~*FOXFIRE*~

Part 4

****

Wisps of black clouds covered the full moon as the carriage rattled along the dark path that cut between the tall trees of the woods. The branches appeared like fingers, old and twisted, reaching out to grab its victims. The shadows seemed to move on the ground and the path in front of them seemed endless. Kaoru tried not to think about all the creepy things as he whipped the horses to go faster.

Even from outside the carriage, Kaoru could hear Kyo’s snoring. Die had already gone home.

Then suddenly, the darkness grew deeper and the horses stop moving, retreating backwards as if there was something dangerous in front. Kaoru frowned.

" Kaoru, is there something wrong?" Kyo’s mother’s asked worriedly.

" No, madam."

He whipped the horses again, forcing them to advance into the darkness. Their hoofs hit loudly against the unpaved path, sending lone pebbles and stones rolling off. Kaoru gulped.

-No reason to be scared ne...We’re not lost...I think...-

Kaoru lurched forward as a horse abruptly raised on its hind legs, screeching, making the other horses hard to control.

" Down! Down!" Kaoru shouted but to no avail as the horses went mad and started running wildly into the woods, off the path.

Low branches smacked into the carriage and hit Kaoru. He heard Kyo’s mother scream and Die’s mother frantic questions but he could not understand them as he tried to pull the horses back. He held on the straps of leather until he felt it could cut through his flesh.

Kaoru remembered crying out as the carriage toppled onto its side and being dragged on the forest ground. He remembered pain bracing every inch of his body as his mind dove into blackness. And then he saw nothing but the inky blackness.

***

The girl backed against the wall below his window. She had long crimson hair that draped over the bare shoulders exposed by the dress. Her face was innocent but her dark brown eyes, rimmed by long lashes, were intense and piercing. Her skin was slightly tanned and each of her features were perfectly shaped; her straight nose and sensuously full lips. Her ankles showed from the skirt as she pulled her legs closer to herself, shrinking away from Die.

And of course, Die being the typical Die, was thinking in his head ‘Wow, she’s o pretty!’ instead of ‘What is she doing here?’ or ‘What has she _done_ to my room?’.

Die didn’t know how long he stood in the middle of the room, staring at her, but the next thing he knew, he was stopping her from jumping out of the open window.

" This is the third floor, THIRD floor!" Die pulled her in by the waist. She struggled but the anxious Die forgot his etiquette and held to her waist. Then he suddenly realized it was impolite and released her, apologising.

Shinya looked at the flustering human through the red bangs of his hair. His fear dissipated a little. But he continued glaring at Die.

Die scanned the condition of his room. The contents of his drawers, clothes, books, little statues, were poured out and laid scattered all over his maroon carpet. " Uh, what are you doing in my room?" He turned his attention back to Shinya, totally oblivious that ‘she’ was indeed a man.

Shinya stared stoically at him, as if not understanding the question.

" You do understand English, right?"

Shinya moved to his wardrobe and started rummaging through his collection of clothes. Die, stupefied, stared at the incident for a while before growing agitated and picked up his things and dumped them back into his closets.

" Hey, even a thief wouldn’t steal right in front of the owner!" Die slammed the closet door shut and fairly protected it from Shinya who in turn, looked at him with daggers in his eyes.

" Stupid!" Shinya said in a voice which undeniably belonged to a man.

" Eh?" For the first time, Die let his eyes roll down to Shinya’s chest.

-…it’s flat??-

Not convinced, he started running his hand across the flat expanse. This earned him a slap from Shinya.

" Pervert!"

Die’s face remained in shock mode for a while before he broke into laughter, "Yes, I’m a stupid pervert!"

Shinya looked at him, both annoyed and curious what the red-head was laughing about. He didn’t find anything amusing.

***

Toshiya’s long black hair brushed against his waist as he crouched down beside the wreckage. With a hand, he brushed the intruding strands away from his face. There was no moonlight; even if there was, the trees would have blocked the light out. Feeling safe in the darkness, he sniffed at the broken carriage.

There were four people inside it. Three women and a kid. He tried to reach for them but he didn’t know how to open the door. A tear ran down his cheek as the kid mumbled for his mother. But there was so little he could do.

-I’m so useless! No wonder Shinya went off alone without telling me...-

Feeling a flood of tears threatening to occur, he squeezed his eyes shut and went away from the carriage. The horses must have pulled loose from the carriage, he thought as he bent down and pick at the broken shards of wood. Suddenly he jumped up when he heard a groan.

Creeping closer, he saw a man under the pieces of broken wood, grimacing in pain.

***

End of Part 4

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