The smell of burning and death blew through the air as Yao ran through the forest. He ducked under some bushes to catch his breath. Driving or running on the main road was far too dangerous now, as Japanese troops constantly drove by, shooting at anyone that might look like they were from the Chinese army. He knew running out here alone was risking capture, but something called to him, almost pleading for help.

A few days earlier, he learned that Nanking was being attacked, but as far as to how much it held up, nothing more. As the days passed, the feeling of urgency came, and now he was crawling closer to where he could see the city from afar. A red glow came from the fires burning in patches in the city. The walls that once kept ancient armies out now were in pieces.

Perhaps if I slip into the Yangtze, they won't see me, he thought. Slowly he crept down to the banks, avoiding open spaces. He quickly undressed out of his military uniform and slipped into the dark waters.

The river moved slightly, which he was thankful for, so as to disguise his movement through the water. He held his uniform in one hand, so if someone approached, he could hide and let go of it. He saw a large form float by, and reached out for it. As he held onto it to rest, he noticed it smelled like rotting flesh. He blinked to focus his eyes in the dim moonlight, and saw a pale, bloated face looking back at him. He let out a yell as he thrashed the body away from him and swam faster away.

As he kept swimming, more bodies floated in his direction, all in uniform. Yao reached the shore, heaving from the panic. He knew the situation was bad, but so many deaths? He looked at his soaked uniform, and knew it was a bad idea to wear it again. A noise in the distance startled him, and he ducked for cover.

"Who's there?" a voice shouted. The Japanese officer walked near where he hid, peering into the darkness.

A patrol? Perfect, Yao thought as he tightened his muscles to strike. As quickly as the soldier gasped, Yao twisted his neck with deadly accuracy. He dragged him off and found the uniform to fit him snugly.

He walked slowly up the bank, passing by mounds of turned earth. He looked over his shoulder, and noticed a truck dumping bodies into a ditch. Yao realized what the mounds actually were as the soldiers nearby threw dirt into the new grave.

Panicked, he ran by the broken section of the wall and looked around. The destruction was too much to bear. The houses that weren't bombed to pieces or burned stood eerily quiet. Broken furniture and garbage were strewn about. Ashes flittered about, carrying the smell of decay with it.

"What happened here?" Yao muttered as he slumped on a porch. "I thought Chiang Kai-sheck was supposed to help defend with General Tang aru. Maybe it just…was too late aru."

After collecting his thoughts, he turned and peered into a building. It was a small store with tables, now flipped over or broken into pieces. The counter had its glass shattered, and emptied of its contents. He walked behind the counter, hoping to find supplies, but screamed in horror. A pile of bodies were placed neatly on top of each other, all of them mutilated. He sobbed as he gently pulled them off of each other. As he removed the second to last person, he shrieked in agony as he discovered the body of a woman and her small infant were at the bottom. He grabbed a cloth and covered the bodies and cried on the pile. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a hallway. He quietly got up and looked around the corner, and saw some stairs at the end of the hallway.

"Maybe someone is still alive aru!" Yao said to himself as he dashed upstairs. He looked in all the rooms and found nothing but a pile of clothing in a bedroom. He quietly crept in and shoved the pile off. He froze in shock. On the bed was a young girl, now pale and cold, except for stark red welts across her body, now with dried blood. A long bamboo shaft led up to her-

"What have they done?" Yao screamed as he covered the girl back up. He fell to the ground and gripped the side of the bed as he cried. "What have they done to my people aru?" His bones ached, and his scar felt so sore.

Suddenly, he heard the stomps of boots, crunching broken glass on the floor. He scrambled under the bed and pushed himself towards the back. He was immortal, but the last thing he needed was to alert the entire army to his presence. The steps didn't continue upstairs, but they were drowned by screaming. Harsh voices yelled and laughed as the screams continued.

"No, not this time" Yao growled. He wasn't going to just let them kill someone else now. He crawled out from under the bed and down the stairs. He hid under the staircase and watched as several officers attempted to pin down a young girl on the floor. He heard the door open again, and the officers stood at attention. Three high-ranking officers, from what he could tell, walked in and returned the salute.

"Honda-san," one of the officers said, "look what we found for you."

The name crushed Yao's heart into pieces. It just had to be a coincidence – His Kiku would never do such a terrible thing…

The officer called Honda drew his sword and pointed at the girl.

"Undress her", he ordered.

The other officers greedily complied, but let out a cry of surprise.

"She's pregnant!" one of them yelled.

As the officer turned and walked closer to the girl, threatening with the sword, Yao could see his face clearly. He bit his lip to contain a sob as he saw the nation he raised so tenderly feel up a young girl and laugh wickedly as he slapped her.

"Slutty trash, "Kiku growled, "and to top it off you're going to give birth to a bastard. This is what you deserve!" he screamed as he stabbed his sword into the girl's belly. He twisted slowly as she screamed in agony. He gave a few hard tugs and pulled his sword out. At the top of his blade, a small fetus was lanced through. He flicked it off with a shake of his arm as the girl slumped to the ground and tried to crawl to it.

"You want it?" Kiku asked, "I'll get it for you." He stabbed the fetus again and dropped it next to the girl. In her dying breaths, she took it in her arms and held it.

The officers watching burst in laughter as Kiku wiped his blade on the girl's side.

"Wow, I didn't think you were able to pull it out!" one of them said.

"Like cutting a pig", Kiku calmly said as he sheathed his sword.

Yao shook in rage and shock. He didn't care if the entire army came now. All he wanted was them to stop laughing, to stop killing.

He let out a guttural scream and dashed towards the officers. He pulled out his jian sword and made quick kills of the officers, save one.

"I didn't expect you here, Yao." Kiku smiled as he blocked the attack.

"Me neither, Kiku" Yao growled back.

Kiku jumped back and distanced himself. He cracked his neck and took a stance.

"What are you doing to my people aru?" Yao cried.

Kiku looked at him silently.

"How could you? She looked only 15 aru!"

Kiku shook his head and smiled. "You don't understand Yao. I'm doing this for the Emperor."

"Is this what he wants? For you to be killing old men and children aru?"

"You are garbage compared to us." Kiku sneered.

Yao shook his head slowly. "Why do you say that about me? I'm your brother aru."

"I don't need you. You're just in the way of our goals." Kiku struck again, but was caught in a block.

"If you want to fight me, go ahead, but what you're doing is mindless slaughter aru." Yao muttered as he held his sword up to block.

"You're beneath me – worse than the foreigners. You're a bunch of filthy pigs", Kiku growled, "So getting rid of you will be of no great loss."

"I've been around longer than you have aru." Yao snarled, "But I invite you to try."

Kiku lifted one of his legs and kicked out, pushing Yao away from him. He took the opportunity to swing, but Yao ducked and lunged forward with his sword. Kiku stumbled backwards and hit the ground. He rolled away from Yao and got back up. Kiku attacked again, slashing into the air. Yao tried his best to block each blow, but he felt himself becoming weaker.

What's wrong with me? I used to spar all the time and win! Yao thought to himself as he leaped over the counter.

"Are you getting tired old man?" Kiku laughed as he chased Yao, "Or are you just weak?"

Yao stopped suddenly and swung the blade outwards, striking Kiku.

"No, just waiting for you aru." Yao panted.

Kiku held his arm as he stepped back. "You fucking bastard!" Kiku yelled, "Look what you did!"

"It hurts me more than it hurts you aru." Yao muttered.

Enraged, Kiku raised his sword and dashed, but stopped short when he saw a point approach his face.

"You might be stronger, but not smarter, aru" Yao said as he held out the sword to Kiku's face. "You never learn, do you Kiku?"

Kiku twisted his face in anger as he took a few steps back. He suddenly drew out a handgun and shot Yao.

"I also don't rely on my sword completely." Kiku answered.

Yao gripped his chest and whimpered as he tried to hold onto his sword. Kiku walked over to the doorway and yelled out, then walked back.

"I know I can't kill you." Kiku said, "But I think I have use for you."

Yao slumped to his knees as more soldiers entered the building. He tried to look threatening as possible, but a hard kick to the back of his head put him to the ground.

"Put him on a truck, but don't let anyone touch him." Kiku ordered. The soldiers tied Yao up and took him outside.

"Honda-san, who was that?" one of the officers asked, "Is he a general?"

"No," Kiku answered, "he is my brother."