It, of course, wasn't enough to keep them all at bay, but it was enough to keep the humans from trying anything stupid. Though admittedly, she and Masurao were a little surprised that the villagers did not blame Yujin's sister. She had just arrived into town, and it was a little suspicious that the murders happened just as soon as she arrived. Asami, however, assured them that it was not her, that she wouldn't harm a human unless given reason to and that she suspected she knew what was killing the humans. She did not divulge any more information than that, however, and the three siblings decided to do a little night hunting.
It was quiet for the most part, the village seemingly peaceful, and there were no signs of demons or Oni. Masurao sighed, running a hand through his hair as he stared down at Tatsuki, and then glanced towards his brother. They had all remained silent with each other, trying to listen for any clues that would lead them to the murderer, however; they had met only silence. "Perhaps we are on the wrong side," Yujin stated, yawning rather loudly as he shifted his arms behind the back of his head. Tatsuki frowned in his direction as Masurao pursed his lips together. Perhaps they were, or perhaps the creature responsible knew they were there. Whatever the reason, they couldn't just leave, yet.
"Perhaps we should split up. We could cover more ground that way," Tatsuki suggested, however; before the other two could reply, the sound of a twig snapping, caught their attention. Immediately, Tatsuki brought out her Naginata pole, extending it so that the blade was now a few feet in front of her. Masurao and Yujin both straightened their posture, their eyes giving of a certain glow in the dark as they glanced in the direction the sound came from. "Show yourself," she demanded, her voice going rugged and deep, firm and strong. It was nothing like the soft, shy tone she used back in the inn, or with the others.
"Tatsuki?" a voice called out, causing the said girl to purse her lips together. The figure stepped out of the shadows, the moonlight above being the only illumination they had, and Tatsuki tilted her head in confusion. The man before her was a little older, closing in on his mid to late thirties, but it was his eyes that she noticed. They were a shade of deep violet, very peculiar, and very familiar. She'd only seen them once, and that was all it had taken to imprint them into her mind. She could never forget those eyes. "Is that... is that you?" he continued, taking a step forward as a bright light coursed through his eyes.
"Who are you?" Masurao stated, taking a stand in front of his surrogate sister, Yujin doing the same. Yujin glanced back at Tatsuki, and noticed the paralyzed state she was in. It was obvious enough that she knew who this person was, however; it appeared to have not been on good terms. Why else would she appear to be so... frightened? "And how do you know Tsuki," he continued in a demanding tone. The man frowned slightly, his eyes narrowing in on the Hanyou and Oni before returning to Tatsuki.
"My name is Shiranui--"
"Hidehiko" Tatsuki interrupted. Yujin and Masurao both gave her a questioning look. "He's my betrothed."
It was at this point that the group was alerted to a disturbance by a shout in the distance, accompanied by a bright flash in the dark. The touch of divinity that reached all their senses on the air meant it could only be Yuzuki, though perhaps those with better-attuned aura perception would note that Makoto was also present, as well as an unknown human.
In fact, the scene they arrived to was a bloody one, though only the human seemed injured. At night, Mako resembled more a spirit or a ghost than anything of the mortal realm, the scant light of the moon and stars reflecting off the snowy color of his hair and the almost equal pallor of his skin in a way that contrasted sharply with the dark clothing he was wearing. Both his swords were drawn, slicked the deep red-black of demon blood, and Yuzuki still held her bow in one hand, an arrow loosely clasped in the other.
Of course, at that point, the human behind them whimpered, and she shoved the arrow back in its quiver, slinging the bow over her shoulder and kneeling immediately beside the woman, who was staring wide-eyed at Makoto and the space in front of him with clear signs of shock setting in. There was a large hole in the earth about ten feet before the hanyou, and he appeared to be staring at it intently, at least until he sensed the presence of the others, at which point his head turned sharply towards them, revealing that his left cheek was streaked with the same blood as his swords. To his side was a dark, shiny object about as tall as Yuzuki, jointed once in about the middle. The leg of a giant centipede demon, for those who knew about such things.
āWe appear to have found the murderer,ā he said bluntly. Though from the hole in the ground, it had fled quite quickly when it realized it was in for more than a free meal.
Before anything else could be said between the four, a shout alerted the group, and immediately, three of the four were off with a quickness. Hidehiko was left behind, staring at the empty space the other three had currently occupied and ran after them as well. When the three siblings arrived on the scene, a lick of confusion crossed their features as they stared between Yuzuki, Makoto, and the frightened woman. Masurao was immediately by Makoto's side, as Tatsuki went to Yuzuki's side, glancing down at the frightened woman before glancing at Yujin. He was standing off to the side, looking at the limb of the demon responsible, and he frowned.
"This demon is well fed," he spoke, running his hand over the limb. "And appears to be someone's pet," he concluded, removing his hand and placing it to his side. It appeared that either someone had let it loose upon the village, or it escaped. He was willing to bet that it was no accident. A demon of that caliber shouldn't be too hard to deal with, however; it would be a different story if it was someone's pet. Youkai's, for some reason, were a little stronger than their wild counterparts. Partially because they were always well maintained, and partially because their owners always made sure they were the strongest. Through selective breeding, training, whatever possible to make them stronger.
"Who could be responsible for it though?" Masurao questioned. Why would anyone want to let their pet loose on such a peaceful village? It didn't make sense to him, however; he wasn't going find answers by just standing around. "At least... we'll be able to clear your name now, Mako," he stated, offering the Hanyou a tilt of his head. But it wouldn't be that easy. Even he knew that. It would take the whole corpse of the demon to convince the village, and for them to cut open its stomach to prove that Makoto was not responsible for the murders.
"Then why not go after it?" Hidehiko spoke, approaching the group and standing next to Tatsuki, who took a step to the side for more comfort. "You and I must talk, but that can wait," he spoke lowly for her to hear. "I can help you track the demon to it's lair," he continued. Tatsuki merely pursed her lips together. He was the heir of the Shiranui clan, and he likely had a few talents that could help him, however; that did not mean she had to like the interference. This was not going to end well, she just knew it.
"You could track it, yes," she began, walking so that she stood next to Yujin. "But it would be foolish to do so now. It has the upper hand, it's under ground. Even if we go after it," she spoke, glancing towards Makoto before returning her attention back to the others. "All of us at once would only hinder our chances of escape and will limit our movements. It would be better if we waited for it to come out from underground. It seems to have a taste for flesh. We can lure it out with bait."
āUse me.ā That pronouncement came from Yuzuki, as Mako had known it would from the moment Tatsuki suggested bait. āWe canāt risk another defenseless villager, and I donāt think anything other than a human would work. It fled as soon as Mako got here.ā Though that may have had more to do with the fact that heād sliced a leg off in less than a second than anything. Aggressive wasnāt usually the right word for her brotherāuntil he perceived that someone he cared for was in danger, and Yuzuki had indeed been in some degree of danger, trying to fend off the thing while simultaneously dealing with the abject panic of the creatureās intended victim. The woman had actually latched onto her legs. Not the smartest thing, but considering how scared sheād been, Yuzu couldnāt really blame her.
The light of her healing ki faded from around her, and she smiled over at Tatsuki before looking up at the rest. āThat leaves me, Tatsuki, and this person I donāt know. Hello, by the way.ā She grinned at Hidehiko, then stood, dusting off her hands and offering one to help the village woman stand. The lady, who had deep black hair and doe-like brown eyes, accepted it, then bowed to the group, a second time to Makoto and Yuzuki.
āIāll tell them it wasnāt you,ā she offered tentatively, āBut I donāt know if theyāll believe me. Whatever the case, I know Iām not betwitched.ā She glanced down and to the side, shaking her head.
Yuzuki nodded, clearly satisfied by that. āAnd Tatsuki is much better at stealth than I am, which means sheāll be more helpful in getting close and taking it by surprise,ā she concluded. She also didnāt want to put her friend in direct harmsā way. This was risky for a human, no matter how skilled, even though she knew without a doubt that her friends would be able to take down the centipede.
Makoto clearly didnāt like it, but it was difficult to argue with her reasoning, and they both knew it. āIt has been chased away for tonight,ā he said quietly, glancing at the severed limb. āIt will likely choose to recover until tomorrow. The trap can wait until then. Warn everyone you know not to go out alone until it is dead, Fuuka-san,ā the last was directed at the woman, who looked surprised that he recalled her name. She shouldnāt be, thoughāhe passed her shop often on his way into town, and his aunt occasionally made purchases of raw silk from her. Then again, perhaps everyone simply assumed he didnāt care enough to learn a humanās name. In the end, though, she nodded and affirmed that she would.
"No," was the immediate response from Masurao when Yuzuki offered herself as the bait. He pursed his lips, however, when Tatsuki touched his arm, his frown deepened. "But, Tsu-Tsu," he tried, but Tatsuki merely furrowed her brows in a light glare. She didn't like the idea of using Yuzuki as the potential bait as well, however; the priestess was right. She could help her brothers and Makoto with the youkai, and Yuzuki would be able to care for herself when it arrived. At least they were not using an incompetent human.
"She will be fine, Mao," Tatsuki stated, offering a small smile to her brother. Masurao's frown remained, however, there was no going against his sister when she smiled like that. He sighed, shaking his head softly as he lowered his head. "And Makoto is right, we will have no hunt today," she continued, glancing at the white haired Hanyou before turning her attention towards Yujin, who seemed to be studying the demon's limb. He turned towards the group and grinned at them, causing her to shake her head and sigh.
"For now, we go home and conjure a plan. We have our bait, but we will need a plan," she continued, the sound of something rumbling causing her to shake her head and frowned towards Yujin. "And a late dinner it seems." Yujin only continued to grin.