Prologue: Blood Red Moon
[Now Playing: ~Impersonation~]Twenty years ago...Fire and blood.
The smell of fire and blood filled the air of that dark spring night. The moon, pale white, was tinted red with the dust and smoke, as Sangonomiya Shrine lay ablaze. The clerics of the shrine were in disarray; some lay, unmoving, among the ruins of the hallowed ground, while others fled.
The laws of the Five Kingdoms protected
youkai. Such was the will of the gods, though the decrees of the Landed and Heavenly Chambers helped significantly. But there were many who shirked the laws, and many who did so in secret. For years, the
metsuke of the Imperial Constabulary had been trying to gather evidence against Lord Ashikaga Yoritomo, the head of the Ashikaga Clan, whose proclivities against
youkai were known. Through luck and support, however, the clan had managed to remain with an unsullied reputation to the general public. Yoritomo was careful; a few murders here, a few disappearances there, and not a one would ever suspect him.
Yet there were those who fought against them in the shadows.
"Not today."Multiple Ashikaga men lay defeated, their weapons broken in half by the force of the blows that had struck them. They weren't wearing Ashikaga emblems, but of course they wouldn't; plausible deniability for them, should they be caught, and nothing tied them to the Ashikagas, not physically. The shrine around them was in flames, but these supposed bandits would not get their bounty, not today.
For today, two of the greatest warriors of the Five Kingdoms were here.
The Great Bull of Amatsu, Honda Hiroyuki. The Unsullied Blade, Tokiwa Hitoshi.
Both were here tonight to protect this shrine.
"Honda-sensei, there's a LOT of these bandits. Do you think we can hold them all off?" "Fear not, young Hitoshi! The Bull of Amatsu will not fail today. Not for the sake of these people!"The young red-haired man, Tokiwa Hitoshi, nodded before, with only a brief twitch, he swung his sword upwards to parry a blow from a bandit that had jumped upon him from behind, knocking his blade aside. With a fluid flourish, he slashed across the would-be assailant's chest, sending them down. At the same time, another bandit pounced at the old soldier, but Hiroyuki was ready for him; with the handle of his lance, he caught the attack, before smashing the butt of the polearm directly into his attacker's head with a resounding crack. As his latest target went down, Hiroyuki roared.
"Come with all of your swords and all of your might, you scoundrels! Your hatred...shall never overcome the cause of justice!" "Sensei, we can't hold them here forever. And Ayaka-" "Damnable rascals!" Hiroyuki bellowed, before he ducked, without even looking to see what he had avoided, and swung the his spear at the legs of his most recent attacker, sending him sprawling to the floor.
"Young Hitoshi, go! Find Ayaka. And find that cat youkai that was with her!" "I won't leave you-" "If an old warrior like me should fall in the cause of justice, then it will have been a life well-spent! Now go! Find Ayaka and get her to safety!" After a brief moment more, Hitoshi nodded, sheathing his blade and sprinting towards the middle of the shrine, as more Ashikaga men approached Hiroyuki, swords out.
The old man simply laughed.
"Come! Who shall be next to be gored by the horns of the Great Bull?!"
"I'll kill you."A young man stood alone, surrounded by the burning ruins of all he knew.
In his arms, he held a young woman, her eyes closed, a crimson gash torn through her white priestess robes. Her dark hair fell in a curtain across his arms.
It was all he could do to keep from shaking, to keep her close.
Everything he knew was burning around him, but all that mattered to him in the world - what was left of it - was in his arms.
"I'll kill you."Before him, Lord Ashikaga Yoritomo waited calmly, his sword by his side.
"Come then, beast. Did you think you could get away so easily, daring to taint one of our kind? You should have known better. Sangonomiya no Ayaka...she was better than any human was worth. Let alone one of yours." "For her....for everyone she protected...how dare you?!"The nobleman simply laughed.
"I spared her a fate worse than death. Could you imagine the embarassment? The...horror? Her marrying one of...you. Her bearing a mongrel child-"
"Shut UP!"In a flash, the youth dropped Ayaka's body and charged at him, his body warping in size and shape, muscle and fur covering him and changing his shape until he resembled a gigantic, monstrous cougar-like monster, snarling in rage, pupilless eyes glowing yellow from fire-red fur.
"The beast's true form shows itself. Very well. Come. Fight me."As the youkai pounced upon Yoritomo, both of them ignored a small pair of glinting lights in the shadows, disappearing into the night.
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Topic: FEF: Chains of Horai Redux IC Thread: Chapter 1: The Maiden and The Demon Cat (Read 1886 times)