FALL SEVEN TIMES

by Ulquiorra9000

Chapter 21

Radiah had barely returned from New Phyrexia when she stomped right through Minamo Academy's front doors, up a few flights of stairs, and kicked open the wooden door to the headmaster's office.

"Okay, we have a little business to take care of," Radiah said briskly, shutting the door behind her. "First of all, what's your name?"

The old man behind the desk sat calmly, swathed in blue and gold robes, his hands folded together on the desk. His eyes were unreadable. "I am Hisoka, grand Sensei of this school. And, it would seem, the last in a long line of many."

"Oh, right. I see 'em," Radiah said, glancing at the inkbrush paintings of past Senseis on the wall. She stepped closer, her high-heeled boots loud on the wooden plank floor. She smiled. "I'm Radiah Albazan, a high priestess of the Machine Orthodoxy."

Hisoka nodded. "So, that is the faction that has claimed my school and posted metal guards everywhere?"

Already, numerous golems and compleat samurai had replaced the school's guard force, and the golems had already swapped out the entrance hall's banners for tall white banners bearing the Phyrexian emblem in black. The change had taken only an hour.

Radiah nodded. "That's correct, though the Progress Engine masterminded the invasion plan to begin with. Credit goes where it's due."

Hisoka didn't move as Radiah towered over him. "I see, then. What is it you want with Minamo?"

"Access to kakuriyo, that's what." Radiah tapped a gloved finger on the desk for emphasis. "Where the kami dwell. You're gonna help me open a link to kakuriyo, old man."

"To what end?"

Radiah glanced out the window at the waterfalls. "New Phyrexia's future. Let's put it that way."

Hisoka noddeed once. "I admire progress, yes. But not like this. I will not open a link to kakuriyo, regardless of what you do to me. Interrogation, torture, threats of death... I will not yield."

Radiah stared. Hisoka's tone was still calm, even polite, but she sensed the iron will of his words. Was he afraid of nothing? Had she underestimated the defenders of Kamigawa?

Better try plan B.

"There's all kinds of arcane knowledge in that head of yours," Radiah said, and she extended her right hand. Her bony, porcelain staff materialized in her grip, and the glass orb at the end glowed with purple lighting inside. "I'll have to settle this the blunt way."

Hisoka didn't move.

Radiah almost regretted pressing her staff's orb to Hisoka Sensei's forehead and converting him to the compleat. His mind and will were fascinating! Such a rare specimen! But she had a job to do, after all.

Hisoka stood, his eyes glazed over. "What is it you need, mistress?" he said, his voice now a low, gravely sound.

Radiah twirled her staff in one hand. "Let's get that link set up. Then my men can install the Channeler."

*o*o*o*o*

Afternoon sunlight glinted in Mizuki's eyes as she stepped onto the familiar, grassy front ground of Akrasa Castle on Bant. She shielded her eyes and winced until one of several large, fluffy clouds passed over it and the light dimmed.

She also recognized the sweet scent on the breeze, that of polished armor, fruit orchards, and pollen.

At that moment, three lion-mounted knights surrounded her.

"Don't you dare move!" one knight shouted, once he lifted his visor. He had a shiny tower shield in one hand and a halberd in the other. His armored lion mount huffed and licked its lips.

Mizuki threw up her hands automatically. "Hey! What are you doing?"

"What are you doing here, intruder?" another knight demanded. "You thought you could infiltrate our borders, huh? Nice try."

"I'm not sneaking anywhere!" Mizuki snapped, her heart racing in her chest. But she felt panic tighten her throat.

"Take her to the dungeons. Then we'll make her talk," the first knight said.

"Stop!" another, familiar voice cried.

The knights backed up a step as a blonde battlemage with wire-frame glasses hurried over, his white coat billowing behind him. "What's your problem, battlemage?" a knight demanded. "We found this intruder -"

"She's not an intruder," Morrel told him, pointing at Mizuki. "She's a friend. From far away. I trust her."

"It could be a trick," the third knight said shortly.

Morrel looked Mizuki right in the eyes. "Where did Veldor graduate?"

Mizuki swallowed. "Cae'Xan University. On Esper."

"That doesn't prove -" a knight started.

Morrel held up a hand to silence the knight. "Mizuki, which clan aided us on Tarkir while searching for a Sphaera Vitae shard?"

Mizuki took a second to remember. "The Temur."

"And whose castle did we raid on Innistrad?"

"Ludevic's."

Morrel looked up at the mounted knights. "It's her. I'm certain. There's no danger."

The lead knight returned Morrel's glare, then made an impatient noise and gestured to his men. "Back to the patrol," he told them gruffly. "C'mon." The knights marched off.

Mizuki put a hand over her heart, willing it to slow down. "Th-that was some welcome," she said shakily.

Morrel approached her, a weary grin on his face. "Border security is even tighter nowadays, due to the conflux war. It's been one disaster after another lately -"

Mizuki took hold of Morrel's head and enveloped him in a deep, longing kiss. She broke from him. "I missed you," she breathed.

"I..." Morrel shook his head and smiled. "I had no idea you'd be here. It was just another day of patrols and chasing off Jund raiding parties -"

"Miss me?"

Morrel gently lifted Mizuki's chin with one hand and kised her back. "I did."

Mizuki ran a finger over her lips, savoring the aftertaste. "I... I had to see you, Morrel. I didn't know what else to do."

Morrel gently put his hands on Mizuki's shoulders. "You look exhausted. Come with me to the castle, and I'll have a hot bath and a meal ready for you. Then we can talk."

Vividly, Mizuki remembered the last time Morrel had offered to take her back to Akrasa Castle. She looked forward to it much more this time.

*o*o*o*o*

"... and once the Phyrexian angels showed up, we were routed," Mizuki said, three hours later, nearly finished with her long tale. She and Morrel sat atop a hill under an apple tree, overlooking a neatly-tended fruit orchard while armored aven soldiers drifted on the breeze.

Mizuki, still fresh from her bath and her belly full, sat with her knees tucked under her chin, her toes digging into the grass. She stared at the ground. "It was chaos. I was lucky to get out of there. It was all that Azrael and Ayano could do to survive, too. Now we're all set up at a camp, but... what good does it do? The Phyrexians have won, haven't they? My... my home is lost."

She felt bitter tears, which she'd held back since the battle, sting her eyes. "I can't believe it."

Morrel, who sat cross-legged next to her, shifted slightly. "A compact fighting force can make a big difference once the enemy spreads out to secure its territory," he said. "The Jund and Grixis invaders have done much the same. Your coalition could..."

His voice trailed off and he made an embarassed chuckle. "I'm sorry. I've joined the king's war council, and I always end up thinking like that."

Mizuki swallowed in a tight throat. "Congrats." She managed a watery smile.

Morrel gently took Mizuki's left hand in both of his and squeezed. "I'm sorry. You didn't come here for tactical advice, did you? I'm sure that your coalition leaders can handle that."

Mizuki nodded shakily. She felt her cheeks dampen.

"You lost your home, Mizuki. I realize that. I can't imagine fully what that feels like," Morrel said gently. "It... sucks, doesn't it?"

Mizuki laughed feebly. "I-it does, yeah. And it all happened so fast. Last month, everything was normal and right." She felt herself relax in Morrel's company. and she felt a rush of gratitude. How had she gone three months without him by her side?

Morrel simply held Mizuki's hand in both of his, and he fell silent for a short time. Mizuki couldn't imagine what was going through his head as he stared down at the orchard, until he spoke up.

"Akrasa Kingdom is the last on Bant."

Mizuki started. "Huh?"

"Even with some support from sympathetic elf tribes from Naya and some aid from Esper, the other kingdoms have all fallen," Morrel said frankly. "Eos, Valeron, Jhess... all gone. You can't see them from here, but Akrasa Kingdom has many refugee camps across its grounds. Countless tents in each, and frightened faces. I visited them during my battles at the border. So many Bantians in one place."

Mizuki felt herself go cold. "I-I had no idea."

"It's an Alara affair," Morrel said with a shrug. "I can't expect you or Zoira to be everywhere at once. That's not fair to you."

"Hey, I would have helped at least a little if I knew," Mizuki said doggedly. "Planeswalker Code, and all that. And I've fought Jund warriors before. I can handle 'em."

Morrel laughed. "Oh, I remember that too." His face settled. "Whatever I make it sound like, though, this is not the end of Akrasa. We have a saying: 'if you are struck down, then you shall rise once again'. A lesson on endurance and perseverance, if your heart is true."

Mizuki blinked. "Oh, yeah? We've got a folk saying kind of like that on Kamigawa."

"Oh?" Morrel smiled.

"Yeah." Mizuki gently withdrew her hand from Morrel's hands, wiped her cheeks dry, and wrapped her arms around her legs. "It goes: 'fall seven times, stand up eight'. I think it means the same thing as your quote. I heard it a few times growing up."

"Fall seven times, stand up eight," Morrel muttered to himself. "Very wise."

Mizuki gave her boyfriend a funny look. "Are you gonna tell me that this applies to the coalition? That we've gotta keep fighting like nothing haappened?"

The lenses of Morrel's glasses glinted in the sun. "I believe that it would be better if you told yourself that."

Mizuki's breath caught in her throat. Then she grinned. "Hell, you Bant people always have an oh-so-lofty reponse to everything. I should've guessed!"

Morrel's smile came right back. "It comes with having rhox monk friends. And having a stern mentor standing over you as you pore over scrolls in your study sessions."

Mizuki laughed. "I'm not so jealous of that last part!"

Then she lay on her back, hands tucked behind her head. She watched as Morrel joined her, nestled close to her. "Can we, uh.. stay here for a while?"

"As long as you like," Morrel said, looking up at the ripe red apples overhead.

Mizuki's brain was churning with anxious thoughts: of the Phyrexians, the fate of the coalition and the Kirinji clan, Minamo Academy, and now Akrasa Kingdom. She pushed them all away. "It's not easy, y'know, having a boyfriend on another plane," she admitted.

"Indeed. When some of my older friends ask me if I have a lady, it's hard to explain that you're a planeswalker," Morrel added lightly.

Mizuki smiled. "Hey, you're not giving away all my secrets, are you?"

"No, I assure you."

Mizuki sighed. "This is... really nice. We don't get enough 'us' time. Especially when we've got battles to fight."

Morrel glanced over at her. "What do you have in mind?"

"I bet there's some things I don't know about you. Or that you don't know 'bout me."

"Really."

"I always thought my life would be boring, y'know," Mizuki admitted. "Up until Haijin-no-Imari's attack, I'd never seen a monster, or a legion of samurai, or anything beyond the Jukai Forest or the town Juka-no-Nadachi. My mom was an amateur jeweler, and my dad was a part-time fur trapper."

Morrel nodded.

"I remember him heading off into the forest with his trapper buddies, always with a gourd of sake," Mizuki recalled fondly. "He'd wave over his shoulder at my sister Hana and me, and promise to buy something nice for us and our mom if he caught something good.

"Usually, he didn't get much. But one time, he caught an ermine with the softest white fur with tiny black streaks, and he made me a winter hat out of it. I bet he could have sold it for a lot at Juka-no-Nadachi. But he wanted it for me."

"That's very kind."

"And my mom gave Hana a little silver necklace with a tiny amethyst in it, no bigger than my pinkie nail. See?" She held out a hand and wiggled her pinkie. "Tiny, but Hana loved it. I remember she was hoppin' up and down when my mom gave it to her for her twelfth birthday. My mom had clever fingers, to carve it into shape like that."

Morrel nodded again. "Isn't that what you're fighting for? To keep the Kamigawa where your parents loved you and your sister?"

Mizuki blinked. "Well, if you put it that way..."

"I have every bit of faith in you, Mizuki. That you won't let Kamigawa fall," Morrel said earnestly. "Especially with that Daimyo Kirinji fellow you told me about, and his daughter, and Azrael."

"Not Zoira, though," Mizuki said grimly. "She's still busy on her home plane, fightin' other monsters."

"Whatever happens, you have people who won't let you succumb," Morrel told her. "Remember that, because they remember you." He grinned. "That's another Bant piece of wisdom: honor and trust someone, and they will do the same unto you."

Mizuki felt herself smile again, and her face warmed. "Good point. And that means you too, right?"

Morrel went pink. "Of course! If I could planeswalk as well, I'd be right there on Kamigawa with you."

"What about Bant?"

"I could... split my time in that scenario," Morrel said slowly. "Why not?"

Mizuki laughed. "You never change."

"I..."

"I meant it in a good way." Mizuki reached over and poked Morrel's shoulder. "I can't stay away from Kamigawa for long, and I've gotta find a way to fight the Phyrexians. But I had to see you first. Good old you."

"I'll always be here," Morrel said fondly. "I may have said it already, but... I couldn't stop thinking about you while you were away, Mizuki. I couldn't fully go back to my old life, not when I had you on my mind. And now, to have you with me... it's -"

"Shut your yapper, will you?" Mizuki got up and knelt by her boyfriend, taking his head in her hands again. "You sure talk a lot."

"You already knew that."

Mizuki laughed. "I was right. You don't change." She lowered herself and kissed him again, long and deep. She felt her heart hammering, her skin tingling. She parted from again, panting. "Hey... you know that I love you, right?"

Morrel's eyes widened. "I... I don't believe you told me that before."

Mizuki gasped. "What? After all we've been through together, I didn't?"

"Everything went by so fast during our Sphaera Vitae mission," Morrel pointed out. "I could barely keep up with you or Veldor!"

"Well, I'm gonna tell it like it is." Mizuki brushed aside her bangs and held a hand to her heart. "Morrel, I love you, and ain't nothin' gonna keep me away from you."

Morrel beamed. "Mizuki, I love you, and I swear I shall -"

Mizuki shut him up with another smooth. "Sorry, what was that last part?"

"I-I swear I shall never let anything come between us. Our souls are one."

"More Bant wisdom?"

"No, that's me speaking from the heart. Promise."

Mizuki shook her head. "You're such a cornball, Morrel. But damn if I don't still love ya for it."

They didn't return to Akrasa Castle's torch-lit, banner-decorated halls until the sun had already set.