For Hope And Love: Takeshi's Castle fanfiction

‘Tani, what are we going to do?’ whispered the woman, terrified out of her wits.

‘Quick, in here!’ replied Tani, spotting a door on the left hand side of the corridor.

They broke through and silently closed the door behind them. They were in some sort of office. There was another door at the other end of the room.

‘Marike, go on, in that back room there, hurry!’ whispered Tani hurriedly.

He followed Marike through without realising that the door they had come through to get inside the office had been opened and one of their chasers was coming up behind them, with his colleague.

As Tani started to go through the door himself, he felt hands on his shoulders and was being pulled back. A fist tightened on his jaw. He saw the dark shape of the other man go after Marike. He heard her scream, quickly cut off. Tani regretted not being able to get a proper look at who had blocked off her escape. He wanted to know what it was he was armed with.

Loud, repeated thuds sounded noisily, and Marike’s screams were nearly drowned out.

Tani sat up with a jolt. His hair was matted and stuck to his forehead with sweat. His heart was working overtime, adrenalin pumping through his veins. That horrific, demonic knocking he had been listening to in his dreams was sounding in his head still. His eyes were watering. He sat still in his bed, clasping his hands to his face in despair until he realised that what he was listening to was frantic knocking at his front door.

He heaved himself out of his bed with a heavy heart and padded barefoot to the front of his house to greet the person who was so insistent to get an answer.

Tani found himself face to face with one of the elite members of his company, who looked nearly as nervous as Tani himself did.

‘General Tani, sir, you need to get down to Takeshi’s castle, quick!’ stammered the young man, staring apprehensively at his General.

‘I - I dunno exactly, but apparently, there’s some strange goings on down at Takeshi’s castle that need to be checked out. Shall, shall I get the Corporals ready?’

‘No, no, don’t do that.’ Replied Tani. ‘If I decide to go and storm the castle, then I’ll do it tomorrow night, so there’s plenty of time to prepare a decent assault. Now, go home.’

‘Yes sir. Are you okay sir?’ asked Tani’s man. The tears that had been filling General Tani’s eyes for the last few minutes had threatened to spill.

‘I’m fine. Just,…just got something in my eye, that’s all,’ he explained, rubbing his weary eyes. ‘Now, go.’

Tani closed the front door and made his way back to his bedroom, feeling as unnerved as before. He leant against the wall and rested his head against it, eyes closed, as huge, racking sobs rippled over his entire body.

Tani made his way into his office in the morning to find that his two Corporals were already awake and ready for work.

‘So what’s going on? I had Sai knocking on my door last night, saying about some strange goings on down at Takeshi’s castle,’ stated Tani, instead of giving the usual friendly ‘good morning’ he gave.

‘We don’t actually know what’s going on down there, but I for one think it’s something illegal.’

Tani stared at them both. Corporal Lee, in her fifties, was the wisest out of the pair. She had dark brown eyes and curly black hair that had started to go grey. The other one, Corporal Kirsty, had golden hair which reached a third of the way down her back, and had large, blue eyes. Both of them wore the same uniform, which was similar to the General’s.

The jackets the Corporals wore had a sparkling gold collar, with shiny epaulets glistening on their shoulders. There was a row of glittering gold buttons down the centre of the jackets, with a red rose on each side. At the back was a snarling tiger’s head. They both wore white trousers with a yellow stripe down the outside of their legs, complete with yellow boots. Tani’s General uniform was exactly the same, except where their had the roses, his uniform consisted of frolicking dragons.

‘When do you think it would be a good time to go down to the castle?’ asked Kirsty.

‘Tonight. I want you both to meet me at Takeshi’s castle at midnight. The three of us go alone.’

Five minutes to midnight, Tani stopped in the shadows out the front of the castle. He saw both the Corporals ready and waiting for him just ahead. He crept up behind them and tapped them both of the shoulder. Kirsty started and clasped a hand over her mouth to prevent herself from screaming.

‘Get a grip on yourself,’ whispered Tani. ‘You and Corporal Lee, both of you head to the great wall and get over that. Try not to stay together too much, I want the castle covered from as many angles as possible with just the three of us. I’m going to get into the grounds via the muddy waters.’

Corporal Lee and Kirsty both nodded to show that they had understood what he had said and turned away to start their infiltration of Takeshi’s grounds. Tani left for the east side of the castle, whilst his two Corporals headed to the west side.

Corporal Lee jumped up and her fingers grazed the top of the wall. Her grip loosened and she fell back down. Kirsty was pulling an ‘I-told-you-so’ expression which Lee immediately ignored.

‘Climb up onto my back and pull yourself over like that,’ whispered Lee. She got on her hands and knees on the ground and stayed like that whilst Kirsty heaved herself over the top of the wall. Just before she slid down the other side, Lee hissed at her to wait and help her across.

Tani had found the muddy waters. He suppressed a shudder as he made his way forwards.

‘Can’t go back now,’ he muttered to himself, feeling sick as he walked deeper into the silage. His boots were constantly getting stuck in all the mud at the bottom of the swamp.

The muck was so deep, it nearly came up to his waist. Ignoring this, he ploughed on, hands over his mouth and nose, trying to block out the disgusting stench that had long ago attacked his nostrils. He hurried, trying to get away sooner and fell to his knees in the bog. The mud and water came up to his neck

When he finally reached the bank, he shook himself off like a dog after a bath and attempted to clean himself up as much as possible.

Ahead from the muddy waters, he saw a line of seven cylinders on their sides, set out like rollers, which needed to be traversed in order to get any closer to the castle. Tani leapt up the steps leading to the rollers and took a deep breath. He threw himself at them, taking them one at a time, not giving them much chance to start rolling and end up throwing him down into whatever lay underneath. He had not yet dared to look.

As he set foot on the fourth roller, he lost his balance and came crashing down on top of the fifth roller. He had smacked his ribcage badly and was literally biting on his tongue to prevent a curse slipping from his lips. He attempted to regain his balance again and erratically made his way to the other side.

After getting across, he gave the rollers one last look and held a hand up to his mouth. When he pulled his hand away, his fingers were tainted with blood.

Well, that would explain the sore tongue, he thought bitterly to himself and continued onwards.

Corporal Lee and Corporal Kirsty had done what Tani had said and after getting over the great wall, had parted company.

Now Corporal Lee was faced with another of the many swamped that littered the challenges Count Takeshi had set for those who want to try and invade his castle. It was in a small, enclosed area, with trees all around. The swamp in front looked as though it was shallow enough to wade through, but did not feel inclined to tempt fate. She knew what Takeshi was like. Placed strategically throughout the swamp were small, round stones. She moved closer to the bank and set her foot on one. It sank into the dank water. Obviously, some of them would sink and the others would stay where they were.

She backed off and took them at a run, gliding over the stones, in a near perfect path. Her boot landed on a wrong one and her foot sank into the water. She momentarily lost her balance, but quickly regained it, feeling a sharp jolt of horror when she felt something under the surface of the water brush against her toes. She fell forwards, arms outstretched, onto the nearest stone in front of her. She prayed that it would be one of the stones that was not going to sink. Thankfully, when she suddenly pressed her weight onto it, it stayed where it was.

Lee picked herself back up again, and took the stones with a lot more caution, testing each one before entrusting it with her weight and made her way to the opposite bank.

Corporal Kirsty had found herself in a tunnel that would take her to the task she needed to complete to get closer to the castle. As she came out, she realised that the opening she had just exited from was in the style of a shark’s head, and she had just come through its mouth. She stared at what was in front of her.

There was a small platform in the centre of the deep clearing in front of her. She was standing on a ledge, high above the surface of a pool of water. There was another ledge opposite her, and one just to the left of her. She supposed she needed to get to the ledge to the left of her. There was a surface attacked to the platform in the centre of the clearing, which she assumed she would have to ride on to get through. But it was going the long way around, going anti-clockwise. There were also two object in the way between the ledges that looked like small pink whales. Kirsty assumed she would have to get onto the surfboard as it came round, jump over the first whale, then scramble quickly onto the opposite ledge, jump over the second pink whale and onto the finishing ledge. It seemed impossible.

The Corporal went into a crouch as the board came closer and closer to her and clambered onto it, holding the sides tightly. She braced herself for the jump, successfully cleared it and landed painfully on her backside. She forced herself onto her feet as the ledge came closer and closer and got across it with ease, but left her return onto the board a bit late. She immediately lost her balance and nearly fell off, holding on with one arm. She went underneath the second whale, then attempted to heave herself up to get to the finishing ledge. The board started to speed past her destination as she made her way back onto her feet.

Seeing she was about to go around again, she jumped, threw herself at the finishing ledge and made it, but caught her ribs hard, winding her. She clutched her ribcage, her face set in a grimace.

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Tani had come to a bridge. It was narrow, and very wobbly, consisting of wooden planks carelessly thrown together. At the far end, there was a contraption where large, heavy case balls could be fired at whoever dared to cross. Next to it was the case that actually contained the balls. Half asleep, one of the two Emerald Guards who were manning the cannon noticed Tani and nudged his companion.

Nearer his end of the bridge, Tani noted that there was another cannon, and a case filled with golden balls. He knew that he would need to take one of those golden balls across the bridge with him, but he was not totally certain why. He assumed that it would become obvious once he was across.

He snatched one of the golden balls and then started to make his way across the rickety bridge, taking it slowly, being careful not to fall off or drop the golden ball. He did not want to have to go all the way back just to get another golden ball.

As soon as he started making his way across the rickety bridge, the Emerald Guards on the other cannon instantly started firing at him. The first ball caught him hard in the stomach. He cried out in pain.

By the time he had made it halfway across the bridge, he had been hit in the stomach, in the legs, in the arm, chest and crotch and was feeling very sore. It was costing him all of his determination to continue, but he was not going to let his two Corporals down. He continued across the bridge, taking it very slow. It was hard to tell if he was actually moving or not. The two Emerald Guards were taking careful aim.

Tani called out in agony as one of the heavy black balls knocked against his chin. He started pitching far too far backwards, and slipped off the bridge. He managed to grab onto it, hanging over the net underneath. The golden ball started rolling off. Tani reached out carefully with one arm and managed to precariously balance the golden ball in his fingertips. He tucked it between his knees and started to drag his tired body back onto the bridge.

Minutes later, Tani finally stepped off the bridge, still in one piece, and still with the golden ball. He looked around, wondering what he needed to do with it and realised that it was just to make the whole ordeal a lot harder. Feeling irritated, he kicked the ball back to the bridge and continued onwards.

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Corporal Lee and come to her next task. She was in a kind of maze. Each room she walked into was exactly the same, hexagonal in shape, and painted pink with black splodges on. Despite the atrocious colouring, it reminded Lee of a honeycomb. She tentatively pushed open another door. It was empty. The door behind her suddenly burst open, as one of the two Emerald Guards who haunt the maze leapt through. Her heart hammering against her ribs, she sped forwards, slamming into walls and doors alike. She pushed opened one, and a scream slipped from her lips as she nearly toppled over into a pool of water, at the mercy of the Emerald Guards. She stopped herself just in time, punched one Guard in the face and found the right door, leading to dry land. She was amazed at how well, how easily she had gone through.

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Kirsty stopped when she came to her next task. She was standing on a tall ledge, right in front of a sheer drop. She was slightly more relaxed when she noticed that the danger had been decreased by all the water in the drop.

Sticking out into the middle of the pool from the far bank was a small platform. There was a long pole leaning against her platform in the water. It looked to her that she would have top ole vault onto the circular island and carefully walk along the ledge to the bank.

The Corporal picked up the pole. It resisted, the other end stuck deep in the silage and silt at the bottom of the pool.

Once she actually managed to pull it free, she hefted it carefully. Her arm shook slightly under the solid weight. It seemed impossible for her to actually conjure up the strength to swing herself to the island.

She took a few steps back, holding the heavy pole up and ran towards the drop. Kirsty threw the pole back into the mud and kicked off against the ledge, sailing gracefully through the hair. The wind whipped through her golden blonde mane.

Kirsty had overshot, but thankfully not by much. She landed on the far platform hard on her knees and slipped forwards. The pole slipped from her fingers, which were now grasping the corner of the platform tightly. Her torso had almost slid off entirely and into the murky water, but instead, only her head was submerged.

She tugged herself back up, wiping sopping wet hair and rivulets of water out of her face. She shakily got to her feet and carefully walked along the narrow ledge, not looking back.

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Tani was the first one to make it to the back of Takeshi’s Castle. He was shrouded in total darkness, using the shadows as cover, in case any Emerald Guards should be looking out of the window at the present moment in time.

He swiftly, yet silently made his way up the steps of the castle, always craning around, trying to keep an eye on everything at once.

When he reached the back door, he slipped a hand down to his yellow boots and withdrew a short, narrow bladed dagger. Wielding it in his right hand, he worked the tip of the slim blade into the lock of the door, turning it around until he heard a click. As the door swung open, he let himself inside.

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Up in Takeshi’s bedroom, his wife sat up straight. She was certain she could faintly hear footsteps creeping around. She thought it was one of the Emerald Guards on duty. She pulled the duvet back and wrapped a silken dressing gown around herself, over the top of her matching nightgown.

She was a Western woman and was originally from England, but moved to Japan ten years ago, where she fell in love with the Count and married him. But all these years later, the love in their relationship had gone. She was stuck with him. She no longer felt anything but dislike for him, and she knew that he no longer loved her. He violated her body as and when he chose, only really using her for sexual release.

She had long, straight hair that reached nearly to her waist and was the colour of caramel. She had shining blue eyes that were filled with warmth. She put on her glasses and wrapped her arms around her slim waist as a shiver ran down her spine. Her name was Evelyn Taylor.

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Tani froze. He could have sworn he just heard a creak from above. He paused for a second, listening intently. There was another creak. So I’m not imagining things, he thought.

He flung himself around a corner and into a different room, just out of sight as the person appeared at the bottom of the stairs. He cursed, silently, not wanting to give himself away more than he had already done. He was certain that whoever had just come down the stairs caught a glimpse of him.

‘Who’s there?’ came a voice. Tani’s breath caught in his throat, and he tried to press himself into the walls even more.

The General peered round the corner precariously, and saw Takeshi’s wife walking off in the opposite direction. He jumped out from his hiding place and tried to make it to somewhere much more safe. Evelyn turned around and saw him. When Tani realised that he had been caught, he sighed and put his hands in the air.

‘You got me. Well done. After all the skill it took to get up here, spend not even minutes inside the castle itself and I get caught by Takeshi’s wife. Go on, go call the Emerald Guards.’

To his surprise, the woman - who he thought was quite attractive - shook her head.

‘You’re Takeshi’s wife. I’m not that stupid. Please, give me some credit,’ retorted General Tani.

‘I don’t love Takeshi. I want out of this marriage. I want to be with somebody else, to go someplace else, but I’m stuck here until he leaves me. You might say I’ve got a bit of a rebellious streak.’

Another door opened. Eve pushed Tani out of the way and went to investigate. Tani heard a low growl speaking to her. There was only one person who that voice could have belonged to, and he was in the Emerald Guard. He was one of the most notorious of them all. Animal.

‘Uh…just…getting a drink,’ invented Eve. She waited until Animal had explained that he thought he saw an intruder in the castle and went back outside. She shot a glance at Tani. ‘Still don’t believe me?’

‘Do you want my honest answer?’ queried the General. Eve smiled dryly. She walked over to the kitchen table and snatched at a piece of paper and a pen, and started jotting out a number. She then forced it into Tani’s hands.

‘My mobile number. Don’t ever ring me. If you need me for, oh, I don’t know, inside help, then send me a text. Texts are safer than phone calls, especially for one around Count Takeshi. Now go. Any others you may have here with you, leave them. You need to get away from here,’ whispered Eve urgently.

Starting to feel a bit more convinced, Tani slipped the paper into his back pocket and gave her a curt nod before heading out the back of the castle again. His thoughts briefly wandered over to the two Corporals, and what they were doing. Had they managed to infiltrate the castle? Had they died trying?

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When Tani entered his office the next morning, the first thing he noticed was that only one of his Corporals was sitting on his desk. Corporal Lee stood up as he entered.

Tani groaned inwardly. An idea came to him. He still had Eve’s mobile number in his pocket. He took that, and his own mobile phone out and looked at the piece of paper. Corporal Lee gave him a glance.

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Eve was up and wandering through the castle when her phone started to play it’s little tune. She snatched it up quickly and read the text message that Tani had sent her.

‘Just a text from Yayoi,’ she replied, thinking of her friend who was on holiday.

‘But you said she was abroad. Don’t tell me she took her phone, abroad with her?’ asked Takeshi incredulously. Eve nodded.

She flicked through the message again and started to reply, telling Tani to meet her at the empty house belonging to her friend Yayoi at eleven o’clock at night. Eve put her phone down and gave Takeshi a cuddle, in the same way she always did when she was about to ask for something.

‘Takeshi…I’m going to stay at Yayoi’s tonight. All this talk about her has just reminded me that she wanted me to sleep over at her’s for the odd night or so, just to make sure nobody broke in. So don’t wait up for me.’

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Tani’s phone vibrated as Eve’s reply came through. He skimmed through it and smiled to himself. So she wasn’t just trying to fool me, he thought. She really is on our side. She really does loathe Takeshi…

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At five minutes to midnight, Tani made his way down to the house that Eve had specified she would be waiting for him in her message. He knocked gingerly on the door, in case an Emerald Guard opened the door. His shoulders sagged visibly with relief when Eve answered. She stepped aside to let him in. He saw that she had moved some of her stuff in.

She beckoned him into another room, where, sitting on the sofa, was the figure of Corporal Kirsty. She looked worse for wear; her golden hair had been violently pulled out of its pony tail, she had a dark bruise forming around one eye, and her lip had been split. She had a small amount of blood encrusted on the cut. Her expression turned from pained to happy when she saw the General and stood up to attention.

‘One of the Emerald Guards got to her first. You sent her and somebody else up to the castle, didn’t you?’ asked Eve.

‘I saw the other woman and told her to go back, that you had already left, but Kibaji and Strong got to Kirsty before I did,’ explained Eve with a pitiful sigh.

Tani asked her if she was alright and needed escorting back to her house or not, but she warded him off and said that she would be okay.

‘There might be Guards hanging around though,’ warned Tani. Kirsty shrugged.

She turned on her heel after saying goodbye to the General and thanking Eve again for looking after her and left. Tani started to follow her. He looked around the house and saw one of the doors was slightly open, giving a view of what was inside that room. He noted that it was a bedroom. He heard Eve’s soft footsteps behind him.

Tani turned around, and when he did, found himself standing much too close to Eve. A hot flush rose up on her neck and cheeks. She gave a small, nervous laugh.

‘A bit close for comfort,’ she mumbled. Tani was not paying any attention. He had his eyes fixed on hers. Her breath caught in her throat.

She had noticed, as soon as she first laid eyes on the General, what a good looking man he was, and instantly fell in lust with him. She felt almost petrified of the hungry look on his face, as the impossibly small distance between them shrank.

Tani’s lips planted themselves on Eve’s neck. He kissed his way up her throat until his lips met hers in a wild, frantic and passionate embrace. His fingers wound themselves up in her hair whilst her hands explored his body. He started to pull her into the bedroom he had seen earlier and then gently pushed her down onto the bed.

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Takeshi woke up the next morning and turned over, expecting to see Eve lying beside him, but instead, only saw an empty space. He wondered for a second where she must be, and then remembered. He got up and dressed quickly and made his way downstairs to the castle’s kitchen. On the table was a spare set of keys that Yayoi had entrusted in Eve’s care. He snatched them up, thinking that he might pay his wife a surprise visit.

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Eve had awoken only minutes after Tani had, both of them still naked in the bed. Despite getting almost a full night’s sleep, Eve still felt very tired. She glanced at the clock on the table next to her and nearly screamed. Takeshi would be wondering where she was.

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Takeshi inserted the key into the lock of the house and let himself in. He walked into the bedroom, with a grin plastered across his face - and froze in horror. He saw Eve in her nightdress, wrapping her gown around her, and Tani dressed from the waist up, attempting to do up the flies on his trousers. The grin slid off the Count’s face instantaneously. Eve dashed over to him, desperate to try and make it out to be something other than what it looked like. What it really was.

‘Adulterous snake!’ he cried. He had gone a deep shade of crimson in his fury. He cast a look at Tani, who had stopped trying to zip up his trousers and merely looked embarrassed.

‘Of all the men to sleep with,’ Count Takeshi whispered venomously. ‘And you have to choose him! Bitch!’

His furious words was met with another slap around the face for Eve. He spun around and stormed out of the house, slamming the door loudly. Eve shot a glance at Tani, who seemed to have gone pale under his golden tan. He felt the same fear as Eve did. There was no telling what Takeshi was going to have done to them.

‘What are we going to do, Tani?’ she sobbed. ‘What are we going to do?’

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Half an hour later, Takeshi was pacing around in the house of one of his counsellors, still shaking with anger at what he had seen. The two counsellors - the people directly underneath the Count - Saburo Ishikura and Sonomanma Higashi watched as Count Takeshi stampeded around, swearing profusely under his breath.

Saburo was a small man; he was very thin and very short. He had short black hair and a thin moustache. His eyes were a dark brown, but were not filled with much warmth. He wore a glimmering golden kimono and often walked around with the tip of his nose painted red. The Count had often spent ages wondering why, but had never come up with a logical solution.

Sonomanma was much taller than Saburo. He was also slightly taller than the Count himself. Like Saburo, he had short black hair - which had started to thin - and brown eyes. He did not wear a kimono like Takeshi and the other counsellor, but was dressed casually in jeans and a t-shirt. He looked up at the fuming Count.

‘Ignore it? Count Takeshi, with all due respect sir, your own wife slept with the one man you’ve been struggling to fight!’ snapped Saburo. ‘With General Tani. The enemy.’ He shot a glance at Sonomanma. ‘Surely, that counts as treason? Bearing in mind how powerful Takeshi is, of course.’

‘I most certainly do, Count,’ replied Saburo. He gave Sonomanma a pointed glare. Sonomanma nodded.

‘Treason is still punishable by death, isn’t it?’ asked the Count in a far away voice, turning his back to the counsellors. Sonomanma gave Saburo a worried look.

‘He doesn’t love her,’ Saburo mouthed back. ‘He just used her for sex.’

‘Um…,’hesitated Saburo. He did not want Takeshi to have his wife murdered. Tani could go hang as far as he was concerned, but getting the woman he fell in love with and married dead? That was going too far. ‘Yes. It is…’

‘Then send out the Emerald Guards tomorrow. Tell them to search for both Eve and Tani,’ he ordered, spitting their names. ‘But I don’t want Eve killed. Just safely locked up. But as for Tani…well…do I need to say?’

Saburo and Sonomanma murmured their replies that they had understood their commands and hurriedly left the Count’s presence, but not before exchanging one last, concerned glance.

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As soon as Tani entered his office where yet again, the two Corporals were waiting for him, they instantly knew that something was wrong.

‘What’s up?’ Kirsty amiably asked, looking in an absent minded fashion at her fingernails.

‘I’ve done something stupid. Something terribly, terribly stupid,’ replied Tani in a faint voice, staring wide eyed at his shoes, not moving from in front of the closed door. He leant against it, resting his head against the wood and now gaping up at the ceiling.

Corporal Lee surveyed his expression with concern and suspicion. When she spoke, her voice was low and menacing, as though she knew that he had done something to put him - and no doubt a lot of other people - in danger.

He gave her his eyes. She met his stare head on, so intensely that he looked away.

‘Let’s not talk about it now actually. Let’s see what we’ve got to do today,’ he said, swiftly changing the subject in a falsely bright tone of voice. Corporal Lee was not going to leave it though.

She pestered him relentlessly, despite he had tried to pull rank on her and order her to be quiet, but then Kirsty piped up as well, and he felt himself about to snap.

‘All right!’ he screamed. ‘I slept with his wife, I slept with Count Takeshi’s fucking wife!’

Both the Corporals froze in horror. Their expressions were identical. They were not used to Tani being like this. They had never heard him swear before, not even when under the most unbearable stress. He had always managed to keep his head and a firm hold of his tongue.

She trailed off as the General stared at her, regret and fear sparkling in his eyes. Lee was also staring at him, but there was no upset in her eyes as there was in the eyes of her two companions. She looked impassively at him.

‘Lee!’ Tani called after her, but she ignored him. ‘Goddammit!’ he snarled, punching the wall.

Kirsty dared not speak. Yet there was one thing that was lingering on her mind, that she needed to ask.

‘Does…does Takeshi know?’ she whispered. Tani nodded. ‘What is he going to do to you?’

‘I have no idea,’ replied Tani. ‘To be perfectly honest, I don’t want to know.’

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Once night had fallen, Eve had stepped out into the street, dressed in black to slide easily into the shadows. She had received a text from Tani that afternoon, asking her to meet him.

She walked along the dark pavement quietly, her eyes darting around in case she saw an Emerald Guard hovering around. She was sure that after her act of adultery she would probably be wanted.

Eve saw Tani emerge underneath a street lamp. He stopped under the orange blare and looked around, spotting her. He jogged lightly over to her and kissed her on the forehead.

‘Do you know what Takeshi’s going to do? Have you spoken to him?’ asked Tani, talking in a low voice. But despite the low pitch, Eve could still make out the panic.

‘I went back to Takeshi’s castle after he discovered us, to try and talk some sense into him, and I heard him talking to his two counsellors. He,…he thinks it counts as treason. He’s going to send out Guards tomorrow for us. Tani…’ she faltered, feeling unable to finish her sentence. ‘He…he wants you dead!’

Both Tani and Eve turned to the voice that had just yelled at them. A solitary Emerald Guard was standing watch, looking right at them. He came closer, trying to get a decent view of who they were. Tani pulled on Eve’s arm, whispering to her to run.

‘You go, I’ll stay,’ she whispered back. She gave him an evil look when he started to protest. He turned on his heel and fled, feeling guilty at leaving Eve on his own.

She stood defiantly in front of the Emerald Guard, who met her stare head on. His eyes narrowed when he recognised who she was, and then lunged out to try and grab her. She shook his arms off and punched him deftly in the stomach. She then tried to run, the Guard hot on her heels.

A week passed with both Eve and Tani avoiding the Emerald Guards in fear of execution.

The couple and Corporal Lee were in Tani’s office, when one of Tani’s scouts came rushing into the office, followed by Corporal Kirsty, who had somebody help captive. Tani recognised his uniform instantly as one of the Emerald Guards.

‘Apparently, he has a message from the Count for us,’ explained Kirsty, whilst the scout nodded in agreement. Tani raised one eyebrow questioningly.

‘Takeshi says for you to prepare your men,’ uttered the Guard. ‘He wants to fight, and he’s going to war with you.’

Tani, Eve and Corporal Lee all wore the same identical looks of horror on their faces. Had they really heard the scout right? Was Takeshi really going to wage war on them just because of one small act of infidelity?

‘That’s pathetic!’ cried Eve. ‘He wants to go to war just because of - of…’ Her voice trailed off.

The Guard met her worried expression with a smirk. Tani looked at his Corporals.

‘Kirsty. Dispose of this Guard.’ She nodded. He waited until she and the Guard had left his office. ‘Lee, can you please tell my men the situation and tell them to get ready?’

She nodded and followed Kirsty, but there was a distinct frostiness in her attitude to him. She had never forgiven him for sleeping with Takeshi’s wife. It was that couple that had triggered this huge mess. Despite she would never admit to it, she blamed him. She blamed him and Eve.

Once they were alone, Tani rested his hands on Eve’s shoulders and looked into her eyes.

‘And I don’t want to leave here and just let you fight alone,’ replied Eve. ‘Don’t send me away. And don’t deny that is what was going through your head, because I know it was.’

The next day, Tani, the two Corporals and Tani’s men went to meet Takeshi and his Emerald Guards. The two parties stood face to face, in an old fashioned battle style. Tani glanced up to the second storey of a house nearby, where he saw Eve hanging out of the window, watching the tension rise with increasing apprehension. He flashed her a reassuring smile.

Takeshi followed his gaze and caught sight of his wife. He flushed a deep red in anger and shot the General his most poisonous glare. It was bad enough Tani had to sleep with his wife, but now making eyes at her in front of him, it was too much.

He felt a strong urge to run at General Tani now, and rip him piece to piece. That would teach him, thought Count Takeshi bitterly.

Tani backed off a step, and glanced behind him. He took a deep breath and raised his katana.

‘Ike!’ he screamed, and the two parties ran for each other. The war between the Count and the General had started.

The Emerald Guards had rushed forwards whilst Takeshi had stood still, so that by the time Tani had covered the short distance between himself and the Count, he was already lost in the swarm of brightly uniformed Guards.

Tani was unable to reach the Count, who had turned around, and started walking away, further into the seething mass of turquoise clothed Guards. Tani fought his way after Takeshi, but not with much luck, as the Emerald Guards were doing everything in their power to prevent him from getting any further.

Eve watched the start of the fight from her room in the deserted house she was staying in. She watched as Takeshi retreated from the fight himself and as Tani bravely fought to get to him. She could see that he was not going to get anywhere on his own. She flinched nastily as a pained grunt burst from his lips, as the blade of a katana pierced his side.

She turned away and looked around. She saw a broom leaning against the far wall. She snatched at it and pulled the bristles on the other end off, so that it looked like a staff. Within seconds, she was out onto the street.

Takeshi was walking serenely down an empty street, the sounds of his war behind him ringing in his ears. He heard somebody breathing heavily behind him, and thudding footsteps.

‘Takeshi!’ called a female voice. The Count turned. His eyes narrowed dangerously as they rested on Eve, holding her staff. ‘You need to call this off, Takeshi, this is stupid!’

‘No. This is my revenge. You sleeping with that…excuse for a man angered me enough to make sure that Tani ends up dead once and for all. Oh, don’t worry. I won’t have you killed. After all…you are my wife…’ snarled Count Takeshi.

‘Tani is more of a man than you ever were, than you ever will be!’ she exclaimed.

She staggered backwards as she was slapped roughly around the face. The Count eyed the staff she was holding.

‘Are you going to hit me with it?’ he asked, softly, in an tone that denied his contained anger.

Takeshi merely sneered in the face on his wife’s threat. As far as he was concerned, she was of no harm to him. He snatched the staff from her hands and threw it to the ground. He then grabbed Eve roughly by her shoulders and knocker her to the ground. Not with as much force as he would have had he been bowling over the General, though. He might find her adulterous and treacherous, but they were still husband and wife, if in name only.

‘You’re going to lie there, and I’m going to get one of my Emerald Guards to fetch Tani,’ he snarled venomously. ‘And then…you’re going to watch me kill him.’

He towered over her in an intimidating fashion and bent down to slap her around the face. Blood trickled over her lips and down her chin. She wiped her nose with the back of her hand.

‘I thought you weren’t going to hurt me…?’ muttered Eve, the slight tremble in her voice turning the statement into a question. Takeshi glowered.

‘No, I said I wasn’t going to kill you. But, I guess I don’t need to physically punish you, because making you watch me kill General Tani should hopefully be punishment enough.’

‘You’ll never kill Tani! He won’t allow himself to be murdered, least of all by you, and I won’t allow it either!’

She swiftly kicked him sharply in the shins, and pulled herself off the ground to face the Count. She punched him hard in the jaw, knocking him backwards. She aimed another punch at him, but he dodged it, and twisted her arm around her back.

Eve drove her elbow into Count Takeshi’s abdomen nearly winding him. She broke free of his grasp and made another furious attempt to attack him again. They were locked in a furious grapple, both kicking, punching, biting any part of each other that they got a hold of. Neither had an advantage over the other. Takeshi never thought that the person whom would be his match would turn out to be his own wife.

They backed from one another and as Eve started another assault, Takeshi pulled out the katana that he had stashed in the folds of his kimono and held it to the jugular vein in her throat. She was instantly immobilised, suddenly more docile than she had ever been.

‘Picking on women now, are you? I would have thought you’d want to watch the outcome of the war you started.’

‘You can’t be here! You have to go, he’s going to try and kill you!’ exclaimed Eve, panic seeping into her voice. Tani merely raised an eyebrow.

His hands reached the hilt of his katana. There was the smallest of sounds as he pulled it out of its sheath. He held it loosely at his side. His warm brown eyes seemed uncharacteristically cold and hard as they rested on the Count.

Tani moved Eve out of the way of any danger without once taking his eyes off Count Takeshi. The two men walked closer to each other, preparing themselves for the battle they were about to have.

Footsteps sounded from the direction that Tani had once come from, and Animal appeared, taking in the scene. He took one look at the General and started to draw his katana as well.

‘Animal!’ called the Count to one of his elite Emerald Guards. ‘Don’t. Just stand aside. I want to kill this man by myself.’

Tani snorted in unsuccessfully repressed laughter. Both the Guard and Takeshi shot daggers at him.

‘Just look after my darling wife. Make sure she doesn’t run away,’ he added, his voice secreting sarcasm from every pore.

Takeshi made the first attack. The General parried it with his own blade before ducking out of the way of the next onslaught. The Count rushed at him, brandishing his katana wildly every frustrated attack blocked or dodged, angering Takeshi even more. He caught Tani by surprise by kicking him in the chest and nearly knocking him over. Takeshi then raised his blade over his head and sharply, powerfully brought it down in what could have been a killing stroke. Tani only managed to avoid it by trying to lean back, out of the way. He overbalance and toppled over, cascading to the ground. He struck the concrete ground with the top half of his back, calling out in pain.

Eve shrieked in panic and tried to make her way to the fallen man, but Animal restrained her. She stared at Tani, tears falling freely down her cheeks.

The General rolled out of the way of Takeshi’s katana as he attempted to stab Tani whilst down. He glanced at Eve and shot her a smile, trying to signify that he was alright, that she did not need to worry about him. His momentary lack of concentration to his fight with the Count cost him.

Takeshi lunged with his katana as his anger at his wife and Tani making eye contact again rose, and pierced the General’s side. Tani’s eyes bulged in pain and shock. His jaw slackened, making his mouth fall wide open. Sticky, warm, dark red fluid trickled and seeped from the wound that the Count inflicted on him. A pained moan slipped from Tani’s lips.

Eve made another attempt to make her way over to General Tani, but Animal seized her around the waist. She screamed and shouted, yelling ugly profanities at him and the Count, kicking at his legs and pushing his arms. More tears had slid down her face as her desperation to reach Tani mounted.

Eve brought her ankle up behind her and caught Animal with a sharp blow, rendering him helpless. She dashed to Tani’s side as Count Takeshi ripped his katana roughly from out of his pained torso. She held his head in her arms as he sank down to the floor. He looked as though he was going to bleed to death if nobody did anything soon.

‘Get out of the way,’ snapped Takeshi, grabbing Eve by the shoulder and practically throwing her away from her lover.

She rested the weight of her torso on her hands, her head only a few centimetres away from the ground. She bit her lip and closed her eyes tightly, trying to keep herself from sobbing any more.

Tani managed to stand up again, but a bit unsteadily. The grip on his katana tightened. His face was set in a menacing scowl.

The Count attacked again. Tani blocked the attack and ducked under the blade before jumping over it as Takeshi still tried in vain to hit his opponent whilst moving. He angrily threw his katana down to the ground and lunged at General Tani once more. The General moved to one side, out of the way. Takeshi turned on his heel and struck Tani directly on the chin. Tani’s head snapped to one side. He rubbed the back of his neck, all the while staring at Count Takeshi.

Takeshi punched the General in the stomach, and then threw him into a nearby wall. His fist met the General’s jaw again. Tani, with another pained expression crossing his face, looked to the side and spat out a mouthful of blood. The Count raised his knee and caught General Tani in the abdomen. Tani cried out and bent forward slightly. Another trickle of blood seeped out of his mouth. He glanced at Eve, who was still on the ground. He tried to run around Takeshi to reach her, just to make sure she was alright. It did not matter that he was getting beaten black and blue, but so long as Eve was alright -

Count Takeshi grabbed at the back of Tani’s jacket and pulled him back, causing him to cascade into the wall again. The General struck his head sharply.

I’m going to die, thought Tani. He watched as Takeshi picked up his katana again and hefted it with an expression of satisfaction. He’s going to kill me, right here, right now, and in front of Eve. He can’t. Not in front of her. He can’t make her watch…

The Count advanced on the General once more, a glint of evil sparkling in his brown eyes. Eyes that were the same shade as Tani’s, but containing none of his warmth. Takeshi slashed at Tani, who made no attempt to block the blow apart from raising one arm, so the blade slid through his flesh. He gasped, holding the wound, trying to stem the flow of blood. Takeshi made another stab, at chest height. Tani held out a hand in a reflex action.

Eve had managed to pick herself up off the ground and turned back to watch the furious one sided fight between Tani and Takeshi. She looked just in time to see Takeshi try to stab her beloved General. She saw the movement of the blade slow as it met with flesh. She heard the sickening sound of blood splattering on the ground, and the breathless gagging noise Tani emitted. She saw his expression; he had gone pale underneath his beautiful golden tan, and he looked as though he was about to die.

Tani rested his head against the wall and closed his eyes. His breathing had risen considerably. He had never felt so agonised before. He opened his eyes and glanced down. He saw Takeshi’s katana at chest height. He felt it pierce his skin, but it had not penetrated his heart. The General’s hand was in the way. The blade of Takeshi’s weapon had been stabbed through Tani’s hand and just broke the skin on his chest. The point of the katana had stopped just short of poking through the other side of the ribs that were in the way.

Takeshi once again ripped his katana out of the body of General Tani, who slid down the wall, leaving a grotesque blood stain. He crumbled at the Count’s feet.

She started to run back over to Tani, but her husband raised his katana threateningly.

‘Stay away,’ he warned. He then motioned to Animal. ‘I think you know what to do with him.’

As Animal came over to pick up the limp form of General Tani, he sprung up, ignoring the pain shooting all over his body and punched the Emerald Guard squarely in the jaw. Takeshi swung his katana wildly at the General again. Tani had to flatten himself against the wall he had slid down to avoid being hit.

Seeing that there was no way he was going to be able to beat Takeshi in this situation, he ran. He turned away from Takeshi and Animal and started to flee. He felt the point of the katana rake down his back, and put on a burst of speed. His jacket and shirt fell down his arms. He stopped, ripping them off, before glancing back at Takeshi again, who was still coming after him.

The cold wind made Tani shiver. He wrapped his arms around his sore, naked torso and backed away from Count Takeshi. He started to run again, but stopped almost instantly when he saw the Emerald Guard in front of him. He spun on his heels. Count Takeshi and Animal were behind him.

He made a wild and desperate attempt to run past the single Emerald Guard and back from where he came, but as he passed, the Emerald Guard grabbed him by the shoulder and heaved him into the wall, the other arm, wielding the katana swinging. Tani cursed more obscenely as another puncture was inflicted on him.

He was sobbing now. Tears were sliding down his face rapidly. He could not care about the fact that Count Takeshi, Animal, the other Emerald Guard and Eve were watching.

Tani awoke a week later in what looked like a dungeon. To his surprise, his wounds had been dressed and taken care of. He felt cold, stone bricks on his back. He was dressed in the same way he was when he madly fled being killed by the Count and his two Emerald Guards.

He was suspended about half way up the wall, his wrists attached to manacles. His muscles ached still from the battle with Takeshi, and being involuntarily dangled by his wrists was not helping him at all.

The memories of his fight against the Count flashed in front of his eyes. He cringed and felt a flush of embarrassment as he realised that he started sobbing like a baby towards the end of the fight. He wondered what had happened to Eve. He hoped to God that she was alright. He also wondered what was going to happen to himself.

He managed to turn himself around, so he was facing the wall that his back was touching. The two chains holding onto his wrists crossed over, so he looked like he was abseiling down the wall. Tani managed to pull himself up, holding onto the chains tightly, feeling a surge of apprehension.

In an act of stupidity, he yanked at the chains, trying to pull them free so he could work on an escape. They came free, and he fell to the ground, striking his back and his head hard on the ground. He uttered a soft groan of pain. He hated feeling so weak, so helpless.

There was a solitary window, a small square in the stone bricks, with vertical bars across. Tani looked outside and saw Corporal Kirsty in the middle of the battle that was still going on between himself and Count Takeshi. She was in a furious fight with an Emerald Guard.

She glanced over to where General Tani was being held captive and saw his face peering through the bars. She idiotically stopped in the middle of her fight. The Guard she was fighting against seized her far shoulder and stabbed her deep in the stomach. Her expression was grim as she stared at Tani, one arm outstretched to him, as though she expected him to break free and save her.

The Guard repeatedly stabbed her in the same area of her stomach, as she screamed and yelled out her General’s name in agony.

The General turned swiftly away from the window, not wanting to see Kirsty’s pained expression any more. He was unsure how much more he could take. He looked back out the window, deliberately avoiding looking at Kirsty. He tried to see if Corporal Lee was nearby, and if she was, what sort of condition she was in.

Another person who was watching Kirsty being attacked with such vigour was Animal, one of Takeshi’s elite Emerald Guards. He found that, like the General, he could not bare to watch her being brutalised so badly. Wielding his katana, he fled from the battle, parrying the occasional attack from one of General Tani’s men.

He made his way up to the castle and forced entry. He searched the castle, looking for the Count. He found Takeshi in a room with Eve. She had a split lip, and a black eye blossoming. Her glasses looked like they were about to break.

On seeing this sight, Animal felt an intense sensation of loathing towards Count Takeshi.

‘Count Takeshi, you need to call this off. This has gone on for too long now!’ he snapped. Both Eve and Takeshi looked up at him.

‘At least one of us does,’ retorted Animal, his voice just as frosty. Count Takeshi drew himself up to his full height, and gave his Emerald Guard a withering stare.

Animal turned on his heel and started to head out of the castle. Before he exited, he snatched up a key lying on the table by the door. He made his way back to the dungeon where General Tani was locked.

‘He’s gone too far, this is ridiculous…’ he mumbled to himself as he went.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

General Tani had slid back down the wall, sitting on the ground, rubbing his sore arms. After a week of being suspended halfway up a wall with his arms overhead, it had taken its toll on his muscles.

He heard movement outside the locked door, the sound of a key being placed into the lock. There was a small click and the door swung open. Wondering who it was, Tani pulled himself to his feet. His expression darkened when he saw it was Animal. He wished he had his katana with him.

‘I’m not going to attack you, Tani,’ said Animal, seeing the expression on the General’s face.

Tani bristled at the sound of him mentioning the name of the woman whom he loves. He glared at Animal. Animal repeated his question when Tani did not respond. The General nodded.

‘I went down to the castle. She’s being abused by Takeshi. Not sexually, nothing like that. But he’s…been hitting her. When I went to the castle, her glasses were nearly broke, she had a split lip and I think she was starting to get a black eye.’

‘You should. It’s the truth. Also, one of your Corporals, the young blonde one -’

‘She’s been hospitalised. Brutal attack by one of Takeshi’s Emerald Guards. Kept stabbing her in the stomach over and over again. The paramedics may have gotten to her in time, we don’t know. She may be dead, she may be dying.’

Tani gave this some thought. He was starting to believe Animal. He was loathe to admit it, but a part of him believed what he had just been told. General Tani saw with his own eyes Kirsty being horribly attacked. He did not see Animal, so he could only assume that Animal did not see him. Since what he was saying about Kirsty was true, then could what he have said about Eve also have been true? About Count Takeshi assaulting her?…

‘Okay, you’re convincing, I’ll give you that,’ stated Tani. ‘I’m starting to believe you.’

Despite he still did not trust Animal entirely, he allowed himself to be steered out of his cell and out back into the street. He could tell that the Emerald Guard were wondering what Animal was doing, walking along the street with the enemy. He wondered how many of them would go to tell tales to Takeshi.

To his surprise, Animal took the General back to his office, where, inside stood Corporal Lee. She looked worse for wear; her jacket was stained in several places with blood, and she looked totally exhausted. Tani was half expecting her to shriek with horror when she saw him in the company on Animal, but she did not. Again, the General had to wonder whether Animal was being sincere, and was starting to think even more that he was.

‘Are you all right, General?’ she asked, looking at him in a caring way. He nodded, feeling a bit bemused.

Takeshi turned his attention away from his wife when he heard somebody knocking on the door to the castle. He opened it and was face to face with Animal.

The American Guard walked silently past the Count and over to Eve.

‘I need her to come with me,’ he said to the Count, pointing at her. Takeshi raised an eyebrow.

‘Why?’

‘Let me take the punishing of her out of your hands, so you can concentrate on the General,’ offered Animal. Takeshi nodded and smiled. Animal extended his hand to Eve, who took it reluctantly.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Tani waited in his office with Corporal Lee for the return of Animal with Eve. They waited for about five minutes in silence. Tani felt vulnerable. He was still bare chested, and his wounds ached. He still had not yet found out who had dressed his cuts, but he suspected that it was Animal.

The door to his office opened and Animal entered, ushering the cowering figure of Eve. Tani instantly noticed the damage that had been inflicted on her and pulled her close to him. He embraced her in a tight hug and comforted her as she started to sob.

‘I was so worried about you,’ she whispered into his neck. ‘I thought you had….’

‘Shhh, it’s alright Eve. I’m here. I’m alive and nearly healed.’

Eve backed away slightly so that she could take a good look at him. His bandages were red stained and needed changing.

‘You need to do something with them,’ she pointed out. She ran a finger over one. Tani hissed in pain. ‘Who dressed your wounds?’

‘I dunno,’ he replied. His eyes flicked to Animal.

‘It wasn’t me. The first time I came to see you when you were locked up was when I sprang you free from that Godforsaken cell.’

Tani looked at Eve again and ran a finger over her split lip. His fingers ran up her cheek until he was stroking the side of her face. He noticed the bruising around her eye as well.

Did…did Takeshi do this to you?’ he asked softly.

Eve hesitated, avoiding his eyes. She heard his angry intake of breath and looked up at him again. He was eyeing the door, as though he was about to throw himself out of it and back to Takeshi’s castle.

‘No, Tani don’t! You can’t! Takeshi nearly killed you the last time you fought him, and you aren’t fully mended yet. Please Tani, don’t fight him again,’ begged Eve, holding onto him.

Tani looked at her.

‘You think I’m going to let that bastard get away with doing this to you. Doing this to me?’ he added, motioning to his injuries.

‘But you can’t fight him!’ repeated Eve, her eyes filled with concern. Tani sighed.

‘There is a way we could get him back without your beloved risking himself,’ chimed in Animal, looking from Eve to Tani. Both seemed interested. ‘A number of us think that Takeshi is being out of order, even if it’s just because of beating Evelyn and not waging war on you. But they seem quite possible to…conversion, if you catch my drift.’

‘Go on,’ inquired Tani, willing him to say more.

‘Saburo Ishikura and Sonomanma Higashi seem the most susceptible to conversion at the moment. They have expressed concerns to me about you, Eve,’ said Animal, looking directly at her. ‘They think that Takeshi is going out of control by beating you for your one act of infidelity of all the years you were married. Not that he can talk.’

‘What?’ stuttered Eve. ‘What do you mean by that? He’s been unfaithful?’

Animal nodded.

‘Bastard!’ hissed Eve angrily. ‘That fucking bastard!’

Tani placed an arm around her shoulders and hugged her. He looked down and kissed the top of her head. She leant into him, silently fuming. The hypocritical bastard, she thought. He’s done all this because I slept with Tani, and after all our years of marriage, he’s been adulterous himself.

She pulled away from Tani and turned her back to him and Animal, glaring at nothing. Tani rubbed her back affectionately.

‘I want to see Kirsty. I need to know that she’s alright as well. Do you know where she is?’

‘Come with me,’ replied Animal, looking sombre.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________

‘Ahh, I take it you’re here to see your young Corporal, sir?’ asked the nurse as soon as she saw Tani. He nodded, feeling a bit bemused that she knew. But then, it must be obvious, he supposed.

The nurse guided Eve, Tani and Animal to a room and stood outside the door, signalling that they could go in.

Tani opened the door and held it for Eve. As soon as he got a good look inside the small white hospital room he saw a crumpled blonde figure hidden by bed clothes, and another nurse pulling them over her head. She stopped when she saw the three.

‘You’re here to see her, I‘m assuming,’ she said, motioning to Kirsty. Tani nodded.

‘I’m so sorry. Really, I am. She passed away, just two minutes ago. She was wounded too badly. There was a slight chance that she could be saved but…we didn’t make it. She didn’t make it.’

Tani made his way to the side of the bed and reached under the covers, pulling Kirsty’s hand out. Tears stung his eyes. He tried to blink them back, to hold his upset inside. Eve rested a hand on Tani’s shoulder and looked down at the body of Kirsty.

‘I won’t let him get away with this. First he wages war and nearly kills me. Then he beats you -’ Tani raised his gaze and looked at Eve directly, ‘- now he’s killed Kirsty.’

General Tani bend over his late Corporal’s bed and slipped a hand underneath her head, trying to give her an awkward hug. Huge, racking sobs consumed him. The nurse pried him off Kirsty and led the three outside. The General attempted to wipe his continually watering eyes on the back of his hands. The flow of tears just would not cease. He glared at Animal.

‘When can you talk to Sonomanma and Saburo?’ he asked.

‘I can go right now, if you want,’ the Emerald Guard suggested. Tani nodded.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Saburo Ishikura and Sonomanma Higashi were stuck in Takeshi’s office, with the Count himself, who looked nearly out of his mind with anger. He stopped pacing when the door opened and Animal entered. The Guard looked a bit surprised to see Count Takeshi in the office as well, and stopped in his tracks.

‘Where the fuck have you been?’ demanded Takeshi.

‘Just taking care of some personal business of mine, Count. Nothing of interest,’ lied Animal. ‘Did you need me?’

‘I needed you and these two -’ he pointed to his counsellors ‘- to help me think of the next onslaught to get General Tani out of the picture. Also, I need some way to keep my treacherous snake of a wife under control. But, Tani first. He’s locked up in the dungeon still at the mome- Animal, is there something wrong?’

Animal tried his hardest to look blank. He knew that a guilty look had spread across his face.

‘No, Count. Nothing’s wrong at all.’ Takeshi narrowed his eyes at Animal.

‘Tani. Still kept under lock and key. I’m unsure as to whether let him die, keep him alive and just…torture him a bit,’ voiced Count Takeshi, a malicious smile forming on his lips. Animal did his best to stay looking impassive, struggling against the disgust that wanted to break free. Takeshi looked at the three men gathered before him, waiting for a reaction.

‘Well?’ he snapped, when neither counsellor nor the Emerald Guard replied. ‘Which do you think I should do?’

‘Leave him alive for as long as possible,’ said Animal. He inhaled and added in a slightly weary tone, ‘and make his life as hellish as possible.’

Takeshi grinned widely at Animal, and then left the office, still smirking evilly. Animal looked at Sonomanma and Saburo. Sonomanma sighed and closer the door that Count Takeshi had exited through.

‘Do either of you know what the Count is planning on doing to Evelyn?’ asked Animal. ‘Did he say anything about her before I came in?’

The expressions on the counsellors’ faces darkened.

‘No, he did not,’ stated Saburo. ‘But I hope she gets what she deserves.’

‘That’s a bit harsh,’ retorted Sonomanma. ‘I think Takeshi’s losing it. You could hear how he was screaming and shouting at her from any region of Japan. I think I heard a few blows being landed as well.’

‘You did. When I saw Evelyn the last time with the Count he had obviously been beating her.’

Saburo exhaled angrily and loudly Animal glared daggers at him, challenging him to speak his mind.

‘Something to say, Ishikura?’

‘Can either of you blame the Count for his anger? His own wife slept with the enemy. She is a tart. A tart who needs to learn to keep her legs together,’ spat Saburo poisonously.

Animal drew his katana and pressed it up to Saburo’s throat, the tip of the blade digging in slightly to his jugular vein. Saburo gulped.

‘He’s going to far, beating his wife, but she needs to be punished somehow! I’ll - I’ll admit, maybe corporal punishment isn’t the way to do it. Maybe.’

Animal relaxed.

‘Secondly,’ the counsellor added, ‘I’d really appreciate it if you could take your weapon out of my face. I’m going to stay loyal to the Count, no matter what.’

‘And so am I,’ growled Animal menacingly.

Saburo took a step back and walked around Animal before leaving the room. Animal glared as the counsellor slammed the door. He turned back to see Sonomanma giving him a look of intense loathing. He demanded to know how come Animal could bear to stay sided with Takeshi after all the mayhem he caused.

‘I’m going to join forced with General Tani,’ Higashi added. ‘Go ahead, tell the Count, I don’t care.’

‘Don’t be a fool Sonomanma,’ assured the Western man. ‘I’m not going to give to give the Count valuable information like that. I’m already on side with Tani.’

‘You are?’ asked Sonomanma, bemused. Animal nodded.

‘I sprung Tani from the dungeon. Reunited him with Evelyn. This war has been the last straw. Too many Emerald Guards have died. To many of Tani’s men have lost their lives. Early this morning, Corporal Kirsty passed away. And what for? One single act of adultery and Takeshi went apeshit. That’s why I’m with Tani, because Takeshi’s lost all control.’

‘When you see the General the next, telling him that he’s gained me. I’ve had it with Takeshi,’ said Sonomanma, spitting the name of the Count. Animal embraced Higashi’s hand in his.

‘Consider it done.’

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

When the conversation between Animal and Sonomanma had ceased, Saburo hurriedly backed down the corridor and out of the sight before the two men saw him. He could not believe what he had heard. Both Animal and Sonomanma were going to betray Takeshi! He prowled through the castle grounds looking for the Count, to inform and prepare him.

Animal and Sonomanma started to turn a corner, but stopped when they heard low voices.

‘Count Takeshi, sir, I thought you might want to know…’

‘What is it Saburo?’ snapped Takeshi in an exasperated tone. Sonomanma and Animal exchanged glances.

‘It’s about your other counsellor. As well as Animal…They’re both siding with General Tani…’whispered Saburo.

The two hiding men heard the Count’s slight intake of breath.

‘What?’ hissed the Count. ‘What did you say? They’re…betraying me? What is it with people? Why the fuck is everybody siding up with that pathetic low life? When I see them, they’ll have hell to pay. You of course, Saburo, will be praised for telling me this information.’

‘Yes Count Takeshi, sir. Thank you.’

Animal and Sonomanma exchanged another worried glance and made their way out of the castle, doing their best to avoid any of the Emerald Guards and the Count himself.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Tani and Eve made their way out of the hospital. As they walked, Tani did up the buttons on the black shirt that the hospital provided for him. He glanced over in the direction of the castle, and saw two figures running out of the front door. One of them, he thought, looked like Animal. He could not make out who the other one was.

The two men stopped in front of Eve and Tani. The General was shocked to see that the other man was Sonomanma Higashi. He sensed at the sight of the former Emerald Guards.

‘Easy Tani,’ murmured Animal, seeing how Tani was reacting.

‘You bastard,’ said Tani, keeping his voice low. ‘You goddamn back stabbing bastard. Just as I was actually starting to trust you.’

‘I’m on your side, with Animal,’ replied Sonomanma. ‘And I think you ought to be careful, because Saburo has just alerted the Count of this fact.’

Tani shot Animal a glance, who nodded confirmation. Eve grasped at his arm protectively.

‘What is he going to do?’ she asked. The ominous expression on Animal and Sonomanma’s faces was all the answer she required to make an educated guess. ‘Oh my God….Tani, you can’t stay here.’

‘Why not?’

‘Because Takeshi will hurt you! You didn’t want to see me come to any damage when this war started, and I don’t want to see you in any harm. Please Tani, just shelf your pride and just lay low for a while. Please, I’m begging you!’

Tani looked around and saw an abandoned motorcycle. He walked over to it, with the crowd following him. As he lowered himself onto it and started it up, Eve placed a hand on his shoulder.

‘Make sure you keep in contact whilst laying low,’ she said, looking sternly at him. ‘I love you.’

‘I love you too Eve.’

He landed a small kiss on her lips and drove off. Eve smiled to herself, feeling extremely happy at hearing those three words.

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Takeshi burst through the front door of his castle, and saw Tani streaking past on his stolen motorbike.

‘Well, he thinks he can get away from me that easily does he?’ he muttered to himself. ‘No such fucking luck.’

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Tani heard the roaring of another engine behind him and twisted precariously around to see who was following him, and nearly fell off his cycle in shock when he saw that it was Count Takeshi. Takeshi was putting on a lot of speed, and much to Tani’s horror, was gaining.

Takeshi and Tani were soon side by side in the same lane of the road. Tani swerved towards the pavement to try and avoid being shoved off his bike by the enraged Count. Takeshi veered over as well, and managed to take a hand off the handlebars to heave a heavy punch in Tani’s face.

General Tani cried out, and careened right into the wall of a building on his right hand side and fell off his bike. It skidded away a few feet in front of him, the wheels still spinning madly. Takeshi braked near it and clambered off himself. He slowly walked over to the fallen General until he was towering over him. Tani raised himself up on his elbows and glared up at the Count, adrenaline rushing through his veins. He was panting.

The Count pulled Tani up by the collar and then slammed him into the wall. His head cracked against the bricks. A flicker of pain flashed over Tani’s face.

‘I see you managed to convert two of my Emerald Guards,’ stated Takeshi, as though there was nothing wrong with this. ‘Who else have you got your eyes on?

‘I haven’t got my eyes on any of your men. Sonomanma and Animal joined me through their own free will. I never asked.’

‘Ah, so it was Higashi and Animal. I thought so. Thank you for confirming that for me…General,’ snarled Count Takeshi, with a nasty emphasis on Tani’s title.

Takeshi did not back away from Tani, but stayed, their faces only inches apart, so that he could make more attempts at intimidation.

‘You need to grow up, Takeshi. It’s been your lousy attitude that lost you your Guards. And your wife.’

Takeshi slapped him roughly in the face.

‘What do you know of attitude?’ he practically screeched.

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Animal and Eve saw more movement from the direction of the castle, and they watched as three figures streaked out and in the direction that Tani had fled in. Animal jogged a few paces up the road and stopped, straining to see where the Emerald Guards were going.

‘What is it?’ asked Eve, coming up behind him.

‘Saburo Ishikura, Strong Kobayashi and Michiru Jo…’ muttered Animal.

‘What? What about them?’ asked Eve, becoming increasingly more frantic.

‘Come with me. I think Takeshi’s caught up with Tani and they’re going to help the Count out.’

Sonomanma and Eve ran after Animal as he took off.

They found the General lying on the ground, half leaning against the wall, with Takeshi towering over him. The extra three Emerald Guards were standing nearby, watching the scene.

Takeshi looked away from the General when he heard footsteps. His eyes narrowed dangerous when he saw Sonomanma, Animal and Eve.

Eve hurried over to try and help Tani back up to his feet. Animal reached out to try and stop her, but she broke free from his arms. Michiru Jo held her back and started to push her away from Tani and Takeshi, in spite of her frustrated struggles.

Saburo stood in front of Animal, and Strong Kobayashi faced Sonomanma.

Eve pulled an arm free from Michiru and struck him hard on the face. He momentarily stood, almost stunned, but came to his senses as she tried to run around him again. He seized her around the waist and kept a tight grasp on her. But there was nobody who could help her, because Sonomanma, Tani and Animal were all engaged in fights of their own. Still, Eve relentlessly fought against the hands wrapped around her middle to try and get to Tani.

She pressed against his hands, trying to loosen his grip, and kicked at his shins, but nothing she did was sufficient enough. She managed to pull one arm free and attempted to drag Michiru along with her. He kept a hold on her wrist with both of his hands and tried to force her back in the opposite direction. She turned on her heel suddenly and punched him right in the face, instantly breaking his nose and causing blood to gush down his chin.

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Animal caught sight of Eve’s hard punch directly on Michiru’s nose and was left open for Saburo to attack.

He sneakily placed a heel behind Animal’s foot and then gave the ex-Emerald Guard a heavy shove, causing him to fall backwards. As he started to fall, he grabbed a handful of Saburo’s clothes and dragged him down with him.

Both men landed on the ground with a loud thud. A brief flicker of pain passed over Animal’s face as Saburo landed on top of him. He shoved Takeshi’s counsellor off him roughly. Saburo climbed to his feet whilst Animal was still sprawled on the floor.

Animal kicked Saburo hard on the knee, which emitted a painful crack. Saburo bent double, holding his knee in pain as Animal heaved himself back onto his feet. Saburo was thrown into a nearby wall, held a few centimetres off the ground by Animal, who looked furious. He called out in pain as the Westerner punched him hard in the stomach. Animal let him go, where he curled up on the ground, winded. He felt like all the air had been sucked out of his body. He tried to take a few deep breaths, but it hurt to draw oxygen into his lungs.

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Sonomanma threw himself backwards to avoid the fist that came flying through the air at him. It belonged to the bald brute, Strong Kobayashi. Strong aimed another punch at Sonomanma, which was caught.

Strong used Sonomanma’s grip to his advantage and forced Sonomanma round him and into the same wall that Animal had pinned Saburo into. Higashi cried out as his head connected roughly against the bricks.

Sonomanma ducked as Strong’s enraged fist came at him again. The knuckles of the brute struck the wall hard. Sonomanma realised that he had only about a second to use this to his advantage and pull off a move that would help him defeat Strong.

Whilst Strong was rubbing some life back into his knuckles, Sonomanma put his knee behind Strong’s leg and pulled at his shoulders, causing the giant to fall down. Like Animal and Saburo, he hit the ground loudly. Sonomanma was certain that he felt a tremor.

Strong slammed his other fist into Sonomanma’s leg, right on the shin. Electric, white hot pain shot up Sonomanma’s leg. He backed off, staring. Kobayashi pulled himself back upright and started to stalk Takeshi’s back stabbing ex-counsellor again.

Sonomanma charged and managed to get Strong into a headlock. He exerted the tiniest amount of pressure on Strong’s windpipe, just enough to narrow down the amount of air heading to his lungs. Much to his surprise, he was able to keep this up, despite Strong’s enormous strength, until he passed out.

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During all the chaos around them, both Tani and Takeshi were standing, facing one another defiantly. Neither one had moved. Neither one had taken their gaze off the other. They had not dared to remove their stare for less than a split second.

Tani took one small step forwards, closer to Takeshi. The Count immediately countered that and took one backwards. Tani crept forwards again, his warm brown eyes never leaving Takeshi’s evil, cold ones. The General stalked the Count, their stares seemingly permanently fixed.

‘You’re not…intimidated…are you, Takeshi?’ whispered Tani, swiftly advancing, so that their faces were only inches apart.

Takeshi gave Tani a rough push backwards, away from him.

‘Don’t flatter yourself, General. You do that too much.’

The General took one step to the left as Takeshi took one to the right. It looked like they were almost dancing in slow motion, as though just practising the moves and directions.

Tani suddenly reached out to attack Count Takeshi with a punch to the face. Takeshi easily caught his fist and twisted his entire arm around his back. Tani was turned around so that when he looked up, he saw Eve watching him, worriedly. He realised that every eye was on him and Takeshi. All of them were watching their fight.

General Tani remembered with a flush of embarrassment the last time he was fighting against Takeshi, and ended up nearly dead. The Count had nearly brutally murdered him in front of the love of his life.

A fierce cry escaped from Tani’s lips as he practically ripped his arm free from the Count’s grasp. Everything seemed to be in dramatic slow motion as Tani turned back to Takeshi, face to face, his eyes ablaze with wild anger. He landed one punch on Takeshi’s chin and immediately jabbed with the other hand, the second blow striking him right in the forehead. Takeshi was forced to retreat as Tani let rip, landing blow after blow on him. Punched rained down on the Count until he found himself backed against the wall, crouched at General Tani’s feet.

Without any warning, Takeshi straightened up and snatched at an abandoned katana lying on the floor from a deceased Emerald Guard who was killed during the Count’s petty war.

By the time Takeshi was totally straightened up, he had made a dash away from the General with the katana in hand, and had taken shelter behind Eve, holding the blade of the katana to her throat, pressing the cool steel in. She froze, instantly docile.

Tani had started to dash forwards when he saw Takeshi trying to make a break for it, but stopped in his tracks when he saw the Count snaking his arms around the woman he loved. That they both had loved at some point in their lives.

A deadly silent calm washed out over the scene. The only sounds that Tani could hear was Eve’s terrified gasps, and the insistent drumming of his own beating heart. A cold sweat broke out over his brow. He sucked in a lungful of breath and held it when Eve made the tiniest of gasps in protest to the katana blade being pressed too far into her throat.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Moisture had started to collect in Eve’s eyes. She pulled in some breath, breathing heavily. She was trying to regulate her heart beat, trying to blink back tears. She knew she was going to die. She tried to signal to Tani without anybody else seeing to tell him not to be a hero, but just to let Takeshi do what he was going to do. She knew that if he tried to save her, then not only would she be dead, then he would be as well.

I know whatever happens here and now I’m going to end up dead, thought Eve. But there’s no need for Tani to die as well. I love you, Hayato Tani. You don’t need to suffer like this as well. Just go. Turn and leave. Please, just go…

Eve continued staring into the eyes of Tani, silently wishing him to leave, trying to signal him to go. Her desperation mounted as the first tear trickled from her eye.

‘Just go!’ she screamed at him. ‘Just leave, while you still have the fucking chance!. Please Hayato, just go! I love you, don’t give him reason to hurt you as well as me!’

The force of her shouting made her lean forwards slightly. The blade of the katana left a small cut on the surface of her skin. Takeshi seemed to make a decision and started to pull the blade across her throat.

A torrent of tears flew down Eve’s cheeks. She knew what her jealous husband was doing. She felt a sharp pain across her throat as somebody threw themselves into Takeshi. She felt the steel slice across her throat again, but not with enough force to penetrate the skin. She turned around, clutching at her throat, which had started to bleed lightly to see that both Animal and Sonomanma had launched themselves at the Count as he started to attempt to slit Eve’s throat. They had wrestled the katana off him, and they were holding him down so that he could not break free to finish what he had started.

Terrified beyond belief, she ran into Tani’s arms. He held her close to him, comforting her, reassuring her that he was there for her. Takeshi felt a pang on his heartstring at the sight of his wife in the arms of the enemy. He grabbed the katana again, turned the blade inwards, and before anybody could stop him, plunged the blade deep inside his stomach.

Tani stepped forwards and tore it out of him again. Takeshi fell to his knees in a crippled pile in front of the General. Tani caught Animal’s and Sonomanma’s eyes briefly.

‘Finish the job,’ suggested Animal. Sonomanma nodded in agreement. Tani turned to Eve. Treacherous bastard or not, Takeshi was still her husband. She looked at him imploringly, fresh tears in her eyes.

‘Just do it,’ she muttered, her voice trembling. She turned away and shielded her eyes.

Tani hefted the sword and held it above Count Takeshi’s neck. Feeling nervous, and slightly shaky, he grasped the hilt in both hands, so that he would not make a mistake. He took a deep breath and prepared himself.

His hands swung by themselves. The blade of the katana met only briefly with Takeshi’s neck. A second later, his head had been severed. General Tani dropped the katana and pulled Eve back into him, holding her more tightly than before as her sobs grew louder and louder.

‘It was for the best,’ he whispered into her ear.

‘I know it was,’ she whispered back. ‘I never knew how much it would hurt…’

Tani shushed her and placed his lips on hers, drawing her into a long, deep kiss. The demise of Count Takeshi meant that they could be together now, without anybody in the way. The war was over, and General Tani and his party had won.

Tani took Eve’s face in his hands and smiled at her. She managed to smile back and slinked her arms around his neck again, pulling him in for another kiss.

THE END