Forgotten Past - Part 1 - Chapter 16

Kage watched from the shadows as Scollex snuck up on, and then killed a few more people. It was interesting to watch, even though Kage felt he wanted to do some of the killing as well. He didn’t interfere, because he didn’t want to make Scollex angry or irritated.

Scollex began to move on, and Kage followed.

* * *

The human screamed as wings emerged from Scollex’s back and into the air. Before they had a chance to run, Scollex’s arm morphed into a claw and he grabbed them. Morphing his other hand into a claw as well, he slashed the human across the face and neck and dropped them to the ground.

Scollex’s wings folded, and his claws changed back into hands as he watched the human bleed out and die on the ground. This was the fourth kill of the evening, and he was contemplating whether or not to go out and find another unsuspecting human to stalk and kill.

Kage was perched on top of the streetlamp, watching the bloody scene. After the human was dead, and he noticed that Scollex did not move on, he proceeded to speak.

“Are you sure it’s wise to kill so many humans in one night?” Kage asked, thinking about how the humans will retaliate.

“Not normally, but tonight is my first night here; so I want to make myself known.” Scollex looked down at the dead body. “They’ll probably think it’s some lunatic or mediocre serial killer at first.”

They were both silent, just watching as blood dripped from the open wound of the cadaver and trickled into the gutter of the street.

Kage, getting bored of the dead body, looked around for something else that might spark his interest. His gaze fell upon Scollex’s eye mask and face plate.

“Hey, why do you wear this thing?” Kage reached down and poked the kanji symbol that was inscribed on one of the sides of Scollex’s eye mask. “Is it just to look cool?”

“Hey!” Scollex moved backwards quickly, away from Kage. “Don’t touch that!”

Scollex readjusted the mask on his face angrily.

“You wouldn’t like it if I touched your mask!” Saying this, Scollex drew back his arm and then struck Kage on the side of the head, moving his mask and causing him to fall off the streetlamp.

Kage twisted in the air, and landed on all fours, unharmed with the exception of some pain on his head. His mask was slightly turned on his face, exposing one of his eyes and part of his mouth.

“Eh, I guess I wouldn’t. ごめんね.” (Sorry) Kage stood up and readjusted his mask so that it set normally on his face. When he looked back up at Scollex, he was taken aback.

Scollex’s wings were outstretched, making him look twice as big. Both his arms had fully changed into claws, and the claws themselves were long, hooked, and menacing.

“え?” (Eh?) Kage stepped back a little, intimidated by the shinigami’s fearsome stance. “どうしたの？” (What’s wrong?)

“おまえ！” (You!) Scollex snarled, lifting into the air a little, making him appear even larger to Kage. “おまえは-！” (You’re-)

Scollex reached down swiftly and grabbed Kage’s mask. He pulled it off roughly and threw it to the ground, revealing Kage’s face.

“オイ!’” (Hey!) Kage picked his mask up off of the ground and put it back on his face. “ごめんね俺前記!” (I said I was sorry!)

“おまえいきてる!?” (You’re alive!?) Scollex hissed in disbelief.

“What do you mean ‘おまえいきてる’?” (‘You’re alive’) Kage was confused about Scollex’s sudden change of mood. “Of course I am!”

“その嘘つき!” (Those liars!) Scollex snarled, “I should have known they were lying!”

“え？ 誰はうそつき？” (Eh? Who lied?) Kage took a step back from the raging shinigami.

“Who do you think!? Your damn parents!”

“オレの . . .” (My . . .) Kage stared at him, not knowing how to react.

“You fucking little-!” Scollex snarled, but was interrupted.

“俺の親がいきてる!?” (My parents are alive!?) Kage exclaimed.

Scollex stared at him, bewildered.

“俺の親がどこ!?” (Where are my parents!?) Kage shouted, impatient for an answer.

Scollex stared at him, but did not reply. Then he grinned, and let out a sinister laugh.

“おまえの親が生きてる?” (Your parents are alive?)

Kage didn’t respond, eagerly waiting for Scollex to tell him where they were.

“いや、おまえの親が生きた.” (No, your parents were alive.)

Kage was silent.

“おまえ . . . 何した!?” (You . . . what did you do!?) Kage snarled, unsheathing his claws.

“オレ？何した？” (Me? What did I do?) Scollex cackled menacingly. “オレが殺した.” (I killed them.)

Kage stared at him in horror.

“おまえ . . . 殺した!?” (You . . . Killed them!?) Kage’s claws twitched. An odd feeling began to well up inside of him.

“あー たのし～　たのし～” (Ah, what fun~ what fun~) Scollex said pleasantly, as if reminiscing with an old friend. “とても血まみれのだった~” (It was very bloody~) Scollex chuckled. “Just because I thought they were telling the truth, doesn’t mean I let them live.”

“おまえ . . ! おまえ . . !” (You . . ! You . . !) Kage’s voice caught in horror, this odd emotion grew. “オレ . . ! 親が . . !” (My . . ! Parents are. . !)

“どうしたの ガキ？” (What’s the matter brat?) Scollex grinned, seeing how this was tearing him apart. “Don’t like being an orphan?”

This odd feeling . . . It was the same feeling Kage felt when he watched his father be thrown through the sky, blood trailing from the large open wound on his face, and then fall motionless. It was hate. Even though Kage couldn’t remember that moment in his life, the emotion for the shinigami felt somehow nostalgic.

Kage looked up at Scollex, claws fully unsheathed and twitching with rage. A face of pure hatred was showing on the white side of his mask, black streaks lined the furious outline of the eye and mouth.

“おまえ殺した. . .” (You killed them . . .) A low growl rose in Kage’s throat. “おまえ殺す!!!” (I’LL KILL YOU!!!)

Kage pounced from the ground, letting out an ear shattering demonic screech. Scollex, surprised by the sudden retaliation, was too shocked by the young demon’s actions to move. Kage reached out and grabbed Scollex’s face, and then climbed onto his back.

“You fucking brat!!” Scollex snarled and reached up to grab him. In his burst of insane rage, Kage dodged the claws expertly and moved lower down the shinigami’s back, now in between the wings. He spotted what seemed to be the easiest target; the smallest set of gray wings.

Lifting his mask to reveal his sharp teeth, Kage reached down and sunk his claws and teeth into the base of one of the small wings. Blood welled up from around his teeth and claws; Scollex roared and tried to shake him off.

Kage held his grasp, tearing his claws into what little flesh the wings had beneath their feathers. He could taste blood in his mouth. He didn’t particularly enjoy the taste of blood, but somehow this time, coming from this particular shinigami, it tasted so good. Jerking his head and claws upward suddenly, Kage heard a snap or two. He let go of the wing, which fell down limply; hanging on to Scollex by a mere strip of bloody muscle.

“You little brat!! I’ll fucking murder you!!” Scollex shrieked, and flew backwards. Kage reached down and swiped with his claws, tearing the last strip of tendon that was holding the wing to its owner. The wing fell to the ground, spattering a little bit of blood on the ground.

“ケケケー！Take that bitch!” (-Laughter-) Kage cackled, blood dripping from his mouth.

“You fucking little-” Scollex flew back and slammed into the streetlamp, slamming it into Kage as well. Kage lost his grip, and fell off of Scollex. He was on the ground, stunned by the sudden hit. He coughed, and now there was both Scollex’s blood and his own on his face.

Scollex turned and saw one of his wings on the ground, and the bloody stump that was left of it on his back. He roared furiously and charged at Kage. Kage coughed a few times again, but managed to get to his feet. Scollex had his claws out, ready to pierce Kage’s neck. Kage, even in his slightly stunned state, managed to dodge by a few feet.

However, Scollex’s remaining wings were outstretched. One of the small claws at the end of his bat wings managed to get Kage. It speared into his abdomen, taking him along with Scollex. Kage shrieked in agony as the claw dug into him, and blood spurted out around it.

Scollex grinned maliciously when he saw where Kage was, and lifted him up into the air. Blood rained down from him, but Kage reached down and clawed rapidly; shredding the flap of skin on the bat wing. Scollex snarled, it didn’t really hurt, but it still made him angry.

He swiftly shot the wing upwards, sinking it deeper into Kage. Kage screamed in pain, and tried to pull himself off. Scollex swung the wing around rapidly, causing Kage to fly off and slam, yet again, into the streetlamp. Lying stunned on the ground, blood flowed from the hole in his abdomen like some gruesome river. Scollex approached, but not as quickly. Seeing him get nearer, Kage managed to regain mobility and grabbed onto the streetlamp. He pulled himself to his feet, and then climbed up the lamp with difficulty.

Scollex made an attempt to grab him, but missed by an inch or two. At the top, Kage jumped down; claws out in front of him. He landed on One of Scollex’s feathered wings, causing Scollex to nearly fall over. Kage sunk his claws into the thick feathers, and then ripped them out. In a flurry of feathers and blood, Kage reached forward towards Scollex’s face.

Scollex roared and reached up, grabbing Kage’s back. Kage kicked downward with such force that it snapped one of the bones in the remaining small gray wing, and it hung limply like the previous one had. Scollex snarled in pain, and Kage kicked down again; the remaining small gray wing ripped off and joined the other one on the ground.

“You little fucker!!” Scollex tried to pull Kage off, but Kage held fast. He reached forward towards Scollex’s face, and ripped off both the face plate and eye mask. Scollex shrieked and let go of Kage, using both his claws and wings to cover his face.

Kage reached down past the claws and wings, and plunged his claws into Scollex’s left eye. However, there was no left eye; his claws were in an empty socket. Kage raked the inside of the socket, making fresh blood drip from the old wound. Scollex hissed and grabbed Kage’s hand, trying to make him let go.

Using his other hand, Kage reached down and plunged those claws into Scollex’s right eye, which was still there. Scollex screamed and grabbed that hand, but Kage managed to pull out the right eye. Kage ripped his claws out of Scollex’s face. Scollex roared in pain and let go of Kage’s hands.

Kage jumped off of him and on to the ground, where he dropped the eye next to the two disembodied small gray wings. The ruined eye fell to the ground, and was now surrounded by bloody feathers.

Scollex snarled and turned towards Kage. He was quite a sight; both gray wings were gone, leaving only bloody stumps; one of the large feathered wings was halfway bare and bleeding heavily; one of the bat wings was partially shredded; and blood flowed down from two empty sockets on his face, he was eyeless.

“I’LL KILL YOU!! I’LL FUCKING KILL YOU!! YOU STUPID LITTLE BRAT, I’M GOING TO FUCKING MURDER YOU!!” Scollex charged forward blindly. Kage jumped to the side and dodged him. Scollex flew past, but turned when he realized that Kage had moved.

“ケケケー！” (-Laughter-) Kage laughed, watching as the shinigami searched for him without sight. “You should see yourself! It’s hilarious!” Insanity seemed to have turned all the hate into amusement.

“I’M GOING TO RIP YOUR FUCKING EYES OUT!!” Scollex screamed, spraying blood from his mouth.

“Oh? So then I’ll look like you? ケケケー！” (-Laughter-)

“GET OVER HERE!!”

“Why don’t you get over here instead?”

Scollex slashed forward with his claws, grabbing towards Kage’s voice blindly. Each time he came forward, Kage took a few steps back; dodging the claws by only a few centimeters. Blood was still flowing from the hole in his abdomen, but the amusement seemed to have dulled the pain.

“I’m over here~!”

“YOU SON OF A BITCH!!”

“Come and get me~!”

“I’M GOING TO KILL YOU!!”

“Why don’t you do it instead of just talking about it? ケケケー！” (-Laughter-)

Kage had now stepped into the street, and the bloody shinigami was slowly following. Suddenly the darkness was lit by a bright light; or, two bright lights. A large truck was driving down the road towards them. The driver saw the two figures, and tried to break.

Kage jumped backwards quickly onto the sidewalk. Scollex, however, was not so lucky. Despite the driver’s efforts to break, the truck sped forward and slammed into Scollex; leaving blood on the truck and feathers in the air.

The truck screeched to a halt, and the driver jumped out to see what the damage was, he had not realized that what he had hit was not human. After the feathers in the air had calmly drifted to the ground, something could be seen on the road behind the truck.

Scollex’s lower body was crushed, and stuck to the asphalt with blood and smashed flesh. Two of his remaining wings were broken off, and his mouth was formed in a frozen snarl of surprise and anger.

The truck driver screamed when he saw, but bravely ventured towards the carcass to try and figure out what the hell it was. Upon getting closer, one of the wings twitched. The driver jumped back in fright, and the seemingly dead creature suddenly moved and shrieked.

The driver ran away back to his truck, got in, and sped away. Scollex remained stuck to the ground, thrashing around blindly.

“ケケケー！” (-Laughter-)

Scollex stopped moving, and turned towards the direction of the laugh.

“That’s what you get for killing them, you bastard.” Kage approached Scollex, looking down at him grimly.

“Killing them?” Scollex looked up at Kage, and then grinned. There was something off about that grin . . .

“What’s with you? Why are you smiling!?” Kage snarled. “Wipe that stupid grin off your face!”

“I killed them. You’re alone now. Little orphan brat~” Scollex chuckled weakly.

“黙れ! おまえ黙れ” (Shut up! You shut up!) Kage snarled at him furiously.

“おまえさびし, ね？さびしガキ?” (Are you lonely? Lonely brat?) Scollex grinned. “Poor little bastard, all alone~ No parents, no friends, nothing.”

“黙れ!  黙れ!” (Shut up! Shut up!)

“What’s wrong? Don’t like being alone? Too bad. You’ve no parents. I killed them.”

“黙れ!!!” (SHUT UP!!!) Kage roared and reached down, grabbing one of the sections of a bat wing that had torn off; it was one of the larger bones of it.

“I killed them.” Scollex stated blatantly.

Kage swung around the bone, and then towards Scollex’s face.

“Yes, that’s right, I killed them.” He grinned again, that grin that seemed to be saying something else.

Kage slammed the bone into Scollex’s face, hearing a crack. But that grin, it was gone now, but he had seen it. It meant something else . . .

“You . . .” Kage gasped, “You’re lying, aren’t you? You’re lying!!”

Scollex didn’t answer; he just looked up at Kage with those unseeing bloody sockets.

“I killed them . . .” Scollex’s voice trailed off as his head hit the asphalt.

“You’re lying! Tell me you’re lying!” Kage swung the bone again, bringing it down of his arm. “I’m not alone! They’re still alive! TELL ME YOU’RE LYING!!!”

“I killed them . . .” Scollex chuckled. “I killed them . . .”

Scollex’s body began to burn; as did all the parts of him that had fallen off in the fight. The bone Kage was holding began to burn as well, so he dropped it.

“No! You can’t die now! Tell me! Tell me that you lied!”

With his last bit of strength, Scollex responded.

“Am I?”

His body burned into sparks and ashes, and Kage watched. He was dead. The shinigami was dead. He would come back, but still, Kage had killed him.

This . . . it was . . . amusing.

“ケケケー! ケケケー!” (-Laughter-)

Yet again, insanity had caused amusement to replace hatred and anguish.

“ケケケー! 殺した!” (-Laughter- Killed!)

Kage watched as the remains of Scollex’s body, now just sparks and ashes, floated away on the night wind.

“ケケケー! オレが . . . 殺した!” (-Laughter- I . . . Killed someone!)

The ashes were gone now, nothing of Scollex remained.

“ケケケー!” (-Laughter-)

The wound in his abdomen still bled very badly, but Kage didn’t seem to feel it.

“ケケケー! オレが殺した！” (-Laughter- I killed someone!)

His laughter pierced the night.

“ケケケー! ケケケー!” (-Laughter-)

The laughter, it was deranged; demonic.

“オレが殺した！” (I killed someone!)

With each breath, the laughter seemed more insane, more deranged, more mad, more amused.

“カゲカオが殺した!!!” (Kagekao killed someone!!!)