Cold Steel - Inazuma Gaiden

XI: Loud Whispers, Silent Screams [Rated M]

PREFACE:

This chapter contains scenes that are unsuitable to younger audiences, hence the T-Rating on the preview of the book - perhaps it's even closer to being M-Rated than anything. If you are easily disturbed by violent imagery or gore depicted in literature form, it's best to click off the chapter or the story for that matter.

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A wooden keel planted itself deep onto the cold, wet sands of Kannazuka's eastern shores, which would then immediately followed by two pairs of feet stepping down on the snow just in front of said ship. The sky was dark with a lot of cloud cover, and the sun had plunged down over the horizon, leaving the surroundings especially dark on that one cold winter night.

With the exception of the orange hue and columns of smoke looming over the large hill where the Kujou Encampment was supposed to be. Even all the way from the shores, the Narukami outbounds could hear the distant sounds of metals clashing against each other, separated by the occasional strikes of thunder and other explosions echoing from the general direction of the former fortress used to house the forces of the Shogunate during the height of the Civil War.

Ayaka already had her katana manifested to her back just as a precaution, while her steel eyes just continued to watch the situation in light panic and terror. Excommunicated or not, the Kujou Clan was filled with the protectors of the Shogunate, strong and capable warriors, most of them being veterans of the Civil War. Lords and Samurai alike, masters of the way of the sword and gifted in the ways of warfare. Even without the privilege to rule over the Tenryou Commission, only the foolhardy would even attempt to draw in their ire.

Unless of course, their assailants were-

"Ayaka-san. We must hurry."

Ayaka's racing thoughts were put into an abrupt halt when she heard the stern voice of her companion, his face once again hidden with the roningasa once again on the top of his hair, and with the lack of light from their surroundings, the entirety of his head behind the straw hat blended completely with the darkness.

She nodded warily. "Of course. Yes, of course, let's make haste."

Their feet carried the pair up the slope, following the path leading to the back entrance of the Kujou Clan's encampment, the smell of smoke and fire filled their noses as the sounds of battle continued to grow louder still the closer the got to their intended location. The pungent, salty aroma of the ocean would be quickly replaced by that of human blood, much to the distress of the two newly-arrivals.

"No, no- no, no," The lady in white kept muttering under her breath, her usually steady composure breaking down by the second. "We're... we're still far too close to shore, we shouldn't be... getting signs of battle so far from main encampment itself."

"Ayaka-san," Nobutada froze, his hand boldly reaching out to tap her shoulder, grabbing the woman's attention. "...Those are..." Using his free hand, he pointed towards a clearing just shy of the pathway.

"Gods no, please no."

Ayaka brushed past the ronin, unleashing her senho in reflex in response to her alarm as she quickly blurred into a mist of ice and snow to speed away to the general direction where he pointed, swatting away the thief's hand from the sudden burst of cold, whilst also eliciting a slight, pained groan from the male who was left trailing the woman and nursing his fingers who'd just tasted some frostbite.

The moment her body manifested itself once more, the lady's hands immediately scrambled as they dug on the accumulated snow, feeling the stench of blood growing yet stronger and her fingers going warmer as they touched crimson red liquid that'd been absorbed by the snow. Her steel eyes wide with terror while cold sweat started to pour freely from her forehead, whilst tears of anxiety threatened to fall as her eyes identified the fallen figures buried beneath the snow.