Hounds of Glory

The attack was swift and loud.

The Nohrians arrived at noon; they crashed into the gates and spread about until they finally surrounded the main building.

Panic broke out almost immediately inside the makeshift hospital but Katsu was loud and clear, silencing the cries and horror with his voice.

"Men! Take the injured! Quick! Move them farther inside the fort! We'll try to drive them off!" Hoshidan soldiers nodded in panic and quickly ordered the men and women to move as quickly as possible through the halls.

The prince turned to face Sakura and her retainers, who were already armed and ready to go, and said, "We need to drive them off…any ideas?"

"We can block the halls!" the samurai, Kazahana, suggested.

"We have few people remaining," Aqua replied, holding her lance tight as she glance to the remaining soldiers that had stayed behind, "if we don't act quickly…they'll corner us." Katsu nodded with a somber look on his face and turned to Sakura.

"Sakura…"

"Brother…"

"Please, go with the sick and injured…"

Sakura shook her head. "…No…"

"…Sakura…!"

"No…Brother…listen…what if you get hurt…? What if any of you get hurt…? At least let me stay…I won't get in your way…I promise!"

"But…" Aqua put a hand on his shoulder and shook her head, a sad smile forming on her lips.

"Let her stay…Tsubaki and Kazahana will be at her side…she'll be safe…"

"…for how long…?"

"Do not worry, prince!" Kazahana replied with a smile. "I can handle this!"

"With my help, of course!" came the sing-song voice of Tsubaki, who stood nearby, a smile on his face as he readied his lance for battle.

"Are you sure, Tsubaki? Won't you be at a disadvantage without your Tenma…?" Katsu asked, glancing nervously at the sound of the shouting and dreading their encounter with the Nohrian knights outside.

"It's fine, sir!" Tsubaki said with a big smile. "I do not need to be in the skies to deliver retribution to our enemies."

The shouts got louder and louder; they could hear the walls collapsing and the wood breaking outside the building.

Katsu turned towards the others and nodded and the group marched as quickly as they could to meet the Nohrian forces outside.

Rod didn't know what to expect when he led his men towards the fort.

He had expected more resistance than the pair of archers in front of the gates. He had expected more Hoshidan archers to sprout like lilies from the walls and strike them down but all he received was threats and arrows from the pair of archers that stood defiantly in front of the gates.

It left a bad taste in his mouth.

Eventually after enough arrows and threats, Rod ordered a pair of cavaliers to attack and soon, lances and spears stuck to the Hoshidan's fancy armor as they breathe their last and the gates were torn apart by axes and swords.

When they finally got inside, Rod feared he had walked straight into a trap; he saw very few soldiers about and those that did spot them cried out a warning before disappearing behind the many walls that decorated the inside of the fort like a maze.

"This...something's not right, bro…" Rocque whispered. "There's very little of them…it almost looks…"

"…abandoned…?" Rod finished, smiling nervously before quickly shrugging. "Un-unexpected…but not at all unwelcome…that means that this fort is easy for the ta-taking…" Rocque gave him a look. "…w-what?"

"You're nervous…" the younger brother muttered, as the men spread about trying to find their enemies. "…you start stuttering when you're nervous."

"I-I do n-no such t-thing!" Rod whispered back, as sweat began to form on his forehead. His brother just sighed and shook his head.

"…so…this place really holds no strategic value…if even the Hoshidans think this place is a lost cause…heh…heaven help the fools that were sent to guard this place…"

"G-ah! Don't say that! We c-c-can sti—"

"Sir! We have the Hoshidans cornered, sir!"

A pair of soldiers ran towards Rod and his brother and saluted once before one of them went said, "The Hoshidans are holed on in the main building, sir!"

"R-really!? Hrmph! I mean…ho-how many?"

"The men count a group of ten, sir…"

Rod let out a desperate sound as his brother whispered behind him, "…Lost cause…we should have left…"

"But a few men noticed more soldiers moving to the farthest part of the building," the knight went on, nodding. "We estimate that is the main force…a number close to a hundred, probably more…"

Rod's eyes widen.

Something was definitely wrong.

If the Hoshidans have that much man power behind these walls, why were they hiding?

Unless…Rod glared at nothing in particular and turned to the knights before crying out, "Do not let them escape! Surround the building and once we take care of the soldiers guarding the place, we will take care of the ones inside!"

"Sir!" Saluting, the knights disappeared to pass the orders down to the others.

Rod turned to his brother with a small grin. "Perhaps Jinya wasn't a lost cause after all…" Rocque murmured something along the lines of 'show-off', as he followed after the knights.

The captain watched his brother go, as sweat began to slip from his forehead to his eyes.

If what the soldiers said was true, then they didn't stand a chance…the Hoshidans would eat them up before they got a chance to strike back.

Rod glared as he moved to join his brother and his men and whispered, "If they dare…we burn Jinya…it's the only way to survive…"

Sakura tried not to look as Kazahana cut the Nohrian down.

The group of men, a small force of maybe thirty or twenty, had managed to make it inside, destroying windows and walls and doors with their mighty axes and swords.

She was shivering, eyes wide as she kept her distance.

Katsu and Tsubaki along with the few remaining soldiers pushed the men away, striking with ferocity to keep the Nohrians from entering deeper into the building. Kazahana and Aqua were nearby; occasionally stealing glances her way before they focused on the soldiers before them.

She could hear shouting and insults hurled about as the Nohrians and her brother and people clashed again and again. She could hear the agony, the anger, the pain, the dread…but then she'll remember the tears of the sick and dying that lay just beyond this walls and she'll glare at the direction of the invaders.

A few manage to break into the main room, before being cut down by Kazahana and another samurai.

Sakura, for her part, kept on healing her brother and allies as best as she could.

Her magic would not last long but she knew this was the only thing that she could do…the only thing she could…

But she was still too overwhelmed…too small…too young…too defenseless.

The Nohrians had already noticed her efforts to heal her allies and she feared that they'll try to—

"SAKURA!"

A pair of soldiers ran towards her; she was defenseless.

Kazahana and Aqua were too far away to do anything. The few soldiers that remained were still clashing swords with the enemy and Katsu, his face pale and tears forming in his eyes, had a pair of swords crushing his golden katana, as he tried in vain to move them and rush towards his younger sister and keep her away from harm. But he couldn't.

No one could.

And yet, despite the tears that fell from her eyes, Sakura was glaring.

She wasn't going to give them the satisfaction.

If they were going to strike her down then she wouldn't give them the satisfaction of seeing her fear, her uselessness, her—

The knights made no effort to stop and meet the young princess head on but still, Sakura panicked and tried to grab one of the men by their arm before they reached the doors behind her.

They were going to massacre those people!

"No! S-stop!" the princess cried, as they broke down the doors and then…nothing.

She could hear the cries of the injured and the poor civilians as the Nohrians tore the doors down and then…nothing. No yells, no threats, no nothing…yet through all the desperate cries of her people she heard a man cry out, "They're not soldiers!?" before he and his partner were cut was down by one of the few samurai guarding the men and women behind the broken doors.

Then, she heard another yell, this one clouded in desperation and regret, "Pull back! PULL B-BACK!"

Rod let out a strangled cry as his men tried to get away; he could still hear his fallen men cry out, "They're not soldiers! They're not soldiers!"

The Hoshidans were guarding civilians.

They were the ones his men had spotted running away…they were not soldiers.

Rod let out another strangled cry as his men spread out, before he grabbed his nervous brother by the arm and cried out, "Brother!"

"Now, look what you've done!" Rocque cried, glaring. "Is that how you want to win your rank!? Spilling the blood of the defenseless!?"

"How was I supposed to know!?" the captain cried back, as the men pushed away from the main building only to get trapped by the walls around the place. "I thought…!"

"And now we are cornered and losing fast, because of yo—"

"STOP!" Rod roared with a glare. "St-stop talking for a moment and l-listen…! We need to l-leave…" The captain was desperate. His thoughts, once clouded with smiles and victory, were now clouded with dread. "L-leave…leave!" He was frantic, stuck between hysteria and shame.

"We can't now, you fool!"

Arrows flew towards the Nohrians as the few Hoshidans, led by that black haired man, chased after them.

The order to flee had confused the Nohrians and in their effort to retaliate, they were met with walls and blades. A few kept their distance, turning towards their distraught captain, who just stood there, pulled back by his brother who kept him out of harm's way.

This wasn't supposed to happen…

In Rod's mind, his men would have taken over without no problems…the Hoshidans would have retreated or perished in their attack and then, he envisioned the glory upon his return to the capital.

He figured if Fort Jinya had fallen, the Nohrians would have an advantage…one less fort to protect the Hoshidans…

And then, he had heard the cries and seen the panic in that healer's face, Sakura, the black haired boy had called her, and her desperate attempts to stop his men.

He had thought the girl foolish for trying to stop his men and he would have laugh.

He remembered wanting to, as if the whole scene was but part of a play and he, a simple spectator. And then he heard the cries of his men and the image shattered into pieces.

He heard the cries despite the clashing of steel and iron. He heard the desperate cries of men, women and children who begged for their lives in unison.

The captain remembered yelling, arguing his men to pull back as the tears threatened his eyes.

"Ret-retreat! P-pull back!" Rod cried out again, his voice a slur as the men cried around him and broke away. He held unto his brother's arm and cried out, "Take them! Take them!"

"What!?"

"Re-retreat…! I order you to retreat!" Rod pushed his brother away, as he took out his sword, his hysteria morphing to determination. He pointed at the men before him and around him and order, "OUT! OUT!"

Rocque cried out to, arguing the injured and soft-hearted to follow him, as he looked back at his brother and shook his head as he left him behind.

Most of his men left, the few that remained matched the group that had tried to stop them from reaching the group of civilians.

The captain let out a strangled cry as he met the black haired man in battle; the boy was quicker, faster and determined. Rod felt the strike of the katana hit him on his arm, he yelped as another strike got him in the chest and his fine armor that he had wasted hours polishing was ruined.

"You should have left!" the black haired warrior cried with a glare. "You Nohrians wish to finish what you started!?"

"…no!"

"…what?"

"…m-mercy…!" He raised his sword and met the black haired man's own. "Mercy for my men…that are fleeing…I beg you!"

"What are you saying!? You want mercy!? How dare you! After what you have done!?" Rod flinched as he heard his remaining men cry out as they fell one by one.

"I…I…" But Rod was at loss for words as he felt the blade pierce his side. "GAH!" He fell to his knees, as his sword fell from his grip. He turned to face his attacker, who had venom in his gaze.

"Any last words?"

"…fo-forgive me…"

"…wh-what…?"

Before the Hoshidan could ask more, Rod grabbed his sword and buried the blade onto himself.

The younger man cried out in surprise as Rod fell face first, the captain's final thoughts with his brother and men. I'm….sorry…Rocque…please forgive your foolish brother…

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Rocque ordered the men to not look back as they made their way through the fields, as far away from Hoshido land as possible.

A few didn't dare question him as they ran away from Fort Jinya, some looking behind them to see if they were being chased or not.

Rocque, for his part, try not to let his desperation and anguish show.

He had lost his brother to his own stupidity.

If his brother had not panicked…if he had just remained calm…if he had just listened to Rocque this would have never happened.

The soldier just shook his head.

Thinking about the past wouldn't bring Rod back. Had Rocque cared more, he would have stopped his brother instead of following him like a blind sheep.

But it was too late now.

His brother was, surely, dead, and no amount of wishing was going to bring him back.

Iago almost fell as he saw the girl transformed.

He could hear the voice laugh in his head.

You see now! the voice cried out with delight. She's the beast! She's the one!

The advisor watched with morbid fascination as the girl—no, the beast—destroyed the Nosferatu, one by one. He had seen a few men and women helping but to them he paid no mind as he watched the beast's handiwork.

It was almost like a dance.

She destroyed the Nosferatu without trouble.

The beast was a powerful one, indeed.

And yet the voice continued laughing.

See! See! See her true form! Isn't she magnificent!?

"…what…what is she…?"

A dragon! the voice cried back, laughing.

Iago just stared as the beast turned towards the villagers, her work done. She stood there, gazing at them with a face with no eyes before being led towards the village gates.

And the voice just laughed and laughed and Iago just stares and he begins to listen as the voice whispers, She's the key to your throne…she is the one that would bring the world to its knees…she is your weapon of conquest…!

The advisor suddenly smiles and then, he begins to listen.