Hierarchy of Flame

**Date Started:** November 12th, 2021
 **Date Completed**: TBA
**Previous Role-Play** None
**Next Role-Play:** TBA
**Users Involved:** User:Blackdagger01 & User:HoloArc
**Setting:** Hino
**Characters Involved:** Kagutsuchi, Mizuto Kaze, Mikuzume Osaki, Akemi Sutoku, Shuten Doji.

Rattling chains, the metronomic dropping of water, shuffling feet, breathing, all within the darkness of the prison in which sat the Oni-slayer. Perhaps even a few thousand years ago such a name would be one of praise and reverance but alas in this day and age it carried with it naught but a great deal of implications. Implications many would rather not have placed upon their name and perhaps even etched on their grave stone. It was in this place that the prisoner sat, a bamboo door all that separated him from the halls of this place. Though outside it stood a presence in any other situation might even have been considered pleasent, just outside the cell stood the favorite of Kagutsuchi's retainers, the Tengu Akemi Sutoku. Her purple kimono stopping at her mid-thigh, long sleeves covered her large black wings, her eyes dark and seemingly pupiless.

"Some might call turning oneself in to be an honorable act, Kaze, though I fear this is not one such case. The mighty Shogun does not take kindly to those who break her things, you've seen what happens to those who choose to invade and take what is not theirs." The tengu spoke in a high voice, sounding almost cheery even in her most serious tone.

Mizuto raised his two arms tied in chains, one arm radiant with magical power. "A fact I have been made well aware of. But your words seem to contradict reality, mighty Yokai." He spoke with absolute reverence to the servant of his goddess. "She may punish those who 'break her things', but she was for at least a moment ready to let them pass with our resources without further conflict. I believed this to contradict the mandate I had recieved from her prior; to extinguish their threat. I have erred, and now I must face the consequences. I saw a potential for threat and I acted accordingly but with reckless haste. And this cost us an attendant of the Shogun of great import. Such a crime must be answered for... I just hope I can make a case for my life still being worthwhile." He spoke as he looked up to the woman before him. She was a beauty to say the least, if not necessarily in a conventional manner. He put on a hollow smile. "At least I will be put before absolute beauty before my end, should I fail."

Raising her sleeve to cover her mouth as she laughed, the tengu chuckled heartily at his words. "I will not pray for you, Kaze, Oni-Slayer, but know it is not out of cruelty or wish to see you punished for your crime but rather the knowledge that the only God that could hear my prayers now has likely already made up her mind. That said, do take comfort in knowing that the Shogun is indeed softened by honey'd words." She said even as she giggled, the sounds of sandels against the stone making their way down the hall.

Looking down toward the source of the noise she stepped back, allowing the approaching guards to take their place in front of the cell. "It seems the Shogun has found the time to see you. I ask that you take care, as you are about to be brought before the sun, try not to be blinded by it. Lest you never see the sunrise again regardless of your fate." She warned him before taking her leave as the guards opened his cell.

Paraded through the streets of Hino's capital city of Sogen, crowds gathered to watch the man as he was led toward the palace on high. Some spoke in whispers, some mocked, and some even threw things. Few even knew what crime it was he was accused of, only that the Shogun had deemed such a crime. Be he murderer or thief it made little difference to some if not many.

With a large creak the door to the throne room opened, a large open room on each side stood six guards as though statues. The floor was made of tatami mats, standard for most buildings in Hino, red pillars held up the roof above their heads carved into them was none other than the intricate wood carvings of dragons from whose mouth hang down from the ceiling the flag of Hino. However, the most striking feature was that of the back of the room upon which state the throne at the top of a the stairs. Behind it flames poured up as though threatening to lick the ceiling and setting the whole structure ablaze

In that throne sat the one who would decide his fate, sitting with one leg over the arm of the chair and her back against the other was none other than the leader of the nation, it's emperor, shogun, God, whichever name you chose to use. Mizuto was brought before the throne, pushed down to his knees several feet from the stairs leading up to Kagutsuchi, all but silhouette by the flames burning behind her. For a moment she seemed to pay him no mind, tossing an object of some kind into the air and catching it in her mouth. If not for the roar of the fire the room would be silent, only for the loud crack of whatever she was eating to sound out.

Only then did she turn to him, not her whole body, no, merely did she lock her eyes upon him.

"Mizuto Kaze, the crime you stand accused of now is most egregious. The crime of murder stands among the greatest crimes a citizen of Hino can commit and yet you turned yourself in. Though it makes little difference to me my curiosity is struck by your act. Are you so eager to die? To throw your life away so carelessly? There are deaths that bring about far less shame, some of which even bring about honor."

"No. I have no desire to die, but I will accept that judgement as just if you elect that to be my fate. I've dedicated my life in your service as a commander of your army. But I have commited a grave crime, and any criminal must be punished. Such is your mandate, and so I will honor it. I threw myself at your mercy because I am hoping I can yet prove worthy to keep around as a servant. I cost you a Yokai, an important one to my knowledge, and as such I deserve whatever you bestow upon me. Tell me that I am going to burn and I would bring oil for my own pyre paid out of my own pocket. It's no less than I deserve."

He was on his knees as had been forced on him, not that it was really necessary. He looked to the spectacle above him and he was in awe, but he made no notion of it, instead fell forward with his forehead pressed against the floor, shying away from this majesty, for he did not believe himself fit to witness it. "My honor is stained and worthless with your ire invoked. There is no salvaging it through any means save for your grace." He did not waver or cry, for that would be demeaning. He spoke with purpose and intent, and he would not break. "The words of a worm means nothing, but I would yet make a plea: Let me continue to serve you. Let me redeem myself through effort in your service. I cost you a Yokai. And his place will not be easily filled, if it ever can be. But I was raised to be a warrior in your name. There is no greater prestige than to be of service to you. But if you deem that my use has come to an end, then let it be so."

Silence... Yes, following his words there was naught but silence and the roaring flames. For nearly a minute nothing was said, none dared whisper even among themselves. Until the sound of a candy wrapper being opened could be heard, a brief silence again before the growing familair crunch as the deity bit down upon it, crushing it between her teeth.

"The importance of this Oni matters little to me, were he the homeless one the street or my own father it matters naught to me. Only that had has been taken, this life you took with your blade was not yours to take. The lives of all of live within the land of sun's first kissed intrust their lives to me and me alone and as such their lives are mine. To have killed one of my citizens is tantamount to having stolen from my very hands! As if you were to walk up to me this instant and rip this bag of candies from lap! Could you imagine the audacity?! The disrespect?! I would be less offended by your actions had you personally spit in my face and yet you kneel before me now at my mercy claiming that you can redeem yourself from such an act?!" Kagutsuchi spoke with venom in her words, like a dragon breathing fire, fitting.

She motioned to her guards followed by the clanging of metal as they threw their spears to the ground and then more clanging as they threw their swords, arrows, knives, every weapon they had on them into a pile at their feet. "What do you have to offer me, Mizuto Kaze? Your sword? As you surely heard I am in no short supply of such things. Your magic? You bear the catalyst of my greatest opposite. Hino has no need for crashing waves while its soldier's hearts burn bright crimson. Your life? It is already mine to do with as I please. Tell me, ronin, folk hero, Oni-slayer, what could you give me that is not a single command away from being mine?"

There was but a moment of silence as he braced himself for what may just be his final words. Looking back up at her, hands still on the ground, he said; "The Ocean. And all the terrors that lurk within." His shogun raised a brow in curiosity, unsure of his meaning or whatever weight it may carry and thus she remained silent as though waiting for him to further elaborate. She was in no mood for riddles, that much was clear. Sitting on his legs, he kept a straight back. "I can offer you what no one else can. Not even the Water Goddess can accomplish my feats. You have heard of my exploits, I am sure. But as the worm I am, you may not know how I've gone about accomplishing them. My Aetherial waters invoke the presence of the beasts of the sea, stained with the blood of our enemies do they come in a frenzy to strike at those who would stand up against you and your majesty. My waters leaves them bereft of air and courage, while my army swoops down upon their broken and choking ranks. My magic, my mind, my deeds invoke the strength of your men to fight with greater fervor."

He took but a short break to catch his breath and gather his thoughts. "'The School of the Aetherial Sea', a magic of my own design. Never has it been seen before, and fate be willing, no one ever will see it's like again. That is what I offer you. Not just a sea of potential, fighting in your name and no one elses, but a magic all its own. I carry with me not a water that snuffs the fires of your proud nation but stokes it. I bring before you a water that ignites the fires in their chests!"

Lowering her leg from the arm of her throne she sat now looking down upon the criminal before her, whether that was a good or bad sign remained to be seen but one thing was for certain, he had gained her attention. "And what of the Oni? The brothers of him whose life you've claimed demand retribution, am I simply to cast their grievances aside for your sake? To risk an uprising solely for the promises you make, all of which may very well be snake oil, the final desperate sale of a man on death's door. How am I to test if what you say is true? If you'll live up to the expectations you indeed to set for me? Any ideas of your own?"

"I cannot prove any of the sort in these conditions. I am shackled, so I can't fight. I am at a far distance from the nearest aquatic beast, so I can't demonstrate my magic to its fullest extent. I am no longer in a position to lead troops to prove my tactical mastery. If at the very least I could receive some living fish close to hand I can show you how they will flourish and prosper in my false water. But that would be a waste of my skills so well as your time. No..." He said. "You are our Shogun. I have spent quite some of your time on this affair already. Perhaps a change of pace would suffice?" He spoke, head held high and brimming with confidence. "Let me prove myself to you in a small battle. A spectacle for your enjoyment. A small troop to obey my orders and a single moray eel. Those will be my tools to use. Those will be my weapons to show you what I am capable of. Chose what I should face to tip the scales against me. Send your Oni to face me if they so desire. My goal will be to defeat them. Theirs will be to kill me. If I succeed, I can but hope that I have shown enough value to be kept in the fold. If I fail, then the Oni will have claimed my head as their prize and avenged their kin. No matter how it turns out or how my fate my change, it should prove or disprove my worth. And If I fail, then I will still have given you such a spectacle that you will be appeased enough to not have put the blade to my throat the first thing you did, lest you would have missed out."

A smirk appeared on the face of the Shogun, intrigued by his offer of spectacle. Knowing that if nothing else it was more interesting than sitting here and talking about nonsense that meant little to her. She stood up from her throne, causing all others in the room to drop to a knee in reverence. "I accept your proposal, your trail will be one held through combat. Should you truly be worth the effort you will live and if not then you will die, simple and to the point." She explained before clapping her hands, "I shall command my retainers to set up this show and it will be carried out on this very day." She exclaimed with a bit of excitment in her voice before she motioned for the guards to take the prisoner away.

**...**
The sun was directly overhead as they all stood out in the grassy field beyond the limits of the city, Kagutsuchi sat on high, a chair raised high above the heads of everyone as she watched them all finish setting the stage for the battle. On one end of the field was that of Mizuto and his small group of soldiers and on the other was her retainer Shuten Doji and his small group of Oni. She was frankly excited for the battle that was about to commence, curious to see if the one armed swordsman could indeed survive a battle against her strongest retainer.

In Mizuto's corner stood Mikuzume, the shogun's chief tactician and advisor. A finger on her chin and a devilish smile on her face. Her nine tails swayed gently too and fro with little intelligence to their movement. Looking over Mizuto and his soliders she appeared in deep thought.

"I cannot tell if you are intelligent or dull, Kaze. Sure, you saved yourself from the pyre or the pot but surely you don't believe the hammer of Doji's club to be the best way to die. It may appear as though you have a small army at your command but given you are the singular target I don't think it's much better than being alone in this fight, do you?" The fox woman spoke with a mischevious tone in her voice, lips curlled into an equally mischevious smile.

"Is it not?" Mizuto replied, a slight hint of a smile on his lips. Standing to the side of the arena and treating to the eel in the watertank he had requested. It was his own personal pet, and he had seen through many battles with it. It was substantially large, being more than thirteen feet in length and with great girth. He looked to the woman and then to the men whom had been assigned to fight with him. Though they knew their lives were not in harms way, their trembling bodies did not stand as convinced. It was to be expected when facing against such a mighty foe as the Oni. "I have a troop of 'immortal' soldiers who is not going to die today. Which means they can fight even more daringly. They are sheep." He said with a point towards the men. "And I'm the lion. And that is why you are are going to learn to fear them."

Reaching inside the tank, he scratched the neck of the giant eel, who responded in kind by leaning against his hand. As the signal came to prepare, he raised his hand to snap his fingers, to which a nigh-invisible blue mist manifested around him, and before long, the eel swam after him in thin air. Gathering his men around, he began to discuss what they would do in the wake of this battle. They were all nervous, that much was clear, but his presense soon appeared to still them. Before everything was about to begin, one could hear the rattling of metal against metal among them, but the mass of them made it very unclear what it was that was happening. When the acknowledgment of the Shogun occured, it became clear what was happening as everyone stood at attention for her. Besides a short sword at their hip, around half of the men had been stripped bare of weapons, holding onto their big shields with both hands. Another lot of them held two shields, one in each hand. The rest of them were the ones who held the real weapons. Spears and swords. It was quite a strange composition. Mizuto stood at what would be the front of them, and after the greeting of their goddess had occured, they began to prepare for battle. Mizuto wrapped the silk strings to tie his blade together with the sheathe. This was supposed to be him fighting to defeat them, not kill them, so by doing this he was being put at quite a disadvantage yet again.

Holding the blade in his two hands, he stood battle ready against his opponents, and his company of soldiers.

With the sound of a large drum the battle began, the goal simple, to defeat the enemy leader. While for one team it was clear what that meant, for Mizuto's it was far more tricky. Of course it was, this battle was never designed to be fair. It was a true trial by fire, he would prove his worth here and now or he would die with little care as to the outcome one way or the other in the eyes of the Shogun who simply saw this as entertainment.

When the drum sounded out it took not even a moment to let the sound fade before Doji's troops began their charge. On foot of course, the massive oni would only break the back of any horse they dare tried to ride and any other mount was far too dangerous to allow in this little mock battle of theirs. And so with clubs and spears the Oni ran toward their human opponents. All but Shuten Doji himself, who brought up the rear of his troops though even as he found himself in the back his eyes never left Mizuto.

"Shields! Four steps forward!" Mizuto called out, causing the men to take four steady steps while the Oni charged forward against them. Ahead of them stood Mizuto, undaunted by their approach. With a crack of his neck, the spectral sea began to sweep across the entirety of the arena, and thus the eel charged into battle. It bit down on the nape of one of the oni, stroking itself around it's arm while sweeping in. It's bright yellow and blue pattern flew by him like a blur after its attack.

The Oni came close now, but as they did, they noticed the figures of the men fading into mist and shades. "Shields! Three steps back!" The shades moved in the manner that seemed appropriate. The first Oni within range that attempted a strike against him swiftly found himself introduced to the blunt end of a sword thrust into his plexus, causing immense pain that would have him reeling. The couple that went after the men struck where the shades stood, only to then realize that they weren't to be found there. Before they had the chance to recover, a shout was heard from behind them: "Shatter!"

In a flash of motion, the two handed shields came and struck the Oni in the head. The reverberating sound of the metalic shields against their skulls, caused Mizuto to cry out another order: "Thrust!" And swiftly after came the pikes that embedded themselves in the shoulders of the Oni that had approached. Some of them got hit squarely in the intended location, causing them enough pain and injury to partially imobilize them. Others continued in spite of the injury. Some didn't even get hurt at all, their expertise of combat allowing them enough speed and a good enough reaction threshold to retaliate. As the Oni came for more strikes after, the common men with two shields came and deflected the strikes into the two-hand held shields, doing their best to protect themselves despite the severe difference in strength. The men seemed to be envigorated at the realization that they were actually managing to put the hurt into the Oni. "Keep on your feet. Hold on!" Mizuto ordered, to which he got a resounding answer: "Aye Sir!"

Mizuto stood surrounded by a new clutch of Oni and awaited what their first move would be to quell him.

The oni backed off, moving away from the target as their leader hatched their plan. The sound of a warhammer hitting the ground from some yards away resounded and from its source the Earth tore in two, the ground shaking and breaking as it ripped a path directly toward Mizuto. It was none other than Shuten Doji using his catalyst, there were no rules against it after all so long as the only soul to meet its end is that of Kaze's.

"This field will be your grave, Kaze, and I will be your undertaker. For thousands of years your people have shunned the Oni, called us demons and bringers of destruction. It was only a matter of time before you would see us killed. We will not yield so easily." Doji with a raised voice, declaring his intention to kill Kaze brazenly and without mercy.

The rumblings of the earth made it nigh impossible to jump, and thus, get away from the encroaching cleft in the earth. So he took to another measure. Channeling his magic through the catalyst on his arm, he shot into the air with a torrent of water. "Nor will I yield my life without a fight." Mizuto called back, sword at the ready as he slowly fell back down, but that would not be all. "Now kindly choke on your own air." Kaze almost demanded as he clenched his fist. "Spectral Invasion."

Every Oni on the field would begin to feel a sense of air deprevation. As if they were breathing water and only got ever so much air to sustain themselves with. Really strong Ki users tend to be able to work with this tiredness all the same, but he while he knew for a fact that Doji would suffice, he also stood convinced that his fellow Oni were not all as talented in the matter. And while they would struggle with the suffocating feeling, his own men would suffer none of it. And his hypothesis proved correct as most of the Oni began to huff and puff, gasping for air as they did their best to fight back. "Press forward. You have the advantage! Pikemen! Two steps back, Three steps forward!" He cried out as the ones wielding the long and distancing spears and pikes ran abour four paces forward rather than following his instructions. Or at least, what appeared to be his instructions.

Once the tremor was no more, he landed back on the earth to the side of the crack. The Eel was still in the midst of attacking the men around the rear lines. Some of them began to feel drowsy after its bites and touches. A poisonous beast no doubt. Holding his sword at the side with one hand and another on the handle as if he intended an Iaijutsu move, he stood still and with his legs firmly on the ground. But to Doji's discerning eye, he would see the water forming at his feet, ready to elevate him again if Doji tried the same trick twice.

While their soldiers fought, even with the oni at a current disadvantage, Shuten Doji focused on the only thing that mattered. Even with shortened breath he knew he only needed to get close enough to strike a killing blow. Raising his war hammer again he brought it down upon the ground which shook with its blow but rather than open a fissure as it had before it instead threw up dirt and rock in an expulsion of the materials just below Mizuto's feet in hopes of hitting the ronin even should he attempt to jump into the air again.

Mizuto knew by general terms what was gonna happen the moment he saw his hammer being raised high. Earth magic was a given, but the school was yet unknown to him. Jumping into the air as the smash happened, the blast of dirt and stone that scattered up against him, scratching and causing cuts to his arms and face, his eyes closed. When he landed, he went on the offensive. He had promised a show, and he would give it. In his right hand he held his blade Chidori, in the left he held a blade made entirely of 'sharp', swirling water. With his second weapon made, he charged ahead, eyes still closed as he intended to bring an end to the conflict between the two of them. His initial aim would be to cut the hammer just beneath the head of it, cutting the dangerous piece off. If he could accomplish this, victory would almost certainly be his. Meanwhile, emboldened by his fervor in the face of such a foe, the men behind him had by now defeated their foes and made an advance towards the rest of the Oni. If he could get them here to him, he would almost undoubtedly win.

Noticing before anything else that his foe's eyes were closed, Shuten Doji's rage intensified as he felt the human was mocking him with the display. As Mizuto got closer it was easy to tell at a glance that the man was going for his weapon. It seemed as though he reasoned to disarm him in some way though to wrestle with him would not work well for Mizuto. A smile crept on Doji's face at the blind charge, believing it to be one of desperation. So, as if to mock the man who charged like a bull, he held the weapon as was before swinging it backward when the man was withing arms reach of it, spinning on his heel hoping to bring it down onto Mizuto's back and crush his ribs. If his men could not breath then the criminal certainly had not right to it either.