TAKUMA

Takuma dismounted from his horse and motioned for his guards to remain behind. Off to the right, he saw another five horses tethered to a tree. He noted that there were only two retainers stationed with them...which meant... He shook his head. The agreement had been to meet alone, without guards… His strategy for the battle was sensitive...if any of the guards turned out to be a traitor, it would be very bad indeed.

With that in mind, he buckled an extra knife onto his belt and began to approach the old, abandoned manor they had agreed to meet at. The surrounding buildings were especially magnificent, even if they were in ruin now. Ivory watchtowers, once tall and proud, were now crumbled, their fallen stones littering the ground beneath them. Past the towers, however, the main body of the manor was in fairly good condition, although mold and rust engulfed its once-beautiful features.

Opening the doors with a heavy creak, Takuma tip-toed inside noiselessly. A thin rectangle of light came from the stone window on the far left wall, scarcely illuminating worn, wine-colored rug led past empty, termite-eaten benches to a small steel archway. He passed under it, shivering in spite of the relatively warm temperature. In the next room was a painting of a sickly young girl, whose melancholic features only enhanced her strange beauty. Underneath the picture was a plaque that read 'Lady Rukia Kiryuu.'

"Such a shame that the Kiryuus have fallen almost entirely from existence," a sweet, yet venomous voice murmured from behind him.

"Sara," he greeted her without turning around.

"Magic is such an entertaining part of our world...really, we should make more use of it."

"I thought you specified that we were to come alone," he told her, turning towards her now and taking in the armed thugs she had on either side of her.

"Takuma...a lady never goes without her guard. Who knows how she might be abused?"

"As though anyone would even dream of abusing you…" His fingers itched for his blade. These men...one of them he recognized from his time at the citadel. For a moment, he was suspended in both time and memory, recalling Sara's sinister smile, her cold hands…

Abruptly, the hiss of steel broke the silence, punctuating restarting of time. His hand had automatically drawn his sword, eager to exact vengeance for all the pain he had endured at this woman's hands. He inhaled sharply and shifted his grip on the hilt of his sword. His limbs were vibrating with the desire for revenge. And in that split second, almost unconsciously, his blade was quite suddenly thrust through the throat of the first of her guards. The man's dying gurgle seemed to rip open the very air. Crimson unfurled down the guard's neck and smeared across his shirt before it splattered across the floor. Seconds later, and the thug's body lost its hold on balance and life and crumpled to the ground like a discarded piece of paper.

Sara's eyes widened, growing larger and larger until they seemed to leap off her face. "How dare you?!" she screamed, but Takuma only raised the blade again coldly, mechanically, and entirely detached from the motion. He would have this small vengeance.

His blade shot forward once more, and the second guard leapt out of the way just a split second before the steel found his flesh, scrambling on the smooth tile of the floor with the panicked terror of a trapped animal. Takuma raised his sword again, expression as blank and resolute as the walls of his prison back in the citadel. There was nothing that this man should do now except die. The guard drew his own weapon now, but the Ichijou lord was undaunted. This time as Takuma struck, the guard slashed his own blade in the air wildly and then made a frantic grab at the blond's feet, attempting to knock him off his feet. However, Takuma was nimbler than the older guard and dodged with ease, lashing out with the heel of his boot and impacting the thug directly to the forehead with a crack as loud as the shattering of glass.

Desperately clinging to consciousness, the man writhed feebly. The next slash of the sword sealed his passing with a spray of blood. It was oddly beautiful, the patterns that each splatter of scarlet had taken, capturing the moment of death more adequately and expressively than any painting.

"Now we can talk," Takuma informed the noblewoman, who had retreated to the back of the room, her eyes outlined with fury. He dropped the sword, signaling to her that he had no intention of ending her life. At least, not right now...

"As I thought, there is no such thing as normal love," she breathed, folding her arms and narrowing her gaze until her eyes were dark slits. "Was it truly necessary to kill my guards?"

"Yes. Are you sure you can trust them? They might talk. Money buys a man's silence for a time. A bolt in the heart buys it forever."

"Your proposal is dangerous," Sara murmured. "Of course, you know that. But she will be very angry."

"This war isn't a children's quarrel. What difference does her anger make?" He shrugged.

A snort. "The outcome of the battle will decide if it makes a difference. I didn't take you for a fool, Takuma Ichijou."

"Angry foes do not concern me, and they should not concern you. Anger makes men stupid."

"Maybe, but she is no man," Sara countered.

"No," he agreed. "Well, will you follow me or not?"

"Of course I will." When she stepped forward and reached out to touch him, he took an equal step backwards, lips pulling back into a sneer of disdain. She sighed, but didn't attempt to come closer to him again.

"We'll discuss the details and that's the end of this meeting," he said firmly.

"Time is so cruel. It feels like just yesterday you were in my arms…"

"If you aren't here to talk about the plan, then we're through here," he interrupted in a chill tone.

"Yes, yes," she answered impatiently. "Talk to me about these details, then. What will your signal be?"

"I'll be carrying a horn. One long blast is the signal to attack. Three short ones is…" Although he knew they were alone, Takuma glanced around just to be sure no one could overhear.

"I understand," she told him. "No need to say it."

"Alright. Then…"

To his surprise and contempt, they were able to discuss their plan without further issue. Now they just had to pull it off...

AN: Sara and Ichijou are working together...but why?