Here's part 5 (Final [and longest] part of the arc)
Samurai warriors is a game I do own, but only my copy of the game. The game itself does NOT belong to , Enmu/Retsu/Taiyou does.
Bold for a flashback.
Some Sunshine, Swords and a Mask (Act:5)
The first things that alerted them that something they didn't like happening in their dear territory were the sounds of bells.
That jingle that was most heard at shrines.
But their men had already ran-sacked all those bells and anything valuable at the nearby shrine so, why did they continue to hear them?
The memory of a rumour they heard that evening from ladies at the brothel resurfaced.
"They say that that Kamen Rider Kitsune, who was going around today saving the townspeople was actually Lady Kuzunoha, enraged that the thugs in town were desecrating her festival.."
"Yeah, that's right, we haven't celebrated the thanksgiving harvest festival in a while, no?"
"Yeah, it's all their fault."
"I heard from one of the monks who used to work at the shrine that this was just the beginning, Lady Kuzunoha would have her revenge. They say you know when she's coming from the sounds of bells from the shrine."
"But didn't the yakuza already take all the bells..?
"Oh, now that I think about it, she would be rather angry, especially at that…" They giggled darkly.
Now, their boss (and now that they though about it, them too) wasn't that religious, which was the reason why they raided the shrine without remorse, but that didn't stop the two guards in front of their headquarters from becoming paranoid. They looked to the direction of the faint sound of the bells and saw nothing but darkness in the lonely street in front of their headquarters.
For a little while at least.
They rubbed their eyes hoping that they were being deceived. Maybe that damned ninja that the boss hired was playing tricks on them again? (Last time he did, they found all of their armour mysteriously sticking to the ceiling with no sign of any adhesive. When they inquired to him about it, he slashed down some of their comrades spouting nonsense about 'CHAOSCHAOSCHAOS') But the seemingly bright wave of energy that suddenly lit the road's torches was not an illusion. (Or was it?) The torches lit the street almost as if the sun were still up.
It illuminated the elaborately decorated festival float in procession down the street. It had around two dozen men all wearing kitsune masks carrying it and at the top of the float….
"AAAAAHHHHHHHH MILOOORRRDDDDDD!" The guards screamed as they panicked. "IT'S LADY KUZUNOHA! SHE'S HERE TO EXAC-" Boom! Boom!
Both men were down at the gunshots. From a top the float, Magoichi blew off some of the residual smoke from his rifle. "Looks like the plan is working." He grinned from under his mask.
"Milord... Mitsunari, how did you produce that wave of mysterious energy?" Taiyou asked using minimal mouth movement. Her role was to try to remain as poised as possible.
"Wellll… " Magoichi was about to break the fourth wall*, when Mitsunari stopped him. "It's nothing an identity confused woman like you would need to know."
"Identity confused?"
"Don't tell me that you think I wouldn't have noticed it, that you-"
"Looks like they're here." Magoichi said, cocking his rifle. The float came to a stop just outside the front gate and the masked men eased it to the ground. They stood still by the float as if they were stone sentinels. Mitsunari looked down from the top of the float at a well-dressed (and fed) man with an oily face surrounded by slightly horrified looking men. He assumed that this was their boss.
Kotaro's maniacal looking mug beside him confirmed this. Mitsunari glared at this. Said ninja looked twitchy. At least, more so than normal.
"We are here to speak with your boss in regards to the thanksgiving harvest festival for this year." Mitsunari spoke. He didn't want to waste as much of his breath as possible on these low-lives.
The yakuza boss gave the float an unamused look-over, but his gaze lingered on Taiyou. "So you're Kamen Rider Kitsune eh? This whole time, today's infamous ruffian turned out to be a woman. AND an injured woman at that." Taiyou's slinged arm got itchy. Too bad she couldn't scratch it.
He gave a loud, obnoxious laugh. "You've got to be kidding me. After we're done with you clowns, I'll make sure to administer your 'punishment' for your insolence myself." He made a perverted grin on his face that reminded of the last pig that Mitsunari had seen. He gave a grin at the mental image, seeing that the reason why he saw it was because it was headed to the kitchen.
Taiyou herself seemed unaffected.
"How DARE you speak to the Lady like that?" Magoichi played his part exceedingly well. "After you common street thugs have disrupted her festival for years now? YOU INSOLENT WRETCH. And here we are, gracing you idiots with our presence, in hopes that you would be willing to negotiate, and than you say such vulgar things?"
"I have no need for any sort of negotiations." Suddenly, the rest of the members of the Yakuza surrounded them, all with swords in hand. "Take care of this Kotaro. But don't injure the woman too badly. I want to be able to have some fun with her later." He grinned perversely as he stood back.
Kotaro tightened his gauntlet and hissed menacingly. "No guarantees." Kotaro than sprang up, claw on his hand ready to strike in mid-air. He won't be able to dodge in mid-jump.
Magoichi smirked and fired a few shots at Kotaro, but widened his eyes. Kotaro seemed as though he didn't intend to dodge the bullets and took one to the shoulder and to the leg. "HAHAHAHA!" He laughed as he brought his gauntlet down in Taiyou's direction. The force appearing as though it would hit all three occupants at the top of the float, forced them to jump off all at once. (Taiyou: How is it that he can summon a strange power as well? Mitsunari: JUST FOCUS) The flurry of seemingly instantaneous movements caused the Yakuza to let out battle cries and engage anyone who was near them (that wasn't an ally), be it Magoichi, Mitsunari, Taiyou or one of the float carriers.
Speaking of the float carriers.
Said float carriers ripped off their masks to reveal that they were in fact warriors from the old clan. They gave no battle cry as the plan was set into motion. Instead, they said thing like: "Hey you bastards, can't catch mee~" Why is that there seemed to be a flowery background as the warriors pranced away..? They even broke their formation and spilt up too.
Instead of battle cries, they mocked the other Yakuza and ran through the streets. There seemed to be classic chase scenes happening all over the city. One member of the old clan would be chased by around three from the new clan. It would be quite entertaining to watch. But one would ask, what the point in this was? Wasn't Mitsunari supposed to have a plan? Speaking of Mitsunari…
After he had evaded Kotaro's attack, he landed quite softly on the ground keeping himself aware of the enemy ninja's ploys. The dust created from the attack had yet to settle so his visibility had been hindered. His concentration slightly broke when he heard gunshots being fired in seemingly random directions. Looks like he's going after Magoichi first. He used his fan to clear away the dust flying around and spotted him a few meters away. He seemed to be doing a dance, when Kotaro would appear in one direction, Magoichi would shoot, in another, he'd slash with his bayonet and from behind, either one depending on the distance. He seemed to be barely keeping time with the ninja's random appearances.
Mitsunari quickly dispatched a member of the Yakuza who tried to sneak up from behind before rushing to Magoichi's aid. He slashed at Kotaro who was about to slash Magoichi's shoulder. Kotaro dodged and the dance continued, except with the three of them. Parrying, dodging, blocking, attacking. It became an intricate dance.
"Oh? Is the proud fox actually trying to help me?" Magoichi said with a bit of a laugh in his voice.
"Hmph. I plan on taking the glory while you do the work."
"Haha. You bastard!" Magoichi made contact with the ninja with his bayonet. There was a hiss as Kotaro took a slash to the leg. His movements became slower, so the dance became one-sided. It was Kotaro on defence. He ended up having to block both the bayonet and the fan at the same time, gripping them with his metal gauntlets. "Why is a dog of the Hojo clan here?" Mitsunari inquired.
Kotaro hissed again and with a smirk on his face, replied: "Chaos is never satiated."
Crazy Bastard. There was a sudden movement and suddenly Magoichi was shoved to the side, and Mitsunari knocked to the ground. The sharp pain Mitsunari felt immobilized his left arm (not that he was using it). Kotaro had sunk a few of his clawed fingers into his shoulder and through the stitches that had been attempting to heal already. A red stain began interacting with the red leaves of his kimono. He had him effectively pinned with his forearm pressing down on his neck. He could smell his foul breath through the mask's nostrils as Kotaro smirked down at him. Mentally, Mitsunari gagged.
"The way you two fight is unlike any of the of the ants here…" He hissed. "I'm guessing you were in the battle with the Akechi that happened just yester-" Mitsunari quickly got up as Kotaro had to dodge an arrow and a bullet that came his way. His left side bleeding profusely, he looked to Magoichi who literally held the smoking gun and was poised for another shot. The arrow..? He saw Taiyou carrying a bow disappear over a wall being chased by a few yakuza. He laughed a little to himself and poised himself in an attack stance. He concentrated and felt energy course through himself **. Looking to Magoichi, he could tell that he felt the same way. This is going to be the final attack…
Each of the members of the old clan found themselves in narrow alleyways, flanked by low walls, as Taiyou observed, running on the tops of said walls. Her shoulder's stitches had come undone when she shot the arrow, so her kimono was stained with red. It wasn't that bad of an injury, so she chose to ignore it. A few of the members of the new clan were trying to run after her on the tops as well, but many fumbled. Eventually, she stopped running when she found was in earshot of most of the old clan members. Taking her naginata***, she knocked off and dispatched the couple of street thugs who remained with her mid-ranged weapon.
Than, with all of the breath in her lungs, she screamed: "NOWW!"
The clan members who were being chased, suddenly spun around engaged their pursuers. Each of them had strategically run into places and alleys that were tight so that no more than one or two people could pass through at a time. This eliminated the problem of the difference in their numbers. The warriors were fairly strong each and were able to meet them without this disadvantage. The scream had also alerted the townspeople, who from the safety of their homes, subtly helped the old clan members. They had enough of the new gang, so rocks were thrown, kitchen knives, furniture, hairpins, pottery and even pots and pans were thrown at the yakuza.
Taiyou gave a wide smile as she heard explosions and screams from the direction of the firework's shop. The triumphant howls of the townspeople told her that the plan was working.
"Lady Kuzunoha!" She nearly didn't respond when she heard the name being called. She looked down on the street to see a group of old clan members watching her with reverence. They were unaware of her true identity. She tried not to blush in embarrassment. "What would you like us to do now?"
"Let's go back to their headquarters." She tried to sound as 'deity-like' as possible. "My attendants would require assistance." Lord Ishida would have her head if he found out that she referred to him as such! She thought. But that was the role they were supposed to play. Ignoring the pain in her left side, she ran to check on her commander.
"Hmph. My purpose was fulfilled. This town was filled with chaos to the brim…"Kotaro said, huffing heavily. Multiple areas of his body were bleeding from either gunshots or wounds from Mitsunari's fans. This won't be enough to kill him…damn ninja. Mitsunari could feel the sudden energy burst dissipate. During the rush, he and Magoichi were able to inflict heavy damage to him in the short time they had. Time to finish him off.
Kotaro suddenly laughed. "I will live to bring chaos another day!" He suddenly threw a smoke bomb to the ground. Mitsunari cleared it away to show that Kotaro had vanished.
"Heh. He ran away!" Magoichi said, holding his rifle on his shoulders. He had a big grin on his face.
"Now, it's time to get rid of the main problem." Mitsunari said, striding into the building of the main headquarters, where he assumed their boss would be.
Magoichi walked up beside him. "H-Hey! Wait up!"
"Milord!" Taiyou ran up behind him and kept with his hurried pace through the building. It seemed relatively emptied out.
"Report."
"The plan worked sir. As predicted, the townspeople had assisted. No major casualties were reported."
Mitsunari smirked. "All that's left is the king cockroach." He opened a double sliding door at the end of the hallway where he could see faintly glowing light shining through the paper. He saw the boss drinking, surrounded by scantily clad women and bodyguards. When he saw them, his face turned to that of utter surprise.
He wasn't expecting the enemies to come straight to him. In fact, he was expecting a messenger that would have informed him of the quick dispatch of the weird masked group (and maybe the woman nicely wrapped up for his usage).
Instead, he found said woman with her two attendants, appearing like the demons in stories he knew as a child. They were pretty frightening after all, with their blood-soaked robes and their disguises. It didn't help that it was night time and the flickering candles made their demonic shadows dance around in the room. The women squealed in fright and ran out of the room, right past the trio. His bodyguards, also scared out of their minds, held their weapons with shaking hands.
"This town has had it with the oppression that was caused by you." Taiyou said, walking to him in full view. With the way she walked, Mitsunari was surprised that she had that much grace in her. Pointing her naginata at the boss, she continued, "now, it is time that you receive your punishment." Right on time, members of the old clan appeared at the door with some rope in hand. They were going to take him in as if they were the police. Mitsunari mentally laughed at the irony.
Completely cornered, scared and outnumbered, the hired bodyguards held expressions that almost screamed that they were giving up. The boss wiped sweat from his brow with a scowl. "WHAT DID I HIRE YOU SCUMS FOR? GO GET THEM!" The guards reluctantly charged forwards, only to be shot or slashed away by the trio and the old clan.
They noticed that amidst the distraction, the leader had fled. Che.
They quickly gave chase and searched the premises only to find his limp body in the pond in the yard. His blood dying the water a dark red. Standing over him with bloodstained gauntlets was Kotaro. "HEheheEHehe. No one can ever control the winds of chaos." He said before disappearing in mid-air.
"Sir, is it just me, or was that one of the most corny exits ever?" Mitsunari felt it unnecessary to answer her question. Loud cheers from the old clan erupted as the realization that the new clan had been destroyed. "BANZAI~BANZAIIIII~!"
"We did it, milord. (even if it was Kotaro who delivered the final blow)" Taiyou said with a small smile on her face.
"Hmph. I do not take pride in such a meagre endeavour. Now that this matter is settled, it is time to administer your punishment for your insubordination."
"Punishment, milord? May we discuss it over a game of Go?"
"Don't even-"
"My Lady Kuzunoha!" A voice bellowed. The cheering stopped and the clan members parted way for an old man with a merry look on his face. I'm assuming that this is the old clan's boss… "I thank you for your kind intervention! Now we can proceed with your festival!"
(In the background, some old clan members appeared to be cleaning up after the night's battle, taking away the bodies and such. I just thought they should be mentioned, because clean-up duty is always overlooked)
"N-No Sir… It was just for the sake of this operation, I'm not-"
"I knew already." The old man smiled warmly. "Thank you young lady. We'll forever be in you debt." This made her cheeks warm up and she slipped off her mask.
He turned to Mitsunari, still with that warm smile. "I know that we're in major debt toyou as well, Lord Ishida." Heh. He knew. Mitsunari and Magoichi slipped off their masks as well. "This town will forever be indebted to the Toyotomi. Please inform your lord of our goodwill."
"I will." Mitsunari said, with the tone of authority in his voice.
"I will have someone tend to your injuries. If you have some time, would you stay for the festival? It is due to your efforts that it can finally come this year aftera-"
"HEY OLD MAN! What about my thanks?" Magoichi interrupted.
"Don't worry. I haven't forgotten you. Now all of your tabs have been paid. I should think that has been more than enough."
"You sly old man." Magoichi sheepishly scratched his head. Taiyou raised her sleeve to stifle her giggle.
"Now than, would you two grace us with your presence at this festival? It would be held tomorrow night due to the clean-up and set-up, but I'm sure it would be grand."
"Milord?" Taiyou glanced at him. The reason why she was there in the first place was for the festival.
"We have to regroup with the Toyotomi forces, so after we're patched up, we're leaving."
"…Yes, Milord."
"That's a shame." The old clan leader said.
The whole thing was dealt with in a single night, so it was now morning.
He had slept well for a couple of hours.
The first thing he was grateful for, was the fact that immediately after the dissolution of the new clan, the brothel was converted to a teahouse. As it was originally. (A brothel does exist, still in the town, but it doesn't force its women).
Now he can rest without mysterious moaning everywhere. His shoulder still ached with the new stitching in, so he simply sat in the middle of the room, looking down at the unfinished Go game from before. Even though he was patched, he was supposed to wait a couple of hours before any horse-back riding, or other large movement. He would have to rest in the meantime.
So, if she places here, than I would place-
"Remember Tai. This is a new position, so I'm sorry if I'm rough."
"Do not worry, I'm sure I can handle it."
"Even with your injury?"
"You'd be surprised~"
"Than let's get started!" THUMP!
"Looks like you did it wrong, let's try it again." WHAT. THE. HELL. Mitsunari mentally smacked himself. The brothel was converted, and yet they planned on doing it here, and this loudly? Damn these thin walls.
He stood up and strode to the room next door, slamming open the sliding door without a care that he might stumble onto something indecent. His eye twitched at the scene.
On the floor, a heavy Go board with the black and white stones scattered around it was lying on its side, most likely fallen over. Magoichi was standing up, most likely being the one that knocked it over. Taiyou was kneeled on the ground, and was non-chalantly picking up the stones.
"Milord…. Mitsunari, you're here just in time. Would you please assist me in helping Magoichi in learning a new Go strategy?" Mitsunari mentally face-palmed.
"Have you forgotten that I have to administer your punishment?" Mitsunari said through clenched teeth.
Taiyou froze. "Heheh. Tough luck Tai." Magoichi took this opportunity to escape through the sliding door behind the seemingly angry commander.
"Milord, I'm about to reset a Go board right now, may I request that-"
"No. I will directly give you punishment right now with no debates." Turning his back on her and facing the hallways, he spoke to her still, with the voice of authority. "First, since I need time to recover, you may go to the festival."
"Ah." She was confused.
"It is a reward also, for getting me the opportunity to gain the loyalty of this town for Lord Hideyoshi. This will be beneficial to the Toyotomi later on. However, you did disobey a direct order, so you may attend the festival," He had an evil glint in his eyes that Taiyou couldn't see. "On the condition that you must wear that fur headdress for the festival's duration."
"Ah…Th-thank you Lord..Mitsunari…" Her tone had reluctant happiness in it. He knew she had really wanted to attend the festival, but the headdress was stifling hot (especially now in the summer, during the daytime), and very itchy. He walked back into his room slightly dissatisfied with the punishment he gave. Too lenient.
I'll give her more upon our return.
References:
* - One of mistunari's special attacks to to send out an energy wave from his fan
** - Musou mode
*** - a japanese glaive. Traditionally, it was women that mostly carried this.
Also, I'll take requests for certain pairings. The rest of the story in my head allows for such at this point. Perferably not homosexual (I don't think I'm well-versed in that area). Taiyou can even be in a pairing if you wish.
