Elements United

-Chapter 26-

A few days later, there was a light rain as we approached the outskirts of Moyasu, the capital of Jigoku.
"Well, this is quite possibly it," I slightly mumbled under my breath as we stood there, taking in the city.
Sakura nodded. "You're right, Yuki. We all need to go in, and fight as if it's our last battle."
Tori nodded in agreement as she fiddled with her spear, which was now in the form of a pen. "You can say that again. Honestly, I wouldn't mind if any of us died during this fight. It would be for a good reason, after all."
I sighed as I slightly gripped the hilt of the Kage no Katta. "I was honestly thinking the same thing. If any of us gave our life, the two that remained would definitely fight in the name of the fallen, making sure their sacrifice was not in vain."
There was then a moment of silence, and I was the one who finally ended it.
"...anyways, let's continue on. We've made it this far. The city is right there, and I can already see Castle Yugo."
Tori nodded. "Good idea. Come on Sakura, let's get going."
With a nod, we began walking into the city of Moyasu.

As we were walking through the streets of Moyasu, making our way to Castle Yugo, Sakura suddenly spoke up.
"Well, I don't know about either of you," she said, "But I had an odd dream last night."
"What was it about?" Tori asked.
Shr took a deep breath. "It was actually really short, but one thing was clear as could be. I have reason to believe that my dream showed me who was going to die."
"...who will it be?" I asked, becoming intrigued.
Sakura bit her lip. "Well...it was me."
Tori then gave her a serious look. "Are you sure that you didn't have the dream because you're scared about the fight?"
Sakura shook her head. "No. I've had those dreams, but this one...it was very vivid. I don't remember how I died, but I do remember that the pain I was in felt all too real. That's why-"
Tori then suddenly cut her off. "I think I know what you're talking about. I've only heard rumors, but it is believed that even though Tochi doesn't have the ability, that some of her children are given the gift of seeing the future."
Sakura gasped. "D-does that mean I'm going to die...n-no matter what we do...?"
Tori shook her head. "Not necessarily. You see, what you saw in your dream was only one of the possible future. To be honest, the future you saw only has a thirteen percent chance of happening. There are actually eight possible ways for this to end, but I won't really bother with detailing all of them."
"...I think we catch your drift," Sakura said with a sigh.
Tori bit her lip, realizing she went a bit overboard. "...sorry. I said a bit too much, didn't I."
Sakura nodded. "Yeah. I think we get the drift."
"Anyways," I said with a sigh, "We're at the center of Moyasu. I won't be surprised if the guards try to attack us as we try to enter," I said as I paused to catch my breath. "That might mean that we'll have to kill them...are you two ready for that?"
Tori chuckled. "Are you kidding me, Yuki? Of course we are ready. If we weren't, why would we be here?"
"I know that. I just wanted to make sure that you two knew what was going to be possible."
Sakura nodded. "Understood."
I looked at Castle Yugo, slowly drawing the Kage no Katta. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's get going."
Tori nodded as Senpu became full size. "Indeed. Let's go."
Sakura also nodded, and pulled out her bow. "Let's do this."
We then began making our way to the gates of Castle Yugo, ignoring the looks that people were giving us for carrying our weapons.

Just as I had expected, there were about ten guards waiting outside the castle gate, and a few of them were females.
I grit my teeth. It was almost as if Moeru was mocking me. I couldn't stand fighting a girl. I don't think I'd be able to even come close to killing them.
Sakura could tell that something was off, and looked at me. "Are you okay Yuki? You seem...distant."
I bit my lip. "I...don't know...I can't fight these girls..."
Tori sighed. "Yuki, don't let that scare you right now. You need to pull through."
I took a deep breath and nodded. "...you're right. I need to be able to handle this. I need to face my fear and defeat them. All right," I said as I tightly gripped Kage no Katta. "Let's show these guards what it's really like to go through hell!"
Tori smirked as she readied Senpu. "I second the thought."
Sakura chuckled as she knocked back an arrow in Shizen no Ikari. "I'm down for that."
I nodded. "All right. In that case, let's go!"
We all nodded at each other, and then charged at the guards that were guarding the entrance of Castle Yugo.

It was no understatement to say that the fight that followed was exhausting.
We did manage to kill all of the guards, but it wasn't without consequence. We didn't face only the guards that were guarding the entrance, but we also had to deal with reinforcements. Overall, we probably killed at least thirty soldiers. We also sustained quite a few injuries.
However, we didn't really have to worry about our injuries, as we were able to quickly make our way into the castle.

"Jeez...that was insane," Sakura mumbled as we quickly made our way into a side room.
I nodded. "You can say that again. ...actually," I said, taking a look around the room we ran into, "I don't think we made a bad decision on what room to stop in."
"Why's that?" Tori asked.
I sighed. "If I'm not mistaken, this is actually a medical supply room."
Sakura then nodded. "Yeah, you're right. Should we spend the rest of the day here and heal up?"
"Might not be a bad idea," I said. "I mean, we might have a few people come and try to kill us, but we'll be fine."
Tori nodded. "That sounds like a good idea. I actually know quite a bit about medical herbs and such. And I also think it would be wise to set up shifts."
"Also not a bad idea," I nodded.
Sakura sighed, wiping a bit of blood from her face. "Well, seeing as I have the least amount injuries, I think that I should take the first watch."
"Good idea," I said.
With that, Tori and I began to treat our wounds as Sakura guarded the room.