After following the youkai leader, Tetsu for 15 minutes, Mizuki could already tell something was off. She was led into the deserted woods away from the village town centre; her heartbeat raced as the last remaining hint of civilisation disappeared from sight.
Out of the corner of her eye, the other twenty-or-so youkai were watching her like hawks. She knew if she didn't escape now, no one would be able to find her in the woods; so before Tetsu could turn his back, she took off in full speed in the opposite direction.
However, her ankle was caught in a tight loop of a rope held by Tetsu. She was dragged mercilessly against the soil, while she desperately thrashed around and clawed at the ground. Tetsu tutted as he said, "Not so quick, girl. Do you know how long I waited for another one of Heaven's royalty? The mark on your collarbone is just like another that I have seen on another's arm."
Mizuki stopped struggling and repeated, "Arm? Ken-nii? Did you know Ken-nii?"
Tetsu grabbed the girl roughly by the neck and taunted, "Yeah, he was crying and begging for me to let him go like a wimp when I dealt with him."
Her blood ran cold as she imagined her brother's corpse; "So you finally shut up. That's good. It will make eating you easier."
Mizuki turned to stare at Tetsu's hysterical expression in disbelief, stuttering, "Ea..eat?"
He stroked her cheek lovingly, staring hungrily at her exposed neck and breathed, "Yes...I will devour your living flesh and drink your blood to become the strongest immortal youkai! Something that Kougaiji-sama can't promise me."
Mizuki felt his foul hot breath on her neck and closed her eyes, praying to the heavens for the Emperor's mercy. Without warning, there was a loud gunshot and Mizuki felt something warm splash onto her face. Tetsu released her immediately with an anguished yell, clutching his bleeding shoulder.
Still in shock, she touched the liquid on her face and inspected her blood-stained hands. Her body shivered as her eyes reflected the deep red colour; her head ached as she heard a woman screaming and baby crying. Mizuki frowned and tried to focus on the weird memory, but the sharp pain in her head stopped her from trying. Gasping for breath, she fell to the ground with her eyes closed. Gradually, the sound of fighting dulled and darkness swallowed her.
Mizuki groaned as she woke up in a bed of a hotel room; her head still ached.
She sat up gingerly, and the man with a monocle and a white dragon on his shoulder suggested, "Don't force yourself, Mizuki-chan." Mizuki remembered the blood on her hands and inspected them to find them clean.
Another man with long red hair and red eyes noted, "Hakkai cleaned you up. You were covered in blood when we took you back." Mizuki turned to look at the red-haired man and he suddenly pounced on her, grabbing her chin to look at him.
She backed away from him and stared at him with wide eyes. "Mizuki-chan, you have very pretty eyes. The shade of blue keeps changing. Interesting," he commented.
"Stop scaring the girl, Gojyo," Hakkai reprimanded.
Mizuki could smell the lingering smell of smoke in the room and turned to see the source, a blonde priest with bright purple eyes. A much shorter brunette boy noted, "That's Sanzo."
She slipped her leg out of the covers and pushed herself up from the bed, walking towards the smoking man. The priest kept his eyes on the newspaper on the table, but Mizuki tried not to notice and bowed, saying courteously, "I am Mizuki, the sixth daughter of the Heaven Emperor. From now on, I will be trying my best to protect the Sutra."
Sanzo glared at the girl despite of her impeccable manners, and growled, "You're a burden. You can't even defend yourself from the youkai. You fainted at the sight of blood. I don't need a liability like you." "Sanzo!" Hakkai, Gojyo and Goku shouted indignantly at Sanzo's cold disdain for the newcomer. The insult stung Mizuki's heart deeply; she bit her lip as tears started to well up in her eyes.
Goku stuck his tongue at Sanzo and grabbed her arm to pull her away from the bully.
Gojyo assured, "I will personally kill anyone who harms you! So don't worry about it!"
Hakkai took a napkin and dapped the tears from her face, whispering, "Sanzo just needs some time to get used to you. He doesn't mean it." She nodded and forced a smile.
After a few minutes, she faked a yawn and was led to her bedroom by the worried trio. Once the door was closed, she clasped a hand to her mouth so as not to let out a single cry. Two steady streams of tears flowed down her cheeks, staining her silk robes.
She stared outside the window at the full moon, reminiscing the nights when Ken would come back victorious from his battles and bathe in the moonlight together. She whispered to the moon like she used to, "Ken-nii, where are you? Tonight is a full moon. Can you see it from where you are now?" She pushed the thought of her brother killed out of her mind; her brother was too strong to have fallen into the hands of Tetsu.
The dull ache in her head still hadn't subsided; Mizuki's eyebrows furrowed as she struggled to remember who the screaming voice belonged to or how she had that memory. She made a mental promise to herself, "I need to become stronger to find Ken-nii and complete the mission. Maybe along the way, I will solve the mystery of that memory."