Note: This story isn't historically accurate. The author made great use of historical license on writing it. The inaccuracy is designed to add to the dramatic aspects of the plot. The Huns' invasions and the first Japanese incursion into Chinese territory is at least two centuries apart. The military apparatuses used in the story are out of their respective Eras, as well. That being said, the cultural aspects of Chinese society were extensively studied and are, mostly, accurate, though. Enjoy the reading!

Flower of China

By Kath Klein

Translated by Yoruki Hiiragizawa

Chapter V

Sakura put on her new armour, feeling her heart slamming against her chest the entire time. This would be her first time wearing it in combat. Two months ago, she'd never have imagined being in this place or situation. When she took her sword from the corner of the tent, she was suddenly reminded of the first time she ever held such a weapon. Heaving a sigh, she ran her hands through her short and damaged hair, thinking that it little resembled her former long and lustrous tresses. Looking at the calluses on her hands, she sneered, thinking that no man would marry her now.

She heard the horn sound outside, announcing that it was time to move. The Major didn't allow them to disarm the encampment, giving them only enough time to assemble their weapons and armours and catching some shut-eye before departing at dawn. They had to run if they intended to reach the Huns in time to protect the Emperor.

After taking a deep breath, Sakura left her tent and walked toward the soldiers assembled near the horses.

Major Li was standing in front of all the men, wearing his silver armour with an encrusted wolf pattern on the chest. When he saw Touya join the others, he gestured his way, calling the boy to stand at his side.

'Our enemies are pressing toward the Emperor's Palace through the mountains,' he shouted, pointing towards the snow-covered peaks behind them. 'The Forbidden City is vulnerable on the North Wing this time of year, for only madmen would dare to defy the wrath of Mount Fuy in the heart of Winter. Madness aside, the Huns' strategy is sound and, if they survive the snow-covered crossing, our emperor's life will be at risk.' The men remained silent, listening to what their superior officer had to say. 'Your training has been cut short, men. I don't believe that you're entirely ready to face the Huns yet, but we might be China's last line of defence. Fight smart and remember all that I taught you for the last two months!'

The Major mounted his stallion and ordered his troop to do the same. They'd have long days, with practically no rest, ahead of them.

'Kinomoto!' he called to the boy. 'You'll ride on my right side.'

Sakura acknowledged the order and mounted with ease, regardless of her heavy armour, guiding her horse to stride beside the Major.

They rode with little rest. They stopped only enough to feed and give some water to the mounts, moving at a moderate pace so that the horses wouldn't be overworked. Unfortunately, they were travelling during a New Moon, so riding through the night was unfeasible. That meant the soldiers only rested once the sun had completely set and it became too dark to see their surroundings. At first light, they were back on their horses trying to reach the Huns.

The Major decided that, instead of trying to follow the same path the Huns were taking, the best course of action would be to take the Summer Pilgrimage passage to The Forbidden City, and accessing the mountain partway. The only problem with that plan was that the pilgrimage pass was too steep for the horses and they would have to proceed on foot once they got there.

When they reached the intended passage, the soldiers dismounted, leaving their horses with the horsemaster and his stablemen with orders to go back to The Forbidden City.

They travelled lightly, taking with them only what they could carry: their armours and swords, a bow and quiver, some food, waterskin and a blanket. They immediately began climbing Mount Fuy, trudging the snow-covered footpath as fast as they could. During the Summer, that was a two-days crossing. There was no telling how long it would take with all that snow to delay them.

Sakura found out that being lighter than the others had its advantages when it made easier for her to keep moving on the increasingly deeper snow. It allowed her to remain beside the Major at the front.

'Do you think they're close to the palace by now?' Xiao Lang asked at some point.

Sakura thought about it for a moment. 'They're carrying mortars. It's a powerful weapon, but it's still fragile and can easily blow up if not handled carefully. Even though they had a head start on us, they're still advancing slowly.'

The Major suddenly stopped, turning to face the shorter boy. 'Where'd you learned about that, soldier?'

Sakura frowned at the question. 'You taught us, Sir.'

'I taught you about mortars, though many of you had fallen asleep during the lessons; I never taught you about military strategy.'

Sakura tilted her head with narrowed eyes. 'Hm… What do you mean by that, Sir?'

The man smirked and shook his head, moving on again. That kid had no idea just how smart he was. 'Nothing, boy. Let's go already.'

Two days of climbing had made it so that the men could hardly feel their legs. Despite being tired and cold, the soldiers' will didn't wither.

They still remembered the Emperor's inflamed words at the gathering two months ago about the atrocities committed by the invaders. They still remembered the Major's dismissive words about their capacities. The men in their troop had been considered worthless. Well, this was their chance to prove their worth. Slowly, but surely, they were conquering that white Giant in order to protect their Emperor and their land.

Xiao Lang was proud at the sight of those men, who had been considered wimps, bravely fighting the elements of Nature to face terrible enemies.

He quietly murmured a protection mantra that his instructors had taught him many years ago when he first became a soldier. They would require every bit of luck they could muster. And it definitely wouldn't hurt to ask for the protection of his honourable ancestors if they wanted to defeat an army that not only outnumbered them but was also more experienced.

When the soldiers stopped to rest at the top of a mountain slope, Sakura got near a tree and stripped off her blanket and the heavier parts of her equipment. She climbed a tree nearby, searching for the whereabouts of the enemies. They should be close by now.

Xiao Lang narrowed his eyes watching the stubborn shivering boy climb higher and higher in search of the Huns. A chilly wind ran by him, making him shudder and rub his hands together to warm himself. He caught a movement in the corner of his eyes and looked towards Kinomoto who came down, almost falling to the ground. It seemed like the cold had finally caught to the boy, but instead of getting his armour and blanket back, the soldier ran in his direction with shallow rapid breathing.

'The Huns are very close to the Palace now. We have to hurry!'

The Major widened his eyes and turned to his platoon. 'There's no time to rest, men. Get ready to move!'

Sakura went back to where she had left her things and went about redressing her armour with some difficulty due to the hurry.

Yancha got close to her, trying to help. 'How many men, Kid?'

Sakura wrapped herself with the blanket and looked at Yancha, considering whether or not she should tell him the truth. 'I'd say they're at least two hundred, Yancha.'

The fat man hunched, deflated. 'They've got the advantage…'

Sakura rested a hand on his arm. 'Trust Major Li, Yancha, and trust yourself. If the Major brought us here, it's because he believes we can beat them.'

'I-I'm no warrior, Kid.'

'Maybe you weren't before, but you are now and you'll help defend your land beside every single man here. Believe in yourself, Yancha! A man who refuses to face challenges isn't a man at all, but a coward. And that's something the mighty Yancha isn't.' She grinned at him, making Yancha lift his head and push his chest out.

She smiled at him and went back to her place, beside the Major.

'Alright.' Xiao Lang looked at the boy. 'Tell me the details of what you saw.'

'They're only a few meters ahead of us. I'd say five hundred meters, tops. They're set about half of the way downhill.'

'Did you see their weapons?'

'Their main artillery is the mortars and they're already set, aimed at the Palace. I believe they'll charge as soon as the sun sets. It's what I'd do.'

'Dammit.' He grunted. 'We need to disarm them first.'

She nodded. 'And warn the Palace Watch that the enemies are going to charge from here. That way, if we fail, they'll be ready.'

'We can't fail, Kinomoto.' Xiao Lang hissed.

'I'm not looking forward to that outcome either, Sir, but we can't rely solely on luck. The Emperor's safety must come first.'

'You're right. I apologise.'

Sakura widened her eyes at hearing him say that. Was he apologising to her?

The Major didn't seem to take notice of what he had said, just turned to his men, who were standing waiting for orders and got closer to them with Sakura tailing him.

Xiao Lang used his sword to draw the field and talk about the action plan.

'The Huns are here…' He began explaining. 'The Emperor's at the base of Mount Fuy. The Forbidden City's troops are stationed here and here. The mountainside only counts with the standard patrol, and they have no idea the enemies will charge from above. They've been so careless that the Huns were able to set the mortars without being noticed.'

'They have ten mortars set here, here and here.' Sakura drew her sword and pointed at the draft. 'They're aiming toward the main palace, the barracks and the main gate. As soon as they fire, they'll probably go down the slope of the mountain and press a straight attack against the Emperor.'

The men listened attentively to what the boy was saying while the Major stared at the rough map, tilting his head, just slightly, and pressed his lips together.

'We're a hundred strong. Let's split up into two units and flank them from both sides and…'

Sakura interrupted him. 'Sir, we should probably disarm the mortars as soon as possible.' She suggested. 'Or else the Huns might fire at us.'

'Good point.'

'Maybe a team of five could sneak on their camp and disable the mortars.'

Xiao Lang watched the map drawn in the snow, furrowing his brows. 'You're right, Kinomoto. Here's what we'll do: Two units of forty-five will charge from both flanks to draw their attention away from the mortars.' He explained, drawing the troop's intended movements. 'Ten men will stay behind, five to disarm the mortars and five to shadow them.'

'We could fire a mortar to the sky to draw the city's soldiers' attention.'

'Well thought. You're in charge of the disarming team, Kinomoto.'

Sakura gazed at him, wide-eyed, but acknowledged.

'If you fail, the Emperor will be vulnerable, boy, so you better know what you're doing,' he told her in a grave tone. 'Pu, you're in charge of the right flank unit, I'll lead the men who'll charge from the left. I'll split the men up. Kinomoto!'

'Yes, Sir?'

'Choose nine men to go with you.'

'It'd have to be the fastest ones, Sir.'

Xiao Lang appointed the ones he knew to be the fastest – Ban was among them. Then he divided the others into two groups of forty-five.

With the units divided, they worked on a few more details of their plan, before moving down. It would take them a few hours before reaching the Huns' camp through the rocky path, and they had no time to lose.

Sakura and her nine companions moved downhill with relative ease, taking cover behind a huge rock, the closest to where the mortars were armed. She was shivering and, if she were entirely honest, it wasn't only out of cold.

The disarming team was supposed to wait for the two units to position themselves and commence the attack so that they could move and work on disabling the mortars.

Once the Major and Pu had positioned their men on slightly higher ground from both sides, they'd use their bows and arrows to let off a couple of volleys over the Huns, before charging with their swords.

She tightened the grip on the hilt of her sword, thinking about what she was doing there, where she had ended up. It was crazy that she was about to fight in a war! For most of her life, her main concern had been whether or not she would ever get married. And, if so, whether or not her husband would be a good man who liked her and treated her well. Now she only could think about getting out of there alive.

Sakura felt a shiver down her spine. She was afraid of dying and couldn't deny it. Her only consolation was to think that, at least, if she were to die there, she'd die as a man, as a soldier, fighting, instead of as an indigent woman wandering around the streets of Shanghai.

'We'll be victorious, Kinomoto. Our Emperor is counting on us.' Ban suddenly said to her, taking her out of her reverie.

'I know that, Ban. Do you know what to do?'

Ban nodded and remained in silence for a couple of heartbeats, looking at his companion. 'It's your first battle, isn't it?'

She heaved a sigh. 'You know it is.'

'Are you scared?'

'I am.' She admitted.

There was no point trying to deny it when she couldn't stop shaking. Sakura looked at the young man with a rueful smile. He was too proud and didn't want to admit it, but she could see that he was scared, as well.

He took a deep breath and rested his forehead on the stone where they were taking cover. 'Me, too. If I die here, Kinomoto, I want my father to know that I died fighting.'

'You won't die, Ban. Neither will I. We're not going to die.'

He raised his eyes and tried to smile. 'We're the youngest of the troop. Everybody thought that we wouldn't even survive the training, but here we are.'

'Yes, and we'll be fighting beside them.'

The boy nodded again and they went back to waiting for the Major's signal.

She saw when arrows started pouring down from the left side of the camp, taking down a few Huns and wounding a couple of others. Just seconds later, the same happened from the right side. The Huns immediately split the bulk of their forces in two, heading toward the archers' direction.

'Alright, men.' She turned to her team. 'You know what to do. Get ready to move as soon as the volleys stop.'

She drew her sword and focused on the battlefield in front of her. Not two minutes later, the rain of arrows ceased, leaving dozens of enemies dead and a couple more incapacitated. Sakura felt her breath catch when she saw the Major lead his unit in a melee attack against the Huns. She quickly shook her head and, when Pu's unit charged, she pointed her sword to their targets.

'Let's move!' She ordered, getting out of cover and moving toward one of the mortars.

Ban, who was also in charge of disabling the mortars, pulled apart from her with his keeper right behind him. The soldier who was backing her up was named Mui. He was a quiet one, having been a monk before joining the army. Despite his height and broad build, he was extremely nimble.

Sakura ran as fast as she could to reach the mortars, trying to avoid drawing the enemy's attention. Midway, however, she made the mistake of looking over the battle being fought a few meters away, which caused her body to come to an involuntary halt as her blood went cold given the bloodbath staining the white snow. She felt a fluttering, churning sensation in her stomach and her mind and body went completely numb as she fought against the instinct of running away in tears.

She was brought back to reality by a deep groan, followed by a thump as the ground shook in front of her. Sakura widened her eyes, watching a fallen Hun on the ground. She felt something hot, viscous, with a well-known metallic taste, splashing all over her face. She hadn't even realised that she had come down to her knees.

'What happened, Kinomoto?' Mui inquired, already striking another opponent down.

Sakura tried to control her shallow, rapid breathing and get her head to work properly again, but there were so many screams of pain and despair going on around that she didn't know what to do.

She suddenly felt Mui jolt her by her arm, forcing her to her feet. 'The Major trusts you, Kid! Don't let him down!'

Sakura narrowed her eyes when the man brought the Major up. It was true that he had been listening to what she had to say for the past few days, but she didn't think he trusted her.

He didn't even believe in her capacity. She wouldn't be surprised if he had sent her with the disarming team because he thought she would get in the way of the two main units.

She stood up, pushing Mui's hand aside, gripping tightly to her sword. She refused to let all those discrediting things the Major ever said about her to be proven true. She, a woman, would save the Emperor's life and prove everyone that she was a worthy warrior.

Sakura took a deep breath and wielded her sword, focusing on a Hun who was drawing near her, waving an axe. She ducked, rolling to the side and using the enemy's momentum to get him out of balance with a kick in his legs, which allowed Mui to easily kill him. Looking around, she narrowed her eyes on the mortars again, getting her head back on her duty.

'Let's go, Mui,' she said, running toward her target.

Sakura slid under one of the carts, leaving her sword on the ground. She undressed her gloves, pulling them out with her teeth, before starting to work on disabling the trigger mechanism of the mortars. Her fingers worked as fast as they could. She hoped that everyone else succeeded in disarming their two mortars without a problem. In a way, she got the easy part of the job, as she only had to disarm one and fire the other to warn the Palace Guards.

'Now to the other.' She muttered to herself, once she heard the clicking sound of the trigger being disabled.

Out of pure reflex, she rolled to the side, dodging a Hun soldier's sword, and, while getting up, kicked him in his nether parts. The big man folded himself in pain, getting cross-eyed, before being pierced by Mui's sword.

Mui looked at her. 'Got it?'

'Yes.' She nodded and took her sword from the ground, turning to another mortar. 'Let's light some fireworks to the Emperor.'

Without delay, she instructed Mui to help her move the cart that supported the mortar and aim it toward the sky, so that it wouldn't hit the Palace, and fired it. The violent explosion caused the cart to recoil, almost taking her down. The blast was loud enough to be overheard by everyone, especially the Imperial Army in The Forbidden City, who had been unaware of the terrible fighting going on there.

With some satisfaction, Sakura noticed the Guards moving around at the Citadel. However, she was consumed by a sense of urgency at the sight of the Huns running down the slope of the Mountain to engage the Palace Soldiers directly.

She turned around to look for the Major but felt her body freeze as her wide eyes caught a glimpse of a familiar body being stomped by the Huns close to one of the carts.

'Ban…' she whispered; her vision blurring, taking off to where the boy had fallen, completely dismissing Mui's warning not to get too far away from him.

She knelt down beside her friend's broken body, cushioning his head on her lap. 'No, Ban, please, don't die. Please,' she sobbed, forgetting to harden her voice.

Ban opened his eyes, listening to the delicate voice talking to him. 'Kin… Kinomoto…' He gagged, spitting blood.

She rubbed his face, trying to clean the blood on it and tilted his head, so that he wouldn't choke on his own blood.

'We're gonna get out of this, Ban. You and me. We're gonna…' she reassured him, trying to believe in it herself.

'I'm gonna die…' he choked, applying pressure with both his hands over a huge gash on his waist. 'I disarmed the mortars, Kinomoto.'

Sakura placed one of her hands over his hopelessly trying to stop the bleeding. 'I know. You saved the Emperor, Ban. You're a hero.'

'When we go back… Do you think the Emperor…' Ban coughed and gurgled. '...You think he'll grant us big honours?'

'I'm sure he will! And your father will be so proud of you.' Sakura stared at his pale face and glassy eyes, catching the hint of a smile on his lips.

'You're a girl…' he stated, holding her hand. 'Now I know that…' He flashed her a smile. 'I'm glad you're a girl.'

'Yes, I am.' She tried to smile at him. 'But you mustn't tell anyone.'

'Your secret… It's safe with me, Kinomoto. It's… It's gonna die… die with me…' He raised his hand, touching her face to dry the tears that rolled unchecked down her cheek. 'Tell my father… tell him…' He would never finish that sentence, as his eyes went still and light slowly ebbed from them.

Sakura felt her body shaking with sobs, as she leant forward, hugging her friend's lifeless body. She couldn't help crying. She couldn't keep pretending that she was a man, now; so she just remained there, as if lulling him to sleep for an endless time.

In some dark corner of her mind, a sense of guilt constricted her heart. It was all her fault that he was now dead in her arms. If she hadn't sighted the enemies from that damn tree, the Major wouldn't have ordered them to take on that suicide mission and Ban would still be alive. He'd be laughing and making fun of her for not being able to hit the damn target during the archery lessons. Or he'd be training with her to become great soldiers – the best yet; just to make the Major and every soldier who ever doubted them take their words back.

Instead… he was only a corpse, now; a corpse that she hugged as if doing that could prevent his soul to cross to the other world.

'Move, Kinomoto!' She heard the Major's harsh voice, feeling herself being torn apart from her friend's dead body. 'What are you doing? Are you out of your mind?' She saw his angered face when he pulled her to stand. 'He's dead! And you'll end up the same if you stay there like an idiot!'

Sakura felt like yelling at him and saying that it was all his fault, but she couldn't even find her own voice. She rubbed her eyes, further smearing the blood on her face.

Xiao Lang turned around, dodging the attack of two more enemies who tried to kill him.

A third Hun approached Sakura, laughing at the sight of the crying little soldier. He kicked Ban's body as if it were a bag of shit and guffawed.

'Die, you sick bastard!' she roared at the beastly enemy.

The Hun charged, wielding his sword, but Sakura was able to skid past him with only a scratch on her armour. She jumped back, rolling down and out of her adversary's reach to recover her sword from the ground next to Ban and got into position to fight for her life.

She knew that the man in front of her was stronger, but she was much faster. Plus, his sword was a lot heavier to wield and whenever he attacked, the momentum of the strike opened his defence. Sakura lunged at the Hun, using her sword and flexibility to deflect the angered attacks.

She took advantage of every single opening he gave her, hitting him with her blade and potent kicks on the legs and arms while dodging. With a vicious strike, she chopped off the hand holding the weapon.

The Hun bellowed in agony. It didn't take long before he was on his knees in front of her, with a severed leg as well.

She was furious, but also strangely clear-minded as she stared the enemy in the eyes. She couldn't help but think that, maybe, she had finally lost her mind when, with a swift movement, she detached his head from his shoulder, giving him a quick death.

At that moment, the beautiful Flower of China had finally turned into the soldier: Kinomoto Touya.

To be continued.

Edited: November 28th, 2019.