Howdy, folks.
Great news! But also kind of bad news? I got distracted and deviated away from keeping the War Cloud arc of DbEG as my priority. The good news is that I focused my energy on Book of Betrayal Part 2 of Senkumo War Stories and it's 99% complete. Only one chapter is left. Betrayal Part 2 is going to be the biggest book in the SWS series, standing at 51 chapters in total. Blossoming had 16 chapters and Betrayal Part 1 had 28.
I did some pretty major re-working with this. Betrayal Part 2 was initially supposed to be three separate books, but it ended up being one big one. The ideas from Book of Azaleas and Book of Phantoms merged with the chapters already posted here. I re-did the fall of the Senkumo clan, since it was rather anti-climactic in the MR chapters. The new chapters shows Amaterasu's manipulation of Bishamon and rearranges events so that the clan is actually still around after Tsukiakari is killed in the catacombs beneath Oyamatsumi's shrine. Bishamon begins his systematic destruction of the Senkumo clan and closes in on Tsukiakari's base, leaving Chiya, Inori, Goro and one other person very little time to get the reincarnated and unconscious Tsukiakari to safety.
This chapter picks up at Taeko's final days, and then skips over to the 16th century.
Spoiler
And so the morning came, but there was still no light for Taeko. Feeling as if she was drifting in and out of sleep every three seconds, she desperately crawled her way over the door, tiring herself out just from doing that much. Her breathing was deep, but severely slowed down, and every breath she exhaled seemed to be getting colder. She planted her hands on the locked, wooden doors to the prayer room, exerting all of her strength to try and open them.
"Please...open!"
The door refused to budge even the slightest bit. After giving it her last push, Taeko fell to the side, knocking her temple against the cold, stone floor. She could feel the curse of the Mu-Onna spreading further through her body, burning through her veins like gasoline. Every breath she took stung her lungs, and the nerves in the tips of her dirtied fingers tingled endlessly.
"Tsuki...akari...forgive me..."
The curse had eaten away at three quarters of her body. Very little time remained for her.
Tsukiakari and Izanami went together to Inari's shrine, hopeful that she may know something. After all, she had better scouting and searching capabilities than either of them. Walking with Izanami during that somber, summer day, Tsukiakari's eyes gazed blankly at her feet scuffling along the dirt path beneath the green shade of forest. Izanami's voice snapped her right out of it.
"Tsukiakari?"
"My bad...I was drifting off into space."
"Are you sure you're okay? This all must be difficult for you to process." Izanami said.
"It just...feels like Yachi's disappearance all over again, except its far worse. At least with Yachi, there were clues we could follow, witnesses we could talk to. For Taeko to just disappear without a single trace, it shows she really was attacked by gods. Not even someone like the Man in Black could abduct Yachi without leaving at least one clue. And he had Kagutsuchi aiding him every step of the way."
"Tsukiakari..."
Izanami could see it on Tsukiakari's face. The pained realization that her own uncle lied to her about the previous attempt to kill Taeko. Amaterasu had all but lost her mind last time she saw her. Izanami was an imposter, and Kagutsuchi tried very hard to murder Tsukiakari. It seemed there wasn't a single member of her family that Tsukiakari could trust anymore.
"Do you know why I ran from Heaven, Izanami?" Tsukiakari asked. "It's not just because my mother was abusive. It's not just because my father was locked away. It was because I was the princess of Heaven, and yet, I was so insignificant. I was nothing more than the title I inherited. I wasn't a person or a little girl. I was the future of the pantheon, a monarch in waiting. I realized that after my mother tried to strangle me that night. I used to hate my mother for that. I couldn't understand how she could be so cold-hearted. But now, after all these years, I think I understand what made her that way."
Izanami listened intently as Tsukiakari continued spilling her heart. "Imagine going your whole life trying to fit your feet in the shoes of a construct. My mother had to become the phantom glory of Heaven. The gods had this shared idea of who the monarch of the pantheon should be, how she should act and behave. My mother discarded the person she truly was to become the person her fellow gods wanted. Initially, I felt like I was doing the same thing in the early days of the Senkumo clan. It's no wonder the men weren't very appreciative of me at first."
"But they all grew to love you." Izanami said.
"Exactly. They grew to love me for who I was. The key to winning that affection wasn't aspiring to meet the expectations of the title I held, but by allowing them to see me for who I truly was. Bishamon had always told me not to let that happen, to be more austere in how I present myself to my men. I couldn't do that. I couldn't stand firm when I saw so many men, women, and children lay down their lives for me and their fellow Senkumo. I couldn't hide my heartbreak when I looked into their eyes during the plague outbreak. We all cared for each other and loved one another. I don't think the gods can say the same about my mother."
Izanami kept her mouth shut, as she was just as guilty as anyone else for helping create the cold-hearted Amaterasu they all knew.
"Considering all of that...I no longer feel any anger when I think about her." Tsukiakari said. "I just feel sad for her. Now, I find myself slowly becoming more like her. The more people I lose, the colder I feel myself becoming. It feels like I've done all of this work for nothing. Maybe the Man in Black was right. Maybe I'll become just like him. In the end, it'll all come full circle and I'll die as insignificant as when I began."
"Look at you." Izanami said, tears swelling in her eyes. "Bishamon tried to make a monster out of a sweet, little girl. He thought he had found his demon of war. Little did he realize that he had taken in one of the only kindhearted, loving people left in Heaven. That's why you're so loved by your men, Gekko. For god's sake, you were the one person between both of our worlds that still had a heart."
The empathetic goddess of death caressed Tsukiakari's shoulder as she cried into her hands, her sharp inhales muffled beyond her palm.
When they finally arrived at Inari's shrine, any shred of hope any of them had of finding Taeko was dashed away. Inari had sent out every single one of her loyal foxes to search around the area Taeko was abducted and found nothing. All that remained was the burnt rubble of Taeko's former home, and several blast craters nearby. The substantial damage to the surrounding area was all the confirmation they needed to know that a god was involved. Given the close proximity of the incident to Oyamatsumi's shrine, Tsukiakari's uncle was a solid suspect. But therein lied the problem. Izanami wasn't allowed to lay a finger on Oyamatsumi ever since he was released from custody by Amaterasu. Fujin and Raijin had all but disappeared, probably occupied with War Council preparations in Heaven. The only other lead that could've exposed the other gods involved was Bishamon, and he had successfully honey'd his fellow gods with his Shinto-style marriage to Ichiki. With both leads shielded by Heaven, the search for Taeko was dead before it even started. There was nothing any of them could do.
Inari and Izanami continued searching for Taeko for months, but turned up nothing each time. The months turned into years, and the years into decades. The Senkumo clan continued to forge their own destiny in the Warring States era, fighting with some clans, allying with others. More and more Senkumo bases began propping up around the country, bringing in money, men, and most importantly, prayers. Goro, Inori, and Chiya were still around, acting as an elder ring of leadership around Tsukiakari. Many old faces in the clan passed away, while new a new generation of soldiers began to occupy space with the old guard. Of course, the decades had no affect on Tsukiakari whatsoever. She looked and performed the same as she always did.
The landscape of the war changed in those decades, and Tsukiakari was going to discover why. Bishamon had instructed her to come down to the shores of the Isa province one summer day. She arrived on the pale sands of Isa's coast, dismounting her horse and marching over to Bishamon, who stood just out of the blue ocean's reach. Both of them wore white versions of the traditional Senkumo robes, a decision made to help combat the absurdly hot temperatures of the summer and keep their troops cool.
Hearing Tsukiakari's footsteps in the sand, Bishamon turned his head towards her. "You made it, Gekko."
"I had to ride quite a long way from Yamashiro in the sweltering heat for this." Tsukiakari groaned.
"Well then, I do hope you're enjoying this lovely, ocean breeze we're getting." Bishamon laughed. "We're actually going to build another base in this region soon. Having bases on the coast will allow us to develop a naval presence in the war. It'll be a boon for trade and transport as well."
Tsukiakari sighed, laying her scarlet eyes among the sapphire blue waters before her. "I'm half tempted to strip down and jump in."
"Be my guest." Bishamon said. "We still have a while to wait."
"What exactly are we here for, anyway? You haven't given me the specifics."
"I have something to show you, Gekko. I promise it'll be like nothing you've ever seen before. Until then, go ahead and go swimming, if you want." Bishamon said, sitting down on the shore.
"Alright then, if you say so."
Tsukiakari stripped herself naked and submerged herself in the cool, ocean waters of Isa. Families of grey pelicans sat themselves on the shore, while others hovered above the ocean in search of food. The beach was just wonderful enough for both gods and animals to enjoy. After a while of cooling down and relaxing, Bishamon called out to Tsukiakari from the shore.
"Gekko! It's here! Look!"
Tsukiakari scanned the entire shore but saw nothing. "Look at what?"
"Towards the ocean!"
She turned around and finally saw what he was talking about. Just as Bishamon promised, Tsukiakari was left awestruck. A massive ship, indeed like nothing she had ever seen before, sailed towards the shores of Isa. The wind tugged along the ship's expansive, white sails, bringing the wooden behemoth closer to land. Tsukiakari returned to the beach, her eyes still fixated on the magnificent ship in the distance.
"I've never seen a ship like that in my life! Whose is that?" Tsukiakari asked.
"Ships like these have begun popping up all across the shores of Japan. They're foreigners from a land called Europe. It's a continent far away, home to many powerful empires and civilizations. They have entire fleets of ships this size."
"They're foreigners?" Tsukiakari questioned. "Wait, then doesn't that mean..."
Bishamon nodded. "Yes. Just as we predicted, there are vampires among them. Remember when I first told you about them, all those years ago, when you were just starting out? Well, the time has come. They're here at our shores. This boat in particular is no cause for worry, though. I've arranged a deal with these foreigners. They're going to sell us some weapons."
"What kind of weapons? We'd be better off buying a ship, if anything." Tsukiakari said.
"The ships aren't for sale." Bishamon replied. "But they are selling something else."
As the ship got closer, Tsukiakari could make out the blood-red cross decorating the sails. She knew this exchange between foreign powers was a double-edged sword, and the scales were demonstrably tipped against Japan. If these foreign empires possessed such amazing technology on their own, she couldn't imagine what they could do to the nation with the help of the vampires.
The ship anchored a fair distance away from shore. A smaller boat was loaded with men and crates of supplies and then lowered down to the ocean. These men wore armor pieces made of iron over their colorful, striped tunics. They wore stylized beards and moustaches. As their boats dragged across the sand, the men unloaded the crates of supplies while others pulled the boat closer to shore, so that it wouldn't get carried away by the water. Now that everyone had their feet on the ground, Tsukiakari saw how much taller they stood than the average Japanese person, including herself. She had never felt smaller in her life. Only Bishamon stood at around the same height as the foreigners.
"Tsukiakari." Bishamon coughed.
"Yeah?"
"Modesty, please."
Tsukiakari realized she was still naked. She quickly grabbed her robes and dressed herself back up, her cheeks reddened from embarrassment. Bishamon greeted one of the men with a smile, a handshake, and surprisingly, a greeting in the Portuguese language. Tsukiakari stood off to the side, realizing she was completely out of place there. She couldn't understand a word Bishamon or the other foreigners said.
After a few minutes of back and forth in a completely different language, the foreigners brought forth one of the crates from their boat, busting it open with pry bars. Tsukiakari took a curious glance at the crate's contents, only to be completely perplexed. These weapons Bishamon spoke us looked like giant sticks.
"Bisha...what are these?"
"Matchlocks rifles." Bishamon replied.
Bishamon smiled before asking a favor of the Portuguese men in their language. They took one of the weapons from the crate and walked towards the tree line. Bishamon offered to demonstrate the effectiveness of the bizarre weapon to Tsukiakari. He was given a powder horn and poured a small amount of gunpowder into the rifle's flash pan. Then, a different powder was poured directly down the metal barrel of the rifle. He then withdrew the ramrod situated beneath the barrel and, as the name would suggest, rammed the rod down the barrel. Next, he was given a small fuse and fixed it to the rifle's clamp, or serpentine, as it was called. One of the Portuguese lit the end of the fuse protruding past the serpentine and towards the rifle's flash pan, which was covered by the pan lid.
With the fuse lit, Bishamon held the rifle up to his shoulder, taking aim at one of the trees ahead. He opened the flash pan lid, pulled on the lever beneath the rifle, and fired. The result was a loud, explosion-like sound that made Tsukiakari jump in fright. A plume of white smoke drifted off from the rifle, flowing into Tsukiakari's face. The Portuguese men laughed and cheered for Bishamon's successful shot.
"Gekko, go take a look at that tree." Bishamon chuckled.
Tsukiakari did just that, and her eyes widened in amazement. The rifle had punched a hole into the tree's branch, a hole that could've just as easily pierced through the armor of any Japanese army. Bishamon said a few words to the Portuguese and handed them a closed sack of goods, the contents of which were unknown to Tsukiakari. He then sauntered over to the stunned war goddess with a very pleased smile on his face.
"Imagine what these could do to the average foot soldier on the field." Bishamon said. "The foreigners discovered something called gunpowder. When met with a spark, it creates an explosive reaction. They eventually came to the conclusion that if they used that explosive force as a propellent, they could launch things, big and small, over a great distance. And thus, they created rifles. These things use the propulsion from gunpowder to fire balls of lead at their target. The gunpowder launches them with such great force that they can punch through armor and kill the man wearing it. Chemistry is a beautiful thing, isn't it?"
"It seems...impractical." Tsukiakari said, replaying the loading process of the rifle in her head. "In the time it took you to do that, you could've easily been rushed by the average foot soldier."
"Indeed, if it were just one man firing this, that would be a problem. But what do you think would happen if it were a line of fifty soldiers, all kneeling as they fired off their rounds at the same time?" Bishamon asked. "Behind them would be another line of fifty soldiers, firing in a standing position. After those two lines fire, they cycle behind another pair of lines, alternating between firing and reloading. That's a hundred rounds per volley slamming through enemy armor and picking off a good number of front line troops before they even meet our forces."
Thinking of it like that, Tsukiakari immediately saw how these new weapons could prove revolutionary on the battlefield.
"More importantly, since they're easy to use, anyone can be trained to become a rifleman. This would allow us to recruit and train more men at a much faster rate. If we use rifles and traditional weapons in tandem, we can raise armies capable of outranging enemy archers, thinning out incoming troops, and then engaging the weakened force with swords and spears." Bishamon explained. "Weapons like these are popping up all over Japan now. Even our old friends, the Otomo clan, has them. We need to keep up with technological advancements like this, Gekko. Introducing this into our army, plus building a few naval bases? We'll be a force to be reckoned with."
"But...if we help proliferate these weapons across the country, won't these foreigners keep coming? That means the vampires will come in greater numbers as well. These men have weapons and vessels that clearly outmatch our own, and we're inviting them here with open arms by giving them a line of revenue." Tsukiakari reasoned. "What if they overstep their boundaries?"
Bishamon put his index finger to his temple. "Gekko, it's all going to plan. Everything. Just trust me."
And so, rifles were brought to Japan, signaling the arrival of the long awaited enemy of Heaven, the vampires. Already, they had proven to be extremely formidable. They saw Japan was flogged by war and filled to the brim with power-hungry lords fighting a never-ending battle to rule the country. They got the humans to accept their arrival by selling them superior weapons, thus creating trade partnerships between their empires and the various clans of Japan. Even Bishamon, an enemy of the vampires, couldn't resist their offer. It was a brilliant move, a masterstroke of strategy that not even Tsukiakari could've concocted.
Knowing that, she left Isa province feeling incredibly uneasy about the future.
A few weeks passed. The robed and distinguished gods of Heaven all filed out of the War Council's meeting room, filling the already noisy halls with their chatter of military matters and concerns. Bishamon however, remained in that room with Amaterasu, closing the door behind the departing lords and returning to the wooden long table. A row of windows behind Bishamon's set allowed for the sunlight to streak across the room, glaring off of the polished, wooden table. Amaterasu remained in her central seat, her fingers tented.
Amaterasu closed her eyes. "Congratulations on your promotion, Bishamon. I hope you'll serve Heaven well as our new Divine General.
Bishamon graciously bowed his head. "I thank you for the opportunity, Lady Amaterasu. I understand this is a crucial time for our pantheon and country. I will not fail."
Amaterasu stood up on her silent feet, slowly pacing around the room as she traced her fingers across the table. The goddess made such simple movement look like a work of art. "All these emptied seats...just moments ago, they held the bottoms of my most trusted advisers and generals. But there will come a time when these seats will be emptied for good."
"I beg your pardon?" Bishamon said.
"I'm talking about Death." Amaterasu replied. "Gods fear it much more than humans. When this pantheon merged with you Buddhist deities, the existence of a god become completely reliant on their popularity. Otherwise, a god may die and never reincarnate. It's a natural consequence of two pantheons joining into one. Similar gods have to compete to achieve their place, and gods who are archaic and outmoded are cycled out."
"Yes...that's the natural order of things." Bishamon replied, clearing his throat.
"The gods who sat before me today are not my comrades. They're not my supporters, nor my allies." Amaterasu sneered. "They greet me with flinching smiles and sweating palms, hoping I say 'Good Day' to them instead of giving them their last respects. They're all doomed to become desperate elements of Heaven, a faction so fixated on prolonging their lives that they would resort to the worst acts a god could ever commit. Upon this realization...I snapped. I wanted to find a way to strengthen our pantheon while also speeding up the removal of most of its current members."
Amaterasu turned her furious eyes to Bishamon, staring daggers at him. The war god suddenly went pale, bearing an absolutely horrified expression on his face.
"Did you think you could fool me, Bishamon? Did you think I had no idea what you were doing when you took my princess, my beautiful daughter under your wing?"
Decades after Bishamon thwarted Izanami's plans, he now realized that Amaterasu merely let him think he had evaded punishment.
"Amaterasu..."
"I will hear no more of your poison, Bishamon. I knew exactly what you were doing. I knew exactly what the Senkumo clan was. I know that you plotted with other gods to exploit the lives of humans to extend your own lives. You used my daughter as a tool to expand the influence of this pantheon. You had her murder and butcher her way through hell on earth. You aren't sitting in that chair because you're clever. You didn't earn your promotion through your serpentine, political maneuvering and lies. You're sitting there because I have allowed you to live and get this far."
Beads of sweat rolled down Bishamon's temple. "Why didn't you stop me?"
Amaterasu smiled "Because you satisfied every other member of this pantheon. Your heinous actions not only made us stronger, but they prevented copy cats from trying the same thing. You weren't the only god that had the idea of manipulating the era of strife consuming the country. The other gods would've taken up similar projects had you not been the first and only to do so. But because you did it, they all followed you and your leadership. With you being so close to me, it was easy to keep an eye on whoever else joined on your side. Why would I ruin such a great setup? So some other god far out from my reach could do the same thing as you? You led me right to them. You collected them for me. That's why I allowed you to continue."
Amaterasu sat on the table itself, right in front of Bishamon. "So, thank you for strengthening the pantheon, in spite of us bleeding members. Thank you for gathering all of the desperate elements of Heaven under your close leadership. Here's what's going to happen now. Oyamatsumi, Hachiman, Raijin, and Fujin. They will all be expelled from this council. You will remain Divine General, and you will do exactly as I tell you to."
"Just what are you plotting?" Bishamon asked.
Amaterasu chuckled. "We're finally going to initiate the end of the Warring States era. We'll do it my way. Ultimately, I think we can use your military talents to further help this pantheon. There's a project I've drafted over the years. It's my vision for this pantheon and Japan as a whole. It's my strategy for ending the war on earth, beating back the vampires, and securing peace and stability for both gods and mortals. Uzume will give you the specifics at a later date."
Amaterasu stood up, looking down upon the sweating, fuming Bishamon. "Poor you. You worked so hard just to become my little lapdog."
Without further word, Amaterasu walked away and departed from the room. Bishamon was left petrified by Amaterasu's fearsome cunning. The tables had turned against him. No, they were always against him. It was his punishment for believing he could deceive Amaterasu while still being right under her nose.
Spoiler
Tsukiakari bowed before Bishamon in his sanctuary, which had been slightly renovated since then. Treasured matchlock rifles and old swords of his hung on the walls, and now both sides of the room were fitted with sliding doors, allowing more indirect light to seep in and illuminate the area. It made for a brighter, livelier space, a far cry from the earlier days of the Senkumo clan. Now, every base had much more space than anyone knew what to do with.
"Will he be a problem, Bishamon?" Tsukiakari asked.
"Problem? No, not at all." Bishamon replied. "In fact, we should all be thanking him. Oda Nobunaga...if he keeps going at his current rate, he'll probably manage to unify Japan and bring an end to this strife between lords, peoples, and clans. With him, the Senkumo's dream of cutting the weeds will actually be realized in the near future."
"Really?"
Bishamon smiled. "You seem shocked. Surely you knew that, someday, we'd be able to see the light at the end of the tunnel, right?"
"I'm just...glad, I guess." Tsukiakari stammered. "I was starting to wonder if all of our efforts were going to waste. All of this lasted so much longer than I thought it would, but...it's really...almost over?"
"If we continue to help Oda, it sure will be."
Oda Nobunaga had fought many intense battles with the underhanded help of the Senkumo clan. Specifically, he had used Tsukiakari to carry out many missions involving espionage and assassinations. Though he was brutal in his tactics, Nobunaga was greatly responsible for helping create a clear path to end the Sengoku period. Just as Bishamon said, with him, there was light at the end of the tunnel.
That night, Tsukiakari was back in Kyoto, visitng Oda Nobunaga at Hono-ji, a Buddhist temple of the Nichiren branch. It was surreal visiting the city again, as it was considered as the ground zero of the Warring States. Now, it seemed that it might be the place where that long period of strife and warfare would end.
Tsukiakari walked around the temple grounds with Nobunaga, whose deep and rugged voice felt like a serrated knife against her ears. He had the tall posture and presence of one who had fought many battles, an aura that Tsukiakari herself was very familiar with. As such, the two garnered a sort of respect for each other and their accomplishments in war. Much of Nobunaga's head was bald, but the hair on the very back of his head was tied into a small pony tail.
"I wanted to thank you for your service, Tsukiakari. I know I asked so much of you these past eighteen years." Nobunaga said.
"I'm just happy things have been going so well for you. Many of us are tired of all of this fighting." Tsukiakari said.
"Soon enough, unity will be restored to this great country. It will only take a little bit more time, and perhaps a little bit more blood." Nobunaga snickered.
They stopped, resting their arms on the wooden railing of the porch and gazing up at the moon together. The distant rock was unveiled by the clouds that previously occulted it.
"I wanted to provide you with a much more tangible form of thanks, however." Nobunaga said.
Confused, Tsukiakari turned her eyes towards Oda. "Huh? What do you mean?"
"You mentioned a while ago...your friend, Taeko Akiyama..."
Tsukiakari was almost scared to hear what he had to say. "...Yes?"
"A little while ago, I commissioned some miners to begin work around the area you said Taeko disappeared. Now that we have gunpowder, our miners can blow holes in caves if they need to dig a little deeper. They went through with one such controlled explosion a few days ago. They said they had come across a man-made door beyond the rocky walls."
Tsukiakari's eyes widened in curiosity. "A...door?"
"There's an underground structure in that area, not far from Oyamatsumi's shrine. They did open it, but they didn't go very far in. It seemed the path they discovered beyond the door led beneath the lake itself. They said they thought the structure was a catacomb of some sort. There were human bones lining the walls."
So many thoughts raced through Tsukiakari's head, and so many feelings through her heart. Oyamatsumi said nothing of catacombs beneath his shrine on the lake. It had been so almost eight decades since Taeko disappeared. She was supposed to have been long dead by the time Nobunaga discovered the underground structure. But if there was even the slightest chance that Taeko, somehow, survived that ordeal, it was Tsukiakari's duty to help her. Though it pained her to acknowledge this, she she would need Izanami's help. They had spoken very little in the decades since Taeko's abduction. A rift remained between them following the whole Kagutsuchi affair. Still, rift or no rift, Izanami would be able to tell if Taeko had passed on already or not. Not only that, but if other gods were involved in her disappearance, Izanami would be able to fight them in the event of a confrontation.
Reconnecting with Izanami was a small price to pay to save Taeko.
"Oda! I intend to conduct a search for Taeko. Is that alright?" Tsukiakari asked.
"If you truly believe your friend is down there, I won't stop you. Do as you please, just don't destroy the mines."
Tsukiakari bowed in gratitude. "Thank you so much! You have no idea how much this means to me! I'm very sorry, but I've got to go now!"
Just as she was about to run off in an excited hurry, Oda's sharp voice called out to her. "Tsukiakari!"
Oda smiled, perhaps one of the only times Tsukiakari had ever even seen him smile. "Be well, my friend. One day, you can go back to your normal life."
Tsukiakari nodded, keeping those words of comfort close to her heart. "Thanks, Oda."
Her eagerness to rescue Taeko made Tsukiakari's veins feel like live electrical cables. She knew the first thing I had to do was contact Inari and Izanami. The following night, Tsukiakari returned to her base on horseback. Upon stopping at the base's gates, Tsukiakari was startled to bump into Bishamon, Ichiki, and their two, infant children. Bishamon held his little baby girl, while Ichiki cradled the baby boy, her eyes lit with joy to find Tsukiakari there.
"Tsukiakari! It's been months since I last saw you!" Ichiki chirped.
"Ah, hello Gekko." said Bishamon.
Tsukiakari dismounted her horse, completely taken off guard by their presence. "What are you two doing here? Well, I get why Bishamon would be here but what are you doing here, Ichiki?!"
Ichiki feigned an offended gasp. "Oh, so I'm not allowed to visit you?"
"Hehehe, no...of course I didn't mean that..." Tsukiakari nervously stammered.
"I wanted to give her and the kids a tour of the Senkumo mansions. They wanted to see them while they still had the chance." Bishamon explained.
His choice of words left Tsukiakari perplexed. "Still had the chance? Is something happening?"
"Well, since Nobunaga seems to be progressing well on his own, I figured it's time for the Senkumo to minimize operations." Bishamon explained. "All bases will be rolling back their standing armies as we shift over to our post-war strategy. The war is no longer being fought across the whole country, between various different clans. The battles are contained to a much smaller area and fought between a handful of powerful players that survived the era just like we did. That means there are going to be a lot of towns that will need help rebuilding the damage from the war. That's where we step in, providing resources and labor to help build all those towns anew."
"Seriously? How long until the shift goes into effect?" Tsukiakari asked.
"Immediately." Bishamon answered. "I wanted to tell you earlier, but you hadn't returned from Kyoto yet. The troops are already throwing celebrations parties in honor of the Senkumo clan's history. Honestly, they're pretty drunk and rowdy right about now, but for now. They all worked very hard to make this day possible."
"Wow...I didn't think it would happen so fast...that's great! Really..." Tsukiakari cheered. "It just seems sudden. Didn't we just buy a whole bunch of rifles?"
"Part of post-war reconstruction is security, Gekko." Bishamon replied. "Bandits and thieves will expect carriages to roll through damaged towns, carrying money and resources with them. The guns will still come in handy. We just won't need to use all of them."
Tsukiakari nodded, understanding exactly where he was coming from. "Yeah, you have a point there. I didn't really think of it like that."
"I won't hold you up any longer. Go and be with your men. I have to get back to my base and start preparing." Bishamon said.
"Of course. Thank you, Bishamon." Tsukiakari bowed. "You gave me a home and family after what happened with my father. I can't thank you enough for that. It's been one hell of a ride up to this point, but we're finally here."
Bishamon patted Tsukiakari's head with a smile. "Indeed it has. I couldn't have done it without you. Thank you, Gekko."
"Well then, we'll be on our way. Do come by again, Gekko!" Ichiki said with a wink. "It's so much fun when you're with me!"
Tsukiakari waved goodbye as they disappeared down the road, greatly relieved at the monumental news. Though she intended to go back to base and rest, Tsukiakari couldn't get her mind off of Taeko. She was far too excited to stop now. Moving on from the base, Tsukiakari made her way up to Inari's shrine on top of the hill. Even up into the late hours of the night, Inari was still sorting through all of the prayers and wishes she was receiving from the general public like a teacher tirelessly grading her student's work. By candle light, she painstakingly went through every single wish, be it wise or stupid.
'Give me bigger boobs'?! 'Make me rich!'?! Ahhh! So many of these are absolute garbage!" Inari cried. "Sorry ma'am, but genetics didn't favor you! Deal with your flat chest! Of course I can't make you rich, you idiot! For the amount you're asking, you'll probably make our currency worthless! Ah, here's a nice one! Please watch over my ill mother, Inari. Will do, little one!"
"Hey."
Inari screamed and threw her wish plaques in the air, absolutely spooked by Tsukiakari's sudden entrance into the shrine.
"Gekko! At least ring the bell outside or knock! You nearly killed me!"
Tsukiakari raised her eyebrows in confusion. "Uhmm...what are you doing?"
Inari sighed as she reorganized the plaques, her tails swaying left and right around her like lotus flower petals. "Well, I've really exploded in popularity these past few decades, so I have to work late in the night to sort through these prayers and wishes. It's tiring, but I'm glad I've gotten so popular through sheer virtue alone. You know, Gekko, ever since that Oda guy has been bringing peace back to more regions of the country, these wishes have gotten more...mundane, instead of violent or miserable. It's like people are going back to their normal lives and their normal worries."
"I guess you're right, huh? Bishamon is even minimizing the standing armies of the Senkumo clan." Tsukiakari stated. "We're switching over to our post-war strategy. Looks like we won't be fighting anymore battles. The war is pretty much over for us."
"Really? Is that really true?"
"Yeah. Crazy, isn't it? I feel like I've come so far with the clan, I almost don't want to stop fighting. But the men are taking the news very well. You could hear the partying and the singing over the walls."
"I'm so glad to hear that, Gekko! That's wonderful news!"
"Yeah, but...that's actually not what I came here to talk about. Inari, can you summon Izanami here? She needs to hear this too."
Inari nodded."Okay, sure."
With just a simple prayer, Izanami came to the shrine within a half hour. She flung open the sliding door and stopped in her tracks upon seeing Tsukiakari. Everyone was trapped in a moment of awkward silence as Izanami grew visibly flustered near Tsukiakari. Her downcast eyes and needless fixing of her hair proved how uncomfortable she was.
"Gekko..." Izanami muttered.
"Izanami." Tsukiakari responded. "It's been a while."
Izanami nodded. "Yeah."
"I assume you've been well." Tsukiakari said.
"I guess so." Izanami shrugged. "Listen, Gekko, about what happened back then...I'm sorry."
Tsukiakari sighed, seeking to end this awkward confrontation. "It's going to take a lot more than an apology if you want me to forgive you. That's not what we called you over here for. I received a tip from Oda about Taeko. There's an underground structure situated beneath the lake of Oyamatsumi's shrine, the same area Taeko disappeared."
"Underground?!" Izanami recoiled.
Tsukiakari nodded. "Yeah, the miners who saw it said it looked like a catacomb. I think it's worth checking out."
"Izanami, are you sure you didn't feel Taeko die?" Inari asked. "You didn't see her in the House of Souls? If she's still alive she'd be an old lady but now."
Izanami shook her head. "No, I didn't feel anything, and I kept checking the House of Souls for her, but he never showed up! There's no sign whatsoever that Taeko died."
"Do you...do you think she's in there?" Inari asked with a cold shiver shooting down her spine.
"I wanted to go tomorrow to see if she really was there." Tsukiakari said.
"Why not right now? It would be easier for us to get in undetected if we did it now. It's the perfect time of night." Inari suggested.
"I agree." Izanami said. "We should head there now, Tsukiakari. Oda's miners discovered the entrance to the catacombs, right? If the entrance is still exposed, it means Oyamatsumi hasn't discovered it yet. It's best we go there before he has a chance to seal it up again. The only way to know what really happened is to go there. There's no reason to wait."
They left Tsukiakari no time to prepare her for what awaited her down there, but if Taeko was still alive after all of these years, then perhaps nothing would.
Ultimately, Tsukiakari came to agree with the goddesses. "Alright. Let's go"
Poll
