Finally~~ I finished this chap, and managed to update before two weeks has passed. I had a problem with writing the chapter, and most of the reason is due to exams.
I've also changed my mind about my update plan. After this arc, I will either continue one of the SM (still waiting for those review guys) or one of my newest project.
Either way, as I promised, this chap is short and more focused on the canon chara. After the next arc, the focus will shift back to Yuuki and the others, though it will sometimes shifted back to the Oda.
Oh well, not much to say here today, so enjoy the story ^^
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For centuries, many wars had been incited for various reasons. Some is for a righteous cause, while others for their own selfish desire. With every chaos, a hero is born to cut down the threads of greed and corruption. These "heroes" however, is often seen as a villain by others. Cao Cao was one of such heroes, and now history repeated itself with Nobunaga Oda. Starting out as a simple fool, Nobunaga soon proved himself to be a fearsome warlord with ruthless efficiency. He gathered many talented officers and allies, amassed a powerful army, and brought modern technology into the battlefield with him. His ambition and way of thinking is beyond the mind of regular people, and foreign trading had brought prosperity to his clan. No one knew exactly what's going on in the mind of Nobunaga but those who truly knows him considered Nobunaga as a man with a vision for the land, though some have doubt over his merciless nature.
For his enemies however, Nobunaga is a threat to their rule, land or tradition. The demon king drive the Yoshikaga shogunate away from the capital, and practically trampled over the old tradition. Kenshin Uesugi, the God of War and ruler of Echigo, considered Nobunaga as an enemy of justice -though most of the accusation came from one Kanetsugu Naoe-. Eventually, the Ikko-Ikki, a mobs of peasant farmers and warrior monks who rose up against the samurai rule, raised their swords to oppose Nobunaga. Together with the Takeda, Mouri, and Uesugi, they proved to be a major opponent for the Oda.
In order to deal with this menace, Nobunaga sent out his vassals to various part of the land to face the opposing clan. Former sandal bearer Hideyoshi Hashiba along with the strategist Hanbei Takenaka and Kanbei Kuroda were sent to cut off the Mouri supply line while the demon king himself face the leader of Ikko-Ikki, Kennyo Honganji, at their stronghold of Ishiyama Honganji.
Nobunaga new retainers, Ying Dao and his allies, join the fray as well. The warlock went to Hideyoshi's unit, while the San Kouken splits up and join the campaign of Nobunaga's other vassals. Fuujin Yaka, the "oldest" of the three and wielder of wind element went with Nobunaga.
With massive army and talented officers in their ranks, the Oda were confident that they could take down the supposedly impenetrable walls of Ishiyama Honganji. But no one, not even his own page, knew of Nobunaga's state of mind. From the chatters among his own men, they mostly concluded that Nobunaga shared their confidence, while others believed that he had some doubt about it. The rest agrees that their lord is a strange and probably had a few screw loose.
The aforementioned warlord currently sat within his tent, with only the taciturn Yaka at his side, though "leaning on a post at the corner of the tent" is more accurate for the latter. Nobunaga observed the stronghold in the distance, seemingly studying it's every nook and cranny. Aside from the walls and towers, there were nothing of interest at the castle's exterior, though Nobunaga seems to think otherwise since he briefly smirked when he saw something in the distance. Yaka watched his current master, curiosity and wariness fiddling with his mind. The wind rider himself felt a faint presence in the air, though he were unable to discern it. Is it possible that Nobunaga had just seen watch he couldn't see ?
Ignoring the question in his mind, Yaka shun his curiosity and patiently awaits his next assignment...
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On the other side of the camp, Katsuie Shibata and Toshiie Maeda prepared to marched out with their army. Before they go, Mitsuhide Akechi, along with his daughter Gracia and her friend Ranmaru Mori, were there to see them off.
"Good luck, my lords," Ranmaru said, "and be careful, there's something odd about the enemy's movement."
Amongst the Oda clan, Ranmaru were infamous for his perception. The youth could read body languages and gestures to the point that some people thought he could read minds. Such skills were necessary if you happens to be Nobunaga's personal bodyguard, since he had made enemies everywhere he goes and showed no sign of stopping. Curiously though, the youth were still oblivious and in denial of his own "beauty".
Toshiie laughed. "Who could have thought that you could be such a worrywart ? We'll be on guard, but you should take care of yourself as well. Don't go dying while protecting our lord, okay ?" Toshiie requested, noting Ranmaru's tendency to throw away his well-being at a drop of a hat. Thankfully, that habit of his had diminished recently, mostly due to Gracia's effort.
"Don't worry! I will take good care of him," Gracia said, much to Ranmaru's embarrassment.
"W-what ? Gracia, I'm the one that should protect you, not the other way around!" Ranmaru said.
"So what ? You looked just like a girl so there's nothing wrong about it," Toshiie said. The fact that he could say it with a straight face confused and irritated Ranmaru.
"Yup, that's true!" Gracia replied.
Ranmaru threw his head down and lets out a long sighed. "Why is this happening to me ?...," Ranmaru lamented.
Mitsuhide smiled at their interaction, before Katsuie calls out to him. "Mitsuhide, you are the main unit in this battle. Our chance at victory hinged whether you could reach the main keep or not, remember that," Katsuie said.
Mitsuhide nodded. "I understand, good luck my lord."
With that, Katsuie and Toshiie marched out to their respective post, the advance of their armies sends dust high into the air. After the dust settles, a lone tune from a plucked shamisen stood out amidst the general chaos of the Oda main camp.
"Long time no see, Mitsuhide."
Mitsuhide turned to see his old friend, Motochika Chosokabe of Shikoku. The bat plucked his shamisen as he strides towards the trio. While Mitsuhide and Gracia were happy to see him, Ranmaru had some suspicion about Motochika.
"Motochika Chosokabe... why have the lord of Shikoku came all the way here ?" Ranmaru asked.
"If I tell you that I came as an ally of Nobunaga, would you believe it ?" Motochika replied.
Ranmaru were silent for a moment, never once did he let go of his suspicion. "Surely there are other reason than that."
It is a firm statement, and Motochika chuckled at the youth's perception. "As expected from the page of the demon king, nothing slip through you."
Mitsuhide decided to explained the situation to Ranmaru. "Few months ago I sent out a request to Motochika-dono so that he could ally himself with the Oda. But young Ranmaru had a point, why have you decided to come now ?"
Motochika plucked his shamisen. "If my help are needed later, is there any reason not to lend a hand now ?" he said as he continues to play a simple tune from his instrument, "And this could be an excellent opportunity to see Nobunaga's military prowess with my own eyes."(1)
Ranmaru still has some doubt, but he had to keep it for later as Nobunaga summoned his retainers. Mitsuhide and Gracia went to the tent and Ranmaru were about to follow suit when a shamisen were held out in front of him. Ranmaru glanced to Motochika at his side, who blocked Ranmaru's path with his instrument.
"I overhear you saying that there are some suspicious movement in the enemy ranks, is that true ?" Motochika asked as he withdrew his shamisen.
"Yes. Their numbers is equal to ours, and Ishiyama Honganji is said to be impenetrable, but..."
"What is it ?"
"Their defenses is too open, as if they wanted us to come inside. It's subtle, but there's no doubting it," Ranmaru stated.
Ranmaru's opinion were based from how easy it was for the Oda to find the weakness of Ikko-Ikki's stronghold. It is rather subtle, and only a few cast suspicion over it.
"You think that the Ikko rebels had set a trap for us ?" Motochika asked.
"Probably... I'm not so sure about it. It could be something else," Ranmaru answered.
Motochika smiled. The thought of a possible trap might unnerved other people, but not for Motochika. After all, there is more than one way to foil a trap. For the moment, there were two choices for them: either wait and find the trap, or sprung the trap and countered it. As Ranmaru went to join Mitsuhide and Gracia, Motochika plucked his shamisen.
"Jōtō."
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Within the safety of the main keep, chief abbot of Ishiyama Honganji, Kennyo, were at a state of unease. It is an emotion shared by his men, but his reason were different...
Uncertainty riddled Kennyo's mind as he observed the Oda army outside, taking a deep breath before exhaling it to ease his mind.
"Getting cold feet ?"
Kennyo looked around, but the speaker were hiding in the shadow. It's voice is definitely female, but there's an unnatural echo that appears with every words she said.
"Am I wrong ? Or you really are ready to bow down to the demon king ?"
Numerous bats descended from the ceiling's shadow and immediately swarmed upon Kennyo. Despite being surrounded by these otherworldly threats, Kennyo remains calm.
"I won't surrender to the demon king!" Kennyo said. His answer seems to please the mysterious hidden being since the bats soon flew back to the shadow. The figure chuckled, and a brief sound of a sharp edge being dragged across a metal surface accompanied her devilish laughter.
"Good, then you have nothing to worry about. I have nothing against the demon lord, but I will help you as long as you stay faithful to our deal."
"I will keep my end of the deal, but I am more concerned about you. What would prevent you from betraying me and my men ?" Kennyo questioned.
"At ease, mortal. Unlike the others, I respect an agreement to the letter. I will help you defeat Nobunaga in exchange for your cooperation."
"And what make you so sure that you could defeat Nobunaga ? He might be a mortal, but the heavens seems to favor him," Kennyo asked. In Nobunaga's path of conquest, he witness a battle most thought to be impossible to survive, let alone win. In his first major battle, Nobunaga defeated the Imagawa, whose forces greatly outnumbered his own. He then defeated the Takeda through ingenious use of the rifles, and is responsible for the Azai-Asakura downfall. Even his retainers often accomplished a feat some considered to be nothing sort of a "miracle", like the Sunomata castle that were build under Hideyoshi's command within one night. All of those feats barely faze the one hiding in the shadows though.
"Heh, all of that feat is child's play for us. Nobunaga might have defeated his mortal enemies, but I wonder I he could stood a chance against us ?"
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And that's it for chapter 29, pardon the anticlimax ending.
Not much to say today, but I do hope you will remember to review my other stories. The one with the most review would be continued first, except for Kojuro's SM.
Jōtō (上等) : literally means "So be it". In case you haven't notice (or haven't play the game), this is Motochika's catchphrase. According to Koei wikia, the meaning of that words is: "in which he accepts the oppressing facts against him yet rebels regardless."apparently he also stylizes other people's hair as a hobby, and might be responsible for Gracia's unique hairstyle.
1) Alternate explanation: the brother of a friend of mine wanted to see Motochika Chosokabe, so I decided to comply and put Motochika to this arc. Beside, he along with Mitsuhide will be important later in the story so why not explore their character more ? Again, I apologize for any OOC m(_ _)m
See you... some time in the next few weeks ^_^"a
