Mikoto got up moments later, her head spinning. She rummaged the room in search of anything sharp and sighed. Without luck, she went over Dai and found a dagger inside his leg bandages. She held the handle with her feet and rubbed the rope against the blade. Come on… she tugged, heart racing. Break!
Meanwhile, Dai's hands started twitching.
Oh, no... He's waking up!
"Damn, Mikoto-chan!" Dai blinked, rubbing his chest. "You're strong!" He got up and pulled out two nunchaku. "Don't make this harder than it should."
Mikoto gave one last tug and freed herself from the binds. Finally! She got up and raised both hands, taking a defensive stance. "Bring it on!"
"I like where this is going... let's dance!" Dai grinned and attacked using both nunchaku in succession.
However, Mikoto blocked the strikes before countering with his dagger.
Dai veered backwards and dodged a swing aimed for his gut. At that moment, he realised she was no ordinary ninja. He charged once more on high alert. In a wild rampage, he landed three vicious strikes on Mikoto's waist and arms.
Mikoto dropped the dagger—feeling sharp pangs all over. She continued fighting as she ignored the pain. The space between them became a disadvantage to her. Dai's nunchaku were perfect for the mid-range and she had to close the gap to counterattack.
"Don't you think we should end this, Mikoto-chan?" Dai exhaled, catching his breath. "You look tired."
Mikoto stilled her thoughts and remained calm. She noticed him panting and got ready. As a nunchaku was flung at her, she grabbed one end before tugging it. She pulled him closer and head-butted his nose once more.
Dai was unable to react. She followed up with a series of knockout punches. The final blow to his cheek launched a tooth out of his mouth. After the hit, he fell on the floor and lay there unconscious.
"And that's that…" Mikoto panted, grabbing her sore arms. She pocketed his dagger and sneaked outside. Now, I've gotta check on the others.
☯
The battle between Kazuo and Daichi continued. With each exchange, the air grew accustomed to the loud clangs. As they fought, Kazuo's pace slowed.
"What happened to all the vigor you had from before?" Daichi asked. "Come on, the descendant of the Legendary Sage can do better than that." He laughed and charged with an overhead swing.
Kazuo panted, shoulders slumped. He looked as if he could faint at any moment. His clothes were ripped with his upper body drenched in sweat and blood. As he turned to Daichi, he dragged Dōjin's longer blade on the ground.
Daichi had taken his fair share of slashes. However, his were not as severe as Kazuo's. He rushed towards his opponent—ready to finish him.
Kazuo closed his eyes. At that point, he had accepted his fate. I guess this is it... he exhaled, leaning against the blade for support. "My boy." Kazuro's voice echoed in his mind. "If you wish to awaken each blade, call out the god's name."
Suddenly, a vision of Kazuro wielding the Earth sword flashed before Kazuo. He got up and raised the longer blade. "Dōjin..." he said, opening his eyes. "Funsai (Shatter)!" An immense power surged through Kazuo. A pale red aura glowed around his body as he readied to defend himself.
As the swords clashed, Daichi's katana shattered—breaking into several pieces. "What the…?" he said, holding only the hilt of what was once his strongest blade. Eyes widened, he brows raised, he turned pale and fell on his knees.
Kazuo raised Dōjin's blade. "Any last words?"
"It can't be…" Daichi muttered, a sudden hysteria looming. "My katana… so easily broken?" He glared at the hilt before dropping it. "It can't be!"
Kazuo glared at Daichi with an intensity in his eyes. As he readied to strike, a deep red aura engulfed him. "Tsubuse (crush him)–"
Daichi lowered his head until it touched the ground.
"Kazuo! Wait!" Keisuke's voice shouted.
Huh? Kazuo stopped. The violent air about him dissipated as he dropped Dōjin. Kaito's brother… what's he doing here? Overwhelmed by the power surge from before, he fell.
"Yamamoto!" said Keisuke, tossing chain cuffs to his comrade. He rushed towards Kazuo and pulled him up. "Take Daichi to Iwa, I will look after the boy."
"He won't be breaking free out of these," Yamamoto muttered and faced Keisuke. "Alright, senpai."
"Before you go..." Keisuke eyed Yamamoto and nodded. "It's begun."
Yamamoto nodded back and left with Daichi.
Meanwhile, Keisuke waited for Kazuo to regain consciousness. This kid though… he was right all along. He stared at the sword thought to be unmovable lying next to its rightful wielder.
"What are you doing?" Kazuo woke up and saw Keisuke struggling to lift Dōjin. He laughed before grabbing his chest in pain. "You can't do it, huh?"
"I can't…" Keisuke chuckled with a hint of perspiration. "That was very reckless of you guys!"
"How'd you find me?"
"When I entered Ishigami, there were no guards at the gate so I assumed most keisatsu went to the explosion. That's where I heard about your arrest…"
"Did you meet the others?"
"No, they'd already been captured by yakuza. I know this is suicide but come, let's go and rescue them," Keisuke offered a hand. "Wait a minute, can you walk?"
"Yes…" Kazuo forced a smile. "That was nothing." He could not hide the cuts on his limbs and torso.
"Alright, but don't overexert yourself."
With Keisuke's help, Kazuo got up and grabbed Dōjin. Using the steel chain across his shoulders, he carried the blade on his back.
They walked to the palace at a slow pace. On arrival, Keisuke and Kazuo stopped a few metres away and observed the scene. The Stone castle was swarming with yakuza and officers carrying firearms.
Keisuke scanned the area. "They're too many."
"So, what do we do? We can't wait here forever."
I always thought Daichi was not the true daimyo... Keisuke rubbed his chin as he conjured a plan. And today just proved it with all these guards here instead of around him. He paused and cleared his throat. "I have an idea."
"What's that?"
"We surrender."
"Ehh?"
"Just follow my lead," said Keisuke, turning to Dōjin. "Oh and... you will have to leave it behind." He led the way, dragging Kazuo like a prisoner.
"Stop right there, officer!" said one of the yakuza at the front entrance. He pointed a pistol at Kazuo. "Who's that?"
"This is one of the delinquents responsible for the explosion, sir. Permission to bring him to Lord Daisuke."
"First, we have to clear him for any weapons." After a thorough search, the guard allowed them entry.
☯
At shōgi, Daisuke was left with two gold generals, a lance, dragon (promoted rook) and three pawns. Takumi had two gold generals, a horse (promoted bishop) and two tokins (promoted pawns).
"So, my dear Takumi, what do you and your team want with my country's national treasure?"
Takumi's gaze remained on the board. He was the undefeated champion back home and that had been his most challenging shōgi match yet. Deep within the Earth Country, he met a formidable opponent. "He's Lord Kazuro's descendant and the rightful owner of Dōjin..."
"The Legendary Sage gifted that sword to Lord Dan. Breaking the treaty would mean war between the Lightning and the Earth regions."
Takumi remained silent.
"I could have him sent to Kurai and get myself a hefty bounty to recover the losses caused by you lot." Daisuke glanced at the board and giggled. "You never had a chance of beating me..."
I wouldn't count my chickens before they hatched, Takumi moved his horse and took Daisuke's lance. "Check."
Daisuke fled his king to safety, "Nice counter."
Just then, the game was interrupted by a guard at the door. "Lord Daisuke, there's an officer requesting an audience with you. He says he has one of the culprits responsible for today's mishaps."
"Oh, is that so? You may let them in," said Daisuke, glancing at Takumi's reaction seeing the two guests enter. "Well, if it isn't the Inazuma prince. You arrived just in time to see Takumi's death."
Takumi kept focused on the game. They played for a few minutes until Daisuke froze. "You've realised it, haven't you?" he finally spoke, fixing his eyeglasses. "There's no escaping it..."
Daisuke's king was cornered, with a single move left before inevitable defeat. He moved his dragon to take out a gold general but it was meaningless.
Takumi dragged his tokin a step forward to a spot where it was protected by his horse. "Checkmate."
Daisuke stood up and tossed the board aside, fuming. The pieces flew all over the floor.
"I hope you stay true to your word..."
"Good game but no one is getting out of here al—" Daisuke felt a knife's edge on his throat.
"Don't even bother… where is my little brother?"
"Little brother? Wait... the peasant boy?" Daisuke sniggered, facing the door. "Guuuaaard!"
Keisuke brought his blade even closer, and a bit of blood trickled down the daimyo's neck. "Stop right there!" he ordered a guard who had entered the room. "If you move any further, your daimyo dies."
The guard froze.
"And you…" Keisuke brought his gaze to Daisuke. "If you say one more word, I will slit your throat." He told Daisuke about Daichi's arrest and their coup d'état. "We've had enough of you yakuza. As I speak, reinforcements are on their way. It's over..."