Grimm twitched nervously as he walked through the pitch black streets of Kyoto at midnight. Today’s target was Oda Nobunaga, the man who nearly conquered all of Japan. He may have been called a fool, but he was not to be underestimated. “Death, make sure your scythe is out and your guard is up at all times. Oda was a general, and excelled in tactics.”
“Yeah, yeah, ye-” Death’s response was cut off as a bolt of red energy missed his head by mere inches. “WHAT IN THE NINE HELLS WAS THAT!? I thought we were fighting a samurai, not a sniper!”
“I warned you, Nobunaga ‘the Fool’ doesn’t play by the rules…” Grimm rapidly scanned his surroundings, he had to find Oda quickly. Reapers were hunters, and didn’t do well when they were the ones being chased.
“<That’s Fool-sama to you, Reaper-chan.>” The voice echoed through the silent nighttime streets of Kyoto, holding a snide mocking tone.
Grimm began to call the shadows into his scythe. “<Giving up the advantage of stealth for a taunt, you truly are a fool. Someone like you had no right to set their sights on conquering an empire.>”
Death blinked in surprise. “You speak Japanese?”
“A little.” Grimm took aim, preparing to fling a bolt of shadow towards the rooftops. His accuracy was impeccable – targeting someone based on the sound of their voice was an easy feat. Oda would likely retaliate, but blocking a shot from head on was no harder than-
This time it was Grimm who’s train of thought was interrupted, as he was struck dead on from behind. How!? He was sure that Oda had been in front of him…
Hearty laughter filled the streets, making Oda’s opinion of Grimm quite clear. “<Just an empire? Japan was only ever the first step, Reaper-chan. Only the small minded do things halfway. I will dominate all that the sun casts it’s light on, and I might as well take the rest while I’m at it.>”
Grimm’s eyes darted around, desperately searching for Nobunaga’s location. “<Enough with the ‘Reaper-chan!’ Take this seriously!>” Another burst of red energy sailed across the sky, striking Death in his left arm.
“<Not taking this seriously? How rude, I always fight to win. And what’s wrong with calling a weakling like you ‘chan’? It’s quite obvious who’s superior here…>” Two more bolts of energy whiz through the air, striking Death from the right and Grimm from the front.
Grimm took a deep breath, this was bad. Oda had total control of the situation. It wasn’t a battle anymore, it was a hunt…
A note from the
authorninja:For those who are curious, Oda Nobunaga was actually a real person. (As anyone who’s even briefly dabbled in Japanese history would know.)
If you have any interest in history whatsoever, I’d recommend looking into him. One of the best places to get some information on him is Extra Credits, specifically their Extra History channel. They do a really good job of talking about the interesting parts of history, as opposed to just memorizing dates and names.
Hell, even if you don’t like history, their Sengoku Jidai bit is really fun, alongside the rest of Extra History. You can find them on YouTube with a quick search, so if you like to learn and can tolerate the auto-tuned voice, I’d recommend you check it out.