The Cursed Iris

Sprout 5: Crimson Haired Dragon Slayer

A girl walked alone in the forest near Katsumi's village, the forest was dark, but the moon was bright, there was no wind, almost like the world were holding its breath; she had crimson hair, fierce gold eyes, a fair skin tone, her posture was that of someone who had a strong purpose to finish their task. She had a menacing, almost frightening aura surrounding her.

She looked around taking note of the burnt giant rodent corpse, "One half demon, one badger, and a human," she noted sniffing around the site. But there were two more scents that really caught her attention; she seemed to have gotten angry about it, "And two dragons," she said as the rodent's corpse burned away.

"So that village is harboring two of those monsters? I guess I'll destroy them if they resist me," she stated as she walked towards Katsumi's village.

*****

Wake up you fool, Katsumi's other half said.

Katsumi shot up in surprise. "What's going on? Why did you wake me up?"

Outside now, you really need to get to the barrier of the village!

Katsumi noticed the panic in his voice, and he ran out of his home in a rush. The presence that his other half was afraid of was one that was even more menacing than the one Yushiro gave off. It completely frazzled him, because it was almost on the same level as his, if not stronger. He gave a cold sweat. "What the hell is this?"

Someone that can beat us if  we were caught by surprise.

Katsumi then saw who the person was; she looked familiar to him for some reason. "That girl?"

They locked eyes, and Katsumi froze; she smiled at him, "So you're the demon then? The monster who killed most of the humans?" she asked.

Katsumi stared at her in horror, "Who are you? Where did you come from?"

"Oh, you know me."

"I feel like I do, but I can't be for sure."

She opened her hand, and it instantly became surrounded by a flame. The color of it took his breath away, it was of a strange bright orange color, and if Katsumi remembered correctly the flame that this girl used was of one of their kind who everyone had thought extinct.

"Ah, I see you've noticed, but let's not say anything just yet. Tomorrow at high noon, I will come back to kill those two dragons. So, I hope you're strong enough to protect them."

She then disappeared, and Katsumi stood there in dripping sweat, That girl. She's the one Chiyoko mentioned, listen Katsumi if we face her, our odds of winning are slim to none, his other half said in a scared tone.

Katsumi wiped his eyes, and he took in a deep breath. "Well, I have no other choice but to try and win. Because if don't, then I'll lose Ayame before I even got to know her. Can't let that happen."

Don't you have a lesson to teach her in the morning?

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that," he replied as he ran back to his home.

"He's an interesting character. I think I'll kill him last, after those dragons," she said as she perched in a tree outside the village. "Master, I promise I will avenge your death. With this, I'll be stronger to finally face them," she mumbled as she went to sleep.

*****

The sun began to rise, but Katsumi couldn't sleep, so he decided to see what Sakura and her mother were doing. Sakura saw him walking up to their home and she smiled, "Big brother Katsumi," she said as she ran up to him. Sakura and her mother made Katsumi feel welcome, because they were the first ones to accept him, so he decides to try and visit them regularly.