Originally, when I first rebooted this story last year, it was supposed to be uploaded on the eighteenth for Pokémon Conquest's second year anniversary of being localized, but due to some delays I got it up three days later than I wanted. Though I wasn't all too enthusiastic about it, there's still some good that came out of it; primarily, an excuse for me to whip myself to get out this chapter to celebrate the one year anniversary of this novelization.
Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon, Koei or anything associated with them.
Ginchiyo grunted in frustration as she watched her Luxio's forepaws give out under it, collapsing after a well placed Dig from Tadashi's Eevee. Her grimace morphed into a scowl when she realized that she was the last one to go down, and judging by the relative lack of noise that a battle would generate anywhere else on the castle grounds, she was most likely the final member of their army to be defeated. And thus, she concluded; the blame of the defeat fell upon her. Again. She felt her blood boil at the thought, and the somewhat smug smile of the Warlord across from her as he cheered on his Eevee did little to help. She felt her hands ball up into fists, the corners of her lips tilting downwards, and her eyes narrow slightly, the continued realization of her loss making her stomach churn.
"Had this been a contest of blades, boy, the outcome would have been far different." she knew it was rather immature to say such, but she felt she needed some form of consolation. Defeat was a bitter medicine to swallow, and having it inflicted twice, having failed everyone who relied on her twice, made it all the more difficult. Had it been anyone else other than him, even that unknown assailant, who was the victor, perhaps she could have at least accepted defeat with a measure of dignity, but Tadashi being the one to best her made it stinging to the point where it was impossible to swallow. And even then, perhaps it was a shallow consolation; she would have only better in terms of swordsmanship because he had never been trained how to use a blade.
Tadashi eyed her, obviously finding her indignation entertaining, but before he could say anything another voice, one Ginchiyo knew considerably well, rang out from behind the two Warlords.
"Now Ginchiyo, we lost. Accept our defeat with honor." she spun around at hearing Dosetsu's gruff voice, watching him slowly hobble across the courtyard to reach her, Motonari and his Servine following at a leisurely pace, when his wording sunk in. She let out a heavy, contrite sigh, armor clad shoulders slumping slightly and head titled downwards, feeling her resent over defeat become replaced with a heavy disappointment over failing her father, clan and kingdom. The brunette looked up as a hand landed on her shoulder, seeing the small, reassuring smile that her father would occasionally show.
"Don't let it way too heavily on you, dear; you and Luxio fought bravely and until the bitter end, and that alone is enough to make me proud." Ginchiyo felt a small burden fall from her shoulders at hearing that, but staring down at her defeated Pokémon, and then at the Warlord of Aurora across from her, who had been joined by his counterpart and head strategist, the feeling refused to subside.
"So what happens now?" her father's question echoed her own sentiments. She had been trained her entire life as a warrior, she knew nothing else. Would they be forced out of the kingdom they had known as their home, destined to wander Ransei until another Warlord found it within themselves to enlist their services (and her to accept)? It was both entirely plausible and likely, the Violighter reasoned; she wouldn't put it past Tadashi to do such, and since his family had ruled over Violight for as long as anyone could remember, until it was unexpectedly passed to her father, he had a halfway decent justification. But, to her surprise and, though she would never admit it, relief, it was Kazumi that stepped forward in response. Tadashi too seemed surprised, but said nothing, simply crossing his arms and raising an eyebrow in wariness.
"Well, I was thinking that you could become our family's retainers again." Ginchiyo bit her bottom lip at hearing the request, knowing better to voice any objections right now. Tadashi, on the other hand, was less restrained.
"What!? I-" he was cut off abruptly by his sister spinning around, her long ponytail snapping from the force of action, and immediately balked under the intensity of the glare she sent him. Satisfied with his acquiescence for the moment, she turned back around and gave a sheepish smile to the two amused Violighters. Dosetsu's smile faded quickly after, his free hand going to his chin.
"It would be ungracious of me to say no, and I do prefer having a roof over my head to being forced to wander around Ransei," Ginchiyo grit her teeth, but still bit her tongue at his acceptance. "So, what are your orders?"
"I was hoping you and Ginchiyo, Muneshige too, if he wants, would return to Aurora with us. Your ex-" Tadashi's head shot up, and voiced the very complaint that was running through the Tachibana heiress' head.
"Having Ginchiyo in our army is one thing, Kazumi, but I am not sharing a roof with her-" if he had been more assertive when he voiced his protests this time, his sister's gaze had somehow become even more penetrating.
"If you are going to be an effective Warlord, Tadashi, let alone be able to fight alongside her, you're going to have to put this silly feud behind you and learn to cooperate with Ginchiyo." Tadashi let out a low growl in indignation, gritting his teeth, but said nothing else. Motonari, deciding that it would be a good time to intervene, cleared his throat.
"Aptly put, Lady Kazumi," the mild-mannered strategist shifted uncomfortably as he felt Tadashi's gaze land on his back. "Especially in light of the fact that we will have to rest in Violight for the day. I doubt the Pokémon will be able to handle the march back to Greenleaf, and it will give us the time to make the necessary preparations."
Kazumi gave a nod in agreement. "Right we'll leave first thing tomorrow."
"Shoun!" Dosetsu had turned back to the greater courtyard as he shouted, and the armored warrior had appeared within seconds. He gave a salute, and the Warlord motioned for him to relax. "I'm entrusting you with Violight in our absence."
Neither of the twins voiced an objection to his declaration, and Shoun gave a bow. "Yes sir, I won't fail you!"
Kazumi noticed her brother slinking away out of the corner of her eye, having nearly escaped into the crowd that was the combined mess of warriors from both sides occupying the courtyard, and quickly excused herself before giving chase.
"Tadashi!" he stopped as he heard her call out, turning around slightly just in time to see her run up to him. "Where are you going?"
He turned back around. "I'm not staying the night in that castle." The heaviness of his tone told her everything she needed to know.
"This isn't just about Ginchiyo, is it?" he stayed silent for a second, unmoving, before shaking his head and continuing his path.
"I'll be in the inn near the castle..."
It had been a few days since the three Violighters had arrived in Aurora, and matters had settled down into the normalcy Kazumi predicted they would.
"And I'm telling you; I'm the Warlord, so what I say goes!"
"And I refuse to abide by fools, regardless of their status!" Tadashi and Ginchiyo were standing in the middle of Aurora's Throne Room, inches apart and staring each other down with murderous glares, looking ready to rip the other's throat out at a moment's notice. From her seat on the 'throne' on the left, Kazumi put a hand over her forehead as the shouting somehow intensified even more, both trying to outdo the other, having given up hope of being able to break up the two long ago.
It was not particularly common for the Warlords of Aurora to hold court; the relative size of their ranks made it somewhat unnecessary when they could just talk about it over dinner, not to mention the headache that was gathering everyone into one room and trying to get all of them to speak in an orderly manner. Now she had another reason to hate the practice. While she knew that the two were at odds, and probably would be for some time, she at least hoped they could remain civil while they discussed plans on invading Chrysalia. Somehow, in the middle of it all, her brother and Ginchiyo had both gotten distracted on some insignificant detail, and now had been arguing with each other about something completely irrelevant to the original topic for the past ten minutes or so.
And it had dragged on to the point that almost everyone had left the room: Motonari excused himself to make tea, Mitsunari, Kiyomasa and Masanori got bored and left, Kanbei muttered something about the assembly being an 'inefficient and gratuitous waste of time' and sulked out, Dosetsu had given up hope on being able to stop the two as well and went off to train, Naoshige said something about paperwork, and Takakage outright declared he was going to go read, which left only her, a mildly-entertained Muneshige, an irritated Hanbei, an uncomfortable Oichi, and two bickering Warlords left.
So, Kazumi just sat in her throne, face obscured by her hands, and waiting for one of them to faint from lack of oxygen so she could drag Tadashi away, wait for him to recover if he happened to be the one to pass out, and then kick him senseless for acting like a child in front of the entire army. It seemed that waiting would be unnecessary, though, as Hanbei's somewhat frustrated demeanor quickly gave way for a mischievous smile and impish gleam in his eyes.
"Just shut up and kiss already." perhaps it was how out of place the comment was, or the fact that it reminded the two Warlords that they had a captive audience, not to mention how revolting the very thought was to the two, or some combination of all three, but the entire room fell quiet. Both Tadashi and Ginchiyo's mouths had gone agape at the comment, Hanbei retained his smirk, and Oichi shifted uncomfortably in her seat. Finally, it was broken by Muneshige openly laughing at the entire ordeal, and followed by Kazumi trying, and failing miserably, to hold her own snickering at bay. Hanbei just leaned back in his chair, hands behind his head and smile getting wider, satisfied with his handiwork. Ginchiyo managed to recompose herself quicker than the Auroran she had been arguing with, shutting her mouth and hardening her gaze, before whipping her head around to the reluctant genius and her laughing subordinate seated next to him, glaring daggers at the latter.
"Do you find that amusing, Muneshige?" his laughter slowly decreased into a chuckle at her thinly veiled threat, but he still maintained his relaxed composure and signature smile.
"Perhaps. You are cute when you get flustered." his comment immediately caused her to become tongue-tied again, a barely noticeable blush spread across her cheeks as she stuttered in an attempt to come up with a reply, causing Muneshige to resume his silent chuckling and Hanbei to join in, before she crossed her arms and shook her head indignantly.
"D-Dismissed." the Violighter's smile grew somewhat.
"If you say so." the white-clad man stood and turned to leave, the edges of his maroon coat flicking as he walked away, while Hanbei took the opportunity to sneak out with him before Tadashi, who had been too busy enjoying watching Ginchiyo be so easily disarmed by her retainer, could remember what he had said. After they had left, Ginchiyo turned back to Tadashi, her gaze hardening somewhat with the silent promise that this was far from finished. He agreed with a dismissive sigh and an equally penetrating leer before the former Warlord of Violight left, leaving only three left in the room. Kazumi finally stood up and cleared her throat, having recomposed herself after a few minutes of laughing silently at her counterpart's expense, and Tadashi paled slightly when everything that had just happened sunk in.
"Brother, can I have a word with you for a minute?" the tone in her voice, as calm and sedated as it was, told him that she would not take no for an answer.
"S-sure..." he gave a nervous smile and slowly followed her out of the room and into an adjacent hallway, looking like a man walking to his death. Which he probably was. For a few moments, Oichi just eyed the way they had left nervously, hearing nothing, until a sudden commotion caused her to flinch.
"Ow! Wait, Kaz- OW! Okay, I'm sor- OWW!" the Auburn-haired girl closed her eyes and tightened the grip on her Pokémon at hearing the last one.
Kazumi tapped her knuckles on the wood of the door that led to Naoshige's office, the rasping noise echoing off the corridors.
"Come in." the Warlord opened the door, unsurprised to find the man sitting down at his desk with a mass of documents on it. She subtly shuddered at the thought of how much paperwork was involved in administrating a kingdom. He looked up, a brief flash of surprise taking his visage, and immediately set aside what he was doing.
"Good afternoon, my lady. What can I do for you?" Kazumi walked into the room, sitting down in one of the wooden chairs across from him.
"There's something that's been bugging me for a while about the tunnels, actually."
"I took the liberty to collapse the last one in case Hideyoshi tried to-"
"No, it's not that, but thank you for doing that." she began, nodding in response. "I was wondering how you knew about them in the first place."
"Takanobu tasked me with overseeing their construction back in the day." the Auroran replied, his tone unsually lightweight. The girl folded her hands in her lap, having had one question answered only for her curiosity to cause another to arise.
"Back in the day?"
"Yes, you see- Well, it might be easier if I start from the beginning." he quickly corrected himself, earning an intrigued look from the girl across from him.
"I suppose you can say it all started about two decades before you and your brother were born, give or take a few years. At that time Sorin had just become Violight's Warlord, and had a better knack for collecting money and art than he did Kingdoms. Our southern peninsula was caught in a constant struggle between Greenleaf and Ignis; Motonari at the time was just a retainer to the incompetent lord of the former; Yoshitaka Ouchi, and the later was ruled over by the once powerful Tsunehisa Amago. Aurora, at the time ruled by a man who didn't want to be warlord to begin with, was stuck in the middle."
Kazumi, being unfamiliar with most of the names mentioned, asked the most logical question she could. "What happened to them?"
"They died." Naoshige stated matter-of-factly, causing the atmosphere of the room to settle into an awkward silence before the older man broke it.
"Tsunehisa was in his eighties by that point, so it was not exactly a surprise, but Yoshitaka..." he then trailed off, probing his mind for details.
"To be honest; I'm not exactly sure myself. All Motonari had told me was that he had perished in a 'bizarre gardening accident', and that some of the other retainers informed him it was 'best not to look into it'." The twin shifted uncomfortably in her seat.
"And one day, we woke up and our lord was gone. Everyone in Aurora just assumed he snapped under the pressure, ran off into the sunset, and Takanobu took over from there."
"And what happened to him?" Kazumi asked again hesitantly, already dreading the answer.
"After Motonari conquered Aurora, he left in disgrace with some of the army. Last I heard they became pirates." she was more confused by the first statement to be disturbed about the second.
"Motonari conquered Aurora?"
"Yes, he-" Naoshige was cut off by the sudden presence of Dosetsu, whose cane echoed off the walls with every step he took, and was accompanied by the subject of the girl's latest question following him at a leisurely pace.
"Eh? What are you boring the kids with now, Naoshige?" he gruff man asked.
"I was just relating to Lady Kazumi the details about Lord Motonari's rise to power." Motonari bit his bottom lip at that, not exactly elated at the news, while Dosetsu let out a hearty laugh.
"That was ages ago. Back in the good ol' days when I could walk on both legs, you still had a partner, and Motonari here was a heartthrob." Motonari blushed, gazing downwards while scratching the back of his grassy hair, clearly embarrassed with the other retired Warlord bringing up his past.
"Please; those days are behind me." the Greenleafer said with a haphazard chuckle, silently pleading with Dosetsu to not say anything else. Fortunately for him, it appeared that the conversation had become uncomfortable enough for Kazumi that she quickly left the room, looking like she had seen a ghost.
"Hm... I wonder why she left?" the grizzled warrior mused. It wasn't a wonder to the other two men why Gichiyo turned out like she had. Seeing as the female twin had left, and desiring to change the subject, Motonari spoke up again.
"I never would have thought all three of us would be fighting under the same banner." Naoshige put a hand to his chin, his impromptu history lesson having brought up a nagging question of his own.
"Motonari; there's something I have wanted to ask for some time as well," the Auroran began.
"Oh dear..." the strategist in question thought, though his calm demeanor gave no hints to his internal concerns.
"What made you give up?" Motonari raised and eyebrow, as did Dosetsu, though for different reasons.
"Give up what?"
"Your ambition. You were the first man in over two hundred years to unite the southern peninsula. If you wanted to, you could have pressed onwards and unified Ransei before Sorin even had a chance to go beyond Violight. What made you stop and give up all the Kingdoms you worked so hard to conquer?"
Motonari's inward dread turned to sorrow, which manifested itself in an uncharacteristic frown. "Well, I suppose it was Takakage."
"Takakage? But he wasn't even born then." Motonari let out a heavy sigh in response to Dosetsu's comment.
"Yes." he replied both simply and forlornly, the implications of what he had just said slowly starting to sink in for the other ex-Warlords. The room entered into a tense silence for a few seconds that seemed to drag on forever, neither Naoshige or Dosetsu willing to break it.
"I loved her," the Greenleafer began, his voice seemingly deprived of the usual life it had. "For all the mistakes I made back then, I still loved her."
The man's breathing became unsteady, his voice shaky, and a weary, hollow smile crept onto his face. "Ruthless mastermind and doting father don't mix well. And she knew that. She made me promise I would-" Motonari then took a deep breath, trying to stifle the emotion that threatened to overwhelm him. Finally he spun around, stopping himself from continuing.
"E-Excuse me..." he choked out before quickly walking away.
The other two stayed silent out of respect.
"So," Masamune began, standing underneath the shade of a tree in the courtyard of Avia's rebuilt castle, his eye going over his two lieutenants, lips pursed and arms crossed in bated neutrality. "Report."
Kojuro adjusted his spectacles as he produced a paper from inside his green coat. "The fliers have reported that they've witnessed warriors from Cragspur heading into Illusio incognito, usually bearing something."
The One-Eyed Warlord of Avia let out an amused 'tch', the corners of his lips curling upright slightly. "Ujiyasu isn't even trying to be subtle."
The Avian looked up from the note slightly. "Should I send this to Nobunaga?" Masamune's slight smirk dissipated, his face returning to a more neutral disposition.
"No... Not now. I want to-" he stopped abruptly when heard a few leaves behind him crunch. Magoichi and Kojuro both looked at him in confusion, clearly having not detected the disturbance, but that did nothing to deter the Warlord. He spun around, drawing his pistols and firing into the tree to the shock of the two warriors behind him. A lithe figure quickly dropped from one of the higher branches, landing gracefully on the ground at the base of the vegetation before snickering.
"You're going to have to draw faster than that if you want to get me, Masamune." the brunette rolled his eye and returned his firearms to his belt.
"Oh. It's just you," he remarked as mildly as possible before his voice dropped considerably. "And I wasn't even aiming."
Kunoichi stood up straight, putting her hands behind her head casually, while the Avian crossed his arms again. "What are you even doing here, Kunoichi? You know very well I could easily get on Nobunaga's good side by capturing you, and I have half the mind to." she giggled in response, walking up to him.
"You could," she began, leaning in a bit too close for his liking, their faces only a few inches apart. "But you won't."
He hated it when she was right.
Masamune narrowed his eye in irritation, and the female ninja just let a smile cross her dainty features. "And as for what I'm doing here... Maybe Lord Shingen sent me to spy on you, maybe I just decided to glue the doors of your castle together. Maybe both."
"You know, telling us you're spying on us pretty much defeats the whole purpose." Magoichi commented, one bent arm slightly extended to emphasize his point. Kunoichi pouted overdramatically in return, crossing her arms and taking a step back from a now slightly disheveled Masamune.
"You didn't seem to notice until Mr. Trigger Happy here decided to use me as target practice..." she muttered, before quickly recomposing herself and shooting the Warlord of Avia another mischievous grin. "Well... Lord Shingen might have asked me to deliver this, too."
She reached behind her back, causing Masamune to instinctively tense up, before she produced a small scroll from the back of her belt and extended it to Masamune. He eyed it warily, saying nothing as he eyed it suspiciously, before reaching out and taking it from the still silent shinobi. He then quickly spun it around and opened it in her face, fully expecting it to explode in a cloud of smoke or something similar. All he got was a deadpan stare from the brunette.
"It's a message, you dolt."
"I-I know that!" he shot back, spinning the paper back around and quickly skimming over it. "It just pays to be safe."
"Uh-huh." Kunoichi replied, leaning in again with another mischievous smile.
"Well, I know you like keeping all your options open," she said, coyly raising an eyebrow, an action that caused the Avian's breath to catch in his throat. "So I'll just leave that with you."
Kunoichi then took a step back, her gloved hand quickly brushing over the side of her belt, before she disappeared in a sudden burst of smoke. Masamune, having quickly recomposed himself, eyed the spot she vanished warily, before glancing back down at the scroll in his gauntleted hands and beginning to read in full.
"Accursed vixen..." Magoichi failed to stifle a small laugh at hearing the Warlord's comment.
"You like her." it was the fact that it was a statement and not a question that immediately caused Masamune to spin around to face the mercenary, one of his pistols already drawn.
"Silence, imbecile!" Magoichi, knowing the teen had yet to reload, and thus was only in danger of being pistol whipped, just let his laughter become louder at Masamune's response. Even Kojuro let out a small chuckle.
"It would appear you hit a nerve, Magoichi." Masamune just growled, shoving the scroll in Kojuro's arms before pushing the two aside, muttering under his breath and storming back to Avia's keep. He extended his arms, fully prepared to slam the doors open, only crash into them and fall down. Neither of the retainers could bother to keep in their laughter that time.
Kazumi sat on one of the few stone benches in the courtyard, secluded underneath the shade of a particularly long tree branch from a nearby pine. Her shoulders were slumped, jawline resting in her palms as she stared down at the ground in contemplation, letting out a heavy sigh with a blink. She could hear Mitsunari, Masanori and Kiyomasa playing off in the distance, but aside from that, the courtyard was completely quiet and devoid of any life. So she thought.
"Why are you out here, Lady Kazumi?" she lifted her head at hearing the voice, seeing Hanbei approaching.
"I needed some fresh air." he chuckled slight at hearing that, a thin smile spreading over his face before he took a seat besides her. The two sat in silence for a while, Hanbei's face returning to a neutral expression as he closed his eyes, putting his hands behind his head and leaning back, and for a moment the girl next to him suspected he had fallen asleep. She sat back upright again, and he cracked open a purple eye.
"What's wrong?" she blinked, turning to face him.
"What?" he opened both eyes, his face maintaining an uncharacteristically serious disposition.
"You know what I mean. You're sad." she blinked again, somewhat surprised at the bluntness of his statement, and leaned against the back of the bench.
"How did you guess?" the hollowness in her voice showed no surprise over it.
"I could see it in the way you walked earlier. You're slower than usual, and your steps are heavier... Your shoulders are slumped too. The occasional sigh was also a big give away," his stoic veneer gave way for his characteristic smile that seemed to always find it's way onto his face, albeit more sedated than usual. "You're acting more depressed than Kanbei, to be honest."
The Auroran let out a small chuckle at his attempt at a joke. She knew he was just trying to cheer her up, though he didn't even know what she was sad about, and she thought it was rather sweet of him to be so concerned. But her faced hardened again as the thoughts returned.
"I've just... been thinking." Hanbei sat upright, somewhat disturbed over her evasiveness.
"About what?" he noticed she tensed up slightly, clearly uncomfortable with the subject. He then opened his mouth again, about to backtrack and leave the subject untouched, assure her the he was in no position to pry, but the girl carried on with a somewhat shaky voice before he could.
"It's... been a while since I set foot in Violight's keep," he gave a nod in understanding. She just let out a mirthless chuckle. "And I thought it would be a good idea to face the ghosts of my past. I probably should have just gone with brother..."
Hanbei stayed silent, an unusual air of reverence coming from him as he gave another nod, while she shook her head, refocusing herself. "So, I went to his room."
The Ignite raised an eyebrow, and Kazumi quickly clarified herself. "Uncle's. Me and Tadashi never went in there often, but not much had changed that I can remember. What I immediately noticed, though, was that the walls were lined with clocks."
The sullenness of her voice implied a darker meaning to a seemingly mundane detail. "Clocks?"
"Yes..." her eyes glanced downwards for a second. "Uncle Sorin wasn't that old, but that didn't mean his death was swift..."
Her lips trembled slightly. "Slowly being choked to death by that disease... Being surrounded by a constant reminder of that, literally having to listen to your life slowly tick away... It just makes you think."
Hanbei grimaced slightly, putting up another thin smile and scratching the back of his head. "Aren't you a bit young to be thinking about those types of things?" Ironic, he mused, coming from him, but he was desperate to lift her spirits. Kazumi looked at him, clearly picking up on the desperation in his voice, something he had hoped would be unnoticeable, and gave a hollow smile.
"You're only a year older than me." his smile was a bit more genuine.
"So you figured it out, huh?" she gave a small chuckle, and Hanbei smiled slightly as he detected a small amount of amusement in her voice.
"Yeah," her usually vibrant eyes became crestfallen again. "Still, it's not like I can avoid thinking about it forever, Hanbei. We're both warriors; it's practically our duty to throw ourselves in harms way."
The boy in white and gold gave a small nod in agreement. "I guess that's why I want to be a strategist." It was her turn to need clarification.
He let a slight smile cross his features, happy to be able to both navigate away from the topic at hand and approach something less dark. "Well, Kanbei seems to think that all strategists are bad people. I guess I can see where he's coming from; it is our job to orchestrate our opponent's defeat. But I also like to think that it's our job to ensure that we try to keep as many people on both sides from getting hurt as possible. So yeah; if I can help unify Ransei, that's well and good, but if I can keep as many people as possible from getting hurt, then I've actually done something worthwhile."
When he looked back at her, having been staring ahead towards one of the castle walls while relating his dream to her, the tactician was surprised, and happy, to see that Kazumi seemed noticeably less troubled than she had only seconds before. "That's a really admirable goal, Hanbei."
"It's why Hideyoshi 'hired' me in the first place. Deep down, I know Kanbei has the same goal; we just have different opinions on how to achieve it. Still, that's one of the reasons I follow you."
The female twin raised a thin eyebrow, somewhat confused over the last part of his statement. Hanbei was just happy to see he had managed to get her to focus on something else. "Follow me? I thought you joined us to become Motonari's student."
"Well, yes, I did," he agreed, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. "But though Lord Motonari was initially the reason I joined you, he's not the only reason I'm fighting with you. No; it's your ideals, too."
She folded her hands in her lap, looking at the raven-haired boy intently while he carried on. "I don't think you're fighting for the Legendary Pokémon. I don't even think you're fighting to unify Ransei. I think you're just fighting because you don't want to have to fight. And that's something I can fight for." by the time he was done with his explanation, he heard a few snickers coming from the Warlord sitting next to him, and he gave her a smile in turn.
"Thanks, Hanbei..." a small smile remained on her face as she leaned back into the bench again, "I needed that."
The two sat there in silence afterwards, Hanbei leaning back against the back of the bench, arms crossed, eyes closed and a small smile on his face, while Kazumi was left pondering a few lighter questions, primarily why her face felt flushed.
So, that's it for this chapter. I like to think I did a decent job of balancing both the darker and lighter character development, and hopefully provided a bit of something a lot of reviewers have been asking for. Is it me, or do I have a strange penchant for tormenting Ginchiyo? First Muneshige, then Motonari, then Muneshige again, then Hanbei... Good Lord. Anyways, we still have one more chapter to go before this month is over.
And kudos if you got the reference Naoshige made.