Chapter 11- Red String of Fate
Dusk began to fall on the province. A cloudy overcast blotted out the sun as it went its way behind the mountains. The road at this hour was bustling with people trying to return home before losing the last moments of daylight. Sticking out through the crowd was a hooded figure leading a black horse. They were draped in a worn, dirt stained cloak.
A slender hand of theirs reached for the hood and slipped it off. Revealed now was the face of a woman with sharp features and long black bangs obscuring her left eye.
She looked up into the black night and bared her teeth.
"At last." she said, as if speaking to the heavens themselves. "At last, I'll have you."
Shura secured her horse in a nearby stable and then slipped into a roadside tavern. The barkeep eyed the stranger suspiciously and any samurai present momentarily stopped drinking to check the location of their swords.
Having escaped the chill of the outdoors, Shura slipped off the cloak she had thoughtlessly taken from a merchant some weeks back. The cloak fell to the floor and Shura stretched out her feet in her favorite position. She let out a groan of relaxation.
She was in high spirits and splurged herself in expensive sake. After all, by luck she had stumbled into a village recently attacked by the Gang of Sinners. They had taken to horseback, but had finally stopped that night inside the city. Shura's legs were strong, but she had taken to horseback herself.
Perhaps it would be easier to simply interrogate her quarry for the location of their base. She was well aware. Shura had something grander planned. She wanted this little party of raiders to rejoin Jaken and his forces. The odds would be more against her that way. She liked those odds.
For now, she kept the party within eyesight. From her position, she could recline and indulge on cold sake while keeping her advantage.
At the first light of dawn, the Gang of Sinners returned to the road. They rode at a good speed, confident they had lost any pursuers and would continue to do so. All the while, they were being trailed by the Black Oni.
Shura noted they were traveling heavily with not just loot, but provisions for a long journey. She deduced that Jaken had separated his army into several different bands to raid different villages at random. After all, Jaken was not present in this war band. This presented two possibilities. The first was that Jaken's division was always on the move and the other war bands would return to him. The second was that the Gang of Sinners had a base they would all return to with their prizes. Shura was convinced her second theory was accurate. Unless he left a messenger to alert them about his departure, these parties would have no way of meeting up with him. The other problem was that the bandits were taking a lot of provisions and treasures with them. How could Jaken's army continue to travel with an ever growing treasury?
When she shared her theory to the demon, he had pointed out a problem. Jaken's forces attacked random parts of Japan. Making such a long journey would spoil food and tire out the men.
When she closely examined the men she was following, she noticed something. They didn't have much produce or meat with them. She wondered if the shadow surrounding the Gang of Sinners was only for show. Perhaps all this elusiveness was to confound their enemies and keep their base a secret. Maybe the food this band had was for themselves and the treasury robbed food only from nearby locations. It didn't sound very intimidating, but it did make sense. Jaken may have been greedy and homicidal, but he had the smarts of a leader.
Shura started to grimace. She threw a hand to her forehead and said, "Gah! Why am I thinking about such boring shit?"
Her demon spoke, "I rather you not share then."
The journey continued to be uneventful. The bandits only broke routine to rob for more supplies. Never once during this time, did they catch wind of her.
Uneventful… If only it had stayed that way.
The road the bandits were taking now was troubling her. The farther they journeyed down it, the farther her spirits sank. She hoped they would suddenly change route. However, they showed no signs of switching roads. In fact, they seemed to know exactly where they were going.
She knew what this meant. For whatever reason, they were headed towards a certain town. She didn't know if they were simply passing through or if they had business there. But one thing was for certain, she'd see him again.
Her heart fluttered. But it felt sick immediately after. Something told her they weren't returning to base. But she wouldn't expose herself now. She at least needed to know their intentions.