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.
-()-
Joining and Returning
-()-
"Calm down, Kazuto. It's just a family gathering."
"But Papa…"
"You worry too much, niichan." The little hands of his younger sister cheerfully pulled his own. "The uncles are nice."
"VOOOOOIIIII! HOW LONG ARE YOU GOING TO MAKE US WAIT, DECIMO!?"
"Uncle Squalo!" Yoshiko cheered as she rushed in. Kazuto went after her quickly.
"Wait, Yoshiko!" He was then greeted by a large banquet hall. At the head of the table was a man, his face filled with scars. He raised his wineglass, clearly uncaring of drinking in the presence of minors and looked down on him. This is Xanxus, the leader of Varia. The strongest arm of the Vongola. When it comes to quality, no one can top Varia Quality, so they say. Some say that they could top the current Vongola Family in a match. Uncle Gokudera, however, scoffed, saying that his father can and did wipe the floor with them. He didn't know who to believe there, but he trusted Gokudera more than rumors.
That changed nothing about the situation. The man looked down on him. It was as though he was evaluating him. He, in turn, gave a defiant glare towards him. He is Sawada Tsunayoshi's child. The boss's child. He can't show weakness.
(In the background, Yoshiko quickly clambered over to a man with a sword on his arm.)
"So this is the one who'll inherit the Vongola?" The man finally said, scoffing. "He looks weaker than you when we first met."
"The boy's eight, and you met me when I was fourteen, Xanxus." His father laughed.
"The girl would make a better leader." Xanxus mockingly told him.
"I disagree." His father replied easily. "Kazuto will make a fine leader of the Vongola."
"Oh?" Xanxus mocked.
"I think he's right, boss." A blonde-haired man smirked. "He didn't run away like a pussy like Decimo did when we first met. I'd say that makes him stronger if nothing else."
"It's nice to see you too, Belphegor." Tsuna laughed.
Kazuto simply continued looking at Xanxus.
"I'm not playing a staring contest with a brat." Xanxus scoffed, "Take your seat."
"… That's papa's seat." Kazuto told him.
"Hah?"
"The head of the table should have the highest-ranking member in the room. That's what Mikoto said, so you shouldn't be on that seat."
Quiet filled the room. They could only boggle-eyed look at the boy.
Xanxus merely scoffed and continued drinking, "Make me leave it." The challenge was clear.
Kazuto nodded but Tsuna grabbed his shoulders.
"Pick your fights, Kazuto." Tsuna warned, "Xanxus will not hesitate to beat you up."
Kazuto grimaced before relenting. It's not like he has some weapon to use right now.
"Teaching him your herbivore ways too, Decimo?"
"Oh, did you and Kyouya fight a bit too many times and now you're borrowing words from him?" Tsuna laughed, and Xanxus rose from the chair to glare at him.
A shrill whistle then echoed into the room. Blowing the whistle was Yoshiko. "NO FIGHTING!", she declared.
"I will murder her." Xanxus scowled.
"Drop it, Xanxus." Tsuna told him. "You're not killing anyone in this room." There was a tone of finality in those words. A reminder to Kazuto that his father truly was the leader of the strongest mafia family in the world. Then, in a more light-hearted tone, "Well, not unless you want to pay for all the damage you end up doing when you try." Tsuna gestured to the very expensive room. Paintings, chandeliers, the tableware, all of it points as expensive. Even more expensive than Kazuto's usual fare. "And, reminder, you're the one who paid for this room, so you already know just how much it would cost to fix it. You will not be able to fleece the money from Vongola Accounts."
Xanxus could only look angrily at Tsuna before skulking off the chair and moving to a gaudy chair that was clearly designed to be grander than any other chair in the room. Clearly, that was the chair that he normally sat on during these types of gatherings.
Tsuna sighed, ruffling Kazuto's hair a bit before gesturing for him to sit next to him.
Kazuto's first meeting with the Varia was not pleasant. Not in the slightest. The tensions were so high that he could barely pay attention to his food. And the place was just way too gaudy, even for him. But Kazuto never backed down. He saw no reason to, in all honesty.
It would only be a few years later that he realizes that he really was way too reckless in that encounter, as he reads the countless atrocious missions that the Varia have done under Xanxus's Command. If Vongola under Tsunayoshi represented the gray area of wanting to remain a good person while entrenched in the world of Mafia, Varia under Xanxus was the dark abyss of the underside of the world of Mafia. He will eventually have to learn it, of course, the cruelty of man, but…
He still wishes to remain a good person. He still wishes to not lose himself to the darkness of the world. He still wishes that Sawada Tsunayoshi can end the history of cruelty of the Vongola by the end of his reign as Decimo so that Kazuto will not need to do so anymore. But that's too optimistic. Sawada Tsunayoshi cannot change the mafia that quickly. He can only do as much as he can before it passes on to him.
He still wishes to remain a good person.
-()-
"You… made fun of Sousou-san!?"
Shokatsuryou Koumei could only bafflingly look at her lord, who could only look at the self-satisfied image that Kazuto was practically radiating as he recounts the story. He didn't really go into that much detail about the three's heated debate. Touka herself has collapsed on the bed. She turned her head up and just shook her head.
"Kazuto-kun has always been a bit of a prankster."
"You still haven't forgiven me for that? It was one time." Kazuto pointed out.
"You shot a crossbow while I was sleeping!" Touka pouted. "The table still has the hole!"
"And ever since, Shuri is not allowed to maintain her crossbow in the office." Kazuto theatrically told the others.
"I didn't go that far!" Touka protested, "Shuri can do so just fine, as long as Kazuto-kun never holds it!"
Shuri laughed slightly. "I don't bring it in anymore because I'm done with the modifications. I can keep it maintained just fine in the weapon storage."
"Bakazuto," Reborn spoke up, "As much as you seem happy about the whole thing, you promised that you will tell the group something." It was specifically a promise to Touka, but…
"Only Touka and Rinrin don't know about it, right now though…" Kazuto chuckled, "But sure."
"Wait! You mean you all had a secret that you left us out of!?" Rinrin protested, now once more a bundle of energy after her rest. She's still not allowed to leave the house, but it's there.
"Well, this was a secret that is a bit harder to hide than Chiihou's…" Kazuto winced.
"Chiihou?" Reborn asked.
"One of our friends back home. Family, if you will." Kazuto replied.
"Is that her True Name?"
"It's her only name." Kazuto firmly replied.
"… Hmm… then go on, what's the secret that you've been hiding?"
"Well…" Kazuto hesitantly said, "Remember Ryofu and how she escaped?"
"Yes?" Touka asked. "What about it."
"I know who the culprit is, and how they did it."
"Eh!? But how!?" Rinrin asked.
"The culprit is…" Kazuto theatrically stood and started walking to the center of the room. But before he could reach it, he received a kick in the face from the diminutive hitman.
"Get to the point!" Reborn barked.
"What Kazuto-sama is saying…" Shuri sighed, "Is that he was the one who let Ryofu out."
Both Rinrin and Touka looked at each other before screaming, ""EHHH!?""
"Explain, Bakazuto."
"But, but, why would you do that!?"
"That's right, niichan!? And how!? Did you destroy the wall too?"
"I'll explain, just let me get back up…" Kazuto mumbled. As he stood up, and Reborn flipped back onto the windowsill.
"If it's how, Shuri helped him." Aisha was quick to throw Shuri under the bus.
"Hawawa!"
"Makes sense!" Rinrin nodded as if that's all the information she needed for that question, "But what about the wall?"
"Ryofu did that on her own." Kazuto replied. "I don't know how, I don't know why, just that she did it somehow. All I did was give her halberd back to her. Also, Chinkyuu was definitely in the room."
"… If she's strong enough to destroy a wall like that, then how did Rinrin and Aisha not get more hurt in the fight…" Touka wondered, "Because, Aisha-chan and Rinrin-chan were blocking Ryofu's attacks a lot during our fight."
"The battle between the four sworn siblings and Ryofu." Sei sighed, "I wish I was there to see it."
"The answer is simple. We. Don't. Know." Kazuto emphasized each syllable. "The whole wall thing is ridiculous in the first place, so let's just skim over it for now. I'll explain why." Everyone in the room nodded.
Everyone was silent throughout the explanation, only making small sounds that show that they were still paying attention.
"I see." Reborn patiently nodded, "You relied on your Hyper Intuition, then?"
"I guess?" Kazuto nodded.
"Hmm… Hyper Intuition is not perfect for telling which are lies and which aren't." Reborn told him. "It works on occasion, and especially if you're paying close attention, but a person's body language is a tricky thing to read compared to the atmosphere."
"It worked just fine for the time." Kazuto replied. "Ren isn't a particularly hard person to read. She doesn't say much, so most of her communication is done through her expressions."
"Umm…?" Touka asked.
"We exchanged True Names." Kazuto replied.
"Ah…" Touka shallowly nodded. "If Kazuto-kun trusts Ryofu, then I'll give her the benefit of the doubt too."
"She didn't seem that bad of a person when we fought either." Rinrin shrugged, "So I'm fine. But you shouldn't hide these things from us, niichan!"
"I'm pretty sure the one who was the angriest during that fight was Rinrin, though." Kazuto pointed out.
"That's because she ignored Aisha and Rinrin so that she can try and kill you!" Rinrin argued.
"Anyway, thank you, both of you, for believing in me. Oh, and Aisha and Sei, too. I don't think I really expressed how grateful I am to you two either." Kazuto smiled at them.
"You're our lord. It's only right that we follow your lead, even if we think it's a strange path." Sei nodded.
"Just promise you won't do these things anymore…" Aisha sighed.
"Not without Touka. I promise." Kazuto nodded.
"You promise?" Touka pleaded.
"To be honest, the only reason we hid information from you is that you're someone who we expected to interact with the other lords a lot. I don't think you would've acted the same as you did if you knew what Shuri and I did. You would've acted a lot more nervous, especially the first few days."
"Guuu…" Touka sighed, not being able to disregard that.
"I suppose I'll have to train Ryuubi's poker face then." Reborn shrugged. "It would not do for a leader to not have the ability to hide information. As a leader, you will gain access to information that will be detrimental to your survival if carelessly released."
"I'll be in your care." Touka nodded, "Anything so that I won't get left out again."
"Teaching you to lie, however," Reborn smirked, "would not suit your image. Let Kazuto handle the lies." Touka laughed, and Kazuto nodded seriously.
"What about Rinrin!?" Rinrin asked. "Rinrin was left out too!"
"You're just a bit loud." Aisha consoled. "I know that you can keep secrets, but there wasn't a need for you to know, so we didn't tell you."
"That's not fair." Rinrin pouted.
"There's another thing I'd like to ask," Sei interrupted, "You mentioned something about Hyper Intuition?"
"An ability passed down from my ancestors." Kazuto replied, "It's simply referred to as the 'ability to see through everything'. In practice, it's just that my mind analyzes information that I take in faster than most people. To the point that a sudden disturbance in the wind lets me know of an incoming attack." Kazuto replied, "Used against a person, it works like I'm reading someone's body movement. Due to this, it sucks against dealing with mechanical enemies… but I doubt I'll be fighting any in this era, so that's fine."
"He can see through disguises too." Reborn smirked, "All my disguises would be perfect, but since he identifies people by their body language most of the time, he sees through it easily."
"A big pinecone with your face sticking out is not a good disguise." Kazuto replied, "There aren't even any pine trees here for it!"
"So that's why you keep saying intuition when we ask why you explain why you act confident about things!" Touka gasped, "It really was intuition then!"
"And it's passed down through your bloodline?" Sei asked, interested.
"My father has it. My sister has it. My kids will have it." Kazuto nodded. They all nodded as they took that particular information in. Touka, Aisha, and Shuri's faces all turned red slightly after a few moments. "Are you alright?"
"Ah, yeah, I think I drank too much tea!" Touka replied with a laugh.
"I as well."
"Maybe I should go get Genchoku-chan now!" Shuri stood up.
"No." Reborn rebuked. "The main reason why Josho Genchoku remained hidden the entire time is to avoid being recruited by outsiders, yes? Then patiently wait for the Choubaku, Sousou, and Sonken Armies to leave."
"R-right, of course. Sorry." Shuri winced.
"Then what should we do?" Touka asked.
"Shuri, how's the estimate?" Kazuto asked, "How long will it take for us to finish Touka's assignment?"
"I believe, if everyone works fine, it'll take only a couple of days." Shuri smiled, "It'll be hard to repair a lot of things, but it should be done in that time frame. As morbid as it may seem, it helps that most of the houses are undamaged, and is only looted."
"Good. Then we'll prepare to leave on the morning of the third day." Kazuto nodded.
"Hey, Kazuto-kun…"
"Yes, Touka?"
"Where do you think Toutaku is now?" Touka asked.
"Considering there are no tracks headed west, then they're probably on their way to our territory." Kazuto nodded, "I gave Ren the flag and ring so that Hinari would welcome them in, after all."
"With that, I think, we're done with the break." Aisha stood up. "Let's finish this task as soon as possible."
-()-
In an out of the way grove, a single carriage was hidden partially by the leaves. Inside, Toutaku was worriedly looking at the sleeping Kentei, writhing occasionally.
"I don't think she's going to be fine if we do travel separately from the Ryuubi Army." Josho grimaced. "We should join up with them soon."
"Paitan…" Toutaku worriedly mumbled. "Stay strong."
"Can't we just go in already!?" Chinkyuu asked. "There's like, three armies left!"
"Risky!" Kaku harshly rebuked. "If they see Yue, what then? Sousou possibly knows what Yue looks like! And Sonken would recognize the resemblance between Kentei-sama and the Emperor!"
"Guuuh…" Chinkyuu grimaced, "Why didn't the Ryuubi Army just leave earlier!? Then we could've just joined in on their way…"
"It's not like you and that Hongou made some plan as to what to do." Kaku grimaced. "We can potentially just head straight to Ryuubi Army territory, but…"
"It's probably better if Kentei is seen by Ryuubi and Hongou." Josho finished. "They might know a method to deal with her illness."
"So we're stuck waiting here." Chinkyuu grumbled. "Our food supplies going to run out soon. We might actually start needing to hunt."
"It wouldn't have been a problem if Ryofu didn't eat as much as she does." Josho shrugged.
"Sorry."
"It's fine, Ren." Toutaku smiled.
"If anything, you deserve to have more food, for all the work you've been doing." Josho nodded.
"So, now what?" Chinkyuu sighed. "Sleep some more?"
"Choubaku and Sousou, leaving." Ryofu reported. "Sonken leaving."
"Eh?"
"So the last group left is the Ryuubi Army." Josho muttered. "Didn't really see that coming. Wonder what they're doing there?"
"But this is a chance." Kaku nodded. "As soon as Sonken and Choubaku are out of sight, we should go straight in to find the Heavenly Messenger!"
"A blessing in disguise to be sure." Josho nodded, "Then Hongou can look at her from a bed, rather than a moving cart."
"Incoming people." Ren told them.
""""Eh?"""" Four voices echoed, and they all looked out the carriage, to find four people approaching their location.
"Why would they head here!?" Kaku asked. "This is far too out of the way for anyone to need to head in this direction!"
"Do you recognize them?" Josho asked the girl, "If Sousou and Sonken are leaving, then these must be Ryuubi Army."
Ryofu peered out before nodding. "Kazuto. Kan'u. Chouhi. Blonde girl with same clothes." Ryofu pointed in Josho's direction.
"Koumei-chan!" Genchoku smiled, before jumping out the carriage, before waving. Ryofu nodded, too, and pulled out the flag and waved it in their direction. The four looked surprised at the sight, before they quickly ran forward, Kazuto stopping only to pick up the blonde wearing violet clothing that was indeed similar to Josho's own outfit.
"Genchoku-chan!" Shokatsuryou waved as Kazuto stared in surprise.
"So Houfu is Ryofu Housen." Kazuto laughed, "Should've seen that coming. Not bad pseudonyms, Ren. I suppose Chuutaku is Toutaku Chuuei, Bunku is Kaku Bunwa, and Koukyuu is Chinkyuu Koudai then." Ren nodded. "That leaves Kenkyou as an unknown for us."
"Ryofu." Kan'u greeted, warily looking at the girl. Ryofu nodded in turn. She was not holding a weapon. "You aimed for my lord's life."
Ryofu only nodded.
"I don't trust you nor do I trust your companions. Not yet." Aisha declared.
"Is that not a bit much, General Kan'u?" Josho asked in worry. Aisha merely glared at her.
"It's fine." Kazuto laughed, Rinrin grinned, and Shuri merely smiled. "It's Aisha's job to doubt those who could harm us. She won't raise her blade against the helpless either way. So, where's Toutaku?"
Toutaku breathed before stepping out of the carriage and bowed. "I am Toutaku Chuuei… former Chancellor of State."
Kaku exited as well, nodding. "Kaku Bunwa. Strategist."
"Then the little girl is…" Rinrin pointed.
"Don't call Nene 'little girl'!" Chinkyuu irritatedly yelled. "Nene is Chinkyuu Koudai!"
"Why did you let Ren escape?" Kaku asked, accusatory in tone.
"I thought that she had a good reason to think that Toutaku is a good person. The safest way to make sure Toutaku survives is to let Ren leave. So that's what we did." Kazuto replied.
"… Safest?" Kaku asked.
"If we met Toutaku while we're still the leader of the coalition, then there's a good chance that we'll be forced to execute her should anyone recognize her." Kazuto replied, "It's simply safer that way."
"Thank you." Toutaku bowed to him. "If it wasn't for Ren arriving, we would've been in grave danger… Choujou's forces were closing in on us before Ren arrived."
"Choujou?" Kazuto asked, "I'm sorry, but we'll have to talk in a safer environment. Let's go back into the capital."
"W-wait!" Toutaku yelled, "Umm… why?"
"Hmm?"
"Why did you believe Ren when she said I was a good person?"
"Intuition," Kazuto replied.
"Eh?" Toutaku only looked confused.
""That's not an answer."" Kaku and Chinkyuu just looked irritated at that response.
"Un." Ren nodded as if totally understanding Kazuto's response.
"Don't nod as if you accept that answer!" Kaku scolded.
"Anyway, we only thought that Josho and a few friends of hers were here… but Ren would definitely be recognized by others in the army." Kazuto sighed.
"She did kill quite a few of our soldiers." Aisha nodded, "I doubt that grudge will be erased easily, even if we say anything about it."
Ren grimaced. "Stay here?"
"No." Kazuto shook his head. "You're coming. Besides, none of you have met Ryuubi yet."
"Umm, there's also Kenkyou… Can we ask who she is?" Shuri asked.
"Did Denhou tell you about us?" Josho asked. "She's the only one we told our pseudonyms to."
"She was worried about you sleeping without a roof on your heads, so she told me." Shuri nodded.
"We told her to keep us a secret though, but I'm grateful." Josho smiled. "As for Kenkyou…"
"Ryuukyou." Toutaku replied. "Her name's Ryuukyou."
"Ryuuky…" Kazuto's eyes widened. "You mean Kentei!? As in, the Emperor!?"
"""E-EHHH!?""" The Ryuubi Army group all yelled in surprise.
"Quiet!" Kaku hissed, "Also, why do you know the emperor's personal name!?"
"Well, great… things just got a whole lot more complicated." Kazuto sighed. "New plan, get the carriage back into the capital, and have… yet another brainstorming session!" Kazuto has been spending far too many meetings in the past few days. And he doubts it's going to end anytime soon either, considering that's supposed to be his job. Still better than paperwork.
"""Understood!""" The other three nodded.
"Ren, get back in the carriage. Don't let yourself be seen! Aisha, you drive. Rinrin, get the flag from Ren, and stick it onto the side of the carriage. Let's move it, people!"
Everyone quickly did as they were told, Kazuto jumping into the carriage, helping Shuri, Toutaku, and Kaku (who was a bit reluctant) into the carriage. Josho clambered to the side of Aisha, who quickly took the reins. Ren jumped into the carriage last.
"There's a lot of dogs in here…" Shuri said in surprise. Kazuto nodded, before spying the sleeping Kentei.
"Is something the matter with her?"
"She's been cursed by Choujou's sorcery." Kaku replied, "It's been growing worse since we left the capital."
"Is that why you became a tyrant?" Kazuto asked Toutaku, who shook her head.
"I was…"
"It's the reason why we can't stop Choujou from making Yue out to be a tyrant." Kaku interjected in frustration.
"Why would they do that?" Shuri asked, "They've already shown to be able to control people… Why would they need to blackmail?"
"Control People!?" Kaku asked quickly, "What do you mean?"
"So there are things that you weren't aware of as well then…" Kazuto muttered, looking at the girl barely Shuri's age, before placing his right hand on her forehead. "Her body seems to at least still be healthy… still fighting. Good… hm?" Kentei seems to calm down slightly. Kazuto's hand stretched out to her wrist, and checked. "… Anyway. Let's get back to the others."
They'll exchange information on the way at least.
-()-
The trip back was relatively uneventful. Kazuto tells them of his encounter with the white-robed sorcerer that helped stop the coalition at Shisui Pass. Kaku allowed herself a sigh in annoyance upon hearing that Kayuu pretty much disobeyed her orders. Toutaku tried to tell her side, but Kazuto stopped her, telling her to tell the story with everyone so that she only needs to tell the story once.
The entire time, Kazuto somehow winded up with Kentei's head on his lap, considering how cramped the carriage is now. Ren then started introducing to him every single dog that she has, one standout to him being Sekito, a small brown dog with a reddish-purple scarf around his neck. Kazuto guessed that Damien would be very disappointed to see that one of the most famous horses of history has become a dog in this world.
It wasn't that long a trip, and they soon entered the gates where many soldiers saluted them on their way before going back to what they were doing. Aisha greeted each but didn't stop till they arrived at Chousen's place.
"U… uuu…"
"Ah, Paitan, you're awake. How do you feel?"
"… Yue…" Kentei mumbled. "I…" Before realizing that she's hearing Toutaku's voice from the wrong direction, and looking up, not at the face of her friend, but at a male's face. "W-who are you!?"
"Kazuto." Kazuto kindly replied, "I'm one of your… distant cousin's friends, I suppose."
"D-distant cousin?"
"RyuubI Gentoku." Kazuto smiled before adjusting his leg to help the girl stand up, and to let some blood from his leg to flow through it again. "Come on, she'll want to meet you."
"Ryuubi… then you're the Heavenly Messenger…" Kentei nodded, "But that means you're… Umm! Yue, that is, Toutaku…" She hesitantly said, before seeing that Toutaku was right there, "Umm… she's a good person who's been taking care of me all this time and…"
"She's your friend, yes?" Kazuto then bent over, "Come on, I'll carry you."
"I…"
"Unless you want Ren to carry you instead, I guess. Probably better." Kazuto retracted his offer.
"No, no, I think I can walk by myself…" Kentei said, refusing. "I just…" She forced herself up. Toutaku and Kazuto quickly moved to escort her out but taking care not to disturb her balance. Kazuto jumped out of the carriage and helped the girls inside to step off the carriage.
Kentei stumbled a bit before looking at the place, "Umm… this isn't the palace…"
"Unfortunately, the palace is a bit burnt up." Kazuto understated, "Currently speaking, no one is allowed to stick so much as their nose in there. It could suddenly collapse on your head without warning, after all."
"I see." Kentei winced, "Umm, Kazuto-san, did you find the Imperial Seal?"
"Sorry, but it's not on us, nor was it anywhere in the palace when we searched." Kazuto replied honestly. He never did get confirmation whether the Imperial Seal is on Sonken's person after all, even though they all BUT confirmed it.
"I see… That's a shame. My sister hid it before she…" Kentei winced, stumbling a bit, "Sorry, I'm still feeling awful. The curse that Choujou put on me still seems to be in effect. I thought it was gone earlier too…"
"Anyway, this is… the home of Ouin, which we have taken to using as our base for the time being." Kazuto told her. Ouin, or Wang Yun, is the official owner of the house, although they all called it Chousen's house. It was fortunate that Reborn was there to correct them before they made that mistake. "Although the homeowner is nowhere here, it's one of the few big enough homes that could house as many of us securely, that wasn't too damaged by the white robes' pillaging streak."
"I see…" Kentei muttered sadly.
"Hongou-sama!" A soldier greeted them at the door, "And these are?"
"…" Kazuto hesitated here. Should they announce who the girl is now… Not yet, Kazuto decided. "These are Josho's companions. Is Ryuubi here?"
The soldier shook his head, "She's still out, sir."
"Can you contact her? She needs to meet them after all." Kazuto sighed, "Tell her that it was a bit urgent than expected."
"Yes sir." The man quickly headed out.
"I'll get some tea for us?" Shuri asked.
"I'll help~" Josho nodded, "Maybe I'll whip up some snacks for us too?"
"If you can, that's great, although we do have a bit of a shortage." Kazuto told Josho, "But if you can, spend some time catching up with each other."
"Thank you, Hongou-sama." Josho nodded.
"Kazuto is fine." Kazuto replied.
"Is that fine? Then, Kazuto-sama." Josho nodded, "Speaking of, where's Shigen-chan?"
"She volunteered to stay back in the territory." Shuri replied, a tinge of sadness in her tone.
"Ah, that's a shame. Then I suppose I'll meet her when we go back."
"You really are planning on joining us now, then?" Shuri asked.
"Mmhmm!" Josho nodded.
"The three students of Suikyou are all under our flag." Kazuto laughed, "Anyway, just go on already."
"Okay!" The two went over to where the kitchen was.
"Your group is really warm." Kentei remarked, seeing the two go on their way.
"I suppose so." Kazuto nodded. "Anyway… as for bedroom assignments… I suppose you can take Ouin's room…" Kazuto and Touka are currently occupying Chousen's Room, which explains why the bed was rather large. "As for, Toutaku-san and Kaku-san…"
"Umm, Yue is fine." Toutaku interrupted.
"Yue!?" Kaku balked at the sudden interruption.
"It's fine, isn't it?" Toutaku asked, "I mean I won't be able to keep my name anyway, so…"
"… Yue it is." Kazuto nodded, "Kazuto."
"Wait. Umm… does that mean Kazuto is your True Name?" Kentei asked, confused.
"It's my first name. Don't worry about it." Kazuto laughed. "I don't have something against people referring to me by name."
"Then, uhh…"
"You do not need to tell me your True Name unless you're sure about it." Kazuto interrupted.
"Hongou!" Kaku scowled, "Show some respect for the Emperor!"
Kazuto flinched and scratched his head, "Oh, right. Sorry."
"It's fine." Kentei shook her head. "Anyway, my True Name is Paitan."
"Got it. Then, shall we get you onto a bed, Paitan? You still look like you'll collapse on your feet."
"Thank you." Paitan nodded.
"Ughh… fine." Kaku sighed, "My True Name is Ei."
"Nene's True Name is Nenene." Chinkyuu sighed, as well. When everyone looked at her in surprise, "What? Ren-sama exchanged True Names already, and since everyone else exchanged True Names, it would be weird if I don't too!"
"… Then, Nenene, Ei, Paitan, and Yue." Kazuto tested each name on his tongue. "Got it. It's nice to meet all of you."
"Where did Kan'u and Chouhi go?" Kaku asked, turning around.
"They should be talking to the soldiers that Ryofu will be joining us so that they won't be too surprised to see her." Kazuto smiled slightly.
"They left you alone, without aid?" Kaku asked, "That doesn't sound…"
"I can defend myself. It's not like any of you have weapons on you right now either."
"Eh…" They turned towards the only combatant in the room to see that Ren just tilted her head, Sekito in her arms mirroring his master's action. She decisively does not have any weapon, much less Houtengeki, in her hands.
"And, I think I can trust you." Kazuto finished.
"That's not a reason." Kaku barked back, dutifully ignoring Ren's nod behind her.
"It is." Kazuto replied with a laugh, "It's just not a reason a rational person would accept. Now come on, and let's get you situated for a while."
-()-
In Ouin's room, ten people gathered. One side stood near the door, another gathered near the bed. Only one of them was sitting down, the girl on the bed, who was being tended to by another girl.
"Let's introduce ourselves, first, shall we?" Kazuto started, and everyone in the room nodded. "I'm Sawada Kazuto, Style Name is Hongou." Sawada Kazuto smiled. A brown-haired boy, a bit unkempt. He wore his usual uniform, and his belt with six boxes attached to them.
""""Since when was that your Style Name!?"""" Everyone asked.
"It's something I decided." A small baby jumped onto the boy's head. "There's no reason for Kazuto to hide his true surname anymore. Or at all, since coming here." The baby then tipped his fedora, "My name, is Reborn. And I serve as this boy's tutor."
"A baby is the tutor?" Kaku asked, skeptically.
"He's actually an adult." Kazuto replied, "Probably close to Batou-san if we're talking about age." Reborn scoffed. He's actually much older than that, but that's not a problem. He'll just shoot the boy for making assumptions.
"Then why?" Kaku asked.
"It's more convenient." Reborn replied, a tone of finality in his voice. It's clear that he disapproved of this tangent. "Ryuubi."
"Ah, right!" Ryuubi nodded, before turning to the other side, "I'm Ryuubi Gentoku, one of the two leaders of this army. My True Name is Touka. Nice to meet you." The rose-haired girl smiled at the others, and they too smiled in turn.
"Kan'u Unchou, General, Storm Guardian. True Name: Aisha."
"Shokatsuryou Koumei. Strategist. Mist Guardian. My True Name is Shuri."
Taller than Shuri is, the girl at her side nodded to everyone. She wore similarly purple clothing to Shuri, however, instead of a beret, she wore a long strip of cloth that is wrapped up multiple times around her forehead, and tied down to the side. Stray tufts of light red hair poke out above the cloth, reaching over it to her blue eyes. She had a long ponytail, reaching to her back. "Josho Genchoku. Strategist. I… don't have a True Name." Josho winced. "Sorry."
"You don't?" Kazuto asked. "I thought most people do?"
"Wawawa! It's just that… Things happened, and I had to give up my old name and everything." Josho awkwardly scratched her head.
"I'm not going to ask." Kazuto raised his hand, "All I know is this: Shuri trusts you. So I'll trust you."
"Thanks." Josho nodded.
"Tanfuku." Reborn remarked, causing her to freeze up. Reborn transformed Leon into a pacifier before putting it in his mouth, "Don't mind me. I'm just a baby."
"No, you're not." Kazuto scolded, knowing full well that that word was probably Josho's original name, or something, or at least the Japanese pronunciation of it.
"Hmm?" A gun muzzle was pointed at his head.
"I'm not budging from this, Reborn." The gun was withdrawn with a lazy smirk. Kazuto looked apologetically towards Josho. "Sorry about him, he tends to be weird at times."
"I, it's fine." Josho winced.
"Then…" Kazuto turned to the other side of the room, where Yue was pressing a wet towel on Kentei's forehead, although both are still awake and paying attention to the scene. "It's your turn."
"I'm Kentei, the current emperor." Paitan said as she pushed herself to face the others, purple eyes looking at them, with a soft gaze. Light pink hair, almost white, flowed freely. A single white ribbon was on her hair, just above her left eye. The members of the Ryuubi Army all bowed in response.
After they raised their heads, it was the girl who was tending to Kentei's turn. Her periwinkle hair, similar in shade to Hinari's, extends down to her shoulders. Pink eyes, similar in shade to Shuri's, look upon them and nodded, "Toutaku Chuuei. Chancellor of State. My True Name is Yue."
"Kaku Bunwa, Advisor to the Chancellor. True Name is Ei." Mint green hair, tied in two braids in front of her, and pink-rimmed glasses cover her yellowish-brown eyes.
"Ryofu Housen. General. Ren." Short red hair, her skin color reminiscent of various members of the Sonken Army. Her clothes do nothing to hide various tattoos on her body. Her purple eyes were looking upon them quietly. She still does not have her weapon, having been left in the carriage, and is instead holding onto Sekito.
"Nene is Chinkyuu Koudai. I'm Ren-sama's Strategist! True Name is Nenene!" Around Rinrin's height, turquoise hair in twin-tails. Amber-colored eyes bore a ferocity that is quite unlike any of the strategists that Kazuto has ever met, more reminiscent of Rinrin's own energy. However, he does know that she is at least capable, able to hold the fort effectively until Ryofu's loss.
"I already explained the chain of events that led up to our arrival here." Kazuto stated. "So what happened?"
"So where should we start?" Yue asked.
Touka pondered on this before nodding, "How about the time that you were called to the capital? Right after the Yellow Turban Rebellion. Most people were wondering as to how that came about…" Understatement, as most were actually livid about that.
"That would be my fault." Kentei apologized. "I didn't think that calling only Yue would cause the other lords to be angry at me…"
"You already knew of Yue at the time?" Kazuto asked.
"I met her when she came to the capital before." Paitan smiled, "We became friends that day."
"So you invited her to come to the capital, because you wanted to see your friend…" Kazuto nodded. "I suppose that's fine."
"But we stepped on a lot of people's toes." Kentei sighed.
"You weren't emperor back then, right? What happened anyway? Why did no one else get invited?"
"I don't know. But oneesama suddenly decided to not invite everyone." Kentei winced. "It was already scheduled and everything, but something happened and she decided not to."
"Either she was incredibly lazy…" Kentei winced once more, and Kaku just looked annoyed. Everyone just laughed nervously, and Reborn just shook his head in annoyance before kicking the boy's head.
"Ow!"
"No matter how possibly true it is, you do not insinuate the emperor of any sort of sin, unless you have some sort of proof. People have been executed for less."
"Sorry." Kazuto grumbled.
"It's fine." Kentei sighed, "It's one of the top reasons I can think of too. It's not as if she ever hid her displeasure for noble obligations."
"I sense a but there." Kazuto noted.
Kentei nodded, "But, now that I thought of it more, oneesama isn't the type to do so anyway. It's not as if it will eat up that much of her time to simply meet with the lords and have Chouchuu-san pass their accolades to them. Oh and you two as well, of course." They weren't exactly lords at the time, after all.
"Which leads me to the other possible solution." Kazuto nodded, "Reitei-sama canceled it because an outside force affected her judgment."
"Outside force?" Shuri asked for clarification.
"Either she felt something was off, or someone coerced her to do so." Kazuto nodded.
"… It was probably the former." Kentei decided. "After all, oneesama always did have a strange sort of affinity for making decisions that seem strange at first, but working for the best."
"That's just being a good leader." Reborn pointed out. "And why do you think so?"
"The Eunuch rebellion against Kashin-san and Kataigou-san happened around the time most of the lords would be staying at the capital to receive their accolades." Paitan replied, "It might have gotten out of hand."
"The eunuchs could have even pinned the blame on someone else if they had succeeded." Reborn remarked. "After all, there's just conveniently a bunch of warlords in the capital that could potentially have had a grudge against Kashin." Reborn then snapped, "Regardless, we're giving Reitei too much benefit of the doubt. Without Reitei here, we'll be just left guessing to something that matters little anymore. Continue."
"What happened exactly with Reitei-sama's… death?" Touka asked cautiously.
"We personally believe that Reitei-sama is alive." Yue bowed, "However, she has disappeared. Alongside Chouchuu, Kouhosuu, and Roshoku."
"Fuurin-sensei disappeared too?" Touka said, in disappointment.
"Fuurin-dono did mention that you were her pupil." Kaku nodded, "She was rather proud of you and Kousonsan-san."
"Ehehehe~" Touka scratched her head, "I wasn't that good though…"
"On the contrary, she said that you were her most prized pupil." Kaku contradicted. "She seems to have high expectations of you."
"Ahahaha." Touka laughed a bit nervously, "I'll try to live up to her expectations then."
"Don't try. Do." Reborn barked. "You are a leader. If you fail to live up to that expectation, how could you take hold of the expectations of your own subordinates?"
"Understood." Touka replied to him.
"You're lucky that he has no physical presence." Kazuto told her. He then received a swift kick to his head. "Anyway! Enshou mentioned going to visit the capital, but she mentioned being turned away at the door too before she demanded a second visit."
Ei suffered a sigh as if dealing with a headache that they didn't want to remember. Yue herself gave a wincing smile.
Paitan merely continued, "Kashin invited her in for something. But then the eunuch's plot to kill Kashin was revealed and everything went horribly wrong."
"Do you have some idea why Kashin was targeted by the Eunuchs?" Touka asked.
"Kashin-san has always been rather extreme." Paitan winced. "And the Eunuchs have always been trying to remove him from his position, since well…"
"His origins as a butcher, right?" Kazuto sighed, "Basically, classic noble discrimination of the lower class."
"I don't know if we could call it classic, but it is a common tale." Paitan winced.
"Then Reitei-sama and her companions disappeared."
Paitan nodded, "It was a chaotic time. Enshou-san's army, the Royal Army, and the Toutaku Army all worked to stop the Eunuchs and their loyalists. I don't even know how she exactly disappeared, but by the time everything calmed down, oneesama was gone."
"Leaving Paitan-sama to inherit the throne." Yue winced.
"I wasn't confident about being able to rule on my own, so I assigned Yue the role of Chancellor of State, to help me." Paitan nodded, "And it went well, for the first few weeks."
"Then the white robes, led by that Choujou came. How? We don't know. She should've been blood upon Ren's spear, but there she was." Ei grimaced, "She put a curse on Kentei-sama, and well…" Ei gestured to the bed.
"She used my life as a hostage, and they began doing acts of tyranny, under Yue's name." Paitan grimaced, "Sorry, I don't know much of the rest. They didn't really talk about their motives around me, nor anyone else among us for that matter. They were rather tight-lipped."
"I think I get the picture." Kazuto nodded. "Then, can I ask something from you, Nenene?"
"Nah? What is it?" Nenene scowled, before receiving a single tap on her head by Ren, causing her to drop the hostility.
"What happened between you and Sousou?"
"Hmm?"
"Sousou mentioned that she came into the capital but had to escape, and she did so with your help."
"Oh, right. That did happen." Nenene nodded, "It's nothing much. I don't know what she wanted to do there, but she suddenly went into my house, running away from a bunch of white robes. I don't know what they were planning, but I basically just let her escape via the window. Then they came after me, and well…" She started mumbling under her breath. From what Kazuto could glean though, she seemed to be trying to think of how to explain the event while making Ren sound as cool as possible.
"Ren saved her." Yue finished for the girl.
"I was getting to that!" Nenene complained. At Ei's glare, however, she coughed, recognizing her faux pas. "Yeah, that. And ever since, I've been serving as Ren-sama's Strategist."
"I see. And none of you even so much as knew why the White Robes were doing as they were?" Kazuto asked.
They all shook their heads. A shame. It seems their enemies are much more tightlipped than expected.
"Speaking of…" Yue pressed her hands together, "The curse that Choujou put on Kentei-sama. Can you remove it?"
"I don't know…" Kazuto winced. "I think we need Rinrin for th-"
"He can." Reborn scoffed.
"Eh?" Kazuto said in surprise.
"Don't forget: I'm the strongest Sun Flame user in the world." Reborn laughed, "I know what I'm talking about."
"Strongest Sun Flame user doesn't mean best doctor." Kazuto pointed out, before receiving a kick.
"Regardless of what the reason for her illness is, it doesn't matter. Have you forgotten? Sky Flames have the power to purify malice, even in Auras."
"Oh, right. Uncle Mukuro did mention that…" Kazuto shallowly nodded. "But he just said it can purify auras…"
"You are limiting what the Sky Flame can do." Reborn scoffed, "The nature of the Sky Flame is Harmony. It's the state without contradictions or flaws. Simply have your flame flow through her, and she'll eventually have whatever ailment put on her removed."
"Eventually?" Kazuto asked, "It won't do it immediately?"
"Her body was ravaged by the illness for multiple weeks, if not months." Reborn replied, "She cannot handle suddenly being pushed that much. As a reminder, we still don't know the reason for her illness."
"That leads us to this. What do we do now?" Kazuto sighed, turning to everyone.
"What do you mean, Kazuto-kun?" Touka asked.
"I'll be blunt, we do not have the resources to stay here for longer than three days." Kazuto pointed out, "Which means we'll have to go back to our territory before then."
"True." Shuri nodded, "And, to be honest, I'd prefer it if we at least left at two days so that we can account for any delays on the journey home."
"Not only that, but we do need to go back, because, harvest season." Kazuto sighed. "Otherwise, we'll be saying goodbye to our prospects of a happy winter."
"So why is this a problem?" Yue asked.
"Where will your group go?" Kazuto asked. "You have no soldiers, so you really can't stay here in the capital, especially considering how empty it is."
"And with the current treatment plan for Kentei-sama…" Yue nodded.
"Then I'll simply go with you." Paitan replied.
"Back to our territory?" Touka asked, amazed.
"Of course, Touka-neesan." Paitan bowed. "I'll be in your care."
"N-neesan?"
"You are my cousin, right? So… I thought…" Paitan poked her fingers a bit, "And well… if you don't want me to…"
"It's fine, it's fine!" Touka nodded, "If you want to call me that, then it's fine."
"Well, there was never a doubt about that plan." Kazuto nodded, "It would've been a problem for us if you wanted to go to another's place, like Ryuutai or something. But if you wish to stay with us, then we'll promise to protect you."
"Thank you." Paitan bowed to the boy. "I'll forever remember this."
"Okay, now that that's out of the way, we have the problem of names." Kazuto coughed.
"Ah, right." Yue winced. "Toutaku Chuuei is… a tyrant."
"That's what the history books will write." Kazuto nodded with a mournful sigh. "A shame too, considering that she's such a nice girl." Yue looked away in embarrassment.
"Can't I change that?" Paitan asked.
"With what? How?" Reborn asked directly. "Do you want to use your authority as the emperor to absolve Toutaku of all sin and place it on Choujou's head? The woman that you all claimed to have slain."
"The word of the emperor is sacrosanct." Kazuto pointed out. "If Kentei were to speak, then maybe… But…"
"The question is if they'll recognize her as the emperor." Reborn pointed out. "The Imperial Seal is not with her, and no lord has seen her face before."
"I look quite a bit like my older sister but…"
"It won't be immediate, but we can work on something." Kazuto told her, "But simply put, we're not equipped to absolve anyone of their sins."
"Weren't you the leader of the coalition?" Kaku pointed out, "If you simply…"
"Enshou, Choubaku, and Sousou are the organizers. At best we were just pushed into the position." Kazuto replied, "And well…"
"If Bakazuto decides to stick his neck out for Toutaku at this point, he'll lose it." Reborn shot them all down. "And it will be worse for the Ryuubi Army if they reveal that Kentei is even among them."
"What do you mean?" Paitan asked.
"We'll become targets, is what he meant." Kazuto replied. "Everyone will be gunning for us in the name of: 'Saving the Emperor' from the tyrannical Heavenly Messenger and Imperial Descendant, who've joined forces with the Tyrant Toutaku."
"Ah…"
"And unlike the capital, we have no defenses that we could work with." Shuri sighed.
"Then what are our options?" Kaku pointed out. "If Yue can't be absolved, then what?"
"We'll do our best to do so!" Touka strongly objected to allowing an innocent to fall on the wayside.
"It'll be a dip in our reputation, but we could spread rumors about Toutaku's innocence and that she was framed by someone." Kazuto muttered.
"If you can control it well, then that's a possibility." Reborn nodded. "However, spreading rumors can just as easily backfire. They could easily change the tone and claim: 'The Heavenly Messenger led the coalition to kidnap the emperor.' Rumors are far too unreliable if you try using them without understanding the consequences."
"Then we'll become the targets." Touka grimaced.
"If we bring Kentei to someone like Sousou, it's possible that Kentei can convince her to spread the information much better than we could." Kazuto remarked.
Paitan winced, "That's…"
"Then how about we don't bother with my reputation for now?" Yue said.
""""Ehhh?"""" Touka, Kazuto, Paitan, and Ei asked, balking at the thought.
"If it's too much of a hassle, then we should focus on one thing at a time." Yue nodded, "We should focus on Paitan-sama's recovery."
"Then what will happen to you?" Kazuto asked.
"How about I become a servant for Paitan-sama for the time being?" Yue smiled, "Her caretaker, if you will?"
"Are you sure, Yue?" Paitan asked, worried.
"Yes." Yue nodded. "Besides, I happened to enjoy cleaning."
"If that problem is cleared up then let's ask a simple question." Reborn nodded, "Will we reveal Kentei's true identity or will we hide it?"
"Ah, right… if we reveal it, we become targets." Ryuubi winced.
"Then I'll hide it too." Paitan nodded. "My identity that is."
"Eh?"
"At least until I can reclaim the throne of the emperor properly, I'll go incognito for a while." Paitan then had her eyes shine at something, "How about if I go by my personal name for a while and act as a cousin that Touka-neesan met up with?"
"Is that fine?" Touka asked.
"That will mess up Yue's backstory of being your caretaker." Kazuto pointed out. "It would look suspicious if a single girl has a personal servant when Touka doesn't."
"Then she'll be your servant instead." Paitan nodded, "Yue will come into service as the personal caretakers of all three of us."
"Wait, all three!?" Kazuto balked. "You mean me as well?"
"After all, aren't you Touka-neesan's husband?" Paitan asked, confused, and everyone choked at that.
"N-n-no." Kazuto refuted, "We aren't married."
"But you mentioned sleeping in the same room…"
"Kazuto-kun gets nightmares when he sleeps alone sometimes." Touka explained, a strong blush on her cheeks.
"Huh?" Reborn bore his eyes into Kazuto's skull, "What happened?"
"Let's just say it involves me killing someone a few months back." Kazuto grimaced.
"Ah." Reborn nodded, "But at this point, you should be fine."
"At this point, it's tradition." Kazuto replied. "Anyway, I'm not Touka's husband. I'm an equal who does the same jobs."
"That's confusing." Paitan mumbled, "But if you're her equal, then you should naturally have a servant of your own too."
"Wait, are we expecting Yue to take care of three people all by herself!?" Ei rebuked.
"It's the best we got." Yue smiled, "And I'm perfectly fine doing so."
"Ugghhh… Fine, I'll become a servant as well, just to make sure Yue doesn't get overworked." Ei offered.
"Eh?"
"You don't really need to." Kazuto pointed out, "While your name is known, you could easily say you defected to our army and became a strategist for us. That's the plan for Ryofu and Chinkyuu as well."
"Speaking of," Aisha coughed, "Ryofu, we, ah, 'revealed' the circumstances of your escape to the soldiers, and told them that Kazuto-sama offered you a place in our army. You simply escaped to save your friends from danger. That's the story we're going with."
"Ren." Ren remarked.
"Ah, right… Ren. Got it." Aisha nodded. "Some are still angry at you, but for the most part they seemed to be fine with it."
"Lucky break." Kazuto remarked although both he and Reborn looked at each other, confused. Things can't be that simple, right? "And Nenene has no need to change her current position."
"I wouldn't even let you!" The girl remarked. "I'll be Ren-sama's strategist till the day I die!"
"Ei-san, it's still perfectly reasonable for you to even keep your current work, and even your name."
"I…" Ei hesitantly said.
"… Ei always did look happy doing advisor duties, even though she acts like she doesn't." Yue smiled.
"… No." Ei shook her head.
""Eh?"" Both Kazuto and Yue tilted their heads in confusion.
"My job is to serve at Yue's side. A servant has a lower status than an advisor, right? So I refuse to serve a rank higher than Yue." Ei stalwartly shook her head.
"… Very well." Kazuto nodded. "So to recap," Kazuto nodded, "Paitan will join us as Ryuukyou, a cousin of Touka's who wishes to serve as Touka's student after hearing tales about her. That should be our best cover for her, right?"
"That does sound like a good cover." Shuri nodded, "And most people would not have heard of either her True Name or her Personal Name, so it won't be possible for them to connect the dots unless they link her appearance to Reitei-sama."
"I don't mind that setting." Paitan's said, but her eyes were sparkling, for some reason. "I'll do my best to learn under Touka-neesan." Looks like she's going to take the entire thing seriously.
"Yue and Ei will serve as personal servants for Paitan, primarily, but will also serve myself and Touka. Which basically means they'll help us with the paperwork that no doubt increased in our absence."
"Don't remind me…" Touka deflated helplessly.
"And with the deal with Sonken-san…" Shuri muttered, "We'll have to pass through you any information that we might think could affect them."
"Uwaaah, more paperwork…"
"I suppose newbies would have it rough." Ei chuckled. "Yue and I have been doing it for years, but you're new warlords."
"Teach me, Yue-senpai…" Touka turned to Yue and she nodded with a laugh.
"Ren will serve as a general, under Rinrin." Kazuto decided.
"Eh? Rinrin?" Aisha asked, "Why not me?"
"Because you'll be dealing with Rairai and Denden." Kazuto grinned.
"Ah."
Reborn kicked his head, clearly annoyed at having more names come up that he doesn't know. He received yet another kick for thinking that.
"Anyway, I see no reason to remove Nenene from Ren's side, so it helps that there's at least one strategist in that group." Kazuto replied.
"Does it have to be that girl?" Nenene pouted. "She's really loud."
"It's either Chouhi or Chouun." Kazuto replied. "And Rinrin needs to learn how to handle having subordinates that could match her."
"Bakazuto."
"Eh?" Kazuto asked, "What is it?"
"Isn't Ryofu your Cloud Guardian Candidate?" Reborn asked, pointing to the ring that was still on her finger. Ren looked back in confusion.
"You guys keep mentioning Guardians too, I noticed." Paitan asked, confused, "What is it about anyway?"
"A set of six people who basically acts as the inner circle of the leader." Reborn informed her.
"And you chose Ren?" Yue asked in surprise.
"Not really," Kazuto scratched his head, "The designated Cloud Guardian Ring is with Touka. Consider that a sort of audition for the position. If you don't seem to fit, we'll simply choose someone else."
"Cloud…" Ren murmured, looking at the ring.
"Regardless, I agree that Ryofu still needs to be screened." Reborn nodded, "Have her spend a bit more time under Chouhi to see how well she fits into your dynamic as a group. This sort of thing cannot be decided hastily anyway." Reborn then jumped down.
"And with that, I think we discussed everything that needs to be discussed." Kazuto smiled. "Now then, let's see if we can try and do the treatment thing that Reborn thinks… Although would this method work for any illness?"
"Of course not." Reborn scoffed, "If the illness is considered by your body as its natural state, it will just enforce the illness instead. There's a chance it could heal her. After all, most people consider illness unnatural in the first place, but the nature of Sky Flames is still not as well-documented. Tsuna, Byakuran, Uni, and Dino have all contributed to studies, but the Sky Flame really is the most nebulous of all fourteen flames, both Sky and Earth. All that is known is that it represents a state of no contradiction or flaws. That is what it is at its simplest. And as you can tell, it's still not any simpler or less abstract."
"But it will work on Paitan?" Kazuto asked.
"There's no reason it wouldn't if the reason for the illness that plagues Kentei is truly due to a curse."
"Do you have any idea what the curse is, rather than just what it does?" Kazuto directed a question to the group.
"She mentioned something about Flames of the Swamp." Kentei winced.
"Ah, yeah, that was fun." Ei laughed, "You then told her that, 'no matter how poisonous the swamp, the blue sky will not fall to it.' Choujou can't even come up with a reply and just ran out the door in a huff. I still remind her of that every time."
"The Blue Sky refers to the Kan Dynasty, yes?" Reborn smirked.
Paitan nodded, "I got it from the Yellow Turban's call to action. They referred to my family's rule as the 'Blue Sky' and themselves as the 'Yellow Sky'." Chiihou however, mentioned that it was something they made up while drunk on both success and booze, so, there's a chance that that's not what it really meant.
Regardless, "So the cause is Swamp Flames?" Kazuto muttered, "The power of that is to decay anything it touches. It's practically the Flames of the Earth counterpart of the Storm Flame in destructiveness." Aisha's eyes widened at that.
"Isn't that bad?" Aisha asked, worried.
"Very. I'm more surprised that Paitan lived for so long if Swamp Flames are involved. Choujou must have been maintaining control over it really well." Kazuto muttered.
"She should be dead." Reborn nodded, and everyone winced at that. "It seems that it won't require just Sky Flames then. You'll need a few months to recover too. You are, quite frankly, lucky."
Paitan nodded, wincing.
"Both the teacher and student are harsh." Touka mumbled, and Kazuto laughed awkwardly.
"Regardless, if the reason is Swamp Flames, then the Sky Flame should be able to remove it." Reborn nodded.
"D-do I have to s-strip for this treatment?" Paitan asked, a bit embarrassed at the thought.
"Not necessarily." Reborn replied. "Maybe when Ryuubi is the treater, but my student is good enough to do it without burning your clothes." Reborn then cocked his gun, "If he isn't, I will shoot him."
"Goddammit." Kazuto sighed, before pulling out his sword from his box, causing everyone who hasn't seen the box to be surprised. He then set it on fire. "Get her to sit on the floor. It's better for me to not have to worry about the bed as well."
"If the floor is even so much as burnt, I will shoot you."
Kazuto sighed, as Yue and Ei helped the young girl onto the ground.
And so, the first of Paitan's many treatments for the next few weeks took place under the watch of everyone there. He did, however, slightly burn the clothes and the floor. Not by much, but enough to leave a mark. It was then that everyone watched as Kazuto ran from the gunshots of a very much irate Reborn.
He really can't catch a break.
-()-
They stayed in the capital for two days. By the end of it, the capital was very much in better shape than before they arrived, but it still carried far too much damage, especially at the palace. But then it was time to leave.
Reborn nagged the group to take as many texts from the library of the palace. Any that was salvageable. But they found only books that were burnt and destroyed, with what Kazuto now knows was due to Swamp Flame. However, some books were clearly missing. And it wasn't stolen by the White Robes. He could tell since the damage marks of the room just didn't line up properly. Someone looted the room after the White Robes left. Likely one of the coalition members. Kazuto deduced that Choubaku, Sousou or Sonken did this. That would explain why they stuck around long after the other armies had left. Sousou is the likely culprit, as it was she who proposed the tea meeting. Sonken, after all, did have a proper reason to stay behind: the Imperial Seal, leaving Sousou to be the only army that doesn't have a clear reason why she stuck around for so long. When he voiced his suspicions, everyone just sighed in defeat. Seems Sousou pulled a fast one on them.
Rinrin promise to the entire army that she will keep a close eye on Ren to make sure she doesn't do anything weird.
Paitan mournfully looked back at the capital, that, for the first time in her life, she'll be leaving behind. Might even be for good. Much of her memories were spent there, or more specifically, spent in the palace.
The travel home was uneventful. Some voices of distrust were murmured in the ranks with regards to Ryofu, but that was quickly snuffed out by Touka's declaration the next morning. Touka's popularity among the soldiers won out over their distrust of Ren. Some went up to Ren to try and make their declarations of not wanting to forgive her, but Ren was generally surrounded by her animals and asleep, so they found that a bit difficult. Nonetheless, Ren accepted their declarations with only a quiet nod.
The new members of Paitan, Yue, Ei, and Nenene were, however, overlooked easily. Paitan's announcement as Ryuubi's cousin ended all inquiries into her. Yue and Ei hid their names, but Ei didn't really need to. Kaku's hand during the coalition was not felt at all for the most part. She simply did it because Yue is doing it. As for Nenene, Chinkyuu is just not as hard for the soldiers to handle as Ryofu. After all, Chinkyuu's main damage was done to the Enshou Army.
Reborn said to not turn on the signal on the way home, unless absolutely necessary. According to him, he will start collecting learning materials that will be important for the budding family. Kazuto took that to mean: "I'll be getting you the two months' worth of lessons that you completely missed, as well as extra." He would've added bombs, but Reborn has no physical presence, so no explosions this time around. Or at least he hopes.
"If Reborn-san has no physical presence, why do you still run from him attacking you?" Shuri once asked.
"Yeah, that would be logical, right? But I could swear his kicks and shots still feel real to me." Kazuto sighed. "They don't damage me, but it's still painful. How? I don't know." A lot of things don't make sense about Reborn, after all, so it's easier to not question it.
Regardless, the long trip home took a few days.
But in the end…
It was finally in sight, the home that they wished to reach.
"Hinari-chan!" Shuri yelled, waving from the horse that she was riding alongside Josho. A girl in a witch's hat waved back happily.
"Ah, I think I see Denden-chan and Rairai-chan." Touka laughed, and, indeed, two girls with orange hair were waving at them happily right next to Hinari.
"Welcome back~" A loud voice cried out from the distance, and Kazuto easily spotted Chiihou's light blue hair. "We've been waiting!"
"Ah, that's not fair, Chiihou!" Denden's voice complained.
"She's righ-" The voices petered off, and Kazuto could only laugh.
"How did she send her voice that far?" Josho asked, confused.
"A souvenir from our time fighting Chouhou." Kazuto replied with a laugh.
And so, they're finally home.
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Chapter End
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Chapter Release Date: January 31, 2020
Last Edited: August 25, 2020
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Beta Reader: Seraphius (Thank you very much for your help!)
And as January ends, so does the Toutaku Arc. Eleven chapters. 11 freaking chapters of one arc. I don't really know what that says about my writing. And it had to end on Chapter 23. I was like, "Really? Chapter 23? Can't I have ended the arc on Chapter 24 or 25 instead?" Eh, what's done is done. I'm not padding this arc any more than I already have. Originally this arc was supposed to just go full canon route, with Enshou as the leader, and the Ryuubi-Hongou Army being belittled for their small status. Then I looked at the "official list" of lords that participated in the Coalition (may not be completely accurate), and saw that: "Why isn't Cao Cao listed" then saw that, apparently, Cao Cao was too small time as well, although he was one of the organizers. So how did Cao Cao join? Because he had a friend in the group named Zhang Miao (Choubaku) that he technically fought under, so I brought him (as a her, because it's Sousou) in. Then I thought, wasn't there a Pan Feng that was supposed to die at the hands of Kayuu? So I brought him, as well as the lord he served, in. Then I brought everyone else in that list in! Then I had to scale it back, because even I was overwhelmed by the number of names. Needless to say, I kept expanding and expanding on this arc, until it looks the way it does now.
But as I expanded on the arc, I realized that I kept making decisions in previous chapters that I regretted. Which is why I'm happy that I posted this story the way I did, waiting for me to finish writing the entire arc before posting each chapter. If I had been updating this story every time I finished a chapter, this arc would look a lot different, filled with plot threads and decisions that I wouldn't have been able to take back once I posted it. In that way, this story was an experiment for me. I'm the kind of person who enjoyed planning entire arcs, but suddenly change each tiny detail in the chapter to fit the chapter before realizing that the plotted arc is now just plot contrivance with all the little changes.
At any rate, I hope you had a fun time reading chapters these last eleven weeks. A fun time reading about characters usually sitting in a room talking about what they're going to do, instead of actually just doing it. Because that's what a lot of this arc boils down to! I'm so happy I'm not a professional author or something, because I clearly would write horribly boring novels, with all these scenes of people sitting in a room. But well, if you are still reading the story of this mediocre author, I'm very grateful. See you next week for the last chapter I will post of this story until I finish writing the next arc. Which should take a while. I have a vague idea of where the next arc should go, but as mentioned above, I have a tendency to change my plans as I write them.
I welcome asking questions, but if you want answers, please PM me, or post the question with a "Please Answer" on it. I generally don't answer review questions, on account of the fact that I consider myself a bit spoil-happy. So if you ask me for answers, while I won't outright spoil you of my plans unless you seriously explicitly ask me to (which I still likely will refuse to do so), I might let a few things slip here or there. Also, FFN hasn't been sending PM Messages to my email, and I imagine it's the same for you, so check your PMs every once in a while if you asked something.