Unmatched † Lovely Princess ~Maidenly Romance of Three Kingdoms~
Chapter 005: What do you wish to gain here…Taiki?
Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership of either the visual novel version or anime version of Koihime Musou. Copyrights go to Base-Son and SENTAI Film-works.
The Kou-Tou Region. A land rich with wetlands, bamboo tree forest, and waterways. It was here where the great Tiger of Kou-Tou was born, raised, lived, died, and buried. She was born as the descendant of the legendary Son-Bu, a famous tactician of the past. She was raised as a passionate, loyal and powerful fighter. She lived as a heroic general of the Imperial Court, fighting many battle of their behalf. She died in one such mission and was eventually buried on her homeland.
Many had feared her prowess, some had envy her, but only a few had admire her. The citizens of Chou-Sa City were such admirers. To them, the Son Family and their head Son-Ken Bundai were the hope and happiness of the people there. They drove away threats and welcome opportunity. The Kou-Tou Region with the Son Family would have been Eden even during this time of great turmoil.
But when the Tiger of Kou-Tou was killed, all of Kou-Tou mourned with the Son Family for the loss of a great hero. That made them vulnerable and the Yellow Scarves Rebellion waste no time invading the once peaceful and protected land. Caught off guard and not having the will to resist, Kou-Tou began to fall in a state of panic.
This was the state of matter that Taiki Sonoma found himself when he first came to this world. Kou-Tou had been left with growing scars and needed to be healed. And that was exactly what Taiki was planning to do. Since his arrival, he had manage to bring the falling spirit of the Son Family back, along with what's left of the Kou-Tou army from the City of Chou-Sa. And the immediate objective was clear: putting an end to the chaos in Kou-Tou by ridding the Yellow Scarves Rebels in the area.
He had repelled their attempts before, with an impressive show of force, sending many running to the hills. But it was not the end of it. Apparently a Yellow Scarves Veteran form the north had come down and began to rally the surviving rebels into a much larger army a little ways north to invade the territory of Ju-Shun.
When words reach the Son Family, everyone began to make preparation to head north to deal with the threat. Leaving with an army of only Five Thousand strong, they immediately set out north, leaving the rest behind to be trained and grow stronger. And of course Taiki, as the Son Family sole royal defender, tagged along as well.
"…Hey, Sheren-onee-sama," Shaoren called from on top of her horse to her eldest sister, "Remind me again why we have to go to Ju-Shun to get involve?"
"Well, Shaoren," Sheren called back, "if we do not fight, the Yellow Scarves will eventually spread back towards our lands. To keep it safe, while we may not be able to destroy the root of the problem for now, we must at least destroy the closest problem before it reaches us…"
"But they are attacking Ju-Shun, not us…"
"Ju-Shun is the rich land, though not as rich as Kei-Shou, close to here in the south," Meirin noted, "If they manage to take it over, when they set their sights on us, we would be the one in trouble…"
"But there is more to that," Renfa added, "We are helping out the Imperial Army, just like our mother would have…"
"More like we are doing the job for them," Shaoren huffed, comically puffing her cheek in anger, "and while we are busy doing all the dirty work, those officials are drinking themselves drunk!"
"All the more reason to do this," Sai chuckled, "So that people of the Imperial Palace will realize that the Kou-Tou Army is back in power…"
"Yes," Sheren nodded in reminisce, "Like our mother would have shown…"
Taiki listen to their conversation silently until he notices that Sheren had turn to him.
"Do you not think so, Taiki?"
Taiki thought about it for a moment, before shaking his head, surprising those around him.
"I don't know your mother, Sheren," Taiki confessed, "But if I have to make a guess base on what Sai told me, your mother could care less about glory. All she would have wished to do is to stamp out the spark of the conflict, nothing more…though I too think the same way…"
Sheren and Sai blinked at that, looked at each other and laughed.
"Taiki," Sheren managed after she calmed down enough, "Are you sure you had never met my mother?"
"Huh?" Taiki blinked at the question.
"Because that is exactly what Lord Bundai would have said," Sai pointed out, "That I can guarantee…"
"Really?"
"…Do not get ahead of thyself, General Sonoma," Meirin grumbled.
"Gosh, Meirin-sama," Ashe sighed, "is teacher really that fixed on not accepting Taiki-san?"
"Uh, Ashe," Taiki intervene, "No need for the '-san' at the end…"
"Ah-Sorry!"
"Is it really that big of a deal with you?" Shaoren wondered, "I mean it is not like we are disrespecting you…"
"Yeah~," Taiki strained his words, "It's just…I feel as if there is a distant between us if you all use honorific with my name…"
"Hmm, I see," Sheren chuckled, "very well, we shall try to remember that. But you have to tell everyone else back home…"
Taiki pouted comically. Only Sheren, Renfa, Shaoren, Meirin, Ashe and Sai had accompanied him on this trip. Everyone else was back at home either taking care of internal affairs or training new recruits that are increasingly joined since Taiki became the Young Tiger of Kou-Tou.
A few hours later, they had arrived at the outskirts of the Ju-Shun and Kou-Tou boarder. Boy what a sight that awaited them. A huge army of Yellow Scarves was relentlessly attacking another army of silver armored soldiers. Right now, the Silver Army is on the defensive, trying desperately to hold out the line.
"That silver armored army," Ashe noted, "That is the army of Ju-Shun…"
"Wow," Shaoren chuckled without a hint of humor, "They look like they could use some help…"
"They certainly do," Taiki agreed wholehearted before turning to Sheren, "Your orders, Sheren?"
Sheren nodded and turn to Meirin. "Meirin, any ideas?"
"Hmm…" Meirin hummed, "There are about Ten Thousand all together, those Yellow Rebels. About a good Eight Thousand for the army of Ju-Shun. And we have and army of Five Thousand strong. We could try a pincer attack…"
"But that's impossible with our numbers right?" Taiki wondered, receiving a glare from the strategist.
"YES… …obviously…So instead, we should attack in a triple pincer. That way the Yellow Scarves cannot make their mind in time which front to focus their attention on…"
"Hmm…" Sheren hummed before nodding, "Alright then…Renfa, Meirin, you two are with me as we head to the other side to our front. Taiki, you take Sai, Shaoren, and Ashe ahead and prepare to begin the triple pincer attack…"
"Got it!" Taiki nodded, tightening his grip on his metallic baseball bat, "But will you be alright, Sheren?"
"I shall be fine with this bunch. Please keep my little sister safe though…"
"Sheren-onee-sama!" Shaoren shouted in protest, "I do not need his protection ~!"
"Aw, you're going to make me cry," Taiki comically pouted.
"If you are a man, then you should not cry!"
"I'm a person with a heart before I'm a man. Besides, if that is the case a princess should be expecting protection…"
"Oh, good point-Ah! Hey, do not confuse my thoughts!"
Sheren laughed at her little sister response, before she turned her horse in a different direction with Renfa and Meirin doing the same.
"Alright, I shall leave this front to you then. I shall take half of the troops in the army and-…"
"Uh, actually, Sheren," Taiki intervened, "You should take Four Thousand with you instead. We'll be fine with a Thousand…"
"What?" Renfa exclaimed, "But that is suicide-!"
"Renfa, have you forgotten who I am?"
Renfa immediately shut herself up.
"Yes, we have not forgotten," Sheren chuckled, "Alright, Four Thousand troops will follow me then. Taiki, you will command this army of a Thousand then. Attack as soon we attack, okay?"
"We'll win this battle…" Taiki simply stated, at which Sheren chuckled before turning to the troops.
"Four Thousand follow my flag! We shall make our way to other side to trap the enemy in a pincer attack!"
No sooner did Sheren's group leave Taiki lead the remaining troops towards battle.
As they closed in, Sai sighed to herself.
"What's up, Sai?" Taiki wondered.
"Oh, nothing," Sai shook her head.
"You cannot hide stuff from us, you know Sai," Shaoren sweat dropped.
Sai gave a nervous laugh. "Well, if you must know, I was just thinking about the Yellow Scarves that we are about to face. It may be a little late to say this but they are but mere common people are running amok, with none of them standing out to me…"
"Well, what did you expect?" Ashe huffed, "They are but a bunch of radicals with nothing but numbers on their side…"
"Yes, what they really need is a leader…"
Taiki suddenly gave a light chuckle and nodded at Sai. "It's a pity, I agree. But, Sai, I know you're still excited to be at war…"
"Hmm?" Sai blinked.
"How can anyone be excited at being at war?" Shaoren huffed.
"It's obvious, really, Shaoren," Taiki gently smiled, "People of sword long for the day when they can cross another's sword, in a battle or a war. Someone like Sai, who had been watching your mother's back for so long, would only find peace there of all places…"
Shaoren blinked at Taiki's explanation before hearing Sai softly chuckle to herself.
"Yes, that is indeed true…Taiki, you truly can see through me…almost as well as Lord Bundai…"
"Coming from you, Sai," Ashe chuckled, "You must have truly seen Lord Bundai in Taiki…"
"…I said nothing of the sort…"
Taiki smirked before suddenly getting off his horse; they had reached their target destination. Now all they had to do is to wait for Sheren to give the signal to attack…at least that was the plan.
"All troops get into your formation!" Taiki called, "We are heading out!"
"Huh?" Shaoren did a double take, "But Sheren-onee-sama had not yet given a signal!"
"Attacking now is suicidal!" Sai agreed.
"If we wait until then, the situation can change dramatically," Taiki informed, "Plus, we must divert the Yellow Scarves attention to our front so that Sheren's group have a less dangerous time and coordinate with Ju-Shun Army…"
Ashe narrowed her eyes in thought before understanding. "You do have a point…"
"Besides," Taiki smirked at Shaoren, "I don't think we should keep a princess from enjoying the battle any longer right?"
Shaoren blinked and smirked. "Yes, why wait? Not with you here…"
Taiki smiled before turning to the troops. "Kou-Tou Army, I ask! What is the Son Family of Kou-Tou!?"
As if they heard the question many times, the troops (along with Shaoren, Ashe, and Sai) replied with a mighty roar, "Hungry Tigers!"
"And with what do they fight with!?"
"Their powerful fangs!"
"Right!" Taiki turn back towards the unaware rear of the Yellow Scarves, "This is a land at war! Soon we'll tear out their blacken hearts! Everyone follow me to battle…and victory!"
With a collective roar, everyone followed the now charging Taiki.
"This march sure is taking a long time," Sheren noted before turning to Meirin, "by any chance will the Yellow Scarves notice our plans at this rate?"
"It is not entirely impossible," Meirin nodded gravely, "we could only hope that by some fortune the Yellow Turbans will remain preoccupied with something else…"
"I certainly hope-…huh?" Renfa narrowed her eyes at the battle scene with concern.
"What is it, Renfa?" Sheren asked in concern.
"…It may be the trick of the eye, but I believe that Yellow Scarves' ranks are being thin out…"
"What is that?" Meirin narrowed her eyes at the battle, "Hmm, yes that seems to be the case. Their ranks have suddenly started shifting away…"
"Could they have broken through the Ju-Shun blockade?" Sheren asked in worry.
"…No, they seem to be shift away from it…"
A soldier who was sent ahead suddenly rush up.
"What is it, soldier?"
"Master Shuu-Yu," the soldier began, "General Taiki had begun the attack on the rear flank of the Yellow Scarves!"
"…! What did you say!?"
"Because of the sudden attack, the Yellow Scarves seem to have panic and diverted their focus on the front and at General Taiki's units…"
"That big fool! What is he thinking!?"
"…! Sister Sheren," Renfa called, "With the Yellow Scarves diverted over to Taiki's area, our large army can make lots of progress on this rear flank!"
"…? …Hmm," Sheren thought for a moment before slowly nodding with a smile, "Yes, with this, cornering the Yellow Scarves would just be the start. We have an almost clear path to the Yellow Scarves main force! Alright, everyone, double-time! We must use this chance to destroy the Yellow Scarves army from the inside out!"
With a cheer, the army of Four Thousand strong quickened their march.
The Yellow Scarves army of Ten Thousand, whom had so much confidence as they mercilessly charge at the defending Ju-Shun army, was now thrown into a state of confusion. Out of nowhere, Taiki and his unit of One Thousand attacked the unsuspecting rear flank of the Yellow Scarves with the force of a raging flood.
You see, during the time Taiki had spent getting use to the life as a Kou-Tou General, he had begun to teach the Kou-Tou army sports, ranging from soccer to football. Those sports had somehow greatly improved the Kou-Tou army's resilience and their persistent in a way that even Meirin was taken aback. So when the Yellow Scarves were hit, they were hit rather hard, like a group of school kids suddenly being rushed by a wall of football quarterbacks. Adding with Taiki's display of strength, about a good Two Thousand were down for the count before the Yellow Scarves began to shift half of their attention to Taiki's units.
Unfortunately, it did very little. Both Taiki and Ashe recognize the change and quickly had the troops reorganized in a defensive position, adopting a modify style of guarding from a football formation taught by Taiki.
Things got even worse for the Yellow Scarves even then because since one half had focus their attention on the Ju-Shun and the other half focusing on Taiki, they were ill prepare when Sheren charged in with her army of Four Thousand who were just as easily familiar with the sport method of Taiki as is Taiki's unit. The Yellow Scarves main force was soon hit with the force of a tsunami, causing them to be thrown into the state of confusion mention earlier, unable to decide which front to focus their attention on.
Sensing the chance and hearing word from Sheren, the Ju-Shun army switched from defensive to offensive, worsening the situation for the Yellow Scarves. The battle lasted for less than seven hour before the Yellow Scarves army was completely wiped out.
"My Lady," a soldier ran up to a well-dressed little girl and kneeled in respect, "Our forces has successfully destroy the Yellow Scarves' detached force!"
"Finally~!" the little girl huffed in an immature annoyed tone voice, "This should have been dealt with hours ago! You people are so slow~…"
"F-Forgive us, My Lady. But we were having difficulties until the Kou-Tou Army arrived…"
"…? Kou-Tou Army?" the little girl hummed in thought for a moment before thumping her palm, "Oh! The Son Family! So they are back on the front now, huh?"
"Yes, My Lady…"
"Humph, took them long enough! How many did they have?"
"…Uh, I believe in total about Five Thousand when they joined in, My Lady…"
"… … …Hey! Does that not mean an army of Five Thousand did a job that should have been easy for an army of for an army of Eight Thousand?"
"Uh…"
"Jeez, you people are so pathetic~!"
"F-Forgive us, My Lady…"
"Whatever," The little girl waved it off.
"Hmm~," a taller girl, who was standing beside the little girl, hummed in thought, "My Lady, are we not having trouble over at the Falling Sky Ravine?"
"…? Yeah we are. What about it?"
"Well, if the Kou-Tou Army who managed to defeat the Yellow Scarves' detached force was to help…"
"… … … …OH~! I know! Let us have them take care of that problem!"
"…Eh? No, that is not what I mean-…"
"We shall have them take care of the problem, so we do not need to get our hands dirty! Hah, I am brilliant…"
The tall girl sweat dropped but nevertheless smiled. "…Well, if you are happy My Lady, then alright. But what do we do if they get wipe out?"
"We shall deal with that when we cross the bridge, no need to worry about that now…" the little girl waved it off.
"Oh~! As should be expected of My Lady; doing things without thinking about the consequences or preparation…"
"Heh-Heh, praise me more~! Anyway, you there!" the little girl pointed at a random soldier, "Go tell those Son Family to come here!"
"Yes, My Lady!" The soldier salutes before rushing off.
"And you!" The little girl then pointed to another random soldier, "Bring me some Honey Water; I am parched from the battle…"
"Yes, My Lady!" The soldier quickly ran off to get Honey.
"General Taiki Sonoma!" Meirin called out as soon as Taiki came into her view, "Get over here!"
"Hmm?" Taiki hummed in confusion as he calmly made his way over. "What is it Meirin?'
"Shuu-Yu! Or at worse, Koukin!" Meirin snapped, "What thou art thinking, charging in like that with only a handful of soldiers?"
"I was thinking of making things easier for Sheren to battle her fronts along with making sure that Princess Shaoren sees the spectacular sight of war…"
"What-? I can understand the first part but what of the second?"
"To put it simply, I was putting up a show for the bored Princess…and boy, did she love it…"
"I certainly did~!" Shaoren chimed as she ran up to join the conversation, "The Yellow Scarves were so funny when their attention kept turning from one front to another, then turning to a humorous confusion. It is almost sad, right Taiki~?"
"Certainly was," Taiki chuckled in response.
"Hey now! This is not joke!" Meirin exclaimed in disbelief, "The plan was for both of our spit force to attack at once!"
"Now, now, Meirin," Sheren chided, "Taiki just made the best decision he could as a General…"
"And I as a strategist was the one to allow it," Ashe added when she was close enough, "Forgive me, Teacher…"
Meirin grumbled, before glaring at Taiki. "Do not ever go outside the plan again; thou art fortunate this time because it led to a success…"
"Got it~!" Taiki held up both of his hand in defeat.
"…Did thou really?" Meirin sweat dropped.
Just then, a silver-armored soldier came forth and bows in respect to the Son Family.
"Greeting, army of Kou-Tou," The soldier began, "Our Lady, the ruler of Ju-Shun, request an audience with the generals of the Kou-Tou Army…"
"Does she now?" Sheren raised an eyebrow, showing a hint of surprise, "Well then, tell your Lady that we shall arrive soon on her request…"
"Yes madam," The soldier gave one last bow before hurrying off.
"So," Meirin frowned, "En-Jutsu has become courteous enough to send us~ a messenger to have us~ come meet her~, huh?"
"Now, now, Meirin," Sheren chuckled, "No need to be so sarcastic…"
"…? En-Jutsu?" Taiki blinked, "As in En-Jutsu Kouro?"
"The same," Ashe nodded, "She governs Ju-Shun, though as I heard her management skills have been declining and questioned recently. Her family and that of the Son Family had been on friendly term in the past, so we have met her but…"
"…If we are talking about people with horrible personality," Meirin glared at Taiki, "She is the only one who can place thee in second…"
"Meirin!" Sheren sweat dropped.
"She is not willing to accept you at all," Renfa sweat dropped as she whispers to Taiki.
Taiki returned with a nervous chuckled before turning to Sheren. "Well then Sheren let's not keep our host waiting…"
"Yes," Sheren nodded, "Let us not…"
Taiki and the others, as soon as they arrived at the Ju-Shun Army's war camp, were led straight towards the largest tent in the encampment.
Sitting proudly on the center-most elaborate chair of a long table covered with food sat a young girl that, in comparison to the many unusual warriors Taiki has seen so far, seems the most incompatible for a war camp. She was a blonde with long curly hairs that extend down to her knee level with a blue ribbon tied behind her head and had a small silver princess crown perch on top of her head. She had smug but proud green eyes that seem to belittle her innocent appearance. She wore a turtleneck orange dress and large arm-sleeves both with large peach-color frill hanging out, a lavender sash around her mid-region with the ribbon tied in the front, a blue drape down her front, and a pearl necklace around her neck.
"The child is the Ruler of Ju-Shun," Ashe informed Taiki in a whisper, "The one standing next to her is her close-aid, Chou-Kun Taeru…"
"Ho~…" Taiki hummed as he observes them both careful.
Chou-Kun Taeru, as she is call, had short blue hair with her bangs held to the side of her head with hairpins and had sly but intelligent eyes. She is dressed in a flight attendant uniform complete with a lavender scarf, a white sleeved vest, a red skirt ending just below the pelvis region, and a white-and-dark-teal beret. She also wore white gloves, black stocking, a white boots, a golden armband, and equipped with a sword, most likely a broadsword.
"Lady Kouro," Sheren greeted smoothly with a formal bow, "It has been a long time…"
"Oh-Ho-Ho-Ho-Ho~!" En-Jutsu laughed in way that made her sound like a monarch, "Yes, it has been a while. If I recalled correctly, the last time we meet was at the funeral of Aunty Bundai-sama…"
"… … …Yes, that is correct," Sheren managed, keeping a straight of a face as possible. Renfa and Shaoren were also doing the same.
"…Merciless," Taiki mumbled, "Even if it could've been unintentional…"
"But I was shock to here that the Kou-Tou Army had return to the front line so soon," En-Jutsu pondered, "Even more so, it would seem that the passing of Aunty Bundai-sama did not affect the prowess of the army either. That is good…"
"Yes," Sheren's emotional state brightened considerably as gesture to Taiki, "Allow I Son-Saku Hakufu, to introduce to Lady Kouro our newest warrior and member of my extended family, The Young Tiger of Kou-Tou General Taiki Sonoma!"
"Oh~?" En-Jutsu observed Taiki from top to bottom, "a 'Young Tiger' is he?"
"Yo~!" Taiki lift a hand in greeting, obviously informally, "You can just call me Taiki, Little Princess-…"
"IDIOT!" Meirin suddenly snapped, "Is it not possible for thou to speak with more manners!?"
"I told you, I'm not that big in manner-…"
"That is NO excuse! Did thy mother teach thee proper etiquettes?"
"Ah-! Meirin-san!" Renfa exclaimed as she pulled Meirin aside before whispering, "Taiki's mother has passed on, remember?"
"Ah-!"
"Hey, now," Taiki nervously sweat dropped, "It's not that a big deal now, you two. No need to worry…"
"B-But," Renfa managed but stopped when Taiki held up his hand.
"Let's just stop. This is starting to look like some silly family drama, with the Little Princess as our audience here…"
"Ah-!" Renfa and Meirin bowed apologetically, "Forgive us…"
"… … …Ah-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha," En-Jutsu suddenly laughed honestly, "This certainly is a rare sight to see…"
"…Forgive us…"
"Well, whatever," En-Jutsu wavered it off as she turn her attention back to Taiki, "Anyway, for you to become the Kou-Tou army's 'New Tiger', you must be rather skill and strong, huh?"
"So they say," Taiki shrugged, "but that's probably my only worth. There's no way a muscle-brain like me can do what you can, Little-Princess…"
"…Ah-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha!" En-Jutsu laughed, "You have smart mouth! I like that!"
"Thanks!"
"…Oh my god," Meirin sighed quietly, "Why are they talking to each other like they had known each for a long time?"
Sheren giggled. "Taiki can surely befriend just about anybody…"
"Ahem," Chou-ken coughed, "My Lady…?"
"Huh? … … … …OH-! Yes, that is right! Uh, um, what was I going to-…"
GROWL~~~!
"…! What was that!?"
Everyone stared around, trying to find the source of the growl.
"It sounded like a tiger!" Shaoren nervously commented.
"A hungry one," Chou-Kun added nervously.
"Uh," Taiki began, catching everyone's attention, "Sorry that was me…"
"… … …You?" Meirin sweat dropped. And as if it was timed…GROWL~~~! …the rumble came out of Taiki's belly.
"Sorry, I got hungry…"
Everyone comically stopped themselves from falling flat as Meirin glared at Taiki.
"What is WRONG with thee?" Meirin lectured, "We art in an important meeting!"
"It can't be help," Taiki nervously chuckled, "I can't control how my body would act when it needs to…"
"Thee-!" Meirin began angrily, only to be cut off by a loud uncontrollable laughter.
"Ah-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha!" En-Jutsu laughed, "Ah-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha…!"
"…? M-My Lady?" Chou-Kun blinked.
"Ah-! Oh, sorry! It was too funny! Well, I'm feeling kind of hungry too right now," En-Jutsu directed everyone's attention to the long table covered in food, "This is but a small show of gratitude for assisting us during the battle. Let us enjoy…!"
"Uh," Sheren began politely, "Lady En-Jutsu, about why you called us here…"
"Hmm?" En-Jutsu tilted her head in confusion before widening her eyes in realization, "Ah! Yes, but we shall save that until after we have eaten. You all must be tried after the battle after all…"
"Uh, yes. That seems to be the case…"
"Then there is no problem. Think of this feast as a way to congratulate you all on your return to military power…"
"I see…"
The feast in Taiki's opinion was extremely elegant and luxurious. The foods were somehow kept hot enough to enjoy and the wine were surprisingly tasty. Even the clear minded Meirin has gotten herself a little drunk (Sai explained that Meirin is extremely weak to wine but because of her pride she denies it).
Fortunately for Taiki, his family has been known to be extremely heavy drinkers so even after ten wine cups (easily five times of what it would take to make Meirin drunk) he was still extremely sober. Everyone else seems to have forgotten why they were here on the battlefield.
(Note from Normama: Keep in mind, wine back in that era was extremely stronger than today's wine. One cup of wine during this time could easily equal to four to five bottle of wine in terms of alcohol strength.)
Well, almost everybody. Somehow, En-Jutsu and Chou-Kun had managed to stay somber after their sixteenth cup. Taiki guess that being a noblewoman, and a guard of a noblewoman, they are extremely used to heavy drinking too. Well, by their eighteenth cup, their faces were beginning to turn red so Taiki isn't expecting them to last much longer.
"Phew~!" Taiki breathed as he exited the tent for some fresh air and to stretch, "It's good to stretch myself. It's no joke when you have started drinking in full armor…"
Truly, drinking to relieved stress while wearing uncomfortable armor is quite contradicting.
"…~Hey~! ~General Sonoma~, hic," a voice called out from behind him. Taiki turn to find a somewhat drunk En-Jutsu steadily leaving the tent, heading to him.
"Oh! Little Princess!" Taiki smiled before frowning in worry, "Are you okay?"
"~Eh~? ~I am alright~! See~? ~this is~, hic, my ~left~ hand!" En-Jutsu held up her left hand before raising her right, "And this~ is my~ ~right~, hic!"
"(She is clearly a little drunk at least…)" Taiki smiled as he shook his head, before holding up three fingers, "Hey, Little Princess, how many fingers am I holding up?"
En-Jutsu narrowed her eyes and glared at my fingers for a full minute before speaking. "T-Three…"
"Huh. Not bad…"
"What~!? Did you, hic, think ~I~ will get drunk~ with ~that level ~of~, hic, wine~?"
"Just testing," Taiki laughed, "So, Little Princess, what brings you out here?"
"Huh~? What~!? I can't~ come ~out~ to, hic, get ~some fresh air~…?"
"Ah, so you are out here for the same thing huh? That's nice…"
"…~Shut up~! I, hic, am ~not~ as carefree like~, hic, you…"
"Yeah, yeah…" Taiki nodded absently as he stared up into the surprisingly clear night sky. The feast has lasted deep into the night so Taiki wasn't surprise to see the sky so dark. "Fine night for star watching. Too bad we're in bad position to watch them…"
"~What~!?" En-Jutsu huffed, or at least try to as she is, as she clumsily pointed to a tall mountain not too far from the camp, "If you ~want to~ watch, hic, stars, then, hic, go to that mountain~ over ~there~!"
"There?"
"~Yeah. Chou-Kun and I~ always goes there to ~watch~ stars~! But it~ takes, hic, about four hour, hic, to reach a good spot on the mountain~ so…"
"Hmm, I see! Alright, let's go…"
"… … … … … …Eh?"
"Don't you want to see the stars, Little Princess?"
"…Huh~!? Of course I, hic, want to see them~!"
"Alright then," Taiki nodded before coming over to En-Jutsu, picked her, and sat her on his shoulder.
"…!? … …!? … … …!?"
"Hang on, now!"
"Ah-! Wait a~…!"
But before En-Jutsu could say another word, Taiki sprinted off towards the mountain at a blistering pace.
"Kyaa~~~~!" En-Jutsu screamed as she clutched Taiki's head to prevent falling off. But her scream of surprise soon turn into a scream of pleasure before turning into laughter, "Ah-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha~! Faster~, go FASTER~!"
"Roger, roger," Taiki smirked and soon sprinted even faster.
Taiki was confident in his leg strength, and it isn't exaggerating to say that people had labeled him as a monster because of that. Taiki had been known to out-run seasonal sprinters four times over and still kept his breath and heart rate at a steady rate. No one really knows how it was possible, not even Taiki himself knew how, though he suppose it was because he had over trained himself by trying to run the full diamond of the baseball field under three seconds (Normama: This unrealistic so please people try not to mimic this.). It is not surprising to picture Taiki constantly being asked to join soccer, football, or track-n-field because of this. But in the end, Taiki has chosen baseball over all others, joining others occasionally to help out.
Anyway, it wasn't long before Taiki and En-Jutsu reach a good viewing spot on top of the mountain. It had taken only about fifteen minutes to get to this point and Taiki still had a steady breath.
"Made it~!" Taiki cheered, before looking up into the sky, "Oh~! This really is a good place to watch stars~!"
"Make the world stop spinning~~…" En-Jutsu managed from Taiki's shoulder, her long blond hair in a mess and her eyes in a comical swirl.
"Ah-! Little Princess, you alright?"
"…I think so~," With that, En-Jutsu steady climbed down from Taiki's shoulder, "But I did not know someone can run at such speed…"
Taiki gave a nervous chuckled before remember something and palmed his face in frustration. "Damn it! I forgot to bring along some refreshments as well. Having some as we watch the stars would've been nice…"
"Heh-Heh," En-Jutsu grinned with a giggle, "It would certainly be nice…"
"… … …Huh~," Taiki smirked as he stared at her face, "So even En-Jutsu Kouro can make a carefree face like that, huh?"
"…Eh? … … …Eh-! Uh, no!" En-Jutsu reddened her face in embarrassment before turning away, "Y-Y-You must have been mistaken! A-A noble lady like I would never make such a face!"
"Aw~! Don't be shy~! I think you look great with such an expression~!"
"W-What expression!? I made no such thing!"
"Aw, come on! Don't turn away and hide it. No one else is here!"
"I made no such-!" En-Jutsu turned to yell in defiant only to come face-to-face with Taiki making a comically silly face.
"Come~ ON~!" Taiki babbled as he comically stretch out his cheek and face, "Give me another SMILE~!"
"Puh-!" En-Jutsu covered her mouth before anymore laughter could escape, but it was useless; her body was jerking like crazy and her laughter could still be heard even though it was muffled, "You idiot-Puh, Ah-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha~!"
"Oh! My 'Funny Face Technique' still works huh? Good, take a look at this~!" Taiki this time squeeze his cheek in and wrinkle his eyebrow comically, "I'm in a happy mood~!"
"Puh-! Ah-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha! S-Stop! Please, I ask of you-!"
"You ask~ me~?" Taiki comically stretched his cheeks downward, stuck his tongue out and wiggled it around.
"Puh-! Ah-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha! No, please you goof-! No more, my stomach-! Ah-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha…!
After about five more minutes of silly faces and uncontrollable laughter, En-Jutsu was finally given a breather as she comically grovel on the ground, cover in sweats and panting heavily.
"…Y-You big goof," En-Jutsu managed in-between her panting; "…You are a very frightening goof of a person for that matter. To be able to make me, En-Jutsu Kouro, laugh in such a shameful way…"
"That just show that you're still human," Taiki grinned idiotically, "I'm glad you can laugh in such an honest way…"
"…Honest?"
"Yeah, when you first laughed back there in the tent, it sounds to me that you were still holding yourself back and all. Even here, you weren't even trying to open yourself up…"
"Hmm~?"
"No, seriously. That's what I felt when I met you…"
"…Well, whatever,' En-Jutsu waved it off, "It is not that I had not felt a sense of pleasure while I did it, so I shall forgive you…"
"Ah-! You're acting all stiff again. Maybe you need more-!"
"I am fine!"
"Ha-Ha, kidding, kidding…"
"Mou~, I had never met such a carefree person before…"
Taiki laughed heartily before seating himself on a large rock nearby and gazed up at the stars.
"Well," En-Jutsu puffed her small chest up, "Was I right about this here place? Or was I right?"
"You were definitely right~! The sky looks so clear that you can almost swim in it…"
"Swim among the stars, huh? That does not sound so bad…"
"… … … …Hey, how long do you plan to stay standing over there?"
"Eh?"
"Come on, don't be stiff~! Sit here! It's better to watch stars sitting rather than standing!" Taiki patted a spot on the rock next to him.
"Are you an idiot!?" En-Jutsu suddenly shouted, "I cannot just simply seat myself on such a dirty place like such!"
"Dirty?"
"I, En-Jutsu Kouro, am a noble lady with great dignity and pride. To seat on something that who-knows how many commoner had seated themselves on is a disgrace to myself and to my lineage!"
"Ok, ok, sorry I offended you…"
"Ahem!"
"… …And your lineage…"
"Apology accepted…"
"Then, how about this?" Taiki patted his lap.
"… … … … … … … … … … …Eh?"
"Sit on my lap then…"
"…EH!?" En-Jutsu took a step back, comically waving her arms around franticly with her face blushing crimson red, "W-W-W-W-W-What are talking about?"
"Hey, what are you thinking?"
"D-D-D-D-Do not dare take advantage of the fact that we are a-a-a-a-alone in the mountain and-!"
"HEY! That is not my intention!" Taiki frowned.
"I-I-I-I-I-I am not as drunk as to let you take advantage of me-!"
"Are you even listening to me!?" Taiki comically shouted as he…BONK! …comically hand-chop, or dope slap, the frantic En-Jutsu on the head.
"… … … …?" En-Jutsu froze before slowly touch the area of her forehead that Taiki comically hand-chop/dope slap with her hands, "… … … …?"
"Ah-!" Taiki straighten as he noticed the look of blank confusion painted on the face of En-Jutsu, "Sorry, did it hurt or something?"
"Uh, no," En-Jutsu managed, "Not at all… … … … …but, what was that that you just did?"
"Oh that? That is what you might call a [Straight-Man] act…"
"…? …Stir-rate-man…?"
"Yeah~," Taiki strained, "it's a type of act used in comedy where a smart guy correct a stupid remark of his companion with exaggerated manners or actions…"
"Heh~…"
"Seriously…"
"Hmm, if you say so," En-Jutsu nodded, but kept one hand on the area of her forehead, "(What is this strange sensation I am feeling. Despite the fact that he hit me, I am not angry about it or am I feeling offended… … …It actually feels kind of nice…)"
"Hey, are you okay?"
"… …Mm~," En-Jutsu narrowed her eyes, "If I become a masochist, you better take responsibility…"
"Huh?"
"…! Uh, nothing!"
"Well, anyway, about what I suggested-…"
"Give me one good reason why I would do that!"
"Huh? Oh, well first off I can guarantee that no 'common people' have sat on it…"
"… … …I suppose not…"
"And if I sat correctly, I look no different from a throne, right?"
"…Hmmm," En-Jutsu inspected Taiki from top to bottom before slowly nodding her head, "In a way, you do…"
"So is there a problem now?"
"Uh," En-Jutsu was at a loss of words for a moment, "(He is serious! It is true that if I think of him as nothing more than a throne it is fine, but he is still a man! It is so embarrassing! … …On the other hand, my legs are getting tired and there is no way I can enjoy the stars like this… … … …So…) Oh, very well…"
A few seconds later, En-Jutsu found herself resting in Taiki's lap as they both gaze up into the sky and observe the stars. However, try as she might, she could not stop her cheeks from remaining red and her body from trying to make itself as small as possible in embarrassment.
"The stars sure are lovely, aren't they Little Princess?" Taiki wondered with a peaceful smile.
"Uh, y-yes, very," En-Jutsu managed, "(How can he be so relax? I am sitting right on his lap here!)"
"Glad I'm not the only one to think so," Taiki chuckled.
"(… … …! It cannot be he does not find me sexually appealing, right!?)"
"Wonder if I can see the North Star from here?"
"(… … …Or is he just a natural airhead?)"
"…! Hey, Little Princess! Look, look!"
"…?" En-Jutsu glanced up in time to see… "Oh~!" …lights streaking across the sky in dozen. "What is this? An attack from the Heaven?"
"Huh~?" Taiki comically frowned, "What's with that grim classification? No, it's just a [Meteor Shower]…"
"…? Meat-tea-or show-wear? What is that?"
"That's just a fancy way of saying a bunch of small rocks falling and burning up in the sky…"
"Burning rocks? That's impossible! Rocks cannot be in the sky unless someone throws them up there first…"
"Huh? … …Oh, right~! I forgot that people nowadays don't know about [space] and stuff like that…"
"…? Spa-ace?"
"Uh, the Heaven! Yeah, the guys up in Heaven are…uh, skipping rocks in the sky! Yeah! They are skipping them so hard that they burn up…"
"Heh~? I see; that makes sense…" En-Jutsu nodded, "If it is like that, then rocks can come from the sky…"
"Ha-Ha, yeah, let's go with that…"
En-Jutsu giggled to herself as she watched the Meteor Shower. "It is lovely…"
"Sure is…"
"… … …You better not add something like, 'but not as lovely as you'…"
"Eh?"
"…Eh?" En-Jutsu froze before franticly waving her arms around, "Ah-! No, paid no attention to what I-…"
"Ha-Ha," Taiki laughed, "did I really like that type of guy?"
"…Uh, um…"
"Ah, don't worry! I'm not like Oikawa…"
"…?"
"And yes you pretty, Little Princess…"
"…! W-What-?"
"And just to clarify, I didn't say it for anything bad. I just spoke the truth; a compliment if you will…"
"A-Ah! I see…"
"Sorry, if it sounds rude. I'm just not big on formality…"
"Not big on formality, huh? (That would explain his carefree attitude)," En-Jutsu suddenly fell silent before speaking up again, "Hey…"
"Hmm?"
"… … …Since you lack formality anyway… …uh, it must be difficult not calling people by their true names, right?"
"Huh? Uh, yeah! If I can, I would prefer to call people by their true names…"
"… … … …Then, I shall give you permission to use mine then…"
"… …Eh?"
En-Jutsu hopped off of Taiki's lap and turned to him, her face in a deep crimson. "Considered it as a reward for showing me such a wonderful sight tonight…and for being my chair…"
"Oh, I see…"
"Then I shall introduce myself again," En-Jutsu straighten herself, "Jutsu is my name. My family name is En. My common name would be Kouro. My true name…" She paused for a moment before taking in a huge breath of air. "My true name is Miu…It is a pleasure to meet you, Taiki Sonoma…"
Taiki smiled. The En-Jutsu Kouro of the little history he knew of was scheming and prideful nobleman who was really full of himself. The warlord believed that by just simply possessing the Imperial Seal (given to him by Son-Saku) gave him the right to call himself Emperor, setting up the short-live Chuu Dynasty. Short-live because the declaration made him an enemy of almost every power-holding warlord across the land, and they relentlessly attacked him. In the end, the warlord succumbed to his own pride and died a rather sad and disgraceful way.
When Taiki first met En-Jutsu, she was almost everything he had expected of the female version of the short-live Emperor…except for one thing. Rather than being prideful, she strikes him more as the type who seeks comfort and understanding; a little kitty looking for acceptance. That was why, despite whom she should represent, Taiki didn't mind trying to befriend the Ruler of Ju-Shun.
"It is nice to meet you too, Miu…"
It would be a few hours later before Taiki and Miu began to make their back towards the camp. Once again, Miu was riding on Taiki's shoulders but this time Miu had voluntarily climbed up to shoulder.
"Do you really not feel the slightest discomfort with me on your shoulders?" Miu wondered.
"Not even one," Taiki laughed, "To me, Miu really is as light as a feather…"
"Very funny~," Miu giggled at her name pun (Miu means feather in Japanese), "But if that's the case, Taiki must be incredibly strong then…"
"I've been told that…"
"A lot, huh?"
"Yep…"
"Small wonders," Miu glees before her face soften up a bit, "but there is something I do not understand…"
"…? What is it?"
"Why is Taiki so strong? Is there a reason why you end up possessing such great strength?"
"…?" Taiki thought about it for a moment before sighing, "Things just end up like that, I guess…"
"You mean before you realized it you become this strong? That is weird…"
"It's the truth…"
"…If you say so…"
Taiki huffed a bit before spotting the light of the camp not too far away. "Looks like we are almost there…"
"Yeah," Miu smiled before frowning, "Hey, Taiki…"
"Hmm?"
"Are you going to call me by my true name even after we get back?"
"Of course! Is that a problem?"
Miu shook her head. "No, I told you I do not mind…"
"…I see…"
The two continued on in silent for a while before Miu suddenly shouted, "Alright!"
"Huh? Is something the matter?"
"…Then from now on, I shall called you Onii-chan then…"
"HUH~!? Where did that come from?"
"Is it a problem?"
"…Uh, no. I don't mind either…"
Miu giggled to herself before hugging Taiki head. "You should consider yourself lucky, Taiki-onii-chan! I do not really do this often!"
Taiki laughed. "I can imagine that…"
Meirin let out a huge exhausted sigh as she towered over Taiki. Her face was incredibly strained as she carefully tries to pick her next choice of words.
"…Let me get this straight," Meirin began, "during the party, while the sensible members were incapacitated, thou kidnapped the Ruler of Ju-Shun up to the mountains ONLY to return hours later with her on thy shoulder as if thou art trying to make up for whatever MISTAKE thee may have done to her up there?"
"Uh," Taiki sweat dropped, "You're making half of that stuff up, Meirin. I swear I didn't do anything that would get me thrown into jail now…"
"Kidnapping the Ruler of a City is a GOOD enough crime to get thou at least that much! Thou art lucky thou did not get filed to be beheaded!"
"Like I said; nothing happen up there. We just watch the stars…"
"Like HELL thee did! If that was so, why did En-Jutsu come with a smile that looks as if thou hast bewitch her!?"
"Bewitch!? I did no such thing!"
"LIAR-!"
"Now, now," Sheren stepped in between the two, "Meirin, if Taiki did defile En-Jutsu in any way, none of us would be standing here so close to the Ju-Shun army camp now…"
"That may be, but for all we know En-Jutsu is just pretending she is fine, as to not disgrace herself, before coming up with some kind of plot to get back at all of us!"
"…I hate to say it," Ashe frowned in thought, "but what Teacher stated may be possible…"
"Still," Renfa sweat dropped, "I cannot see Taiki performing anything of such disgracefulness towards anyone, much less En-Jutsu…"
"Yeah," Shaoren nodded, "Taiki is not that type of person. Only Meirin thinks so…"
Meirin grumbled on the spot. It was already morning after the night of the banquet and the Kou-Tou army high ranking generals were all currently discussing in their main tent. Meirin was in an outrage because last night, both Taiki and En-Jutsu had disappeared for several hours before they reappeared hours later. Everyone was in shock when they found them though; Taiki was carrying En-Jutsu on his shoulder while the said Ruler of Ju-Shun was sitting happily on his shoulder, grinning eerily with a content smile. Obviously, the soldier started gossiping amongst each other, spreading random "behind-close-door" rumors.
And as usual, Meirin didn't hesitate to use this as an excuse to verbally downgrade Taiki. But like sound waves bouncing off stone walls, Taiki was unaffected by her outburst and so was everyone else. And the spreading rumor cease as well when the soldiers of Kou-Tou jumped in and explained how it was impossible for Taiki, who even the newbie soldiers knew pretty well, to commit such an act. Since then the rumor has shifted from "behind-close-door" to "taming-the-dragon"; now the talk was about how En-Jutsu showing emotion because of Taiki, something that almost unheard of for noble folks of her status.
"How can everyone be so laid back?" Meirin sighed just as a silver armor soldier entered the tent.
"I have a message from Lady Kouro," the soldier called, "The Lady wish the Kou-Tou Generals to come to the main tent to meet her…"
"Understood," Sheren nodded as the soldier left, "I wonder what En-Jutsu wants…"
"Probably to complain about being kidnapped yesterday night," Meirin muttered.
"Like I said," Taiki sweat dropped, "I didn't kidnap her. I had her consent…"
"While she was drunk?"
"…Uh," Taiki sweat dropped even more. It was true; Miu was intoxicated during that time. Even Taiki was starting to worry that the pleasant conversation he had with her last night might not had been remembered clearly by her.
However, to the relief of Taiki and the somewhat disappointed Meirin, it wasn't the case at all.
"Morning, Taiki-onii-chan~!" Miu called as soon as she saw Taiki walked in with the Son Family.
"O-Onii-chan?" Shaoren mouthed in surprise, speaking everyone's mind.
"Yo Miu, how's your morning?" Taiki greeted back casually.
"Peachy, actually…"
"H-Hold on a minute!" Chou-Kun intervened in shock, "General Taiki, what are you-?"
"There is no need for that, Nanano," Miu waved off her aide's concern, "I gave Taiki-onii-chan the privilege to do so…"
"EH!?"
"Something wrong, Nanano?"
"…Uh, well yes, but if Miu-sama is happy with it I have nothing to say…"
"Seriously!?" Meirin voiced, before palming her face in disbelief.
Sheren, on the other hand, giggled as she turns to Taiki. "My, it would seem you truly have the power to befriend with just about anyone…"
Taiki nervously chuckled in embarrassment.
"…Anyway," Miu began suddenly all serious, "in truth, there is something I wish you all to aid my army in. I was going to mention it yesterday, but the banquet lasted longer than I expected…"
"…Oh," Meirin sweat dropped, "So that was the reason she treated us so well yesterday…"
"We are at your service, Lady Kouro," Sheren stated politely, "What is that you wish for us to do?"
Miu turn to Nanano (Chou-Kun), signaling her to take over. Nanano, in turn, laid out a large map of the Ju-Shun region.
"Several days ago," Nanano began, "Our scouts discover the Yellow Scarves base of operation down here in the south…"
"Seriously?" Shaoren shouted unintentionally.
"…I shall ignore that," Miu glared, "continue, Nanano…"
"Yes, My Lady," Nanano stated before continuing, "As I was saying, the base is located here in this valley just a few Li from the city. However…"
"However?" Ashe tilted her head in question.
"Despite our overwhelming size we had in the beginning, we are unable to penetrate the Falling Sky Ravine, the only known passage into the valley…"
"The Falling Sky Ravine?" Taiki mouthed in confused repeat.
"I have never heard of such a ravine," Even the knowledgeable Meirin was at a lost at the name.
"I am not at all shock," Nanano smiled, "because it was a ravine that was recently named due to its reputation…"
"What reputation?"
Nanano glance at Miu, as if wondering whether it was alright to continue. With a single nod from the Ruler of Ju-Shun, she turned back ready to explain. "…Because it would seem the Yellow Scarves are using sorcery to make the ravine impenetrable…"
"…SORCERY?" Taiki and the rest of the Kou-Tou Female Generals repeated.
"Skeptical, I see. Well, to be honest, other than that we have no other explanation for the strange phenomenon that happens there…"
"Can you elaborate?" Meirin asked being a tad interested.
"I should take over from here," Miu suddenly voiced as she came forth, "In the beginning, thanks to the aids of the Imperial Army, we had an army close to Eighteen Thousand at our disposal…"
"Eighteen Thousand?" Renfa widen her eyes, "But when we arrive to aid you, My Lady, you had a little over Eight Thousand!"
"What happen to the other Ten Thousand?" Shaoren wondered.
"…They are all dead," Miu finally answered before pounding her fist on the table with the map, "Because of that STUPID Falling Sky Ravine!"
"Ten Thousand in a single ravine?" Ashe blinked before her voiced strained, "Was it all at once?"
"No," Nanano shook her head in denial, "With such a narrow ravine, obviously sending Ten Thousand at once was impossible. So we sent around Two Thousand at first but…"
"They never came back," Miu grumbled, "So I then sent a Thousand to see what was keeping them…but they never came back either, despite Nanano's order to come back immediately and not fight…"
"So I decided to lead another Thousand to track down the missing soldiers myself. We went about Three Li before we came across a horrible sight…"
"A horrible sight?" Sheren repeated, "Such as?"
"…About Three Thousand soldiers, laying everywhere on the ground, with broken armor and weapons, crushed to death…"
"Say WHAT?" Taiki and the rest of the Kou-Tou Female General exclaimed.
"The strange thing about the scene was that there were no boulder or giant rocks of any sort among the dead body. It would makes sense if they were crush to death by falling rocks, but there was not a single hint of debris in the area. Despite the strangeness of the situation, I had the soldiers go and collect the dead bodies but…" Nanano paused uncomfortably for a moment before continuing. "I turn my back for only a moment before…BOOM! …I heard an earth-shattering explosion from behind. By the time I turned around, all of the soldiers I had led, all One Thousand of them were dead, crushed as far as I could tell…"
"…Surely you jest," Meirin managed.
"I am not…"
"Ever since then," Miu fumed, "the Yellow Scarves continued to retreat and recover behind that ravine. And every time the same thing would happen. Eventually, we were reduced to just Eight Thousand…"
"And to this very day, no one has been able to understand how soldiers could be crushed so fast without the use of boulders. So we came to one conclusion…"
"Those ruffians are somehow using sorcery to crush our soldiers using some invisible force…"
"Gossip amongst the soldiers eventually led to the pass being called the Falling Sky Ravine…"
"…I see," Renfa nodded in understanding, "In a sense, sorcery is place in the ravine so that unfortunate enemies are crushed by the sky…"
"Indeed…"
"We are unable to overcome this obstacle on our own," Miu huffed, "So I figure you all can aid us in this…"
"Hmm," Sheren hummed to herself, "Even if Lady Kouro says so…"
"If sorcery is used," Sai frowned uncomfortably, "How are we supposed to be any help?"
"Hmm~," Meirin hummed to herself before glaring deviously at Taiki, "…Hmmm~…"
"…?" Taiki blinked, "What's wrong, Meirin? Something on my face?"
"Shuu-Yu! Or Koukin, for the last time! …Actually, I do have a plan in mind…"
"You do?" Nanano blinked.
"Yes," Meirin brushed some of her loose hair behind her ears before continuing, "Why do we not send in General Sonoma…"
"… … …EH!?" Taiki, Sheren, Sai and Miu exclaimed.
"Basically, we are dealing with sorcery, right? General Sonoma should be able to disperse the sorcery with just his mere presence…"
"Whoa, whoa, hold on Meirin," Shaoren exclaimed, "What is that supposed to mean?"
"Have you forgotten that Taiki is the 'Messenger from Heaven'?"
"…?" Miu blinked, "Messenger from Heaven? Taiki-onii-chan?"
"Yes," Meirin nodded, "…at least, that is how we are led to believe. We are still unsure if he truly is a Heavenly being said to descend from Heaven to save the world or not, I believe this is an excellent opportunity to see if it is true or not, would you all not agree?"
"…Why do I get the feeling you are just using this as an excuse to belittle Taiki?" Shaoren huffed lowly to herself.
"So, General Sonoma," Meirin smirked knowingly at Taiki, "What dost thou think?"
"…If that how it is, okay," Taiki nodded after a moment in thought.
"Humph as I thought, you will chicken out-…" Meirin huffed mockingly before Taiki's words registered in her mind, "-WAIT! Thee will do it!?"
"EH~!?" Everyone else exclaimed.
"Orders from the strategist," Taiki simply shrugged, "As a soldier in wartime, I must believe her judgment…"
"NO!" Miu cried out, drawing attention to herself, "Uh-I mean, are you people stupid!? Sending your army strongest warrior for such a menial task!? Do you all have no shame!?"
"If this such a trivial matter, then we would not be so trouble by it, Lady Kouro," Meirin argued, "This one passage along with some kind of sorcery is preventing us from eliminating the Yellow Scarves main base of operation here in the south. If we do not hurry and extinguish this threat, the chaos will only increase in sizes or not only Ju-Shun but Kou-Tou shall be affected as well…"
"Uh, well, yes but…"
"It's alright," Taiki chuckled as he waved the anxiety off, "I personally want to see this so-called sorcery myself…"
"Do you have a death wish?" Nanano muttered with a frown.
"Nah, I just want to see it. I mean, I never heard of a case where someone was able to conquer the world with sorcery before. Got to see if this one is just like the others before it…"
"You are as carefree as ever," Renfa sweat dropped at Taiki's casual outlook.
"No point in being negative. Anyway, Sheren, do I have permission to do as Meirin wishes?"
"…Shuu-Yu…" Meirin grumbled, at which everyone ignored.
"Uh," Sheren hummed to herself for a moment before hesitatively nodded, "Alright, but at least take some-…"
"Uh, about that. Is it alright if I do this mission by myself?"
"… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …EH~!?" Everyone exclaimed.
"Well, if something goes wrong, I'm confident that I can get out of it. But if I have to take even one with me…"
"But Taiki," Sai began, "Going in by yourself is suicide!"
"Not if I can get out of it, but I can only be so for sure if I do this alone. So Sheren, if you would be so kind?"
"But…" Sheren began only to be cut off as Meirin nodded.
"If that is how you see it, then fine…" Meirin simply stated.
"Thanks Meirin…" Taiki smiled.
"Shuu-Yu! Or Koukin! Get that through thy head!"
Taiki chuckled at Meirin exasperation before noticing the worried expression on Miu's face. Without even a moment of hesitation, Taiki came over patted Miu's head in comfort, shocking everyone around them.
"Hey!" Nanano exclaimed in shock, "What are you-?"
"No need to worry, Miu, I'll be fine…" Taiki smirked, before turning to the General of Kou-Tou, "That goes double for you guys…I'll be back!"
"… …You better, Taiki-onii-chan," Miu mumbled with a pout, "If you do not return I will never forgive you!"
"Got it~!"
"…Are really sure about going in that Ravine alone?" Sai managed as she walked with Taiki towards the camp's exit, "Are you sure I would not be needed?"
"Yeah, I'm sure," Taiki chuckled, "It's not like I don't trust you or anyone else, it's just that I'm going to a dangerous place and the less worries on my mind the faster I can move…"
"I see…" Sai sighed.
It was a given that one could move quicker in dangerous situation with smaller number rather than large number. Sai knew that, but she couldn't help but feel worry for Taiki. Ever since Taiki became part of the expanding Son Family, everyone has become livelier. Renfa, who has always been rather reserve for a direct member of the Son Family, was already showing signs of becoming a little bit more confident in herself. The Kyou Sister, who were either too shy or too cautious towards strangers, practically warm up to the Taiki as fast as they did with Sheren and Meirin. Non actually began to appear outside the library, mainly because Taiki somehow manage to successfully drag her out. Even Shishun, who usually doesn't let her guard around people, had lowered her guard around the Young Tiger of Kou-Tou.
It was all almost just as Sai had remembered, back before the tragic loss of the Tiger of Kou-Tou. Taiki's presence in their region was literally healing the wound left by the tragedy, and then some. But now, Taiki is heading off into danger all by himself, with no back up and armed only with his strength. Sai didn't dare imagine what would happen to the Son Family and Kou-Tou if Taiki was to disappear so suddenly.
"Don't worry yourself," Taiki chuckled as he suddenly patted Sai's shoulder.
"Huh!? Oh, uh, okay?" Sai managed as she snapped out of her thought.
"…? Are you alright, Sai?" Taiki wondered as he placed a hand on Sai's forehead, "Your temperature doesn't seem so-Whoa! What happen? Your temperature just skyrocketed and your face turned red! Are you catching a fever?"
"N-N-N-No, I am fine," Sai managed before distancing herself from Taiki and turn away in an effort to hide her redden face, "It's nothing! Uh, I shall see you off from here, Taiki!"
"…? Okay, stay healthy then," Though still worried, Taiki began to make his way to the Falling Sky Ravine, leaving Sai as she brought her hands up to her chest.
"Hmm~," Taiki cupped his chin as he observed the opening in the large cliff face in front of him, "So this is the Falling Sky Ravine. It gives an eerie feeling, I'll give it that much…"
Taiki knew that beyond the ravine lies the Yellow Scarves' base-of-operation. If he can reach there, he can cause enough mayhem and send the bandits into confusion.
"…The problem is within the ravine itself…"
The ravine alone has killed ten thousand or so invaders, safeguarding the Yellow Scarves and allowing them to recover every time they retreated behind them. According Nanano, Miu's close aid, the method of how those ten thousand soldiers were killed within a split second was never explained; therefore they had to accept the idea that the Yellow Scarves was somehow able to use sorcery to curse the invaders.
Taiki personally doesn't believe in sorcery. True, some unseen force had brought him to this strange world where some of the major figure of future Son-Go had become females, Taiki deep down had a premonition that this time was different.
Taiki, being more muscle than brain, knows next to nothing about magic in whole, but he does a thing or two about trickery and how it was used during the Era of the Three Kingdom. Though the setting and the situation were different, it doesn't change the fact that the Yellow Scarves are fooling their enemies to think that they are using supernatural powers. Contrary to popular belief, not all of the members of the Yellow Scarves were just mindless mob who only know how to gang up and kill. The supposed leaders of the mass were quite intelligent and at least knew enough to maintain their hold on their supporters and some battle. It was for that reason that until the death of the ringleader, the Yellow Scarves managed to resist and expand.
"…The Yellow Scarves must be using some sort of trick to all of this," Taiki continued to hum on the spot, "the problem is how to figure it out without getting me killed…"
Taiki hummed for a few more seconds before scanning up and down each side of the cliff faces of the ravine.
"The cliffs look tough to climb," Taiki smirked, "I bet those Yellow Scarves will never expect anyone to climb it…Perfect~!"
With a nod, and after a moment to check that his gears are pack and secure tightly, Taiki began to scale the cliff of the ravine's right side.
"… … …Phew~~!" Taiki puffed as he wiped the sweat off his forehead, "climbing that cliff sure takes a lot out of you no matter how strong you are…"
Taiki, in reality, had only taken about half an hour to carefully scale the brittle ravine walls and was barely breathing hard as he is. But nevertheless, he is still human. Carefully climbing a nearly 90 degree wall that barely had any foothold, with strong winds blowing all-around, and fighting the force of gravity all at the same time was tiring even for Taiki.
Nonetheless, Taiki was now standing on top the sheer cliff that had looked far from climbable.
"Phew~," Taiki whistled, "There's a nice breeze up here-… …Huh?"
Taiki pause his monologue for one reason: not far off in the distance he spotted a strange contraption. Because of the distant, Taiki couldn't make out what it was but the small movements around the contraption were signs of people. And since Taiki was aware that none of Ju-Shun or Kou-Tou forces should be here, they could only one thing: the Yellow Scarves.
"…Looks like I'll be able to figure out how those punks are using their magic earlier than I thought…" Taiki smirked as he cautiously made his way over.
Fortunately for Taiki, scattered all over the terrain were large boulders that Taiki could easily use to hind behind as crept closer.
Of course, there were times where Taiki couldn't help but nearly laugh out loud on several occasion. The Yellow Scarves were, for the sake of the argument, definitely not most efficient of people to be call soldiers. It may have been due to the fact that Taiki had manage to scale the sheer cliff of the ravine when no one else could, but as he got closer he realized that he didn't even need to worry much. The Yellow Scarves didn't have any lookouts whatsoever…nor were they cautious or attentive enough to be on the alert for possible attack.
In short, they were totally defenseless.
"…I expect to take much longer than this to get in close to them," Taiki quietly sighed to himself; in all, the time for him to get in as close as he did was around a minute when it should have taken logically about an hour if the Yellow Scarves had done their job properly.
"Well, I guess I could be thankful for that. Now I now know what the heck this thing is," Taiki whistled quietly as observed the contraption of the Yellow Scarves.
To make it a long story short, it looked like a large squared hammer made of solid stone tied to what looks like several large and strong bamboo shoots. Basically it's a contraption that was meant to flatten things quickly and efficiently. It was place close to the edge of ravine walkway, just out of sight of any possible enemy traveling in the ravine.
(Note from Normama: Yes, I know, it's corny and unrealistic. No way in hell could something like be even possible, but bear with me on this and let me break the law of physic this once in the story.)
"Huh, clever," Taiki hummed as he stroke his clean-shave chin, "I guess it is possible to kill a lot of people in the ravine like this…got it. Now to get rid of it…"
With that thought in mind, Taiki stealthily crept up from behind one of the "guards". In a single instance, and beforehand ensuring no one else could witness it, he cover the bandit's mouth with his right hand and wrapped his left arm around the bandit's neck. Caught unaware, the bandit struggled to pull Taiki's arm away from his windpipe as Taiki used to squeeze his neck. In a matter of moments, however, the bandit has passed out from the lack of air, allowing Taiki to drag him out of sight and tied him up.
"That's one down," Taiki nodded as he quickly moved to his next target.
Taiki repeated this about a hundred more time before he managed to capture every last one of them within the hour. After that, he managed to get a bite of food (courteous of the Yellow Scarves' ration supply) before promptly destroying the contraption.
Taiki continued to travel onward after he destroyed the contraption that had taken the lives of so many soldiers and dangled the Yellow Scarves of the sides of the cliff face he had climbed. It wasn't long however before Taiki reached yet another cliff edge of the plateau he was travel on, with the Yellow Scarves' main camp situated just below.
"Ho~!" Taiki whistled shielding his eyes from the sunlight as scan the terrain bellow him, "Nice setup~! Those Yellow Scarves are just right down there, with almost no care in the world!"
After about another minute of sightseeing, Taiki drew his trusty metal bat, took a couple of practice swing for warm up, before taking a couple of steps back away from the cliff edge.
"Alright~!" Taiki smirked before sprinting and leaping off the cliff, down into the camp, "Time to make like a hunting tiger and pounce~~~…!
Meanwhile, shifting back to the Ju-Shun main camp, at the same time the female Generals of Kou-Tou were impatiently waiting for words of Taiki's success in foiling the Yellow Scarves' Falling Sky Ravine. Even Miu was fidgeting on her seat, puffing her face in irritation.
"… … …Guards!" Miu suddenly called, causing everyone in present in the tent to jump.
"Y-Yes, My Lady?" a soldier came running in.
"Are there any signal smoke yet?"
"N-No, My Lady, we have to see any…"
"…I see. Return to your post!"
"Y-Yes My Lady!" And with that, he hurryingly returned to his post.
"My Lady," Nanano sweat dropped, "Please calmed down. That was already the sixth time you called the guard…"
"But waiting around is so boring. Taiki-onii-chan is taking too long," Miu huffed before adding to herself quietly, "I hope he is well…"
"… … …Meirin," Sheren voiced, "Tell me again how do we know again that Taiki had surpass the Falling Sky Ravine?"
"It is quite simple, Sheren," Meirin began, readjusting her glasses, "Taiki is to simply tell us by lighting a smoke signal…"
"That is all?"
"Yes. Of course, to see if the information he provided are legit or not, we will send in some of our troops to check it out. Obviously, if the troops do not return safely, General Taiki had given false information…"
"Taiki-onii-chan would not do that!" Miu suddenly exclaimed, "How can just doubt your comrade like that?"
"…?" Everyone gave Miu a startled stare, reminding Miu of her position.
"Uh, I mean…"
"My Lady," Nanano wondered worryingly, "Are you feeling ok?"
Miu staggered for a second before coming back strong. "…What? Am I not correct in my assumption?"
"W-Well no, but…"
While that was going on, Meirin was thinking grimly to herself. "(It would appear that man has gain acceptance from even the proud En-Jutsu Kouro. He is indeed a dangerous man, far more dangerous than the Yellow Scarves. Putting aside the fact that he save Sheren, to have the so-called Messenger from Heaven appear several hours after that old Oracle 'foretold' that prophecy is way too much of a coincidence. Surely it is terrible if the Yellow Scarves remains, but it shall be worse if he remains…)"
Just then, the guard from before came rushing in.
"R-Reporting!" the soldier staggered in his haste.
"What is it?" Nanano question immediately.
"Smoke signals have been sight, My Lady. The direct is that from the Falling Sky Ravine…"
"…Smoke…Signals!?" Meirin blinked, "If it was General Taiki, it should only be one, no?"
"Yes, also some of our scouts had just returned reporting that there were around a hundred Yellow Scarves hanging down from the cliff-side of the Ravine!"
"I beg your pardon!?"
"T-That is too strange of a report," Ashe managed, "Sheren-sama, we must see this ourselves to draw any conclusion…"
"I agree," Sheren nodded as she turned to Sai, "Have our troops ready to march. We are going to the see what is happening…"
"Very well," Sai nodded before leaving the tent in a rush.
"Have our troops do the same, Nanano," Miu ordered.
"As you wish," Nanano bowed before also quickly exiting.
In a matter of minutes, the combine forces of Kou-Tou and Ju-Shun, Thirteen Thousand strong, had marched up to the entrance of the Falling Sky Ravine.
Indeed, when they arrived, a hundred Yellow Scarves were tied up, dangling off the side of the cliff.
"What is the meaning of this?" Renfa sweat dropped at the sad sight as she witness some of the awake bandits crying their eyes out pleading for mercy.
"Let us find out," Shaoren noted as she made her horse galloped closer.
"Ah-! Wait Shaoren," Renfa called after, "It might be a trap!"
Shaoren ignored Renfa's warn and halted right in front of the cliff.
"Yellow Scarves Bandits~!" Shaoren called up, catching the attention of the conscious bandits, "Speak the reason that thou now face such unpleasant fortune~!"
"Ah! Someone is down there!" A bandit cried, "Help us! Release us from this curse and humiliation~!"
"Speak thy piece first, salvation shall come afterward. Speak how thy men and thee found themselves hanging from this sheer cliff?"
"What are they saying?" Miu wondered, straining her ears in an effort hear better.
"The winds are blowing too strong and they are too far away to hear," Nanano muttered.
"…? Sheren-sama!" Ashe called as she pointed towards the ravine.
Everyone turn to see several Yellow Scarves bandits running out of the passage, as if running for their lives.
"What the-?" Sai blinked at the sight, "What is all this?"
Nanano jumped into action as she turns to a commander. "Take your squadron and round up those bandits! Kill if they resist!"
"Yes madam," the commander saluted before calling to his squadron, "All troops move out!" With a roar, One Thousand soldiers sailed forward following the commander.
At the same time, Shaoren had raced back to her comrades…with information to report.
"Sister," Shaoren called, "I have return!"
"Shaoren!" Renfa called, "Are you alright?"
"Yeah! And I have discovered the reason behind those hanging Yellow Scarves; it was Taiki's doing!"
"General Sonoma?" Meirin blinked incredibly, "But how?"
"It would seem they were the reason why so many soldiers were slaughter in the Falling Sky Ravine! They were in charge of some sort of machinery up there to do so. It would seem that good old Taiki found out about it and took it down. Those hanging Yellow Scarves are the result of it…"
"WHAT?" Miu exclaimed angrily as she glared at the hanging bandits, "You mean they were the ones that gave us such a headache!?"
"Pretty much…"
Just then, a soldier rushed up to the female generals. "I have a report from the commander, My Lady!"
"What is it?" Miu wondered at once.
"It would seem the Yellow Scarves Bandits are running out of the Falling Sky Ravine because a single powerful warrior is causing havoc in the Yellow Scarves main camp…"
"…A single power-!" Sai muttered before she straightened in realization, "It must be none other than Taiki!"
"…! He is attacking the Yellow Scarves' main base by himself!?" Nanano gasped, "That is nothing short of crazy!"
"…T-That would surely explain the multitude of smoke columns," Ashe sweat dropped as she gaze at the smoke columns rising from behind the Falling Sky Ravine.
"Hmm~," Sheren, meanwhile, hummed to herself in thought before nodding as she glared at the ravine's passage, "We are going!"
"… … … …HUH?" the female generals voiced in unison.
"Taiki is currently fighting alone. Perhaps the reason he went ahead and struck the main base was because he didn't want any unnecessary casualty on our side. But I for one cannot sit here as one of my bravest general is fighting courageous on the frontline alone!" Sheren turn to her army, pulling out her sword and raising it high into the air. "Soldier of Kou-Tou! The Young Tiger of Kou-Tou, OUR Tiger, is braving the battle for us, for our love ones and for all of Kou-Tou. But he is just one man, sooner or later even he would fall to those hooligans if he continues on his own! Will we allow it…SHOULD we allow it!?"
In an instant, the Red Armor soldiers of Kou-Tou roared voicing their desire to not allow Taiki to fall.
"Then let us sally forth! Fierce soldiers of Kou-Tou, advance! Show them the Yellow Scarves the might of Kou-Tou!"
In an instant, Sheren had her horse bolted forward and, as to not be left behind, Meirin soon follow. Sai with her bow and arrow ready, Ashe with her glaive in hand, Shaoren with twin war hoops, and Renfa with her broadsword unsheathe soon follow as the army of Five Thousand trail from behind.
"… …! What am I doing!?" Miu snapped out of her trance as the last the Kou-Tou entered the passageway of the ravine, "Army of Ju-Shun, we are also going!"
"Eh?" Nanano blinked, "But was the plan not to let the Kou-Tou army handle this-?"
"Since when!?" Miu rushed, "I-I…That is right! We must not let the Army of Kou-Tou out-stage us! This is also the opportunity of a lifetime to prove our worth! So we are going too!"
"…That is a reckless reason, Miu-sama…but, if that is what you want…" Nanano turn to the army of Ju-Shun, "All troops advance! Show both the Yellow Scarves and the Kou-Tou Army that we are no pushovers!"
The army roared and charge into the ravine.
"Does this satisfy you, Miu-sama?"
"Mm~…Kind of…" Miu pouted.
"I suppose Miu-sama want to enter as well?"
"…Well…" In honesty, Miu could care less about entering the battle. In fact, the thought scare her. But…she wanted to see Taiki.
Nanano remained silent for a moment before unsheathing her sword. "Miu-sama, if you wish to go I shall not stop you; I shall protect you!"
"…Nanano…" Miu blinked before her eyes harden in determination, "Alright~! Let us go!"
"As you wish!"
Meanwhile, in the Yellow Scarves' base-of-operation, boy, what a sight to see! Yellow Scarves were either running or flying everywhere. Flying because a particular boy was swatting them so with his metal bat. Taiki was on a roll for an hour already and shows no signs of letting up. Recognizing this, most of the Yellow Scarves were no longer willing to face him and had decided to run instead. Only a few were stupid—err, "brave" enough to try to confront Taiki every now and then only to end up joining their other comrades in the sky before returning to earth hard.
"Oi~, Leader of Yellow Scarves~!" Taiki called out, "I'm looking for ya, Leader~! Kind of hard to take over a dynasty with me in the way, huh Leader~? LEADER~, GET~ OUT~ HERE~!"
You're probably wondering what Taiki is doing, right? Well, as it turns out he is currently trying to find the supposed leader of this gathering of Yellow Scarves. But after an hour of searching, he could find anyone that looks or gives off the air of a leader.
"Where are you, Leader of the Yellow Scarves~~!?" Taiki called out again as he was about to swing his bat at another bandit.
"GAAH! Spare me~!" the bandit groveled, "I shall tell you where the Sorcerer is if you let me go~!"
"Oh?" Taiki halted his swing, just two centimeters from the bandits face, "Sorcerer? Is he your leader?"
"Y-Yes, he is!"
"Finally~, I'm getting somewhere! Where is he?"
"H-He is just up this altar!" the bandit managed as he pointed up the flight of stairs of an altar, "H-He has been up there since the commotion started…"
"Is that right?" Taiki smirked as he stroke his chin, "Thanks! …Hmm, I like you. You're coming with me!"
"Eh?" the bandit managed before Taiki picked him up with his free hand and began to walk up the stairs. "EH~~!? B-But I thought you would let me go if I tell you where the Sorcerer is~!"
"I am going to let you go," Taiki laughed before pointing towards the only exit of the valley, "But take a good look. My pals on the outside seem to be streaming in. If I just simply let you go, those guys might kill ya instead…"
The bandit turned to see that Taiki was right. The army of Kou-Tou and Ju-Shun are coming in and judging from the noise the confused Yellow Scarves around the area were being slaughter.
"I'm doomed~!" the bandit cried.
"Not as long as you are with me," Taiki smirked confidently, "That's why I'm taking you with me. Just stick by me and you'll be fine…"
"…R-Really? Because I got a family back home waiting for me and all. I got to get back!"
"Is that right? I knew I like something about you. But what are you doing in this here place?"
"…I-I was traveling when they suddenly jumped me. To survive I had to join them and I couldn't find a way out since then…"
"I see. That's sad. But don't worry; I'll get you out…just as soon as I beat up that Leader of these Yellow Scarves…"
"Really? Oh, thank you! Uh, but can you at least let me down?"
"Sure," Taiki laughed as he let him down, "But remember, stick next to me, got it? You stay on my a*s! Got it?"
"Uh, got it…" the bandit managed as they proceed up the stairs.
The two finally reach the top of the altar. The top wasn't really fancy, just a couple of old-looking cauldrons on the four corner of the area along with some high pillars. What really stood out was the rather old-looking man standing in the center of arena.
He was a mostly bald old man with bushy bread and visible wrinkles all over his face. He wore gown of black and yellow with yin-yang symbols decorated all over. And in his hand was a large staff with a tiger design.
"That's him?" Taiki wondered, as the bandit next to him nodded, "He looks like some of those Taoist I sometime see in picture books. Well, whatever…"
Taiki came forth, stopping about a meter in front of the Sorcerer, and pointed his metal bat at him.
"So~, you the a**hole behind this, eh?"
"… … … …The Kan… …" the Sorcerer whispered in a horsed voiced.
"…? I beg your pardon?"
"…The Kan has already crumbled away~!" the Sorcerer called out much stronger this time as he began to float upward, startling Taiki a bit, "Fool who defy the Will of the Heaven~, die beneath the sands of time!"
As if on cue, a wave of sand blew all around him. The frighten bandit yelped a bit, backing up before remembering what Taiki had said and return behind Taiki.
"…Humph," Taiki huffed confidently with a smirk before calling up to the Sorcerer, "I am not frightened by a little dust storm!"
"We shall see~!" the Sorcerer glared back, "There shall be no way out for such a fool~! You shall be crushed to death~!"
Instinct suddenly kicked in as Taiki grabbed the bandit and jumped to the side just as a rock dropped from sky, landing where he and the bandit just was. It soon began to rise up again, making Taiki raised an eyebrow in interest.
"We shall see!" Taiki once again jumped out of the way as another rock crashed down, with the bandit still with him, "Hmm~, let's sees how he's doing this…"
"Is it not obvious that this sorcery?" the bandit wondered as Taiki dragged him out of the way of yet another falling rock.
Taiki scanned the arena carefully while being mindful about avoiding the falling rock. After about another minute of dodging and scanning, Taiki smiled with the type of smile that said, "Now-how-could-I-have-miss-that?" kind.
"I think we got [scam] by a [kindergartener]," Taiki smirked.
"Huh?" the bandit wondered.
"Those cauldrons," Taiki pointed out, "That's where the sand wind is being blown from. I can clearly see though that there are Yellow Scarves moving them. And when you look at the falling rocks, they got small string on them that are connected to those pillars…"
"Hmm?" the bandit focused at what Taiki mention and found it was true, "Ah, you are right!"
"I figure as much since it was the same with the Falling Sky Ravine…" Taiki smirked as he tightened his grip on his metal bat, "And I know how to solve this little trick as well…"
Taiki, with the bandit not too far behind him, rushed at one of the cauldron and, with his metal bat, smashed the cauldron to pieces. Taiki repeated the procedure with the remaining cauldron, causing the sandstorm to subside completely. Seeing this, the Yellow Scarves that were hiding around the arena, bolted down the stairs in fright.
"You fools~!" the Sorcerer called in shock, "Do not run~! Kill him~!"
"Do that yourself," Taiki huffed as he sent a high-speeding baseball rocketing at each of the pillars, causing the rocks to fall and permanently remain on the ground. At the same time, the Sorcerer also dropped to the ground as well; apparently the pillar was also allowed him to rise and remain in the air. "It's over, Sorcerer, you're coming with me!"
"It will not be so easy~!" the Sorcerer suddenly rushed forward and, using his staff, knocked Taiki's bat out of his hand, "I am the emissary of the new era~!"
"Whoa!" Taiki exclaimed a tad surprise by the swiftness of the old man, "He's nimble!"
"I cannot be defeated~," the Sorcerer claimed as he swung wildly at Taiki, "The Yellow Scarves cannot be halted~!"
"Hey, hold on a second!" Taiki managed as he dodged the swings. This in turn didn't give Taiki the luxury of reaching any of his other equipment in his pack.
"Die~, die~, DIE~!"
"What are you, [Carnage] from [Spider-Man]?" Taiki exclaimed as he finally reached for the only weapon possible in the situation…the sword that Sheren had presented to him when joined the Kou-Tou army, Ko-Tei-Tou (Sealing Tiger Sword).
Like a swordsman performing IAIDO, Taiki aimed to knock the staff out of the Sorcerer's gripped. But Taiki misjudged the distant between them and accidentally slashed the Sorcerer as well.
"Ugh~…!" the Sorcerer cried out in pain as he stumbled back from the force of Taiki's attack.
"…! Oh, crap!" Taiki managed, realizing his blundered.
The Sorcerer fell to one knee before glaring at Taiki.
"Damn it," Taiki frowned in frustration, seeing the wound he inflicted and realizing the man was too far from saving, "I only meant to disarm you! I didn't mean to-…"
"…You~," the sorcerer managed as he slowly stood up, "You hide your fangs well~, Young Tiger~! But what is it you desire~?"
"Huh?"
Taiki observed the Sorcerer for a moment before thinking about what he asked. What is it that Taiki has wished for when he came here? Taiki could care less about fame or glory, so that's out the window. Was it to protect Sheren as he had intended from the beginning? No, that wasn't it either…at least not all of it.
"…I don't want anything," Taiki finally spoke, "I defeated you because you brought conflict to this world. And as long as conflicts exist, my friends' worries and enemies will be there. That's all…"
The Sorcerer observed him a bit before laughing out hysterically. "Simple and animalistic~. You REALLY are a Tiger~!" he mocked as slowly draw closer, "But those fangs~…will only draw in~… more enemies~…"
With those final strain words, the Sorcerer finally fell back, and when his body finally rests lifelessly on the ground he dissolved into sand right before the bandit and Taiki's eyes.
"…Taiki!" a voiced called up from behind.
The bandit turn to see Sheren, Renfa, and Shaoren coming up the stairs, weapons ready in hand. They looked relieved to see Taiki, but glared at the bandit.
"Uh, wait!" the bandit managed as he kneed down, "I'm with him!"
The bandit pointed towards Taiki, who hadn't even move.
"Taiki," Renfa wondered, perplexed at Taiki's cold-shoulder treatment, "what is it?"
"… … …It's nothing," Taiki managed after a couple more seconds, before turn to them with a smile, "And yeah, he's with me…"
The bandit gave a sigh of relief as the Son Sisters lower their weapons.
"Come, everyone," Taiki huffed with a tiredly smile, "let's go home!"
The Yellow Scarves were completely overwhelmed this time around. Without the protection of the Falling Sky Ravine, the combine army of Kou-Tou and Ju-Shun easily wiped them out. And with the news of the fall of their leader soon spreading throughout the camp, the Yellow Scarves practically gave up.
For taking down the Sorcerer, who was also the leader of this division, Taiki returned to find himself a Hero among the soldiers. There was no single soldier he passes that didn't spoke to him with a lot of admiration. Every single one of the soldiers from both camps couldn't resist congratulating him or simply chatting with him.
Of course, not everyone was as happy.
"General Taiki Sonoma!" A voiced ranged out as Taiki approached the Kou-Tou Army's main tent. It belonged to none other than Meirin who was stomping up to him.
"Hey, Meirin!" Taiki greeted back, as causal as always.
"…'Hey, Meirin!' is NOT what I want to hear!" Meirin comically shouted in protest, "What art thou thinking!? Attacking the Yellow Scarves' base by thyself like that? That was outside the plan altogether!"
"…Sorry…"
"…Huh?" Meirin backtracked a bit.
"You're right; it was reckless," Taiki turned to Sheren and bow, "I'm ready to take any punishment…"
"Hey Taiki, do not say that," Sheren sweat dropped, "it was your action that cause our easy victory this time around. And you managed to slay the Sorcerer as well. Your accomplishments here more than pardon your recklessness…Would you not agree, Meirin?"
"Huh? I…" Meirin stumbled.
To Meirin, to Shuu-Yu Koukin, this was her chance to get rid of Taiki once and for all. He was obviously too powerful and dangerous to the Son Family's future. …But if she does so now when Taiki had perform such great achievements, while everyone both soldiers and generals alike are idolizing him as a hero, a hero who risked his life for the Son Family, the disastrous result that would follow she wouldn't dare to begin to imagine.
Trapped between the wolf pack from behind and the unparalleled tiger from the front, Meirin sighed as she pinched the bridge of her nose.
"Yes, My Lady," Meirin hesitated, "General Taiki Sonoma's accomplishment today would indeed wash away the error of his recklessness…"
"Well said, Meirin," Sheren smiled and turn to Taiki, "As spoken by our strategist, Taiki shall be pardon for his error…"
"…Very well," Taiki straighten up and nodded.
"Taiki-onii-chan~~~~~!" a voiced called out as a figure rushed in, nearly knocking aside Meirin, and collided into Taiki's face with a hug. It was…
"Whoa-! Miu!" Taiki managed in shock.
"I totally knew you would be alright~!" Miu cheered with a glee.
"M-Miu-sama!" Nanano trotted up, "Please remember your stature as a noblewoman!"
"Eh?" Miu pondered before noticing that they were still outside the tent and that everyone, soldiers included, had witness her show of affection. She was about to panic before she took a deep breath and reposition herself so that she sat on his shoulder. "What is there to be ashamed of?"
"…Huh?"
"It is not as if I am clinging onto some mere commoner. I see this man as a mere throne that is all…"
"A-A throne?" Renfa frowned uncomfortably with a sweat drop.
"That is correct. There is no other throne like him; what other throne would be so relaxing to sit on while also being powerful and difficult to sit on?"
"…Ah~!" Taiki mused, understanding what Miu was saying after remembering his conversation last night, before laughing out loud, "Hard to argue that, I suppose…"
Meirin blinked before glaring at Taiki. "Dost thou not have any dignity? How can thou allow someone to sit on thee like some throne?"
"I'm not letting just anybody sit on me now. So far, just this noblewoman…"
"Is that right~," Sheren mused as she draw in closer, "Then that would mean I could have a shot at sitting on you too right?"
"What-!? Sheren!" Meirin gasped, "Please do not jest like that!"
"Hey, no fair!" Shaoren suddenly exclaimed, "I am a princess of the Son Family too! I should have a chance as well!"
"Lady Shaoren!"
"Wait your turn!" Miu teased from on top of Taiki, "For now, this seat is mine~!"
"M-Miu-sama," Nanano sweat dropped, but couldn't help smiling as well.
"That is not entirely true, Lady Kouro," Sheren chuckled, "he is after all, a general of the Son Family…"
"…Hmm~. That is true. Very well, I share him with you then, Sheren-nee-dono…"
"You are most generous…"
"Have you ALL gone insane!?" Meirin roared in disbelief.
"Oh my," Sai chuckled, "This is getting complicated…"
"Only Taiki could dare cause this," Ashe sweat dropped.
"Does Taiki really look like a throne?" Renfa sweat dropped as well as Meirin, her sisters, and Miu continue to chitchat among themselves as everyone else laugh happily at the sight.
"Boy," Taiki chuckled quietly to himself as the conversation continued around him. He hardly heard them anymore as he stared up into the clear blue sky thinking about the future…and about the Sorcerer's final words.
"Simple and animalistic~. You REALLY are a Tiger~. But those fangs~…will only draw in~… more enemies~…"
"(From what's he is saying my strength would only get me more enemies, huh?)" Taiki thought as his hands unconsciously gripped his metal bat and the Ko-Tei-Tou, "(Well, I suppose there is some truth in that…)"
Taiki knew from experience that the stronger one gets, the more people would try to take him down before he gets stronger. It was because of that that he was always jumped in his neighborhood, though he obviously survives them all. But would it be the same in this world? Would he be able to ward off threat not just from himself but from his newfound friends as well? Was the dream of the Young Tiger one that could remain only in the realm of fancy?
Taiki shook his head. "(Nah, like I'll let that happen…)" If his strength was going to draw in more enemies, then so be it. He'll just use that same strength to knock them away. Taiki doesn't need to think of complicated things like "will" or "will not".
"I will definitely," Taiki began under his breath, "lead the Son Family safely through these chaotic times…"
Another chapter done~~~! An introduction to not only one but two candidates to Taiki's personal harem~! Did you catch them?
Oh, and in case anyone is wondering about Chou-Kun's Common Name, think no further; it is a made-up name I gave to her. "Taeru" in Japanese means "Endure"; I gave her this as her Common Name because she has to endure with her somewhat easily manipulated master, putting up with her carelessness with a smile.
Note that I am planning to give all other characters that did not have Common Name before ones that I came up with (like Ka-Yuu, Bun-Shuu and Gan-Ryou). and at the end of each chapter where I introduce them, I shall explain why I gave them these Common Names. Look forward to them~!
It's now Izumi's turn in the spotlight as she help Sou-Sou quell the Yellow Scarves Rebellion once and for all! For any who have played the second game of Koihime Musou, sorry but this is how I imagine the YSR to be quelled. Stay tune~!