Keeping the Home Fires Burning

Doctor Kyoko Fujiwara checked her hospital's networks for what felt like the hundredth time as she clocked out of her shift before heading home. Part of her hoped to find any glimmer of new information, but at the same time, she just as much dreaded the possibility of seeing it as well. With each passing day, week, and month, the odds of finding a missing person grew slimmer until it had become almost a statistical impossibility, something the police who had taken the missing report those months ago had done their best not to say out load.

It had been the worst moment in time for their family. Isamu Fujiwara had been the first to arrive, sobering up instantly at the shocking sight of seeing his home in ruins and dead bodies strewn about. He was already in a frantic call with the police, just as his wife Kyoko arrived and nearly burst into tears at the sight.

The next few hours were every parent's worst nightmare imaginable; Akiko wasn't found among the deceased, which suggested all sorts of possibilities, none of which were good. Hours stretched into the night as the news grew worse with each passing day. It soon came to light that Akiko's best friends, Keiko Chiba and Masako Minamoto, were also missing, with scant clues on where they could have gone.

Compounding the torment was the presence of dead bodies at the scene of the crime. No one could explain their presence, and they didn't match any of the known criminals or gangs known by the police. Even worse was the lingering mystery, who had killed these men and why? Was it the same parties who had taken their girl? A different criminal; perhaps one even worse than these six? And how was it related to Keiko's and Masako's disappearance, assuming it even was? There was no proof of that, but the fact that all three girls disappeared on the very same night only a few minutes after a phone call and a text message was logged between them seemed to suggest something sinister was afoot.

After nearly two months, the Fujiwaras broke their silence and went to social media in the hopes of anyone coming forward with information regarding their daughter or her friends. Rumors and interviews with the school and her classmates began filtering out, discussing all the possibilities, ranging from kidnapping to trafficking and worse. Very few entertained the notion that the girls simply ran away, as all three were popular and well-liked, with their sudden disappearance sending shockwaves throughout the school. Unfortunately, none of these led to answers.

In the end, it was all they could do to go on with the shattered pieces of their lives, occasionally finding sympathy with the Chiba and Minamoto families in their shared grief. Each morning, the parents would go through the motions of preparing to leave for work, attend their jobs, putting on a brave public face, even though by this point, most of their friends and co-workers all knew about their tragedy and silently nodded in acknowledgement. Both couldn't help but wonder... what if we were there that evening, would it have made a difference? Of course, it was impossible to know for sure, but the nagging thoughts refused to go away.

Just then, there was a knock at their door. Isamu sighed and put his drink down as he headed to the door. In the past, he would have been at the local izakya with the rest of his office coworkers, but these last few months, he had made a conscious effort to try and be home to support his wife more often in their time of grief. The irritation of the intrusion at this late hour briefly interrupted his morose feelings. "Who is it?" he demanded, somewhat more rudely than his usual polite self, the alcohol stripping away his normal etiquette.

"Mr. and Mrs. Fujiwara?" came a mysterious voice. "We have information about your daughter."

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Akiko swung her iaitos around her body in rhythm as Masako watched with a critical eye, occasionally stopping her to correct her form, while Hiromi and Hiroshi looked on with interest.

"How does being a few centimeters off change things in a combat situation?"

"It doesn't, per se," Masako clarified. "What we're trying to develop is your muscle memory, so you'll be able to execute any of these strikes from any stance and do so without losing your balance or having to think about it. Executing a kesagiri from a jōdan-no-kamae might not matter if you're slightly off. Doing it slightly off from a gedan-no-kamae and you'll be in trouble and leave yourself wide open on your way up. Also, watch your footwork. Power and speed start at your base along with balance. Don't rely on just a few stances; you've got to be able to flow from one to the next seamlessly especially in combat."

"Did Captain Fujiwara or Prince Minamoto have to go through all this?" Akiko said carelessly, but then immediately regretted it when she saw Masako's reaction. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that..."

"D-don't worry about it," Masako said with a sigh. "It happened... and it's something we'll both have to deal with eventually... but not now," she insisted before turning to leave.

Akiko was about to go after her when Hiromi stopped her. "Give her time. Some things need to be resolved on their own. You of all people know what it's like, wrestling with another life in your recent memory. I'm sure it's confusing and she needs to make her choices on how she's going to live the life she has now."

"And all of this... over a prophecy..." Akiko muttered before looking at Hiroshi who continued to regard Akiko like a long-lost parent. "When I see your son, I have to ask, why do you still fight? You have to know the risk. Sergeant Takeda said it himself. The Empire is always listening; one wrong word and they can take you away from him. If I hadn't come along, then all you would have had was some prophecy making a promise that might have been years in the making if not more. That seems to be a lot of faith to stake your life on what could still have ended up being an empty promise and failure."

Hiromi took a breath and sighed. "Well... fortunately for all of us, you did come, and we don't have to answer that. And I realize that you and your friends came at a sacrifice of your lives back home. If we win this battle, and if you choose to, I promise the Kingdom will find a way to send you and your friends home, if that is your desire. With luck, it will be as if you'd never left." 

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Dr. Kyoko and Isamu Fujimoto huddled in confusion as armored warriors pushed them into the dungeon cages. The last twenty-four hours were a new nightmare of confusion and unanswered questions. The unidentified men who had arrived at their home claiming the impossible had gotten them to allow them inside, only to then drop their disguises and create a portal that brought them to this strange new world where they were quickly surrounded and restrained. The language was completely unknown, but their manners and intent left no doubts. As the metal cage door slammed shut behind them and the guards regarded them with disinterest, one of them in particular regarded them with contempt. He turned to the table behind him and picked up a small card, tossing it onto the floor of their cell by their feet before walking off. Hesitantly, Isamu knelt down to pick it up, and his blood ran cold as all the questions he and his wife had been asking for the last six months were answered in an instant as he handed the card to Kyoko.

"A-Akiko's card..." Kyoko whispered, as her fingers quivered as they passed across the student ID picture. She began to break down in tears as Isamu hugged his wife, not sure whether it was ignorance or certainty that was worse.