It was midnight from what Rae could tell. The full moon looming overhead like a dim light bulb. She stared at her old village from her perch in the trees on a hillside that overlooked it all. Her old home wasn't actually the village itself but a tiny town that was located just outside of it, though no one ever knew about it, or they just forgot about it, so she just referred to the whole Sound village as her home. It made everything less complicated that way.
Rae jumped out of the tree and snaked her way down the hillside, using the uneven patters of shadows thrown by the forest and shrubbery on the ground as her cover. She felt this job was too easy. But that was good, it meant someone had heard her prayer; no one knew she was here. Still, she remembered what Shujin had always said to her, 'Be prepared for the worst so when things turn sour you're ready for it'. She wouldn't let her guard down.
It never hurt to be a little precautions.
Rae walked past the front gates of the town and over to a small barn. There was only a lone horse inside. She stared at it for a moment and almost felt sorry that she was about to kill it along with countless other innocent people. 'Snap. Out. Of. It!' She scolded herself again. She pulled a matchbox from her pocket and opened it. It would only take one, this village-the whole village-had buildings that were mainly made of timber. It wouldn't take long for this place to catch fire.
She ran the match head against the sand like paper on the side of the box, a small spark set the it alight. She then threw it into one of the haystacks. Immediately the fire started eating away at the dry substance, the flames licking hungrily. The horse whinnies as she began walking away, panicking at the sudden danger that now flared before the helpless creature. Rae looked back and saw the pleading look in its eyes and her heart felt torn. She cursed herself, she was becoming too sentimental. Although Shujin said nothing about having to kill the animals in the village-just the people. So Rae moved quickly back to the horse, setting it free and leading it outside. A thought of having a quick escape came to her and she saddled the beast quickly, throwing the seat onto the animal's back and pulling the straps tight across its belly. The fire would not go unnoticed for long, she reminded herself. She heard cries of alarm coming from different locations among the small town. The barn was now completely enveloped in the hungry flames and un-savable, the tongues of the flames already eagerly stretching for the next building and catching it too on fire. Rae sprung to action, swinging easily onto her new steed and pulling her sword free from behind her.
She urged the horse into a run, lighting the remainder of the matches in her box and throwing them at another house as she passed it by. She tossed a flame at each building until she neared the top of the hill once again. Looking back at the ablaze village, she nodded in approval. That took care of the structures.
Rae then walked the horse into a small concealed part of the forest and tethered it to a tree before gripping her sword in her hand tightly and making her way back down into the screaming.
"It'll be over soon," she promised, whispering to the ears that would never hear her.
Stealthily, Rae wove her way into the chaos. She picked off the easiest first-the ones that were alone, everyone else too preoccupied to help them in trying to put out untamable fires. The fell swiftly before her blade, silently. None saw her coming as she killed from behind. No screams rang out to cry 'assassin', and no one paid the bodies she left behind any heed. The village was in chaos, no one had any time to figure out if it was the fires that killed the dead. Their homes, their possessions, their loved ones took up their thoughts. Deal with the crisis now, figure out what happened later.
Eventually, Rae had to move further in, towards the huddled group that scrambled about together. This time, they did see her coming, but none escaped. She cut down the helpless people with a cold expression. In her mind, she felt sick. Why did it have to be this village. Why her village. Why these people. It didn't make sense. But then again, it wasn't her job to questions Shujin's decisions. His orders were final and absolute.
Rae killed adult and child alike, men and women both, and the elderly. No one escaped, no one would be allowed to live. Her stomach turned as the resistance of each cut from her sword that met flesh sent a sickening reverberation up her arm. Even after the killing was over, she still felt the weight of her sword hitting those bodies. Still felt herself slicing away their lives.
These people had done nothing wrong. They were a peaceful village.
Now they were dead.
All because of her.
Rae sullenly made her way back to the tethered horse, she had to report that the mission was a success.