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"Right... thank you."

Hidenori walked with Yukimura back to their campsite, lost in thought. He needed to speak to Kenshin and figure out just why the two lords were fighting one another. Countless lives were spilled, and for what?

He began to help Yukimura set up the fire pit, following what his partner was doing. He wondered how they would start the fire, but they could worry about that later. Hidenori began to set up some of the wood he had brought from the Uesugi ship, setting it up at the base of the once-tree where the previous shelter once stood. It looked as though they had enough wood to build a sizeable shelter where they wouldn't be too cramped.

"Do you think anyone's noticed you're missing?"

It was a random question, but he wondered if they could expect help at all. In Hidenori's case, he was Kenshin's adopted son, but he was also used to being gone for long periods of time. He wasn't sure of word of the shipwreck would get back to the Uesugi whatsoever.

Me! Me me me me! Meeee!

"Haji..."

Hidenori looked down at the river, wondering what his brother had grown up to be like. Yukimura made him sound weak in a way, but also that he was willing to grow much stronger to protect what he believed in. Hidenori had ran away his entire life, and now that he was being put in his place by a Takeda soldier of all people... Maybe he had a lot of changes to make for himself.

"You're right, Yukimura-san. Or perhaps... Perhaps I should swing my zanbato with more purpose, instead of just being scared."

He reached down, grabbing another fish without much problem this time, now that he was more serious about things. Tossing it in the bucket, he noticed it was full now.

"Shall we head back?"

Hidenori looked at Yukimura in shock as he was grabbed, not expecting the speech that followed. The words hit him, and yet there was a certain truth to them. So he said these same words to Haji too, huh? A certain relief crossed over the man as he realized that he and his brother were similar, and that Haji couldn't take a life as if it were nothing.

The man fell back as Yukimura let him go, and he stood there, pondering everything. Haji had Katsumi, but what really drove Hidenori to get stronger? Revenge wasn't the powerful motivator that he hoped it was, but... he did have someone important to him, although not in the same sense.

"Well... Kenshin raised me like his own... I want to protect him to repay him for everything he's done."

An adopted son of the warlord of Echigo, this probably made Hidenori seem like more of a target to Yukimura, but he felt like this man wouldn't cut him down because of that, not after this.

"It's funny... being lectured by a Takeda soldier. I never saw that coming."

The chest appeared, and Hidenori kind of just spaced out, not really focused on that treasure.

"Nooooerru... Noerru... Nore? I swear that's what I'm saying..."

Hidenori grimaced at seeing the dried seaweed. Yuck. But he took a moment to ponder on what Yukimura said. It had been true that they were fighting because they had been following orders, but the Uesugi soldier had to wonder if it was the right thing to do? He owed Kenshin his life, and yet, he was starting to feel like if he ever met Yukimura on a battlefield, he wouldn't want to cross swords with him. He seemed... okay. The Uesugi were taught that the Takeda were the enemy, and yet... Yukimura could've killed him by now, but didn't. Why?

"I wonder if it really has to be that way..."

With a shrug, he placed his weapon on his shoulders again.

"I think I'll give you a hand with the fishing. Least I could do for you not taking my head off earlier."

"BOOYAH!"

Hidenori would shout after his massive success! From here, he would turn around to see Noel in danger, and would thrust his zanbato forward, planning on cleaving the head off of not only the undead to Noel's left, but also the one who was kicking his nuts!

"Forget about Uesugi and Date! For now, we gotta get through this! Turd face!"

Hidenori was continuing to rave on, stopping only when Katsumi grabbed onto him. Realizing how much of a scene he was causing, the tall man took a deep breath, relaxing a bit.

"I... sorry, Katsu-neechan."

He grinned smugly. He wondered how she would react to that. Seeing as she and Haji were close, just maybe calling her sister like that wasn't out of the question. Of course, he wasn't completely sure they were together, but it was his gut feeling they had something special.

The driver of the carriage was angry, but calmed down upon seeing coin. Even a guy like Hidenori was worth dealing with if he got paid. He took Katsumi's offer, shrugging and motioning for them to hop in. "Where to?"

Hidenori climbed into the carriage happily, assuming Katsumi would to.

"We'd like to go to the Uesugi camp, if that's alright with you, pal."

The guy gave Hidenori a weird look, but obliged. If Katsumi got in too, the carriage would begin to move and they'd be on their way.

Hidenori made several trips back and forth, bringing wood to the camp. He did this until he felt they had sufficient lumber, though there wasn't much left to salvage when he was finally done.

Coming back and finding a crate at the base, he figured Yukimura was also gathering supplies. With this in mind, he started to fix what he did before, only this time the shelter would be built on the ground level. Mostly because there wasn't a good tree in sight, and also because it was much simpler. He had no idea how the Takeda soldier got all of that into the tree himself.

"I'm not one to think much, but I'm wondering why we're fighting anyway..."

Hidenori looked at Katsumi, realizing how much of a toll her situation must've taken on her. Judging from her state alone, she probably had many more demons than he himself had, and he couldn't even fathom what had happened in her life. He went up to her, placing a hand on her shoulder before stepping up to undergo Kanetsugu's trial.

He gulped, seeing what the people before him had to deal with, but he steeled his nerves regardless. He had something to prove to Kenshin, and to himself. He was going to do his absolute best to make it through this. He drew his zanbato from its sheathe and tossed the large scabbard aside, taking a deep breath.

"Alright, here goes..."

He took off in a sprint towards Kanetsugu, planning to cover as much ground as he possibly could before the talismans took effect. Before he knew what was going on, he felt a terrible weight on his shoulders, slamming into the ground. He gritted his teeth, trying to push himself up, the weight really heavy on his entire body. He felt like he was made of lead, and he started to sweat.

"Argh... I'm not... going to..."

He started to push himself up to his feet, utilizing all of the strength he could possibly muster, getting up enough to use his sword as a support. Panting heavily and grunting from the pain, he started to trek forward, slowly, painfully, supporting himself from falling with the zanbato.

"I'm not... going to fail..."

And then came the second wave of energy, and Hidenori felt himself being pushed back. With a shout, he stabbed his zanbato deep into the ground to keep himself from being blown away. His feet skidded along the ground slowly as he found himself being pushed back. The force against his body was unbearable, it felt like it would break him for resisting it, but he knew he had to endure this force. Even if it broke him, Hidenori knew he had to pass this test. He didn't want all the years that Kenshin spent on him to be a waste. He couldn't let that happen. And if he couldn't pass this, how could he ever face his brother?

Even though it felt like knives tearing away at him, Hidenori continued to push forward, and somehow, he found himself pressing on. He found himself moving towards Kanetsugu. Somehow, he was beating this.

And then came the crushing, and Hidenori yelled, falling to the ground as it felt like his body was being compressed. His zanbato slipped out of his grasp as he curled up in a ball on the ground, screaming. He wanted it to stop, he wanted it to go away. He just wanted it to end, but he knew he couldn't stop. Groaning in pain, Hidenori began to crawl along the ground to Kanetsugu, every second felt like an agonizing death, but the sooner he made it through, the sooner this would be over. That was what he felt. And he continued along, grabbing onto the snow-covered ground as he crawled, pulling his body forward as much as he could, shutting his eyes from the pain.

He didn't know how long he had been enduring that pain, but he soon felt all of the weight just suddenly dissipate. Panting heavily, he opened his eyes to find that he had passed the line on the ground that Kanetsugu had drawn.

"I... I... I did it...!!!"

Tiredly, Hidenori pushed himself up to his feet, panting and sweating despite the cold, and he lifted his arms in victory. "I did it, Kenshin!" He turned around to look at Katsumi, "I did it Kaaaaa... Hiro! Haha! WOOO!"

He cheered, running along to grab his zanbato before waiting on the sidelines.

"Now, I know I'm not the smartest, but..."

There would be no redeeming moment of intellectualism whatsoever. Hidenori would charge in from the side, swinging his zanbato over his head before gripping it in both hands, ready to strike down at Naotora whenever he got within striking distance. That ball and chain was looking awfully scary up close.

Type of Quest:
Delivery
Quest Info:
A man in Owari wants a special item that can only be gotten from Echigo! It is up to Hidenori to deliver it personally, and he has hired a mercenary to accompany him!
Location:
Echigo, Mino
People Involved:
Hidenori, Takehiro, random dudes and dudettes
Plot-Important: Perhaps to these two characters. But maybe this delivery could steer the entire plot of the board!