~AKIHIRO~
I slid to a stop and sprinted down the hall as fast I could. My hair whipped in the wind and my tails coursed with power as my blade slid through the approaching masked shifters who attempted to bring me down.
They thought they were a match for me? What a joke. I was blinded by rage which drove me forward. I had to make sure she was okay. Our love was in danger and the fear that began to pool inside me told me I didn't have much time.
I reached the living room and my eyes noticed sounds of fighting coming from upstairs.
"CRIMSON!"
My body jolted forward as I pushed off the ground, using my magic to propel me through the air. The shrillness of that scream made me afraid to reach the top of stairs, but the name that rang and echoed against the walls was enough to overcome my fear. I needed to discover how bad the situation was and if Crimson was okay.
I soared up the stairs, landing at the top and turned my head to the left to see Crimson's mother fighting off a group of men. I pulled out my sword and flames emerged around the silver blade as I ran forward.
Mrs. Arashi noticed and she dropped to the ground to avoid my impending slaughter, as I pushed off the ground, bringing my arm up to prepare a flaming attack. I whipped my sword out horizontally, sending a wave of fire that cut off the heads of all five men with ease. Their bodies fell to the ground while their heads rolled off down the hall.
Mrs. Arashi rose to her feet and ran to the shattered window, looking over the ledge as if desperate to find something.
"Where's Crimson?" I demanded.
"The assassins took her! I don't know where they went!" she screamed as tears began to pool in her eyes. I cursed and nodded.
"I'll find her, Mrs. Arashi. Tell the others what's going on. Don’t worry, I’ve cleared the lower level," I reassured. She ran to me and placed her hands on my shoulders, staring into my eyes.
"Please, Akihiro. She's all I have," she cried, tears rolling down her cheeks.
I nodded, "I'll bring her home." I bowed my head. Then I ran toward the shattered window and jumped, using my wind magic to help me soar above the compound.
I noticed multiple guards fighting off cloaked assassins, some using magic like fire and lightning, while others were using their weapons in close combat.
I landed at the gate and began running down the hill, hoping to catch whomever took Crimson before they vanished completely.
My Kitsune was outraged and wanted blood. How dare someone take our Crim away? On a logical level, why would they take Crimson and not her mother, anyways? Everyone thought Crimson was just a human, so she would be no benefit to them. They had no knowledge of her sealed state. What were we missing?
I slid to a stop when I reached the street. Where...where would they go?
"HOOOT!"
I turned to my left, tilting my head in confusion at the person walking up the road. He had long black hair that blew in the passing wind as he approached me.
The red kimono he wore had little blackbirds on it and he wore a black belt tied in the front with a red coiled rope knotted in a bow.
He had two swords hooked to his waist and wore black geta shoes that clicked and clacked against the cement of the otherwise mostly quiet street.
I met his gaze and pink eyes greeted me. I noticed Urufu was on his shoulder in her owl form and she fluttered her wings, hopping up and down.
"Hoot! Hoot!" I could sense the urgency in her cries and the man lifted his arm like a horizontal platform allowing Urufu to land on it.
The man looked me up and down, but the frown on his face remained. I guessed it was better than the raging anger I saw in his eyes and the pulsing power radiating off of him.
"Who are you?" I blurted out. It was rude to ask first, especially with someone I knew was my elder, but I didn't have time for long introductions. I needed to track whoever took Crimson before it was too late.
"Where's Mosuki and Crimson?" the man demanded, ignoring my question.
I gave him a confused look and straightened my back, facing him head on. "I won't say until I know who you are," I countered.
"I'm from the Empire of Homatomashi; my name is Hotaka Jiyuna. Now, what's going on and where are they?" he demanded.
I swallowed and felt my Kitsune growl inside me, feeling the threat of power that faced us, but I instinctively knew he wasn't the enemy. He wasn’t the one who stole Crimson from us.
"Mrs. Arashi is inside fighting the intruders. They took Crimson," I announced mournfully. Mr. Jiyuna looked even more pissed after that; he sighed, lifting his palm up.
A large pink circle formed in his hand and a smaller white circle formed within it, shifting to form what looked to be a compass.
"HOOT!" Urufu lowered her head, pointing to a particular spot on the compass and it began glowing a turquoise blue that reminded me of Crim's eyes.
"Outskirts," he grumbled and lifted Urufu up to meet her gaze.
"Go track them down and help your Mistress. She'll need you," he ordered her.
"HOOT!" Urufu shot into the sky, headed north.
"Outskirts? The mountains!" I asked and then began to curse. Today wasn’t the day to go there.
"Are you going after her or are you just gonna stand there like a stunned fool?" Mr. Jiyuna demanded, lifting an eyebrow at me.
I had to fight the urge to roll my eyes. "I'll go after her," I declared solemnly.
"Best of luck then, Akihiro Tomashuna."
I narrowed my eyes at him, unsure how he knew who I was, but I'd wasted too much time and Crimson's life was at risk so that was a mystery for later. I gave him a half bow, turned around and began sprinting as fast as I could down the street.
There was no way I'd make it there in time in my human form and if my instincts were correct, the blizzard section would be twice the size today. Crimson would have no chance of survival if I was right.
"Dammit," I cursed as my heart beat frantically and my eyes watered from my anxiety and fear. Her dreams. That's what they meant!
I turned the corner and pulled the ribbon out of my hair, freeing my locks, which began to glow brightly. I grasped the red ribbon with both hands and the gold incantations began to shimmer.
The barrier that held my Kitsune in place shattered and he initiated the shift. I let my mind fade, allowing my predatory instincts to take over.
I won't lose her. I can't lose the woman I love again.
~CRIMSON~
"You guys are absolute FOOLS! She's a human! That attack could have killed her!"
"Sir. We didn't know. The target was Mosuki. She jumped in the way and was hit directly. We're terribly sorry. Please forgive us," I heard a man beg.
My conscious wavered at the familiar loud voice. James? Why is he being so noisy early in the morning? It's morning, right? What's going on and why does my body hurt so much?
I felt disoriented and even the slightest movement sent painful prickly shocks through me. I remained quiet, unsure where I was. All I knew was that I was moving and that James was here.
"You realize what has to be done, right? She won't recover from this. Humans never recover from attacks like these," James yelled and I heard something slam into a wall.
"We're terribly sorry, Sir. Please, spare our lives! We’ll do anything," a different voice pleaded.
"Dammit. Why couldn't things just stay the way they were? It’s those fucking guards’ fault. ARGH!" James raged and something shattered.
I didn't move, trying to stay awake and discover what was truly going on here without them noticing I was awake.
"You will take her to the deepest part of the mountains. Today should be when the blizzard area doubles in size. Leave her there and return here. I'll send some type of hint to Hakua that a visitor saw someone walking toward the mountains. They’ll find her body and nobody will ask any questions. It’ll look like a tragic accident," James announced.
Hold up! What? He...wants me dead? Why? What's going on? Ugh, why can't my mind fucking function right now? Tell me what’s going on!
"But Sir, the watch? And the blue crystal. It's supposed to be in the office," the first man exclaimed.
"I'm aware of that, idiot. We don't have time. The Emperor has been informed of the ambush and probably sent his son over to check out the damage. We'll just have to search for the others until things settle. I'll go back and retrieve it during Crimson's funeral arrangements. I'll have access then," James explained, sighing deeply.
"As for the watch, one of those pathetic men must have it on them. Maybe that grumpy Kitsune shifter. Storm Yuna always seemed to favour him. I'll deal with him when the time is right."
I wanted to scream and fight the darkness that was clawing at my mind, but I was struggling to stay awake. I must have been in a car or something.
A closed space wouldn't help me. If I waited until we reached the mountains, maybe I'd have a chance. I didn't need to be able to think clearly to know James was now my enemy. He wanted me dead and would use my death to his advantage to suck up to my father and mother and enter our home to search for the crystal.
I was thankful for my quick thinking placing a spell on my jacket, but it wouldn't be very helpful if I was dead. I needed to think of a plan and fast. If we were headed to the mountains, there was no doubt we'd be going through the blizzard section.
James said he'd let Hakua know...which means he won't be going himself. He's probably going to let these two take me there to dump my body and leave.
With how evil he sounded, I figured he wanted these two to go and get lost in the blizzard and die with me.
"Sir, how will we get back?" the second man asked.
"You two are wolf shifters. Use your damn instincts. Those tales of being unable to find your way back out of that place are for humans. You guys won't have any problems," James huffed.
I knew he was lying. I'd known him long enough to tell from the defensive tone in his voice that his words were untrue. These men were walking into a death trap, with me in tow.
"Yes, Sir. We'll do as you ask," Henchman One confirmed.
"Good. Get ready, we're almost there," James announced.
I heard footsteps and was actually thankful I couldn't move or I would have been trembling in fear. I felt something brush against my cheek. I was mostly numb, but I felt the slightest pressure of something pressed against it.
"Why couldn't you remain the caged bird you were? Now I have to take responsibility for this mess. Dammit, Crim," James whispered and I felt something soft press against my lips.
I wished I could cringe at the cool touch of his lips; I felt something inside me growl in anger. An image of my Kitsune flashed into my mind and I could see her rage and impatience as she had to wait for us to make our move.
We won't die without a fight. I promise.
She stopped growling and slowly sat back down in my mind, but her glowing pink eyes continued to glare forward, as if James was right in front of her instead of above us, kissing me like we were still together.
"You always wanted to be free. You even got this feather tattoo to prove it. It’s sad you'll never understand that freedom has consequences. You wouldn’t be facing your death if you stayed in your cage of painting and remained hidden. But it's okay. You'll be free from your boring life and out of my way. Hah. You're just as foolish as Storm Yuna," he chuckled.
I felt Storm's magic flicker at the insult and it took everything in me to tame its rage. My own power was hard enough to hide. I had to stay focused on the new plan. That would be the only way we would survive this.
"We're here, Sir!" Henchman One announced.
James sighed and I felt what I believed was his thumb brush my cheek in what would have been a soothing gesture, if I hadn’t been so creeped out.
"Farewell, Crimson Storm. I wish you had the chance to find out who you truly were and learn of the lies you grew up believing. Oh well. Maybe in your next life," James whispered. His hand left my cheek and I felt my body being lifted.
"Make sure she's deep within the blizzard. There should be some sort of cliff there. Drop her over it just to be sure she's dead. Don't fuck this up, boys," James warned.
"Yes, Sir!" the two men replied in unison.
I was given to one of the henchmen and was thrown over his shoulder like a rag doll.
"Farwell, Crimson Arashi," James hummed.
I wished I could say something, anything to show my burning anger, but doing so would give away my hand and I wouldn't let him win. I couldn't.
Facing the reality of death was hard. But this level of betrayal was the motivation I needed to fight for my life. He thought he had the last laugh. But I would be victorious. I would survive this and my men and I would hunt his ass down and show him how dangerous a caged bird can be once freed.
He'd regret ever loving me.