D Short Story Contest 2014: Shortlist
Here are the entries to the D Short Story Contest 2014! There are five entries this year, and all are listed anonymously. Please vote for your favourite here. Votes will be counted up in three days (Thursday 6th) and winners will be announced on the Friday.
There will be two winners: the first by majority vote and the second by judge's decision. I've tried to keep this as fair as possible. Both stories will be hosted on this page (with the authors' permissions) and translated into Spanish.
Thank you to everyone who has taken part so far!
Entry #1
The Fight to Rule
(Based on Tightrope)
“Can I go with you?” my handmaiden Amaya asked.
I sighed, “Sure.” I lead Amaya into a back room that was dark and quiet. A chain rustled as I lit a candle. In the corner a pair of red eyes flashed and a growl bounced off the walls. Amaya gasped and covered her mouth as her eyes focused on my champion. Bound to the wall in the corner was “Rose’s King”, a most attractive creature who had never lost a fight. Currently in his human form, he was tall and slender with well-defined but not bulging muscles. His hair was wavy from the humidity and fell lazily over his face. His hands were tied above him with a thick nylon and his body was wrapped in chains and anchored to the wall. A rose symbol had been carved into his left arm branding him as mine.
“Why does he rest in his human form?” Amaya shuffled a little closer to him. The King’s adrenalin was running high as the match was about to start. He snarled and tried to lunge at her when she got too close but the rope tied to his wrists caused him to wince and retreat. “Does he have to be held with such a tightrope?” she asked as she jumped back to hide behind me.
“He may be weaker in this form but he is still dangerous. The shifters must be restrained before the match, it is a rule,” I replied as I walked over to undo his shackles. I removed the chains from his body and untied the nylon from the pulley but left his wrists bound. I pushed Amaya ahead of me and kept King to my back. I did not fear him attacking me but I was not sure what he would do to Amaya if given a chance.
We entered the open-air arena and Amaya climbed up into the spectator section. Across the ring was my opponent, Midori, and her fighter “Green Phoenix”. This was the final round and the winner would be crowned the Ultimate Fighter. This honor would make me ruler of the whole kingdom. The barbaric ways of the past where hundreds of thousands of people gave their lives in support of their Queen was ancient history. At the death of the last ruler, the fights would begin. Each potential ruler trained a shifter to fight for them. The matches were to-the-death, and the one fighter left alive secured their mistresses future as Queen.
“You know the rules,” the announcer started, “The fight is to-the-death. No weapons, just your own powers are allowed. Shifting is permitted as long as you stay in the marked area. Spectators are responsible for their own safety.”
I cut the rope from my fighter’s wrists and stepped outside the ring. A horn sounded and immediately Midori’s fighter shifted into a great flaming bird. He shot into the air and stared raining down fireballs into the arena. King easily dogged them as he danced around in his human form. I had taught my fighter the secret to winning: force your opponent to shift, let them drain their own energy and attack when they are weak. Midori’s approach seemed to be to attack full force immediately and win fast.
As the fire rained down the arena grew unbearably hot. I didn’t want to but eventually I had to retreat into the spectator area. I could feel my fighter was having a difficult time deciding how to kill the firebird. King’s powers were speed and strength but physical attacks were going to cause him damage while his opponent was in his animal form. The Phoenix remained aloft and pelted flames for what seemed like eternity. Then fatigue began to set it.
“This isn’t working, you have to attack!” Midori cried to her fighter. Using the flames and smoke as cover, the firebird swooped down at King. Molten hot talons snagged a lock of hair as my fighter rolled out of the way. Instantly, King shifted into his animal form and pounced on the firebird’s back. There was a flash of white teeth, a bloody claw and red eyes between the smoke and flames and howls and cries from both fighters echoed around the arena. When the air settled there was a great grey wolf with blood stained singed hair standing with Phoenix, in human form, locked in his jaws. Phoenix was not moving.
“Rose’s King is the winner! All hail Queen Rose!” the announcer shouted and the crowd erupted in cheer. I climbed down to the edge of the ring and waited patiently for the rage to subside from my fighter. King released Phoenix and started to lumber towards me. He shifted back into his human form and collapsed on the ground. I ran to him and pulled him to my chest. He was panting hard and shaking from the shock of nearly dying.
I wrapped him in my cloak and kissed his forehead, “You have fought brilliantly for me and upheld your end of the deal. You will never fight again. And as promised, you will rule with me, as my King, Asagi.”
Entry #2
知られざる子供達 / Shirarezaru Kodomotachi
You are gone for a while now. The late autumn sun is shining warm on my face; I turn my head towards it and close my eyes. A gentle warmth, like an embrace of the first rays of sunlight after days of rain, like the shimmer in your eyes when you are looking at me, like your voice when you tell me you love me. I feel how the thoughts of you are painting a smile on my face. The wind gently runs through my hair, a mild scent of fallen leaves and precious memories.
The sun slowly starts to spill blood on the skies, it is getting colder, but the thoughts of you are keeping me warm. The sunset is really beautiful; I wish you were here to watch it with me. I know how much you would like it.
It feels like the sun sets faster now, I start to shiver and wrap my arms tight around my chest. I know you will be back soon. I start to wander back and forth to keep me warm, but I always make sure not to get too far away from where you told me to wait. It can’t be much longer now until you show up.
It has gotten dark now; clouds are rolling in, hiding the stars from my sight. I know you like cloudy weather. Maybe you forgot time watching the sky somewhere. Please come soon.
The once beautiful colored woods are now filled with shadows, living creatures, I can hear them whisper. I am tired but I don’t sleep. I sit still and watch them. I wish you would come and take me home. I am sure you will laugh at me for what a coward I am.
It started to rain slightly in the morning. I am cold and hungry. I wonder where you are. Why didn’t you show up? Has something happened to you? My worries about you scream louder than my aching stomach.
The second night falls, I curl up under a nearby tree. The mild rain has become a thunderstorm. Maybe you didn’t come because I did something wrong. I wonder that could be. A lot of things come to my mind.
I fall asleep. Nightmares I can’t remember the second I wake. I wish I could tell you I am sorry.
Days become weeks. Time doesn’t care about what happens. I am getting thinner and thinner. The thoughts of you that once made my heart burst with heat and fire have become a small candle flame, barely enough to keep the shadows away. I watch it flicker. The shadows draw nearer. As the light finally vanishes I am relieved above anything else.
Surrounded by darkness I have nothing left but my never-ending thoughts. I see you standing in front of me, a bizarre caricature of what you have been, your once so bright eyes frozen. Burned by your ice cold stare I beg for forgiveness. But you stare right through me and don’t recognize me.
I am trying to build a wall around you, to stop you from staring at me like I was a stranger, but whenever I reach the end my walls are already torn down where I began.
This is when I realized we were not alone.
Somewhere else, a lifetime away, my body is dying. Right here, my mind is building a palace for your victims. I fill rooms with soft, warm, glowing lights for those lost in darkness, I grow gardens full of life where no one has to be lonely ever again, I create save shores for the drowned, I build a tower out of crystal tears for those who left their lives by their own hands. I do my best to give a home to everyone. A home like you once gave me.
And there you are; the heart of my palace. You’ve watched me the whole time, your eyes now wondering and childlike again, the ice melted somewhere on the way. A last tear silently runs down your face. I want to hold you like I used to, I want to tell you everything is going to be okay. The last moment before my hand can touch you, your face begins to change, and me and my reflection watch with amazement as we both lower our hands.
My sanctuary gave a home to many, but now I myself am a stranger in here. It is time for me to leave.
I step out into the sunlight, my hair wet from the melting snow dripping from the leaves around me. I have made it. I turn my face towards the sun and close my eyes. The warmth. Through my closed eyes I see shadows of strangers passing by. One of them seems to pause for a moment in front of me before continuing its way. A familiar scent makes me open my eyes. The bright light waters my eyes, as I see a silhouette steadily moving away from me. A gentle breeze, still fresh but already carrying a first glimpse of spring, takes what was left of your scent further away from me. In the distance, I can see a figure pausing its movements for a second, seemingly unsure about something. Then, without looking back, the shape slowly shakes its head and continues the way without any more hesitating.
I turn my head and let the sunlight float my skin again. I feel a strange sensation. It takes me a while to I notice I am smiling.
I take a deep breath.
This is where my story begins.
Entry #3
Day by Day
A flash of light and electric cracks opened up a portal and dropped 5 guys into the past. Standing on top of the crumbling tower they all looked up at the giant clock face hanging precariously against what should have been a stone wall.
“We have only 1 hour to find what we need and return to the portal here before we are stuck in this time,” Asagi said. “Ruiza, you are to find a crow. Hide-zou, find a goldfish. Tsune get a cat and Hiroki, a camel. I was asked to find a horse. We must obtain and return with these animals so they can revive them in our time.” Everyone synced their watches, checked their capture wands and took off.
Asagi wondered down the river a ways and looked around. This era in time seemed so primitive. There were no vehicles. People seemed to travel by horses or horse drawn carriages. “I can’t just steal someone’s horse,” Asagi thought. In the distant future, most animals had become extinct and he and his team were time jumping and bring certain species back to re-inhabit the planet. Each team went to a different time and Team D ended up here in the middle ages. Asagi walked up to an area where several horses were tied to a tree. He made sure no one could see him and pulled out his wand. He touched the nose of one of the horses and it disappeared into his wand. The other horses were spooked and started a commotion. Asagi quickly darted away before anyone had time to investigate the noise.
Ruiza rushed off toward the north. “According to this, I will most likely find some crows around a cemetery. The ancient map of this town shows one just outside the border to the north.” He kept a steady jogging pace and stayed next to the river. It only took about 15 minutes before a strange caw echoed above him. He turned his eyes up and saw a black bird silhouetted by the sun. He raised his wand and shot the bird with the grabber beam. It digitized the animal and stored its information inside the wand. Ruiza checked the display which confirmed it was a crow. His job finished he leisurely strolled back to the clock tower.
“A fish. I got the easiest one. There is a bait store right there and all the history books say bait stores used to sell fish, to catch other fish,” Hide-zou chuckled as he crossed a bridge. A little bell dinged as he entered a building and was overcome by a sickening smell. Hide-zou raised his hand to his face as he gasped for air, “Fish stink! I don’t understand why we are bringing them back.” He composed himself, walked over to the shop keep, and motioned to a small bowl sitting on the counter, “Is that a goldfish?” “This is Sushi, won by my son at the carnival,” the keeper smiled proudly. Hide-zou bent down and looked at the fish and smiled, “Maybe I will win one myself then. Do you have any fishing line I can purchase?” “Of course, it is in the back,” the keep turned and walked through a small door in the back. Quickly Hide-zou pulled out his wand and digitized the goldfish. He slipped quickly out of the store and ran back to the tower.
As the others ran off in different directions, Tsune stopped just outside the tower to pull out his history book. “During this time period, cats were kept as pets and also ran feral in the streets. Feral cats are wild and dangerous and carry diseases. Black cats are feared to be devils and are usually killed when spotted,” Tsune shook his head and closed the book. He figured he would just walk around until he spots a stray cat and capture it with his wand. He wondered through a park and caught sight of an out of place shadow. As he approached the shadow rippled and two flashes of green appeared. Tsune was stunned for a second but quickly realized it was a black cat. He pulled out his wand and pointed it toward the creature. The cat meowed and rubbed on the end of the wand. Tsune dropped his hand and let the cat rub against him. “I don’t see any demon in you, kitty. Do you want to come home with me?” The cat looked up and meowed as if he was agreeing to the proposal. Tsune digitized him and carefully put his wand back in its pocket.
“How am I supposed to find a camel here?” Hiroki grumbled as he headed south from the tower. The history book says camels live in the desert and this town in on the edge of a forest. Asagi said we wouldn’t have been sent here if we couldn’t find what we needed but where am I going to go?” Hiroki ended up at the carnival. The loud music and flashing lights called to him and he slipped in through a hole in the fence. Between the rides and the tacky games was a petting zoo. One of the three animals that were tied to the sign, was a camel. With all the people around, Hiroki was afraid to get too close to capture the animal. He hid behind a dumpster and when he had a clear shot, digitized the camel and ran.
All the members made it back to the tower with just a few minutes to spare. They spent the time in silence, looking out at what use to be. With their new acquisitions, their world would be brought back to life. When the portal opened they stepped in one by one and disappeared.
Entry #4
Pink Snow
(Based on Ouka Saki Some ni Keri & Namonaki Mori no Yumegatari)
There was a stitch in Tsunehito’s side and his breath came in harsh pants. Still the animalistic urge to flee pushed him forward. He dared not look back for fear of seeing the bandits who’d laid waste to his home hot on his trail. What should have been a beautiful spring night under the cherry trees had quickly turned gruesome. Hellish. Blood raining down from cruel strokes of a katana, screams filling the air, fires blooming angry orange and red against the night sky.
Tsunehito gathered his kimono hem and sprang over a fallen tree. The fabric caught on a branch making him stumble. Quickly he regained his footing and kept running. When his legs could bear him no further he collapsed at the base of a towering cherry tree. Panting, gasping for breath, Tsunehito crawled through the carpeting of pink petals to hide beneath a curved root. There he stayed as his body recovered from his mad flight. Once his lungs and muscles had ceased to protest at his movements, Tsunehito risked leaving his shelter then gasped at the white and flower clad figure approaching the tree. His long hair was neatly curled and he was barefoot. His unearthly beautify left no illusion to what he was: a forest spirit.
Tsunehito bowed deeply, red hair falling around his face in a protective curtain. “I ask only for shelter, oh forest spirit,” he said softly.
“You smell of smoke and death.” The spirit’s voice was accusing yet when Tsunehito dared to raise his head there were no emotions on that perfect face.
“My… my home was attacked. I am a shamisen player, not a warrior. I fled to save my body and my life.” Tsunehito brushed his hair back still bracing himself for mounted warriors to pursue escapees.
The spirit sighed. “You have witnessed a great tragedy despite being so young. I am called Asagi. What is your name?”
“Tsunehito,” the redhead said softly.
Asagi smiled and extended his hand. “Take my hand, Tsunehito, and you will be safe from the dangers of this world. Come with me and live forever.”
Cautiously, hesitating, Tsunehito at last reached out to take Asagi’s hand. Warm fingers curled around his, surprising Tsunehito since he’d expected Asagi’s touch to be cold. Yet he was as warm as a living man.
A sudden wind kicked up showering both of them in a shower of petals. Like pink snow. Standing hand in hand and face to face he could see the world fading around him. Unless he released Asagi’s hand Tsunehito knew he would become a forest spirit too. That realization made him tighten his grip on Asagi’s hand and step closer. There was nothing in this world for him anymore. And even though he’d just met Asagi, Tsunehito was willing to take the chance at safety.
Entry #5
Descent Into Madness
Kami’s ears twitched in annoyance locked in his own room and lying on his bed facing the blank red wall, pen in hand loose running thoughts escaping him. His black and white coloured tails twitched in annoyance the cat demon was trying to help with the new song, the lyricists mind slowly falling from him as if he were falling down a never ending well into the dark deep waters at the bottom. He was unsure how long he could keep it from the others; they would worry and try to help him. As far as the cat was concerned there was only one way out of the mess he had created for himself.
This was to be the last song he was to write for his band Shangri La or so he thought he had so far written most of the lyrics however he was struggling with the final verse for the appropriately titled song “Ticking Time Bomb” it seemed to fit his mind state.
'Madness,
Confusion,
Mind,
How long can we last?
In this world that never ends,
Spinning, spinning around on an endless rotation,
What are we?
Pawns in a never ending game,
These words,
Are they mine or someone who is moving us through this world?
How long till this ends? How long till the madness takes over?
Running on the edge,
I'm just a ticking time bomb,
Waiting to explode dragging us all down,
Into the dark depths below
Death awaits us all it's just a matter of time,
till we fall, fall into the cavern.
So long.
Madness,
Confusion,
Mind,
Let's leave this world with a bang,
Make ourselves known,
Spinning, spinning around on this precipice of demise,
He had rolled onto his back bringing his knees up his head rolling back his mid-thigh length hair was trailing along the floor, one of the few times he hadn’t bothered binding his crimson hair into the elaborate ponytail he usually had it in. He was even dressed completely plain looking almost like the humans he hates the only thing passing him for the demon he was the white and black cat ears and his two tails. Well he was definitely losing it if he was losing his quirky demeanour he had with the twins Orion and Vincent the two royals the vampires who had once ruled this world, Toka the lust demon raised by Lucifer and of course who could forget Sayama the skin walker. Their kind had once ruled the world stupid humans invaded after they destroyed their own planet with pollution and hatred, Orion and Vincent had hoped they had changed their ways oh how they were wrong. Their kind were now the minority and forgotten left to rot in the underbelly of the planet. Well not for long Shangri La had a plan to change that. Yes it was genocide but why give them better when they had done the same to them. Kami bit the hem of his sleeve as he thought, plain black jumper plain jeans which were ripped at the knees, his friends would never even expect this to even exist in the youngest members wardrobe.
His butler had been in earlier with breakfast that lay half eaten, the old man had been with him since he was younger, all that was left of his old family that of course had been brutally murdered for fun, game hunting how his kind were classed as game he did not know, his once serene forest home gone wiped out and stained red. As a result Kami almost felt like he should pass judgment to these monsters the line that came to his mind “The white one gazes at the future, the black one sees through the past”. The young male sighed and put the lid on his pen rolling off the bed landing on his feet.
He walked out of his room and down the picture framed stairs and headed to the door sliding his shoes on simply grabbing a scarf before leaving the small house he lived in. He was running a tad late in meeting Orion, he had to give him the lyrics so he could learn and rehearse them. He had realised he hadn’t hidden himself and quickly hid his ears and tail before anyone saw. He had to keep up this façade of being human the thing he hated most.
Walking briskly down the street turning left into the main part of town coming up to the gods and spellbound building Kami practically dived for the door. Once inside the large eccentrically decorated building, he ran to the studio finding Orion already sitting in the seat arms folded across his chest, his waist length black hair resting loose over his shoulders his side fringe covering his left eye. The masquerade mask he usually wore was set on the side of the console; the older male looked at the normally colourfully dressed Kami and gave him a warm smile.
"It's unlike you not to be dressed up Kami, is everything alright?" He said this softly shifting pulling one of the other seats out for the youngest member of Shangri La to sit on.
Kami looked at him as if to say why does there always have to be something wrong?
He sat himself down on the seat offered by the other and passed the sheet of paper to the vocalist.
"I'm fine Orion, if I wasn't you'd be the first to know," He replied casually leaning back in the chair.
Orion had took the paper and placed it straight on the table not bothering to look grabbing Kami's wrist and pulling the sleeve down showing small wounds of course they had healed a fair bit by now.
"This is not fine Kami," Orion said in a rather stern voice.
Now this was unusual coming from the usually nonchalant singer.
"Hey it's not my fault it’s an ineffective way of killing one’s self, considering what I am it is apparently really difficult" Kami said lightly.
Orion scowled, "This is not something to be made light of Kami, why did you even say let alone do something like that,"
One could always tell when Orion was angry he was always direct, stern and never really let you get away with anything no matter how hard you tried. Since Kami was the youngest and one of Orion's closest friends in the band maybe other than Vincent whom had also played a part in his life before now.
Kami stood up and walked out of the room, he didn't want to talk about it Orion wouldn't understand none of them would, his mind wasn't his own and it was eating away at him, the past the damage caused none of it was worth the hassle of this lonely life, he had watched everyone he loved die it wasn’t about to change he didn’t want to be the cause of their death too.
Orion stood up shoving the paper in his pocket running after Kami not bothering to pick his mask up he'd get that later.
Catching up to the redhead he slowed to match the pace of the other male.
The drummer hadn't said a word choosing to ignore the singer even if he chose to follow him.
Leaving the building the two walked until they reached the park which as usual during school hours was deserted other than the odd jogger. They had ended up at the river bank, which was where Kami decided to sit himself down on the banks looking into the for once clear flowing water.
"So are you going to tell me what's wrong or are you going to ignore me like you have for the past half an hour," Orion said kneeling down next to Kami.
Kami sighed, "You're not going to leave me alone if I don't tell you are you?" He asked with a small laugh picking one of the daisy's out of the grass he was resting on.
Orion shook his head, "Of course not," He replied simply.
Kami sighed and turned his head to look at the other who was casting his glance over the river to the small wood his eyes fixated on something down by the river, from what Kami could see it looked like some small deer. They weren't an uncommon sight here one of the few species the humans hadn’t destroyed, the young man shook his head and explained to Orion about his issues, mainly how he didn't see his thoughts as his own and how he didn’t want to be the reason they got killed as it had happened so many times before. He found it hard to explain struggling to find the right words for what he wanted to say but he managed sort of. Orion's confused expression said it all.
Rather than saying anything Orion fell back into a sitting position and reached over to Kami pulling him into a hug, "You're an idiot you know that," He said lightly messing up the young male’s hair.
"HEYY!!" Kami yelled jumping out of his grip trying his best to fix his now messy knotted mass of hair. "You have no idea how long it takes to do my hair do you?"
Orion laughed, "Yes I do the amount of times I have watched you do it, the words you write are yours you can tell your songs are full of your personality look at the ones you write for chaos calling, they're cheerful, fun, lively they're just you put into words. The ones you write for Shangri La seem more like a story and expressing your fears, I don't think anyone would like to lose their mind and as for us dying c’mon do you think you’re going to cause that if we are to die it will be of our own will and it’s not like any of us are easy to get rid of, humans are fragile we are not which is why we have a good chance even if we don’t have the numbers they do," He said calmly giving him a warm smile. "If need be I can call the band on hiatus for a while whilst you get back to yourself,"
Kami looked at him in shock at his offer, he would never want the whole group to suffer just because of his silly little mental breakdown, he shook his head, "No there's no need I'll try to get through this I can still play don't worry about me,"
Orion smiled and stood up, "Good, but you’re not alone and if it means I stay with you till you get out of trying to kill yourself then so be it," Orion had noted a fair few attempts Kami had made over the past month, this was the first time he had decided to bring it up.
Kami blinked a few times looking up at him, "you're kidding me right?"
Orion shook his head, "You have no choice you now officially have a lodger," He said with a laugh taking Kami's hand pulling him up off of the floor to stand with him.
There will be two winners: the first by majority vote and the second by judge's decision. I've tried to keep this as fair as possible. Both stories will be hosted on this page (with the authors' permissions) and translated into Spanish.
Thank you to everyone who has taken part so far!
Entry #1
The Fight to Rule
(Based on Tightrope)
“Can I go with you?” my handmaiden Amaya asked.
I sighed, “Sure.” I lead Amaya into a back room that was dark and quiet. A chain rustled as I lit a candle. In the corner a pair of red eyes flashed and a growl bounced off the walls. Amaya gasped and covered her mouth as her eyes focused on my champion. Bound to the wall in the corner was “Rose’s King”, a most attractive creature who had never lost a fight. Currently in his human form, he was tall and slender with well-defined but not bulging muscles. His hair was wavy from the humidity and fell lazily over his face. His hands were tied above him with a thick nylon and his body was wrapped in chains and anchored to the wall. A rose symbol had been carved into his left arm branding him as mine.
“Why does he rest in his human form?” Amaya shuffled a little closer to him. The King’s adrenalin was running high as the match was about to start. He snarled and tried to lunge at her when she got too close but the rope tied to his wrists caused him to wince and retreat. “Does he have to be held with such a tightrope?” she asked as she jumped back to hide behind me.
“He may be weaker in this form but he is still dangerous. The shifters must be restrained before the match, it is a rule,” I replied as I walked over to undo his shackles. I removed the chains from his body and untied the nylon from the pulley but left his wrists bound. I pushed Amaya ahead of me and kept King to my back. I did not fear him attacking me but I was not sure what he would do to Amaya if given a chance.
We entered the open-air arena and Amaya climbed up into the spectator section. Across the ring was my opponent, Midori, and her fighter “Green Phoenix”. This was the final round and the winner would be crowned the Ultimate Fighter. This honor would make me ruler of the whole kingdom. The barbaric ways of the past where hundreds of thousands of people gave their lives in support of their Queen was ancient history. At the death of the last ruler, the fights would begin. Each potential ruler trained a shifter to fight for them. The matches were to-the-death, and the one fighter left alive secured their mistresses future as Queen.
“You know the rules,” the announcer started, “The fight is to-the-death. No weapons, just your own powers are allowed. Shifting is permitted as long as you stay in the marked area. Spectators are responsible for their own safety.”
I cut the rope from my fighter’s wrists and stepped outside the ring. A horn sounded and immediately Midori’s fighter shifted into a great flaming bird. He shot into the air and stared raining down fireballs into the arena. King easily dogged them as he danced around in his human form. I had taught my fighter the secret to winning: force your opponent to shift, let them drain their own energy and attack when they are weak. Midori’s approach seemed to be to attack full force immediately and win fast.
As the fire rained down the arena grew unbearably hot. I didn’t want to but eventually I had to retreat into the spectator area. I could feel my fighter was having a difficult time deciding how to kill the firebird. King’s powers were speed and strength but physical attacks were going to cause him damage while his opponent was in his animal form. The Phoenix remained aloft and pelted flames for what seemed like eternity. Then fatigue began to set it.
“This isn’t working, you have to attack!” Midori cried to her fighter. Using the flames and smoke as cover, the firebird swooped down at King. Molten hot talons snagged a lock of hair as my fighter rolled out of the way. Instantly, King shifted into his animal form and pounced on the firebird’s back. There was a flash of white teeth, a bloody claw and red eyes between the smoke and flames and howls and cries from both fighters echoed around the arena. When the air settled there was a great grey wolf with blood stained singed hair standing with Phoenix, in human form, locked in his jaws. Phoenix was not moving.
“Rose’s King is the winner! All hail Queen Rose!” the announcer shouted and the crowd erupted in cheer. I climbed down to the edge of the ring and waited patiently for the rage to subside from my fighter. King released Phoenix and started to lumber towards me. He shifted back into his human form and collapsed on the ground. I ran to him and pulled him to my chest. He was panting hard and shaking from the shock of nearly dying.
I wrapped him in my cloak and kissed his forehead, “You have fought brilliantly for me and upheld your end of the deal. You will never fight again. And as promised, you will rule with me, as my King, Asagi.”
Entry #2
知られざる子供達 / Shirarezaru Kodomotachi
You are gone for a while now. The late autumn sun is shining warm on my face; I turn my head towards it and close my eyes. A gentle warmth, like an embrace of the first rays of sunlight after days of rain, like the shimmer in your eyes when you are looking at me, like your voice when you tell me you love me. I feel how the thoughts of you are painting a smile on my face. The wind gently runs through my hair, a mild scent of fallen leaves and precious memories.
The sun slowly starts to spill blood on the skies, it is getting colder, but the thoughts of you are keeping me warm. The sunset is really beautiful; I wish you were here to watch it with me. I know how much you would like it.
It feels like the sun sets faster now, I start to shiver and wrap my arms tight around my chest. I know you will be back soon. I start to wander back and forth to keep me warm, but I always make sure not to get too far away from where you told me to wait. It can’t be much longer now until you show up.
It has gotten dark now; clouds are rolling in, hiding the stars from my sight. I know you like cloudy weather. Maybe you forgot time watching the sky somewhere. Please come soon.
The once beautiful colored woods are now filled with shadows, living creatures, I can hear them whisper. I am tired but I don’t sleep. I sit still and watch them. I wish you would come and take me home. I am sure you will laugh at me for what a coward I am.
It started to rain slightly in the morning. I am cold and hungry. I wonder where you are. Why didn’t you show up? Has something happened to you? My worries about you scream louder than my aching stomach.
The second night falls, I curl up under a nearby tree. The mild rain has become a thunderstorm. Maybe you didn’t come because I did something wrong. I wonder that could be. A lot of things come to my mind.
I fall asleep. Nightmares I can’t remember the second I wake. I wish I could tell you I am sorry.
Days become weeks. Time doesn’t care about what happens. I am getting thinner and thinner. The thoughts of you that once made my heart burst with heat and fire have become a small candle flame, barely enough to keep the shadows away. I watch it flicker. The shadows draw nearer. As the light finally vanishes I am relieved above anything else.
Surrounded by darkness I have nothing left but my never-ending thoughts. I see you standing in front of me, a bizarre caricature of what you have been, your once so bright eyes frozen. Burned by your ice cold stare I beg for forgiveness. But you stare right through me and don’t recognize me.
I am trying to build a wall around you, to stop you from staring at me like I was a stranger, but whenever I reach the end my walls are already torn down where I began.
This is when I realized we were not alone.
Somewhere else, a lifetime away, my body is dying. Right here, my mind is building a palace for your victims. I fill rooms with soft, warm, glowing lights for those lost in darkness, I grow gardens full of life where no one has to be lonely ever again, I create save shores for the drowned, I build a tower out of crystal tears for those who left their lives by their own hands. I do my best to give a home to everyone. A home like you once gave me.
And there you are; the heart of my palace. You’ve watched me the whole time, your eyes now wondering and childlike again, the ice melted somewhere on the way. A last tear silently runs down your face. I want to hold you like I used to, I want to tell you everything is going to be okay. The last moment before my hand can touch you, your face begins to change, and me and my reflection watch with amazement as we both lower our hands.
My sanctuary gave a home to many, but now I myself am a stranger in here. It is time for me to leave.
I step out into the sunlight, my hair wet from the melting snow dripping from the leaves around me. I have made it. I turn my face towards the sun and close my eyes. The warmth. Through my closed eyes I see shadows of strangers passing by. One of them seems to pause for a moment in front of me before continuing its way. A familiar scent makes me open my eyes. The bright light waters my eyes, as I see a silhouette steadily moving away from me. A gentle breeze, still fresh but already carrying a first glimpse of spring, takes what was left of your scent further away from me. In the distance, I can see a figure pausing its movements for a second, seemingly unsure about something. Then, without looking back, the shape slowly shakes its head and continues the way without any more hesitating.
I turn my head and let the sunlight float my skin again. I feel a strange sensation. It takes me a while to I notice I am smiling.
I take a deep breath.
This is where my story begins.
Entry #3
Day by Day
A flash of light and electric cracks opened up a portal and dropped 5 guys into the past. Standing on top of the crumbling tower they all looked up at the giant clock face hanging precariously against what should have been a stone wall.
“We have only 1 hour to find what we need and return to the portal here before we are stuck in this time,” Asagi said. “Ruiza, you are to find a crow. Hide-zou, find a goldfish. Tsune get a cat and Hiroki, a camel. I was asked to find a horse. We must obtain and return with these animals so they can revive them in our time.” Everyone synced their watches, checked their capture wands and took off.
Asagi wondered down the river a ways and looked around. This era in time seemed so primitive. There were no vehicles. People seemed to travel by horses or horse drawn carriages. “I can’t just steal someone’s horse,” Asagi thought. In the distant future, most animals had become extinct and he and his team were time jumping and bring certain species back to re-inhabit the planet. Each team went to a different time and Team D ended up here in the middle ages. Asagi walked up to an area where several horses were tied to a tree. He made sure no one could see him and pulled out his wand. He touched the nose of one of the horses and it disappeared into his wand. The other horses were spooked and started a commotion. Asagi quickly darted away before anyone had time to investigate the noise.
Ruiza rushed off toward the north. “According to this, I will most likely find some crows around a cemetery. The ancient map of this town shows one just outside the border to the north.” He kept a steady jogging pace and stayed next to the river. It only took about 15 minutes before a strange caw echoed above him. He turned his eyes up and saw a black bird silhouetted by the sun. He raised his wand and shot the bird with the grabber beam. It digitized the animal and stored its information inside the wand. Ruiza checked the display which confirmed it was a crow. His job finished he leisurely strolled back to the clock tower.
“A fish. I got the easiest one. There is a bait store right there and all the history books say bait stores used to sell fish, to catch other fish,” Hide-zou chuckled as he crossed a bridge. A little bell dinged as he entered a building and was overcome by a sickening smell. Hide-zou raised his hand to his face as he gasped for air, “Fish stink! I don’t understand why we are bringing them back.” He composed himself, walked over to the shop keep, and motioned to a small bowl sitting on the counter, “Is that a goldfish?” “This is Sushi, won by my son at the carnival,” the keeper smiled proudly. Hide-zou bent down and looked at the fish and smiled, “Maybe I will win one myself then. Do you have any fishing line I can purchase?” “Of course, it is in the back,” the keep turned and walked through a small door in the back. Quickly Hide-zou pulled out his wand and digitized the goldfish. He slipped quickly out of the store and ran back to the tower.
As the others ran off in different directions, Tsune stopped just outside the tower to pull out his history book. “During this time period, cats were kept as pets and also ran feral in the streets. Feral cats are wild and dangerous and carry diseases. Black cats are feared to be devils and are usually killed when spotted,” Tsune shook his head and closed the book. He figured he would just walk around until he spots a stray cat and capture it with his wand. He wondered through a park and caught sight of an out of place shadow. As he approached the shadow rippled and two flashes of green appeared. Tsune was stunned for a second but quickly realized it was a black cat. He pulled out his wand and pointed it toward the creature. The cat meowed and rubbed on the end of the wand. Tsune dropped his hand and let the cat rub against him. “I don’t see any demon in you, kitty. Do you want to come home with me?” The cat looked up and meowed as if he was agreeing to the proposal. Tsune digitized him and carefully put his wand back in its pocket.
“How am I supposed to find a camel here?” Hiroki grumbled as he headed south from the tower. The history book says camels live in the desert and this town in on the edge of a forest. Asagi said we wouldn’t have been sent here if we couldn’t find what we needed but where am I going to go?” Hiroki ended up at the carnival. The loud music and flashing lights called to him and he slipped in through a hole in the fence. Between the rides and the tacky games was a petting zoo. One of the three animals that were tied to the sign, was a camel. With all the people around, Hiroki was afraid to get too close to capture the animal. He hid behind a dumpster and when he had a clear shot, digitized the camel and ran.
All the members made it back to the tower with just a few minutes to spare. They spent the time in silence, looking out at what use to be. With their new acquisitions, their world would be brought back to life. When the portal opened they stepped in one by one and disappeared.
Entry #4
Pink Snow
(Based on Ouka Saki Some ni Keri & Namonaki Mori no Yumegatari)
There was a stitch in Tsunehito’s side and his breath came in harsh pants. Still the animalistic urge to flee pushed him forward. He dared not look back for fear of seeing the bandits who’d laid waste to his home hot on his trail. What should have been a beautiful spring night under the cherry trees had quickly turned gruesome. Hellish. Blood raining down from cruel strokes of a katana, screams filling the air, fires blooming angry orange and red against the night sky.
Tsunehito gathered his kimono hem and sprang over a fallen tree. The fabric caught on a branch making him stumble. Quickly he regained his footing and kept running. When his legs could bear him no further he collapsed at the base of a towering cherry tree. Panting, gasping for breath, Tsunehito crawled through the carpeting of pink petals to hide beneath a curved root. There he stayed as his body recovered from his mad flight. Once his lungs and muscles had ceased to protest at his movements, Tsunehito risked leaving his shelter then gasped at the white and flower clad figure approaching the tree. His long hair was neatly curled and he was barefoot. His unearthly beautify left no illusion to what he was: a forest spirit.
Tsunehito bowed deeply, red hair falling around his face in a protective curtain. “I ask only for shelter, oh forest spirit,” he said softly.
“You smell of smoke and death.” The spirit’s voice was accusing yet when Tsunehito dared to raise his head there were no emotions on that perfect face.
“My… my home was attacked. I am a shamisen player, not a warrior. I fled to save my body and my life.” Tsunehito brushed his hair back still bracing himself for mounted warriors to pursue escapees.
The spirit sighed. “You have witnessed a great tragedy despite being so young. I am called Asagi. What is your name?”
“Tsunehito,” the redhead said softly.
Asagi smiled and extended his hand. “Take my hand, Tsunehito, and you will be safe from the dangers of this world. Come with me and live forever.”
Cautiously, hesitating, Tsunehito at last reached out to take Asagi’s hand. Warm fingers curled around his, surprising Tsunehito since he’d expected Asagi’s touch to be cold. Yet he was as warm as a living man.
A sudden wind kicked up showering both of them in a shower of petals. Like pink snow. Standing hand in hand and face to face he could see the world fading around him. Unless he released Asagi’s hand Tsunehito knew he would become a forest spirit too. That realization made him tighten his grip on Asagi’s hand and step closer. There was nothing in this world for him anymore. And even though he’d just met Asagi, Tsunehito was willing to take the chance at safety.
Entry #5
Descent Into Madness
Kami’s ears twitched in annoyance locked in his own room and lying on his bed facing the blank red wall, pen in hand loose running thoughts escaping him. His black and white coloured tails twitched in annoyance the cat demon was trying to help with the new song, the lyricists mind slowly falling from him as if he were falling down a never ending well into the dark deep waters at the bottom. He was unsure how long he could keep it from the others; they would worry and try to help him. As far as the cat was concerned there was only one way out of the mess he had created for himself.
This was to be the last song he was to write for his band Shangri La or so he thought he had so far written most of the lyrics however he was struggling with the final verse for the appropriately titled song “Ticking Time Bomb” it seemed to fit his mind state.
'Madness,
Confusion,
Mind,
How long can we last?
In this world that never ends,
Spinning, spinning around on an endless rotation,
What are we?
Pawns in a never ending game,
These words,
Are they mine or someone who is moving us through this world?
How long till this ends? How long till the madness takes over?
Running on the edge,
I'm just a ticking time bomb,
Waiting to explode dragging us all down,
Into the dark depths below
Death awaits us all it's just a matter of time,
till we fall, fall into the cavern.
So long.
Madness,
Confusion,
Mind,
Let's leave this world with a bang,
Make ourselves known,
Spinning, spinning around on this precipice of demise,
He had rolled onto his back bringing his knees up his head rolling back his mid-thigh length hair was trailing along the floor, one of the few times he hadn’t bothered binding his crimson hair into the elaborate ponytail he usually had it in. He was even dressed completely plain looking almost like the humans he hates the only thing passing him for the demon he was the white and black cat ears and his two tails. Well he was definitely losing it if he was losing his quirky demeanour he had with the twins Orion and Vincent the two royals the vampires who had once ruled this world, Toka the lust demon raised by Lucifer and of course who could forget Sayama the skin walker. Their kind had once ruled the world stupid humans invaded after they destroyed their own planet with pollution and hatred, Orion and Vincent had hoped they had changed their ways oh how they were wrong. Their kind were now the minority and forgotten left to rot in the underbelly of the planet. Well not for long Shangri La had a plan to change that. Yes it was genocide but why give them better when they had done the same to them. Kami bit the hem of his sleeve as he thought, plain black jumper plain jeans which were ripped at the knees, his friends would never even expect this to even exist in the youngest members wardrobe.
His butler had been in earlier with breakfast that lay half eaten, the old man had been with him since he was younger, all that was left of his old family that of course had been brutally murdered for fun, game hunting how his kind were classed as game he did not know, his once serene forest home gone wiped out and stained red. As a result Kami almost felt like he should pass judgment to these monsters the line that came to his mind “The white one gazes at the future, the black one sees through the past”. The young male sighed and put the lid on his pen rolling off the bed landing on his feet.
He walked out of his room and down the picture framed stairs and headed to the door sliding his shoes on simply grabbing a scarf before leaving the small house he lived in. He was running a tad late in meeting Orion, he had to give him the lyrics so he could learn and rehearse them. He had realised he hadn’t hidden himself and quickly hid his ears and tail before anyone saw. He had to keep up this façade of being human the thing he hated most.
Walking briskly down the street turning left into the main part of town coming up to the gods and spellbound building Kami practically dived for the door. Once inside the large eccentrically decorated building, he ran to the studio finding Orion already sitting in the seat arms folded across his chest, his waist length black hair resting loose over his shoulders his side fringe covering his left eye. The masquerade mask he usually wore was set on the side of the console; the older male looked at the normally colourfully dressed Kami and gave him a warm smile.
"It's unlike you not to be dressed up Kami, is everything alright?" He said this softly shifting pulling one of the other seats out for the youngest member of Shangri La to sit on.
Kami looked at him as if to say why does there always have to be something wrong?
He sat himself down on the seat offered by the other and passed the sheet of paper to the vocalist.
"I'm fine Orion, if I wasn't you'd be the first to know," He replied casually leaning back in the chair.
Orion had took the paper and placed it straight on the table not bothering to look grabbing Kami's wrist and pulling the sleeve down showing small wounds of course they had healed a fair bit by now.
"This is not fine Kami," Orion said in a rather stern voice.
Now this was unusual coming from the usually nonchalant singer.
"Hey it's not my fault it’s an ineffective way of killing one’s self, considering what I am it is apparently really difficult" Kami said lightly.
Orion scowled, "This is not something to be made light of Kami, why did you even say let alone do something like that,"
One could always tell when Orion was angry he was always direct, stern and never really let you get away with anything no matter how hard you tried. Since Kami was the youngest and one of Orion's closest friends in the band maybe other than Vincent whom had also played a part in his life before now.
Kami stood up and walked out of the room, he didn't want to talk about it Orion wouldn't understand none of them would, his mind wasn't his own and it was eating away at him, the past the damage caused none of it was worth the hassle of this lonely life, he had watched everyone he loved die it wasn’t about to change he didn’t want to be the cause of their death too.
Orion stood up shoving the paper in his pocket running after Kami not bothering to pick his mask up he'd get that later.
Catching up to the redhead he slowed to match the pace of the other male.
The drummer hadn't said a word choosing to ignore the singer even if he chose to follow him.
Leaving the building the two walked until they reached the park which as usual during school hours was deserted other than the odd jogger. They had ended up at the river bank, which was where Kami decided to sit himself down on the banks looking into the for once clear flowing water.
"So are you going to tell me what's wrong or are you going to ignore me like you have for the past half an hour," Orion said kneeling down next to Kami.
Kami sighed, "You're not going to leave me alone if I don't tell you are you?" He asked with a small laugh picking one of the daisy's out of the grass he was resting on.
Orion shook his head, "Of course not," He replied simply.
Kami sighed and turned his head to look at the other who was casting his glance over the river to the small wood his eyes fixated on something down by the river, from what Kami could see it looked like some small deer. They weren't an uncommon sight here one of the few species the humans hadn’t destroyed, the young man shook his head and explained to Orion about his issues, mainly how he didn't see his thoughts as his own and how he didn’t want to be the reason they got killed as it had happened so many times before. He found it hard to explain struggling to find the right words for what he wanted to say but he managed sort of. Orion's confused expression said it all.
Rather than saying anything Orion fell back into a sitting position and reached over to Kami pulling him into a hug, "You're an idiot you know that," He said lightly messing up the young male’s hair.
"HEYY!!" Kami yelled jumping out of his grip trying his best to fix his now messy knotted mass of hair. "You have no idea how long it takes to do my hair do you?"
Orion laughed, "Yes I do the amount of times I have watched you do it, the words you write are yours you can tell your songs are full of your personality look at the ones you write for chaos calling, they're cheerful, fun, lively they're just you put into words. The ones you write for Shangri La seem more like a story and expressing your fears, I don't think anyone would like to lose their mind and as for us dying c’mon do you think you’re going to cause that if we are to die it will be of our own will and it’s not like any of us are easy to get rid of, humans are fragile we are not which is why we have a good chance even if we don’t have the numbers they do," He said calmly giving him a warm smile. "If need be I can call the band on hiatus for a while whilst you get back to yourself,"
Kami looked at him in shock at his offer, he would never want the whole group to suffer just because of his silly little mental breakdown, he shook his head, "No there's no need I'll try to get through this I can still play don't worry about me,"
Orion smiled and stood up, "Good, but you’re not alone and if it means I stay with you till you get out of trying to kill yourself then so be it," Orion had noted a fair few attempts Kami had made over the past month, this was the first time he had decided to bring it up.
Kami blinked a few times looking up at him, "you're kidding me right?"
Orion shook his head, "You have no choice you now officially have a lodger," He said with a laugh taking Kami's hand pulling him up off of the floor to stand with him.