Chapter 49: The End of the Night Hunt
For several seconds only silence permeated in the air, broken only by the wind outside. The faint sound of it brushing against the wooden walls seeped in through the cracks, carrying with it a slight chill.
Then Kenzo's voice resounded in the air again, but this time with a sharper edge, cutting cleanly through the stillness.
"Since there is no one here I guess I will just have to burn down this house."
Without a second of hesitation Kenzo moved towards the door with slow deliberate steps. His footsteps loud and clear in the quiet room, each step echoing faintly against the wooden floor.
As Kenzo slightly opened the door knob which made a low creak, the sound stretching unnaturally long in the silence.
Then suddenly a voice came in like a blade slicing through the stillness, cutting through the silent atmosphere of the room.
"I am here"
The voice was that of a slender man with glasses and a white coat who looked to be around twenty five to thirty years old, with a lean frame and pale complexion that seemed almost untouched by sunlight. His hair was neatly arranged, and his posture remained straight despite the tension in the air. Even in this situation, there was no panic on his face, only a quiet composure that did not match the scene around him.
Kenzo's eyes flickered towards the slender man for some seconds before his gaze flickered towards a hidden wooden compartment hidden in the wall, the panel slightly misaligned with faint seams visible upon close inspection, blending almost perfectly with the surrounding structure as if it had always been part of the wall.
"This should be the place where he was hiding, though the place appeared too simple it was actually well hidden since it was placed where it could be easily overlooked."
Kenzo's eyes came back to the young man again as he looked directly into his eyes behind his round glasses. As if trying to directly look into his soul.
"So then what's your name"
Kenzo asked expressionlessly, his face betraying no expression, his voice utterly devoid of emotion.
"Rei Takashi"
The man replied, his expression also expressionless like Kenzo.
Kenzo just looked at the man's eyes, they were calm yet distant, like someone who had long since grown accustomed to the darker truths of the world, carrying a quiet understanding beneath their surface, neither resisting nor accepting, simply observing.
"Why aren't you scared of me after all I killed your companions didn't I?"
Rei Takashi adjusted his glasses slightly and spoke in a calm and measured tone, his fingers steady without even the slightest tremor.
"I would be lying if I said I felt nothing. However, in a situation like this, fear does not change the outcome. As for them… we were simply working under the same place. Nothing more, nothing less."
"A perfect response" Kenzo evaluated calmly in his mind. He neither showed too much emotion towards people he was previously working with nor did he show detachment towards them.
"He probably already knows that I am most likely trying to recruit him."
"It seems you rather have a twisted taste" Kenzo spoke again looking at the human organs and this time he spoke extremely suddenly like a question out of nowhere. The faint metallic scent in the room lingered as his gaze swept across the preserved pieces without interest.
However this still didn't get a reaction out of him, his gaze still steady and calm like a still lake under the night sky, undisturbed even when a stone is thrown into it.
"Just a personal hobby" his voice remained completely flat.
Several seconds passed as both of their eyes were directly looking at each other, both measuring each other, both with their own shrewd calculations. The air between them seemed to tighten slightly, as if even the space itself was aware of the exchange.
Humans were after all an intelligent species, no matter the era, whether it is ancient times or the modern era, human intelligence does not simply decline just because one exists in a feudal world, only the tools change, not the mind behind them.
Just then Kenzo spoke again, this time his voice was slightly ice cold, like a thin blade pressed against the skin, clearly he wanted a real answer this time.
"So why did you choose this path, with your expertise there shouldn't be too much difficulty living an ordinary life"
As he spoke this Kenzo released a bit of his pressure.
Immediately the room grew heavier as if vibrating slightly under the immense pressure he released, the faint creaking of wood returning as if the structure itself was being strained under an invisible weight.
Rei Takashi was immediately covered in cold sweat, completely soaking his back, his mind raced, moving as fast as it could, trying its best to find an answer that wouldn't be too pretentious and wouldn't give too much of his details either. Of course he knew that the other party had thousands of different ways to get the information out of him, but he also understood what this man in front of him wanted, it wasn't just his information, it was his "heart". What he desired the most. What did he want to do? Where does he want to go? As long as you grasp someone's heart it would become as clear as daylight.
"I have seen more beauty in darkness than I have seen in the horror of the Light."
The pressure retracted instantly as soon as the words came out, the room itself seemed to breathe a sigh of relief as the tension in the air finally melted, the oppressive feeling fading as if it had never existed.
"I also have a lot of questions to ask you, hopefully you wouldn't mind, would you?"
Kenzo asked, an invisible smile behind his oni mask unseen by anyone.
Upon hearing the question the man quickly moved as he brought a chair for the oni masked shinobi in front of him, a gentle and calm smile on his face as he replied in a polite manner.
"Of course not, ninja-sama"
Kenzo on the meanwhile without ceremony sat on the wooden chair the man brought and replied in his usual voice.
"So then let's begin"
While Kenzo was having his heart to heart talk, Kenzo's shadow clones were already cleaning up the battlefield. The faint sounds of movement, dragging, and searching echoed distantly outside, Mostly unnoticeable unless one paid close attention.
Taking the valuables and more importantly valuable information, whether there were other such hideouts.
As this was happening the sun was already starting to show its first few faint rays over the horizon, a dim light slowly seeping into the world, pushing away the remnants of the night.
Thus marking the end of the night hunt.