"I should've known it would come down to this, no matter how you look at it, we were just too different" I think to myself. The smell of gunpowder and sulfur rises to my nose, a smell I've become well accustomed to over the years. I've sacrificed so much to get here and yet it seems like it's never enough. "Now after everything I've done for you, you turn your back on me, I've given you everything" gripping my katana with these echoing thoughts. I look up at Kagashi with his soldiers, lines and lines of traitors, and with me stand the lines and lines of patriots, nothing but toy soldiers. With the raise of my blade, my cavalry splits off into two waves heading towards his line of archers. The hooves of the horses kicking up debris and dirt, making a smoke screen as they trail into the army of soldiers. Arrows rain down on my cavalry and infantry, behind the dust trails my army follows the horses but instead clashes with the infantry. The screams of death and the echoes of battle cries usurp the valley's peace.
"It's too late to go back now, I must now cast aside my emotions for you little brother, for you have thrown lives into our affairs, I will do whatever it takes to continue my ambition" I mount my horse, Jizu a jet black steed with a long beautiful mane and golden eyes, pulling my spear off Jizu. Charging at the flank of my infantry, they spread open a hole for me as I trample Kagashi's infantry. One swing of my spear cuts through at the very least 5 soldiers, blood sprays over my troops and I. The heads fly off the enemies with each swing pushing back the enemy's line. My black armor is now covered with red splashes from the blood of my enemies, and the same exact thing is happening to my cavalry. Kagashi is pushing them back, I circle back and move my hand in the hair circling it, which is the signal for retreat to my cavalry. "KAGASHIII!!! Let's finish this in a duel, or would you sacrifice every life we've sworn to protect!!!" I scream across the battlefield my voice echoes across the valleys, the crows off in distant lands fly away at the boom in my voice, I know if they heard it so did he.
"Very Well Ishi I'd rather take your head with my own hands, get the vengeance my sister rightfully deserves!" Kagashi roars from the other side of the battlefield. I always blamed myself for her death, Shiho deserved so much more than what I could give her even if it was the world. For a moment I stood there exhausted and out of breath. Looking up in the night sky the moon and stars beam bright in the dark warzone reminding me of Shiho because no matter what the dark consisted of, she was always there to guide me back to the warm place I called home. My mind takes me to a place I've been before, the courtyard, the beautiful night sky, the stars align. Whether you believe in the heavens, Buddha or the Christian god the foreigners bring, one thing is true its beautiful. The most beautiful woman I've ever laid eyes on the kimono tugging at her curves, her light brown hair draping down to her waist and the little waves that hang on her shoulders, her beautiful hazel eyes the most majestic color I've ever found myself looking into. If only that moment could have lasted forever it's an image that will always have room in my mind. "Now dear it's impolite to stare don't you know." her light and tender voice, that is the voice of an angel, as if Amaterasu herself were using her as a vessel. "I apologize my love, you know how I am, I thank the stars that you're my wife a goddess on the land of the living as they say" a smirk arose on my face as I stated these embarrassing compliments. She would giggle, I always loved her laughter. Her lips were gently placed onto mine and I would return her emotions ten fold, love at the fullest, a love that raised our energies to the fullest.
Which made it all the more worse when she was taken from us, I can only imagine how it felt, she was my best friend and my lover since we got married at twenty one. Well I was, she was twenty three but she was the best companion for life and if i could do it over again I would. However, I can only Imagine how Kagashi must've felt when he knew her his whole life, that was his older sister. That night for her, well you could say it was the last. At the age of twenty five I had grown too powerful as a daimyo, and the Shogunate would take my power however they could think of, and to think that I was once a pawn for them, and protected them. They feared me after everything I did for them and the faith I put in them. That night she disappeared, she never returned to our bed chambers after we went our separate ways, only a week later to receive her head in a box, from the Shogunate as a declaration of war. I don't blame him for his hatred towards me. It is my fault that she perished in such a way, I was too trusting. If I could go back and change it I would but the world doesn't quite work that way, even the gods can't change time.
So much hate and suffering in the world that we lived in this was a huge part of my ambition, until she passed. I have no emotions for my enemies, yet her Kagashi is my brother in law and the last memory of her I have to allow her to live on in someone. I won't bring more heartbreak to their family, but how did it come to this? We were supposed to unite this land together and have that happy ending. As I open my eyes and return to the situation at hand only a second has passed. The blood of my enemies and allies are mixed and covered on the grass, and the rivers that pass, our soldiers make a circle formation leaving space for the two of us. Now the question that raises into my head is can I kill the brother of my late wife? I dismount my horse and walk towards the center of the circle, placing my spear on the horse, and cleaning the blood off my katana before sheathing it. Bring my hand over the mane of Jizu, and I stare into his golden eyes, placing my forehead against his taking a deep breath. "Thank you for the journey my friend, you are not without a master if this goes wrong, take your place with the next mighty daimyo." I say without a shake in my breath. I Am willing to die with honor and for my nation, I truly await for the moment I can take my stand by her side again whether it be in heaven or hell.
I take my next few steps to the center and we begin to circle around each other, as I look into Kagashi's eyes and see nothing but hate. "You know Kagashi I already got vengeance for you, for us and yet you still want me dead. What will you do when I am gone will you lead my people to salvation or their doom? And what of your nephews will you disown them, if I am to die today I want to die with no regrets?" I ask him not knowing what to expect but at least it clears the mind. "I will take everything and move it forward, your adopted sons will be in care with their uncle, I care for them like my own blood, I still want this land united it is what my sister wanted, but I can't forgive your negligence your promised me the day you married her you would protect her with your life, and yet your still living and she's not." He says with the emotions written on sleeves like irezumi art. "Very well let's finish this young Kagashi!" I scream with a battle cry, drawing my katana making the first charge. He draws his blade in response and circles around my first swing and retaliates with one of his own that I block and it sends me back a few feet. He follows up with his attack and swings vertically as I side step and grab his wrist bending it back bringing a knee up to his face knocking his helmet off with sheer force and can visibly see a broken nose.
Almost giving into instinct everything arounds me goes blank, I enter a trance, following the patterns of movement, he runs up to punch me and lands it then follows with a swing in a horizontal movement aiming for my ribs and torso. I jump over the swing and bring my head down on his landing a headbutt, ringing both our skulls, and he follows up with a takedown. But it fails and I flip over my shoulder impaling his shoulder with my katana soon after, and I smash him with my gourd breaking the alcohol in it over his face burning his eyes. Pulling my katana out breathing hard but laughing menacingly, "If you want to avenge your sister it's gonna take more than that, your weak you always have been why do you think i protected you we all know how weak you are, your sister, our whole faction, and even I knew you cant replace me your just a shadow of Shiho, your irrelevant." I say with the full intention of breaking him and toughening him. The tears in his eyes begin to form probably from the alcohol or from my words I don't know which.
He raises up and charges forth at me again for a takedown but this time succeeds, Caught off guard I tumble and he starts pounding my face, each hand feels like a hammer, so much for being weak. I deflect one of his punches from beneath and I retaliate with a punch knocking him all the way back making him stumble. We both on our feet again and he lunges again at me with a vertical strike and I side step moving my katana to my side and stabbing back into his torso deep, delivering a fatal blow. As I'm pulling my blade out a arrow finds its way directly into my heart delivering a fatal blow, someone interrupts the duel but from where I couldn't see. The first wasnt that last as at least three more arrows followed to hit me one in my thigh, arm and shoulder, but it wasn't just a normal arrow, the one in my thigh I pulled out I could smell was traced with potent poison, and I got shot three times with it, I need to escape now. I make my first few steps and my whole weight comes crashing down and the world is upside down. Then someone appeared. I recognize them picking me up and yet someone else is helping me up too. I look to my left even though he's covered in blood and mud. I can tell it's Fumikage, my childhood friend has always been there for the ups and down, definitely without him I would have lost my way. To the right dragging me away was another long time friend, Zexis, he's a foreigner who arrived on ship back when I was a kid. He had a strange skin tone and hair texture but it didn't bother me. It was unique, but he's gotten the name Obsidian Strategist.
If i could talk right now i would thank them for the journey because I believe this is the end, whichever way we could retreat is three days away and this poison is acting fast. Well it was only a matter of time before this was gonna happen. I made so many mistakes along the way, it's time to take a long rest, I have to be energetic when I see Shiho, and also to protect you guys from the other side. And that was it, or at least i thought it was but then this leads me to question is where the fuck am I?
Another battlefield but this one seems like a far off memory and I look at my hands and my armor and the color aren't my colors. But the colors of my father's military before I took over, turning to look at the flags of war I noticed many different symbols, some of allies and some of enemies. The Oda clan, which belonged to my father, is heading the charge, and then the Ishiro clan, and the Tagami clan. I see the battle of the mainland, in which case I'm fifteen here, but why this memory over them all what's going on. Leaning down to touch the grass, everything feels so real and not like a phantom touch from a memory. I turn my head over and see the menacing figure himself, Kaito Oda, my father. "Father?" a lighter voice then what I'm used to comes out my mouth and I'm taken aback. "Focus on the battle boy, if you die that means you're unworthy of my bloodline." I turn my attention towards the front of their infantry, this is something I've grown accustomed to. I'm not a little kid, and if this isn't just memories, well maybe I'll just have to take back everything I've ever thought of. Now it just seems like I'll never have time to rest. "What are we waiting for pops? Will you signal the battle already, I have a name to uphold, if your age isn't getting to you, you should remember?" I say like a cocky little kid.