Chapter 16 "The Legacy of the Ishikawa Name"

As the crew settles in and starts resting, preparing themselves to take the Western outpost, your Auntie Zeth and I reminisce about the time we spent on this island when we were young. We thought back to the time when our Mother and Father had an estate somewhere east of where we were, as of the moment. We remember how one day our Father told us we'd take over the legacy of the Ishikawa name and take over the estate we had on this island, along with all of its warriors and treasures. You see, my dears, this island was used by the emperor back then as a way to gift lands to the warrior families who fought in wars that he had started. Our family was one of them. In total, our family had amassed an army of roughly 15,000 soldiers led by men and women who were part of the Ishikawa family tree. We would've been next in line if the pirates hadn't invaded our lands, but I'm partially glad they did because if they didn't, you dears wouldn't be my children, and I wouldn't have met my wonderful friends. Now, where was I? Ah yes, to honor our father's wish of us being the next members of the Ishikawa family to wear the armor, we decided to take over the estate. It was close; we just had to head a little east from where we stood. The estate was far from the eastern outpost, so it would be fine if we took it over. After all, if we take over the estate, we'd have somewhere better to rest, somewhere that isn't the boat. So, my dearest sister and I moved under the cover of night, not to alarm the rest of the crew. I took two boxes of macarons with me for the trip, with a couple of bottles of water and energy drinks, just to be sure. Taka did ask me to drink water after eating the macarons, after all. After these preparations were made, we moved out, walking towards the estate. We sat atop a hill scouting the place. We saw a couple of explosive stores and a pirate leader we most certainly want to take alive. We also saw some of the men and women of the Ishikawa family army being forced to serve the pirates as guards for the estate. Your Auntie suggested we waltz in and inspire the members of our family's army to attack their oppressors. After all, we outnumbered them by a lot, and I agreed, but we had to get someone to spread the word first. Luckily for us, a familiar face walks by—a girl who goes by the name Lilliana Ishikawa. You haven't met her yet, but you'll meet her eventually, my dears. She's currently in the mainland, so we can't visit her just yet, but she'll return eventually. Going back to the story, we saw her sneaking out. We approached her when she got a fair distance away from the estate, and Auntie covered her mouth as I explained what we were doing here and that we were alive, even after our family got massacred by a land-hungry warlord.

She calmed down a little; her fear turned into happiness, backed by tears of joy, as your auntie let her mouth go. She silently cried before speaking up, "You two are back… and alive… I thought you both had died in the massacre back when your mother and father got killed. They fought so well… they ordered me to run and look for you, that's the only reason I'm alive now. But I'm afraid I might die if these pirates keep occupying the estate. They're working us to death without any food for weeks on end, my sister… your cousin Miya died when she tried to ask for food from a pirate. They tied her to a pole and decapitated her…! Those bastards are heartless! If you plan to retake the estate… I'm with you, and I'll make sure everyone else is, as long as we get to bury Miya under the purple leaf tree in the garden. She loved that tree so much… they left her hanging on it too…"

I tried to speak, but Zeth beat me to it, "Miya took a chance, and it caused her to die under a pirate's blade. We'll make sure those pirate scum die a horrible death… we'll get them to tremble at the mention of our name… tell everyone inside that the siblings are back, and they're going to cause havoc once Rei over here announces our presence to the pirates at the main gate. You and the rest of the remaining members of our army will charge them; we outnumber them, so there's nothing to fear. This will be our stand as the family Ishikawa. You've done well, Lilliana. I couldn't be prouder of you as your superior." Lilliana bows to thank us, then runs back into the estate, spreading the word of our return and of our stand against the pirates inside. She fired a flaming arrow, and that was our signal. The two highest-ranking members of the Ishikawa family walked towards the pirates at the front gate, declaring a standoff. Your auntie and I stood back to back with our wooden swords out, waiting for the first strike. They laughed at the sight of our swords and decided they all wanted to be the first to fall. As honorable warriors, we obliged, and with a swift movement from our hands, all the enemies who once stood before us fell to the ground, groaning in pain. We ordered a nearby soldier to restrain them as we ran into the courtyard where we saw many of our soldiers fighting pirates. I shouted out a command to keep as many alive with no cuts or any form of bleeding wounds that may kill them. The men and women who fought the enemy before me shouted an affirmative response. We saw Lilliana take charge of our side as she nods at us, knowing we were going to grab our armor from the highest floor of the estate. As we made our way through many enemies, we finally made it. We knelt down to pay our respects to all our ancestors who wore them before us. We used the curtain separating the room in half to change without seeing each other's bare skin, revealing just a silhouette. I put on my father's armor that was black in color but had a navy blue lining. The shoulder pads were wide like shields and flat to protect my neck, and the helmet had horns made to resemble the blessed demon Umi, who protects the seas from any hostilities. I grabbed the mask that had the fangs of Umi. Just as I finished putting my armor on, the curtain opened, revealing your auntie struggling to put her chest plate on as she couldn't seem to get the bust to fit right. She asked for assistance, to which I obliged, and so her armor was finally on. She had the armor of our mother, which was black in color but had red lining. Her shoulder pads were the same as mine. I laughed, saying she looked like a Samurai's wife preparing to go into battle with her husband. She hit my head and laughed along with me. She asked what I think, and I answered, "You look just like Hoka, the blessed demon of fire. She's just like you, a calm demon who keeps the fire hidden, but when provoked, she releases a great flame upon her enemies, which makes me proud. My own little sister is riding into battle with me now; I simply can't believe it. I've always been proud of you, from the moment you shot your first arrow to the moment you slew your first enemy in the name of our family. I have always been proud." Tears rolled down her eyes, and I wiped them away, telling her that there is a group of soldiers waiting for their lords to go down and join them in battle, and that her tears meant the world to me as her brother. And so she composed herself, and we slipped through a window, jumping off the fourth story, landing each on an individual enemy, using our parent's swords effectively, scaring the rest of the pirates, prompting them to surrender.

After the pirates surrendered, Lilliana ran towards us, smiling. "My lords! If I hadn't witnessed your parents get murdered firsthand, I'd mistake you for them. You look just like your mother and father. I'm sure they would be proud of the man and woman you've become, protecting the people and bringing proper honor to the Ishikawa name. Now, would you honor me by helping me take my sister down from the tree and burying her under it to honor her final wishes?"

Both of us were at the edge of tears when she said our parents would've been proud of who we'd have become, but we kept our cool, nodding as a response. We took Miya off the tree where she was hanging from arrows puncturing her abdomen. It seemed the pirates used her corpse as a training target for their archers. I simply couldn't let her be buried that way, so I ordered one of the soldiers to alert the crew of our presence in the estate and of our success in taking it over, reminding him to seek out a man named Austria. The soldier went towards the direction of our ship, and only minutes later, your uncle arrived, shocked that we were able to take over the entire estate while capturing a staggering amount of prisoners. He then asks why I summoned him, to which I respond, "The girl you see on the ground is me and Zeth's cousin Miya. She was killed by the pirates for asking for food after they haven't been fed in weeks. They then hung her on that tree and used her as a training target for archers. Could you remove the arrows properly without leaving any open wounds?"

He scoffs and replies, "Who do you think you're talking to, Cap? I'm only the best medic the 4 winds has ever laid its eyes on. Of course, I can do that. I'll see that it is done." I smile and thank him, and while your uncle was attending to Miya's body, Lilliana taps me on the shoulder. "You know there are two more sets of armor, right? The armor worn by your parents' most trusted retainers is still in the basement of the estate, along with Ishikawa armory. Please take anything you find useful, and if you have space on your ship, I'd like to join your crew. I'd like to help you bring peace to the islands of the 4 winds and bring greater honor to our name."

I smile. "You may join us, Lilliana. I'll find you a sword in the armory. Zeth, come walk with me. Let's go claim our retainers' armor." After Lilliana left, we went to the basement of the estate, and Lilliana was right. It's all still here—the armor, the weapons, the shields, the memories. As we walked around, we saw a picture of us together with the family horse named Kage. The poor boy died after he was shot in battle. We like to think he used his body to shield our father so that he wouldn't get taken from us too early. Those were some bittersweet memories. I kept the image in my chest plate so that I wouldn't lose it. Right beside it, I found a Jade sword strengthened by a god's blessing, fit to be used by a girl like Lilliana. Her armor fits the color as well—a white base armor with a jade green-colored finish.

As I thought of her armor, Zeth called to me, saying she found the retainers' armor. I walked to her, and I saw it—an Ishikawa retainer's armor, almost similar to ours, but one had a black base with a teak lining reminiscent of the sky above. The horns on its helmet were like the blessed demon Kumo's, who keeps the sky safe from harm. The second one had a black base with a light gray lining like the stones of the earth we walked on. The horns were made to look like Iwa, the blessed demon's. He was the biggest of the four blessed demons. I presented it to Nori, to which he was thankful for. Your auntie handled the other set. She presented it to your uncle. She knew how much I trusted him, and so she decided to share the same trust I had for him. At this point, your uncle had just finished fixing the body of Miya. He was more than delighted to receive a retainer's armor from our family, and he swore to wear it with pride, which he still does to this day. Whenever we go out on missions, he uses that armor as a backup, but when he does get to use it, he lives up to its glory.

With the armor dealt with, we prepared to bury Miya. As her body was lowered, I presented Lilliana with the Jade sword, which had been blessed by a god.

And that, my dears, would be the time the story ends here for now. Come back tomorrow night for the next part. You wouldn't want to miss a story, now, would you? Sleep tight, my dear children, and remember to always seek the protection of the heavens, never its wrath.