That night, Katou Kiyomasa asked to see Takaya. At first, of course, he was flatly denied, but he was so strident and importunate that he left Himuka cultists quite stumped.
“I know he’s alive! I’m only asking to make sure my friend is safe!” Kiyomasa whined like a child. Perhaps fearing he would continue thus all night, the hapless cultists conveyed his request to Motoharu.
“What, Kiyomasa?” Motoharu thought in silence for a moment. “Very well.” He conceded to the visit on the condition that Kiyomasa would not try to speak to Takaya.
“Kagetora-dono was given a mood-stabilizer and sleeping pills earlier. He is probably deeply asleep; interaction will not be possible in any case.”
“Fine,” Kiyomasa responded, and was allowed to visit Takaya under the supervision of the Himuka cultists.
Motoharu heaved a deep melancholy sigh as they left the room.
(Kagetora-dono...)
He would not leave Motoharu’s mind.
After their conversation it was as if Takaya’s soul had left his body.
He simply sat there dazed and completely silent.
Motoharu had anticipated Takaya’s reaction to some extent, but had not expected it to go so far. Kousaka had left the room as soon as he’d had his say, but Motoharu had been so concerned for Takaya that he couldn’t do the same.
But no matter what he said, Takaya wouldn’t even look at him.
(He’s going to end up an invalid at this rate.)
The magnitude of Takaya’s shock worried Motoharu. Kousaka’s statements had dealt Takaya a shattering blow.
(And no wonder...)
Even though they were at war, this was cruel. A depressed Motoharu looked out the window. Guilt weighed heavily on him.
“It’s his own fault,” Kousaka had snorted along with a laugh—and it was true. Motoharu laid a hand on the cold glass.
These feelings were unbearable. He sighed deeply once again.
Takaya was asleep.
Kiyomasa had come out to his cabin with Himuka cultists watching him closely on either side.
There was less water in the pitcher—probably from the medicine Motoharu had half-forced him to take. Otherwise sleep would have been impossible.
At the entrance Kiyomasa was told to hold a piece of paper in his mouth to prevent him from saying anything.
“We can perceive telepathy, so don’t try,” he was warned.
“I know,” Kiyomasa responded curtly, and bit down on the piece of paper before approaching Takaya.
His sleeping breaths were inaudible.
(There’s no way we can make our escape like this...)
Kiyomasa sighed through his nose. What now?
He was pressed for time. Now that he knew the Himuka cultists and Kikkawa Motoharu’s strategy for the Shimazu side was built around Kihachi’s head, he couldn’t afford to lie around here at his leisure. ...But how could he escape? He couldn’t use «power» with the stringent surveillance around him. He needed some sort of opportunity, but the enemy wasn’t exactly volunteering any weaknesses to be exploited.
He’d thought he could use Kagetora to open up some sort of path, but... This was hopeless.
(Should I wait and see for a little longer?)
Besides, Kiyomasa couldn’t leave Kagetora behind. He was needed for Kihachi’s resurrection, and Kiyomasa couldn’t allow that to happen. Rather than leave him, he’d sooner—
(Kill him.)
But he could accomplish neither with the close watch being kept over him.
Kiyomasa studied Takaya’s sleeping face as he ruminated.
Takaya was defenseless.
(He is Lord Nobunaga’s greatest enemy.)
Of course, Kiyomasa thought.
He could know everything Kagetora knew. Such intelligence would surely be of greater value to Nobunaga than anything else. He could obtain all of Kagetora’s motives, calculations, and opinions, as well as Uesugi’s secrets. It would leave Uesugi naked. It would probably be the decisive blow against the troublesome Yasha-shuu. Nobunaga would be able to exploit such information to the fullest.
(Right. Let’s do this...)
Kiyomasa made up his mind. It would require a bit of preparation, but he was the only one who could do it.
(I’m going to read Uesugi Kagetora’s mind.)
Kiyomasa reached out toward the sleeping Takaya.
At the instant his fingertips touched Takaya’s shoulder—
“!” He cried out.
Beneath the blanket, Takaya’s hand seized Kiyomasa’s finger. Takaya opened his eyes to glare into his surprised face.
“Eek...!” Kiyomasa shrieked.
Takaya said within his mind, «Sh!». Kiyomasa thought his heart was going to jump out of chest. Takaya hadn’t been asleep. Perhaps he’d been aware of Kiyomasa’s visit. Or had he been waiting for this? He grasped Kiyomasa’s hand and said inside his mind, «Don’t make a sound. Just listen.»
(U...Uesugi-dono, you knew I was here?)
Kiyomasa received no response to his question. Their conversation was entirely one-sided. Takaya was using Kiyomasa’s mind-reading ability to communicate his intentions. Naturally he was keeping everything else closely guarded to prevent Kiyomasa from prying.
«I knew you were gonna try to read my mind. Sorry, man,» Takaya thought.
Kiyomasa pulled a face. So Kagetora was playing on a higher level, apparently. Kiyomasa wouldn’t get his way so easily. Takaya’s earlier daze was nowhere to be seen; he gazed directly and unwaveringly at Kiyomasa with the glint of challenge in his eyes.
He told Kiyomasa, «We’re getting outta here.»
(What...)
Kiyomasa’s eyes widened. Before he could even formulate the question, “How?”, Takaya had pressed on.
«I need your power. Do as I say. Destroy this building, and we’ll escape in the chaos.»
(Es...escape?! In your condition?)
Takaya had recovered a great deal with the help of the luminous flame stone, but he was still seriously wounded. He shouldn’t even be moving around, let alone trying to escape. Besides, they were inside a barrier, and getting out wouldn’t be such a simple matter. The close surveillance meant that they couldn’t use their «power», and they wouldn’t be able to put up much of a fight. This is impossible, he thought, but Takaya’s mind was already made up.
«I have a plan. Concentrate and read deep inside me. ...There’s something we can use for our escape.»
Place your hand on my chest, Takaya said. Mindful of the watchful eyes on him, Kiyomasa casually slipped his hand beneath the blanket. Takaya took it and guided it over his heart. He then laid his own hand on top of it, closed his eyes, and concentrated.
(What...)
Kiyomasa felt something hot beneath his hand. Takaya’s skin began to heat. He tensed all over, his brows contracting in pain. The heat traversed steadily from the depths of his body to his skin until at last...
(This is...!)
A hard stony object surfaced from Takaya’s chest. It left his body entirely and floated into the palm of Kiyomasa’s hand. It was a ruby-red regular octahedron: the luminous flame stone which the Himuka cultists had implanted in Takaya. It was a magical stone filled with spiritual power which only they could create, crystallized from the magma flowing beneath Aso.
Kiyomasa stared at Takaya with wide eyes. Its extraction required a considerable amount of power. Takaya panted, his forehead running with sweat, «I couldn’t have extracted it without your mind-reading ability. ...Take it.»
But without it, Takaya’s body was... His wounds were...
«I’ll tell you how, so do as I say. If you want to escape, help me.» Takaya’s piercing predator’s eyes allowed no room for disagreement. Nod if you understand, Takaya said. Kiyomasa nodded tensely. «Good...»
His gaze went to the entrance. Happily the Himuka cultists remained oblivious. Go, Takaya commanded. Kiyomasa turned on his heels with the luminous flame stone wrapped in his hand.
“All right, I’ve seen for myself that he’s fine. Let’s go.”
He glanced at Takaya over his shoulder and stepped out of the log cabin. Once he was sure everyone had left, Takaya heaved himself out of bed.
There were several guards posted outside. Kiyomasa and his escort looked up at the sky. It was past eleven p.m., and the middle of the forest was pitch dark.
“Let’s get back.”
Thus pressed by his escort, Kiyomasa walked along the forest path towards his own lodge. Himuka cultists hemmed him in on either side.
(All right, how do I do this...?)
Could he shake off his two guards?
(Is this really going to work—...?)
Though half in doubt, Kiyomasa decided to act according to Takaya’s instructions for the time being. About halfway down the path, he suddenly doubled up with his hands against his stomach.
“Wa...wait a moment. Ow, ow ow ow...”
“What’s wrong?!”
“My stomach...my stomach is hurting again.”
“Your stomach? What’s wrong?”
“I don’t know. It’s been acting up. Did...did you bastards do something to my food?!”
“What?!”
“Oh...oh shit...” Kiyomasa clung to the Himuka cultists, half on the verge of tears. “It’s about to come out! I need...where’s the toilet...?!”
“The-the toilet?!”
“Ah... Shit! There’s no time, wait there a moment! I need to relieve myself!” He rushed into the bush in a pathetic panic.
What the hell?! The Himuka cultists grimaced in amazement and disgust. But Kiyomasa’s prodigious acting abilities had habituated them to his melodrama.
(Around there, then...?)
He squatted at the base of a tree and, taking care not to be noticed, took a wooden sword out of his pocket. He was still holding the luminous flame stone.
As Takaya had instructed, he used the sword to draw a charm over the stone: one that was unique to the Nichiren Sect, which used magic symbols as prayer to manifest various powers of Buddhism. Kiyomasa drew the symbol which would cause water to gush forth from underground. He chanted the nine-character charm and performed over it the ritual gestures to ward off evil.
The luminous flame stone began to glow faintly. Kiyomasa buried it at the base of the Japanese cedar, took up his wooden sword and string of prayer beads, and brought them clanging resonantly together, knowing the din would be ear-splitting.
“What?!” The cultists were startled by the piercing musical tone. “What are you doing?!” they bellowed.
An undaunted Kiyomasa yelled back: “Shut up! I’m performing an incantation to heal my stomach! You got a problem with that?!”
Probably thinking they couldn’t have Kiyomasa off somewhere doing weird things, they persuaded him to return to the main building.
(Is this enough, Uesugi-dono?)
All that was left was to wait for things to come to a head.
He could no longer sense people near him, and all was quiet once more.
Several minutes later, there was a soundless change. The ground around the buried luminous flame stone suddenly began to steam, and, over-saturated, turned to mud. Water welled up from underground. No, not just water: boiling-hot water.
Heated ash-colored mud collapsed into a sinkhole, which bubbled like some large living creature. The mud’s heated surface bulged into a hemisphere before bursting open. The entire area began to give off steam, and water welled from several more spots.
Snow melted.
Something was happening underground.
“What’s that?”
Kikkawa Motoharu was the first to sense the abnormality. He had left Takaya to the care of the Himuka cultists and returned to the main building with Enoki and company. Yet, unable to set aside his worry, he had descended to the ground floor on his way back to the annex.
That was when he noticed the offensive smell from outside.
“Do you smell sulfur?”
Enoki sniffed the air. “You’re right...”
There was an odd smell. Something often described as the scent of rotten eggs...or what you smelled when standing at the mouth of a volcano.
(Sulfur?)
No, this was volcanic gas...!
“Motoharu-sama, it’s sulphur dioxide gas!”
“What?!”
There was a violent tremor—then an almighty crash as if the mountain had exploded.
“!”
Outside!
Motoharu and Enoki shot out the door. Another fierce tremor assailed them.
“Waugh!”
The noise was intense, like dynamite going off. Motoharu saw mud geysers shooting high into the air around them.
“What is that?!”
“Motoharu-sama, the annex—!”
Takaya’s log cabin was blasted apart with a horrific bang. Motoharu and Enoki threw themselves to the ground as splinters of wood flew toward them.
“Kagetora-dono...!”
“Watch out, Motoharu-sama!”
Scorching mud rained incessantly down on them, and they howled in pain. Mud geysers in excess of 100 degrees [Celsius] began setting the trees on fire.
“What in the world...!”
Motoharu looked around incredulously. The Himuka cultists were in a panic.
“Don’t go outside! It’s raining burning mud! You’ll get burned!”
“Wa...augh...!”
A violent shaking traveled from the ground up to the house. Staying inside was no longer an option, and they tumbled out.
!
At which point geysers of mud explosively demolished the building.
“Graaaah!”
The cultists ran around trying to escape the mud raining down on them. The geysers gushed ceaselessly. Kiyomasa dashed off in the midst of the confusion.
“Uesugi-dono! Uesugi-donooo!”
Takaya was next to the pieces of the log cabin, wearing his school uniform. His clothes were smeared with mud, but he seemed fine otherwise. Cold sweat stood out on his forehead from the pain of his wounds. Jaws clenched, Takaya turned.
“Looks like it went well.”
The powers of the luminous flame stone and charm had combined to stimulate underground volcanic gases. The geysers of boiling water had thrown the area into chaos. Though he felt rather guilty towards Motoharu, he had managed all this by once again using the volcano’s energy.
But did Takaya have enough stamina to escape?
“Running in your condition is too reckless, Uesugi-dono!”
“It’s not reckless. Let’s go, Kiyomasa!”
Overwhelmed by Takaya’s drive, Kiyomasa chased after him. Takaya was implacable in his determination to escape. But Motoharu and the others spotted them almost as soon as they stepped into the forest.
“What?! Kiyomasa and Kagetora have...!”
Motoharu looked up balefully at the eruptions of scorching mud. Only Kagetora could have done this. Motoharu knew this was his doing.
(This is reckless...!)
Trying to escape in his condition was suicide. With his injuries, he should be resting in bed for two, three weeks. If he was not careful, he could die. Motoharu was suddenly stricken by an unpleasant thought.
(It can’t be...!) Motoharu whipped around. (Or is he really trying to get himself killed?!)
“Motoharu-sama! It’s too dangerous to remain here!” Enoki and the others shouted, rushing up to him.
Motoharu yelled, his face white with anger, “Don’t worry about me; find Kagetora-dono! He can’t have gone far!”
“Has he escaped?!”
“Kagetora did this! You need to track him down immediately! If you don’t bring him back quickly, he’ll die!”
“Die?! What about Kiyomasa?!”
“Don’t worry about Kiyomasa! Deal with him when you find him!”
“Right!”
Enoki issued his orders in defiance of the scorching mud. The bird-people’s panic subsided. They regained their senses, and their expressions changed. As they concentrated, they began to glow with a golden aura. Then they launched themselves into the air, once again manifesting their flying abilities.
Trees were going up in flames, and the brightly-lit night took Motoharu back to Hagi.
(He doesn’t have a chance.)
How was he going to escape in his condition? It wasn’t even suicide; it was mad.
(We have to bring him back!)
«Nue» of Ootomo onshou wandered the area. What would they do to him if they found him? Even aside from that, he was hanging to life by a thread.
(I can’t believe he did this...!)
He can’t be saved, Motoharu thought. Was this his final struggle? And yet he’d escaped?!
(Kagetora-dono!)
Kiyomasa and Takaya had advanced through the deep forest and were heading for the foot of the mountain with single-minded determination. They were out of sight of the blaze, and were surrounded by pitch blackness. There was no path. There was only the white of snow drifts to guide them. They panted as they descended.
“Uesugi-dono...!”
Takaya was falling behind. Not surprisingly, his stamina was flagging badly. He staggered from tree trunk to tree trunk as he heaved for breath, hunched over protectively.
“Stop looking over your shoulder...” he said, pained, his eyes flashing sharply in the darkness. “I’m a burden to you; leave me behind...”
“But you...!”
“You’re my enemy!” Takaya’s words were still full of teeth. But his face was bloodless, and cold sweat ran from his brow. He was in considerable pain from the loss of the luminous flame stone’s support. “Or do you see this as a wonderful chance to kill me...bring Nobunaga my scalp?!”
“I told you trying to escape in your condition was stupid! I’ll carry you!”
“Don’t touch me!” Kiyomasa snatched back his hand at Takaya’s sharp rebuke. Takaya was a wounded beast. “Stay away from me! If you touch me I’ll kill you!”
“...”
Daunted by his cornered desperation, Kiyomasa gulped. He couldn’t gainsay Takaya.
At that moment.
“!”
A large flock of black shadows dropped down from the trees above: The Himuka bird-people.
“There you are!”
“Seize them!”
Feh! Kiyomasa tsked. He took out his wooden sword and prayer beads. “I’ll hold them back! Run, Kagetora!”
“Kiyomasa...!”
“Shut up! I can’t let them take you! I can’t let them make you Kihachi’s vessel!” Kiyomasa stood protectively in front of Takaya. “Don’t get me wrong, Kagetora! I’m telling you this for Oda’s sake! The «Golden Serpent Head» isn’t the eight-headed, eight-tailed serpent—it’s something much more terrible, and you’re to be its vessel! They’re planning to make you a puppet responsive to Kihachi’s will! I’m not gonna let Uesugi Kagetora become the residence of the Kihachi onryou swarm!”
“Kihachi onryou...swarm?”
“Now that you know, hurry up and get moving!”
Impelled forward by Kiyomasa’s bellowing, Takaya whirled.
Saeki yelled from overhead, “Chase Ougi Takaya down! Finish Kiyomasa off!”
“As if you could!”
A fireball ignited in Kiyomasa’s right hand. It lengthened into a large half-sickle spear. Charged with his fighting spirit, the characters ‘Glory to the Lotus Sutra’ flowed down its length in glowing gold.
“Graaah—!”
Kiyomasa hurled the spear toward the bird-people chasing after Takaya. It flew howling through the air and exploded in front of the bird-people, barring their way.
“Gah!”
“Yasuo!”
Those hit by the impact slammed into the ground. Saeki sent her will into Kiyomasa’s luminous flame stone.
“Aaaaugh!”
His chest heated as if it was on fire. The others also shot luminous flame stone at the anguished Kiyomasa. This was what had driven Rairyuu away.
“Graaah!” Kiyomasa held his wooden sword aloft. “Don’t you dare underestimate me!”
A ringing tone thundered from the sword as he clanged it with all his might.
“What?!”
The arrows of luminous flame stone were repelled by the wall created by Kiyomasa’s sword as he desperately clashed it against his beads. Saeki tsked and urged her cohorts to press the attack.
“What, are we to be defeated by this?! We are the people of Himuka! All who stand in our way must be destroyed!”
“Guh!”
The attack grew fiercer. Kiyomasa made his sword ring out like fury, but arrows of luminous flame stone rained down like hail, and several broke through his wall to pierce into him. Blood spurted. His heart was burning! Kiyomasa set his teeth.
“Daaamn yooou—!” he howled, manifesting his spear once more.
“You think I’d give Japan up to Kihachi’s tribe?!”
(I have to help him...!)
Fuuma Kotarou raced across the dark mountain toward Kikkawa Motoharu’s abode. His footing was slippery with snow, but that mattered little to Hakone-reared Kotarou. His eyes were fixed intently on the path ahead. His only goal was to rescue Takaya from Motoharu and Shimazu.
(I have to get to Saburou-dono... No, Kagetora-sama!)
That was his only thought.
From a ‘strategic validity’ standpoint, his actions were unfavorable from every angle. The Kousaka-Rairen scheme of making Kagetora think Naoe had sold him out should have had Kotarou’s whole-hearted backing.
But Kotarou was incapable of it. Naoe was not someone who could ever sell Kagetora out.
(I haven’t betrayed you.) Kotarou raced through the forest. (I would never sell you out,) he beseeched. Desperately trying to vindicate himself, Kotarou charged forward.
“Don’t you feel anything?”
Bound by the spell of those words, Kotarou had transformed into some other ‘Fuuma Kotarou’.
“Have you even forgotten...how to kiss?”
He had gotten his priorities backwards. Kotarou would do anything to return Kagetora to the Houjou, but he had sidestepped the first principle. He had brooded over becoming Naoe to the point of believing himself to be the true Naoe.
He couldn’t judge what he didn’t notice.
He could not be calm. He did not know the true shape of the impatience that tore into his chest. In ignorance, he ran. He was oblivious. This was nothing so simple as an inferiority complex towards his imagined Naoe. It concerned his own personality, somewhere deep inside...
“You could never understand!”
Ujiteru’s words echoed in his heart. At the time they had been simple nonsense. He‘d privately dubbed Ujiteru a fool for refusing to sacrifice Takaya’s fleshly shell due to mere sentiment. His words had found no sympathy with Kotarou, no echo in his heart; he’d felt nothing. He’d interpreted that lack as a proof of his own ’perfection’.
But wasn’t it simply a lack of an echoing apparatus in himself?
Far from being a ‘perfect human being’, didn’t this mean he was a ‘defective human being’?
That was how Kotarou had started to feel while playing the role of Naoe with Takaya. A frustration had grown day by day that had repeatedly shaken him to his roots. Takaya’s wholesale renunciation of him had reduced him to all-consuming confusion as he had slowly lost his bearings.
Kotarou had at last lost sight of himself and his own identity.
He ran mutely through the snow-covered mountain. He could sense Takaya calling for help from the other side of that ridge.
“I could never understand you!”
Takaya had said those words to him at Hagi. Thinking back, it had been the first spell.
Takaya was the one driving him into a corner. Takaya was the one who repudiated him, but he was also the only person who could affirm him.
More than by being Houjou Saburou. More than by returning to the Houjou.
(I have to mean something to you!)
Kotarou raced forward. His desperation looked like nothing so much as fear.
The way ahead opened onto a path. At that moment, he heard the sound of an explosion from somewhere in the far distance.
(What was...?!)
The reality of the tremors beneath his feet returned Kotarou to his senses, and he stared tensely forward. Rumble... The earth shuddered and moaned in broken contractions. The thunderous roar of scorching mud shooting into the air reached even him.
(That was...!)
He was certain. It had come from the direction of Motoharu’s residence.
(Could it be?)
Kotarou’s perception sharpened. He slid and ran down the steep forest slope between trees towards the sound. The ground rumbled. There was another explosion, and the ridge suddenly burst into light. Flames roared skyward.
(There!)
That was Motoharu’s compound—where Takaya was. This rumbling, these explosions. Something extraordinary was happening. Kotarou ran straight towards the burning ridge.
Kotarou couldn’t immediately figure out what was happening, but he knew it was Takaya’s doing.
Had he acted, unable to wait for help? Or had he broken through after concluding that help was not coming?
(That’s not true, Kagetora-sama!) he yelled as he charged forward. Help is coming. I’m coming to save you. Don’t rush into anything...!
Kotarou bounded across bare black rock like a wild deer. He had to find Takaya first, to protect him. If he had acted out of the mistaken belief that Naoe had betrayed him, Kotarou had to set him straight. He had to tell Takaya he’d come to help him, that his betrayal had been a lie!
“!”
Sensing strong spirits in his path, Kotarou reflexively went on the defensive.
The metallic clash of armor approached.
(What...?!)
Pale will-o’-the-wisps appeared, dotting the cedar forest. These ghosts slowly manifested themselves. It was a group of warriors in dilapidated armor.
(They’re...!)
Each unsheathed his sword and advanced on him with armor creaking. Kotarou drew in «power» and readied himself for battle. Then a man appeared from behind the spirits.
“I cannot allow you to proceed, Kotarou-dono.”
“! What...?!”
The man in the white overcoat held a sword in his right hand. He was a possessor spirit: the master of these onryou. He faced Kotarou.
“My name is Shimazu. Shimazu Toyohisa. I was asked by Akechi-dono to stop you. If you will not submit, then you are no longer our ally. ...Prepare yourself!”
(Shimazu Toyohisa...!)
He was the son of Yoshihisa, the eldest of the four Shimazu brothers1. During the famous Battle of Sekigahara, Shimazu had attempted a daring tactic to break through enemy encirclement in order to evacuate from the front. Toyohisa had died in his uncle General Shimazu Yoshihiro’s place during the maneuver.
He had rushed here at the head of a group of soldiers in answer to Mitsuhide’s appeal.
(He’s here to stop me?!)
Kotarou’s eyes flashed as he braced himself, beast-like. Shimazu’s onryou pressed closer, moving to encircle him. Kotarou gritted his teeth painfully.
(Saburou-dono...!)
“!”
The thunderous roar also reached Kaizaki and Hakkai inside their car. Guided by the water snake, they were driving on the mountain road toward Eboushi Peak.
“Wh-what was that?!” Even in the car they felt the tremors. The explosions continued. Steering with care, Hakkai turned to Kaizaki. “Could that have been...!”
“We need to hurry,” Kaizaki commanded sharply. “That was a magical surge originating from a spell. Kiyomasa is a member of the Nichiren Sect. As one of their most ardent believers, I’m not surprised he can wield such power.”
“Then Kagetora-sama is...!”
The car gathered speed as it ascended the zigzagging mountain road until finally they came to a place where the paved road came to an end just before a very steep slope. They plunged forward, four-wheel drive fully engaged.
“!”
The area was already mired in scorching mud spouting up from underground.
“Wh...what is going on?!”
There was no possible approach. Burning trees had become pillars of fire while the demolished log cabins were already buried under the mud; it was impossible to tell what had happened. Dense steam shrouded the scene. Here and there geysers of mud continued to explode from the ground. Hakkai covered his nose. A dense hazardous volcanic smog overlaid everything. They couldn’t stay long or they would fall prey to the toxic air.
“Ka...Kaizaki-sama...”
Kaizaki grimly surveyed the dismal scene. Everyone seemed to have already disappeared. There was no trace of Takaya.
(Takaya-san...!)
“I see our guest has finally arrived,” said a voice at their back.
“!” They turned.
(I know that voice...!)
A human shadow approached from the other side of the water vapor shroud. The white clouds parted as if opening a path for him. From the depths of the forest he came: a beautiful man in a white coat...
“!” Kaizaki caught his breath.
It was unmistakably Takeda Shingen’s confidant, Kousaka Danjou.
“You took your time,” Kousaka pronounced, slowly drawing closer. His voice, too, was beautiful. He smiled audaciously as hellish volcanic gases thinned and disappeared in the small space around him.
“You bastard...! So you’re alive!”
“That’s a fine thing to say. ...When it’s been ages since we saw each other last.” Kaizaki glared daggers at him. Kousaka snorted a laugh and lifted nimble fingers to his chin. “That face—you’re as much a coward as ever. So you’re just going to borrow someone else’s body while hiding your true self away? Hmph, what a fool.”
Kaizaki squared off against him and responded in a low voice, “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Leave off. I have no interest in a poser’s puppet drama. The spirit-wave that’s been screeching in my ears since earlier has been annoying enough. I can see that puppet’s strings.” Kaizaki’s face stiffened. Kousaka laughed with malicious amusement. “It’s always been your drama, of course—a three-penny drama.”
“You bastard!”
“It’s clever of you to have synchronized with another person. But I have no interest in a stand-in. If I wanted I could cut your strings.”
His statement agitated Hakkai extremely. Kaizaki scowled fiercely at his opponent.
Kousaka laughed again and said loudly, “Looks like even Yama of Hell didn’t want to deal with you! Well done on coming back to life! Welcome to your resurrection, Naoe Nobutsuna!”
Wind blew as the blaze behind him flared ever higher. Water vapor billowed against them and turned their field of view pure white.
Within the white tempest the two adversaries faced off once more.