Sangokuden no Gaim

by Vanishing Raptor

After stopping a thief in the museum with his two friends, Yamato Kusanagi found himself in a new world, where the major figures of the Three Kingdoms era are all beautiful girls. With his companions on his side and as the new Gaim, he seeks to unite the land bringing peace to ancient China and stopping Helheim Forest to Devour this world. Just Live More! Rated M just in case.

9. Of Ideals and Truth

I don't own anything related to Koihime Musou and Kamen Rider Gaim. I only own my OCs and the plot twists

Chapter 9: Of Ideals and Truth

The dinner went well in Yamato's opinion. During the dinner, Sousou had gleefully ordered Enshou around just because she was the waitress for tonight, and it looked like the Empress of Sou Gi truly enjoyed doing it too. He also didn't miss the not-so-discreet glare Enshou had thrown at him, promising revenge for the indignity he put her into. He filed it up under 'immediate-and-eventual-future-threat'. Enshou might be stupid, but a driven and determined person could and would do anything to get their revenge.

He also smiled upon seeing the interaction between his officers and guests. Aisha, Touka, and even Renfa were chatting with Shun and Yuki about his childhood together with them. Thankfully, none of his two friends told any embarrassing stories—Shun might have been tempted to, but Yuki killed the idea cold with a smack to his head.

Rinrin and Kakouton—who now sported a black butterfly-shaped eye-patch over her empty eye socket—had an eating competition with a resigned Kakouen acting as the referee between the two of them. They nearly had a fight when they fought over the last piece of meat, but the younger Kakou Twin quickly put it to an end by eating the meat herself—much to Rinrin and Kakouton's dismay.

Shuri and Hinari quickly bonded with Rikuson as fellow bibliophiles. Their common interest in books lead them into a long discussion over several titles—some of which were questionable and made Yamato feel a bit insecure, and that was saying something.

Shuuyu, like Kannei—and Jun'iku to a degree—chose to be silent and watch their surroundings. Yamato felt them glance at him once in a while. Wariness, interest, and outright hatred were directed towards him and he had a little problem on differing them—Jun'iku glaring at him was the biggest clue.

Soon, everyone finished the meal and felt famished. The table was cleared of the dirty plates and a Ganryou and Pairen everyone a cup of tea.

Yamato nodded to Pairen in thanks and took a sip of his tea. He then examined the tea for a moment. "This tea is really good."

"Thank you for your praise, Gaim-dono," smiled Pairen in relieve after she poured the tea for Aisha and Touka. "I made this tea together with Ganryou-san. I'm happy that you enjoy it."

"Really? You made this with Ganryou-san, Pairen-chan?" asked Touka as she looked at her old friend and Enshou's black-haired vassal in slight surprise.

"Yes, I always made tea for Enshou-sama and she has pretty high standards for it," answered Ganryou truthfully.

"And I often made myself tea if I wanted to relax a little after long hours of paperwork. Nothing beats your own handmade tea to relieve stress," added Pairen with a smile.

"It is really good, I will give you that," noted Sousou approvingly before she glanced at Enshou. "At least a certain someone's ego did some good here." Enshou grumbled something unintelligible under her breath, causing the other blonde to arch a questioning eyebrow. "What was that, Enshou?"

"It's nothing…milady," answered Enshou through gritted teeth. "I...thank you for your… generous praise."

Sousou smiled brightly in response as she sipped her tea. She was either enjoying, ignoring, or completely oblivious to the murderous glare Enshou was shooting at her.

"Looks like someone is really enjoying this," whispered Shun to Kakouen who only laughed a little awkwardly in response.

Yamato only chuckled and shook his head. Rulers or not, they did have their quirks. He then took another sip of his tea before he said, "I hope you all enjoyed the dinner."

"The dinner went beyond my expectations. Satisfying will be a big understatement," remarked Sousou as she looked at Shun. "I never knew Baron was such a talented cook. If I had known, then I would have forced him to move into my castle."

"Aww, you're making me blush, Your Loliness. But seriously, don't judge a book by its cover. Its contents may surprise you," grinned Shun cheekily.

"Don't praise him too much, Sousou-dono. He will insufferable for days," grumbled Yuki before sipping her tea. It was really soothing her nerves and she had to give Kousonsan some credit. Shun pouted in return, but Yuki ignored him in favor of enjoying her tea.

"It is more than satisfactory, Yamato-dono. It was superb and fabulous," commented Renfa, smiling. She then turned to Shun and said, "Not even our best chef could ever boast to make something close to that. Truly, you are more than meet the eye, Baron-dono."

The brunette grinned from the praises he received and tried to cover the light blush on his cheeks with his own tea cup as he took another sip.

"That's Shun to you," replied Yamato in response. He took another sip from his tea before straightened on his chair. "Now that we are done with the pleasantries and full from the dinner, we should move on with tonight's next agenda."

"Ah, you mean our discussion, correct?" inquired Renfa as Yamato nodded. Everyone on the room then straightened up, knowing that serious business was coming up.

"Like I said yesterday, this alliance is a rare moment where the rulers of the Three Kingdoms are working together for a common goal. I would like to make use of this moment to get to know my fellow rulers better," started Yamato as he leaned into his chair. "I would like to learn what drives you to be a ruler, how you view your lordship, and your dreams for the future. Who knows, after this we may become real allies in the future."

Renfa smiled and nodded. "That is I can agree with. Truthfully, I have been looking forward to this discussion. How are we going to proceed, Yamato-dono?"

"How about we start with Sousou-dono?" Yamato gestured to the Empress of Sou Gi. "She is the most senior of us here in terms of lordship so it would make sense to hear from her first. Then it would be followed by you, Renfa-dono, and I will go last. Is that agreeable?"

Renfa seemed to ponder it for a moment before she concurred. "Very well."

"Thank you for allowing me to go first, Kusanagi," responded Sousou. The blonde took a deep breath as she started, "My reason to be a ruler is simple: I want to prove myself to that I can. I grew up with the ideal "If you are capable, then show the world what you can do." I've accepted and embraced this ideal. To make it a reality, I have studied under the best tutors my father could provide and read many books written by famous philosophers. I also managed to gather the best men and women under my command as the brave and loyal soldiers of Sou Gi. I set on my path of conquest, defeating any resistance in my path, conquering and dominating nations in my wake, and forming alliances to strengthen my army. To be the next ruler of this land…That is my dream and ambition. I intend to see it through to the end."

Aisha narrowed her eyes at Sousou. "So you aim to be the ruler of this land to prove your strength? You sound like those other men who dreamt to be conquerors, only to fail miserably."

"I am cut above those fools, Kan'u, and for a good reason," replied Sousou with a haughty smirk. "Unlike them, I possess everything they lacked and will never obtain: strength, wisdom, valor, and charisma…all of them are needed to be a true ruler. Those traits are what differs me from those silly pretenders."

"Then what about your men? How do you truly see them? Is what you said to me at Shisui Pass is true?" questioned Touka.

"Did my words yesterday bother you, Ryubi?" Sousou asked back. The pink-haired girl nodded and looked downcast.

"I couldn't help it. I couldn't imagine a lonely life like that, Sousou-san."

Yamato regarded his second in command curiously. "What do you mean, Touka?"

"I will answer your question shortly, Kusanagi," answered the Queen of Sou Gi. "A ruler is a lonely existence because you will always be surrounded by enemies. Even those who are close to may become potential enemies in the future. If you get too close to anyone, they will become your weakness or will stab you in the back. And that's why I vowed to myself: for as long as I am a ruler, I will never trust anyone. I will not even trust my closest vassals."

Yamato narrowed his eyes at Sousou. "If you cannot trust anyone, even your vassals, then how do you view them?"

"I see them as the tools to reach my goals. Nothing more and nothing less," her answer caused sharp gasps from most of the occupants of the room. "No merits go unrewarded and no mistakes go unpunished". That is how I ensure my vassals' loyalty to me. Even if I do not trust them, I still know how to reward or punish them justly. It is a simple and effective system, no?"

"But that makes you no different than a tyrant!" Aisha pointed out angrily.

"I will not deny that, Kan'u. I am a tyrant who is driven by my greed and desire," admitted Sousou with a chuckle. "I desire to prove my worth as a ruler by conquering and uniting the land under my banner, I desire the power and wealth that came with being the next ruler of this land, and I desire to have beautiful and strong women to serve under me and become mine. My desires are a part of me and denying them will be likely denying myself."

Yamato stared at Sousou before he asked, "Do you have any regrets, Sousou-dono?"

Sousou pondered over his question and answered with, "No, I don't. Having regrets of your own choice makes you a fool. A ruler who has regrets of her own lordship shows that she doesn't have what it takes to be a true ruler."

Yamato nodded, accepting her answer and statement for the moment. He then turned to Renfa, "What about you, Renfa-dono? What is the reason behind your lordship and how do you view it? What is your goal for the future?"

"My reason for my lordship is simple: it is my duty as the successor of Son Family," answered Renfa. "My mother, Sonken Bundai, built our kingdom and my sister, Sonsaku Hakufu, makes our kingdom strong. I view my lordship as sworn duty to make sure that the efforts of my mother and sister are not wasted."

"And how are you doing that, Sonken-san?" inquired Touka curiously.

"I do not set out to conquer like my sister, but I do have my own way to make my nation strong," answered Renfa with a smile. "I usually prefer negotiations and dialogues with other nations to form alliances or trading rights. With that, I gain more resources to strengthen my kingdom with little to no bloodshed." She then looked at the rest of the occupants of the room, her cat-like blue eyes gleaming with iron-clad determination, "Although I do not like unnecessary bloodshed and violence, I will do whatever necessary to protect my kingdom."

"If I may ask, what don't you wish to follow the path of conquest like Sonsaku-dono, Sonken-dono?" asked Shuri.

"I admit I too am curious. After all, it is a well known fact that your mother, Sonken Bundai, and your sister, Sonsaku Hakufu, are conquerors who were responsible for making Son Go the great kingdom that it is now. But you on the other hand, are a pacifist who will not attack unless you are provoked. Why is that, Sonken?" inquired Sousou.

"To answer that, allow me to tell you the brief history of Son Go," answered Renfa with a sigh. Taking a deep breath, she then explained, "Okaa-sama built Son Go from scratch while shedding so much sweat, blood, and tears for her dream to unite the land under the banner of the Son Clan. When she fell in one of her campaigns some years after she established Son Go, Onee-sama took the throne and swiftly prevented our territories from being claimed by other factions such as the En Clan," here the Queen of Son Go glanced at Enshou before she continued. "Following the will of Okaa-sama, Sheren-neesama then set out on her own path of conquest. Compared to Okaa-sama, Sheren-neesama was more ruthless and ceaseless in her military campaigns. She launched one campaign after another and it nearly exhausted our resources. While we managed to regain some of our resources from successful campaigns, Sheren-neesama had expended too many of our resources. It was this that caused the friction between her and the nobles of her court."

"Ah, I know this part. It was related with the assassination attempt by Sonsei, correct?" inquired Jun'iku.

Renfa closed her eyes, pushing the down the welling emotion as she recalled the assassination attempts toward her sister. "…Yes, that is correct. That assassination attempt was concocted by several nobles of our court who were displeased with Sheren-neesama's constant military campaigns. They claimed that she had spent too much of our resources on the campaigns and it had destabilized the economy of Son Go. While it was partly true, they didn't like the fact that Onee-sama was using their wealth to fund her military campaigns. Several assassinations attempts were made and every single of them had failed, although some of them were very close calls."

The young queen paused and sighed, mustering her mind for what was coming next. "Seeing that direct assassination had failed, they decided to change their target. They decided that the new target was me." sharp breath intakes followed Renfa's statement. "They knew how much Sheren-neesama loved me and our youngest sister, so they were hoping that if they got me it would discourage Onee-sama from her campaigns. What they didn't know was that Sheren-neesama was aware of their intentions and purposefully drank the poisoned tea. She did have the antidote before, but the poison had left her weakened and incapacitated. I became an empress in her stead and once I learned of those behind the assassination attempt, I had them executed. One of them was my aunt, Sonsei, who believedthat Sheren-neesama was leading our kingdom to its doom."

Silence followed Renfa's explanation for a whole minute before Sousou broke it.

"See what I mean? Being a ruler is a lonely existence because you will be surrounded by enemies. Even your own family could become your enemy and stab you in the back. Though, I'll admit I have to respect Sonsaku for her relentless drive for conquest. She sounds like a tyrant when you said she nearly exhausted the resources of Son Go for her campaigns."

Immediately, the expressions on Renfa and Shuuyu darkened when they heard Sonsaku was compared to a tyrant.

"Onee-sama is not a tyrant like you claim her to be. Her conquest is not driven by greed, but by her love of Son Go. I already told you before, Sousou, Onee-sama and I want Son Go to be strong enough to stand against any challenge in the future. Her conquest is her way to make that dream a reality," replied Renfa, frowning.

"Chuubou is correct. Sheren loves her kingdom more than anything. Even if her campaigns had caused the exhaustion of our resources, it is only a short term effect. In the long term, we would regain all the resources we have expended from the territory we conquered with extra interests," added Shuuyu. Her green eyes glared at Sousou behind her glasses. "I suggest that you choose your words more carefully in the future, Sousou-dono. I do not take insults toward Sheren lightly."

"My apologies. I only stated my observation," Sousou smirked in response. "But I have to digress, love is another form of desire. You and Sonsaku desire for your kingdom to be strong so it can stand against any challenges. Anything born from desire, no matter how selfless it seemed to be, is selfishness by another name. And any ruler whose acts are driven by their selfishness is a tyrant."

Sousou's statement was met by Renfa's silent glare at the Queen of Sou Gi. She wasn't the only one. Aisha was also scowling at her while Touka looked at the blonde with a mix of confusion and sadness. Yamato on another hand, regarded Sousou with cool indifference whereas Shun only sighed, already knowing how cynical Sousou was. Yuki however, had a blank expression on her face. Her purple orbs hid the veiled discontent she had for Sou Gi's Empress.

"And you still haven't answered Koumei's and my question, Sonken. Why haven't you set on conquests like your sister?"

"Because I have no interest in conquest," answered Renfa before she sighed wearily. "Besides, the constant military campaigns Onee-sama had launched have exhausted Son Go's resources too much for my liking. What good would it do for my nation it it collapsed on itself because it was unable to support itself? That said, I decided to strengthen my nation from within and cut off future campaigns so we can rebuild our lost strength."

"That would be the right thing to do. After all, it is a foolish thing to spread your men wide and thin in times like this, especially if the situation in Son Go was as bad as you told us," Yamato nodded approvingly as he smiled. "I'm sure your people are tired with campaign after campaign and would be happy to have a benevolent ruler such as you leading them. You and your sister are different people. Anyone who expects you to be the same as her is a fool. "

"Thank you for your kind words, Yamato-dono," replied Renfa as a slight blush dusted her tanned cheeks as she returned his smile. Somehow, his words about her being her own person elated her. "I still have a lot of things to learn in order to be a good ruler for my kingdom."

"I'm sure you will learn as time marches on," encouraged Yamato. "Do you have any regrets in your lordship, Renfa-dono?"

Renfa closed her eyes as she thought over his question. Sonken Chuubou already had a lot of regrets in her young life. She regretted she was the one who indirectly caused her sister to be bedridden. She regretted she couldn't prepare herself more as the successor of her family's legacy. She regretted she couldn't become as strong as her sister to protect and strengthen the kingdom she fought so hard for. But more importantly, she regretted she had to sacrifice her life as a girl so she could be a ruler for her kingdom.

However, the answer that escaped Renfa's lips softly was, "…No, I have no regrets. I did what I had to for my kingdom's sake as a ruler."

Yamato accepted her answer with a nod. "Very well. Since everyone has shared their reason and how they view themselves as a ruler as well as their dreams for the future, it is my turn to share mine."

Sousou and Renfa immediately shifted on their seats, their eagerness to learn more about the enigma that was Yamato Kusanagi was thinly veiled. After all, Yamato was quite new compared to them, with a mysterious background. However, he managed to obtain the title of lord with his own efforts and a bit of luck.

"Unlike this world, the world where I and my friends originate from is relatively peaceful, at least most of the time. The Warring era has long gone, although there are still conflicts in some places but it doesn't affect the whole world too much," started Yamato as he leaned back in his chair. "I was born in that peaceful world and raised to the best of what my family could afford. My father and grandfather trained me in our family swordsmanship style since I was young and I was later known as the most talented Kendoka in my generation after winning several tournaments. My grandfather also had me read several books in his collection such as war strategies and the history of the warring eras around the world to keep my mind sharp. I sometimes wondered to myself, what was my life was lacking despite having a loving and supportive family, two great people I called best friends and all this power and knowledge I have?"

The king of Shoku paused to let his words sunk as his gaze turned far away, as if he was reminiscing about something.

"I then somehow gained the power of a Kamen Rider when I came to this world and have used that power to lead the villagers of Xizang to drive off the Yellow Turbans. It was after that battle I realized what I was lacking: a purpose to call my own. I could finally use my abilities for good use and like any real Kamen Riders before me, I will protect and fight for those who cannot protect and fight themselves. I saw my lordship as a duty to protect the weak from those who abuse their power to oppress others. I have no intention of becoming a conqueror as I prefer negotiations and peaceful discussions, but that doesn't mean I will stand idle. I will have military campaigns if I deem them absolutely necessary. If my kingdom and allies were attacked then I would retaliate a hundred fold. I will not hesitate to defeat the aggressors and conquer their territory like they wanted to conquer mine and my allies'."

Renfa smiled as her decision was finally made. Hearing Yamato's reason for being a ruler and how he viewed his lordship finally solidified the possibility of having Shoku and Go allied in the future. It wasn't only the similarity of his stance on lordship to hers that convinced her, it was the fire he had in those steely orbs and his presence which was somehow magnified during his tale that captivated her. The young man before her was without a doubt, a great ruler and even greater person. Not allying with Yamato Kusanagi when she had the chance was not a mistake Sonken Chuubou wanted to make.

Sousou though, looked contemplative. If it was another person, then she would scoff and laugh at such a foolish notion. What could they protect if their feelings and beliefs were the only weapon they had? In Sousou's opinion, a naïve person had no place in this warring era. Their naivety would only lead them to their deaths as their ideals were shattered before them. But it wasn't the case for Kusanagi. Like Sonken, she noticed the ironclad resolve and the sheer determination he carried in his words. She suppressed a shiver running up her spine and was nearly convinced, but Sousou wanted more. She wanted to learn and see more of Kusanagi, so she pressed on.

"And what of your goal for the future, Kusanagi? Surely you have some kind of grand goal as a ruler like any of us here."

"I wouldn't call it grand, but to me it is something worth fighting for," answered Yamato as his steel gray eyes glinted sharply with determination. "One is to unite the land with the least bloodshed possible. I know there would be times that talking alone wouldn't be enough, so I am prepared to do whatever is necessary. And the second…is to destroy the Rule of Reality and change the world for the better."

"Rule of Reality?" echoed Renfa curiously while Sousou and Shuuyu arched an inquisitive eyebrow.

"It is a hopeless rule which states that hope can be only obtained by sacrificing something else in return. For example, you have to kill one person to save a hundred, kill ten to save one thousand lives and so on. Unfortunately, the sacrifice this rule demands is impartial and often the innocents will be paying for it."

There was discontented silence descended on room as soon as Yamato answered the Queen of Son Go's question. The officers of Gi and Go knew well enough how true this Rule of Reality was because of their own experience. Renfa for her part, looked at Yamato in surprise and no small amount of awe. To destroy the Rule of Reality…She knew how ludicrous it sounded, but a part of her believed that Yamato would succeed in his goal.

The silence was soon broken by none other than Sousou who scoffed and turned to Yamato.

"I never thought that you would be such a naive idealist, Kusanagi, but you are right on one thing. You have to sacrifice something to gain something else in return. It is an undeniable truth of this world, yet you try to fight and destroy it?" She asked before scoffing one more time. "I don't know if I should call you very brave or very foolish. The line between bravery and foolishness is quite blurred after all."

The Shoku contingent frowned at the thinly veiled insult Sousou had thrown at Yamato, and so did his Yuki and Shun.

"You are wrong, Sousou-san," said Touka as she looked toward Sousou. "Yamato-sama chooses to fight against the Rule of Reality because he is stronger than you. Whereas you chose to surrender and let it dictate you, Yamato-sama chose to stand up and fight against that rule. I believe…No, we as his vassals and friends know that he will destroy that rule and change the world for the better. If anything, I think you're jealous of Yamato-sama, Sousou-san."

Sousou and Touka stared at each other, their blue eyes were unyielding. Kakouton looked as if she was ready to jump at a moment's notice, so did Aisha who was ready to defend her sworn sister. The stare off was broken when Sousou chuckled before the Empress of Sou Gi laughed.

"So you're saying I am jealous of Kusanagi? You believe he is stronger than I am?" asked Sousou as she got her laughter under control. Her blue eyes gleaming mirthfully as she inquired to Touka, "That is so rich, Ryubi! Tell me, what does strength means to you?"

"Strength comes in many forms, but what I, and my fellow Generals of Shoku believe is that true strength comes from the bonds we have formed with others," answered Touka confidently. "By forming bonds with others, we learn more about our weaknesses and strengths. And then we will improve ourselves by covering or making up for our weaknesses with our strengths. You maybe are strong Sousou-san, but you can only get strong so much by yourself before you stop getting stronger and become stagnated. Yamato-sama on the other hand, will always gets stronger as he forms bonds with us and our future allies. For example, he learned to be a better warrior from Aisha-chan and Rinrin-chan and from Shuri-chan and Hinari-chan he learned more about governments, politics, and battle strategies. You may have the advantage now, Sousou-san, but as time passes on, we will gain more allies and Yamato-sama will become much stronger so he will surpass you."

Yamato looked at Touka in surprise while his other Generals smiled at her. Shun was grinning while giving his best friend two thumbs up and Yuki smiled as she cleaned her glasses.

If Sousou felt threatened by Touka's claim, she didn't show it and in fact, she smirked at Yamato challengingly. "You hear that Kusanagi? Ryubi has a lot of faith in you. She says that you will surpass me given time. I look forward for the day we will meet in battle as opponents, Kusanagi. We will see which of our ideals is the truth. I hope you will not disappoint me. I don't want to claim you if you're not at your very best."

Yamato chuckled before smirking back at Sousou, "If my friends believe that I can become stronger, then I will do my best to fulfill their expectations of me."

The blonde ruler nodded before she finished her tea and stood up from her chair, with her generals following her example. "Thank you for the amazing dinner, Kusanagi. If you will excuse me, I have to return to my camp now. I need to prepare my army for our march to Luoyang tomorrow."

"Very well. I will see you tomorrow, Sousou-dono. Goodnight," Yamato bid the Empress of Sou Gi goodnight.

Just as she was about to exit the room, Sousou stopped and turned to Yamato. "Since you have earned my respect tonight, you have earned the right to call me by my true name. It is Karin."

"Then you will have to call me Yamato, Karin-dono," replied Yamato.

"I actually prefer Karin-sama from you, but that is close enough," Karin smirked.

With that parting word, Karin and her entourage left the dining room, leaving the Shoku officials with their Go counterparts. Kakouton and Jun'iku gave Yamato one last glare before following their lady. Shun decided to stay back to help them clean up.

Yamato then turned to Renfa, "What about you, Renfa-dono? Do you wish to retire for the night as well?"

"Actually, there is something else that I want to discuss with you, Yamato-dono. I don't know if I will have another chance after this dinner," answered Renfa as she smiled. "After I heard your reason to be a ruler and how you see your lordship, I feel my decision has been made. And your goal for the future…It moved me. To challenge the very rule of this world is a very reckless thing to do, but it is ambitious and honorable goal to me."

"What can I say? When you have a goal, set it as high as you can. It will be more satisfying when you finally achieve it," Yamato chuckled.

"How true. I wish I had your confidence, Yamato-dono," replied Renfa with a small, wistful smile. "Anyway," she shook her head before regarding him once again more seriously this time. "I wish to form an alliance between Son Go and Shoku, if that is alright with you."

Yamato's eyes widened as his Generals gasped in surprise. Enshou meanwhile gaped at Sonken's request. How was she going to get her revenge on Kusanagi if he accepted Renfa's request!? The officers of Son Go were only slightly surprised with her declaration. What they didn't expect was for Renfa to make her intention known this early. Shuuyu narrowed her eyes at the sister of her lover, but didn't say anything.

"Well, this is certainly a surprise," started Yamato as he got his surprise under control.

"It is. I actually wanted to form this alliance before we departed for Shisui Pass. I get the feeling…No, I know this alliance would be beneficial for both Son Go and Shoku in the future," persuaded Renfa. "What do you say, Yamato-dono?"

Yamato thought over the alliance offered by Renfa for a moment before he said, "Will you give me some time to think it over with my Generals?"

"That is all I ask for now," answered the Queen of Son Go, smiling as she stood up. Her officers, along with Yuki, followed her example. "Thank you for the wonderful dinner, Yamato-dono. It was truly…an enlightening experience."

"I'm glad you enjoyed it, Renfa-dono," replied Yamato before he stood up and smiled back at her. "Goodnight, Renfa-dono. Sleep well."

"Goodnight, Yamato-dono. Please excuse us."

The Son Go contingent then left the dining room with Sonken giving Yamato one last glance before she returned to her camp.

Yamato returned to his chair and leaned against as he sighed. "Well, that was certainly something, isn't it?"

"Indeed, Yamato-sama. It was really an eventful dinner," Aisha nodded as Pairen, Enshou, and her retainers started to clean up. The Black-Haired War Goddess of Shoku then turned to Touka and smiled at her. "You did a splendid job on defending Yamato-sama's honor, Touka-sama."

"I-It's nothing big, really," the rose-haired girl flushed in embarrassment as he poked her fingers together. "Sousou-san insulted Yamato-sama so I acted without thinking. I really can't stand when people talk bad about Yamato-sama because he has done so much to us."

"And you showed her, Touka-neechan! That speech was really cool too!" gushed Rinrin, her blue eyes twinkling in delight.

"Ehehe, you think so?"

"It is. You really pointed out to Sousou-dono the difference between her and Yamato-sama," nodded Shuri approvingly.

"But I'm worried since Sousou-dono might seen your speech as a challenge to her, or worse, a declaration of war," added Hinari, her brow creased in worry.

Touka seemed to recall what Sousou said in return after her speech before her shoulders slumped. "Auu…I really shouldn't have said all that…" She was surprised when she felt a hand patting her head gently. Touka turned to see Yamato was smiled assuringly at her.

"That's alright, Touka. In my world, Shoku and Gi were rivals because their leader, Ryubi and Sousou were also rivals. They often clashed with each other because of their conflicting ideals or for territory," said Yamato. "Besides, Karin has already stated her intention since the first day of this alliance, hadn't she?"

"You're right, Yamato-sama. Sousou-dono said that we might be allies for now, but once Toutaku is dethroned then we would go back to being rivaling warlords," replied Aisha.

"Then we best prepare ourselves for the war against Sou Gi in the future," said Hinari as Touka looked down sadly.

"…But…I don't want to fight against Sousou-san…or anyone else…"

"I too don't want to fight with Sousou-dono and Gi," replied Yamato as he exhaled loudly. "…Especially with him working for Sousou."

"You mean Baron-dono, right Yamato-sama?" questioned Shuri as the King of Shoku nodded.

"That's right. He is my best friend and I really don't want to fight him," he then let out a bitter chuckle. "Fate is really cruel, isn't it? Do you know that Gaim and Baron were also supposed to be rivals?"

"Really? You and Shun-niichan are supposed to be rivals, Onii-chan?" asked Rinrin.

"Not us, but the original Gaim and Baron," answered Yamato as he looked around to see the waitresses for the night were too busy with their work, so they wouldn't be able listen to what he was going to say. They then excused themselves out with Shun leading them, prompting Yamato to continue. "The original Gaim and Baron were the residents of Zawame City. Before the invasion, those two were already rivals because of their differences in the ideals they believed in. Gaim believed that power should be used responsibly in order to help others. Baron believed that power should be used to stand up against enemies and destroy any opposition. When the invasion came, they worked together for a period of time before becoming enemies once again in the end. They then clashed again one last time and…Well, I'm not sure who the winner was but you know the end result already."

The Shoku Officers looked at Yamato in worry. They knew that their lord treasured his friends so much and the thought of fighting any of them hurt him.

"…Are you worried that you and Shun-san would end up like your predecessors, Yamato-sama?" asked Aisha.

"To be honest, yeah. But I can't worry about that right now," answered Yamato. "We still have more issues to deal with."

The girls nodded, knowing that their lord wanted to drop the issue for now.

"Well, look at the bright side. Sonken-san proposed to form an alliance between us and Go," chirped Touka.

"If it was just me, then I would accept her proposal. What do you girls think?" questioned Yamato.

"Accepting her proposal for an alliance would be beneficial to us. Sonken-dono shares the same views with Yamato-sama, so I don't see the reason why we shouldn't accept her offer," said Aisha.

"Yes, Sonken-dono does share the same views with Yamato-sama. But what if Sonsaku-dono recovers and takes the throne once more?" argued Hinari, causing everyone—sans Rinrin—to frown.

"Sonsaku-dono may or may not continue the alliance with us since she has different ideals than her sister," replied Shuri. "At the very least, Sonsaku-dono is an honorable person and wouldn't turn against us out of respect as former allies if she chooses not to continue the alliance."

"That's true. From what Renfa-dono told us earlier, Sonsaku-dono loves Son Go so much and all she wanted is to see it capable of weathering any challenge in the future," noted Yamato. "Her conquest was driven by that desire and if she decides to continue the alliance, then it is still beneficial for Go and us. Remember, "United we stand, divided we fall"."

"I'm sure we can appeal to Sonsaku-san to continue the alliance if she returns to the throne," assured Touka. "After all we all want the same thing, right?"

"If it does come to the worse, then we will cross the bridge once we get there," added Aisha.

"Then, do we have an agreement to accept the alliance with Son Go?" asked Yamato as his generals nodded in agreement. "Alright. I will inform Renfa-dono of our decision tomorrow before we begin our march to Luoyang."

His generals beamed happily. It looked like this dinner was more successful than they ever thought. While rocky because of Sousou's claim that Yamato's ideals were foolish, they had at least gained a possible alliance with Son Go. The Shoku officials left the room to retire for the night as it was getting late. Tomorrow will mark the dawn of the new era for the Three Kingdoms.

---

The following day, Yamato along with Shuri and Hinari, visited the Go camp to deliver his decision personally. Yuki had awoken early to supervise the preparation for her army's march along with Shuuyu who was surprised to see Yamato and his strategists coming. The senior advisor of Go arched a curious eyebrow seeing the Shoku King and his entourage, although she already had some suspicions for the reason they were here.

"Yamato? What are you doing here?" asked the bespectacled, purple-eyed girl.

"Good morning, Yuki, Shuuyu-dono," greeted Yamato. "I hope I didn't disturb anything."

"You didn't, I'm just surprised to see you this early," replied Yuki. "So what can I help you with?"

"May I request for an audience with Sonken-dono? I have the answer for her proposal from last night."

Yuki looked at her childhood friend for a moment before she smiled and nodded. "I see. Wait here while I report to Sonken-sama."

Shuuyu mentally sighed. So it really came to this, but she hadn't expected that Kusanagi would give his answer this early. She couldn't help but wonder what his angle was.

"That was fast, Kusanagi-dono. Have you really thought your decision over?" the Senior Imperial Advisor of Son Go prodded as Yuki entered the main tent where Renfa was.

"I have. It wasn't surprising that my generals didn't need much convincing to agree with me regarding the alliance," answered Yamato honestly. "Not only do we have the same views regarding our lordship, Renfa-dono and I want the same thing in the end: Peace. The Alliance between Shoku and Son Go will definitely help to reach that goal."

Shuuyu nodded as she replied, "…I see." The black-haired woman then bowed slightly at him as she excused herself. "If you will excuse me, Kusanagi-dono, I have to supervise the preparation for our army's march to the capital."

Yamato nodded at her and watched as she left to her business. Yuki returned soon after that and escorted Yamato and his strategists to meet with Renfa.

"This way. Sonken-sama is quite eager to hear your answer," she said, still smiling.

Yamato only smiled back as he, Shuri and Hinari entered the largest tent inside the camp. Unlike Yamato's, Renfa's tent truly befitting her status as a ruler. It was pretty spacious and filled with several furniture. A small drawer table with a vanity mirror sat next to a small wardrobe on one side of the tent. On the other side of tent was a queen-sized bed with folded clothes on the top of its white sheet. In the middle of the tent was a circular table with several chairs. Served on the top of the table was the breakfast menu for the young queen while she sat on one of the chairs. What caught Yamato's attention was her state of dress.

Renfa was still wearing her red dress, but without the white collar and shoulder top and the detached sleeves. It made her dress even more revealing than usual as it bared much of her shoulders and cleavage. Her headdress was also missing from her for the moment.

"Good morning, Yamato-dono. I heard from Yuki that you have made your decision to my proposition," greeted Renfa with an amiable smile.

"Yes, I have," answered Yamato. "Although, it looks I arrived too early."

The pink haired girl blinked before she felt her face heated up. Renfa recalled her current state of dress and it was in no way fitting to meet with her guests. "Ah, m-my apologies. I didn't expect to see anyone but my generals today, so…" she trailed off, unable to finish her words because she was too embarrassed.

"That is alright. I should be the one at fault because I wanted to get this done before we set to march at noon," Yamato waved her off.

"Thank you for your understanding," replied Renfa , smiling as she felt her embarrassment wash off. "Please have a seat. May I offer breakfast to you and your generals?"

"It's alright. We already had our breakfast before we came," answered Yamato as he, Shuri, and Hinari sat on empty chairs.

The young queen nodded, accepting his answer. "So, what is Shoku's answer for my proposal on the alliance between our Kingdoms?"

"Shoku wholeheartedly accepts your proposal," answered Yamato as Renfa smiled. "I'm sure we can discuss the terms and agreements for this alliance."

"That we can. I thank you for accepting this selfish proposal of mine," said the pink-haired young woman earnestly.

"It is not selfish since you acted for Son Go's best interests. I too believe that this alliance will be beneficial to Shoku," assured Yamato with a smile.

"Although, we couldn't help but be concerned with some issues in the future," Hinari pointed out, causing Renfa's smile to dim a little.

"What issues if I may ask?" Renfa asked.

"Mostly it is about your sister, Sonsaku-dono," answered Shuri. "We fear that this alliance will only last for a short time since she may decide to break it off once she returns to power."

"I see…" Renfa sighed as she crossed her arms under her breasts. "I can understand your concern, but it won't matter too much. All we need to is to prove to her is that this alliance yields benefits for Son Go as much as it does for Shoku. Besides, I personally believe that Sheren-neesama will continue this alliance for a reason."

"What reason is it, Sonken-dono?" inquired Hinari curiously.

Renfa's cheeks flushed again as she glanced at Yamato before she muttered, "…An arranged marriage…"

Shuri's eyes widened before she blushed beet red. "H-Hawawa…I-I see…"

Hinari also blushed as she pulled the brim of her hat, attempting to cover her face. "A-Awawa…"

Yamato didn't miss the glance Renfa sent at him and was feeling embarrassed right now. "Er, so she will keep the alliance because she wants you to marry me?"

"Y-Yes," answered Renfa, trying to get her embarrassment under control. "Sheren-neesama had taken liking to you after hearing about your exploits against the Yellow Turbans and from what Yuki told us. She is the kind of person who will not change her mind once she has it set on something. She thought you would make a good h-husband for me, so she will most likely continue the alliance if she returns to the throne for that reason alone."

There was an awkward silence inside the tent when Renfa finished speaking. Yamato cleared his throat to dispel the awkwardness as he spoke up, "I'm sure we can deal with that when the time comes. For now, let's discuss the terms and the agreements for our alliance."

Renfa nodded whilst still blushing. She was more than happy to have the topic steered away from uncomfortable topics such as a possible union between her and Yamato. A traitorous part of her mind whispered that Yamato would make more than a fine husband for her.

The four of them discussed, negotiated, and argued over several points for the terms of their alliance for hours. It wasn't until half-an-hour to their scheduled time for their march to Luoyang that they arrived to an agreement. It would take them some formal letters to make the alliance of Shoku and Go official, but it could wait until they were done with Toutaku's puppet masters.

It was an elated Queen of Son Go that watched Yamato and his two strategists left her camp. In a sense, what Ryubi said during last night's dinner was true. Bonds between people were also a form of true strength. She couldn't wait to see what kind of strength Son Go and her got from the alliance she made with Yamato and Shoku.

---

The Anti-Toutaku Alliance arrived in the borders of Luoyang before sunset and Yamato decided it would be better if the alliance attacked in the morning. Going into an unknown territory at night was a very risky move. They would wait until tomorrow so they sent scouts ahead to gather information for now. But the weird thing was, there was no activity on the city wall from what Yamato and the others could see with their telescopes, which made everyone wary. The night passed as thick wariness permeated in the air.

The strangeness of the situation continued in the morning when the scouts returned bringing confusing news to everyone.

"What do you mean there is no army stationed around Luoyang?" asked Renfa sternly to Kannei who was kneeling in front of her with one fist to the ground.

"My apologies, Renfa-sama. It is true that there are no soldiers stationed on the perimeters of the capital. I also do not hear any sounds from the capital either," answered Kannei dutifully.

"That's weird. I know there should be around 45,000 to 50,000 soldiers stationed at Luoyang," frowned Nenene with her hands crossed.

Yamato had released Ren and her friends and let them join the army to march toward the capital and save Toutaku. He also had explained to the other warlords that they were now his generals and were working for him, much to Karin's approving smirk and Renfa's surprised look which morphed into a smile. Pairen shook her head in bemusement and Enshou looked quite furious with the sudden development.

Karin frowned before turning to her own scout, "Is it the same for you as well?"

"It is, Sousou-sama," answered the soldier.

"Karin-sama, I think this is a trap," suggested Kakouen.

"Obviously," nodded Karin. She then turned to Yamato, "So, what will we do, Yamato?"

Yamato had a severe frown on his face as he looked at the capital one more time through the telescope he borrowed from Shuri. It was quiet. Way too quiet and he didn't like it, not a single bit. There should be some soldiers around, even only one or two people manning the outlook on the ramparts. He finished formulating a plan in his mind as he put down the telescope with an exasperated sigh. "I don't like to do this, but we'll have to spring the trap the enemy set for us."

"Are you sure about that?" asked Kayuu.

"Staying here for too long won't do us any good. Eventually, we'll have to enter the capital and set off the trap before we tire ourselves out for nothing," answered Yamato.

Karin nodded, agreeing with his answer. "I agree with Yamato. This is a true lose-lose situation for us, so it would be best to let the trap spring now than later."

Yamato then turned to Rinrin. "Rinrin, take your men and enter the capital cautiously. You will go as our advance unit and the rest of the Alliance will be following behind you. Engage the enemy and try to hold them off if they appear. If they don't, look around the capital and signal us if you see anything out of ordinary."

"You got it, Onii-chan," nodded Rinrin.

"Shunran, you will go along with Chouhi and the advance unit," ordered Karin.

Kakouton bowed to her lady. "With pleasure, Karin-sama."

"Shishun, you too. Make sure our enemies don't catch us off guard," said Renfa.

"By your command," Kannei then left soundlessly.

"I'll go too. Me and my men can help," offered Pairen, to which Yamato agreed to.

The advance unit marched out first toward the seemingly unguarded capital with the main force following steadily behind them in moderate pace. The main army halted their march as the advance unit entered the capital and waited tensely. About fifteen minutes later, Rinrin stood on the gates and waved her hand in the air. Yamato took it as the signal that she saw something out of place and signaled the army to move again.

He approached the petite redhead and asked, "What is it, Rinrin?"

"Onii-chan, it's really weird. It looks like no one's here," she reported, much to everyone's surprise.

"That's impossible. There should be some people around," said Touka.

"It's true! It's like…Everybody has gone!" insisted Rinrin.

"What do you mean everybody is gone?" asked Kayuu in shock.

Yamato frowned thoughtfully for a moment before he turned to his fellow warlords, "I will be looking around with my unit and generals. Do any of you want to come with me?"

"I will stay. Someone needs to command the army if our enemy strikes while you're gone," answered Karin.

"As I do. I will make sure our enemy will not catch us off guard," added Renfa.

Shun and Yuki shared a look before they stepped forward. "We'll go with you, buddy. You ain't gonna leave us behind," said Shun.

"I know you probably want us to stay behind just in case our enemy summons Inves, but something tells me that you're going to need our help," reasoned Yuki.

Yamato stared at his childhood friends for several moments before he nodded. "Alright, let's move out then."

---

True to what Rinrin reported, Luoyang was seemingly absent with people who should be bustling around even at this time of day. For a place that should be the capital of China, when it suddenly became a ghost town that was enough to unsettle everyone present, especially the Toutaku generals. Even Yamato, his friends, and generals felt something was off.

"…Weird," commented Ren softly.

"It doesn't make any sense! How come there is no one around here?" said a rather frustrated Nenene.

"Not only that, there is something off about this situation," added Yuki as her violet eyes darted around suspiciously.

"I can't even feel anyone's presence," frowned Aisha.

"I have a baaaaad feeling about this," muttered Shun discontentedly. It was quiet, too quiet.

Yamato glanced at Ren who looked worried about something. It was discreet enough and most wouldn't see through it, but Yamato was trained to observe any kind of micro reactions on a person. It was obvious to him that she was worried about her pets.

"You want to check your home first, Ren?" he asked to the redhead.

Ren turned to him and asked, "Is that okay?"

"It would be the better than just wandering around," shrugged Yamato. "Who knows? We may find a clue about what happened here."

Ren nodded before she led the party to her house. Unlike what Yamato expected, Ren's house was pretty much a commoner's house with a concrete walls surrounding the home and garden. It looked quaint, but well kept enough.

"This is your house, Ren-san?" asked Touka.

Ren nodded as she pushed the gates open.

"I kinda expected more for Ryofu Housen's house," chimed Shun as he and the group entered the house.

"Ren is hardly picky about such things. That's one of things I respect about her," replied Kayuu.

Aisha then turned to the soldiers and ordered, "Stay outside and guard this house. If you see anything suspicious, report to us immediately."

"Yes, ma'am," replied the unit's captain.

Once they were inside the house proper, Ren looked around the garden as if she was searching something. She then let out a long and shrill whistle, and they appeared. Emerging from the bushes, trees and foliage were many animals such as birds, cats and dogs. Ren smiled as she crouched down and reached her hand to pet them. The cats and dogs surrounded her while the birds perched on her shoulders and on top of her head.

"Thank goodness…You're all alright," she said as she petted a white and brown furred dog with a red scarf tied around its neck. "Good to see you again, Sekito."

"Hawawa…Those are her pets?" questioned Shuri in awe.

"Awawa…There are so many of them…" commented Hinari with wide eyes. She mentally recalculated the money needed to feed Ren's pets. It wouldn't put too much of dent in Shoku's treasury with some good money management on her part. Feeding that many pets won't be much of a trouble.

It took every bit of Aisha's willpower and discipline to not go and pet those animals. Right now they were virtually inside enemy territory, so petting could wait for later. She settled for a smile and a mental squee.

'So cute…!'

"Kyaaaa! They're so cute!"

Touka and Rinrin however, had no such restraint and immediately went to pet Ren's little friends. Touka smiled as she petted a cat and Rinrin laughed when she picked up a dog and it licked her face to show its affection.

"Well, if there was a contest for people who owned the most pets, I think Ryofu here would win hands down," remarked Shun, grinning.

"Thank you for mentioning the obvious," deadpanned Yuki. She then remembered something and turned to her other childhood friend. "Yamato, are you okay?"

Shun jerked his head to his buddy as the realization hit him like a speeding truck. He had forgotten about his best friend's phobia!

Standing there was Yamato, petrified like a statue with his gaze locked onto those things. His mind was numb, being short-circuited after trying to process what he was seeing and decide the proper course of action without losing a shred of his dignity. A small part of his mind which still functioned noted how different Ren was compared to the warrior he faced three days ago. It was as if she had multiple personality, one was the ferocious warrior he had faced in battle and the other was the pure, innocent, kind-hearted girl he was looking at right now. Her black and white clothes made sense now to a degree.

"Oi, Yamato! You there buddy?" Shun waved his hand in front of Yamato's face.

Aisha turned to see her lord standing there, stiff and unmoving like a statue. His seemingly petrifaction and unblinking gaze began to worry her. "Yamato-sama, are you alright?"

Aisha's question, took Touka's attention as she kept petting a cat. She blinked curiously as she saw Yamato froze because of something "Yamato-sama?"

"Onii-chan! Look!" said Rinrin as she approached him and held out the puppy in her hands to him. "A puppy! It's so cute!"

The thing barked at him.

Deep seated instincts finally took over his shorted-out reasoning processes.

And then, there was a not-so-manly scream of fright.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

---

"You're telling me that Yamato Kusanagi, the Peerless Blue Swordsman Gaim of Shoku, who could fight against thousand of men and monsters, and even the strongest warriors in this land, is afraid of dogs of all things?" asked Kayuu incredulously.

"Well, to put it bluntly, yeah," answered Shun awkwardly.

"Do you expect him to be some kind of perfect superman or something?" Yuki shot back.

"…After all he had done so far, it's kinda hard to believe," retorted Nenene as she looked at Yamato. The trembling wreck who hid behind Shun was hardly recognizable as Yamato Kusanagi. Physically, he was still Yamato but he had none of the steel-like confidence or the dignity he had as he carried himself around. He was, for lack of better word, a scared boy who was being confronted with his worst fear. Aisha and the senior Shoku officers' heart nearly broke when seeing the pitiful state of the lord they had sworn loyalty to.

"A-Ano…What happened to Yamato-sama?" asked Touka somewhat curiously. "What made him fear dogs so much?"

"I-If you don't mind, w-would you please share it with us, Yamato-sama?" requested Shuri.

Shun glanced at Yamato who nodded shakily at him, prompting the brunette to speak in his place, "Yamato has been afraid of dogs since he was a kid. You see, when he was five, some delinquents thought it would be funny to set their dogs on some children in the park. Unfortunately, the only kid in the park at that time was Yamato. And, well…"

"Those dogs chased him around the park. They were quite vicious and were about to bite him when Yamato's father appeared and knocked out those dogs. He then apprehended the delinquents and gave them to the proper authorities with their dogs. Last I heard they were put in a juvenile prison for several months and their dogs were locked in a pound," added Yuki as she pushed up her glasses. "But the damage was already done and Yamato was traumatized from that experience."

"…I see…" said Aisha, closing her eyes and trying to rein the anger she felt. How could those people did that to a defenseless child? And it was supposed to be a prank? How could it be called a prank when it left a scar so deep in her lord's psyche? She was thoroughly sickened and disgusted with those delinquents. At the very least, they had paid the price for their actions.

"…Awawa…They were so cruel…" gasped Hinari.

"…How big?" Ren questioned as she carried Sekito in her hands.

Yuki and Shun looked confused at her question, so Nenene elaborated further for them. "She meant how big the dogs that chased Kusanagi-sama."

"T-They were pretty big, a-almost as big as a grown wolf," answered Yamato shakily. "T-Though, I-I'm not so sure since I was pretty small and scared back then. Maybe I'm just exaggerating."

"Rinrin is sorry for scaring Onii-chan like that," Rinrin apologized glumly as the puppy she carried whined softly, ears dropping sadly.

"I-It's alright, Rinrin. Y-You don't know about that," replied Yamato. "B-But please don't come so close to me with a d-dog, okay?"

Ren stared at Yamato for a moment before she approached him, still carrying her pet.

"R-Ren? N-Not so close with a dog, p-please?" pleaded Yamato, his tone rising in panic.

"…I'll help you," she said as her eyes glinting with steely determination. Yamato blinked in confusion before Ren added, "I'll help to you to get rid of your fear of dogs."

Yamato's eyes widened in surprise at her acclamation.

"That's right! Not only Ren, I and the others will help too, Yamato-sama!" declared Touka passionately.

"…You'd do that? You don't find my fear stupid?" asked Yamato reverently.

"I too am afraid of several things, so it's not my place to judge you Yamato-sama," smiled Aisha. She might be a warrior, but she was very afraid of ghosts and anything supernatural-related.

"The same goes for me, Yamato-sama," admitted Shuri shyly.

"Awawa…I can't stand bugs…and worms…" Hinari shuddered when she recalled those small critters.

"Can't have my new boss scared of something silly, can I?" Kayuu smirked.

"Well, you promised to help Yue out, so we have to help you too," Nenene huffed.

Ren nodded as Touka beamed at him, "See, Yamato-sama? We are all here to help you."

Yamato was surprised and very touched by their gesture. He then remembered what Touka said to Karin during the dinner as he closed his eyes and smiled. Bonds were truly another form of strength and he could draw power from the bonds he shared with his generals.

"Thank you…All of you," Yamato spoke up as Shun pulled him into a manly one-armed hug.

"Looks like you have some incredible girls to count on," the brunette grinned before faking a sniff. "Looks like you're going to replace me and Yuki as your best friends with them."

"Get real," Yamato deadpanned before he smiled. "No one's going to ever replace you guys. Both of you are my precious friends and nothing is going to change that."

Shun pulled him closer and playfully grinded his knuckles against friend's temples. "Since when did you become such a smooth talker, eh?"

"Must've come with his job as a king," mused Yuki before she glanced at the senior Shoku officers. "Or he has some kind of good influences on him."

The tender moment, however came to an end when a soldier entered the house and kneeled in front of the party. "Pardon my intrusion, Yamato-sama! Strange men in white robes are fighting against our main force near the city gates as we speak!"

Everyone's eyes widened in surprise as Kayuu snarled angrily, "It's them…Those bastards…!"

"So they really set an ambush for us," Aisha clicked her tongue in annoyance.

Ren turned to Yamato and asked, "Your orders, Yamato-sama?" It didn't take a genius to see the eagerness that was reflected in her red eyes. She really wanted to get some payback against those White Clothes that had taken her friend captive and destroyed said friend's reputation.

Yamato responded by strapping his Sengoku Driver to his waist with Yuki and Shun immediately following his example. "Let's go! Engage the White Clothes and let them taste the blade of justice! It's time for them to count up their sins!"

"By your will, Yamato-sama!" The generals replied as one.

With that, the party left Ryofu's home to rejoin the main army.

---

As Yamato and his group reached the city gates, they saw that the soldiers of the Alliance were fighting against some unknown enemy. The mysterious army was wearing white robes with lavender accents like the robes worn by monks. They were also wearing tall, pointed white hoods with the image of three red eyes stacked on top of each other and white mask that covered the lower half of their faces, also with the image of three stacked red eyes.

"So those are the White Clothes you were talking about," commented Yamato as Ren nodded, her fingers clenched around the shaft of her Heaven Piercer tightly.

"They looked like more of crazy cultists than soldiers," observed Shun. They reminded him of the KKK group mentioned in America.

"True, but they are still our enemies. We need to take them down," replied Yuki as she reached for her Budou Lockseed.

"You won't get any argument from me," said the brunette as he took out his Banana Lockseed.

Yamato was about to reach for his Orange Lockseed when one of the White Clothes soldiers noticed him and his group.

"Look! There they are! The Three Messengers of Heaven!" called the soldier, getting the attention of his comrades.

"Finally! Let's get them! Kill them and their followers!"

"Kill Gaim, Baron, and Ryugen! They are the root of evil in this world!"

Aisha, Touka, and the other senior Shoku officials looked affronted at their accusation.

"How dare you claim Yamato-sama, Shun-sama, and Yuki-sama as the root of evil! The three of them will be the ones who bring peace to this land!" Aisha shot back furiously.

"You're the evil ones here! You used an innocent girl as your puppet and destroyed her reputation for your nefarious agenda! We will make sure all of you to face justice!" added Touka vehemently.

"You will not understand our grand design! This is for the Greater Good!"

"All of you have been fooled! Those 'Messengers of Heaven' are nothing but the tools of a Greater Evil!"

"They are the one who will consume this world with the Forest of the Dead!"

"Kill them to save this world!"

Yamato's eyes narrowed when he realized that these White Clothes were no doubt referring to the Helheim Forest. That was the only reason that they had access to Lockseeds. The hypocrisy they spouted also sickened and infuriated him so much that he couldn't keep his cool.

"You claim us to be the root of evil? You claim us to be the reason why Helheim Forest is about to consume this world?" Yamato asked rhetorically as he exerted his pressure in full power, causing most of the White Clothes soldiers that had vocally antagonized him and his comrades to choke on their breath. "You hypocrites! Your reason for fighting for 'justice' and 'the Greater Good' is only a justification for your crimes. What kind of justice sacrifices an innocent life? What kind of Greater Good demands sacrificing another person's future? And you dare to say it is all to save the world when you are also helping to doom it? Excuse me if I find your joke completely and utterly not funny."

The Supreme Commander of the Anti-Toutaku Alliance raised his hand high in the air. "Brave soldiers of the Three Kingdoms!" He then dropped his hand as he ordered, "Eliminate them! Send them to face King Enma in his court!"

"BY YOUR WILL, GAIM-SAMA!" thundered the soldiers in reply as they fought back against the mysterious White Clothes army with extra zeal. Their morale and spirit were at an all-time high after the rousing speech of their commander. They will do just as he ordered to.

Yamato then turned to Ren and Kayuu. "What are you two waiting for? Aren't you going to join them?"

"Heh, you don't need to tell me twice!" Kayuu grinned as she hefted her Adamantine Axe on her shoulder. She was about to charge ahead went she turned back to Yamato. "You're not too bad, Kusanagi. I guess you have the right to call me by my true name. It's Miyabi."

Yamato nodded and smiled. "Make sure you make them pay for everything they have done."

"Don't worry," Miyabi cracked her knuckles. "I intend to pay them a hundred times fold, with extra interest."

"Then let's go, Rinrin, Ren, Miyabi! We will make them pay for their crimes!" ordered Aisha as she charged ahead, with Rinrin, Ren, and Miyabi hot on her heels.

"Charge! Smash! Victory!" yelled Rinrin.

Ren dashed past the younger redhead and Aisha, silent fury was written all over her body language. Miyabi let out a fierce roar as her axe mercilessly bisected a group of White Clothes she first encountered.

"Shall we join them, buddy?" asked Shun as he fingered the button on his Banana Lockseed.

"We shall," answered Yamato as he finally took out his Orange Lockseed.

Just when he and his friends were about to unlock the Lockseeds in their hands, a clapping sound from behind them caught their attention.

"Tres magnifique. As expected of you, Monsieur Kusanagi."

They turned and Yamato's eyes widened upon seeing who it was.

"You're…!"

Standing there were three boys of his age. One was a handsome teen with back length blonde hair that was braided and pale green eyes. His features weren't Asian, but rather Caucasian. He was wearing a buttoned up shirt with two buttons on the top unbutton, revealing a part of his chiseled chest and the sleeves were rolled up all the way to his elbows. Over his shirt was a light green butler-styled vest. He also wore faded blue jeans pants with purple and white sneakers covering his feet.

The next boy had black hair that was combed and spike backwards with black eyes. He was wearing a black denim jacket with a white sweatshirt underneath and dark blue denim jeans. He wore black, worn out sneakers on his feet. His expression would remind people of a textbook delinquent.

The last boy had short brown hair and amber eyes that were behind a pair of thick-framed square-rimmed glasses. He was wearing brown polo-shirt with white sleeves and black jeans with brown shoes covering his feet. His posture was quite relaxed and he had a glint of smugness in his stance.

"Sebastian Lucas Francoise," muttered Yamato, recognizing the blonde teen. Sebastian was a foreign exchange student from France in Yamato's school. He came to Japan because he loved the country and wanted to learn more about its culture first hand. He was well known amongst the student body because of his handsome features and flamboyant attitude. Despite that, he was far from helpless as shown when he utterly demolished some bullies that decided to pick on him just because of his heritage and his attitude. Sebastian later revealed that he was no slouch as a free-style martial artist and had won some tournaments back in France.

Sebastian's eyes twinkled merrily upon hearing Yamato recognized him. "Oui! It is moi, Sebastian Lucas Francoise, the Prince of the West! I am so happy to hear that my fellow Prince, the Prince of the East, recognizes little old me!"

"It's kind of hard to not recognize you when you stand out so much in the crowd," retorted Yamato. "What are you doing here? Better yet, why are you here and how did you come to this world?"

The black-haired boy next to Sebastian looked annoyed when Yamato apparently didn't recognize him there. "Oi! Stop paying attention to the French Pretty Boy! I'm here too, dammit!"

His bespectacled companion sighed. "Sasuke-kun, have some patience please. I'm sure Sebastian-kun will introduce us soon."

"It's not about introduction, Keiichi! I just want to fight them already!" growled the boy called Sasuke as he punched his palm.

"As expected of a hothead like you. You have no patient or tact at all," Keiichi sighed.

"What did you say!? Do you want to pick a fight with me, you bastard!?" snapped Sasuke.

"Calm down, Monsieur Kageyama, Monsieur Ishizawa. This is not the time to fight between ourselves." said Sebastian with a sigh.

Something clicked on Yuki's mind as she recognized the names. "I think I know them. Sasuke Kageyama and Keiichi Ishizawa, both of them are also enrolled in our school."

"Aren't they supposed to be a pair of delinquents?" asked Shun curiously.

"An odd pair for sure. Kageyama is a textbook delinquent while Ishizawa is a nerd and by all means they shouldn't be friends. But they eventually hit it off really well," answered Yuki as she watched the trio warily.

"Both of them are often seen skipping classes and getting involved in fights with other delinquents, but between Kageyama's brawn and Ishizawa's brains they often outsmart and outmatch their supposed stronger opponents," added Yamato.

"My, how flattering that you know of us, Kusanagi-kun. I guess our reputation have preceded us," smirked Keiichi.

Yamato narrowed his eyes at them. "You haven't answered my question yet, Francoise-san."

"Ah that. I think actions should speak louder than words," replied Sebastian as he pulled something from his vest pocket.

Yamato and his friends' eyes widened upon seeing what the object was. It was a Sengoku Driver, with the image of a green and silver helmet with a spiked silver faceplate and red visor on the Rider Indicator.

"A Sengoku Driver?! How did you get one of those!?" asked Shun in surprise.

"I bought it, of course. After all, a true Kamen Rider fan has to have at least one piece of the merchandises, non?" Sebastian retorted as he strapped the Driver to his waist.

"And he's not the only one. We have them too!" grinned Sasuke as he and Keiichi pulled out their respective Drivers and strapped them to their waists. Sasuke's Indicator showed a black helmet with a silver stripe across the forehead, not unlike a headband, red rectangular visor and silver mouthpiece. Keiichi had a brown helmet with silver linings, red round eyepieces, and silver mouthpiece on the Indicator instead.

Yamato growled as he recognized the suit programmed into their Drivers. "So you three are the Rogue Riders? The ones who work with those White Clothes?"

"That's correct," answered Keiichi smugly.

"I can understand Kageyama and Ishizawa, but Francoise?" asked Yuki, uncomprehendingly.

"It is because I hate fakes and mockeries," frowned Sebastian. "This world is so ugly because it filled with so much mockeries and I can't stand it. It is merely a grand stage of illusions with puppets as the actors. "

"How could you say that!?" asked Yamato with narrowed eyes as he focused his pressure on the trio. "This world is as real as it could be and everyone here is real as well! They feel emotions like we do and that can't be faked! If you claim everything about this world is fake, then you have another thing coming, Francoise!"

Whereas Sasuke and Keiichi took a step back and were beading cold sweat upon being exposed to Yamato's pressure for the first time, Sebastian's shoulders trembled before he threw his head back and laughed out loud.

"Hahaha! That's it! That is what I want to see! This is the Monsieur Kusanagi I always wanted to face!" the Frenchman then smiled in a predatory manner as he took out a Lockseed with the image of a yellow durian with the code L.S.-12 written in the front. "Then let's begin this dance of violent between us! Henshin!" declared the blonde before he kissed and unlocked the Durian Lockseed.

"DURIAN!"

A Crack above his head as an Armor Parts descended from it. It looked like a green, giant metallic durian with silver highlights as Sebastian locked the Lockseed to his Driver.

"LOCK ON!"

It played rock guitar music in loops that caused Sasuke and Keiichi to snap from their stupor.

"W-What was that!?" exclaimed Keiichi in shock.

"D-Don't know, but we can't get scared because of that one trick!" growled Sasuke as he took out a Matsubokkuri Lockseed. "Let's see if you like this! Henshin!"

"MATSUBOKKURI!"

"LOCK ON!"

Sasuke locked his Lockseed on its place as a brownish black, giant metallic pinecone descended from the Crack above him. The techno war horn music similar to Gaim's then played from his Driver.

Keiichi was silent as he unlocked his Donguri Lockseed.

"DONGURI!"

"LOCK ON!"

European trumpet fanfare played from the bespectacled teen's Driver after he locked his Lockseed to the Driver. A giant brown acorn dropped from the Crack above and hovering patiently as it waited for the transformation initiation sequence.

The Rogue Trio let the music play for a while, creating dissonance that confused many people, before slicing their Lockseeds open. The Durian Lockseed showed the image of durian flesh in the core and a sword with a green spiked handguard and green serrated edges with silver spikes showed on the lid's backside. The Matsubokkuri Lockseed had the image of a sliced pinecone as the core and a black spear with pinecone motif near the silver spear tip on the lid's backside whereas the Donguri Lockseed had the image of a horizontal slice of an acorn and acorn-themed mallet on the lid's backside image

"DURIAN ARMS! MISTER DANGEROUS!"

"SOIYA! MATSUBOKKURI ARMS! ICHIGEKI IN THE SHADOWS!"

"COME ON! DONGURI ARMS! NEVER GIVE UP!"

Yamato and his friends tensed as they watched the transformation before them. Sebastian, Sasuke, and Keiichi had transformed into Kamen Rider Bravo, Kurokage, and Gridon respectively!

"Now, let the games begin!" Bravo declared excitedly as he raised his Duri Noko swords dramatically.

Yamato declared in response, "Shun, Yuki! Get ready! This is going to be our stage now!"

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A/N: That's it for this chapter now. I decided to split the chapter so it won't be too long and boring. And once again, this chapter ends with a cliffhanger and I have no regrets on doing that :P Also, notice that I changed the title to fit the story better and it roughly means the what the previous title said. Anyway, as I promised, there will be an omake on this chapter, right after the Author's Note. And the omake is..."On That Summer Camp"! Special Thanks to KRC who edited this chapter and omake and Fenikkusumaru for helping with the omake. Like always, please tell me what you think of this chapter and the omake. See you on the next chapter! Tentative Title: Flower of Time ~Path of No Turning Back~

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Omake: What Happened At the Summer Camp AKA Yuki's Creation Number 1

"Are you sure about this, Yuki?" asked Yamato somewhat unsurely.

"Yes, I am," answered Yuki, nodding confidently. "Nothing will ever go wrong. I'm sure of it."

"Famous last words..." sighed Shun. "You know you just invoked Murphy's Law, right? Now anything that can go wrong, will go wrong." Yuki glared back at her friend.

Yamato sighed, wondering how everything came to this.

For this year's summer vacation, Yamato and his friends had signed up to join the school's annual summer camping trip. This year's campsite was located on a lakeside site in the rural countryside. The trip was pretty fun as the students chatted with their friends about their summer vacation plans. The walk toward the campsite from their bus stop took about an hour and all their efforts were not for naught as the students instantly fell in love with their campsite. They would be staying for the next two days. Once they had settled in, the students were divided into groups of three. And it was either by chance or truly some kind of prank pulled by the higher power, Yamato, Shun, and Yuki were put together. Once they erected a tent, the problem began.

You see, according to their teachers, the boys would gather the firewood while the girls prepared dinner. The problem was: 1) Shun was easily the best cook in the whole school. Even their Home Economics teacher admitted he was leagues above her. 2) Yuki had never cooked or even held a cooking utensil before. She was surprisingly stubborn on the matter too, saying 'cooking is a girl's job and I am a girl so I'm cooking'. Shun and Yamato looked apprehensive on the matter and tried to persuade her to let the brunette cook.

Thus the problem.

"Look, cooking is a girl's job and I am a girl. That said, just go and get some firewood while I get the curry ready," said Yuki as she crossed her arms under her breasts.

"Do you even know how to make a curry?" Shun asked.

Yuki answered Shun's question by pulling a book. The title read, "Cooking for Dummies: How to Not Make Your Meal a Complete Disaster."

Yamato and Shun read the title of the book, glanced at Yuki, before they looked at each other. The two best friends communicated silently before they nodded to each other.

"Right, Yuki you will be coming with me to gather the firewood while Shun does the cooking," said Yamato.

Yuki shook her head and crossed her wrists to form a big X mark. "Nuh uh, I'll do the cooking! It's about my pride as a woman! So get the firewood now boys, or we won't have dinner at all!"

"But—"

"Get. The. Firewood. Already."

Yuki's single-minded demand cut Shun's protest. Resignedly, he and Yamato went to get enough firewood for her to cook.

"Maybe I should tie her up and let you cook our dinner instead. I can look for firewood myself, you know?" offered Yamato as he collected fallen and dried branches for firewood.

"Nah, as kinky as it sounds, we don't want Yuki to get mad at us," Shun winced upon imagining how furious she would be if they did that to her.

Yamato didn't hold back his own wince upon the reminder. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned indeed. "…Can you fix up the mess Yuki is going to create?" he asked pleadingly.

"Depends. At worst, we'll just have to eat some mushrooms and edible herbs. I'll start looking now just in case," answered Shun, sighing.

Meanwhile, Yuki leafed through the pages of her book before she found the page she wanted. It seemed curry was easy enough to make as it was nothing complicated. If that idiot Shun could make a good curry, so why couldn't she? What were the chances she would do wrong when she had a book to guide her anyway?

It turned out, Murphy's Law did kick in and amped its effect all the way to eleven without any sort of hesitation.

"I knew I should agree to Yamato's plan to tie you up and let me do the cooking," muttered Shun as he hid behind a bush.

"Shut up! If you make too much noise that thing will find us!" hissed Yuki.

"I wonder how in the seven blazes could you turn curry into that?" asked Yamato, causing his female friend to drop on all fours with thick cloud of depression hanging above her.

"Don't remind me…Please…" she sobbed.

Somehow and for some reason, the curry Yuki had cooked had come to life and became a formless red slime-like thingy. It was also capable of growth by absorbing the other group's curry. And now it was relentlessly attacking the other students and their teachers by shooting curry blobs right in the faces of its victim, drowning them before 'eating' them whole.

Shun blanched as the curry monster 'ate' their Homeroom teacher, Sonozaki-sensei. "This is ridiculous! We should be eating the food, not the other way around!"

"…I'm sorry for being such a failure…" mumbled Yuki as her depressed aura thickened.

Yamato and Shun winced at the palpable aura around her. It looked like she took her failure really hard.

"Well in any case, we better make this quick and deal with this…curry thingy before it gets anyone else," Yamato said.

"And how exactly are we gonna do THAT?" Shun asked incredulously.

"It's...a plan in progress," Yamato admitted, racking his brain for an immediate solution.

"Well, whatever it is, you better be quick or it won't end well for us!" urged Shun.

Just then, several screams came from the other students as the curry monster claimed more victims.

"It ate my boyfriend!"

"Noooo! Kagami-chan!"

"Oh God! Someone hel-"

"Aaaaaaah! Sanosuke-kun was eaten!"

"Damn it, Yuki! Do something! Isn't that thing your creation!?" Shun whirled at her, but blanched upon seeing her current state.

Yuki was curled on the ground in a fetal position with the colors seemed to have washed off from her as her depression seemed to be thickening and become almost suffocating.

"...A failure...I'm a failure as a woman...So much for being a genius..." Yuki mumbled incoherently.

"Oh come on! You can't have a pity party now!" Shun bemoaned.

A proverbial light bulb blinked on inside Yamato's head as an idea came to his mind. He quickly turned to Shun and said, "We can cheer Yuki up later. Shun, I have an idea to deal with this monster."

"I'm all ears."

"Good, here's the plan," Yamato said as he glanced at the lake not too far from their hiding spot. He then looked at the curry monster who had grown again and 'devoured' another student. He recognized him as their school's resident pervert.

"We'll have to lead it to the lake. It may dissolve after absorbing too much water," answered Yamato.

Shun nodded before he inquired, "So...One of us has to be the bait for that thing, right?"

"That's right," Yamato said as his eyes widened slightly. "Wait, don't tell me you're going to...!"

"Hey, I make good bait and you know it. Meanwhile, you can get everyone to safety or splash it with some water once it gets near the lake so it will dissolve faster," replied Shun as he ran off from their hiding place. "I'm counting on you, buddy!"

"Shun, wait!" Yamato tried to call for his friend, but he ignored it. The black-haired boy clicked his tongue before he dragged the unresponsive Yuki to safety.

Shun then stopped several meters from the curry monster who was busy firing curry blobs at a crowd of girls. "Hey, you!"

The curry monster stopped and 'turned' at him.

"Yeah, I'm talking to you! I bet you taste really nasty, huh? You must be so inedible that no one wants to eat you! You then willed yourself to life so you could force people to eat you! Man, you're pathetic!" The curry monster responded to Shun's insult by shooting a curry blob at him, which he dodged with some effort. "Nyahahaha! You can't even aim straight! I bet you're so slow that you can't keep up with me!"

With that, the brunette ran off towards the lake shore as the curry…blob thingy dragged itself to pursue him, firing more blobs of curry at the running boy.

"What is Murayama-san is doing?" asked a girl as she tried to calm her distraught friend.

"Dealing with that thing," answered Yamato as he dragged a still unresponsive Yuki.

"…A failure…I'm such a failure…I'm a failure as a woman…" the bespectacled girl mumbled to herself.

"Ano, what happened to Satonaka-san?" asked the girl toward the whited out girl. "And what do you mean by dealing with that thing, Kusanagi-kun?"

"Don't worry about Yuki," assured Yamato. "Do any of you still have some water? We're going to deal with that Curry Thingy."

Back with Shun, he was busy laughing his ass off as he dodged another volley of curry blobs. "Come on! Is that the best you can do!?" Internally though, he was sweating. Somehow, Yuki had given whatever this creature that was her creation her marksmanship! No wonder it could one-shot its victims so easily!

At least, it won't be too long until he reached the lake shoreline. Just a few meters and—

Shun stumbled upon a stray rock and fell over. He rolled for several meters before he stopped. Good news, he was now close to the shore, but the bad news was that the curry thingy was gaining on him. A blob nearly hit his face, but a second blob hit his face squarely as he tried to stand up. By his sheer willpower, Shun tried to not collapse when he involuntarily tasted the curry blob. Saying it was horrible was a quite an understatement. It was THAT bad!

Wiping off the curry from his face, Shun glared at the thing with bleary and watery eyes. "I was right! You taste REALLY horrible! No wonder you forced yourself to be eaten! Those five seconds were definitely the worst five seconds of my life!"

The thing responded by firing another volley of blobs at the insulting brunette. Shun dodged, a little more sluggish than before while backpedalling all the way. Eventually a blob hit him on the face and another. And another. And another. Each hit caused Shun to stagger backward, but he kept willing himself to stand tall despite his senses being overwhelmed by the curry. It was by the fifth hit to the face that actually downed Shun for the count. But fortunately, his head and shoulders fell to the shallow part of the lake so the curry on his face was washed off.

The curry thingy then proceeded to 'eat' Shun like its other victims. But just when it reached his waist, a voice called out to it.

"Hey! Let my friend go!"

It 'turned', only to get a basketful of water causing it to dissolve slightly.

"It works! Come on, splash some more water!"

Another half-dozen baskets worth of water splashed against it and its body to dissolve even further. Some of its victims were freed as the curry thingy dissolved and it dissolved even more as its rapidly dissolving body made contact with the lake. Yamato and his helpers put the empty buckets down and immediately went to help their friends when the curry thingy completely dissolved, leaving behind small puddles of harmless(?) sloppy curry.

"Shun! Are you alright?" Yamato asked as he rushed to his friend's side.

Shun tried to sit up as he coughed waters and curry that went down the wrong path. "Do I…look okay…to you..?"

"Just asking," said Yamato as he offered his hand. "Can you stand?"

Shun wordlessly accepted his friend's hand before Yamato had his arm draped on the black-haired boy's shoulder to support him. His bleary eyes then looked over the gurgling and moaning victims who were tended by the survivors. Their condition was definitely much worse than his.

"…I guess this means our summer camp is prematurely over," remarked Shun as Yamato snorted.

"What makes you think we can continue after this?"

The summer camp did come to an abrupt end as several students and teachers were hospitalized after the event that was known as 'The Curry Incident'. They suffered indigestion, mild irritation to their skin and eyes, and had to receive post-traumatic treatment. After what happened to them, it was quite understandable.

"Next on the news, the lake of a famed lakeside campsite was contaminated by an unknown substance. The preliminary report from research so far has revealed that the unknown substance was similar to what is usually found in curry. Officials and researchers are—"

Yamato turned the TV off as he and Shun turned Yuki who was once again, curled up in a fetal position with the color drained from her and a thick cloud of depression hanging above her head.

"…Now the entire nation knows how much of a failure I am…I'm a failure as a woman…" Then the color started to return to her as she slowly stood up from her depression. "But it doesn't matter…I will keep cooking! I won't stop until I can do better than Shun! I will regain my pride as a woman!"

Yamato and Shun watched their friend's declaration with wide eyes, full of unspoken horror. Their bodies shook as they began to sweat. They could hear the cries and the pleas of mercy coming from the other rooms where the rest of the victims stayed. Rigidly, the two best friends turned to each other and mentally cried out in complete synch.

'SHE CAN'T BE ALLOWED TO COOK ANYTHING EVER AGAIN!'