Of Families III

III. Incursion

The manor house stood in a wide clearing, surrounded by trees save for the lone road that led away from its front doors. Two stories tall and comprised of more rooms than she cared to think about, the building presented a significant challenge for Alysianna; but within its walls was her sister, and she was getting Akhiko out no matter the cost.

“Nice place,” commented Zagamesh from her side. “This guy must have kissed some serious ass to merit a place like this.”

They crouched just inside the wood line, observing the building, and more importantly the guards, through binoculars. Both wore fatigues of dark greens and black, well suited to the vegetation they now hid themselves in. Zagamesh carried an assault rifle, and had numerous devices strapped to his equipment harness. Alysianna assumed most would probably end up exploding at some point, but she had asked him to provide a distraction, and how he wanted to do it was up to him. In contrast, Alysianna had only a sub-machine gun, and her katana at her waist.

Alysianna stood, taking care to keep a tree between her and the building. “Alright, give me ten minutes, then go ahead and create whatever diversion you find most appealing.” She was about head off into the woods, but turned to look down at Zagamesh once again. “Don't have too much fun.”

Zagamesh gave her one of his famous 'injured pride/innocent man' looks as she moved off among the trees.

Alysianna circled the manor, moving with a careful balance of speed and stealth; completing a 90 degree circuit just prior to the ten minute mark. Crouching in the foliage as close to the clearing as she dared, she waited.

An explosion shook the ground right at the ten minute mark, and a fountain of fire reached into the sky from the guard station near the road. Her partner had opted for the flashy sort of distraction; which seemed to be getting the desired response, she noted as she observed several men rushing toward the remains of the station. Moments later another explosion in the middle of the men's formation sent bodies flying, and a rapid series of gunshots accompanied more men falling. The remaining guards quickly deducted where the threat was at that point, and scrambled for cover. It shouldn't take them long to regroup and attempt to move into the woods after Zagamesh, but Alysianna had the feeling that doing so would be a very big mistake on the guards' part. As the echoes of the gunshots faded, she swore she could hear a man laughing.

Deciding that the guards were sufficiently distracted, Aysianna moved into the clearing at a run, heading straight toward the second floor balcony, which was situated near a tree. She reached the tree without being shot, which she took as a good sign. The branches were spaced widely, perfect for climbing, and it took Alysianna only thirty seconds to reach the same level as the balcony. Leaping from as far out on the branches as she felt comfortable, Alysianna hit the balcony at waist height, bracing her hands on the edge of the railing and letting her upper body bend forward to counter the weight of her legs dangling below. It was a simple matter to then roll herself over the railing and to her feet.

She moved to the door, and was pleasantly surprised to find it unlocked. Quietly opening it just enough to slide through, she found herself in a hallway lit only by emergency lighting. Had Zagamesh managed to destroy the generator with one of his 'distractions'? Alysianna found herself mildly impressed. Another explosion sent a tremor through the manor, and set the lights to flickering for a moment. Moving down the hallway, Alysianna cautiously opened each door as she came to it, and finding them empty, closed it again before moving on. She had covered about half the hallway when two men in guardsman uniforms rounded the corner and stopped dead, staring at her with a look of disbelief. The moment lasted maybe three seconds, then the guards drew stun batons from their belts and charged.

Alysianna smiled to herself as she set herself into the tachi-ai fighting posture, and grasped her katana. The guards were not allowed to carry small arms in the household proper. How very fortunate for her. Giri, she thought as the leading guard drew closer, stun baton leveled at her heart. As the man drew close, Alysianna lunged forward, letting the baton pass over her shoulder. With another step she stood up, and drew her katana from its scabbard and through the man's side, cutting cleanly through clothing and flesh, and sending the man spinning to the floor with a cry. The other man attempted to stop short, thrusting out with his baton in an effort to ward her off. Alysianna simply took another step forward letting the momentum of her upward cut transition downwards and took the man's hand off at the wrist. Sweeping the blade around in an arc behind her, she rotated it in her hands and lunged forward again, driving the blade through the surprised man, just below the sternum. With a grunt, he folded over the blade, and slowly slid off as Alysianna let the weight pull the sword point toward the ground. With a flick of her wrist, she shook most of the blood from her blade and continued down the hallway.

She finished searching the hallway, and rounded the corner to start the next, only to nearly run into another pair of guards who had apparently come in response to her first opponent's scream. She reacted instantly, grabbing the closer man's wrist and pulling him off balance. Using the momentum, she turned back to back with the man using him as a shield from his compatriot. Continuing the turn, she brought her hands up to shoulder height, and her blade caught the off balance guard in the neck. He shuddered and froze in place, until Alysianna took a step away from him, drawing three feet of steel through the already horrible wound. Blood sprayed, and she turned toward her final opponent with blood running down her cheek and dripping from her chin, as the corpse behind her dropped to the floor with a thud.

“Who are you?” he asked with a trembling voice.

“Kamikazi,” she answered, cutting downward.

The man reacted as he had been trained, raising the baton to attempt to deflect the attack. Alysianna's katana cut through his defense with a crack of destroyed composite material, and a flash of light from the energy cell. Her attack took him from shoulder to waist, and the man crashed to the floor with the look of terrified surprise still on his face. Flicking the blood from the blade once again, she continued to the next door.

The next three rooms were empty, and she was about to close the door to the fourth room when a small motion toward the back caught her attention. Entering the room, she closed the door behind her. She slowly crossed the room, trying to see past the darkness to what had made the motion.

“Alysianna?” asked a quiet voice. A woman's voice.

“Akihko?”

“What are you doing here?” her sister asked as she stepped out of the shadows that had concealed her. “I didn't know if my message had reached you, but I never expected you to come here!”

Alysianna strode forward, turning slightly so she could keep an eye on the doorway. “I'm getting you out of here. All the noise you're hearing is courtesy of a friend of mine, who's keeping most of the guards here busy. What's left of them anyway.” She turned and started for the door.

“Wait! There's someone you should meet before we go.”

“Ani, we don't have time for this. We have to go!”

Akihko held out her hand to the shadowed corner. “Miyuki, come meet your aunt.”

A young girl, not more than six years old emerged from the shadows, cautiously making her way to her mother. Alysianna stood, dumbstruck, staring at the niece she had never known she had. Miyuki looked strikingly similar to her mother... and her aunt. She had the same long black hair the two woman shared, as well as the brilliant green eyes. Alysianna took a couple steps forward, holding out her free hand toward her niece as if she expected her to just vanish into smoke.

Alysianna had only taken two steps when Miyuki retreated behind her mother with a soft moan, obviously terrified. Alysianna's heart seemed to freeze in her chest, replaced by some empty void. Looking down at herself she finally saw what her niece must be seeing. Blood was splashed across her clothing, drying on her face, and dripping from her sword. She looked like something from a nightmare. Shoving the feeling of loss that tried to claw its way into her mind behind a rigid wall of duty, Alysianna looked up into her sister's eyes.

“Pack anything you need for a couple days travel,” she said. “But pack light. I'll be back for you in five minutes.” She turned and walked to the door. Maybe she looked like a nightmare, but if she had to sacrifice her niece's love to save her from having to grow up in constant fear..... well, she never turned from duty, no matter the cost. She walked down the hallway, focused on the large double doors at the end. He was in that room. Where else would he be, but overseeing his little domain during the crisis? She reached to doors and quietly opened them, and slipped inside.

The man was standing near his desk, looking down at what looked like a large map display. His back was to her, and as she approached within five feet of him, he finally seemed to realize she was there. He stood up straight, and turned to face her.

“Have you caught the one responsible for all......” His voice trailed off as he realized she was not whom he had been expecting.

His confusion turned to terror as Alysianna grabbed the collar of his suit coat, brought up her katana, and drove the blade into his belly. All he could manage was a choking gasp of pain when she twisted the sword ninety degrees and pulled the blade free. He sank to his knees, pressing his hands against his ruined stomach to keep his innards from spilling out onto the floor. As blood ran down the katana's razor edge, Alysianna took a diagonal step forward to put her at her enemies side, and raised the blade vertically over her head.

The man managed to turn his head slightly and look up at her, his eyes full of confusion, pain, and terror. “Who.....” he managed to gasp out.

“Setsujoku,” she said in a whisper. Vengeance rang through her mind as she brought her katana down with all the force she had left in her, striking off the man's head.

The body remained upright for a couple of moments before collapsing sideways to the ground. Alysianna knelt, and used a portion of the man's coat to clean the blood from her blade. When she finished, she stood, replaced the katana in its scabbard, and bowed deeply to the headless body. Whatever I thought of him, he died in the ancient manner of atonement, in a way. He never cried out with the pain, and for that died in honor. Tsugunai. Atonement.

Straightening, Alysianna turned and walked swiftly to the door. It was time to get her family out of this place.