Chapter Thirty-Eight: The Rescue Party Cometh


Breathing shallowly, I wait patiently, eyes beginning to run with the rush of soldiers. There's no way that there's enough soldiers in the castle now. Bouncing into a position more suitable for lunging, I focus on making it to the wall, but lose concentration mid-leap thanks to a small click, almost lost in the crash I make on landing.

Given a reason to swear, I bite down on my arm, trying to get to my feet shakenly, "Thank fuck Mizu wasn't here to see that." Finally standing, I glare up at the stone expanse, clutching onto my shoulder. "Make it in one, and then you can boast."

Taking a few steps back, I fly forwards, slamming a foot against the wall and pushing off it, moving fast to repeat the action until my hands are reaching for the top, gripping it as I struggle to surmount it. But suddenly, something's grabbing my leg and pulling me down back into the bushes and staring at a furious ninja, "Are you trying to get yourself killed?" The russet haired man snaps, gesturing at the castle, "Fuma Kotaro's in there!"

"Sasuke…" The blonde woman behind him warns, "It's probably his first mission."

The man called Sasuke doesn't speak again until we're safely away from the wall, leaning against tree trunks. "What brings you to Osaka?"

"A man named Takenaka kidnapped a friend of mine, I'm here to get them back." Sasuke's eyes widen, and he holds a silent conference with his partner. She hesitates, but shakes her head,

"Date hasn't conspired with ninjas as far as I know."

"Date?" I whisper. "What the hell has he got to do with this?"

Another silent exchange, Sasuke finally sighing, "Katakura Kojuro was captured by Takenaka."

My face twists into one of horror, everything clicking into place, "That's how he found her…"

"Her? Her who?" The woman asks, but it's Sasuke that reacts to the answer,

"Sayomi Hiroto."

"You have to be kidding me."

Hanzo Kobayashi, aged 19


The thundering clap of the final charge had stopped echoing around the castle hours ago. Ryoko had taken up position by my door, and not in the mood for his sarcastic conversation, I'd blown the candle out and pretended to go to sleep.

Sat at the table in the dark, I focused on the world outside my window, clenching my fists as I thought about what was happening out there. If Ieyasu and Takenaka's conversation was anything to go by, then tonight would be the night that any and all opposition to the Toyotomi was destroyed.

Tomorrow, there'd be no-one left to resist.

With that thought, something brought me out of my daydream, a low thump that had my head whipping around to stare at the door, mouth opening with horror at the blood soaking into the screen. Getting to my feet in alarm, I barely managed to stay quiet, eyes focused on the almost imperceptible shadow moving across the hall, arms replacing some kind of weapon on his back.

Clapping my hand over my mouth to keep my breath in, I waited in agony for the shadow to pass out of sight, taking a few tentative steps forwards when I deemed it safe. Slowly pulling my fingers away from my mouth, I waited for whoever it was to turn around and investigate, but mercifully he stayed away.

Ryoko's blood was beginning to seep under the door, soaking into my tabi as I got closer. Gathering my courage, I pushed it open, backing away when his body fell into the room, the head nearly severed by the slice in his throat. Stepping around him, I looked up and down the hall, wincing at the sheer amount of bodies scattered around.

Unsure of what to do, I wasted time dithering, only snapping out of it when I heard voices coming from the other direction. Panicking, I dove back into the room, grabbed the heaviest book on the shelf and pressed myself against the wall, lying in wait for the killer's accomplices to show themselves.

"…wasn't in any of the cells."

"That's if she's still alive."

"No, Takenaka took a lot of care to keep her- SHIT!" The ninja leading the group took my swing square in the face, reeling back when I brought it back around. Unfortunately for me, he had the brains to protect his head, but his back was definitely suffering for it. "Not to put you guys out or anything, but can I get some help here?!"

"Considering how entertaining this is…" Had I not been so busy with my assault and the swear words leaving my mouth, I might have realised how familiar the voices sounded. Instead, arms grabbed me from behind, tugging me off the ninja and letting the book fall from my grip.

"That's enough, Sayomi." Master Katakura murmured, his voice bringing me back to reality, "None of us are here to hurt you. Least of all him."

Turning my head slightly, I saw the truth in his eyes, looking back to the ninja in question with new eyes, watching him struggle back to his feet, helped by one of the ninjas I hadn't noticed before, who for some reason had Yumekichi on her shoulder. Sending her a thankful look, he tugged his face mask and hood down, revealing shaggy black hair and a bloody lip. As we looked into each other's eyes, identical looks of relief passed over our faces. "Hanzo?"

"In the flesh." He smirked wryly, ignoring the blood dripping onto his chin for now.

Master Katakura released his grip on me, just as my mind caught up, and my hands flew to my mouth, "Oh shit! Hanzo, I didn't- I thought you were- Oh fuck!"

"Sayomi-"

"Is your back alright? I swear if I'd known it was you-"

"Sayomi-"

"Why didn't I think-" The ninja who'd helped Hanzo to his feet and her partner still hiding in shadow had burst into laughter, only shutting up when Hanzo took a step forward, gripped the back of my head and slammed his lips onto mine, blood and all.

When he finally pulled away, he took in my expression, nodding to the others, "Thought that might work."

"Yeah, I find it's especially effective on Kasuga whenever she's fussing." Sasuke smirked, stepping into the light just as the woman started blushing and spluttering. Turning to face him, my body suddenly went rigid, unwilling to meet his eyes. When I finally dragged them upwards, there was more than a hint of fury there, all humour gone from his tone as he spoke. "I thought I heard your voice in Seto, but I brushed it off since you're supposed to have been dead for the past two years."

"Had to get away somehow, didn't I?" I snapped, suddenly defensive of my stupid plan. Sensing it, Hanzo took my hand, another coming to rest on my shoulder, Master Katakura facing Sasuke.
Tensing at the contact, I forced myself to remember that among these people, Takenaka wouldn't get close enough to touch me. Bringing my heartbeat back to normal, I fixed my usual grin into place, aiming it at my quarry, "Speaking of Seto, I saw how many Toyotomi attacked you. I thought you were dead!"

"I'd say you were even then." Master Katakura calmly settled, "Now since Sayomi's safe, Kobayashi, we could still use your help."

"My skills are yours." Hanzo nodded, tugging his hood and mask back into place. With them on, it was almost impossible to tell who was winking at me. Still connected by our hands, we took a step back to let the shinobi take point, Kasuga giving us a quick nod as they did.

Remembering the shadow I'd seen earlier, I opened my mouth to tell Hanzo, but he just shook his head, the outline of his jaw visibly tightening. "What do you think he's here for?" He called to the front, receiving only a shrug as we started moving again.

"Who's doing this?" I whispered, tightening my grip on his fingers, "And what happened to you?"

"A guy called Kotaro Fuma got in here before us. Word on the ninja network is that you let him finish whatever task he's on, and pray he doesn't consider you in the way." He hesitated for the briefest second, "The second question…That's going to take some time to explain."

Time we didn't have right now. Frowning softly, I gave his hand a gentle squeeze, wordlessly telling him I wouldn't forget. Flickering his eyes towards me, he gave a quick wink, managing to keep the smile on my face until we were at Toyotomi's command centre, and the nest of his operations.

Looking around at all the rolled up maps, even as Sasuke rolled out the ones on the table, I could easily see Takenaka working furiously in here, making the precise brush strokes that we were now staring at. "I see what they're up to," Sasuke whispered, "The unit headed this way from Aki is the mobile fortress my scouts reported. Mori must've rebuilt Chosokabe's Fugaku."

"They even anticipated stealing it from Mori in the end. That's why they formed the alliance in the first place." Master Katakura frowned, following the line with his finger.

"What?"

"It's true, Takenaka didn't exactly broadcast it, but he wasn't subtle." I confirmed, pulling away from the table a bit.

"Just like Mori always planned on betraying them with a castle attack. They're both dangerous foes." Kasuga added. Her words made Sasuke focus on something else on the map, Hanzo craning his neck for a better look.

"What's that arrow mean?"

"Sea troops?"

"They intend to trap Uesugi from behind." Master Katakura explained, looking sideways to Kasuga. "Kyushu's in similar peril."

Tracing another line, Sasuke began to understand fully, "Then these are the men sent to take out Satsuma. Where are they getting all these soldiers?"

"Conscription. Almost the whole country's been drafted."

"Bastards." Hanzo cursed, looking up at the rest of us. Releasing my fingers, he began to move about the room, leaving the rest of us looking at the map. I'd already seen him glance carefully at Kodokuna's general location, his muscles relaxing at the unmarked region.

Narrowing his eyes, Master Katakura carried on, "Nobody but Toyotomi could even dare try this. A war to end all wars."

My own eyes slits, I clenched my fist. His rush to have Toyotomi in power had led Takenaka to make hasty strategies that nonetheless worked. There had to be a weakness somewhere. Looking around the room for ideas as to that weakness, I only saw Sasuke hand over a small wooden whistle, telling Kasuga to warn Lord Uesugi of the attack.

But then something Master Katakura said yanked my attention back, his finger pointing to another marking, "That X must be Matsunaga."

"He's still alive?" Sasuke and I chorused, my nose screwed up in distaste.

"Another part of the plan, Takenaka's using the villain to stall my Lord so he can destroy them both with the fortress he steals from Mori."

Moving away as well, Sasuke noticed a set of shelves in the corner, taking the top one just as Hanzo gasped from the other corner. Taking the top sword, the Kai ninja turned slightly to hold it out for Master Katakura, "You pair are going to need weapons if we're getting out of here."

"I've got Yomi's right here." Hanzo grinned, already tossing his find over. Catching it one handed, my eyes followed the golden bamboo, mouth beginning to twitch at the corners. "Here's the other one."

"Other one?" I echoed, watching it sail through the air, and only just bringing my other hand up in time. Just as my fingers took it though, something dragged my eyes over to where Sasuke was still holding out his find, a flurry of black feathers descending from the ceiling behind him, "Sasuke!"

"Sarutobi!" Not that there was any need to yell, he'd already noticed, and swiped at the hand appearing from the mass as he leapt away, sword still contained. As they made contact, the feathers formed a man in white and black, with a shock of red hair appearing from under his helmet.

Practically the second he was in sight, he vanished again, reappearing behind Sasuke half a second later, forcing him to turn and continue striking with the sheath, slowly getting pushed back. Taking a chance, Hanzo leapt forwards to get between them, a shortened naginata swinging while Kasuga attacked from behind.

Our attacker simply took to the air spinning, and too late we all saw the daggers he gripped in his feet, the three shinobi sent flying, Sasuke literally through the doors, Kasuga into a heap under the window, and Hanzo nearly earned double points, flying past me and hitting the wall, falling through the shelves. All three fought to get back up, but the other ninja's feet were back on the ground before any of them found their feet.

Making to pull my katana, I was stopped by a kunai flying over my hand and embedding itself in the wall, Hanzo shaking his head when I glanced at him.

By the time Sasuke had recovered, the sword held in a reverse grip, Hanzo was shaking his head like a dog, noticing Master Katakura and me in the corner. Locking eyes with the Right Eye, he braced himself against the wall, leaping to his feet at the next words uttered, "Look who it is. The silent ninja himself."

"Fuma Kotaro." Kasuga finished, finally standing herself.

In a flurry, Fuma charged for Sasuke, his dual knives ringing against the sword, even as Sasuke delivered orders, "Go on Kasuga! Don't worry about me, Echigo's in for a surprise attack if you don't warn the War God."

Hesitating, Kasuga stayed in her place as the deadlock was held, finally flinching when Master Katakura yelled, trying to get Sasuke's attention, "Sarutobi, it's the sword!"

"You too Master Katakura, now go!" How in the name of Bishamonten did he miss that?!

Making to yell at him myself, I was unprepared for Hanzo to tackle me around the middle, kicking the map table over as he did. Hidden behind the block of wood, we only heard Fuma jump away, the sound of nearly a thousand slashes hitting the air not one second later, "Hanzo, what the-"

"You're the only one not wearing armour here Yomi. I am not losing you again!" Looking at him in shock, I squeaked in alarm when the wall to our right was blasted apart, Hanzo's hands firmly keeping my head covered. The force blasted us backwards as well, the table finally falling to bits, just as Sasuke made his way over to us, still toting the fucking sword.

"Listen to me, get rid of the sword," Master Katakura ordered, safely out on the roof now, "That ninja is Matsunaga's servant, he's here to take that sword!"

"Just an idea, Sarutobi," Hanzo added, pulling me up and focusing on the advancing Fuma, "Listen to him."

"You should've just said so."

"We did." I snarked, even as he moved over to the hole, waving the sheath slightly.

"Hey, you want this?" Fuma tensed, suddenly shooting over too, even as Sasuke flung the sword in to the sky, "Go fetch!" Taking a step back, the Kai shinobi was nearly knocked overboard as Fuma pushed off of the roof, grabbing the sword mid-flip, and flinging something at us. Swearing, we all took cover behind the walls, staring at the kunai lodging themselves into the floor where we had just been.

Breathing hard, Hanzo pulled his mask down as he laughed, "So how long do you think we have before the rest of the castle guards get here?"

"Not long enough." Sasuke returned. Looking at the rest of us, he added "I'm going to find Yukimura, see if he knows what he's going up against."

"Got it." Nodding to us, he left the same way Fuma and Kasuga had, a short burst following his exit.

Once he'd gone, Master Katakura looked at the pair of us, "Kobayashi, have you got a plan for getting us out?"

"Truthfully? I got nothing." Rolling my eyes, I felt something press into my hand, Hanzo smiling,

"Grabbed these on the way up though. You look a little layered."

Passing my swords over, I quickly began shrugging off layer after layer of silk, until only the two base robes were left, and I was stepping into the hakama. Having been watching each piece float to the ground, Hanzo waited until I was tying the swords to the sash before saying, "I will never understand women's fashion."

Flipping him off quickly, I finished up with the swords, pulling my katana into the open, "I've missed this baby."

"Save the emotional reunion for now, Yomi." Hanzo sighed, grabbing his naginata from where it lay and examining the shaft. Satisfied that it wasn't bent, he looked up at Master Katakura, awkwardly indicating the sword he still had at his hip. "If we backtrack, we should pass the armoury. Should be a few spares there, right?"

"No need Kobayashi." Gripping the hilt, he pulled it out for us to see, revealing the very sharp point of the broken steel. Eyes widening, I managed a dry swallow, gaining his attention. "I must return this to my Lord."

"So, I guess the only important thing is we go down, right?" Without waiting for an answer, Hanzo began to lead the way, gesturing us forwards once the hallway was clear. Since he had both the speed and the stealth required to quickly look ahead, I thought we'd get at least a floor down before encountering any form of authority.

I was half right, we made it to the stairs.

Contrary to what we'd been hoping, Fuma hadn't killed all of the remaining soldiers, and there were plenty of them looking up at us, weapons at the ready. Staring at them, Master Katakura wordlessly drawing Masamune's broken blade, Hanzo only had one thing to say, "Last one to the horses is eating Ran's cooking!"

"What? Hey, no fair!" Winking at me, he leapt upwards, using the soldiers as a springboard down the stairs, "Really no fair!" Not in any mood to be outdone by him, I charged into the group, holding my katana point outwards and praying that the surprise aspect would work.

About halfway in, Hanzo called to Master Katakura who responded by grabbing my hips midstride and passing me upwards. Yelping and fighting to keep my sword in my hands, I managed a mock glare as Hanzo adjusted his grip on me, continuing to leap from back to back as if it didn't matter. It was far from a comfy journey, but it barely lasted ten seconds, my feet tapping the floor just as Master Katakura made it out of the throng of people. Unable to take so much as a breath before we were pushing forwards again, I slipped my katana back into its sheath, choosing speed and manoeuvrability for now.

"How many floors do we have left?" I puffed, looking at the men for an answer.

Hanzo gave an exasperated shake of his head, "Way too fucking many."

"Then we're screwed."

"Not necessarily," Master Katakura breathed, looking out of the windows as we ran. Practically reading his thoughts, Hanzo took a quick peek, shaking his head,

"Roofs are too steep. I might be able to manage it, but you guys? Not a chance."

"It's that, or we spend hours fighting through the halls. Pick one."


When the horses were in sight, nibbling at their hay as though the world wasn't falling to pieces around them, I could've collapsed with relief. As it was my arms were slung across Castella's back, thanking every deity up there for her existence. "Usually I'd laugh at you," Hanzo shared, "But that was way too close."

Pulling the door bar across the way we'd come in, Master Katakura just rolled his eyes as he moved over to the other one. Once it was slung across, he looked back at us, turning away to examine the horses. "Are you one of those ninjas that can run faster than a horse, Kobayashi?"

"After that stunt?" Hanzo asked, his eyes flashing to me as if asking me if he was just hearing things. Deciding he wasn't, he looked back, continuing in his disbelieving tone, "I'll be lucky to run across that courtyard!"

"He did have to pull me back up." I supported, still patting Castella's back. Flashing a quick thanks to me, Hanzo crossed his arms, nodding at the warhorse Master Katakura finally settled on. Just as we were beginning to mount up, something slammed against the barred door, the crack in the bar evident even from where I was standing. "We've got an audience."

"Better change plans then." Hanzo snarled, sharing a glance with Master Katakura. Reading it, I decided that whatever they were planning, I wouldn't like it. Sure enough, without as much as a please, Hanzo had scooped me up and handed me up to Master Katakura, ignoring my struggling and threats.

Wrapping one arm around my stomach, he wrapped the reins around his other hand, his tense demeanour passing to the horse. "I'll catch up, okay?" Hanzo promised, even as he began lifting one of the bars.

Meeting his eyes, I shook my head, looking down at the saddle, "You'd better. Got it?"

"I never break promises, Yomi." With that, the bar was lifted and Master Katakura's heels were digging into the horse's flank, sending it flying forwards and into the crowd of soldiers that for some reason thought that it'd be a good idea to swarm the door all at once. Holding onto the horn with both hands, I looked behind us, suddenly unable to look away as Hanzo pulled his naginata free and began cutting into the guards with deadly precision. As he fought, the beginnings of a spark ignited along his arms, some of the Toyotomi men getting pushed back by the force of the aura. As I watched, his foot slammed into the ground, the force behind it actually cracking the earth and sending tremors through it.

My view was blocked as we turned around the corner, Master Katakura giving the horse no chance to rest, even as some of the more determined soldiers tried chasing after us. By the time we were in the clear, the reins getting a generous tug, our attention had been grabbed by a large grate in the ground of the yard, through which several curses and threats obscene enough to make Mizu blush were floating out of.

Sharing a smirk, we both slipped out of the saddle, slicing through the locks with ease and tossing the nearby rope down to the prisoners, all of whom cheered loudly, and began jostling to climb to their freedom. "I leave you guys alone for two seconds and you start a prison riot?" Hanzo playfully asked, seated across Castella as if he had been following us the whole time. Catching the question before it could be asked, he just shrugged, looking back in the directions the stables lay, "I just hope I left enough of them alive. Doesn't seem fair for these guys to lose out on the fun."

By now the first few prisoners, all dressed in purple and yelling for Chosokabe, were beginning to surface. Pointing the way we'd just come, I let them guess my meaning, too concerned with getting my foot in Castella's stirrup.