Recent Posts

Geez... this really wasn't going to be easy. I could foresee myself needing another Musou Wine soon. Shouting, I reinforced the shield the best I could against the assault. I would begin to push it forward slowly, increasing the height of my shield in order to try and block everything. Once it reached a desirable height, I would push it forward with all of my might, planning on ramming that light not only into Sakon's men, taking out the archers, but the arbalests behind the gate as well. If this was unsuccessful, I would quickly put the shield back up, trying to minimize losses. If it succeeded, then the real fight could begin.

I blinked again. That seemed like all I could do about this eccentric encounter. Blink. Before I could say anything though, a strange smell would penetrate my senses... a familiar one, at that... wait a minute...

"...Takehiro... is... is that..."

I quickly covered up my face and nose with my hands, backing away slightly.

"Offefhm?!" Translation: Opium?!

I was NOT going to go through this again! Hellllll naw!

Sakon's use of the wind was... impressive. He was more skilled than Katsumi, and this made me realize just how difficult the task of uniting this country would be if there were other men like Sakon, or perhaps even stronger than him.

Letting go of the light in my blade, I would use it to reinforce the light shield, protecting all of the men in my unit. With a shout, I did my best to direct the arrows away from us, pushing them all back towards Sakon.

Home.

That's where I was headed. I had been gone for a while, a few months at the least. In that time, I had grown considerably stronger. I wasn't yet the Sword Saint that my father expected me to become, but I felt like I could finally face him. I felt like I could finally tell him I wanted something more than to just live out his failed aspirations. With his injury preventing him from ever becoming strong himself, and with the tragedy that bestowed our clan fifteen years ago, he decided to force his dreams upon me. And for a while, I believed it was something I should do. Maybe I still should, but it wasn't because of my father anymore. I had found my own purpose.

So somehow, I found my way back to Owari. To my home village. I did not think I would return here for a while, but something in my gut told me it was the right time for this. For all I knew, something big could happen soon that would cause me to be unable to return home... or even possibly die before I had the chance to see my father again. With everything that I had been involved in lately, I wasn't surprised if I met my end soon, despite my newfound strength. Something told me there were plenty of people stronger than myself, perhaps even stronger than Takehiro. But despite all of this, I would stand firm to my beliefs. It was the right thing to do as a man and a soldier. The right thing to do as a son.

Walking through the village, it seemed slightly... different from how it was when I left. A lot looked the same, and yet... it felt emptier. Some of the buildings looked run down. It seemed as if something had transpired in my absence... but what?

Not taking the time to observe much else, I began to run in the direction of my home, starting to worry suddenly. Arriving there, it was in no better shape, much to my fears. "Father!" I would call out, bursting through the door into the home. The inside was a mess, it looked as if there had been a huge fight in here. There was blood on the floor, as well slashes along the walls and ground, looking like they came from a sword. In the corner, in a heap, was... my father.

I ran over to him, lifting him up and shaking him awake. "Father! What happened here?" His eyes would open slowly, and a weak smile would form on his lips. "H-Haji... it's... really you... they... they found me..." I didn't understand who they were, or why they were looking for my father, but he was in critical condition. I attempted to stand up, supporting him. We had to get him to the doctor now. "Not now, father... save your strength..." I told him as I began to walk us to the door.

"H-Haji... they have her..." He choked out, and I still wasn't sure by what he meant of any of this. Despite my attempts to calm him, he continued to talk.

"They have... your sister... Hikari..."

I closed my eyes, sighing. I wished it did not have to come to this so easily, especially as Sakon was a man who was rather wise. Why did he choose to serve a lord like this? What was in it for him?

"Then I guess I have no choice but to convince you through other means..."

I drew my Seraph's Blade from its sheathe in my shield, pointing it towards Sakon. I stared intently at him, not planning on taking my eyes off of him. I did not know his capabilities to the fullest, and whether or not he was a match for me remained to be seen.

"I'll give you one last chance. Let me speak to your lord."

Faction: Morei
Territory: Yamato - Currently led by Tsutsui Junkei
Method: Negotiation, possibly force
Army Size: 78 Normal Troops
5 Exceptional Troops
2 Commanders

Amakusa forces may be providing support.

"What...? Katsumi, wait!"

I was too late to stop her, she was considerably faster than me. But going out into that inferno was suicide! Grimacing, I would surround her in my light at the least to stop her from most of the burning, as my power was at least stronger than Yukimura's, this resulted in me getting heated up instead though.

I was surprised and confused about her going to hug Yukimura... but as she said to trust her, I figured I wouldn't really think about it too much. If he tried anything I'd just beat him up lol.

I hoped that Katsumi's efforts would quell the heat at the least... and if Yukimura did calm down... I'd just walk up to Takehiro, patting him on the shoulder.

"Well, that's all done with now, right?"

I hoped anyway. Not like Takehiro was going to hit me or anything, right?

... Right?

My eyes opened up, and I blinked, covering my eyes with my hand in order the block out the sun... the sun? What?

I looked around, seeing a familiar home, yet one I did not quite recognize. I sat up, startled, realizing I was alone. The home I was in was completely battered, ruined, destroyed. Making sure I had all of my equipment, I would run outside into the village... only to find one not there at all.

A ghost town stood before me, and not a single soul was in sight. My eyes were wide, and a great pang of fear overtook me and shook me to my core. The entire world as far as the eye could see was in this miserable state...

"KATSUMI!"

I would shout into the distance, hoping she could hear me, hoping she was here. I ran through the ruined village, calling her name, hoping for something, anything. I did not want to be alone in a place like this.

I chuckled nervously, not keen on the idea of being disemboweled. That said, I'd be lying if I said that I hadn't come close to having it happen to me in the past. Or having my head nearly taken off. I had come to close encounters with death plenty of times, but the sort-of-threat from Jina felt scarier than anything I had encountered previously. Hell hath no fury like a woman's scorn, right? But I never planned on hurting Katsumi, ever. I would sooner die before I let that happen.

"I... wouldn't want that either."

Marriage... huh? I always wanted to be with Katsumi forever, but... Marriage? I always wanted to have my own family, but I never seriously took a long thought about it. In this age, men had plenty of wives, but... Katsumi was the only one I would ever want to make my wife. It wasn't befitting of a man of this era, of this country, but I truly loved her and her alone. To that end...

"If she would truly grace me with such an honor... then do not worry, you would be invited in a heartbeat." I spoke with a soft smile. "And... I would hope that on that day, she would finally be smiling."

She had not smiled even once since I've met her, despite the happiness she's known. It was my goal to someday get her to smile, no matter how long I had to try at it.

I stopped dead in my tracks. Were those... bodies? Approaching them carefully... I saw the familiar Mon of the Amakusa. My eyes widened as I realized one of the guys on the ground was Takehiro!

"T-Takehiro!" I quickly dropped to the ground and checked to see if he was alive. "Hey, wake up!" I began to shake him lightly. And who was that other guy with him? What happened? Were they assaulted? .... WHO COULD POSSIBLY KNOCK TAKEHIRO OUT?

I had my hood up as I walked along the road, a giant bag of coins in my kimono from my previous job I had just completed. Some guy wanted me to punch through his armor to test it out and see if it was battle-ready. Needless to say, I kind of shattered any hopes he had about having sturdy armor when my light-covered fist went right through it like butter... but hey, I was still paid generously for such a simple task.

"It's getting dark... I hope I can get home soon. I don't even recognize where I am..."