Cherry Blossoms and Fangs - Part Two

 



"Undying One?" the man asked while blinking slowly like a tortoise. "I don't know what you mean by that." The female samurai narrowed her eyes while her companion slowly pulled down his shirt to reveal the tattoo. 

"Only Undying Ones have that mark," she said to him as her hand gently rested on her katana. 

"And I tell you again," replied the man nervously, "that I have no idea what you're talking about! I received this tattoo when I left my family home two years ago. It's our family symbol and my good luck charm." He grabbed his sleeve from the werewolf and slowly pulled it up over his shoulder. "I appreciate the food and tea, but I feel better now." He looked around at the other patrons who stared at him. He then turned to face the samurai again and she gasped as his eyes turned to the deepest of indigo in colour. She leapt out of her chair with katana in hand within seconds. 

"Never trust an Undying One," she sneered as the man slowly jerked to his feet while his head rolled forward as though it would slide off his neck at any moment. 

"Why do you bother with this one?" the man hissed from lips that barely moved. The werewolf crouched low with claws extended, ready for anything. "Why do you bother with one who is already dead?" The man, or rather the being controlled him, jerked his body forward like a broken marionette. "Flesh is nothing more than a limitation," the man hissed again. 

"Then why do you hide within such a sack of flesh?" the samurai challenged him as she rushed forward with katana ready to strike. The man turned to the side, barely missing the tip of the katana from severing its head from the body. The being opened the man's eyes wide as it howled with rage. The werewolf howled as it leapt toward the man and embraced him with his claws, causing the man and the being to scream with desperate fury. The samurai looked at the now prisoner with resignation, then nodded at her companion. Just as the werewolf released the man, she raced forward like the wind to drive the point deep into his heart. The man screamed like a banshee as he fell to the ground. She pulled out her katana and watched with grim satisfaction as a thick and viscous ooze slithered from the hole made by her katana. The werewolf quickly jumped to her side and placed his clawed hands on her shoulder, trying to pull her back safely. The patrons moved away as the ooze crawled around like a thick snake, then rose up to full height and faced the two. It trembled and shivered like a newborn. 

"It seems you have found me once more," it spoke with a warbled voice, while a putrid smell came from his gaping hole of a mouth. The samurai's eyes watered with the stench, yet she refused to succumb to it, while the patrons all but fled the teahouse. "Why can't you leave me alone?"

"I will never rest until all of the Undying Ones have been slaughtered," the samurai said in a level tone. She wiped her katana on her sleeve, then returned it to her side. The creature laughed like a sick child and then screamed, showing off rows and rows of uneven and sharp teeth . . . 


To be continued. 

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