Mitsuko limps her way towards Si Shui Gate despite her small injury. It causes her pain each time she plants her foot in the ground however she felt that she was strong enough to continue. When she arrived at the gate she saw that the gate has been absolutely thrashed. She sighed in frustration, the alliance army was out of her grasp yet again. They even had a battle to win as evidence by the recent corpses surrounding her and yet she was still too slow to catch up to them. She looks and notices a small doorway indented in the gate which more than likely lead upstairs to the top of the gate. She walked up the steps to see the state of it and she saw even more corpses mainly men in imperial uniforms armed with bows while also having a sword equipped with them. It must've been some fight she missed if it was this messy.
She looks up at the sky and notices how dark it was actually getting. She decided to go back down the stairs but stay in the middle of them as they veer from going straight up to the right leaving a large step big enough to lie down on. She wanted to be warm for the night seeing as the steps are imbedded inside the gate house. The next morning she got up and as she got on her feet she realised that her pain from her recent injury didn't exist anymore. She wondered why so she put her fingers over the wound but instead of anticipating a stinging sensation she instead felt something quite hard. She stroked it to get a feel and it felt...scaly? She looks down and sees that instead in the place of the wound there is a small line of scale like it was acting as a blood cot to close the wound.
'What the fuck is this!? Am I an actual snake now or something!? I don't know what's going on if I see Dodomeki again I need some answers for this. Well its not like it's a bad thing. I might not know what's going on but I do know I need to press on.' Mitsuko thought to herself as she exits the gatehouse and goes presses on to Hu Lao Gate to meet with the alliance. As she exits she sees the snow still falling. She no longer can see the red patches of snow around the corpses and some of them were buried in the pure white blanket.
She travelled down the road where the alliance marched as she can barely see the footprints that were freshly made as snow started to cling on her clothes. She travels for about half a day before she decides to stop for a rest in a small abandoned hut she found keeping herself warm in the snow. As she was resting she hears heavy footsteps...almost too heavy to be a person. They stop as Mitsuko's grasps her weapon tightly. She suddenly hears the sound of snow being landed on. She guesses someone that someone dismounted a horse but why are they here? She thinks to herself as the thought of another assassin trying to kill her briefly enter her mind. She was cautious as she crawls out the back of the tent creating some distance between herself and the footsteps as they drew closer and closer to the tent. She stands up a she exits and extends her scythe to the individual who was about to enter the tent.
'Don't move and drop your weapon...now!' She demanded. The individual complied as Mitsuko hears the snow catching the weapon on the ground.
'Step out and tell me who you are.' The individual complied as he backs out of the tent and stands up. The man in question dressed in all black but the clothing looks very light offering more manoeuvrability than protection. He covers most of his face with a black bandana however from the looks of the remains of himself he seems quite young around his mid 20s. Mitsuko's left eye began to flicker between her normal bright emerald colour to a dark violet for a few seconds before remaining her normal emerald. During that time the figure in front of her seems familiar to Mitsuko but she didn't remember why.
'Do I know you from somewhere before?'
'Did you really forget about me? I'm hurt my lady.' He chuckled. His voice is soft yet relaxed. Something about him was strikingly familiar and yet nothing came to mind for Mitsuko.
'Just tell me where I met you and explain what you're doing here.'
'Well my name is Miu Zhuo I was attempting to assassinate the emperor until you beat me in a duel away from any observers. We agreed that the winner decided the fate of the emperor. He lives because you beat me fair and square. You spared my life and as a result I was leaving until a beautiful maiden and her father decided to...employ me for a while.' He explains.
'Well that's how we met but what are you doing here?'
'Well one of my recent tasks that as given to me was to find any stragglers behind the alliance army and attempt to smuggle them in the city and try to assassinate everyone's hated tyrant. At the moment he's untouchable but she suggested that maybe a small team can help me take him out as the main army is defending Hu Lao Gate.' Mitsuko didn't seem entirely convinced by his story...plus she wanted to be in the thick of the fight however this infiltration plan would ensure dong Zhuo's demise assuming he didn't light up the city and flee as they got there. Plus she wasn't so sure about this guy.
'You could be making this up, just to get back at me so why should I trust you?'
'What are your other options? You're not gonna get there in time. Not to mention I notice that you don't have any rations I can see so you would go without food. Face it you need me.' Mitsuko could feel the smirk behind his bandana however he does have a point. She had just finished the last of her rations and joining him would be faster. However she didn't want to rely on other people again. She had hoped that Sun Jian would be the only time...however here she is again. No rations, way behind everyone else and here is someone willing to help her out. She realised something there and then...she has pride in herself. How or when this happened she doesn't know but this is something she never felt before. Now is not the time however to be lost in thought she thinks to herself before she sighs out loud.
'Looks like I have no choice then do I?'
'Excellent come along my lady we still have quite a way to go.' He replies as he climbs his chestnut coloured horse and offers his hand to Mitsuko. She begrudgingly accepted as she climbs on the horse. Miu Zhuo took the reins and made the horse gallop to their destination as fast as it could.
It was going so fast that Mitsuko had to use her free hand to grab hold of Miu's waist, something that she didn't feel comfortable doing nevertheless she felt that she would fall off otherwise. As they gallop to their destination Mitsuko realises she hasn't felt the wind rush through her face like this. Sure she used to catch the train from her home every week day. Although she used to have her headphones on and listen to her music to drown out the rest of the world. She doesn't have that luxury now though she never felt this. She was fully aware of her surroundings at high speeds taking everything on rather than drowning out the environment around her. She enjoyed this feeling, she never thought she would but she did. Apart from her holding on to this guy this seemed like a nice scenario for her to be in.
The horse was eventually veered off into a side road that led to a hill that slowly escalates, she wondered why he veered off like that. A few minutes had passed before she hears faint noises. Almost like yelling. As they galloped closer to their destination the noises started to become louder and clearer. A huge fight is taking place, with men yelling and screaming, swords and spears clash with each other. They eventually reached a point where they overlooked the entire battlefield in front of Hu Lao gate. They looked like ants to Mitsuko as she wishes she could be there with them, feeling the adrenaline rushing through her body as she cut down her enemies however she had a more important job to do than to enjoy a fight. As the horse continued to travel to the city of Luo Yang Mitsuko could hear the fighting get quieter and quieter until there was only the sound of hooves crashing on the ground in a rhythm.
Around ten minutes later they reached a segment of the right side of the city outside the walls. Miu Zhuo dismounts his horse and Mitsuko followed suit. He walks next to the wall while staring at the ground like he's trying to locate something.
'I'm sure it was here somewhere.' He mumbled to himself. Mitsuko was about to ask him what he was looking for when all of a sudden he exclaims 'found it!'
'Found what?'
'I found my little entrance, it's a small grate that lets water flow out of the city.' He explains as Mitsuko notices the small river leading into a small hole imbedded in the wall.
'Won't the guards see us?'
'Nah they'll be busy in the fight.' He gets down on all fours and starts crawling through the hole. Mitsuko waited until he gave the all clear.
'See, I told you it was clear c'mon through.' Mitsuko obliged and she laid down and starts crawling. The scythe's blade was could barely pass through the hole as it was a tight squeeze so Mitsuko had to move slowly to make sure she doesn't chip it. Eventually she managed to get through the hole and stands up to find the city intact, no flames or anything and a surprising lack of guards. This meant Dong Zhuo was still couped up in the palace but Mitsuko knows that they don't have too much time though before he does light it up.
'C'mon then gotta make our way to the palace before the c- the guards find us.' Mitsuko stopped herself from blurting out the future. She didn't want to anyone to ask questions about how she knows stuff like this.
'Agreed, we can sneak in through one of the back rooms. Best if we split up, you go round the right I'll go round the left we can locate Dong Zhuo faster and cover more ground that way.'
'Are you sure that's a good idea? They could very well have a fair amount of guards in there.'
'It'll be fine as I say he's the type of person that'll push everyone to the front lines. Even so a few guards won't be enough to stop us. Once we scout out everywhere we'll meet at the entrance.'
'Alright if you say so, lets go then.' Mitsuko replies as they split up. She didn't really like splitting up but it made sense. She runs to the right of the palace being cautious and observing her surroundings so no one caught her by surprise. She reached the side of the palace and managed to climb through one of the windows. As she entered the room she saw that it was a plain room with just a bed as she lands on it, softening her landing. She slowly opened the wooden door to and peeked her head out to look for any guards, to her amazement there wasn't any. She didn't like it when things were quiet like this.
She scouts the rooms to try and locate Dong Zhuo but nothing. Its like the palace has already been evacuated. For about half an hour she persisted in searching every room but alas they were a significant lack of people in the rooms especially a certain fat tyrant. She searched every room in the east wing but she couldn't find anyone. They couldn't have known they were coming...could they? She sighs in frustration when all of a sudden she hears a faint voice yelling before being cut short.
'Ahh goddamnit.' Mitsuko thought to herself as she started running as fast as she could to the west wing fearing the worst. She stops at the gateway as she hears what seems to be faint screaming aswell as picking up a scent of...burning wood. She looks outside and her eyes open in shock. The city is starting to burn right before her eyes.
'Does this mean he's already out the damn palace? Fucking hell! And for how long!? No matter it means I got to get to Chang An then ASAP. Maybe that Miu Zhuo guy will know where it is.' Mitsuko starts sprinting to the west wing and eventually finds a group of guards armed with swords and spears armed in standard military uniform, one of them however is wearing a bandana instead of a helmet and has a sword to Miu Zhuo's neck as he's down on his knees, his sword in front of him and surrounded on all sides. The one with the bandana notices Mitsuko's presence and starts to walk up to her.
'I remember you, you're the one that tried to take my uncles night a week ago.' He exclaims pointing his sword at Mitsuko.
'Uncle you say? You must be Dong Min then correct?'
'Hmm so you know who I am, don't think I'm going to spare though. You two keep an eye on that one, the rest of you apprehend her!' He orders as five men charge towards her. Mitsuko's pupils turn slit shaped, her eye colours turn from their usual to a bright scarlet and a dark purple. She readied her scythe and licked her top lip.
As the first guard charged in headstrong with his spear, Mitsuko lifted her scythe and brought it down on him at a downwards diagonal angle. Causing him to trip and crash to the floor at Mitsuko's feet. Another one tries to avenge him by raising his sword ready for an overhead strike. Mitsuko vertically slashes his throat with enough force to knock him back landing on his back. The other three encircle her while strafing waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike. Mitsuko wasn't gonna wait for them to make the first move, she attacks from an upwards diagonal angle surprising her victim. The two remaining guards strike from behind using an overhead strike. Mitsuko barely blocked in time, using all her strength she pushes them away and strikes them at the torso with a single swipe. Mitsuko realised then that her scythe was lighter than it used to be, was it always like this or was she getting stronger she thought to herself.
She couldn't think for too long though as Dong Min was lunging towards her at full speed. She side steps and strikes vertically aiming at the throat. Dong Min blocks the attack with his sword and slides the blade over his head. He spins and uses his momentum to strike Mitsuko from behind, she barely blocked with the polearm of her scythe. Dong Min pushes as hard as he can before using that force to jump back. They strafe around each other for a while before Dong Min makes the first move by charging forward. Mitsuko attacks from a downwards diagonally from the left, though Dong Min side steps to his right, the scythe barely touching his skin however his bandana is cut in the process. He charge to Mitsuko's exposed flanks and attempts to slash her at the torso. Mitsuko used her left hand to unsheathe her newly acquired sword and deflected the attack. Dong Min being surprised kept running past her however Mitsuko picks up her scythe and drops it and Dong Min's rear leaving a huge diagonal wound on his back.
He crashes to his knees, screaming in agony. It was an unimaginable amount of pain he was experiencing but no matter. He'll still keep fighting for his family no matter what. He plants his sword down and attempts to stand on his own two feet. He keeps breathing in and out to try and relieve at least a small amount of pain but to no avail. Blood pouring out of his wound and as he plants one foot on the ground he can feel his legs immediately give way. Mitsuko walks up to the injured Dong Min, he can hear her footsteps coming towards him, he knew he had to strike her now. As the footsteps cease Dong Min tries to turn around for one last strike however Mitsuko stabs him in the side as started to turn with her sword, immobilising him. She uses her scythe to decapitate him, his head rolling on the ground. She puts one foot on the headless corpse and removes the sword making the body slump the ground.
Mitsuko looks towards Miu Zhuo to find that he handled the two guards himself, changing back to her original eyes unaware of the change to begin with. She walks up to him to see if he was injured.
'Don't worry about me my lady I'm fine. Thanks for coming to my aid.' Mitsuko didn't know why but she felt a sense of gratification and happiness as when someone thanks her for her help.
'No problem, it seems that Dong Zhuo made a mess of Luo Yang.' Mitsuko states staring outside seeing the flames spread from building to building.
'Yeah but where is he now though? He's not in the palace and neither is the emperor.'
'I think he took him and made his way to Chang An but I don't know how to get there.'
'Luckily for us my lady I actually do. Its only a day worth of riding in the west come on we can check the imperial stables and see if there's a horse we can use.' Mitsuko nodded in response as they make their way to the stables and to her surprise they is one remaining. A dark Walnut horse was waiting patiently for its master, seeing as its master would not be returning Miu Zhuo mounted the horse and helped Mitsuko mount it. He made the horse charge out of the gates and headed in the western direction towards their next destination, Chang An. Unbeknownst to Mitsuko the sword started to engrave a body to go along with the snakelike head, the body's engraving started to make its way to the to the other side of the sword making its way to the tip of it however it stops midway clearly unfinished.