Tenjo felt her hand slip off the hairpin, and without the support the corpse it was embedded in fell over, making a wet thump on the stones as it landed. It didn't move, slumping on its back with eyes staring blanking up into the sky.

  As she looked at it a tight feeling of guilt took a hold of her chest. It was very irrational, she knew. He had tried to kill her. Blood was still running from her hand where he had taken care to enjoy causing her as much pain and fear as possible before finishing her off.

  If she hadn't killed him, she would be the one in a pool of spreading blood. But knowing that didn't stop the little voice in the back of her mind saying a healthy life was now over by her hand, and that the man she had just met would never walk or talk again.

  The final strike replayed over and over again in her mind, flashing before her eyes every time she blinked. Tenjo could still feel how her hand had moved on its own, turning a harmless piece of jewelry into a weapon that sunk into the soft flesh of his throat, slicing through the arteries that pumped life through his veins and opening them up to the world.

  The worst part though, was that it felt good. The feeling of satisfaction that had washed over her when she first realized he was dead scared her as much as the tip of the knife that had been about to take her life.

  In the middle of the fight as well, when she landed her first blow. Her only thought at the time was that it wasn't deep enough to end it. Come to think of it, had she smiled as her blade sliced open his flesh?

  Tenjo stopped pacing and looked back towards where he lay. The blood had continued to spread, mixing with the still running water and being drawn over to the ravine. The sight of the crimson liquid as it reflected the moonlight triggered something in her, and she bent over and vomited the contents of her already empty stomach for the second time that day.

  It too mixed with the water, as well as the blood that was falling from her arm. It needed to be bandaged before she lost any more. Aura had a healing effect, but she hadn't nearly reached the level of refinement needed to stop the bleeding of a large wound like this.

  She gave another glance to the stranger's body. He wouldn't be using any medical supplies, right? Looting the dead was something so taboo she didn't even want to think about it, but this was different, surely.

  Finding an excuse to do something else, she first collected both of her lost weapons, the tanto and katana fitting back into their scabbards smoothly after she wiped the blades clean with her unbloodied sleeve.

  Then Tenjo turned to the corpse, and begrudgingly began to approach it. The scent of blood had partially been washed but as she drew in close enough to touch it still rose up overpoweringly. Inside his robe where it opened, she could see a pocket where a large cloth pouch had been placed.

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  Asking his spirit to forgive her as she did so, she pulled the bag free and opened the distance back up between them. As she picked out the bandages from inside, she realized that she had no idea how to properly tie them with only one hand.

  While she struggled to wrap them around her wound, she noticed how unusual they were. Rather than a normal white, they were black with a thin stripe of red running down the middle. They were made of a strange material that absorbed the flow of blood without darkening or expanding in size at all.

  When Tenjo touched them, they were dry to the touch, despite the blood that had been on them. There was a note in the bag as well, along with money and personal positions.

  The target must be taken alive, for the sake of our goal. Afterwards, deliver the target to the nearby city of Oukon, where I will be waiting. There I will give to you your promised reward, and the position that in our organization that you seek. I will dispatch a man to assist you, one who will also serve as an example of our ability to grant you the power that you desire. Give him this letter when you meet, it will serve as proof of your identity.

  Tenjo slowly lowered the letter, and then returned it to the bag before placing it back on the corpse. This was it, the confirmation that Daichi really was gone. Snatched away by whoever this organization was, for whatever reason.

  That was enough to make her break, and she began to cry as all of the penned-up emotions inside her came pouring out in a flood.

  Her brother was gone, and now she had run off on a fools quest to find him, leaving everything in her life behind. She had no choice now but to rely on her sword, only to find that she was terrified both of getting hurt and hurting others, no matter how deserved it might be.

  If she couldn't get past that, did it make her a failure as a warrior? But if she could throw away her care about killing and maiming, would that make her less of a person? A thousand questions swirled and fought in her mind, overpowering her ability to think.

  She went to wipe her eyes, mixing tears and snot with the blood and water already on her soaked sleeve. One deep breath came after another, as she struggled to bring her emotions under control.

  She needed to get back her hairpin. After a moment of hesitation, Tenjo returned for the fourth time to the corpse. The blank gaze seemed to meet her eyes, and she noticed for the first time a faint smile still on the lips of the man, in the process of changing when his muscles ceased their movement.

  Her hand froze in the air as she reached out, and then she forced it forwards to grip the bloody silver jewelry. The squelching noise it made as it pulled free was almost enough to make her want to abandon it, but she followed through, pulling the token free.

  Tenjo gave a bow of respect to the dead man before leaving. It was strange. She had never had any problem remembering to do it in sparring, but now when being respectful really mattered it had somehow slipped her mind.

  Maybe that was part of the source for her guilt, respect having been thrown away in her struggle to survive at the last moment. As she washed the crescent before donning it once more, she forced all of the unneeded thoughts out of her head.

  Only one thing really mattered. Tenjo knew where her brother was going to be, and she was going to get him back.

  Whatever it took.

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                          Chapter end

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