text: This is chapter 39 of a book I am writing titled "Sengoku." The book is based off real life warlords from Sengoku era Japan. In this chapter, the famous monk Kennyo is desperate for revenge against big-time warlord Nobunaga Oda, and kidnaps the four main female characters of the book: Sakura, Misa, Kaiyo, and Yukari. Please enjoy the chapter and let me know if you have any feedback! The eleven men stood in front of their horses, their hands on their weapons, ready for anything. Oda on one side, Uesugi-Takeda on the other. Nearly five feet separated the two groups, though they were working together. Several monks stood in front of them, silent. Finally, a jingling sound could be heard coming closer. “Finally.” Nobunaga said. “About time,” Ieyasu remarked. Kennyo walked to the middle of the small clearing and waved his hand behind him, gesturing for the men behind him to do something. What that something was was bringing out Sakura, Misa, and Yukari. “Get your gross hands off of us!” Yukari complained. “Misa,” Kenshin said as he was about to rush forward, but a large hand stopped him. “Wait,” Shingen said, “we can’t act too fast. We don’t know what he’ll do.” Kenshin reluctantly stayed put. “Tie them to the tree,” Kennyo ordered. They were then roughly tied to a large tree by the outskirts of the clearing. The men were somewhat relieved until they noticed it. Hideyoshi spoke first. “Where’s Kaiyo?” Kennyo looked over at the girls, confused. There should have been four of them, not three. He looked back just in time to see a final girl being dragged out from behind the treeline, this time much more forcefully. “Master,” one monk said, “we tried to get information from this one.” “What?” Kennyo asked. “She wouldn’t talk, Master Kennyo.” They pushed her to the ground in front of him onto her knees. If looks could kill, then Kennyo would have been obliterated. He walked a little closer to her, seemingly unphased. “So this is the woman warlord in training.” He reached out toward her ever so slightly. “Leave her alone!” Hideyoshi was about ready to explode with anger. “Careful, lad,” Masamune warned quietly. Kennyo straightened himself and turned towards Nobunaga. “These are the women that are important to you, yes?” Nobunaga said nothing. He simply stared, livid. “I heard they’re your ‘lucky charms.’ It would seem that they have bad luck for themselves, though.” “Get to the point, Kennyo.” Nobunaga said, feeling more impatient than was humanly possible. “What is it that you want?” “I want your head to roll.” “Well you’re not getting that!” Sakura yelled. “This man is a tyrant, and yet you defend him?” Kennyo asked. “He’s no tyrant,” she said. “At least he didn’t kidnap four women for no reason,” Yukari remarked. “Your head will be the one to roll for taking Misa,” Kenshin said through gritted teeth. “Even the God of War cares for these women?” a monk said. “Nobunaga must have cursed them!” said another. Kennyo silenced them with a look. “Kennyo, you have the power to stop this,” Shingen said. “Just let them go. They’ve done nothing wrong.” Kennyo turned to Nobunaga. “Die, Nobunaga, and I will let them go.” “He’ll never bend to you, Kennyo,” Misa said, her hand twitching. “You can’t win this fight.” Kennyo frowned. Misa looked over to the angry warlords and noticed something odd. Just as she was about to speak up, Sasuke appeared behind Kaiyo and cut her restraints. She grabbed Kennyo’s staff and swung it out underneath him, causing him to trip over. She then got up and began running to the girls, but several monks stood in her way. Sasuke walked up beside her and they shared a nod. Kaiyo ran and slid underneath one, pushing his leg up and causing him to fall to the ground face first. As Sasuke disarmed two other monks, Kaiyo swiped her leg out and tripped one. They continued running toward the girls, but five more came. They stopped and looked back at Kennyo who was being helped back up. “I should have known better than to stand near a woman being trained by the Devil King’s men.” “Your first mistake was underestimating a woman,” Yukari said. Kaiyo finally spoke, turning to the girls. “Are you girls alright? Did they do anything to you?” “We’re fine, Kaiyo,” Sakura said. “But what about you?” “I’m perfectly fine. Those idiots really need to work on their interrogation skills.” This did not reassure anyone. Hideyoshi grew more irate by the second. “How dare you lay your hands on her?! I’ll-” “Hideyoshi, calm yourself,” Mitsuhide said quietly. “We must get to them first.” Kaiyo turned to Kennyo. “Let them go, and I won't beat you to a bloody pulp.” “Such language from a woman!” a monk said. “No wonder the Devil King wants her.” “I bet the others are the same!” “Enough chatter,” Nobunaga declared. “Kaiyo. Bring the girls to us.” “On it, my lord. Sasuke, cover me.” Sasuke nodded. “Kaiyo...” Sakura was clearly worried. Kaiyo looked over at her and winked. Kaiyo began running, sliding underneath monks and kicking them away when they wouldn’t budge. Sasuke protected her from those attempting to attack from behind. Two monks grabbed Kaiyo from either side, but Sasuke was quick to kick one away, giving her the opportunity to throw the other to the ground. They quickly reached the girls and Kaiyo cut the rope holding them with a sword she had stolen along the way. She hugged the three girls tight before turning back to the group of monks she and Sasuke had just run through. “Get them,” Kennyo commanded. “Do your worst!” Kaiyo yelled, pointing the sword at them. “I can take you all on myself!” “With all due respect, Kaiyo,” Misa said, “no you can’t.” “Gee, thanks, Misa.” The monks brandished their swords and they stepped closer and closer. Kaiyo decided it was better not to count how many added themselves to the group just then. “Okay, yeah, you’re probably right. We should run. Now.” The monks descended. “Run!” The girls bolted for the warlords across the clearing. Sakura reached them first. Yukari fell, however, and a monk was nearly on top of her, ready to strike down. Sasuke kicked him out of the way and grabbed her. The girls finally reached the warlords, and they stood protectively in front of them. “We told you that you couldn’t win, Kennyo,” Yukari said, shaking her head. “You should’ve listened.” The men readied themselves for battle. Mitsuhide handed Kaiyo her sword. She tied it to her side, where it belonged. Unsheathing her sword, she looked at the monks before her and thought for a moment. Hideyoshi and Mitsuhide were already in front, ready to protect her. Kaiyo looked back to the girls, hiding behind Nobunaga, Kenshin, and Sasuke. She called out to the men. “Lord Nobunaga, Kenshin, Sasuke, take the girls and get out of here! Ieyasu, Mitsunari, Yuki, I want you to follow them until you’re all somewhere safe. Masamune, Mitsuhide, Hideyoshi, after Kennyo with me!” Kaiyo jumped out from behind Hideyoshi and Mitsuhide and ran past several distracted monks after Kennyo. “You heard her, men,” Shingen said with a smile. “Let’s go.” “I do not take orders from a woman,” Kenshin said. “Oh no you don’t,” Misa said. “Get on your damn horse now! We’re going.” She pushed the astonished man up to his white steed and went to climb on by herself. Kenshin quickly regained himself and helped her up. Nobunaga called to the Oda warlords from atop his horse with Sakura. “Hideyoshi, Mitsuhide, Masamune, protect Kaiyo with your lives.” The three nodded and jumped into battle with Shingen and Yoshimoto. Kaiyo bobbed and weaved in and out of the battle, hardly using her sword. She did not want to take more lives. Mitsuhide and Hideyoshi were as close to her as they could get without drawing too many monks in her direction. Shingen and Yoshimoto danced along the clearing, taking down many of the untrained monks without killing them. Rendering them unconscious was all that was necessary. Kennyo saw the pointlessness of staying near the battle. “Master Kennyo, please escape!” “We will protect you!” “Your sacrifice is appreciated, my brethren,” Kennyo said. “It will not be in vain.” Kennyo turned and began running away from the battle. “No! Get back here!” Kaiyo sheathed her sword and began running after him. “Kaiyo, no!” Hideyoshi yelled. “Lass!” Kaiyo ignored them. She ran as fast as her legs could carry her through the forest after Kennyo. It didn’t take long for her to get close. Other than Sakura, she was the fastest runner. As she caught up with Kennyo, they entered a small clearing with a cliff to one side and a small rocky hill adjacent to their running path. “Kennyo!” He turned to look at her. Then, as if her voice had moved the earth, rocks began tumbling down the hill. Rocks big enough to crush a person. Kaiyo froze as she looked up. Then she was tumbling backward. Something had pushed her out of the way. She lay on the ground underneath that something breathing heavily, and it took a minute to realize what it was. ...Kennyo? She looked over at the fallen rocks that had nearly sent her off the cliffside. Then she looked up and her eyes met his. They were tired, but held a kindness to them that she didn’t think would be there. He sighed and slowly moved to stand, holding his hand out to her. She hesitated. He waited patiently for her to take it and she allowed him to help her up. Kaiyo stared at Kennyo in astonishment before realizing her name was being called. She turned at the sound and took a step in that direction. She slowly looked back, however and contemplated. Here he was, on a silver platter for her to capture, just looking at her. And yet... “Kaiyo!” “Lass!” Kaiyo shook her head and began running in the direction of the forest where her friends were fighting. She stopped at the edge of the clearing and looked back one last time. Kennyo just stood there. She bowed to him and ran in the opposite direction. Kaiyo didn’t run as fast this time. She was tired. She reached the clearing finally and saw that there were very few monks left standing. The rest had run or were unconscious. She began running towards Mitsuhide, who had been the closest to her, when she felt someone push her over. She tumbled on the ground once more and struggled to get up. A very large monk, taller and bulkier than any of the warlords, grabbed her by the neck and raised her into the air. The warlords struggled with their opponents. “No, Kaiyo!” Hideyoshi was the only one to call out her name before the monk raised a knife high into the air. “For Master Kennyo!” Kaiyo gasped as he plunged the knife into her abdomen. The warlord’s eyes all grew wide and their jaws dropped. Masamune was quick to kick the monk away. Kaiyo fell to the forest floor with a heavy thud . Mitsuhide was there in an instant to pick her up. “Mitsuhide-” “Don’t talk now,” he hushed. He began running towards the horses near the opposite end of the clearing. “Masamune!” Masamune kicked the monk away one last time before running back. Some of the monks began leaving the clearing as the warlords rushed back to the horses. “Here,” Shingen said, holding his arms out to take Kaiyo so Mitsuhide could climb onto his horse. Masamune was the second to mount. “Masamune, ride ahead and set up an infirmary tent.” Masamune nodded to Mitsuhide and raced out of the forest. Mitsuhide took Kaiyo back in his arms. “Go,” Shingen said, taking out his sword again as more monks came after them. “We’ll hold them off.” Hideyoshi was still engaged in battle against two monks and could hardly even look back to the receding figure of Mitsuhide carrying Kaiyo on horseback. Shingen reentered the battle next to Yoshimoto. Mitsuhide was riding as fast as he could until he heard Kaiyo crying aloud. “Mitsuhide... stop...” He slowed down ever so slightly, thinking the fast riding was hurting her worse. “It’s alright, Kaiyo.” “Mitsuhide... make it stop...” It was then that he realized she was holding the hilt of his sword. It took everything in him to not shed tears in that moment. “I know it hurts, Little Mouse, but Ieyasu will make it better. Everything’s going to be okay, I promise.” Kaiyo continued breathing heavily in his arms and nodded. Back at the temporary camp, Misa’s hand was twitching horribly. She could barely hold it. “Misa, your hand...” Sakura pointed out. “What is it?” “It’s Kaiyo,” she said, tears in her eyes. “She’s hurt bad.” Just then, Masamune rode into the base and quickly dismounted. “Get a medical tent ready right away.” He turned to Nobunaga. “Kaiyo’s been stabbed.” Ieyasu immediately got to work ordering the soldiers to prepare for her. After a short while, Mitsuhide finally rode in with an unconscious Kaiyo. He dismounted in one smooth motion and followed Ieyasu immediately. “Kaiyo, no...” Sakura and Misa were already crying, fearing the worst. Yukari followed them until they entered the tent and ordered the other soldiers to leave. Ieyasu took apart Kaiyo’s torn clothes and got to work. He and Mitsuhide worked quickly to stop the bleeding and dress the wound. It was all they could do. Once Ieyasu had wrapped Kaiyo up in bandages, Mitsuhide laid her down on the infirmary bed and pulled a blanket over her. “That's all we can do right now,” Ieyasu said. “Now we wait.” Mitsuhide’s expression was unreadable, but Ieyasu knew he was worried. He had trained her day after day to become what she was. And yet, they knew nothing could have prevented this. Ieyasu left the tent, knowing Mitsuhide needed some time alone with her. Mitsuhide sat there watching her breathe for a few minutes until she stirred. He gasped and placed a hand on her cheek, turning her to face him. “Kaiyo?” “Mitsuhide...” She was weak and trying her best to breathe deeply. “It’s alright, Kaiyo. You’re safe now.” “And... and the girls?” “They’re safe, too.” Kaiyo nodded weakly. “Mitsuhide... am I... going to die?” Mitsuhide’s shoulders slumped. He had not prepared himself for such an outcome or a question about it. He did not want to lie to her. “I... I do not know.” Tears streamed down Kaiyo’s face. “Please... take care of the girls. Make sure... they’re happy and safe. And be nice to Hideyoshi... he worries about you.” Each word she spoke felt like a stab through the heart for Mitsuhide. “And tell Lord Nobunaga... that I’m sorry I failed.” “You did not fail, Kaiyo. You saved the girls. You did not fail.” Kaiyo’s breathing slowed. “Kaiyo... there is something I must tell you.” Mitsuhide looked away, attempting to prepare himself. “What... is it?” “I lo-” He stopped short when he noticed her eyes were closed. He lowered his head, resting his forehead against hers gently. “I love you.”