Through the Eyes of the Dragon

Chapter 18

Chapter 18 - Departure

Heavy panting surrounded him as Takatora rushed his family south towards the Herban labyrinth, doing his best to take breaks when appropriate and avoid Saika detection on the way.

After Shigeharu was usurped of his position, Ishida Mitsunari rapidly submitted to the mercenary faction, hence becoming their puppet leader and handing the country over to the mongrels. Overnight, Ignis went from a semi-democratic society to a heavily controlled military dictatorship, with soldiers and mercenaries invading the towns, monitoring the lesser lords and further restricting the movement of peasants from one area to another. A list of wanted persons was also released to the public, one of which happened to be Takatora and his family.

"... Mr. Tōdō, are you sure we'll be alright in Herba? I'm sure we won't be the first, and Mr. Ishida said they were starting to have some problems of their own..." Hanbei murmured during one of their breaks, tired eyes watching as the unofficial tactician hurried about to check on his companions. His back was propped up against the ruins of some building, shoulders hunched over in a manner to conceal his heaving chest.

As he paused to check the boy’s temperature, Takatora frowned a bit, remembering the medics saying something about how the Takenaka family had a history of ‘weak blood’. Though he wasn't quite an expert on the specifics, he figured it was the cause of Hanbei's constant drowsiness and overall fatigue, and thus had to carry the boy to prevent him from overexerting himself.

"Are you all holding up well?" he murmured to his family, reaching out to brush Miu's cheek after he had ensured Hanbei was in a decent enough state. He caught Hiro beaming at him from where his parents rested, eyes bright with energy despite the long walk.

"We're low on food... but I think we should be fine once we cross the border," his mother sighed as she hugged her youngest with one arm and checked the contents of their bags with the other. Like he and his sister, her long red-brown hair was tied up in a sloppy bun, eyes drooping slightly from their recent efforts.

"Alright. We'll continue on when you're all ready," Takatora agreed with a slight nod, letting his gaze linger on her for a moment longer before moving on to attend to other things. Though he himself was rather exhausted, he was determined to not let his own condition get in the way of his family's safety. No matter the risk, he would rather sacrifice his own life if it meant the others could live on happily…

Feeling a rough hand tap him on the shoulder, he turned his head to meet his father's cracked smile, his shadowed face still mottled with ash from his mine work. "That's my boy, always fighting for what he thinks is right...,” he murmured softly, that ever praising tone heavy in his voice. His father had always been inspirational in his eyes, even if the man hadn't done much in his lifetime. From the day he was born up until the present, his father never let go of the pick-axe he swung, always heading in and out of the mines with a head held high toward the sky.

Takatora always hated the mines, for they concealed thousands of dangers amidst their depths. There was always news of tunnels collapsing in on their miners, or miscalculated dynamite blasts, mysterious noxious gases, or lung failure from particle inhalation. Hence, for the miner, everyday was a gamble... Would he come home that day, or would a blackened man arrive at their doorstep one evening to relay the bad news...? Such thoughts always pervaded his mind and on several occasions, he and Natsuki tried to talk him out of it, but unfortunately, stubbornness ran in the family.

"Not everyone is a genius like you, you know," his father had mused once, outstretching his hand and ruffling his hair lightly, "So long as you and your siblings are happy doing what you are, then I will be happy. That's all that matters in life, yes? Love and happiness..."