The God of War's Love

Chapter Two

I opened my eyes to a frightened Blanco on my lap and the sounds of screaming men around me. The shuddering ground had bloody men littering the field in dropped swords and corpses with horses carrying hardened warriors on their backs. Malcom appeared next to me, swiftly scooped me up, and brought me to a tree lining along the horizon.

"Malcom, what is this place?" I shakily asked while petting Blanco for comfort.

"A battlefield in between the cities of Azuchi and Echigo. This is a battle between the Oda and Uesugi forces, highly dangerous armies. We have just passed through a rare portal; it doesn't normally show. I have no expertise or experience in finding or predicting them, so I don't know when we can get..." Malcom hurriedly said. I was beginning to tune him out because of the shock. This was a battle in 1545. I'm  not in the same Japan; although the earth I walked on was the same, the culture, society, and people were drastically different in their hardships and beliefs. Years began to stream down my face. "Don't cry, Miss Akane." He said.

A small group of Calvary broke through the trees, and one of the men spotted us. A short command later, the horses stopped, Malcom somehow disappeared, and the soldier held my hair tightly as he interrogated me.

"What is a woman like you doing on the battlefield?" He menacingly sneered down at me as he pulled out a short sword and held it to my throat. Blanco who was hiding in my jacket, jumped and scratched the man's hand. He swatted her away while I tried to force her back in my jacket.

"Come with us." He growled as he pulled my hair. Ugh. He said that like I had a choice.

I was brought to a tent in a camp on the Uesugi side of the fight. After a long time waiting with mean men around me, a beautiful man with scars across his entire face entered the tent. He walked over to me, grabbed my chin, and harshly forced me to look at him.

"Woman. Why are you here? Speak." He said coldly. His brown eyes bore into mine, without a trace of kindness, yet eyes that showed pain. My throat was too tight to speak and my heart beat quickly.

"Speak." Another soldier growled as he yanked my hair.

"I-I don't know!" I stammered.

"Not good enough, bitch." The soldier said.

"This is my interrogation, Kagenobu." Kenshin said quietly, yet with enough force to shake the whole room. "What is your name and clan?"

"Umm... my name is Akane, but I don't have a clan." I said, fearful of what may happen to me if I remain silent.

"Don't lie!" The man named Kagenobu said.

"She's telling the truth." Kenshin said, peering at my face, may I add, at a disturbing proximity to mine.

I pulled my face out of his grasp and slapped Kenshin's hand. He looked at me, surprised, as Kagenobu slapped me. Hard.

"Kagenobu," He said, "leave her be. As a matter of fact, we're taking her and that pest she's carrying to Kasugayama." He commanded, referring rudely to Blanco. She hissed in response.

"What?! Milord-" Kagenobu said, astonished.

"The battle is over. We have won this one, but we must return to our domain quickly." He replied to his surprise. "Have the woman returned. Unharmed. Send her to the dungeons."

As Kenshin exited the tent, the man named Kagenobu glared daggers at me. The back of my head was met with the butt of a matchlock rifle, and everything went dark.

Sorry if this was a little short. I need the buildup to a certain point in the plot. Just one quick apology in advance, if anything is historically inaccurate. I only got the idea to write this from my older sister, who was learning about the Oda period in Japan. Thanks for reading so far!