His dreams were violent, and his spasms left his caregivers anxious. He dreamed of this life, and the life past. It grew harder to separate the two. He found himself back at high school, sharing conversation with a girl he had once liked. But the scenery around him was distorted, as though he was looking at everything through the lens of a telescope. Her mouth opened wide, never seeming to close. The room trembled, and all the objects around them started to fly inside her gaping jaw.
The s.p.a.ce around them collapsed, and everything went dark.
Quiet. A very long quiet.
And then. A spark.
The tiniest of sparks. But within that dark s.p.a.ce it seemed as bright as the sun. He s.h.i.+elded his eyes, trying to resist its sudden rays. The spark began to grow, as though aggravated by his resistance. Soon it had become a shocking sphere of pure white light that scorched his eyes and threatened to confiscate his vision. With it came a heat. A powerful heat. As though he was standing next to the sun.
Instead of becoming charred, his skin boiled, as though a liquid. He watched on in terror as it began to flow off his body, exposing the tender muscle below. That too began to liquefy, abandoning him to the floating pool of skin below him.
Very quickly, his skeleton was revealed. Though his nerves had long since abandoned him, he still felt the deep scolding pain.
The s.p.a.ce began to pulsate, as though growing smaller. The ball of light grew unsettled, and started to bounce around. It made contact with his sea of flesh, drawing the liquid into itself.
The liquid transformed around it, refusing to follow its spherical shape. It stretched off to form five thin tendrils. It did not stop there however, as these tendrils thickened, and grew longer, differentiating even further.
The skeletal body that Gengyo now occupied felt a distinctive chill, despite the heat that had once been. For the sphere now a.s.sumed the shape of a human body. N.a.k.e.d. It looked very much like his own.
But there was still a thin amount of liquid left, and it drizzled on of the figure"s head, coating him in a fleshy juice.
As soon as it touched the skin, it was already a.s.suming a new form. With moments, a kabuto as black as the abyss decorated its head. And the face was soon covered by a men-yoroi of the oddest design. He had never seen one quite like it, and before the jaw was completed, he was unable to identify quite what it was.
With a thick forehead, giant eyes, a wide nose, complete with a jutting jaw of the largest proportions, he was able to place it as a gorilla. It felt wrong to look at. It was a creature that felt unbefitting of a men-yoroi. Yet there it was, sitting upon the face in a shade of black slightly lighter than that of the kabuto.
The liquid ran down on to the shoulders, granting the humanoid figure a pair of shoulder pads, mimicking the colour of the kabuto. It drifted down the chest, forming a splendid dou, and before long the entire figure was dressed in a set of Edo-style samurai armour
The last slither of liquid on the floor ran outwards, turning itself into the smooth steel of a sword blade, and then a finely crafted hilt of a similar shade of black.
Only when the liquid was completely used up did the figure move. It reached down toward the newly created katana, grasping it firmly in its hands.
It then took two steps towards what remained of Gengyo, driving the cold blade through his ribs, aiming at a heart that was no longer there, yet still ending his life.
His eyes flashed open as he let out a cry of fear.
He sat upright, momentarily confused. He was in a small, clean room, his legs covered in a soft blanket. A stabbing pain echoed across his torso, reminding him of his many wounds. He glanced down toward his chest. His kimono was parted slightly, revealing a neat layer of fresh bandages.
A head peeked past the open door.
"Rin…"
He breathed, his throat raw from the lack of hydration.
"Nii-san!"
She shouted, tears running down her pretty face, as she dashed into the room, hugging him tightly.
Her tight embrace made the pain a slight bit worse, but he dared not say anything, and instead patted her head gently, returning the hug. Her shoulders heaved up and down and her tears soaked into his clothes.
"It"s alright."
He soothed.
"I"m okay."
She looked up him, taking in his face, forcing herself to believe that it was true. Her dark brown eyes were beautiful, warming his heart. He had not expected to wake up again, but he was glad he had, even if he only got to see Rin one more time before he pa.s.sed, his battle would have been worth it.
"Nii-san… I was so worried…"
She sobbed, attempting to stem the flow of tears with the back of her clenched hand, but failing miserably.
"The doctors said… they said… it would be a miracle if you made it… they couldn"t believe that you were still alive!"
"Hoh… Those are some harsh doctors, writing me off like that. Look at these arms, I"m far stronger than I look!"
Despite the pain, he did a mock pose, tensing his bicep under his sleeve.
A brief giggle offered a temporary reprieve from the tears, but before long they had started again, and she wrapped him in another tight embrace.
"Are you really okay..? You"ve been asleep for a whole two days… you, mum, and Masaatsu… you were all hurt so bad."
Hearing that Gengyo spoke with urgency, worried for the safety of his family.
"Mum? Masaatsu? How are they now?"
"They"re okay – they weren"t hurt as bad as you… Masaatsu is walking, but mum is still resting in bed – though she"s been awake a few times."
He sighed with relief, relaxing back into the hug, feeling a weight lift off his shoulders.
"And dad?"
She laughed bitterly when he mentioned father, sparking his curiosity.
"Ha. He was covered in so much blood, but once we got his clothes off, there was barely a scratch! That stinky old man had me worried for so long…"
Gengyo could not help but laugh too at that. It did sound a lot like Morohira.
"That crazy b.a.s.t.a.r.d… He almost gets beaten to death when he"s out just drinking, and then you put him on a battlefield and he returns unharmed? There"s no justice in this world!"
She giggled, thoroughly agreeing.
"Ah, Nii-san, let me go and get them. They"ve been really worried too."
She wriggled free, bouncing toward the door, sending him a big smile before she exited. He shook his head at her energy, finding himself smiling as well.
"What a wonderful little sister."
He thought to himself genuinely.
He heard little snippets of conversation as she ran out into the garden area to fetch his father and brother. They arrived hurriedly, struggling to believe what they were hearing.
"My G.o.d… You"re actually alive!"
Morohira said bluntly upon seeing his youngest son sitting upright in his bed.
"Wow… That"s a bit of a poor reaction, dad."
He commented lightly, greatly amused by his father"s straight forwardness.
Masaatsu shook his head in disbelief.
"If you had seen the state of your body, you wouldn"t be knocking him for that. You"re lucky to be alive, little brother."
Their shock did not conceal their happiness. Both their faces had immediately lifted upon seeing him, and they each wore a wide grin, even the normally stoic Masaatsu neglected to a.s.sert his calm demeanour.
At the risk of spoiling the mood, Gengyo turned serious.
"I honestly did not expect to be alive today. Tell me brother, what happened?"
He saw Rin tear up slightly upon his statement, but it was something he felt he had to say. With his family, and those that he deemed to be close, he made a point to be as honest as he could.
Masaatsu sighed, nodding in agreement.
"I feel the same. It was madness, brother. After they saw you kill Toda, the men became beasts. I was the same. I"ve never felt so strong in my life. I don"t know how long we fought, but we surrounded your body. And then, out of nowhere, the master came, and saved us. I don"t know what happened after that… I blacked out. It was crazy."
His younger brother looked at him with disbelief.
"You… Held off 35 armed men with just the few that we had? I… How many survived?"
Masaatsu shook his head as though exasperated.
"That"s the thing brother, all of us survived the battle! It was strange… It was like we weren"t allowed to die. None of us were. We just fought, wanting to protect you."
"What!? No one died?!"
Gengyo all but shouted. Such a thing was downright impossible. Well, perhaps if they were the most elite troops, who had spent their lives training… then such a thing might not be considered so surprising.
"Ah… I mean, no one died in battle. There was one man – Suganuma-san – do you remember the middle-aged man, who was one of the first to join your charge? He died this morning. I was by his side. A courageous man, brother. And do you know what his last words were they?"
"Tell me."
Gengyo spoke tentatively, picturing the man"s face. He knew exactly who his brother was talking of, and after all he had learned, and all he had done, his loss hurt all the more. Those men who had followed him into battle that day would earn a place eternally within his heart.
"I cannot fathom how such fine people could have gathered in one place, but I will be certain to remember their names for eternity."
"He asked of you. And when I told him that you were still alive, he closed his eyes and breathed his last. And do you know what? He died with a smile on his face."
Hearing such a thing, even Gengyo – after all his years of experience – could not help the tears that rushed to his eyes. He clenched his fist, shaking his head.
"Who am I to be deserving of such loyalty?"
"I… This man, when will his funeral be held?"
"Tonight, brother, with the rest of them."
"And his family? What of them?"
"A wife and a son, about 10 years old."
"I will be attending this funeral. I need to meet with his family."
He began to struggle to his feet. He did not know what time of day it was, but he knew it was not yet evening by the sunlight that shone through the paper walls. He needed to get ready. This was one event he could not afford to miss.
"And whilst I"m at it… I need to visit the rest of them. I owe them too much."
Morohira forced him down by the shoulders, much to his protest.
"Kid. Calm down. Your wounds have barely been closed, you need to take things slowly. It"s only early morning yet, you do not need to rush. Ideally, you should stay in bed for a few days longer… But I can see that"s not happening."
"I agree with father."
Masaatsu seconded.
The youngest son sighed, struggling to calm himself. He reasoned it should not be too much bother to remain sitting a while longer.
"Fine…"
"Good! Nii-san shouldn"t be foolish, especially after leaving us worried for so long. You have to be obedient!"
Rin chimed in, approving of his meekness.
She presented him with a plate of food that had been waiting on a tray in the corner of the room.
"For starters, eat this!"
A large plate of rice and fish. At one point it would have been a most delicious meal, but now, staring at it, he could not think of anything he wished to do less.
He looked up, opening his mouth to complain, only to have it quickly closed again when he saw the intense glares the rest of his family were sending him.
--
h.e.l.lo, and welcome to a new volume of TTG. I won"t go into too much detail about what is going to happen, but let"s just say that Gengyo won"t remain a peasant for very long.