It was surprising to know how fast the rebellion could work. They relocated to a new base rather quickly, still underground, but far away from their old, lost discovered base. They even managed to make it look the same. Apparently it was some sort of fallback in case of actual discovery. It was closer to where the Genbu Fortress used to be. Which was now gone, somehow sealed back into that medal Amako received.
Amako who was holed up in her new room for a while now. Ritsuka sighed. It only was natural. After what happened to Hisoka, she must have been hit harder than anyone else. Rolling his shoulder, the Master of Chaldea prepared himself. Just one of many other talks he had. Not that it made it any easier, but if he could handle Avengers, he could handle one girl who grieved. Even alone, while Mash helped out out there. With that in mind, he knocked gently on the door.
"Amako? Are you alright?" He asked loudly. His only response was a muffled 'hm'. Taking that as a sign it was at least alright to enter, he opened the door. He licked his lips in discomfort as he closed the entrance behind him.
The room was chaos. If her previous room was messy, the amount of scrolls and messy writing only showed how much worse her mental state became. Amako turned around, her hair utterly disheveled. Bags were under her already red eyes. He couldn't help but flinch back at the sight. That caused her to crack a smile, pointing at herself.
"Heh. Didn't look good, did I?"
Ritsuka stayed silent, modding a few times. Then, sitting down next to her, he frowned with worry.
"Wanna talk? In my experience, it helps to share."
"Heh. I bet," she muttered in dry amusement. Yawning for a moment, she crossed her arms, raising an eyebrow. "How many Heroic Spirits have you summoned?"
"A lot."
"From different times, from different cultures?" When he nodded, she whistled before smirking a bit. "Sure makes me jealous."
"They're the best." His smile fell before he put a hand on her shoulder. He could feel her stiffen up. "But I'm not here because of me."
"Right, right." She hugged her knees as she rested her chin on them. For a while, she was quiet. Then she shivered, taking a deep breath.
"I got three of the treasures now. Filled with all the knowledge their clans gathered." A weak smile appeared on her face as she pointed at herself. "And there's just good ol' me to use them."
"You don't have to do this alone. Many people back home needed help. In normal life and with other stuff."
"But I'm the only head left." Her expression grew darker, her fingers digging into her arm. "The only one against the Shogun anyway... "
Tears welled up in her eyes, once again, and Ritsuka could do nothing but stroke her hair. Once again, he was reminded how alive those people were. Yet they were fated to be pruned, only remaining in existence due to the machinations of the Alien God. Why? Why couldn't they all just coexist at the same time? It wasn't fair to them. It wasn't fair that he had to lie to them, to spare them the pain. It was a mistake. Sooner or later, the secret would be revealed. But was it so wrong, to delay it? To act normal, to avoid having people like Amako look at him as if he was a monster?
He was shaken out of his thoughts when Amako sighed, stretching her legs as she laid the artifacts on the ground. The feather and the medal to be specific. A wistful look was on her face, as she got lost in her memories.
"Karifu was the definition of Suzaku. Taking risks. Aggressively pushing the limits, to find out the mysteries we have missed. He really was like a big brother to me. Always had fun times."
"Granny... heck, what can't I say about her? Old, with the wisdom that comes. She basically raised me with the others. Sometimes kinda strict. Manners never really sunk in, no matter how much she drilled it into me."
"Then there's sis. She always felt like she had to prove herself. Honestly, she was always better as a researcher than a leader. She always hated social gatherings... "
She clenched her eyes shut as she stared up at the ceiling.
"I'll be the last heir. The last head. I'll have to kill sis too... " She shuddered, letting out a shaking breath. "Maybe I should've known from the start."
"I'm sorry." What else could he say? To lose family, to lose the ones she loved. He had seen it often enough. He saw how some of his servants looked like when they talked about their past. Why did bad things have to happen to good people like them all the time? Just to prove his point, Amako patted him on the back, appreciating him with a smile.
"Don't be. Not like this is your fault." She stared at the ground, frowning. "Everyone made their choice. Suppose I have to make mine." Shaking her head, she pressed her lips together. "I... I don't want to do this. Hurt them. But I can't let that Shogun get his way. Besides, if I saw it right... they've been cursed a long time ago… "
Some light returned to her eyes. She wiped them, sniffing one last time before raising her head and straightening up her back.
"Doesn't make me feel that much better... But I can at least make sure their deaths have meaning." She looked down at her hand, formed into a fist with fire in her eyes now. "I'll live up to their dreams as well. Live for three people."
She blinked for a moment. Then, with a giggle, she playfully punched Ritsuka's shoulder, who smiled back at her.
"Look at that, sharing did help!"
That was good. Nobody should be so down. The girl snapped her fingers, pointing at Ritsuka.
"Hey, while we're at it, can you tell me about other countries? Not just your... uh, Japan." She scratched the back of her head embarrassedly. "Could be good reference when I get to travel around."
Ritsuka ignored the pain that flared up in his chest at her words. Humming in thought, he leaned back. There was a lot he could talk about. His mind wandered a bit, before it latched onto something random.
"Well, I never got to see it personally, but there was for example the Eiffel Tower in France."
"France? Where's that?" She asked, tilting her head.
"I can draw a map for you."
"Thanks, Ritsuka!"
The gratitude she showed almost caused him to flinch. Fortunately he was focused on drawing the map. Through that, he could bury those ugly emotions. In that moment, he could pretend that this was normal. That this world wasn't doomed to be destroyed. As he was drawing the map, he didn't notice the presence behind the door, listening in with a frown.
/
The soldiers in this place weren't half bad, Nobu noted as she sat on a rock, munching on a rice ball. Sure, they weren't the murder death machines her guys were. Now those were proper soldiers. But given the circumstances, with a timeline like this, he could forgive some minor faults. These guys had discipline. Followed orders and moved fast. Knew how to have fun. But most importantly... they didn't fear death. A quality that was always good for their era.
An era that should be over a long time ago. She let out a growl. Seriously, she liked to think everyone in her time weren't such a massive loser. But they apparently held the power of some god, creating a system where one would have infinite soldiers and did... absolutely nothing with it. Even if this wasn't her timeline, she did not spill blood and die for someone to play around like that. The worst was, she couldn't think of anyone. With the motivation, or unmotivation in this case, and the skill.
"It's almost a shame, really."
Nobu raised an eyebrow at that. The oh so divine avatar, initiating a conversation? She glanced at Kagetora, taking a sip form her sake cup. They both observed as Mash was stuck playing with the kids, Emperor included, carrying them around on her shield like some makeshift ride. It was pretty cute, if she had to be honest. Still, following Kagetora's gaze, she noticed she was also looking at the soldiers, smiling at the kids. As weird as she was, Nobu couldn't help but crack a smirk, resting her cheek on her hand.
Here she was agreeing with that smiling maniac. Ha. World really was ending.
"Yeah. But a job was a job."
They didn't say it out loud. They weren't stupid. Their master was trying to keep this a secret, and logic dictated to make use of the natives of this Lostbelt until they were no longer needed. Well, their master probably thought about how nice it would be to keep them ignorant. Foolish, but then he wouldn't be master. Still, the two warlords, summoned by Chaldea, raised their cups, a strange moment of comraderie shared as they toasted.
They both agreed. Killing them all would be a shame. But it was gonna happen anyway, whether by vanishing with this Lostbelt... or earlier.
"Who would've thought we'd fight alongside each other," Nobu commented dryly. Especially against Takeda. Now wasn't that a joke. Kagetora shrugged nonchalantly.
"Alliances do happen."
"That's what we call this mess here?" Nobu asked, raising an eyebrow as she pointed at them. They stared at each other for a moment, in silence, before amusement took over.
"Hehehe."
"Hahaha."
Nobu took the bottle and refilled for both of them. This stuff wasn't really doing it for her or Kagetora, but hey, booze was booze. Downing their cups and letting out a satisfied sigh, Kagetora hummed in thought. Nobu glanced at her. Noticing it, Kagetora dangled her feet, hanging in the air.
"Master is hopeless."
"That's what we like about him."
"It's weird. He's weird." Kagetora had an unreadable smile on her face before she began to chuckle. "Yet I can't say I dislike it. Here I thought I'd never find someone else that ever confuses me like Haru did."
"You cheatin' on him?" Nobu teased. But instead of anything, like anger or maybe even the forbidden blush, all she received was utter confusion. Kagetora blinked owlishly, as if trying to process what she said. In the end, she tilted her head like a confused bird.
"Cheating?"
"Wow, you actually don't get it," Nobu muttered in disbelief. Crossing her arms after putting her cup down, she narrowed her eyes. "What the hell is your relationship anyway?"
Kagetora was silent. Then with a hum, she looked at Takeda, leaning against the wall, next to Amako's room.
"I don't know."
"Really?"
She shrugged in response, her eyes half lidded.
"I don't really get it. I just want to fight him. I don't want him to fight anyone else. He makes me feel... weird. Human? And when he died-" She immediately stopped, her eyes turning dark when she snapped her head towards Nobu. "None of your business."
At the cold tone, the Demon King let out a snort, raising her hands sarcastically.
"Pff, here I thought we were bonding." Crossing her arms behind her back, she laughed.
That laugh died quickly when she felt it. One moment, there was nothing. The next, an oppressive aura appeared, right above them. She never felt such pressure before. Without missing a beat, she summoned a dozen of muskets, one being in her hand, while Kagetora surrounder herself with her weapons. The people around them noticed then too, Mash gathering the children behind her, shield up. Takeda jumped down into the center, growling at the ceiling, just as Amako's door opened, revealing their master and Amako herself.
Then the ceiling disappeared. No, rather it was cut away with such force, it might as well have been deleted. What followed was a blinding... solar eclipse? No, a black sun. Rays of darkness shone down, somehow blinding them despite all logic saying otherwise. Nobu assumed nobody could see anything. But she? She was an Archer. With a better sight than most, she raised her hat a bit before lining up her musket. She could make out only one being.
"I'm starting to get real tired of our secret bases not really being secret!" She heard her master shout amidst the tense air, but she breathed out, focusing. Some sort of hood. Cloak thing. Like a bad Grim Reaper cosplay.
"Well, well, well. You really thought you could hide from me?"
The voice sounded familiar. She just couldn't place it right. As if the voice itself was wrong. She was starting to make out the armor underneath the cloak, obsidian and shining somehow. Tacky, but a mark of a general, if nothing else.
"What do you see, Nobu?"
"Gimme a sec!" She barked back at Ritsuka. The man raised his hand, pulling the hood down. For a moment, she couldn't quite make out the features. But once her eyes got used to that darkness sun, she could see some traits, like black moustache, cross scar on forehead, and a weird side buns that looked like it'd belong to a damn mo-
It clicked in her head. In that instance, she almost let go off her weapon.
"Nobu, what're you seeing?!"
Yet she remained silent, eyes wide. Taking a step back, she tilted her head, in utter disbelief.
"...Monkey?"