In Cold Blood

Hayabusa Saito's POV

I crumpled the letter that the Kingdom of Dawn has sent me in request of my aid in order to prevent any leaks of information. If the letter was right, then enemies were at every corner. 

I informed the Grand Protector of the village, and he said that it was alright that I go over towards the Kingdom of Light, but that I must never forget about my mission.

I nodded, taking my sword from his hands and went over towards my hideout, packing up my things once more.

"Saito-kun?" was what I heard when I had finished packing. I looked over towards where the voice came from, and saw Lady Kagura Onmyougi, one (if not the only) of my dearest friends since we were very young. "Where are you going?"

"Oh, Onmyougi-san..." I said, tying up the small bag I was supposed to be carrying in my journey. "I shall be heading over towards the Kingdom today. King Samuel and a comrade of mine, Tigreal, has requested my aid and I am obliged to get over there as soon as possible."

"Why, what happened?"

"I only know certain details... however they did state that there was an attempted coup headed by the Prime Minister and his followers..." I replied. "That is all what the letter says."

We were a hermit village, and so it isn't really surprising that we wouldn't know what is going on within the Kingdom of Light, which had ruled the entire land of dawn.

Lady Kagura sits over besides me and rests on my shoulders. "When will you be back?"

I thought about it for a while before answering, "I don't know. Maybe after my job there is done..."

"Which job?" She asks.

"Both." I replied, getting up and carrying my bag.

Kagura stands up as well, grabbing my hand. "I'll come with y-"

"Your family and the Grand Protector needs you here, Onmyougi-san.." I told her. "What if something bad happens to Iga while I'm gone?"

Kagura looks at me for a while before looking down. She then places her hands behind her back. I took a deep breath and patted Kagura on the head. "I WILL be back. I promise you that."

Kagura lightens up, nodding. I smile and place my mask on, activating my teleportation jitsu which takes me to the Kingdom's healing station, which I marked for various reasons. Kagura watches as I slowly fade away from Iga and into the Kingdom.

_______________________________________

Roger Woodsman's POV

"And my daddy was like... bang bang! And he was all like... URRGH!" The little girl says, joyfully telling me the old story of how her Father overkilled a certain outlaw, the King of Thieves they call him. I just nod, trying my best to listen to her story.

It was already 2'o clock (we stopped for some lunch in some diner), and the wind was blowing really hard. The little girl, who introduced herself as Linda, continues her story, making noises that resemble gun fighting and the sounds of men crying, as her ol' daddy rushed in to save a damsel in distress, which was her mother.

All was well and good, until I heard a familiar sound coming from the woods beside us. That eerie... familiar sound of barking and slashing. 

It was the pack!

"Linda, head over to safety behind that rock." I pointed at a boulder whilst grabbing my rifle. This was the moment that I've been waiting for! Even if the beast wasn't there, those wolves would surely lead me to White Tooth!

I rush over towards the woods and followed the sound. My adrenaline was rushing over me, making me move faster (yet silent at the same time) than ever before. I can finally destroy that monster that has been haunting my dreams for as long as I can remember! I can finally live a normal life!

I stop and aimed my rifle. 3 wolves were picking on a wounded deer, each one taunting it by making some sort of pathway for escape. The deer would rush over towards it, only to be surrounded by them again. They weren't killing for hunger and health... they were hunting for pleasure.

I exhaled, activating my net, trapping one of the wolves. The other two were startled, before growling at me. I then shot one of them over by the face. The other one charges at me before I punched it straight in the face, knocking it down to the ground. I pinned it and let out a growl as well.

"What are you going to do now, huh?!" I shouted at it like it was an old enemy of mine. "Where's your boss, huh?! HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE HUNTED?!"

The dark-haired wolf struggles to get free, however I managed to stop him by shooting it in the stomach. It laid there peacefully, like the animal that it was. I then wiped off the blood stains it left on my cloak and head over towards the one I had captured, loading my gun at the process.

I was just about finished when the wolf let out a loud cry before laughing. Laughing... Laughing, like it was taunting me as well... laughing like it was some sort of human being!

I stepped on its tail, aiming at the head filled with wrath. The wolf, to my surprise, smiles at me...

"What are you doing here, friend?" 

I cocked up my gun, pointing it at his jaw. "What do you mean? How can you talk?!"

The wolf chuckles evily before answering me. "Oh, all of that doesn't matter now that the child you have been promising to take to daddy is being taken to the King... We've done an awful lot of stalking, you know?"

I looked at him filled with horror. Linda! These demons were smarter than I thought... were these wolves possessed as well? Those bloodshot eyes stared through my very soul like they knew me for quite some time. Yes, these were the same damn wolves! 

"We have been waiting for you... Roger..." The Wolf tells me. "Ever since that night, we've waited for you."

"How do you know my name?!" I ask him angrily, and after 5 seconds of silence I shouted. "ANSWER ME!"

The wolf chuckles once again before answering. "Oh that? We got that from your poor old papa... a sad story it was. He faced the house where the King was stalking before we bit his neck, sending him  straight to the abyss!"

I blasted that old bastards face as soon as he finished his sentence. His organs splattered on the ground like mush. I didn't care. This bastard deserved to die. I then got up and rush over towards Linda, screaming her name over and over again. 

"Linda!"

...

"Linda!"

I finally got out of the woods, ignoring all the spikes and bushes that I managed to step on my way out... and then I stopped. I saw her lying in a pool of her own crimson blood, clinging desperately to dear life. I immediately got back to my senses and ran towards her and got a few bandages from my sack...

"D-daddy?"

I look at her, tears welling up in my eyes. She was smiling. That same smile that she gives whenever she talks about her old man.

"Dad... Please come home.."

I breathed heavily. Why was this happening? Why her? Why not me?

"Aunt Mary has been hurting me lately... it hurts.. it hurts.."

I wrapped the stub in which her left arm was supposed to be located, hoping to stop the bleeding before it gets any worse. I then got another bandage and covered her stomach, which was ripped apart with some of her intestines coming out. It was nauseous,  however I can't stop to think about that now. They didn't kill for hunger.... they hunted for pleasure...

"Don't go into the light, Linda!" I shouted, grabbing a few painkillers from my bag. I forced her to take it while grabbing another bandage, trying to figure out how to fix her broken legs. 

"Aunt Mary... forced me to work in the fields today..." She mutters, tears starting. "In the heat of the sun, s-she got me to take the buffalo's place and-"

She paused for a bit as I immobalized the fracture. Linda never let out a cry as I tried desperately to save her. 

"-and I missed you, dad." She continues, smiling at me. "Good thing... good thing people like Mr. Roger was here to help me find you. You know... He must be the kindest..."

She stops to take a deep breath before exhaling it all out. This was to be her last. 

I looked at her face while feeling her hands for pulse. It was growing cold... her heart beating less and less with every second that passes. She then manages to plant a smile on her face as she mutters the words.. "Thank you, Mr. Roger."

It was just like that cold... dark... lonely night....

I wasn't able to save my family... I had the other gun my papa used... I had it... I didn't... I...

I was here... Linda was safe... I was blinded by my goal to kill him... She... I wasn't able to save her... I wasn't able to save anyone... Why them? Why not me? Better yet... Why only them? Why won't they kill me too?

"And it's all your fault, Roger..." A cold voice rings out from behind me. I managed to turn my head towards the direction of the voice and saw 10 wolves approaching me from all sides. They were each saying the same thing. "If you hadn't taken her with you... if you had just killed yourself she would've been alive! It's your fault that she's dead..."

"Your father noticed you stealing his gun that day." One of them said. "He didn't let you know to see if you would use it wisely."

"He looked over towards the house, where the King was waiting... watching... and he remembered you having the gun."

"He thought that you would at least give them time to escape... A time to run." Another chuckled. "We bit off his neck, telling him that you'll never be able to save them."

"Why you ask?" the wolves said altogether. "Because you're weak. Because you're too scared. Because you're a pathetic excuse for a man!"

I stood up and grabbed my father's gun. They all gave a maniac laugh as they circle around me, aiming to confuse me that way. I spat on the ground and gave them a nasty look. I got this. 

I aimed at one and managed to destroy it almost completely, with his stomach exploding into pieces after one of my special bullets hit it with such impact. The others try to continue the circle, however they soon break off into teams of three and tried to rush for the kill.

My adrenaline came coursing through my body once again, and I blasted a couple of them before they had the chance to get near me.

I then knocked the rest of them out using the iron gauntlets I had equipped... however two managed to pin me down and take my rifle away from me.

"Cry for mercy, Woodsman!" One of them barked, taunting me with his teeth. "Cry for mercy or we will kill you!"

I looked at him straight in the eye and spat on his face. He did not like that one bit. He places his claw over at my chest and digs his sharp nails into my skin. "Pray to the heavens... ask the Spirits to save you... as you prayed before that they protect your family."

"Go to hell." I told him, smiling.

He growls and runs his claws from my chest towards my hips. It was abnormally painful. This was the most excruciating experience that I have felt in my entire life! I would be lying if I wasn't afraid of death.. however I cannot die yet. I haven't faced their King yet.

He then snaps his jaw straight at my face, barely touching it at least. "Scream for help or I will kill you!"

I then mustered up my entire strength to perform one last battle cry. "Do it, you damn vermin! I'd rather die than do your bidding!"

He laughs rather maniacally once more, removing his nails from my hips and raises it into the air. "Then die, Woodsman! After this, we'll go through your wife as well!"

I looked at him, gritting my teeth. "If you do that, I'll-"

"You'll what?" He smiles, still raising his paws. "You can't kill me you pathetic boy!"

He drops his paws, aiming straight at my face... that is, it never reached it. His whole arm was cut off by some strange metal, and one solid kick sends him flying over the nearest tree. A woman manages to jump over the others and slices them all one by one with her scythe.

I turned to face the woman, who was wearing a red cloak... smiling as maniacally as the wolves themselves. I lay there in awe as she cuts them all open, their guts splashing every corner of the road.

"He can't... but I can."