Author's Note:
I would like to apologize for inaccuracies in previous chapters. When I first began to write this I had a very minute knowledge of samurai, but I've been studying them through the writing of this. Also, for my writing in general. Some chapters have not been quite up to par. Especially for chapter 7, it was stupid. It was more an episode than a chapter. I am sorry. The next Mitsurugi story I'll be doing after this will be a collection of random stories about Mitsurugi and maybe some other SC characters I like. But for now, this pretty much what I'm working on when I have the time. Thank you to all of you who have been reading this from the beginning, you've been through a lot and I greatly appreciate you taking the time to read my story. Anyways, enjoy the eighth installment of the Mitsurugi: Samurai story.
Mitsurugi: Samurai
Chapter VIII
The ashes. They surrounded him. The sky was dark and lightning, the land black and bloody. And around his feet were ashes. Before him stood a man. A man dressed in nothing but a simple gray kimono, armed with a rifle. Then, a rush of samurai bearing swords swept around him towards the man with the rifle. Shot after, after shot the samurai fell into the pile of ash and turned to the black dust themselves. He was alone again with the rifle.
"It has happened, the age of the samurai has come to an end." The man fired one last shot, a shot that hit Mitsurugi. He stumbled back…and fell. But, a fire arose the ashes. The flames formed into a bird, "The phoenix!" The flaming bird swooped down and into Mitsurugi. His wound healed, he stood and drew his sword rushing towards the rifle. He sliced it in half. The man stood sweating, fear reeked from his face, and his eyes almost teared with terror.
"Please, spare me!"
"We will not fall, none of us!" He reared back his sword and swung towards the man's neck…
"Oh God!" Mitsurugi awoke in a sweat. The forest around spoke out with howls and snapping of twigs. In his search for Soul Edge he had been led to this forest, and now he was lost and had been for several days. He had the same dream every night he was there, and sometimes even when he was awake. But, this was the first time the phoenix had appeared to save him, "This, this is the answer! The Gods have spoken to me in my dream! I am the one to save the samurai! I am the one to maintain the age of the samurai! I will not fail. I will not falter. I will not be slow to act. Now, let me go forest! Show me the way to which I must travel out. Ahhh, there it is!"
As Mitsurugi rushed through he forest, he heard a rustling. He quickly pulled out his sword and began to circle, twitching his head in every which direction to make sure he didn't miss any sight. Then, a ninja clad in red landed in front of him and crossed her arms.
"So, we meet again, eh, Mitsurugi?"
"What the hell are you doing here?" He asked putting his sword away.
"Just showing up to chat."
"Yeah, well, I'm busy," Mitsurugi walked on passing by Taki.
"Wait, you can't do this. You aren't ready." She ran up next to him walking with by his side.
"I do not need to be ready, the Phoenix will empower me."
"Your solitude and obsession have driven you mad!"
"That is what you say, but you are not a doctor."
"What? Mitsurugi, I came to you to ask you to assist me."
"Assist you," the samurai laughed, "I assist only myself and those in true need. You are perfectly capable of anything."
"Except defeating you."
"Yes, well, I am the best," he said with a smile then a laugh.
"Mitsurugi, I've discovered where Soul Edge is. I'm going to go destroy it. I fear I may need your help."
"HA! I've more important matters to attend to. Go ahead, destroy the sword. I do not care. It will be for the better, and then I will stay the most skilled warrior. For now, I carry two, wait where is Masamune? Shit! I've lost it! No matter, Korefuji is the one the Phoenix will empower."
"You cannot defeat a man armed with Tanegashima without having trained for such a battle!"
"Blah!"
"You must train! A few great masters have discovered styles to combat the rifle, go to them and learn! Do not be foolish!"
"I am not foolish, woman! I am empowered by the Phoenix and she will not let me fail! Now be gone with you, les I draw my sword for your blood!"
Taki frowned, and leaped again into the trees. "I do not care for his life. Let him throw it away!" Then, she disappeared leaving behind a single tear.
*******
Familiar soil. Friendly air. Only Japan. Mitsurugi was home, but he couldn't rest his mind on this. He had challenged Tanegishma. The lord had laughed thinking it some kind of twisted joke, but after the samurai's rage full insisting, he agreed only if Mitsurugi placed Korefuji on the line. But, if Mitsurugi won he was promised great wealth. So, the crazy bastard did so.
They treated him well, bringing him whatever wanted in, what they were sure were, his last days.
This time of relaxation didn't calm him or make his mind any easier; in fact it spurred it deeper into inanity. The further he delved into the myth of the Phoenix, the more confident he became. Pride is what cometh before a great fall.
*******
Elsewhere, Taki had found her way to the abandoned tavern. And watching the woman, whose name she thinks was Sophitia, battle courageously against the pirate. He, she had found, should have been dead long ago. Now, only that dreadful sword kept him alive.
Sophitia reared back her arm, praying for the strength of her god, sliced down trying to deal a deathblow, but it was blocked. Except, except that the deathblow wasn't dealt to the pirate but to the sword! The evil, cursed sword shattered into a million shards. There was a second of rejoicing in Sophitia's face until the shards charged toward her and imbedded themselves into her flesh. Cervantes, the pirate, snarled as he approached her, his smaller sword in hand. It was time for Taki to act. She jumped out of the ceiling and onto the pirate's shoulders.
"What the hell?"
"Demon, be gone!" Taki drove her Mekki-Meru into the pirate's temple and pulled it back out, cleaning the blood off the blade on his cape as he fell to the ground. Then, the body began to burn the quickly flashed and disappeared. Taki sighed out relief, then picked up Sophitia and ran out.
"I hope Mitsurugi's doing as well."
*******
Well, he thought he was. The lord had proclaimed the contest throughout the village. 'The old versus the new! See the truth for yourselves!' his messengers had told the people. There was a special field chosen for the event. It was flat and the grass was green and fresh. Perfect for battle.
Mitsurugi stood across from the man armed with the rifle. The people stood at a distance on either side behind tall wooden walls with repetitive openings for the people to look in through, so that they might be protected if a shot runs wild. The lord sat high atop a small tower erected at the side of the battlefield so that he could watch the outcome in full view in safety.
There were many watching. Some hoping that this samurai would prove these new weapons inadequate to the samurai whom they long had worshipped as the ideal man. Those who had won wars and battles. Others wanted the new ways to take over and to finally catch-up with the rest of the world.
As Mitsurugi placed his hand on the hilt of Korefuji, the crowd silenced its talk. Otaka began to load the bullets into his gun. A 'musket' those Portuguese barbarians had called it. He had been one of the first to actually use it in place of a sword. He was a mediocre swordsman, but his mind was sharp and his intellect above that of the primitives who surrounded him. He could see the end before any of his comrades and quickly took up this new weapon. They mocked him and said he only embraced because he couldn't defeat a child with a sword. He held no grudge against them. 'Simple ignorance and stubbornness' he thought to himself. He found it almost sad to find that he had to kill a few of his comrades with this new weapon when they had risen up against their lord for embracing these new ways. For his loyalty, his lord had rewarded him with an English gun, one that did not stray the bullets like their native ones. He would win today, he was sure of it.
Mitsurugi drew his sword and it out in front of him. Otaka raised his gun to his face. Mitsurugi pulled the sword back to where the blade was parallel to his eyes. Otaka took aim. Mitsurugi took a step and placed the sword behind him. Otaka closed one eye. Mitsurugi took another step and placed the sword above his head. Otaka squinted his closed eye.
Phoenix watched from over head, a flaming bird that made no smoke. She watched with pity. Hadn't she shown him what to do? Her graceful dance in the sky fluttered the flames dissipating from her body. 'He is not ready. Why did he not prepare for me?' Saddened, the fiery falcon took towards the mountains towards her home.
The two were at a stand still for several moments. The crowd waited for the samurai to move. The lord waited for Otaka to shoot. Otaka waited for Mitsurugi to attack. Mitsurugi waited for the Phoenix. 'Why wont she come? Wait, I must rise! I may fall, but I will rise with her!" Mitsurugi cried out a battle cry of victory and charged the rifle.
The fight was begun. Otaka couldn't find the courage to pull the trigger. Did this man not know what such a position did for a rifleman? Surely he doesn't understand. But, he will kill you if you do not. Gods do not punish me.
Mitsurugi felt the pain in his shoulder, but charged still. He ran, ran, jogged, walked stumbled, fell. He lied on the ground, his life spilling into the grassy mattress beneath him, awaiting his savior. The crowd was silent. The lord was glad, but silent. Otaka felt ashamed. Mitsurugi waited.
"Phoenix!" he cried out," Come now! I beckon you! The time is…" Then all went black. He couldn't see. Couldn't feel. Couldn't hear.
"I came. I came."
*******
Blurriness. Brownish, white, colors. He turned his head. A blurry yellow. A fiery yellow atop a blurry white. A candle! He was in a bed. He looked over to see an old man kneeling next to him.
"Thank the Lord you did not die! Almost all your blood was spilt!"
"Who…what…where?"
"The time for obvious, inane questions will be for later. Right now, you will eat. Then you sleep. Then we will talk."
"The Phoenix, she didn't come. She didn't come."
"Maybe you should sleep first, then eat, and then talk."
"Where's Korefuji? Where is it?"
"….Sleep now."
""Where…"
"Sleep."
Mitsurugi then laid down and fell into the abyss of living death.
I would like to apologize for inaccuracies in previous chapters. When I first began to write this I had a very minute knowledge of samurai, but I've been studying them through the writing of this. Also, for my writing in general. Some chapters have not been quite up to par. Especially for chapter 7, it was stupid. It was more an episode than a chapter. I am sorry. The next Mitsurugi story I'll be doing after this will be a collection of random stories about Mitsurugi and maybe some other SC characters I like. But for now, this pretty much what I'm working on when I have the time. Thank you to all of you who have been reading this from the beginning, you've been through a lot and I greatly appreciate you taking the time to read my story. Anyways, enjoy the eighth installment of the Mitsurugi: Samurai story.
Mitsurugi: Samurai
Chapter VIII
The ashes. They surrounded him. The sky was dark and lightning, the land black and bloody. And around his feet were ashes. Before him stood a man. A man dressed in nothing but a simple gray kimono, armed with a rifle. Then, a rush of samurai bearing swords swept around him towards the man with the rifle. Shot after, after shot the samurai fell into the pile of ash and turned to the black dust themselves. He was alone again with the rifle.
"It has happened, the age of the samurai has come to an end." The man fired one last shot, a shot that hit Mitsurugi. He stumbled back…and fell. But, a fire arose the ashes. The flames formed into a bird, "The phoenix!" The flaming bird swooped down and into Mitsurugi. His wound healed, he stood and drew his sword rushing towards the rifle. He sliced it in half. The man stood sweating, fear reeked from his face, and his eyes almost teared with terror.
"Please, spare me!"
"We will not fall, none of us!" He reared back his sword and swung towards the man's neck…
"Oh God!" Mitsurugi awoke in a sweat. The forest around spoke out with howls and snapping of twigs. In his search for Soul Edge he had been led to this forest, and now he was lost and had been for several days. He had the same dream every night he was there, and sometimes even when he was awake. But, this was the first time the phoenix had appeared to save him, "This, this is the answer! The Gods have spoken to me in my dream! I am the one to save the samurai! I am the one to maintain the age of the samurai! I will not fail. I will not falter. I will not be slow to act. Now, let me go forest! Show me the way to which I must travel out. Ahhh, there it is!"
As Mitsurugi rushed through he forest, he heard a rustling. He quickly pulled out his sword and began to circle, twitching his head in every which direction to make sure he didn't miss any sight. Then, a ninja clad in red landed in front of him and crossed her arms.
"So, we meet again, eh, Mitsurugi?"
"What the hell are you doing here?" He asked putting his sword away.
"Just showing up to chat."
"Yeah, well, I'm busy," Mitsurugi walked on passing by Taki.
"Wait, you can't do this. You aren't ready." She ran up next to him walking with by his side.
"I do not need to be ready, the Phoenix will empower me."
"Your solitude and obsession have driven you mad!"
"That is what you say, but you are not a doctor."
"What? Mitsurugi, I came to you to ask you to assist me."
"Assist you," the samurai laughed, "I assist only myself and those in true need. You are perfectly capable of anything."
"Except defeating you."
"Yes, well, I am the best," he said with a smile then a laugh.
"Mitsurugi, I've discovered where Soul Edge is. I'm going to go destroy it. I fear I may need your help."
"HA! I've more important matters to attend to. Go ahead, destroy the sword. I do not care. It will be for the better, and then I will stay the most skilled warrior. For now, I carry two, wait where is Masamune? Shit! I've lost it! No matter, Korefuji is the one the Phoenix will empower."
"You cannot defeat a man armed with Tanegashima without having trained for such a battle!"
"Blah!"
"You must train! A few great masters have discovered styles to combat the rifle, go to them and learn! Do not be foolish!"
"I am not foolish, woman! I am empowered by the Phoenix and she will not let me fail! Now be gone with you, les I draw my sword for your blood!"
Taki frowned, and leaped again into the trees. "I do not care for his life. Let him throw it away!" Then, she disappeared leaving behind a single tear.
*******
Familiar soil. Friendly air. Only Japan. Mitsurugi was home, but he couldn't rest his mind on this. He had challenged Tanegishma. The lord had laughed thinking it some kind of twisted joke, but after the samurai's rage full insisting, he agreed only if Mitsurugi placed Korefuji on the line. But, if Mitsurugi won he was promised great wealth. So, the crazy bastard did so.
They treated him well, bringing him whatever wanted in, what they were sure were, his last days.
This time of relaxation didn't calm him or make his mind any easier; in fact it spurred it deeper into inanity. The further he delved into the myth of the Phoenix, the more confident he became. Pride is what cometh before a great fall.
*******
Elsewhere, Taki had found her way to the abandoned tavern. And watching the woman, whose name she thinks was Sophitia, battle courageously against the pirate. He, she had found, should have been dead long ago. Now, only that dreadful sword kept him alive.
Sophitia reared back her arm, praying for the strength of her god, sliced down trying to deal a deathblow, but it was blocked. Except, except that the deathblow wasn't dealt to the pirate but to the sword! The evil, cursed sword shattered into a million shards. There was a second of rejoicing in Sophitia's face until the shards charged toward her and imbedded themselves into her flesh. Cervantes, the pirate, snarled as he approached her, his smaller sword in hand. It was time for Taki to act. She jumped out of the ceiling and onto the pirate's shoulders.
"What the hell?"
"Demon, be gone!" Taki drove her Mekki-Meru into the pirate's temple and pulled it back out, cleaning the blood off the blade on his cape as he fell to the ground. Then, the body began to burn the quickly flashed and disappeared. Taki sighed out relief, then picked up Sophitia and ran out.
"I hope Mitsurugi's doing as well."
*******
Well, he thought he was. The lord had proclaimed the contest throughout the village. 'The old versus the new! See the truth for yourselves!' his messengers had told the people. There was a special field chosen for the event. It was flat and the grass was green and fresh. Perfect for battle.
Mitsurugi stood across from the man armed with the rifle. The people stood at a distance on either side behind tall wooden walls with repetitive openings for the people to look in through, so that they might be protected if a shot runs wild. The lord sat high atop a small tower erected at the side of the battlefield so that he could watch the outcome in full view in safety.
There were many watching. Some hoping that this samurai would prove these new weapons inadequate to the samurai whom they long had worshipped as the ideal man. Those who had won wars and battles. Others wanted the new ways to take over and to finally catch-up with the rest of the world.
As Mitsurugi placed his hand on the hilt of Korefuji, the crowd silenced its talk. Otaka began to load the bullets into his gun. A 'musket' those Portuguese barbarians had called it. He had been one of the first to actually use it in place of a sword. He was a mediocre swordsman, but his mind was sharp and his intellect above that of the primitives who surrounded him. He could see the end before any of his comrades and quickly took up this new weapon. They mocked him and said he only embraced because he couldn't defeat a child with a sword. He held no grudge against them. 'Simple ignorance and stubbornness' he thought to himself. He found it almost sad to find that he had to kill a few of his comrades with this new weapon when they had risen up against their lord for embracing these new ways. For his loyalty, his lord had rewarded him with an English gun, one that did not stray the bullets like their native ones. He would win today, he was sure of it.
Mitsurugi drew his sword and it out in front of him. Otaka raised his gun to his face. Mitsurugi pulled the sword back to where the blade was parallel to his eyes. Otaka took aim. Mitsurugi took a step and placed the sword behind him. Otaka closed one eye. Mitsurugi took another step and placed the sword above his head. Otaka squinted his closed eye.
Phoenix watched from over head, a flaming bird that made no smoke. She watched with pity. Hadn't she shown him what to do? Her graceful dance in the sky fluttered the flames dissipating from her body. 'He is not ready. Why did he not prepare for me?' Saddened, the fiery falcon took towards the mountains towards her home.
The two were at a stand still for several moments. The crowd waited for the samurai to move. The lord waited for Otaka to shoot. Otaka waited for Mitsurugi to attack. Mitsurugi waited for the Phoenix. 'Why wont she come? Wait, I must rise! I may fall, but I will rise with her!" Mitsurugi cried out a battle cry of victory and charged the rifle.
The fight was begun. Otaka couldn't find the courage to pull the trigger. Did this man not know what such a position did for a rifleman? Surely he doesn't understand. But, he will kill you if you do not. Gods do not punish me.
Mitsurugi felt the pain in his shoulder, but charged still. He ran, ran, jogged, walked stumbled, fell. He lied on the ground, his life spilling into the grassy mattress beneath him, awaiting his savior. The crowd was silent. The lord was glad, but silent. Otaka felt ashamed. Mitsurugi waited.
"Phoenix!" he cried out," Come now! I beckon you! The time is…" Then all went black. He couldn't see. Couldn't feel. Couldn't hear.
"I came. I came."
*******
Blurriness. Brownish, white, colors. He turned his head. A blurry yellow. A fiery yellow atop a blurry white. A candle! He was in a bed. He looked over to see an old man kneeling next to him.
"Thank the Lord you did not die! Almost all your blood was spilt!"
"Who…what…where?"
"The time for obvious, inane questions will be for later. Right now, you will eat. Then you sleep. Then we will talk."
"The Phoenix, she didn't come. She didn't come."
"Maybe you should sleep first, then eat, and then talk."
"Where's Korefuji? Where is it?"
"….Sleep now."
""Where…"
"Sleep."
Mitsurugi then laid down and fell into the abyss of living death.