A Warriors Orochi Narrative
A darkness in his heart,
It tears at him,
I see it because of what I am…
An Assassin, a Kunoichi, a messenger of death.
His rod in his hands
Crushing those who seek to destroy us,
Feels like it's just us on the battlefield
But I know it's not, I'm a shadow, he will never be mine.
He's a mystic,
His short blond hair is nearly white,
His arrogance is clear to all,
Even though my feelings are true, they'll never be requited.
I shatter.
My feelings so intense it's destroying me,
The doctors can't explain what is wrong
I'm not surprised though,
An ailment of the heart is difficult to detect.
My health is failing due to this,
I haven't told any,
I know the others are worried
But there is nothing they can do, nothing I can do.
I'm dying softly, slowly,
Dying by his hand,
He doesn't even know,
Would he care even if he did?
"Kunoichi", a name but not my real one,
I discarded my real one when I became who I am,
I am simply a shadow…
A non-existent woman in the midst of war.
They call Da Ji evil,
I used to agree
But now I realise the bladed truth,
You'll do anything for the one you love, even sin.
Does Orochi love her?
Probably not. But who can tell what he's thinking?
His slimy scales might actually feel something,
A burning desire for said sorceress.
Da Ji made me realise…
Realise how futile it all was
I'd give my life to save the one I love
Like Da Ji would for Orochi
but like Orochi he would not do the same.
Sadness overwhelms my fragile form
Grasps me in its dark grip,
Choking the life from my mortal form
I feel like glass, something that will break
Break from a simple deadly touch.
The doctors keep visiting me,
Providing herbs and potions,
Trying everything to cure my illness,
But you can't cure this illness.
The wife of the sleeping dragon,
She figured out my shameful secret,
She knows but even her exceptional strategies
Can't nullify this nothingness in my empty heart.
So broken am I that's that it's painful to breath
And yet I hide it, hide it from the world, from him.
It burns so intensely it hurts
Why must I be kept in eternal agony?
Nu Wa came today,
She could see the agony, the sickness in my heart,
She tried to console me
But no on can console me.
Only him, the darkness in my heart.
I suppose I should see a herbalist,
Find a sweet concoction for memory loss,
Make sure I forget his face
And fall into the blackness of my memory.
I know that it's the cowards' way out,
To forget is not a good way
But it's the only way for me, the only option,
To forget is the only remedy to this dark depression.
I visited the herbalist and he taught me,
Taught me to make the sweet elixir,
The one to wipe away the pain inside,
It's crimson colour from the Lethe river,
It softly trickles down my dry throat.
He rushes in, fear evident in his eyes,
He slaps the bottle from my hand,
It smashes and crimson liquid oozes out,
Like a lake of blood.
He yells, his voice cracking in fear,
"How much did you drink?!"
I look blankly at him, like a porcelain doll,
Suspended In time.
I fall to the floor, lifeless
I wake, darkness surrounds me,
The scent of death overwhelms me.
A light brings me back to this world,
I rise from the satin sheets on the bed,
My head pounding in pain.
I glide silently across the floor of the tent,
Frightened and disorientated, "Where am I?"
I look in-between the gap of the tent doors,
It's moth and a warm fire burns brightly outside.
Footsteps, voices, I hide
Frightened beneath the bed,
I see two sets of feet appear from outside,
I hear a gasp.
"Where is she?" comes a yell,
They're panicked at my disappearance,
One person leaves to raise the alarm,
The other stays and sighs in frustration.
I cover my mouth to stop a gasp,
My hat is on the floor a few feet away,
I long to reach out for it but
I would risk discovery.
I tense as the man in the tent freezes.
He walks, picks up the hat,
He turns and sees me,
I shrink further back beneath the bed in fear.
"Kunoichi" he speaks softly
"Do not fear me. I will not harm you"
His kind voice is familiar,
It hurts my heart to hear it.
He holds his hand out expectantly,
I timidly take hold of his warm hand,
My coldness shocks him,
"You're freezing!"
He grabs blanket upon blanket,
Gently wrapping them around me,
"You nearly died you know?"
My memories start flooding back to me.
Despair! I didn't drink enough
Of that sweet crimson liquid
To forget my pain!
Why was I stopped? Why did he stop me?
"Why?" the question I ask,
He stops and looks up at me in shock,
"Why did you stop me? I needed to forget"
Tears stream down my face.
"I need to forget you. It's too painful"
His shocked expression turns to sadness,
"I made you this sad?"
He sighs and sadly and sits next to me.
"I'm sorry I should've told you"
The pause is agonizing,
"I love you"
My breath hitches. Asthma.
He panics.
He calms me and holds me in his arms,
His warm arms that drive away darkness,
I whisper softly "I love you too"
And fall asleep in his warm and loving arms.
I wake alone.
This is not the room I was in before,
This is a cold and cruel castle,
Where is he? Where has my beloved gone?
I search the frigid room,
Doors locked, windows barred,
I panic.
I slam against the door, desperate to be free.
The door unlocks. I jump back,
He's thrown in and the door locks once more.
I hold him in my arms,
Desperate to give him the warmth his cold body desires.
Blood covers his face.
I wipe it all away. I heal him up.
It's all I can do.
It's all I can do.
He wakes at night,
Roughly grabbing on to my arms,
Before realising it's me and relaxing
"You're okay," he says before falling back into slumber.
Morning,
We both wake to the sound of footsteps,
They come, tearing us apart,
Dragging me away,
Leaving his shocked and battered form in the room.
The pain.
Stinging blinding pain,
Questions I cannot hear,
The darkness claims me once more.
I hear someone crying,
Tears fall onto my face,
The sobbing sound saddens me,
I open my weary eyes.
Blurry, fuzzy shapes,
Warmth.
I'm in someone's warm arms,
They're crying.
I groan,
My vision gradually clears,
I see him
Holding me so tightly he can't see I'm awake.
I whisper.
Then repeat it louder,
Finally he looks upon me, shocked and shaken.
Tears streaming down his soft face
He holds me tighter
Whispering apologies over and over.
It hurts to see him so sad.
I hug him; hold him 'till the tears stop.
Silence.
So comforting and peaceful,
In each other's arms we stay,
Not caring about the outside world for just a moment.
Alas said moment must end.
The silence is shattered,
Shattered by that mans cold hands, Orochi,
Pulling me away from him,
Trying to pull me back into darkness once more.
I scream as Orochi pulls my injured shoulder,
He immediately wrenches Orochi off me,
Placing his arms protectively around me,
Orochi's cold cruel laugh echoes off the walls.
Orochi moves forward, he backs away holding me,
Trapped by the wall…
I break free from his grip and uncoil,
Striking Orochi like a snake
Orochi falls,
We run for our lives,
Fleeing down the hallowed halls,
He's pulling me. Urging me to move faster.
Twists and turns,
Desperately trying to loose our enemies,
Dead end after dead end,
Echoing footsteps.
He's getting closer.
A crevice, we hide,
They run past, oblivious,
He lets out a worried breath,
"We have to get out of here"
We're running again.
A window overlooking a barren garden,
He jumps and lands softly on the ground,
He turns "Jump"
I jump, fearing the outcome.
His soft, warm hands catch me,
He holds me softly,
Grabbing onto me for security,
Never letting go.
The heavens open upon us,
Crimson rain falls,
A bad omen,
It means someone will die.
Cold,
So cold our breath can be seen,
We run,
Not daring to look back.
I trip and fall
Face first in the mud,
He stops, pulling me up,
Urging me to stand
"We have to move"
He's pulling me again,
I nearly fall once more,
The brambles cut and sting as we run.
A Howl,
We stop for the briefest of moments
Before moving swiftly on,
Running deep into the dark forest.
"The camp. Where is it?"
His voice, frustrated, sends the crows flying.
I move closer to him shivering.
It's cold. Too cold.
We walk for hours,
He's lucky; he doesn't feel the cold,
He's impervious to it.
I hold myself to keep in precious heat.
We finally rest,
My legs aching with strain,
Yet I still stand, pacing.
I must or I will die.
He sighs, annoyed.
"Stop that"
His eyes are still closed in thought,
I stop still, shivering,
The snow sticking to my hair.
It's so cold.
My body no longer contains warmth,
The warmth to the snow,
The snow falling on me.
He looks at me,
His expression turns to fear,
He runs over and pulls me into his arms,
Desperately trying to warm me.
He picks me up and holds me close,
Desperately trying to find shelter,
Somewhere warm
To warm my icy body.
A cave,
Darkness,
Ragged Breathing,
Tiredness.
He lights a fire,
Pulls his cloak off,
Wraps it around me,
His scent clings to me.
Early morning, dawn,
The fire's has died down,
I am trapped by his arms
…No, protected by him.
He awakes,
Looks into my eyes,
His arms tighten around me,
He buries his head into me.
His sobs shock me.
I wrap my arms around him,
As if he would shatter at any moment,
His sobs die down.
He looks like a child,
Fragile, scared, worried,
Clinging on to me, his life line
Fearing I will disappear.
I worry
Will we really be all right?
Can we escape Orochi?
Will we survive?
We sit for hours,
Silence surrounds us,
Peaceful, quiet,
Just like the calm before a storm.
I never want to leave his arms
But we break apart,
Understanding shines between us
We must continue.
More stumbling,
More tripping,
More getting back up,
We have to pick up the pace.
Horses in the distance
Are they friends or foe?
"Get down!"
He pushes us down into a ditch.
We hide.
Horses thunder past us.
Our enemies. Skin as blue as frozen death (1)
We're silent like the grave.
Orochi stops. He's seen something,
I turn to see what it is,
An icy chill grips me…
My hat is lying on the road.
"They're here" Orochi bellows,
He snatches up the hat,
Fear grips me,
I'm frozen in fear.
Suddenly I'm moving,
He has picked me up,
Running,
Running away unseen by evil eyes.
He trips,
We fall,
Rolling down the bank
Landing hard in the cold stream.
A snap.
We cast a worried glance
Quickly standing up,
Silently unsheathing our weapons.
My blades glint in the moonlight,
He stands in front of me, protectively,
His rod ready to strike down any in his path,
We wait in tense anticipation.
Out steps Zuo Ci.
The old mystic,
I breathe a sigh of relief,
We're safe. We're safe.
I go to move towards Zuo Ci
He grabs my arm, stopping me,
"He's here to help," I cry
"No…he's the cause of this"
He pulls me further back.
Zuo Ci smirks
"You seem to have misunderstood"
Zuo Ci steps forward, we step back
"I only wanted her gone"
The silence stabs at me.
Zuo Ci a traitor?
Why does he want to destroy me?
Why is he being so cruel?
"She's stolen your heart"
Zuo Ci points at me
"That siren's stolen your concentration
She's made your work slip"
I freeze.
Did I ruin his life?
He looks at me. Pulls me closer.
He frowns at Zuo Ci.
"She is mine and no one else's.
I love her and she loves me.
Destroy her I destroy myself.
Lay a finger on her and you die"
He turns to me and his grips tighten
"Kunoichi you are not to blame.
We love each other and shouldn't be kept apart."
He kisses me softly.
He deepens the kiss
His passion merges with mine
We break for air
Zuo Ci looks on in shock.
He turns to Zuo Ci
"Help us or leave us"
Silence. I move closer to him,
Warmth and protection radiates from him.
He holds me close
Tenses. Awaiting an answer
Zuo Ci draws breath. Sighs.
"If you care that much I won't stand in your way"
He relaxes
Zuo Ci smiles
And bows to me
"Welcome to the mystics youngling"
He smiles
"So you give your consent"
Zuo Ci
I can't help but smile.
Finally. We can be together.
He hugs me tight,
"Children! Manners!"
Zuo Ci yells bringing us back to earth.
A sinister laugh freezes the air
We all draw our weapons
Standing back to back,
Waiting for an unseen warrior to show his face.
A rustle in the trees
A hand. Too fast to dodge.
I'm being dragged,
Pulled back towards Kotaru Fuma.
I struggle but to no avail.
His grip so tight it hurts
He smirks and whispers, sinister, in my ear
"Welcome home sweetheart"
I shiver.
Fuma tightens his grip.
A small scream escapes me
Fuma smirks in satisfaction.
"Let her go!"
He yells anger plain on his face
Fuma's toothy grin is like a tigers
"Make me"
He growls, charging.
"ah ah ah, you didn't say may I"
A blade is placed at my throat.
He stops mid run.
"That's better back up or she dies"
The blade is pressed closer to my throat,
A gasp escapes me
He angrily backs off,
Terrified for my safety.
"Zuo Ci Orochi knows of your betrayal
He's taking the girl as collateral"
Fuma begins backing away.
No! To be pulled from my love so cruelly again.
Fuma Drags me through the forest.
He throws me before Orochi
Who smirks sadistically
"This should do"
Orochi drags back to the castle
Locks me in a terrible and tiny room,
I look out of the window,
I see the courtyard below.
The blue skinned warriors on the courtyard
Race around as if preparing for battle,
They're laughing evilly…
What nefarious plot are they scheming?
What insidious plot are they planning?
Wood is gathered in a pile.
One of them laughs.
"Gonna be a barbeque tonight"
Night.
I am roughly woken.
Dragged outside.
The wood has been ignited.
Now I realize what they meant,
They mean to incinerate me,
Kill me…
Fear. My heart turns cold.
The heat is searing,
Scorching the cobbled courtyard
Blackening the stones.
Black. A colour for death.
The binds on my wrists are too tight.
Pain shoots up my spine
But I am unable to stop it.
I am feeble and frail.
Orochi smirks across the fire,
The fire looks like it's surrounding him,
Fitting,
A man causing chaos surrounded by fire.
There's no escape,
Trapped.
Trapped by this snake and his minions,
I am going to die.
My death is imminent,
I will soon be destroyed
I'm at the mercy of Orochi,
At the mercy of a merciless snake.
Orochi steps forward,
"We have here a Shingen dog
One who destroyed our first coming
One who sought to ruin our rule
The lover of a mystic
The friend of our enemies
She destroyed me
Yet once more I have risen,
Risen from the ashes like a phoenix"
I laugh.
They turn,
"What's so funny?"
Orochi's anger rolls off in wicked waves.
If I am to die I will say what I think:
"You are no phoenix.
Phoenixes are majestic. You are slime
You decimate those against you,
Plunder and pillage innocents.
You devastate villages, smashing them,
Tearing them down.
You frigid unfeeling nature freezes all.
You are no phoenix. You are no king.
You are a fool"
A silence overcomes the blue-skinned crowd,
It's unnerving…Too quiet.
Orochi's anger flares.
He backhands me.
They laugh at my pitiful form,
How weak I am to fall so easily
"Pathetic mortals deserve to die,
This one shall be first"
I'm grabbed by two soldiers
Hauled to my feet,
Too weak to pull away
They're all smirking, anticipating what is to come.
I'm tied to a wooden pole.
Some fire is taken from the other fiercer fire.
I'm placed upon a second set of kindling,
They ensure there's no escape.
I will show no fear.
I will not give the satisfaction on that slimy snake
I stand slate-faced. I will die proud.
This is it.
The flame starts,
It soon licks at my feet,
The smoke smothers me.
I Choke.
Will I burn or suffocate first?
The sound of horses greets my ears,
I see a blurry figure upon a white horse
Soon followed by other figures.
Are they saviours or executioners?
The figure douses the flames
It's Him!
He cuts my bonds and pulls me away,
And I fall into him.
Relief,
He checks me over
Making sure I am unscathed,
I'm too weak to tell him I'm fine.
He holds me close
His presence is enough to revive me
We stay in each other's arms
Not willing to let go.
Of course we must part,
We have work to do,
We stand
We face the battlefield this place has become.
He hands me two daggers,
Gold and jewelled encrusted,
I take them gingerly,
We're ready to fight.
We launch into battles,
No longer alone,
We stand together as lovers, as allies,
As one.
Our deadly dance outshines our opponents,
We fight as one,
Together,
We will not let each other fall.
The enemy soldiers fall,
Fall like dolls,
It's disturbing
But I have time to ponder upon it.
We race past the fallen,
Heading for Orochi,
Putting an end to this suffering
We can't let this pain continue.
Orochi sees us
Swings the scythe,
We swiftly step out of the way,
The real battle begins.
I leap towards Orochi,
Arching over his attack,
Kicking Orochi in the chest,
Forcing Orochi back.
It's his turn,
He blocks Orochi's scythe.
Pushes back
Stops the attack.
Orochi growls,
Lashes out.
He dodges,
Unaware that the true intended target is me.
I try to dodge,
The scythe is too fast
It slices my left side.
I yell in pain.
Excruciating pain,
I clutch my left side,
I can't give in,
I won't
I stand,
My blood trickles down onto the floor
It's like a lake on a stormy day,
A lake of blood.
I charge,
Ignoring my beloved's yells
Orochi smirks and easily kicks me away,
I scream as I hit the floor.
I hear an animalistic roar,
He's lost control,
He's gone berserk,
I have to stop him.
I stand shakily,
My body feels like ice,
I stumble clumsily,
I have to stop him!
I fall,
Then stand once more,
I'm at my limit
But I must continue.
I reach him,
Grab on to his arm
"Don't touch me"
He pulls his arm away.
Despair!
I fall,
I don't get up,
I can't do a thing.
I see him.
He ferociously fights Orochi,
Orochi is loosing
Unable to block his blow
He attacks once more,
Magic flies at Orochi,
Orochi smirks,
He jumps away.
The magic flies at me,
I see his expression turn to one of horror,
I can't move,
I am going to die.
A flash,
Zuo Ci has appeared,
Blocks the attack,
Runs after Orochi.
He's by me in a second,
Gathers me up in his arms,
Tears stream down his face,
He's finally back to normal.
Darkness plague my vision,
I fall into the arms of sleep,
A peaceful silence,
It's finally over.
I awake abruptly,
Frantically searching,
Searching for him,
My beloved.
He's there
Holding my hand,
Fast asleep,
Peaceful.
He stirs,
Awakes,
See me staring,
Shock clear on his pale face
He looks exhausted!
Like he hasn't slept in weeks,
He stares at me in shock still,
He's unsure what to do.
I smile tiredly,
He bursts in to tears,
Whispering apologies over and over,
I put a hand on his lips.
Silence,
"It's okay"
I take hold of him gently,
"It's okay".
He pulls me close,
Never wishing to release his hold on me,
Clutching me as if I were a lifeline,
…His lifeline.
Peaceful silence broken,
Broken by the sound of laughter,
I let go of him,
And shift to see friends by the opening of the tent.
Nene, Yukimura, Oichi, Nagamasa,
Even Shingen suppressing sniggers,
He tightens his hold on me
"You're interrupting."
That wiped the smirks of their faces.
They leave,
"Taigong Wang" I call his name
He turns to me and smiles softly,
"We shall never be parted," he says
"Never been torn apart again" I agree.
A comfortable silence,
I feel him breathing,
His heart beating fast,
Just like a war drum.
He sighs. I look up,
"What's wrong my love"
He looks down to me and smiles,
He looks down at me and smiles,
"I forgot to tell you" he pauses,
Anticipation… what will be the next words
That tumble from his lips,
A deep breathe,
"You're with child".
Shock
"But how?"
He smiles and speaks softly
"That night in the prison castle"
Urging me to calm down.
"I'm sorry"
My words drift out
He looks to me confused
"For what?"
I Try to find the right words
"For tying you to me"
His laughter rings out,
"I choose to tie myself to you love"
A warm silence.
"We will raise this child together" he smiles
"Yes…together"
We hold each other in our arms
"I love you," he declares
"I love you to"
Silence
Content in each other's arms,
Enchanted by each others spell
Eternally together never to part.