Draco: KHIII Re:Mind in January, FFVII Remake and Mulan in March. 2020 is shaping up to be a really good year before my birthday even arrives in April.
Pokémon and protagonist © Nintendo. Character designs © Koei. Ransei © somewhere in the middle.
Ultra Kingdom - Bamboo Forest: Edge on Edge
"So, how much of a bad idea would it be to split up here?"
Water spewed from Oichi's mouth, dousing the fire in the middle of camp. It was the morning after their first encounter with the bladed beast ('Kartana', the Cosmog had called them), and Gracia's suggestion got a reaction from everyone - though none quite so prominent as Oichi's spit-take.
"Sorry?" the Nixtormer murmured as Oichi started coughing.
"I'm not sure what would possess you to suggest that we break into groups at this point," Ranmaru observed. "None of the environs we've been through have been particularly safe to be separated in."
Gracia shook her head. "Yeah, but a bamboo grove isn't that bad. And we've got a really lucky chance here. Those Kartana are easy to take down, and we got the type advantage. Lucario's super-effective, Volcarona's double super-effective, and Full can be the same way. If we break into three parties, we can cover more ground."
"Even so," Okuni admitted, "if we split up, we wouldn't be terribly likely to meet up again. How do we expect to get through the next gate when we're all in opposite corners of this place?"
"We could..." Gracia's gaze fell. "No, wait... that wouldn't work very long."
Oichi took a deep breath. "We could try it for the one day," she suggested. "Keep the com-crystals at the ready in case we run into trouble. What were you going to suggest?"
"It's all dirt, here," Gracia pointed out. "I was gonna say we could follow our footsteps back here. But it's pretty hard dirt, and besides, footsteps would fade over too long."
"Well, we could try something a little firmer," Oichi supplemented. "Full?"
With a nod, Type: Full pressed his foreleg into the ground; then his claws closed on it, ripping a noticeable mark into it.
"That's not a terrible idea," Ranmaru observed. "We could carve our paths with our weapons, and follow them back here when the light wanes." He sighed. "But still..."
"One day," Oichi insisted. "We'll split up for one day, and come back by sundown. See how well we do." Then, firmly, "But if anything even starts to go wrong, we come right back here and call for help. Okay?"
"Alright," Okuni mused. "Which parties do you suggest?"
+x+x+x+
Oichi, Gracia, Full, and Gothitelle formed one party; Okuni, Kiyomasa, Volcarona, and Haxorus formed another; Ranmaru, Mistunari, Masanori, Bisharp, Krookodile, and Lucario formed the third. With the promise to return to camp before sundown, the three groups took off at 120 degrees from each other, minimizing the chance that their paths would overlap.
Full was bringing up the rear of his group, ripping footsteps in the ground as they advanced; after a while, Gracia spoke up. "So, why did you choose to come with me?"
"You're the only one without a proper weapon," Oichi admitted. "Like, that's separate from you. If you tried to stop a bladed attack with your channel bracelets, you'd be more likely to loose a hand." She drew her buckler off her hip and handed it to the Nixtormer. "Here."
Gracia accepted it, seeming somewhat surprised by its weight. "Wow," she murmured. "With that size I was expecting something lighter."
Oichi shook her head. "It's meant to be a secondary strike-or-parry instead of just a defense like most shields," she explained. "That's why I pair it with a rapier; I can use the buckler for blunt attacks, or the sword for proper strikes."
"Was that Lady Evia's suggestion?" Gracia asked.
"Well... kind of," Oichi admitted. "She started out with just a sword. But it changed the first time she underwent Warrior transformation, got a little bigger - became more of an offensive weapon than she was used to."
"Doesn't weapon mean it's made for offense?" Gracia argued.
Oichi giggled. "I asked her that exact question. Some weapons are made to both attack and defend. The new one was more for offense than she wanted, so she decided to start using a shield, as well. We went through a whole variety of shields trying to find a good one; that's when she told me about how bucklers are designed."
Gracia nodded. "And the blade?"
"Evia suggested I start with a rapier when I wanted to learn swordplay," Oichi explained. "When she advised I choose a shield, too, I remembered her advice and picked a buckler."
"And how well do you match up to Lady Evia?" Gracia wondered.
"When she gets angry, nobody matches up to Evia," Oichi observed. "She's got a Warlord's rage that no one in Ransei can even compare to. But in a spar, I can meet her blows well enough."
Gracia shuddered. "You get pretty scary when you're angry, too, Lady Oichi," she argued. "I still remember the first time you two attacked Nixtorm."
Oichi smiled. "You were just scared because I threatened to rip your channel bracelets off in the middle of-"
The swing of a blade cut her off; Oichi raised her rapier defensively as a Kartana whirled through the bamboo, coming to a stop before them as a green glow faded from its edges. The stalks around them started to collapse as it cried out at them, and Gracia held the buckler before her as Null gave an angry cry. "Nice of you to join us!"
Full roared, getting the beast's attention as he leapt towards it; it twisted through the air around him, swinging a Leaf Blade into his side as his claws razed through the air just past it. Gothitelle loosed a pulse of Future Sight before the beast made to approach her - and to Oichi's terror, it lunged towards her and Gracia, and she moved her rapier to meet its Leaf Blade, edge clashing against edge.
"What the hell-!?"
She forced the blade aside, and Gracia swung Oichi's buckler at the Kartana's other sword as Full charged up behind it; this time, his flaming blow hit true, and the Warriors parted as the beast flew between them. It righted itself and made to soar off, only for Gothitelle's Future Sight to bombard it in mid-flight, throwing it to the ground. As it tumbled, Full charged it again, and it didn't have the opportunity to move aside before another blow knocked it flat, whereupon it went still.
Gracia stumbled back. "What was that about?" she demanded. "Most Pokémon don't go for people if there's a Pokémon they can fight instead. None of the other beasts came for us while everyone was still standing."
"I don't know," Oichi admitted. "Unless..." Her gaze went down to her rapier. "Did it maybe react to my sword?"
"What do you mean, your sword?" Gracia asked. "Why would it react to your sword?"
"It has blades of its own," Oichi observed. "It's like... it was trying to provoke me into a swordfight. I think it sees an blade as a greater opponent than other creatures."
The Nixtormer gulped warily. "You're not gonna test it by putting the sword away, are you?" she asked.
Oichi took a deep breath before sheathing her rapier. "I think I am."
They continued into the forest a little longer, Full continuing to mark their path; after a while, they did find another Kartana soaring in to attack them. This time, Gothitelle readied her Future Sight before Full charged in for close range - and when the beast made to evade, he waited for it to land a passing blow as it circled him, turning to face it.
The beast kept its attention on Full, disregarding the Warriors.
When he didn't make to attack, the Kartana closed the distance; Full turned his broadside to the beast, letting its blows land. Gothitelle's Future Sight struck it in the middle of the third swing, stunning it long enough for Full to raze his blazing claws down its body - the beast had no chance to evade as the attacks landed one-two. It tumbled aside, landing against a stalk of bamboo and falling limp.
"You were right," Gracia realized. "They go for your sword."
"The question is why," Oichi murmured. "Do these beasts attack one another?"
+x+x+x+
Elsewhere, Okuni and Kiyomasa had discovered the answer to her question. Kiyomasa had been dragging his scythe-spear in the dirt behind them as they walked to mark their trail - but he'd promptly abandoned it, figuring they could find where he'd left off after they were done making sure they weren't spotted. They'd found a small clearing in the bamboo; not broad enough to serve much purpose in terms of camping, but broad enough for a one-on-one fight between Warriors.
Or beasts, as the case might have been.
Two Kartana were standing in the clearing - yes, standing, at least for the most part - and seemed to be dueling each other, their edges shining with green light at every swing. Each meeting of blades was audible even from a distance, not the quiet brushing of paper that Okuni would have anticipated, but the harsh clatter of metal edge against metal edge; neither seemed to have anything resembling an advantage, each swing either meeting another or finding its target airborne before it could connect.
Volcarona and Haxorus tried to keep a low profile as they and their Warriors regarded the battle, and after a moment Kiyomasa asked, "Do we interrupt them?"
"No," Okuni insisted. "If one beats the other, we don't have to try and fight them both."
"Volcarona's got a type advantage twice over," Kiyomasa pointed out, "and she's more than capable of hitting them both at once."
"Yeah, and if we miss that opening, we'll be in a lot more trouble," Okuni reprimanded. "I'm not gonna try our luck."
Kiyomasa glanced at her. "Grass and metal," he retorted, remembering Oichi's analysis. "There's no way they could possibly have the offensive ability to-"
A cry from the beasts cut him off; one had managed to land a clean blow, and the other had been sent tumbling back. As it righted itself, it was facing the Warriors, and Okuni cursed as she saw it turn its blade towards them - and its opponent turn its attention the same way. "She who dares to tempt fate-!"
Volcarona leapt in, wings blazing as she started a Fiery Dance; one beast was seared by the blows, but the other managed to stay clear. The struck one spun away, hurt but not yet down for the count; Haxorus charged towards it as it neared the ground, tanked a Leaf Blade, and promptly began to bombard it with an Outrage as the one unharmed tried to near Volcarona.
She leapt around its diving swing, landing just past it and continuing to scatter flames; this attack just barely singed it as Haxorus managed to finish off the beast he'd targeted, throwing it to the ground. The other landed a passing Leaf Blade and touched down just out of range of Haxorus' last swing before the dragon mist parted; Volcarona leapt forward to close the distance, landing on its other side and beginning to dance, and this time the flames washed over it full-on, not offering the chance for the Kartana to escape.
It fell to the ground, and the beast tried to raise one blade... and then let it fall again.
Kiyomasa groaned, rolling his shoulders. "So smart, keeping out until they were done."
"Shut up," Okuni snapped. "I thought they'd be more focused on their fight. I've never seen a Warrior turn their attention away in the middle of a proper battle."
"How do you know that was a proper battle?" Kiyomasa argued. "With how even it was, they might've just been sparring with each other."
Okuni's gaze fell. "Maybe," she admitted. "Or maybe that's just what happens when you get into a mirror match with swords."
"Would that there were two Warriors in Ransei so similar that we could test that theory," Kiyomasa snarked.
+x+x+x+
"Now this is getting odd."
Ranmaru's zanbato had made marking his, Mitsunari, and Masanori's path all too simple; it was an easier matter to let it drag in the dirt behind him than it was to hold it readily for battle. They'd fought a few Kartana already - and he'd been mildly concerned to have to fend off their swings with his edge - but now they'd come across something very different.
A rock garden.
There was a sizeable clearing, here, and the dirt had given way to sand - sand that had been formed in a pattern not unlike waves on water's surface. Stones of various sizes and shapes were spaced like islands on the sea. There didn't even seem to be any footprints upon the sand, nor any marks indicating the wake of a blade's swing; it was as though the beasts did not spend any significant amount of time here.
The beauty of the view was promptly cut short when Masanori charged past Ranmaru, looking over the place. "Woah," he muttered. "Talk about your weird settings."
Mitsunari set his folded fan against his brow as Krookodile followed his Warrior onto the sand. "Absolutely no respect for the arrangement."
"It would not have lasted long, in any case," Ranmaru observed, setting his zanbato upon his back again. "This place would serve us well to make camp."
He and Lucario stepped out as well; Mitsunari tried to stutter a protest, but only sighed, trading displeased looks with Bisharp before following suit. The stones were not only of different size, but also seemed to be of different composition, as well - the light bouncing off their different colours made them seem overgrown, or barren, or snow-capped, or volcanic. Ranmaru had seen rock gardens before, but none had ever given him a feeling quite like this, the sensation of being a giant wandering through the ocean.
After a moment, he saw one that seemed a bit different from the others - a stone no larger than a marble, resting in a small pit in the sand that looked rather like a whirlpool raging around it. At the scale of the other stones, this isle would be less than a sandbar, so small that a sailing ship would be forgiven for running aground upon it. Curious, he picked it up, finding it to be a perfect sphere; it had a strange gradient to its colour, fading from a deep pink to a bright yellow, and there was a twisting black shape within, best described as a bloated S with three lines through it. When he turned the stone between his fingers, he found the shape within to be flat, all but vanishing at 90 degrees and then coming into existence again when the rotation continued.
Ranmaru became acutely aware of Lucario observing the stone at his side, and lowered it. "You say nothing to the ladies."
The Aura Pokémon gave an inquisitive cry.
"Yes, I'm taking it with me," Ranmaru whispered. His fingerless gloves were tight enough that when he popped the opening for his right hand's thumb and pushed the stone in, it was trapped against his palm - combined with how they vanished beneath his outer sleeves, he had no concerns it would be lost. "I feel a strange... power from this. Something I can't place." He shook his head. "But if they know I have this thing, they're not going to let me live it down, after that conversation we had in the Celesteela's valley."
Lucario raised an eyebrow at him.
"I realize I'm being hypocritical," Ranmaru insisted. "I hope we both have good reason to make me shut up."
"Why would you wanna make yourself shut up?"
Ranmaru yelped, whirling around and going for his zanbato before realizing that Masanori was standing there. Mitsunari, a few paces away still shook his head. "You muttering to your partner looks suspicious as all Distortion, you realize?"
"Do shut up," Ranmaru muttered at a higher pitch than he would have liked. "We're on an interdimensional odyssey, I'm not about to sell you lot out to anyone when the only Pokémon we can find are beasts we can't Link with."
Masanori blinked. "You can't Link with these things?"
"Didn't we tell you?" Ranmaru was both glad for the change of subject and surprised this hadn't come up. "I tried to Link with the first beasts we encountered, and it refused to let the Link go anywhere."
Mitsunari crossed his arms. "Now that's just weird."
Ranmaru nodded. "Indeed." He turned away. "I hope we don't find ourselves spending too much longer than..."
He trailed off, and the pair exchanged glances before Mitsunari asked, "What is it?"
"Are those berry trees?"
Draco: I don't believe in subtlety.
...I also can't read anything with the formula "I don't believe in [three syllables]" without hearing it to the tune of Deja Vu from The World Ends With You, and now I've got the song stuck in my head. Come on, I'm already trying not to play anything while I'm on a roll, give me a break!
