Disclaimer: I do not own Soul Calibur, Soul Edge, Taki, Mitsurugi, Sophitia or Cassandra.
These all belong to NAMCO. Such a pity--they won't let me have them. Oh well. But this fanfic is
mine, as are Captain Dmitri and Yvgeny.
Viator: By Your Side
The Sequel to Requietum:A Journey Home
by jin long
lycan11@yahoo.com
Chapter 8
Mitsurugi was downright bored.
It was quite an understandable state of mind. Taki had retreated yet again into their room, and for
someone such as himself who had known her a good deal, it was obvious that she did not want to
keep company with anybody.
The Greek girl who had joined them at some point, Cassandra, did not want to talk to him, instead
preferring to keep to her own room. Not that Mitsurugi wanted her company anyway -- he found her
rather childish.
He would have been crossing swords with the soldiers he'd been trying to impress earlier, but they were
too busy, apparently with battle plans, from the map he noticed they were looking at, and not without
Captain Dmitri talking almost endlessly in that language Mitsurugi knew he didn't understand.
And Yvgeny wasn't around either, so fat lot of help he was at the moment, Mitsurugi thought.
He took out his pipe and lit the little tobacco mix it had in its chamber. The swordsman puffed on the
pipe a couple of times, then blew smoke into the air, watching it waft away in the light of dusk.
Honestly, what he really wanted to be doing right now was talking to Taki about Soul Edge. He wanted
to find out more about it, wanted his questions concerning the shard he found in the Ming empire
answered. She was the only one in the immediate vicinity who could give him any information on it.
He wanted to know -- was it really true that Soul Edge was an evil sword? Mitsurugi knew what some
sages said about evil and power, that evil was but one extreme of power. Power in itself was intrinsically
neutral, and wether it was evil or not depended entirely on the will of the person who had it. If that was
the case, then Soul Edge was simply a tool, and it was the desires of the wielder that turned the power
it had towards either good or evil.
But if that was really the case, why was Taki so apprehensive to use that blade of hers that contained
but a shard of that great sword?
Mitsurugi had no doubts that Taki was someone he would call a good person, with the best intentions
for anybody she'd meet. You can't be a demon slayer if you yourself are like your prey, he reasoned.
The goodness of a demon slayer must balance out the evil of a demon in order to neutralize it. Yin and
Yang, the swordsman thought. That's how it works.
So if Taki is basically a good person, shouldn't she be able to control that blade of hers? Shouldn't she
be able to use its power for her intentions?
And shouldn't I be able to control Soul Edge myself in that case?
Then a thought occurred to him, quite briefly, but still poignant -- what if Soul Edge is not a tool, but an
entity in itself? Swordsmiths usually purify themselves so that their swords will not be the sort to seek
blood, so that they won't end up like the blades of Muramasa, bloodthirsty. They treat the blades as
entities in themselves. So what if Soul Edge isn't the blade itself, but an entity that merely employs the
blade's form in order to be more accessible to those it wishes to consume?
Mitsurugi shook his head, smiling and taking a puff on his pipe.
"Damn it man, you're thinking too hard," he said to himself, blowing smoke into the air yet again.
But the thought still disturbed him.
------------------
Three days definitely took their toll.
Sophitia so wanted to just lie down on a soft bed, bury her face in a soft pillow, and just sleep. It wasn't
easy trying to get past Ottoman patrols in the daytime or when she usually did, at night. She sighed,
knowing that avoiding such patrols had drained her of so much energy and had not allowed her much
sleep. She knew she would have given up a long time ago if it weren't for the fact that her sister could be
in the middle of whatever crisis appeared to be present in these eastern lands.
The Greek rode past vast tracts of farmland, heading towards the structure she saw in the distance.
She knew very well that if she could see it from where she presently was, it was definitely bound to be
huge. And huge structures usually meant a large population, and if that was the case she was certain
to acquire information along with some more supplies. With more people, she was sure to have a
higher probability of success.
As she neared the structure, she realized that it was massive indeed, towering over her like some black
rocky titan of long ago. Sophitia also noticed that the land around this structure -- a castle, she believed
it was called -- was in ruins. Compared to the farmlands she had previously passed, which were still
reasonably good, the lands here were blackened, perhaps from fire and she would have not thought
them fertile if she did not see that some crops still grew.
And it appeared to her that no one dared live outside the massive castle's walls. The hovels all outside
the castle walls showed evidence of being burned, and she could see no sign of life in them. They had
been completely abandoned.
What in Hades' name happened here?
---------------
Mitsurugi gave one last puff on his pipe, extinguishing it. Taking it from his mouth, he tapped it against
the top of the wall, causing the ash to fall out onto the ground below. He paid no further attention to the
ash, tucking the pipe into his belt as he began to walk towards the stairs down from the ramparts.
Movement from the corner of his eye caught his attention. Turning to the source, he saw two of Captain
Dmitri's men looking over the ramparts and pointing at something, or someone. One of the soldiers
appeared to be directing the other, a swordsman, to find Captain Dmitri, judging by his gestures. The
swordsman soon took off, passing by Mitsurugi on the steps.
Curiousity got the better of Mitsurugi, and he went back to his previous position. As soon as he got there,
he peered over the wall. He squinted to get a better view, certain that he knew this blonde below him.
"Sophitia?" he called out.
---------------
Sophtia shielded her eyes against the noontime sun to get a better view at whoever was looking at her
from above. She was sure she heard her name uttered, and she was certain that it had come from
above her, from somewhere atop these massive walls. She looked harder, and eventually she could
make out a dark-haired man waving at her. A dark-haired man who looked like he was from the Ming
Empire but was not.
"Is that you?" she heard, and in Greek no less. Certainly, it could only be one person she knew.
"Mitsurugi?" Sophitia yelled.
"Yes!" was the hearty reply.
"I don't believe it!" Sophitia laughed. "I never thought you would be here!"
"Ha ha! I'm surprised too! Just wait a moment while I see to getting you in here, ne?" she heard him say
as she saw him wave at her, soon disappearing behind the wall.
----------------
"They are extremely cautious around here, aren't they?" Sophitia said, walking beside Mitsurugi as they
made their way to the inn, Sophitia's horse in tow. "Can't say I blame them, from what you tell me," she
added. After doing everything necessary for the horse at the stable, she continued. "And from what I've
seen. I heard rumors about the presence of Soul Edge in the area."
"So that god of yours has sent you chasing it again, has he?" Mitsurugi asked as they entered the inn
and sat down for a drink.
"Well, yes and no." Sophitia looked up as the inkeeper's servant put the jug of wine between them and
gave them two mugs. Afterwards, she poured some for herself and Mitsurugi before continuing. "I'm
actually looking for my sister."
"I see." Mitsurugi took a swig before continuing. "What's she look like?"
"Younger than me, short blonde hair, kind of like me. Have you seen her?"
"Well, unless you sold the sword and shield I saw on you the first time we met to some antique dealer,
yes, I think I've seen her around." He watched Sophitia's eyes widen, heard the creak of her chair as she
rose, and he laughed. "Now don't be in a rush. You're in no condition to run after a runaway sibling,
what with your obvious lack of sleep. I can tell from the slight presence of eyebags."
Sophitia sighed, returning to her seat. "I guess you're right," she said, taking a sip from her mug. "It's
just that I worry so much about what might happen to her out here." She looked up at him before
continuing. "I mean, she's only three years older than me when I first went outside of Greece."
Without noticing it, she exposed one of the scars on her right arm as she took another drink.
Mitsurugi noticed how jagged the scar was, almost about the length of his thumb by his estimate.
"There is a lot to worry about around these areas," he said in reply.
"Right." Sophitia sighed. "I was just lucky that I encountered Taki," she smiled, and this did not escape
the swordsman's attention. "Lucky enough that I met someone who was willing to help me... How is
she, by the way?" Sophitia asked him, peering as him with her chin on one hand.
Taki looks like she's falling into some sort of depression, Mitsurugi thought.
Taki has wanted to be alone for the past few days. And not in the way she usually wants to be alone, but
somehow because she's scared of something.
Taki's been having nightmares quite often lately.
Taki is changing. And not in a good way.
"She's... fine! She's okay!" Mitsurugi smiled, hoping Sophitia didn't notice the guilty look that went with
his grin. If he knew how Sophitia reacted concerning Taki, and he'd seen a lot of that, then it was best
not to tell her what was actually happening. The Greek would worry herself to death. And besides, Taki
didn't want Sophitia to find out about Mekki-maru -- that much he knew.
"But enough on Taki. Tell me about your sister," he curtly added, hoping to change the subject.
"Well, she worries me a lot, you know." Sophitia put a hand to her forehead and closed her eyes for a
couple of seconds. "She's impulsive, hot-headed and generally just prone to get in trouble. Like back
in Greece, she was always getting into fights."
Mitsurugi arched an eyebrow. "Soo da ka? She sounds like a handful."
"She is. Cassandra certainly is."
"Wait. Did you call her 'Cassandra'?"
"Yes."
Mitsurugi slapped his hand to his forehead. "I thought so!"
Sophitia gave him a puzzled look.
"I should have known the moment I saw your weapons on her. And the blond hair and blue-green eyes."
Mitsurugi drained his mug. "Sophie, you don't have to worry about your sister. I can assure you that she's
in good hands, and that she's twice as lucky as you are."
"What do you mean? Do you know exactly where she is right now?"
"Of course! She's as safe as you were when you first met Taki, maybe even doubly so."
"Well don't keep me in suspense! Tell me where she is!" Sophitia said.
"She's with Taki and me!"
-----------------
to be continued...
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
*'Soo da ka?' -- Is that so?*
yes, we are going to get to point B with one more chapter. i'll make it up later with 2-3
chapters full of nothing but full-on combat, and no, i do not mean the impending
battle with the Ottomans.
for those of you who are interested, the four of them are in Transylvania. Yes, Transylvania.
Which is somewhere near Hungary (oh, NOW that 'Buda' and 'Pest' thing makes sense!
Oooo...). They're in one of the towns of Transylvania, but I haven't done any research on towns
in Transylvania (and since we're talking towns way back in the Medieval to Renaissance period, this
is going to take a lot more reasearch than you think) so the town is unnamed.
yes, Transylvania exists.
jin long
These all belong to NAMCO. Such a pity--they won't let me have them. Oh well. But this fanfic is
mine, as are Captain Dmitri and Yvgeny.
Viator: By Your Side
The Sequel to Requietum:A Journey Home
by jin long
lycan11@yahoo.com
Chapter 8
Mitsurugi was downright bored.
It was quite an understandable state of mind. Taki had retreated yet again into their room, and for
someone such as himself who had known her a good deal, it was obvious that she did not want to
keep company with anybody.
The Greek girl who had joined them at some point, Cassandra, did not want to talk to him, instead
preferring to keep to her own room. Not that Mitsurugi wanted her company anyway -- he found her
rather childish.
He would have been crossing swords with the soldiers he'd been trying to impress earlier, but they were
too busy, apparently with battle plans, from the map he noticed they were looking at, and not without
Captain Dmitri talking almost endlessly in that language Mitsurugi knew he didn't understand.
And Yvgeny wasn't around either, so fat lot of help he was at the moment, Mitsurugi thought.
He took out his pipe and lit the little tobacco mix it had in its chamber. The swordsman puffed on the
pipe a couple of times, then blew smoke into the air, watching it waft away in the light of dusk.
Honestly, what he really wanted to be doing right now was talking to Taki about Soul Edge. He wanted
to find out more about it, wanted his questions concerning the shard he found in the Ming empire
answered. She was the only one in the immediate vicinity who could give him any information on it.
He wanted to know -- was it really true that Soul Edge was an evil sword? Mitsurugi knew what some
sages said about evil and power, that evil was but one extreme of power. Power in itself was intrinsically
neutral, and wether it was evil or not depended entirely on the will of the person who had it. If that was
the case, then Soul Edge was simply a tool, and it was the desires of the wielder that turned the power
it had towards either good or evil.
But if that was really the case, why was Taki so apprehensive to use that blade of hers that contained
but a shard of that great sword?
Mitsurugi had no doubts that Taki was someone he would call a good person, with the best intentions
for anybody she'd meet. You can't be a demon slayer if you yourself are like your prey, he reasoned.
The goodness of a demon slayer must balance out the evil of a demon in order to neutralize it. Yin and
Yang, the swordsman thought. That's how it works.
So if Taki is basically a good person, shouldn't she be able to control that blade of hers? Shouldn't she
be able to use its power for her intentions?
And shouldn't I be able to control Soul Edge myself in that case?
Then a thought occurred to him, quite briefly, but still poignant -- what if Soul Edge is not a tool, but an
entity in itself? Swordsmiths usually purify themselves so that their swords will not be the sort to seek
blood, so that they won't end up like the blades of Muramasa, bloodthirsty. They treat the blades as
entities in themselves. So what if Soul Edge isn't the blade itself, but an entity that merely employs the
blade's form in order to be more accessible to those it wishes to consume?
Mitsurugi shook his head, smiling and taking a puff on his pipe.
"Damn it man, you're thinking too hard," he said to himself, blowing smoke into the air yet again.
But the thought still disturbed him.
------------------
Three days definitely took their toll.
Sophitia so wanted to just lie down on a soft bed, bury her face in a soft pillow, and just sleep. It wasn't
easy trying to get past Ottoman patrols in the daytime or when she usually did, at night. She sighed,
knowing that avoiding such patrols had drained her of so much energy and had not allowed her much
sleep. She knew she would have given up a long time ago if it weren't for the fact that her sister could be
in the middle of whatever crisis appeared to be present in these eastern lands.
The Greek rode past vast tracts of farmland, heading towards the structure she saw in the distance.
She knew very well that if she could see it from where she presently was, it was definitely bound to be
huge. And huge structures usually meant a large population, and if that was the case she was certain
to acquire information along with some more supplies. With more people, she was sure to have a
higher probability of success.
As she neared the structure, she realized that it was massive indeed, towering over her like some black
rocky titan of long ago. Sophitia also noticed that the land around this structure -- a castle, she believed
it was called -- was in ruins. Compared to the farmlands she had previously passed, which were still
reasonably good, the lands here were blackened, perhaps from fire and she would have not thought
them fertile if she did not see that some crops still grew.
And it appeared to her that no one dared live outside the massive castle's walls. The hovels all outside
the castle walls showed evidence of being burned, and she could see no sign of life in them. They had
been completely abandoned.
What in Hades' name happened here?
---------------
Mitsurugi gave one last puff on his pipe, extinguishing it. Taking it from his mouth, he tapped it against
the top of the wall, causing the ash to fall out onto the ground below. He paid no further attention to the
ash, tucking the pipe into his belt as he began to walk towards the stairs down from the ramparts.
Movement from the corner of his eye caught his attention. Turning to the source, he saw two of Captain
Dmitri's men looking over the ramparts and pointing at something, or someone. One of the soldiers
appeared to be directing the other, a swordsman, to find Captain Dmitri, judging by his gestures. The
swordsman soon took off, passing by Mitsurugi on the steps.
Curiousity got the better of Mitsurugi, and he went back to his previous position. As soon as he got there,
he peered over the wall. He squinted to get a better view, certain that he knew this blonde below him.
"Sophitia?" he called out.
---------------
Sophtia shielded her eyes against the noontime sun to get a better view at whoever was looking at her
from above. She was sure she heard her name uttered, and she was certain that it had come from
above her, from somewhere atop these massive walls. She looked harder, and eventually she could
make out a dark-haired man waving at her. A dark-haired man who looked like he was from the Ming
Empire but was not.
"Is that you?" she heard, and in Greek no less. Certainly, it could only be one person she knew.
"Mitsurugi?" Sophitia yelled.
"Yes!" was the hearty reply.
"I don't believe it!" Sophitia laughed. "I never thought you would be here!"
"Ha ha! I'm surprised too! Just wait a moment while I see to getting you in here, ne?" she heard him say
as she saw him wave at her, soon disappearing behind the wall.
----------------
"They are extremely cautious around here, aren't they?" Sophitia said, walking beside Mitsurugi as they
made their way to the inn, Sophitia's horse in tow. "Can't say I blame them, from what you tell me," she
added. After doing everything necessary for the horse at the stable, she continued. "And from what I've
seen. I heard rumors about the presence of Soul Edge in the area."
"So that god of yours has sent you chasing it again, has he?" Mitsurugi asked as they entered the inn
and sat down for a drink.
"Well, yes and no." Sophitia looked up as the inkeeper's servant put the jug of wine between them and
gave them two mugs. Afterwards, she poured some for herself and Mitsurugi before continuing. "I'm
actually looking for my sister."
"I see." Mitsurugi took a swig before continuing. "What's she look like?"
"Younger than me, short blonde hair, kind of like me. Have you seen her?"
"Well, unless you sold the sword and shield I saw on you the first time we met to some antique dealer,
yes, I think I've seen her around." He watched Sophitia's eyes widen, heard the creak of her chair as she
rose, and he laughed. "Now don't be in a rush. You're in no condition to run after a runaway sibling,
what with your obvious lack of sleep. I can tell from the slight presence of eyebags."
Sophitia sighed, returning to her seat. "I guess you're right," she said, taking a sip from her mug. "It's
just that I worry so much about what might happen to her out here." She looked up at him before
continuing. "I mean, she's only three years older than me when I first went outside of Greece."
Without noticing it, she exposed one of the scars on her right arm as she took another drink.
Mitsurugi noticed how jagged the scar was, almost about the length of his thumb by his estimate.
"There is a lot to worry about around these areas," he said in reply.
"Right." Sophitia sighed. "I was just lucky that I encountered Taki," she smiled, and this did not escape
the swordsman's attention. "Lucky enough that I met someone who was willing to help me... How is
she, by the way?" Sophitia asked him, peering as him with her chin on one hand.
Taki looks like she's falling into some sort of depression, Mitsurugi thought.
Taki has wanted to be alone for the past few days. And not in the way she usually wants to be alone, but
somehow because she's scared of something.
Taki's been having nightmares quite often lately.
Taki is changing. And not in a good way.
"She's... fine! She's okay!" Mitsurugi smiled, hoping Sophitia didn't notice the guilty look that went with
his grin. If he knew how Sophitia reacted concerning Taki, and he'd seen a lot of that, then it was best
not to tell her what was actually happening. The Greek would worry herself to death. And besides, Taki
didn't want Sophitia to find out about Mekki-maru -- that much he knew.
"But enough on Taki. Tell me about your sister," he curtly added, hoping to change the subject.
"Well, she worries me a lot, you know." Sophitia put a hand to her forehead and closed her eyes for a
couple of seconds. "She's impulsive, hot-headed and generally just prone to get in trouble. Like back
in Greece, she was always getting into fights."
Mitsurugi arched an eyebrow. "Soo da ka? She sounds like a handful."
"She is. Cassandra certainly is."
"Wait. Did you call her 'Cassandra'?"
"Yes."
Mitsurugi slapped his hand to his forehead. "I thought so!"
Sophitia gave him a puzzled look.
"I should have known the moment I saw your weapons on her. And the blond hair and blue-green eyes."
Mitsurugi drained his mug. "Sophie, you don't have to worry about your sister. I can assure you that she's
in good hands, and that she's twice as lucky as you are."
"What do you mean? Do you know exactly where she is right now?"
"Of course! She's as safe as you were when you first met Taki, maybe even doubly so."
"Well don't keep me in suspense! Tell me where she is!" Sophitia said.
"She's with Taki and me!"
-----------------
to be continued...
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
*'Soo da ka?' -- Is that so?*
yes, we are going to get to point B with one more chapter. i'll make it up later with 2-3
chapters full of nothing but full-on combat, and no, i do not mean the impending
battle with the Ottomans.
for those of you who are interested, the four of them are in Transylvania. Yes, Transylvania.
Which is somewhere near Hungary (oh, NOW that 'Buda' and 'Pest' thing makes sense!
Oooo...). They're in one of the towns of Transylvania, but I haven't done any research on towns
in Transylvania (and since we're talking towns way back in the Medieval to Renaissance period, this
is going to take a lot more reasearch than you think) so the town is unnamed.
yes, Transylvania exists.
jin long