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Vale, the headquarters of Renaissance Industries, Gaycan 53 Treichleam, dawn (Tōkyō time: Tuesday 3 April, suppertime; Anádyr' time: Tuesday, mid-evening)…
It was the rather sweet music echoing from the nearby kitchen that work Blake Belladonna up.
Blinking as her gold-brown eyes adjusted to the low light, the native of Menagerie grunted as she moved to sit up in the bed she shared with Monica Khan overnight. The bedroom in question was in the top floor of the completed renovated warehouse, with a nice picture window opening to the south and the forest beyond the Beacon River. Smiling as her old lover mewed contently while still asleep — after the last two days' fun, the two had just collapsed in bed sometime after nightfall — the daughter of the founder of the White Fang smirked as she moved to dress, grateful that there was enough outside light allowed her to see without the need of using her excellent night vision to get dressed.
Her upper ears then perked as a soft voice echoed with the music…
Kyō ha oshaberi ne kitto nanika
Ikoto ga atta desho kikasete.
Isogashikute mo jikan awasete tabeyō…!
Futari kakomu table ha ichinichi no owari no happy.
Tumaranakatta koto baka na hanashi mo futari de share shiyō…!
Walking out of the bedroom, she found herself in a lounge. The top floor of Renaissance Industries had been set aside for quarters to shelter those people who didn't have homes or had been driven out of them. Right now, most of the hunters who had been attending Beacon were recovering from the previous two days' excitement here. Naturally, Vale's leadership were grateful to Isaac Thomas, who had ordered a battalion's worth of Robot Masters — humanoid combat machines armed with the latest weapons designed by the Wise Lone Sage and his replicant scientists — deployed two nights before to deal with the nearly-endless swarm of attacking Grimm unleashed by Cinder Fall; doing that turned a potential holocaust into something that was run-of-the-mill for Remnant these days. Considering that, Blake tensed as her stomach growled out the need for immediate nourishment, then she headed over to the small kitchenette.
Working there was a mauve-haired woman in her early teens, dressed in normal clothes with a kitchen apron draped over her. Understandably mistaking the cat ear-like black protrusions at the top of her head as actual ears marking this girl as Faunus, Blake's nose then flared to pick up the slight mineral tincture in the other girl's scent marking her a native of the world whose other residents had come over the past few months to bring MIRACLES to a long-suffering planet. Realizing that the "cat ears" on the young chef were simply a bandana just tied that way, she tensed as her stomach croaked again on her smelling the LARGE amount of food laying on nearby tables. Blake walked up to one, hand reaching out for what looked like enough tuna salad sandwiches to feed a THOUSAND Faunus like her…
"Dame desu no!"
The native of Menagerie yelped as a pair of amethyst eyes focused on her. "Those are for those poor people those silly boys hurt, Blake-san," the native of Nagoya who had come to Remnant at the invite of the Wise Lone Sage via the Spirit of Innocence declared as she wagged a gloved finger at the former terrorist. "Hime's making your breakfast right now. You sit there and have some juice." She pointed to an empty table. "The juice has all the vitamins you need because you didn't have a nice snack last night before you and Monica-san had your pillow scene." As Blake awked at what this younger girl said — she knew now what THAT phrase meant — the chef turned back to her cooking.
"'Morning…"
Blake turned as an older woman stepped into the kitchen. "Velvet," she said with a polite nod as the Faunus member of Team CFVY came into the room, her own stomach grumbling for nourishment.
"Hi, Blake…"
Suddenly, Velvet Scarlatina's nose twitched wildly as a wonderful symphony of scents assaulted her senses, then she literally seemed to teleport over to stand behind the chef…
SMACK!
"Velvet-san! You sit with Blake-san and have some juice!" the chef scolded after smacking the older girl's hand with her spoon. "Hime will have your carrot cake done as soon as the other cakes are ready! Now, be a good girl and SIT!"
Yelping, Velvet teleported over to her chair at the table the chef pointed at. Blake stared at her, then she shrugged as she moved to take her own seat. "Why are you cooking cake for Velvet?" the native of Menagerie then asked.
"It's not any cake, Blake-san," the chef stated. "It's her pre-Gifting snack combined with a nutritious breakfast for growing girls like you! Hime heard from Isaac-san that you like tuna, so Hime brought some fresh South Ring Ocean nadosu for you to eat!" Despite her wearing civilian clothes, the omniversal translator systems built into Yizibajohei fighting uniforms was always active, allowing the native Remnantians to understand what those strange food words meant. "It's full of protein to let you regain your strength from what that silly boy Adam did to you after he was so mean to poor Yáng-san! Just as the nice polar memr'bem I got for Velvet-san will help her recover as well! Using her gifts to make all those weapons would drain even someone from Yiziba, so Hime wants to make sure she gets the right Gift so she can support Coco-san, Fox-san and Yatsuhashi-san when they go beat up those silly Grimm!"
Both native women blinked away as they took that in…
In the main office, minutes later…
"She's HERE?!"
"Yes, Isaac," Mikazuki Yozora declared as she bowed to her creator. "Shirayuki teleported in from Earth two hours ago with bags full of food, then started to cook for everyone. There's enough food to feed all the people who were hurt by Cardin and his friends; she's making pre-Gifting snacks now in combination with breakfast for the huntsmen."
Moaning as the potential implications of the Nagoya-jin's activities sank in, the Wise Lone Sage rolled to his feet. Not bothering with his cape, the native of Queens headed out of his main work office, then headed to the nearest stairwell; said office was on the third of four above-ground floors in the old warehouse. Yozora locked his office after he left, then followed him to the top floor. "I don't think Shirayuki is moving to pre-Gift everyone in Vale, Isaac…"
"Doing something like that would be a 'slow Tuesday' to her, Yozora," he answered the pretty raven-haired gynoid as he marched into the hallway leading to the lounges for people who had taken residence on the top floor, moving right away to where his goggles' scanners were now detecting the Great Chef of the West, Syuosekuo ("Küchenchefin"), was currently busy. Noting the presence of a good number of people he wanted to see Gifted, he picked up his pace.
Already seated at the table being shared with Blake Belladonna and Velvet Scarlatina, Coco Adel was shuddering in near-orgasmic joy as her nose — which wasn't as hypersensitive as her two Faunus schoolmates — picked up the sheer GORGEOUS scent of freshly-baked chocolate and fruit coming from one of the two ovens there. Also anxiously awaiting the chance to try out Osamu Shirayuki's wonderful cooking were the other members of Team CFVY, though Fox Alistair and Yatsuhashi Daichi weren't reacting to the heavenly smells emanating from where the young chef was working. As they waited, several normal workers in Renaissance Industries were taking the trays of sandwiches to where the refugees that had been forced to stay here over the last two days were quartered in lower floors…
"DAME DESU NO!"
Shirayuki shrieked on hearing that snapped bark, then she turned to glare intently at Isaac. "ISAAC-SAN!" she exclaimed, putting her fists to her hips. "ARE YOU STEALING HIME'S SCRIPT LINES?!"
As the natives gaped in shock, Isaac sighed. "Shirayuki-chan, much that I am BEYOND grateful that you're taking time from your spring break to help out here, but you can't pre-Gift ALL OF VALE!"
Silence.
More silence.
Still more silence.
Then…
The Great Chef of the West blinked, then she nearly doubled over in laughter as footfalls heralded the arrival of another young metahuman. "Isaac-san! There you go! You're being silly again!" Saeru Hinako snapped as she stared at him from nearby, making the New Yorker blush at that sharp statement from the Spirit of Innocence. "Shirayuki-chan won't do something silly like that! Everyone KNOWS what could happen if too many people get Gifted at once, you know!"
Escorting her was the fourth of the Fukushima sisters. "Er…what does happen, Hinako-chan?" Fukushima Miyuki asked as she gazed warily at the woman who helped "salvage" her.
"Destructo-sensei might come, Miyuki-chan!"
That made the reborn destroyer who considered herself an adopted native of Yokosuka wince. She had known from the start that her present body was first moulded five millennia before in the "Second Great Expulsion", when the second version of the Healer of Destruction, Batae Erba ("Doctor Destructo"), emerged from the Great Crystal of Power to drive the Goa'uld off the planet in answer to their attempts at what would later come to be called "Gift thievery". During that time, the new incarnation of Yiziba's first true metahuman — a woman that time — created a nearly endless ARMY of synthetic battle dolls like what the first version of Infinity would create three millennia later, though they would be powerful and durable enough to go into space to deal with the Goa'uld fleet head-on. Thanks to the first-generation battle dolls being infused by massive doses of power from the Great Crystal, they were able to unleash a level of devastation on the enemy that would weaken the "children of the gods" to the point where they had to spend CENTURIES trying to rebuild themselves to the level which they had achieved prior.
"Desu no!" Shirayuki asserted before turning back to monitor the cakes she had cooking. As Monica Khan came in to sit beside Blake while wondering what was going on, the native of Nagoya hummed, her eyes sparkling. "Still, Hime liked it when Isaac-san asked Hime to come here! Hime is going to get the chance to feed a whole KINGDOM!"
Isaac paled. "Shirayuki…!"
"Hime's going to make very, very, very sure that everyone will be as fit as the Nameless on Yiziba…"
"YOU CAN'T DO THAT!"
"You HUSH, Isaac-san!" she snapped…before a disappointed look crossed her face as she checked the rice she was cooking. "Hime couldn't pre-Gift everyone here anyway!" she lamented with a sigh.
That made him come up short. "Huh…?"
"It's true, mate."
He turned as the Master of Plants came in. "Why?" Isaac asked of Neville Longbottom.
The native of Holdenhurst in Devonshire headed over to make some tea. "The soil has been poisoned too much by the Grimm over the years, Isaac," Neville warned as Shirayuki handed him a cup to use. "You ever wonder how easy it is for those things to operate even in 'cleared' areas like that? That death-cheater the headmaster used to date left bits of contaminated soil all over the place — even here in town itself where it's supposed to be 'safe' — to allow her to teleport those bloody dementor knock-offs in wherever she wanted to." As all the natives cried out in horror on hearing that, Neville raised his hand. "There is a tonne of GOOD news in this, though!" he clearly called out.
Isaac blinked. "What's that?"
"Hinako-chan isn't the ONLY one who likes to smell mist dandelions, Isaac-san!"
That was Shirayuki, who was gazing knowing at the older man. Considering that as the others in the room still blinked in confusion, Isaac then slumped. "Ayumu…!" he then breathed out.
"Oh, what did Ōsaka-san do NOW, Isaac-san?"
He turned as Mihama Chiyo came in, moving to adjust her tenné brown hair in their normal teardrop-shaped ponytails. "Ayumu once again proves that under that narcoleptic exterior of hers, there lies one SHARP cookie, Chiyo-chan!"
That made the Bright Genius of the Young Guns blink in confusion…
That moment, somewhere in Hokkaidō…
"AH-CHOO!"
Everyone — save one certain ninjutsu grandmaster — yelped on hearing that sneeze escape the Goddess Who Walks Among Men. "Someone is speaking of you right this moment, Ayumu," Moroboshi Negako calmly stated as she enjoyed the wonderful local tea that a smiling Amon Noa had prepared for her.
Kasuga Ayumu moaned as Noa's cousin Amon Shin handed her a handkerchief. "Ah! Thanks, Shin-kun!" the native of Wakayama breathed out. She gazed towards the ceiling of the meeting hall. "Oh, it was Isaac-kun."
"Concerning?" Negako pressed.
"Neville-kun told him why I had to spread those mist dandelions all over Vale."
That made the bruised Neopolitan blink. She had insisted on allowing her body's healing abilities to rid her of the bruises gained in bouts all morning and afternoon with Amon Jō left her; doing that earned her a tonne of respect from her hosts. "What's wrong?" the once-mute mercenary from Remnant asked. "I know that Neville's Vinclozolin…"
"Remnant's soil is too badly poisoned because of that Salem creep, Neo-chan," Ayumu explained. "You ever wonder how is it those dorky Grimm always pop up whenever people are walking around, even in 'safe' places? The soil's got too much naquadah which got spread around when Ayono-ojichan had to get rid of those two Ori who pretended to be Remnant's gods two sagas ago. That lets the Grimm literally teleport themselves in to cause trouble!"
As a pale Neo gaped as the true scale of what her people had been made to face over the centuries sank in, the leader of the Amon shook his head. "I hope Isaac-kun has a plan to deal with such a yōma!" Jō snapped, his fists clenching.
"It's still in first draft stage, Oji-chan! Don't worry, though. Folks like Chiyo-chan, Shirayuki-chan, Hinako-chan and Neville-kun are there to make sure Isaac-kun doesn't over-complicate things." Here, Ayumu moaned. "Man! No wonder Margo-chan got upset when Isaac-kun came up with such a dorky idea to save Ozpin-kōchōsensei and Pyrrha-chan! Going and FREEZING TIME for a moment to yank out Pyrrha-chan before that Cinder Fall creep moved to disintegrate her and put up a synthetic target instead?!" She shook her head. "Way, WAY too complicated!"
"Nikos is alive?" Neo asked.
"Hai! So is Penny-chan!"
That made the mercenary perk. "That titemyu that Rose was crushing on?"
"Hai!" Here, Ayumu sighed. "Poor Ruby-chan…"
"What is the issue, Ayumu-san?" Jō asked.
"It seems that young Ruby has inherited a Gift — almost on OUR scale — that allows her to destroy those Grimm wholesale, Master Jō," Leno Lu'umlo answered for Yiziba's most powerful metahuman. As Negako gazed intently at him, the Mad Prophet of the Future smirked. "During the battle in and around the Beacon Academy, she unleashed her Gift at the moment Mistress Pyrrha 'died', which was enough to literally FREEZE a local wyvern moving to destroy a teleportation unit housed at the school." As Neo gaped, he smirked. "It was as large as any Terran dragon species you might be aware of, my friend." Here, a churlish smile crossed the face of the reborn socialist preacher.
"Son of a bitch…!" Neo exhaled before she whistled. "Does she…?" Here, the once-mute mercenary blinked. "Oh, damn! She has Silver Eyes! No wonder she could clobber something that big!"
"Isaac is moving to wait until she is ready for a Gifting," Leno added.
"Are you going to interfere?" Jō asked.
"Please don't."
That was Ayumu, who was gazing knowingly at the native Yizibajohei. Leno blinked before he sighed. "No, I won't interfere with Miss Ruby. I'm sure there are others who could benefit from my offers."
Smiles crossed the faces of the others in the room at Leno's reply, even Negako's. No doubt, the Mad Prophet turned away from such a course out of a desire to NOT face the Infinite One for "butting into another person's fight scene", which was seen as a major faux pas among Yizibajohei as a whole. At that point, Jō finished his tea. "So, young Neo-kun. How do you feel now?" he wondered as he gazed intently at the late Roman Torchwick's chief assistant.
A smile answered him. "It's no wonder the Padre called you the greatest assassin on this planet, Master Jō. Even with the knowledge I inherited from my past-selves, I never stood a chance."
A delighted cackle answered her as Negako nodded in agreement. "To be fair to you, Neo-kun, you did FAR better than I initially expected. And it's good that your own native 'semblance' and 'aura' abilities weren't taken from you when you were Gifted. Your ability to fade and move invisibly to a new position to attack must have served you well in your battle against this Taurus fellow." As Neo scowled on hearing the name of the current field leader of the White Fang, Jō nodded. "As of this point, Trinia Vanille-kun, you are the newest member of the Amon-ichizoku," he then proclaimed, which made all the others in the room brighten, with Noa whooping in delight. "Your training will make what most people would consider immensely harsh to be a cakewalk in comparison."
Here, his dark eyes sparkled. "I have seen, fought and trained mighty warriors over the years, young lady. When I am finished with you, you will be able to count yourself among them!"
She gazed back at him, her mismatched eyes sparkling as images of her sinking dirks into the bodies of Cinder Fall and her friends, then Salem herself, flashed before her mind's eyes. "Sounds like fun."
Minutes later…
"So, you have not seen Tariko all this time?"
"Not for quite a number of storylines, Mistress Negako," the Mad Prophet of the Future said with a sigh as he walked with the Earth Angel and the Infinite One towards the main gate of the Amon Clan compound. "I know she is alive; her PAA is still in her bedroom at her cabin outside Kabe-koli. The last entry in her Book is dated from mid-September last year as you would tell time here on Earth. As to where she could have gone, I simply cannot say."
That made Moroboshi Negako hum. As she was a physical clone of the long-missing Tariko Katabarbe (née Moroboshi Ataru), she had reasons to be concerned as to the younger woman's current whereabouts. Yes, there had been many times when the would-be Trickster of the Show who had innocently launched Earth's second Age of Metahumans with such a bang over a decade ago would disappear for a while before re-emerging and returning to her country cabin on Yiziba's northern polar continent; that was where she had been raised by her spiritual TRUE mother (until Ayone Katabarbe's death by heartbreak) after fleeing a loveless home in Tomobiki outside Tōkyō proper…
Wait…
Tomobiki…?
"Ayumu, have you been able to sense into Tomobiki recently?"
That made Kasuga Ayumu perk. "No! Haven't really thought of looking towards there. Schoolwork and other things get in my way." She then blinked. "Hey, wait a minute! The last two girls that Tariko-chan wrote about in the Book were from Tomobiki! Inu Chigaiko-chan and Tsuruya Rumiko-chan! I don't know if they were Gifted, but…"
"Actually, Shihan-sama, we could look into this."
Negako gazed upon Amon Shin, who had been escorting them off the property. "Yes, that would be a good thing," the current Steward of the Moroboshi Clan of Mutsu — responsible for administering the family's assets in the name of Tariko's late grandmother Moroboshi Nagaiwakai until the new matriarch came of age — mused. "Shin, be VERY cautious," she then bade as she gazed on the raven-haired assassin, making him instantly stiffen at that warning from Earth's first true artificial intelligence. "It would have taken much in the way of power to entrap Tariko in Tomobiki — IF she is there, of course — without triggering her Gifting ahead of time. If someone in Japan or anywhere on Earth is responsible, they clearly must be acting in a way to keep her presence there completely hidden."
He considered that before his eyes widened. "The alien invasion from October?!"
"What alien invasion?!" Leno demanded.
"The Urusians," Negako answered.
That made the Mad Prophet of the Future blink before a look of disgusted outrage crossed his face as his own fists clenched. "THEM?!" he exclaimed, spinning on Negako. "You actually are moving to abase yourselves before the likes of THEM?! Mistress Negako, they've been wrecked once…!"
"Redet Lum is the second entry in The Book of Pretty Girls, Leno."
That caused the reborn socialist preacher to screech to a halt. "Tariko actually saved an UMALE?!"
"Calm down, Leno-kun!" Ayumu said, waving the older man down. "After I got Gifted, some dork caught Lum-chan in the Terrible Swamps near her home outside Onishuto and put a POWER-DAMPENING COLLAR on her!" As Leno gasped in horrified disbelief — even if he saw the natives of the fourth world of Oniboshi over forty light-years from Earth as nothing more than "umale" who deserved to eventually go extinct, he would NEVER care to hear of ANY metahuman being forced to LOSE his/her abilities — the native of Wakayama added, "It was a good thing I heard her all the way from Yiziba! Tariko-chan and I went there to see what was going on, I zapped Lum-chan with an Infinite Wave, then it was all taken care of!" She then gave him a stern look. "Sure, the Urusian leaders are all dorks! But Tariko-chan would NEVER go for something like what we did to them twenty-seven miniseries ago!"
A disgusted snort answered her. "Do not be sure of THAT, young lady!"
In a flash of energy, he vanished. "Ai-cha…!" Shin hissed.
"Do not concern yourself, Shin," Negako stated. "Have Tomobiki investigated when you can do so. Be CAUTIOUS in doing it for the reasons I just explained. Do not bother Trivia; she needs to concentrate on more important things."
He nodded. "Hai, Shihan-sama! We'll contact you via the usual routes if we learn something."
"You have my thanks."
With that, Ayumu gently squeezed her friend's arm, then they teleported away…
An hour later, back in Vale (local time: Gaycan, an hour before breakfast)…
"Good morning, everyone."
Hearing that calm voice, people looked over, then Coco Adel whooped. "Professor!"
Shannon Ozpin chuckled as he adjusted his glasses, though he didn't resist as several of the female huntsmen who had gathered to await some good food embraced him; seeing the current incarnation of the Undying Warrior Sage of Remnant back on planet was enough to brighten the days of many people there. "There, there, people," he said after Blake Belladonna hugged him. "I have to say from what I saw of the Academy grounds before coming here, you all performed splendidly two nights ago. Despite certain issues…" — a scowl crossed his face as he gazed at the smaller pile of sandwiches Osamu Shirayuki made for normal people — "…you should all be proud of your performance."
Delighted blushes crossed people's faces…even if some knew it would have been MUCH worse hadn't their current host intervened like he did. "How long before the Academy is reopened, Professor?" Yatsuhashi Daichi asked.
Ozpin sat before he blinked as a cup of hot chocolate with marshmallows was placed before him by Shirayuki. "Thank you, Miss Osamu," he said with a nod of thanks. "It will be a while, Mister Daichi. We must gain intelligence on what Salem plans to do now. Atop that, with Miss Rose having just woken this morning, the 'diversion' she'll perform with Mister Arc, Miss Valkyrie and Mister Len can start. I assume Miss Schnee has returned to Atlas, Miss Belladonna?"
"She flew out after midnight with her sister," Blake responded as Monica Khan squeezed her hand. "Once I'm ready to go, I'll head over to Patch to help Yáng get back on her feet. I'll hold off on making the 'sales pitch' until Ruby and the others are on their way to Mistral," she added with a raised hand as the headmaster gazed at her. "Once that's all done, we can go down to Menagerie to meet with my parents and Monica's aunt, then keep Adam nice and tamed."
"If that's even possible," Monica snidely added.
Rueful chuckles filled the room…before a buzzing noise echoed from an alarm located by one of the ovens. Shirayuki perked, then she headed over to gaze inside the lit-up space, her amethyst eyes narrow as she used her powers to scan the cakes she just made. "Desu no!" she declared as she turned off the oven, then moved to get protective gloves on to draw out the food. "All nice and warm for people to enjoy! Hinako-chan, could you get more juice, please?"
"Hai, Shirayuki-chan!"
As Saeru Hinako headed to a large walk-in refrigerator to pull out jugs of juice to have them passed around with the help of the Fukushima sisters to everyone waiting for meals, Shirayuki moved to extract the cakes she just made. The incredible mixture of smells — chocolate, vanilla, many types of fruit and vegetables, fish and other sea foods, chicken and other forms of fowl — made the young huntsmen shudder in delight as they waited for the Great Chef of the West to present her current round of culinary masterpieces to them. Off to one side, the already-Gifted huntsmen from Mistral and Atlas could only smile in anticipation. Much that the non-Gifted natives couldn't really sense it now, but Penny Polendina and Pyrrha Nikos could tell that all the various types of food used here had been brought straight from Yiziba, which would help compensate for the gross LACK of mesonium in Remnant's biosphere needed to ensure the Giftings would happen without much in the way of what Isaac Thomas called "post-Gifting shock".
Once all the cakes had been inspected, service began. "First, to Blake-san!" Shirayuki announced as she brought one over. "A nice mixture of nadosu, tuor'besam and mixed vegetables, all for a growing girl. This should make your hair nice and shiny for when Hime can make your wedding cake after you marry Monica-san and Yáng-san!"
Blake exclaimed in shock from the young chef's words while Monica found herself humming and the others laughed as they toasted the Faunus member of Team RWBY. Next came the niece of the current leader of the White Fang. "Hime heard Monica-san likes salmon and pork, so Hime made a nice mixture of North Ring Ocean rati with western equatorial continent yoku to go with some fresh ekedu since you like strawberries as well! Wait your chance!"
The dark-skinned feline therianthrope was practically drooling. "Salmon, warthog AND strawberries?!"
More laughter from the others as Shirayuki headed back. "Velvet-san gets a nice cake full of chopped memr'bem with mulched padu and tamsam, all mixed in a perfect flour made of ripe dutonae from the southern polar continent!" she announced as she brought over the cake for the Faunus member of Team CFVY. "Sharp eyesight is always important."
Velvet Scarlatina squealed, her body swaying to and fro as she grasped her fork and knife. "Wait, Velvet-san!" Shirayuki scolded before heading back to the table. "For Coco-san, we have Hime's perfect rendition of Tariko-san's own special black forest cake! It's made of fresh southern polar continent tyuotutosete with layers of yuoguo fruit and sauce, perfectly whipped cream taken from northern polar continent rimyuo milk, all in a lean batter of r'buonyato mixed with tuor'besam and a nice touch of western equatorial continent hoguor'bo to give it that sweet taste!"
Coco was virtually glistening with anticipation. "Cake…!"
"And it WON'T add inches to your waist!" the young chef added.
An ear-splitting squeal escaped the leader of Team CFVY, which made Fox Alistair wince. "Dame desu no!" Shirayuki scolded. "Don't shout like that! You hurt Fox-san's ears when you do that, Coco-san!"
The native of Vale winced as her freshman initiation partner patted her shoulder in reassurance. Now the female member of Team FNKI was up. "Hime made a slightly different version of Blake-san's cake for Neon-san!" Shirayuki announced as she brought over a beautiful tuna-vanilla-and-vegetable cake, which had a top layer of dark cherries baked in. "Neon-san likes cherries, so she gets a big serving of northern polar continent yuoguo for today!"
"Thank you!" Neon Katt crooned. "Are you single?!"
"Neon!" Flynt Coal cried out. "She's just a KID!"
"Hai, Flynt-san's right!" Shirayuki lamented with a slight rocking of her head. "Hime's too young for pillow scenes!"
Seated nearby, Hinako's nose scrunched. "Hina doesn't WANT to think of mushy stuff!"
The locals all gaped, then Flynt moaned, his head drooping. "Aliens…!"
Everyone gazed on the Atlesian dust trader's son, then laughter filled the room…
That moment, back on Earth in a certain hidden Siberian ocean cove (local time: Tuesday, an hour before midnight)…
"Oh, Amaterasu-ōmikamisama, you were so beautiful this day…"
Well into the first watch that covered the four hours before midnight — it was astronomical twilight over Sano-wan, the Sun having set sometime ago — the seventh carrier of Operation Z stood outside the ice barrier that had trapped her since the day that earthquake imprisoned her crew for an exile that would last over SEVENTY-ONE years.
Rising after prostrating herself in the direction of the Sun in respects to the Queen of the Kami and the ancestress of Japan's ruling dynasty, Itō Yoiko knelt again, facing the North Pole and the being that arranged for her transformation fifteen hours before. "Mighty Túndra, Oldest of All, this unworthy one thanks Thee for Your Benevolence and Your Patronage with the Great Spirit of the Universe that granted my warrior spirit a proper shell to fight the threats looming over the domains of You and Your Brother Great Old Ones, all who protected the ancestors of humanity from the dire threats of the demons who wished to see Mother Earth burn," she intoned as she prostrated towards the Emperor of the Arctic. "This unworthy one hopes You would reach out to Your Brother Great Old Ones to allow the warrior spirits of my fleet mates and my peers worldwide to rise from the deep and help shield our shared Mother as one."
Closing her eyes as she mentally prayed to the Kami to entreat of all the Great Old Ones to do just that, the adopted native of Maizuru then relaxed in seiza, interlacing her fingers in her lap as she allowed her mind to meditate. Being born from the dreams and hopes of THOUSANDS beyond her beloved crew who shaped her as she was built in Special Dock No. 1 — which was filled in once it was flooded and her hull towed to the fitting out jetty after her christening on 15 August 1940, exactly one week after her "eldest" sister THG Yamato was launched at the Kure yards near Hiroshima — her very soul had been moulded and shaped by those dreams and hopes to make her as she was today.
First, there was the nationalist, militarist-driven fervour that saw her planned initially as an extended version of the Yamato-class with an extra turret mounting three more Type 94 naval guns in "X" position. The decision to rebuild her as the ultimate aircraft carrier, carrying a whole AIR FLOTILLA of a hundred and forty combat planes in her hull, both armoured to make her a virtual fortress at sea and powered to match the speed of the fleet carriers then in commission despite her displacing over TWICE the size of ships like THG Akagi or THG Kaga! Building her in top secrecy at Maizuru, whose small bay forced her to be simply floated out of dry dock on her christening in 1940. The speed by which she was constructed in comparison to her sisters, helped at the order of the greatest of Japan's magical warriors, the Dark Lady of the Orient herself, to make her an addition to the plans to rip down the useless Statute of Secrecy and force humanity to live as one society; such had been provoked by the dawn of the Metahuman Age coinciding with the Great Depression. The decision to name her Yonaga, poetically meaning "Eternal Era", to throw off Western spies and leave them floundering as to what type of ship she was. The decision to make Yonaga's crew DISAPPEAR into the abyss of Unit 731 of the Imperial Army, a stunning measure given the deep and bloody rivalry between the Empire's main combat arms…but unbelievably successful none the less. Then the voyage north to Sano-wan, discovered by personnel of Yonaga's host unit — who, admittedly, wanted to seek places to launch plague-filled balloon bombs on America if deemed necessary — and named in tribute to Unit 731's chief liaison, Colonel Sano Akira, who made the discovery. Said discovery being enhanced due to the sheer WINDFALL of diamond and ruby mesonium deposits in the soil and the surrounding glaciers, never mind the wonderful geothermal port at the inner end of the cove which could be tapped into for auxiliary power as the crew worked up and prepared themselves to climb Mount Niitaka.
Then came the twenty-eighth day of September in 1941…
An earthquake struck northeast Siberia, one powerful enough to jar loose the glaciers at the mouth of the cove, sending them crashing to block the entrance of Sano-wan opening to the Arctic Ocean. Such had killed Colonel Sano and his crew, who used a midget submarine to locate the bay; they had been preparing to head back to Japan and relay orders from Fujita Hiroshi to his subordinate Nagumo Chūichi aboard Akagi concerning the final tweaks on Operation Z. The horror and panic that flooded Yonaga's crew at that moment; because of the layers of secrecy covering the fifth of the Yamato-class ships and her location in Soviet territory, there was no way to send an SOS to Japan to get a ship north to blast her clear so she could carry out the mission without launching a two-front war against ALL the Allies along the way. But the crew's training — which was extraordinary since the veteran of Tsushima put in charge of Operation Z to lead the attack on Pearl Harbour hand-picked most of his flagship's officers and senior petty officers to give Yonaga that extra fighting chance to compensate for lack of experience — kicked in. Survival became the name of the game. Measures were taken to preserve all fuel and perishables while a couple holes were blasted through the glaciers to see the carrier's whaleboats sent out for fishing duties. By the time the actual call to commit the attack was transmitted from Imperial Navy headquarters in December — along with a "Z" code that was the official sign to commission THG Yonaga as a ship of the Imperial Navy — a steady stream of fish, local cloudberry fruit and sea plants were flowing from the Chúkchi Sea and the area of the Bering Strait to keep everyone in perfect shape; such was augmented by daily calisthenics drills for all crew on the flight deck, topped by constant battle stations training covering everything from launching and recovering airplanes to fighting the ship itself in times of total darkness and power failure.
While the transmissions received over shortwave concerning the "day of infamy" brightened everyone's hopes that the war would be swift, future transmissions — especially after the debacle of Midway — sickened everyone to the point that Fujita came to realize the war was now one of annihilation. And given America's resources and the sheer volcano of rage that resulted from the attack on Pearl Harbour, it would take the Kami themselves to save their homeland.
Then came the fifteenth day of August in 1945…
Yoiko clearly recalled the levels of outrage when HIS voice echoed over shortwave in what came to be called the Daitōa-sensō Shūketsu no Shōsho, the Imperial Rescript on the Termination of the Greater East Asia War. Recognized by her junior navigation officer — whose overall clan had served the Imperial Family for a millennium and more as the Heavenly Sovereign's hidden eyes and ears on society as a whole — the news was met with a tsunami of denials and disbelief. In the way of thinking that ran through the hearts of the warriors of Japan in that time, there was simply NO WAY that the Heavenly Sovereign of all people would call for SURRENDER of all things! Clearly, that "Rescript" was some sort of foul TRICK by the Americans — or worse, the Soviets! — to make loyal soldiers of the Empire lay down their arms, thus leave their homeland vulnerable to vengeful attacks by the Allies.
Then over time…sober realization sank in.
As years became decades and the hopes of freeing Yonaga from her prison ended up becoming hinged on prayers for another Kami-sent earthquake — or the benevolent intercession of Earth's oldest sentient being, whose presence in the region had been properly confirmed by many new friends the carrier's crew had made in those long decades — people began to think about what they had overheard during those three-and-a-half years of violent conflict called the "Greater East Asia War". Shortwave was still a viable form of communication to all the nations, with messages heard in the clear thanks to Yonaga's receivers; their part of the Arctic region wouldn't be struck by what recently was called "climate change" until a decade ago. The horrors of more war — none of which had involved Japan, quite ironically! — though it hadn't progressed to the outbreak of the long-feared "World War Three", fuelled by the dreaded nuclear weapons that supposedly made their appearance days before the "Jewel Voice Broadcast". Radical, revolutionary, social change in nations, Japan included, in the 1960s, mostly as a response of the rise of "baby boomers" born after the end of the Greater East Asia War moving to take their place in society. The leaps of scientific advancement that saw men walk on the Moon for the first time in 1969, led by a Navy pilot from Ohio; much to the delight of the carrier's living kami, all the pilots of her on-board air group raised cups of sake in toast to Neil Armstrong's call from thousands of kilometres away: "That's one small step for man. One giant leap for mankind."
And then came the twentieth of November in 1983…
Another earthquake struck the region, this one appearing to have the power necessary to dislodge the glaciers trapping Yonaga within and allowing her to head out on a VERY long-delayed mission to Hawai'i. But the Fates once again judged against the crew of the Seventh Carrier; the ice didn't clear away enough and aftershocks would see MORE glaciers slam into the mouth of the bay, making extraction from Sano-wan all but impossible. The crew's hopes were crushed that night, resulting in the breaking out of the carrier's stores of hard liquor for the first time as people got drunk and thoughts of suicide sank hard on many. Fortunately, Lieutenant Moroboshi Kyōsuke was there to whip everyone back into shape, advising people that Fate clearly meant something SPECIAL for the crew of the Yonaga which forced them to remain in Sano-wan. Given the intermittent times magical poachers found the place called "Svjetjjílische" by the cove's original residents to get sex-slaves, the crew believed they had to repay the many things the gamájun did for them over the decades before giri and ninjō was seen as properly satisfied; only THEN would the metamorphic avians' ancient patron see the ice swept clear to let them sail the high seas once more.
Yoiko knew how much of a lie that had been. Unlike most of her crew, Kyōsuke was a passionate Taoist who didn't care for the warped type of Bushidō that had been prevalent among soldiers and sailors of the Imperial armed forces when the march to the Second World War began. Being a properly-trained shinshoku despite his true faith, the native of Sendai became Yonaga's effective chaplain, gladly administering to people's spiritual needs over the decades they lived and thrived in Sano-wan. Unlike many of the carrier's command staff, Kyōsuke had BELIEVED in the call to surrender in 1945. He KNEW the voice of his very own godfather over the radio! He KNEW deep in his heart that it would have taken a VERY extraordinary set of events to force the Heavenly Sovereign's hand in that matter. And he had SENSED the unleashing of the Moroboshi Clan's most sacred treasure — the sentient storehouse of a millennium's worth of ninjutsu knowledge addressed by all as simply the Saikō Jinseijutsu; such a being was allowed to reside within the subconscious mind of Kyōsuke's own father Moroboshi Ryūbi — during the evening of the fourteenth of August in 1945 in an aside to the Kyūjō Incident; doing such would see the being informally named "Moroboshi Negako" virtually SLAUGHTER the remaining metahuman warriors of the Black Dragon Society, thus preventing a potential CIVIL WAR to break out within a devastated nation once it had been occupied by the Americans.
Then the Kami — or perhaps the Christian God, maybe? — shone a light on things.
That was thanks to a man named Theodore Ross…
In the skies over Nerima in Tōkyō, that moment (local time: Tuesday, two hours after supper)…
"Oh, man! How did THIS happen?!"
Those people who knew her would immediately tell everyone that Kasuga Ayumu — known almost exclusively as "Ōsaka" these days thanks to one Takino Tomo — was nothing more than a narcoleptic bonkura who was slow and spacey. Of course, Ayumu didn't really do anything to challenge that.
Even if she was Gifted with the power to remould UNIVERSES over eleven years ago…
Being the twenty-eighth incarnation of the Goddess Who Walks Among Men, Ayumu knew how frightening her reality-warping abilities could be to the average person. How she could turn day into night and back again by mentally shifting a planet around, unleash a hurricane of poison as she had done in Vale on Remnant, reverse disasters with just a thought, unleash cleansing echoes of her power — the Infinite Wave — to clear out whole solar systems if need be…
Not to mention save a poor child from the planet Uru from being seen as a cripple among her people.
As Ayumu had done to one Redet Lum of Onishuto mere days after the former's Gifting.
That had been done at the behest of the first true friend of the native of Wakayama…
…who was now proverbially STUCK in the town she had fled from years before.
To say anything of being forced back to being a BOY after spending eleven years maturing as a GIRL!
Not to mention having all memories of her/his true home wiped from her/his mind.
Scowling as her meta-sight locked in on Tariko Katabarbe — known to everyone in Tomobiki by her/his birth name "Moroboshi Ataru" — struggling as he was being choked by a transformed Oni-Urusian pilot, Ayumu resisted the urge to teleport in there, scare the heck of the natives of the fourth world of Oniboshi, then use her power to transform Tariko to the way she should be…which would see her Gifted. "Darn it, Tariko-chan! I warned you this could happen!" the native of Wakayama hissed as she raised her hand, thumb and middle fingers poised.
"…ate one of MY cakes?! Those are the special cakes I made just for Rei-sama 'cause it'll expand one hundred…!"
"URRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRAGH…!"
"…times once eaten! How DARE you interrupt my date with such a moronic excuse?!"
"Oops! Sorry! I didn't know the cake was for you!"
Ayumu slumped. "Oh, man…!"
SNAP!
A loud rumbling inside the Moroboshi home made the people in there pause…
KK-KRUNCH!
KK-KRACK!
"Mooooooo…!"
"Ran-chan's hurting, Okā-chan…!"
As the clearly amnesiac Tariko panted in relief after CINDER BLOCKS from out of nowhere had been dropped on the skull of the ushitora which was her/his "wife's" ex-fiancé Seq Rei — not to mention the frontier pilot's would-be wife Aruka Ran — the warlord's daughter from Onishuto blinked after prostrating herself in front of her childhood friend. Noting the very nice lumps on the heads of two people she was now starting to see more as annoyances than real friends, she then perked as her "darling" moved to shove the dazed Rei over the edge of the veranda, dropping him head-first onto the lawn a floor below! Once that was done, Lum herself nodded, then snared Ran by the collar of her dress, tossing her out of "Ataru's" bedroom to drop down right on her would-be husband. As Tariko winced on seeing someone s/he was attracted to hurt like that — it seemed THAT part of the soul of Ayumu's first true friend hadn't changed at all — the Oni teenager picked up the very heavy blocks of moulded concrete, then dropped each of them on the heads of her dazed countrymen below. After the last one was smashed hard on Ran's skull, Lum then snapped, "RAN-CHAN NO BAKA! NEXT TIME, KEEP YOUR DAMNED FOOD TO YOURSELF!"
She sent a massive torrent of bio-electricity down to make both Ran and Rei do the equivalent of a funky chicken dance before they regained some semblance of conscious thought, then fled the Moroboshi property. As Lum snarled after them before moving to tend to her "husband", Ayumu breathed out in relief. "Man, this is going to be a real bummer to fix," the Infinite One muttered as she allowed her meta-sight to take in all in Tomobiki and leading to and from it.
Put simply, it was a MESS!
Someone planted HUNDREDS of ebony mesonium crystals in the soil at the borders of the various neighbourhoods in Nishitōkyō that made up the former town of Tomobiki, creating a shield that kept people inside effectively isolated from the outside world. It wouldn't stop anyone from physically entering or leaving, but the shield incorporated elements of magical charms such as the Fidelius to serve as a perfect information block via ALL means — from word of mouth to newspapers to radio and television and even the Internet! — from flowing in and out of Tomobiki. Even more, said shield effectively JAMMED all TWENTY ley lines that intersected in the southern part of Tomobiki itself, right under a hill where a very old — and very SICK, Ayumu was quick to note — cherry tree called the Tarōzakura now stood. Because of that, all sorts of akuma and yōma and other such beings were effectively TRAPPED in Tomobiki, their presence influencing the people living there in negative ways. Even more so, at that nexus of those ley lines, a being somewhat like what Moroboshi Negako had been before the Infinite One herself gave her a battle doll body shortly after the encounter with Lum on Uru was now starting to develop, metaphysically reaching out to influence the minds of everyone within the town to think, remember and believe in certain things.
The GOOD news was that said shield currently extended up like a funnel right to edge of outer space and merged with various metaphysical shields, allowing this information roadblock enforced on those living inside Tomobiki — and perhaps those who frequently visited there — to be extended to any potential alien visitors coming to Earth from afar.
It didn't take Ayumu long to realize what all this was for.
Someone had gone to a HUGE amount of trouble to make Tariko seem like a NORMAL Earth person.
And given that Lum clearly saw "Ataru" now as her HUSBAND…!
Sadly nodding, the native of Wakayama teleported herself back to her bedroom in Itabashi.
She had to think hard as to what to do about this…
Back on Remnant at Renaissance Industries, an hour later (local time: Gaycan, an hour after breakfast)…
"Um…Master Neville…?"
A certain magical native of Holdenhurst in Dorsetshire blinked, then he looked over. "What is it?" Neville Longbottom asked as he handed a newly-sprouted northern polar continent masa plant in a pot to a grateful woman while young hunters from Beacon moved to distribute lunch and supper rations prepared by Osamu Shirayuki, then he gazed on the vulpine therianthrope child that had attracted Pyrrha Nikos' attention the previous evening in a nearby warehouse.
The young girl blushed as her bushy tail swished; she was old enough to be able to subconsciously control that appendage to better display her mood. "Um, Master Neville, Mistress Chiyo told Mom that you were some sort of villain back on Yiziba," she said before looking down. "Um…if that's so…?"
A laugh escaped the Master of Plants before he looked to one of the local staff from Renaissance Industries. "We got enough here for the time being, mate. Make sure every family gets one."
"Of course, Master Neville," the local man affirmed with a nod before he smiled at the young Faunus.
Neville waved the girl to follow her to a nearby couch so they could sit; her mother had already collected her family's new plant to put down in one of the open-air parks near their home. Doing such would serve as a massive new source of mesonium to inject directly into the very soil, thus rendering the naquadah and whatever else had been in the underlying terrain for centuries inert and effectively sanitizing the area from the death cheater who had been moving to destroy humanity on this world for the past two millennia. "In my battle line, that's been normally true," he explained. "But it's with good reason, though." he added as he held up a finger to emphasize his point, winking at her.
"Why's that?"
"Well, on Yiziba, there are many types of metahumans. You can break them down into several broad categories. I'm a psychic-type since I can manipulate plants with the power of my mind. My magic also marks me as a psychic-type."
"What other types are there, Master Neville?"
"Well, you have Chiyo and Isaac. Both are ultra-intelligent; thus, they can invent a lot of things, developing science in a way that pushed our planet's technological levels to make us the high-water mark of the whole GALAXY!" As she gasped on hearing that — the androids and gynoids working at RI had started given their co-workers and relatives some basic lessons on what lay beyond the Oum system — he added, "In fact, three of them — two being part of the current generation — helped save all of Yiziba from the mess the Dawn of Power left behind. But…" He shrugged. "They really didn't go far enough in the eyes of MY first-self. He wanted Yiziba to return fully to Nature's overall control."
She considered that before humming. "No more cities, you mean."
He nodded, a wistful smile crossing his face. "Yeah. And it could have been done, believe it or not. The Circle of Thought — that's the three people I just mentioned now — could easily build great space stations for our first-selves to live in while Yiziba healed. They didn't. What was worse, many who were part of another type of metahuman started wrecking things the Circle's inventions fixed up. They're what we call 'FISS-types'."
"'FISS-types'?"
That was Fox Alistair, who with the members of Team CFVY had been helping with plant distribution. As they came over to listen to the wizard's tale, Neville nodded. "The term is an acronym, Mister Alistair. 'F-I-S-S'," he spelled out. "It means 'Flight, Invulnerability, Super-Strength and Super-Speed'. Chiyo's friend Takino Tomo is a FISS-type."
"The 'silly person' who gave Lady Ayumu that horrible nickname, you mean," Velvet Scarlatina noted.
"Same bloody idiot," he said with a snort as he relaxed in the sofa. "People similar to the Fukushima sisters, actually." As the young girl boggled — the locals had been given a demonstration of the reborn destroyers' powers late last night when stories began being passed about the homeworld of the One Above the Gods — he added, "Almost one-fourth of Yizibajohei are believed to be FISS-types. Now, if they can control themselves, it's no issue. But you get wildcats like Takino — who's one of the top FISS-types on the planet, Merlin save us! — who are too comfortable tearing many SQUARE KILOMETRES of countryside apart just to beat down an opponent. And my first-self said, 'No'!"
"He vowed to fight it, you mean," Coco Adel mused.
Neville nodded as his sharp eye picked up a faint silvery-reddish glow emanating from her exposed skin. Inwardly smiling — it was seen among most Terran-born Yizibajohei as "spoiling the reveal scene" when they saw the obvious first signs of a Gifting going down — he nodded. "Right. Since most FISS-types are bloody 'save everyone's arses possible' Gryffindor-types, my first-self got labelled as a 'heel', which is the rough equivalent of a villain here."
"But your first-self had reasons to do that!" the young girl protested with a raised finger, which made the older teens look her way. "You're like Blake's father or Monica's aunt…!"
"True. But you got to remember that people — even people from the same society or cultural group — often have MANY ways of looking at things," Neville advised. "Look at Miss Adel's classmates. We have a Faunus in Miss Scarlatina as part of her team. But then look at Mister Winchester and his friends. They don't like Faunus at all. All of you are from this very city." He then sighed. "In a way, you're pretty lucky. It's way worse where I come from."
"What does that mean, Neville?" Fox asked.
"There are humanoid and near-humanoid magical species living on Earth," he reported, making people gape. "The effective leaders of MANY magical societies back home don't care for them, think them as 'animals'," the Terran-turned-Yizibajohei chlorokinetic affirmed, his voice dripping with scorn. "Like…"
Tene lomher'buo, Coco Adel…!
A shocked cry escaped the tall, fashionable woman as she bolted to her feet. At Isaac Thomas' suggestion, all those who had been pre-Gifted by the Great Chef of the West earlier in the morning were made to change into the silver crystalline jumpsuits that traditionally marked those on Yiziba as being ready to "dance with the Great Crystal of Life"; to not offend the local's sensibilities, the more traditional sleeved patterns of jumpsuit had been issued to those who requested it, including even a fashion-hound like Coco. As her whole body began to glow as bright as Oum at high noon, people cried out as they shielded their eyes, wanting to see this happen before things became too harsh to…!
Nesu…BUOLEM!
"YES!" the now-Gifted Valean howled as her uniform turned into a more modern form-fitting jumpsuit in the umber-brown shade that was the main colour of her normal huntsman's clothing. With chocolate-brown pouch-lined belt and matching buccaneer boots along with straps of brown leather-like material on her upper and lower arms and upper legs her uniform came complete with a hollow square insignia filled with sixteen four-point stars in perfect formation.
Recognizing the insignia of the Human Legion, Buolem ("Phalanx"), Neville could only nod before he gazed at his young questioner. "If you want to know, Miss, Miss Adel just became a FISS-type."
"Well, ain't I lucky then, Neville-kun…!"
The wizard-turned-chlorokinetic gasped. "Tomo…?!"
A silver gloved hand landed on Coco's shoulder…
…then in a flash of light, she disappeared! "COCO!" Velvet screamed in horror…
To Be Continued…!
WRITER'S NOTES
Translation of Issho no Tabeyō, which was Osamu Shirayuki's theme song for the second Sister Princess anime series, Sister Princes Re Pure; the song was performed in the omake of the eleventh episode, "The Box of Memories":
Kyō ha oshaberi ne kitto nanika
Ikoto ga atta desho kikasete.
Isogashikute mo jikan awasete tabeyō…!
(Today, you are talkative. Maybe
There was something good. Tell me about it.
Even if we're busy, let's eat meals together…!)
Futari kakomu table ha ichinichi no owari no happy.
Tumaranakatta koto baka na hanashi mo futari de share shiyō…!
(At the end of the day, we're happy sitting around the table.
Let's share some talk and gossip…!)
For those who don't know, Shirayuki always speaks of herself in third-person as Hime ("Princess"). This stems from the translation of her name ("snow white") as well as serves as one of many in-jokes that dotted Sister Princess.
Translation list and source language (all Yizibajohei unless noted): Dame desu no — Don't/Stop (Shirayuki-speak Japanese); Nadosu — Tuna; Memr'bem — Carrot; First draft — Yizibajohei euphemism for an initial plan; Titemyu — Literally "machine woman", this is the Yizibajohei term for a gynoid; Storyline — Yizibajohei term for a month, lasting 36/37 Earth days on average; Miniseries — Yizibajohei term for a decade; Tuor'besam — Vanilla; Rati — Salmon; Yoku — Warthog; Ekedu — Strawberry; Padu — Lettuce; Tamsam — Cabbage; Dutonae — Corn; Tyuotutosete — Chocolate; Yuoguo — Cherry; Rimyuo — Goat; R'buonyato — Wheat; Hoguor'bo — Wine; Shinshoku — Literally "employee of the Kami", one of the official titles of a Shintō shrine priest (Japanese); Masa — Oak; Battle line — Yizibajohei term for the people who share the same Gift over the generations.
Yakuza character notes: Amon Noa first appeared in Yakuza 5. Her kinsman Amon Shin first appeared in the spin-off game Judge Eyes: Shinigami no Yuigon.
The Dark Lady of the Orient first appeared in Fred's second Wizards and Avalonians side stories to Phoenix From the Ashes.
The scene with Tariko Katabarbe (AKA Moroboshi Ataru), Redet Lum, Aruka Ran and Seq Rei is a carry-on from the Urusei Yatsura manga story "My Darling's Peril" (manga chapter #162).