Free Moon and Star: Book One by Mike Bergonzi Page B

think he had a brother all this time. It still boggled his mind to the point where the short time with his little brother could be attributed to a dream.
    He was surrounded by shrubberies of all shapes and sizes. The farther south he went the more trimmed and well-kept they appeared. It was as if someone lived here. But who would be stupid enough to live in the forest? Rogue bushi-ama warrior, sure, but they didn’t have much or a choice. He’d only encountered one group of those. Still, he hadn’t come across anymore in the three months he’d been in the forest with or without Mayumi or Sora. Yet the bushes and trees got smaller, not taller as he journeyed towards Reikutaun.
    Kaito stopped in his tracks and looked up as a bird cried out. The ronin from earlier. Their bodies hung from trees by their necks. Others hung from their stomachs, hunched over branches. One of the bodies came crashing down next to him along with a tree limb. He screamed and flinched, jumping out of the way. Whoever did this was good. Those men were tough. They would’ve killed Kaito if he told them his real name. Could the people who killed them also be after the bounty? He examined the body that fell from the tree. The blood was dry. Whoever did this was long gone by now.
    The bird cried out again. This time Kaito looked up and saw a blackbird with a grey and yellow underbelly. Its beak was long. The longest he’d seen on a bird. The creature hopped along from tree top to tree top and pecked at the corpses. It wasn’t eating the flesh. Rather, it seemed curious about the whole situation. The long-beaked bird then started to squawk non-stop. Kaito covered his ears, but the screech easily penetrated his hands. He couldn’t take the noise. If it didn’t stop soon it would drive him mad.
    He picked up a pebble and chucked it at the bird. It stopped and turned to look at him. Kaito sighed in relief. The bird started its screech once again, this time louder. What was with the bird? Even when threatened it refused to move from the spot.
    Kaito looked back down and gazed across the blood-stained forest floor. Something clung to the fallen branch. At first he thought it was a bee hive and kept his distance. Looking at it closer, he realized it was a nest. Baby birds lay smashed and torn. As if someone took their time torturing them. Who would do such a thing? Kaito could barely keep his eyes away from the site. Something primal inside him made him stare—but his gut reaction was of sorrow, horror, and anger.
    The mother bird stopped it's screeching and flew down on Kaito's shoulder. He smiled at the bird and it whistled a tune so beautiful it left his eyes misty and his throat dry. Seems I've found a companion in this little creature, he thought.
    "I'm going to Yoshino. Would you like to join me?"
    The bird chirped and hopped happily back and forth on his shoulder. He took it as a sign.
    "Don't worry. I won't let anything happen to you ... Naomi."
    Naomi, he hadn't thought of her in years. Somehow this bird reminded him of her. The love of his life's beauty still amazed him, even in his memory. He pictured her long, dark hair flowing freely in the wind as she opened her eyelids, revealing the blue color underneath. The image was so visceral, Kaito could imagine himself next to her.
    But she would never fall for a guy like him. Not after learning the truth. It was only a matter of time before news of Kaito's heritage became common knowledge. If it wasn't already. Even as children, she was more interested in Go-zhuk. The three of them laughed and played ever day before tensions started to brew between the two clans.
    Naomi's own family had sided with the Yoritomo and since than nothing informative ever came to his attention. It was like she disappeared without a trace.
    If only I'd told her how I really feel.
    Kaito sighed. Yet another thing on his list of regrets.
    ***
    Kaito’s journey was coming to a close. He could smell the salt from the ocean