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.
-()-
Kan vs Chuu: Preparations
-()-
They received Enjutsu's declaration after the first harvests of the year. The timing, honestly, cannot be considered a coincidence. No. With Enjutsu's conscriptions, the farms in Enjutsu's territory had a massive dip in productivity. They didn't even need to wait till harvest time to know this, as the silent complaints of the leftover farmers were made clear to Joshuu's spies. With that fact, Kazuto and Ryuubi (under Bachou and Kouchuu's supervision) helped Kentei write a rallying letter to counter Enjutsu's declaration. And they needed to do so quickly and decisively.
The thing about the rallying letter, there is no incentive for siding with either Kan or Chuu. The furthest lords from Enjutsu has no reason to fear invasion in the near future. They knew this in the first place. The rallying letter instead, was sent out to very specific locations: all throughout Joshuu, in Kanhyoku's Kishuu, in Ryuuhyou's Keishuu, and in Batou's Ryoshuu. Those four states alone. All other states will have to rely on their spies and merchant rumor mills to find this out.
The rallying letter is not meant to attract new allies, but instead to bolster the recruitment attempts of each of the allied states. That the emperor is on their side, that siding with Ryuubi is not the wrong choice. That is what they chose to impress upon people with the rallying letter. With just these four states, they intended to counter Enjutsu. However, they made no actions to hide the rally to any spies that might be in their area. It will be slower, much slower, for the non-allied states to react to their call. Which is something they are sincerely hoping for. The longer they can delay Enshou learning of Kentei's presence, the more time they have to deal with Enjutsu specifically.
Fortunately, with Kishuu's Kanhyoku at their side, all messages to Kishuu would reach her, not Enshou, who is still out up north, dealing with the mess that is Yuushuu… Actually, none of them were quite sure about why she's still in Yuushuu at this point. Still, they'll take the unexpected windfall and hope that it works well. Enshou didn't appear to do anything with Enjutsu's declaration either.
Now then, the first battleground for this war between the old and new dynasties are the alliances. On that front, Kazuto can confidently say they're winning. Of course, there could be hidden variables that he didn't take into account, but it's easy to see things if you look at Enjutsu. Enjutsu's allies are, from what he could tell, conquered territories. And worse, they're territories conquered by Sonsaku. They hold no shred of loyalty to Enjutsu, nor do they respect her army's strength. Furthermore, her declaration is far too confrontational. She basically went: "I am the Emperor, you got to deal with it!", like an entitled little brat. However, that doesn't mean they slacked on bringing in other states into this.
Once they made their rally cry, the lords of Seishuu hesitantly approached them, pledging allegiance to Kentei, but wanting to keep their soldiers in fear of Enshou. Honestly, they're unreliable, so the Kan group simply agreed, telling them to protect their northern border with Enshou. With Kanhyoku's Kishuu allying with the Kan as well, their northern borders are, for what it's worth, as secure as it possibly can. Seishuu is still a concern, as it's likely that they'll simply capitulate to the overwhelming numbers that Enshou boasts.
The only concern is now Sousou's Enshuu, which she started ruling over after her defeat of Choubaku. The Imperial Protector of Enshuu, Ryuutai Kousan, has ceded her position to her, although the circumstances are sketchy at best. Still, it seems she's now serving as one of the many lords under Sousou, alongside her friend Houshin. As for Sousou herself, when news of Enjutsu's declaration would almost assuredly have reached her territory, she made no obvious movements. Her soldiers started being trained harder, but that's all that they knew. Now that they made their announcement, with Sousou almost assuredly having spies in each of their territories … there's no doubt that she has heard of their declaration. They could only prepare for what is to come…
-()-
A few days from Kentei announced her presence in Joshuu, which is itself a mere couple days after Enjutsu's declaration reached Joshuu, a messenger arrives from Joshuu, as Sonsaku was preparing to make her leave from Enjutsu's lands to return to Koutou.
"Shao and Minmei brought us something good~" Sonsaku laughed, as she read the report from Joshuu. "Those rascals from Ryuubi-Hongou Army have the emperor."
"What do you mean?" Sonken asked, befuddled by Sonsaku's good mood.
"Think of it this way; when do you think they found the Emperor? Not during the Coalition; they would've announced it immediately."
"Is there a way for us to find out?" Shuuyu asked, also wondering where Sonsaku was going with this.
"The answer's obvious, right? After the coalition!" Taishiji pointed out.
""Any of us could've figured that out!"" Sonken and Shuuyu retorted.
"So Ryuubi and Hongou had the Emperor, we got the Imperial Seal, and Sousou got the capital." Sonsaku smirked, "Each of us has a claim to the Mandate of Heaven."
"But we gave up the Imperial Seal," Sonken pointed out. "Not only that, but didn't you oversee Enjutsu's coronation? Doesn't that make us complicit with Enjutsu?! If the Emperor successfully rallies all the other warlords to attack Enjutsu…"
"I suppose you're referring to when Enjutsu is defeated, we'll have our heads cut off right next to them?" Shuuyu chuckled.
"Why are you three laughing?" Sonken asked.
"Why do you think Shao is in Joshuu?" Sonsaku laughed.
"Eh?"
"Don't worry about it. For now, let's focus on one thing:" Sonsaku's smirk only widened, "Let's take revenge for Mother."
-()-
A week or so after Kentei's announcement, in Sousou's palace, gathered in its office, Sousou stared down two people, with Jun'iku looking at them accusingly. Tou merely smiled in response, while Chiihou trying to look anywhere but at anyone in the room. She's still highly uncomfortable, shifting, wanting to get out.
"… Why am I here?" Chiihou finally asked, with a frown. "I thought I'm not in your chain of command?"
Sousou merely ignored her, focusing on the Joshuu Delegate, "Tou."
"Yes?" Tou politely smiled.
"What is this about Kentei being in Ryuubi's territory?" Sousou dryly asked. "Also, Reitei is there too, apparently."
"That must be Ryuukyou and her sister."
Jun'iku balked, "Are you kidding me!? Those cousins of Ryuubi that you said?"
"I suppose calling Emperors Ken and Rei her cousins is really not that much of a stretch, huh?" Tou replied with a shrug. "I suppose it makes sense why Ryuubi allowed her cousin to work with the politics of Joshuu." Apparently, it wasn't really nepotism… or at least, not just nepotism.
"Chiihou. Did you know of this?"
"That Paitan is the Emperor? Only figured that out myself after she showed up in Joshuu… after, you know, Enshou kicked us out?" Chiihou shrugged. "Doesn't change much. Paitan is Paitan."
"… Casually using her True Name in front of us…" Jun'iku growled.
"Kuutan-sama." Chiihou cheerfully added with a smirk. "That's Reitei-sama's True Name." Sousou can tell that she's just trying to get all her nerves out by acting cheekily. Having seen her act on stage, her tells are honestly quite apparent. She's terrified of her, but she hides it behind a mask of cheek. And by not directly looking at her.
"Yeah, we get it! You were friends!" Jun'iku said. She had a lot of things she wanted to say, but Chiihou's special status as 'someone Sousou wants' stills her tongue.
"… Actually, Kuutan-sama just blanket let every one of us use her True Name." Chiihou honestly replied, "I wasn't that close with her. Paitan, however, she was sort of my number one critic, I suppose? She watched me during rehearsals and told me what worked and what didn't and stuff." Chiihou shivered, "I didn't know she was the Emperor at that time… the Emperor herself was judging my performance… After we made that stupid slogan that people kept thinking was us rebelling against the Kan…"
"Wait… if Kentei was with your group, then what's with the pardon?" Jun'iku spotted a thread and pulled.
"… Paitan was cursed by a sorcerer when they first found her. It took a while for her to recover." Chiihou grimaced, clearly having ignored Jun'iku and rambled on. "She took a few weeks before she even was able to walk outside. Kazuto had to carry her on his back to get to my rehearsal too."
"I was asking about the pardon!"
"It was written by Paitan. What more do you want?" Chiihou asked defensively. "It's a real pardon!"
"That will have to be enough, Keifa." Sousou sighed. "It matters little when it was written. The seal is real, and that is all that matters."
"You make it sound like we forged it." Chiihou pointed out.
"I have suspicions, but with the information I have, I've no way to prove anything." Sousou honestly didn't care about when the pardon was made. The fact that it's real is enough. She was much more interested in Chiihou's story on Kentei's illness, which is news to her. Unfortunately, any direct questions to Chiihou are usually met with indirect responses, especially if she somehow, in some way, thinks that it might be something they could use against her former masters.
"… Fine. Is that all you wanted from me?" Chiihou asked. "I'm pretty sure I'm not allowed to know things about politics and military and stuff, and I'm not allowed to leave the territory, so I don't see how much use I am here."
"What would you suggest we do with this information, then, Chiihou?"
"I. Don't. Know. And. I. Don't. Care." Chiihou punctuated. "All I care is that you don't hurt my family and we're clear." The emphasis on family is deliberate.
"Tenhou and Renhou would be nowhere near this." Jun'iku scoffed. Sousou knew that that wasn't what Chiihou meant at all. Hongou had a habit of referring to his closest companions as family, and Chiihou is likely considered part of said family.
Still, Chiihou chose not to correct Jun'iku, "Did Soukou-san plan our next event yet? Where in the territory do you want the Kazoe Yakuman Sisters to show up next?" Which is the official name they're going with for their idol group. Why? It was something Chiihou pushed and Sousou wasn't entirely sure why. The sisters part is in a language Sousou didn't understand, but Chiihou simply insisted it meant sisters (shimai), but Kazoe Yakuman refers to a mahjong hand. Even then, the "man" part had the wrong kanji, using the kanji for the manzu tile, rather than the kanji for full. But it's not like the name has any negative effects on her, so she allowed it.
Mentally shaking herself from the random name, "She's still figuring out the merchandising part of the business." Sousou shrugged. "While we gain quite a lot of enlistments from your events, making them definitely worth it, but the money cost hasn't been promising."
"Dunno what to tell you." Chiihou shrugged, "I washed my hands of all that at this point. Singing and Dancing and Costume Design is all that matters to me."
"It is not reaching the same profits that you enjoyed during your time with Hongou." Sousou pointed out.
"As long as I profit, and have enough pocket money, I'm happy." Chiihou smirked, "And before you say it, the amount I'm taking is fair, and it's even less than my share when I was back with Kazuto."
"I was not accusing you of anything." Sousou shook her head. Chiihou merely shrugged, nodding to Jun'iku. Chiihou was accusing Jun'iku, not her.
"How d-" Jun'iku caught her tongue again, before dialing her tone back. "… How can you afford to be so cheeky…"
"Because you promised me that I'm free to do as I please as long as I don't sabotage you. And I'm not. I'm earning you money. I'm getting new soldiers to enlist for you. I'm doing all of my jobs correctly. Me and my sisters. It's not my fault that none of you know how to merchandise, or how to sell events, or promote!"
"Grrrr…" She's right of course, and Jun'iku could only gnash her teeth at that fact. Chiihou has, despite her attitude towards them, had been nothing but a boon to them. There are no signs of sabotage, no signs that she's not doing her work well, and she's not piling up a tab of some sort in some food shop. She's done no espionage, preferring to be out of the palace whenever she possibly can, and when within, she's locked up in her room.
Chiihou knows this, and actively uses this against her detractors. "So… can I borrow Sawa again to go look for some inspiration for clothes?"
Sousou merely smiled, "You may." Sousou was pleased that Chiihou has finally made a friend in the territory. Hopefully, that means she'll open up a bit further. But the fact that Soukou, who's been in close contact with Chiihou for the past months is still not close enough that Chiihou would actively use her True Name is a bit concerning.
"Then, is there anything else you want from me?" Chiihou asked.
"… When did Kentei come into your care?"
"Touka brought her home from the coalition while she was sick." Chiihou shrugged, clearly not caring about that piece of info. "Kazuto nursed her back to health."
"What do you know of the Imperial Seal?"
"Nothing, really?" Chiihou shrugged. "They mentioned something about the Son Family having it when we were discussing what to do after we got kicked out of Yuushuu."
"That did happen, huh? What were your options at the time?"
"Become mercenaries, then talk to Touken. If we can't be mercenaries under Touken then in the order: Batou, you, then Sonsaku…" Now that's surprising.
"They… they actually considered being mercenaries for us? Why the hell would we acce-"
"I would've accepted it, of course." Sousou interrupted Jun'iku's rant.
"Karin-sama!"
"I bet there's a bunch of conditions that none of us would like with that acceptance," Chiihou said.
"Kan'u."
"You get the Emperor in your city if we did get into your service. Don't get greedy." Chiihou pointed out.
"… Fair." Sousou conceded. "I suppose if it did happen that way, both Kentei and Reitei would be here in my city, and I could reinstate one of them as Emperor." Under her control, she added in her mind. Hmm… that's an interesting idea.
"Well, what's your plan then? Going to stay neutral or will you join the battle against Enjutsu?" Chinkei prompted Sousou.
"There's no need for us to fight Enjutsu." Jun'iku scoffed. "Since they decided to announce themselves as the Kan, then, by that very reason, they'll fight Enjutsu. There isn't even the issue of Enjutsu focusing their attacks on us; they'll have to fight if they want to prove their legitimacy. We can stay out of it, and merely reap the benefits after."
"On the contrary, dear Keifa, it is necessary that we fight Enjutsu," Sousou told her strategist.
"What, why?"
"… After all, we need to show the Emperor that we are loyal subjects, after all." Sousou smiled.
"… Don't hurt my friends." Chiihou warned her. "I'll make you regret hurting them." Her hands were clenching on her magic tool. How she intends on using that as a weapon, is beyond Sousou. Still, it'll help to not aggravate her further. It helps that they at least managed to tell Chiihou to keep her knife in her room. They'd have confiscated it outright, but compromises were required. It helped that she only ever needed it because of the slightly bandit-infested Yuushuu, and a weapon usually helps deter the desperate.
"What are you talking about?" Sousou chuckled. "Ryuubi and Hongou are now pretty much officially the heads of Kentei's bodyguards. They're people that Kentei heavily trusts to protect her. Any harm done to them would only earn the Emperor's ire. So…"
"Ah, I see!" Tou laughed. "It's hardly how I foresaw this, but… You have my blessing, Karin~"
"What are you talking about?" Jun'iku asked, frustrated.
"… As long as none of them gets hurt." Chiihou said in finality, also unsure of what Sousou was saying.
"Let's just put it this way: if things come to pass as I envision it, you'll be able to talk to your old friends again, with no threat to them whatsoever."
"… Good." Chiihou replied, clearly still not trusting what she said. "I'll go now." Chiihou left quickly, feeling as if her mouth ran a bit too much this time.
"… Tou, please forward this message to Joshuu." Sousou smiled, "By orders of the Emperor, Sousou's Enshuu will join the alliance against Enjutsu."
"I'll see the message personally delivered." Tou bowed.
-()-
"Ahh, being the Emperor is really great!" Enjutsu declared as she sat on her throne.
"…" However, her court was rather empty. Servants were shuffling in the background, but other than that, there was no one else, save for herself and Choukun, who is happily pouring honey water into a glass for her to drink.
"Here, emperor~" Choukun smiled, as she passed the glass to her.
"Ah, Honey Water!" Enjutsu grabbed the glass and gulped down the mixture. "Ahh, so sweet and delicious!"
"Of course, emperor! Nothing but the best for you, the Ruler of the Imperial Chuu!" Choukun praised her easily.
"Hmm… Nanano, when will the other lords come to prostrate before me? I can't be Emperor if not everyone in the country accepts it, right?"
"We sent out invitations for each and every state in the country! Well, not to Yuushuu or Kahoku, though." Which are currently Enshou's territories. "You did say to leave out your cousin, right?"
"It's important to not let her know anything right now!" Enjutsu chuckled. "Once all the other territories are in our command, we'll be able to beat that Reiha without even lifting a finger! But if we told her, she could just do the same thing she did to that Toutaku and make everyone come to fight us again, right? So letting Reiha not know is the best idea!"
"Oh, how conniving! As expected of Miu-sama!"
Enjutsu laughed, "Praise me more!"
"But of course, Miu-sama! The evilest and loveliest Emperor in the world!"
"Choukun-dono!"
"Hmm?" Enjutsu tilted her head in surprise at the appearance of the person. "Who's this?"
"He's one of our runners, the ones who went out to announce your claim to the title of emperor."
"Huh, then good work! I'll give you honey water as proof of your loyalty!"
"Umm, Emperor!" The runner bowed, "There is something urgent you must hear!"
"What is it?" Enjutsu asked, a bit cross, "Are you saying that honey water is not good enough?"
"K-Kentei has reappeared in Joshuu!"
"W-w-w-w-wHAT!?" Enjutsu jumped up. "H-h-h-how can this be!?"
"Huh…" Choukun blinked at that news.
"What does this mean, Nanano!? Why is the Emperor alive and why is she there!?"
Choukun shrugged, unsure herself. "It's not as if I know everything that goes on in the country, Miu-sama."
"That's not all! But Joshuu has made alliances with Batou's Ryoushuu and Ryuuhyou's Keishuu! Sousou has also declared that she's going to join this alliance!"
"We're surrounded?" Enjutsu blinked, as she remembered which territories bordered her.
"Wait, Sonsaku is still on our side." Choukun pointed out, "Remember, Miu-sama? She was here to serve as a witness to your coronation!"
"R-r-right! Sonsaku, the Little Conqueror of Koutou is still on my side! We can beat them back!"
"However, it would be best if we gather up our forces first before we do anything." Choukun nodded. "Have all soldiers from the conquered territories to converge here in the capital! Then we'll take the fight to Joshuu."
"Yes, ma'am!" The runner bowed, before running out the door… as another runner came in.
"Emperor Enjutsu! Urgent news!"
"If it's about Kentei, the last runner already told us about it!" Enjutsu replied.
"No ma'am! It's Sonsaku!"
"Ah, so Sonsaku has come to help defend our capital!" Enjutsu said, pleased with this. "She moves fast!"
"Yes~" Choukun nodded, "She must have heard of Kentei's reappearance and headed straight here!"
"Umm… no ma'am… she's declared war on Keishuu!"
"So she's already attacking Kentei in Joshuu then? The title of Little Conqueror truly fits her!" Enjutsu laughed.
"Miu-sama… The runner said Keishuu… not Kentei in Joshuu."
"… w-w-w-w-wHAT!?"
"Y-yes!" The runner nodded, pulling out a scroll and passing it to Choukun, "This is her declaration!"
Choukun coughed before reading it aloud, "In the name of the Emperor of Chuu, Enjutsu, you, Ryuuhyou, Ruler of Keishuu, who refuses to recognize the legitimacy of the Chuu Dynasty, as is declared by the Emperor of Chuu, will have the hammer of judgment upon you!"
"She's attacking the wrong group! Turn her back and make her go to Joshuu!" Enjutsu declared. "She has no time to waste attacking another territory!"
"… It's probably already too late, isn't it?" Choukun sighed. "We'll have to have our army create a perimeter between the allied alliances and our capital! Have all our soldiers prepare to march."
"Yes ma'am!" The runner nodded, taking his leave quickly.
"Nanano…"
"It'll be alright, Miu-sama~" Choukun smiled at her commander. "Miu-sama is the Emperor, after all!"
"… Right!" Enjutsu stood up, "I am the Emperor of the Chuu Dynasty! Enjutsu Kouro!"
-()-
In Joshuu…
Paitan sat nervously at the throne, as Touka and Kazuto stood to her side. In front of them are each of their beloved friends, as well as the delegates sent for each of their allies. At the sidelines, she could spy Yue, Ei, and Mifa smiling politely.
"… You know that one of you two can sit in the chair next to me, right?"
""No.""
"Propriety, dear Paitan, is the word of the day." Kazuto cheerfully replied.
"It always felt awkward to be sitting down when everyone else is kneeling." Ryuubi awkwardly laughed. "I got used to our dinner table meetings."
"That just makes me feel more awkward…" Paitan sighed, before coughing, "Let's begin this meeting!"
"Understood, Kentei-sama!"
"Josho, please reiterate what you told us earlier." Kazuto led the charge.
"Understood." Josho stood up. "We've received word that the Chuu Dynasty has declared war upon Keishuu. It is believed that the western front is now a battlefield. Leading the charge is Sonsaku's Army."
"Do you have anything to add to this, Sonshoukou?" Kazuto turned to the princess.
"Nothing." Sonshoukou shrugged.
"… Very well." Kazuto nodded.
"We're leaving it at that?" Aisha asked in confusion. "This is clear proof that the Son Family has allied with Enjutsu!"
"And this meeting is about our charge into Enjutsu territory. We will properly address the issue then. However, Sonshoukou might be a princess of Go, but she's been in Joshuu since before Enjutsu's declaration. She is, as far as I'm concerned, an innocent in this matter."
"Thank you, Kazuto-niisan~"
Everyone sans Kazuto dryly looked at her before turning away. Kazuto didn't get angry so there's no point in getting angry for him.
"Is this alright, Paitan-sama?" Aisha turned towards Paitan, who made no reaction to Kazuto's declaration.
"I have faith that Kazuto has an excellent intuition on this matter." Paitan nodded. Her speech, however, is a bit stilted. Aisha can tell immediately: there is something she knew that she wasn't willing to tell others. Judging by Touka's own face, she knew it as well. Sheesh, these cousins, distant though they may be, have such similar reactions to being forced to hide details.
"Moving on." Kazuto covered for her, "So, now that we know the basic facts, what should we do then?"
"We attack Enjutsu, right?" Rinrin pointed out, "I mean, that's what we were going to do anyway."
"Good idea, Rinrin! We'll do that." Kazuto nodded.
"Is this the time for jokes?" Aisha asked, "Please have some level of professionalism here, Master!"
"I believe what Milord is asking is, how we attack Enjutsu?" Sei chuckled.
"Who will be left behind for this fight?" Paitan asked. "I mean, when we went to help fight Sousou here, I stayed behind in Yuushuu."
"… This time, I'm allowing everyone here to make their choice. The ones that are obviously going will be me, Touka, and our Guardians." Kazuto decided. So Aisha, Rinrin, Shuri, Sei, and Ren are coming. Automatically that means Nenene will be coming along. "… Hinari, you also have no choice; you're coming along as well."
"Awawa? Y-yes, of course!"
"Hey, hey, if you're just giving everyone a pass to come, then what if everyone chooses to come?" Pairen asked.
"Touken's staying behind, so he can fulfill our jobs in the interim. We also have a slew of officials that could replace us for the many roles we hold." Kazuto replied.
"Ohoho, making use of this old man, I see?" Touken laughed.
"And if Enshou comes again? What then?"
"We'll know; after all, Seishuu and Kanhyoku will be the first to engage. Maybe Sousou will help out, but that's a toss-up. Speaking of, Choukou and Representative from Seishuu, I trust that you can keep a defensive hold, long enough for us to retreat and back you up should the situation arise?"
""Yes, sir!""
"Now then, let's start from the very top and work our way down then. Paitan, will you come or not?"
Paitan blinked at that question, surprised that she would even be asked.
"Wait, wait, wait!" Ei raised her voice, despite everything, "You're bringing the Emperor? Are you serious?"
"… That is for Paitan to decide." Kazuto nodded. "If she chooses to stay, I won't fault her. If she comes, so be it."
"What do you expect me to do on the battlefield?" Paitan asked Kazuto seriously.
"You won't be on the battlefield; you'll be in the command tent. Occasionally making speeches if absolutely necessary… Other than that, I don't have much. Touka and I can do it too really. There is no reason for you to stick your neck out for this."
"… Then I'll come. If only to see the fall of an enemy of Kan with my own eyes." No one could argue with that.
"Very well." Kazuto nodded. He mentally thought to add Yue and Ei as Paitan's attendants. However, it would be weird for him to directly address them in this setting, so instead: "Kuutan?" Kazuto prompted.
"There's nothing I need to do there, right? So I'll stay here." Kuutan waved him off. Naturally, that means Fan will be staying behind as well.
"Then, moving on to the delegates. I'm guessing you and your family will be coming as our cavalry, Bachou?"
"You need not ask!" Bachou nodded. Bakyuu, Batetsu, and Batai all nodded alongside her.
"Pairen, will you come along as well?"
"… Yeah, sure. I'll go." Pairen nodded.
"Then we have our cavalry leaders." Kazuto nodded. "Kouchuu, Gengan, Gien, I presume the two of you will be rejoining with the Ryuuhyou Army?"
"Of course." Kouchuu nodded.
"It's our jobs." Gengan nodded, taking a swig from her flask.
"… I…"
"Enya." Gengan sharply jabbed her side. "You aren't Joshuu."
"… Yes, I'll go with Kikyou-sama." Gien reluctantly said, rubbing her side.
"And Riri?"
Kouchuu frowned before shrugging, "I'd like your group to keep her safe for now."
"She'll be safe." Kazuto nodded. "Sonshoukou?"
"Sheren-neesan told me to stay here, right?" Sonshoukou grumbled, clearly disliking it.
"It's better not to bring you, as other camps will consider making you a hostage to stop Sonsaku," Kazuto replied.
"… Fine. I'll stay." Sonshoukou sighed.
"Very well." Kazuto nodded, "Moving on to our personal officers. Rairai, Denden."
"What will we do there, niichan?" Rairai asked sharply.
"You two will lead our archers," Kazuto replied quickly.
"We'll go then!" Rairai agreed.
"Denden will come too!"
"Yuuka?" Kazuto asked.
"Will stay. Need to keep things in line here. I'm guessing your group can handle things there. Besides… I have some light reading I need to do. This will be the perfect time to catch up." She's likely referring to her Christmas Gift, the book that Reborn gave her.
"Mifa?"
"I'm Touka-sama's escort."
"Of course. I wonder why I bothered asking at this point." Kazuto chuckled, "Suu, I presume you're going to be observing the farms? Also providing us with the logistics, if at all possible?"
Suu nodded in response.
"Tou." Kazuto addressed the woman who had returned from Sousou's domain. "I'm giving you no choice. You will help me escort a number of our army through Sousou territory to reinforce Keishuu."
"Oh my, it seems I'm a wanted woman… but must you bring me to the battlefield?"
"I'll be leaving you in Sousou's territory. Unless Enjutsu is particularly stupid enough to fight a war on three fronts, there will be no war in Sousou's Territory."
"… understood, Milord." Tou bowed.
"Kazuto-kun, what you just said…" Touka asked, worried. "You're personally going to escort parts of our army through Sousou's domain?"
"We'll discuss our plans after we confirm everyone," Kazuto replied quickly. He did a quick headcount. "Rouan, Fuurin. What will you two be doing?"
"… I'll come with, as a General." Rouan nodded.
"I'll remain," Fuurin answered.
"Josho?"
"I'll manage the information lines. If Enshou even so much as steps out of line in the North, I'll know." Then Josho will stay. Good.
"Then, that is all of us." Kazuto looked around, trying to see if he forgot anyone. Hope not. "Then let's discuss our basic plan of action."
"You spoke of going through Sousou Territory?" Tou asked. "What for?"
"As I said, to reinforce Keishuu. Sousou is free to give us troops to help."
"Hmm… I see, I see…"
"However, that is not, in any way, our basic plan. Let's start with the border between us and Enjutsu. Touka, I'll leave the command of that to you. For the most part, do as we agreed. Keep Paitan safe. Do not let Enjutsu gain a foothold in Joshuu, and push in as much as possible. But do not take a charge, not until we can coordinate with Sousou and Ryuuhyou."
"Got it." Touka nodded.
"A basic plan, truly. But a good plan nonetheless." Tou hummed.
Kazuto can tell that she was judging him based on Sousou as a standard. Whatever. It's not like he's seen Sousou pull off anything particularly impressive so far. Still, "Shuri, Hinari, I'll leave the fine details to the two of you."
""Understood!""
"As for me, I'll be bringing Kouchuu, Gengan, Gien, and… who can you spare to me, Bachou?"
"Tanpopo." Bachou sharply said.
"I'm right here!" Batai announced herself.
"Then, Batai." Kazuto nodded. "Also, Ren, Nenene. We'll be going through Sousou's territory and enter Keishuu. After dealing with Sonsaku's push into Keishuu, Ren, Nenene, and I, alongside Batai would return to our side, after I coordinate with each commanding officer of the ideal date and time to charge into Enjutsu's capital. Gather as much intel on the defenses of Enjutsu's capital as possible. If she has siege engines, if she recruited some powerful general, whatever. Sonshoukou, I trust you know not to send our plans to your sisters, yes?"
"I won't," Sonshoukou replied as if a student to a teacher. The kind of reply that you can't discern if it's sincere or not.
"All your mail will henceforth be monitored," Kazuto said. "Josho, I'll leave that to you."
"Sure." Sonshoukou shrugged.
"… That goes double for you, Shuutai-san."
"Understood." Shuutai nodded.
"Then I believe we have a basic plan of attack. Today and tomorrow, we'll dedicate to preparations. Double-check and triple-check everything. On the dawn of the third day, we march." Okay, he may or may not have always wanted to say that one.
"Uhh, why dedicate tomorrow for preparation as well?" Bachou asked. "Shouldn't we just go tomorrow instead?"
"So that we can send a messenger ahead of time to Sousou's territory to tell them this decision," Kazuto replied. "If we suddenly march an army through her territory without advance warning, that's just asking for her to suspect invasion." Batou got away with it because she wasn't in a recent war with Sousou. Joshuu has been at war with her. Not a good time to be dealing with that nonsense.
"Ah, right, of course. Sorry."
"Nah, it's fine." Kazuto shrugged, "Better someone questioning my decisions than sheep following every order I put out… Anyway, does anyone have any objections?"
"You're only bringing Ren and Nenene with you?" Aisha asked, worried.
"And all our personal platoons." Kazuto clarified.
"… Can you bring at least one more Guardian? For our peace of mind?" Aisha asked.
"… Shuri." Kazuto reluctantly nodded. "Anyone Ren can't outpower, Shuri can outwit."
"Understood, Master!" Shuri nodded.
"… I would've preferred myself, Rinrin, or Sei. No offense Shuri." Aisha grimaced. Shuri merely shook her head, as a sort of gesture to say 'None taken'.
"Rinrin and you need to be on our frontlines. Sei, however, I can take with me, if you insist." Kazuto offered.
Aisha pondered on that before nodding, "… Sei, go. With the number of generals with Touka-sama, it's better to err on the side of caution."
"Will I be seeing combat there?" Sei immediately asked.
"Maybe?" Kazuto tilted his head. "Depends on what Sonsaku is doing in Keishuu. For all we know, Sonsaku has started retreating from Keishuu and is to rejoin with Enjutsu to attack Joshuu. However, our current plan is to join up with Keishuu's army and attack Enjutsu from the southwest."
"Hmm… then there's a chance that I fight Sonsaku herself?" Sei asked.
"Whoever of you and Ren gets to her first, I suppose."
"I'll take it." Sei nodded. "Then I'll be your other escort then, Milord."
"Are you really going to fight neesama?" Sonshoukou asked.
"Here's a question for you Sonshoukou-san. Will Sonsaku choose to not fight us?" Even the brief meetings Kazuto had pretty much told him the answer. She seems reasonable when on the discussion table but the answer is inevitably:
"… No." Sonshoukou awkwardly looked away.
"Then we'll leave it at that." Kazuto nodded.
"Since Sonshoukou's here, can we not use her as a hostage?" Tou pointed out.
"""No.""" Kazuto, Touka, and Paitan rejected her suggestion immediately.
"…" Tou looked at them with a tilted head. "… Not going to tell me why?"
"Must you be this nosy?" Kazuto asked.
"You wanted someone to question your actions yes?"
"I'm not going to put all my eggs in a basket that hangs on the arm of someone else, Tou."
"And what do you mean by…"
"That is enough." Paitan raised her tone. "Chinkei, no matter how much you disrespect Hongou and Ryuubi, you have no right to needle them for answers. If they say they won't give you a reason, it means they won't. We have made our decision on the matter. I, Kentei, have made the decision on the matter; Sonshoukou will not be used as a hostage. Must we repeat ourselves, over, and over, and over?"
"… Understood, Emperor." Tou bowed, a polite smile still on her face.
"… Continue, Kazuto." Paitan sighed and leaned back into the throne. Using authority to silence criticisms of decisions is a last resort that none of them particularly enjoy. However, this information really isn't something to be shared with everyone they know. Still, Kazuto noticed that Paitan mixed some of her own frustrations against Chinkei into that; she outright called Tou out for antagonizing them. As grateful as he is for it, it's best if Paitan tried to view things as objectively as possible.
"Sheesh, you really don't fit in here, do you?" Sonshoukou pointed out. "I probably fit in better than you do."
"She has no interest in fitting in with us." Rairai pointed out.
"She wants to be on Sousou's team," Denden added.
"Then why doesn't she?" Sonshoukou asked. Kazuto knows the answer of course. Two reasons. The first is that, despite everything, she built herself up in Joshuu. If she gave that up and entered Sousou's service at this point, she'll have to start from the ground up. That is less than ideal for her. The second reason is the girl who is standing next to her, grimacing as the ones she could consider friends in this world have such a negative opinion of her mother. Suu also built up her life's work is built up in the fields here in Joshuu. Tou can likely build up if she wanted to, but for Suu to leave what she built up might be a bit more difficult, considering how reticent Suu is. However, considering Suu's talent, there is no doubt in his mind that Sousou would practically order her farmers to do as Suu says if they joined with her, but building up relations with the farmhands will still take a lot of effort for the slightly anti-social Suu. So Tou cannot leave Joshuu for another land, and all she can do is continue giving a polite smile.
To save both of them from such heavy scrutiny, Kazuto spoke up here, "That is enough. We are here to discuss how to deal with Enjutsu. Tou is a non-issue. As long as she's doing her job, I couldn't care less about her opinions about me and Touka. We have better things to do than to deal with her." He turned towards Aisha and said, "… Aisha, Hinari, Rouan, please coordinate the military preparations. Shuri, Rairai, Yuuka, please prepare for the handoff so that we can make sure that Joshuu will still be running smoothly while we're out on campaign. Tou, write the letter for Sousou that will be delivered ahead of us."
"You won't look through it first? Make sure it's nice and neat?" Tou asked.
"Above all else, I can trust you to be professional about this," Kazuto remarked as a sort of way to silence everyone else from criticizing her further.
"As you will, Milord."
"You two have such a weird dynamic of trust," Paitan mumbled.
"Any other objections? No? Then let's start moving! We may have two days to prepare, but that's a lot to prepare!"
""""Yes!""""
-()-
And so the battle lines were drawn:
On one side is the self-declared Chuu Dynasty. Its Emperor is Enjutsu. On her side is a considerable amount of soldiers and the support of her conquered territories. How, one might wonder, did she conquer all these territories? These territories were all conquered by Sonsaku and were made to serve Enjutsu. In exchange for this and the Imperial Seal, Sonsaku's Army, the Army of Koutou, are no longer considered subordinates but full-on territory holders of Koutou. With the great army of Enjutsu, an army that really is only second to her own older cousin, Enshou, in terms of size, there was never any doubt that Enjutsu may be just as well-positioned to hold the position of Emperor. Her territory's capital is decently centralized, if less defensible than Rakuyou, and her family name carries a rather clear reputation. Enjutsu's Army alone consisted of tens of thousands of soldiers, the conscriptions shooting that number past the hundred-thousand mark. That isn't counting the soldiers of her allied lords, which is by no means a small number either. Then there's Sonsaku's army, an elite group with soldiers that, while not particularly high in numbers, are capable of toppling entire territories in mere months. There is no need for her to prove this claim; she already did it after all.
On the other side is the last dying gasps of the Kan Dynasty, trying to scramble for the power that it had lost. Its Emperor is Kentei, Ryuukyou for those who know her from before her era. A new emperor in their area is not what they needed at the moment. To save the Kan, she'll have to lead an unquestionable, undeniable, undefiable victory in the campaign against Enjutsu's Chuu. At her side are her trusted friends, Ryuubi and Hongou, who leads an elite group of generals, and soldiers that, while not the best, have now been training under an elite general for the past months since their last war. They've built up an alliance with the two other territories surrounding Enjutsu, Sousou and Ryuuhyou and are prepared for a three-front war.
Sonsaku's strike in Ryuuhyou's territory, is the signal fire for it all to begin…
-()-
In the field bordering Enjutsu and Ryuuhyou…
"KOUSO!" Sonsaku roared as she charged into the field with her army. "You will pay for my mother's murder!"
"Bring it on, tiger cub." Kouso scoffed, her bow drawn. "Let's see if your fangs are as sharp as your mother's." She points it at the rampaging Sonsaku with a smirk.
-()-
Chapter End
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Chapter Release Date: January 15, 2021
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Beta Reader: Seraphius
And so, the Enjutsu Arc officially begins! See you next week for the next chapter~