Backstory:
Tadeki Huriako is a nineteen year old soldier in the Imperial Army of Satsuma. He comes from a small farming village just outside of Osumi, an important cross roads that connects Osumi with the capitol, Satsuma, and Hyuga, one of the largest port cities in the Empire. Growing up, Tadeki never really knew the meaning of hardship. His mother was an accomplished schollar and his father a renowned war hero. Their home had been commissioned and paid for by the Daimyo himself, thanks to his fathers sacrifice. Tadeki was helping his father fasten his wooden leg on early one morning before the harvest when both of his brothers burst through the new door to their western styled home. They carried a poster between them with big black words etched across the yellowing paper. "War! Traitorous Saga!" it read. Tadeki looked into his fathers hollow eyes and squeezed his hand before he boarded the train to Satsuma to begin his training. Satsuma had been waging fierce conflict for ten years now already with only about a years peace since the end of the last war. The American Civil war was already swept aside by the West and new trade routs had been set up between the US and Satsuma markets. These strong trade ties, backed by the US Navy, promised a new, deadly form of warfare that Tadeki could never have been prepared for.

June 4th 1878:
Tadeki stepped off the train in Suo, formerly a municipality of Saga. War had been waging for three years now. The greater Imperial Army of Saga had suffered greatly at the hands of Satsuman guns and cannon. Tadeki had heard somewhere that over 56,000 soldiers had been slain by Satsuman Guardsmen in just the last year alone. An incredible number compaired to Satsumas loss count of only 7,000. Suo was a depressing sight from the train and somehow it grew even more grim as Tadeki stalked through the thick mud of the service road he and his regiment marched down. At first, Tadeki and his regiment made jokes and jabbed at each other with fingers, mocking each other and taking bets on who would fall first in battle. Gradually, as he and his regiment continued on, further towards the dark, grey town, their laughing and joking subsided. Thin, nearly naked bodies of wounded soldiers, prisoners and civilians began passing Tadeki and the regiment, on their way towards the train. Tadeki saw something in their eyes. The same hollow look he had seen in his fathers only three short years ago. Tadeki had spent those three years in the service of the Imperial Port Guard in Osumi. Miles from combat and weeks from the tales of the front. This was his first time being promised a chance at combat and the rewards of war didn't look as promising as they had been made out to be originally. By the time the walking wounded had fully passed, the regiment found themselves just as silent as the poor souls that had rendered them so. Tadeki gulped when the sound of cannon in the distance broke the morose silence.

June 14th 1878:
Tadeki was bunking with one of his best friends, Fuso Hamagachi, in the makeshift barracks that Saga prisoners of war constructed for them the first week of their arrival. They were by no means comfortable but they were much better than the hot, muddy ground inside the tents they had been forced to stay in the first six days. Cannon was a common sound here on the front and Tadeki was glad he was able to sleep through it now. Those first four days were miserable with long nights followed by bloodshot eyes in the morning and cold porridge and hardtack. General of the 1st Army, Honjo Sadafusa, passed through camp early in the morning. He was a small, gritty man with a pitted, wheatered face. He spoke very little and when he did, it was with a horse, strained whisper. The general marched through the barracks, an empty sleeve, where his left arm should have been, stitched across his tunic front. He inspected the troops, looking them up and down. None of them had noticed the general yet and many of them were still either naked or wearing only their trousers. "Attention!" he forced through gritted teeth. The barracks hesitated a moment and then burst into activity as soldiers ran left and right to stand in front of their bunks. When everyone had settled, the general lowered his head and closed his eyes. Tadeki winced and feared the regiment would be punished for their lack of initiative. "Soldier, I hope you realize that the enemy will not swoon and surrender at sight of your tiny ♥♥♥♥. Put some trousers on immediately," the general whispered to a man who was in full nude near the barracks door. "The rest of you, dress and report to the assembly field. We march in two hours." With that, he turned and left. Everyone laughed and rushed to put on their uniforms and retrieve their gear. Tadeki stopped laughing when he heard the cannons in the distance one last time.

June 18th 1878:
Tadeki flinched as cannon rounds passed overhead. The bombardment had been running for almost twenty minutes now. A battery of nearly twenty Armstrong guns chattered and vollyed in a near automatic fashion as they pelted the walls of the enemy fortress. The fortress was the only thing standing between the 1st Army and Bingo. Two days ago, the 5th Army, under the command of General Saigo Takamori, annihilated Aki, a Saga stronghold of 5,000, allowing the 1st Army and Tadeki to continue on towards the real prize. Bingo was a massive city home to 45,000 citizens and hundreds of farms and mines. It was an incredibly important economic center for Saga, producing almost 20% of Sagas GDP and fielding 2,000 soldiers, most of which were cowering behind the crumbling walls of Fort Bingo. Noone had been sent forward yet but during the night, a ring of ninjas infiltrated the fortress and set fire to both the fron gate and the armory. They had successfully destroyed the main gate but unfortunately, Saga forces saved a majority of the armory before the rest went up in a massive explosion doing little real damage. Even so, General Sadafusa could see the panic in the eyes of the defenders. Those who had survived the bombardment clutched their matchlocks and muskets tightly, a handful of shots visible in deathgrip hands or tattered ammo pouches.

The walls no longer offered any real cover but whoever was leading the defenders had ordered his line infantry onto the lower walls to repel defenders. If the Armstrong guns hadn't run out of ammo, they could have been easy kills. "Forward, first rank!" his lieutenant shouted at three groups of marksmen. The 270 men unslung their rifles and marched forwards into the breach. The line infantry on the walls leveled their own rifles and matchlocks and fired, dark grey smoke exploding towards the marksmen. They were woefully out of range though. Miniballs and musket balls wizzed into the dirt at the feet of the marksmen. An officer in the middle rank raised his sword and the marksmen came to a halt. The first rank took a knee and together with those behind them, they leveled their rifles and took aim. The officer dropped his sword and their own explosion of grey smoke jumped out towards the defenders. Red splashes and screams ripped through the defenders on the wall and a hundred men fell from the ramparts into the red grass below. Katana Kachi and Yari Kachi burst from the trees at the marksmens flank. At first, Tadeki jumped at the sight of them, thinking it was an enemy ambush. When he saw the blue seal of Satsuma, his heart relaxed. The general must have snuck them in the night before. Patience is a virtue he guessed. The spearmen and swoardsmen charged up the ramp and into the fort. For the next twenty minutes, screams and cries of pain accompanied the sounds of the odd shot and clanging metal. Eventually, the fort drew silent and a Satsuman swordsman crested the wall, banner held high. Another victory against Saga. That night, Tadeki drank sake and celebrated, oblivious to the burrial detail that had been ordered to burry the 96 dead.

June 28th 1878:
The Imperial Forces of Saga suffered another major defeat at the hands of the 1st Army. General Sadafusa was able to surround an army of almost 2,000 soldiers, mostly cavalry and katana kachi, and left no survivors. Deep in the mountains north of Bizen was a town named Mimasaka home to the second largest army in the northern theater. The town had some of the largest and thickest wall of any Sagan fortress in the west and laying siege to the city would have cost hundreds of lives. Sadafusa sat on the peak of a nearby mountain for two days surveying the field and the walls before coming to a final decision. He ordered the 1st army to split into two equal halves and position themselves along the north road which lead to the coastal town of Inaba. As the army marched out, he sent a messenger pair west to rendezvous with the 5th Army. The general planned to use the 5th as bait and ordered them to attack Inaba, a sparsly defended town with an important trade port. Like clockwork, the defenders of Mimasaka struck camp at dawn and began marching up the north road, right in between Sadafusa's trap. Exhausted and chilled by the early morning fog and the steep mountain climb, the Sagan forces slowed their advance halfway to their objective when the general ordered the attack. From under the thick tree cover plumes of flame and smoke erupted towards the enemy troops. One by one, entire ranks of soldiers shook and fell to the frozen ground, uniforms pockmarked with holes. The majority of the enemy force, mostly cavalry, tried to reform and charge the left flank. Unfortunately for them, that was where the Gatling guns had been positioned. The Gatling ripped into the charging force, taking out horses at the knees and turning heads into pink masses as the soldiers toppled to the ground. Tadeki gritted his teeth as he saw the bodies torn asunder and dragged under the hooves of following cavalry. It had been 10 days since Tadeki had last seen battle. Before setting off with the 1st Army for Mimasaka, the young soldier had caught a bad case of the flu and was bed ridden for almost a week. Now, as he watched the enemy suffer a ghastly defeat at the hands of awesome and terrible American engineering, he wished he was still in bed, talking up the nurses in Bizen. A katana wielding horseman at the forefront of a charge leveled eyes with a man to Tadeki's left. The man level his own eyes with his rifle and pulled the trigger. The horseman's head snapped back and he fell from his mount only to be trampled by another riderless horse. Tadeki spent the rest of the battle watching more and more helpless soldiers charge riflemen with swords, only to suffer the same fate as close friends.

July 12th 1878:
Tadeki stood straight as a pine, his feet rooted to the wall like a tree. It had been five hours since he relieved the guardsman before him. His eyes felt heavy but he knew he couldn't doze off now. There were sounds of horses in the distance and the distinct squeak of cannon wheels. Maybe half a mile away, or more. It was hard to tell in the dense morning fog. Several weeks had already passed since the slaughter at Omi Pass near Mimasaka. Miraculously, Tadeki had yet to see any real combat. He'd been close fore sure but never on the front line. Part of him wished his lieutenant would send him to a forward unit so he could taste the bite of war and earn himself a name as a warrior, as his father had. Yet, another part of himself hoped he never had to fire the rifle on his shoulder. He had seen what war did to men. He saw limbs sliced away by sabre, heads split four ways like a flower by rifle shot, bodies cut in half by cannon. He felt bile welling and forced his thoughts away to another topic. Footsteps echoed behind him and Tadeki spun, left hand on rifle strap, ready to aim and fire. When he identified the figure through the fog his spine went ramrod straight and he saluted reflexively. General Sadafusa looked like a walking corpse. He walked with a faint limp and had an alarming slump just below his shoulders. Dark circles under his eyes combined with a pitted face, enough to raise suspicion in a doctor. He must have been into his sixties by now, Tadeki thought, though he dare not ask the man. The General returned the salute with his only arm, a lazy one, but understandable. The General had become a legend in the few months the war had been waging. He had yet to be defeated or even turned away in combat. His command had cost Saga tens of thousands of men. His most recent victory had been an unconditional surrender of a fortress merely by announcing himself. Tadeki lowered his arm and returned his eyes to the fields behind the wall. Bizen was a growing township with little strategic value militarily. Its main advantage was a river near the western edge but nobody in their right mind would attack across it given the ample tree cover on the other sides of the fortress. Yet here was Tadeki, eyes peeled for the enemy.

"Long night son?" The general asked. Tadeki didn't expect the man to still be by his side. "Yessir - but I'm fine sir." The general let out a 'hrumph' and remained silent. Tadeki noticed he was still standing beside him after a minute or two. "Sir?" No answer. Tadeki's heart quickened in pace, thinking maybe the general had decided to die next to him. He would have some serious explaining to do in that case. Tadeki glanced at the general, head slumped to the right, chest rising and falling. Was he asleep? "Sir?" General Sadafusa held up a fist and Tadeki listened. The squeaking and horses in the distance had stopped. Tadeki was confused. He didn't know what was going on and was about to speak when several volleys of thumps echoed in the distance. "Get down!" The general shouted as he leaped backwards. Cannon rounds drilled themselves into the wall below Tadeki and tore the railing and lower cobblestone away. Tadeki yelped and jumped back just as the floor beneath him began dropping away. His Kepi hat toppled from his head and nearly fell over the edge but the general snatched it and planted it on Tadeki, hauling him to his feet at the same time. Tadeki was startled by the mans strength and unslung his rifle, readying to fight. "Get to your unit soldier," the general shouted at him, eyes fixed, "Now!" Tadeki stumbled with his feet and turned to run off towards the tents.

The camp was a fury and flash of movement. Squads of soldiers and groups of Yari Kachi ran in between each other, trying to form ranks in the parade ground. Some tents ended up getting knocked over by soldiers hurrying too carelessly to get in line. Some would stumbled over a tent peg, others simply running into them and powering through. A horse drawn cart full of sharpshooters blasted past Tadeki, nearly hitting him. Eventually, he stumbled into a clutch of men he recognized and made his way to his regiment. After a minute of hustling, the camp had mustered and they all made their way to various spots along the walls, lieutenants shouting a flurry of orders at various groups. Tadeki followed his regiment to the northern wall and took a spot next to the overhang support. He took a knee so a man behind him could aim over his head and he propped his rifle over the wall. The shelling had been intense during the onset but now it had dribbled down to a sparse shelling. Random rounds struck at different times indiscriminately across the fort. To make matters worse, the fog had decided it was a good time to thicken, visibility reduced to only a hundred yards. The fort had only two levels which meant if they had to fall back, they had one other chance to hold the ground. Normally, Tadeki wouldn't worry but General Sadafuse had been forced to give his Armstrong guns to the 5th Army. Their guns had been sunk on a transport ship on its way back from a refit. Now, the 1st Army only had rifle and steely nerve to fend off attackers. The shelling had ceased and the field laid quiet for a few minutes before Tadeki started noticing shapes moving in the distance. There was thick tree cover in front of them so it was hard to tell if his eyes were playing tricks or if there were really enemy soldiers there. He had never fired his gun at a person before. He hoped his eyes were failing him. The next moment, at the base of the dark treeline, red flashes appeared and a split second later, loud bangs and whistles and cracks assaulted Tadeki's ears. he felt a warm sensation splash against his neck and he turned to see the man behind him squirting blood out of a fist sized hole in what was once his face. Tadeki heaved as more bullets impacted the wall below him. His regiment returned fire, their own bullets rippling into the smoke made by the enemy guns. Distant screams could be heard but Tadeki couldn't tell how many. He fired his rifle, lowered it to work the bolt and then repeated the cycle.

Ten Minutes After First Contact
Tadeki grappled with a soldier dressed in a uniform he hadn't seen before. An odd thought to run through your mind in the middle of a fight. Nevertheless, Tadeki continued to bash at him and swing his sword bayonet longways and front ways. He drew blood across the enemy soldiers arm, causing his foe to let out an enraged howl. The enemy soldier lunged at Tadeki with a pike and the young rifleman dodged to the side, careful not to stumble into a nearby tussle between Yari Ki and other enemy soldiers. The pike was thrust forwards again and Tadeki moved just in time to bat it down into the mud with his rifle. With the weapon rendered impotent, Tadeki recovered, planted his back foot and trust upwards at his enemy. The bayonet penetrated the man at the chest and, as Tadeki followed through with his trust, the blade cut up, across the neck, into his chin. The enemy soldier gurgled and whimpered as he clutched at the gushing gash with spasmodic fingers. Tadeki watched in horror as the soldier gripped at loose tubes and veins in a fruitless attempt to cling to the last moments of life. The soldier went limp and toppled onto his knees and into the mud. Tadeki felt bile welling up in his stomach. His eyes started darting around, searching for another foe but he was too preoccupied with vomiting to see an enemy horseman on a direct path galloping towards him.

Tadeki heaved a final time and spun his head around as he heard the steady thumping of hooves to his left. The katana swung down at his neck and Tadeki dropped to his knees to avoid it. His hands fumbling for his weapon, he managed to grip the strap of his rifle and with his knee planted on the butt stock, he pulled on the sling and brought the blade of his bayonet up into the knees of the horse. The pair toppled to the ground, the animal crushing the rider. As the horse stumbled to its feet, limping away, the rider clutched at his collapsed chest, blood running from the corners of his mouth. Tadeki was beginning to panic. He was breathing so fast he thought he would pass out. Bile began welling up in him again but he forced it back down. Disoriented by the growing panic, Tadeki stumbled to his feet almost drunkenly and made his way over to the fallen rider. The man was suffering, his eyes darting between the dark sky above and Tadeki. His chest was quite sunken, his armor dented inwards and his shirt soaked in blood. Tadeki, dry heaving now, worked the bolt on his rifle and leveled it with the wounded soldier. He looked away and pulled the trigger, the bang louder than he expected. He felt blood fleck his face and heard the man moan in relief. Two men. He had killed two men today.

The thick fog from earlier had enabled two full regiments of enemy soldiers to infiltrate the western gate. They killed the guards and a regiment of Satsuman soldiers posted there. With the capture of the gate, the enemy had full reign of the main battlements. Thankfully, the Guardsmen were able to retake the gate and drive the enemy out, but not before they slaughtered a score of defenders. A withered soldier with a bandage around his ear sauntered up to Tadeki. The young soldier had propped himself up against a bullet riddled wall on the east side of the fort after the battle. The wounded man reached into a basket and produced a thick slab of hardtack and an apple. He laid them at Tadeki's side when he refused to take them. "Eat. It makes you feel better." Tadeki dismissed the man with a wave. He looked down at the red apple. He had killed two men.