A/N: Hello~! How is everyone doing?
I did it! I passed the theory for my driver's license today! To celebrate, I finally finished this piece, which I had lying around for a long, long time and didn't know what to do with it. I found inspiration from my success and wrote whatever remained and am now publishing it.
This is a...dun dun dun, adventure tupy of story! Yay...! I kept my promise. At least, adventure-y. As in, adventure RPGS and everything. I love tabletop games of that sort, DnD 3.5 and Pathfinder being my faves. But since Pathfinder is the one I last and mostly played, I'll be going with that. The story adheres to the rules of the game, as well as the spells, everything; I made character sheets and everything! xD But, naturally, the plot won't revolve around their spells or swords or whatever weapons they'll be having, these are just tools. The story will be an actual story, with plot and everything.
Now, a few things I would like to make clear. I do not own the content mentioned here, such as names of the lands, their political status and so on, so forth; they are all based on the material paizo has published. I am making NO profit out of this fic right here, this is only for my reader's enjoyment. And my own.
Now, to help everyone a little, with names and such, I will make a small appendix.
Golarion: earth, basically.
Avistan: Europe-esque.
Absalom: an island, think of it like Cyprus; the so-called centre of the world. Many centuries ago, the Starstone was risen from the depths by the God Aroden (the Absalom reckoning) (Aroden mysteriously died 100 years ago btw); three more humans, who took the Test of the Starstone, became Gods there. Their income is through trade and all that goodness. The wealthiest folk live there. It's in Avistan.
Tian Xia: basically, the continent of Asia in Pathfinder, but it's geography is a bit different.
Minkai: basically, Japan in Pathfinder, but it's a peninsula on its own, away from the other nations (and the epicentre of our story), which they can access only through the Spirits Road.
The Spirit Road: the path made after centuries of travel, leading safely through the Forest of Spirits.
Forest of Spirits: a thick, woodland area where kami dwell; some kitsune, too. In far recesses of the Forest, one can find Oni, as well. So long as Oni or humans do not harm the Forest, they are all left alone. It connects Minkai with the rest of the continent.
Kasai: Minkai's capital.
Ameiko Amatatsu: the Empress of Minkai, given the right to rule by the Goddess Shizuru, last surviving member of the Amatatsu
royal family, one of the five ruling families of the land; 30 years old.
Jade Regent: the Oni (all Oni are evil in Pathfinder with veeeeeeeery few exceptions) who had taken over the throne before Ameiko returned. Jade Regent is also the name of the adventure path you play as a tabletop and if you manage to have a happy ending, the Jade Regent is killed and Ameiko is crowned.
Chu Ye: a country in the mainland, ruled by Oni. Evil-aligned.
Hongal: the country connecting the forest of spirits with the rest of the continent. Home of the Horse Lords, a chaotic, nomadic bunch.
Shizuru: Lawful Good patron Goddess of Minkai; worshipped throught Tian Xia. Takes the form of a Dragon as well as a woman.
And I think that's it! There are no other words you may be wondering about. If you think this is too much info, please let me know, but please bare with it. It's only for the first chapter.
Title: The Priestess and the Grump.
Genre: Fantasy, Adventure, Humour, Romance
Alternative Universe: Fantasy, Pathfinder
"I really can't stomach this," the man irritably quipped, in a very uncharacteristic show of emotion.
He was pacing up and down the length of his five lined up men, in their full armour. He too was wearing armour, but the ceremonial one, almost useless in battle. It was extravagant and ostentatious, gilded with wild colours, exactly as he hated it. But he was going to meet the Empress today, as well as their newly appointed healer, also an offspring of great importance, so it could not be helped.
No wonder they were on stand-by out here, while the leader of their group in the company of a little mouse were in the audience room.
"Hijikata, relax. Don't speak such words."
Said man glared at the only man taller than him, who was second in line, but first in severity. Hijikata usually held a deep respect for the certain person, but right now even the slightest thing irked him.
"You of all people should not be telling me that, Saitou" he barked at him, clearly uncaring for the man's reasons or intentions. "As I recall, you were the first to disagree with the Empress's choice." He shook his head. "And just as I was reassured by virtually everyone there must have been some mistake, they go ahead and announce that there was no mistake after all…!" The last part, he sort of grumbled to himself than anyone else.
"Indeed," spoke Saitou "but if there is no changing the Empress's opinion after all this time, then we should not show any discontent with it directly. You know how the Palace works; worse, you know how Takeda works. And right now, he managed to convince Kondou-san, your life-long friend, that his presence at court, a mere captain's like us, was more valuable than yours, the vice commanders."
Hijikata positively stewed at the recollection.
"Exactly," Saitou silently agreed, amber eyes shining dangerously. "You keep up appearances and allow me to be sour in your stead."
The shortest man, the first one in line, snorted his laughter at that. The tone with which that last bit was said, dark and absolute, was hilarious to him, for no one within the sixty—something-person's unit was more aware of Saitou's displeasure at the new appointment than him, Okita Souji. He must have heard him express said displeasure with varying degrees of conviction at least a hundred times.
A deep breath. "Let us hope the formalities will be done with shortly and we'll be called in." Hijikata heaved a longsuffering sigh. "Can't wait to get this over with."
The last man on the line elbowed the fourth. "We have things to do, after all," he said with a stupid grin on his face, "or people."
"Harada, stop that," the third man in line snapped annoyed "we'll be having a lady in our company shortly. Such comments are too boorish." He spoke with finality, fixing the glasses that had slid down his nose.
The one who was repeatedly nudged simply nodded. "And she's going to stay, too so I suggest you stop that altogether."
Harada was mortified. "But, but, but…that's no fun, Toudou!"
"You'll get to look at her for as long as you like though," Okita commented amused "even talk with her at a length."
Saitou's eye twitched. "Don't remind us, squirt."
"Just because you're as tall as a tree doesn't mean you're older, Saitou-chan."
"Call me that one more time…!"
The cough that escaped Hijikata's mouth stopped both men from physically attacking each other, who retreated to their previous positions with much difficulty, seeing they were standing directly next to each other.
And just as they were about to go at it, the huge wooden doors opened wide; the way to the palace's audience room was finally clear. Their time to meet with the Empress had come. As formal as they had never been before, they all stood at their full height, shoulders set; one by one, vice-commander first, they entered the much-expected meeting.
Everyone's eyes wandered, despite their best wishes, the moment they walked inside; everything was too impressive to do otherwise. The walls, the murals, the jade all around them…they weren't exaggerating when they called it the Jade Throne after all. The jade colour and most definitely material, was strewn all around them, in every shape or form: paintings, carpets, furniture…clothes. More specifically, the Empress Ameiko Amatatsu herself was wrapped up in it, green being dominant while red and yellow followed as an afterthought. Seated on her throne as she was, grand and imposing, brought all men to their knees as soon as they stopped walking.
"Stand," she called authoritatively "please."
Her voice mellowed a little at the second command, but it was in no way kind. But she gave them an order they didn't mind following, so they were standing in line in no time. As Hijikata looked up towards his members, he made a point of looking directly at Takeda and then a short nod, compelling him to fall in line with the rest of the captains. Kondou, seeing the movement, but Takeda not complying as if out of stubbornness, turned strictly at the offender. That did it for the little mouse and stood next to Harada, becoming the sixth person to line up behind Hijikata.
"Now that all the important players are here, I think it's time to introduce to you your healer. But before I do that, allow me to explain her position: She is the daughter of a great man, rich and well-respected, close friend to your leader's lord, Matsudaira."
A collective oh shit could be seen almost waft through the air over all the men's heads. They were giving them a lady of the court as a healer? Were they insane or outright stupid? Or maybe they just wanted them dead so badly, they decided to pin them the death of this socialite.
"She's also one of my most trusted ladies-in-waiting, whose skills and suggestions I have the highest respect for." Oh great, the Empress liked her, too. They could all die when she did. "Thus, I advise you not to underestimate her now that she will be presented to you."
She cleared her throat, purposefully louder and more serious than ever. "Takagi Tokio, please step forward."
Everyone's eyes shot towards the row of women, ten in total, that sat at the right side of the Empress. Their beauty and grace matched that of Ameiko herself, painted faces smiling kindly and clothes almost as impressive as hers. On her left, there was an elf, who immediately rolled his eyes – but they couldn't tell why he'd do that – who wore baggy and flamboyant clothes. From what they were told, this green-eyed, silver haired elf was married to a woman who was a monk, under Irori's orders. How the hell he managed to do that, they had no idea. Irori's monks are very reserved and disciplined.
Also, most of them were jealous, since that meant he had a very serious and strong woman at his side—at least Saitou and Toudou were, who thought the best woman to marry was one just like that.
Still, their curiosity came to a peak when they saw the ten women smile and then giggle in their oversized sleeves, very lady-like. What was going on? Why didn't this Tokio person step forward—what was she sitting there, giggling for?
And yet, they were taken again by surprise, when they watched two guards go for the double doors at the left, behind the throne. They drew them wide open…and they all watched as a relatively small, black haired woman walked through them, without a speck of make up on her face. Not only was she not painted to please, she was actually wearing…armour. And not just any sort of armour, no—she was wearing an intricate and even to a commoner's eyes sturdy full plate armour!
And that in itself was an oddity. What was a healer doing with such an armour? This slip of a person, shorter than their shortest, Okita Souji, had this on, as if it didn't weigh a thing, although this must have weighed a ton. And yet, the strangest thing of all must have been the make and design of it: it was all pitch black. There were green and red details but it was obvious they were painted on, that wasn't their real colour. Also, it savoured mostly of…western style, not their Minkaian make. It felt like this woman had seen adventurers from Avistan and decided to copy their style, while splashing some of their own in it.
Ugh, how sickening. What a way to spend daddy's money. From the get go, her and them would not be getting along. It only took one sweep of the men for Hijikata to notice all of them were very doubtful about this woman's "embellishments"—not to mention the platinum staff she held, topped with a blue diamond.
Other than that, though, she virtually did no wrong. The moment she came in, she bowed to the Empress respectfully and just as respectfully, she bowed first to Kondou and then the lot of them. By their commander's reaction, he'd met her before: he was amiable and quick to react. They imitated his example and then the woman finally spoke.
"Forgive me for being late, your Highness, gentlemen, but I encountered certain challenges on my way here. My name is Takagi Tokio and I am your assigned healer for this mission."
"There will be time for introductions later," the Empress dismissed all of them "what's important is you are all aware of each other and the stakes of this mission. Do you understand the importance of this task assigned to you?"
"Yes, your Highness," Kondou assured her majesty.
"Of course, my lady," Tokio also agreed.
"This piece of land I asked you to invade has been lawless and evil for too long; our land's own problems lent themselves to the oni of Chu Ye to become lords, instead of hunted evildoers. It is our duty to restore it to its former glory and help the Horse lords of Hongal fight this increasingly threatening nation."
Half of it was rhetoric, all knew: the Horse lords of Hongal could not care less about Chu Ye and their oni problems. Of course, that was partly why they had to step in and take hold of this situation—if the threat was left unattended any longer, it could come to bite them in the ass. There was Zi-ha in there, too a lawful nation, good aligned…but they had their own, internal problems. One part was all good and enlightenment and the other was giants killing people one day and trading with them the next and of course, who can forget the hell-touched reptilians who fought for dominance in their little pond between the mountains.
And there was certainly no help coming from the twisted Wanshou; those people were insane. Their ruler was a kraken—an actual kraken that descended upon them with such ferocity, they had no choice but to give in…and yet, they did nothing to shake his rule after he had settled either. Some seem to consider him a benevolent god, too! Whom, the kraken. With those three being the surrounding nations of Chu Ye, a land infested with oni, the same race who killed all of the noble families eligible for the throne in their own country – except the current Empress's due to the fact her great grandfather saw it coming and ran away – who could blame her for wanting to do away with them? It is an objectively good cause…one they didn't mind giving their life for.
They were samurai after all, warriors dedicated to a code. What better way to serve their code than that?
"I know I ask too much of you; you are very few and any other man would be terrified to be in your position. But I know what you are capable of; you proved it time and again when you fought against the evils of the Jade Regent before my arrival and then, when you fought for me to rid this country of all evil doers."
Or at least those who fomented political unrest, directed against her. Then again, most of those were either oni in disguise or oni sympathisers, so of course they would weed them out.
"I know the stakes are high and the risk is great; I know most of you are at an age where you start thinking of maybe having your own family and legacy…which is why I am, as of now, in presence of my treasurer, making this promise which will be honoured no matter what: whoever of you eight, even all eight of you, come out of this ordeal alive, will be given their own land and estate."
The men looked unprepared for that statement, evident by their honestly surprised faces, looking between one another. This was too good to be true…but Hijikata did elude to some sort of compensation from the Empress that was not made formal yet. Maybe this was it. And by the look of annoyed compliance by the treasurer, the silver-haired elf, it must be true.
Saitou felt his heart beat stronger; this was a great reward. The Empress was right: this could easily give him all the leverage he needed to have a decent wedding…whence this whole ordeal was over and he actually found a woman to his liking.
"As of now, your mission starts. Go with Shizuru. And Tokio…keep them safe."
The young woman nodded solemn; she took a deep bow, honouring her ruler and only then did she follow after everyone. She had to follow after them for a long while, actually, as not one of them made an effort to wait. By the time she caught up, she was almost panting.
"I see you are all very excited…" she commented good naturedly. "Is it safe to assume we are heading for your—the caravan?"
"Indeed," Hijikata assured, pace never slowing down. They were very lucky Kondou had stayed back with her highness for the last-minute arrangements, otherwise they would have all been scolded.
"That's great; my tent and its furniture have already been moved there."
"What about clothes and back up weapons?" Saitou asked immediately.
She patted the black leather satchel on her hip. "All in my trusted bag of holding."
He made a visible effort not to say anything about her fancy bag, a matching colour with her armour. She caught the exasperation though; still, decided against voicing any opinions.
"So, tell us Tokio-chan!" Okita, the only one who looked actually happy with her presence, started the conversation. "Will this be your first mission for her highness—I'm Okita Souji by the way?"
She smiled. "Yes, I know of all of you. And sort of; I have been entrusted with her health from the moment she came to the palace, but this is the first time she sends me off somewhere."
"So, you've been her personal healer for two years, huh? Cushy job…" Saitou commented again, disapproval visible. "Live-in at the palace no doubt…"
No, actually; far from it. She had been in the palace far too little—not even enough not to get lost every time she had to show up to help the Empress. But she had a feeling, if she told any of that to the tall, decidedly moody man in front of her he would A) scoff at her and B) not believe a word. So, she decided to smile instead. It wouldn't do well to establish unfriendly relationships with any of the unit's captains.
"From what we gather, you must be quite important," Takeda stepped right in, making an effort to be likeable. "Rich father, help of Matsudaira-sama…"
"Makes you wonder what you might have done to be exiled on this mission with us."
Okita and Takeda turned to glare at Saitou; Hijikata tried not to smile. Tokio, on the other hand, was at a loss. What was his problem?
"I requested to be sent here with you," she replied, too cordially for the way he spoke to her "I deemed your quest to be a heroic and necessary one. The Empress thought so, too and allowed me to join."
"Is that a euphemism for saying I threw a tantrum long enough I forced my father to put his connections to good use?"
Alright, that was too hostile, even for her, she had to address this. Good relations were important but setting a precedent where this person could walk all over her was a big no-no, too. "I beg your pardon?"
Oh, offended, was she? Her voice had bite into it. Saitou slid his eyes to her, a little amused. "Women of your social standing don't get sent on suicide missions; they stay home to be pretty and heal the ruler when it's asked of them. So, you either did something horrible, which I can't imagine you doing to be honest, or had your father sent you on a whim, without realising the read danger of your endeavour. We'll be fighting oni and men who only want one thing: kill indiscriminately, enough to earn themselves the mantle of their twisted God. Do you think you can handle that much blood and death?"
"…I believe you have misjudged my function. I was not sent to kill for you, I was sent to keep you alive and that is what I will be doing for the duration of our mission. I can leave the gore to you, I think, but if you believe being a healer is blood-free, you must be delusional."
She was calm and kind, but just as scathing as him. Her smile never wavered but neither did his sneer. Okita was full glaring at him now, eager to make a good impression and a new friend, while Takeda was condescendingly shaking his head.
Hijikata would have scolded him, to be honest, had the girl not answered so well for herself. But Saitou had indeed overstepped; even the rest of his comrades, who were opposed to her appointment, thought him too harsh.
"At least you have some back-bone," Saitou said offhandedly "that's comforting."
"Don't listen to this man, Tokio-sama," Takeda immediately tried to salvage all he could "he is a nefarious individual with a famously foul mouth, who takes pleasure in instigating people."
Saitou snorted. "Takeda, are you confusing me for yourself?"
"Stop, the both of you," the vice commander warned, knowing full well how this situation could devolve. "Saitou, apologise to the lady."
"There is no need, Hijikata-sama," Tokio stated firmly "he merely stated what he thinks of me. Whether that's true or not, is a different matter."
"He is a savage." Takeda casually supplied.
"At least he has the sincerity to tell me his opinion to my face," Tokio snubbed back. She really didn't like sycophants, one of the main reasons she had chosen this way of life since before she turned sixteen, six years ago.
Torn between commending her for her excellent judging of character and telling her off for thinking he needs to be defended, Saitou remained begrudgingly silent.
But this is where the blessing of having such an upbeat personality came in use: sensing the stalemate, Okita came to the rescue! "Say, Tokio-chan, what is this staff you're holding for? I can see you don't use it to walk."
"Oh, this helps me as a healer. It's a very good backup plan—or safeguard in a pinch."
"Must have costed a fortune though!"
She chuckled. "It wasn't cheap, yes."
"Daddy has deep pockets, he can handle it," Saitou couldn't help himself. "Same with the armour, I bet. Where did you get it, the market?" She met his snide remark with a stare. "Ah, I forget, you can't buy stuff like that; you have to order it. How commoner of me." She became serious. "But it is an amazing armour; really, where did you get it?"
Her smile was terse. "I will answer any question you may have once I deem you actually want to hear what I ahve to say; until then, it's none of your business, no matter how jealous you may be." He gave her a look. "Unless of course, you'd like one for yourself but can't afford one and are too shy to admit it. I could have daddy make one for you."
All sorts of words threatened to spill out of his mouth, colour rising with them, but he decided against it, in the nick of time. "I hate being handed charity almost as much as the hypocrites who give it so readily."
"Then I guess we'll never know the secret of the armour…" she finished with theatricality and had to stop herself from smiling too much.
Positively stewing, Saitou left her to her devices, walking even faster. Once Okita was sure everyone was too occupied trying to cheer him up or glare at Takeda, he went very close to the woman. "Ne, ne, Tokio-chan, do tell me…where did you make the armour? It looks super cool and I promise I won't tell anyone."
"Oh?" she could see this man was maybe the best the unit had to offer, in terms of friendliness or courtesy and, to be honest, he was very likeable. "Then you have to keep it a secret, yes?" He nodded furiously. "Well, see," she leaned in conspiratorially "this is a special armour, made for me by one of the greatest craftsmen in all of Golarion: a dwarf named Khaleel, living in the Petal District." When he looked a little lost to where that district was, she added even more excited: "In the city of Absalom."
Okita's chin fell. She deemed it a worthy reaction and smiled knowingly. The shock was so potent, he actually fell behind a few steps, causing everyone to look and wonder what the hell happened, but when he caught up, bursting at the seams for wanting to know more, it was Saitou that noticed how he accosted her, voice nothing but a hushed whisper.
"A, Absalom? The Absalom—hailed as the centre of the world?" She nodded yes. "You've actually been there?"
"Plenty of times; but no one from this side of the world knows, save her majesty, not even my father."
He gaped once more, a twinkle in his eyes that wasn't there before. "Tokio-chan, are you a rebellious daughter?"
"No, I'm an adventuring one."
She put her finger in front of her mouth to convey this needed to stay strictly between the two of them and winked. "And then there were two. Make sure it doesn't become three that know."
He let out a boisterous laugh, attracting people's ire and attention. "You bet." He leaned closer, too. "Silent as the grave," he affirmed, crossing his heart with his pinkie. She was satisfied.
Saitou though, watching them from afar, despite their distance, was now intrigued. What secrets could the two of them be sharing, so early on in their meeting? He had to know. Sadly, he wouldn't be able to get the info from his friend later that evening, when they had reached their caravan.
Once Kondou finally showed up, too, smiling to the fullest, given all sorts of things from the Empress and Matsudaira-sama – Tokio's father had actually chipped in, too making Saitou roll his eyes – buried deep in not one but three bags of holdings. Deeming the loot satisfying, Hijikata gave everyone permission to start their journey.
There were many men around—sixty-eight fighters, including the figureheads and the captains and two additional healers. But the horses were only twenty. One for her, one for every important member of the company and one for the two lesser men of medicine they had brought with them; the rest were saddled with carriages which were loaded with their things, such as tents and furniture. So, seventy one people, twenty horses.
They had a difficult journey ahead of them; ascend the entire country of Minkai, heading east, walking through the forest of spirits and then finding themselves in the land of the Horse lords to reach some agreement for safe passage. It was preferable to having to go through the land of the Tengu, Kwanlai, who felt perpetually wronged and then right into the clutches of the insane kraken-worshipping Wanshou. It's de longer but much safer, for their unit's number was small, less than a hundred; with a little bit of luck, no one would see them as a true threat.
But the fact remained, the journey to their destination alone would take more than three months, accounting for any creatures they might encounter. And the Forest of Spirits was no walk in the park…
"Or," Tokio decided to speak, when the men were trying to etch their course "we could go by ship to Chu Ye directly; leave the Forest alone. Travel to the Sankyodai mountains and make the passage from there."
"Are you insane?" Saitou couldn't help but snub. "This is a stealth mission, as well as anything else; taking a ship from there to Chu Ye all but announces our presence and intentions. Also, it puts us right next to their capital."
Tokio was displeased. "Don't we want to storm the capital?"
Saitou clicked his tongue. "Yes, with the possible help of the Hongal and Zi Ha. And maybe, if those two are moved, Jinin will send some skilled men to fight. But we won't storm the capital as we are now, we can't."
"Never count on a Horse Lord for help," she said it as a dogma "and those damn elves are rarely moved from their asses to do anything, so I don't think Jinin will be of much help. Zi Ha is the most likely to help, but even they have serious internal problems."
"Since you know everything, why don't you share with us why it's a bad idea to do what we were going to do anyway?"
Her eyes became too wide. "Why should we risk upsetting the kami of the Forest when there's another way? We won't be taking the Spirit Road, since this is a stealth mission, thus it's immediately ten times more dangerous, you know that. Plus…don't you know of the growing threat in the East?"
Hijikata and Kondou looked at each other solemn; the rest were simply confused. It was Toudou who spoke first. "The what now?"
"East of the Osogen Grasslands, tainting the Kamifushi Mountains, there's a dangerous band of fallen samurai and their followers. Numbers are unknown as of yet, but it is well established that the Ronin encampment has built up defences against them. They do their best not to be associated with them and go to great lengths to protect merchant caravans as well as the trade route."
Saitou's eyes became smaller. "Here, in Minkai?"
She nodded. "They have been smart in choosing their victims, only attack those who don't carry too many things or too valuable; and none ever returns. But between those, was a covert delegation, bound for the capital. They intercepted them, tortured them and once they found out all they could, actually let them go, sending them straight to Kasai and her majesty. Obviously, it was some sort of message. It's all been kept quiet, naturally, but I never thought it was kept so quiet even you didn't know."
Hijikata sighed. "She's not wrong," he finally admitted "that is a fact. There's something…sinister brewing up on those mountains."
"Then why shouldn't we go there?" Harada all but hit his fist on the small, make-shift table. "Take care of this threat, before it grows too much."
"That takes time, Harada-san," Nagakura said thoughtfully, as he pushed up his glasses "it would take us out of our way and probably isolate us from anything else."
"The Empress could be sending another group to take care of that already, too" Toudou added, hand on chin "and we'll just be in the way."
"But if people are indeed go missing, what's the harm in helping said hypothetical unit?" Okita offered. "And if the Empress hasn't found a way to combat them yet, what's the harm in trying our best and being the first ones to do something about it?"
"The Ikkaku peninsula is for the largest part uncharted and uninhabited. Too few are known for the people residing there," Hijikata countered. "Maybe this threat is expecting someone like us to show up and we'll be their first show of dominance."
"That's too grim," Saitou didn't like the sound of that "and I had thought you put a little more faith in us than that. I'm not saying you're wrong but think of the reputation we would make for ourselves if, on our way to a more important battle, eliminated another source of grief for the people…and her majesty."
"You have a point," the vice commander was ready to be convinced.
"But it will prove too dangerous; and then there are the politics of the palace to consider. There are too many eager to see us fail," Tokio reminded, teacher mode on "or slander us. If we do anything outside of our strict duties, people will talk."
"People talk anyway," Saitou dismissed her "and if the common folk talk nicely, there's not much the kiss-asses from the palace can do. Besides, we can defend ourselves, yes? if these fallen samurai attack on their own, we can't just roll up and die."
"Our presence alone will be an incentive to them, indeed," Nagakura corroborated.
Tokio sighed heavily. "Fine, do not listen to my suggestion, let's take the scenic route. But, we must not wilfully engage the samurai."
"…we shan't."
Ah, damn; Kondou spoke, there was no challenging his authority. "We will take the land-bound path, but no unnecessary battles. We need to conserve our resources and strength. No instigating anyone, too, got it?"
Every person in the room nodded with varying degrees of enthusiasm. "Got it?"
"Yessir!" They chorused altogether, when they saw he was taking none of their half-assed shit.
"Very well; let's begin this journey anew. And good luck to us all."
Kondou and Hijikata remained behind to work out the finer details of their schedule, but the rest respectfully made their exit. It was then that Saitou purposefully slowed down his pace, to find himself behind Tokio and when the rest were a good distance away, he finally grabbed her attention, by barking at her:
"What the hell is wrong with you? Not only did you attend a captain's meeting without being invited, you dared make the commander change his mind for no other reason than you said so?"
She was offended. "I explained my reasons thoroughly—it isn't my fault I made more sense to him than you! And, by the way, my given rank for this mission is the same as a captain's so there's that."
He disregarded her second line completely. "The only reason he listened to you was because it was you who said it."
"I detest that!"
"Too bad that's the truth."
"No, it's not—what's your problem with me anyway?" She found herself in front of him and in his face in a split second, he actually had to take a step back not to knock her down. "I've been here two days and all you've been doing is deriding me."
"You really wanna know?"
She remained looking at him challenging.
"Alright, I'll tell you: you are rich and important, which means, in this unit, you are an oddity. By extension, every other single person must keep an eye on you, make sure you're okay, otherwise it's all our asses on the line. If anything happens to you while on this mission, your father will move heaven and earth to seek justice—of any kind. So, we both have to baby-sit and prioritise you. Not to mention, you are a woman, another oddity for this unit. I don't know if you've noticed but this is an-all male type of thing. Even the two additional healers we had the right to choose, those are men, too. And we barely know them. So, sixty-eight men for the warriors and two healers—seventy men. And one woman. Just the one. How well do you think that will turn out?"
"Okay, first of all, I am here to keep your asses safe, not the other way around and my father has no bearing on whatever happens on this mission, that was made perfectly clear to him; and secondly, oh I'm sorry, I didn't know! Are all men rapists? Or are all women useless?"
He clicked his tongue. "Men are stupid. Men are proud, too and usually, their egos dwarf their real worth, otherwise we wouldn't have so many deaths. Add to that recipe a cute, young woman, who came to help with her big doe eyes, and it will undoubtedly spell trouble. Bonds are made, preferences form, words are misinterpreted and before you know it one idiot will be fighting with the other over who gets to have the girl in the end. Or just plainly talk to her."
"That is not true."
"We'll both be here long enough to see what I just told you become reality, so I don't worry too much. And just so you know, these are the exact sentiments of Hijikata, too—he's just in a too difficult place to say anything but don't think even for one moment anyone other than Okita remotely likes you being here—at least not anyone out the eight of us." He snorted. "Maybe Takeda; that snake likes slithering around wealth too much."
She stood there, silently brewing, hands made into fists. "And no matter what your father was told, I'd like to see anyone stand in the way of him and getting his revenge for his precious daughter. A poor man can move mountains for the same reason; I'd hate to see what a rich one can do."
She remained begrudgingly silent, again and he clicked his tongue, to fill the void. "Could have gone to a mixed gender quest, but no, you chose this one…let's just hope you're as good as you claim to be and we don't all end up dying from the third battle."
"Let us hope you're as talented as your arrogance implies, too or I won't have anyone left to heal."
His smirk was crooked and his eyes challenging. "We'll see…" He moved to go, as she stood ramrod straight and unmoving. But then he remembered something and stopped short. "I never did ask you, but how come you can heal? Are your magic powers divine or arcane?"
"I'm a cleric." She said it too bitterly, too annoyed.
"Well then, priestess, may you have a short, fast tenure." He snorted. "May Shizuru help us all."
After that, he was gone behind rows of samurai, heading for his own squad no doubt. She could not for the life of her move though. What an…abrasive person! To think he thought so little of her for no other reason than her station and gender, how ridiculous. Yes, there were plenty of socioeconomic reasoning behind all of it, but how uncouth to assume, when he undoubtedly fell victim to same behaviours. Besides, from what her info told her, he was from a rich family before he was disowned, too so it makes even less sense.
Well, she never looked into why he was disowned…
But that was simply details. He didn't strike her as a hypocrite or as a sexist person, so his problem was honestly rooted to what he told her. So, if she did her job right, maybe he will finally come around and stop treating her like this. Now, why she was so fixated on getting this one man to like her was obvious: other than Okita, everyone else in the entire unit seemed to be humouring him or do his best not to come to a disagreement with him. If she wanted to win over the majority, she had to get him to be civil with her.
That was the goal.
And the fastest way for that to happen, of course, would be through an actual battle. Too bad things had been smooth sailing for them so far.
A/N: Don't worry, the battles will come! Aaaaand this was the first chapter of this short story. I hope you enjoyed it~ Leave a review on your way out lovelies. Kisses,
FAI~!