Molly gazed up at the imposing castle, which was drastically different then the one she had barely gotten to know back in Aurora. Instead of the familiar white building and well kept fields back home, this castle was more golden looking, with a spiked crest at the top. Nearby, a volcano lay seemingly dormant, but the heat that it gave off and the hot springs that flowed right through the castle suggested otherwise.
Molly wiped the sweat off of her brow, noticing how much warmer it was up here. Then again, a volcano certainly could change the climate of any particular place, and also explained why the Toyotomi were Fire-type users.
"Well guys, I guess this is it." Molly said, looking back. Gavin and Oichi nodded, looking as affected by the heat at Molly felt. Mitsunari, Kiyomasa, and Masanori stood a ways back, making it clear that they were not a part of the Logai army.
Looking more confident than they felt, the three warriors of Aurora marched up to the castle gates. A quartet of warriors, each with an orange Charmander and matching spears, guarded the entrance. As the group moved closer, they lowered their spears in unison.
Before the others could even react, the front gate opened with a loud creak, surprising everyone, even the four guards.
Standing in the pathway was the strangest duo the twins had ever seen.
On the left was a baby-faced young man in a white robe and a yellow hat. He was holding a circular weapon unlike anything the twins had ever seen before. A small yellow shape on his hat was revealed to be a Pokemon, presumably his partner. Despite his youthful features and the casual smile he had on his face, Molly instantly knew he was more dangerous than he looked.
The man on the right was far more intimidating than his companion. His skin was as pale as snow, and half of his hair matched his skin tone. The other half, by contrast, was a pitch black. He had on a black robe similar to his companions, and looked unarmed to the twins. A Pokemon that resembled a lamp floated next to him, an eerie blue flame filling its inner cavity.
After an intense moment of silence where the two parties attempted to stare down the other, the pale-faced man stepped forward. Approaching the Aurora army, he gave each member a critical look. His gaze lingered over the badge on the twins' chest armor. "The Logai crest…" he said, seemingly to himself. "It's been a while since I've seen that around Ignis." He paused, returning his frightening gaze to the trio.
"Um…who are you?" Gavin said, slightly intimidated by the fierce, cold gaze the pale-faced man was giving him.
"Oh Kanbei, did you forget to introduce yourself again?" The baby-faced guy had joined his companion, smiling slightly in amusement. "Take no notice of him." he continued, addressing the trio. "He always greets people this way, so don't worry about it. I'm Hanbei Takenaka, by the way."
"And I am Kanbei Kuroda. We are the strategists of Hideyoshi Toyotomi." the pale-faced man said, his expression never changing. "State your reason for coming to Ignis."
After a slight pause, Molly stepped forward. Like always, she seemed mostly calm and composed, though Gavin could tell that even she was leery of the pale-faced man, Kanbei. "Well, actually, we are here to challenge your lord to a battle for the castle." she said, drawing her twin blades.
If this information surprised the strategists, neither of them showed it. "Well, that makes things a bit more interesting now, doesn't it?" Hanbei said, never losing his amused smile. "Well, I suppose we could allow that, but I'm afraid that Hideyoshi is very strict about who he lets challenge him." Seeing the trio's blank looks, he sighed and continued. "Simply put, in order to challenge our lord, you have to first defeat his two top retainers, which are none other that yours truly." With that, Hanbei positioned himself into a sort of battle stance, holding his strange circular weapon out in front of him. The yellow shape on his hat jumped down, standing in front of Hanbei with an exasperated expression on its face, as if it was saying, "Can we just hurry up and get this over with already?"
Kanbei looked at his companion with an eyebrow raised, as if this was different than things normally progressed, but after a second decided against questioning it. Bringing his arms around from behind his back, he was revealed to be holding a green orb. While it looked harmless at first, the illusion was quickly shattered when Kanbei closed his eyes, and almost as if he had willed it to appear, a blue, ghostly-looking ball of energy appeared. The Pokemon hovering around his head slowly floated over to the yellow mouse, and took a position to the right of it, gazing at the two Eevees and Jigglypuff with a look identical to his partners.
"Hold on a second!" This time, the speaker was Oichi. "If you, as retainers, must test my lord and lady in a battle before allowing them to face your lord, then I must be allowed to do the same."
Hanbei and Kanbei shared a look before focusing on Oichi. "That shall be acceptable." Kanbei said in the same flat monotone as before. "You four." Here he indicated the guards who had been standing in the background during the conversation. "Escort this young lady to our lord, and explain to him what has transpired."
With a nod, the four guards quickly surrounded Oichi, marching her inside.
"Lady Oichi, do be careful." Gavin muttered under his breath.
Turning his attention back towards the strategists, he drew his sword, staring down Kanbei. Similarly, Molly had drawn her twin blades as well and started moving towards Hanbei.
After a second of hesitation, the two groups leaped into battle.
***
Oichi glanced nervously around as she was escorted down a golden hallway. The four soldiers had her surrounded, preventing her from making a break for it down a random hallway. Despite her confidence, she wasn't sure she could defeat the man nicknamed the Monkey on her own.
"For my lord and lady, however, I shall try." she murmured, trying to calm herself down.
Abruptly, the four guards came to a halt. "Wait here." the one in front of her said, opening a pair of doors and disappearing into a room. Barely a minute later, he reappeared.
"My lord has deemed it appropriate to face you in single combat. We shall enter as witnesses." the guard said, before grabbing Oichi and pulling her inside.
The room was unlike any Oichi had ever seen before. In place of the floor was a jagged slab of volcanic rock. It covered roughly three quarters of the room's surface, with two gaping holes on either side, leaving a narrow pathway down the middle. Upon closer inspection, the two revealed that the room was actually above a pit of lava. On the other side of the room was a golden throne, with an unseeable shape sitting in it
"Talk about intense." Oichi whispered, before picking Jigglypuff up and stepping forward.
As she got closer, the shape in the chair stood up, revealing itself to be a man in a crested golden helmet. A Pokemon Oichi recognized as a Chimchar sat on his shoulder. The man was shortish in stature, and neither he nor the staff Oichi presumed was his weapon looked too physically intimidating, but Oichi had learned long ago never to judge anyone on appearances.
"Welcome, welcome!" the man said, holding his arms out in greeting. "I am Hideyoshi Toyotomi, Warlord of Ignis. My guard here told me that you're the retainer of the Logai, right?"
"That would be correct." Oichi said simply.
"Well, don't you think a pretty lady like yourself would be more suited serving in my army?" Hideyoshi winked. "I'm pretty sure you could be a top retainer in my army if you joined."
Despite the situation, Oichi cracked a smile. "I'm sorry, Lord Hideyoshi, but I'm afraid my loyalties lie with the Logai as of now." As she spoke, she withdrew her pair of hoops.
"Ah, well, you can't blame a guy for trying now, can you?" Hideyoshi replied, rubbing the back of his head. "Maybe you'll reconsider after you see how I battle."
"I wouldn't get your hopes up if I were you." Oichi smiled, preparing for battle. "Now, let's fight with honor!"
"Very well, my lady." Hideyoshi said, lowering his staff.
"Jigglypuff, Body Slam!"
"Chimchar, Flame Wheel!"
As the two Pokemon smashed into each other, a loud clang echoed throughout the room as Oichi's hoops and Hideyoshi's staff hit each other with tremendous force.