Post by Kotaiso on Oct 29, 2008 22:32:58 GMT -5
How long had it been? Ten months? Twenty years? It was impossible to tell when one lives in the wilderness for so long. They lose track the hours, first. Then the days fade away and time turns into two simple phases: day and night.
The day brings both its share of spoils and danger, as does night.
During the day, one may easily find wildlife and hunt for food, but the Sun's illumination would make the hunter easier to spot.
Night removes the taint of being seen, but limits vision...leaving one more susceptable to injury and ambush.
Kotaiso had long ago forgotten what it was like to live a life indoors. He had forgotten the flows of time and only looked forward to the next Sunrise.
He had spent the last thirteen years in the wilderness. He had become so terrified and paranoid of being caught by Orc patrols, he didn't even recognize that the patrols were now Human; once more wearing the seal of Stormwind.
All he was a green-skinned savage looking to peel the skin from his bones.
Chicken had been with Kotaiso every step of the way. He had been there when Kotaiso caught his first Squirrel and ate it raw, hesistating at first, but then biting into the belly and ripping its guts out with his bare teeth. Chicken had been there everytime Kotaiso had to hide himself from Orcish eyes, once even going as far as stabbing himself in the shoulder with an arrow to further the illusion he was nothing more than a corpse. Chicken had witnessed it all and now he was witnessing Kotaiso commit another deed in order for their continued survival: murder.
Kotaiso, now twenty-one-years of age, had watched as the simple peasant came marching down an old side-path in the southern-most edges of Elwynn Forest. He carried a messenger bag over his one shoulder; Kotaiso spotted pieces of parchment and blotches of ink inside with his sharp eyes. A mailman.
Usually, Kotaiso would just avoid this man, but something drew him to the man's bag. Like intuition, Kotaiso knew there was something that he needed in the bag.
He waiting until the mailman got close enough before diving out of the bushes on top of him. The man screamed and fell to the ground with Kotaiso's muscular frame pinning him down with his hands around his throat. The man's muffled screams quickly faded as the last breath escaped him. He never drew another.
After disposing of the man's limp body in the nearby river, Kotaiso rummaged through his bag. He spent several minutes looking at the names on both the receiving and sending sides before his eye caught a familiar name; his own last name: Takahashi.
He looked at the envelope and it read,
He bit his tongue and narrowed his eyes, Nana...
Memories of that horrible day all those years ago flooded his mind and he had to put his hands on the ground to prevent falling over.
Chicken tilted his head and rubbed it gently against Kotaiso's fore-arm as if to ask what was wrong. Kotaiso gasped and took a deep breath before sighing. He gently patted Chicken's back. "I'm okay. I'm okay."
He went back to the letter and opened it, scanning the contents with his eyes. It was a greeting from a friend in the newly reconstructed Stormwind City, saying his great the city was and that Aya and Yohei should visit soon.
Kotaiso fought hard to surpress his emotions as he read his Grandfather's mention.
Then something Kotaiso wasn't expecting happened. The man who had written the letter (some fool by the name of Chester) had crudely drawn a map with directions from the Takahashi's home to his home in Stormwind.
Kotaiso bit his tongue, but couldn't help surpress the shear laughter that soon came after. He hadn't felt this joy since...since his childhood.
Kotaiso turned his head to Chicken and smiled, "We're going to go pay Nana and Grandpa a visit."
* * * * *
It had taken several weeks of walking. It is easy enough to stay hidden in a city. All one has to do is blend in and they're invisible. Kotaiso's old, torn, and stained clothes weren't an odd sight in Stormwind... Even though the City was still fairly new, it still had its fair share of beggars. Those that did stare too long at him brushed him off as just merely another one of them; a beggar.
Once Kotaiso had made his way through Stormwind, his trek through the mountains began. It took even longer than he expected. He occassionaly glanced at the map "Chester" had made and scoffed. Apparently he was a bit wrong on his distance calculations. The "five or six" miles turned out to be forty.
Kotaiso didn't care too much about how far it his Grandparents' house was, though. He just wanted to get there quickly.
* * * * *
It was night when he finally arrived. He had never been to his Grandparents house before. He had always imagined them living in some lavish mansion with servants, guards, the whole nine yards. But he was sadly mistaken with his judgment.
What he saw paled so much in comparison, it made his vision seem like a fairy-tale within a fairy-tale: it was a cozy home with two-stories. It had a dock a few yards from the front door and a lamp post illuminating the front yard. There was a single boat moored at the dock. The house itself was like any other homes he had passed on his way to Stormwind. Nothing special...just like the people that reside inside.
Kotaiso snuck quietly to the dock. He was curious as he had never seen the ocean before. Awe struck him and he stared out at the vast blackness before him. I wonder if there's anything out there? It's too bad I don't have the Sun to let me see more of its magnificence... He thought to himself before snapping out of it. He leaned down to Chicken and whispered, "Stay here. I'll be back in a few minutes, okay? I'll give them your regards."
Chicken nodded his head and stayed put as Kotaiso made his way to the front door.
He slowly tried turning the knob, but to no avail; it was locked. He then went to the nearest window. Fortunately, it was unlocked. Slowly and quietly he lifted it up and climbed through the frame.
He climbed through and stood inside the living room. It was dark and he could barely see. He carefully fondled his surroundings to get a feeling of where he was and where he should go.
Making his way to the kitchen, Kotaiso opened up one of the first drawers he found and grabbed the sharpest knife he could find. He slid it across his finger to test its dullness and hissed sharply as it severed his skin as easily as butter. Blood dripped onto the floor and Kotaiso could only help but grin. It was then and there that the masochist inside him was born.
He eventually found the stairs and placed his feet to the edges of each individual step before carefully and slowly placing his weight on it. The creaks and cracks that were made were so subtle they would not have even woken a Mouse.
When he got to the top of the landing, he saw a faint light flickering from down the hallway he was now facing. Pictures lined the walls of the narrow hallway, pictures of Aya and Yohei happily embracing; young and old. Some assorted pictures of Azeroth also lined the wall as Kotaiso saw, inching ever closer to the source of light. He found it was coming from the narrow slit underneath a common Human door. This is where they are...this is where they sleep. He thought to himself and gripped the knife's hilt tightly, turning his knuckles white.
He opened the door slowly and saw the bed holding the two sleeping figures, off in their own private fairy-tale worlds. Candles were lit in each corner of the room just in case one of the two (or both) needed to get up for some reason or another in the night. Kotaiso used this to his advantage. He went from one side of the bed to the other, looking for Yohei first. When he found him, he gently placed a hand over his mouth, and pushed the knife against his throat.
Yohei forced his eyes open wide and was about to scream but Kotaiso beat him to the punch and whispered, "Get up without a sound and I won't slit your throat."
Yohai complied and got up. Kotaiso motioned to a chair in the room for Yohei to sit in. "Stay there." Kotaiso ordered as he went over to Aya. He did the same to her and as she got up, she looked at Yohei with pleading eyes.
Over the course of the twenty plus years that had passed, Yohei and Aya's age had gotten the better of them. If Yohei attacked Kotaiso, he risked breaking something vital and (or) suffering a heart attack. The same went for Aya. And what elderly person wants to attack a young, muscular, savage-looking man with a sharp knife in his hand?
Kotaiso shoved Aya over to Yohei and handed her the knife. "Cut his fingers off."
"What?! I will do no such thing!"
"I said cut his fucking fingers off or I'll cut yours off and then his!"
"No!"
Kotaiso grabbed Aya and twisted her arm, forcing her to drop the knife. He then threw her to the ground. "You could've saved yourself. You could've redeemed yourself in my eyes. But you've chosen death." Kotaiso picked up the knife and went over to Yohei who was still sitting in his chair, gripping the edges.
"Give me your hand." Kotaiso said in a calm voice.
Yohei raised his left arm slowly, shaking profusely. Kotaiso grabbed a hold of his hand and slowly cut off his thumb.
Yohei screamed as he struggled to free his arm, but Kotaiso kept a firm grip and continued to cut off the remainder of the fingers.
As soon as he was done, he let go of Yohei's arm. Yohei fell off his chair, clutching his bleeding hand. Aya screamed at the sight. Kotaiso put a hand to his head to cover one of his ears.
"Shut the fuck up!"
"Who are you?! Why are you doing this?!"
"You don't even recognize your own Grandson?"
Aya's eyes widened and studied Kotaiso's face. It took a moment, but then it finally registered.
"K...Ko...Kotaiso?"
"Hello, Nana."
"I...we...thought you were dead."
"Oh, I was. I died the night you two raped my Sister."
Once again the full realization of what and why this was happening registered in Aya's mind.
"Kotaiso...please, we had no other choice! We --"
"Don't you feed me your bullshit! You 'had no other choice'?! Bullshit! You could've treated her as a Human! As an equal! Not as some...some...monster!"
"But she was!"
Kotaiso lunged at Aya and held the knife to her throat. "Don't you ever speak about her like that again!"
Aya burst into tears.
"Do you understand me?!" Kotaiso demanded.
Aya only sobbed more.
Tsking, Kotaiso once again tossed her to the side. He turned to Yohei who was still struggling on the floor with his bleeding hand.
"Get up." Kotaiso said as he towered over Yohei.
"Does...agh...does this...ungh...make you feel....powerful? Huh...? Are you satisfied with yourself? Beating an old man and his Wife? What's...the...ahh...matter?! Can't pick on someone...mmgh! Can't pick on someone your own --" Yohei couldn't finish before Kotaiso had punched him in the mouth.
He once again fell to the ground.
"I've heard enough of you. I never want to hear words come from your forked-tongue ever again! No... I want to hear you scream, instead!" Kotaiso said as he grabbed one of the candlestick lighting the room. He set it against Yohei's clothes, which soon caught fire.
"No! No! Put it out! Please! I'm sorry! Agh!! I'm sorry, Kotaiso! I'm sorry!!" Yohei screamed as his body was soon engulfed in flames. He rolled around on the ground wildly, spreading the fire all over the room before finally becoming still.
Aya hadn't stopped crying and sobbed even more as she knew her Husband was now dead, in one of the worst possibly ways a Human could die. She closed her eyes tightly as Kotaiso turned his gaze back to her.
"A sinner is always sorry when Judgment Day is upon them." Kotaiso said as he walked towards her and knelt, feeling the heat of the flames rising with every second. "I'm not going to kill you, Nana. I was taught by my Mother to never harm a woman."
Aya opened her tear-filled eyes slowly and peered into Kotaiso's own deep green ones. "You're...not?"
"Of course not."
Aya smiled. "Oh, thank you, Kotaiso..."
"You won't survive until tomorrow, though."
"What...?"
"Good-bye, Nana." Kotaiso got up and exited the room, closing the door behind him and barring it with a bookcase.
Aya got up and ran to the door, banging on it. "Kotaiso! No! Open the door! Please! I'm family! Kotaiso! Kotaiso!" Aya screamed Kotaiso's name until the flames had engulfed the entire sea-side home.
Kotaiso watched the flames build on the dock with Chicken until he could see the Sun begin to form out at sea. He was once again awe-struck, having now seen the Sunrise for the first time in his life. He climbed into the single boat that was moored with Chicken and began to row. "We'll follow the coast and hopefully we'll reach civilization eventually... I think," Kotaiso looked up to the still-purple sky, "I think she's finally at ease." He smiled and looked to horizon at the rising Sun as the flames continued to burn behind him.
* * * * *
"Atten-tion!"
All the new Recruits of the Stormwind army stood at attention at the Drill Instructor's command and didn't dare move.
"Welcome to the army, Recruits! While the Orcish Horde has been defeated by the Alliance of Lordaeron and the Dark Portal is nothing but rubble, we still need brave men to defend Stormwind and the Alliance against any opposing threat!
"You men are going to be going through basic training over the next nine weeks. If you survive, you will be welcomed in as a Private in the Infantry of this mighty Kingdom's army! The King himself is depending on you! Do Stormwind proud! For the Alliance!"
"For the Alliance!" the Recruits called out in unison and raised their swords to the sky.
Kotaiso glanced down at Chicken. "Hey, I'm sorry they didn't have a uniform for you, too. I think I look stupid in this thing, anyway. And at least I got them to let you come with me! They'll agree to anything for another pair of arms, it seems." He smirked and shot his eyes back up and saluted as the Drill Instructor dismissed them.
Kotaiso, instead of travelling off to catch a bite to eat with the rest of his fellow soldiers, bent down to Chicken and gently rubbed his head. "Today's the beginning of our new life, Chicken. We can leave everything behind... We can finally be free."
The day brings both its share of spoils and danger, as does night.
During the day, one may easily find wildlife and hunt for food, but the Sun's illumination would make the hunter easier to spot.
Night removes the taint of being seen, but limits vision...leaving one more susceptable to injury and ambush.
Kotaiso had long ago forgotten what it was like to live a life indoors. He had forgotten the flows of time and only looked forward to the next Sunrise.
He had spent the last thirteen years in the wilderness. He had become so terrified and paranoid of being caught by Orc patrols, he didn't even recognize that the patrols were now Human; once more wearing the seal of Stormwind.
All he was a green-skinned savage looking to peel the skin from his bones.
Chicken had been with Kotaiso every step of the way. He had been there when Kotaiso caught his first Squirrel and ate it raw, hesistating at first, but then biting into the belly and ripping its guts out with his bare teeth. Chicken had been there everytime Kotaiso had to hide himself from Orcish eyes, once even going as far as stabbing himself in the shoulder with an arrow to further the illusion he was nothing more than a corpse. Chicken had witnessed it all and now he was witnessing Kotaiso commit another deed in order for their continued survival: murder.
Kotaiso, now twenty-one-years of age, had watched as the simple peasant came marching down an old side-path in the southern-most edges of Elwynn Forest. He carried a messenger bag over his one shoulder; Kotaiso spotted pieces of parchment and blotches of ink inside with his sharp eyes. A mailman.
Usually, Kotaiso would just avoid this man, but something drew him to the man's bag. Like intuition, Kotaiso knew there was something that he needed in the bag.
He waiting until the mailman got close enough before diving out of the bushes on top of him. The man screamed and fell to the ground with Kotaiso's muscular frame pinning him down with his hands around his throat. The man's muffled screams quickly faded as the last breath escaped him. He never drew another.
After disposing of the man's limp body in the nearby river, Kotaiso rummaged through his bag. He spent several minutes looking at the names on both the receiving and sending sides before his eye caught a familiar name; his own last name: Takahashi.
He looked at the envelope and it read,
Aya Takahashi
He bit his tongue and narrowed his eyes, Nana...
Memories of that horrible day all those years ago flooded his mind and he had to put his hands on the ground to prevent falling over.
Chicken tilted his head and rubbed it gently against Kotaiso's fore-arm as if to ask what was wrong. Kotaiso gasped and took a deep breath before sighing. He gently patted Chicken's back. "I'm okay. I'm okay."
He went back to the letter and opened it, scanning the contents with his eyes. It was a greeting from a friend in the newly reconstructed Stormwind City, saying his great the city was and that Aya and Yohei should visit soon.
Kotaiso fought hard to surpress his emotions as he read his Grandfather's mention.
Then something Kotaiso wasn't expecting happened. The man who had written the letter (some fool by the name of Chester) had crudely drawn a map with directions from the Takahashi's home to his home in Stormwind.
Kotaiso bit his tongue, but couldn't help surpress the shear laughter that soon came after. He hadn't felt this joy since...since his childhood.
Kotaiso turned his head to Chicken and smiled, "We're going to go pay Nana and Grandpa a visit."
* * * * *
It had taken several weeks of walking. It is easy enough to stay hidden in a city. All one has to do is blend in and they're invisible. Kotaiso's old, torn, and stained clothes weren't an odd sight in Stormwind... Even though the City was still fairly new, it still had its fair share of beggars. Those that did stare too long at him brushed him off as just merely another one of them; a beggar.
Once Kotaiso had made his way through Stormwind, his trek through the mountains began. It took even longer than he expected. He occassionaly glanced at the map "Chester" had made and scoffed. Apparently he was a bit wrong on his distance calculations. The "five or six" miles turned out to be forty.
Kotaiso didn't care too much about how far it his Grandparents' house was, though. He just wanted to get there quickly.
* * * * *
It was night when he finally arrived. He had never been to his Grandparents house before. He had always imagined them living in some lavish mansion with servants, guards, the whole nine yards. But he was sadly mistaken with his judgment.
What he saw paled so much in comparison, it made his vision seem like a fairy-tale within a fairy-tale: it was a cozy home with two-stories. It had a dock a few yards from the front door and a lamp post illuminating the front yard. There was a single boat moored at the dock. The house itself was like any other homes he had passed on his way to Stormwind. Nothing special...just like the people that reside inside.
Kotaiso snuck quietly to the dock. He was curious as he had never seen the ocean before. Awe struck him and he stared out at the vast blackness before him. I wonder if there's anything out there? It's too bad I don't have the Sun to let me see more of its magnificence... He thought to himself before snapping out of it. He leaned down to Chicken and whispered, "Stay here. I'll be back in a few minutes, okay? I'll give them your regards."
Chicken nodded his head and stayed put as Kotaiso made his way to the front door.
He slowly tried turning the knob, but to no avail; it was locked. He then went to the nearest window. Fortunately, it was unlocked. Slowly and quietly he lifted it up and climbed through the frame.
He climbed through and stood inside the living room. It was dark and he could barely see. He carefully fondled his surroundings to get a feeling of where he was and where he should go.
Making his way to the kitchen, Kotaiso opened up one of the first drawers he found and grabbed the sharpest knife he could find. He slid it across his finger to test its dullness and hissed sharply as it severed his skin as easily as butter. Blood dripped onto the floor and Kotaiso could only help but grin. It was then and there that the masochist inside him was born.
He eventually found the stairs and placed his feet to the edges of each individual step before carefully and slowly placing his weight on it. The creaks and cracks that were made were so subtle they would not have even woken a Mouse.
When he got to the top of the landing, he saw a faint light flickering from down the hallway he was now facing. Pictures lined the walls of the narrow hallway, pictures of Aya and Yohei happily embracing; young and old. Some assorted pictures of Azeroth also lined the wall as Kotaiso saw, inching ever closer to the source of light. He found it was coming from the narrow slit underneath a common Human door. This is where they are...this is where they sleep. He thought to himself and gripped the knife's hilt tightly, turning his knuckles white.
He opened the door slowly and saw the bed holding the two sleeping figures, off in their own private fairy-tale worlds. Candles were lit in each corner of the room just in case one of the two (or both) needed to get up for some reason or another in the night. Kotaiso used this to his advantage. He went from one side of the bed to the other, looking for Yohei first. When he found him, he gently placed a hand over his mouth, and pushed the knife against his throat.
Yohei forced his eyes open wide and was about to scream but Kotaiso beat him to the punch and whispered, "Get up without a sound and I won't slit your throat."
Yohai complied and got up. Kotaiso motioned to a chair in the room for Yohei to sit in. "Stay there." Kotaiso ordered as he went over to Aya. He did the same to her and as she got up, she looked at Yohei with pleading eyes.
Over the course of the twenty plus years that had passed, Yohei and Aya's age had gotten the better of them. If Yohei attacked Kotaiso, he risked breaking something vital and (or) suffering a heart attack. The same went for Aya. And what elderly person wants to attack a young, muscular, savage-looking man with a sharp knife in his hand?
Kotaiso shoved Aya over to Yohei and handed her the knife. "Cut his fingers off."
"What?! I will do no such thing!"
"I said cut his fucking fingers off or I'll cut yours off and then his!"
"No!"
Kotaiso grabbed Aya and twisted her arm, forcing her to drop the knife. He then threw her to the ground. "You could've saved yourself. You could've redeemed yourself in my eyes. But you've chosen death." Kotaiso picked up the knife and went over to Yohei who was still sitting in his chair, gripping the edges.
"Give me your hand." Kotaiso said in a calm voice.
Yohei raised his left arm slowly, shaking profusely. Kotaiso grabbed a hold of his hand and slowly cut off his thumb.
Yohei screamed as he struggled to free his arm, but Kotaiso kept a firm grip and continued to cut off the remainder of the fingers.
As soon as he was done, he let go of Yohei's arm. Yohei fell off his chair, clutching his bleeding hand. Aya screamed at the sight. Kotaiso put a hand to his head to cover one of his ears.
"Shut the fuck up!"
"Who are you?! Why are you doing this?!"
"You don't even recognize your own Grandson?"
Aya's eyes widened and studied Kotaiso's face. It took a moment, but then it finally registered.
"K...Ko...Kotaiso?"
"Hello, Nana."
"I...we...thought you were dead."
"Oh, I was. I died the night you two raped my Sister."
Once again the full realization of what and why this was happening registered in Aya's mind.
"Kotaiso...please, we had no other choice! We --"
"Don't you feed me your bullshit! You 'had no other choice'?! Bullshit! You could've treated her as a Human! As an equal! Not as some...some...monster!"
"But she was!"
Kotaiso lunged at Aya and held the knife to her throat. "Don't you ever speak about her like that again!"
Aya burst into tears.
"Do you understand me?!" Kotaiso demanded.
Aya only sobbed more.
Tsking, Kotaiso once again tossed her to the side. He turned to Yohei who was still struggling on the floor with his bleeding hand.
"Get up." Kotaiso said as he towered over Yohei.
"Does...agh...does this...ungh...make you feel....powerful? Huh...? Are you satisfied with yourself? Beating an old man and his Wife? What's...the...ahh...matter?! Can't pick on someone...mmgh! Can't pick on someone your own --" Yohei couldn't finish before Kotaiso had punched him in the mouth.
He once again fell to the ground.
"I've heard enough of you. I never want to hear words come from your forked-tongue ever again! No... I want to hear you scream, instead!" Kotaiso said as he grabbed one of the candlestick lighting the room. He set it against Yohei's clothes, which soon caught fire.
"No! No! Put it out! Please! I'm sorry! Agh!! I'm sorry, Kotaiso! I'm sorry!!" Yohei screamed as his body was soon engulfed in flames. He rolled around on the ground wildly, spreading the fire all over the room before finally becoming still.
Aya hadn't stopped crying and sobbed even more as she knew her Husband was now dead, in one of the worst possibly ways a Human could die. She closed her eyes tightly as Kotaiso turned his gaze back to her.
"A sinner is always sorry when Judgment Day is upon them." Kotaiso said as he walked towards her and knelt, feeling the heat of the flames rising with every second. "I'm not going to kill you, Nana. I was taught by my Mother to never harm a woman."
Aya opened her tear-filled eyes slowly and peered into Kotaiso's own deep green ones. "You're...not?"
"Of course not."
Aya smiled. "Oh, thank you, Kotaiso..."
"You won't survive until tomorrow, though."
"What...?"
"Good-bye, Nana." Kotaiso got up and exited the room, closing the door behind him and barring it with a bookcase.
Aya got up and ran to the door, banging on it. "Kotaiso! No! Open the door! Please! I'm family! Kotaiso! Kotaiso!" Aya screamed Kotaiso's name until the flames had engulfed the entire sea-side home.
Kotaiso watched the flames build on the dock with Chicken until he could see the Sun begin to form out at sea. He was once again awe-struck, having now seen the Sunrise for the first time in his life. He climbed into the single boat that was moored with Chicken and began to row. "We'll follow the coast and hopefully we'll reach civilization eventually... I think," Kotaiso looked up to the still-purple sky, "I think she's finally at ease." He smiled and looked to horizon at the rising Sun as the flames continued to burn behind him.
* * * * *
"Atten-tion!"
All the new Recruits of the Stormwind army stood at attention at the Drill Instructor's command and didn't dare move.
"Welcome to the army, Recruits! While the Orcish Horde has been defeated by the Alliance of Lordaeron and the Dark Portal is nothing but rubble, we still need brave men to defend Stormwind and the Alliance against any opposing threat!
"You men are going to be going through basic training over the next nine weeks. If you survive, you will be welcomed in as a Private in the Infantry of this mighty Kingdom's army! The King himself is depending on you! Do Stormwind proud! For the Alliance!"
"For the Alliance!" the Recruits called out in unison and raised their swords to the sky.
Kotaiso glanced down at Chicken. "Hey, I'm sorry they didn't have a uniform for you, too. I think I look stupid in this thing, anyway. And at least I got them to let you come with me! They'll agree to anything for another pair of arms, it seems." He smirked and shot his eyes back up and saluted as the Drill Instructor dismissed them.
Kotaiso, instead of travelling off to catch a bite to eat with the rest of his fellow soldiers, bent down to Chicken and gently rubbed his head. "Today's the beginning of our new life, Chicken. We can leave everything behind... We can finally be free."
THE END
