Miryu was on a horse as the regiment of the Imperial Army marched from Tokyo to where Katsumoto's forces supposedly were, and sighed internally. She had never been on a horse since before the Bakamatsu, and it had been Katsumoto that taught Kenshin and herself to ride… Now, she was riding into battle against him. Her steed, had been a gift by the Emperor, a beautiful white mare she had named Yuki, was suggested by Katsumoto during the days of His Imperial Majesty's (failed) courtship of her… Her bond with the now-rebel leader was one alike that of Kenshin's and Katsura Kogoro, with the two men being their secondary father-figures and mentors. "This is pointless," she muttered when Colonel Bagley was far from earshot. "This should never have happened…"
Graham looked at her sympathetically. "Now, now, my dear," he said, placing a hand on her shoulder, thanking God that she was close enough for his short reach. "Sometimes we must let the hand of fate turn the tides for us…" The houses were leveled, the people, dismayed and fearful. It was no different that the days of the Bakamatsu. Miryu, even as a warrior, she did not wish to see these sights yet again. It was too painful for her to do so.
Algren would have said something to console her, but he found not the words to say to her. He just kept his eyes on her, and nodded when she turned to him, her expression grave and filled with pain. However, he had noticed a strange sign on almost everything in the village that had been razed to the ground. He looked at the water-tower, and the headbands of the guards. "It is Omura's symbol," Miryu said, "He has gained much wealth ever since the Ishin-Ishishi won the Bakamatsu…" her voice trailed, and her sapphire eyes were fixed upon a woman crying over her dead husband, killed not by sword-wounds, but probably from the crowds stepping over one another… Scenes like that were not foreign to her, and she deigned to see them again.
"Omura owns all of this?" Algren asked, looking around him, and at Graham, who answered that Omura would, after he had gotten rid of the samurai. Perhaps it was why Miryu had found such distaste for her former comrade, that he had accumulated so much wealth out of the expense of their other brothers. They rode out of the village, passing a burnt Buddhist temple, passing more injured and dead villagers before they came to the entrance of a deep mountain pass. From a distance, they could see the figures of several heads, but upon closer inspection, the heads turned out to be severed, impaled upon pikes.
Miryu was the first to break the silence. "Katsumoto does not want us here," she said, her voice but a fragile whisper. "These are the heads of Omura's men, I've seen them before." From there, they entered the deep forests, whereby a fog soon started to form, as if it were a sort of foreshadowing. Keeping her eyes fixed on Algren, she could not feel any Ki foreign to her, any Ki that reeked of malicious intent. She could also see the amber eyes of Saito amongst them, always the spy and the dutiful informant. What was his part in that conflict, she would not know, but Katsumoto and his men would surely try to kill him if they got the chance, being the one who killed so many Ishin patriots years ago…
Soon enough, Algren was already shouting out his orders, orders that were translated by the young NCO. Wheeling about with his horse, a handsome brown stallion, he relayed the best possible ways in his mind to meet the attacking samurai head on, hoping that this skirmish would not be the opening salvo to a larger conflict. However, Bagley had different ideas. He was there in Japan, with Algren in tow, to train the Japanese Army. Once they won the bloody battle, they had proven their credibility, and had nothing left to do with the yellow-skinned conscripts. "Captain Algren," he said to Algren, "We are not fighting here as combatants."
The Captain did a double-take. "Then who's going to lead these men?" he asked, demanding an answer. He was not leaving these men to die here, not when they were unready to face the enemy. Graham and Miryu looked at the two men, and strangely, her sapphire eyes were in a strange shade, it was dark, but it the light in it, it was unlike what Graham had known it to contain. Her eyes, as seen by Algren and Bagley, they had suddenly turned almost feral, almost it a color alike that of gold and amber… Perhaps the tales that Graham had told them about, that the hitokiri had eyes of gold had been true? "We'll be there presently," Algren concluded, before turning to Miryu after Graham and Bagley went to the rear of the regiments. "Are you alright, Miryu?" he asked her.
"I am fine, Algren," she answered, forcing a smile. "The boys need you to lead them, Hasegawa has refused to fight against the man he came to regard as a brother." He knew very well that she was talking about Katsumoto. "Algren, my job here, is to protect you, and nothing more. And so long as you are unharmed, I cannot attack them as well." She knew that it could be hard on the soldiers to see her doing so, perhaps, Algren as well, but she did not care. She had killed too many, and she would not kill anyone who she had knew for so long, those that she had fought side by side with. Algren nodded, and moved in closer to kiss her forehead, surprising her as she did him in the palace.
"Now, we're even," he uttered, before turning his present attention to the soldiers. His attention was soon focused on Gant. "Seargant Gant, report to the rear and see to the disposition of the supply train," he said to his long-time pal. This was a battle he did not want to see Gant dead in, no matter what the stakes were against them. However, the Irishman ignored him completely. "Mr. Gant, did you hear my order?"
Gant just got his rifle ready, and answered duly. "I heard it," he said, but when Algren stressed the same words over again, he added, "Intending no disrespect sir, but shove it up your arse." Miryu chuckled, but her voice became drowned by the sounds of drums, beats that came out of nowhere. Looking behind her, she knew that almost all of the soldiers were literally shaking in fear. Boys will be boys, she thought, and rode to Algren's side.
"Samurai come…" the NCO muttered to Algren, his voice filled with terror. Were the samurai that fearsome, Algren did not know, but he knew that this battle would not be won easily, even if it could be won at all.
"You'll be fine, son," Algren replied, and looked at Miryu. Hopefully, he would be able to see the day where he could drink sake with her, and have her drunk before he did.