Night Riding Chapter – Part IV
Creeping from the tent, the Sonozaki shinobi and her two hostages make their way through the sea of sleeping children. Shota tries to break free a couple of times, despite his leader's hushed pleas for him to stop. But he just can't help himself. She was wearing his girl's face. Of course he'd be red with anger. To calm him down she cuts off his right pinkie. He squeals into the palm of her hand.
Not a soul is awake. The sentries she spotted earlier are all in a drunken haze. Some of them are awake, but don't notice them, or at least don't notice them well. One of them spots their leader, gives him a wave before falling unconscious.
Thirty minutes of that agony persists. All either one of the two boys needs to do is reach out and shake one of their compatriots awake. That would be enough - all it would take for this nightmare to end. But they can't.
Eventually they reach the open wood. Yasuke stops and turns to face her.
She slides the tip of Itsumade right along the outer edge of Shota's eye. "Lead the way, aniki."
With that the last resistance in his heart gives way, and he begins the long march through the woods in the dead of night.
The three of them make it through to the clearing. No one watches the gate – the one saving grace the two boys might have had sleeps in a hammock under the tree. Soon enough they're on the other side of the fence, and they continue down the path.
Unsurprisingly she doesn't give up Shota when she had said she would. The three of them continue like that until they reach a black van parked on the side of the road.
"Get in." Sayaka orders him. Yasuke opens the left passenger door and gets in.
Inside the van is stocked top to bottom with weaponry. Rifles, handguns, nail bats – all just out of reach. Normally this would be a transport vehicle for a small entourage of Sonozaki combatants, probably from the days when they were feared as a yakuza family. In the driver's seat just in is Ryou Sekiguchi, with a ring of wire in his hands. He looks him in the eyes for a few moments before he starts to bind him with it.
"All things considered..." He speaks to him quietly. "This could've gone a lot worse. This way at least it's just the two of you." Yasuke doesn't quite get what he means.
Sayaka meanwhile has already bound and gagged Shota, and dumps him in the back on the other side before getting in the front and sitting down next to Sekiguchi.
"See? Didn't even take a full day." She says, letting down her hair, taking off her wig and tossing it in the back onto Shota's lap.
"Yeah, yeah. Still could've tried going with something a little less batshit."
"It'll work out better this way. You'll see."
Sekiguchi starts to drive off into the night. It's no more than ten minutes to the edge of the village – once they made it into the forested area past the shrine, they were essentially home free. Even if they were being watched, at that point it would be too dangerous to send anyone after them. Until then, though, they had to be ready for anything.
Once they make it to the rice paddies, something seems off. The fields have already been treated for the next season – rather early at that. And on even closer inspection, while the fields are prepped, nothing's been planted at all.
A few moments later, a moment of clarity. "Christ – it's that bastard Okonogi." Sekiguchi groans.
Turning a corner from behind some buildings and driving out onto the road just behind them is a white van – one being driven by the Kimiyoshi's former head of security in his tacky red suit, who sticks his arm out the driver's side window to wave at Sekiguchi. Atop the van, clad in a trailing red muffler and a jet black body suit is the Furude clan's Shinobi, the sword Enma shining in the moonlight.
Sekiguchi produces a gun from his jacket and driving with one hand leans out the driver side window and opens fire. The pursuing vehicle swerves for a moment, but both of his shots miss. Not a moment later Okonogi has out a gun of his own, and aims for the tires on their van. At the same time, two sedans appear in front of them, driving straight at them.
"Fuck!" Sekiguchi abandons the road and starts driving across the open field, taking the only path he can to the Mandala. However the ground is wet, and the soil has been unevenly balanced, halving their speed. Okonogi pursues, gaining on them slowly but surely while Sekiguchi avoids sizeable pits that were dug in their path. One of the other sedans makes a sharp turn and descends into the field after them, its tires sturdy enough to gain on them faster than Okonogi was.
"Lean back." Sayaka has an assault rifle in her hands. Aiming it right out the driver's side window, she fires at the approaching sedan with extreme precision. She fires several times – a few of her shots connect with the tires on the opposing vehicle, which spins out of control and barrels into the field at full speed. Okonogi manages to swerve out of the way just in time to avoid a collision, but the second sedan just behind him isn't so lucky.
Now it's just him. Sayaka leans out the passenger side window trying to get an angle on the white van. She opens fire, but Okonogi is simply too good. He keeps directly behind them, his own aim improving dramatically as he successfully lands a shot that flies straight through the back of the vehicle and finding a home in the rear view mirror.
At last the Furude clan shinobi leaps from the top of the van, landing on the roof of their vehicle with a loud metallic thud.
"I'll get him." Sayaka moves to open the passenger door, but Sekiguchi grabs hold of her wrist.
"You drive. I'll do it."
"You'll be flat on your ass in two seconds, dumbass."
Sekiguchi shakes his head. "You're not good for it yet. End of story."
Before they have any chance to argue further the sword Enma pierces the roof of the van, missing the two of them by mere inches. Sekiguchi pushes open the driver side door once Sayaka has her hands on the wheel, her eyes darting between the open field and the roof above her all the while. He slings himself onto the hood of the van and climbs up onto the roof with nothing but his gloved hands.
Straight away the sword Enma comes flying across the night sky, aimed straight for his head. He avoids the first swing, but for the second he can only block with his arm. When the blade connects, with a loud clanging it bounces right off, merely cutting through his shirt. Beneath is a concealed iron gauntlet. He replies with a classic boxing move that sends the shinobi reeling from the impact, almost sliding off the roof.
Just as quickly he returns with the swift and deadly arc of the sword Enma. Again and again – the attacks are no less deadly, but no more coordinated. It was just like Rika had said – they are the violent ravings of a monster, one that Sekiguchi can keep at bay, even if only for a short while. Sayaka tries to steer the van back onto the road, avoiding Okonogi and trying to keep Sekiguchi from falling off at the same time. Sekiguchi's offensive starts to break down. The sword and it's feral champion will overpower him before long – it's simply inevitable.
All the while, Yasuke has managed to worm his way out of his bindings, without drawing attention. He opens the passenger door to his left as silently as possible – once he feels the latch on the door give way, he moves to undo the seat-belt buckle on Shota.
As he does so, the van makes a violent lurch. As he's flung against the door, he loses hold on the seat belt buckle, which loudly retracts. Sayaka looks back at the two of them – with every ounce of strength in his body, Shota kicks Yasuke as hard as he can, pushing him through the opened door.
Sayaka brakes hard. The wheels struggle to slow down on the muddy field, and as they do the van skids to a halt. Sekiguchi and Kanbei are thrown from the top of the van and into the dirt below. The sword Enma flies out of his hand and lands in the patchy grass nearby.
Sekiguchi manages to climb on top of him and starts wailing down on him, the iron gauntlets denting his mask. But Kanbei throws him off a moment later, rising to his feet. He flicks his wrist and the sword returns to him - with a downward swing from overhead he finally cracks the gauntlets as they fail to absorb the full impact of the blade. Sekiguchi roles out of the way and springs to his feet, managing to get his handgun out and shoot from the hip. Kanbei barely avoids the shot, but as he does he violently twists his neck and shoulders – the muffler comes flying forward, and it wraps tightly around his fingers, preventing him from pulling the trigger. As he tries to break free Kanbei closes the distance and cleaves the firearm in two, the muffler retracting at the same time.
The white van has already slowed down to avoid a collision. Sayaka exits through the driver's side with her rifle in hand and the sheathed Itsumade slung over her back. She immediately takes a crouching position and aims at the approaching vehicle. Her first shot connects with the front left tire and the van is sent spinning out of control. Okonogi slows it down as best as he can, but he's forced to abandon it as it takes flight, landing on its side a few short-lived moments later.
Yasuke staggers to his feet moments later. Peering through the sight on her rifle she takes aim at his heels and opens fire. He instantly collapses, letting out a loud cry.
At the same time three men dressed fully in gray emerge from the back of the toppled van, each with a firearm in hand. With no cover to speak of she hits the dirt – their first shots soar right over her head, hitting the escape van behind her. She returns fire, successfully taking down two of them, while the third moves for a better shot. Just like that she's back on her feet, darting across the field, diving right back into the muddy grass when the man opens fire. He's trained, but for urban warfare, not for a wasteland like this village.
From here she has a much better angle on him – And angling her rifle just right, she riddles his legs full of holes. With that her clip is empty – she abandons the rifle, running over to where the three men are writhing in pain.
Two of them have their guts protruding from the gaps in their stomachs. The third has a broken bone sticking out of his left leg from when he fell. She unsheathes Itsumade. The Murky Blade blots out the light from the night sky. For a moment she thinks she can feel Rika's hand on her shoulder.
These men can't die needlessly. She can almost hear her voice.
"Don't." Hanyuu is kneeling at the side of one of them men, cradling his head in her arms. She looks up at her. Even now, there's no hatred in her eyes. There's just more of the same pity and affection, unchanging.
"Get out of my way, Hanyuu!"
"This one's got a little girl. She's eight years old. He's raising her by himself. She loves him more than anyone. She thinks he has an honest job. He has to go home every night and lie to her, so she can wake up happy and healthy the next morning. If you kill him now, her whole world will disappear. Is that what you want?!"
"Don't you get it?! No matter what he does, her world is going to end either way!"
"So what, you'll willingly put her through the same hell that you went through? Why?!"
"I'm going to the next world. Across a river of blood. No matter what."
"None of that is true! There's no way killing so many people will amount to anything in the end!"
"There's no other way to get what I want. I can't hesitate anymore. Get out of my way or I'll cut you down too."
"Then do it! Kill me too! But you won't! That's how I know! That's how I know it's not too late!"
Just then another voice speaks. "I knew you were a crazy bitch, but this schizo crap really completes the picture."
She blinks her eyes. Hanyuu is gone. Yasuke's managed to fight through the pain. He stands in front of her, a strip of metal from the destroyed van in his hands.
"Ahh, that's adorable. Tenshi-kun still thinks he commands respect." He runs straight towards her, but she deflects the feral swing that follows effortlessly. Again and again he tries to club her with the strip, but before too long she's disarmed him. "I should've had more to drink before – would've made this a fairer fight." He tries to grab at Itsumade with his bare hands. With some difficulty she frees it from his grasp, slicing his hands open in the process. "Just look at you. Poor little Tenshi-kun. But this time Manaka's not going to come save you."
"She saved you, too."
She leans in closer. "If only there was anything left to save." She runs Itsumade through his right shoulder. A moment later she tears it right back out, and Yasuke crumples to the ground in defeat.
Sekiguchi continues to fight back with everything he has on the other side of the van. Gripping the sword Enma with his hands he tries to wrest it from the shinobi's grasp. But it's no use. Kanbei just isn't slowing down. He fights on and on, showing no signs of weakness. The older man is almost at his limit. Kanbei's form is far from perfect. Countless times Sekiguchi breaks through and lands hits to his mask and chest. But again and again, it's just not enough.
But at long last, backup finally arrives. Four Sonozaki, each of them fully armed. They surround the van swiftly, their guns trained on the Furude clan shinobi. Sekiguchi coughs up blood and staggers backward, leaning against the black van.
"Twenty goddamn years since that fucking thing saw the light of day. And of course it would be you swinging it around, Maebara."
"You knew your client wasn't Mion Sonozaki."
"Quit acting like you really give a shit. Mion Sonozaki or not, if you could prove fault you would've caved her face in all the same. Admit it."
"All you did was protect the lie that put her on that stand in the first place."
"I sure did. The fuck does that matter now?"
"It's the only thing that matters."
"How you figure that shit? Micchi's world ended, Maebara. Her world, your father's world – it all went up in a fiery wreck, and you can't fix a single thing playing with their used matches. Tell me, where does this stop?"
"It doesn't."
"So what, you'll kill these four men, then me – then what? You'll just keep going until you're the only person left in the world? Not every sinner has the luxury of waking up in the morning and deciding they want to fuck up over and over like you."
"There was always a choice. You just chose wrong."
"You dumb bastard."
One of the assailants opens fire. Again his upper torso twists, and the muffler extends, fully blocking the barrage of bullets and revealing the thin layer of metal underneath. One of the shots bounces off and lands right between the eyes of one of the other men. Kanbei casts Enma forward, the blade burrows into the third man's throat – and as the fourth man starts shooting, he retracts the blade, pulling the fresh corpse towards him before it can finish bleeding out. Ripping Enma right back out, he pushes the meat shield forward into the shooter, knocking him to the ground, and kicking off the ground plunges the sword through the corpse into the yet living man below.
The first man has abandoned his gun and charged forward with a long blade in his hands. As Kanbei frees Enma from the double impalement, he turns to face him. For a moment the man can see it in the moonlight, the tightly wound, thin wire wrapped around Kanbei's left index finger that connects to the muffler – and in the next moment, when his free arm flies outward and his wrist bends inward, the muffler moves with him, extending in his direction and wrapping itself around his neck. Immobile and helpless, he grabs at the muffler as it chokes him, moments before Kanbei rams Enma through his lower abdomen. The muffler retracts, and he falls to the ground to bleed to his death.
Sekiguchi prepares to receive him again with what little he has left to defend himself with, but at that moment Sayaka appears on the roof of the van and takes aim at the other shinobi. He doesn't even so much as look in her direction – he throws up the muffler as a shield, but as he does Sekiguchi comes at him from another angle. While the muffler eats the bullet fire he has to deflect the oncoming assault with his hands – but now Sekiguchi's seen through his tricks and doesn't aim for him, but rather he crushes the thin wire attached to the muffler with his hands.
He doesn't come away unscathed, though – Kanbei goes straight for his neck, and while not in position to go for the kill, he opens a long cut along the side, and as the muffler uselessly flops to the ground and Sayaka opens fire again, he cuts her first shot in half with the sword, and quickly moves to the front of the van to avoid the rest.
"Let's get the fuck out of here." Sekiguchi grunts, opening the passenger side door. Shota is still sitting there bound, while Yasuke is unconscious and bleeding next to him. "Is he gonna make it?"
"I didn't get him that badly -" Just then Kanbei jumps onto the hood of the van, and then onto the roof. Her eyes widen a little bit, and before she can put together any kind of defense, he's disarmed her and forced her down onto the roof, denting it hard. She unsheathes Itsumade and only barely manages to thrust it forward in time to block his downward swing. The two swords clash – and she realizes it immediately, looking up at him, when their eyes meet.
He exhales sharply, driving the sword down on top of her again – she blocks it again this time with both hands as she tries to stand. She manages something barely resembling a parry, and he has to back away just a single pace to avoid her counter, but as he moves to return the van suddenly starts moving. Sekiguchi picks up as much speed as he can, but Sayaka almost goes rolling off the top of the van, and she has to pierce the roof with Itsumade to avoid falling. Kanbei stands – but just then the van makes it back onto solid ground, and Sekiguchi turns sharply without losing any speed, sending him flying off the side and hitting the hard pavement below. With that Sekiguchi floors the gas pedal and with Sayaka still dangling there clinging to the hilt of her sword for dear life they drive off into the forest, the Furude clan shinobi who remains motionless on the ground fading into the distance before disappearing from view behind the trees.
She pulls herself up onto the roof and watches him thoughtfully until that very last moment.
That wasn't Kacchan. That was Manaka.
She smiles. She smiles brightly.
She feels wanted, she feels important, she feels desired. Both loves of her life came back, one without a body, one with a broken body, and they came back just for her.
Her cheeks flush red. She holds her shoulders steady. She loves them so much that her heart is screaming. And now they were one in the same. She laughs, like a little schoolgirl. She finally feels it. It's been so long – but she's finally happy. She couldn't be any happier.
Her body can love. It can give, it can receive. She pulls off Miaka's bulky clothing, casting it off the side of the van piece by piece, shoes, stockings and all, until she's in nothing but her own underwear. She gently rubs her exposed stomach, and the bump that had formed.
This is proof. Proof that I'm not wrong.
It's love. The only kind of love that really matters. It's our love. The only love that's gonna bear fruit.
Sorry Mom, but I can't wait for you anymore.
I wanna spend the rest of my life with someone who loves me. With someone I love. With someone I would do anything for no matter what.
That's right Kacchan…
It's you. You're the only one. You're everything I could ever want.
I don't want this world, or the people in it. I don't want this pain anymore.
I just want you. You're the only family I want. The only family I need. You, me, and our precious little girl...
The dried fetus appears in her hands. She grinds it into dust with her fist.
No. No mistakes this time. I know what I have to do to make it work.
I'll kill you again and again and again and again and again till this wretched body gives birth…!
And in the next world it'll be us three - our family...! My family...!
