Ambition is determined by goals. Personality is created by experience. Ability is given by determination.
"He beat me…"
If their goals are the same, why did his ambition not suffice?
"He beat me again…"
If their experiences are similar, why do their personalities differ so much?"
"I lost again…"
If they have the same level of determination, why did he lack ability?
Those were the questions that would plague Ken's mind ever since he met Izumo.
"Your father was a samurai? Wow! Mine too!"
But this alone was not enough to get here.
"You know? I think I also want to climb the military ladder. I know Dad always wanted us to earn another name."
Yet he did not go through the same pain.
"I got it, look! You just have to swing in a straight line."
But he learns much faster than me.
Even if on the surface Ken and Izumo lived the same lives, slight differences led to entirely different outcomes.
Ken never felt the paternal love he deserved. Ken never decided to be a samurai on his own accord. Ken was talented with neither magic nor the sword.
That is how Ken strayed from the path Izumo was proudly walking.
Lack of interest led to lack of talent. Lack of talent led to lack of love. Lack of love led to whom Ken would become.
A bright future shone its light on the boy called Izumo, and the boy walked in it, looking at the beauty of the next day.
On the other hand, lagging only a bit behind, Ken got lost in Izumo's shadow. A shadow that would not let the same light shine on the young swordsman.
A butterfly flapping its wings in one part of the world may cause a tornado somewhere else. That small flap was all it took. That small misstep of not wanting to pick up the sword was enough for Ken to never again see the light that shone so bright on his friend.
*****
"So, what will you do now? Will you still protect your 'friend'? Will you still act like a hero?"
With a balled fist, Izumo slowly walked past the samurai and toward the boy whom he had every right to stop calling a friend.
Seeing Izumo approach, Ken lowered his head and shut his eyes. His pride would never allow him to say anything, but, instinctively, he was already preparing himself for the hit that was to come.
Only, that hit never came. Instead, after waiting for a while, Ken opened his eyes once again to see a hand waiting to be grabbed.
Looking up at Izumo, he could only see his darkened silhouette as the sun behind him created a warm halo around his head—a sight all too familiar for Ken.
"Tsk, why did I have expectations of you?" a samurai clicked his tongue next to them.
As the chilly wind dressed in an unpleasant smell of sweat blew across Izumo's face, he faced the samurai and said:
"With this, you have my answer. You can call me a 'hero,' an idiot, or whatever you want. If anything, a supposedly respectable samurai acting like this should be the one losing all of his credibility."
As Izumo signaled Ken to go with him towards the training camp, Uesugi placed himself in front of the two.
"Even as a member of my team, words meant to stain the honor of a samurai shall not go unpunished."
What followed was an intense staredown between Izumo and the samurai.
Izumo knew what he was doing was childish. He was letting his ego influence his actions. He could have just apologized and accepted the punishment. No, he should have been on his best behavior from the start. After all, people in Tsukide put an absurd amount of importance on seniority and respect. Honor may just as well be the acceptable excuse for taking a life. There were egos that were much more valuable than life in this country.
At a glance, Uesugi did not seem like an outstanding samurai. From the team he was commanding, it was clear that he was nothing to scoff at, but Izumo had fought numerous samurai in his past lives—e was confident in his ability to take out one more.
Or can I?
In retrospect, his ability was deeply dependent on his memories. His biggest recent feat was taking down that capable kappa, but he did not have the time to confirm just how strong he was at that stage. If anything, he was having trouble remembering many of his previous battles. As far as his memories took him, he was not much stronger than a capable samurai.
The biggest limitation to Izumo's powers had always been his memory. There were even times when he had to completely relearn magic because he could not remember how to use it. This was one of the more fortunate reincarnations.
The bloodiest of battles always helped him massively in regaining his memories, but a bloodbath was out of the question in the current situation.
It was fair to say Izumo could not guarantee that squaring up against his squad leader would have the results he desired.
Even so, there's no backing up now. The boy concluded making small cracks appear on the ground around his feet.
"And…that's enough! Whew, leader, you're really kind to our boys over here. Thank you for not giving them what they deserve. I will take care of them and give them a firm scolding. Is that ok? Uesugi-sama~?"
With impressive speed, a feisty, red-haired girl rocking fox ears jumped behind the two boys. Together with her strong grip placed on their shoulders, her presence here served as both a display of power and the intervention of a capable negotiator.
"Oh? Kotoko? It's unusual to see you put yourself in such a delicate position for the sake of others," Uesugi replied to the foxgirl.
"Is that what you think? Uesugi-sama? I always thought of myself as being extremely compassionate, but from a safe distance. Hihi~"
"And what changed this time? What made you try to defend those two unmannered boys?"
At the question posed, the girl's palm trembled slightly. Being caught off guard was an unusual happening that showed just how dire the situation had become for Kotoko to present herself in such a vulnerable way.
Fortunately, the fox was quick to think of an escape plan.
"You see, Uesugi-sama, it happens that I would like this boy to not get in too much trouble. If anything, maybe I can be the one to enjoy punishing him?" Kotoko said as she gently pushed her hand through Izumo's voluminous, long hair.
To this answer, the samurai opened his eyes wide.
"As for Ken, I was hoping maybe he can also get off with just a scolding? Of course, for Izumo's sake~"
Looking deep in Uesugi's eyes, the begging face of the foxgirl clearly had some degree of an effect, but the samurai still seemed more surprised than convinced.
That was when, with a strong flap of her wings, Ten also jumped in the fray.
"Please, Uesugi-sama! Ken is my squadmate. Can you please find it in you to also let him off with just a scolding?" the girl begged with her head deeply bowed.
"Squadmate, huh? Is that all? Or do you also have a secret romance going on like the amorous triangle going on in my team?"
To Uesugi's words, the hairs of the thick fur on Kotoko's tail stood up.
"He…He is…"
But Ten could not find it in her to use the same schemes as the foxgirl.
"Hah… Haha! Fine. Take them out of here! Consider yourselves lucky with those girls. There will be no next time. Understood?"
"I feel like we also get a say— Ouch!"
"Understood!" the two girls said as the four bowed their heads. Izumo was the less lucky one to have his head forcefully dragged because of the firm grip Kotoko had on his hair.
Thanks to the two, the situation was somehow deescalated right when Kotaro reached them.
The five of them, finally brought together for the first time in a long while, were now heading towards the resting area.
On the resting grounds, just like in front of the samurai, Ken did not speak a single word, not even when he was getting scolded by a flaming Kotoko.
*****
"Ouch! Ok, you can let go of me!"
As Izumo said that, he felt his head being pushed forward by the hand that was holding him. Combined with a well-timed kick to his ankle, this resulted in him falling on the wooden floor of the room.
"And what was that for?" he wanted to ask before noticing the ice-cold glances thrown his way.
"Izumo, what were you thinking?" Ten asked the boy.
"Ha? What was 'I' thinking? I was trying to help a friend. What is wrong with that?"
"Don't tell me the war has already dumbed you down that much. What were you saving by angering a samurai? The same samurai you are fighting under, nonetheless. Or did your closeness to him make you think you could stand a chance?" the foxgirl bit back.
"This isn't about thinking anythi—"
"Yes, we can see that," the tengu girl abruptly cut the rebellious Izumo mid-sentence.
"Yo, no way. You really thought you could win that fight?" Kotaro asked in a joking tone. "Haha, I thought you were just sick of training and looking for a punishment to slack off!"
"Oh, come on! There's no way y'all believe me to be this weak…"
But the other did believe his limits were way below most samurai's. This belief was confirmed by the looks on their faces, to which Izumo stopped mid-sentence and scoffed.
"Besides, there were two of us. Right, Ken?"
But Ken did not meet his gaze no matter how much he stared, nor did he speak a single word. It was clear how ashamed he was of what had just transpired, even if Izumo had already forgotten about that duel incident.
After a short pause, Izumo continued.
"Look, I know we're all on the edge here. My dad has been missing for a while, and our mothers are back home worried about us, or worse, they have also been mischievously taken to fight in this cursed war. We are all having a hard time, so let's try and at least stop fighting among us. Okay?"
"Oh? Look who's trying to calm the waters now. Aren't you a bit too carefree, thinking you have a word to say now?"
Kotoko reprimanded him sternly, but instead of listening to her words, Izumo was weirdly fixated on the kunoichi's yukata, his cheeks turning slightly pink. It did not take long for her to notice and call him out.
"And what are you staring like that for? No way, when negotiating with Uesugi, did you really believe that…"
"Enough of that!" Izumo said, rushing to stop Kotoko from speaking anything more.
The last thing Izumo wanted now was for Kotoko to mention what happened in front of Kotaro. Being distracted by the pretty foxgirl was something that, in all honesty, came naturally to many boys and even girls. After all, her dashing looks and trained, provocative moves during and outside of battle were attributes that she had devoted much time to perfecting. But even if his reaction was justifiable, avoiding any misunderstanding was preferable to trying to solve them.
On top of that, he felt ashamed for having his heart falter even for a second to the friend in front of him. Within himself, Izumo confirmed once again the fear he felt towards this girl. She truly was a competent young kunoichi.
"Huh? What actually happened back there?" Kotaro tried to find out, but he was rudely ignored by both of them. Sometimes ignorance is bliss. But not knowing that, Kotaro felt pretty hurt at the way he had been treated since this conversation started.
"Whatever. There's no use getting any angrier than this. I hope you've learned your lesson," Kotoko added, trying to end the conversation.
Shortly after, Ten walked towards Izumo, and after taking off her mask, she placed her sandals on both his feet, and ignoring the wail of pain he let out, she stared directly into his eyes. Her behavior was meant to show her disagreement with the actions Izumo had taken, but her rarely shown cute face, together with her small stature, didn't help her assertiveness. Izumo found it cute, but he knew better than to say what he was thinking. Instead, he humbly apologized to the girl whom he had, for the first time in his life, seen truly angry.
"Thank you, Ten… Kotoko. And…sorry, Kotaro."
"Huh? Why apologize to me? What am I missing here? Hey!"
The soft hand of the foxgirl grabbed Kotaro's, and the boy would yet again not get his answers.
"Come on, Kotaro. It's been a while since we had some free time. You're taking me on a walk around the fortress."
As Kotoko was taking the boy away, Ten also headed towards Ken.
"Ken, are you ok? Did you get hurt by Uesugi-san?"
For the first time since the incident, Ken raised his head and looked at the maskless girl in front of him. A look at him was enough to understand how troubled he was, but even so, he opened his mouth for the first time in a while. Whimpers getting out more than words as he was clearly struggling to speak.
"Ten, look, I…"
That moment, Kotaro and Kotoko hurried back into the room.
"Get yourselves ready to fight!" the girl ordered, followed by the boy explaining the situation.
"We are under attack!"