Toshubi's steps along the forest path gave no sound at all, his presence even on the worn path like that of a ghost. While fire burnt within him there was enough control that he did not simply charge ahead blindly making a racket. Whoever had taken Jessica had put up a challenge against him, hiding behind a nickname, calling themselves 'oni' like that was supposed to scare him. Taking her meant that whoever was behind this wanted his attention. They certainly had it, though the anger burning in him was second only to that he felt towards those responsible for the death of his first family. He would not allow some bastard that needed to fight him to satisfy their own ego harm even a hair more from her head.
Memory of Jessica's weight against his back not long ago, and the sound of her muted sobs as she was calming down against him reminded him that someone depended on him. After his family had perished he had only felt the flame burning bright within him, but Jessica's soothing presence made him want to live a little longer even though the flames still called for the end of a tyrant. He would not let someone bring an end to such a sweet girl, and whoever took her would find out soon enough that to remove the only thing keeping that flame calm had been a fool that would not live to regret it.
Walking along Toshubi had tracked the path left behind by the kidnapper, their step had been swift and they didn't seem to have even intended to hide their way. A second, sharp sai thrown into a nearby trees' trunk confirmed his suspicions. His foe was clearly marking the path for him to follow along. Telling him that he was on the right track. That could mean the path was a trap in itself, but for Jessica, he was willing to take those odds and in grim silence walk ahead.
His right hand grasping on his blade's sheath tightly, his left hand pushing a branch out of his way as he moved along some undergrowth he reacted to danger before even seeing it. It was just a whistle in the air warning him to dodge in time as a sharpened blade struck the soil behind him, having missed him by inches. Sharpened throwing knife with a red string attached to the small metal ring it had for a handle.
”Ho-hoo, so you can actually sense a danger ahead of you. Good lad, perhaps you will provide me with some amusement.” Dropping down from a treebranch a bit further on the path, a slender black feline's form moved closer to light. Scar along her cheek marred the otherwise lovely face, but her chest was covered by a bandolier holding several throwing knives like that last one, and the way she moved lead Toshubi to realize this foe had no easy openings visible, even without a weapon in hand.
”My boss wanted me to hold you back a little while as he sets everything up. Don't worry, I won't hurt you, much. Its my job just to make sure you give him some time alone with your little brat.” Her smirk was confident and taunting, but Toshubi knew better. Though rage boiled within him, if he charged in blindly when she was trying to get him to do so he would let her set the terms for the engagement.
”I need you to step aside, now.” Toshubi's voice was stern, and firm. He was a roaring inferno held back by his resolve and training, but at the same time as he was containing it he was harnessing it. Readying to put it to use. His heart beat fast, her taunt had an effect driving his body to ready for this.
”No can do, just sit tight a few minutes and I won't have to put one in your feet-” The woman's reply had been spoken calmly as she watched Toshubi, certain she could hit his feet before he could cross the distance between them but the ninja's sudden dash from complete halt to the side caught her off guard. She hadn't anticipated the mouse might try and run around her, leaving a foe behind him. Reckless and wild, that seemed unlikely from a seasoned hero, but it also gave him cover from her throwing knives. Before she could snatch one up and throw it Toshubi already had partial cover, and her toss was sharp and accurate, but Toshubi's reflexes were better. The mouse slipped around zigging when she thought he'd zag, and the blade gave a loud 'thok' impacting on the surface of an old tree instead of burying itself into Toshubi's thigh.
Cursing and charging after him, the knifethrower's calm was lost as she tried to catch up with him. At first she saw the movement and knew where he went, but then soon the path was quiet and she wasn't sure. Where the hell had he-
The blade's slash before her came too fast for her to dodge. The sword's edge ran along her neck and even as she sank her feet to the soil to try and slow down, it was a horrifying moment of realizing her own speed drove her onto his blade.Spitting out blood and trying to get up from the ground after landing on her back she found herself looking up at Toshubi who held the sword above her chest, gazing down at her.
If he wanted, he could have ended her life with a short, swift stab. Her throat was hurt, but the thick fur collar and tough skin had helped keep the cut relatively shallow. The feat was only possible because Toshubi had not pushed with the blade, but let it move back with her neck as well. It had made sure she'd stop, but had also put her off balance, and down onto the ground. He could have taken her head without an effort after drawing her off the road, and into his own trap. She felt like a total amateur.
”Who took my daughter?” Toshubi's voice demanded an answer, the frightened expression on the cat's face worth seeing but he took no pleasure in scaring her, or even wounding her. She taunted him about Jessica's safety earlier yet she might hold some useful information, and if she volunteered it quickly, he cared more about Jessica's life than her death.
”H-his name is Scar, t-though he's called Oni because of how scarred he's become! He used to serve feline army but was disgraced, many of us were like him somehow, w-we banded together to survive. He hunts, and we hunt. He has some pride issue to deal with you and your girl... b-but you and the girl aren't even the same race so I don't see how-”
Toshubi's blade drew a small line along her chest-fur, cutting the bandolier open and resting the blade on top of where her heart lay, watching her coldly. Fire burning in his eyes, she could tell she had to answer him what he wanted or her life was forfeit. For all that burning rage, there was a method to his madness it seemed, a control that used all of it as a fuel for his actions.
”S-scar has a lodge in the woods, he's taking her there, he sent me and a tiger by the name Gauth to stop you, u-uhm Gauth is waiting further ahead. He's staying at the lodge with your girl and his last lieutenant. He wants to defeat and humiliate you before handing you over to the empire, thinking it would prove his worth and also get him a reward! I swear that's all he told me!”
Whimpering slightly as she watched him, she stared horrified as his blade rose, and then began its plunge down. Her eyes shut in fright she whimpered a quiet prayer, hearing the blade's impact. Slowly opening her eyes, she saw the blade struck into grass besides her face, her reflection in the metal.
”Flee, and never do evil again.” Toshubi drew the blade from the ground, and turned to return to the road. She was wounded but as long as she didn't strain herself, she should be able to survive. Meanwhile, he had to make his way to this lodge then, and find Jessica and Scar. He had heard of the soldiers that got thrown out of the army in the past, but most of them were just not army material anyhow, someone who would pull a thing like this to show he meant business had to be sick in the head. He only hoped the foe focused on simply luring him in rather than doing Jessica any harm.
Silently wiping the blade clean from the blood-drops on it, he briefly cast a look back. It took ninja skills to be able to realize the blade in her path in time to brake at all, and good reflexes to turn that swift run to a swift halt, even if it had to involve falling onto her back in order to keep from getting beheaded or at least her throat cut. If his foe kept henchmen like this around, the fight might not be an easy one.
Stepping back onto the path he returned to his journey, the thought of Jessica waiting at its end comforting him somewhat, but the worry about whether or not she was safe until he arrived troubled him. Still, he had to watch ahead and make sure he didn't take the wrong turn somewhere, the path twisted around here and there, sometimes it was clear like a dirt road, other times it became a simple path worn by animals, other times it practically vanished, but his sharp senses picked up the clues and the right trail to follow, as long as he didn't rush overly. He needed to focus his thoughts, and if the introduction that panther lady had given him was any indication, his foe just might want to wear him out and have him crazed with worry before Toshubi reached the man behind all of this. This fellow 'Scar' was going to see just how angry he could get, soon enough.
His focus did not make him ignore his surroundings though, but as Toshubi made his way further into the forest he did not meet with any more interruptions for a while, letting himself relax a little. It did not mean he didn't watch his surroundings, just that he allowed his body a moment to relax from the tension so he would not be worn out by always being on the edge. A warrior needed to know when to conserve his strength, and when to stand ready to face his enemies.
Though for someone who mastered the arts like the ones Toshubi had trained with, allowing the enemy to gather his strength was a choice only reserved for the few foes who'se death should be a memorable one. The Feline Emperor could be such a foe, perhaps. At least Toshubi was tempted to not make that death too quick, given the pain that the emperor had inflicted upon him and so many others. Yet at the same time, he knew the value of a quick, silent death. The way of the ninja trained one to be lethal and swift, like the barely felt wind it was best to be quick, unseen and unheard, with only its touch felt when it was too late to do anything about it.
Yet for all his training, Toshubi did not focus solely on revenge and the fire that had burned in him ever since he saw his family's death in the flames unjustly lit by the hand of the felines, but in its depths remained the tranquil peace of a calm cool wind that Jessica had brought to his life. The memory of the warmth he had shared with her mother, and the brief thought of actually becoming a bovine himself to truly belong and become her father, it all came back to him, and he knew what he had to do.
For all his plans of vengeance, the dead would be patient to see him avenge the unjust deaths, because he had a life he needed to protect, someone who's heart had reached out and touched his, and he knew that he needed to answer it. She might not have been born to his wife but she had become his family when he opened up his heart to her. Seeing how she had nobody else left in the world had touched him in the depths, reminded him of his own loss but also reminded him that two fragmented souls could aid one another.
Gazing silently at the path ahead, he wondered briefly on the future when he felt a sense of alarm strike through all those thoughts once again. His thoughts might wander but his senses were alert and even without giving its his full attention he could read some signs and reacted in time. Leaping back when a large blade slashed through the air before him Toshubi landed on his hands and threw himself back to slip back, having done a handstand and ended up throwing himself back so he could plant his feet on the ground again, taking a fair distance from the swordsman before him in a single quick, uninterrupted move.
”You should not be here already. Damn it all, did you do something to Esme? Did you!?” The face of the large bear of a man was hidden behind a mask, but his anger revealed more than a fair concern for the foe that Toshubi had met before, and who's task had been to slow him down. His enemy seemed to have plans for him, and wasn't afraid to use his allies and henchmen to further his goals.
If this foe was to serve as another obstacle to his progress then he had no need to hold back any of his strength, because each minute spend dealing with these ruffians was one more for his foe had to spend with the girl he sought to protect. Vengeance for his family, and redemption for their death lay at the end of his path, but he was not ready to leave poor Jessica to suffer because of a path he had chosen for himself. She had chosen to join him and deep down he knew she knew the risks when she took it, but at the same time his heart told to protect her heartbeat, and even when he would leave this world eventually he would see that some of his touch would remain alive in those who would walk the lands after him.
In that moment he gazed at the bear quietly, grasping the hilt of his blade. It was not malice or cruelty, it was simply resolve. This was one of his foes, a man that put himself before Toshubi and Jessica, that sought to keep him from reaching her. His fingers unsheathed the blade, and as the thunder echoed in the sky above, he took the first steps ahead, exposing the bare steel before his foe. One last warning to tell them to take a step to the side and let him pass.
The bear growled and stood resolute, with no weapon bared he still refused to allow Toshubi to pass. Standing in his path like a living mountain, he seemed determined to stand in his way and keep him from reuniting with the one he cared for. His eyes closed and he heard his heartbeat echo in the depths. So be it, then. He had chosen his path, and he would follow it.
