Sangokuden x RWBY: Hunt of the Armored War Gods
Written By: GKoh
Chapter 7: Scavenger
It was the day after, and Nagata had all of his officers, strategists and generals gathered at the Shoku Round Table to discuss their next course of action. Seated with them was their new visitor, Ruby Rose. She felt familiar with the meeting as she read a book about it back at Remnant when she was small.
"What is it so important Nagata-sama?" Ryuubi asked.
"Yesterday, while salvaging what remained of the storehouse, we managed to find this," said Nagata as he revealed the partially burnt book cover. "This was what the RinJyuKen were looking for."
Everyone but Ruby was startled. She inquired, "They were looking for a book? That doesn't sound like the kind of thing bad guys want."
"It all depends on what's inside the book Ruby," Nagata replied. It may not seem like much, but the book had shown him something. He placed the book cover on the table and then it shone. Everyone except Nagata were taken aback.
Then, the book released a golden light. What was even more surprising was that within the light laid the presence of a ghost of a man.
"A ghost!" shouted Bacho. Upon seeing the 'ghost', Kanu and Chouhi hugged together in fright.
"Greetings one chosen by the Golden Dragon. If you're reading this message, that means China is under threat once more," said the hologram.
"Chosen?" Kanu wondered.
"Who's that?" asked Ruby.
Komei gasped, finally recognizing the person within the light. "That's the Emperor!"
Many of the generals were surprised. In front of them was the Emperor who ruled China. The generals then bowed their heads in respect. Ruby looked and was confused by this. She shrugged it off and went with it.
"Hi Mr. Emperor!" Chouhi greeted cheerfully.
Kanu scolded, "Rinrin, that's rude."
"You don't need to do that," said Nagata. Everyone look to him who continued, "That's not the real Emperor."
Everyone was puzzled until Iori responded, "It's a hologram. Holograms are like messages but instead of using words the messages project images like this one."
"That's exactly my point. Now settle down everyone," Nagata said, telling them to keep the tone down. They needed to listen to this.
The hologram continued to speak, "To make you understand, I must go back to the time when it all happened. I once thought the Seal of Heaven was the only one of its kind, but I was terribly wrong."
Nagata felt that this was where the story would take a darker turn.
"That day, an unknown force was attacking my people. It left death and destruction in its wake. Then it came to my home. I don't know what it was, but the Seal of Heaven knew. It spoke its name: The Forge of the Underworld."
Those who listened to the Emperor's tale were then getting more interested and wanted to know more.
"There has always been a balance within our world: Good and Evil, Order and Chaos, Yin and Yang, Light and Darkness. Finally, the Seal of Heaven and the Forge of the Underworld," the hologram explained. "The two were equal in power. The Seal of Heaven battled its counterpart to almost a stalemate but miraculously pushed it back. Its form was divided into pieces. The Seal of Heaven could sense dark power within them. So, I took the remains and spread them all over our great land, hidden away from those who might abuse them."
As the Emperor said this, the book projected another hologram showing a sword. Everyone at the Round Table was shocked. They had never heard of any power that could equal that of the Seal of Heaven.
"However, in the event of someone seeking the pieces of the Forge for malicious reasons, I show you the locations of the remaining pieces so you may retrieve them and keep them out of the wrong hands." The Emperor showed writings of Asian origin to our heroes. "Be safe and good luck."
The hologram of the Emperor vanished, leaving everyone speechless. The writing was still displayed before them to look at.
"These look like coordinates," Iori noticed.
"I can decipher them," Komei said and Nagata nodded her to do so.
"Is something the matter Ruby-san?" asked Kanu.
Ruby replied, "Sorry, I kinda noticed something on the pommel. It looked something else was part of it."
"I noticed too," Nagata agreed with the girl's statement. "It was that jewel back in your world."
"Of course, that's why it was familiar!" Ruby shouted. "I was fighting that Deer Grimm when I fell and I grabbed that jewel."
Iori looked worried. "You're saying that jewel is in Remnant?"
"Yes and that book had one as well. And now the Rinrinshi have two of them," Nagata said with a bitter tone. If he had known those artifacts were part of some doomsday weapon, he would have fought harder.
Komei explained, "If the RinJyuKen were to acquire those other pieces and bring them all together..."
"The ways they could use the Forge would be limitless," Iori finished.
Bacho shuddered. "Just thinking about it gives me the creeps."
"Which is why we need to act now," Nagata resolved. "We have to get those pieces before they do, for the sake of both worlds."
The Armored War Gods of Shoku and the Shoku Generals nodded to one another. It was time for action.
"So we'll split into two teams. Iori, you'll be leading one team while I be leading the other," Nagata recommended.
"And do we get to pick who we bring?" Iori asked.
"Yes, but make sure we balance out."
"I pick Shion to come with me," Iori said.
Kochu smiled. "I'll be happy to come with you, Airen."
"Hey, if I want anybody on my team, it would be you, Koi."
"Well, then I'll take Aisha," countered Nagata.
"An obvious choice," Iori teased.
"Hey, you get to take your wife! I should be able to take my girlfriend!"
Ruby jumped up and elected, "I'm all for it. I'm coming too."
However upon hearing this, Nagata responded hastily, "Um, maybe we should limit the people we bring."
After a short while, the teams were completed.
Team Gaim: Nagata (leader), Kanu, Chouhi and Chou'un.
Team Ryugen: Iori (leader), Kochu, Batai, and Bacho.
That meant Komei, Ryuubi, Gien, Chinkyuu and Ryofu would have to stay with Totaku and Kaku. Ruby would also be staying in Touka Village.
"Alright, we've got our teams," Nagata decided. He noted the looks of disappointment on Ryuubi and Ryofu's faces.
"Don't worry, Ren. I'll keep Nagata-sama safe," Kanu promised her friend. She wasn't blind to the growing affection Ryofu held towards Nagata. She couldn't fault the dark-skinned girl for falling in love with their lord. That just meant she had good taste. Plus, it was hard not to fall in love with Nagata. While he was strong, he never let that make him cruel. While he was kind, that didn't mean he was soft and weak.
He was the Messenger of Heaven, the man she swore to serve.
"Protect him." Ryofu made Kanu swear.
"Always," promised Kanu as they shook hands.
Nagata then announced, "Alright, let's get ready. We're going to need horses and supplies. So pack all the essentials."
Many of them left while some like Komei and Ruby stayed for a short while. Ruby was a little upset. Seconds later, she followed the Armored War God.
"Lord Gaim." Ruby approached the young man respectfully. Early during the meeting, she had witnessed how he took command. She also saw how seriously he took his responsibilities. This whole thing was huge. It was a mission to save two worlds. Ruby didn't want to be left behind, but she was his guest and needed his permission.
Nagata stopped to look at Ruby and replied, "Call me Nagata."
"Let me come too," Ruby offered.
"No," Nagata instantly refused.
"But I can fight," Ruby insisted.
Nagata placed a hand on Ruby's shoulder. "Ruby, listen to me. The enemies we're facing are unlike the creatures you've fought. You might be used to fighting these Creatures of Grimm, but we have experience fighting the RinJyuKen." Ruby frowned a bit while Nagata continued, "If you have anymore information, go to Komei. She'll relay the message to us."
With that, Nagata left. As for Ruby, she raised an eyebrow. She wanted to help and Nagata should know that she could take care of herself. She needed to find a way to get on this mission and wasn't about to take 'no' for an answer.
Now, what could she do to sneak onto this mission? She tapped her finger against her chin as she came up with a plan.
XXX
Nagata continued walking and sighed before saying, "You can come out now."
Iori appeared out from behind a column and looked at Nagata. "Nagata, maybe you should let her come with you."
"It's too risky."
"She seems capable of taking care of herself. Rinrin's younger than she is and you're letting her go," Iori reasoned.
"Iori, this is my decision. She's not coming along and that's final," Nagata concluded before he walked away. As Iori watched him go, he shook his head.
"Nagata, what is exactly going on with you?" Iori wondered. "Why won't you allow her to help?"
XXX
Bringing all of the generals along was a huge security risk for the village. The soldiers needed someone who could lead them and if they brought the strongest fighters with them on this mission, the villagers wouldn't feel safe.
He looked to Ryofu who stared back at him pleadingly. He knew she wanted to go with him. She had sworn to be his bodyguard. However, he needed a few people to remain to keep the villagers safe.
"Gaim-sama..." Ryofu spoke softly.
Nagata looked at her and did the thing that always calmed her down.
He patted her head.
"Ren, I need you to stay and look after the villagers," he instructed her.
"But I want to help protect you," Ryofu insisted. Nagata smiled. She cared about him, that much was clear.
"I know, but I've got the others watching my back. This is important. I'm entrusting you to do this for me," he replied.
Ryofu sighed. "Fine."
Nagata smiled and gently ran a hand through her hair, causing her to sigh contently.
XXX
"We have to go, Riri. Mommy and Daddy have a very important mission," Kochu told her daughter.
Riri looked sadly at her parents. She didn't want them to go but she knew she couldn't stop them. It was something important and her parents were heroes.
"Come back safe, OK?" Riri asked and Iori smiled as he scooped her up and gave her a hug. Kochu hugged her daughter as well. Oh, she wished she could stay longer, but they needed to prepare.
Iori already prepared a bag filled with Lockseeds, in case he needed to perform some additional Arm Changes. The Lockseeds could also be used to summon Inves in case they needed extra muscle. They may not have a huge arsenal of Lockvehicles like Son Go, but they still managed well enough. He at least had a handful of offensive Lockvehicles at his disposal, ready to be used at a moment's notice.
"Now, let's begin our quest and save the world," Iori said to his wife.
XXX
Chouhi was walking along the corridors, singing joyfully for the adventure that awaits her. It's been a long time since she's been on a road trip. While she loved living in Touka Village, she loved going on adventures even more. It was never a boring moment when they went on a quest. They always met new people to befriend and beat up.
She stopped as she saw something and then smiled.
XXX
"Alright, we have food, first aid supplies and our camping gear," Nagata checked his mental list. "OK, I think we're good."
"Gaim-sama!" Komei called out. The young strategist walked up to him and showed her findings. "I've deciphered the first set of coordinates. One of the artifacts is located here."
Nagata looked at the map and where Komei had marked the coordinates. "Thanks, Shuri. This will come in handy." He asked, "What about the rest of the coordinates?"
"I'm halfway through the second set, Nagata-sama," Komei replied. "Once done, I'll hand it to Ryugen-sama."
Nagata nodded and turned to his team. "Alright. We have our mission. Let's move out."
The gates opened and Nagata and his team exited with those left behind waving to them to have a safe journey.
Iori stared at Nagata. He wanted to help his friend regarding Ruby. While Nagata tried to hide it, Iori could see the signs. However, they could talk about it later. It could wait.
Batai looked around and noticed something. "Hey, has anyone seen Ruby-san?"
XXX
As the group began their quest, Chouhi sang a nonsensical song to lift their spirits. It wasn't really one of her best, but her upbeat spirit was infectious. Nagata found himself humming along while Chou'un walked alongside him.
"We will have to make a few stops. It'll be dark soon so we'll need to set up camp," Nagata said.
Chou'un, smirking, immediately latched onto Nagata's right arm. She pulled his arm against her assets, causing him to blush at the close proximity.
"When night falls, you and I can get intimate in the bushes," she teased.
Kanu gritted her teeth while Nagata was nervously laughing. He needed a way out quick. He then saw Chouhi and realized something else.
"Hey, Rinrin. What's with the big tube?" Nagata asked.
"Oh, the maids put it out. There's even a note."
Nagata read it and he was suspicious. The letter was written in English. Other than Nagata and Iori who took classes at schools of their world, none of the people in Shoku could read or write in English.
"Put the tube down," Nagata ordered and Chouhi complied.
Nagata walked up and looked at the tube and lifted the lid. Then Ruby popped out like a Jack in a Box.
"Thanks for opening that up! It was getting hard to breathe in there," said Ruby gratefully.
Nagata cried, "How did you even fit in there!?" He looked back and forth between her and the tube. She shouldn't be able to squeeze inside with her weapon. It was physically impossible.
"I used my Aura," Ruby winked. Aura was a wonderful thing. It allowed her to pretty much squeeze herself into a tight container.
XXX
Later…
Nagata was in his tent with Kanu and Chou'un. He did not look the least bit pleased.
"Nagata-sama, you need to calm down," Kanu advised.
"Yeah, if you get too stressed your hair will turn grey and fall out," Chou'un quipped.
Kanu glared, "Sei, now isn't the time for jokes."
"Who's joking?"
"I'm fine, you two," Nagata reassured them. "It's just I can't stand the fact that she disobeyed my orders."
"To be fair she isn't one of your officers or soldiers," Chou'un pointed. "She really has no obligation to follow your orders."
"Thanks for pointing that out, Sei," Nagata retorted sarcastically.
"It's already too late to send her back, and I doubt you want to send her back on her own," Kanu said.
XXX
The others looked at the tent where Nagata was in. Kanu and Chou'un were trying to calm their leader down. The man was a little miffed when Ruby tagged along.
"I've never seen Nagata-niichan make a face like that," Chouhi admitted.
"Why was he so upset with me?" Ruby asked. "I can help! I can fight! He lets you come along and you're younger than me!"
"That's because I'm strong," Chouhi declared proudly.
"And so am I! So what's the difference?" Ruby didn't understand.
Chouhi answered, "I think I know. I think Nagata-niichan wants you to go home safely to your friends."
"What?"
Chouhi explained, "If you came along, you could get hurt. Or even worse. Then you won't be able to go home."
Chouhi may not look like much but her time in battle gave her a clear idea of the consequences that came with it. Not a lot of people were fortunate to survive conflict and decisions must be made whether it was harsh or not.
"I can't just sit around and wait for the fight to come to me. As a Huntress, I expect these kinds of situations," Ruby countered, "And I'll use whatever abilities I have to make sure everyone comes back unharmed."
Before the argument go further, Nagata, Kanu and Chou'un exited the tent at last. Ruby remained standing, waiting for the verdict.
"Okay, I've calmed down," Nagata said. Although he was taking deep breaths which suggested otherwise. "Ruby, you can come with us."
Ruby smiled until Nagata butted in, "However, you will follow my rules. Rule #1, you will stay very close to the group. Rule #2, don't stray from the group. Rule #3, when the enemy appears, you stay behind the group and you will fire your weapon."
"Roger," Ruby agreed.
"And take this," Nagata said as he handed Ruby one of his auxiliary Lockseeds. It was the Ichigo Lockseed. "Unlock it and a monster will appear to aid you. Just don't drop the lock."
"What happens if I do?" Ruby asked.
"Then we'll have another monster to deal with. I'd rather not have too much on my plate. You're already a handful."
XXX
It was now morning. After having their breakfast, the group continued on their quest. Ruby was now part of the team. However, while everyone else was okay with her presence, Nagata differed. The man was stoic during their trek and he maintained a close watch over Ruby, much to the redhead's discomfort. Ruby did recall Yang saying that despite her nerdish personality and deep passion for high tech weaponry, she was a cute girl and boys liked cute girls. The quote uneased the red hooded teen.
Thankfully, Kanu would intervene and persuade Nagata to leave Ruby to her own devices. However, it was a long discussion. Everything was okay for now.
"We are going on the adventure!" Ruby and Chouhi were singing along, merrily and happily.
Getting too involved in the song, Ruby went ahead and danced.
"Ruby..." Nagata was about to scold her until Kanu shushed him.
"You don't have to worry, she's not that far," Kanu added.
"You are acting like you're Ruby-dono's mother," Chou'un joked. That last part didn't sit well with the Armored War God.
"Look!" Ruby pointed up ahead. There was someone lying in the middle of the path. "He could be hurt! We need to help him!" Ruby ran up ahead.
Nagata, however, saw differently as he reached for his swords. "Ruby! Get back!"
"Huh?"
Suddenly, a gang of men jumped out of the tall grass and behind the trees in front of the group. Then, a gang of men came out of hiding behind them.
"Bandits!" Kanu hissed hatefully as she brandished her weapon. Chouhi also gripped her Viper Spear as Chou'un shouldered her Dragon Fang.
Ruby gasped as the man she wanted to help suddenly grabbed hold of her arm. She was then turned around as he held Ruby in front of him with a dagger pointed at her throat.
"Drop your weapons or I'll slit her damn throat!" the bandit demanded. Nagata gritted his teeth. If he was in his armor, these bandits would be no trouble. Even without his armor, he, along with Chou'un, Chouhi and Kanu could handle these bandits. However, the bandits now had a hostage as he saw Ruby being held against her will.
The sight of her, looking so helpless, caused his eyes to narrow.
Ruby, however, didn't seem afraid as she said, "Pee-yoo! When was the last time you had a bath?"
"Huh?" the bandit blinked and Ruby used this chance to get away. She reached behind herself and pushed the button on her Crescent Rose that would allow it to change shape. The scythe mecha-morphed from its gun mode and the bandit recoiled as the shaft hit him in the gut. Speeding away, Ruby rejoined her group as the bandits converged on them.
Nagata looked relieved, but then he knew what they had to do and he didn't want Ruby to see.
"Aisha, Sei, Rinrin, try not to kill them," Nagata ordered. They didn't question his orders. They knew he was averse to killing.
"Hai, Gaim-sama!"
"OK, Onii-chan!"
The bandits charged towards Chouhi. The girl was more than a match as she plowed over them like a raging bull.
Two more struck at Kanu who parried every attack before she pushed them back and swung her Green Dragon Crescent Blade breaking the bandits' weapon and knocking them out in the process.
Chou'un dodged every last strike against her before she gotten close and hit the men's necks rendering them unconscious.
The man who tried to get up after being hit by that girl's scythe saw that Nagata was right in front of him. The man pulled out a knife but Nagata decked him in the face before he could use it.
The bandits were taken care of, completely knocked out by their teamwork. A few of them fled when they realized how outmatched they were. Nagata would need to report that they had bandits in this area. As for the bandits that they had knocked out, he needed to decide how to take care of them.
They were dangerous and had probably done this many times before. How many innocent people had fallen victim to these bandits? How many were robbed and killed? How many women had they kidnapped and raped? He couldn't let these bandits roam free, for the good of the people. He knew he had to make a decision.
"Aisha, Sei, do you two mind taking care of these bandits for us? We'll scout ahead," he told them. They noted the look in his eyes and understood.
XXX
Nagata, Ruby and Chouhi waited. Finally, Kanu and Chou'un returned.
"It's done," Kanu confirmed.
Nagata nodded and got back up. "Good, let's continue."
Ruby looked back. She was wondering what has happened. They fought the bandits but where are they now. Something was not right for her. She attempted to go back but a hand grabbed her arm.
"No," Nagata spoke strictly.
Ruby objected, "I want to know if those bandits are alright."
"They've been taken care of."
"How?"
"We cannot stop. The scope of this mission is too high. Our enemies maybe closer to their objective and-"
The boy refused to let her go back and the tone of his voice sounded serious. It didn't take long for the girl to realize what he really meant.
"You killed them." Ruby widened her eyes as she said this. Nagata in responsed closed his eyes further confirming her suspicions. "How could you kill them!?" Ruby cried.
"Nagata-sama's orders," Chou'un shrugged. "We're still within Shoku's borders so Nagata-sama's word is law."
"As a ruler, Nagata-sama has the right to pass judgment," Kanu explained.
"Those bandits couldn't be allowed to get away with their crimes and we could not afford to waste time," he told Ruby evenly.
"But you can't just play judge, jury and executioner!" Ruby argued. "They deserve a trial at least, don't they?"
"I don't play around, Ruby. This is serious business. I had to make a choice, no matter how horrible it might be."
"But-!"
"I don't enjoy it, Ruby. I really don't. But I have to do what I have to do to protect innocent people. I just make sure to remind myself why I'm doing it."
"How do you sleep at night?" Ruby questioned the young lord.
Nagata sadly spoke, "Look, I know you can't understand, but this is my job. I'm not a murderer. I'm a protector."
As the group continued on, Ruby watched them in disbelief. Ruby desired a world where its future had many happy endings, but here she saw acts of execution. While she may have read the history books about the conflicts that occurred before and her teammates' tales but it was still shocking.
But that wasn't the only reason she was reacting this way. When Nagata said what he did was for the greater good, an uneasy feeling arose for Ruby. She couldn't explain it. What was it?
XXX
Meanwhile…
Weiss was not having a very good time. Shortly after getting out of that cell, and having the mess cleaned from her skirt, she was conscripted, forcibly she might add, to a group who was led by the guy who had been treating her like dirt since they first met.
Since then, she was speaking out her frustrations, "Riding this horse is hard and the wind is blowing leaves into my hair."
And everyone was unfortunate to be within hearing distance.
Ukin sweatdropped, "She's really…"
"Spoiled," Riten filled in.
Mitsuki mumbled next, "Spoiled like Paris Hilton to be more accurate." Although, his lieutenants don't get the reference.
Members of the Crimson Guard were used to such conditions. Survival training was done so they could endure and survive in harsh conditions. Riding like this was like a walk in the park. The girl was probably used to riding in private jets or limousines. Riding on a horse just seemed so barbaric to her.
"Are you going to spend the entire trip whining the whole time?" Riten groaned.
"I believe my abilities can be put to better use elsewhere," Weiss huffed.
"Well, boo hoo!" Mitsuki mocked.
"I am the heiress of a vastly influential enterprise," Weiss boasted while the other just rolled their eyes.
"Hey, heiress," Gakushin spoke to Weiss. "Shut up!"
Two words that everyone agreed. Her status may have mattered in whatever world she came from, but right here and right now she was just a nobody.
Mitsuki looked up and felt relieved. "Finally, we're here."
This was the town. Quite large, filled with the good and the bad. It was the latter that the Crimson Guard were looking for.
Mitsuki turned to one of his lieutenants. "Mao, you'll look after that heiress and make sure she stays out of trouble."
Riten puffed her cheeks. "Do I have to?"
"Somebody has to."
Weiss butted in, "Why do you assume I'll get in trouble? Do I look like I have a target painted on my back?"
Mitsuki raised an eyebrow as if saying 'Seriously?'
Weiss couldn't help but begrudgingly agreed. She gritted her teeth. "Fine."
Mitsuki looked to Riten apologetically. Spending time with the white-haired heiress would not be pleasant. She would need compensation for her work.
XXX
Unbeknownst to our other protagonists, a familiar bunch was present at a shop not too far away. It was the To Faction Trio: Ushio "Kurokage" Kenshin, Takada "Gridon" Hideyoshi, and Kayu (real name Miyabi).
"OK, so here's my plan," Hideyoshi started. "We're going to go and meet with Kosonsan and offer our services to her."
"So, we're just going to pledge our loyalty to another lord?" Kayu asked. She was still loyal to Totaku even if the girl was no longer nobility. It just felt so wrong to pledge their allegiance to someone else, even if they did need the money.
"Not exactly. We're mercenaries so she will have to pay us to work for her," Hideyoshi smiled.
"It's a good plan, buddy, but will she really pay us to work for her that much?" Kenshin asked.
"I managed to learn a few things while working with Ei. Kosonsan is a minor lord and is easily forgettable. She will do anything to earn herself some recognition," Hideyoshi told them. "Miyabi, you're a strong general, while Kenshin and I are Armored War Gods. Do you think she will resist an offer like that?"
"Definitely not," Kayu answered.
"Well, guess we should go up and meet her," Kenshin smiled.
"Well, if she doesn't accept, we could try Ensho or Enjutsu," suggested Hideyoshi.
"NO!" Kayu and Kenshin loudly protested. None of them wanted to work for Ensho, and they didn't want to have anything to do with her even worst and spoilt cousin Enjutsu. In fact, the En Faction was not an option. They didn't want to serve a bunch of idiots with power. Their talent would just be wasted.
"My thoughts exactly," Hideyoshi agreed.
XXX
Meanwhile, Riten and Weiss were walking around the town. The busty engineer got stuck with babysitting duty. She really wanted to go and join her general and her friends on their own assignment, but she needed to follow orders. She just wished that this would end soon.
Weiss observed the poor and dirty state of the streets and shops. "This place is a mess."
"This is how life is here," Riten said. "Not everyone has your fancy skyscrapers or those horseless carriages in Heaven."
"For the last time, it's not Heaven," Weiss pointed out and muttered, "Look I actually don't think I can fit in with your group."
"We don't like it either, but those are Sousou-sama's order. So you're stuck with us and we're stuck with you," Riten replied.
"I don't even know what we're doing here," Weiss complained. "All I know was that we were riding horses and then came here for some reason."
Unfortunately, her questions were left unanswered as she noticed Riten was gone. She looked around and found her at a shop
"I'll take this one and this one. Ooh, this one's good." Riten drooled over some equipment and materials that was being sold at a shop nearby.
The sight of the hyperactive girl who fawned over machinery eerily reminded Weiss of Ruby. The girl facepalmed. "What did I do to deserve this?"
XXX
"Yes! Yes! Of course you can work for me! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" Kosonsan accepted excitedly.
The To Trio managed to get an audience with Kosonsan. The minor lord welcomed them into her home. Hideyoshi did all the talking, proposing to Kosonsan if she would accept them as part of her forces.
As predicted, it didn't take much convincing as Kosonsan instantly accepted them. She really was starved for some recognition, as Hideyoshi knew she would be.
"Well, that was easy," Kenshin commented.
"And a bit sad. She's just so desperate," remarked Kayu. "I almost feel sorry for her."
"Well, we gotta earn money somehow."
"Thank you for accepting us, Kosonsan-sama. Now, here is what we'll need..." Hideyoshi began to negotiate.
XXX
The To Trio then left to perform their duties. While in town, they passed by the white-haired heiress who was walking around the marketplace. She had gotten tired of waiting for Riten to finish her 'shopping', so she decided to find something to occupy herself with.
Weiss strolled around the marketplace and at last, she saw what type of place she was really in. Looking around, she saw people who couldn't afford to wear nice clothes or any sort of luxury. Some walked away when one fell to the ground while others fought for a piece of bread.
For her entire life, she lived in a big fancy mansion where servants were at her command. She could get anything she wanted most of the time. But here, none of these people were that fortunate. They had to work hours away from their families to earn a living.
Truly, she was living in a time where poverty was widespread.
"Let go!" Weiss heard a shout. She turned to see a small girl whose arm was grabbed by a bulky fruit vendor.
"You must pay now!" demanded the fruit vendor.
"No!"
"So, you're a thief!" The fruit vendor shouted, "Thief! There is a thief here!"
Weiss looked to all present but as she had observed, they kept their mouths shut and moved on. Appalled, the young white-haired woman took action. For some reason, she stared at the fruit the child was holding.
She came and took the fruit out of her hands.
"This apple looks exquisite," Weiss commented. "Luscious red. Good."
"Who are you? Are you with this thief?" demanded the vendor.
"Maybe I am, maybe I'm not."
"Do you have money?"
"No."
"Then move away child, " snarled the fruit vendor.
Weiss politely replied, "But I do have an eye for quality."
"So?"
Weiss continued, "This looks like a nice apple, but it has marks that really resemble wax." The last word shook the seller and Weiss continued, "From what I can see, I deduced that your apples were not up to par with usual standards, probably because of worms that had burrowed inside and since you were too cheap, you decided it was best to mask these fruits' true appearance and hoped no one would notice. Imagine what would happened if word gets out." Weiss shifted her eyes to the people around who were curious about the conversation.
"Hold on." The vendor took out a bag of copper coins. "Here, take this."
Weiss took it and the vendor let the child go and left. After that, Weiss handed the young child the bag of money. "Here you go."
"Thanks, Nee-san," the young girl smiled. Weiss watched the girl go and noticed she was joining up with a couple of other kids. Weiss presumed they must be the small girl's friends. Looking at them, she frowned.
"There you are." Weiss turned around and saw Riten with a bag full of junk strapped behind her back. "Baron-sama's got a lead. We gotta go."
"Tell me, Riten. Is poverty really a problem here?" asked Weiss.
"A lot of places suffer because the lords are corrupt or just don't have enough money to go around. They try to help everyone, but really there's not a lot they can do. They can only do all they can to help everyone within their power. The only way you can have a good life here is that you got talent and catch the eye of a very powerful and influential lord," Riten explained.
"And Sousou appreciates talent," Weiss concluded.
"Yeah. Sawa, Nagi and I wanted to work for Sousou-sama. We ended up working for Baron-sama instead," Riten replied.
"What's it like working for him?" Weiss asked. She didn't have a very good opinion of the man, but she wanted to know how he had such loyal subordinates.
"It's been great! He lets me design and build weapons! He also trains with Sawa and Nagi! He lets Nagi trains the soldiers and even helps Sawa with her confidence issues," Riten said positively.
"Sounds like you respect him."
"Damn right I do! Plus it doesn't hurt that he's such a hunk! Someday I want to have his babies!"
"Wait, what?"
XXX
Let's go back to our heroes who are on their quest...
There was tension between Ruby and Nagata. The red-hooded girl was obviously still disturbed by Nagata's willingness to kill the bandits. While she could understand his reasoning, she didn't agree with him. Those men were still people and deserved a fair trial. Couldn't they have sent a messenger to call for someone to pick them up? She just thought that executing them on the spot was barbaric.
Nagata had long accepted that his methods would seem abhorrent towards the girl. It was why he didn't want her innocence to be tainted. Killing monsters was different from killing people. Monsters were soulless, monsters did not have feelings, and monsters didn't deserve anything but death. However, Nagata had seen monsters in human form and had dealt with them the only way he could. The only way he learnt in this era.
Neither of them exchanged any words as Ruby kept her distance. She conversed with Chouhi, even singing songs with her to lift their spirits. However, that didn't stop her from looking at Nagata's back. She also looked at Kanu and Chou'un who willingly followed his orders. They were born in this world, but Nagata claimed he was born in a modern more civilized one. So, had he been here so long that he adapted and just went along with the ways were?
From Chouhi's accounts, Nagata would often cook for them. He and his vassals would share a meal together, exchanging pleasant conversation. She even told him how he would gather the children and tell them amazing stories of the other 'Armored War Gods'. He even played with them when he wasn't busy with training or his work as governor.
There were two sides to him, so Ruby was trying to figure it out.
"Alright, we're here," Nagata said as they finally reached their destination based on their coordinates. Normally, it would've taken them several days to arrive. Fortunately, thanks to Lockvehicles, they managed to significantly cut down that time. They were working on a deadline after all.
Once they arrived, they took in the sights and they were not at all pleasant.
The swamp was foul and disgusting, and the smell of rotten flesh permeated in the air. Rinrin pinched her nose and said what everyone was thinking, "This place is stinky."
"Yeah, something must have died here," Chou'un remarked.
"I think you're right!" Everyone looked to Kanu who stared at something not far from here.
The group converged on it and gasped. A vast area was littered with bodies. They weren't human bodies though. These bodies were beastly, black as the darkness itself, with bone plating on their bodies. Their bodies dissolved slowly as black dust rose into the air.
"Grimm," Ruby muttered. The small girl knew these monsters well. She encountered many like them even when she was small.
"What's that?" Chouhi pointed. There were other types of corpses among the dead Grimm. Unlike the Grimm, these giants had a more brownish green wooden appearance. They had branches on top of their heads and they had holes on the front that were formed to look like eyes.
"It looks like a tree," Ruby said, "but it has arms and legs." As the Huntress in training said, these other monsters had long but powerful arms with sharp branches acting as fingers and their feet were thick.
Kanu theorized, "The Emperor did say he kept the pieces of the Forge far away so that no one would ever use it. So, do you think it's possible he left guards to defend it?"
Suddenly, they heard a loud rumble. Nagata and his group heard more of the rumbling along with crashing noises and roars.
"Let's move people," Nagata ordered.
XXX
Not far from the Shoku adventurers, the RinJyuKen splinter group, the Grimm Claw and the Armored War Devils were going up against the monstrous tree beasts.
After learning about the Forge of the Underworld and its capabilities, Ukitsu, met secretly with the leader of the Grimm Claw. He agreed to form an alliance with them to gather the pieces of the Forge. .
Wendigo had two pieces of the Forge in his possession, along with knowledge on how it operated., Once he managed to locate another piece, he sent one of his subordinates to retrieve it, along with two of Ukitsu's men. However, obstacles stood in the way, standing between them and their treasure. The tree beasts were the guardians of the Forge fragment they sought and weren't going to give it up without a fight.
An Ursa rushed towards its foe but a Guardian Tree shot out of its wooden appendages and impaled the beast through the mouth and out the other end. It then bashed the bear-like beast to the ground, shattering its body with heavy impacts.
Sigurd retaliated by firing arrows from his Sonic Arrow, pushing the Guardian Tree back, burning its wooden hide. Kagemusha was also not standing far away as he repeatedly used his Sonic Arrow's blades to hack away at the Guardian Trees.
Another one of the Guardian Trees smashed a Beowolf's head to the ground before another Beowolf latched onto one of the Guardian Trees' arm and took a bite out of it. The Guardian Tree removed the Beowolf from its arm before snapping its neck and dropping it on the ground. It then stomped on the Beowolf repeatedly, crushing it into paste.
Alako grappled with a Guardian Tree. It looked like an even match until Alako overcame his opponent's strength and snapped the Guardian Beast's arms. It roared before the Koala Rinrinshi clawed its body, shredding away parts of it.
"The Forge is within reach," Alako said as he tightened his fists.
"Hold tight." Sigurd grabbed the back of his companions' heads and zoomed pass the Guardian Trees who were too preoccupied with the vicious Creatures of Grimm to notice.
In an instant, the three villains arrived at the entrance. Alako and Kagemusha tried to regain their balance after recovering from such a speedy jolt.
"Warn me next time you do something like that, damn you," growled Kagemusha as the dizziness faded.
"Quit complaining. We have a job to do," Sigurd shot back.
Alako and his allies stared down the empty hallway. He felt that something was off about it, like a trap was waiting for him. Not willing to risk his own safety, he called out to one of his companions, "Kagemusha, you will take the lead."
"That's what I like to hear. Haha!" the Armored War Devil cheered and rushed into the temple.
When Kagemusha was out of range, Sigurd looked to Alako. "If you don't mind me asking, why him?"
Alako respectfully answered, "Because the first step in dealing with booby traps…"
WHAM!
"GAH!" Kagemusha yelled as a hidden column dropped right from the ceiling to land on top of him. It crushed him before returning back to its original position, leaving the Armored War Devil in serious pain.
"Send the boob in first." With that, Sigurd nodded in agreement. "Now we need to tread carefully and let him trip all the traps for us."
"Got it. Oi, Kagemusha! Get back up! There's no time to lie around!" Sigurd shouted.
XXX
After traversing through mud and trees, the Armored War God of the Ultimate Sword and his team of adventurers arrived at their destination. All they needed to do was follow the path of destruction. The dead Grimm and Guardian Trees made a pretty clear trail for them to follow.
"There's the temple!" shouted Nagata. The temple was dull in color as cold stones were used as part of its construction. Symbols of the Emperor were marked on various places of the temple.
"It's huge." Chouhi was amazed at the sheer size of what stood in front of her.
"Nagata-sama, look!" Kanu drew her comrades' attention and all saw the battle. The Guardian Trees were fighting off the Grimm, but the dark beasts were relentless and the Guardian Trees' numbers were whittling down to nothing.
"A fight!" Chouhi eagerly wanted to join in.
"Nagata-sama, it looks like those tree creatures are in trouble," Chou'un said. "Should we help them?"
Nagata looked at the Guardian Trees. Their mission was still important, but these Guardian Trees were in trouble. From what he knew, these Grimm were pure evil.
"Move out, girls! We're protecting those living trees! Nagata ordered. Ruby smiled at this and nodded.
"Yes, Nagata-sama!" shouted Chou'un and Kanu.
"You got it, Onii-chan!" added Chouhi.
They charged into the fray, with Nagata leading them as he transformed, "Henshin!"
"ORANGE ARMS! HANAMICHI ON STAGE!" Once he was clad in armor, Gaim blasted two Beowolves using his Musou Saber. At the same time, Ruby dashed in and decapitated several of the Grimm's heads. They collapsed to the ground as their heads rolled away.
Chou'un landed on top of an Ursa's back and stabbed it repeatedly with her Dragon Fang spear. She found the soft part and kept hacking away. The Ursa roared and bucked around to get the blue haired woman off its back. However, Chou'un held on stubbornly and continued to strike until the Ursa could not move. It fell, dead, and she dismounted.
Nearby, a Beowolf lunged at Chouhi who managed to catch it before she threw it against a tree. Stunned, the Beowolf was unable to dodge the Viper Spear as it pierced through its sharp flesh. Withdrawing her weapon, the Tiny Tiger General then stabbed another Beowolf before she moved on to slay more of the monsters for her big brother and sister.
Not far, Kanu slashed another Beowolf as an Ursa lunged towards her. Ruby aided Kanu, arriving just in time, to blast it with Crescent Rose. As it was stunned, Kanu used this chance to decapitate the creature with her Green Dragon Crescent the area for more prey, Ruby spotted the Rinrinshi she saw back in Remnant. Unlike the Rinrinshi that resembled a Beowolf, this one had the features of an Ursa.
The Ursa Rinrinshi reared back and fired projections of the bear monsters themselves. The energy Ursa soared through the air, heading straight for Ruby. Quickly, the Huntress-in-training ducked, causing the projection to sail overhead. It exploded against the ground, kicking up dirt, rock and dust.
Ruby pressed back away until she was near a Guardian Tree . The Guardian Tree was grappling with a Beowolf, when it noticed the young Huntress. It gave a dark glare and raised its foot to squash her. Rub, realizing that the Guardian Tree saw her as an enemy, jumped out of the Guardian Trees soon took notice of the new arrivals. Gaim had a very bad feeling about this as the Guardian Trees marched towards them. He was proven right as the Guardian Trees roared and charged towards him with surprising speed despite their huge size. The closest one balled its hand into a fist and brought it down on Gaim. Fortunately, he managed to dodge it before he got squished.
"Wait, we're not your enemies!" Gaim shouted. The Guardian Tree ignored him and swung at him again. Gaim had to duck and roll to avoid the blow. "Damn, they won't listen!"
Ruby saw this and said, "They're coming after us?"
"These guys must be protecting the artifact from intruders, including us," Gaim said before ducking under another attack. He blasted the Guardian Trees with his Musou Saber but they still kept coming. With the adventurers' attention now focused on the Guardian Trees, an Ursa grabbed Gaim and pulled him into a crushing bearhug. It squeezed himtight in order to suffocate him and break his spike. Gaim struggled in the creature's grasp, but it was too strong. Fortunately, he managed to reach and pull out a Lockseed in order to activate it.
"Hands off!" shouted Gaim.
"PINE!"
The Pine Armor Part descended from a Helheim portal. Spinning around, it then bashed itself against the Ursa's face, repeatedly, forcing it to release Gaim. Landing on his knees, Gaim switched Lockseeds and changed his armor.
"PINE ARMS! FUNSAI DESTROY!"
The bright light blinded the creature, causing it to stagger back. Regaining momentum, Gaim swung his Pine Iron and sent considerable damage to the Ursa Rinrinshi. Two Beowolf Rinrinshi attempted to intervene, but Gaim swung his Pine Iron at the ground, creating a shockwave that sent the two Kaijin flying into the air.
Kanu delivered slashes one of the Guardian Trees in the leg. It fell and Chouhi used the opportunity to tackle it and send it flying.
Ruby twirled around leaving body parts of her enemies lying everywhere. They stood no chance against her speed or Crescent Rose.
A Guardian Tree roared before slamming its fist into the ground. Gaim and his allies felt a tremor.
"EVERYONE, MOVE!" Gaim shouted.
They got out of the way just in time before wooden spikes burst right out of the ground, killing even more of the Grimm. A Guardian Tree went up to Gaim and threw a punch, but he evaded the blow before he swung his Pine Iron and shattered the creature's arms to splinters.
Gaim grimaced as two more Guardian Trees appeared before him and they morphed their hands into bludgeons.
Chou'un avoided another attack from below but one of the spikes hit her leg and she fell. The Guardian Tree approached but Kanu stepped in to defend her comrade.
Gaim was thrown to the ground and kicked by a Guardian Tree. He managed to recover and rise to his feet before throwing the Pine Iron at the Guardian Tree's head. It fell but then an Ursa replaced it to attack Gaim.
Ruby looked at the temple and looked around. Everyone else was too preoccupied against so many enemies. Ruby realized the Grimm and the zombies were just a distraction. Those who led them here were already inside the temple. She had to stop them.
"Ruby, don't-!" Gaim shouted but Ruby did not listen as she zoomed into the temple by herself. "RUBY!" Gaim kicked an Ursa away. "I'm going after Ruby! Everyone, keep fighting!"
XXX
BOOM!
Blasting the doors open, the three members of the evil alliance arrived at their destination.
"You could've warned me about that pool of acid," Kagemusha snarled as he was trying to wipe off the acid that was attempting to eat away at his armor.
"If we did, you wouldn't charge in the first place," Sigurd remarked, earning Kagemusha's scowl.
Alako stared as he saw another piece of the Forge. The artifact resided in the middle of the room and somehow, it floated above the floor. The piece was long, shiny and sharp as it was a blade. What's most intriguing about it was that the upper portion of the blade was curved.
Alako stepped towards it. He slowly reached to it when all of sudden, he sensed something.
Multiple blasts hit the group. The blasts were fired in succession causing explosions to erupt all around them. As the smoke disappeared, the three turned to their attacker.
It was a girl in a red cloak and good, holding a massive mechanical scythe.
"I'm giving you this warning, leave now," Ruby said. She twirled her Crescent Rose scythe around and slammed it to the floor as a showing of her power.
Alako snarled as he remembered how troublesome the girl and her friends were.
"Kagemusha, Sigurd, you take care of her," he ordered.
"Seriously, you want us to fight this little girl?" Kagemusha scoffed.
"She's more trouble than she seems," Alako informed them.
"Well, if she's trouble then we should take care of her," remarked Sigurd. Kagemusha shrugged and followed his fellow Rider to confront the young Huntress. As the two of them distracted Ruby, Alako attempted to reach for the blade and grab it. However, when he tried, a surge of electricity zapped his hand, causing him to recoil.
"Damn it!" Alako cursed.
Kagemusha was the first to attack as he stepped forward and darted towards Ruby. He swung his Sonic Arrow to slash at her, but she dashed away in a burst of rose petals.
"What the-?" Kagemusha was stunned by the girl's speed before she slashed him in the side. He actually felt that despite his armor protecting him, proving that the girl was dangerous and would give them trouble. Snarling, Kagemusha retaliated but Ruby dodged the strike again.
Sigurd observed as Kagemusha tried to strike Ruby down, but the girl evaded his blows with ease.
"She's fast," Sigurd commented as Ruby readied her scythe to attack him next, "like me."
Sigurd parried the attack and punched Ruby in the face. She felt the blow, but her Aura protected her as she skidded across the floor but stopped herself before she zoomed towards Sigurd.
"GOTCHA!" she yelled as she prepared to slash, only to miss. Sigurd had dodged, but he did not merely sidestep. He just sped away, just like her. "What!?" She gasped as she saw Sigurd speeding towards her. She leapt out of the way but was struck as an energy arrow hit her in the shoulder, sending her tumbling. She rolled along the floor and grunted.
Kagemusha yelled, his Sonic Arrow levelled at Ruby, "I have you in my sights, you little brat!"
Ruby got back up and ran as Kagemusha fired. She was surprised once again as the arrows followed her. Having no other choice, she spun and deflected the energy arrows with Crescent Rose. Sigurd intercepted her and slashed her in the back, throwing her painfully to the ground.
Sigurd picked Ruby up by her cloak and tossed her up to the air to give Kagemusha his target. Grinning, Kagemusha aimed and prepared to shoot. Seeing this, Ruby quickly converted her scythe back to rifle mode and fired in retaliation. Their shots collided with each other and exploded, creating a massive flash of blinding light.
Ruby landed on her feet, Crescent Rose back in scythe mode, and zoomed towards Sigurd. The two of them clashed, running all over the place. However, Ruby realized that the odds were against her. She couldn't maintain her speed for very long and her Aura was beginning to weaken. She was in a dangerous position. Not only did her opponent have access to super speed, he was a skilled martial artist. This could be a challenge for her. Fortunately, Ruby was known for her ingenuity. Getting some distance, she readied the item Nagata had given her...
...Only to have it shot out of her hand by Kagemusha.
"Gotcha, girly!" grinned Kagemusha as he aimed high and fired repeatedly. All of a sudden, energy arrows rained down all around them. Alako took cover as the arrows rained down while Ruby was trying to dodge them.
Eventually, the arrows managed to land on their intended target. The energized projectiles hit Ruby all over and she screamed as she was knocked to the ground, looked up and saw Kagemusha walking towards her. He knelt down and picked her up by her hood
"Shame I have to kill you." Kagemusha brandished his weapon. "You're pretty cute and got a lot of spitfire in you. You would've been a lot of fun in my bed."
"Gross!" Ruby spat in Kagemusha face. He glared and stood up before aiming his Sonic Arrow at her. She squeezed her eyes tight, ready to accept her end.
"I'm sorry..." she whispered. Her last thoughts were of her family, and Zwei, and her team, and how she would not be coming home.
"JIMBER GRAPEFRUIT! HA-HA!"
KLANG!
Upon hearing that chant and clang, Ruby opened her eyes and saw the bladed bow that was about to finish her off was blocked by another bow belonging to the Ultimate Sword.
Gaim roared as he pushed back Ruby's attacker. He didn't give time for Kagemusha to retaliate as he charged in and delivered a series of deep and painful strikes across the Armored War Devil's chest. The slashes sent Kagemusha reeling in pain before Gaim knocked him backwards with a kick.
"Don't you touch her!" roared Gaim. His voice was different. Usually, it was calm and stern, but now it was filled with anger and hatred. Alako finally got through and grabbed the blade. It had been challenge, but he finally got his hands on the treasure. Now it was time they left. He looked back at the fight to see the Ultimate Sword had arrived. Sigurd and Kagemusha looked ready to fight, but they had no time for that. No reason to.
"Saji! Shishi! It's time we go!" Alako shouted. Sigurd and Kagemusha got the signal and nodded.
"See you later, Gaim," said Sigurd as he picked up Kagemusha and sped towards Alako who had just opened a portal for them. They went in as Gaim went to stop them. He jumped for the portal, but he was too late as it vanished and he landed on the floor. Picking himself up, he turned to look at Ruby who could not meet his gaze.
Ruby apologized, "I'm sorry."
Gaim took a deep breath and thought for a while before he told her, "Let's...let's just get out of here."
Ruby watched as Gaim left. She hung her head in shame and disappointment. Not only did the bad guys get away, but they got away with another piece of the Forge.
XXX
"I didn't realize how poor the people were here," said Weiss as she walked alongside Riten. In fact, Weiss rarely ever saw the poor. Her home in Atlas was in the rich part of town while the less wealthy were placed in designated areas. Atlas had a reputation of being one of the most technologically advanced kingdoms in Remnant. It wouldn't do well for their image if they were out in the open, to be seen, to stain their immaculate 'utopia'.
Riten sighed. "Nothing's ever the same ever since the Emperor passed away." Indeed, ever since the death of the Emperor, crime and corruption has escalated, with the innocent being caught in the crossfire. Officials getting fat from the high taxes they charge and desperate people turning into bandits to survive and becoming cruel as a result. The arrival of the Armored War Gods was truly a godsend from heaven. Despite a few setbacks, efforts were being made to improve everyone's life. Hopefully, the land would return to its former glory, and maybe even become better than before.
"Anyway, what were you asking?" asked Riten.
"Why are we doing here?" asked Weiss.
Riten finally told Weiss the story, "Well before you arrived, there were rumors that the Imperial government was corrupt, rumors that were confirmed to be true, and its officials were abusing their power to satisfy their greed. We and many others fortunately put a stop to this, but several of them managed to escape."
Weiss frowned at that. It wasn't unheard of for officials and politicians to be corrupted. Power and money could easily corrupt anyone who didn't have a strong will to resist. It was the same anywhere.
Riten continued, "We received word that one of the members of the Imperial Court was hiding here."
They arrived at their destination. It was a house. Oddly enough, Riten did not see her commanding officer or her friends, "I don't see the others or Baron-sama anywhere."
Suddenly, a loud crash was heard followed by a pig squeal. A boar of black and red was sent hurtling towards a cart of hay. It was no normal boar, however. Weiss recognized it and drew Myrtenaster. It was a Grimm, a species known as a Boarbatusk. It looked like a big and black wild boar, but it had red eyes and bone white plating that formed a mask over its face. The Boarbatusk appeared to be dead as it started to dissolve.
Seeing it, Riten and Weiss rushed towards the source. They found Baron and several Crimson Guardsmen in a pinch. They were facing a herd of Boarbatusks. Baron stood in front of his Crimson Guard, holding his own against one of the Boarbatusks, gripping his Banaspear threateningly to defend himself from the Boarbatusk's vicious attack.
"Boarbatusks? You never said that the Grimm were here," Weiss exclaimed, receiving a stare from Riten. "What?" Weiss asked.
The Boarbatusk charged forward and slammed into Baron. It managed to knock him down, but the Armored War God used his superior strength to kick the monstrous pig off of him. Climbing back to his feet, he began to strike with his Banaspear, causing it to squeal wildly. Unwilling to stand on the sidelines and watch, Weiss activated a Glyph which swiftly propelled her towards the horde of Grimm.
While Baron was busy dealing damage to one of the Grimm, a Boarbatusk was trying to attack him from behind. However, it was stopped in its tracks as it was suddenly enveloped in ice. Baron spun around and spotted Weiss standing next to the frozen Grimm.
Weiss looked to the armored knight for approval but received instead, "What took you so long?"
Weiss felt offended and sarcastically replied, "You're welcome."
"What happened?" asked Riten.
Baron filled in, "We found a lead on our suspect, so we came here. We managed to corner him until we got attacked by these warthogs."
"Is he still here?" Weiss asked to be sure.
Baron glared at Weiss for a while before paying attention to Riten, upsetting Weiss even more. "We got distracted and he used it as the opportunity to escape."
"Well, he couldn't have gotten far," Riten pointed out. "We'll just have to find a trail and track him down."
"We may have another issue to deal with," Baron replied. "Those creatures showed up just as we managed to find our target."
"You think they were targeting him?"
"That can't be." Weiss entered the conversation. "The Grimm doesn't have the intelligence to plan anything. They only attack humans on sight."
Baron finally paid attention to her. "Well your Grimm seemed hell bent on snuffing this guy out for some reason."
Ukin stepped forward and said, "Baron-sama, I think we might have another problem?"
"What kind of problem?" he asked.
"A big problem," Gakushin added as she handed Baron a telescope and pointed in a direction. "It's over there, sir." Baron looked through the telescope, put it down, blinked, and then looked through it again.
"That is one huge scorpion," he remarked.
XXX
Meanwhile, while Baron and his Crimson Guard were about to get themselves neck deep in trouble, our opportunistic To Trio were celebrating their new employment.
Kampai!" Hideyoshi, Kayu and Kenshin raised their cups before drinking their tea.
Kayu, Kenshin and Hideyoshi were hanging out at a teahouse. While traveling had been quite hard on them, they were finally able to make ends meet. In fact, they managed to get themselves contracted to Kosonsan.
It was surprisingly easy. Kosonsan was a minor lord and while she was known as the White Stallion General, she was very plain and quite forgettable. Even Ryuubi made more of an impression than her. If she didn't say anything, nobody would notice her presence at all. It was quite a depressing feeling.
That was a fact that the trio took advantage of. They knew she was desperate for recognition and so did not think twice about hiring the three to become part of her group. Though, it was only a temporary arrangement. They only did it to get a roof over their heads, good food, and not needing to camp out anymore. Kenshin kept complaining about sleeping in the forest since he didn't want to be around monkeys.
Hideyoshi agreed. He did not want to sleep in a bug-infested forest either.
"Now this is the life," Kayu grinned.
"No more staying at inns under a budget and no more camping with the monkeys!" cheered Kenshin. They all had to share a room at inns, sleeping in the same bed. It got awkward.
"You really need to get over your monkey issues," Hideyoshi told his friend.
"Oh, I will! I'll murder every single monkey I see!" swore Kenshin.
Hideyoshi sweatdropped, "Not the solution that I had in mind..."
"Why are you so scared of monkeys?" Kayu asked.
"I had a bad experience with one when I was a kid," he answered. "Since then I hated those furry freaks."
As the three were enjoying themselves with their downtime, a commotion was heard nearby.
"STOP, THIEF!"
"What the hell?" Kenshin asked as Hideyoshi and Kayu stood up.
"Sounds like we got a job to do," Kayu said. Finally, some action.
"Come on, let's see what's going on," Hideyoshi prompted.
"OK, fine." Kenshin slurped up his tea and left the money on the table before he followed his two friends out. They spotted the city's guards chasing after a blond youth in an open white shirt and blue shorts. The boy then leapt up onto the rooftop and continued to flee. "I'm guessing that's the thief."
"Come on, Kenshin. Since Kosonsan is paying us, we might as well do our job," spoke Hideyoshi as he strapped on his Sengoku Driver.
Sun was fleeing along the rooftops. Once he knew he had lost the guards, he sat down to enjoy what he had stolen.
"Geez, all I did was stole a couple of buns. No need to get so worked up over it," Sun muttered. He was hungry and didn't have any money. What was a guy to do? He was about to take a bite when a huge shadow was cast above him. Looking up, Sun's eyes widened at the sight of a green flying machine. A figure jumped down and landed in front of Sun, causing the blond Faunus to leap to his feet. He was facing a soldier clad in black armor with a yellow visor. Around his waist was a black, hi-tech belt buckle with a yellow belt strap and some kind of weird, lock-like device in front of the buckle. In his hands was a spear.
"Give yourself up, kid," Kurokage commanded. "You're surrounded."
Sun looked at the buns in his hands and frowned. "OK, but before you take me in, do you mind letting me eat?" Sun asked but he got his answer as Kurokage thrust his Kagematsu at him. Sun quickly performed a jump and backflip to dodge. "Whoa, easy! You're gonna poke someone's eye out with that!"
"That's the idea, punk!" Kurokage charged forward. Sun sighed and put his buns away so he could withdraw his signature weapon, the gunchucks called Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang. As Kurokage charged forward to land a strike, Sun swung his gunchucks and deflected Kurokage's spear before landing a shot to his chest. Kurokage grunted but recovered as he and Sun battled it out. The swings of his Kagematsu were deflected by Sun who grinned.
However, Sun was so focused that he forgot about Gridon who landed behind the blond Faunus.
"YOROI MODE!"
"What the-!?" Sun yelped as Gridon grabbed Sun tightly in his Suika Arms' hand.
"Gotcha!" Gridon cheered. "Thanks for the distraction, Kenshin."
"No problem, buddy," saluted Kurokage. "Now, let's take this guy to the guards."
"Hey, wait! Come on! A guy needs to eat!" Sun shouted.
"Tell that to the magistrate, punk," Kurokage bopped Sun's head.
"Damn, first I wake up in a weird place and now I've been caught by a giant robot," Sun muttered.
XXX
"So, you managed to catch him," Kayu smiled as Gridon was still holding Sun. She then blinked. "Is that a tail?" Sun had his golden tail wrapped around his buns.
"Wait, what?" Kurokage looked at Sun and saw a tail, a monkey's tail. He recoiled. "Argh! Monkey!" He pointed his Kagematsu spear in Sun's face while backing away in fear.
"What's with him?" Sun asked casually, gesturing towards Kurokage who seemed to be trying to ward him off with his spear.
"None of your business," Gridon shot back.
"AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!" a stampede of citizens screamed as they ran past the To Trio. Kayu, Kurokage and Gridon watched in both shock and confusion as the stampede rushed past them.
"Where are they running off to?" Gridon asked.
"Maybe there's a sale," Sun suggested jokingly.
"Shut up."
"What do you think scared them?" said Kayu.
"Maybe they're scared of the Abominable Monkey Man," Kurokage pointed accusingly.
"Or maybe they're running from that Death Stalker that's headed our way," Sun sighed.
"A Death-what?" Sun pointed and Kurokage, Kenshin and Kayu gasped. Heading towards them was a scorpion. Usually small but this one was gigantic. It had a black exoskeleton, with wicked claws, a golden stinger at the end of its tail, and bone plating on its carapace.
"Kurokage!" Gridon called out.
"On it," Kurokage complied. "Scorpions I can deal with."
"Miyabi, hold him for us," Gridon let go of the thief and stood with Kurokage, before the two charged towards the giant arachnid.
"GYRO MODE!" Taking off, Gridon unleashed a barrage of bullets from above upon the Death Stalker, It flinched but the barrage was not enough to halt it.
Kurokage rushed in and swung his spear on the scorpion's face. The Death Stalker brought its stinger down to impale him, Kurokage jumped away as Gridon continued pelting the monster.
The Death Stalker growled. It went to Kurokage and grabbed him in its massive claw.
"Let him go!" Gridon flew to aid his friend. The Death Stalker complied and threw Kurokage towards Gridon. The sheer force sent them both falling back to the ground.
Recovering, Kurokage witnessed something that shocked him. A giant bird with a long neck and black feathers. The bird fled in fright at the sight of him.
"See," Kurokage pointed, "I told you there was an ostrich!"
Gridon shook his head but he had not enough time when the Death Stalker grabbed the arm of his mecha suit. It lifted him up and smashed him to the floor.
Gridon groaned in pain as the Death Stalker was about to finish him off. That was when help finally arrived. Baron appeared and he hit the scorpion's appendage. The pain caused the scorpion to let its opponent go.
"Baron?" Gridon said. "What are you doin-"
Baron did not reply. Instead, he continued to provoke the scorpion with his Banaspear until it finally decided to focus on him. With that, Baron drew the Death Stalker away.
"Quite the conversationalist," Sun remarked as he arrived along with Kayu who then aided her comrades.
XXX
Despite the Death Stalker's size, Baron remained brave. He had faced tougher, scarier odds before.
Knight and Beast clashed violently, monstrous claws crashing against a Spear of Victory. Sparks flew with each loud impact, and the Crimson Guard cheered on their general to stand victorious over the monster. The Death Stalker hissed and shoved Baron back with a swipe of his claw before it tried to impale him on its stinger. Baron deflected the stinger before he jumped back to avoid it again.
The Death Stalker moved forward to close the gap between it and its prey. As it came forward, Baron took out his Rose Attacker Lockvehicle and activated it.
"That's right! Come and get me you stupid animal!" he taunted as he mounted his bike and rode off. The Death Stalker picked up speed as it chased after Baron. Looking at the rearview mirror, Baron saw the Death Stalker trying to grab him. Using his riding skills, he dodged the swipes with impressive ease. It was just too bad that he didn't have any long-ranged weapons, forcing him to work with only what he had.
Baron maneuvered and navigated his way through the empty streets and alleys, pursued by the Death Stalker. Nothing could stop it. Any obstacle in its way, be it buildings or walls, it just smashed through in pursuit of its target. The many innocent bystanders who saw the beast fled in panic, wanting to avoid the creature. A man selling cabbages screamed as the Death Stalker ran right through its shop and destroyed his entire inventory.
"MY CABBAGES!"
Baron cautiously checked his rearview mirrors and then looked over his shoulder. The Death Stalker was still chasing him, proving that it was relentless.
Good.
He needed it to keep chasing him as his plan was being put into motion.
Looking up ahead, Baron spotted the Crimson Guard already done with their as they piled up bags filled with explosive black powder. When they saw Baron, they also saw the Death Stalker, and immediately got out of the way. They might be brave, but they were certainly not foolish.
At the last minute, Baron leapt off his back which slammed into the bags of black powder. The Death Stalker also rammed head first into the pile of bags, scattering them around him. Baron rolled to a stop by the archers who were already aiming their bows and arrows at the beast.
Baron ordered, "Light 'em up!"
Gakushin shouted, "Archers, fire!"
The archers shot flaming arrows, hitting the black powder bags. The fire spread all over the bags and also over Baron's Rose Attacker. He closed his eyes as he would mourn its destruction. It had been his most trusted steed.
BOOM!
The Death Stalker screeched as the bags exploded right in its face. The Rose Attacker also exploded, hitting it with shrapnel. While the strategy did not cause it any significant damage, it was enough to disorient the beast as it staggered on it legs.
"Don't let up! Continue to fire!" Baron shouted and his men fired more of their arrows. They loaded the arrows onto their bows and lit them up with torches before letting them fly. The Death Stalker shrieked and turns its gaze onto the archers. It started to march forward, only for ice to suddenly creep up its leg and freezing them solid, putting a stop to it.
Weiss smiled as she stood next to Baron, holding her Myrtenaster towards the Death Stalker.
"That should help," she stated.
"Hmph," Baron responded rudely, much to her annoyance. Honestly, he was impressed. He just didn't want to give her the satisfaction of knowing.
Baron unlocked another Lockseed and loaded it into his Sengoku Driver, replacing his Banana Lockseed.
"MANGO! LOCK ON! COME ON! MANGO ARMS! FIGHT OF HAMMER!"
The Death Stalker saw Baron and saw an opportunity to attack. It swung its tail at him, but he casually bashed it away with a violent swing of his Mango Punisher. This broke some of the creature's armor. In fact, he actually managed to remove the stinger with his Mango Punisher, causing it to shriek. In retaliation, it struck with its claws, sending him flying. Struggling within its icy confines, it broke free and charged towards the soldiers who fired at it.
"No!" Weiss stepped in front of it and unleashed a massive Glyph to shield the soldiers. They gasped at the sight.
Baron recovered and returned to the fight. He leapt into the air and bashed his Mango Punisher down upon the Death Stalker's head, stunning it. Angrily, it smacked Baron away and also smacked him with its tail. Despite the loss of its stinger, the tail gave it an extra appendage to deal damage and Baron had to deal with its claws as well.
Weiss looked around. This, this was just insane! There was no way they could defeat the Death Stalker right now. The only thing they could do was evacuate this place and then retreat and regroup. She looked to Baron who was still fighting against the beast.
"We need to retreat! There's no way we can fight a Grimm like that by ourselves!" Weiss yelled.
The Death Stalker sent Baron sprawling near Weiss. Their eyes met and he narrowed them angrily. He had heard her yell and that just made him madder.
"Don't..." Baron growled as he stood up. "DON'T GIVE ME ORDERS!" he roared as he switched belts. He then charged at the Death Stalker as his Banana Arms armor vanished, leaving him in his Pre-Arms suit.
"ARE YOU INSANE!?" Weiss shrieked.
Baron took out his Lemon Energy Lockseed, unlocked it, and loaded it into the Genesis Driver.
"LEMON ENERGY! LOCK ON!"
"RAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Baron roared as he hit the Seaboll Compressor.
"SODA! LEMON ENERGY ARMS!" Weiss witnessed as a metal lemon fell from the portal and opened up before dropping on Baron, donning him in a new set of yellow armor. "FIGHT, POWER! FIGHT, POWER! FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! FI-FI-FI-FIGHT!"
The Death Stalker swung a claw at Baron. He leapt into the air, and began to flip. He aimed his Sonic Arrow downwards and fired several shots before landing feet first on its back.
"Time to die you filthy animal," growled Baron as he loaded his Mango Lockseed into his Sonic Arrow.
"LOCK ON! MANGO CHARGE!"
He pushed in his Seaboll Compressor and aimed skywards.
"LEMON ENERGY SQUASH!"
Charging his Sonic Arrow and pulling on the shaft to stretch the string, he let go a single energy arrow into the sky. It then exploded, blooming into a shower of light. This shower turned out to be scores and scores of energy facsimiles of his Mango Punisher as they rained down on the Death Stalker. Baron didn't even bother getting off as the energy barrage smashed down on the Death Stalker, like an angry meteor storm. They trailed yellow as they fell from the Heavens before exploding violently on the back of the Death Stalker, breaking more and more chunks out of its armored body. It shrieked as it tried to get away, also trying to throw Baron off.
"He's insane. He's absolutely insane," muttered Weiss. Why was it that every person she knew who wore red was insane?
The Death Stalker was able to throw Baron off. He landed on his back but continued to fire. The Death Stalker brought its claw down but he rolled out of the way. It charged at him again, swinging its claws, but he deflected the strikes with his Sonic Arrow. The Death Stalker backed away but then it brought its tail down to strike. However, a red Glyph appeared and repelled the attack. Baron turned to see Weiss standing behind him, with her Myrtenaster pointing forward.
"I didn't need your help," he told her.
"Hey, I just saved your life and-Don't ignore me!" Weiss shouted as Baron went to engage the Death Stalker again. "Red people are insane!" She rotated the Myrtenaster's chamber to the purple setting and dashed towards the Death Stalker. As Baron continued fire energy arrows, she jumped and struck the Death Stalker several times. Baron growled but allowed her to attack as long as she didn't interfere. He then pressed on his belt's Seaboll Compressor.
"LEMON ENERGY SQUASH!"
Energy gathered in the blade of the Sonic Arrow and he swung, sending a wave that repelled the Death Stalker and sent it skidding a few dozen feet away from them. He then unlocked his Banana Lockseed and locked it into his Sonic Arrow.
"Stay back," Baron instructed as he pulled his Sonic Arrow's shaft before firing a charged up energy bolt at the ground in front of the Death Stalker.
"BANANA CHARGE!"
"You missed!" accused Weiss.
"Wait for it," he said and all of a sudden multiple giant banana projections shot out of the ground and pierced the Death Stalker, immobilizing it.
"Oh," was Weiss' only response as Baron executed his finisher.
"LEMON ENERGY SPARKING!"
Baron leapt into the air and launched himself at the Death Stalker to perform a flying kick. Lemon slices made of energy appeared and lined up in a path between him and his target. He flew through them, gaining power, before smashing through the Death Stalker. Weiss watched as the creature was destroyed in an explosion.
As for Baron, he coolly walked away from said explosion, not caring to look back at all.
"Baron-sama!" Gakushin called as they saw him approach and gathered around him. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine, Nagi," Mitsuki huffed as his armor vanished once he removed his belt. "It's nothing I couldn't handle."
"You really killed it," Ukin admired.
"Heh, was there any doubt? He's our leader. No giant bug is a match for him," Riten grinned proudly.
Mitsuki frowned as he furrowed his eyebrows. "Karin's going to be expecting a report on this. Paperwork, my least favorite part of the job."
"Your orders, sir?" Gakushin asked.
"Gather the injured and get them medical attention," Mitsuki instructed. "I got a report to write about this incident." He gave Weiss a look. "I'll mention your contribution as well. Looks like you're not as useless as you look after all."
Weiss put her hands on her hips before raising a finger to point at him, "You are insane! You willingly endangered yourself to injure the Death Stalker, ignored my warning, and caused all this destruction!"
Baron looked at all the damage around them and shrugged, "Collateral damage."
"Oi, Baron!" Kenshin stomped over to Mitsuki. Following him were Hideyoshi and Kayu.
"What do you want? I'm busy." Mitsuki glared. He had no time to deal with an idiot, his nerd friend, or even their companion.
Kenshin then said, "What's going on? What were those things? Rejects from a scary monster movie?"
"They're called Grimm," Sun, who was still the trio's prisoner, said.
"Like we believe words from a thief," Hideyoshi logically explained.
Mitsuki paid attention when one of them said Grimm since Weiss mentioned them by name, identifying them.
"Who is he?" Mitsuki then saw the tail. "What is he?"
Before they could discuss about the Faunus any further, Weiss and Sun finally noticed each other.
"AAAAHHHH!" Weiss and Sun yelled as they pointed at one another.
"You...you're the ruffian who was littering the streets with those banana peels!"
XXX
Hunt of the Armored War Gods Bio:
Tsukune Hattori (AU counterpart of Tsukune Aono from Rosario Vampire): Tsukune Hattori is the biological father of Haru Hattori. His grandfather was a professional boxer named Mr. Sanjou. When Tsukune was young, he always listened to his grandfather who told him of his tales as a professional boxer. Tsukune noted that Haru had his blue eyes. He was once a meek and small young man until he met his wife, Moka. They had a teacher and student relationship until they fell in love and got married. Before going to work, Haru or Moka make sure to advised him to hide the hickeys on his neck.
Moka Hattori (AU counterpart of Moka Akashiya from Rosario Vampire): Moka Hattori is the biological mother of Haru Hattori. Her grandfather was a professional kickboxer named Count Kivat who once lived in Europe before moving to Japan and started a family there. He and Mr. Sanjou were once rivals until they settle their differences and became brothers when their grandchildren married.
XXX
GKoh: Hey fellow readers, I'm back and giving another dose of Hunt of the Armored War Gods. This is proof that I'm still here. However, I might be gone for another long while but I'll return and complete this story. With that, please read, review and enjoy.
