Tracking

Present day

"We've got a problem," thought Kazuki as he glided just below the cloud line, his feathered back drenched in condensation, "They've split up."

Kazuki winced as Aya allowed Tsuki into their psychic conversation, the presence of another consciousness straining everybody's energy levels.

"How many groups?" she asked.

Kazuki peered down at the ant-like dots scuttling across the fields below.

"Just two I think," he replied, veering off after one of the groups, "About a third of them are moving off towards a field of long grass to the right." He adjusted his balance after some unexpected turbulence. "They may be trying to ambush you guys."

Tsuki paused. "Do we go after them?"

"No, you'd better stay on the first group," Kazuki advised, "I'll keep an eye on the others and make sure they don't cause you any trouble."

"OK," Tsuki replied, "Stay in touch."

Kazuki felt their obstructive psychic presences fade away and while this was a relief for his aching mind, he couldn't help but feel alone.

Tsuki jogged along the bottom of a sandy ditch, trying to keep as low as possible. She watched the eagle rise up into the clouds, only to come back down again further to her right above a large patch of long grass, which rustled as the red-clad men pushed their way through.

"It's definitely a trap," said Kaito, speeding up to catch up with Tsuki.

"Don't worry," she assured him, "Zuki-kun's got our back."

Kaito raised an eyebrow. "I wasn't talking about us…"

Kazuki flapped around the edges of the field. He clacked his beak in frustration, realising that he had lost the men. He flew lower, trying to catch the sign of red clothing.

"I can't do this from the air," he thought, concerned about the lack of movement below him.

Turning into a robin, he descended towards the outskirts of the long grass, hoping that his small form would help to keep him undetected. He became a weasel, darting through the labyrinth of grass, his keen nose sniffing out danger.

"Zuki?" said Tsuki, the unexpected voice in his head making him jump, "Where are you?"

"I'm in the grass," he thought, annoyed, "Tracking them on foot… Well, paw." He twitched his small black nose. "Just keep on target, I'll be alright."

Suddenly, something rustled in the grass in front of him. Kazuki tensed, creeping forward cautiously. A clump of grass shook in front of him, dislodging clouds of pollen and tiny aphids. Kazuki relaxed as a small furry head poked out of the grass.

"Just a field mouse," he thought, sighing.

The little creature eyed him curiously, wiggling its long whiskers at him. Kazuki smiled, until he saw the face grinning at him from behind the clump. Hostile green eyes stared at him from within a mask of brown mud and dirt camouflage clumsily daubed on the man's smug looking face. Crooked yellow teeth stuck out in a mocking smirk. Kazuki blinked in surprise as he rose from the ground, towering over the weasel. His entire body had been covered in the brown mud, concealing his distinctive red uniform. A hooded cloak of yellowy-green long grass was draped across him, giving him the ability to become practically invisible when hiding in the long grass. A concoction of earthy materials masked the man's scent, which in his case was probably substantial. Kazuki started as three more camouflaged men rose from the grass around him, all grinning in triumph. Kazuki stood there dumbly, amazed that all these men could have been so close without him noticing. Without warning, the first man whipped out a hand, tossing a net over Kazuki's stunned form. Caught, Kazuki struggled to free himself. He tried to gnaw the net with his sharp weasel fangs, but found the net was made out of some kind of fine, flexible metal and was too tough to break. The holes in the net were also far too small for even the tiniest animal. Another man stood over him, about to reach a padded gloved hand down and pick up the writhing bundle of fur and net. Grunting with the strain, the weasel rapidly expanded, becoming a raging, small elephant. The man was knocked backwards, Kazuki's trunk driving the air from his lungs. The metal did not break, but stretched massively and the fine wire would have cut deep into his flesh, if not for his nigh impenetrable elephant skin. The other three men leapt at him, brandishing long knives. Kazuki swung his head around, catching one with his trunk and stabbing the other in the shoulder with a tusk. Both men were thrown to the ground and lay there groaning. The last man, however, darted around the flailing trunk and jumped on Kazuki's back. Kazuki reared back, still enveloped by the net, as the man tried to force his knife through the elephant's thick hide. Kazuki flicked his trunk over his head, glancing the man's head and knocking him off. He lay stunned on the ground as Kazuki stamped his feet angrily. Kazuki raised a massive foot, intending to crush the prone enemy. The man cried out as Kazuki's foot descended, swinging wildly with the knife. Luckily for him, the blade found an area of thinner skin between the toes, just nicking the flesh and causing a shallow cut. Kazuki bellowed in pain, the seemingly insignificant wound hurting far more than it should have. He staggered back, his head swimming as he heard the sound of more men rustling through the grass towards him. Panicking, he transformed into a sparrow, slipping through the widened gaps in the net as it fell to the ground around him. Dodging the clumsy swipes from the man, he blasted out of the grass. Turning back into an eagle, he prepared to soar up to safety in the clouds above. He tried to flap his wings, but found he did not have the energy. Gazing confusedly down at the throbbing cut on his foot, he saw green liquid oozing from the gash.

"Oh shit!" he thought as his vision blurred, "Poison!"

He hung in the air for a moment, the strong wind keeping him airborne, but eventually gravity took control and he fell back down into the long grass among the waiting men. As he hit the ground, a multitude of voices called his name, the echoes reverberating through his head. Paralyzed and unable to sustain animal form, he turned back into a human lying face down in the smelly, choking mud of the field. A hand gripped his hair, painfully wrenching his head out of the mud. The shape of a head moved close to Kazuki's and inspected him intently. Even though the rest of the world seemed blurry to Kazuki, the man's grey, piercing eyes stood out sharply, filled with a mix of hate and achievement.

"Good boy," the rasping voice said, chilling Kazuki's soul, "You really are predictable."

With a laugh, Ryoichi's boot stamped down on the back of Kazuki's head, slamming it into the mud.