The God of War's Love

Chapter Six

(Blanco above)

I was on a horse with the soldier that had hit me with his rifle my first day here, Kagenobu. The horse was as tense as its owner as we rode with a small portion of the army, maybe 200 men, that were traveling to make camp at a large outpost on our side of the war with Nobunaga Oda. Kagenobu was a large man with a small mustache.

"So, what's your name?" I asked awkwardly, fiddling with my hands.

"... Uesugi Kagenobu. General of Uesugi clan and a samurai," he said coldly as he looked down at me.

"You remind me of your brother." I said with a huff. Kagenobu eyes me suspiciously but didn't retort.

"You shouldn't have come here."

"Why?"

"You'll be one of the first to die. Women are too weak for the battlefield," he whispered. As much as I wanted to talk back, I could not. I am weak...

Kenshin and his horse led the small force and he held up his right hand. Thunder claps from horse shoes hit the ground as it shook. I looked around me as Kagenobu turned me to the side to hide me. What looked to be one thousand men surrounded us, all armed, and most mounted upon horses.

"Archers! On my signal!" A man cloaked in black screamed. Our small force scattered as Kagenobu made his horse sprint at a neck-breaking speed. With one hand securing me, he took the other out to pull out a long katana.

"Kagenobu..." I said in a hushed, quiet voice. All of our force had scattered as arrows rained down the sky, only hitting few men. Friends gathered friends and brought them to safe places, yet Kagenobu would not stop. "Kagenobu, let me off."

"No way in hell." He said menacingly. He was trying to force me to stay, huh. I ripped his arm off of me and jumped off of the horse. "Akane!"

I landed with a dull thud a little past a few injured soldiers. With a medical kit on my side, I ran to assist them.

The man I ran to first was not very old. He looked about 15, with an arrow in his chest. I learned down, put my ear next to his mouth to check if he was breathing. The boy opened his eyes and said quietly, "Miss? Am I dying?" He was. I knew, but I still would be here to hold his hand. I stayed silent, and that was all of the confirmation he needed. "Miss... my name is Shuya... on the outskirts of Echigo, there is a small farm with a woman named Airi... tell her that I've loved her all of my life, and that I'm... sorry I couldn't tell her. Please." His instructions brought tears to my eyes. I tightly grabbed his hand and urged him to keep talking.

"Shuya, can you tell me a little bit about Airi?" I asked him so that his final memories could be about those he loved.

"Yeah... she's an adorable and sweet girl I met at a river. She has long, brown hair and these beautiful eyes... I wanted to marry her, become strong for her, protect her. I love her with... everything... I have." He said, struggling to talk, and blood started to come out of his mouth. The light in his eyes went out and he went limp in my grasp. I gently closed his eyes, and I turned to a loud crunching of leaves behind me. In the distance, I saw that Kenshin was cutting men down five at a time, with each stroke of his sword. A man cloaked in black appeared in front of me and grabbed me by the hair.

"What is a woman doing here?" He mumbled as he pulled out a knife and held it to my throat. My heart was pumping a mile a minute and my throat tightened up. The man put a little more pressure on my neck, causing some blood to slip out. Next thing I knew, a loud yell came from my right.

"Akane!" I heard Malcom scream as he tackled the man and quickly killed him. I was too stunned for words. My entire body was shaking, and I was still really shocked about that little boy, Shuya. He reminded me of my brother, Cole. Malcom leaned in and inspected my neck as he said, "Akane, we need to move and take a look at that cut. Can you run?"

"Hic* hic*," I looked at him through my teary eyes and shook my head no.

"Shit. Ok, come here," Malcom gently picked me up in his arms and I hid my face in the crook of his neck. "I'm gonna run for it, ok?" I nodded. Malcom ran at a sprint to and up into a tree. The leaves blocked out everything, but I guess he could see. My neck didn't hurt too badly, but a deep cut in an important place like my neck could not go without being treated.

"Malcom... is this war?" I asked as Malcom slowly nodded. "Oh... god. Hic."

Malcom took my medical bag at my waist and took out a small bottle of disinfectant. After cleaning my wound, he gently bandaged it.

"Akane, can I hug you?" He asked, surprisingly calm. I nodded as tear streamed down my cheeks. He took me into his arms and whispered, "It's okay," until I stopped. When he became quiet, I noticed that the screaming of war cries, pain, and fighting were quiet. I looked out through the leaves, and bodies scattered along the valley. I put my hands to my face so that I didn't sob, but as I looked closer, I saw about 30 of our men that had survived the ambush. Kenshin and Kagenobu led the small force, and I heard a loud whistle, even from such a small distance. Thank god. He's alive.

"Okay, Akane, we have to see Kenshin," he whispered as he gathered me in his arms and jumped down from the tall tree. In a flash, we had reached the soldiers.

"Malcom. Report losses," Kenshin commanded, after being momentarily shocked by my state.

"127 casualties, my lord," he said calmly.

"Well, shit." Kenshin looked calm, but I could see something else in his eyes: sadness, anger, rage. He cares for each of his men. They have decimated our ranks, but we still have to make it to the outpost, we just have to wait for reinforcements.

"Malcom, set Akane down; she looks pale." Kenshin commanded. Malcom looked at me apologetically as he set me down, but I felt as though I would collapse at any moment. My knees started to shake as Kenshin walked towards me, but when he almost reached me, my knees gave out. He caught me before I hit the ground, and I clutched my neck. I looked down at my hands and saw red. I was bleeding through the bandages.

"Akane!?" Kenshin yelled as everything went dark.

Kenshin's point of view

"Akane!?" I yelled as I held the small girl in my arms, with blood streaming down her neck. Her face was pale and her eyes were puffy. Damn... I shouldn't have let her come with us. "Malcom!" I screamed as I turned to him. I gently picked up Akane and placed her in Kagenobu's arms. He looked down at her sadly; her small frame and fragile body is too delicate to be out here. "What the hell happened?" I asked him intimidatingly. Man, I'm pissed.

"Akane was holding a dying soldiers hand as an enemy soldier drew near to her. I was trying to get there before he hurt her, but I only managed to stop him before he killed her."

"...Thank you for saving her," I mumbled.

"My lord, why do you care so much for Akane?"

"She is the kindest and most honest woman I have ever known. She is not like anyone I have met before."

Malcom mumbled, to my disdain, "I feel the same."