Kagutsuchi
Chapter 2: Childhood
Kagu wanted to be like everyone else. He often saw the other village children playing in groups. He wanted to join them and make friends, but whenever he tried, the children would shun him. They saw him catch things on fire and heard rumors that he killed people. One day, a tough boy teased him and tried picking a fight. When this boy put a hand on Kagu’s shoulder, the bully’s body caught on fire. Parents and teachers came quickly and put out the fire, but the boy still suffered some slight burns. Kagu had not meant to hurt him. He was scared, and his body automatically emitted fire as a form of self-defense. This made no difference to the adults. They thought the child was a demon, a monster, and a dangerous creature that should never live around humans.
It was obvious to Kagutsuchi that everyone in the village detested him. They glared at him, spit at him, splashed him with ice water, and threw rocks at him. Elders recited prayers to keep away evil spirits when the boy walked by them. The only one with courage to go near him was his father, who gave him lashings equal in pain to all the stabbing remarks of the villagers combined. Having enough of this torment, he decided he would not take any more. At eight years of age, Kagu ran away from home.
Shortly outside of the village, he sat down to ponder by a stream. As he was musing to himself of his sorrows, a girl around his age slowly walked up to him. She wore clothing that showed she was upper class. Her hands were behind her back as Kagu looked at her curiously. She stretched a hand in front of him, holding a Japanese spider lily. He timidly tried to accept her gift, but when his finger tip touched the flower, the petals burned to ashes. The girl got startled and retracted her hands from the flames. Embarrassed and afraid of being hated, Kagu ran away again. Farther away from home, he ended up lost in the mountains away from civilization. He spent years living alone in the wilderness, surviving by cooking and eating wild animals that tried to attack him.
It was obvious to Kagutsuchi that everyone in the village detested him. They glared at him, spit at him, splashed him with ice water, and threw rocks at him. Elders recited prayers to keep away evil spirits when the boy walked by them. The only one with courage to go near him was his father, who gave him lashings equal in pain to all the stabbing remarks of the villagers combined. Having enough of this torment, he decided he would not take any more. At eight years of age, Kagu ran away from home.
Shortly outside of the village, he sat down to ponder by a stream. As he was musing to himself of his sorrows, a girl around his age slowly walked up to him. She wore clothing that showed she was upper class. Her hands were behind her back as Kagu looked at her curiously. She stretched a hand in front of him, holding a Japanese spider lily. He timidly tried to accept her gift, but when his finger tip touched the flower, the petals burned to ashes. The girl got startled and retracted her hands from the flames. Embarrassed and afraid of being hated, Kagu ran away again. Farther away from home, he ended up lost in the mountains away from civilization. He spent years living alone in the wilderness, surviving by cooking and eating wild animals that tried to attack him.
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Next chapter will be longer!