The cold steel of Mizuki's sword bit into Kaito's skin. Death felt like a whisper away. But just as she tightened her grip to strike, a small, trembling voice broke the silence.
"Stop! Please!" The little boy threw himself between the blade and Kaito, his eyes wide with tears. "He tried to save me! He's a good person!"
Mizuki's eyes flickered, the icy resolve softening by a fraction. She looked at the boy, then back at Kaito, who was still bound by the glowing purple coils. With a movement so fast it was almost invisible, she flicked her wrist.
Snap.
The Magic Coils fell away, the spiritual suppression vanishing instantly. Kaito gasped, feeling his energy rush back into his veins like a flood. He stood up, rubbing his wrists.
"Thank you," Kaito said, his voice raspy. "I'm Kaito. What's your name?"
Mizuki didn't answer. She wiped the blood from her blade with a silk cloth and began to walk through the ruins, her posture cold and regal. Kaito and the boy hurried to keep up with her, Kaito peppering her with questions, but she moved like a ghost, ignoring him entirely as she scanned the perimeter.
The Ambush
The silence was broken by the sound of a hundred boots hitting the dirt. From the shadows of the destroyed houses, the rest of the mercenary gang emerged—dozens of them, armed with jagged axes and rusted spears.
Mizuki stopped. Without turning around, she spoke for the first time. "Hey, idiot. Protect the kid."
"I have a name!" Kaito barked, but he grabbed the boy and pulled him toward a stone cellar.
"Why are you hiding?" Kage's voice roared in his mind, hungry for the fight. "Kill them all! Let the Ring feast!"
Not now, Kaito snapped back. The kid comes first.
As Kaito secured the boy in a safe corner, he turned to see Mizuki move. She was a hurricane of silver. She didn't just fight; she danced through the mercenaries, her sword a blur that left nothing but fallen men in its wake. Kaito stood frozen for a moment, mesmerized by her lethal elegance.
The Price of a Blur
But even a master can be caught off guard. As Mizuki cut down three men in front of her, a hidden mercenary lunged from a collapsed roof behind her. His blade, coated in a dark poison, tore through the back of her shoulder.
Mizuki let out a sharp gasp, her black dress instantly soaking with a deep, crimson red. She stumbled, her vision blurring from the loss of blood.
Before the mercenary could strike again, a shadow loomed over him. Kaito appeared like a thunderclap, his fist—pulsing with a faint, violet light—slamming into the man's chest with enough force to shatter his armor.
Mizuki's knees buckled. She collapsed into Kaito's arms, unconscious.
The Silent House
Kaito carried her to a small, abandoned cottage on the edge of the village, the boy following closely. Mizuki was pale, her breathing shallow.
"I know where the apothecary keeps the herbs!" the boy cried, running out into the dark. He returned minutes later with a bundle of healing moss and clean bandages.
Kaito hesitated. Her wound was deep, and the blood wouldn't stop. He had no choice. With steady hands, he removed her heavy black coat and carefully cut away the blood-soaked fabric of her shirt to reach the gash. As he applied the medicine, his eyes widened. Her back wasn't just wounded from today—it was covered in old, faded scars. Battle marks of a life spent in the dark.
The Angel in White
Suddenly, Mizuki's eyes snapped open. She saw Kaito leaning over her, his hands on her shoulders. Without thinking, her hand flew up—SLAP!
"You... you dare!" she hissed, her face flushed with fury.
"Wait!" the boy shouted. "He was helping you! He stopped the bleeding!"
Mizuki froze, looking at the bandages and the medicine. Her anger slowly ebbed away into a stiff, awkward silence. She looked at Kaito, who was holding his stinging cheek.
"I... I'm sorry for touching you without permission," Kaito muttered, looking away. "I just had to stop the blood."
Mizuki lowered her head, her voice a soft, cold murmur. "I am Mizuki Shin. Thank you... for the aid."
The boy reached into an old trunk in the corner of the house and pulled out a clean garment—a traveler's dress of pure white with gold filigree, likely a relic from the village's better days. Mizuki stepped behind a screen to change.
When she stepped out, Kaito's heart skipped a beat. Gone was the shadowy assassin. In the white and gold dress, her dark hair falling over her shoulders, she looked like an angel of the heavens. Kaito stared, completely speechless, his mouth slightly open.
Mizuki caught his gaze and her cold expression flickered for a split second, a hint of a blush touching her cheeks.
"Close your mouth, boy," Kage whispered, sounding amused. "You look like a fish."
The Closing Circle
Outside the village, the peace was about to end.
In the surrounding forest, the trees groaned under the weight of three converging armies. To the East, the Flame Clan scorched the undergrowth. To the West, the Aqua Clan moved through the mist. From the South, the Leaf Clan's elite trackers moved like shadows.
They reached the outskirts of the destroyed village at the same time, their torches illuminating the ruins.
"The boy's scent is here," the Flame Commander hissed.
"Along with the scent of fresh blood," the Aqua Matriarch added.
The three clans, led by their desire for the Ring, began to surround the very house where Kaito stood staring at Mizuki. They didn't care about the destroyed village; they only cared about the boy.
"The peace is over, Kaito," Kage whispered. "They're here."