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400 Years Apart	By : Cynthermes Category: +M to R > Mirage of Blaze Views: 4238 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: Mirage of Blaze and its characters solely belong to Kuwabara Mizuna. I’m just going to creep into a corner of her sand box and play the part of a wannabe historical writer. No profit has been made in the construction of this story.

Chapter List
- 31
- 32
- 33
Chapter 32:

Interlude

White knight; Black knight

A/N: In a secret rest house covered by a mysterious fog near Lake Ashi were three men and a sleeping dragon.

Warning: Heavy plot in chunk-o-text format. Naoe and Kotarou interaction as they have never done before; Boring for some, confusing to most… How do I attract readers this way?

…

Much to his dismay, Naoe immediately learned that Ujiyasu’s terms and his means for meeting those terms were crafted to his disadvantage. Firstly, he could not leave the periphery of the fog surrounding the rest house situated near the lake so any attempts of escape were discouraged. There also seems to be a special incantation drafted in the fog that prevented any telepathic communications or telecommunications with his comrades. Asking either Haruhie or Nagahide for aid in searching for Kagetora-sama’s soul was quickly cut from his options. Naoe was all alone, all by himself and could only rely upon his abilities and resources in hopes of meeting Ujiyasu’s first condition and that is to speak with Kenshin-kou.

The very first obstacle arises: how to evoke Kenshin-kou’s presence?

Since that incident of 30 years ago, Naoe feared any communication or contact with Kenshin-kou. He would mostly be severely castigated for his past actions and the worst thing that could happen would be his dismissal as Kagetora-sama’s protector and closest companion. He might even be permanently removed from the Yashashu and he would forever be torn away from his beloved’s side. Thus Naoe never tinkered with the idea of ever speaking with Bishamonten’s incarnate out of guilt.

But now he must be able to think of a way to summon Kenshin-kou to his consciousness to deliberate what should be done in this situation. Kagetora-sama’s life is on the line so there should be no room for self-serving thoughts.

Try as he might, he couldn’t reach out…

Staring blankly at the mystical surface of the lake nothing answers his call or his prayers.

Perhaps this was Kenshin-kou’s intended punishment for him? His response to Naoe’s crimes of 30 years ago was to keep his silence and never to heed anything from him at all?

Naoe despaired.

Not now…

Please…

I need… no…

Your son needs your help terribly… please don’t shut me out and heed my call.

I am doing this for Kagetora-sama.

Still there was nothing.

The man’s shoulders slump. His prayers, previous offerings, meditations and cleansing were not enough to call upon their god of war. He had prepared an elaborate circle of spiritual energy and sat at the center of it, chanting, praying, and concentrating to activate the link between a god and his servant. All his efforts were for naught, Kenshin-kou never answered.

It was but a mere day since then but to Naoe each second and each minute wasted only in silence eradicates the hope he clings on for Takaya’s survival.

A rustling sound by the grass makes him turn around and there stood the shadow wearing the same blank expression and not even being discreet in observing him.

“What do you want?” Naoe asks him coldly, almost warily in case he was with…

But the shadow appears to be himself today. There was no eerie knowing gleam in his eyes like when Naoe spoke with Ujiyasu-dono. The shadow, Fuma Kotarou said that his master, the head of the Hojo possesses his body from time to time. Studying the neutral look in him confirmed the singularity behind those eyes…or…

“Should you be so far away from Saburo-dono when you’re calling for your god’s presence?” His voice, which had a dull quality have changed somewhat. There was a trace of emotion there that was previously absent.

Still Naoe cannot help but be hostile towards him. “And why would it concern you?” Hearing his lord’s name in someone else’s lips irritates him to no end.

The shadow shrugs… a quite humane gesture for him. “I thought it would be more comforting to have someone trusted nearby when you’re having bad dreams, is all.”

Someone trusted?

Bad dreams?

What nonsense was this dead-eyed man spouting about? Naoe narrowed his eyes. “Something drastic is being done to Kagetora-sama’s soul and your master Ujiyasu-dono is the one behind it. Seeing my lord change before my very eyes would affect my concentration so I chose not to be near him at all times… unless you are doing something else to him…?” A dangerous edge creeps into Naoe’s tone as he warns the other.

Kotarou vaguely shakes his head. “Ujiyasu-sama is merely healing Saburo-dono’s soul. It is unlikely he would be the one to further the damage. In fact, from what I can gather from remnants of his consciousness in my head is that he doesn’t know how to fix some of the deeper spiritual wounds and that Saburo-dono's condition is very unstable. That is why he wishes for you to summon Kenshin-dono.”

“I still do not believe the entirety of it.” A surge of anger welled in Naoe’s heart, which he quickly tried to suppress. “If Ujiyasu-dono won’t release Kagetora-sama’s soul, Takaya’s body would still die. Tell me, what is beneficial to my lord in that?”

“He would cease doing kanshou. Something that is really beneficial to his soul’s state right now. He is not fit to be doing exorcisms anymore. Using Saburo’s vast powers to suppress the onshou of Yami Sengoku is bringing more and more damage to his soul,” was the detailed, informative response.

“Ujiyasu-dono…? No.” Naoe probed uncertainly but seeing a slight smirk on the shadow’s features that was once more out of place, confused him. “Are you possessed again or by something else?”

Naoe after all had seen the subtle possession of Ujiyasu of this manservant of his.

The shinobi crossed his arms haughtily in front of him. “Now I know why Ushiwaka¹⁰¹ has chosen to involve himself. It’s because of you, how unsurprising.”

The very atmosphere became more warped after those initial words. Ripples started forming in the once serene lake, the mist obscuring the horizon grew heavier and the very wind itself was biting on human skin. Small cuts appeared on Naoe’s hands as he shielded his face while the figure wearing the guise of Fuma Kotarou drew nearer. He seems to glide in mid-air, feet not touching the ground as he stopped a few feet away from Naoe. The shadow was enveloped in alarming, volatile, and overwhelming spiritual energies. These energies were clashing against the natural balance of chi in this place.

Naoe realized belatedly that he could not even erect a goshinha (Shield) between himself and the shadow. Whoever had the Fuma in possession at this moment far outweighed him in terms of power. “Who are you?” He demanded.

“When one is reincarnated, one loses all the memories of one’s previous life, correct? So how sure are you, that being Naoe Nobutsuna was your first life?” The being within the shadow taunted, not answering him in the least.

“I didn’t expect you to know. Reincarnation erases memories of the previous life. And yet despite losing your memories of him, he continues to watch over you from a distance. It wouldn’t have warranted for my attention if Ushiwaka did not become so utterly a fool that he ended up trapped in the dragon’s spell.” His words immediately trigger something in Naoe.

As if a cinematic film was replayed within his head, the dream was remembered with more clarity this time…

*

“Musa,” He calls affectionately.

“Who… are you?” Naoe knelt, petrified in a strange emotion he couldn’t quite put into words. The man in white smiles gently and wipes Naoe’s tears with his hands.

“So you have crossed over and gained a new identity. Naoe Nobutsuna died and was reborn into a 400-year-old kanshousha.”

“How do you know this?” Naoe was instantly wary. Fate doesn’t seem to get enough of giving him more puzzles to solve.

“When you wake up, the person who shows himself directly serves under the one currently in possession of ‘our’ souls.” The man in white bypasses his questions and offers him a cryptic answer instead.

“Why do you look so much like him?” Naoe’s stubbornness doesn’t stop though.

The young man surprisingly wrap him in a warm embrace. “It’s been a while. It is good to see and hold you again. May the goddess give you luck.”

Naoe felt like all his sins have been forgiven by this simple loving gesture. “Who are you? Please tell me.” He pleads in a whisper.

“You are fondest of calling me Tsune. But I am now the ghost of a past you hardly remember. Let me take one last act of selfishness.” Petal-soft lips press against Naoe’s in farewell.

*

The young man clad in blinding light whose face was nearly identical to Kagetora-sama's… who was he?

“Who is the one you said that I lost my memories of?” More and more cuts tore Naoe’s skin. The being possessing Kotarou didn’t bother to tame the turbulent flow of his chi in the very least.

“It’s none of your concern. Ushiwaka wouldn’t matter to you. Because for you all that’s important is the person dreaming alone in that room whose soul recuperates a slight but whose body dies the longer this drags on. It’s pathetic because even though you’re Saburo Kagetora’s protector you simply cannot do anything. The dragon’s spell is very tenacious and spiritually-binding that if I were to force my way in, the souls within might suffer a chain-reaction whose outcome cannot be foreseen—”

The shadow suddenly emits a nonhuman cry of pain. Conflicting energies and spiritual auras within the single body actually created sparks of blue light. The instability of the entity causes Kotarou’s body to crouch on the ground. As larger discharges of energy erupted, Naoe saw the danger in doing nothing and acted by instinct.

He performed a seal to prevent the unstable chi from lashing out and then formed a goshinha around Kotarou who wore a very pained expression as he fought an inner battle within the very rights to his being.

Having only recovered most of his strength in several hours, Naoe’s goshinha was not as compact and resilient as he expected. A particularly strong lash of chi escaped outside the barrier and like a homing device zoomed towards the rest house.

The pseudo-sound of glass shattering made Naoe realize that the runaway spiritual energy had aimed right at the room where Takaya’s body rested. It too had broken through the barrier he erected there.

Damn it! The protector bolted to his feet and was already scaling the hallway in Takaya’s room. But when he nearly ripped the sliding door open, a transparent halo surrounding his lord’s reclined form was still glowing faintly before it disappeared before the naked eye.

A kekkai was still in place and protected Kagetora’s body from harm. As Naoe kneels desperately at his beloved’s side to check him for injuries, he also spots a nasty hole on the wall with cracked edges around it. If this kekkai wasn’t here, the renegade pulse of chi would have dealt a fatal blow to this already weakened body. But this barrier wasn’t made by him so who…?

A fatigued and slightly weakened form of Kotarou whose arm was braced against the wall appeared in the doorway. “Saburo-dono… wasn’t hurt, was he?” The shadow asked a little breathlessly.

Naoe guardedly surveys the other man for signs of irregularity but sees none. “You… what is with your body getting possessed from time to time? The last one was dangerous! Kagetora-sama’s safety was almost compromised!”

Kotarou meets his rage-filled gaze with a calm one. He has recovered from whatever ordeal he was suddenly pitted against. The shadow placed a hand on his chest and said, “I am a hyourei. I ‘attached’ my soul to this body. Unlike kanshousha like yourself, Naoe-dono, I have to maintain control of this body constantly. However… what caused me to lose it outside is an ancient spirit not bound to the Yami Sengoku or the basic laws of the spiritual world.”

“What did you say?” And yet more mysteries to solve were hurled at Naoe’s way. He tries to recall the dream of Kagetora again and of the young man who shared the same features of his lord who was bound on the Sakura tree. But dreams sometimes have hidden meanings and not meant to be taken literally.

“Didn’t I say that you shouldn’t steer too far away when the one you’ve sworn to protect is dreaming?” The shadow reiterated with a gentleness in his tone that was never there since Naoe met him under the service of the Hojo siblings. Something had irreversibly changed in the shadow that he couldn’t identify. Could a person become so very different in only a matter of days?

More questions, more unknown variables springing in the height of Kagetora’s comatose state were not lightening Naoe’s mood. His frustrations and helplessness in the past hours were pushing his patience and resolve to the breaking point. “Quit leading me in circles and just explain plainly! I get that you don’t want to aid in Kagetora-sama’s recovery but stop blathering nonsense to me!”

Kotarou tiredly slides to the floor in a sitting position and briefly shuts his eyes in an uncharacteristic display of vulnerability. “When Ujiyasu-dono used his powers to fulfill Saburo-dono’s wish by the lake, he had employed the aid of an ancient spirit. The exact circumstance and the methods he applied to perform such are undisclosed to me. This is as far as I can gather from his fading fragments of thoughts in me. There was however an unfortunate consequence to it. It appears that there was another entity and it was spiritually connected to the ancient soul now trapped with Saburo-dono’s in the other realm Ujiyasu-dono created with an archaic complex spell.

This entity, as far as I can tell with his consciousness is another ancient spirit. After you retrieved Saburo-dono’s body in the lake and breathed life to his lordship, the entity tried to attack. But I managed to arrive just in time and took the brunt of the assault.”

Naoe was still having trouble believing that this manservant of the Hojo would care to drag himself to their affairs. But he forced himself to be logical, biting the swift retort about to fly out of his lips.

“Ujiyasu-sama strictly ordered me that neither of you should come to harm while Saburo-dono was unconscious hence my actions.” To find that there was little personal involvement in the shadow’s meddling strangely brought a sense of relief to Naoe. He gestured for the unusually conversant shinobi to continue.

“The ancient spirit, who was previously under an 800-year old slumber has now tampered my soul, attaching majority of his memories and consciousness and minority of his substance in me to remain cognizant. He has corrupted me beyond repair.” A flash of pain and despair crossed fleetingly in Kotarou’s expressionless eyes. “Bouts of his displeasure come out of me from time to time that I find difficult to suppress; you have seen it yourself. And there is something Ujiyasu-sama has never confided in you. And since I can sense my master’s consciousness less and less I will now impart it.”

It was too much for a single sitting. Naoe never hoped to know that there was so much more than this… His current predicament of not being able to call upon Kenshin-kou was proving to be the first in a long list of obstacles and hindrances. An ache formed in his temples. His stress, exhaustion, and anxiety was manifesting themselves physically. “Spill it, you shady bastard.” Rudely, he obliged.

Kotarou disregarded the caustic epithet. “The ancient spirit has caused Ujiyasu-sama’s body to sleep, such is the power of the entity within me. But he cannot break the spell that held Saburo-dono and the other ancient spirit for fear of doing unintended damage or change to the both of them. That is what baffles me. So far he has only directed his rage on Ujiyasu-sama’s physical dragon form. In retaliation my master, now unable to return to his original body except for rest has manifested himself and his power through the fog. He takes over my body when necessary. But as moments pass I sense that my master is having more difficulty in communicating with me. It is either I am so tainted by this ancient spirit or Master’s influence upon Lake Ashi is dissipating though I can’t say for sure.”

Despite the situation getting more complicated and his ever-growing headache, Naoe managed to analyze some of the pointers provided. It only made him come up with one thing: Ujiyasu’s demand of invoking Kenshin-kou’s presence may not be a call to war.

Pondering about the dream, the shadow’s momentary loss of control, this powerful ‘ancient spirit’ emerging to address him directly… there were faint clues as to what the kanshousha were actually dealing with.

Who was the real enemy?

What was he truly up against?

An 800 year-old spirit not bound to Yami Sengoku, awakened by the… separation of another ancient spirit? The one called Ushiwaka… was it the name of the young man embedded in the Sakura Tree? What was his (Naoe) connection to this spirit?

*

“Musa,”

“So you have crossed over and gained a new identity. Naoe Nobutsuna died and was reborn into a 400-year-old kanshousha.”

“You are fondest of calling me Tsune. But I am now the ghost of a past you hardly remember.”

*

“Now I know why Ushiwaka has chosen to involve himself. It’s because of you, how unsurprising.”

“When one is reincarnated, one loses all the memories of one’s previous life, correct? So how sure are you, that being Naoe Nobutsuna was your first life?”

“I didn’t expect you to know. Reincarnation erases memories of the previous life. And yet despite losing your memories of him, Ushiwaka continues to watch over you from a distance. It wouldn’t have warranted for my attention if Ushiwaka did not become so utterly a fool that he was trapped in the dragon’s spell.”

“Ushiwaka wouldn’t matter to you. Because for you all that’s important is the person dreaming alone in that room whose soul recuperates a slight but whose body dies the longer this drags on.”

*

Despite the prevalent confusion and a powerless feeling akin to creeping in the dark because of all these developments thrown to him at once, Naoe Nobutsuna’s 400 years of experience as kanshousha begins to kick in. He firstly needs to know and understand his foe/s.

In his limited stay in this rest house he vaguely recalls a room where vast reading materials were kept. With a last anguished look at Takaya’s unmoving form, he purposefully heads to that direction.

Regaining a healthier color to his skin, Fuma Kotarou stands up and warily follows him. “Where are you going, Naoe-dono?”

Naoe’s reflex reply was, ‘it’s none of your concern’ but he changes his mind. “You, do you still wish to blindly follow your master’s instructions to the letter after what you have revealed to me today?”

“I don’t grasp the question.” The shinobi blandly responds.

Naoe angrily turns to face him. “Based on your statement, I can safely conclude that both our masters are not fit to lead us in solving this predicament. Unless you can call forth Ujiyasu-dono’s consciousness so I can speak to him we are now left to our own judgment. So what’s it going to be, Fuma Kotarou?”

“You are asking for my cooperation.” The marionette-like inflection has grown prominent again. But the logical, unfeeling behavior make the shinobi more useful and sensible than his emotional spiritually-induced instability. Naoe was more comfortable in dealing with the other man’s alexithymia-like¹⁰² but known persona than the other foreign and more volatile character.

“I don’t— we haven’t got all day! Decide already! Aid me or don’t get in my way, either answer is favorable.” Naoe was reduced to actually simplifying matters for the other. His calm and collected façade had vanished hours ago.

“How can I be of use? The entity within me is very chaotic in nature. If my master has not surrounded the area with restrictive and containment seals I would have flown as far away from here as possible. I’m no longer…” Kotarou pauses as if to search for the right word and says, “…safe to be around.”

That was how Naoe got the idea. “So basically you always need someone to set you accordingly… for now, correct? Then you and I should be within each other’s reach at all times. I get to keep an eye on you, to suppress that ‘volatile creature’ residing within you and in turn you get to monitor my actions in case I plan to escape. Fair enough?”

“You are saying we get to be inseparable. That idea is… tolerable for now.” The Hojo’s guard dog oddly consents. Naoe was still on high alert and harbored enough doubts if this ‘predicament’ was a part of some plot to manipulate him or Takaya’s current condition. But his instincts told him that his dream of Kagetora was somehow congruent with the shadow’s earlier claims.

What was exactly happening here?

“I am headed for the archives. It’s up to you to make yourself useful there or watch me until I bore myself.” The Uesugi retainer was already walking to the said direction with a passive shade in tow. Kotarou mechanically moves after Naoe while several images from a parallel world were playing behind his void-like eyes.

XxXMOBXxX

Pouring himself over several historical texts dated back 800 years ago, Naoe Nobutsuna found himself stumbling over the Heian period. It was the Imperial Age of Japan where prominent kuge (Court nobilities) like the Fujiwara Clan, Taira Clan, Tachibana Clan, and lastly the Minamoto Clan vied for power by political agendas and interrelating with the reigning imperial family.

Among the four clans, the Minamoto were deemed the most powerful since they surpassed other rival clans by their legacy paving the way to the Kamakura Shogunate of Japan. In fact several daimyo and his family like the Takeda, the Satomi, the Imagawa, the Akechi, and even Tokugawa Ieyasu himself claimed to have descended from the Seiwa-Genji or the Minamoto Clan.

Naoe’s swift recollection of the young man’s white kariginu in his dream bearing the Mon* or family crest of the Minamoto narrowed his search. His attention was now logically focused on the person who exalted the clan to the highest seat of glory now lost to the times.

It didn’t take long for one particular family name to stand out:

Incidentally, the shogun-progenitor of the Minamoto Clan, during his rise to power had secured his future standing through his marital relations with the original Hojo Clan of Owari…

Minamoto no Yoritomo… Naoe had this sudden urge to look at the tall figure of Fuma Kotarou who stood facing away from him and appears to be gazing outside the window. Being kanshousha Naoe quickly spots the conflicting energies surrounding the lean form. The shinobi’s aura, which was supposedly pure was tainted with ominous splotches of black— Naoe gives a strong shake of head. He must not get distracted further and returns to reading.

Only when he came across Minamoto no Yoritomo’s relations especially one of his half-brothers by the name of Ushi…wa… the kanji appear to spin and slowly swivel before him. At first he blamed it on his sleeplessness and blinked several times. The letters cleared in his vision for a split second and then from top to bottom and right to left they begin to vanish one after another as if the whiteness of the paper were dissolving them. “!”

A subtle sound, an ethereal voice chanting in a low tone gradually echoed in the silence of the room. The letters in the book that lost their ink flew in a stream towards the source of the spell. It was happening in such a speedy rate that the pages before Naoe fanned and flipped as if an invisible wind blew into them. By the time Naoe realized what just occurred, the book grew too heavy on his hands. It dropped down the desk like a rock and slammed itself shut.

The chanting stopped but Naoe did not have enough time to conjure a spiritual shield around himself before he was thrown across the room and crashed against a bookshelf with such incredible strength that left him winded.

*

Fuma Kotarou was possessed again.

Naoe ignored the sudden pain crippling his back (he might have broken a few ribs) and narrowed his eyes as the malevolent figure approached with lethal grace.

The other man wore a blood-chilling smile that didn’t suit his impassive face at all. His movements like the episode outside were ghost-like and he seemed to glide on the floorboards averse to the natural stride. “Did you think I’ll simply let you read about the things you didn’t know?”

Naoe ignored the sensation of a crushing weight as he tried to get up. Merely being in close proximity when the Fuma was once again taken over by the entity felt like oppressive gravity only ten times greater. But the kanshousha was stubborn and endured, looking the ancient spirit in the eye, he returned the arrogance. “I didn’t think I would have to fix you so soon. Was your resistance that weak?” A potent force made his lungs wring blood, he coughed harshly and then fresh streaks smeared his mouth and nose.

The entity was not pleased to be inappropriately addressed. “Do not talk down on me, filth. Even though you’re a kanshousha I could destroy your soul to nonexistence so you cannot perform kanshou again. You would not be so fortunate and be protected by him this time.”

“Pardon me. I didn’t know that cheating through browsing the records was unacceptable. I was never a good student, Minamoto no Yoritomo-dono.” Bravely, Naoe addresses the spirit in a cold, aloof manner.

“So you still managed to know who I am… detestable. Even so neither you nor I would be able to free the trapped souls. You are powerless against the dragon while I am reluctant. I shall only have to wait while idling isn’t even an option for you.” Yoritomo cackled.

“You say you are mighty but you cannot free Tsune-san from the spell. What makes you gloat so much when you yourself is forced to wait?” Provoking the spirit seems foolish but Naoe was only buying time until he regains his strength and then he would bind the entity when it was distracted so the hyourei could once again take over.

“How dare you!” Yoritomo raged. His onen or spiritual malice had increased in his fury that the very act of breathing became difficult. Naoe felt strangled by his power. “Did I not tell you that forcing entry would do irreversible change or damage to the captured ones? I do not care what happens to Saburo Kagetora. If he should be sacrificed for Ushiwaka it is no concern of mine!”

Out of control and wit, Naoe seized the opportunity to prove Fuma Kotarou’s statement. He invoked Bishamonten’s power and tried to exorcise the spirit on the spot.

At first it seems to take effect, the bluish white light emerged and surrounded the very unstable chi but as the kanshousha pushed for the spirit to be expelled nothing happened. “!”

All it did was to immobilize Kotarou physically and then the next moment he ripped away from the bind and jumped out of reach. Yoritomo laughed as he saw Naoe become drained with his undoing.

“Is that it? Is this the power of Bishamonten? How very weak! The likes of you can never get rid of me!” After basking in his triumph, the entity came back to himself and using all the liberties of Kotarou’s body he again walked towards Naoe’s kneeling form and roughly grasped his chin. “I realized just now how very alike we are indeed. It has been 800 years and my hunger has abruptly awakened… sensing your emotions… sifting through your memories… tasting your desires…”

Naoe’s eyes widened. This creature couldn’t… Unexpected fear crawled down his spine.

Yoritomo laughed once more seeing Naoe’s expression. “Yes, we are alike. How about I make a proposition with you? I’ll help you retrieve Saburo Kagetora’s soul and put it back inside his vessel but you will also allow me to make Ushiwaka possess the same body. In return, I will possess your body as well. You shall let me take the majority of your consciousness and then… and then…” The abysmal eyes gleamed predatorily… “Using your body and my soul attached to yours I will deliberately and thoroughly proceed to violate—gnh!”

Kotarou’s body recoiled as if physically struck. He clawed his scalp and then a visible divergent shape appears, shrieking, “You…! Don’t you keep fighting me!”

The hyourei’s aura was blazing brighter… outshining the darker entity shown to be clinging to half of him. Kotarou clearly yells, “Naoe-dono, do not listen to him! He is deceiving you! He has already attached his soul to mine. He would never be able to accomplish the lies he is telling—”

Naoe took action. He reactivated a stronger seal on Kotarou and enveloped him in a sturdier goshinha. The flailing chi became bound, not allowed a way out.

The shinobi fought for control; the goshinha assisting to suppress the tumultuous life force and won. Out of breath, Kotarou collapsed and fell on his side.

Naoe resentfully submitted to the exhaustion himself soon after and fainted face-down on the floor.

Without their leaders to aid them, the two retainers were left to rely on no one but themselves.

A grueling path lies ahead.

XxXMOBXxX

Pushing against the door that won’t budge, Naoe turned to his apparently passive companion, “Where is it?”

Kotarou didn’t look up, “Pardon?”

“Ujiyasu-dono’s body. Now that he can no longer possess you because of the seal tell me where he is.”

The shadow whose troublesome chi was subdued for the time being seemed hesitant but nonetheless replied, “He sleeps at the bottom of the lake. What do you intend to do?”

After trying to force his way in physically and power-wise against the unknown force keeping the archives inaccessible, the kanshousha gave up. He wouldn’t be able to read the records again. “If we could awaken Ujiyasu-dono’s body then I would have another chance to speak with him, wouldn’t I?”

Fuma Kotarou slowly shook his head. “Even so he would not choose to answer you. Unless it is Kenshin-dono he is speaking with that is.”

Naoe resisted the urge to grab his hair in frustration. Their implacable masters weren’t lightening the situation one bit. Well, he could at least try. “I already told you that Kenshin-kou won’t heed my call. We have ourselves at a deadlock here.” He sounded complaining to himself more. “If neither our masters help us then I would have to resort to you.” Despite the shinobi patching up his injuries, gratitude was the last thing Naoe felt. He roughly grabs the sleeve of the other’s front. “If you don’t cooperate with me I will put you inside a kekkai and release the seal. I will simply sit back and watch you be devoured by the entity that has taken too much of a liking to you.” He hissed threateningly.

With cool eyes, Kotarou pried himself away from the other’s hold. “The concern of my well-being is also the least of my worries, Naoe-dono.” Sharing the same sentiments, the shadow doesn’t feel a shred of thankfulness in his current stability owing to Naoe’s intervention. “But it does appear we have the same goal.”

“Oh?” The kanshousha mockingly raised a brow.

“To relieve Ujiyasu-sama from slumber may indeed make things less complicated. There is a tangible object that might interest you. Follow me.” The shadow headed outside even without Naoe’s response.

Leaving the hyourei alone was dangerous so Naoe was forced to tail him. Finding Kotarou at the banks of the lake and staring into the distance did prick Naoe’s curiosity. As the latter approached, the former extended his hand pointing to something ahead. Naoe tried to discern any peculiarity of the waters or the thickness of the ever-present fog but could sense nothing. Was this dead-eyed man trying to make a fool out of him? He frowned, “There is nothing I see, unless it is beyond the fog.”

“It is there, look closely.” The patient tone at least quelled a little of Naoe’s annoyance. He supposed it wasn’t to be seen by ordinary individuals and employed spiritual power to peer once again at the said direction.

Beneath the waves, something metallic glowed surging with great power. Like a siren it beckoned him to come closer. Naoe resisted the magnetic pull that suddenly overwhelmed him. He held his brow. What was wrong with him? There was definitely something strange with that object. It started to hum like a subtle vibration only heard by those attuned to its level.

The light in Naoe’s eyes was gradually fading and a dazed expression was creeping on his face until abrupt pain exploded on his skull.

Fuma Kotarou had landed a swift blow on him. “Don’t be allured by it.”

Naoe irately rubbed the swelling bruise by his cheek. “Bastard.” He was almost ensnared by the mentioned object.

“We’re even, Naoe-dono.” The shadow said, unaffected. “If you can fight off its hypnosis you can cautiously inspect it.”

“You’re telling me? If you’re unaffected, why don’t you be so kind and bring it here?” Sarcasm remains one of Naoe’s favorite habits, sadly.

“I cannot approach it. It is sapping my life force and the seal you placed on me.”

Naoe decisively placed a lid on his boiling pot. Under moderate waves and feeling loose soil under his feet, he strode carefully towards the glowing metal until the cold water came up to his waist. Yet the moment he touched the object, sparks crackled almost searing his hand.

When he looked up a gigantic transparent kekkai surrounding the lake appeared. It spanned the entire area of water and was frightening in its scale. At this short distance Naoe can make out the submerged outline of an ancient sword. “What is this…?” The pulses of energy, the very hostility of the force itself was in fact very familiar. It perfectly matches the spiritual wavelength of the entity temporarily suppressed within Kotarou.

“Naoe-dono if you can break the kekkai created by Tsurugi no Kusanagi* then there is a chance we can end Ujiyasu-sama’s sleep.” Kotarou spoke with a hint of urgency in his flat monotone.

Tsurugi no Kusanagi was the name of that sword. It sounded quite familiar. Wasn’t it one of the Imperial Regalia of Japan? What was it doing here in Lake Ashi? And why did it match the spiritual wavelength of Minamoto no Yoritomo’s onen? “Let me ask you, does the entity possessing you have any connection with that ancient blade?”

The legendary imperial regalia of Japan: There were actually three in total.

It took some time before Kotarou could answer. “The Minamoto worship Hachiman as their god. But if you have time to idle some more I will tell you a story derived from the memories of my captor.”

Naoe had returned to the banks after grudgingly accepting that currently he had not enough strength to even scratch the restrictive kekkai. “I would have to listen to your nonsense again?” He sounds more than irritated to reasonably put up with it but as Kotarou leans against a rock, Naoe rests on the one opposite to it.

“You already know that Minamoto no Yoritomo is the one that hinders us. If you were paying attention to one of his outbursts, you can easily realize that he is obsessed with one person. That person happens to be his brother whom he had thought to have betrayed and plotted against him in the past. Does this sound familiar?” The shadow’s words unwittingly make Naoe think of Kagetora-sama and Kagekatsu-dono.

“Ujiyasu-sama especially emphasized that Saburo-dono turned his back on his own family and stubbornly stayed with the Uesugi, correct? But when Kenshin-dono died, Saburo-dono became fair game and was betrayed. Saburo-dono soon fled after not seriously fighting against Kagekatsu-dono but he was not spared, halfway from trying to secure help from Ujiteru-dono and Ujimasa-dono he was forced to commit seppuku and died. The very same thing happened to Minamoto no Yoritomo’s brother.

Even after doing everything to help his elder brother, certain retainers with their own agendas in mind made Yoritomo-dono believe that his brother was going to take his place as clan head and was plotting behind his back. At first Yoritomo-dono did not believe them but his own insecurities of his brother’s charm, the wars he won for him made him listen to his retainers eventually. He soon ordered for the arrest of his brother who was forced to flee for his life. Still, Minamoto no Yoshitsune also died in the end.”

Hearing that name for the first time brought an inexplicable pain deep in Naoe’s soul. Why am I feeling this way? What is wrong with me?

Oblivious to Naoe’s conflicting emotions, Kotarou continued with the tale. “There was one particular strange event that happened as Yoshitsune-dono was fleeing from his brother. During the Otate, just like Saburo-dono, Yoshitsune-dono decided to seek help from an ally in Oshu and thus hid inside a cave to rest on his way there. According to legend, as he slept inside the cave maybe while dreaming he gets a bizarre visit from the sun goddess, Amaterasu.

The goddess told him that no matter what he did in escaping his brother, Yoshitsune-dono would die in the end. In fact he would never make it to Oshu. Yoshitsune-dono honestly tells her that he did not want to die yet but if it was his fate he would still fight to change it to his last breath. Impressed by his honesty and courage she bestows a gift to him, an offer at the afterlife. The gift was in the form of a mirror with an eight-pointed star at the center. She tells him that when he dies his soul could linger on earth to try and change the fate of others he deemed worthy. He could choose not to reincarnate and preserve his identity. All he has to do is to be the guardian spirit of Yata no Kagami*. It was also up to him to respond to the wishes of people. The mirror shows the truth of a human’s presumed fate. It also shows different possibilities that might have happened if ever one hopes to change one’s earlier decisions. The outcomes shown by the mirror through the guardian spirit’s will was said to often bring tears of regret on the beholder.”

Naoe interrupted. “Wait, you knew this information all along and withheld this to me until now?”

Kotarou gave him a very pragmatic reply, “It is only now that I chose to cooperate with you otherwise I really wouldn’t have bothered. If this could help in the current situation then I am willing to divulge it.”

Naoe was very much tempted to ‘return the favor’ and jam a fist inside the shady bastard’s brain. But the account did have value and he held himself back. “Yata no Kagami is one of the treasures of our imperial country and as you said shows the truth of fate and yet how come Kagetora-sama’s soul is now trapped—” His eyes widen in shock. “Don’t tell me, Ujiyasu-dono combined the power of the Tsutsuga mirror with Yata no Kagami!”

Kotarou also appears to be taken aback. “It never seemed Ujiyasu-dono would do such a thing. If so, how he did it continues to elude me.”

Oh Buddha…

Kagetora-sama trapped with the guardian spirit Minamoto no Yoshitsune via the collective force of the two mirrors… was the entire gravity of the problem!

This time, the kanshousha raked a shaking hand through his hair. Time was ticking, their hope was diminishing every second and this was the immense weight they had to carry. A disheartened Naoe did not know where to start. Slamming the heel of his palm to clear his head he stubbornly spoke, “Tell me what you know about Tsurugi no Kusanagi and its connection to that demon, Yoritomo.”

~TBC

101 – Ushiwakamaru is the birth name of Minamoto no Yoshitsune; (There the cat is out of the bag) At least now we know the identity of the mysterious spirit bound with Kagetora.

102 – A condition that is characterized by a person having little or no emotion at all.

Post A/N: Why is my plot getting thicker and thicker? Please bear with me. ^^; So sorry if anyone is becoming confused. By the way the aforementioned legend of Amaterasu with Yoshitsune was made by me. Don’t look it up; you won’t find it. I will try my best to let this come together in later chapters. Please leave a review and tell me what you think.
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400 Years Apart