Well, I'll be starting a new long fic soon for the Elder Scrolls, so if you like that kinda stuff then you can check it out, Arashi!
This is a kinda long chapter so I hope there isn't too many errors!
Tsumaki Sadanori led the group of Kani Saizo, Maeda Toshiie and Shibata Katsuie, to his castle, which was only a short walk now. "Let's be careful." Katsuie warned as the castle came into view.
"Pfft." Sadanori scoffed and took no heed of the comment. "This is my family's castle. I have nothing to worry ab- Ahh!" In an instance, a loud bang resonated followed by blood flying through the air as Sadanori doubled over and then collapsed.
"Sadanori!" Saizo quickly dropped to his knees to help Sadanori; Saizo knew Sadanori wasn't dead yet as Sadanori was swearing loudly between groans. As Saizo turned Sadanori onto his back to assess his wounds, a barrage of bullets blanketed the surrounding area.
"Grab him and bring him over here!" Katsuie shouted as he joined Toshiie in taking cover behind a group of trees. Saizo quickly snatched up the injured Sadanori and scrambled over to join Katsuie and Toshiie.
Meanwhile, the gunmen were reloading their muskets as a tall, lanky samurai with lengthy, chestnut brown hair watched the targets run for safety. As he took out an spyglass to closely examine who had been hit, a shocking revelation hit him. "Stop firing! Stop firing, you idiots!" The tall samurai shouted. All of the gunmen ceased all movement and looked at him. "Damn it! You hit Hirotada's son!" The samurai began rushing down the steps of the castle walls to the ground, grumbling to himself the entire time. "This is the last time I use Bokuzen's troops!"
The samurai rushed to the castle gates where a group of his own troops were idly standing by. "Open the gates and come with me." He ordered as he took his helmets from one of his soldiers and put it on quickly.
"Yes, Lord Ittetsu!" The soldiers replied as they opened the gates. Inaba Ittetsu now hurried out of the gates and began to run to where he had seen Sadanori be dragged off to.
Although the firing had ceased, the group of four had not yet attempted to flee or reveal themselves at all. Saizo sighed in relief when he realized that the bullet had only grazed Sadanori's right shoulder- though Sadanori's exaggerated whines had made the injury seem much worse.
"I know you're back there!" Ittetsu shouted at the hidden four as he was just a dozen feet away from their hiding place. "Come out! We only want to help Sadanori and bring him into the castle!"
Both Saizo and Sadanori were familiar with Ittetsu's voice as he was one of the most powerful and famed generals of Mino. "This wound ain't too bad." Saizo murmured to Katsuie and Toshiie while he covered Sadanori's mouth silence him. "But I reckon he could still use some help."
"Do you really still trust them?!" Toshiie whispered in disbelief.
"What else can we do?" Saizo asked rhetorically. Toshiie now glanced at Katsuie who nodded. Saizo sighed and uncovered Sadanori's mouth. "I'll go first." Saizo whispered before standing up and walking out into the open in front of Ittetsu and his soldiers.
"Where is Hirotada's son?" Ittetsu questioned as he motioned for his troops to lower their weapons before holding his hands behind his back.
"He's still back there. He ain't hurt too bad; I'm just out here to make sure you ain't gonna kill us." Saizo responded. "I'm Kani Saizo. I work for Saito Toshizo and Saito Yoshitatsu, and I'm here to escort Tsumaki Sadanori back to his castle."
Ittetsu nodded as he spoke. "Welcome, Kani Saizo. You don't have Tsumaki Hirotada with you?" Saizo shook his head. "Very well. Come. Bring Sadanori."
Saizo slowly walked back into the forest and lifted Sadanori. "Come on, it'll be fine." Sadanori assured the Katsuie and Toshiie as he walked passed them. The two hesitantly joined Saizo on the way to the castle.
Ittetsu walked alongside Saizo as he carried Sadanori towards the castle. "Lord... Sadanori, is it? I deeply apologize for what my cohort's men did to you. I will make sure they are held accountable and you will be quickly taken care of."
Sadanori spoke for the first time since being shot; his tone was an angry one. "What are you people doing at my father's castle!?"
"Well, we're here with Lord Tatsuoki to ensure the Tsumaki's loyalty to Yoshitatsu, but Hirotada is nowhere to be found and everyone in the castle claims to not know where he is. Perhaps you could speak to Tatsuoki in your father's stead?" Ittetsu spoke as politely as he could.
"Just get me into the castle!" Sadanori growled.
"Lord Sadanori!" One of the castle's servants ran up to Saizo and the injured Sadanori. "Please! Bring him this way!" The servant urged Saizo to follow her as she rushed to a medical room; Saizo, Toshiie, and Katsuie followed her.
Ittetsu did not follow the group, instead he joined two samurai that were standing to the side and watching the commotion. Ittetsu shook his head as he looked at the two. "Damn it."
The older samurai with a gray beard folded his arms. "What is it?"
"That was Hirotada's son." Ittetsu took off his helmet and shook out his long brown hair.
"That's good, right?" The other, more stocky samurai asked.
"It didn't help that your men shot him, Bokuzen!" Ittetsu growled. "And that's not all, Morinari. The problem is that Hirotada's son is just as hotheaded as Tatsuoki. We're never going to get away from that brat." Bokuzen, the burly Samurai scratched the back of his neck and did not respond.
Ando Morinari, the eldest samurai sighed. "Damn. Did he tell you where Hirotada is?"
Ittetsu shrugged. "I didn't really ask. I hoped he could just handle it so we could get out of here quicker. I'm tired of babysitting this kid."
"I say we go ask him before Tatsuoki gets word of this. Hopefully he'll keep stuffing his face for a while longer." Morinari walked passed the two of them towards the room Sadanori was taken to.
"Typical Morinari. Not giving us a choice." Ittetsu huffed and began to follow Morinari. "Let's go, Bokuzen." Finally, Bokuzen followed the two as well.
Inside of the room, Katsuie, Toshiie, and Saizo were sitting around while nurses tended to Sadanori. The other trio of Morinari, Ittetsu, and Bokuzen entered the room. "How is he?" Morinari questioned a nurse.
"He'll be alright now, sir." She replied.
"Good. Leave us to him." Morinari dismissed the nurses and they all promptly left. Saizo closely watched the three famous samurai as they surrounded Sadanori in his bed.
"You know who we are, Sadanori. And you know what we need." Ittetsu said to Sadanori, who was lying in a padded bed with his right shoulder bandaged heavily. Sadanori turned his eyes away from Ittetsu, only to have Morinari at his feet and Bokuzen on his other side.
"You three! Get over here!" Sadanori demanded as Saizo was the first to stand and walk to them, with Katsuie and Toshiie following. "You can tell them what we're here to do. Hurry up and get them out of the way. We need to get my father."
"Your father!? Where is he!?" Ittetsu interrogated.
"What's going on here?!" Saito Tatsuoki yelled as he entered the room. Saizo's eyes widened as Tatsuoki entered the room while Ittetsu facepalmed and Morinari sighed while rolling his eyes. "Wait a minute... You again!?" Tatsuoki growled as he and Saizo locked eyes. "Grr! I'm not gonna ask again! What's going on!?"
The entire room was quiet for a few moments before Ittetsu- who had his back to Tatsuoki -turned to face Tatsuoki before speaking. "This is the son of Tsumaki Hirotada."
"Good! These stupid soldiers at this castle won't listen to me!" Tatsuoki walked towards the bed. "Outta my way!" Tatsuoki walked up to Ittetsu before shoving Ittetsu to the side; despite not resisting whatsoever, Ittetsu was fuming over Tatsuoki's brash actions towards him.
"Of course my people won't listen to someone like you." Sadanori sat up and glared at Tatsuoki.
Tatsuoki let out a muddled arrangement of angry noises before finally getting out some words. "Someone like me!? Do you know who I am!? I am Saito Tatsuoki, heir to the throne! I own you, your people, and this entire stupid castle!"
"As if! The only thing you deserve to own is the dirt on the ground! If that!" Sadanori shouted.
"You bastard! I'll kill you for this!" Tatsuoki spat back in rebuttal.
"We'll see about that, you good-for-nothing child!" Sadanori yelled.
"Guards!" Both Sadanori and Tatsuoki shouted simultaneously and soon soldiers piled up at the door. "Come take him away!" They both ordered together once again.
The soldiers stood baffled; they did not know whether to follow Sadanori's or Tatsuoki's orders. Tatsuoki became visibly distressed about the soldiers' hesitation as his plump, young face grew completely red. "Damn it! My father is the ruler of Mino! Do what I say!" Tatsuoki demanded at the top of his lungs.
"This is my father's castle and you are his loyal soldiers! Would you ever betray him!?" Sadanori bellowed with just as much intensity.
"Everybody! Be quiet!" Ittetsu cried out suddenly, managing to quiet the two deafening princes. Ittetsu sighed as silence fell upon the room. "Good. You two were giving me a headache." Tatsuoki's body now shook with rage after being interrupted by Ittetsu and he opened his mouth to speak but he was immediately silenced by Ittetsu covering his mouth with one of his hands. "Let me speak." Ittetsu continued. "Lord Sadanori, all we need is your pledge of allegiance to Saito Yoshitatsu. Then we can leave you be." Tatsuoki grabbed Ittetsu's hand and attempted to pull it away but Ittetsu was far too strong and his grip wouldn't be overpowered so easily.
"Whatever! We're loyal to him! I don't have time for this!" Sadanori huffed dismissively as he got off of his bed, walking to the guards at the door while cradling his injured arm. "We need to go rescue my father. Organize the army as quickly as you can and prepare them to march!"
Tatsuoki sudden slipped away from Ittetsu and began to yell again. "This isn't over! I don't want that bastard's word! I need to hear it from Hiro-whatever himself!"
As the guards ran off to follow Sadanori's orders, Sadanori himself froze in place after Tatsuoki's comment. Facing away from Tatsuoki, Sadanori clenched his fists tightly before swinging around and striking Tatsuoki's face with his left fist. Tatsuoki dropped to the floor from the sudden punch, staying on the ground near Ittetsu's feet as he pointed at his aggressor. "You three are here to protect me! Kill him! Kill him now!"
Ittetsu reached for his katana as he looked at Morinari. Morinari mulled over the situation and gave a shrug before finally nodding. Ittetsu dropped his helmet and unsheathed his katana, stepping close to the now cowering Sadanori. Before Sadanori could even cry for help, Saizo- who was standing at the opposite side of the bed -shoved Bokuzen out of the way and into the wall before he leapt onto the bed and then jumped again to plant his foot against the back of Ittetu's head and send Ittetsu crashing to the floor.
Almost immediately, all other weapons in the room were freed and clashing against each other. Tatsuoki squealed and crawled under the bed for safety while Sadanori slowly backed out of the room. Katsuie and Toshiie were locked in combat with Morinari and Bokuzen whereas the floor bound Ittetsu had swept his feet across the floor and tripped Saizo to the ground. Ittetsu and Saizo then began to brawl on the ground, throwing wild punches at each other while wrestling on the floor.
The bed began to be violently pushed around as the combatants on foot crashed against it, so much so that Tatsuoki's hiding spot no longer hid him. Tatsuoki began to crawl towards the door to safety before he was suddenly ran over and momentarily crushed by the combined weight of Saizo and Ittetsu; however, it didn't take long for their fighting to change positions and free the now sobbing Tatsuoki and allow him to crawl to safety.
Finally, Saizo gained the upperhand of Ittetsu and pinned him down on the floor. "Listen to me!" Saizo shouted. "We don't want to fight you! We just need to get to Hirotada!"
Ittetsu scowled as he panted under Saizo, quickly ceasing all resistance. "Fine! We'll let you go!" He angrily complied. Saizo released Ittetsu and watched him cautiously. "Bokuzen! Morinari! Hold!" Ittetsu shouted; Saizo's diplomacy could not have had better timing, as Katsuie and Toshiie were still locked in intense combat with Bokuzen and Morinari and either could sustain injury or lose their lives at any moment.
Eventually, the dueling warriors all separated themselves and peace fell upon the room. "We'll let them go." Ittetsu continued. "There's no need fighting this pointless battle for that brat."
Tatsuoki had scattered long before the fighting had ended, but Sadanori had just returned with help for Saizo and his companions. Saizo quickly rushed to stop Sadanori's aid. "There's no need." Saizo explained, heavily winded from the fight. "We've settled matters here. Let's focus on helping Mitsuhide."