Notes:
Tobito - those pink twin mechas
Mimizuku - the footmen (I finally know what they're called now :D I think -_-)
Disclaimer: I don't own Samurai 7, only my OCs.
Chapter 11: Down Time and a Storm
As we climbed the cliff, we were attacked by a squad of Nobuseri comprised of Yakans, guardsmen, and a Tobito. They were quickly taken down, but we had a problem. The enemy had a gun, and we didn't know where they were shooting from. The fog hindered our vision.
"What should we do?" asked Shichiroji.
"We'll send a scout," Kambei replied.
"Let me take care of that!"
"You're too loud, Kiku."
"Why so blunt, Aki..."
"Then I'll scout!" called out Katsushiro.
Kyuzo stood up, saying that the kid would die, before jumping off the cliff as our scout. I know he's incredibly skilled and all, but really, he wears a bright red coat. At least he can somewhat use the fog to his advantage.
When we got back to the village, everyone cheered for us, but we told them that it wasn't over. Even though the Nobuseri were defeated today, that didn't mean that they'll give up so easily. The village quickly made plans to prepare for the next battle.
"Well, if you'll excuse me, I'm done here."
I left the Elder's hut and headed to the home Hei-chan and I shared. After I was back in my own clothes, I told the Village Elder the information I was told by the Benigumo, about how everything that was taken from them was transported to the Capital.
There wasn't anything in particular I could do right now. We're good on medicine, and the explosives Kiku and I set up were still in our blind spot by the waterfall at a safe distance away.
"Aki!"
I turned around to see Kiku, Okara with her baby, Komachi, and 3 boys. Komachi ran up to me, smiling.
"We're gonna go play! Wanna come with us?"
I smiled back her.
"Sure. I got nothing to do anyways."
"Yay! Let's go!"
She tugged on my clothes as we entered the woods where the kids normally went to play.
"Let's play Samurai vs. Nobuseri!" shouted a boy.
"We three will be the samurai, and you two can be the farmers," said another boy, referring to Okara and Komachi.
"Yeah! The big guy can be the Nobuseri!"
"And Aki can be the maiden," Okara smirked deviously, with her trademark laugh.
"Why am I the maiden?" I stared at her.
"Don't complain. I know you like dressing like a girl."
"Wha-! No I don't!"
"Yes you do."
"No I don't."
"Then why didn't you complain when that Kambei asked you to cross-dress?"
"Well, uh..."
"You looked pretty comfortable in those clothes."
"That's 'cause I..."
"And Komachi here told me that you were pretty as a woman when you cross-dressed before."
Silence fell between us as we stared at each other. Okara snickered when I looked down in defeat.
"I'll be the maiden..."
The children jumped up and down in excitement cheering, as Okara grinned triumphantly.
"Let's tie him up!"
"Yeah!"
Oh Kami-sama what the fuck did I get myself into?
"WAHHH! Come back here!"
Kiku chased us in our game. The boys had 'saved me' and we were 'escaping from the enemy'. The three boys stopped running away and held their ground to attack him. They hit him with some sticks we found to use as swords.
"Take this!"
"Gah...! You got me!"
Kiku fell over comically, and the boys cheered.
"Yay! I killed the Nobuseri!"
"We're samurai!"
"Don't come to our village again!"
Kiku begged for mercy.
Okara, Komachi and I joined them.
"You're quite the actor, groupie," said Okara.
"Don't call me that!"
"Well, Kiku's 13 for you," said Komachi.
"Say what? That's 13? How?"
"Robot years, I guess?" I added in.
Kiku stood up as the boys said they wanted to play again. "Not aga- GAH!"
The girls and I stared as one of the boys stabbed his stick in Kiku's groin.
"Haha! You left yourself open!"
"Yay! Yay!"
"Y-You're not supposed t-to aim there..." Kiku writhed in pain as he reached out to me. "Aki... help me..."
"No, I don't feel like it."
The group disbursed. The boys left to eat, Kiku sat down under a tree to rest, and Komachi stayed with him. That left with me and Okara. Her baby stirred and let out a soft whine. Okara smiled at the baby.
"I guess you're hungry, eh?"
The baby cooed, and Okara took out a small pouch hidden in her sleeve. It was full of small berries. Okara took the baby off her back and held it in her arms as she fed him. I couldn't help but smile at the scene. I sat down next to her.
"What the little guy's name?" I asked.
"Otoya. He's 'bout 6 months old." The baby let out a soft burp when Okara patted his back. "He's all I have left."
Okara had a sad look in her eyes.
"If you don't mind me asking, but what happened to your parents?"
Okara frowned.
"Some time after Otoya was born, Nobuseri came to the village for rice and women. My mom was taken away, but Dad didn't want that. He fought back, but they both ended up killed. I stay with Komachi's family now." The girl looked up at me. "What about your family? It's only fair that you tell me, too."
" True... Well, to make a long story short, my father was a traveling merchant, while my mother was working in a brothel. His buddy tempted him to go, then poof! I'm born! Father takes me away to raise me with his real wife and son. His real wife was nuts, tries to kill me, then I killed her and her son. Got hurt in the process though, and ran away from the village. That's when I met my Master."
"Your master?"
"The man who raised me and trained me to be a samurai."
"What ever happened to him?"
I smiled wryly at her.
"Sorry, but I'd rather not talk about it."
"Oh... Sorry for asking."
"Meh. It's okay. Just tugs at the heart, ya know?"
Okara looked up at me.
"Just wondering, but what you going to do after this is done? Will you stay in the village?"
I was quiet, pondering. I looked back at her.
"I don't know."
We sat together in mutual silence for awhile before I got up and left.
By the time I got to the hut, it was dusk. Talking to Okara got my mind all hazy, so I ended up wandering around the village to try and clear my head. I was tired, and couldn't wait to sleep. I flopped down on my futon once I reached it and closed my eyes. Shortly after, Heihachi entered.
"Hey, Hei-chan..." I said groggily, my eyes still closed.
"What's wrong? I've never seen you this tired, even at this time of day."
I slowly opened my eyes to stare at him standing by the door.
"I think too much."
"Hm?"
He stared at me curiously.
"I'm not running away this time."
Heihachi understood what I was talking about, and sat down beside me.
"What happens, happens. We all knew the risks in helping Kanna fight back, but we still joined. Now get some rest. You need it."
I closed my eyes again, and fell fast asleep.
I woke up early the next morning. Everyone was already preparing. The elderly, women, and children were all taken to Kirara's home to hide until the battle ended. The sky was grey as rain was pouring heavily. Fog blanketed the village. I chose not to use my gun, in fear of accidentally shooting our own allies, so I had Master's sword at my side. I had untied the white cloth from it, and kept a light grip on it. I wore a light brown hooded cloak over my attire to protect me from the rain. Though barely, it was better than nothing.
I stood at my post close to the northern cemetery. Moments ago, I got word that there were 3 Yakans and 12 Mimizuku. A loud series of explosions was heard in the distance, coming form the direction of the waterfall. Whether they were from my traps or the enemy fire, I didn't know. Though the pouring rain was beating heavily, I could still hear the low hum of machines. Appearing from the fog was the enemy. I was surrounded. They quickly advanced at once, as I unsheathed my sword. Volleys of flaming arrows rained down upon them from the villagers that were hiding. I made sure to avoid the arrows as I attacked, aiming for the Mimizuku's vitals.
Slice, side step, sheathe. Another Mimizuku fell.
Dodge, cut, step, and cut once more horizontally. The Yaken was in 4 large pieces. Blood and oil mixed, dirtying the earth.
This continued until no Nobuseri were left in my area.
"Are there any more here?" I asked a villager.
"No. There doesn't seem to be anymore comin' in through here."
"In that case, have some men remain here, just in case. I'm going to check up on the others."
"Yes sir!"
My breathing was ragged as I ran. There were so many enemies, and I was getting fatigued. The ground was muddy, so it was hard to run at times without slipping. I stopped behind an abandoned hut and leaned against the wall. I tried to catch my breath.
From the corner of my eye, I saw a dark figure advancing towards me. My body seemed to move on its own as I parried the Mimizuku's attack. The force was strong, and I stumbled, my back against the wall. The footman raised his sword and advanced. I guarded myself, and winced as the footman tried to over power me. I moved, causing his blade to run along mine to break the hold, and I swung at full force, lopping his head off.
I coughed, and fell to my knees, panting. That was too close for me. I hoisted myself up with the aid of my sword and took something out from my pockets. It a syringe, and in it was the "booster" I was trying to create when we first arrived in this village. Without a second thought, I used it on myself, injecting it into my left arm. In a few moments, I felt fine. I didn't feel sore or all that tired anymore. I could continue now.
Running once again, I spotted a group of 4 Mimizuku coming from the left. I ran towards them, and fought. Two quickly fell, and I stabbed through the third. The fourth moved to strike once I was vulnerable, but I protected myself, using the dead footman as a shield. The footman's sword pierced through, stabbing my right arm, inches away from my shoulder. I felt nothing as I pulled out my sword and stabbed, ending the Mimizuku's life. Out of nowhere, gunshots rang out towards me from my right. I did my best to avoid the gun fire, and I managed to find cover behind a hut. It was a red mecha, I think it was called a Red Spider, or something.
"Come on out, 'samurai'! There's no use in hiding! You and this village are done for!"
I watched as it crept closer to my hiding place. I sheathed my sword, and gripped it tight. I breathed deeply, trying to focus all my strength into the next strike. If I mess up now, I'm done for. I quietly undid my cloak, and held it in my right hand. Once the Nobuseri reached a certain distance, I made the first move. I threw my cloak as hard as I could towards the hut across from me and in front of the enemy. Thinking it was me, it gunned it down, tearing holes into it.
During that time while it was distracted, I leapt onto the pile of straw to get to the roof. The red mecha saw me and swung its blade at me horizontally. I jumped as high as I could at the right moment, and landed on the flat blade, running towards the main body. I made a quick-draw of my sword, managing to cut off its head. As I made my way down, I made sure to also cut through the abdomen. Blood and oil mixed with the rain as it fell. I wiped my katana with the discarded cloak and used part of it to bandage the wound on my right arm. Blood soaked through, but I'll live. I just need to properly treat it later. I couldn't feel any pain as the drug was still in affect.
The battle continued. It felt longer than it actually was. I soon met up with the others in the village center, as the yellow mecha from the harvesting fortress was encountered. My mind was out of it. Though the enemy fell, Gorobei lost his life. When he fell, I hurriedly examined him, determined to try and save him, but there was nothing I could do. He was shot right through the upper abdomen. The wound was critical; his vitals were hit, and he was losing blood.
And so, on that stormy day, our victory ended with a loss.
End of Chapter 11
A/N: I honestly wanted to have Gorobei live, as that could've started a chain reaction. He could've lived long enough to be there to help Heihachi out, and then Kyuzo wouldn't have died since someone could've been there to attack the dude Katsushiro tried to shoot. If Heihachi was alive, he could've somehow managed to use his skills and stopped the capital from falling into Kanna, which would then maybe allow Kikuchiyo to live. But I guess that's wishful thinking, and so I didn't put it into the story. Didn't feel right to me anyways. Though the samurai were great, they were still mortal.
Still, a samurai may end up still alive in this fic.
Also, with the part about Okara. The series never explained why she has that baby/who the baby is, so yeah, I put my idea in there.
School starts for me on Sept. 4th. I'm gonna be a junior in high school :P Trying to get chapter 12 done before that starts.
So anyway, hope this chapter was satisfactory! Seems rushed to me, but at least it's done. Getting reviews would be nice. Feedback is always welcome, even you say it sucks or some shit.