Akai Katana Arashi - Chapter 1
Botan Saionji stumbled down the road among bloody, mangled corpses, breathing heavily. Feeling her way around her surroundings, she threw herself against a tree trunk, propping herself on it as she sank to the ground. She clutched her arms close in a mixture of self-loathing, despair, and pain, tears streaming from her closed eyes.
Her beloved brother was dead. Sort of.
She had to kill her brother and revive him as her phantom in accordance to the soul ceremony against her will. Although he had reassured her that it was okay, she could not help but be racked with guilt.
Moreover, as a result of this ceremony, she had to sacrifice her 'light'. She is now blind. Botan cursed herself for the events that had occurred in the previous day. In exchange for her sight, she was granted extraordinary capabilities in her other senses, but the sudden lack of one of her most vital senses was jarring. It was going to take a while to adjust to.
She sat still, alert for any tenacious pursuers she had not yet shaken off. A familiar presence surrounded the area around her. "Kikyou-nii-sama ... I'm so sorry."
"Don't worry about it. Even though you killed me, I live on as your phantom. Because of you, I am much more powerful than I could ever have been as a human." Botan felt Kikyou's hands wrapping around her in an embrace. Her breathing instantly slowed, her senses soothed by the consolation her brother's presence provided. He had always brought her comfort and strength. "Let's escape from this hell hole, Botan. All of the bloodshed and the sacrifices that is needed for this power ... it's not worth it. We can't allow father to continue this."
Around them, gunshots were being fired. They could hear the sound of a blood katana being swung, body parts flying, people dying. Botan nodded in Kikyou's arms. "... Yeah. We'll raise this banner of rebellion." She rose to her feet with confidence, unsheathing her blood katana. It glowed red in the moonlight, which illuminated her face, giving it an eerie glow.
"Together."
Six months later, the world was still in strife. Japan had taken over another country with the destructive power of the blood katanas. The great emperor Basho had caught wind of a united front against him, but he cared little about it. Such a farce would not be able to destroy his mighty, sprawling empire. Without even sending out his formidable army, his Ten Suns alone had already defeated several of his most worrisome opponents. However, even within the Ten Suns, dissent was growing.
A girl with long, pink-colored locks slammed her palm against a table. A younger girl, with short blonde hair, jumped up, alarmed. "Tsubaki-san! Calm down!"
"I can't! No matter how much I try, I just can't accept this!" Tsubaki screamed at her. However, she wasn't looking at Sumire. She stared straight in front of her, at a well-built but elderly man. He was their commander, from the looks of it. He had his back turned to them, instead facing a window overlooking the newly-captured city. "Answer me, Hiiragi-sensei! What's the purpose of all this?!"
The man named Hiiragi did not respond at first. After a moment, he responded sternly, his voice deep, strong, and clear: "Tsubaki. You know well the reason why we must do this."
"No! I don't understand, Hiiragi-sensei! You want us to commit genocide on a group that supported us?! That wanted to surrender and serve us from the beginning?! That-"
"Tsubaki." She instantly fell silent. Sumire looked over at her co-pilot and saw that she was trembling. She was quaking in fear herself. "You know that it is better for those people and for us. They are medical rejects of the conquered country. They have been put through horrific experiments and tortures, and their pain lasts to this day. Many of them are already dying. It is much more merciful to kill them with the blood katanas, which will not only relieve them of their suffering but will also give more power to the katanas. That is why we will embark on this mission."
Still trembling, Tsubaki walked in front of the table to stand behind Hiiragi. She then fell to her knees, lowering her forehead and her palms to the floor in a traditional bow. When she felt that he had turned to listen to her, she cried out, "Please, Hiiragi-sama! I know that this is pretentious of me, but please allow me to stay out of this mission!"
Sumire stared at her in aghast. To ask the Supreme Commander of the Ten Suns himself to grant a request to stay out of a mission was practically a suicidal request. As a member of the Ten Suns, one expected to fight no matter what the order was. Even something like this could make her targeted for treason. She moved to beg for forgiveness from Hiiragi, but he put up on hand to stop her.
"... I shall grant your request. Tsubaki Shinjo, Sumire Asaka, you have official permission to sit out on the mission."
Sumire sighed in relief, leaning on the table for support after such a tense situation. Tsubaki almost immediately sat up on her knees, joy and relief spread on her face. "Thank you, Hiiragi-sama! Thank you!" She bowed her head in reverence while repeating her thanks.
"There is no need to thank me. You two are yet young; to witness too much of the atrocities of war will tarnish you. You two may leave now." Without another word, the two left the room.
"'To witness too much of the atrocities of war will tarnish you'? You sound like an old man for someone who's mentally only 38, Hiiragi-sama." Out of the shadows slipped a woman. She was obviously older than Tsubaki and Sumire, but she still glowed with beauty. Her clothes were revealing, with choice sections having been cut out to reveal her skin. Her thick, multi-toned her swept over her shoulders. She had a smooth, rich, silky voice that would entice most men. It so happens that Hiiragi was not one of them. Seeing that he would not respond to her, she grimaced and turned to leave the room.
"Nazuna." She turned back around to face him. "Those two are still young. To face the brutal realities of war will disillusion them. They have a close connection that will be especially useful later on. I don't intend to give them a reason to betray us." Nazuna understood what he meant.
"Yes, Hiiragi-sama. I understand." She understood more than that. With that simple response, he revealed his sentiments about two girls. Although it seemed on the surface that he didn't care about them, those who knew their pasts could see how deep the relationship ran.
Sumire Asaka was an orphan, abandoned as a child and left to fend for herself. Constantly bullied and picked on, she was rather sickly and small. She was able to survive by being keen of other people's feelings. Although she didn't manipulate others, she knew what would get her out of trouble and who to befriend. It was this intuition that led her to Emperor Basho's side. When he set out to become emperor of Japan, and when he first uncovered the power of the blood katanas, he faced off against a powerful rival. Sumire happened to live in the town near where their battle would occur. Knowing that the townsmen abhorred their current leader and welcomed Basho as a savior, she collected all the information she could gather about the rivaling army. She then snuck through the barricade over to Basho's lines and relayed valuable information to his right-hand, Hiiragi Rikudo. Instead of sending her back to the village like most would, Hiiragi instead took her under his wing, naming her his protégé. Under his care, Sumire became strong and was trained by him to fight.
Tsubaki Shinjo was the daughter of a proficient ally of Hiiragi's. On her 15th birthday, she decided she wanted to serve Hiiragi, and she became his student. Although she wasn't necessarily faithful to Basho's cause, her honesty made her insight valuable. Despite her tough demeanor, she cared for Sumire like a doting older sister. They were almost like family, and Hiiragi himself treated them both like beloved children.
Down the corridor, Tsubaki pushed open a door. Inside the room sat two younger women; one of them had fiery red hair, and the other had long blonde hair in a ponytail. They were Shion Kobayakawa and Suzuran Sanada, two other members of the Ten Suns. "Well?" The blonde girl piped up, her high-pitched voice inquisitive. Tsubaki had always wondered how a sixteen-year-old girl could have such a high voice.
"Hiiragi-sama permitted us to stay out of the missio
Sumire flopped onto the ground, next to Suzuran. "That was too dangerous, you know," she admonished. "What if he decided to kill you there?!"
"... He wouldn't have. Hiiragi-sama isn't that cruel." Tsubaki took a seat next to Shion on a tatami mat.
"Although if he had killed you, it would have been fun to watch." All eyes turned to the door, where Nazuna stood, leaning against the door frame. She sneered at the young officer, awaiting her response. Shion noticed the venom in her words and the tension that was rapidly building. She pulled both Tsubaki and Suzuran away from the woman, too far away to stop Sumire, who had already begun to move.
"Say that again, Nazuna!" Sumire got off the floor, placing her hand on the katana tied to her waist.
"Hou~. Getting feisty, aren't you, little Sumire-chan?" Nazuna made sure to point out that Sumire was younger than her.
"I hope you haven't forgotten that I'm a higher-ranking officer than you are. And that you can ever hope to be." she added that extra measure in order to insult Nazuna more, and it worked. The older woman stopped for a moment, then her eyes dilated in rage.
"What the fuck did you say, bitch?!" She drew her own katana; its red blade revealed itself as a blood katana. Power surged out of Nazuna's body, causing the onlookers to flinch. The reason why Nazuna would never be a member of the Ten Suns was because she had no control over her own power - and that's exactly what was happening, as power overflowed from her. "If you're so confident because of your rank, then why don't I kill you and take your spot?!" She lunged at Sumire, who drew her own sword and prepared to intercept. At the same time, Tsubaki wrestled out of Shion's grasp, dashing to defend Sumire. Suzuran squeezed her eyes shut as Shion prepared to protect the younger girl from the blast. The blades were about to connect, one with the intent to kill and the other to protect.
There was a blur and a scraping sound. When the tension of the moment evaporated, both sides found their swords blocked by a single, third sword. They all realized that a tall, handsome man was standing between them, his sword at an angle to intercept both swords before they could touch. His katana, too, was a blood katana.
"Aogiri-nii!" Suzuran hopped up and ran over to the man, hugging him. He returned the hug with his free arm, holding her to his chest. All the while he stared at Sumire and Nazuna, who hadn't moved a muscle since his arrival.
"Sheathe your swords." They did as he told them to. Knowing that he did not like being bothered when he was admonishing others, Suzuran let go of him and scampered back to Shion. "Nazuna-" she looked at the floor rather than meet his gaze "-you know that attacking a superior officer is an extreme offense. Furthermore, since you cannot control your power, I don't expect you to use it outside of the battlefield."
"... Yes, Shakunage-sama." Nazuna left as quickly as she had appeared, reeling over Sumire's insult and Shakunage's scold. Before Sumire could relax, however, his attention turned to her. Noticing his gaze, she stiffened, although she was able to meet his gaze.
"Sumire, I don't want to hear another incident of you provoking Nazuna. And don't try blaming her, either, I know you are equally to blame," he added quickly, causing her to wilt. "As a member of the Ten Suns, I expect you to be level-headed. Don't be so quickly consumed by your emotions. Since the princess and prince have been captured, the people have been uneasy. If word of discontentment within the military leaks out, then we will lose our grip."
"Yes, Shakunage-sama." She bowed her head, and then stepped back to Tsubaki's side. He sheathed his katana and motioned for Shion and Suzuran to follow him.
"Let's go. We must embark on the mission."
"Aw, but Tsubaki and Sumire don't have to~!" Suzuran whined. Both Tsubaki and Sumire froze. Unlike Hiiragi, Shakunage was cold and strict; they didn't know how he would react to the news.
To their relief, he only glanced backwards at them. "They've been given permission to sit out by Hiiragi-sama. Come. Emperor Basho and the others are waiting." With that, they left, leaving Tsubaki and Sumire alone.
Knowing that they were now in peace, Sumire sighed a breath of relief and leaned on Tsubaki. "That was tense. If Shakunage-sama hadn't arrived at that moment, then …"
"Yeah. We have to be careful." They could hear the sound of the Ten Suns leaving for the invasion in the distance. She didn't know why, but she felt a chill run down her spine.
Meanwhile, in a run-down building, a girl in a thin, short cotton dress shivered, lying on the cold floor. Her lips were parched, and she was thin; it was obvious that she was malnourished and dehydrated. She didn't stir at the sound of two men clanking down the hallway.
"Is it time to use her?"