【狼巣窟の中で】
The sun just started to peek over the horizon when they dragged her to the hut.
With the blade pressed against her neck the whole time, she didn't dare to resist and only stumbled along as well as she could. In the growing light of the day, she could see the ocean and an old bell tower standing on the coast nearby. The air was still for a change, yet she couldn't stop shaking as her ice-cold clothes added extra weight to her already frozen body.
The old warehouse was surrounded by patches of dry pampas grass. The man rushed her up the steep ladder and, once inside, he roughly flung her forwards. Her back collided with the hard wall and she collapsed onto the floor, unhurt, but utterly terrified.
She could see a few more pairs of feet enter the hut, forming a semi-circle around her. She didn't dare raise her head, not until one of them stepped up.
He was holding her bow.
"Well, well, well. Thieves are certainly getting younger these days," he hissed out, causing some of the others to chuckle in amusement.
He had long, unruly hair and his dark eyes loomed above her, sending a sense of dread to every part of her brain. His garment seemed to have been stitched together using pieces of cotton, leather and other material, complemented by an armor plate on his right shoulder. The guards covering his forearms were made of bits and pieces of samurai armor, held together with black leather strings.
His hakama was cut short and barely reached his knees, revealing a black ink mark stretching down to his right ankle. Two black stripes of similar pattern wrapped around his left calf.
All in all, his sandals must have been the only thing that appeared somewhat ordinary.
The man adjusted a long, curved dagger in the cord tied around his waist. Judging by the look of the others, he must have been their leader.
"Where did you get this?"
His cold, raspy voice bounced off the walls.
Rin was staring at him until that moment, but her sight dropped to the floor when he spoke to her.
As scared as she was, she was also trying to read the situation. Her former stalkers were murdered in cold blood, their bodies left to rot in the marsh. She didn't understand how or why she was still alive, but knew that a similar fate awaited her if she said the incorrect thing.
She needed to find out more about who he was, what he wanted.
"A friend gave it to me," she said, trying to stop her voice from shaking, failing completely.
A snicker escaped his mouth while inspecting the weapon.
"A friend, you say? And who might this friend be?"
She looked up, trying her best to keep a straight face.
This person was dangerous. She could feel it. The way he carried himself, his posture, his mere presence emitted a strange aura of fear. Some of his men definitely feared him, judging by the way they just stood there, nervously glancing between him and her.
At the same time, she couldn't help but feel angry. For the second time in the past days, there was this group of men holding her against her will.
Who were all these people? Why did they all think they could do whatever they wanted with her?
Her fear was subsiding, quickly replaced by growing hatred. She hated being an object in someone's plan. She hated being pushed around by all these men. She hated the one in front of her, hated Enishi, Ryouhei and their whole bunch, and the two killers in Omi.
YOU ARE READING
Of Arrows and Men (Ghost of Tsushima prequel)
Historical Fiction"I can hunt." He followed her line of sight and once again took the bow into his hands. His face was void of all emotion when he came forward. "I don't need a hunter. I need a killer." With fingers gripping the weapon on both ends, he leaned in and...
