The Lin Clan

Sakume went back to the police station to do some research. He went to the database room to look through some old files. As he did, he was thinking about this entire case in general. He was thinking about his conversation with Uramaki and Merla. His memory about his father. And his latest chat with Kyone.

He found the file he needed and read it. Interesting. Ryoga Lin was the former head of the Lin Clan, a powerful clan that owns the shrine located in the cemetery. Their ancestors were the ones who controlled the land that is known as Mistle Town today. Some years ago, the imperials took control of the land, and the Lin Clan slowly disappeared.

What's even more interesting is that Ryoga Lin is dead, according to the files. What? Dead, then who is the ghost? Wait, what's this? Ryoga has one living relative, a daughter. Her name is Faith Lin.

Since his co-workers aren't willing to go to the cemetery, he decided to go by himself. Saito and Hirata asked him not to go, but he ignored them. Sakume said he will get to the bottom of this, and he will. Once again he's in the mist. He's more prepared this time. He will not let the enemy get the better of him.

The ghost of the shrine was standing on the same building as last time, and it sensed Sakume. It jumped off and landed on the ground.

Sakume sensed his footsteps and got ready. He drew his sword. Schlang. "Where are you, ghost of the shrine? Show yourself!"

The ghost ran about stealthily.

"Where are you? Show yourself now!" Sakume yelled impatiently. "Where the hell are you?"

It revealed itself from the mist. Sakume saw its complete figure for the first time. It was wearing a two-faced mask and a pink kimono. Sakume got ready, his feet were placed firmly, and he held his sword in a defensive position.

"I thought I told you to leave?" it said. "You never should have come back."

"You're not a ghost, are you? Who are you? Who's behind that mask?"

"That is none of your concern, detective. You ignored my warnings, and now you will die for it." The ghost charged, Sakume blocked. Clang!

The ghost kept on slashing, while Sakume retreated and blocked. Cling, clang. This person's style is swift and efficient, and pushing him back more and more. The ghost jumped, Sakume jumped and they slashed and went past each other. Slish!!

The mask was cut in two and it fell off, revealing the ghost's face. His theory was right, it is a person in disguise. But it was the face of a girl. A beautiful girl with a long ponytail. Her eyes were bright and sparkled in the night. He was surprised for a moment by her stunning beauty.

The woman, realizing that her face is revealed, covered it with her hand. "You…you did not see it!"

"But I saw everything. I knew you were no ghost. You can fool other people but you can't fool me."

"Be quiet!"

"You are Faith Lin, am I correct? Your father is Ryoga Lin, the former owner of the Ryojin Shrine."

"I said be quiet!"

She jumped and slashed, Sakume blocked. Clang! They struggled by pushing their blades against one another. They let go and jumped away. She ran away and Sakume chased her. It was hard to see in the fog, but he can hear the footsteps. She jumped to the rooftop, Sakume followed suit. They hit. Clang! Cling!

The woman jumped to the ground. Whoosh. Sakume jumped down. They continued the fight here. Sakume twisted his sword and pushed it up, knocking her sword into the air. Now weaponless, she backed away while he advanced.

"Stay away!" she shrieked.

His pointed the tip of the sword at her neck. Her back was against the wall. She's now trapped and under his mercy.

"Stay away…"

"Alright, I have some questions for you." he said. "Is your name Faith Lin? Was Ryoga Lin your father?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." she replied.

"So you're playing dumb, eh? Maybe this will change your mind."

He moved the blade lower down to her neckline, cutting her kimono, making an incision between her breasts.

"Stop…please..."

"Now start talking." Sakume said, pointing the tip of the blade at her sternum.

"Stop…you're a police officer, aren't you? Police aren't supposed to do this."

Sakume smiled. "They won't blame me…for assaulting a ghost."

Faith was scared now. "What kind of officer are you?"

"Start talking now. Or do I have to cut some more?"

Suddenly, an arrow flew at him, he swings the sword and broke it in half. Crack. With this chance, Faith ran away. Sakume chased the shadow who threw the arrow. She was too fast for him to catch up and disappeared into the night. Flash.

Sakume exclaimed, "Damn it!" He ran back to chase Faith, who ran into the shrine.

Faith went to some room and picked up a spare sword. Sakume entered the building and it was pitch black. Without any candle lights. The only source of light was the moon.

He went in ever so cautiously, not overlooking anything. She might pop out from any corner, behind any piece of furniture. She might even come from the ceiling. His footsteps were heard clearly and distinctly. Creek. Creek.

Suddenly, she came out from behind the wall and hit. Their blades collided. Quong! It was hard to see in the dark, but he can see the blade clearly. Clang!

She kept on attacking and he had to defend. Twang! She stabbed the sword and he dodged, and she stuck it in the wall. She pulled it out and slashed, he dodged. Whoosh. Faith took a hard swing and knocked his sword away. It landed a few meters away.

Now the situation was the opposite of before, Sakume was at her mercy. He raised his arms up to show his non-hostility. But it's a little too late for that. She pointed the sword firmly at his neck.

"Now, officer, give me one reason why I shouldn't kill you."

"Actually, I'm not an officer, I'm more of a detective-"

"Don't fool around!" she yelled angrily. "I gave you a fair warning. I should just kill you this instant."

"Come on now, you don't wanna do that."

His humor was pissing her off. She pointed the sword at his crotch. "Maybe this will do."

Now he's worried. "Uhhh…hey now…about before, I was just playing around. Ahehehe…don't be like that. I'm sure you're a kind and understanding person…"

She pointed the blade back at his neck. "How about I just cut off one of your limbs? That should do."

"Listen lady…I didn't mean any harm by coming here…it was you who attacked me first."

"You are trespassing on my territory."

"Your territory? So you do own the shrine?"

"Uhh…in any case, you shouldn't have come in the first place."

Sakume had a serious expression on his face. "The only reason I came here is because you were scaring away the townsfolk. Me, being a detective…I have to come here to investigate. Everything that I do is to protect the people, that's all. It's just that…my father was kidnapped by a so-called ghost a long time ago. I've never seen him since then. I just wanted to find the truth…I am sorry if I have caused you any trouble. I promise I won't come back and disturb you." He was hoping she'd buy it and sympathize with him.

She suddenly felt guilty and a little bit moved. "I am sorry about your father. But it was not me who did it. If I let you go, you won't come back right?"

"Yes. You have my word."

Faith withdrew the sword. "Go before I change my mind."

"Thank you so much. I'll never forget this favor." Sakume left.