Chapter VI – The Fat Emperor

The road ahead was long and winding, and it would cause the three of them much trouble. At least, that is what their superior, Janus Tyro, told them. Dahlia's pressed her eyes shut as the group of them rode their horses down the muddied, unused path. Collect a package. That is all that they were here for… how could it go wrong?

A FEW DAYS BEFORE…

A dark eye gazed over the ornate walls of the Yamashiro Palace as another one in a grey color followed blindly and lazily. A heavy sigh exited a slightly opened mouth as the Sun began to fall behind the mountains on the horizon, which could be visibly seen from one of the largest stained-glass windows anyone could have ever seen. The black-haired Samurai took a step forward closer to the walls, his good eye examining a tapestry that hung from a wall.

"Sir, the master will see you now." A young voice broke the man from his thoughts. The black-haired man turned on his heel to look squarely at the younger peasant boy, who consequentially pointed to a pair of large red doors with golden engravings on them. The Samurai nodded towards the young lad before walking over to the entranceway, slowly pushing against the cold surface.

The heavy doors creaked open to reveal an expansive throne room. A large golden throne rested against the far wall; a red velvet carpet laid out so the Emperor would not have to walk on the cold tile floors. A row of Samurai stood at attention on either side of the carpet, their postures perfectly straight and uniform. In the throne itself, the infamous fat Emperor sat.

The black-haired stranger walked cautiously down towards the obese man, his good eye watching the guards keenly as his bad eye stared blankly forward.

"Ah, you must be that Eichii." The Emperor spoke, his voice deep and raspy, sounding as though he was at death's door with every breath.

"The one and only." Eichii said with a grin, running a hand through his jet-black hair. He turned his full attention to the Emperor, his good eye narrowing on him.

"Do you know why I summoned you here?" The fat man asked, his brown eyes staring down at him, empty of any readable emotion. The Samurai raised an eyebrow, signifying to the Emperor that he should tell him why. "Well, boy, it is because of your record. You are well-known throughout the regions for your ferocity in battle."

"I need this ferocity once again." The Emperor continued after a short two second silence, which was just enough time for Eichii to remember his shameful past. "You see, I have many adversaries, and one of them desires to uproot my dynasty. As such, they will go to any lengths to make sure that the holy bloodline—my bloodline—stops at me. They murdered my wife whilst she was away meeting other lords across the region, and I refuse to let this act go unpunished.

"And why do you need me?" Eichii asked, crossing his arms as he dissected the intentions of the man before him.

"I need you to go to the region North Fenlode. There, I need you to bring a woman named Hatsui to death. She must pay for what she did to me." The Emperor said with anger growing in his eyes. He sat up in his golden throne. "Of course, there will be a mighty reward, but for now, you must go, for I need you to do this now."

The Emperor gestured to the door and leaned back into his throne, motioning for one of his servants that stood by idly to bring him a tray filled with the most delicious looking food anyone would have ever seen. Eichii bowed slightly before turning on his heel to walk away.

"Nervous?" Ademar asked as he walked up behind Avice. His brown eyes scrutinized her as she stood there beneath a tall oak tree looking over a small cliff. She jumped before turning to look at the visitor, instinctively reaching for her sheathed long sword as she did so.

"What do you mean?" Avice asked as she relaxed her posture, moving her hand away from her weapon.

"You do realize that everyone in that room could read your eyes, right?" He mentioned, looking passed her towards the cliff's edge. It plummeted down for about eight or nine feet before hitting a small pool of water. "I'd bet that everyone could see the unease behind them."

"Perhaps." Avice said quietly. She could feel herself warm up with embarrassment. She crossed her arms and leaned against the tree. "Is that all you've come here to do? Remind me of my anxiety?"

Ademar snorted, returning his eyes back to the woman before him. "I've come to tell you to be less stressed. You've got nothing to be worried about; the mission will go smoothly and without problem. That is, if you do what you're supposed to, which you will… right?"

It half sounded life a threat, but perhaps he was trying to encourage her albeit terribly. Avice's eyes locked with his. She paused a moment to think about it before answering. "You know I will."

"Good." Ademar flashed her a smile before turning on his heel to walk away from her back towards the small camp that housed about two battalions' worth of Knights, including Holden Cross. Avice watched him leave before looking back over the cliff. She let out a long sigh.

Hopefully, she could prove herself as a worthy Warden to Apollyon. Then again, it was still a mystery to Avice as to why she was even here in the first place. Avice had never met Apollyon before, so why did she request such a lowly Warden from somewhere not even the most intelligent cartographers would have heard of.

Avice thought back on her life. All of it seemed to be leading her to this moment. The moment where she would be able to become one of the strongest people in all of Ashfeld. She finally had the chance to be Apollyon's right hand, and she was damned if she let it slip through her fingers.

The Warden pushed herself from the tree and turned to walk back to the camp. In the morning of tomorrow, she will be walking through the thick jungles of the Myre towards the Imperial City.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Hanako's voice was sharp and filled with annoyance, though it commonly was. The Shinobi crossed her arms as her eyes narrowed at the man who stood before her.

"Looking for you, dear friend." The Orochi responded, flashing her a smile of yellowing teeth as he did so. The recipient only rolled her eyes at the gesture.

"I would hardly call you that." She said, turning back around to head towards a small tent that rested a little further from the others. Eichii snorted, following Hanako at her slow pace.

"You're not still angry, are you?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. "Damn, you can hold a grudge."

Hanako immediately stopped, turned on her heel, and stared at Eichii in the eye with irritation. "What was that?"

The man raised his hands defensively before shrugging. He shook his head, prompting Hanako to turn back to her original direction. They walked together in silence for a few more minutes until the Shinobi had reached the tent. As they entered it, Eichii broke the silence.

"Anyway…" He said following her into the small structure. "I need to find someone by the name of Hatsui. I was told that she was in North Fenlode—know how I can get started on my search?"

"I don't know; I haven't seen her for years." She responded as she looked at Eichii. Hatsui and Hanako were old partners until a conflict in interests arose when it came to riches versus morals. "Why are you looking for her anyway?"

"It was a job." Eichii replied a little hesitantly.

"Strange. I never took you for a mercenary." Hanako assumed. It was true that Eichii was not one for paid jobs. Ever since an encounter with a merciful general, he took it upon himself to unite the Myre. However, he could not live without money; thus, he took the occasional job.

"I'm not." He reinforced. He crossed his arms. "What about you? I never thought you were much of someone who lived as a clan member."

"I suppose you thought wrong then." She stated.

"You know, I could always use your help." He mentioned. "You've got a lot of vengeance to be taken on Hatsui after what she did to you at the Canopy."

Hanako's eyes dilated as she remembered that day at the Canopy. Her and Hatsui had finished an operation and were on their way to their client with the requested prisoner. Forever filled with greed, Hatsui attacked Hanako so that she could collect the full payment without having to share. They dueled for a few hours, but through dirty tactics, the Nobushi eventually gained the edge, pushing Hanako into the deep water below the Canopy before running off to collect her prize.

There was hardly a day after that where Hanako did not think of that day, nor was there a day where she did not plot out her revenge. Perhaps this day was the day she took it.

"There is." Hanako whispered beneath her breath. She bit her lip as she thought of whether or not it was a good idea to try to get her well-deserved vengeance. After a few minutes of thinking, she finally replied to the offer. "Fine, I'll do it."

Eichii grinned. "I knew you would. Let's head out tomorrow; in the meantime, you should get some rest."

Hanako nodded slightly with eyes filled with anger for Hatsui. The Orochi turned and left, leaving her by her lonesome. Revenge. She thought. It'll come soon enough for me, and when I finally am able to put my hands around her neck, I will be able to taste its sweetness…

So… just over two months without an update. I suppose this is the part where I insert excuses, but I'll skip it and just apologize for like the twentieth time. Then again, most of you reading this should be accustomed to these long gaps between updates.

Regardless, I hope you enjoyed the short update, and don't forget to review, follow, favorite, and the rest if you want. I'll see you in (hopefully) less than two months for the next chapter.