The only source of light for her now was the moon's luminous glow. The air was chilly and she was shivering in her pink kimono, but it didn't bother her. The jar in her hand was precious, maybe even more precious than her own life. The jar was the antidote to the disease. She had to deliver it on time.
Branches and leaves snapped under her feet as she ran to the village, only guided by her mental GPS system. She stopped for a moment to catch her breath and make a mental note of which direction she was going. Head north-east for 0.25 kilometer and then turn west and keep going for 0.5 kilometers. Or was it 0.75?
She shook her head in confusion. There's no time for doubt right now. Just go with your gut. Stay calm. You'll make it on time. Her feet started to run faster through the woods.
A rustle in the trees alerted her and she stopped, aware of her surroundings. She looked around, in search of an animal, or maybe a person.
It's probably just a squirrel. She thought reassuringly. I have to be more cautious. A lot of clans would kill to have this antidote. She looked around one last time and started off.
What she didn't know was that a boy was standing on one of the branches of an overgrown matsu tree, looking down at her. Looking down at her with those empty, blue eyes. The eyes that pierced through your chest and seem to look into your soul.
"Tch. So that's the Half-Phantom. She is just a mere girl with the antidote. Are you sure that is the girl, Nora?"
The boy, who looked around 17, had black hair that had a light purple tint, was pulled back into a short ponytail. He was in a black yukata and had a sharp katana in his right hand. His eyes surveyed the girl as she ran away into the forest.
A light voice spoke from the darkness, "Yes, Yato. Have I ever lied to you before? I've never blighted you either. You can trust me."
The katana, which had a brown hilt, glowed. When the racing light subsided, in the katana's place was a young girl. She was clad in a white kimono, tied with an obi that had different colored stripes of orange and red. She had short, black hair which ended just above her shoulders, and had dark eyes that were juxtapose to her porcelain skin. A hitaikakushi fell sideways on her even bangs.
"Well, should we go after her," Nora exclaimed, "or should we watch our opportunity slip away from our fingers?"
Yato glanced at his shinki. "No. I want to see what this so called 'Half-Phantom girl' can do first," Yato smirked. "Then I will see what I should do to her. What's her name anyway?"
"You've never asked for the name of a human before," Nora said questionably. "Why are you suddenly interested in her?" Nora waited for Yato to answer her, but only the rustling leaves of the trees answered her.
"Yato, why aren't you—." Nora was cut off abruptly by Yato's voice. "Just tell me," Yato said in a deathly voice. "Just tell me her name, Hiiro."
Nora took a sharp breath and quickly replied, afraid of angering the boy. "Her name is Hiyori Iki. She's the village's doctor's daughter. She hasn't evoked her Phantom side yet, but pretty soon she will. When she turns into one, we will be able to kill her then."
Nora turned to face her master. "Does that satisfy you?"
"Hiyori," Yato murmured. " Yeah, but how are you so sure that she is going to turn into her Phantom form tonight?"
"I knew you were going to say that," Nora said in a singsongy voice. "Here's the thing. Half-Phantoms don't die the way that normal Phantoms usually do. That's because Half-Phantoms are on the borderline of the North Shore and the Far Shore and their soul can be easily tugged into either side, sort of like regalias. The only way to evoke a Half-Phantom's Phantom side is to make them have a emotional breakdown with the Half-Phantom."
Nora took a breath and continued. "When they're emotionally unstable, that is when they'll show their cord. If their cord gets severed, they will die." The shinki suddenly stopped talking.
"Yato, are you following along?"
"Yeah, yeah," the boy murmured. "Just tell me what else you were going to say already so that we could get going with our job. "
"You said that you wanted to know how I know that she will show her cord tonight, right?" Nora questioned.
"Well," Nora continued, not waiting for Yato's answer, "the antidote we saw her carry is for her mother. That's why she will show her cord tonight. Her mother is about to die."