The Death of an Empire

Chapter five An Uneasy Peace

Hinata and Toshi sit down together, Toshi looks at Hinata "how'd we get mixed up in this?"

"I don't know,"

Toshi turns to Hinata, "when I was in Tokyo, i was with my Mom and brother. My father was in the force at Saipon, he was a captain, killed in action in a banzai charge. I was with my brother one day, he ran outside to play with his model zero plane. The Americans came and started thier first bombing raid. I heard a high pitch scream."

Toshi starts to cry,

"I ran outside and saw my brothers arm clutching the plane, the rest of his body gone. I took the plane and kept it with me all this time."

Toshi pulled out an old plane from his pocket, "You see? so whats your story?"

Hinata looks at him, "My dad was killed by the Imperial army, he was a samurai. The emperors forcesntook my shops items. They then forced me to join and i had to leave my mother and wife."

Toshi laughs, "So you hate the empire?"

"alot yes. " Hinata smiles.

Captain Fujito yells "get down! American patrol!"

"how much ammo we have?"

everyone counts thier ammo, Henada has 10 bullets left. "We have 30 bullets in all, two grenades and a flare."

"Go into the cave and look for more weapons."

Suzuki goes but an explosion kills him. Fujito yells "Move!"

They all run out the cave, the American patrol opens fire. Kenji screams as bullets rip through his body, he falls to the ground. Fujito is shot in the leg and arm, he falls to the ground. Toshi is hit in the left leg, he screams in pain. Fujito signals for Hinata and Toshi to move. He nods as the Americans surround him. he pulls the pins off the grenades. The explosion kills seven Americans and injures two.

Joe gets off the medical ship and back into the fight. He goes to do a patrol, they encounter Nishi's units and survivors from Suribachi. The American soldier pumble the Japanese with machine gun fire and grenades. a grenade comes close to Nishi blinding him. He orders his men to regroup with Kuribayashi. As his men leave, he shoots himself with a rifle.

Joe and the other marines walk into the cave and find Nishi's body, they bury him.

Hinata and Toshi limp towards Nishi's cave only to find that it is abandoned. They regroup with another group of soldiers heading for Kuribayashi's cave. There are only two caves left Kuribayashi's and the north western caves.

In Kuribayashi's cave, the soldier try to hold out. suddenly a patrol walks by and sees the light.

Joe sees the light in a cave and orders his men to open fire. Bullets pound the cave, Kuribayashi's commanders all take out thier swords and charge, so that Kuribayashi can get to the Northwest caves.

Joe opens fire on the commanders, when the last falls he throws his gun on the floor, "We almost had him!"

Hinata and Toshi finally reach the Northwestern cave. The cave is crowded with injured. Kuribayashi arrives to find out that this is the last cave. The Americans and Japanese have been fighting for 20 days now. As of this point, the Japanese are completely sorrounded by the American Marines, there is no retreat.