Chap 2: Blood Ocean
Place: Yatoclan's palace
Time: 10 years before the main story happened
Characters:
Okita family:
Okita Hiroshi: The King
Okita Hoshino: The Queen
Okita Mikoto: The Imperial Concubine
Aizawa Yumeji: the Imperial spy, serving The King
Yatoclan:
Kagura Yato: The Yatoclan's princess
Shimura Otae: The Princess's baby-sitter
A beautiful day, sunbeam was dancing everywhere after that horrible rainy night. Sunlight gently illuminated verdant branches coated with raindrop… Purity and cool filled the air. Somewhere in the imperial garden of Yatoclan, the birds burst into gleeful songs.
Stu..u..dy..no…more-tired voice of a girl came from a room in Yatoclan's palace.
Her Highness, you must study to reign as a good queen in future-This time, another voiced resounded, and its own was a lady gently advising the girl.
Anego, I'm only six, we can study later. Aw!
The brown-haired lady bashed the girl's orange head with a book, still in a gentle way.
Six year-old kids still have to study; you must do it no matter how old you are. Now read this paragraph and give me your answer, Her Highness.
The orange-haired little princess groaned wearily and that sound stopped immediately when a book hit her head once again
From a immeasurably high branch near the study room, where the singing birds suddenly stopped their songs , leafs fell down suspiciously, a light flashed. Inside the clump of tree, a female ninja was heading her binocular for the study room with anxious look. Sometime, her movement caused the leafs to fall down.
Target determined-The girl mumbled-Tonight, action will be taken.
Then she softly landed on the ground, left a shaking twig and a quarry need eliminating tonight behind her.
…
The night came surprisingly by fast, the half-moon floated hidden from a dark cloud in the sky. The wind blew puffing lightly; it's smooth but send a chill to spine.
Anego, give… me..a.. break-Kagura groaned wearily, dropped her head on the desk
I can't, you haven't finished this lesson yet-Otae smiled gently, the book in her hand was ready to hit the little princess's head anytime
Please, give me a break, please! Maybe the cotton rosemallows will open, they're beautiful-Her blue eyes were alight with excitement, which made Otae' heart soften. She put down the book, sighed:
Okay, we will walk for a while.
Bravo – Kagura yelled happily: _ Anego, you are the best.
The Yatoclan's imperial garden was truly a precious masterpiece; it contained many species of marvelous flowers. Right next to the garden was a hill slopping gently. Kagura really loved climbing its top. It was the best place to enjoy the moonlight.
Look, Anego , cotton rosemallows and night jasmines have opened.
Kagura wallowed herself in happiness, danced around clusters of new-blown white cotton rosemallows. Otae gave a smile to her. The two's smile shone along with those flowers in the night sky as glittering stars.
Suddenly, from a bush behind, a ninja dashed for Otae, threw a kunai at her head. Sensed the danger, Otae ducked then turned around, swiftly aimed a flying kick at the ninja, made him thrown out.
Anego? What's going on? – Kagura turned around, her face showed worry.
Run away, Kagura, back to the palace as fast as possible. NOW! - Otae screamed seriously, the little princess immediately realized this wasn't a joke at all. But how could she just run and leave Otae alone for her own safety like that?
What are you doing? Hurry up! – Otae turned around again, only to catch a glimpse of Kagura running away from the garden.
You'd better care more of yourself –A croaky voice resounded and a bulky figure appeared behind Otae, it was the ninja that she had just knocked out before
* BANG*
He used his beefy arms to choke Otae then knocked her down the ground made her coughed up blood.
Hearing that loud sound, Kagura turned back and gave out a panicky shriek:
ANEGO
The six – years old princess ran as fast as possible toward that giant but was stopped quickly by a long-handle-broadsword he holding. All she could do was just standing there, watching her beloved teacher weighted with that ninja's feet
This assassination seems to be very smooth, right? – a bulky man stepped out, smiled contentedly.
Wh..who are you – Otae asked, her voice trembled with fear.
I am…Okita Hiroshi, but you don't need to remember – He flipped, right after that, the ninja added more press to Otae - cuz you're doomed now.
Stop it! – Kagura shrieked, but the long-handle-broadsword still prevented her, she hung her head in despair:
Please!
Darling, that's enough – A woman whose long hair let down, red eyes filled with fear of the coming sight, stood hidden from behind the smiling man
Hoshino-san, don't be so silly. If we stop now, wouldn't our entire attempt be nonsense? – A glamorous green-eyed woman raised her voice; half of her face was covered by a fan, concealing her sinister smile.
But….
Hoshino, enough. – The violent man flipped once again, and the press on Otae kept being stonger made her coughed up more blood.
NOO! STOP IT! PLEASE.
Too late, kid.
Why…
I've never wanted it so badly
If only …
I had been stronger…
Empty…..
Dark…..
Just like what's deep down inside my heart….
You want to be stronger, don't you?
A beautiful girl with orange hair stained in blood, she wore a red kimono patterned orange flowers on.
_Who's that..?
_Even if you would become a devil, you still want to have power?
Should I believe in this girl?
_Trust me
…..
_If you can give me power, I'm willing to give up my conscience.
…..In a dark and empty world, where there were only me and that girl…
_I trust you.
So give me power!
_Fu fu.. Thanks, kid! And don't worry. I won't let you down.
The orange-haired girl suddenly stopped screaming, lower her head, her shoulder shook a bit. But, not that she cried…She smile…
*crack*
The ninja's long-handle-broadsword shattered into pieces in that 6-years-old princess's hand.
That giant's hand had trembled for a while, as if he'd been surprised by the princess' sudden and scary attack. He intended to take out some new weapons to fight against but wasn't quick enough, Kagura had moved to his back then aimed a kick to his torso made him thrown out. Otae slowly sat up, kept coughing up blood, she tiredly turned her gaze to where the giant had been kicked out.
_Kagura-chan..?
Then she fell unconscious due to the serious pain.
Kagura grabbed at the long-handle-broadsword which the giant had just taken out and slit his body with sharp cuts. He screamed in pain but was silenced immediately when Kagura stabbed at his head. Blood spat out everywhere, stained her body. She looked at her bloody hand, sucked all blood on it, then laughed madly, glare at the king of Okita family.
The man couldn't keep his arrogance anymore; he tremulously commanded the greenish black hair ninja standing beside:
_Yu…Yumeji, we gotta withdraw now!
Without a word, that female ninja knocked him and the brown-haired woman down on the ground.
_Sorry, Your Highness, but I won't take your order anymore.
_Wha…what? Yumeji. You…
_She's right. Your Highness, Yumeji now only does what I command – The green-eyed woman lowered her fan, smiled allusively.
_Mikoto , why you…? – Hiroshi was speechless; he only could stare at the two traitors.
_Look – Mikoto turned her gaze to the dashing Kagura – The demon is coming. We shouldn't stay here any longer.
_Wait, Mikoto – Hiroshi still couldn't stand – Why do you do this?
_You two are the stains that I want to erase – She smile – That's all.
_What?
Mikoto and Yumeji swiftly got out of the garden. Kagura softly walked by Otae, grinned cruelly .
_No…no. – Hoshino shivered in fear.
Kagura gulped in excitement, smiled:
_It's time to die!
_NOOOO….
With that long-handle-broadsword in her hand, she killed them in the same way she killed the giant. Blood once again spat out everywhere, dyed the cotton rosemallows red. An insane laugh echoed endlessly in the bloody ocean which used to be a beautiful garden.
…..
_My parent…what?
_Her Highness, they all died.
_Im…impossible-Mitsuba collapsed, held her head in her tremble hand, as if she had been trying to wake up from this nightmare.
_Oh, don't be so emotional, Mitsuba. You'll be the next queen in Hiroshi's will-Mikoto smiled-You should be happy about that.
_Mikoto,you…-Mitsuba wiped her tears, yelled angrily-You're the one killing them, aren't you? You was with them, why only you came back? It's you, right? You sanguinary woman.
_Mitsuba hime-sama, please calm down.
_Don't pass the buck, you have no proof at all, midget.
Mitsuba'd frozen for a while, then she burst into tears.
_I gotta go now. It's such a waste!
Behind a curtain, a little boy shivered:
_Mama and Papa… died?
…
After that, Mitsuba was on the throne, but she's only a nominal queen, everything was under Mikoto's control. Under the brutal rule of that cruel woman, people had been living through terrible days. One day, a young man named Hijikata rose up against that damn she-devil and won the victory. From then on, Mitsuba has continued holding the throne; she also conferred general on the brave young man. And, being afraid of her own town people's hatred, Mikoto , together with her son_Kazuki ,escaped from the country.
Back to Mitsuba,she was known as one of the most generous and visionary ruler ever. In her reign, the Okita family had backed to its previous prosperity. But the hatred between her family and Yatoclan was still there; this might lead to an unexpected war. So, Umibouzu_The King of Yatoclan and Mitsuba both came to an agreement that this problem should be dealt with by a marriage.
And from this time, our main story began.
*Note: in case you don't know what long-handle-broadsword is, it's the weapon that Kagura and Shinpachi used in Yoshiwara arch