Red Sun

ワン

Kiyoshi parted the reeds on the bank of the bubbling stream as he crouched. The stream cut through the dense forest at an angle, rays from the early rising sun making the water sparkle like gems. If he hadn't been following the trail then he would've stopped longer to admire the beauty of nature.

No, he was zeroed in, instead, on a glowing green substance. It looked a lot like a blood trail, but no man or beast that Kiyoshi knew of bled such a color. The unearthly blood was slick between his fingers as he tried to gauge what it could possibly belong to.

Perhaps a beast of myth? Maybe a god?

Such ichor was impossible. It could only be from a kami or Oni of tall tales. One of the stories grandmothers taught their grandchildren by the fire late at night, spinning wild fables of adventure and creatures that lived in the nightmares of man. Believing in such things got men killed. Fables were for children, not for the real world where being in the present was essential.

However, Kiyoshi couldn't ignore what lay before him on the bank of the stream. It was proof of something unnatural.

A fable come to life. A fable that he was hunting for slaughtering his men. Men who had died with their honor intact, but killed so heedlessly. As if an honorable Samurai meant nothing to his killer.

The killer had been invisible and efficient according to eye-witnesses who had been left alive. Such testimony was why he now sought to bring the murderer to justice.

Lord Takahiro demanded it.

Kiyoshi was determined to bring the head of the invisible killer to his master. Such a thing would boost his reputation as the best of the best. Once again, Kiyoshi would serve. He would once again prove himself to his Lord.

Like a good warrior he would bring honor to his clan.

Rinsing his hand clean of the glowing fluid in the stream, he rose to his feet and scanned the other side of the bank for the continuation of the trail. He found it and pushed forward, being careful to step over the few meters wide stream of sparkling water.

It would do no good if he left his own trail behind. The invisible killer could be stalking him without his knowledge. Who knew what powers a god possessed over man?

No one. Especially Kiyoshi.

On he pressed through the forest following the trail, the glow an easy indicator to follow. Over clusters of boulders and through wide openings where trees had fallen to make natural tunnels. Eventually it ended abruptly by a large ancient tree with a trunk wider than he could wrap his arms around. Up and up the trunk went, the branches fighting for sunlight as they reached up and out.

This part of the forest was the oldest and most ancient part. The old growth forest was full of such trees, but this was one of the oldest he had seen. Its thick branches could easily support multiple grown men.

His eyes scanned the surrounding area. There was no more trail of glowing ichor.

Closing his eyes he let his ears do the searching. As quickly as the drop of a blade through tall brush, the forest fell in silence. Chirping birds abruptly quieted their calls. Even the low buzz of the insects was no more. All that was left was the whisper of the wind through the leaves in the trees, their hush gently filling the quiet.

Kiyoshi tucked his chin into the metal plating of his chest armor, straining to hear everything. There was more than just one sense that proved useful when tracking something and he made full use of all of his senses.

His hand ready on his Washikazi, he held his ground as there was just the slightest groan of weight being added upon a branch. It was almost indiscernible, barely audible, but he heard it nonetheless. Something was here, or someone, hiding in the trees. That instinct of being watched tickled the nape of his neck as he opened his eyes to study the thick lofty limbs above his reach. In the mass of green and brown he saw neither man nor beast, the area seemingly empty at first glance.