Book I, Chapter 3: "Chasing Clues Under the Starlit Sky"
The carriage traveled at a quick pace now that it was out of the village. the VIP seemed to be in a hurry somewhere and it was impossible for Kyouraku to tail it without being noticed out on the road. So the only choice was to keep watch from the forest and follow the cart in stealth. Shogi tried not to make any noise but it had been so long since he had tracked someone within the forest and jumping from branch to branch was not his type of thing. For about an hour the cart continued to head west of the village and not having a specific plan in mind, Kyouraku decided to follow the carriage until it came to a halt. that would be the chance for him to make action. Luckily, it was still sunset with the canvas of orange lighting up the world, allowing sight on his target. he would have to act fast before it became too dark.
It was during that moment an unexpected twist in events occurred. As the AiT followed the carriage with extreme speed, he reflexively dodge something that flew directly at his face, the projectile whizzing past him as he slightly tilted his head and he could feel the wind against his face caused by the speed the object flying past him. In the moment of dodging, the gray-haired man calculated the direction that the arrow came from and swirled down to the ground in the forest, covering himself behind a tree trunk. Whoever attacked had come from the direction of the carriage and it was obvious that he was now detected. How could be so stupid? no VIP would travel without guards. But being a professional in this area, Kyouraku remained calm as his brain quickly began to think. First, he had to locate this sharp shooter and check if there were additional enemies. He also needed to take care of this bastard to get back to the carriage as soon as possible because it was speeding off at the very moment...
As various thoughts roamed inside his mind, Kyouraku felt emerging heat. 'Fire?' With a blur, he sprinted to another tree nearby, the consecutive arrows barely missing him, striking the trees that stood in the path he moved. 'So there are two of them.' A few more blasts of fire attacked him, forcing him to move a several times, the series of arrows continuously aiming to catch his head every time he sought new cover. 'Five second interval after each attack. All I have is five seconds and I'll have to locate the sniper first.' As expected, another ball of fire exploded against the tree that Shogi hid behind, soon the entire forest burning in embers of hell. For the previous attacks Kyouraku moved either left or right in a linear line, but this time, he ran up the tree and jumped high into the air as he searched below to find his enemies. He knew well that he would become vulnerable in mid-air but he had to find that shooter or there would be no chance in this battle. His enemies were definitely skilled and he couldn't guarantee his victory. As his sharp green eyes searched the forest, he immediately spotted the fire-user who was now forming handseals for another attack. Yet he still failed to locate the sniper, but a smile formed on the hedonist's face as he saw a shiny glimmer within the shrubs far away and an arrow shot out directly towards him from that same bush. Grabbing the hilt of sword on his side, Kyouraku pulled out the half-broken sword from its sheath, simultaneously cutting the arrow into half as it flew at him in mid-air. And before the ball of fire or the next set of arrows could reach him, he disappeared with a flicker and reappeared behind the sniper. In an instant slashing motion, the rusty, broken blade cut through the throat of the surprised assassin who's face was covered by a black mask. With not much time to observe, the man was then greeted by another attack of fire, this time a dragon that seemed to be alive and clawing at him. Just when the dragon seemed to grasp its prey, black chakra began to gather out of nowhere, quickly forming an impenetrable wall in front of the hedonist, negating the blow and dispersing the flame. And upon the end of the attack, a half-broken blade emerged from the middle of the wall, spinning at an enormous speed and its jagged end sticking exactly into the elemental shinobi's neck. With all motion stopped, the body fell back cold, landing with a hard thump tot he ground.
Approaching the now helpless sack of meat, Kyouraku reached down and retrieved his bloody sword and sheathed it without particular cleaning. The attackers were bot dressed in a black combat suit and wore a black mask to hide their identities. Just to make sure, Shogi ripped off the clothing on each dead man's arms and witnessed the same tattoo that the had seen twenty years ago. With anger of that time rising from deep within once more, he quickly ran out into the road and noticed that the carriage was long gone. Even though he lost his target, he had found out one thing for sure. These bastards belonged to the same group as those fuckers who killed Hisui. With clenched fists and teeth, the green eyes looked up into the now dark blue sky which was packed with gleaming stars and the bright, round moon high in the night, replacing the place of the sun to light the world. A cool breeze swept through the mountain forest, forcing Kyouraku's gray hair to flutter in the air. The scent of ash filled his nose and the air, and using some of the fire that still danced in the woods, he silently lit a cigarette.
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