In front of a farm house that had been turned into a public building, a young woman stood, tied up. She seemed to be a stranger, so Yugure approached her to have a close look. He was taken aback, it was none other than his childhood friend Sade.
Yugure asked the shinobi who had come with her from the village, and what it was all about. The prisoner was a shinobi from the Crescent Moon Country and had just been flushed out of her hideout in her own home, Yugure had learned.
Yugure sat down on the dirt floor and lit a cigarette.
Sade was to be escorted out of the village by one of the shinobi.
After a time Yugure lit a new cigarette from the first and stood up.
“I’ll take her with me”
Sade, her face averted, refusing to turn toward Yugure, they left the village.
Yugure kept on smoking, but the tobacco had no taste. He just kept drawing in the smoke and blowing it out. Then suddenly he though that Sade, too, must want a puff. But today, how could he offer a cigarette to her like this.
They reached the hill pass, the hill where he and Sade used Yugure felt a sudden surge of anger in spite of himself and shouted “So how many have you killed?” For the first time, Sade cast a quick glance at him and then turned away. “How many did you kill, you?” he asked again.
Sade turned toward him once again and glared. The glare grew intense and her mouth twitched. “So you managed to kill many, huh?” Yugure felt his heart becoming clear from within, as if an obstruction had been removed. “If you such an expert then why didn’t you run? You must have been lying low with a secret mission.”
Sade did not answer
“Speak up, what was your mission?”
Sade kept walking. Sade is hiding something, Yugure thought.
He wanted to take a good look at her, but Sade would not turn her averted face.
Tapping the sword at his side, Yugure went on. “No excuse is necessary. You are sure to be killed anyway. Why don’t you tell the truth here and now?”
“I’m not going to make any excuses! They made me do it because I was one of the poorest and most hard-working. If that constitutes a crime worthy of death, so be it. I am still what I used to be – the only thing I’m good at is killing people.” After a short pause she added “Times have defiantly changed since our last meet. My brother had been ill for almost half a year then died.”
I long silence struck before Yugure spoke up again.
“You married?”
“To whom?” replied Sade after a while
“Oh, I don’t know” Yugure had difficulty swallowing a laugh in spite of himself. “Anyway, it’s strange you did not run away.”
“I tried to escape, but it’s hard to explain why I stopped. There’s just things that can’t be explained with words I guess. But I don’t regret anything I’ve done.”
“Then I will have no guilt doing what I must do” Yugure curled his finger around the hilt of his sword.
Sade stood silent for a moment. A warm breeze blew through the trees and Sade let out a heavy sigh. “Waiting for something?” she spoke and began to turn towards him. She paused; a shocking chill ran down her spine, and the scent of Yugure’s blood filled the air. Without hesitating she knelt down next to him; her frantic hands shakily cuffed his face. She began to weep, pulling Yugure’s body close to her chest “Why you. Why did you stab yourself..” she cried out and buried her face on his neck
Not more than an hour went by. She stood and cradled his body in her arms. She let the lingering tears dry upon her face as she began to walk towards a decent place to bury the body.
((I am really not quite done typing this out so bare with me alittle))
