They left the Silent Moon Shrine before noon.
No grand farewell. No final rituals.
Just the sound of sandals against stone, the soft creak of wooden gates closing behind them, and the mountain wind whispering through ancient trees as if committing their departure to memory.
Hiroto walked at the front, Yui holding his hand tightly.
She hadn't asked questions not yet but her grip told him she felt the change. Children always did. She glanced back more than once, her small face uncertain.
"Will the bell ring again?" she asked quietly.
Hiroto smiled faintly. "Maybe someday."
Tsukiyo stood at the shrine steps, her form half-fading into light. She had insisted she could not travel far from the shrine not yet.
"But you will not walk alone," she had said.
Goro adjusted the pack slung over his shoulder. "Let's hope Kanezawa's as welcoming as I remember."
Hiroto doubted it.
The mountain path descended sharply, winding through old forest roads that had once carried pilgrims, merchants, and soldiers alike. Moss-covered markers lined the trail, their inscriptions worn away by centuries of rain.
"This road's old," Goro said casually. "Older than most clans."
Hiroto glanced at him. "You've been here before?"
"Once," Goro replied. "Didn't end well."
Hiroto decided not to ask.
As they walked, Hiroto felt it again, that strange sensation of being watched. Not hostile. Not probing like the Shadow Seer.
Observant.
He flexed his fingers, keeping his shadow calm.
"You feel it too?" Goro asked quietly.
Hiroto nodded. "It's not following us… it's remembering us."
Goro's expression darkened. "That's worse."
They stopped near a stream to rest. Yui knelt to splash water onto her face, laughing softly as droplets sparkled in the sunlight. The sound eased something tight in Hiroto's chest.
Goro crouched beside him. "You did good back there."
Hiroto snorted quietly. "I almost lost control."
"But you didn't," Goro said. "That's what matters."
Hiroto stared at the flowing water. "What happens in Kanezawa?"
Goro leaned back on his hands. "Information. Trouble. Maybe allies. Definitely enemies."
"That reassuring, huh?"
Goro grinned. "I try."
They resumed walking.
The First Sign
They encountered the corpse just before dusk.
The body lay slumped against a roadside shrine, blood darkened to rust. His clothes marked him as a messenger simple robes, travel sandals, a broken satchel nearby.
Yui gasped softly. Hiroto stepped in front of her instantly.
Goro knelt beside the body, eyes sharp. "Fresh. Maybe a day."
Hiroto swallowed. "Bandits?"
Goro shook his head. "No."
Tsukiyo's voice echoed faintly in Hiroto's mind learn to listen.
He focused.
The shadows around the body felt… wrong. Twisted. Torn.
"Shadow damage," Hiroto murmured.
Goro looked at him sharply. "You sure?"
Hiroto nodded. "Not Shadowforge. Something else."
Goro cursed under his breath. "So the rumors are true."
"What rumors?"
Goro stood slowly. "Shadow Hunters. Not the Daimyo's men but mercenaries trained to kill things like you."
Hiroto's chest tightened. "Already?"
"News travels fast when bloodlines awaken," Goro said grimly.
They moved the body off the road, offering a quiet prayer. Hiroto felt a weight settle in his stomach.
Kanezawa will not be safe.
Nightfall and Firelight
They camped beneath an overhang as night fell. Goro lit a small fire, keeping it low and controlled.
Yui fell asleep quickly, exhaustion overtaking her.
Hiroto sat awake, staring into the flames.
"You're thinking too loud," Goro said.
Hiroto sighed. "I keep wondering how many people will die because of me."
Goro poked the fire. "Wrong question."
Hiroto looked up. "What's the right one?"
"How many would die if you did nothing?"
Hiroto went quiet.
Goro glanced at him. "Power doesn't create danger. It reveals it."
The fire crackled.
A branch snapped.
Both of them froze.
Goro's hand went to his sword. Hiroto's shadow stirred, but did not surge.
From the darkness, a voice spoke.
"Easy. I'm not your enemy."
A woman stepped into the firelight.
She wore travel armor beneath a torn cloak, a spear strapped across her back. Her hair was tied high, her eyes sharp but wary.
Hiroto felt it immediately.
Spiritual sensitivity.
Not shadow but close.
Goro narrowed his eyes. "That depends."
The woman raised her hands slowly. "Name's Aiko. I hunt monsters. Not children."
Her gaze flicked briefly to Hiroto's shadow, then away, deliberately.
"I felt a disturbance," she continued. "Followed it here."
Hiroto stood. "You felt the Seer?"
Aiko's eyes widened a fraction. "So it was you."
Goro stepped forward. "Careful."
Aiko exhaled slowly. "Relax. If I wanted you dead, you wouldn't have known I was there."
Hiroto believed her and that scared him.
"What do you want?" he asked.
Aiko hesitated. "To warn you."
"About Kanezawa?" Goro asked.
"Yes," she said. "Shadow Hunters are gathering there. Someone's paying well."
Hiroto's heart sank. "The Black Daimyo."
Aiko nodded. "And not just him."
Silence fell heavy.
"Then why help us?" Hiroto asked.
Aiko met his gaze. "Because I've seen what happens when the wrong people control shadows."
She turned to leave.
"If you're smart," she added, "you'll avoid the city."
Goro laughed humorlessly. "We never were."
Aiko paused. "Then survive."
She vanished back into the darkness.
Resolve
Hiroto stared into the night long after she left.
Kanezawa was no longer just a destination.
It was a trap.
But also an opportunity.
Goro sat beside him. "You scared?"
Hiroto nodded. "Yes."
Goro smiled faintly. "Good. Means you're alive."
Hiroto looked at Yui, sleeping peacefully despite everything.
"I won't run anymore," he said quietly. "If they're coming for me… then I'll be ready."
His shadow responded, not violently.
Steadily.
Like a blade still in its sheath.
The road ahead waited.
And it remembered.