Falling Leaves 34 ??

  Blue wisps glow, radiating a faint light shining across a dark room. They circle around Danya and Ari as they rest.

  "Hey! Hey! We're done now, you can wake up!" The wisp speaks, calling out to them.

  Danya slowly opens her eyes. She sits up, stretching her arms in the air.

  "Mmmm…" she grunts, yawning.

  She rubs her eyes as her body shines a faint blue light. She throws the blanket off her, lunging herself off the straw bed. She thuds on the ground as her bare feet touch the chilled wooden floor.

  One wisp floats in front of her. "Hey! Don't make any sudden movements! Your wounds might reopen!"

  Danya scoffs, flicking her wrist to move the wisp out of the way. She walks toward the sliding shoji.

  "Hey! You could at least say thank you! Huh? What's your problem!"

  "Do the only words you things know start with 'hey'? It's annoying. Shut up!"

  "Hey! Why are you being so rude!" another wisp calls out.

  Danya pinches the bridge of her nose, sliding open the shoji. She looks back at the wisp. "In all my eons I've never met wisps so irritating!"

  "He—" Before another wisp could speak, Danya slams the shoji.

  She covers her eyes from the light outside, waiting for them to adjust. She slowly opens them as the view of the Fox Village hits her.

  A village of giant trees used as cabins, each tree a different size. She squints her eyes, looking closer at the trees. The part where the shojis are located look like stretched-out mouths; the top where the windows are look like eyeballs.

  It then clicks. "Are these soul trees used as houses?"

  "Wicked… they killed them to make a settlement. That's kinda cool…"

  She starts to walk through the village, continuing her sightseeing. The surrounding fox spirits stare at her as whispers fill the air.

  Danya zones out, looking at the architecture. Statues of foxes on pillars stand over the village, each one having a different number of tails. Bridges connect with the other tree huts in the air; fox spirits walk across them, looking down at her.

  "You there, crimson woman! Stop in your tracks!" a man's voice calls out.

  Danya's ears perk up, turning to where the voice came from. Four guards with silver fox masks covering their faces, wearing black and silver chainmail armor, rush toward her.

  "Ugh… what now… are these supposed to be the authorities of this place…"

  They all pull out their swords, pointing them at her.

  "Stay where you are and don't move!"

  Danya puts her hands up. "Can I ask what I did?!"

  "I was just strolling—"

  "SILENCE!" one of the guards shouts.

  "This is unfair treatment! I didn't do anything wrong!"

  "WE SAID BE QUIET! ANOTHER WORD AND WE WILL USE FORCE!"

  "Ugh…" Danya grunts.

  She thinks to herself, "I can't just kill them… I don't even know where I'm at… who knows what they have here…"

  She sighs, remaining quiet.

  "Ichiro! Repeat her description!" one of the guards yells.

  The guard who stands behind the three, his purple fox tail swaying, clears his throat. "Crimson hair, earthly dirt skin, crimson eyes, black horns!"

  "Perfect match!" He raises his sword higher, stepping closer to Danya. "Now back to you, why are you out of the nursery?!"

  "We don't know what you are or where you came from. You can't roam this village freely!"

  "I don't even know where the hell—"

  "WE SAID SILENCE!" the guard yells.

  Danya's eyes twitch. "Y-you asked me a question…"

  He steps up to her once more. "You really aren't the one to listen, are you?"

  The tip of his blade pokes Danya's neck. She closes her eyes, trying not to speak. She tells herself in her head, "Calm down, Danya… Calm down… Don't do it… don't do it…"

  "Araji, we need to take her back now. We're causing a scene," another guard says, putting his sword down.

  Araji turns his head to see the other villagers staring and whispering.

  "Uhh…" Araji grunts.

  "Einori… can you do the speaking for me…"

  "Yes sir!" Einori turns to the crowd of fox spirits.

  "Everyone! We got everything under control here! Please return to your daily lives!"

  Silence falls. The villagers continue to watch.

  "Uh… Araji, they aren't listening…"

  Danya chuckles.

  Araji scoffs, turning back to her. "What's so funny?!"

  Danya shrugs, gesturing like she's zipping her mouth shut.

  "Tch…"

  "Ichiro! Juneo! Get behind her!" Araji yells.

  The two guards rush behind Danya. Araji and Einori stand in front of her. They all begin to march. Ichiro shoves Danya. "Come on, move!"

  Danya sucks her teeth, stumbling forward. "Fine, fine! You don't have to be so pushy!"

  They march as Danya walks in the middle. She lets out a heavy sigh.

  In the far corner by a wooden vendor stand, Takio watches from the crowd. He blushes, watching Danya.

  "Oh man… even all bandaged up… she's gorgeous… I have to speak to her…" he thinks to himself.

  "This has to be a test from fate! Right when I get off shift, I see her again!"

  His tail starts to wag; his fox ears flair up.

  "This is my chance!" He runs through the crowds, creeping and following the guards.

  The guards continue to escort Danya. She takes this opportunity to look around the village—the bridges, the tree architecture, the statues, the white flags flowing with a red emblem of a fox's head in the middle.

  "This place is oddly nostalgic… I feel like I've been somewhere like this before…"

  She remains quiet, tilting her head up to the green sky. Grey clouds stretch across it.

  "Danya!" a little girl's voice calls out in her head as a vision flashes.

  "Aiko…" she mutters.

  "Yes… I remember. Yamato it was called, I believe… the land of mortals."

  "It's been ages… I—"

  Ichiro nudges her. "Walk faster! Stop daydreaming!"

  "Hmph…" Danya grunts.

  They all walk back to the nursery. They stand in front of a giant tree cabin with Red Cross flags on the sides. Araji slides open the shoji.

  "Now you stay here! Until further—" He pauses as he sees Ari sitting upright on the straw bed with bandages wrapped around her forehead and neck. A small old man with a hunched back, grey ears, and grey fur is talking to her.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

  "Oh, so the other suspect is awake now?" Araji says.

  The blue wisps surround Ari and the old fox.

  Danya, peering over Araji's shoulder, spots Ari. "FOX!" she shouts, pushing Araji out of the way.

  "AYE!" he yells, tumbling to the ground.

  Ari's ears perk; her eyes widen. "Reaper?…"

  Danya runs in front of Ari. "Finally! We can get out of here! And find…"

  "Oh, she's not leaving again," the old man interrupts. He coughs, balling his fist to cover his mouth.

  "What do you mean she's never leaving again? I need her!"

  The rest of the guards storm the room. "Is everything all right in here?!"

  "You assaulted a guard! Do you know how much time you'll do for that!"

  Danya clenches her fist, whirling her head back to them as they stand at the doorway.

  "Would you all fuck off for a god damn moment!"

  They all pull their swords out in unison. Juneo, positioned in the middle, steps forward. "No! You don't get to attack authority and just walk off!"

  The old man taps his foot. "May you all leave. All three of you. This is a place for the injured, not battle."

  Ari watches, rubbing her head. "Well… this is awkward…"

  "But Master Shun, she—"

  "I said enough! Leave at once! Or do you want me to report you all to the council?!" Shun shouts.

  They all tense up.

  Ichiro on the left laughs nervously. "No, no, don't do that! We'll leave at once!" They all rush out of the room, slamming the shoji.

  The room grows dark, the blue light radiating from the candles and wisps lighting the room faintly.

  Araji's voice echoes from outside. "What do you mean?! Shun's in there now?!"

  "She assaulted me! An enforcer!"

  Danya ignores him, facing Ari and Shun.

  "Okay, old man, listen. I don't know if this is your daughter or something, but this is important!"

  Shun shakes his head. "I already said no. She nearly lost her life out there, and I won't risk that again."

  He takes a sniff of the air. "And also, the energy you spill has the stench of wickedness and despair!"

  "I'll be damned before I let her go anywhere with you!"

  Danya's jaw tightens. "Without her, I'm screwed. She's the only one who can help find Akuji!"

  Shun scoffs. "I have no idea who or what this Akuji is, but my answer remains the same."

  Ari speaks up. "Shun… I'm sorry… but—"

  Shun turns to Ari. "No! I won't allow it. Think about this, Ari! We found you half dead!"

  "I have to finish what I started…"

  Shun grits his teeth. "Ari, think about this… please. I don't know what monster you faced out there…"

  "But if it was able to have you on the brink of death, do you think it's wise to go back?!"

  "We warned you the Cursed Backwoods is no game!"

  Ari looks at the floor; straw sticking out from the bed grazes her legs.

  "I… know… but…"

  "After what I experienced… I have to do this."

  Thoughts of Peter race through her head.

  "I have unfinished business I have to settle. Please understand."

  Shun grabs Ari's hand. "Ari, please listen to me! There's nothing for you out there. Whatever business you have, leave it!"

  Ari grits her teeth. "I—I can't! I can't leave it! I nearly died twice protecting this human!"

  "He betrayed me to join the group of someone named Malika!"

  Danya's eyes widen. "Human?" she whispers.

  "Fox, repeat that. What do you mean human?"

  Ari locks eyes with Danya. "That guy I was fighting… he was something called 'human.' He had a halo and everything…"

  Danya's pupils dilate. "Impossible… when I saw you fight him, I saw no halo!"

  "I don't know what happened to it either… he looks completely different from when I first met him."

  Her thoughts race. "A mortal… another one roaming the Spirit World? No… her description was too detailed for it to be fake."

  Her thoughts deepen. "He lost his halo… that means he was brought back to life somehow."

  Something then snaps as it hits her. "Sachi and her sister are the only two spirits I know that can resurrect the dead…"

  "Fox, give me more details about this 'human'!"

  "I—" Ari mutters.

  "You said something about Malika?! The Bee said that name when I fought her?!"

  Shun starts to shake. "M-Malika…" Sweat starts to beam down his forehead.

  Danya steps closer to Ari. "Hurry, please! I need to know!"

  "I don't know who this Malika is! All I know is L'abeille was after you and Peter specifically!"

  "When him and I protected you when you were unconscious, I hijacked her senses, making her think she took you! Peter went with her. He was supposed to come back to me using my transportation bubble I gave him…"

  She balls her fist. "That was the last time I saw him with the halo. I don't know what happened… when he returned to battle us, everything about him was different…"

  "L'abeille took him… and he came back alive… the forest was after him and I…"

  Danya grits her teeth. "I hope Sachi isn't behind this! Shit…"

  "You two… you two encountered the butterfly?!" Shun says, shaken.

  "The butterfly?" Ari says, lifting one of her eyebrows.

  "The Royal Guard Malika! That's the beast you two fought?!"

  "Who is this Malika I keep hearing about?!" Danya shouts.

  "Eh… let me show you!" Shun walks to a nearby drawer as he pulls out a black leather book with red butterfly markings on it. The words 'Livre de révérence' are etched across it.

  The blue wisps start to grow brighter as the candles sway.

  Danya looks around, clenching her fist. Her chest tightens. "I hope I'm wrong… I really hope I'm wrong!"

  Ari cuts in. "We didn't fight any butterfly named Malika? What are you going on about? That's only the name we keep hearing."

  Shun flips the book open, flipping through the pages.

  "Come on, where is it… Where is it?!"

  "There!"

  He points to Danya. "You, woman with the crimson hair, tell me if you've ever heard this verse before!"

  "What?" Danya says.

  Shun clears his throat as his hands tremble trying to hold the book.

  He reads: "Thus saith Malika, Keeper of the Cursed Backwoods and Hand of the Daughters of the Star: My word is blood and truth. Beware the woman clad in scarlet, with horns upon her brow, robed in the cloth of the midnight sky. From her flesh goeth forth a crimson radiance, and her breath is as the rot of the grave. For she is the Crimson Demon, who hath spilled the blood of my father, and by her hand death hath sat at our gate. She leadeth the pure into the valley of shadows, and delivereth them unto the darkness everlasting. And I, Malika, swear that her end shall be blacker than the night."

  Ari remains quiet, turning to Danya.

  Danya steps back. "Is that about me?!"

  L'abeille's words flash in her head from their confrontation.

  "Well… to finally meet Le Démon écarlate in the flesh."

  "The one Malika swore to destroy in the Livre de révérence."

  "So that's why she kept calling me… a demon…" Danya mutters to herself.

  "So it is you that's described in this passage?!" Shun says.

  "Tell me! Are you the cause of the horror she calls salvation!"

  Ari chimes in. "I heard L'abeille say something about Malika's love and salvation the first time I saw her. I didn't understand."

  Danya's eyes dart from the book to Shun. She steps back, shaking her head. "I—I don't know…" she mutters.

  "Tell me! Are you the cause of the horror she calls salvation!" Shun demands.

  "UGH! I don't know!" Danya ruffles her hair, messing it up.

  Shun's whole body trembles, but he steps closer, his eyes focused on something only he can see. "Ari… that group you encountered… don't believe what they say about salvation!"

  "Years ago, I encountered the butterfly!" His voice is a low, forced whisper. "She offered me the same thing when I was lost in the backwoods with another villager named Keshiyukio…"

  "He accepted it, as the Cursed Backwoods was too much for him to handle."

  Shun shudders. "What I witnessed was disgusting. She took over everything about him… The 'love' she claims is never more than losing your free will and autonomy—losing who you are!"

  "Goodness…" Ari mutters.

  "Old man, in that passage it said something about 'Daughters of a Star,' correct?"

  Shun nods. "Yes… it said Malika was the hand of them."

  "DAMN IT!" Danya stomps her foot, causing the floorboards to protest and the wisps to scatter.

  "Hey! Hey! Hey!" they all yell.

  So Sachi and Ikigai are behind this! Danya thinks to herself.

  And that means…

  Danya's eyes widen "I have to go now! AKUJI'S IN DANGER!"

  Ari stands. "And do what, Reaper?! We don't even know where they are!"

  "Look at us—we're covered in bandages, still injured from the last battle!"

  Danya grits her teeth. "I CAN'T JUST SIT HERE WHILE MY LOVE IS BEING HUNTED BY A PSYCHO AGAIN!"

  Tears swell in her eyes. "I HAVEN'T SEEN HIM SINCE THE BATTLE IN HEAVEN! IT'S EITHER HE'S UNCONSCIOUS AND KIDNAPPED!"

  "OR I'M UNCONSCIOUS AND END UP IN WEST BUMBLE FUCK!"

  Ari shouts back. "WHAT DO YOU THINK STORMING OUT WILL DO? I HATE TO BREAK IT TO YOU AGAIN, BUT YOU'RE THEIR TARGET, NOT HIM!"

  "You don't understand at all! Sachi! It's Sachi! He's her target!" Danya yells. "I don't care if this Malika or this whole biome is after me! Akuji is in danger because of Sachi!"

  "Okay, well, I get that!" Ari counters. "But listen to me: going outside the village now, when we barely survived last time, isn't the best idea! We have to rest!"

  Danya clenches her fist.

  Ari presses the point. "Don't forget you're powerless in this biome. You can only rely on that berserker power you have!"

  "Even that makes you a target. You can't sustain it! So please, just listen to me."

  Danya sucks her teeth; her head tilts to the ground. She remains silent, her fist trembling against her side.

  Silence fills the room; only the sizzles from the flames and the wisps are heard.

  Shun breaks the silence. "Good. That means it's settled. You two aren't going anywhere. Stay here and heal some more…"

  He pauses, looking up at Danya. "Spirit of Death, we'll find a way to return you where you came—"

  "Return me?" Danya cuts in, her voice low and dangerous. "I'm not leaving this biome until I have Akuji back. Save me whatever plan you have!"

  She turns and walks to the straw bed on the right of Ari's. "Just go…"

  Shun grunts, walking toward the shoji. He turns back to Ari.

  "Don't make any foolish decisions, do you hear me?"

  Ari nods. "We won't…"

  "Well…" She turns to face Danya, who's staring at the ceiling. "I hope we won't…"

  "Hmph…" Shun hums, sliding open the shoji and walking out of the nursery.

  TO BE CONTINUED