Twelve

Arrivals

After the hunting parties had returned, much celebration was had by all, even if those in the search lines hadn't done anything. The sharks had been slain, the missing platoon leaders had been recovered, and a fish tribe's shark spawning pool had been destroyed. Now, as the cloudless night covered the sky, only a few Inklings were still up and about, Isamu included.

While the rooms where alcohol could be found were packed full as the brigade said goodbye to their spring holiday in a last hurrah, Isamu walked the wet dirt road leading towards the workshop area of Kamakessai, in the north eastern corner of the town. While he would rather be drinking and gathering information about Range's bodyguard, he had been forced to do a task for the general which required a small amount of secrecy and loyalty. Not wanting to disappoint his superior, Isamu had blindly agreed.

As he neared the only lit building in the small industrial quarter, Isamu found himself stuck at the door. Isamu's arms were currently pinning thick bundles of striped leather, skinned from the massive gale his general had slain. Fastened on his back, more of the leather had been stuffed into a large sack for travel, probably so no one else would have to go with him to visit their company's smith. Not wanting to dirty any of the rare material, Isamu gritted his teeth as he slapped his forehead against the door several times.

After a brief wait, the little old man inside had opened the door, his tired eyes red from many sleepless nights, or so it seemed. Kaji of the River stared at him for several long seconds, before closing the door in Isamu's face.

"Wait! Kaji, I've got a delivery for you from-" Isamu began to speak at the wooden door, before it opened once more. With a groan, the old man ushered the burdened boy inside his adopted workshop. Grateful, Isamu entered without further prompting, already looking for a place to set the heavy skins down.

Isamu wondered if the interior of the building was like Kaji's own covered wagon, worried about all the potential fire hazards that surrounded the large forge in the back of the room. In fact, having a fully functional forge built inside of a wooden structure itself didn't seem safe, but the idea that Kaji had probably spent most of his life in one of these buildings made Isamu keep his worries to himself. After glancing at some opened books on top of a table, and not finding anywhere else he could dump his cargo, Isamu quietly placed the large rolls of dead skin on top of the bound paper.

"Place them on the bed, child." Kaji quietly grumbled, ignoring Isamu completely as he went to tinker at his anvil. Rectifying his mistake, Isamu over heard the elder quietly mutter to himself. "Hardly use it anyway."

After placing the large sack down beside the small cot that had obviously been dragged inside the workshop, Isamu watched the old man work, his metal tools lifting tiny metal gadgets to a large diagram that was nailed to the wall.

"What are you working on?" Isamu asked, not knowing what else to do as he waited to deliver his message.

"A contraption…" Kaji mumbled, looking between his book and the picture before him before shaking his head. Taking his silence as an excuse to get closer to look at the painted diagram pinned to the wall, Isamu tried to discern what it could be. From his perspective, it appeared to be some kind of crossbow on legs, with a bunch of smaller designs that were similar to the metal the old man was working on.

"It looks well designed." Isamu optimistically said, getting a scowl in response from the old man.

"You can compliment your general."

"Range made this?" Isamu asked, somewhat shocked. He didn't know the warrior, let alone anyone else in the company could draw with such finesse. It was a common belief that dedicating time to arts was a waste of time, which was better spent enjoying life or preparing for death. The fact that his commander had such a skill started to make Isamu wonder what else Range was capable of.

"Yup. I didn't peg him for one of those artistic minds either, boy. Now what do you want?" Kaji asked after he spoke in his usual, unimpressed fashion, his hands suddenly becoming free.

"Oh, right! Range has asked you to 'finish the set', with the skins he acquired from a gale shark. He says he'll send another message in a couple of days, depending on the circumstances… whatever that means." Isamu explained, watching the elder roll his eyes as he sighed to himself.

"That man runs me ragged. I'm making his stupid…" The elder groaned, trailing his words off as he just shook his head. "Whatever. Is that it, boy?"

"Y-yes. That's all he wanted to say." Isamu spoke, his duty complete. After a moment of silence, the elder looked back to the hesitating Inkling with a questioning look.

"Then what do you want?"

"You… were friends with Souta, right?" Isamu asked, the elder clicking his tongue in understanding.

"Ah. I was, as much as one could be friends with that moron. Why?" Kaji asked in return, getting silence from the boy. "If that was it, leave."

"No! I mean, I wanted to know more about him, if you'd entertain that idea." Isamu quickly spoke, the elder leaning deeper in his chair as he wobbled on the two back legs.

"Not much to tell, really. He jacked around while keeping his motives to himself. Then he died. You shouldn't dwell with the dead, boy-o. If you constantly think about them, you're soon to join them." Kaji's rough voice made his words impossible to argue against, Isamu only nodding along. "You'd have to talk to that girl, Miki, if you want to know more about him. Before she joins him, that is."

"What?" Isamu asked, his tone almost betraying his panic. "What do you mean?"

"Like I said, boy. Those who dwell with the dead are soon to join them. That one girl is obsessed with a ghost. I don't know what he swindled off of you, but you'd best ask her where he might have hid it, before no one can tell you." Kaji calmly grumbled, his attention quickly returning to the metal mechanisms before him.

"I… thank you, Kaji. Goodbye." Isamu quickly said, not even getting a response in return as he exited the workshop, unsure of his next course of action.


For once, the world wasn't shitting on him, Kaito thought as he jogged through the woods, heading east. For two days, there hadn't been a drop of rain, despite there still being dark clouds threatening him from way beyond his reach. He had completed his objective yesterday, which felt fantastic even though Kaito had already completed it several days prior. Yes, he felt good, despite a shadow growing over his heart.

During the fighting, while others ran away from the large beasts, Kaito and his pack had ran towards the closest shark, swarming it despite the beast's sheer mass. His pets had dodged the claws and avoided the dagger-like teeth, cutting tendons and giving him the opportunity to step in and end the wounded beast's life with a single overhead strike to the back of the head.

Emotions hidden behind his mask, he felt exhilaration at the victory, even as the blood of the lesser monster sprayed him from torso up. He had used to celebrate victory with companions, those very same companions had watched in disgust as he told the world who he really was through his victory yell. Not even Etsuko had dared to look at him when he let loose the roar, who knew him better than anyone else in his old company. In that moment, before he skinned part of the beast for the one chatting up his old platoon leaders, Kaito understood he was no longer seen as someone to aspire to become.

He wasn't the skilled arbalest, but a butcher.

Perhaps that's why fellows in the Monster Corp wore the metal masks. To remind themselves who they truly were. Not the expression that lay underneath, but themselves as a whole. Kaito scoffed at the idea, knowing it was more likely so that the Colossals would trust them easier if they could not see the fear or hatred written on their faces.

Kantoku had told him how the Colossal Squids were naturally curious creatures, very empathetic and fearful. To accommodate these creatures, Inklings who volunteered to rear the giants would wear masks as to hide their faces and emotions, lest they somehow make them lash out due to a simple expression. As they were also raised to work and live with the much smaller and fragile Infernals who were very loveable beasts, Colossals would innately understand that there was a relationship between the Inklings that wore the masks as well.

"Not that there wouldn't be accidents, occasionally." Kantoku had hinted at the end of that conversation, undoubtedly trying to put apprehension in him right before one of his last tests during the winter. Kaito had to remind himself constantly that his general was testing him, seeking a weakness that could be exploited, and that Kantoku was not trying to keep this objective hidden.

Now his general was testing him again, having him run through the woods and bring up the full division closer to Kamakessai, as well as usher the damaged company to the town. Before he had left to complete his individual shark hunting mission, the three of them had just found the first hints of the strange company and their apparent defeat... his general having determined that it was a fish-tribe that had done the damage to the company he had sent him to fetch, or so Kantoku had told him over last night's celebratory drinking contest that the general was watching from some shrubbery.

Kaito shook the thoughts from his head, choosing not to remember how surprised Kantoku had been when Kaito had discovered him watching drunken Inklings slam down their cups in anguish and joy. He focused on breathing instead, following the trail his lead Infernal was making on their quick pace to the other side of the delta. Soon, he would be at the vale where Kantoku had left his –

"Hello." A small voice chirped beside him, making him stumble mid-stride as he crashed into a tree trunk that stopped him dead in his tracks. Keeling over, Kaito clutched his abdomen as he crumbled to his knees.

"Hey." He eventually groaned, his curious beasts coming to investigate as to why their leader was in such pain. As the small frame of the adolescent Inkling looked down on him, Kaito eventually stood, before fixing the young lady's green cowl that covered her head and adjusting the great sword that matched his own that she was forced to carry. "Where's your mask, Girl?"

Her face contorted, showing signs of disgust and annoyance as her response. Chuckling, Kaito patted her several times, understanding how at times it was just a constriction, especially for someone so young.

"Go get it. We're going to be leaving soon." Kaito commanded as he pushed her away from him, laughing harder as she was almost knocked over, the heavy burden on her back always putting her off balance.

As his young companion ran off, trailed by a large shadow in the dark woods, Kaito moved into the clear and began to howl like a crazed lunatic. After several seconds, mass movement shuffled hundreds of trees as crimson fleshed heads started to appear, with obsidian black flesh moving in and out of cover. Kaito smiled at the small horde of beasts coming to see him, unfazed as monsters several times his size rushed to his side.

When the girl finally returned, her mask strapped to the side of her head while she hung onto the massive tentacle of the greatest beast in Kantoku's cohort, Kaito began doing a headcount of the larger beasts, counting all twenty. Nodding to himself, Kaito began sprinting northward, knowing he had to get around the wandering company and start herding them towards the only town in the delta.

As he began running, the larger beasts took over the duties of his original pack, forming a protective circle wherever he went, only the one his young friend grasped on daring to come near him in this center role. Glancing at the Colossal, he could see the girl had removed her absurdly large weapon on 'One', and yelled at her. "Hey! You're supposed to be carrying that at all times! You wanted the weapon so badly, you'll carry it, damn it!"

"Hello!" She returned, a twinge of disapointment on her lips disappearing as the word came out. Kaito knew the face she was trying to hide was covered with shame, knowing that wasn't what she wanted to say.

Kaito was glad his mask was still on, not wanting her to see that he was saddened by the girl's words... or really, word. Shaking himself aware of his surroundings, Kaito realized he had to focus on running before he spent another minute of agony thinking of this young one's dilemma. That would undoubtedly come later tonight, when only his thoughts could plague him.


"So… what are we doing here?" Kichi asked, staring at an empty field several miles east of Kamakessai. Both companies had been standing in formation for almost three hours now, the spear warriors kneeling in double ranks with spears pointing to the wood line. Harquebusiers aimed their weapons towards the trees, using the last rank of infantry's shoulders as weapon racks to steady their aim.

"Having a party." Range sarcastically answered. Since their arrival to this clearing, Kichi's general had been pacing back and forth and constantly checking on the sun's position in the sky. While her leader had been silently watching the clouds and scaring those closest to him, the masked stranger had taken over the inactive runner squad, and was making them do things for him.

"Really?" Kichi asked back, watching two of the runners cool the one called Kantoku with small paper fans he had supplied them with, while another was doing a very good impression of a stool. Kichi wanted to say something about the abuse of the Inklings, but as they weren't in her company, and as Range didn't seem to care in the slightest, she held her tongue.

"No. What's does it look like, Kichi? Use that 'education' of yours and figure it out." Range spat, his face doing a double take once Kantoku came into view. As Kichi watched his face turn to that of confusion, Kichi decided to speak.

"You said we were going to retrieve that missing company. I had just assumed we would venture into the forest to find them."

As Range turned, Kichi's eyes darted away from the glare the older warrior was giving her. From her periphery, Kichi could see the pale general swallow his anger before he decided to speak. "I could explain myself, or, you could come to your own conclusions about why I do things, Kichi. Hell, I'll give you a hint, I don't do things without a reason behind them."

"Movement!" Someone in the firing line shouted, getting several calls repeating what he said as the entire brigade formation seemed to tense as one entity. Kichi's guards soon surrounded her, but from the cracks in their arms, Kichi could see several bright orange heads darting through the shadows of the trees.

"Silence in the ranks! Prepare to fire!" Range shouted, his call only being repeated once or twice by platoon leaders further away in the crescent formation. As Kichi pushed her way from the encirclement she found herself in, she could feel her eyes widen by just how many Inklings were sprinting through the woods only to halt and trip as they entered the clearing.

There was a look of absolute terror in each of the young warrior's faces. Something had been chasing these Inklings, and now a group of heavily armed and prepared Inklings were blocking their only way of escape. Kichi immediately wanted to order the brigade to relax, but the fact that more and more unknown Inklings were gathering in the field silenced her.

Was this standoff why Range had waited for so long? Realizing that if the brigade had done what she had thought was logical, these Inklings who were running at full sprint, scared, wouldn't have halted if they had met them in the woods. Judging by how weapons were already drawn by some of the Inklings, chances are a fight to the death would have occurred as well, and this rescue would turn into a battle amongst kin. Deciding that this was why Range had stopped them, the only question that remained to Kichi was how he had known where they would run.

Kantoku finally dismissed the runner squad, Kichi watching as the masked Inkling moved past Range's bodyguards to stand with him. Briefly, she wondered what sort of relationship these two had, knowing it wasn't a normal one. During their winter campaign, Kichi had seen how her general acted around fellow commanders. Instead of treating Kantoku like a fellow officer, Range seemed to ignore the other general completely, only occasionally sending a comment towards him if something peculiar was said. Was this radical change in attitude due to Kantoku being a part of the Monster Corp, or was there something else she was missing?

Discontinuing that thought at the sudden motion and shouting coming from the small army that stood across from them, it appeared the unknown Inklings' leadership had finally decided to organize his mob into a fighting formation. As the company's commanding element wrapped up his orders, Kichi watched as two Inklings separated themselves from the sword and gun lines they had made and began walking towards her brigade.

"Kichi, come with me." Range ordered, halting as her guard tried to follow as well. "Only the commander."

After a quick standoff between Range's command squad and her own, she and her general moved through the brigade formation, Kantoku hopping after them. As the three officers crossed the tall grass, Kichi was surprised with just how silent her general was being.

"Greetings, strangers." The orange tinted Inkling said as they approached, his armor reflecting an absurd amount of light. Kichi questioned why this Inkling had polished his armor to this extent, as if he was trying to make himself a mirror.

"Greetings. I am General Range, of the Tenth Company. This is Commander Kichi, who is attached to my brigade." Range quickly explained, his tone expressionless.

"Oh my. My apologies, general. I am Commander Kikimo of the Twenty-First, accompanied by my sub-commander, Tetsip." The commander introduced, the one called Tetsip performing a light bow. "And you, sir…?"

"I am General Kantoku, of the Monster Corp. Greetings, Kikimo and Tetsip!" Kantoku happily chimed, putting a single hand up in salutations.

"The Monster Corp? You wouldn't have something to do with-" Kikimo asked, turning in the direction in which they had come before being interrupted.

"Why yes, I do! I hope my beasties didn't frighten you too badly on your way here!" Kantoku laughed, alone.

"I apologize for anything that might have happened on your way here. A man of your age must understand how those in the monster divisions work." Range humbly sighed, bowing his head to the two before him.

"I… yes. Of course. All is well! Please, think nothing of it, general." Kikimo quickly spoke after he seemed to finish grappling with the situation that had befallen him, accepting the apology. "If I might ask, what is it you plan to do with us that requires so much force?"

"Invite you to a town I am currently based out of. I'm aware that your company has taken some severe losses, and offer my assistance." Range answered without missing a beat, the hints of a smile forming on the edge of his lips.

"Assistance?" Kikimo asked, confused.

"In avenging your fallen, of course. You all seem rather undersupplied at the moment, and we are the nearest bastion of safety. Join me for a time, commander. No sane Inkling should spend the monsoon season, or Arashi Week running in the woods." Range said, his tone becoming so friendly it felt forced.

"Of… of course. How could I refuse? Allow me to ready my soldiers, and we shall fall in." Kikimo acquiesced, bowing as he departed back towards the barely two hundred still recovering from their mad run.

Turning his back on the Twenty-First, Range led them towards their brigade, throwing a hand in the air that signaled his warriors to stand down. Soon, he began to shout orders to separate back into their original companies and prepare to lead the new Inklings back towards Kamakessai. As Kichi was about to carry out her own role, Range's hand gripped her wrist and halted her from moving.

"You wanted more tasks fit for a commander, yes?"

"Y-yes, Range. I do."

"Then discover if these two Inklings are trustworthy." Range quietly ordered, his words going unnoticed by seemingly all who surrounded him.

"What?" Kichi returned, looking back towards the advancing survivors.

"You are too trusting, commander." Range hissed as he moved closer to her ear. "Discover if Kikimo and Tetsip are worth your, and your warrior's trust. Do not repeat your past mistakes. Understood?"

Kichi was stunned by how serious Range was being. Swallowing hard, Kichi nodded, trying to push back the memories that her general had reminded her of. As she nodded, Range let her loose, turning his attention to the new company that had assembled themselves into marching order.

"Walk with me, commander!" Range shouted over the din as the brigade surrounded smaller company. As Kichi watched the tired, nervous arrivals squeeze together as they reentered the woods, she dwelled on her new task as she stared at where the Twenty-First had come from. Surprised, she saw the two masked officers staring back at her before they faded into the woods. Not understanding where the pair could be going, and choosing to ignore the Monster Corp's strange ways, Kichi turned to her stationary guards that were waiting for her to move.

"Find me Akurai." She breathed.


"You've noticed, right?" Rafu asked his fellow harquebus platoon leaders, the three females and single male turning to face him. As they were lagging behind the main body of the marching column, the harquebusiers didn't need to keep their ranged warriors on short leashes and could more or less walk in whatever order they chose. For whatever reason, his peers had gravitated towards him as he was busy studying the barely standing warriors marching a small distance away.

"You mean how they're half dead?" Megumi asked, never seeming to lose her tact.

"They look fine to me." Yuuma added, shrugging lightly at the questioning looks he received as response. After getting shrugs from his fellows, Rafu decided to finish his thought.

"They're all conscripts. Look how young they all are."

"Not to mention mostly unarmed. They probably ditched anything that slowed them down in their flight." Miyu added, shaking her head. "Quite disgraceful."

"Disgraceful?" Rafu asked, somewhat angered by the statement and how the four others had all hummed in agreement. "We don't know what these kids have gone through."

"I'd bet fish ambush." Megumi supposed.

"No way. That look of terror has to be from lobster or some crustacean group." Miyu countered, ignoring Rafu's words completely.

"Couldn't it be sharks?" Yuuma asked, getting a head shake from Megumi.

"Counts as fish."

"What? No they don't." Miyu declared.

"Yeah they do." Megumi promised.

"Bet they don't." Miyu threatened.

"Bet they do. Stakes?" Megumi asked, leaving Rafu completely baffled.

Suddenly, the quiet Umeko spoke for the first time outside of whispering orders. Rafu felt his chest tighten at the sight of the girl's almost crumbling smile, her words silencing the other two women. "Gambling, huh?"

There was no true way for him to know what had happened that winter, only piecing together the story from small talk between Inklings who had actually been in the company during the snow season. Though the Blue Moons were known outside of the company as heroes for keeping an enemy force a hundred times larger in check, none acted as if their victory had been significant. With how many losses they had sustained, it had made sense as to why many of the veteran warriors were trying to mentally move past those hard winter months. Rafu had heard from several sources that Umeko had used to be an entirely different character, until the death of the Inkling who he now had replaced.

He didn't know if it was shame, but as Umeko's eyes briefly met his own, Rafu couldn't help but turn away. Apparently reminded of their words, Miyu and Megumi both fell quiet once more, Yuuma almost moving outside of their small group and fading into the mass harquebus formation that followed behind them. Shaking himself out of the spell Umeko had put him under, Rafu decided to finish his original thought.

"Anyways! Like I was saying, they're all so young. The only older warriors are the commanders and their bodyguards. Shouldn't there be more veterans here?" Rafu asked, noticing just how taller their own slightly older conscripts stood above the down casted heads of the weakened Inklings.

"Unless they died as the rearguard." Umeko quietly said, getting slight nods from the other girls.

"I mean, I guess? Kind of hard to believe that not one managed to keep up with the main body of their company." Rafu said.

"Like you said," Miyu offered, a smirk almost coming on her lips as she turned his phrase against him. "We don't know what they've been through."

"Besides, does it matter? There's probably one or two in there somewhere." Megumi added. "We'll get to know more about what happened to them once we're back home."

Rafu sighed to himself, understanding it was a fruitless endeavor to air his suspicions to these Inklings. Choosing to remain silent, Rafu watched the nervous looks these barely adults were using to observe his company.