"...By the time the Neo Eldian Empire resurfaced onto the world stage, the use of cavalry units enmasse had long since been replaced. Centuries of noble prestige uprooted by the creation of such weapons as the Masina Gun and the repeating rifles, modern arms quickly replacing weapons now obsolete. As such, the cavalry charges of the olden days had fallen to nothingness, irrelevance. Discarded, cast aside, never again to be used in conventional wars.

The Hasegawa Shogunate, much like their Eldian allies, did not fight conventional wars."

- Return of the Rising Sun (c.901), by Prithivi Baruwal

Jahr Unseres Gründers c.852

The (Yamato-Class Battleship) Sōdogādo, Off the West Coast of Hizuru, the Dōnghai Ocean

The ocean breeze was perhaps something Akkaman Tozawa would always appreciate.

It had been a foreign thing, at first, when the first ships of the flotilla had been transported from the inland lakes to the borders of Paradis, under the cover of night. He hadn't had the time to take it in, to truly marvel at the vastness of the ocean. It was only when they were well underway from the island, past any possible Marleyan survey patrols, that the Shogun had taken it in. The night had passed, then, and at the edge of the ocean, the sun rose and blinded Tozawa in its magnificent glory.

Many a sunrise the Shogun of the Hasegawa Bakufu had seen before, but the one he saw that day would forever be emblazoned in his eyes, and few would surpass the sight.

Except, perhaps, the one before him now.

Garbed not in the traditional robes of old, but a military uniform of more modern standards, and standing proud on the prow of the Sōdogādo, Tozawa looked out across the sea, where several ships lay afloat, waiting and watching. Battleships, he realized, taking note of the guns they held, and in truth, he could not blame them.

After all, it truly must have shocked Hizuru when a telegram written in the imperial script had been sent from Paradis, simply stating that the Hasegawa lived and were coming home.

And here they were. Home.

As soon as the preparations for war finally truly began, the clans of the Shogunate had prepared for the return they had dreamed of since being stranded on Paradis all those years ago. Old banners were brought out and resewn, ancient records and stories brought once more to light, copied down to be brought home. Records on which clans had fallen during the last century and which clans had been formed had been revised, looked over, and revised again.

Then the day had come to send word of their survival overseas, and all the daimyo had gathered in Mithras to do so- arguments on what to say and how to say it going on for half a day. But, eventually all came to an agreement, and the Hasegawa Shogunate let Hizuru know of its survival.

日本が背が高い限り、太陽は私たちを見捨てることはありません。, it read in the imperial script.

As long as Hizuru stands tall, the sun will never forsake us.

They were words few knew of outside the Home Islands, spoken by an Emperor centuries ago. They were royal words, an imperial seal, and while few knew of its existence outside Hizuru, even fewer within or without the country were allowed to use it- for it was reserved for the usage of the Blood of the Heavenly Sovereign and the members of the Hasegawa clan.

Hizuru's reply had come a day later, demanding to know the identity of the sender and how such words were known to them- and it was then that the Kingdom of Paradis revealed itself to an outsider for the first time. Shocked dialogue was exchanged, questions answered as best as they could over such long distances, and then word was sent to Hizuru that the blood of Hasegawa would be soon to return.

The flotilla did not stay long enough to see the reply that message garnered, and the same day the word had been sent, the ships that had been prepared for that fateful day were carried under cover of darkness to the shores of Paradis, and sent east.

And here we are.

As the Sōdogādo gently began to forge ahead, leaving the other ships of the flotilla behind, Tozawa was suddenly thankful he did not have to face his regained countrymen alone. With him on the deck of the ship were the clan-heads who had accompanied him overseas, they too garbed in the old way, just as anxious as he. Then he cast he eyes to the right, where a part of the Kingdom's diplomatic delegation stood, their leaders betraying no sign of nervousness, as he did. If they indeed felt something, then they did not show it.

Tozawa envied his distant cousins, sometimes.

"Shogun-sama," one of the daimyo spoke. "They approach."

Breaking away from his thoughts, the Shogun returned his gaze to the small fleet before them. Indeed, a ship had broken away from the main formation, cutting a swathe through the sea towards them. He might've been worried had the Hizurese warship not been lined up to dock with them, and he had faith that they would at least hear them out.

So, as the two ships docked, the Hasegawa Shogun steadied himself. A century of loss was about to come to an end. The sun that had set on them so long ago was beginning to rise anew, brighter than ever before.

And, Seiju willing, it would never set on them again.

Then the gangplank joined the two ships, and the Shogun, with all his daimyo and allies, strode towards it.

...

To think that was two years ago. It feels like a lifetime ago.

Jahr Unseres Gründers c.854

Qing Province, Coastal Manzhōu

Two years. Two years of reacquainting themselves with their homeland. Two years of learning to manage the internal politics of the Empire. Two years of convincing the Emperor to once more make common cause with their old allies of Eldia.

And it had led them here. To a rainy battlefield in the Far East, charging the ancestral rivals of Hizuru using outdated tactics. Suicidal tactics, in this day and age.

At least, they would have been suicidal, were it not for the armor Tozawa and his retainers bore. Forged with Eldian unzerbrechlich-stahl and smithed in the ancient ways of the home islands… The armor the Shogun wore was as close to bulletproof as could be, and all twenty-thousand ashigaru, samurai, their daimyo, and their mounts were garbed in them.

Twenty-thousand warriors, all the might Hasegawa could bring to bare this side of the world, smashed into the Manchuri lines, and the battle was joined.

The battlefield had gone from simply muddy to absolute chaos.

When the Hizurese charged, Dai Mheng's first instinct had been to run. Then he had squashed that instinct, and had ran to join the quickly forming lines at the rear, near his location, pulling out his bayonet as he did so.

To falter is to admit defeat, he told himself, doing his best to ignore his trembling hands. To flee is to be disowned in the eyes of the Dragon Throne and the Yujiin Emperor who sits upon it. He could not, would not, flee from the ancestral enemies of his people. He would hold firm, and fight, alongside his countrymen. So, he couched his bayonet, stood his ground, and screamed in bloody defiance, joining the Manchuri war cry.

And then the mounted samurai smashed into the disorganized Manchurese lines, and the slaughter began.

Hasegawa lances tore through flesh. Incredibly sharp blades cut through skin like hot knives through butter. Bones and skulls were crushed beneath the hooves of armored stallions, the Manchurese bayonets seemingly little more than an annoyance. It was chaos, carnage, right out of the old stories his mother used to tell him.

And then, as Dai released bullet after bullet at the encroaching Hizurese army, he realized something.

They- they're not dying.

The armor they wore- forged like the armors of the old samurai- did not give way to bullets, like metal should. They simply did not work. And, neither did bayonets- Dai saw one of his comrades attempt to stab a dismounted Hizurese warrior, only for the bayonet to do nothing and for the man to loose his head to a Shogunate blade shortly after.

Demons, he realized, horrified. They must have made pacts with demons. Why else would their armor not break? How else could the Shogun have come back from the dead?

Then Dai saw the Hizurese horse pull back, and reform. Lower their lances and level their blades. Saw more Hizurese stream over the muddy hills- the regular infantry of Hizuru, not the Shogunate samurai ripped from Manchuri nightmares. Saw the Hasegawa Shogun, the demon garbed in the darkest shade of night on an ashen horse, raise his blade to the skies, rallying all Hizuru to his cursed banner. "Tenoheika Banzai," Dai heard a thousand mouths scream, before that too was drowned out by the thunder of charging hooves.

A wave of death, Dai realized abruptly, coming straight for him. And then he panicked. He knew, he had seen the Hizurese refusing to die, their outdated armor protecting them in a way no infantry armor was able to. Had heard their blades sheer off limb after limb, had seen their mounted gunners filling his compatriots with lead.

And, in an instant, Dai's fighting spirit broke. This was not the glory he had wished to fight for.

So, the Manchuri man did the only sensible thing.

Dai threw down his weapons and ran, away from the wall of death that showed no signs of faltering for man or mercy, all the while praying he ran faster than his compatriots. He didn't need to be the fastest- he only needed to make sure he was not the slowest. So, he ran.

He didn't get far.

Something- a staff, maybe, or the butt of a rifle- struck him in the back of the head, and though he did not fall unconscious, fall he did, head ringing. Dai had enough sense of self to groggily flip himself, face turned to the sky.

The last thing he saw before the darkness took him was a green cloak fluttering in the wind, the hilt of a blade sword, and the cold of eyes of an admittedly short man.

And then, black.

A/N: The midget appears.

I am so sorry this took this long to get out. I've been really swamped for a while now, and a chapter for another one of my works kinda spun out of control, so I had to deal with that. the next chapter will be longer, I promise, and it'll be with Eren and co, this time.

Also, in apology for the long wait, I think I'll do a Q and A. Have any questions about this AU? Ask away! I'll do my best for answer them, assuming it's not a spoiler. But, let's stick with two questions per person at most, aight? I don't want to reveal too much. Takes the fun out of things.

Till next time!