(A New Fate, A New Destination and a new set of circumstances for our heroes to discover, let us see where all of this lies at the end of the day.)

Bold = English Conversations

Bold + Italics = Japanese Conversations

Fate 20

The 7th Hierarchical City of Kazamotsu, a city well known for tourism in Torifune. The sights one can enjoy in this city are second to none. However to Sora, it's a familiar sight as he had been here before, even if it's a different timeline. "So… tell me the difference between the 7th Hierachical city of Kazamotsu to the one you went through?" Makoto questioned as Sora tilted his head towards her as he smiled at that question.

"Well… for one thing, Sofia's father was alive and living nearby the city. So did Vlad." Sora said as Makoto couldn't help but simply nod her head upon hearing that statement. "So… what was he like? Sofia's father I mean?" Makoto questioned as Sora thought about her statement, his mind wondering if he should tell the truth or not before deciding that doing so would be fine. "Sofia's father was everything she is trying to be, a man of honor and integrity yet at the same time, a man who will not hesitate to cut you down should you try to cross him." Sora said, knowing that his words don't really mean much for a one time meeting between them.

"Hehe… now I can see why instead of going clean, Sofia decided to remain in the family business." Makoto said as Sora couldn't help but become curious upon hearing that statement. "You met with the Otsu four huh… what's your opinion on them?" Sora questioned as Makoto couldn't help but feel like she was put a bit on the spot but couldn't help but chuckle a bit upon hearing that. "Well you know, them being criminals and all and doing whatever they want to get whatever they want aside… they are actually good people deep inside. It's just hard for them to live any other way." Makoto said as she looked towards Kazamotsu once again.

"You know I once wondered why Otsu is the way it was and living there for a month really helped opened my eyes to those very reasons, the roots of what makes Otsu Otsu. And I have to say, it's what makes it quite the lively place at the end of the day." Makoto said as Sora couldn't help but smile at that. "It also doesn't help that I did a job for him that involved some ummm...shenanigans." Sora explained as this intrigued Makoto even more.

"Let's just say that things got a lot messier than they had to at that moment… and we both nearly got caught by the NOL there, especially by Kagura Mutsuki." Bullet explained as Makoto couldn't help but widened her eyes upon hearing that. "Kagura was there… Damn, I wish he actually remembered you at that day so I can get the details." Makoto thought as she began to drift to her own thoughts. Makoto was too busy to think about what Kagura could be doing at that party to fail to notice that Bullet was the one who told her that key detail.

This made Sora think about what she had said, pausing and looking at the woman as a thought rushed through his mind before he asked his question. "Bullet...I know I should have asked this earlier or even last night… but I need to know. How much of me did you remember about me?" Sora questioned as he figured that was important for him to know. He knew that Bullet knew what happened to her by how she reacted to both Azrael and Tager but presumptions are dangerous to make.

"How much do I remember of you huh…" Bullet questioned as she crossed her arms upon hearing that statement. Sora could see the woman begin to think about his words as he was not sure how she was going to react to his words. "I do remember us meeting The Godfather and Vlad. I also remember that mission we did together… I basically remember everything we did together." Bullet said as Sora couldn't help but take a deep breath upon hearing her make that statement as that was all the confirmation he needed at that moment.

"So you basically remembered everything… even how…" Sora stopped himself from finishing that statement, realizing that what he was going to say next may hurt her more than be any good. "Look… I will be frank. I understand what I did back then was reckless and I should have tried to find a way for us to meet again… but if I am given that choice again I will do it." Bullet explained as Sora was surprised to hear that come out of her mouth.

"We didn't really have much time to bond but I could tell that things were important to you. And it also helped that you treated me nicely and didn't downplay my involvement. You also helped me to get to the professor and helped me figure out what is going on with my captain. I admit… I was feeling a bit distraught at the time but now...I just have more questions." Bullet explained as Sora simply nodded his head upon hearing that statement.

"So… What are you hoping to do now? Find Tager again and hope he leads you to the professor?" Sora questioned as Bullet simply nodded her head at that. "That's the idea… but I admit, I am a bit anxious to meet him again. All these questions I have in my head and I am not sure which one I can ask." Bullet explained as Sora nodded his head upon hearing that statement. "I would say don't try to force things. If you can make sense of what's happening to you and your life in general, it's often better to let sleeping dogs sleep. Just make sure whatever you decide, you don't ever regret it." Sora said, giving his own words of advice.

"A choice I won't regret huh… I will keep that in mind." Bullet said as Makoto couldn't help but look at the way both Sora and Bullet were conversing. She could see how casual Sora spoke and how he didn't really stay quiet. Normally, when he is not being asked questions, Sora had the habit of remaining quiet and letting the rest of the room talk while he remained quiet. Seeing him talk to this person in a rather normal manner helped put Makoto a bit at ease at his conversation abilities.

"Say… I need to ask, What ever happened to that Amy girl? I didn't see her with you or Makoto when you both got here or in Kagutsuchi." Bullet questioned as Makoto couldn't help but alarmed upon hearing that. Sora himself tensed upon hearing that, unsure if he should speak the truth or tie a lie that Bullet would be none the wiser. Bullet herself could see that Sora froze upon hearing her question, realizing that something must have happened to Amy to make him freeze like so.

"Amy… Well…" Sora said as he decided to get a glimpse of Bullet, wanting to see what her expression was. The fact that Bullet had a neutral but serious expression on her face told him that telling the truth was probably better at this point. "She's dead… It would be complicated to explain her current circumstances but that is the best I can explain her right now." Sora said as Bullet could tell that with Sora, his circumstances were complicated enough that not even dying would be as simple as dropping dead with him.

"I know that's not really satisfactory… but trust me when I say that what I told you is the truth." Sora said. "You don't need to tell me twice about that… I trust you. You have no real reason to lie in the first place. I just need time to process that a bit…" Bullet said as Sora and Makoto heard a small grunt come out of her mouth. "You know...compared to me and my boss, you two have it so much rougher." Bullet said as Sora and Makoto looked at her surprised at that moment.

"I mean think about it… here I am just trying to deal with my former captain being the Red Devil himself and you guys are here dealing with your own existences. Makes my own problem seem petty in retrospective." Bullet said as Makoto shook her head at that. "Don't say something like that. Nobody's problem is above another. We all have our own personal demons to deal with and nobody's competing with each other to see whose problem is the worst of the worst." Makoto said as Bullet couldn't help but huff upon hearing that statement.

"You know… that's some good life advice to hold on to. Mind if I steal that for the next time someone tries to tell me their own life problems?" Bullet questioned as Makoto smiled upon hearing that. "As long as you remember to use that in the first place. No point keeping all that knowledge and not saying anything afterwards." Makoto replied as Bullet couldn't help but hmph again upon hearing that statement.

'It's good to see them being more friendly like this… especially after Makoto's hot pants comment.' Sora thought as his gaze went back towards the Hierarchical city that they were looking to head into. "You know… I was going to ask what's the plan… but I am going to presume we have no plan in this case." Bullet said as everyone simply went quiet upon hearing that statement. They had figured they should head towards the 7th Hierarchical city but they never really did settle on their plans afterwards.

"I guess the plan was to see what was going on in the world right now and see where people have gone. I am especially interested in figuring out where Ragna The Bloodedge had gone?" Sora said as Makoto nodded her head upon hearing that. Bullet herself crossed her arms upon hearing that and simply nodded her head at that statement. "So that is to say… we have no clue what is happening and we are just going on the fly." Bullet said as Sora couldn't help but sigh and look down upon hearing that statement.

"There's also the fact that you were told to go finding the azure to get your wish. We should probably figure out what that actually entails." Sora said as Bullet nodded her head. "My wish huh… I wonder what kind of wish I even have at this point?" Bullet wondered as Sora had a rough idea of what that wish could be but decided against saying that, not wanting his own words to influence the way Bullet was thinking at that moment. Bullet then sighed as she realized another issue they were going to have to deal with.

"Once again, we have to figure out how to smuggle ourselves into the Hirarchical city. You have easy access for sure and Makoto still has her relations with the NOL but I still have no Id with the NOL system." Sora said, the girls nodding their heads upon hearing that statement. "Let me guess, we are going to use some old Otsunian secret to try and get our way inside the Hierarchical city?" Makoto said as Sora was about to say no before he realized that her words could actually be useful.

"Now that I think about it… there's Lake Kazamotsu over there. I have heard stories about Otsunians wanting to sneak their way into the city try swimming in the lake towards the various ports." Sora said as both Makoto and Bullet blinked several times upon hearing that statement. "You know… I am glad we went with our last way of coming in the city because swimming all the way across Lake Kazamotsu is a horrible idea." Bullet said as Makoto nodded her head at that.

"I can swim easily… I just don't want to damage my poor tail with the water." Makoto explained. Sora scratched his head upon hearing that statement as he was not sure what he was going to do in that case. "Well… is there a truck we can shove me into so I can hide in there?" Sora asked as Bullet shook her head. "Recent developments of people smuggling themselves via trucks has made the NOL investigate cargo more throughly. I doubt you can stay inside a truck without getting arrested." Bullet said.

"So if swimming is out and sneaking into a truck is also out, what's the next option we can take?" Sora questioned, wondering to himself how he was going to handle this situation in front of him. Bullet and Makoto would have an easy time getting in but he isn't so lucky. Bullet herself scratched her head, realizing they got lucky the one time they managed to sneak in. It was at that moment, thinking about what Sora had just said that Makoto had an idea.


Looking at her phone, she scrolled through her contacts before she saw a pair of names that she had managed to not only save but also had remained on her phone. "Sora. Take a look." Makoto said as she gestured for Sora to take a look at her phone, allowing him to see who on her phone that she wanted him to see. "Should we give them a try?" Makoto questioned as Sora did not hesitate to nod his head.

At that moment, Makoto pressed on the number and immediately had the phone set to the speaker phone. The group waited with bated breath for a response as the tone rang for them to hear. "Hello? Who's this? How did you get my number?" A voice called out as that brought immediate relief towards the gang. "Is this the one known as Sofia?" Sora questioned, deciding to play it safe and presume their memories were tampered inside the embryo.

"It is… And I don't appreciate being called upon like this. If you want to talk to me, you got to talk to my boys." Sofia replied as both Sora and Makoto looked at each other, wondering what they could say before Sora knew he had the perfect answer. "I was a friend of your father… I only heard he passed some time ago. I want to pay my respects to you directly." Sora said as the gang could hear an audible freeze come out of the phone as they were certain a whiskey glass had been dropped at that moment.

"How do you know my father?.. and why didn't you pay respect to him at his funeral?" Sofia questioned as Sora nodded his head. "I had done a job for your father but the heat with the NOL got too hot. I had to disappear, go off grid completely to make sure the world doesn't know I exist. I can only contact you because I feel it's safe right now to do so." Sora replied as Makoto and Bullet simply remained quiet, deciding to let the Otsunian talk to the Otsunian.


Sofia: If you know he's dead, there's no need for us to meet up and talk

Sora: You know that's not how it works in the business. Your father promised me that when I completed the work I had done for him, I would be allowed a free favor.

Sofia: if that was the case, you would know that we would only honor such favors if they were honored in blood. I received his promises when he passed and none of them contained a blood contract.

Sora: I understand that too. But your father knew that if I did this job for him, I needed to disappear. He would have been investigated and if they discovered the blood contract, they could track me and he would be thrown in jail.

Sofia:… In that case, just so I can trust you here… Who can vouch for your relationship with my father?


Sora thought about that for a quick second. He knew that he had nobody can actually vouch for him and thus if he tried to give the names of the other Otsu four, they would simply call him suspicious and try to have him killed, either by scheduling the meeting and then ambushing on the spot or just cut him off completely. He needed a way to gain access to Sofia and the Otsu four while ensuring they don't try to backstab him for any reason. It was then that he had an idea hit him in the head.

"I know of the man who organized the hit which got your father killed. I can tell you where he is right now." Sora said as Bullet's eyes lit up upon hearing that statement. Sora himself was not sure what was going to be said next. He is not sure if Sofia had already taken revenge on her father's killer but at the same time, the knowledge of her father's killer from someone like him would be enough for him to persuade Sofia to meet with him.

"… and if we meet up, you are willing to give me all of the details I will need to get this guy?" Sofia questioned as Sora simply gave a simple grunt, showing that he would not back down from his word. Everyone in the group waited with bated breath for what was to come next. "Where are you right now?" Sofia questioned as that provided some relief to the trio. "We are just outside the borders of the 7th Hierachical City of Kazamotsu…" Sora answered as a groan could be heard coming out of the phone.

"Fine I hate to do this but I am going to go and get someone to pick you and whoever you got with you up. I happen to be on business in the city with a couple of associates and the last thing I want is to go exposing myself for any kind of shady dealings." Sofia answered as the girls breathed a collective sigh of relief but Sora knew better. "But you do anything to stab me in the back… betray my trust… I will make sure you are sleeping with the fishes." Sofia warned as Sora knew better than to betray Sofia or any of the Otsu four's trust.

"I promise you Sofia, I have no reason to try and betray your trust in any way. I truly wish to earn it any way possible." Sora said as silence soon greeted him from his end, telling him that Sofia had just hung up on the call, not wanting to hear his voice any further. "Looks like we managed to get the Otsu four to help us… but how are we going to give them the blue light of truth." Makoto said as Sora and Bullet looked at her a bit confused at that statement.

"That's what we are calling what I did to Bullet?" Sora questioned as Makoto nodded her head at that statement. "Why not? It makes sense to me." Makoto explained as Sora shook his head on that answer before making a small smile. "At least don't be literally on the nose about it. You could try to give a cooler nickname about it." Sora said as Makoto giggled and kissed Sora on the forehead. "I will try my best to give it a good nickname for you." Makoto said as Bullet sighed and scratched the back of her head.

"Regardless of names, we now have a way to meet up with her and the rest of this Otsu four. How can we trust that they won't just go in and try and kill us before we are able to say anything." Bullet said as both Sora and Makoto looked at each other at that moment and shook their heads. "You don't need to worry about those four. They may be criminals but they are not backstabbers. They will hold their word and if we don't do the same, they will make sure we pay for it." Sora said as he looked at his hands at that moment.

"Do you think we may have to face off against them?" Makoto questioned as Sora tensed his fist. "That's a possibility, I would love not to fight against them and hurt them unnecessarily. But if I have to face off against the four of them and prove to them my strength in their eyes, I will do it all over again." Sora said as Makoto had a thought about his choice of words. "Did you ever win against the four of them? In any fight?" Makoto questioned.

"...I have fought against Tetsu and Vlad before. Sofia and Zhang Pi I have not as much. Most of those fights were against them as individuals but fighting them as a group would be much more a challenge. They could even give someone like Meifang Lapislazuli a run for her money." Sora said as Makoto couldn't help but rub her arms upon hearing that statement. "Meifang LapisLazuli huh… well you are not wrong there." Makoto said.

"Did they actually face off against the mad woman herself?" Sora questioned as Makoto nodded her head at that statement. "And they held up against her without much trouble. It was honestly quite the feat to hear about." Makoto explained as Sora couldn't help but be impressed by what was said. "Hear? You mean you didn't see them actually fight against her?" Sora questioned as Makoto nodded her head at that.

"Well… they kind of took over fighting for me when I decided to head down the cauldron at Otsu. I only heard from the guys after I got out of there and how they bragged about how their bosses escaped from her grasp." Makoto explained as Sora couldn't help but smile at that statement. "At least they didn't lose to her. God knows the complaining the four would have done if they got beaten up by her." Sora said as Makoto smiled.

"Hey… entertain me with this. Why is this Otsu Four so important in the first place? Wouldn't they benefit if they had just worked against each other and simply killed their competetion?" Bullet questioned as Makoto couldn't help but be caught off guard as Sora raised a hand, stopping her from panic speaking. "What makes you say that? I just want to pick your brain a little bit." Sora said as Bullet took a deep breath.

"Well...from my timeline and from who I saw. Vlad's clearly one of the strongest. Even in Mercenary services he is well known for being a strong and reliable mercenary. Sofia would be the weakest in this case because her father was simply much wiser and more reliable than she would ever be." Bullet said as Sora nodded his head at that statement. "I do agree with those two. What about Tetsu and Zhang Pi?"

"Tetsu and Zhang Pi? Those two kept to themselves in my own world but they do have quite the rap sheet. Hell even the NOL wanted them more dead than alive. They simply remained in hiding and never made themselves well know. But from what I am hearing, the Steel Samurai and Blood Princess are both out in the open and showing themselves." Bullet said as Sora couldn't help but be caught off guard by her explaination of Tetsu and Zhang Pi.

"Steel Samurai and Blood Princess? They wouldn't really like those nicknames if they had heard them first hand." Sora said as Makoto nodded her head, understanding the Otsu Four well enough that she could see the point that Sora was making. "I am just saying what I had heard rather than my own opinion. I personally think that the rumors do match their appearance and having not met them personally, I am not under any contract to say anything good about them." Bullet said.

Sora simply sighed and nodded his head at that statement. "I understand that, just make sure none of the Otsu Four catches you saying stuff like that. They will kick your ass otherwise." Sora said as Bullet merely nodded her head at that statement before focusing her gaze towards the border. "So that Sofia girl is sending somebody to pick us up huh… I wonder how we are getting into the city this time." Bullet said as Makoto simply shrugged.

"Better not to overthink about it and just go with the flow. We at least have something to go by." Makoto said as the two women began to discuss and plan how they were going to handle going into the building. Sora couldn't help but smile at the two women and their slowly growing conversation as he felt a thought slowly start to creep up the back of his head. How was he going to handle the upcoming situation ahead?

"I wonder… How are things going to go?.." Sora said to himself as he had hoped a bit that someone would come to speak to his mind, give the thoughts in his head a second opinion. Silence soon followed as he couldn't help but sigh upon that. For the first time in a long while, silence had greeted him once again. He had just gotten used to hearing Amy's voice in his head and just as quickly gotten used to her voice again she was now gone.

"Sora! Come on! We got to wait for Sofia's smuggler." Makoto shouted as she and Bullet began to approach what seemed to be a meeting spot. Sora scratched the back of his head as while Amy may be unable to communicate with him in any way, for some reason her soul was inside him. That gave him a hope that she would be able to speak back to him one way or another. "Alright Makoto. Give me a bit." Sora replied as he began to approach the two women slowly.


...The conversation he had with Bullet now on his mind over his meeting with Otsu Four…


GREETINGS LOST SHEEP OF FANFICTION!? HOW ARE YOU ALL DOING ON THIS FINE DAY!? I understand that this is a much shorter chapter than my usual affair but playing a lot of Infinite wealth and enjoying myself with my game has made me decide to write this chapter a bit shorter than normal. I am sorry if the quality is affected as a result but at the same time I have made sure that what is written in this short chapter is still relevant so please enjoy what is presented.

SO WHAT WILL HAPPEN NEXT FOR OUR TRIO!? WHAT WILL THE MEETING WITH THE OTSU FOUR BRING FOR ALL PARTIES INVOLVED!? WILL BULLET FIND OUT WHERE THE RED DEVIL IS!? WILL MAKOTO BE ABLE TO HANDLE HERSELF WITH THE OTSU FOUR!? AND WILL SORA BE ABLE TO CONVINCE THEM THAT HE IS INDEED THEIR ALLY!? All this and more for when the wheel of fate turns once again.