Welcome back! Glad to be back at this slightly-faster schedule like I'm used to since all the issues have mostly been fixed. Also, since the last few chapters have generated a lot of discussion and speculation, what do you guys think about the answers to the previous reviews outlined below? If you guys still have anything to ask or ponder, don't hesitate to write in. I'll do my best to answer each and every one of them... unless you're anonymous, which I've ranted about a few times before. Still welcome, though.
I've just watched the third Heaven's Feel movie in my local theaters... and dear me, why did they feel the need to censor things when they're checking IDs etc. at the door baffled me to this day. If you want to do that, then why on earth haven't you rated the movie as PG-13 or T or something? We all love FSN because it's M-rated, damn it!
Ahem... Check the mailbag below to see if your questions have been answered!
DareusX: Thank you! Haven't seen you around here in a while; have you been following me and my stories?
Issei ODR: Another one, not SHIROU, yes.
Royal Freshness12345: Actually, Michael's from another fandom. Are you not familiar with her appearance? Fufufu... now there's actually something you don't know! [...] Have a guess, then!
superpierce: Yes, with the emphasis on 'based on'. Essentially, they're the same entity, but clearly from a time before main canon DXD. Besides, the Ophis you read in DXD is not the whole being anyway after 'her' first meeting with the Khaos Brigade. I'd argue their appearance in this story is more of a prequel than an outright crossover.
Guest (1): Hmm... It's too long for me to reply in this method, so I suggest you begin reading up on my stories from the first one to get a real gauge what our MC is aiming for.
Guest (2): Ohohoho! This story's far from being done! We're not even at the halfway stage yet, though it's getting close.
Guest (3): I don't think Nier's or Drakengard's storyline fits both my style and this series's concept, so no.
JoJo famk: I'm not sure how 'bird is the word' connects with SHIROU, so can you explain? I don't understand what you're saying, basically.
N.B.: Next chapter will be an omake, much like HV-S02: QGF's Percy & Andy's Adventures!
Most ancient methods of combat, when viewed from a present-day perspective, always sounded ridiculous and over-the-top with their names and philosophical inspiration. For instance, those mimicking or giving tribute to nature would only contain glancing similarity to the elements they're inspired from, and outsiders could barely tell apart the stark difference between one technique to the next. Even those facing it directly would rarely understand the thinking behind it, only managing to do so after countless clashes and spending long periods close to fatality.
But they never considered these skills were named as such because their original application was more… complete. A [Fire]-inspired move should be done with flames coming out of every possible avenue to defeat the enemy as quickly and brutally as possible to deter further offense – it's not the creators' fault successive generations weren't able to manifest the same exact Mystery the techniques were matched with.
Therefore, this was one of the tests a 'prodigy' must ace so as to be called a 'master': Recreate a lost technique faithfully, or craft one of the same calibre. Bettering either one of the two would mean a particular lineage had succeeded in prolonging their legacy, because they managed to fend off the stigma of successive degeneration of quality.
The Minamoto Clan had repeatedly used this to ensure their next leaders were of satisfying quality, disregarding their real bloodline. So long as they're reasonably a part of the family, all of them had a chance to contend for the Clan Head title, such as Tatsumi from the branch Mutsu Clan, joining the family feud since his ancestor, Shizuka, married into the Minamoto Clan via Yoshitsune. While their royal line was kept mostly pure, in consideration of the generally accepted tradition, the Clan Head wouldn't necessarily become the Emperor or Empress if the latter was found to be weaker than the other candidate.
Unfortunately, it proved unpopular with most nobles and other minor royal courts, who still found uses for the old, antiquated 'blood is thicker than water' adage instead of adopting the most suitable heir to continue their succession. The Minamoto Shogunate then promptly enticed these forsaken individuals into their fold via various ties, eventually solidifying their rule over the various lands of Nihon, unlike their Proper Human History counterpart whose royal family were mere figureheads… because the Shogunate and the royal family were one and the same.
The Warring States Era was unique in that many talented Princess Generals, undoubtedly the best of their respective clans, were born in the same generation and attained their leading position someway or other. The term 'golden age' certainly came to most minds… and they wouldn't be far from the truth.
A truth which Mitsuhide cursed wholeheartedly in her heart, because it made her fight all that more difficult.
The illusion Kashin Koji put Nagamasa under was still not dispelled, forcing the latter to only see Mitsuhide as an enemy to her immediate family. Even though Oichi and her children repeatedly screamed at her tearfully from the sides to snap out of it, neither Nagamasa nor Mitsuhide had the ability to banish this particular enchantment quickly and painlessly.
So, she settled on the same old decision: beat the crap out of Nagamasa and hope a strong enough whack to the head would clear the insanity from her mind.
'Easier said than done!'
She tilted her head to dodge Nagamasa's thrust, but an established theme in this battle since the start was their constant struggle to control the available moisture to bring out their [Water] Element to its fullest. As such, a conical stream of compressed water followed along the attack, blowing a sizeable hole into Mitsuhide's prided lush black hair.
"That's the hair Senpai will pat me after this! How dare you?!"
Her blade had already counterattacked before she finished her sentence, mostly moved by instinct and pure rage, slashing a clean line of hardened, forged ice. Nagamasa rolled out to avoid blocking it head-on, not even bothered attempting to parry it, but the thin frozen sculpture was sharp enough to nick her calf before dissipating back into vapour, amidst the flaming castle around them.
Fortunately, she'd long sent Oichi and the children away with the soldiers who'd finally caught up with her, Danzō, and Muramasa. While she initially didn't want them to see their 'father' figure getting hurt in Nagamasa's insanity, now Mitsuhide really didn't want anyone to see her true colours and listen to what her unguarded mouth was spouting out all the time, in-between Nagamasa's guttural growls.
The flames roared once again as they drew more moisture back towards their bodies and blades, having exhausted the supply of nearby pipes, dykes, inside the wood, and even their personal drinking canteens. While yes, their Guardian Spirits could provide them with as much water as necessary, generating natural elements out of thin air involved more Equivalent Exchange than they're comfortable dealing with, even with something as simple as teleporting liquid out of the Reverse Side – their Guardian Spirits' domains – into the Outer World.
Said Equivalent Exchange also added to their processing speed, slowing their movement for half a beat – just enough to be fatal in this high-level combat. There's a reason Muramasa was chosen to be the de facto leader of the Minamoto Clan – no one else could compete with his chantless, motionless incantations and Noble Phantasm activation. It's useless to prepare and invest energy into summoning a much more powerful weapon if he could pierce one's head faster than they could finish their spells.
Mitsuhide had faced this kind of speed since the start of her training under him. The stubborn girl she was, she simply got more and more excited until her body and mind went out of control, leading to many embarrassing situations. She was now simply frustrated she couldn't stomp Nagamasa as quickly and elegantly as she could, which would mean her beloved senpai wouldn't praise her so readily as in the past.
She twirled to avoid a geyser shooting out of the floor, hot enough to actually feed the flames around instead of putting it out, but she let her off-hand trail and utilize the motion to capture the erupting water-steam, freezing it near absolute zero to create an impure stream of snowy foam and blasted it all around her, forcing Nagamasa to jump. Naturally, Mitsuhide was already there mid-air, leaping to match the taller woman's evasion, slashing numerous times to either side of the neck, shoulder, and torso.
- Shark Blade.
Her solution was to quite literally use everything she had, and not stick to her tried-and-true Kamisha Shinto-ryū. After all, Genbu never expressedly forbid her from utilizing other sources of strength.
While the swordsmanship Muramasa drilled into her didn't necessarily mesh well with her natural skillset, he'd always told her also to only pick up things she considered useful and natural, lest she'd get lost in her pursuit of strength and power.
This technique, derived from the swordsmanship school bestowed by the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi itself, was one of those. The breadth of Muaramasa's mastery was truly mind-boggling, as he always seemed to be able to find new things which not only suited her, but also caught her interest enough she's actually happy learning it by way of getting smacked around. She never believed he truly learnt all of them traditionally, and heavily suspected he only did so by utilizing his Clan's Sorcery Trait, but it didn't matter to her.
So long as she could defeat and save people like Nagamasa, so long as she wouldn't fail anyone after Kohaku, so long as she could fulfil Nobunaga's dream… Then, everything's fine.
Nagamasa's better physique allowed her to block almost everything, their difference in basic strength made clear as they're both unanchored to the ground. Reinforcement could only bring what's there to 100% of its true capability, because going over that would mean deliberately Breaking anything the magic energy was flowing through. Nagamasa's katana was also inherently longer than Mitsuhide's, both custom-made to suit their own body.
But the blue-clad girl wasn't aiming for a fatal counter straight away.
- Shiratsuyu: Reversed.
Unlike Murasame, which was a series of crippling blows delivered in quick succession – perhaps too quick at times – Shiratsuyu had no need for a planted stance. In fact, it was more of a defensive move, designed to be performed fleet-footed while reeling… or even on the ground, as her senpai demonstrated sometimes which would lead to further perverted situations.
Like the morning dew which could turn either to frost or mist, the sword and body must be adaptable to even opposite, extreme situations.
The reversed technique was to invert that philosophy into offense – an all-enveloping cloud which blinded the enemy… as well as brewing a thunderstorm at the same time.
She struck particularly strongly downwards, and as Nagamasa blocked it, forcing the taller woman back to the ground, Mitsuhide lightly hopped upwards using the impact – not quite her beloved man's Ghostlight Firefly – and floated down while raining down harassing thrusts and slices in and around her opponent's sword arm.
A warrior's most unguarded parts were the hand and, depending on the range of the weapon, their feet. Techniques were created to guard most other parts of the body, even the back, but these areas had always depended on the weapon's design – as in hand protection – and footwork. Past masters had given up in wasting effort to create an all-encompassing defensive manoeuvre, having distilled the compromise necessary to survive these attacks purely to handle those aimed at fatal organs.
- Srrt!
Instead of the clanging of metal-on-metal, Mitsuhide twisted her wrist deliberately flexibly to attach her katana's edge against Nagamasa's own's cheek, letting out a scraping sound so disgusting Muramasa would've flicked her forehead to oblivion in annoyance. Nagamasa attempted to parry her away, but she simply shifted her point of contact and centre of balance while her battle garb fluttered as she kept descending unnaturally slowly.
Instinctively knowing what Mitsuhide was attempting to do despite her constant veil of madness, Nagamasa wrapped a giant water tentacle around her off-hand, letting her sword arm direct where the shorter girl's flurry would go, and threw a flexible hook towards her side, bending out of its way to avoid any potential defensive manoeuvre.
However, the bluish tentacle never met anything but air and Mitsuhide's cast-off outer garments, as she had flickered right into the taller woman's blindspot at the back. She immediately lowered her centre of gravity and swung backwards while taking a full step forwards to create some distance, yet what she immediately felt meeting her counterattack wasn't flesh or steel or blood or fabric, but the familiar chip-crunch-break of an ice sculpture. Her vision was the last to arrive at its proper spot, granting her the sight of a lightly-melting frozen replica of an expressive Mitsuhide, her own blade halfway across the icy neck.
- Slash!
"Ah!"
She couldn't help but let out a pained roar as her single back wing, grown during her forced Apotheosis under Kashin Koji's manipulation, was sliced clean off her body. Ordinarily, her Guardian Spirit, Hiyokucho, was a two-headed waterfowl whose feathers mimicked the pristine aquatic Textures they took as their habitat – that was, bright blue-white. The black colouration – in fact, with traces of sickly golden – was typical of magic stone overdose, imbibing too much natural negative energy for one's body to safely process.
This resource was neither good nor bad – it depended on the person using it, like most things. Used properly, they were ingredients in various remedies and healing rituals, while Otakemaru's and the invading Nanbans' preferred choice cared not for the impurities contained within the stones, which accumulated and poisoned their users without care of their well-being.
However, much like Mitsuhide's rudimentary attempts at dispelling Kashin Koji's manipulation, this strike didn't matter in the overall picture. However, simply the slightest distraction from the blow was enough for her to gain a decisive advantage.
…or, at the very least, balance the situation slightly.
Even after reaching marriageable age, Mitsuhide hadn't been able to fully use Living Weapon. Yes, her relationship with Genbu was excellent – thus enabling her to freely use his various Authorities much like most people – but she was far from Yoshitatsu's abilities, with whom she's been growing up together in Mino. That white-haired crazy girl was the epitome of talent, capable of freely using three Guardian Spirits at the same time and switching among them whenever she pleased with minimal penalties. Yes, all three of them were relatively basic Phantasmal Species with unexceptional Conceptual Weight, but Yoshitatsu could've – should've – been so much more had she not fallen and was executed by Mitsuhide.
To compensate, the blue-clad girl – now technically just blue patterns on a white undershirt, having shed her outer garment off – threw herself into training like a magic user, completely the opposite way how her clan excelled in Shinto rituals and onmyōji techniques which prioritized traditional Magecraft education. The only reason the elders approved her growing closer to a man of dubious origin and education – Muramasa, of course – was purely because of the results she showed them. Of course, now that his background was revealed, they were more enthusiastic in pressuring her to seal the deal, if just as one of his many mistresses.
Nagamasa froze whatever remaining moisture near her feet, forming an icy slide to dash away from Mitsuhide's follow-up attack, which just sliced where her neck was prior. The battles outside seemed to have died down, since the flames had been consistently reducing in size owing to the lack of materials they could still burn. Still, it's not like the amount of water available to both of them suddenly increased – only the concentration necessary to extract and maintain their forms.
Mitsuhide didn't let up, using the same technique to skate her way speedily to the range of her relatively shorter blows. However, Nagamasa melted one of her 'rails' mid-way, causing her to stumble and roll onto the charred and frozen wooden floor. The heat energy put into the interference was then transformed into a kinetic one, spreading over the backpedalling Mitsuhide much like a water net.
- Hakuren!
Still, she wouldn't dare to constantly proclaim herself as a genius if she's not at least resourceful. Using the retreating motion, she slapped various talismans along her path with both her hands and feet, before taking a half-kneeling, high-guard form with her blade ready to thrust straight into the encircling attack's centre. A quick stab, faster than Nagamasa could perceive both from her senses' limits and position – she was, in effect, staring right into the katana's tip, after all – was executed, not even a few inches out of Mitsuhide's stance, before retreating similarly quickly.
- Brrrrrooooooooooooommmmmmmmmm!
A glacial torrent erupted from that very tip, growling and rumbling deeply from its weight and presence, swallowing the impromptu net Nagamasa had cast. She instantly lowered her body and slashed upwards, activating Yōkai Realm at the same time, trying to wrestle control of this suddenly-summoned great body of frozen slush. The icy wave bounced off the edges of the dimensional barrier, clearly still within Mitsuhide's control, but now she was faced with the negative curses placed upon her from simply being within its confines.
Blood slowly trickled out of the corners of her lips, the tell-tale sensation of chunks of internal organs making their way up her throat was forcibly ignored and pressed down. 'Genbu… please…'
Her pleas to initiate the most rudimentary Living Weapon connection was, as usual, fruitless. Neither party was particularly certain why, because the two of them certainly wanted the relationship to work. At most, Genbu could supply her with sudden bursts of power like just now, when he brought forth a thick column of ice from Hokkaido's northern reaches, but not the sustained blessing a proper, traditional Living Weapon transformation would bring. This problem was especially accentuated in this situation, where it could resist a Yōkai Realm up to a lengthy period of time.
At the very least, enough for her to beat the shit out of Nagamasa the way she liked it.
She wasn't particularly close to any of Nobunaga's in-laws… barring that despicable man Tatsumi – if one could call them 'close' at all through their bickers – and she didn't particularly care about Nagamasa's well-being, either in the past or the not-so-distant future. The only reason she's still attempting to knock this taller woman out of her haze of hypnotism was solely out of concern with the completely-in-love Oichi and her children… as well as Nobunaga's and her senpai's strict orders.
Well, the latter two more requested than ordered, knowing her personality regarding things like this. In fact, she and Tatsumi would gladly fight each other to the death if either one of their passing wouldn't impact their still-living beloved ones. For the former pair… it's clear Oichi cared for Nagamasa tremendously – a rare thing in this period of rampant matchmaking and political marriages – which meant this opponent of hers was at least treating the delicate woman rightly… unlike Tatsumi and Kohaku.
…and that deserved respect, no matter who her opponent was. She knew men like Muramasa was rare, and the women associated with men like him even rarer. Just because she was one of them didn't mean it was commonplace – just look at her mother, who was merely holding on until she was born. In fact, most unions this day and age were like that: two people who got along with each other forced into cohabitation by social and familial pressure, who only truly cared for and fell in love with each other after years of awkward sex and platonic gestures of affection.
History taught her this was better. Compared to the times of her forebears, certainly, that statement was true.
'No, I'm getting distracted,' she pointed out to herself. The black-and-white surroundings, broke apart by red lilies and wisterias, was were certainly disconcerting, though not Mitsuhide's first time dealing with them. Here, Nagamasa's golden corruption shone brighter, mesmerizing yet deadly… and also highlighting exactly where to strike. The problem was, as always, reaching it and delivering a fatal strike – two things she particularly excelled at.
Nagamasa had grown back her wing and grew another one to match, now perfectly flying in the air. Before the glacier had receded, she'd already swooped around and dove at Mitsuhide diagonally from the side, delivering a sharp straight kick. Knowing her Reinforcement couldn't match the momentum of someone with Apotheosis and Yōkai Realm – since a sinister red aura also accompanied this very fast attack – she decided to use a kunoichi technique to overcome her body's now-sluggish state.
- Kagenui.
Repeatedly flickering away to dodge the follow-up diving kicks – Nagamasa rotating her body fiercely with her new additional two limbs, lashing out with her long legs – Mitsuhide resorted to wait until the older woman's stamina ran out, knowing Kashin Koji's technique was going to destroy her body sooner or later.
…once again, Oichi's face surfaced in her mind, before superimposing itself on Kohaku's departed own.
Mitsuhide internally clicked her tongue, before redoubling her efforts to dodge and reinvigorating her counterattacks. Somehow, she had to break this ever-linking strikes – now with the addition of some blade strikes interspersed in between – so she could finish this as fast as possible… just in time for her senpai to finish up and praise her afterwards.
It wouldn't do to show her dishevelled, struggling self to him, especially now that Nobunaga had been growing much too close to him, becoming another strong rival who'd squeeze her place beside him.
- Twang!
A sickening metallic ring shot out, causing Nagamasa to wince at its sharpness, since Mitsuhide had aligned the tips of their katanas and forcibly met them both with equal thrusts. Obviously, this was incredibly damaging to both weapons, guaranteed to chip no matter the quality of the steel – not even one made lovingly by Muramasa. Because in essence the two were Reinforcing everything to the limit, this clash should've resulted in flying steel shrapnel everywhere… and Nagamasa's superior momentum would allow her to pierce straight through Mitsuhide's broken defence anyway.
- Ping!
As expected, the two steels shattered.
Mitsuhide's Muramasa-forged katana fared better, with only the yokote snapping off cleanly and a slight bend to the sori. Nagamasa's foremost third part completely shattered, leaving jagged edges on the tip of two-thirds of the rest. Under the Reinforcement and various enhancements, at that split second, both could appreciate the distinct laminate construction of their opponent's blade – Mitsuhide's was more complex, the soshu-kitae typical of Masamune-ryū her beloved senpai was clearly inspired by; Nagamasa's was the ultramodern alchemical makuri, its core and outside layer cleanly and beautifully distinct.
- Shirafune.
Still in this excruciatingly slow world perception, Nagamasa's eyes could only widen as her Yōkai Realm was forcibly dispelled.
The flying steel shrapnel realigned mid-air, faster than the two ladies' bodies' follow-throughs and before their broken blades had a chance to naturally come down, close to a straight line, mimicking the floating islands to paradise depicted in various scriptures. They were quickly bridged and enveloped by an ultra-clear ice structure… forming the form of a blade, yet again.
Only this time, Mitsuhide's normal-sized katana was now the length of an ōdachi, whose newly-forged ice tip burying itself right into Nagamasa's chest.
"I'm sorry."
The pain still hadn't come, despite the impressive attack piercing clean through every layer of her defence, but Mitsuhide had already finished speaking, much to Nagamasa's confusion of what the hell she's apologizing for.
"I'll get serious now."
"Report."
"Danzō-sama, the path is now clear."
"I don't think that's our priority right now, no?" The taciturn kunoichi chided, silently musing whether she was like this in the past. Clearly, the young girl who had just answered her was simply speaking out what she was ordered to beforehand, but in their current situation, it's also obvious Danzō was implying something else.
They were sprinting across the broken and burning remains of Omi Castle… which was, indeed, clear of any potential troubles. Having split up with Mitsuhide and her own lord to chase after Asakura Yoshikage, her progress had stagnated owing to her sudden change of heart in immediately capturing the warmongering, chauvinistic daimyo in order to follow him back to wherever he'd been receiving his orders and resources.
Thus, her earlier question. It was about what her Named Ones had seen ahead of her, as they'd spread out previously to sow chaos and ease the battlefield between Owari and Omi, as well as preventing disturbance to the fated duels Danzō had left behind. They had received a telepathic communication to present the barest acceptable resistance to both avoid fatally harming their target as well as alerting him of their ploy.
Still, that was mostly a rhetorical question, because she already had a culprit in mind.
In fact, chasing after the visibly-disturbed handsome visage of Yoshikage worried her slightly, owing to her knowledge on how one of her 'fathers' operated.
Yes, Kashin Koji was currently busy with Muramasa, but who could tell what he'd left behind as safeguards for this important pawn of his? …well, to be blunt, Danzō felt he's slipping lately, since this weak man was a far cry from the quality of people he'd used in the past, as well as the overall number he directly controlled or indirectly manipulated.
That was why he and Ashiya Dōman got along so well in their youths, when Kashin Koji was still Otakemaru. When both were defeated, Otakemaru managed to secure himself a constant supply of avatars via his hierarchy among the yōkai… which led to her 'birth' later on in the then-future.
The cold-faced redhead replied, "My answer still stands, Danzō-sama. If you find fault later on, I shall accept any punishment you deem necessary."
The black-haired kunoichi waved her off. "We shall see, Hisui."
Somehow, their voices weren't distorted at all even in the midst of a full sprint, side-by-side. This was the result of their physical training as well as a common vocal Reinforcement and Alteration technique which didn't boost the amplitude, but fortified the frequency through the rush of air between them and counter the Doppler effect. While it's gotten out of style with the advent of new telepathic spells, this was still preferred for those whose priority was Thaumaturgical stealth instead of a physical one, because most telepathy was easily detectable due to its magic energy consumption.
The Named One actually had most of her face covered, with only tufts of red strands jutting out from either side of her headwrap differentiating her from the other kunoichis present. Still, Danzō felt the younger girl was smiling underneath that mask, but she simply chalked it off to the latter's eagerness in this latter stage of the operation, getting closer and closer to a chance for a drink without the scrutiny of her superior and colleagues.
She heard this one's been making arrangements with Shōjō, dragging that taciturn, dutiful man into drinking parties at various inns scattered around the area Oda now controlled, taking advantage of the various bonuses and discounts she got for being a high-ranking member of the clan. Certainly, one shouldn't judge a woman's drinking aptitude from her cover.
While Danzō would never chastise someone for falling in love in the line of duty – just look at her now – she did have issues with those who'd let it affect their results. So far, so good – both Hisui and Shōjō weren't Named Ones for nothing. Still, if they slipped up, there were plenty potential successors raging to take their place, such as the competition going on for the title of Fukurō between the scythe-wielding tatarimokke girl and the tall, barbarically-longhaired man who preferred an ōdachi. Neither one specialized in tools typical of a shinobi, but she couldn't argue against their achievements.
Perhaps they had to tone down their destructive tendencies a little, but they certainly got the job done.
Soon, Danzō remaining group members converged into one, following her and Hisui dutifully behind, keeping a respectable distance in case of a large-scale counterattack or trap. There was no longer a need to move in a net-like, scouring formation since those who guarded Yoshikage's escape-slash-retreat were quickly executed, all these 'loyalists' following him solely because of their matching twisted interests in women and children.
"What's on your mind, Danzō-sama?"
"On how Kashin Koji will have prepared something soul-crushing and self-doubting to welcome us when we catch up," she bluntly explained. "What is his simulated trajectory and final destination?"
"The harbour," a whisper came from behind them, coming from another masked individual who was responsible for calculating such information. "We expect him to follow the prepared path the Ashikaga nobles used to escape to Ming."
"…and the possibility of him knowing they were no more?"
"Zero… if Imagawa-sama hasn't blabbed her mouth in the capital yet."
That brought a smirk to Danzō's normally-expressionless face. "Don't underestimate her intelligence. Whenever she makes a ruckus, it's because she wants to and the situation demands it."
Hisui chimed in. "I doubt it. However, our intelligence is not as high as yours, so we shall operate along that assumption."
"Flattery will not add your pocket money, Hisui, because I'm not the one who decides that."
"Hmm… then should I ask Muramasa-sama personally…? H-Hawawa!"
- Schwing!
The mask covering the lower half of her face was cleanly shredded in four pieces, Danzō's hidden blade flashing too fast for any of them to perceive its detailed shape.
"Are you… Pray tell, are you performing this task drunk?" The buxom kunoichi growled, her golden eyes glinting with a sharpness more similar to overpolished pyrite than the genuine article.
Hisui's revealed face, as expected, was incredibly attractive – achieved both naturally and artificially in her training – and sporting an equally-sharp smirk, eyes glued on the slightest slip of emotions across Danzō's face. Her tone was level even right after that threatening move. "Of course not. I am simply stating an alternative solution, Danzō-sama. It is rare to see you lashing out, however."
"Then you do not know me as well as you think," she replied back, her hostility receding as she realized she'd fallen for her subordinate's verbal trick. "I am no longer the expressionless doll your predecessors know me as."
"Could've fooled me," Hisui muttered under her breath, deliberately angling her face away from Danzō's and right into the various kunoichis' line of sight behind them. However, none of them had her gall, and thus tried their best to hide their giggles instead of outright laughing.
- Schwing!
This time, Danzō's blade flashed vertically down Hisui's body, splitting her uniform right in half and spilling her modest curves out for everyone to see.
This one raised a desirable reaction from the redhead. "K-Kyah! D-Danzō-sama, w-what gives?!"
"You can be bait for Yoshikage, then."
The black-haired leader promptly gave her butt a good kick, but because of her Reinforcement and Hisui's innate fortitude, it ended up launching her straight through the castle remains like a cannonball. "DDDDAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNNNNNNNZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZŌŌŌŌŌŌŌŌŌŌŌŌŌŌŌŌŌŌŌŌŌŌŌŌŌŌŌ-SSSSSSSAAAAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMMMMMMMMMAAAAAAAAAAAAAA…!"
The half-naked projectile obviously rushed forth faster than necessary, actually overtaking Yoshikage and stopping him dead in his tracks, causing him to yell out several strings of curses from amidst the kicked-up dust, thinking an actual cannonball had landed near him. In fact, Hisui landed a considerable distance away, far enough he wouldn't be able to leer at her partially-unclothed state in this night, away from the torches of his well-lit castle.
- Ffwwhheeeeee…!
Her landing was accompanied by a trailing sharp whistle, inadvertently coming from Hisui's unique pierced fingers when they went through the air as their owner flailed about comically, flying too fast for anyone to be comfortable with except for the amused Danzō.
Calmly, she led the small kunoichi group and landed near the now-silent Yoshikage, his eyes no longer leering to their various curves – especially Danzō's bountiful figure – after witnessing the destruction they'd brought upon his most loyal warriors and confidants.
Their thoroughness beat the intensity housewives displayed when hunting pests in their houses… and it's likely these kunoichis didn't see them as anything more than that. While being looked down upon by beautiful women was a thrill in its own right, Yoshikage now fully understood right now wasn't the time to spout out his Tales of Genji-inspired plans and goat them into attacking.
Still, he failed to notice the women had known of his prepared escape route for some time, thinking they're only able to follow him due to their vastly superior physical ability. He was no slouch, far from it – daimyōs were expected to have some form of military training to keep fit in case of emergencies… and he's still quite young – but he personally saw how Danzō moved so fast nothing could be seen of her bar her crimson tattered scarf.
She could decapitate him from this distance, and he wouldn't be able to even feel it.
It was somewhat awe-inspiring meeting one of the legendary figures of the past, though information about how she revived, reborn, awakened, etc. was scarce, leading to many outrageous theories, such as various apocalyptic cult proclaiming her presence was a sign or some sort, a ploy by an evil sorcerer, a few Buddhists who were against Nobunaga's expansion whispering of reincarnation… to more pragmatic ones he preferred hearing – an impostor, someone 'unsealing' her, or her personal decision to surface after a long dormant period.
Either way, he couldn't shed the jealousy buried underneath all this mortal fear for his life at the man who managed to secure her 'services'.
He'd never personally met Muramasa, but instinctively knew they wouldn't get along… at all. The person who showcased his harem dream was possible… yet siding with the one Princess General he could never allow take control of Nihon. Additionally, he thought of Muramasa's way of surrounding himself with women disagreeable – one shouldn't have more than one strong-willed female in the pack, or the male's authority would get challenged too often.
A harem of willing female slaves who waited on each and every request of his. That would be ideal in his mind.
He spoke out his ideals often in semi-public places, in debauched parties where they enjoyed women from all sorts of background, so it's not like he's deliberately hiding it. His personal public image was one thing, but so long as it wouldn't impact his standing in the noble court or his own military, then he's going to indulge as much as he could.
Obviously, the women around him all had dim views of his opinion, but he steadfastly thought it was his right as a human being to have one, instead of forcibly swallowing it to follow convention – which changed anyway with each era, so why bother? It's more prudent to push forth with one's belief in this lifetime, and not rely on descendants to fulfil a lifelong dream. Just look at Nobunaga.
"Please don't do that," Danzō softly warned, her golden eyes piercing through both his faux-frightened mask and into his innermost thoughts. "You shouldn't raise your killing intent against us, who are trained to react against it as quickly as possible."
His hand, which was just fingering the outline of an object Kashin Koji had left him – "For Yoshikage-sama's protection," he said – ready to activate it earlier. The dark magus had told him to simply crush this semi-fragile thing to do so, with no Od required to counteract magic detection skills. His usual perverted expression vanished into a grave one, taking a futile battle-ready stance… but his one hand never left his pocket.
Naturally, this gesture was apparent to the women, too – even the recovering Hisui who was busy fixing her clothes on the way to completing the encirclement. While her body was typically kunoichi-like slim – as Chiyome always proudly argued – her features were the exquisite blend of fierce wilderness and delicate melancholy, reinforced by her sun-bleached red hair and lightly tanned skin.
She prepared her Mystic Code – her modified two fingers – but thought it'd be useless anyway, because its function as a Phantasmal Species summoning catalyst would take too long to activate. At least, far too slow compared to Danzō's usual movement, to which she usually couldn't even react… much less Yoshikage.
In fact, if they let him go right now, Hisui was confident her beasts would still be able to catch up and devour him before he could even hear the shores nearby. She was simply miffed not to be the strongest all the time, though that perhaps was already ingrained in her from her dearest childhood friend and rival, Shōjō, with whom she constantly sharpened her skills – beating him one day, then on the receiving end the next, at times ganged up by monkeys and snakes together.
"I realize you are not the type to listen to women, so take this as a warning from another person: Surrender, Asakura Yoshikage," Danzō repeated the words she declared to him before this chase began and his castle was razed to the ground. Even as she said this, her new body was already finished preparing countless magic circles on parts of her skin covered by her uniform – admittedly, not much – all execution techniques. "You are not even worthy of becoming a stepping stone for my lord's ambition, so just lay down to the side and live a quiet life from now on."
'I-Is she inciting him on purpose?!' Hisui screamed in her mind, those spoken words clearly not from the 'Negotiation Basics' manual taught to her and the rest of her colleagues when they were starting out. '…and I'm the one right behind him…!'
In one-against-many combat, it's logical to begin retaliating from a person standing exactly in her location, because it's the sole indefensible blind spot for the surrounded person. As such, only amateurs would feel confident standing right here, thinking they could simply backstab the person once they moved, not realizing they're probably the first victim.
…however, it appeared she was worried for nothing. Against Muramasa, Danzō, or Chiyome, yes, she should be worried for her life – because none of them liked to hold back during those tortures they called 'training' – but she soon came to the realization Yoshikage was exactly the aforementioned 'amateur', who would resort to blind aggression when cornered much like a rat, despite his usual pompous demeanour.
- Crack!
Just as Danzō wanted, Yoshikage actually did what she told him not to. A torrent of magical energy rushed out from his inner pocket, but the buxom black-haired girl already materialized ear protection to guard against the inevitable screams coming out from a potential pawn of Kashin Koji's. The other girls were slightly slower, and winced when a sliver of the inhuman grating screech – not quite a scream – made it past their eardrums.
- ███████████████████████████████████████████████!
It was such a cliché Danzō had to actively hold back a yawn, knowing no attack was forthcoming during this torturous transformation. Instead, she simply held those magic rituals at the ready, eager to match wits with whatever's coming out of this.
It appeared the trademark of this 'father' of hers was a mix of black, red, and gold energy, each representing an aspect of his true body, Otakemaru: the first representing the degradation of self through time and vessels, the second representing the tell-tale yōkai Od and shown by the crimson flora in all common Yōkai Realm, the third representing his esteemed, respectable, noble self before his downfall in eras past.
These three torrents of varying energy poured out of whatever catalyst Yoshikage had just crushed with his fingers – likely a fragile doll or some sort – and dove straight into him, not just through his orifices, but boring new ones whenever necessary if it's the shortest way to his Magic Circuits. From under the ear protections, it's actually quite comical to witness the pantomime of a person dying of both pain and corruption, no doubt screaming and yelling and growling to high heavens as his body was torn apart and rebuilt according to Kashin Koji's twisted specifications, all without the sound. Only several gentle gusts of wind, some of it even from the shift in Conceptual Weight, informed them something was going on if they closed their eyes shut.
Fortunately, though, Danzō didn't do that so she could observe the threat they had been underestimating all along… including Yoshikage.
He believed Kashin Koji was an ally who gave this out of his sincere desire to assist him in times of need. An indispensable advisor who had spent years by their side and forging an alliance between Azai and Asakura since their fathers' generation, steering the two small provinces to peace among the threat of the tripartite at their immediate north and the chaos brewing from the south. The person who secretly arranged Oichi's marriage with Nagamasa in order to stymie a potential trouble from Owari… yet it was all for naught in the end as the happy couple heavily resisted the magus's plans for their elder sister, Nobunaga.
Thus, Yoshikage though it natural to have the tall woman penalized in that way – losing her sanity and left as a flesh gate for the encroaching Owari force – but thought of himself as safe and valuable pawn for the magus.
Of course, not knowing Kashin Koji's real identity, he had no idea what was waiting ahead of him, unlike Danzō. That was why she acted amused when normal opponents should be wary of whatever's coming out of the other side, purely out of pity and mirth at his surprising naivety. As someone who schemed and manipulated others, Danzō was shocked by her personal analysis of his belief for this suspicious, inhuman-looking magus.
'Perhaps that's just his personal preference…? Did he swing that way as well?' She mused internally, before she came to the conclusion the thing coming out of this process wasn't something her team could handle without unnecessary harm.
"Retreat."
"…are you sure?" Hisui questioned more for formality's sake, her tone shifting to a professional one. "At the very least, let us spectate from a distance. We all know we're weaker than you."
Unexpectedly, though, Danzō shook her head. "It's not a matter of strength. While, yes, that's a good idea – so, please, move away from that place…" She paused to give her team enough time to relocate far enough to safety. "…this is a personal matter. You shall see."
All the women's gaze gathered around the point her index finger was indicating towards… at the still-morphing, still-roaring half-human, half-something who was their previous target.
It still hadn't stabilized yet, which was unusual because from the experience they had dealing with Kashin Koji's shenanigans, this was taking perhaps closer to three times as long already. However, they saw slivers of… a thing flitting in and out of sight, in and out of Yoshikage's body, in and out of their magical senses.
Much like an uneasy larva eager to being birthed, whose face was pressed up against its vessel's thin wall, desperate to taste the outside world.
The face wasn't familiar to any of the other girls – perhaps not to Yoshikage, either – but it was strangely detailed despite all the visual impairment and distance standing between it and the women, along with Yoshikage's increasingly jerky movements. Those should produce some sickening cracking noises form all the bones and joints simply going the wrong way and popped back correctly over and over again, but due to their ear protection, once again, it looked nothing more than a particularly amusing yet horrifying pantomime.
The girls had been conversing by reading lips since earlier, because taking the mufflers off wasn't an option – they could literally feel how loud this object was getting – and their trained eyes were able to do so even with passing glances, so talking wasn't really a problem.
"From what you said… is it attempting to summon a true spirit? Someone you personally hold dear, Danzō-sama?"
Usually, Hisui would find things like this tease-worthy, and gossip all day long with everyone regarding her colleagues' private life. She still was planning to do so, but was stealthily attempting to gather more information regarding this elusive commander of hers before she could comfortably talk about Danzō.
The person in question nodded. "Yes. It's likely my other Father. Do take caution."
"Hah?"
No one replied to Hisui's confused remark, as Yoshikage's transformation finally finished.