"Aye, Turan Magno!" Kano called, pushing roughly past the cooking staff who were attempting to lightly season the stew in their pot. The man shoved hardest dropped the entire jar of pepper into the mixture, much to everyone's distress. The turan raised an eyebrow and grimaced, wondering how practical it would be to find another place to have a meal this afternoon.
"What is it, Kano?" the large man asked, tossing the ream of papers he was examining to one side.
"Miss Mieno an' I're hopin' to amble ab'ut some'at so she can touch up 'er map," the longbow archer explained cheerily.
"Fine, fine," Turan Magno smiled patiently, having some trouble with the Northerner's thick accent, "Have a nice time. And be careful. There might be more Imperial troops in the region. I don't want you getting captured or killed."
"Aye, Sir!" Kano responded with a salute, marching off quickly as the cook and his assistants glared at the archer from behind.
"He's like one of those hurricanes I hear they have in the Island Nations," Amarilla noted sagely, her eyes still on Kano as he accidentally knocked over an entire rack of spears.
"What's a hurricane?" Magno inquired of his assistant, looking up at her from his work.
Murasaki Fuji no Shita ni Kuni
"The Country Under the Purple Wisteria"
Chapter 75- Decision Before the Wisteria
"It might snow soon," Yuki told Carlos matter-of-factly as they sat in the kitchen.
"So I've heard," Carlos nodded, "Word of it seems to be flying around everywhere these days. It has Lady Sanada most concerned."
"Ah, err, Carlos," the blond man mumbled, "How's that Beast Rune thing? I mean, uh, so do you feel any different now that you've "tamed" it or whatever?"
"Absolutely not," the priest smiled, "I feel completely and utterly the same."
"No struggle," muttered a cold voice, accented by sound of clinking armor. Yuki and Carlos turned around to see Yuber swiftly passing. Neither said a word until the black knight was out of sight.
"What did he mean by that?" Yuki wondered.
"I haven't the slightest idea..." was Carlos' puzzled response. "Well, anyway," the dark-haired man continued, "The Beast Rune is on that shield now. It might be a bit different if I were carrying it around on me, like Kiisan is the Circle Rune. It just sits in my room, and when it starts to look dirty, I polish it up. Sometimes when I touch it, I think I can hear the sound of a dog barking, but I think it must just be my overactive imagination."
Yuki was not quite sure that his friend was only imagining things, but he decided that it was better for Carlos if he continued to believe it was nothing unusual. Yuki resolved to keep his mouth shut on the matter.
Another loud noise quickly caught their attention as Mitsu stumbled down the stairs, dropping five or six thick volumes and barely keeping himself from following them as he latched his arms around the rail. A thin man in white and blue armor rushed down after the strategist, his opal eyes wide, "Lord Mitsu! Are you hurt?"
Carlos and Yuki glanced at each other before getting up from the table and hurrying over to see if they could be of any assistance. By the time they had reached the stairs, Mitsu was sitting on the bottom step catching his breath and the armored man was picking up the scattered books. "Mitsu, you're okay, right?" Yuki inquired.
"Ah, just fine," the wane man insisted, adjusting his yellow hat, "I just lost my balance."
"I told you I should carry the books!" the tactician's companion complained, "I knew that you couldn't handle so many on the steps! You didn't lose your balance at all. Your knees just gave out on you!"
"All right, all right," Mitsu gave in with a bit of laughter, "I'll leave carrying the books to you!"
"Who's your friend?" Yuki asked, "I don't think we've ever been introduced."
"A black knight and now a white knight," Carlos observed, "Are you getting together a chess set for us?"
"No-now that you think of it..." the tactician mused. His friend tapped the back of his head lightly with one of the books. "Sorry, Natchi," he snickered, "But chess was just too appealing a thought for me."
"On the chessboard you would be a king," Natchi replied without a hint of a smile, "Sanada would be a queen and Mio would be a pawn."
"Why the king?" Mitsu asked quickly in reply.
"Because all the other pieces have to protect you," the armored man explained nonchalantly.
Mitsu folded his arms indignantly, "Oh, so that's how you see it."
"Mr. Natchi," Yuki interjected, "So, err, why haven't we met before?"
Natchi blinked slowly, "No, that's right, we haven't met."
"That's because I just hired him," the strategist explained, standing up with Carlos' help, "I needed someone to do a bit of running around to complete my plans and I didn't want to hinder any of you."
Carlos led Mitsu over to the table where the thin man sat down. Natchi followed with the armful of books, which he placed in front of Mitsu. "Well, I suppose I'm happy to meet you," Yuki grinned, "I'm Yuki and this is Father Carlos."
"The pleasure is mine," Natchi replied, shaking Yuki's hand firmly.
"We have to attack before there's snow on the ground!" Sanada shouted seriously, "I will not have us sitting here until the spring!"
"So we'll put this to an end?" Tej asked softly, his ears ringing from being so close to her as she yelled.
"Before the wisteria has bloomed!" Sanada reiterated, pounding her fist down onto the table, "I want everyone to start getting ready! We are going to take Rupanda! Sharpen your weapons, polish your armor, and give Lady Datsa all the aid she needs to speed the creation of our siege engines!" At this she turned to Kiisan and nodded, "Please say what you need to say to see that this will be done."
Kiisan stepped forward and took a deep breath, "We'll see it through! Everyone! Let's get to work!"
All the assembled rebels cheered. Matataki shook his head, "I'm excited although I know that in the grand scheme of history, it's just one of many charged times."
"Father, each time is it's own, and each has it's own spirit!" Sasshalai laughed, exhilarated by the feelings around him.
Matataki thought about the statement for a moment and then gazed down at his young son, "Are you feeling all right, Sassha?"
The boy steadied himself and beamed, "It's just so overwhelming. All at once, everyone's minds are yelling cries of victory! "We will win this!" they say. It's quite a feeling."
"I'm glad," the wizard commented, putting his arm around his son.
"Oh, I feel about to burst," Sasshalai smiled, "That's the way, Big Brother!"
Kiisan stood smiling sheepishly as his comrades cheered and shouted. All in all, it felt a bit silly. He glanced at Sanada and Tej. They did not appear embarrassed by it in the least. To his right stood Sita and Fairwind. They were smiling at him. He quickly turned away, looking down at his boots before summoning the courage to look again at the other revolutionaries.
You're their hero.
"Not you again," Kiisan thought with irritation.
Get used to it. I'm not going anywhere for quite some time...
I happen to like it here rather well.
You and I have plenty of things to do together, Kiisan.
In time we'll bring all things together and when we've finally come full circle you can go your way and I'll go mine.
But that will not be for some time yet.
No, not for some time.
Kiisan suppressed the scowl he felt over the rune's words to him. He did not want to give any of his companions the wrong impression. Their support was vital to him. He could not fight for the people if they people would not raise their voices for him. Just one smile would be enough. Enough to fight for, to take a stand for, maybe to even fall for...
"Enjoying the attention?" Captain Fairwind inquired.
Kiisan shook himself, "Yeah, somewhat."
"It takes talent to like all those eyes on you, I know from my time as chief," the Westerner continued, "When this is over, it'll be a bit easier for me. I'll only have to rule my people and the Karayans and other clans in the area can take care of themselves. I don't mind being a good neighbor, but it's a more than I can handle at times."
"I'm glad for you," the young man replied, "I should hope this makes things easier for most people."
"Well, I think it won't make things easier for the Aronian Imperials, but they're just bringing it upon themselves don't you think?" the Zexen grinned back.
"What will we do with them after the war?" Sita asked, "That could be a large concern. They might even mount a resistance of their own against us. There are enough of them in the Lake Dunan and Lake Toran regions to cause some trouble."
"We'll forgive them, of course," Kiisan stated plainly, watching the other rebels head off in excitement to begin the work of preparing for battle, "There is no other option."
"Actually," Sanada interjected, "There are a few other options, but as you're a religious man, that is the only option available to you."
"Don't be harsh, Sanada," Tej cautioned, slipping his arm around the strategist.
"Kiisan's one thing, but you're another Tej," Sanada remarked, "Don't show me any weakness in your dealings with the enemy?"
"Oh, speaking of the enemy," Russ piped up, approaching the five who remained standing on the platform, "What about Prince Jonathon and those other two we have locked up? What shall we do with them?
"Prince Jonathon, hmm?" Sanada smirked, "Leave the others for the moment, but this might be about the right time to bring him into play. Why don't you bring him here?"
Russ saluted smartly, "Yes, Ma'am!"