Revised Edition with changed/added footage: 8-8-2006
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Chapter 17: Fighting for a Tomorrow
The sun was descending on the horizon, and their destination was still a bit away. The six men walked through the thick forest, animals scurrying away as they made their way through the trees.
Renkotsu summarized their battle strategy as they walked, "The messenger said the village is in a valley on the other side of this forest. Based on the description given, orders are as follows: Ginkotsu and I will lead the frontal attack. Kyoukotsu and Mukotsu, you're to take the village edge over alongside the forest. Poison or eat anyone that we chase out that way," The commander continued, the two nodding in reply.
"And Jakotsu and I are taking up the other side?" Suikotsu asked, used to Bankotsu's strategies of teaming the two together.
"Not exactly," Renkotsu said, "You shall take the side along the fields, Suikotsu. Jakotsu will stand in wait on the backside just in case anyone runs that way."
"In other words, 'you're clean up because you're injured.'" Jakotsu summarized via his thoughts, sighing deeply. He hated being babied when he was hurt, but he knew Bankotsu would have probably taken it easy on him as well.
As they walked onward, Renkotsu continued with the orders, "It should be night when we arrive there, so we can hope that these bandits aren't late to bed. We'll attack them while they sleep."
That being said the orders were finished and the group fell silent, leaving the only sounds being those of the birds, insects and other forest creatures as they continued on their journey.
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It had been hours Bankotsu finally gauged, as the sun set on the horizon. The sake was long gone and the young leader had been sitting out on the porch the entire time. A bird stirred from a nearby tree, causing Bankotsu to jump a bit.
"I'm really edgy, I suppose. Keh. I need to do something," He sighed, "Something aside from talking to myself."
His wandering eyes caught sight of his Banryuu leaned up against the building and he stood. Walking over slowly, he lifted the sword, causing the planks of wood to strain under the weight slightly. Looking at his dulled reflection in the blade, he frowned, "A partner as good as this needs to be better taken care of." He mumbled sitting it back down for a moment as he went in search of a suitable cloth to polish it with.
Once he found one satisfactory to his demands, Bankotsu returned to his seat on the porch; the blade lying across his lap as he gently ran the cloth over its surface.
As the sheen improved, he smiled and spoke, "That's better, Banryuu. You're probably more likely to help me out if I keep you clean, right partner?"
The blade reflected one of the last rays of sun in reply as the glowing orange ball hid itself behind the horizon for the night.
Bankotsu sighed as he stood, looking up at the sky, "I don't know what this uneasy feeling is, but please let everyone be okay."
He turned and was just about to go into the building, when he paused once more, another thought running through his mind, "Jakotsu, you'll come back, right? I know, it's silly but… I just have a bad feeling about this."
Shaking the thought from his head, he retired inside for an early bedtime.
"I'll just sleep this off. I'm worrying too much," Bankotsu muttered to himself, pulling off his armor and letting it clatter to the ground.
Too lazy to bother with putting on his yukata to sleep in, he crawled into his futon and pulled up the blanket, a few words tumbling from his lips as he fell asleep.
"Sorry Jakotsu, but no matter what, I can't stop worrying about you."
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Night fell upon the six mercenaries, the stars coming out and a full moon shining down as they neared the village. Lagging slightly behind the others was Jakotsu, clearly taking as much time as he could without losing sight of the others due to his injury. Eyes closed, he listened intently to the sounds of the other's footsteps and the twigs and leaves crushing beneath his sandals to judge which way to go.
The silence among the six ended when Ginkotsu spoke up, "Gesh, Renkotsu no-aniki, does this remind you of when we attacked that small village near the mountain side?"
Renkotsu looked over to his metal companion, and offered a slight smile at the memory, "It was a night like this, wasn't it?"
"Yesh, it was. The moon was even full then too," He continued to reminiscence.
"I suppose it was," Renkotsu replied, smiling to himself at the memory, "That was the first time we perfected the use of that chain-claw arm of yours."
"Came in handy when some of those northern wolf-tribe members interfered," Ginkotsu remarked.
"Well, we did stray a bit into their territory, so it was expected," He replied, tightening the knot that held the blue-rag onto his head.
Slightly behind those two, walked Mukotsu and Kyoukotsu, talking about poisons, toxins and other things that were brought up. Well, at least Mukotsu was talking and he figured Kyoukotsu was listening.
"So, I mixed in some of that plant there…" The short man mumbled, pointing to a small green leafed herb. "With that, it reacted with the one I mentioned earlier to cause the toxic reaction."
"Oh," Kyoukotsu replied not really following what was being said, but feeling obligated to reply nonetheless.
Suikotsu seemed fairly calmed at the moment, reflecting on the recent events that he could remember, when his wandering eyes noticed Jakotsu walking alone behind the others. Slowing his pace, he waited until the injured member had caught up with him.
"Jakotsu, can I talk?" He questioned as the other man slowly opened his eyes.
"Sure," Jakotsu quirked his head and looked over at Suikotsu.
"How've you been feeling?"
"Well the leg only hurts if I bend it too much, but I'm okay," He replied, looking down to the bandage about his left knee.
"That's good," Suikotsu replied, "And what about everything else?"
"Hmm?"
"Just…well, how's life been for you lately?" The brown-haired man rephrased it, simply trying to start a semblance of a conversation to cheer Jakotsu up.
"Painful," He replied bluntly, "I keep getting hurt."
"Yeah, you have had a run of bad luck as of late. You haven't done anything to anger the spirits have you?"
Jakotsu shook his head, "I can't think of anything. I feel bad though; Bankotsu has to keep helping me out. I'm probably annoying him."
"Worrying him is more likely; perhaps the spirits are trying to tell you something," Suikotsu reasoned.
"Like what?"
He shrugged, "I have no idea, but that's the only explanation I can come up with."
His face scrunched up in thought, Jakotsu wracked his brain for what the answer could possibly be. Thinking back on all the legends and stories he'd heard about the spirits as a child, his mind did glaze over one idea, "Sometimes it takes the spirits some doing, to get the red string tied just right" He could remember his mother telling him once when he was very young. Sighing, he smiled a bit, "Well, if that's what this is about, I think I can handle a little pain."
"Did you figure it out?" Suikotsu questioned, having seen the range of emotions cross Jakotsu's face.
He blinked, "Not really. I just decided that the spirits probably know what they're doing, so I'll just have to let them handle it."
"That's just like you, Jakotsu. How can you be so laid back about everything?" The brown-haired man remarked.
"Bankotsu always told me to take things as they come," Came the reply, as the dark-haired man scratched at his cheek.
Suikotsu laughed, "Oo-aniki would hand out that sort of advice."
Jakotsu opened his mouth to say something in reply, when Renkotsu's voice called back to the group, "Okay men, we're here."
The edge of the dark forest gave way, the trees stopping abruptly at a small valley in which a little town had been built. A faint light was shining from the largest of the buildings towards the middle of the village.
"Plan is the same as I stated, but it looks as if they might be awake, so we're going to have to kill them before they notice us," Renkotsu stated simply.
The five other men nodded in reply and Renkotsu motioned the directions they were each to move in from. Kyoukotsu and Mukotsu- the left side along the forest edge, Suikotsu the right side, Jakotsu from behind and Renkotsu and Ginkotsu would lead the frontal attack.
The six men scattered without a word, each silently and stealthy moving to where they were ordered to be. Suikotsu edged his way aside one building, his ears picking up a conversation between the two drunken bandits on watch.
"So where'd the Boss go off with that woman?" One muttered with a hiccup.
"He said…he was going to enjoy her company elsewhere," The other man slurred in reply, sloshing the sake about in his cup.
Either too intoxicated or too tired, Suikotsu didn't care, but their delay in reaction as he moved in for attack proved fatal. Two quick swipes and the bodies fell to the ground, puddles of blood forming beneath them from the slash marks that had carved their life away.
His eyes narrowed as he gazed into the darkened building, then with a smirk, he slowly walked in; delighting in the fact that everyone sleeping in there had not a clue that their death had just walked through the door.
Impaling and slicing each bundle laying asleep one by one, and sometimes eliciting a dying cry as the claws sunk into the flesh, Suikotsu counted them off, only twenty-three of them were residing here; twenty-three men, who were now but bloody corpses.
A small crack in the building's roof allowed just enough light that the remaining boy, who huddled in the corner, could see the glint off the steel claws as they rose and descended on each of the older bandits.
With a glare, Suikotsu walked over and knelt before the child. Pointing the bloody claws at the boy's throat, he asked him a question, "What are you doing with these men, boy?"
Eyes wide in panic and horror, the young brown-haired figure trembled as the steel was edged closer to the throat.
"I'm…I'm not a boy," The shaky voice responded, as they pulled their hair down from a topknot.
Suikotsu frowned, "Start talking." He demanded.
Looking about nervously, the youngster replied, "They let me live so I could serve them food and sake. If I was a girl their Boss, he would have taken me."
"So you pretended to be a boy?" He questioned.
She nodded, "I don't want to die. Momma gave herself to their leader to spare me. She told me to survive," The girl began to cry.
Dropping his weapons to the side, Suikotsu sighed, cursing himself, "Damn doctor and his sentimentality for kids. This would have been an easy kill if that other little brat wasn't still so fresh in my memories," He stood and looked away. "Run. If the others catch you, that's your own problem."
Standing shakily, she gave a quick bow, "Thank you, Mister."
Suikotsu watched as she dashed off out of the house, "Sometimes I really hate how weak I am," He mumbled to himself, wiping his claws off on one of the dead men's shirts.
On the other side of the village, Mukotsu had approached another building and peered in. Cursing to himself about the lack of women in this town, he stuck one of his poisons into the door and let the mist and fog of toxins slowly choke the life from the sleeping forms.
Nearby, Kyoukotsu had ripped the roof off the neighboring building and was inspecting the sleeping men inside it. Picking one to his taste, the lumbering form lifted the man up, and before he could even cry out in shock, Kyoukotsu had snapped his neck, and then ripped the head off completely.
"Kyoukotsu, don't play with your food," Mukotsu muttered as he picked up his crate of poisons and secured it to his back.
Holding the severed head in his teeth, the giant man crunched into it; the sound of teeth crushing the skull echoing in the silent night and blood spattering onto the ground below. The remaining men below screamed in terror as they witnessed what had happened to the other man, and they began to run from the building.
Reaching back, and selecting the best toxin for the situation, Mukotsu released the poison causing those fleeing to clutch at their throats as their lungs began to collapse within them.
"Okay, we got them here, move out Kyoukotsu," The short man yelled up to the giant, who was still finishing off the one he'd chosen for a meal.
Nodding mutely, he began to walk towards the forest, the poison remaining low enough to the ground that it didn't affect him.
The sound of the canon reverberated throughout the village and smoke from some fires could be seen from where Jakotsu waited, leaning against the backside of a building.
"This is so boring," He sighed.
At the sound of footsteps coming towards him, he laid in wait for his prey; his eyes glinting with a predatory air as the three men turned the corner and Jakotsu sent his sword forth in a flash. He retracted the blades, the blood of the men splattering on the building's side leaving a macabre form of art as the fresh liquid dripped down the rotting wooden planks. Jakotsu smirked, the moonlight shining off his blade as he slung it over his shoulder, the blood running down the curve and creating a crimson puddle beside him.
The canon sounded out again, a nearby building erupting in an explosion of smoke and flame as the shattered pieces of wood and human body parts and blood rained down on the area.
Jakotsu heard the yelling and stepped over the corpses to look around the building's side. The remaining bandits had assembled in the road, weapons drawn and eyes showing their thirst for battle. He was about to move out and attack them from behind when the black-haired man sensed someone approaching from behind him. As he began to turn, a force grabbed him around the neck and slammed him against the building.
"How disappointing," The voice intoned as Jakotsu desperately gasped for air, "I was hoping you were a stray village woman I could have for a drink."
Eyes glowering at once again being mistaken for a woman, Jakotsu increased his struggle against the other man. A cruel laugh echoed from the other's throat as his dark eyes glinted with a crazed gleam.
"Then again, there's no crime in being a beautiful man," He continued tracing a hand down Jakotsu's chest, "You just don't possess the finer elements of a woman and probably wouldn't taste quite as good as one either."
He smiled; his black-ponytail swaying back and forth as he tightened his grip around Jakotsu's throat.
Squinting open an eye, Jakotsu looked at his attacker.
Tall, long black-hair pulled up in a ponytail leaving only a few wisps in his face, black eyes, lipstick and…Jakotsu's eyes widened as he noticed the fangs. "He's a youkai!"
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