On High Guard
Aspirator
EIGHT
Mikan stood up, paced, then sat down in a huff of fabric. She stood up again, paced, then sat down with an even angrier huff. Tsubasa gazed at her distractedly. Yuu scoured his parchments with his eyes as if they held the answer to the mystery. Hotaru sat tensely but did nothing else.
Koko watched Youichi. Youichi watched the window.
All of the sudden, there was a loud crash in the farthest tower folowed by a sudden, bright blue light that almost immediately dissipated. For a brief second, Koko thought he imagined it.
Everyone jumped - even their stoic Queen and the trained High Guards - except for Youichi. He whipped around immediately, a grim set to his lips. "That's the signal, let's go."
"The signal-" Mikan gasped in disbelief, "what-what do you mean-but Natsume-"
"We must go," Youichi had already grabbed a torch by the wall and gestured to his fellow High Guards.
When she protested, he looked at the Queen. The Queen knew what this meant. They were to run, and she needed to handle Mikan and make sure she does not do anything drastic. Natsume had entrusted that to her. Though she didn't know why, yet, but it was for the safety of Mikan herself and their small entourage that they do as he instructed. Hotaru gave her friend a commanding look, grabbed her by the arm, and hauled her towards the door after the High Guard leading the way.
Koko noted with admiration how flawlessly carried out Natsume's plan was. Unbeknownst to them or the Ibaragi's, the Commander had already sent their Nogi army well on their way with the necessary supplies never meaning for them to remain vulnerable inside the Ibaragi walls
It was only after several miles into their trek deep in the mountains that Mikan dared ask the question on everyone's minds. "If we're fleeing, does that mean he's -"
"No."
Koko observed the acting commander. He was a lot like Natsume...without all the cold walls they had to break down.
"He'll come." There was no doubt in Youichi's voice.
"Er," Yuu spoke up hesitantly, "Acting Commander Hijiri -"
"Call me Youichi-" he interrupted flippantly.
"Er, yes, Youichi, I was wondering, about the signal…Was it the crash or the blue light?"
"The blue light." Youichi answered, ignoring the alarmed faces of both the Queen and her sorceress.
"Does that mean he's-"
"Don't use magic." Came Hotaru's sharp voice. Mikan's eyes snapped open, and they all looked at her in alarm.
"I can- I can sense if he's-" She closed her eyes again.
"Don't!" Youichi nearly knocked over his own horse, then looked at Hotaru who looked at Koko in exasperation.
Koko interceded quickly, "if you do that Mikan, all Natsume have done will be in vain. Our journey would have been in vain." Her anxious eyes met Koko for a long minute, before she sighed, and gave in to their reasoning.
They trekked until dawn broke and they met up with the Nogi Army camped just outside of the Ibaragi lands, clear of the snowy mountains.
Though they could rest now for a day before they would embark again, not a wink of sleep came to the members of the Court, or any of the High Guard.
They made it to midday before Hotaru cornered Youichi, her patience wearing thin. "I command you to tell me everything you know."
"I do not know everything. Some things, perhaps," the Guard protested at first, but sighed wearily in defeat. "Lady Ibaragi, the younger - that is, the daughter Nobara Ibaragi, have travelled to our lands many a time. Too many a time. Her and her own Alice soldier, Luna Koizumi, have visited our former master Persona for a particular reason. Natsume has been called to these meetings, once before he was Enhanced and every time after. Only he knows what goes on in these meetings. All I know is that every time he comes back, he is sent to the infirmary but not due to any physically inflicted injuries." Youichi shuddered at the horrifying memory. "I asked him once, and he did not tell me anything except that her lady ship Nobara Ibaragi is more dangerous than Luna and Persona combined. And that's because of her Magic."
"W-what about her Magic?" Yuu asked.
Youichi sighed. "Natsume never told me directly, but I have long since inferred that her Magic is not natural. It is dark and comes from others, others that Pure." At this, he looked directly at Mikan. "The rumors about the Ibaragi's are true, but the reality is much darker. She traps Pure magicians and keeps them caged as she harnesses their power for her own."
They all looked at the horrified Mikan. Koko knew she was thinking about the many times she had been close to using Magic, close to jeopardizing their mission.
Youichi concluded, "I trust Natsume. I have faith that his plan is the best plan to protect us…but that he had planned for his own survival as well. Regardless of whether or not he comes back, we must move on or we will put ourselves back in the same danger he had worked so hard to get us out of." With that, he bowed his leave to the Queen and marched off.
The second morning, as they were packing up camp, Natsume arrived.
It was just like him to completely ignore Anna's fretful approach, the horrified gasps and questions of the small council, and of course, rebuff Mikan's pestering. There were two scars across his upper arm, one down his right thigh, and a nasty wound in his gut. But what alarmed them most was the paleness of his features, the beads of sweat that rolled down his forehead, and the way he gritted his teeth to keep in his suffering. He looked as if he was hanging on by a thread. He stumbled across the camp with a determined glint to his eye that waved everyone - even Mikan - off.
He marched right up to one of his own men, a High Guard. "Goshima," he addressed him. "Do you have Magic?"
The man stumbled and stuttered in surprise, taking in his Commander's appearance and the question at the same time. "I-I'm- you know I don't."
Natsume did not respond. In a flash of movement too fast for the naked eye to see, he had picked up the long sword he was leaning on and swiped at the man through the neck-
-except he was not a man, but the image of a man. His image flickered, shock crossing his features.
"As I thought." Natsume muttered, closing his eyes in a rare expression of pain for a moment. Suddenly, the same man that stood in an image in front of him darted forwards from the side of a nearby tent, a sharpened spear pointed right at him.
Mikan gasped, but Koko quickly held her back and out of harm's way. For Natsume's sake.
Clang!
Youichi's thin blade blocked the blow deftly. The High Guard second-in-command quickly attempted to retaliate the attack on their Commander. Natsume barely flinched at the commotion, leaning precariously against the long sword again, and squinting at the battle tiredly.
Mikan gasped sharply in Koko's grasp when four more images of Goshima appeared around Natsume. Youichi, who had come to his aid, had his own set of four Goshima images to busy him. The Second-in-Command glared hard at the images in frustration and helplessness. Youichi unsheathed a second blade, bracing his feet, and preparing to parry and attack in a whirl of silver.
In a move that surely the Commander had taught her, Mikan twisted her body and slipped out of Koko's grasp, dagger in hand as she darted forwards.
Mikan managed to slash her small dagger at one of the Goshimas surrounding Natsume. The Commander gave her a look - what are you doing, get back, stop that - then lifted his long sword to block an attack for his neck without breaking eye contact. Mikan gave him a look of her own, but the wordless communication between them was clear. Something his eyes told her made the sorceress back off, just slightly. "Don't," he uttered breathlessly.
Use Magic. "-I know." The sorceress interrupted. She stepped back, one small step, but kept her grip on her dagger.
Youichi defended the attacks from four of the same person, but found himself slightly off balance when he would hit thin air rather than real material. He glanced at his Commander mid-parry, grunting his commander's name in a warning tone.
Natsume closed his eyes. The same second, bright blue flame lit up in a circle around his feet, catching the four Goshimas around him by surprise. The images yelped, stomped, then flickered. More of the blue flame snaked across the grass and licked at the traitor's boots, flaming up savagely at the feet of all four copies. The fakes flickered as the blue fires destroyed their image.
Youichi took advantage of the sudden distraction to quickly pinpoint the remaining Goshima and struck his blade through the traitor's chest.
The second-in-command let out a breath of relief when the traitor crumpled lifelessly to the ground. "It's done, Natsume," the High Guard reported needlessly.
"Good." Natsume answered, turning to face him. He looked even more drained than before, if that was possible. He coughed, spitting out blood that he carelessly swiped aside. "Leave immediately. Get me on a horse." The two commands were released in one, final breath before the Commander let go of the hilt of his sword and collapsed - to multiple alarmed cries.