Some of the characters in Samurai Seed are using the characters from Astray. And then there are also Characters which use reference from Naruto and other anime. I tried my best to stay true to the character but if any of you feel it occ, my bad.
NOTE:
"Doryaaaaaaaaaa!": normal talking
"Charge!": special case
'Darn!': thoughts
GWA HA HA HA! : Giant creature speech
DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING!
Please… read and review
Chapter 8:
Shoot Through Hell
"Hold him still! Hold him still!" The Zaft army physician was having quite a hard time trying to heal Yzak's wound. Dearka hold his friend's arms while Nichol had his legs. The burns all over his body doesn't matter much. But the wound on his face was the most grievous of all.
Unfortunately, the patient in question just couldn't stop squirming.
"THAT'S IT!" Dearka just had it. Yzak can be a baby at times. "Gravity Field 5G." And with that, Yzak's body fell flat to the ground. "I only made his clothes heavier. Hurry up and do something!"
"O… okay!" The physician jammed a tranquilizing pill to Yzak's mouth. The knight swallowed it in a gulp, and fell asleep in short order.
"Tsk, tsk… looks like I was right. Even elemental knights were no longer a match for him." Veia shook his head.
Dearka grunted angrily. "Yzak had him. But then he went berserk and…"
"No excuses. I've heard them all sonny."
"Y… yes sir."
Nichol looked at the physician. "How was he?"
"The burns I can manage. But the big scar on his face… well, I've dealt with bigger scars before, but he got the scar first and then it was burned out. Even if I cleared the infection, he had to live with that scar on his face for the rest of his life." The physician reported regretfully.
Veia on the other hand, simply chuckled. "Nah. He'll live through it. One good thing that happened in this defeat is that Yzak is now properly baptized as a warrior. They say battle scars marks a warrior."
00000000000000
Back in Archangel…
Kira blinked. He woke up in an infirmary. Again. "Now… where am I?"
"Ah, you woke up!" An unfamiliar voice sounded next to him. He looked to his side and saw… a younger version of Mwu?
"M… Mwu-san?"
The boy chuckled. "Sorry. That's my brother. I'm Prayer. Prayer Reverie la Flagga. You can call me Prayer."
"I see the resemblance." Kira smirked.
"Get that a lot." The boy grinned ear to ear. "By the way, you saved my brother didn't you? Thanks."
"I saved…" Kira frowned. He rubbed his fingers against his forehead, trying to remember. 'Did I?'
"Oops. He did say your skull taken a good knock. I'll call for your friends. In the mean time, you want something to eat?"
Kira's stomach growled. "…I suppose… Prayer-san… Where are we… and how long have I been fell asleep?"
"Just call me Prayer. You're in Fort Archangel. And you've been asleep for a week."
"A WEEK?" Kira gaped.
"Yes. I'll call my brother. I think he can fill you on what's going on." Prayer left the room, leaving Kira to his thought.
'The last thing… dragon seal… I remembered… tiger seal… was getting barraged by that bloody rain… snake seal… and then… roost seal… what happened? Hey wait a minute.' Kira blinked. 'What was that just now? Dragon, tiger, snake, roost?'
"KIRAA!" The boy's train of thought was stopped short as his friends come charging at him.
"Whoa! Whoa!" They would've dog-piled him if Mwu didn't suddenly show up and called them.
"Hoi! Save the friendly dog-pile once he's totally okay!"
"Sorry." Tolle grinned. "In any case: KIRA! Was it true?"
"What?"
"Was it true that you helped Mwu and also rescued Kage!?"
"Eh?"
"Mwu san also said you got the privilege to see Kage's face! How did he look like?"
"Huh?" Kira was totally confused. He just woke up from a one week of unconsciousness and suddenly his friends come barraging him questions he didn't understand. "W… what do you… I…"
"Alright, alright. You folks… can you please calm down!" Mwu realized that he owe Kira some explaining. "Listen… erh… can you guys… leave me and Kira alone for a moment?"
"What? Why?" Tolle looked at Mwu, glaring.
"It's… well… it's classified."
"Classified? What do you mean, classified?" Sai felt there's something awkward.
Tolle growled. "We're Kira's friend. If it has anything to do with Kira, we HAVE the right to know."
Kira sighed. "…erh… guys… Mwu's right… I think I need a moment alone with him."
"Eh?" Everyone looked at him.
"Kira, we can help you…!" Milly gave him a concerned look.
"I know you can… but I'm afraid this is something private between me and Mwu after all… so could you please?"
They looked at each other. Somewhere, their gut feeling tell them that leaving the two together was not a good idea. But if the person in question demands it… "Oh well…"
"Just don't play any tricks okay?"
"Hey… come on… you don't trust me do you?"
The quartet finally left the room. Mwu looked at Kira and found the boy glaring at him. "Oh no. Not you too?"
"Twice. I lost my memory and had no idea on what's going on. Just the truth, Mwu-san. Please?"
"…okay." Mwu raised both of his hands, signing defeat. "…but you have to understand that I'm as confused as you are. Some of the things I'm going to explain will contain holes. Holes which I hope you could fill."
"I'll try."
"…all I can say is… in those two times… it's more like… you were possessed. That…'thing' whatever it is, used your body… and fight in your stead. 'It' gave you power of supernatural proportion, both physical and mental, hence an abominable quality and quantity of chakra, gave you knowledge, making you using skills normal people wouldn't imagine."
Kira looked at his hand. "You mean… that thing took over my body… twice?"
"Yes." Mwu frowned. "The first is when you fight that insane one eyed orange blazing knight, and the other, when you fight that temper tantrum Water knight."
"…so every time I fight… that thing is gonna possess me and fight in my stead?"
"I… I'm not sure… I mean… in both cases where you got possessed, from what I've seen so far… that thing possessed you when you're near death. It instantly healed all your wounds, and gave you a shit load amount of power. But…"
"But what?"
"…I don't know… back then… 'It' talked to me… it said it wants to make you stronger. And thus… It promised that this possession ordeal will not happen again. Said that it wanted to help you to get stronger… by not helping you."
"It told you that?"
"Through you. Yes."
"Why does 'it' want to make me stronger?"
"That's one of the holes I want you to fill… ever disturb or giving aid to a runaway spirit or something?" Mwu tried to cheer up the suddenly gloomy atmosphere.
"I don't really believe in ghost."
"Riiight."
Kira didn't know what to think. He was possessed twice by something. "You said… it gave me knowledge… now that you mentioned that…ever since I woke up… I remembered things I've never even heard before…"
"What?"
"…the four seals. Dragon, Tiger, Serpent, and Roost. The four missing cardinal seals…"
"Aye. It told me… that the knowledge will be left behind to you… and it's yours."
"…"
"And… it also taught me the seals. It said it wanted me to guide you."
"Guide me eh… that's some nice choices of words…"
"…how do you feel?"
"What do you think? I just find out there's a ghost out there that had possessed me twice."
"…it could be worse?"
Kira sighed. "Yeah. So, since I fainted for a week, what have you told to my friends?"
"Ah that? Well… how should I explain this…?" Mwu grinned. "Let see… well first of all, and the best news of all, everyone still thinks that you and Kage are two different people. They all assume that you, I, and Kage were all stuck together in the forest."
"Got it so far…"
"Anyway, the version was, Kage and I beat the crap out of the pursuers. But we were too tired to go on and the soldiers came chasin us. You bravely stood your ground, getting beat up, resulting in you falling into near death. But you stood your ground long enough for the two of us to regain some of our strength and gave those knights a new definition of Hell."
"I see… that's a good one."
"Yeah… it wasn't a complete lie either. You DID stand your ground against those knights."
"Yeah… and then getting… possessed and all…"
"Nobody knows."
"So the million yen question is… what should I do now?"
"For your information…currently, you're in the Archangel Fortress."
"Well at least all those things we've done are worth it… or were it?"
"You know, I think you better ask Captain Harlbarton about that."
"Why?" Just then, Kira heard a distinct explosion from beyond the walls. "What was that?"
"Complication. You know, my brother should be returning with food shortly, you better stay put for a while and then we-"
"No." The brunette just about had it of having to stay in bed all time. "I'm fine. I'm a fast healer remember? Though 1 week in bed isn't exactly what I call fast…" Kira quickly back to his feet. He looked at himself and realized he didn't wear anything but bandages. "…any clothes I can wear?"
"Kage's clothing. We burned the old one… that one stinks. If you're going to look around this base I suggest you present yourself as Kage." Mwu gave Kira the ninja disguise.
"But what if someone was looking for me?"
"Don't worry. We'll figure something out… you can just say that you're lost… the usual story would do. For now… let's just use this…" Mwu quickly fashioned a doll and made it look like Kira. Meanwhile the boy quickly put on his kage disguise. Mwu put the doll in the bed and covered with blanket just in time when Prayer comes in with a tray of food: rice and a soup.
"Ore? Onii-san? Kage-san? How's Kira-san?"
Kage looked at Mwu. The blond nodded. "Prayer, be quiet. Kira still need a lot of rest."
"Ah… anoo… Kage-san, right?"
Kage nodded silently.
"Umm… are you here to look on Kira-san?"
Another silent nod. Just then, another explosion echoed. He looked at Mwu. "Mwu-san… I think I need to speak with the Good Captain Harlbarton now."
Prayer gulped hearing the ninja's whispery and slithering voice. It's kinda creepy.
"Yes of course you are. Sorry, Prayer, it's seem we're rather busy ourselves."
"Yes… of course."
The two walked past the boy. But just as Kage was about to walk past Prayer, his stomach growled. Prayer looked at the ninja. "Um… if you want…"
Kage's mask hid his blush pretty well. He grabbed the bowl of rice. "Thank you." And the two walked out of the infirmary.
00000000000000
As the two make their way around the gargantuan fortress, Kira finished his rice as fast as he can before putting his Kage mask back. He quickly realized Mwu's meaning of the word of complication. Burnt marks and stone debris littered the ground. Just then he saw a cannonball flying over head, followed by an explosion and yells. "We're under attack?"
"Well, pretty much."
Mwu led him atop the harbor walls. Kage's eyes widened underneath his disguise. Dozens of large teal ships, all bearing the flag of Zaft, swarmed the sea, and many more covered the horizon. 2 or 3 ships occasionally shoot a barrage or two, creating quite a bit of damage to the base and to the walls.
"Those ships… they've surrounded us… they know we're here."
"Yeah… Harlbarton said they showed up two weeks ago. Been bombarding us ever since." Mwu sighed.
"They bombard us in hourly basis. And then at night they concentrate fire on us." An elderly man continued Mwu's explanation, attracting the two's attention. Kage looked at the man. He was old but still looks strong even in at such an age. Experience lined up every part of his face. "So, you are Kage? Mwu told me about your exploits."
Kage nodded. "Captain… you were saying they start appearing two weeks ago?"
"Yes. Ever since then, they lay siege to our base. They stopped every ship that tries to get here. We have some battleships stored in our docks, but that's not enough. We make our living from the forest. We gather food, water, wood all from the forest… but…"
"They want to tire us." Kage quickly concluded. "They don't intend to bring the wall down… they want to derive us from sleeping… and the main force, which is the ground force, will come and attack us from the main front wall… and finish the job, and took over Archangel."
The elder Captain nodded. "Very well put."
Kage sighed. This is no time to think of asking a safe passage to home.
"Listen… I've heard that you and your friends came from Orb, maybe we can arrange an escort-"
"Save it. This isn't exactly a situation where you can spare some men."
"Ah well…"
"…I'll talk this out with them." Kage walked away.
Lewis and Mwu watched his back as he traced the stairs down. "Some student you have."
"I just don't know. When he put that mask on he can actually act in ways that give even me the creeps. He's not bad either when push becomes pull."
"Hah." The elder Captain laughed.
Kage run around the smoking base. He came across several wounded soldiers. 'This base looks tough at the outside… what's with that giant cannons too… but on the inside… this place is one gigantic iron coffin…' After a few minutes of looking around, he saw Milly and the rest of the gang helping Murrue fixing a damaged wall.
"Milly…! Ulp… I mean… Miriallia-san!" Kage yelled.
Kira's gang looked at him and cheered. "Kage-san!" They ran towards him.
"Hallo there! You're here too?" Tolle was the one most excited.
"Yes. Have you guys have made any plans of going home?"
Sai answered. "Actually… we're waiting for Kira to recuperate. Then we'll have to think of a way to go home."
Kage frowned. "That might be difficult."
"Eh? You mean about the blockade? Don't worry! I'm sure Mwu and Captain Harlbarton can think of something."
"No, that's what I'm saying." Kage realized what he's going to say would definitely crush their spirit, but he has to say it. "We might not be able to rely on them on this."
"Why?" Kuzzey gulped.
"As I speak, another army is marching its way here. They attempt to besiege us from both land and sea and on another note; you've been here for a week. By this time, the Zaft army would've been halfway here; if they're not here already. If we leave just like that, they'll capture us. Need I remind you they don't give a damn about rules of war?"
Kage hated how pale his friends' faces are becoming. "Than what should we do?" Milly asked.
"I… I don't know… whether this is a good decision… but as far as I'm concerned, the way I see it, we have bigger chance of surviving this… if we stick together with the soldiers." A sudden explosion echoed again as a cannonball fly overhead. "They'll be bombarding us all day."
"We know. We've been here for a week dodging cannons tending wounded people…" The girl groaned.
"They bombard us every hour. And a few more hours in the middle of the night. We have to sleep in the mound to avoid getting shot."
"We're not soldiers… we're just… kids!"
"I know. I'll have you know that I'm a kid too. Your age, in fact. But… seriously… there's no other way around this."
"What about Kira? Did he say anything about this?"
Kage bent his head down. "He did. And he said… no… he made me swear. There isn't much he can do. He can only cook. So in return that he saved my life… he made me swear… that I will do everything in my power, till there's not a breath left in me… to ensure you guys are safe."
The group smiled lightly. "So… what should we do now? Train?"
"That… I don't know…" Kage scratched his hair. "I did say that we should stick for a while with these soldiers… but I don't know what we should do. So I suggest do what you think is best… but don't get yourself killed, or I'll have it on my conscious. I suggest you train."
Kira's gang, except Kuzzey, snickered.
"That's true… Hey! Kage-san! How bout if you train with us?" Sai clapped his hands.
"Eh?"
"Yeah! You're also a Jounin like Mwu-san right? You can help us too!" Tolle was getting more and more excited.
"…" Kage was getting more nervous. "Truth be told…I'm not that good."
"Not that good? You've beaten several high ranking opponents' right in front of us! In a row!"
"I got lucky." Kage gulped as his gang gets closer and closer to him in excitement.
"Aw come on!"
Just then, as if on cue, Mwu appeared right behind him startling them all. "That's right Kage! Don't be so selfish! They'll need your help!"
"M… Mwu-san!"
"I take it you've briefed them on what's going to happen. We may not be able to spare any men to protect you guys… so we're not out of the woods yet."
"…" Kage sighed. "You will find yourself in a situation similar when we're in the forest. The Captains and the soldiers cannot protect you all the time… I intend to do that, but I can't do everything myself. So train…for self defense's sake."
"But can't you help us? Kage-san?"
"I…" Kage, for a moment, contemplated whether he should really help them. But then, he found Mwu had made that decision for him.
"Anoo… if you don't mind about this training stuff… Kage and I had agreed… on a special program for both of us."
"Eh? Special program?" Everyone echoed.
"I'll be frank with you. As cheeky as it was, Kage, Kira and I stumbled on a trinket of great information value. We intend to focus on that trinket." Mwu winked at Kage. The boy understood. The four seals are indeed a trinket of great value.
"It has something to do… with the core of everything. Nuff said." Kage finished.
"Huuh? What's with all this secrecy?" Milly moaned.
"Sorry. Murrue! Natarle! Train these three will you?"
"Anoo… what should I do?" Kuzzey meekly entered the conversation.
Natarle first spoke. "You know… You should also train-"
"No!" Kage quickly stated and sent a glare at Natarle. "If you don't fight, that's fine. Kuzzey-san. You can help those doctors. Help them tend to wounded, bring the soldiers water… you don't have to fight. But you'll still help us."
Kuzzey looked at Kage for a moment before nodded.
"Yoosh! It's settled then!"
00000000000000
Yzak roar echoed endlessly throughout the ship.
"Yzak will you drop it!?" Even Dearka had lost patience.
"GET ME OUT OF HERE!!"
"Once you're calm down, yes. You threw the good doctor overboard!"
"HOW CAN I NOT!? HE TOLD ME I HAD TO LIVE WITH THIS… THIS THING STRAPPED TO MY FACE FOREVER!?" The silver haired boy jerked his thumb on his scar.
"It's not his fault."
"I KNOW! It's that masked bastard! That's why I'm pissed off that I was put in here instead of fighting out there!"
"It could've been worse?"
"Worse than this?"
"Yes."
The two gasped and turned to the speaker, Goud Veia. Yzak gulped and bent his head down. Veia move closer and took a better look at the scar. And then, with a breath, he slapped Yzak's face with a water whip. Dearka winced.
"…" Yzak faltered but didn't dare to say anything.
"That was for disgracing yourself by acting in such an unsightly way upon defeat."
"But! But! We… I HAD HIM!"
"Your scar said otherwise. Be SILENT!"
"…!" Yzak fall silent.
Veia glared at his silent student and then to Dearka. The tanned boy's arm was hanged on a stretcher and his neck was bandaged. He then remembered that Nichol was also upstairs, treating his injured leg. "First, 4 regular soldiers. And then, two elemental knights… and now, not only he wreak chaos amongst our men, he put all three of you in one go."
"…"
"I guess, everything checks and speaks for itself. It's time we call the Hunters. You lot, if you want to fight, you will fight, but there'll be no credit for you. You'll be only normal knights in acting capacity for this battle, am I clear?"
"Yes sir." The two reluctantly nodded. Dearka sighed and wholeheartedly agree. With his ailment, fighting is impossible.
"It's time… we call in the Bladebanes."
Yzak blinked. "The Bladebanes? Sir?"
"Aye. The Sapphire Bladebanes." Veia turned around and left the prison.
Dearka was somewhat confused. "Sapphire Bladebanes?" He looked at the silver haired boy, demanding an answer.
Yzak sighed. "Ah that's right this is your first time… Dearka you were from Lesseps… so you don't know. But you should've been familiar with it. The Lesseps. What are they known for?"
"Well, we all know that. The Chromium Fang-riders. And then there are also the Onyx Assassins from Boaz… Sapphire Bladebane… were they the equivalent?"
"Yes. Gamoff Water Knights take pride in our swordsmanship. These Bladebanes… they're the pinnacle of our swordsmanship. The best among the best. Second only to Veia-sama strength, some say."
"Got the idea… erm… this… this is a VERY hypothetical question… what if, by some crazy chance… that masked guy can still beat them back?"
Yzak looked at Dearka, bewildered. "…he scared you that MUCH?"
Dearka laughed nervously. It was then Yzak notice that his friend was shaking. "He didn't touch you, buddy. He beat you from afar… he yanked me back there… you don't know what it felt like to be that close… with that… that… demon."
The silver haired boy looked at Dearka.
"It was… the most powerful thing I've ever seen… and not just the power… the terror it brought to you… I was scared… Yzak… had I stayed conscious I would've probably pissed in my pants… I was really… really scared to death…"
Yzak gulped. He couldn't begin to imagine the horror his friend must've felt to make him acting like that.
00000000000000
Then, like before, the three continued their study under Murrue and Natarle. Kage and Mwu though, find themselves a secluded area not far outside the fortress.
"I didn't just wait idly in the last one week. I've been… experimenting. Yeah, that's the word. I'm experimenting on the four seals. Mostly on the Goukyaku no jutsu because, well as we all know, the transformation was most apparent." Mwu began regaling his experiments on the 4 seals.
"What did you find out?"
"More mysteries. I tried first adding one seal; the tiger… the flame went out of control. It got bigger and singed my lips here."
"Ouch… and the other seals?"
"I tried adding one by one… individually… when I add Roost I only managed to puff a smoke. When I tried Serpent the flame went flying everywhere… singed my butt. Dragon… nothing happens."
"Have you tried… combining several all at once?"
"Well… I did… but I almost combust myself internally. I only used three out four: the serpent, the roost and the tiger. I added to the end of the first set… but after that accident I kept myself from doing it…"
"…I see…"
"Maybe we should've put the seals in midst of the seal making…"
"Best not. Those eight seals are the key seals which turn our chakra to fire. Ninjutsu ninja masters in Orb spent decades to come up with the correct combination for those seals. Chemistry: don't touch it."
"Riighto."
"You sure the Dragon seal didn't do anything?"
"Yeah. I tried on every position nothing change."
"Then we'll concentrate on the three seals. We'll see about the Dragon Seal later."
"Yeah."
And thus the two begin the experiment. "What was the order of the three seals you tried?"
"First, I made the normal Gokyaku no Jutsu seals… and then I put… erh… tiger, roost, snake."
"I'll try. What was the shape you saw me doing it?"
"It's… a ball….A perfectly formed and condensed ball."
"A ball…" Kage try to image the shape of a ball in his mind. He performed the seals… and made some changes in the order of the seal: Roost, Tiger, Snake. The result: Kage took one second to administer the feeling: it's big, it's moving… and it's literally scorching HOT!! He opened his mouth in panic and throw out all the fire away.
The flame poured out of his mouth and formed a crude fireball, but it exploded full force the second it burst out from Kage's mouth and reached a size.
00000000000000
Across the sea, the Zaft Knights on the ship saw the explosion. "What the hell was that?"
"Some sort of… an explosion?"
"Could it be cannon fire?"
"What are all the hullabaloos about, gentlemen?" Veia, having heard the noise, also climb up the deck.
"We don't know sir… some short of explosion."
"Cannon fire?"
"No, we don't think so sir; we don't see any cannons before the explosion, only two people talking with each other."
"Two people… who are they?"
"I'm sorry, but it was too far for us to make out the details."
"Hmmm."
00000000000000
Back to the fortress…
"Ehek! Heeek! WATER! WATEEER! My throat's on fire!"
"Quite literally." Mwu quickly gave the poor boy a jug of water. He finished it in a heartbeat. "Not bad though! At least… it did take shape of a ball… but…"
"N-not (cough), (cough) the same?" Kage pant as smokes arises from the holes in his mask.
"When the other 'you' do it… not only the ball was dense and perfect, it traveled a distance before it explodes… and the firepower was no joke."
"Traveled a distance you say? Hmm… Did I… do any handseal back then?"
"No… well physically, no… but your chakra did that… I suppose 'IT' did it."
"But you didn't catch the seals?"
"Hell no… it was so freakin' fast."
Kage sighed. "Right… so, Mwu-san, let's think this through… you experimented on the four seals, and every time you add one, some changes occur?"
"Yes… but it's out of control."
"…let's do it again… from square one."
"Roger." Kage began taking notes as Mwu practiced the Goukyaku no jutsu seals and the four cardinal seals in a slow movements. With tiger, as Mwu stated, the fire mass grows bigger and bigger. With snake it slither around in a randomly manner. With roost, this time, it did produce fire… but it was freakishly hot! The two take turns performing the seals. After about the nth time of the searing sensation on their mouth, Kage took of his mask to catch some fresh air and to review their progress.
"Well… if I have to say anything… each seals had a specific purpose. This is all just guessing… so I might be wrong." Kira sighed.
"Well usually, you make a pretty good guess. So fire away."
"Okay… first…the Roost Seal. It deals with the quality of the chakra and the seal also controls the shape of the jutsu."
"Quality and shape you say?"
"Yes. Remember when you try to… you know shoot it out? Sometimes you shoot only a smoke. Another you spewed out an itsy bitsy ball of fire. Another… it's very hot… another time it was so warm…"
"Yeah… I remember… singed my mouth sometimes."
"Snake deals with circulation… and quite possible… direction. It circulates the chakra inside you… and pull it all the way to the mouth… and you can direct the jutsu… to a certain extent."
"You said circulating… does this mean…Internal Chakra circulation?"
Kira nodded. "If my guess is right, theoretically speaking, we don't have to shoot fire from our mouth. We can do it from our legs or hands."
"Theoretically, unfortunately."
"Yes. Theoretically."
"Okay… Tiger?"
"…power. That's all there is… power. Energy. It controls how strong the attack is going to be. Tiger seal continuously pumping energy into the jutsu. Making it more powerful."
"And what about the dragon?"
"Frankly speaking, I still had no idea. I tried combining it with the other seals… but it didn't work out… the individual seal effect seems getting wilder though…"
"I see… wanna try a practical use of it?"
Kira looked at his notes. "I guess… doing is worth more then speaking… let's try it."
Kira stood against the sea. He tried to think it through. '…Snake: circulation, Roost: control, Tiger: power…' "Hmm…Tiger, Roost, Snake." The set is complete. His throat began to burn at an alarming speed. Kira barf the fire out. It turned into a fireball. Crude yet stable fireball and traveled a short distance… before puffing away. "…well…"
Mwu laughed. "Not bad for a first try… That was the best result so far."
"I think… those theories… are pretty much proven." Kira gasps and wheezed. He'll probably never get used to the heat.
"Yep. Proven alright."
"Just one seal left to figure out."
"After lunch I think."
"Lunch?"
"There's only an hour left before lunch." Mwu stated matter-of-fact-ly. "And you ARE the chef!"
"Wha… I'm still multitasking!?"
"Yep. Here, you'll need this." Mwu dropped a white apron. "Hurry up and get changed."
"Wait a damn minute! You want to tell me in a fortress this big there's only one chef, as in me?"
"You sir, are the only certified cooking genius in this place. And besides, don't you think it'll be suspicious if your friends never saw you?"
"…I guess you're right…" Kira put on the chef clothes: white yukata, the apron, and the chef headband. All that over his ninja suit. Mwu led him back to the fortress dock walls.
From there, the two get a better look on the fortress: it was vast and mostly colored in white, apart from the explosions and burnt marks littering around the place. The large tall white wall hosted two giant cannons, the Lohengrin. The cannons were long, long enough to cover half the fortress and supported by a sturdy foundation. From their distance, people looked like diminutive next to the colossal cannons. Kage averted his eyes from the cannons and look below. Three pairs of large windmills carrying buckets of water from the sea can be seen right below him. "That's the source of our water?"
"Yeah. This fortress was built in quite a strategic location. We're right next to the sea. The water was carried straight to the water processing facility. We boil it, filtered the water just a little bit and voila, we got our fresh water. Ask my Lieutenant if you're curious about the details."
"At any rate…in a fortress this big… I think ANYONE is bound to get lost."
"Well, at least I'm here to guide your way. Come. The soldiers are hungry and they could use a good meal."
00000000000000
The Water Knights aboard the Veia's Battleship gulped. No less then 300 Sapphire Bladebanes, all dressed in blue armor stood. Their armors differs in design one another, but one thing similar: they all carry a sword, big one. Though the types vary: rapier, kukri, katana, Zweihander… One knight stands out from the rest, in that he was carrying an oversized scalpel. And unlike the other knights, his armor is dyed in red and white ala a doctor's color. The man didn't bother a helmet and instead wears a doctor's face mask.
"300… that's one tenth of what I've asked…" Veia inspect the Bladebanes with a glare.
"The other Bladebane seems a bit nauseous of your prescription that you would send 3000 elite swordsman just to remove a tumor that this… masked man pose."
"I made that decision for a reason, Jean." The Hakutenkun looked at the man.
Mikhail Coast, 'The Doctor'. Treats a battlefield like operating a human body. The newest addition amongst the Bladebanes, but did a very good job, both as a dedicated doctor and a swordsman, but a bit problematic when it comes to understanding his use of language: he uses medical terminology in everyday speech!
"Right. But still, personally, I think you're a bit overdose in your prescription. So I chose the best three hundred to perform this surgery tonight. Plus there's the news that a new batch of additional mixture is coming."
"Yes. The reinforcement for the ground attack will be arriving tonight. The question is, does this 'surgery' of yours have a way to cut through the thick walls of Archangel? Or slipping pass through them under the bombards of their cannons!?"
"But this fleet has been bombarding the fortress for days. Their immunity should be in all time low by now. If we sneak in quietly, we can be injected through their veins and cut their Achilles heels before they know it."
"What do you mean…? Immunity… inject… veins… Argh… whatthehell… fine, whatever. And the Achilles Heel. What do you think it is?" Veia was getting a little bit lost in translation of Mikhail's medical terms.
"…the Lohengrin Cannons. What else?"
"And this is where you get the wrong diagnostic, Doc." Veia chuckled.
"The masked man?" Jean rolled his eyes in bewilderment. "The masked man is the tumor?"
"To put up with your terms, yes. It is a small erm-tumor. But it's growing, and it's getting larger at an alarming rate. He beat down my Vanguards in a span of seconds between each." The 300 Bladebanes murmur among themselves. "But if, as you said it, you feel erh-nauseous to follow my order-uh-prescription, well, feel free to go. And I can assure you, it'll be your funeral. Let's not forget that the masked man is not the only threat in there."
"Well…" Mikhail rubbed his chin, thinking. "…there are other problematic viruses in there… Endiminion Eagle Mwu La Flagga, Lewis Iron Wall Harlbarton… and then there's that Captain of the 12th Squad… the new breed of virus with unknown ailment… but I'm well aware of that condition." He grinned. "Which is why I also brought a special vaccine to counter this virus."
"Special Vaccine?"
"Well, you know what they say: for big pain we need great remedy. And the better the remedy, the worse it taste… but in this case…" Jean gestured to his side. "…you might gonna like this suggested prescription."
Veia looked overboard and upon seeing the 'Vaccine' found his jaw hung behind his helmet.
00000000000000
Meanwhile, in the fortress…
The soldiers in Archangel were on the roll. Soldiers were all massing in the compound and Kitchen hall, pushing and squeezing with each other, demanding Kira's dish. The Chef tried as hard as he could to cook the dish as fast as he could. The atmosphere becomes cheerful when Kira's dish: a giant bowl full of steaming hot ramen with meat and egg was brought to view.
"No." Kira stated flatly as some of the soldiers demanding additional ration.
"EEEH?"
"Every soldier gets their share. No extra broth. No extra ration. We have to save up the provision."
"Buuut!"
"Captain's orders." Kira gestured his chin on Harlbarton, who is also enjoying Kira's dish together with the other captains and lieutenants.
"My god, Cap! This is amazing!" Kojiro Murdoch, Mwu Lieutenant smacked his lips as he put a mouthful of Kira's noodles in his mouth.
"Desshou!?" Mwu grinned. "But the maker is rather stingy…"
"That was my orders, Captain Mwu. Normally we give soldier awful food (yet nutritious) to keep them in a nasty mood. But if this is the worst he can think of, the least we can do is cut the rations. That way, we save up provisions and we keep them in the mood." The Captain gulped down his soup.
"You order him to make a nasty food?" Murrue chuckled. This is the worst Kira can come up with? Hard to imagine the best he can do.
"Yes. Yet nutritious… but you know… a master may need years to master a skill… but they would need years still to un-master a skill. I suppose the boy never cook anything horrible…"
"Not really." Kira entered the conversation as he served the Officers with some tea. "I've cooked something horrible before… but when I did, I made the eater spent some time in the hospital vomiting. And I spent even some more time, as master will give me the beating of the lifetime."
"Okay. Then let's just stick with the way you do things today." Mwu chuckled.
"Mind you, I only know how to cook noodles. Other chef might want to take shift in cooking." Kira took a nod on a table, where the army chefs were tasting his noodle, one strand at a time.
"That depends on the soldiers though…"
"If we keep feeding them the same thing over and over, they're bound to get bored."
"How right you are." Harlbarton chuckled. Kira left it at that and bring teas to his friends as well.
"Well, no matter where we go, your dish is still popular. I can't get why your boss still think your food suck." Tolle slurped his noodle hungrily.
"Well, he still got his 'Mark 10' recipe…mine is still Mark 2, so he says." Kira sighed.
"Mark 10… Do you ever think if there was Mark 3 to 9?" Milly rolled her eyes.
"I don't know. A part of me keeps saying that was all just a trick to make the customer attracted. Another part of me is just curious." The brunette took a seat along his friends. "How was training?"
"We had a mock duel with Murrue-san and Natarle-san. It's three on two, but we're still getting butchered." Sai winced remembering the time when Murrue stabbed his gut with her training spear.
"On the positive side, we weren't butchered as much as when Mwu-san participate."
"Oh… I suppose so…" Kira chuckled. "In some way that guy is uncompromising and brunt… he's no pushover."
"You talk as if you trained with him."
"I…" Kira gasped. 'Ah, that's right. I am training with him today… but they don't know that?' "Well… no… but I've watched him train you, didn't I?"
Tolle nodded. "That's very true."
"What about you Kuzzey? What have you been doing all day?"
Kuzzey jerked, as if surprised that he's being addressed. "I… I didn't do much… I just walk around and carrying towels and tools for the physician. Nothing worth mentioning…"
Kira noticed, as well as the rest, that the boy seems totally out of it. "Kuzzey? Did something happen?"
"No… Nothing happen… Nothing worth mentioning anyway… heheheh." He laughed nervously.
Sai and Tolle looked at each other. Something's definitely wrong with the boy. Kira thought up for a moment. He had a good guess why. "You know… I'm… Listen… I'm sure Kage had told you right? But we had to spent some time here. It's not the safest spot on the block, but it's better here then out there… Back in the infirmary Kage and I agreed about this…"
The gang looked at Kira. "We know." Tolle started. "We're quite deep in the mud already since the day Amaterasu burns."
"All we gotta do is pray for the best… and survive." Sai pat Kuzzey's back. The boy calmed down just a little a bit.
"I… Honestly… Today I didn't do much… I messed up… I mean… I saw people lose a limb and all… when I look at it I vomited… I… I…" The boy shivered.
"It's alright buddy. It's alright. Let it all out. You'll feel a lot better afterwards." Tolle sighed. It's normal for a boy like Kuzzey to be scared. Heck, given the circumstances they were all supposed to be scared.
Just then, the sound of the cannons echoed throughout the hall. Everyone stopped on their tracks. The cheerful atmosphere was gone. Another explosion occurred, and they heard a whistling sound. One of the soldiers looked through the window and gasped. "INCOMING!"
Everyone crawl beneath the tables. A cannonball punched a hole, straight through the Kitchen walls and landed in the middle of the dining room. Everyone stayed underneath the table as another 2 or 3 more shots can be heard. Following, 2 and 3 explosions signifying the projectiles had landed on its target.
"Those bloody Advanced are way too early!" One of the soldiers growled.
Then, 4 to 5 shots were heard, following, 4-5 explosions occurred. One shot grazed the kitchen wall. Kuzzey whimpered in his spot. Another series of shots can be heard, and it was as if they were raining the whole base with shells after shells of cannonballs. Kira take a peek from his position through the window. He saw cannonballs flying here and there. It seems the Zaft fleet is sending its entire payload at them.
After around 10 minutes, the barrage ended. Everyone waited for another 20 seconds to make sure there will be no more rain of cannonballs. One of the soldiers took a peek out of the door. "…it's safe! But… my God! Look at the place!"
Everyone walked out of the Kitchen. Holes, rubbles, smokes… all the stuff, everywhere. And they were inside! Harlbarton frowns and quickly make his way out. The elder Captain climbed the stairs into the dock walls and got a better look at his fortress.
It was total ruin. To say the least.
Smoke rising in various places. The Fleet had bombarded them long, and hard. Fire breaks out in several places. Some buildings looked like they could barely stand. Some were crumbling as he looked upon them. The Lohengrin Cannon was pretty much unscratched, given its position that is quite high above the ground. The front wall too, had suffered minor damage. The dock area suffered the worst destruction. 2 out of 6 watermills were malfunctioning. And one still spinning albeit barely. The remaining three is still working well, much to the Captain's relief. "…we only got bombed hard… but the broken watermills must be fixed at ASAP…"
He turned around and saw the Carpentaria fleet. Ten Zaft warships all lined up with their side aimed at them, smoke puffing out from their cannons. 'They suddenly increase their rate of fire… the final strike will fall soon.'
"They're concentrating their fire on us…" Mwu looked at fleet. "So… I suppose we should be expecting a ground attack anytime soon now."
"How are we going to deal with them?" Kojiro gulped.
"Well the first thing we need… is a stable supply of water. Kojiro-san if you be so kind and fix the watermills?"
The Liutenant looked at the broken watermills and frowned. "Euw… It looked pretty banged up alright." He quickly jumped down and moments later, yells and roars of the man giving orders on how to fix the mill echoed.
"Should we start fixing the buildings?" Prayer asked his Captain.
"Fix the ones that are necessary: the infirmary, the provision storage, the lot. Leave the armory later. Then, fortify the walls. Both sides."
"Yes sir." Prayer nodded. The boy quickly jumped off.
"Murrue-taichou? Unless I'm mistaken, your squad specialized in artillery handling was it not?"
"Yes?"
"Would you mind handling the artillery in the walls."
"At once." Murrue nodded. "Natarle! You handle the front wall; I'll handle the Dock Wall."
"Yes ma'am!"
"What should I do?" Mwu pointed at himself.
"You?" Harlbarton looked at his former junior. "A daredevil, a guy who stole female officers' panties every day, the guy with a few loose screws when it comes to accepting orders asking for instructions!? None. I have no orders for you. Just be yourself… and do your worst to them."
"You sir, are my favorite captain." Mwu grinned devilishly.
Down there, Kira and the gang decided to help in any way they can, such as carrying the wounded or helping the physician performing the operation. The problem is, Zaft had decided that they will bombard them in a more gruesome and merciless manner. Every hour the fortress will be barraged 9 to 10 times. And the routine goes on all day.
By the evening, everyone's mental and physical condition had pretty much reached bottom-line.
"If it's like this, we won't be able to withstand their ground attack, even if we know where they're coming." One of the tired soldiers groaned.
"But what are they waiting for? Tiring us out? Why now?" Sai wondered.
Kira sighed. Jut then, something comes to his head. Images. A giant. A doctor carrying a large scalpel. The wall falling. "…what… what was that?" He looked around and saw the wall. The same wall as the one he had seen in his head. The front wall. "…they're coming… they're coming from the front wall!" Kira blinked. "THEY'LL BE COMING FROM THE FRONT WALLS!"
"Huh?" The soldiers were shocked from the sudden outburst.
"Someone, I don't care who, warn Natarle-san! They'll be smashing right through the front wall! Double the guards the guns… everything! I don't care how!"
"Whoa, whoa… easy, kiddo. Easy. Lieutenant Natarle had been stationed there when the bombing start." Murdoch tried to calm the boy down. "Putting aside the Lohengrin Cannons, The front wall got enough bullets to repel ten armies all at once." But Kira will have none of it. The images he saw… it looks so real!
"Not this army." He muttered. He had to prevent the wall from falling. He thought up for a while. "I'll go find Kage." Before his friend could say anything, the boy rushed off.
"We'll find Kage's faster if we split up." Tolle suggested. He saw the look on Kira's eyes, and it was filled with horror. He was serious.
Sai and the others agreed. And after making sure they've done all they could, they split up and looked for the masked warrior.
The 'masked warrior' in question however, had just donned his disguise the moment he left his friends' sight. "Torii, guide my way. We are in the need of haste here!"
Torii complied and flew ahead of his master. Kage zoomed past the rubbles and fire, following his bird and quickly make his way to the walls. Climbing stairs by stairs, searching for the Lieutenant. Thankfully, he found her on the 7th floor, instructing her men to ready the cannonballs. "Put the cannonballs on the right side, a few meters away from the cannon's back! During the recoil, you can reload faster!"
"Lieutenant Natarle!"
"Ki-erm-Kage? Why are you here?"
"Lieutenant, you have to double your men! Double the guns… double the fortification… double… I don't know… EVERYTHING! The attack will come from this spot and the wall will fall at this rate!"
"What? How did you know?"
"I…" That's right. How DID he know? "…gut feeling. But… but… it'll fall! I don't know how I know but it'll fall. Trust me!"
"Trust you? I'm sorry but…" Natarle eyed Kage's worried expression. "Can you come with me for a second?" The lieutenant brought him to the corner. "Kira Yamato, I'll be frank with you. Captain Mwu may like you, Captain Murrue may belief in you, but I personally still couldn't bring myself to fully trust you."
"If you're worried whether I'm going to run, here's a little newsflash: my friends are here thanks to you guys coming to my city in the first place. Even if we somehow survive this, our home lies in ashes. You trust me? You've failed to earn mine in the first place! If you think I'm wrong, give me a reason why I should trust you!"
Natarle was rebuked.
"My only concern of why this wall must not fall is because this wall is the only thing protecting my friends from facing an execution squad! If you don't want to take my advice then at least let me make my stand here."
"…very well. Kage, you go to the top of the wall, keep an eye on the enemy's movement."
"Yes ma'am." The boy rushed off to his assigned position. Leaving Natarle to her thoughts.
One of the soldiers came asking her. "Are you going to take his advice?"
"What do you think soldier?"
"Well, personally, I think the boy is just being paranoid… in many years not one army has been able to break the walls of Archangel. We can butcher them with half of our cannons."
"…" Natarle sighed. "You know soldier? They say pride comes before fall. You, go down there and ask for any men they can spare. And be quick about it."
"Yes ma'am." The soldier quickly saluted.
At the top of the front wall, Kira gazed to the green forest. The sun had start sinking in the horizon, evening has dawned. The green forest darkens further. '…what was that? Those images? They look so real… and it's not the first time it happens either… Was it just like what Natarle-san said? I'm just being paranoid?' Kage decided to rest his back on the edges of the wall. Being heavily bombarded all day long had its toll, not a moment too soon, he fell asleep.
His sleep however, was far from peaceful…
Kira found himself in a white, empty space. Wherever he saw, it was nothing but empty white space.
"Here."
"Huh?" Kira turned around.
"Over here!"
"Wha… who are you? Where are you?"
"I'm -szzzi-… I'm over here!"
"Huh? What?"
"…seriously… you can't hear my name, you can't even see me?"
"What?"
"Then maybe you can see them for a start?"
"See who?"
"Follow your instincts."
Kira was getting more and more confused. He turned around and saw darkness. A pitch black darkness. A direct contrast of the white background he was in. And then, he saw people in the darkness. Two people, to be exact. Both were looking at him. One was standing upright staring at him, and his eyes, fierce yellow slit and blue human eyes pierced the darkness. One of the figures was small and, as Kira narrowed his eyes, he noticed that the figure was bind in chains. The person looked at him… his eyes were darkened purple and dilated, leaving only a single dot for a pupil. And he smiled sinisterly. Kira shivered. He saw the person's devilish smile from the distance. And then, the person mouthed a sentence. Kira didn't get it the first time, so the person mouthed the sentence several times.
Kira read the person's lips: "…Shoot… Through… Hell… Shoot through Hell."
Knowing Kira had gotten the sentence, the person smiled sinisterly again.
"Shoot through Hell? What do you mean?"
But the chained person just smiles.
And then, the first voice called again. "Wake up!"
"What?"
"WAKE UP!"
"KAGE! WAKE UP! WE'RE UNDER ATTACK!!"
Kage gasped and saw that the soldiers were running and yelling. People yelling, screaming and then followed by a series of explosions. Kira turned around and gasped: The attack has begun. Thousands of Emerald knight were marching towards the base in a dreadful thumping sound. Soldiers took aim with their bow and fire. Volleys of arrows met the knights' sturdy shield. Some went through the chinks of the armor and fell its target. Kage gasped. He had to help. He needed a bow… and an arrow.
"Hey! Soldier! You guys have any spare bows and arrows I can use?"
"Here are some arrows. You got your own bow!"
"I don't!"
"Then what's that?"
"This is a Kata…na?" Kage looked at Shiki. Problem was, the katana… was no longer a katana. At first glance, the handle's shape may look like a Katana's handle, but upon a closer observation, it was in fact… a bow. A green longbow. Both sides of the bow were a pair of ornamented blades (thus a grand total of 4 blades), paralleled each other. Strings attached to the tip of the blades. 4 strings meet at the center, creating a cross shaped formation. As if it weren't enough surprise, his right arm is enclosed in a heavily padded shoulder armor and gauntlet, both green in color. An empty holster was hanged at the back of his right shoulder. "…I guess… this is a bow."
"Of course it is. Here are some arrows! Make em counts!" The soldier left him with 20-30 arrows. Kage took one arrow and placed on the arrow string and took his aim. He knew he was bad in swordsmanship… and he was even worse when it comes to using bows and arrows. He pulled the strings… and he had to struggle greatly. Heck he didn't even managed to move the strings by an inch! "…how am I supposed to use this bow? I probably need BOTH hands to shoot it!"
Meanwhile, the attack on the wall was initially repelled by the cannons. But as Mikhail had predicted, the soldiers defending the walls were already tired. Pretty soon, their stamina began to fall, and the succession in which the cannons are fired decrease. The arrows did very little to no damage to the knights.
Kage thought for any alternative he can use. And then, he remembered. "Goukyaku no Jutsu! That's… that jutsu is still incomplete… but… damn it! Sink or swim again!?" He looked at the overwhelming knights. He had no choice. "…I need to reach long distance… let's try a new set… roost, snake, tiger…" The result: the perfect sphere of fire burst out from behind his mask. It was, with a lack of better word, relatively perfect. Exactly like what Mwu had depicted. Condensed and perfectly spherical. Just one problem: it burned his throat! "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!!"
The fireball still managed to reach its target, fortunately. The knights were shocked when they saw a fireball descending towards them.
"Wh… WHAAAAAH!"
It exploded, instantly creating an inferno. The Knights were obviously terrified. "They got a Dragon up there?!"
The 'dragon' however, was coughing smoke from his mouth. "…it doesn't make sense! The seal is right… the shape is perfect… but do I have to hurt myself every time I do this?"
"Whoaow! Did you see that?" The soldiers inside the walls were shocked when they saw a person spit out a fireball from his mouth no less.
"That was… Kage… I see… so that's what he has been doing with Mwu all day…"
Kage realized that the soldiers down below had their eyes transfixed on his spot. To make it even more clear, he step forward showing his black clad figure before them. '…one more blast could be appropriate?' In an instant he finished the set of seals, and for the second time: Katon, Goukyaku no Jutsu! A large fireball burst out from his mouth and quickly make its way incinerating every knight caught in its blast radius.
"AAAAAAAAARGH!! AAARGH! I'M BURNING! I'M BURNING! AAAAAAAAAAH!" The knights, some of them were on fire scream their lungs out.
Kage coughed some smoke. "Ehek… ehek!"
The Knights who saw the whole thing was terrified to no end. Though there are also others who contemplate to shoot some arrows to Kage. And shoot they did. Kage managed to dodge them all though. Finishing another set of seals, he sent another ball of fire towards the shooter. The said target scattered haphazardly upon seeing the burning wrath closing in fast.
The sight of the knights running scared increases the morale of the soldiers. "LOAD THE CANNONS! FIRE!!"
Rain of cannonballs added more spice to the chaos that ensued. The knights had no choice to fall back immediately; otherwise they would literally become cannon fodder. The knights quickly retreated. The soldiers in the wall cheered. Kage sighed a breath of relief.
At a distance, the Sapphire Bladebane looked at the walls of the Archangel. Mikhail looked at the black clad figure. "I see… so that's their main antibody… right. Let's send our 'vaccine'."
"My pleasure…"
Kage panted and wondered what's next. Just then, he saw birds flying about from the forest. "…what was that?"
Something rose up from amidst the forest. Something really, really big. Kage found his jaw hung. "…is that… a man?"
A giant of a man rose up. His upper body is enclosed in thick armor and carried a pair of large blade. Everyone in the wall gaped. Kage's eyes widened to the size of a teacup.
"…I must be having a nightmare…"
00000000000000
00000000000000
00000000000000
