-Sob- I hate this chapter. You will probably guess why after reading it, but… -sob-
Well… yeah, enjoy the chapter. I won't… -sniff-
The bed-rest had certainly helped. The pain had essentially gone, apart from a small twinge then and there, and an aggravating limp. But hopefully that would soon pass. She was finally outside now, picking some flowers to lighten up the cottage a bit. She had been wandering around the area for hours now, and enjoyed every second of it.
For some reason, as soon as she hobbled back inside the cute little cottage, flowers in hand, something felt terribly amiss. She looked around tentatively, tanto suddenly in hand, until something caught her eye. She turned, and a soft gasp escaped her lips.
The falcon she had dubbed jokingly Hayabusa Two was lying motionless on the ground, two arrows imbedded deeply in its chest. Blood stained the soft downy feathers a deep red.
She rushed over, bending down, dropping the flowers on the ground. It was certainly dead. There was a small piece of parchment tied to one of the arrows. She tore it off the arrow furiously, reading the neatly inked words.
We are coming for you, Hayabusa.
There was a bloodstain next to the words. Whether it was blood from the falcon or not, she didn't know.
Amber eyes widened. Hayabusa is being hunted? By whom?
The poor falcon… why did anybody have to hurt it? It was just an innocent animal…
"Kasumi?" Hayabusa himself stepped in, and stopped dead at the sight of the dead falcon.
She wordlessly handed him the piece of parchment. He scanned over the words before tearing it up, letting the pieces flutter to the ground. She looked up at him in surprise, and saw that his emerald eyes were filled with deep angst as he picked up the falcon's body.
"We have to leave here, Kasumi, otherwise the casualties could be a lot greater. Get everything you need,"
"You're coming with me? But-"
Hayabusa stopped her with a hand. "Don't argue, Kasumi, just get ready to go before you or I are the next victims,"
With those chilling words, he left the room with the falcon's body. She stared after him for a moment, before limping down to her room to gather the meagre possessions she had.
When she returned, she found that he had packed. Mostly weapons of various sorts, including some she had never seen before, and a bucket, cups, and a fishing rod.
"These might be useful," he said simply when she questioned him about the latter objects.
He picked up one interesting weapon, spinning it around before holstering it. To her, it looked like a set of bladed nunchakus. Very deadly, especially with Hayabusa's finesse.
Never before had she seen such obvious hatred in Hayabusa's eyes. She followed him outside as he locked the door.
Goodbye, cute little cottage. I guess this is it, huh? Back to the forests. Back to fighting to survive. But I will be alright.
She smiled bitterly. Fighting, you get used to it. The story of my life, after all.