Cornfield Horror

When describing his association with Orochi, Hayato preferred the word "rival" to "friend". Certainly they were cordial enough to be friends, but ninety-nine percent of the time, any conversation initiated between them developed into a challenge of some sort. Magic. Potion-making. Calligraphy. Cooking. Orochi was just too mischievous, and Hayato too hard-headed for his own good.

Which was why he now found himself in the middle of a dark cornfield, with no idea of how to get back to the festival grounds.

It was Orochi, of course, who'd ruined it: Hayato had been more than prepared for a break from his arid homeland, and for a visit to Windmire's Fall Harvest Festival with Nyx, Hana, and Sakura. But then Orochi and her sneaky smile had shown up, and she'd challenged him to a contest in festival games. Whoever had the most wins before the pumpkin lightings at midnight would be forced into indentured servitude for the other for eternity.

Nyx had told him to say no — multiple times — but if he'd refused, Orochi would've called him a frightened child for the rest of the night, and she knew how much he hated that. So he hadn't a choice.

Still, now that he was out here in the dark and quiet, he'd wished he'd just swallowed his pride and gone with the others to the hay ride.

Idiot! Fool! Half-wit! Hayato cursed himself vehemently as he pushed through the endless bunches of cornstalks, gazing overhead at the stars and hoping to use them to keep himself oriented north. Unfortunately, cloudbanks thick with rain masked the sky tonight, reducing the moon to a hazy orb. Just his luck. Next, he'd probably find himself tripping over a—

A stick snagged the front of his sandal, and he went down, flattening a bunch of cornstalks. Snarling in rage, he ripped at the stems, yanking them furiously from the earth and hurling them aside. Unfortunately, that failed to make him feel better.

I bet she's already back at the pumpkin patch, reveling in her victory. They'd entered the maze together at the starting line, with Nyx behind them, acting as referee, but not long after they'd begun, their paths had diverged, Orochi going one way, him the other. She probably knew something he didn't, and he could see it clearly in his mind's eye, her reaching the finish line first: Orochi emerging from the cornfield, eyes brightening as she realized that she was the first to arrive; that smug smile decorating her face as she perched on the big pumpkin, waiting for him to fight his way out so that she could rub his loss in his face. Fury engulfed Hayato, and he found his feet.

"No," he grunted, fists clenched. "Not this time." The last thing he ever planned on being was Orochi's indentured servant for the rest of eternity: though she'd beaten him at the corn husking and treasure-in-the-haystack, he'd claimed victory in the apple bob and the corn toss. He was going to find his way out of this convoluted vegetable patch right now, and when Orochi finally stumbled out of the weeds and found him waiting, he was going to make sure that—

Growl.

—she addressed him as sir, and bowed in his presence, and—

Growwwwwl.

—fetched him...jujubes when...he asked...and...

GROWWWWWWLLL.

All right. Not hallucinating. Hayato's disbelief drained out into fear. That sound... An animal? A big one: it snarled low in its throat again, coming from somewhere nearby. It did not sound remotely friendly; in fact, it sounded as though it had just spotted a tasty piece of prey. Him, in other words.

Impossible. A monster, out here? It couldn't be: the only thing roaming the Nohrian countryside these days was the occasional Faceless, and their chains usually announced them before they even had a chance to get near—

Growwwwwl. Behind him, the corn crackled.

This was getting serious.  I can't believe this! How the devil had this happened? Stuck alone in a field, with something big and hungry stalking him through the corn. Is this a prank? Is Orochi behind this? Something to make him soil himself?

Crackle.

All right, figure that out later. Right now, no matter how baffling the situation, it seemed that he was a nanosecond or two away from being reduced to slop in some creature's belly. Figure out where it is...and then run in the opposite direction. Okay, he could do that. He was thirteen years old. Strong. Smart. Fast. He had assisted in taking down Garon the Blight Dragon. He could do this. No problem. No problem.

Very slowly, Hayato turned, glancing behind him.

A massive, golden head with red eyes was peering at him from the depths of the corn.

Just like that, his control shattered: belting out a terrified screech, he bolted, plowing into the corn like a madman. No idea of where he was going, but he was certain that the creature was following: the ground shook under its footfalls, and a terrifying roar ripped from behind him. Oh gods! Something swiped at him — a claw? — and Hayato shrieked, long and hard.

"EEEEEEEEEEYAAAAAAAAAAH! HELP! HELP! MONSTER! I NEED AN ADULT!!"

Seconds later, he broke out into the open and found himself back in the pumpkin patch. Sakura, Hana, and Subaki were waiting for him, sitting around the big pumpkin and helping themselves to a small stack of apples. Subaki rose when Hayato emerged.

"Wow, that was fast," the rider commented. "I was so certain that Orochi had you dead to rights, but... Congrats, Hayato."

"What's wrong?" Hana frowned as Hayato dove behind a huge pumpkin. "What's the matter with you? You're all filthy."

"Monster!" Hayato was so winded that the words came out strangled. "Monster! In corn... Followed me... Claws..."

Hana and Subaki exchanged an alarmed glance; rising, the former drew her blade and stepped protectively in front of her liege. "Lady Sakura, stay back," she warned. "We'll take care of this."

The four of them waited with baited breath. The corn rocked violently, twitching as stems snapped apart and made way for something big and fast. Hayato's heart couldn't remember how to beat: did they need reinforcements? Not too long ago, he'd seen Xander and Ryoma over towards the bonfire. Should he go alert them? Have them evacuate the festival grounds? Bring in the royal army—?

A huge golden tiger exploded from the corn, making a beeline straight for Hayato. He screamed.

Amazingly, Subaki laughed. Laughed.

Hana actually lowered her sword. "Really?" she asked Hayato. "That's what you were afraid of?"

Hayato couldn't believe his ears. "What are you doing? Hurry! Stop it before—"

The tiger leapt, lethal claws bearing down on Hayato's face. He curled into a ball. "AUGH!"

...

...

...

...

Hana's voice broke the silence, sounding exasperated: "Enough, Hayato. Wake up. You're fine."

Indeed his was — incredibly, he was still alive. He chanced an eye open and found himself showered in golden dust. Across the way, Subaki was doubled over laughing, and Sakura looked to be having a hard time hiding her smile. Hana just looked annoyed.

What the— "Where did it go?" he asked, sitting up, looking around. "Where's the tiger?"

The corn crunched again, and Hayato tensed, but it was just Nyx — the petite sorceress poked her head out before emerging fully, brushing off her robes. Hana sheathed her sword.

"Your idea, I suppose?" she asked Nyx.

"My idea," Nyx agreed, moving over to Hayato. She hauled him to his feet. "And it looks like it worked."

"What worked?" Hayato demanded, feeling a little crazy. He kept scanning the area, searching for the damned tiger. Was he the only one worried about getting mauled? "What are you two talking about?" he asked. "Where's the tiger?"

"Here." He spun as Nyx extracted something from her black robes: a huge fan, which she spread open for him. Both sides were etched with spellwork, and one side depicted beautiful drawings of a ferocious leaping tiger.

Hayato's mind churned for a moment, trying to comprehend what she was saying. Then the understanding came, and he groaned, falling to his knees.

"Tiger spirit?" he asked.

"Tiger spirit," Nyx confirmed, snapping the fan shut. "Orochi had the advantage this round: I saw her going through the maze earlier tonight, and she probably knows the right way through. So I figured I'd level the playing field a bit, lend you some speed, help herd you back first. You're welcome."

"You're welcome?" Hayato furiously shot to his feet. "How dare you! I could've died out there! Your renegade spirit almost killed me!"

"Relax," Nyx said coolly. "I had it under control. You were never in any danger. In fact, the only thing in peril was probably your breeches. You didn't soil yourself, did you?"

Subaki barked out a laugh, and Hayato nearly drowned in embarrassment. He liked Nyx, a lot, but sometimes she could be infuriatingly blunt. It was a wonder they were even friends.

Corn shifted behind them, and Hayato whirled in time to see Orochi fighting her way out of the corn, twigs and leaves sticking to the plaits in her hair. Her smile faltered when she saw Hayato, and she pouted.

"Well aren't my cheeks pink," she said, dusting off her sleeves. "And here I thought I had you, Hayato. You sure know how to surprise a girl."

"Wait until you hear how he managed this one," Subaki called to her.

"Don't tell her!" Hayato roared. Subaki ignored him, relating the incident with the tiger spirit in excruciating detail. Orochi was in stitches by the end.

"This is too much," she choked, wiping tears from her eyes. "Gods. I'm not even annoyed anymore. Nice one, Nyx." She laid a cordial hand on the sorceress's shoulder.

Nyx shrugged. "This is what friends do for each other."

Infuriated, Hayato stomped back towards the festival grounds, determined to drown his embarrassment out in apple cider. Curse these women and their sense of humor!

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