The next day, I hastily convene a "strategy meeting" around the Murata family hearth, with those I trust most present—Murata, Ayane, Taka, and Reina. I even manage to wrestle Felicia away from Iyaki and Sei to join us. The soft, dull patter of the rain reflects the situation we're in: bleak and gloomy as all hell. But we need to get our damn act together if we're going to not get killed.
"I think the fact that we actually survived means we might actually be onto something," I begin. A nervous laugh escapes. "I'm sorry. I know Daisuke didn't—"
"We all know Daisuke didn't," Murata cuts me off. "There's no point in wringing our hands over it now. We need to keep looking ahead."
"Right," I reply, nodding, as I collect my thoughts. "Here's my line of thinking. Ieyasu knows about our guns, and that's going to get back to Toyoshima. He can throw as many soldiers as he wants at us, and even with superior firepower, we can't hold out forever. We need to be able to fight them back harder." Peace through power, I think. That was the slogan of Nod from Command & Conquer. I'm no Kane—I'm not trying to start a cult here—but we are the Nod to the West Hoshidan GDI. The scrappy guerilla underdogs against a well-organized, well-funded military.
I return to my rundown of the situation. "So we've got two ways to up the ante. We can make more guns, make them bigger and better and more accurate. Or we can join forces with other Hoshidan villages and unite against this common enemy. I suggest we do both."
"And how do you propose we accomplish these?" Murata asks, leaning back.
"I'll need Ayane and Taka to take the lead on the first point," I answer, turning to them. "If we replace the burning match-cord with a flint and steel, we can make the guns more reliable." Both in our tests and in the battle, we found that the flame would sometimes extinguish before the gun could fire, lowering the weapon's' rate of fire even further. A flintlock mechanism wouldn't have that problem. "If the metal will hold, we can scale up the guns to make artillery, too. And we might even want to make a specialized anti-air gun if they send pegasus knights at us." I'm thinking about something like a big shotgun on wheels to act as our anti-pegasus flak cannon.
"If I may interrupt," Reina begins, "the royal army maintains most of the aerial divisions." She shifts her shoulders ever so slightly, with a drop of pride. Can't blame her, can you? "Toyoshima may well have some of his own, but they will be an exception rather than a rule. Perhaps our limited resources may be better spent elsewhere?"
Before I can respond to her, I notice Felicia looking nervously at me. When we make eye contact, she turns her head away, her pink ponytail following in its wake.
"Felicia?" I ask. "Is something wrong?"
"W-well…" she starts, biting her lip. "I don't really know it as well as Reina, but you have to remember that the Nohrian army is invading, too. We might run into them, and you know how Nohr loves their wyverns. I think a special weapon against them would still be a good idea." Now that's got me asking all sorts of questions. Can a bullet penetrate a wyvern's hide? Why are wyrmslayers so good against them anyway, and can we learn anything from that? Could you melt down a wyrmslayer blade and turn it into wyvern-piercing rounds?
And of course, you can't talk Nohrian wyverns and their knights without talking about Camilla. Has she gone off the deep end yet, consumed by her obsession with Corrin? It's a damn shame, because she was kinder to me than I probably deserved. After that conversation with her, I still remember that definite impression that yes, she may be crazy, but she is a good person. And hey, I'm not that different.
I hope not.
"Does that make sense, Harrison?" Felicia asks, returning me once more to Earth. Or… not Earth, as it may be.
I nod briskly. "Yes, it does. Let's keep that line of development open," I reply.
"That's all the technical details, but what about the other thing? Joining together with other villages?" Murata asks again, his eyebrows furrowed. I was worried this would happen.
"It was kind of a ridiculous, grandiose plan, I know," I start, trying to backpedal hastily. "I got caught up in the moment yesterday and made some promises that I know we can't keep. It was a stupid idea."
"We'll be the judge of that when we hear it," he says. "Kid, you've got to stop this. You called for this strategy meeting, or whatever you called it, so you've got to outline the strategy for us. Don't worry—we'll tell you if it's a bad one."
"Okay," I mumble, and it begins to hit me how just plain out of it I am. I'm awful with responsibility, and now I'm realizing how much of a toll having it has taken on me. The confidence I mustered together two days ago is falling apart, and fast. I inhale, and my breath rattles around in my chest like the bead inside a can of spray paint.
"What I mean is that I think we can mount a larger-scale resistance to Toyoshima and his rebels. I'm sure there are plenty of other villages nearby that need help, and we're the ones who are in the position to help them, with our guns. Maybe Reina can even hook us up with the royal forces, even though they're fighting against Nohr, too." What I omitted was that they'd be fighting that other place—what was it… Mokushu!—soon enough, and history shows it's damn near impossible to win a two-front war, let alone a three-front one.
"Is it beyond our pay grade? Sure. But Toyoshima has all the manpower at his disposal and we have none. He is going to want our guns after he hears what that little shit Ieyasu has to say about them. This is the only way we can fight them off for the long term."
Murata strokes his beard, thinking. "You're right, you are thinking big, but we can start nearby and go from there. The two closest villages are Enkoshi and Shibetsu. I've met their leaders myself a few times. Now, I don't know if they've already surrendered to Toyoshima's troops, but we might as well see if they're willing to hear us out. I don't think we have much to lose."
"How far away are they?"
"From here, a few days' travel at worst, but they're in opposite directions." That's… not ideal.
Before I can interject, Reina pipes up. "In that case, I will fly to one or the other, provided that you are able to provide me with their locations. I'm confident I could reach them in no more than a day, and I think you all should remain here to keep managing things. This village is still reeling from battle, and it needs your guidance." She's not just saying that to Murata, I realize. She's saying that to all of us. Me, Ayane, and even Taka and Felicia, too. We are all pillars of our effort, cornerstones in our struggle against Ieyasu and Toyoshima and everyone else.
"Point well taken," Murata says, nodding. "Given the state we're in, I would be grateful if you went ahead and did this for us, Reina." Personally, I don't know if Reina on her own is enough to convince a village to join us, but I'm willing to follow his lead. "I'll provide you with a map of the greater area. If they're hesitant, tell them I will meet with them in person. I'll write up a letter explaining the situation to them, even." The room falls silent, with no apparent objections to Murata's plan. "Very well, then. Let's embark on this immediate course of action. Reina, you should prepare to leave, and I'll get that letter to you soon."
After the meeting disbands, it's only a short while until Reina takes off. As her kinshi flaps her wings and ascends, I can't help but worry about what might happen if Ieyasu comes back, without our very own angel of death. Could we hold them off again? I know we got him good, that his force is seriously weakened. It makes no rational sense for him to strike back so soon. But I just as well know how badly we hurt his pride. And here's where that semester of Psych 101 comes in handy—when his self-concept, his identity, is being attacked so intensely, we can count on him to do anything but act rationally. It makes sense to turn back, regroup, restrategize —but distress impairs cognition. Sounds familiar, huh? That bastard and I have only one thing in common—that battle put us both through the wringer.
And we both use swords, I guess.
I head over to the makeshift infirmary to see how the wounded are recovering. Since Ayane had to tend to her shop after the meeting ended, it's a rare moment where they're unattended by our medical staff. They seem to be alright. About half of them are laid up in cots, but based on the idle chitchat, it looks like they're in decent spirits. And if they're going to join our forces, it's critical that they don't dampen morale. Our situation can do plenty of that on its own.
I make eye contact with the samurai who spoke yesterday at Daisuke's funeral. I ponder saying something for a moment, but he beats me to it. "Hello," he says, in a lukewarm tone. That's the best I could hope for, really, considering not 48 hours ago weapons of my invention were aimed at him.
"Hello," I reply. "How's your wound?"
"Not awful. I've been through worse," he replies with a sigh, then looks over at the other former West Hoshidan soldiers. "Many of my comrades were not as fortunate, though." Before I can say anything in apology, he continues. "Do you have a moment? I have several questions for you." I don't know what he's getting at, but I'm glad he said something so I don't have to.
"Sure," I reply.
"Who are you? Why do you help these people? And why did you spare us?"
I find myself unable to say anything. Sure, those questions sound straightforward enough, and I've definitely answered the first so many times that I could recite it by rote. But for some reason, I'm getting tongue-tied now.
"My name is Harrison," I begin slowly. "I'm from a faraway land. Not Nohr, or Hoshido, or any of the other countries. Mayor Murata took me in, so I've been helping these people to pay them back for their kindness." I take a breath. "And because it's the right thing to do," I add as an afterthought, although I don't sound very confident in it.
"Those weapons, they're from your home?" he asks.
"Yes, well, of a similar design," I reply. "They're called guns. They're the dominant weapon on the battlefield where I'm from."
The samurai furrows his brow. "Yet you carry a Nohrian sword."
I fold my arms. I really don't want to tell the whole story to this guy. "I didn't realize this was a cross-examination."
"My apologies. To an outside observer, though, it looks as if you're a Nohrian agent sent to rabble-rouse and cause more disturbances in Hoshido," he says, with a completely straight face. Jesus Christ. I thought I was finally out of type of distrust and suspicion that I kept getting bombarded with back with the royal family.
"So you're telling me that you don't trust me—and besides, you think Nohrians use guns?"
"I'd imagine they would be the ones to conceive of such horrible weapons," he says.
"And you think a spy would conspicuously carry around a Nohrian sword in Hoshidan territory?" I ask incredulously. "That's like putting a 'kick me' sign on your ass."
"Indeed it is," he replies matter-of-factly. "Which is why I'd like to know how you got it, though you seem hesitant to tell the whole truth."
"Because you won't trust me if I do." I realize how paradoxical that sounds and sigh. 'Honesty is the best policy' is such bullshit. I just do this because I know I can't lie worth a damn. "I give up, I'll tell it to you." I run him through a summarized version of the tale. "So, I bet you think I'm crazy because of the other world thing. And if not that, you don't trust me, now that you know I served Nohr, if only for a few weeks." He doesn't say anything. My eyes wander to some point behind him, and I put my hand to my forehead. I continue talking, though I'm not sure if it's to him or myself. "I know how everyone in both countries is so goddamn xenophobic. 'Damned Hoshidans!' 'Nohrian scum!' It's all the same. There's good people and bad everywhere."
But to anyone, when you're not part of us, you're them. This village is the one place in this world where I don't have to be them. So if you don't mind, mister samurai, please don't take that away from me. Let me be us.
"Your story is improbable, but it explains the inconsistencies I've noticed. And although I may disagree with your decision, I respect your reasoning," he says. "I can't very well preach absolute loyalty given where I am now."
"Which brings me to a question for you," I reply. "Who are you? Why are you here? Why did you fight us, and then join us?"
"My name is Kenji. I am—I was—a samurai, serving Lord Toyoshima, whom I swore fealty to. A lot of samurai come from a long line of serving their lord, but I don't. My father was an ordinary spearman who earned his rank through bravery on the battlefield. The story goes that he single-handedly fought off a Nohrian wyvern knight, while he was wounded and bleeding, so his commander could rally the surviving troops to win the day. I was put into training since I could hold a sword, so my family could hold onto what little status it gained. So when the civil war broke out, I didn't think about the good of the country. I thought about how my father put his life at stake and how that brought our family out of poverty. That's all I saw."
"If I'm being honest, it sounds like Toyoshima was pretty good to your family. Why did you join us?" I ask. "If Toyoshima finds out that you deserted, would he hurt them? Isn't loyalty pretty important to samurai?"
"I'd like to think he has bigger problems than tracking down a few of us, but I don't know," he says, and sighs. "My comrades and I came to a realization last night. We don't want to live in a Hoshido run by people like Lord Toyoshima and Lieutenant Yamamoto, who do this to their own countrymen just for their own benefit. We don't want our families to live in that kind of Hoshido. And now, especially after our conversation—I trust you and Mr. Murata to hold them back."
"If you're looking for some kind of revolutionary leader, then you're wrong," I reply. "We've been real with each other enough, so I'll let you in on a secret. I try to sound much more confident than I am. I'm really just a scared little kid."
"But that's just it," he says. "We are all scared children fighting for our lives. It's a matter of embracing it."
"Scared children with very adult weapons," I reply.
"You are not incorrect," he says, laughing, though it's a bitter, dark laugh. "And I believe my companions and I can help you in that respect."
The next day, the sound of something overhead startles me. I look up and it's Reina, circling towards the ground. I head over to meet her—I hope it's good news…
Once she lands, I make eye contact with her. She shakes her head as she dismounts her kinshi. Oh, no, don't tell me...
"They refuse to help us," she says.
"What? Why?!"
"Get Mayor Murata. I'll tell you both."
"They called us fools for thinking we could stand up to Toyoshima's army. I tried to explain to them how we were able to defeat them, and how we needed help to continue doing so. Their mayor said that he could never put his citizens in danger, and at risk, by fighting. He would rather take his chances with the daimyo." Reina concludes her report and turns to me.
I squeeze my eyes shut in frustration, and take a deep breath in. "Fucking figures, doesn't it? We never stood a chance. What the hell are we thinking?"
"I'll be honest, this isn't looking good," Murata says. When he says it's not looking good, that's definitely a bad sign.
"Don't let them discourage you. They're nothing more than cowards and traitors," Reina says bitterly. There are those words again. By quite a few definitions, I am a coward and a traitor. My knee-jerk reaction is to fire back against that statement.
"They're not cowards or traitors," I reply. "They're just civilians. Not everybody has to fight or wants to fight. We are the exception, not the rule, and I hope you're beginning to realize that."
Reina gives me the side-eye. "So what do you propose we do? Lie back and let Toyoshima kill us all? If nobody is going to help us—if we are the only ones who are going to fight—then why should we bother?"
"Easy there, you two," Murata says in a calm but firm tone. "That was just Enkoshi. We can still try Shibetsu. Yes, this failure doesn't bode well, but this time, we'll travel to meet them in person, and bring a gun or two as a sample. Reina, I'm sure you did as well as you could, but I think this is our best shot."
"Very well then," Reina says, and exhales sharply.
"We'll set out for Shibetsu tomorrow morning. Get anything you need for a demonstration together…"
Our group waltzes into Shibetsu to the confused and downright scared gazes of its townspeople. Murata pulls a few of them aside and asks them to notify their mayor that we want to meet with them. They do so and return with a small entourage of their own. A lanky elderly man steps out from the group, and Murata steps forward to match him. The two men bow to one another, though Murata's is decidedly more formal and lower than the elderly man's slight bend.
"It's been a while, Shinjiro," the man, who I presume to be the mayor of Shibetsu, greets. "I assume whatever brought you here with a royal kinshi knight can't be good." He warily looks over to Reina, and then back at Murata. "Especially not with the world as it is lately."
"Wise as ever, Mr. Saito," Murata replies. "I'll get right down to it. I assume you've heard the news of the civil war."
"We have," Saito says, and I can see the villagers standing next to him shift uncomfortably. It's not good news for any village along the conflict zone.
"That makes this easier. A few days ago, the rebels paid Hoiyoto a visit—but thanks to some careful planning, and some help from Reina here, we were able to fight them off," Murata explains, to murmurs and nervous glances among the crowd. "We want to know if you will stand with us. Working together, pooling our resources, we can defend both of our villages better than we can alone."
"How were you able to defeat trained, armed and armored soldiers?" Saito asks. "Forgive me for underestimating you, but I know even with a kinshi knight that we couldn't fight them off and survive."
"A perfectly reasonable question. We've developed a crude weapon called a gun—we brought one to demonstrate for you." That's my cue. I retrieve the musket and begin loading it as he explains. "It burns a special black powder to launch metal projectiles at high speeds—with power to rival the strongest yumi, wouldn't you say, Reina?" She nods. "They're easy to use and loud and intimidating, what with the fire and smoke."
I light the match and shoulder the gun, pointing it far away from anyone. "Ready to fire," I announce.
"Let's see what this does," Saito says.
"Stand back!" I pull the lever and the match ignites the powder in the pan and the gun fires. The Shibetsu citizens gasp.
"We have just under ten of these," Murata says. "And they're only getting better as we refine the design. But on our own, we don't have the numbers or resources to really do anything except defend ourselves. Like I said before, the more people we bring into the fold, the better off we all are. And if we gather more allies, we might be able to hold them off enough to give the royal troops an edge in ending this stupid war."
Saito is silent for a moment, holding his hand to his chin. "I've got to hand it to you, Shinjiro," he says. "That's certainly something you've got there—that weapon, your plan… your old man would be impressed, you know. And it's a shame, because I hate to turn down the son of an old friend, but…" He sighs. "I don't know if we can do it. It's a nice idea, but I can't risk everything on just a plan."
"Grandpa!" a freckled young girl with flowers in her hair shouts and steps out of the crowd. "Don't talk like that!"
"Hush, Mozu!" a woman runs up behind her and tries to rein her back into the group. Mozu, from the game?! She definitely fits the description—I guess Shibetsu is her home, and it hasn't been attacked by Faceless yet. Maybe by joining forces with them, we can save them!
"Daughter, let her speak her mind," Saito says to the woman—Mozu's mother, no doubt.
"Grandpa, do you remember what you said to me when ya taught me how to hunt? You told me that anyone, even a little girl like me, can take down a boar if ya know the right way to do it. And then I went out and bagged the biggest, meanest boar I could find, and after that a bear!" Mozu puts her hands on her hips proudly. "Imagine if ya told me to 'give up' because I wasn't strong enough, because there was 'no way' I could do it. There's always somethin' we can do, it's just about findin' out how. If little me could nab a bear, we sure can stop some city folk with their fancied-up armor and swords!"
Saito says nothing for a moment. He nods and turns to his villagers. "I'll turn it to you all. What do you think of this?"
A young man raises his hand. "Mayor Saito, we have to fight! We can't give up Shibetsu so easily!"
"Yes! I will die before I let my children starve!" a woman holding an infant says. A little girl stands sheepishly beside her mother and steps behind her back. Several others voice their agreement, and cheer at each one who steps forward.
"The consensus seems clear to me," Murata says.
Saito laughs.
With the population of Shibetsu in agreement, we meet with Saito and several other villagers to hash out the details of how this partnership will work. We're going to give them a few muskets, as well as the instructions to make more, along with shot, match-cords, and powder. With their craftsmen attacking the problem as well, our collective firepower will be soaring. It sounds like a good proposition overall. "But there's one thing that bothers me," I remark as I mentally review the plan once more.
"What's that?" Murata asks.
"Communication," I reply. "There's no easy way to send messages from Shibetsu to Hoiyoto. I get that each village needs to be able to operate on its own, but what if we find a larger threat coming? We need a way to pool manpower when it's necessary, and to coordinate that, we need some line of communication."
Saito turns to Reina. "I suppose you could do that, madam kinshi knight, if you don't mind."
She sighs. "I would be honored to aid you further, but unfortunately, I cannot." She looks to Murata and I. "I had been meaning to inform you of this earlier, but I must be returning to Castle Shirasagi soon. I've overstayed my assignment here, though this will make a fascinating report for Queen Mikoto and Yukimura."
My worries are reborn anew. I'd wondered if she would eventually have to return to Mikoto and Yukimura, but put it out of my mind to focus on the present. But with the support of another village, maybe we don't need to rely only on her.
"Forgive me, Reina," Murata says. "I'd forgotten you actually had another employer."
"Please do not misunderstand me. I am not abandoning you—I promise I will return, and our chances will improve once the royal high command is made aware of this new development. I am sure they will lend their support in earnest to their citizens fight loyally for their country."
"And, of course, in self-defense," I interject, afraid to lose Saito and the others to the throes of Reina's patriotism.
Reina brushes off my comment. "I know the capital and major cities use messenger pigeons to communicate," she says. "The problem is that it requires special training and planning to set up. That's why they had to send sky knights like myself as messengers to the rural villages." That actually makes a lot of sense. I'd been wondering why they put some of their best aerial troops on duty to notify villages - there is literally no other convenient way without an established carrier pigeon route.
"Wait a minute," someone says. I look over to the other side of the table to see Mozu. She earned her spot at the table due to the bravery of her rallying cry earlier, but being Saito's granddaughter probably didn't hurt. "I know a way we can send messages real fast between the villages."
"Hm?" Saito raises an eyebrow.
"Hare's crows!" Mozu announces. "They're real smart, pro'lly smarter than regular pigeons. Maybe she could teach'em to fly back and forth between Hoiyoto 'n here?"
Saito seems to consider whatever she just said for a moment, then nods. "Very clever, Mozu, very clever." The other delegates from Hoiyoto and I exchange confused glances at each other. He fills us in, surely noticing our expressions. "Hare's a little girl here in Shibetsu that has a natural talent for working with crows. The things just seem to love her. If anyone could set up a messenger system using birds, it's her."
With that settled, there are only a few minor details to clear up while Reina prepares herself to leave. Back in the Shibetsu main square, I meet up with the Hoiyoto delegation once again as we prepare to send her off. "I'm sorry for leaving so suddenly, but the sooner I can get back to Castle Shirasagi, the sooner I can return with support," she says.
"It's all well and good," Murata says. "You're not our kinshi knight, after all."
I take a breath and consider my next words carefully. "When you report back to Lady Mikoto and Yukimura… maybe… leave me out of the story?"
Reina stops what she's doing and cocks her head at me. "Whatever for?"
"I don't know if there are still hard feelings against me back in Hoshido," I reply. "Things might go smoother if I'm out of the picture."
"I disagree. I think—no, I know—Lady Mikoto harbors no ill will towards you. I've told you already, she is grateful for your effort to save her life. And now you're fighting for her country, and her citizens. I don't see how this could be a problem."
"But Yukimura, and the other leaders… and besides, doesn't Hoshido love peace? I kinda knowingly developed a brutal killing weapon." I know that last point would be completely lost on Reina, but I say it anyway.
"That may well be, but you are an essential part of this story, Harrison," she says, turning her piercing blue eyes directly onto me. The scars on her face only accentuate the impact, and I tense a bit under the pressure. "The survival of Hoiyoto—and now, Shibetsu—and who knows what other villages—would be impossible without you." Reina's words sink in as the others bid their farewells.
"Take care," Murata says.
"The same to all of you. Until I return," she says. "May the Dawn Dragon watch over you all."
Reina's kinshi takes off with a hop, skip, and a few powerful flaps of its wings, ascending into the sky just as quickly as she came.
Once she's pretty far gone, Murata turns to me. "What was that you said, kid? 'Hoshido loves peace?'"
"Yeah, what about it?"
"It's just that it's so funny," he says, laughing a bitter laugh. "Think about it. Our greatest national treasures are weapons. We domesticate pegasi and kinshi, noble, beautiful beasts, to use them for war. And now, our own daimyo are in open rebellion and wage civil war against the crown. Say that again, 'Hoshido loves peace.'" He laughs again, then sighs. "If there's one thing I can admire Nohr for, it's that they're honest about the fact that war is their game."
"This isn't about war, though, not for us," I reply, though after I say it, it just sounds like I'm trying to justify myself. "It's about survival."
"Indeed," he says. "But you can't save everyone."
He is right, of course. I can't save everyone. I didn't save those people who died in the Ganglari attack, or that Hoshidan samurai, or Daisuke, or Ieyasu's soldiers who died on the field of battle. There's nothing more I can do for them. But maybe, with Reina getting Mikoto and Yukimura on board, with guns, with this alliance, we may have just the perfect ingredients to save so, so many more people, more than I ever could working alone.
And though I don't know how I could ever do it, I find that three names top the list:
Azura.
Elise.
Xander.
A/N: Oh my God, I'm so sorry this took so long. Life happens and it keeps on happening, and as I think I've alluded to before, this arc of the story is being a bit tricky to write - though I think we're past the worst of it. Things should start to pick up again now that the ball has gotten rolling.
Since it's been such a while, I'm not going to do any specific review replies, but I'm glad that everyone is appreciating the very real consequences for our hero's actions. It's one of the things that I was worried would be difficult to strike the right balance for (I mean, besides everything else.) I know college makes it difficult to write on a regular basis, but your support definitely keeps me motivated to finish this story eventually.
And speaking of support... Ashia21 has made some FANTASTIC fanart, which you can find linked in my profile, since FFN doesn't like links in fics. Thank you so much! It's incredible!