Hey, what's up guys Flipkicks here, and today I bring you guys a new chapter for 'A Reaper Amongst Dragons', thank you guys for checking out the story and what you all thought of the previous chapter.
The Destined Meeting
Remire Village,
The Next Day at Night
The next day, Ichigo and his friends continued to follow Azura as she knew the land and there was a nearby village that she had stayed for a while. The villagers had taken her in as a girl that had been abandoned by her family. Remire village could be said to be a second home for Azura. There had been a lot of places that they stayed in the past, but only Remire could be said to be a real resting place. It was where we returned to most often and where she actually had a house.
They stopped by the village to pack some stuff for their journey to the Monastery.
"We should be able to get to the monastery if we go now," Azura says as she packs some items into a bag. Ichigo would be the one to carry the bag since he didn't want to make Azura or the others carry the heavy bag.
"Very well, lead on," Yoruichi said as they started to follow the village songstress. After saying goodbye to the village people, Azura and the others headed north, entering the forest but something catches Yoruichi's eyes.
"Guess we're being followed."
After registering what she said, Ichigo and the others looked behind them to see three teenagers… or perhaps young men and women? Either way, three people were waiting in a forest clearing.
"Are you guys mercenary troops?" She asks them. The young woman walked forward when she noticed Ichigo and the girls. She easily could tell since she sees Ichigo and Rukia with their respective weapons, their Zanpakuto's.
"And who are you?" Orihime asks them.
An aloof and cold young woman with violet eyes and hair as white as snow, long enough to trail behind her. Impractical in battle, she was apparently skilled enough that it didn't matter. Edelgard von Hresvelg, the Adrestrian princess with the direct line of succession to the throne. The only heir left capable of inheriting it. She wore the outfit that is recognized as the academy uniform of the Officers Academy. It was a black dress shirt with matching black pants and black leather boots. The only bit of color personalizing the outfit was a crimson cloak that she wore over her left shoulder, as well as the ax strapped against her back.
Soon, two others joined them,
"Whoa there, Edelgard. Bit impatient, aren't you?"
The voice came from one of the other teenagers. A young man with black curly hair and a strange skin complexion, at least in comparison to everyone else around. It was a darker hue, reminiscent of light chocolate. Or perhaps a marshmallow tinged in the sun… if that made any sense. His demeanor, at least, was just as fluffy and bright.
The young man with darker skin walked over, taking a spot slightly to the left and behind Edelgard, and waved at me. "Hey there. Sorry if my companion was a bit abrupt. We've gotten ourselves in a bit of a mess, you see…"
"Claude. A 'bit of a mess' is an understatement."
The other young man walked over to Edelgard's right side and bowed. "I apologize for the inconvenience but the situation is quite urgent." The young man with the cheerful demeanor and curly hair was Claude von Riegan, heir to the Leicester Alliance and leader of the Golden Deer house. "Name's Claude Von Riegan, and this is Edelgard Von Hresvelg, we're students at Garreg Mach."
"I don't think that we should introduce ourselves to potential enemies Claude."
The other was Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd, prince and heir to the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus. A polite young man with blonde hair kept in a side part, from right to left. Claude had a bow strapped to his back and a quiver to his side, whereas Dimitri had a spear on his back. The three lords, leaders of the three houses in the academy.
"Ah relax, I don't think they're bad guys." Claude waves it off, "I have a feeling they're all good people besides the orange-haired fellow with a rather large blade." He pointed out as he sees Ichigo's Zanpakuto. He didn't know whenever or not he could trust Ichigo with the clever-like weapon on his back.
"We're trying to find a way out of here." Ichigo stated, "Azura was helping us find a way to this Monastery she spoke of." The Three Lords turn to their Blue-haired friend.
"We ran to each other and I thought of helping them, my Lords." She addresses them honorably.
"From the looks of it, you guys seem pretty armed and dangerous," Claude stated as he takes a glance at all of them and could tell that they all are very dangerous, and feels this intense 'presence' from Ichigo. 'Better keep an eye out on him.'
"What's going on?" Orihime asks them since she has a feeling that something is going on.
"Uh...Edelgard?" Claude looks at the princess as she seems to be somewhere else in her mind.
"Sorry. I was too busy thinking about the bandits." Edelgard stated to her classmate.
"Ah." Dimitri nodded. "It is strange to have bandits out here. You'd think that most of them would have realized that we treat this place. Trying to attack it is like trying to attack us. Which makes this even stranger." He said, "So I get that you three are villagers or faculty members of the Officers Academy, but why are you being attacked by bandits of all things? And here?"
Claude let out a sigh and shook his head. "I dunno. We were just having a normal drill with our new instructor when those guys popped up out of nowhere."
"And we would have been fine," Edelgard said, "Had a certain someone decided not to run like a coward."
"Now Edelgard," Dimitri said. "I'm sure that Claude here simply thought to act as a diversion to allow us to escape. They did not appear ah… quite strong of heart."
Claude coughed. "Sure. Diversion. Let's go with that."
"You see, Dimitri? You will not be a fitting-"
"Right." Rukia cut in and said, "So bandits… just happened to know that you were training and decided it was a good idea to attack? You? That wasn't typical behavior for bandits. They were opportunists, not bloodthirsty or reckless."
"So, can we expect your aid?" Dimitri asks them.
Azura looked at the three lords before shaking her head. She then turned to Ichigo and said, "What do you think? Should we help them out?"
Ichigo blinked. "Why are you asking me?"
"Well, we are in the middle of nowhere in this forest and won't reach the Monastery with these bandits on us." Yoruichi gave a slim smile and said, "What will it be, Ichigo? Should we help the brats or carry on our merry way?"
Edelgard frowned. "Again, I take umbrage at the fact that-"
"Hush, Edie," Claude said. "The adults are talking."
"Edie?! I will not-"
"Let's help them out."
Before Claude could rile up Edelgard any further, Yoruichi decided to answer for the group.
"Alright. Guess we're helping you brats out. Of course, there are conditions that we need to know."
Edelgard took a deep breath to calm herself and then nodded. "Understandable. And those are?"
"Well, we will do the bulk of the work clearing out the bandits. They're a threat to you, but also a threat to Remire village. The village and our guide here Azura have a bit of history, you see?"
Dimitri nodded. "That is reasonable. But will that not be overly burdensome on them?"
"Yeah, well that's where the next part comes in." Yoruichi walked over to Ichigo and put a hand on his shoulder. "You three will have to follow this guy's orders in the fight. I'm sure you're all used to obeying a superior in combat as students of Garreg Mach. Think of this as a practice drill and Ichigo as your professor."
Ichigo looked at Yoruichi and is surprised to hear that suggestion.
"Me, a professor?" Ichigo pointed to himself. Granted, that was a possible career decision, but for Ichigo to do so… and why was Yoruichi acting like this? He wondered if this was a way to tease him but who knows.
"So you'll be our boss, huh?" Claude glanced at him and gave him a once over. "Hm… you seem pretty young for a merc. Aren't you about our age?"
"Now Claude," Dimitri said. "Age is no indicator of expertise." The blonde prince turned towards me and smiled. "I for one am thankful for your aid… Ichigo, was it?"
Ichigo nodded his head. But before he could say anything else, Yoruichi tapped his shoulder.
"Enough chitchat. It'll be a bother if we let the bandits roam free any longer, so I'll be heading on ahead with these two." Yoruichi smiled and said, "I'll leave the rest to you, Ichigo."
Ichigo glanced at the surrounding area, ignoring the evaluating gazes of the three lords.
We were on the outskirts of Remire village. Yoruichi and the others had charged towards the bulk of the bandits, but there were still a few in the forests nearby. Those bandits were trying to be stealthy but, whether because my eyes were sharper than most or because they were terrible, they stuck out like a sore thumb- no, like red against a pure white screen.
"So, Boss. What's the plan?" Claude's voice. Slightly teasing, but also evaluating.
Ichigo grabs the handle of his Zanpakuto, the weight both familiar and foreign in his right hand. "We fight. I'll lead, you offer support… Claude, was it?"
Claude smiled. "That's right."
Seeing there's no other choice, Ichigo nodded. "I'll make an opening. You shoot down at the target whenever you decide best."
"Aren't you afraid I'll hit you instead?"
"I've had worse."
"And what of us, Ichigo?" Dimitri's voice. The blonde prince looked concerned. "It wouldn't make me feel right to have you fight all the battles for us."
"True," Ichigo said. "But we don't know the capabilities of the bandits. Let me engage the first and we'll go from there. For now, stick with… Edelgard, I believe?"
The Adrestrian princess nodded, her violet eyes silently evaluating Ichigo. He ignored that and said,
"Right. Stick with me and watch my fight. If the bandits seem too skilled, we'll continue as is. If they're something you can handle, we'll change formation."
"Understood," Dimitri said.
Edelgard was silent for a moment and then said, "Very well. Show us what you can do, Ichigo."
He nodded and turned his attention back to the bandits hiding in the forest.
'Here goes nothing.' Ichigo and the three lords would head into the forest while Yoruichi, Rukia, and Orihime would deal with protecting the village with Azura.
Two bandits noticed Ichigo. One was an axeman with burly muscles and the other was a lanky swordsman.
Before Ichigo could even take a single step, the axeman charged. "I'll cut you down!" He roared and leaped into the air, his ax trailing in his right hand behind him. The axeman scowled as he flew through the air towards me, his ax raised to strike.
Not out of fear or worry. Instead, out of sheer disbelief. Did he… honestly just commit to an aerial attack? One that left him wide open? Ichigo's ingrained instincts kicked in and I ran through the next few moves in my head.
The bandit was fast, but he was airborne. An easy target. A small part of me wondered how Ichigo was so calm. The battlefield was no place for idle thoughts.
Neck, legs, arms, chest, groin. The axeman had countless openings, plenty for me to take advantage of. But he wasn't alone. The swordsman was lurking in the back, quietly observing.
Showy moves were out. Ichigo couldn't risk it while the students were here. So, he decided to end it quickly.
The axeman arrived. He tensed his right arm and started to twist his body. His face was twisted in a cold sneer, self-assured of the outcome.
"How foolish," He muttered words not my own, and then Ichigo stepped forward again.
Silver flashed and blood splattered. My iron sword cut through the air, piercing the ax man's neck.
For a split moment, he seemed frozen in time, held up by my blade. But then his body lost its strength and he started to fall, pulled down by gravity. As he fell, his eyes bulged and he made a wet, gurgling sound. He stared at him for a moment but didn't have time to think about what Ichigo had done.
Silver flashed again, but it wasn't his blade. The swordsman charged, attacking while his sword was still trapped in the ax man's neck and narrowed his eyes, and stepped back with my right foot. The act drew his sword out of the ax man's corpse with ease, sending crimson scattering in the air.
*CLANG.* Their blades clashed. The swordsman's eyes widened a fraction, but he remained calm, unlike his companion.
The moment their blades crossed, he was already moving. Borrowing the force of his parry, Ichigo spun on his heel and then lunged, his blade coming back around for another attack. This time, instead of a slash it was a thrust aimed towards my heart.
A brief moment of panic. Ichigo felt his stomach drop at the rapidly approaching sword. But, as suddenly as the panic came, it vanished, my body already moving again.
It's slow, he took a step back with his left foot.
The swordsman's thrust brushed against the front of Ichigo's shirt, barely skating across its surface. His eyes widened when he saw that and he tensed, realizing his mistake.
He's open. Attack. Ichigo right arm twisted and my sword cut towards the swordsman's exposed flank. Fabric tore and blood splashed. The blade cut through the swordsman's shirt but failed to deal a fatal blow. Whether his reaction was faster than I anticipated or out of sheer coincidence, the bandit tumbled to the side, just barely surviving.
Ichigo glanced at his arm and frowned. That should have hit. A sure strike. Yet, it seemed that my memories were causing a brief delay. The countless combat theories stored in my head were conflicting with the ingrained instincts.
Maybe they would help, later on after I had become accustomed to everything, but right now they were hindering me.
"You'll die!" The swordsman jumped to his feet and lunged at me with another slash, cutting upwards from his lower left.
His frown deepened. 'Amateur.' Instead of thinking about how to respond, Ichigo decided to let his instincts do the work for him. His instincts guided my movements, taking over the moment he relaxed. A step back here, a parry here, a slash there.
A deadly dance, one accompanied by the music of clashing steel. Ichigo was still hesitating. Despite his intentions, he still subconsciously stepped in. Swinging his sword a little bit too hard, stepping a bit too wide, parrying a moment later than he should.
Fortunately, the swordsman wasn't very skilled. Instead of being a danger to Ichigo, he was more like the perfect training dummy.
"You bastard!" The swordsman noticed my intentions and grit his teeth. "Taking me lightly like this…! I'll show you!" He was angry but he understood why. After all, he is pissed if some pretty boy was using me as a training dummy to show off to a bunch of kids too. So the man's anger was understandable. Reminded him of being Tatsuki's training dummy as a kid.
"..." Ichigo kept quiet as he has heard of this often but he would overcome anything.
He parried the next blow and then reached out with my open left hand.
His eyes widened and he leaned back to avoid it. A mistake.
As the swordsman leaned back, I stepped forward and hooked his leading leg.
Before he could realize what happened, the swordsman was already tipping backward. His arms flailed and he tried to swing his sword. But with his broken stance, it was useless.
Ichigo would grab the man's right arm, stopping his sword, and stepped forward. At the same time, Ichigo thrust out his right arm and extended his sword.
A soft thump. The swordsman landed on the ground at the same time Ichigo's Zanpakuto pierced his heart. Ichigo stepped back, casually taking the man's sword with him, and then turned towards the lords.
Claude was the first to react. "Gotta say, Boss," he said. "You're definitely better than I thought. Didn't even need me to support you there."
Dimitri nodded. "Indeed. I must say that your fighting is impeccable. However… may I ask where you learned such fighting techniques? Never before have I seen such a masterful display mixing unarmed combat and swordplay."
Ichigo tilted my head. "What are you talking about?"
"Never mind that," Edelgard said. The imperial princess glanced at the dead bandits before turning to face him and the others. "It would appear that you all could have ended them at any time. May I ask why you purposefully delayed the combat?"
Her gaze was sharp, searching.
If Ichigo wasn't careful with what I said, it could lead me down a bad path. That was what my instincts were telling me. Fortunately, I didn't have to think too hard about how to respond.
"I told you, didn't I? It was for you three to observe." Ichigo gave the swordsman's blade a once-over. Rusty, but serviceable. That done, he looked back at Edelgard and said, "What do you three think? Doable, or not?"
Claude shrugged. "It's all the same to me. Those guys didn't seem too tough."
Dimitri nodded. "I agree with Claude. It should be manageable in small numbers."
"…So that was your intention," Edelgard muttered. "Thank you, I suppose?"
"You're welcome."
Yoruichi quickly surveyed the surroundings. There were still a few bandits hiding, or rather trying to hide, in the brush or behind trees off in the distance. To their credit, it was a bit hard to see them with the scarce light of dawn, but I could see them perfectly fine.
After pondering a bit, Yoruichi said, "Since they don't seem that tough, why don't we switch things up? Claude, you go with Dimitri, and Orihime and I will join you. Same plan as with me, but be a bit more careful in your aiming."
Dimitri had an amused look on his face. "Do you doubt my skill, Byleth?"
"Of course." In the heat of battle, even if Claude was a great in-game archer, I couldn't be sure that Claude wouldn't friendly-fire. "It's my job to ensure my client's safety, not take them at face value."
"I'm hurt, Boss." Claude placed a hand over his heart as if he was shot, and then he smiled. "But I gotcha. So, support as usual, huh?" He smiled and then turned towards Dimitri. "Looks like I'll be your bodyguard then, Prince."
"It would appear so." Dimitri smiled. "I would hope that you wouldn't be so unkind as to make another diversion and leave me behind, would you?"
"Hey! That was one time!"
Edelgard coughed and then turned towards me. "And what of myself, Ichigo?"
"You and I will team up." Mostly because I didn't trust events to play out the same otherwise. "…Since you use an ax, I'll let you take point while I provide support."
Edelgard frowned and gave me a once-over. Her eyes looked towards my sword, the blade I pilfered from the bandit, and then my vulneraries before returning to my face. "…I do not mean to be rude, Byleth. But how exactly do you plan to offer support? I don't see a bow or other ranged weaponry on you."
"Right. I suppose it would look that way." Ichigo rested Zangetsu on his shoulder as it starts to glow white.
Edelgard's eyes widened. "A swordsman with magic…? No, fire without any glyphs…?"
"As you see, I am more than capable of providing support."
Edelgard nodded. "I appear to have misjudged you. Forgive my slight."
He shook his head. "Don't worry about it. Now, should we head off?"
Claude and Dimitri made for a devastating combo.
After they took out the two bandits and we made it clear that we weren't going to stop there, the rest seemed to charge en masse. It seemed like they realized they had no way out except to fight and thought that we would be the easier of the targets surrounding them.
They couldn't blame them. A bunch of teenagers in fancy clothes and a bored-looking chaperone made for an unintimidating bunch.
Axemen charged towards Dimitri and Claude, thinking the two easy targets due to their weapons.
Dimitri easily batted away the attacking axes by using his spear as a staff. Then, when the bandits were off-balance, he stabbed them through their chest with enough force to blow open a hole the size of a basketball. In the few cases where he missed, Claude was there with pinpoint accuracy to shoot an arrow in a debilitating area.
Wrist, knee, neck, eye… while not always fatal, Claude's attacks were always enough for Dimitri to safely land the killing blow.
And then there was Edelgard and Ichigo.
The bandits charged at her, ignoring me entirely. Maybe they thought that such a frail girl would be an easier target than the guy who took out two of their men.
Was it because she saw the ease with which I dispatched the bandits and determined to not let herself get shown up? Either way… the bandits were mistaken.
Since she only had an ax, he decided to lend Edelgard the spare sword Ichigo picked up from the bandit. It was faster and more suited for her.
While she had been initially reluctant, she took to the blade with ease, quickly cutting through swathes of bandits. Every strike was a kill, though whether that was due to the shock of the bandits at seeing such a deadly young girl or her own skill was questionable.
Either way, before long we had separated from Yoruichi, Orihime, Rukia, Claude, and Dimitri.
Ichigo wasn't too worried about them since Dimitri's monstrous strength and Claude's cunning meant that they would be fine even if they were surrounded for a while. Instead, he was worried about Edelgard. He wasn't sure why but something was telling him.
'We were in a forest clearing, with no bandits around save for the corpses lying on the ground.' Despite that fact, Ichigo remained on high alert. Edelgard wrenched her sword out of her last victim and sighed. "That's the last of them."
At that moment, there was a soft crack. The sword in her right hand crumbled into scrap metal, leaving only the worn-out hilt behind.
It looked like the blade couldn't keep up with Edelgard's ruthless fighting style. Maybe that was why she chose an ax? Her strength didn't seem much less than Dimitri's…
Edelgard glanced at the broken blade and frowned. "Well, I suppose I can't say I'm surprised. I was hoping it would last a bit longer, but at least it seems like the situation is under control now." She turned towards me and smiled. "It looks like you weren't needed at all."
"Right. Good job." Ichigo gave her a noncommittal answer, still focused on the surroundings. 'Where was the leader? And why was everything so quiet? There should be fights happening all around, so why didn't I hear anything?'
Edelgard frowned. "Is something the matter? Or perhaps you're so shocked by my skill that-"
"OUT OF THE WAY!" A roar echoed through the trees. Suddenly, a grizzled man with black hair and a malevolent face burst through the clearing and raced towards Edelgard.
"What-?" Her eyes widened. She started to raise her sword when she realized it was broken. Immediately, she discarded it and reached for her dagger.
Seeing that, Ichigo sighed. It would be fine. With Kostas's reckless charge and his men all been killed by him and the others, things should be at ease. Still, this isn't something he is used to by now, killing another human being since he has only killed two people in his life but to think that these guys around both Orihime's and his age would be used to this.
Ichigo would Shunpo'ed his way to intercept the attack as time was about to stop.
And that ends the chapter guys! Sorry for the long wait but I finally managed to get this chapter down and hopefully it won't take me a while to get the next chapter out. Also which students would align themselves with Ichigo or Byleth/Rhea's teams? I got a rough draft on which student would align with either Ichigo and Rhea's teams.
Ichigo and the others have met the Three Lords and somewhat follows the main story with Ichigo taking on Byleth's initial role in the first chapter of the game. Also, those asking about the end, Ichigo does not have Sothis. While she is in Byleth's, the two of them (Ichigo and Byleth) will have somewhat of a connection between them.
Here are the poll and I am still not done with it since I do want to see what characters from different Fire Emblem games should be part of this story.
1 Yoruichi 26 Votes
2 Orihime 22 Votes
3 Byleth 17 Votes
4 Edelgard 14 Votes
5 Rhea 13 Votes
6 Tier 13 Votes
7 Riruka 7 Votes
8 Rukia 6 Votes
9 Petra 3 Votes
10 Cornelia 3 Votes
11 Mercedes 2 Votes
12 Lysithea 2 Votes
13 Loki 2 Votes
14 Corrin 2 Votes
15 Kagero 2 Votes
16 Hilda 1 Vote
17 Shamir 1 Vote
18 Leonie 1 Vote
19 Marianne 1 Vote
20 Ingrid 1 Vote
21 Bernadetta 1 Vote
22 Ishtar 1 Vote
23 Ayra 1 Vote
24 Dorothea 0 Votes
25 Constance 0 Votes
26 Annette 0 Votes
27 Azura 0 Votes
28 Tharja 0 Votes
29 Lyn 0 Votes
30 Elincia 0 Votes
31 Eirika 0 Votes
32 Fjorm 0 Votes
33 Melady 0 Votes
34 Celica 0 Votes
35 Igrene 0 Votes
36 Ninian 0 Votes
37 Sonya 0 Votes
38 Guinivere 0 Votes