The last moments of the two peasants unfolded in a confused flash of exchanges and decisive movements, despite the spark of mercy which the magistrate had wanted to show. In the time of only two breaths, Reiko and her second had managed their opponents in their own direct way, without any frill, and without even waiting for the corpses to fall to the ground, Reiko started running in the direction of the struggling monks, followed by Kawanabi in the second.
But tens of meters separated them, enough that the two Ise Zumis would have to defend themselves for a while.
In the outburst of violence of the two Dragons, they no longer bothered themselves with futile movements. One shot had to hit the mark, before moving on to the next.
Sakura, all in agility, used her own attacks as a rebound to chain her opponents, while Suzume took advantage of the opposing movements to attack in expeditious counters. It was in one of these movements, a rotation around the weapon of one of the peasants, which he ended with a direct strike from the elbow to the temple, that another of his assailants pierced his thigh with one of the branches of his fork.
It was the precise moment during which troops of the Crane clan took over the streets of the village, at the opposite of Reiko's position.
"Who's there ? What is going on here and what were those battle noises?"
Strangely enough, the few corrupted peasants who were still conscious fell to the ground, their eyes rolled back, and clearly unconscious.
Of the dark silhouette that Suzume had seen under the edge of the woods, there was no trace left ...
Inside a lab at Shiro Daidoji, a young shugenja of the Phoenix was experiencing a new way to deal with the Kamis. A painful way, and not one she would want to try again anytime soon. The first thing she realized was that she no longer had any notion of the elapsed time. And how could she even try to put into words what she had just experienced. The sensation of a mist seeping into her mind, only to feel brutally pulled from her own body, and finally almost lost in a blazing fire.
Throughout the duration of this ritual, Yukiyo watched. Watched how her guest tried to resist, even involuntarily, this intrusion. Watched how her mind plunged into the smoke from the brazier. Watched how this smoke took on different shapes, fleeting and hazy.
Visions echoing the conclusions the elders of the clan had reached. An ancient evil had found a way to wake up, and symbols of both the Crane and the Lion seemed to point in the direction of the ongoing war. But in these visions, an indefinable shadow seemed to manipulate these allegories of the two clans.
It was too little to absolve the Lion of responsibility in this war. It was, however, more than enough to instill pernicious doubt in Yukiyo's thoughts. If ever the two clans had allowed themselves to be maneuvered by a Maho-Tsukai, a renegade mage, then it was the entire Empire that was in danger.
Inara, her hands burnt where the ribbon was wound, slowly regained contact with the physical reality of the world. It took her a few minutes to rediscover the laboratory setting, and when, finally, she could clearly discern her counterpart, it was confused, pensive, and visibly withdrawn that Yukiyo showed herself to the young Phoenix.
A few seconds passed, in a heavy silence, and as Inara began to wonder what was going to happen to her from now on, Yukiyo blinked several times, finally remembering that she was not alone. With a slight pleasant smile, she put her arm around the shoulders of the young woman.
"I don't know how to thank you, friend of the Kamis. You have had a most painful experience, at my request, and only time will tell if your visions will help my clan. I will have to inform my peers and we will have to make a decision. But I bet you're more than exhausted now, and you wouldn't refuse to be able to rest. Which, moreover, is the right thing to do after such an exchange with the Kamis."[ +- ] OOC The first night
The first night of the story is almost over.
Reiko, Suzume, the Crane's Troops will certainly accompany you to Shiro Daidoji. If you have anything else to do in the village, feel free to do so.
Inara, as invited by Yukiyo, you can choose to rest if you want, the ASAHINA Shugenja will insure you have anything for your comfort, food included.
Next time i'll post, we'll move to the tomorrow's dawn, just before the Crane's army makes its moves.