"Cause: a person or thing that gives rise to an action, phenomenon, or condition."
April 30, 1868: Mikage Island Stronghold, Ishigaki.
The island of Kishi has a long and bloody history. It was won in battle nearly a thousand years ago by the Mikage, during a great war between the oni clans. Since then, it has been targeted numerous times by other clans who wish to claim it for themselves. Kishi is located nearly thirty two kilometers to the southeast of Hokkaido, making it a trial to reach by boat, yes, but that is one of the reasons the island is coveted. Created by one of the many volcanos that were once found throughout what is now the Pacific Ocean, the island itself is a great caldera, with natural, jagged stone walls surrounding its entirety. At its longest point, it is six and a half kilometers from shore to shore, and three at its shortest. The land there is fertile, perfect for growing. Throughout the year, the weather is mild, never becoming exceptionally cold or exceptionally hot. It is a paradise, far from the reach of any human who is not privy to the knowledge of its existence before and purposefully go there.
When it was discovered by its original owners, long before its takeover by the Mikage, they capitalized on its natural defenses, building a small town within the walls of the caldera, at the center of which was a keep. There, they flourished, keeping the island safe from human influence through the use of their abilities as oni and careful action. Their clan grew in numbers and strength over the course of a number of centuries, causing them to allow only those families with the most power to reside on the island. Even then, overpopulation was a significant issue. Tensions within the clan became high as war erupted. Refugees begged to be allowed onto the island and were denied. Finally, as animosities between lesser families and those in power grew, a member who was captured by the Mikage gave up the location of the carefully hidden island.
The Mikage attacked swiftly and without mercy. Within two days' time, they had massacred everyone who occupied the island town, aided by the smaller Keikoku clan. The Mikage immediately set up an outpost on the island, refortifying it and using it solely for military purposes. The grand homes of its former occupants were replaced with barracks, its gold-embossed palace remade into a command center, and its flower gardens repurposed so as to grow food for the new inhabitants. The island quickly became an impenetrable fortress in and of itself, growing in renown as a place of great military might within the oni world. After successfully repelling numerous attacks from other clans who wished to replicate the Mikage's conquest, the caldera was renamed 'Kishi', the knight that stands guard in the sea.
For nearly a thousand years, only the most foolhardy of attackers have even thought to attack Kishi. All within the oni world are aware of its strength and impenetrability. As the oni clans have diminished over time, pipe dreams of taking the island have been replaced by more pressing matters of survival. Clan feuds, human discovery, and other factors led to the complete extinction of many families. Others faded into anonymity in an attempt to hide themselves from the outside world. In the face of this, the previous head of the Mikage clan left Kishi with only a skeleton crew, trusting that its reputation would be more than enough to protect it. His son, Kaito never showed much interest in Kishi, as it served little strategic significance with so few clans about to contest the Mikage's power. It is likely that he left it as it was at his father's death, with only enough men left on the island to keep it functioning.
It is upon this likelihood that Nemu's entire plan hinges.
The boat ride to Kishi consisted of hours of traversing choppy sea water, an ominous bank of grey clouds hanging over them, threatening to spill rain upon them. Fortunately, none was forthcoming, and, as the sun sets, the clouds provide extra cover with the darkness they create. Cover is something that is most certainly necessary with two boats of this size.
Even before Nemu and Yoko retrieved Kondou Isami's undead corpse from Itabashi, a plan to take Kishi was underway. Soon after Nemu sought out the Suzuki siblings, she was taken to meet Sen-hime, a young oni princess, at one of the many temples that dotted Mount Kurama. Many of the Oni in the area had been asked to keep an eye out for Nemu after her exile, so that Sen-hime could meet her when the time was right. In this meeting, she proposed her plan to oppose Kaito. It was Sen who asked where Nemu would hide the bodies of the cursed Shinsengumi once she retrieved them. After all, she could not very well take them with her should she remain mobile. Nemu explained that she did not intend to continue running, and that she would take Kishi as her new home and base off operations. Sen, was, understandably, shocked by this revelation. However, when Nemu explained the state of neglect that the island fortress had fallen into, a gleam of understanding entered the princess's eyes. They spent hours discussing a plan to take Kishi, eventually settling on a course of action that may win them the island. There would be no room for error, they agreed. Everything would have to fall into place almost exactly.
And, thus far, it has.
On April 29, four days after the excursion to Itabashi, Nemu met Sen-hime again on the coast of Hokkaido. During their time apart, Sen arranged for two eight-passenger boats to be procured. She also gathered ten oni of varying ages, blood purity, and walks of life, all of whom were willing to join in the fight for Kishi if it meant creating a new life outside of the caste system inflicted by oni society, particularly for the sakes of their families. Sen and her bodyguard, Kimigiku, joined them, filling the capacity of both vessels. The following day, on the afternoon of April 30, the boats were launched. Nemu, Yoko, Katsuki and Ayumi occupy one, carrying two of their new comrades with them. Sen and Kimigiku remain with the others in the second boat. Their plan relies entirely on Nemu's memories of Kinshi from when her father took her to visit as a child. According to those memories, the only way to enter Kishi is through a channel cut in the base of the caldera. At the entrance is a portcullis that must be raised from the inside by a guard who is to be hailed by those wishing to pass. A messenger is then sent to inform the others within Kishi of the arrival. Entering the channel will not be an issue. Taking Kishi itself will be another matter. Despite that, it is necessary.
Kondou Isami's body, now with its head reattached, has been moved to the small cargo hold of Nemu's boat. The former princess remains grateful of his death-like state due to the cramped space he is forced to occupy. Even looking at the way his body has been folded as tightly as possible into the tiny hold makes her cramp sympathetically. It has been both terrifying and fascinating to watch his healing process. Over the first two days, Ayumi worked tirelessly on healing the vital systems that connected through the neck, Katsuki having cleaned the wounds and removed the grave soil from within him as best he could. It had indeed fallen down inside following his burial. The healing itself has taken place in shifts. Every oni's power feeds on their own energy, unlike the rasetsu, who use up their human life force to feed their superhuman powers. Because of this, Oni regenerate their energy, and power, over time, with the right amount of rest. Combined with their exceptional speed and strength, they truly are fearsome in comparison to humans. Ayumi's ability is particularly impressive, especially for one whose line was 'tainted' by human blood. Rather than just using her power in a visible effect or attack, she is capable of transferring her energy to another. This could be used as a second wind for an exhausted individual, or, as in her healing of Kondou, a concentrated effort focused on one particular area of the body. Never before has she ever attempted anything of this caliber, though. The curse keeps him alive, allowing her to work in stages. First, she reattached his food and airways, followed by his spinal column. It was both terrifying and horrific to watch as she laid a finger over each part, feeding his body the energy to heal something that should have killed him. When she reattached his veins and arteries, however, they realized for the first time just how potent, and truly terrible, Kaito's curse is. As soon as the passageways for his blood were healed, they began to pulse in time with his heartbeat, something that should have been impossible.
Nemu stares down at the man in the cramped cargo hold. Aside from a faint scar around the circumference of his neck, he is again whole. He may as well just be asleep in an odd place and position. She herself has felt his pulse, resting two fingers against his throat and then against his wrist to assure herself of its reality. Ayumi explained to her that the brain is like the commander of an army, giving direction to the rest of the body. When Kondou Isami's head was cut off, those orders stopped being relayed. His brain, too, should have died and fallen silent, unable to relay anything. Due to Kaito's curse, though, this did not happen. The samurai's body simply fell into a state like that of deep sleep. When Ayume reconnected his neck, all that was required to restart his heart was a few compressions of his chest. To fill his lungs, Ayumi herself breathed for him, as she would for a person who had taken in too much water. Then, his pulse and breath became steady. It was disturbing at the time and is no less so now.
A soft breath draws Nemu's gaze to where Ayumi lays on a makeshift bed of blankets and coats, sleeping after days of using her healing powers. Nemu can only imagine how much energy she lost in the task. She can only hope that her newfound ally will not become sick due to the dampness in the air and her lack of bodily defenses during this voyage. Even as she watches, Katsuki leans over and pulls off his traveling cloak, laying it over his sister in another layer of protection against the elements. He then looks up, meeting Nemu's eyes. He resembles his sister, with brown hair and dark eyes. However, his expression is a bit more stern and his gaze more serious. Katsuki is like the monks who populate the temples on his home mountain, stalwart and strong in both mind and body. He inclines his head to Nemu.
"My lady, are you well?"
Nemu gives a nod in return. She feels badly that Katsuki knew her only a short while before her blunder with the daughters of her friends. She knows that she is withdrawn in her interactions with her comrades, but, the heaviness of her heart keeps all joy out of reach. She knows that Katsuki worries but does not feel that it is his place to speak openly with her, despite her assurances.
"I am. My thoughts are occupied with our venture."
It is mostly true. Even as she wonders at the state of their undead passenger, her thoughts linger on the fortress they are about to attempt to breach with only fourteen fighters. Sen will remain behind with Ayumi to guard her, sending her personal attendant, Kimigiku, to assist them in securing entrance. Not for the first time since they set out, Nemu wishes that Kadan is with them. She also prays that he is not present on Kishi, else no plan with only fourteen fighters will be successful. For generations, the Keikoku have served as personal guards of the Mikage lords. Even as a child, Kadan was hailed as a prodigy. He is one of the strongest Oni Nemu has ever encountered, and one of the kindest. But, his kindness does him no good when his oaths to Kaito bind him to his lord's will. She desperately wishes that there were some way to undo his oaths and bring him to her side, but, every trail she has followed concerning the matter has led only to a dead end.
"I have no doubt off our success, my lady. Even if we do not find it as deserted as we hoped, we will be able to turn back and find a temporary residence where a plan can be formulated," Katsuki's voice pulls her from her thoughts of Kadan.
Yoko looks back from the prow, her sleeve held over her mouth as though to ward off the damp air and sea-spray. She is decidedly displeased with their current situation, as she had no wish to ever sail on any body of water, much less the ocean.
"I certainly hope we do not need to turn back. I have no desire to be twice as wet as I am now," she says peevishly.
No one speaks for a long while after that, Yoko's negative words having effectively killed the conversation.
It seems like years before the two boats finally approach their destination, guided by the capable hands of two skilled sailors. A bead of sweat trickles down Nemu's face, soaking into the high collar of her shirt. As they near Kishi, Yoko stands, grumbling. She raises her hands, a gesture that is not necessary for using her power but helps in focusing it. Though Nemu sees no change, she knows that they will appear as nothing more than driftwood upon the night sea. Yoko's illusions are powerful, but, they are not capable of making something seem like nothing. They are also reliant upon what the viewer expects to see. In the minds of those on watch, no one would dare attack Kinshi, meaning that they do not expect the two small boats. Unchallenged, the group slides through the water, toward the portcullis.
The bars hang like the teeth off some great beast, only darkness behind them. Nemu is relieved to see that there are no lanterns at the guardhouses that are built into the walls of the caldera on either side of the portcullis. This means that they are conserving oil and have decided that the night watch here does not require lit lamps. They are lax in their security, confident that no attack will come. The boats drift so close that they nearly bump up against the metal bars. The Oni manning Nemu's craft looks back at her and nods. Nemu takes a deep breath. Now, they enact their plan.
The female Oni looks hard at the walkway that lies beyond the portcullis, barely visible in the darkness of the channel tunnel. She wills herself to be there, and, a moment later, appears on that spot. Her feet are unsteady as she lands, as she is still out of practice and unused to using her powers in this manner. Fortunately, she has made no noise as she regains her balance. Wearing black clothes similar to those she used in retrieving Kondou Isami, she blends into the shadows like a wraith. Nemu creeps up a short flight of stone stairs and to the wooden door of the guardhouse, her gaze on the faint light spilling through the crack at the bottom. The door on the opposite side of the channel is dark, signaling that guardhouse's emptiness. Her hand creeps to the short sword that rests just below the small of her back, at the base of her spine. Her fingers wrap around the hilt and, with the other hand, she knocks three times. Not suspicious in the least, the guard within opens the door.
He has no time to react as Nemu slices through his neck, unwilling to take chances with his regeneration. The second guard cries out in surprise as his comrade's head falls away from his body. His hand grips his sword to draw it from his sheath, but, Nemu appears behind him, her landing with her teleportation much smoother now. She silences him in much the way she silenced his comrade, relieving him of his head. Breathing harshly, she stands for a moment, her bare hand splattered with blood. She has just killed members of the Mikage clan, her own kinsmen. Distant kin, but kin nonetheless. She waits for the guilt, but, none is forthcoming. Instead, there is only a sadness that it has come to this, killing her clansmen for the sake of living a stable life.
Sword still in hand, Nemu moves away from the corpses and back through the door. The lever that operates the portcullis stands next to the guardhouse, secured by large metal bolts. With a herculean effort, Nemu applies herself to the lever, struggling against the sea-borne rust on the metal. Her slender body is not built for feats of strength, but, with the proper leverage, she manages to throw her weight against the rod enough to make it shift. With a loud grating sound and the rattling of chains, the portcullis rises. Nemu stands near the lever, watching the passage that leads into Kishi. They have breached the natural defenses, but, there are still the Oni who wait within. The tunnel amplifies the sound of the rising portcullis, causing it to turn into a deafening echo. It will very possibly bring the enemy down on their heads, but, no more than a few curious Mikage soldiers. Numbers that can easily be dealt with.
The boats slide into the tunnel and pause in the channel long enough for those who will be joining the coming fight to step out. While they provide the proper diversion in their takeover, the boats will continue down to the small lake at the end of the channel, on the opposite side of which is a sizeable dock. Katsuki looms next to Nemu, a hulking shadow that dwarfs her in the gloom of the dark tunnel. Since allying with her, Katsuki has become her knight of sorts, taking his loyalty to her and her cause very seriously. Like Yoko, he is not quite sure why she feels the need to rescue the cursed human men of the Shinsengumi, but, as long as that is her mission, he will assist her. Just as he is assisting her in the takeover of Kishi.
Yoko stands at her other side, her sleeve again held over her mouth and nose, as though she smells something distasteful. The others gather around them, save for those who remain in the boats, which bob gently on the tide of the channel as ocean water cycles in and out of the tunnel.
"And now?" she asks with the same impertinent expectation that colored her earlier words.
Nemu glances at her before replying, her voice very low.
"The city lies just beyond the lake. There will be a few people there, workers who care for the fields that lay to the eastern side of the bowl. Do not harm them, they are mere farmers. The soldiers, last I heard, were all male and all well-trained. Beware, do not charge without caution."
"How many are there?" a voice whispers to her right.
Nemu shakes her head, "I do not know an exact tally. But, there are not many."
There are some murmurs. Then, at a signal from the exiled heiress, the movement nearly lost in the darkness, the group begins to run quietly down the tunnel, some of them, led by Kimigiku, slipping back into the boats so as to be taken to the opposite side of the canal. Nemu presses on along the western walkway a heavy coldness settling over her heart. How many will die this night? How much blood will stain her previously clean hands? She has just killed for the first time. She should feel guilty, disgusted, ashamed, even. She can only feel that same sense of sadness at the current state of things. And a mercilessness that frightens her. For the sake of those who are with her, the families who wait for them, and the daughters of her dear friends, whom she took from their parents, she will kill as many times as she needs to. This she knows with certainty. She remembers her father warning her brother of the dangers of enemies with a cause, that they are the most dangerous. How right he was. And Kaito has given her the perfect cause by threatening those she cares about.
Obviously, the raising of the portcullis was not heard, because the first patrolmen they meet are caught off-guard by their appearance. The pair sit at the base of the caldera wall on stools, a shogi board between them. They look up from their game, shocked by the sudden appearance of the infiltrators. Nemu moves like a ghost, her Oni speed carrying her between them. With two quick strokes, she ends their lives. As their bodies fall, the unmoving lips never given a chance to call out, Katsuki looks at her with something like disapproval.
"Mikage-sama, they may have been reasoned with."
Nemu's dark eyes flicker to him as she wipes her blade on the shirt of one of the dead men. A part of her agrees with him. Indeed, the old Nemu would have tried to reason with them, claim their loyalty, avoid bloodshed at all costs. But, she is not that woman now.
"Perhaps. But they have served my father and brother for a long time. A shift in loyalties is not guaranteed. We are few in number, and we plan to bring children to dwell here. I would not have potential wolves in our midst in the future."
It is a harsh reason, but a sound one. She can see the resolve in the eyes of a few of the older men who accompany her, those whose children she speaks of. They dislike the need to kill, but, for the sakes of those they love, they will. They agree, seeing the misfortune in what must be done, but knowing that it is necessary to ensure the safety of those who they seek to protect. The younger ones, those without families of their own, understand the reasoning but perhaps see it as too merciless to agree with it. Nemu watches the skin around Katsuki's eyes tighten as he take her words in. He gives a single nod in return, an act of deference, not of agreement.
Satisfied that her judgement will not be questioned again, Nemu moves on, leading her small group up the path that runs along the base of the naturally formed wall. Ahead, left open and vulnerable in the surety that the caldera's walls will be enough protection against potential enemies, lays the town that sprawls over much of Kishi's surface. The infiltrators slip between the houses soundlessly. Most of the buildings within are residential, and have dilapidated with time. Much of the town has laid abandoned for well over two centuries, when the Mikage ceased inhabiting the island and it took on the same status as an expensive toy that a child has outgrown: unlikely to be used but too valuable to be thrown away. Relieving Kaito Mikage of that toy takes only a short time. Once the guardhouse is found, or, rather, what has been claimed as the guardhouse, Nemu and her followers quietly overwhelm them. The element of surprise continues to be their greatest weapon as they move through the night, their dark clothes hiding them from the half-watching of the guards.
The moon has nearly reached its zenith when the dead are finally tallied. Fifteen Mikage soldiers, male oni of varying blood statuses and ages. Three of Nemu's followers have fallen in the attempt. Those others, noncombatants, have wisely chosen to remain indoors when the sounds of fighting reached them. It was not a battle, not truly. Not like that fought long ago. It was barely even a skirmish, Nemu thinks as she mounts the steps of the main house. It was a massacre in the night. Something underhanded, but necessary, and rather anticlimactic for the amount of worry and preparation they put into this venture. Kaito truly had not anticipated it. If he had, Kadan would have been present. And, then, things would not have gone nearly so well.
When the island's overseer, a too-thin man whose small eyes dart about, is found in his office, there is no one left to guard him. Kishi truly has fallen, for such a weak individual to be its ruler. He cowers where he ran to hastily gather things of value, watching Katsuki nervously, his gaze specifically focused on the large man's bloody blade.
Nemu steps into the room, a room decorated with faded splendor, much like the rest of the island. Immediately, the man's eyes flicker to her, identifying her as the leader.
"Wh-who are you?" he rasps, breathing hard.
Nemu regards him for a moment, expression impassive. She feels…nothing. That in and of itself sends a pang of distant worry though her.
"Nemu Mikage. The new Lady of this island."
The overseer's eyes bulge, in shock, fear, or disbelief, Nemu does not know.
"Kaito-sama will not stand for this," he says tremulously, "Once he hears of this, he will come to take Kishi again. You will not hold this place. You will all die."
Nemu's grip on her sword tightens and she steps forward, unhurriedly.
"I sincerely hope that he does hear about this," she replies, tone unchanged, "Let him know the price of his arrogance."
She brings her sword down, severing the man's head from his body. When it falls, she bends slightly, using the man's shirt to clean her blade.
"We will ensure that the island is secure, then, we will settle hear for the night. In the morning…the real work begins."
In her periphery, she sees Katsuki pause for just a moment before bowing slightly and leaving the rejoin the others.
I'm so sorry for the delay. This chapter has been sitting on my computer for months, just needing its ending. As it's rather late where I am at the moment, I don't have many comments to make. Thank you to all my reviewers. Much will be revealed in the next chapter, which I hope to post relatively soon. I hope you enjoyed this update.