A few days later Mitsuko returned to her quarters, only to find the door slightly opened when she was certain she closed it. Mitsuko was curious about this and entered her quarters and found a rather large chest. Mitsuko wondered why its doing here and how did it get here without anyone spotting the culprit. She closed the door behind her and crouched down. She opened the trunk and was surprised when she found out what was contained it. She holds it up in the air, analysing it. Part of her thinks it was too flashy for her especially for the moment however the other side of her adored it. She realised how light it was despite the appearance of it. She figures it would be rude to not accept it and to at least try it on.

It was a complete suit of armour fashioned to mimic the appearance of large snake scales however they were smooth to the touch coloured in mainly black and emerald green. The Pauldrons were designed like emerald green serpent heads with the arms fitting nicely through their hideously open mouths. While the gauntlets and boot were black with a more simplistic and subtle continuation of the snake design with the top of their heads shown and were melded in them. The helmet however was fashioned in a majestic snake with its fanged mouth covering Mitsuko's head however still showing her proud face, with its eyes glitching with what seems to be strange bright red jewels. Mitsuko was surprised to find how it all fitted her perfectly, she didn't give her sizes or was measured by anyone. She thought it must've been a lucky guess and decided to keep it and use it as her armour even though she's still a little torn on it.

The next day a war horn blew loudly at the first sight of dawn which woke everyone in the city up including Mitsuko who drags herself out of bed and put on her new armour. She quickly grabs her scythe and rushes out of the building to see a bunch of soldiers rushing to the walls and soon joins them. When she arrives she immediately sees an army at the gates of Xia Pi. She couldn't get an accurate number of how many of them they were but she saw they were in bright green uniform and several flag bearers wore the flags of Liu Bei.

'Hehe here they are. Didn't I tell you this would happen, now for what option is the lord of the people going to go for? Also you look nice, very stylish. Will help you stand out from the crowd.' Mitsuko was still conflicted with this. Did she really want to stand out from the crowd or would she rather look like everyone else to avoid attention? She broke her thoughts as she saw a lone figure riding to the gates with a peculiar grey coloured horse wearing green armour and a cape. The horse stops in front of the gates and the figures shouts as loud as he can.

'Lu Bu I request an audience with you!' Liu Bei cried out almost sounding desperate. The only sound that could be heard was the wind and the flapping of capes and flags. Suddenly the lord himself appeared over the gates, just his reveal shook fear in the hearts of the enemy however Liu Bei himself stood his ground and looked at him right in his eyes.

'Ha what would someone like you want to discuss with me? To get your castle back?' He arrogantly laughs at his position, soon his entire army laughs in a loud uproar while the followers of Liu Bei was fuming by the mocking of their lord. Liu Bei steeled himself with these insults and stares into his eyes.

'No...I request your assistance in dethroning Yuan Shu!' Liu Bei pleads which suddenly Lu Bu stopped and raises his fist up. The army turned silent and Lu Bu's arrogant smiled is wiped away, replaced by a curious smirk. Pang Tong guffaws at this.

'Ho-oh so he's going this route is he? Well then lets see what our most glorious lord does.' Mitsuko admits that she doesn't know what he would do now. All eyes turn towards Lu Bu, the archers on the wall drawing their arrows, the soldiers of Liu Bei ready to storm the castle under his command. Each army waiting for the other to make the first move in a tense standoff. Finally Lu Bu broke the silence.

'Is that so? Hmm...Open the gates!' He orders as the army seemed to be in shock that he would even consider that however the soldiers did what they were ordered and the gates opened in front of Liu Bei who sighs a breath of relief and him and his horse walks in alone. However every single soldier under his banner felt the temptation of sprinting towards the gate, climbing the walls and retaking the very castle that was stolen from them. However they stayed their blades...for now. Once Liu Bei entered the castle the gates shut behind him. A couple of guards escort him on his famous steed the hex mark in the inner ward where the negotiations will take place with Lu Bu following closely behind him. Mitsuko watches them walk away from the walls until they were out of sight and focused her attention on the enemy in front of them.

If it weren't for their leader being so...submissive they would climb up the walls and massacre them in revenge for their betrayal however if they tried anything Liu Bei would surely be a goner since he wasn't a strong combatant but each one of them would die for him. Everyone on the wall drew their weapons in preparation for their imminent attack. Like they're expecting Lu Bu to kill him and order the archers to fire any minute rather than taking him seriously. An eternity seemed to have passed waiting for the discussions to reach to a close, it was like two predators waiting for the other to make the first move but both were ready to pounce. Mitsuko despised this waiting around and tightened her grip to the scythe eager to get into the fray but she keeps a calm façade even though she's anything but calm.

'Man what's taking them so long?' Mitsuko whispers to her advisor.

'Diplomacy tends to take longer even those that are sprung upon you in surprise.' Mitsuko growls but he knows Pang Tong is right even though she just wanted to jump in the battle. She knows that these meetings takes time but it just makes it all the more frustrating when there's a perfect valid enemy in front of her and she can't fight them, especially when they're also thinking the exact same thing.' While everyone was too busy fixated on the other side the gates creaked open and revealed Liu Bei still breathing with a contented look on his face atop of his steed seemingly unharmed. While Lu Bu makes his way to the top of the gate with his soldiers making way for him. He raises his sky piercer in the air as Liu Bei turns his steed around to look at him.

'Hear me! Prepare for battle for soon we will march towards the central plains and attack Yuan Shu!' No one can believe what they heard, did their lord really just say that? What about Liu Bei should they not kill them off when they have the chance? What is he thinking? Even Liu Bei's soldiers seem surprised, they thought that an agreement wouldn't even be considered never mind agreed upon. He went towards his army and raises his right sword.

'And we will also march there ahead. Come let us take down the false emperor!' He yells as his steed retreats into his army, his soldiers making a path out of him. They look at each other and glances back at the castle before begrudgingly make their way back to the central plains. Lu Bu's soldiers meanwhile watch them retreat and then turn towards their leader who seems bewildered at them

'What? Didn't I give you all an order?...GET TO IT!' He yells at his soldiers and climbs down from the wall to the ground and walks back to the inner ward to prepare for battle. The soldiers frantically prepare as fast as they can for war in the central plains. Mitsuko sighs, unable to see why he wants the army to do such a thing.

'Hey Pang Tong do you have any idea why he wanted to do this rather than kill him and his army right now?' Pang Tong pondered on this question before answering.

'Could be the case that he feels a little...guilty of the situation and maybe there is still a sense of honour within him. Or the second and more likely scenario is this is his attempt to gain more fame and land, after all defeating a wealthy nobleman who declares himself emperor would help establish him as the rightful leader of the land and more men would flock towards him and sparing a man like Liu Bei would also help even though it would probably be...safer to eliminate him before he becomes a major problem.' After stating this he immediately changes the topic.

'However you shouldn't be too concerned with that for the moment and look to the inevitable battle ahead and view it as a good chance for you to expand your own name. After all with your weapon and now your armour will help at least with getting people to talk, even now you can hear the faint whispers of your name being ushered of your lips due to your new armour.' They both became silent as they heard whispers all around them about numerous things.

'You think that's for the best?' Mitsuko inquired still unsure that being famous would be the best thing for her. She always knew the comfort of blending in with the crowd, if she was suddenly the centre of attention she wouldn't know how to handle it correctly.

'Of course. After all the more people know your name the more influence you have, which does come in handy especially when you're trying to make changes for the better. It's also good to get some support as well if you're running out of soldiers and need more volunteers.'

'I see...well in any case we should probably get prepared.' Mitsuko stated.

'Ahh yes, it will be a long march after all to the central plains.' Pang Tong chuckles to himself as Mitsuko made her way to her quarters in silence. A couple of hours later the entire army marched out of the castle and on their way towards the central plains. They arrived in the central plains at nightfall a week after they set out and met up with Liu Bei's army and the two merged to make one huge camp and began to make immediate preparations for battle. Mitsuko finds herself alone with some soldiers doing busywork surrounding her, preparing for the battle tomorrow. Her mind drifts back to Pang Tong's words about fame. Would taking the centre stage and being well known be that much of a bad thing?

Sure she doesn't have that much experience but it can't be that bad right? I mean there are benefits certainly. The chance to actually have a chance to change things to her was tempting. After lusting for this for so long she finally has a possibility of that becoming a reality. However her thoughts quickly become consumed with the negative possibilities of what would happen. If she at any point failed in anything, so many eyes would be on her and they would gossip more about her failures than her successes. What if they all at once just turn on her? Would she actually be able to get influence in the first place? She's a woman after all...in ancient china of all places and times. Not many people take her seriously in the first place, even back in her own time.

That was when she realised something...no one ever did take her seriously and why was that? Because she was different? Because she wasn't too interested in popular culture? The dormant rage that Mitsuko didn't know she had regarding this began to emerge with her thoughts. She tightens the grip of her scythe and her eyes began to flash bright red every other second, she thought she didn't feel any of this but apparently that's not the case as it begins to flow through her like a bottle that blew its top off. HIs that why she was alone? Is that why she was abandoned that night and forced to live through that life? Is that why-

'Mitsuko?' A gentle voice called out to her as well as a hand touch her shoulder. Suddenly the rage within her quietened down tremendously. She turns to her right and sees LingQi still awake and looked concerned, Mitsuko attempted to play it cool.

'Oh hey how's it going?' Mitsuko questioned trying to sound as normal as possible.

'Are you ok? I've called out to you but you didn't seem to respond.' LingQi asked which tested Mitsuko's quick thinking skills as she thought LingQi was asleep like her advisor.

'Yeah I'm fine I was just...thinking about the coming battle ahead and looking forward to it is all. After all I didn't expect we'd be here so soon you know?' LingQi wasn't entirely convinced that that was all she was thinking about however she decided to let it go.

'I can understand that, it was quite a march especially when arriving as reinforcements.' LingQi replies.

'Speaking of which do you know what he was thinking about actually helping the lord we stole the castle from?' Mitsuko probed attempting to get more information about her lord. LingQi sadly shakes her head.

'Unfortunately I do not know what he is thinking and at times like this his decisions even baffle me.' LingQi glances at the ground and then looks at her palm. She quickly clenches it with determination and looks to the field of battle tomorrow.

'Even so I will assist him in any way I can to help achieve his dreams.' Mitsuko chuckled admirably at her.

'You always fight with that goal in mind don't you? I'm almost jealous.' Mitsuko accidently blurts out, she covers her mouth immediately to prevent herself saying anything else, LingQi was confused by her statement.

'Jealous? Why is that?' Mitsuko sighs in response.

'Well...you always seem to have a reason to fight while I'm just fighting for the sake of it. While I don't mind that at all, when there's not enough battles to keep my mind occupied I can't help but be a bit envious when you and others have a goal, something to work towards while I don't yet.' To her surprise LingQi giggles softly at this while covering her mouth with an open fist.

'My apologies however I didn't expect someone like you to worry about something like that.'

'Well when you say it like that it makes me feel a bit silly.' Mitsuko awkwardly laughs and rubs the back of her head. LingQi quickly shakes her head.

'You really shouldn't. It is understandable to want a reason for anything that you do. It's like trying to find a friend you've been looking for. I believe you'll be able to find yours in due time whatever it may be.'

'Heh you think so?'

'I know you will.' Mitsuko turns towards her and smirks at this. Its strange for her, that a simple conversation with her can help put her mind at ease even if it is in some cases temporary.

'By the way where did you get your new armour? I've never seen anything like it' LingQi questions snapping Mitsuko out of her trance.

'Oh this? Well it was a gift from someone not too long ago, not sure who it was or why they gave it me...or how they knew my size actually. But I just found this in my quarters and figured I may aswell wear it...do you like it? Do you think its too flashy?'

'I think it suits you surprisingly well. ...is it not heavy?'

'Surprisingly no its actually very light. Do you want to feel it' Mitsuko asks as she extends her right arm in her direction. LingQi hesitates for a moment however she grasps the gauntlet from the bicep and slides her down the arm with a smooth motion as she feels how each scale feels as its easy to slide down. She's amazed how smooth it feels and yet how strong the material is aswell

'Wow I've never felt anything like this...I'm glad you're lucky enough to be gifted a suit of armour like this.' LingQi smiles at Mitsuko which made her heart skip a beat.

'A-as am I.' She stuttered. They both look around and see that the camp save for a few soldiers on patrol is deserted with the moon high in the sky which made LingQi giggle again.

'Looks like it is time for both of us to retire to our tents after all we do have a battle to prepare for.' LingQi states almost sounding...disappointed.

'Yeah its probably best if we get some sleep before that.'

'Hehe indeed, sleep well Mitsuko.' LingQi responded before walking away with Mitsuko reciprocating the same thing and walking back to her tent. Unbeknownst to her she wore a contented smile on her face however she was still eager to join the battlefield tomorrow.