Disclaimer – I own neither contents from Black Lagoon nor from Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice.


"Wolf..!"

The cheek of the slumped shinobi was blistering in stifling heat as it was resting on what seemed like a floor of sand. The vibrant sounds of distant cries of seagulls from the blue skies, white-frothed waves drenching the sand beneath, and modern ships billowing out charcoal-black smoke filled the surrounding humid atmosphere. The smell of the ocean overwhelmed his olfactory senses and his nose instinctually continued to sniff out the salty scent that lingered in the hot air. The One-Armed Wolf felt blazing-hot sun rays latching on his other cheek. Next to hearing the seagulls, the passing waves, and the bellowing of the ships, he continued to hear ringing voices of his master:

"Wolf..! Are you alright..?!" cried out the Divine Heir, shaking Wolf's shoulder. Wolf blinked open his eyes with his blurred sight shifting to clarity. He rolled his half-shut, bloodshot eyes to the worried eyes of his master. Upon seeing the Divine Heir, the shinobi went wide-eyed and right away sat himself upright, facing Kuro while keeping pressure on his pulsating migraine.

"Lord..Kuro.."

Facing away from his young master for a while, he intimately surveyed the novel surroundings. First, he sighted the massive Western-designed ships drifting on the calm blue ocean. Next to the massive ships he spotted smaller propeller-supported boats with skinny, aged fishermen dressed in conical hats and white top vests throwing out nets and baits to the ocean depths. Wolf then traversed his sight to a massive rock further ahead in-between the crowding ships and boats. He then snapped his eyes to his back to spot clustered concrete buildings that resembled to favelas sprawled in South American regions. At the further back of the buildings were tall skyscrapers that easily shadowed most of the shorter buildings that massed around the gargantuan structures. Him seeing the modern-designed buildings reminded him of when he first witnessed the buildings in Raccoon City – except the buildings that he was currently sighting were less stunning in visuals.

"Where.."

Initially thinking to have had arrived in the lands of Ashina, the briefly-startled One-Armed Wolf raised to his feet with sand trailing from his respective cheek and attires. The Divine Heir helped the shinobi dust away the sand covering him.

"Where are we..? Have we arrived in Ashina, my Lord?" inquired Wolf. Kuro shook his head sideways to express his own share of confusion.

"I do not know, Wolf..However, from the looks of it – "

Kuro, like what the shinobi was doing, gazed around once more to freshen his memory on which land they were currently standing on.

" – and from where we are, I would say we are far from Ashina.."

When the thought of Genichiro surfaced, the One-Armed Wolf frowned and gripped the hilt of his Kusabimaru.

"Where is – "

"Lord Genichiro? He is over there by the shores," informed Kuro; he pointed to the far right and, just as he mentioned, Ashina's commander was seen standing close to the frothing waves, gazing at the vast ocean and the ships that occupied it. His golden kuwagata on top of his helmet let off a radiant shine with the sun rays reflecting from it in all directions. His golden-trimmed black cape and the silver-white horsehair plume on the zenith of his black, red-trimmed helmet wavered when a gust of wind blew past him. Devoid of any movement and gestures, Genichiro was standing so still that he resembled a figure of a concrete statue.

"He seems to be clearing his mind – "

Kuro's statement came to a brief halt when, all of a sudden, the grandson of Isshin kicked hard on a nearby rock, sending it flying a mile away towards the direction of the ocean.

" – as he is doing his utmost best to remain calm.."

Once the rock plunged into the ocean, Genichiro briskly walked over to a fisherman's boat that recently landed on the shores. When the fisherman sighted the armored warrior walking to him, the old man, despite his age, panicked from the inside and skipped a beat in his heart. The fact that Genichiro had a deathly aura around his glare didn't help soothe the fisherman any better in his growing anxiety over the approaching commander of Ashina.

"You," called out Genichiro in Japanese. The skinny old man jumped his feet off of the hot sands with his conical hat falling from his bald spot upon hearing the warrior's gruff, intense voice. Genichiro went face-to-face with the old man with a stern, aggressive expression, towering the elderly man.

"C-Can I help you..?" stuttered the shivering fisherman in his native Thai language. The impatient Genichiro ignored the language barrier – as the only thoughts rummaging through his mind was quickly getting to Ashina.

"How far from Ashina?"

The confused fisherman let out a nervous laughter.

"You must excuse me..I don't speak your lang – "

Reaching his psychological breaking point, Ashina's commander unsheathed his katana, which the stainless edge of its curved blade shone brilliantly in sunlight. The fisherman yelped when the warrior brandished his weapon and fell on his buttocks when Genichiro pointed its tip between the eyes of the fisherman. The fisherman's widened eyes crossed inwards to the blade. Genichiro's glare only grew more intense.

"One last chance. One last chance before your head rolls on the sands for the birds above to devour. How far am I from Ashina? Speak quickly. My patience with keeping you alive runs thin – and thinner the longer you foolishly keep me in the dark," he threatened. Out of breath due to numbing stress, the elderly man went on his knees and clasped his hands together, pleading for his life.

"P-Please don't kill me..! You can have the boat..! You can have everything – but please don't kill me..! This poor old man is begging you..!" he whimpered. In the nick of time, Kuro approached Genichiro's side and glared above to the warrior with a disapproving frown. Wolf walked over to the scene and stood just behind his young master, glaring at Genichiro.

"Lord Genichiro! Enough! Put aside your blade! You must restrain yourself! He has done no wrong! Can you not see?!" reasoned the Divine Heir. The commander of Ashina had his vicious glare placated to a calmed countenance. He returned to his senses from his unbridled rage and, taking heed of Kuro's words, sheathed his katana in restraint. The fisherman crab-walked a few paces away from the Japanese trio and sprung to his feet, sprinting for his boat. While running for his life, the shuddering old man glanced behind to the trio to see if they were pursuing him and accidentally collapsed face-first on the sands, crab-walking a few more paces to the back and recovering to his feet once more to make his final run for his boat. He got on the transport and rushed to pull the wire to the propellor engine two times, high-tailing from the shores as soon as the engine roared. With the fisherman and his boat speeding away past the massive rock, Genichiro offered a subtle apology to Kuro.

"I have acted rashly, Divine Heir of the Dragon's Blood."

"Yes. Yes you have, Lord Genichiro. I understand you dearly long for your beloved Ashina, but you must not let your impatience befuddle you. You will eventually find yourself in Ashina, but you must adhere to stoicism – "

Genichiro abruptly interrupted Kuro.

"Ashina is nothing without me – just as I am nothing without her. Imagine Ashina without me in charge of the army, which is now in shambles – "

Traversing his gaze to the shinobi, he gave Wolf a deathly glare.

" – all thanks to one pesky shinobi. Because of him, Onikage is without his master, Gyobu. Because of him, the Blazing Bull that was entrusted to guard the entrance of Ashina Castle is slaughtered. Because of him, several of my generals lie deceased."

Ashina's commander approached a foot closer to the Divine Heir, towering Kuro.

"I now ask you, Divine Heir: Who else is left? Who else is left to keep the gates from being overrun by the forces of the Interior Ministry? Who else is left to keep the Ministry rats from crowding the roofs of Ashina Castle? The Seven Spears Ashina, as mighty as they are, cannot hope to keep the Ministry at bay just by themselves. The Ashina Elite, as swift as their blades may be, grow more frail by each passing day and night. So I ask you again, Divine Heir: Who is left?"

"Isshin Ashi – "

Genichiro scoffed at Kuro, interrupting him.

"Grandfather? He has not drawn his blade for years. Yes. He was a fabled, legendary warrior at his prime, but I cannot say the same for his current state. All he ever does is hound on his booze and chatter away with the Daughter of Dogen. The conviction that rested in his eyes now burns dimly with him withering in age."

Wolf was inclined to disagree and saw Genichiro vastly underestimating Isshin's lethality and capability with the blade. The shinobi distinctly remembered the dozens of purple-cloaked Ministry shinobis the ex-legendary warrior trailed behind him while he was disguised as the Tengu of Ashina. Isshin, while disguised, was also the one who provided the One-Armed Wolf extensive training with the Mushin and Ashina combative arts.

"He is stronger than you think," claimed Wolf. The grandson of Isshin reverted his glare to the shinobi.

"I do not remember asking you, Shinobi of the Divine Heir. You know nothing of my grandfather."

The two warriors locked their gazes to one another without a word, letting the cries of the fluttering seagulls above and the swashing of the frothing water just besides them to cover the silence. When a gust of wind blew past them, drifting pelts of sand away from beneath their feet, Genichiro broke the silence and headed to the direction of the city, going past Wolf and Kuro. He found engaging Wolf to be not only senseless, but also meaningless and time-consuming during this moment with Ashina nowhere to be seen from their current position. Genichiro was too mentally preoccupied with searching for traces of Ashina to even bother clashing swords with the shinobi.

"We have delayed for long enough. We move onwards."

The shinobi faced the commander of Ashina.

"To where?" he inquired. Genichiro ceased walking and shifted his face about, facing Wolf.

"To wherever we can."

Genichiro proceeded to walk to the direction of the clustered buildings, which were half a klick away from the shores.

"I must get to Ashina. I will one way or the other," muttered Genichiro to himself with strong conviction as he was speed-walking for the buildings. Behind him, the One-Armed Wolf and the Divine Heir followed along with the shinobi remaining close by the young master's side. As they were walking, Wolf gazed below to Kuro's bare feet.

"My Lord, are your feet not hot?"

Kuro returned Wolf with a smile, shaking his head to the sides.

"It is more than bearable, Wolf. I can walk from here. Thank you."


Author's notes: Hope you guys enjoyed this little teaser! Expect the next chapter, which will be around six times the length of this one, to be released in a couple days!