"ARGHH!"
The soldier screamed as a sword pierced his heart. He looked at the person who did it and fell to the ground dead. The figure didn't even look at him and charged forward, not bothered by the cramped space in the room. The soldier's last moment was filled with the deaths of his fellow soldiers. He had one job, and unlike what it seemed, he didn't fail entirely.
The wooden door was kicked down, and more soldiers rushed into the bedroom. The man reacted right away and threw the sword in his hand at the first one. Falling, the soldier blocked those who rushed in behind him.
"Uaaah!"
"No!"
Knives and sword slashes killed the soldiers until the floor was thoroughly soaked with blood. For a moment, only distant shouting was heard, giving the man a brief respite. Or so he thought.
"Fire..." the man said, smelling smoke. "Let's go!"
He moved to the other door and pushed it open, revealing the celestial beauty of Kaguya and Aino standing before her. Aino was trembling yet holding her mistress protectively, fear and determination seen on her face. Kaguya looked at her husband with the same expression she always had, but Tenji could see the worry in her eyes. Her hands rested protectively on her stomach, which had grown slightly. Tenji was enraged. Once again, he seemed to fail as a husband and had to watch as his wife was in danger. Lying to himself hadn't worked out.
He saw the unasked question in his wife's eyes.
"I don't know. I have never seen any of the soldiers before. They're most likely either Ka spy soldiers or one of our other neighbours."
"What are we going to do now, Lord Tenji? With Lady Kaguya in her current state, she shouldn't--" Aino was worried.
"I'm aware."
Tenji thought about his current situation, not fully comprehending the situation they were in. It happened without warning. He had gone to bed with his wife, enjoying his life as a husband and future father far too much to notice the threat that was looming. Roughly an hour after falling asleep, he was attacked. It was only thanks to Tenji's incredible danger sense that he could stop dying from the knife attack.
"Follow me. Aino, support Kaguya and don't make a sound," Tenji commanded.
They slipped out into the corridor and at once, arrows shrieked through the air. Tenji stepped in front of the women. The moonlight was reflected, as his blade flashed, a perfect iai arc, splitting each arrow in half.
"Go!"
Chaos raged outside. Furious and confused shouting, metal clashing against one another, dying, desperate screams. Tenji saw his own soldiers fighting against each other. Tenji tasted the amount of blood and smoke in the air.
Betrayal.
The traitors moved fast, overwhelming the guards in the mansion. Tenji understood that these few brave guards were the reason why he hadn't been overrun already. But now was not the time for sentimentality. He needed to be fast and end this as quickly as possible. He had been neglectful in the past months. That was his mistake.
He pushed the two women behind him as more attackers emerged from the burning hallways. He attacked and defended his greatest treasure at the same time. But what he heard next hit him hard. It was Commander Hanzo's voice, trembling, apologetic, from behind the enemy line.
"Lord Tenji, please lay down your arms. We do not wish to harm you!" he said.
"Too late for that, Commander."
"Please, my Lord. Emperor Shimoda has promised that you will not be harmed, as long as that woman is handed over to him. She has been poisoning your thoughts, Lord Tenji. They will invade otherwise; it was the only way!"
"Don't give me pathetic excuses, Commander. You chose your path and followed it. I can at least respect you for it. So don't make me look down on you when you lose that conviction," Tenji said.
"Please, my Lo--"
"Enough."
Hanzo gripped his sword tightly. He knew that he wouldn't stand a chance against the young emperor, but he had to try. His shame and pride as a warrior wouldn't allow him to have Tenji attacked with arrows, making it easier for him. So he rushed forward and struck.
Hanzo saw Tenji grip the handle of his Katana, but not draw it. Before he could bring his blade down, he slowed down until he came to a stop before Tenji. He fell to his knees and looked up at Tenji.
"Time Cutter... you honour me..."
Tenji looked down on the man he had once respected for his undying loyalty. He understood his mistake of not teaching the man logical deductions. His loyalty had killed him in the end. How ironic.
"L-Lord Tenji… I'm sorry… I--"
A sword flashed toward Tenji. He grabbed Hanzo by the harness and used him as a shield. The blade sank into the traitor's back instead. Tenji used him and rushed forward, cutting down the rest of the men speedily.
Hanzo coughed up blood.
"Cough... Forgive me… They… the nobles… they struck a deal with Ka… Our own court… They're coming for you… They want Lady Kaguya…"
"What agreement?"
Hanzo wept.
"Emperor Shimoda… allied with dissidents in Sou… They're marching here. Half of Sou's army… and a massive force of Ka. They mean to kill you, my lord... and… Kaguya…they plan to take her as a concubine. And they will kill the child to make her 'pur--."
Hanzo stopped talking as a thin, perfectly horizontal line finally appeared on his throat. His head had been cut off. Hanzo had been dead the moment Tenji used Time Cutter.
The world turned cold as Tenji heard the Commander's last words.
"Aino. Kaguya. We leave. Now!"
.
They moved through burning corridors, with Tenji clearing a bloody path mercilessly. Several throats slit here, knees shattered there, a sword ripped from an enemy and thrown into another's skull. He was death incarnate. All while the small bloody spot on his tunic grew larger.
Outside, the courtyard was a battlefield of corpses and fire. They had no time. Tenji picked Kaguya up without asking, cradling her close to his chest, supporting her weight without making a sound.
"Keep up, Aino."
Aino nodded and picked up the pace, running beside them. Her emperor's speed made her pant, terrified yet determined beyond measure. She wouldn't stop running until her legs gave out under her, even if she died from exhaustion.
He didn't say anything, but Tenji was starting to feel the strain of what he was doing. Land of Ka trackers found them as they rushed through the forest, again and again throughout the night. Each ambush forced Tenji to shred the enemy apart with decreasing ease. The monstrous pressure and danger made his talent burn brighter, forcing him to adapt mid-fight. His movements grew more fluid, wasting less and less energy, allowing him to go as long as he could.
Kaguya looked at her love with increasing worry. She held her stomach as a way to anchor herself. This was what it was all for. The small pauses they took were to allow Aino and Tenji to recover briefly. Kaguya saw the look on Tenji's face change halfway through the night. The worry he had had as the chaos started had vanished. Something had changed, and she wasn't sure what.
Finally, by dawn, after nearly seven hours of running, they passed the mountains surrounding and reached the plains before the Divine Tree.
"Huff... huff... We... made it... huff..." Aino gasped.
Hope. Aino hoped it would be fine. She didn't know why she had that hope, since she didn't know what it meant to reach the Divine Tree. Why would that mean safety? What was the Divine Tree anyway? She didn't know, but trusted Tenji and Kaguya with everything.
"No time to rest... huff... Hurry up!" Tenji said and picked up the pace.
Aino was confused and squealed when Tenji picked her up and flung her over his shoulder. The reason was revealed soon after, when flaming arrows started to rain from the sky.
"Those are... Sou arrows!"
Tenji finally came to a stop when an arrow hit him in the shoulder, and even in front of them. They were perfectly in range. He looked back and saw the combined forces of the Land of Ka and the treacherous part of the Land of Ancestors' army.
Thousands. All archers were aiming at them and shot their flaming arrows at them.
"Lord Tenji, what do we do?!" Aino panicked.
Kaguya clutched his sleeve.
"Heh!"
Tenji let out a self-mocking laugh. He looked at her. The woman he loved. The mother of his child. His equal in all things. The past months had been the best of his life. He basked in the glow of their shared love and the anticipation of his child.
And he finally stopped lying to himself.
He smiled softly.
"Aino. Take Kaguya to the Divine Tree."
"Tenji—!" Kaguya's head snapped up.
"Remember what I swore during our wedding?" Tenji asked her.
She nodded slowly.
"I intend to uphold that oath. You will live, and so will our child."
"No! Wait!"
"I only regret that I won't be able to share the experience of seeing them. It was a good life... despite it having been a short one."
He gently pushed Kaguya forward and nodded at Aino. Then, he turned around and stepped forward, placing himself between them and the advancing army.
"MOVE!" Tenji barked, not looking back.
Aino obeyed, grabbing Kaguya's arm and dragging her toward the Divine Tree.
Tenji looked at the two nobles at the front with narrowed eyes. He had enjoyed his time far too much. How ironic, when it was his policy to prepare for war, if you wanted peace. He had lied to himself that it would be fine, that the Land of Ka wouldn't attack so soon and that his fortifications and preparations were enough. He had trusted Commander Hanzo to keep an eye on the nobles and take them out if necessary.
But to think that his forces would do that, when he had done so much for them. Fear was a powerful tool after all. But now, he had stopped lying to himself. He wanted to survive and live through this, but sometime through the night, he understood that they wouldn't make it if he played to survive. So he gave up on that and went all out.
"End of the line, ~Lord Tenji~" the man said.
"I raised the Land of Ancestors to greater economic, agricultural and military heights. Life was peaceful; you had everything. People could live comfortably and raise their families. But your egos couldn't take that, could they?"
"Heh? Hahahaha. I couldn't live in a world where a peasant has as much as I do. You brought this upon yourself."
"Don't worry... You won't have to live in such a world much anymore," Tenji said.
"Huh?"
"I was the sun that warmed you and the air that you breathed. But you forgot that. Now, deal with the consequences!"
Tenji charged forward, appearing before them faster than they could comprehend, and cut through them. They died on the spot. Seeing this, the soldiers behind started attacking again. The archers pulled back their bowstrings and fired, attempting to hit Tenji, while the swordsmen charged.
Tenji turned into a beast, dismantling them one by one. Men died with each of his movements. But the stab wound on Tenji's side was turning worse as he lost more blood. But he didn't care. That was why he could use all his skill and strength to the max and buy Kaguya and Aino as much time as possible. He never planned to make it through this.
"TENJI!" Kaguya screamed, but Tenji didn't turn.
As more arrows embedded themselves in his body and the wounds piled up, Tenji started to look more and more like a corpse possessed. He should have died for all intents and purposes, but the fire in his eyes burned brightly, exploding out one last time.
"At least," he said, voice quiet yet resonating across the plains, "I get a glorious death."
The soldiers paled but continued attacking nonetheless. Willling to do anything to bring 'peace' to the land. How foolish they were. Foolishly, they thought that the Land of Ka would honour their agreement. But they would take everything Tenji had built over the years—all of his changes, inventions and the great fertile lands.
.
"Tenji!"
Kaguya almost didn't get that word out of her mouth.
"Lady Kaguya, please, we must hurry. Please!" Aino begged her.
They finally reach the tree and stand right next to the trunk. Aino falls to the ground, exhausted, heaving. The exhaustion takes over, and all the strength leaves her. Kaguya spreads her arms, and from above, a glowing white ball of light descends and falls into her hands.
Kaguya eats the small ball of lights, and right away, things change.
Seemingly boundless energy rushed through her body, filling her with tremendous power. A red sclera and irides, with a ripple pattern spreading over the eyeball, and nine tomoe appeared on her forehead. Two horns grew from her head, and her hair grew longer. She shot into the sky at blistering speed and hovered above the Divine Tree, which had changed its shape.
"Shine upon the world, Infinite Tsukuyomi!" Kaguya called out.
The sky split open, revealing a different dimension that contained a celestial body - a moon, something the planet they were on lacked. Kaguya's new, powerful eye, the Rinne Sharingan, was reflected off the moon. The penetrating light of the Infinite Tsukuyomi shone across the entire world, bright enough to dispel the night and even outshine the ascending sun. Everyone fell under its gaze and was trapped in the illusion. They were rendered immobile.
The Divine Tree's roots started to expand and wrap around every human on the planet. Everyone who was somehow alive was wrapped up by it and hunted in the air like a cocoon.
Kaguya descended to the ground again. She shot through the sky and landed next to Tenji. The sight made her cry, and tears ran down her cheeks. Tenji had refused to fall to the ground and stood there with swords and mostly arrows impaled into him. But what shook her most was the bright smile on his face.
Kaguya controlled the Divine Tree and had it wrap her love up as well. Unlike everyone else, though, she made sure that Tenji had a special spot. She would watch over him, forever.
Finally, she lowered one cocoon and revealed Aino inside it. The confused maid looked around with wide eyes, not understanding what was happening.
"Lady Kaguya... what... happened?"
Kaguya held her husband's body, which had been encased, but revealed his face, in her arms.
"I shall rule over this world... together with our children. Until the day you..."
________________
Some of you will not like this because it reveals a 'weakness' in the MC. But guess what, talent alone doesn't make someone overpowered and infallible. He is a relatively young man, brought up in ancient times, taught to think like his father wanted him to. His ideas are 'revolutionary' in these times.
He has made mistakes, and that's why this happened. I know some will claim, I am too afraid to change canon, but that's alright. This is to show that Tenji isn't all knowking. Sometimes, it's just bad luck and a lapse of vigilance.