Chapter Two: Shadows of Evil

Nagashima Main Fortress

Lord Keikoku's expansion through Owari's neighboring provinces was met with constant resistance but few armies had ever hindered the combined armies of Lord Keikoku and Lord Chinou significantly. The Andero clan was a major threat to Keikoku's power but the battle at Nagashino had been a pre-emptive strike in order to destroy the Andero threat before it got out of control and, in the end, even the Andero clan was incapable of stopping him.

The Ikko-ikki, however, had proven to be a strong opponent to Keikoku's expansion. Not even a real clan or army, the Ikko-ikki was an alliance composed of humble peasants, priests, monks, and a handful of local noblemen that had been in existence for well over a century. Up until Keikoku's campaigns, the Ikko-ikki had been quiet and non-problematic for they believed in the use of force for defense only and when Keikoku began to sweep across the land, the Ikko-ikki stood in his way. Though without an organized army, the Ikko-ikki had constructed a series of fortresses and castles, known as Nagashima, within the Owari province itself and had repelled two sieges by Keikoku in the past three years. After two sieges, the Ikko-ikki had established themselves as proficient users of arquebuses and excellent tacticians at siege warfare. Keikoku was angered greatly by the stifling resistance put up by these 'peasant warriors' and vowed that he would see their fortresses burn to the ground one day.

As such, though peace existed within the walls of Nagashima, its denizens knew that Keikoku and his armies could return at any day. The walls had been fortified several times over; cannonades were emplaced along the walls facing both land and sea; and any adult male was shown how to carry, load, and fire an arquebus. They knew what happened to those that opposed Keikoku – a warrior monk sect at Mount Hiei had their temple burned to the ground along with every man, woman, and child within it. Should Keikoku breach the walls of Nagashima, there would be no mercy to the warriors and their families within.

The people of Nagashima had been enjoying a tense period of peace since the summer of the previous year. However, a fresh summer was coming and the people were worried that a new summer would prompt the return of Keikoku and likely in even larger numbers than before. Rumors of the rise of Keikoku's naval forces had spread throughout Nagashima's populace. It would only be a matter of time before Keikoku devised a plan to breech the fortress' defenses. Keikoku was stubborn but he was not stupid and he wouldn't return unless he had a winning strategy on hand. The last siege of Nagashima was won thanks heavily to the sudden rainstorm that had doused the arquebuses of the Keikoku army and left the terrain bogged down. Rain would likely not save the Ikko-ikki if a third siege happened.

Nagashima wasn't the only vestige of the Ikko-ikki. Another castle, Ishiyama Hongan-ji, was already under siege by Keikoku's forces and had been that way even longer than Nagashima. Neither fortification could send their forces to help the other. Nagashima might not be under siege but the surrounding regions were under Keikoku's control and no army of theirs would be able to march unseen through them. All the people of Nagashima could do was sit, wait, and hope that somebody in Japan had the strength and resolve to stop Keikoku's forces. Morale, unfortunately, was very low in the complex; they were simply too deep in Keikoku's territory to be worth the effort of rescuing. It was likely that only the death of Keikoku himself would be able to stop the inevitability of Nagashima's fate.

Much of Nagashima's success against Keikoku was owed to a nobleman who had assumed a sort of leadership role at the fortress. His name was Daichi Wayanabe – a nobleman who had opposed Keikoku's rise to power from the beginning and allied himself with the Ikko-ikki when he heard of their plight. He was a powerful man as well as rich and well versed in the art of combat. While much of his fortune was put to use providing food, supplies, and equipment to the people of Ikko-ikki, he opposed the use of his funds to purchase arquebuses from sympathetic gunsmiths. Daichi held no love for the arquebus and it was only because the survival of the people depended upon their use did he allow their continued presence within Nagashima. Wayanabe's skills on the battlefield were without reproach and it had been rumored that he had once served as a ninja of the Iga clan. The Iga ninjas were some of the best in the land and, unfortunately, served directly under Lord Chinou.

During his stay at Nagashima, Wayanabe took the time to help train many of the inhabitants in the ways of ninjitsu in order to prepare them for the likely deployment of ninjas against the fortress. Though still inexperienced, the handful of ninjas at Nagashima would be pivotal in the event of a siege.

One such student of his, though, was a nameless orphan found in the aftermath of the first siege three years ago. With no name, no past, and no family, Wayanabe took the child in under his wing and began training him as a protégé. He was simply referred to as Komadori, after the flock of birds that were found around him when he was first discovered. He was quiet and reserved at first but took to Wayanabe's training quickly and soon became one of his most promising students.

Every night, including this particular night, Komadori could be found sitting silently in the courtyard of the central keep. He would always meditate for a short while after a training session with his sensei. He stood out amongst the gray stone tiles in his white keikogi that was stained with some sweat and blood. A few beads of sweat still clung to his spiky, obsidian hair and though his body ached from training, he remained perfectly still…until he heard some footsteps approaching him.

"Komadori," a familiarly stern voice spoke up from nearby. He immediately recognized it as belonging to his master, Daichi. "You ended your training session early tonight. Might I ask what's troubling you?"

"Nagashino," Komadori replied quietly, obviously hiding any hint of emotion in his tone. "Keikoku defeated the Andero clan."

"I know. I heard the news as well," Daichi remarked, running a concerned hand through his short, dark hair. "Probably the only army that can stand to oppose Keikoku now is the Uesugi clan of the Echigo province."

"Like they'll make a move any time soon…" Komadori growled in disgust. It was no mystery that Komadori had no liking of Keikoku and would like nothing better than to see them ground into dust and he had put a lot of hope into the Andero clan actually being able to drive them back. Alas, it seemed even more hopeless now, as the mighty cavalry of the Andero were smashed to pieces by Keikoku's invincible war machine. Surely after such a victory he would turn his attention back to Nagashima and ride the momentum of victory. "Why are we sitting here anyways?" he asked, rising to his feet. "We number almost 20,000 strong now and our people are growing anxious and weary of waiting for death to come to our doors."

"Calm your temperament Komadori," Daichi replied calmly. "If we marched our troops out, where would we go, hm? How far do you think we'd get before his armies surrounded our troops, destroyed them, and then came to this defenseless fortress and put it to the torch? You are brave and skilled…but you keep forgetting to think about the bigger picture."

"I am thinking plenty of the bigger picture. We cannot survive here forever…and with every siege we will grow weaker and fewer in number."

"And you don't think I know that?" Daichi shouted harshly. "I am aware that we are alone, isolated, and with no allies for hundreds of miles. I am aware that there is nobody who will come to our rescue and that we will most likely die at Keikoku's hand."

"Then we should take the fight to him! It would be better to die on our feet with a weapon in our hands." Patience was not one of Komadori's strong suits and he had long since picked up on his sensei's stubbornness as well. Though they butted head on many occasions, nobody trusted Daichi's judgment better than Komadori.

"And become a footnote in the annals of history? I think our people deserve better than that if they are to die. I would at least die with some satisfaction knowing that we caused more damage to Keikoku's forces than any other force in Japan. It's not much but…we don't have the luxury of choice in this case. I'm sorry Komadori…but we have to stay here. I am not going to let these people die so far away from their home for nothing." When Daichi put his foot down, there wasn't a damn thing that Komadori could due to change it. He only sighed and tried to convince himself that it was Daichi's greater knowledge and experience talking. It was no mystery that Komadori yearned to be more like his sensei and while he was much younger, thinner, and less experienced than Daichi, he had more determination and enthusiasm for his discipline than anyone else in Nagashima.

"There has to be more we can do," Komadori muttered to himself as he simply marched off to return to his bedchambers for the night. Daichi was left lingering over his protégé's words, wondering perhaps if there was some truth to it all.


Komadori always had trouble sleeping on nights like tonight where news of Keikoku's success continued to pile upon their doorsteps. Morale was at an all-time low and the night was darker than usual, which made it almost perfect for a new offensive. Komadori was half-expecting to see the flags and torches of the Keikoku army rise up over the horizon…or at least those of one of Keikoku's allies. However, the landscape was kept under a veil of darkness…not even the slightest sign of an advancing army. If he did come, Komadori figured that the only satisfaction he would get in this life would be to see Keikoku die by his hands. But what were the chances Keikoku would take position anywhere near the frontline this time? During the second siege the Ikko-ikki arquebusiers came so close to shooting down Keikoku in their counter-attack but their shots failed to find their mark.

Damned inaccurate weapons…had they been archers Keikoku would be dead.

Komadori could still vividly recall the one time that he saw Keikoku on the battlefield. The man's orange and black armoured suit stood out amongst his minions but when Komadori saw him, he was almost red with blood from head to toe. And that stare…his one-eyed stare; just one look made Komadori almost freeze in his tabi boots. Komadori watched as Keikoku slaughtered the entire squad of soldiers he had been accompanying and was powerless when he tried to strike down the daimyo. The words the daimyo spoke to him before oddly sparing his life still lingered on his mind as fresh as they day he heard them.

"Fly away little birdie…this is not your destiny."

Every night Komadori wondered why he had been left to live when a dozen other soldiers were slaughtered without mercy. Ruthless did not even begin to describe Keikoku on the battlefield. Komadori only prayed that he would one day have a second chance to get revenge on that man. More training was needed though; he simply wasn't strong enough yet.

Like with every restless night, Komadori decided to turn to a light midnight snack to help calm his temper…plus training had left him a little puckish. However, even a snack didn't help that much as his tapped the bottom of his wooden bowl idly with his chopsticks. He listened to the sounds of the night…the flutter of the occasional bird, the rattle of chimes and lanterns outside, and the subtle creaking of the wooden fortress. Komadori thought it was strange that the creaking at his balcony had fallen silent so suddenly…it was usually loud enough to keep him up at night.

There was somebody on the balcony.

Suddenly, two ninjas burst through the balcony doors. Draped in dark cloths, the two assailants wasted no time in charging at Komadori, hurling a pair of throwing knives at him. Reacting instantly, Komadori turned the bowl on its side and used it to ricochet the first knife while the second impaled the improvised shield. His attackers promptly drew out their short swords and flanked to his sides for their attack. However, Komadori was a lot faster than either of the older ninjas, quickly alternating between the two as he weaved around their attacks and continued using his wooden bowl to block their strikes. Blocking a high strike from one ninja, Komadori swiftly counter-attacked with a kick to the gut followed by another kick to the second assailant that tried to take Komadori from behind. Using the brief lull in the fight, Komadori flipped the bowl over and pulled the throwing knife free from his 'shield' then quickly whipped it into the second ninja's leg.

The first ninja tried to attack again but when he stabbed Komadori turned the bowl upon him again. The ninja's sword slid effortlessly into the hole left behind by the throwing dagger, allowing Komadori to spin and flip the bowl around to pry the sword from his hand. Young Komadori caught the hilt of the sword easily and with a flick of the wrist the bowl was flung over to the wounded second ninja, smacking him right in the head and toppling him over quickly. Though disarmed, the first ninja wasn't ready to give up…though he should have. Komadori made two quick slashes across the ninja's chest before turning about and delivering a backhand stab to finish the intruder off.

"I'm guessing it'd be pointless to ask you to surrender," Komadori mused, twirling the ninjato idly in his hand. To no surprise, the ninja said nothing and instead hurled a pair of throwing stars at his adversary. Komadori quickly dove forward, straightening his body so that the two throwing stars glided just inches shy above and below him. He landed into a front roll that he emerged from to deliver a precision thrust that felled his opponent and barely making a sound in the process. Had this been a proper assassination attempt, Komadori would've executed the strike flawlessly.

"Iga clan…" he muttered quietly as he looked to the garbs worn by his attackers. The Iga ninjas wouldn't have been deployed against Nagashima unless there was an siege underway or immanent and even then it didn't make much sense since the ninjas appeared to be attacking the people in the keep rather than sabotaging the vital points of the fortress' defense lines. Why would the Iga ninjas be here? The reason dawned upon the young lad swiftly. "Sensei!"

His master would be residing in one of the highest rooms of the keep, which meant Komadori had a lot of stairs to climb in order to reach him…or he could take the quicker route and climb the outside of the building. Grabbing his favourite wooden staff from his weapon rack, Komadori raced out to the balcony and onto the rooftops.

Meanwhile at the top of the keep, Daichi was already well awake from the strange noises he heard from the lower floors. It didn't take a genius to realize that somebody had infiltrated the keep and was causing havoc for the guards and soldiers in the lower floors. Feeling it would be best to prepare, he headed over to the weapon and armour racks that were on the far side of the room. Numerous blades, staves, knives, bombs, and other useful tools were laid out in shelves and racks but the first things that Daichi went for were the armlets. Composed to durable steel and adorned with a set of claw-like extensions along its length, the armlets was his favourite tool of the trade and he quickly locked both securely onto his forearms. The moment they were secured, he stopped what he was doing and calmly relaxed his posture. He should've seen this coming…

"You can come out," he spoke casually, even though there was nothing but light and shadows in his room. "I was wondering when he would get around to sending you."

Like stepping through a doorway, a figure emerged from the shadows along the far wall. Draped entirely in black clothes with a distinct feminine figure and though only her eyes were visible, Daichi already knew who it was. Her name was Fujin Niiro, the lurker of the shadows, the stalker in the night, and the most feared ninja in all of Japan whose very mention has caused warlords to surrender in terror. "My lord has commanded for me to bring him your head. If you surrender now, I promise I will make it painless," her smooth, yet malicious voice chilled the air like the morning frost.

"You're welcomed to try Niiro."

"So be it!" Niiro shouted before leaping towards Daichi. Her arm suddenly extended beyond any human limits and smashed through the wall just inches shy of an evading Daichi. Just as quickly, the arm retracted and pulled Niiro towards her target. This time, Daichi dove to the side as Niiro slammed feet first into the wall again and then sprung off to attack again. Daichi was much faster than Niiro though. Before she could even make her next attack, she slammed face-first into Daichi's foot, launching her right back into the wall.

"Still spry as ever old man," Niiro remarked, rising to her feet without so much as a sign of soreness from Daichi's attacks.

"And you're still as headstrong as ever." Now it was Daichi's turn to take to the offensive. A drop kick square to the chest kept Niiro pressed up against the wall, though all of his follow-up punches only impacted against the wall as she contorted her body in ways that made a person question whether she even had a skeleton anymore. Niiro's arm extended once again and quickly wrapped around Daichi's body then gave him a hefty heave to the other side of the room. The downward trajectory didn't give Daichi enough time to recover and he skipped across the floor before crashing into his bed. When Niiro began to close in, the balcony door burst open with young Komadori entering the fray.

"Komadori don't!" Daichi shouted in vain as his young protégé attacked the shadowy Niiro. His staff struck right on target but Niiro head simply swayed from the blow like she was made of jelly. Komadori didn't even get a moment to question the reality of what he just saw before being backhanded and sent flying across the room.

"Something…wasn't right there," he groaned as he got back to his feet.

"Get out of here Komadori, you're no match for her," Daichi explained as the two stood at the far end of the room from Niiro.

"And leave you alone with her?"

"You're not ready for this yet. It's not your time!"

"My time?"

"Don't argue and run!" Daichi knew Niiro wouldn't hesitate to try and use Komadori against him and he couldn't allow her to exploit that weakness. He rushed Niiro, going more on the offensive than he felt comfortable with and prayed that Komadori would listen. His attacks were precise and vicious, using the talons upon his armlets to rake across Niiro's body…though every tear only released small tufts of smoke before sealing right back up. The attacks might not be inflicting permanent harm but Daichi knew Niiro better than anybody else and knew how to wear down the ninja who had been described as being totally and utterly relentless.

Unfortunately, Komadori was young, reckless…and probably a little on the stupid side, as he charged to join in on the fight. He didn't realize that his blunt staff would do little to nothing against Niiro's unique body structure. The protégé flanked to the side and jumped in to attack but Niiro saw the boy's plan and managed to pull Daichi inwards and threw the master into the path of the apprentice. Daichi had no choice but to duck quickly to avoid a catastrophe, which gave Niiro the opening she needed to sweep an elongated arm low and knock his legs out from under him.

Komadori's second attack was more successful. He quickly recovered from his botched first attempt and moved in to stop Fujin Niiro from striking his fallen sensei. Her talon-like finger extensions were swiftly met with an upward strike with his staff, knocking her hand aside and leaving an opening for Komadori to deliver a powerful thrust. The result took the inexperienced warrior by surprise…though everything about Fujin Niiro was puzzling at best. The staff went straight through her chest, despite the impossibility of him actually being able to do that. More puzzling, though right on par with everything thus far, was the lack of bleeding or grunts of discomfort. Instead, she simply grabbed hold of his staff and pulled it to the side; the staff passed through the rest of her body like gliding through water, leaving behind only a few whisps of smoke as the hole filled itself immediately afterwards.

"What the devil are you?" Komadori sneered.

"Your worst nightmare made corporeal," she simply mocked in retort. It took only a flex of her fingers to snap the end of his staff and then she wrapped her lengthened digits around Komadori, two of which stopped shy of tightening around his neck.

"Komadori!"

"No moves Daichi," Niiro warned. "Or I pop your little boy's head like an overripe berry."

"Leave him out of this – your orders are for me," Daichi argued.

"And why should I? You know I don't like leaving witnesses alive."

"Cause you know I will kill you if do that. I know your weakness after all."

"An interesting point," Niiro mused. "If you surrender to me, then I promise I will leave this boy here and without injury."

"Don't do it sensei! Forget about me," Komadori immediately objected but was promptly silenced by the fingers wrapping over his mouth.

"Be quiet child, the grown-ups are talking," Niiro remarked over the continued muffled objections. "Now, do we have an agreement?"

"Do I have your word of honour?" Daichi asked without even a second of hesitation.

"You have my honour that I will leave and not set foot into this keep until my Lord orders me to do so again." By this point, Komadori was struggling just to try and sound his refusal to go along with this deal but every time he tried to free himself, she simply tightened her grip.

"Then I lay down my arms to you Niiro," Daichi said grimly with a heavy sigh.

"Could you do something about your apprentice? He's not going to go along with this quietly," Niiro remarked as Komadori remarked unusually still. It was perhaps just the shock of the situation rendering him unable to even muster the will to object with his muffled shouts. Daichi slowly nodded, walked over to his young protégé, and delivered a firm chop to the back of his neck, knocking him out cold. In an uncharacteristically careful manner, Niiro set the young boy and stepped aside so she could continue with their…arrangement.

"There's something I wish to do first…"


It took a few hours for Komadori to finally regain consciousness. He awoke to find the room completely empty and the keep relatively silent. It took a few moments for him to recollect the events leading up to his sudden blackout and once he did Komadori was just about to jump out the balcony door when it dawned upon him that he was far too late. Once again, Komadori was left absolutely powerless while the people he cared about were taken away from him.

"Sensei…" he muttered under his breath as he looked to the open balcony door. The sun was just starting to creep over the horizon…a new day was beginning. With some light in the bedchambers, he finally noticed the small piece of folded paper on the ground beside him alongside a part of metal armlets much like his sensei's, only slightly smaller. Quickly, Komadori grabbed the note and hoped for some message of hope to have been left behind.

"My young protégé - By the time you read this, I will already be dead. I know you objected but this was the only way for you to live on. You must live on. The day I found you, one of the Shinto priestess told me that there was an air of fate about you and that you were destined for great things one day. For reasons I still cannot fathom myself, I believed her and every day of your training led me to believe it even more. You will accomplish great things Komadori but you cannot if you die here today, nor if you stay at Nagashima. Do not pursue Fujin Niiro – you cannot defeat her with vengeance in your heart. You have become a fine warrior and my only regret is that I will not be able to be there to see what you accomplish and guide you as you continue your training. All I can leave you with is this pair of armlets I had been saving to present you when your training with me was complete. Remember – there is more at stake here than personal vendettas…and one man can shape the fate of a land."

Komadori let out a quiet sigh of mourning as he folded the letter back up and tucked it into his sash. His eyes gazed over to the armlets mentioned in the letter – much like his sensei's they were composed of lightweight steel painted black with spines along the length of it. As Komadori picked them up, he realized that it was time for him to leave Nagashima. As much as he hated to leave his home and people, especially after the loss of their leader, but he had to heed the last wishes of his sensei. While he did not quite understand what his sensei saw in him, he knew there was a lot more wisdom in his sensei's cryptic words than he could ever comprehend in his youth.

Retreating to his bedchambers several floors below, Komadori fetched his keikogi and other equipment to ready for travel. Its dark red cloths had always been his favourite. Quickly changing into the red keikogi, dawning his tabi boots, and fitting on all his protective armour plates, all coloured black, he fitted on the metal armlets his sensei left behind. They fit perfectly and comfortably…so light that he barely even felt their weight and so conforming that they didn't even shift as he moved his arm about. After he tied down his sash, which house a number of pouches for his tools, he headed over to his weapons rack and filled them up with various bombs, tools, and weapons. Over his shoulder he slung his ninjato, which had several throwing knives fitted along the front of its strap. Lastly, he dawn his black scarf around his neck and pulled the small extension of cloth that served as his mask, covering the lower half of his face snugly.

"I will find some way to avenge you sensei," Komadori commented quietly to himself, stepping out onto the balcony to face the rising sun. "I will stop Slade…and I will find a way to kill Fujin Niiro…somehow." With one last look to the keep that he had called home for the past several years, Komadori leapt forth from the balcony to find this 'destiny' everybody seemed to be speaking about.

He just hoped that there would be a Nagashima to return to.


History Behind the Story:

The battle of Nagashino actually occurred well after the sieges of Nagashima, which happened in 1571, '73, and '74. The precise, historical location of Nagashima is unknown to this day and it is presumed that the site has since been constructed upon by modern structures. Nagashima consisted of several castles, fortresses, and a reinforced monastery known as Gansho-ji, which has since been rebuilt at a new location.