Two days ago, Renji gathered us by the fire.
He said he'd lost Hayato's trail.
There was no word from Takumi, Kai, or Rei's group either.
We were back in two-person search teams.
I was with Rin in the eastern hills.
The ground was damp, the bushes wet; if tracks held anywhere, they'd hold here.
Takumi was a leader, too.
Leaders don't go dark.
But expecting leadership from Takumi was a mistake.
"I told him not to put that blockhead in charge.
Renji didn't listen.
I knew he'd damage the rebellion."
Rin adjusted the axe on her shoulder.
"The rebellion was already dangerous, Arata."
I frowned.
"You too, Rin?"
"Yes, me too."
Rin looked half serious.
I went on anyway:
"You can't equate selfishness with a carefully crafted uprising…
Because of that bastard, Kana's in a coma.
And Watari… he's gone."
Rin's voice was like a blade.
"True. But thinking none of this would ever happen was naive.
In Takumi and Kai's place, anyone might have talked to Uzumi."
I hissed to myself.
This was what cowards told themselves to feel better.
"I wouldn't have talked."
"Oh really?"
I crouched over the dents in the mud and traced the line with my finger.
I answered anyway:
"We both know it, Rin. I won't live long."
When I looked up, the shadow across her face made her expression even harder.
As always, the twin axes were on her shoulder.
She was two handspans taller than me.
Rin was different from other women.
Most fought from range; Rin fought on the front line.
Rin broke the silence.
"Are you saying you'll throw your life away?"
"No.
I'm saying the goddess of death will visit me before she visits you.
I know that."
"How could you know?
Did you know Watari would die before you?"
Rin furrowed her brow.
With her black hair, she stood there like a raven waiting in the shade.
"Rin, why did you get angry?"
"Why are you so eager to die?"
"Rin, I didn't say I'd open my arms and wait for death.
The goddess of death will have the hardest job."
Rin smiled.
"Now that's the Arata I know talking."
At last I found a footprint.
We started to follow the tracks.
As we crossed the stream, Rin lost her balance; she nearly fell.
When I laughed, she smacked my shoulder.
My right shoulder stayed numb for an hour.
Rin called out to me:
"These are the tracks of a single person.
If anyone's, they're Hayato's.
Takumi should have Rei and Kai with him."
"Are you saying he took his team with him to protect himself?"
"If Hayato came this far east, Takumi would've known.
He was afraid of Hayato."
"Damn it! When I find him, I'll smash his face."
Rin and Watari were on my team.
Every squad leader had two followers.
Coward Takumi—you should have led them.
They weren't your shield.
While I was mourning Watari's loss, how could you risk your team for yourself?
Rin cut through my thoughts.
"If Hayato found him, he may already have smashed his face."
I bent back over the trail.
His stride had opened up—hurried.
The standing prints were sparse but deep—as if another hunter had been here.
These had to be Hayato's tracks.
He was moving fast, and he was… tracking.
"Rin, let's follow these tracks."
"Every time we track someone, you get excited like a child."
"Be serious, Rin."
We broke out of the trees.
Bodies lay in the open.
Ravens were pecking at the edges.
Even the air smelled like death.
"...Fuck."