What makes me different from my enemies? Justice? Can murder ever be just? And what of my honor? Will it protect my soul? Does it legitimize my cause?
Honor was once the thing I clung to tightest. My compass. But that was before everything was stolen from me. Before the rage.
Now, as he rushes forward snarled and hissing, I'm not so sure. I simply press forward. Rage, it seems, is more powerful than honor. More hungry than justice.
He's fast. Claws sharp, ready. The strike is on the way before I can adjust my position. Instinct promises this one will hurt. I should dodge. But rage devours instinct.
The strike lands on my jaw. Claws sink, pull, gash, narrowly miss my throat. Fire ripping through skin. Another impact rattles my skull. Head spins. Vision blurs. But now he's close.
Rage swallows pain.
A desperate yarl leaps from his throat as I pull him to the ground. Before he can wriggle loose, my teeth find his neck. Warmth pops against my tongue. It streaks down my chin. Soaks my fur. The sickening taste of his despicable blood urges me to retch, but a weak stomach will not hinder my vengeance. He claws desperately at my legs, his life draining into the alley. Each swipe weaker than the last. Perhaps his honor will be restored in the next life.
I spit red foulness at asphalt as my vision refocuses. Lines sharpen. The boxes that make up Zei Sho's lair lie just beyond a green dumpster loaded with spoiled food. Flashes of headlights jet by at the far end of the alley. Lightning-fast reminders of my anguish. Fat raindrops drip from a mad sky, gray and wrathful. The stench of blood, garbage, and evil wafts through the thick air.
"Zei Sho!" Raw hatred spews from my lips. "Are you too scared to face me?! Have you no honor?!"
My ears twitch. More are approaching, two more.
That coward. How many misguided souls must I claw through? They are probably just like my brother, their minds twisted by Zei Sho's toxic words. Perhaps they don't deserve the death that I must bring them. A shame. There was once a time when this violence would sicken me; a time before my family was taken. Gone. Because of him.
Rage chokes down compassion, chews up mercy.
A rustle in the pile of trash bags on the left. My next assailant, a brown tabby, slinks from the shadows of the mound, hissing venomously. The sight of my destruction pauses him for just a moment. Poor, foolish bastard.
I charge—
Piercing heat stings my ribs. I spin away. Too late. Damage done. A sour-faced gray licks his smirking lips as I recoil. I barely manage to stay up, back arched, tail fully puffed. Blood rains from my wounds. It matters not. They may drain as much of it from me as they like. Rage is all the fuel I need.
The gray shoots me a mocking smile, licking my blood from his paw. The tabby tries to overcome his nerves with a twisted chuckle. He is the weakest of the two, only feigning confidence. Eyes of a mouse. Prey.
I charge the tabby with a feral scream. He readies himself, but he is not my target. The gray flanks me again. As expected.
Stop. Pivot. Spin.
The gray pounces past, narrowly missing. Momentum carries him into the tabby. They collide, tumbling to the ground. There's my opening. I'm airborne, no chance for recovery. My claws land first. I slash at his eyes and throat until his screams turn to gurgles. Red mist erupts from the sorry bastard like a raging geyser.
The tabby scampers away, crying for backup as I slowly stalk closer. The blood of his comrades drips from my fur. I'm sorry, sister. You always did pester me to keep it clean. A cat's honor is reflected in his coat, right? But I must take on this filth so it may be cleansed from the world. So that you, and all their other victims, may rest with ease.
Each step forward sends the tabby deeper into the alley. Closer to Zei Sho's cardboard fortress. He hisses with false ferocity, as if I couldn't smell his weakness from here.
"Only death awaits you here," I warn.
Though baring fangs, his whiskers won't stop trembling.
"You won't block my path any longer."
Head low, he conceals his fangs. Retracts his claws. His eyes search for escape. The fear in him is palpable as he backs further and further away, each step growing faster and faster as he flees the bloodshed.
"Zei Sho!" I scream. "I am not here for your underlings! Show yourself!"
"Oh, won't you shut the fuck up already?!" A booming voice rumbles from the entrance like boulders down a mountainside.
It's a voice I could never forget. The one that poisoned my brother's mind. Zei Sho's.
"You speak of honor, yet scrap through my alley like a feral rat. What? Wish to provoke me? Disturb me in my home?" Zei Sho scoffs, ducking out from the entrance. "Well, here I am!"
A mountain of a cat, he stands at least three heads taller than I would upright. His barrel frame is covered in battle scars that slice through dense, smoky fur. Weathered fabric stretches across his wide hips and neck, flapping in the breeze like a battle-stained war banner. His right paw grips a crude cleaver, its blade more scarred than he is. String wraps the handle. Murder wafts from it; I smell it from here. Just how much blood has that thing spilled?
The brutish cat stomps into the alleys, cleaver resting atop his shoulder. The trembling tabby stops, his eyes now reassured. He looks to Zei Sho, "Boss, this—"
His head hits the ground before another word. Zei Sho's cleaver hangs in the air, blood dripping from its chipped edge.
"Coward." Zei Sho spits at the corpse and kicks the severed head towards me. "Nothin' worse than a useless pawn, huh?" A wipe of his weapon leaves blood smeared across his tattered garment. "Now, little kitten, who the hell do you think you are?"
"How dare you act like you've forgotten! Forgotten what you've done!" I urge my blinding rage to simmer, but it's too far gone.
"Bahahaha! How sad! I'm sorry, little buddy, you'll have to jog my memory… I'm a busy cat," he mocks. A gaggle of cronies and courtesans spills from the den, mimicking his wicked laughter.
"This land," I point to the alley, my stance wavering from the blood loss, "was our home! A peaceful refuge, until you and your thugs forced your way—"
"Ohhh! Red fur, tough talk, can't back it up… That's right, you're Oda's brother, riiight? I remember you now. Hah!" Zei Sho turns to his followers, chest puffed out. "This miserable little shit is nothin' more than a street rat that abandoned his family! Too weak to save his little sister. Then, in the wake of such a terrible loss, he deserted his poor brother. Traded him in for the comforts of enslavement. Too much of a coward to face the pain and protect his own. Nothing but a fuckin' house cat! How pathetic! How weak!"
"Liar! Your words are nothing but venom!"
"Oh, spare me!" Zei Sho spins towards me, boasting a toothy smile. "I took Oda in. Me! I'm the one who appreciated his potential, who gave him food, drink, a damn home! You'd do well to thank me, house cat!"
"How dare you! You corrupted his mind!" My paws clench, claws digging. Rage begs me for blood. Hatred surges through my muscles. Don't get carried away. Wait for a better moment to strike.
"Enough talk, little kitten! Let's not play this game; it's sooo boring. If you plan to snivel, do it elsewhere. If you plan to attack, get on with it. I'd like to get back to my bed," he chuckles, raising his cleaver at me in invitation.
"My name is Bokuden, you bastard. And this is for my family!" I scream, springing forward, vengeance veiling my eyes, rage pushing me ahead.
He swings his blade. Barely saw it.
Foolish. I let bloodlust cloud my mind. How could I be…
Numbness embraces me.
I look down. His cleaver is wedged deep into my abdomen. Coldness seizes me. The world goes quiet. Only one sound remains: Zei Sho's wicked laughter. Strength drains from the wound. My legs go numb. Shadows cling to the edge of my vision. How could I let this happen? Damn him. Monster! Murderer! How could I let this happen?! I must kill him. I must, but I've lost command of my body. I try to focus, but everything's faded, obscure.
Oh… is that?
That ocean of blood… must be mine.
I slip backwards, sliding from the blade. Fear circles me like vultures. Laughter echoes. Zei Sho grins down at me. Pain pulses from my core, ringing through my body like an icy hammer to cold steel. It stabs through my heart as failure saturates the last remnant of my consciousness. Dull mist envelopes me, dimming the light of the world, softening the pain to a murmur, and the laughter to a whisper.
Death? This must be…
No.
It can't. This can't be the end. I can't die without avenging my family.
Images of my brother and sister flash past my fading eyes. Oda's excitement after his first successful hunt. Chiyo's fierce defense of her favorite sunny stone in the morning sun. The sound of screeching tires. Chiyo's last breath, stolen far too soon. The hatred in Oda's eyes when I finally made it back home. Him swearing never to forgive me in his last moments. All of it, because of him.
No!
I won't let this end here!
But when I try to move, I feel nothing. Not even the wiggle of my tail. Even the pain has left my body. If only my heart felt the same relief.
The light is all but gone. Darkness like none I've ever known surrounds me. It's all-consuming, and so, so cold…
No, no, this can't be… the… end…
. . .
No telling how long I've been in this… place. I'm not even sure this is a place to begin with. There's not a trace of, well, anything. Nothingness commands my reality so thoroughly I can't seem to place who this 'I' even is. These thoughts, they must be mine. But does this dread belong to me as well? Perhaps it's…
This darkness… Somehow, I recognize it. Fear it even—
Splatters of blood and a dagger of anguish strike like lightning. Two faces stare at me, longing for something. They're… cats? Is this a memory? Why do I—
Another bolt of memory pierces my orb of hazy consciousness. Oda and Chiyo! That's right, it's starting to come back… my past life. I can see it swirling around me like a starry ribbon flowing in the wind. It illuminates the nothingness of this dark void, each shimmering color a scattered memory from my past.
A wisp of vivid red flutters nearby. An image of Chiyo and another cat with long, fiery fur. It's… me. Yes, Bokuden, that's what I'm called. A burst of clarity sends the ethereal tapestry of swirling colors rushing into my consciousness like kaleidoscopic water down a drain. More and more memories wash over me, soaking me in identity.
I remember the joy my family once shared. The threat of dangerous foes. The pain of losing what I cherished. The promise I made to avenge the fallen. Then I see him. The void begins to swelter as hatred vents from my conscience. The image of Zei Sho burns red hot in the dark.
"Bokuden, the Honorable, oh tortured soul," a resonant voice rings, "the pain you feel is not without consequence."
"Who's there?"
"The consequence is not without lesson," she hums, her voice like a haunting wind caressing a field of tall grass. A swirling blue light sprouts from the dark before me. It spins faster, growing with each revolution. The more I focus on it, the faster it expands. "The lesson is not without risk," the words emanate from the blue orb.
"What is this place? I don't have time for this. I need to get back."
"The risk is not without reward, oh lost cat." As the words echo through the void, the orb comes undone from the speed of its spin. An eruption of heavenly blue light fills the darkness. From it blossoms a floating form perched above a white lotus flower. A spirit, cat-like yet beyond earthly definition. A goddess.
Looming, her closed eyes see through my consciousness. Her soft smile radiates motherly love. Her aura is that of limitless power. Her presence consumes the darkness of the void, filling it with palpable energy.
Her presence presses down on me, makes me want to shield myself from her, but I can't look away.
"The depth of your pain has disrupted the balance," she purrs. "Thus, I will grant you the power you need. But remember, lessons do not always teach what you expect…"
Power? What lessons? My questions beg for answers, yet I find myself too in awe to speak them.
"Stand tall, Bokuden."
As her command echoes through the ethereal space, my body materializes. Each reverberation gives birth to more and more of me: shimmering red fur ticked with copper and golden brown, vibrant green eyes, a billowing plume of a tail, and long ears with a fox-like point. Suddenly, I find myself standing tall before her, no longer a floating orb of raw consciousness.
The spirit reaches her paw out to my chest, stopping short of my fur. Slowly, a single claw extends, shining like deadly starlight. Fear and wonder fight fruitlessly for dominance. Frozen, I wince as her claw pushes through fur and skin. Sinking deeper and deeper into my core. Piercing my heart with the speed of a tortoise. No pain. Just a golden glow within my chest.
Her purring crescendos. The vibration of her frequency envelopes each of my cells. Warmth fills my body. Patiently, she retracts her claw. Nine floating orbs follow, meandering out of me. Six shine blinding gold, three are dark as swirling shadow. She lifts her paw, guiding the orbs to her mouth, and lets them float onto her tongue.
Like a confused carp, I watch her crunch down on the mysterious balls, chewing them thoroughly. They crack and pop under the pressure of her heavenly teeth. After a moment of gnawing, she sticks out her tongue, revealing a single orb, large as all nine combined. The object is as beautiful as it is haunting. Swirling, gold-flecked shadow contained in a mist of vibrational energy. It floats down, meandering through the charged air with unplaceable importance.
Without losing her soft smile, the spirit stops the orb's descent just above her paw, then extends towards me. The air around it shimmers and tingles. A resonant hum emanates from it. Warmth washes through my veins as it nears, then, with a final push, she presses the orb deep into my chest.
A burst of vibration surges through my body, pulsing from my core to the tips of every one of my hairs, buzzing with the same frequency as her holy purr.
"Good luck, Bokuden," she smiles, opening her eyes just enough for me to see her iridescent sapphire irises. Her paw rises slowly, touching me gently on the forehead with a single, golden toe bean.
. . .
Fiery sunlight jams through my eyelids as I jolt awake, gasping for air, paws soaked with sweat. I jump from the cool gravel, shocked and lost. Where am I? This is no void. There are no great spirits here…
A dream?
No gapping wounds afflict my body, no scars, no blood matting my fur. Not even a scratch or bruise. But how? How can I remember? It's all so clear: my once joyful life, my vengeful rage, the battles and all the bloodshed, the orb-crunching spirit of golden light who pulled me from the darkness, the energy it bestowed unto me… I remember everything. Everything except where I am and how I got here.
Yes, a dream. It must have been, even if I can't understand how. My muscles ache terribly as I arch my back into a deep stretch. How long was I asleep? Never mind, I don't have time to waste figuring this out. Unlike Chiyo and Oda, Zei Sho still draws breath, which means I have work to do. Now's not the time to worry about some strange, near-death experience—or whatever that was. No. Now's the time to get back home. My siblings' honor won't restore itself. But as I scan the area, reality bears its fangs. I'm not sure where it has chewed me up and spat me out, but one thing is clear: I've never been so lost