The General's Daughter

a/n: last chapter, but there’s an epilogue.

Chapter 12

Heishiro limped over to it, sheathing his katana.

“Heishiro, don’t do it!” I placed Taki gently on the ground and stood up, tears streaming. “It’s evil!”

He didn’t listen to me and grabbed the hilt. His back arched and I felt an overwhelmingly evil presence override Heishiro's...

“This is power. This is my revenge! The ninja bitch got in my way. . .”

“She was trying to help you!” I responded. “I know you’re in there, Heishiro; please, just listen to me!”

“She got in my way.” He repeated in a chilling voice, his back still to me. “With this sword, I will exact my revenge on the Tanegashima and eventually all the Western bastards that brought it here!”

He yanked the sword from the stone ground and faced me.

How he had changed. His jet black hair, once pulled into a tail, whipped around in the wind. His medium brown eyes were now tinged with red. His chest-plate was gone, revealing several cuts and scratches to his abdomen, none of which where deep. The chain-mail was also gone, leaving his muscular chest exposed.

He stripped off his shoulder and arm guards; they fell to the floor with a clank. “I know you, don’t I? Matsudaira Miyuki, daughter of Matsudaira Gendo, of late banned from her own clan. You are an outcast, as am I.”

“Heishiro--?!” This was not the man I loved.

“. . . It took over his mind. . .” I heard Xianghua gasp.

“You’re either with me or against me, Matsudaira; make your choice or die.” Heishiro kept the sword loosely at his side. It had morphed into a katana the same size as his original.

“Heishiro, please don’t make me do this. . .” I kept my hands at my side, still hoping against hope.

“You can fight me, or you can just stand there and make it easier for me.” The left hand went his own sword. He was going to attack.

And attack he did.

I drew my katana before he got to me and drew my wakizashi to block. Seeing that I had two weapons, he drew his own katana as an off-hand weapon.

I heard a rustling behind me as Xianghua got to her feet. “Stay out of this!” The woman stopped her charge.

Heishiro and I traded blows for what seemed like hours when it was only seconds. He kicked me in the stomach. My body, injured beyond my comprehension, gave up there and I collapsed to my knees.

“You should have joined me, Matsudaira.” He stepped around to my left.

“Never. . .” I responded, coughing up blood.

“You would have had everything you wanted.”

I looked up through tear-filled eyes at Heishiro. “You were all I wanted!” That’s it, look at my face . . . don’t see my hands . . .

“We could have ruled Japan!” Soul Edge went up, preparing to cut off my head.

He kept watching my face the whole time, his eyes never wavering.

I pushed myself back, hands grabbing both of my swords; Soul Edge missed my hands barely, catching itself on my wakizashi.

I rose to my feet. “Heishiro, fight it, damn you! I know you hear me!”

With an incensed yell, he attacked me once more, this time with both swords. I was on the defensive, a position I really didn’t like.

I blocked blow after blow after heavy blow. Katana, wakizashi, batting aside cuts and slashes and stepping pokes and thrusts.

Finally, an opening in his offense. He came at me with both swords raised over his head. I ducked under both slashes and slashed the wakizashi across his stomach.

He gasped and stepped back, shaking his head. Falling to his knees, he wrapped his arms around his stomach and dropped the swords, face hidden from my view.

I sheathed both of mine and went over to him. “Heishiro—please. . .don’t be—ack!”

“Hah . . . stupid, foolish woman . . .” It was the oldest trick in the book and I fell for it. Soul Edge whipped across my arm and upper chest. It was a light wound, thanks to the armor, but the arm had a deep scratch across it.

I backpedaled frantically, unsheathing both swords to catch both of his before they stabbed through my neck.

We both rose to our feet, very little space between the points of his weapons and my vulnerable throat. The rain started to fall, hard and heavy. Lightening sparked through the sky and thunder rumbled.

“I can’t believe you fell for it. . .” Heishiro chortled.

“I know you’re in there, goddammit; fight it!” I shouted while bringing my knee up to groin. It connected and he sucked in his breath and backed away. Sobbing so hard I couldn’t see, I backed away.

I stood there, both swords at my side, chest heaving. “I don’t know you any more. . .You look like him, but you’re not! You’re not the man I fell in love with! You kept me alive, you saved me from Junko and you fell in love with me! If you’re in that head, Heishiro, fight it! It’s not you!”

“Mitsurugi Heishiro is DEAD! He died when he picked up this—“ Mitsurugi held up Soul Edge. “I am Soul Edge! I am that you hate, that you fear, that you long destroyed! You loved him—I can bring him back! Join me, woman!”

“NO!”

With that shout, I launched myself at Mitsurugi with a fury I never thought I had.

I was on the offensive; I had the power over the fight. Anger and hatred flowed through me and I used it.

“That’s it, hate me! Give into your anger, your despair!” Mitsurugi crowed as he blocked my attacks smoothly.

He blocked my wakizashi attack with Soul Edge, then ran his other katana across my right wrist. I dropped my katana as he advanced on me, both weapons readied.

I still had one advantage over him: I had arm guards. I blocked his katana as it angled for my neck and batted aside Soul Edge with the wakizashi.

I HAD to get to my katana. Finally, a reprieve from Mitsurugi’s attack allowed me to dive between his legs—the only way to behind him—and pick up my katana.

I kicked out the back of his knees as I picked up my katana. Before I knew it, my katana found the small of his back, digging in deep.

He roared with anger and pain and whirled around.

His katana whipped across my upper chest, cutting deep and severing the straps that held my chest-plate up. It fell, exposing my vulnerable chest. Panicking, I aimed the wakizashi for his stomach.

It never made it.

The last thing I felt was Soul Edge piercing just below the center of my chest. . .