When they woke up, the clouds were dark and grey, looming over them, covering the sun. As if the weather itself wanted to represent the darkness the Lostbelt would face, to reveal the turmoil that was in Ritsuka's heart, even as he steeled himself as much as he could. When they broke up the camp, they were silent. As they waited, no one said a world, under that depressing sky, covering the light of the sun.
Then it began. Like tears flowing, first there was only a drop of water. Followed by more and more, becoming a river crushing down from the sky. Not only that, with the water came the other elements. Wind that roared, wind that screamed, as if directly at him. Thunder and lightning deafened the ears, occasionally striking down the lands with their fury. It was pouring. A storm of thunder and rain raged over them. Ritsuka could barely see a thing, with the water drenching him and his servants. Such a fury of nature, like the screams of someone on the executioner's block.
Suffice to say, such a showcase of a world's defying will did not fill Ritsuka with a lot of enthusiasm or hope about what was to come next. Naturally, the warlords were less concerned about obvious signs of the world hating them. Instead, Nobu growled, holding her hat down in irritation as she glared at the sky, pointing a musket at it.
"Stupid cliche weather! Go away!" She shouted, easily overcoming the noise around them. Kagetora laughed lightly, almost enjoying the bad conditions as her clothes were getting drenched. Twirling around, she had her arms spread in excitement.
"At least the blood will wash off easier!"
Ritsuka and Mash winced at the words. Then the two of them took deep breaths to calm down. To their surprise, Nobu patted them on the shoulders, smirking at them.
"We'll do the heavy lifting, master!" She stepped forward to the edge of the hill, waving them off dismissively. "Just don't get in the way.
"...Thank you... " Mash muttered softly, feeling just as relieved as him. Even if he had to order, in a sense, the deaths of dozens, it didn't mean he had to take lifes directly. Some might call him a coward for feeling like this... but what could he do about it?
He was just a human. Just like Mash, they were normal people. Unlike the warlords in front of them, grinning like maniacs as the rain clashed against them. Then Nobu stiffened, humming in thought. Ritsuka struggled, to see anything with all that rain. But he could feel the change in his servant's posture and he gulped, feeling his throat dry up despite the humidity around him.
The ruling clan of Japan, the leaders of its populace, the Takeda clan has arrived. He could make out the moving, massive shape. It took his breath away. He could only look in disbelief. Kagetora hummed, turning to Nobu to ask the question they were all thinking.
"How many?"
"It's your lovely Haru we're talking about," Nobu said with a smirk. Kagetora blinked before smiling widely, nodding in approval.
"Everyone then."
"Practically," Nobu added as she rolled her shoulders. Her fellow warlord craned her neck a bit, licking her lips in anticipation.
"I wouldn't expect anything less."
With that, the two of them suddenly sat down, legs crossed. Ritsuka blinked at them in confusion.
"What are you doing?"
"Wait for his speech."
"I never got to hear his speeches myself, so I'm interested," Kagetora responded, nodding as well. A part of him wanted to object, that they should attack now… But the rest of him respected Harunobu too much to interrupt him like that. Standing on his feet, his hands formed into fists as he waited.
To his utter surprise, the Tiger of Kai could pierce the storm and even reach them with his voice.
/
"It appears they are interested in what I have to say! How polite of them!"
At his jovial tone, despite the weather, or perhaps because of it, the thousands of people around him laughed. At the absurdity of this. At the long forgotten thing that was lost to time on the battlefield, the concept of manners. Harunobu looked around, smiling. The elderly. The women. Even the children. Each and every one was given a choice by him and most of them made one in favor of the world. In favor of fighting for their lives. Ranging from the deepest of magics to the simplest of nets and hoes. It may have been an army, but in terms of skill, experience and other things, they would be lacking to the Takeda army of old. Yet in this moment, they were the best of the best, their spirit warming his soul and ignoring the cold of the rain. He looked up, smiling at the sky, that raged on their behalf. Thunder and storm. His mind flashed him his loyal shinobi, and the powerful sumo fighter. As if it was their last present from beyond the after life. He closed his eyes, taking it all in.
A good day indeed.
"If anyone has any second thoughts, now is the last chance!" He asked over his shoulder. For an instance, they stared at him in disbelief. But then...
"Pfhahahahaha!"
"Come now milord, you're asking this now?"
"We won't run away!"
"This is our home!"
"Gods or other humans, screw them all!"
"Let them come!"
It was meaningless to ask, he knew that. But he just wanted to hear that confirmation again. To fill himself with the spirits of his people. While it was a pity that some of them actually hated Chaldea. Oh well, not everyone could be understanding. Not everyone could allow things to not become personal. Cracking his neck, he took a deep breath. Their wills were the apex. But it didn't harm to reach even beyond it.
Riding on his tiger, shared by many others, but not remotely enough, causing many to look up to him as he strode across the lines.
"This is perhaps the most important fight we ever had to fight! This isn't a fight for freedom. For justice!" He paused and hammered his fist on his chest. "This is a fight for survival! And by all means, this is a foolish fight!"
A wave of confusion sounded. Chuckling a bit, he pointed at the horizon, where their enemy awaited.
"Even if we defeat Chaldea, we have killed our saviors! Without them, we wouldn't have become free! And yet, our reward for them shall be death! Our hands will be sullied with that sin, sullied with the blood of good people having to make hard choices! Hard choices that each one of you made and I cannot be more proud of you!"
The people smiled. The people cried at his words. Yet they tried to remain quiet, to listen to the words of their leader.
"The rest of the world out there are just other enemies! Enemies that might eclipse us! This Alien God among them! Powers that are beyond our imagination, who could crush is with more ease than the Shogun ever could!"
He could see it. Behind that bravery. Fear. Fear for their existence. Fear of pain. It was human. Natural. To be truly afraid was part of life. Something the Shogun took from the world. But now they had it back. The greatest motivator of all. Harunobu increased his volume even more, as he spread his arms as if inviting questions.
"But does that mean it will be meaningless? Does it mean, that if we lose this fight, that our struggles had no meaning? That if after we win, that only pain and suffering awaits us, no victory in sight? That we should've just given up from the get go?"
They stared at him. It stretched for an eternity. Then the light flashed from the sky. But instead of thunder, something else shattered the silence, growing beyond the forces of nature.
"NO! NO! NO!"
Their stomps were earthquakes. Their roars capable of shattering mountains. Their fury that could melt steel. With fire in their eyes, they denied the meaningless. Harunobu's features turned animalistic, his hair turning red. Steam was created around him, as the rain disappeared before it could even touch it. He raised his fan in the air, galloping with his tiger back and forth.
"For hundred of years, we have endured! For the hope of a new future! And we were rewarded! The path to a new world has been shown to us! Do we allow it to be taken away from us so fast and so easy?! Do we accept the so called inevitable, quiet and pathetic?!"
"NO! NO! NO!"
He hit their weapons as they agreed. Their explosions were met with his own, each no accompanied with a hit from his fan. Then, he came to a stop in the middle. With sharp teeth, he began to slam his chest with each following sentence.
"So what if we die in the process?! So what if we get erased before we reach our goal?! Our struggle itself has meaning! The path to salvation itself has meaning! Our blood, our suffering, our tears and sweat, they are proof that we existed! To our enemies! To our allies, former and future ones!"
He cut through the air, pointing at the battlefield. He stabbed towards the air, pointing at the unseen witnesses, those that were already forgotten, those who were already dead and passed on their dreams to them.
"To strike fear, to strike guilt, to strike awe into our opponents, no matter how meager it might be! We shall make the world remember us even if it tries to forget us! We shall leave our mark even if history itself tries to erase us! Our wrath! Our screams! Our hopes! Even if we pass away, we shall not be forgotten! We shall stand our ground! We shall look fate in the eye! And what do we say?!"
"JUST TRY IT!" They answered. By now, their voices were hoarse. His was too. But none of them cared, as they grinned widely, at the face of death. He pointed at Chaldea, on that hill that oversaw the fields that shall soon be mud, rain and blood.
"If Chaldea will defeat the great enemy in the beyond or us, shall be decided right here, right now! I cannot ask for a better way to decide this! I cannot ask for a better opponent to fight! Their skills cannot be denied! Their will cannot be rejected!"
His features softened up. A small smile, filled with gratitude.
"I cannot ask for a better way to die."
Immediately, he turned to the front again. With his fan open, he began to move it, as different colors and magical power radiated from him.
"Be as swift as the wind! Be as gentle as the forest! Be as fierce as fire! Be as unshakeable as mountains! Surpass the past, present and future! Surpass me and my expectations! Surpass destiny itself!"
Four elements. Four stratagems. In normal circumstances, Harunobu couldn' use all of them at once. But now, at the end of the line, in front of the Fantasy Tree, he went beyond his limits. The burden on his shoulders, the will to survive, empowered his being, his legend.
"Rage! Roar!"
Wind and fire erased the rain around them, as they cheered, raising their weapons again and again. Power filled them, as the blessings of the Tiger of Kai surrounded them. As one, they wer Kai. As one, they were Japan. Then, with one final downwards cut, Minamoto-no-Harunobu rushed forward, the roaring tiger carrying him forward.
"CHARGE!"
The wave behind him followed, unyielding and full with trust.
/
By now, Ritsuka and Mash were openly crying. That wasn't just normal Charisma, a skill of a servant. Those were heartfelt beliefs. The belief of the enemy in them. The faith of victory, even in death. How could he not be touched by it? How could he not cry at the fact that those wonderful people were his enemies? He wiped his eyes, trying to compose himself. Squeezing Mash's shoulder, she took a shivering breath. Smiling weakly at each other, they turned forward again.
But the sight made them freeze up. While Nobu was just grinning widely, Kagetora's reaction was... concerning. She breathed heavily. She clutched her chest as she supported herself on a spear. Then she looked up, a red flush coloring her cheeks.
"Those are some nice expressions...! Hahahaha... hahahahahahahahaha!" She clapped her hands together and cooed in delight. "Wonderful! Just wonderful~! I'm falling for you all over again, Haru~!"
"Master, give the damn order already!"
At Nobu's excited shout, Ritsuka couldn't help but smile himself a bit. As much as he hated to see people die…how could he deny such expressions?
"With my final command seal, I order you... Win."
A wide spread command, on three servants. The power it granted could barely be considered. But it didn't matter. It was a symbol. A sign. Of his determination and his faith in his servants. They all smiled at him, before the two warlords in questioned turned forward. As Kagetora leaped down, before materializing her horse underneath her, Nobunaga slammed her sword down into the ground.
Three warlords. Three leaders. Three Noble Phantasm. Connected by the red string of fate, their words sounded at the same time, yet the were easily heard by those on the battlefield. Power infused the area, as they charged up their might.
"Show your corpses to the Three Thousand Worlds!"
"Oh Eight Bladed Bishamonten!"
"The Might of Kai is within you!"
The army came closer and closer. Kagetora picked up speed. Nobu began to float.
"Demon Descent!"
"Blaze a trail for me!"
"Roar, and crush the enemy!"
They raised their weapons, wide grins on their faces. And as one, they began their attack.
"Behold, The Demon King's Three Line Formation!"
"Eight Phases Wheel Charge Formation!"
"Charging Tiger Formation!"
The lines of fire covered the entire battlefield. They curved around Kagetora, who created her doppelgangers. Many were hit by the bullets. But many also managed to avoid certain death. Flat out dodging, enduring or even parrying them. The Tiger that made up the entire army was strong, swift and tough.
The after images opened up a path, cutting down those that stood in the way. Yet when they arrived at the anchor of the army, they failed. Takeda tore one's clone head off, grabbed another one to smash the next one. Then, at last, Kagetora with two katanas in hand clashed against Harunobu's fan and claws, their foreheads smashing together. The next instance, their arms blurred.
To Ritsuka's surprise, at the same time however, half the army moved on as the other half remained. The one that remained began to surround Kagetora. Arrows were shot, that harmlessly missed her. But then there were soldiers that just threw themselves at her. They were easily cut down by the flurry that Kagetora and Harunobu became. But then, one that was cut down, grabbed onto her leg and pulled. Off balance, she grit her teeth in agony when Harunobu smashed his fan down her shoulder. With a snarl, Kagetora killed the one with a stab through the head, while the other arm slashed the Tiger with a glaive across the chest.
At the same time, the one half that kept charging were slowly getting whittled down. But the fact that it took so long to begin with... Nobu couldn't help but let out a loud laughter. At the ones that endured and tried to avoid her shots. The ones that didn't just charge in, like a certain memory reminded Nobu.
"Hahahahaha, he wasn't kidding about his son being a total scru-"
A blur moved past Mash and Ritsuka. Time slowed down, making the rain drops appear as if they were floating. Their eyes were widening slowly. Nobu's eyes gasped for air, even when she had her right arm up in time.
The golden dragon exhaled steam, her fist cracking that guard. Time resumed. The Three Line Formation was disrupted, but even as she was sent flying, even as she soared away, Nobu still had the wits despite the pain to shoot at her attacker. However, Amako parried them easily with her arms. With a loud crash, Nobu landed on the ground... in the middle of the enemy.
They didn't hesitate. A net was thrown, glowing with strange power. Arrows were shit, hitting her repeatedly. Then the soldiers, young and old, piled up on her, roaring as they rammed their weapons down her body. The damage was nothing compared to the hit she just suffered. Yet with only one arm, stuck in some weird net, as little damage she was suffering, she was gaining it. At the face of such disrespect, at getting hurt by beings that were below Heroic Spirits... Nobu couldn't think of anything more hilarious.
"Ha... hahahaha! Not bad, Takeda army! Not bad at all!"
With a roar, she summoned her muskets. Rapidly spinning over her head, they began to shot the people around her down. Raising her sword, she cut through that dampening net. She clicked her tongue at her now useless arm, before she leaned forward, motioning for the circle with sharp teeth.
"Let's see if you can take my head!"
She was met with commendable idiots that threw themselves at her, not even thinking of allowing her to escape. Reloading her floating weapons, Nobu wouldn't have wanted it in any other way.
However, while the battlefield was filled with screams, with raging emotions, the hill was silent in an oppressing way. Amako straightened up her back, cracking her knuckles as she turned to them, her eyes narrowed in grim fury.
"Amako... " Ritsuka muttered. Out of all the people they had to fight... ! He opened his mouth, trying to buy time, but she wouldn't have any of that. Raising her arms, she took her fighting position, exhaling slowly.
"They disappear if you're gone, right?" Her hands shook for a moment before she clenched them into fists. "Do me a favor and die quickly please."
"Senpai, stay back!"
In a flash, fist met shield, a scream of fury meeting the grunt of the defender.
The battle for their survival had truly begun now.