*Sound of hand then head coming out of a grave*
Not. Dead. YET!
Tabitha awoke. The morning lights entered through the window and signaled for her to start up. She could not miss breakfast, or classes. She went for her clothes but stopped before reaching the closet's handle.
'Of course, There are no classes today. It's the day to bond with your familiar…'
Tabitha turned to the corner of the room where his familiar was sitting patiently with his eyes closed. His attire was the same as the night before, and he seemed to have completely ignored the blanket she laid down for him.
"Good Morning" She greeted while slipping into her formal clothes.
"Good morning, Tabitha-sama" He greeted.
As usual, a maid came in to pick up the clothes left the previous day and change the sheets. Of course, being as professional as ever, the maid didn't stop looking at Wolf until the familiar left the room with his master.
Both of them went to the dining hall. 3 long tables stretched from the stairs to the doors across a long gallery with statues. Various students with different cloaks sat around there, some staring at him but most just talking to one another.
Tabitha then headed to her seat. In front of it was a delightful dish, accompanied by a piece of bread, an orange soup, a sort of red paste and what seemed to be a cake. This includes a glass with a yellow drink and various pieces of cutlery. If his lady had asked him to check it for poison, he wouldn't have minded it being so.
Unfortunately, that did not happen. Tabitha aprached the chair that Wolf had pulled back for her and she just sat there. His divagations were brought to an end when he spotted the kid from last night arguing with the pink haired girl.
"Only nobility are allowed to sit at this table. You peasants sit down there"she said pointing at a dirty plate on the ground with.
The kid complained, but it was drowned by the other students' laughs. Unlike her, Tabitha offered him a seat by her side. A thing that didn't go unnoticed by others but she seemed indifferent to their opinion.
Still, Wolf shook his head and grabbed the bread from his place at the table and sat next to the kid, placing the plate in the same way the kid had his. It was not out of pity or empathy though, he hasn't gotten soft yet. It was a matter of respect. If only nobility were allowed on that table, then he would not embarrass her master. Kuro would've probably followed him and sat on the floor as well to eat with him(that used to make Wolf blush a lot, to the delight of the young master). His actual master simply looked at him and then clasped her hands to pray alongside the others.
"Hey, thanks for that!" whispered the kid, looking warily at his master. "You don't look like you're from around here. The name's Saito. Saito Hiraga." He extended his hand.
Sekiro looked at it and he extended his own "Sekiro"
Smiling, the kid shook it "A pleasure to meee-Ooh, what happened to your arm!" He yelped, causing the students to shush them and the pink haired girl to stare at Saito with a furious scowl."Sorry." now whispering "You have a fake arm?! What happened?"
"Long story" Cut Sekiro and he clasped his hands as well. His real fingers touching his skeletal wood fingers. But he couldn't concentrate on what the students were saying because Saito, who had stars in his eyes, kept looking at him. "Is there something you need?"
"Man, are you a ninja? You know, ninja stars disappear in a smoke cloud, killing people when they least expect it, that kind of thing?"
"No, I am not. I am a Shinobi" Answered Wolf 'But I do shoot shurikens, and kill people, and I tend to dissape-No. Father would scold him if he was here'
"Really? Because you look like one"
"I am sure. Yes" The students ended their prayers and started digging in, so Wolf did the same taking a bite out of his bread.
Kami-Sama. It is GLORIOUS. A hard texture that, with each bite gets blander and lets every crumble disappear into nothingness as you chew it. A grand consistency, at first dry then mushy and soft forming a wondrous paste, the flavors all joining together to form a Mandela of colors that elevates-
"-Sekiro.?" Said Saito pushing him lightly, breaking him out of his bread induced epiphany.
He recovered quickly and finished his bread. You might say that when you eat rice for more than 20 years anything different is better, but for him it was the best bread he ever had. After swallowing he asked Saito what was it.
"That if you are from Japan. I guess you have to be, with that costume and all. You're the only Japanese here besides me. Thank god, I was afraid I'd have to endure this torture alone" He smiled and then bit some of his bread. "So where are you from? I'm from Tokyo."
'Costume?' was the first thing, and 'from Tokyo' the second thing Wolf received. If the kid was from Tokyo, maybe he knew about what had happened to Ashina after his death. "Ashina"
"Never heard of it. Is it some kind of town in the country? That's why you speak like someone from those old history movies?"
"What is a movie?"
At this Saito just sighed and accepted that there were people that, for this or for that, hadn't even had a TV ever. "This is gonna be a long talk"
The talk between these two took the whole breakfast. Well, "talk" would be too much. Maybe "Interrogation where the one asking the questions has no clue on the matter and only answers in monosyllables" would be more appropriate. At the end, when Saito walked out onto the main courtyard with Louise he was seriously wondering if Sekiro was really a Shinobi from old Japan or if he was just a geek who lived in a cave for the last centuries. At least the talk took his mind off of his cheeky MAster and the horrible food he's had. 'Why does Sekiro look so happy when he eats"? also crossed his mind several times.
"-But you could stay there on the floor because I specially requested it. So be thankful for that."Kept ranting the LAdy unaware of his familiar's thoughts.
"And what about Sekiro?" He complained "He was going to sit with the Blue haired one"
At this, Louise stopped and looked him directly in the eye. "What Tabitha does to his familiar is her business. If she wants her familiar to sit next to her, she can. You are My familiar and you'll listen to what I say. Got it?"
"Yes Milady"He answered almost automatically
"Today is the day when we Second grade students form bonds with our guardians, so you and I are going to know each other now"As she said that, Saito could see that indeed the students were either petting, cuddling or talking to a wide variety of animals. Except, of course Tabitha who was…playing cards with Sekiro while having tea?
"I think I'll pass" He said as he watched the raid haired lady walk with a giant red lizard with its tail on fire towards his new friend and his master.
" are going to bond."She exclaimed and turned towards a table as she asked him to go get her something to drink.
At the same time…
"Doesn't that mean that you are basically just a glorified assassin?" Asked Tabitha as she put forward a card with a Queen of spades.
"Counts as a bodyguard as well." He answered by placing a card with seven hearts. He didn't understand much of that game she told him would ease the conversation, but it seemed about putting the highest card from your hand and trying to make a group of 3 that matched on the symbol and the number. "What is your family?"
As he saw her flinch and lower her gaze he quickly said "Where are you from?"
"Gallia." She said as she threw in another card. "What are you good at?"
"Stealth, assassination, recovery of lost items, espionage, some minor knowledge about mechanics to fix my arm, poison testing, scouting and sword fights." He answered mechanically, throwing a Jack of Aces. "What is Gallia like?"
"Hot in the summer, but It's bearable." Her face was one of steel as she showed Wolf a hand filled with twos. "I win. Again."
To this, Wolf shows her the 4 Kings in his hand, and equally stoic replies "Not this time, Tabitha-Sama"
Before any of this could get too embarrassing for her, a dark skinned lady with red hair appeared and hugged Tabitha from behind the chair, engulfing her head with her breasts.
"Good morning Tabitha. I can't believe you would avoid me after summoning such a handsome familiar. Are you afraid I'd take him away?" She asked with a voice full of sugar. Too sweet.
Not one hair of Tabitha or Wolf dared to twitch at that moment. Tabitha just said in her monotone voice "I was busy"
"That's no excuse to keep this gentleman away from me soo long."She said as she trotted to the other side of the table. "I overheard that your name is Sekiro right?"
There, she placed a hand on the table and squinted her eyes at Wolf, her voice no longer cheerful and now serious. "If you dare do something to her I'll make you pay, you hear me?"
Unfazed, Wolf merely nodded. "Who are you, if I may?"
"Kirche Augusta Frederica von Anhalt-Zerbst. Kirche to you" Her tone was lighter, but only a bit. "For the record, I don't believe that you are her familiar. So I'll give you the chance to go away tomorrow morning. This is making her look like Zero."
"Those marks on his head prove that he is my familiar Kirche. Professor Colbert confirmed it." Said Tabitha
"I still don't believe it."She turned to answer Tabitha. But, after staring at her best friend for a bit she sighed and looked at Wolf again. "I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. But if anything happens to her!"
The small group steered away from their talk as they saw many excited students go to the Vestri. When Kirche asked one of the ones closer to them he answered "Guiche played two dates and now he's dueling the Zero's familiar."
"Duel?"
"My name is Guiche the brass, therefore a brass golem (a Valkyrie to be precise) will be your opponent" Boomed the blond noble with his characteristic grin.
Everyone had formed a circle around the two combatants. On one side Guiche, who wielded a rose like a sword, and Saito.
The "Valkyrie" was a strange armored being that barely reached his own size. Its mask/helmet made it look like it was scowling and there appeared to be a pair of wings on the top of the head, a greenish color shining from its armor, almost like his Sabimaru but way more opaque. On its right hand it held a spear completely metallic, but the tip was blunt. It wouldn't cut wet paper.
In the split of a second, the Valkyrie dashed across the field and landed a clean punch into Saito's torso. Saito stumbled backwards and fell on his knees.
"This is unfair!" groaned Saito clutching his stomach.
"Oh, come now. It's natural to expect that a mage would use magic to fight a duel" Smiled Guiche
"You get it now? This is why peasants can never win against mages!" said Louise trying to help Saito up, but he shoved her away.
And in a show of either stubbornness or idiocy, he stood back on his feet. His master obviously seemed to think it was the latter.
"Why did you get back up, idiot?!"
"Because he bugs me." Stated Saito narrowing his eyes "Mages, nobility, peasants and servants; whatever it is, you guys act like snobs because of it!"
"Look, I would feel bad about breaking something Louise owes. So I'll forgive you if you apologize now" said Guiche, his smug smile growing.
"Not gonna happen. That hardly hurt at all, your little doll is way too weak" rebutted Saito with a hand still on the previously hit spot, yet grinning despite it.
Guiche stiffened a little, his smile faltering for a second before snapping back to his usual smile, this one darker. "Is that so?"
Next to him, Tabitha whispered coldly, "He's going to die."
And she wasn't far from the truth.
What followed was a massacre. The Valkyrie assaulted mercilessly, his punches ranging from the torso, the head, the stomach and even the shoulder once. Wolf had to recognize that the kid was brave to fight such a powerful foe unprepared, even worse if he took into account that Saito was a civilian with no training whatsoever.
That was admirably bold( or recklessly stupid, depending on the point of view). After the fourth knockdown, Tabitha closed her book and said "Sekiro, we are going". Wolf followed her diligently, despite Lady Kirche saying that this is where it gets interesting. However he kept looking at the duel.
One last jab to the stomach sent Saito on his knees, the lady besides him kneeling to help him.
"Guiche! Please! Stop it already" cried Louise,with both frustration and worry in her voice.
"Leave him Louise. Step aside."
Turning to Saito, she said "That's enough. You did really well, okay? I've never seen a peasant like you before"
"It's alright. Get out of the way" he assured while smiling; his words being betrayed by a following rush of pain that almost knocked him down.
It would have been amusing to see those 2 argue if not for the sorry state the boy was in.
"Do you still want to go on with the duel, peasant?" Provoked Guiche and with the swing of his Rose, a beautiful sword appeared out of thin air and buried itself into the ground. "If you have the will to go on, just pick up that if you don't all you have to do is say you're really sorry."
"Stop this Guiche! And Saito, don't even think of grabbing that sword. If you do, he'll show you no mercy!"
But, stubborn as ever, Saito tried to grab the handle with a weak"Not on your life"
"NO! Listen. I am your master and I order you not to fight!"
"I can't go back to the world where I came from. I'm stuck here. The food is awful, I have to sleep on the floor, and the only nice people here just bow and obey. That's okay, 'cause I can't change that." his hands grabbed the hilt of the sword
"But, I won't EVER Bow down to someone!" he ripped the weapon from the ground, the sword shining under the sunlight.
In that moment, the Valkyrie somersaulted through the air to deliver the final hit. Yet it would never reach its destination, as Saito, with a Swiftness worthy of Isshin, cut it in half with an upwards slash.
The gasps of the crowd weren't enough to hide the surprised face of Wolf, his eyes widening. The kid's posture was that of a master Samurai, he grabbed the sword sideways with both hands with his legs slightly bent. He would have mistaken the boy with one of Isshin's disciples provided he didn't know any better.
"What's going on?" muttered the astonished student seeing its familiar do something defying all logic
"I don't know, but I do know that I feel like I can keep fighting.. a bit longer." the confidence returning to his voice
Guiche winced in fear, but kept the posture and began summoning many Valkyries and sent them to attack, only for them to suffer the same fate as their predecessor as Saito tore through them with astounding ease until he had Guiche by the sword, who then fell on his butt and quickly surrendered. A fight that was once sided for 10 minutes was over in less than one.
Saito fainted, not before his left hand stopped glowing ever so slightly. As his master called for help, Wolf picked over the sword and checked that its weight was close to that of Kusabimaru, which wasn't much. But those movements were techniques that a kid like him could need years to learn. That meant that Saito was either the best swordsman ever or had the best of luck.
Glancing at him he saw Louise panicking near Saito's body and asking for help to carry him back.
"…definitely luck"
That night was a troubled one for Wolf. He was tired, but couldn't sleep.
'Why, oh why, is that bed so SOFT!?'
Tabitha gave him a small bed near her own for him to rest. And when Wolf tried it it was like when he tasted that bread in the early morning: He was flying in a sea of clouds, not seeking to fight a giant dragon, but scratching the soft clouds. His mind fading into a soft realm of happiness-
-to then be brought back to the waking world for some reason.
Wolf found himself back in Ashina's Castle.
And it was a ruin.
He knew what the Ministry did to that castle when they arrived. The flaming towers, the onslaught from the bridge, their agents hunting for him. It was hard to pass through them.
And yet, now it was…quiet. Too quiet. The buildings were clearly scorched, the stone that made their base was black and most of the rooftops he used to get to Kuro were gone. The stairs remained the same, as did the main castle, and none of the soldiers that used to patrol the place showed any signs of life. The snow that covered everything made it look like last time, but it didn't make the changes fade away.
It was clearly a memory, or a dream. Lady Butterfly had taught him the power of the memories, to be able to not just see the past but live it. 'The most powerful of all illusions are dreams, boy. Use your dreams to grow, and so will they. ' she said while walking on an invisible thread on the forest.
Nonetheless, he proceeded to the castle. If it was a memory he might as well see it through.
The door to the main hall was torn wide open, and obviously burnt. And inside the castle there were scorch marks as well. Great lines of burnt wood that spread from the wall to the ground. Still, that ornament that he used to use for his grappling hook was still there.
The upper floors weren't any better than the lower ones: the pannels that used to hide him from his enemies were all torn and broken, and the once clean halls were filled with dust and snow? There was something wrong there, he just didn't know what yet. Finished his search he went upstairs to the sparring room where used to lay Jinsuke Saze, the monster who had unfairly granted him death countless of times.
What he found there was shocking. Or rather who he found there.
Laying on the floor was Jinbei, the undying soldier that he used to practice with in the temple. But bruised and with scorch marks in his armor, and Surprisingly, open cuts. For all he cut and slashed at him in their past spars, his wounds would always heal, and he wouldn't even feel it. But now he was groaning when he helped him up.
"What happened?"
Jinbe coughed and answered weakly "Sh-u-u-ura".
Not wasting time, Wolf sped up through the window to the top of the castle. A place where he fought 2 great adversaries, and where he found…
Himself.
Sitting in the middle of the arena was Wolf, but at the same time…not. His hair was dirty and scorched, falling to the sides save for a high ponytail. His face was dirty and poorly shaven, with cuts in his cheeks and an orange bandage covering his right eye. The clothes weren't better: His feet were bare, and his trousers weren't tucked behind his shin armor as Wolf usually had them, the extra cloth falling. The same happened to his garb, although most of it was burned away with only his shirt remaining (mostly) intact. The pieces of armor he had attached to it were gone and the left shoulder had some cuts that shone bright red as if they were burning still. His torn, with his shirt and a purple string helding it together.
Sekiro landed on the arena, his counterpart not even raising an eyebrow and instead taking a drink from a sake jar. On the far end, near the entrance to Lord Kuro's room laid many more jars now empty.
And suddenly, he felt it. How curious that Wolf sensed it through smell. The whole area started to heat up, the air becoming filled with embers. And not a moment too soon, his double stood up and drew his sword, holding it to the left in a provocative manner. Wolf's eyes flashed at the sight of the other Kusabimaru, now completely black coal. Not even the light seemed to reflect on it. Accepting the challenge, he drew his own.
His double shifted and shadowdashed through the room at him in an incredible speed, Wolf barely having time to raise his sword to stop the blade inches away from his upper torso. And without any time to breathe, his opponent jumped and his prosthetic arm springed, an axe filled with flammable material exploded next to him, burning his good arm. It didn´t just look like him, he acted like him.
Recoiling, Wolf thrusted his weapon at his foe, following it with a few slices. Unfazed, his double took the hits and then resumed his attack, each slash, cut and swipe barely being parried by Wolf, aiming to break his posture. Wolf held out, waiting for the right time to strike and using an opening he charges forward. His double, smirking, simply steped on the approaching blade and pierced the shinobi's chest. Gritting his teeth, Wolf pushed him away and takes a sip from his gourd, the wound rapidly closing.
Fighting an opponent that thinks like you (to not say that it is you) is extremely difficult, as every trick and tactic you had your opponent does too. In an attempt to throw his opponent off balance, Wolf used his floating passage. First a diagonal cut to the upper left and a horizontal slash, then a quick spin and a jump to build up the momentum for the great cut. His double blocked each strike and prepared his flaming axe to strike. Now on the ground, Wolf did to more swings that managed to hurt his foe, but as he striked again the sight of a barrel with an orange content made him back away. But not fast enough, as the flaming barrel exploded in front of him, showering him in sharks. Wolf took a moment to recover himself and swallowed another gulp from his gourd.
The onslaught resumed, each adversary striking at the other with their blades until the double was overwhelmed and was left open for Wolf to shove him into the ground and return the early favor by stabbing his heart. The downed enemy, far from showing pain, swung his flaming axe rabidly at Wolf only for it to be grabbed by the Shinobi and cut away from his body, along the rest of the prosthesis. The now one-armed warrior slumped on the ground.
Wolf retreated, swallowing a pellet (did it always have this mint flavoured taste?) in face of a more than likely second round. The choice was proven fructiferous, as a raging fire erupted from the stump. The previously ashen room became once again into a burning one, as the demonic figure of the shura stood up with an arm made out of flames, his eye-covering band burning away to reveal a flaming red ocular globe that radiated a hate that would send many down to their knees.
But not this man.
The Shura roared and swung his flaming extremity, carpet burning the area and almost hitting Wolf, who luckily opened his iron umbrella. The heat made Wolf's eyes tear up. Trying to regain his ground he tried to swallow some burn powder, the dry powder making him cough a few times, but ultimately cooling his body.
Following this, he approached his foe with his guard up, successfully shoving 2 fiery strikes aside and hitting his opponent. This one stepped back, luring wolf closer to grab him with his flaming extremity and slamming him into the ground, and immediately sliced wolf twice, ultimately "killing" Wolf. After which he rose after a flash of pink petals.
Not wasting a single moment, he launched himself at his enemy. If his enemy was a Shura, as was the Sculptor back in the real Ashina, defense might not be the best option, so he pressed on the offensive. He even used his spear again, despite the chance of another Mikiri. But it was to no avail. The Shura wasn't backing down. If anything it was more aggressive than before.
Strike after strike, failed parry after failed parry, Wolf was backed into a corner where he miraculously avoided a flaming parage jumping over his double. Looking around he saw that the columns that held the roof were pretty scorched, so he breathed sharply as he sheathed his weapon. If might wasn't gonna do, maybe smart could. In a sequence that was being slower than it should have, the demon turned around as air whirlwinds began spinning on Wolf's sword. The beast roared and charged at him.
Wolf cut the air, sending air slashes towards the columns just in time to avoid a dangerous strike. The roof started to fall on them, and Wolf wasted no time getting away. The Shura on the other hand tried to keep the roof from crushing him, using his bigger arm to stop it. But this was exactly what Wolf wanted. He readied his stance, one foot infront of the other, the sword behind and the left hand aiming at the target. If the Shura was still human he would have tried to avoid it. But it would've been for naught.
Wolf shadowdashed at him, aiming for the heart. And so it did. The fires of hate slowly began to wither away, and when the flaming hand did so as well, the roof finally fell. Crushing the monster.
Wolf took a moment to get himself together. And then went downstairs to Kuro's room.
What was left of the place was so completely scorched. And near the incense burner is a mantle covering a crying figure, full of bandages covering horrible burns. As soon as they saw him the figure recoiled and cried, inhuman sounds coming out of their mouth. But one word is repeated with loathe.
"OKAMI"