Moriko pushed her fear down. The hunters were in front of her, and it was she who was hunting them. They no longer had any power over her. She crept closer, trying to learn more. The person they were talking to didn't seem to fear them, and in fact seemed to be on equal terms with them. She felt like she was on the verge of solving a puzzle, the answer nibbling away at the edges of her mind, but she couldn't figure out why.
The man they were talking to was unremarkable as far as Moriko could see. He was of nondescript height, and his clothes didn't mark him as rich. His features were covered by a hood, and Moriko didn't dare get close enough to see if she recognized him.
She sat there as the hunters and the man conversed, debating what to do. Her instinct was to kill all three of them and be done with it, but it was full daylight, and she was most dangerous in the night when the shadows were her friends.
When it hit Moriko, she couldn't believe she hadn't noticed it before. The hunters were so strong that all her attention had been focused on them, but there was another person using the sense in the area, and when Moriko first noticed it, she realized it was coming from the third man.
The realization rocked her back on her feet, and she retreated to the shadows of the bushes and trees. If the hunters were meeting with someone who possessed the sense, it had to mean they were meeting with a monk. The more Moriko focused her sense on the third person, the more convinced she became. The sense manifested differently in different people, but all monks had the same training, using the sense in a very particular way. Moriko had grown up around such abilities, and now that she was focused, there was no doubt the man was a monk.
Moriko's mind raced through the possibilities. She tried to remember every memory she had of the monasteries. Never in her knowledge had a hunter visited, and she had never had any indication they were united in purpose. But she had been young. Perhaps she had missed the signs in the ignorance of her youth. Memories ran though her mind, but she couldn't come up with anything to make her believe the monasteries would work with the hunters. The evidence, however, was right in front of her.
The consequences frightened her. The monks were weak compared to nightblades, but they were still fearsome opponents, and the common citizens of the Three Kingdoms held them in reverence. If the monks cooperated with the hunters, the Three Kingdoms would fall. There wasn't a doubt in her mind.
The urge to jump out and strike was stronger than ever. Moriko had managed to move past the harms done to her while she was in the monastery, but she had never managed to forgive. The monks were as good as dead to her. But reason held her back. She was strong, but fighting three powerful opponents in the daylight was courting disaster. She would follow them until nightfall. Then she would strike and take their lives.
The hunters and the monk spoke for some time. Moriko waited patiently. Every moment they tarried was a moment the sun fell closer to the horizon, and the closer their deaths came. She hunted the hunters, and she was in no rush.
Moriko was disappointed when the hunters and the monk separated. She had hoped they would stay together so she could kill them all together. Unfortunately, their plans didn't coincide with hers. The monk turned to take the path south and the hunters turned to take the path north. Moriko was faced with a decision. She couldn't follow both of them. She suspected the hunters would be on the way to destroy another village, but the monk seemed important. He had been speaking with the hunters for some time, and they had treated each other as equals. The monk was carrying a bag, and if the bag held important information, it might be worth the price of several villages.
Moriko's hesitation lasted only a moment. She wanted to pursue the hunters, but alone, the monk was an easy target. She would kill him and track down the two hunters again. If she was fast, it wouldn't be difficult at all.
Moriko raced after the monk, staying well off the road. She wanted to get ahead of him and ambush him. She would have his bag and be away before the hunters got too far.
Eventually, Moriko cut towards the road. She found a tree that was easy to climb that stood near the path. She clambered up the branches, finding a perch about five paces above the trail. From her branch she would see the monk coming and surprise him. She wasn't well hidden, but no one ever looked up.
When the monk came into view, she thought she saw him slow down for a moment, and she was instantly suspicious. There wasn't any way he should be able to sense her, but if the past cycle had taught her anything, it was that she still had a lot to learn about what the sense could do. But the monk kept walking and her nerves were calmed.
The monk stopped a few paces ahead of where she sat. He looked up, and Moriko almost fell off her perch. There was no way it could be true, but the evidence was right there in front of her.
The face that looked at her was smiling, a ghost from the past, a smile that held no warmth. "Hello, Moriko. Come on down." His name was Tomotsu, and Moriko had thought he died many cycles ago.
She dropped from her tree, landing softly on the path in front of him. They stood a few paces apart. They were safe from each other for now, but were within a step or two of striking distance.
Tomotsu had been one of the first people she met when she had been taken to Perseverance. He was a cycle or two older than her, but she had been young and impressionable, and she had pinned all her hopes on him. He had cared for her after she'd been beaten, but she soon realized the monastery had him, heart and soul. When Ryuu had rescued her from the monastery, she had assumed Tomotsu had been killed with the other monks.
For a moment, she was glad her assumption was wrong. Even though Tomotsu had pledged himself fully to the monastery, he had always been kind to her, even when their viewpoints had been so obviously different. Even after Orochi trained her, Tomotsu still kept in touch. But as she studied his face, she knew something in him had changed.
"Hello, Tomotsu," she said.
"It seems the Great Cycle has brought us together again. It has been a long time."
She nodded. "It has. I am glad to see you."
Tomotsu barked out a harsh laugh. "You mean after you betrayed our monastery and the nightblade came and killed most of us?"
Moriko moved to speak, but Tomotsu held up his hand. "No. There is no point in conversation. This only ends one way."
Moriko interrupted him. "How can you be so blind? You saw what the Abbot did. How can you believe in a system that teaches such violence is justified?"
Tomotsu drew his sword. It didn't waver at all as he pointed it at Moriko. She understood, as she watched the point of his sword, how much rage he had carried for all this time. "I don't know how you can doubt the teachings of the Great Cycle,” Tomotsu spat in her direction. “Even you have to see that the Cycle is coming to a close. What are the odds of you and me coming together, again, like this? The Abbot's teachings may have been hard, but it was the nightblade who established my faith. For the first time, I saw how dangerous the nightblades were, and I dedicated my life to killing them all. Those who don't believe must die."
Moriko opened her mouth to argue, but Tomotsu dashed forward, his blade eager for blood. Moriko dove out of the way and drew her sword, but she hesitated. This was Tomotsu, perhaps the first friend she had ever had in the world beyond her family. But as he came in again, there was nothing of the kind boy she had once known. He had been broken by grief. Moriko's sorrow was replaced by anger, and she attacked.
Tomotsu had no chance against her. He was well-trained and driven, but she was much stronger than him. In two passes he fell to her blade, his dying eyes filled with hate.
Moriko observed his passing into the Great Cycle. He deserved that much at least. When he was gone she closed his eyes and grabbed his bag. It was full of papers, a small fortune's worth. She stood for a moment over her first friend, and then the world came rushing back to her. There were still two hunters she needed to kill. The sun was setting, but if she hurried she could get to them before they caused any more destruction.
Despite her repeated checks, Moriko did not find any trace of the hunters besides the tracks they left, and even those were few and far between. Moriko began to wonder if they were moving faster than she had anticipated. Were they trying to reach the village during the day? If so, she didn’t have a chance of catching them.
Moriko fought her urge to sprint after the hunters. It was possible they were moving much faster than she expected, but it was just as likely they were playing another game altogether. She didn't know what skills the hunters might possess, and there was certainly a possibility she was not the only person capable of hiding her presence from those with the sense. She had to be cautious, otherwise they could sneak up on her as easily as she could sneak up on them.
By the time the sun set, Moriko had not stopped for more than a few moments the entire afternoon and early evening. She was worried. If the hunters could maintain this sort of pace and still destroy a village without leaving a clue, they had physical capabilities far beyond her own. A shadow of doubt in her own abilities crossed her mind. Perhaps the caves had just been a fluke. Perhaps instead of all the skill she thought she possessed, she had just gotten lucky.
Moriko shoved the thoughts aside and focused on the present moment. Whatever doubts she had, she knew she would not be able to live with herself if she allowed a village to be destroyed when she could do something about it. As soon as the thought came to her, she stopped dead in her tracks. It was the type of thought she would've expected from Ryuu, a selflessness which would put her in danger. He was starting to rub off on her.
Moriko reached the outskirts of the village just as the sun was setting. At first glance, everything in the village seemed normal. She dared not enter and attract the attention of the hunters if they were nearby. Thinking quickly, she suppressed her presence and hid in some tall grass a few hundred paces away from the village edge. From her vantage point she could see the majority of the village, and sense all of it clearly. If the hunters were here, and if they attacked, she would be ready. She settled down into a comfortable position to wait.
The moon was high in the sky, and Moriko wasn't sure she had made the right decision. What if her tracking skills had misled her? What if the hunters had gone another way? Moriko was doubting herself, and after the encounter with Tomotsu, she was more shaken up than she cared to admit. Only her anger kept her on her feet. If the hunters weren't here, she would have to sleep for at least a day to be able to continue the hunt.
As the evening wore on, it became harder and harder to focus her sense on everything happening around her. Moriko allowed her sense to wander through the village and its surroundings, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Everything seemed quiet, a peaceful night and a sleepy village. The sound of crickets in the air was relaxing.
When Moriko awoke, she thought it was already morning. She blinked her eyes and shook her head and realized she was wrong. It wasn't morning, but the village below her was burning, throwing off enough light and heat to make her think the sun had come up. She cursed herself and bolted to her feet, but stopped before she ran into the village. She needed to think before she acted. Taking a deep, calming breath, Moriko extended her sense. She was late, but she wasn't too late. She could sense the two hunters, the center of everyone’s attention. Marking them, she moved quickly.
Below her, several of the buildings were aflame, and there were shouts and screams from the villagers who were trapped inside their houses. Moriko debated whether to save them or to go after the hunters first. Her initial instinct was to go after the hunters. If she could kill them fast enough, she could then release the villagers without fear of them being attacked once again. But as she passed the first house, she couldn’t do it. The screams and cries coming from within were too much for her to handle. She darted off to the side, and with a quick flick of her wrist, cut through the board the hunters were using to seal the door. She didn't stop to be seen.
Moriko hid behind a wall and threw out her sense. The two hunters had separated. They were acting as though they had nothing to fear. They had no idea they were being stalked. The thought of it made Moriko smile viciously.
Suppressing her presence as completely as she could, Moriko tracked one hunter circling around the village to the east. He was methodical, stopping in each house and killing the inhabitants within. Just from sensing him, Moriko imagined he was proceeding in a very nonchalant manner, as though killing was no different than washing his clothes. It made his movements easy to predict. She sensed him as he stepped into another house and began killing the inhabitants within. Moriko sprinted to the door of the house and hid just to the side of it. The hunter, confident in his ability to sense all those around him, wouldn't even be wary.
Her suspicions were correct. The hunter finished his work inside and turned to walk back out the door without a trace of suspicion. The moment he stepped through the door, Moriko made one cut, taking his head clean from his shoulders. The hunter had only had time to glance in surprise towards Moriko before it was too late.
Moriko didn't stop to gloat over her victory. The other hunter would realize his partner had been killed, and would know there was someone out there. He wouldn’t allow himself to fall into an obvious trap. Moriko knew her second kill would be harder than the first.
Again, Moriko's assumptions were correct. The other hunter came towards her. Moriko moved from house to house, always staying in cover and never allowing herself to be within her opponent’s line of sight. She circled around and worked her way behind him, watching the hunter’s movements carefully with her own sense.