AUTHOR'S NOTES: Due to the holiday season, updating will be a little slower than usual, but I should be able to get back on course around early January or something. In the meantime, here's the long-awaited battle at Fort Jinya. Like the game, it's not a very long skirmish, but it gets covered in this chapter. I'm still adding the characters joining the roster to the bottom of their respective chapters, but Rinkah does not join Corrin yet, and Sakura technically has not extended the offer yet either.
Anyways, Happy Reading!
CHAPTER 43: The Battle of Fort Jinya
Sing with me a song of Ninjas and Dawn...
The battle for Fort Jinya was a difficult endeavour because of the self-imposed handicap Corrin had placed upon himself and his army. While they were merely fighting to incapacitate the Hoshidans (with the desire to later free them from the curse), they were all trying to slay Corrin and company. Fortunately, the advance guard that Corrin had sent forward consisted of his most powerful soldiers, and neither Kamui nor Oboro feared for their lives.
"Sorry to do this, buddy," she warned, "but it's between letting you kill me, and me putting you in a world of hurt to prevent this curse from gripping anyone else."
Kamui took aim at a priestess and knocked her clean out as she advanced. Even as strong as she was, her agility kept her out of harm's way 9 times out of 10. The "10th" blow that actually struck her, however, had Kamui reeling back as she pulled a shuriken out of her shoulder.
"I am Saizo," the red-haired owner of the shuriken warned, "retainer to Lord Ryoma. He has labelled you a traitor, and so it's my duty to ensure you die, here and now."
"I would try explaining…" Kamui deflected another blade from taking her left eye out, "something about your blank-looking eyes makes me assume and realize you're not really in any condition to listen to reason."
"Do you really think you can stand against me?" Saizo taunted, pressuring Kamui with shurikens to try and keep her on the defensive,
"Do you really think I have no friends?" Kamui quipped, "Because that might be true. But I've got people watching out for me just as you do."
Almost as if this was his cue, Roku appeared and deflected Saizo's blade with a swing of his sword. He glared at Saizo for a moment before speaking as well.
"My liege's sister is as important to him as he is to me." he warned, "your options are to back off or we'll make it happen."
"I cannot allow it to happen, Yukimura appeared behind Saizo and blasted Kamui off her feet with a well-placed bolt. "Even now you march on the land you swore fealty to. It seems that the Exalted One's offer to protect Hoshido from traitors and marauders was accepted in sound judgment. Away with you!"
Yukimura replicated himself again and while everyone in front of him was fairly certain that the nearby one had to be the real one, Roku's slash rendered the illusion a fake, and Yukimura simply reappeared in a different place.
"Of all the…" Jakob stammered as he reached Kamui's side to ensure she was alright.
"Hoshidan magic," Roku grunted as Zenzi sprang out of nowhere to deal with Saizo, whose confidence had been bolstered by the brief aid from Hoshido's mastermind. Azura's songs did not have the same effect on these soldiers that they had had on Kamui, indicating to Corrin that this was not the same type of curse. This very well might have been voluntary, albeit based on false information.
"Yukimura!" Corrin bellowed, "We don't have to do this! How can you not see your own deception? You hide Sakura from us and attempt to kill us merely for trying to expose the truth."
"You truly have quite the nerve showing your face here, Lord Traitor," Yukimura responded, raining a volley of arrows on Corrin and his army from mechanized soldiers and Hoshidan archers, "I could expect your Nohrian sister to cling to her primal urge to desert and betray Hoshido, but you and your retainers always acted so loyal. Alas, it is I who now stands the fool for buying into that nonsense… but no longer!"
"Corrin..." Azura spoke up, deftly twirling a lance to defend herself as she reached Corrin.
"And the same goes to you, Lady Azura," Yukimura continued, "You were raised like any other princess of Hoshido, and yet you seem just as eager to turn your back on your family without any sense of remorse. What say you in your defense?"
Azura paused for a moment, but Yukimura continued as if he had planned to interrupt her anyways. "I suppose you never truly thought of it as your home either." he sighed, "perhaps you and Kamui have more in common than I first thought."
"You're wrong!" Corrin shouted, "And I'll prove it to you!"
"Nothing you say will convince us otherwise save for your death as atonement," Yukimura warned, "Saizo, Orochi… I tire of this tomfoolery. Bring them down."
Corrin groaned, and this time Kamui put a hand on his shoulder.
"Nothing's working," he shook his head, "what do we do?"
"We fight." Kamui frowned. "Once you convince a man that hatred can be righteous… once you convince a man that there is an evil out there that deserves no mercy… there are few who are willing to let that belief go without a fight. Welcome to Nohr under Garon. Also, hold that thought; we've got company."
Orochi and Saizo returned from the woodwork and began pressing their attack of shuriken and magical spirits to push Corrin's little army into the defensive. Despite these odds, there was still not a single casualty on either side yet. Kamui was sparked back into action when she noticed a familiar fiery individual on the battlefield coming right for her.
"Rinkah!?" she gawked, clutching her Yato tighter, "don't tell me they got you too!?"
"Honestly… I was more fighting for Hoshido because I was told to. I'm not entirely sure about this Yukimura guy's antics. I think it's time I started bashing some heads in."
"Well look around you," Kamui pointed out, "I've got my brother and a handful of people from Nohr and Hoshido together. We haven't actually killed anyone, and we're trying to reach Sakura. Do you really think they've all joined some evil Nohrian blitzkrieg?"
"I'd normally have to give it thought, but I recognize that kid with the spear." Rinkah reasoned, "And there's no way Oboro would ever fight for Nohr."
"So you wanna help us out?" Kamui extended her offer again.
"I'm in," Rinkah brandished her club before turning towards Orochi. Orochi raised an eyebrow upon noticing Rinkah's presence and came at her.
"You are making a grave mistake by assuming your mere strength alone can withstand the might of my magic," Orochi warned, "submit, Flame Princess! Submit to my magic!"
"An Oni Chieftain fears no cheap cantrips, mountebank," Rinkah reacted with fire magic of her own, "Were even a tenth of your alleged abilities genuine, your visions of this moment would have caused you to soil every garment you own. For while you will not die today, thrall of the Exalted One, you will learn to fear The Girl on Fire just as the coward fears the reaper!"
Rinkah followed up with a feint and a blast of fire to keep Orochi on her toes, and then lobbed her club with considerable force at Orochi's head, striking her hard enough to cleanly put her out of commission (and consciousness) for a while.
"Don't get too cocky, 'Girl on Fire'," Saizo turned his attention from Corrin and Zenzi towards Rinkah. "I neither stand able to nor wish to forgive you for this betrayal."
"You won't need to," Rinkah snatched up her club, "for all of your pent-up rage will do you no favours in the grand scheme of things nor even at the end of this hour. Even now you tremble as the malice of your own deception overcomes you. You hesitate for just one meager second and give the Chieftain an opportunity to strike!"
Unlike Orochi, the club that struck Saizo a split-second later did not knock him out fully, but he lay sprawled on his back, dizzy and seeing stars.
"This isn't over…" he grunted, "but I must retreat… for Lord Ryoma. I must live another day."
With Saizo and Orochi gone, this paved the way for Anna, Oboro, and Kamui to take the lead again while Jakob remained back with Felicia to help heal and protect the others. Rinkah kept the others at bay and this teamwork allowed Corrin to land the would-be finishing blow on Yukimura. It was only after the combat slowed that his army was able to catch back up to him, where Corrin led one half of them to take out one of the Yukimuras, while the other half blazed through the automations to reach the 2nd Yukimura. Corrin's group cut down the fake one, causing it to fade into mist once again; while Zenzi finally incapacitated the real one.
"Can it be?" he wheezed as he fell from his mechanical mount, landing on his back. "But so be it. I… accept defeat…"
Zenzi kept her sword pointed at Yukimura until Corrin could return. Seeing him again sparked curiosity in the mechanist.
"I don't understand," he gazed up at Corrin, "we are defeated, and you you spare us?"
"Because it's not you we're after," Corrin explained, "nor is it Hoshido. We're after the threat that rises above the rest. That 'Exalted One' you claimed to serve. We have no leads, however, and so our first goal is unity."
"Even Orochi and Saizo were spared," Kamui affirmed. "This is Nohr and Hoshido uniting to take our home back from invaders that have no right to be here—or even to exist."
"I apologize," Yukimura shakily got to his feet, "but I cannot put Hoshido at risk by defying the will of the Exalted One."
"Then you'll die at my blade," Kamui drew her sword without hesitation.
"No," Corrin stopped her, before turning towards the mechanist. "If you cannot support us, then at the very least, do not try to stop us. We spared your soldiers for a reason, Yukimura. If you cannot see that just yet, then I implore you to first handle your soldiers. We wish to see Sakura without any further inhibitions from you or your army."
"Very well…" Yukimura sighed. He knew he had lost this fight. "But if so much as a hair on her head is harmed while under your so-called protection, not even the gods will know what has become of you when we are through with you."
"I refuse to allow it!" a deep voice shouted, and suddenly, Saizo was on the scene, a large welt and bruise on the side of his head, and a great deal of pyrotechnics in his hands. "If you're going to sabotage Hoshido, then it's my sworn duty to do the same to you first."
The implements in Saizo's hands began glowing, but before he could set anything off, there was a loud and powerful rumble, and suddenly a burst of fire not much different from a Bolganonne knocked Saizo off his feet. From one of the walls of the fortress stood little Sakura, who leapt deftly down until she was at ground level.
"Saizo, I cannot allow you to hurt them!" she cried. "Your brother is here too!"
Almost as if this was his cue, Kaze appeared out of nowhere like ninjas tended to do.
"Brother," Kaze added, "you needn't be so rash. You know as well as I do that Lord Corrin's intentions have always been pure. I can also vouch for Lady Kamui. When I was a prisoner of Nohr, she freed Rinkah and I when she was instructed by King Garon himself to put us to death."
"...fine." Saizo grunted, "I have my own doubts, but I will look into it. In the meantime, Orochi and I need to find Reina and then continue our hunt for the real Kagero."
"That reminds me," Rinkah added, "As fun as it'd be to bash heads alongside your sister again, Corrin, I've got other business I need to attend to. The Flame Tribe cannot offer much apart from my help at this point, but I'm going to see if I can get the Wind Tribe out east to change their minds some. I've got a story I need to share with Cheiftain Fuga, anyways."
"I understand," Corrin gave a sigh of relief. "Thank you for understanding, everyone—or at the very least, bearing with me. We will be happy to assist in whatever ways we can to help with reparations for the damages here, but we must soon be off after that. Fort Jinya might be a win for us here and now, but our greater enemy still stands at large."
There were nods of agreement after Corrin concluded, though these too eventually subsided. For the first time since the skirmish began, the area around Fort Jinya was silent again. One step was complete for now, but many more hurdles lay ahead of them. Corrin hoped his army would be strong enough to tackle them all as they came.
CHARACTERS RECRUITED:
Kaze: A Hoshidan ninja who serves as Corrin's retainer. Unlike his older twin brother Saizo, he has a polite and calm demeanor that has earned him many admirers. He remains somewhat oblivious to this, and does not understand why he is often showered with gifts from said admirers. He is loyal to his chosen liege, and is willing to give up his very life for him. The best-liked member of the army. Born on 2 October (Age 23)
Class: Master Ninja