Tokah came back hours later; it was already nightfall, but something was wrong with her. She seemed pale, like something bad had happened to her.
"Tokah, what happened?" I called her, but she didn't respond. "Tokah!!!, You scare me. I thought we agreed that you were coming back before nightfall."
She didn't answer me. She kept walking straight to our house. I ran to her as I tried to stop her. She held my hand, twisted it, and threw me against a tree. I fell to the ground, coughing blood. Tokah looked at me, and suddenly she returned to her normal self and ran to help me, crying. She always cries if anything bad happens to me.
We got home, and I asked her about what happened.
"Big brother, I made a friend outside the barrier," she happily informed me.
"Outside the barrier! Who is this friend of yours?"
"It was a young lady; she said her name was Usagi Kempachiro. She lives in a town close to the forest called Yoshinon. She comes into the forest with her father to cut wood and sell it to the villagers," Tokah explained. "Guess what, brother?"
"What?" I asked, confused.
"She took me into town and showed me some places. The town is really amazing."
"You know, we're not allowed to go outside. How did you go outside in the first place?"
"Simple!!" She shouted proudly. "I tried to touch the barrier, but my hand just went through it as if there was nothing there."
Pass through a barrier. I once walked to the end of the barrier and tried to go through, but it wouldn't let me. Maybe she was able to pass because Mom was outside, or did mom lied to us?. But why would she do such?.
"And big brother?" she called.
"Hmm mm"
"I injured myself; could you make the pain go away?" she asked as she pushed her thumb to my face.
"Can't you do it yourself?"
"No, the pain quickly subsides when you do it."
"Okay, okay." I put her thumb in my mouth and sucked on it. I mistakenly swallowed a little of her blood, but I just thought I was okay. Then I did a little incantation, which was "pain, pain go away." Mom always did the same to me when I got injured; it always made me feel better. Then I tied it with a little clothing.
"Thank you, big brother; I am going to sleep now. Good night"
"Good night, and Tokah?"
"Yes, big brother," she answered with her adorable voice. I wanted to ask about what happened on her back because she was acting strange, but it seems like she couldn't remember, so I just let it slide.
"Don't tell mom about this."
"Of course, I know that. I'm not stupid, you know!" I hate when she uses that line; it makes me feel like my little sweet sister is growing up to be a rebellious teenager.
"If you say so." I let her run to her room.
I sat there wondering how she passed through a barrier, or maybe the barrier isn't active because mom removed it to go outside, or maybe she was so powerful that even a barrier couldn't stop her.
I'm that weak. Can I really protect my family?. No, maybe mom left it open, or maybe I'm just thinking too much about it.
My mother came back the next day with three copies of the family photo we took a few days ago. My mom gave us a copy each and told us to go to her room and use the magic circle that was already drawn on the floor to teleport ourselves as far as possible. I asked her why.
"There are things coming for you." I could sense fear in her voice; I've never seen her like this before. She held my hand, kissed my forehead, and did the same to Tokah. All this time, she was shaking; she was terrified. "Please, Kakashi, protect your sister."
"What is coming, mom?" I asked out of curiosity, and she forced a smile and told me to hurry. Quickly, I took Tokah's hand and ran upstairs. Tokah was crying, asking me to tell her what's wrong. I didn't respond to her.
A few seconds after we went upstairs, a group of people broke in from every corner of our house; some broke down the door, some came through the kitchen, and some through the window. There were up to ten, if I counted them correctly.
We went upstairs, and I opened the door to my mother's room and told Tokah to activate the magic circle while I bought time. As I was about to leave, she grabbed my hand and asked me to promise her that I'd return, and I gave her my word before running back downstairs to help.
She has been captured. With two men holding her hands behind her back, the first man walked around the living room, looking around. He looked at my mom, frowning at her like he was disgusted by the sight of her.
"Where are they?" He asked angrily, holding her neck. She was choking. I wanted to help her, but I couldn't move. The floor was stained with the blood of some of the men she killed—about six of them—which means there are four of them left. "Answer me, dammit!!!!"
"Then they are... no. Not here," my mom struggles to speak, even with the man strangling her.
"Boss, this chick is hot!" The fourth person said, "Why don't we have a little fun with her?"
My mom was able to quickly free herself from the second man's grip.
"Please tell me. Who sent you?" My mom replied, crying. I've never seen her like this since the day we left the village. "Are you from the village?. I left you, so please leave me alone. My husband died trying to clean up the mess we caused. We did all we could to pay back for all the damages we caused. So PLEASE, LET US TO LIVE IN PE"
My mother's words were cut short when the first man stabbed her in the stomach with a dagger. I rushed angrily at them; they were shocked, maybe surprised to see me.
He pulled the dagger out of her and went for me instead. I jumped down the stairs, and just as he was about to stab me, my mom called out to me. He got distracted, and I used the opportunity to bend sideways, allowing me to avoid his attack. I caught his hand and dragged the dagger away from sight before using my left leg to kick him behind his knee. He kneeled down, and I kicked his face, sending him flying across the room.
The other guy caught me from behind and hit me on the floor, using his weight to put me down. My mom tried to fight them to save me when the first man stabbed her in the neck and swung it sideways, cutting off her head.
I watched my mom die because of my foolishness. I began to tremble, my body shaking, and my eyes opened wide in disbelief as the blood splashed on me. The whole place was filled with blood. If he just killed her, that means I'm next; I'm going to die; I didn't want to die; I still have to protect Tokah; I was terrified and trembling; I was filled with so much hatred that I couldn't think straight.
"Boss, you shouldn't have done that," the third man said. "Now, what are we going to tell him about what happened?"
"Didn't you hear what he said?" The first man shouted. "If any of them struggle, we kill them; wasn't that the order we were given?"
"I know, but...the third man tried to say something, but he was stopped.
"I'M... I'M GOING TO KILL YOU; YOU EAR ME, I'LL KILL YOU!!!!!!!" I yelled out of anger. Then I looked down at my mom's head, which rolled down the stairs. She was crying and smiling at the same time. I can say such a thing in front of my mother. Well, even though I die now, at least I was able to protect Tokah once and not the other way around.
"Take the child; at least he is still worth more than his bitch of a mother," the third man said, and I looked at him.
"You, mark my face; I am coming for you. And you will pay for this, for all of it."
"Shut up, brat," he said before kicking my face and causing me to faint.