Chapter 12- Cruel choices

As Satoshi held the Naginata in his hand, he looked at Akechi and said quietly, “We found her.”

Akechi’s eyes widened. “No… it can’t be. But we heard—”

“You only heard,” Satoshi interrupted. “I saw her with my own eyes. A woman in her twenties. Dressed in monk robes. And she had the Naginata.”

Akechi stepped back, uncertainty creeping in. “But… we already have a similar one with us—”

“That might be a fake,” Satoshi said flatly. “We don’t know. But that wasn’t all. I found the boy too. The one we left to die in the fire. He’s alive. Not like those hollow things we keep locked in cages. He has the two-beaded necklace we gave the girl. He has a mind. A soul. He’s not just mindless screaming.”

His voice lowered to a whisper.

“Something is happening beyond us. And we don’t understand it.”Akechi’s face twisted — grief and fear warred in his eyes. He stepped forward and gripped Satoshi’s shoulder. “Where is she? Tell me.”

Satoshi hesitated.

“They escaped.”

Akechi’s voice rose sharply. “What? How could you let them get away?”“I underestimated them,” Satoshi admitted. “I thought they were just kids. But they’re fast. Clever. They’ll be hard to catch... but I know where they’re going.”

Suddenly, a voice shouted from outside the camp.

A boy’s voice.

Kibo.

Yelling to get their attention.

Akechi turned toward the sound. “Is that…?”

Satoshi answered, calm as ever. “The boy you left to die in the fire? Yes.”

“What does he want?” Akechi muttered, almost to himself.

“I don’t know. But she is with him,” Satoshi said. “And I’ll get him to talk. If not…”

“I’ll kill him,” Akechi growled, already turning away.

Satoshi nodded. “Take some soldiers with you. I’ll wait here.”

As Akechi took a squad and stormed off, the camp suddenly exploded into chaos.

Soldiers screamed — “Someone released the dead! They’re escaping!”Akechi spun around, furious. “Damn it! Get them back in the cages — now!”

He turned, eyes burning. “I’ll go after that brat myself.”

As Akechi vanished into the trees, chasing Kibo into the forest, another figure moved within the camp — silent and swift.

Sachiko.

Slipping through the chaos unnoticed, her eyes locked on her goal. Flames danced across tents, casting flickering shadows on the dirt. She moved quickly, focused. Determined.

She reached the weapon rack and reclaimed her Naginata, fingers tightening around the familiar hilt.

Then she spotted a bundle of papers — entry passes to the Capital.
She snatched a few.

But just as she turned to leave… a shadow loomed behind her.

Satoshi.

“Don’t go,” he said softly. “It’s for the best.”

Sachiko froze, then turned, eyes cold. “So you can kill us?”

Satoshi looked almost hurt. “Kill you? For what?”

“I’m not in the mood for talking,” she said, stepping forward. “I’m running out of time.”

But Satoshi’s next words froze her in place.

“You won’t stay… even when your brother asked you to?”

Sachiko stopped dead in her tracks. Slowly, she turned to face him.“What are you talking about?” she asked. “I’m an orphan.”

Satoshi’s voice was low. “If you truly believed that… you would’ve left already.”

Her eyes searched his face, desperate, uncertain.

Satoshi looked down, voice tight with memory. “Akechi — the general who just went after your friend… he’s your brother.”

FLASHBACK

A younger Akechi knelt beside a crying woman — their mother — as a towering man, their clan leader and his father, stood over her.

“She gave birth to a girl,” the man spat. “What a disgrace.”

He turned his fury toward Akechi. “Kill the child.”

Akechi stepped forward, swallowing fear. “I’ll do it.”

The father sneered. “At least you’re good for something.”

Akechi took the infant girl, still wrapped in silk, her tiny hands clutching a sheathed Naginata.

He left the manor without a word.

In the quiet forest, he sat beneath a tree, staring down at the baby.“You did nothing wrong,” he whispered. “You were just born to a damned fool who couldn’t see past his own ego.”

Then, in the distance, he saw a monk walking by — silent, robes swaying.

Akechi stood, clutching the child.

“Please… I know you live by vows. Celibacy. Detachment. But I beg you — raise her. I don’t want her to die because of my father’s hatred. I’ll pay you. Anything.”

The monk frowned. “I forgot… you samurai think everything can be solved with coin.”

Akechi lowered his head. “I’m sorry. I forgot... you monks are not materialistic.”

The monk studied him for a long moment.“What’s her name?”

Akechi hesitated. “She was born to a warrior clan. Blood and steel run through her. Her name is... Sachiko.”

He gently handed over the Naginata. “When the time is right, give her this. And tell her... I’ll come back. Either when that old bastard is dead, or when I’m strong enough to protect her.”

The monk nodded.

As Akechi turned to leave, the monk called out, “What if I don’t want to raise her?”

Akechi didn’t turn back. “Then do what you want. But I will come back when the time is right.”

The monk stood alone.
At a well.The child in his arms.
His hands trembled as he held her over the water.But he couldn’t do it.

He stepped back, clutching the Naginata, and walked toward the temple.
And so, the girl was raised.

Years Later

Akechi returned to that village — older now, harder, his eyes darkened with years of war.

Satoshi walked beside him.

They entered the house of the village’s samurai leader.

“My father’s dead,” Akechi said. “I lead the clan now. I’ve come to take someone back.”

The village head nodded nervously. “We had some chaos last  night. Some madwoman murdered half the village.”

He motioned to his son, standing nearby.

Akechi’s eyes narrowed.

The bratty boy held a Naginata.

“Where did you get that?” Akechi asked, stepping forward.

The boy grinned. “From a crazy woman. She went wild after some monk died. I said they were lovers. Just for fun. She didn’t take my offer, so…”

He never finished the sentence.

Akechi’s blade flashed — the boy’s head hit the floor.

The village head screamed.

Satoshi held him back as Akechi turned, drenched in blood, and roared:“Kill everyone. No mercy.”

Back to the Present

Satoshi’s voice was barely a whisper. “Your brother… on that day, killed the entire clan. Left no one alive. And now you’re here.”He looked at her. “He doesn’t want to lose you again.”

Sachiko stood there, breath shaking, eyes wide.

“I thought… I had no one left,” she whispered.

She turned toward the forest. “But he went after Kibo. Something might happen. I have to go after them.”

She stepped forward.

Then stopped.

Soldiers were surrounding her. Blades drawn. Silent.

Satoshi exhaled slowly. “I tried to explain. I really did. But if you won’t listen… I can’t let you go.”

Sachiko looked up at the sky, her chest tight.

If I don’t move now… my brother or Kibo will die.

She gripped her Naginata.

The wind howled.

And she made her choice.