The history of Tsukide was one filled with bloodshed. So many fights occurred every year that many of the smaller rebellions had never even made it to the history books. As such, no matter how many lives he had lived, and no matter how much education he had received in different eras, Izumo had no way of knowing what the outcome of the current war would be.
He knew that Tsukide would continue to exist after this event, but that didn't tell much about a local scuffle between two neighboring regions.
Such feelings of uncertainty were normal for everyone. Not knowing when the enemy would attack or if you would ever again get to see your loved ones; such fears are normal for any mortal from this world, but for Izumo, it was something he would hardly get used to.
For as long as he could remember, as long as he had spent at least a life in the future of his current existence, he would have a vague idea of what his current life should be like. But not this time.
This time, 'he' was at fate's mercy.
"Hasn't it always been like that?" he said to himself while sitting in the corner of a room he shared with other fresh recruits.
"I guess this one is also wasted…"
Thinking about his current situation, he clicked his tongue in disgust. Yet another one of his lives was going to be wasted with no answer. Even if he had such a good start, a war with the odds stacked against him was not going to present the boy with any information about his curse of reincarnation. He may as well just give up on this "run," Izumo thought.
Yet, even in such hopeless moments, his frustration was followed by a forced smile.
Some may call this a clear sign of one's mind breaking, but Izumo had already experienced going crazy and came back time and time again.
This time, he wanted something to be different.
Content with not getting closer to his personal goals, Izumo decided on at least changing the fate that awaited him. He was going to avoid the grim tragedy that was slowly taking shape and eating away at his future.
Now that it all seemed lost, 'he' could at least make sure the life of Izumo would not become just another unheard story. He was going to use this war to rise himself to the highest peaks he could climb, and he would make sure that the day Izumo dies, he will not have lost anyone dear. 'If anyone could do it, it was 'him.' Not losing his humanity was one of 'his' strengths, and the friends Izumo had grown up with for 16 years were now the ones 'he' had the duty to protect.
Maybe it was Giulia's tragedy that made this wish bloom, yet for a man who had gone through so many losses to be stuck on a specific one would be baffling.
*****
The first week at the training camp kept Izumo busy. They had a strict program where everyone would wake up at the same time, and they would train in groups for most of the day. The blitz training included physical, weapon, and magic training together with tactics lessons.
Of course, most of the things taught were nothing new for Izumo, but strengthening his body was a plus. As such, he would resume his strength training whenever they had time to practice whatever they felt was lacking.
In the same camp, the two other boys from his friend group were also training day and night. The schedule was so strict that, for a whole week, he had no time to interact with anyone. After all, Izumo had no time to even worry about his missing father. Still, whenever Izumo looked from far away at his friends, he saw just what he was expecting.
Ken, while trying to act tough, stayed next to the samurai whom he had spoken to after the duel from last week. He took an arrogant attitude towards anyone who would try getting close to him, but he sucked up to that samurai like his life depended on it. Still, Izumo found it funny that whenever Ken was alone, he would desperately swing his sword in an attempt to recreate their last fight.
On the other side, Kotaro was the master of slacking off, but there was nothing much anyone could say to him, as he established his position early. It was around the second day when he won a duel against the samurai training him. Ever since then, he was left to do as he wished, and so he did. As such, if Izumo ever found the time, it wouldn't be hard to talk to Kotaro, who was sleeping hidden by the shadow of the same tree every day.
Now, after a week, it was finally time for a joint training. The ground team—where the three boys served—was going to have an exercise of cooperation with the flying team and the magic team.
As the three teams gathered on the new campgrounds next to the frontlines, the boys finally got together as they walked. The one thing all three of them reached an agreement on was the fact that they would do their best to get along, at least for the duration of the war.
Another thing they all seemed to agree on was the fact that they took pride in becoming the protectors of their mothers, sisters, and the two girls who were waiting for them back home. The very first time Izumo noticed Ken blush was when Ten and her cute demeanor became the subject of their discussion. He had gotten used to Kotaro and Kotoko, but what was now blooming between Ken and Ten was another reason for him to renew his vows of protecting his friends from the top of the army.
It was then that the three of them stopped, standing is shock at what they saw.
On the flying team, there was a small, shy girl wearing a tengu mask. After seeing her, Ken's expression froze. On the magic team, a familiar girl with red hair stood proud in the front row, wearing a bright smile while waving at her friends.
*****
Right then it became obvious that the situation on the battlefield was dire. So dire, in fact, that young women and even girls were taken to the training camps and prepared to fight the upcoming battle. It was only by chance that the female group joining the ground forces was late to the gathering, thus leaving the boys in the dark.
The battle had not even started, yet morale dropped to the ground that instant.
While women in wars were not unheard of in the history of Tsukide, such numbers showed how desperate the daimyo had become. It was a tradition for men to take up arms trying to protect the girls they cared for back home. For the city of Harubana to break this tradition was a clear sign of weakness.
Or so was the impression given to everyone present. In truth, this was all a bluff on the part of the warmonger that ruled them. The daimyo who took power in Harubana while Izumo was still a kid had no regard for the wellness of his people. For him, every person he ruled over was simply another piece on the oversized board that he tried to expand. Even him noticing Izumo was nothing more than a herder noticing a sheep with unusually lustrous wool.
The word around the country was that power in Harubana had been passed peacefully through diplomacy. Only a small number of important figures knew that the former daimyo was forced to give away power through underhanded methods and that the plan of the current daimyo had always been to amass an army strong enough to take over the entirety of Tsukide.
For most citizens of Harubana, daily training was the norm. Few of them ever got out of the province to see that around Tsukide, compulsory military training was seen as an affront to basic human rights. This method, together with the use of indoctrination, worked perfectly in favor of the conqueror, who now had the minds and lives of all his citizens to play with.
Bringing the women to war was also a way to motivate everyone. The daimyo had noticed that the simple glory of protecting somebody at home was not enough for his pawns to give everything they had, so he decided to place the very people they wanted to protect on the same battlefield.
Such a tactic was frowned upon even by the most diabolical generals of that time, but, as the tyrant always said, "We do not win wars by holding back."
And this twisted practice also applied to forming the teams under each samurai. As such, their small teams included the following combinations.
Masamune Chiba: Ken and Ten
Uesugi Hide: Kotoko, Kotaro and Izumo.
Since Uesugi Hide turned out to be the samurai that Ken had been stuck to for the past week, this was a hard-to-accept outcome for the arrogant swordsman. As such, it didn't take long for him to approach the samurai.
*Slap*
Only one hour had passed since the teams had been made, and Izumo was now getting out of the dojo to get a breath of fresh air when he heard a loud noise and noticed his team leader standing in front of a fallen Ken.
It took Izumo some time to assess the situation, but it seemed that Ken was still far from understanding what just happened. The look of both surprise and fear that was displayed in the eyes of the young swordsman was one that Izumo had not seen in all their years together.
With his hand pressing on the cheek that had gotten slapped, Ken tried to ask why the Uesugi had hit him. But before he could make a sound, the answer came together with a look of disgust.
"I have no respect for those who lack honor."
Hearing those words, Ken's complexion went pale, and he fixed his look on the brown, dusty ground.
With this, the samurai turned his back to the defeated boy and started walking away. This was supposed to be the end of any discussion between the two, if not for an unexpected, hasty decision.
In front of his own boss, Izumo took a stand. His hands were raised to his side, and he looked right in the eyes of Uesugi.
"Apologize!"
At this simple order, Uesugi's eyes widened with a look of bafflement.
"Did you hit your head back at the training grounds? I will give you one chance to take to the floor and ask for my forgiveness."
To those arrogant words, Izumo didn't move a muscle. No, he took one more step towards the samurai.
"Apologize! Also, help him up!"
Izumo barely had time to finish his sentence before the sword at Uesugi's side flew straight for his head. To say that it almost hit Izumo would be an understatement, as the boy had strands of hair chopped off as he barely dodged the strike.
To this rebellious behavior, the samurai did not follow with a second attack. Instead, he pointed his sword and posed a single question.
"Why protect him?"
Izumo hesitated to answer. As such, the samurai kept going.
"Why would you protect the very trash that defeated you in that duel?"
That's when Izumo's reaction changed from a hesitant one to a confused one.
"Why would that duel have anything to do with this? I lost that one fair and square."
That is when Uesugi burst into laughter.
"Haha. Is that what you think? No wonder you were so oblivious."
"What do you mean?" Izumo asked with an even more confused expression.
"Well, why don't you ask him?" the samurai said as he pointed at Ken.
"Come on! Tell him how you scored that win!"
But Ken would not speak. All he did was take one desperate look at Izumo before realizing he could not even look him straight in the eyes.
"Too much of a coward to even confess. Fine then. If you won't speak, I will."
Soon, Izumo was faced with the angry eyes of Uesugi.
"How can a sword duel be considered fair when magic was used to deflect your attack? I must admit, it was impressive how subtle it was. Even I barely caught on to it, but your final strike should have hit, were it not for an abnormal wind current changing the direction of your strike."
Izumo, hearing those words, unconsciously switched his focus to the defeated Ken.
Every single one of their fights had been fair up to that point. Coincidentally, Ken had never before taken such an arrogant attitude towards Izumo up to that victory.
"So that's…that's what happened?"
"Yes. He cheated so he could take your spotlight. That's why he was acting so high and mighty. He intended to use you as a stepping stone and use this lie to take himself to the top."
Izumo couldn't believe his ears. No, Izumo didn't want to believe his ears. But he knew this was the truth. He knew that hit should have connected. This explained what had happened.
"So, what will you do now? Will you still protect your 'friend'? Will you still act like a hero?"
Izumo unconsciously balled his fist. With this, Ken fell on the wrong side of the thin line between friend and foe.