Swords History
(Maki)
"How long till we get there?" Maki asked as she rode.
"Not long." Hanayo replied.
Maki then felt a pair of arms squeeze her tight "Good, it's been four days to reach this place."
"You ok back there?" Maki asked holding on to one of Nico's arms.
"No, my hips are killing me, how do you stand riding so much?"
"You get used to it, one of the joys of being a samurai, not that you would know." Maki said smugly.
"Being stuck up again princess." Nico said angrily, Maki knew she didn't mean it, Nico had requested that they keep up the show that they didn't have feelings for each other or announce that they were now lovers as of today, Maki wasn't sure why but she agreed.
"Yukiho, Rin and your army should meet us here tomorrow?" Alisa asked Hanayo.
"Oh yes, I hope they are ok."
"They'll be fine, Rin's a strong fighter and Yukiho could think her way out of just about anything." Alisa said with a smiled to Hanayo.
Just then they rounded the corner and there in front of them was Hanayo's family castle, it was a rather small castle compared to Nozomi's, but it was still a formidable structure.
So Maki was surprised that the gate was open when they came closer, as they reached closer still, they saw the arrows in walls and some of the lower roofs were damaged and there a distinctive smell of long burnt wood.
Maki ordered the army to holt; she had a bad feeling "Alisa and Hanayo remain with the troops." Maki ordered "Me and Nico will check it out."
"But…" Hanayo started only for Maki to shut her down.
"Something is wrong and I am responsible for your safety."
"Let them go." Alisa said putting a hand on Hanayo's shoulder "I'm sure they will be fine; we'd only get in the way."
Maki dismounted her horse along with Nico "Come on Nico."
"Why do I have to come." Maki heard Nico mutter under her breath.
The two advanced slowly towards the gate, swords drawn, expecting at any moment a guard to shout out who they were or for arrows to fly but nothing happened. Even as they walked to the damaged gate still nothing happened.
"This is bad, this is meant to be their strongest castle left and it looks ransacked." Nico whispered as the pair got close to the gates.
"I know, that's what has me concerned." Maki replied.
As the pair exited the gate house and into the courtyard, they saw the soldiers laying down in the courtyard or leaning on the wall, none of them made a move to stop or challenge the pair, once they had seen them, they simply went back to their idle state, the sight made Maki both confused and angry "The place is a mess." Nico said as she put her sword away "Me and you could take this castle easy."
"Yeah, what the heck is going on?" Maki said also putting her sword away.
"Excuse me." Came a frail voice from the far end of the courtyard.
Nico and Maki turned to see a woman holding onto a staff standing at the end of the courtyard "Who are you?"
"I'm Lady Nishikino, who are you?"
"My name is Himiko, I am Lady Koizumi's chief maid, I take it you're here to seize the castle."
"No, we're here to protect it."
"Forgive me, but I don't remember a Lady Nishikino in Lady Minami's court."
"Urgh, I don't have time for this, we're here to help, what is going on here?"
"Well…" Himiko started as Hanayo and Alisa rode through the gate "Lady Koizumi, you're here, then these people really aren't our enemy?"
"I'm not on Kira's side you daft woman!" Maki shouted.
"Calm down Maki." Nico shouted, "Look at her."
Maki took a second to look at the woman in front of her, her hair was dishevelled and her cloths mucky and covered in dust and dirt "What happened here?" Maki heard Alisa ask.
"Clearly our messengers didn't get through, we were facing probing attacks when Lady Minami took her army south a few weeks ago, then five days ago, we faced an attempted storm of the castle we managed to fight them off and the enemy retreated, but we lost most of our garrison fighting them off."
"Why leave the gate open?" Nico asked.
"If the enemy hit us again, we couldn't stop them, it wouldn't even be worth trying to fight them off."
"How many troops do you have?" Maki asked, "We were told you had a garrison of five hundred."
Himiko thought for a second before she spoke with a defeated tone "If you include the wounded, fifty."
"Fifty?" Hanayo said looking out at the soldiers in the courtyard.
Maki looked over them as well and did a quick head count, no more than twenty in the courtyard, leaving what Maki guessed was another thirty wounded in the castle somewhere else.
"Great." Maki muttered looking over at the gate and her troop "Ok, Nico I need a quick assessment of the land, I would like to know the terrain and be careful."
"Ok." Nico said as she jogged back through the gate.
"Alisa help Hanayo with her troops and those in the castle and then tell me full situation, I'll get my troops set up in and around the castle."
"Ok." Hanayo said looking concerned as she and Alisa started to help guide Hanayo's troops back into the castle proper as Maki's took positions on the wall 'Great, down nearly five hundred to begin with.'
(Umi and Kotori)
"There we go, all clean." Umi said as she finished dressing Saki after having bathed her.
"Aw, is someone all happy now after their bath with their aunty." Kotori cooed as she entered the tent, getting a babble from Saki, which made Kotori smile.
'She has gotten quite good of caring for Saki.' Umi thought to herself.
Umi shook her head a little as she looked down at her niece as Kotori came a knelt next to the pair "Ooh what are you looking at?" Kotori said noticing Saki looking off in the corner of the tent.
Kotori and Umi both followed the direction Saki was looking to see Umi's armour and sword "Oh, you're interested in your aunty's sword?" Kotori smiled "It is quite special; they go together so well."
"Lady Kotori," Umi blushed "It's not like I'm worthy to hold it anymore."
"That's not true." Kotori said as Saki moaned too.
"Sorry little one, we didn't mean to argue." Kotori said, "I know how about aunty Umi tells you the story of her sword while I hold you, how about that?"
"Lady Kotori, she needs her sleep."
"I know, but you said she likes to be talked to before going to sleep." Kotori smiled "Besides, I like hearing the story, can't you tell us please?"
"I'm not sure it's a good idea, Lady Kotori." Umi said as Kotori pouted at the lady title again, while she had decided she wouldn't fight it for now, it didn't mean she didn't still hate being called it from the blunette. Then an idea popped into her head 'It might work.'
"Umi…Onigai."
Umi immediately bit her bottom lip immediately weighing up the request as to whether she could allow herself to comply with ashen girl's request 'Well it won't infringe her honour if I acquest.'
"As you wish." Umi sighed as she handed Saki over to Kotori.
"Yay, story time with aunty Umi, you excited Saki?"
'I don't get why Lady Kotori loves hearing this story so much.' Umi sighed in her head "Ok, I shall begin, the story goes that my great, great, great, grandmother was riding her horse along a stream to a lake one day after doing some hunting, she was the heir to the Sonoda name at the time and wasn't the lord yet."
"Then as she came to the lake, she saw a Sōhei and Lady Samurai, under attack by assassins." Umi said letting out a sigh "Our Elder fired an arrow at one of the assassins that had just wounded the Samurai leaving her defenceless save for her Sōhei bodyguard. So she rode in with her sword drawn, as she rode into help the pair the Sōhei shouted for her to leave him and rescue the samurai, our Elder dismounted and put the samurai on the horse and told the samurai to ride, while she stayed with the Sōhei."
"They fought back-to-back for hours against the assassins holding on till help arrived, just as their saviours came, one of the assassins came to try and strike the Sōhei from the side, out Elder pushed the Sōhei out the way and blocked the strike, though it shattered her sword."
Saki made a worried sound "Don't worry little one she was quite alright." Umi comforted "As she was recovering though she got an unexpected visitor, the Sōhei. The Sōhei, came to see her, the Sōhei also brought a sword, the same sword over there, the Sōhei said that his Samurai master had spoken with our elders daimyo and the daimyo had the sword be made as a replacement for the one our elder had lost, the daimyo had also had it blessed by a priest at the Sōhei's temple but the priest said that if an un-pure soul wielded the blade, it would shatter on the first strike."
"Our elder swore an unworthy person would never use the sword." As she said this the voice in Umi's head spoke up 'Unlike you.' "As such only the best, noblest and most honourable of the Sonoda children were given the right to wield the sword."
Umi stopped there as she noticed Saki was asleep, gently taking her niece off Kotori and placing her in her cot and placing a gentle kiss on her head "Good night little one." Umi whispered.
"That tale never fails to make me smile." Kotori said as she watched Saki opposite Umi.
"It's just a story Lady Kotori." Umi sighed "And not one with a happy ending."
"Why?"
"Because the last wielder of the sword is not a pure soul and therefore is not worthy to wield it or be called a Sonoda."
"You are." Kotori said with a pout.
"Excuse me Lady Kotori, I need to change for bed." Umi said getting up.
While Umi was changing Kotori leaned into whisper "A part of the story that Umi didn't tell you because the Sonoda's were never told, is that the samurai that Umi and your relative saved was my relative, she was also the heir at the time and she begged her father to repay the Sonoda heir for her courage, so our two families have a long history little one, one I'd like to continue if I can."
(Nico)
Nico was sat in a tree trying to get a lay of the land, darkness was falling and she was about to call it time and head back to the castle, when she noticed a group of horsemen riding towards the castle 'Is that Yukiho's forces, no it can't be, they're not meant to be here till tomorrow, but none of Kira's troops are meant to be around here anymore.'
Nico climbed up a little higher hoping to try and work out who they were where. As the group rounded a corner of the road Nico saw that to her surprise and mild concern it was Rin and Yukiho, the latter leaning forward on her horse.
Nico climbed down as fast as she could aiming to meet up with them at the bridge that was on the way. Running as hard as she could for the bridge, she just met them as they reached it "Rin!" Nico shouted as the ginger and the others stopped at the bridge "It's Nico."
"Nico, you're a sight for sore eyes, Nya." Rin shouted to the Ninja.
"What are you doing here, you're meant to be here tomorrow?" Nico asked walking up to the horsemen.
"We made good time then." Yukiho groaned, holding her left leg.
"Are you ok?" Nico asked Yukiho as she ran up to Honoka's sister.
"I'm fine." Yukiho said as Nico reached her, seeing the wound to the Samurai's leg along with the bandage of the girl's eye.
"Yeah right." Nico scoffed "You look like hell."
"I'm not the only one." Yukiho said looking back at her troops.
Nico followed the girl's eyes and saw the state of the troops that Yukiho had brought with her "Is this your vanguard?" Nico asked.
"No, this is all we have."
Nico could feel the colour drain from her face, just as Yukiho started to fall forward on her horse, she was only stopped by Nico and Rin catching her "Nico we need to move." Rin said.
"Agreed." Nico replied as she got Yukiho upright and then mounted the horse too "Let's go."