Fate/sengoku

[Oda Nobunaga]

Kaede went over to Kenji, intrigued. She wasn't expecting another way in, not in a broken down brothel. Not anything but a back door, of course.

"Trap door, huh? Locked?"

[Miyamoto Kenji]

"Let's find out," Kenji decided. He grabbed the ring of the door and gently pulled up until it either refused to budge or opened all the way. If it was unlocked, he would look down within to see what he could see. If it was locked, he would lift as much as he could before it stopped and feel around underneath the door for some kind of unlocking mechanism.

[Oda Nobunaga]

It was locked, but Kenji was able to unlatch it without a problem! He could see very little underneath, as the size of the trap door didn't allow much light. There was wood flooring, and what looked like a blood stain.

[Miyamoto Kenji]

Kenji considered. He would need to be quiet when it came to traversing the wooden floor, for it could be creaky with such a lack of recent maintenance. The blood concerned him as well, though he knew not how fresh it was from up here, but certainly implied that they were on the right track. He glanced up at his companion and beckoned her to stoop down next to him.

"Looks like we've got a way in... Chances are, if anyone's still here, we may need to fight through. Are you much for fighting?"

[Oda Nobunaga]

Kaede would lean down with Kenji, and simply nod. The woman was unarmed, but she seemed confident enough. "Not the best, but I can hold my own." She wasn't about to jump in right away, however. She would go once the man was ready.

Kaede Stats:
Str: 13
Dex: 20
Con: 13
Wis: 20
Spr: 13

[Miyamoto Kenji]

"Alright," he nodded to himself. "I'll go first, then you. We'll watch eachother's backs. The idea is to look in every place we can, and if we run into anyone who isn't an obvious captive or a corpse, take them down. I'll respect your choice whether to kill or knock them out, but make sure they can't get back up... If we miraculously manage to find the whole coterie of kidnappers down here, all the better, but if they're not here, the goal is to find a lead on where they and their victims are."

With that plan in mind, Kenji lowered himself down through the gap and tried to land as quietly and safely as he could, then wait for Kaede to join him.

[Oda Nobunaga]

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[Oda Nobunaga]

Upon Kenji's landing, the wood squeaked, and Kaede's landing made it squeak just a little more! While there was no one in their immediate room, they could hear voices coming from the other side of a door that was about fifteen feet in front of them.

"What was that?"
"I'm sure it's nothing, Kei."
"That damn door needs to be replaced..."

Kaede looked to Kenji, and then looked around her for a weapon. She found an old, dirty, iron hook.

If Kenji looked around the room, he would see that it was covered in blood stains, but other than iron chains and hooks, it was mostly empty.

[Miyamoto Kenji]

The game was afoot. No going back now. Wrapping his fingers around one of the hilts protruding from his sash, Kenji gestured for Kaede to follow him to the side of the door that it didn't appear to open toward, and quietly crept into position himself. Once joined by his comrade, he took a silent breath, steeling himself for the battle to come, then reached for the door. If locked, he would then bang his fist on the door to intentionally draw the attention of those inside. If unlocked, he would throw the door wide open and step out, ready to draw as he looked upon those within.

[Oda Nobunaga]

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[Oda Nobunaga]

"Huh?!" Before Kenji could back away from the door, it would be bashed in, splinters of the wood flying into his skin. He would also feel a man's foot slam into his chest and knock him back!

The two men rushed into the room, weapons at the ready. The man in the back was about to call for help, before Kaede's hook-blade ripped through his jaw!

Kenji had a sword aimed straight for his neck!

[Miyamoto Kenji]

Kenji felt himself shoved back a couple steps from the force of the boot. He hadn't expected there to be men right behind the door; rather, he anticipated that they'd be further into the room. It was bad timing is all, a factor he would not focus on, for battle was joined.

The shugyosha ducked underneath the sword's arc and rushed in low as he drew his own katana, slashing for his aggressor's stomach with the intent to slice it open, if not outright cleave him in twain. If successful, Kenji's free hand had already grasped his second sword so that he could turn, draw, and advanced on the next man to try swatting his weapon aside and rend him with an uppercut slash from his drawn sword.

[Oda Nobunaga]

Kenji was quick enough to slice through the man's belly! He coughed up blood, before falling over dead! Before he even had time to use his second blade, Kaede had already torn through the other man. The two lay dead on the floor.

"Let's try to keep that from happening again, eh?" She grinned sheepishly before peering into the room. It seemed that, despite the noise, there were no other guards or anyone around.

This next room was large, about the same perimeter as the brothel. Within, there was a single table, and three doors, one on every other wall, with one trap door leading up to the brothel, and a ladder next to it. This next room was just about as dirty and bloody as the room they were already in.

[Miyamoto Kenji]

Kenji rubbed his neck with a pommel and chuckled. "No guarantees." His confidence was strong, but he couldn't predict everything.

Moving along, the merc took stock of the room that they moved within as he removed splinters from his flesh. There were an apparent lack of other guards, meaning those men may have just been here as watchmen. Maybe. He noted the other doors in the room: three left to investigate, with the trap door saved for after the basement level was clear. God knows if anyone really was up above them.

"Let's pick a door and get searching. By the way, thank you for earlier. You handle yourself pretty well with improvised weapons." Kenji nodded with a smile, then assuming he didn't get more than a verbal response, he'd pick the door directly across the room and check its lock before pushing/pulling it open, keeping a sword held in front of him in case he was going to get taken by surprise again.

[Oda Nobunaga]

"And you're not bad yourself," the woman returned, smiling as well. It seemed almost unfitting given the scenery.

As Kenji pulled the door open, he would find no armed men inside. Instead, he would see five women sitting against the walls, their arms held above their heads, shackled to the stone. They were bloody, and it was hard to tell if they were even alive. They didn't react to the door opening whatsover.

"Oh... oh god," Kaede fell to her knees. One of the women looked up slowly, her eyes meeting Kenji's. "Kill... me..."

[Miyamoto Kenji]

The scene before Kenji was horrific. He had seen battle, harsh and bloody. He had seen men disembowel others with broken swords like it was nothing, distinctly remembering the blade ripping, sawing through the flesh. Hell, he'd even seen children used as hostages just because someone was desperate to get away, but this...

This was unacceptable.

After collecting his fallen jaw, Kenji managed to compose himself, sheathing his swords and appoaching the woman, his hands open and visible. He knelt down and checked her over to verify her state, then moved onto the other four women to do the same. Before he made his next choice, he had to know what the hell had happened.

[Oda Nobunaga]

When Kenji approached the first woman, she seemed to want to back away in fear, but she was too physically weak. She whimpered dryly, and from the sound he could tell not only how scared and abused she was, but also how incredibly malnourished. And all of the women were the same. Cuts lined their bodies, bruises wherever the skin was shown.

Once again, the first woman would mutter, "Kill... me..."

[Miyamoto Kenji]

These were blatantly traumatized women, and at least one was literally begging for death. Cut up, beaten, and god knows what else... Kenji was disgusted and saddened all at once, sitting back and staring at nothing blankly for a long few moments. "...What the fuck..."

It took him another couple moments after that statement to compose himself, standing up and turning to Kaede. He had a newfound look of determination, and a suppressed rage burning visibly in his eyes. "I'm going to cut them down... We'll do what we can about their wounds with what little we have, but I fear this isn't nearly all of them... You know them better; if at all possible, ask them what they know about what's going on here." Pausing, Kenji glanced down and shook his head, though the look in his eyes hadn't changed. "I... I hope Toda-san hasn't gone through the same treatment yet."

[Oda Nobunaga]

Kaede would remain in shock for a good while, but she would eventually come back to her senses. A small nod would be all she gave to Kenji before going to the women, unbinding them on the side opposite Kenji would start. As their arms left the shackles, they would fall almost entirely limp on the ground, and Kaede would catch them just before they did.

"What's been going on here? Are there more of you?" She asked one of the women, who looked up at her, her eyes basically pleading for death. Her lips began to move, but no sound came out. In only a moment, she fell unconscious.

Before Kaede could get anything out of the women (or try to), a scream could be heard coming from outside the room they were currently in. Though, they wouldn't be able to tell which room it was coming from. Kaede looked to Kenji, concerned and fearful, though she did not get up. She was more terrified of leaving these women here.

[Miyamoto Kenji]

The instant that Kaede looked to Kenji following the frightful scream, he took up his swords again. "Hide behind the wall next to the door, defend these girls. If someone comes through that isn't me or a townswoman, that hook goes through their skull." Without waiting for the confirmation, or any form of response, he turned on his heel and ran back into the brothel-sized room and looked briefly to both closed doors. The shugyosha had very little time and couldn't afford to hesitate in his path. Committing to the feeling rising in his gut, he darted toward the door on his left (to the womens' door's right) and attempted to charge through it, ready to kill anyone inside.

[Oda Nobunaga]

Ramming through the door worked, though Kenji didn't find the source of the screams! He would find about seven or eight more women, in the same condition as the ones in the previous room. The screaming continued, and now he could be sure it was from the room directly opposite him.

[Miyamoto Kenji]

Oddly enough, the fact that the screaming continued gave Kenji faith that the would-be victim was not yet dead or tremendously traumatized. Turning on his heel, he took off at a dead sprint for the opposite door. As he bolted forth, he summoned his might and will to the forefront, and belted out a great kiai shout as he was about to make contact with the door.

"RaaaaaaAAAAAAARGH!!!"

[Oda Nobunaga]

Kenji's shout made the men in the room open the door before he reached it! Since it opened inward, he would not be hit by it, and the men were taken aback by this man they did not recognize being within their "lair"!

"What the -" One of the men brought his katana up to catch Kenji's, before kicking the man in the sternum to hopefully push him away. Though, Kenji would find that he was much faster than the man he was facing!

And there are about five of the man. Five the mans.

[Miyamoto Kenji]

At this point in the venture, Kenji had no desire to waste time mincing words with these twisted bastards who called themselves human. He bounced back quickly from the less than stellar sternum kick, stepping back in and swinging both katanas one after the other; with the first, he hoped to bash aside his initial adversary's weapon, and with the second, he meant to cut through his jaw. Assuming he were successful, Kenji advanced further into the room and decided to divide and conquer: the nearest two men would each receive a swift horizon slash intended to cleave their ribs before, success or no, the mercenary pulled both swords back into a defensive stance, gauging the situation.

[Oda Nobunaga]

The first man would be cut across the jaw, falling into a slump on the ground from the deep wound killing him. The two men in the front charged him, though his rub-cuts were successful, and the men faltered, grunting in pain.

Another sharp scream could be heard, though this one was in fear, rather than pain. A woman matching Keiko's description curled into a corner, two other women with her. The blood and bruises on them were fresh.

"You won't leave here alive, you bastard!" One of the men with the rib cut would charge again, though he would find Kaede's hook flying into his eye, and he fell to the floor. The last three men were all terrified, and one was wounded!