Personal History of Aotsuki Tsukamoto

After a heated battle with the Yasutane Clan, who occupied the fortress in his absence, Hashinara Katamoto and his generals reestablish control over Wakigami Castle and, by extension, Yamato Province.

Upon arriving in Shima, Aotsuki Tsukamoto personally convinces Tanahase Muramatsu to ally his Tanahase Clan with the Hashinara.

Upon arriving at Iga, Katsusada Shishauezaemon and his most trusted generals (plus Baby Huey) are led to a secluded tea house and meet with Fujibayashi Nagato of the Iga Ninja. Before the meeting can proceed, however, the group is attacked by two Igamono, Crocodile and Stoplight. When the two are near defeat, the leader of the Igamono, Vengeance joins the fray. After a desperate battle in which Baby Huey is slain, all three enemy ninja are defeated and Vengeance captured.

Key generals Ryūzaki Sanosuke and Aotsuki Tsukamoto are sent as agents of the Hashinara to request an official alliance with Tsuchimi Takasuke, Daimyō of the neighboring Tsuchimi Clan.  Convinced by a combination of Aotsuki's silver tongue and Sanosuke's stalwart support during his last military engagement, the old man agrees.

Hashinara forces led by Katsusada Shishauezaemon and his four most trusted generals march on Takamatsu Castle in Sanuki to engage the occupying Chōsokabe Clan.  Upon arrival, they find the battlefield cloaked in a magical mist, and must fight their way through a pack of Nue, supernatural predators which use the fog to deadly advantage.  Commanding the enemy forces are Chōsokabe Kanetsugu and Chōsokabe Kunichika.  After a difficult battle due to field conditions, the former general is captured and the latter is slain in battle as the Hashinara claim victory.

Following the "Administrative Flunky's" tracks to the Tsukijō Wakigami Manor, the generals find that it has already been taken by Igamono.  They enter the building's basement cautiously, and are confronted by a man who looks and sounds exactly like Katsusada Shishauezaemon.  When questioned by the real Shishauezaemon, the impostor claims that he already spoke to the envoy from the Imperial Court.  Among other misinformation, Matsutada Tadamatsu was told that the Hashinara attacked the Chōsokabe Clan on a personal slight, and that the Ashikaga Shogunate should mind its own business on threat of war.   Before the discussion could progress any further, Fujibayashi Nagato attacked the impostor from the shadows and a full battle broke out between Hashinara elite and the lurking Igamono.  Among their top priorities was the rescue of Tsukijō no Yumeno, tied to a post in the middle of the cellar, but this too was revealed to be a ninja fake.  She was slain with the rest, but in the chaos, a single Igamono managed to cut off the real Katsusada Shishauezaemon's head.  With the enigmatic words, "Vengeance has been served," the man accepted his death at the others' hands.  As panic spread, Chōsokabe Morichika stole Matsumoto Ooawagaeri out of the chaos.  With a few quick words, however, Ryūzaki Sanosuke was able to regain control of the situation, and the Igamono suffered a brutal defeat.   After the battle, the real Tsukijō no Yumeno was found in a nearby barrel.  She was unharmed, merely tied up, and corroborated the story that the fake Shishauezaemon had told them before.

With Ikkyū's disappearance after framing Aotsuki Tsukamoto for a murder, the Five Guys of Mino begin to comment on the smokey smell in the air. It's quickly apparent that the temple is on fire, likely by the slighted monk's hand. Aotsuki orders his companions outside before proceeding further in to rescue the "songstress" Ikkyū spoke of earlier. A few rooms in he finds her, but the Bakeushi woman is chained to a post in the ground. Aotsuki smashes the chain with his shield and lifts her, but the fire has already engulfed the door behind him. Using his finely-honed tactician's mind, Aotsuki spots the point where the fire is weakest, and leaps through. Though the flames are hot on his fishscale kimono, he is not burned.   Unable to save more than a handful of Mori the Blind's paintings from the studio, Aotsuki wastes no time in rushing outside before the building burns down. Upon reaching the night air, however, Kagami yells for him to watch out. Aotsuki spots a burning fuse about to reach the offering box mere feet away, and has only seconds to act. He leaps, and the explosion from the powder-packed box sends him flying. As he lands, his arm snaps, but he keeps hold of the damsel and manages to make it to his friends.   Having been working overtime, Shigeaki Fujino had already brought Kanna and First Mate Yūji on Aotsuki's request. Now she goes to find a healer. Meanwhile, Aotsuki checks Mori the Blind. The painter is still unconscious, but the inspection causes a scroll to come to light. Aotsuki glimpses something about orders for Mori to kill himself and make it look like a murder. Grim-faced, he sends the Five Guys on to Inabayama Castle in Mino to await his return with Saitō Dōsan.   With his wounds healed by Yatsukahagi and Yajji called in to help find the monk, Aotsuki relies on First Mate Yūji's nose to find the trail. The beloved dog's waddling brings them across the muddy plains and to a shack where it seems Ikkyū had hidden emergency supplies and an escape horse. Aotsuki has little chance of catching up with him now, but another visit from Mekurabe promises him a stroke of luck in discovering his quarry. However, the yōkai demands hefty compensation. Twenty miles of land from Aotsuki's own holdings, to be settled by Jakotsu Otome and the Shirohebi Ikki, with no humans allowed. Though expensive, the proposition is tempting, as Ikkyū continues to grow further away, and according to Abe-no-Seimei, a yōkai called Kotobuki could very well bring him great luck in bringing justice to the horrible old man.   Though the offer is tempting, Aotsuki eventually declines, deciding that he cannot forbid humans to enter land on which they may already have homes.  As soon as he answers, Mekurabe is gone.  It seems like the monk has too great of a lead to follow tonight in the dark, so Aotsuki returns to his companions and orders the chase to be abandoned for now.

Moments after the death of Fubuki (in hat form), Hashinara Yoshitakatomo teleports the remainder of the party into the shadows of the cavern below. They arrive at the same time as Maxim, who departed first on foot. Although Yoshitakatomo has used a large amount of energy transporting the group, especially Kagami and Tama who are technically artifacts, the group wastes no time in engaging the mottled group of mechanical dolls.   Despite its fearsome showing before, the Blade Wraith falls immediately to a single swing from Ryūzaki Sanosuke. While Maxim and Sanosuke engage the remaining mechanical men in combat, Aotsuki Tsukamoto instead attempts to retrieve Fubuki. Aided by the unseen hand of Munechika, he succeeds, and calls upon Amaterasu's light to bring the deceased hat back to life.   Though difficult to damage and incredibly deadly, the karakuri men are no match for Sanosuke. Soon, each is reduced to a heap on the ground except for one, whose limbs Yoshitakatomo fuses to its sides to take captive for study. Following up on an unmooring sound called out by Kagami only moments before, the warriors rush through the back of the cave and outside to a small pier. A boat was here, but through the use of karakuri trickery and possibly magic, it has vanished at speed. Even the vessel's trail stops abruptly at a certain point in the water. Whomever was here and leading these creatures, presumably the same individual with the expressive bombs, has made their escape.   However, the battle was not without its gains. The Cardinal Generals now find themselves in possession of upwards of six hundred quality, possibly cursed, katana. What's more, Maxim somehow regains his two-handed sword. How could that have gotten here? It will probably remain a mystery. Taking their captive, Yoshitakatomo discovers a final clue engraved into its body. "学天即". Something like "learning from the laws of nature". A maker's mark? Perhaps this, and the now-absent original merchant's promise to deliver swords to Wakigami Castle, may yet lead to the karakuri puppetmaster behind this whole fiasco.

No sooner had Fubuki magicked the sword binding Kashirin away than yet another strange event interrupted the ill-fated Mōri tournament. The more keen-eared of those in the crowd noticed it first, and brought it to the attention of their allies. A low, whistling sound was steadily growing in volume as something approached the stadium at high speed. It was not Kashirin's prisonous sword, but rather a black spear shooting down from the heavens directly at Maxim.

In Setsu Province, villagers, cityfolk, and bakeneko alike have been complaining of strange dreams. The legend of Momotarō plays out before their eyes every night, albeit with a unique spin. In this rendition, "Magical Momo" is an idol, and she defeats the evil oni with her cheerful antics and cute companions. Could this spectacle just be residual thoughts from that idol competition in Wakigami? That wouldn't explain why farmers who have never seen an "idol" in their lives are having the same dreams too.   It's been a while since the Gauntlet of Games, where the Date Clan implored their counterparts in the Hashinara to investigate these "dream shards" popping up all over the country. Likely it's in response to the big portal up north near their capital. Regardless, the brave generals of the Hashinara were getting around to it, and their next target was that peach-colored rift halfway between Kaya and Osaka(settlement).

Aotsuki Tsukamoto and Saitō Dōsan were among the first to arrive in the meeting chamber of Owari Castle that had been set aside for their purposes. Maxim, too, was in attendance, and soon Hashinara Yoshitakatomo arrived with an unknown stranger in her* company.   The opposite side of the wide, low table was filled with the Oda Clan’s greatest remaining representatives. Oichi took the head, her position cemented by her relationship to Oda Nobunaga, previous Daimyō of the clan. Beside her stood Shibata Katsuie, her bodyguard and a proponent of this meeting. Then, along the side were Ishida Mitsunari, Azai Nagamasa, and Mori Ranmaru. Only Nagamasa’s presence between the two others seemed to be preventing them from attacking each other right there. Petty complaints and snappish insults were tossed about above the weary-looking Azai Daimyō’s head.

Lord Maxim's initial refusal to go to war on the side of the Takeda surprised Takenaka Hanbei. She voiced as much, suggesting that it was strange he would not want to wage battle against a god, particularly one he had as much to begrudge as Bishamonten. Maxim soon clarified that he would be willing to lend his aid in the coming battle, but it was a risk almost on par with what he had encountered in the Palace of the Firebird. As such, he needed more payment than just honor and good service to make it worth risking his men. In exchange for a large number of souls, quality notwithstanding, he would agree fight both the Uesugi and Izanami.

While everyone took some time to secure the prisoners and recover from their recent battle with the Black Galleon Slavers and their captive Gug, Fubuki set about preparing the floundering Black Galleon for sail. This was not her* first dealing with such a vessel, as another served as Fubuki's flying transport back in the waking world. A bit of magic was enough to patch up the hull and, together with Taira no Tokuko and Aka no Kitsunebi, the Matsumoto gang was able to safely take the remaining frozen slavers prisoner. Fubuki thought to ask Sothy what should be done with them and received in reply that the Chieftan of Baharna would decide their fate. It was to be expected, however, that they would be thrown to the Wamps.   A quick chat with the refugee Baharnans discovered that they were both skilled enough and willing to crew a Black Galleon, navigating it through familiar waters back to their home port. As a final thought, Fubuki reached out across the realms to Tsukijō Hanahane. His flamboyance was still well awake, and suggested that he'd not be retiring for many hours yet. That meant that they couldn't count on Jericho Petalwing's patronage anytime soon. Fubuki did learn, at least, that dropping the Petalwing name might earn them a bit of pull in Baharna.

Not far from the coast of Oriab, traveling upon the Dreamsea, the Hashinara Clan's Black Galleon had just unwittingly brought another soul on board. Perhaps not completely unwittingly. It was a fair educated guess, based on the aura of Sin magic surrounding it, that the bottle Oyama Hikari retrieved from The Sunken City contained a Demon. That didn't stop the little treasure hunter from popping it open and letting the thing loose.   Coalescing forth from a cloud of heady, pinkish mist, this demon was quite unlike any they'd encountered before. With smooth skin and a slender, feminine frame, she would have passed for human if not for the purple tinge of her skin and the ten thick tentacles that constituted her body from the waist down. The demoness didn't seem hostile, at least not immediately. Instead, she appeared overjoyed. With a triumphant shout in the language of fiends (Hebrew?), she beamed at the assembled crew around her, gaze lingering on each in turn. Fubuki, who had made something of a study of demonic languages recently, caught something about "finally being free."

The hour had grown late indeed, yet Aotsuki Tsukamoto still felt he had very much left to do. With Fubuki and her* troublesome passengers gone, that left he and Abe no Seimei alone in an empty corridor of Ōtsu Castle. Only Aotsuki's glowing golden arm lit the darkness around them. It was an unconventional location for a meeting with his adviser, but perhaps he was wise to take the opportunity before some new chaos unveiled itself.   First, Aotsuki asked about their guest from Kannonji Castle: one Rokkaku no Jakusai. According to Seimei's report, Jakusai had awoken around nightfall as they expected. She kept all memory of their interactions the previous moon, and seemed to exhibit no indication that anything was out of the ordinary. That was much as Aotsuki expected, yet was no help at all in unraveling the One-Night Castle's mystery. Seimei pointed out that perhaps the "Buddha" they'd heard mentioned was the key to all this. If they were to find whomever that was, everything else should fall into place. Aotsuki agreed that this may well be their logical next step before changing the topic.

It was the darkest hour of the night; the perfect time for ninja business. It was just such ninja business which drew the five Cardinal Generals of the Hashinara Clan to Iga. For some time, Fujibayashi Nagato had been working here to eliminate the remnants of the resistance group known as Igamono. With them out of the way, and Hattori Hanzō dead, there would be nothing standing in the way of Nagato becoming head Jōnin of the Iga Ninja.   Her first order of business promised to be a formal alliance with the Hashinara Clan. Therefore, it behooved the clan to lend their aid in this final confrontation. The Igamono, staunch traditional independents, would never allow the Iga Ninja to formally ally with a clan. They were a minority now, but enough families still backed them that they could prove a threat if left alone. One such family, led by Iganozeki Butsugai, had agreed to speak with Nagato tonight. Canny and with plenty of shinobi experience to draw upon, she expected a trap. Therefore, having five of the most powerful individuals in Japan at her back was a great reassurance.

Part 1

At the sound and light, the gathered crowd looked as one to the center of the arena. There, under a fading shower of fireworks, stood an unfamiliar figure and The Black Blade of Doom: Date Masamune. They faced each other and seemed ready to battle. From the southeastern quadrant, a gasp rang out. It was Katakura Kojūrō. Neither she nor Masuda Kita seemed thrilled at the appearance of another Date Masamune.   Indeed, there were some murmurs worming their way through the crowd. Wasn't Date Masamune dead, obliterated by Musashibō Benkei in the tournament? Mōri Motonari's voice cut through the muddle like a blade. She chided both the unknown figure and Masamune. There were no further fights scheduled that day and, what's more, their intrusion on the field when she was about to announce the champion's prize was far too presumptuous. At a swelling of support from the crowd, the two rivals backed down. They would have their battle after the ceremonies concluded.

As the meeting closed, Daimyō Mōri Clan chose to return to her own chambers with her meal for the time being. Perhaps she was cautious, given all that had transpired, or perhaps the sickness those putrid fumes had seeded in her was draining her strength once agian. "I must make some preparations for the final match," she instructed her ward, Fubuki, "So you are dismissed. I'd like you to remain close by if you can, however. Too many surprises have sprung today to not expect another."   "Very well," Fubuki answered simply. There were other matters to attend to before her match with Maxim, but they might not take her so far away that it would become an issue. Indeed, it was only the width of a pane of glass away.