The Distortion

Right at the entrance of the tower, the three samurais blocked the path to the Daimyo’s study. Anyone who intended to defend his lord had to go through them first. Any attempt would have been too late anyways, but the realization had yet to happen. These were the most competent samurais that Daisuke had recruited to his cause and they were worthy of his utmost trust. And that was without taking into account how personal this battle was to them. That was why he would come to understand their upcoming failure; he couldn’t blame them for it. No one could.

Gin walked up defiantly in front of them; he wasn’t trying to hide or sneak past them for he knew he could walk right through them. They all recognized his face—he made quite the first impression—but they wouldn’t back down.

“Are you sure about this?” Kaito asked.

“Actually, I was going to offer you a safe escape, there’s no need for you to die here.” Jeering was second nature to Gin.

“Oh, he’s mocking us, I kind of like that.” Haru’s blood rushed to his head.

“No, I’m serious. You can get the hell out.” Gin’s delivery was flat.

“And why would you take mercy on us? Not that I think you are in a position to do so.” Kaito wasn’t having it.

“What do you know, I’m feeling a bit generous today. So, I highly suggest you accept my offer.”

They both drew their swords, except Akira who felt uneasy about their predicament…rightfully so. As soon as they charged Gin, he could already see two bodies unconscious on the floor. Gin didn’t even draw his katana, one fist to Kaito’s jaw and one knee to Haru’s guts was all it took to knock them out. Akira barely caught a glimpse of Gin’s seamless feat which solidified his claim of superiority. They were supposed to be the strongest among the raiding force, and one man single-handedly eliminated two of them without breaking a sweat.

What happened in the main courtyard of the castle? Were they even winning this battle? How come this man…no, this thing, hadn’t finished everyone off already? He seemed more than capable of doing so.

By the heavens, what is this…, Akira staggered back a few steps. Never in his life had he felt such helplessness.

“Now, you look like a promising one, especially since you accurately gauged the gap between us. Still, I would advise against engaging me.”

Akira gulped. “Who are you? I don’t remember you being in Nakamura’s ranks…”

“Believe me, you don’t wanna know who I am. Just be grateful I’m willing to let you go, which is more than I can say for your friend.” Gin said, pointing upwards.

Akira recovered some of his composure, tightening his grip on the katana. His job was to stop anyone from interfering with Daisuke, and the man before him had made his intentions clear. It was already insulting enough that he let Gin beat his son and his retainer right before his eyes. Akira was not about to betray Daisuke’s trust. He drew his kata—

“Trust me, you do not wanna do that.”

Gin put his hand on Akira’ shoulder. The latter felt appalled by Gin’s touch, but the terror coursing through his body was paralyzing. Akira’s mind was screaming at him to react…his body simply wouldn’t budge.

“I can’t let you go up…” Akira realized how pathetic he must have sounded.

“Yes you can, if you value the lives of those two on the ground that is.”

Akira’s forced bravery suddenly faded. Everyone had come here with the resolve to die, or so he thought. It may have been all bravado in the end…after facing Gin, Akira realized he wasn’t as prepared or strong-willed as he fooled himself into thinking. A simple encounter was enough for his spirit to get crushed. The thought of having a sinister man like Gin kill his family was too much for him to bear; he would rather live with the shame of having betrayed Daisuke than deal with another death in the family.

Akira let go of his katana.

“Good boy. Now, you can carry them and leave.”

Akira did as was asked of him obediently. Carrying two bodies—one of which was Haru—at the same time was not easy, but as long as he had the chance to get away from Gin, he would not complain.

* * *

A signal flare was shot in the sky by lady Tokugawa following Kensei’s head being thrown in the middle of the courtyard. Many could have missed it what with the battle raging on, but not Yuka Tokugawa. An Archer was endowed with vision akin to that of eagles, eyes darting about the battlefield, covering every inch of it. However, that was not the case for everyone, and in the midst of mayhem, a more definitive and noticeable signal needed to be communicated for the concerned party to start withdrawing.

The news of the Daimyo’s demise started spreading across the battlefield, news that put the final nail in the coffin. Kensei’s forces became progressively aware of their inevitable defeat, even after their valiant attempts to recover from the disastrous start of the fight. Some of them did manage to grab hold of their weapons, few others were lucky enough to put on some armor even. Alas, too little too late.

Seeing their master’s head thrown over from the top of his own tower—the symbol of his great power—either rage and the desire for revenge would overcome them, or their resolve would get crushed alongside the last remaining shred of hope and courage. The latter was the reality. The raiding samurais were faced with opponents who dropped their weapons and had no intention of pursuing them, which should grant them a smooth exit.

The escape of every ally of Daisuke was greatly facilitated, except for the man himself. Climbing down the stairs, he had the misfortune of meeting the most troublesome foe he could ask for.

“Going somewhere, Tokugawa?”

Daisuke and Adam were halted at the very first story right before of the entrance by none other than Gin. A sense of foreboding loomed in the room upon meeting him face to face, especially with the absence of three specific samurais.

“Where are they?” Daisuke hissed.

“Don’t worry about it, they’ll live” Gin answered.

“If you are looking for Nakamura, you are too late.” Daisuke doubted his opponent would be fazed by his words, but he tried anyway.

“Oh no, that’s fine. I could give two shits about him, I’m here for you.”

“What exactly do you want from me?”

“Nothing in particular, you’re just my entertainment in this entire bore fest.” Gin replied idly.

“This is just amusement to you?” Daisuke’s face turned red.

Daisuke clenched his fists. Friend or foe, people were losing their lives and in came a guy who was treating the battle as nothing more than his personal enjoyment.

“It is tonight, so you better not disappoint.” Gin’s lips twisted into an ominous smile. “The weakling, you can piss off, this is not the place for trash like you. Not that I care if you live or die.”

His words were revolting, but it would be asinine for Adam to argue, especially with that man, if he could be called that way. So, he walked past them both in quick steps, averting what would have been a most cruel fate. Like everybody else, and aside from Tokugawa’s latest engagement, Adam also thought the battle was mostly over.

A certain man had a different say in the matter.

* * *

Up until the moment of his master’s death, Atsuo remained lost in Gin’s eyes. A terrifying image that kept haunting him and would have kept haunting him if not for his master’s head rolling on the ground right at his feet. Not only was it the catalyst for him regaining his consciousness, but also a trigger for a dangerous and desperate measure he would have normally never considered, let alone take responsibility for it. The batch of bad news pushed him over the edge he had been standing on for a while.

“Atsuo san, it seems that they got the weapons through the rear gate.” a guard informed him.

The information was irrelevant at this point…except for one crucial detail. He almost forgot, almost.

“What about Satoshi? Is he fine?” Atsuo asked, troubled.

“We don’t…know…”

His judgment and decision-making were already both clouded. But now, even his vision was tainted.

“Release it.” he ordered the guard beside him coldly, his voice terrifyingly low.

“What are you talking about, Atsuo san?”

He glanced towards the underground passage covered with iron bars.

“I said, release it.” Atsuo pointed at it with his cane.

“But…that…”

“I don’t care! Release the damn thing!!” he shouted, squeezing his stick to the point of breaking it, nearly shattering his own bones in the process.