Believe it or not, I started this right after I posted Katana's Discovery, so I had the last chapter done before I posted it. I hit an easy street, and I don't plan on getting off any time soon, so these chapters hopefully aren't boring. One other thing: sometimes I will reuse some songs in later chapters or other stories because they fit better than any song I know. I've decided to post this early; so in other words, I'll post on either Fridays, Saturdays, or Sundays. Enjoy, and remember: Read and Review!

Song for this chapter: I Will Not Bow by Breaking Benjamin. I do NOT own it.

Unaga's Scar

"Unaga, don't I have to go back to Tsukeuma's cave today?" I ask Unaga as I follow him through camp. He bends his head back as if he's going to look at me, but doesn't. "No, today we're going to check the borders of the territory, and make sure that none of the enemy army has invaded." We reach the edge of the camp's borderlines, and I breathe in the sweet scent of fallen pine needles as the landscape changes from ground wet with blood to the trees full of life and not damaged.

"Why isn't this part of the forest damaged like all the rest, Unaga?" He smiles to me as he stops and pats a tree trunk, admiring its beauty. "This part of the forest hasn't been fought on. We're fighting for a worthy prize, Katana. And I don't plan on losing it to a few fools who suddenly decided to become greedy." I look back from where we came and see some ash on the ground, along with some burnt grass.

"Well, it seems that this war is killing the forest more than saving it, if you ask me." Unaga gives me a look, and I hear my teeth clack together as I snap my mouth shut. "That's what everyone says, but here's the thing," He takes a seat on a nearby boulder, and I follow suit. "Do you see those ashes, Katana?" He points to the ground, and I nod. "Those ashes signify tarnished life, but it offers hope for the other lives around us. Look at the trees leaves where it rests." I look up, and he's right.

Those leaves are healthier than any others in the area. It seems that it's absorbing the leaves on the ground to increase its own power. "Katana, I need to tell you the real reason that we're out here." Unaga interrupts my thoughts, his voice booming across the valley causing birds to flitter from their grasp on the tree branches above. The whole forest seems to have grown silent.

Nothing is daring to make a sound as Unaga sighs out. "Have you ever wondered why Annala doesn't have a mother?" … Speaking of which, isn't everyone supposed to have a mother? Aluan and Xavia had one, didn't they? "Unaga." He looks over to me with sadness in his battle-experienced eyes. "Where is Annala's mother?"

Unaga sighs out shakily, as if he's trying to hold back tears as he slumps over in a depression. "Her mother… was…" He suddenly becomes full of rage and gets to his feet. "Her mother, my wife, was taken by those d*** Sages!"

"What?" Is this yet another reason that this whole war is going on? Unaga lets out a growl as we continue walking through the forest, and we reach a clearing full of burnt flowers. A wind gusts up, causing many petals to whisk upwards to the sky. Unaga stares up as the tension starts settling. "My wife, Annala's mother, was taken by those… those monsters!" Unaga raises his hands to the sky as the sun shines above, seemingly oblivious to the dark thoughts churning below.

"They didn't show any mercy, Katana, and they never will." Unaga bunches his fists and lowers them to his side, his long hair going into his face, shielding it from view as his body starts racking with sobs. "They had me tied up, Katana. Tied to a tree while they carved her facial features deeper with a knife. They laughed as she cried," He whips his hair back and shows me his face. The scar above his eye signifies something…

"You want to know how I got this scratch, Katana?"

I don't know how to react, so I stay silent and merely permit him to continue by taking a lotus position in the air in front of him. He doesn't move from where he stands, he just narrows his eyes as he recalls the dastardly memory. "It all started about a week and a half ago. Me and Annala were doing fine, gathering supplies for the war that was about to befall us. It was right before the first wave. We were low on supplies, as were the Sages." His eyes fill with hatred; they seem to burn up from the inside.

Special POV: Unaga (I figured it would be easier to do this part of the chapter from his point of view instead of doing it from Katana's. In this way it's less boring. We start at Unaga's wedding.)

"Mikadzuki…" I kneel before my lover as she starts to give me a confused look. Taking her hand, I reach into my pocket, taking out a bracelet. It symbolizes an eternal partnership in my clan, and I'm about to ask her to make an immortal bond with me. "Oh, Unaga…" Mika starts to say, staring into the bushes behind us, seemingly at someone. I ignore her strange behavior and continue. "Please… will you join me in my quest to make a perfect life?" Mikadzuki frowns at something behind me.

"Is there something there-" I try to turn to see, but Mikadzuki quickly grabs my face and turns it back for me to see hers, her eyes clouded with tears. "Yes, Unaga, yes, I will join you." She practically jumps on me while wrapping her arms around my neck. "I love you…" She says to me. I continue to suspect, but it doesn't matter now.

"… I love you too, Mikadzuki."

…

It was a bright day, the sun was shining with not a cloud in the sky, and Annala was jumping on me for me to wake up. "Daddy, daddy, come on, dad, wake up!" I turn to my wife. My beautiful wife, Mikadzuki.

(Mikadzuki means 'Crescent Moon', in English.)

Mika turns to me; "You said that you would show her where the hidden storage of firewood and food would be yesterday, Unaga." Her voice is so beautiful as it echoes against the hut walls. She moves, swinging her legs over the edge of the bed as she pushes herself up. "I'm going to take Annala with me, ok?" I ask Mikadzuki, who is now checking the closet for a new set of clothing. She picks out a sweet ocean blue dress, with a few sliver stripes leading downwards as it touches the floor-tomorrow is the meeting of our two clans-Us Nuhages, and the Sages of Muertos.

Mikadzuki gives me an adoring look as Annala jumps up and down at the sight of her dress. Mika looks over to me with a concerned look. "Does this look good on me?" She asks with a small frown. I see the way that the dress looks on her body-it hugs her hips softly, but not tight enough to make her seem… so. It shows some of her shoulders, and the dress goes down until her toes, covering her shoes. "That way it will hide the hiking boots that I'll be wearing when we travel to the meeting, get it?" Mika says. "How can you just ask for me to check and rate how you look?"

Mikadzuki smiles at me, and walks up to me, swinging her hips the whole way. Reaching up, she wraps her arms around my waist and is about to give me a kiss-"EWWW! MOMMY AND DADDY SITTIN IN A TREE~~~! K-I-S-S-I-N-G~!" Annala screams at the top of her lungs, and Mikadzuki smiles at her while I laugh. "Aw, Annala. You didn't let mommy and daddy kissy kissy?" Annala quickly shakes her head. "That's so GROSS!" I laugh at her. "Well, one day you're going to do the exact same thing, except with some other boy-"

"EWWWW!" She races out the room. I hold Mikadzuki close, her smiling the whole way. "I love you…" She says. "I love you too, my little moonbeam."

"COME ON DAD, LET'S GO!"

I sigh out as Mika laughs. This is going to be a long day.

As me and my daughter Annala reach our destination, Annala skips ahead to our special batch of flowers where we lay. It's beside a tree trunk, and a few boulders surround the area. I search for a pile of leaves, and kick them away as Annala laughs at a grasshopper she's found on the forest floor. I uncover a stone tablet, speaking: "Tolak mac taou, che Unaga y Annala y Mikadzuki si nilock. Nosodakimos yechna outo tushankda yupendi." It reads: "You have uncovered Unaga's family's treasure. Do not touch, shall they hunt you down and kill with their protective traits."

"Annala." By stating the simple name, Annala is at my side in less than a second, ready to hear what I have to say. "This here, this tablet, is the most important thing in our whole family." Annala cocks her head to the side and grunts questioningly. "But I thought that mom said we were going to find the hidden bundle of firewood and food…" I nod to her. "This is it. It's the most important thing. Inside this tablet is a map of the entire territory, including the enemy's." I point to a bush, seeming to hide something. "Beyond that greenery is a tunnel, which leads to the dark master's cave."

I've known the dark master since I can remember. Sure, he was harsh with me and everyone else I've brought to him that I thought would be a worthy student; they've all been killed by him though. But he promised me that he would parent my daughter if anything were to happen to her. I must make sure that she understands this.

I grab Annala by her shoulders and make her face me with a serious look on my face. "Listen to me, Annala. If anything happens to me, you are to go into that tunnel, do you understand? The dark master shall take care of you." She nods, and I breathe out a sigh of relief. Suddenly a small boy scurries through the bushes with a panicked look on his face. He bumps into me and doesn't seem to notice I'm there until I grab both of his shoulders to calm him down.

"Unaga! General Unaga-" He's huffing the whole time; he can't seem to keep his facial expression straight. "Hold on, kid. Calm down, I'm pretty sure that if there's a problem, we'll be able to fix it with no issues-" The kid interrupts me.

"Some warriors took Mikadzuki!" My heart stops. "They've raided the camp and have taken Mikadzuki prisoner, along with stealing a few…" His voice fades out. Annala's eyes widen as she takes in the information; it's as though she can't believe it. How could anyone break through the defenses?! The sharpest arrow isn't able to break through the walls surrounding the camp, how could this happen?

I grab up Annala and the boy as we race back to the camp; I don't stop to catch my breath as we reach it, I hear my heart pounding in my ears as I stumble into me and Mikadzuki's tent. It's completely ransacked. I check our makeshift dresser, and all of our jewelry has been taken, her clothing, our food… I feel a deep rage churn my stomach inside of me as I take everything in.

"Who did this?" My voice is deep and solid, totally different from what I thought it'd sound like, considering the situation. The boy is frightened by my serious expression as he tries to explain. "S-some rogue wa-w-warriors… They came to the camp… and they killed about fifteen people… they only took your wife hostage, s-s-sir… Unag-g-ga…" I shake the boy in my iron grip. "More, give me more information!" He cries out: "I saw them run east from the camp!" That's opposite of the Sages territory.

I close my eyes and breathe out, letting my body be washed over in a chilling wave of hidden rage. They will not get away with this, those fools. "We don't know who exactly did it, General Unaga." If they have hurt my wife, they won't get away with it.

"Kid." The boy turns his head towards me. "I want to call a meeting."

"At what time?" I look to the sky, and see the moon rising in the night sky. "Immediately!"

"It was bad. I had gathered all of the available warriors around a fire as we discussed our plan," I say to Katana as he gives me a horrified expression. "I… I wouldn't have a clue of what to do in that situation…" He says to me. Well, of course he wouldn't, he doesn't really have a family-stop being rude, Unaga. You wanted to share this story, and you deal with any questioning that comes with it. I continue recalling the nightmare.

"We had figured that we would go and storm the camp at dawn… but decided on a more peaceful manner in case Mikadzuki was still alive. The next day when we had arrived at the camp and had surrounded it, ensuring that there wouldn't be any escape if they were to try and run. We had bombs poised to strike at the center of the camp. I walked peacefully to the entrance of the camp until an archer shot an arrow at my foot, hitting the mark and causing me to fall over. That's when I demanded that they show me where Mikadzuki was."

"What have you done with her?!" I ask the archer as he chuckles and adjusts his position. He points inside the camp grounds, to a small bundle on the ground covered by a blanket. "Remove it so he can see his sweetheart!" He says mockingly. My eyes widen at the sight as they move it. Her body is mangled, there are cuts in various areas where rivers of blood are flowing down.

The worse thing was: They had carved the Sages of Muertos insomnia on her bare chest. Her lifeless gaze lands on me as the blanket is torn from her. "Mika… Mikadzuki…" I can't find my voice. I can't speak, can't move, can't function properly seeing her in that condition. I never truly knew what helplessness was until that moment in my life. A rage builds inside of me as the archer comes down from his post. "I figured that the b**** would be useless, so I killed her." He states it as if he's proud of what he's done. He looks back to her as if to admire his work.

A rage begins to boil inside of me, making my whole body start to heat up. "How many of you are there…" I state with as much control as I can muster. "Well, since you're about to die anyways… about ten." I smile at him in a blind frenzy as I suddenly jerk up, tearing my foot from its hold on the ground, ignoring the pain that shoots up afterwards as I grab the murderer's neck in an iron grip. I smile as he struggles in the air where I hold him, when he suddenly kicks my stomach, causing me to let him go.

"You little prick!" He motions for the guys behind him to follow. "Come one guys, this one's a fighter!" I look back to the tree line, and raise my hand. "NOW!"

"My own warriors charged from the trees at a rapid pace, not stopping to see the traps in which caught about five of them and carried them above by their necks, killing them. The others didn't pause to go into the fight." Katana frowns as he looks downwards in rage balling his fists, then looks back up. "How many warriors did you bring? From the sounds of it, not many…"

"I only brought about twenty-five, but the warriors of the killer were experienced. They killed off about ten others. Only five made it back, including myself. Fortunetally my fighters had cornered the others when there were only about three left, other than their leader. The others wanted to aid in the finding of the leader, but I dismissed them, telling them to take the other men as prisoners. I had followed the lead warrior into his tent where he was preparing to run… but I didn't know that he was prepared for my arrival as well…"

I deepen my frown at Katana as he takes in the story. "And… Mikadzuki had a secret."

Creeping into his tent, I search it for the murderous bastard who killed my wife. "Hey! Get out and fight like a man, you cowardly f***!" The air is suddenly winded out of me as I'm tackled to the ground, and knocked out. Right before I fade to black, I hear him chuckle at his little victory. "That wasn't very nice… I'll just have to take you along with me for that one…"

…..

As I awaken, I realize that I'm tied up to something and let out a groan. "Ah, so you're finally awake, my friend?" I hear the murderer's voice taunt me as it echoes in my ears. I try to slip out with the strength that I have in me. My vision focuses, and I see that the archer is holding a small pocket knife in one hand, and a burning stone in the other, his hand safely tucked away under a few layers of rags.

I try to respond with a snappy remark, but I find that my own mouth is stuffed with a rag, and I can't spit it out. The archer sees me struggling and chuckles to himself. "I couldn't have just let you yell and scream when I torture you know, could I? That would alert everyone!" He bends down to my level as he speaks to me, tapping the edge of the blade on my nose as he taunts me. "And I'm not that stupid, you know."

"And now to start your suffering… And there's one more thing that you should know." I'm too blinded by rage and fear of the future to care about what stupid remark he's willing to let me in on to care until he says it and it sinks in. "I used to be part of the Sages clan." He doesn't give me time to try and grunt in shock before he firmly places the burning rock to my chest, branding me with the Nuhages warriors mark, making me yell out in pain.

Eventually the archer is sick and tired of my mumbling, because he cuts a hole in the gag wrapped around my mouth, releasing a yell into the chilly night air as the smell of burned flesh seems to cover the area in a fog. I finally gather up enough sense and control to speak to the torturer. "Why… w-why are y-y-ou doing this.." I say to him, not even having enough strength to speak it as a question. My body is shuddering involuntarily under the pain that the archer has caused.

"What do you mean why am I doing this?" The torturer asks me. "I'm doing this just because I feel like it; that and I hate you; one of your females of your clan was in love with me when I was a young child and broke my heart without remorse for a fool who was next in line to be leader. Can you guess who that was?" While he's blabbering on, I take the opportunity to start wiggling out of the restraints, when realization finally dawns on me, causing me to halt only for a second.

It can't be true… "Mikadzuki was with me, you inconsiderate fool! She saw something in you that apparently no one else could see, and for that foolishness she chose you over I, who was to be the next in line for the throne in the Sage clan!" My hands start becoming looser with each tug I take with the ropes holding me.

"You're going to die slowly and painfully for this…" The warrior says to me, and lifts the knife in his left hand to my throat. "I've kept my temper for all these years…" His hot, stinking breath hits my face, and I push down the urge to gag. "… and now I'm finally going to have my revenge on the monster who took her away from me…" He changes his target and raises his hand to slash me in the chest-that's when I strike. Leaping from the tree just as he plummets his hand down, a sudden severe sting hits my face in the general area of my right eye. Ignoring the pain, I tackle the warrior to the ground, and we go into a life and death struggle over the weapon.

Giving him a right hook to the face, he drops the knife on the dirt, and I grab it; I pin his arms down to the earth before he has time to wrestle it back from me. He laughs as red starts clouding the vision in my right eye. "You're going to die for this… you killed… Mikadzuki… you bastard…" He continues to laugh in my face as I speak to him some of the last words that he will ever hear.

His insane cackling continues as I make death threats. "What's so funny, you murderer…" I state to him more than a question. He only smiles. "This is so fitting… now you will never be able to forget, heh heh heh…" He winks his right eye at me while smiling. "Ha ha ha ha ha!" I lift my hand to my face, feeling the gouge that he left; the warrior is too far deep in insanity to notice that I've released my hold on one of his arms.

"You will never forget, Unaga! Never! Nev-" I cut him off as I slice his throat, causing his eyes to widen, but not in fear, in triumph. In his last dying breaths, he continues to speak. "I was… in the bushes… when you asked for her life…" As blood gurgles in his throat, he lets out a few weakened chuckles at my bewildered behavior. I can't take it anymore-I take his head in my hand, and jerk it sharply to the right, breaking his neck.

I stand up, struggling with the tension in areas of my body where he'd punched and kicked in our match. Rage building inside, I release it with a loud yell to the night sky; the stars seem to taunt me with their eternal light. Falling to my knees, I bring my hand back to my face, and take it away to see my blood-stained hand.

I look back over to Katana, who still is wearing a shocked expression. I get to my feet. "I have many injuries, Katana, but this one…" I softly feel it; the ruined flesh starting to make its own stain on my face. "… this one won't heal. I haven't forgiven what that warrior has done to me, Katana. And now… I'm not so sure that I can forgive Mikadzuki either." I start walking back to camp, and I hear Katana following. It's complete silence until he speaks up. "You must… you must feel betrayed…" He puts and hand on my shoulder reassuringly, though it's kind of awkward how his facial expression changes when he does it, as though he isn't comfortable with physical contact. At least he's trying.

"You're not the only one, however, who was abandoned."

So… I figured that I'd give you this little filler while I did a plotline for this story X3 How'd I do?