Catch
Feudal Japan, 1673 / Tokugawa Period
—
Notching back an arrow, he pulled the tension of the spring taught with eased grace, squinting one eye to pinpoint his target. He held his position for a few more seconds for any sudden bolt.
Three… two… one!
Thwack.
Bullseye.
The buck went down with a grunt, landing hard in the field and disappearing from view within the tall grass. The impact made a small cloud of pollen fly into the air. He waited a moment to see if it would stand back up. One of his trackers left his side and cautiously pushed through the waist-high thicket towards the fallen animal. After a beat, he whistled and held two fingers up.
His party roared with cheer and stood up from their crouched positions. "As expected of our Second Prince! What a kill shot!" One of his footmen yelled. Another chimed in, "Did you see the antlers on that beast? We'll make a fine specimen of it and wear it as armour!"
Sasuke smirked and slung his bow around his back. He walked up to the kill, joined by a few others who broke from the excited commotion behind them to behold their lord's work. This may have been his record kill. The length of the head was longer than an arm and the antlers were as large as a golden eagle's wingspan. His tracker had already prepared the gold dagger that was meant to gut the deer and release the insides; they were only after the head and meat of the game. Typically the shooter had the honour of cutting out the organs and intestines to reduce the dead weight for the return trip. He and his men made quick work and wrapped the carcass in burlap; four of his men would haul it back to camp in a wooden crate and the horses would do the rest.
The summer sun blazed and the heat of it could even be felt in the shades of the forest. Some of the men were shirtless, passing off their heavy armour and clothes for the servants to carry and others tied their layers of iron brocade to their backs like turtle shells. Precautions were always needed on hunts, against potential enemy ambushes. Less commonly, it was believed the armour blessed by Shinto monks could also deter youkai or forest demons from an easy meal. Ancient folklores said wanderers without religious armour used to be devoured by something in the mountains, leaving behind the remnants of human bones and hair as a warning to all trespassers of their land.
However, to Sasuke, it seemed more likely that this was a ruse to keep the population deferential to religion and their gods, and Sasuke knew of worse things than demons who were never seen. His own family had committed generations of unholy violence and oppression in order to rise to the throne after all.
'An eye for an eye' was a common adage within the Uchiha clan.
Trying not to think of his bloody family history, Sasuke joined his men and shed his shoulder pads, instantly feeling more mobility return to his upper back and arms. He unbuckled the precious metals and untied the loops that held up his protective chest plates and let it hang off the elaborate belts at his hips. These could easily be strapped back on should the situation call for it.
"Alright men, resume your formations! Back to camp!" A lieutenant shouted, right arm pointing the group in a single direction. As the rear guards flanked the line, Sasuke took one last sweep of the meadow looking for anything out of place. Noting nothing of interest, he nodded to his lieutenant to proceed. As they made their way back to camp, one of his strategic advisors stepped up close beside him and matched his gait one step in tow.
Noticing this Sasuke inquired, "Report, Shikamaru."
Shikamaru nodded, "My lord. My shadows detected something in the clearing back there. They trailed it but whatever it was could not be bound. It escaped."
Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "What creature does not produce shadow?"
Shikamaru whispered a warning, "Nothing of the living world." He placed a hand over his heart and bowed whilst retreating back in line to his position.
Sasuke looked back briefly before resuming stoic eyes forward.
Despite Shikamaru's earlier warning, the rest of the journey back to camp was uneventful.
By the time they arrived, evening had set and they would have to wait for sunrise to make the trek back to the castle. A few men stationed to watch the camp had already started a fire and set up the tents for the returning party. Sasuke entered the largest one in the middle of the camp and prepared to set in for the night. It had been a long and successful hunt, and he was feeling the tension leave his body at the knowledge that he would be bringing an honourable tribute back impress his father.
Attendants brought in food, wet towels and clean clothes. He wiped himself down from the day's grime and sweat with a cool moist cloth and changed into his night robes.
Out of habit, he placed Kusanagi beside his bedroll and fell into the spell of slumber the moment he closed his eyes.
Something teased the edge of his consciousness and Sasuke awoke to darkness and an eery silence. It was still the dead of night.
He reached for Kusanagi and quickly slipped on his straw sandals, silently making his way out of his tent.
He didn't need his sharingan activated to see that they had an intruder in their camp; the large fire had been put out and the guards assigned to night watch were all unconscious, lying in heaps across the camp. Sasuke stealthily made his way over to the closest guard and checked his condition; he was unharmed, but deep asleep. On high alert he scanned the camp for clues and saw a faint light coming from the posts where the horses were hitched.
Not wanting to lose the element of surprise on the enemy, Sasuke quietly ducked past the tents where his commanding soldiers rested and flash stepped towards the light. He hid soundlessly behind some storage boxes, his back against the wood in a low squat. He peered over his shoulder and prepared for a covert attack.
He froze mid-step.
He heard her before he saw her. Muffled crying came from a female form sitting over the corpse of the buck deer. It had been unwrapped and taken out of its casing, lying grotesquely on the ground with hollow eyes and tongue extended from its mouth. The female — nay woman — had one hand covering her mouth, holding back her sobs, and the other hand on the neck of the deer. The light he saw earlier was coming from the hand touching the neck where wisps of green light twinkled into the air. She was petite and had long hair that looked almost pink against the green light. Startlingly, Sasuke saw that she was naked.
Snap.
His foot had stepped on a twig.
The woman flipped her head towards him with a tear-streaked face and eyes wide. There were dark markings on her forehead and she had long pointed ears. Her eyes shone bright green as well.
For a second, she looked scared. Then her face quickly transformed to fury and she spat at him before taking off into darkness of the forest. She was gone just as he shouted, "Stop!" His voice echoed into the night.
He could have gone after her, but the logical part of him knew his duty was to his men and this was an unknown foe. Moreover, there was no longer any imminent danger to the camp. The noise alerted the men who were still sleeping in their tents, and immediately they raced out with their weapons drawn and battle cries.
Sasuke faced his fleet. "At ease," he scowled, unfazed. "I'm fine. Check the night watch, and stand more guards outside."
His lieutenants ran up to him, inspecting him up and down for injuries, but he brushed them off and ordered someone to summon Shikamaru to his tent straight away. His commands were not directed at anyone specific, but he knew they would be followed without fail.
Sasuke had distinctly noted that the green light produced by the mysterious woman did not illuminate any shadows around her despite being surrounded by pitch darkness. He could see every detail on her and the deer as if he was looking at them in broad daylight. He had the striking intuition that the woman was not human, but he had never thought a forest demon could resemble his kind so similarly and be so alluring at that.
Maybe he would extend his hunt a few more days. He may have found something much more valuable than his trophy deer, and Sasuke was not one to let great opportunities slip away. There were other ways to catch prey after all, and Shikamaru's shadow binds, although reliable and convenient, was only one tactic in his military arsenal.
His excitement rose.