My dearest Uriko,
There are indications that we will move in the coming days, perhaps even tomorrow. Lest I am not able to write again, I feel compelled to write these words, ensured that they will reach your eyes if I no longer draw breath. I have no misgivings or lack of confidence to which the cause I am engaged. No, if fact, I feel as strongly as ever in the righteousness of what I am doing.
Kenji could not help but be in awe of the beauty of the land around him. Green grass stretched as far as the eyes could see. Clover dotted the countryside and a soft, warm breeze relieved the sun's harsh glare. He held in his hand a picture of the girl waiting for him at home, in Japan, holding a child, no more than a few months old.
He couldn't help but feel a spiritual connection to this land. Maybe this was where it all began. The Celtic druids of old worshiped the animals, with all the myth and mysticism here, maybe it is what truly begat the Zoanthropes. He could hear them chanting even now, a slow and sad melody. Kenji closed his eyes, to dismiss such idle thoughts. In a world where the ZLF had hold on the collective hearts of so many, even the slightest distraction could prove fatal.
His foe approached, silently as the day breeze. He was no older than Kenji himself, clad all in black and brandishing a long two-bladed sword. His eyes were hidden behind black sunglasses, as where Kenji. In fact, the two wore the same garb. A black long sleeved shirt, slacks, belt, glasses, all the same. Even their hair seemed similar. In another life, another time, they might have been friends. But the other's loyalty was to the ZLF, and Kenji's to those that would stop them. Kenji stood, and drew his own sword, a longer but no less deadly nodachi, with a black handle in a long ebon sheathe.
It is, after all, a fight in which I feel destined to be part off. We owe a great debt to those who came before us. Yugo Ohgami, cut down by ShenLong, Alan Gado, laid low fighting alongside his daughter, and your own sister, Alice, who died ensuring your own safety. They were willing to stand while everyone else ignored the problem and appeased the ZLF. Maygbe, if the world was fuller of those like them, this conflict may never have happened…
No words were spoken as the two men stared each other down. A moment seemed an eternity. His foe bowed, as did Kenji. For another moment, the two stared. Kenji readied his weapon. His foe spun around, twirling his blades around his body to distract Kenji. With a fierce horizontal swipe their weapons clashed, signaling the start of the duel.
Spinning the second blade on his weapon, he knocked Kenji's sword to the left, and attempted another slash. Kenji reacted too fast, and managed the block, forcing the stranger's weapon down. Undaunted, the opponent attempted a rising slash, met again with Kenji's parry. A flurry of right and left slashes followed, but Kenji managed with inhuman deftness to avoid and parry each. The final block left the stranger's weapon stalled against Kenji's but he merely switched his handling, spinning around and brining the far blade, once blocked by his own body yet now freed, to continue the assault. Kenji ducked the attack, leaving the stranger free to disengage.
Kenji realized what the strangers plan was, so he too took back, and before his foe could attack, Kenji counterattacked with 2 wide but fast diagonal slashes, each blocked by his foe's blade. Kenji's assault continued, driving his foe back. His foe took a second to regain the advantage, and pressed on with a counterassault of two fast slashes, blocked by Kenji's skill. Kenji anticipated the counter, and positioned his own under his foes. He forced it to the sky, but his opponent was on step ahead. He let go of the blade, allowing it to fall into his off hand.
But the time it took gave Kenji the time he needed to press his advantage, driving his foe back with another series of quick attacks. Kenji made one wild swing, however, and the stranger sidestepped, allowing him to almost graze Kenji. Kenji recovered, but was forced to plant his own sword in the ground to block the stranger's leg sweep. The opponent tried to go for Kenji's outstretched arm, but he let go of the sword, moving his arm out of the way. His foe then went for Kenji's head. Kenji ducked, grabbed his sword, and blocked his foe's third assault. Kenji forced him away, prompting another standoff.
Their sacrifices make me all the more willing to lay down all the joys of my life to the cause. Alas, if I am called upon to lay down my life, I know that it will also forfeit all that you hold dear as well. I myself grew into a man an orphan, and now all I have to offer our son is the same fate. Is it weak or dishonorable to think such thoughts when my foes, those who have long fought and killed in the name of terror disguised as "liberation" still take breath?
Kenji snorted, impressed at his foe's skill. Kenji stood, almost lax, and twirled his sword about in one hand. He knew such a display would not have an effect on the stranger, but maybe by how he reacted, Kenji could gauge his strength. The stranger stood, his blade held in his trailing arm, almost as if to say, "come and get me." Kenji decided not to refute the offer, and in a move similar to his opponent's first, he charged. Kenji's and his foes attacks grazed each other's blades as in a deadly dance among the clover. Their blades finally met and Kenji forced his foe's blade away from his usual stance. Realizing this position was advantageous to neither, Kenji released his own sword, allowing it to twirl mid air and rest in his hands. His opponent tried to sweep Kenji's legs out, but Kenji jumped and countered, met with a block by his foe in the same motion as the sweep. Kenji swung his sword towards his own body. His foe, no doubt thinking this a mistake on Kenji's part, tried to capitalize, but his attack was met but was met by Kenji's true attack, using the natural strength of an uppercut motion to send the stranger's weapon flying. With his foe disarmed, Kenji attempted to end the duel, but to no avail. The stranger ducked and dodged, then rolled to his fallen weapon and recovered it in time to block Kenji's downward slash.
With a flick of his wrist, the stranger's weapon became to smaller swords. Holding them downward, he pressed Kenji with a flurry of short, swift attacks. Kenji blocked each one with the skill only a master could possess. Kenji positioned himself with his shoulder to the enemy. He slashed to Kenji's front, Kenji parried. He attacked Kenji's back, Kenji blocked by raising his sword over his head. With an attack of his own Kenji spun back around to a position facing his opponent. His opponent dodged with a mid air cartwheel. With his foe's back to him, Kenji tried a downward slash to fell him, but was met with a block from both swords drawn into an X. Pushing Kenji away, his foe managed to get to his feet. Kenji rolled away, prompting another staredown. Both exhausted, both knew that now was their moment of truth.
The memories of blissful moments spent with you come over me, and reassure my faith. I know that if the Zoanthrope Liberation Front manages to any nation, no matter how small, that they will have a foothold with which to take others, and that our son will be forced to grow into a world where tyranny and intolerance reign, at the behest of ShenLong. As hard as it is for me to burn to ash my hopes of future promise, I know it would be all that much harder for me to sit back and allow little Ichiro to be exposed to a world tainted by that madman.
Both men charged, the stranger changing his grip on his swords to a forward one. Spinning both blades high above his head, the stranger delivered a series of vertically spinning attacks, challenging all of Kenji's skill to parry each one of them. Both made flurry after flurry, reaching speeds the human eye can barely see. Kenji took his sword in one hand Delivering two vertical slashes then a sweep at the feet, then finally two in the shape of an X. His opponent in his dodging again found himself with his back to Kenji. Kenji sought to end the duel with a slash to the neck. He realized his mistake too late, as his foe bent backwards, driving both his blades into Kenji's chest, then slashing outward and kneeling.
Kenji fell to the ground, a few last breaths escaping his damaged lungs. His opponent walked to his side, and kneeled in respect. Kenji held out 2 small, wrinkled pieces of paper. One, facing outward, was a picture of a young Japanese woman holding a small infant. The other, folded over, was a letter. Kenji mouthed a single word, a name. The stranger nodded, and then rose to his feet. With a final bow, we vanished into the woods.
But something inside me tells me that I will return to see my loved ones, one day. If I do not, never forget how much I love you, and when my last breath escapes me on the battlefield, know that it will carry your name.
A week later, at the home of Uriko Nonamura-Ohgami, a small, wrinkled piece of paper lay in wait at her bed, bound with twine to a black-handled Nodachi in a long ebon sheathe.
Forever yours,
Kenji