Sayuri

Hana's Secret

[Sayuri's Pov]

Sneaking around the cave in our invisible spell, we watched the warriors split themselves up in search of the necklace in my hand. 

Signalling Eriko to the left, I went the other direction.

Stalking towards the warrior in front of me, I blew the sleeping powder into his face. He coughed violently, and his body began to sway. Catching him before he falls to the ground, I laid him against the wall.

"This should keep you asleep for three days." I laughed.

Usually, the sleeping powder only lasts a few hours, but this particular one I had was altered by black magic, making its effect more potent.

"The other guy's out too," Eriko spoke as she came to my side.

"Great, now we have to change into our old uniforms and cast an illusion spell to look like them," I responded. 

After changing into our uniforms, I grabbed everything useful in my room before meeting up with Eriko.

"Hey! Did you guys find anything?!" 

Recognising his voice, Eriko replied, "Riku-San, I found the necklace!" 

Tossing the box to Eriko, we waited for him to find us. Seeing the crimson box, he snatched it out of Eriko's hold.

"Finally!" He cackled and opened the box. "With this, we'll finally get our powers back!"

Eriko and I looked at each other before laughing along with Riku. 

"Hahaha. Why are we laughing?" I whispered the last part.

"Erm...we're pretending to be his comrades remember?" She whispered back.

"Are they very close to be laughing together?" I asked.

"They used to run errands together." She answered.

"Oh," I responded. 

"Come on! We have to give this to Yuriko-Sama." Riku ordered.

"Hai." We replied before following him to the main entrance.

We gave each other a confused look and walked behind him. 

Why did he use the main entrance?

Walking out of the cave, we saw a few bodies laying on the ground. Stepping towards Riku, I tapped his shoulder.

"What did you do to him?!" Eriko asked.

"He's frozen," I replied. "Take a look at the bodies."

Walking towards the fallen samurais, I realised they were all wearing the Goda Crest on their clothing. Kneeling beside one of them, I noticed there was some powder on the ground.

"Are they dead?" Eriko asked.

"No, they're asleep. They used the sleeping powder." I replied. "It's too soon for them to get into a war with the Goda Clan so they won't kill them yet. Their objective now is to gather men in the Matsuda Clan."

 "Are you sure we should leave just like that?" She questioned.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"I mean...shouldn't you leave a message for Masamune-Sama?" 

"What am I supposed to tell him? If I say I've returned home, he will visit the Tanaka household to make sure I am home. Then he will realise I did not return home. What other reasons does Shirayuri have to leave the house?" I voiced out.

Smacking her forehead with her palm, she groaned in annoyance. "Gosh, this is troublesome." 

"That's why for now, we should just focus on getting into the Shimizu Clan. The sooner we find Hana, find out what they're planning, the sooner we can come back." I stated.