Title: The Rescue of Kyoten...
Part: 5/7
Pairings: None (probably at the moment)
Genre: AU, Non-yaoi, maybe, I don't know.
Ratings: Up to you.
Author: Mia_Alexia
Email: Angelic_approdite@hotmail.com
Warnings: Actually, none. Though let me warn you, I have a twisted sense of
humour.
Notes^ I said that I wanted to retire, why haven't I?
Disclaimer: All these characters belong to me! I wish... (In case some
people misunderstood the meaning of this message, it literally means that
NONE of these characters belong to me, well with the exception of Midnight
and Soar, they belong to me! No suing should the breed and name coincide
with any character you own).
----
The figures of three humans, a panther and a hawk slunk into town in the middle of the night, they stealthy made their way to the inn, careful to avoid anybody who would question their presence. Toyoda was too small a town they had all decided as they passed many houses crammed up together just to get to the inn. Knocking as quietly as they could to attract the innkeeper's attention but yet soft enough to draw no attention to them was a hard task considering the fact that the innkeeper was asleep. So Kaede using his gift woke the innkeeper to tell him to come down and unbolt the door.
'Evening sirs, sorry that I did not hear your knocks, but thankfully a voice told me that you had arrived,' the innkeeper apologised, unable to see that Kazuma and Sendoh both hid grins at the man's reference to THE VOICE.
'It's all right, all we want is shelter and food, we will be on our way tomorrow morning,' Kaede said, asserting his authority.
'Of course sir, tonight's meal will be served in a little while... AH!' the innkeeper who had introduced himself as Kai yelled as he finally caught sight of Midnight and stumbled over a chair landing on his bum.
'Oh don't be a sissy, they won't hurt you unless you try to hurt us,' Sendoh uttered in exasperation as he was tired of repeating the same thing over and over again.
'Are you c... certain?' Kai asked as he accepted Kazuma's helping hand.
'Positive, Soar and Midnight are our guards, they protect us all the time,' Sendoh said, the shape huddled on his arm clearly became that of a hawk.
'Okay then, follow me. How many rooms do you want? And how many beds?' Kai asked leading up the stairs to a corridor of rooms.
'Two rooms, two beds in one room and a single in the other,' Kaede said as he entered the first room Kai gestured to after he made his request.
'Okay sir, if you'll just wait a little while, I'll have your dinner up with the hour,' Kai said as he left to show Kazuma to his room.
'Do you think he is a messenger?' Sendoh asked, taking off his thick cloak that protected him from the wintry cold.
'No, he's just a normal innkeeper, he won't do us any harm,' Kaede said as he too took off his cloak.
'Do you think we will encounter more problems here? I mean as we near the palace, the troubles that we have encounter are countless,' Sendoh said as he stroked Soar who was perched on his arm as he sat on his bed.
'I hope not, I am trying really hard to avoid it but as you yourself can see it just keeps coming,' Kaede said as he too sat on his bed, stroking Midnight.
'Don't worry, I'm sure that trouble will abide as we near the palace, at least I hope it will,' Sendoh replies with a hint of encouragement.
'Yes, it hope so too, but I have a feeling that we are being watched, every move we make to the palace seems to be predicated,' Kaede said as he stood up from the bed as soon as he heard the discreet knock on the door.
'I'll get it,' Sendoh said as he jumped up and opened the door, admitting the innkeeper's mother, or so they assumed.
'Good evening young sirs,' the old woman said in her raspy voice as she entered, carrying a large tray laden with delicious, exotic smelling foods.
'Thank you very much,' Sendoh said gratefully as he relieved her of the heavy tray.
Sendoh put the tray down and sat on one of the wooden stools, taking the dishes off the tray and putting them on the table. He handed the tray back to the old woman and dug his spoon into a very tasty looking stew when his amulet started to glow; he dropped his spoon and looked at Kaede whose own amulet was also glowing. Immediately, Midnight's dark shape hurled himself at the table, upsetting the succulent dishes while Soar circled and pecked the old woman, preventing her departure as she tried to fend off the attacks. Using his gift, Kaede shut the door and bolted it. 'Say old woman, you wouldn't by any chance be trying to poison us would you?' Kaede asked, going to sit on the bed. Doing a mental search in the old woman's mind.
'Sir why would I? Why would an old woman like me want to poison you?' the old woman asked Kaede innocently enough.
'Come on, you can't expect me to believe that sort of crap now can you?' Kaede asked, scorning the old woman's lack of intelligence.
'Well, since it is like that, I might as well tell you who I am,' the old woman rasped out once again, the husky voice became mellow but deepened slightly and definitely male.
'What in the world?!' Sendoh exclaimed as he watched the 'old woman' drag off her outfit.
'Your Majesties,' the young man that stood before them said as he bowed, in acknowledgement of their status. He had brown hair and grey eyes. His form lean and lithe, ready to spring into action.
'Let me see, you are... Mizuta Kiyoda, definitely royalty. A distant royalty... Kyoten? Hm... so why were you trying to kill us?' Kaede asked after giving basic information to Sendoh.
'How...? How did you do that? I had all my blocks up!' Mizuta said; revelling in the professional way that Kaede conducted his search.
'Blocks might work with mages or sorcerers but you of all people should know that it does not work with powerful royals, I would have thought that your mother would have taught you that,' Kaede said as he noted the dull colour that flushed Mizuta's face almost immediately.
'Yes, I suppose so,' Mizuta replied, seating himself on one of the stools.
'Well?' Kaede asked, arching his brow, waiting for an explanation.
'I wasn't trying to kill you, honest. I just put in a sleeping draught, so that I could search your minds while you slept. I just wanted to see if you were for real. Kyoten is under siege but I managed to escape prior to the siege, my mother order me to come and get the King of Kanagawa because it is your troops that are placing our castle under siege. But when I arrived, I heard that the King had died but the soldiers did not retreat so I sensed that something was wrong, so I scanned the minds of one of the minor ministers who was drunk here a few weeks ago and found out that the King was not running the show but the ministers themselves, then Kai and his wife took me in and told me about the prophecy,' Mizuta said in a rush as he felt Kaede's eyes boring into his, intent on looking for the truth.
'And why did you assume immediately it was us?' Sendoh asked, mentally telling Kai to bring some real food up.
'Well, Kai came into my room and told me that strangers had woken him up and that two of you had no sign above your head except for the soldier that was with you and the prophecy described the both of you, I wasn't sure that is why I put the sleeping draught into your food,' Mizuta said, gesturing at the mess created by Midnight.
'I see,' Kaede said, frowning slightly at Sendoh and signalling to the door.
'Yeah, I know. I told him to bring some real food up,' Sendoh said as he was already half way across the room, opening the door much to the surprise of a very startled Kai.
'Highness?' Kai asked as he peered in and saw Mizuta.
'Yes, I'm all right. You can just leave it here. Thank you,' Mizuta said as he took the tray from the man.
'So... what is it you expect us to do? That is if one of us were the King...' Kaede asked, looking intently at Mizuta.
'Well, if one of you were the King, I would ask you to please help save Kyoten because the people are suffering, they cannot get food or drinking water because the soldiers always intercept their food and water supply,' Mizuta pleaded his case as he glanced sorrowfully from Kaede to Sendoh.
'And why should we help you?' Kaede asked again, Sendoh not putting a word considering that he was stuffing his face with food.
'Well, Kyoten has a lot of mages and some of them are really powerful, we would swear our allegiance to you once you help me save my country and we could help you with your war against your ministers,' Mizuta said, his tone pleading with Kaede.
'Let's say if and only if we were to save Kyoten, I'm not saying that we will, considering that Kyoten is very far from where we are heading, how are we to be sure that you won't betray us?' Sendoh asked once his stomach was full and he was feeding Soar some meat from his plate.
'You could decree something, like if we were to betray you, we would be peasants or something like that,' Mizuta said, his tone hopeful, seeing that Kaede and Sendoh may just give in.
'Wait a minute, I need to discuss this with Sendoh and our other companion,' Kaede said as he mentally called Kazuma into their conversation. ***
'So, should we help him?' Kazuma asked after he heard everything that Kaede and Sendoh had to say.
'We should, but Kaede does have a deadline, he has to get to the palace in two and a half weeks, I want to make sure that he does not become the hunted once the crown reveals itself,' Sendoh said in concern.
'Yes, but Kyoten is under siege and it is true, Kyoten does have very powerful mages that can help over throw the ministers,' Kaede said thoughtfully.
'Yes, but what about your deadline?' Sendoh asked, concern once again present in his mind.
'Kyoten is indeed out of our way to the palace... but it is shorter from Kyoten to the palace than from where we are now. The palace is a week to a week and a half walk from Kyoten whereas we need two and a half weeks from here to the palace. If we hurry, we can help Kyoten and still arrive at the palace in time,' Kazuma volunteered suggestively, letting Kaede and Sendoh absorb the information.
'So, have you decided?' Sendoh asked wearily, knowing that it was still Kaede's decision whether they help or not.
'Yes, we will set off tomorrow,' Kaede said decisively.
'Yes, your majesty,' Kazuma said before he cut off the link and went to sleep.
'Are you sure?' Sendoh asked once again, feeling the need to be assured.
'Yes, I am,' Kaede said wearily.
'Then, I stand behind you all the way, cousin,' Sendoh said as they came back to face Mizuta.
***
'All right, we'll help, but we have to hurry, we have to get to the palace by sunrise in a fortnight,' Sendoh said wearily, his grin not as sure as it normally would be.
'Yes! Yes! Oh thank you so much!' Mizuta exclaimed, punching the air in triumph and joy.
'First we shall do the allegiance ceremony and than we shall think of the consequences, but heed my warning, if you yourself should betray our trust, you will experience pain so intense that you would rather kill yourself than live and feel the pain,' Kaede said menacingly. 'I promise you, I'll never betray your trust!' Mizuta said so surely that there was no mistaking his sincerity. But they still had to do the ceremony so that no one could manipulate Mizuta without him knowing.
'Okay, so how do I do this?' Mizuta asked, looking at them, from positively happy to uncertain.
'Well, actually we don't know, the words just come as if they were put into your head,' Sendoh muttered, not sure how to answer Mizuta.
'So I'll create my own. My ancestors have never sworn their allegiance to anyone before so I guess I'll be the first,' Mizuta said, smiling towards Sendoh.
'I, Mizuta Kiyoda, pledge my total allegiance to Kaede Rukawa, King of Kanagawa, may no one be able to manipulate me without them feeling the pain of betrayal and should I ever harbour thoughts of betrayal, may I suffer the wrath of it,' Mizuta said, kneeling down as he placed his right hand over his heart.
'I, Kaede Rukawa, accept your pledge of allegiance for yourself and on the behalf of your countrymen, rise and take your place beside me as friend and ally through these troubled times,' Kaede said, putting his hand above Mizuta's head, revealing the crown which glowed momentarily as it recognised Mizuta's pledge of allegiance.
'Thank you so much!' Mizuta said as he stood, his eyes suspiciously shiny.
'Now, go to sleep, we shall head out early tomorrow and we will all need our rest,' Kaede said as he walked to his bed and sat, dismissing Mizuta with his words.
'Yes, goodnight,' Mizuta said as he walked out of the room with a little bounce to his steps.
You're getting soft, Kaede thought to himself as he watched Mizuta and lay back on his bed.
The next day, in the wee hours of the morning...
Four saddled horses pranced the courtyard as they waited to be mounted by the four men who were gathering their supplies and biding farewell to their host and hostess.
'Take care Mizuta,' Kai said as he finished reading the list of things that they were to pack and double checked for all of them.
'I will; now you and Yumi take care of YOURSELVES! You have been more than kind to me and I appreciate it all and will come back and visit the both of you as soon as I can,' Mizuta promised as he slipped his haversack upon his horse's saddle.
'Please, take care of Mizuta, his gift is weak and he knows it but won't admit it and I can feel that your gift is the strongest among all of them, your highness,' Kai and Yumi said to Kaede, as he was about to mount his steed.
'Don't worry, all those that travel with me will live and I'll make sure of that!' Kaede said as he steadied himself on the horse.
'Thank you!' Yumi said as her brimming eyes finally overflowed with tears.
The young impatient stallions stopped prancing as all the men sat astride them and without being given a verbal cue, raced off happily into the rising dawn.
It was dusk two days later that they approached the outskirts of Kyoten. Four cloaked men upon prime stallions trotted into the heart of town without anyone approaching them. The deeper into town they ventured, the worst the sight of the town became. From nice white houses gleaming in the moonlight, they saw charred remains of the once pristine houses and the nice pavements stained with blood and decaying corpses, those who were the first to be killed.
'How could all this have happened within two weeks?' Mizuta asked, his eyes tearing at the dilapidated sight of his home.
'A lot can happen within a day, you weren't to be blamed,' Sendoh said as he guided his horse closer to Mizuta's, comforting the younger man.
'I need to see my parents!' Mizuta said as he urged his horse forward.
'Lets go,' Kaede said as they all raced towards the dreary looking palace, which once stood proud.
They all came to a halt outside the palace, its bridge drawn therefore unable to cross the moat. Kaede searched around the palace, looking for life. He found thousands of them, in the palace rooms, the dungeons and anywhere else they could find a place. A lot were there but all of them their life force weak. Kaede entered a guard's mind, to check and see if he was a Kyoten soldier or otherwise. Meanwhile, the rest assumed a protective circle around Kaede. Kaede instructed the guard to open the gates, assuring them that they were not enemies but allies. He saw the soldier look over the wall wearily as Mizuta lifted his hood; a cry of joy emitted from the soldier as he lowered the bridge, waking everybody.
'Prince Mizuta, welcome back!' a guard said as he welcomed them at the gate. His uniform muddy and creased, showing them the way of life that had been going on for a fortnight.
'Please, are my parents alive? May I see them?' Mizuta asked, searching the guard's every expression intently.
'Yes your highness, your parents are very much alive, however, they are both very sick, they refuse to eat anything until the people have been fed and there has not been enough to go around,' the guard replied wearily, leading them up a long flight of stairs which undoubtedly led to their sleeping quarters.
'Your majesties, Prince Mizuta has returned,' the guard said after knocking discreetly and almost immediately noise was heard and the door was flung open.
A thin and haggard couple flew from the room's interior, embracing Mizuta in robes that had once fitted snugly.
'Mizuta, my son!' Queen Miyo cried, tears pouring down her cheeks as she touched her son's face tentatively so as to assure herself that he was really there.
'Mother!' Mizuta murmured as he hugged his mother, tears streaming down his face as he saw the state that both his parents were in.
'My son, where have you been?' King Mazuta demanded in his rich voice as he pulled his son into his embrace after he assessed his son's health.
'I was in Toyoda, King Minamio is died, Father,' Mizuta said as he dried his tears and stood back.
'Why that no good wind-bag, dying and leaving us under siege, one would wonder if he had any morals at all,' King Mazuta hollered, shaking his fists angrily in the air.
'No, Father, King Minamio never ordered the siege, his ministers were the ones who did it all,' Mizuta said as he glanced nervously to Kaede's darkly cloaked figure as it stood inconspicuously in a corner.
'What?! Oh...' King Mazuta yelled then murmured as realisation sank in.
'Mizuta, my son, what have you been doing all these couple of weeks?' Queen Miyo questioned, looking patiently at her son.
'Well, after I escaped, I went to the palace, but when I arrived there, it had been too late, because by then King Minamio had already passed to the afterlife, I travelled around, trying to get help from Toyoda but there was none. A kind innkeeper, Kai and his wife, Yumi took me in and supported me all the time and told me all about their cultures, myths, legends and prophecies, from that, a couple of days ago, I found help,' Mizuta said proudly with joy, gesturing erratically at Kaede's, Sendoh's and Kazuma's cloaked figures.
'Them? Are you sure, son?' Queen Miyo asked, raising a suggestive brow that had on been a smooth arch.
'Yes, I am certain, they are the ones who will save Kyoten, they are...' Mizuta said, trailing off as he sheepishly grinned.
'Don't tell them who we are, we cannot have your father's soldier hurting themselves while they try to subdue us and no, your father cannot hold me for ransom,' Kaede said, interrupting by telepath.
'Well? Who are they, Mizuta?' King Mazuta demanded; his hands placed on his hips.
'Never mind, lets celebrate, tomorrow, it will be Kyoten's victory!' Mizuta said in high spirits.
'We shall celebrate, but with what food?' Queen Miyo asked, looking haggard once more but reluctantly letting go of the strangers' identity issue.
'Um...' Mizuta began, remembering his country's ill state.
'Don't worry, we shall come back with food, enough to feed everyone in the palace,' Kaede telepath, turning abruptly, his cloak swirling around him, revealing Midnight.
'AH!' the guard yelled as he noticed Midnight, backing up so suddenly, he tripped on his feet and fell down. Midnight turned and stared at the soldier, looking as if he were grinning then trotted up to Kaede.
'Son, are you sure that they will guarantee Kyoten's victory?' King Mazuta asked dubiously, eyeing the three-cloaked figures already a distance away.
'Yes, Father, as sure as the sun rises in the morning and sets in the night,' Mizuta said as he watched the retreating figures.
***
'How are we going to get the food? Calling for it? Or are we going out to get it?' Sendoh asked as they walked down the corridor to the kitchen.
'I think it is best if we call for it, going out might be too risky and if we raid the camps, they will likely know that Kyoten has powerful forces and they may call reinforcements,' Kaede said as he walked into the large larder.
'I agree, it is a good strategy,' Kazuma said as he entered.
'So how do you plan to call?' Sendoh asked, seeing Kaede look around.
'Midnight? Soar?' Kaede questioned, looking at both animals.
'You'll need Sendoh's help since you are going to call on a lot of food,' Midnight said as he surveyed the cement larder.
'Yes, Kazuma, you alert Mizuta and ask someone to gather people to distribute the food as they call for it,' Soar said, landing on a nearby perch, which generous amounts of meat once hung.
'Alright,' Kazuma said as he closed his eyes and called Mizuta, relaying Soar's message.
'Now, draw a big circle with this bag of salt,' Midnight said as he nudged the big bag propped up beside a table.
'How big?' Sendoh asked as he picked up the bag, weighing it.
'Big enough to seat the both of you in it,' Soar replied, swooping to land gently on the cement floor.
Sendoh poured a generous amount of salt into his palm and let it course through his fingers, falling to the floor to form a circle using his gift.
'Okay, now the both of you sit in the circle, call upon your magic and fill your head with images of this larder brimming with food,' Midnight instructed as he watched Kaede and Sendoh sit themselves in the centre of the circle.
They sat in the circle, closed their eyes and called their magic to them, their amulets glowed and floated, following Midnight's instruction, they filled their heads with pictures of the larder, brimming with food. Just as the first person arrived to collect food, happy at the prospect of having good food to eat again, the room began to glow, the shelves, the tables and the floor. As the glow immediately vanished, the exotic aromas of delicious foods surrounded them. Opening their eyes, they glanced around them, breathing hard at the exertion of their magic, their amulets settling down and dimming to a glow as the first person walked in.
'Praise you lords,' the peasant said as he received the food.
'You are most welcome,' Kazuma said as he smiled at Kaede and Sendoh from under his cloak.
'Great job, the two of you, you are learning fast, very soon you'll be better sorcerers, even better than those here in Kyoten,' Midnight praised as he swiped a succulent steak.
Together, they feasted till sunrise, no one wondered why the strangers wore their cloaks the whole time or where the food had come from but just that they were able to feed their families.
'So, where do you hail from?' King Mazuta asked Kaede, trying to peer into the darkness of Kaede's cloak.
'Nowhere, but we are heading to Kanagawa,' Kaede replied in his cold voice, feeling the probe of Mazuta's mind, letting a smile grace his lips as Mazuta gave up, unable to penetrate.
'Is that so?' the King questioned suspiciously.
'Don't worry, we're not spies or vagabonds or even people who want to disrupt your country. We just want to get to Kanagawa,' Kaede replied, seeing what was on Mazuta's mind.
'But how did you know that was what I was thinking?' Mazuta asked, struggling to hide his surprise.
'Don't forget what Mizuta told you, your highness,' Kaede said in salute.
'I have just realised that that was the first time that you have ever referred to me by any rank,' Mazuta said, smiling ruefully.
'Ah yes, that is quite true,' Kaede said, observing Sendoh, Kazuma, Midnight and Soar dig in, people having grown used to the sight of the animals and the reassurance of their prince. Kaede could feel Sendoh and Kazuma use their magic to regulate and suppress the stifling heat of their cloaks, Kaede doing the same for himself; something they had learnt as they travelled.
Suddenly, Kaede's amulet jumped, glowing so brightly the blue was transformed into white. An arrow immediately whizzed pass shaving a few hairs as Kaede pushed the king out of the way.
'ASSASSIN!'
'Protect the KING!
'DIE!'
Kaede focused his magic and began seeking out the assassin as he protected the king who was crumpled on the floor, winded by his landing and narrow escape.
'There!' Kaede yelled, co-ordinating with Sendoh and Kazuma as they took two of the three assassins. The last, the leader was too far, Kaede lifted his palm and a crackling blue ball of energy formed, Kaede threw it in the direction of the assassin. The assassin, not seeing it, got the full blast as he fell, stunned. Kaede called the body to him. There, the assassin laid, prostrate on a table, which had been cleared as Kaede held the body suspended. Chaos had been settled as they watched in awe of such power.
Kaede placed his palm above the assassin's head and silence surrounded him as he continued to search the mind.
'Wake!' Kaede said forcefully as he snapped his fingers.
The assassin's eyes snapped open, but he could not move. Thrashing his head around, he hurled vulgarities at Kyoten's royal family and at Kaede.
'Be careful of how you treat royals, they might just do the same to you,' Kazuma warned as the assassin continued thrashing.
'Morio Shingachi, be still!' Kaede commanded as he took a step back.
'What?! How did you know my name? I had all my blocks up! I am a middle- class mage,' Morio said, absolutely flabbergasted.
'I know, but they do not work with me. I want you to promise me that you will never attempt to assassinate the royal family of Kyoten ever again and that you will return to the ministers of Kanagawa and tell them that the prophecy is true and that Reyes will live on forever and so shall Minamio!' Kaede whispered coldly, seeing the man's face pale with terror.
'Who are you?' Morio whispered, trying as King Mazuta did to peer into the depth of the cloak.
'Never mind who I am, just tell them that,' Kaede said, waving his hand.
Their audience watched in astonishment as Morio Shingachi's solid body flickered and disappeared totally from sight. A gasp of surprise came from somewhere behind the crowd where Sendoh had performed the same task with the other two assassins.
'Are you alright?' Kaede asked as he reached out his hand for King Mazuta to pull himself upright with.
'Yes, but how did you do that?' Mazuta asked, still breathing hard.
'Trickery,' Kaede replied, glancing at Mizuta.
'Oh by the way, Mazuta, don't bother having a meeting to discuss my identity or that of my companions, it won't be worth it and Mizuta will be accompanying us to Kanagawa,' Kaede said as he sat down once again, letting the celebrations continue.
Suddenly, Kaede's head snapped up as he sensed something different. Standing up, he threw off his cloak, which would hinder his progress. Shimmering, he appeared on a windowsill, which was big enough to seat two more people comfortably. He peered out the window and saw approaching forces, calling Sendoh who shimmered Kazuma up to the sill as the people watched on with awe.
'They are approaching,' Kazuma said, attempting to count how many there were.
'There are at least a hundred thousand, you do realise that we are badly out numbered right?' Sendoh asked incredulously.
'Yes, therefore we are not going out for battle, they will come to us,' Kaede said as he closed his eyes, calling for a protective barrier to surrounded the palace.
'Call Mizuta, we shall need his gift to back up the shield,' Kaede said as he ensured that there was no loophole in the barrier for anyone or thing to enter.
From where they stood, they could see Mizuta go into trance and support the barrier; they could feel his presence strongly.
'Now, Akira, garner yourself for a real fight, you too Kaede, lets see who can last longer,' Kazuma said as he rolled up his sleeve, grinning widely.
'We are sure to last longer than you,' Sendoh scoffed, looking at his cousin who remained quiet.
'Sendoh, tell the majesties that they are going to have to help Mizuta keep the barrier up, there are at least fifty high-class mages, a hundred middle- class mages and about five hundred low-class mages who specialise in battle magic,' Kaede said as he arranged himself comfortably on the ledge, watching Sendoh and Kazuma do the same.
'Ready?' Kazuma asked as he watched the army closing in on the distance.
'Yup, as soon as they touch the barrier, we're going to give them the shock of their lives,' Sendoh said as he begin meditating.
Kazuma watched as both Kaede and Sendoh went into trance, he knew that once they were in trance, their magic became stronger because they were able to focus all of it on a particular subject. Their amulets shimmered as it hovered in front of them they open their eyes. Kaede's eyes were the same shade of blue as his shimmering amulet as Sendoh's was the same forest green as his amulet.
Kazuma watched as the enemy first struck the barrier, the spell glancing off the shield. Consecutive hits were reflected as they hit out with all they had, the barrier weakening. Kazuma looked over to the royal family, to see that they were pale and perspiring as they held out to form the large barrier. Kazuma immediately went into trance to help, opening his eyes, he saw Mizuta smile a sigh of relief as his parents sank back into their chairs exhausted by the exertion of their magic combined with malnutrition. Kazuma sat and watched the battled as he felt himself supplying Mizuta with his energy, sliding down a long piece of rope to exit the castle and fight the oncoming forces.
Kazuma was startled as he saw the cousins got up simultaneously, their bodies surrounded by flickering flames of sapphire and emerald as they took a step off the ledge. Below them, the collective gasps of horror as their audience thought they would fall. Step by step, they walked till they were in the centre of the palace ground. Kaede and Sendoh's aura branched out, Sendoh's forming a green entity, its wings encircling itself and Sendoh, as it unfurled itself, it was obvious that it was a phoenix.
However, Kaede's flames contracted, pulled inside his body as he curled up in pain. Laughs could be heard from beyond the castle walls from the mages who thought that Kaede was too weak to build a phoenix. Suddenly, Kaede knelt and gave a yell of agony, blue flames shot out of his body wildly, a stream of flames blasted out of his mouth, the flames forming a ball around him. The ball tightened and contracted, the sapphire flames burned brighter and became a silvery blue much like white. The ball blasted open and open and the brilliant light blinded everyone. As the light dimmed and everyone was able to focus, the astonishing sight of a snowy white phoenix twice the size of Sendoh's silvery emerald phoenix. Its wings flapping gently, Kaede suspended serenely its head, its sapphire eyes standing out in its white head.
Below, the soldiers and mages who were sniggering a few moments ago were astounded.
'Royalties!' came collective gasps of astonishment from their audience who had emerged from the main hall and were now admiring the beautiful sight before them.
The phoenixes screeched, flapping their wings, snow white with hints of sapphire and emerald flames colouring the air. The phoenixes started to fly; their graceful swift flaps, taking them high into the sky. Swooping down, they began to attack the regiment of soldiers and mages.
'Run for your lives!'
'Retreat!'
Kaede and Sendoh attacked, singeing mages and soldiers as they read their minds, seeing which were worthy of sparing. A handful of soldiers and mages stayed behind to try and break the barrier, Kazuma battling with them physically as well as magically as they watched their compatriots being chased the phoenixes, burning in emerald and sapphire and white flames.
'Long Live Kanagawa!'
Kaede swooped in, his phoenix suspended above the soldier who said it.
'You are not fit to yell that!' Kaede said in an alien voice, cold and distant.
'Who are you?' the soldier asked, quaking in his shoes.
'I am the prophecy,' Kaede said, as he flung his arm. The soldier was sent flying.
'No, spare me, please your majesty,' the soldier pleaded, going down on his knees.
'No, I will send you back with the same message as I did with Morio, tell the ministers, the prophecy lives, it never died, Kanagawa was destined to be mine!' Kaede yelled, giving his hand a violent flick. The soldier disappeared yelling his final words just as Kaede sent flames to the spot where he stood.
'HOORAY!!!' came choruses of joyful yells as the troops retreated.
The phoenixes landed in the castle courtyard, the two of them descended slowly as the flames entered their bodies, peasants emerging from the main halls to embrace the sunlight.
Mazuta and Miyo were the last to emerge from the gloomy castle walls, along with them came Mizuta who was grinning widely from ear to ear even though his complexion was pale and his skin clammy.
'Thank you very much for saving Kyoten, we are very grateful to you but... who are you?' Queen Miyo asked as she peered into Kaede dark blues.
'Maybe Mizuta will enlighten you on that, we will go to our rooms to pack,' Kaede said, to the royal couple who stared at him, 'we leave tomorrow,' Kaede said, directing his words to Mizuta who nodded with understanding.
The three of them, Kaede, Sendoh and Kazuma flickered and disappeared leaving a very puzzled couple who looked to their son to enlighten them.
The figures of three humans, a panther and a hawk slunk into town in the middle of the night, they stealthy made their way to the inn, careful to avoid anybody who would question their presence. Toyoda was too small a town they had all decided as they passed many houses crammed up together just to get to the inn. Knocking as quietly as they could to attract the innkeeper's attention but yet soft enough to draw no attention to them was a hard task considering the fact that the innkeeper was asleep. So Kaede using his gift woke the innkeeper to tell him to come down and unbolt the door.
'Evening sirs, sorry that I did not hear your knocks, but thankfully a voice told me that you had arrived,' the innkeeper apologised, unable to see that Kazuma and Sendoh both hid grins at the man's reference to THE VOICE.
'It's all right, all we want is shelter and food, we will be on our way tomorrow morning,' Kaede said, asserting his authority.
'Of course sir, tonight's meal will be served in a little while... AH!' the innkeeper who had introduced himself as Kai yelled as he finally caught sight of Midnight and stumbled over a chair landing on his bum.
'Oh don't be a sissy, they won't hurt you unless you try to hurt us,' Sendoh uttered in exasperation as he was tired of repeating the same thing over and over again.
'Are you c... certain?' Kai asked as he accepted Kazuma's helping hand.
'Positive, Soar and Midnight are our guards, they protect us all the time,' Sendoh said, the shape huddled on his arm clearly became that of a hawk.
'Okay then, follow me. How many rooms do you want? And how many beds?' Kai asked leading up the stairs to a corridor of rooms.
'Two rooms, two beds in one room and a single in the other,' Kaede said as he entered the first room Kai gestured to after he made his request.
'Okay sir, if you'll just wait a little while, I'll have your dinner up with the hour,' Kai said as he left to show Kazuma to his room.
'Do you think he is a messenger?' Sendoh asked, taking off his thick cloak that protected him from the wintry cold.
'No, he's just a normal innkeeper, he won't do us any harm,' Kaede said as he too took off his cloak.
'Do you think we will encounter more problems here? I mean as we near the palace, the troubles that we have encounter are countless,' Sendoh said as he stroked Soar who was perched on his arm as he sat on his bed.
'I hope not, I am trying really hard to avoid it but as you yourself can see it just keeps coming,' Kaede said as he too sat on his bed, stroking Midnight.
'Don't worry, I'm sure that trouble will abide as we near the palace, at least I hope it will,' Sendoh replies with a hint of encouragement.
'Yes, it hope so too, but I have a feeling that we are being watched, every move we make to the palace seems to be predicated,' Kaede said as he stood up from the bed as soon as he heard the discreet knock on the door.
'I'll get it,' Sendoh said as he jumped up and opened the door, admitting the innkeeper's mother, or so they assumed.
'Good evening young sirs,' the old woman said in her raspy voice as she entered, carrying a large tray laden with delicious, exotic smelling foods.
'Thank you very much,' Sendoh said gratefully as he relieved her of the heavy tray.
Sendoh put the tray down and sat on one of the wooden stools, taking the dishes off the tray and putting them on the table. He handed the tray back to the old woman and dug his spoon into a very tasty looking stew when his amulet started to glow; he dropped his spoon and looked at Kaede whose own amulet was also glowing. Immediately, Midnight's dark shape hurled himself at the table, upsetting the succulent dishes while Soar circled and pecked the old woman, preventing her departure as she tried to fend off the attacks. Using his gift, Kaede shut the door and bolted it. 'Say old woman, you wouldn't by any chance be trying to poison us would you?' Kaede asked, going to sit on the bed. Doing a mental search in the old woman's mind.
'Sir why would I? Why would an old woman like me want to poison you?' the old woman asked Kaede innocently enough.
'Come on, you can't expect me to believe that sort of crap now can you?' Kaede asked, scorning the old woman's lack of intelligence.
'Well, since it is like that, I might as well tell you who I am,' the old woman rasped out once again, the husky voice became mellow but deepened slightly and definitely male.
'What in the world?!' Sendoh exclaimed as he watched the 'old woman' drag off her outfit.
'Your Majesties,' the young man that stood before them said as he bowed, in acknowledgement of their status. He had brown hair and grey eyes. His form lean and lithe, ready to spring into action.
'Let me see, you are... Mizuta Kiyoda, definitely royalty. A distant royalty... Kyoten? Hm... so why were you trying to kill us?' Kaede asked after giving basic information to Sendoh.
'How...? How did you do that? I had all my blocks up!' Mizuta said; revelling in the professional way that Kaede conducted his search.
'Blocks might work with mages or sorcerers but you of all people should know that it does not work with powerful royals, I would have thought that your mother would have taught you that,' Kaede said as he noted the dull colour that flushed Mizuta's face almost immediately.
'Yes, I suppose so,' Mizuta replied, seating himself on one of the stools.
'Well?' Kaede asked, arching his brow, waiting for an explanation.
'I wasn't trying to kill you, honest. I just put in a sleeping draught, so that I could search your minds while you slept. I just wanted to see if you were for real. Kyoten is under siege but I managed to escape prior to the siege, my mother order me to come and get the King of Kanagawa because it is your troops that are placing our castle under siege. But when I arrived, I heard that the King had died but the soldiers did not retreat so I sensed that something was wrong, so I scanned the minds of one of the minor ministers who was drunk here a few weeks ago and found out that the King was not running the show but the ministers themselves, then Kai and his wife took me in and told me about the prophecy,' Mizuta said in a rush as he felt Kaede's eyes boring into his, intent on looking for the truth.
'And why did you assume immediately it was us?' Sendoh asked, mentally telling Kai to bring some real food up.
'Well, Kai came into my room and told me that strangers had woken him up and that two of you had no sign above your head except for the soldier that was with you and the prophecy described the both of you, I wasn't sure that is why I put the sleeping draught into your food,' Mizuta said, gesturing at the mess created by Midnight.
'I see,' Kaede said, frowning slightly at Sendoh and signalling to the door.
'Yeah, I know. I told him to bring some real food up,' Sendoh said as he was already half way across the room, opening the door much to the surprise of a very startled Kai.
'Highness?' Kai asked as he peered in and saw Mizuta.
'Yes, I'm all right. You can just leave it here. Thank you,' Mizuta said as he took the tray from the man.
'So... what is it you expect us to do? That is if one of us were the King...' Kaede asked, looking intently at Mizuta.
'Well, if one of you were the King, I would ask you to please help save Kyoten because the people are suffering, they cannot get food or drinking water because the soldiers always intercept their food and water supply,' Mizuta pleaded his case as he glanced sorrowfully from Kaede to Sendoh.
'And why should we help you?' Kaede asked again, Sendoh not putting a word considering that he was stuffing his face with food.
'Well, Kyoten has a lot of mages and some of them are really powerful, we would swear our allegiance to you once you help me save my country and we could help you with your war against your ministers,' Mizuta said, his tone pleading with Kaede.
'Let's say if and only if we were to save Kyoten, I'm not saying that we will, considering that Kyoten is very far from where we are heading, how are we to be sure that you won't betray us?' Sendoh asked once his stomach was full and he was feeding Soar some meat from his plate.
'You could decree something, like if we were to betray you, we would be peasants or something like that,' Mizuta said, his tone hopeful, seeing that Kaede and Sendoh may just give in.
'Wait a minute, I need to discuss this with Sendoh and our other companion,' Kaede said as he mentally called Kazuma into their conversation. ***
'So, should we help him?' Kazuma asked after he heard everything that Kaede and Sendoh had to say.
'We should, but Kaede does have a deadline, he has to get to the palace in two and a half weeks, I want to make sure that he does not become the hunted once the crown reveals itself,' Sendoh said in concern.
'Yes, but Kyoten is under siege and it is true, Kyoten does have very powerful mages that can help over throw the ministers,' Kaede said thoughtfully.
'Yes, but what about your deadline?' Sendoh asked, concern once again present in his mind.
'Kyoten is indeed out of our way to the palace... but it is shorter from Kyoten to the palace than from where we are now. The palace is a week to a week and a half walk from Kyoten whereas we need two and a half weeks from here to the palace. If we hurry, we can help Kyoten and still arrive at the palace in time,' Kazuma volunteered suggestively, letting Kaede and Sendoh absorb the information.
'So, have you decided?' Sendoh asked wearily, knowing that it was still Kaede's decision whether they help or not.
'Yes, we will set off tomorrow,' Kaede said decisively.
'Yes, your majesty,' Kazuma said before he cut off the link and went to sleep.
'Are you sure?' Sendoh asked once again, feeling the need to be assured.
'Yes, I am,' Kaede said wearily.
'Then, I stand behind you all the way, cousin,' Sendoh said as they came back to face Mizuta.
***
'All right, we'll help, but we have to hurry, we have to get to the palace by sunrise in a fortnight,' Sendoh said wearily, his grin not as sure as it normally would be.
'Yes! Yes! Oh thank you so much!' Mizuta exclaimed, punching the air in triumph and joy.
'First we shall do the allegiance ceremony and than we shall think of the consequences, but heed my warning, if you yourself should betray our trust, you will experience pain so intense that you would rather kill yourself than live and feel the pain,' Kaede said menacingly. 'I promise you, I'll never betray your trust!' Mizuta said so surely that there was no mistaking his sincerity. But they still had to do the ceremony so that no one could manipulate Mizuta without him knowing.
'Okay, so how do I do this?' Mizuta asked, looking at them, from positively happy to uncertain.
'Well, actually we don't know, the words just come as if they were put into your head,' Sendoh muttered, not sure how to answer Mizuta.
'So I'll create my own. My ancestors have never sworn their allegiance to anyone before so I guess I'll be the first,' Mizuta said, smiling towards Sendoh.
'I, Mizuta Kiyoda, pledge my total allegiance to Kaede Rukawa, King of Kanagawa, may no one be able to manipulate me without them feeling the pain of betrayal and should I ever harbour thoughts of betrayal, may I suffer the wrath of it,' Mizuta said, kneeling down as he placed his right hand over his heart.
'I, Kaede Rukawa, accept your pledge of allegiance for yourself and on the behalf of your countrymen, rise and take your place beside me as friend and ally through these troubled times,' Kaede said, putting his hand above Mizuta's head, revealing the crown which glowed momentarily as it recognised Mizuta's pledge of allegiance.
'Thank you so much!' Mizuta said as he stood, his eyes suspiciously shiny.
'Now, go to sleep, we shall head out early tomorrow and we will all need our rest,' Kaede said as he walked to his bed and sat, dismissing Mizuta with his words.
'Yes, goodnight,' Mizuta said as he walked out of the room with a little bounce to his steps.
You're getting soft, Kaede thought to himself as he watched Mizuta and lay back on his bed.
The next day, in the wee hours of the morning...
Four saddled horses pranced the courtyard as they waited to be mounted by the four men who were gathering their supplies and biding farewell to their host and hostess.
'Take care Mizuta,' Kai said as he finished reading the list of things that they were to pack and double checked for all of them.
'I will; now you and Yumi take care of YOURSELVES! You have been more than kind to me and I appreciate it all and will come back and visit the both of you as soon as I can,' Mizuta promised as he slipped his haversack upon his horse's saddle.
'Please, take care of Mizuta, his gift is weak and he knows it but won't admit it and I can feel that your gift is the strongest among all of them, your highness,' Kai and Yumi said to Kaede, as he was about to mount his steed.
'Don't worry, all those that travel with me will live and I'll make sure of that!' Kaede said as he steadied himself on the horse.
'Thank you!' Yumi said as her brimming eyes finally overflowed with tears.
The young impatient stallions stopped prancing as all the men sat astride them and without being given a verbal cue, raced off happily into the rising dawn.
It was dusk two days later that they approached the outskirts of Kyoten. Four cloaked men upon prime stallions trotted into the heart of town without anyone approaching them. The deeper into town they ventured, the worst the sight of the town became. From nice white houses gleaming in the moonlight, they saw charred remains of the once pristine houses and the nice pavements stained with blood and decaying corpses, those who were the first to be killed.
'How could all this have happened within two weeks?' Mizuta asked, his eyes tearing at the dilapidated sight of his home.
'A lot can happen within a day, you weren't to be blamed,' Sendoh said as he guided his horse closer to Mizuta's, comforting the younger man.
'I need to see my parents!' Mizuta said as he urged his horse forward.
'Lets go,' Kaede said as they all raced towards the dreary looking palace, which once stood proud.
They all came to a halt outside the palace, its bridge drawn therefore unable to cross the moat. Kaede searched around the palace, looking for life. He found thousands of them, in the palace rooms, the dungeons and anywhere else they could find a place. A lot were there but all of them their life force weak. Kaede entered a guard's mind, to check and see if he was a Kyoten soldier or otherwise. Meanwhile, the rest assumed a protective circle around Kaede. Kaede instructed the guard to open the gates, assuring them that they were not enemies but allies. He saw the soldier look over the wall wearily as Mizuta lifted his hood; a cry of joy emitted from the soldier as he lowered the bridge, waking everybody.
'Prince Mizuta, welcome back!' a guard said as he welcomed them at the gate. His uniform muddy and creased, showing them the way of life that had been going on for a fortnight.
'Please, are my parents alive? May I see them?' Mizuta asked, searching the guard's every expression intently.
'Yes your highness, your parents are very much alive, however, they are both very sick, they refuse to eat anything until the people have been fed and there has not been enough to go around,' the guard replied wearily, leading them up a long flight of stairs which undoubtedly led to their sleeping quarters.
'Your majesties, Prince Mizuta has returned,' the guard said after knocking discreetly and almost immediately noise was heard and the door was flung open.
A thin and haggard couple flew from the room's interior, embracing Mizuta in robes that had once fitted snugly.
'Mizuta, my son!' Queen Miyo cried, tears pouring down her cheeks as she touched her son's face tentatively so as to assure herself that he was really there.
'Mother!' Mizuta murmured as he hugged his mother, tears streaming down his face as he saw the state that both his parents were in.
'My son, where have you been?' King Mazuta demanded in his rich voice as he pulled his son into his embrace after he assessed his son's health.
'I was in Toyoda, King Minamio is died, Father,' Mizuta said as he dried his tears and stood back.
'Why that no good wind-bag, dying and leaving us under siege, one would wonder if he had any morals at all,' King Mazuta hollered, shaking his fists angrily in the air.
'No, Father, King Minamio never ordered the siege, his ministers were the ones who did it all,' Mizuta said as he glanced nervously to Kaede's darkly cloaked figure as it stood inconspicuously in a corner.
'What?! Oh...' King Mazuta yelled then murmured as realisation sank in.
'Mizuta, my son, what have you been doing all these couple of weeks?' Queen Miyo questioned, looking patiently at her son.
'Well, after I escaped, I went to the palace, but when I arrived there, it had been too late, because by then King Minamio had already passed to the afterlife, I travelled around, trying to get help from Toyoda but there was none. A kind innkeeper, Kai and his wife, Yumi took me in and supported me all the time and told me all about their cultures, myths, legends and prophecies, from that, a couple of days ago, I found help,' Mizuta said proudly with joy, gesturing erratically at Kaede's, Sendoh's and Kazuma's cloaked figures.
'Them? Are you sure, son?' Queen Miyo asked, raising a suggestive brow that had on been a smooth arch.
'Yes, I am certain, they are the ones who will save Kyoten, they are...' Mizuta said, trailing off as he sheepishly grinned.
'Don't tell them who we are, we cannot have your father's soldier hurting themselves while they try to subdue us and no, your father cannot hold me for ransom,' Kaede said, interrupting by telepath.
'Well? Who are they, Mizuta?' King Mazuta demanded; his hands placed on his hips.
'Never mind, lets celebrate, tomorrow, it will be Kyoten's victory!' Mizuta said in high spirits.
'We shall celebrate, but with what food?' Queen Miyo asked, looking haggard once more but reluctantly letting go of the strangers' identity issue.
'Um...' Mizuta began, remembering his country's ill state.
'Don't worry, we shall come back with food, enough to feed everyone in the palace,' Kaede telepath, turning abruptly, his cloak swirling around him, revealing Midnight.
'AH!' the guard yelled as he noticed Midnight, backing up so suddenly, he tripped on his feet and fell down. Midnight turned and stared at the soldier, looking as if he were grinning then trotted up to Kaede.
'Son, are you sure that they will guarantee Kyoten's victory?' King Mazuta asked dubiously, eyeing the three-cloaked figures already a distance away.
'Yes, Father, as sure as the sun rises in the morning and sets in the night,' Mizuta said as he watched the retreating figures.
***
'How are we going to get the food? Calling for it? Or are we going out to get it?' Sendoh asked as they walked down the corridor to the kitchen.
'I think it is best if we call for it, going out might be too risky and if we raid the camps, they will likely know that Kyoten has powerful forces and they may call reinforcements,' Kaede said as he walked into the large larder.
'I agree, it is a good strategy,' Kazuma said as he entered.
'So how do you plan to call?' Sendoh asked, seeing Kaede look around.
'Midnight? Soar?' Kaede questioned, looking at both animals.
'You'll need Sendoh's help since you are going to call on a lot of food,' Midnight said as he surveyed the cement larder.
'Yes, Kazuma, you alert Mizuta and ask someone to gather people to distribute the food as they call for it,' Soar said, landing on a nearby perch, which generous amounts of meat once hung.
'Alright,' Kazuma said as he closed his eyes and called Mizuta, relaying Soar's message.
'Now, draw a big circle with this bag of salt,' Midnight said as he nudged the big bag propped up beside a table.
'How big?' Sendoh asked as he picked up the bag, weighing it.
'Big enough to seat the both of you in it,' Soar replied, swooping to land gently on the cement floor.
Sendoh poured a generous amount of salt into his palm and let it course through his fingers, falling to the floor to form a circle using his gift.
'Okay, now the both of you sit in the circle, call upon your magic and fill your head with images of this larder brimming with food,' Midnight instructed as he watched Kaede and Sendoh sit themselves in the centre of the circle.
They sat in the circle, closed their eyes and called their magic to them, their amulets glowed and floated, following Midnight's instruction, they filled their heads with pictures of the larder, brimming with food. Just as the first person arrived to collect food, happy at the prospect of having good food to eat again, the room began to glow, the shelves, the tables and the floor. As the glow immediately vanished, the exotic aromas of delicious foods surrounded them. Opening their eyes, they glanced around them, breathing hard at the exertion of their magic, their amulets settling down and dimming to a glow as the first person walked in.
'Praise you lords,' the peasant said as he received the food.
'You are most welcome,' Kazuma said as he smiled at Kaede and Sendoh from under his cloak.
'Great job, the two of you, you are learning fast, very soon you'll be better sorcerers, even better than those here in Kyoten,' Midnight praised as he swiped a succulent steak.
Together, they feasted till sunrise, no one wondered why the strangers wore their cloaks the whole time or where the food had come from but just that they were able to feed their families.
'So, where do you hail from?' King Mazuta asked Kaede, trying to peer into the darkness of Kaede's cloak.
'Nowhere, but we are heading to Kanagawa,' Kaede replied in his cold voice, feeling the probe of Mazuta's mind, letting a smile grace his lips as Mazuta gave up, unable to penetrate.
'Is that so?' the King questioned suspiciously.
'Don't worry, we're not spies or vagabonds or even people who want to disrupt your country. We just want to get to Kanagawa,' Kaede replied, seeing what was on Mazuta's mind.
'But how did you know that was what I was thinking?' Mazuta asked, struggling to hide his surprise.
'Don't forget what Mizuta told you, your highness,' Kaede said in salute.
'I have just realised that that was the first time that you have ever referred to me by any rank,' Mazuta said, smiling ruefully.
'Ah yes, that is quite true,' Kaede said, observing Sendoh, Kazuma, Midnight and Soar dig in, people having grown used to the sight of the animals and the reassurance of their prince. Kaede could feel Sendoh and Kazuma use their magic to regulate and suppress the stifling heat of their cloaks, Kaede doing the same for himself; something they had learnt as they travelled.
Suddenly, Kaede's amulet jumped, glowing so brightly the blue was transformed into white. An arrow immediately whizzed pass shaving a few hairs as Kaede pushed the king out of the way.
'ASSASSIN!'
'Protect the KING!
'DIE!'
Kaede focused his magic and began seeking out the assassin as he protected the king who was crumpled on the floor, winded by his landing and narrow escape.
'There!' Kaede yelled, co-ordinating with Sendoh and Kazuma as they took two of the three assassins. The last, the leader was too far, Kaede lifted his palm and a crackling blue ball of energy formed, Kaede threw it in the direction of the assassin. The assassin, not seeing it, got the full blast as he fell, stunned. Kaede called the body to him. There, the assassin laid, prostrate on a table, which had been cleared as Kaede held the body suspended. Chaos had been settled as they watched in awe of such power.
Kaede placed his palm above the assassin's head and silence surrounded him as he continued to search the mind.
'Wake!' Kaede said forcefully as he snapped his fingers.
The assassin's eyes snapped open, but he could not move. Thrashing his head around, he hurled vulgarities at Kyoten's royal family and at Kaede.
'Be careful of how you treat royals, they might just do the same to you,' Kazuma warned as the assassin continued thrashing.
'Morio Shingachi, be still!' Kaede commanded as he took a step back.
'What?! How did you know my name? I had all my blocks up! I am a middle- class mage,' Morio said, absolutely flabbergasted.
'I know, but they do not work with me. I want you to promise me that you will never attempt to assassinate the royal family of Kyoten ever again and that you will return to the ministers of Kanagawa and tell them that the prophecy is true and that Reyes will live on forever and so shall Minamio!' Kaede whispered coldly, seeing the man's face pale with terror.
'Who are you?' Morio whispered, trying as King Mazuta did to peer into the depth of the cloak.
'Never mind who I am, just tell them that,' Kaede said, waving his hand.
Their audience watched in astonishment as Morio Shingachi's solid body flickered and disappeared totally from sight. A gasp of surprise came from somewhere behind the crowd where Sendoh had performed the same task with the other two assassins.
'Are you alright?' Kaede asked as he reached out his hand for King Mazuta to pull himself upright with.
'Yes, but how did you do that?' Mazuta asked, still breathing hard.
'Trickery,' Kaede replied, glancing at Mizuta.
'Oh by the way, Mazuta, don't bother having a meeting to discuss my identity or that of my companions, it won't be worth it and Mizuta will be accompanying us to Kanagawa,' Kaede said as he sat down once again, letting the celebrations continue.
Suddenly, Kaede's head snapped up as he sensed something different. Standing up, he threw off his cloak, which would hinder his progress. Shimmering, he appeared on a windowsill, which was big enough to seat two more people comfortably. He peered out the window and saw approaching forces, calling Sendoh who shimmered Kazuma up to the sill as the people watched on with awe.
'They are approaching,' Kazuma said, attempting to count how many there were.
'There are at least a hundred thousand, you do realise that we are badly out numbered right?' Sendoh asked incredulously.
'Yes, therefore we are not going out for battle, they will come to us,' Kaede said as he closed his eyes, calling for a protective barrier to surrounded the palace.
'Call Mizuta, we shall need his gift to back up the shield,' Kaede said as he ensured that there was no loophole in the barrier for anyone or thing to enter.
From where they stood, they could see Mizuta go into trance and support the barrier; they could feel his presence strongly.
'Now, Akira, garner yourself for a real fight, you too Kaede, lets see who can last longer,' Kazuma said as he rolled up his sleeve, grinning widely.
'We are sure to last longer than you,' Sendoh scoffed, looking at his cousin who remained quiet.
'Sendoh, tell the majesties that they are going to have to help Mizuta keep the barrier up, there are at least fifty high-class mages, a hundred middle- class mages and about five hundred low-class mages who specialise in battle magic,' Kaede said as he arranged himself comfortably on the ledge, watching Sendoh and Kazuma do the same.
'Ready?' Kazuma asked as he watched the army closing in on the distance.
'Yup, as soon as they touch the barrier, we're going to give them the shock of their lives,' Sendoh said as he begin meditating.
Kazuma watched as both Kaede and Sendoh went into trance, he knew that once they were in trance, their magic became stronger because they were able to focus all of it on a particular subject. Their amulets shimmered as it hovered in front of them they open their eyes. Kaede's eyes were the same shade of blue as his shimmering amulet as Sendoh's was the same forest green as his amulet.
Kazuma watched as the enemy first struck the barrier, the spell glancing off the shield. Consecutive hits were reflected as they hit out with all they had, the barrier weakening. Kazuma looked over to the royal family, to see that they were pale and perspiring as they held out to form the large barrier. Kazuma immediately went into trance to help, opening his eyes, he saw Mizuta smile a sigh of relief as his parents sank back into their chairs exhausted by the exertion of their magic combined with malnutrition. Kazuma sat and watched the battled as he felt himself supplying Mizuta with his energy, sliding down a long piece of rope to exit the castle and fight the oncoming forces.
Kazuma was startled as he saw the cousins got up simultaneously, their bodies surrounded by flickering flames of sapphire and emerald as they took a step off the ledge. Below them, the collective gasps of horror as their audience thought they would fall. Step by step, they walked till they were in the centre of the palace ground. Kaede and Sendoh's aura branched out, Sendoh's forming a green entity, its wings encircling itself and Sendoh, as it unfurled itself, it was obvious that it was a phoenix.
However, Kaede's flames contracted, pulled inside his body as he curled up in pain. Laughs could be heard from beyond the castle walls from the mages who thought that Kaede was too weak to build a phoenix. Suddenly, Kaede knelt and gave a yell of agony, blue flames shot out of his body wildly, a stream of flames blasted out of his mouth, the flames forming a ball around him. The ball tightened and contracted, the sapphire flames burned brighter and became a silvery blue much like white. The ball blasted open and open and the brilliant light blinded everyone. As the light dimmed and everyone was able to focus, the astonishing sight of a snowy white phoenix twice the size of Sendoh's silvery emerald phoenix. Its wings flapping gently, Kaede suspended serenely its head, its sapphire eyes standing out in its white head.
Below, the soldiers and mages who were sniggering a few moments ago were astounded.
'Royalties!' came collective gasps of astonishment from their audience who had emerged from the main hall and were now admiring the beautiful sight before them.
The phoenixes screeched, flapping their wings, snow white with hints of sapphire and emerald flames colouring the air. The phoenixes started to fly; their graceful swift flaps, taking them high into the sky. Swooping down, they began to attack the regiment of soldiers and mages.
'Run for your lives!'
'Retreat!'
Kaede and Sendoh attacked, singeing mages and soldiers as they read their minds, seeing which were worthy of sparing. A handful of soldiers and mages stayed behind to try and break the barrier, Kazuma battling with them physically as well as magically as they watched their compatriots being chased the phoenixes, burning in emerald and sapphire and white flames.
'Long Live Kanagawa!'
Kaede swooped in, his phoenix suspended above the soldier who said it.
'You are not fit to yell that!' Kaede said in an alien voice, cold and distant.
'Who are you?' the soldier asked, quaking in his shoes.
'I am the prophecy,' Kaede said, as he flung his arm. The soldier was sent flying.
'No, spare me, please your majesty,' the soldier pleaded, going down on his knees.
'No, I will send you back with the same message as I did with Morio, tell the ministers, the prophecy lives, it never died, Kanagawa was destined to be mine!' Kaede yelled, giving his hand a violent flick. The soldier disappeared yelling his final words just as Kaede sent flames to the spot where he stood.
'HOORAY!!!' came choruses of joyful yells as the troops retreated.
The phoenixes landed in the castle courtyard, the two of them descended slowly as the flames entered their bodies, peasants emerging from the main halls to embrace the sunlight.
Mazuta and Miyo were the last to emerge from the gloomy castle walls, along with them came Mizuta who was grinning widely from ear to ear even though his complexion was pale and his skin clammy.
'Thank you very much for saving Kyoten, we are very grateful to you but... who are you?' Queen Miyo asked as she peered into Kaede dark blues.
'Maybe Mizuta will enlighten you on that, we will go to our rooms to pack,' Kaede said, to the royal couple who stared at him, 'we leave tomorrow,' Kaede said, directing his words to Mizuta who nodded with understanding.
The three of them, Kaede, Sendoh and Kazuma flickered and disappeared leaving a very puzzled couple who looked to their son to enlighten them.