Iwaizumi stood outside the main stone walls, pacing aimlessly. He whistled into the brisk night air, crossing and uncrossing his arms.

It had been so long since he had done true guard duty, and as much as he wanted to set a rigid example to his subordinates, he also wanted to be back in bed with Oikawa. He kicked at a rock on the ground, huffing slightly. Within the hour, he should be able to return neatly beneath the covers, and he prayed that the young lord was not up waiting for him. He needed rest.

They all needed rest.

Security had tightened all over the palace, a web of ever shifting guards. There hadn't been any word of change from the border of the province, but caution was necessary. In the morning, warriors from the Ushijima Clan would be arriving to assist them, and negotiations were in process with the Miya Clan in Harima province. The extra man power would provide both relief and peace of mind. Iwaizumi glumly hoped that Goda would simply get scared off, or killed by another daimyo on the offensive, so that they could stop dealing with all this nonsense.

As meaningful as it was to be a warrior, there was no honor in war.

It was quiet, late in the season, the harvest long completed. The village at the base of the hill was dark, silent, filled with sleeping souls. Iwaizumi gazed up at the starless sky and wondered when the first snow would come. He was looking forward to the cold with the new source of warmth in his life offered.
It felt a bit silly, silly enough that color would rise in his face, but he had several vivid Oikawa winter fantasies. Tracing each other's footprints in the snow, drinking tea in the courtyard beneath the frost, sharing blankets, other stuff. He shook his head, bemused, red with the memory of the night before.
Oikawa would both laugh at him and be delighted if he knew Iwaizumi was thinking about such romantic little things.

"Sir?"

Iwaizumi instantly straightened, turning to face the patrol of younger warriors. He hadn't even heard them approaching. Iwaizumi mentally kicked himself, focus, idiot. You're still on duty.

"Uhh." He scanned the face of their patrol head, grasping at a name for the man in front of him. It was possible that he had been neglecting his role as the leader of the warriors of Aoba Castle, slipping up some. No, Iwaizumi thought, I haven't. My primary job is to look after Oikawa, and I'm always with him... so it's fine. Before the pause could stretch into an uncomfortable length, the name surfaced. Sleepy face. Promising fighter. Iwaizumi had been impressed with the part of his training he had overseen.

"Kunimi. Right. Anything to report from along the west?"

Kunimi sighed, it was clear by the way he shifted about that he knew Iwaizumi had forgotten him. "No, sir. Nothing unusual."

"Er, good. Stay by the gate."

Kunimi nodded, trodding over with the other younger samurai to the gate's entrance. Iwaizumi frowned. That was awkward.

Before he could think too much on it, something caught his eye. A thick column of smoke was rising up from the southern most corner of the village, greater in size than any cooking fire. Iwaizumi held up a hand, "Kunimi."

He beckoned him over, pointing out the disturbance. "Take your men and see what's going on there. Someone may have not doused all their coals. The river is close enough in that area that if it's needed, it's easily accessible."

Kunimi nodded, summoning the rest of his group. Iwaizumi watched as they quickly descended into the maze of homes. He could now see the softest flickering of orange and signaled for a couple other samurai on horseback to assist. Iwaizumi gripped the hilt of his sword, exhausted. Fire was always so troublesome.

Suddenly, another plume of smoke tore through the sky, directly at the other end of the village. Iwaizumi felt a tightening in the pit of his stomach. He called for another group of warriors to go investigate. One fire, inconvenient. Two, strange.

It can't be possible, can it-

Then, a rumbling.

It was as if the universe wished to provide a response to his question. Iwaizumi could hear the sound of breaking glass, the commotion of fear. The town beneath him erupted into flame in multiple places, all at once. The fire flickered, hungry, tearing through wooden homes. He stood, momentarily frozen, before launching into orders.

"Pass it along the wall. Hold the defense. Wake any warriors we have, send those with horses to the village! Now!"

The footmen closest to him stood at attention, but his knees were shaking, "Sir? Are we under attack? Should we sound the alarm? I don't see any enemy."

"I don't know. Just pass on the message!"

Iwaizumi tried to assess the scene below, the rise of red, the noise. As the footmen took off to direct action for Aoba Castle's warriors, a woman with a baby stumbled up the hill, her face soot stained. She bent over, coughing. Iwaizumi kneeled down beside her, taking the wailing child from her arms. He could see a handful of other peasants slowly making their way up the hill. She looked up at him, anguished.

"There are men! There are men burning the houses, sir, please-"

"Are you certain?"

"Men on horses, with swords and torches-"

Iwaizumi helped her to standing, returning the child to her arms, his fear confirmed. He turned, calling to the watch towers, cupping his hands to yell over the noise.

"RING THE BELL. OPEN THE GATE. WE'RE UNDER ATTACK."

It felt entirely unreal. Another higher ranked warrior, Yahaba, appeared beside him. "The gate? If we're under attack, shouldn't we-"

The crowd of peasants was swelling in size, as they clutched one another, holding tight to items of value. A little boy wandered among them, calling out for his father. Iwaizumi knew that Oikawa would never allow suffering for these people. The castle walls held the greatest opportunity for safety. He fixed Yahaba with a steely gaze.

"Open the gate."

"YOU HEARD THE CAPTAIN, OPEN THE GATE."

The heat was rising up the hillside as the fire leapt from structure to structure. Iwaizumi dipped inside the castle, where warriors were emerging from the quarters, half dressed, half armed. He began to direct different squadrons, some to the village, some to the wall, some to assist peasants. He spoke what he felt was right, there was no time for second thoughts. Metal clanged, screams echoed, both far off and up close.

It was barely organized chaos as everyone raced to their position and villagers poured into the keep. Iwaizumi did his best to usher people inside, but a new concern was rising inside of him. Amidst all the terror, he had yet to see the cause. Where were Goda's men?

A loose, startled horse burst its way into the palace's ground. Iwaizumi instinctually wrestled its reigns before it could cause any damage and saw a man draped across the back. As soon as the animal was secured, he lifted the man from the steed. It was Kindaichi, from Kunimi's patrol. A bloody gash ran the length of his chest, but he was still hanging onto consciousness. Kindaichi registered Iwaizumi and gripped the front of his armor, his eyes flashing white. "There's- there's so many. There's too many-"

"Where? Where are they?"

Before he could manage a response, Kindaichi's eyes rolled back. Iwaizumi held him up, "I need a medic! I-"

A villager woman took Kindaichi from him and began to press cloth into his wound. Iwaizumi didn't have time to make sure if he was alright. There was so much, so many people calling for him. All around, he smelled burning, blood. The smoke stank, and he heard a great thudding, a hammering, and realized it was his own heart beating viciously in his chest. Iwaizumi took a breath, steadying himself, ready to view the situation with new eyes. It was not a time for panic.

But then, the arrows began to fall from the sky.

They flew indiscriminately, targeting anyone around the gate of the castle, taking down guards and villagers alike. He felt instantly sickened at their disregard for civilians. Iwaizumi ducked behind the stone border, drawing his sword. It seemed as if they were coming from the trees.

"Sir, what do we-"

Iwaizumi quickly moved to the top of the palace steps, yelling out over the crowd, "ARCHERS, RETURN FIRE ALONG THE WALL, AIM FOR THE TREES. PROVIDE COVER FOR THE PEOPLE."

Aoba Castle's archers began to organize, sending volleys of arrows into the forest. Iwaizumi could see bodies dropping from the branches. How did they manage to get so close to us, slipping in right under our noses? Other samurai procured shields, beckoning the ever growing tide of villagers to safety. It seemed as if for a moment, things were working in their favor now that the initial shock had dissipated. The arrows ceased to fly from the forest, but Iwaizumi could feel a trembling in the ground. He kneeled, placing a hand on the earth, and a wave of soldiers rushed up the hill. They surged forward from all directions, charging at the castle. The samurai rose to meet their innumerable challengers without hesitation.

Iwaizumi sprang into action, his sword slicing through the air. "Form a perimeter! Keep the gate open!"

Iwaizumi slashed and hacked, paying as little thought as he could manage to those he felled, concentrating on Oikawa's face. He was somewhere inside, well guarded, surely, and he would be waiting for him to return. Pain blossomed in his right arm, and Iwaizumi turned, striking out at the source, his sword cleaving through a man's chest. As skilled as he was, with every samurai he defeated, it seemed that two more would appear in senseless brutality. The soldiers of Aoba Castle were being pressed closer and closer towards the gate, until they were shoulder to shoulder. Iwaizumi found himself fighting alongside Yahaba, who had a nasty cut running across his face.

"Sir- sir, we aren't- we aren't equipped for this. We were never- it doesn't even matter if we close the gate. We're completely overwhelmed. Get the Lord, and go-"

Iwaizumi pulled Yahaba back, lunging past him to intercept another attacker, "I can't-"

"We will hold the wall. Go to the Lord. It's not- my place to order you, but I- that's- where you are needed."

Iwaizumi looked at him, at his kind and obvious lie. It was insanity, the way people were set against each other, the way they struck at each other as children wailed and the countryside burned. This was the truth, the livable experience of conquest. Conflict raged down around them, faceless men clad in steel, screaming with fury into the night. No amount of training could've prepared them to face the evil of this greed. Iwaizumi felt wretched and bitter. He sliced through another opponent, then turned and ran into the castle.

He thought of another lesson from his father.

Battles are not always meant to be won, but they must be survived.

He thought of gentle hands, of brown eyes, of goodness that must preserved. He shut out the sounds of unfathomable hell that bled through the walls.

"OIKAWA, WHERE ARE YOU?"