Dark Garden Excerpts

Sector: Dark Temple

Log Name: The Future to Come

In the Dark Temple Headquarters…

The Blade was resting against one of the hallway walls, as he was holding some sort of newspaper in his hand, that seemed to have been written on the front page in big bold letters.

'Hero Alliance Triumphs Over Sea Emperors Kaido and Big Mom'

'After Years of Tyranny, Wano Is Now Free Under A New Generation'

The Blade could only smile faintly under his mask, as he finds that the situation was fairly positive, both due to and despite the uproar it has caused.

"So even the touted invincible have fallen. It seems that our supreme leader has good judgment in supporting the side that would change the world in a way that most would benefit from." The Blade remarked. "To think that the dreaded lord of dragons would fall this way, a worthy man of the title as the Strongest Creature of The World. It seems that my initial assessment of them was not wrong."

As he continued to scan the paper, it was suddenly yanked out of his hand by Kintoki, who was just passing by, and saw the Blade leaning on the wall with the paper in his hands, as the gesture irked the Blade.

"Kintoki…" The Blade remarked with a deep frown.

"Wait, wait, I gotta read this." Kintoki remarked, as he began to read the front-page, before whistling. "It seems that things are really tossed up right now everywhere in the world, after this kind of news came out, huh?"

"That is a gross understatement. There are many factors that contribute to why this is such an upheaval." The Blade remarked. "Regardless, this must be discussed with the other two of our number."

"You mean that Ashina general, and that men-reiki?" Kintoki remarked, scratching his head. "You know that I feel just as uneasy as that Kamado girl around him. He's technically a yokai that shouldn't be easily underestimated. And his lack of emotions… it doesn't help matters."

"Kawakatsu may be unable to physically express his emotions, but his intention lies in his masks." The Blade declared with a firm tone. "But I must agree, no matter how many times we have witnessed it, his performance of masks is not something to be easily accustomed to. That's why out of all of us, he is the most alone. None can connect to him due to his phantasmal nature."

"Better someone who doesn't have any inherent malice. Demons, no matter what they are, still don't sit right with me. But I suppose as long as I meet more demons who conquered their evil nature… I might actually learn to discern good from evil for them." Kintoki sighed.

"Come." The Blade remarked, as the two of them decided to stroll down the hallways, before they reached a small shrine-like structure that seemed to be used for the worship of several Shinto gods, most prominent among them being Amaterasu and Susanoo. "A shrine would be the most suitable place to discuss these matters. The gods too must be privy to what the changes are to come… and it is a place of solace that we can discuss what we will without unwelcome ears."

"I only hope that latter statement sticks." Kintoki mumbled, before the two of them ascended the steps, passing through a pair of torii gates, before they were right before the main temple, as there was a familiar box that was not loaded onto its carriage. "Mind if I do the honors?"

"Go ahead." The Blade nodded, before Kintoki immediately jostled the chains and locks binding the wooden box, taking them off, before then knocking his fist against the hard wooden frame, as the person inside stirred once more, not for the sake of battle, but to walk among the waking as another person.

Masataka Oniwa manifested himself in a foggy mist, bereft of his signature kata-kama yari on his side, still equipped in his heavy-set furred armor, as the ground shook a little with each step he took.

"Arise, Masataka Oniwa." The Blade intoned. "We have matters to discuss about the new changes to the worlds we walk among."

"So you say, young servant." Oniwa grumbled, before he then took a look at the paper, and then returned it. "Feh. An inevitable outcome. No matter how great a warrior is, there will always be one greater. Even Lord Ashina is unfortunate to not be exempt from such a rule… yet I have not seen any warrior that could match him… save for the one who has earned my service, my second lord in absence of my foremost."

"Sensei is a fitting substitute for your absent lord." The Blade answered back. "Tell me, why the apathy in the situation? Shouldn't you feel joy at the fact that a land like our own has been freed? A land that has been oppressed much like that of the Ashina you serve, freed from its tyranny?"

"The matter of other lands is not mine to comment about." Oniwa replied. "But you are right, I do feel two things that bring me great emotion. And one is the final death of a certain 'shogun', if the title is sullied enough to allow such a being to have it."

"You mean Kurozumi Orochi?" Kintoki stated, before his face wrinkled with disdain and hate. "To name himself after a great demon of mythology, have the powers of it, and prove to be that kind of demon in the flesh. While the likes of Kamado gives me hope that there is good even among demons, it is the likes of Kurozumi Orochi that make me lose faith in trusting demons."

"It seems that we are unanimously of similar opinions on the verdict of his death." The Blade remarked coolly, although his trembling hands betrayed his inner anger.

"Lord Ashina would have not tolerated his existence for even a single day, should news reach his ear." Oniwa declared. "The incarnation of Orochi or not, Lord Ashina would have slain such a vile and pathetic wretch right where he stands. He is a stain among honor, a coward who wins only by kow-towing to others stronger than him, and acting with such arrogance and cruelty. The Kurozumi blood-line, from what I hear, is nothing but a stain upon the lineage of lords. To hear it ended, it brings me catharsis and great pleasure."

"Hmph, of course it would." Kintoki scoffed. "You were a bandit leader before you were a renowned general. Of course, you would have some unhonourable feelings towards that kind of person."

"Lord Ashina may have reformed me into a better man, but I do not forget my roots that easily." Oniwa answered back. "I will use ruthlessness to fight cruelty, for it is my duty to see villains against the Ashina clan punished as deserved."

"And what of that other emotion you speak of, Oniwa?" The Blade questioned.

"Regret that I cannot have a true honorable death, much like several good men lost in the war." Oniwa sighed deeply, with genuine melancholy in his voice. "To hear how a great man like Izo, who sacrificed his life to allow his own sister to live… and Ashura-doji, who was unjustly killed by an ambush, if word is to be believed… They both died honorable deaths, and so many more. I may not throw my life away with such little value… but the fact that I can only dream of dying in glorious combat, to preserve Lord Ashina's legacy… it saddens me."

"...Huh, never thought I'd hear that side of you." Kintoki remarked, intrigued by what he heard. "Well, eventually, one of your two wishes will come true one day. You just gotta keep fighting for what you believe in."

"That is what I intend to do, onigoroshi." Oniwa answered with a slight nod of his head. "I may not freely admit it before my men, but to have such men like you fighting for the same cause as I do… it is an honor."

The Blade could only silently regard the comment for a moment, as a gentle sigh left his lips, his mind wandering to the past, only for the process to be halted, when they heard a set of footsteps climb up the shrine stairs, as they turned to the source, just as they climbed up the stairs.

Before them stood, what seemed to a young boy that was no older than 12, dressed in black keigogi and hakama, as well as white tabi and red geta, as his entire face, including his gray eyes were soulless and expressionless, as masks floated around him, with a large sack around his waist, where the masks were coming from.

"Naoyama, Kintoki, Oniwa." The boy spoke with an emotionless tone, as a fox-like mask levitated on one side of his face, as the three were well-aware that the mask represented joy and happiness.

"To call me by that name, wearing that expression… You must be wanting to see us for a long time." The Blade stated. "But that's fine. I've been wondering where you have been, Kawakatsu."

"Well… about that." Kawakatsu stated, as the mask over his face was swapped with one that was a middle-aged man with a reserved expression. "Sensei had me to deal with some matters that had been going on. So when I heard about what happened at Phoenix's Spring, I felt bad about not coming to help."

"It's not of consequence." Kintoki remarked. "All we did was bear witness to the last moments of a true man, a man once named Tetsu, who spent his last moments reliving his own past and forging his last motes of his legacy."

"But I really wished to be there." Kawakatsu remarked, as his mask turned into one of a boy with a teared-up expression. "I wanted to bear witness to the great sorrow that encompassed him when he realized his inevitable fate, and the clarity and enlightenment that he acquired when he made peace in his final moments, as well as the genuine relief and gratitude for those who stood with him to the last moments. It would have been truly a buffet of emotion, a story that I must have seen to the conclusion. And now I can only regret that I will never see such a man weave such a tale ever again."

"The way you speak of it, people might get the wrong impression of you, that you're a fan of tragedies." The Blade huffed.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I simply cannot phrase it otherwise." Kawakatsu answered back, his mask shifted into one with a stoic expression, before shifting into a worried old woman's mask. "It's just that I live by the standards of Noh, which is to live through life as a drama that is ever-lasting. Tragedies, comedies, tales of revenge, tales of redemption, they are all what keep me alive, what allow me to express myself, by creating caricatures of emotions that would allow me to feel. But alas, I am but a men-reiki, I am cursed to never express myself, only cast masks to allow others to infer how I feel, and even then, I still feel that empty void inside my heart, as if there is an important emotion that I lack."

"No closer than you were, before?" Kintoki asked.

"No." Kawakatsu stated, his mask is an expression of a pouting brat, which caused Kintoki to make a faint chuckle at the weird response.

"Either way, we seem to be deviating from the topic. Context for you, Kawakatsu." The Blade stated, before he then handed the newspaper article to Kawakatsu who read it, as his mask shifted through multiple expressions to show the various emotions he felt reading through it, before it then settled into one of a curious dog.

"Hm, this really seems to be the opening act for a great new act in the universes, it seems." Kawakatsu commented.

"That's right." The Blade stated. "And I feel that we will have to keep a closer eye to the Hero Alliance than we have before. The fact that they have managed to gain quite some trust with both Roxy and Aslana of Dark Forest, which means that a lot of information has been transferred from and to them. We will have to pick sides whenever we meet them, eventually, and there will be ripples for each choice our factions make."

"Like being enemies with them if we oppose them." Kintoki winced. "I would rather not have to fight that Ishihara boy. He seems to be far more stronger than I thought before, being able to step into the realm of gods. I'm not equipped to do a serious fight with him, and expect to walk out unharmed, unless he's feeling charitable."

"It also seems that this Unmei Force is also spreading their wings out." Kawakatsu added, as the three other sub-leaders seemed to be attracted by the attention, as his mask seemed to be a timid tanuki. "From what I hear from other information divisions within our other branches, they've been consolidating their foundations. They even have an mobilized army with firepower enough to fight pretty much any ongoing war as they please,provided they distribute the right troops for it. That's not to mention the oddities that are the KANSENs, which are literally tsukumogami, but for naval ships. The list goes on and on about their absurd edges."

"And your point?" Oniwa remarked with a growl.

"...Let's put it this way." Kawakatsu stated, as his mask was a blank flat-eyed expression. "I heard news that they literally sent only a battalion of men down to fight against an entire world of soldiers, a good part of which were clone soldiers with ludicrous weaponry, led by an omnicidal scientist. The outcome? After rallying the dredges of humanity, they literally uprooted the entire dominant faction,and made the world back to how it was. Let that fact sink in."

"And so? A good army does not mean a faction is a true threat." Oniwa scoffed. "A good general can handle most forms of armies these days. I have no doubt that we alone would be enough to put those armies in their place."

"I wasn't done." Kawakatsu retorted back, his mask a hannya mask to indicate his frustration. "Somehow, there is also news that there was a massive explosion on one side of our universe, setting off every single sensor in the vicinity of said universe. You want to know the source? A creator god literally being hit with a universe-busting attack, and yes, I know what I exactly said. And two members of the Unmei Force were right there at the scene, the dragon youkai Meiling, and the oni Suika."

"So you're implying that they somehow punched out a creator god?" Kintoki remarked. "That's a load of nonsense, no such power would exist in close proximity to the universe, otherwise we would have thousands of greedy warlords, or evil demons, who would do anything to acquire said power."

"I'm not saying they have the power yet… but they were definitely a part of the reason that happened." Kawakatsu remarked. "And the fact was not confirmed just by our own intelligence division… but by The Voyeur himself. And what he says is the truth… is the truth without fault."

The entire shrine fell silent for a moment, before the Blade pinched the bridge of his nose, over his own mask.

"...So we're going to have a headache trying to do anything against this Unmei Force, is this what you're saying?" The Blade stated.

"Just as much as we would with the Hero Alliance, if not slightly more, due to the fact that they're not soft-handed with a command made of heroes… they're just like us, willing to do what it takes to achieve what they intend to do." Kawakatsu stated. "It's a good thing that they're aware of what we can do, which makes the situation a game of mutual-assured-destruction, because if we cross their lines, even slightly by accident… who knows what they could do? They won't be as predictable as the heroes of the Hero Alliance will be, and even they have some individuals who won't be as soft as their leaders."

"Alright enough, I get the point." Kintoki sighed. "It's not like we would have any good reason to mess with them, but to speak of them in such a manner…. Whew, it's a good thing this is between all of us."

"And Sensei too." The Blade quickly added.

"And Sensei." Kintoki agreed, before he then turned to leave. "Right, I think that is enough learning about current events for me. I much rather bury my head in training for what is to come, than to worry over what is coming."

"I shall take my leave too." Oniwa stated, before he then disappeared. "Until my next dream, warriors."

Kintoki then left through the stairs, leaving only Kawakatsu and the Blade away.

"...Kawakatsu, be honest with me." The Blade stated. "Do you think that there will be a chance that we will ever be considered an ally of the Unmei Force, if we ever meet? Even if only temporarily?"

"There is a good chance for both outcomes. They're still reasonable, despite their actions. So long our goals align, or don't conflict drastically, we can impart goodwill with them, and give them a better impression of the Dark Garden as a whole." Kawakatsu explained, as his mask was an assuring mother's face. "Besides, it's not like we're doing much crime. Compared to the rest of the standard branches, we run more under an honorable criminal code than the standard one, and that'll pay out in relations later on. Sensei knows where he's steering us towards."

"...I only hope your predictions are true." The Blade sighed. "If you will excuse me. I will have to speak to Sensei about everything discussed here."

"Alright. Take care, Naoyama." Kawakatsu nodded, as the Blade left the vicinity.

In the inner sanctum…

The Blade then entered the inner sanctum of the hideout, as the elderly Sensei was meditating, as he usually does whenever he is not called to a mission by the other branch leaders, or the Five Points, or even Negativity himself, although rarely does the latter occur.

He also noticed the fact that the sanctum was filled with sword racks that beheld the small share of swords that once belonged to Tetsu of a Thousand Blades, that the Hero Alliance generously parted with. Each blade was carefully polished and refurbished, to make it as if they were turned into small heirlooms that found their home within this inner sanctum. And right before Sensei, was now a statue that seemed to be Tetsu in the form of a Bishamonten, except with blades in both of his hands, instead of the standard spear.

The Blade could only sigh in melancholy, seeing Tetsu's statue, knowing that it was a sad reminder that even legends fade from the world of the living. He then traversed the entire sanctum ground, as he made his steps gentle and soft, to only create minimal creaking from the wood, which the Sensei noticed, as his eyes slightly parted open.

"So, you've come to me, my Blade." Sensei muttered gently. "Is there something that brings you to me?"

"The incident at Wano… it has been resolved." The Blade stated. "Forgive my impertinence for what I might ask, but we need to discuss the future after witnessing the ripples of such a monumental event-"

"Do not apologize. I am well aware you would come to me with such news." Sensei remarked, standing onto his feet, and turning around to face the Blade. "I'm simply intrigued that you heard of it so quickly. I never had the order sent that news of this was to be passed to those below me so quickly."

"...Negativity told you, didn't he? It was he who brokered the temporary alliance." The Blade answered back. "So it would be clear that you would have news of this sooner than I do. Then you must know what we must discuss."

"Indeed we do." Sensei remarked, before going into a seiza position on one of the cushions located before the statue. "Come to me."

The Blade nodded back, before he too adopted a seiza position, on a cushion facing Sensei.

"Your expression shows that you worry about the future." Sensei stated. "You believe that with such a meager task of being mere combat support for the other branches, and only devoted to the purpose of collecting all forms of renowned, rare and legendary blades, for the sake of placing them to market… you think that we will eventually be seen as useless before the rest of the branches."

There was only a moment of silence, before the Blade then kowtowed his head to the wooden ground, fast and hard enough to cause his mask to cause a clattering sound upon hitting the ground.

"Forgive me for such disloyal thoughts, to have them read by your discerning gaze." The Blade remarked with guilt and shame in his voice. "I simply do not wish for any harm or tragedy to befall you, you who saved me from the despair that would have been my end. As your blade, it is my duty to ensure your stability above all."

"Raise your head, that is a order." Sensei strictly stated, as if like a parent scolding his child, as the Blade did so quickly. "Inactive we might seem, do not forget that there are other branches like us, who are more fitting of such a predicament, and yet they do not have such self-deprecating thoughts. My Blade, what ails you so, to feel such a way?"

"The fact that we could not play the part to liberate Wano. We are familiar enough with the land to fight well enough to act as support for the Hero Alliance." The Blade remarked. "Forgive my arrogance, and my disrespect to those of Dark Forest, for they are honorable beast-folk that I cannot slander in good-will… But we would have been able to integrate well enough with the samurai that led this war, the Scabbards would be more at ease working with us, than those of Dark Forest, for we share values."

"Is that true?" Sensei stated, raising an eyebrow. "You raise a strong point… but the Dark Forest are closer to the Minks than one might think, and they seem to bond well with several members within the Hero Alliance. It is merely a matter of choice, and Negativity made his decision clear."

"Yes, that is true." The Blade stated. "It's just seeing how strong the world has become in our absence of acting, other than the incident at the Phoenix's Spring… If we do not grow stronger, we will be left behind, and those of the Dark Garden will look down upon us for growing complacent and weak in our duties."

"Oh, my poor disciple…" Sensei sighed deeply. "...Please, take off your mask."

The Blade hesitated for a moment, before swallowing harshly, and then doing so, clasping his mask, and taking it off, revealing the dark-brown eyes underneath it, as his expression was solemn.

"Naoyama… do you feel that you are inadequate for your role?" Sensei asked back.

"Naoyama is not here, my Sensei." The Blade answered back, closing his eyes, shaking his head. "That young heir has been locked deep within a place where none can reach him. In his place, is the Blade that you have forged through countless years of discipline and training. The Blade fights so that Naoyama Ii does not. Naoyama Ii is just a boy who suffered a tragedy of losing his own family, his own culture, to the flames. It is unfair to let him fight a battle that he doesn't deserve to be in, for his enemies in the shadows will do all to ensure he will not live to another dawn. Once those who razed the Ii clan are gone, only then can Naoyama return, to rebuild what he had lost. Naoyama cannot show himself, not while he is a coward who could only watch the things he held dear be taken from him so unjustly. "

"No, Naoyama Ii was no coward." Sensei answered back. "You fought against a cruel fate dealt towards you, and stood tall even in the face of adversity. Your tenacity is how you managed to survive long enough to find me, for me to repair what was broken within you. It also reminds me of my own late son… who was a victim of similar circumstances."

There was silence between the two warriors, as for a moment, the two of them seemed not to be merely master and student, but of two warriors of equal standing, who are reminiscing their own pasts.

"...Yes, Sensei. I feel that I cannot be worthy of my role, not after what I have seen." The Blade remarked, bowing his head. "To see that the Hero Alliance has the likes of gods on their sides, and even god-slayers who would laugh in the face of even the invincible, and even prevail in these odds. While Kintoki and Oniwa fought them, I felt that I was weak to dare not test myself against them. I felt that it was my cowardice rising again. I have failed in my oath to face danger without fear, and that has proven that my resolve has wavered."

Sensei was silent, before he then drew a bokken from a nearby area, and then bopped the Blade on the head with it, as the young man did not flinch, merely taking the gentle blow with dignity.

"Foolish disciple of mine, if that is how you feel about then…" Sensei stated, with a sad under-tone to his voice. "Know that your abstinence to charge into the fray seeking enemies where there are none, is proof that you are mature in your duties. If you truly wish to compare yourself to the Hero Alliance, I will request a trial against them. You will lose as the other two have… but at least, you will understand if you are worthy to stand before them or not. Until then, I ask that you hold hope that you are strong enough to earn their respect rightfully."

"...I'll carve those words into my heart." The Blade answered back.

"In fact, I might actually find someone who would be able to give you the fight that is needed to reignite that passionate spirit of yours." Sensei answered back, returning the bokken to where it was, and sitting back in seiza. "The leader of the Unmei Force, Richard Liu. He will fight you as a worthy equal,and he will be the proper opponent to spar with, in order to quantify your own talents against those you worry over."

"...You mean the one who has beaten Admiral Ryogyoku single-handedly?" The Blade asked back. "...How could I even compare to a being who is able to wound the manifestation of nature itself so easily?"

"Fret not, that is merely a facet of him that exists within a different realm." Sensei stated. "No, what I refer to, is the one who led his men in countless other worlds, the one that is centered within this very realm."

"How could you discern that?" The Blade asked back.

"Our trained onmyoji was able to tell the difference, even though it was fairly hard to complete that kind of comparison." Sensei stated. "The one who led his men at Wano… he is a star in the sky, an equivalent of Omoikane descended from heaven, with mystic power beyond mortal knowledge. And the other one, is like a man of war, much like an avatar of Hachiman. And yet there are traces of Amatsu-Mikaboshi."

"Amatsu-Mikaboshi…!?" The Blade exclaimed with horror. "You mean the god of chaos, such a being would-"

"Worry not. He does not have the same malice as that dreaded god is." Sensei stated. "And yet, all divinations point him towards the fact that a great omen hovers over his own existence, where all he cherishes is under threat, a dark rebirth that serves as his ultimate trial…."

The Blade feels uneasy hearing such things, before he then calmed himself with a drawn-out breath.

"I suppose that against one like him, I would be forced to fight with all of my prowess. I suppose that is why you turn to him." The Blade stated. "I merely hope that he will see me the same as you see him."

"Mm." Sensei hummed, before he then lifted his head. "...Tell me, Naoyama. Do you know why Dark Temple exists?"

"...Please enlighten this unknowing one, Sensei." The Blade stated with a low tone.

"There was a time where I held not such a high regard for Negativity, despite what you might think." Sensei answered back. "He and I were on opposing sides of ideals. He sought to control the darkness that runs through all the worlds, and I sought to root it out and purge it all. We did not see eye to eye on matters."

"And then what happened?" The Blade asked.

"He challenged me, letting his Five Genocides fight me." Sensei stated. "I accepted it, for the barter was that he would step down from the underworld. And I realize now, how foolish I was in accepting his wager. I managed to defeat the Slasher and the Warlock, but it was not as flawless. They made me fight to earn my victory, with multiple wounds, so many, that I could not prevail over the Reaper."

Sensei then closed his eyes, "Instead of slaying me, Negativity believed that I would do better in his employ, since I was able to defeat two of his Genocides, a feat that so few could possibly replicate, even among all current Branch Leaders, and even his Five Points." He continued. "He told me that out of all of the evils in the universes, he is one that is necessary. He abolishes most cruelties that we of Dark Temple shun, and his organization brings order and peace, despite everything that Dark Garden does. He believes that if I can change the world for the better, then he offered to create Dark Temple for me, in order to pursue my ideals, in order to exact my own form of justice to those who have been wronged, and those who wrong others. It is not the best origin tale for this very branch… but it is the undiluted truth."

"...I see." The Blade answered back, unable to truly grasp the revelation he received.

"We take blades, for we seek worthy people for them." Sensei admitted. "Yes, those of greed will buy several blades from us, but they will eventually fall out of their hands, for a blade is only truly of worth when wielded by a person who can utilize its true potential. As long as we are there to reclaim these blades, there will be a day where these blades will find their rightful owners."

"So that is why this is our main purpose." The Blade stated. "I am truly humbled to hear that for this reason, our purpose was set. I apologize for the doubt that we are doing a great dishonor by doing such things."

"It is still a dishonor, but one that can be redeemed, by ensuring the blades are given to those just and worthy of them." Sensei stated. "...You may leave, I do believe that you will need time to digest this."

"Indeed I do." The Blade stated, putting the wolf-mask back on, as he stood up to leave. "Thank you for speaking with me. You have cleared many demons from my inner heart."

"It is merely what I must do, to ensure that you can serve your duty without reservations, and to repay you for your devotion." Sensei stated. "...And before you leave… Senzaemon has once met Richard. Perhaps… he too might be a clue for finding your long-lost old friend."

The Blade stopped for a moment, as he began to feel a sense of longing, upon hearing the name of an old clan friend, before he then nodded gently.

"...I sincerely hope that I can see him again. So much has changed for both of us… and we both share the feeling of tragedy…" The Blade answered back.

The Blade then left, even though Sensei noticed that there was a single tear that left the Blade's face, dripping onto the floor, as the elderly branch leader gently smiled, knowing that the Blade was moved in a positive manner by this, before returning to his meditation.