Tensho

The Warring Era

April 1570

The lake before me remains still and calm as war rages between the states. No one has come past the Aizu river. Here we settle our own scores, and the village remains safe this way. Sakura blooms fall to blow away to uncertain winds, to grow elsewhere, only to be burned without just cause.

I begin this journal only because I know it is only a matter of time before the war finds its way here. Before the little refuge we have is no more, and we are but memories.

I am Momoko Fujita. My father was Michinori Fujita, a former lord who survives through me. I find it no coincidence that he died only last night. I want to believe it was of natural causes, but just as easily he could've been poisoned.

So now I leave to call upon the aid of the only ones I know. I come from Aizu,l and it is only by my fathers fortune I was able to travel to Edo. What I have seen there I cannot ignore. No matter how hard I try, my heart aches regardless.

I watched families who disobeyed its drunken samurai be carted into wagons, and their homes burned. I watched as lovers were torn apart and beheaded.

I fear that time is running out for what my father built.

Our land extends from the river to Midoriyama. The birds who sing there will soon sing no more, and I will not wait patiently for that silent night.

The eagle that flies towards me is unwavering. It caws at my smile, to land on my shoulder. Hisoka blends into the dark sky with black feathers that dance in the wind. He takes the scroll I give him and heads the hidden gate, the place that even I dare not go.

Shinobi. the word itself is strong, even to those who don't know its meaning. It refers to those outcast fighters whose skill is unsurpassed by even veteran generals. A trained killer, gods in a world that cannot stop them.

The note will be given to its leader.

Sanada of the Shinsengumi, a clan that survived through history, underdogs to all who opposed them. He will tell Midori of the Omigumi, the notorious female counterparts and lovers of the shinsengumi warriors.

I am fortunate to know this, only because I lived that life once. It proved to require more than I anticipated. To kill without regret, to hide in silence, a fugitive. Would my disappearance not have cause strife, I am sure I'd have been killed as a traitor.

They see what is coming, just as I do. I only hope to protect the harmony I have found here. In my heart I know this plea will be heard. Wether or not I survive, Aizu will under the hand of someone who can protect her.

Darkness cloaks the house where Sanada and Midori meet to conspire. Their furtive expressions say what they don't.

Sanada wears a black shozoko, the white clothing that seems to line his robe, a dragon crest adorning his uniform. The fringed hair that becomes a long ponytail tells his youth, hiding the few scars on an otherwise immaculate face. Midori, aversly, wore a form fitting white gown, lined in the pink gown underneath. Her name fit, with neck-length hair in gradual layers that became green in the moonlight. A long strand remained green, accenting the beauty that set her apart from the others in her clan.

"So what do you intend to do about this little request?"

Sanada's voice was a deep tone that would easily send any woman his way. Midori was confident, however, that any other woman would die at her hand.

"If it is an opportunity to fight, you should relish it," she retorted.

"And risk giving ourselves way?

"You know better than that," she replied.

"Quite," he confirmed, smiling.

"We can at the very least protect her and scope out the war. If the city falls, we fall, and we cannot afford that."

"Hai."

"The omigumi will leave tonight. I expect to meet you there."

"You mean, you hope to see me there."

"Don't argue with me, Sanada," she bit.

"I wouldn't dare."

He gave her a seconds glance and disappeared. She peered out the window in hope to see his shadow meet the moon, but was not torn when she didn't. She looked down at the scroll to notice an orchid had been placed atop her name. Her grin followed, and soon she disappeared into the night herself.