Author note: I don't own Critical Role OR Bravely Default/Second. If I did, a lot of things would be different.
I am so thrilled to write this fic into existence, and here it is—the Bravely Default/Critical Role crossover! I just had to write a fanfic starring the Mighty Nein and some Bravely characters once I got into following Critical Role (more specifically campaign 2). This is my first Critical Role fanfic, so I hope I did all the Mighty Nein justice when writing them. I hope you all enjoy reading this!
Warning: Takes place post-Bravely Second in the Bravely series and post-Episode 26 of Critical Role Campaign 2. CANON DIVERGENT BECAUSE MOLLY IS ALIVE IN THIS, BY THE WAY. Canon-typical violence will happen, and there will be definite spoilers for Bravely Default and Bravely Second (though more for Bravely Default due to backstory stuff thrown in) as well as Campaign 2 of Critical Role. As of writing this fic, I am fully caught up with Critical Role Campaign 2 up to Episode 56. I also do have a few headcanons about Kamiizumi that will reveal itself a little later in the fic.
An Eclectic Bunch
Summary: The Mighty Nein, while investigating a series of murders in Florem, end up running into a certain Swordmaster that is investgating this same case. What happens when they decide to team up?
Swordmaster Nobutsuna Kamiizumi was perfectly attuned to battle. He'd lived through a four-year civil war in Eisen and even was a key commander, on top of being master of all forms of swordplay. He worked alone and with teams such as the Black Blades. Heck, he had a former pupil, Edea Lee, who (with her companions) defeated two evil gods.
But after everything died down with the Grantz Empire and the world was safe from Providence, evil god number two, he hadn't expected something to up and ambush him while investigating the woods outside Florem. Then again, no one generally expected ambushes while simply travelling.
As far as Kamiizumi understood so far, the person wore a nearly-all-black uniform, and had a lot of daggers on them. Unfortunately, that was all he could get so far, given how fast they moved.
One of said daggers managed to slice lightly into his side, the next one barely grazing his cheek. No fatal wounds yet, but he was aware that whatever this assassin or attacker could do, they had the agility and were certainly well-trained. There was another dagger thrown, but Kamiizumi dodged it this time.
He felt his cheek sting a bit. Then it started going numb.
Crystals, poison!?
He felt his reflexes slow slightly, and he barely dodged another thrown dagger at him.
He was not going to let a tiny bit of poison destroy him. Not as long as he could keep fighting.
Before any further fighting could happen, however, that was when an arrow whizzed past both Kamiizumi and his attacker, hitting the tree behind them. Kamiizumi quickly dove out of the way of the next arrow as it hit the attacker right in the shoulder.
"Eldritch blast!" A voice called out, before magic came towards the attacker.
The attacker grunted, pulling out the arrow and barely sidestepping the magic attack, just before they jumped out of the way of a ball of fire hurling towards them. However, the attacker couldn't dodge the next blast of magic after that fireball, and it hit them square in the chest, sending them flying into the thicket where Kamiizumi couldn't see him.
That magic was something Kamiizumi hadn't seen before, despite all his years of combat experience and fighting alongside the Duchy of Eternia. How odd.
"Hey!"
Kamiizumi looked to his left, and a green-skinned man was there to help him up. From the corner of his eye, Kamiizumi saw two people (one short and one taller) run into the bushes where the attacker had landed, probably to investigate. "You alright? Hope you don't mind the help."
"I am alright, thank you." He gratefully accepted the other's hand, standing quickly and straightening himself once he was up, looking to the other, realizing at once that the green-skinned man wasn't alone; there were others that were with him, some shorter, some taller, some not quite human-looking. "I am grateful you and your companions were here."
"Hey, Nott? Caleb?" One of the man's companions, a woman dressed in what appeared to be something resembling monk robes, called to a ginger-haired man and a much shorter goblin wrapped up in raggedy clothing (small, like a scavenger of sorts). Kamiizumi saw them re-emerge from the bushes up ahead, realizing that they were the ones chasing after the attacker moments earlier. "Do you see the guy we were trailing?"
"They're gone." The man had a thicker accent out of the group, and Kamiizumi noticed a cat crawl up onto the man's shoulder. "Nott and I tried to stop them, but they managed to flee. They almost hurt Frumpkin…"
"We were so close!" The goblin lamented, shaking her head. "I swear, if my arrow hadn't missed that last time…"
Kamiizumi looked to the goblin, offering her a reassuring smile as he quickly took out an Antidote to consume. "I'm just grateful you and your companions came to my aid. Thank you." He heaved a relieved breath as he felt the numbing in his cheek vanish after a few seconds. He stretched his arms behind his back, partially extended so he didn't hit anyone by accident, and he felt perfectly normal compared to how sluggish he felt earlier.
Good. Poison gone.
"Is he the murderer?" The woman dressed in blue, dark hair tied into a bun, asked. "The guy you were fighting, that is?"
"Wait, what?" Kamiizumi stared. "You know about the murders in Florem?"
"Wait, what!?" The goblin blurted as her eyes widened. "You're working on the same case we are!?"
Kamiizumi blinked. "I was not aware that there were others working on this same case. I was sent here by the Duchy of Eternia to investigate this and arrived just last night."
Though the Black Blades were long-disbanded and he himself left Eternia for years to improve his way of the sword before returning in time to assist with the Grantz Empire situation, Kamiizumi still was considered a member of the Duchy. The new Grand Marshal, Edea Lee (former pupil), asked Kamiizumi to look into it after reports arose of several murders. Kamiizumi couldn't help but go with the task. It was bad to know that there were innocents being terrorized.
"Some of the residents of Florem asked us to look into the case earlier this morning." The woman dressed in blue explained.
"Quite the coincidence…" He paused, surveying the group. "Is there a name you have for yourselves, altogether?
"Yeah!" the blue-skinned woman grinned widely, clapping her hands together. "We're The Mighty Nein!"
Kamiizumi did a quick head count of the group. "...there are only eight of you, unless you're counting the cat as a member."
The cat on the ginger-haired man's shoulder mewed a bit, but said nothing otherwise.
Kamiizumi noticed that there were two other people—a purple-skinned wearing the most extravagant clothes he'd ever seen, conversing with a woman whose dark hair slowly turned white as it trailed down. He guessed they must be with the Mighty Nein, too. The Swordmaster then overheard blue-skinned woman gushing to to the monk-looking woman about how brilliant the name was, before his attention was drawn to a furry-looking, pink haired guy who cleared his throat a bit.
"I think this calls for a bit of tea," The white-furred, pink-haired companion stated, "And, perhaps, some explanations? I'm completely lost here."
"It's alright," Kamiizumi managed, looking to him and offering him a reassuring grin. "I think I'm rather lost, too."
The group and Kamiizumi decided to just take a moment to just temporarily make camp, heal up and, of course, have tea. Kamiizumi took notice of the blue tiefling and the pink-haired people being the main healers, and the Swordmaster also offered the party a few Potions and herbs he had on hand in return.
"That was so cool!" The blue-skinned tiefling gushed to Kamiizumi after finishing healing her friends. "The fighting, and the twirling of your blades and everything!"
The Swordmaster blinked, looking to her while the pink-haired healer brewed tea. "Thank you, Miss..?"
"Hi," She greeted warmly, suddenly, extending her hand to him, "I'm Jester."
Kamiizumi awkwardly shook her hand. "A pleasure to meet you, Miss Jester." He looked to the others. "And I haven't introduced myself, I apologize. I am Nobutsuna Kamiizumi. Most people call me Swordmaster, as I hold the Swordmaster Asterisk, or just Kamiizumi."
"So you're the famous Swordmaster we've heard people speak of?" There was another person with horns, probably another tiefling like Jester, Kamiizumi guessed. "A pleasure to finally meet you."
The Swordmaster faltered, offering his hand to the other. "I didn't think people spoke of me that much these days. And you are...?"
"Mollymauk," The purple-skinned one responded, eyes dancing with interest and a glint of mischief, "Tealeaf. Call me Molly, for short."
The pink-haired firblog introduced himself next, much more calmly than Jester and Molly had. "I'm Caduceus Clay." And then, a cup is offered to him. "Tea?"
"Oh, thank you." Kamiizumi gratefully took the cup of tea from Caduceus. The Swordmaster always liked tea better than most beverages, and he handled it better than coffee. "I appreciate it."
"That tea is made of dead people," Jester told Kamiizumi right before he could sip it, and the Swordmaster's grip on the teacup faltered as the statement fully registered itself in his head.
"Wh-wha…?" The Swordmaster stared down at the cup, blinking. It looked like regular tea to him, but he also didn't want to be rude to Caduceus given that he already took a cup, so he took a sip of the dead person tea.
Oh. It didn't taste bad, actually. If anything, it was pretty good. Kamiizumi made the note to not tell Edea that he drank tea made of dead people in his report after all this was over.
"I'm Fjord," the green-skinned man spoke up, chuckling a bit at Jester's remark about the tea. "Nice to meet you."
The blue-wearing woman grinned. "I'm Beau."
The dark-haired, and most pale lady out of them looked to him with a neutral expression. "I'm Yasha."
The short goblin waved to get Kamiizumi's attention, and he noted the porcelain mask covering half her face. "Nott! Nott the Brave."
"You have a lot of fur on you." Jester pointed out. "Were you fighting any other monsters in the area?"
The Swordmaster looked down at his own cat-hair covered clothes. "It must be from my cat, Tsubaki. He tends to shed quite a bit, for a tabby cat, no matter how much I clean up. Same with Bismarck."
"Is Bismarck another cat?" Nott asked.
"He's a lion, actually."
Nott looked like she restrained herself from dropping her jaw. "Y-you have a lion!?"
"They're both at home right now, I assure you."
"How did you get a pet lion?"
"It's a long story. Bismarck and Tsubaki are more like family to me, as opposed to pets, however."
"Hey, Caleb!" Beau called towards a ginger-haired man who looked on the thin side, "We got another cat lover like you!"
"What?" A ginger-haired man came over to the group, the one that was with Nott trying to track that attacker earlier.
"Kamiizumi," Beau gestured to the mage at her side. "This is Caleb."
"Hallo, Swordmaster." The human mage gave Kamiizumi a nod of acknowledgement. "Nice to meet you."
Kamiizumi smiled back at him. "I hear you're a fellow cat fancier?"
A cat crawled up onto Caleb's shoulder, and Caleb gently petted the cat with one hand. "This is Frumpkin. My familiar."
"Hello, Frumpkin." Kamiizumi smiled at the cat, before gently extending a hand towards the feline familiar. Said feline sniffed at his hand, before a soft "meow" escaped it.
"It seems Frumpkin likes you." Caleb managed.
"That's good." Kamiizumi noted, just before Fjord spoke up.
"Now that we're all accquainted," Fjord finally stated, "Seems we're all working on the same case here, we just happened to get it at around the same time without the other knowing. Maybe we should team up, Swordmaster? You seem to know this area a bit better than we would, and you'd have more than just yourself working on this case."
"Yes!" Jester burst, nearly bouncing on her heels. "Nine heads are better than eight, right?"
"That really would make us the Mighty Nine, then." Yasha pointed out.
"But," Kamiizumi gestured to Frumpkin, "Would it not be The Mighty Ten with Frumpkin? Or are we not including the animals in this case?"
"The Mighty Ten doesn't have the same ring to it." Beau explained.
"Well, Swordmaster," Caleb couldn't help but chuckle, as he looked to him, "Welcome to the Mighty Nein."
As far as Kamiizumi knew, once they hit the nearest tavern, the Mighty Nein were ones for drinking (especially Molly, and except for Cadaceus). Kamiizumi refrained from alcohol, opting to have some tea instead.
"So the attacks seem to be in the woods surrounding the city of Florem." Kamiizumi noted. He was glad he brought a spare map of the area with him, and he marked each of the spots with some ink borrowed from Caleb. "Whoever is there must be familiar with the woodland area, to get around quickly. Interestingly, they're far away from the area where all the cats congregate."
"Cats congregate in a specific area of Florem?" Caleb's eyes were wide, and Kamiizumi wondered how much the man loved cats. Maybe it was just the one familiar, maybe it was many.
"Yes, they do. That's how I met my one cat, Tsubaki. The cats here in Florem communicate with each other quite well. If the attacker is avoiding that area, he's probably trying to stay clear of their communication, which could have reached my daughter, Minette, at some point. She's a Catmancer—meaning that she has the ability to communicate with cats."
"Whoa, hold on," Beau interrupted, staring, "your daughter's a cat and an assassin?"
"Half-cat. That story is also complicated."
"We have Frumpkin and you happen to get along with cats! AND your daughter is a cat" Nott exclaimed, pointing at all the cats in the garden. "Caleb, you and the Swordmaster are both basicallyl cat dads!"
Caleb blinked, looking to Kamiizumi. "Where is your daughter now...? Is she at home?"
The Swordmaster shook his head, his mind turning to the energetic Catmancer that is his daughter. "She's currently studying at the Al-Khampis Academy in Ancheim. I thought it best not to take her out of her studies, as she has exams coming up. Also, I didn't want her getting hurt."
The Mighty Nein all gave some indication of understanding, a nod, a wordless hum, shared glances with each other. Kamiizumi couldn't help but wonder if they had similar situations involving family getting hurt or at risk of being hurt. He decided not to ask.
"And she is happy there?"
"Last I heard from her, yes."
"That is good. I'm glad to hear that." There was a relief in Caleb's eyes that Kamiizumi couldn't quite place, but he decided not to ask about it.
"We could bring all the cats outside their usual area and spread them through the woods." Molly pointed out inbetween sips of wine. "That way, they'll find the attacker at some point. And, Swordmaster, can you communicate with cats like your daughter, or is it just her?"
The Swordmaster gave him a guilty look. "Just her. I can't figure out feline-speak myself. Do any of you...?"
All the Mighty Nein looked to each other, silently asking each other with their stares if any of them could speak the cat language, before Caleb spoke up.
"I could try casting Comprehend Languages. I've never tried it on actual cats before, but it's worth a shot."
Kamiizumi nods, then stands. "That does it. We need to get to those cats."
"Wait," Yasha looked up from her drink, "now?"
"The sooner we get to the cats, the better, correct?"
"Can you navigate the Florem woods at night?"
"…." Kamiizumi sat back down. "I think that'll have to wait until tomorrow morning, on second thought."
Kamiizumi and the Mighty Nein woke up to find out an attack occurred somewhere just outside Florem during the night. Two children, endangered. A couple of guardians managed to somewhat chase off the attacker, and one of them revealed that they tore off a bit of said person's clothing during the scuffle. Kamiizumi took the cloth from them, frowning at its design.
Fjord noticed the frown. "Is there anything particular about this that you know, Swordmaster?"
"I recognize the symbol, Fjord." Kamiizumi stated, looking to him. "It's the symbol of the Swordbearers."
"Have you fought them before?" Yasha asked, staring at the torn cloak.
"Fought with them, technically." The Swordmaster's face turned to a grimace as he recalled the gruesome memories. "I worked with them in a past civil war, some years ago. Me and my Black Blades were sent by the Duchy of Eternia to collaborate with them so we could secure the Eisen Region's Fire Crystal to prevent the overall destruction of the world. We lost the war, and we ended up breaking off ties with the Swordbearer's commander around the end of the war as well. The last I ever saw of the commander, he retreated via airship to evade capture. I hadn't heard of him since, but I know he was considering making a comeback."
"And now he's terrorizing and murdering citizens of Florem?" Beau frowned. "Why the hell would he do that?"
"That I don't know. Though I imagine being in Florem would be helpful for the commander himself, and less likely for him to die of heatstroke or lacking water. Eisen is a very volcanic region in comparison."
"You were in a volcano-filled region for four years in a civil war?" Yasha looked mildly surprised. "How…?"
Kamiizumi grimaced. "The heat was not good for any of us. And that wasn't even the worst of what happened back then. There are…things, that occurred during then, that I technically share responsibility for."
"And…" the Mighty Nein all exchanged looks, but it was Molly that asked, "What are those things? If you don't mind us asking, that is."
Kamiizumi hesitated. He barely knew them for less than a day or two, but he also knew now that this case was deeply connected to him. It would make sense for them to know everything, even if it might bring some discord between him and them.
They deserved to know. He doubted they were native to Luxendarc as is, or at least not the Florem Region, but they still deserved to know.
"The slaughtering of many Shieldbearers, not just through regular warfare but also because of one of my past subordinates, Qada." The Swordmaster always hated bringing up Qada, but it was an important part, even if it was vile. "He was a Salve-Maker, and…he created a Toxic Mist that enveloped the battlefield and killed not just a hundred thousand Shieldbearers, but also a thousand of the Swordbearers. It also left that area of battle impossible to inhabit for the entire rest of the war. Furthermore, in our attempt to capture the Fire Vestal to secure the Fire Crystal, the Vestal died and Mount Karka erupted, sealing off the regular path to the temple and thus losing access. That's the main reason the war even took so long."
"Shit." It was Fjord overheard muttering, and the Swordmaster averted his gaze from him. Kamiizumi knew it sounded really bad, but he also knew there was more than this. "Is that the worst?"
Kamiizumi shook his head. "There is more. Me and the Black Blades had no direct involvement in this next matter, but the Swordbearers abducted innocent children in Eisen and forced them to work in the Mythril mines to keep up with resources for weapons. I would've put a stop to it, out of my conscience, but…my hands were tied. If I tried getting anywhere close to stopping it, I would've jeopardized the alliance we had with the Swordbearers."
The Mighty Nein all went silent. Kamiizumi was worried that they might say something about it, ditch him and continue on the mission of hunting the Swordbearers themselves. That they might be ashamed of him, or even horrified.
"That is…that entire war is seriously fucked up, dude."
That was what Beau finally managed after a moment. She almost looked like she wanted to ask "How are you alive?" But then Kamiizumi saw the question fade in her eyes almost immediately as it came.
It dawned on him, noticing that the group didn't look outright horrified but most of them shared pity or some disturbance, that perhaps he wasn't the only one that was in a screwed up scenario like the civil war. Perhaps these travelers also suffered past tragedies. He didn't want to ask.
"After the war ended, I went travelling by myself for three years to sort myself out. I'm even surprised I'm still alive, sometimes. I'm aware that what I did back then wasn't good." Kamiizumi put the torn cloth away with his other supplies, "I just want to do right by others, at this point. I'm not going back to that mess again. That is why hunting the Swordbearers is important to me—if I hadn't worked with them on behalf of the Duchy, maybe none of this would have happened. Or the war lasting for so long, causing so much harm. I want to help fix things regarding that in any way I can."
"You were ordered to help them by the Duchy though, right?" Beau asked, scratching the back of her neck briefly. "You didn't have a choice."
"Yes, I was assigned to do so. But," Kamiizumi found his gaze looking away from them, just a bit out of shame, "that doesn't excuse my participation in it. And yes, though Qada was the one that used that Toxic Mist and went against my orders not to….it still happened. And I'm his commander, and I take full responsibility."
He thought he saw Caleb flinch, just a bit, but he wasn't sure. It made Kamiizumi wonder if the Mighty Nein would just turn on him, and he couldn't stop talking.
"I'm sorry you all got dragged into this. I really am—I would have told you all to turn back if I knew they were behind this in the first place. But, if we fight together, and if we're able to capture the Swordbearer leader for sure, it'll much harder for them to mobilize without their leader and make it easier to stop the remaining forces in the long run." The Swordmaster took a deep breath, then looked them all in the eyes. "Are you still willing to work with me, knowing all this now?"
The Mighty Nein all exchanged glances with each other, silent at first, but then Fjord spoke up.
"Look, Swordmaster." The half-orc started, "We appreciate you giving us context of the situation involving these Swordbearers. And I think now that we know our common enemy, it'll be easy for all of us to take them down faster."
"I think it's still better if we work together." Jester managed, blinking. "Of course we'd work together! Right?"
"Wait," the Swordmaster faltered, "You're not…mad?"
"About your involvement in the war?" Caleb asked.
"Yes. That." Kamiizumi withheld a sigh. "Some people don't…generally trust me, given my involvement in the war."
Caleb nodded, seemingly understanding what the Swordmaster meant with that. "Well, clearly if you're working against the Swordbearers now, you're trying to do better. That's a good thing. And if we split from you now, it wouldn't help us much with trying to stop them."
The Swordmaster couldn't help but smile at that. "Thank you. All of you."
He meant those words. Every bit of them.
Caduceus pulled Kamiizumi aside after the rest of the group dispersed to look for more clues, asking, "Is this the first time you got, er, tangled up in an assignment involving the Swordbearers after the civil war?"
Kamiizumi looked into Caduceus' eyes and he knew that the firblog certainly knew what was going on. He paused, then shook his head.
"It's not the first time." Kamiizumi confessed.
There had been a couple of assignments involving the Swordbearers in the past since the Eisen Civil War. Kamiizumi took them up willingly, knowing of the harm they'd caused, knowing too well of what they could do. They caused massive damage because of the access they had to resources by working with the Duchy of Eternia. And though Kamiizumi knew there were no other larger organizations that he could think of that would ally with the Swordbearers right now, he knew he had to nip them down as soon as he could.
"We'll stop them." Caduceus reassured them. "I also think that you're a lot better than what you give yourself credit for."
"All I did was wander for three years after that civil war, Caduceus, trying to find a direction." Kamiizumi shook his head. "I don't…I don't know, sometimes, if I really am doing any better.
Caduceus shrugged. "I stayed around a graveyard and my house for most my life until I met the Mighty Nein. Sometimes all you can do is just wait to find out."
Kamiizumi could only pray and hope that Caduceus was right.
The party soon made it to where all the cats regularly gathered in Florem, and Kamiizumi almost immediately got on a knee to greet some of the cats.
"So…many…cats…" Caleb seemed in absolute awe of them.
Mollymauk chuckled as several of the cats came up to him, sniffing, before one of them tried to climb up his leg. Mollymauk responded to that by crouching down, picking the cat up with both hands. "Well, they certainly seem to think I'm charming."
"Do they all just live here?" Yasha asked aloud. She noticed some of the flowers spread throughout the area, and went to go pick a few.
Fjord sneezed. "Maybe I should wait outside the vicinity…"
Kamiizumi looked to him. "You're allergic to cats? I hope it's not fatal?"
"No, it's—achoo!—nothing serious…I…I'll wait outside." Fjord turned to leave, probably to wait outside, but that was when a rustling sound came form the bushes.
Nott immediately pointed her crossbow at the bush. "What was that?"
"Nott?" Jester asked, looking to the goblin. "Maybe it's just a cat?"
Yasha frowned, her nose wrinkling a bit as she looked to Jester and Nott. "It doesn't sound like a cat."
With that in mind, Nott fired the arrow before Kamiizumi could protest.
A very loud "FUCK!" came from the bushes, just before a man, covered in blood from head to toe, stumbled out. Maybe not quite covered head to toe, given that it was his otherwise white clothing that was mostly stained with blood, but close enough. Nott almost fired her crossbow again when Kamiizumi quickly ran in front, blocking her.
"Wait, don't shoot!"
"What!?" Nott lowered her crossbow, the Mighty Nein all looking to Kamiizumi, before Nott stared at him, dumbfounded as she gestured to the bloody man with one hand. "But…wait, you know this guy!?"
"Yes, I know him." Kamiizumi managed, looking between the Mighty Nein and the new person. "This is Geist Grace, the Exorcist. We've…we know each other."
"An Exorcist?" Beau stared. "I thought they'd be, you know, less blood-covered?"
Geist glared at her, one of his hands resting over the arrow that stuck through his left arm. "Don't judge it."
Kamiizumi shrugged. "It's a default look for him. Just get used to it."
"And I thought Caleb needed a bath." Jester was overheard murmuring. Caleb looked slightly taken aback at seeing Geist Grace's bloody state, but decided not to comment.
Geist shook his head at Nott, glaring. "I ought to kill you. You could've gotten my lung or something."
The Mighty Nein tensed almost instantly. Kamiizumi glared at him.
"Geist, that is a disproportionate amount of retribution for an accident. Also, they're with me. Don't do it."
Geist looked to Kamiizumi, in disbelief, and then his eyes narrowed as he looked to Nott. "Don't shoot me again," He hissed, before looking to Kamiizumi with an exasperated groan. "Please don't tell me you all are looking for the person behind terrorizing the citizens of Florem."
"Wait," Molly's jaw dropped, "You're looking into this, too!?"
"Shit, you are. And yes, I am!" Geist shook his head, hissing. "Undo!"
The arrow came out of his arm, and the wound closed as if he never got shot in the first place. Said arrow fell onto the grassy ground, perfectly clean.
Kamiizumi saw most of the Mighty Nein's jaws all drop, except for Caduceus, who seemed rather relaxed about this, and Jester, who bounced on her heels in excitement.
"You know healing spells?" Caduceus noted. "Nice."
"Is the Exorcist like some kind of Cleric?" Jester asked, her mouth wide in a smile. "That was really cool!"
It was Geist's turn to be surprised. "You…think it's cool?"
"Yeah!"
A soft chuckle escaped the Exorcist's lips. "That is very nice to hear. It's not often people admire abilities like my own. So," His red eyes looked into Jester's own, "Mind explaining to me what's going on? I just got into Florem minutes ago."
It took a few moments for the Mighty Nein and Kamiizumi to explain to Geist the whole situation and who they were now tracking, and Geist was not amused, given the seething glare that ensued.
"So what you're saying is, we're hunting down a man that you," He pointed to Kamiizumi, "let get away at the time, and if you'd just cut him and his troops down during then, things would be a lot easier right now."
Kamiizumi grimaced, but he could only nod. "You have a point about that. To be fair, they left by themselves. They didn't even care about half their own troops, who I ended up having to rally myself as best as I could last second."
Geist tsked under his breath but didn't comment further, looking to the others. "So we are all on the same mission. Interesting."
Kamiizumi blinked. "Were you sent here, too? I was sent by Edea. Did she…"
"She thought you might need the backup, but she didn't give me full details of the matter before sending me." Geist explained, resting a hand on his hip. He seemed to frown still at the mention of Edea, and Kamiizumi knew that the two weren't exactly on good terms (for arguably good reason). "I'm glad to hear of the whole matter from you, though."
"So, uh," Beau started, "Any sign of the Swordbearers, Geist? They would wear something like…" She looked to Kamiizumi, "You still have that cloth?"
Kamiizumi nodded, taking out the cloth to show to Geist. The Exorcist's red eyes widened in recognition.
"There's no need to use any tracking cats—I saw some men pass by me earlier with that symbol on their armor." Geist managed, keeping his voice low. "I hid, so they didn't see me, but I remember the direction they were heading."
"How about you lead us?" Kamiizumi asked. "We need to track them down as fast as possible."
"Good." Geist chuckled, taking out a rapier. "Time for some blood!"
"Geist." Kamiizumi gave him a look. "We have strict orders to try to not kill anyone. Capture them, but no deaths unless necessary."
"I can bring them back so we can kill them." The murderous, bloodthirsty glint appeared in Geist's eyes. "Again. And again. And…"
"Geist."
Geist stopped himself, looking to the Mighty Nein who had mixed reactions of relative calm or slight surprise (Beau, Yasha and Caduceus) a few stares (from Jester, Caleb and Molly), and some about to freak out (Nott and Fjord), before Geist finally sighed, dropping the bloodthirsty mantra at once. "Fine."
"Oh, we've killed more than a couple people at this point." Nott reassured Kamiizumi. "We're fine."
Kamiizumi shook his head. "You…don't want to see Geist get that bloodthirsty. Trust me."
Geist led the Mighty Nein and Kamiizumi to what appeared to be a small camp of Swordbearers. There were a few soldiers keeping watching as they sat by a fire they made, presumably for cooking, and the leader stood among a few others off to the side by one of the pitched-up tents.
"What do we do?" Kamiizumi heard Jester whisper. "I think there's about twenty of them? Maybe a few more or less."
"There's a few archers." Caduceus also noted. "Most of them just have swords or polearms."
Yasha looked to Kamiizumi, asking, "You know these people and how they fight. How do you best ambush them?"
Kamiizumi paused, his eyes on the leader for a moment, before looking to the others. "Do any of you have any spells to disguise yourselves and pose as soldiers? I think the best plan is to isolate the commander and knock him out first. It'll be easier to fight the Swordbearers if they lack their leader."
"I can slaughter them all." Geist offered. Kamiizumi gave him a look, and the Exorcist huffed. "I can bring them back, you know I can!"
"Let's not traumatize them all for life, Geist."
"Maybe they deserve it, given the child-kidnapping and all the other shit they pulled."
"…Fair point. Try not to kill them, but if you do, at least bring them back."
"Agreed."
Nott almost laughed as she looked to the rest of the Mighty Nein. "Did we all just get free license to kill the Swordbearers?"
Kamiizumi almost scowled, but managed to suppress it enough. "I just said try not to kill them!"
"Also a fair point." Geist managed, raising an eyebrow. "I don't want to run out of MP and end up having too many corpses to bring back."
"I can use Revivify if needed." Jester offered.
Kamiizumi looked to her. "We'll see how it is after the battle, Jester, but thank you for offering the help."
Fjord looked to the camp, then looked to Kamiizumi. "About isolating the commander, I can cast Disguise Self to look like a Swordbearer to lure him out. Once I do, we can get him."
"Sounds good." Kamiizumi looked to the others, watching them all. Beau was a monk, Mollymauk a bloodhunter, Jester and Caduceus were clerics, Nott was a thief (who had good crossbow skills), Caleb a wizard and Yasha a barbarian.
"From what I see here—Beau, Fjord, and Caleb, the three of you can help me make sure the commander is out for the count, just in case he takes a few other soldiers with him while we're trying to isolate him. The rest of you and Geist can rally the remaining Swordbearers and we'll try to come join you after we're done with the commander. How about that?"
It was ten of them versus a camp of Swordbearers. Kamiizumi knew that he and Geist would probably be fine against multiple foes, and he wasn't sure how many foes the Mighty Nein had gone up against at once, but they seemed to work well together. Given that they travelled together for quite some time now, the Swordmaster was more than sure that they could pull this off.
"Commander, sir! I spotted a spy from this direction. It might be one of the Black Blades!"
"What!? Show me!"
Kamiizumi watched from the bushes as Fjord (disguised as a soldier) led the Swordbearer commander (along with three soldiers, one of them an archer) into the thicket of bushes and trees where the rest of the Swordbearer camp wouldn't see them as easily.
The Swordbearer commander appeared impatient, scowling as he looked around. "So!? Where's this spy?"
Kamiizumi stepped out from the bushes he hid behind, looking the Swordbearer commander in the eye with his katana unsheathed and in hand. "Right here."
The Swordbearers all turned to entirely face him, but that was when Caleb blasted a wall of fire right at them from Kamiizumi's right. The Swordbearers put up their shields, in a poor attempt to ward off the blast as Fjord slipped away in time, dropping his disguise, but Kamiizumi threw himself right into the Swordbearers' path after the fire was starting to fade. With a few swipes, he disarmed one of the Swordbearers, bashing him in the side of the head with the hilt of his katana, before delivering an uppercut punch to the face with his free hand, and the man fell.
Beau, meanwhile, also closed in on the group, delivering a fury of blows on another Swordbearer, several of the punches hitting the side of the target's head, sides, and then one hard one in the jaw. The Swordbearer also fell, unconscious.
The Swordbearer Commander already started making a retreat, but Caleb shook his head, casting another spell. Immediately, a giant cat paw seemed to appear out of nowhere, before it slammed the Swordbearer Commander into the nearest tree, pinning him there.
Fjord pointed his falchion at the one other, still conscious and not pinned to anything but clearly terrified-looking, Swordbearer. "I suggest you surrender."
The intimidating glare Fjord gave made the Swordbearer squeal in fright, dropping his crossbow and holding up his hands.
Beau responded to that by hitting him in the side of the head with another punch, making the man drop unconscious.
"How, how dare you—!" The Swordbearer Commander struggled against the cat paw keeping him pinned against the tree, glaring at Kamiizumi and the other three through the visor of his helmet. "There's more of us! You can't beat us all!"
Kamiizumi was about to say something when the sound of several screams came in the air, followed by a "Brilliant, Yasha!" that most likely came from Geist, given the hallowed laughter that ensued. More screams of fright and clashing blades followed, and the Swordmaster couldn't help but chuckle.
"Caleb, Beau, Fjord, do any of you three want to do the honors?"
Beau nudged Caleb. "Go for it. You're the one that got the commander pinned here."
Caleb nodded, before he cast another spell. The commander's eyes rolled a bit, before the eyelids slipped shut.
"Just a Sleep spell." Caleb managed. "You did say you didn't want him dead, right?"
Kamiizumi paused, looking from Caleb, and then to the Swordbearer Commander. "I honestly wouldn't mind if you actually killed him, but this will do."
The Swordmaster pretended not to notice the stares from the rest of the Mighty Nein as they made a quick job of tying up the Swordbearers and making sure they had no weapons to cut themselves loose, before running back to the camp to see how the others were doing.
By the time they rejoined the others, it seemed that all the other Swordbearers were either knocked out or, in the case of a few lying by Geist's feet as he 'undid' their injuries or probable deaths.
"You missed everything!" Jester informed them excitedly. "Yasha used Rage and took out almost half of what was left! And Nott got the last one conscious to surrender before we knocked him out!"
"And then I accidentally killed two." Geist managed, looking down at the no-longer-corpses-but-still-unconscious Swordbearers. "Don't worry. They're alive now."
Beau looked to Geist, staring. "Accidentally killed two?"
Geist shrugged. "It's not my fault they got in the way of my Eradication spell and everyone else happened to dodge it."
"Did you get everyone?" Kamiizumi asked, looking around.
Nott nodded, going to pick up an arrow that hadn't hit anyone and just hit a nearby barrel. "Seems so. What about all of you?"
"We knocked out and tied up the other Swordbearers and their commander." Beau explained to her. "That means we got everyone."
Geist blinked. "That was a lot faster than I expected."
Jester flashed a grin. "We get the job done!"
After they rounded up all the captured Swordbearers and sent them to the nearest jail in Florem (for now, they still needed to interrogate the whole group or at least the leader and figure out what to do with them before the whole mission was really complete), for now, it was fair to say they probably needed a drink. They checked into he nearest inn before going out to get drinks. And so….
"So, Geist," Nott started, taking a swig of alcohol, "Have you traveled around a lot like Kamiizumi? Did you work with him?"
Geist shook his head. "No, I haven't directly worked with him until today in fact. Previously, I was part of an organization called the Grantz Empire. Long story short—we all got duped by an evil fairy who made us think that we would change the world for the better, and we had to stop an evil god from destroying the world as a result. We survived. The end."
"There was more before that, though." Kamiizumi noted, looking to him (he once again had tea, like Caduceus, instead of alcohol). "We never really personally talked to each other much or anything until recently, but you and my friend Braev Lee, the former Grand Marshal of Eternia, somewhat knew each other…right?"
Geist blinked, looking to him. "How much did Braev tell you about me?"
Kamiizumi swallowed. "He told me about that report you sent about the Plague. And you previously being part of the Orthodoxy."
Kamiizumi saw a grim look enter Geist's red eyes, before they looked into the cup of wine he had with him. "So, you knew."
"Only the gist of it. Not the full details."
"No pressure if you don't want to talk." Beau managed, taking a swig of her drink. "A lot of us has gone through some shit."
Caleb took a long sip of ale offered to him by Mollymauk. "I think some is an understatement."
Geist shook his head. "It's fine. Most people may say things about me, so I might as well give it to you straight." Geist took another sip of wine, possibly for liquid courage, before speaking. "I used to work for the Crystal Orthodoxy as their Exorcist, hence my position. I did leave, however, after the Great Plague occurred. The reason why it happened—I tried my best to stop a ship containing a patient who was ill with what became the Plague, and I failed."
"It wasn't just because of you." Kamiizumi cut in, looking to the Exorcist. "You sent a report to warn people of it. Braev got it, and…if it wasn't for your warning, we would've had more deaths on hand."
Geist's gaze softened as he looked to the Swordmaster, putting his cup of wine down. "…You have a point," He finally conceded after a moment of silence.
That was when Jester was overheard saying "This is so beautiful."
Both Kamiizumi and Geist gave her a stare, Geist picking up his cup of wine to drink from again. "What?"
"Are you two a thing?" Jester immediately asked. "Cause the way you two act is like you're in loooove with each other."
"What!?" Geist looked about to spit out the wine he just drank.
"Like from Tusk Love!" Jester insisted, eyes beaming with excitement. "With Oskar and…"
"I don't even know what Tusk Love is." The Swordmaster finally managed, staring at the blue tiefling. "Geist, do you have…?"
"No." Geist proceeded to take a very long sip of wine as Mollymauk and Beau were overheard laughing a bit. "Never heard of it."
Caleb and Fjord choked on their drinks. Nott looks like she's about to warn Geist about this book, but refrained from doing so. Even Caduceus looks mildly uncomfortable while Yasha just blinks.
Geist looked to the Mighty Nein's various reactions, staring right back at them. "Am I going to regret answering that question?"
Kamiizumi decided that yes, Geist would probably regret it, as Jester proceeded to take out the book called Tusk Love and read it aloud. Kamiizumi isn't sure if he's seen Geist's face go so red, before. It's admittedly somewhat adorable, given how rarely the Exorcist gets embarrassed.
In the morning after, the Mighty Nein and Kamiizumi and Geist bid adieu after they collected their rewards for helping out against the Swordbearers.
"Take care," Caduceus told them.
"You two should get together!" Jester called, leaving Geist blushing just a tad.
Caleb's goodbye was much less embarrassing. "Good luck against the Swordbearers."
Nott, Yasha and Beau were along the lines of "Nice to meet you!" and "Safe travels!"
"I hope we meet again." That was Mollymauk.
"Best wishes on your mission." Fjord told them. "And maybe say hello to this Grand Marshall when you return?"
Kamiizumi nodded, offering him a grin. "I'll put in good word for you for the Duchy of Eternia."
Kamiizumi additionally ended up getting a box of tea leaves from Caduceus, and Geist…
Geist got the book Jester read aloud last night.
Kamiizumi stared at the book in Geist's hands, then looked up at Geist's face, which contained a mixture of being flustered and grateful.
"Are you sincerely going to keep it?"
Geist shrugged, looking at the cover, before chuckling faintly, putting it away in a pocket inside his coat. "It's definitely not something I'd read aloud to anyone, but I suppose it's a worthy keepsake to remember those shenanigans."
"I see." A beat, then. "Geist?"
"Yeah?"
"…About Jester's suggestion earlier…"
Geist looked him right in the eye as he stated, "You want to date me."
Kamiizumi froze, completely caught. "…I might be open to trying that."
He saw Geist chuckle, before he faintly smiled.
"Well…"
"Oh, and Geist and I are dating now."
Edea Lee stared at the Swordmaster. Alternis Dim, the Dark Knight, made a choking sound.
Kamiizumi could only shrug, standing opposite them in the Grand Marshall's office, now back at Eternian Central Command. "This is not a joke. It's true."
"As of, um," Alternis finally asked, "When did this happen?"
"Since the end of the mission with the Mighty Nein." Kamiizumi managed, before looking to the nearby clock in the Grand Marshall's office. "That would be…well, since yesterday."
Edea ran a hand through her wavy blonde hair, a sigh escaping her. "Well, um, congratulations, Master. What was it like, working with this Mighty Nein, though?"
"They're an eclectic bunch, I admit." A soft chuckle escaped the Swordmaster's lips. "They were very understanding of the situation when I gave them the context, however, and they work extremely well as a team. If they ever come to Eternia, I think they'd…"
"GRAND MARSHALL!" one of the guards came running in, panting. "There's a group of about eight people calling themselves the Mighty Nein in Eternia, and they just beat up a bunch of thieves in the city market. AND they destroyed half the market stalls in the process!"
Kamiizumi froze at the mere mention of the Mighty Nein. "I think that's them. Those are the people Geist and I worked with!"
"What?!" Alternis, had he not had his helm on, would have his jaw dropped right now. "That's them?"
"I'm sure they didn't mean to destroy the stalls," Kamiizumi started, trying to remember that he was supposed to put in good word for them and this new news might stop that from going well. "I mean, they did take down a few thieves, right?"
Edea and Alternis gave each other looks, then looked to the Swordmaster, who sighed, looking to the guard.
"Are they being taken to Central Command right now? The Mighty Nein, that is?"
"Yes." The guard looked a bit fazed. "Right now."
Kamiizumi couldn't help but chuckle, then look to Edea and Alternis.
"Leave the questioning to me. I'll do my best to clear things up, with them, I promise."
He had a lot to talk to the Mighty Nein about when they did arrive. That was certain.
What the Mighty Nein would do about it? That was very uncertain, and, despite how crazy Kamiizumi knew they could be, something he looked forward to finding out.