Why We Fight

"...and unfortunately, she managed to escape our ambush," the minister reported.

"And what happened to the prisoners?" the Emperor asked.

"As it turned out, they were killed during the escape attempt. Our guards believed they had a clear shot, but the parents got in the way."

"Hm... how unfortunate..." the Emperor mused. "Meaning their value as bait has come to an end."

"Fortunately, this will soon be academic, My Lord," a military advisor reported. "The latest reports from Fort Magish have confirmed that the last of the magical supplies have arrived. Even as we speak, the mages are weaving the enchantments to solidify the spells to allow for the fortress to be aloft."

"Excellent."

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In the town of Merwindolyn, it was a beehive of activity with the mobilization of forces going on in preparation for moving out. The plan was to head to the larger town of Yartin and connect with others for a push towards the capital. However, Sergeant Takeda had his concerns about the mission, as he handled the logistics before they would deploy.

Since returning from their ill-fated mission, Lady Fujiwara had been all but inconsolable, isolating herself from virtually all contact, refusing to eat and barely sleeping. Lady Chiba wasn't much better, staring at her books for hours at a time but making little or no progress, barely paying attention to the world around her. Lady Minamoto had thrown herself into physical drills, training with sword katas to the point of exhaustion. A few times, she was seen talking to her sword, though no one knew why. We had put our hopes into those girls as our leaders and now their hearts have been cut out from them, he sighed. He wished he had something to say that could restore their morale, but words failed him.

Still, their country's future was on the brink. The latest word from their spies was that the Emperor's newest weapon was nearing completion, with estimates ranging from a week or two at best. Time was not a luxury the resistance had any longer; it was now or never. As much as he wanted to give Akiko, Keiko and Masako time to recover, too many people's lives were at stake.

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Hiromi walked into the private house that had been set aside for the resistance officers and opened the door with a tray of cups in hand. Inside, the room was dark despite the midday with the window shutters closed, with the stationary figure in the bed taking no notice of her entrance. "I thought perhaps you could use a cup of fresh tea," she offered.

Akiko lifted her head briefly. Her face was marked with streaks of tears, and her hair was disheveled. "I don't think I'm going to be good company right now..." she whispered.

Hiromi sighed and sat down on the chair next to the bed. "It never hurts to say what's on your mind. You can't keep all that pain bottled up inside you forever."

Akiko turned away. "I-I didn't want you to see me like this. I mean, look at me... your great legendary warrior..." she muttered sarcastically before turning downcast. "You must be so disappointed..."

"I'm not," Hiromi assured. "Akira was no different. He too mourned the death of his men, just as you mourn your parents. Men often don't show their grief as openly, but in other ways that I could tell; the moody silence, solitude, or when he would throw himself into various private endeavors to try and forget the pain. That doesn't change the need to be there for them... to show support and understanding... believe me, I know."

"What about you, have you lost any..." Akiko asked before she abruptly stopped herself... such a stupid thing to say, she berated herself as the irony of the statement coming from her would hit that much harder.

"We've all lost people in this struggle," Hiromi acknowledged, then paused. "You once asked me, why do we still fight, in the face of overwhelming odds, especially if all we had was a prophecy. We all know how dangerous it is, and how any one of us could face our end. Because of that, we don't fight for the ones we might lose if we don't try. We plant a tree, not for ourselves, but so that our children will one day sit in the shade. We fight for the hope of a future so the ones we love will have a chance to live a life of dignity and restore the rule of law instead of the rule of man."

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It was dusk by the time Akiko finally worked up the nerve to crawl out of bed. The images of those final moments played in her mind repeatedly... what could we have done differently... kept coming back to her. Her hands gripped the banister of the dresser until her fingers went white. Should we have gotten more men... waited for Keiko's magic to recharge then had her cast another portal? Or would that have cost us speed and stealth, and they would have caught us that much sooner? Over and over, her mind wrestled on what went wrong, but in the end, it didn't matter. Did any of this fight matter anymore?

She went to the next corridor to Keiko's and Masako's assigned quarters but noted they were empty. Making her way downstairs, she startled the innkeeper with her presence. A quick check confirmed where the other two girls were spending their time this evening. She first headed to the library where she found Keiko had passed out by a stack of books and several crystals around her.

"Wh-wha...?" Keiko groggily woke up as Akiko shook her. "Woah... you're up?"

"Could we talk? It's... it concerns all three of us..." Akiko asked solemnly.

"Sure," Keiko nodded, stretching herself to get the last bit of sleep out of her system. "I think Masako's been beating the tar out of some target dummies since this afternoon."

I guess we all deal with grief in our own way, Akiko realized. The two girls made their way to the outdoor practice area where combat drills took place. Akiko had spent many painful lessons here when Kenji first started teaching her how to use a katana along with twin wakizashi as her chosen style. It was here in Merwindolyn where she and Keiko were first taken all those months ago, and now it was beginning to look like where the journey might be coming to an end. As they came up from behind Masako, they could hear her whispering, before turning around. "I see you're finally up," Masako said matter-of-factly before she softened. "I... I'm sorry for what happened... I know, I..."

"I-I know..." Akiko acknowledged. "But that's not what I wanted to talk about." She sighed before continuing. "I-I wanted to revisit what we were talking about last time... a part of me has to wonder... after what happened... what am I fighting for anymore. I was telling myself that, once this was all over, we would all go back together to Japan, return to our families and get on with our lives. Well, I... " She trailed off, "that's not an option anymore." She paused for a long moment. "I'm not going to lie... I did consider just walking away... that maybe this was just too much for me... that the cost was more than I could bear. But I had a talk with someone who reminded me... sometimes, we have to do things, not for ourselves, but for the people who follow us. We plant that tree so that one day our children will sit in the shade, or as someone said to me."

"Are you sure you're making this choice for that reason, or because you feel like you don't have anything else to live for?" Keiko asked. "I'd hate to think you're just doing this to throw your life away, because... even without your parents... you'd still have us...!"

"Akiko... I know what it's like... wrestling with two souls, two destinies, even more than you," Masako chimed in. She unsheathed her sword and revealed its glowing form. "This is more than just a sword. In my past life, this sword shared a soul-bond with that life before he was cut down, trapping part of his... my... soul. This blade and I are the same soul, split from that moment. When we're together, as the Emperor once said, we're practically unstoppable. But split, it can be... difficult for both of us. But that said... I'll still stand with you no matter what choice you make. I agree with Keiko... please make your choice for a future, not dwelling on death."

Akiko took a moment before embracing both Keiko and Masako. "We're in this together then, we started this, we're going to finish it, to the end."

"One for all...?" Keiko asked with hope.

"...all for one." Masako completed solemnly.