Daisuke Matsumoto! Came a young woman's sweet sing-song voice.

Her words bounced

off the
walls and echoed throughout our dark and silent home. Normally I'd be overjoyed to
hear a pretty girl
call my name, but the sound of her voice sent nothing but terror down my spine.
It's her, she's coming, whispered Akito.
But Mana! I hissed hysterically. We have to help Mana!
The image of Mana lying face down in a pool of her own blood was firmly engraved
into my mind.
Her short black hair was mattered and caked in red, and she looked beyond repair.
The cute girl who
helped me on several occasions could be moments away from death if someone didn't
aid her soon. I
jumped up and attempted to climb over the desk we were hiding behind, but Akito
grabbed my shirt
and pulled me back.
Don't worry about her! There's nothing we can do now! He exclaimed.
What! You can't be serious! Mana wasn't my only concern. It was also uncertain if
Kurumi and
Itsuki had survived being thrown at the wall. I wasn't sure about the others. I had
lost track of them
amongst the madness.
How can you say that! I cried. Aren't you supposed to protect them. Isn't that
your job?!
It's not them she's after!
My mouth clamped shut. He was right. It wasn't poor Mana she was targeting, or
Kurumi, or my
genius friend Itsuki. She only had one target in mind, and that person was me. I
gave up and went limp.
He was right, it wasn't his fault, it was all mine.
The situation would have been more acceptable if I had done something to deserve
this, like
throwing rocks at baby animals, or being an asshole, but I hasn't done anything to
incur her wrath.
Everything had gone to hell just because my name was Daisuke Matsumoto.
Akito was holding Nina back with his other hand, but she wasn't making any attempt
to escape. Her
long black hair was stuck to her forehead with sweat. She wasn't shaking with fear,
but she was
abnormally silent and staring anxiously at the door like she had accepted what was
to come. I couldn't
understand how she could endure being so still. If I was her I would have been out
the window by now.
But maybe like me, she was also counting on Akito to protect her.
The monster ceased calling my name in her warped game of hide and seek, and all was
silent. It was
so still I could hear groans of pain from somewhere outside the room. It may have
been Taisei or Souta.
I prayed that they'd stay quiet, otherwise they'd be next on her dinner plate.
3
I heard the tatami mats creek and groan with every step the vile monster took as
she crept closer and
closer towards us. Akito obviously shared my anxiety, and I could see beads of
sweat trickling down
his forehead. We had taken refuge in the study, but I doubted the books and flimsy
walls would provide
much support if push came to shove.
Did she know already? Had she heard us? Or maybe she was going to finally give up
and return to
whatever hell she was spawn from.
My thoughts screamed Please don't stop here, whatever you do please don't open
this door!
Bang! Suddenly the paper screen door went flying across the room. It hit the desk
and splintered
into two. We all ducked down and covered out heads to protect ourselves from the
debris, but
something must have hit Nina because she let out a cry of pain. Nina realized her
mistake
instantaneously and her hands flung to her mouth, but it was already too late.
That was all it took. The monster knew we were here. Now we were definitely done
for.
I peeked through a gap in Akito's hasty barricade of chairs and furniture and I
found myself staring
at her in horror, unable to move or look away.
In my mind she was a possessed demon, but all that stood before me was an
abnormally beautiful
woman with long raven hair, dressed neatly in a red summer Kimono. She was smiling
pleasantly
which would have caught anyone unaware (I certainly was). She was completely
unharmed except for
her charred left sleeve which was almost blasted off by Itsuki's lightning charm.
You may be
wondering why we were all so terrified and currently bleeding because of this
pretty young woman,
and the answer was incomprehensible but simple.
She was a fox monster.
Found you! She called.
I expected Akito to have a plan (he had to have a plan) but all I could hear was
his sigh of defeat. It
looks like it's come to that, he said.
What! It can't be? Don't tell me he's given in. I thought to myself. Akito, my
teacher, had always
gotten my hopes up and quickly smashed them, apparently now wasn't going to be any
different.
I tore my eyes away from my approaching death and back to Akito, who was now
holding a knife in
his right hand instead of Nina. I was uncertain if he procured it from his clothes
or desk, but the details
didn't matter anymore.
I forced myself to feel hope. Maybe it was a magical weapon that was highly
effective against fox
monsters. Hey, Akito, I whispered hopefully. What's up with the knife? I was
looking for words of
reassurance but his face was stone cold. Akito? I asked again.
4
He grabbed me by the shoulder to stop me from fleeing and held the knife to my
face.
I'm so sorry Daisuke, but I don't think we have any other choice.
What? What are you talking about Akito?
I'm so sorry Daisuke, he apologized.
What, so this is it? I said. My eyes flicked from the knife to his face which
wasn't giving anything
away. Don't tell me that I'm going to die here?
They say that your life flashes before your eyes once you know you're going to die.
I could see it all
before me in the reflection of Akito's cold hard blade. I was standing under the
cherry blossoms at my
elementary school entrance ceremony, eating cake at my sister's wedding, outside
praying that the
monster wouldn't come tonight.
I'm sorry, you don't know what I'm talking about do you? I've become so immersed in
this world
that I often forget that regular people don't know about the monsters lurking right
under their noses.
Maybe it's best if I explain to you the events of that morning, or the previous
month, or from my first
day of high school?
No, that still wouldn't be far enough. How about we go way back? Let's start from
the beginning.
Let's go back to the day when I learned about Obake and the fox monster for the
first time.