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A loud clang echoed throughout the confines of the room as Tira's ringblade collided against the Rekki-maru.
Tira jumped back, giggling, twirling her weapon around.
Taki narrowed her eyes, and raised the Rekki-maru up in preparation to strike. She was about to strike out at Tira, but before she could, the girl began charging at her, her smile widening.
The girl jumped into the air, lifting the ringblade high above her. She came down, slamming the blade down towards Taki.
Taki jumped back, the blade impaling the ground where she had been standing.
Tira, still gripping the weapon, swung herself through the hollow center of it, and kicked Taki in the face.
Taki tumbled to the ground as Tira spun herself around through the blade, laughing. She rose to her feet, and rubbed her jaw.
The little girl smiled at her, tilting her head. Taki swung the Rekki-maru at Tira, her opponent just barely evading the blade. Before Tira could act again, Taki dropped down low and swept the girl off her feet with a swift kick of her leg.
Tira fell to the floor, the ringblade slipping from her grip. As it rolled away from her and fell to the floor, Taki drove down the Rekki-maru to incapacitate her.
Tira kicked her legs up, nailing Taki in the face once more, and spun around before flipping onto her feet. She leapt over to her ringblade and picked it up off of the ground. She spun the weapon around, smiling as she looked at Taki.
Taki backed up and leapt up and over Tira, landing on her feet behind her. She tried to cut her across the back, but Tira leapt through the ringblade, away from Taki. As soon as she landed, she lifted up the ringblade and spun around, knocking the Rekki-maru out of Taki's hand.
Taki watched as her weapon flew across the room away from her. She attempted to dive towards it, but Tira swung around with the ringblade, and cut Taki on her upper arm, and then kicked her back towards the bed.
She collided against the wall next to the bed. Tira laughed as she walked towards Taki, a spring in her step and a ringblade spinning up and down around her arm.
Taki reached out around her for a weapon – anything she could use.
Her hand felt something made of steel that it could wrap around lying in the clutter of thrown objects near her bed.
She grabbed it and swung it at Tira, cutting her across the abdomen.
Tira staggered back, holding her stomach.
Taki looked at what she had grabbed – the Mekki-maru. It had been knocked out of its sheath amidst all the movement and chaos of the fight.
With what the Mekki-maru did to Toki, she didn't want to use this weapon any more than she had to.
But right now, she had to.
She rose to her feet, and raised her blade as she stared Tira down.
The girl was no longer smiling. There was another look in her eyes now. Still glazed, but not happy. These eyes looked bitter and angry.
Everything about her was different now. The way she carried herself. The way she moved. The look on her face.
Almost as if she was a different person.
She growled and snarled as she leapt at Taki, swinging the ringblade around wildly.
Taki tried dodging the swings as nimbly as she could, but was cut on both her legs and her side.
She grunted in pain as she reeled away from Tira, the girl's expression now hateful.
Taki jumped up, towards Tira, her knee crashing into the girl's jaw. Tira fell to the floor with a loud thud, the ringblade sliding away from her once more.
Taki stepped towards her, to finally finish the fight.
Tira screamed angrily and turn around, lunging at Taki with a blade in her hand – the Rekki-maru. She must've grabbed it when she fell.
Taki blocked the blade with the Mekki-maru. She then delivered a powerful chop to Tira's wrist with her free hand, causing her to drop the Rekki-maru. Taki picked up the dagger and wielded them both.
Tira's eyes narrowed in anger. She stepped away from Taki slowly.
"Who are you?" Taki asked. "Why were you trying to kill me? How do you know so much about the Azure Knight?"
Tira made no answer. She only stared at Taki.
"Who are you?" Taki demanded to know again.
Tira bore her teeth angrily. Then she whistled.
A large crow flew in through the open window and began attacking Taki, flying around her face.
Wildly, Taki swung around, attempting to get rid of the bird.
She swung with both blades, and cut through the bird. It fell to the ground, and Taki looked around.
Tira was gone.
So was the ringblade.
Taki moved to the window and looked around.
Down the street, she saw her. Tira running away, her cloak flapping in the wind, and her ringblade in hand.
Taki leapt down from the window and into the street, and chased after her.
Through the dark streets of Sondrio they ran, the only sound being the echo of their footsteps, and Tira's panting.
Tira took a sharp left, and Taki followed suit.
This chase continued down various turns and twists of the city's streets.
Then, down an alleyway.
Tira ran down the dark road, and the echo of her footsteps stopped.
Taki stopped just in front of the alleyway entrance. This was in all likelihood a trap.
But that girl had information on the Azure Knight.
That girl was a lead to Soul Edge.
"Come out here, now," Taki said. "You've stopped. I'm guessing you've nowhere else to run."
No answer came.
Fine. She'd have to go in after her.
Taki walked down the alley, both the Rekki-maru and Mekki-maru in her hands, ready to strike.
As she walked, she heard Tira whistle.
Then she heard three more whistles join in.
She was outnumbered.
She raised her weapons and took a defensive stance, prepared to defend herself.
Four crows flew out of the shadows and into the sky. They circled overhead.
Tira, and three others stepped out from the shadows.
They were all cloaked, just as Tira was. Two of them were hooded. The third, a tall man with his hair in a braid, wore a golden, etched mask, hiding all his facial features.
Tira's bitter, cold eyes bore into Taki. Her hand was gripping her ringblade tightly, cutting into her fingers somewhat.
"Who are you?" Taki demanded to know. "Why try to have me killed."
"You ask too many questions," the masked man said, "You threaten stability. You put your nose where it does not belong. Doing that will get it cut off." He drew a sword and waved it around as he spoke that last sentence.
"You don't frighten me," Taki told him.
"Perhaps I don't," he said, lowering his sword. "But little Tira here does, ja?"
He wasn't wrong. This girl unnerved Taki immensely. Perhaps the fact that a young child could be so cold and quick to kill? But how different was Taki? Raised among the Fu-ma, she was fighting deadly fights from an early age.
Taki shook the thoughts from her mind. These were questions for another time.
"I need to know about the Azure Knight," Taki demanded.
"You'll get nothing from us," the masked man answered. He turned to the two hooded ones and said, "Kill her."
The two assassins drew their weapons. Tira and the masked man ran off.
Taki needed to make this quick.
The first assassin swung a club at Taki's head. Taki ducked down low, and stabbed the Mekki-maru into their leg. They cried out and fell the floor, as Taki ripped out the dagger.
She turned towards the second assassin. They slashed at Taki with a sword, but she blocked the blade with her daggers. She kicked them back, and turned to face the first assassin, who'd risen to their feet.
They swung their club again, and again she ducked under it. She stabbed one blade into their stomach, and the other into their neck.
The assassin cried weakly, and fell to the floor as Taki pulled the daggers out. She turned to the other assassin.
His hood had fallen. He was a young man, a few years older than Tira.
Despite seeing his comrade his just die, there was no fear in his eyes. He'd been conditioned for this.
He charged towards Taki, and attempted to pierce her stomach. She parried with the Rekki-maru, and stabbed the Mekki-maru into his arm. She followed up by kneeing him in the stomach, causing him to drop his sword.
He fell to the floor, weakened. He tried to whistle, but Taki kicked him to shut him up.
She looked around. Tira and the masked man were long gone by now.
She turned to the assassin groaning on the ground. She picked him up, and threw him against the wall.
"I have questions," she said. "You're going to answer them for me."
The man said nothing, staring at Taki angrily through narrowed eyes. He puckered his lips to whistle, but Taki socked him in the jaw.
"You're not calling for help," she said. "Who are you people?"
"You'll get nothing out of me," he spat.
Taki raised the Rekki-maru and stabbed the assassin in the arm. He let out a small cry of pain through his teeth, but didn't speak.
"Who are you people?" Taki repeated.
The man said nothing. Taki twisted the blade.
He cried out through his teeth again, but still said nothing.
Taki sighed, and grabbed hold of the Rekki-maru's hilt. She began twisting it, and moving it up and down inside of his arm.
He let out a scream. "All right! All right!" he shouted. "The Birds of Passage… We're the Birds of Passage…"
"The who?"
"We kill people."
"I gathered that. Why me?"
"We don't need a reason," the man told her, "But it's like the Master said, you ask too many questions."
Taki grabbed him by the throat.
"Who is the master?"
"Solnhofen…," he choked out.
"Is Solnhofen the Azure Knight?" she demanded to know, letting go of his throat.
"Heh," the assassin said, wheezing. "No. Master Solnhofen only leads the Birds. Nightmare leads Schwarzsturm. We aspire to reach their greatness."
"Why?"
"It's beautiful," the man said, chuckling. "The chaos, the destruction. The rampant death and corruption. It's amazing!"
"Where is the Azure Knight?" she asked.
The man laughed. "Once word gets out that you're in his way, he'll find you," he said.
Taki twisted the blade some more. The man screamed.
"Germany!" he screamed. "Nightmare's in Germany!"
"Where in Germany?"
"Ostrheinsburg," the man said.
Taki removed the Rekki-maru from his arm. She sheathed the blade and turned away from him.
"Be smart about this," she said as she walked away. "You're getting to live. Keep it that way."
The man whistled.
Taki immediately drew the Rekki-maru from its sheath and prepared for more large crows to swoop in.
They did, and she cut them down out of the air, or scared them off.
The young man picked up his sword and charged at Taki, screaming wordlessly.
Taki tried sidestepping him, but received a cut across her arm.
The Rekki-maru, however, went into his throat.
The sword fell with a clatter, and the body with a thud.
Taki turned away and went back to the inn.
Ostrheinsburg, Germany.
She had a lead.