Japan, Spring 1877
"//Will you fight the white man, too?//" Higen had asked Nathan upon his return to the village.
Nathan had answered yes. And, when the boy had asked why, the answer was simple.
"//Because they come to destroy what I have come to love.//"
And so it was to be. The Emperor's troops against the Samurai. Nathan made his peace with Taka and her family, and she'd helped him into the armor of her late husband. The red armor of the man that Nathan himself had killed, when he was fighting on the side of those who were now his enemy.
"With any luck," Nathan said, looking sidelong at Tony, "you'll be able to use my ID to get back to Fandom."
No, he wasn't really banking on getting out of this alive. But then, that was the risk that you took, when you fought for that which you loved.
Tony
Tony shot him a look for that one, arms crossed over his chest. "Right. You're coming out of this alive or I'll find a way to bring you back from the dead just to tell you how stupid you are."
Nathan
"I imagine by that point, I'll know quite clearly just how stupid I am," Nathan replied. It was said with a wry sort of grin. Fine. Maybe he needed to be told this.
"Will you be here, then?"
Tony
"Knitting as I pine for your return," Tony replied dryly.
Nathan
Even a handful of months ago, Nathan's reply might have been something biting, a 'try not to be too heartbroken when I don't,' perhaps.
Instead, the best he could manage was a short bark of a laugh and a shake of his head.
"I could use a new sweater."
Tony
Tony took a breath, looking out at the preparations for battle. He shook his head, clearing any thoughts of something that wasn't just mocking Nathan.
And failing for just a bit.
"Come back." That was about all the emotion he was willing to give right now.
Nathan
What... do you say to that, when the odds are so far out of your favor? Howitzers. Gatling guns. Hundreds of troops with rifles.
Nathan took a breath of his own, and then reached out a hand to clap on Tony's shoulder. A nod.
He had to meet up with Katsumoto, and then they'd be on their way.
Katsumoto
As Nathan approached Katsumoto, he was presented with a sword. One that Katsumoto seemed all too proud to be handing to him.
"You will need this," he said, simply.
Nathan
Nathan took it, unsheathed it, looked it over. There were etchings on the blade that caught his eye.
"What does it say?"
Katsumoto
"I belong to the warrior in whom the old ways have joined the new."
The two men shared a silence at that. And then, after Nathan bowed, Katsumoto added, "We are not sure where the hammer on the other side came from."
Nathan
Nathan raised an eyebrow, turned the sword over, and then cracked a grin.
He was a man from the late 1870s. With a hammer.
Thank you, Tony.
...
Nathan and Katsumoto met Bagley and Omura on the field before the battle actually began. The usual protocol was followed, 'lay down your arms and surrender,' 'we can't, as you're aware,' and so on.
Bagley had informed Nathan that he'd get no pardon if he chose to ride against the Japanese army.
Nathan informed Bagley in turn that he'd look for him on the field.
It was surreal, watching the men that he himself had trained, affixing bayonets to their rifles from the other side. But he stood proudly with the Samurai, each man knowing their odds, each man willing to lay down his life for the ways of his people.
It was the firing of the Howitzers that began it all, shells exploding painfully close for comfort, and then again, killing entirely too many men. The samurai countered by setting their own barricades on fire. Covering their retreat with the flames.
As anticipated, Omura got cocky, and signalled a full attack. Many of those men paid for that move with their lives, as the Samurai unleashed a barrage of arrows from behind the cover that they'd retreated to.
And then the arrows were gone, and the charge itself had begun.
Katsumoto
"What happened to the warriors at Thermopylae?" Katsumoto had to ask, as he recalled a story that Nathan had once told him, about a battle with impossible odds.
Nathan
"Dead to the last man." Nathan grinned. And then he, Katsumoto, and a hundred samurai were charging against an army of men armed with rifles.
...
Most didn't make it far enough to let the steel of their swords meet the flesh of their enemies.
As it looked like they were winning, another regiment of the enemy army marched in. A bullet caught Nathan in the leg, bringing him heavily to one knee. He continued to fight. A bayonet was buried deep into Katsumoto's back. He continued to fight, as well.
The Samurai had reinforcements, also, after all. The battle was far from finished. Ujio led the next charge on horseback.
A bugle sounded the retreat of the Japanese army.
It was time to pick through the bodies.
...
"He'll bring two more regiments up here, soon," Nathan said, looking over the carnage with Katsumoto by his side. "We won't be able to stop him again."
"You do not have to die here," Katsumoto noted, his own eyes scanning over the bodies.
"I should have died so many times before..."
"Now you live again."
"Yes."
"It was not your time." Katsumoto finally turned to look at Nathan. Nathan looked back.
"It's not over."
...
The surviving Samurai gathered up what horses had survived the onslaught, and they rode toward the enemy side.
No cover. No arrows. This was their final stand.
The rifles were still firing. But now they were within the range of the gatling guns, as well. Samurai dropped like flies, but some still lived long enough to look into the eye of their enemy.
Bagley buried a bullet into Katsumoto's shoulder.
Nathan made good on his promise to find him on the field. He was carrying two swords, today. The one that Katsumoto had presented him with, and the one that Taka had given him, her husband's sword. The very same that would have taken Nathan's life, had he not killed Hirotaro first. He threw that sword, and it buried itself deep in the Colonel's chest.
He'd always wanted to do that.
...
After that, everything was a blur. The gatling guns quickly picked off what men were on the field. Bullets tore deeply into Katsumoto's chest, into Nathan.
They'd hit the ground, and hard, slammed about by horses and bullets and the bodies of other men dead or dying.
Nearby, Nathan could make out Katsumoto. A familiar face amongst the carnage as bullets peppered the ground around him. He made his way, half crawling, half dragging himself to the other man.
Somewhere on the hilltop, the Japanese Soldier that Nathan had reassured on the day of his capture gave the order to stop firing. There were only two men still moving on the field below. There was no honor in continuing to fire.
Katsumoto reached for his sword. Nathan's hand rested on his in protest.
"You have your honor again," Katsumoto said, barely able to lift his head to look Nathan in the eye. "Let me die with mine."
The effort it took to sit the Samurai up was nearly the end of the both of them.
"Are you ready?" A pause. Looking into the eye of a man who had written most of a poem about a tiger. Nathan smiled faintly. "I will miss our conversations."
Burying the sword in Katsumoto's belly hurt more than all of the bullet wounds combined.
There were sakura trees in full blossom, nearby.
"Perfect," Katsumoto murmured, drawing in one final breath as the pink blooms danced along his failing vision. "They are all perfect."
Nathan
When Nathan looked up from the body of his friend, it was to see what remained of the Emperor's military, surrounding himself and Katsumoto.
They were bowing.
[NFB and NFI for distance and time. Preplayed with not_ironmaiden, who will paaay for making me wibble so omg. Large chunks of script lifted from The Last Samurai, and as such, there are spoilers within.]
Nathan had answered yes. And, when the boy had asked why, the answer was simple.
"//Because they come to destroy what I have come to love.//"
And so it was to be. The Emperor's troops against the Samurai. Nathan made his peace with Taka and her family, and she'd helped him into the armor of her late husband. The red armor of the man that Nathan himself had killed, when he was fighting on the side of those who were now his enemy.
"With any luck," Nathan said, looking sidelong at Tony, "you'll be able to use my ID to get back to Fandom."
No, he wasn't really banking on getting out of this alive. But then, that was the risk that you took, when you fought for that which you loved.
Tony
Tony shot him a look for that one, arms crossed over his chest. "Right. You're coming out of this alive or I'll find a way to bring you back from the dead just to tell you how stupid you are."
Nathan
"I imagine by that point, I'll know quite clearly just how stupid I am," Nathan replied. It was said with a wry sort of grin. Fine. Maybe he needed to be told this.
"Will you be here, then?"
Tony
"Knitting as I pine for your return," Tony replied dryly.
Nathan
Even a handful of months ago, Nathan's reply might have been something biting, a 'try not to be too heartbroken when I don't,' perhaps.
Instead, the best he could manage was a short bark of a laugh and a shake of his head.
"I could use a new sweater."
Tony
Tony took a breath, looking out at the preparations for battle. He shook his head, clearing any thoughts of something that wasn't just mocking Nathan.
And failing for just a bit.
"Come back." That was about all the emotion he was willing to give right now.
Nathan
What... do you say to that, when the odds are so far out of your favor? Howitzers. Gatling guns. Hundreds of troops with rifles.
Nathan took a breath of his own, and then reached out a hand to clap on Tony's shoulder. A nod.
He had to meet up with Katsumoto, and then they'd be on their way.
Katsumoto
As Nathan approached Katsumoto, he was presented with a sword. One that Katsumoto seemed all too proud to be handing to him.
"You will need this," he said, simply.
Nathan
Nathan took it, unsheathed it, looked it over. There were etchings on the blade that caught his eye.
"What does it say?"
Katsumoto
"I belong to the warrior in whom the old ways have joined the new."
The two men shared a silence at that. And then, after Nathan bowed, Katsumoto added, "We are not sure where the hammer on the other side came from."
Nathan
Nathan raised an eyebrow, turned the sword over, and then cracked a grin.
He was a man from the late 1870s. With a hammer.
Thank you, Tony.
...
Nathan and Katsumoto met Bagley and Omura on the field before the battle actually began. The usual protocol was followed, 'lay down your arms and surrender,' 'we can't, as you're aware,' and so on.
Bagley had informed Nathan that he'd get no pardon if he chose to ride against the Japanese army.
Nathan informed Bagley in turn that he'd look for him on the field.
It was surreal, watching the men that he himself had trained, affixing bayonets to their rifles from the other side. But he stood proudly with the Samurai, each man knowing their odds, each man willing to lay down his life for the ways of his people.
It was the firing of the Howitzers that began it all, shells exploding painfully close for comfort, and then again, killing entirely too many men. The samurai countered by setting their own barricades on fire. Covering their retreat with the flames.
As anticipated, Omura got cocky, and signalled a full attack. Many of those men paid for that move with their lives, as the Samurai unleashed a barrage of arrows from behind the cover that they'd retreated to.
And then the arrows were gone, and the charge itself had begun.
Katsumoto
"What happened to the warriors at Thermopylae?" Katsumoto had to ask, as he recalled a story that Nathan had once told him, about a battle with impossible odds.
Nathan
"Dead to the last man." Nathan grinned. And then he, Katsumoto, and a hundred samurai were charging against an army of men armed with rifles.
...
Most didn't make it far enough to let the steel of their swords meet the flesh of their enemies.
As it looked like they were winning, another regiment of the enemy army marched in. A bullet caught Nathan in the leg, bringing him heavily to one knee. He continued to fight. A bayonet was buried deep into Katsumoto's back. He continued to fight, as well.
The Samurai had reinforcements, also, after all. The battle was far from finished. Ujio led the next charge on horseback.
A bugle sounded the retreat of the Japanese army.
It was time to pick through the bodies.
...
"He'll bring two more regiments up here, soon," Nathan said, looking over the carnage with Katsumoto by his side. "We won't be able to stop him again."
"You do not have to die here," Katsumoto noted, his own eyes scanning over the bodies.
"I should have died so many times before..."
"Now you live again."
"Yes."
"It was not your time." Katsumoto finally turned to look at Nathan. Nathan looked back.
"It's not over."
...
The surviving Samurai gathered up what horses had survived the onslaught, and they rode toward the enemy side.
No cover. No arrows. This was their final stand.
The rifles were still firing. But now they were within the range of the gatling guns, as well. Samurai dropped like flies, but some still lived long enough to look into the eye of their enemy.
Bagley buried a bullet into Katsumoto's shoulder.
Nathan made good on his promise to find him on the field. He was carrying two swords, today. The one that Katsumoto had presented him with, and the one that Taka had given him, her husband's sword. The very same that would have taken Nathan's life, had he not killed Hirotaro first. He threw that sword, and it buried itself deep in the Colonel's chest.
He'd always wanted to do that.
...
After that, everything was a blur. The gatling guns quickly picked off what men were on the field. Bullets tore deeply into Katsumoto's chest, into Nathan.
They'd hit the ground, and hard, slammed about by horses and bullets and the bodies of other men dead or dying.
Nearby, Nathan could make out Katsumoto. A familiar face amongst the carnage as bullets peppered the ground around him. He made his way, half crawling, half dragging himself to the other man.
Somewhere on the hilltop, the Japanese Soldier that Nathan had reassured on the day of his capture gave the order to stop firing. There were only two men still moving on the field below. There was no honor in continuing to fire.
Katsumoto reached for his sword. Nathan's hand rested on his in protest.
"You have your honor again," Katsumoto said, barely able to lift his head to look Nathan in the eye. "Let me die with mine."
The effort it took to sit the Samurai up was nearly the end of the both of them.
"Are you ready?" A pause. Looking into the eye of a man who had written most of a poem about a tiger. Nathan smiled faintly. "I will miss our conversations."
Burying the sword in Katsumoto's belly hurt more than all of the bullet wounds combined.
There were sakura trees in full blossom, nearby.
"Perfect," Katsumoto murmured, drawing in one final breath as the pink blooms danced along his failing vision. "They are all perfect."
Nathan
When Nathan looked up from the body of his friend, it was to see what remained of the Emperor's military, surrounding himself and Katsumoto.
They were bowing.
[NFB and NFI for distance and time. Preplayed with not_ironmaiden, who will paaay for making me wibble so omg. Large chunks of script lifted from The Last Samurai, and as such, there are spoilers within.]