"I-It's over…" The leader of the invisible forces falls, his head cleanly torn from his shoulders. Reina's Kinshi walks towards the corpse. Suddenly, all of the bodies disintegrate. "NO! Dammit!"
"How convenient… They leave no trace, not even their dead" said the veteran soldier in front of me. There goes the evidence we needed to convince my brothers.
"Bad news, Kamui. The Hoshidan forces have rallied and are storming this position" said Gunter, charging up towards me. Saizo jumped down from a rooftop, landing next to the knight.
"As are the Nohrians. There's no way for us to take them both on like this." The only way to secure our lives would be to flee now and let them fight it out between themselves. That'd make this entire endeavour pointless! And we'd have to ditch Oboro and Orochi too. Out of the question!
"I'll go beat some sense into them once again then!" I try getting off from the bird I was riding, but a firm hand forces me back on.
"As we agreed, milady, you are not leaving this Kinshi. The fight is lost" said Jakob, his hand tight. It's not over yet! Suddenly, a haunting song rang out across the battlefield. That's Azura! Our group charged over to the sound, to find the remnants of the two armies kneeling, their leaders at their forefront. In the middle of the fight was Azura, who had been using her spear to prop herself up.
"Lady Azura!" called out Jakob, running over to her.
"I-I'm fine… Just this song is tiring… Now they should be… a bit more agreeable…" she said, falling into the butlers arms.
"W-what trickery is this… Azura…" groaned Ryoma.
"As long as you keep fighting… I'll keep singing" she said, nodding to me. It's my moment to shine.
"Do you not believe me now? There is something here, trying to drive both countries to ruin! It's already claimed Nestra and it won't stop here! Nohr, Hoshido, Izumo, Cheve, everywhere! I need both of you to stop fighting and join me to combat them!"
Would have worked a lot better if I had that head to show them.
"I can't say what else I know at the moment, for it carries a terrible curse. But come to the edge of the bottomless canyon when the skies turn and I'll show you exactly what we're up against."
The silence from both sides is almost deafening. Xander is the first to respond.
He shakes his head.
Oh dear.
"I must have smashed your head hard on the floor, Kamui. I will never trust the word of a traitor like you. For now… we will retreat. Men! Fall back!". No! But he seems to ignore my shouts.
"Don't worry, Kamui, he'll come around on his own. He usually does when he gets this angry" sighed Camilla.
I sure hope so. Suddenly, Izana's words resonate with me. "Xander! What do you know of any Dragons?!" However, he doesn't even turn to look at me. The dandy swordsman at his side gives me a pained expression, but they soon retreat along with him. Ryoma gives a small laugh.
"You were always a surprising one, Azura… But still, a dragon you say? Why don't you try the Rainbow Sage at Notre Sagresse? Even if he doesn't have an answer for you, he might know someone who does." The swordmaster was wincing as he got to his feet. Good to see someone wasn't being a jerk.
"Can I count on you to follow me to the bottomless canyon?" He gives a grimace. Here comes the excuse.
"You give me nothing to trust you with, Kamui. The men still are wary of you." I give him a perfect glare, but it doesn't seem to work.
"Oh, don't be such a wuss!" said a blonde girl with a headband. She almost gave him a clip around the head.
"Oh, this is Ryoma's girlfriend! Are you ever going to introduce her to us?" said Takumi, a smirk on his face. The look of panic on my elder brother's face quickly scrambles around to look for help.
I feel a deeper connection to him in this moment, more than any I've felt in my life.
"S-she's not my girlfriend! T-this is Scarlet, she's a leader in the rebellion of Cheve."
"That's future-Queen Scarlet to you lot!" she said, winking. "Anyway, I trust her, Ryoma. On all of this." At least I've got something to work with here.
"Urgh… We'll discuss this back at Shirasagi… Kamui. Take good care of our siblings, alright?" he said, as the Hoshidan troops began their retreat.
"Wow… I think you almost convinced them" said Takumi, with a small cheer. Camilla practically grabbed onto him and began to cheer too.
"Xander will come round. Even if it takes Leo and Elise dragging him kicking and screaming, he'll be there."
In all the celebrations, I forget about my leg and back, jumping off of Reina's Kinshi.
Promptly, I find the floor in a way Felicia would be proud of.
Stirring, I wake up. The first thing I feel is flames engulfing my entire body.
"Urgh…"
"Oho, sleeping beauty is awake. How are you feeling?" Orochi was kneeling over me, rubbing some powders into some wounds on my abdomen. My clothes had been opened up, with all my wounds being treated by some kind of concoction or another. One particularly deep gash was stitched together with some thread. The diviner herself had some bandages up her arms, as well as a big bruise on her shoulder. Mozu was still asleep, with an icy spell cooling her stomach. We was in a house that had been trashed and abandoned from the fighting.
I hope that bloodstain by the door is mine.
"Like a pegasus just landed on me…"
"This is why you listen to the doctor when he tells you to not fight, Oboro" she said, smugness practically dripping from her.
"Hmmpf." Condescending hag. Still, why did I run right into battle? I didn't even have my naginata with me. It was all kind of a blur still, probably from getting whacked in the face.
Oh, right. Kamui was about to get killed by that Nohrian fil- Swordsman.
"Is Kamui alright?" Hearing my question, Orochi sighed.
"As far as I know. She's in bad shape, but I think Reina's making sure she can keep moving. I can't hear anymore fighting, so let's think positively about that." She looked worried, but that moment was fleeting. "Besides, you managed to go toe to toe with Prince Xander. I'm sure tales of the Blue Demon of Hoshido will be told for years to come"
I barely attempt to stifle my groan. That nickname had stuck, soon after I began serving Lord Takumi. Some bandits we captured trying to raid some nearby farms had spoke of a blue demon that relentlessly haunted the battlefield when my liege was present. They spoke of a terrifying face that yells before their death. Only when the prisoners saw me, they all began to cower.
Really hurts a girls self esteem, that.
"But anyway, I've got more important business to attend to. Such as, asking you why you threw yourself into such recklessness. You do know you're only meant to throw yourself into swords for our little prince, right?" Orochi's tone was almost stern, but her smile was killing all authority in her voice.
"Kamui is our captain. I am to serve both her and milord" The hell does she think she's playing at, anyway. "It's my choice what I do on the battlefield anyway."
"Oho? Would you throw yourself in front of a spear for Sir Gunter? He's of a higher rank in this… militia than you?" Like hell I would. Old man can save his own skin.
"Depends on how much he needed it." Orochi flicks me on my nose. Dammit! If I wasn't beaten to a pulp I'd whack her one.
"Don't lie to me, little miss 'NOHRIAN SCUM!'" she says, in a screechy voice. Is that meant to be me?! "Oh, and here comes the Blue Demon! Don't eat me!" The diviner runs away laughing, checking the door of the building before heading out. Several peoples footsteps thudded along, including a kinshi landing.
Damn that woman!
Why did I run straight for Kamui? It was practically suicide! Only by god's graces I survived that encounter. Would I have done the same for Takumi?
Of course I would. There's no doubt. To get him to notice me? I'd do anything to keep feeling his appreciation. If only he wasn't so dense.
But why does Kamui make me feel that fire too…
As I pondered this question, the door was flung open. Prince Takumi and Hinata burst in.
"Wow, you look like crap, Oboro!" laughed Hinata. Glad he's feeling fine.
"Took ten Nohrians to make me like this, you look like that when you wake up" I say with a weak smile.
"What happened to 'I'm not going to fight?'" Takumi was trying his best to be angry, but relief washed across his face. Still, I did lie to him.
"I-I'm sorry, milord. I just acted when I saw Kamui being cornered."
"Well… Don't do it again." He attempted to huff, but Hinata put an arm over his shoulder.
"Oh lighten up, Takumi! Everything ended well!" said the samurai. Milord was failing to pretend he was mad. It's kind of cute. The door opened again, with the old Nohrian knight, Gunter, carrying Kamui in his arms.
"We've given her painkilling drugs again. I'm making sure we don't get a repeat of before" said the inveterate knight, sticking his baggage down on a chair. She'd had all of her armour off and replaced with a loose dress. On her face, a big red mark was on her forehead. Maybe she'd collapsed recently? On her leg, I could see a large splint holding her leg together.
Gods…
"Heyyyy Oboroooo" she said. Heavens… Last time she was like this she caused an international incident. At least we both got to see each other on painkillers. Sakura had followed the two in.
"If she's being a nuisance I can sedate her more." Sakura looked more tired than the rest of us. No doubt, considering the amount of injuries we'd accumulated. Between her and Jakob, we were short on medical staff.
"Thanks for saving me and whacking that jerrrk Xander… He's a jerk."
"Negotiations did not go as well as planned, milady means" says Gunter. Takumi nods and puts a finger to his temple. "But, at least, we have a direction to head to next."
"Notre Sagresse is an island northeast of here, right? All we got to do is hop on and sail over there" said the archer. Gunter shakes his head.
"Unfortunately, our captain has turned tail and left. As have the Hoshidan and Nohrian forces. And with the state this town is in, I fear Nestra has no ships left to hire. We shall return to milady's fort and plan our next move. We deserve the rest, anyway."
Thank god. It feels like I've been beaten up for a week straight.
"Liliiith… I summon thee! Bring us home!" called out the captain, waving her arms around. Seeing her goofing around is so nice to see… A-at least she's keeping her top on this time too. The portal to her castle opened, as Hinata grabbed me in his arms. Guess we're going in.
I could do with a decent bed.