Hide and Seek - Jiyo Sora

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Canary
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Hide and Seek - Jiyo Sora

Post by Canary » Thu May 28, 2020 3:23 am

There were three of them.

Sora had no ideas how they'd gotten past the Jiyo guards. And it really didn't matter at this point.

Because he recognized them.

Oh, they were dressed like members of Yuzuru's family, but he knew they weren't.

These people hadn't had a change of heart. Three years prior, they'd all been at the same meeting. And when Nanzi had preached militant action to them, they had been all for it, and had been disappointed when it hadn't come off.

The young woman- very pretty. Might have talked their way past the guards. The young man. Looked agile. Strong. Probably dangerous. But the older man was clearly the real menace. He'd been from some miserable hill-tribe, and living as long as he had meant that he knew his business.

He glanced down at the heir, who was makign a whistle out of the grass- some trick Tsubo had taught that Sora had never been able to make work. Forced a smile. Forced it to look gentle.

"Say, you want to play hide and seek? If I don't find you in fifteen minutes, you can paint my face however you like."

Ah, that look of shock, then that smile.

The kid would go to ground like a squirrel. Like Sora had taught. And with the motivation of such a rare and unexpected pleasure?

The three would have a hell of a time if Sora failed.

As they approached, walking into the clearing, he rather casually stretched, limbering up.

Letting them get closer. It was tricky. If he sounded the alarm too soon, the kid might break cover, and the three of them could outflank him. Finish what they came here to do, whether it was murder, kidnapping, or a hostage stand-off they had in mind. So he couldn't sound the alarm just yet. Not yet.

The woman's voice was, if anything, prettier than her face, and it made him think of Yozora, which made him hate these people just a bit more.

"Hello, Sora. It's been a while."

"It has indeed. Did you murder the guards, or just three of Yuzuru's recruits?"

The direct question wiped the smiles off of their faces.

The old man spoke.

"The latter. We figured, since the Kami are taking in so many strays, we could baldface our way past some Jiyo if we pretended to be in another 'family."

He all but sneered the last word.

"Well, then... GUARDS!"

His eye showed him his death and he smiled, sidestepping the silent younger man's thrust with the knife he'd had up his sleeve. The woman was slower drawing her own blade, so he ignored her for a moment to let the vision of his demise play out, the older man drawing paired blades and moving in with every evidence of greater skill or experience than Sora could have hoped to attain without many more years.

Three on one, and the old man was better than he was. This was going to be bad.

But he drew his sword, swinging it wide to buy room- the knife-wielding would-be killers stepped back, not out of fear but simple self-preservation.

Sora stepped into the gap and thrust his scabbard into the woman's face. She was the weakest link in terms of fighting skill, but she was also the easiest one to remove.

Her pretty nose gave a sickening crunch as the wooden scabbard crushed it, and she gave a kind of yodeling scream as she stumbled backward.

Sora turned away to meet the attacks of the the other two.

He focused his defensive efforts on the older man, which let the younger score a vicious cut across his left arm.

And of course, he felt the burning sensation. Poison on the blades, well, well, well. Where the hell were those Jiyo?

He rewarded the younger man with a sword thrust to the throat that left him gurgling on the ground, and then both of the older man's knives were in him, one in his right side, its twin in his right thigh.

Deep. Not good.

But his eye saved him again. He saw the next pair of thrusts coming a second before they actually happened, and dropped to one knee, bringing his sword up into the old man's gut, drawing out a shocked, agonized scream.

Ah. There they were. Armored figures doubletiming it into the clearing. He'd have words with them, if he lived.

But first things first.

He got back to his feet and yanked his sword out of the old man's gut, then took his head with a backhanded swing.

He heard the woman's nasal, gurgling screams as the guards drew close enough that he could let himself collapse.

I hope the kid didn't see any of that. Not yet. Not even three winters yet. Shouldn't have to see this. Hearing it's bad enough.

And then darkness took him.

When awoke, he was in a bed of what felt... suspiciously like...

Moss. It WOULD be moss. Fucking Ayakashi.

His wounds were cleaned, and....

Is this that silk stuff? Oh well. Better than moss.

He wasn't alone.

The kid was there. So was the fox.

"How you doing, kid?"

"M'good, Uncle Sora."

"That's good. Who found you?"

"Momma."

"You what that means, right?"

"No..."

"Get the paint. It's been a lot more than fifteen minutes."

"They said you were hurt, an'-"

"A deal is a deal. Get the paint."

Ah, there was a smile. Good. He lay back, listening tho the awkward footfalls.

Then he looked over at Han-Han.

"What're you looking at?"

The fox yawned, then stretched, and padded out of the room.
GM + Bird + Glorious Plumage + Experienced

"Is the dark side stronger?"
"No, no, no. Quicker. Easier. More seductive."

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