"Okay, Fawks-chan, all you have to remember is that they all hate you and you have to give them a reason not to" Itnasha began, as they walked through camp.

"Surprisingly enough that's not helping" Fawks replied.

"What? I'm giving you an objective to strive for. At least Mamezou will be on your side"

"And what makes you think that?"

"I'm just trying to be optimistic…"

"You're an idiot" She sighed.


"Can you believe Sessho-maru-sama made her a general?!" one male growled.

"Ginzo trained me, dammit! I only want to serve under him…!"

"…I know the runt's happy…"

They glared in Mamezou's direction.

"Feh, he's probably fucking her too…"

Mamezou's jaw clenched, 'Damn her…I thought I'd be free of that whore with the upcoming battle…'

All chatter went silent when Fawks and Itnasha addressed the crowd.

"Well, good morning to you too" she scoffed behind her filtering mask. Several growls erupted and Fawks chuckled.

"I know full well none of you like me very much and it's adorable how you think I care"

A few of them seemed taken aback by her bold statement.

"This isn't a training game, this is war. That means if you disobey me, even in the slightest, you die either by the enemy or by me" her eyes flashed red. The scent of fear made Fawks smirk. "I don't put up with bullshit, therefore if any of you feel like giving me any, I'll shove it back down your throat and make sure you choke on it"

With that she turned her back on them, striding to her tent, Itnasha close behind.

"Cheeky bitch…"

"She should know her place"

But their complaints were half hearted.


"The enemy is to south of us but they are marching fast. They will find our camp in a matter of days if we don't act"

"We could always retreat…"

"That's cowardly…!"

"But if the others aren't ready for battle…"

Fawks remained silent during the entire exchange, absently studying the map while the soldiers bickered.

"What do you think, Fawks-sama?" Itnasha announced, breaking through the chatter. All eyes fell on her.

"I was thinking that I was never one to back away from a fight…" she pointed to a spot on the map. "This field is between our camp and the marching army. This is where we make our stand"

"But…the soldiers…!"

"If they're not ready they die, as simple as that. They've been training their entire lives for this purpose, I'm not going to coddle them" she said, "We move out in two days' time, tell them they better be ready by then"

The others left her tent and Itnasha chuckled, "And here Sessho-maru-sama arranged advisors to help you out, you don't need them at all, do you, Fawks-sama?"

"Sessho-maru knows I'm gonna do what I want no matter what anyone says. Besides, those guys are idiots" Fawks scoffed, removing her poison shielding mask. "If we retreat now, the enemy will think we're weak and they can pick us off at their leisure. We've got to strike fear in their very souls, I have faith in Sessho-maru's army. If they couldn't do at least that, they'd would never have been able to make it this far"

"Well put" Itnasha nodded, "perhaps you should tell them that"

"And let them think I respect them? They have to earn it" Fawks smirked.


"Muriaki-sama, Sessho-maru-sama's army lies through the wood…"

"If they haven't already retreated…" he scoffed. "To think, Sessho-maru would give command of one of his legions to a mere woman with no previous training. This is a farce, hardly worth my skills"

"I hear she's been sleeping with his lordship, merely a whore he's trying to keep happy"

"And he passed over our noble princess Sachiko for this?! Once I catch her, I'll send her head to her master" Muriaki snarled.

The militia broke through the forest, entering a vast field.

"We should hurry, my lord. To be so exposed…"

"Nonsense…! Who would dare attack us? Our only enemy lay cowering on the other side of this trifle…" he laughed as the sky above them suddenly darkened. "The only thing that dares to impede us is the rain"

The soldiers looked up in horror to see, not rain clouds, but a hail of arrows, thick enough to block out the sun come pouring down upon them.

"Retreat…!" Muriaki announced, preparing to wheel his horse around.

"We can't, my lord….! There is no time…!"


"Wait…" Fawks muttered, she and her army hid with in the tree line on the other side of the soon to be bloody field. "Wait until you hear their screams…then devour what's left"