Kanpeki na arashi - 5

The ocean had given way to a large river. They followed the running water for several hours until Aizawa commanded them to build shelter for the upcoming storm.

"Too bad we didn't reach the village." Hizashi grunted as he set Elly down on a mossy patch near the trees. "Just the edge of the forest."

"Yes," she murmured quietly. The human had opened his bag and was eating something at the moment. She sighed as her traitorous stomach growled loudly. 

"Seriously, man?" Hizashi pointed at him. "We haven't eaten, either, you know!"

"You can eat after you're done." 

The thunder demon clenched his fists, swearing under his breath. "Son of a ..."

"I heard that."

"Zashi?"

"Hmm?" They were close enough so they could gather twigs and sticks without getting too far from the demon hunter. Hizashi started piling them close by the start of the tree line. 

"You seem like you believe my innocence."

He nodded, shrugged. "It's more likely that you didn't do anything wrong. Plus, now I know you a little. But stuff didn't add up the way it should before, either. He's taken in some pretty murderous demons, you know. Ones I knew were guilty. We saw them doing things. Terrible things." He paused, his eyes distant as he fastened two large side walls from his gathered branches.

"I saw the opened graves when they showed Aizawa what they said you had done. There were these odd, sweeping marks in the dirt. Like someone had brushed it over. On top of <i>that</i> were the prints." He paused slightly, then added, "They were very small. Your paw pads are distinctively larger, aren't they?"

She nodded. "At least twice the size of a common cat." She pushed a stick over to him and he smiled at her. 

"Don't try to help. You're too weak. Just relax until I can finish the shelter. Maybe he'll relent and let you have something to eat then."

"I doubt it." She sighed and closed her eyes. "But thanks."

Hizashi worked on the roof, braiding the twigs together. "So, anyway, they weren't yours. There were plenty of cats in the village, too. I'm betting some thief dug the grave up to steal the rich person's jewelry. They used a demon a cover, possibly not even realizing an actual nekomata was in the area at the time."

"Jewelry?"

"Yeah, see, some items were missing that had been buried with the dead. I've found over the years that humans are more prone to being thieves than us."

"So I'm not getting brought back to endless torture because a loved one was 'defiled'. I'm getting punished because they think I stole what to us is basically useless crap."

Hizashi finished the last bit and tied the tarp nearby on top of the roof. "I tried to point that out, too, but..." 

"Ah, good. Finished?" Aizawa wandered over and checked out the little hut. "This is very nice, Hizashi."

"Yeah, thanks. So, uh - what?" He watched in shock as the human crawled inside and tied the flap at the front open. "It's going to rain soon! You can't be serious!"