Inescapable Destiny(Violence, Language, Blood)

Chapter 2

Akane arrived in front of a mansion, and looked at the gates, she was rather surprised that the person she was looking for was in this particular building. But at the same time, she knew that the man she was looking for was running an orphanage. She opened up the gate and before she knew it, felt a knife at her throat, a voice speaking, "Who are you?" Akane spoke calmly, "I'm Captain Akane Sato, I'm here on behalf of King Goro to speak with General Yoshiro Miyamae." The knife was withdrawn from her throat, "You may go forward, but leave your weapons here." Akane turned to see the person, but could find nothing but the shadow she was standing in, "Why should I?" The voice spoke again, "If you don't, I'll kill you before you enter that gate. Am I clear?"

Akane looked around and started to disarm, "Why are you threatening a military officer?" The voice spoke up, "I don't have to give you this warning. I could've killed you, and they'd find only your body and never who did it." Akane scoffed and continued walking to the mansion itself, she found that she wasn't followed. She reached the front door without any sort of fuss and knocked on it, she was surprised when she saw a woman in a kimono open the door, "Hello, you must be the Captain that was being sent over." Akane blinked, "What, how do you know that I'm coming?" The Kitsune smiled, "Lilah is very good at gathering information, Captain. Please come on in." Akane recognized the name Lilah and suddenly her blood ran cold. The voice that was speaking to her earlier wasn't bluffing, she could've been killed and all anyone would find was the body.

She walked into the house, "Where is your master?" The Kitsune woman frowned, "No one is master nor servant here, we are all equals. I only work around the house to help out because Yoshiro is my friend." Akane sighed, "Where is he, this is important." The Kitsune pointed down the hallway, "he's in the basement." Akane nodded, "Thank you." She walked down the hallway without allowing anyone to interfere with her, she noticed several kids looking at her however and not all of them were Kitsune. She grabbed the knob of the door to the basement and found that it was surprisingly unlocked. She opened the door and walked into the stairwell that led to the basement, a voice speaking up with an elvish accent sounded out, "You're not Takeshi, Lilah would've assassinated you. State your name and your business."

Akane didn't speak and continued down the stairwell, the voice spoke up again, this time more forcefully, "I said state your name and your business! Why are you looking for me!?" Akane looked down at the figure, he was wearing a hooded cloak, she could see the white fur around the figure's mouth, but not any other features except for the tail which was a reddish-brown, except for some gray spots. She realized that she had found a Kitsune that could help her, "I'm looking for Yoshiro Miyamae." The Male Kitsune spoke up, "You found him." Yoshiro looked at her and suddenly he became far colder, "You're Kitsune Military, you better have a damned good reason for being in my house..."

Akane sighed, "His highness sent me." Yoshiro scoffed, "That much is certain, otherwise Lilah would've stopped you. You still haven't gotten to the whole point of why you're here..." Akane became angry, "If you would shut up for a moment, I'd get to it!" Yoshiro let out a laugh, "My my, you're disarmed and in a place where I hold all of the advantages. Look around you, Captain Sato." Akane looked around, she noticed that Yoshiro's weapons were all close to him, "You could kill me at any time." Yoshiro removed his hood, revealing an aged face with graying fur and gray hair on top of his head, "Only if you make the first aggressive move, so long as you don't try to attack me, my wife or any of the people living here, all will be golden." His voice became even colder, "However, if you do not tell me why you're here, I will have you forcefully thrown from the premises."

Akane forced her anger back, "I was told to get you because you had experience dealing with the Neanderthals." Yoshiro grabbed his sniper rifle and went to check it, "That was four hundred and fifty years ago, child. Probably when your father was still in diapers." Akane looked at him, "Anyway, a Neanderthal ship was shot down by the Menschilche, are you familiar with the Pisces Menschilche?" Yoshiro nodded, "That was five hundred and sixty-five years ago, back when your grandfather was in diapers." Akane sighed, "Are you going to be this difficult for the rest of my visit?" Yoshiro continued checking the sniper rifle out, "I don't know, at what point do you get to the damned point of all of this or just leave my damn house." Akane growled and Yoshiro pointed the barrel in her face, "A Kitsune growling is usually a threat. Though I'm checking this rifle, I know for a fact it works."

Akane pushed the barrel out of her face, "The point is, you old shit, is that the King wants you to investigate the crash site and rescue any survivors!" Yoshiro looked at her, "Send this message to his highness. If this job is that important, he'll get his ass off his throne and come see his own uncle about it. I won't go out for a messenger unless I'm getting paid for this. I'm a mercenary, not a member of his army." Akane became angry, "Time is being wasted and you're willing to play games." Yoshiro pointed at the door, "You're welcome to leave, but as for me, I'm far too old to be running around and saving everyone's asses. So unless he shows up or a large sum of gems appears on my desk, I'm not moving." Akane turned around and started walking up the stairs, "Fine, I'll go tell him, but any blood that is shed, is on your hands now." Yoshiro merely responded coldly, "Wouldn't be any different from the hundreds I've killed so far."

Chapter 4

Yoshiro looked his sniper rifle when a sea elf walked down the stairs with a tray, "Yoshiro, you need to relax." Yoshiro closed his eyes, "I can't, the day is fast approaching and every fiber of my being is screaming for me to try to escape it." The sea elf frowned, "You still haven't told me what it is..." Yoshiro looked up at her, "I apologize, Elbereth. However, I cannot tell you. It's something that I've promised not to tell anyone." Elbereth folded her arms, "Even your own wife?" Yoshiro nodded, "Even you." Yoshiro watched as Elbereth placed the tray in front of him, she sighed as she sat down across from him, "So what can you tell me, Yoshiro?" Yoshiro sighed, "The flow of time has changed slightly, I was supposed to go with Akane, however that would lead to failure and a galaxy spanning war. What my actions have done is give the galaxy a chance."

Elbereth sighed, "But?" Yoshiro placed his sniper rifle down and picked up the sandwich that she had brought him, "There is a focal point, an event that I cannot change. The only thing that can change is the outcome of this mission." Elbereth sighed, "What is this focal point?" Yoshiro looked at the sandwich, he knew that his time was rapidly coming to an end, but also knew that he couldn't tell his wife. He loved her with all of his heart and his heart was breaking just not being able to tell her. He silently bit into the sandwich and started chewing in an attempt to avoid showing how he truly felt. However Elbereth looked at him with a frown, "Why aren't you going to tell me what's going on?" Yoshiro swallowed the food and looked her dead in the eye, "I swore as a Kensei to tell no one else, I'm sorry, but I can't even tell you."

Elbereth stopped questioning, she knew what it meant to swear an oath as a Kensei, "I will no longer press further on this matter, just come back safely." Yoshiro nodded, "I will, I promise you that." A female kitsune of around the same age as Yoshiro stood at the top of the staircase, "Um, Elbereth, may I speak to my brother alone? If that's alright." Elbereth nodded, "Of course, Reiko." Reiko walked down the stairs and looked at Yoshiro, "I asked the others if it was alright if I could speak to you alone. They'll come down in about ten minutes." Elbereth walked up the stairs and Yoshiro heard the basement door open and close as he grabbed the cup next to the plate and drank the sweet tasting liquid within, "Elbereth knows how to make me take my medicine. She should've been a doctor instead of a princess."

Reiko nodded and sat down, Yoshiro looked at her, "What's eating at you, little sister, you don't come to see me on your own unless there's something wrong." Reiko nodded, "It's about you, big brother. I just have this feeling that this is the last time that I'm going to be able to speak to you again." Yoshiro sighed, he couldn't lie to his little sister, but he also needed to uphold his vow, "We're here right now, let's speak." Reiko frowned, "Yoshiro, why do you never come visit anymore?" Yoshiro sighed, "I hate your husband, Reiko. You're the only thing that kept me from putting hole straight through his skull." Reiko frowned deeper, her tail touched the ground and her ears drooped, "I don't like it when the two of you fight." Yoshiro nodded, "That's why I don't come around and visit, little sister."

Reiko nodded, "You went to see great-grandmother a while back, is she alright?" Yoshiro nodded, "Yeah, she revealed to me events that are going to happen as time goes on. We are approaching a focal point where all possible timelines converge and then separate once more. I avoided the most likely future so aside from the focal point, I don't know what's going to happen and when." Reiko nodded slightly, "So what is the focal point?" Yoshiro sighed, "Someone important is going to die." Reiko looked down and away, "I don't like it when people are killed." Yoshiro leaned forward, and placed his hand on her shoulder, "Reiko, I know. Out of everyone around, I know the best. Remember, back during the second civil war when I helped you escape the entire kingdom and onto a different continent so that you wouldn't have to witness any of the death that was going on?"

Reiko nodded, "I remember, I also remember you saying when we were younger that you'd always be there for me." Yoshiro smiled softly, "Reiko, the Pure-hearted. That's what I used to call you, you've always been a very kind and gentle person. You hate to see people get hurt and it causes you physical pain. I've never been able to understand it, but you're the reason I took up arms. I didn't want you to be exposed to that, I wanted you to live in an era of peace, knowing that you would be protected. Had I known that I was going to wind up becoming the most successful sniper on the entire planet, I probably wouldn't have made that choice. I would've found a different way to protect you and the rest of the family." Reiko nodded, "You were always kind, Yoshiro. You always cared about others. Even if you don't see it yourself."

Yoshiro nodded, "I know. Reiko, I promise to do everything I can to stop a galactic war from happening in the future. Though I can't stop the event that happens in every possible timeline, I can stop the war. Though I guess it's time for my briefing and to see what sort of technology that I'm going to be given for this mission." Reiko nodded, "Big brother, promise me that you'll be careful, promise me that you'll come back alive." Yoshiro smiled, "I can promise you that I'll be careful, but like any other battle, I cannot promise that I will return alive. I'm sorry, Little sister, but this much you have to accept." Reiko frowned, "Okay, Yoshiro." Yoshiro took off his amulet and handed it to Reiko, "Here, you keep this. It'll drive me to come back alive." Reiko smiled softly, "Thank you, big brother." Yoshiro looked up at the staircase, "Hey! You guys can come down here!"

Chapter 6

Yoshiro looked ahead while in the skies on the back of Julius, he started hearing Akane complain, "How do you people do this, the wind is in my eyes." Yoshiro barked back, "This is why I hate people like you. Claim you're big badasses and when the truth comes to light, you're nothing more than simple pushovers." Lilah giggled behind him as Minerva fell into the formation, a voice speaking up, "Lord Yoshiro, it's good to serve alongside you." Yoshiro looked at the person who said that, "Carlos, your father called me Lord and it annoyed me to no end." Julius spoke up, "Brother, we got some contacts ahead." Yoshiro pulled his sniper rifle out and activated the scope, "Looks like we're not the only ones looking for survivors, what do you think Julius. Menschilche?" Julius didn't respond for a second, "They have stronger mana flows than Menschilche, they've got to be Verbanan or Eltiranan."

Yoshiro nodded slightly and zoomed in, "They're riding Pegasi, and seem to be aiming down, why don't we give them a little hello." Akane spoke up, "You're going to shoot them, are you crazy!?" Yoshiro adjusted his aim for the Pegasus' head, "No, I'm going to drop their mount and let gravity take over." Yoshiro watched as the person in his scope readied their weapon. At that moment, he squeezed the trigger, causing the person to look surprised as his mount stopped flying. He quickly adjusted his aim to another target and fired a snap shot into the head of their mount, bringing a second one down, "They lack sniper rifles. Carlos, you and Akane will escort my son to the survivors, Julius and I will take on the aerial threats." Carlos nodded slightly, he knew better than to call him out on this.

Akane looked at Tsuyoshi, "Are you going to stop him?" Yoshiro kept adjusting his aim and dropping enemy pegasi, as Tsuyoshi broke off, "No, he's called the Grim Reaper for a reason." Yoshiro realized that the pegasi were getting closer and smirked slightly, "Julius, do you mind if I use you to amplify my mana?" Julius chuckled, "Not at all, Yoshiro." Yoshiro removed one hand from the sniper rifle and placed it on Julius, concentrating. He felt as the implants in his body activated and started flowing mana and amplifying it greatly, he concentrated on forming a barrier that protected Julius, Lilah, and himself from the attacks of the enemy forces. The barrier formed up just in time as energy weapons fire splashed upon it and Yoshiro smirked slightly, "Gonna have to be faster than that, kids." He sighed slightly as Lilah placed her hand on his shoulder and spoke up, "Another day, another battle."

Yoshiro nodded slightly, "That's the problem." He switched over to his native language, "Zannen na koto ni anata no inochi ga koko de owaru ga, watashi hābā to anata no ishi kettei no tame no zōo no nai koto kokoro ni tome te oi te jishin wa, shinigami to tatakau tame ni jibun o surō suru yō ni sentaku shi mashi ta. Shikashi, watashi ga koko de seikō shi nai baai, kiken de aru ga watashi tachi no sekai no subete o shitte i masu." Yoshiro looked at Julius, "Are you ready, Brother?" Julius nodded and opened his mouth, Yoshiro let up the barrier around Julius' mouth and tongues of flame shot from Julius' mouth, hitting several of the Pegasus riders as they got into close enough range. The remaining survivors started to back off and Yoshiro noticed that they weren't Menschilche, but Kitsune and that they had an incredible fear in their eyes.

Yoshiro looked at them and called out in the Kitsune language, "Kon shūryō suru to baai, anata no inochi o oshima nai. Tatakau baai wa, hakai to shi o matsu koto ga nomi mitsukari masu." The Kitsune looked at him and for the most part, they started to fly away. However one of them looked at him with a smile and took off her helmet, "Sensō no shison! Anata no kotoba wa, watashi no meiyo o bujoku suru kōi desu! Sensō no kitsune shin no jūsha toshite watashi wa anata o hakai shi nakere ba nara nai!" Yoshiro sighed, "Well that was worth a shot. Lilah, you know what to do." The Kitsune cried out, "Dare ka ta no anata no tame ni tatakau o sentaku okubyōmono!" Yoshiro watched as Lilah quickly rushed to the head of Julius and Julius rushed the Pegasus, grappling it while still protected by the barrier. Yoshiro started to feel drained, and yet relieved that he would be letting up the barrier.

He smiled as he dropped the barrier, the enemy Kitsune righting herself as she was getting ready to fight, however Lilah stabbed her in the neck, severing her spinal column with a dagger. Yoshiro smirked, "I believe that getting someone's help isn't cowardice, it's being intelligent. Glad most of the survivors decided to take me up on my offer to let them flee from the battle with their lives intact." Lilah nodded as she went back to being seated behind Yoshiro. Yoshiro looked down and spotted the landing sight where Tsuyoshi, Akane and Carlos were. Yoshiro looked along the highway that led up to them, "Let's cover for them, they're going to be calling for an evac ship." Lilah looked around, "Where do you want to set up?" Yoshiro pointed to a location, "There, it's roughly two hundred and fifty meters from the crash site and the building right there will give me a great vantage point."

Julius headed down and let Yoshiro off of the building and Yoshiro looked at Lilah, "You set up shop where you can protect them best. Julius, I need you to patrol the skies." Julius nodded, "Let Lilah off and then make sure no aerial threats return. Got it." Yoshiro nodded as Julius walked off and put a finger to his earpiece, "Son, what's the sitrep over there." Tsuyoshi spoke up, "Six survivors, five of them are Neanderthal, one of them is an unknown alien race, she keeps saying that she's a Thraxi." Yoshiro nodded, "What's their condition." Tsuyoshi sighed over the communicator, "Three of the Neanderthals are in critical condition, I don't expect the male to survive. The two females might, but we need to stabilize them soon. Another Neanderthal is seriously injured, but he'll live. The final Neanderthal and the Thraxi are banged up, but no worse for wear. Everyone else is dead. While you were up there, we called the evac teams. They'll be here in fifteen minutes." Yoshiro nodded and set up a sniper nest, "I'll cover you guys until then."

Chapter 8

Yoshiro slid off Julius' back and landed on the ground with a grunt as pain hit him, he stood up and looked at the house, "I'm too old for this." Balthoron slid off and looked at Yoshiro, "I wholeheartedly agree. Father, you really should take it a lot easier from now on." Yoshiro folded his arms, "You get your medical license and suddenly you're qualified to tell me what to do. Balthoron, you and Lilah go inside. Julius, you can go do whatever you want." Lilah looked at him, "And what are you going to do?" Yoshiro looked at them, "I need to go to the Temple of the Sun, alone." Balthoron shrugged, "Alright then, tell great-grandmother that I said hello for me." Yoshiro nodded as he walked towards the gate, "I will, son."

Yoshiro walked out of the gate and unlocked his motorbike as he climbed onto it. He placed his hand on the scanner and it started up. He sighed slightly as he kicked the kickstand back up and started to ride off to the Temple of the Sun. The ride was relatively quiet and he soon arrived at his destination. He stopped the motorbike and sighed as he put the kickstand down and took off his helmet, putting it on the left handlebar. As he got off the bike, a young Kensei walked over to him, "Sensei! It's been a while." Yoshiro looked at her, "Anko, you certainly have made a name for yourself. I'm proud of you and remember, don't neglect your training." Anko nodded, "So why are you here?" Yoshiro sighed, "I need to talk to my aunt." Anko pointed inside and Yoshiro nodded, "Thanks."

Yoshiro walked into the temple, where he saw Kimiko in the main chamber, talking to Amaterasu. When he entered the room, he stood at the door and let them finish, Amaterasu looked at him, "Mom's told me about what's going to happen." Yoshiro nodded, "I know, Grandmother. I know. Can I talk to Aunt Kimiko... alone?" Amaterasu looked at Kimiko, who looked at Yoshiro and nodded, "Um, sure, yeah." Kimiko led Yoshiro into a spare bedroom, one that he used often when he needed to get out of the house and just clear his head, she smiled, "In a thousand years, this will be the home of one of the reincarnations of the three." Yoshiro nodded, "So you know why I've come here?" Kimiko nodded, "I'm not allowed to tell you about your future reincarnation, you know."

Yoshiro sighed, "I know, Auntie, just..." Kimiko interrupted, "You wish to know more about what will happen. Perhaps you know of my pact with Walthari." Yoshiro shook his head, "I was unaware of any such thing." Kimiko looked at him, "Hopefully when we're all reincarnated, we'll be siblings once again. Do these words sound familiar to you?" Yoshiro gasped slightly, he remembered saying those words four hundred and fifty years ago, Kimiko smiled slightly, "Judging from your reaction, you remember those words exactly. I promised Walthari that I would do everything within my power to reincarnate the three of you as siblings. Yoshiro, your actions to change the timeline have altered what I can do. Now it's impossible for the three of you to be born siblings."

Yoshiro nodded slightly, "I understand, but... I just want to know, exactly how long I have left." Kimiko frowned, "That's grandmother's territory, not mine." Emiko walked in, "Well, you're not going to die within Kitsune territory anymore, however I'd be saying my goodbyes to Elbereth tonight if I were you." Yoshiro nodded, "What's the time?" Emiko sighed and sat down, "Yoshiro, you are the first person I've ever told this, so please don't try to escape your death. If you do, I'll have to hunt you down and end your life personally and I don't want to do that to family." Yoshiro nodded, "I swear that I will face my own death with honor and dignity." Emiko nodded, "Very well, tonight is the last time you will get to see a sunset in this life. Tomorrow at sixteen thirty-five hours, you will breathe your last."

Yoshiro shrugged, "Then I will face my death with dignity, though I already know the reason why I will end up dying." Emiko looked at him with an arched brow, "Oh?" Yoshiro sighed and looked at the ceiling, "Splinter group of Kitsune, pretty sure mercenaries that were hired by Masaru. If this is the case, they'd be led by Takeshi Misawa. If that's the case, we're dealing with the Reapers." Kimiko blinked, "How do you know this?" Yoshiro shrugged, "I killed dozens more Kitsune today, the only times I've killed Kitsune soldiers or mercenaries were during the civil wars this nation has had." Emiko nodded slightly, "So, what are you going to do?" Yoshiro shrugged, "Aside from die? I'm going to end that bootlicker's life if I have to strangle the life out of him." Kimiko sighed, "Hopefully your reincarnation isn't as violent as you."

Yoshiro nodded, "Whoever he or she is, it would bring me no end to my joy if they were to live a life of peace." Emiko nodded, "I know, Yoshiro, trust me, I know. You should get back to your family and say your goodbyes." Yoshiro nodded, "Yeah, I should. One more question?" Emiko nodded, "Sure thing." Yoshiro chuckled, "Mind if I hang around here as a ghost til I get reincarnated?" Emiko blinked, "That's normally not allowed, but if you're around Kimiko and not interfering, I'm sure we can work something out." Yoshiro nodded and hugged both of them, "I'm going to hit the road, these goodbyes aren't going to say themselves. But, I have one question, how do you tell someone that you're going to die." Emiko looked at him, "You don't, Yoshiro."

Chapter 10

Morning had arrived and Yoshiro awoke, he found it extremely odd that he was able to sleep despite what he knew. He looked over at his wife, who was still in bed, and smiled. He quietly climbed out of the bed and looked out of the window, he wanted to tell her, but he knew that he was forbidden from doing so. He noticed that his communicator had lit up and he turned it on, "Yoshiro here." Goro's voice spoke up over the communicator, "Yoshiro, those people we rescued... they were taken to Fenikkusu territory and Takeshi has made it known that he leads the splinter group that took our rescued people hostage. I need you to get over there quickly." Yoshiro sighed, "I can't, not yet. Look, can you allow me to have breakfast first and send Carlos over there or something?" Goro sighed, "Alright, but once you're done with breakfast, get there immediately."

Yoshiro turned off the communicator and Elbereth stirred, "Yoshiro, what's going on?" Yoshiro looked at her, "Duty calls, but it can wait, I want this morning to be special." Yoshiro leaned in and kissed the sea elf, who appeared to have barely aged since he met her, while he had noticeably aged. Elbereth nodded, "So how are you going to do that?" Yoshiro smiled softly, "Gonna make breakfast for us, just the two of us, the help can make it for the kids." Elbereth nodded slightly, "Alright, Yoshiro, I look forward to it." Yoshiro smirked slightly and walked out of the room and down the hall to the kitchen, he saw some of the help making breakfast for the kids, "Excuse me guys, but I need some room to make a special breakfast, I want this morning to be perfect for my wife."

The hired help looked at him and nodded, moving out of his way and Yoshiro started to quickly get out what he needed to make Elbereth's favorite dish. As he prepared it, he sighed slightly, even knowing that he was going to die today, his thoughts were focused on others and not himself. He took the mixture over to the stove and cooked it for about fifteen minutes and threw it on a plate, "Ah, my wife's favorite dish, but..." Yoshiro looked into the refrigerator and pulled out some Star Apple Juice and mixed it into a syrup that he had also prepared, "There, this will give it that flavor she loves so much." One of the maids looked at him, "Mister Yoshiro?" Yoshiro looked at her, "You don't have to say Mister, or Master, or Sir, or Boss. Yoshiro will do perfectly fine." The maid nodded, "What happened to cause you to make all of this?"

Yoshiro sighed, "The mission yesterday was a failure, and I've been called into action again, I'm not as young and spry as I used to be, so there's a chance that I'm not going to be returning home." The Maid nodded as Yoshiro picked up the plate and put it on a tray. He took the breakfast to Elbereth and smiled as she looked at it, "Bon Appetit, mi amor." Elbereth smirked, "You hang around the fairies too much." Elbereth dug into her plate and Yoshiro ate some jerky he had snuck out of the larder. Yoshiro looked out the window, "It's a beautiful day today, supposed to be nice and warm." Elbereth nodded, "I think I'll take the kids to the park, just... be careful out there, Yoshiro. Please." Yoshiro nodded, "I'll try. But I'm not leaving yet."

Elbereth nodded slightly, "So you choose to spend time with me instead of running off onto a mission, what's going on, really?" Yoshiro sighed, "I made a promise, remember, and I made a vow as a Kensei not to reveal it to anyone. There's a chance that people will try to alter future events if I tell them." Elbereth looked down, she looked a mix of sad and angry, "You're going to die today, aren't you? This is what this is all about, isn't it!" Yoshiro closed his eyes to hold back tears and he tried to speak up, but a knot formed in his throat, all he could do was nod. Elbereth looked at him, "I understand why you didn't tell me, but were you going to do so?" Yoshiro shook his head, "I... I couldn't."

Elbereth sighed, "Yoshiro, I'm your wife, I love you and I always will. If you were destined to die today, do you think that I'd stop that from happening? No, if Emiko says that it's your time, then who are we to argue about that." Yoshiro nodded slightly, "I understand." Elbereth looked at him, "How much time do you have left?" Yoshiro looked out the window, "I need to leave in a few minutes, after that, I have mere hours left in my life. I'm sorry, Elbereth." Elbereth sighed, "Sorry doesn't begin to undo the damage this has caused. But, I understand why you did it, so I forgive you." Yoshiro walked over to her and hugged her, "A final hug before I go, my love." Elbereth hugged back, "I won't tell anyone, I promise."

Yoshiro nodded and broke the hug, "Elbereth, you have made the last eight hundred and twenty-five years a joy to live and I couldn't have done it without you. I wish we could part in more happy circumstances, but... this is what has to happen. I love you and I always will. Goodbye, Elbereth Nenharma-Miyamae." Elbereth nodded, "Goodbye, Yoshiro Miyamae. You will forever remain in my heart." Yoshiro looked out the window, "JULIUS! IT'S TIME TO GO!" Julius walked to the door as Yoshiro put on his armor and equipped his weaponry, "Next time I see you, Elbereth, I won't recognize you, but... deep down, I'll always love you." Elbereth smiled slightly, "Thank you, now... I never supported you going to battle, but I know the stakes, please prevent a galactic war from sparking." Yoshiro nodded as he headed out the door, "I'll try."

Chapter 12

Yoshiro walked into the courtyard of the temple, alone and armed only with his sword and his shield. Takeshi spoke up as he looked at the statue of Emiko, "A fitting place for your final slumber, wouldn't you agree?" Yoshiro removed his shield from his back and placed it on his wrist, "Yeah, it would be, but I'm not going to die here." Takeshi turned his head slightly to look at him, "What do you mean?" Yoshiro pointed at him with his shield arm, "You will be the one to die here today, Takeshi, you have no idea of the scope of war that you are going to cause!" Takeshi turned around, "Do you know why I've always opposed you, Yoshiro?" Yoshiro placed his hand on his sword's hilt, "No, and I particularly don't care."

Takeshi looked at him, "Fitting, we will settle this in the old way." Takeshi grabbed a two handed sword that was sitting against the statue, "The warblood against the sunblood, give me a good fight, Half-brother." The two brothers circled around as Yoshiro drew his own longsword, Yoshiro took a look and saw the monks there, and recognized Emiko in the crowd. For the first time in his life, he took the opening move and stepped forward with his weapon at the ready, shield about ready to block against Takeshi's attack. Takeshi stepped back and watched for another move on Yoshiro's part, but Yoshiro retreated backwards. Takeshi growled slightly and moved in to attack Yoshiro on the weapon side. Yoshiro twisted his sword to catch Takeshi's blade.

The two of them watched as Takeshi's blade slid down Yoshiro's and hit the grip, Takeshi moving his sword away and Yoshiro using this opportunity to attack with the shield. He took a step and thrust the shield into Takeshi's weapon, hitting it on the blade and pushing it back as he took his sword and went to thrust it into Takeshi's abdomen, but Takeshi moved back with his sword, leaving Yoshiro open. Takeshi took this advantage to counter attack by swinging his blade above Yoshiro, forcing Yoshiro to sidestep out of the way, as Yoshiro went to take advantage of this, Takeshi slammed the flat of the blade into the side of Yoshiro's leg, distracting him enough to back off. Yoshiro watched as Takeshi continued to back away, and he knew what his half-brother was trying to do.

Yoshiro moved forward and put pressure on Takeshi who found himself backed against a pillar. Takeshi pointed the blade at Yoshiro and forced the advance to stop. Takeshi thrust his blade at Yoshiro, who jumped back to avoid any possible injury. Takeshi smiled and placed a hand on the blade of the sword, "Half-Swording, something I learned before you were born, child!" Yoshiro smirked under his helmet, "Fine." Yoshiro waited for Takeshi to thrust the sword again, moving out of the way when his half-brother did so. Yoshiro quickly closed the gap and grabbed Takeshi's arm without hesitation, even as the elder Kitsune was moving away from him. Yoshiro pointed his sword at Takeshi's neck and the elder Kitsune dropped his own weapon, causing Yoshiro to let go.

Takeshi got on his knees and looked up at Yoshiro, "So, I guess you're going to want to know about Masaru's plans?" Yoshiro pointed the weapon downward and thrust it, impaling Takeshi through the chest, "All I want to hear come out of your mouth is gurgle gurgle." Yoshiro removed the blade from Takeshi's chest and watched as the blood slowly started to ooze out of the mouth of his half-brother, "Nine hundred and twenty years ago, I killed Hiroshi. Three hundred years ago, I killed Aiko. Today, the last of Mamoru's biological children breathe their final breath. You three may have been the children of my mother, but you are no siblings of mine." Takeshi looked at him, "Your eyes... are the same... as our... ancestor's..."

Yoshiro looked down at Takeshi, "Difference is, I didn't follow in his footsteps. You and Masaru are the only ones who did. And I dislike you both greatly. You died today because you were trying to start a galaxy-wide war." Takeshi's eyes widened, "I... didn't... know..." Takeshi coughed up blood, "that... I am... sorry." Yoshiro cleaned off his blade and sheathed it, "If so, I apologize. But this doesn't make up for your past transgressions, Takeshi." Yoshiro watched as Takeshi slumped over, dead. He pushed his half-brother's head onto the ground and closed the elder Kitsune's eyes, "Hopefully in the next life, you will know some sort of peace, Takeshi." Yoshiro heard a voice speak up behind him, "You killed him!"

Yoshiro turned to see the Black Knight standing there, "Killian, you know full well that I've killed before. Why are you surprised now." The Black Knight looked at him, "I'm not Killian!" Yoshiro looked at the Black Knight, "Pretender! Remove that helmet immediately!" The Black Knight removed the helmet and Yoshiro immediately recognized the Lupine under the helmet, "Belinda! Does your grandfather know that you are using his armor!" Belinda snarled, "Yes, and I wanted to rescue people, not kill them." Yoshiro sighed and muttered, "This would explain why I have so much time left before I die." Yoshiro looked at her, "You have the scent of Akane as well, go meet her and tell her to go to the inn. I'll meet the both of you there." Yoshiro didn't give her a chance to respond before he walked away from the scene.

Chapter 14

Yoshiro walked into the base and drew his pistol, he held it at the ready as he walked through the base. He looked at a soldier who was looking at him, the soldier turned and screamed out, "Enemy in" Yoshiro fired as the soldier cried out for help, silencing him with a head shot. Yoshiro walked through the chamber and noticed that the door wasn't like the ones he was used to, and that it opened outwards. He stepped over the corpse of the enemy soldier he had killed and walked over to the side of the door that had hinges on it. As a pair of troops ran in, he grabbed the door knob with one hand and slowly closed the door, killing the guy that was bringing up the rear first with a head shot and then killing the guy that was in front.

Yoshiro didn't say a word as he opened the door and walked into the next room, holding his pistol at the ready. He watched as four soldiers looked at him. Yoshiro walked into cover as the first three started to fire. Yoshiro checked his shield levels and leaned out of cover, allowing the weapons fire to drop his shields as he killed the soldiers. He noticed a fourth soldier was running towards an alarm, Yoshiro quickly raised his pistol and shot the man in the head. The corpse carried enough momentum that even though he stumbled, his head was able to hit the alarm button and Yoshiro realized he would need a more rapid fire weapon. He dashed towards one of the corpses and grabbed their assault rifle. He checked the charge as he holstered his pistol, then dove back into cover.

Yoshiro heard the door open and peeked out of cover to fire at the soldiers that were coming in. Due to his inexperience with an assault rifle, his aim was a bit off, but because of his experience with firearms in general, he was able to quickly adjust his aim to put two soldiers down. Before he ducked back into cover, he noticed that the remaining soldiers had split into groups. Yoshiro smirked and then concentrated, the implants within him, combined with the armor amplified his mana flow considerably as it formed a barrier around him. Yoshiro walked out of cover and the soldiers started to fire at him. He quickly aimed at each and every one of them and put them down, having expended a small portion of his mana.

Yoshiro heard a rumbling and turned to see as a robot burst through the wall with a massive blade attached to an arm. He took aim at the robot and started to fire the assault rifle on full auto, doing nothing to the machine. He watched closely and noticed that the machine was going to rush at him and he moved to get out of the way, barely avoiding the attack. Angry, he realized that the only way for him to do any damage was to cause physical annihilation. He lowered his barrier and started concentrating, channeling his mana into the machine. He didn't notice until it was too late that the machine initiated an attack, thrusting the blade with enough force to punch through his armor, impale him and hit the wall behind him. Yoshiro screamed out in pain and snapped his fingers in response to this.

The barrier hardened within the reactor of the machine, causing it to cease functioning entirely. Adrenaline surged through his body as blood pooled in his mouth. He grabbed the blade with his hand quickly disarmed the deactivated machine with another light barrier. As he started to move himself along the blade, he heard more soldiers come and concentrated on stopping his pain as he lifted the assault rifle and kept the barrier up as he watched them fire. He lowered the barrier while they were stopping to fire at him and he shot each of them in the head. With the new silence, he pulled himself off the blade that had impaled him and started to feel fatigue set in. He noticed that he was now bleeding externally and formed a barrier inside of his body to stop the bleeding. Yoshiro turned to hear more soldiers start running for the hole in the wall, "Hahahaha, you think I fear the reaper. I AM the Reaper!"

Yoshiro lifted the assault rifle and started firing again as the enemy soldiers returned fire, he knew that he didn't have a chance of surviving his wounds, but he didn't care. He was here for only one reason, to die. He watched as a readout on his HUD read, "Armor integrity: CRITICAL." Yoshiro kept advancing as he fired, though he felt the heat of the photonic rounds, he felt no pain, but raised a new barrier everywhere he felt heat. He watched as the enemy soldiers start losing morale as he just wouldn't drop, he was a bloodied mess and yet just kept coming at them. He laughed and coughed up blood, "I never called myself a hero, nor a legend. But now you see what a man does when there is nothing left for him." Yoshiro watched as a soldier rushed at him with a knife and quickly removed his left hand from the assault rifle to punch him in the head.

He heard the snapping of several vertebrate in the man's neck as the man fell limp, he heard a soldier scream out, "Holy fuck! He just broke that guy's neck by punching him! Fuck this, I'm out!" Yoshiro smiled, "Leave if you don't want to die." Yoshiro watched as a metal object got lobbed at him, he raised his left hand and formed a barrier quickly, allowing the object to bounce off and back towards the soldiers, who all panicked as the device detonated, killing several of them at once. Yoshiro smirked slightly, "Now do you understand why I am called the Grim Reaper. I've reaped many of your souls, and if you do not surrender and flee, I'll reap the rest!" Yoshiro watched as the rest of them ran away.

As Yoshiro came to a door, he felt darkness eating away at his vision, "Dammit, I'm so close. Not now." The barriers had faded away and he started oozing blood from all of his wounds, in addition his adrenaline started dying down and the injuries started to take their toll as he entered the room and started limping towards a door on the far wall. He heard footsteps and looked as a Kani ran in. The Kani soldier recognized Yoshiro and raised his hands, but Yoshiro struggled to raise his weapon against him as the darkness started to consume his vision. Darkness completely consumed Yoshiro's vision and the Kitsune lowered the weapon as his body went limp, falling to its knees first and then falling on its face. The Kani looked at the corpse and fled for the entrance of the building, scared.

Chapter 16

One Month Later

Yoshiro's ghost stood in front of his grave, and he heard a sound behind him. He turned to see his parents standing there. He was happy that they were reunited, but was saddened because that meant that they were also dead as well. He sighed and looked down at the grave, "I failed. My final life's mission was to try to stop a new galactic war from happening and..." Minako looked at him, "Yoshiro, we know that time branches off in many directions depending on the decisions made. A war might not even happen." Yoshiro nodded slightly, "I can understand. I guess being dead, I'm free to go wherever I want, so long as I don't interfere with the world of the living..." Akira shrugged, "That's what Emiko told us, so I guess that's the truth." Yoshiro nodded, "I'm going to head off. Sorry for bailing on you guys, but we got all the time in the world to catch up."

Yoshiro rose into the sky and started flying towards the mountain that Erasmus was on. He was amazed at how fast he could move, now that he was dead. When he got there though, he was shocked to see the ghost of Killian standing on the mountain. Killian turned around and looked at him, "Hey brother, I finished my work and our bodies are now in..." Yoshiro interrupted him, "Stasis pods, I know. You do realize I didn't give you my consent and no, dying does not imply consent at all." Killian shrugged, "Well you never had any arguments about it while you were alive." Yoshiro growled, "Oh, so now we're getting into this, you never asked me in the first fucking place, Killian!" Killian sighed, "Look, we're dead... can we not fight here? Not like it would do anything."

Yoshiro sighed, "Sure, so why are you here?" Killian shrugged, "Thought I'd see my twin if I stayed here, you know." Yoshiro nodded slightly and leaned against a building. Killian looked at him, "How... how did you do that?" Yoshiro laughed, "Practice. Corporeal objects do not inhibit us now that we are ethereal." Killian nodded, "Alright then, let me try." Killian walked over to the building and tried to lean on it, but instead passed right through the wall. Yoshiro laughed at him and passed through the wall, "Killian, it'll take you quite a few tries, but you'll get the hang of it." Killian looked up, "Hey, there's Erasmus and Bruno." Yoshiro looked over to the side and watched the two of them pass, "Hey, you're right." Yoshiro knew better, but still reached out for Erasmus, his hand passing through the dragon's shoulder, "Damn... don't know why I did that."

Killian shrugged, "What do you think they're talking about." Yoshiro followed the two into another room and watched as Erasmus spoke up, "Bruno, I'm giving you the position of Master. You'll be my equal and you'll be able to teach students of your own." Bruno nodded slightly, "Thank you, Master Erasmus." Erasmus smiled, "You're welcome." Erasmus then looked straight at Yoshiro, which caused the Kitsune's ghost to become gripped with fear, but Erasmus spoke warmly, "I know your spirit didn't come to harm us, Master Yoshiro." Yoshiro blinked, "I'm... a Master?" Erasmus' smile widened, "In my eyes, you became a Master over a hundred years ago. I never had time to make it official though." Yoshiro bowed slightly and Erasmus sighed, "Do not bow." Yoshiro blinked slightly and Bruno looked at Erasmus, "You can see him?" Erasmus nodded, "Judging from his reaction, he has the same question. I trained to see the spirits of the dead, Killian has been hanging around for a while."

Bruno nodded, "Can you hear them?" Erasmus shook his head, "That, I cannot." Yoshiro got an idea and signed out, "I can hear you guys." Erasmus nodded, "That much is obvious, my deceased friend." Yoshiro smiled slightly and signed out, "Thank you for all that you have done for me. I think I'm going to go see my kids, before I explore the planet, see things I've never seen before." Erasmus nodded, "That's a good plan, Yoshiro. I wish you the best of luck in your afterlife. You were a good friend to Master Bruno and myself. Oh, and tell Killian that he's welcome inside the monastery." Yoshiro nodded and gave a thumbs up. He walked out and looked at his brother, "Killian, you're welcome to stay in the monastery." Killian looked at him, "Where are you going to go?" Yoshiro sighed, "To see Hiromi."

Killian nodded and Yoshiro rose up into the sky again and flew towards the Kilvish kingdom. It took him minutes to arrive and he landed in the castle's throne room. He didn't see his daughter there and he sighed, cursing his inability to pick up her scent so he'd know which room she was in. He placed his hand on his chin and gave it some thought, "Where would she be?" Yoshiro snapped his fingers and walked out of the throne room's wall and into the courtyard. Looking down, he saw Hiromi kneeling in a garden and he smiled. He allowed himself to fall to the ground and walked over to his daughter, "You're a better leader than I ever was." Hiromi continued what she was doing and Yoshiro nodded slightly, "I know you cannot see or hear me without Emiko's help, but... I want you to know that I still love you. I love all of my kids."

Yoshiro walked past her and sighed, "I want you kids... I want you all to be the leaders of this generation... I'm passing the baton to you and your siblings. The world has no need for old soldiers like me." Hiromi turned around and looked at where Yoshiro was standing and Yoshiro had a bit of hope, until her husband walked through him, "Damn..." Hiromi's husband hugged her and chuckled, "It's good to see you again, my love." Hiromi smiled widely, "It's good to see you as well, Eruedraith." Yoshiro smiled softly and walked out of the courtyard. Before he could fly away, he heard someone clear their throat, "I thought my mother said for you to not to interfere?" Yoshiro turned around, "I'm not interfering with the world of the living, I'm observing."

Amaterasu sighed, "So what now?" Yoshiro shrugged, "Seeing as I'm dead, I figure that I'll explore the planet, I got plenty of time. Plus I could always sleep for a while." Amaterasu nodded, "A more healthy outlook than most people." Yoshiro shook his head, "I died trying to save the world from a war that's going to happen in the far future and I failed. There's nothing I can do from here, and it's not like the people who could do something about it don't already know from the reports and Killian's speech at my funeral. All I really can do now..." Yoshiro turned to look at the horizon, "is have a little faith in the living. They're the ones that can prevent the war from happening. It sucks, but... it's the only choice I have in my afterlife." Amaterasu nodded, "Wise words." Yoshiro turned and walked away, waving, "I'll see you sometime later." Amaterasu nodded as Yoshiro's ghost went off to wander the world.