Kikimura stood on the hill. His small figure was against the grey afternoon sky. His home was below him. It was burning.
Black smoke rose from his home. The villagers running below looked like bugs. It was like a painting. The kind of art that only sadness can create.
He couldn't look away.
Tears came to his eyes. They fell silently down his dirty cheeks, mixed with rain. His thin shoulders were shaking. His face stayed still... His eyes showed how he really felt.
He wiped his face with the back of his hand. He was trying to scrub not just his tears but his whole face.
"I am someone new now", he thought to himself. "I have to be."
His backpack was heavy. He had filled it with food, water and other things that might keep him alive in the wilderness.
He turned toward the forest.
The locals called it the Shinreikin or the Spirit Forest. Even thinking about it made people in the village whisper to each other. Mothers used it to scare children.
Grown men said they had seen things in its depths. Traders spoke quietly about people who had ventured in and never came back.
Kikimura didn't care about the legends.
The forest was like an animal. It surrounded the village, except for one little path that people used to get in and out.
It was scary. People said it was haunted. They said that if you went in you would be in trouble.
There was a story about a hundred people who went in. One person came back out. He was very hurt. He died after. People were too afraid to go.
Kikimura didn't have a choice. He had faked his death. He couldn't use the path. He had one choice. The forest.
He walked towards the forest as the sun was setting. It was very dark. Only a dense light could be seen. It was scary... He didn't stop. He kept walking into the forest.
The trees were very tall. They blocked out the sun. The rain was falling. Kikimura could see his breath in the air. He wasn't sure if he was scared or just cold.
He kept walking. His legs were tired while he was breathing hard.
When he could not walk anymore, he decided to rest. He didn't know how much time it would take to get out of the forest. And it's getting darker.
He found a tree with a branch. He climbed up onto it. He sat down and closed his eyes.
He thought about his life. His house had burned down that day. He had seen his father die. He felt very bad about what had happened.
The villagers had treated him badly. They said he was a bad luck and that he deserved to die. Every sickness, every bad weather was his fault.
They even tried to kill him many times, and stopped after a few tries. But the hate was still in their heart.
He fell asleep without even realising. He was really tired.
Kikimura woke up to a scream. It was a girl screaming.
"Help, Help me ..."
He got up. Started running towards the sound. He did not think about it, he just ran, leaving his bag hanging on the tree.
It was hard to see since the forest was really dark. But Kikimura kept running following the sound.
He fell a few times, but he got back up and kept going. He could hear the girl screaming. Finally, he saw a silhouette near a tree. It looked like a girl sitting. He sped up.
She was a girl with long black hair sitting on the ground. She was screaming while covering her ears with her hands and calling for help.
She was wearing a white dress covered with blood.
"Are you okay?" Kikimura screamed at her while breathing hard.
She jumped from her place. She was scared when she heard his voice. She said, "W..Who are you ?"
"I came here running after hearing your screams". Kikimura said while still catching his breath.
"Get away from me, are you a monster? You must be a monster disguised as a little boy to eat me, or you want to bring me to your cave and then cut me into small pieces. Your long black hair indicates that. It must be the result of eating many small girls..." And she started mumbling with her hands covering her chest.
Kikimura, in a barely audible voice: "This girl's imagination is truly huge..."
He continued, saying :
"No, no, I'm not a monster. My hair is long because I haven't cut it since I was born."
The girl screamed: "Liar!! W-why didn't you cut it off? It's covering all your eyes. You really are a monster. If only I hadn't entered this cursed forest, I wouldn't have met a monster like you. Also, I taste bad, and I'm not fat enough to satisfy your hunger, so look for another girl."
Kikimura got angry.
"You're really annoying. Well, if you don't need my help, I'm leaving now." He turned back to his sleeping place.
Then he heard a loud noise. It was something. Kikimura knew that they had to get out of there. He grabbed the girl and started running.
If there is one thing Kikimura is good at, it's his instincts. It was his only talent since he was born. He can locate anyone from meters away and senses danger. Without it, he would have died a long time ago.
"Leave me alone! What are you doing ?" She stopped screaming when she saw Kikimura's serious, fearful expression.
"Shhh... there's a monster coming," Kikimura whispered. "Don't move until we're enough away."
Something big was coming towards them. Kikimura could sense it. It was too fast. They could not get away. Kikimura knew that they were in trouble.
The creature was too big and too strong. Kikimura did not know what to do. He just knew that they had to get out.
Suddenly, a large foot, many times larger than Kikimura's, came from his right at an incredible speed that was difficult to avoid.
He pushed the girl forward with all his might, trying to get her out of the way of the creature.
But since Kikimura sensed it before, he knew it was coming towards him, but his talent was not helping him, as he was considered weaker than the weak, and perhaps the girl he was carrying was much stronger than he was.
The foot struck Kikimura's body, sending him flying towards a tree. He crashed into it with enough force to shatter his body into pieces.
The kick felt like a shock, it was so painful. Kikimura's body felt like it was on fire. The pain was so bad that it made it hard to think. His ribs broke from the kick. He couldn't breathe.
Everything went black.
The girl screamed after Kikimura threw her with such force that she tumbled to the ground. She hadn't even realised what had happened; it all happened so fast.
"Ouch! Why did you throw me? Do you want to kill...." Her outburst stopped when she saw Kikimura lying near a tree, covered in blood.
"W-What happened???" The girl screamed.
But the shock was nothing compared to seeing a huge monster charging toward her.
When Kikimura could see again, his whole body hurt. He could taste blood in his mouth. His left side felt very bad it was broken. He knew he had broken ribs and probably a lung that wasn't working right. He was also bleeding inside.
He was going to die.
The old people in the village had said he would die young.
Not now. Not like this.
Kikimura turned his head. He tried to see through the pain and shock. Where is the girl?
The girl was still screaming.
She was not screaming because she was hurt; she was screaming because she was so scared. The creature was coming out of the fog. It was huge.
The creature was like something from a dream. It was big and strong. Its body was covered in fur. Its claws were as long as swords. Its mouth was big enough to eat a person. Its teeth were yellow and sharp. Its eyes were mean and cruel. They were looking at the girl.
The creature was moving slowly with an open mouth, as if it was smiling.
"Aaaah! ", the girl screamed again, it was a sound of fear. Nobody could hear her, nobody was coming to help.
The creature took another step forward.
Suddenly, a small stone struck the monster's back, It to turn around.
Kikimura tried to get up... His body was badly hurt, and his vision was blurry.
Then Kikimura cried out with difficulty, his voice a mixture of pain and fear: "I'm not finished yet."
The creature stopped, then it turned to look at Kikimura.
Kikimura and the creature stared at each other, the boy with the long hair and the big, hungry creature.
At that moment, Kikimura didn't run away.
He didn't move, even though he was hurt. It looked like he had no chance of winning. He didn't move, even though his body was telling him to give up.
He got up on his feet. And looked straight at the creature with a serious look.