Two

Miki

Miki and Minoru trailed behind their commander, who was still simmering with rage as he walked to his company in formation. Behind the two logistic officers were the remaining bodyguards that formed Range's command squad who were trying to make themselves as small as possible, lest they gain the attention and ire of their commander. This anger was caused by a singular individual, who had effectively wasted their morning.

'Come early', the city's governor had said, so he 'could finish the departing ceremony and pass off final messages from Strategic Command, many miles away'. By the time the two logistic officers had made it all the way into the center citadel of the city, they had been forced to wait outside at the break of dawn until their commander had shown up, only to wait some more inside the empty halls of his keep. When Shigeo had finally shown himself, it was mid-morning and crucial time had been lost due to the governor sleeping in.

Their city's host refusal to wake up at a decent hour wasn't what had sent Range into the spiral of anger that all bore witness to now, however. It was the fact the fat squid had the gall to delay them further with needless small talk and complaints of his station and then ask a favor from Range.

Miki and Minoru had sat in on every single meeting with their commander and the governor, and initially couldn't understand why Range instantaneously decided to hate the fat creature. After she had spent at least once a day in the creep's presence, she understood fully. Shigeo was once a logistic officer like herself, and was the ripe age of forty. He had risen to the station of governor nearly three years ago, but a glance told her that he had either abandoned, or ignored their ways of efficiency for something else entirely.

Normally, logistic officers were very friendly towards one another, but for whatever reason, Shigeo had refused to even talk to them without Miki and Minoru's commander present. The aging Inkling had made it a very large point to take as much of Range's time as possible, even for very basic resupplying inquiries that could have easily been taken care of by Minoru alone. The question had been asked several times as to why Shigeo had done this to their company specifically, but he had refused to answer, only hinting at what he wanted in indecipherable riddles.

Range had told Miki and Minoru that their host was playing games with them, and had refused to go into further detail about the subject. Agreeing to trust their commander's judgement, they had spent the rest of the week going around the back of their host and taking supplies straight from the stores of Shigeo's city while Range distracted the governor in their meetings. With some bribery, blackmail, and exchanging a few favors, Miki and Minoru had acquired everything that their commander had asked of them. As she reviewed their final meeting with the Inkling, Miki still couldn't understand why her commander was acting the way he was.

"Range!" Shigeo greeted happily in his morning robes as the three officers entered his meeting chambers. "How are you? It's been a whole sixteen hours since our last meeting, and I am distraught you are leaving today. I have so enjoyed our talks this week."

"What a shame." Range had said dispassionately, exasperated from their trial of simply waiting for this creature. "We must depart, however."

"Indeed. Snow will fall soon, then we can speak longer. I hope this mysterious mission you are sent on will be wrapped up soon! Do you believe it will take long?" Shigeo asked, abandoning subtlety.

"I can't say. It could take as little as a week, or last all winter. Who knows? This may very well be our last meeting, Shigeo." Range stated, making sure to get his disdain across.

"I sincerely doubt that. Would you like a drink, perchance?" Shigeo asked, making a show of his very expensive liquor he poured and the rich stash he kept in eye's view. Miki and Minoru had worriedly looked at Range, whose eyes widened at the sight. It had not taken Shigeo long to recognize one of their commander's weaknesses, but Range had yet to fall into his poorly hidden vice.

"A tempting offer that I must decline. Daylight is burning, so if you could tell me what you want to say already, that would be great." Range now angrily spoke, still eyeing the glass filled with a deep brown liquid.

Shigeo shrugged, mumbling a 'suite yourself' before corking the glass container of what smelled like brandy. After taking a sip, he put the glass carefully on a table that had been covered with different papers for the entire week. "I have a proposal for you, commander."

"You should speak quicker, governor, and louder." Range lashed back. While Shigeo was getting more comfortable in his reptile leather chair, the three of them had stood by the exit of the room.

"A proposal, man!" Shigeo more shouted than said.

"I have no interest marrying you, thank you for your time." Range quickly responded, placing a hand on the door knob that would lead them out of this entire situation. He was halfway through opening the door before Shigeo's bafflement ended at the sudden rebuke.

"Wait! Commander Range, please. This may have something to do with your mission, and I believe we can both profit from what I might propose." Shigeo quickly pleaded, standing up once more.

"Speak then." Range quickly retorted, still not turning fully to face Shigeo.

"I have a rogue village." Shigeo stated, getting confused looks from his three guests.

Miki and Minoru had both shared a look with each other and their commander, not fully understanding the meaning behind this governor's words. A rogue village? How was that even possible?

"What?" A similar disbelieving commander asked.

"Over two hundred of these traitors have been ransacking my roads to several border fortresses, all surrounding the Octrian's valley. I believe they are in league with our enemies, and though I do not know the circumstances that have brought you here, they could very well have something to do with it." Shigeo smiled, understanding he had enthralled his guests' shared attention.

"How? Are they not children and task master? I sincerely doubt a few dozen, or hundred, kids could do any severe damage to Takotsuri's garrison." Range skeptically spoke, trying to comprehend what Shigeo was telling them.

"If only. They are a village of mutants, with strange traditions. Traditions that have given them immunity from our nation's conscription. Traditions that have given them autonomy from our laws and letters and language. They can be compared to the fish barbarians, if that might clarify any misunderstandings. Under such little restraint, it was only a matter of time before they rebelled against us." Shigeo told them, for once sounding serious. "They have ambushed garrison forces, road patrols, outposts, raided other villages, and attacked other companies. These Inklings are beasts that need to be put down, and I believe you might be the man for the job."

Range didn't care for Miki and Minoru's stares, probably because the two logistic officer's thoughts were obvious. If Shigeo was telling the truth, their missing company could have walked into this rogue tribe of Inklings, and met their end.

"Why haven't you gotten some other company to deal with these so-called beasts? Why pick us?" Range inquired, pointing out the first flaw of Shigeo's story. If it was only two hundred random warriors of different ages, any battle company that passed through could suppress them with superior numbers.

"The traitors are clever, and prefers ignoble ambush tactics. All the companies on this front aren't used to such an enemy. I don't mean to insult those residing in my city, but these Inklings are simply ill suited to such a task." Shigeo explained, his story seeming genuine.

Range didn't seem to believe him though, and repeated his first question. "So why us?"

"You are the only company who's come from the north to my city. Warriors who have all fought, or been trained to fight against the devious jellyfish hordes. Not to mention you have an actual scout in your midst. Hana, I believe she was called?" Shigeo asked as if to confirm, but his soft smile seemed to hint at a secret everyone in the room already knew.

Miki and Minoru took a half step backwards, noticing that the entire atmosphere around their commander had frozen over as he let go of the exit. Shigeo, quickly reading the drastic change in attitude from the one he wanted to ask a favor from, heel face turned in his dialogue.

"I of course do not mean to pry into the ways or structures of the Tenth Company, I merely mean to point out the advantage you have in your company's roster. I would give much for a garrison of scouts, and I'm sure you understand why. Not that I would try to steal your scout from you of course." Shigeo quickly spat out, politely trying not to get himself cleaved down by the only one armed in the room.

Whether Range would murder the governor or not was a question still up in the air, before he finally spoke.

"You wish me to hunt down your rogue villagers, who I assume are somewhere in the wilds. I am listening for the other half of your proposal." Range said coldly. "What could you offer me for completing such a dangerous task?"

Shigeo paused, his face a mask before it started to lighten up. A smile was growing on the governor's lips as he began opening a locked drawer under his desk. A paper was held out, which Range quickly stomped over to see what was held on the other side of the desk. It appeared Shigeo was not comfortable with how familiar Range was acting, the commander nearly hugging the governor before leaning in, as if he was doing an impression of one blinded. Miki knew from her observations that Range's eyes were some of the sharpest in the company, so why was he acting blind? Was something on that scroll so enthralling?

Miki and Minoru had decided to stay back from their commander and the governor's dealings, and took the chance to speak with each other.

"What do you think he's reading?" Miki whispered to Minoru, who easily had more experience in bribery when it came to material goods. Miki could brag all she wanted about information hording, but doubted that anything on that list had anything to do with gossip.

"I have no clue. Range doesn't care much for commodities like chocolate or sugar, and the eastern front has no easy access to those items anyways. Maybe relics?" Minoru conjectured.

The idea of Shigeo bribing a commander with weapons and armor hadn't even crossed Miki's mind. Relics were past general's regalia that they left behind in a fortress or city's vaults, and were usually made by some of their country's finest smiths. Depending on whose gear was stashed here, they could get weapons or armor that had visited hundreds of battlefields and were forged by long dead legends. Still, Miki couldn't exactly see Range give up his glaive or armor, as both had been lovingly cared for by the commander.

Kaji of the River, a blacksmith skilled enough to be titled by someone in Strategic Command, had toiled for several days and nights to make that steel armor, and it appeared Range had become very fond of it. As Kaji was still with their company, Miki would pay much to see the reaction of the old smith if the armor set was abandoned a month after it was forged.

"I don't -" Miki started, shutting her mouth as Range stormed back to his logistic officers, but refused to halt when Miki and Minoru still blocked his path. The two quickly made room for the only warrior in the room, who threw the door open as he exited.

Miki and Minoru had both shared a look of confusion with a stunned Shigeo, who was watching the commander leave his meeting chamber. Glancing at each other once more, Miki and Minoru quickly made haste after their boss.

"I will wait for your response by messenger!" Shigeo shouted from his now empty room, but hadn't received a response from the commander. "If you want, talk to Garrison General Tomio at Ishigaki! He's a good friend of mine!"

Their commander's bodyguards had quickly moved out of the path Range was on, sharing equal looks of confusion with Miki and Minoru, who could only shrug as they made their way out of the citadel.

"Range! Stop! Explain to us what was on the paper before we go!" Miki pleaded, desperate to stop her commander before he would be surrounded by his company of warriors. She knew that if he didn't explain himself soon, he wouldn't explain himself at all. When he suddenly stopped and turned around, everyone halted at the single finger pointing at all of them.

"I don't know how to read." Range growled, as if that statement was the reason for all of his anger. After speaking, his entire body language shifted, as if the angry mood he had walked with had never been there in the first place.

Everyone who heard him were dumbstruck, stunned, or just even more confused. Was he playing a joke on them? Miki could have sworn he had shown some ability to grasp written words a while ago, and she had even seen him stare at maps and reports for hours on end. Was this his way of calming himself down?

"You're kidding, right?" Ryuu, one the youngest of the bodyguards asked in disbelief. "Even I know how to read."

"I'm concerned. How can't you read?" Aina, another youngster of the bodyguards asked, making her own disappointment very evident.

"Look, children. I'm working on it. I haven't read anything in nearly twelve years, and there aren't many books that a regular warrior can get his hands on. So… fuck off." Range vocalized his excuse, which could be considered reasonable. The fact that they had an illiterate commander had to be rectified quickly, Miki realized. Miki also questioned that if he didn't know how to read, why did he storm out of Shigeo's chambers after looking at reward options?

"Range, if you couldn't read what he was offering, why did you act the way you did?" Minoru asked, as if coming to the same question.

"Because, Minoru." Range's features relaxed, and started digging into his left gauntlet. After an awkward few moments, the commander pulled out a small item that slipped both of his logistic officer's sight during the meeting. "I might not know how to read, but I know what Squid Lord Kyokan's seal looks likes."

The six Inklings got closer as Range revealed the unbroken seal on a thick piece of parchment, and though Miki had only seen the insignia once in passing, she was sure this marking was in fact the seal of the Blood Lord. A small amount of fear filled her, unsure what had possessed Range in taking the letter in the first place. Shigeo would surely notice the theft, and most likely soon.

"What is that, a fist?" Aina asked, inspecting the seal closely.

"A gauntlet. His banner has a similar marking, except with a storm of red surrounding it." Range explained, stating facts that Miki herself didn't know. Out of everyone in the Tenth Company, only Range had served in combat near the notorious Squid Lord, and even then, he rarely spoke about it.

Kyokan the Blood Lord, given a title by Strategic Command for how much carnage he wrought against their enemies had sent a letter to a mere governor? Kyokan had warred for nearly forty years now and had receive quite a negative reputation with his rank, especially to those in high ranking positions. The highest-ranking officer on his respective front, Kyokan had kept the western territories safe from the Urchin and Anemone invasion fleets, and was easily the single most influential Inkling in their entire country… but none of those facts were a reason for him to be messaging someone on the other end of their country, outside of his influence.

Why would he waste his time with a comparatively small city, so far away from the western front? That question seemed to be the commander's as well, as he vocalized it as Hachirou and Masaru came to rejoin their stalling command squad.

"So, the real question is, why has Shigeo been messaging the Blood Lord?" Range asked, smiling as he slapped the edge of the closed letter against his mailed thumb.

"Whoa. What did we miss?" Hachirou asked, obviously regretting the fact he had to wait in the muster field.

"It appears, Hachirou," Range started, showing a mixture between a grin and a snarl, "We have discovered something of value."

The named guard paused, showing a look of confusion with everyone around him. When they filled him in on how Range had stolen a very important letter from Shigeo, and who had sent the letter, Hachirou began to shuffle nervously.

"We're not going to like, become enemies with him, right?" Hachirou asked. When asked who he was referring towards, Hachirou just shook his head in dejection. "Either Shigeo or Kyokan? Does it matter? I don't want to fight an entire city of warriors, or the Blood Lord's army."

"Then we should probably leave." Range laughed, putting the letter back inside his armored glove. Miki didn't like how Range's mood had shifted so quickly, and wondered just how much information he was still holding onto.

Their previous company commander had been trustworthy. Range? Not so much. Miki had promised herself not to compare the replacement of Commander Kenta, but the more time she spent with her new leader, the more apprehensive she felt herself becoming. She trusted her commander to an extent, such as in combat and maybe even when it came to people, but it always seemed like Range was holding back something.

Maybe that's why Miki felt so nervous. Perhaps because her commander was actively concealing the truth about his relationship with the scout leader, Miki was inclined to believe he could easily conceal other valuable, or life-threatening information. As she followed him to the formations of warriors as he made final inspection, Miki observed the reactions of both the regular soldiery and platoon leader's alike.

At the back of the column was Taiki, along with his second assault platoon. These warriors all had at least a year of experience under their belts, and with the restructuring, had been given much better weapons and armor that suited them. These warriors were the heavy hitters of the company, each carrying a two-handed weapon in their hands and bore thick plate armor to protect them.

In front of Taiki's heavy infantry were three full platoons of spear warriors and their platoon leaders. Saki's, Yua's and Daiki's warriors were armored much lighter than the second platoon, but were given shields to increase their survivability in combat. These platoons would be the anvil to the heavy infantry's hammer, or so Range had once told Miki.

Miki still wasn't quite sure about how effective a simple shaft of wood with a metal tip could be in combat, but had been told to 'shut her dumb-ass mouth,' when it came to her opinion on weapons. When Range had refused to speak further of the additional weaponry he had given to his warriors in the restructuring, Miki had taken it upon herself to find the view of the average warrior. The first weeks had been a bunch of mixed opinions, from Inklings getting angry that they had another thing to carry into combat, while others were thankful of the extra reach of the weapon. Only after a single battle the opinions about the spear became dramatically one sided.

A few months ago, the Tenth Company had been surrounded in a small fortified village by a force that easily outnumbered them ten to one and during the night, and the jellyfish swarm had descended from the northern hills and had threatened to destroy the entire Inkling force. When space between themselves and the enemy had been more valuable than any resource in those hours of bloody fighting, the extra reach of the spear had proven its worth. Their enemy that night had been forced to fight a living wall of spikes, and by the time the amorphous creatures pushed through the formation, a reinforcing company from a neighboring village had arrived. After that night, there had never been a vocal complaint about the weight of the weapon again.

Range walked past these spear warriors, stopping briefly at the Inklings who would oversee protecting the center and the vital supplies they would be guarding. Miki watched Minoru break off and do a final check, going through the hand drawn carts that some of the harquebus warriors would be pulling.

While the spear warriors and heavy infantry had been standing in close formation, the harquebusiers were the complete opposite. The mass of ranged warriors had spread out, giving their fellow squad-mates room to point their long-barreled weapons in any direction. Miki stared briefly at platoon leader Souta's weapon, and wondered how it worked. As she was a noncombatant, Miki had never received the training to maintain or fire the wooden and plastic ink shooter, which made use of the bio-product an Inkling naturally created.

Souta apparently noticed her lingering stare, and a light grin slowly grew on his smug face. The play-boy shifted his harquebus around, and started doing poses to the entire command squad of Range, who were ignoring his existence. By the time his fellow platoon leaders came to stop him from looking like a fool in front of their commander, Range and Minoru had wrapped up their inspection of the carts and had moved on. Miki watched out of the corner of her eye as Souta was slapped several times by the female platoon leaders while he laughed heartily. Miyu, Umeko, and Megumi all shared a look of anger, while the only other male harquebus leader, Yuuma, stood silently a few feet behind the other four.

The arbalests were waiting by the cart closest to the head of the formation, and looked much more professional than their harquebus juniors. These crossbow warriors had been hand-picked for the job of firing steel tipped bolts at enemies, and acted with pride for their specialist position. Etsuko, Natsumi, and Tae were these warrior's leaders, and each stood at a relaxed attention around their commander.

Tae and Range joked quietly as they waited for Minoru to check the final cart, laughing about something to do with flexing pectoral muscles. Miki quietly watched the reactions of the female platoon leaders, seeing Natsumi increasingly get annoyed by how Tae wasn't paying attention to her. Etsuko was seemingly copying Miki's own watchful gaze, carefully looking at Range's bodyguard and logistic officers. It appeared to Miki that Etsuko was still feeling apprehensive about her new position.

Feelings of anxiety filled Miki at the thought of the one Etsuko had replaced. Kaito, son of Kenta, had gone missing after returning from a battle that claimed his father's life. Perhaps it was because Range had taken over his father's position, or perhaps the depression of getting his entire platoon killed in a bid to save his commander's life had failed. Either way, he had supposedly been located half way through their campaign against the jellyfish invaders, or so Range had told her. If Kaito had been located after desertion, then he would have undoubtedly been killed shortly after.

Range and Tae's laughter startled her out of her memories, and Miki watched as her commander patted the platoon leader on the back. After nodding to the other arbalest leaders, Range led the command squad towards the front of the column, passing Emi and Naoki who would be the vanguard for their company.

Range barely spoke with them, each already knowing what was expected of them. After hearing whatever hushed whispers Emi and Naoki had for Range, he waved them off and proceeded to the two scout platoons.

"Hana, Akio. Do you know where we're going?!" Range shouted at them as he stood between the scouts and Naoki's heavy infantry and getting the attention of the company.

Not willing to shout, Hana gestured with an entire arm towards the open gate before them, with a confused look on her face.

"You gotta' be kidding me! Naoki!" Range shouted, getting the entire company's attention.

"SIR!" Naoki bellowed instantly, his voice carried by the mid-morning wind.

"WHERE ARE WE GOING?!" Range roared back, matching the enthusiasm of his first platoon leader.

"TO WAR!" Naoki yelled, his entire platoon echoing after him in the growing hype.

"WHAT FOR?" Range shouted, gesturing to all the warriors before him. Grins of recognition filling their faces, each warrior in the company answering Range with his favorite phrase.

"FOR WAR!" Each warrior and platoon leader roared as if their lives depended on it. The war cry was the greatest wake up call for any Inkling still asleep near the muster ground, as the near five hundred voices had seemingly put their all into it. Miki wondered at the insanity of the situation, questioning how the melancholy she had originally sensed had vanished almost instantaneously.

Miki had been with multiple companies and served under multiple commanders, none of which could brag about having warriors enthusiastically follow them to their deaths. Now? The Tenth's new battle cry had been changed to 'For War'. Kids barely over sixteen were happily shouting how they were going to the place that would claim their lives. Older veterans who had been at war for years, people she had seen drown themselves in alcohol to escape the reality that was their life but a few months ago, were all cheering as their company moved out of the protection of the city, and onto the untamed roads where death and battle were.

She didn't know how to feel as she followed Range's command squad. To Miki, it felt like she was the only sane one amongst these warriors. Before Range had been the commander, sullen warriors dragged their feet, the only thing keeping their spirits up was the Inkling beside them. But when Kenta died, it seemed like a shadow had lifted from their faces. With the changing of leadership, the Tenth Company had been given new life, and her new commander had been that agent of fate.

Maybe that was another reason she didn't feel safe near Range. Miki had liked Kenta, loved him even. The last commander had been like a father to her, who was soft spoken and careful no matter the situation. Anyone could bring their problems to Kenta, who had never lied to a soul. It had been almost two months since Kenta's demise, and it appeared only Miki still cared. Had everyone else moved on from grief without her, or was there anyone grieving to begin with?

She looked at Minoru, her partner. Miki had known him all her life, shared almost every single experience with him, and was supposed to bear his child. Yet, the only person who had been a constant in her life hadn't noticed the pain she was in, and was growing more and more distant from her. Her grief that had resurfaced was quickly turning into rage and in fear of doing something she would regret, slowed her pace. No longer attempting to keep up with her commander or the logistic officer she shared her life with, Miki quietly trailed further and further from those that now led.

This week had been the worse, she concluded as she held her head. Earlier into their stay at Takotsuri, Miki had tried drinking like her new commander had before he had taken the leadership role, which had made her want to die. Those nights of consumption had also given her the ability to teleport after blacking out, but she didn't truly dwell on that power. Miki was glad of their natural ability to process alcohol that following morning, only dealing with a headache while she played Shigeo's mind games, which would have caused a migraine anyway.

Her pace continued to slow, up until a voice perked up beside her.

"Ma'am?" The young boy's voice asked, "Are you alright?"

Miki glanced at the young Inkling, his armor like a scout's. He didn't carry a spear or heavy weapon, nor a cloak and knife. Miki smiled at the familiar face, before turning to stare at the road again.

"Hello, Isamu." Miki greeted the boy, exhaustion evident in her voice. She rubbed her eyes several times, to delay speaking for a crucial few seconds. "I'm fine."

Under Miki's guidance, Kazue had formed a small squad of noncombatants, after selecting warriors from the original assault platoons. The goal was to make a specific runner squad, who could run around the battlefield and deliver messages to the spread-out platoon leaders and fellow commanders without having to remove a warrior from the position he was in. Isamu, this unassuming boy, had proven himself as dependable when it came to memorization, so Miki had brought him into the runner squad on the first day of its creation. In fact, she defaulted on this boy more often than any other Inkling when it came to sending messages, and supposed she considered him a comrade.

"If… If you say so." Isamu quietly said, doubt evident in his voice. "I uh, wanted to report on Kaji."

"Of the River?" Miki asked, finishing Kaji's title.

Confused, Isamu asked, "Do we have another one?"

Miki only nodded, not willing to explain that the Tenth had two other Kaji's, their locations irrelevant in this moment.

"Oh. Yes, Kaji of the River has joined the formation. He is shouting at the harquebusiers, while pouring liquor into his mouth."

"Huh. Um. I..." Miki started, unsure if she should pass this information along or just sit on it. Did the commander really need to know? "I don't… I just… I just don't care."

"Oh. Alright. Do you want me to accompany you?" Isamu asked, getting a sad smile from Miki.

"Sure." Miki responded after a small while of thinking, before mumbling 'Thank you'.

"Ma'am?" Isamu asked, perhaps unsure if Miki said something.

"Nothing. Keep walking."