Another 'battle' chapter! I want to say it's inspired by the Demon's Souls remake I've been playing recently... but nah. If I ever got to write a story about that game, it won't be anytime soon. However, as you can surmise from HV-S01: RKR, the Souls series (incl. Bloodborne) will have ties to this series. Some overt, some covert. I'm already designing another crossover fandom into this story for the upcoming chapters, so look forward to them!
Also, this chapter welcomes bac a new entry in the Glossary Update! Check it out at the end of the chapter, and let me know what you think. It's mostly side stuffs, but still...
Here's some of the mailbag replies! Sorry if I missed some of your previous reviews; please, make yourself reply-able via PM for rapid response next time.
Royal Freshness12345: It's the Nioh game designers who brought the Sharingan over here, not me. I just follow their lead. Otakemaru is meant to be hypocritical. Your analysis is generally spot on, but only inside what he thinks the 'good' he's doing. His actions, as you will see later, won't necessarily correlate with what I've explained so far.
JoJo famk: Marvel power lever is quite unrealistic for this setting, TBH. Note beings at the level of Galactus are literally the ones the protagonists can't even fight in-game due to how broken they are, such as Chaos, the TYPEs (and maybe not even them), Akasha!Ryougi, etc. This setting doesn't support that kind of fight, too – maybe the rewrite of HV-S02: QGF later in the future.
Davy jones: Thank you for your praise! However, I have to clarify... which 'fight scenes' are you a fan of? The literal one or the last chapter? And there'll be more 'fight scenes' in this one, too... Hehehe...
Kokoro-takuma: Not at the moment. If they appear in the future, they'll mostly be as Guardian Spirits or possessing various characters. The 4th Heroic Vessel story which occurs in the Heian Period will have them appear more regularly due to the ease of Divine Spirit descending into the normal world.
Guest: Shirou only has hesitations whenever he's about to have sex with a girl, or what dinner he should cook. Your theory is your own, and I implore other readers to check out this anonymous comment in the review section and reply to it if you guys have your own thoughts. It's under the pseudonym 'Guest' (how unoriginal...).
Kulkulkan-chan: Oh, I missed replying to this question of yours earlier. Sorry. Amatsu-Mikaboshi isn't 'from the Marvel Comics'; Marvel adapted Japanese mythology to their own story – I feel like we have to make a distinction there for Marvel fans. This deity will likely appear in the 4th Heroic Vessel story, and unlikely in this one. But who knows? Maybe I'll change my mind down the line. Glad you picked up on Otakemaru's status among his fellow youkai.
'How outdated…' Chiyome quietly commented, noticing the various crumbling points in one of the Takeda castles they're currently in. 'I wonder if Father and Mother are healthy…'
Her last thought was said rather lackadaisically, fully knowing there's nothing she could do about either implication.
She's not sure how her resignation from Takeda's service 'to get married' was received, now that her true allegiance was known. The last time she visited her parents, they were hot-and-cold regarding their new son-in-law, notwithstanding his occupation. While blacksmiths – especially swordsmiths – were well-respected in Japan, they were hoping for more, given the training they gave her: noble mannerism, bedchamber techniques, ceremonial dances, tea-making, etc.
Not to mention she's the host of Yamata-no-Orochi, a weapon Shingen wouldn't want to lose. Still, the busty redhead let her go, believing Chiyome was far from mastering her captive's powers, thinking she's doing a friend a favour by allowing her to live her dreams unconstrained of familial and political duties.
Chiyome did feel guilty about taking advantage of this kindness. Just a little bit.
It appeared her calmness unnerved the Four Generals of Kai surrounding her with killing intent flooding out, causing them to hesitate in their hostilities. Still, there's no command from Shingen for them to change their attitude, so Chiyome assumed this Princess General still harboured great doubt about the kunoichi's current allegiance – or worse, the intent to execute her right here and now.
But, as expected of the Tiger of Kai, Chiyome couldn't read her at present. She could only guess what she intended to do by what she did and didn't, reading the positive and negative space all around them.
The Uesugi troops had all been safely handed over, with the ransom paid swiftly. It came at an unexpected cost, however – Chiyome must remain in Takeda territory alone, while her entourage return to Owari. Certainly, Shingen must've thought she had value to expect Nobunaga to offer something in return, so the redhead wouldn't return empty-handed for being the middleman in this transaction.
…or did she expect Shirō to come? Either way, she wouldn't get any information about Chiyome's husband from the petite girl, no matter the treatment. Shingen should've known better to avoid torture, as the Kōga curriculum demanded a shinobi to master it for them to graduate to jōnin.
Chiyome had left the jōnin level a long time ago, ever since her Yamata-no-Orochi synchronized with Shirō's Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi.
Rows upon rows of maids shuffled in, bringing wooden trays filled with food and alcohol. Chiyome instinctively smiled when she smelled the sake they're serving – a nod from Shingen to the first time they shared a drink together. Well, at that time, it was more the redhead chugging down flasks of rice wine into the teenage Chiyome's mouth as a prank, causing her entire snake marks to flare up and nearly killing them both from her drunken stupor. This one she's serving was of the same origin as that one from way back then, only more refined and certainly more expensive. Chiyome's experience with Shirō's cooking enabled her to identify this difference in quality from its scent alone, though it also made her quietly disappointed in the creativity of the meals in front of her.
First-world problems, and all that. Stuffing herself with gourmet sustenance for breakfast, lunch, and dinner made lovingly by her husband spoiled her far too much, to the point on occasion she looked more like a stuffed boa constrictor, comically mimicking a pregnant teenager who just swallowed a whole deer.
"Enjoy," Shingen gestured with a palm formally, assuming the superior role by sitting on a raised platform. Her expression never indicated she was aware of her subordinates' ready-to-kill stances located at the corner of this medium-sized dining room, clearly unsuitable for a Princess General to dine in.
It felt more like an execution chamber where guests were poisoned or booby-trapped to death from all directions.
"Thank you for your hospitality," Chiyome bowed orthodoxically, placing herself as a visiting chief miko. This was a formal dinner, after all, and she had to avoid embarrassing her husband. "I'll dig in."
'Yup, this is poisoned.'
Secretly, she's enjoying the astonished looks on the Four Generals' faces as she polished every course clean, her eating tempo never deviating from that fast-but-polite speed. "T'was delicious, Shingen-sama."
Either she didn't know about the sabotage, or Shingen was very, very good. "I'm glad. It's been a while since we have a meal and drink together, hasn't it?"
"Indeed," Chiyome replied, gracefully sipping the large plate of sake not too dissimilar from how her ancestor, Shuten-dōji, teased others while drinking. "You still remembered what we drank in those days long past."
Shingen blushed, affected by her sultry mannerism despite Shuten-dōji never officially teaching her this passive effect. "A-Ah, yes… W-Was it like that?"
"You forced a maiden to drunkenness and took advantage of her… Was I that unimportant to you that you forgot?" Chiyome feigned being hurt, glad she instantly activated Yamata-no-Orochi's [Poison] Authority to counterattack the instant the food and drink touched her lips. "How cruel… I pity your lovers."
One of the animal kingdom's various feared abilities was to store any poison they ingested and weaponize them against their next victim. While this wasn't common in snakes – usually found in insects or amphibians – Yamata-no-Orochi wasn't a Divine Spirit for nothing. This puny trick was one of the easiest techniques she could learn from the apathetic eight-headed god: to exhale indiscernible poison particles from her pores, enhanced by various minute body movements to take away the victims' sense of danger.
Knowing quite a few of the Princess Generals were… fond of the same sex, Chiyome subtly shook her shoulders to loosen her miko uniform, letting the girls around her a good glimpse of her smooth nape and collarbone. They were marred by her birthmarks, yes, but the recent glow they'd attained after numerous rounds of raunchy sex with Shirō and Danzō made them attractive instead of repulsive, much like various oiran's tattoos which symbolized their lives and who owned them.
It was Shingen's own weakness for focusing her efforts towards cavalry instead of being an all-rounder like Nobunaga. Hence, she lacked exposure towards what shinobi tricks were really all about – proficient only in theory, yet weak in practice. That said, she also never paid attention on Chiyome's training, so had no knowledge regarding her tendencies.
Especially regarding Yamata-no-Orochi's eight Origins, which was a rarely-known secret even in the Mochizuki family, and understood even less. Her parents spent their lives trying to wash their hands away from this burden – her mother barely even remembered a time she ever conversed with the Divine Spirit – to the point Chiyome was far more knowledgeable about him than any other clan member.
[Poison] was obvious. [Mirror]… not so much.
One of the more obscure Authorities, completely unrelated to Yamata-no-Orochi's elemental prowess. It could also be said to be one of its most powerful, since none of the other six Origins posed a threat to Susanoo, apart from [Separation]. These two were inextricably linked – the same, yet also opposite to each other. Exploiting the chaotic energy contained between these two's irony was the source of the Divine Spirit's strength and Conceptual Weight.
Using [Mirror], Chiyome was executing a particularly effective, yet simple genjutsu: one which overwhelmingly exaggerated her positive points to garner affection from others.
The result was flattering, since she confirmed Shingen, in fact, harboured a childish crush on her all those years ago. While this Shingen clearly had gotten over it, to the point of willing to ruthlessly kill her if necessary, 'Takeda Haruna' hadn't. That tall, well-built, but relatively slim teen girl who adored the small girl who's always alone, enshrined in that temple like a priceless doll.
Rather than play with the toys her clan forced upon her, her heart pined for the forbidden treasure no normal person would dare touch.
Chiyome shuffled in her prim-and-proper kneeling position, pretending to be cutely uncomfortable with how long she had to stay like that as well as the lack of cushion her hostess failed to provide for a 'guest'. Clearly, they intended to harm her as soon as possible, so didn't think of providing a zabuton. Why would a convict need a pillow to sit on? It's just too much of a pain to clean the blood off afterwards…
This was coming from someone who had beheaded quite a lot of people. Shirō always preached to her and Danzō about the value of leaving someone alive and offering them salvation – he who hypocritically maimed so many people in Okehazama, 'so long as they were alive' kind of guy – but there were several tasks when dirtying her own hands was more beneficial.
[Mirror] tied a person's exterior and interior, before reversing their places to enable what's hidden to surface, and what's apparent to lay dormant.
"Ah, apologies," she demurely said, patting her legs back to their position. "The journey had been arduous, so…"
"Then prepare a room for Sengo-dono!" Shingen barked, and the several waiting attendants outside the sliding doors shuffled hurriedly to fulfil her order.
That slight shift in sitting position allowed her legs to peek through, and almost exposed her inner triangular crotch to the outside world. Two of the Four Generals who had a direct line of sight to her front blushed profusely, audibly gulping, making their other two colleagues to be eager to see what's going on, only to get distracted by her exposed nape. Oirans wore low-hanging kimonos to expose this part of a woman's body, considered extremely attractive in Nihon culture – of course, other than the change to flash some cleavage.
…sadly, that's something Chiyome lacked severely.
That's what the genjutsu was for, because if it's Danzō… No, the older kunoichi would still need some assistance due to the lack of familiarity with the Takeda Clan. Chiyome only achieved what she had done now precisely because the people in this room all knew her personally, and treated her with great affection in the past. Back then, that young, insecure little girl knew little about the wider world and what 'normal' sexuality was about; instead, she lived her life studying how reptiles and black-hearted shinobis procreate… until she met Shirō. Oblivious to the reason Haruna was so kind to her, she jumped at the first available opportunity to get out of her life with someone who could kill Yamata-no-Orochi alongside her if necessary.
"That would be wonderful," she began, "however, I believe what's best for me is to return to my parents' house to rest. Shingen-sama, please allow me this amount of selfishness… I, too, wish to pray for you."
And with that, she slithered her way smoothly out of a precarious situation. By the time Shingen realized her error, Chiyome had finished all her duties there and halfway to Owari already.
It's a thankless work, being missionaries.
The lucky ones would strike a close relationship with a powerful sponsor, becoming their spiritual advisor/teacher, then spread God's word in peace after that. The corrupt ones obviously would take advantage of this state, but regardless of personal greed, having an established backer over a certain area was always the ideal solution. It didn't even have to be that place's ultimate ruler – an outspoken community of villagers, influential merchants, mercenary or formal military leaders, or even other religious mentors would do just fine.
Along the way, they faced great dangers owing to their lack of training in literally everything else. Spending most of their intelligent age studying the divine letters, naturally, their skills in other areas would be deficient. Therefore, usually, they'd embark along well-established adventurers and travellers – at times formally militarily guarded – and among similarly-minded believers, tackling the outside world full of heathens.
Thus, their lives were at the hands of God and others.
Their guards could get killed under ambush from robbers and pirates. Their fleet could be struck by an epidemic, killing all on board regardless of divine miracle – more like a punishing curse from the displeased God. Their convoy could get lost and starve, hallucinating and harming each other right before their insanity killed them. Many missionaries' personal beliefs were tested – whether they were pious and honest, or simply chose this line of work as an escape or opportunity to get famous.
Sickeningly, it's often the former who endured the worse hardships, becoming unknown decaying martyrs by the side of the road, as their corrupt brethren became successful and perverted God's teachings in their stead.
Good people died young.
Louise Fróis was young, virile, and beautiful. Three attributes which attracted unwanted flies all through her life.
Still, God protected his maiden, even as she was separated from her missionary group and now lived in a faraway province when compared to their original landing site.
Wondering how her colleagues were doing – the innocent boy Organtino and the pragmatic Pedro Cabal – she diligently swept the church's courtyard she's granted temporary residence in Sakai. Her bountiful chest jiggled about with every movement, failed to be hidden even by her loose and deliberately-unappealing nun habit. At the very least, she'd received some correspondence from them, though the frequency and speed were far too erratic for her to gauge whether they're truly doing well or not, given the lack of familiarity with Nihon messaging system.
"Boo… Louise, are you done yet?" A childish voice accompanied several pitter-patter of heel striking against wooden bench, indicating this young girl had grown so bored she began kicking her small legs about randomly. "I'm hungry… Let's go out and eat…"
Without looking back, her calm, soothing tone replied, "Unfortunately, Bontenmaru, I still have to mop. Why don't you help yourself to the snack I've prepared to the side?"
"But they're fruits! And raw veggies! I've grown sick of eating them!"
"Don't be disrespectful to the wonderful people who work hard to grow them."
"Muuu!" Masamune pouted, her cute expression going unnoticed from behind Louise. "They're not 'wonderful people' because they give you things for free!" In a low voice, she whispered to herself as to not upset this caretaker of hers, "…'tis 'cause those cow tits of yours."
She's not sure whether it's because Louise was a natural airhead, or those perverted geezers were really good at hiding their intentions face-to-face. Masamune herself only noticed it due to viewing their interaction from a distance. Most people averted their eyes from her face naturally anyway, fearful of her heterochromia, so they never noticed her peeking at them.
She laid on her belly, her tiny figure mostly covered by her cartoonish horned black hoodie, propping her adorably young face on her palms while watching her caretaker finish some chores. Internally, she understood this busty woman's responsibilities, since she herself was under threat of becoming homeless in this faraway province, where the Date Clan's influence was minimal. She unconsciously traced the eyepatch covering her perfectly-functioning left eye, entertaining the idea of taking it off while they're alone… but decided against it for the chance a panicked believer rushed into the church and finding out a 'demon child' was frolicking about among the benches.
While she could handle the name-calling and cursing, it'd only bring trouble to Louise, so she'd keep it covered… for now. It did have its uses, this crimson eye of hers, but only in specific situations.
…such as frightening and forcing her clan's elders to follow proper procedure and make her the clan heir, instead of passing it to a branch family member due to her gender. Toying with adults' superstition turned out to be more fun than she thought…
Because, unlike children, a grown-up's mind was already stubbornly set… including their beliefs and fears. Kids could be soothed and made to forget their nightly nightmares, but not adults' long-entrenched trauma. Just the subtle suggestions of a fatal curse befalling anyone who stood in the red eye wielder's way was enough to elevate her position in her clan – better to be feared than to be cast away and tormented for the rest of her life.
In fact, her blonde hair was already cause enough for children her age to shun her, because sentiments against Nanban was still strong among Fukushima residents. The sign of her mother's adultery, it's only fair for her to play up to her perceived appearance when even she hated Bontenmaru, right? Why should she felt ashamed and guilty, while it's her mother who sinned?
If they wanted her to be a demon child, then she would be one.
"See that person in front of you? What better to start your conquest than a holy woman?" A pair of sinister crimson eyes, far brighter than her single one, whispered in her head. "This place is proof of this world's wrongdoing, forcing this loving woman to shoulder all the responsibilities."
"Shut up…"
"Hm? Bontenmaru-chan? Did you say something?" Louise paused in her sweeping, switching to a handheld mop now, asking in her accented Japanese. "Please be patient, okay?"
Towards the little girl whose eyes were hidden by the lip of her hood, she smiled beatifically, just as bright and alluring as when they first met.
The smile of a mother.
"How long will you make her suffer? Until she, too, hates you like your birth mother did?!" The voice rose in intensity, three black tomoes now forming on each eye, spinning vociferously. It growled low, not-quite-shouting, "Take her into yourself. Take her! TAKE HER! TAKE HER! TAKE HER! TAKE HER!"
- Bang!
"Bontenmaru!"
Louise immediately abandoned her cleaning to rush towards the loud sound originating where this small charge of hers was laying, but she was instantly thrown back by an invisible force all the way to the main altar, splintering it alongside the Bible perched atop of it.
- Crash!
"G-Gah!" She felt some of her floating ribs crack, before the healing Magecraft drilled into her body since she joined the Church kicked in to numb the pain. "U-Ugh… B-Bontenmaru!"
Through blurred eyes, she could barely make out Date Masamune's small silhouette, floating unconsciously among roaring black flames, already reducing the wooden benches around her to ash. The ethereal and demonic fire grew by the second, and by the time the busty nun staggered to her feet, it had already begun to torch through the simple rafters, threatening to blow the church's ceiling clean off.
A series of Black Keys had instinctively materialized between Louise's fingers, before she retracted them almost instantly. These wouldn't do any good, if what she suspected about the thing living inside Bontenmaru was correct.
Her eyes flicked towards the scattered pages of the Bible, before she channelled her meagre amount of Od to control them and illuminate certain passages. It's in Latin, her second language – her mother tongue was Portuguese – preventing it to be second nature to her, but it had to be done whatever it takes.
"Kyrie Elysion!"
Skipping a Ten-Count Baptism Rite would be impossible if her faith was any lesser. Despite knowing how God truly worked his blessings, despite knowing how the world had rejected its creator so, despite her constant failure in reaching into Bontenmaru's heart… Wasn't that a true sign of faith? To keep believing even in front of impossibility?
Still, as the arteries in her legs burst from the exertion, she held her arms sturdy, pointed straight at Bontenmaru with both palms open.
The magic circle had long been completed before her brain registered the first signs of pain. Biting her tongue until it tore to suppress it and keep her concentration, she hurled the glowing pages towards the black roaring pillar of flame, just how she did on occasion in the past…
…and saw them burning uselessly to ashes, their glow fading and dying in tune with her body's Magic Circuits.
"Gohok!"
She spurted out a good mouthful of blood and torn internal organs. Her body began to smoke, charring through her nun habit and revealing a beautiful, hourglass body. Her fair skin had dark marks spreading from various spots, transforming her into the smouldering devils she often exorcised.
"N-Not yet…! Bontenmaru! Can you hear me?!"
- Roar!
Clearly, she couldn't.
The horned silhouette remained still, hanging limp from an invisible rope binding her to the core of this now-spinning cyclone of apocalyptic fire. Perhaps Louise's eardrums had also burst in her failed effort, because not only she couldn't hear her own voice, only now did she realize the top half of the church was gone, rubble raining down outside on the undoubtedly screaming crowds.
- _▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄███████████████████████!
Louise felt the thing inside Bontenmaru scream.
- Pshoo!
"…!"
…before, all of a sudden, the cataclysmic view in front of her disappeared, leaving nothing but falling debris to mark what had just happened. The skies were blocked earlier by that dark flame, casting an ominous shadow over the church's interior, yet now the sun was shining just as brightly as before, beaming its light through the now-open roof. Soot snowed down upon the descending limp body of Bontenmaru, burnt to such an extent they were nothing more than flakes.
The Jakigan's small body fell onto the arms of a woman Louise didn't know… and one her instincts instinctively screamed at her to run away from.
This wasn't the first time Masamune had lost control, ironically all around her vicinity – the only person who could somewhat control this destructive power. Louise theorized the little girl had been gathering her hatred over her childhood, and it's mere coincidence it reached its brim around the time she first visited the Date Clan's territory by chance, after getting lost in her missionary travels.
Masamune passed these 'fits' off as just joking around, adopting this 'Jakigan' persona and proclaiming she's Beast VI's incarnation on Earth… and to her credit, Louise believed it was just a ruse. A child calling herself names of grandeur would almost always be viewed with mirth from the adults, especially when she dressed comically to the point of absurdity.
She refused to believe such a kind child could hide all of her pain better than most adults held up their masks. She refused to believe this Far Eastern nation, one which had accepted her so well – and, admittedly, most other cultures happily, where all races lived in harmony – could inflict such torture to a young soul.
Thus, she travelled with Bontenmaru, trying to investigate both what birthed this child as well as the solution to her salvation. Fortunately – most likely with God's helping hand – this half-Nanban girl's appearance played an advantageous role internally, receiving good support from the Date Clan without fear she'd be assassinated to make way for a more 'normal' heir. This church in Sakai, too, was a recommendation and sponsored by the Date Clan, paid to allow them a temporary residence in their travels.
Along the way, she hoped to spread God's good teachings, too… though this hadn't been going as well as expected. From their letters, both Organtino and Pedro chose to settle down where they first made land, preferring to build a community first instead of travelling the lands like she did.
"My, my, what a mess you two have made. What should I do with you, now that I wish to control this city?"
The flames blazing behind Oda Nobunaga's eyes felt even hotter than Bontenmaru's own.
An ornate long rifle was still smoking near her shoulder – a design Louise had never seen before even from her homeland's master gunsmiths. Its gold accents gleamed under the direct sunlight, blinding Louise's eyesight in certain spots, but the nun's worried expression was solely focused on the peacefully-sleeping Bontenmaru, whose hoodie now sporting a giant hole around her chest area, revealing her tender, unblemished skin.
"B-Bontenmaru…"
"No worries. She's sleeping right now." Walking up to meet the staggering nun, Nobunaga carried the little girl in her arms, presenting the latter. "Although… It may be more precise to say the thing inside her is sleeping."
"U-Uuu… Uuu…"
No one responded to Nobunaga's theory, because once they got to touching distance, Louise collapsed towards the unconscious Bontenmaru, cradling her while sobbing. Awkwardly, the Oda Princess General de-summoned her levitating rifle, scratching the back of her head in eerily similar manner to her redheaded rifle.
"W-Was I t-that scary…?"
Kyoto really had everything, befitting Nihon's capital city.
Mitsuhide couldn't keep her mouth sealed shut from all the wonders she's seeing for the first time, despite having rich experience regarding foreign culture and items during her time in Sakai under orders from Dōsan. It appeared that saying regarding how what's close by was actually hidden from view was correct, since she was more in tune with Nanban fashion than her own country's.
It wasn't outwardly crazy, innovative ideas – merely things rejigged into something else she didn't expect.
Who in their right mind would build a hot spring with a dojo attached to it, for example? Well, someone in Kyoto did.
'I have to learn more…' she determinedly thought to herself, as she dodged another strike from her beloved senpai. 'Still, it's no wonder… this place is subsidiary to Enma-tei, after all…'
The VIP room where Muramasa and Nobunaga were frolicking about was but one fraction of the building's entire capacity, utilizing the owner's skill in the [Space] Element to maximize that attribute. In fact, from the hallways, the rooms were arranged so closely packed together their doors looked more like prison cells than the best inn in Kyoto. Of course, the novelty merely improved its standings, since there were already too many guests who'd experienced 'regular' luxury treatment. The shock of going from a tiny doorway to an expansive suite never failed to entertain.
The rest of the Oda-Imagawa contingent also stayed there, or in surrounding inns when the budget began to thin or the petite, sparrow-like owner simply couldn't stand the rowdiness of their bunch anymore. Naturally, the well-mannered Mitsuhide was one of the few who earned their own VIP rooms – not as large as Nobunaga's or Yoshimoto's, naturally – and she spent her stay there honing her swordsmanship further against the wooden spoon-wielding Beni-enma… and getting whacked in the face when her inexperience in fighting shorter opponents kept leaving gaps in her defence.
Of course, her competitiveness wouldn't allow this, so she challenged again and again, having grown bored with nothing to do during Okehazama because Nobunaga had ordered her to stay by the side… no, perhaps that had to do with how competent their group was at that time – Chiyome required no explanation, but even her own lord's martial prowess surprised her, always assuming Mitsuhide had to be Nobunaga's sword instead of the latter being very capable on her own.
Overall, it made her feel a bit useless, really.
Naturally, the only solution to that was to rise her own stock in Nobunaga's eyes. She knew she's already ahead of 'old' retainers like Nagahide and Katsuie due to her strategic mind and general closeness to Nobunaga – despite her still commanding a lesser force than those two generals – but still quite some way to be trusted handling things her own way and alone, much like this senpai of hers.
…or was it Muramasa who trusted Nobunaga to achieve the correct 'Tenka Fubu', instead of the other way around? That was the question Mitsuhide still didn't want to breach, for fear of overstepping her boundaries. The two were childhood friends, still together despite their challenges of class, occupation, and background – 'Very romantic, yes!' – and she was but a mere skilled retainer, inherited from a conquered lord. There's always been a prejudice against losers and the people around them, and to outsiders, Mitsuhide was precisely this. It didn't matter both Owari and Mino had been in alliance for quite some time, through which the two girls forged their relationship before it became official – all which mattered was the optics.
And disregarding those, she couldn't, despite her senpai's insistence.
"You're distracted."
- Whack!
"Ow!" Her head fiercely recoiled back after her sizeable forehead now sported a large red mark from a bokken's thrust. "S-Senpai… that's unfair!"
"Weren't you the one who said to Ryōmen to take advantages like that in the battlefield?" He rested his wooden sword on his shoulder helplessly, not bothering to offer help to her after the nth time. "Do concentrate, or our vacation will be all for naught."
"Gugugugu…" Through gritted teeth, she forcibly withheld her palm to rub the various painful spots in her body, because that'd mean one less limb to defend herself and she'd endure even more pokes to her sensitive parts. "Fine! I'll finally score my one victory against you today!"
- Gurensen!
Using a style completely opposite of her own, since it symbolized the [Fire] Element, she combined it with Murasame. The trick of this one was to overlap her off-forearm behind her drawing hand, pretending to be in a traditional iaidō stance – which used the off-hand to hold the sheathe to increase speed with sheathe-draw techniques – to apply power on the main arm instead and increase its speed and power tremendously. Because of the skin-on-skin contact, Reinforcement was easier, compounding the advantages if the user had enough bodily control.
Originally, this was an ōdachi technique. Wielding an anti-cavalry title with one hand certainly was ridiculous, and those who actually could was equally ridiculous. Thus, how could 'ordinary' people – and Mitsuhide's slender frame was the closest thing to 'ordinary' when compared to the size of an ōdachi – wield it effectively with speed, power, and efficiency?
The answer was use two hands, obviously.
Gurensen merely shifted the contact point between the two limbs, ordinarily evenly spaced out on the long handle, to create a cross around the wrist and forearm area, acting like a set of bow and arrow. As the swing was initiated, the off-arm unleashed its power like a spring, launching the dominant hand even faster than the initial movement, creating a surprising step of speed increase to catch the opponent off-guard.
Add that to her personal iaidō technique, from a defensive, sprawled position, it should be able to lop off even her senpai's head… right?
- Heavenly Evil Spirit.
…only to be met by an even faster iaidō technique, and one she'd never seen before.
She hadn't even been able to process the loud 'thwack' emanating from her dō, before her vision tunnelled rapidly as her body shot back from the counter straight to the safety barrier a few inches away from the hard wall. Yet, with an even greater speed, there he was, one arm already wrapped around her lower back to soften her soon-to-be-smashed spine.
Still, the momentum was too great for him to cancel out completely, ending with the two tumbling over each other into an embarrassing, lewd heap where clothes were disarrayed, skin displayed, and limbs in inappropriate places.
Mitsuhide blushed quietly, slightly dispirited at this commonplace event with Muramasa, slowly extracting herself from him and fixing her practice clothes. She thought she managed to hide her disappointment at the lingering warmth from his body on her breasts and loins, as well as several peeks towards his bare chest and loincloth, but if she knew her senpai, he'd catch her looking even from several miles away.
Slapping his arm playfully, she complained, "What's that technique?! You've never taught me that! Stop cheating!"
"I'm about to teach you those, so I'm not technically cheating," he excused, chuckling. "Sorry; that was out of reflex."
She feigned sulking to draw his hand in to rub her head, like what he often did with most girls around him. Not that she's jealous of anything – it's simply a matter of her quota of the day! Indeed, he reached out to examine the slightest of initial swelling on her forehead from the earlier thrust, as well as rubbing several sections of her collarbone and side rib to check if anything's broken. Mitsuhide winced at several spots, though she's grateful no crunching sound made its way to her brain.
"is that… a Minamoto family swordsmanship?"
"You can say that," he patiently explained as he examined, before standing up and finally offering a hand to her. "Let's review; what swordsmanship you've mastered?"
She counted with her fingers, though that number stopped at two. "Kashima Shinto-ryū… and the one Genbu taught me: Ōgame-ryū. The others I haven't mastered; I'm merely good at it."
"Geez, temper your self-praise a bit. Your unspoken, "Not perfect, but close enough!" rang pretty loud there, you know?" Her senpai chided with a smile. "You can be as arrogant as you want in front of me, so long as you don't do so in front of your enemies."
The girl chuckled, her eyes filled with gratitude and love.
"…though perhaps I should brief you on how we do things internally, now that my secret is out in the open."
She perked up. "I-Is that alright? Heika won't scold you because of this?"
He gave a wry smile, but didn't verbally respond.
"As you know from your interactions with Tatsumi," he began, noting the scrunch forming on her face at the mention of that tengu-in-human-form, "we're comprised of several smaller clans, like most noble clans. The only difference was we deliberately avoided having any main branch."
That reveal initially drew a surprise out of her raised eyebrows, but her intelligence soon caught up. "So as to prevent burying talent from the branch members, correct?"
"Perfect."
She blushed at his compliment, though still took her own relaxed neutral stance opposite of him with her bokken.
"Still, any clan which attempted this structure beforehand always fell because of one weakness: lack of clear and consistent leadership from generation to generation, leaving the whole at the mercy of its parts."
"But here you are, just beside the leading seat of Nihon." After a moment to ponder, still holding her stance, Mitsuhide added confidently, "…or perhaps you are the leader. Ufufu, aren't I smart? Praise me more, Senpai!"
"If you can finally land a hit on me after all this time, then I will," Muramasa dryly quipped, though his lips thinned in mirth. "But you're somewhat correct. Of course, I won't confirm nor deny anything to non-members."
"Then you'll just have to make me your bride! Ahaha! Take this!"
Just like Kagetora, the speed of which Mitsuhide was capable of replicating his movements an instant after he performed it always fascinated him, as it was something beyond talent. This trait – in humans, at least – always pointed out to something wrong inside them… just like him and his Tracing. Of course, Kagetora's physicality was another matter, because her far stauncher defence enabled her to withstand the first blow and counterattack immediately with not just her interpretation of that technique, but also her improvement upon it.
All in the span of fractions of a second.
"Not enough."
- Thunk! Thunk! Thunk! Thunk! Thunk!
"OW! S-Stop p-poking my sides! O-Ow! A-A-Ahaha! W-Why does i-it tickles?!" Confused, Mitsuhide immediately rolled out of their engagement, panting while checking her already-dishevelled clothing. "M-Mou! Senpai! Be serious and tell me!"
He chuckled. "I thought you once declared you wanted to earn it, instead of being gifted?"
"T-That was then! This was now!" She's now stomping childishly on the wooden floor, face redder than when they were nearly petting each other accidentally earlier.
"I-I'm all grown-up now and vveeeerrrrrryyyy jealous of your women!"
"Fine, fine… Let's take a break for now."
He snapped his fingers to activate the automated serving option near one corner of the wall, where an Ancient Nihon script glowed out of invisibility and summoned a tray of refreshing drinks. It's one of the more recent inventions from the union of human ingenuity and yōkai common sense.
Mitsuhide instantly flopped to the floor, sloppily laying spread-eagled and not caring about her loosened collar, where Muramasa could gleam her sweaty nipples from the gap between her gi and dō. Shaking his head, he motioned for the tray to slowly glide to their location – again, another useful feature for a magic user like him who couldn't perform this simple trick without excess magic energy – and sat down near her, gently fixing her clothes and stripping her practice armour at the same time.
"G-Geh! S-Senpai! I can do it myself!" She shot up, wanting to protest, forgetting she often clung to him while still sweaty like this in the past. "I-I'm, um… sweaty…"
But her tired body didn't want to listen, weakly attempting to rise before flopping back down to the floor again, allowing her beloved senpai to observe how each crease of cloth clung to her skin, going translucent in some places due to her sweat and showing glimpses of pink nubs and lines underneath. She shivered when the various pieces of her armour brushed her sensitive parts – both the sexual and the now-bruised ones – but felt reborn when Muramasa carefully tilted the exquisite china cups to her lips, quenching her thirst with cold ocha.
'Eh? Cold ocha?'
Nowadays, tea ceremony was regarded with utmost importance, with venerated masters such as the young Sen-no-Rikyū able to quell wars and clan disputes with one serving of tea and condiments. Naturally, tea implements also became sought after – not even their lord, Nobunaga, could resist shopping for beautifully-crafted porcelain even when compared to luxurious jūnihitoe.
"Mmn! This place's great!" She wholeheartedly praised. For the amount they're paying and the service they got, this training centre was truly worth it! Well, they were sponsored by the royal family and one of the up-and-coming Princess Generals, so maybe this place's owners wanted to make some connections, but still… "D-Do they have ice cream?!"
"Don't be ridiculous. How much [Ice] Element would that cost?"
The concept of refrigeration had been available for some time, strengthening Nihon's international trade abilities due to their efforts in keeping exports fresh. By employing specialists who had [Ice]-based Guardian Spirits as logistics manager, their produce was able to travel far and wide, inadvertently inviting unsavoury attention such as their current situation with the Nanban. Others eyed them enviously, hypocritically not considering using their own nobility class as a workforce and forcing the lower class to work in this area. Nihon was the opposite; it took the future concept of noblesse oblige extremely seriously. How would their own men follow them if they didn't forge the path ahead first, showcasing all their sacrifices and efforts?
That was true loyalty, instead of something born from obligation or tradition.
The other world powers could see this burgeoning in the Far East in this past few centuries, ever since the start of the Minamoto Shogunate, and thus watched on with wary eyes. Taking advantage of this missionary expansion, and Nihon's general acceptance of foreign culture, only now did they act upon their curiosity and envy.
This was why he always felt guilty for causing Himiko more work to do. Other than his admittedly siscon tendencies, she truly was a leader he had to support – as much as she did to him – and not hinder.
"If you want ice cream, then I'll make it later when we have time, okay?"
"Yay!"
On the drinks tray, a couple of cold towels were also available. She shamelessly loosened her gi and exposed her naked back at him, once again flip-flopping strangely between brave and shameful. "Senpai… If you woul- Hn!"
The sudden cold caused her to jump, but she soon settled down with the feeling of damp cloth wiping her sweaty back.
"In any case, both Himiko and I are working for the same goal. This was our advantage: [Unity], unlike others," he continued their conversation from earlier. "In fact, it's crystalized in our Sorcery Trait and bloodline."
"[Noble Phantasm], huh…" she whispered, trembling when his wiping hand travelled down her tailbone and almost brushing her twitching chrysanthemum bud. "That makes a lot of sense, since your family seems to have a lot of… erm, freedom. Is that alright?"
"No problem. You know me; I'm not that easy to offend."
She giggled. "Oh, I think it's very easy to do so for your enemies, Senpai, if they know you well."
He paused momentarily, before admitting, "…yeah, you're probably right."
She turned, sensing he's finished cleaning her back. Putting on a slightly bashful body language, she laid her arms by the side and exposed the entirety of her front, including her already-hardened nipples and thin lower bush. She shuffled forwards slightly, presenting her entire body for him to continue clean. "Then, who is your clan's real leader?"
She watched his eyes twitch uncomfortably, before a look of resignation settled in them and he began to do what she silently asked. "We… rule more by committee, though it's easier because we don't have much to argue about. However, there's one necessary aspect to have your suggestions accepted in our clan."
"Strength?"
"…did you just base our entire philosophy around what you've gleamed from Tatsumi?"
"Yes."
He sighed, before intentionally rubbing the edge of the rolled-up towel slightly harder around her nipples, pranking her for her comment.
- Poyon. Poyon. Poyon.
"Hyah!"
"You're not wrong," he continued, deliberately playing oblivious to how hard he's prodding and flicking her twin hardened nubs. "However, that strength came from mastering the ways of our predecessors. Other than that, the only other way was innovating something on par with our tradition, such as Yoshitsune-sama's Shana-Ō Ryūritan or Shizuka-sama's Shimon."
- Kyu…! Kyu…! Kyu…! Kyu…! Kyu…!
"S-Senpai… U-Uuu… Y-You're pinching i-iiiiiiittttttt…"
"Are you listening, Jūbei?"
"H-How can I…"
- Pata.
In her attempt to wiggle away from his teasing, Mitsuhide ended up falling backwards to the floor, bringing him along with her.
He forced his face to remain as neutral as possible, adding, "Personally, both Tatsumi and I were of the former group, where our mastery over everything taught to us pushed us to our current positions – him as a martial artist, and myself as a craftsman."
"Um… Senpai?"
She looked down her torso, where one of his hands had already begun peeling her gi apart.
"I think there's too much sweat, so let's head to the baths," he dryly commented, having glanced once all across her entire naked glory. "It's included in the package, anyway."
"SENPAI!"
Her frustrated, chiding yell failed to go through the soundproofed walls.
Glossary Update!
K
Kusanagi-ryū
The martial arts techniques imparted by Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi, its forms recorded in the divine blade's soul automatically from the struggle between Susanoo and Yamata-no-Orochi, with no human hands and minds to tarnish its divine purity. It contained two distinct forms: [True Light] and [Double-Edged]. The former was distilled from the 'divine punishments' enacted by the gods to humans, specialized in harvesting lives from these livestock. The latter was distilled from the 'god-killing' ambitions of humans who desired to rebel and be free of their masters… or even the desire to ascend the mortal plane and be equal to them.
O
Ōgame-ryū
Giant Tortoise Style. The martial arts techniques imparted by Genbu, one of the Four Divine Guardian Spirits. Currently practiced by Akechi Mitsuhide, it demanded equal mastery of both physical and spiritual arts. Split into six forms for ease of learning, each one basically represented the Elements [Fire], [Lightning], [Water], [Wind], [Earth], and [Void]. While seemingly fragmented at first, its true goal was for its practitioner to find and build the connection between each separate form, before culminating into one indistinguishable essence. While it's focused on katanas, its techniques could be applied to a wide variety of weapons.
S
Shimon
Four Gates. Mutsu Enmei-ryū, Ōgi. The four pinnacle barehanded martial arts techniques of the mysterious Tengu clan, the Mutsu family. Taking inspiration from the Four Divine Guardian Spirits' physical and conceptual movements, the practitioner forced their bodies beyond their 'safe' limit – i.e. the line their bodies naturally maintain to prevent themselves breaking down – and strike from multiple directions at the same time following the principle of Second Magic. While not technically Magecraft, it was close enough the universe acknowledged it as so.