The Crepuscule Lethe - 3

Snow lay thick across the mountain trail, muffling every sound except the crunch of boots and the occasional snap of a frozen branch. Takeshi crouched low, brushing aside a thin crust of frost as he examined the trail.

“...Hm,” he muttered, tapping one indentation with his knuckles. “These footsteps indicate more than two people.” His breath drifted in a pale cloud. “And the pattern… light, fast. They know how to run without stirring snow. Straw sandals, most likely.”

“Takeshi! Look what I found!”

His accomplice jogged over, half-buried in snow up to the shins, holding a small, fabric doll.

“A doll…” Takeshi stood and dusted the snow from his hands. “Must’ve been used to lure Tenmichi.”

The other samurai frowned. “You really think she’d fall for that?”

Takeshi narrowed his eyes—not irritated, but pained. “Don’t act like you don’t know what I mean. She’s the daughter of…”

“Kisakago Keisakai,” the accomplice finished.

“Right,” Takeshi replied softly.

“Yeah, but what’s that got to do with being allured by a toy? For all we know, he’s never even around. It’s not like he taught her anything about strangers.”

Takeshi paused. A long, heavy pause. His jaw tightened. His eyes lowered back to the snow.

“…He’s here.”

Both samurai stiffened, hands flying to their swords.

“Who?!”

“No need for that,” Takeshi said, lifting a hand. “Not an enemy.”

A blur tore through the trees—snow spraying, branches rattling. A figure slid to a stop, and the force of his momentum sent powder fanning forward like a minor explosion.

The man straightened, steam rising from his shoulders.

“Good job making it here Saru! That too, so fast on my request,” Takeshi said.

“How could I not?” Saru replied, bowing. “You and your father have helped my family more than anyone.”

“Don’t say it like that,” Takeshi said, waving him off. “We just did what we should. Anyway—more important matters.”

Takeshi handed him the doll.

“Saru. Take this to the destination you know.”

Saru paused. “…Takeshi-san. Are you—”

“Yes.” Takeshi’s tone hardened. “It’s about time we get to him… and finally use that man’s skills.”

Saru closed his fingers around the doll.

“Understood.”

A single inhalation—

—and then he vanished.

The snow burst into the air behind him, swirling in the wake of his sprint.

The two samurai stared blankly.

“Takeshi… who was that?”

“Oh, come on,” Takeshi said, glancing back. “You didn’t recognize that run?”

Their eyes widened.

“He’s Saru… the village’s best Higo-hikyaku.”

“A hikyaku…” one whispered. “The messengers trained to run mountains with those wooden boxes on their backs…”

Takeshi nodded. “No one alive runs these valleys better.”

He sheathed his blade again and turned to the trail.

“Anyway. Enough searching this area for leftover clues. We follow the footsteps.”

“Why didn’t we do that in the first place?” his accomplice grumbled. “If we’d kept moving, we might’ve caught them already!”

Takeshi smirked slightly.

“You’ll see.”

---

The forest grew denser, colder, quieter. The three bandits trudged through the whitened pines, Tenmichi bouncing slightly on Kurogane’s shoulder with every step.

Their camp was nothing more than a scattering of tents, crates, and a dying fire—but the tied women huddled inside gave it the air of a prison.

Kurogane set Tenmichi down roughly.

“Let’s move,” he ordered. “We leave for Takayama immediately. Weather’s on our side.”

The older bandit added, “And we finally meet the boss today.”

“Oh, right!” the younger bandit said. “Kind of unsettling, isn’t it? For a man who controls every operation… we know nothing about him.”

He nudged Kurogane. “But you know him, don’t you?”

Kurogane didn’t turn.

“I don’t. The boss trusts no one with his identity.”

“Then how come you’re co-leader? That means something, doesn’t it?”

Kurogane’s face darkened—shadow swallowing his eyes, grin shifting unnaturally.

“He hires strength. Nothing else. Even if that strength means…”

He let the sentence trail off like a blade dragged across stone.

"Even if that strength means hiring me."

He grins even more eeriely.

“Creepy smile, Kurogane! Save that for the enemies!” the younger bandit shuddered, then ducked into the women’s tent.

---

The younger bandit ducks into the tent where the bandits are keeping their captives.

“Oi! Get up, sluts! We’re moving!”

The rope linking their wrists jerked as the women stood. Their ankles shook from cold and exhaustion.

One woman stumbled on her ankle, which seemed to be burnt and fell down.

The rope pulled the rest down like dominoes.

“S-Sorry! I’m sorry!” she cried.

“Watch it!” another woman snapped. “Just ’cause you came from a rich household doesn’t mean you get to act soft!”

“We’re all slaves now!” another hissed.

“I—I really didn’t mean—”

The younger bandit grabbed her hair and yanked her upright.

“Listen, bitch,” he hissed into her ear. “Don't try to make yourself an enemy to the rest of the women here.. or else.. you'll force me to ruin that nice body of yours more than necessary.”

“Aagh—!" She screams in pain from her hair being pulled, "You already have! W-What haven’t you done to—”

He twisted harder, cutting her words into a scream.

“Enough whining. The boss said don’t kill you—not don’t touch you. Whatever we've done to you is from his orders.”

Outside, snow crunched softly.

Tenmichi, small wrists tied, barefoot in the frost, edged closer to the tent flap. Her breaths puffed out in frightened clouds. She didn’t want to hear. She didn’t want to know.

But she couldn’t stop listening.

Inside:

“What kind of boss… do you people have?” the woman sobbed.

"Just.. Just kill me already. Please.”

“Oh no,” the bandit chuckled. “We can’t kill you. That’s the boss’s fun. You saw something you shouldn’t have. You’re paying for that.”

The woman’s breath shuddered. “E-even he wouldn’t want me after what you’ve done to me…”

“Oh? What have we done?” He looked around the tent. “These girls don’t know, do they?”

A few women flinched. Tenmichi’s eyes widened.

The woman tried to swallow her words—but they burst through her trembling lips. She started to cry as her tears ran down her cheeks silently. One drop, two drops, it was inevitable.

“You… raped me…” she whispered. “Burned me with a candle… h-hung me from the ceiling… naked… tied like livestock… you…”

The other women gasped. One covered her mouth. Another bit her lip until it bled.

Tenmichi’s small body shook. Her head lowered, breaths uneven. She pressed her hands to her ears—but the words still pierced through.

The woman’s voice cracked. She started to cry loudly—scream—not in agony, though she was feeling that at the moment, but out of desperation, out of sadness. The saliva of her mouth stretched from tongue to the roof of her mouth as if she clenched her jaw forever, waiting to say something for once.

“You punched my womb over… and over… taking turns… tried to force me to drink my own—”

“ENOUGH!”

The bandit blinked.

The woman blinked.

All eyes shifted to the tent flap.

Tenmichi stood there—tiny, shaking, terrified—but glaring.

“I said enough…” she whispered, voice breaking. “Y-You guys… suck…! I don’t want to hear any more!”

The bandit’s face twisted in annoyance.

“Heeh? The brat’s here?”

He dropped the woman’s hair and stomped toward Tenmichi.

“You’re so damn lucky, you know that?” he snarled, kneeling to her eye level. “If it were up to me, I’d do the same to you. But you—” he tapped her forehead roughly— “get spared because of your precious daddy.”

Tenmichi trembled but didn’t look away.

“...Tch,” she spat weakly.

“Oh, feisty.” His grin stretched. “That woman?” He thumbed toward the crying captive. “She didn’t get that privilege.”

Then—

CRACK.
His foot slammed into Tenmichi’s stomach.

She flew backward out of the tent, landed hard on the snow, breath ripped out of her.

The flap closed.

Silence.

Clouds drifted overhead.

Tenmichi lay staring upward, tears leaking sideways into the snow.

“What… kind of world… do I even live in..” she whispered, voice small and broken.

Snowflakes began falling, gentle, mocking.

“Oh… snow…” she murmured. “That’s… nice…”

Her voice wavered.

“Jinko… I wonder if he noticed I’m gone… maybe he’s still playing alone… maybe he found the mochi I brought him… maybe he thought I went to take a wee and just sat there and ate it.. yeah that sounds like him..”

She hugged herself tightly.

“I’m scared… 

I miss.. everyone, please..

..Mom… Dad… someone… please… take me home…”

---

“The footsteps end here,” Takeshi said stiffly.

“Tch! What do we do now?” his accomplice snapped.

“Fujimoto.”

“Yes?”

“Bandits around these areas—what routes do they take for trade?”

Fujimoto scratched his chin. “Let’s see… Kanazawa… Toyama… Takaoka… and…”

A blank pause.

“You sure you’re not forgetting one?” the other samurai asked.

“No. Pretty sure.”

Takeshi exhaled. “Kanazawa is closest. And with captives, they won’t risk long travel.”

“So we head Kanazawa?” Fujimoto asked.

“Yeah. Snow’s light—our horses can still handle it.”

They mounted up as flakes thickened around them.

---

An oil lamp flickered in a room lined with lacquered wood and cold silence. The air felt stale, heavy—like wealth earned through blood.

A man stepped inside, trembling.

From the shadows:

“What brings you here.”

The voice was smooth, low, venom threaded through silk.

“Sir… I have information…”

“Then speak. Don’t waste my time.”

“Our… our third merchant storehouse was robbed last night.” The man squealed, terrified.

A long silence.

Then—

“Tch… again?”

The man in the shadows chuckled. Slowly. Quietly.

Then louder.

“Despite my wealth being scattered across a dozen strongholds… he still hits the most difficult ones… He’s sending me a message.”

A grin flashed in the lamplight.

“HAH… HAHAHAHAHA!”

“He’s telling me… he can reach me whenever he wants.”

A slow inhale.

“Good… Very good.”

He leaned forward, eyes glinting.

“Well then…”

A whisper, soft and delighted:

“I shall await you…

Saitou Ichirō.”

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Afterword*: By the way Takayama used to be called Takaino at the time but for the sake of understanding I kept it as Takayama.. kind of stuck between whether I wanna change it to Takaino or not.. ahah!