Sneak Peek: E1 DEATH DANCE

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 don’t even consider the honorable path. I simply press forward. Rage, it seems, is more powerful than honor. More hungry than justice. More convincing than clear thought.

He’s fast. Claws sharp, ready. The strike is already on the way before I can adjust my position. Instinct promises this one will hurt. I should dodge. Unfortunately, rage devours instinct.

The strike lands on my jaw. Claws sink, pull, gash, narrowly missing my throat. Dull fire rips at my skin. The impact rattles my skull. Vision blurs. Obscured or not, that bastard is well within reach now. 

Rage swallows pain.

A desperate yarl leaps from his throat as I pull him to the ground. Before he has time to wriggle loose, my teeth find his neck. Warmth pops against my tongue. It streaks down my chin. Sanguine soaks my fur. The stench and sickening taste of his despicable blood urge me to retch, but a weak stomach will not get in the way of my vengeance. He claws desperately at my legs as his life drains into the alley. Each swipe weaker than the last. Perhaps he will restore his honor in the next life.

I spit red foulness at the rough 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. Rain streaks from a sad sky, gray and lifeless. The stench of blood, garbage, and disgrace wafts through the thick air.

“Zei Sho!” I scream, my voice ragged with hatred. “Are you too scared to face me?! Have you no honor?!”

My ears twitch. More are approaching, two more. That coward. Must he really send these pathetic souls in his stead? Must I cut my way through his misguided defenders of evil? 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 to them. But I care not. The fire burning in the pit of my stomach hungers for retribution, its flames hot enough to incinerate any moral code I once clung to. There was once a time when this violence would sicken me; a time before my family was taken away. Gone. Because of him.

Rage chokes down compassion, masticates mercy.

A rustle draws my attention to a 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. My chance. 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. My legs falter. I manage to stay up, back arched, tail fully puffed, steeling myself. Blood rains from the wounds on my side. 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. As expected, the gray moves to flank me again. The tabby’s cowardly gaze betrays his ally's position as he watches his savior swoop in.

Stop. Pivot. Spin. 

The gray pounces past, narrowly missing. Momentum carries him into the tabby. They collide, tumbling to the ground. Mustn’t waste a moment. Before the tumble is complete, I’m airborne. I land, claws-first, atop the gray and 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 soaked fur. I’m sorry, sister. I know you always admired my coat, always pestered me to keep it clean. You did always say a cat’s honor is reflected in his coat. 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 hissing tabby back, deeper and deeper into the alley. Closer and 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.

He hisses, his fangs exposed, his whiskers trembling.

“I will not have my path blocked by you 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 from the bloodshed.

“Zei Sho!” I scream. “I am not here for your underlings! Show yourself!”

“Oh, won’t you shut the hell up already?!” A deep booming voice rumbles from the entrance like boulders down a mountainside.

It’s a voice I could never forget. The voice that poisoned my brother’s mind. The voice of Zei Sho.

“You speak of honor, yet scrap through my alley like a feral rat. What? Wish to provoke me? In my own damn home?” Zei Sho scoffs, ducking out from the entrance. “And, worst of all, you dare disrupt my nap!”

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 thick, 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 metal more scarred than his body. String wraps the handle. I can smell the layers of dried blood soaked into it from here. 

The massive cat stomps into the alley with brutish steps, resting the cleaver atop his shoulder. The craven tabby stops, his eyes now suddenly reassured. He looks to Zei Sho, “Boss, this—”

His head hits the ground before another word escapes. Zei Sho’s clever hangs in the air, blood dripping from its chipped edge.

“Coward,” Zei Sho spits at the fallen body and kicks the severed head towards me. “Nothin’ worse than weak fuckin’ allies, huh?” A wipe of his weapon leaves blood smeared on his tattered garment. “Now, little kitten, who the hell do you think you are?”

“How dare you act as though you’ve forgotten me! Forgotten what you’ve done!” I urge my blinding rage to simmer, but it’s too far gone to control.

“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 his 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, no ability to back it up… That’s right, you’re Oda’s brother. I remember you now. Haha!” 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 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 poisoned his mind!” I force myself to stay still, wait for a better moment to strike.

“Enough of your talk, little kitten! Let’s not play this game. It’s so fuckin’ boring. If you plan to snivel, do so 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. My head begins to spin.

Without hesitation, he swings his heavy blade. Foolish. I let bloodlust cloud my mind. Numbness embraces me. I look down. His cleaver is wedged deep into my abdomen. Strength drains from the wound. My legs go weak. Coldness seizes me. Shadows cling to the edge of my vision. My rage swells, but it has lost command of my body. I try to focus, but everything becomes faded, obscure.

Oh… is that?

That pooling blood, it must be mine. I slip backwards, sliding from the blade. Fear circles me like vultures. The world goes silent. I can see Zei Sho’s grinning face, but his twisted laughter is muted. Pain pulses from my core, ringing through my body like an icy hammer to cold steel. It stabs through my heart as the failure of my goal soaks into the last remnant of my consciousness. Dull mist envelopes me, dimming the light of the world, softening the pain to a murmur.

Death? This must be…

No.

It can’t be. 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. 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. His final promise to never forgive me as he was dragged to his death. 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 envelops me. It’s all-consuming, and so, so cold… 

No, no, this can’t be… the… end…

. . .

There’s no telling how long I’ve been in this… place. I’m not even sure this is a place to begin with. I consider looking behind me. That’s when I realize I’ve got no eyes to see with, no head to turn.

This darkness… Somehow, I recognize it. Fear it even…

Splatters of blood and a dagger of anguish strike like lightning. Was that a memory? I see two faces, staring at me, longing for something. Are they… cats? Why do I—

Another bolt of memory pierces my orb of hazy consciousness. Oda and Chiyo! That’s right, it’s all coming 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. 

...to be continued...

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