Chapter IV, Part III – The Speech

Hanako stood above the lifeless form of Darius Shonto. With her target dead and her mission complete, she should probably return to the Renjiro clan's campgrounds. She turned on her heel to look at the direction in which the distinctive sound of footsteps was heard. Her duel with Darius Shonto must have alerted some guards to a commotion, which they would check out. Luckily, the Shinobi did not see any major Knights when she surveyed the outpost, so theoretically, she could easily dispatch them.

Three footmen burst into the room, and upon noticing a Samurai holding a Ninjatō that was standing over their former lord, they drew their broadswords. Hanako adjusted her footing to deal with the men, and as she did this, one of them ran at her, his sword raised above his head. She quickly dodged to the right, holding her Ninjatō at a flat angle. The weapon easily pierced her opponent's armor and sliced open his chest, allowing blood to fall from his wound as his soon-to-be corpse dropped face first onto the floor.

Hanako's eyes moved from the lifeless body to the two other soldiers. When she saw them both charge at her, she dropped her Ninjatō and took out her Kusarigama. She leapt towards them, crashing into one. Tumbling down to the dusty wooden floorboards, she swiftly got on top of him and cut his exposed neck, killing him almost instantly. She then returned her attention to the last man—who had overshot his swing, sending him off balance.

The Shinobi jumped from the body of the second man, landing just behind the last. She quickly fell to the ground and kicked the man's feet from under him, sending him falling to the ground. Hanako recovered and threw down one of her Kusarigama into him, promptly piercing his chest without problem. The Knight's eyes widened as life left them.

She pulled the sharp blade from the man's chest and went completely silent. Hanako listened for any signs of more men headed her way. Luckily, she heard nothing, so she turned on her heel and slowly walked through the way she came, picking back up her Ninjatō as she did so.

And when Hanako reached the exterior of the keep, her eyes narrowed on the ridge where she left William, her captive. It would be a lie to say that she did not wonder whether he had escaped or not. Even if he had managed to escape, however, he could not have gotten far, so Hanako could probably find and catch him with ease.

After she lowered herself from the top of the thick stone wall, Hanako made her exit from the Wolfstone Outpost's grounds and into the deep night that fell upon her. The remaining few Knights of the outpost were sent on patrols, but they did not find anything that could lead them to the attacker—much to Hanako's advantage.

Soon after, the Shinobi crested the hill that she had left William. A sigh of relief exited her lungs when her hazel eyes gazed upon the sleeping form of the man. He was fallen to the ground, his feet lying in a pool of blood. His clothes wore many stains of his own blood, and mud dirtied his face and hair. Hanako slowly approached the man.

"Wake up." Hanako told him as she lightly kicked his chest, waking him from his slumber. The man shook, his eyes shooting open as he awoke.

"Damn." William muttered as he pushed himself up from the muddy grounds with a struggle since his hands were still bound in rope. "What now?"

Over the course of their short travels together, William had grown accustomed to the Shinobi. He began to realize that pleading for his life or hoping that she let him escape would not get him anywhere. Hanako would never in a million years allow him to walk free, for he was a Knight and her a Samurai. After all, he would not let her go either.

"It does not concern you." Hanako responded. She pulled from her belt a thick sack. "But you cannot know where we are headed."

Fresh out of retorts, William could only sigh as she placed the heavy hessian bag over his head. He barely struggled, but his mouth remained closed tight. The world seemed to go black for him, but he could still feel as Hanako pushed him forward. With a hand on his shoulder, the Knight was directed by her, and leaves beneath his feet were crunched as he walked slowly onwards, deeper into the Myre.

"I assume you have completed the mission?" Tetsuo said pointedly, his right eyebrow raising slightly as he looked down upon Hanako from his wooden throne when she entered. She bowed and stood up straight.

"Yes, sir." Hanako replied instantly. "Darius Shonto of the Wolfstone Legion is fallen."

"Good." Tetsuo responded with a smile. "However, I understand that you have brought me a gift from the mission?"

Hanako nodded. Shortly after the slight motion, the two wooden doors burst open, and a person in full plate armor stumbled in the door with a sack placed over his head, being guided by two large Shinobis. She motioned her hand towards the man. One of the two escorts followed up with removing the sack from the man's face.

"This is William Eron of the Blackstone Legion, formerly of the Wolfstone Legion." The woman said. Tetsuo leaned forward, placing his elbows on his knees. "While I was over at the Wolfstone Outpost, I had found out that the Wolfstone Legion was annexed into the Blackstone Legion, and that they plan on invading the Myre. When that is, I do not know, but I know it will happen."

Tetsuo hummed before leaning back in his chair. "I shall look into this. If anything is found out, you shall be notified."

Hanako nodded before stepping away and out of the small wooden hall and into the dark jungle. She looked to the sky. The night was young, as moon was nowhere near its peak. The moon was as bright as the strongest torch, as beautiful as a sunset, and as round as a gold coin. It hung suspended between two picturesque clouds, and Hanako could barely remove her eyes from the attractive scene.

Regardless, her hazel eyes were peeled away by the call of her name: "Hanako!"

The voice was familiar yet strange. Hanako turned on her heel to look at the person who had called her. She looked upon the figure. It was a man. He was slightly shorter than average, but that would have been expected, especially for an Orochi since being smaller was better. His hair was jet black, being cut short around the sides and back but slightly longer on top.

Hanako's eyes locked with his, and she instantly knew who spoke to her. There—on a narrow face, next to a deep brown eye, and beyond a large ugly scar—his left eye sat, milky grey and blind.

Rera.

It was a name that many knew. That many feared. It was not fear of terror; instead, it was a fear that stemmed from an unspoken respect for the name. And this name had definitely earned this respect, for they fought in countless battles and numerous wars, winning many of them with their hardened valor. This kind of valor was not earned by sitting behind a desk or telling the soldiers where to go. It was the kind that was earned by leading your men into battle, killing the enemy with your bare hands, and standing until your last breath.

However, those days of Rera had been long gone. They managed to avoid war with other legions or factions. The days of war were behind the House of Rera, and in the future laid the prospect of extreme prosperity through more socially-acceptable means, for they were now the ones that controlled much of Ashfeld's economy. They had an iron fist on imports and exports, industry, and even agriculture somewhat. If you were to look around the most major cities of Ashfeld, you would see properties owned by Rera, and they certainly enjoyed this fact.

Currently, Geraix Rera, the heir and son of Galon Rera, stood in the open auditorium. Hundreds of people—powerful and wealthy—sat and watched, waiting for the son of one of the most powerful men in Ashfeld to begin his speech. Geraix stood behind a red velvet curtain embellished with golden accents. He was calm, which was uncommon for many who had to talk to the most powerful men and women in Ashfeld.

Geraix always had a knack for public speaking. Unlike most of the residents of the three regions, he was well-educated and well-spoken. He was incredibly wealthy and relatively powerful, and he lived a comfortable life, something that was generally unusual for mostly any person anywhere. But unlike those others that lived comfortable lifestyles, Geraix took the opportunity to further himself instead of wasting away with wine and women. He learned a variety of different things using this money: from politics and speaking to sword-fighting and strategy.

A smile crept onto the Centurion's face, and it stayed on as he stepped through the large velvety curtains. The audience cheered, their applause reverberating throughout the echoey chamber. It was not a strange noise for Geraix. He had grown accustomed to the sound, though some could say that he it was so familiar that it was borderline annoying how much praise he got. Geraix held up his palm to the crowd, silencing them.

"My father…" His voice commanded the now silent room, and the audience members' eyes were trained on him; they were hooked on his every word. "He was a powerful but merciful. He loved many, and he was loved by many. He was the most honorable man that any person could ever hope to meet. He left a large hole to fill, but I will do my best to fill it."

Geraix paused as the crowd erupted into a roar. He gave them a few seconds before stopping their praise and continuing: "All of the House of Rera mourns the loss of this great man, but we all knew that it would have come sooner or later. Now, I wish that I was inaugurated into this position under a better, more joyous sun, but the House of Rera does not come to a halt when someone dies, which it shouldn't, as we need to keep moving forward, regardless of the hardships that lay ahead on our path to victory.

"I take this position with great honor, and I hope I can fulfill all of the countless expectations that my father left before me. Thank you." Geraix concluded the speech with an instantly recognizable grin. The smile was met with the all too familiar sound once again. The Centurion bowed slightly before raising his right hand in a motionless wave. After a few moments of receiving the incredible ovation, he turned on his heel and walked back through those velvety curtains.

(Re)Introducing Geraix Rera, created by onyxwhip.

Sorry for the super long delay with getting this one out. It was supposed to come out a week after the previous, but life, technical issues, and general problems arose with this chapter. I wanted to get it out as soon as possible, so sorry for it be extremely short.

However, that's enough with the excuses. Hopefully, I will be back soon with a new chapter of average length. Don't worry, I haven't given up on this story, and I hope I won't. Anyway, thanks for reading.