Bushido

The Type 10’s engine roared as its treads tore the ground beneath it. Ritsu was controlling the tank, but he was currently only strafing around the building.

“Start firing some shots!” Ritsu called out to his sister.

“Just a second…” Riko aimed the barrel, and once the shot was lined up… “Fire!”

The round burst from the tank’s gun, tearing through the walls of SSU HQ.

“Haha! That’s it.” Ritsu bumped his fist. “Now just keep that up!”

“No problem.” As the gun reloaded, Riko fired another shot.

With each strike, the building shook and crumbled.

***

Chiaki stumbled as the floor quaked. She didn’t know what it was, but it sounded like some kind of explosion. “What was that!?”

“I-I don’t know!” The interviewer, an SSU employee but not a demon summoner, trembled with fear. There was only one real answer.

Gritting her teeth, Chiaki spat out, “It’s the Ghosts…”

Immediately, she rushed out of the room.

Whatever terrorist had decided to attack their homebase would have hell to pay.

***

As Riko fired their last round, SSU HQ took its last hit. What once stood as a modern, imposing building was now almost unrecognizable. The walls were crumbling, and the structure was barely hanging on. It looked like it had survived an air raid.

“Great.” Ritsu leaned forward. “Now onto the second phase.”

“Get going then,” Riko urged.

Without waiting another moment, Ritsu fully accelerated the tank, sending it tearing across the ground.

It was a bumpy ride, but Ritsu and Riko looked forward without fear as the tank burst through the collapsing walls of the building.

***

Chiaki stumbled through the halls. She had caught a glimpse of the outside. “A tank!?” Something like that would be difficult to contend with, but she couldn’t back down now. There were other agents here too, after all.

As Chiaki went down a flight of stairs, she saw someone.

The woman coughed. “Ms. Kanada, right?” It was Suzumi Ogata, the commander of the 11th Squadron, and her leg was currently pinned beneath a fallen beam.

“Commander Ogata!” Chiaki rushed to her aid, falling to her knees to examine the injury. “Are you all right?”

“I’ll survive… But that’s not important right now… My captain…” She gestured towards a pile of rubble nearly a meter high. “He’s under there…”

Chiaki looked closer, and saw a hand poking out from beneath. “N-no…”

Suddenly, the memories came rushing back again.

She remembered that day…

And how her mother’s hand had poked out in the exact same way…

“Hey, snap out of it!” Ogata yelled.

Chiaki jittered, focusing on Ogata again. “Yes!?”

Ogata took a quick breath. “The captain was a good fighter, and I’m not sure if anyone else has made it out okay other than you.” Ogata grabbed Chiaki’s hand. “Go to Chairman Konishi’s office. If he’s still alive, protect him with your life, okay?”

Swallowing hard, Chiaiki looked Ogata dead in the eyes and answered, “Understood.”

***

Yukari sputtered up more blood. She clutched her stomach, desperately trying to stop the flow. She was feeling her vision start to fade, but the battle wasn’t over yet.

“Lilith…” she whispered.

Her demon, injured as well, entered a defensive stance.

As Yukari stared down her opponent. Her eyes fell on the “spear” that dealt her such a crippling blow. “That’s an interesting demon you have there. I’ve never seen a demon that takes the appearance of an object. And it being able to transform is quite the wild card. Masamune, you said it was?”

He held up the spear, transforming it back into a katana. “My name is Kotaro Watari, the last head of the Watari Clan. I’m here to deliver justice for Hiyoko Sato.”

Yukari chuckled. “Watari Clan? So what, you’re a samurai roleplayer or something?”

“It’s not a joke!” Kotaro lunged at Yukari, his blade raised.

But Lilith, despite being weakened, blocked his strike with ease, defending her mistress.

Kotaro retreated before dashing forward again, striking from a new angle.

Lilith braced for the attack, but before it landed, Kotaro transformed Masamune into a tachi, a longer, more curved blade.

With its length and shape, he was almost able to nick Lilith, but Yukari reacted just in time, parrying the attack.

Kotaro prepared to attack again, but this time, he was slower. Yukari knew he was up to something, but not even she expected this.

As Kotaro went for a low, two-handed slice, he transformed Masamune into a kusarigama.

The kusarigama was a truly unique weapon made up of a sickle and a weight by a chain. Normally, the chain and weight was wrapped around an opponent’s weapon, effectively disarming them and allowing the wielder to deliver the final blow with the sickle.

Kotaro entangled his chains around Lilith’s. With Lilith’s chains tied down, he practically dived with the sickle, aiming for the demon’s side.

Such a strike would be fatal at this point. She could dodge if she only hadn’t been immobilized by their entangled chains.

But if that was the problem, there was one way to solve it.

Lilith dropped her own chains and jumped to the side.

Kotaro, still pulling onto his end, stumbled, but he quickly recovered and fell back, transforming his weapon back into a katana.

Yukari smirked. He almost got her with that.

But after her first mistake, Yukari had vowed to not make another.

After Lilith retrieved her chains, their duel continued. Kotaro tried new attacks with new weapons, but each strike was deflected.

Kotaro was strong and had spent countless hours training, but Yukari’s combat experience was unparalleled.

However, she was already weak, and getting weaker. Even defending was straining, and an attack was getting less likely by the second. She could use Venenifer and hit him with a poison dart, but she only had enough energy to do that once. If she missed, it’d be over. But she had to do something, otherwise she would bleed out.

As Lilith pushed away Kotaro yet again, Yukari smirked. “You know, I have samurai blood too. On my mother’s side, of course.”

“And what does that matter?”

“Tell me, Kotaro Watari. What does it mean to be a samurai?”

“To be a samurai is to fight for what’s right, protect the weak, and be willing to die for those causes.”

“So follow the principles of Bushido, is that it?”

He said nothing, only staring her down.

“If you’d humor me, is it not true that I follow the principles of Bushido?”

Kotaro let out a bitter laugh. “You insult the very concept by just existing!”

“But humor me, I am loyal to my lord, the SSU; I fight against terrorists, enemies of the people; and I fight bravely and train hard.”

“You murdered a child and your ‘lord’ let you get away with it!”

“Ah, but wasn’t it all just for the greater good? One innocent dies to save a thousand.”

“Stop making excuses! You know that’s not how it is with the SSU!”

“Oh, but do I? Tell me, how do you feel about Oda Nobunaga?”

“Surely you’re not planning on comparing yourself to a legend like him?”

“Perhaps, but hear me out. Me killing a single child on accident pales in comparison to even the Siege of Mount Hiei where Oda Nobunaga ordered the deaths of thousands of monks and civilians. Both are tragedies, yet they paved the way for peace.”

“That’s enough!” Kotaro screamed as he lunged towards her, faster than he had before.

The fury in his eyes, it wasn’t just righteous indignation anymore, it was pure hatred.

Yukari smirked.

That’s what would lead him into her web.