27

Grace's POV

Finally our eyes meet. Feral and fierce eyes stare up at me for the longest moment and I couldn't help but gently smile as we could both see each other alive. I even saw Nathan and Lord Katsumoto and Nobutada on their horses. I could hear the trumpet of retreat off in the distance. Were the imperial forces surrendering?

Immediately I hear a loud swish cut in front of my face as a bullet lands in the tree beside me. My eyes widened as I looked over to see four soldiers approaching firing aimlessly at me. My body sprang to life as I quickly turned and fled back to my horse. I was in such a mode of panic that I tore the bottom of my kimono while getting back my horse. I tried to turn its body to run, but as it turned it faced the four soldiers and they fired upon it immediately. It neighed wildly in pain and sprung onto its back legs knocking me from it.

"NO!" I screamed as I hit the ground. It fell back and I rolled away just in time and tried to crawl away. A hand grips the back of my neck hard and I cry out as I am lifted into the air and grabbed.

"TURN HER AROUND!" a vicious voice yells and two fo the soldiers do so and I am facing a soldier who steps back and lifts his gun and aims it at me. I scream hard in response before but before could fire, a blade sticks right out of his chest making him grunt out, aiming a few inches to my right and shooting one of the men who held me. They both fall to the ground immediately. My eyes widened as Ujio is soaring through the grass on his horse, yelling viciously. He immediately jumps off his horse running alongside it to meet the third soldier. The last soldier threw me to the ground to join in the fighting. The third soldier goes to stab Ujio with his bayonet, but immediately Ujio already reclaimed his sword from the back of the dead soldier and raised it to swipe and block the blade. He spins around and gives two slices to the soldier's face leaving only the last soldier who tries to fire his weapon, but Ujio is in front of him. He was so fast. He quickly smacks the gun upward and it fires into the air then rams his blade into the soldier's neck. His eyes widen as blood pours from his neck.

Ujio removes the sword and swipes his blade against the grass as blood whips off his blade. I made my way to my feet and finally our eyes catch each other again. Fear falls from me and carnage disappears from his. There is only relief. I whimper and cry gently as we move to each other and he embraces me hard.

"I'm sorry!" I immediately sobbed. "I was only trying to help I-" But he smashes his lips against mine, the blood pouring against my own. I can taste the blood of his enemies. He pulls back immediately looking at me, his own face painted with blood.

"You are alive. That is all I care about." he said, his voice grizzly and rough, before pulling me back into a deep embrace. I felt my fingers curling under his arms and into his hair. Slowly though he recoils, his gloved hands now caressing my face even going so far as to move a long curl off my face. I look down noticing the blood coming from his stomach that has stained the middle of my kimono. I gasped gently looking up at him, the fear moving back inside me.

"My love you are hurt." I said moving to touch his wound, but he shook his head taking my hand gently and bringing it to his face so that I could caress his cheek.

"It doesn't matter now." he replied lightly, and I looked up at him seeing the darkness clouding his once more. I knew he had to go back to fight. He wanted to. With his other hand he gently raised it to my stomach and with my other hand I pressed it over his firm palm. We both stared into one another's eyes for what seemed to be eternity until loud banging sounds rolled through hills making us both look up and around to the field. Something was happening something big! Without even thinking, we took each other's hand and hurried back past the trees only to pause as Gatling guns fired upon the charging row of samurai. My eyes widened as I watched horses flailing and men falling off their horses.

I had never seen such power sweep through men as the bullets destroyed the earth. Ujio's eyes widened as he watched his warriors, his friends fall to the earth to never get up again. I could see the red suited samurai fell and my eyes widened even more as I knew Nathan had hit the ground with Katsumoto.

"NATHAN!" I screamed out hard, my voice echoing over the field. Memories immediately flashed through my eyes remembering when he first welcomed me into my home, when I met his wife. We loved together, we cried together, we hated the world together. We laughed drunkenly and loved beneath the moon light. He beat any man down who tried to hurt me. He is my friend.

I wanted to run to him. However, Ujio wrapped his arms around me to stop me commanding me to stop. He was down! He was shot and hurt. The firing finally stopped and we stared down at the field of the dead, wondering what would happen. Only a few were alive, but heavily wounded. I noticed one horse was dragging a samurai across the ground roaming mindlessly and I noticed who it was.

"Nobutada." I said in shock. Ujio caught this and we both moved down the hill together not caring if we were caught or shot at this point. Our hands never left each other's. I could tell Ujio was weak from his wound and so I wrapped my arm around him. Although if he went down we both would because his armor is heavy. We approached the horse and I held its reins as Ujio got down on one knee to look him over. He coughed heavily and I could see a few holes in his body. His eyes fluttered open some as he finally looked up at us.

"Grace… you're safe." he said lowly and I nodded.

"Can you walk?" Ujio asked and Nobutada grunted in pain, but nodded and the two took each other's hands. I helped them both get to their feet.

"My father… where is my father?" he asked. We wrapped our arms around each other's shoulders and began to slowly cross the rest of the field. I could not stop looking at the dead samurai and soldiers spaced out everywhere. As we made our way slightly over the small hill, we saw Nathan on his knees sliding his blade deep into Lord Katsumoto's stomach. My eyes widened some as I saw they were the only ones on their knees. We just stood there watching the sight before us. Nobutada watched, his eyes showing strength as he watched his father being lied to the ground, the life leaving his eyes. Nathan was the only one left and slowly the three of moved to meet him. Nathan looked up at us and I looked at him moving to take his hand. He weakly lifts his arm and gently his hand meets mine.

Immediately soldiers surrounded us guns pointed and I looked around swiftly holding on to Ujio tighter with the arm that held him, as I felt this would be the last time we would ever hold each other. He looked at me, the strength radiating through his eyes and into me as he slowly pressed his forehead to me as if to say good bye to me. To feel him against me, gave me more freedom then I had felt in my years with Nathan. I closed my eyes and leaned in to him ready to accept my face, ready to die with him and Nathan and Nobutada and join the samurai in the other world.

"STOP!" a familiar voice called and the four of us looked up to see Simon running up to one of the captains. This captain was familiar, I had seen him before we were taken. He was also being trained by Nathan. Simon was saying something to him and holding up a paper to the man who looked it over and seemed to be reading it.

"Simon?" Nathan asked. "What is he doing here?" I stared for a moment wondering the same before finally the captain looked at us before looking at Simon with a nod. This captain seemed all to agreeable. Simon nodded and moved past the soldiers who still pointed guns at us, but once the captain yelled something out, the guns lowered. Simon approached us and we all stared at him.

"It seems the emperor was moved by you Ms. Grace." he said and now my eyes flexed at his words and all three samurai looked at me stunned. Simon nodded. "All wounded samurai are free to go. None shall be executed. The emperor believes the samurai rebellion is no more." My body tightened with utter surprise and slowly I looked down at Nathan who just smiled warmly up at me. I closed my eyes in utter relief before looking at Ujio and Nobutada who let out thick breaths of relieve. Ujio looked at me with clouded eyes and I nodded.

"Let's get you help." I responded.

The captain let us go, and was even kind of to discreetly direct us to a few elderly medics who still believed in the way of the samurai Tokyo. Only a small handful of the samurai survived and the medics did their best to help all who needed the help, but not many survived. We had been at this small lodge outside of Tokyo for three days now. I was staring down at Nathan who was in a small cot, healing from his wounds while I waited to for Ujio to be finished with his banages being changed. Nobutada was asleep in the next room. Nathan just looked at me. I was finally in a clean white kimono, my hair still down over my face.

"I am going to go do the emperor when I can walk and give him Katsumoto's sword." he said. I gently winced moving to take his hand.

"Nathan you fought against him who knows if he will allow you to leave." I said with worry. He shook his head slowly.

"You went to his kingdom when he could have killed you as well. I will come back." he said and I tensed slightly but nodded. I knew nothing would stop him. One of the elderly men came in and whispered something in my ear. I slowly smiled and looked at him thanking him. I looked at Nathan who knew the look on my face. He raised my hand to his lips and kissed the top of my palm.

"When this is all over, we will leave together." I replied. He nodded.

"That we will." he replied. I slowly got up and patted his shoulder before leaving his room and moving into the next room. Ujio was supposed to be in bed resting from the bullet pulled from him, but he was sitting up in his cot looking out the window, hair flowing down over his shoulders hiding some of his chest. I looked a bit discouraged at him as he sat with his body wrapped and a few white bandages on his face. He seemed distant and withdrawn as I slowly stepped inside. I knew he was supposed to die with his men and in some way, I felt like I had cheated him out of that.

"Are you angry with me… for robbing you of the death you felt you were supposed to have?" I asked gently. He was silent for a moment before slowly turning to look at me. I expected the heated glare and for him to tell me he was upset, but instead, there was only warmth in his eyes. He shook his head raising his arm to me and opening his hand. I stepped inside and let my hand connect with his. He pulled me into the cot and I moved to sit beside him, gently placing my cheek on his shoulder.

"No. You did something very brave to try and save my people. If it were my time to die then it was my time, but fate has proven it wasn't." he said lowly and I closed my eyes at his words. I raised my hand to my stomach and looked down at it. My child would be raised with its father. Ujio curled his fingers under my chin and raised me to look at him our eyes staring intently at one another.

"You bring me honor, Grace and I hope I have brought you honor." he said. I smiled lovingly up at him never thinking I'd hear that from him. I nodded.

"Anata wa watashi ni meiyo o motarashimasu." (You bring me honor) I replied softly and he smiled down at me before leaning in to capture my lips.

Author's notes

So before I end this fic, I want to give a shout out to you reviewers who have literally been reviewing my stuff since I started back in 2009. Ya'll are the real MVPs who have just grown with my writing and I just wanted to let ya'll know. You guys rock!