He hadn't realized when he had fallen asleep but as he woke up, the door and windows were still shut, however, Sayuri wasn't in the room. She might have left earlier and a blanket covered him.

He sat up, feeling slightly better than before as the pain in his body had lessened due to the wounds being properly patched up. Fixing his attire and wearing his robe again, he opened the doors and windows before stepping out.

The sky was dark but everyone seemed to be at work. Ryuu looked around to see some people employed in fortifying the walls while the others were stocking up on food and other essentials.

Seeing that he had come out, Keiji stepped up to him.

"What's going on?" He asked, eyes still searching for Sayuri.

"Sayuri San ordered us to hold siege here," he told her, "she said that if the assassins came that close to our base as last week, it would be safer if we are prepared for another attack. She ordered us to stock up and fortify the walls."

"And where is Sayuri San?"

"She is checking the armory."

He nodded and Keiji left to get his tasks done. All the people were hard at work and Ryuu wanted to help too.

So he joined the group that was fortifying the walls, helping them in building up the second defensive layer of stones behind the original wall of the base.

He hadn't been working long when Sayuri returned and seeing him awake, she was both relieved and slightly worried at the same time. Relieved that he was up and did not seem as depressed as earlier, but worried as his stitches were still fresh and could rupture.

"Ryuu," she called out to him and he stopped, turning to face her, "there are enough people working on the walls."

He stood up, "what should I do then?"

She thought for a while about what task would be less taxing for him considering his current state, "you can make sure all the provisions are being stocked properly."

He nodded, leaving that task to go inside where the stock was being maintained. Sayuri checked the walls that were being fortified for herself as she had been keeping an eye on everything.

Ichiro was with her, making sure that nothing went wrong. "The preparations for holding the siege are all complete. But what will we do next?"

"If they attack, we will defend from within. If not, we will first build up enough resources to be able to strike at them without risking a wipeout," she replied, "training starts early tomorrow morning. Every man, woman, and child should know how to defend themselves. I will see to it. And we need more people to be trained as healers too."

He nodded in affirmation, "understood. And what about your second in command?"

She had yet to choose someone who could lead if anything happened to her. That evening when she had gathered all the people and taken oath as their leader, the only thing she had left out of the procedure was choosing the second in command.

Her mother had chosen Sota Ishikawa and after Nuriko, the man had taken his responsibilities very seriously, loyally serving the clan till his last breath.

And now that Sayuri was the leader instead of Nuriko, there was only one name that came to her mind to be fit for the second in command.

"I will decide that next morning too," she replied before going inside to check the stock.

***

By dawn, all the warriors of the Sasuke clan along with the women and children who usually did not take part in the battles were assembled in the courtyard.

Sayuri was supposed to be standing where Sota did when he commanded them as chief but she did not step up to that pedestal out of respect for the former chief. Instead, she stood on the same level as her people, knowing that it sent her message clearly.

She might be their leader but she was one of them. And there was no rank that put her above them.

"People of the Sasuke," she spoke up and though she was nervous, her voice got steady after seeing Ryuu, Tanjiro, Keiji and Miyu in the crowd. They were the people she could trust with her life in a heartbeat and would do the same for them if the need arose. "I took oath as your leader but there is a lot I have to say which might go against the tradition of my ancestors."

Silence gripped the entire courtyard because tradition was something no one dared to question. Yet the youngest leader they had had till then was standing before them with those words and a resolute look on her face.

"I am your leader but I do not require you all to lay your lives down for me," she resumed, her eyes sweeping through each face in front of her, "together we will fight for ourselves, for our people but not for the Sasuke family alone. All of you who have been part of this clan are just as important as you consider me to be just because I am directly descended from the Sasuke bloodline. That being said, I will do my best to serve you and in return, I ask for you all to protect each other. If we don't stick together, we will be wiped out and I can't allow that."

Ichiro was keeping watch on the people's reactions too and so far it seemed as if they were still in shock because no leader before her had addressed them as such. But deep down he admired the young girl's approach to handling the opposition with her clan united as one rather than being divided into ranks.

"From today, every single one of you, man and woman, will undergo warfare training. Tanjiro Suchima, Miyu Haga and Keiji Fugou will be in charge of that. The children will be trained to heal and defend themselves, Ryuu Ishikawa will impart his knowledge there. I want you all to be prepared for everything and defend our base against those assassins. And to those of you who are thinking about why we are not striking back in retaliation, then think again; right now we need to strengthen our forces and that can only be done if we help each other out here. A single rash decision can turn out deadly for us, I want you to trust me on this and help in every way you can. And I will do my best in return."

She knew there was danger every step of the way laid out ahead of them but she couldn't give up. She had promised Ryuu that she would put an end to that war. And right then that was her first step toward it.

"This war might only end with one side being completely vanquished and we are clearly at a disadvantage right now," she told them, repeating the same conversation she had had with Ryuu back at the Academy, "so our priority is to pull ourselves out of this disadvantage and strike back when we are ready to take our enemies down. Fire can not be put out with gasoline but a thunderstorm might eventually wash down the flames. In order to become that thunderstorm we have to start now. By maximizing our resources and training every single person here to play his or her part fully. I hope my intentions are clear to you all."

The people bowed their heads at last, accepting her speech but she did the same, bowing in return to them.

When they all lifted their heads and it was time for her to choose her second in command, her grey eyes locked with Ryuu's and she spoke up, "Ishikawa, will you accept being my second in command?"

"I will serve the clan till my last breath," he accepted, bowing his head to her and then to the rest of the people.

***