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Tamaranai Kyuui

(Intolerable peace)

A cool breeze blew across the midnight air and the moon beamed down through the trees, dancing and weaving through the leaves before lightly touching the ground. A young fox dashed through the bushes, panting and nearly stumbling over his own feet. A tree snagged his dark green vest and pulled him to the ground. The fox whimpered and struggled frantically to free himself. The bushes behind him trembled and a blood curdling roar echoed through the forest followed by a scream. Another fox came darting from the bushes, a few fresh cuts donning his chest, arms, and snout.

"Oh, thank god! Roderick you have to help me. I'm stuck." Cried the desperate fox, still caught in his vest. Roderick scurried over but his eyes never left the bushes behind them. His paws shook with fear making it nearly impossible to free his friend. After several failed attempts, he took out his hunting knife, stained with fresh blood, and made to slice through the vest when another roar broke through the night, this time a sounding much closer. Roderick dropped the knife and dashed through the forest screaming

"They are going to kill us all!! There is no esca-" a dragon dove from the bushes, tackling Roderick to the ground and sinking it's powerful fangs into his furry neck instantly silencing him. The dragon turned and saw the other fox, still struggling desperately to get free. The dragon grinned, his teeth coated with the fresh fox blood. He gave a low roar and two dragons jumped from the bushes beside him. "You two can have this one. The one stuck in the tree is mine"

The two dragons nodded and drug the fox into the brushes and a sound of teeth ripping through flesh filled the air. The fox stared horror struck into the approaching dragon. The overwhelming feeling of starring into the face of death itself came over the fox. The dragon licked his grinning lips; his claws making large scars in the ground with each step. The dragon's hot breath wafted over the fox's exposed neck and chest, causing the trembling fox to whimper with fear. "P-P-Please d-don't eat m-me... I d-d-didn't do anything wrong."

The plea served only to entice the dragon further. He loved watching others tremble with fear before him. It gave him a certain sense of power. He dragged a claw under the trembling fox's chin. The fox winced and pulled away, paralyzed with fear, his eyes clenched shut and he wished it all a horrible nightmare. The dragon reared his head back and shot his sharp fangs towards the fox's neck.

The next instant, the dragon was sprawled out on his back clutching his side. The fox opened his eyes, shocked that he wasn't dead yet. A kangaroo with fur as black at the night shadows crouched down in front of the fox, glaring at the fallen dragon. He turned to face the shaken fox and smiled warmly. "Looks like I got here just in time. Now, let's get you outta there." He whipped out a small dagger and quickly sliced through the vest, freeing the fox.

The kangaroo helped the fox to his feet but his eyes kept glancing over at the dragon that was starting to stir. The dragon rose to his feet and snarled, "This isn't over, little roo. You and your kind will soon pay. Mark my words." With that he took off into the dark forest and quickly vanished from sight. The kangaroo carefully examined the fox, brushing him off from head to toes before he was satisfied. "Thank you so much. There's no telling what would've happened if you hadn't come along. I owe you my life. How can I ever repay you?"

The kangaroo shook his head and smiled. "'Twas nothing, I was just at the right place at the right time. No need to repay me for anything. Say, what's you're name?"

"I'm Yoshin, sir."

"Yoshin, eh? It's nice to meet you. I'm called Daishu."

A twig snapped in the distance and the wind blew threw the bushes around them. Daishu stood and looked off in the distance before placing a paw on Yoshin's shoulder. "We'd better get going, eh? I know dragons and you're not safe here. C'mon, there's no telling when they'll be here."

The two quickly vanished into the night. Yoshin had little trouble following the agile roo as they weaved in and out of the trees. He was beginning to get a little excited. He would be the first fox to visit the kangaroo village of Kugashi in over 200 years. It was well hidden and only kangaroo's had access to its gates. It was the only way they have survived so long in the war against the dragons.

Daishu looked over his shoulder and saw Yoshin not far behind. They were near the village entrance so Daishu slowed to a stop and Yoshin stopped next to him, panting slightly. "Now, I know that you know you're the only one that's been aloud in here of your kind. An' you'll prolly be the only one for a few hundred more years. So you know how lucky you are. Since you said you owe me your life, then I'll take you up on it now. If you tell anybody 'bout this, I will personally make it my mission in life to kill you. You got me?" Yoshin only nodded, seeing the seriousness on the roo's face and trying hard to contain his excitement. Daishu smiled and slapped Yoshin on the back. "All right then. Let's go."

He took a quick look around and grabbed Yoshin's paw, dragging him through a vine encroached cave mouth. The entrance to the cave was too dark to see anything. Daishu pulled Yoshin along through the cave with such ease that Yoshin wondered if he could see through such darkness. "How do you know where you're going? I can't see a thing."

"Don't worry 'bout where you're going. Just follow me and you'll be fine. I've been down here so many times that I don't even think 'bout the darkness anymore. I just know where I'm going. Now where was that stupid....ah! There it is!"

Yoshin felt Daishu's paw quickly yanked from his and he started to panic. "Daishu? Where'd you go? What happened?" Daishu's voice came from a distance beneath him. "Just step forward! Trust me!"

Yoshin started to step forward when his foot felt the edge of a cliff and he froze. His paws felt around in the dark for anything to grab onto or any clue as to how to get down to Daishu other than falling, but his paw only grasped empty air. He heard the Daishu's voice once more from below. "C'mon Yoshin! You have to drop down."

"Are you crazy? I'll get killed! I don't know how far down it is."

"Jus do it. Walk off. You'll be fine. It's not that far. Trust me!"

Yoshin shook with fear. He wasn't sure what to do. He wasn't really afraid of heights so much as he was afraid of dropping blindly down a pit. "Jus do it ya spineless coward!" yelled Daishu, his voice covered with frustration. Yoshin took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and jumped off the edge. Nothing Yoshin had ever done had scared him as much as the fall. He fell quickly for what seemed like fifty feet before landing on firmly on his feet. Daishu quickly grabbed him and slapped him on the back and laughed. "Good job. Not many people make that jump. That's why we roos call it 'the leap into the abyss or 'the leap of faith.' It really isn't a big fall...only 'bout....ten, fifteen feet at the most. It feels like more since its all dark an there's a gust that makes ya seem to be falling further faster. Pretty smart, eh?" Yoshin was still shaking from the fall so most of what Daishu had said was lost. He simply nodded and leaned against Daishu for support.

Daishu laughed and started to walk, putting his arm around Yoshin and helping him along. "Ah don' worry. Everybody's scared the firs time they jump. It's a once in a lifetime experience for some. The shakes'll go away in a few minutes. Once we turn this corner, we jus have to follow the prints and we're there." Yoshin smiled as his body stopped shaking. They turned and walked down a different tunnel. Several small paw prints were painted on the wall in an almost eerie glowing paint. They seemed to lead Daishu and Yoshin deeper into the cave. Yoshin was still blind to the rest of the cave making the paws seem to hang suspended in the air. The two must've traveled a good quarter mile before the glowing prints ended. Daishu released Yoshin so suddenly the fox almost lost his balance and fell. "Stay here for a moment. I won' be long."

Yoshin's eyes darted around the darkness in a futile attempt to see. He felt very awkward not being able to see anything and standing alone in unfamiliar territory, but there was a certain tranquility of his surroundings. A moment later Yoshin felt his paw grasped and Daishu's voice filled the air once again, but something was different. His voice sounded softer and almost worried. "C'mon, but remember what I told you before we entered this cave...and be honest."

"Be honest about what? What's going on?" but Yoshin's question went unanswered. He blindly followed his marsupial guide a few more paces when a single thread of light pierced through the abyss. Daishu stopped and put a paw behind Yoshin, lightly pushing him forward. "Go on. You see the light don't ya? Just keep going forward toward the light and part through the bushes. I'll be right behind ya."

Yoshin felt a little uneasy. "Why can't you go first?" Yoshin herd Daishu chuckle from behind. "I can only show you the door. You haveta go through it...unless you're scared?"

Yoshin had been confronted with two terrors in the past few hours, to which he hadn't handled with the best bravery. He was tired of being scared and this was only a simple walk in the dark. He took a silent breath and marched forward, paws to either side for balance and protection incase anything were to trip him. He neared the light, reaching through the air and expecting to feel the walls of the cave, but instead his paws grasped around the small, stubby branches of a bush. His paws slid through the leafy bush with ease and the fox slowly parted the obstruction aside. The moonlight seemed to be magnified in the small clearing. Yoshin stepped into the cool night air and was surprised to be surrounded with kangaroo warriors, all armed with razor edged spears. Yoshin slowly started backing towards the cave, having noticed that all the warriors had menacing looking faces, but his retreat was blocked by Daishu, clutched in his paw was his hunting knife. He grinned and looked to his fellow kangaroos. "Take him to Zaiken."

The warriors quickly advanced on the terrified fox and marched him by spear point further into the village.