In between the coastar land of Konda Village and Araumi, four children ran as fast as they could. At the very front was a teenage girl with light blue hair in a disheveled ponytail, holding on to two much smaller hands on each side, who bore a similar resemblance to her, pulling them away from the offending people. Behind them, another girl with white hair in a ponytail held by a wine colored ribbon skidded to a halt as she unsheathed her katana, her red eyes boring into the oncoming group of nobushi. She placed her feet apart, preparing her stance to attack them.
"Run! Don't stop!" She shouted to her companions. From her mind, she pushed away the cries of the girls who told her to also run, preparing herself to attack and release her attack. 'Saori, breath…' She repeated as a mantra, her eyes watching their weapons being raised, the distance they were from each other and her. She tried to listen for any potential anomalies coming from them, seeking to hear the voice of the wind, as her father had taught her, but could hear none. 'Had I been blessed by wind like Father, however…' On top of her currently tattered and dirty white kimono and black obi, was a wine colored haori, in the middle being connected by the emblem of a Pyro vision.
From the Kagotsurube Isshin spawned flames, engulfing two of the six ronin chasing at them. A gale of wind followed soon afterwards, pushing the offending party away from each other and from the fleeing children. The swordswoman didn't halt, instead pushing herself forward to directly attack the nobushi, parrying the sword from one of them who was set to take her life.
"You little—" Before another of the men could have a chance of striking her, he was being pecked at his feet by four extremely cold Basan.* Two of them managed to knock him down to the ground, and the other two then opened their beaks and spewed what seemed to be fire, but the flames weren't hot, but cold. "WAHHH!"
"WHERE DID THESE CHICKENS COME FROM!?" another nobushi shouted, seeing more of them running after them. It was then, after looking at the coming frozen creatures, did he see up ahead, behind the fiery girl, the other ones. In particular, he noticed that it was one of the little girls had in her hands a hagoita*, which was serving as a catalyst, bouncing a ball of ice which led to the creation of the Basan. He then also took notice of the pale blue organament, a Cryo vision, dangling across a chain wrapped around her waist. He pointed with his sword to them, exclaiming, "It's from the brat!"
The three girls in question heard the man, perking their heads at the mob who splitted, leaving three to handle the engaging girl while the others made their way towards them.
"Kaguya!" The other smaller girl who had the same face and stature as the named one quivered at the oncoming brutes.
The other girl, much taller and having the physique of a teenager, shakily walked in front of the two minor ones, summoning the Katsuragikiri Nagamasa to her left. She trembled and gulped, seeing the men who managed to bypass the other girl, who was fighting more bravely and usefully. The purple and golden design of the weapon regretfully reminded her of her, bearing the same colors as her, the reason she had chosen it. The person she admired and hoped to some day emulate and aid in the future leading of their clan.
"You don't have to worry about that. I shall handle everything." She would always tell her, and shooed her away.
Jittery she prepared herself, holding tight to the claymore, ready to defend her younger sisters. "Sakuya, Kaguya, stay behind me." Her voice sounded forced, her breathing accelerating upon the close proximity of the nobushi.
The twins protested, Kaguya trying her best to create more ice creatures, but they were being trampled and destroyed by the enemy force.
"Feel my blade!" The assaulting nobushi shouted, bringing down their lethal blade.
From behind, the twins screeched in horror. "SHIZUKU!"
The girl swung her weapon before her, blocking the blade from cutting her in half. She placed her right hand on her safe, dull side as support to stop the katana from further pushing her backwards, her worn shoes digging into the dirt from the man's force. Compared to her, who was average sized for a girl, fit but not strong, and who had just started to learn to wield a blade at her insistence, she was nothing compared to Saori, who has been blessed by the gods with a vision, and who knew when to attack, dodge, lunged. She didn't have either. No divine blessing or formal blade-use schooling.
Why would she need any schooling when the Shuumatsuban was meant to protect the children of the Kamisato clan? Is what she always told herself.
She panicked, from her peripheral vision of the other man swinging his own blade horizontally, intending to sever her torso from her legs. "No…"
An arrow infused with Dendro made the man jump back, missing him by a few centimeters.
"I missed." The other voice of the twin, Sakuya, bemoaned in fear and disappointment.
Why wasn't she blessed like her sisters? What wasn't she blessed like Uncle Thoma? Why wasn't she blessed like her aunt Ayaka? Why wasn't she blessed like her father?
"Snap out of it or you'll be killed!"
Shizuku once again jumped, hearing the voice of Saori shouting at her, her sword infused with Pyro, making a beeline for the two men who cursed. Before she could tell her body to move, she felt pain upon her midsection. Then, her body was forced backwards. Her weapon dissipated and the cries of her little sisters ringed in her ears. She was forced onto the ground, and she gasped for air. Tears escaped from her eyes. She wanted to scream. No severed torso, but still pain.
"You brutes!" The white-haired brought forth even more ardent flames to her blade, changing her pace to catch the nobushi off guard for a mere moment. One noticed, swinging the blade downwards in preparation of parrying her. She took notice, so upon being a hair from it striking her face, she painfully shifted her body low, the blade cutting strands of her hair. She swing her own fire-infused katana at his legs, she striked, and even added more force to her arm to also attack the other nobushi.
A vortex of flames engulfed the three, however, of those three, only the caster would remain unscathed.
In between the settling battlefield, Saori looked at the defeated offenders, and affirming that they would not be rising anytime sooner, she sheathed her sword and allowed it to disappear. She then turned and ran to the injured blue-haired. On the opposite end, Sakuya and Kaguya withdrew their weapons and also ran to their sister, tears streaming down their eyes. And in the middle , the older Kamisato child could only ask:
'Why am I so useless…?'