The Beauty of the West: The Gold Route

Intro:The Hell You've Always Known

Another nightmare. I didn't know how I would expect to sleep in the hell hole known as Honno-ji. Nightmares of my past haunted me, as faces I used to know became less and less familiar.

I was dressed in rags, I slept on the floor with not even a single blanket to keep me warm. This was my way of life now. I had been taken from my family at a young age, but after 14 years of torture I thought this was the way I should have been treated. After all, I wasn't killed. I was kept around for my "use" which was anything from cleaning the castle in which I was held captive, to sexual deeds I'm not proud of. After I developed into a woman, they couldn't keep their hands off of me, and I was forced into their every desire.

Honno-ji. The torturous place I had become so familiar with as a hell hole. Home of Nobunaga and the rest of the Oda clan, known for terrorizing the world. Was I ever going to get out of there alive? I didn't count on it. Security around there was too tight to escape, and they weren't letting me go free any time soon. I was prepared to live the rest of my life there, as no one had even looked for me. I accepted that I belonged there and would probably die there.

I was forced to learn how to sharpen and fix swords for the army, so that they could put me to use in all ways possible. I learned how to forge a weapon which could come in handy in the near future. I thought about sneaking into the forging hut at late hours of the night to make an awesome weapon that would kill all of them--but there was always a guard out there, and I didn't have that kind of sword skill. It had crossed my mind many times though.

The day I heard of Nobunaga's death, I tried to make my escape. However, the Oda remnants caught me and made sure I wouldn't go anywhere by chaining me up so I couldn't move, let alone walk. I would be in that dungeon for days to come.