Two figures in armor crossed the bridge that led into the east gate of the Imperial Palace, each with a helmet that covered their face and a sword on their hip. It was dark, early in the morning before the sun even so much as started to brighten the sky, but lanterns along the wall and bridge ensured that everything that approached was visible to the two men standing guard.
Said guards both forced themselves to stand straighter, pushing away their sleepiness and focusing on the approaching figures. Neither guard was concerned, the figures wore the same armor as the guards, and while this was an unusual time to arrive at the Palace it wasn't too rare, especially for young soldiers who visited the Pleasure District but wanted to make it seem like they hadn't. They'd slip out before the sun rose, and use anything but the south entrance, which connected the Palace to the district.
But still, they had a job to do, which was to make sure everyone coming into the Imperial Palace at this time of night was allowed to be in there. "Had a late night?" the guard on the left called out to the two approaching soldiers.
"Indeed," the front most approaching soldier replied, a little gruffly. The guard assumed he was as tired as he was. "Later than intended."
The guard nodded in understanding, though he could only make guesses about what the soldier was up to. Still, that wasn't his business, and he didn't care all that much. "Well, just let me see your identification and you can head in and get a couple hours of rest."
"That would be much appreciated." The soldier stopped in front of the guard and handed him a blank laminated card. The guard looked down at it, as if reading it. No one found this strange.
The guard on the right glanced at the other soldier, who hadn't said anything. The guard noted that the quiet soldier was wearing a sword on his hip that had slightly less ornamentation than the other one, and lacked a tassel. A junior soldier following their higher up then. Them being quiet made sense in that case.
The left guard nodded and handed back the blank laminated card. "That checks out, go on through."
The soldier nodded and accepted the card as the two guards stepped aside, and both soldiers headed into the palace.
They walked in silence for a minute before the one in the back spoke.
"That was even easier than I thought," Kat commented, her voice unchanged. As she mentioned, she refused to shift her body to become a man, but with the armor hiding her curves and the helmet covering her face, she could easily pass as one so long as she didn't talk. It was a bit tight in the chest, but she was taller than most women of this time and place, so it otherwise fit her well enough.
"I would advise against talking," Ruru, who had no such problems shapeshifting for a disguise, replied in a familiar cadence but unfamiliar masculine voice. "Without the noise generated by the actions of a large group of people, even quietly spoken voices can be heard from over a hundred feet."
Kat looked around, not seeing anyone nearby, and then continued in a whisper. "What does the tracker thing say? Anyone nearby?"
"87% of tracked targets are currently in locations such as barracks and personal homes," Ruru replied, also quiet.
"Asleep, huh? Shoulda figured." Kat shrugged. "Just keep tagging people I guess. I'll shut up now."
True to her word, she remained quiet as the two of them walked through the military section of the Palace, trying to maintain a pace that wasn't fast enough to be suspicious without wasting any time. Kat looked straight ahead, not looking around. She knew that the best way to be caught was looking suspicious. If you acted confidently, fewer people would question you.
They didn't go completely unseen though, giving credence to Ruru's warnings. There were too few people about to call it traffic, but the further in they got, the more people they encountered. Some they spotted in the distance, walking on nearby paths but not crossing theirs. Others passed by in silence, or with only a quick word of greeting.
Most of the people they passed were soldiers dressed in armor and on patrol. Patrols were groups of two or three, and Kat and Ruru blended in with them. Every now and then another patrol would stop to chat with them, clearly thinking they were another patrol, and Ruru would do the talking while Kat stood there, trying not to look as nervous as she felt.
They learned several things from those short talks though. Like how there weren't nearly this many patrols normally, but due to a consort's apparent assassin being locked up, things were on high alert.
Ironically, that high alert only helped them sneak by, as no one was willing to stop and talk for more than a moment or two, in fear that they would be seen as slacking off. Further, it made a bigger crowd, one where no one was able or willing to stop and try to recognize every soldier. An unfamiliar voice and name wasn't strange with how many soldiers were on base.
They took a circuitous route to the dungeon, Ruru tagging many patrols on the way as they made sure it didn't look like they were making a beeline for where Maomao was held. The horizon was still dark, so they still had time. Rushing would only hurt their chances. At least, that's what Kat kept telling herself as she resisted the urge to just go in all guns blazing. The fact that she had zero guns or weapons of any kind save for a sword she definitely didn't know how to use helped temper her urges.
But eventually they reached the place where Maomao was being held. Or rather, they got close enough that Ruru led them into a nearby alley where they could view it from afar and scope it out while hiding in the shadows.
Normally, Kat never would have been able to pick out the building in question as a place that housed a dungeon underneath it. It looked just like every other building they had passed by, and even if she could read Chinese, which she couldn't, there was no signage anywhere that she could see.
But the four armed guards standing outside of it, and the light that spilled from the windows when every other building nearby was dark, pointed at this probably being the place they were looking for.
"So we just have to bust in there, huh?" Kat muttered. "Think you can take them on?"
"It is within my ability to stun the four outside targets without taking injury," Ruru confirmed. "However, it is very likely that such an action will be noticed."
Kat could feel her heart rate increasing, partially out of nervousness, but just as much out of excitement. She was very aware of how putting their plan into action would be the trigger to the rest of this job, that from then on it would be a non-stop race to see Maomao to safety. It was do or die time.
"Alright. Let's try to talk our way in first. When that fails, zap them."
"Do you mean 'if'?" Ruru asked.
"Nope," Kat replied. "Let's just go."
Ruru accepted that, and the two of them stepped around the corner and casually headed for the lit up building. It didn't take long for the men on guard to spot them, their heads turning to face the two of them. They didn't seem suspicious though, as none of them put their hands on their sword hilts.
One of them stepped forward to meet them though. "Yes? What is it?" His helmet didn't completely cover his face, and his annoyed expression was easy to make out.
"The two men guarding the cells have been summoned. We are here to tell them and take their positions," Ruru said, cadence flat and monotone.
The man frowned. "At this time of night? Who has sent for them? And who are you?"
Ruru paused, not answering at first. And then she reached into her pocket and pulled out the Psychic Paper once more, handing it to the man. He took it from her and looked down at it.
"Cheng Ding, is it?" he muttered as he read. "These summons appear to be official, but I'm afraid they contradict my own. I am the one in charge of guard rotations. I will pass on your message to those two, but it will have to wait before I can summon their replacements."
He turned his head. "Jiang! Go get Lu and Tian, tell them their shift is starting early."
One of the other soldiers saluted the man they were talking to and then ran off.
Kat grimaced beneath her helmet. She had a feeling that talking their way in was going to be impossible, and now even more soldiers were on the way. "Ruru," she said, keeping her voice low and quiet.
But not enough. The other man glanced at her strangely, with just a hint of suspicion.
"Very well," Ruru said. Kat thought heard a sliver of annoyance in her tone, but she was fairly certain she was imagining it.
Ruru pulled off the glove on her right hand, which drew his attention once more. "What are you-" he started to say, but he was cut off by his throat seizing up as Ruru jabbed it with her middle finger and tasered him right in the neck, one of the few spots of uncovered skin she could reach.
The remaining two guards paused, caught off guard, but they were well trained and quickly reached for their swords and raised their voices in alarm.
Ruru was even quicker though, showing off the fullness of her athletic abilities. She practically blurred as she closed the dozen or so foot gap between her and them. She shocked another before he got his sword out, sending him crumpling to the ground in a heap. The other one managed to draw steel, and swung it at Ruru.
But her hand effortlessly caught his wrist, and in a move that impressed Kat, twisted it and forced him to both drop the sword and bent his arm behind him. He yelled out in pain, but even his scream was cut off as Ruru used her other hand to shock him as well.
Only a few seconds had passed, but just like that, three men were knocked unconscious.
Kat's eyes were wide, and she felt her heart flutter. Not out of fear, but arousal. Though Ruru currently being transformed into a man did a lot to cool down that attraction. She considered telling the android girl to transform back now that the jig was up, but they didn't have time for that.
"Someone probably heard that," Kat said instead, head swiveling. "We should hurry."
Ruru nodded, and the two of them rushed inside the building. The interior was fairly simple, being just one room. Tables with accompanying chairs were spread out across the room, some with papers and wooden boards, others with food or tea pots. There was one rack of weapons against a side wall as well.
Most eye catching though were the two men, already standing with their swords drawn, alert.
Kat thought fast. "Someone attacked the men outside!" she said.
"A woman?" one of the men said, and Kat cursed. She had hoped that they wouldn't notice that.
"Capture them!" the man in the back said, and yet another fight broke out, everyone moving in a flurry.
Ruru intercepted the closest man, dodging his sword as she tried to zap him, but he either happened to see what she did outside, or he had good instincts, because he threw himself out of the way of her hand, desperately dodging her.
The other man charged at Kat, though he didn't have a weapon, and rather than divert to get one, he opted to take her on bare-handed, perhaps underestimating her because she was a girl.
Kat would love to say that she stood her ground to prove him wrong, but that would imply there was any level of thought to her actions. Upon seeing the man rushing her with intent to harm her, she started moving based on nothing more than reflex and instincts. As the man reached out to grab her, her own hands caught his and she twisted her body. Using her back as a fulcrum and his own momentum against him, she flipped him over and slammed him into the ground.
To be clear, Kat was not a fighter, but she was not wholly unfamiliar with fighting either. She had grown up in a rough part of town, and you didn't do well in a place like that without learning a few things.
She heard the man sputter and gasp as he slammed into the ground, but she backed off, rather than follow up. She'd never really even thought about what to do after a throw, and a quick glance at Ruru showed that she had gotten her hands on the other man and zapped him.
The android girl made it over to Kat's opponent before he could make it to his feet and zapped him as well, sending him crumbling back to the ground. But Ruru's attention was entirely on Kat.
"Are you hurt?" she asked. "I'm sorry, I should have been faster."
"I'm not a baby," Kat replied. "I handled it, right? Worry about that later, we need to go."
As if to punctuate her words, the faint sound of yelling could be heard in the distance. It was still several streets, or whatever counted as streets there, away, but word of the trouble they were causing was spreading.
Ruru nodded and the two of them dashed down the stairs, which were tucked in the back corner of the room. As they started to descend, they saw another armed man coming up to them, weapon drawn and alert. Ruru took care of him before he could do more than shout, and then rushed one ahead, Kat scrambling to follow.
She caught sight of yet another man falling to the ground at the bottom of the stairs, down the hallway. But more importantly, she also saw three sets of wooden bars to her right, each one the entrance to a cell. And it was in the closest one that Kat finally saw their rescue target.
She was sitting on the small cot pushed into the back of the cell, blankets held protectively over herself. Her face was bruised, her cheek swollen and a ragged bandage over her forehead. Her dark hair was a mess, tangled and unbrushed. And her eyes were wide as she met Kat's gaze, shocked but sharp, taking in the situation.
Kat grinned. "There you are. Come on, it's time to get outta here."
Maomao blinked. "What?"
"Ruru!" was all Kat said. Ruru returned and cast her gaze over the wooden cell bars before nodding and reaching and grabbing them.
"Stand back," Ruru said. And then she pulled.
Wood creaked and brick cracked as she yanked the wooden bars right out of where they were set into the wall, leaving jagged edges of clay bricks where they were once attached. She then hoisted the entire thing up and casually carried it over to the side, placing it down in front of the empty neighboring cell.
Maomao gaped at them, no longer behind bars but unmoving from her bed. "What the-"
But Kat was in go-mode, and she knew they didn't have time for that. So she strode into the room. "Sorry, there's literally no time to explain, we have to get the fuck out of here, and the sooner the better."
Maomao paused, hesitating. But to her credit, that didn't last long. Kat could see it on her face as she resolved herself and nodded, casting the blanket aside. Her clothes underneath the blanket were ragged and simple, but Kat didn't let herself stop to check them out before she bent down and scooped the smaller girl into her arms.
"W-w-what are you doing?!" Maomao's resolve vanished at the unexpected move, replaced with nervousness and confusion.
"This will be faster, trust me," Kat replied. She then turned around, holding Maomao close to her. The damned armor meant that Kat couldn't really feel the other girl very well, but thankfully she was rather light.
"It would be more efficient for me to carry her," Ruru commented as Kat turned toward the exit.
"You need to keep your hands free, to zap more guards," Kat pointed out. Ruru paused and then nodded, acknowledging her point. "Now, lead the way to the stable. I'll carry the damsel."
"Damsel?" Maomao repeated, confused, but she was ignored as Ruru and Kat rushed back up the stairs, past the unconscious bodies, and back outside.
More bodies lay on the floor outside as well, but one of them was stirring, a shaky hand pushing against the ground as the man tried to push himself back to his feet. Down the street, a larger group of armored men rounded the corner, torches and swords in hand, and spotted them.
"Oops, busted," Kat muttered as the men pointed and shouted. The two of them took off running in the opposite direction, Ruru in the lead.
Shouts, dancing lights, and clattering armor chased them as their own armor clattered with each heavy footfall. Kat found herself wishing she had ditched it, the extra weight was only slowing her down. But she concentrated on her breathing, on pumping her legs, and on the girl she held in her arms.
They rounded a corner and then skidded to a stop. A group of four soldiers was ahead of them, looking around in every direction. One of them spotted them and pointed, calling out to his companions. Worse, Kat could hear the other soldiers behind them, catching up.
Kat cursed. "Detour!" she told Ruru, who nodded and took off down a side alley. Kat trusted her companion's navigation skills to see them to their destination.
Unfortunately, the place was becoming more and more overrun. Three more times they had to detour, and each time Kat could feel her muscles burning even more fiercely. Maomao was light, but she was still a person, and carrying someone while sprinting in full armor was quickly sapping even her enhanced stamina.
"How close are we?" Kat asked as they avoided the third group of soldiers, who joined the growing crowd behind them.
Ruru didn't respond immediately. "All paths to the stables have been blocked," she said after a moment. "However, our detours have taken us close to the east gate. I do not detect any soldiers in that direction."
"Guarding the stables but not the gate?" Kat muttered to herself. "Or have they just not reached it yet?" She shook her head, aware of the way Maomao was looking at her. "Fuck it. Head for the gate, we'll figure it out once we're out of here."
Ruru didn't reply, instead she ducked through another alley. Kat was close on her heels, breathing heavy. She knew she could keep going though, and she didn't slow down.
Just as they reached the gate though, their luck ran out. It was in sight, the doors open wide still, and they ran straight for it. But around a corner, ahead of them, a large group, practically a stampede, rushed out. Kat couldn't focus enough to count, but it was at least a dozen soldiers.
Still, it was times like this that Kat knew not to waste time thinking, and instead act.
"Barrel through!" she shouted, holding on to Maomao tighter as she picked up the pace. She almost caught up to Ruru before the android girl started going faster, arms held in front of her as she pulled ahead.
Ruru took her command seriously apparently, as she did not stop when she reached the men. Instead, she bodily went through them, knocking them aside or trampling over them as she split them down the middle. Shouts of shock and pain rang through the air as they were bowled over, their ranks split down the middle, leaving a path for Kat. That path was rapidly narrowing though, as the soldiers scrambled to their feet.
Kat pumped her legs, armored boots digging into the dirt as she launched herself forward. Maomao was quiet in her arms, eyes shut and clinging to Kat in an effort to not fall out of her arms. Ahead of them, Ruru looked back over her shoulder to ascertain that they would make it through.
Kat had to slow down slightly as she reached the knocked over soldiers, making sure to place her feet on solid ground rather than a splayed limb that might trip her up. But because her attention was on the ground, she didn't notice the soldier to her side, half risen to his feet, who threw himself at her.
The soldier's armored body slammed into her, and she stumbled to the side and into another soldier who was on all fours. She kept stumbling, just barely avoiding rolling over the man on the ground, but as her foot came down on an arm instead of solid ground, she felt her balance shift, and she knew that there was no escaping a fall. She twisted instead, holding Maomao closer in her arms as she fell back-first toward the ground.
Only for a firm hand to press up against her back and halt her in place before she could fall entirely. She looked up to see that Ruru had doubled back and had caught her. The robot girl effortlessly hauled Kat back to her feet. "Go," she said, showing an initiative that Kat didn't think she had.
Kat hesitated for a moment, weighing the plan, but she trusted the other girl, so she didn't ponder it for long and just nodded. "Don't forget, you're more important than the mission," Kat reminded her companion, who nodded. She then turned around and took off, the area between her and the gate now clear, and ran for it. Behind her, the sound of yelling men, clattering armor, and zapping electricity followed her.
She ran through the gate and immediately looked to either side of her. Immediately outside of the gate was a small strip of land that bordered a river, which a large bridge spanned over. But when they had entered earlier, there were also two men stationed there, and she had fully expected to have to deal with them. But they were absent now, and Kat wasn't sure if they had joined the inside group, or had gone somewhere else. She didn't have time to wonder either, and instead just opted to run out onto the bridge.
"Please tell me you have a plan," the girl in her arms said. Kat looked down to see her eyes watching Kat with worry.
"I have a plan," Kat said, her breath short and sweat dripping down her body, but her voice was confident.
Unfortunately, Maomao didn't buy it, frowning. She then opened her mouth to say something, but was cut off by the sound of a horn blowing through the air. The both of them directed their attention forward, and Kat came to a stop.
On the other side of the bridge was a road that ran parallel to the palace wall, but it branched off near the gate eastward, into the forest. It was down that path that a group of men on horses had just appeared on, rounding a corner, lanterns illuminating the group of men over a dozen large. Outrunning them wasn't going to happen.
Kat looked over her shoulder. Most of the soldiers that were still up were still focused on Ruru, who stood in the midst of many unconscious bodies, but a handful were in pursuit of Kat and Maomao, and they had just reached the bridge.
"There's nowhere left to run!" one of the soldiers behind them shouted, slowing down. Kat shifted to the side, putting her back to the railing as the horsemen also reached the bridge and drew up their reins. It didn't take them long to form a semi-circle around her, but they hesitated to approach.
Kat's heart thumped in her chest, battering away much like the hoofbeats of the horses had, thudding rapidly. But it wasn't fear she felt. She glanced back toward the gates, and saw Ruru noticing their predicament, but the other soldiers noticed as well, with the main force that had been chasing them caught up now, and they threw themselves at Ruru to slow her down. Kat knew she couldn't count on Ruru being able to rescue them in time.
"Maomao, you've been a fantastic rescue target so far, very cooperative," she muttered, quiet enough that only the other girl could hear. "And I'm going to need you to do me one more little favor."
"...what's that?" she asked warily, shifting her gaze from the soldiers surrounding them to Kat, whose face was hidden by the helmet still.
Kat grinned. "Hold your breath."
Maomao's eyes widened, but Kat didn't give her any more time to react before she swung around and threw the both of them over the side of the bridge. The fall passed by in a blink and they were plunged into the icy cold surging water of the river.
The river was deep and wide, and the current was powerful. Kat could feel the weight of it even through her armor as it carried them away. In fact, that was just about all Kat could feel. She lost all ability to be able to tell up from down, she couldn't hear anything but rushing water, and she couldn't see anything. All she could do was hold on to Maomao and not let the water tear the other girl from her grasp.
She lost her sense of time as well, unable to count the seconds by any metric beside the slowly growing burn in her already oxygen deprived lungs. She tried to kick, to reach the surface, but the heavy armor dragged slowly through the water, and Kat began to think that maybe this was a bad idea.
And then her feet hit the ground, dragging along the mud and slowing them down. Kat didn't think, she just shifted their angle and then pushed up with her legs, jumping from the bottom of the river. She felt them rise, her orientation reset, but they slowed down quickly, and Kat feared they wouldn't reach the surface.
When they did, it was like a slap in the face, the cold air biting at their now soaked heads. Both of them reflexively sucked in a lungful of air, hacking and coughing, before they were dragged under the water once more and carried further downstream.
Everything became a bit of a blur after that. Kat kept a death grip on Maomao and strived to reach the surface whenever she could, but it was a seemingly endless cycle of popping out for brief moments, just enough to catch their breath if they were lucky, before the armor would drag them back down again. All the while the near freezing water sapped away her strength. Swimming to the shore was out of the question as Kat was reaching the limit of her endurance.
Just as her mind started to get fuzzy and she feared she would lose consciousness, she felt a firm grip on her arm that pulled her against the current, sideways. Kat let her body go limp, save for her hold on Maomao, a task that she devoted all of her remaining strength to.
Their heads broke the surface and they both started sputtering, coughing up river water as they messily sucked in the live giving air. Kat blinked a few times, getting rid of the blurriness that had built up, and spotted Ruru, sans her armor, transformed back to her normal self, and back in her villainess outfit, dragging the two of them out of the river.
"G-good job, R-ruru," Kat said, stuttering as she shivered.
"Quiet," Ruru said, and to Kat's ears it sounded like she was annoyed, despite the fact that it was delivered in that same monotone. "Your core temperatures have dropped to dangerous levels. Your health is at risk. Unfortunately, I cannot place either of you into the Pocket Space, so we must address this immediately."
Kat felt her feet drag against solid ground as Ruru hauled them out of the water and onto the riverbank. But Ruru didn't let go of them there. Instead she just shifted her grip and kept carrying Kat, who carried Maomao, away and into the woods.
"Y-you can put p-people in t-there?" Kat stammered.
"It is possible, though space is limited," Ruru explained as sand and rocks were replaced with dirt and dead leaves. "Unfortunately, as the Contractor, you are not allowed to be stored, as a safety precaution to prevent you from being trapped. Furthermore, if a person is resisting or unwilling, they cannot be stored either. Maomao is losing consciousness, but for now she seems to be one or the other."
"D-dammit Maomao," Kat grumbled, but if the other girl heard her, she didn't react. Her eyes were closed and she didn't seem to be conscious.
"I will ensure that both of you are warmed," Ruru promised as she stepped into a cave, though calling it a cave might have been overly generous. It was a hole in the side of a hill large enough for a few people to fit in.
Ruru carefully lowered Kat and Maomao to the ground, and then with much less gingerness set to literally tearing the armor off of Kat.
"W-what are you-"
"Raising your body temperature is the most important thing at this juncture," Ruru replied as she finished removing the armor and set to removing Kat's clothes as well, thankfully not ripping those. "Wet clothes are a hindrance to this goal."
"If you wanted to get me naked, all you had to do was ask," Kat muttered, eyelids starting to feel heavy now that the feeling of immediate danger had passed. It was also starting to feel warm, and Kat realized in surprise that that warmth was radiating from Ruru herself.
"You do not seem to have the strength to undress yourself," the android girl replied, the flirting going straight over her head. Kat was completely naked now, the ground under her cold and uncomfortable, but Ruru was so warm and nice. Kat's eyes closed. "Master? Master. Please stay awake. Do not-"
But unfortunately, Kat didn't hear the rest of her words as she slipped into unconsciousness.
When Kat woke up, it took her several moments to get her bearings. The first thing that she was aware of was the heat. She felt sweaty and hot. The second thing she felt was the dirt below her naked body, with rocks pressing uncomfortably into her side, on which she was laying. But her front side was, in comparison, quite comfortable, and even warmer, and it only took her a second to identify it as the feeling of another person, one as naked as she was, pressed up against her.
That realization pushed her all the way to wakefulness and her eyes snapped open. They were still in the cave that Ruru had dragged them to, but the girl in question was nowhere to be seen, replaced by a crackling fire that was responsible for the heat Kat felt and sunlight streaming through the entrance, revealing that some time had passed.
She looked down and was met with a head of messy black hair, tangled and still a little damp. It was clearly Maomao, even if Kat couldn't see much of her from this angle. She lifted her head up to try to get a better view and noticed that both of them were covered by Ruru's cape, the red and black fabric draped over them.
Before Kat could do more than be disappointed that she couldn't see Maomao's naked form, the smaller girl stirred as well. Apparently Kat's slight movements had been enough to pull her out of unconsciousness as well, and it wasn't long before Maomao's eyes were open and she was pushing herself up into a sitting position.
The cape slid off of the both of them, and Kat got her wish as Maomao's bare back was exposed to her. Kat's eyes slid over the smooth and pale skin, gaze following the curve of her shoulder blades to the indent just above her spine, which she followed down to the top of her cute and pert ass.
Kat's eyes snapped back up though as Maomao turned her head and looked around, catching sight of Kat, who was still laying down. The top half of her body was now exposed, just as nude as the other girl, thanks to Maomao having pushed aside the cape.
"Good morning," Kat said with a grin.
Maomao blinked at her, brain still working on catching up with the situation, the smaller girl's eyes wandering down to Kat's chest. "You're a woman after all," she replied simply as she half turned to face her.
"You are too," Kat replied, openly eyeing the side view she had of Maomao's boobs. Maomao was hardly what you could call 'endowed', her chest being even flatter than Ruru's, but Kat was not a woman who judged based on size, and she found Maomao's boobs cute. The subtle curves that fit her frame perfectly paired well with the contrast offered by her light brown nipples.
Maomao raised an eyebrow, but didn't shrink back or hide herself. "I'm not the one that dressed as a man. Or is as tall as one."
"It's pretty normal for girls to be my height where I'm from," Kat said, sitting up as well. She tossed aside the cape, as it was just a little too warm with them so close to the fire, completely exposing herself. Maomao didn't so much as glance at her, but she didn't look away either, uncaring of Kat's nudity.
"As for dressing as one, it seemed like the easiest way to get into the palace," Kat continued, crossing her legs and leaning back against the cave wall. "And we got pretty far, so I'd say it worked."
Maomao didn't reply to that. Instead, she brought her knees up to her chest and faced the fire. She turned to face it as well, but she kept glancing back at Kat. It was obvious she wanted to ask a question, and Kat could guess what it was. But she waited for the other girl to make up her mind.
"So… are you going to explain now?" Maomao asked after a minute or so.
"Sure, if you want," Kat said with a shrug. "It's not that complicated. We were hired to rescue you before you were executed."
Funnily enough, that seemed to shock her. "I'm surprised there was someone who cared enough to save me to attack the Imperial Palace and could afford to do it." Her eyes narrowed. "It wasn't my father, was it?"
"I don't think so?" Kat replied with a shrug. "Meimei mentioned your dad was an apothecary or something? Someone who wasn't the person that hired us."
Maomao blinked, turning to face Kat entirely as she shifted to her knees. "Meimei? Was it her then?"
Kat's eyes once again were drawn to the other girl's chest, but also further down her slim belly and to the crook of her legs, where her pressed together thighs prevented Kat from seeing anything more.
But her attention was grabbed by Maomao's left forearm, which was covered in scars. Not the straight lines of razor cuts that Kat had seen from time to time on other girls, but a mottled patchwork of different kinds of injuries.
But they looked old, and Maomao didn't pay them any mind, so Kat decided to shelve that observation for now. "No, no, we just used the uhh… vertebrae house as a meet up spot and I ended up talking to her there."
"...do you mean the Verdigris House?" Maomao replied, brow furrowed.
"Yeah, that one. She knew the client and guessed that we had been hired by him to save you, and we talked for a bit."
Maomao frowned, lifting one of her hands to her chin as she muttered to herself. "A man who can use the Verdigris house as a meetup spot that-" she froze. "...was it a man that wore a monocle?"
"Yep, that was him," Kat replied casually. "Lakan, I think his name was."
A dark look passed over Maomao's face, followed quickly by a grimace that spoke of complicated and messy feelings. She wordlessly turned away from Kat again, sitting cross legged with her back to her. "I see."
Kat raised an eyebrow. "Not a fan of him, I take it?"
She heard Maomao sigh. "No, though it would be too much to say that I dislike him. He just…" She trailed off, unable to find the words to describe her feelings. After a moment, she started talking again. "He's the man who impregnated my mother."
Kat was able to put two and two together. "He's your biological father, but not your dad."
"Yeah. He hasn't really been part of my life, and when he has shown up, he's been… creepy. Harmless, but overbearing. I keep my distance from him, when I can."
"I see." Kat was no stranger to non-standard family situations. The 'standard' family of two happy parents and a kid or three seemed to be the minority, really. Being raised by a man who was more your father than the one that was actually responsible for your conception was a common enough situation back home.
"I am grateful to him though," Maomao continued, tone lighter. "After all, if I hadn't been born, I never would have been raised by my father."
"The apothecary?"
"Yeah. But he's so much more than that. He's studied Western and Eastern medicine, and he knows more than it feels like I could ever learn. Though he's taught me a lot, and has made sure I don't go too far with my own experiments." Maomao rubbed at her left forearm, and the scars there.
"Is that how you got those scars? Experiments?" Kat asked.
Maomao nodded. "When I was younger I tested a lot of poisons on myself, or burned myself so I could test out different cures that I came up with."
Kat raised an eyebrow. "That's pretty hardcore, especially for a kid." Maomao shrugged, but didn't reply, so Kat continued. "So you're pretty good at making medicine then?"
"I suppose." Maomao replied, a little warily. "...is this where you ask if I did it?"
Kat tilted her head. "Did it? Did what?"
"If I poisoned Lady Lihua."
"Oh, that? Nah, I know you didn't."
Maomao turned her head to side eye Kat. "Really?"
Kat shrugged. "Lakan was pretty convinced that you would never, and Meimei too."
Meimei's expression was blank at that, not unlike how Ruru usually looked, and she turned away again. "Is that so?"
"Yep. They were so sure of it that honestly it never even occurred to me that you did do it."
"And what if I told you that I did? That I took out my frustrations on her, slipping poison into her laundry or food that slowly sapped her strength while she was already vulnerable and sick?"
Kat snorted. "Well, honestly, I wouldn't believe you. I haven't known you for long, but you don't strike me as that kind of girl."
"And if I could offer proof?" Her tone was carefully controlled, giving no hint of her feelings away.
Kat paused and actually thought about that for a moment before shrugging again. "Well, to be honest, it wouldn't change anything. I've been hired to save you, and that's what I'll do. No skin off my back if you did it."
"How very mercenary of you."
"Hey, it's the job that's making sure my Mama doesn't have to slowly kill herself working two full time jobs anymore," Kat replied. "So sure, I'll help a murderer walk if it means I can send her the money she needs to live a happy and healthy life."
Maomao didn't reply to that, and Kat couldn't see her face, but she did see the other girl's shoulders relax slightly from where they tensed. "...I didn't do it. I was trying to help her. The doctor in the palace is a quack who couldn't tell the difference between a flu and actual poison. But Lady Lihua's handmaidens wouldn't deign to listen to the words of a 'peasant' like me and refused to let me see her. Then they blamed me when she did die, and no one could say otherwise."
"What bitches."
Maomao snorted. "Ha. Yeah, they really were." She let down her legs and looked around. "Where are our clothes anyway?"
Kat looked around as well and spotted them to her side, behind Maomao. She was tempted to hide them, but they probably needed to get going soon. "Here," she said, leaning over to grab them. She threw the unfamiliar clothes to Maomao, who turned around again to face her, and what remained were her own clothes.
As the two girls started to dress, Kat noticed Maomao stop and stare at her. Kat grinned. "See something you like?"
Maomao nodded. "Your undergarments… I've never seen anything like them." She stepped closer to Kat and reached out toward Kat's chest, where she pinched the fabric of Kat's bikini top that she had just put on, her fingers brushing against Kat's boob. "What is this fabric?"
"Polyester, I think," Kat replied, looking down at Maomao with amusement. She couldn't tell if the other girl realized just what she was doing, or if she just didn't see it as sexual. That was one of the trickiest parts of being a lesbian. Some girls could be entirely straight but super touchy feely.
"This is incredible," the other girl said in awe. "How is it made? How much is it? Do you think I could sell it here?"
Kat raised an eyebrow. "Considering you're now a fugitive? Probably not."
That sobered her up, cutting her rising excitement down. "Oh. Right." She sighed and let go of Kat's bikini before finishing getting dressed. "So, is there an actual plan then? One that doesn't involve another near-fatal trip in the river?"
Kat rolled her eyes. "It worked, didn't it?" She pulled her t-shirt over her head. "But yes, there is. There's a carriage waiting that will take you out of the country. My job is to bring you to where it's waiting."
"I see." Maomao frowned slightly, eyes distant as she considered that. Then she looked around. "Where is your partner anyway?"
"Somewhere nearby, probably," Kat said as she finished getting dressed in her casual gear, plus the jacket that she had thrown into her bag. "Our clothes being dry and ready for us is thanks to her, as is the fire."
"I'm here," Ruru said as she stepped into the cave.
Maomao jumped, surprised, and Kat laughed. "There you are. Were you patrolling?"
"Yes. I also laid a false trail further down the river using the armor we stole. They should not find us here."
"Wait, you're a woman too?" Maomao interrupted, looking at Ruru in confusion. "Weren't you taller? And your voice was different too!"
"That was a disguise I used to infiltrate the palace," Ruru explained simply.
Maomao blinked at that. "Well… it was very effective. More so than hers." She glanced at Kat.
Kat shrugged. "Only one of us needed to go all out, and I didn't want to do it." She turned to Ruru. "So how far downriver did we end up going? And how far is it to the drop off point?"
"If we avoid roads and travel directly to it, we can likely make it to the drop-off location within a few hours of walking. We can do it faster if we place Maomao in the Pocket Space and you allow me to carry you."
"No, no, there's no need to rush," Kat denied before Maomao could ask what Pocket Space was. "A nice walk in the woods before we head home sounds fun."
"Very well. Once you are ready, we will leave."
It didn't take long for them to get ready. They were already dressed, so all they really had to do was put out the fire and give Ruru back her cape, which she put on quickly.
Then the three of them left the cave and set out to trudge through the woods, Ruru leading the way. They avoided roads and paths, which imperial soldiers were likely to be checking on horseback still, and instead charted a more or less direct path for their destination. Thankfully, said destination was to the south, which was the same rough direction that the river flowed, so Kat's escape stunt had at least put them closer to that point rather than dragged them away.
There wasn't any conversation at first, just the sound of dead leaves and twigs crunching underfoot. But it wasn't even ten minutes before Maomao was distracted.
Kat, who was bringing up the rear, saw Maomao perk up and her head swivel as she locked her gaze on a nearby plant. In a display of speed that Kat wouldn't have guessed was possible from the thin girl, Maomao dashed over to a bush not far from their path.
"Ooh, what a wonderful privet bush!" she crooned, reaching out and running her hands over the leaves. Ruru and Kat stopped and looked at her. "It's grown so big out here in the wild. And look at all the berries it has!"
"What's so special about it?" Kat asked as she walked over to the other girl.
"You can boil the leaves and the bark of it to make a useful medicine," Maomao explained, more enthusiastic and energetic than Kat had seen her up until this point. She then plucked a black berry from its branches and popped it into her mouth. "It's good for stomach aches, diarrhea, and ulcers, among other things."
"However, the berries are poisonous to humans," Ruru added, having joined them as well.
Kat paused and looked at Maomao, who had her fingers on a second berry. "Hey!" Her hand snapped out and grabbed the other girl's wrist. "What are you doing?!"
"Just a little bit is fine," Maomao said, pouting as she tried to pull her hand free of Kat's grasp. "I'm used to it, my body can handle poison fine. A few will only hurt a little."
"I- what? No!" Kat said. "No more! We're still on the run you know? That becomes a lot harder to do if you keel over and start foaming at the mouth!"
Maomao's pout deepened, but she sighed and let go of the berry she grabbed. "Fine, fine. Can I at least get some of the leaves?"
Kat looked at Ruru. "They are neither poisonous nor a danger to her," Ruru confirmed.
"Fine, fine, just no more berries." Kat let go of her hand, which she pulled back to her face, quickly licking the fingers she had been holding on to the berry with. Kat glared at her, but Maomao pretended not to notice as she collected some leaves, both of the others watching her like a hawk to make sure she didn't grab more of the berries.
They didn't stop for long, as Maomao couldn't carry many leaves, lacking a place to hold them beyond her hands and her sleeves. Kat thought about offering to hold them in her Pocket Space, but since they would be splitting up, there wasn't much point.
Kat frowned to herself as they set off again. Despite the short time they had spent together, Kat was going to miss the strange girl that they had rescued. She was cute, especially when she started to talk about plants, even if she needed to be watched when around them. But even that just made Kat want to protect her.
Which she got two more chances to do, as they came across two more plants that caught Maomao's attention. The first was a small plant with bright red seeds that Maomao called a rosary pea, and those seeds were apparently very poisonous. Maomao didn't try to eat them, but she did try to squirrel a few into her sleeves.
The second was a small tree that she called a tung tree. Ruru mentioned that it was a useful tree for producing oil that was used in various products. Meanwhile Maomao started pulling off small branches, stating that the entire tree was mildly poisonous, drooling all the while. The both of them had had to wrestle her away from it and dunk her hands into a nearby stream of water to wash them off.
After that Maomao was slung over Ruru's shoulder and physically carried the rest of the way to their meetup point. Kat was convinced that if they hadn't then the trip would have taken all day and Maomao's clothes would be stuffed with various poisonous leaves and mushrooms.
But they reached the extraction point without any major incident, where they found the carriage and the same driver from earlier waiting.
The man breathed a sigh of relief when he spotted them. "I was starting to worry you wouldn't show up," he said. "Or worse, someone else would."
"So you haven't seen any soldiers?" Kat asked as Ruru put Maomao down.
The man gave them a slightly strange look. "None."
"Guess your fake trail worked, Ruru," Kat said.
Ruru nodded. "Our mission is officially complete. The rewards are ready to be collected."
Kat hummed in acknowledgement and then turned to Maomao. "That means this is it. From here on, you can get in this man's carriage and let him take you to a foreign country where you can start a new life. You won't be able to come back here, not unless there's a regime change or something, but you'll live, just as Lakan wanted."
Maomao frowned, glancing at the carriage and the man sitting at the driver's seat of it, looking impatient. "I guess that's my only option after all…" she said in a wistful tone.
But Kat grinned. "Well… there is one other thing you can do." She extended her hand out to the other girl. "You can come with us, instead. You'll still have to travel to a distant land, never to return. But you won't be alone, and I can promise you all kinds of benefits as well. An apothecary like you would be very useful for my little group that I'm making, and in exchange I can offer you all the knowledge you could ever want." She glanced at her companion. "Ruru, how many plants do you have information about?"
"My databases contain records of 380,209 different species of plant life," Ruru answered dutifully. Maomao's eyes widened.
"I can offer you that, and so much more," Kat continued. "We'll travel to all kinds of places, doing all kinds of things, and who knows what kind of new and strange things we'll find there! So come with me, see it all at my side." Kat smiled, hand still extended.
Maomao didn't immediately reply. Her eyes were still wide, but Kat could practically see the gears turning in her head as she considered Kat's offer. Maomao glanced at the carriage driver, who was watching the scene play out with confusion and a small amount of concern, and then at Ruru, who stood there impassively.
Finally, she looked back at Kat, and just like it had back in the jail cell they had rescued her from, Kat could see her gaze harden in resolve as a grin to match Kat's own grew on her face.
"Alright. You have yourself a deal." She reached out and grasped Kat's hand.
Kat's grin widened, showing teeth. "Ruru, open up that portal, we're headed home!"
"Wait, hold on a moment, this isn't part of the plan?!" the driver shouted back, confused.
"Just tell Lakan that we decided to do him an extra service and are ferrying her out of the country ourselves," Kat replied flippantly, turning away from him, still holding Maomao's hand. In front of her, space twisted and rippled as Ruru triggered the completion of the mission.
The driver stared at it, jaw dropping as he failed to comprehend what was happening. Maomao's reaction was similar as she looked at it with eyes just as wide. Kat laughed. "No backing out now!" she teased, and then she dragged her newest girlfriend through the portal to her home.
Their first mission had been filled with danger and excitement, but their rewards for their efforts were waiting for them, as was even more adventure, and Kat couldn't wait to experience it all.
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AN: Work and life did its best to try to stop me from writing this chapter. But the smut grind is too important. But that completes our first tutorial mission to Apothecary Diaries. And of course, it ends with getting the cute and quirky heroine. Both in and out of universe, the mission specifically ending when they brought her to that point was, of course, very intentional. Next chapter will show just what this mission has earned them, and how it's changed the Seablock.