The Red || Kyojuro Rengoku

Prologue

"Hurry Setsuna, into the closet!" Wide, terrified eyes looked up at her father as she was pushed inside. Outside she could hear screaming, their neighbors pleading in vain for their lives. She trembled with terror, wanting nothing more than the comforting embrace of her father. Hot tears began to slip down her cheeks. Setsuna suddenly felt an oily substance running down her hair, the smell of wisteria filled the small space. Her chest heaved with a choking sob. She looked down at her feet, the oil pooling around her and soaking her tabi socks. Her father paid no mind, frantic in his own search to keep his child safe from the nightmare roaming their village. He grabbed a small satchel from a nearby shelf and emptied the contents around the door. Her father frowned at the dried wisteria petals as he scattered them, not knowing if it would be enough, but knowing that this was her only hope. 'Hope' he thought bitterly, vaguely aware of what was happening to their friends and neighbors. 

"F-father" His daughter's cries snapped him back to reality. Her eyes filling with more tears as she silently pleaded for him to make it all better. That's what father's do, make it all better. Make the monsters go away. Nine years old, and she had already witnessed the death of her own mother, and now this. Another scream outside sent a shiver down his spine. This was it. He placed a loving hand on his child's cheek, tears pricking his own eyes now.

"Setsuna, listen closely. No matter what you hear, do not open this door. Not until you see the morning rays coming through the cracks." Her father stood, tears of knowing now running down his own face. His hands trembled as he grabbed the door handle. "I love you, my sweet child." Setsuna stood in the dark, alone. Her father's footsteps retreading. She shook with fear, hands clamped over her mouth to try and keep her sobs from escaping. The smell of wisteria oil in the small, dark closet overwhelmed her senses, and she felt bile rise up in her throat. Her heart pounded and she felt a wave of dizzying dread wash over her. Suddenly the house seemed quiet. Impossibly quiet. And then the screaming began. Her father's screams wracked through her like a hot blade, and fear finally overtook her as she slumped unconscious onto the oil slick floor.

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Setsuna's eyes opened slowly. Light pooled underneath the closet, and she knew morning had come. Cautiously she exited her confinement. Bloody wisteria petals littered the floor. With trepidation she slowly made her way further into the room, away from her sanctuary. The floorboard underneath her creaked softly, and before she could take her next cautious step a hand clamped around her arm. Panic washed over her, and she did the only thing she could think to do. She turned and bit the hand of whatever creature had grabbed onto her. Blood filled her mouth, and she vaguely registered a curse from whatever she had bitten. Setsuna only made it a few steps out of the room before she was faced with the grisly fate of what had befallen last night. Their home was red, painted with her father's blood. Setsuna stared, not fully seeing, her father's body lay near the kitchen. Body was generous she would come to realize, he had been torn apart. Eviscerated. She tried to work her mouth, but no scream would come forth. She wanted to cry, but the dam would not break. Her emotions felt stuck, too many to feel and so she stood frozen and felt nothing. A firm hand clamped her shoulder, and she blinked slowly. The hand was bloody from where she had bitten, her teeth leaving a ring of red into the torn flesh. She cast her charcoal eyes up, no longer caring what fate was to befall her. Red and gold eyes looked back at her, not eyes filled with anger, but of pity and sadness. The man was tall and broad of shoulder, with blond hair that ended in red tips. It reminded her of fire. He had on a haori with a flame pattern. Wordlessly she was scooped up into the man's arms. He was strong and felt safe, like her father. Realization and exhaustion overtook her, and Setsuna fell back asleep as she was taken away from her living nightmare.