Chapter 21 #3
Suddenly, a loud cry sounded above them. Ryuichi looked up to see a yōkai in the tree, over their heads. They’d been spotted, and this was a warning to the others.
Koichi cursed. “They’re coming.” He looked at Ryukage. “I’ve heard that you can lay an army down with the snap of your fingers.”
Ryukage gave him a droll stare. Then he lifted his hand and snapped said fingers. The roar of eight dragon heads and the clinking sound of armor echoed in the distance. “Didn’t work. Any other great ideas?”
“You have to be able to do something,” Haruki said to Ryukage. “You owe us. For all the devastation you’ve caused.”
He couldn’t bear to look at Haruki, his head hanging in shame.
“You can choose to do the right thing,” Ryuichi said to his father. “And still be a fearless warrior.”
After listening to his son’s words, Ryukage manifested a horse and an extra-large katana that he hefted up and then rested on his shoulder. “I’m going to fight until they kill me. Hopefully, I’ll take Orochi with me.”
At least his father had a plan.
Not a very wise one, but he seemed determined to change his fate.
Ryuichi took a step toward him. “Let me help you.”
Ryukage threw out his hand, and suddenly Ryuichi couldn’t move a muscle. He was frozen in place.
What the . . . ?
Was the Ryukage trying to prevent his child from going into a deadly battle?
An overprotective father. Who would have thought.
Heat poured over Ryuichi’s body, like the scalding water in his father’s hot spring. But as the heat faded, Ryuichi’s armor had changed into a smaller black version of his father’s.
The Ryukage tipped his head to his son. “You no longer need Masaru to protect you. No weapon can penetrate that.”
Koichi cleared his throat. “What about the rest of us? We could use an upgrade too.”
He pulled the sword from his shoulder as he continued to stare at Koichi.
Faster than Ryuichi could blink, they were all wearing similar armor. Yamaguchi, Katsu, Lord Inumagami. Even Shima.
His sensei smiled. “This is the lightest armor I’ve ever worn.”
“You’re welcome,” said Ryukage.
Soon their enemies were bearing down on them. Shima began speaking in a language Ryuichi had never heard before. It seemed like something ancient and meant for the gods.
“What’s he saying?” he asked his father.
A slow smile spread across his father’s face. “He’s calling for reinforcements.”
“From where?”
Shima winked at Ryuichi. “The other side.”
“The human world?”
Those words were barely out of his mouth before he realized how wrong his assumption was.
A puff of smoke formed from the ground and a warrior stepped out in full armor, its brilliant crimson as bright as blood.
Only this wasn’t an ordinary warrior.
It was a dead samurai.
More appeared and assembled behind him, forming a huge line. Still dressed in their armor, some looked like regular humans, but others were in various stages of decay.
“You wanted an army. Now you have one.” Shima waved his hand toward a regiment that kept growing and growing.
Masaru didn’t appear nearly as impressed as Ryuichi was. “Is anyone else thinking that they might not be the best warriors for our cause? Aren’t these the incompetents who died in battle?”
But dead or alive, it didn’t matter to Ryuichi. Their numbers were increasing by the score. Now they had a real chance of winning!
“I can’t thank you enough,” Ryuichi said, bowing in respect. Then he headed for his horse. Their dead samurai army also came with a cavalry. He glanced over to his father, who’d just mounted his own. “What’s our strategy?”
“Attack.” And with that, Ryukage kicked his horse forward and headed toward Orochi’s army at lightning speed.
Masaru smirked. “Simplicity. I like it.”
“In case we don’t make it, fighting with you all has been an honor,” Koichi said. Then he turned and pulled himself up on the horse that stood behind him. Rolling his shoulders, he smiled. “Ready, warriors?”
Haruki walked over to Koichi and grabbed his hand. “Be careful out there. And don’t do anything stupid.”
“I can’t make any guarantees,” he replied, and kissed her hand. “Stay out of sight, okay?” Then he whispered and handed her a cloth pouch. “Here, hold on to this. And if you get your powers back, come save the rest of us.”
“I will,” Haruki said.
For some reason, her and Koichi’s new relationship comforted Ryuichi.
He wasn’t alone. He was part of a clan . . .
A family.
He would die to protect them and his mother’s honor.
Completing this mission was what he’d been born to do.
Kicking his horse forward, Ryuichi went to join his father, who paused in a clearing to wait for the enemy forces.
When Ryuichi pulled alongside Ryukage, he looked over at him with pride in his eyes.
“If we survive today, maybe we could start over,” Ryukage said.
Wow. He never imagined his father speaking those words.
“Yes. I’d like that,” he replied.
Ryukage smiled. “Good. So, whatever you do, don’t die.”
Then his father let out a deafening war cry and rode off straight toward Orochi’s army.
Another cry sounded from above. Ryuichi looked up to see all kinds of yōkai flying over their heads.
Hundreds of them. They got into a battle formation and then began to dive one by one at Ryukage.
Then a huge four-armed oni materialized before him with a giant club in each hand.
Ryuichi pulled out his sword. When the oni took multiple swings at once, he barely avoided being hit.
This was the first time he was in an actual battle without Masaru as his spirit guide. It was strange. To be totally on his own.
The oni charged him again. Ryuichi felt a flash of terror. He wanted to kick his horse and gallop away. But he remembered that the dead samurai had stood their ground. He would not dishonor himself with cowardice.
His horse reared. Ryuichi held his saddle as he sliced at the big red oni. His blade made contact, but it didn’t faze his opponent at all.
In fact, it only made him angry.
Another oni sprang up beside him. All around, yōkai were attacking their undead army. Utter chaos prevailed.
You’re just a boy. You shouldn’t be here.
The doubting voice in his head. He hated whenever it visited. It was always undermining him. Telling him he wasn’t good enough. Smart enough.
Capable.
That he didn’t deserve anything more than the mockery of others.
Now it was here to make him fall in battle.
I won’t listen to you. Not today.
Today he was going to prove to himself that he had what it took to be a strong warrior and leader.
“I will not fall!”
More than that, he wouldn’t fail.
With a new determination, he went after the two onis.
He wasn’t making much progress, until Yamaguchi appeared behind one of them and slugged him hard across the face.
The oni staggered backward and almost fell.
Yamaguchi followed up with more blows, hitting him repeatedly with his mighty club.
Ryuichi took advantage of the distraction to run his sword through the other oni in front of him.
The oni cried out and crumbled to the ground.
Ryuichi couldn’t believe it. He was absolutely stunned that he’d succeeded.
But that didn’t last.
Two heartbeats later, something grabbed him from behind and yanked him off his horse, choking the breath out of Ryuichi’s lungs.