A note on ages: It's now the beginning of summer. Kirara and Shino are twenty, and Akemi is turning twenty in a few weeks. (She's a Leo.) Katsushiro celebrated his 18th birthday in December. Kyoichi is 28, and Tatsuko and Toshiki are in their mid- to late-forties.


Ukyo groaned. The pass was steep and the air was cold and damp, making the thin scars on his face ache. (1.) He had quickly dropped behind everyone else. Even Akemi, who usually would have fallen flat on her face a dozen times by now, was doing a better job than him. Just…keep thinking of Kirara. That's all I can do now. His vision wavered, blurring his view of Akemi in her borrowed red coat.

He leaned against the rocky wall to catch his breath, gasping. His chest and ribs seared with agony as he coughed, trying to extract oxygen from the thin air. Pain…can't breathe! Black spots danced in front of his eyes as he fell to his knees. A metallic voice next to his ear asked, "Hey, Ukyo-kun, you okay?"

He jumped, realizing that Kyoichi had dropped behind to check on him, and had spoken without bothering to raise the lid of his Yakan. "D-don't do that! I'm fine." A sound that could have been a snort answered him. "Yeah, right. You're coming with me." With that, the Yakan grabbed his collar with a mechanical arm, pulling him along to join the rest of the group.

Katsushiro glared at him. "Why did you help him? He's just holding us back—ouch!" Akemi had slapped the young samurai in the back of the head. "He's my brother. Plus, do you want to personally dismantle who-knows-how-many Nobuseri? No? Then you'll need a sniper—and he's S-rank with rifles; I'm only B-rank." (2.) As she glared, he stepped back. "Hmmph. Okay."

"That's nice. Let's keep going! Oniichan, are you alright now?" Ukyo nodded, and his sister grabbed his arm, carefully placing it around her shoulder (the one that wasn't weighted down with her shoulder bag). Smiling, he nodded.

Akemi called ahead to Tatsuko. "Hey, Amami-sensei! How's the path ahead?"

"Rocky, steep and with a lot of loose gravel. Ukyo-kun, hang on to your sister—you know how she's got no sense of balance. We should reach the halfway point by tonight if we hurry."

Unnoticed by the group, a Tobito was watching them, focusing its single eye on Ukyo. "Transmit video feed."


Toshiki squinted at the computer screen. Is that… A young man with blue hair had his arm slung over the shoulder of a teenage girl. He smiled faintly, folding up the laptop. The technician asked him, "Toshiki-sama, what should we do?" He shrugged. "I have to go tell someone."

He strode to the halls until he came to his chamber and threw the door open. A voice inside yelped, and he sighed. "Girl. You have to stop doing that every time I open the door."

Kirara flushed as he entered the room. "I'm sorry…"

"Never mind. Look at this." He placed the laptop on a metal desk and opened it with a flourish, showing her the video the Tobito had captured. She gasped in shock. "Recognize anyone?"

Ukyo! "No, sorry. These people are complete strangers to me!"

He grabbed her shoulder, making her wince. "Liar. Why protect them? Why protect the boy? He'll only hurt you." Trembling, she met his gaze. "I love Ukyo-san. Why do you try to protect me and yet you want to kill him?" His eyes widened, remembering.

"Father, I know you're trying to protect me…but I love this man. I want to marry him…"

"My…my daughter…she was married to a man very like your Ukyo, a rich merchant. And do you know what happened to her?" Kirara shook her head as he continued, voice like steel. "She died in childbirth, her and my grandchild. She was so happy… 'Look,' she said, 'you're going to be a grandfather. Isn't that wonderful?' And then she died—that bastard of a son-in-law killed her!"

Kirara laid a hand on his arm consolingly, but her voice held no sympathy. "I'm sorry about your daughter…but it wasn't her husband's fault she died in childbirth, and it doesn't affect me and Ukyo-san. And…if he comes here…" She glanced away, tears gathering in the corners of her eyes.

Toshiki threw her arm off, shaking. She looks…just like her. Just like Moriko…my daughter, I wonder if you still watch over me. And…if you can go to nirvana knowing what I've become.

"…I didn't see anything crossing Ishigaki Pass."


Hours later, after a hasty meal cobbled together from the food they had gotten from the inn, the group arranged themselves on the ground in a clearing to sleep. Ukyo winced; no matter where he put his sleeping bag, there were rocks jabbing him in various uncomfortable places. I hate this. I really, really hate this. On the opposite wall, Kyoichi had thrown the lid of his Yakan open, and was snoring loudly. Around him, the samurai were sleeping peacefully, bundled into their sleeping bags and blankets.

Noticing this, Akemi threw her hands up in the air and asked, "What is this? Is there some sort of samurai gene that lets those two sleep on rock like it's a feather bed?" She had found a reasonably flat place to sleep, and was bundling herself up. "By the way, oniichan, there's a place over here."

"Thanks." He threw his sleeping bag down, carefully placing Benzaiten next to him. As he pulled his blankets over himself, he heard Akemi say sleepily, "Oniichan…when we reach Kirara-chan, you'd better ask her to marry you. Okay…?"

He stared up at the stars, taking a deep breath. Marry…Kirara? He knew he loved her…but to be truthful, the idea of marriage had never crossed his mind. Logically, he knew he would have to get married someday, but he had never envisioned it as meaning anything. But this is Kirara. She's…different. Marrying her would be wonderful. When I see her again… Before he could finish the thought, he drifted off to sleep.


They reached the other end of the pass at sunset the next day. Tatsuko saw it first and gasped in horror.

"The trees…"

Ukyo came up behind her, peering over her shoulder; he stared. What had once been a rich forest was now a wasteland filled with the decaying tree stumps. The stench of motor oil hung heavily in the air. Nobuseri swarmed overhead, and, in the place where Uken-mura had once been, there was Shigeo's base—an ancient, refurbished Honmaru battleship.

Softly, Akemi remarked, "Wow…it looks like the capital. Only a little smaller, I think. Oniichan…?" Ukyo had started to tremble, unshouldering his rifle. "This place…it was beautiful once. It will be beautiful again." He smiled, and the others shivered. "Come on, everyone. Let's go kill Nobuseri!"

Katsushiro glared at him. "Not so fast. Look out there—don't you see how many there are? We need a plan." Akemi shrugged. "Hey, you guys didn't have a plan when you went after the capital, and everything turned out alri—" Ukyo indicated his stomach angrily, and she winced. "Sorry. Forget I said anything. But really, the only plan that might work now is 'going in there with guns blazing.' Unless you, oh fearless leader, have a better one?"

It took Ukyo a few seconds to realize the question was directed at him. He blinked in confusion. "Um…um, hang on, let me think…Ah! Here's an idea. I stay here and pick them off from a distance, and you guys go fight them up close." Disappointed, the young samurai sighed, but Akemi and Tatsuko looked at each other and grinned. Kyoichi flew over to them and asked, "Well, what about me?"

"What about you?"

"What am I going to do? I can't fight like you guys—at least, not without a sword." Tatsuko unwrapped a bundle that had been strapped across her back, and Katsushiro gasped as she pulled out a finely made taisenshatou, explaining, "I come from a samurai family, but I gave up the sword a long time ago. I took this with me because I thought it might be useful—maybe I could sell it on the way. But now I see it should be used one last time."

Turning, she presented the sword to Kyoichi with a flourish. Lifting himself out of the Yakan, he accepted it with a deep bow, buckling it on his waist. "Thanks, Tatsuko-san."

Then, with various battle cries, they swept down the hill and into the fray.


Akemi sprang out of the way of an unfortunate Raiden as Katsushiro sliced it to ribbons, spinning to tear holes through a Benigumo. Somewhere, she knew that Tatsuko was doing the same thing. She halted for a moment, wheezing. Damn…out of practice.

She shrieked in panic, realizing a Nobuseri's sword was heading for her. As she jumped out of the way, it toppled over. Thanks, oniichan. Regaining her poise, she shot through the hordes of mechanical samurai, dealing death in her wake.

Meanwhile, Tatsuko was utilizing her former samurai training, running straight up a Raiden's arm to shoot it up close. As she leapt back to earth, she saw a red streak below her, followed by a greenish-blue flash. Akemi-san and Katsushiro-kun…Ganbarre!


Toshiki watched the monitor with a sinking feeling. "Hirosegawa-dono's not going to be happy about this…" Kirara leaned over his shoulder curiously and gasped as she saw her friends tearing through the Nobuseri. As she watched, a Nobuseri that had been taking aim at Akemi dropped, as though shot from a distance. She smiled slightly. Ukyo…

Toshiki stood up abruptly. "Right. Well, then." Kirara trembled. "What…what are you going to do, Toshiki-sama?"

He grinned. "I'm going to go report my findings to Hirosegawa-dono…but first, I'm going to open a door. Here." With that, he pulled a revolver out of his shoulder holster and tossed it to her. Catching it automatically, she asked, "What do I do?"

He sighed heavily. That's right…she can't fight her way out of a paper bag. "Here's the trigger, here's where the bullets go in, and all you have to do is aim and fire. Keep your finger off the trigger until you're ready to do that—shooting yourself in the foot really, really hurts." With that, he left.

Kirara stared curiously at the gun, lifting it slowly. So…this is what it feels like to hold a gun. How strange. I thought it would be heavier. She thought of Ukyo's offer. Now I know he'll save me. When he does, I'll ask him to teach me to save myself.


The assembled group fought their way to the building. Out of breath, Akemi gasped, "Katsu-kun—opening! There!" He grabbed her by the collar, pulling her the last few feet to a door that had been left ajar. As they caught their breath, they were joined by Tatsuko, who was bleeding from a series of small cuts, and Kyoichi, who had avoided the fights completely by zooming down the hill in his Yakan.

Katsushiro started to run in the door, but was stopped by Akemi. "Wait for my brother, okay?" He sighed, but held his place.

With the larger Nobuseri defeated, Ukyo ran down the slope, blasting away the Mimizuku and Tobito in his path before finally skidding to a stop just inside the door. Kyoichi slammed it behind him, leaving his Yakan in the corner. "Where to now?"

Ukyo leaned against the wall, letting Benzaiten drop to the ground. "I'm going after Hirosegawa. Akemi, Amami-sensei, you guys go save Kirara-kun."

"What? But, oniichan, I thought you—"

He grinned at her. "You're supposed to protect Kirara, aren't you? Isn't that what you set out to do?"

She nodded, smiling back. Right. That's my job. I…am Kirara's bodyguard. I have to do my job. "Okay. It would be nice if we had a damned map…but beggars can't be choosers. Come on, let's go, sensei." Katsushiro demanded, "What about me?"

Ukyo smirked. "You? You stay here and guard the Yakan and my rifle—I won't need it in here."

As Akemi and Tatsuko made their way to the place where Kirara was being kept, Ukyo and Kyoichi ambled through the halls. Nervous, the older man checked the sword Tatsuko had lent him. "Still sharp…Good." Ukyo snorted, reloading his guns. "What were you expecting? You didn't use it! You just snuck past all the Nobuseri without even fighting—good job on that, by the way. That's what I would've done in your place." (3.)

They reached a fork in the road, and looked at each other. Ukyo shrugged. "You take the left-hand path, and I'll take the right-hand path. You've got that two-way radio, right? Give me one, and call me when you find him." Kyoichi nodded, and they split.

Ukyo walked down the hall alone, nerves on edge. His footsteps echoed on the floor. Although he hated to even think such a cliché, it was much too quiet. We just decimated a good number of his troops. Why are there no guards? Hearing movement ahead of him, he froze, relaxing as it moved away.

Eventually, he reached a large steel door with a crest etched into it. He squinted at it, turning his head to the side. That mark…He smiled, recognizing it from long-ago studies. Shigeo Hirosegawa, here comes your death.

Hirosegawa was waiting inside, calmly inspecting a large katana. "Ah…I was waiting for you, akindo-sama." Ukyo snarled a curse, leveling Orihime. "I am not a merchant anymore."

"And yet, you still use a gun. And you know what they say about merchants…" Shigeo's smirk was positively hellish. "Underneath their fancy robes, there beats the heart of a coward. If you had any sort of honor, you would have slit your stomach like a man! But then again, maybe you aren't a man at all…"

Ukyo fired. Coolly, Shigeo blocked it with his mechanical arm, before turning and running. After a few seconds of staring blankly, Ukyo gave chase.


Meanwhile, the two women fought their way across the castle. Unlike the area surrounding Shigeo's chambers, this place was packed with guards. Dispatching the last mechanical guard with a well-placed shot, Akemi turned to her old teacher, who had fallen to her knees. "You okay?"

Tatsuko nodded, straightening up slowly. "I told you—I'm old. When you're old, things don't work so well." She coughed painfully; concerned, Akemi put an arm around her shoulders. And then she smelled it.

"Cigarette smoke…?" Together, they proceeded down the hall and rounded the corner. At the end of this hallway, there was a door. A man in his forties was leaning up against it, calmly smoking a cigarette. When he saw them, he stubbed it out on the wall, addressing them.

"Is one of you Akemi-san?"

She blinked; taken aback by the fact that he showed no fear of her or the guns she carried. "Yeah, that's me. Whaddaya want, ossan?" (4.) He smiled politely. "She's in here." Opening the door he had been leaning against, he snapped, "Girl, your friends are here."

Akemi squealed with happiness as Kirara emerged, running to hug her friend. "You're okay! I mean, of course I knew you'd be alive but still…Oh, I'm babbling now, aren't I?" Hugging Akemi back, Kirara gave a slightly hysterical laugh. "I'm just fine; Toshiki-sama protected me. Where's Ukyo…san?"

Seeing that Kirara had almost forgotten her usual honorific, Akemi grinned as she replied, "Going after Shigeo Hirosegawa." She turned to Toshiki, who had introduced himself, with much formality, to Tatsuko.

"Do you know where he is?" Toshiki nodded. "Follow me. I'll take you to him. Kirara-san?" He indicated the revolver she still carried. "Don't hesitate to use this if you're in trouble. Let's go."


Ukyo ran up seemingly endless flights of steps, following Shigeo. "You coward! Get back here!" The demented Nobuseri leader cackled as he continued to run, bursting through a door. Ukyo followed.

He found himself on the roof of the building, and froze. The wind howled around him, whipping his hair into his face. Shaking, he dropped to his knees. I can't move… Ahead of him, his nemesis laughed. "Well, what do you know? My hunch was right! Getting a sense of déjà vu, Amanushi-sama?"

Ukyo trembled as memories assailed him. He was in the capital, firing at the old samurai, who simply ran straight forward, not even dodging. All his bullets were deflected…There was a bright flash, followed by searing pain, and he fell to the ground. He was out of bullets. He was going to die.

"Kirara…"

Shigeo drew his sword, walking towards him. "Your Kirara isn't here, and even if she was, she couldn't save you. You can't even save yourself!" He raised his sword for the killing blow. "I wonder if the Amanushi will reward me if I kill you." Behind him, the door to the roof opened.

Kirara had run up the stairs in panic, followed by Toshiki, Katsushiro and the other women. Now she stood in the doorway, wide-eyed and staring, unnoticed by either combatant. "Ukyo-san…" He's going to be killed! "Ukyo-san…UKYO! Move!"

Shigeo paused, glancing over his shoulder in annoyance. Ukyo's head snapped up, eyes focusing. Kirara…she said my name! Galvanized into action, he threw himself to the side, narrowly avoiding Shigeo's downward swing, and fired.

The bullet ricocheted off Shigeo's left arm, spinning off into space. Smirking, Shigeo struck back; Ukyo dodged and fired again. These bullets tore through the other arm. He cried out in pain, but kept his grip on the katana. "You little brat!" With a snarl, Shigeo slashed at Ukyo again, cutting a deep wound in his arm and causing Hikoboshi to spin out of his hand.

Ukyo scrambled backwards, trying to stay out of range of the sword. Frantically, he fired with his remaining gun, but Shigeo blocked or deflected the shots. "Just face it. Samurai are the ultimate fighters. A mere gunslinger could never defeat a true bushi."

Ukyo pulled the trigger…and nothing. There was only the clicking of an empty chamber. Smiling triumphantly, Shigeo raised his sword again for the kill. Ukyo's eyes widened in horror. And then a shot rang out, and the samurai buckled. As he fell, Ukyo realized he had been shot in the back of the head--and Kirara was standing behind him, holding a smoking gun with a look of great shock on her face.

She trembled, falling to her knees and dropping the gun. "I…" Ukyo ran to her, embracing her tightly. She sobbed into his shoulder. "H-he was going to kill you! I had to…" He grinned, kissing her. "I love you so much; you know that, right?" She smiled through her tears, clinging to him. A loud wolf whistle caused them to pull apart.

He glared over her head at Tatsuko, the source of the whistle. While Kirara had been watching the fight, the others had quietly crept up behind her. Akemi grabbed the doorframe as the wind picked up, whimpering, "Can we go home now?" Katsushiro edged past her and retrieved Ukyo's handgun, throwing it to him roughly.

Catching the gun, he ignored his sister's question, turning instead to the girl in his arms. "Kirara-kun, are you alright now?" She winced, shivering as she caught sight of Shigeo's body. "I'll be okay. How…how are we going to get home?"

Toshiki grinned. "I'll take you to Kanna. I have a transport vehicle I borrowed from the Shikimoribito years ago and…forgot to give back. I think it'll last long enough to get all of you home." Ukyo glanced at him suspiciously. "And why should we trust you? For all I know, you could be planning to have us killed."

Kirara looked from one to the other. "Ukyo-san…it's okay. He saved my life; I think we can trust him." Toshiki tried to look as innocent and non-threatening as possible, mindful of the other's skill with guns.

"Hmmph." Ukyo nodded at the older man, rubbing his injured arm. "Get us out of here…before my sister passes out." Akemi was trembling, holding onto the doorframe so hard her knuckles were turning white. Tatsuko sighed, gently prying her student's fingers off the metal. "C'mon, Akemi-san. Let's get out of here."

As the others made their way down the stairs, Kirara looked up at Ukyo, shaking. "I…I killed someone…" He shrugged, picking up the revolver she had dropped and tucking it into his belt. "He deserved to die. Don't worry; it'll be alright."

Kirara nodded mutely, vision blurred with tears. I killed someone…he's dead because of me! With this blood on my hands…will the water crystal work for me again?


Author's Notes

1. I keep mentioning the scars on Ukyo's face, but they're not really that noticeable. They're very thin, white scars that stand out strongly in certain lights, such as sunset.

2. There are 4 types of guns in Houtedo: handguns, rifles, shotguns, and heavy artillery (machine guns, etc.), and each of these has its own set of skills. A gunner's skill with each of these is measured by ranks from E (rookie) to A (mastery). The vast majority of shooters fall in the range of between D to B-rank. S-rank shooters are the rank above A. Not only have they mastered their specific gun type, they are also qualified to teach others. Reaching S rank takes years of practice.

3. At this point, Ukyo has suspected that Kyoichi is another Amanushi clone, but since he's not sure, he'll probably never say anything. Kyoichi is clueless, naturally.

4. "Ossan" is a contraction of "oyaji-san", which means something like "old man" or "you old geezer". It's not a very nice thing to call somebody.

Next Chapter

After Kirara's "crime", can she ever be the same? When the gang gets back to Kanna, they have a bigger problem—Shimada Kanbei has returned to the village, with the intention of finishing what he started! Will this spell doom for Ukyo and Kirara? Find out next time!