7   Hero Inside a Blaze

It seemed that those who came were not Ougi's army, only a Mt. Kaou group.

Taking the lead on horseback with his bandits in tow, Keiron approached Hakurou. He stopped his horse, looked down at Hakurou, and said. "My little sister is safe, right?"

"Don't worry." Hakurou answered.

"Then how 'bout giving her back?"

"Who's gonna just returned her? Blockhead!" Genrou yelled from behind Hakurou.

"Ohh, is that Genrou~?  Nice to see you again~. Hey, why don't ya leave this cheap mountain and come live with me in comfort in the capitol?~" He gave Genrou a wink from on top of his horse.

Genrou put a hand to his mouth and staggered sickly. "O...oe..."

"You alright? The mark on your arm's disappearing..." Looking worried, Kouji nudged Genrou.
Translation by Tasuki no Miko
"Hmf hmf hmf." Keiron laughed. "Hakurou, I won't just tell you to give her back. I'll exchange your treasure for her." Keiron held up high a gold plated box that was at his side. "See."

"Show me the contents." Hakurou said.

Keiron shook his head. "After I've seen Reirei with my own eyes."

Hakurou looked up at Keiron with a stern look and ordered a newcomer boy. "Bring the girl here."

"Hmf hmf. Without the tessen even the Mt. Leikaku leader is just a man. How helpless you must feel."

He watched Hakurou's arms shaking in insult and anger.

Both the bandits of Mt. Leikaku and Mt. Kaou glared in silence at each other's leader for a moment.

"Leader!" What broke that silence was the voice of the out of breath newcomer. "I can't find the hostage."

"What!?" As soon as Keiron yelled that, the box he held slipped. The lid came off with a clatter. The empty box lay on the ground.

"What is this Keiron?..." Hakurou's eyes shone in anger.

"Hmph. I thought we'd take advantage of the route here before sending the troops to the capitol. We came to thrash you guys in the way first. We're enough to take care of Mt. Leikaku without the tessen. That's what it is." Keiron suddenly held up a hand behind him. "Attack! Then make a thorough search inside the living quarters and bring back Reirei!"
Translation by Tasuki no Miko
Hakurou unsheathed his sword with a swish. "Don't mess with... Don't mess with..." Hakurou's enraged battle cry roared across Mt. Leikaku like a wolf's howl. "Mt. Leikaku--!!"
 
 

As if that were a signal, an "Ohhhh!" stir arose and the Mt. Leikaku and Mt. Kaou bandits struck simultaneously.

"You bastards. I, Genrou, will thrash you all!" Genrou's sword whizzed. In less than a moment, the blade pierced the first enemy body.

"Not bad, Genrou." Kouji called out, clashing swords with an enemy.

Genrou grinned at Kouji beside him. "This is the way a man should live."

Genrou flung his sword up high. His Seishi mark had clearly surfaced again on his right arm which held his sword and he took on the next opponent.

"Kill them! Crush Mt. Leikaku!" Keiron shouted on his horse, surrounded by several rows of guards.

Hakurou advanced step by step as he took out the guards.

"Aim for Hakurou~! Cut him down~!" Keiron's high pitched cry echoed in the mountain.

Kouji quickly ran up to Hakurou in order to protect their leader.
Translation by Tasuki no Miko
"Kouji, I'm alright. Protect the living quarters."

"But..."

"I'm OK, go!"

Hakurou swiftly dodged the enemy who struck from behind and as soon as he turned around he chopped off the head of the opponent with a swing of his sword.

"Eek..." Seeing that, Keiron pulled his horse back.
 
 

"Urya~!" 20 meters ahead, surrounded by about 10 enemies, Genrou swung his sword with a whiz. "Come on, someone attack me!"

Pretending to swing up his sword on the bandit in front of him, Genrou knocked down the enemy beside him and immediately pierced him with his sword the moment he fell.

"Hey, what's wrong? This way, this way." Genrou beckoned the enemies and ran away. Genrou clambered up a nearby tree in front of the Mt. Kaou bandits who had followed behind him. "I'm up here, come and get me!" He said and cut through the rope of the trap set up in the tree.

The Mt. Kaou bandits looked up with a gasp as a huge base with spikes fell down right on top of them.
Translation by Tasuki no Miko
"Well then, g'bye, g'bye, g'bye."
 
 

"Reirei--!" Kouji looked around for Reirei as he took out one by one the enemies that came into the living quarters. "She's not here..." He couldn't find Reirei in the living quarters let alone Genrou's room. "Where the hell did she go?..."

Did she escape? Would she have returned to Mt. Kaou when no one was there? But didn't she say that she liked Mt. Leikaku?... That she wanted to become a Mt. Leikaku bandit?

"She couldn't have..." Kouji practically flew out to the front of the stronghold.
 
 

Genrou disposed of another enemy. He found a trembling Eiken crouching nearby and yelled. "What're ya doing?"

"I...I don't like fighting..."

"Idiot! What're ya saying? Isn't a scumbag like you gonna work for the leader who lets you stay here?!"

Just as Genrou picked Eiken up by his neck...

"Watch out!"

Genrou looked back with a gasp at that voice. Behind him, an enemy's spear that was swung down toward him was blown away by something.
Translation by Tasuki no Miko
"......Y...ou...!?"

Reirei, concealed with a cloth wrapped around her face, was standing right beside him with the aibou in her hands.

"What're ya doing?"

"I'm fighting too!" And then with her aibou she swept the legs out from under a Mt. Kaou bandit who couldn't believe she was Keiron's little sister. Reirei struck the finishing blow to the fallen enemy's chest.

"Yeah but, they're your..."

Reirei cut off Genrou's words. "I'm with Mt. Leikaku..." Reirei said and threw herself into the ring of enemies.
 
 

Back outside of the stronghold, in the midst of a heroic battle with neither side retreating even one step, Kouji caught sight of the shortest figure fighting a Mt. Kaou opponent and caught his breath.

"Reirei...!" As soon as he tried to approach her, the enemy in front of him attacked. "Argh, outta my way."

While exchanging swords, Kouji kept an eye on Reirei. Uh-oh! She's surrounded on all sides by the enemy. And from a place several meters away, Kouji saw an enemy drawing back an arrow aimed at Reirei. In a loud voice he yelled. "Get out of the way, Reirei!"

Gasping at his voice, Reirei leaned her body toward Kouji and an arrow swished past her right side. "Uhn" the girl moaned and held her arm.

"Son of a bitch--! What're ya doing--?!" A seething Genrou shouted from behind the enemy who shot the arrow.

At the same time, Keiron's subordinates, having heard a voice say "Reirei", suddenly stopped around Reirei.
Translation by Tasuki no Miko
"Move aside, move aside." Genrou ran up to Reirei. "You OK?"

Holding her bleeding arm, Reirei nodded.
 
 

Hakurou soundly took down one of Keiron's guards. The guards were clearly intimidated by such fierceness of spirit. Hakurou took a step forward and the group surrounding Keiron took 2 steps back. It seemed as if the Mt. Leikaku God resided inside Hakurou.

At last Keiron said in a shrill and nervous voice. "......W-we'll let it go for today. Retreat!"

When Keiron turned his horse around, Hakurou had already walked forward directly into the guards who stood rooted to the spot in fear. He dragged Keiron down from behind with one arm from on top of the horse.

"Wh...what...what're ya doing...?!"

Hakurou grabbed Keiron's neck and pushed his bloody sword against it.

"Eek...Do you plan on killing me?..."

Hakurou silently narrowed his eyes at Keiron menacingly.

"If...if you're gonna kill me...you won't know where the tessen is..."

"So you do have it?"
Translation by Tasuki no Miko
"Right... Only I know its hiding place..."

"Where is it? Tell me! If you don't, I'll kill ya..."

Keiron was in a fit of panic. Hakurou tighten his grip on his sword.

"Sto----p!" A girl then cried out from behind him. "Don't kill Oniichan...!"

"......Reirei...!" Seeing his little sister standing sandwiched between Genrou and Kouji, Keiron's eyes widen.

"Please... Even though he's that kind of person, he's my only brother..."

All of the bandits stopped fighting and stared at Hakurou's hand. Hakurou's hand unexpectedly relaxed. Even though he was petrified, Keiron freed himself from Hakurou's hand with surprising speed and pitifully tumbled into his bandits.

Being carried off by his guards, Keiron shouted as he looked back. "Listen up. When the Western army attacks, it'll be the end of this place. Reirei, I'll rescue you soon. Just wait."

"............" Reirei saw him off with a glare without moving an eyebrow.

Among the corpses of both sides that lay here and there, the Mt. Leikaku bandits silently began dragging the bodies into the stronghold. Alone, Hakurou continued looking at the Mt. Kaou retreat and then slowly turned around.

"Leader. Are you unharmed?"
Translation by Tasuki no Miko
Hakurou nodded at Kouji's question and took a step forward. His body shook with a jolt.

Kouji ran up to the leader. Leaning on Kouji's chest, Hakurou spat something from between his clenched teeth.

"L...leader! Hurry...hurry, take the leader to his room!!" Kouji cried out in a loud voice when he saw what stained the Mt. Leikaku ground crimson where Hakurou stood.

"It's pretty deep..." Inside his own room, Genrou mumbled as he treated the wound Reirei sustained.

"Hmf hmf. It's an honor wound..."

"What're ya hmf hmfing about? Didn't I tell ya not to leave?"

"What're ya saying? If I hadn't been around, you would've been killed."

".........Grr..." Genrou grumbled and roughly put Reirei's sleeve back. "Aah, alright! Thank you, I'm always being saved by you."

Reirei gleefully smiled. "That's right. That's because even though you're good at fighting, you're basically rash and you aren't very attentive. But I'll keep an eye out and save you so you don't have to worry."

".........Grrrr!"
Translation by Tasuki no Miko
"But anyway... Is the leader OK?..."

Genrou nodded at Reirei whose face clouded over with worry.

"A doctor came from the city of Souun earlier and he's examining him now. ...I didn't know his body was that bad..."

"Hey, what will happen now that the leader has collapsed?..."

"...I don't know..."

The leader had collapsed now when the Western army may attack. There was no way that what happened earlier could have been foreseen even by Genrou who never even in his dreams thought that it would come to this.

Genrou said to Reirei, who already knew about Keiron becoming a subordinate of Ougi. "And what will you do?... This was just Mt. Kaou but if the army attacks it may be the end next time..."

"..............."

"Hey, go home... To Keiron."

Reirei raised her head at Genrou's words. She looked at Genrou with big eyes. "Am I that much in the way...?"

"......Yeah, you're really in the way."

"Kouji told me he'd be happy if I stayed here..."

"That's because Kouji"
Translation by Tasuki no Miko
Reirei cut off the rest of his words. "Genrou... Genrou... do you hate me... that much?" Reirei said and large tears spilled from her eyes.

"Wah, would ya quit it... This is why I hate women!" Genrou held his head.

Reirei wiped away her tears. "I'll fight. I want to fight on Mt. Leikaku's side...!"

"Yeah but earlier didn't you say 'don't kill Oniichan'?..."

"I won't say it anymore. I won't. ...I've forgotten about Oniichan."

Genrou stared at Reirei who bit her lip while desperately holding back her tears.

"......That's OK with you? You'll really be all alone."

Reirei silently nodded.

After awhile, Genrou said to the girl. "Alright. I understand. Then, stay here."

At those words Reirei jumped up and her big eyes swirled. "Really!? Of course if I went home you'd be in trouble. You wouldn't be able to get the tessen back. Even you're not that much of an idiot, are you?"

Slap! Genrou's hand struck Reirei's cheek.

"You're the idiot!"

"......Genrou..." Reirei stood motionless holding her cheek.
Translation by Tasuki no Miko
Genrou said. "That's not it. Even I'm ready to make you one of us. To fight together... and... protect you!"

Reirei's eyes filled with tears again. She clung to Genrou.

".........Hey...quit it..." Reirei was crying on his chest. At a loss, Genrou patted her back with an "alright alright", his hands unaccustomed to it. "It's OK now so don't cry. From today on I'll be your Oniichan so... stay here forever. OK? Stay here forever..."

Having heard that from outside the room, Kouji let out a small sigh and knocked on the door.

"Knock knock." "Who's there?" "Kouji who has business with Genrou." "Oh how wonderful. Please come in." "Thank you."

Kouji entered and Genrou's face twitched with an "ah ha ha" as he was clung to by Reirei.

"Hi there, senor. Uh, I can explain this... Actually from today on I've become Reirei's Oniichan so."

"I see." Kouji averted his eyes from Reirei and told Genrou. "The leader is calling for us. Let's go."

Lying on his bed, Hakurou looked at Kouji and Genrou and painfully got up.

"Leader......" They ran up to the bed.
Translation by Tasuki no Miko
Hakurou looked at Kouji and Genrou, all the blood drained from his face from illness and the battle. Seeing that their faces were as ghastly pale as his own, Hakurou roughly guessed that Kouji and Genrou must have heard bad things from the doctor in front of the leader's room besides an estimate of his condition. That there was no medicine that could cure Hakurou's illness anymore...

"Listen up. I probably don't have that long..."

At Hakurou's words, Kouji and Genrou looked down and bit their lips.

"I leave the future to you 2 now."

"......Leader..." Kouji moaned in a choked voice.

At Kouji's side, Genrou raised his face. "We understand. Whether it's an army or a UFO, we won't let one kazunoko in Mt. Leikaku."

"Kazunoko? Isn't that supposed to be mijinko...? Stupid ass." Kouji pushed down Genrou's head.

Hakurou chuckled at that. They really are a good team... Hakurou didn't have a moment to spare to decide the next leader but, why was he now beginning to worry that he would not be the one to decide that.

"I called for you for no other reason." Hakurou said and, slowly getting out of bed, turned to face Genrou and Kouji. "Alright. Before the army attacks we somehow have to get the tessen back from Keiron."

Genrou hit his hand simple-mindedly. "...Right! If only we had that we could barbecue Ougi's army in a single shot."
Translation by Tasuki no Miko
At his side, Kouji turned to the leader with a worried face. "But, even if we get it back, we can't make fire come out of it anymore."

"Huh......?"

Kouji said to a blank looking Genrou. "It's a tessen that spews fire with the leader's shout, right? But since the leader is sick in bed..."

"We don't know that, do we?! At any rate I'll bring back the tessen!" Genrou said.

Kouji tripped Genrou who tried to rush out of the room as fast as he could.

"What're ya doing? Look, in their final time a person might become well like a candle's flame blazing up but."

"Don't kill off the leader so easily!" Genrou sulkily sat down with his legs crossed.

"Then there's no point in getting the tessen back right away, is there?..."

"There is. That's why I called you 2." Hakurou said in a clear voice. "Listen up. There's already a person in this world who can make fire come out of the tessen."

"Huh......?" Kouji and Genrou looked at each other.

Genrou titled his head as he alternately pointed to himself and Kouji.

"Idiot... You 2 don't have that kind of power yet..."
Translation by Tasuki no Miko
Having incurred Hakurou displeasure, the 2 hung their heads with a disappointed expression.

"It couldn't be Keiron, could it...?" Kouji asked.

Hakurou shook his head. "The one who can do that is...the original owner of the tessen..."

"Original owner~?" Genrou cried out.

"Right. I heard...that the Mt. Leikaku leaders have been passing it down for generations..."

"That's right. For these past 300 years..." Hakurou said. "But the tessen wasn't Mt. Leikaku's until then..." And then Hakurou raised his voice. "We can't hand the tessen over to the original owner."

"Yeah, but leader. The owner shouldn't be alive..."

At Kouji's words, Hakurou shook his head again. "The owner lives."

"Must be a really old man or woman. Wouldn't such a person have to sleep in a diaper?"

An irritated Hakurou struck his knee. "It's not human!"

"Not human~?"

"Right. It's a youkai!"

It suddenly became so quiet that they could hear a pin drop.
Translation by Tasuki no Miko
"Genrou...tell a joke." Hakurou asked.

"Huh?" Genrou looked at the leader's face. "Even tonight...a youkai...ibiki o you kaita..."

Hakurou's mouth twitched.

"...H-he laughed...! Hey, Kouji, the leader laughed just now, didn't he?"

Hakurou gave a great clearing of his throat and turned to the 2 with a serious expression again. "I now have to tell you about how the Mt. Leikaku bandits began and, yes, the brave man who went through a blaze. Alright, listen closely 'til the end."