From The Author: Hello to you readers once more. This is part two of the three-part series: Stangers' Meeting.
This was written with the aid of Martong once more and is relatively heavy on the more mature ideas. Therefore, the valued reader is asked to take an open view to the issues being discussed.
Apart from that, onward with the story.
Belka and Mid-Childa
"There are a few notes of caution I need to inform you of before you enter the Council Chambers, Commander Signum." The man showed the merest sliver of hesitation for the briefest of moments, but it disappeared almost immediately as his training took over.
"First, the councilors are a proud and highly ranked group in the village. Even if they are not nearly as important to Belkan society, they are here, so do show them some level of respect." Yagami Signum, the Belkan commander nodded for her companion, Itachi, to continue.
The ANBU Captain took in another breath, and used the most severe tone he could muster to get his point across, "Next, most councilors are a suspicious lot, be they Ninja or Merchant. Konoha has been through many skirmishes like Belka, so their trust in foreigners is sorely limited, especially amongst the old Clans, which have suffered the brunt of the ninja wars."
At this, Signum's eyebrow rose slightly, "I'm afraid I do not see what the worry is Captain Itachi."
The Uchiha Prodigy let out a brittle laugh, "Your direct attitude might unsettle them further. By the Hokage's request, I would recommend you be more accommodating if that is possible... But truthfully, I know it is honesty and integrity that will catch the eyes of the more powerful. I... I would not recommend being too nice."
Itachi Uchiha had to bite back a curse at himself. Why am I opening up this much towards Signum... I've barely even known her for more than a month! The young Ninja's confusion was hardly surprising, given that he indeed had met Yagami Signum only five weeks ago when she had mysteriously crash landed in the Elemental Nations.
The ANBU Captain nearly had a heart attack when Signum flashed him a gentle smile and a quiet thank you. The Belkan Knight was hardly the friendliest person to be around with, but she was considerably warmer towards Itachi than anyone else. In fact, people like Kakashi could swear that she had a vendetta against them... but that was because of the stuff they read.
It was a good thing Signum had no idea that the Third Hokage had a stash of 'Icha Icha Paradise' in his bottom drawer to the right. The fierce Wolkenritter would have torched the lot, and then gone on a holy crusade against the author of the book to protect women's dignity.
With that said, Itachi personally kept his own copy under an A-ranked genjutsu in the best hiding spot of his room. That had been a gift from his then ANBU Captain (cough... Kakashi... cough), and honestly, the underage boy did like some parts of the book... just not enough to become a hard-core fan. He shuddered to think of how that wonderful and pure smile would instantly invert itself if she had known of his dirty little secret.
"Are you alright Captain Itachi?" Signum did not frown, but her smile definitely disappeared as her lips formed a thin line to show her concern, "You are not one to space out."
Itachi managed not to fumble over his words when he realized he had been staring dumbstruck at her. Out of the Wolkenritter's line of sight, but well within Itachi's, another ANBU- one of the Hokage's personal guard commanders judging from his or her pristine white cloak- motioned silently that the Council was now ready to receive the Belkan Knight. Itachi let out a mental sigh of relief at being spared a potentially awkward situation.
"It's time for you to go." Itachi schooled his features into the blank mask of professionalism
"Thank you for taking care of me till this point Itachi," Signum nodded curtly, "I won't forget your people's generosity when I leave."
As Signum turned to enter the Council chambers, Itachi wished her the best of luck in his mind. The council had a fair number of good members, but many were mercenary and worryingly open to corruption. It is no longer a question of when you leave Signum... When the Council found out... It became an issue of if you could leave.
Itachi was as good and virtuous as any other Ninja in Konoha could get. He knew that this foreigner, with no ties to the lands, and no obligations, should be allowed to return home. Alas, politics is never so simple, especially in a superpower like Konoha.
The Council meetings were known to churn out the fates of Ninja and Civilian alike, to the favor of a greedy, bureaucratic and above all else, cowardly majority of members comprised largely of snot-nosed businessmen who did not even known how to raise a knife with their flabby arms. Arranged and forced marriages were also common place.
The Hokages had all done their best to halt this sort of motions, but in recent years, the Hokage's Advisers had smelled blood; Sarutobi Hiruzen was ailing and losing influence. Thus, the three next most powerful figures of Konoha's political front had begun to throw their own lot with the wayward merchants in an effort to destabilize the Third's rule. All for the sake of claiming the top post for themselves, they would ruin anyone who could stand in their way.
Uzumaki Kushina, the secret mother to the village hero had been no exception. Nearly sold off as a mistress to an unwilling Hyuuga Hiashi to birth children, Kushina had been saved by the mere fact that the Fourth Hokage himself had directly proposed to her. Even so, her life had been filled with threats from the Advisers to follow their bidding.
Silently, Itachi prayed for the Belkan Knight's safety. Unlike his unofficial late godmother, Signum would have no one to save her if the Council decided to keep her as an 'asset' to Konoha.
If things turned out like that, Itachi instinctively knew that blood would be spilled, and another war that Konoha had no resources to commit to given their heavy involvement in the Third Great War, would consume their nation in the hellish fires of the Belkan Navy.
From what little Itachi had learned from Signum, Belkans prided themselves on their steadfast loyalty and their brutal efficiency in killing. Nothing was wasted, from posture to weapons. Clinical and Utilitarian in the extreme, Belkans rarely wasted time in useless taunts and never gave opponents a chance to recover.
First names were only given to equals outside of the Belkan nationalities, a point that Itachi realized quickly enough to stop himself from revealing it to anyone else whom Signum deemed 'unworthy' of anything other than her family name and a serious beat-down on a sparring mat.
Proof of their killing prowess hardly took effort to find. Signum had punched an ANBU into the dojo walls on the fourth week of her stay, when the doctors had finally deemed her fit enough for light and unarmed exercises. To add insult to the ANBU Corps' pride, Signum had hospitalized two more ANBU in subsequent fights, and fought Itachi himself to a standstill in unarmed combat.
It was painful for the ANBU to think that she was merely a Wolkenritter Commander; the equivalent to run-of-the-mill Jounin in the Elemental Nations. They certainly were not too keen on meeting the twelve 'Knights of Rounds' whom Signum said could handle Wolkenritter platoons with just a smidgen of difficulty.
Inoichi's discovery of the Belkan Cradles was another clear indicator. No other nation in the known world had anything close to the Cradle's main cannon, which rendered conventional combat utterly useless. Even the Mid-Childan Arc'en'ciel, for all its destructive energy, never could scratch the surface of the Belkan's destructive capacity.
Mid-Childa was probably lucky that the Belkans had a very high level of tolerance and not yet decided to seriously counterattack. In that aspect, Itachi was always the most confused; For a people who were so very nationalistic, with the most lethal technology in the world, it would have been child's play to drive any invader away.
On that matter, Signum had merely chuckled minutely, and explained to him in clipped tones, Belka's long and bloodstained history. Not too many countries could lay claim to have survived over a millennium of all-out wars.
The Saint Kings' Wars it had been called, when the Belkan Civilization had been split between three massive Kingdoms. From the ashes of that war, the present day Belka had seen the deaths of hundreds of millions, and the arms race that had borne the empire's great weapons. But it had also indelibly scarred the Belkans, who had a severe aversion to war, even if they did have a decent standing army.
Going on a counteroffensive against Mid-Childa would mean annihilating the four hundred thousand troops that occupied their territory, and then another four hundred thousand reserve troops pouring in. That kind of massacre would inflame the Mid-Childan masses, spurring an even more bloody conflict that could possibly see the Belkans forced into murdering millions of people with each use of a Cradle Warship's assault.
Such acts would surely scar the lands as they once did centuries ago.
But given the rate of the Mid-Childan advance that Inoichi saw, even the most pacifist of Belkans -of whom Signum was certainly not- were hard pressed not to fly into a fit of murderous rage. Full scale combat would be inevitable unless one side backed down, which would never happen anytime soon.
Thus, there was another issue to ponder for Itachi; who exactly were the Mid-Childans and why had they committed themselves to a foolhardy war.
Much to his surprise, and that of the Hokage's, when he had reported his findings, Signum actually stated in no uncertain terms that the Mid-Childans were actually a relatively friendly bunch. If anyone in Belka really had to pick a person to blame for the war, it would be the Mid-Childan politicians, who were rumored to desire Belka's ore rich lands.
Itachi was given a further shock when Signum had mentioned that her family had hosted Mid-Childans in their humble abode scant months before the war, and that she had become close friends with a particular blond haired Mid-Childan, whose fate she never found out in the chaos of Mid-Childa's unprovoked attack.
A further inquiry into the matter to Inoichi later revealed that the girl mentioned was one Fate Testarossa Harlaown, the adopted daughter to Admiral Clyde Harlaown and Major Lindy Harlaown, apparently two of the most famous military figures in Mid-Childa.
Other Mid-Childan acquaintances included the child of a Mid-Childan Senator, who would have been in the running for the nation's presidency three years down the road, and promoted peace between the two superpowers. Takamachi Nanoha had been the child's name, and she had been born in the most unusual circumstances; with her Mid-Childan father and a Belkan Wolkenritter for a mother.
Sadly, the peace had not lasted when both the Senator and his wife had been assassinated by a professional, whose identity was never found, nearly nine years ago. By then, even with the barest of majority support from the general populace, the Senate and the parliament of Mid-Childa had declared Belka guilty of murdering their 'beloved' leader, and launched a full scale invasion.
Martial law had also been strictly enforced within hours of the Senate's announcement, silencing any form of dissent with the harshest of punishment; Death for 'treason' against the State. Even as the diseased government reared its ugly and falsely democratic head, countless of Senator Takamachi's followers were executed for arguing against the invasion.
Within five minutes of the Mid-Childan war machine's entry into Belkan territory, Signum's home town had been burnt to cinders. Over the next three hours, her parents were then brutally tortured and murdered in front of her own eyes. She nearly suffered the same fate, but some fast acting Belkan Knights had risked their own hides to save the citizens.
The shock and trauma she must have felt at the time was not something that could be quantified or even described. Inoichi had instinctively locked it away from the rest of the memories to save his own sanity. If a thirty year old man could hardly handle that kind of stress, imagine the effects on a five-year old. Mental scarring would sound like an understatement.
Worse still was the news that Takamachi Nanoha, who had been warded in the local clinic and receiving the Harlaown family had been hit by a stray Mid-Childan Warship round. Survivors could not be determined by the Belkan's since they had been forced to pull back in the face of the Mid-Childan's superior numbers.
Lust for vengeance and justice had then become the sole factor that drove the Yagami Family onwards. Through their days in the orphanage, to the time when they joined the Army at the minimum age of ten, Signum and her sisters proved to the Belkans their worth in the harshest of conditions, brutally steamrolling all who dared to break up what little they had left, Belkan or Mid-Childan alike.
Pity really was necessary for the invading Mid-Childans every time Signum and her Wolkeritter colleagues stepped onto a battlefield. After three encounters of Signum and her fellows fighting the invaders, most other battles would normally involve haphazardly fleeing opponents, whose only form of offense against the Belkans were the backs that they presented for target practice.
But even with the agony of having lost so much to Mid-Childa in the years of endless war, the Belkans had not simply answered the Mid-Childan's aggression in kind. Instead, the prisoners had been treated well, according to the Belkans ancient codes of conduct.
The same could not be said of the Mid-Childans though.
One week after she had arrived, Signum had decided to trade stories of the field with Itachi, who obtained instant approval from the Third Hokage.
If Itachi had known what he was going to learn, he never would have gone to the Hokage.
The Uchiha Prodigy was no stranger to gruesome treatment, having been responsible for a number of incidences himself in the Third Great War. But few ninja would have the appalling gall to rape female captives over and over till they could bear no more, before slowly torturing them to death. Males prisoners would have been treated more harshly, especially for information, but no ninja would flay their captive's skin off and heal it up for days on end for fun till their prisoners died from the shock and pain.
Only one phrase could describe the perpetrators: "Savage and beastly animals"
Anna Weinberg had been the name of one of Signum's many comrades to suffer such a fate at the hands of her Mid-Childan captors. Even when she had managed to escape from the concentration camps stationed all across occupied Belka, the trauma of having been violated so many times proved too much, and Anna, barely even fifteen, took her own life with her own sword.
Signum had expressed deep and heart-wrenching sorrow at her friend and senior's passing, and had fought all the harder to bring the monsters responsible to justice. She had succeeded to a degree too, when she decapitated one particular Mid-Childan Captain who used to be in charge of the camp Anna had been kept in. It was a swift and relatively less painful death, and one that he seemed undeserving of, but justice had been dealt.
Knowledge of Signum's war torn past made Itachi understand her even more than he would have liked, although he was unaware of the fact that Signum was equally disturbed by the fact that she was so trusting with him.
Such was the bond that war veterans would inevitably share. It was not love Per Se, and would most likely never blossom into such a strong emotion, but war has its own strange way of etching an invisible mark onto those who survive it. Such a mark is what allows those who had fought recognize others like them; people who do not ever truly fit back into society no matter how normal they might seem, having borne witness to the parts of war that all governments, good or bad, would sweep quietly away into a cupboard full of skeletons.
It was this same mark that gave strength to the pair's trust.
But Itachi was still very dissatisfied with what he knew of Signum. For one, he had yet to convince her to show his colleagues and himself, her Laevantein, which marked her as one of the ancient Clan members of Belka. Signum had not revealed her Belkan Magic either, although she had obliged to teach a few Strike Arts moves for some generic Taijutsu styles.
Memories of the intense purple flames still burned brightly in Itachi's mind, when he had first met Signum, and his curiosity would simply not let him rest till he understood the Belkan Magic.
Bringing a reluctant end to that train of thought, Itachi glanced at the clock hanging on the wall adjacent to the Council chambers.
Goodness, Signum had only entered the room not two seconds ago, and he was already pining after- Itachi froze at that thought Uchihas do not pine after people... but... ehh! Yagami Signum... you confuse me!
Concluding that a short retreat to one of the Hokage Tower's small training dojos would do his mind some good, Itachi turned to leave-
BLAM!
"HELP!"
"ARGHH! Guards! GUARDS!"
What the! Itachi and the surrounding ANBU did not waste another second one wondering what the situation was about, but dived straight into the room, kunais out, and guards raised, fully prepared to die to protect Konoha's most important leaders.
The sight that greeted them however, was not something anyone would have expected.
Signum was sporting a vicious gash over her right brow that leaked enough blood to threaten her vision. Her hands, tightly grasped over the handle of the fearsome Laevantein sword, with her entire body swathed in the now familiar Belkan Armor, Yagami Signum was facing down four Mid-Childan Mages.
Correction. Signum was now handling three Mages, as one Mid-Childan, carrying a flimsy looking stave, tried to stab the knight, but strayed a shade to close. He had been hacked in half without a sliver of hesitation, and an instant later, had been turned into a raging, malicious purple colored pyre, before the poor fool even had a chance to scream.
"The enemy are the ones attacking Lady Signum!" The Hokage hollered, pushing aside the protective arm of his personal guard, and arming himself with a kunai of his own, "Restrain the enemy now!"
In silent acknowledgment of their master's command, Itachi and his fellow ANBU leaped straight for their identified opponents, two trailing ANBU bearing chakra absorbing steel wire.
Crunch
An ANBU was down and out on the ground before he even had time to react, as a pale, translucent dome appeared around the magic combatants, causing the ninja to slam head first into the unyielding shield. Scrambling slightly, the remaining ANBU screeched to a halt scant centimeters from the magical construct, or like Itachi, lithely reoriented themselves to spring off the shield and land lightly on the balls of their feet.
Judging from Signum's scowl, the Magic had certainly not been cast by herself. The Mid-Childans were specifically targeting her, and were bent on ensuring the ninja did not interfere.
One Anbu, wearing a Horse mask, roared out an Earth based attack that rebounded uselessly off the Mid-Childan defense. Another -a Snake masked fellow- used a potent Wind based drill that ended only in the ANBU receiving a bruised arm for her troubles.
To the ninja's horror, even the Hokage's own legendary Katon Karyuu Endan did little more than scorch the surrounding wood flooring.
Itachi's own fear and desperation was quickly mounting too, as he saw Signum falter under the combined assault of the three Mid-Childan Mages. On a normal day, Signum would most likely have wiped the floor with the Mid-Childans without even breaking a sweat, but her situation was far from the norm.
Signum might have had six nice and peaceful weeks to heal and regain her strength, but such severe wounds like the ones she had sustained were not so easy to be rid of. Weeks of training with Itachi had also put some minute amounts of strain on the still sore wounds.
Now, the exertions of all those training sessions were finally catching up, and Signum knew that she was in some serious trouble. She was forced back yet another step when a Mid-Childan magic strike caused an involuntary twinge of intense pain in her abdomen. Not good... Silently, she wondered if her body would be able to take the strain of using her more powerful spells, like the Bloody Dagger, or her Lavaentein's Snake Form.
Chiding herself mirthlessly, Signum parried a sword strike from another of her unknown Midchildan foes. She was not going to kid with herself. The Wolkenritter knew that such advanced magic forms were as likely to kill her as they would kill her opponents.
If there ever was one advantage a Mid-Childan Mage ever had over their Belkan counterpart, it would be in terms of the ease of performing their spells. Mid-Childan Magic was obviously less powerful, but it also meant less strain for the user, allowing Mages to use magic in quick succession without tiring too quickly, and even when grievously wounded.
Belkan Knights on the other hand, would be completely constrained to using Strike Arts or their Magic Weapons if they took too many hits. It was also partly the reason why the Belkan Knights were heavily equipped with Magic Armor.
Signum staggered to the left as her back hit the stinging Mid-Childan shield, visibly struggling to keep up with her enemies as her own body began to fail on her. I refuse to die here! Signum thought savagely, searching every last nook and cranny of her body for some energy, any extra packet of vitality to continue the fight.
The Mid-Childan swordsman finally made a mistake in his attack, swinging his enchanted weapon in a calculated arc that was meant to decapitate Signum, only to have the Knight duck down low. He only managed to cleave Signum's ribbon, and a few strands of pink hair off her head.
Encountering less than anticipated resistance, the Mid-Childan's swing rebounded off the shield in a high arc that left him distressingly open to a counter.
Signum did not waste any more time to thank her luck.
With a ferocious battle cry, Signum had split the man from his left hip to his right clavicle.
That move in itself, unfortunately, also left her open to attack, and judging from the look of absolute triumph on the final pair of attackers' faces, they knew it too. Readying their own weapons- one staff and one dagger- the Mid-Childan assassins roared a war cry of their own, and surged forward, determined to end Signum's life even if they had to punch a hole right through their dead comrade's falling halves.
Ohh... SHIT! Itachi cursed, slapping on a pair of his most potent explosive tags onto the shield in a last ditch attempt to help Signum. The Knight winced as blood stung her eyes, and her guard was less than sufficient to fend off the oncoming assault.
No one really expected Itachi's desperate bid to work, but they did get a nasty shock when the window facing eastwards was blown inwards with sudden, and positively violent force.
Both Mid-Childan assassins only had enough time to swear at their own really bad luck, as two innocent looking bright yellow balls of lethal magic punched through the magical barrier in the same instant that Itachi's explosive tags actually managed to overload the defense spell.
Signum was far too professional to consider any assistance as one coming from a friend instantly. She also took note of the fact that the magical spell was known in Mid-Childan Military circles as the Variable Bullet; the most advanced form of lethal, long-ranged magic any Mid-Childan could muster.
It would be insulting to the memory of her dear friend Ingrid if Signum had not remembered the spell type that had killed her dear friend. Designed for piercing almost any form of defense, with the Belkan's formidable Panzer Schild being no exception, the Variable Bullet was essentially a dense core of magical energy coated in a 'buffer' layer of less dense magic that was shed to allow the true attack past the shields to its intended target.
But still, there was something awfully familiar about the magical aura in the attack.
Sadly in her would be assassins' cases, the shield had fallen with Itachi's attack, and the Variable bullets had far more power in them than intended.
Unlike Ingrid, who had fallen in almost serene grace with little indication of being wounded, the Mid-Childans' heads had quite simply exploded.
The occupants of the room had to duck as boiled brain fluid and blood splattered a crimson mess all over the room. More than one weak-willed councilor also contributed further to the damage by emptying their days worth of meals at the sight of the mutilated corpses.
That was too convenient... for Itachi's attack to behead both attackers. Thought the Ninja present. Indeed, that would involve such a great level of coincidental good luck that there might as well be a higher chance of the Fourth Hokage rising from the dead.
Drawing herself to her full height, and pushing as hard as she could against the pain, Signum turned to face the hole in the Council Chambers, and spoke in a quiet and dangerous tone, "I am grateful for your assistance, but I trust you would find no fault in my lack of trust in you, Mid-Childan spy."
Soft crunches emanating from the man-made hole put the ninja on edge again. Another enemy?
"I would not blame you either Commander Yagami Signum, but I merely wish to talk." A cloaked figure stepped gingerly out into the light of the room, the person's large cowl hiding all identifiable features.
A female? Thought Signum. The voice certainly sounded feminine enough... but there was something that was familiar about this one woman that unsettled her more than a company of Mid-Childan Mages bearing down.
Then it clicked in her head.
The mystery lady spoke evenly and gently, "I need to tell you of my people's involvement he-" She was forced to somersault over Signum's flaming sword, and landed cat-like, on the balls of her feet. Magic chains instantly sprouted out of the ground, binding the furiously struggling Knight down to the ground.
Any attempt to assist the Belkan was also quickly quashed, as yet another shield flashed into existence around the two ladies.
"Can you at least hear me out?" The hooded woman's tone had a liberal hint of irritation.
Signum's response was filled with loathing and if looks could kill, the Mid-Childan would have died long ago, "What do I need to hear from a cowardly assassin!"
The lady huffed, "Hey! I do believe that I save your butt back there! Besides, I've never- oh... right... you were there when I had been given the order to shoot the Belkan general... For all it's worth; I hope you'll understand that it's nothing personal, and I had no intention of shooting the girl."
"Tell that to Ingrid in hell!" Signum snarled. A single magical chain snapped taut. "You would not even dare to face us fair and square-"
SLAP
Signum was not really prepared for that slap, and her right cheek stung painfully from the force of the blow.
"Do you think I enjoyed picking people off?" The woman's bright green eyes became visible as the glow of Signum's purple fires were reflected off her irises, "I could say I hate this war even more than you! I was the top melee combat Mage in the Police Corps, but noo... my Magic pool and the war effort needed me to be a Sniper. And justice? What justice? All I ever saw in this heaven-forsaken war was atrocity after atrocity on my own side!"
Grabbing Signum by the front of her vest, the woman hefted the Knight up into a kneeling position, "Now listen carefully Yagami! I could care less if I had to fight a death match with you, but that is after you help me steer these countries off the warpath."
The Elemental nationals stiffened at that comment. "What the hell? Do you mean Konoha is going to face war?" Shouted one Councilor.
"This is madness! We should have left that Belkan to die! Now the Mid-Childans are coming!" Hissed Advisor Koharu.
Sarutobi Hiruzen raised his arms in an attempt to silence the rapidly destabilizing situation, but the Mid-Childan solved that problem for him with a loud burst of magical energy.
"I'm afraid the nice Commander here ain't to blame." The lady jerked a thumb in Signum's direction, "I was sent here on authority from the Mid-Childan Military to spy on you Elementals to open the path for an invasion years ago. The Mid-Childan government has apparently decided it needs more resources if it's going to win against Belka."
It was hard to miss the derision in the lady's tone at the mention of the word 'government'.
"Oh, but before you morons get your panties and undies in knots, my men have handled the other infiltrators already. We've even managed a splendid sob-worthy 'final' transmission to our commanders of our idiocy and laxity that led to our complete annihilation as we were caught in a fearsome three-way battle" The lady sounded nauseatingly pleased with herself.
Signum's eyes narrowed into slits, "So you are deserters... nothing's more cowardly than-"
"Hey! If anyone deserted anybody, the Mid-Childans abandoned us first! The men I'm working with have all lost their connections to that wretched place thanks to the internal cleansing acts!" The lady looked ready to slap Signum again, "And what did the people do about it huh? NOTHING! They just stood and watched as their brethren died, and supported a war for so long as they don't lose anything as well."
"Mid-Childa is diseased. It is a dying nation that does not even deserve our loyalty anymore, so what's wrong with trying to find a new life?"
Signum found herself to have the strange inability to complete her sentences, as the Third Hokage this time, cut her off, "So you would seek asylum here in Konoha, stranger?"
The woman tilted her head to face the wizened old man, "Yeah... and we'd be willing to teach your people some stuff about our Magic, just in case those bastards send in another infiltration team.
Quietly, and in the background, Danzou, ever the scheming war hawk, weighed the benefits against the burdens. On one hand, we must accept traitors... on the other, these people will help arm us for a future encounter with Mid-Childans... this assuming their sincerity, which is currently relatively convincing. If the reports on Miss Yagami's accounts are accurate... that means...
"I will support a notion to take these foreigners in Sarutobi." Called out Danzou, his voice as strong as it was decades ago.
Like trained parrots, Danzou's supporters, which took up sufficient of a majority if counted in with the Third's own supporters, scurried to voice their agreement as well.
The oldest Clans of Konoha, the Uchiha and the Hyuuga, took a while longer to consider the pros and cons, but eventually reached the same conclusion for once that with sufficient safeguards, the Mid-Childans would be a most useful addition to the ranks.
Especially if they ended up marrying into their families to produce strong Magic and Doujustu wielding children.
It was clear to all that Signum had little trust in the Mid-Childan woman, given her most vehement objections and protestations. But she was not a Council member, or the Hokage, and she knew that her views would not hold sway.
Five minutes. That was all it took for Konoha to welcome the Mid-Childan defectors in with only the need for an official signing of citizenship a few days away.
Just like that, Signum knew she had lost her case.
"You'll really care for these people won't you?" Signum half sighed, half whispered. Her deep sea green eyes boring into the depths of the lady's lighter, silver-green ones, "Swear to me! That you and your men... that you tell the truth!"
A councilor nearly called for the ANBU to restrain Signum, but a quick glare from Sarutobi Hiruzen and Danzou quickly shut him up.
With the glimmering shield still up, Itachi caught sight of the Mage pulling a small metallic stick that was bent almost perpendicular at a point to create a grip for her right hand. To his chagrin, he recognized it as a 'gun' from his time with Signum. Pulling out more explosive tags, Itachi called out his warning, "Sheath your weapon stranger."
Blithely ignoring Itachi's threat as though it were a mere draft of wind, the woman's figure began to glow its bright yellow as she summoned a razor sharp blade that emanated from the guns barrel.
Slowly. Deliberately, the woman brought the gun-knife tip first, up to her other hand, and swiftly cut a wound in her own palm, deep enough to let blood drip from her self-inflicted wound.
"I, Captain Artemis S. Hawkins solemnly swear on my own blood... and on behalf of my kinsmen; that we will fight to the death for the people of Konoha." The Mid-Childan Mage held out left palm to Signum as she let the shield and binds dissipate, "Will you accept this Oath of Blood? Commander Yagami Signum?"
A historic moment was in the making. The first pact of blood to be made between a Belkan and a Mid-Childan ever.
Signum maintained her stare for a long time, so much so that some civilians thought she had fainted. Itachi knew better though, for Signum had told him of her purpose in staring so intensely.
"Some Belkans have a skill, which is to be able to pick off lies from truths... and we do so by looking into the eyes of those we converse with. It is the window to the soul and none can hide their intent there."
Itachi had privately sought to hide his liberal dose of respect and half awe that he had for the Belkan, although he suspected that Signum already knew, given the manner in which she had become just so slightly more candid around him, in private moments.
Signum cracked a smile that spoke volumes of the sense of irony she felt, "Oaths of Blood are only sworn between Belkans, Captain Hawkins."
The mirth and mischievousness was leaking out of Artemis' figure in waves, "Well, I was just sure that you'd like one... It's binding after all."
For a moment, Itachi and the surrounding Elemental Nation dwellers were stunned at a rather foreign sound that was a cross between a wind-chime and a gruff growl. A strange combination.
Itachi found the culprit first; Signum.
The Belkan Knight was laughing quietly, and for a split-second, she looked nothing like a blood-stained war veteran. She looked like a child again.
"I, Commander Yagami Signum of the Belkan Wolkenritter, do hear your Oath, and testify to its truth." Signum, rose painfully of the ground, her face schooling into one of a soldier. But a slight tilt of the lips upwards was still very much visible.
"On a personal note... Thank you Captain." Signum took cupped Artemis' left hand gently and began to pour a trickle of healing Magic into the wound, "For showing me that the Mid-Childan people might still one day have hope... even if your nation has fallen into shadow."
Reaching out with her right hand, Signum clasped Artemis' right shoulder and squeezed slightly, "Also... I know that you truly regret my friend's death from the bottom of your heart... and I know she will be grateful... as will I... May you one day find your Peace, Captain Artemis."
Artemis froze for a second, and then, roared with childish laughter that was tinged with a palpable feeling of relief. The relief of one whom had found forgiveness, "Goodness... what is our world coming to? That's a Mid-Childan blessing!"
On a quiet and seemingly normal summer day in Konoha, if one were to strain their ears ever so slightly, they would have heard the soft twinkling laughter of two bitter enemies forging new ties and surging ahead into the unknown.
Even if a thousand miles away, their two nations were waging bloody war upon one another, a Belkan Knight, and a Mid-Childan Mage had found their peace.
And with that peace, something was borne of the ashes...
Hope.
From the Author: I hope you've enjoyed this installment of Strangers' Meeting. To all politically affiliated groups, please do not take offense to any depiction of politics in this fiction-piece, it is after all, fiction.
Other than that, I hope to hear your views on this chapter.
With that, have a HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Signed, LoneTraveller