Well, chapter 10. Huh, kinda funny. I'm writing chapter ten of my story about chapter ten on the game. I swear, that was not intentional. I didn't notice until I was checking the chapter number for labeling it. Anyway, yes, I will get to Takumi this chapter. Oh, and Antex? Remember that I've made several hints in that direction over the last few chapters. Anyway, I've taken enough of your time on this, so let's go on ahead.
I pressed my stomach out and punched myself in the small of my back, sighing as numerous cracks and pops sounded out. "Boy, does that feel better!" For a moment I stood up straight, the usual pain that accompanied doing so gone with my back popping. However, it was only momentary. All too soon, the back pain that's plagued me since 3rd grade came back in full force, making me return to my slouching posture. "Why me?"
Grumbling, I gathered up my gear and went out of the barracks. Next stop, Dia and Takumi. This is gonna be a blast... But at least my head isn't mutinous anymore. That would help out a lot... I hope.
When we arrived I stepped aside and took a deep breath. I've only ever been to the sea once before in my life, when I was a little kid. I was having difficulty waiting for us to board a ship, though.
When Felicia came running, I groaned. Knowing when we're going to be attacked is kind of awful when you actually have to deal with it. Makes me wonder how Nyx is able to put up with all that precognitive nonsense...
"Everyone, Lord Nydaxa says we're going to fight the Hoshidans. Get ready!" Muttering, I moved next to my friend. No rest for the wicked, is that it? When Takumi marched up in front of us, I positioned my sword in front of me, ready to stop any arrows. Then, believe it or not, an idea struck me.
"Nydaxa, can we at least try to parley with them? Maybe we can get him to let us through. Not likely, but worth a shot, yeah? And even if he is ticked, he can't violate a flag of truce without all kinds of trouble."
He gave me a funny look and I shrugged. "I may be an idiot, but I know how to get what little brain I have to work. Er, most of the-OK, sometimes I can! I hate honesty sometimes..."
"Actually, that's a brilliant idea. We should try, at least. If it means we don't have to fight them... Then I'll try anything." He sent Hajime forward asking for a peaceful meeting, then gave directions for me, Felicia, Silas, and Azura to come with him, and we met Takumi and his retainers partway between both forces.
"Come to surrender, have you? Perhaps Nohrians can see reason after all." I swear, he is intentionally trying to make us violate the peace so they can say we're barbaric scum like he believes.
"We don't want to surrender, just talk. Perhaps we can avoid any conflict. Takumi, please." Nydaxa's voice had taken on a slightly plaintive tone as he spoke. Seeing the lack of agreement practically radiating from Takumi, I stepped in.
"We really would rather go without fighting. Look, we would consider it a favor. And besides, letting us through peaceably would make people view you as merciful, I imagine. And if we all start fighting, consider the locals. Someone could get hurt, and it would be on your hands as much as ours, if not more so."
"You're wrong about that. It would be entirely on your hands, for starting this war in the first place! You Nohrian scum are the ones who destroyed the village and killed our queen, and you've been sending Faceless into our lands for years, not caring how many innocents they attacked and killed!" For a moment after her outburst, it looked like Oboro was going to try and get me with her naginata, and I got ready to dodge it.
"Oboro, stop!" She instantly settled down at Takumi's command, and I found myself glad for her crush on him. But then he glared at me and I considered the possibility that I might have preferred her killing me.
"We aren't going to let you all through without a fight. And Aadyn?" He threw something as my feet. "I don't want any cursed trinkets or gifts from you, got that? Or any of my siblings."
The others looked at me in confusion as I picked up the arm guard he'd thrown at me, one of the gifts in the bag I'd handed to Sakura when we left for Nohr. I'd made one for each of them, hoping they would be signs of my enjoying their company while it lasted.
"Guess I... Guess I should've seen that coming. Takumi, at least keep it anyway. I put a lot of work into this, and-"
"The only reason I would take it back is to destroy it!" I stumbled back as he said that. One of the weird things about me is that whenever someone gives me a gift purely to be nice, I can have trouble turning it down, even if I hate it. That means when I give someone something, I try to make sure they like it, and have some meaning. So Takumi saying that, it cuts deep. A lot deeper than I think anyone would expect.
"You... Are a wretched pile of dung!" I screamed it out, and everyone jumped back. The downside to letting your heart be what drives you is you're hurt easily. That's always been true for me. I put so much into making this, and he just... "I hated that you guys were all fighting, you know that? You were all so stupid, making him choose. Just because you're upset about his choice doesn't mean you have to make other people suffer for it too!" I ran.
I've said before I'm scared of pain, even if I'm used to it. I wanted to get as far away from that twit as I could, no longer wishing he had a different fate than what awaited him.
I heard shouts, calling for the battle to begin. Guess the meeting is over. I rubbed my eyes furiously, and when I moved my arm away, saw a group of Hoshidan soldiers not far away who hadn't noticed me. I drew my sword, sadness turned to anger. It was something I mastered years ago, becoming angry whenever I was upset to avoid the pain, but it got me nowhere. Now, though... I can get some level of payback.
I cried out as I charged and crashed into the middle of them, blade already finding targets. One oni savage tried to hit me with his club and I grabbed it, then pulled him close and head butted him, knocking him out. A katana skipped off my armored shoulder, and I struck it's wielder in the stomach with my elbow, then sent it upwards, smashing his nose. Dropping into a crouch and slamming my shoulder into the legs of another who had tried to stab me ended up striking his comrade as he fell, and I kicked him in the stomach hard enough to knock him back a couple feet and into the canals.
"Right. Now where are the others?" I listened, and heard a familiar shout, then followed it.
"In the name of justice I shall strike you down!" Arthur's axe tore through the light armor of a spear fighter, and cleaved through a good amount of flesh and muscle as well, leaving him badly injured, though luckily not fatally. "Aadyn! We had feared you would get surrounded on your own. I am glad to see justice has prevailed and left you safe. Now, let us fight together!"
"Where are the others? Anyone nearby?" He pointed and I saw Niles manning a ballista with Flora and Alex on guard. I turned and saw a trio of pegasus knights coming our way. Niles got one on the wing, and it's rider barely managed to avoid falling off as it made a crash landing. I considered using my tome to knock the others down too before I remembered the high resistance stat they had. Arthur didn't have the same issue, throwing his hand axe, but it missed. I ducked under a swipe by one rider and pulled on her naginata, making her over balance and land heavily on one side, busting a few bones in her good arm. The first one that Niles hit charged at me, and I fell onto my back, legs pressed close to me as he drew near, then again grabbed the weapon, and kicked out while rolling a bit, throwing him headlong into a wooden post. Arthur chopped the blade off the third flier's weapon, and smacked her in the head with the flat of his weapon.
Then, close to where we'd had the meeting, a blast sounded out. I started running towards it, and saw the weaker section of wall was gone, and Selena was trying to stop the enemy from getting through. "Incoming!" She dives aside and I slammed into a ninja, grunting as his shuriken found a weak point in my armor.
"Thanks. Now try not to get in my way!" I chuckled. Severa or Selena, she's still got the same attitude. As she took out a spear fighter I tried to avoid staring, but... It wasn't easy. It was easier with Odin, since I found him funny, and kinda cool, but I hadn't admired him in the same way as Selena in Awakening.
When I'd read her character profile, and saw how she hid her confidence issues, I couldn't help admiring her a bit. Like me, she often felt she wasn't good enough, but rather than just screwing up constantly and being miserable like me, she just tried to toughen herself up and make up for it. I'll admit it, for a while, I actually had a crush on her. So to be here, fighting beside her, it's awesome, and leaving me sorta star struck.
After a while I realized we wouldn't be able to hold this spot much longer. Of course, if something gets them to stop for a moment and give one of us time to recover a bit and catch our breath, then that would be another story. Well, then...
"Hey, morons! Your mothers were all slug-eating old bats who couldn't answer two plus two to save her life, and you fight like a bunch of dead rats. How about instead of picking on girls, you go up against someone strong, like me!" Ignoring Selena's indignant shriek at my unintended slight against girls, I ran forward, and most of the enemies were angry enough to start following me. I put my back to the water and disarmed my first adversary, then shoulder checked the next one. As they began pressing forward, I jumped back, landing in the water. I started swimming to a spot where I could get back on land, but a row of archers blame firing into the water. I went deeper, but still. They were shooting rapidly enough that blind fire wouldn't matter. Eventually a lucky shot would take me out, for good. I concentrated on my tome, glad I'd bought a waterproof bag for my things in preparation, and a fire sprung up at the edge, making most of them jump back. However, one archer fell in, hands on their face and sinking fast. I grabbed him and continued swimming. The archer started hitting me until I spoke up. "Stop, you dunce! I'm trying to help!" As I continued swimming, now without arrows flying, I thought back to what Elise said at Dragonfall, about me being weirdly keen on helping enemies. Well, I have an overactive conscience and these guys get hurt because of me. I might as well try to make up for it a bit. I have enough blood on my hands already. Once we reached land, I pulled my passenger along. "Come on! You wanna get healed or not?"
I reached the spot where Elise was rapidly riding around, healing everyone as often as she could, with Azura constantly singing to renew her energy. "Elise! Got another one." I set my victim against the wall and went to one side, where an oni savage had crossed the bridge and was close to where the green zone would have been. Kneeing him betwixt the legs, I hit him in the head and stood guard as more enemies swarmed the same bridge. Man, I hope this lets up soon.
Suddenly, a burst of flame struck half the enemies on the bridge, and I saw Odin manning the Fire Orb. I shoved my way across, sending the rest for a drink. "Thanks!"
Soon I found myself against another large group next to Alex, but neither of us had gotten healed for a long time and were feeling the strain of fighting like this. A naginata came whistling at my head while my blade was locked against a katana, and I couldn't use any more spells. For a moment, I thought this is it. Instead, a sword cut across the weapon, and it's user. A mercenary I didn't recognize but who seemed slightly familiar joined us, and soon the cluster of Hoshidans retreated. "Who are you?"
"I am Stig, hired sword in service of Dia. Myself and the other members of the town watch managed to get out of our barracks a bit ago, and we're helping your group. You lot, and your commander have our thanks. Without your help, removing the Hoshidan army would be a suicide mission. Now, let us get rid of them, shall we?"
Every now and then we saw others from the town watch helping in the fight, though with the exception of Stig they were all kinda average fighters. However, Stig was something else. He had a tendency to slip through enemy lines and get in the middle of them, then attack, before slipping back out. It made me think of the pass skill.
At long last, Takumi stood down. "Dammit! This is unacceptable! We can't push forward with so many of our troops injured. This can't be happening..."
"Please listen to reason, Takumi. You have lost this battle. Do your soldiers a favor and retreat from this port immediately. You may keep your lives and your dignity if you leave now."
"Yeah. Takumi, there's no shame in knowing you've been beaten. To keep fighting would be foolish, and a fool isn't something you are. A jerk yeah, but no fool." He glared at me for my comment, but I'd long since calmed down, as the bite marks on my right arm likely showed.
"Hmph! How very generous of you all. But I know better. The savage Nohrian army knows nothing of mercy."
"Perhaps you should take this as a lesson to not judge all Nohrians on face value. I spoke the truth. My soldiers will not harm those who do not seek to harm us, and the locals simply want their home to no longer be a battleground."
"Ha! Tell me, Nydaxa, how is it lies come so easily to you? Your words mean nothing in light of all the innocent Hoshidan lives you took. Including that of our dear mother, or have you forgotten your part in her murder? Yet after all that, you still have the gall to claim you aren't a savage. Pathetic."
My, what a rude little boy you are. I should beat some manners into you. Take back what you just said, or that's exactly what I'll do..." Camilla hefted her axe and I quickly backed out of range, as did several others. My bad luck was to back right into Severa.
"I've been looking for you! So, girls aren't real fighters, huh?" I ducked under a punch and held my hands up.
"Hold off for a second, I didn't mean it like that! I was just trying to get them to follow me so you could get a breather." She was about to start another tirade, so I explained better. "I didn't do that cause I thought you were weak! I've heard of you before. One of the toughest, most competitive people out there. I think you're pretty cool. But I did that because if one of us didn't get a chance to recover soon, we would have been overwhelmed. I got my break swimming, and you had a bit of time to take a vulnerary and rest when they chased me. That's it, I swear! Personally, I think girls are just as tough as guys, when they choose to be instead of being makeup addicts who spend all their time gossiping and strutting around in clothes four sizes too small."
She narrowed her eyes at me, the gave a satisfied nod. "Well, then, I forgive you. For now, anyway." Then she left, and I let out a breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding. That girl can be seriously scary in person.
Back at the base, Nydaxa built the golems and, to my delight, the hot spring with dragon veins. I immediately went in wearing some of my normal clothing, minus the armor. I know they wore towels and underwear in the game, but I cannot do that. I've mentioned often enough I can be pretty shy, so it just wasn't happening.
I went back to my room feeling the best I have in a long time, but that came to a shockingly quick halt. I heard people talking inside my room! "Hey, what are you guys- Whoa!" Elise was spinning around in a swivel chair I'd gotten with extreme difficulty, talking to a Hoshidan archer. She yelled something at me, but I already had gotten to my sword rack and was holding my wyrmslayer at the intruder's throat before I realized that Elise wouldn't have been chatting to an enemy. Must be a prisoner who'd joined up. However...
"Sorry about that. Now, WHY ARE YOU IN MY ROOM, ELISE?! Your room is down the hall, and I'm pretty sure it's obvious that this one isn't the right room anyway. You're smart enough to see that, so how come- what?" I turned around as my other uninvited guest tapped on my shoulder and looked at the archer. Wait, an archer? "You're the one I scorched, aren't you? Sorry about that..."
"It's-It's fine. You had the princess heal me after all, and you kept me from drowning too. I asked Elise to show me to your room so I could thank you for that." I took a closer look. Without her hands on her face she was clearly a girl, something I'd gotten wrong at the time. Her eyes were different colors, one brown, the other dark green, she had short brown hair and was just a bit shorter than me.
"Well I'm the one who injured you, so it's my fault you were hurt. I'd rather make up for hurting people when I can. But since you're here in the first place, I guess you had to join us to say that? You can leave if you want, I'll tell Nydaxa. He'll probably listen to me on that." She shook her head, surprising me.
"No, I don't want to go back. I was there when Nydaxa chose Nohr, in fact you almost knocked me over at one point, though I doubt you remember it." She was wrong about that. I remembered bumping into an archer at one point that battle before the fighting started, though I hadn't seen her face at the time. "It was wrong for him to have to make a choice between families like that, and I kinda thought the royal family were fools to make him do that, then attack when he chose Nohr. So, I want to stay and fight." For a moment it looked like she would say something else, but she slowly closed her mouth instead.
"Well, all right. Sorry for my reaction earlier, to both of you. I just don't really like people getting in my room. Partly because Niles keeps trying to pick the locks on my desk. So, what's your name?"
"Saya." I shook her hand, and I guess she didn't expect it because she gasped a bit when I did.
"It's nice to meet ya. Hope you enjoy your time with us. But, now do you two mind leaving so I can change clothes, PLEASE?" The both blushed and ran out of the room. I chuckled a bit. It sure was a good day for our army's growth. Camilla, Selena, and Beruka joined up, plus the surprise of Stig too, stating that since his contract at Dia was over tomorrow anyway, he would join us, for a price of course. And now Saya, making for a surge in our numbers. I don't know why so many people who never appeared in the game are making debuts while I'm around, but the again, I don't really mind. More people to befriend, and more allies to watch my back.
Later, as I sat on my bed, reading, something occurred to me. "Maybe I should tell Odin and Selena what I know about them..."
So, how was it? Yeah, a slight reveal into some of next chapter's content at the end there, and I will be doing the invasion that time to free up some room for it. Anyhow, remember that I'm open to pairing and OC suggestions. I need some more input from you guys. After all, it's hard to improve by yourself, so I want all the help I can get. Even if it's bad news about my writing skills, tell me or I'll probably make the same mistakes again and again. Well, see ya next time!