A crowd of samurai gathered around the metal pen. Each curiously watched the group of hunting dogs yip and howl all the while furiously trying to escape their metal prison.

Lee leaned over to me. "I was kind of hoping for the softer and tamer version."

I shrugged. "As long as they get the job done. And that depends on if the Huntsman can get his head thinking straight."

With a nod Lee replied. "I guess..."

We sat in silence for a moment or two, just watching the pack of animals slowly calm down and settle into their new home.

But our entertainment soon came to a stop as Kohei made his way through the crowd. "Enough lazing about! We're leaving on our hunt within the day!" He waved his arms and we slowly started dispersing. But as I turned he had something to say. "Kenshi! Come over here."

Reluctantly, I swiveled on my heel and walked towards Kohei. I spoke loudly as I got closer. "What is it?"

Kohei pointed to a machine at the side of the camp. Water poured from a large pot and into a smaller one. It had marks for the higher the water filled. Each mark represented a time in the day. "The water clock says..." He leaned in closer to read the etchings on the pot. "It would be close to noon if the sun did what it was supposed to do." He thought for a moment then shook his head. "But that's no matter. We'll be leaving within the next few hours, and we won't be coming back in quite some time... So if you need to meet with your parole officer, do it now."

That wasn't as much time as I had wanted. But it was all I had. And complaining to Kohei would do nothing but waste it. So I simply nodded my head and made my way to the edge of camp.

One of the guards at the edge gave me a uniform lantern to light my dark path. With a quick 'thank you', I made my way onto the shadowy road.

I was moving quickly, knowing how little my time with Hayato would be, I wanted to make sure I had the time to say all I needed. But moving quickly kept me from taking in my surroundings.

Moving without being cautious was dangerous, especially since the world turned dark.

Because it wasn't just the sun and the sky that went dark, it was the people as well. When Lady Amaterasu went missing, people lost hope. Hope in humanity, hope in the future, hope in themselves. And I was one of those people.

But I couldn't let my mind wander that road again. If I got too involved I feared I would trip on my own feet in this darkness.

The moon always stayed in the middle of the sky, and usually the light coming off of it would be almost as bright as day was. But it had been snowing for days on end, and clouds had shroud the moon and turned the world black as pitch.

My lantern only lit the path so much. But at least I could see the lights of a nearby city in the distance.

The one where the other half of Hayato's portal was open. The one where his twin was stationed...

I muttered to myself as I neared the village. "Am-... An-... Anzen! Yes."

Anzen was his name. Hayato's twin whom I never had formally met.

That wasn't good. I had plans for me and Hayato. One that got me out of the Huntsman's new deathtrap and one that got Hayato out of the Shogun's grasp.

Hopefully this Anzen would have the sense not to favor the Shogun over us.

As I reached the village lights I snuffed out my lantern and tied it to a strap hanging off my waist.

The city had lit extra lights to counteract the darkness and thus had given everything a soft orange glow.

I had no time to consider the streetside sellers' callouts or any of the other attention seeking ploys in this town. What I had planned needed as much time as possible to think over.

Yokai gravitated up Mt.Fuji to Amaterasu's palace, and it was no exception for the one we were about to hunt.

There was not a single part of me that wanted to go to that place... Well... Most of me didn't want to go to that place.

So I had to form a plan to get out of the company. But that was complicated and depended majorly on Hayato, Hayato and...

I looked up to the Samurai sitting atop his pedestal as he kept the foggy portal beneath him open.

Anzen, the unpredictable twin. I could see his helmet move and watch the crowd, so he must have listened to Hayato's instructions on training his Ember.

But even so, he could be a problem for my plan.

I shook my head as I entered the foggy gate. There was nothing to do about it until I knew for sure.

Coming out the other end of the gate met me with a familiar sight. A familiar smell. And a familiar face.

Hayato waved at me as he saw me emerge from the fog. He quickly finished the last of what I supposed was his midday meal and made his way towards me.

I shouted. "Not even any time for a break to eat!?"

He smiled as he weaved through the civilians constantly pouring through the gate. "I have no need! Once I decide where the portal is, it stays there with no need for me to concentrate."

I gave Hayato a pat on the shoulder as we finally met. "That's a stupendous amount of progress. I'm glad to see that you've worked hard to better yourself."

He nodded. "It's good to see you again, Kenshi. I was just recently thinking it had been a while since last we talked."

"It has been far too long..." We stood in silence for a few moments once we finished our greetings.

But the silence was finally broken when Hayato spoke. "Come, Kenshi. Let's walk." He waved for me to follow him as he started making his way down the sandy road.

And so I followed. And as I did, I thought. I thought that I couldn't be timid with what I had to say. My time was short. So I was blunt. "Hayato, I'm abandoning my mission. And I wanted to give you the chance to join me and escape working from the Shogun."

Hayato quickly looked behind him and at me with an extremely surprised face. "You what?"

"You heard me."

He stopped in his tracks and decided to fully turn around to speak to me. "You realize how absolutely ludicrous that idea is. What do you think the Shogun will do once he catches on?"

I was a bit shocked at how adverse Hayato was to that idea. "We'll be long gone by then... I know some people in the north. They'd hide us while-"

Hayato cut me off. "And how do I know that!? I don't know these people, hell, I barely even know you!"

"What do you mean? We've known each other for months now?"

He shook his head at my words. "And yet I don't even know the first thing about you! And you expect me to just leave and go to some strange place with you?"

He was right. I'd forgotten that Hayato knew even less than Yasuo and Kohei at this point, and the only reason they know is because the Shogun told them. "I'm sorry Hayato. I know I've been reluctant to share anything..." I looked at the scars running up and down my arms. "And I know that my past has dragged you along on this entire predicament with the Shogun and I... But I can't."

Hayato sighed before he replied. "We have gone through many a trial together. And I do trust you Kenshi, but this is too far. Whatever death trap your superiors are leading you into is no more dangerous than being a deserter in the Shogun's land."

I shook my head. The huntsman was mad with his failures. Kohei only strived for glory to fuel his pride. And the Doctor had mad schemes I hadn't even fully fathomed yet. And then there was me. I knew why I couldn't step foot atop Mt.Fuji. "I know I'll die if I go with them... There's no other choice. But I can't survive alone."

Hayato frowned deeply. "And I can't go with you. I have a brother I won't abandon."

It wasn't my plan to bring him up this quickly, but I had to. "You can bring your brother along with us."

"He doesn't know you, and how am I supposed to vouch for you if even I don't know why the Shogun has put you in this situation in the first place?"

I hated it. I hated the thought, but I knew he was right. "Fine. Fine..." A frog appeared in my throat, and I became unable to speak. But I had to learn to say it. "The Shogun and I have known each other for almost as long as you've been alive. When I was young I had an Ember, and the Shogun recruited me and brought me to live in the high society with him. I saw every evil thing he did and planned to do."

Hayato thought for a moment. "And now he wants to silence you... But that makes no sense. Why would he reveal so much and give so much to someone with just an Ember? I knew nothing about all this."

Every instance of me tried to withhold what I was about to say, but I kept going forward. "Hayato... I was the first person to hold an Ember. It was more powerful than anything that would come after it... And the Shogun wanted to use that for himself. He didn't expect me to turn against him."

His eyes widened in revelation. Hayato frantically searched through his mind as he spoke. "You were the first to be granted an Ember... I heard stories of you... I never knew you turned out to be like... This..."

"I disappeared shortly after. To hide from the Shogun, and to hide from..."

Hayato yelled, I don't believe he intended to, but he spoke without caution. "What were you hiding from!? How did you lose your Ember!?" He put his hand to his forehead and paced. "This doesn't make sense..."

"I-I'm sorry Hayato... I know I'm still not telling you things... But I can't... Not yet."

He shook his head. "Then I still can't go with you..."

Damnit...

No... I wasn't telling him that because I wanted to gain something. I told him that because he needed to know. If I wanted to be someone to rely on, I needed to be able to trust others. "I... Understand..." I sighed. "You know as much as some of the other's do at camp at least..." My time was also running short. I hadn't even noticed that much time had passed... so I turned to leave. "I knew it was too much to ask. I suppose I just wanted hope of escaping. But after all these years of running, I guess I've run out of places to go."

I could hear Hayato's pacing stop as he noticed me walking away. "I wish you all the best, Kenshi. I'll see you again soon."

"Let's hope so."

And with that I left, my head held low. I would go back to camp and continue with what I was ordered, I had no other choice without Hayato.

Death was ahead of me. Death and somewhere I had promised never to return to.