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shinsengumi-archives · 2 years

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Toshizo, as seen by his contemporaries

At the end of the Tokugawa shogunate, there were people who met, talked, saw, and touched (?) the real Toshizo. I will uncover Toshizo’s true personality based on what’s left by these people:

Yagi Tamesaburo (The house that the Shinsengumi used to stay in Kyoto is the Yagi family. Tamesaburo was a child at that time): "My father often said that Hijikata looked like an actor. He had dark hair, which was thick, his eyes were bright, and his face was smooth. He was sullen and didn't say much. It is said that it is one difference from Kondo. I also thought, "He’s the son of a drugstore owner, but I can't see that at all." However, he said he was a medicine peddler when he was in Edo, so he must have been thought of as a drugstore owner's son."

Shibusawa Eiichi (A businessman. At that time, when Shibusawa went to capture a person named Osawa, Toshizo accompanied him.): "Hijikata Toshizo, who was next to Kondo, is quite a person..."

Fukuchi Sakura (Meiji journalist, Fukuchi Genichiro): "Hijikata, who is like a brother to Kondo, has a bit of a merchant-like appearance, and in addition to being pale, he was a little stooped on his shoulders, but he was slender, and he was full of masculinity. Not only is he a good person, he is also astute in dealing with people, and he only gets annoyed with a man who is not talented, and it seems that there were quite a few people who hated him. Even though I sometimes go to Kondo's dojo to play with Iba Hachiro, Nagakura, Okita, Todo, etc. who were practicing with me, I hadn't talked much with Hijikata. This is a story when he was still in Edo, but when he was in Edo, Toshizo was working at the Matsuzakaya (he was also a merchant of medicine from his family biography), so it seems that there was a place like a merchant, as you can see. It seems that the friendliness was also good. There is also a story that when everyone was making a ruckus, Hijikata leaned against the pillars in the corner of the room and just glanced at them while drinking alcohol alone (laughs). This changed drastically when he went to Kyoto and became the Deputy Chief of the Shinsengumi. He rarely laughed, didn't feel light-hearted, and didn’t even speak amiability. It’s hard to imagine how the two could be the same person. If the Kyoto era was a "severe face for work," he may have had a "family face" when he was in Edo and in the later years when the Shinsengumi collapsed. I really like how he can use it properly with such seriousness Even during his later "family face" (Hakodate era), he never forgot his true spirit and pride as a samurai.

Kojima Shikanosuke (Tama person. Relatives to Toshizo's house): "Refreshing person, calm and courageous. Endures well and tolerant.”

Kojima Shikanosuke: "Height 5 shaku 5 inch, beautiful eyebrows, considered a beautiful man. He has read many books, has a general's bearing, and is natually good at military strategy.”

Hieda Toshihachi (One of the last Shinsengumi members): "Hijikata, who wore a black hakama with his family crest, came out and greeted me. I could even see him as a minor daimyo with 10,000 ryo or 20,000 ryo because he was a good man."

Ishizaka Shuzo: "I also know that there are bad guys such as Hijikata Toshizo or Todo Heisuke,"

Nishimura Kanebumi (Samurai at Nishi Honganji Temple. Hated the Shinsengumi because he was a joui supporter): "Kondo Isami and Hijikata Toshizo are part of a violent and unreliable group, its conduct is brutal and cruel." He dared to write bad things. It doesn't look good on the enemy, after all (^^;) However, Nishimura also wrote that when Toshizo died, Toshizo was "strong and brave."

Matsumoto Ryojun (Shogunate doctor. Also took care of the illness of the Shinsengumi soldiers): "Toshizo is keen and calmly courageous, he does everything like thunder. Kondo must have Toshizo to not make any mistakes."

Chiba Yaichiro (former Shinchogumi member): "Hijikata is famous with Kondo, but this person was a gentleman and did not have the courage like Kondo, but he was very close to Kondo and respected Kondo like a brother. Kondo would have been killed in Kyoto earlier if he hadn't had Hijikata, or if he was suddenly attacked by the anti-shogunate faction, but Hijikata was cautious and paid close attention. He didn't let Kondo be too recklessness, so I think Kondo's life lasted that long. Miura (Kutaro) of Kishu and others also admired Hijikata's character, and if Hijikata wasn't there, Kondo wouldn't have the talent to control his subordinates, so the Shinsengumi would have split earlier. Hijikata often comforted the members as a chain between Kondo and the members. That being said, I think the same. “I didn't feel uncomfortable when I faced Hijikata, and I felt that he was a very familiar person."

Yoda Gakkai (Sakura Domain. After Fushimi Toba, met with Toshizo at Edo Castle): "Good-natured and gentle. Piercing eyes. Spoke simply and never exaggerated. A gentlemanly person”

Katsu Kaishu: "”Both of them are weirdos.” By “both of them”, he means Kondo and Hijikata. The word “奇” has the meaning of an eccentric weirdo, but it also has a meaning of “particularly excellent”. Which was it? (Lol)

Tadayuki Mochizuki (Bakufu official): "Arrogant and evil" This is also not spoken with good feelings (^^;) Toshizo, whose toes were injured in Utsunomiya during the Boshin War, was being treated in a hatago called Shimizuya under the castle of Aizu. So, it seems that Toshi said something like "Let’s become allies" to Mochizuki, a Bakufu official who was staying in the same place (laughs). Then Mochizuki said "No" (laughs) Then Toshi got angry and threw his pillow (laughs) (because he can't walk). At that time, Toshi was impatient to leave the battlefield and his mental condition was not normal, but he is cute to throw a pillow, isn't he? (* ^^ *) Well, for Mochizuki who had a pillow thrown at him, he might have been angry (laughs).

Abe Iwane (Nihonmatsu feudal lord): "The one in blue, his frame is not big, with tousled lacquer-like hair. Roughly speaking, an appearance I would consider a beautiful man from what I remember.” Toshizo climbed the castle with Enomoto and others for a military congress in Sendai. At that seat, Toshizo was recommended by the governor of the entire Ou army. When Enomoto invited Toshizo to his seat to confirm his intention, it was this Abe who was present there. This is his impression of his first meeting with Toshizo.

Tachikawa Chikara (Shinsengumi member): "Everyone is merciful, the army is out, and the late graduates are courageous."

Ishii Yujiro (Shinsengumi member): "When the chief (that's Toshizo) died, The Shinsengumi in the battery (Hakodate Benten Daiba) grieved like babies that have lost their mother. Ah, such sorrow.” Toshizo was killed by being shot in his abdomen on his horse while he was on his way to help Shinsengumi soldiers in the Benten Daiba.

Nakajima Noboru (Shinsengumi member): “Genuinely talented person, stubborn and rigid, obedient to seniors, mild-mannered. His soldiers longed for him like a baby longed for his mother." From these three Shinsengumi members, and you can see how the members saw Toshizo.

He’s beautiful, strong, dignified, wise, masculine, calm, doesn't move one eyebrow unless needed, and has the coldness to slash people, but in fact he’s kind enough to make people cry inside. However, he has a manly spirit that does not show such an image to people.

#Hijikata #personality #translated #translated from Japanese #recommended

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dragonrajafanfiction · 3 years

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Justice Chapter 1: How?

This is a mini series (hahaha mini series... ok) about the MC in the ReWritten Series, now named Uesugi Yoko. What happens to her after she’s left in Japan by the Caesar Team and what challenges is she facing?

If you read, please leave me feedback! ^_^

Yoko Uesugi looked at her phone from the rumpled sheets in a black tank top and shorts. Tokyo was seven hours ahead of Rome so it would be midnight, ‘Caesar Time’. She’d cheekily texted ‘you up? >:P’, but got no response. He probably was awake, but Caesar was the worst texter and seemed to get worse the more she wanted to hear from him.

She imagined him still awake, smoking a cigar and drinking Champagne. In the Takamagahara he used to stay up all night long to work and sleep in the morning. Yoko still struggled to wake up in the morning and sleep at night, even now. Most of her studying she did at night by the light of a lamp, polishing her Japanese reading and script, studying history, and dragon genealogy. On the nightstand she had crossed off 35 assignments. But this was an accelerated pace she set for herself, not something required by the Japan branch. In fact, Anjou blithely told her that thanks to her performance on the mission, she could be excused from classes entirely.

But knowledge was power, and she needed power.

She made an effort not to bother Caesar. Her assignment in Tokyo was her business after all. He had nothing but full confidence in her ability to handle any difficulty that came her way. So it felt like she was doubting him when she suddenly wondered if what she was doing was going to end up well done in the end.

And now she wondered if she was going to end up dead.

Months ago, she’d awakened at Cassell College after experiencing the destruction of Black Swan Bay. The disorienting change in circumstances was made all the worse when she was subsequently shipped off to Japan to perform a dangerous mission. She learned that the man who had run the human experimental labs at Black Swan continued the cruelty in Japan. Dr. Herzog set up two organizations from a single family group of hybrids, splitting families apart by their bloodline heritage either the stable ‘good’ genes of Hydra or the ‘trash’ violent genes of the Devil Clan.

He ran experiments on both groups and used violent means to dispose of the undesirable results. When he finished his research, he launched a campaign to eliminate the Devil Clan by framing them for wanting to resurrect ‘god’ that is, the Light King. In less than a week, hundreds of people were dead, thousands were injured. And those who survived had their lives torn apart.

Herzog was dead by her hand, but his legacy lingered in the ruins of the Hybrid families of Japan. Yoko’s assignment was to help heal the fracture between the Devil Clan and the Hydra. Herzog’s legacy in Japan was connected to Black Swan Bay and she knew him intimately. It wasn’t enough to just kill Herzog and call it justice. She wanted to dismantle Herzog’s entire deadly philosophy that caused the slaughter in the first place and undo his legacy in Japan down to the foundation.

However, what needed to be done was going to run her up against some very powerful people. She wanted Caesar’s advice, but he wasn’t answering. Yoko put her phone down and got up to get ready for the day.

Yoko Uesugi wasn’t her actual name. Her real name was Russian because that’s where she was conceived. Her dark hair and eyes appeared Asian, however, only her square jaw and longer nose spoke to some other mixed heritage. It was easier to just adopt a Japanese name rather than have them struggle with her Russian one.

The light was already on in the bathroom. A girl with long red hair brushed her teeth in the mirror and moved aside to let Yoko in. Erii was the one who gave Yoko her last name, fully adopting her as an Uesugi sister. Like Yoko, Erii was the result of Herzog’s experimentation and should have been killed by him. She was the chosen vessel for the Light King parasite, the so-called Tsukiyomi-no-mikoto, who could fully assimilate the genes of the dragon into her own body at the cost of her mind.

She was horribly unstable. The dragonblood in her body was eating away at her. Yoko was in a similar state and together they bonded over their shared illness. Thankfully, they both ended up sharing the cure of the Light King’s fetal blood that saved their lives, but even this was at a great cost. The resurrection of the Light King provoked the eruption of Mt. Fuji, devastating earthquakes, and a large tsunami that killed hundreds of people. Erii and Yoko got their lives back but the scars on Tokyo were still very apparent.

Erii wrote in her notebook and held it up. “Sakura-Kun got promoted. He’s a big man in College now.”

“That’s good news. Tell him I said congrats.” Yoko runs a brush through her hair and yawns. “Hope it doesn’t get a big head.”

Erii lifted up the paper again. “He says he doesn’t know how he’ll manage.”

“I can sympathize with that.” Yoko looks down at her brush.

As soon as Caesar Gattuso, Chu Zihang and Lu Mingfei left Japan, Yoko was approached by the Clan Chief, Nanami Sakurai who had been placed over the Hydra Executive Board by Chisei Gen before his disappearance. Yoko didn’t know Nanami very well other than a brief encounter where she’d furiously slapped Caesar in the face, not knowing it was him. The cold, murderous look in her eyes frightened Yoko into fleeing the elevator she was in.

But after the events in Japan, Nanami was very different.

Nanami Sakurai had suffered from both sides of the War. Her relatives were members of the Devil Clan. Akira was less than ten years old when it was determined that his bloodline was dangerous and he was shipped off to the prison like schools for the violent. Kogure Sakurai was older, about fourteen when she was sent away. The two half siblings both died because they took Herzog’s poison and mutated. They were both killed by Chisei Gen.

Not only that, but two men she loved among Hydra died to the Devil Clan. The Kotaro of the Fuma Clan and Genichiro Ryoma.

Nanami took Yoko to an onsen and teahouse where they stayed for a week, talking and swapping stories. Yoko told Nanami the truth. The man who separated Kogure and Akira from her family was the same man who provided the poison that turned them into monsters and the same man who sent Chisei Gen to kill them. The man who did that was also the same man who drove Chime Gen to madness by converting him into Ruri Kazama. Ruri Kazama then killed Kotaru Fuma. This same man planted the Kanto Group in Hydra and induced them to rebel, an action that would lead to the death of Genichiro.

The men she loved in Hydra and her Devil Clan family were all victims of the same man who wanted to resurrect the ‘god’. Dr. Herzog.

Nanami Sakurai was silent and numb for a long time, her eyes dull. She didn’t speak again that night.

Once Yoko returned to her lodging in Genji Heavy Industries, she sent her a memo on how she thought the damage should be repaired. Yoko commented that it was important to listen to all the victims to get a full account of matters and collect evidence to document what happened first before making any decisions.

Kaguya the super computer had her core destroyed in the fighting and was still being rebuilt from a backup, but many of the records were held on personal devices and Nanami also sent out neutral representatives for witness testimony.

Yoko had spoken to a man of the Inuyama family named Chance who gave her a glimpse of the violence during that horrible week. His family was all killed and their apartment block set on fire. The young children were all orphaned and institutionalized. But even that was only the tip of the bloody iceberg.

The Devil Clan controlled eleven of the eighteen yakuza gangs in Osaka, and the seven gangs loyal to Hydra had always been peaceful to them. But overnight the world changed. The gates of the Genji Heavy Industries building opened, black vans drove out in a convoy and the top members of the Hydra poured out. The moment they arrived in Osaka, the seven Hydra gangs launched an attack on the Devil Clan. Never before in history had a yakuza war been fought so efficiently. It was no less than Hitler's blitzkrieg of Poland. The Devil Clan gangs were crushed one after another before they could organize themselves. Seven of the eleven Devil Clan gangs declared their allegiance to the Hydra Yakuza, three of Devil Clan hold out gangs were beaten to death with bats, and the last one was disbanded. Overnight, Osaka became the Osaka of the Hydra

Not only Osaka, but also from the south to the north, all the gangs loyal to the Hydra family took action and spared no effort to attack the gangs loyal to the Devil clan. Either the Devil Clan members surrendered or their bodies were left on the street.

Hydra had almost all the information about the Devil clan, including the illegal transactions of the clan's gangs and government officials who had dealings with them. The police department received anonymous emails with evidence of the Devil Clan’s crimes, and as soon as the judge accepted the evidence, more than half of the Devil Clan members would be sentenced to prison. The officials who covered up for them received death threats. A prefectural assemblyman was suddenly lifted by a helicopter on the highway in his car, flying 500 meters in the air. The terrified prefectural assemblyman received a phone call in the air from Zuo Shang, an old-timer in the Hydra family, expressing his cordial greetings. Ten minutes later, the helicopter dropped off the senator's car in front of the prefectural assembly building, and by then the senator had become a member of the Hydra family.

But the ‘ghosts’, the unstable hybrids, never even had the option to defect. Even though they had the blood of the Hydra family in their bodies, in order to escape, some of them used potions that forcibly purified their blood. In front of the Executive Board, which was created to kill people like them, they were just a bunch of desperate beasts. No matter how furiously they struggled, their hearts were pierced by explosive bullets filled with mercury. The aces that the Executive Board brought along with them were responsible for pouring the bodies of the ‘ghosts’ into the cement piles. The cement piles were driven into the bottom of the sea to form a neat array. The Maruyama Construction Institute, to which the Hydra family belonged, would build a shrine on that reclaimed land to commemorate the dead.

The ghosts who did surrender would be imprisoned for life. During the Heian period, the Hydra family set up a black prison in the hollow of Mount Kobe to imprison the ghosts that appeared in the family. After the Meiji Restoration, the family was exposed to Western ideas and felt that the black prison was not humane enough, so they closed it, but suddenly the rusted iron gate had opened again. Very few ghosts surrendered however, preferring death to an eternal prison and that prison filled with their children.

Yoko had stood on the shore of the sea, looking over the rows of concrete piles under the waves, knowing that each one contained the body of a man or woman who had chosen not to be imprisoned forever and a great cold came over her. Right behind her, the people assigned as her escort and guard were the same ones who had ended these lives. Unless there was an investigation, it would be impossible to tell who was acting in good faith to repair the damage and restore the Japan branch to harmony and who would much rather let all the former Devils serve as a building’s foundation elements.

Thoughts of financial reparations and placement of orphans were suddenly overshadowed by the names of famous courts like Nuremberg and the Hague and Gacaca…

The suggestion of an investigation and trial of cruel members of the executive board went over as poorly as she expected. Where in Japan could she find impartial judges? Hydra owned everything, all the officials in the courts. No witness would ever testify openly in such a situation. Outside judges would have to be brought in. Who could be trusted with compiling such a roster? Who would be in charge of protecting them from corruption and intimidation?

The pushback was immediate. The Executive board were respected and highly regarded members of the Hydra. How could they be prosecuted for sparing no effort in stopping the Devil Clan from resurrecting god? Nanami didn’t tell anyone that this was all a plot of one man. They all still believed it was 100% the Devils’ fault and they all deserved to die. Tachibana was their respected and dearly departed leader who died saving his son at Tokyo Tower! Why were the guardians of Japan being held accountable for a war that the Devils began?

On the way home from shopping, Yoko was researching the Meiji Restoration when a bullet shattered the window. Despite there being a clear blue sky and it was broad daylight, there was no evidence to be found regarding who fired that bullet. It was a warning shot. Only someone who was very high up in the Hydra rankings could have known where she was at that moment. The next bullet probably would not miss.

Yoko slipped on her shoes at the door and checked her phone one more time before stepping out into the hall of the Genji Heavy Industries building.

Caesar had still not texted her back.

#Dragon Raja #Justice AU

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elfcow · 3 years

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The Inner Boss final forms in Sekiro really do speak to me as a martial artist with anxiety because you're supposed to visualize potential fights ahead of time to prepare and revisit old fights to learn but anxiety just makes it always feel hopeless and overwhelming and man I sure have spent what feels like dozens of hours dying to secret ultra omega Genichiro huh

#Genichiro #Sekiro #They found all the holes in his moveset and slammed them shut basically

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sahbibabe · 4 years

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Hello, hope your doing well! I love your writing it's really good! Can I request a soulmate Au for Sekiro/wolf x reader, no.24 in a series format please?? 😊😅 I feel like sekiro doesn't get enough love Lol!

YES. YES. YES. Here you go~! I loved writing this. The timeline is extended more than it is in the game because it took me more than a month to beat the whole game and I doubt it takes just one day to go everywhere that Wolf did in that time.

Also, I have really strong feelings about the whole toxic 'family' relationship between Owl and Wolf. It makes me angry and pretty salty. It just came out in this.

Enjoy! ♡

"LORD KURO HAS EXPRESSED his desire to meet you." Emma sat across from you on a tatami mat, carefully pouring an herbal tea into two small cups. The glare of the sun, filtering through the open window where a nightjar stood guard, revealed dozens of sparkling gray strands in her hair, attesting to the sudden stress─and worry─that she had been confiding to you for the past couple or so weeks: that Lord Isshin grew steadily worse in condition. "He remembers you only vaguely and wishes to reacquaint himself… Should you wish, Lady [Name]."

That was your title: Lady. Not washwoman, servant, maid, cook, or soldier; it was Lady. You had been elevated to that status on account of your military prowess long before Kuro had been revealed to be the Dragon's Heritage, but you had made it a point to be there when his mother, tragically, could not. Not after the fire.

Kuro could have called you many things, if you had lingered in his life. He could have called you his aunt, his friend, or even his advisor, if he wanted. But he reminded you too much of your sister, his mother, and so you couldn't make yourself stay. It would be torture for him to see you, a twin reflection of his mother, as much as it would pain you to see him, a perfect resemblance of both father and mother. You had divested your abode─a small attachment towards the Serpent's Shrine, guarded by the sword wielding monkeys who favored your presence─of mirrors since then, unable to look at your own face.

"If that's what he wants," you replied carefully, watching the shining beacon of your soulmate's danger meter rise steadily over the kanji for 'safe', 'threat', and jump right up to 'lethal'. You had watched this phenomena happen for years now, except for a brief period after the fire, but you couldn't say who it belonged to. There were plenty soldiers who risked their lives every day, but none of them had managed to cheat death so often as yours. "I don't believe he'll be safe in Ashina, not with the Dragon's Heritage."

"You are correct." Emma set the tea pot down and offered you a cup. You took it from her one handed, preferring to warm your other hand in your lap. She took no offense, used to your daily problems with the chill. "Lord Kuro has already been taken by Lord Genichiro once. I do not doubt he would try once again. And there are others, a particular shinobi, whose motives are a mystery to me, that I don't trust."

"You speak of Owl. Not… Wolf." You hesitated to call Kuro's loyal shinobi by that name. While it was common to do so, just like the names Orangutan and Kingfisher, you had difficulty equating such loyalty to a shinobi who most definitely would reject the Iron Code if given the chance. The meter dropped down to 'safe' again, and that knot in your throat lessened just a bit. "Am I right?"

"Yes. He has been absent in all of this, and it's too suspicious for him to be so distant in the middle of such strife. With the ministry rallying, it's only a matter of time before things go from bad to worse. Which is why, if something happens to Wolf, as it did during the fire, I would like for you to be there to protect Lord Kuro."

You were still young, still in your prime. You hadn't counted in many years, but you had to guess you were thirty five at the most, your sister being thirty when she passed. You were almost close to not being a spring chicken anymore. "If that is what you wish, my friend."

Your journey to Ashina Castle was a short, but boring one. The soldiers bowed to you as you passed, putting up no sort of issue, glimpsing the family crest you wore attached to your obi. You had decided on a neutral colored yukata, designed for winter, and a thin haori to go over it and block out the cool air. Wearing a kimono would just be difficult at this point.

When you made it to the tower lookout, you were greeted─surprisingly─by Kuro himself. Emma had told you that he rarely left the archives now that Genichiro was out on the loose, run rampant by the Rejuvenating Sediment, so it was a bit of a shock considering what you had been told. You realized that he had been watching you leap across the rooftops, too lazy to take the proper way, with a nightjar at your side to keep you from falling to your death.

By his side, hand on a katana that had been named Kusabimaru, stood Wolf. You knew, almost instantly, that he was the one who had been causing your meter to skyrocket at various times of the day and fluctuate wildly. It was almost like a seventh sense, drawing you to him even though you didn't take a step in his direction. By looking at his face, the soulmate pull had been overrode by the desire to protect Kuro, and you found that admirable.

So you looked away, those dark eyes still trained on you guardedly, and faced Kuro once more. He looked more and more like his parents as he aged, so much so that it was almost painful to look at him.

He seemed to be having similar thoughts, eyebrows creased just slightly.

"Lord Kuro," you greeted him, bowing slightly at the waist. That was where you differentiated from your sister; your voices were very different. Where your sister held a stern, throaty voice, yours was very soft and quiet, but held a hard edge that had Wolf on alert. "It's nice to see you again."

"Lady [Name]." Kuro stepped forward, Wolf in his shadow. He reached out, hesitantly, but propriety stopped him from touching you. "I…"

You smiled and kneeled down just slightly, careful not to dirty your yukata, and took his hands in yours. "It's alright. I know I look a lot like her. It's hard, isn't it?"

He didn't say a word, but you could see it in his eyes that it did. You squeezed his hands and stood back to your full height, allowing his fingers to slip from yours. He was still so tiny.

"Let us go inside. The birds have ears, here," you urged cautiously. Wolf seemed to realize what you were talking about and his eyebrows lowered suspiciously; typical.

For the next few days, you relearned how to deal with children burdened with an enormous task. Sometimes, Kuro just wanted to be normal and have a normal life, which you understood. The life of the Dragon's Heritage did not come peacefully or cheaply; it was dangerous, rife with struggle. It was why, he told you over tea while Wolf was gone, that he wanted to end it.

And you, like Emma, didn't want that to happen.

You also, somehow, figured out that Wolf knew what you were to him, too. He never said much of anything at all to you, perhaps because of your relation to Kuro, and kept his distance when he was present. You were certain that Owl had ruined him in more ways than one with the Iron Code; you saw the drawn muscles in his face, when you were too young to have a soulmate meter, the ribs underneath that threadbare yukata. You knew that Owl starved him, probably beat lessons into him, to make him a cheaper asset to deal with. That was how Owl worked.

It didn't stop you, or Kuro, from pressuring him to eat. Emma seemed to not want to cross that boundary of necessary acquaintance with him, which you were fine with. Kuro was good at coaxing him into eating, when he was even there, but all you had to do was set food in front of him and level him with an expectant stare, then turn to the window.

Words seemed to escape him, most of the time, with you─but body language seemed just fine. It was easier to read to him, you supposed, being a shinobi, because intent was laid bare unless you knew how to hide it. You did. You didn't see the point when all he wanted was to protect Kuro.

One night, while Kuro labored away over the books in the library, determined to find the source of a white flower, Wolf appeared in your quarters. He was severely wounded, the Dragon's Heritage unable to fix it quickly enough, and you darted towards him, catching him before he fell to the floor. He was worryingly light.

As you laid him on your bed and began to clean out his wounds as best you could, you had to wonder why he didn't go to Emma. The gourd he had was empty; shouldn't she have been able to refill it? You let the gourd fill up a little bit and then made him drink it, careful to let him swallow on his own time and not choke.

The flesh knitted before your eyes, as fast as lightning, but it was still fresh and raw, so you placed bandage wrappings over it. Whatever had attacked him had extremely long claws, as long as your body, and had gouged inch deep holes into his chest and back. They would scar, but he had plenty of other scars to be seen.

You situated his clothing back to the way it was, returned to the windowsill where you had been reading a scroll lent to you by Isshin, and waited.

Somehow, you had drifted off without noticing, the wooden scroll loose in your hand. You clenched it unconciously and opened your eyes, shocked to see the sun and not the moon. When you looked over, expecting to see Wolf still asleep, you were surprised to find him kneeling in front of you, head bowed, as if he had been waiting for you to wake up.

"Wolf?" You whispered, voice hoarse, sliding sideways to place your feet on the tatami mat. "How long have you been awake?"

"Not long." That could mean anything to him.

"I see. How do you feel?" You got to your feet and kneeled down, resting your hand on his shoulder. He never looked at you, though you felt the muscle in his shoulder twitch in response. "You should still be resting."

"I'll be fine. Thank you."

"Of course." You blinked, eyes wide. "I'm your soulmate, aren't I? I wouldn't just let you bleed out and die."

The telltale silence told you more than he could say.

He had expected you to let him die.

"Oh, Wolf," you sighed, urging him to his feet. He did so reluctantly, wary of your closeness but not fighting to push you away. "Owl ruined you more than I can even begin to understand."

Again, he didn't speak, but he knew it was true.

You smiled sadly at him, then reached up and pulled the ribbon keeping your hair tied in a loose bun. You grabbed his hand and pressed it into his palm, closing his fingers around it with your own.

"There." You gently removed your hands; he opened his fist to stare at it. "Any time you feel any negative emotions, just look at that ribbon and remember what I told you. You can come here anytime you need me."

He never said anything else, just left out the window he had come in through. For the first time since you had met him, he looked marginally more relaxed, more reassured, as if the idea of returning to someone who explicitly desired his presence was a comforting one.

Over the next few months, Wolf never did pop in while you were awake, but he did leave little things for you to find when you awoke, like a small amount of rice from the Divine Child, a branch of gorgeous blossoms from the Fountainhead Palace, or even Lapis Lazuli, a precious stone that you had converted into a makeshift pendant.

Kuro eventually slipped up and called you his aunt, which you delighted in. Isshin called you over for sake and old war stories, which you both recalled with excitement and solemnity. Emma brought you to visit Orangutan, who took one look at you and found himself remembering you on the battlefield; she helped you give offerings to your sister and brother-in-law's graves.

But you knew that all of it was coming to an end.

Just days before, Wolf had returned with the Gracious Gift of Tears. He had met your sad stare with one of hard resolve, and you knew that it was almost time. With the everblossom in hand, he had told you his decision secretly.

He would die so that Kuro could live. And you had no issue with that; that was his life's purpose, the only purpose that Owl had given him that had benefited him. His love for Kuro was bright, innocent, and strong, even if he was oblivious that it was love.

You had shed a few tears, of course, but you knew that above all, Kuro had wanted a normal life. There had been nothing else to discuss.

That night, before Wolf was due to fight Genichiro one last time and─Kuro would tell you afterwards, when the sun had risen, Isshin as well─he had given you all he could offer a woman, and more, because after daybreak, the last immortal would be condemned.

You had awoken to sunlight, bare and satiated, sad with the knowledge that your soulmate was no more. The meter flickered out of existence as if it had never been there to begin with.

With Isshin and Wolf departed, there was no reason for you to remain in the rotting ruin of Ashina any longer. You gave Kuro your blessing to journey the world, as he had wished, and sent him off alongside Emma.

Three months later, you would realize that Wolf had left you a gift; something most precious and valuable, something you would love until the day you died, and forever after that.

A child.

When you gave birth, Emma was there to help you. Orangutan had even departed from his temple to stand guard outside and greet the new life that had entered the world.

It was a boy, Emma revealed with a small smile, and handed him to you. He looked nothing like you. With a faint dusting of black hair and dark eyes, he was every bit just like Wolf.

And somewhere, out in the distance, you heard the Divine Dragon begin to sing.

#sekiro #sekiro: shadows die twice #sekiro x reader

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foxingpeculiar · 3 years

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Sekiro blog:

Still on Genichiro, but with some higher blood sugar and a little more practice, feeling better about it. I've even gotten him to his third phase once! Of course, he immediately killed me with his first move, but still! I did it!

I am glad I knew that third phase was coming though cos hoo boy, I'd have been pissed otherwise.

Speaking for the first two phases, I forget how unrelentingly aggressive this game wants you to be in these fights, but I'm learning how to push him. There are three moves that are giving me trouble, though:

1. After I get at him with a two hit combo (which he blocks for some posture damage), he comes back with a counter-slash that's on just a little bit longer of a delay than my brain wants to accept. I've managed to deflect it and am getting better at doing so, but he still gets me with it like 75% of the time.

2. Distinguishing between a thrust and a sweep when he uses a perilous attack after a jump. I can deal with either one if I know which one's coming, but the tell to distinguish them is very subtle and very fast.

3. The fucking bow jump. When he does this, I'm usually coming at him like a fury-tornado and about half the time, I can knock him down before he can get a shot off. But if I'm a split second too late or just the teensiest bit too far away, I'll miss and he'll have me with like 2-3 arrows before I can catch up. And these fights are a goddamn tightrope walk, so a slip up like that takes a minute to recover from, and that's if he doesn't kill me outright with it (which he often does).

But he doesn't feel impossible like he did last night. It takes me a lot longer in this game to catch up to how to do things--whereas Souls was pretty intuitive once it initially clicks--but I do get there.

#Sekiro #video games

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the-stray-liger · 5 years

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The only thing funnier than EXTREMELY nasty Wolf that thinks standing completely dressed in the rain counts as a bath and has like, fleas and stuff is Genichiro being EXTREMELY obsessive with being PERFECTLY clean and perfectly neat ALL THE TIME. Just. SUPER neat Genichiro who takes baths RELIGIOUSLY and can’t even stand having dirty nails and demands to have clean clothes ALWAYS and cannot tolerate filth ANYWHERE. And. Then there’s Wolf and like. The one thing that Genichiro can’t really fucking stand about Wolf is the fact that he’s so nasty he can smell him. Wolf is so nasty it gives Genichiro anxiety.

The real reason why Genichiro keeps trying to kill him is because he’s so fucking nasty he’s considered unwashable for Genichiro’s standard and Wolf does it on purpose once he realizes how fucking mad it makes Genichro. Like. He amps up the nastiness just to get a rise of him. Unties his hair just so Genichiro can see how it stays up because he hasn’t washed it in months. Deliberately rolls himself in mud to leave footprints everywhere when he gets inside the castle. Chews with his mouth open. Genichiro screams the day he realizes he has fleas after fighting Wolf. Wolf asks Genichiro to speak up bc he hasn’t cleaned his fucking ears in weeks and Genichiro goes apeshit. Kuro thinks it’s super fucking funny and enables him and gives him ideas even though Emma HATES IT because she’s a doctor and OOHH MY GOOOD. Wolf sneezes and whipes his nose on his sleeve while staring at Genichiro dead in the eye and Genichiro’s like I’m about to turn this motherfucker into a fucking dog smoothie and bring him to the Divine Heir in a fucking starbuck’s cup

#sekiro #no i dont take constructive critisism

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a-dragon-and-an-eagle · 4 years

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Sekiro... again.

Re-review a year later. So after having some free time and a desire to go back to this game has my opinion changed? Yes and no. The combat I found infuriating my first time was tolerable when I met it halfway and eventually I got good. Its just to bad that the tutorial is non-existent and the early enemies and bosses teach you nothing about the deflect system. It's no wonder most people don't reach the click moment till Genichiro. However the panic I feel whenever I see that symbol for the unblockable attack and it requires a large amount of learning patterns to understand if you should jump or mercury counter. Speaking of the Mercury counter is basically mandatory for this game which sucks that such a vital ability is behind an upgrade tree. The other sucky part is that after you do finally understand the combat the game doesn't really have much to offer beyond increasing the speed of it. I have a feeling that perhaps the devs weren't satisfied with the game either because the owl boss fights bend the rules of the game to make a harder boss and the demon of hatred strait up breaks the rules; that and they're doesn't seem to be a chance at the game getting any DLC. Well I have learned to use and semi-enjoy the combat of Sekiro there is a real problem that its just to limited. Once you master slash, deflect, jump, mercury counter the game can only really change the rules of the games to make it more difficult, like the last boss pulling out a fucking gun to kill me! But there is something my opinion hasn't changed on: The story and characters are still terrible. See the from soft method of story telling is very interesting and helps build community, but the thing is the plot of dark souls could be summed up pretty easily: the dark is scary, don't let the fire go out. Sekiro has the problem that the plot is way to complicated and the lore is almost required reading to understand what the fuck is going on. There is a kingdom in Japan with its leader being an immortal child. The child them self is not super old or anything, he just can't get stabbed. People want this immortality and there is some kind of discount immortality that people are trying to figure out, but the kid wants to stop people from doing this immortality bullshit and there is also two swords that can kill immortals but not the kid for some reason and your old mentor wants the immortality but then why didn't he become the guard of the kid. Its all a massive mess that is hard to follow without looking up lore videos. All the characters are still super boring and its hard to be invested when the characters don't seem to be. Well I do now say to give it a try I can't promise everyone will like it, I hated it my first time and now I just say its mostly good. What ever fromsoft wanted to learn from this I hope they did.

#ooc #Sekrio #I finished it #change of opinions #But also not really

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grandschemed · 4 years

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@warpaved asked: “if anything, i believe that i own you.”

wolf wakes slowly, bleary eyes staring at the ceiling of what must undoubtedly be ashina castle. events replay in his head in chopped fragments — a grassy field of silver. lord genichiro standing before him, more god-like than man. a fever roaring in his blood, sick with moonlight. a sudden flash of lightning and everything begins to slow. a sudden flash of silver and then, his - !

wide-eyed, wolf turns his head to look at the bandaged stump of his arm. gone, just like that. but he isn’t surprised by this revelation. after all, it is what warlords do. what irritates him is the phantom pain, the way he can still feel genichiro’s blade cut him down, the way his fingers want to move that are no longer there.

“if anything, i believe that i own you.”

what irritates him above all is lord genichiro at his bedside.

with stubborn ease, wolf ignores him. he has more pressing issues than to waste time and debate the nature of ownership. he is a stray and he has always been a stray — he is too wild to be domesticated now. “where is my lord?” wolf croaks, lips cracked and throat parched.

genichiro doesn’t answer. he sits still, turned away from wolf, face cast in grave shadow as he crushes medicinal powder, mixing it into the tea and reaches for wolf’s jaw. “drink. … to recover your vitality,” he commands, rough thumb digging possessively into the other’s jaw, crimson eyes boring into him, as cutting as his sword.

like a cornered animal, wolf snaps his teeth, baring his fangs. genichiro’s lack of reply doesn’t surprise him, but so unused to this show of care is he. for as long as wolf can remember, he’s always been alone to lick his own wounds. forced to pick himself up if he breaks his bones and keep walking. but then again, this isn’t kindness for charity’s sake.

no, genichiro wants something from him.

wants him.

wolf can see it in his eyes.

“if i wanted to kill you, i would’ve done it already,” genichiro answers, as if he can read wolf’s mind, but it’s not the question he needs answers to. he sighs, infinitely tired, easing his grip around wolf’s stubbled chin. “your little lord is well and alive. he is safe. now, drink — if you want to rescue him from me.”

a cheap gambit, wolf thinks, but what other choice does he have? genichiro is right. so, wolf reluctantly drinks from the lord’s cup, admittedly grateful for something to sate this thirst and to wet his lips. he chooses not to think about what genichiro feeds him.

already, he maps out the layout of the room and commits it to memory, willing his body to take advantage of the opportunity presented to him and make his escape, but his limbs are too heavy. he is eleven again and he can hear his father’s voice in his head, can feel the sharp clap of his broad hand against his bruising cheek.

get up, pup. up before i make you.

wolf grunts in response, clutching genichiro’s thick wrist to steady himself, to rise, but a big hand pushes him back into bed with a strange gentleness, stronger than any physical force.

“rest for now and gather your strength, shinobi,” genichiro speaks, his fingertips firmly resting atop wolf’s warm chest. in the quiet of the room, he can feel the tired pulse of his heart. “we will negotiate the terms of your ownership tomorrow, but know this — from now on, you serve me.”

more exhausted than he realizes, wolf sucks in an audible breath in pitiful response, but his eyelids threaten to fall shut while a gentle warmth worms its way throughout his well-trained body. how guilty he feels for relishing the soft bed things. how guilty he feels for his failure. it claws at him like a dull frenzy, but his need to rest outweighs his regret.

“gen … ichi …” wolf mouths in tender protest, but he slips into the sweetest, dreamless sleep before he can finish sounding out his name.

tomorrow is another day.

#warpaved #ask #ic: wolf.#child abuse /#MILD but tagging it just in case #gore mention /#again slight but just in case !!#anw smth smth au where genichiro takes wolf as his shinobi :pensive:#genichiro vc as your shujin #ill see myself out !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!#long post /#think a lot about how awful of a father owl is to wolf + wolf barely sees himself as a human being #THE FACT THAT HE'S NEVER EVEN EATEN COOKED RICE BEFORE #love wolf being a little weak to being handled with care + being wildly unfamiliar w/ it #apparently i either write novels or make shitposts

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whyyouacknsocraycray · 5 months

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Another Sekiro theory: Kuro actually has no control over granting the Dragon's Heritage to another. The dragon is the one who picks, usually pushed by the serious injury of one that's already been deemed a "protector" of the Divine Dragon. Kuro may have once wanted to grant Genichiro the immortality, but he legitimately doesn't know how and eventually no longer wants to because Genichiro refuses to understand.

This theory is me trying to find reasons for how Kuro speaks to Wolf when he finds him in Hirata...

#sekiro #sekiro shadows die twice #kuro the divine heir

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clarissaexplainingitall · 4 years

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also, wow, i’m super behind on posting my fic over here, but i’ve finished some things over the past couple months of covid-recovery:

Hold off the Earth Awhile (Bearer of the Curse/Lucatiel of Mirrah)

Lucatiel shakes her head, and then nods. “Yes, in a manner of speaking. And… then I came here… to…”

(She came here to find him, Aslatiel or answers, to find a modicum of closure before being inevitably dragged under by the storm upon the horizon. To stare him down and demand he explain himself, else to shoulder the burden none will be able to bear for her, in the end, for there will be no one left to put Lucatiel to rest.)

Covers Lucatiel's questline, from beginning to end to slightly beyond. A knight's struggle to remember, to survive, to find what she cannot even say she seeks.

Fragrant is the Blossom (Genichiro Ashina/Emma)

Tomoe's death and the immediate aftermath.

Or, "that time they both got wasted on Ashina sake by the old serpent shrine."

Prequel to, or missing flashback from the two Do What Must Be Done pieces.

#lucatiel of mirrah #dark souls #ds2 #lady tomoe #sekiro #currently also working on VERY SLOWLY editing the ashen one and anri fic #and FINALLY i am writing a massive tellius character study which i'm super excited about #but yeah everything's been on hold due to being massively sick and also spending all my free time #writing extended universe pieces for my wonderful VTM group because that's just been pinned to the front of my mind lately #my fic #mind the content warnings on them both but especially the sekiro one #though again if you know the game you know what you're in for there

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tieflng · 4 years

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press start challenge letter under the cut, because i do things and participate in events (currently STILL A WIP, time got away from me, i’ll have it done by the end of the day 7/13)

hello exchange partner! thanks for writing for me. i’m sure whatever you come up with will be wonderful! my prompts for the exchange are all here, because they are going to be Quite long, and filled with excruciating detail probably.

Mutazione

it’s the tenderness and sincerity of this game that really gets me, i think. the sensory details have a lot of potential too-- garden music, mori’s cooking, heavy tropical rain, the ambiance and mood of the town and its natural rhythms. i don’t need any action or adventure out of this prompt-- though it would certainly be welcome if you can come up with some!-- but the character interaction and interiority is really what i’m here for.

Yoké: exploring the archives?

Miu: hunting, swimming, her relationship with her body that comes up in the swimming convo with kai,

Miu & Yoké: two great tastes that taste great together! their relationship and the trauma they share, learning to find hope and solace in each other, their complicated feelings towards nonno, etc.

Yoké & Karoo

Kai & Karoo

Kai & Semenya

Pyre

oops! it’s literally all golathanian. again. i was just so deeply drawn to him reading the book of rites; an ordinary and certainly flawed human man who takes one act of radical mercy, brings every event in the game to pass, and turns himself into a godlike eldritch basketball saint. also, ‘you gave your freedom that i might yet have mine’ is a line i’ve been thinking about for an entire year. also, the g in lgbt is for golathanian.

i’m really into the idea that the man the commonwealth could lionize as the ideal of strength is admirable not as a conqueror or warlord, but as someone with commitments to others that make him overcome his flaws– someone who does the cooking for the group and makes dry comments and lectures out of worry and has a stupid laugh and acts like a grouch when he is secretly a giant softy. (and someone who is visibly gay and gnc, because the base of my mazlow hierarchy of needs is gay/bi men presented as admirable figures of authority, and i think that’s something that should have been in the game, even if the commonwealth in-universe was going to erase it.) the heart and idealism and earnestness is what makes him worthy of respect, and that he’s human, even if technically he ends up as a demigod sports-omen star.

things i would love-- well, downside ambiance is one of them for sure; equally for imperial sahrian court. anything about (r/R)eading-- scribes are capital r readers is a headcanon you’ll pry from my cold dead hands. scribes are also autistic is the other big one. anything with titans, anything with imps, anything with navigating hostile environments with aplomb or by shaking centipedes out of your boots.

Gol Golathanian: Literally If You Give Me Anything With Gol Golathanian I Will Be Happy. if you give me anything with gol golathanian who is nonbinary i will love you forever. gol golathanian as a plucky young officer on the rise. gol golathanian as master-general navigating a deadly decadent sahrian court. gol golathanian as an exile, learning how to survive in the downside and get along with his strange new companions. not nominated but very appreciated characters are triesta and milithe, but honestly i love all the scribes and would be happy to see anything with them. also lord gandroth-- something with him, and that battle or conflict?

Gol Golathanian/Soliam Murr: LEt This Be Tender Romance Please. my general preference is that they only get together in the downside, post character growth on both ends, but there’s certainly potent homoerotic potential in the knight/liege relationship from before, too. speaking of liege, please don’t have gol call him my liege while they’re in a relationship, that’s weird and i prefer if they’re equals. the pining potential both topside and downside for these two is incredibly unlimited-- soft moments interrupted by court formalities? or soliam’s topside scumminess? or downside hesitations or dangers? dreams or fantasies or Scenarios from either of them? just fucking hit me. also, i know i requested all golathanian, but i wouldn’t at all mind a soliam perspective on this one, either!

Gol Golathanian & Khaylmer Rope-Caller: enemies enemies enemies enemies! but like..........kind of mirror-image enemies. for me what makes this is the idea that they’re two people who deeply loathe and misunderstand each other, who are also much more similar than they would ever want to admit. character study is really what i’m looking for here, especially if it’s khaylmer whom we know nothing about in canon, and sahrian court ambiance. spy versus spy trying to foil each others’ maneuvers? or reluctant moments of understanding?

Gol Golathanian & Ha’ub the Swallow: best! friends! bestfriends! just show them getting up to any kind of rascalism, exploring, titan fighting, rangling soliam who is a perpetual dumbass with a deathwish, etc and i will be super happy.

Bastion

Zulf

Zia

Zia & Zulf

The Kid

Sekiro

Genichiro

Genichiro & Kuro

Hades

Zagreus/Asterius

Hollow Knight

The Hollow Knight/Pure Vessel

THK/PV & Hornet

THK/PV & Hornet & The Knight

#/#//#///#////#/////#exchange letter

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altairattorney · 5 years

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Sekiro speculation: the oath-bound theory

So now that I have finished Sekiro and I was completely blown away by it, I have been incessantly reworking the plot in my mind. The Heritage, the Waters, the motivations of everyone involved, the pile of sad feels.

And then, while I was looking into Lord Takeru and Lady Tomoe, a lightbulb went off in my head that made me form an even more intricate theory. It may be a stretch, and very poor in evidence, but I think it could explain Kuro’s actions in a way that makes even more sense. Spoilers under the cut!

I present to you the oath-bound theory, or, in other words:

what if Kuro doesn’t just refuse to humour Genichiro, but... he also can’t?

A quick recap of the hyphotheses I am going to make:

The Divine Heir can only have one oath-bound at the time

The oath-bound is forever

The oath-bound shares the Heir’s fate and remains immortal forever unless they achieve severance/die

Kuro knows all of this and is lying about it to protect Wolf from Ashina

Here we go!

What got me thinking were Lady Tomoe and Lord Takeru, and their failed attempts to sever his immortality due to Senpou snatching the Mortal Blade. The documents left behind, as well as their and Emma’s wording, made me think of a distinct possibility: the Divine Heir may be only able to bestow the Heritage upon a single person, aka, as they called him, their oath-bound.

If this is indeed true, a lot of things start making more sense. The Rejuvenating Waters and the Infested may be a Heritage-inspired attempt to reproduce immortality on a large scale, which wouldn’t otherwise be accessible.

Further speculation: the Heritage may be a “purer” version of whatever blood the Waters are tied to, and the difference between them could be “no-little consequence for the oath-bound bearer and the Heir” (at the expense of others, thru Dragonrot) versus “corruption of the body/mind caused by the Waters” (see Genichiro).

Since the Heritage may very well be an illness or a parasitic event of some kind, in Fromsoft fashion, the side effects, centipedes and Dragonrot give the last point even more credibility.

If both were true and Genichiro only were aware of the latter, this may be the reason he seeks the Heritage after relying on the Waters for years, not knowing that he cannot have it anyway. It may also be the reason why, in the cutscene before his boss fight, he says “I understand; as long as he lives, I can’t have (the Heritage)”.

If all of this is true, this raises a lot of questions about Kuro’s actions and his way of relating to Genichiro and anyone else. It could be pointed out that, in this light, none of his behavior makes sense. If he knows all this and no one else does, why would Kuro not straight up say it and consequently succeed in being left alone? I have some more speculation that may answer this question, as well as shed light on how he feels about the Heritage.

Kuro is one of the most humane, wise and loving characters in the Fromsoft universe. He knows that his blessing is a curse, and doubtlessly equals immortality to non-humanity. However, the memory in Hirata estate gives us a few hints on the fact he may not always have felt this way, or always known all he does about his power.

I wholeheartedly believe that bestowing the Heritage upon Wolf was nothing more complex than an act of love. It may have been a tough decision, but the motive was simple: his beloved shinobi had been killed in front of his eyes, and Kuro was not going to have it. To lose him would have meant even more loneliness and abandonment in a world that was already closing in on him and trying to prey on his Dragon’s blood. So he did.

At some point after this decision, Kuro began to regret it and probably feel extremely guilty and selfish over it. The first thing he speaks to Wolf about, once they are reunited, is his death toll, and the desire to sever immortality -- specifically because he wants Wolf to be human/mortal again.

Kuro seems to be very well-read and cultured in general, but I can’t help wondering if his constant reading, even before he asks for Wolf’s help, is tied to research on how to get rid of the Dragon’s Heritage for both his and Wolf’s benefit. He may have found out the inner workings of the Heritage after he bestowed it upon Wolf, and therefore started to investigate about it.

It is this whole situation that made me hypothesize Kuro couldn’t change his mind about his choice: he tried to free himself and Wolf of it, but he has no control over it with his mere willpower. Therefore, the oath-bound a Heir chooses remains their oath-bound forever, unless they get rid of the Heritage itself together.

All of these premises beg the question: if, for any reason, he is the only one to know that the oath is irreversible and limited to one soul, what is the deal of him not telling Genichiro?

I believe Kuro fears the exact same conclusion Genichiro came to before his boss fight: as long as he lives, the Heritage cannot be mine... if that is the power of the Heritage, I will kill you as many times as it takes. Kuro is afraid that Genichiro and Ashina soldiers, desperate for more resources, will find a way to permanently kill Wolf, so that he finally gets out of the way. They would kill two birds with one stone: dead Wolf means defenseless Kuro, as nobody has both enough devotion and strength to protect him, and free scot on the Dragon’s Heritage.

I fully believe this is Genichiro’s extreme plan at the end: to hurt Kuro enough to bait Wolf into a fight, destroy him with the Mortal Blade, then force Kuro to do what he wants. Because, in more than one sense, the noble shinobi is standing in his way. And the last thing Kuro wants is for that to happen.

If all this is true, Kuro feels doubly responsible for Wolf’s life: because he effectively cursed him, and made him a target. Therefore, it is natural that he would let Genichiro, or Owl, know about the Heritage or its possible exclusive nature at any cost. He would sooner die than be responsible of Wolf’s death again, or leave him at the mercy of an entire army of enemies.

If Kuro indeed holds all this dangerous knowledge about the Heritage, it also makes sense that his reaction would be running from his bloodline, and going into hiding with Wolf while looking for a solution.

One last thing: among its many other meanings about life, death and fate, Sekiro is fundamentally a story of love and care being stronger than lust for power. It is the tale of two characters who value each other above glory, honor codes or obligations, and in the end -- combining their efforts -- get what they wanted to achieve. It makes even more sense to me, on a symbolic level, that the Heritage would only be possibly shared between the two of them, like a bitter red string of fate.

#sekiro #sekiro meta #kuro the divine heir #wolf sekiro #sekiro spoilers

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