[1] Kenshi

• 零 Zero 零 •

In a godless land torn asunder by the sins of man and the devils born of these sins,

Will the distant sun ever arrive to bear light in the midst of this endless midnight?

An answer to a question of such a nature,

Is unknown even to the gods.

• • •

Sekigahara, 1600

A thick mist fell over the village of Sekigahara as conflict swept over the valley, the western forces of Ishida Mitsunari attempting to retreat as the combined troops of Tokugawa Ieyasu's Eastern Army and Kobayakawa Hideaki pushed forward.

Up until now, the Ishida troops had the upper-hand on the battle as the 120,000 Ishida troops were forcing their way through the battlefield and pushing through the Tokugawa clan's force of 70,000. The Kobayakawa had simply sat upon a hill and refused to do anything, despite the commands of the Ishida messengers.

It was not until the Ishida neared their hill that the Kobayakawa would do anything, the Kobayakawa force of 15,600 slamming into the side of Ishida troops, catching them off guard and helping the Ishida gain the upper hand. Despite still being outnumbered, this sudden attack and boost in number would push the battle in the favour of Ieyasu's Eastern Army, now causing Mitsunari's opposing Western Army to attempt a retreat.

Among the tens of thousands of soldiers on the battlefield of Sekigahara was Inu Yohei, a 15-year-old boy fighting for the Eastern Army directly under the Tokugawa Clan's forces, his dark eyes hiding behind the bangs of his messy black hair. Katana in hand, Yohei pushed alongside his comrades as a great deal of stress having been relieved due to the shift in the tide of battle. In an attempt to cover their retreat, the Western Army's spearmen would stab at the pursuing Eastern forces, this tactic succeeding as Yohei along with hundreds of other soldiers were being held at bay while the Western Army continued to back away. A bead of sweat ran down Yohei's face as the young samurai contemplated doing something reckless.

Fuck it, thought Yohei as he shoved his way through his allies and ran up to the front of the Eastern Army. He'd trample the corpses of the victims of the spearmen before jumping into the air in front of one, holding his left arm in front of him as he held his katana in his right hand up high, the spearman looking up at Yohei in surprise and attempting to stab him midair. It would be too late however as Yohei came down on his target before he could even aim his spear at him, Yohei's katana coming down onto his helmet, slicing through and down his body until it stopped in his stomach in which Yohei landed, kicking the body off his katana as he pulled it right out. This caught the spearmen beside him off guard, in which the Eastern Army wasted no time taking advantage of, the samurai immediately striking down the distracted spearmen. With this newly torn hole in the defensive line of spearmen, the Western samurai rushed in and moved around and behind the line, making quick work of the spearmen as they all fell down in seconds. Yohei took a moment to catch his breath, the samurai beside him all running by as they thanked and complimented him.

Far off on top of a hill overlooking the chaos sat the Tokugawa Clan's camp, with Tokugawa Ieyasu himself standing on the outside as he watched the battle. Ieyasu was an old man, 57 to be exact. He donned thick and heavily plated black armour with yellow accents, his helmet aswell having the same colour scheme with large golden fern horns that made him stand out. The Tokugawa Clan head was impressed with Yohei, to say the least, but wasn't surprised either. After all, he was the one that personally invited Yohei into his ranks. Beside him ran up one of his advisers, informing him that the next line of cavalry was ready.