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vesperjae · 5 years ago

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Battle of the Wills; Part 1: Night Raid

Been a while since I had any inspiration to write, but here is a new project. I added some traits from my final fantasy xiv character into my character in the story, using my dancer class as her means of fighting. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the story.

Battle of the Wills

Part 1: Night Raid

“We’re like cherry blossoms, beautiful but doomed to fall,” her master had told her while watching her train. The young girl stopped and looked at her master,” I don’t understand what you mean master,” she looked at him puzzled. The man gave her a wry smile,” People can be beautiful inside, but we are all doomed to die someday, immortal or not. It is just how we die and how we live that counts,” the man told her placing his hand on her shoulder, he looked at her fondly as if those would be his last words.

One night, not long after their talk yelling was heard in the middle of the night,” M’Lord! You must wake! The village is under attack, it’s bandits!” a man yelled though it was shortly followed by a scream as he fell before the door. Screams could soon be heard throughout the town. Xai, who had lived with her master looked at the door wide-eyed. Her master approached her,” You must flee, quickly. Take only clothes, food and your weapons. Make your way for Azuchi and give them this letter,” he instructed urgently. She was in shock, she stared at her master not knowing what to do or say. “XAI!” he yelled, she jumped and blinked,” Y-yes master,” she responded as she took the letter and pushed into her kimono.

Before leaving out the back door, she took one last glance at him,” Will I ever see you again?” she asked trembling. He gave her a wry smile and made his way to her, putting his hands on either side of her shoulders,” I will not make promises I can’t keep. I can only say that I hope so. If not, my last order will be this, live life so that you are happy and without regret. Do not let others live your life for you, you are strong. Show them just how strong when it comes to hard times, you must survive. That is my wish,” he told her as he opened the door and pushed her out of it with a bag of food. Behind the door he leaned against the door and looked upwards,” I am sorry Xai, but this is goodbye. I will keep their attention on me so you may survive…” he mumbled to himself.

He took a deep breath and stood, grabbing his chakrams and making his way to the front door where his comrade lay, slain. He kneeled beside him,” I am sorry I could not save you my friend, may you pass on in peace. I shall avenge you.” He promised as he took his fingers, closing the deceased man’s eyes. Tears threatened to fall as he saw more of his loved ones scattered across the streets.

“So, you attack children, and young students. Tell me though, is any of you man enough to fight their master?! Or are you cowards who only aim to cut down the defenseless?!” he bellowed the challenge whilst he took his chakrams from their holsters and held them in each hand. There was a pause in the screams,” Cease the attack, we have better prey,” the commander said with a grin, he then led his men to the location of the master. As he saw the bandit leader with all his men, he took a stance and began the dance he had taught Xai not long ago. Like most, the bandits did not take him seriously and laughed at him for not wielding a sword. “Is that all? You wish to dance for us? Like a geisha?!” the commander asked laughing.

The master looked at him with a sly grin,” Oh yes, my plan is to dance; but it is not a dance geisha know. This dance takes years of training. Now, allow you to show you my masterpiece. The battle of dance!” he yelled as he released his attack, killing all but the commander where they stood. The commander looked at him wide-eyed,” Wh-what is this? How could a dance kill?” he looked at the master with fear. “I teach a dance to not only entertain but to defend thyself. You have attacked the wrong village, bandit,” he said with a glare. A vicious battle began between the two men, after many wounds the master fell the bandit commander.

“Like I said Xai,” he whispered as he fell to his knee looking to the nearby sakura tree,” We are like cherry blossoms, we bloom beautifully but we are doomed to fall,” he managed to finish before falling. Little had Xai known that he had in fact switched her chakram with his own, he had been using weaker chakram knowing full well that he would die regardless.

While this was going on, Xai had been running through the forest towards Azuchi. “I don’t want to leave, Oshu,” she muttered with tears in her eyes,” Master, he fell I can feel it in my gut…I must find Lord Masamune and inform him of this attack, he must be with Lord Nobunaga that must be why he told me to go there,” she muttered to herself as she kept running. Her home had been torched by the remaining bandits with no one left to defend the people there.

She stopped to catch her breath and as she looked behind her, she saw that she was being followed. Three bandits had followed her from the village,” Lookie here, we have a survivor. Now, we can’t have her telling anyone of importance about this attack, we won’t be able to have a new hangout then,” one of the bandits had said with a smile. The other two followed close behind grinning as they eyed her from her head to her feet. “It’d be a shame to kill her though, she’s a pretty little thing,” another man said smiling sickly.

“You will not come a step closer!” she yelled. The men laughed at her threat,” Is that so?” the man acting leader asked. “Yes, it is so.” Xai confirmed taking out the chakrams from their halters. To her surprise they were her master’s chakrams, not her own. “Master’s chakram…he knew then. Very well master, I shall use them with pride and defend your honor,” she promised to herself as she placed the bundle of food on the ground and took the chakrams in hand and readied her stance.

The smiles on the men’s faces soon fell,” So, there was a student that was above the rest,” one of the men muttered. “I do not know why you did this, but I will make you pay for each death, including my master’s!” she yelled. With that declaration, she began the dance he had taught her, as the men watched in horror, they backed away having seen what happened to their comrades. Finishing the dance, she released her attack, it hit each of the men causing them to fall to the ground. Unbeknownst to her, she was being watched by another. The bushes rustled, causing her to look in that direction, walking towards where she thought the sound came from, she checked the bushes but saw nothing, so she returned to her bundle of food, grabbing it and continuing her way.

“How very interesting, this will make things quite interesting,” a man with golden eyes muttered with a foxlike grin. He then went his own way, not bothering with the girl he had been watching. It would take her a few days to reach Azuchi castle from Oshu. Upon arriving her eyes went wide,” It’s amazing,” she muttered looking around. There were shops up and down the market which were busy as could be. Upon seeing her, many stopped and looked at her. “Look at her clothes, so torn and dirty,” a woman whispered.

Xai closed her eyes and took in a deep breath, ignoring the nasty comments she approached the guard,” Excuse me sir, I need to get into Azuchi castle, I have been tasked with delivering a letter,” she informed the man. The guard looked at her with disgust, “ Get away from me peasant, I will fetch someone to take you there but don’t expect much dressed like that,” the guard snapped as he glared walking by her.

“Don’t bother,” a voice said to the guard. The guard stopped and turned to look,” Lord H-Hideyoshi,” the man stammered. She looked over in the same direction, seeing a man wearing a red kimono with traces of green and white, his short hair a honey color with matching eyes. He had a stern look, almost angry. He approached the man,” This is not how you treat people, visitor or citizen. I will have you punished for this,” he snapped. The man bowed to him,” Please forgive me, Lord Hideyoshi. It won’t happen again, I swear it.” Hideyoshi looked at the man and thought for a moment,” Very well, I will give you a warning this one time. I better not see or hear about this kind of behavior from you again though,” he warned as he approached Xai.

She looked at him a bit apprehensive, “Are you Lord Hideyoshi?” she asked with a serious expression. He looked her way, “I am. Who is the letter for?” he asked crossing his arms. “Lord Masamune,” she responded. Hideyoshi nodded and motioned for her to follow him,” It is fortunate for you that it is for him and not Lord Nobunaga, as your clothes would be a problem if it were that you needed to meet with him,” he informed Xai as they walked. She bit her lower lip in hearing this, he had told her Nobunaga, but she felt Masamune should see it first being as they were from Oshu, but she felt that was better left unsaid.

Once they arrived his manor, Hideyoshi stopped and held his hand out for her to pass in front of him. The suddenness startled her at first which made him wear a look of concern but she recovered quickly and walked where he had motioned her to, with him following close behind. Once at the steps, they were greeted by another samurai, a man with a strict expression, though upon looking at her his eyes softened,” Who is this, Lord Hideyoshi?” the man asked.

Hideyoshi smiled as he looked at the other man,” Lord Kojuro is Masamune here by chance? This young lady was sent with a missive for Lord Masamune, I am assuming it is important since she has come all the way from Oshu, so I do hope he will not conveniently forget or be busy with her’s as he is with mine,” he had a rather irritated tone at the mention of his letters being ignored by Masamune. Kojuro gave him a wry smile and looked to Xai,” Please, come in miss, you have travelled far. I will fetch Lord Masamune, in the meantime please enjoy some tea,” he led her into a guest room where he set up a tray and motioned for her to sit. “Lord Hideyoshi, this may be frightening for her would you mind sitting with her while I am away to retrieve m’lord?” he asked Hideyoshi as he brought in the tea and some food.

Hideyoshi looked at her and then Kojuro thinking for a moment,” Very well, I can do that. I don’t have much left to do of my work so I can use a small break,” he responded with a smile. Kojuro returned the smile,” Very good then, I shall return shortly with Lord Masamune,” he told them as he put on his overcoat and left the manor.

Hideyoshi looked over at Xai once Kojuro left,” You seem to be rather jumpy; did something happen?” she looked at him for a moment as if thinking if she should respond or not. “It’s ok, you’re not in trouble, you just look like you’ve been through an ordeal with the way you jump from sudden sounds and with the smoke singes on your clothes,” he added as he tried to reassure her. Xai took a deep breath and looked at him,” I have been through an ordeal. I lost my master and my home, he sent me here. I do not know what is in the letter either, it was not mine to read,” she responded.

Shortly after her response Kojuro returns with a man following behind him. He had dark brown hair, a blue eye and on the other eye a black eye patch. He wore a blue kimono with a black shawl over his shoulder with the Date family emblem displayed on it. He looked over at Hideyoshi and Xai,” Questioning my guest before I get here eh?” he asked with a smirk on his face to show he was teasing.

Exasperated Hideyoshi shook his head with a sigh,” I was simply asking if she was ok, as she seemed rather jumpy. But, you are here now so she is for you to worry about, have a good visit miss,” he responded as he stood from his seat,” Thank you for the tea Kojuro, it was good as always, I think now I can finish the rest of my work,” he told him with a smile as he walked out the door closing it behind him.

Kojuro bowed and excused himself as Masamune sat in front of Xai. He looked her over seeming to take note of every small detail. “You’ve been around fire it seems, lass. You have a letter I am told, let’s see it then,” he told her as he held his hand out. Xai nodded and pulled the letter out from her kimono where she had kept it safe. He opened the letter and skimmed it’s contents. “You’re from Oshu,” he said as he read the letter. “Y-yes, m’lord,” she responded nervously. He looked up from the letter,” What happened to your home, is an insult to me. Those bandits, I will have them found and they will pay. Seeing as you are armed, I’m sure you would be a good help, lass. Though only if you can handle your own, I will have you tested before allowing you to come along. I noticed this was really addressed to Nobunaga, so why bring it to me?” he asked seeming confused.

Xai thought for a moment and looked him in the eye,” Well m’lord, you are of Oshu and he is not so I thought you would be able to act faster. I also figured he would have called for you to handle this anyway,” she responded. He had a surprised look briefly and looked over at her,” You’re right lass, I would have told him only I shall handle this ordeal. He also would refuse to see an Oshu peasant in burnt and weather worn clothes. Though, that is going to change, I’m taking you to town,” he told Xai as he stood, he held his hand to her.

“What? Now? But what about the bandits?” she asked surprised by how spontaneous he was being. “Yes, now. You deserve better clothes, and your master asked that you be taken care of, and so you shall. From now on, you will live here with us, I will find you a room when we get back,” he informed Xai as he led her out the door, ignoring her shock from everything hitting her at once. “Besides, after what you went through, you deserve a nice day out,” he added with a smile.

Xai’s face flushed a light red color as she allowed him to lead her towards the nearby Castletown. Their first stop was the kimono shop where he had her pick one, she liked, and he then picked a few accessories to go with it. She went with a purple kimono with cherry blossoms and a lotus flower on it, and as she came out with the kimono on, he surprised her by placing a sakura hair pin in her hair,” You look lovely, lass. It suits you,” he told her with a smile. Blushing she bowed,” Thank you, Lord Masamune, I don’t know how to repay you for your kindness,” at those words he stopped and looked at her,” You don’t,” is all he said as he took her by the hand and continued on.

The next stop was a food stall, that he had her try some of the local food. Once dusk had come around Masamune took her to a small tea shop,” I hope you enjoyed the sights lass, bad things happened to you and I only wished to help you forget them for a little while. Mark my words though, I will find them, and they will pay. Though, would you like to come to your home with me so that we may bury the dead?” he asked looking her straight in the eye. She thought for a moment, it would not be an easy thing, but she felt they deserved at least that,” Yes, please take me with you Lord Masamune, he gave his life so that I may flee. He deserves a respectable burial, he was a hero,” she told him with tears in her eyes. He nodded silently and leaned over and wiped her tears,” I hope after this, there will be no more of these. Your master I am sure would agree, that you should be smiling, not crying,” he said it in a whisper and then he sat back up in his seat.

A few weeks had passed, Masamune was currently making his way to see Lord Nobunaga. Upon entering the hall, he came near the dais and bowed to a man wearing a black and gold kimono with a white overcoat. He had short black hair and what looked to be red eyes. Currently, he was sitting on the dais looking bored. “Masamune, what brings you to my hall? I have not called you,” Nobunaga asked with a grin on his face. Masamune stood his full height and handed him the letter Xai had delivered.

“I am reporting about this letter, I had not given it to you until now because I was having it investigated. The young lass, Xai has been staying in one of the spare rooms, she is the student this man speaks of in his letter. He wished she be taken care of, I am planning to bring her with me so that we may bury the dead, then we shall return so long as I have your approval of course, he told Masamune while sitting on a cushion he often sat at in front of Nobunaga’s seat.

Nobunaga glanced over at Masamune as he read the letter,” It was addressed to me and yet she delivered it to you, why is that I wonder?” he asked seeming amused,” M’lord, she told me her reasoning is that it happened in Oshu and she thought you would give me the job to handle it because of that fact,” Masamune responded. Nobunaga looked over at him and thought for a moment and a smile spread across his face,” Yes, she was correct. Oshu is your home and jurisdiction so only you have right to deal with its matters. Do what you must there, but do not linger, I need your assistance so long as this war is going on. Also, when you return bring her to me. I would like to meet the girl that has caught your attention. Don’t think I didn’t hear about your day to town with her,” he told Masamune with a knowing smile,” Of course m’lord, I shall bring her upon our arrival,” he promised as he bowed and stood then turned on his heel and walked out of the door.

Nobunaga flipped the letter back and forth with his fingers,” I do wonder who this woman is. First Mitsuhide tells me of a girl who fights with dance and now this attack that she is connected to. Just what kind of woman are we dealing with?” he asks himself with a grin. Curiosity filled his eyes as he looked at the doorway still.

Elsewhere, Masamune directed Kojuro and Xai into the training arena,” Alright lass, in order to come with us, you have to manage to defend yourself against Kojuro. If you can’t, you will be staying here,” Masamune informed her as he looked to Kojuro who looked rather hesitant. “Shall I hold back, m’lord? I do not wish to harm her,” Kojuro asked looking at Masamune rather perplexed. Masamune shook his head, “ Nay lad, an enemy will not be holding back so you shouldn’t either, we need to see what she can really do,” he responded from the outside fo the arena.

“Very well, I will meet your requirements then,” Xai told him with a determined look to her eyes. Masamune smiled seeing the fire in her eyes,” Let’s see what you are capable of then lass,” he said as he nodded to Kojuro. People flocked to the scene, looking at Xai and thinking she was in some sort of punishment, not thinking she could defend herself at all against a samurai. Xai took a deep breath and released the clips on her chakrams that she wore attached to a belt around her waist. “Master, I will show them that I am worthy of your chakrams,” she muttered to herself as she took the chakrams into her hands, getting into a stance across the way from Kojuro.

Masamune watched her with trained eyes, curious to what these weapons were as he had never seen them before. She said she was from Oshu but these weapons are strange he thought to himself. Xai watched as Kojuro unsheathed his sword and got into his own stance, and that is when she began. The dance. Moving her foot this way and that, letting her body move as if it were a wave from the ocean, she danced. Unsure of what else to do, Kojuro charged at her and that was when she took advantage of his confusion and released her attack in a twirl spinning the energy all around herself, shoving him back to the other side of the arena. People looked on in awe, mouths gaping. Masamune stood tall, a serious expression crossed his face, as Kojuro had fallen to the ground as he had been pushed back, he was waiting to see if his right-hand man was alive or not. With great effort, Kojuro managed to stand,” It would seem m’lord, that we have heavily underestimated the young lady. And it was she who held back, not I,” he said as he stood.

A huge grin crossed his face,” Yes, it would seem that we have quite the ally on our hands,” Masamune said seeming almost excited. Xai looked at him as if waiting to hear his decision. “Lass, you more than passed my test, I am just thankful you held back so that he may live another day by my side,” he told her with a wry smile. “I didn’t want to hurt him,” she admitted as she put the chakrams back in their holsters. “You have proven yourself, so like I said you will be coming with us, get yourself ready we leave at dawn,” he informed her as he and Kojuro walked back to the manner.

Xai rushed to the guest room she was staying in though she just about ran into Nobunaga, though she was not sure what he even looked like as she had yet to meet him, so she thought he was just another retainer in the castle. She was able to stop as he appeared out of nowhere, though she almost fell had he not caught her. “So, you are the woman I have heard much about?” he asked as he helped her back on her feet, despite her look of surprise she managed to get ahold of herself. “I have been allowed to stay here at the behest of Lord Nobunaga,” she informed him. Nobunaga smiled, “I see so you are her, well I hope to get to know you better, miss Xai,” he told her with the same sly smile he is often seen wearing. Uncertain of the reason behind the smile, Xai gave him a wry smile and excused herself and left for her room.

A blonde man came up next to Nobunaga as she had left, he wore a yellow kimono and had green eyes,” M’lord, why is that woman allowed here? She is most pitiful,” he said looking at Nobunaga waiting for an answer. Nobunaga gave a sly grin,” Ieyasu, I allow her because she is interesting to me. I am curious what will happen with her being here. If she can be my good luck charm, I won’t let her leave,” he responded. Ieyasu looked at him as if in thought and only nodded. Not far behind them a man with silver hair was walking with his nose in a book, his purple eyes seeming to not leave the pages. “Mitsunari, you should watch where you walk before you run into something,” Nobunaga warned as he and Ieyasu walked off. Laughing it off Mitsunari nodded,” Of course, m’lord. I shall be more careful,” he said before going back to his quarters followed by a cat.

The following morning, there was a knock on Xai’s door,” Lady Xai, Lord Masamune calls for you. It is time to depart,” a maid pleaded through the door. “Mmmhmm” was all she got through the door. With a sigh the woman went back out to where he waited,” My apology m’lord but she has yet to stir, I can’t seem to wake her,” the maid told him with a bow. Masamune shook his head,” No need to worry lass, I will just have to go and wake her up then,” he said with a mischievous grin. The maid’s eyes went wide,” But m’lord that is most inappropriate as she is not wed,” the maid protested. Masamune thought for a moment,” Then you can come in with me, then with a female in the room as well, it should be fine,” he told her with a smile. With a smile the maid nodded in understanding,” Very well, m’lord that is permissible.”

The maid led Masamune to Xai’s room, she attempted to knock one more time but not answer so she opened the door. She looked in the room, she was not there the sound she had thought had been Xai had in fact been a cat that had snuck in the room that was snoring. “M-m’lord, she’s gone,” the maid stammered. Masamune took a look around the room,” It doesn’t look like she’s been here for at least a night as the food you left has yet to be picked up,” Masamune noted. He thought for a moment,” Don’t fret, alert Nobunaga of this and I will find her,” he said with a serious expression. He couldn’t understand why she would leave alone like that when he was going to be going to her home with her.

As Masamune searched for her, Xai was already in the forest on the way to her village. “I’m sorry Masamune, but I couldn’t wait for you. I must see to this myself,” she muttered on the horse she borrowed, though she did not realize that it had in fact been Masamune’s horse that she had borrowed. Back at the stables Kojuro who went to fetch the horses was having some internal worry as to what he should tell Masamune as he noticed his horse was gone. Masamune walked into the stables,” What’s keeping you, we have to find that woman before she gets too far ahead,” Masamune said as he looked around the stables, he then saw the problem.” I see, she took my horse, that lass is something else, I will have to see about borrowing one from someone around here then,” he said looking rather troubled. Kojuro,” I apologize m’lord, I had no idea she would want to take your horse, so I did not lock the stables,” he bowed as he apologized. Masamune just waved him off,” You need not worry, none of us knew what she would do, let’s just find another horse and be on our way,” he said as he walked out of the stables.

After searching all over the town and market, they had managed to find one, though it was said to not be handled much. Masamune sighed a bit,” He seems to be listening for now at least, this sure isn’t like Oshu where you can find a horse everywhere,” he said with a sigh. Kojuro nodded in agreement and the two were off to find Xai. As they rode Masamune was in silence as if trying to think of her motives,” I can’t fathom why she would bring a letter to us for help and then leave on her own like this,” he muttered. Kojuro thought for a moment,” M’lord, perhaps it was because she was asked to deliver the letter and knew we would be that way not long after is why she did this. She must wish to fight them alone,” he offered the idea as he looked over at Masamune who nodded in agreement,” I think that is exactly what is going on here. In that case we must hurry and get to her before that happens. There is no saying what dangers can get to her,” Masamune said as he snapped the reins on the horse to increase the horse’s speed.

A day’s ride ahead of them, Xai was arriving her home that was now taken over by the bandits that had killed her master. “As I thought, they took it over,” she said to herself. She snuck around the outer barrier of the village walls to take a look at the security level of the bandits,” Well, I can’t just run in and attack them it seems there are more than I thought there would be,” she whispered to herself. “That is why I said we go together,” Masamune said as they approached behind her. She looked at him in surprise, they had somehow managed to catch up to her though she had gone a day ahead of them. Kojuro looked at her rather upset with her,” You caused us some trouble in taking m’lord’s horse,” he told her with a stern look. Xai looked at the horse beside her that seemed to be rather content,” I had no idea it was his horse, though he seemed happy to go on the trip,” she told him with a wry smile. Masamune grinned as he got off the horse,” You are a lucky lass, he doesn’t tend to let anyone ride him, perhaps he likes you. Regardless, we should hide the horses for the time being,” he informed Kojuro and Xai, they nodded and found a bush area and tied the horses to branches and approached the gates.

“Do you have a plan, m’lord? This place it seems is well guarded,” Kojuro asked as he looked at the bandits at every exit to the village. Masamune was thinking as he looked in,” I thought we’d just rush in, surprise them and then attack,” he suggested shrugging. Xai let out a sigh,” That will only get us killed, we are only three people not an army,” she told him as she eyed the exits. “I say we split up and go for each exit and take out the guards silently as possible and then make our way into the village, allowing bandits to surrender or die one at a time,” she suggested. The two men looked at her in surprise,” That’s…actually not a bad plan,” Masamune said looking at her in shock.

After the two recovered from their shock, they nodded, and each went to their own direction of the gates. Masamune and Kojuro had quickly dispersed the guards at their end and they watched as Xai did her dance, leaving the two men face down in the ground. Meeting up in the middle of the village, they once again spread out across the village attacking bandits as they find them. One of the bandits went wide-eyed as they saw Xai with the chakrams in her hands,” Now, where is your new leader? Tell me and you may live,” she told the trembling man. He swallowed hard and pointed at the center most building, the tavern. “In the tavern, right now?” she asked him with cold eyes. The man nodded and then crawled away and then ran out of the village.

She approached the tavern, followed by Masamune and Kojuro, they looked at each other than her,” Let her lead this attack, lad. We will see what choice she makes,” he whispered to Kojuro. He looked over at the guards she had fought,” She hasn’t killed any she has encountered, we will see if she is willing to take that extra step or not,” he continued on as they walked. Kojuro nodded in agreement not saying a word. Finding the door locked, Xai kicked it hard enough that it fell down. The music that had been playing stopped, and geisha fled out of the building, begging for their lives. “If you don’t wish to become a causality, leave the bandit leader now,” Xai announced as she passed the threshold of the door. Men and women alike scrambled out of the door allowing the three of them to pass by. A man had been sitting in a lounge area as the three approached him. He looked up at Xai with a smile, thinking she was nothing until he saw the weapons in her hands,” You’re his student, the one who escaped,” the man stammered as he stood and backed away from them, “ My brother, he died fighting that old man,” the man visibly trembled the more he talked.

“I am aware of what happened, now tell me, where are the bodies of the people you heartlessly killed?!” Xai demanded. The man looked at her for a moment and then smiled,” We burned them to a crisp,” he told her with a laugh,” Nothing left of that old man now, so what are you going to do about it? Kill me?” He asked with a cocky grin. Xai grit her teeth looking at the man,” I really should. With what you did, he can’t receive a proper sending into the afterlife,” she told the man. She seemed to struggle with the decision of what was next. It was then that Masamune spoke up,” Nay lass, do not dirty your hands with the life of another, you must remain pure of that. It will be something which never leaves your memories, your master would not wish that on you. Kojuro, I want you to cover her eyes, as I don’t even want her to see this. Warrior she may be, but I don’t wish her to know what we know, not just yet,” Masamune told him as he stepped forward. Kojuro nodded, grasping Xai from behind in what was like a hug from behind her, he placed his hands over her eyes,” Forgive me, Lady Xai but it is for your own good,” he told her as he followed his orders.

Masamune approached the man,” You are a guilty man, lad. Aiding in a night raid, killing a village full of people. Those crimes mean death, so make your peace now,” he told the man as he unsheathed his sword. The man shook his head laughing,” Fuck you Masamune,” the man said. Laughing Masamune shook his head,” Indeed, lad.” Is all he said before he struck him down. He then picked the man’s body up and carried him outside placing him on the ground. Kojuro waited until he was outside with the corpse before releasing Xai. “Why?” she asked,” I needed to avenge my master and the victims here,” she muttered as tears filled her eyes.

Masamune walked back in after cleaning his sword,” You were hesitating, showing that you were not sure if it was the right way about it. However, like I said lass, your master did not want you dirtying your hands with the life of another person for as long as possible. There is no denying that you are a warrior, but you first must find your reason outside of revenge. If you do not lass, it will eat you alive once the deed is done,” Masamune explained as he placed a hand on her shoulder,” That is what he and I both wish to spare you from,” he looked at her with a serious expression then turned and looked to Kojuro,” Have men clean this place up and put up a monument in memory of the fallen here, the village though must be filled with people who need homes once more. What happened here will not be forgotten, I will want guards here at all times when people start living here once more, it is my failure that this happened,” he told Kojuro as he looked at Xai with a sad expression. He had blamed himself for the death of all the people in this village, it was plain as day. Xai had no words, as she did not know how to tell him that she did not blame him for the attack nor the deaths that resulted in it.

“At once, m’lord. I will stay behind and help the men, you and lady Xai should return to Azuchi and report to Lord Nobunaga,” Kojuro told Masamune with a bow. “Just don’t leave me the temperamental horse,” he requested with a wry smile. Masamune let out a hearty laugh, “Very well, the lass can ride that one since she made us have to find it,” he reassured Kojuro. He then led Xai back to where the horses where hid. He patted his horse on the side in an affectionate matter and mounted up on the horse. The other horse, that they had bought seemed to be digging at the ground rather impatiently. Xai touched the horse and it reared up, she stepped back,” Easy, easy,” she said in an attempt to soothe him. She touched his forehead with her hand and then placed her forehead on the horse’s, causing the horse to calm. Masamune smiled,” Only Oshu women can manage that,” he said with a laugh his voice full of pride.

Embarrassed, Xai looked at him with a tint of red in her face,” My master taught me that, is all,” she said as she got on the horse. “I am calling him Shadow,” she stated. Masamune laughed,” He is all your’s, lass. You calmed him and now he respects you,” he told her. Xai looked at Masamune in surprise,” M-mine?” she stammered. He nodded and pulled on the reins to get his horse to start on the way back, Xai recovered from her shock and soon followed after him.

#ikemen sengoku #ffxiv #dancer class #fanfic #otome

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inthenameofotome-blog · 6 years ago

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Love of the Fury Part One: Destined Meeting

It had been a rainy night, a young woman had been traveling from across the sea, the full moon was a tint of red. She looked up at the sky an let out a sigh, in her mind a red full moon was a bad omen. She was still getting used to Japan, she loved it but sometimes Ronin gave her trouble for being a woman. Her long black hair blew in the wind, the wind then brought her the scent of human Ronin. “Great, just what I need,” she muttered to herself as she noticed men surrounding her. Alarmed, she placed her hand on the double sheathes on her back which held her kunai, she had other weapons on hand as well.

“Well, well, well, what do we have here boys?” One of the Ronin asked as he approached her as if he had the advantage. She moved her eyes around as each man approached her, this is bad she thought to herself. Crowded fights were not her forte. There was only one option, she had to get away from them and she had the perfect way to do so. She put her hand in her satchel, grabbed a smoke bomb and threw it onto the ground causing smoke to surround her and the men around her. Using the smoke as her opportunity, she ran from the men as swiftly as she could.

Not long after the smoke cleared, shouts followed her as she ran to hide from the crowd of men. There had been at least seven Ronin, they were always drunk or causing trouble, or both she thought to herself as she continued to run. She then noticed a small alleyway she could squeeze into as they ran past the area. Breathing hard, she tried to catch her breath from the running. To her dismay a plank of wood fell close to her, the men heard it and ran to her location to see if it was her.

Letting out an exasperated sigh she stood and ran again, almost tripping over the wood she hurt her foot. A searing pain went through her leg, though she did all she could to not make a sound so she would not give her location away. This slowed her speed down quite a bit, making it so she had to run a little and find a hiding spot so she would not stress her foot too badly. She leaned her head back against the wall of a building enduring the pain of her ankle,” must’ve sprained it,” she whispered to herself.

The voices of the men drew close again, so she moved again, that was when she met him. A man with dark red hair and dark amber eyes. She was drawn to him almost instantly, as if it were love at first sight. He looked her way for a moment, he was wearing white and red clothes under a blue coat with white stripes and had white bandages around his hands. His eyes widened as he saw the young woman, she was soaked because of the rain.

He looked over to his men,” Go on without me, I will see to her. I won’t take long,” he promised them. His men nodded and walked ahead of him. He was surprised with how tall she was for a woman, putting that thought to the side he noticed her wincing as she put weight on her foot,” you shouldn’t move on that ankle, you will only make it worse,” he warned her as he leaned down and checked her ankle,” You have a pretty nasty sprain,” he informed her. So, she had been right about that she thought to herself.

“Why did you stop to help me, a stranger?” She asked him confused. He looked up at her and smiled, “I saw that you may be injured and wanted to help. Not everyone needs a reason to help someone though,” he explained. She returned his smile with some shyness to it. Their moment didn’t last long as shouts were soon heard once again,” Great, they’re almost here. They don’t give up,” she said with an exasperated sigh. He looked down the street and saw the Ronin that had been chasing her.

He narrowed his eyes angrily, “Don’t you worry ma’am, I won’t let them touch you,” he assured her as she was leaning her head against the building in pain. As the men approached them, he took his spear in one hand and readied a stance as he stood in front of the young woman. She watched him surprised, fighting was nothing new to her but having someone protect her instead of the other way around, that she was not accustomed to. She couldn’t take her eyes off him, not because she was in love, but from awe and respect for someone that would go out of his way to protect a stranger.

He slammed his spear to the ground,” You have disturbed the peace, so you will be punished for it. Chasing a young woman to the point she gets injured is dishonorable!” he yelled at them angrily,” I, Sanosuke Harada Captain of the tenth division of the Shinsengumi shall defeat you all if you refuse to back down!” he declared as he lowed himself into a fighting stance holding his spear with both hands. This had caused the men to back away slightly,” A mibu wolf,” one of the men whispered in fear. One by one, the men ran in the other direction not wanting to deal with a member of the Shinsengumi. Once the men had scattered, he leaned his spear against the building and picked the young woman up and then asked one of his men to carry his spear for him.

Surprised she looked up at him, her amethyst eyes meeting his dark amber eyes. He smiled as if to reassure her that it would be ok. “I don’t need to be carried off like a princess by a white knight,” she told him with a surprised tone in her voice. He laughed at her analogy,” No, but your ankle must hurt bad, so I rather carry you to our headquarters to have it treated over you making it worse. There aren’t any doctors awake at this hour otherwise I’d take you to one of them instead,” he responded with a smile.

“So, your name is Sanosuke Harada huh? That was quite the intimidating speech you gave them, since I already know your name, I suppose I can give you my name. My name is Xai Celestial,” she told him as she looked up at him as he carried her. From time to time she looked back at the men following them back to the headquarters. Each step he took, and her ankle hit part of his body, pain was sent up her leg. He looked at her with concern noticing that she was enduring a lot of pain,” It’s nice to meet you Xai, endure a little longer we are almost there,” he told her with a concerned look.

A little farther and he felt a weight on his shoulder, when he looked down, he saw that she had passed out from the pain. He looked at her with concern and continued to the headquarters. Wanting to get her to the headquarters quickly and since she had passed away, he sprinted there, the men followed behind keeping pace with him. Within five minutes they arrived at the gates, though to an angry man. His purple eyes narrowed as he crossed his arms.

“I told you your curfew, be lucky that I don’t make you take the punishment for breaking the rules,” he snapped. He looked over and then noticed a woman in the arms of Sanosuke,” Why did you bring a civilian here?” he asked coldly looking her over head to toe with his eyes. He moved his black ponytail behind his shoulder and approached Sanosuke,” she faint? Her ankle seems swollen too, let’s get her inside since you brought her here there is no saying what she may or may not here. If it comes to that there is no saying what will happen to her. Do you accept such responsibility on your shoulders for bringing her here?” he asked him as he looked Sanosuke square in the eye.

“I accept responsibility, Vice Commander Hijikata. I apologize for being late, I had stopped to help her. At least seven ronin were chasing her, why I don’t know but I doubt it was a good reason, I will take any punishment you decide on,” he told the man with a serious tone to his voice. Hijikata thought for a moment and let out a sigh,” Let this be a warning. I will let it slide since you were helping someone. Hard to know what they would have done if they caught up to her,” he admitted as he led him into the headquarters common room. Once there, he laid her on a futon that Hijikata had rolled out, he smiled at him knowing that he wasn’t often this lenient.

After laying Xai down, Sanosuke left the room and came back in with a first aid kit. Bending down on one knee he opened the kit and took out some bandage and wrapped it around her ankle so that it wasn’t too tight but tight enough to support the ankle so that I could heal up. After he finished wrapping her ankle, he took a cushion and placed it under her foot so that she could elevate her foot. Sanosuke looked over at Hijikata,” I will sleep in here tonight so that I can be here in case she needs something,” he told him as he pulled out a second spare futon. Scoffing Hijikata shrugged and muttered,” do as you wish,” then he walked off to go to bed himself.

The next morning, the common room was crowded with the rest of the captains of the shinsengumi. Most of them were looking in shock at the fact that there was a woman sleeping in the common room. Sanosuke greeted them as they came in. A man with dark brown hair and blue eyes approached him,” Where the hell did you find a cute girl like her?” he asked clearly jealous. Sanosuke laughed,” Shinpachi I didn’t bring her here because I wanted to. She was being pursued by a group of ronin and hurt her ankle, with no doctors around at the time I brought her here to treat her ankle,” he explained.

Shinpachi nudged at him sheepishly thinking he was just covering up, Sanosuke shook his head at his best friend sighing in exasperation. To shut him up he pulled his green bandana over his eyes. Shinpachi let out a yelp of surprise and took a minute to fix it, once he fixed it he shot his friend a playful glare. Another man that approached didn’t look to be a full-grown man despite being such, he had long brown hair in a ponytail with bluish eyes, he wore a yellow top mixed with purple. “Hey how come you two get all the fun?” He asked complaining.

“Heisuke, I already told all of you, I only brought her here because at the time there were no open doctors. It was also raining, and she was soaked, and I didn’t want her to get sick,” Sanosuke explained once again showing signs of irritation since no one was listening to him. A man with a smirk on his face approached the two of them, he looked at the sleeping girl and then back at Sanosuke,” That’s what you say, but how are we to know you don’t want to say that to avoid punishment?” he asked with a smirk as he leaned over to touch her hair and Sanosuke stopped him with a glare.

“Because, I was there when he came in with her, now knock your shit off Souji,” Hijikata snapped as he entered the room. A man with sandy brown hair, and hazel eyes, he wore a blue kimono and bowed sarcastically as Hijikata entered the room,” Good morning, Sannan,” Hijikata greeted. There was a man that had been standing in the back silently watching, he had purple hair in a low ponytail which trailed over his shoulder and bright blue eyes, he bowed to Hijikata as he entered the room,” Ah, Saito there you are was wondering where you were. I will have some work for you later,” he told him as he sat down. Saito nodded at him,” understood,” he muttered quietly.

In the hall as the men were quieting down and finding their places to sit, two men entered the room. A man wearing a yellow kimono with black hair in an updo which showed some balding and then another man wearing a black kimono laughing as they entered the room, he too had black hair though unlike the other man his hair was not balding, and he had light brown eyes instead of hazel. Hijikata looked up as the two entered,” Kandou, Inoue I’m glad you made it for breakfast, though Sanosuke was going to wake our guest so we may all eat,” Hijikata said in greeting to the two as he shot Sanosuke a looked as if it had been an order.

The two men looked over where Sanosuke was sitting in surprise,” oh my, there’s a young lady here,” Inoue said with a tone of surprise. Kondou had a look of surprise as well,” This is unusual, she doesn’t know anything does she?” he asked before Sanosuke shook her lightly to wake her up. Hijikata shook his head to affirm that she knew nothing that she should not. As she stirred, she opened her eyes and looked around and tried to sit up though it was obvious that it was not comfortable for her to do so. Sanosuke noticing this, helped her to sit up by letting her lean on him as he sat her up and repositioned her foot so that it was not being strained. “Where am I?” she asked quietly with a confused look.

“You’re at the Shinsengumi headquarters,” Sanosuke explained,” I had to bring you here since it was late and a doctor wouldn’t help you if you were with me,” he continued as he held a somber look. A smile crossed her face which caused hearts across the room to skip a beat. “I appreciate you helping me then, most doctors are useless these days anyway,” she admitted as she sat up a little more. “The pain has gone down thanks to your help, anyway I don’t think I have met your comrades,” she said as she looked at the other members sitting around the room.

Kondou sat down and looked at her with a smile,” Well, welcome to our headquarters. You are welcome to stay as long as you need to heal up. I am Isami Kondou, I am the commander of the Shinsengumi. Next to me is Genzaburou Inoue,” he told her as he motioned at the man next to him who had bowed at her,” It is a pleasure miss-“He motioned at her as if asking her name,” Xai Celestial,” she responded with a smile. “Beautiful name, I am the captain of the sixth division,” he continued.

Kondou motioned at the next one in their sitting circle, a sly smile crossed his face,” Souji Okita Captain of the first division,” he shrugged and tilted his head to the next person,” Hajime Saito, captain of the third division,” he told her quietly with a bow and then looked at the person sitting next to him,”Heisuke Todou, captain of the eight division!” he said excitedly in what was almost a shout. Shinpachi hit him on the top of the head causing him to rub the top of his head in pain,” Shinpachi Nagakura, captain of the second division,” he told her with a smile as he sat back down from hitting Heisuke.

Sannan nodded at her with a smile that was hard to distinguish if it were sincere or not,” Keisuke Sannan, I am the other Vice Commander much like Toshizo Hijikata,” he said motioning at Hijikata who was scowling at Heisuke for acting out once again. He then looked over at Xai,” Like he said my name is Toshizo Hijikata, there are two other members but you may or may not see them, they come and go,” he explained as he crossed his arms,” now that everyone introduced themselves let’s eat,” he said as he picked up his chopsticks.

“Well, it is nice to meet you all, thank you for allowing me to stay though I am unsure why you told me your ranking and your name,” she admitted as she ate some of the rice rather slowly since it had too much salt. Shinpachi noticing the expression looked around,” who used too much salt again?” he asked rather disgruntled as he shoveled the rice in his mouth. No one answered his question, as everyone was eating their food.

As soon as most of the men left the room, Xai checked her ankle noticing that it was nearly healed already. She touched it lightly when none of the men were looking her way so that she could finish the healing of her ankle. Then she removed the bandage,” Looks like it is better guess it wasn’t as bad as it felt,” she said with a smile. Stating that, she stood up to test her ankle out and like she had expected there was no pain. Sanosuke smiled at her,” I am glad your pain is gone, what do you plan to do now?” he asked her curiously.

She thought for a moment, “I will probably go back to town and check into the hotel I was supposed to show up at last night. Given what you guys said about your reputation around here, I will just tell them I got delayed by a day,” she told him with a shrug. He smiled wryly and nodded,” probably a good idea, otherwise they may not allow you to stay there,” he told her with a somber look. Xai looked at him sadly but nodded and picked up her satchel, she shrugged it onto her shoulder and then started on her way out. Though she was stopped by Sanosuke,” Let me at least walk you out of the headquarters,” he offered. With a smile she nodded accepting his offer. The two of them then walked out the door together, he walked her to the gates that he brought her through the other night. “Be more careful so this doesn’t happen again, can’t always be there to help you,” he advised with a smile. “Don’t worry, Sanosuke I will be careful, that only happened because of the rain causing a plank of wood to fall on my ankle,” she explained. The two nod at each other and with a wave she left for town.

Going the long way so it wouldn’t seem that she came from Mibu took longer than she had expected, as it was nearly sundown by the time, she reached Kyoto. Sighing, she looked around looking for the hotel she was booked to stay at. She then spotted it, a brown little building with the words ‘Ikedaya Inn’ plastered on the side of the building. “There it is,” she muttered to herself as she crossed from where she was standing and walked inside.

“Oh, welcome to Ikedaya Inn,” a woman at the front said with a bow though she had not been expecting a customer at the moment. “Hello, my name is Xai Celestial, and I had reserved a room. I had planned to check in yesterday, but the rain delayed my trip from Edo,” she explained. The woman smiled at her and nodded,” Ah yes, I am glad that you made it safely your room is right this way miss Celestial,” she said as she motioned for her to follow her to her room. Xai followed her and as they reached the room, she thanked her and the two bowed to each other and then the woman walked off to return to her duties. She looked around the room, it was on the small side with a rolled-up futon in the corner with a blanket folded next to it. “I still can’t get used to how different it is here,” she said to herself as she looked out the window. Despite having no where to go overseas where she was from, she missed it all the same. She closed her eyes to stop herself from crying.

It was then that she sensed someone above her room’s roof, looking up she removed part of the roof and heard footsteps moving away from the room, not appreciating being spied on, she jumped up there herself crouching low enough that she could move across just as quickly and cornered the person close to her room. The spy had in fact been a man with long brown hair held a ponytail with purple eyes,” who are you and why are you watching my room?” she asked him angrily. The man looked at her shocked,” You could tell I was there despite how silent I was,” he stammered. “Of course, I could, I can feel energy from people around me. Tell me are you one of those two members Hijikata spoke of that I would or would not meet?” she demanded as she held him by the scruff of his shirt.

“Yes, now if you would kindly release me, I will tell you why I am here, preferably in your room,” he told her as he grabbed at the hand that was grabbing his kimono. “Fine, but no funny stuff as I move in front of you,” she warned as she made her way back to her room. Once in her room, she backed away from the hole in the roof and he jumped down and joined her and then another man appeared after him. She raised a brow at the two of them. “Ninja, huh?” she asked to no one in particular. The two looked at her in surprise but said nothing, “First let’s get to know each other I am Susumu Yamazaki, and my companion here is Kai Shimada,” he told her as he motioned at the bigger man. He wore a green kimono with a black trail where it folded. The other man wore a red kimono, he had his black hair in an updo, and he smiled at her with kind looking amber yellow eyes. She thought for a moment as she heard their introductions.

“I would normally say it’s nice to meet you but right now I am not so sure since you were spying on my room. Where I am from, they call that a peeping tom,” she told the two of them irritably. They looked at her confused,” So, you aren’t from Japan normally?” the two of them asked. She shook her head,” No, I’m from overseas, why I am here though is my business that I don’t wish to share with you,” she told them in a mater of a fact tone. “I’m assuming I don’t need to tell you my name either since you work for Hijikata,” she said a little irritated. The two of them nodded to confirm that she was right, she shook her head and looked at the ground.

“Anyway, know that we weren’t sent to spy on you but to warn you of an attack that will happen here soon,” Yamazaki informed her as his partner nodded his head as to confirm what he was saying. She stood there and thought for a moment,” So be it, I have nowhere else to go so I suppose I will just have to know of the attack and make sure innocent people aren’t dragged into it,” she told him with a small smile. “I appreciate the warning though you could have just come through the door and then you wouldn’t have alarmed me in the manner you did,” she told him as she crossed her arms. He smiled at her wryly,” I suppose you are right about that, though he ordered us not to be seen by the other members- “she raised her brow and tapped her foot,” perhaps a message then?” she said growing more irritated by the second.

The two men averted her eyes and then bowed and excused themselves having finished their jobs. As soon as they left her room they returned to the Shinsengumi headquarters, they looked as if they wanted to drop where they stood. Hijikata looked at the two of them,” Is there a problem?” he asked with a raised eyebrow. Yamazaki shook his head, “No, vice-commander, just surprised that she could tell we were above her room despite not having made a sound,” he informed him which had caused a surprised look from Hijikata as well.

He thought for a moment on what he had just been told, he realized she may need some actual observation. “This woman appears to be rather unique, they to observe her from a distance without being caught if possible,” he ordered though he got two nervous looks in response. He gave the two of them an exasperated look and dismissed them. That was when Souji came into the room,” able to find them when they are silent she sounds like fun,” he told Hijikata as he let out a laugh,” I wonder how she is in a fight,” he wondered aloud as Hijikata shot him a glare as a warning which caused him to leave the room.

At the inn tension could be felt in the air, sitting in her room Xai could hear every conversation going on around her. She closed her eyes as she focused on a certain conversation, talk about an attack and then there was word about the place and time. “It would seem those two were right about their information but will they see through their trickery I wonder,” she wondered aloud to herself. She then stood and changed from the purple kimono with yellow butterfly decorations to a black garb that was easy to move in. There was a piece that covered her mouth and black boots and gloves. If she was to warn the innocent people she wanted to be an unknown person.

#otome #fanfiction #Hakuouki

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vesperjae · 6 years ago

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Love of the Fury Part One: Destined Meeting

#otome #fanfiction #hakuouki

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