Kitsune: A Little Mermaid Retelling

Chapter Ten (Part 2)

A scream woke him from a deep sleep. Hikaru sat straight up in bed. Once he was awake, he realized it was more of a long echoing wail than a scream. It seemed to roll through the palace, building in intensity.

"What was that?" Kichirou shouted outside Hikaru's door.

Hikaru grabbed his sword off the stand by the door. He never used it and he toppled over the stand as he clumsily snatched for it. It was almost laughable to grab the sword, but if they were under attack, he did not want to be without some sort of protection. He threw open the sliding door and it hit the end of the track with a thunk. The flimsy wood and paper shuddered beneath the force of the collision. He ran out into the hall, where all manner of cousins and extended family tumbled out into the night, lightly dressed in their sleeping robes. His uncle's sparse white hair stood up on end in every direction. Hikaru doubted he looked much better. His brothers stood to one side, conversing. Hikaru went over to them as the other family members chattered nervously amongst themselves.

"That sounded like a woman," Hotaru said to Kichirou; then noticing Hikaru, he sneered. "What do you plan to do with that?" He jutted his chin towards the sword Hikaru held limply in his hand.

One of their cousins burst out into the hall, preventing Hikaru from answering. His cousin brandished his sword as he shouted, "Are we under attack?"

"Put your sword away," Hotaru said. "We're not being attacked. There was just a woman screaming. Perhaps it was some nightmare."

"I doubt it," said Kichirou. "I am starting to think there is some evil spirit haunting this place." He shivered.

Hikaru bit his lip. Kichirou did not say it, but he knew he was thinking about Rin. The fear of her had only spread. There had been no word from the Nishimoris, and worse yet, the messengers had never returned. Three had gone out now, never to be heard of again. He wanted to believe Rin had pure intentions, but she had propositioned him twice now. The servants feared her and now the Nishimoris could not be reached to corroborate her tale. All the evidence is stacked against her, but I cannot believe she means us harm. Perhaps it was because he wanted to believe the fox woman was real, and she was Rin. Or maybe he was thinking too much with his nether regions.

"I'm going to investigate," Hikaru replied, not taking care to disguise his anger.

"Careful, brother, there's monsters out there!" Hotaru called after him.

He stormed away from his brothers and cousin. Hotaru was the fuel to this fire of superstition, he just knew it. There was no way to prove it, but this reeked of Hotaru. He would use Rin to shame Hikaru and better his own position. Perhaps he hoped this would be the final straw that would change their father's mind about who would be made heir. The screaming had ceased, but he need only follow the stream of soldiers and servants to find the source.

He found a group gathered in the outer ring of the palace in one of the gardens. He pushed his way through to the front. His heart pounded in his chest. When he broke through the crowd, he saw an old woman sobbing on the ground. She was bent forward, pounding the earth with her fist. A guard had hold of one of her hands, trying and failing to get her on her feet.

"What happened here?" Hikaru said.

The soldiers glanced in his direction but did not answer. The servants did not even flinch. They were all transfixed on one spot. Sprawled on the ground, limbs at odd angles, lay a woman. He stared for a few moments, trying to comprehend what was wrong with her, and then he saw the gashes across her throat, hidden in the shadows, and the dark stain on the ground was her blood. Blood stained her kimono as well.