered calmly. " I'm searching for "relatives" you could say."
"Relatives you say? Well I'm not sure who you'll find in China, but hey, you never really quite know. The mercenary then turned to Kojou.
"Say, what is your name?"
"Kojou," he replied simply.
The mercenary laughed. "Such a unique name, "Kojou". Well, my name is Onekama. As you can plainly see, I am a mercenary for hire. I am traveling to the continent in search of better business.
Kojou could care less why the human was heading for the continent, but was relieved that his identity was still safe. The mercenary named Onekama kept talking, first about his family, then about his occupation, then of his missions. Still, the tiger demon ignored his senseless ramblings.
For a second time, Kojou turned out and looked at the sea. Onekama was apparently to busy discussing his business matters with himself to notice. Kojou continued his gaze, watching as seabirds flew by and swept up fish from the water. The sea gave a calm and serene feeling, something that he did not often receive on land. His thoughts changed, and he soon began to think back to his life on land.
He remembered growing up with his clan, meeting Arisa, faling in love with...
He paused, as his face became a slight tint of red. It was true, the wolf demon and he had become close friends, but another feeling welled up inside of him when he was around her. He could not identify what this feeling was, but he was sure that it was love.
His face suddenly changed into a slight frown. He never had a chance to admit his feelings to her, and now it seemed that he never would. However, he had a goal to accomplish, any goal requires some sacrifice, and he assumed that this was it. He noticed that the human Onekama left, finally giving Kojou some peace.
Kojou felt he grew tired, so he once again leaned against the crate behind him and closed his eyes, allowing sleep to consume his body
~~To be continued ~~
