Hakuouki: Demons Within

薄桜鬼1

It was the beginning of the end. One by one, houses and soon entire villages were set aflame by an unknown entity. As fate would have it, the fires engulfed my home, as well as stole my friends, and any family I had left. It's been three months since the wipeout of my family. Out of all the other homes, my house especially had almost no trace of wreckage except the black ash and soot that covered the ground. I figured it was because my father was a samurai... But, none of that mattered to me much anymore.

I sat underneath a sakura tree and watched as the vibrant pink petals floated far off. The breeze lifted the ends of my hair and rustled the branches of the other taller trees. It was a beautiful day, but rather chilly. I was grateful I'd survived through the end of winter into spring, long enough to see the sakuras at their peak. I smiled, and reminisced about the fond memories I had of watching the dance of the petals annually with my mother and father. Before everything turned to chaos, I was supposed to have a little brother or sister. Instead I had lost my entire family...

I listened to my stomach growl and frowned as I knew I needed to scavenge for some food. I pushed myself off the ground and brushed my kimono. My sleeves swept the ground even though I hastily tried to lift them up into the air before they got dirty. I sighed and walked into town. It was busy as usual, and the smell of fresh dango only excited my stomach's gnawing hunger more. I clenched my stomach as I walked further into town, looking down at the ground. Suddenly I ran into something soft. As I looked up, a man glared down at me with his two companions by his side.

"You run into me, woman?! Why aren't you on the ground, begging for my mercy?!" He snarled. I looked him square in the eye.
"I'm sorry I bumped into you. It was an accident." I bowed. If I could, I would be spewing venom. Instead of accepting my apology, the man grabbed my hair and threw me into the ground.
"Why the hell isn't your hair dark?! Demon!!" He growled at me. I must have bit my tongue, and spit out the blood as I regained my composure. This 'scene' was catching a lot of attention.
"It's how I was born." I said, glaring at him. He met my icy gaze.
"Blonde haired, blue eyed devil..." He seethed.
"Doesn't know how to properly apologize...." His companion stepped up, tapping his katana.
"Maybe we should teach her some manners." He leered. The third friend eyed me warily, but said nothing to stop his others. The two held their daitos, still in their scabbards, and began to hit me with them. I fell to the ground and flinched at the beating as my head began to bleed and my body bruised. Then I heard a sound all feared. The unsheathing of a blade. Following the metallic click, my flesh began to sear with pain and I collapsed.
"Had enough yet, wench?!!" He laughed. I said nothing. The beating came to an abrupt halt. All at once, a deafening silence appeared from nowhere, until an amused voice came to speak.
"Do you find beating innocent women amusing?" The man asked.
"Who the fuck is this punk?!" The man spit. I turned to see a blue coated man have a sword held to the men's throats.
"Kabuto, now isn't the time to act high and mighty..." The third cautious friend warned.
"Haha! Shut up Mizuki, just who-" The man's throat was slit and sprayed blood onto my back. His companion slumped a bit, and the man released his neck.
"That'll be all." The man said, wiping his blade then sheathing it. He bent down to my level.
"You ok?"

I nodded slowly in response. I was in a tremendous amount of pain, but was taught to show no weakness.
"...You don't look it, but if you say so." The man stood to leave, before another man stepped out of the crowd towards me. I instinctively winced, but then felt warm hands touch my face.
"I won't hurt you." He said. I peered an eye open and looked at the man in front of me. His honey colored eyes looked kind.
"I'm Sanosuke Harada. Who might you be?"
"Kaori Ichido. Nice to meet you..." I said weakly, despite my efforts to sound strong.
"What? Impossible, they all died."
"If that were true I wouldn't be living." The man behind Harada-san laughed.
"She's sassy!" He bent over and slapped his knee. I faced the ground again, the pain I was in becoming unbearable. I could feel my blood continue to trickle and spread through my kimono.
"You're hurt pretty bad. I'm sorry, I should have stopped that sooner."
"No, its fine. Thank you for not letting them kill me."
"Oh. Uh, you're welcome." He smiled awkwardly, then gently picked me up.
"What are you doing, Harada-kun?"
"Taking her back to headquarters."
"That's quite a risk you're taking...not my problem!" The man smiled and walked away. Harada-san chuckled, and as he was carrying me, I fell asleep.