Just A Kid

Chapter 14

As the sun began to set, Seishin and Kazoku led the child into a small hut, which stood at the edge of the forest, and opened to a vast clearing. Squirrels scampered around the clearing, and Araile blinked when a pair of birds flew by, chirping loudly. Araile gazed around, noticing small things here and there: a small garden beside the hut, wooden figures staked to the ground at the far end of the clearing. Araile gripped Seishin's hand tightly as fear wrapped itself around her like a blanket. 

Why was he taking her there? What was going to happen?

"Araile?" Seishin's voice asked, breaking through the girl's thoughts.

Blinking, she looked up at the man. Apparently she had stopped walking as she became lost in her thoughts. She offered Seishin's a sheepish smile, to which the man gently returned the smile.

"Come, Araile. This will be your home," Kazoku said as she came up beside the two.

Araile nodded as she chewed her bottom lip as a cold pit formed in her stomach. Why did it seem so wrong when Kazoku said this would be her home? Araile didn't have a home, at least not one she could remember. This was a good thing! At least....Araile thought it was a good thing. Giving her head a brief shake, Araile followed after Kazoku with Seishin's hand still in hers.

As the trio entered the home, Araile blinked in surprise as she took in the interior of the home. Inside was dark, and Araile allowed her eyes to adjust. When she adjusted, her eyes widened. It was surprisingly big, with a large area in the front and a small area in the back with a kitchen. Multiple rooms lined along the back walls, and lights flickered here and there.

"Hey Seishin, who's that?" a high pitched voice asked from a corner.

Araile hid behind Seishin's pant leg as another voice came from the same corner.

"Pah, its probably another weakling".

Kazoku lit a lantern, illuminating the interior of the home. Two boys and a girl appeared out of the darkness.

"Children, this is Araile. She will be staying with us," Seishin said as he steered the shy nine year old over to the other children.

The first boy came up to Araile, and she scuffed the toe of her sandal against the floor. The boy's fierce red eyes inspected her face and Araile shyly looked away, causing the boy scoff and walk away to sit in a chair in the opposite corner. The boy had short, dark blue hair with white streaks, and seemed to be the oldest of the group.

Her stomach nervously as the other two came near her. Seishin sat down on a mat and took something out as Kazoku started making some food in the small kitchen, the noise echoing across the room.

"Hi! My name's Meiyo," the girl bubbled as she bounced over to Araile, landing in front of Araile and gazing widely at her.

Araile's eyes widened slightly as the girl's high-pitched voice rang inside her ears. This other girl seemed hyper but nice.

"Oh, you have pointed ears like us! That's so cool!" Meiyo gushed.

"I do?" Araile asked, hands flying to her ears. 

"Yeah!" Meiyo said. 

"Why are they pointed?" Araile asked, hands still covering her ears.

"You're a demon, sweet girl. It just means you are different than a normal person. More special," Kazoku said.

"Couldn't you see them before, Meiyo?" the boy with fierce red eyes scoffed loudly from his chair.

Letting out a huff in annoyance, Meiyo stuck her tongue out at him.

"Nobody was asking you!" Meiyo retorted as she turned back to Araile and said, "that's my big brother, Taiyo. He thinks he's so cool just because he's older".

Araile let out a small 'oh' before looking over to Taiyo, before looking away as the moody preteen turned his gaze towards her.

"Anyways, this is Shinrai. He's quiet, just like you," Meiyo continued as a boy with long purple hair and green eyes stood patiently beside Meiyo.

Araile gazed at the boy, and Shinrai looked at her. Their eyes met, and Shinrai looked away as a faint line of pink ran across his face.

"Shinrai is a demon too," Meiyo finished, oblivious to the interaction between the two.

"A-are you and your brother demons too?" Araile asked quietly, still shy.

Meiyo nodded vigorously.

"Yep. We're both demons," she said proudly.

Meiyo looked like her brother; they both had short blue hair and red eyes. Meiyo had her hair in two pigtails.

"Children, come over here. I've got a story to tell," Seishin said.

"Oh boy! A story! Seishin tells the best stories!" Meiyo told Araile excitedly.

She ran over to where Seishin was sitting and sat beside him. Taiyo looked up, but stayed where he was.

'I wonder why I'm here...I still can't remember anything. What's wrong with me?' Araile thought to herself as she looked down, ears slightly lowered.

Someone suddenly grabbed her hand gently, and Araile looked up in surprise.

"Let's go. You can sit beside me," Shinrai said shyly.

Araile nodded and blushed faintly as Shinrai led her to where Seishin was sitting. Both children sat down on a brightly coloured mat, and Kazoku smiled as Seishin cleared his throat.

"Alright now. This story has been passed down from generation to generation. It's a story about how a warrior managed to defeat a great snake," Seishin started.

Araile blinked when she felt Shinrai trembling slightly with excitement. He seemed nice, but whenever she looked at Shinrai her heart would speed up, and her stomach would get all fluttery. Her face heated up, which never happened to Araile before. She gazed at Shinrai as he sat still, eyes showing his eagerness at the promise of a story. This caused Araile to smile slightly. He was really cute like this.

Wait....cute? What was she talking about? She only just met Shinrai! She couldn't think he was cute. No way. She was only nine years old after all. It was probably her mind playing tricks on her. After all, she woke up in this strange place with no memory of where she came from.

So it must be her mind playing tricks on her.

Smiling, Araile impatiently brushed away the bangs from her face.