The Demon and his Shrine

Chapter 1: The Shrine

The sound of heavy rain echoed throughout the city of japan that night. Nobody was outside, leaving the streets hauntingly empty and lifeless. Stores were closed due to the storm, and stray animals were tucked away in shelters that they'd found. It would appear that the entire city of Tokyo was empty-except for the silver haired boy sitting in the alley.

The teenager was silent and weeping, tears and raindrops staining his face. His silver hair was matted down onto his head, his ripped and tarnished clothes soaked through completely on his small and fragile looking body. The thin boy sat on the end of the curb, holding nothing in his possession.

He slowly opened his eyes, staring at the sky for a moment. He watched as the dark grey sky pelted rain onto the pavement. He sighed and closed his eyes again, his fingers becoming cold.

"Hinata."

The boys eyes snapped open and he looked around with frightened yet curious blue eyes.

"Hinata."

He'd heard it again. Someone was calling his name. He couldn't make out whether the voice was male or female, but something about the voice was entrancing and sweet, almost familiar. Hinata stood up, his weak legs wobbling due to lack of food. He began to take slow, feverish steps, walking out of the dark wet alley. Hinata didn't know exactly where he was going, however something in his conscious was telling him to move forward.

The silver haired boy made his way towards the outskirts of the city, following a stone path into the woods. The trees were tall and dark, looking over Hinata like a miasma. He swallowed hard and nearly turned back around.

"Hinata."

The voice was louder now, and Hinata could pick out the details in the voice. It sounded female, and sounded as if the voice was coming from further into the woods. Hinata shook his head, knowing that he must've been going insane. Throwing his last care into the mud, Hinata stepped forward, entering the dark woods.

As Hinata walked through the trees and along the stoned path, he noticed that no animals or birds of any kind flocked in the evergreens. The forest was eerily silent, even the sound of rain coming to a halt. Hinata wiped his face of water as he came to a steep set of stone stairs. Curiosity began to boil in the pit of his stomach, driving him up the stairs.

When the now tired, beaten down teen came to the top of the stairs, he nearly gasped. In front of him, stood a massive, old looking shrine. It was clearly abandoned, the wood paneling along the sides crumbling and rotting to the core. The aura around the shrine was dark as well, leaving Hinata with an unsettling feeling in his bones. He almost felt suffocated as he stared at the abandoned little establishment, and the dried up fountain and dead garden in the front court area.

Hinata's wet clothes clung onto his body, causing him to feel completely frozen. He shuddered and shook his head, ignoring the creepy and disturbing miasma surrounding the shrine.

"Fuck it. I'd might as well, at this point." He muttered to himself. Hinata shook his head and walked up to the shrine, gently extending his hand to push open the large double doors.

Wind whooshed into the shrine, and pale clouded light illuminated the interior. Hinata walked inside, noticing the barren, dusty wooden floors and torn paper walls.

"This place really is abandoned..." He said
exasperatedly.

Though the shrine was empty, the interior felt surprisingly warm for being so vacant. Hinata decided to take off his shirt and jeans, ringing them out in the corner in hopes to dry them.

"Hinata."

Hinata felt shivers down his spine. There it was again. The voice. Closer now than ever before. In fact, the voice had sounded as if it had come from directly behind him. Hinata bit his lip and shivered hard, before slowly turning around.

He saw nothing. Hinata breathed a sigh of relief before shaking his head.

"I really am going insane." He chuckled sadly to himself, before turning around. He opened his eyes,

and screamed.

Standing in front of him was a tall, massive dark figure, clouded in the shadows. Glowing red eyes peered from the blackness, staring directly at Hinata, seemingly through his soul. At that moment, Lightning struck and sounded throughout the forest, briefly illuminating the creature. Hinata saw the man, dressed in a beautifully embroidered and detailed black kimono, barefoot. He had jet black, wild hair in disarray, his beautiful pale complexion and steely green eyes now evident from the light. The man was utterly beautiful, and yet terrifying all at once.

Hinata was frozen to the spot, being literally and figuratively naked in front of the man-if he could even call him a man. Something about the presence in front of him felt sinister.

"And who might you be?" The man spoke, his voice surprisingly calm and almost sultry. It was rough like sandpaper and yet smooth as velvet at the same time. Hinata was still frozen, blue eyes wide with fear.

"I-I..." Words could barely come out of his throat. The man smirked and dipped forward, his figure towering over Hinata's significantly smaller one.

"I want to know the name of my trespasser." The man said darkly. Hinata gulped.

"M-My name is H-Hinata...Hinata Haru..." The boy spoke softly. The man smiled to himself and stood up taller.

"Haru, hm? Interesting. My name is Master Riku. I am the demon familiar of this shrine." The tall man said.

Hinata gasped and backed up, tripping and falling down on his rear. He stared up at the demon with wide, terrified eyes.

"D-Demon?!" Hinata wheezed.

"Now now, there's no need to be like that. After all, it is you who is trespassing into my shrine. What do you think I should do with you?" Riku smirked devilishly. Hinata whined softly, eyes screwing tightly shut as he wrapped his arms around his body. His head felt woozy and light, as if the blood had gone straight to it.

Hinata opened his eyes, the last thing he saw being Riku's glowing red ones, before swiftly losing consciousness.