The Devil in the Details | NF

BGM - Passage of Time

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Many were the villages that dotted the landscape of the Moonlit Grove, tiny little hamlets home to only a few dozen people. Some were larger than others, of course, becoming sizeable settlements that frequently saw the transit of civilian and shinobi alike. Though numerous, they were spread out enough that communication between them could be scarce. In the lush jungles and woods of the Moonlit Grove, it was quite difficult to get information through. Word of mouth quickly transformed a fairly typical rumour into an outlandish tale that scared the living daylights out of the superstitious villagers that lived in the jungles.

This time, yet another odd tale. An oni in the woods, a menacing presence that scared travellers and attacked any who approached. In the night, it would come to the village in the cover of the darkness and steal children away to eat them… or consume their souls… or any number of terrible things. Though these tales would typically amount to nothing more than folktales for bored villagers and not warrant the attention of the main shinobi body, there had been reliable sightings of a horned being in the woods, as well as the cries of children.

Whatever the reality was, it was worth investigating.

They sent for any available shinobi to look into this case, an open mission of sorts. It wasn’t a high priority, by any means, but Gekkousato would reward any who brought out the truth from this situation. Even a foreign shinobi.

…

Kanon sat in a peaceful little grove. The smell of tobacco filled the air, the oni woman having taken to smoking her kiseru to pass time. This time, she had simply opted to let her mind wander, contemplating… everything. Past, present, future. Sometimes, it was nice to go with the flow of her mind and feelings while she smoked.

But the cry of a child snapped her out of it. Of course, she was hanging around here for other reasons as well. Children frequently got lost in the woods, and she had taken it upon herself to lead them back to their villages. Being a shinobi, she wasn’t wont to get lost in the woods, nor would she be threatened by the vast majority of creatures that inhabited the Moonlit Grove.

Getting up from her spot, she walked towards the sounds of the kid, very quickly finding her. A small child, maybe seven years old, at most. Her clothes were muddy and her eyes were bloodshot. The moment her eyes laid upon Kanon, she widened them and began to shake in fear, to which Kanon immediately responded by trying to comfort her.

“Shhhh, shhh, it’s okay, dear. I’m not going to hurt you. I know I look scary, but please trust me, okay?” She said to her, slowly making her way towards the child and hugging her. The girl froze… then broke down crying, hugging her back.

“Poor baby, you must’ve been so scared. Don’t worry, I’m going to take you back to mummy and daddy, sweetie. I’ll need you to hold my hand and don’t let go. Can you do that?”

The girl looked at her for a few seconds, then nodded. She was in no mental state to be suspicious of her. She was an adult, so she’d make everything fine again, right?

“Good.” Kanon said with a smile, gently holding the girl’s hand, “Now, tell me what the name of your village is. What it’s like, anything you can think of.”

Kanon could not imagine that she was being tracked.

BGM - Passage of Time

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Kanon took a drag out of her kiseru as she walked along the forest, holding hands with the scared little child as she did so. Throughout the walk, she kept conversation with the child, not only about things pertinent to getting her back but other things as well. Likes and dislikes, what she did in the village, the boy she had a crush on. Kanon even gave sage advice on how to get her crush! Not only that, but she helped the girl over every little danger, from an exposed root to some mud. For a vicious oni concerned with nothing but eating children, this seemed quite out of character.

The little girl jumped a bit and hid behind Kanon the moment Sojiro landed in front of them. Kanon, for her part, simply stopped and stared him down with slightly narrowed eyes. If he was a threat to the child, he had to be dealt with immediately.

Sojiro’s once-over of her would be rewarded with quite the sight. The oni before him was not shy about her state of dress at all. Her petite body was covered with what amounted to a one-piece. One that covered only her private parts. This was “covered” by a kimono that only covered half her torso, with long sleeves that served no purpose other than to be alluring. In summary, she looked more like a courtesan than a beast.

But her sharp eyes gave a distinct impression; she was far from helpless. Doing some analysis of her own, she took in the man before him, noting just how handsome and feral-looking he was… combinations that she didn’t dislike at all. He wasn’t shy about his own body either, going around shirtless without a care in the world.

Kanon’s mood was eased by his comment, though, some tension disappearing from his body. Lucky for her, this man seemed to not attack first.

“As you can see, that’s not quite what’s happening, Sojiro-kun. I’m sure it makes for an entertaining folktale, though.” She said with a small smirk, “This girl got lost, and I’m trying to get her back to her village. Be a dear and help me, would you? You must be a great deal better at pathfinding than I am if you managed to find me in the middle of the forest like this.”

BGM - Passage of Time

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Kanon once again looked over him, this time wishing to glean some information from his body on what sort of shinobi he was… powerful physique, tall, and a distinctly bestial appearance. He was wilder than a typical Inuzuka, and he lacked the signature animal companion… yes, he was very likely an Inukura. She’d had experiences with them before, and they were quite entertaining. She idly wondered if this man would be interested…

But she could sate her curiosity later. Right now, she needed to get this kid to safety. Still in a standoff with the man before her, she stayed still, waiting for his next move. Would he attack or simply accept her explanation? She had met no shortage of shinobi who wished to “slay the monster” to protect their village.

Fortunately for her, it seemed this man was more reasonable than that. Kanon relaxed upon seeing that, smiling as she walked alongside him, gently guiding her to follow along with them. Establishing a nice pace, they would both follow Sojiro’s lead, with Kanon frequently lifting the girl over difficult terrain… and not so difficult terrain. In fact, Kanon was treating the girl as gently as possible.

Kanon blinked when Sojiro brought up not introducing herself… then blushed, an out of character thing for the otherwise confident oni. God, that was a huge faux pas!

“Oh, I’m… really sorry about that, Sojiro-kun! I have no excuse for that other than I simply forgot… a-anyway!” She cleared her throat, “My name is Amano Kanon. I’m known by many things; Demonic Vixen, Kanonball, though only mummy is allowed to call me that, and a lot of other less than flattering names. I think you can piece together what I’m talking about. Either way, just call me Kanon… or whatever cute nickname you can come up with. Who knows? You may be saying it a lot more than you expected to.”

She winked at him at that last sentence, the kid looking up at her with a confused look.

“What are you talking about, Kanon-san?”

“Oh, don’t worry your pretty little head over it, sweetie!”

She gave a little head pat to the girl, and that was the end of questioning. How cute and innocent, she thought…

It wasn’t long before the girl got tired, though, beginning to lag behind. Immediately, Kanon leaned down to give her a piggyback ride, which she gleefully accepted. She was asleep not soon after, which prompted a gentle smile from Kanon.

“How sweet…”

She couldn’t help but say, glancing at the fast asleep girl on her back.

…

An oddity in the air; whether or not Sojiro noticed, Kanon did. Being a genjutsu user herself, she very quickly identified something wrong about the trees. Though different, their patterns seemed… off, like they were copied and pasted from other trees, not meant to be where they were.

“Stop.” She said in a hushed, but serious tone. She meant business, “I think we’re in a genjutsu.”

She frowned, gently setting the sleeping girl to the floor, standing up and putting her hands together in a seal.

“Kai.”

The illusion was broken… and not much seemed to change, save for a few things. The trees seemed less… dense, replaced instead with carefully placed shrubbery. It could not, however, block out the smell of blood.

Nor could it block out the lone shoe just before it. It seemed to fit a child.

Kanon furrowed her brow, shooting a silent look at Sojiro, gesturing with her head towards the bushes.

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Kanon gritted her teeth as she examined the scene, hand reaching for her weapon… only to realise it wasn’t there. She’d not brought her gear out. After all, she hadn’t expected to encounter… this. Her fists balled up, and she made a note to never forget to bring out her gear in future. A shinobi had to be ready at all times, especially if it involved children being kidnapped.

Kanon stayed alert as Sojiro did his thing, subconsciously moving closer to the sleeping girl protectively. She nodded when he spoke; old blood, huh… perhaps this was related to these kidnapping rumours and she was unfortunate enough to get mixed in with it.

Innocent lives senselessly snatched away.

She nodded once again, gingerly picking the girl up, now in a princess carry. It’d be easier to protect her that way. Gone was her easygoing smile and relaxed posture as she followed along with him. Her face was serious, focused and at the ready, in case any funny business went down. No one would harm this kid on her watch.

…

Once they did arrive at the village, she’d stop at the edge of it.

“This is where I’ll stop, I’m afraid.” She said, walking over to him, “The villagers would run me out the place if they saw me… yes, they’ve done that before. You’ll need to deliver her in my stead.”

She presented the sleeping girl for him to take.

“… And I believe we need to investigate this further. I’m leaving for now, but if you’re around, perhaps we could work together to uncover the perpetrator. I’m sure you’ll be able to smell me when I’m around.”

Kanon gave him a little smirk, but it seemed subdued. Not as genuine as it might’ve been.

“I’ll see you around, Sojiro-kun. I hope we’ll meet again.”

And with that, she took her leave.