Rough Nights
(Yo – Same night as Umi's nightmare)
Yo groaned as she felt her leg sting as she leaned her head on the wall behind her, looking off to the side she could see Ruby sleeping a way with an uneasy look on her face, Yo closed her eyes her mind drifting off to another redhead 'Please be safe Riko.' Yo said in her mind, the ashen girls heart twisting at the thought Riko might not be ok.
Yo slammed her fist in frustration on the floor 'Tsuki, if you're with her please look after her please.' just as she thought this, she heard a pair of feet walking towards.
Opening her eyes she saw Kira standing at the gate to the pairs cell "How are you miss Watanabe?"
"Give it a rest Kira, I know why you're here and answers the same as every other time." Yo growled not in the mood for this sham.
Yo saw Kira run a hand through his greying brown hair before he spoke again "Your uncle…"
"You keep saying the same thing and it doesn't matter, you hurt Kotori and I'll never bow to you." Yo growled, her anger bubbling "We both know my uncle wasn't in his right mind when he made that will."
"You could have all the power you had before this sad war…" Kira sighed.
"And all I'd have to do is marry your daughter." Yo finished Kira's sentence having heard this line before "I'm not marrying her, she's nothing but a bully and thug."
"I admit Sakura is a little hot headed but…"
"Save it, my answers the same and it won't change now leave!" Yo growled, even with her bad leg she was tempted to try and charge the gate if this carried on. Yo knew why Kira wanted that marriage to give him some legitimacy.
Kira sighed before standing up to leave "I thought you might like to know I have forces at the Sakurauchi's castle, my commander tells me he's nearly captured it."
Yo did her best to try and hide her worry at Kira's news, but the smirk the older man gave told her that she had failed "We'll see if your answer changes when that castle falls." Kira said before leaving.
"You lay a finger on Riko I'll kill you!" Yo shouted after the man before groaning with worry and frustration, the ashen girl felt tears pricking at her eyes.
"She'll be ok." Came a voice to Yo's side.
"Sorry Ruby." Yo sighed looking over at the younger girl who still had her back to the ashen girl "It's just…"
"I know." Ruby yawned "Just trust them to be safe."
"Its not so easy when you don't know whats happening to them." Yo groaned, her heart stinging as her fear raised for the redhead.
"I know." Ruby sniffed.
Yo reached out and put a hand on Ruby's shoulder "Dia will be fine Ruby."
"Thanks, so will Riko and Tsuki."
(Eli – Morning after Umi's nightmare)
Eili sighed as she looked at the scene before her the long wooden bridge that separated the army from Tatsumi's castle, the blonde could see the soldiers in the fort standing ready to counter them.
"We can't attack like this." Eli muttered as she surveyed the terrain, past the bridge was a chasm in front of the fort with another bridge the only entrance "The Sonoda's really did make strong fortresses." Eli muttered before turning away.
"Rider, I need you to take a message to Lady Tojo, tell her we cannot attack the castle, we will hold the bridge and tell her we need Nico to help us."
(Kotori and Hanayo - Same day)
"Thanks for agreeing to help watch Saki while I do this." Kotori smiled as she checked the fabric in her hands.
"Its fine." Hanayo said looking down at the sleeping Saki "She kind of looks like Umi."
"Yes, I've thought so to." Kotori giggled before looking over at Hanayo who was watching Saki "You can hold her if you want."
"Erm, wouldn't you need to check with Umi?" Hanayo said nervously at the idea.
"Its fine she said we were welcome near Saki whenever; besides I think she trusts you holding her than Honoka and Rin."
"Thanks, but I'm fine not holding her honest." Hanayo stuttered.
"Do you not want to?" Kotori asked only for a moan to escape Saki's mouth "Oh, sounds like someone's not happy by that."
"No, it's not that I don't want to, I'm just nervous I might drop her, I don't want to hurt her." Hanayo said followed by a coo from the tiny Sonoda.
"I think that means she understands." Kotori said as she carried on sowing.
"You've really gotten good at caring for her."
"I have no choice, Umi is always on guard, she only really relaxes when she's asleep and even then, she's not fully relaxed, she will jump awake at the first noise sometimes." Kotori sighed.
Saki made another disapproving noise "Sorry little one I didn't mean to say bad things about your aunty."
"Have you decided what it will say?" Hanayo said quietly, Kotori knew she was trying to change the subject.
"Yes, I have."
(Riko – Riding back to Hanayo's castle day after Maki reached Riko)
"This can't be." Rin shouted after Riko informed her and Nico of Kotori's disownment.
"It is." Maki sighed.
"But Kotori was his daughter, how could he just disown her?"
"Lord Minami was not a well man before this and he deteriorated quickly near the end, it would likely have been easy for Kira to convince him to disown Kotori." Tsuki replied.
"So where does this leave us?" Nico asked.
"With three allies as prisoners of Kira that need rescuing." Riko spoke with growl "And Lady Minami with no heir."
Riko saw Rin, Maki and Nico all looked at each other with an uncomfortable look on their faces "What?" Riko said with fear bubbling in her gut.
"Dia's dead." Maki answered in a quiet voice.
"What?" Riko said with a sense of shock and sick relief that it wasn't Yo, out the corner of her eye she could see a shocked look on Tsuki's face and devastated look on Hanamaru and Yoshiko's faces "How?"
"Kira was forcing her to lead an army to attack Kayo-Chin's castle, she fought a duel to avoid a slaughter, she lost." Rin said looking down at the floor.
"What about Ruby and Yo, Zura?" Hanamaru asked.
"Held captive at Yo's castle."
"What's Nozomi's plan to get them out?" Riko asked.
"She was focusing on your rescue first then she was going to rescue them." Maki replied.
"We have one." Tsuki said gesturing to the cart that Hanamaru and Yoshiko were riding on.
"Planning on sneaking in again Yoshiko?" Nico asked.
"It's Yohane!"
"So your plan is to sneak in and then sneak out?" Maki asked.
"Yes, it is."
"That's a bold plan."
"I really don't care for an opinion," Riko growled "I just want to save Yo."
(Yo – Same day Night-time)
Yo woke to Ruby shaking her with a worried look on her face "What's wrong?" Yo asked groggily.
"The soldiers seem restless." Ruby said worriedly.
Yo peered through the bars on the gate of the pairs room, the three guards in the next room did indeed look nervous and were quietly whispering among each other.
'What's got them rattled?' Yo wondered to herself, but any further pondering was cut short by the sound of stomping feet and raised voices.
"I don't care, we now have an impasse."
"What else could I do father; that cow made the call not me, she…"
'Kira and Sakura.' Yo thought as she tried to listen in.
"That cow as you called her, made the right call getting slaughtered for pride is a fools plan, something I have tried to get into your head and your cousins for years now and her death and your retreat is not the issue, we now face a powerful clan and they have now taken the land on the other side of the river, getting to fight them is near impossible without crossing that bridge, the only good thing is they face the same issue."
"Relax father, we have numbers…"
"Numbers do not win a battle and the Tojo clan are not to be messed with." Kira sighed stopping where Yo could see him "How did she die?"
"Some Ronin beat her in a duel." Sakura replied.
"A Ronin?" Kira said with a perplexed look "Describe him."
"It was a woman actually, wore a cover over her face, used a Naginata."
"What armour did she wear?"
"Some pathetic black chest armour."
"And her hair?"
"Short…" Kira let out a sigh at Sakura's words only for Yo to see his face drop with the next words "…and blue."
"Blue, you're sure?"
"Yes why?"
"You fool!" Kira shouted before storming off,
'Blue, who could that be, Tatsumi, no Sakura would have said her name if it was, then who?' Yo thought before she saw Sakura turn to look at her and Ruby. The girl gave and evil smirk that immediately made a sense of dread fill Yo's gut.
Ruby stood up as Sakura walked over to the gate, Yo shifted so her back was on the wall and then began to push herself up with her on good leg as her broken one burned 'This isn't good.' Yo thought as she tried to focus on what Sakura might do and not on the pain.
Sakura stopped at the gate with a smirk on her face and her hands behind her back "Enjoying your accommodation?" Sakura asked sarcastically "You should it's your old home."
"What…do you want?" Yo said through gritted teeth as she pushed herself off the wall to stand up as best as she could even though she did have to hold herself up on the wall.
"Don't worry, I'm just here to return something." The brunette said as she moved her hands from behind her back to reveal a familiar face mask, Yo could see Ruby's face drop and her bottom lip tremble.
Yo could feel her blood boiling she wanted to run up a smack Sakura for the smile she had at Ruby's devastated face. Ruby looked torn between trying to get the mask but scared what Sakura might do if she tired.
"Come on, you want it don't you?" Sakura said like she would a pet.
Tentatively Ruby walked up to the gate and reached out for the mask, once she touched it Sakura let go of the mask and grabbed Ruby's wrist and pulled her arm through the gate and then with her free hand grabbed the red heads face.
"Aw isn't that look precious, I could almost eat you and big sis isn't here to stop."
"I am," Yo growled before she shouted, "Now let her go!"
"Aw and what are you going to do, you can barely stand?"
"Let her go and open the gate and we'll find out." Yo said though the thought did cross her mind that she didn't think she could do much.
"Aw, how cute the pup still has some bark, though she has no bite left, maybe I need to teach you how to behave." Sakura said before turning back to Ruby "You know your sister…"
"Sakura!" came Kira's voice "Leave them alone and return that mask at once."
Sakura scoffed before she let go of Ruby's wrist "Your sister died like a dog, crying like a baby."
"Sakura enough!"
"Ok father." Sakura sighed before leaving with her father.
Once the pair were gone Yo slid down to the floor her leg feeling like it might drop off at any moment, Yo heard Ruby sniff as she walked up to her, tears running down her cheeks.
"Ruby, I'm…"
Yo never got to finish her sentence as the red head dropped the mask on the floor before dropping to her knees and began sobbing. Yo pulled Ruby in a hug as the younger girl cried.
"Dia…"
"Shh, it will be ok Ruby."
"No it won't!" Ruby shouted as she looked Yo in the face "Dia's gone, she's gone."
"She loved you, that won't go away Ruby." Yo said before pulling Ruby into another hug 'Riko please hurry.'