Il Cielo dei Tre Regni
by Lunar Wave

Disclaimer: This story borrows the setting and characters of the Koihime†Musou series and borrows multiple elements from Katekyo Hitman Reborn. I own neither series as they both belong to their respective owners. Also, considering Koihime†Musou could be considered a fanfic of the Three Kingdoms, I'd like to say I don't own anything related to the stories of the Three Kingdoms.

-()-

Humble Beginnings

-()-

"You're really just like Tsuna, kouhai!"

"What do you mean, Uncle Takeshi?" The man that Kazuto was speaking to was his father's Rain Guardian, Yamamoto Takeshi, who he refers to as an uncle as he does most of his father's Guardians (of course, Kazuto refers to Chrome as an aunt). The man, in turn, refers to him as kouhai or junior, as Kazuto is a fellow apprentice of Yamamoto Tsuyoshi, Takeshi's father. He was here to get some tips on how to use the second and sixth forms of Shigure Souen Ryu. Not teach him though; the style isn't meant to be taught in detail, just shown once and let the student learn it from that single viewing.

Well, it doesn't matter regardless; as it turns out, his father's Rain Guardian sucks as a teacher. Well, at least, because of how the style is traditionally taught to others, at least the man's brand of Shigure Souen Ryu won't end with him if someone chooses to learn from him.

"Even though you use the Shigure Souen Ryu like I do, you fight just like your old man." The man chuckled. He patted the shinai on his back with a grin. The true Shigure Kintoki, not the imitation that he has.

"Eh? But I use a sword while dad is an empty-hand fighter. Our fighting styles could not be any more different."

"Ah, I didn't mean that your fighting styles were the same. I meant that the way you fight is the same."

Kazuto was confused. That made absolutely no sense, "Is this one of your unintentional riddles, again?" His pseudo-uncle did tend to say things that make no sense until much later.

"What the baseball idiot means," His father's Storm Guardian, Gokudera Hayato, came in the room, "Is that you deal with your fights the same way the Tenth does. The same furrowed brow, your hands are as though you were praying, rather than wielding a blade. All points to you disliking fighting just as much as he does." Huh?

"That's it!" the Rain Guardian nodded, "You won't ever see him smile when he's fighting an enemy."

"Of course!"The dynamite user nodded, "That's the Tenth's virtue after all! And it seems that virtue has passed down to his son!"

"I know, I know~" Yamamoto Takeshi smiled, "But is it really okay for someone using Shigure Souen Ryu to have the same outlook when it comes to fighting? It's a sword style of killing after all." Kazuto grimaced, knowing it to be true. This was the same warning that Yamamoto's father had given him, but he still loathes the idea of killing with his own hands.

The storm guardian snorted, "Please, baseball idiot. Even if you don't like the idea of killing; you can't be hypocritical about something like that."

"Well, I guess it doesn't matter."The swordsman chuckled, "Our dear nephew still hasn't even mastered it all anyway."

"The sixth form still makes absolutely no sense to me," Kazuto complained.

"Nothing this baseball idiot does make sense." The storm guardian jabbed. "Don't worry about it."

"EXTREME!" The sound of his father's Sun Guardian, Sasagawa Ryohei, roared from another direction, "IT'S TIME FOR A SPAR, HIBARI!"

"I'll bite you to death." A softer but scarier (in Kazuto's opinion) voice spoke close enough that they still heard it.

"… And that's my cue." Gokudera Hayato sighed, "Take care, Tenth's kid!" He ran out the door and roared, "OY! DON'T FIGHT IN THE MANSION! TENTH IS GOING TO BE VERY DISAPPOINTED!" Actually, his father might cry from all the paperwork he'll get from the damage report but disappointed is a good enough explanation, he guessed.

Yamamoto Takeshi chuckled. "Hayato acts like the famiglia's fussy mother." Then he looked thoughtful before grinning at him, "Now, let's see if I can help you with the sixth form before nightfall!" Kazuto looked deadpan at that. Another afternoon full of nonsense sound effects it is then. All the while he'll be trying not to accidentally cut his hands off.

Family… that's how his father's Guardians felt like. Not just in name but also in deeds. The way they talk, act, and speak, they were all precious family. Even he was drawn into the cacophony that is. They don't speak like distant allies or mere friends; in fact, they speak more akin to brothers, to the point that he considered them uncles and aunts more than his father's coworkers. He hoped that… when he gets his Guardians, his own Famiglia, they too would be like family to him.

-()-

Ryuubi Gentoku, True Name: Touka, smiled silently as she watched the sleeping faces of her three new (sworn) siblings. All of them had collapsed into a deep slumber upon the end of their feast. Well, they did work exceptionally hard yesterday with barely any meals. Looking around them, she found the remains of whatever meal they had. Touka chuckled as she stood up. Well… the first order of business is that she needs to…

She walked with purpose towards her home and found her mother making mats. Touka quickly moved forward.

"Mother… I'd like to tell you something." Touka bowed deeply, kneeling upon the ground of her home. "I, your daughter, Ryuubi Gentoku, have decided that I will now go out into this world to lessen the suffering of the people and bring back justice and order to this world…" She hesitated slightly. "But leaving you here all alone still worries me…"

The mother simply smiled back, easily nodding, "Worry not. You have decided well." Turning towards her daughter, "You have become a fine child."

"Thank you… mother."

Touka's mother nodded, "Then why don't you tell this woman more of what you wish to attain?" Touka nodded, looking at her mother with a smile.

-()-

Touka and her mother had talked for quite a while, speaking as though it would be their last together. And for Touka, it might be the case. She's about to enter a world that will almost certainly be fraught with peril. So they spoke. They made a few arrangements. Shared a few memories. Joked about the time Touka managed to lose her sword with her mother practically tossing her into the river in anger.

"Onee-chan!" Rinrin's voice echoed, finally giving a halt to their conversation, "Sorry if Rinrin is interrupting anything, but there are people here who wish to talk to you." Touka looked up, slightly confused. She bowed once more to her mother before exiting the home, only to find the villagers, kneeling to their knees.

"We beseech thee, Descendant of the Emperor, and your faithful companions. Please become our county's Chief Magistrate." The men looked up and gestured. "We have been at the mercy of these Yellow Turbans for too long, and the previous chief had disappeared, presumed dead, and we seek your guidance as our lord."

Touka could barely grasp what just happened. It hasn't even been a full day since her first act for peace, but to think there will be those who will also be willing to stand by her…

"I…"

"Is there something that you're worried about, Touka?" A boy's voice came from the side, and they saw Kazuto walking towards them, Aisha a step behind.

"Ah… I…"

The men turned towards the boy as well and bowed, the one who appeared to be the leader spoke, "Ah, Heavenly Messenger who is here to aid Ryuu Gentoku-dono, we are here to ask Ryuu Gentoku-dono to become our chief magistrate after the last one disappeared."

"… Huh?" Kazuto blinked at the suddenness. From what he can recall, chief magistrates are what they call the leaders of the various counties in these times… That's not just on the level of just one town… that's multiple towns! Districts even! "Wait. It was only just yesterday when she helped save the city. There's no way you would automatically think she's a good governor, with just one act… And do you even have the authority of all the towns under that Chief Magistrate to decide something like that? What exactly are you up to?" Kazuto asked quickly, his eyes completely focused on the man. His Hyper Intuition, the bloodline trait that allows him to see through everything, while not as focused as when he is in Hyper Dying Will Mode, would still allow him to detect a liar. At least, he hoped so. He honestly can't be too sure.

"Nothing of the sort!" The man responded, and Kazuto could tell the man was not hiding anything. "We honestly just wanted milady to become our chief magistrate."

"… What are the conditions?" Kazuto asked quickly.

"… We only wish for her to aid with the eradication of these yellow fiends from our lands." Another man responded. "We came all this way to seek you for this purpose." The village they saved was by no means far; it's a pretty quick ride if on a horse. But none of these men appeared to have brought horses, meaning they have walked that distance… Then again, Touka walks that distance as if natural, which means people of these times might find that normal regardless.

"Again, how do you have any authority to decide for the rest of the towns in this county?" Kazuto asked.

"What do you mean?" The man asked before Kazuto remembered. Oh… right. Appointed, not elected. If they just take the position, the people won't complain as long as they are kept safe and well-fed.

"Never mind." Kazuto sighed. He backed off, trying to think of anything he could've missed.

"… So, that's it, nothing else?" Aisha asked. "Well, then, I suppose this is my Sworn Sister's decision." Aisha shrugged, turning to Touka with a meaningful gaze. "I'm personally fine with this development, but if milady doesn't think this is worth her time, then I'll follow her decision."

Touka looked at them, before nodding softly. "Alright… but I have my conditions as well." Touka stood up, "Despite my heritage, I haven't learned how to lead anything yet… But if Kazuto-kun were to help me… I think I can manage. That's why I request that Kazuto-kun be Chief Magistrate alongside me." Kazuto was surprised at this decision, but nodded as well… Huh, seems that Aisha is going to have an excuse to refer to them as masters now… He would've preferred it if it took longer…

"That is fine." The man nodded, almost seemingly delighted at the prospect.

"Hmm… are we allowed to just be given this title?" Kazuto asked. "Surely we need some sort of higher up to even consider this? I mean, if we were already officials, then this would probably be fine, but we're both still pretty nameless in this country, let alone the county." Kazuto frowned, and the men in front of them flinched and nodded.

"We… we can no longer trust the Imperial Court. We have suffered too much for too long and yet they haven't sent aid or informed us that aid is coming. So we decided to take charge of our lands, without their aid. This is… we think that Ryuubi-dono would serve that well."

"I see." Touka nodded and frowned.

"Don't expect us to be figureheads that will let you do as you please." Kazuto quickly responded. "We'll still be as strict, and if you try to use the fact that we aren't the real appointed chief magistrates to disobey us…" Kazuto hesitated at this part. He didn't know what he would do. What would he do if this was the case?

"We'll punish you as fit of the law," Aisha said without hesitation. "If you cannot discipline yourselves and simply act like bandits after asking us to help, then we'll strike you down the same way we strike down the Yellow Turbans."

The people nodded, understanding this. "We don't want to imitate the scoundrels who ruined our lives. And no one would willingly go against the will of Heavens. As long as Hongou-dono is the Heavenly Messenger, there will be very little reason for anyone to revolt in such a way." He wasn't lying, Kazuto realized. And from what he could tell, no one around him was murmuring any dissent. They bowed low and nodded in affirmation.

Kazuto nodded as well.

"… Well then, we have our work cut out for us, huh?" Touka brightly said.

"Also, there is something else we will request, Ryuu Gentoku-dono." The man leading the group immediately spoke. "To defeat the Yellow Turbans, I realize that you will need an army. However, I'm afraid that you wouldn't find too many soldiers left in the towns. Most have already joined the various armies to help defeat the Rebellion. So, while our main reason for coming here is to request for you to become our magistrates, we would also like to request that we become your soldiers, at least, until Yellow Turbans are completely eradicated."

"A volunteer army." Aisha nodded, "You want us to become leaders of a Volunteer Army."

"I suppose that's a good cover for this magistrate deal." Kazuto sighed, "We don't want to be seen as usurpers who suddenly took control of a county after all." That would be bad, and it seems everyone in the area understood that as well. "We'll be a volunteer army based upon your city, which just so happens to be the county's center until the time comes that the Yellow Turbans are gone."

Aisha quickly spoke, "But, again, don't expect leniency. We will punish all those who will shame us by doing cruel or unjust deeds. If this doesn't appeal to you, you are free to leave now."

Around them, no one moved and no one made a gesture to leave. They were still rooted firmly in place. The one in front simply smiled, "We knew that you are people of great importance, even having a Messenger from Heaven at your side. All of us are aware that if we do anything that will sow chaos will be sacrilege upon heaven's name and so we swore to not disgrace it. We shall serve you well."

"If that is so, then we'll accept your oath," Kazuto replied, his ring flaring up. Everyone looked in wonder, seeing the flames of heaven shine brilliantly upon his ring. "This flame represents my will. As long as it burns within me, I will fulfill our dream for peace."

"Aisha-chan, Kazuto-kun… it is good to recruit others to our cause, but surely we'll need supplies?" Touka asked, troubled. "If we're officially a Volunteer Army, we can't just use the city's funds for it…"

"If it's supplies, then there is no need to worry." Two men walked up. "I am no soldier, young one, but a salesman. I and my cousin here are willing to give you our wares, and for you to pay us back on a later date."

Touka looked surprised at that and fidgeted "Eh, umm… this is a rare surprise, but why would you be so generous, kind sir…?"

"I suppose you are right to be suspicious of me. Then allow me to tell you why. My name is Chouseihei, and this is my cousin, Sosou" The man told him his story. That he was a famous businessman but the Yellow Turbans had attacked his home and taken his daughter away from him. Now he sells horses with his cousin. "Rather than let my wares be stolen by the Yellow Turbans, I'd much rather give it to you if your goal is to fight those demons."

"So you will stand alongside us?" Kazuto asked. So this is Zhang Shiping, the man who helped Liu Bei at the beginning of his journey as well as his cousin, Su Shuang…

"I will provide you the armor, weapons, and supplies that you will need." Chouseihei shrugged, pulling out a bag of money and offering it to Touka. "Consider this an investment. An investment for the future."

"… Thank you, kind sir. We'll pay you back as soon as we could."

"I don't mind waiting 10 years or 30." The man nodded, "I know you will."

"And so begins our journey… huh?" Kazuto laughed, "I hope this will not inconvenience you in the slightest, sir."

"No, not at all." The man nodded. "So you are the messenger of heaven, I presume."

"If we go by the prophecy, I suppose that is the case," Kazuto replied.

"There were quite a few whispers in the wind that you had come here to bring peace." The man nodded. Kazuto couldn't help but be amazed at how people could so easily accept him as some sort of prophet from heaven. He also feared that if there is someone else that had come to this world; they could easily take advantage of their faith.

"I hope I won't let people down then. Well, then, we have our cause, an army, and supplies. Let us see what we can do with it." Kazuto stretched and the man nodded.

-()-

For Kazuto, even for someone who's been trained to expect the unexpected (like Reborn deciding to pull a dine-and-dash stunt which he adamantly refused to be part of, ever), the sudden change from his student/mafia heir life to a peasant life of three days into an army leader was a little overwhelming. He wasn't entirely alone either on that matter. All four of them barely had a clue about what they were trying to accomplish, with only Aisha being the most prepared for it. So for now, Kazuto settled for what he knew they should do.

First order of business, keep the village that they protected from being attacked by bandits again. They knew that the bandits would come soon, and they were preparing for it. Even, if, in the end, it's a makeshift army fighting against an unknown number of potentially devastating individuals. While on their side, however, are: Hongou Kazuto (actually Sawada Kazuto), who is the rumored Heavenly Messenger, Chouhi Yokutoku, a girl capable of mowing down nearly a thousand soldiers on her own, Kan'u Unchou, a girl whose skill with her blade is near unmatched, and Ryuubi Gentoku, a descendant of Imperial Royalty and the figurehead of the army.

They took command as the city's governing body, if only temporarily, and quickly found themselves placed in various positions of power. Touka and Kazuto took charge of most of the internal affairs, Aisha dealt with much of the military aspect of the city, and Rinrin bore the brunt of the training of the new forces. The army did not complain, knowing that soon, they will be facing the Yellow Turbans. While, officially, they were a simple Volunteer Army, they were also the recognized leaders of the city. Also, by extension, they were the county's rulers as well, albeit temporarily.

But that didn't change the fact that this will be the first time any of them had taken charge of anything more than a small group, and they had a few problems.

"Is there any meaning to us being in charge of this mess of papers?" Kazuto asked in frustration. It turns out that the previous magistrate had been tremendously lazy, having a backlog of work left behind. "We're just temporary rulers in the first place!"

"Don't say that, Master." Aisha scolded. "While there's no doubt that we're temporary, you did accept the role of magistrates, which means taking care of these affairs."

"Mou!" Touka also interjected, "While I did learn how to read and write from Fuurin-sensei, I didn't think I'll need them for some important papers so quickly!" On a side note, Touka had switched out of her peasant clothes, and was wearing clothing vaguely similar to Aisha's. It would appear that Aisha had the tailor that made her clothes make it for Touka. Considering Touka's now known heritage, and leadership role, it seemed that Aisha made sure to make it significantly fancier than her own.

"It's praiseworthy that you are capable of doing so, as well, milady."

Kazuto sighed, as he pulled up the Chinese Dictionary app on his phone. "Anything that looks too important is to be put on the side! Anything that doesn't need to be done today is put to the side! The only things we're doing today are things that complete amateurs can deal with that need immediate attention! If there's something important that needs to be done today, we use the excuse that the previous magistrate died and that we're only temporary rulers in the first place!" Then he turned to Aisha, "Please help us sort this out, seeing as you're one of the few people who can read characters!" The written language in this world seems to be some sort of hybrid Chinese-Japanese. Mostly using a Japanese pronunciation, but not using any katakana and hiragana. "If it's about external affairs, absolutely ignore it, unless it has something to do with sending aid or impending war. If it's internal affairs, put it on the table, but don't expect a lot of them to be signed by the end of the day." The women who previously served the magistrate quickly moved about, looking through papers and scrolls.

"You're just going to do this half-heartedly?" Aisha asked, looking slightly annoyed and scandalized.

"I'm going to be spending my time writing in a language I haven't needed to use, despite knowing how to write it. (Thanks Aunt Ipin.) I'm going to be using a brush, which I have no experience using since I've never been fond of calligraphy. I'm going to be dealing with papers that I had no personal involvement in and no knowledge of anything behind the scenes. This is the best you'll get from me until we get into at least a few weeks of doing this." Kazuto grumbled as he read over it. "Speaking of which, how good is Rinrin at reading?"

"I can read simple characters, but the more complicated ones aren't really…" Rinrin grimaced.

"That's fine. Go to the courtyard and start getting to know our new soldiers." Kazuto sighed. "Aisha, umm… Guard Captain, can I ask for your assistance? Find anyone in the mansion that can read and bring them here as well." Aisha and the Guard Captain nodded, although Aisha's eyes show reluctance.

"As you wish, mas… Kazuto-sama." At Kazuto's glare, Aisha corrected herself as soon as she could.

"Is it possible for you to drop the –sama?" Kazuto asked with a sigh.

"I should be referring to you two as Master and Milady." Aisha rebuked. "Please allow me this much leeway."

"You should be referring to us as 'elder brother' and 'elder sister' seeing as we're your sworn siblings," Kazuto replied quickly, having come up with this excuse to avoid the overbearing title of Master and Milady. Seeing Aisha flinch made Kazuto internally pump his fist.

"As you wish… Kazuto-niisama."

The -sama was still there. But Kazuto decided to let it go, for now. "Very well…" Kazuto nodded. "Well, these papers won't sign themselves. Let's get started, Touka!"

"Oooooh!" Touka cheered exuberantly. Then sidled right next to Kazuto carrying a bunch of papers.

It didn't take a while before their cheer is drowned out by how boring the task is.

They both still struggled to finish the thing, but he decided to ultimately just give up once Touka herself had given up, and continue it next time. He didn't even manage to get through a sixth, let alone a stack. Oh yeah, Han Dynasty. Language evolution… Of course, the Chinese of this world will be outdated and near miserable to read. The confusion made sense, in hindsight. He had to ask his aides for help. Why did the magistrate before him leave so much work behind? The man should've done this long before the Yellow Turbans came! He swore: if the guy shows up again somehow, then he'll just throw them all to the lazy bastard. Even if the guy came back a ghost.

-()-

He decided that he should spend that afternoon doing something physical. The papers seemed nearly never-ending, and he almost sympathized with the magistrate for not wanting to do it. Only almost though; as he still hasn't forgiven the guy for not doing his job properly. Anyway, with consent, the four of them stood at one of the designated training grounds in the city. There are various Volunteer Army members sparring with the Town Garrison there, trying to boost their skills. As for them, they chose a corner of the place, to see how well they would fare. Kazuto decided to spend a bit of time warming up first, running through the routine that he had during Kendo. He also explained to Touka the need for warming up, which somehow translated to everyone in the area hearing about it, also noting to follow the routine, as it was a heavenly ritual to keep your body healthy. Kazuto simply shook his head and sighed. At the very least, it seems that Rinrin and Aisha already had their routine, which they were doing on their own, not paying attention to what was going on.

He soon finished his warm-up exercises and turned to everyone. "Alright." Kazuto called, "I want someone to spar with."

"Rinrin will do it!" Kazuto sighed warily as he turned to the younger girl, apparently also done with her warmup. He honestly didn't want to fight her yet. Even if she's younger right now, she's still Zhang Fei Yide, a hero of these times, and Kazuto doesn't know if he could even beat her at all. But consenting to it, he nodded.

"Fine. Aisha, see what Touka-chan needs to improve on with her sword…"

"That's mean, Kazuto-kun; assuming that I don't know how to use my sword." Touka frowned.

"You are, until recently, the daughter of a mat and sandal maker." Kazuto pointed out, "And I never said you didn't know how to use it. I just thought you'll need to improve on it. And Aisha is the perfect measuring stick for that."

"I understand." Aisha nodded before the two walked off to another side.

Kazuto sighed as he drew his sword. He looked at Rinrin to see the girl all ready, standing just across him. Kazuto nodded, as he shifted the wooden sword to become a katana. Both of them were in their ready positions now. Neither of them moved for a while. Kazuto decided against opening with Yarazu no Ame because that technique more or less disarms him. He should look into carrying two swords, but that's for another time. For now, Kazuto decided to let Rinrin strike first, so that he can measure how strong her attacks are and whether or not he can block them.

Rinrin grinned. "Alright, here I come, oniichan!" Rinrin roared, as she ran forward, her Viper Spear slamming down from above. Kazuto quickly sidestepped out of the way, disappearing from her view. Shigure Souen Ryu, Fourth Form Defensive, Gofuu Juuu. The skill used for dodging enemy attacks. By matching his breathing with his opponent's, he can somewhat predict the motions of each strike. Coupled with his Hyper Intuition, which allows him to read body language as if second nature, it takes a well-seasoned expert to even touch him, especially if he was in Hyper Dying Will Mode.

He wasn't in HDW Mode, but Rinrin's attack might as well be telegraphed as she didn't even bother hiding the trajectory of the strike.

CRASH

However… when he saw a crater left behind in the wake of Rinrin's strike… well, Kazuto didn't think he'd like to get hit by it. Where was Rinrin hiding all that power? It certainly isn't from her muscles. The only thing that could explain that was that Rinrin was somehow channeling Sun Flames, but Kazuto has yet to spot even a flicker of flame on Rinrin's body. Of course, this means that this could be an internal thing but… and DOOOOODGE! Kazuto quickly sidestepped another strike as Rinrin swung her spear again.

"You were distracted, Oniichan." Rinrin chuckled. Kazuto grumbled, acknowledging his error.

"Fine, flames it is." Kazuto lit his sword on fire. "Let's go." Strictly speaking, lighting his sword on fire with his flame does nothing to impede his opponent, but it does draw a person's attention to it. Something only useful if he had been using two weapons, but right now, it's mostly for intimidation purposes.

"Ah, it's the flames of heaven!" Rinrin said, surprised.

"Sky Flame." Kazuto corrected, "It's called Sky Flame." At least get that right. And then Kazuto realized that this was a bad idea when he saw a grin and narrowed eyes on the young girl's face. The face of someone excited about a challenge. Normally people will be intimidated by the sight of the Sky Flames…

This wasn't the case for Rinrin, who merely took the intimidating sight as a challenge. "Well, then, Rinrin will get serious too!" Rinrin nodded, as she poised for attack…

Yup, this was a bad idea. Kazuto quickly put his sword on the ground and created a torrent of fire around him, creating two pillars. He took a defensive position within the flames, waiting for Rinrin to arrive. Shigure Souen Ryu, Second Form Defensive, Sakamaku Ame ver. Sky Flame. Now, normally, Sakamaku Ame is combined with water and a bit of Rain Flame, rather than Sky Flame, but he didn't have a choice in this situation. There wasn't water in the area, and he couldn't do it properly with water anyway.

"Stop hiding already, Oniichan!" And then a tiger in child form suddenly appeared before him, mindless of the flame, as she hit him out of his defensive field. Kazuto grumbled. If his defense had been made of water, he could've at least glimpsed past it to see Rinrin. Kazuto sighed as he lay there, face up to the sky. He moved to stand up, to see Rinrin grinning widely at him.

Kazuto nodded and gave a grin back. "Well, that's Rinrin's win, then." Kazuto sighed. Rinrin simply grinned back.

"Not yet!" Rinrin replied. "Oniichan is still fine, so he should still be able to fight, right? You didn't even let go of your sword even though you flew so far." Kazuto nodded slightly, wincing at the feeling on his side where Rinrin hit him with the blunt of her spear. But he is fine enough to keep fighting. He'll just have to hope that Rinrin doesn't go too far.

"Do you like fighting, Rinrin?" Kazuto asked as he prepared his sword again.

"I do!" Rinrin nodded. "Fighting others and seeing their strength is fun!" Rinrin then poised for a strike and rushed forward. Kazuto quickly went into Gofuu Juu again, dodging Rinrin's attacks, even if only barely. Kazuto then took on the offensive, quickly taking a slash at Rinrin with his sword in his left hand. Rinrin moved to block the attack but realized that Kazuto had dropped his sword and had handed it over to his right. Shigure Souen Ryu, Fifth Form Offensive, Samidare. Rinrin moved to block the second strike as well and was flung a little bit back by the hit. "That's sneaky, Oniichan!" Rinrin pointed out, but clearly not minding.

"Says the girl who managed to block it," Kazuto replied, a little bit annoyed. Rinrin shouldn't have even seen Samidare before and yet she managed to dodge it. It was probably a mistake to use Samidare when his opponent is shorter than him in the first place, he guessed, but STILL. Rinrin probably saw him switch hands because of her viewpoint. Oh well, it doesn't matter anymore.

"Nyahaha, of course!" Rinrin grinned. Kazuto nodded and quickly took a stance again.

"Well, then I'm coming, Rinrin!" Shajiku no Ame! He rushed forward with his sword. Rinrin grinned and accepted the challenge. A head-on confrontation. Rinrin herself charged. And the result is…

CRASH! Kazuto first felt a sharp pain from his side, as though he got hit by a steel bat. Then he felt himself lifted into the air and sent hurtling towards his left. Or is it to above him… And there's the feeling of pain all over his upper body as he landed on the ground. Yeah, didn't think that it would be any different from any of the other times he did this.

"… You win… again"

"That was a great charge, Oniichan!" Rinrin gave him a thumbs up. Kazuto weakly raised his own but it fell to his side after a few seconds. Too much of his body hurt. He quickly made a mental note: never charge Rinrin unless you know what you're doing. Never again. "If Oniichan had been a little bit faster, you might have actually hit me."

He sighed as he pushed himself up again, and looked defiantly at his youngest sworn sister. Yeah, he may know that he was outmatched, but… he didn't want to lose.

"I'm not… done… yet!" Kazuto barked, wincing at the pain. He resisted his competitive side's urge to go Hyper Dying Will Mode. He has a too limited number of pills to waste on simple training. If he wants to train it, he'll have to expect to train it on the fly, against great enemies or he'll do it once every few months to make sure he doesn't get too rusty. Anyway, he's more comparing on what level his skill is compared to everyone in this world. And so, resolute to not use his Hyper Dying Will Mode, he charged, now very mindful of Rinrin's charge. But, honestly, it was all downhill from there.

-()-

"Rinrin. You went too far." Aisha grumbled.

Aisha shook her head as she wrapped cloth bandages onto the bruises that Kazuto sported. It took a while before Touka and Aisha's training session ended, as Aisha spent most of that time giving Touka a bit of training as well, this time actual training, not just Kazuto trying to see how well he can fare against Rinrin in terms of his swordsmanship. Touka would've helped if she wasn't also too tired to move. Although, Touka did have significantly fewer bruises overall.

He lasted an impressive time of eleven minutes, and every soldier there praised him for it, having not been able to stand after a mere 3 minutes if she's taking it easy on them. Kazuto just deadpanned at that; at least he's better than his soldiers? Kazuto seriously wondered if that counts as an achievement before he became too tired to stand back up. And with that ends Kazuto's 'training session', which is him just being shown exactly where he stands in the skill level totem pole as 'Normal' Kazuto. He can only idly wonder how he can fight in HDW Mode.

"But oniichan is pretty strong. He was using his Heaven Fire and all that!"

"Sky Flames." Kazuto corrected from the position he was in. "Or Dying Will Flames. Please call it either."

"Yeah, that!" Rinrin nodded.

Kazuto sighed, "I gave up using it after she knocked me across the field when I charged at her."

"Rinrin…" Aisha sighed again. "Remember that not everyone can keep up with you."

"But if Rinrin went any easier on oniichan, it would be Rinrin who loses!" Rinrin protested, "He was dodging all Rinrin's attacks even without Rinrin going easy anyway! The only reason Rinrin's Viper Spear hit him at all is that oniichan keeps forgetting to dodge sometimes!"

"Oy, don't make me sound stupid!" Kazuto scowled slightly before rolling his eyes. "I was trying to attack those times, but when I get into the Viper Spear's range, I can't dodge fast enough." Probably would be a different story if in Hyper Dying Will Mode, but, even then, it's a tossup who would win. In the end, Kazuto was forced to make Rinrin fight him in a battle of attrition, which was an admittedly worse idea and eventually resulted in him losing to the younger girl's boundless energy.

"So Kazuto-kun is only fast enough to dodge Rinrin-chan if she's not close enough," Touka said in slight wonder.

"Ahaha, that makes sense! So that's why Oniichan wasn't dodging fast enough!" Rinrin nodded.

"It's pretty impressive that you can do so," Aisha nodded, "But still…"

Kazuto shrugged. "It's not like Rinrin hit my face or something. Most of my bruises are on the body area." He turned his head towards the girl and grinned, "But then again, I still haven't gone all out. Maybe soon we could have a fight going serious, so look forward to it, Rinrin."

"Oh, Oniichan still has something he hasn't used?" Rinrin looked surprised but grinned regardless, "Well, then I'll go serious as well next time!" Yeah… he did figure that Rinrin was still not completely serious during the fight, but she wasn't going easy either so it balanced out.

"Not within the next few days, you won't!" Aisha scolded them.

Kazuto looked slightly confused but nodded, "Don't worry; I'll fight Aisha if I manage to beat Rinrin." Kazuto grumbled slightly at the thought. Rinrin, he had a chance of beating her since her movements are rather simple. Aisha on the other hand, though her attacks might be weaker, would probably hit him more. He'll REALLY need HDW Mode for it.

"That's not what I meant, master!" Aisha said, slightly flustered.

"That will take a while because Rinrin won't lose!" Rinrin said excitedly. Kazuto nodded. Very, very likely.

Kazuto was also quick to point something out, "By the way Aisha, you're still not allowed to call us master, remember?"

"But…"

Touka agreed, "Yeah, we're still only leaders of a volunteer army, not the actual magistrates. Aisha-chan can't refer to us as master or milady until we have a land that we rule over."

"But still…"

"Ahaha, Aisha got scolded."

"Rinrin!"

And that ends the four saviors' first day on the job.

-()-

It was taking a long while before the arrival of the Yellow Turbans. In the past few days, they had seen a surge of recruits. Rumors of the ascension of the Imperial Descendant Ryuubi Gentoku and her ally, the Heavenly Messenger, were spreading across the county and that they were recruiting for a Volunteer Army. People saw this as a ray of hope that there was a chance to get rid of the ones who are causing such despair in their lands. And so they came to the county's 'capital' and asked to join their Volunteer Army to help.

Speaking of their enemies, they have been unusually quiet for the past few days, ever since they were rebuffed. But all of them knew that it was just a matter of time. They will come soon, and they were prepared for it. They were all the more grateful for the recruits coming, as it only increases their chance of destroying the bandit group.

This recent surge in recruitment caused four things to happen. First, they were able to set up patrols all around the county to watch for any strange activity. Second, the training got fiercer, as the unknown deadline came ever closer. Third, people living in this county started getting slightly more confident, as the army protecting them grew ever stronger. And finally…

Fourth, more problems arose that the four sworn siblings were rather ill-prepared to deal with…

"Kazuto-kuuuuun!" And, strangely enough, when they screw up or needs advice, it's always Kazuto they go to. This time, it's Touka. Kazuto sighed as he put down his brush. It had been a novel experience, trying to write Chinese Characters with a brush. He… while his handwriting didn't suck, the characters tended to become a bit bigger than Kazuto prefers. And he's being really slow, annoyingly enough. Even though back home he could've finished this amount in two hours, the need to read and write in another language, as well as using a tool that isn't remotely efficient as he was used to, without even computers and printers to do most of the work… this is really frustrating.

Just across him was Touka's pleading face, and he hated the fact that he could barely reject any request coming from her. He just gave a small sigh and a questioning gaze. "What is it now, Touka?"

"Kazuto-kun! Help me with this… There's too much paper!" Touka moaned. "I mean, I know how to read and all that but… This is too much!" Kazuto balefully looked at her stack, and then at his own. His was still larger by far. They had split it evenly, but he was working way too slow, compared to Touka. Touka had some teaching in Chinese writing, but her writing skills were still rather shoddy from disuse and neither of them started any quicker than the other. There was also the fact that Touka only technically knew what she was doing with all the papers (from Roshoku (Fuurin-sensei)'s lessons, she told him), but technically knowing how to do it, and actually doing it is quite different. Kazuto had to help her out with the first few papers before leaving her to start on his. All that compounded to him having only about a third of his stack done.

"Do your best, Touka-chan," Kazuto replied kindly, but slightly unsympathetically. "When you finish that entire stack, you can rest for a bit."

"Kazuto-kun is a bully…" Touka muttered. "You're supposed to be the big brother but you're making your little sister do so much work…" Again, Kazuto looked at his stack and her stack. The sizes hadn't decreased at all, and he was sorely tempted to pass a portion of his to Touka if only he didn't know that she would look at him with the eyes of a kicked puppy. Probably would make the sound of one too if he went through with it. He also knew that, if the amounts were reversed, hers having more than his, he probably would've caved in.

But as is, he's at least capable of rebuffing it, "Well, one day, Touka won't have her big brother to help her with this, so Touka should learn how to do it now than when that time comes." Kazuto responded as well. "And I AM being lenient. I told you to just finish that stack. If it was my tutor, you would be here the entire day with no rest."

"Your tutor sounds like a big meanie." Touka winced sympathetically. "He throws boulders at you to train, and he makes you do this much work in a day?"

"Ten times this," pointing at his stack, "with the same amount coming every hour. For an entire week." Kazuto watched as Touka paled at the thought. He still remembers the time Reborn forced him to do his father's paperwork for a week. He wasn't allowed any breaks, except for mealtimes and sleep. It was a nightmare. Granted, he also had access to technologies like computers and printers, but that only means that he had less of a reason to complain about Reborn bringing more. And he swore that the things had passive Cloud Flames on them because they never seem to end. He even had a nightmare where Reborn comes in just to blow as much Cloud Flame as he could onto the place, at the time. This is silly, of course, since Reborn's flame is Sun, but it was a nightmare and Reborn is the source of most of his. "Now stop stalling and start waving that brush." Kazuto sighed, as quiet finally returned between them.

"Kazuto-kuuuun… This is way too much…" Touka moaned.

"Touka, I know. And I am in as much despair as you are." Kazuto sighed, as he looked at his stack.

"We haven't gotten out of the office since this morning!" Touka pointed out. "We haven't been able to see Aisha-chan and Rinrin-chan at all!"

"Aisha and Rinrin will be fine." Kazuto shrugged, "And we at least have patrols to do this afternoon." Kazuto then gave her a begging look, "Touka… please don't make this harder for me… I know that this is difficult, but please don't suck every bit of what enthusiasm I have left."

"Fine… but…"

Kazuto sighed. "Fine. Touka, if you finish your stack, then we'll have a joyride on my airbike." All for the sake of stopping Touka from complaining too much. He didn't mind the complaints but it was draining.

"Do you mean… I get to ride your Eiyabaiku again?" Touka excitedly asked. Kazuto was slightly surprised to know that Touka enjoyed riding with him. But he simply nodded in response.

"If you finish it before it gets too late to go," Kazuto responded, looking at the time on his cellphone (he manually set it to what he supposed was the time in these parts). And he too began getting in the groove. He wants to at least be done with his stack as well by the time Touka finishes hers.

-()-

Apparently, with enough motivation, they managed to finish the entire stack in that single morning. Well, again, it wasn't so much the amount but the sheer amount of work they had to do. But then they found another roadblock… Well, easily dealt with.

"I must protest against this, mas… Kazuto-sama!" Aisha told them, as the two prepared to ride the airbike. Kazuto had expected this and looked at his sworn sister with a strange expression.

"What are you protesting this time about?" Kazuto asked, "Is it because we're skipping duties or something? Don't worry, we'll get back to it soon enough. Is it our safety? We're not going to go very far from the city, and I doubt there are many horses around that could outpace my [airbike]."

"Aisha, please, please, please!" Touka begged, already holding the helmet in her hands. "I'll let you ride next afterward, so-"

"That's not the point!" Aisha hotly said. "The Yellow Turbans could be here any minute and you are going to just go around, unguarded, on your… strange horse? Please be more worried about yourselves! At least take a few guards with you if you want to do this so bad!"

"They'd just be left behind," Kazuto replied. "Also, I'm not doing this just for fun. We're also going to the farmlands and talking to the farmers. We're also going to be looking at the surroundings to see if there are things we can use for our advantage against the Yellow Turbans."

Aisha was taken aback by the response before glaring accusingly at him. "… that's still just an excuse to let you do as you want, isn't it?"

"When you have a tutor like I had, you learn to structure every recreational thing you want to do as something supposedly productive," Kazuto responded blankly, as he opened the box containing his contacts and earpiece, the objects going into their respective positions. And yes, he most certainly didn't deny it. He saw no point in doing so. "So, are you going to let me do this or not?"

"… Next time is Rinrin's turn!" Rinrin called as she approached.

"Rinrin!" Aisha said, scandalized.

"Sorry, Rinrin, we promised to let Aisha do it next." Touka apologized.

"But Aisha doesn't seem to want it." Rinrin pointed out, "So it should be fine for Rinrin to go first!"

"I didn't say I didn't want it, I just said…"

"Yes, yes, Aisha, we get it. You want next." Kazuto blatantly ignored Aisha's sputtering and turned to Rinrin, "Rinrin, sorry, you're after Aisha, okay?" Kazuto apologized. "Now let's go before the sun sets on us."

"Okay!" Touka nodded, putting the helmet on. Kazuto also put on his helmet and the two sped off, leaving their two friends in a trail of dust. Both Rinrin and Aisha were left coughing upon their exit.

"Did you even want to *cough* ride it?" Rinrin demanded, although still coughing.

"That is not the point!" Aisha groaned, "Come on, Rinrin, we need to…"

"Stay here and take care of the city while they're gone, right?" Rinrin grinned, causing Aisha to halt in her tracks. "What? Rinrin would love to come horse-riding, but at least Rinrin knows that at least one of us has to stay here and wait in case patrols come back, you know? And Oniichan promised that this will just be a short break, so it should be fine~" Aisha grimaced and sighed.

"Fine… But since when were you the one who let others have fun while you don't?"

"Oniichan promised that he would ride with Rinrin." Rinrin pointed out. "That means Rinrin will get to have fun sometime soon!"

"… fine. I'm going back to the Magistrate's Office to sort out the paperwork that is finished." Aisha sighed as she walked away.

"Wait, Aisha! Let Rinrin have her turn first!"

-()-

"We're getting pretty far." Touka casually mentioned as she felt the wind on her face as the two of them sped across the dirt roads of their unofficial realm. Kazuto had allowed her to keep the helmet off and wear only goggles after she pestered him enough, on the condition that she will not ask him to take part of her stack again for the next month. While Touka grumbled at the duration, to Kazuto the condition was only fair. As for him, he'd rather not have the unfortunate accident of having a fly or dust shoot into his eye and blind him while driving at these speeds. The dust that was being kicked up by the Airbike at least kept away from its rider's face. "Shouldn't we turn back soon?"

"Just a little bit further." Kazuto replied, "There should be a patrol around these parts. I want to talk to them for a little bit."

"Oh, I see…" Touka nodded, "Wait, how do you know where the patrols are? You've been cooped up with me doing paperwork!"

"Aisha came to me to ask about where to position them. The town guard was with us." Kazuto shrugged. "Although the two ended up deciding most of them by the end of it. My only contribution is to tell them to always work in twos or threes." Preferably someone with sharp eyes that can see far away and the other one or two capable of protecting the one who is constantly looking far ahead and thus might lose track of his surroundings. Of course, they can't be completely picky about partners so if there's no suitable partner, they were just given whoever was available. If the partnership just doesn't work out, they were swapped out and paired up with someone else.

"So that's why I usually see people walk around by groups." Touka nodded. "Ah, I think I see them!" Kazuto nodded, spotting a group of six horses and their riders, and began preparing to slow down. The thing about airbikes is that the propulsion system can kick up a lot of dust, so Kazuto switched to the bike's wheel mode so that he can turn off the air propulsion, and he slowed it down as they arrived near the group. As they dismounted, they were approached by the patrol group. Kazuto didn't bother storing the bike away yet. They'll be leaving shortly soon anyway.

"Ah, milord, milady!" A man with a bow, presumably a hunter, jumped off his horse and bowed low upon coming near them. "It's good to see you both. As usual, your strange horse is as quick as ever." The man praised.

"Hoy, Shin, be more respectful of our lord." Another man scowled. "I apologize for my companion here; he's a bit loud, but he's a good bowman."

"It's fine." Kazuto nodded. "He didn't offend me in any way."

"Is everything here alright?" Touka asked.

"Yes, everything so far checks out." The man nodded. "There hasn't been any sign of the Yellow Turbans. I wonder if they're even coming at all."

"They'll come," Kazuto affirmed. "Those kinds of people don't give up after one failure."

"Yeah, but you can't help but feel tense as you walk around these parts only to realize that nothing's there." The bowman called Shin moaned. Kazuto is hesitant to call him that just in case it turns out to be his True Name. Kazuto simply shook his head and was about to say something when he felt something knock on his head. His Hyper Intuition is telling him something. Something's coming… but from where? And, unfortunately, his Hyper Intuition has never really failed him before. He has misinterpreted what they tried to tell him before, but they never did fail him.

He focused his eyes, about, trying to find the source of his frustration. Sometimes, he wished his contact lenses had a telescope function, but they could only make them have various vision filters, nothing as functional as that. But he soon found it. The trails of dust being kicked up, just at the horizon, clearly indicated that they were still a ways away. They could've been allies coming to support them, but they never requested any aid. In fact, as a Volunteer Army, they were the ones expected to aid other armies. That means this rushing group could only be one thing: "Yellow Turbans. They've finally come."

-()-

Chapter End

-()-

Chapter Release Date: June 30, 2019
Last Edited: June 3, 2022

-()-

Beta Reader: Genesis SBX