FicWad

Please see Chapter One for full disclaimers, warnings, and summaries.

Notes: Well, this thing ends on a bit of a sad note, but I promise happy things. I think Capcom did a pretty good job of killing Kotaro in the game, so there will be none of that here.

/Kotaro's POV/

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Enemy of my Enemy - Chapter 05

My mind was in turmoil, and for once I wasn't bored. I followed Jubei to the marketplace, and from there, to the remains of Yagyu village, where I watched the demon woman kill his mother. Our fates were similar, it seemed, in that we'd never known our mothers. In Takajo's case, however, she'd had a good reason to remain hidden, and she had always been close by. What about my mother? She didn't care the same way that Takajo did in her last moments; thinking only of her son? I turned from Jubei as he held her body, not wanting to spy on such a special thing that I'd never know myself.

The demons around this area were stronger than they had been in the mines. I still had no trouble beating them, but I would be in over my head if I continued fighting without help... I couldn't let such a golden opportunity to help defeat Nobunaga pass me by! His armies had decimated my village. I couldn't sit by and let someone else do the job for me. Besides, my skills were far too valuable to Jubei to leave him by himself, since I knew the demons would be trying to trap him soon. That woman who called herself Oyu was following him a bit too closely, and there was something familiar about her; something that put me on edge more than Ekei or Magoichi did. Although I was still unsure of where Magoichi's loyalties lay, and I'd all but forgotten about the womanizing monk, I was certain that Oyu was there on Nobunaga's behalf. Women could not be trusted. I'd learned that bitter lesson early in life. There was no way that I'd let another one betray me again. Not when the stakes were so high!

I looked down from the tree I was hiding in to watch Jubei holding his mother. I should have left him to his sorrow, but Oyu had found him there and I wouldn't leave him alone! Jubei spoke to her softly, his words sounding hollow and full of self-doubt; much different from his usual gruff manner. I have to admit that her intentions to console him did seem sincere and as I watched her, for a small moment, I forgot that she was the enemy. After Takajo's body had disappeared and Jubei had left to find the demon woman responsible, I approached Oyu. My intent was to ask her what she was doing there, but when I looked at her, I saw the woman who had betrayed me as a child. Why would Oyu be any different from her, or any of them? My tone that I had intended to sound so light turned cold, "Who are you? What do you want with Jubei?"

She looked surprised, but that only proved that she was skilled at gaining the trust of her enemies. "What do you mean?" Her looks were fair and no-doubt won over many of the men she betrayed.

I would never be one of those men, and I wouldn't let Jubei become one of them either. "Your name isn't Oyu," I said, openly showing my distrust. "I don't know who you are, but since you lied about your name, I can't trust you to tell the truth about anything else." I circled her, never taking my hands from my weapons as I looked her up and down. The armour she wore looked to be of the highest quality and the broad sword and shield she carried were well made as well. But even though she was well armed, her defensive stance as I walked close to her told me that she had little skill in using any of her equipment effectively. Either she was very stupid, or very skilled at her act of deception. "It seems that Nobunaga spares nothing when equipping his spies," I said, trying to goad her into revealing what she knew. "You can't fool me, woman!" She tried to approach me and my kunai struck out at her, full of venom and distrust.

Her shield came up at the last moment, deflecting my blow, but it didn't matter. I had many other tricks up my sleeve to keep her away from me. My ears were deaf to her words and I hated her then as she tried to lie to me. "You don't understand, Kotaro! It's not like that at all!" My only answer was the sound of my blade slicing the air as it lashed out at her again, biting into her armour and causing her to cry out in surprise. I wouldn't give her the opportunity to betray us. Her good looks, her kind words, her well-thought out lies of sympathy; none of her tricks would stop my blade from reaching its mark. I would kill her, or at the very least force her to show Jubei that her true allegiance lay with Nobunaga.

She took a swing at me, but her balance was off and she fell on the ground. Did she really expect me to believe that she was here to defeat Nobunaga with her skills? "Ch, even if I believed you were really here to help us, you would only get in the way," I said, glaring at her where she lay. "Stay away from Jubei, or I'll kill you." I didn't wholly feel the venom in my words, but I wanted her gone and it was the best way I knew how.

The tears in her eyes were genuine as she got to her feet and ran past me to the path to the village. I followed her closely, intending to make sure she was really leaving. I hopped across the stones in the pond, but when I reached the bank, someone was there, waiting for me.

He was leaning against a tree, his gun propped against his shoulder in a casual way, yet I could see he was ready to fight if any demons appeared. "Did you and the little lady have a fight?"

I remembered our last meeting; I had let my guard down and he'd taken advantage of it. I could feel my heart speed up at the thought of him pinning me to the ground again. "What are you doing here?" I asked, trying to get my mind off of the way that he affected me.

"Getting some fresh air," he laughed, digging his pipe out of his vest.

I was torn between talking to him or following Oyu. "It seems that Jubei has found many friends to help him," I said, keeping my voice steady, betraying none of the emotions that ran through me as he looked at me. "I am here to help him defeat Nobunaga. I am still unsure of Oyu's loyalties. I have seen her somewhere before and she is not who she claims to be."

"Perhaps you should spend more time following her instead of spying on me?" there was amusement in his eyes as he casually held the unlit pipe at his side. He wanted me gone and it was for that reason that I hesitated in leaving.

"I'm still not sure about you," I said plainly, inviting him to say more. He didn't say anything, instead sniffing at the air, his gaze intent on the pond from where I'd come. Why didn't he come out and say it? Normally I would have dropped such a trivial thing, but I'd put so much time into following him that I couldn't rest until I found out the truth. The cold air bit through my clothing as I stood there with him, causing me to shiver. It had been so warm back in Imasho, but the Yagyu village seemed to be cloaked in a negative energy that made everything so cold. There was a light drizzle that filled the air and it seemed that all the animals in the surrounding forest area had fled. The demons activities in the area were having their effect on everything.

I turned and left Magoichi by the pond, starting the trek along the forest path that led back to the village. With a little luck I was sure that finding Oyu would be easy and I needed to talk to Jubei about a few things. The demon that had killed his mother had no doubt set up many pitfalls for him. For all of his skills with the sword Jubei would need my help to pass the demons traps. If Magoichi proved to be an ally, then his skills would help our cause as well. It bothered me that he was so cold and secretive whenever I asked what he was doing there. If our goals were the same, then what was the trouble in telling me? I kicked at some leaves as I crossed over a bridge, thinking more and more about that gunman. I didn't notice the figures that had appeared behind me until it was too late.

I felt the air shift to my right and I rolled to the left, narrowly escaping the red blade that sliced through the air where I'd been moments earlier. I looked up into the red gaze of a beast that towered over me. A Zedan class of genma, if I remembered my information on demon classes. The information that I'd found had been sketchy, but I didn't need a book to tell me that I should get out of the way. I sprang to my feet and drew my kunai, blocking the next blow that came down on me with crushing force. I staggered back a few steps, regaining my strength as the beast swung at me again. I ducked out of the way and stepped around its side, stabbing it a few times and hopefully hitting a vital spot, or at least, hurting it enough to slow it down. It reeled from my attacks, slowly turning around to face me and I prepared to deliver a finishing blow.

Everything slowed down as I reached out to drive my blade under the neck guard of the demon in front of me. I realized, all too late, that there was another one behind me as its roar broke through my concentration. I could hear its massive blade sing through the air as it came down on top of me. In that split second I thought that it was funny that I should die here. It was really stupid of me to let my mind wander in this place. The realization of my mistake didn't bother me as I saw all sorts of things flash before my mind's eye. They were all so neutral and sad. I felt numb. The blade falling on me was taking forever. My feet were rooted to the ground, my body still leaning forward to deliver the fatal blow to the demon before me. Through the haze I thought I heard a few loud bangs. Someone was calling my name. The blade bit into my shoulder, the force behind it driving me to my knees . I cried out in surprise, I think, or maybe it was pain. I wasn't sure. Everything clouded over my vision in a white mist. The cold air was cutting through me, numbing my fingers first and spreading along my arms to the rest of my body. I thought of trying to get up to kill the demon before I died, but my body wouldn't listen to me. I couldn't move my right arm and my left felt so heavy, like I had no strength in it. My body fell forward, the leaves on the ground cushioning my fall as I sank into their wet embrace. I would probably die in this place, but I was too tired to care about it right now. My eyelids were so heavy. I happily let them drift shut, ignoring the feet that were running along the path towards me. It was too late.

~End chapter five~