A Spark of Courage: Rise of the Guardians

Prologue

???: *Monologue* Darkness. That's the first thing I can remember.

Somwhere in a dark and dreary forest, there was a broken stone grave with Kanji written on it. The Kanji was barely readable as the grave was this close to falling apart. The grave was right next to a burned down abandoned house. It was in the style of a traditional Japanese home. The wooden structure had turned a charcoal black as broken slabs of wood littered the place. The moon itself was shining brightly as its light casted on the grave

???: *Monologue* It was dark, and I was scared.

Something begins to dig itself out from the grave. All of a sudden, a figure emerges from the soil. It's revealed to be an anthropomorphic red fox with her eyes closed as her form levitated off from the ground. It was then that the foxes' eyes opened as she let's out a gasp, revealing them to be golden brown in color.

???: *Monologue* But then, I saw the moon.

The fox looks up and sees the full moon. She stares at it in awe.

???: *Monologue* It was so big, and it was so bright. It seemed to chase the darkness away. And when it did, I wasn't scared anymore.

She couldn't explain it, but it felt like all the weight was carried off her shoulders. She felt safe. Eventually, the fox slowly floated back onto the ground. She quickly steadied herself as her feet finally touched the soil. It was then that she took notice of her surroundings.

???: *Monologue* Why was I there? What was I meant to do? That, I would never know.

The fox begins studying herself as she notices the clothes she's wearing. It was a simple white robe that reached her feet with long sleeves and a sash around her waist. She stared in amazement.

???: *Monologue* And a part of me wonders if I ever will.

She looks to her left and sees the abandoned house. She tilts her head in curiosity. She looks back up at the moon. It was shining over the night sky, making her smile. Before she could do anything else, she immediately wrapped her arms around herself as she felt a strong breeze coming through. Before she knew it, a small, orange-red flame appeared right in front of her, surprising the fox. She didn't know what came over her, but she went and carefully touched it. To her surprise, it didn't burn her. It felt warm, and it felt welcoming. She didn't know what was going on until all of a sudden, another flame big enough to fit in her paws appeared in her left paw. She was astonished, to say the least. That was when she got an idea. She tossed the fire on her other paw and then tossed it back. She kept tossing it back and forth between her paws before she eventually tossed it in the air. The flame exploded and turned into one giant firework. This made her gasp in wonder.

The fox then notices something near her feet. She looks down and sees a parasol that is near the grave she emerged from. She picks it up and inspects it, admiring its beauty. She looked over at the grave and saw the kanji written on it. Unfortunately, she couldn't tell what it said as the tomb was practically falling apart. She looked to her right and saw a path ahead of her. She creates a small flame in her right paw for light and holds the parasol on her left paw as she walks through the path. She pushes the bushes and low-hanging branches away as she sees a distant light. She saw the exit to the forest.

She quickly ran towards the exit and found herself in a huge empty field as the wind picked up speed. She crossed the field when, all of a sudden, the parasol opened, and she flew up in the air with a surprised gasp. She stayed in the air for a moment as she looked around. She couldn't believe it.

???: I'm flying!

It was then that she noticed a distant light ahead through the other side of the field. She guided the parasol and quickly flew towards the source of the light as she unknowingly left a trail of small orange embers. It turns out the light was coming from hanging paper lanterns of a small village. She quickly flew towards the town. However, because she hasn't fully mastered her flying, she lands rather ungracefully as she falls on her face, hitting her muzzle. She got up and quickly dusted herself off as she quickly closed her parasol, not wanting to be taken off guard again. Zhe started walking around the village. She tried tried to talk to the townspeople as they went by. They all wore traditional kimonos as they walked through town. Doing their thing.

???: Oh, hello. Hi there. How's it going? How are you?

The fox started greeting the townspeople, but for some reason, they didn't acknowledge her presence. The fox noticed a young couple walking together. She walked up and tried talking to them.

???: Good evening, Sir and Ma'am. I was wondering if you two can help me.

They didn't acknowledge her as they continued walking. The fox gave a confused look as she caught up to them.

???: Uh. . . Sir? Ma'am? Can you help me or not? I know it must be shocking to see a walking, talking fox, but that doesn't mean you can ignore me.

The couple eventually walks away, leaving the fox to stand by her lonesome. She frowned a little, thinking they were being rude to her. She then saw some children playing nearby, and she noticed a little boy holding a ball and seemingly walking toward her. The fox smiled, thinking the boy noticed her. She bent down to his level.

???: Hey, kid, can you tell me where...

What happened next stunned her. The little boy phased right through her. The fox gasps as she stands up quickly, her eyes widening in shock as she starts looking around. A few more people go through her, and she tried to get their attention.

???: *Panicking* Hello? Can anyone hear me? Hello?

It was then that the awful realization hit her like brick. They couldn't hear or see her. It was like she was a ghost to them. She felt devastated as she dropped to her knees. She couldn't believe it. All this time, she thought they were ignoring her. But in reality, they just didn't see her. Was she dead? Was she a ghost? All of this didn't make any sense. Once she saw there was no point in trying to talk to the village folk anymore, she got up and started walking away, leaving the village.

She looks back one last time, her face turning into a sorrowful expression, gripping the parasol in her paw. With that, she walked back into the field and into the forest. Her future is yet to be determined.

Tsukihime: *Monologue* My name is Tsukihime. How do I know that? The moon told me so. But that's all he ever told me. And that was a long, long time ago.

To be continued...