The Hinomoto Rebellion (34 page)
Andrea sat up, her eyes barely opening. Orange and yellow light filled her room, and something was choking her.
Am I still dreaming?
She coughed suddenly, her hands going up to her mouth as her lungs began to burn.
Reality suddenly crashed down on Andrea as her eyes went wide. She was awake, in the temple, sitting in the middle of a ring of real fire. Smoke filled the room and made the air black and acrid. Andrea doubled over, hacking and choking as she tried to stand. She fought the covers that threatened to snare her legs and managed to get up to her knees before the smoke stung her eyes too badly to continue onward. Out of habit, she grabbed the sword from next to her futon and swiftly lashed it to her obi.
“Here!” Andrea screamed as loud as she could before she doubled over coughing again. A chunk of the ceiling fell next to Andrea and set her blanket and futon on fire, causing her to move to the left. Her eyes were watering and she suddenly realized that she might not make it out of the room. The red and yellow conflagration was all over the walls and up on the ceiling, causing ash and bits of burning wood to rain down on her
The voice was closer now, and Andrea tried to yell again for help. She used sheer will to get up to her feet and attempt to stagger out of the room.
Where the hell is the door?!
she thought, staring around in confusion. She was overtaken by another coughing fit as she tried to decide which way to go. Every direction looked the same in the turmoil of the fire.
She looked up into D’s ash-smeared face. He yanked her wrist, pulling her in close just as part of the ceiling smashed down behind her, sending embers flying up into the air. D pulled her out into the hall, which was black with smoke. The walls and ceilings were being eaten away, fed to the hungry beast of fire that had invaded their headquarters.
D began to say something but he stopped short when they heard a scream from further down the hall. Andrea and D both looked at each other. “Roni!” they said at the same time. The two headed in the direction of the scream, picking their way carefully and quickly down the smoky corridor, stepping over debris and trying to avoid flames that were leaping from the walls.
“RONI!” called Andrea, trying to elicit another cry from the girl. The two
ronin
were blinking back black smoke from their eyes and trying to crouch low to the floor where the air was easier to breathe.
Just then, D and Andrea heard a sickening cracking noise from the ceiling directly above them. Without a thought, the two dove in opposite directions, barely making it out of the way of a blazing chunk of ceiling that crashed down right where they had been standing, sending out ribbons of flame that caught the floor on fire.
Both Andrea and D rolled into rooms on either side of the hallway. Andrea fell back across the floor of the room she’d jumped in to and landed on something soft. A moment later she dared to uncover her face with her arms and look down at the floor.
Yellow light flickered across the prone form of 26. Andrea quickly got to her knees on the floor and rolled the furry woman over. “26!? Hey! 26!?” she yelled. 26’s eyes were closed, her fur singed and blackened in places, and her tongue was lolling out of her mouth. “Oh no you don’t! You’re not checking out on me!” Andrea
slung 26’s arm over her shoulder and stood up, adrenaline making her heart pound in her ears. She dragged the winged member of their team out through the flames and smoke, navigating debris and falling bits of ceiling with hot embers coming off of them. As she reached the hall, she was overcome with a coughing fit that nearly sent her to the floor. Her blue eyes were bloodshot from the smoke and ash that was swirling around in the hot air of the immolated temple.
Andrea looked up from her coughing and realized that she was confused again. She had no idea which way she had come down the hall and the world was nothing more than smoke, flames, and splitting wood. She looked around, feeling panic spring up in the back of her mind. 26’s body seemed to be growing heavier and heavier on her shoulder. The silver-haired girl looked around frantically. “D!?” she called into the roaring of the flames.
There was no reply. She called his name again, and this time heard a noise from her right. Just as she turned to look, D crashed out of a room that had been blocked off by flames. In his arms he held Roni, who was clinging to his shirt and pressing her eyes closed. “Andrea! Let’s get out of here!” D yelled, heading down the hall. Andrea followed, dragging 26.
Finally, after what seemed an eternity, they found the sliding doors that led out to the back of the temple. Rather than trying to slide the doors apart, D gave a snarl and kicked them straight out of the framing. They raced out onto the trail and away from the building, only stopping when Andrea finally stumbled and hit the ground, coughing and trying to gasp in as much fresh air as possible. Ahead of her on the path, D set Roni down on the grass, where the little girl curled into the fetal position and burst into tears.
Andrea got out from underneath 26’s arm and floundered to her feet. The sounds of barking and three voices yelling came from around the side of the temple, coming closer to them. Andrea looked up as she regained her footing and prepared to turn around but she stopped short, her eyes widening in horror.
She didn’t answer, but took off running down the path. “Andrea!” D yelled. He turned to follow her trajectory and saw what had caused her to start running.
The library was engulfed in flames that towered higher than the ones on the main part of the temple. D leaped to his feet just as Nikko came around the corner, barking loudly. Close behind the white dog were Kanjou, Fushicho, and Aki, all covered in soot. D screamed for Andrea again, but she showed no signs of halting her frantic run toward the library. Kanjou and Aki stopped D from pursuing Andrea, but Fushi continued running down the path.
The silver-haired
ronin
heard the others yelling at her, trying to stop her from going in to the burning library, but she didn’t listen. All she could think of was the books going up in flames and all that knowledge from the past being lost forever. She leaped up the short flight of stairs and threw open the sliding door, prepared to rush in and grab as many books as she could.
Just as the door banged open, part of the burning roof fell right in front of Andrea’s path. She recoiled briefly, covering her face against the heat.
“Andrea! Get back here! It’s not worth it!” someone behind her screamed. She thought it may have been Aki, but she wasn’t sure. The martial artist dove headlong into the flames, disappearing behind a wall of yellow heat.
Black smoke stung at Andrea’s eyes and made her cough. She was disoriented for a moment, unable to figure out which way she was facing in the smoke and flame filled building. She got her bearings quickly and headed forward, the intense heat inside the building scorching her clothes and making her skin red. More chunks of ceiling and hot sparks fell down around Andrea as she made her way forward toward one of the shelves.
Andrea started pulling the books off of the shelves. Some of them crumbled to dust as she grabbed them, the heat from the flames and the dry-rot from the centuries finally claiming them. She ripped at the books frantically, trying to gather as many of them as she could before the building collapsed. She felt tears welling up in her irritated eyes as more and more books disintegrated in her grasp. Most of what she managed to hold on to was already half eaten by flames. She didn’t realize that she was screaming as she pulled at the tomes, not until she felt someone grab her shoulder.
Andrea turned, clutching three books to her chest, and found herself staring into Fushi’s soot covered face. “Andrea! Come on!” she said, grabbing the silver-haired girl’s arm and yanking her. Andrea screamed protests, but Fushicho ignored her, nearly throwing the
ronin
out of the library. The two tumbled down the stairs and across the cool grass just as the ceiling crumbled and crashed down, burying the ancient books underneath hungry flames that turned the pages to ash.
The next thing that Andrea knew, the group of Aka Ryuu were standing at the tree line, watching the two buildings that had been their headquarters burn. 26 was up and conscious now and leaning on Aki. Roni was in Kanjou’s arms, weeping into his shirt. They were covered in ash and had burn marks on their clothing, their eyes reflecting the angry yellow flames that were destroying the place they had called home. Andrea fell to her knees, clutching the three books she’d managed to salvage and her sword to her chest. D crouched down and put a hand on her shoulder comfortingly.
He was surprised to see two tears fall from behind the
ronin
’s silver bangs and onto the grass. Her shoulders were trembling as she slumped forward, clinging to the books as though they were the most precious things in the world. Densetsu couldn’t figure out what to say to Andrea, so he just wrapped an arm around her shoulders comfortingly.
They all stood there for a while longer until Aki finally broke the silence. “What now?” she asked, looking at the group just as the roof of the temple collapsed into a pile of burning lumber.
Off in the distance, the sound of a fire engine cut through the night, forcing the Aka Ryuu to move out for fear of police swarming the fire. The walk away from the temple was quiet, aside from the fading sounds of snapping fire behind them.
The Experimental Army
For over an hour the Aka Ryuu walked through the dark alleys of Shibasaki, trying to stay out of the light. They didn’t speak, didn’t ask questions of one another, just followed 26 in silence for kilometers.
The group finally seemed to be working its way out of its stupor once they got where 26 was taking them. She began crossing a parking lot that had uneven asphalt from where grass and small trees were pushing up through the pavement. Set far back across the wide lot was an old shopping mall that had long been abandoned. The paint on the outside was chipped and there were faded spots where the marks left by old signs were visible.
“Here we are.” said 26, heading across the broken chunks of asphalt toward the glass doors. The remainder of the Aka Ryuu followed silently behind her.
Finally, 26 came up to the doors and stopped. She looked back at the rest of the group. “Give me a second,” she said, then she put her hand out and touched a part of the door before going inside, leaving the rest of the group out in the dark.
There was quiet for a moment, broken finally by Roni. “I guess someone forgot to blow out a candle before they went to bed,” she said softly.
D’s shoulders shook. “I... I swear they were all out when I went to bed. I’m sure I checked but.... I am so sorry, everyone.” he said, looking down at his feet.
“No, D, don’t blame yourself,” Kanjou reached out and put a hand on D’s shoulder. “It could’ve started anywhere, not necessarily from a candle. The place was falling apart.”
“The place was a death trap,” Andrea whispered, clutching the books closer to her chest. It was the first thing she’d said since Fushicho had ripped her out of the conflagration.
Before they could continue the conversation, 26’s head peeked out of the door. “Okay guys, come on in,” she said, waving them inside. The Aka Ryuu exchanged glances and then headed through the glass doors into the mall. They followed 26 down a short hallway and out into what looked like it may have been a food court.
As the Aka Ryuu came out into the open area full of dilapidated tables and bent metal chairs, they realized they were being watched. Eyes shone from the darkest corners, and faces peered around walls at the newcomers.
She gave him a small smile, sadness in her golden-green eyes. “I used to live here, back before I met you. It’s a haven for
Kemono
.” As she said this, a few figures moved out of the shadows.
Even Andrea, who had been in a stupor for most of the night, reacted at the figures coming toward them. They were in all shapes and sizes, from adults to small children, and all had traits of different animals and humans, just like 26. Among the crowd that emerged, there were elements of lions, tigers, bats, kangaroos, rabbits, wolves, horses, birds, and countless other animals all pieced together into anthropomorphic figures. The
Kemono
paused, regarding the Aka Ryuu, and then several of the smaller children ran up, shouting 26’s name.
With a shout of laughter, 26 crouched down and held her arms out to the furry children that tackled her, all shouting questions about where she had been for so long. The other Aka Ryuu looked slightly uncomfortable since they were getting a lot of stares from the adults that all seemed to say the same thing.
You’re not welcome here.