The Expedition

The group was headed for the north gate where a crowd of their friends and family members gathered to bid their loved ones farewell and good luck for the dangerous expedition. As the group passed by with their horses and carriages, they waved to the crowd with confidence, however, some of them remained silent as they walk- or sat- with their heads held down, too caught up and anxious to even lift their heads.

Within the crowd, Kagura and their childhood playmate Hayabusa were standing side by side to see Kurusu off. Then, as soon as he saw them, he happily waved with a genuine smile on his face while he was walking with his horse.

When he finally passed them by a few feet away, Hayabusa's smile lessened as worry started building up within him, he then asked Kagura, "Will he be alright?" Whilst still looking at the passing group.

"Yes, I'm confident he will be." Kagura replied, but her eyes were still locked towards her brother.

"I'm sure you're aware that every time he returns from his missions, he always have some form of injury with him." He then faced Kagura to observe her expression, but only saw the back of her head as she was still looking at her distant brother. "He'll be facing an unknown race of demon that none of us, even your father, has ever encountered before." He continued.

"I am indeed aware. He'll be alright."

"How can you be so sure?" He asked Kagura once more.

"Because he promised." She looked up at the sky as she uttered those words, her smile slowly becoming slightly forced.

"I don't trust that promise."

"Neither do I."

* * *

After hours and hours of travelling north-east within the woods, the stomach of one of the Onmyouji of the expedition group suddenly grumbled loudly due to hunger, in response, her face started becoming bright red and warm as she tried hiding it in embarassment but failed to do so because her hands were occupied maneuvering her horse.

The sound was exceptionally loud that all three members from inside the carriage infront of her heard it. They all giggled as they heard the grumble of her stomach, then one of them decided to head for the front of the carriage where their leader, Haru, is manning the horses to tell him, "Hey Captain, let's take a break for awhile."

He then commanded all of them to halt and take their break. With just a single command, everyone obeyed and got off from the carriages or their horses to take a rest from the tiring expedition.

Kurusu got off from his horse, he was stationed infront of the first carriage- which was ahead of everyone else- and was incharged of keeping direction and guarding it. When he got off, he was impressed by how effective their travelling formation was. Since they have to travel inside heavy forests, they have protect their two carriages that carry their rations and weaponries. But with only four individual horses available and twelve Onmyouji, he proposed they form a line with individual horses in-between the carriages, and inside every carriage there will be three members guarding inside and one that will man the horse.

Although he was the one who proposed the idea of their formation, he was not credited in any way because everyone believed that their leader was the one who came up with it. Although, he didn't mind since his main focus was to ensure that they arrive at the village on time and unscated; he didn't want to be a disappointment once again.

"Disappointment..." He sighed to himself while he was petting his horse. He lived his entire life as a disappointment, will he ever be able to change it?

He was deep in his thoughts that he didn't notice the problem that was going on behind him. He snapped back to reality when Haru approached him and said, "We have a problem, Kurusu." with a worried look on his face. As he brought him behind the first carriage where the group was gathering, he saw three empty crates- that came from the first carriage- lying on the ground.

"Isn't this supposedly our food supply? Why is it empty?" He asked but nobody answered. "Who was assigned to guard the first carriage?" He looked around as he asked once more, but still, no one answered nor admitted.

The silence finally broke when Haru replied, "It was Hisashi, Kazumi, and Akihiko." He then placed his hand on top of his shoulders and told him, "But please don't accuse them, because..."

A long pause ensued before he cleared his throat. "It was my fault... I accidentally forgot to pack them." His head held down as if he was asking for forgiveness.

Then one of them, Satoshi, bursted into anger as he heard those words. "Huh? How can you 'accidentally' forget something?" He asked angrily as he approached him and balled his fist, grabbing the front of his shirt then lifted it. "You're the leader, it's your job!"

Kurusu broke the two off to prevent the situation from getting worse. "We're on a mission here, be civil." They then seperated and distanced themselves.

"So what do we do now?" Satoshi asked, but his voice was filled with fury, while Haru was still frozen in guilt, seemingly unable to accept his failure. "We can't hunt nor forage for food since our time is only limited. We have to reach the village before noon when the sun sets." Kurusu replied.

"So what do you suggest?"

"We continue on our expedition..." He sighed as he realised there was really no other choices left. "Without eating."

Everyone gasped in shock as they didn't expect this ambitious suggestion, but it was then followed by a sigh as they, too, realised there was no other way as their time was only limited. They then continued their journey to the village with an empty stomach.

* * *

They arrived sooner than they expected- most likely because they skipped their meal- then they were tasked to form four groups of three members and split up to investigate and ask questions, then gather at the center of the village when the sun starts to set.

By the time the sky was a mixture of red and orange, the group was already gathered at the center to share the information they received. It was there that they discovered that the unknown race of demon resided within the mountains behind the village.

"Good, I think it's time that we take our proper rest and eat a meal." Kurusu said as soon as they concluded the whereabouts of the demon.

"No, I think we should survey the area first. That way, we can plan out our strategies for tomorrow." But then Haru insisted with a commanding voice.

This caused Satoshi to burst out into anger again, "Huh? Do you hav-" however, Kurusu interrupted him and blocked him with his arm when he was on his way towards Haru. "We should listen to him. He's our leader, he knows best."

"Thank you, Kurusu." He thanked him for, once again, preventing things from getting worse. He then continued by asking him a favor, "Also, can I borrow your horse? Because I'll be leading the way this time." Kurusu agreed without a second thought and handed his horse to him, leaving him to travel by foot.

The four then rode their horses while the remaining six were tasked to keep guard on the ground as they survey the area within the mountains.

They finally left the village- still tired and hungry- to traverse the mountains and inspect the area. It was quiet- suspiciously quiet- as they walked deeper and deeper into the mountains. The air becoming heavy as the tension rose.

Then, they reached an open field where Haru suddenly stopped.