It turned out a lot of people were available for the rescue, something Ieyasu hadn't quite expected. In the end, he was forced to narrow it down to a smaller force. Hanzo was close by of course, Kotone stubbornly inserting herself as well. Magoichi and some of her men volunteered as well, and any number of foot soldiers was prepared to help bring friends and brothers home.

Despite this, it was a large army that got ready to leave Edo, the Date planning to follow us out of the city gates. Hotaru stood among them, holding Master Katakura's hand tightly and watching the activity around her with fear. "Don't worry." Mizu whispered, following my eyes, "I'll be there too, remember?"

"I know. Besides, she's probably safer there than here." Sighing deeply, I placed yet another false smile on my face, "Could you do me another favour? I know Ranmaru's bad at writing letters so, if you could keep me in the loop?"

"Be glad to." Pulling me into a hug, Mizu snorted slightly, "Be careful, Yomi. I didn't get the chance to say that last time."

I didn't bother plying her with a reassurance like 'What's the worst that could happen?' I would never insult her intelligence like that. So instead, I let her finish the hug, grinning at her like a madwoman, "Come on Mizu, if I don't charge in head first, who would?"

"Kamikaze." She scoffed, knocking me up the head playfully.

Sticking my tongue out in return, I stepped to the side so Hanzo could say goodbye as well, almost stepping on Kotone's toes in the process. Apologising hastily, I stepped around her, but made the mistake of keeping my eyes on her, and thus knocked heads with Magoichi as she turned from giving orders. "Shit! My fault, sorry."

To my surprise, Magoichi just rubbed the spot and shrugged, "We were both inattentive. Allow me to apologise."

"It's alright, it probably won't even bruise."

"That's not what I meant." My feet froze, looking strange in their turned position. "I misjudged you when we first met. Now I know you're not the Blade I thought you were."

"I uh…thank you." Nodding with a slight smile, Magoichi brushed past me to talk to Masamune for a few minutes, leaving me blinking where I stood.

Well, that was weird.


The second we were in sight of the castle at Kanegasaki, we knew we were in trouble. The sun was just dipping on the horizon, but there was still enough light for everyone to crowd around a map in confusion. "I don't understand, there's no mention of it on the maps, and I know there were patrols that passed this way." Jiro murmured, folding the sheet up and looking at the tower we could all see.

"Missing men and a castle that shouldn't exist? That just screams campfire story." Hanzo scoffed.

"I hope I'm not alone in thinking we'll need help?" I asked the others, getting a lot of nods. "Alright, we'll camp here for the night and turn back in the morning. Keep the fires small."

I turned my attention back to the castle, looking at the roof tiles with a growing sense of apprehension. Even as far from them as I was, I could see how ill-maintained they were, and I guessed the rest of the structure would look similar. It certainly looked like the type of place a mysterious darkness would live.

Giving it a final glare, I went to help with the fires, and within a few minutes, everyone was crowded around one, discussing what to do in low voices. The small amount of time without ghosts leaping out at us had defused the initial air of fear, leaving behind calm logic, "We should at least scout ahead. The castle looks like shit, for all we know, it could just be a holding place." Jiro suggested.

"It's getting too dark for a proper go at it. You'd be going in alone."

"Or maybe now's the best time for a quick look." Hanzo mused, looking at me, "If we let it get dark enough, they won't be able to see us, but Sayomi can see them."

"I can't see through stone." I paused before nodding, "But I wouldn't mind trying it."

My decision was met with a small amount of staring. Jiro and Hanzo were neutral, firmly set on business, while the others looked like I'd grown two more heads, "Aren't you scared?" Kotone almost snapped, her own fright becoming obvious. "You might get caught too!"

"That's not what I said." I told her, "But there have been too many mysteries recently, and I want at least one solved before ten more appear." My hand wrapped around the hilt of my father's sword, stroking the wrap, "Besides, if worse comes to worse, Hanzo has my new swords."

"Guarding them with my life." He assured, reaching a hand behind him to pat the bundle on his back.

"We'll look after her, Mistress Kotone." Jiro added, flashing her a grin that pulled the quietest laugh out of the girl next to me. And like that, I knew she wouldn't argue further.

I'd thought Magoichi would be harder, or at least as hard to convince, but since none of her men would be in danger, she felt secure in giving us a quick order to be careful, "Take this as well." She instructed, passing me one of the pistols from her thigh holster. "If you run into trouble, just fire and we'll be there as fast as we can." Thanking her, I tucked the weapon into my sash, keeping an eye on it for a minute or too to make sure it didn't slip out.

We didn't run off immediately, wanting it to get pitch black before advancing. The fires were small enough that we were confident they couldn't be seen if everyone huddled around them. Fortunately, no-one complained about the uncomfortable position, but only because huddling around them like falcons near carrion was the only way to get any warmth out of them. Even so, I mourned the loss of the heat when we eventually had to move away from it. Jiro and Hanzo had tugged their hoods on, leaving only their eyes glancing about, as well as keeping their heads warm.

The three of us ducked into the tree line, keeping our heads low, and our breath as quiet as we could. We were all praying that whatever force was hiding out in the castle, even if it was the Oda, wouldn't expect anyone to approach. I know I was also throwing a couple of pleas for there to be no ninja force, and thus no hidden eyes in the forest.

A few minutes in, when the silence was just getting suffocating, Hanzo tapped my shoulder, looking around cautiously, "Anything?"

"I would've said." Even so, I started straining my eyes, whipping my head around every time something moved, or when I saw anything remotely human shaped. Thankfully it was a fairly calm night, with no wind to make snapping my neck easier.

But all too soon, Jiro came to a sudden stop, staring ahead of him in resignation, "We're turning around." He ordered, already backing away. "Castle's right ahead."

"No argument here." Hanzo nodded, waiting for me to turn to follow. "We could be lucky. Place might be abandoned."

Something wasn't right, and it was that tiny niggling feeling that kept me where I was. The boys looked at me in mild confusion, one of them stepping closer to tap me and ask something. But then I shook my head at myself, scoffing quietly at my paranoia, taking a new breath in the process.

And my immediate reaction was to scrunch up my nose. Clamping both hands to it and breathing through my mouth, I glanced about accusingly, looking for the quiet stream of smoke I knew was somewhere. "Sayomi, what's happened?"

"Incense, the one Takenaka used." I explained, too preoccupied to care about how my voice sounded.

"That means we could've been surrounded the whole time." Hanzo whispered, his face rapidly turning pale.

It was a little bit of an exaggeration. I'd only just picked up the smell after all. But the fact that whoever was hiding out in that place had that specific incense around the place was terrifying. It meant whoever was in there was either crazy prepared or was expecting us. Neither were possibilities I really wanted to entertain.

Like clockwork, our heads tipped back, bodies tensing in anticipation. Then when a bird flew out of the branches, Jiro came out with the smartest thing I'd heard all night, "Run."

The quiet tone he used did nothing to disguise his fear, and before anybody could argue, he was off, Hanzo and I close behind. We flung caution to the lack of wind I'd just been praising, uncaring of any noise we were making. Leaves and twigs were crushed underneath, my ears were filled with the sound of my heartbeat and yet something still cut through the noise I was making. I was so confused by its presence that I actually stopped, turning around and staring through the trees into the darkness. It didn't take long for my absence to be noticed, "Yomi, what are you doing!?"

Ignoring him, I carried on listening, heart beating harder with every note of the song invading my hearing, using Lady Oichi's voice as its battering ram. "Impossible." I whispered.

"Sayomi, come on!" Hanzo snapped.

But still I ignored him, still trying to see her in the darkness. My patience was rewarded, as I caught a brief flash of pink, almost concealed by the darkness, but enough to prove I wasn't delusional. And that meant I couldn't be the only one to hear her. Growling in frustration, Hanzo came back to my side, pulling me towards a tree, "At least get out of sight!"

Too stunned to disobey, I began to climb, getting a reasonable way up before I was joined by the others, all three of us staring hard at the wandering figure, seeing the truth of it for ourselves. A quiet noise pulled itself out of my throat, Hanzo squeezing my shoulder in reassurance. Lady Oichi, who Hanzo and so many others had told me was dead, was wandering just a few metres away, humming the tune now, almost absently.

But then, what would I have done if I had known she was alive? The last time I had seen her, I was tackling her to the ground, trying to stop her from throwing her life away. And that was after a lifetime of believing her a simpering fool. It was only afterwards that I realised they were Oda's words, and by then it was too late.

We stayed in the tree, glancing at each other at times but our attention for the most part stayed on Lady Oichi, hoping our united stare would somehow convince her to go the other way, but against our wishes, she kept coming our way, beginning to sing her haunting melody again. It was then that we drew a collective breath, and if it was possible, our fear grew ten times over.

Because as she came closer, the shadows of the forest at night moved away from her, revealing the true shadows that surrounded her, far more menacing than those that had haunted me when I was fifteen. Her feet were still on the floor, taking small steps, and if they hadn't have been I probably would've screamed and wouldn't have stopped. But there, the Lady Oichi I knew vanished, replaced by a puppet that needed those shadows to stand straight and push her forwards.

A tiny whimper almost made it out of my mouth, but it was soon pushed back in by my hand. But the simple fact that this whole scene just screamed wrong at me soon had another coming, this one stronger than the first. Jiro and Hanzo's heads both snapped towards me in panic, as well a small amount of guilty relief that it hadn't been them to make the noise. But the halt of Lady Oichi's singing soon took our attention.

Her mouth was still open, caught mid word, and her head slowly turned to each side, "Brother?" The shadows began moving more then, swirling around her like a whirlpool. "Brother, where are you?" She almost reminded me of a lost child, but that did little to curb the feeling of impending doom. If anything, it just felt closer.

With movements slow enough to be painful, Hanzo's arm came around my waist, pulling something out of my sash and handing it up to Jiro, who gave a jerky nod, taking his eyes off Lady Oichi long enough to give the pistol a quick examination before pulling the hammer back as slowly as he dared. The quiet click was muffled by his glove, but it still brought her head snapping back to our direction, vacant stare turning worried as she continued to search on the ground.

And then it all went terribly wrong.

Guessing it was only a matter of time before she thought to look up, Jiro hesitantly took aim, flashing an apology to me with his eyes. His finger squeezed lightly on the trigger, but the sound was still as deafening as we all expected, the ground just past Lady Oichi flying up in protest at the bullet now lodged in it. Poor Jiro didn't even have time to realise how wide his shot had gone, Lady Oichi's reaction was so fast. The whirlwind around her gave a final turn before part of it split off, sharpening as it flew towards our tree. He only had enough time to drop the gun, before the shadow went right through his chest. The pistol knocked against a branch before hitting the ground, one final bullet shooting free, but all attention was on Jiro.

He took a few shuddering breaths, but for the most part it was as if he was being strangled, as if something was being taken from him before the shadow pulled away again, leaving no mark. I had been right to assume these shadows were different from mine. They were of a far worse variety, and certainly more dangerous than my simple spectres.

Jiro's body fell from the tree, landing with a soft thud on the ground. Still staring at him in horror, my mouth struggled to form an actual word before a scream nearly tore it in two. Lady Oichi finally looked up, and for the first time, her expression turned clear, "Brother, Ichi's found you."

"Move!" Hanzo roared, pushing me towards the next tree just as a shadow pierced the trunk where I had been a second previously. Still too scared to properly react, I didn't get my arms out in time, and I fell to the ground instead, turning onto my back within a minute. The breastplate had taken the majority of the impact, leaving me with my breath. It took another yell from Hanzo to get me scrambling away, and while he dodged a series of attacks, I found my feet, running away like a coward. It was only his wheezing breaths as he caught up that kept me from looking back.

"Brother, come back!"

That wasn't Lady Oichi. It had to have been something inhabiting her body, surely. But as we ran, pumping our arms and ignorant to something as stupid as a direction, the last thing we were thinking about was what she was. Our concerns lay with the shadows beginning to nip at our heels.

Hanzo pulled his short spear free, swinging it behind him, "We're not your brother!"

Whatever he was hoping to achieve, it worked. The shadow cringed and actually moved back a bit, and small as the gesture was, it gave us a new twinge of hope. Anything you can fight back against, could be defeated. Anything that could be defeated, didn't need to be feared. Waiting for the next time they fell behind, we turned on the spot, and I drew my sword, holding it with steady hands.

Lady Oichi caught up with her shadows then, but if she was confused to see the weapons, she didn't show it. In fact, she didn't show anything at all. But the shadows recovered faster than she did, and the first thing they did was fly into the small gap between us, pushing us away from each other before launching any actual attack. After that, the goal was to try to touch us like they had Jiro.

A few seconds in, I was forced to deal with more than one shadow, one hand flying at my waist, struggling to grip my wakizashi before I finally had it, wrenching it free just in time to deflect one aimed at my head. Fighting two handed for an extended amount of time was something I'd never quite managed, so my left hand was fully dedicated to blocking while the right dealt with anything offensive.

Not that it mattered. Lady Oichi moved her attention from Hanzo to me, and the pained look she now wore distracted me for a second too long. I only just had enough time to cross my swords in front of me before the shadows surged in a single point. The way they grouped seemed to turn it into a solid point, as it didn't try sneaking past the steel, but it was still pushing hard against my swords, the metal shaking with the effort to stay strong.

A bead of sweat ran down my forehead as I tried to keep them in front of me, and it was that detail that brought me back to Earth. "I'm sorry, Father." My eyes looked to the side, meeting the horror filled orbs of mine just a few days ago, my mouth not quite having the energy to smile and reassure her. I'd barely begun to turn my attention back before the shadows finally won the stalemate, pieces of steel fling past my head at top speeds, just as the shadows consumed every inch of my sight.