Content Warning: This chapter makes references to sexual practices called "paraphilias", discretion is advised.

The Nightingale

Chapter 5: Manipuler

Before night fell, they began to walk through the trees that surrounded the city at a safe distance from the sight of the soldiers patrolling the wall. They had moved away from the main entrance and noticed that there were fewer soldiers on the wall; that meant the rounds would take longer to repeat.

— This is the place where we are going to enter. — Ichigo marked a tree, in what seemed like a good place to infiltrate the city.

The construction was neglected and in various parts of the wall the stone was falling, the holes that were formed could serve as steps. They just had to be careful when trying to climb.

They stayed on guard for the rest of the day, counting the time between rounds. Ichigo could not let something like not having measured the time between rounds put at risk to his friends, he had gotten them into that trouble and now they were his responsibility. If they were lucky, they would make it out of that suicide mission alive.

— And do you really think we'll survive using this? — Renji complained upon seeing the "armor" they had received when they returned to the camp. It was just a stiff leather breastplate, with no helmet or shield. — They will cut us like butter.

Ichigo looked at what they had on hand, took the armors from his friends along with his own, and walked over to the soldiers who were handing out the equipment. They were the last, surely the higher level soldiers were already armed to the teeth but what Ichigo needed was not that leather armor. The soldier who was handing out the armors stopped along with the carriage behind him.

— What do you want, soldier? Don't you like your armor? — The man asked sarcastically as Ichigo approached with the leather armor in hand. Behind him were Renji and Uryu, more curious about what Ichigo would do than about the fate of their "armors". Uryu cleared his throat.

— Attention, yours Royal Highness, Prince Ichigo! — Uryu yelled, just because he wanted to see how much trouble they could get into before they plunged to certain death, be it from Ichigo's plan or the king's plan.

Ichigo stepped into his prince role and stood silently in front of the soldiers who took a while to react. His expression turned serious and the effect of the torchlight and the darkness of the night gave him a more frightening aura.

— My prince, excuse me, I did not recognize him. — The soldier excused himself without looking up.

Ichigo was aware that the soldiers knew that he was there, with them, but he didn't consider it necessary to tell them that he was the prince, not until that night, those things were only Kaien's own but at that moment Uryu's timely intervention was all he needed. He needed men to feel fear or respect at that moment, it didn't really matter much, he just wanted to take a look at the armors that was there, on the carriage, and he knew that as a simple soldier that was impossible.

— I understand, the darkness of night can cause confusion, soldier, but this armor is of no use to me. You have something else? — He said handing over the armors to one of the soldiers who was there beside to the carriage.

— No, my prince, these are all that remain. Had I known that you, my prince... I... — The man was nervous. Ichigo smirked internally at that, he had the man where he wanted. Uryu and Renji didn't say anything, they just stood behind him as if they were his guards.

— So let me see what you have there. — The soldier moved, leaving him the free passage.

He found even smaller armors to the bottom but nothing else, there was nothing that would serve him for the raid he had planned.

— I need you to get me a bow and arrows. Archers must have, it will not be difficult to get them. — Ichigo said with a tone that did not admit replies and left there, together with his friends, to return to their tent with the small armors that he had taken from the carriage.

He gave to each one a small armor and they stared at what they had in their hands, the light from the fires outside was dim but allowed them to see with relative clarity. Renji couldn't protest, he was speechless with indignation but Uryu was looking curiously at the armor, it was a metal plate, definitely stronger than leather, and it had straps all over it.

— It's like the one used by mercenaries, only that theirs includes an accessory for between the legs. — Ichigo explained noticing Renji's expression that went from outrage to surprise. — The armor is placed by making the metal plate protect the heart. It is a bit light but for what we are going to do it is enough.

— How do you know what kind of armor the mercenaries wear? — Renji needed an explanation, he felt like he didn't know Ichigo at all. Ichigo was silent for a moment.

— The Tirnoq Company, I was with them for a year. — He clarified his friend's doubt.

— Who are you? — Uryu was looking at him suspiciously, as if expecting more arms or another head to come out.

— I am a soldier, one who had to learn to fight or die trying. When I left the kingdom they told me that out there I was not a prince, I was just a man who had to learn to survive.

After that talk, they began to put on their armor and rearrange their weapons; the bow and arrows had arrived when they had finished talking. A shuddering silence had settled over the camp along with the feeling that someone was breathing down their necks; at that moment all their senses were alert.

— It's time. — Ichigo whispered.

They left the camp in the greatest silence possible, avoiding the sentries passing between the tents, and holding their weapons tightly; the last thing that Ichigo wanted was to be discovered. The moon dimly lit the forest and his eyes adjusted to the darkness with each step they took.

Torches lit up the top of the wall, and whenever they saw a soldier go by, they stood still and waited for him to get far enough away before moving on. Ichigo let out a curse in a whisper when he noticed that there was a torch right where they intended to climb. If they weren't careful enough they would be in trouble.

— Uryu, if you see someone approaching, shoot them. Don't let them sound the alarm or they will be alerted. Renji, the same for you, man you see, man you kill as quickly as possible. Everything depends on our ability not to make noise. — His friends nodded in a whisper and Ichigo noticed that they were tense again, nervous about what they were going to do.

Ichigo remembered the day he went to his first battle, Trinity Island was in the background and his target was the kingdom of Cikram, which was trying to take back its island. That day he felt a fear that ran through his body leaving a cold sensation under his skin.

— Do you trust me? — He asked his friends, just like his uncle had asked him that time he was going to his first battle. His friends nodded in a murmur and Ichigo put his hands on the shoulders of his friends trying to instill trust in them, the same kind of trust his uncle had given him in that battle. — I trust in you.

Ichigo didn't say more, he just motioned for them to start climbing the wall, taking care to put one foot behind the other; Several stones fell off making a small noise that made them stop but, seeing that no one seemed to have noticed, they kept climbing until they reached the top. The light of the torch illuminated them and they moved as fast as they could looking for the lookout tower to go down there; Ichigo knew there would be soldiers in the tower and he trusted Uryu's ability, although that meant his friend would have to kill for the first time.

The light of a torch illuminated them and the soldier guarding the tower advanced towards them, trusting that they were his companions, but Uryu's bow tightened and the arrow flew causing the guard to collapse on the ground; a second arrow shot out of Uryu's bow, knocking down another guard that Ichigo hadn't seen approaching.

They descended the stone ladder and hid, in an alley between two houses that were close to the wall, from a pair of guards who were approaching with the intention of climbing the tower to relieve the watchers. They couldn't allow the men to discover the corpses in the tower before they finished the mission, so when the soldiers were close enough to them, Ichigo and Renji took care of getting rid of them; Uryu was in charge of watching that nobody else approached.

— Where do you think the General is? — Uryu asked in a whisper as he lowered the bow. Ichigo was surprised to hear him so serene and was relieved at that moment. The corpses of the men were left in a dark corner out of sight.

— Where the soldiers are guarding the entrance. Most must be sleeping so there should not be many watching, I do not think they have noticed the movement in the siege, surely they must have taken it as the surrender of the king.

His two friends nodded to what he said and they all set off, hiding between the alleys and avoiding the lanterns that dimly illuminated the streets of the city, moving stealthily and trying not to be exposed in case there were lookouts on the roofs. They avoided the center of town until Renji pointed to a pair of guards who were guarding the entrance to a brightly lit house that appeared to be having a party.

— It must be a joke! — Uryu gasped when he saw that they couldn't enter that place. The brothel was possibly full of drunken soldiers.

— On the contrary, it is easier to enter, there is always a back door. — Renji said that with the confidence that comes from knowing very well on a subject. Ichigo wanted to ask how he knew that but it wasn't necessary, his friend explained that quickly. — My sister works in a brothel, that's why I became a soldier, so that she would stop doing that.

It was a very quiet whisper but audible enough to clarify doubts in his friends. No one said anything and they followed him, letting him guide the entrance to the place. Renji was right, there was a back entrance but it was also guarded by a couple of soldiers that Uryu killed before they realized that they were there.

The music in the brothel was raucous and it was full of soldiers who had women sitting on their legs. Nobody paid attention to what was happening in the place, everyone was so drunk and so enthralled with the women that Ichigo thought that the world would collapse and the men were not going to notice; Even so, they tried to be quick to climb the stairs to reach the second floor, where the rooms must have been, in search of the enemy General.

Ichigo was beginning to wonder how he was going to recognize the General among so many men, killing them all was not a viable option, he imagines giving his father a handful of heads and that the man they were looking for was not among them; Just imagining Kaien smiling at his failure made his stomach turn. His father didn't tell him what the man was like and he didn't ask; rookie mistakes, his uncle would say.

One of the doors opened, they prepared their weapons to attack, but only a little girl came out wearing a torn nightgown, stained with blood and barefoot; the girl was so young that Ichigo immediately thought of one of his sisters, that left him paralyzed and he was unable to react the moment the girl opened her mouth to scream. Ichigo could only feel disgusted to see a girl there.

Renji moved quickly, the girl's cry was silenced by one of his hands and with the other he stopped the girl who was fighting to escape from there; the noise from the party was so loud that they doubted the scream had been heard down there, but they moved quickly into a room where there was a man with an entertaining prostitute between his legs. Uryu didn't hesitate, he shot the man in the head and Ichigo rushed to gag the woman so she wouldn't scream.

— Where is the leader of the soldiers? — Ichigo asked looking at the women who were scared, at that moment he had no choice but to gag them so they wouldn't scream. They couldn't get in room by room, and at the time, that was the easiest way to find him; the women in the tavern always knew such things.

— We will not harm you, we are only looking for him. — Renji, who was behind the women, clarified to try to get them to cooperate. One of the girls looked around avoiding seeing the dead man on the bed and then she began to speak, Ichigo removed the gag to understand her.

They left the room after the girl told them what they needed. They stood in front of the door from which the little girl had emerged and Uryu looked at Ichigo, who nodded for them to get ready, Renji drew his sword and kicked the door to open with a thunderous noise.

Inside the room there was a fat man on the bed, between the legs of a little girl, a little bigger than the one who had just come out of there, panting like an animal. The girl did not move, her eyes were open and immobile, staring at the ceiling; They didn't stop to ask if the girl was alright, the moment Renji burst into the room the man came out of the girl, who looked more like a doll than a person, and reached for his sword to confront those who had interrupted him.

Ichigo didn't have to fight. It was perfect.

Uryu's arrows flew towards the man, piercing his large hairy chest, and Renji leapt on top of him, his sword held firmly in both hands, only to sever the man's head. The man's body fell, heavy and naked on one side, and his severed head fell on the other. Definitely the best chance to kill a man was when he was with his pants down.

Uryu approached the bed where the immobile girl was, he could see the marks of a strong grip on the neck and her empty eyes staring at nothing; he looked away for a moment and took a sheet to cover the corpse of the girl that bastard had killed.

— Let's go from here. — Ichigo spoke taking Renji by the arm, his friend was still looking at the man's corpse, as if he doubted that he was dead; Uryu hurriedly wrapped the man's severed head in a piece of sheet, and they left just as they had entered.

The party downstairs was still unchanged when they left the brothel. They did not pause when one of the guards sounded the alarm, but climbed as fast as they could the stairs of the watchtower and scrambled to find their way down the wall. The noise in the city grew louder and the soldiers began to move, they had probably already found the bodies but the only thing that mattered was to get to the camp as fast as possible.

A war horn sounded loudly.

The soldiers who were in the camp began to move, they were placed in formation to invade the city, and surely at the other gate of the city they were doing the same. Ichigo really hoped it was because of the attack and not because they had killed the wrong man, although there was no question that man deserved to die. As they ran between the tents to get to the king, neither of they said anything, they just wanted to get there in time before the invasion began.

The guard who guarded the entrance of the king's tent did not let them enter, they were not aware of the appearance they transmitted but Uryu raised his hand for the guard to see the macabre package.

— We bring a gift for the king. — Uryu's voice sounded irreverent, almost defiant. The guard would not allow them to enter, and before they could do anything, the king would emerge from his tent fully dressed in armor.

The three fell silent and bowed to the king who was looking at them with an expression of intrigue and annoyance.

— Can you tell me why you are not ready to attack? — The king asked taking his helmet that a soldier gave him.

— Your Majesty, we have brought you a gift. — Ichigo said with a slightly agitated voice. He was not yet recovered from running from the city to the camp.

The king stared at him, somewhat surprised by what he said and Uryu undid the tie of the cloth and showed at the king the severed head of a man. The king took a step back and looked at the head, it took a moment to speak but he did so in a tone of voice that seemed relaxed, even cheerful.

— Someone to tell Prince Kaien that the order is to kill all enemy soldiers, not to leave a single one alive. — Then he looked at them, they were trying to catch their lost breath. — Let them rest, they have earned it. It's time to take back our city!

The soldiers shouted and followed the king who put on his helmet. Isshin patted Ichigo on the shoulder twice as he passed him, congratulating him on having accomplished that feat in such a short time; Uryu gave the General's head, wrapped again in the bloody cloth, to one of the king's guards, before leaving together with Ichigo and Renji towards their tent.

— For a moment I thought we had the wrong man. — Renji confessed when they were already in their tent.

They were all tired and it seemed their bodies were going to rip apart from exhaustion.

— Me too, Renji, me too.

Thank you for reading.