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The laughter didn't last beyond sunset.
When the final lanterns drifted over the fields, all of the villagers had returned home, humming the melodies that had echoed all evening at the festival. Only the hum of the crickets and the ocean breeze could be heard.
Rael was by the empty square, his eyes following the lanterns which led to the forest. He was motionless, but he was no longer serene.
Robin climbed up quietly with notebook in hand. "You're not going to sleep, are you?"
"Not tonight," said Rael.
She looked at him for a moment. "You felt them again?"
He nodded once. "No, they didn't come here by chance."
"If you're right.this isn't a place for a fight,"
Robin let out a breath.
"I'll see that it doesn't," he said, putting on his gloves and checking the blades concealed inside the cuffs. "Stay with the others. Keep them near,"
Robin hesitated. "And if you don't come back?"
Rael looked at her, a hint of a smirk playing on the corner of his lips. "Then I wasn't fast enough."
He turned and walked into the forest before she could respond.
The forest at night was alive in a quiet way – the call of the frogs, the rustle of the wind between the long, bent trees. The moonlight filtered between the distorted forms to silver the forest floor.
Rael was a shadow in motion. Stopping after a few paces to listen—breathing slow and steady—until he detected that unmistakable motion of the air that was just a little unnatural.
He dodged just in time as a knife flashed through the spot where his head had been. The knife lodged in a tree trunk with a dull thud.
Rael straightened, his eyes slitting. "I suppose that's an end to
Three figures emerged out of the trees. The same ones, it seemed, who'd been playing along at the festival, the "travelers" who danced too easily, laughing too freely.
The one in front pulled back his hood. "Rael of the Black Cross," he said, his voice flat and precise. "You've caused enough trouble."
Rael cocked his head slightly. "Cipher Pol, then.".
"CP0," the man corrected. "You weren't easy to find either."
"Good," Rael said. "Would've been disappointing if you were."
The agent moved first, fast and silent. Rael sidestepped the punch, caught the wrist, and twisted, jamming his elbow into the ribs of the man. A audible crack split the night.
The second swung from behind, sword shining in the sunlight. But Rael deflected the blow with his forearm guard and turned, delivering a kick that brought the man crashing down.
The third agent was frozen, his eyes fixed on Rael. His posture changed. He was ready.
'Shigan,' he whispered
The air was electric as his finger pushed out. Rael was barely able to deflect it, feeling the force shudder through his arm.
"Your training with Rokushiki isn't bad either," Rael said while flexing his hand.
The agent sneered at me. "You'll be dead before the next move."
Rael disappeared. One blink of an eye, and he was nowhere to be seen. The agent turned around, bewildered, just in time for Rael's fist to crack into his chest, knocking him into a tree.
When the dust settled, two of the agents were down. The third, the leader, was on his knee with blood dripping from his lip.
Rael knelt before him. "You shouldn't have interfered in this."
"They'll just keep coming," the man spat with shaking breath. "You can't stop them."
Rael spoke in a calm voice. "Perhaps not. But you won't be giving them the report either."
He stood up and walked away, the sound of the waves filling the silence.
By dawn, the island was at peace again. The festival grounds were hushed, the lanterns swaying gently in the morning light.
Robin was already up, and he was sitting out on the porch when Rael got back. He was dusty, with his tunic ripped at the shoulder.
She stared at him, then at the small scratch on his cheek. "You found them," she said.
He didn't answer.
"You didn't kill them all, did you?"
Rael looked out at the sea. "Two will live. One won't." "This won't end here," Robin let out slowly. "It never does," he said and sat down beside her, his eyes fixed on the horizon where the sun and the waves met. "But it'll be quiet for a while." From far away, her laughter echoed in the early morning as Kaya woke up. The laughter made it seem as if everything was normal again. Robin closed her notebook, her tone less harsh. "You know they'll start asking questions." Rael smiled slightly. "Then I will lie better." The light of the morning strengthened, banishing the night – but under the warmth of the sun, the shadows lay patiently.
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