The Beginning of Madness

The town of Hisui was experiencing its busiest foot and vehicular traffic in months.

"Get out of the way!"

"Lift that cart off the road! You shouldn't have overloaded it and break it in the middle of the path!"

At the roads leading out of the town, civilians are walking to evacuate from the incoming battle.

"Get those barricades to the gates! We have to hold this line!"

"Has anyone called the cavalry captain? Is he drunk at the liquor house again?!"

Meanwhile, the soldiers and conscripts are rushing to supplant their defenses. The rushed construction of barricades, trenches and archer towers only meant one thing to those who were simply forced into military service.

"There is movement from the enemy camp. They are starting to march down the valley!"

The Nachi army is coming to take their lives.

"Here they come!"

And by noon, they finally reached a point where hostilities had begun.

In the Nachi clan's encampment, a young man dressed in exceedingly extravagant samurai armor was sitting proudly in the front of the camp's gates.

"It is a good day for war, my lord!"

"It is! Yes, it is!"

Anyone who bought into the idea of this man being a superior being over others would think that the shiny, spotless and master-crafted armor that covers his body and the gleaming and cleanly oiled katana on his waist is something that amplifies his image as a military man.

"Can you see that?"

"What?"

"It's a waste. A total waste."

But for the common soldiers who actually fought tooth and nail for the victory that only he gets credit for, these items are purely an aesthetic for an otherwise useless and self-centered ruler.

"Hey, you two!"

"Yes, Lady Himeji?"

"I heard that. Even if you don't like His Highness, it would be dangerous if he hears that."

"Bah… Come on, Lady Himeji. Even you know that spoiled man-child has no place in this battlefield. Look at him, sitting here and drinking Sake with his retainers while our comrades are spilling their blood and guts out there for his own credit!"

"…Still, if you wish to discuss these things, please keep it away from those who doesn't share your thoughts. The worst that we can do right now is to divide the camp and cause ill-will on each side."

"Alright, I get it…"

"Tch! Compared to our prince, Iwasawa-san is more understanding and willing to understand us…"

"…"

Even Himeji Kotori, the general of the force, cannot deny the ills of her men. There really are no traits from their master that can salvage his image on the common soldiers. If a local noble is less accepted than a foreign stranger, that says a lot about what kind of social strata is working on at that place.

"Iwasawa-san… Is Iwasawa-san here?"

"I'm sorry, Lady Himeji. Iwasawa-sama told me to keep anyone out of his tent for now."

"But why?"

"He said that he is quarantining himself after being the last carrier of the recent flu outbreak. He doesn't want anyone to come inside and catch it again."

"I… I understand."

Typhoid fever, bacterial flu and a multitude of battlefield injuries ranging from lacerations, burns and even fractured bones. Ever since his arrival and employment with the Nachi army, Iwasawa Hiroshi has worked as the backbone of the army's health and recovery while in deployment.

Many of the noble officers in the force are still skeptical of his methods, especially the use of surgery that they regard as unlawful and disobedient of the Buddhist belief of the purity of the human body and that damaging it in anyway might affect their attainment of enlightenment.

But for the common soldiers who doesn't have the luxury of hiring herbalists and insurance that their family will live on even if they die, the use of surgery to remove bullet fragments, stitch their torn flesh together and realign broken or fractured bones is very, very valuable. For them, if it saves their lives and ensures that they can get home to their families, the stranger can do as he wishes.

At first, they were also skeptical of him. He and his men wear white coats with red arm bands. They speak with a certain accent unique to southerners, they are nurses and doctors, but they carry pistols and katanas and practices with them every morning and afternoon and most of all, Iwasawa Hiroshi uses strange tools and liquids to make medicines that didn't come from plants.

It was almost, if not already witchcraft. But as time went by and he cured their illnesses and made them recover their strength rapidly, he quickly gained the respect and sometimes even the reverence of the common soldiers. He informed them of unfair decisions made by their officers and again and again, spoke beside them to fight for their safety.

Nowadays, it was said that that stranger is more of a leader than the prince of the Nachi clan who was with them to inspire the men and raise their morale. But as evidenced with the low outlook of the common soldiers to the prince, the former statement seemed like a total irony.

The Nachi clan has always advertised itself as a family of rulers that fought for freedom and expression. But right now, none of that cane bee seen in the person who represents it in this place.

"Are all of you ready now?"

"Of course, Kou-sama… We are delighted to be of your service."

"Thank you, everyone. Go now. If Hisui falls and we fail to "kill" Tsuna-san, all of our plans will be for naught."

"We will not fail you, my lord."

Dressed in Ashigaru armor salvaged from dead Nachi soldiers and repaired to look slightly worn-out, Minori and the other members of Hiroshi's men slipped into the next wave of attacking soldiers sent to Hisui.

"Line up! You will attack after our messenger in the field sounds his horn."

The samurai officer rallied them into a company-sized formation and made them wait there for their deployment.

"Have they breached the walls already?"

"I don't think so. The fire mangonels we stole from the previous castle ran out of firebombs already, so we have to climb the fences and walls by ourselves."

"Damn. Just when I thought that this will be easy."

The chattering of the men made it obvious that they were already tired with the war. Many seem to even ask the others if it was even worth to continue.

"Minori-sama…"

"Yes?"

"At which point should we cut loose and enter the tunnel that Tsuna-san left for us?"

"Don't worry about it. Iwasawa-sama told me where it is and how we can slip out of formation and into the town undetected."

"Roger."

As the deployment horn sounded, their formation marched into battle with Minori and his men carefully following the army's pace that was different from what they learned from Kiko's army march.

"This feels awkward."

"I know. Just endure it."

A few minutes later, they entered the enemy archers ranges and they were met with arrows. Some of the projectiles were on fire while some had firecrackers attached to them, turning them into explosives that racked their formation.

"Line up and point your spears forward! Enemy cavalry is coming!"

As the lead soldier shouted an order, everyone went into a line formation and pointed their spears forward to meet the incoming cavalry charge.

"BYAAA!!!"

"DANG IT!"

"GET HIM!!!"

The hasty formation was partially effective. They got to bring down some of the horsemen, but also endured some losses as the sword or spear-wielding enemies used these weapons against them while also stomping them with their steeds.

"Forward march! Don't let them stop us!"

Still, the survivors went back to formation and slowly marched forward amidst the incoming arrows and bullets that their enemy desperately used to stop their advance.

"Is everyone still here?"

"Agh… I got a scrape from an arrow, but all 10 of us are still here, sir."

"Good. We're close to the walls now. Everyone, open your satchels and break the glass bottle that Iwasawa-sama left there."

Once they reached the trench that covers the perimeter of the town, a pile of bodies of allies and enemies alike filled the moat while those who are still alive from both sides engaged on one-on-one fights as those who survived to get here were too little to mount an effective defensive formation or lacking in officers that will keep them together.

Under this lack of cohesion from both sides, Minori and his men deployed their smoke bombs to cover the act of them burrowing down the pile of dead men in the trench to find a tunnel with a wooden door that was slightly covered with dirt to hide it.

"Come on, we don't have much time!"

"Yes sir!"

4 men in the group played dead by the tunnel entrance to guard it and later help their rescued hostage to get back to the camp. The remaining 6 men from Iwasawa's group entered the tunnel that was so small and hastily dug that they had to crawl like snakes just to enter it.

"Damn it! Don't touch the roof! This tunnel might collapse on us!"

"S-Sorry!"

There was also the harm of the tunnel collapsing on them.

"…75 meters. We are in the right spot."

"Pass the shovel."

After Minori announced that they were under the command tent after estimating the distance they travelled from the walls, they passed him the shovel. He used it to chip away at the soil over his head.

*Puk!*

"Bingo."

And after a few moments, the sound of the shovel hitting a wood cover made everyone sigh in relief.

"You were a bit late."

"I'm sorry, my lady. Your soldiers sure whittled us down back there."

"They might be conscripts but this is their hometown. They're more enthusiastic if they are defending their own turf."

One by one, the defecting general brought them out of the dirty tunnel and gave them some water to drink.

"So, did you catch them?"

"Yeah. Just like Iwasawa-sama told me, that idiotic prince sent killers here before the battle. It was good that my men caught them and took them here for our use."

At one end of the tent, two masked assassins looked at Minori and the others who wore Nachi army uniforms with surprised expression. For them, it was probably shocking to see the person they were meant to kill just casually talking to a bunch of men that should've been their allies.

"Did Iwasawa-sama told you a way to make it look like one of them was me?"

"Yes. He said that we should stab one with their sword and burn his body while another one will be killed with your sword and left here to die. It would be a set up where one of the assassins was killed but the other one got to kill you and in the confusion of the act, he tripped down a lamp and burned you and your tent down."

"But… they wouldn't look like me even if it was burned."

"Don't worry. We have ways."

As Minori said that, he showed her an amulet whose design was very alike the amber amulet that Tsuna has. With that, Tsuna got what they meant to do.

"I'll dress up now. Give my clothes to one of them and do your best to make this look like a genuine assassination scene."

"Don't worry, my lady. We are experts in that subject."

After Tsuna gave her clothes and armor as she wore a spare Nachi army uniform and climbed down the tunnel, Minori and his men went to work.

"Get one out of his cell and incapacitate him with the tranquilizer drug."

"Yes, sir!"

"Wait! What is the meaning of this?! Why are you doing this? We are allies! We are-"

One stab from a tranquilizing dart made him fall asleep and after being dragged out of his cell, dressed to resemble the defecting female general and given the fake amber amulet, he was stabbed on the heart with his own blade.

"Next, do the other one."

"You impostors! Prince Tozen will never forgive you! He will not- Aguak!"

"Shut the hell up. Someone will hear us."

The other one was stabbed inside his cell with the sword left by Tsuna and was dragged out to make it look like they fought.

"Spread the oil in the tent and the bodies. Don't let them be recognizable once the fire spreads!"

As soon as the order was given, a viscous and black liquid was spread inside the tent. On the tables, on the piles of scrolls and on the dead bodies, the crude oil was spread and as everyone retreated back to the tunnel, Minori threw down a lamp to start the fire.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"Tsuna… why are you still fighting?"

I sat near the gate of our camp, watching as the town we were attacking slowly fell to our assault while the flag of surrender hasn't been flown yet.

"Why is she keeping this up?"

I am still confused. She was obviously not happy with being forced into leading this army, but she isn't ordering a surrender yet.

"Why am I waiting for her? She must've been ordered to fight to death?"

That is the only way this would make sense. If the Shogun ordered her to fight, this is the only way this can end.

"But still… Tsuna should be thinking of a way to escape and save her sister. She knows that she can do it if she joins us again… wait…"

I forgot that she deserted from the army and her sister ran away from her arranged marriage… if they return to Nachi's side, what will happen to them?

While I was thinking about this, our soldiers cheered as some development happened in our attack.

"It's burning! The town is burning!"

"Everyone! We've been ordered to charge! Rush in and press the attack further!"

The news that the town was burning rattled me. If that is true, then that means our forces entered the town and are fighting near the commander's tent.

"Someone! Give me a horse!"

"Y-Yes, mam!"

Along with the charging men, I ran towards the dilapidated town. The dead bodies piled up while fires and blades where scattered in the field.

"Tsuna! Tsuna!!! Where are you?!"

While cutting up the enemies who tried to come close with my naginata, I galloped around while shouting my friend's name in hopes of finding and rescuing her.

"Tsuna!!! Please answer me! Where are you?!!"

I repeatedly called for her at every corner and alleyway yet not a single response answered back to me.

"Please… Please stay alive… I don't want to lose you too…!"

As I rode from street to street with my men who went here to fight, I alone had a different reason in mind.

"The command tent is here! Everyone, charge!"

Once I heard the mention of the enemy commander's tent, I rushed in ahead of our soldiers, cutting up any enemy who tried to stop me until I climbed the slope and there, my worst nightmare welcomed me.

The command tent and the houses around it was on fire while the soldiers desperately tried to extinguish it.

"No… No way… This is not true… this is not true!"

"Die!!!"

"GET OUT OF MY WAY!!!"

Enraged, I swung my spear around to cut down anyone who was making an attempt on my life.

"Why, you-!"

"Ack!"

"Keep her away from the tent! She's aiming for Lady Tsuna!"

"Argh! Damn it!"

The enemy archers loosed their arrows towards me and plunged itself in my armor.

"Protect Lady Himeji!"

"Don't let them stop her charge!"

My men who followed my tracks shot the enemy archers but when that happened, I already had three or four arrows on my vitals, and I can feel myself becoming groggy from the loss of blood.

"Argh! Kak!"

My body went numb, and I lost my balance which made me fall from my horse and flinch on the ground in pain.

"No… I still have to reach her…"

I limped forward as the soldiers who were extinguishing the fire stepped away in shock while others tried to draw their sword to attack me but in the end, simply backed off slowly.

"Tsuna… Tsuna-chan…"

Once I entered the blazingly hot command tent, I saw two bodies that are already consumed by the flames and incinerated into ashes… But I immediately recognized the one who was undoubtedly my deceased companion…

"No… NOOO!!!"

That day, I lost the last friend that has shared a part of her life with me.

And without any care for the world anymore, I let myself fall unconscious inside this burning camp where I lost everything.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"I have news, Your Highness."

"Speak, my subject."

"The commander of the enemy army and the filthy deserter from the Tsuchiyo clan has been defeated. The town of Hisui is now under our command!"

This is it! This is the victory that I wanted!

"This call for a celebration, my lord!"

"This must be written down as your legacy again!"

No… I have to stay calm and look good in the eyes of the people.

"Wait everyone. Let's not languor on our victory yet. Before we celebrate, I wish to make sure that we have achieved complete victory first."

"As you wish, Your Highness. What do you command us to do?"

As my retainers stood to hear my orders, I just thought up of the best way to make sure that no one will go against me again.

"Gather the captured enemy soldiers and make the civilians we stopped from evacuating to gather in the town square. I will personally give them a show that they will never forget."

"""Yes, Your Highness!"""

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

That evening, the locals of the town of Hisui was forcibly gathered at the town square. Anyone who didn't obey, even if they were too old to make the trip or too young to get there in time, was beaten up by the samurai bands until they were rendered unconscious and left on the streets.

"Mom… What is happening? I'm scared…"

"Shh! Don't let them hear you!"

The crowd walked steadily as groups of mounted samurai watched their every move and anyone who fell out of the pace or bumped with the others and caused a disturbance was pulled out, beaten with wooden batons before being pushed back into the walking crowd. This was something that the sadistic samurai called as an "encouragement".

"Bwahahaha!!!"

"This is unfair! My baggage is fatter than yours!"

"Come and chase me or you'll pay for the Sake!"

"Kyaaa!!!"

At the wider roads of the town, more mounted samurai were running around on their horses while dead or half-dead soldiers from the Fujita army was tied on the feet and dragged around by them.

"This is horrendous… what kind of monsters will do something this horrible!"

"Oi! Are you complaining right there, you old turd?!"

"Tch!"

When the last group of civilians reached the town square, they saw a raised platform usually used by the town mayor to make speeches which cheered up the townsfolk from the stress of the unceasing civil war.

"AAAHHHH!!!"

"Furutani-sama!"

The town mayor climbed the platform too this time… or to be more precise, his decapitated head was brought and presented to the horrified and enraged citizens.

"Look at what your stupidity brought you!"

One of Tozen's retainers shouted as he threw the mayor's head down the platform and made it roll down in front of the people.

"But keep your shock to yourself! The show is yet to start!"

As a man wearing a cleanly polished and ornate samurai armor climbed to the platform, the samurai surrounding the people ordered them and "encouraged" them to cheer which, with the fear of losing their lives, the people did.

"Is that…"

"Yeah, that's the Nachi lord's spoiled brat…"

"What is he planning now?"

After Tozen reached the platform's zenith, he announced his name and narrated some things that made the people realize what would come next.

"My name is Nachi Tozen! 217th generation lord of Haguro province! Today, I reconquered a town that was rightfully mine! Today, I will punish a town that rebelled against the Nachi clan's rule when we demanded its loyalty!"

"He can't be-"

"No way!"

With his cue, the captured soldiers and conscripts that came from this town itself was brought out to the center of the town square. They were tied up and stripped of their clothes. On their skin, there were clear burn marks from torture and their mouths no longer had any teeth.

"Father!"

"No! Spare my brother! Please don't kill my brother!"

"Uncle! No!!! Why did you have to do this?!!"

Men who might be fathers, brothers, uncles or dear friends of the gathered people were presented as the samurai of the Nachi clan laughed at the visible suffering on the faces of the locals.

"I will show you what happens when you turn your back to the people who graciously protected you for so long!"

"NOOOO!!!"

Tozen hopped down from the platform, his armor clinking while the citizens of the town tried to get into the town square to save their loved ones but was pushed back by the samurai who sometimes even hit them with their katana's sheaths.

"Your Highness, in celebration of your victory…"

"Hahaha! Excellent! As expected from Hisui, the best Sake in Haguro."

The prince emptied the bottle of Sake into his mouth and after shaking his head to further intoxicate himself, one of his retainers threw down a heavy polearm that he caught and after holding it firmly, he began to dance around wildly while wielding the heavy spear.

"Please spare them! Please don't kill them!!!"

The cries of the townsfolk was for naught.

"Hyaup!"

"FATHER!!!"

Today, the town square of Hisui, a town renown for being a peaceful place in an otherwise war-torn province, ran with the blood spilled for the suffering of many and the entertainment of the few.

"My lord! Please stop!"

One unfortunate soldier hopped into the square and covered the last man to be killed in the first batch of the captured soldiers.

"You!"

"How dare you stop His Highness when he is punishing these immoral beasts!"

It was a common soldier in the Nachi army. His armor and the flag behind his back proved that.

"Wait, is that Jiro?!"

"Is that little Jirou?!"

But the townsfolk recognized him. Showing that even though he is in the opposite side, someone from the town was there to protect them.

"Argh! Get out of my way!"

But for the man who leads the Nachi army, the person that the young common soldier served, he was nothing but another obstacle to his demonstration.

"JIRO!!!"

"YOU BEAST! YOU'RE EVEN KILLING YOUR OWN MEN!"

"Bwahahahaha!!!"

That day, not only the people of Hisui, but those who didn't come from her yet were caught up in the public execution had the same idea.

They would never want to come under this family of rulers who hailed themselves as bringers of freedom and expression and used that same freedom to take the lives of others.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"He has gone mad, huh?"

"Yes, Uesama…"

During dinner, I received the news that Hisui has fallen and the prince of the Nachi clan is currently executing the soldiers he caught to act as an example to the people of the first town who opposed them after I sided with the Fujita clan.

"What should we do with the dead commander's sister?"

"Leave her to me. I have plans for her. Bring her to me tomorrow."

"As you wish."

After I drank some water and wiped my lips, I stood up to leave the dining hall and walk at the garden of Myoko's palace.

"Hm? Who is that cutie that I can see behind the hydrangea bush?"

"Ehehe! Mister Shogun caught Kichi, huh?"

I saw the kid that I adopted hiding behind a bush of hydrangea flowers and after she walked towards me, I lifted her to my arms while she was still giggling.

"I thought you were with Chia-san… Are you naughty again and she left you to study alone?"

"Mm! That's not true! Chia-san said that Kichi did well in her exam and let me roam around before bath and sleep."

"Hehe, I see. Kichi-chan is very good, I see…"

We walked around the garden and talked about whatever she wanted to talk about. Her tone and expression were very bubbly and joyful. It seems like she really was too young to properly process and understand her parents' deaths.

That makes me feel a little less bad now.

"Kichi-chan. Mister Shogun has work to do tomorrow so you won't be catching me sleeping late or eat breakfast with me."

"Ehh? Why?"

"Mister Shogun will just be very busy tomorrow. I'm sorry."

"Nn, nn… Kichi understands…"

As she replied at me with a disappointed tone, I giggled a little and planted a kiss on her forehead.

"Don't worry. After I get home tomorrow, we'll head to Nadeshiko immediately and you can have your first field trip out of Haguro."

"R-Really?! Yay! Kichi loves you, Mister Shogun!"

"Ahaha!!! You're welcome, sweetie."

After she hugged me tightly to thank me, I let her down as I knew that it was time for her to rest now.

"Don't soak in the water too much, okay? You might get your good skin ruined if you do."

"Mm! Good night, Mister Shogun!"

"Good night too, little Kichi."

After she climbed back into the palace, a flowy voice beckoned me by a familiar name as she walked slowly with an umbrella on her right hand.

"My, my… you're too sweet with the child. You're gonna make me jealous, darling…"

"Come on, it's a kid. They need the best care and affection."

It was Chiasa. My wife who jokingly said those words to tease my soft spot for Kichi.

"So, he finally contacted you, huh?"

"It was a good move for him. The sooner he knows his enemy, the more chance he gets to solve his problems and make plans to go against him."

"What a sad reality… two people taking the same road but ending up in different places…"

"You took the words out of my mouth…"

Tomorrow, I will be meeting Iwasawa Hiroshi. The man who currently looks at me as his most bitter enemy.

And tomorrow, I will decide if he is worth fighting or he can be convinced to come to my side.

"That will become his most crucial decision."