Night-time Ambush
(Umi – Day after Nico and Maki's night in the tent)
Umi walked through the camp looking rather out of place among the other samurai with her lack of armour, which earned a few stares as she walked to the tent she had been assigned.
Umi sighed as she looked around it, two futons on floor sleeping and cot at their head, her armour and sword off in the corner on their stand.
'I wish Nozomi hadn't insisted I bring that.' Umi thought to herself.
Umi put her bow down and went to the cot that Saki was in wriggling slightly "Hello little one." Umi whispered as she picked the girl up "Hope the ride wasn't hard on you."
Just then the familiar head of Honoka popped into the tent "Hey it is ok to come in?" the ginger asked.
"Of course Lady Honoka."
"Hello Saki, how's aunty Umi treating you?"
Saki made a little moan in response "Aw, is aunty Umi not giving you enough attention." Honoka teased.
"I can't hold my weapons and hold her at the same time."
Honoka giggled "That would be kind of hard, though amusing to see."
"Hardly, it's highly dangerous Lady Honoka."
Honoka let out a sigh "I hate you calling me that."
"Its way our ranks are now, till I defeat Kira, which will allow me to restore my rank and allow me to take up my armour again that's how it will stay."
"And Kotori?"
"Huh?"
"You said about your armour, you didn't say anything about Kotori, will you not try again with her?"
"I can't."
"Till you beat Kira?"
"No, even then I can't…, look what we had is not coming back, so just leave it Lady Honoka."
"No, you two loved each other and you still love each other."
"How do…?"
"I know my best friends."
Umi sighed "I can't."
"Why?"
"I let her down, I can't forgive myself for failing to protect her."
"But she's still in love with you, she always will be in love with you, she still regrets what happened, can't you rethink."
"I can't Lady Honoka, just leave it, it's not your concern."
Honoka sighed "From tomorrow onward, would you be free for something?"
"For what purpose?"
"For sword practice."
"I can, but why do you want me?"
"First we're heading for a lot of battles and I could always use the extra training, second I want to spend more time with my best friend, I missed you and want to catch up."
"You understand I'm going to be hard on you?"
"When aren't are you?" Honoka laughed as Umi sighed "Calm down Umi, I know you do it because you care." Honoka smiled. "What do you say, please?" Honoka asked trying to do her best Kotori onigai face.
"That face doesn't work on me Lady Honoka." Umi sighed.
"Guess it only works when Kotori does it." Honoka pouted.
Umi let out a sigh "As my friend, I shall practice with you Lady Honoka, we just need to have Lady Kotori watch Saki for me."
"It will be just like old times." Honoka smiled.
"I can always refuse you know."
"What does that mean?"
"The tree, Lady Honoka."
"Oh come on, that was an accident."
"That's just making me think about refusing more Lady Honoka."
"No wait."
"Don't worry, I jest." Umi smiled "I would never refuse a friends request."
Honoka smiled "Thanks, glad to know I got the best warrior and friend I know to teach me."
"Lady Honoka, I wasn't the best at everything you know, your sister had me beat for grand army strategy every time."
"Yeah, Yukiho always was the tactical genius." Honoka sighed and laid on her back.
(Yukiho and Rin – That night)
"We need to get past them." Rin whispered.
"I know but they out number us, we can't just plough through them." Yukiho sighed as she observed the camp below her, there could only be a few hundred at most but that was more than enough 'I wonder where they came from, other than castle Sakurauchi no one's under siege.' Yukiho thought to herself as she saw the campfires below them.
Yukiho and Rin had been moving the army day and night to get to castle Koizumi and link up with Maki's forces as quick as they could, they had just come across a force that had forced them to stop and were now trying to think of what to do.
"We can't go around them and we can't wait for them to move, ok take fifty of our number and a quarter of the extra horses we have, you'll cause a distraction while I'll get the rest of the troops and make ready for a charge, when we go you go to."
"Fifty, can't I have more." Rin moaned "Plus we'll lose most of those horses."
"I don't want to push the troops moral right now, its better they stay under lords for now." Yukiho sighed "Plus we can't take them all with us anyway, better to turn them lose."
Rin looked behind her and growled before she nodded "Ok, fifty it is."
"Thanks, now when we go you go?"
Rin nodded as she went and picked out her fifty, Yukiho gathered the rest and moved them down the hill so they were in front of the enemy force.
"Remember we charge on the signal, keep the noise down." Yukiho whispered to her troops as they silently trotted to the camp "Rider, go up there and tell them to begin." Yukiho commanded to one of the riders.
Yukiho put her hand to her wounded eye as she and her troops waited, the wound to her eye throbbed not helped by her exhaustion.
Suddenly the hill overlooking the camp lit up and the sound of the camp rushing to react could be heard as the troops panicked and rushed to face the surprise threat.
"Charge!" Yukiho ordered as she drew her sword and set her horse galloping towards the camp, her soldiers shouting after her as they followed her. The thunderous sound of horses charging down the valley filled Yukiho's ears.
As she got closer, she could see the enemy rushing around confused wondering what to do between the troops on the hill or the ones on the valley, or debating trying to run for it and then just to make their choice harder another cry and more thunder came from the hill as Rin's forces charged down.
Yukiho could see the enemy start to flee in panic as they got closer and they saw the number of horses coming towards them 'Glad they haven't worked out most of them aren't with riders.' Yukiho thought as she reached the edge of the camp.
As she entered the camp Yukiho kept riding and slashed at a soldier that came at her with a sword, riding onward she ploughed through two more soldiers leaving them spawled on the floor.
Yukiho turned and saw Rin's forces smash into the camp into the side "To the commander, to the commander!" Yukiho shouted as she slashed another trooper who had broken out from behind some cover and de-horsed one of her troops.
Another soldier came at her with a spear, Yukiho parried it away before hacking at the soldier's hand making her let go of the spear as she grabbed her wounded hand "Come follow me, don't let Rin beat us there!" Yukiho shouted as she threw the spear to the ground and rode on knocking over the soldier that had come at her with the spear.
Just she came to the centre of the camp and the location of the army's leader she could see a small force samurai and other soldiers rallying around the leader "Don't stop, go straight through!" Yukiho shouted as she willed her horse to go as fast as it could.
The small group tried to form a wall in front of the charge of Yukiho's forces only for Rin's forces to slam into their flank breaking up their formation just as the one-eyed samurai's forces hit their enemies.
Yukiho could hear the shouts and screams as her troops and her enemies started to slash and stab at each other, she rode down one soldier before slashing out at a second. A sudden sharp pain shot up and down her left leg and her horse reared up and fall backwards landing on her right leg.
As she began trying to pick herself up, a samurai ran at her and thrust down at her, she closed her eyes as the sword came down, just then the sound of metal hitting metal fill her ears, opening them she saw the enemies blade stuck in the ground and Rin standing over her with her blade thrust through the samurai's armour.
Rin pulled her blade back and made ready to face the three more enemies as Yukiho tried to free herself she saw Rin slash one man down, rolled over his hunched form and thrust at a second, before she began duelling one of the commanders subordinates, the ginger locked the strong of her sword with her opponents and forced it in a counter clockwise direction and the sword flew out the woman's hands as Rin followed up and thrust her sword forward.
As the woman fell to the ground Rin grabbed Yukiho's hand "You own me one Nya." Rin said with a smile.
Yukiho smiled back only for her to look in horror as the enemy commander came up behind Rin sword drawn.
"Rin behind you!"
Rin turned as the commander thrust his sword going under the arm armour and into Rin's arm, making her cry out in pain, but through the pain Rin slashed the man's leg by the knee, commander screamed to and went to thrust at Rin neck.
Yukiho sprang into action and countered with the same strike as the commander tried on Rin and was slightly to quick for the man and finished her strike before he could finish his.
Yukiho then heard her soldiers cheering looking around she could see the rest of their enemies running for the hills in a panic.
"Argh, that hurts." Rin groaned.
"I guess we're even huh?" Yukiho said as she kneeled while looking at the arrow in her leg "Come on we need to get these troops in order and gather up our horses."
"Kiyo-chin's going to be mad at me." Rin groaned as she held her wounded arm.
"No, she'll never be mad at you, she'll likely drag you off and insist on treating your wound the minute she sees you." Yukiho giggled as Rin went to find something to bandage her arm and get her horse.
"Alright!" Yukiho shouted to the troops catching their attention "Go gather up our all their food, we move out as soon as we're ready, we don't have time to lose, so leave the horses and hurry up."
'This skirmish won't win the war or reverse the situation, we need Nozomi's army for that.' Yukiho thought to herself 'I'm glad you're not here to see this Alisa.' Yukiho thought as she touched hereye 'Or see me like this.'