The rain had thinned to a light drizzle, silver threads falling softly through the mist. The abandoned town behind them was nothing but wet ash and mud. The Ash Walkers and Rin's group moved forward, boots sinking into soft earth, cloaks heavy with rain.
Ayame paused at a mossed over stone shrine. "Sadao's camp is just beyond the ridge. He commands the Third Company, a small Red Serpent detachment that's been raiding villages along the eastern road. He's been conscripting supplies, terrorizing survivors… the usual. But he's ruthless enough that he'll burn everything in his path if we don't stop him."
Kaito's jaw tightened. "So we're going to stop him before he kills more people?"
Ayame nodded. "Exactly. Capture if we can. Kill if we must. His men will scatter if he falls, and the villages may have a chance to rebuild."
Rin said nothing, letting the words settle. "Then there's no hesitation. One clean strike, one mission. Anything else is noise."
The group set off, moving cautiously through the misty forest. Broken lanterns, wind tangled prayer ribbons, and mossed stone markers guided their path like memory itself. The air smelled of wet pine and smoke, remnants of the Serpent's previous destruction.
They reached the ridge by midday. From here, the valley below unfolded, a small Red Serpent encampment, ten soldiers clustered around a dying fire, tents flapping in the wind. Sadao stood apart, armor dull but marked with the Serpent insignia. His blade was long, curved, and held like a promise of pain.
Ayame crouched. "We spread out. Rin, you and Kaito take the center. Yori and Shun flank the edges. Arrows first, take out sentries silently. Then we move in."
Rin studied Sadao. The man's reputation preceded him: brutal, cunning, a soldier who'd survived countless battles by sheer force. Now he was just a man, dangerous, but mortal.
"Ready?" Rin asked Kaito.
Kaito's eyes flicked across the misty clearing. "Ready enough to keep him from killing more."
The assault began with quiet precision. Arrows hissed through the fog, striking two of Sadao's guards before they could react. Rin slipped through the shadows like smoke, blade in hand, every step deliberate.
Sadao reacted, drawing his sword with a roar. His first strike cleaved the air, brutal and heavy, built to destroy.
Their blades collided with the weight of memory. Sadao's swings were clumsy with rage, but heavy enough to break stone. Rin didn't meet him with speed, he met him with understanding. Every parry was a conversation, every strike an answer. Beneath the mud and blood, Sadao's gaze burned, not with hatred, but with the terrible clarity of a man who knew he'd already lost.
Kaito moved alongside, taking down another soldier attempting to flank them. Ayame's naginata spun in wide, clean arcs, forcing two more to retreat. The fight was swift, brutal, precise, the Ash Walkers working as one.
Finally, Sadao fell to a knee, blood streaking his armor. Rin's blade hovered above him.
"Who sent you?" Rin asked. Voice low, almost drowned by the rain.
"No one," Sadao spat. "I burn because I can."
Rin drove the blade forward. The strike ended it.
The aftermath was quiet. Mist rolled across the valley, swallowing the smoke from the campfire. The Ash Walkers regrouped, breathing hard, muddy, but alive.
Ayame approached Rin, her gaze calm but sharp. "You did what had to be done. But don't let this define you. There's still a world to walk in, even if it's broken."
Rin looked at the dying embers, the weight of years pressing on him. For the first time since his clan's fall, the burden felt lighter.
Kaito plopped down on a fallen beam, wiping his hands. "Maybe… we can make something out of this world after all."
Rin glanced at him, a faint, tired smirk on his lips. "Walking is all we've ever done. Now we walk together."
Ayame smiled softly. "Then we keep moving north. There's a Serpent garrison near the river, larger, better armed. This was only the first step."
The mist lifted slightly, silver moonlight cutting through. Mountains loomed in the distance, sharp and waiting. Rin felt something he hadn't in years, not peace, not forgiveness, but a purpose.
The night deepened, mist curling around the camp. In the distance, faint sounds of wildlife, the hoot of an owl, the rustle of small animals reminded them that the world beyond the Serpent's reach still existed.
Rin sheathed his blade, the rainwater dripping from the steel. He leaned back, eyes on the stars faintly visible through gaps in the cloud cover. Memories flickered, his fallen clan, the villages burned, faces he would never forget. And yet, here, among these strangers who had chosen to act rather than flee, he felt a fragile thread of hope.
Kaito nudged him. "You're thinking too much again."
"I am," Rin admitted softly. "But thinking keeps me alive. And alive is better than gone."
Kaito's gaze lingered on him, thoughtful. "You've got skill, and you've got people who follow you or at least respect you. Why not… make your own clan? Build something that lasts? Not just revenge, but… life."
Rin's eyes narrowed slightly, considering. The words settled like embers in the night. He hadn't thought about a future beyond blood and fire in years. A clan. People who trusted him, who could stand with him. Not just for vengeance, but for something worth protecting.
"Maybe…" he murmured, voice low, almost to himself. "Maybe one day. If the world allows it."
Kaito smiled, a spark of hope in his tired eyes. "Then I'll be there, helping you build it. No matter what comes."
Ayame approached and handed Rin a small cup of sake, steam curling into the cool night air. "Drink. For the living. For what comes next."
Rin looked at it, then at Kaito. Slowly, he lifted the cup. "To the living," he said, voice low.
Kaito echoed him, louder this time. "To what comes next."
They drank in silence, letting the warmth spread through them. Outside, the forest whispered in the rain, the mist slowly thinning. Somewhere north, the Serpent regrouped. Somewhere north, more lives waited to be protected or lost.
Rin stood last, looking toward the horizon. "Then we go north," he said quietly. "Together. The road ahead will be long, but it ends only when we decide it does."
Kaito straightened, determination flickering in his eyes. "Together," he said, voice firm.
Ayame nodded, sheathing her naginata. "Then we move at first light. There's fire in the world yet we just have to follow it."