Darkest Days

28, Assemble For War

I turned around, and there he was. Akuma...

His kimono had blood all over it, a crimson tone invading the normal colour pallet on it. He also had a katana that I recognised... a pale, silver blade and an old wooden handle wrapped around a weathered and tattered piece of cloth. "No..." I whispered in that moment.

"What did you do to Kan Sensei?!!" I added, a yell filled with boiling rage. Overflowing like an unchecked boiling pot. In response, he laughed hysterically, like a hyena. "Oh wow, you really care for that old hag too much then I thought you did" He sneered. "He's not just some 'old hag'!!" I responded, my eyes scurried over to Maki's for a quick moment to see her reaction. When I did, her face was as pale as a ghost, her eyes were still; widened with nothing but a bottomless dread. If I could, I would've cradled her in my arms in that moment and tried to comfort her. Though, that wasn't possible.

Not when you have a powerhouse of destruction in front of you who's so powerful they'd suddenly killed your sensei and your whole elite armada. Not even a goodbye, not even a witness to watch him die.

It was far too quick. I couldn't believe it.

"It's probably some sick lie you people make" I dismissed, while unseathing my katana. "What were you and your young lady trying to accomplish here? A heist of some sort?" He asked. "Nah, we were trying to understand some weird ass message but let's not let that take up our time to settle things" I answered in a murmur.

"Then we'll have an actual fight!" He exclaimed, and as he took his kunai dagger out. I had some. Spike of realisation.

Why is he evil? Are we the bad ones? What's the main goal? Why am I even a samurai?

What's the point of all this?

Those questions kept rummaging through my mind sometimes. Sometimes they'd drown out every thought as I tried to sleep. Sometimes they'd stress me out in battle, sometimes they'd have me wondering mid journey or keep me up training through the sunset. I snapped back into the scene when I felt the hairs of my skin grazing his kunai blade. So I quickly moved my forearm and brang my fist to his face, knocking him over so I could power cut him. "Force of the dark!" I exclaimed in pure rage. The thought of Kan Sensei being potentially dead struck me in my gut again but now I had a war going on in my mind.

Why was I doing all this?

And why or how did Kan Sensei die?

You humans can be rather naive sometimes. So utterly clueless, it makes me sick.

All you've ever done in my life is put me down! I don't want you telling me shit- let me fight!

The darkness. The world. The life I lead. Its painful...

So what's even the plan here?

"Why're you even doing all this?" I yelled out as I s him being slammed out to one of the walls. "It's all in the history of Terra, Specter- read once in a while you stubborn children!" He grumbled at me before trying to barge me head first. That's when Maki moved forth and tried to save me from being punched in the liver. She drove her blade into his left thigh; the thigh closest to him and he limped over, then punching Maki away from him.

That did it! I held my blade with both hands and the darkness wrapped around said blade. Making a matte black katana in my hand, like I was holding raw power.
"Just tell me already!!" I called out, while I moved my sword in one fluid movement, like a fluent, flowing dance. As my blade moved with my movements and as I saw trickles of crimson fling out his body, the darkness trailed off my blade like a smooth wave of water.

In that moment, I felt like I had accomplished something. Only until I heard a voice in my head.

'When you learn to channel your powers with your emotions, only then are you allowed to be called a master samurai' I heard my father say. He was dead.

When I was barley able to walk, I had heard him say that. A vivid memory of mine, buried behind the ties of war. But wait a second...

No.

That wasn't my father.

"Well done Specter, you've successfully trained Maki to a high enough rank. And this war may be the same war where my end will take place" Kan Sensei admitted as he walked in. His voice, not the best, and as always, he'd appear behind me. I didn't let his appearance disturb my battle though, unlike Maki. I can't blame her going to his direction. We're all young after all, especially NextGen.

In fact, him and Ari had broken into the place as well; an explosion from one of the walls had suddenly taken place. Like the walls broke down from the heartbreak of war altogether. Behind it, was Ari and behind her, NextGen. Quite litterly too.

He was litterly being held up by Ari and I can't lie. Seeing him like that made me chuckle a little. The boy is naive after all. "The sixteen year old war genral is back. Bitch!" She beamed- wait a second sixteen?!! "I thought you were seventeen!"

"I am but I just like to recall when I was an actually good genral." Along with her came along the Warlords. Damn. Couldn't of been a better time...

"You Specter... you and your lousy army thinks you could actually get a few words from me?"

"Yeah, if it means beating the absolute shit outta you"