He had volunteered to accompany Sasshalai outside of the citadel for a chance at some peace and quiet to try and center himself. A cool breeze ruffled his hair as Han Li sat down beneath a gnarled oak tree. He knew there was really no need to supervise the boy from Klikk and he could use the time to meditate. "Or..." he considered pleasantly, "...To take a nap..."
Han Li awoke to the afternoon sun shining on his face through the branches of the oak tree. He stood up, dusted himself off, and went to find Sasshalai. The boy was lying in the dry, golden grass of the field sleeping. "Kiddo's got the right idea," he chuckled, looking at the child.
As Han Li carried him out of the dry field, Sasshalai was thoroughly confused. "I could've sworn that there was a little girl out here..." the chestnut-haired boy mumbled, his head leaning on the dark man's shoulder.
"A girl? What did she look like?" the Bearer of the True Wind Rune pressed him.
"Oh, just like any other little girl. Her hair was yellow like a duckling and it was all wrapped up on her head like a hand-woven basket with pink ribbons and cornflowers. The thing is, we were playing with a beetle...I don't remember falling asleep out there. Was it all a dream?"
"That, I do not know," the dusty man replied with a mysterious smile.
Murasaki Fuji no Shita ni Kuni
"The Country Under the Purple Wisteria"
Chapter 54- The Cornflower-Bound Shield
Despite the strain on herself Ocha had volunteered quite cheerfully to transport as many rebels as possible by teleportation. "Lady Sanada advised me that you should come south with all possible speed. And if the mountains are full of snow like you say that's not an option... I think Lady Sanada already knows what she wants our next maneuver to be."
Kiisan had agreed with her, although somewhat reluctantly. He recognized the need to move forward while the Imperials were not ready for an offensive, but he was only finishing up his second day back at the citadel and was not excited at the thought of being back on the road. Hai-Yong was sympathetic with his leader on this point. He would have preferred to wait a while longer to see the situation develop. He perpetually dragged Juran around and whenever he wanted to make a point he tugged on the smaller man's cape or gave him a slight shove.
"I don't think you should be treating him like that," Father Izador advised Hai-Yong.
"Oh, no worries. I won't abuse him forever. Just until I get to see Falina again. It's his punishment, right, Juran?" he smiled, giving Juran's cape a jerk.
"No..." mumbled Juran, "You're a tyrant..."
"Hey! Don't tell the world!" Hai-Yong squawked, before giving Father Izador a last pleading look.
The priest shook his head and motioned for Juran to follow him, "Lord Hai-Yong, I don't think you should be in charge of prisoners-of-war."
The decision had been made that the rebels would head south in two ways- by boat from Crona City, so as to sail south past the Magician's Island and land on the other side of Rupanda for a pincer movement and through teleportation to Omasas to participate in the upcoming battle that Sowari was convinced would take place on the forest roads, possibly near Rugcnul.
"So how are we going to divide ourselves?" Louis Abdul inquired of the other rebel leaders.
"We could pull straws," Ayu suggested.
Lucien shook his head at the idea, "Who knows anything about ships? If anyone is good with ships they are certainly needed to go the eastern route."
"Carlos is familiar with the ocean," Hyoko pointed out.
"No," Han Li said firmly, "We need Carlos elsewhere."
"What? Why?" Mekkachi exclaimed.
"That is not something I am not able to reveal to you at this point in time," the dusty man muttered.
Mekkachi slammed his fist on the table in frustration and Kichitsu put a comforting hand on his partner's shoulder.
"I have two clues," Han Li added, "I have somewhere to go after we meet up with Lady Sanada. Kiisan, Sasshalai, and Carlos will have to accompany me on this errand."
"We shall go with you as well!" Anamaria interrupted, gesturing towards Ignatius.
Han Li closed his eyes a moment, his brow furrowing. All eyes turned to him to see what his response would be. "Very well," he agreed, "The company is picked. What we can accomplish we shall," he paused, before beginning again with a smile, "Or, as Sasshalai might say, we will do, 'the best we can.'"
Picking up from their previous topic, Ayu volunteered himself, "I know a bit about ships. So does my old man. I'll take my whole crew that way...but, um, where're we going to get the boats?"
Jirobane stood up from his chair, "That's where I come in. My father's business controls a good number of ships, so I'm pulling some strings to get us transportation."
Ayu's eyes glinted greedily, "Oh, merchant vessels..."
"Don't get any ideas," Lucien growled, "I'll accompany this bandit."
"As will I," Haneh told the rest of her comrades, "I like to go with Sir Lucien."
"So be it," Mio nodded, noting the plans in his notebook.
As leader of the rebels, Kiisan was considered top priority among the people needed to fight in the south. Strangely enough, the first person he encountered upon his arrival in the revolutionary camp on the Omasas Plains was Tiko, dressed like a priest.
"What're you doing?" Kiisan laughed.
"Hey! Kiisan! It's you!" Tiko yelled, "Hey, guess what? I was pretending to be you!"
Sasshalai's eyes widened incredulously, "You were being Big Brother? Aren't you too small?"
Tiko took off the overly large blue hat and grinned, "Nah, no one had to see me close up so it was just fine. I got to walk around everyday all dressed up and when people came up to me they had to salute so everything looked authentic."
"Good job, kid," Han Li told the boy approvingly.
"I betcha want to see Lady Sanada now," Tiko realized, looking intently at the six who stood before him: Kiisan, Sasshalai, Han Li, Carlos, Russ, and Hittoko. "Ah, sheesh! It's been so long since I've seen you!"
To Ayu's disappointment Lucien was put in charge of the expedition south by boat. The former bandit hung his head as he was left to wait outside while Lucien, Haneh, and Jirobane spoke with the swordsman's father.
Crona City seemed to have recovered very well from the damage the wharf had received during the skirmish with Major Ko-Wen. Tas, Tywin, and Ayu loitered by the water's edge noting familiar places from their stay in the city. Tywin was even able to point out some fire damage that had not been repaired on one building nearest to where the Imperial ships had landed.
"You know," Ayu complained, "If we hadn't burned those ships, I could've said they were my fleet and then been in charge of this whole mess."
"Don't have any regrets," Tas advised his son.
"Yeah, I know, I know, it's just...oh, I want to prove myself or something."
Tywin turned to look at the wavy-haired man, "Battle," she told him simply.
"Okay, I get the point..." he conceded, throwing his hands up in the air, "Let others led and prove myself in battle! I'll do it for the two of you!"
Sasshalai and Russ were not called into Sanada's tent to be briefed on the situation. Russ ran into Rizu and Junsuke and was quickly distracted by his companions from Serif City. Left alone, Sasshalai wandered through the tents towards the open plains. The sun was beginning to set and lights began to glint over the field. "Spirits..." he observed.
The sky's orange hue gradually became more reddish, then purple, followed by a deep indigo set with the first stars of the night. The glowing spirits became more visible dancing above the grass like fireflies. A nearby rustle caught the boy's attention.
It was the girl he had seen before.
"Hello," he whispered, almost to himself, "It's you."
"Hi Sassha," was her response.
"You have something for us," he stated, recognizing her intentions.
"That's right," she smiled. She handed him a circular shield that shone in the moonlight a silvery blue color.
"It's for the one who has to be brave now," Sasshalai added.
"I thought you would know," she shrugged, "You're very good at that."
"I'll see you again, right?" he inquired.
"Umm..." the blue-eyed girl paused thoughtfully, "Yeah, I think so."