31 October 2022
When I started, I had a couple choices. I could work on another story, write the aftermath of the final battle in Hanako’s story, or I could tweak the final battle to make it fit my vision better. I did the last of those.
I actually like the way it ends as is, at least for a stand alone short story. If I build on this, more of a transition might be a good idea… or maybe not. I don’t know. But the end carries a certain weight to it, and anything I can think of to wrap things up would take away from that. I also liked the tweaks and things I did; fleshed the scenes out more. The bit with Keiko and Benjiro was fun, too.
“They’ll kill you. You know that, right?” Keiko, the woman who had defended the oni sword girl, asked.
Benjiro strapped his old sword to his side and ignored the ache in his joints. “There are worse things than death. That girl reminded me of that.” He gave Keiko a gentle smile and made his way outside.
Screams and shouts headed their way from the north, and they could see villagers rush to get away from the encroaching army. Keiko glanced that way before she tightened the grip on her pan. “Then I’m coming, too.”
Benjiro shook his head. “The villagers need a leader, one they can trust. They’re panicked; even if those few of us who can fight could hold them back, it’ll mean nothing if we can’t organize the evacuation.”
Keiko’s expression turned bitter, but she didn’t argue. From her, that was as good as a promise. The old man nodded to her once, and headed toward the shogun’s soldiers.
Chiaki’s mom
“What… what happened?”
“She was directing evacuees out of the village when a few of the shogun’s men found us. Chiaki was…”
Entering the village
Once she arrived, half the village was aflame. She pulled a handkerchief over her nose and mouth to avoid the worst of the smoke, but even then, it was difficult to breathe at times.
As she raced into the village, she began seeing bodies here and there. Among them was the boy who’d lifted a sword too big for him; he sat in the street, clutching his stomach. His sister shook his shoulder as she pleaded, “Satoru! Satoru!”
Hanako almost stopped, but if she didn’t take care of the army, nothing she did here would matter. So she ignored the ache in her chest and rushed toward the sound of fighting ahead. Not long after that, she ran into a pocket of villagers about to be overwhelmed by a group of the shogun’s soldiers. Hanako rushed in behind them and cut the soldiers down before they knew what was happening; she didn’t have the leeway to be merciful right now.
The villagers turned to thank her, but she yelled, “Just get away from here!” They nodded and fled, taking the wounded with them as best they could. As she moved forward, she came across several small cells of the shogun’s army; she dealt with them the same way.
When she arrived at the town square, she found their commander…
Current Draft of Hanako’s story (including unposted content)