The morning fog still clung to the hills of Settsu Province, curling around the trees like silent whispers. Raizen, Kaito, and Senji moved cautiously along a narrow mountain path, the smell of damp earth and smoke lingering from the fires of their recent encounter with Tsuchigumo scouts. Their boots crunched against loose stones, alert for the slightest movement.
"We need shelter soon," Raizen said, his voice low. "We can't keep wandering the mountains without rest. The scouts will regroup."
Kaito grumbled, wiping blood from his forearm. "I'm fine. Let's just find some food. My stomach's growling louder than any of those Tsuchigumo."
Senji ignored him, scanning the fog-shrouded valley below. "There's a village ahead. Small, likely unguarded. Could be abandoned—or… a trap."
Raizen nodded. "Either way, we check it. Move carefully."
⸻
As they descended into the village, something immediately felt off. Smoke rose from the far end, curling into the sky in thin, deliberate streams. The houses appeared abandoned at first glance, but the rhythmic clash of metal echoed faintly through the mist.
"They're fighting," Senji said quietly, eyes narrowing. "Someone is holding their own."
Raizen drew his sword. "Then we join them. Whoever it is, they might be an ally—or in danger."
They followed the sound, moving silently through the fog, and came upon the scene.
A lone warrior stood in the center of the village square, surrounded by three Tsuchigumo scouts. She moved with lethal grace, spinning her polearm in wide arcs that deflected incoming attacks while striking deadly precision at her enemies. One scout fell with a sickening crunch as the blunt end of her weapon shattered his skull. Another screamed as a thrust pierced his chest, blood splattering across the cobblestones.
Raizen's breath caught. Even from a distance, he could see her skill, her calm despite the chaos. She was exactly the kind of warrior he and Kaito needed.
Kaito's eyes sparkled with excitement. "Whoa… she's amazing! And she's taking them on alone!"
Senji's expression remained neutral. "She's competent, but scouts rarely fight alone unless desperate or suicidal. This village may be a trap, or she may have nowhere else to run."
Before Raizen could respond, a fourth scout slipped through the fog, aiming a poisoned blade at the warrior's flank. She spun, narrowly avoiding the strike, but the scout's momentum sent him toward her. Without hesitation, she vaulted backward, striking his leg with the haft of her polearm. The sound of breaking bone echoed across the square, and the scout fell, writhing.
Raizen couldn't watch passively any longer. "We help!" he shouted, charging into the fray with Kaito at his side.
⸻
The Tsuchigumo scouts turned, surprised by the sudden assault. Raizen's sword slashed through one attacker's arm, and Kaito barreled into another, knocking him off balance. The lone warrior's eyes flicked toward them briefly—a calculated glance that acknowledged their skill without breaking her focus.
With a spinning strike, she disarmed the remaining scout, sending his blade clattering across the ground. Then she turned toward the newcomers.
"Who are you?" she demanded, voice calm but firm, polearm at the ready.
Raizen lowered his blade slightly. "Raizen Takahiro, survivor of the Yamato Clan. This is Kaito, my childhood companion, and Senji, who knows the mountains and the Tsuchigumo."
The warrior's eyes narrowed, assessing them carefully. "Survivors… of Yamato?" she whispered, recognizing the name. "Then you are serious. You fight not for glory, but survival."
Kaito grinned. "You can say that again! And you're amazing. Who are you?"
"Haruka Ishikawa," she replied, finally relaxing slightly. "I'm the last of the Ishikawa Clan. I've been defending this village after scouts attacked it."
Senji tilted his head. "You fought alone? Against three of them?"
Haruka's grip tightened on her polearm. "They would have destroyed the village if I didn't intervene. Alone or not, someone had to stop them."
Raizen sheathed his sword, stepping closer. "We share a common enemy—the Tsuchigumo. Our clans were destroyed by their raids. We are survivors. If we work together, we can survive and strike back."
Haruka considered this silently. Trust did not come easily to her. She had learned to rely on herself, to never let anyone else decide her fate. But these three—Raizen, Kaito, and Senji—had shown skill, courage, and determination. They were not children crying for help; they were warriors.
Slowly, she lowered her polearm. "If we join forces… we will face them together. But I fight by my own code. Anyone who endangers the mission is left behind."
Kaito laughed, stepping forward. "Hey! Don't worry about us. We're all about teamwork!"
Senji's expression remained unreadable, but he gave a subtle nod. "Then it seems we are… allies, for now."
Haruka finally allowed herself a small, almost imperceptible smile. "For now," she repeated. "Let us prepare. More scouts could come, and I will not be caught off guard again."
⸻
That evening, the four sat around a small fire in the village, tending to their wounds and sharing sparse food. Haruka told her story—how the Ishikawa Clan had been attacked during a border raid, leaving her as the last survivor, wandering from village to village to protect those who could not defend themselves.
Raizen listened, his jaw tight with understanding. "We've all lost everything. Yamato, Hoshigaki… and now the Ishikawa. But we still live. We can still fight."
Haruka nodded. "I have no intention of dying alone. If we are to survive and take vengeance… we must trust each other."
Kaito, ever the brash one, grinned and raised a hand. "Then we're officially a team! Raizen, me, Senji… and you, Haruka!"
Haruka's eyes flicked toward him, unimpressed but amused. "Don't think I'm joining to entertain you. I'm joining because I can fight, survive, and see this through. Understand?"
Raizen's lips twitched into a faint smile. "Understood. But we are stronger together than alone. You'll see that soon enough."
The fire crackled, and for the first time since the fall of their clans, Raizen, Kaito, Senji, and Haruka felt a small flicker of hope. They were no longer lone survivors—they were a team, united by loss, purpose, and the shared goal of survival.
Outside the village, the mountains loomed like silent sentinels. Shadows moved in the fog, scouts observing, waiting for the right moment to strike. But the four were no longer prey. They were hunters in their own right, bound together by tragedy, skill, and determination.
The journey ahead would be dangerous, and the Tsuchigumo were far from finished. But together, they had the chance to survive—and to one day avenge their fallen clans.
For Raizen, Kaito, Senji, and Haruka, the path had begun. And nothing, not the mountains, not the enemy, not even the shadows of their past, would break the bond forming among them.
The mountains whispered around them, carrying the echoes of loss and the promise of vengeance. And in the heart of Settsu Province, a new force began to rise—a force that would challenge the Tsuchigumo, and one day, reclaim honor for the Yamato, Hoshigaki, and Ishikawa clans.