took her in…» the old woman shook her head. «We are having more and more trouble. And a kitsune seems to be running about at night.»
«What trouble are you talking about?» Itsuki asked.
«First, our chickens began disappearing. Then Akiko’s husband fell sick and died. Now Akiko herself is sick. Our fields are infested… And the children are having nightmares almost every night.»
Kara stepped up to the shrine a little closer and noticed a small girl glancing from behind it. When the young woman approached, her burn burst with a new wave of pain, confusing her of the unusual way pain seemed to be coming and going in an unexpected manner.
Trying not to show how much pain she was in, Kara leaned in towards the girl.
«Hello, little one.» She said with a friendly smile.
«You killed Kaito!» the girl hissed quietly, surprising Kara.
Before the woman could do anything – the girl ran off, disappearing in the thicket. Puzzled at this strange encounter, Kara glanced to Itsuki and wondered if she should interrupt his conversation with the old woman. She decided to wait, cradling her aching limb and watching the thicket, where the girl seemed to be hiding.
Finally, Itsuki thanked the old woman and walked up to Kara.
«Did you find anything?» he asked her.
«A strange girl…» she replied, feeling her burn stop aching. «A very strange girl.»
«How’s your burn?»
«I’m not sure…»
«What do you mean?»
«One moment it hurts like it did when I got it, but a few moments later it’s as if nothing’s there.» Kara shrugged her shoulders, not understanding what was happening to her.
«I’ll ask one of our mystics to take a look, when they get here with Lord Ryuu.»
«Don’t bother them. I’m sure they have enough on their plate as it is.»
«Nakano, I am only worried for your well-being. If that demon poisoned you or cursed you – we need to know.»
«Fine. I’ll see the mystic.»
«Thank you.»
«Meanwhile… Can we set up someone to watch Akiko’s house?» Kara whispered to Itsuki, hoping that the girl is long gone and not listening in to their conversation.
«Oh, so you were listening!»
«More than that… I think the girl I’ve met is the girl that old woman was talking about. And this child seems… very unusual.»
«Is this that intuition of yours, or an observation?»
«She knows that we killed Kaito.»
Kara noticed Itsuki tense up in a split second. He looked in the direction the child ran off, then glanced back at Kara and nodded.
6
* * *
They found Akiko’s house and learned that the strange girl was staying there. Kara noted that every time the girl was near – the brand on her arm would start aching and burning. But whenever she left – the pain disappeared as well. This made her realise that the girl is definitely not what she wanted to seem.
When the evening came, the three shinobi followed the child into the forest, doing their best not to get noticed. At some point Kara saw, how the girl fell to all fours and, shaking off her human form, turned into a black fox with four tails. She ran off, even faster than before, but the shinobi continued their pursuit, not letting her out of their sight. There was no more doubt that this child was a young kitsune.
They used every shadow and bush to hide from her whenever she looked back to check if anyone was around, but at some point she jumped over a rock, and as soon as she landed – there were three of her!
Kara noticed Itsuki gesture at her to follow the one on the left, and as the foxes separated and ran off, the shinobi divided as well. Kara felt her brand slightly burning, as she was following her mark, but she could no longer signal her friends that they were following the illusions, and not the real kitsune.
The woman noted every place the four-tailed fox stopped, every mark she had left on the trees and stones. It seemed like the kitsune girl followed a strange path that led her all around the village. When she could, Kara cut down the marks off the trees, carrying them with her to show the mystics later, together with the position of the strange, twisted runes she took down.
The night was creeping in, but the kitsune continued her way, until she suddenly turned and noticed Kara behind.
Cursing at the cunning creature, Kara darted towards it, but the fox ran off towards the village – even faster than before. Staying on her track, the woman did not let her get away. She ran after the fox, cornering her each time. And even though the girl tried making illusions again – Kara continued following the real one, feeling the brand ache and hurt, pointing her in the right direction.
Finally, the fox tumbled and turned back into her human form, continuing her way – inside the village. Kara followed, ready to strike down the creature at first opportunity. As they ran onto the street, the girl slowed her pace and changed the expression on her face from menacing to fearful. It took only a matter of seconds, but Kara caught up and unsheathed her katana.
«Mama! Mama!» the girl suddenly tripped and fell to the ground.
Kara finally jumped up to the creature, with her katana up and ready to end the life of the little demon before her.
«Mama, help!» the girl cried out, as Kara slashed her throat, ending her life.
«Murderer!» one of the villagers screamed.
«She killed a child!» shouted another.
«Demon!» a woman shouted and the others agreed with her.
Kara looked around, realising that the villagers saw how she cut down the little kitsune. They didn’t know that the child was a demon – they thought she had killed an innocent girl!
Panicked and threatened by the surrounding people, Kara darted away, running off towards the woods. She whistled loudly to call upon her stallion, and as soon as he galloped up – she jumped into the saddle and rode off, pursued by the villagers until she managed to get away, hidden from them in the dense forest.
She didn’t know what to do – she couldn’t return to the village, and the evening was quickly turning into night. Having no way to contact Itsuki or the others, she hid in the woods and watched the village from afar, letting the other shinobi do their job. Perhaps, they will be able to convince people that she killed a kitsune, and not a human child.
She settled near the village, but stayed vigilant for any sign of trouble or one of her comrades.
The night, however, brought her only more surprises.
As the moon rose, she noticed shadows in the thicket. At first she thought
