Chapter 9: Befriending an enemy

After returning to his Haven in the Sanctuary, Yuto returned to looking over the castle designs again. There had to be something that he was missing; something he had overlooked. He didn't know why they were going to use a body in a bio-preservative as a power source, or for what. Maybe he needed another break from this, but it was exactly this that kept him away from another, draining truth. What was that body capsule for?

In Zipang's Kami no Kuni, the Capitol province, at the Imperial Palace, Takumi was sorting through more paperwork. Some engineers and scientists from Tetsu no Kuni had sent him some plans for what they called the 'Dai Sasori' walker tank, which was twice as large as a normal Sasori, but featured heavy weapon crews along its back which could shoot at ground-based and flying targets, and which had an experimental particle beam weapon as its rear-mounted main gun. He saw that Yua had been one of the people overseeing this project, and that she had also designed with that a redirection matrix that could be attached to an aircraft which would receive the particle beam discharge and fire it in a different direction. Finally, with that, came a remote targeting system that could feed co-ordinates to the redirection drone.

After he green-lighted the plans, he was contacted by the Tsuchi no Kuni Western Border Post. An Otome had arrived there by car, and was requesting permission to meet with the shogun to discuss important matters. Takumi ordered that she be brought to the Imperial Palace in Kami no Kuni, but that she was to be under Steel Warrior guard. The Otome, a blonde woman with a slight ponytail, arrived at the Palace two hours later and introduced herself as the Galactic Aquamarine Otome Sara Gallagher, the first of the Five Columns of Garderobe. She was working in the Eastern Kingdoms to strengthen the relationship Garderobe had with those countries by lending her services as needed to their leaders.

Akira was quick to brush off her offer, scoffing that the help Otome provided usually resulted in wastelands, but Iori, also at the Palace at the time, suggested that since she took the trouble to travel to Zipang, she be shown the various problems it has had to endure, from the Protoss occupation of Hikari no Kuni in the north, the Zerg control of Mizu no Kuni in the east, and closer to the Capitol, Tetsu no Kuni's technology reconstruction projects. The standing army of Zipang, combined with the Tetsu no Kuni weapons and Protoss forces, gave her the idea that, if he was so inclined, Takumi could probably take over the rest of Earl.

"Are you sure there's nothing I can do," Sara asked at one point.

"Yes, Otome, your help is not needed here," Akira hissed through clenched teeth.

"Wait a second, Akira-kun," Takumi interrupted. "Gallagher-dono…"

"Call me Sara, and tell your bodyguard that she had better stop treating guess like unwelcome trash-"

"You ARE unwelcome-" Akira started again, but Takuni waved her down, asking her what Sara knew about possible uses for cadavers.

"A fair bit, why?"

"In that case, there's someone who needs your help…" Takumi spoke, before arranging for a Zipang aerial transport.

In Scion, in hopes of a reprieve, Yuto had taken to the Athenaeum of the Seminary, where he entered a training arena. He started hissing through teeth, with tears building up in his eyes, as his pale white skin sprouted yellow branches of a crystalline substance. Not his face, nor feet, not even his hands, were spared as the crystalline branches wrapped around his skin and sprouted chunks of crystals. His clothes were covered by the golden-yellow crystal, and tears fell from his face as crystal built up on the cheeks, jaw, chin, forehead, skull, and masses of crystal were building up on the rest of his body. His crystalline forearms had much more mass to them that made the upper arms bones in comparison. He was now a golden-yellow crystalline humanoid, with thick pillars of crystal for the legs and forearms, with the crystalline hands and feet seeming miniscule by comparison. He also had a large crystal-encased torso with enough spikes and shards to rival a porcupine sprouting from his back, and his head had, for the most part, become a sleek, streamlined golden-yellow shape.

In his new golden form, he held his right hand out, and from the crystal pillar that was his arm, new crystal began growing out from that. In around ten seconds, the crystal had formed into a ball of spikes, which he threw at one of the practice targets. The ball shot through the air, but fell short of the target and rolled the rest of the way, crashing into the wooden support-frames, whereupon it exploded. Shards of yellow crystal flew in every direction, but within a second, the shards still airborne fell towards the ground, disintegrating into wisps of smoke.

Some of the crystal shrapnel was in Yuto's crystal torso, which had one or two little fractures in it. Some more crystal grew from his arms, forming into two crystalline gladius blades that he held in his hands. As he felt them, memories came streaming into his mind, of some of the children in Scion mocking his caring nature, belittling his lack of skill with the gladius, and labeling him weak for not engaging in physical exercise. More memories came in, where he just asked a few questions, and all of a sudden he was a 'combat practice target' for the children who would proceed to punch him repeatedly. His own family even disapproved of his interests.

No, he couldn't hold these swords, much less wield them. He pressed the flat areas of each blade against his crystal torso, where they suddenly started deforming and becoming yellow crystalline spikes within fifteen seconds. Just then, the spikes shot from his body, spraying the area in front of him with yellow crystal projectiles, leaving him with just his torso before he restructured the gladii. Looking at the three targets ahead of him: each one had splinters of yellow crystal embedded in the body, but almost none of the shards hit the centre.

No, this activity of exercise was doing nothing except bringing up painful memories of his childhood and his inability to live up to the qualities that people of Scion held as central to life. The crystal all over his form began cracking, the cracks quickly speeding all over his body, and in the next second, it all evaporated into yellow wisps of gas that vanished in the next instant.

He walked out of the Athenaeum training arena, his mind constantly plagued by the attitude of the people of Scion towards him. The Gladius Legion practically hated him for his perceived heresy, the Frumentarii were almost never around and seemed to avoid him anyway, and the Castra Legion, despite his aptitude with their work, seemed to only associate with him when they must or when they need to shut him up. Even among the Brotherhood of the Amber-Inlaid Path, he seemed to have difficulty talking to people, usually only being approached by them if they needed him. To their credit though, they actually took note of his expertise better than his own Legion, but it was still severely demoralizing. The Legions' lack of interest in him had pretty much led him to join the Brotherhood right under their noses, and the centurions didn't seem to care. Even here, he was beginning to question if he would find what he is looking for.

As he walked across the grounds to the Sanctuary, he noticed an Umbra landing at the Seminary starport. Must have just been Takumi from Zipang returning to Scion, so it probably wasn't important. He continued into the Sanctuary tower and up to his Haven, where in the hopes of finding some reprieve without unpleasant memories sneaking up on him, he took out a piece of clay and started massaging it with his hands. Just him, molding this material into whatever shape he willed. This was much better; no bad memories, no reminders of physical ineptitude, but just him, the clay and whatever shape he wanted it to take in his mind. Maybe an arch? His hands started tearing away at the clay, pressing some of it together, placing it in one space before moving on to the next. More clay, press it hard, mold it into shape and insert it into place.

Knock, knock, knock...

"Yes?" Yuto asked, quickly trying to wash and wipe off the clay on his hands

"Yuto-san, it's me," Takumi's voice came from the other side of the door.

"Ave, Brother Takumi? What is it?"

"I've brought someone who can possibly help you with your quandary on the Windbloom Castle."

Yuto opened the door, seeing Takumi, Iori and... and... an... Otome, his attention drawn to the jeweled earring on her left ear, and what little color he had draining from his skin. "How... How did...?"

"Don't worry, Sara-dono here has an answer to the question that you have been struggling with.

"But how... how did... she get past the Legions?" Scion was supposed to be impenetrable to her kind, and yet she managed to penetrate this far?

"We veiled her, and she came off at the Seminary's landing area."

Yuto was still frozen with dread, as they had smuggled in an Otome. Someone who, if she was so inclined, could easily incapacitate him. He had almost no formal combat training, and in front of him was one of the Meisters he read about that had lots of such training: a supersoldier against the likes of him... he wouldn't stand a chance.

"Yuto-san, are you okay?"

Was he okay? He had to admit, while he did question the beliefs of Scion about Otome, some of it was still drilled into him, and seeing one up close seemed to be especially intimidating. "I... I don't know. I think... I just need a moment... to collect myself..."

"If it's Sara-san you are worried about, she isn't going to hurt you."

"You... you are sure?"

"Yes. Takumi no Kami-sama told me you needed help with something, and that only I can help you," Sara spoke. "I just wish I knew why you're so scared of me."

"No Otome... has ever entered this place... and lived to tell about it."

"Takumi no Kami-sama, can you leave me with him? I want to give him some time to calm down before I hear of the problem."

"Can you... rather tell me... your solution now?"

"Let me know what the problem is first. I'm sure Takumi no Kami-sama has work to do."

"I'm uneasy about this... but okay... many thanks, Brother Takumi."

"You seem quite unsettled, Yuto-san. Are you sure you will be okay?" Takumi asked.

"Hopefully yes. I will take your word regarding the... guest."

"I have to go now, but let me know if anything happens. Goodbye, Yuto-san."

"Vale, Brother Takumi."

Sara entered his Haven as Takumi and Iori left, but noticing that he was still quivering with what appeared to be some degree of fear, she immediately asked "Why so scared of me? Is there something amiss about Otome in Zipang that I don't know about?"

"Zipang, I don't know... but here... you're lucky to be alive."

"Why is here different to Zipang? We're inside Takumi no Kami-sama's borders."

"That may be the case... but Scion answers to no government... other than its own Tribunal. The shogun of Zipang... has no sway here."

"Still, why do you say that I'm lucky to be alive?"

"The people of Scion have a fierce hatred of Otome, and the Gladius Legion always monitors ships dropping people off at the Starport. Should they find an Otome among the crew, they will execute her slowly. They are well-trained enough that they can out-fight an Otome and subdue her quickly."

"Even with her Robe active?"

"I can't go into details here, but my Legion... the Castra Legion... had a hand in creating a countermeasure that effectively jams the GEM signal, rendering Robes useless here."

"So why did you join a Legion? Do you have something against Otome as well?"

"I was required to do so when I came of age at sixteen years. As for my feelings on Otome, I don't really know what to think. I just made the mistake of asking people openly why they hate them so, and if the Otome are really the monsters that everyone here claims they are."

"How was that a mistake?"

"I was already physically weak and poor in combat enough that I was looked down upon by many people, especially the people aspiring to be in the Gladius. Only if you are a member of the Frumentarii Legion is it acceptable to hold interest in the outside world, and even then you keep it to yourself. So as punishment for my heresy of questioning their vilification of the Otome, I received a large number of beatings, and not just from the other children of Scion; some of the adults also visited punishment on me, mainly those from the Gladius. Otherwise, I'm just left alone, to the point that I think nobody wants anything to do with me. I think it's the main reason why I haven't been yanked away from the Brotherhood by the Castra Legion or given much in the way of work."

"But if you don't hate Otome, why are you still scared around me?"

"Today was my first time meeting one of you, and I didn't know what to think. I only questioned if Otome deserved to be vilified so, but I didn't know what to expect otherwise. I am just thankful that you seem to be a good person."

"Thank you. I might want to continue this chat later, but anyway, what is this problem that you need help with?"

"Right, that," Yuto noted, showing his readings on a computer screen. "The Brotherhood managed to recently bug Windbloom's Fuka Castle, and from what I have been able to gather, whoever was in charge of the castle has outfitted it with some sort of siege cannon, but what I do not get is that there is one device that uses a dead body in a bio-preservative liquid as a power source."

"So that's why I wasn't able to Materialize my Robe!" Sara stated in shock. "If you are describing what I think you are describing, then that is a Predecessor in the castle. Schwartz must be using that to block Fumi-sama."

"Who?"

"Our Predecessor. She gives the Coral and Pearl Students, as well as one of the Five Columns such as myself, the ability to Materialize at will. She is our master."

"It seems unimaginative to use it purely as a jammer, but then again, there is very little in the West that can compete with the Otome."

"Brother Yuto," a voice came from behind the door. "I have just been asked to remind you that your Tests of Ascension are due to be held in three hours."

"Thanks to you, Brother."

"What are these tests?" Sara asked.

"The equivalent of graduation exams, but they are tailor-made to test only you. If I Ascend, I will most likely be sent outside of the city."

"Would you like me to leave so you can study?"

"It is okay, Sister Sara, one can never truly prepare in advance for these tests. The best you can do is calm yourself and make sure you are physically and mentally ready to face whatever challenges might fall on you. At least that is what Sister Sanae told me."

Later, Yuto stepped into the Chamber of Ascension, and like those before him, ascended to the circular platform. Sara was there with Takumi, Akira, Iori and the Cardinals, and they all saw him start hissing, with yellow crystal branches sprouting from every pore in his skin. The crystal expanded along his arms, along his legs, down his fingertips and toes, over his body, and even his face. His screams of pain increased, and a few tears fell from his eyes to the platform as the crystals firmly wrapped around him. Eventually, the crystals stopped growing, leaving him in a yellow body, with thickened forearms and legs, heavily spiked back and streamlined head.

"That looked exceedingly painful," Sara commented.

"It is," Takumi responded, as the amber lightning shot at the platform and created the sphere. "We reach deep inside our souls and awaken the power within our very DNA."

"DNA?! You tampered with your bodies' genetic makeup?"

"We were left with no other choice if we wanted to keep the Zerg from overrunning everything. Even then, we still lost Mizu no Kuni, and ever since then we have had to keep vigil over the east coast, especially Tetsu no Kuni."

"If you were that outmatched, why did you not contact Garderobe for help?"

"Would you have believed us?" Iori interjected. "Would you believe a country that has remained off the radar when suddenly it requests help against some possibly imaginary alien invaders?"

"In addition, we saw what your kind has done to the world," Akira hissed. "Otome help usually involves large amounts of petty politicking and much mass destruction, in that order. By the time you would have come to a consensus to help us, the Eastern Kingdoms would have been wiped out and the Zerg would have been knocking on your door."

"We were also very hard-pressed for time," Takumi continued. "Sending an emissary back and forth would have cost us time we couldn't afford to waste. We only just managed to hold the Zerg back long enough for our defenses to finish construction."

The amber orb rose to the midpoint in its journey. "Is he going to be okay?" Sara continued.

"We have yet to find someone who fails the Tests of Ascension,"

"I mean, will Iseyada-kun be able to walk away from here intact?"

"I think so; the Ascended usually have enough mastery of their abilities to be able to use them well."

"What about mentally? Will he be okay? When we talked, I saw a very low level of self-confidence."

"I think he should be. He has always seemed sure of himself when he was working, but only seeming at odds when seeing people. But come to think of it... Funabashi-san was feeling unstable when she heard about the Windbloom refugees."

"What caused her to feel that way?"

"She is one of the refugees from Mizu no Kuni. She had to abandon her home to the Zerg, and I think the horror of that reality of being a refugee got to her when she heard of the displacement of the Windbloom refugees. She's gone with Hikaru-san and Katsurou-san to help them, but they are ready to evacuate her at a moment's notice."

"I'm worried that Iseyada-kun is going through something similar. I would recommend that he be kept away from the battlefield until I can train him a bit. If his assessment about his own combat skills is accurate, they may be in need of improvement."

"Do you doubt his abilities?" the Cardinals questioned.

"No, Your Eminence, I doubt his confidence. If you have a fear holding you back, it won't matter what is within your power to do, as that fear will block you from doing it. I see some form of that fear in him."

"If it should have such an impact that he will be slowed down, he will not make it past the second test. We will just have to wait and see."

"What if he fails one of the tests?"

"Then the platform will return to its rest position. For now, watch."

The Amber Orb remained in its halfway point for a while... and then it rose to the top. For the next while, the Cardinals, Takumi, Iori, Akira and Sara watched in silence, and waited for what would happen next. He was so close...

The orb broke, revealing Yuto with a smooth yellow body, and shattered crystal fragments surrounding him. He looked up, and with more hisses of pain his skin returned to its original composition, revealing his yellow clothes and blue/grey hair. Seeing the Cardinals at the highest point of the new staircase where he found himself, he climbed the stairs and kneeled in front

"Brother Iseyada Yuto," the Cardinals spoke, "…thou hast triumphed in the Sacred Trials and proven thyself worthy of Ascension! Thou hast proven that thy is ready to not merely walk, but stride on the Amber-Inlaid Path!" The compartment on their throne opened, after which they took Yuto's Amber Tear Necklace and fitted it with two more tears, increasing the number to five before placing it back on him. "Now rise, Iseyada Yuto, Ascended Brother of the Amber-Inlaid Path."

Yuto stood up, his five-teared Amber Tear Necklace shining, and before descending back to the chamber floor, he was told that he would be moving into a Haven in the Magisterium. When returning to the chamber entrance, he saw Sara waiting outside, whereupon she asked "Are you okay?"

"I guess I am," he responded. "Some of the tests... were a lot more difficult than I had anticipated... but I made it through in the end."

"You don't sound so happy."

"I just hope... I'll be useful..."

"What do you mean 'useful'?"

"Despite my Ascension, every time I feel a weapon in my hand or an opponent to face, I'm always reminded of my weakness, and it drains away at my spirit. Those memories of my childhood and those Gladius legionaries, with everyone else abandoning me. It brings back just how poorly equipped I am to fight toe-to-toe."

"Didn't your Legion give you training, or the Brotherhood?"

"All Legions receive combat training, but the Castra legionaries receive the least amount due to pursuits of knowledge as opposed to power. As a result, we are generally considered to be the weakest of the three Scion Legions in terms of fighting ability, and when I joined the Legion, I chose to forego the training in favor of academic study. It didn't feel like fighting was in my blood, and as a result, I was considered to be the weakest of the whole Legion."

"What of the Brotherhood?"

"Much of their study is focused on meditation to enhance your connection with your true self, and while there are lessons in combat, they are mostly based on theory considering how no to Brothers are the same. Besides, the teachers in my earlier childhood having attempted to drill combat into me only made me detest it even more."

"Maybe that's what we can work on?"

"Sister Sara?"

"If what I heard was correct, then trying to learn how to fight was done in an abusive context, which is why you don't like it. Maybe, if you want while I'm here, I could give you a few private lessons."

"Are you sure that would work?"

"Well, it's worth a try. Don't worry, I'm not really a harsh instructor, so you won't need to worry about me judging you."

"Is that... okay with you?"

"Should be, while I'm here at least."

"Can I ask something of you?"

"What is it, Iseyada-kun"

"When you leave Scion, can I come with you? I want to see the outside world."

"It's fine with me, but you may want to ask Takumi no Kami-sama."

"Talk to me about what?" Takumi spoke from behind Yuto.

"Can Iseyada-kun come with us for a time?"

"It just so happens we came from the Cardinals, and Their Eminence has seen fit to grant him some shore leave. I've got a Frumentarius communicator to give to him in case of emergency, but they have allowed him some time to come with us and see Zipang. I remember him especially wanting to see the Kori no Kuni communities."

"But will his Legion allow it?"

"You needn't worry, Sister Sara," Yuto interjected. "If the Castra Legion was concerned about what I was up to, the Centurions would have pulled me away from the Brotherhood by now."

"And the others?"

"The Gladius Legion couldn't care less about me due to my preferred occupation, and the Frumentarii most likely have better things to do than monitor someone as heretical and unloved as me. Nobody will know I've left Scion aside from the Cardinals."

"In that case, you're probably all set."

"It just so happens we need to stop by Kori no Kuni's villages, so you can come with us," Takumi revealed, as they walked to the Seminary starport.