An Oath Can't Be Stolen

Become my perfect daddy.

The next day, Ray woke up and saw the wooden ceiling. She sat up and saw the empty Japanese room. That's when she remembered. That night, Shingen and the others arrived and she was brought to a temple where the others stayed. The place was a little strange, but it didn't really matter as much. Instead, she awoke to the sound of wood knocking on thing. She was curious and got up. After changing her kimono into her ordinary clothes, she turned to open the doors to what looked like a large garden and saw Masakage fighting with another person. She recalled the person also being present in the dining hall two days ago and back in the woods. She watched them fight in silence. It wasn't till after Masakage was knocked back to the ground that the two saw her.

"Ah! Uh… Ray, was it?" the man smiled with a wave, "Good morning!"

"Good morning…" She replied with a small nod and turned to Masakage with a small nod as well.

The boy looked away with a grumble. She looked around in confusion till she felt a pat on her head and looked up. It was Masatoyo.

"Good morning, Ray." He said with a smile, "Did you sleep well?"

She was quiet with uncertainty. Finally, she said with a blank look, "I had a dream…"

"Oh?" He raised a brow.

She nodded, "It's been a while…"

Masatoyo looked a little confused. She wasn't certain why he looked that, but something else caught her attention as she looked up at the ceiling and saw a white bird. Seeing her eyes resting not on him, he turned around and saw the bird. He raised a brow, "A bird?"

The bird seemed to be looking at her as she really wished to have it before pulling herself back with images coming back to her. Unless…

"Does it know where Zack is?" She wondered aloud.

Her words made his ears twitch. He looked back to her with uncertainty.

After hearing what Yuzuki had told them, it left them a little worried over her situation, though it did clear up a few things on her situation. The fact that the "friend" she was looking for was a murderer that slaughtered her family left an uncertain impression on them. Something that mystified them all. The bird that rested under the ceiling flew out and landed onto the tree a little away. Suddenly, the girl jumped off the veranda and out to the garden after it. Something about this made them wonder if it was the best choice to leave her with them. This is an army, after all. However, it seemed as if the killing intent from the training didn't have any affect on her when she was watching them. At this point, Masakage and the other man seemed to have already shrugged it off and returned to training while Masatoyo watched the child searching for any particular symptoms from her. All he could get was that she was a quiet girl and seemed to lack a sense for reading atmosphere. He was surprised that Yuzuki would know her personally too, but something about the child seem to tell him that something wasn't quite right with her. One of it being her looking for the person who took her parent's life. That part was already there for everyone as well. They all agreed yesterday that she was a mysterious child, but none of them seem to have an answer to how to help her. When Shingen and the other arrived, the though of leaving her with Yuzuki was already brought up, but with their wars against the Oda army, it was already a problem. Also, Ray was still a child according to Yuzuki's world. Normally, children around her age aren't completely exposed to war, but the child didn't seem to have a problem with the attack two days ago. In the end, she would remain with the Takeda till they figure out a solution. The other problem about this was that the blond soldier brought up the idea of leaving her with the Sanada Army. For now, they could ask them, but the matter with her "friend" could also be a problem. Her situation really wasn't getting better. It wasn't till he looked up that he saw her run out the gate! His eyes widen in surprise as he quickly gave chase.

As she chased after the bird, she soon found herself out of the garden and in town. She looked around till she saw something take off to the skies again. Turning around, she saw that it was the bird. Quickly! It could know where he is! Her legs carried her through the crowded streets. She ran with her focus only being on the bird. It wasn't long before the bird finally landed on a branch of a tree that she finally stopped. She looked up at the tree curiously before looking around. She soon found herself in the woods. She was already out of breath and really tired, but she really want to find him!

"Zack?!" She called out in confusion.

However, there was no response. Disappointed, she looked back to the white bird again. Suddenly, she felt a sting on her shoulder. She looked over to her shoulder and saw that it was bleeding. Something had grazed it. A voice called out to her from behind as she froze.

"Hello, Ray. It's wonderful to see you again. Are you keeping those beautiful peepers clean? If so, I'd like to see them right now. Also, that promise. An oath to put an end to yourself, right? I want to be certain of something. Are you sure that I can't steal that from you?"

She turned around and saw it. A tall man in a brown pants and blue shirt. Those eyes. A dark brown and another with a red and green irises stuck together into one. His appearance surprised her.

"Doctor… Danny…?" Her words slowly came out as she saw the gun still pointed at her.

The hand gun. She could only mutter, "You… You're still alive?"

She wasn't hallucinating was she? Quietly, she bit herself inside her cheek and felt a strong pain as blood rushed across her tongue. It was real. But, how? She looked to him in confusion, but his words brought a frown to her face, "I told you before. This oath was sworn by Zack and I. It's not something that you can take away from us, because an oath is something that can't be taken away. Even if it was never fulfilled."

She looked around and saw the white bird as she continued, "However, I know Zack will be able to fulfill it."

The doctor wore a smirk on his face as he replied, "But, he's not here. Not here for you or those beautiful blue eyes of yours anymore. What if I told you that I ended him?"

She shook her head, "I told you again and again. An oath is not something that can be taken away by someone. Even you are unable to take that away. I believe in the oath I swore with Zack. He won't die, even if he is human. He is Zack, after all."

As if a trigger, the doctor's arm trembled as the smirk turned into an agitated frown. However, a smile quickly returned to his face as he replied, "But… what if a god was able to take it away from you?"

His words brought confusion to her face as she frowned, "Even if it is god, I believe he won't have the power to take away our oath. An oath will always live until it is fulfilled. So, until Zack kills me, the oath we swore will never die or be stolen. None of what you say matters since the oath is ours, even if I die for any other reason without Zack's involvement."

"Oh, but it can." Danny said as his smile grew wider and his tongue rolled out with a glean in his eyes, "I'll show it to you. Just follow me into hell, Ray. I'll show you… that an oath can be taken away and, as a price, I'll keep those beautiful blue peepers safe and clean."

His words brought her to shudder. Something was wrong with him. Not to mention, the fact that he was alive. She recalled that there was news of his death and his body was found amongst the rubble of the building he blew up. But, she wasn't given enough time to think as the doctor slowly drew the trigger. Suddenly, something green rushed into her. She was then pushed to the ground as the sound of gunshot sounded. She looked up and saw that it was Masatoyo. It was unusual seeing him with a serious expression on his face. Quickly, he grabbed her by the wrist.

"Hurry!" He whispered and pulled her along.

The two ran through the woods as the gun shots ran out in the back. There was little time for talk as she could barely keep up with him. It was then that she saw the white bird again. It dove through the wood before them with unusual speed and grace. She wanted to follow it, but Masatoyo's grip on her wrist didn't give her the option. Reluctantly, she followed after him. It wasn't till they reached at the end of a cliff that she saw a small waterfall and a dead end which forced the two to stop. She turned around and saw the doctor coming to a stop before them. the hideous grin on his face and a sense of dread on her chest. She didn't want to die here. She want to die. By Zack's hand. By his desire for her death. However, this was a dead end. She then felt Masatoyo release her wrist and saw him pull out his blade. She had neve seen him use a sword before, but he is a soldier. So, it made some sense. However, Danny didn't back away. Instead, he looked at him with disapproval.

"Move aside. I have to take Ray to hell with me." The doctor said with dead eyes.

Then, the ecstatic, franctic face set in as he continued, "To show her how fragile her oath is."

His eyes turned to her as he said, "Come, Ray. I'll show you her. The Goddess of Death is waiting in hell for you."

She frowned.

"If you want, Zack could also be there waiting for you." He said with a wide grin, "The very same man you want to take your life. But, I can take it a step further and take the both of you to hell with her. I know she'll accept and love you too. You and your beautiful peepers."

She didn't move. She could not trust a word from his lips. There was only one god and, even if there isn't, there is only one Zack that she know of and will always know of.

"Only Zack can take my life." She responded with a frown and slowly stuck her hand into her bag.

Seeing this, the doctor sighed and glared at Masatoyo, "Move."

He pulled the trigger. Suddenly, all froze as she saw the hand gun fell to the ground. From his stomach stuck a red blade. Seeing this, Danny muttered slowly as blood fell to the ground, "Wha…t?"

Suddenly, he fell to the ground motionlessly. Revealing it to be the blond hair soldier.

"Masanobu." Masatoyo sighed in relief, "That was a close one."

"The both of you were lucky that I left early then." The blond hair soldier said as he wiped away the sweat off his forehead and looked down to the man with a grimace, "Who is this?"

"Ray?" Masatoyo looked to her.

As they looked to her, she answered, "Doctor Danny. He was my counseling doctor."

Masatoyo grimaced, "Uh… You're sure? I think he might need it more than you…"

Masanobu shook his head with a frown, "Well, let's first make sure the two of you get back to town. I need to go on a mission and won't be back at the castle for a while. Looks like we might have another mystery on our hands here."

She looked to the doctor quietly before Masatoyo and Masanobu led her back to the town.

Upon her return, she remained on the temple grounds looking for the little white bird that no longer remained in the garden.

"Her counseling doctor?!" Masakage frowned, "Hey, isn't that the guy that murderer killed? How is he still alive?"

"More importantly." The tall man said with a frown, "How did he get here? Didn't Yuzuki said that they came from a another world? Yuzuki came here because of her connection with Himemiko, but this child and the doctor had no connection to all of this, right?"

Masatoyo frowned, "I don't know, but I've heard the doctor continued talking about this death goddess. I can't tell if it's because he's gone crazy or if it's because of something we don't know about."

Masakage grumbled, "Well, you said that he seemed obsessed with her, right? So, he must have something wrong with him, but…"

His eyes then shifted to Shingen who have been silent during the entire conversation. Finally, he said, "Masatoyo, take her and go to Sanada territory with Masanobu immediately. Do not mention a word about Yuzuki's background."

Masatoyo nodded, "Of course, Shingen-sama."

With that, Masatoyo left the bright room to the halls. Having gone, Shingen got up, "Masakage, Nobuharu, we're going to examine the sight."

It was a little strange. At first, she was in the garden searching for the bird and, the next, she was riding on a brown horse with Masatoyo. All he told her was that he was going to take her to an allies' territory and that things might go out of hand in their army. She didn't mind it at first, but she never thought that riding a horse would be as tiring or bumpy. She looked up at Masatoyo who was rather focused at the path. He did say that they needed to catch up with Masanobu. She didn't understand it very well, but maybe it has something to do with today? She don't know, but her attention was soon drawn to the horse. She thought it was an admirable thing being so tall and majestic, but it wasn't hers and it will never be. This wasn't something that she was forced to realize, just something she came to understand. She wasn't happy in the least, but she wasn't adamant about wanting it either. At the very least, she's come to understand that something just can't be in her reach even if she wanted it. There were conditions that have to be met or just accepted to be out. This horse. They would need him in the battle, so she can't have him nor can she ask them to let her borrow one.

She suddenly felt a tap on her shoulder and saw Masanobu looking up at her with a smile, "Finally out of it?"

Masatoyo got off the horse and helped her off. She looked around and saw that the sun was high in the sky and her bottom hurts from the ride. She was ready for her feet to touch the ground any time. Just as long as she was off the horse.

"So, Shingen-sama wants her to come along too, then." Masanobu said firmly.

"Yeah." Masatoyo replied with a frown, "It could be too dangerous for her to stay with either castles. It sounds like we really need Sanada army's help. Masakage and Nobuharu is with Shingen-sama right now."

Masanobu nodded with a frown, "The sooner we finish this the quicker we can go back and give them a hand."

Masatoyo nodded. Taking the reins, he led the horse while Masanobu took her hand as if she was still a child. But, she didn't complain and only looked about for the small bird and him. It was then that she saw some green spiky plant and plucked it as they walked along the path. She recognized that it was a Japanese yew that she had seen in books one time. As they walked along, she spotted a purple flower and reached out to it. A hand grabbed her and she turned around and saw that it was Masanobu who frowned, "I know it looks pretty, but it's poisonous. So, don't touch it."

She slowly nodded and retracted her hand as he released it. As they walked, Masanobu said with a relieved smile, "Next time, don't touch anything you aren't sure of. Some plants in the area are poisonous, so don't touch them."

Hearing this, she nodded again. As night finally set in, her surroundings became dark with no moon to guide the way. However, they continued walking. She came to a sudden stop and looked up to see Masanobu, who said with a smile, "We're here. This is the town."

She looked ahead and saw the small houses lit inside. She was then led along the path of the flat land to the largest building of them all. This building had a tall wall around it. She wondered if the people in there also had an army like this one. It was then that she felt a pat on her head and looked up. This time, she saw a tall man with dusty brown hair and blue eyes. Just like Masatoyo and Masanobu, he also had wolf-ears and a tail. There were the same color as his hair.

"Hm. Is something the matter?" he asked curiously with a small smile.

She frowned in confusion, "Um… You are…"

"This is Sanada Nobuyuki, Ray." Masanobu replied with a smile, "He's the elder brother of Sanada Yukimura."

"Oh." Rachel nodded slowly.

Seeing this, Nobuyuki looked to them with a smile, "I see that you must have had a long journey."

Masanobu waved his hand in denial, "There's actually some matters we'd like to speak of with you."

At this point, Ray looked at the corner of the street curiously. The street was wide and fields of plants lined the side of it. Was this a country-side like the old man's place? She wondered if Zack would be here sneaking out vegetables to eat from the fields. If so, that would be a relief. It would tell her that he was all right. However, Doctor Danny's words still rang in her ears. Could Zack really be hurt? She had always known Zack was strong. He was Zack, after all.

The child that was brought in was the same child that he had read about in the letter by the Takeda army. Rachel Gardener. To be honest, he was still skeptical about the girl's involvement with the return of the yakumas. Still, she was just a child. Probably a bit younger than one of their ninjas, but still a child. Seeing here in the light of the lamps before him, his brother, and the three ninjas, he could see it much clearer. Blond hair and blue eyes. Dull blank eyes. It was a rare trait amongst the humans, which was why it caught their ninjas' attention during the patrol. Her clothes was also otherworldly a bit like Yuzuki. They had met the woman before since she came to visit them once. He wondered if her condition was the same, though. Another thing that bothered him was her eyes and her movement. They were really slow, almost lethargic. This worried him. The man with green eyes and chestnut color hair, Yukimura, who sat next to him, looked to her with a look of concern, "Maybe she could stay the night here."

Nobuyuki nodded in agreement, "Sasuke, take her to one of the guest rooms."

"Got it." A teenage boy with silver-brown hair nodded and stood up.

"If possible." Masanobu spoke up, "Can you also have someone guard her?"

Nobuyuki and Yukimura looked to Masanobu in surprise as did the others. Nobuyuki raised a brow, "A guard?"

Yukimura nodded and looked to Sasuke. The boy nodded and walked over to Ray whose gaze was down casted to her knees as if she did something wrong.

"Hey." Sasuke called out to her, "Let's go."

However, there was a moment in silence as she remained unresponsive.

Nobuyuki raised a brow as Sasuke called out to her again bending down to her level, "Hey!"

Masanobu tapped on her shoulder as the girl slowly looked to him. He pointed to Sasuke and said, "Ray, you're going to stay here for the night. Sasuke will show you to your room."

He then turned to Sasuke, "She's a bit slow and spaces out a lot, so just make sure you have her attention when you talk to her."

Sasuke raised a brow, but nodded. The girl slowly got up and followed after him out the door. With the door closed behind the two, Yukimura turned to the two, "So, what did you want to talk about?"

"It's about the yakumas." Masanobu answered, "Recently, we've discovered that they've been popping out all over Shinga again. Aside from Takeda territory, we've found that some even appeared in along Toyotomi borders as well."

Yukimura frowned, "They've appeared in our lands too."

Nobuyuki looked to them, "Does Rachel have something to do with this, after all?"

"We don't know." Masanobu responded, "Since taking her into our lands, there haven't been any changes to the attacks, unlike before."

"Then, it might not be her." Yukimura said with a frown, "Then, why did you bring her here? There's a reason, right?"

"Um…"

They were slightly startled as Masatoyo spoke up next to Masanobu.

"Masatoyo." Masanobu strained a small grin, "Please don't surprise people like that."

"I didn't…" Masatoyo grumbled with a sigh before he continued, "Shingen-sama requested if Ray could stay with the Sanada army for a while. We're currently in no position to take care of a child and we can't take her to the battlefield. Toyotomi's general is in a similar position since they also have to protect Yuzuki. Ray seem to also come from the same hometown as Yuzuki and is unfamiliar with these lands. She also requires someone to be with her since she has a psychological problem."

"Psychological problem?" A blue-hair ninja's eyes widen in surprise, "That little girl?"

Yukimura frowned, "Then, you've found something about her?"

Masanobu frowned, "Yes. It would seem that she and Yuzuki were acquaintances. Though, Ray might not remember her though. You see, her parents were victims to a close-room murder. So, she is the only survivor of the incident and has suffered from additional psychological problems since that day. Yuzuki also told us that her counsel doctor figured that she might've had this hypoactive delirium meaning she is unable to focus on her surroundings and follow what others are saying to her, which leads to her spacing out every so often."

Yukimura frowned, "So, just now… that was one of them?"

Masanobu nodded, "Traits like these will be problematic if she was on the battlefield. Also, there's a chance that she is also being targeted."

Eyes turned to him as Yukimura asked firmly, "By an army? Does it have to do with her encounter with the Uesugi army?"

He shook his head, "No. By individual people. Masatoyo."

The green soldier nodded, "This morning, Ray left the temple grounds in Toyotomi's lands. I sought to chase after her and found her in the forest. She had encountered a man in white that clearly wasn't of these lands. He displayed an unhealthy obsession for her eyes and tried to kill her over some promise. I jumped in to protect her. But, his hand gun was a lot quicker than your average rifles. If Masanobu hadn't been passing by there, we'd have jumped off a cliff by then."

"The man?" Nobuyuki asked with a frown.

"Dead." Masanobu answered, "I killed him. Turns out that man was her former counseling doctor. He snuck her out to a building and tried to kill her."

"Huh?!" Masatoyo's eyes widen in surprise, "I didn't hear about that!"

"Toyotomi's general was able to get the information out of her and revealed it to Shingen-sama." Masanobu replied with a frown, "What Yuzuki knows about the building was only what everyone in their hometown knew about. The one who had claimed to have took her parent's lives actually saved her from the building when it exploded. Her counseling doctor was supposed to have died there with other people who took part in trying to take her life."

"But he's alive." Yukimura finished with a frown, "Then, there had been many attempts on her life as well."

Masanobu nodded, "That's right. Ray thought that he was dead too, but we found him in Toyotomi territory."

"We are looking into the situation right now and there's a chance that Hideyoshi will also take part in the investigation. Aside from Yuzuki and Ray, there's never been many foreigners in Shinga till now. There's also the chance that they might come after her." Masatoyo said.

Masanobu turned to them, "So, Shingen-sama request help in watching over the child while we look into this matter."

The room had a heavy silence before Nobuyuki said with a frown, "Yukimura, we need to discuss this further before we make a decision."

The general looked to him with uncertainty before he nodded, "All right, brother. Saizo, Kamonosuke, show them to the guest room."

"Nobuyuki." Masanobu called out to the assistant general with a frown, "There's something else I'd like to speak with you in private before Yukimura makes his decision."

Yukimura raised a brow, "Is there something you can tell him, but not me?"

Nobuyuki frowned, "Yukimura is the general."

Masanobu looked between the two before he slowly nodded, "Then, there's something I'd like to private speak with you two about."

Yukimura looked to the two ninjas who then left the room with a confused Masatoyo.

That morning, Rachel woke up to the same ceiling. She slowly sat up in confusion.

"Oh! Morning!"

She looked up and saw the over-confident ninja, Saizo, watching her from afar. She looked to him in confusion as he continued, "Yukimura asked to bring you to the dining hall."

"Yuki…mura?" She frowned in confusion.

The ninja raised a brow, "So you really didn't notice him too. He's Nobuyuki's little brother and the general of this army. Come on!"

Pulling her out of her futon, Saizo brought her to the large room where everyone sat. There next to the man she recognized was a shorter man with chestnut color hair and green eyes. He also had wolf ears and tail while wearing a green uniform. He really looked a little like the man next to him. Curious, she saw Masanobu and sat next to him before seeing two other ninjas sitting across from each other. She looked to them in confusion as the one with the blue hair gave her a small smile. Sasuke sat next to a ninja with the hood as he announced, "Ah, it seems she really didn't hear our introduction yesterday. She didn't remember Yukimura when I told her that you told me to bring her here."

"Oh?" Nobuyuki raised a brow, "So, she spaced out again?"

Yukimura smiled, "It's fine if we tell her again. Um, so I'm the general of the Sanada army, Sanada Yukimura. You seem to recognize Sasuke and my brother already. That is Kamanosuke, and Saizo. They were the one who found you between our borders."

As he said this, the ninja with the hood, Kamanosuke gave a big yawn. Rachel looked to them with a small nod, "Oh… Thank you…"

Her slow speech brought another yawn to the hood ninja before receiving an elbow from Sasuke who glared at him. It was then that Yukimura spoke up, so we've already talked this over and came to a decision. Ray can stay here with us for now."

Nobuyuki nodded, "It's true, in comparison to the Toyotomi and Takeda, we have yet to encounter any serious damage from the Yakumas."

"Since Ray shouldn't have any relations with the Yakumas, she can stay here with us." Yukimura said with a smile, "Of course, we'll try to see what we can find out about the Himemiko and the Yakumas in our territory, but, for now, this is about all we know of the current situation."

"Ya-ku-mas?" Ray repeated with a frown and looked to Masanobu.

He's raised a brow in surprise, "That's the monsters you saw in that town three days ago."

"Oh…" she said with a nod.

Masanobu looked around in confusion.

"I'm right here." Masatoyo spoke up as they all saw him sitting next to Masanobu with a sigh, "I thought she already knew. We never hid it from her. Perhaps she was also spaced out at the point too?"

Nobuyuki sighed, "Well, we can't have her go around the town and castle spaced out all the time."

Yukimura nodded and turned to the ninjas, "Sasuke, you'll be her guard for now."

"Right!" He said with a nod and gave her a smile.

She returned with a small nod and a blank look. Yukimura then continued, "Sasuke and Kamanosuke will help take a look at the situation with the Yakumas."

"Right!" the two ninjas replied firmly.

After the meeting, they arrived at the gate as Masanobu patted her head and placed a small brown box with a strange symbol engraved on it in her hand, "We'll be back, so just wait here, okay? Keep this with you too and don't lose it. If you ever need to return, bring this with you."

Rachel slowly nodded, "Okay…"

Yukimura spoke up, "We'll let you know if we find anything on our side. You probably should hurry back then. Shingen-sa-… Shingen will be returning to Takeda territory, right?"

Masatoyo answered with a frown, "Not until we figure out the situation behind the man who came after her."

Masanobu shook her head, "We should return first and check out the situation on their side. The matter occurred in Toyotomi territory. It's most likely that we'll have to leave the matter in their hands. Then, we shall take our leave."

As they turned around and left, Ray watched them walk away with the horse they rode on. It was then that Yukimura and the others brought her back inside. As she sat in the garden, she looked around curiously. It was a little similar to the garden in the temple, but much wider and a lot of plants. It was then that she felt a tap on her shoulder and saw Yukimura sit next to her with a smile, "Do you like the garden?"

Rachel stared at the garden before she slowly nodded, "It's pretty…"

"Looks like Sasuke's and the other's efforts paid off then." He chuckled.

She looked to him in confusion, "They made it?"

"No." Yukimura smiled, "But, they tended the garden yesterday morning for hours before you arrived. Are you looking for something?"

She thought for a bit before she responded, "A white bird…"

"A white bird?" he said with a raised brow.

She nodded, "It was leading me to where Zack is, but Doctor Danny got in the way…"

"Zack…" Yukimura said firmly, "That's your friend, right? The one Masanobu and the other said you were looking for?"

She nodded again, "Issac Foster. He likes to be called Zack, though. I hope he's doing well…"

There was a moment of silence before Yukimura sighed and nodded, "Well, maybe he'll be fine. Shingen and the others said that they'll look into it after the Uesugi backs off from that town. It'll be a while before then, so just try to stay patient for a bit longer. It's not easy rebuilding a town."

She slowly nodded and looked at the box in her hand. Yukimura patted her shoulder and pointed to the box, "I believe this is a pass that lets you travel into Takeda territory. That crest on the box belongs to the Takeda army. Ah! Speaking of which… Here!"

He then pulled out a similar small box with a different round carving on it and placed it in her hand, "This is a pass that lets you enter our territory. The crest belongs to our army, so no one will stop you from entering our territory unannounced if you came across the patrols. Keep these two with you, got it?"

She slowly nodded. Carefully, she touched the engravings on the boxes. Tracing the lines with her fingers. The bow was smooth and light in her palms. It was clear that something lay hidden in the boxes. She wanted to open them. With this in mind, she turned to Yukimura, "Can I take a look at what's inside?"

"Huh?" he raised a brow but nodded, "Just leave the Takeda pass be, though. You'll need Masanobu and the others for permission to open that one."

She opened the box and found that it held her name in japanese, age, and details of her physical appearance. Yukimura smiled, "We just tried it out recently. This way, we won't have to worry about a pass being stolen. I'm pretty sure the Takeda pass is the same, but you should leave that alone for now."

She nodded and stuffed the other pass into her bag. She then looked to Yukimura and frowned, "Is it really unusual for me to have blond hair?"

Yukimura hesitated before he replied, "Sort of. The trait isn't uncommon in the Gekka tribe."

"Gekka tribe?" she said with a raised brow.

"You don't recall any of that?" Yukimura said in a shocked expression and pointed to his ears, "The Gekka tribe consists of three races: Vampire, Werewolves, and Oni. Since I have these ears and a tail, I'm a werewolf."

That where she recalled it and said with a frown, "Shingen and Masanobu had them too. Then, they're werewolves? Werewolves are real?"

"We're real." Yukimura said as his ears twitched and he chuckled, "Have you never seen one of us before?"

"In Japan and America, they don't exists. I've read stories about them…" She answered curiously, "Then, can you turn into a real wolf at a full moon?"

Yukimura strained a smile, "No. That's impossible. We do have better senses than humans and are stronger than them too. So, the Gekka tribe is just a fairytale in your homeland… I wonder if it's the same for Yuzuki? Ah, then Shingen must've explained it to her. Ah. Ray, Sasuke's here too."

She turned around and saw the ninja looking to her with a small smile, "Hey! Sorry to bother ya! There's something I really want to ask you. Is it true that you created a bomb?! You gotta tell me how you did that!"

"Sasuke…" Yukimura sighed with a small frown.

As he asked her this with sparkling eyes, she said with a confused look, "You… want to know…?"

He nodded fervently, "Yes!"

She then reached into her bag and pulled out two batteries. She said as she pulled out some more materials, "These are batteries. They store electric energy in them."

As she began tying the end of the batteries together with a long piece of wire, she continued, "If you tie them together like this, it will produce enough heat. If you tied a rag around it, you can light it on fire and in a dusty place, it can light the dust particles on fire and make that explosion. I accidentally dropped in while escaping and it set the gas on fire."

"Batteries?" Sasuke said curiously picking it up, "It looks weird…"

She continued, "It's poisonous to us if a living person consumes it. The stuff inside is toxic."

Hearing this, Sasuke quickly puts it back down, "Seriously?! And you carry it around with you?"

"I won't know if I'll need them." she merely responded stoicly, "Also… God said it's bad to kill yourself."

"Huh?" Sasuke raised a brow.

Yukimura was quiet before he smiled, "Well… Want to help me in the fields today?"

"The fields?" she said in confusion.

He nodded, "I'll show you. Follow me."

She put the other pass into her bag and followed him in a hurry. It wasn't long before they started walking along the streets. After a while of walking, she felt a slight wind brushing against her and looked up. Around them were large fields of plants that she had seen the night before. As she walked, a hand suddenly grabbed her shoulder making her turn around and saw that it was Sasuke. The werewolf teenager grinned, "Hey, it's over here."

He took her hand and pulled her along into one of the large fields. She then saw the general with the basket placed from his back on the ground as he waved to her, "Over here!"

Walking between the crops, she saw the plump white root of the plant.

"This is…" She muttered quietly upon arriving.

"White Radishes." Yukimura said with a smile, "Want to help me pick some?"

She looked around in confusion when she recalled the story books and classes she took. Slowly, she approached one and grabbed a hold of the leaves.

"Ah!" Yukimura stopped her with a pat on her shoulder, "Not like that. Grab around the stem and pull as hard as you can."

She readjusted her hold on the plant and grabbed the stems with both hands around the stem. However, no matter how hard she pulled, it stubbornly stood in the ground. Sasuke laughed, "That was so funny!"

"Sasuke…" Yukimura frowned and gave her a smile as he got down to grab the stem, "Ray is just not use to farm work. It takes a lot of work before you can pull one out. Now, come on. I'll help too. One, two, three!"

Suddenly, she pulled on the radish with as much strength as she can pull into it. It still wouldn't budge. If Zack was here, he probably could've pulled it out easily. However, after a few more seconds, she felt the vegetable budge and trudged itself out of the ground before finally letting itself go from the ground. Ray suddenly fell back to the ground as the general stood there with the radish in hand. She looked up and saw the white radish. It looked like it could be ten times the size of your average orange carrot!

She slowly got up and brushed the dirt off herself before looking around. She had hoped that he was there, but she guessed she was wrong. If he was here, would she have tried to make him food? The old man taught her a bit, despite being blind, and her coworkers taught her how to cook a bit too. It was then that she felt a slight pain in her chest. It was a pain she hasn't felt in a long time since being with Zack. A sense of longing. She wanted to see him. Yet, though she thought she felt his gaze, the sensation was unfamiliar. Perhaps it was just her. It was then that she felt another pat on her shoulder and looked up to see Yukimura standing there with a basket loaded with white radishes on his back. He smiled, "It's time we get back. Brother would get worried if you stay out here for too long."

She didn't respond, but followed as Sasuke pushed her along from behind with a downcast grumble. Seeing this, Yukimura could only give a small smile and said, "Next time, Sasuke."

"Right…" the ninja replied with a sigh.

As they made their way to return, she noticed two women walking past. Seeing the general, they responded with a bright smile, "Good afternoon, Yukimura-sama, Sasuke! Returning to the castle, are we?"

"My, you even brought a child!" the other said with a look of surprise and joked, "She's not yours, is she?"

"Haha… No. Of course not." Yukimura responded with a chuckle, "A friend asked that we watch over her for a while. Seems like they have some important matters to take care of. It's going to take a while, so she's going to be at the castle for a bit. She's a foreigner to these lands, so we're going to show her around."

"Oh, is that so?" the woman replied and smiled, "Her hair and eyes are very pretty. What's your name?"

Curious, she responded slowly, "Rachel Gardner…"

Yukimura smiled, "She has a bit of a problem when socializing, so she always responds slowly and can lose focus in the middle of conversation. But, she's a clever girl, just a bit shy."

"I see. Well, welcome to Sanada territory, Gardner." The woman responded with a smile and patted her head, "Please come visit us again."

She nodded silently. As the two left, she looked up to him curiously, "You get along with everyone…"

As the continued, he replied, "Well, the people of this land really do take care of us. They're people who we care about too. So, I want to protect them too."

"That's right!" Sasuke added with a nod when he saw her hand on his scarf, "Also, how long are you going to hold onto that?"

Seeing this, she asked, "Was it bad?"

"Nah." Sasuke replied after some hesitation, "Just don't rip it."

"Okay…"

After dinner that night, Rachel was busy peeling at the stick of the plant she brought with her the day before. She had never seen a Japanese Yew in real life before, so the experience was interesting. She seemed to have finally finished peeling the stick and the leaves before taking out a bamboo bottle and stuck the pieces in it. She then placed it in her bag and was about to prepare for bed when she heard clamors coming from outside. She looked to the paper doors curiously when she suddenly felt something hit the back of her head.

The night was well when Yukimura and his brother saw Sasuke take the girl back from the veranda. It was then that the elder sibling asked, "How was she today?"

"Aside from spacing out, nothing too abnormal, brother." Yukimura answered, "Also, it seems that she didn't pay attention when Shingen-sama told her about the Gekka tribe. I doubt she recognized that Hideyoshi was a vampire when she was in Toyotomi territory. Do you remember when you questioned why she didn't think of taking her own life yesterday, brother?"

The assistant general looked to him with a raised a brow as he continued, "That religious bible said that it was bad to end their own lives. So, we shouldn't have to worry about that. Also, she seems like a good girl. So, try not to worry too much. Anyway, how was the patrol today? You took Saizo and Kamanosuke with you, right?"

The man nodded, "No signs of the Yakumas today either."

"That's good. The people will be safe." Yukimura nodded.

"Not exactly." Nobuyuki frowned, "It seems that people have been going missing in the last few days. Even after we banned entry in some parts of the forests, the number of missing people are growing."

Yukimura frowned, "Really? Then, we have a kidnapper, or…?"

Nobuyuki shook his head, "We don't know, but I assume that's the case. It happens more often in the afternoon and night regardless if they were in the forest or not. Most of the victims were along the border of town."

Yukimura looked to him, "We can try send a squad out to check on the situation."

"Saizo and Kamanosuke identified that it was probably a person doing this. Moreover, he does a thorough job hiding his tracks." Nobuyuki replied, "He also set up false ones and fooled them."

"Saizo and Kamanosuke?" Yukimura raised a brow as he frowned, "Then, we're going to have to go on a thorough search of the place. What worries me now is what happened to the victim-!"

Suddenly, there was a loud crash. The shattering sounds of plates and the banging of the pots and pans from the kitchen startle the two brothers as Yukimura grabbed his long red and silver lance. He rushed through halls and shouted, "It's coming from the kitchen!"

Upon entering the kitchen, they saw that the room was a mess and, amongst the mess, a red cloth stuck out from the side of the broken window. Looking about, Yukimura reached over and picked up the cloth. He frowned, "A scarf… But, Sasuke's the only person who where's a scarf and his isn't-"

He gasped and turned to his brother, "Rachel!"

"I'm on it!" Nobuyuki replied as he was already stepping out the door.

However, by the time they got there, it was already too late. The sliding door to the child's room was wide open and before it lay an unconscious werewolf followed by another blue werewolf.

"Sasuke! Saizo!"

They rushed over and was stunned by their state. The two weren't hurt, but they didn't seem to be doing any better. Yukimura looked around and shouted, "Kamanosuke?! Kamanosuke!"

He suddenly felt a hand on his arm and saw Saizo struggle to get up, "He's chasing… him. Poison gas…"

"Poison gas?!" Yukimura's eyes widen in surprise.

He had heard of poison gas. But, he never thought that the two would fall victim to it. The three hardly fall for any tricks up the sleeves in war, so the thought of poison gas being the cause of their state was completely unthinkable. Yukimura frowned.

"Yukimura-sama, Leave this to me." Noboyuki said, "Go after Ray and Kamanosuke. Bring some soldiers with you too."

Yukumura nodded and hurried out the gates alone.

When she woke up, Rachel found herself in a dark cave with the soft grass under her. She slowly got up with a blank look as she looked around and saw that she was in a place full of flowers. The light of the moon and a few gravestones. She was surrounded by a wall of rocks under the light of the moon. She frowned and turned to see that there was a few tunnels with one of them being an iron gate with a lock. She stared at it with a blank look. It's been a long time since she's seen iron bars and a lock like that.

"Ah, you're awake!"

She spun around at the large shout from behind her and saw a teenage boy slightly younger than her. The red scarf, blue overalls, a shovel in hand and horrific sack for a mask. Her eyes narrow in confusion as she spoke, "You…"

"It's me, Ray." The boy said pointing to himself with his gloves, "Don't you remember me? It's me! Eddie."

"Edd…ie." She said with a deeper frown, "Then, do you know where Zack is?"

"Hey, Rachel. Forget about that guy already. It's already been so long and he still hasn't killed you yet." Eddie said with a confident voice, "If you choose me, I'll give you a painless death, a beautiful grave and you can be mine. Mine alone… Things the senseless guy will never thought to give you. You should be gifted with so much more and I can give you that! I can promise to kill you! By god if you need it to be so! I can bring you to the goddess and we can swear the oath upon your grave! So, just pick me."

Despite so much promise in his words, his outburst was that of a lunatic and his cries only landed harshly on her ears annoying her so. His voice was that of a child who had yet to grow and needy. No. She don't want him to kill her. The only one who has the rights to her life can only be Zack. She frowned, "The one who can kill me…" She said inciting excitement in Eddie as she continued, "Eddie. It's not you. It will never be you."

As she said this whilst shaking his head, he could hear his teeth grind as he shouted, "Why?! Hey, Ray. Just what is it that he has that I don't have? I have all the things that you could ever want. A beautiful grave? Check. A painless death? I can give you that. I even have a goddess on my side, yet you still won't pick me. Just what is it that I'm lacking. Hey, Ray…?"

She shook her head with a stoic face, "Even if you have god with you, my god is dead. Even so, the only one I will let to kill me is Zack and it will always be him."

"Is it because of the oath?" Eddie asked with an empty tone, "If that's what's stopping you from picking me, then I can bring the goddess and we can break it! Then, you can finally rest in your grave and I will always tend to it with great care that grave desecrator will never achieve!"

Something moved in the corner of her eyes as she shooked her head with a frown, "The oath Zack and I made are renewed. It's something that belongs to me and Zack only. Even if you kill me now, the oath Zack and I have will still be there incompleted. Also, I know you were never one to believe in god himself."

"Well, that's because I met one." He said with a gleeful tone, "I met with a god who heard me. If you can just pick me than I can take you there and the god will gift you everything you want too."

Saying this, he tightened his grip on the shovel and walked a step forward with an outstretched palm and mitt, "Let's go, Rachel."

She shook her head, "You are wrong, Eddie. God accepts every innocent souls to his side and, yet, here you are taking them. If god was really with you, then I could've seen it from you."

She turned to the iron barred gate as she could see the flicker of little lights inside of it.

"God will never subject for the suffering to be placed on another." She then turned to him with a frown, "Also… God hates liars."

Eddie was taken aback by her steadfast response. It was then that bells rang in the tunnel that the boy grumbled with his shovel on his shoulder, "Someone's here. Just wait here. I'll be back before you know it!"

As he rushed off, she watched in silence till he was gone from sight. Quickly, she rushed to the iron bars and saw them. They were people from the town or at least looked like them. She quickly turned to the lock. It was the usual rusty lock. She pulled on it hard once and saw that it was still in better use, at least. She furrowed her brow in disappointment.

"He probably has the keys on him…" she grumbled and examined the lock.

She looked to them and saw their anxious looks, "It'll be all right. Yukimura will come."

Suddenly, amongst them a familiar woman walked up to her with a look of concern, "We know. More importantly, you should run, Rachel."

It was the woman from that afternoon! The woman continued, "I don't know what you have with the boy, but it's clear that he wants to hurt you. You should run. Yukimura won't be happy if you got hurt too."

"It'll be fine." She replied, "He won't hurt me that easily. Hold on."

She quickly rummaged through her bag and took out a battery. She hurried to find a large rock and then smashed the rock onto the battery till the outer layer came off and flattened it. Quickly, she formed a triangle on one end and flattened it again with a rock. It was then that she picked it up and rushed to the lock.

"What are you doing?"

She spun around, but sighed in relief we she saw that it was the hooded ninja with the blue tail and blue eyes.

"Kamanosuke?" she said, "Ah, I'm going to try get the people out."

She hurried to the lock and slid the point of the triangle into the socket of the lock. With some effort and twisting, she finally got the lock to open. She quickly opened the gates as the woman rushed up to them, "Kamanosuke! If you're here, then is Yukimura on his way too?"

The ninja nodded much to their relief. The woman turned to the girl and smiled, "Thank you very much for freeing us, Rachel."

She only nodded silently.

"Everyone!"

They looked up and saw Yukimura run out to them with a squad of soldier with him. He rushed over to them and saw Ray amongst them. Seeing everyone, he was able to smile in relief and pulled out the keys, "Looks like I was a little late. It took a while to snatch the keys from the boy."

"Yukimura-sama." One of the citizen spoke up, "Is the boy…"

Yukimura shook his head with a grimace, "He's not with us anymore. He escaped these lands and trespassed into Takeda territory."

"Takeda…" Kamanosuke repeated.

Yukimura nodded, "Ah, looks like we're going to have to let them know. Is everyone okay?"

A man said with a grimace, "Everyone is unharmed, but…"

He turned to the grave, "Some of us became victims…"

Seeing the graves, Yukimura grimaced, "First, let's get the rest of you home safely. Then, you can tell me what happened."

He turned to the graves with a frown, "We'll bring them back to their families too…"

YueTian: Hey, guys! How are you doing? I hope everyone's having a great Spring Break! This chapter was a little unusual, but that's because I realized I started this fanfic without thinking much about the plot. So, I ended up added the supposedly dead bosses of the game. However, it seems as if problems are appearing left and right so I'm going to have to slowly sort those out. Honestly, I didn't think I'd get this far with the story. I hope you all like it so far, though. I'm going to be posting this story a little more before I return to the others. I hope you all have a great remainder of the Spring Break! Also, I'm considering of trying out Wattpad soon and even start working on my own fiction story! I hope you will come to like it too! See ya!

3/23/2019 3:19 PM