Chapter 14
"Alright," Sai said once the gate had closed behind them, "Where do we go from here?"
"Well, this is one of the few demonic strongholds left in the country," Kaze pointed out, "so I suggest we try and find some allies."
"He's right." Nami agreed, "The four of us, strong as we may be, aren't going to make much of a difference against an entire empire."
"But where are we going to find anyone willing to help us?" Umi asked.
This made everyone silent. She was right. The empire, new as it was, was brutal and had a firm hold on power. Not many would be willing to fight against it, especially not against the purges. Opposition to that tended to disappear.
"Well," Sai finally said, "we aren't going to find any just by sitting here. I think we should start moving from village to village, helping where we can. If we come across someone that would be willing to join us, then we will ask them to travel with us."
"That's a good idea." Kaze agreed. "So where to first?"
"Shouldn't we head toward the capital?" Umi asked.
"Yeah, if we want to stop these purges, then we're going to have to go there." Nami pointed out.
"Very true," Sai said, "but we don't have the numbers or the strength to move on the capital yet."
Kaze picked up after her, "We should head away from the capital and gather as much support as possible and then move in on the empire."
"Alright, sounds good." Umi said, "Let's get going."
They began traveling West, away from the castle. It wasn't long before they hit their first village. It was a burned out husk, just like their village. Even in a resistance stronghold, people still weren't safe from the hordes of bloodthirsty soldiers.
"Damn!" Sai cursed, "The smell of blood is still strong here. This didn't happen all that long ago, maybe only a few days ago..."
"Let's keep moving Sai." Nami said walking up behind her, "There's nothing we can do here."
Sai agreed and they continued onward.
They camped that night under the stars. It was warm and it felt nice to be with her friends, though she did miss her parents. Nami had the first watch, then it was Kaze, then it was Sai, and Umi had the last round. It was an uneventful night, as expected for the region that they were in, but they knew that they had to start getting used to spending their nights like this.
The next morning, they started their journey again. Conversation was lively. Anyone passing by, during peaceful times, would have thought that they were just normal kids traveling back to their village. Normal except for the weapons that they were carrying on their backs. Nami carried a Hiraikotsu, just like her mother had during her demon slaying days, and a katana. Umi carried twin katanas and had an array of throwing knives, with which she was deadly efficient. Kaze carried a large chain scythe, similar to the one used by his uncle Kohaku, and a katana. All three of the siblings had daggers hidden in their sleeves that they could spring at a moments notice and carried an array of sacred sutras like the ones their father had used in battle. Sai, of course, had the most powerful weapons of the group with her 2 demon swords, priestess blade, and priestess bow, not to mention her claws, fangs, and superhuman senses and abilities. They were the equivalent of a small army in battle, but not even they could challenge the empire without help.
It wasn't long before Sai caught the scent of blood in the air. The smell was fresh and growing. Something was happening that very moment.
"We need to go now!" Sai cried to her group.
"What is it Sai?" Kaze asked her, sensing her urgency.
"There's a slaughter going on." Was her only reply. And with that they set off running towards the scent. Sai was a great deal faster than her companions, even though they were extremely fast for humans, so she had to modulate her pace. She couldn't very well run into this blind and alone.
"I'm picking up a strong demonic aura." Umi called to Sai.
"Yeah, I'm feeling it too." Sai called back to her.
"We'd better hurry." Kaze said.
It didn't take them long to reach the village. The attack was still going. A band of about 200 soldiers was attacking a village, however two men, clearly half-demons, were holding them back. It was clear though that they wouldn't hold much longer. Sai sprang into action, jumping high into the air and drawing her swords.
"DRAGON SCAR!" She cried as she fell upon the men. The soldiers immediately in front of the two half-demons were ripped to shreds. The soldiers hesitated.
"You boys looked like you could use some help." Sai said as her friends joined them in the center of the circle.
"Ha. You can say that again." Said one.
"Don't know who you kids are, but we appreciate the help." The other continued.
"No problem." Nami said cheerfully, "We don't mind helping out a couple of cute guys." She winked at the two.
"Not now, Nami." Kaze sighed.
"Enough talk!" Cried one of the soldiers, apparently the commander, "Men! Remove these blemishes from the earth!"
"They never learn." Sai said under her breath. Sai and the rest of the encircled group made the first move. With blades drawn, they rushed into the circle.
The battle was over in minutes. All 200 men laid dead on the ground and there wasn't a scratch on Sai or any of her companions. The two half-demons they rescued, however, were badly wounded. Sai used her training as a priestess and immediately began to treat their wounds.
"Thank you," one of them said through gritted teeth, trying not cry out from the pain. "If you hadn't come when you did, we wouldn't have made it out of there alive."
Sai looked up at the man. She noticed that he and the other man were only about Kaze's age. They had bright orange hair, pointed ears, and were very well muscled. During the battle, she had noted both of them fought without weapons, but with fire emanating from their hands.
"Yeah no problem. We'll take every chance we can get to kill those bastards." She said, cracking a friendly smile at the half-demon. "You two fought well out there."
"Thanks, but I think you guys are in a different league altogether." Replied the other, probably his brother due to the similarity of their features. Sai laughed at this comment.
"Maybe so. That's beside the point, though. I want to know what happened here."
The two proceeded to tell how their village had been attacked. Most of the people had managed to escape, but some weren't so lucky. That explained the smell of blood that Sai had picked up. The demonic aura came from the two half-demons, who turned out to be half phoenix demon. The soldiers had attacked the village not expecting much resistance. Next time, Sai and her group probably wouldn't be so lucky. Word would spread of how there was a group of resistance fighters roaming the country and the number of soldiers would undoubtedly increase. They would have to be more careful.
Sai finished patching up the two and stood up.
"You two need any more help?" Kaze asked.
"We could really use some help finding the villagers that made it out alive. They scattered everywhere when the attack came."
"That sounds like a job for you Sai." Nami said, "Your nose should be able to track them down easily."
"Meanwhile," Umi said, her lips forming a devilish smile, "we will... see to these two good looking guys right here."
The two girls quickly grabbed hold of the guys' hands and almost dragged them to the house they had identified as theirs, giggling the entire way. Kaze sighed.
"They never change." He said.
"No," Sai laughed, "no they don't."
Kaze and Sai walked off together into the woods in order to find the villagers hiding there. Sai could have found them all pretty quickly. It wasn't hard to distinguish human scent from woodland scents, but she wanted to spend some time alone with Kaze. They hadn't had the chance to just talk in a while, but now that she had him alone, she had no idea what to say.
"Hey Sai." Kaze said.
"What?" Sai said, her train of thought interrupted.
"You were great out there you know." He began, "During the battle, I mean."
"Oh," Sai said blushing lightly, "thanks. You too Kaze."
"No I mean it." He continued, "You were graceful. It's like you just flowed with your swords. You were almost dancing. It was kinda... Beautiful."
Sai blushed even harder, her face turning red. She turned away acting as if she was trying to find the scent, though she knew exactly where it led. Kaze was complimenting her. He'd even said she'd looked beautiful and she had no idea what to say.
"Oh really?" She said after a few moments, "You really think so?"
"Yeah, of course." He said, laughing, "I wouldn't say it if I didn't mean it."
"Thanks Kaze."
"No problem. I mean, a girl that works as hard as you deserves some praise."
All Sai knew to do was laugh. She had no idea what else to say, so she just started following the scent to the villagers. It didn't take long to come across them. They had mostly regrouped in a small clearing. Sai and Kaze gathered them together, told them that it was safe, and led them back to the village. The two brothers along with Nami and Umi were waiting for them just outside the village.
"Hey!" One called out happily, "You found them."
"Of course," Kaze called back, "Sai's got the best nose in the country." This made her blush again.
"Well I'm glad she does, otherwise we'd still probably be looking." Said the other brother to us after we had walked up to them.
"Hey," Kaze started, "We never got your names."
"Oh! We did!" Umi said excitedly.
"His name," Nami said, pointing to the older looking of the two, "is Akage. And his name," she continued pointing to the younger brother, "is Kasai."
"Good to know." Kaze said, committing the names to memory.
"Is there anything else we can help you with?" Sai asked.
"I'm guessing you guys can't stay..." Akage said.
"No we've got to keep moving." Kaze replied.
"Damn." Akage cursed, "We got off easy this time, but next time, they'll send more and we won't have help."
"They'll wipe us off the map." Kasai picked up, "It's not like they don't know where to find us."
"I might be able to help with that actually." Sai said. "I can hide you from the empire."
"Sai, not that I don't respect your power, but how do you plan to do that?" Umi questioned.
"Just listen and I'll tell you." Sai said, a little annoyed. She proceeded to instruct Nami, Umi, and Kaze to put a sutra on the door of every house in the village. Once they were finished, Sai summoned her bow and began to draw a huge circle with it in the ground around the village. After she finished it, Sai moved to the center of the circle, dismissing the bow. When she was in the center, she bowed her head and clasped her hands together as if she was in prayer. She then began muttering an incantation. As she did, a blue shell began to erect itself over the village. After a few more seconds, it made a hemisphere over the village and then slowly dissipated.
"Ok," Sai said, "that should hide you from all those soldiers and any roaming demons. I've gotta warn you, though. Anyone with a good amount of spiritual energy will sense the barrier and will know something's here."
"We don't get many of those around here." Akage said, "Thank you."
"No problem." Sai said, smiling.
"Hey, it's getting late." Kasai pointed out. He was right. Sai hadn't realized how low the sun had gotten. It wouldn't be long before night fell. "How about you stay with us for the night and set out in the morning."
"I like that idea." Nami said. Umi agreed with her.
"Thank you guys." Kaze said. "Just point us to where we're staying."
They led Sai and her companions to the largest house in the village. The owners had been some of the few killed in the attack. Sai was glad to not have to sleep outside that night. She was exhausted. That spell had taken a lot out of her and she fell asleep almost immediately.