After Sakura Wars
Part 3: Kaleidoscopic Fighter
By Shirogami

Disclaimers: I do not own Sakura Wars and its characters.

Chapter 10: Kidnapped

Shirogami is looking at the rising sun joyfully. After a night of persuasion with Lilly and her father, they finally let Shirogami continues his journey.
Shirogami unsheathes MuYing and Shirahatori he cleaned last night and confirms their sharpness. He gazes at his reflection in the blades.
I can finally go now, although I still in debt with Lilly.
Shirogami remembers the conversation he had with Lilly last night when he was packing.

"Shirogami, do you really want to leave? Don't you ever think to stay around with us?"
"Lilly, thanks for the invitation, but I have to reject."
"I agree that you want to travel alone, but what will happen if you get into danger like last time? You won't be lucky for so many times."
Lilly's words made Shirogami stopped his packing at the second. After all, it is one of Shirogami's concerns when he is traveling by himself. But, at the same time, he also knew that his journey might be an endless and dangerous, as Kouma appears anywhere he goes.

"I will take the chances. It is too risky to those who accompany me too. Remember when I told you about the Kouma? Even you thought it is impossible but now it is true that they are lurking around us unnoticed and looking for chances to attack."
Shirogami held his katana and observed them.
"And no doubt of it, the reason they appear may be mostly caused by my presence. I just got this kind of feeling, Lilly. Therefore, let me go and don't make me regret for bringing such trouble to you, okay?"
Lilly nodded her head after she thought for a long time. She left Shirogami without saying anything because she knew it is hopeless to stop the swordsman. Meanwhile, Peter grinned wickedly when he was earsdropping on their talk.

"It might be short, but thank you for taking care of me all this time." Shirogami bows to Master.
"You sure you want to leave? It is such a waste for your talent."
"I am sure."
"Well, good luck then. Hope you will be safe for your journey."
"I thank you for that."
"Come on, Lilly! Don't you have something to say with Shirogami? He is leaving!" Master shouts at the camp and hears no respond at all.
"Never mind. She might be tired for helping me last night. Let her rest."
"That stupid girl, don't even know how to differentiate important times. I am sorry for that, Shirogami."

Shirogami finally shakes Master's hand and prepares to shake with Peter's. Peter, with his satisfying smile, shakes Shirogami's hand gladly and wishes him good luck, even he does not say that sincerely though.
"Okay, I shall leave now. Please take care, Master, Peter." Shirogami lifts up his backpack and katana, then starts walking to the desert.

"Now, everything will be fine, right?" Master wonders after Shirogami disappears in the desert.
Of course it will be fine, he leaves us for peace at last. Peter thinks. And no one will interrupt Lilly and me again!
All of the sudden, somebody screams and both of them turn around. They are surprised to find out they are surrounded by the town people. Master is even shocked to find out Lilly is being hold among them.

"Let my daughter go!" Master runs to them on impulse, but something trips his leg and falls.
A whip is chaining his leg. And Master recognized it.

"Well, well. What do we have here?" Cobra blows a large cloud of smoke and says. His expression is getting scarier because his skin color is turning to greenish and there are scales around his arms and face. His wicked red eyes are locking onto the circus men and his snake-tongue is licking Lilly's face.
"Let Lilly go! This is not part of our deal!" Peter suddenly shouts at the man standing behind the group. He is the hooded old man.
"No, I said that you will get what you want most if we work together." The old man points at the desert. "And I believe I just granted your wish – getting that swordsman away."

"But Lilly is out of this!"
"Not for me!" Cobra finally speaks. "She insulted me in front of those people. She will pay."
"NO!" Peter tries to save Lilly. A shadow suddenly blocks his way from advancing more. She hugs Peter and her strength nearly breaks his spine. No one will ever imagine that the Kouma that Shirogami had killed is still alive and the braided girl is given back to the people to run his plan.
The Kouma looks at the direction where Shirogami left and smirks wickedly.

"Now, can you tell me the reason you played such a show?" Cobra finally asks.
"If you want to get your enemy listen to you, you must have something to make him to. That samurai had been with this group for some times, that's why I chose them."
"Are you saying that I will still lose to him?" Cobra shouts and crushes the wagon next to him.
"You just noticed it? Poor child."

The Kouma's word just pissed Cobra off and a whip attack is returned onto him. But before it can reach its target, the braided girl uses her arm to make the whip rolls around it and holds Cobra's attack. Before the attacker can notice it, she already leaps towards him and lock him on the ground.

"See, that's why I'd been planning all this." The Kouma talks with an irrigating behavior.
"Now let's see if this makes the swordsman knows about us." The Kouma summons a crow and lets it flies towards the desert.

On the other hand, while Shirogami is on his way, the wind is blowing faster and almost blinds him from moving forward.
"Great, like what a traveler wants most."
Suddenly, his katana shiver greatly and they hits the deepest nerve of his brain. Shirogami grabs his head and holds his headache like hell. He kneels on the ground and rolls. Just when he opens his eyes again, he already falls into his another dimension again.

'Another Shirogami' is running across the street and sweating heavily.
"Please, let me make it on time!"
He whispers as he remembered what he heard not long ago.

Sakura-kun, did you see her around?
She said that her cousin was inviting her to his house for some sort of party, but that was four hours ago. What's wrong, dear?
She just messaged me through the kimetron, writing that she's in danger!
May be you should go and look for her! Do you have any clues?
You just gave me one, where is her cousin's house?

'Another Shirogami' reaches a mansion located quite a distance from where he left. He may pants rashly, but he needs to get into the house somehow as fast as possible. The girl he is worrying about may be in danger like she messaged him and he cannot let her down for her trust-worthy upon him.
He hammers the front door for several times before an old man answers him. He asks if the girl he looking for is in the house. The butler denies it steadily and asks him to leave. 'Another Shirogami' sighs at first, but not after he noticed that the old butler was lying because he just saw a pair of shoes that she bought with him not long ago. As a result, 'Another Shirogami' busts in the mansion impulsively.
The butler summons guards quickly to catch the intruder, while 'Another Shirogami' is running around the house and yelling the girl's name for any response, which 'Hallucinated Shirogami' cannot hear it clearly as the environment starts glowing and blinding him.

"What… what happened?"
Shirogami comes back to his reality. The speed of the wind is decreasing and it lets Shirogami gets his vision again. He is rubbing his head to ease his headache and wondering his katana's reaction. But it shocks him when he looks in front of him.
Both MuYing and Shirahatori had unsheathed themselves, stabbed on the ground before Shirogami, in 'X' crossing position.

What is this? What are you trying to tell me?
Just when Shirogami is wondering, A crow is flying at Shirogami and lands on his shoulder, it whispers to him about the incident in town and threatens him with Lilly and the others' safety. Just before Shirogami tries to grab the bird and asks further question, it already turns to smokes and flows with the winds.

"I can't believe I missed it, he is really a clever Kouma indeed."
Shirogami finally remembered himself a fact that he had miscounted. It takes more than normal sword skill to kill a Kouma, and he also forgot that he only able to kill one by using his unknown energy.
As Shirogami is looking at his katana, he finally understands the reason his katana stopped him from moving any further and brought back some of his memories. He holds both of his katana and pulls them out. They stopped shivering anymore and their steel blade is shinning brightly as its sharpness can cut through the wind.

"Wait for me, everyone. I am coming back now!"

End of Chapter 10

Author's note:
First of all, thank you all for keep reading this fiction, although it is very late.
Flashback scene again, and for the one who read the previous chapters shall know the reason it happens to Shirogami. More actions are coming up soon.
For your information the scenes of the flashback are self-created, it does not happen in the game or anime as far as I remember, please enjoy the idea and let me know your opinion.
All of the fiction written here is all fiction, and nothing but fiction. The mentioned names in this story do not reflect to any person in real life. I write to share, not to make enemies. Please take note.
Please review or comment, no matter good or bad. See you in future.