The sun had already started setting when Naru finally decided to interrupt her hunt and return to Lolon village. She'd hauled in an impressive amount of small game by now, and when she put down the collection of hares and pheasants on the counters in the kitchen, the village elder was overjoyed.
"There has been a shortage in food lately," he explained. They'd been working in the kitchen since Naru had returned, skinning all the critters and preparing them for cooking. Now, Naru had left the rest of the work to the elder, humming as she watched him add ingredients to a large pot, where a very promising stew was bubbling happily. "Nobody has dared enter the forest since the demon's arrival, so we've been living what vegetables we have left."
"Couldn't you fish?" Naru wondered from her seat on one of the kitchen counters. "You do live close to water, old man."
"There are no fish by our shores," the elder said grumpily, sighing as he cut up a few carrots and potatoes. "We'd have to go out to the sea, and with no boats..."
"So there's really no way to get off this island?"
"No." The elder let the chopped-up vegetables roll into the pot, and just as Naru was about to curse at her bad luck, he raised his voice again. "Or wait." He had halted with the knife still in mid-scrape against the cutting board, his brow set in creases as if trying to remember something. "There might be another way," he mumbled, more to himself than to Naru. "Wonder if that time will come soon again..."
He put down the knife and wiped off his hands on his apron. "I'll be right back," he mumbled and left the kitchen. Surprised, Naru only stared after him until could hear him rummage around in the lobby, and she hopped down from the counter and trotted over to the pot. She grinned as she inhaled the delicious scent, and without really knowing what she was doing, she grabbed the ladle and stirred around in the big pot a few times while she waited.
"Got it," the elder said when he returned, a triumphant smirk on his lips as he waved a brochure in front of Naru's face. "Check the schedule for the cargo ship that travels from Wayward Island to Fubuki Island. I'm old, but if my memory doesn't betray me, I think the ship should arrive somewhat soon."
"Wayward..?" Naru grabbed the brochure and started thumbing through the pages. "Is Wayward Island in..?"
"West Blue," the elder finished and nodded. "The cargo ship makes that route every three months, delivering and picking up a lot of products on the way here. I'm sure they'll let you ride with them if you ask nicely."
"Cool," Naru smirked. "Oh look, here it is. Let's see..." She looked at the small numbers, spending only three seconds on staring at the first letter before looking up, frowning in confusion. "What's today's date?" she asked.
"You don't even..." The elder snorted and shook his head at her ignorance. "36 days from the beginning of next year."
"Right... hah!" Naru released an exclamation of triumph and bounced off the counter. "Check it out," she said, grinning widely as she tossed the brochure back to the elder. "The cargo ship should arrive in two days from now!"
"Is that right?" The elder eyed through the page and nodded. "Right you are," he sighed. "Maybe we should all board that boat, escape from here..."
An uncomfortable silence settled in the room and Naru grabbed the opportunity to mull things over. This so-called demon was most likely located on this island, close to this village. It had destroyed the boats, and so marked this village as its target by eradicating all chances of escape. Yet it still hadn't killed anyone in the village, which could either mean it wasn't planning on attacking this particular village, or that it waited for the villagers to leave the borders of the town and kill them in the open.
Naru shivered at the latter option. Cruel bastard. Looking at the general picture, Lolon village's situation had nothing at all to do with her, but if the demon decided to pay a little visit to Shimo village as well... She knew first hand that none of the people from her village would be able to stop someone with the strength of a demon.
For her, there was only one thing to do, and she sighed in annoyance at the thought of her hometown's reaction if they knew she went out of her way to protect them. She averted her gaze from the elder and to the window, which was already pitch black with darkness. "I could try and stop it, you know," she said.
"Stop what?" the elder said absentmindedly, eyes focused on the boiling pot.
"That demon."
It took the elder almost a full minute to process her words. He stared at her with eyes the size of dinner plates, his mouth opening and closing without a single sound coming out. When he finally snapped out of his daze, he dropped the spatula he'd been holding onto the floor and walked closer to her on unsteady legs.
"You... you're not serious, are you?" he whispered, voice cracking. "It's impossible, you'll be killed for sure!"
Naru scowled as the elder's words triggered a quick memory of the dream she'd seen the previous night. It's impossible... She proudly straightened her back and crossed her arms over her chest, her expression dark. "No, it's not, and no, I won't," she growled. "I'm stronger than I look, and I have the power of a Devil's Fruit. There are no demons in this world, at least not real ones. My guess is this one's just a regular human with a taste for blood."
"But—"
"And it doesn't matter even if it was a demon," Naru interrupted loudly. "I need to protect my own. If it means the demon stays out of my village, I'll gladly meet it head on!"
The elder started sputtering about false hope and dreams, but Naru's attention was torn into another direction as she heard the floor creak out in the lobby. Without paying the elder any attention, she quickly stomped up to the door and flung it open, only to find a young boy standing in the middle of the lobby.
"Who are—"
"Inari!"
The elder had followed Naru to the doors and quickly hurried past her to crouch down next to the boy. "What are you doing here so late, Inari, your mother will worry..."
"Are you gonna kill him?"
The sudden question seemed to make the temperature in the room drop by a few degrees. Inari ignored the shocked elder and stared at Naru, his eyes wide and unusually blue eyes. "The one you call a demon, are you gonna kill him?" he asked again.
As if suddenly afraid to hold the boy, the elder released him and backed away a few steps, clearly unsure of what to do next. "I have to check on the pot..." he muttered, and after sending a stern gaze in Naru's direction, he walked back into the kitchen.
Once he was gone, Naru sat down in front of the kid. He had dark rings under his eyes, and he was clutching to the hem of his shirt. Like most inhabitants of North Blue, his skin was pale from lack of sunlight, but the way his arms trembled made it seem like he was ill.
"I don't know," Naru said and tilted her head to the side. "This village seems so scared of it, I thought I could drive it away."
"He's not an 'it'," Inari said quietly and lowered his gaze to the floor. "He's a boy, a man like you."
Naru had to grind her teeth together to not let a satisfied smirk grace her lips at the boy's mistake of her gender. "You've seen it? I mean, him?" she asked.
"Yeah." Inari nodded frantically. "I saw him two nights ago when he was destroying the last of our ships. He's... he looks like an animal, like a weird cat or... or, I mean, he's a man, but... he looks sneaky, like a fox."
"A fox," Naru repeated, the smallest hint of amusement in her voice. "Did this man notice you were watching him?"
"Yeah, he did," Inari said and swallowed thickly. "He was smiling. He crouched down in front of me, patted me on the head and said, ''S dangerous fer small kids ta be up so late, dont'cha think? Ya better head home 'fer the demons get ya.' and left."
"That... doesn't really seem so bad," Naru said slowly. "Is he really a bad person?"
"Oh, I'm sure he is! I mean, his clothes were all drenched in blood, his hair as well! That can't be good, right?"
There was a few seconds' silence, then Naru sighed. "Do you want me to kill him?" she asked gravely.
Inari's expression turned distraught, and he chewed on his own words for a few seconds before rolling his shoulders. "I dunno," he mumbled. "I mean, if he's killed someone, then... but maybe you don't have to kill..."
The door to the kitchen flew open before he could finish his sentence, and the obviously aggravated elder stomped out into the lobby. He inhaled deeply a few times before speaking, trying his best to keep his voice calm. "Inari, you should stay and have a bite with us," he said and pointed the spatula at the boy as if it were a weapon. "Then I'll take you home. It's too dangerous outside after sunset."
After sending Naru a startled glance, Inari nodded and hurried into the kitchen. The elder let him pass first, and when he was sure he couldn't hear them, he leaned closer to Naru, concerned in his features.
"I... I hope what he said—"
"Don't worry, old man," Naru interrupted with the hint of a smile. "I'm a man of my words, and I promised I'll go after the demon. I'll hunt him down tomorrow."