Kitabatake Assault on Totomi (Open/GM?)

[Amakusa Takehiro]

[OoC: Before anyone hops in, just know this basically a preemptive thing for Takehiro to improve his relations with the people of Totomi and get to know them, considering I plan on basing his faction in Totomi as soon as he is eligible. There will be a lot of chaos, so if you're expecting a social thread, this isn't really the place for that. May or may not require GMing in some spots, but we'll see.]

For the first time in a long time, Takehiro had been walking around the country without adorning his helmet, that demonic appearance no longer taking over him. He'd been calm as of late, accepting who he was as a person, and realizing his past actions didn't need to haunt him. It was because of this that he found himself at the shores of Totomi, as the sea was calming for a mind like his.

Out in the distance, Takehiro saw ships advancing toward the Totomi shore, and he was confused. They bore the Mon of the Kitabatake, whose territory lay across the sea. He thought nothing of it at first, assuming they were testing out their ships or something to that affect. However, as they drew closer, he would hear the loud boom of cannons, and large steel balls flew into the seaside village, destroying it. An impressive fleet could be seen across the horizon, and they seemed to be attacking unprovoked.

Takehiro stood to his feet, looking around at the destruction these people were causing for a reason he could not find. Angered, he equipped his helmet, that demonic look once again taking over him, that mist of darkness enveloping his body. With a roar, he leaped from the shore to the nearest Kitabatake ship in a single bound, landing atop the deck with his fiery glaive in hand. While he was in the air, his dark doppelganger shot out of his body, landing atop another ship in the same manner.

Without halting or showing hesitation, Takehiro began to cleave through the ranks of sailors, ripping them apart indiscriminately. This unprovoked attack on innocent people was not something he was going to sit idly by for and watch.

[Chosokabe Nanami]

~* The pirate princess would be sailing through the area on a whim, using a ship that her father had lent her. It was a fine vessel, and Nanami had a reliable crew to back her. She trusted these men with her life, and so the young captain stood at the wheel as they sailed the seven seas. She felt right at home.

~* They found themselves near the region of Totomi, and in the distance, there looked like there were ships. Taking her spyglass, the girl would look at them, seeing the Mon of the Kitabatake faction on the ships. They were also firing cannons at a nearby village.

"Oh hell no!"

~* The Chosokabe princess would not allow for this! She drew one of her swords, allowing one of her crew to take to the wheel instead. She pointed it forward with a shout. "Onward, brave men of the Chosokabe! We will not allow any harm to befall these innocents!"

~* The men stared at her in disbelief, a single ship against an entire fleet?! But the young captain was undeterred. She blinked as she noticed something strange... was that a person leaping through the air? Did he just split in two? Aye, it was probably just a trick of the seas. She shook her head and recomposed herself as her men began to open fire on the enemy ships, hoping to at least divert their attention from the village.

[Ichimura Ryunosuke]

The morning saw Ryunosuke sleeping inside the smithy that he occupied as his home. That assault on the marketplace had drained his energy, and it was fortunate that the commander of the militia had granted him a day of rest. But that day of rest was interrupted by a loud knock on the door of the smithy.

"Ichimura-kun, open up! Open up! There is a general assembly of the militia of Totomi! Ichimura-kun!" These shouts accompanied the knocks on the door. Still somewhat disconcerted, Ryunosuke opened the door, scratching his head, and he saw a fellow militia, looking as if tired from the shouts and the knocks.

"I have been waiting here for a long time, Ichimura-kun! Hurry up, the militia commander had summoned us! It's an emergency!" the man wailed.

With another scratch of the head, Ryunosuke asked, "What is it that the commander needs, and he needed to disturb someone who had been extremely tired from fighting off bandits?" To which the man replied, "The Kitabatake assaulted one of our coastal villages! Their ships are too numerous and they intend to destroy this land!" A great anger then welled up from beneath Ryunosuke's body. These wretches, after letting them do their naval practice on their shores, decided to destroy them? He then said at the man, "All right, I'll follow without a moment's delay!"

Some hours later, the Totomi militia, armed with rifles, were on the shore, some putting up defenses against the navy of the Kitabatake, and some on small ships, looking to board some of the enemy's ships. On a lone boat, sat a demon-like character, armed with a matchlock and a gun-blade, going towards a ship of the Kitabatake. The enemy, seeing this, aimed their cannon at the boat, at the same time, the demon took a grappling hook and threw it upwards, and as the grappling hook was fastened to the ship, the demon climbed towards the deck of the ship. The sailors attempted to cut the rope, but the shots from the demon's gunblade stopped them from doing their purpose. When the demon finally made it on the deck of the ship, he fired his gun-blade at the sailor, taking out most of them before eliminating the rest with the bladed part of the gun. He then took out the Mon of the Kitabatake faction, and made a signal to the Totomi marines that the ship was taken.

"For Totomi!" the demon shouted as he bounded again on another ship using his grappling hook.

[Amakusa Takehiro]

As he slew every man on the ship, Takehiro looked around to observe his new back-up. It seemed the Totomi had finally amassed their militia, and the seafarers of the Chosokabe had been in the right place at the right time to provide their support. Smirking, the mercenary slammed his fist into the deck, shattering it, and would begin to shatter the ground beneath him until a hole was made in the bottom of the ship, to sink it. In a single bound, he leaped up to the topmast, and from there, would kick off of it and propel himself to the nearest ship. His arm would thrust toward another ship in the fleet, the knuckle-whip on his gauntlet extending and slamming into the side of it with an explosive impact, allowing water to get in and make it sink. Landing atop the ship he did, he drew his glaive and began to cut each of the Kitabatake soldiers down.

Ryunosuke would find, on the next ship he went to, a warrior made completely of dark energy. This warrior would be fighting off the Kitabatake soldiers, slamming into them with blasts of darkness that would send them flying off the ship, and the blasts that hit the ship would leave it rotting and destroyed. The dark warrior turned to look at Ryunosuke and smirked, giving him a thumbs-up, before sending out a massive wave of dark energy to destroy the ship they were on, making it sink, before he would run and take the little man and leap over the sea to the next ship.

[Chosokabe Nanami]

"D-dear Mizuchi... what in Susanoo is going on here...?!"

~* The petite pirate looked at all of the destruction going on. Despite the Kitabatake having the naval advantage, they were actually losing. The Totomi didn't even have some kind of amazing fort like the Chosokabe's home fortress of Shikoku. No, what was destroying their entire naval fleet was a single man! Leaping and destroying entire ships with his own strength!

"I-I-Is that a demon...?!"

~* The woman stared in disbelief, not even hearing the calls of her soldiers trying to bring her back to earth. It seemed a Kitabatake ship had advanced upon them, and their soldiers began to board the ship! The princess would turn once she realized they were in danger, just in time to see a soldier advancing on her. Pulling out her temporary pistol, she took aim at the man and fired, the bullet crashing into his shoulder and disabling his ability to fight. Raising her sword to the air, the woman cried out.

"Brave men of the Chosokabe! We will not back down from any threat! Repel these invaders, and teach them not to cause terror on the seas while we sail them!"

~* She hoped that demonic soldier would not target her ship.

[Ichimura Ryunosuke]

"Oh hell, what the..." were the only words that Ryunosuke spoke when he saw the dark warrior on the deck. If Ryunosuke was a demon, then this one would be a Shogun over demons. The warrior effortlessly sent forth waves of dark energy towards the sailors, dilapidating the ship they were on, before sending forth a large one as he jumped with Ryunosuke in tow, sinking it.

"Now that was really something," Ryunosuke muttered as he was carried by the warrior to the next ship. He saw a number of sailors on the deck of the ship, drawing their weapons as they were going down towards the ship. He then aimed at the sailors, and with the successive discharges of the gun the sailors fell down on the deck, bleeding profusely. When they landed on the ground he continued to fire, finishing off all of the sailors on the deck. He then sent again a signal to the Totomi marines using his matchlock, and a number of militia aboard a small ship boarded the large ship, and turned it against their owners. The other ship had some victory confusing the naval force of the Kitabatake, firing off the cannons of the ship which really belonged to the attackers towards the owners of the ship, severely damaging some of the enemy ships.

"Thank you for your help in aiding Totomi against these infidels," Ryunosuke said to the dark warrior, before moving towards another ship using his grappling hook.

[Amakusa Takehiro]

As Ryunosuke would jump to another ship, Dark-Takehiro would let out a wave of dark energy to cripple and sink the one it stood on, before taking the Totomi militia and helping them to safety and lauching itself onto yet another Kitabatake ship to wreak havoc there as well!

Nanami would find her assault stopped as Takehiro made the ship he was on explode, before launching himself into the air and landing on her ship! He would land directly in front of her, glaive in hand. Standing to his feet, he would look her in the eye, before grinning and turning around, slashing at the Kitabatake forces and cutting them down! He would chase them back onto their ship, where he would stab his fiery glaive into its deck and cause it to burst into flames! The gunpowder underneath the deck would cause it to explode, before Takehiro reunited with his doppelganger. Together, they destroyed a good many ships, and they would make it so that - almost in no time - there were only two Kitabatake ships left. Takehiro boarded one, and his doppelganger would fight on the other alongside Ryunosuke.

[Chosokabe Nanami]

"I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I... Oh my god. I'm about to die."

~* Nanami just about had a heart attack as the demonic man landed on her ship. Was he going to send her and her men to Yomi as well? They were only trying to repel these invaders for the people of Totomi!

~* She looked at him confused as he grinned, and instead, he cut down the Kitabatake that were invading her ship before he attacked their ship, causing it to explode. She watched in awe as the man flew off to another ship, no idea what was going on or if the man was even human. He couldn't be human, right? But at least she wasn't dying today, which meant he was an ally. And that meant...

"Brave pirates of Chosokabe! Utilize everything you have into aiding that man! He is no demon, but an ally of ours!"

~* She quickly ran to her cabin to grab her hand cannons before emerging back onto the deck, taking aim at one of the ships and beginning to fire. Her own men aimed their cannons at the Kitabatake ships, confident that even if they sunk them, the demonic man would get himself and any allies off in time.

[Ichimura Ryunosuke]

Ryunosuke landed on another enemy ship when he saw that the dark warrior blasted the ship down. The sight angered him, for it was already boarded by the Totomi militia. He was about to aim towrds the dark warrior when he heard a shout, "We're still alive here!" He then squinted towards the direction of the sunken ship, and saw the militia who were supposed to board the ship, all complete and riding on the small ship that they used to travel towards the taken ship.

Ryunosuke then was consumed with mixed laughter and anger, both coming from the dark warrior's full retard move in nullifying their victory. The Totomi militia were supposed to board the ship, but the dark warrior took them out of the ship before blowing it up to smithereens? Now he did not know if the dark warrior is a true hero or a true retard. The words that he meant to say to the dark warrior was evidently written all around his face: "Y U DO DAT?!"

While Ryunosuke was still sulking, a number of sailors, their katanas drawn came rushing towards him. When Ryunosuke heard the footsteps of the sailors, he turned around, his red eyes seemed to make a slash against the sailors. He then shouted, his voice accompanied with what seemed to be lunacy, "I AM IN A BAD MOOD, SO DON'T MESS WITH ME!" He then swung his gun-blade towards the sailors' legs, chopping them down as Ryunosuke seems drunk in a maniacal laughter. When the dark warrior finally came onto the ship, all of the sailors lay down on the ground and Ryunosuke now looked as if he was on a hangover. He finally fired his matchlock into the air, signaling that the ship could already be boarded, and then saying to the dark warrior, "If you'll make the similar mistake as you did before, I would really get crazy, damn it."

[Amakusa Takehiro]

Nanami would find the ship was sunk too quickly for her men to board it, which might have been a good thing! Takehiro ripped it apart with his explosive gloves and fiery glaive, before leaping toward the last Kitabatake ship, which seemed to be occupied by the Totomi militia. The Dark Warrior in front of Ryunosuke would simply laugh, before vanishing and Takehiro would land in his place.

"Brave Totomi warrior!" He began, letting out a small laugh. "I thank you for your aid!" The mercenary would bow his head in respect, though he would leave his mask on and his demonic stature would not alter. "I doubt the Kitabatake will try to attack again, what with the majority of their ships destroyed. And it seems you have the Chosokabe on your side as well!"

Dark Takehiro would appear in front of Nanami in a swirl of dark mist, before falling on his ass. He seemed to be eating a roasted squirrel. Where did he get a roasted squirrel.

[Chosokabe Nanami]

~* Nanami stared dumbstruck as the Kitabatake were wiped out before she and her men could really do anything, and she just stood there. "Oh, well then... I guess we did our job, somewhat..."

~* Her men began to put their weapons away, cleaning the ship up and reloading the cannons for later use. The Totomi were safe, only in small part thanks to the Chosokabe. But Nanami was sure that this would help with relations between the factions, and at least keep the demon dude off of them.

~* She was about to walk back to her cabin when the dark shadowy guy showed up again, and she screamed. "AAAAH! DON'T FRIGGIN' DO THAT!" She shouted, dropping her cannons in surprise, which would fire at the doppleganger as they hit the ground by accident. "Ehh... oops..." Sweatdrop.

~* And where did he get a roasted squirrel?

[Ichimura Ryunosuke]

Ryunosuke just scratched at the back of his head, and said, "It is just my duty as a member of the Totomi militia, to keep Totomi safe from invasions and bandit raids of any sort that would endanger the lives of the folk here. There is no need to congratulate me, I only do what needs to be done." But while he turned around to say those words, the dark warrior is gone. What appeared in lieu of the dark warrior is someone of a lighter side of his predecessor, but still a demon in all aspects. Ryunosuke was not surprised from that display, he had seen something like it, but that time in the marketplace, and the man before and the man today came from different polarities, light and dark, but behind that demonic mask, lied the countenance of a man seeking his own identity.

He was surprised about the mention of the Chosokabe, and said, "Well, we have not expected the Chosokabe to help, but we are still grateful to them for offering their help." He then looked at the other ship which the Totomi militia took over, they are celebrating their victory with raised hands and rifles. At the farther distance was a smaller ship, where he saw again that dark warrior, which made him cringe. That was supposed to be the help from the Chosokabe the demon had told about. And now, as he looked at the shipwrecks all around him, he said, "We might have survived in this battle thanks to your help, but what about those to come. I am sure that the Kitabatake would not take this lightly."

[Amakusa Takehiro]

As Nanami's cannon ball fired on Dark Takehiro, the doppelganger roared in pain, but the hole it left was beneath him! He seemed to be floating, clutching his stomach. The "pain" lasted only for a moment, before he let out a small laugh and finished his roasted squirrel. Standing to his feet, Dark Takehiro would pat the small woman on her head. "Thanks for your help, Chosokabe peeps!"

Real Takehiro simply smiled. While he'd never had to face a battle like this outside of his employ with the Hojo, it felt good to be able to protect the people, and protect them he would, even if it meant riding on Kitabatake's lands and taking them himself. "Well then, given the way things are now, I would pledge my blade and my life in the service of this land and its people. I won't allow the Kitabatake to have their way. Should they come back, I would lead an even fiercer counter-defense to protect these people." That was about as sincere as he got. While he thrived off of war, he could not sit idly by and let people attack innocents simply because they felt like it. The Kitabatake did not strike a camp, they struck a village.

[Chosokabe Nanami]

"OH NO, THE SHIP!"

~* Nanami panicked as the cannonball just shot through the deck of her ship. Looking into the hole, it didn't do any serious damage, so they weren't in any danger of sinking, and she let out a sigh of relief. The doppleganger patted her on the head, and she pursed her lips and pouted.

"Not like we did much, but you're welcome..."

~* This was no way to prove the might of the Chosokabe to the world, not when there were shadow dudes flying everywhere doing all of the work. She wanted to be a hero of the seas! Tilting her head, she looked curiously at the shadow, poking it.

"What are you, anyway...?"

[Ichimura Ryunosuke]

Ryunosuke thought that it would be a harder battle when the Kitabatake strikes back against Totomi given the show today, but as the man pledged his blade and soul for the people of Totomi, he would think that, in his leadership, the force of Totomi would grow to be a strong one, one that will better safeguard the people of Totomi from further harm.

He then knelt towards the floor he stood on, and said, "When you amass a stronger defense force for the safeguarding of Totomi, please consider our aim to protect our land from further harm. Consider that the militia of Totomi, fiercely fighting to keep our people from harm, will do its best to keep Totomi safe. Please take us in." With those words, the other militia who were on the boat also knelt down, shouting in unison, "Please take us in, sir!"

[Amakusa Takehiro]

When Nanami poked Dark Takehiro's body, her finger would pass through, since it just didn't want her to touch itself. "Oh, stop that," he would say, swatting at her hand. "I'm a Spirit Warrior, Missy." Like that sounded convincing.

As the boy in front of Takehiro spoke, he couldn't help but feel a little... surprised. He came to this land because he was wandering, and because he saved them from an attack that could have potentially ended them, he wound up inspiring the militia. And they wanted him to "take them in." Well, he couldn't help but smile, that was for sure.

"Brave warriors of Totomi," Takehiro began, bowing his head in respect. "If you would have me, I would do all I can to protect your people." He did not know if this meant he would be leading them or anything, anytime soon, but this was a start to making his dream a reality. "Together, we will keep your land safe." If that wasn't an acceptance shpiel, he didn't know what was.

[Chosokabe Nanami]

"Spirit Warrior? Dafuq?"

~* Nanami blinked. It seemed legit enough with her being unable to even touch him. She was confused, and had many questions, but she felt they were best unanswered.

"Oh well, you may tell your master... or tangible self, anyway... that the pirates of the Chosokabe will back him in his endeavors, and to help the people of this land."

~* Her pirate crew seemed to cheer at her declaration, despite the fact they felt rather unneeded. But nonetheless, the girl stood proudly with her hands on her hips.

[Ichimura Ryunosuke]

Ryunosuke felt relieved to have a strong warrior like this person at his front as part of the force of Totomi. Now they would have nothing to fear from bandits and warmongers around them, so long as they have this hell of a fighter. He found himself shouting gleefully with his arms outstretched to the sky, and so are the people on the ship, and the shouts could be heard from some distance from the ship.

As the cheers died down, Ryunosuke said to the man, "Well I have to introduce myself to you. I am Ichimura Ryunosuke, member of the Totomi regular militia."

[Amakusa Takehiro]

Dark Takehiro's brow rose. Takehiro seemed to make a good deal of allies from this one battle here, and that was a huge deal. If he knew the Chosokabe were backing him - not just the Totomi militia - he would probably scream with joy. His dream was coming to be realized a lot quicker than he'd thought. "Sure thing!" He gave a thumbs up! "But what the hell were the Chosokabe doing all the way out here, if you don't mind me asking?" Their fief was, like... on the other side of the country.

"Well met, Ichimura," he spoke, using the last name rather than the first, so as to not insult him. He wasn't one for the whole honorifics thing, simply because he saw everyone as his equal. "The name's Amakusa Takehiro. Ex-Hojo." He smiled at the men, removing his helmet. If he was going to be working with them, he would let them see his true self, rather than the demon. "What do you lot say we get these ships to the shore, and I buy everyone a round of sake?"

[Chosokabe Nanami]

~* Nanami twiddled her thumbs. It wasn't easy to explain.

"I may have borrowed one of my father's ships to go sailing on a whim. We ended up way over here by Totomi, just happening upon this battle by a stroke of luck... my father taught me to never let to those less fortunate suffer. So as his daughter, I want to make the Chosokabe clan name proud."

~* She huffed her chest up, thinking that she did just that today. Despite having a substantially smaller force, Nanami would've attacked even without the demon man around. She felt that Motochika would've been just proud of her. She held his spirit and sense of adventure.

[Ichimura Ryunosuke]

When Ryunosuke saw Takehiro remove his helmet so that he revealed his true face, he thought that he should do the same, and removed his visor. What would be revealed was a very youthful face that one would think that he was 12 years of age, and spiky red hair shabbily tied up. He then looked towards the other ship, and said, "Yeah, since it is over for this time, we should rest and celebrate our current victory quite a bit."

He then raised his matchlock in the air, and fired three shots: the signal to the militia that they return to the shore. The two ships that were stolen from the Kitabatake and the other small ships turned back towards the shore of Totomi simultaneously, and then landed on the harbor.