Saving Touma

Chapter 2.Q - Tengu

This thing, nothing short of a monster, broke through the wall facing the courtyard and flew right above the two soldiers, causing them to duck and roll away. 

Immediately, Ryo deduced that it wasn't something they could kill with a sword. Without saying a word, Ryo fled on a whim. 

Hozumi had the exact same thought and jumped off the courtyard to find shelter at a nearby house. Ryo went the opposite way and started knocking on the door of the house where Katsuo hid.

"Katsuo, let me in. Now!" he hollered, apparently scared.

Katsuo, hunched in a corner, recognized the voice right away. He ran toward the door and opened it. Ryosuke tried to stop him but couldn't. 

The door slid open, and in came the captain, startling the house owners, who weren't expecting an older adult to barge in.

Ryo quickly closed the door and stood in the middle of the house, intently feeling the movements around him. Ryosuke ran back to the corner where his grandfather was sitting and observed. 

The unnerving sound of screaming and breaking continued, sending chills down their spine. Having been in multiple wars, Ryo wasn't as affected as the other three, but he was visibly fazed. 

This was nothing like what he had encountered before, so much so that his immediate response was to flee. That thing was not a human.

"Ryo sensei. What did you see? What was it?" Katsuo asked in a shaky voice. The cautious captain didn't respond.

"Sensei, was it the one that took Noboru-san?" Katsuo continued. It seemed the thought had been bugging him.

Surprisingly, Ryo had only realized it. But if it was indeed what took Noboru away, why didn't they hear anything? 

And why didn't it keep attacking them like it was doing at that moment? Whatever this thing was, it was definitely a lot more violent than what snatched their comrade. Suddenly, they heard voices outside.

"Tengu. Tengu. Tengu," Genjiro whispered repeatedly.

"What?" Ryo reacted upon hearing it. The old man didn't respond. Instead, he kept saying the same word while staring into space. Ryo went over to him and grabbed his shoulders.

"What is it, old man? Do you know what this thing is?"

"Tengu," Genjiro said as he paused to look Ryo in the eye.

Ryo had heard that word before. He just couldn't place it.

As they fumbled into confusion, Yukimura and Kogoro were on their way to the courtyard. They were about to ramp up after catching wind of the ensuing chaos south of the village when they bumped into someone they least expected to see.

"Gomen nasai," the lady apologized as she picked up the vegetables that flew out of the basket and scattered on the damp ground.

Yukimura came to a sudden stop, couldn't believe his eyes. He fixed his gaze on the lady, trying to dispel his own suspicions. But the proof stared back at him. 

His suspicions were right. It was the lady from earlier, the one who had brought them breakfast, the one the creature had snatched and torn apart.