Ryo Gaiden

Kamiya and everyone who would fight gathered in a large room. "There will be casualties among us in this battle. I will do everything in my power to minimize our losses," said Kamiya.

Kinjo placed his hands on the table. A map of the surrounding area lay on the table, with multiple pieces of paper arranged side by side. "We've only just begun rebuilding the village. Our scouts must detect the enemy in advance. We need to fight outside the village, otherwise things will become unmanageable."

"Kinjo is right," said Midra, who was quite confident in close combat. "Even just the puppets caused massive damage to the village. Moreover, some of those puppets were resistant to elements, making them extremely difficult to defeat. Though it wasn't a problem for me - I easily tore through them - it might be troublesome for you all."

Hirabayashi stepped forward toward the table. "Try to keep the battle in the open. Endo, Soma, Rikimaru, and the other girls will defend the village. Except for Midra of course, she'll be more helpful on the front lines."

Rikimaru, uncomfortable with their assumption of facing a single enemy, joined the conversation. "We're thinking about this wrong," he said.

Kamiya asked, "What do you mean?"

"We shouldn't assume the Xen tribe is our only enemy. What if the Kaguyaku-chi organization attacks during this time? Wouldn't we be in trouble? Besides, we have no proof that Kenshin won't cooperate with them. Fighting on the front lines makes sense, but having Uncle Kinjo reveal his power there could be risky," Rikimaru explained. "We need to use our trump card wisely," he added.

"You're right, but the cursed heart they mentioned might be stopped by Uncle Kinjo's new eye," Soma offered his opinion.

Hirabayashi laughed. "Don't worry, all we need to do is convince a couple of people from the Ryuko clan. Though they're bound to the Ryo clan and don't get involved in political matters, the Ryuko clan is one of the most powerful and important families in this village," he replied to Soma.

"Good, then let Ryuko join the battle on the front lines. Kinjo, you stay back with the others and remain alert for a possible Kaguyaku-chi attack," said Kamiya. "Midra will assist me in close combat—" Before he could finish his sentence, a guard knocked on the door.

"Come in," said Kamiya.

"Sir, Dokuro has returned to the village," said the guard.

Everyone looked at each other in surprise and rushed outside. Dokuro had walked to the central building escorted by guards.

Kamiya clenched his fists when he saw Dokuro's injured state and gave Endo an angry look.

"Are you alright, Dokuro?" said Kamiya. He could see he was covered in wounds, but no one had yet noticed he had lost his tongue.

Dokuro smiled with his terribly wounded mouth, then pointed to his tongue. Though he appeared tough on the outside, he was suffering deeply within.

"Shit," said Midra.

"That son of a bitch Kenshin," said Kinjo angrily while moving towards Dokuro. "Let's go to Hanzo."

"Hey, I know Kenshin is a piece of shit, but don't forget I have the same mother. Don't worry Dokuro, if necessary, I'll personally take my big brother's life," said Midra while bumping her fists.

"Dokuro, I understand your condition, but any information you can provide will help us. Tell Kinjo what you know so we can win this war," said Kamiya.

"Rikimaru and Soma, come with me," said Kamiya. After returning to his office, he began putting on his armor from the geared rack. When his hand went to his waist, he realized his sword hadn't been at his side for a long time.

"Why did you call us, father?" asked Soma.

Kamiya pointed to the boxes on the floor. "I've arranged armor and swords for you both to prepare for battle."

"Ah... uncle, I'm better at close combat," said Rikimaru, while gesturing to his fists.

"Don't worry, as you can see, the sectional armor leaves your joints exposed. There's also armored gloves to protect your fists. And the sword is just to have as a backup."

Soma and Rikimaru eagerly put on their armor. "The red armor suits you, Rikimaru," said Soma. He himself was wearing blue armor like his father.

However, Rikimaru showed no reaction. Kamiya approached and touched his shoulder. Rikimaru's eyes were staring blankly, as if his soul had left his body. "Soma, RUN QUICKLY!" Kamiya shouted. Soma, startled by his father's voice, began running out of the building before he could understand what was happening.

Meanwhile, Kinjo had taken Dokuro to the infirmary. "I can't believe my eyes, what have they done to this man?" said Hanzo. "Damn, his tongue is gone too."

Just in case, Midra and the others had accompanied Kinjo. "I'll get some paper, hang in there a bit longer, Dokuro," said Kinjo. He quickly grabbed a fountain pen and some pieces of paper. "I hope you know how to write," he said, handing the notebook and pen to Dokuro.

[ TEXT ON PAPER ]

They will attack with golems, probably more than five.

Naru Toki saved me but said he would attack Kamiya, and that this couldn't be prevented in any way.

Naru will attack first with some golems.

Kaguyaku-chi launched an attack on Kenshin.

Clay is dead.

[ / TEXT ON PAPER ]

His hand was trembling, making the writing on the paper very difficult to read.

"Thanks Dokuro, even this information is quite useful. I'll speak with Kamiya right away. Midra, come with me, the others can disperse, we'll discuss the details again," said Kinjo as he quickly left the infirmary with Midra.

Rikimaru raised his hand to wipe the blood flowing from his nose, then turned his head to Kamiya. "Uncle, what's happening to me? I feel strange."

"Stay calm Rikimaru, you need to control your power. Take a deep breath," said Kamiya, trying to calm him by placing his hand on Rikimaru's shoulder.

Suddenly he noticed sounds coming from the door. "Soma, I told you to run away!" Rikimaru shouted, but Sanda opened the door with Soma following behind. "Father, I want to fight too! Soma is trying to stop me, I want to support you!" Sanda shouted.

Rikimaru's focus suddenly vanished. With a massive roar, he sent Sanda and Soma crashing into the corridor wall. An incredible aura had spread around, almost covering the entire village. Breathing became difficult, and the air had darkened under the aura's effect. Rikimaru had undergone a partial transformation; part of his face had taken on a draconic structure, and a horn had emerged. His left arm had also transformed into a dragon's claw. He struck Kamiya, who was holding his shoulder, and sent him flying through the office window. Then he jumped. "Damn it, am I falling through this window again?" said Kamiya in mid-air. He couldn't feel the pain, but even though he had blocked the punch, his arm muscles were torn and his bones were cracked.

Midra and Kinjo saw Kamiya falling. "I'll catch him!" Midra shouted.

"What's happening?" Kinjo watched Kamiya fall with confusion.

Rikimaru, who had lost control in mid-air, was about to throw another punch as he neared the ground. But Midra nimbly climbed onto a building's roof, quickly leaped, and managed to save Kamiya at the last moment.

Guards came running to surround Rikimaru. Kamiya stood up. "He's lost control," he said to Midra.

"Control of what? Is there a monster inside this kid?" Midra asked.

Kamiya nodded. "We mustn't harm him, he just needs to regain control." He glanced at Kinjo who was approaching them. "Don't hurt him, guards," he said.

Rikimaru had grown in size. Kamiya rushed forward. Rikimaru was busy dealing with the guards who were distracting him.

A guard thrust a spear into his shoulder but couldn't pull it out. Rikimaru grabbed the spear, lifted the man up, pulled him close, and delivered a powerful punch with his dragon hand. When the guard hit the wall, his neck was twisted and all his limbs were broken from the impact.

Kamiya approached and delivered light rapid punches to his head, but noticed they were ineffective as Rikimaru's skin was becoming increasingly thick. He activated his eyes and delivered a powerful punch to the heart. Kamiya groaned in pain; the cracks in his hand were causing him severe pain. If he had thrown this punch at someone else, it would have pierced straight through their chest.

Rikimaru momentarily lost his breath and frantically threw a punch at Kamiya. The punch was so fast that even though Kamiya reacted, he couldn't dodge it. The blow to his head knocked him to the ground and he briefly lost consciousness.

As soon as Kamiya fell, Midra leaped over him and delivered an aerial kick, followed by left and right hooks. These punches were so powerful that they split Rikimaru's face and made him stagger backward. Then she landed a solid punch to the stomach, and despite the tough skin, managed to create a small tear by crushing the armor inward, causing blood to flow from his abdomen. "Stop Midra, don't kill him," said Kamiya as he struggled to his feet. "Kinjo, stop him with your eye," he shouted, then coughed up blood. Before Rikimaru could recover, they grabbed his arms and pulled them back. Each of them held one of his arms.

Kinjo focused, using his blood eye for the first time. He felt an unbearable burning and pain in his eye; blood was flowing as if he were crying. He could see Rikimaru's heart through his body, and it was beating frantically. "I'll slow you down a bit, Riki," he said and slowed down the heartbeat. After a while, the pain in his eye became unbearable and he fell to his knees, screaming. "Fuck, this is so painful," he said, but he had no right to cry. This eye had saved his friend's life before, and now he would use it to save other lives.

When he came to his senses and lifted his head, he saw that Rikimaru had returned to normal. Everyone was out of breath. Looking around, he noticed six guards were severely injured and three were dead. "If we can't control this, it's going to be really bad," Kinjo thought.

"When were you planning to tell us about this, Kamiya?" said Midra, but thinking about it, she found keeping it secret logical. "Forget it, don't tell anyone. The fewer people know, the better." She helped Kamiya stand up with his hand.

"Let's take them to the infirmary, I think we need to explain this to Hanzo. It was bound to come out eventually. I thought I could delay it, but it happened sooner than I expected." After picking up his fallen bracelet and putting it back on, Kamiya suddenly lost his balance and coughed up blood again. "I think I need to see Hanzo too."

Midra put Rikimaru on her left shoulder and Kamiya on herright, then started carrying them both to the infirmary. She briefly stopped and turned to Kinjo, who was kneeling on the ground. "Hey Kinjo, need any help?" she asked.

Kinjo gestured for him to go ahead. While the others were with Dokuro, Midra secretly entered another room and laid them both on beds. "Wait here, I'll go get Hanzo." She glanced at Rikimaru. Despite taking so many punches, he looked healthy, but when he removed his armor, she noticed the wounds hadn't completely healed. "Sorry Rikimaru, I have to tie you up," she said and pulled out a rope from her belt pouch to bind his hands.

"That wasn't necessary," said Kamiya between bloody coughs. "Look at yourself, you think it wasn't? You almost died, and if he had gotten any stronger, even I might not have been able to resist. You should have hit him with all your strength instead of being foolish. He seems to be able to heal himself anyway." She turned to look at Rikimaru again.

After a while, Midra left the room and soon returned with Hanzo. "There was no need to hurry," said Kamiya, but his cough had intensified, with blood continuously flowing from his mouth.

"It doesn't look that way - I think if we wait any longer, you'll die. Your choice though." He laid Kamiya down and prepared for surgery. "Check Rikimaru first. Also Midra, Sanda and Soma..." said Kamiya before losing consciousness.

Hanzo turned his head to look. "I checked, he looks fine," he said and went back to work.

Midra quickly went out and found unconscious Soma and Sanda in the corridor. She carried them both back. One of Hanzo's assistants attended to them. "From what I can see, Lady Sanda's right leg is broken and her shoulder is dislocated. Mr. Soma seems to have taken no damage thanks to his armor, he appears to be fine," he said.

Midra's face fell; she could never have predicted something like this happening before the battle. "What are we going to do? One of our strongest is severely injured, several guards are dead, Kinjo has nearly exhausted all his power. We're screwed," she thought.

She hopelessly leaned against the wall, slid down to sit on the floor, and stared at the ceiling with empty eyes.