CALAMITY CORE : FREE THE WORLD

CH.76 'TENRYU-JI'

While Andrei and Saionji drifted off into sleep atop the monastery overlooking Kiyonoki, others were shuffling to wakeness in the dark of the night as the last of the lantern light died out, cloaking the streets in darkness. Amongst the Shikoku Merchants, Hattori sat alone atop a crate, his weapon on his back, catching with a dull, dark light in the moon. His gaze seemed somewhat distant as he looked down at the ground, his black hair shading his eyes as it hung over his face. He seemed to be deep in thought, as though he were able to stare through the cobbled stone streets and into the very core of the Earth.

His feet touched down to the ground as he brought his thinking to a close. Looking up at the cloud-peppered night sky, he sighed, able to see his breath in the autumn air. Mumbling to himself, he began to look around him... even Alpha had begun to idle, her most observant systems beginning to shut down entirely to conserve energy that she was slowly building back up. His boots shuffled across the ground, and he came to where Suzuko was napping, right beside Okuri.

Hattori's lips turned downwards as he felt the first droplets of rain touch down on him, and he looked to the little fabric tent which had been built over the two beastkin. Stepping towards them, he knelt beside Suzuko's belongings, and pretty quickly found what he was looking for. The swirling purple energy cell they had found... but why did those people want it? Hattori wondered as he heard Suzuko stir, and he quickly stepped away, murmuring under his breath, "Sorry, everyone. I'll be back soon, I hope."

That night, Hattori met with those white-robed people he had first encountered so far away, yet so close to home. They demanded the energy cell he had stolen, and information out of him, and in return, those human companions of his would be safe. He met with them, those hunters. Though he might not have known it, Hattori had struck a deal with the Tenryu-ji.

That following day, when Inoshishi awoke, his brother had already returned to Kiyonoki, where he seemed to be in higher spirits. Suzuko didn't notice her missing belonging, and neither did Okuri. The four, being the two brothers, Suzuko, and Okuri, ate breakfast together with the Shikoku Merchants that morning, while the likes of Saionji and Shimoda had already left to train, just as the rest of Nowhere Generation had.

It was while they ate and talked that Hattori was taken aback by a call from the city gates. One of the monks who had vowed to protect the village, he seemed panicked as he shouted, and it caused Hattori's food to get caught in his throat for a moment. The monk stumbled off of his spot at the gate, and bolted past the merchants, shouting to board up homes and belongings. "It's the Tenryu-! They're here, students of Ao, ready to defend!" He shouted, setting the rest of the eating warriors on edge.

Okuri grabbed hold of his blade, rising to his feet, and Suzuko looked up. "Okuri, are you going to fight those guys at the gate?" She questioned, more curious than worried.

"That guy seemed pretty scared, are they gonna' any trouble for you?" Inoshishi asked, getting a smile on his face and a fire in his eyes as he picked up his polearm from where it had rested against a merchant's cart.

Hattori managed to gulp back his food, taking in a deep breath, and holding his weapon close, but not as seemingly prepared as the others. Raising his brow, he wondered... had they lied? Was this all just some plot by these 'Tenryu' to lead them to Kiyonoki for whatever reason? Suddenly, as his brain began to put pieces together, he rose to his feet as well. "If the monks are worried, we'd best be on our feet... but I don't think making any preemptive moves is the play, if they aren't knocking the gate down."

Okuri's eyes caught a glint of sunlight as he heard the sounds of an explosion from the direction of the gate, and he drew his sword in reverse grip, turning back to look at Hattori as he turned to the distant fire. The two of them frowned as Hattori's previous words were proven wrong, and the quartet were already off before any of them could say another word. Okuri was the one to lead the charge, his ki flaring up as he caught the blade of a white-robed man, disarming the man and knocking him unconscious from the sheer change in pressure that his aura brought with him.