Kitsune: A Little Mermaid Retelling

Chapter Twenty-Two (Part 3)

Shin arrived to a palace in chaos. The humans shouted to one another, their voices melding together into one agitated humming sound, the backdrop to his search for Rin. The Dragon was near, he could feel him and a human with immense spiritual power very close by. The Dragon would know what to do; together they would be able to stop Akio.

He found them running along the rooftops, hand in hand. When the Dragon saw Shin, he held up his hand to stop the woman. She looked at him, curious but unafraid. She was pretty, by human standards. He wondered what she was doing with the Dragon. A part of him had hoped he had come here to save Rin. But perhaps he had been hoping for too much.

"Shin," the Dragon said. There was a threat in his tone and Shin took a step back.

Shin bowed low to the Dragon. "Master, we've been looking for you."

"And you have not found me."

"Master?"

"Do I need to explain? You cannot tell anyone we met here. If my enemies discovered..." His gaze slid to the side where the woman was holding his hand.

The truth hit him like a punch to the gut. He had thought Rin and the Dragon... then the real reason he had disappeared was because of this woman. The Dragon had taken a human lover, more than that, a human with spiritual powers. Then the rumors were true. He never thought he would see the day. If Akio, or any of his other enemies knew, they would use her against him. For someone in the Dragon's position, a human could be his greatest weakness. For a moment his loyalty to the Dragon warred against his desire to save Rin.

In the end, loyalty won out. "I will keep my silence, Master." He bowed his head.

The Dragon smiled and patted Shin on the shoulder as he passed by, whisking his woman off into the night. Shin let him go. If the Dragon lingered any longer in this place, then they would be found out. He would have to save Rin on his own.

He ran along the rooftops in the opposite direction of the Dragon to Rin's room. He landed in the courtyard. The entire place smelled of her, but she was not there. He could tell right away. Nothing was disturbed, but he could not shake the sense that something was out of place. The humans were running around; blood was on the air. What is going on here?

He crept out into the hall, and invisible to the humans, he listened to their conversations.

"Report!" said a grizzled warrior in a blue mask.

"Lady Fujikawa is missing, and we cannot find Lord Hikaru," said his underling.

"Do not stop searching until you find them both," the leader snapped. The younger warrior bowed and hurried to do his bidding.

He continued his search, following the scent of Rin. She had climbed over rooftops to the heart of the palace. The scent of human blood was everywhere. Rin's trail ended in a garden; he dropped down into it. Bodies of slain men lay on the ground, their limbs at odd angles. Shin walked through the carnage, searching for Rin, but her scent had been overpowered by the smell of death. She had been here. Perhaps moments before, but she was gone.

"She is no longer here, Shin," said an unfamiliar voice.

The hairs on the back of his neck rose up on end. He turned around to find an old woman grinning at him.

"Who are you? How do you know my name?"

She cackled. "I know much about you. As for me, I lost my name long ago."

He frowned at her. His energy burned just beneath his skin, waiting to be unleashed to transform, should she prove dangerous.

"Did you do this?" he asked, motioning to the dead bodies.

"No, but you know who did."

"Naoki." He said his name like a curse.

"He has your Kitsune."

He swore and motioned to chase after her when her words stopped him. "You cannot hope to defeat him on your own."

He stopped and turned to look at her. He had not felt her spiritual power at first, but now he could, and she was even more powerful than the woman who had been with the Dragon. "And you can?"

She laughed. "I am only a human. But you can, with my help."

He raised an eyebrow, inclined to be skeptical, but he wanted to hear what she had to say.

"I have a charm here. If you use it, you'll be able to control Naoki. Just place it on his forehead and he'll do as you bid."

She held out a small stone with swirling markings on it. He stared at it, afraid to take it from her. Getting this on Naoki would be no easy task. He was a skilled swordsmen, known all through Akatsuki as a great fighter.

"Why should I trust you?"

"Who said anything about trust?"

He hesitated a moment longer before snatching it from her hand. "If this does not work, I will find you, old woman."

She bowed her head. "I am counting on it."