Fire Bird

14

After making sure the villagers were fine, the four decided to get on the move again

This time they had heard rumors of crimes in a place that was previously used as a symbol of peace

They had to check it up, it was by no means normal, the crimes have escalated over night, from petty thefts to murder..

All the while they were travelling, Akira was quiet, Tokagawa tried to coax her into joining their conversation, but she would only reply in monosyllables

He frowned: Are you alright Akira? Has any of us done something to upset you?

Akira: No..

She muttered under her breath: Not wittingly at least..

Tokagawa: What was that?

Akira: Nothing

He wasn't satisfied but he dropped it: Then can you please talk to us? I don't like the way we are right now. We're friends, and I miss you

She was quiet for a minute or two, she was happy he missed her, but still upset over her unrequited affection and wounded pride

Kai shot her a look, shaking his head

Akira: Fine. I'm sorry, I was just a bit stressed

For the remaining part of the journey, she tried to appease them and actually made an effort to reply properly when adressed, even if the one adressing her was Nagisa

Once they reached the town, they got right to business, visiting the temples and interviewing the town's people

This time, the crimes were wide spread, and the guilty were mostly ones that were considered the best and kindest people out there, the jail house was full of them, even some of thr authorities were held for crimes

The one heading the patrol was talking to Tokagawa: We don't know what to do, your highness. No one can be trusted, not even oneself. We've seen old people, merchants, ladies, priests and even children commit horrible crimes! It's like this town is posessed!

Tokagawa: So you have no idea what's causing this, not even a theory?

The middle aged man shook his head: Some of the elderly say someone must've angered a mystical being and this is the retaliation, but I don't think so

He ran a hand through his dishevelled hair: We can't keep arresting people, at this rate everyone will be in jail in no time. Some.. They own to the crimes, either happy or indifferent to what they'd done, others claim they had no idea what happened, not even believing they did such acts

Akira rubbed her face: This means we have to patrol the whole town, this will take a while

Nagisa: Can't you just follow the trail like you did in the village?

Kai: Unfortunately, that isn't possible this time. There are faint traces, which seem to be everywhere. Whoever is doing this must be acting from afar

Akira cursed under her breath, she had noticed what he'd said, but hearing it from another person was a confirmation. If anything, this meant their enemy is very strong this time

Kai: Keep your eyes open and senses sharp. As long as you feel anything strange, you report it to us

He motioned towards Akira and himself

Tokagawa: And if anything else happens you have to notify us immediately

Tokagwa told the head of patrol

The man nodded solemnly, and they split up

The four wouldn't stay much further from eachother, but they had divided the tasks evenly

They roamed through town, feeling the ocassional faint trace every now and then, but they still didn't find anything significant

When they were on their way to rest for a bit, they heard a blood curdling scream

They hurried to the source of the voice

To their horror, they saw a man lying prone on the ground, blood pooling under his abdomen, a woman on her knees, stuck in a gasp, trembling like a leaf

Above the woman, holding a bloody knife and with his gaze blank and mouth in a grin, was none other than the head of patrol they had left only a couple of hours ago..