Naru was on the move the next morning before the sun had even started to rise, the brisk and cool air ruffling her hair as she walked along the snowy shores just outside Lolon Village. She'd left without telling the elder, to spare herself from his constant chanting about the task being impossible, along with his fear for her being crazy for even suggesting going after the demon on her own.
This day would prove to be the first in weeks with a sky completely free of clouds. The rising sun cast beautiful shadows all over the shores, and as much as Naru would've liked to stop and take in the rare view, her nerves were on full alert as if she expected to be attacked at any moment. She stopped dead in her tracks every now and then, listening for any uncommon sounds and trying to catch unfamiliar scents.
Of course, she knew there were no such things as demons, but her interest had piqued when she'd listened to Inari's explanation, and she couldn't help but chuckle at the memory of his description. The boy had been so absolute while describing him as an animal.
"A fox," Naru hummed and snorted in amusement. "A tiny little woodland creature, huh?"
Despite her bright mood, underestimating was not something Naru took lightly. Apparently, this man had wreaked havoc on quite a few villages along the islands of North Blue, so she would have to take extra caution when approaching him. Underestimating someone who could dispose of entire villages would surely lead to an early death.
After one hour of constant walking, Naru was back at the forest she'd hunted in the day before. She furrowed her brow as she tried to remember the cartographic measures of Fubuki Island, and she was almost completely sure this was the only large forest on the island. Which also meant it was the best hiding place on the island.
"The demon fox in the forest," she mused. For a few seconds, she rocked back and forth on her heels, and then, as casually as if stepping out onto a field full of flowers, she strode into the dark woods
Apart from Inari, the elder had said no one had ever seen him, and that's why they called him a demon. A ghost who appeared only long enough to lay waste to a town before disappearing again into thin air. Which, to Naru, meant the man was light on his feet and clever enough to be able to quickly find a good hiding spot near his next target. It also meant he would be that more difficult to find.
Naru was determined to find this man before leaving on the cargo ship. Not only did she feel the need to make sure her hometown would be safe after she'd left, she was also very eager to meet this so-called demon. She had asked Inari for a bit more information about the demon last night and found out he'd been equipped with a steel katana, that he'd stuck a number of knives and daggers through the sash around his waist. Apparently the man could use any weapon, as long as it had a pointy end.
"Maybe he's an assassin," Naru hummed. "Or a ninja. A ninja would be pretty cool..."
As quietly as she could, she moved through the forest, stopping and perking her ears every time she heard even the slightest sound. She moved in a crouching position, searching the ground and trees for any sign of unusual activities in the forest. She saw no foreign tracks, no twigs snapped off from the trees, nothing that showed anything unfamiliar lived in these woods.
A small smile settled onto her lips as the memory of her first hunting lesson popped up in her mind. She'd left the village early in the morning together with her master, fully equipped and ready to spend the entire day in the forest. The hunt had been disastrous, mostly because she'd had no way of controlling her ability, and her constant failed transformations had scared away every animal in half a mile's radius.
Although she hadn't managed to catch anything, the elder had taught her all he knew about tracking. About how to trace a hare back to its hole, how to find out what kinds of predators hid in the depths of the trees, she'd even learned how to count the amount of animals moving in a pack just by observing the trees and the tracks on the ground.
She came to a sudden halt when she noticed an obvious fact that something strange was hiding in this forest; there were no critters around. The forest was dead silent. She couldn't hear a thing, not even birds, and she knew this would only happen if an extremely intimidating predator had appeared in the forest, which in this case would be North Blue's demon. Now, probably all that would remain here would be carnivores, the ones who would be able to hold their own against nearly all other animals.
Naru knew it would be easier and more convenient for her to use her ability, but if this demon was watching her right now, she wouldn't want him to find out her strengths just yet. So she kept moving around the snow-covered conifers, her left eyebrow twitching every time the snow crunched underneath her feet.
The sudden sound of a branch cracking caused every single cell in her body to freeze, and she cursed internally as she twisted her head in every direction, trying to spot the whatever had caused the sound. When she found nothing out of the ordinary, she quickly navigated to the closest tree with the most concealing branches and started climbing, hoisting herself up on a thick branch halfway up the tree. Well secured from onlookers, she scanned the ground beneath her, waiting for the source of the sound to reveal itself.
"Show yourself, demon," she breathed out, her senses quickly becoming overheated from all the tension, but the grove remained silent as the grave. "I know you're out there somewhere, so how about you save us both some time and just come out..?"
As if actually believing the demon would answer her, she waited, barely even daring to breathe. She sat perfectly still for several seconds before finally deciding that the sound must've come from a branch snapping in the wind, but just as she was about to retreat from the tree, a wild boar came charging out from between the trees, running as if it was attempting to flee from death itself.
Momentarily forgetting the task at hand, Naru inhaled deeply and grinned, thinking the boar could surely provide her with quite the meal, but before she could even start moving down towards the ground, a shadow burst out from the nearest cluster of bushes, dashing after the boar with incredible speed.
Naru pressed herself flat against the branch she was sitting on and angled her head to get a good look at the scene below her. The shadow was faster than the wild boar by far, and in a matter of seconds, it was right next to the charging beast. As if in slow motion, Naru watched the shadow raise an already bloodied sword, then a loud squeal echoed in the cold air and the boar fell to the ground, dead.
The shadow skidded into a halt, and a smirk graced Naru's lips as she watched him straighten up and turn to look at his prize. "There we go, Inari," Naru mumbled, her voice barely above a whisper. "Just like you said."
His kimono was caked with dried blood, turning the usually soft fabric rough and stale. The sash around his waist was tied tightly, displaying his narrow waist and overall slender build. His arms were thin, the fingers holding onto the long katana even more so, and if Naru had to guess, she'd say he couldn't have been more than a few years older than her. The toothless smile on his lips was wide on the verge of inhuman, running from ear to ear and making his face resemble that of a fox's. His white hair hung low over his brow and his eyes, forcing him to keep his eyelids shut to not let any stray strands of hair blind him.
He crouched down and ran his free hand over the deep gush he'd just placed upon the poor animal. A chill traveled down Naru's spine as the man straightened up and observed his blood-soaked hand with obvious interest and satisfaction. He stood still like that for almost thirty seconds before releasing an inaudible chuckle.
Oh my, Naru thought. Her smirk grew wider, and she soundlessly raised herself back into a sitting position. The man was completely oblivious to his surroundings, and somehow that very feature made Naru want to reveal herself, just to see his reaction. You're arrogant, she thought. And for a damn good reason. Strong as a demon, I hear. She observed him for a while longer before one single thought appeared in her mind, a thought that erased all other senses, such as caution and fear.
You'll be the first one to join my crew, demon fox.