After Tomoe Gozen was first summoned by Johnson, she felt extreme loyalty to him, not because she was summoned 'though she is bound to him and he could command her at his will,' but due to those eyes. Those eyes told her that he did not see her as a a burdened women who is weak, but as a fellow samurai and companion. Those purple eyes told her that if she stayed by his side she would fight with him in battle, victory after victory.
Tomoe in her past life, brought carnage on the battlefield as she fought during the Genpei War of twelfth-century ancient Japan. During the battle of Shinohara between the Taira Clan and the Minamoto Clan, she fought for the Minamoto Clan. She had slain many of her foes and collected many enemy heads during her campaign of victory. Despite gaining military merits and honor during the battle, she still could see the disdain and disgust in the eyes of her fellow samurai men. Telling her with those irritable eyes, that the battlefield is no place for a women to take part in, as they were only deemed the honors of staying home and protecting the household as their husband went out to war. She still recalled the event before the start of the battle of Shinohara as the Minamoto and the Taira Clan both sent their best fighters to duel to the death, as it was customary to decide how the battle was going to start between the two opposing sides. Tomoe was selected to fight the duel, representing the Minamoto Clan as she would fight the Taira Clan's champion. Tomoe's opponent was a skilled swordsman but she bested him, she ran through him with the blade of her naginata, killing him. Just as he lay there dying Tomoe removed her menpo, revealing her beautiful face under her kabuto in showing him that there was a female under her manly attire. She still remembered those eyes of his, in his last moments, the look of shock began to shape on his face as his honor was crushed, he laid there dying knowing that he let his honorable death be taken by a women! The look of disappointment, disdain and disgust she saw it all, not just in in that dying man's eyes, but every man who did not look at her as equal..... Is she not the same as men?! Does my honor as a samurai mean anything? Does the gratitude of an honorable death on the battlefield only be allowed to men? She screamed in her mind, she shouted from her soul in unfairness. "Those eyes! THOSE EYES!!! I hated those eyes of MEN!!" At the battle of Awazu, she helped her former lover, Lord Kiso Yoshinaka fight off his cousin Minamoto no Yoritomo forces with the legendary Minamoto no Yoshitsune fighting on his behalf. Yoshinak, with the few soldiers he had left, in a dire state, he looked at Tomoe and ordered her to escape the encirclement and flee with her life, leaving him. She did not want to leave Yoshinak for she loved him, but then he looked at her with those same eyes, she was not allowed the honor to die on the battlefield even with her lover. Swallowing the bitter treatment from her lover she escaped to Kyoto. There she ran into remenants of Minamoto no Yoritomo forces stationed at the border between Kyoto and Omi province. The group of men stationed there saw her from afar and thought she was a man as she wore her menpo covering her feminine features. Seeing this, the archers showed her no mercy as they all lined up in rows and raised there bows high and shot their arrows to the sky in volleys. The last thing she saw as she charged with her naginata, was that the sky was now dark and covered with arrows.
As she woke up, she found herself in a spacious endless white area, the white floors span for miles as she could not see the walls at the end. Everything expended and traveled to the horizon on all sides. She found a lone women looking at her, her beauty and elegance out shined her like the earth and the heavens. She was known in her past life for being the top beauty, that even as a concubine of low status and labeled as a attendant, all the lord of the most reputable clans wanted her, even her enemies. She was grateful for her fortune of being born with great beauty but before this women, she was nothing in comparison to the being who stood before her with features only a goddess could have. She had better hair than her, shiny which seemed to glow with a golden brilliance almost blinding. Her eyes were dark like hers, but the goddess' eyes sparkled like they were countless stars in the night sky. Her body was nothing compared to the perfect, supple goddess. The goddess bested her both in beauty and body, the only thing that was slightly better about herself was that she saw that the goddess, despite having godly features, her Ukata was tattered.
"Tomoe Gozen, you have died, pierced by many arrows til death. Having died near my shrine, as a goddess, I, Kanni Tokai, god of perseverance and enlightenment, I have brought your soul to my holy humble abide. You have interested me, as I viewed your life from start to finish. You are what I need
to accomplish my goals, not only do you have the skills of a warrior but the perseverance of one too. Your heart is strong and so is your will for betterment. Your soul, though stained with the blood of many, is pure from greed, lust and desire for power. These qualities are what I look for in a warrior and I need you to help me in my quest for glory, with those qualities. Surrender your soul to me as I will give you a chance at a next life filled with victory, glory, adventure and honor. In the next life you will stand on equal footing with men and fight along side them as fellow companions. If you refuse you can live and have the same treatment, and honor in the afterlife in the Yomi realm as all people there are treated the same, man or women. What say you?" Kanni said, not wanting to beat around the bush as she went straight to the point with hints of an impatient tone at the end.
Tomoe Gozen thought for a good minute then looked at Kanni with determination. Willing to take her chances in the next life, for honor, glory and rights, same as men. Something she did not have in her past life, at least was not seen in the same way as men.
"I accept my goddness."
"Good, I will store your soul, you will be summoned in the next life by your owner who will be my messenger in the future and you shall help that person in the future as their goals will be the same as mine." Having finished her sentence Kanni took out a black stone and held it toward Tomoe, it instantly lit up brightly and engulfed Tomoe in a bright blinding light. That was the last thing Tomoe saw as she was next surrounded by darkness.
When she saw the bright light again, she was reborn into an unknown world for her master, she expected to see those same eyes that she saw in her past life.... However she did not, instead she saw those purple eyes looking through her soul. Those eyes did not care if she was a woman. Those eyes told her, as long as she gets things done, she will not be treated any different compared to men. She felt great joy! She vowed "I will serve him to my un-dying death with double the effort- no triple- a hundred fold! I put my effort forth for my master who owns those kind of eyes. I will serve him with the best of my abilities!" Excited and overwhelmed, she cut up and rain blood as blood fell everywhere like cherry blossoms during the spring and the loud cries of despair were like cicadas. Dancing with her naginata she hummed a Japanese tune happily.
.....
Oda Nobunaga, during his past life, he reined over Japan with his mighty army and with his most loyal subordinate- atleast that's what he had thought. He united all of Japan under his rule, but that was not his ultimate goal. After westerners brought there technology, wisdom and weapons that were foreign to the lands, he sought to conquer lands across the sea beyond the rising sun. His most trusted subordinate did not see his vision of a better Japan in foreign lands. He sought power that was in Japan, if only he knew what these foreigners had, we could never get unless we sailed those seas. Akechi Mitsuhide, one of his retainers rebelled against him at Honnouji Temple in Kyoto where Oda was having a tea ceremony with his most closest aid. The location of the temple was only known to his most trusted men but he did not know that there were traitors in his closely guarded social circle who were lusting after his power. As his small group of Oda personal guard were overwhelm by Mitsuhide troop, Mitsuhide rush into the burning temple only to find that Oda Nobunaga has killed himself. Oda had committed sepeku, he disembowel his own belly denying Mitsuhide any satisfaction of taking his life.
After Oda's death every thing was black. When Oda opened his eyes he found himself in front of a woman. A beautiful woman he had never seen before, Oda's wife could never reach this level of godly beauty even if she could relive her life again. Oda stared in puzzlement at this woman who radiated holy aura. Oda felt that she was a being of another level which no man could hope to achieve. She had long black hair, dark as the night sky that gave off a golden glow. Her eyes stared at Oda, sparkling black eyes like countless stars in the night sky. Her body was well balanced, even her breasts were round and supple matching her proportionate body. She had fair and smooth skin, as white as pearls. Oda knew she had Japanese features but he knew this women was not some regular female for she gave of a holy aura of might, dominance, elegance and wisdom.
"Where am I?" He asked the goddess.
"Oda Nobunaga, you have rein supreme as you have united all of Japan under your banner, but due to your misfortune, you have died. I am Kani Tokai a goddess of perseverance and enlightenment for you are lucky, under the Honnouji Temple in Kyoto lay my holy shrine, buried and forgotten by time. People have not paid me tribute nor prayer in many centuries, however that does not change the fact that you have died in my domain. Though the shrine is not as powerful as it was back then, I have rights to your dying soul. I have summoned your soul to my godly domain and to offer you a chance at a second life to help me in my endeavors. Until then, I will house your soul in a special void inside stone until you are needed. Do you wish to have a second chance at life? To adventure into foreign lands of what you could not in your pass life? You are going to be offered a chance to see and obtain foreign riches that your former country can never have. I can give you what you want, as long as you submit your soul to me and help me in my endeavors to regain my former glory."
Oda Nobunaga was bewildered by her statement? A shrine? He had never heard of another shrine located under the Honnouji Temple. However this is a goddess, with the power of gods, if she said her shrine is there then it must be. Even though she is not as mighty as she was back then she wasstill a god. He dared not be disrespectful to this mighty being. When he heard the goddess offering him a chance in the next life, he was excited. To be able to adventure in foreign lands, things that his country in his past life had never had the chance to do? He grew bored in his past life after uniting Japan. Until one day he saw a foreigner from the west come to his shores, that's when he saw many things that his country never knew and never had. He grew curious about these foreigners and where they were coming from. He wanted to adventure across their waters to the unknown land to explore, but he never got the chance. He was now offered another opportunity, in this next life. His heart told him to accept, he craved to witness and experience the thing he did not know although in his head, his thoughts were telling him to be cautious and not to take offers lightly, especially from an unknown goddess.
"What if I refused?" Oda said, he knew inside, his soul was in her hands and he had apparently died in her back yard as it was her decision of what to do with the waste. Oda wanted to know what his other options were, he decided to test his luck even though he had no power in this negotiation.
"Then you can have your adventure in the realm of Yomi (the Japanese version of hell in the afterlife) and explore to your heart's content in these foreign lands in eternal darkness. I need your loyalty, I do not have the luxury for disloyal souls, as I do not have the time to deal or use my power to punish them with me being weak with my limited holy power. Instead, I can have the gods and demons of the Yomi realm use their excess power so I do not have to use mine, as your total sins are that combined of all Japanese mortals together. Oda, I am giving you mercy and in saving you from darkness I am offering you a chance to redeem your sins and serve me. Take it, for there is no second time!" Kanni said with anger and impatience. As much of her limited amount of godly power is being used to halt the Yomi realm from taking his soul. She needed his loyalty and his soul now. If she was still powerful, she would not care as time would go on and she would find another one like Oda. Due to her weak power she did not know if she would find another soul like Oda who was well accomplished in his rule of Japan and did everything in his power to get what he wanted done. She needed to be wise in using her power to negotiate with lost souls who she deemed fit for her attention after they died because the time she used to negotiate, uses her godly power. This power came from the faith of the mortals through prayer but no one had worshiped her shrine and made tribute to her alter in centuries, after 500 years she had been long forgotten.
Nobunaga broke out in cold sweat, he had heard stories of the Yomi realm in fairy tales but he pushed those stories aside and did not pay much attention, as he was busy with his ambition and the head ache of uniting all of Japan. He knew his sins and did not argue, as he had slaughtered millions who did not obey and submit to his rule. Countless women, children and the defenseless elderly, their blood stains were on his hands. All he thought about at that time was uniting all of Japan, if killing the innocent in the crossfire was the way to do it, then so be it. Kill a thousand to save a hundred thousand. He wanted to end the infighting of Japan so they would unite, and sail across the seas as one and journey the foreign lands beyond Japan. He knew his sins were grave and did not deny the goddess's statement. Giving in to her demands, he looked and stared at those starry eyes.
"I humbly accept and surrender my soul to you o' mighty goddess," as he gave her a very deep bow surrendering his soul to her and giving her his fate in the next life. This was the better option, he was given a second chance at life full of adventure and a new world that was foreign to him. He rather not take his chances in the Yomi realm.
"Good, you shall not regret your choice, for you will have glory, adventure and riches both familiar and foreign," Kanni said with a smile as she took out a black stone holding it toward Oda. Oda looked at the stone shining and that was the last thing he saw.
Once Oda awoke from the endless but peaceful sleep he knew it was his calling. Deep inside he knew who ever called him, would be the one who he would serve forever. Excited for his new life, he immediately got into a kneeling position, for whoever was calling him, was a mighty being. Oda was wearing his original black cladded samurai armor he wore in his past life, on the middle of the chest plate was the Oda Family Crest. He felt rain hitting his shoulders and his body was immediately drenched in water. He looked up and saw a man wearing a silver samurai armor staring back at him. The man's kabuto had two black metal horns and his menpo showed a face crazed bloodlust but he knew it was not directed at him. Those glowing purple eyes looked at him and observed him kneeling. Purple fog seeped out of the mouth opening on his menpo as he exhaled purple mist. Looking at his overall figure he looked at the samurai before him and he felt that his soul belonged to this man, he could feel the same aura of the mighty goddess he met before. However this aura had crazed bloodlust mixed in the same godly aura. He knew the owner of this aura was not weak, as those eye told him that the person had killed countless and was battle hardened. "So this is the next life," Oda spoke in his mind as he smiled.
{(NR) end of the two side characters back story}
....
Johnson Cline looked at the once arrogant man, who had the nerve to trash talk him in the first place now run?! As soon as he found his friends getting their ass kicked by Johnson's subordinate, he turned and run? With his tail between his legs and the bandit hides behind his armored buddy not even staying to eat the can of whoop-ass that Johnson cooked up for him? No, no, no the bandit does not leave after saying shit to his face and expected Johnson not to tear him a new ass. Arrogant, two face pussy bastard?! He dares to run now, after knowing he had not the will or courage to stick it out and stay true to his provocative insult till the very end? With boiled up rage of being insulted by a weakling who is nothing but a bandit grunt with shitty ass gear and a crappy ass sword!
"Where are you going asswipe!!!???" Johnson bellowed in rage. He dashed toward the man who gravely triggered his anger, wanting to help him to hell's door as he just signed his death to the glimmering shiny end of his bladed katana. Three armored bandits who were not preoccupied with two grim reaper Oda and Tomoe. Seeing the three bandits blocking his path, Johnson grew irritated. Three bandit all heavily armored, each wielding different weapons, one with a large metal shield and a short sword, one with a large spear with a large sharp pointed arrow head and one with a long sword. Johnson dashed toward the man with the large shield with inhuman speed leaving afterimages in his wake. The man behind the shield looked at Johnson in astonishment as Johnson in mere moments reached him, but his puzzlement only lasted for a moment as his battle experience kicked in. He raised his large shield forward cover his whole body from the front and braced for impact.
wabaaam!!!!
The impact from collision of Johnson ramming his titanium armored shoulder into the metal shield created a loud ear shattering noise as it shot out the hearing of the shield bearer. Leaving the bandit in a dazed state, disorientated with his ear ringing he lowered his shield, leaving his head exposed. Not wanting to miss this opportunity, Johnson twisted the blade of his katana upside down with the sharp side facing up, with one hand at the back of the hilt used as the force driver and the other hand supporting the blade of the katana guiding the blade thrust, Johnson performed a 'Shindo Munen style sword thrust.' Thrusting his blade toward the T shaped opening of the armored man's helmet, Johnson wanted to run his precisely guided blade thrust into the man's forehead, piercing his brain for a quick death. Just as Johnson lunged forward for the kill, a bandit wielding a long spear from behind the shield bearer thrust the spear at Johnson. Johnson quickly gripped the blade of the katana and guided the blade away from him at a angle deflecting the spear from him. Johnson took this split gap of time with the shield bearer still dazed and the spear men unbalanced posture from having the trajectory of thrust was dislodged to the side, trying to quickly preposition the spear for another thrust, Johnson gathered all his power into his leg and kicked the shield bearer. As the bandit flew back hitting a tree trunk in the distance with great amount of force, the bandit coughed up a large amount of blood as he dropped the large shield and sword fainting on the spot. Johnson then quickly stepped toward the spear man closing the distance, as the spear man was about to preposition himself, Johnson, not giving the bandit a chance to recover he grabbed the shaft of the spear with his left hand and using his right hand to forcibly hit the man in the gut with the pummel part of the hilt of the katana. Still grabbing onto the spear as the bandit was still holding it, Johnson looped the rod of the spear under the bandit arm wrapping it around the shaft then to the front of the bandit's neck, Johnson knee'd the bandit front foot from the pit of his leg making the bandit arch his back losing balance. Johnson used the leverage of the locked spear around the bandit's under arm and neck and twisted it, throwing the bandit to the ground. As the bandit was on the ground Johnson twirled the katana blade upside down and drove it right into the man's throat twisting it, ending the man's life. Taking the spear from the dead man, Johnson raised the spear and threw it with unbelievable force as it cut through the air aiming at the unconscious shield barer, piercing his heart, the spear went through the armor like butter, with a loud crackle of the tree splitting, half of the spear came out of the other end of the tree pinning and killing the unconscious man to the tree never to awaken again. "You bastaaaarrrd!!!" The bandit with the long sword charged at Johnson swinging his blade down wanting to cut Johnson in half. Johnson looked at the bandit with a sneer as the blade was about to touch his kabuto Johnson sidestep the sword slash and kneed him in the stomach with brutal force causing the bandit to puke out a mouthful of unknown liquid. Raising his katana high Johnson held his Japanese sword high in the air and with quick flash Johnson decapitated him spraying fountains of blood from the headless man stump. With a flick of his blade Johnson scattered the fresh blood from his blade then sheathed it. Craning his neck away from the headless, Johnson looked at his main objective. The man was holding his rusty blood stained sword at Johnson in a pitiable sword stance as you can see large yellow puddle under the man's leg as his pants was wet with a hint of brownish color on his grey pants. Looks like he pissed and shit himself. Now the nuisances were dead Johnson slowly started to walk towards this scared shaking chihuahua who was all bark but no bite.
"Stay back!! Do you know wh- who your messing with? Your messing with the black wolves bandit, you dared to trouble us this direly? D-do yo-you know what we will do to your fam-." just as he was about to finish Johnson flash before the bandit and punched him as his body flew and hit the side of a broken carriage. Spitting a mouthful of blood as many teeth could be seen missing or broken.
"You dare to keep talking shit!?!?! Motherfucker your pissing and shitting your pants!! Tell me where you find the balls to still talk shit to my face, where!! Where do you find them?!!! I want to know!! You know how much bodies I lay waste on the battlefield? A mountain, a fucking mountain! Even a fucker like you, even if you shit out your intestines your shit would not meet a inch compared to the bodies that lay rotting after my carnage on the battlefield. Where do you get the balls to talk shit???!!!" Johnson yelled in rage as the bandit's nose and jaw was now broken and dislocated but Johnson still kept punching with great force. After finally calming down his anger, Johnson found that the bandit's head was crushed like a deflated balloon as the brains and bones lay in and around the dent made in the carriage from Johnson hammering the bandit's head with his fist. What Johnson did not know, was that after the fifth punch he had already killed the man but Johnson lost in his rage, he did not notice. Johnson stood back up after calming his irregular breathing he looked around to find Oda and Tomoe not too far from him kneeling down awaiting his next command. "How long they stood there kneeling as he bashed the bandit's head after who knows how long. Tomoe and Oda were there kneeling for a while as they already dispatched all the remaining bandit's a long time ago. Both of them did not want to disturb their master and let him vent out his rage at the already dead man's head.
"Ding!! crazed slaughter mod skill has ended, can be used a hour later," a blue rectangular hologram screen with written text popped up in Johnson's face as the system announced the alert inside his head. Johnson was reminded about the system as he had forgotten about it. He had not fully delve into the interface of the system, as he was surround by bandits and was locked in combat not having the time to check it. After the slaughter mode ended Johnson and both Tomoe and Odas' eyes and breath turned back to normal except Johnson eyes, which were still purple but not glowing.
"Ding! New user has finished and survived hidden quest 'survive bandit raid.' New user is awarded 10 army stones, 12 stat points, 30 skill points.
As Johnson looked at the system screen closer he saw that he could customize his stats, upgrade many of his combat skills, efficiency and effectiveness making it more deadly and accurate.
System screen:
Johnson Cline
Race: Human
occupation: none
Class: Samurai
Rank: SS
Equipment: Kanni present armor rank SS, Kanni present weapon found rank SS,
Inventory: Army stones x10
Stats: str: 65 agil: 87 stam: 75 dex: 58 def: 235
Skills: (all around samurai combat) lv.1 (crazed slaughter mode) lv. 2 [raises all user stats by 20 and ally summons stats by 15. User intel stats reduces by 10]
subordinates:
{Oda Nobunaga} str: 30 agil: 20 stam: 56 dex: 35 def: 45 intel: 67
{Tomoe Gozen} str:15 agil: 70 stam: 60 dex: 20 def: 44 intel: 35
Johnson almost coughed up blood at all the stats, THEY WERE CHEATS. The chazed slaughter mod was a big cheat as it would make all his summons like walking unbeatable killing machines as Tomoe and Odas' stats were already high, if the stats were added to Johnson's stats wouldn't he be a walking tank? Recovering from his astonishment he looked at the 10 army stones. "These must be the same as summoning Tomoe and Oda but with a army. Johnson summoned the items out of his inventory and before it even landed it in his hands it flashed with a bright light and a beam of light it shot out in front of Johnson creating glowing white portals. Stomping noises of uniformed marching footsteps came from the portal, one by one tides of soldiers came out wearing Japanese armor as some were mounted on horse back and some on foot, they wielded various weapons, presenting them in almost endless rows of soldiers. After a while the the portal closed, leaving a large army stretching as far as the eye can see in front of Johnson and his two subordinates. In the front of the army was 20,000 ashigaru grunt soldiers long yari spear men, with the spear reaching as high as eight feet tall. These men wore light Japanese samurai steel armor made especially for grunts and cannon fodders as they only protect their torso, pelvis and thighs. They wore steel sun hats for there heads. Behind the Spear Yaris, were the 500 Rifle Ashigaru, dressed in the same fashion as the spear men they held long flint lock rifles. To the right on that same second row is 500 bow Ashigaru, behind them are the heavy foot samurais. The samurai behind the Ashigaru had the same amount of soldiers as each of the unit of the Ashigaru of the first two rows in front. However they all wearing full samurai armor of the upper noble class. Though the samurais same weapons as the spear, rifle and bow Ashigaru, their skill with these weapons are of a higher level. Behind these samurais are the red horn elite samurai group of 500, these samurai are armed with short yari spears, samurai yumi bows and a set of arrows on their back and two set of noble samurai swords hanging from their hips. These elite red horn samurais were a reserve force only use to turn back the tides if the battle was not going in their favor. Once these elite forces were deployed from the reserved, they caused devastating losses to the enemy army as they skillfully cut through and destroy the enemy ranks with their superb skills. Finally behind the red horn elite foot samurais are the heavily armored samurai numbering the same as the Ashigaru for each of the spear, rifle and bow units with the addition of 500 katana mounted heavy samurai and their own red horn elite horseman.
Tomoe stared with starry eyes as she could not wait to go to battle with her master and his army of men in future battles. Oda looked at these soldiers with a grin, as his master finally has the capablities now with a samurai army to go on glorious adventures to foreign lands. Johnson Cline stared at the sea of soldiers with his eyes wide and his mouth open and as if wanting to fall off.
"WTF?" Johnson yelled. {NE}