Heishou Pack - Mao Branch: Ryōshū's Story

... S.H.H.

I... doubt you're telling me to shush.

Haven't I told you that your contractions are causing communication difficulties?

Haah... I meant to say "Secret Handover, Here".

The child sighed deeply, frustrated at the other's lack of comprehension, and tossed a small piece of dried bamboo scroll at them.

There was something scrawled on the scroll with a brush.

Our next assignment, I see.

Summarize it for me. Though I doubt it's anything more than another mindless slaughter.

... What's that?

Perhaps the child's behavior was already infamous among them.

The other beast of this Heishou Pack has never met this child before, but they don't seem at all surprised by this child's apparent extra-mission obsession with finding entertainment in assassinations.

In fact, they appear rather fascinated as the child continues to draw something in her own bamboo scroll.

Hmph, none of your business.

…….

The Heishou goes back to reading the mission scroll without question. A silent accord.

While the other one reads and summarizes the mission scroll, let's see what this child is writing.

[How unbelievably dull. It is somehow more entertaining to write a record about myself.]

[No one will be reading this art, but one day, perhaps my future self shall read it to look back and reminisce.]

[Hm... let's describe the stage.]

[I am surrounded by a mountain of bodies, everything around me marred and gory, scarred by cuts, drowned in guts.]

Heh... that rhymes.

What?

Nothing.

[I should make a record of this before my memories grow faint.]

[Yes. Suddenly, one moment... I had become a beast.]

[I'm certain there were moments lost to the fog that could have become radiant masterpieces, yet all have been burned away - to my chagrin.]

[... I have memories of having served a lord, once... yet it was not like this. Maybe.]

[I don't care for my current lord, anyway... Well, like always, the only change is the hand that holds the leash.]

[Only follow the tug of the leash, and cut down whomever, whatever lies in that path.]

[That was today... and, well. That mission scroll won't have anything new.]

[My only joy scavenged from the ephemeral moments of blossom, no more.]

[Ah, yes. I remember testing my strength against a different beast of the Heishou as well.]

[There are eleven more branches to Heishou Packs other than us hares, after all...]

[Perhaps my present lord was in a conflict with another. Not that I'm complaining. I'd love for the lord to keep making new enemies like a little bitch.]

[At least that will bring me a scintilla of joy.]

[I wonder - what if my current lord feuds with my former lord...? Hm. It would make for a tired old cliché, but experiencing it firsthand could also - ]

Hey.

... You're intent on ruining my fun tonight.

This better be important.

The child glared at the other beast as though she was ready to stab them with her brush, but...

... they only returned her a cold glare, wagging the mission scroll in her face.

Time to hop on to our next job, that's all.

Tch.

The child wished to record a scene of her fights, perhaps.

As beasts of the Heishou Pack have no need for unnecessary recollections, the memories can wither away at any moment.

But having the time to write anything at all was a luxury these missions could not provide.

Beasts of the Heishou Pack are here! They sent the M-Mao branch?!

... But maybe we can get a first-hand account this time.

... Oho.

Her eyes widen slightly, becoming oval-shaped.

Then her lips curl upward, noticing something that caught her interest.

You're wearing a nice fabric.

Have I seen it somewhere before?

Ahh, ahhh!

Wait, y-you're...!

Me? I'm Ryō -

Get your shit together.

We're hares.

... Tch.

We don't ask each other questions.

We do not know where we each reside.

But once called to a mission, we gather and become a husk of hares.

Together, we complete the mission, and scatter once again.

Dammit... if only I still had Heishou Packs of my own...!

I shouldn't have made that stupid bet... I shouldn't have wagered my own beasts... The Mao branch was mine...!

... Aha.

The child lets out a brief cry of what sounded like joy, realizing what it was that has been tickling her mind this whole time.

I remember now, from a passing memory... So maybe this one's one of my past lords.

This cliché is playing it a bit too safe.

W-wait! You... we... if we know each other...!

Haah... no, she doesn't.

The target crawled towards the child, about to plead at her feet, but the other beast stepped in.

They knew that this child wasn't stupid enough to jeopardize this mission, but... a Heishou has a line they mustn't cross.

We don't need to know, nor should we know, who you are.

We are but beasts, our fur black as midnight.

We do not remember the faces of those who must be forgotten.

Ahh... yes, of course.

Surprisingly, the child does not appear to be upset by this sudden interjection.

In fact, she appears... rather content by this turn of events.

... Yes. So that's what it's been building up to.

We splatter, before we scatter.

She could see it already, this clichéd scene rising to its climax with a one-liner for her to finish off this scene.

... Never should've trusted a beast that is black of fur, right?

... And that is why she laughs with such joy.