Adaption is Key (An Aza Chobei Fanfic)

Chapter One: The Beach

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As the pair traveled for who knows how many miles, they had arrived at the beach as muffled voices crowd their surroundings.

From the sound of waves to the feeling of sand under my feet, we're at our location. Chobei concluded in his head.

His inner thoughts were interrupted once Mizuho started shaking beside him from the large amount of death-row criminals there are. To shut her up and calm her nerves, he bumped her hip.

"AHH!" yelped Mizuho. Guards immediately started to reprimand Chobei to the ground as he kneels down.

"Be calm," Chobei advised, "you're lucky people can't see you now. Otherwise, you would've been torn to shreds."

Mizuho gulped her fear and lined up with the rest of the Yamada clan members.

"Can't you believe that that cowardly girl is among us?"

"How on Earth is she not dead?"

"Women are useless. I bet she was only allowed to join us because she slept with the clan's head. I mean, look at her."

"Yeah, her accessories now make a lot of sense."

The last two comments caught Chobei off guard. Those snide remarks must've been from other Yamada clan members since all the other convicts have their vision covered. The other two could be from the other inmates, but those last two are based on sight. Despite these sexist words, I don't honestly know how I ended up with that nervous wreck of a swordswoman.

Suddenly, one of the shogun's servants spoke loudly to everyone in the area in front of them.

"Well-met, lawbreakers! The great eleventh shogun, Lord Tokugawa Nariyoshi, sits before you! Normally, the likes of you would be unfit to be in his Presence."

Other criminals begin to berate the high-class in front of them, despite their limited vision, about how they were basically being looked down upon by Tokugawa.

"What the?!"

"Awfully high 'n' mighty, huh?"

"You mocking us?!"

"Shogun? Who cares?"

Mizuho looks over to the Tokugawa's area as some of his servants asked why would they allow all of the criminals near him, despite the Lord's request.

The servant continued. "Whosoever accomplishes this is promised a writ of full pardon! And now, the confidential mission being off to you by official decree of the shogun himself!"

Chobei widened his eyes, despite his face being covered. Now, this opportunity is really the Aza Brothers' escape ticket....

"I shall now tell you all about the island in question! At a glance, it appears to be paradise..."

The servant's story was then interrupted by the bored comments of the criminals, forcing one of the guards to command them to remove their face coverings. Many of them rejoiced as Chobei looked around him, noting the ones that stood out to him.

A ragged little kid... a blonde oiran... a hooded man.. a white-haired shinobi... a long-legged kunoichi... a bearded giant... a monster still covering his face... a high and mighty asshole... a small monk...

Regardless, they all seem either weak or fun to fight for me.

Suddenly, a flowering corpse appeared in front of them, shocking the convicts.