[Senkumo Saga: Book of Blossoming]: Bloom of the Moonlight Lotus

Having returned to the Senkumo camp hidden in the hills, the girls prepared for the next stage of their operation. The wind howled in the night, swishing through the sea of leaves and web of branches above the heads of the troops. Small tents and glowing camp fires stretched all the way down towards the creek, with at least a dozen troops gathered around each fire. Conversing and bantering before their dancing camp fires, the troops ate their rations of white rice, smoked beef, and pickled vegetables.

Tsukiakari and the others emerged out of their much larger, loftier tent. It was big enough to comfortably accommodate the war goddess herself, as well as Taeko, Mayumi, and Ebina. Tsukiakari tied her long, raven hair into a neatly wound bun, leaving only a few stray strands to dangle over her face.

“Ebina, Mayumi, let’s summon everyone to the bonfire and discuss the next phase. Taeko, you’re with me," Tsukiakari commanded.

Ebina and Mayumi quickly marched up and down the camp, striking hand bells with thick, wooden sticks. The chimes of their bells silenced all of the chatter humming throughout the camp.

“Everyone, gather around the bonfire! Commander’s orders,” Mayumi shouted, driving the men and women towards the bonfire in the center of the camp.

The flames of the bonfire illuminated the shadowy hills like a small star, ensuring everyone could see the face of the war goddess. They gathered around, standing with their backs straight and their chins up before Tsukiakari and Taeko. Formed into lines, each soldier remained silent, their eyes focused on their holy commander. Tsukiakari reveled in that silent moment, using it to analyze the faces of each one of her soldiers.

She could see the conviction in their eyes, their eagerness to serve under a true goddess. Along with their resolute ferociousness, she could see an undeniable willingness to die. However, the war goddess surmised that her troops were ultimately loyal to the idea of the Senkumo and the cause it represented. That didn’t necessarily mean the troops all trusted her personally. That kind of respect still needed to be earned.

At last, with Taeko standing by her side, Tsukiakari broke that silence.

“Tomorrow, we begin the second phase of our mission. Both the Hosokawa and the Yamana have been fed false information about each other, urging them to attack while they each think the enemy is weak. This next step will ensure that neither force can simply fall back and recoup their losses after we join the battle. With both forces locked in a war of attrition, their most valuable assets are their supply lines. We’re going to cut them off.”

“Sections One and Two will assist Tsukiakari and myself in destroying the Hosokawa supply lines. Sections Three and Four will accompany Ebina and Mayumi as they destroy the Yamana supply lines,” Taeko ordered, pointing to each line as she called them out. “All four sections will engage with enemy troops and proceed to raze their storehouses. Though, if you happen to see anything we could use, there’s nothing wrong with taking it. The other six sections, save for your designated scouts, will remain here at camp until the Hosokawa and Yamana deploy their forces. Scouts, when you see those forces deployed, you are to make haste back to camp and alert everyone here. Then, you’ll make your way to No Man’s Land, the central district of the city. Are we clear?”

The troops replied with a collective, affirmative shout, still locked into their upright posture.

“Remember this," Tsukiakari urged her troops as she unsheathed her Senkumo sword. “There are only two hundred-fifty of us, while there could be thousands of them out there. Do not let the difference in numbers weaken your resolve. Remember that you march with my blade by your side. With me, we have the power of tens of thousands of men! With me at your side, we can rend earth and tear the heavens asunder! Eat, and rest well tonight. We’ll dispatch from camp before sunrise. Dismissed!”

The troops all bowed in disciplined unison, responding once more with a collective shout. Upon their dismissal, they broke away from their lines and eased their postures, returning to their meals and camp fires. Tsukiakari returned her blade inside of its scabbard, watching them all return to what they were doing.

“That went well," Taeko cheered with a satisfied grin. “Getting used to it?”

“Commanding them? Only a little,” Tsukiakari admitted with a sigh. “It still feels like they’d much rather be commanded by Bishamon than me. A good lineage only gets you so far.”

“Just hang in there, all rightt? They’ll come around. You just need to prove yourself. If you can give them a victory in Kyoto, they’ll be willing to follow you into Hell, if they must," Taeko assured. “Every soldier is just waiting for the blood in their veins to catch fire. A good commander can ignite that kind of inspiration within them.”

“Thanks, Taeko. I really appreciate your guidance," Tsukiakari said with a relieved grin.

“Aww, did I perhaps earn a little thank you kiss," Taeko asked with a raised tone.

“Not a chance in hell,” Tsukiakari groaned, returning to her tent.

“Yeah…I thought so…” Taeko whimpered, suffering the pain of flat-out rejection.

When their bellies were full and their eyes were heavy with exhaustion, the Senkumo doused their camp fires and retired to their tents. Early the next morning, while the sapphire sky was tinged with a rosy, pink shade on the horizon, the next phase went into effect. Everyone awoke around the same time and immediately prepared themselves for the assault. Swords were placed in their scabbards and holstered around their backs. Everyone stuffed the ends of their black, cotton pants into their leather boots and secured their leather vests around their torsos.

Ebina and Mayumi emerged from their tent fully dressed and ready for dispatch. Taeko and Tsukiakari were already outside, helping the troops load their quivers and secure their armor. The grove smelled as if it rained in the night, for the air carried the magnified aroma of wisteria trees and night-blooming jasmines. Tsukiakari spotted them as she finished helping a teenage girl with her quiver, immediately pointing them to their horses.

“Ebina, Mayumi," she called out. “Your troops are set to go. Descend the hill and make your way towards the Yamana storehouse.”

“What about you," Mayumi asked with concern in her tone.

“Taeko and I will be heading out with our troops soon after you," Tsukiakari replied. “Everyone is eager to get in the field, but remember to retain the element of surprise, all rightt? With our numbers, one mistake can easily dwarf the size of our force.”

“Understood! We’ll be careful out there," Mayumi assured as she mounted her saddled horse. “See you after the assaults! Make us proud, Gekko!”

Ebina mounted her horse as well, giving one last, stone-faced gaze to Taeko and Tsukiakari. “Good luck, you two. Please refrain from dying horrible, agonizing deaths while we’re separated. Except for Taeko, who is nothing more than a seductive demon wearing human skin," Ebina said with a polite bow of her head, feigning seriousness.

“Oh Ebina…oh darling…you’re far too kind…” Taeko jokingly whimpered before returning a sincere gaze. “Stay safe, beautiful. Watch her back out there, Mayumi!”

“I will, Taeko," Mayumi shouted as she began marching her troops down the hillside. “We’re moving out! Let’s go!”

Tsukiakari couldn’t help but giggle to herself, amused by Ebina’s obvious care for Taeko. It helped soothe her mounting worries as she began to doubt her ability to lead her troops. She had never done something like this before. She had never been responsible for anyone’s life other than her own.

Despite being a superior being to the mortals around her, she recognized the interpersonal contract she had formed with the Senkumo. She was to be their guiding moonlight, their divine inspiration. If Tsukiakari had any hope of helping the Senkumo grow, she had to be the strongest force of command in the clan.

And so, the second phase began. Thick rainclouds came in from the horizon as the two groups made their march into the city, bringing the rain back for yet another day. It was a pain for the men, for the rain turned the dirt roads into boot-sucking mud, while the cold air chilled their faces.

However, they knew their situation couldn’t have been as bad as the enemy’s, who would surely be trying to transport supplies by now. The rain would only slow down the movement of their supply lines, rendering wagons and wheelbarrows almost useless. It bought the Senkumo more time to sneak in and approach.

Steeped in heavy rain and mud, the Yamana soldiers, clad in black armor, hauled in multiple carts full of food, oil, and other valuable supplies. Dozens upon dozens of them worked together to haul the supplies into one of the only houses that wasn't completely destroyed. The rain pelted against their helmets and their heavy boots sunk into the thick, slippery mud with every step they took.

“Pick up the pace!” Their officer shouted. “Will you let our comrades starve?”

All of the troops answered back in unison as they continued hauling away the heavy bags of supplies. “No, Captain!” 

One of the troops fell trying to carry two bags of potatoes by themselves. As he was slow to get back on his feet, his pathetic state attracted the attention and ire of the officer.

“You there!” he shouted.

The masked soldier did not turn his head, nor did he bow to the officer in remorse. He simply stayed down on the ground with his hands sunken in the cold, wet mud.

“What do you think you're doing? Get up! Weakling! If you can't even handle a few sacks of potatoes, you'll never be able to…”

The officer lifted his boot off the ground, noticing the blood pooling around his fallen subordinate. It was then that he noticed the arrow lodged in the soldier’s throat, preventing him from yelling out in pain or alerting his comrades. He collapsed into the rain and mud, convulsing in front of his fellow Yamana. Alarmed, the troops tossed aside the sacks of food they were hauling and rushed to pick up their weapons.

“Attack! We’re under attack!” shouted one of the startled troops.

The Yamana troops looked all around the ruined city, finding no initial signs of the attackers. The officer noted the angle from which the arrow struck his soldier, running for cover.

“Directly ahead! The shot came from ahead!” the officer shouted, prompting the soldiers to form their line and point their blades down the block of razed houses across from them.

They soon found themselves surrounded by over fifty Senkumo troops, all of them suddenly appearing on rooftops, between alleyways, and down parallel streets. Mayumi too was concealed in an alleyway as she led the ambush and signaled the troops.

The Senkumo stationed on the rooftops brandished ceramic smoke bombs in their hands and threw them down upon the street, clouding the road in thick, suffocating puffs of white vapor. The Yamana’s lines of startled soldiers slowly began to lose their organization as they were disoriented by the smoke. They coughed and wheezed, for the white vapor suffocating them carried the strong sting of vinegar. Their eyes watered and their vision blurred, eroding their capacity to fight effectively.

“Keep firing," Mayumi ordered her archers. “Load and fire! Load and fire!”

While the troops were busy fending off Mayumi and the swarming shinobi, Ebina and her team set fire to the storage house, using the oil the Yamana hauled in to fuel it. Sparks turned into a small fire, which found nourishment from the oil. The flames swelled and consumed the entire house and all of its supplies in a massive, sweltering blaze. All of the Yamana’s supplies went up in smoke as Ebina and the Senkumo charged at the enemy. The ring of clashing swords mixed with the battle cries and plodding steps of all the troops locked in combat.

“Perfect. That takes care of their supply lines within the city," Mayumi remarked.

Surrounded, most of the Yamana soldiers were cut down with relative ease. Ebina charged one of the disoriented Yamana with vicious fury. She drove her sword straight through his chest, pulling her blade out of his broken armor plate.

Yet another Yamana swordsman yelled out behind her, prompting her to roll to the side and narrowly avoid the vertical cut that would've split her head in half. He brought his sword around the side, hoping to slash her gut, but the nimble Ebina blocked the hard swing with the flat side of her blade. She flinched in pain as her wrist and shoulder absorbed most of the impact of his weighty strike.

Rolling again, Ebina quickly got back on her feet and cut the strings holding the man's armor plating in place. His chest and back plates came loose, allowing her a small window of opportunity she desperately tried to reach. The Yamana swordsman caught on to her tricks and slammed the butt of his blade into her face, knocking her down into the mud. Just as he raised his sword to finish Ebina, he found himself unable to move. Mayumi held him back from behind, holding on with all her strength as he tried to rip her away.

Taking the opportunity, Ebina grabbed hold of her blade again, and slashed the swordsman across his neck. He fell to the ground, his blood pooling around his neck as he tried to scream through his sliced windpipes. His attempts to scream only caused him to bleed more, until he died like an animal in the mud.

The sounds of fighting slowly died down, until only the pelting rain could be heard anymore. Burning with adrenaline and exhausted at the same time, the Senkumo soldiers looked around at the bodies of their enemies. They realized their ambush was successful. They had attained their first, albeit small victory.

“That's all of them! This site is cleared," Mayumi briefly celebrated with an exhausted sigh.

“That’s it for the Yamana’s supply line," Ebina asked, taking a deep breath as she sheathed her blade.

“Yeah. Tsukiakari and Taeko probably already finished off the Hosokawa lines by now. Let's head back towards No Man's Land," Mayumi commanded.

The exact same method of attack devastated the Hosokawa supply lines, leaving burning goods and soaked, bloodied corpses strewn about one of the major roads. The soldiers at Tsukiakari's command hurriedly worked together to drag the corpses of the Hosokawa samurai, archers, and spearmen off of the road, hiding them in alleys and under piles of soaked wood and rubble.

Tsukiakari stood with Taeko, her leather rain cloak and hood keeping her dry from the never-ending downpour. Her hands shivered from anticipation of the greater battle to come as she watched the Senkumo shinobi clean up the bloody mess before her.

“That's it for the Hosokawa's lines,” Taeko declared. “I imagine my sunshine has already taken care of the Yamana by now. She's pretty good with keeping track of tight schedules.”

“Sunshine," Tsukiakari inquired.

“I'm talking about my beautiful darling Ebina, of course," Taeko gleefully clarified. “She's still a shorty but she's gotten more and more beautiful with age?”

Watching Taeko turn pink and dote over Ebina was a sweet sight for Tsukiakari’s tired eyes.
“Come on, let's get this place cleaned up," Tsukiakari ordered. “The Yamana and Hosokawa forces should be meeting each other further up town.”

The orphans of the Senkumo clan were not the only ones heavily anticipating this fight, their true and first test of courage. A cloaked Bishamon sat on the edge of the highest pagoda roof of one of the abandoned Ashikaga castles in the city, waiting just as anxiously as his Senkumo underlings on the ground.

The castle had high, white walls and blue pagoda roofs, slanted downwards so the rain could flow right off. For as far as his divine eyes could see, Kyoto was in a depressing state of ruin, with almost no building left standing. The curvaceous, blue dragons carved out of the wooden corners of the rooftop seemed to weep before the sight of the destroyed capital, the rain flowing off of their polished faces.

Sensing another’s presence, Bishamon smiled, stroking his beard as he gently closed his eyes.
“...I know you're there, Hachiman," Bishamon said.

A single of pair of gloved hands gave their applause to Bishamon as yet another cloaked man revealed himself on the roof. Golden tomoe ear rings dangled from his ear lobes as an amused smile carved itself onto his face. His short, yet thick and unkempt hair was bleached by the flow of time and age, but his face and demeanor were still very much youthful and energetic.
“My, Bishamon. I never thought that little brat I tutored would ever cook something of this magnitude up," Hachiman complimented. “What gives, pipsqueak?”

Bishamon chuckled as his former master sat down with him. “You know far too well that my ambitions are always realized, Hachiman. I suppose it was also time for me to score myself a worthy apprentice. We all have to pass the torch, after all.”

“An apprentice," Hachiman curiously questioned.

“Yes. A girl. Or, perhaps, I should call her a woman now. She's Izanagi’s granddaughter.”

“Izanami's former husband. So then, this one is Amaterasu's child?”

“Her name is Tsukiakari. Though that name still stands, fate was kind enough to allow me to be the one to give her a surname," Bishamon teased.

“Well? Don't leave me in suspense.” Hachiman urged, nudging Bishamon with his elbow.
“Senkumo. Tsukiakari Senkumo. The child is exceptionally gifted in the ways of war. She received my training and performed well beyond my expectations of her. I think she has what it takes to change this country.”

“Wow...a girl with that kind of heritage and ability definitely sounds like a jewel. No wonder. You must be using her to usher in a new era of war," Hachiman hypothesized.

“That’s not quite what we’re doing here," Bishamon said.

“What are you doing, then?”

Bishamon surveyed the ruins of Kyoto as he crossed his arms. “We’re building a new nation.”

“You’re joking, right," Hachiman scoffed. “You can’t just build a new nation, Bisha.”

“You haven’t been paying attention to what’s been going on. Before the war broke out, there were private estates being built on plots of purchased land. They were initially under heavy government regulation, but times have changed, Hachiman. The estates became independent from their local governments. Some of them paid little to no taxes”

“Sure, but an estate is different from a nation, isn’t it?”

Bishamon smiled as he wagged his finger. “Not the one I’ve established. The Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines used to be the ones funding the estates. They practically lorded over them. With us, it’s the other way around. I got my first investment from a handful of temples around Kyoto. Right after that, the Onīn War broke out and the price of land and property plummeted. I built the clan’s first base for a fraction what it would’ve normally costed me. Then, the war churned out my recruits for me. That’s what war always does. The temples don’t lord over us. They pay us to lord over them.”

“Because you’re a god…” Hachiman sang, connecting the dots in his head.

“Right now, we’re fulfilling a job from our first client, the shogun himself. We’re acting as an army-for-hire, for now. We get recruits, we bring in more money, we expand and build more bases across Yamashiro province. Tsukiakari is here to make sure it all succeeds.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me," Hachiman chuckled. “And this is actually working? Do you really think you’ll be able to build your own nation like this?”

“It’s working, Hachiman.”

“That’s beyond amazing, Bishamon. I just…what exactly are you building this new nation for?”

Bishamon smiled. “I’m sure you’ve heard of Uke Mochi by now, right?”

“Yeah. I never pegged Lord Tsukuyomi for a murderer. Are the rumors true? Did he do it as some kind of revenge?”

The wind howled in their ears like a wolf in the night, swaying their hair and the sleeves of their robes. Bishamon was surprised to see that even some of the older Shinto gods weren’t completely aware of what had transpired and why. It was the perfect opportunity to weaponize the truth.

“Reincarnation ensures that all gods who are worshiped can return in the event of their deaths,” Bishamon began. “All gods who are worshiped. What the Shinto gods didn’t realize is that when you bring another pantheon into the fold, you end up having multiple gods sharing the same dominion. When the newer god replaces the older one, that god can reincarnate, while the older deity eventually dies and cycles out, never to return. The first victim of this cycle was Tsukuyomi’s brother, Susanō.”

“He was Amaterasu’s harshest critic,” Hachiman gasped. “You think Amaterasu deliberately forged this alliance to cycle us all out?”

“That’s what it looked like to me,” Bishamon said. “Tsukuyomi must’ve thought the same thing, and as more Shinto gods began to fade from existence, I’m sure he realized what his sister had done. No words would sway her, so he killed Uke Mochi to get back at Amaterasu. Just as he had lost his brother, he wanted her to lose her sister.”

“…And Uke Mochi hasn’t come back,” Hachiman muttered. “She was replaced by Inari.”

“You want to know why I’m doing this,” Bishamon asked. “Because I can’t sit back and watch as a sovereign betrays her subjects. But I’m just a lone god. I can’t change Heaven alone. I need more than an army. I need a nation. The country we’re creating will be a place where no mortals suffer the froth and folly of their lords, and no gods suffer from the hatred of their queen. Both gods and mortals, as you can see, have endured quite enough at the hands of the state, of the people they trusted to lead them. When the state becomes a god of its own, it devours all sense of right and wrong and all individuation of its subjects. So, we’re reinventing the wheel. We’re redefining the very concept of a nation. Our country will be a self-sufficient stratocracy, where the military and the nation are one and the same. No shogun, no emperors, and no mad queens. Without them, there will be no civil wars, no succession disputes, and no more cycling out. Everyone will have a place to call home. Everyone will have the right to live and exist. That’s why I’m doing this.”

Hachiman, having seen far too many of his fellow gods fade away because of Amaterasu’s deception, felt his chest tighten after hearing Bishamon out. Hachiman gazed into the fire in Bishamon’s eyes. He was serious. He had a genuine ambition to forge a nation where no one’s life could be thrown away or invalidated at the whims of the state. Everything plaguing both Heaven and Japan, from cycling out to the failures of feudalism, would be eradicated.

It was a long shot. It seemed like an impossible, herculean task, but with assured oblivion at his back, Hachiman had no option but to face forward and believe in Bishamon’s dream.

“...Does Amaterasu know what you're using her daughter for," Hachiman asked with caution.

“It doesn’t matter. The child disgraced herself by fleeing from Heaven after Tsukuyomi committed murder. It's been years since that happened. I doubt anyone up there cares what happens to her now.”

Hachiman laughed. “You’re forging a nation to rival Japan and the pantheon itself, and you’re using the princess of the pantheon to do it?” 

“Why not partake, Hachiman? What do you have to lose?” 

“Hmmm...choices, choices, choices..," Hachiman pondered. “I'll make my decision after the battle. I need to see her in action. I know quite a few other gods who would be interested in what this girl could bring...and they know how to keep a secret.”

“I trust your company. If you like what you see after today, let's go ahead and make a deal.”

Hachiman clapped in celebration. “Perfect!” 

In short time, everything was ready. Tsukiakari’s team rendezvoused with Ebina and Mayumi's team in No Man’s Land, the heart of the city. They lied in wait, tucked neatly and discreetly in the nooks and dark crannies of collapsed buildings. They were out of sight and out of mind in the unforgiving rain. Tsukiakari, Taeko, Mayumi, and Ebina all took shelter in a ruined flower shop, the dilapidated walls coated in black soot. Smashed pots and burnt flower petals laid all around the four as they waited for the battle to come.

“Man...I'm starting to get nervous," Mayumi said with a fiery feeling in her shaking hands.

“Which side is going to show up first," Taeko asked.

“I gave the Yamana a head start so they could come this far without seeing the Hosokawa right away," Tsukiakari explained. “I wanted to avoid as much suspicion as possible. Ōkawa and his men should be arriving soon.”

“This is it," Taeko said with nervous breath. “This is what we’ve all been preparing for.”

“A lot of people saw their lives destroyed here because of the war. I can only imagine what the troops are thinking right now," Mayumi said.

“No need to imagine," Ebina interjected. “I’m thinking of how badly I want to win this battle. We’ve suffered quite enough because of these clans.”

“Did you used to live here, Ebina," Tsukiakari asked.

“Yeah, with Taeko. A lot happened back then, and the shogunate drove our mother to suicide," Ebina answered.

“I had no idea. I’m sorry to hear that," Tsukiakari lamented.

“It’s all right," Ebina assured. “Because of her, Taeko and I had time to escape, and we just happened to flee right before the war started.”

“Everything worked out for the best,” Taeko sighed. “I knew a lot of good people here that never made it out when the fighting kicked off. This is all we can do to give them justice. We all lost something, except for these two clans. That changes today.”

Tsukiakari’s heart tightened as she listened to their chatter. She thought of what stories of loss her men could tell her. She wondered how many lovers and friends of her troops were buried in the ruins of all those buildings, the rubble serving as their gravestones.

The pain of loss lingered over her soldiers like a ghost, and it drove them into the army of a god of war. Understanding this, Tsukiakari felt the weight of her duty truly bear down upon her. She felt the obligation to deliver these martyrs to victory, to make that lingering pain go away. All she needed was a single victory, and the loss would turn into triumph.

“Look! It's Ōkawa!” Ebina exclaimed, pointing down the street.

“It’s all going as planned…” Tsukiakari said with a soft chuckle.

The main force of Yamana troops had arrived, with Ōkawa and his bodyguards leading the lines on horseback. From their position, the girls and their troops could only see a few dozen of them, but judging by the thunderous sound of their plodding march, they knew there must've been thousands more marching through the streets, hidden by the destroyed buildings and homes.

“Taeko,” Tsukiakari spoke quietly.

“Yeah, I hear them too," Taeko replied. “The Hosokawa are here.”

“That sound...is that the Hosokawa marching?” Ōkawa observed with panic.

“Captain, your orders?” His bodyguard inquired. “We didn't expect the Hosokawa to sally out like this!”

“We'll move in for the attack! If we fall back now, we'll lose more ground! We must seize the opportunity and push them back now! Prepare to charge!” Ōkawa valiantly commanded.

On the other end of town, a force consisting of thousands of Hosokawa troops spotted the Yamana as well. Since both sides met each other in the middle of town, giving up would mean giving the enemy a stronger foothold in the city. And so, the two massive forces of hardened soldiers filled the air with their battle cries and blaring war horns as they charged into each other with a thunderous slam.

“Look at them go..," Mayumi remarked in awe.

“We'll wait a little bit," Tsukiakari said. “Let a good amount of them kill each other off. When their numbers start depleting, they're going to realize they don't have any reinforcements anymore. Depending on how the battle goes, this could prompt one or both sides to fall back.” 

“But we're going to finish them both off before that can happen," Ebina realized on her own.

“Exactly. Our scouts should be on their way back to camp to dispatch the rest of our army. On my mark, we'll enter the fray. Yamana or Hosokawa, it doesn't matter. Kill all of them.”

Tsukiakari never knew it was possible, to be so excited that you sweat in the rain. The Hosokawa troops she and Taeko killed felt like appetizers, but having the opportunity to march into the heat of a huge battle felt like the main course they were all dying for. After what felt like an eternity waiting, their time came at last. The scouts raced back into the city with the rest of the Senkumo reinforcements trailing behind them.

“Now! Go," Tsukiakari screamed with all her might, summoning all of her soldiers out of their hiding places.

The Hosokawa had been gaining the upper hand in the battle, but Ōkawa and his forces were able to hold strong after losing a bit of ground. The rain eased up, allowing the Yamana archers positioned on the rooftops to fire more accurately.

The streets were clogged with soldiers, both dead and fighting. As the two sides of warring soldiers clashed, a sudden stream of luminous, blue electricity flashed before their eyes like a tiny lightning strike. In the same second their eyes caught a glimpse of its light, their throats were all slashed in an instant.

Blood sprayed from their open necks and severed spines, with only strands of skin and flesh keeping their heads attached to their bodies. This deadly attack was the doing of Tsukiakari as she landed from the air like an angel of war, right between the lines of both forces. Ōkawa could see the divine sight of chaos unfold before his eyes from a relatively safe distance.

“Is that...Tsukiakari," he questioned aloud, shocked by her sudden appearance.

In the midst of war, it felt like Tsukiakari's nerves, vision, hearing, and reflexes were performing at their best, even for a goddess of such prestigious heritage. For every blade that came her way, she was able to block it with her own or dodge it completely.

Finding an opening, she clasped her hands and performed nine Buddhist hand signs before slamming her hands down on the rain-soaked ground. Acting as earthly partitions, two huge walls of earth sprung up from the street, separating the forces of the Hosokawa and Yamana like animals in their pens.

“What is happening?” Ōkawa shouted, awed by the mystical power being used against him.
Now left with a smaller group of men she could handle, Tsukiakari dodged the fearful and desperate sword swings of one of the Hosokawa samurai. Parrying his next swing, her sword cut through his arm like a hot knife through butter, completely severing it from his body. She grabbed the arm, which still held his sword in a tight grip, and threw it into the face of one of the Yamana archers on the roof above. The blade drove itself right through his skull, killing him instantly while he was still standing. His body fell forward off of the rooftop, coming down with an unbelievably heavy, explosive crash, as if a building had collapsed. His corpse had hardened like a boulder, struck by Tsukiakari’s magic.

His calcified corpse fell on top of and killed several dozen more men below, leaving a massive, gaping hole in the street and ejecting rain water into the air. With the enemy neatly partitioned, the Senkumo foot soldiers stormed in as well, taking the shocked and confused enemy by surprise.

Mayumi readied her bow and fired off a single arrow into the chest plate of one of the Yamana samurai. The arrow failed to pierce the armor and wound him, filling him with false confidence. Before he knew it, he was dead, as the arrow then exploded in his chest, blowing bits of his armor and body around violently. Startled, Mayumi caught a glimpse of Tsukiakari looking back at her, as if to confirm her safety. She could only assume that it was Tsukiakari that made the arrow explode.

Once the other troops saw what those arrows could do, they tried to flee for their lives, abandOnīng their sworn code as warriors of both the Yamana and Hosokawa clans. 

“Gekko," Mayumi shouted. 

“I know," she responded.

All it took was a single sequence hand sign, the Sha sign, to slam the earthen walls together with all of the fleeing troops in the middle. They were crushed like ants caught between two tightly pressed hands. Their blood and mushed organs oozed out of the cracks like an overstuffed, baked delight. All of their screams and desperate gasps went silent after the slam of those two walls. 

“Tsukiakari! Get Ōkawa! We'll rout these guys and finish them off!” shouted Taeko. 

“All right," she responded.

Tsukiakari's blade radiated a bright, hot orange glow as she channeled a fiery energy through it. With one, mighty swing of her blade, Tsukiakari sent forth a crescent wave of fire that exploded against the walls, shattering them into flaming pebbles.

That one attack blew away so many hundreds of men and launched hundreds more into the air. The entire city block was clouded in a thick plume of char-scented smoke as fiery debris rained down upon the combating forces. Even Tsukiakari was astonished by just how powerful she was on the battlefield. She understood. She was becoming exactly what Bishamon wanted her to be, a goddess of war.

Among all of the severely wounded, soon-to-die, and the mangled and broken, Ōkawa was pinned by his dead horse, unable to move. Blood dripped from his head as Tsukiakari sheathed her sword and hid her arms beneath her rain cloak. She marched her way up to him, stepping over the gruesomely mangled and twisted corpses of the men she killed in that blast. As he made out her figure with his blurry, dying vision, he began to understand that he had been fooled all too late. 

He cursed Tsukiakari with all his might. “Damn you! You lied to us! You…”

His scorn was interrupted by the blood he coughed up as the weight of his horse was starting to wear on his lungs. He wished he had the strength to curse her name, to insult those shining, scarlet eyes beaming at him from the depths of the smoke.

“Yoshimasa Ashikaga didn't really send you!”

“You're wrong. He did send us," Tsukiakari revealed as she emerged from the cloud of smoke and ash.

“What?” Ōkawa cried out, writhing in agony.

Tsukiakari knelt down by Ōkawa, glaring down at him in his pathetic and dying state. “He doesn’t care who wins this battle, only that it ends. With this, neither the Yamana nor the Hosokawa will win this war," Tsukiakari sternly explained.

“Nonsense! We're lending our blades in support of Lord Yoshimasa's son!”

“It doesn’t matter which side you are on! Look around you! Look what you've done to the country's greatest city! It's in complete ruin! Sozen Yamana merely took the opportunity to oppose the Hosokawa clan yet again. This time, both clans went too far. As such, Lord Yoshimasa wished for an end to this war. Well, Ōkawa, I am that end.”

She stood up again and drew her blade. Ōkawa watched as every inch of her sharp and glimmering sword revealed itself from its scabbard. No matter how much he struggled, he only caused more damage to his body.

“Stop this! I'm begging you to stop this!” Ōkawa desperately pleaded.

“You're a warrior. Try dying some with some dignity," Tsukiakari urged.

The mighty goddess brought her bloodstained blade down upon Ōkawa, silencing his terrified cries. Her sword ripped through flesh and sinew, severing his head from his body. His face was locked in an expression of helpless horror as his head rolled across the street. The body continued to exsanguinate from the neck as Tsukiakari took in what she had just done. Unlike the incident she endured six years ago, she felt no guilt in killing Ōkawa, or anyone. She felt pride. She felt power and excitement. Her whole world began to bloom with the flowers of war.

By the time all of it was over, the clouds parted, unveiling the magnificent, blue light of the moon. Atop one of the broken rooftops of one of the taller homes, Taeko, Mayumi, and Ebina sat and rested their bodies after the fight. Tsukiakari stood just behind them on the roof, holding the severed head of Ōkawa by the hair. Her crimson eyes shimmered in the darkness while the wind brushed through her wicked, black hair, its outer strands enwreathed in moonlight.

Watching from the castle roof in the far distance, both Bishamon and Hachiman were more than pleased with what they saw. With the rain gone, Bishamon removed the hood of his black, leather cloak, but Hachiman kept it over his scruffy and messy head of hair. Hachiman smiled and stood up after watching the battle play out before him like an audition.

“For her first battle, she was magnificent. Whatever you have planned, Bishamon...I'm in," Hachiman eagerly declared to his former student.

“Glad to hear it. Here’s to our new nation,” Bishamon saluted.