Disclaimers: See Chapter 1
Additional Note (Please Read): This tale is a companion with, The Conqueror & Ri: A Twist of Destiny. If you haven't read both stories' chapters preceding this one, you should do so now. I would like to thank the awesome beta, Jinxie, and all my readers. Also, a special shout out to luckdog and Marijke Bush. Enjoy! :)
Xena & Gabrielle
A Turn of Fate
By Ahkiken
Chapter 40: Visionless Torpor
It was mid-afternoon when the monk finished his errands and freed Jirou from safeguarding Xena's lodging, notifying him to communicate their Shogun's newfangled enjoin to anyone he descried. While the flustered Samurai trudged off, Kenji entered the cabin, closing the door behind him. Walking forward, his sight detected Ri slumbering haphazardly on the cot.
Deciding to rearrange the strawberry-blonde's irregular sleeping position, he set the bowl of steamed rice on the table, and wandered to her idle form. Gently flipping her over from the prone disposition she was resting in, Kenji glimpsed the glowing shard on Ri's glimmering adornment. Curiosity coerced him to reach out for the lambent item, but just as he touched it, the greenish aura dissipated, and the storyteller's eyelids fluttered before gradually opening to see the bald man.
"Kenji-San?" Ri spoke quietly.
"It's me." He clarified, removing his digits off of the jade-colored pendant. "Did I wake you?"
"I don't recall falling asleep." Ri swept moistened tresses from her forehead, and had begun to sit up, only to feel parlous wooziness.
Witnessing her collapse on the makeshift bed, Kenji grew worried. "Ri-Kun, are you unwell?"
She tried sitting in a reclined posture again, withal Ri's body felt unresponsive, making her struggle to complete the simple task. "I...I'm feeling tremendously weak."
Therefore helping Ri to lie down adequately, Kenji broached the subject referencing her platinum ornament, "I've brought you lunch and espied your jewelry aglow whilst you were napping. I believe it was the Omphalos shard."
The whilom Handmaiden became stunned from the monk's averment. Though the infernal object forced her to lose consciousness on two occasions she'd known of, the Omphalos' power had always shown Ri unwanted foresight during the induced dormancy. The actuality that she had a visionless torpor was wholly puzzling to her.
"It couldn't have activated." She stated, groggily. "The shard usually grants me a vision, and I haven't dreamt anything."
"I assure you, your chain emitted a radiant, green light."
"But...that's improbable." Ri was becoming fervid, asking herself, "How could it glow without yielding a premonition?"
In the duration of Ri's excitement, she strained to rise off of the cot, howbeit Kenji tenderly settled her back on it, replying, "Perchance in lieu of the Omphalos shard bestowing future insight, it could've affected you in another way."
Allowing Kenji to cover her with a blanket of fur, Ri cerebrated on his declaration, admitting, "You are possibly correct, because I've never been this exhausted following the aftermath of the shard's effects."
"You should rest, Ri-Kun." Kenji proffered. "You've had an eventful day. I'll watch over you, and will be attentive of your necklace in case it alight a second time."
'Time?' Ri internally queried, but her eyes were growing too heavy to keep open from somnolence, so she asked something far more important, "Is...is the Shogun alive?"
"Yes, he's fine." Kenji affirmed. "No harm has befallen him."
"What of Xena-Sama, including the..." Ri's inquiry faltered, and she'd succumbed to sleepiness, losing her opportunity to fathom the progress of warding off the prescient onslaught that would ravage the giant warship.
{X&G}
"Hello, Tanya-Kun." Suzu greeted her as she languidly twirled the naginata in the armory.
"Oh..." The teenager registered his presence, halting her actions. "Hey, Suzu."
"Am I disrupting your practice?" He prompted.
"No, I was merely..." Tanya's mind wondered to her unaccounted tutor. "Have you seen Gabrielle today?"
Suzu shook his head in the negative. "I haven't beheld her at all... Although, some of the Samurai are whispering that Gabrielle-San and Xena-Sama spent the night together."
"I'm aware." Tanya responded, absentmindedly.
Leaning on the polearm, she mentally fretted about Xena's unascertained antagonistic attitude. Tanya had knowledge of the duo's intimate make up because the bard hinted at it after they amended their own quarrelsome friendship. Hence, even with the information she retained, the Warrior Princess' current behavior confused her greatly.
'Did they get into a second argument?' Tanya questioned inwardly.
Misunderstanding Tanya's flummoxed expression, Suzu made a fallacious concurrence, "It's shocking, right? I had no idea they were close...in that way."
Careless of what Suzu was implying, Tanya probed, "Do you think Kenji would know where Gabrielle is?"
"Probably." Suzu deduced. "I heard from Jirou that Kenji requested him to stand guard in front of Xena-Sama's room, but didn't divulge an incentive why. Maybe she's inside."
"Of course!" Tanya exclaimed, taking her weight off of the staff-like weaponry. "I've checked everywhere except there. Nevertheless, I don't understand why she'd need a sentry."
Dropping the naginata, she spun to leave, albeit, Suzu grabbed her arm, averring, "You're not allowed to enter."
"Why's that?" Tanya quizzed, warmly escaping his clutch.
"When Kenji relieved Jirou, he apprised him to spread word of the Shogun's decree that no-one is to cross Xena-Sama's threshold."
Looking perplexed again, Tanya disclosed, "But we have a training session. Gabrielle would've told me something if she had to delay."
"Gabrielle-San is a Samurai now. Her loyalties is to Shinto." Suzu expounded.
"What does that mean?" Tanya's tone insinuated annoyance, 'cause it sounded like her free-roaming friend had fallen under Harukata's hindering control.
"Perhaps she's meditating and doesn't want to be disturbed." Suzu proposed to assuage Tanya's irritation, then moved closer, wanting their conversation to be discreet. "Inexplicable occurrences has happened. The Shogun is conferring with his elites now, and earlier, Xena-Sama pummeled the entire second squad roster. Look how operose everyone is practicing their skill sets."
Tanya conspicuously assayed the said men while they diligently swung their katanas in various methods. Majority dueled against one another, and others conducted their discipline by themselves.
"I'd pondered why so many had decided to train in here." She uttered.
"We're lucky that our trials are finished. Nonetheless, the squads that still have to compete are wary Xena-Sama will engage them similar to how she'd done the second squad. A few, like myself, are preparing for Yodoshi's attack once we reach Higachi." Suzu explained, appropriating Tanya's discarded weapon off of the floor and casually rotating it. "Care to spar with me? I don't have any expertise using a naginata, but I'm decent at jōjutsu, so I'll utilize this like a bo."
"Sure." Tanya assented, remembering the foreign name that her sable-haired idol had mentioned days ago. "Suzu, tell me more apropos to this Yodoshi."
"Okay." He answered.
"Also..." Smirking, Tanya snatched the metallic pole out of his grasp. "Get your own naginata. This one's mine."
{X&G}
The inner space of Harukata's conference quarters were filled with his elite warriors. They were seated at the rectangular table, and all of them wore their personal colored armor sans masks, excluding the Shogun who remained donned in his red kimono. Afterwards of being briefed on the disappearance of Gabrielle, her advent lookalike named Ri, and Xena's resultant alarming comportment, they'd become seemingly distraught.
"This is preposterous..." Koska muttered, not wanting to directly provoke his Shogun's ire. "I mean, how's it viable for Gabrielle-San to transfer worlds with someone else?"
"A Omphalos stone that originated from Greece is the causation." Harukata evinced. "Shards of the mystical object was inserted in Gabrielle-San's ring, and is attached to Ri-Kun's necklace, too."
Zicalus' countenance broadcasted astonishment. Not purely from the bewildering announcement of magic fragments that had swapped two people, but mostly because of the knowledge he was privy of. Gabrielle had finally unveiled to him that the silver circlet on her left index finger was from Xena herself. Yet, she'd alluded in the past how the band was a reminder of her deceased husband as well, and he'd assumed that to be veridical.
'It makes no sense for Xena to render a gift that would essentially impel a profound calamity.' He mused, ergo recollecting the soul mate's lovemaking had resurged his dire disappointment and mistrust. 'Gabrielle could've lied to me 'bout everything... She's a liar.'
Returning his focus on the present, Zicalus listened to Moku's question to their leader, "When did this all happen?"
"The final time I saw Gabrielle-San was last night. I can safely derive that she'd switched places with Ri-Kun at midnight or the predawn, for early this morning, Xena came to my private cabin." Harukata avowed.
"That's the reason she fought you on the deck..." Moku and Zicalus' optics went wide at Koska's disclosure whilst he erroneously pieced the puzzle together. "Considering that Lord Ryujin has marked her missing companion, Xena holds you responsible. Thereby believing the dragon-god could've instigated this, she assailed you."
"No, Koska. It's my own fault that we battled. I'd challenged Xena on the top platform by issuing a murderous threat to her. Technically, she solely defended herself." The Shogun defined.
Hearing Harukata's elucidation, Koska understood why he didn't order the foreigner's arrest and detainment. Notwithstanding, he couldn't glean the premise behind the initiation of the Shogun's perilous remark to Xena that generally sparked their subsequent contention.
"None of us need to secern that you wouldn't have threatened her without justification." The yellow armored Samurai articulated. "What did Xena do to attract your antipathy?"
Reposing himself comfortably on his chair, Harukata started to recite, "Entering my room at sunrise, Xena explicated to me what had transpired regarding Gabrielle-San's vanishment and the arrival of her younger-looking twin. Throughout our conjoined interrogation, which wasn't fully conducive 'cause the Warrior Princess turned violent, becoming fixedly confidant that Ri-Kun's rejoins inferred incrimination, proving that she was in cohorts with a conqueror from her world, and an unknown goddess whom had somehow encouraged the Omphalos shards to actuate. I couldn't abide standing aside and let harm betide Ri-Kun, so I'd interfered to protect her, evoking Xena's rage."
Harukata ended the tale, abstaining from revealing his shame and Xena's demand to find the Greek merchant who'd sold her the engagement ring. The blue-eyed harrier incapacitated him by utilizing an acutely effective pressure point that had cut off the flow of blood to his brain; basically putting his life in dour danger. If he'd chosen to impart that, his superior Samurai, primarily Koska, would rightfully insist on apprehending Xena to enforce justice, and indubitably reject all notions of going back to Greece when Japa's citizens, not exempting Amaterasu's vital temples, faced forthcoming annihilation from Yodoshi.
Kenning that the Shogun's defense of a stranger had influenced the raven-haired female to channel her bellicose demeanor on him, Moku rasped, "Where do we stand with Xena-Sama now?"
Harukata sighed. "At this juncture, it's trying to say exactly. Anon I will converse with her."
"Is that wise, Shogun? What if Xena remains hostile? We should all accompany you, at least to maintain peace and security." Koska advised.
"I'll discourse with her alone." Harukata professed sternly, thwarting any arguments to the contrary. "As for Gabrielle-San's unfortunate circumstances and Ri-Kun's successive ubiety here, we will be keeping her existence in Xena's cabin a secret for the time being. Do y'all accede?"
Sensing that a disagreement really wasn't an option, the elite Samurai acquiesced, "Yes, Shogun."
Whereas Harukata had procured their consent, the Governor of Shinto knew chiefly that his third-in-command held reservations in relation to how things were getting handled, but he would have to reflect over that later and concentrate on the imminent confabulation with Xena. "Our meeting is concluded."
The three men arose onto their feet and bowed to the Shogun, prior to exiting the area. Thereafter, while Koska's footsteps traipsed to the upper deck, Moku trailed Zicalus, choosing to investigate if anything significant occurred between him and Koska.
Desiring to ease into the topic, the purple armored weapons master strengthened his vocal cords to predicate, "Wouldn't have ever imagined that the conditions of our return voyage to Japa would alter vastly."
"Hmm." Zicalus mumbled, noncommittedly.
"Xena-Sama must be in immense sorrow concerning Gabrielle-San."
"She should be." Zicalus' light-green irises belied no emotion. "She's the blame for sending her lover to strange whereabouts."
Moku was baffled. "They're romantically involved?"
"They were, preceding this mishap."
His former protégé's phlegmatic stance had troubled the scarred Japian. In accordance to raising him for umpteen years, he'd grown fond of Zicalus' empathetic nature, and felt disconcerted by his downgraded inapposite apathetic manner.
'Is Gabrielle-San the cause? Or...' Placing a hand on Zicalus' shoulder, Moku ceased their gait through the first tier of the vessel, and thus being face-to-face, he urged, "Post the discussion in respect to aid the Daimyo or not, whereupon led us to continuing our trek to Higuchi instead of Shinto, I've noted that you haven't been the same. You've locked yourself in your lodging and kept a distance from Koska... Did he intimidate you in any way once we had departed the conference that day?"
Anent to the account of selecting the optimal choice to try saving Morimoto and his five thousand Samurai, Zicalus dwelled on Koska's retaliation daily. Having ruminations germane to the vengeful assault and verbalization, he couldn't impede his cognition on another matter other than the third-in-command's opined corollary of what would bechance their homeland.
['Get your head into what is happening in the real world and chase skirts in fantasyland after this is over.']
"No, he didn't terrorize me." Zicalus fabricated, and purported, "Koska guilelessly enlightened me, Moku."
"By doing what?" He pried, rubbing his aching throat.
Perceiving that Moku's talking was bothering him, Zicalus proclaimed, "You should stop wasting your voice on otiose banter."
Moku neglected Zicalus' attempt to avoid answering his prod. "Tell me what Koska has done."
Harrumphing, Zicalus shrugged Moku's extremity off of him, crisply confessing, "He helped me discern that Xena is the catalyst for all of our woes, and she has an obligation to undo the disorder she'd wrought. With the loss of Gabrielle-San or not, she will actualize her duty to assist the Shogun in Yodoshi's destruction... I'll make certain of it."
Moku became aghast from the adjuration, letting Zicalus traverse onwards by himself.
To Be Continued...