NSTAS ch.2

I keep running until I trip and can’t get back up from being so weak. Too much horror. Tohru dead, weird monsters, and no home to go back to. Everyone thinks I killed Tohru. I guess I technically did. I should have been more aware, I should have seen it coming.
 I killed Tohru.
 That’s all I can think of as I pull myself against a tree. I look around. Nothing but trees. Just like where I first woke up at. I guess I just when what you call “full circle”. I close my eyes and my worlds goes black.


I wake up several times from nightmares. All with the monster and Tohru.. I’ll be right there, Tohru and I playing together. He’ll be laughing one minute, but slowly his fave would get pale and bloody. I’ll see the demon rip him apart, limb from limb, and all I can do is stand there. I’ll try as hard as I can, but nothing. I wount be able to move an inch. Then the demon would finish devouring him, and laugh. that’s when I wake up screaming.

 I’ve been awake for a couple of hourse. I go look for a stream to wash myself, but I don’t eve know where Im at. I must have ran for a while, I don’t recognize anything. I think back to the night prior, even though I don’t want to. The strange light that emitted frmon me. What was it? And the strength I felt was more than just an adrenaline rush. It was something super-human. But, I have no idea what…
 A sound. Something in the bushes. I brace myself, but the pain from my wounds make me stagger. I try to straighten myself out, but end up falling over. I wanna run away, but can’t move. But not from pain; from pure terror. I just can’t get myself to run away. I try to get up enough to stand a chance when the monster comes from the trees, but can’t even do that. I’m going to die. I think to myself.
 More noises, getting closer. I close my eyes and ready myself for the end.
 “Aki?” a voice croaks.
 I look to see a tall, teal color haired man standing in front of me, halfway out of the trees.
 “Aki, is that really you!?” He takes a step closer.
 I try to back up, but my arm can’t support me. I must have hurt it in the fight. Or maybe a rock hit it too hard. “Who are you?” I bearly whisper. My throat hurts from screaming.
 “Oh my god…It is you…” He falls to me and holds me close, ignoring the yelps I let out. “Aki…For three years I’ve looked for you…And I finally found you…” He gets up and turns to the woods. “Dainame! Rue! I found her! I finally found her!!”
I sit there dumbfounded as two more people show up. One is taller than the man in front of me. He has shoulder length light brown hair. The other though…is an Ikimono kami. Clearly. He is human shaped, but looks nothing like a human. He has pure cat-like features. He’s very tall, and a light rosette color. Almost beautiful, if not for him being covered in so many scars. All over his body, only scars. I become scared. Memories flood back of the monster, looking nothing like him, but I’m just as scared. I start to scream, but nothing comes out.
 They see my terror and me trying to scoot away, limping badly. The short haired one tries to come closer, but I only scream louder(not that it was very loud in the first place) and only hurt myself more by falling over again.
 “Aki, what are you doing?!” The teal-haired one bends down and picks me up as if it were nothing. I push away and hit him in the face, and he drops me. Hard. I land with a thud and a yelp. I curl up into a ball of pain and shudder. They all look at me in confusion and worry. When it finally clicks that they’re not going to hurt me, I look up whimpering.
 “Aki, what has happened to you? Please…don’t tell me you’ve gone..”
 “NO!” I screech, then cough, holding my throat. That was a bad idea. I try to sit up, but only accomplish it when teal-hair helps me. He holds me close, and I try to push him away.
 “Don’t worry my love, I’m here now. There’s nothing to be afraid of…”
 “My love?????”I choke.
 The big cat comes back with a bottle of water. He hands it to me and I gulp it down gratefully. I look among the trio, trying to make sense of this.”Who are you?” I ask again.
  “Do you really not remember us?” The taller short haired one askes.
  The big cat walkes over to me and looks me sternly in the eye. I shudder and freeze. It’s like he has this superiority over me, and I don’t know why, but I respect him. He laughs when my face shows fear and backs away.
 “Remember or not, deep down she must know.”
 “I wonder…” the short haired one walks over to me and places his hand on my head and gently rubs the bump he found there. I hate rocks… I feel…comfortable around him. I don’t know him, but I like him…kinda. Like a brother. He smiles.”Aki, you don’t remember the times we had before? By the stream?” 
 I shake my head no.
“I know how to get her to remember us!” Shouts the teal one as he runs to me. I back up, startled a bit, but half expecting it. I’m suddenly very annoyed by him.
 “Um, excuse me, but you’re a little too close for my comfor-”” My comment is cut short by lips against mine. I feel inraged, and find myself attacking this guy almost as strongly as I attacked the monster. I don’t want to kill him…Or do I?
 The other two are laughing behind me. I look at them confused when I notice the teal one beneath me, half unconscious. I jump back and yelp in pain when I remember the bruises. He gets up and rubs his head where I hit him. “Well THAT didn’t work…” he sniffles.
 The cat comes over to me and kneels beside me. “Aki, how much do you remember?”
 I think for a moment. “I’m not sure. All I know is I woke up in a field. I knew only my name, pretty much.”
 “Then, we can start over. My name is Rue.” He hugs me. I’m a little uncomfortable with this, with him still being a stranger to me, but I let him. He seems comforted by it.
 The short haired one comes up to me. ”I guess if we have to go to square one, I’m Dainame.” He smiles and hugs me too.
 Then the teal one.” And my name is Shoro. And you, are my princess…”He leans down to kiss my hand. He seems so sad when he says it. Like he’s about to cry.
 I gulp and whisper my name. They all just smile.
 “Aki, this may come to a surprise to you, but, you grew up with us. I took care of you when you were a baby. Along with Shoro and Dainame too. Were your family.” Says Rue, smiling. I can’t help but notice the happiness on his face. “Would you like to know of your past?” I nod. And he begins.


 “Dainame and Shoro and you and me, we all lived in a small village. Almost as big as a town, in fact. We lived with other ikimono kamis.”
 “You are all ikimono kamis?” I ask.
 “Yes. All neko(cat). We lived among only neko kamis, though. We all sort of have our on…clans, so to speak. We don’t like mixing. Now, Dainame and Shoro lived here all their lives. Sadly though….” Rue looks behind him, and the other two boys are sitting next to each other, looking away. But Shoro, the teal one, looks over at me. Stern at first, but then he softens up. “their paents died. They were very close, since birth in fact. Their families were the best of friends. Unfortunatley, their fathers when out hunting once…and never came back. Shortly after, Dainame’s mother caught a disease and died. Shoro’s mother fell off a cliff into a river, and was never seen again. Their both orphans. I was the only person who could care for them after, so I did. I’m sorta like a dad I guess, but I know I can never take their real parents place.”
 “what about me?” I ask, almost scared of the answer.
 “Well….I’m honestly not 100% sure. We kinda…found you.” he coughs.
 “Found me?” I stutter.
 “Yes. Shoro was out playing one day. All of a sudden, he comes to me crying, with a baby he was lugging behind him. He says he found you by the stream, just there and crying. You were with us ever since.
 “All three of you grew up under my care. When you matured enough, I saw you and Shoro getting closer. At first, I thought it was just a strong sibling bond. But then I say it was more.”
 “I was in love with that guy?!” I ask, pointing at him. I notice my rudeness and pull away.
 He looks at me again and shrugs. ”Yeah, and I was as much in love with you back.” He walks over and sits down next to me.
 “So, how did I wind up in the middle of nowhere without my memory?”
They all kind of look down. “There was an…incident.” Dainame mumbles. “Some weird guy came and told us he wanted yours and Shoro’s powers. We didn’t know what he was talking about. He looked crazy. Next thing, he was holding you up, and threatening to kill you. Suddenly, you lit up. When the light went away, you were gone. He got away, and we were left there not knowing what had even just happened. But, we knew, somehow, that you were alive somewhere. And so, we looked.”
 I feel confused and hopeful at the same time. These people are from my past? I think for a moment.
 “How do I know your telling the truth?”
They all pause and look at each other. They look back at me and shrug, I sigh.
 “All we can do is ask that you trust us.”
 “Wait,” I say quickly. “you say I grew up with you guys in another village. Why not just take me there?”
 Dainame sighs. “We would, if we could…”
 “The town was attacked 2 years ago. We got out, with only a few others.” Says Shoro.
 “Well, where are these others?” I’m pretty determined to find out about this. I would like to trust them, I’m happy I have someone now that I was kicked out of Tohru’s village…
 Tohru….
  I feel a strong pain throb at the side of my head. I hold my head and put my head between my legs. The pain just intensifies. I look up to Shoro, who was immediately hovering over me to see whats wrong. Their voices are all slurred together though. I can’t understand them. And then my world goes black.