Thirteen hours. That's how long Master has been missing. It's not as long as when Shirayuki was held captive by the Claw of the Sea, but still far too long.
A small twig snaps under the sudden quick pressure of Obi jumping on and off a branch. Careless. Obi is normally quieter than this, but if the Prince's kidnapper is really who he said he was in the short letter he left behind on the inn bed that Master was sleeping on, then it might be better to make some noise, to bring the kidnapper to him. Obi moves quickly through the familiar forest, because of course he would take Master to that god forsaken place.
"I should have burnt that place down to a fine ash a decade ago."
Obi takes a quick glance to the sky above, even if the tree's leaves obscure most of it, Obi's trained eyes can spot the small dark shadows above.
Crows.
Obi has been compared to and called many different animals in his life time, but it is common in the underground to be called an animal. Assassins are usually called a specific animal after their first few missions, Obi is different, he has multiple, and that, along with his many other titles has earned him a great deal of enemies in the underground. The sight of Crows only confirms the letter, he knows these crows aren't here by chance, they're too organized, too coordinated. They are here to serve their master, "The Crow" of the underground.
Obi's frown deepens, this is exactly why he never stays in one place for too long, the risk of being located by other assassins from the underground is too high, especially if it's Obi they're looking for. Then again, Obi had never thought that he would come after him. He is supposed to be dead, He was killed by Obi, or so he believed. That was a mistake, a rookie mistake.
Rule No. 12: Never assume someone is dead unless their head has been separated from their body, or their stone cold heart removed from their chest.
No one could ever copy another assassin. It isn't a rule, it's a fact. So this isn't some "The Crow" wanna be, this is him, the damn bird bastard. This is the person that Obi…
One of the crows above him screams, the others start to as well.
"He's near."
Obi continues his pace, continues snapping twigs every few branches. Obi has never lost focus of his surroundings, he didn't stop listening to the dead forest around him. This forest that he knows so well, even after so long.
"Master isn't someone to sit around and wait to be rescued. He'll try to escape even if it leaves him with a few scratches. At least he won't be enough of an idiot and try to jump out of a window to the ground below. He won't know where he is, if he's in the main building, he might try to find a map or any clues as to where he is, or he might leave and wait for me to find him, unless he figured that 'he' can also track him. It's best not to stay wherever 'he' left him, but if Master were to explore…"
It hits him, the smell. The smell that Obi knew he could never escape. He smelled it every so often in the places he's traveled, but never has the smell been as strong as it is here. The "First Gate", the "Graveyard of the Fallen Reapers". All else is silent except for the cawing of the crows, their wings clapping at the dead air, the cracks of the aged tree bark on the branches where Obi steps on it. There are no other animals, no insects, no arachnids. Only moss dares to thrive amongst the rotten and broken corpses in their tattered blood stained rags. Obi didn't dare to look into the abysses of their devil like skulls, only seeing the blur of their dull colors and dim glint of their moss covered armor out of the corner of his eyes. He kept his gaze ahead, senses at their peaks as they always were. He had sworn to himself and the chief of his guild that he would never dwell on the memories, be they cheerful or haunting, of the bastards and bitches who fought in The Forgotten War.
The damn building comes into view. The crows have scattered. All is almost silent… almost. It's too easy to get to fortress, too easy to get into it.
"He wants to play with me when Master is with us… bastard."
Obi scales the building, stepping on three poor excuses for ledges on the way up the old ashen stone before he reaches an uneven window sill on the sixth floor.
"He's waiting until I find Master. If I ignore the ruckus Master is making now and follow 'his' obvious trail, then 'he' will round the opposite way and hold a blade to Master's throat."
Obi pushes the broken window open, the cackling breeze ruffling the tattered and dusty emerald green curtains. The faded light green and white, now grey, corridor carpet below his feet is skewed. There are faint footprints in it. The carpet has become stiff with age, making it easier to see any physical contact that it had recently.
"Can't be older than an hour. They definitely belong to 'him'. It looks like he has a limp in his right foot, which makes sense, I did shatter his ankle and snap his shin back then. It's impossible for injuries like those to completely heal, however…"
A soft thud sounds from the damn familiar corridor to the right. Obi's face shows no emotion, but his eyes have become predatory since the hunt began.
"Of course he put the Master in that room."
The sounds from the room at the end of the corridor can't be heard by an average person this far away, only a predatory beast could hear these sounds from here and even outside the damn fortress. There is another muffled thud, followed by a few seconds of silence. The next thud is accompanied by the sight of the door shifting slightly as minimal weight is pushed against it gently, there is a new sound made at the moment of impact, a groan of a person. Male. The rusty door knob creaks as a force tries and fails to turn it. The squeaking of the door knob continues, the person trying to open the door being utterly and idiotically oblivious to the sounds they're making. Obi continues to stare down the door, quietly padding towards it.
"'He' wants me to find the Master first, so he'll undoubtedly try to block our path when we flee. As it is, grabbing Master and running away as fast as I possibly can is the best option. Master will be emotionally broken far worse than he probably is now if I leave him in any location around this place, and if I just leave him in one place, 'he' will kill him. At the same time, I need to kill 'him'. I need to actually kill 'him' and throw his corpse in the depths of Dead Man's Dungeon under the fortress. I have to, I have failed everyone because I failed to do it before, failed to comply to Master's simple orders. I disobeyed Master, snuck out of the inn again, and now, Master is in this damn place and Mitsuhide, Kiki and Shirayuki are in the castle infirmly unconscious, luckily without wounds but still hurt because of me."
Obi is standing in front of the door, staring at it as the squeaking of the door knob stops. He can hear Master huffing after his efforts.
"There is only one thing I can do. 'He' might be hoping for me to do it… but it's the only option I have."
On the other side of the door, Master huffs, and the sound of quick footsteps is heard moving away from the door. They stop about nine feet away, Obi thinks. Master turns around, most likely facing the door now.
"He wouldn't… I taught him about these kinds of things."
A quieter, slower step is taken backwards by Master who lets out what can only be described as a determined huff of breath, out of the nose it sounds like.
"You're a hopeless idiot, Master."