Demon Blood: Chains of Fate

Chapter 12

I've been sitting here for about four hours before Yuki stopped crying again. She was better then before but still was haunted by thoughts of being useless and weak, being a burden to others, of dying alone and being forgotten forever or being remembered as a useless coward who could do nothing.

I understand these doubts and try my best to comfort her. Soon enough though she tells me her dreams and wishes. She wants to be useful to everyone and be strong enough to beat even the strongest foe, to have her family be proud of her. She wants to see the outside world and travel all across it. Finally she wants to be with me every step of the way, to travel with me, laugh with me, train with me, and be useful to me.

I give her some hope by saying that I'd love to have her by my side. This is true, Yuki is nice to be around, she is good company and has some good goals too. I'll definitely bring her with me as soon as possible.

"THANK YOU!!!" She yells in excitement. Right in my ear...

She has climbed up on my shoulders a while ago and seems to like it there along with laying on my head. Her being on my shoulders is better though because she blends in with my hair and it looks like she's not even there.

"Don't worry, I can help you get stronger and teach you how to fight. It's about time I get a companion for my journey." I begin to scratch her behind her right ear. I found out that she likes it there a while ago when I was petting her.

"Really! I can't wait!" She says. Then moves closer to my ear. With a voice even quieter so that no one except me could hear "Thank you, Young Lord. I want to stay with you for forever!" Then she falls asleep on my shoulders. After a minute or two to make sure that she is asleep I carefully remove her from my shoulders and cradle her in my arms as I stand up. Yuki is a cute little fox for sure, I can't wait to see how you grow.

Everything around me begins to disappear until it's just me an Yuki left. I close me eyes and let out my breath.

"Looks like it's almost time..." I feel the ground disappear from underneath me, yet I don't fall. Very slowly, my body begins to unravel itself. It's a strangely nice feeling. It's like, very slowly, all your burdens are disappearing into thin air. Like your body was a prison and your cell door is being opened. Like freedom is now standing before you, beckoning you forward. A feeling so great that it can only be described as such.

I open my eyes. A white ceiling. I look to my left. A desk stacked with papers and notebooks. I look to my right. A closet full of clothes. All the same style, color, size, and material. I feel a weight on my chest and look down. A small white fluff is on my chest. A tiny pulse can be felt from it.

I slowly pick up the white fluff and cradle it in my arms as I stand up. So I was laying in a bed? How did I get here? I look down at Yuki in my arms and smile to myself.

I walk over to the desk and search through the notebooks and papers for certain ones. When I find what I'm looking for I grab my sword that was next to the bed and head outside.

As I'm walking through the halls I notice all the strange looks I get from anyone I pass. Why are they looking at me like that? Did I do something wrong?

When I reach a door that leads outside of the building, I exit through it. It's bright outside and takes my eyes sometime to adjust as I make my way to an open area. Yuki begins to stir as I search around so I wait for her to fully wake up before proceeding.

She opens her eyes very slowly as they adjust to the bright sunlight. When her eyes adjust she doesn't react immediately and instead stretches her back and yawns before looking around. Her red eyes scan the area, confused. When the scenery clicks in her mind she is in immediate awe.

"Welcome to the world outside. This is the Realm of The Demon Lord of Nature. A place filled with wildlife, plants, insects, and mystical creatures. Welcome, Yuki, to a small fraction of the world I live in." I exclaim as Yuki quickly looks around. Tears begin to fill her eyes as she looks around. Did I do something wrong?

"Thank you..." She says in a quiet voice. But it wasn't aloud, more like in my head. Then she jumps onto my shoulder and rubs her face against my own repeating those two words over and over again. It's cute, but I'm starting to get a headache trying to figure out how she is speaking in my head.

She stops after a few minutes and rests on my shoulders. She still looks around excitedly and asks question when ever she can. I gladly answer them as we walk around. Yuki is admiring the scenery while I look for a good open area for us.

It does take a few hours to find a suitable spot but it was mainly because I had to stop a few time as Yuki discovered what it means to be hungry and thirsty. First I should probably teach her how to hunt. With her size she won't have enough endurance to hunt small. For now I will help her improve her speed so she can out run large predators and fast prey.

"This is what we're going to do." Yuki looks up at me from my left shoulder. "We will start your training with a speed test then improve from there." I kneel down and Yuki jumps down from my shoulder. "For this, the goal isn't to run as fast as you can. That would tire you out too quickly. No start off slow and slowly speed up. Keep going until you can't move your legs anymore. Understood?"

"Yes!" She nods then starts to walk in a big circle with me at the center. I watch as she slowly speeds up until finally she enters a sprint. She keeps getting faster until she is just a blur, that is until she trips over herself and rolls a few time before stopping. I walk over to her and see if she is hurt in any way that could affect the training.

When I reach her I check her over. Her breathing is heavy and ragged. Her side is bruised but not broken. Her legs are fine, just stiff. And her fur is covered in dirt.

She got pretty fast for a few seconds, she has a lot of potential when it comes to speed. Endurance on the other hand is a necessity to work on, but I'll worry about that when the time comes.

"You did good. Get some rest, little one." I pick her up in my arms and let her rest there. I decide to sit down so I place Yuki in my lap and open one of notebooks I grabbed, a book on plants and herbs. I read it for an hour or two before my silence is disturbed.

"Creighton?" A familiar voice asks from behind me. I turn to look at them. It's Evelyne. With a confused look on my face, I ask.

"Who are you talking about?"