Rohan fell to the ground with two weapons on his back. He saw his life flashing right before him. From the time of his youth when he joined the samurai corps to when he became the Royal General. As he drew his last breath, he remembered teaching Kazuo kenjutsu and wished he could have seen him grow up to an honourable man.
"Rohan-san! No!" said Natsuhi, stretching out a hand and Kazuma grabbed her.
"Rohan, huh? Interesting..." Kagero picked the samurai's katana. "I will not forget it."
Kazuma glared Kagero with cold eyes. "Y–You bastard! What did we ever do to deserve this?"
"You already know the answer to that, daimyo-kun…" said Kagero, returning Kazuma's gaze as he walked towards them at a slow pace. "What your grandfather did…"
Kazuma widened his jaw and remained speechless.
The sound of Kagero dragging Rohan's katana on the floor broke the loud silence. "However, there's been too much bloodshed for one night," he said, looking at the blade. "If you give me what I want, I will be on my way and no one else has to die."
"A–And… what is that?" asked Kazuma, trying to muster up some courage.
"Hand over the boy and my men and I will leave this place."
Kazuma and Keiji wondered which boy the Shadow King meant and each brother thought of his own son who was absent at that moment.
Kagero sighed and said, "Seems like my words have fallen on deaf ears, very well." He cut down the remaining servants, leaving the royal family. "Have I made myself clear, daimyo-kun?"
A loud silence echoed once more and the royals trembled, unable to utter a word.
"Where is the boy?" said Kagero, pausing before pointing at Natsuhi. "Yes, the one with hair like hers."
The royals turned to each other and remained silent.
Kazuma mustered his courage and said, "H–He's not here!"
"And where is he?"
Silence.
"How troublesome…" said Kagero with heavy sigh. "Guess I have to make another demonstration." He grabbed Kaori in a chokehold.
Keiji tried to punch Kagero but received an intense kick to his belly that sent him flying. He hit the wall on his back and the resounding crack muffled his screams.
Kazuma and Natsuhi stared at Kaori being asphyxiated, and she shook her head. "We don't know where he is," said Keiji, who lay on the ground trying to get up. His back felt like it had been stabbed with a thousand needles. "Now, let her go."
"You can still talk after that?" asked Kagero, loosening his grip and turning to Keiji. "Not bad, but for lying to my face, you are next." He dashed towards Keiji–slicing off his head in one swift cut. As he swung the blade once more, red drops splattered on the floor next to Keiji's headless body.
"K–Kei…" said Kaori, weeping in bouts of coughs with imprints on her neck. As she tried to catch her breath, she turned to the wakizashi on Rohan's body and rushed over to it. You'll pay for this! She plucked the sword, her face crimson and charged towards Kagero.
"They never learn, I see…" said Kagero, moving his upper body to dodge Kaori's thrust. He raised the katana in his hand and shoved it into her back. "There… now you can be together." As he removed the blade, she fell onto the floor and blood pooled underneath her.
"P–please… Natsu-ne," said Kaori, facing Natsuhi. "L–Look after Kenzo-kun…"
Natsuhi nodded, tears trickling down her cheeks as she saw Kaori's blank stare.
"And then there were two," said Kagero, wiping Rohan's katana with a cloth. "If you had done what I asked, this wouldn't have happened."
Kazuma embraced Natsuhi, his eyes also teary. "Don't worry my dear," he said with a sniffle. "We'll get through this."
"Dear…" Natsuhi's face turned pale. "He's coming…"
"What are you going to do now, daimyo-kun?" Kagero cackled as he approached them.
Kazuma got in front of Natsuhi and raised his fists. He tried to fight Kagero but got knocked with a side arm to his neck. Everything happened so fast and all he saw was black. As he awoke after some time, he found his hands and feet bound with a tight cloth. His neck ached as he turned around to see Kagero feeling up Natsuhi.
"Such a fine woman you've got," said Kagero whilst fondling Natsuhi's breasts. "You know what I am going to do if you don't tell me where the boy is."
"Please, leave her out of this!" said Kazuma, his voice breaking as he pleaded. "If it's money that you want, I can give it to you… whatever the amount."
"Do I need to repeat myself?" asked Kagero, raising his tone. "I don't want your fucking money!" He tore Natsuhi's yukata and bent her over.
Natsuhi cried as she saw Kazuma's pale face watching her, unable to do anything. A few minutes later, she got tossed aside and lay motionless on the floor, broken.
"Since you won't give me what I want," said Kagero, walking towards Kazuma who looked like he had been shattered into a million pieces. "I will have to put you out of your misery." He broke Kazuma's neck and just as he was about to go to Natsuhi, six Shadow ninjas accompanied by Kagemaru appeared on the scene. "Where is he?"
"We questioned a servant," said Kagemaru, his gaze shifting around the room. "Apparently, the daimyo sent him to Kaminari village."
"K–Kazuo-kun?" Natsuhi muttered as she got up on her knees. "Please do not harm him…" she said, in tears. "I will do anything… please… do not harm my son!"
"Hmm…" said Kagero, facing his Shadow ninjas. "You hear that? There you have it, spoils of war."
The Shadow ninjas laughed except for Kagemaru, who felt his blood boil.
Natsuhi's eyes widened as she trembled in fear. She looked down at Rohan's sword on the ground and crawled over to it before she could be sullied any further.
Kagemaru, reading her mind, rushed for the katana and impaled her through the heart. He lowered her with care and apologized, ensuring the others did not hear. She managed to mouth a 'thank you' before passing on.
"What the fuck, Kagemaru!" said Kagero, clenching his fists.
Kagemaru sliced through the six ninjas in a single swoop and they dropped dead. "That woman didn't deserve any of this! We already knew Kazuo's location!"
"If I hadn't been weakened from my fight, I would have beaten the shit out of you!" said Kagero, pointing at Kagemaru. "I should have brought Rina instead. At least she is more ruthless. You, however, are fucking soft!"
"You, beat me?" said Kagemaru, raising a hand. "You can't even project… how the f–?" The tight slap echoed, cracking one side of his mask. In retaliation, he knocked Kagero out with a single blow. "No, you're the weak one…"
Kagemaru piggybacked the unconscious Kagero and carried him. Once outside, he led the surviving assassins through the burning streets littered with corpses.
☯
"There is the valley right up ahead," said Natsumi, slowing to a trot.
The two shinobi got off their horses and followed the river to the waterfall.
Ken lit the path through a dense forest with a lighter. "So, we're jumping, huh?" he asked as they stared down at the crushing water.
"Yeah," said Natsumi, plucking an arrow from her quiver. She tied the tail to a long rope on her waist and lit its head with Ken's flame. "It seems like it."
"Oh… I see."
Natsumi took aim and fired. The projectile struck a tree trunk below the waterfall.
Ken tied the rope to a nearby tree and said, "Right, it's now tight."
The kunoichi used her bow to slide down the rope and Ken followed right behind.
"This was way faster, great thinking!" he said, breaking a branch in two and lighting the ends. "Here you go…"
Natsumi took one branch and they walked until she came to a sudden halt. "Wait, Kenny… what's that right there?" she said, pointing to an object on a tall pine.
"Let's check it out."
They sauntered towards the tree and found a naked woman nailed onto its trunk.