Neopolitan: Beyond Ever After (The Girl From Another World) - Part 1

by Calavera de Comala

After failing to ascend, Neo finds herself trapped in Zenith, a world obliterating other forsaken planets. Confronted by a mysterious organization called The Zodiac, she will embark on an incredible odyssey that tests the limits of her imagination. However, she may discover new friends who help her face the adversities ahead. Spin-off and spiritual successor to the RWBY series.

8. The Zodiac and the Emperor

The Dragon

It had been some hours since I fell into Ryuutairiku's sea and lost track of the mysterious girl from another world. Due to either good or bad luck, both of us had arrived at Zenith at the same time and place after crossing The Door. To my surprise, we had landed on my home world, at the very same date and hour Inu-san's fleet had crossed the dimensional boundary to invade the Ever After. It was as if I hadn't even gone to the mission nor made it to that fairy tale world.

Needless to say, I was in very big trouble.

After more than 12 hours of searching for the adorable Ever After girl in the surrounding sea and land areas where I had fallen, I decided to give up, realizing that my target's semblance was likely making matters more complicated. With a lack of a solid search plan, I decided to run quickly across the continental landmass and reach Lónggōng (龍宮, Dragon Palace), before the morning training routine at the courtyard was over.

The palace complex consisted of a rectangular terrain, almost 2 kilometers from north to south and 1.5 km from east to west. It had nearly 2 thousand buildings and around 18,000 bays of rooms, made with traditional Ryuutairiku architecture, which gave so much priority to perfect symmetry. I swiftly made my way into the place, hopping over its ancient city walls, moats, roofs, gates, towers, and other kinds of buildings.

As I hoped, Lóng-sensei was in the courtyard in front of the Central Hall of Balance, the biggest one in the complex, supervising the training of 500 students. 250 on the west side of the courtyard, and 250 students on the east side. They were practicing basic battle stances with their auras activated, along with kicking and punching moves. All of them were striving to respond in perfect coordination to my sensei's commands.

•

"WAAAAAA! Lóng-sensei, please forgive me!" I screamed in panic, as I stood on the roof of the elegant wooden gate that led to the central courtyard.

Sensei, his assistants, and all the disciples surprised by my entrance, turned in my direction, as I jumped 15 meters down to ground level and ran to the center of the training grounds. To where my chichiu- mentor was standing.

My 1.74-meter-tall sensei was wearing his traditional silk, azure-colored, long-sleeved jacket. On the front, it had embroidered white patterns of serpentine bodies and claws (one on his right and another one on his left side), while on the back, the face of a raging dragon indicated his respective zodiac animal. The rest of his Wushu uniform consisted of white pants, which had the same embroidered patterns from his jacket, but colored black, to complete a set of 4 claws in total (a third and fourth one on his left and right legs). The edges of his clothes and neck collar simulated golden dragon scales. A white dragon mask, with painted golden flames around its eye sockets and a pair of mustaches, covered his entire face, but still let one see the back of his head. His hair was black, although some small white streaks were starting to show up.

As one of Zenith's most distinguished, formidable, wisest, and venerable warriors, deserving of the 'King' title, and arguably the second in command among all The Zodiac members, my sensei always had to give the best example and impression possible. Keeping an air of authority and composure, with absolute control over his emotions and thoughts.

No other man could project such a collected impression.

"USAG- RABBIT, WHY ARE YOU HERE!? It hasn't even been a full day, since you left for your interplanetary mission!"

Pointing a finger and 'calmly' shouting at me, while 'serenely' struggling to keep his balance and avoid fainting, the assistants and disciples stopped their training routine, as they all waited for my answer.

"... I have failed everyone." I did another dogeza apology while holding back my tears.

•

"The gir- priority target, not only saw one of your semblances but also stole Sakura before escaping?" I nodded, full of regret.

I had finished telling sensei how everything played out during my mission at the Ever After, while we were sitting on a balcony of the big wooden Central Hall, overseeing the disciples who continued their exercise routine, under the command and supervision of his assistants.

While the assistants wore basic wushu uniforms with white jackets and black pants, the disciples wore beige robes and pants. A sign of their lower ranks, along with the former's simple white bird masks and the latter's plain white masks that lacked an animal motif. I estimated that most of the disciples practicing at this hour were preadolescents. For them, training under my sensei's guidance was one of the greatest honors that anybody, who was aiming to become a high-ranked Zodiac member or a skilled warrior in general, could ever receive.

"When our supreme Húwáng and other Shēngxiào (生肖, Zodiac) members find out about this, your position and life will be in danger. Expulsion and exile are the least of our concerns. Usagi, I'm afraid execution is a possibility."

Sensei, concealing his fear and wanting to keep me calm, rested one hand on my back, as he looked up to the sky. "I will see what I can do, to dissuade him and lower the severity of your punishment."

It's not like we could go around pretending that the Ever Afteran doll didn't fall into Zenith when our entrance was likely detected by Zhang's satellites and recorded by other surveillance systems. Plus, lying to our supreme divine leader was out of the question. He would figure out easily with Remembrance, if I hid something from him, that would increase the chances of getting myself executed.

"What about the girl? What do you think shall be the course of action to take when it comes to her?" I looked at my teacher, as he kept overseeing the training routine, even if he was no longer standing in the courtyard.

Always concerned for his pupils. Sensei is the greatest.

"... I don't think she's an Ever Afteran, judging by what you told me. Depending on whether she's a Zenithean who happened to find the Ever After before us, or not, Húwáng is going to take a decision. Let's pray is the former." Her Grimm constructs and lack of knowledge about AAIS concerned me.

"Sensei, you think she's dangerous?" I mean, she obviously was dangerous. To the average person or low-ranked hunters. She attacked me without mercy and could have killed me several times if I weren't so skilled. But there was something about her that felt off. Not necessarily in a bad way.

"Her semblance doesn't allow her to replicate effortlessly nor accurately other semblances, elemental magic, or complex lifeforms. Clearly, it has limitations, despite its varying nature. Far below the level of an Apex Semblance." I guess any high-ranked Zodiac member could deal with her. Possibly, even medium-ranked ones.

"She sounds like a troublesome brat though. I wonder..." His tone changed from a formal one that analyzed everything so objectively, into one of uncertainty.

"... Sensei?" As I wanted to get an answer out of him, his resting hand over my back moved away. He started doing the battle stances that his disciples were practicing, to display how to do them properly.

"Mei, correct your posture. Your arms are too low. Jun, raise your aura level. Don't be lazy. Chun, you are lagging. Keep pace with others. Chen, stop rushing your movements. This is not a competition. Hao, you are too distracted. Focus." His disciplined and loud, but gentle mentor voice could be heard across the entire courtyard, thanks to him enhancing it with aura.

"Harmony with others and internal discipline are the key to this exercise. Remember." He stopped doing battle stances and moves, after finishing his quick feedback, leaving the rest to his assistants.

"... She probably resents us. It may be too late for The Zodiac to deal peacefully with her. It's against Húwáng's policies for us not to capture a potential fugitive from another world." After being silent for some minutes, he spoke his deepest concerns.

"Hai... I suppose you are right, sensei." Hearing my mentor's opinion, I couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed at how everything played out. I continued watching the young disciples, as they trained. It looked like the current routine was about to be over.

"By the way, Usagi. Have you eaten anything?"

As sensei turned towards me with curiosity, my stomach started rumbling. I was forcefully reminded of the concept of hunger, which I had tuned out, ever since I returned to Zenith. The last time I ate something, was during yesterday's early breakfast before the battle started.

That cute girl must have been in worse shape. Hopefully, she doesn't go around stealing more stuff, but that would probably be asking for a miracle, considering her predicament and... Personality.

•

When we went down into the courtyard, during the disciples' break, sensei had a couple of students and assistants bring food prepared for those who had just finished training. I was offered some carrot and mushroom dumplings, accompanied by a cup of matcha. I didn't need to lift my awesome and sweet rabbit mask at all to eat and drink, compared to sensei's, who had to lift a little his, because its design and size covered his mouth.

Hundreds of students sat on the ground, surrounding the bench on which sensei and I were enjoying our food. It had been over 6 months since I dropped here, so some faces were new to me.

Among our peers and in certain places, we were allowed to take off our masks after being done with chores and missions, but the higher the rank, the more limitations one had under The Zodiac's policies.

Only way a very high-ranked Zodiac member was allowed to go around without his or her mask on, was for that person to have an identity that served a great purpose in society, which brought great benefits to our beloved emperor, such as The Rat, Chivo, or Inu-san's. And even then, publicly showing off your semblance or carelessly revealing yourself as a Zodiac member was strictly forbidden. Execution was guaranteed.

"Whoa, are you also one of the main twelve!?" A girl, around ten years old, asked excitedly while looking at me with extreme admiration.

"Ah, hai. Although, I guess nowadays is more like the main elev-" Before I could finish answering the first question, other students quickly fired more at me.

"How did you make it here, without the guards catching you or triggering the alarms?" Right, I set a bad example to the pupils there. Sorry, sensei.

"Fool, she's that strong and fast. The 20-meter city walls and a hundred guards are nothing to her." A rude student I had trained months ago, answered in my stead.

"Eat your vegetables, practice a lot, and do your daily exercises, kids." I complemented the answer while eating a carrot dumpling.

"Have you met aliens in your missions?" What a curious boy. Need to be careful answering that one. We aren't allowed to unveil confidential and top-secret mission details, not even to low and middle-ranked members.

"Yeah, I met a very cute one. And another frightening one made of metal, who tried to behead me with its wooden sword." For some reason, sensei spit his drink and started coughing, after I was done with my answer.

"Is Ye-chan fine?" Ah, right. Last time she was the one who helped me supervise their exercises. My previous answer and sudden arrival must have worried this girl.

"Not to worry. We won easily. No casualties on our side. I was the only one who by mistake returned earlier." I answered with confidence and a victory hand sign so that the girl stopped worrying for my beloved friend.

If anything, I was now the one in danger.

"Who is da strongest?" An enthusiastic kid, probably not even 10 years old, asked me.

"Among the main Zodiac members? That's a tough one." I gave it a thought for a while, and after taking a sip from my tea, answered.

"Semblances allowed? A toss-up between the kings. Without semblances? Nobody punches harder than The Ox King." The students were amazed by my answer.

"Bah! Physical strength isn't everything." Sensei looked away and crossed his arms, he was probably frowning under his mask.

"I heard he punched a level 2 Grimm into space." A boy started spreading misinformation.

"No way, that's a lie!" Another one rightfully called him out.

Exactly. It was a level 3 Grimm that got launched into space. Poor Leviathan.

"Si Je (師姐, senior sister), where's Sakura? Can we borrow her?"

AAAAAAAH! Why did the smallest-looking girl ask precisely that!?

[Pink, brown, and white.]

"I... lent her... to a … frie-" I couldn't even finish my answer. I was starting to sweat, while hundreds of eyes laid on me. As I looked back at the girl, my vision started to get blurry.

[A beautiful, crying girl carried by the wind.]

"Why, why you tricked me like that, my dear doll?" I stood up and fully extended my right arm into the distance, waiting for her to take my hand.

But she kept refusing it.

[The taste of seawater in my mouth.]

Tears were beginning to build up behind my eyes.

"..." Sensei's disciples and assistants stared at me in shock, silence, and confusion.

"WHERE'S RANRAN!?" My sensei forcefully lowered my extended arm, as he asked loudly, trying to break me free from my 'trance'.

"Oh, her? She's fine." Hope Inu-san doesn't leave her behind at the Ever After, just to spite me.

After some minutes of peacefully and playfully answering more questions from sensei's disciples, we were about to resume the training routine altogether, when a tense shout brought down the calm atmosphere.

"Lóngwáng Shīfu (龍王師父, Master Dragon King)!" An assistant wearing a carp-themed mask ran in our direction. He had come out from the Dragon Palace's Central Hall. "Our divine sovereign is requesting for all available Shēngxiào members to attend an important meeting at Tiān Wēi Yuán."

"... Usagi, let's do our best." Sensei grabbed my left hand, as it was about to begin shaking. We didn't want the disciples to notice our uneasiness, so we walked calmly into the Central Hall to answer the emperor's call.

If things went very wrong, this would possibly be my last day in Zenith. And even if everything didn't turn out so bad, I would possibly be gone for a while.

After going up some marble stairs and stone bases that led to the Central Hall, I turned back to look at all the disciples in the courtyard below.

"Minna, protect this school and Lóng-sensei while I'm gone!" I happily and energetically shouted, while cupping my mouth with my free hand, simulating a megaphone.

The cheerful students gave me undeserved cheers and bows, while sensei grasped and caressed firmly my left hand as we walked into the hall.

•

The Rat

By the next day, both of us had arrived at Tiān Wēi Yuán (天微垣, Heavenly Forbidden Enclosure). Unlike the Dragon Palace, our beloved Húwáng Dì's palace was entirely desolate. Nobody was allowed to step in or out, unless that person was authorized to be there, under the supreme sovereign's approval. With a diameter of 7 km, the enclosure was built in a circular shape.

More like a small imperial city, rather than a palace complex, Tiān Wēi Yuán was a network of gates, towers, halls, altars, temples, courtyards, pagodas, gardens, one big observatory, and even ports (at its external border) for big battleships to dock at. Like Ryuutairiku's Lónggōng, it had the same style of traditional, palatial architecture, which emphasized axial symmetrical layouts.

In a way, it could be said that this palace was an improved, bigger, and more sacred version of the Dragon Palace, the latter which my sensei had no trouble in turning into a school and training grounds during his lifetime, rather than keeping it a secluded and forbidden place. If the biggest traditional hall in Lónggōng was around 200 by 100 meters, then Tiān Wēi Yuán's biggest hall measured 700 by 350 meters.

The Heavenly Hall of Supreme Order, located at the center of the forbidden imperial enclosure, was pretty much a castle or palace by itself. Which made sense, since that's where our leader's throne, military room, and private observatory were located.

After finally stepping out from Tiān Zhù (天柱, Celestial Pillar), sensei and I took the train in the direction of Xīgǎng (西港, Western Port). The crew of Monolith 1 was going to disembark there and I wanted to check how everyone did, after my abrupt 'return' to Zenith.

"This place is so lonely, as always." I said with slight sadness and disappointment to my sensei.

This was my third time at Tiān Wēi Yuán. The first time was when I was promoted to one of the main 12 Zodiac members, along with Ye-chan and Rai-kun. The second one was some days ago, before parting with the Ever After.

It was obligatory for Zodiac members and soldiers who participated in conquest missions, to visit Húwáng's palace before and after completing crusades and expeditions. Not doing so could be punished via execution.

"The stars look beautiful tonight." Sensei tried to cheer me up while putting his arm around my back, and embracing me.

Because of the important occasion and our predicament, sensei had decided to wear something more formal to the imperial meeting. He wore a white hanfu with an azure coat over it. Like his training or fighting clothes, the elegant azure traditional coat with long and loose sleeves had the same dragon and claw embroidered white patterns. He was still wearing the same dragon mask though, since by imperial decree we always had to wear them around the forbidden enclosure and in front of our great Ten'nō.

Eventually, the railway train stopped, and we made it to the port at which Monolith 1 was about to dock.

The battleship looking in the same perfect condition as when we left, was a clear sign that nothing had gone wrong after I jumped into The Door.

After lowering its metallic 'legs' and 'feet', which acted as landing gears, a giant ramp located on its lower side, symmetrically opposed to the commanding tower on the upper side, opened.

In- Grand Admiral Wolf, The Monkey, and The Bo... Ye-chan and Rai-kun, along with the rest of Monolith 1's crew members stepped down, into the docking area.

"Usagi-chan! Thank heavens you made it back too!" Ye-chan, not being able to contain her happiness, and neither did I, ran at each other, hugging in front of everyone.

"Jeez, I knew that you were a die-hard warrior, but not to this extreme, Usagi." Rai-kun making fun of me, tried to distract everyone from what was about to come.

"Lieutenant, you failed to capture the nadir, didn't you?" Inu-senpai, harsh and disappointed, reminded everyone of my fiasco. "After all the trouble we went through, tolerating your stupidity."

Apparently, the news of my failure had reached Monolith 1, before it landed at Xīgǎng.

Ye-chan stopped hugging me and turned toward him, visibly furious, despite still wearing her boar mask. Sensei put a hand over my shoulder, while Rai-kun made some distance, knowing that this time even he couldn't lighten the situation.

"Wolf, after you put Usagi through tons of trouble and in danger by using that clown girl as bait, you dare to severely criticize her?" Ye-chan started walking in my superior's direction, cracking her neck and knuckles.

"You are still defending her, when she let a nadir escape, into our home world, of all places!?" Inu-san started going for one of his swords at his waist. The ground was starting to shake, as both emanated energy pulses and gusts of wind with their aura boost.

"Wolf, Boar. Please, stop arguing on sacred grounds." Sensei tried to dissuade them from their aggressive intentions.

This was all my fault.

"Lóngwáng, as much as I respect you, for once you must recognize that your decisions and disciple may have put in jeopardy the safety of our world." Inu and Ye were standing opposite to each other. They were ready to exchange blows. "As for you, Boar. I told you to remain respectful to me, as your current commanding superior. Under penal code, I will cut y-"

Inu-san's sensitive wolf ears started picking something. And soon, everyone else's.

"What's that?" My superior stopped going for his katana as he glanced into the distance. The sound of music and an engine were approaching the entrance of Xīgǎng.

"Electro swing? That means..." Rai-kun stopped, as he also turned in the direction of the sound.

"Oh, no. Anyone, but him." Ye-chan lost her bravado when she also figured out who was approaching the docking area. Her anger was exchanged with grumpiness.

"Rat." My sensei, just like my beloved friend, also lost his energy and showed signs of premature exhaustion.

"It's him! B. Loveless." I said with an alarming voice, discerning his flamboyant, luxurious car.

As the platinum-colored vehicle approached the area we were standing on, it started to spin and break, to perform a 360-degree drift entry, leaving tire marks on the floor. Since the detachable roof was down and it had 'easy to open' suicide doors, The Rat simply jumped out from his car when it slowed down enough, landing in front of sensei and myself, while the spinning car finally stopped and parked, right next to Inu-san and Ye-chan.

After adjusting his suit jacket and tie, while stretching his legs and prosthetic rat tail, he lifted one hand to greet us, using his AAIS wristwatch to turn off the music and his car's engine.

"Welcome back, simpleminded barbarians. Don't mind me, continue fighting among yourselves. Might as well enjoy your embarrassing spectacle."

Dr. B. Loveless, a.k.a The Rat, was a slim man around 1.86 meters tall, in his early thirties (my estimates). He was wearing a modern white suit with thin black stripes, reminiscent of a rich gangster from the U.N.N.M's northern region. Unlike his vest, jacket, and pants, his shirt was black and he was wearing (today) an elegant red and golden-striped tie. A pin, near the left pocket of his jacket, showed his rat emblem. His metallic, 1.5 meter, platinum-colored 'rat tail' consisted of several small vertebrae bones, that eventually ended with a sharp blade. He was wearing black gloves which looked like claws and elegant black shoes with pointy and sharp metallic tips. His head was entirely covered with a white rat-themed mask, which like mine, counted with extensions that mimicked white mouse ears. Just some portions of his medium-sized blue hair were visible through the back of his mask.

"Rat, you left tire marks all over our supreme Húwáng's sacred grounds." The Wolf, using my sensei's arguments from earlier, tried to scold Loveless.

"Hey, not my fault that I cannot use my Rolls-Joyce's anti-gravity mode around here." He simply shrugged off my superior's remarks.

"You could have simply taken the city's train and spared us the noisy entrance." Inu-san was visibly getting annoyed by The Rat's presence, no longer wanting to pick a fight with Ye-chan.

"And reduce myself to your level, antiquated simpletons? Stop chasing my car, doggo. Not my fault there aren't vactrains nor hyperloops around here." Loveless turned his head sideways, resting his hands on his pants pockets, belittling my superior's presence. "How about I throw you a stick, so you leave?"

It's not Faunus discrimination when it's between two of them, right?

Inu-san really must have wanted to grab his sword and cut B. Loveless down. Unfortunately for him, within The Zodiac, he had a lower rank than Loveless, so that meant that the latter was Inu-san's superior. Disobeying the chain of command and hierarchy established by our divine emperor was strictly forbidden. Attacking The Rat without a good reason, would not only have gone against Inu-san's core values, which were now backfiring at him, but could also get him severely punished, under Húwáng's policies.

It was now Inu-san who had to respect and obey the higher authority of another Zodiac member. One who, in the opinion of several other Zodiac members, contributed more to Húwáng and Zenithean society than him. Therefore, his life was more valuable than Inu-San's in our celestial leader's eyes.

As a second or silver-ranked Zodiac member, the only persons who had a higher level of authority than Loveless-senpai were Húwáng and The Kings themselves. Even Chivo, The Rooster, and The Rat had to answer and pay respects to first or king-ranked members and our beloved celestial sovereign.

"Hey, is that..." Rat abruptly stopped in his tracks, as he stared in my direction. "My cute, little bunny. I'm so happy to see you again." He started walking towards me, with his arms open. I smiled, as I prepared myself to hug him back.

"Loveless-senpai, I didn't know you cared this much for me. I also missed-" I was pushed aside by his tail. He continued to walk past me, and made it to Ranran, as she was being unloaded from Monolith 1, by a team of mechanics. "Look at her, isn't she beautiful? Of course, she is."

Right. Loveless was the one who created and designed Ranran. Seeking to surpass his predecessors' Minotaurs and other preexistent military robots, Loveless pushed for the creation of an advanced unit that hosted the Advanced Aura Interlink System. It took him several years and tests, but he had finally managed to create a functional prototype unit.

And for some months, I was his ideal guinea pig... Well, test subject, as I prefer to put it.

The problem with the implementation of AAIS on a robot was that it's pretty much an untested and new science field in Zenith. Rarely anyone had enough aura reserves, a powerful semblance, and could achieve high synchronization levels with a very advanced and complex machine. This is why I had been turned into Ranran's test pilot, as one of my missions assigned by The Zodiac.

It seemed I was among the few persons in Zenith who could pilot and exploit well Ranran's hidden potential, to the point I could back her up with a semblance of mine and blend my aura with her. Because of this, I had become for a time Loveless's guinea- assistant, during the period of Ranran's experimental tests.

"Ranran and Usagi did a number on the Ever After's Tree, Rat. You should have seen it." Ye-chan opened her fan and started to play with it.

I could tell she was just bragging about my piloting skills, to help me save some face after my failure, while Loveless was checking Ranran's leg that I had used to perform the kinetic bombardment.

"Of course, she performed splendidly. I created her." Senpai... Notice me, please.

"Will check the combat footage later. Field testing was one of the reasons I allowed Usagi to take Ranran to her mission." Better than nothing, I guess.

"Rat, this car model is one of the most expensive ones." The Monkey eyed the platinum vehicle, breaking The Rat's concentration on Ranran.

"The base price for this Rolls-Joyce model is 20 million krownas. Not taking into account my custom choices, like AAIS implementation, a better sound system, computer add-ons, and most importantly..." Rai-kun and I eagerly awaited his answer, while checking the vehicle, to see if we could figure out the most important custom choice before he said it.

"A seat that allows me to comfortably rest on it, even with my tail on."

You know... He's got a point. Not even a Faunus, but it must be a pain in the ass (literally) for some of them to use conventional seats.

"Always getting attached to material possessions. You blind and weaken yourself, Rat." My sensei looked with disapproval at Loveless's cool and amazing grand tourer car.

I want to be a billionaire.

"Some of us don't enjoy living the hermit's ascetic life nor being stuck in previous centuries, boomer." Of course, my narcissistic senpai didn't care about rules, etiquette, and Zodiac's policies whenever he couldn't benefit from them.

Although, I wasn't sure if it would be too rude to point out the contradictions in his statement, since his car had a very retro design, reminiscent of a last-century, western yacht. Besides his obvious taste in old-sounding music. And like Húwáng, sensei was far beyond boomer age.

"Speaking of possessions. You got something for me, right? You want me to analyze the nadir's device." He took out a hand from his pocket, making a 'give me' hand gesture, to indicate that it was okay for us to handle him the device.

"Yeah, the device is uncontaminated and I charged its electricity shard, but the weird password system and dust limitations stopped us from checking its contents." Rai-kun took out the doll's mobile device that I had dropped, back when the avatar of the Ever After attacked me. "We thought maybe you could make it work here and crack its security system."

"This is why I requested pictures of its electricity shard. Forcefully turning on the device with your semblance could fry it, along with any useful information stored in it." Loveless replaced the electricity shard with a metal battery, which he took out from one of his pants pockets. "Based on its shape and dimensions, this replacement battery I made will work for it."

"Can you nail down the device's required voltage only by looking at its shard?" Ye-chan asked while staring at The Rat doing his work.

"Of course, darling. Even its As and Ws." The doll's 'phone' turned on, after he pressed a button. "Child's play."

"At least you are useful for something, Rat." Inu-san frustratingly admitted, while also looking at the working phone. "But we still got to deal with the pass-"

"Done." Loveless-senpai showed the unlocked phone to my doggo superior and passed it to him.

"What, that was fast!? But how!?" Ye-chan jumped backward in amazement, while Inu-san stood there surprised, probably with his mouth open under the mask.

"What a scary hacker you truly are, Rat." Rai-kun complimented Dr. Loveless, while the latter did a triumphant pose, putting his hands on his hips and looking up, into the far distance, waggling his tail.

"He didn't hack anything. All he did was connect the dots of the password system on the screen. See?" I took the device from Inu's hands and lifted it, so that the light from a lamp pole nearby, passed through its translucent screen.

"The doll forms a shape to unlock her phone, by connecting these dots. The problem is that after many uses, scratches, and stains on the tablet's screen have made it easy to discern which figure she uses to unlock it."

This is one of the reasons screen protectors are recommended. Unfortunately, the collapsible design of this device didn't allow the doll to put one over its screen. Otherwise, it would have gotten crushed the moment she closed it.

"But what about the order to connect the dots?" Ye-chan asked me.

"One usually puts more strength at the initial stroke. By the end of a long shape or symbol, one's initial strength has decreased. Think of when you write traditional Ryuutairiku calligraphy with a brush." Chichiu- Sensei complemented my answer.

"Ha, so the old guy does know his fair share of tricks. Age is no excuse to be this ignorant about technology, especially from a barbaric nadir world. Wolf, Boar, Monkey." The Rat scolded my peers.

"Usagi-chan, who the hell taught you this!?" Ye-chan asked bewildered, taking away the doll's phone from my hands. Surely, from now on, she will be paranoid about taking out her holodial around my presence.

"Well..." I glanced at my sensei and Loveless's direction, as they feigned ignorance and looked away from the others. Both were equally to blame.

"Rat, you will be analyzing not only its contents but also its specs, along Chivo, correct?" Inu-san questioned my other senpai, after regaining his composure.

"Sure, I left some kits and equipment near Tiān Zhù. Once he arrives there, Chivo and I will inspect the nadir's device." Loveless-san faced Ye-chan while making the 'give me' hand gesture to her. "Give it back to me, piglet babe."

"What did you just call me!?" Oh, no. Something broke within her.

"Piglet. Babe." Loveless, why? Please, stop. Saying it nonchalantly didn't help. If anything, it made matters worse.

Despite the boar mask, I could tell veins were starting to show up across Ye-chan's body. She was doing her best to hold back, so that her sudden aura boost wouldn't crush the device in her hand, but the ground beneath her shoes was starting to break.

So much for our supreme leader's sacred grounds.

"AAAAAAAAH! AAAAAAAAH!" Wolf and sensei opened some distance between themselves and Ye-chan as she screamed, while Rai-kun quickly took the doll's device from her hand and I hugged her, in a vain attempt to calm her down.

"I WILL KILL YOU, FU-"

[BEEEEEEP!]

Before Ye-chan could finish her... Rude statement, a mechanical sound interrupted her, taking us by surprise.

"What the he-"

[BEEEEEEP!]

Again, Ye-chan was interrupted. We all turned to the source of the sound.

It was Loveless's car horn. His driver was activating it, via his AAIS silver watch.

"Worth every krowna." The Rat celebrated and congratulated himself.

"You, son of a bi-" Before Ye-chan could begin her series of insults, Loveless turned on at maximum volume the sound system of his car.

Loveless-senpai began to dance with some impressive 'neo-swing' moves to his favorite music, while I did my best to hold down my raging, lovely friend. But she was going to break free, at any moment.

Everyone else covered their ears, especially Inu-san, while my beloved friend's insults and The Rat's music filled the imperial port with noise pollution. Ye-chan suddenly got clever and instead of going for The Rat, she tried kicking with her long legs the luxurious car.

It didn't work. The Rat used again his AAIS to order the car in time to drive backward, away from her kick.

Not being able to contain her physical strength with my own, Ye-chan broke free from my 'hug' and started running after the car, only for it to continue driving backward, at a fast speed.

"Ha, that dumb pig will never be able to catch up with it." The Rat declared prematurely his victory, as words became audible again, the further his car and my friend got away.

"Unless she remembers to use her semblance." Rai-kun, holding his laughter, gave the mysterious girl's phone to Loveless.

"OH, SHIT!" The Rat began running after both. The 'three' of them soon exited the port and entered the imperial city. "Wait, babe! I will buy you some nice knives or shoes, just st-"

In the distance, I could no longer perceive Loveless's screams, but I sure could hear Ye-chan's kicks landing on something metallic, at the rhythm of electro-swing music.

•

The Rooster

"The Musashi is here, Usagi." After some minutes had passed, sensei and I noticed on the horizon a 'traditional', flying Ryuutairiku 500-meter long battleship with one pagoda mast, which acted as a commanding tower, and tons of old-looking battle batteries across its deck. The tall warship's tower had a height of 60 meters, from its 'waterline'. For the most part, the pagoda was golden, except for its black rooftops, tiles, and windows. Musashi's lower half of the bow was black, while its upper half and gunports were golden.

Unlike the Monoliths, Musashi resembled more a watership in design. The reason for this was that his previous owner and original creator, The Great Saruta (a late Zodiac member and former mentor of the current Rooster warrior) was so old-fashioned, patriotic, and heavily married to the traditions of our land, that he stubbornly had Húwáng's engineers built him a literal space 'ship'. A ridiculous request and whim of his, considering that not only Monoliths but even last-century, actual water warships in Zenith looked more modern than Musashi.

Saruta was the type of guy who took the term 'pagoda masts' too literally. Whether she liked it or not (she didn't), Tsubaki sa- onee-chan had to uphold the traditions and lifestyle of his old man if she wanted to inherit and lead the Sarume Clan he founded.

"Lower the anchors." Musashi crew members walking on his decks, started to make preparations for the ship to dock.

Around a dozen meters in front of our standing location, a big literal anchor attached with chains to the ship, fell off and crashed hard against the 'defiled multiple times' grounds of our beloved and divine Húwáng's Xīgǎng. From what I've heard, Saruta and Húwáng had reached an agreement, before Tsubaki and I were even born. For every successful mission, Musashi and the Sarume Clan completed, they would be allowed to dock at Xīgǎng, without any repercussion. The designated docking grounds at the port for Musashi, showed signs of his anchors having crashed over a hundred times on them, across his long military trajectory. The cracked ground was a symbol of pride for the Sarume Clan, one that Húwáng had given up long ago at repairing.

Following the anchors' descent, crew members on the deck started to play taiko music, by hitting their big drums. It was the signal for the crew still at the main pagoda mast to lower the rest of the landing gear, bridges, and ramps, located at the sides of Musashi's hull.

From the biggest ramp, located at its left port side, several low-ranked Zodiac members dressed in yamabushi clothes and wearing tengu-themed masks began to disembark, while playing drums and flutes. My mentor's entrance ceremony, reminiscent of an oiran dochu procession, had started.

Some of the warrior monks limited themselves to signal my mentor's arrival by shaking their shakujo, while geisha-dressed members performed their tekomai dances. Soon, the closest assistants and escorts to The Rooster came out, holding their paper lanterns and weapons.

A particular female samurai wearing a big metallic jingasa, which didn't allow one to even see her mask, caught my attention.

Must be The Tanuki, haven't seen her in a while.

There used to be a time in which I partook in the process, as one of Tsubaki's main escorts, holding Sakura over her head, but I guess those days were now over, considering what happened.

At last, in the position equivalent of a tayu or senior oiran, Tsubaki onee-chan finally stepped outside of Musashi. Her extraordinary beauty and elegance captivated me, as always.

The Rooster was dressed in a red multi-layered, uchikake kimono and wearing a very tall, black tengu-geta. She was 1.75 meters tall, but while walking with her tengu-geta, reached a height of 2 meters. Her kimono had embroidered golden patterns of several animals, including a dragon, a fox, and a monkey (her mentors). Tsubaki's orange and yellow, autumn-themed obi was tied in her front. Her impressive tayu sakko hairstyle was complemented with golden kanzashi accessories, that simulated rays of sunlight, ornaments that were themed after flowers, coral hairpins with colored beads in their ends, and an elegant golden comb, with the symbol of a rooster. In her hands, she was holding an also autumn-themed hauchiwa (magical fan), which was the maximum symbol and treasure of the Sarume Clan. The upper half of her face was covered by her white rooster mask, which had green marks reminiscent of feathers around its eye sockets, while the lower half was covered only with white makeup, except for an accentuated beauty mark under her chin. Her mask had protrusions that simulated a beak at the front center and small wings at its sides. Both of her lips were painted red. From her bareback covered in white make-up, a lonely black wing sprouted. She had lost her right wing during a conquest battle.

Tsubaki looked so beautiful, that I wanted to cry. I raised my hands to cover my mouth and hold down any potential scream I could accidentally release.

"Usagi, it's okay if you receive her." Sensei permitted me to walk towards Tsubaki, as she finally stepped on the port itself.

She extended her right hand to me, and I received her by giving her mine. For some seconds our hands came into contact and time froze while I was experimenting delightful happiness.

A clicking tongue broke the illusion.

"That should be enough to satisfy my kuso oyaji's spirit." Tsubaki-sensei spoke, while handling her fan to The Tanuki and taking off her kanzashi, to undo her elegant hairstyle.

"Eh?" Again, my hand was left suspended in the air. Alone.

"The farce is finally over." Behind me, Inu-san exasperatedly spoke with his arms crossed.

He was used to Tsubaki's abrupt changes in mood and tone. After all, he had been for a time one of Tsubaki's main disciples, along with The Tanuki and I. And unlike me, he never let himself be fooled by Tsubaki's self-imposed, elegant façade.

Tsubaki-sensei continued to tousle and loose most of her long, black hair by hand, dropping kanzashi and other ornaments everywhere. Her assistants and escorts picked them up, while she just kept her rooster-themed comb and skillfully used one sharp jade, tama-kanzashi to improvise a small bun with her hair, the way she liked it.

Quickly, she took off the upper layers of her complex kimono, revealing underneath a black, combat-custom, sleeveless, and legless tight bodysuit. Black thigh-high socks covered her leg skin, till slightly above her golden kneepads. The musicians, dancers, and rest of the 'procession' participants stopped doing their assigned tasks, looking awkwardly in silence, at the embarrassing and rude display of my lovely mentor and superior.

Taking a hot towel from an assistant, she removed the makeup from her face, without taking off her mask. The beauty mark on her chin remained there since it was authentic. When another assistant arrived with her black open-toed sandals, she skillfully jumped off from her tengu-geta and landed on them. Attendants put on her shin guards of jade green color, with protrusions at their external sides that replicated feathered wings. Her toenails and fingernails were as sharp as claws and painted golden.

"Usagi-chan, can you please...?" She handed the towel to me, ending my trance.

"Ah, hai." She turned around to show me her back so that I could wipe off the makeup and sweat that covered her exposed skin.

I was one of the few persons my sensei felt comfortable with touching her back because that meant having to see up close and make contact with multiple scars, including the big one where her right-wing used to be. I carefully caressed her skin with the towel.

"Arigatou." Wanting to hide her embarrassment, she ordered another assistant to bring her a mirror and golden lipstick, which she used to replace the red color from earlier.

Her closest attendants put on and wrapped around her, a short jade green kimono with golden edges, that covered her body till her mid-thighs, forming a small zettai ryouiki when combined with her combat socks. The custom-made kimono also counted with an opening in the back, for her left wing to come out through it. A golden obi, with embroidered leaves and feathers, complemented her kimono. Its loose and big, jade green detached sleeves, also with golden edges, allowed Tsubaki to move her arms around effortlessly, unlike the heavy uchikake kimono she wore earlier.

Finally, she put on a modern, small, and black, chest aura-armor, which didn't cover her left back area. Unlike mine, which was mostly for basic protection, Tsubaki's was designed to be used in conjunction with her semblance and aura for special reasons.

Sasuga, my second sensei. Onee-chan still looked extremely beautiful and splendid in her combat attire. Don't know why she always worried so much about her age and scars, when she was easily among the prettiest women I have seen in my entire life. She's so cool, that my current combat outfit was partially based on hers.

"Since you will be attending a meeting at The Heavenly Hall of Supreme Order, your weapons will not be necessary." Lóng-sensei respectfully stated as The Tanuki was about to handle my second mentor her sword and sheath.

"Right. Keep them safe for me, along with our clan's symbol. Don't let anyone touch my sheath, to avoid a disaster." Tsubaki-sensei ordered my fellow Tanuki and the rest of her crew members who were still around.

"Well, since the precious butterfly is already done with her reverse metamorphosis, how about we start heading to Húwáng's?" Rai-kun reminded us of his existence after onee-chan and her crew stole our attention for minutes.

"Oh, so my dear young monkey prefers the tayu-inspired look?" Tsubaki approached Raiu, while tenderly putting her hand below his monkey mask, to direct his view at her. "I suppose you already reached that age."

"... Both looks... Suit you fine..." Rai-kun replied nervously and embarrassed. His face was probably turning red like a tomato under his mask. Not that I blamed him.

"I like honest men." She playfully patted his left mask's 'cheek', and walked again towards my sensei and me.

"Lóng-sensei. Usagi-chan. Is it true that the Ever After's top priority target escaped?" She swiftly changed to a tense and serious tone. It appeared the news about my failure had also reached Musashi before they made it to the port.

"Honto ni sumimasen." I bowed with a saikeirei position to her.

"Damn it, Usagi." She hugged me in return. "Don't worry, Lóng-sensei and I will see what we can do. We will persuade Húwáng Dì, in your favor."

"The Rat arrived in an expensive car and annoyed Inu-san and Ye-chan. Chivo hasn't made it here but The Rat and he will be analyzing some sort of device that belonged to the fugitive, near Tiān Zhù's base. They are allowed to attend late the meeting." My sensei explained to Tsubaki onee-chan the situation. "The other 3 kings will not make it, since they are busy with conquest missions or were sent to Dì Zuò (帝座, Emperor's Seat)."

"Need to talk with that stupid rat, in case there is a preliminary vote with the present members. It's better to have him on our side, as much as I hate him." Tsubaki lifted her right hand, positioning her fingers in a way her nails looked more like actual animal claws, ready to slash at their prey.

"I already did. The Rat told me that he's going to remain neutral in the matter." Lóng-sensei, being used to his former disciple's violent mood swings, casually told her what she missed.

"That's not good enough. We need for him to vote in favor of Usagi. If he makes matters worse, I will crash down that cloud of his." Tsubaki-sensei said menacingly while pointing with her thumb at her attendants carrying away her sheath and word, without turning around.

"Aw, you don't need to go that far for me. I'm to blame for everything, no one else should pay for my mistake. If I had not screwed up, she wouldn't have escaped." I grabbed with both of my hands, Tsubaki's clawed hand, to calm her down.

"Damn, right!" The Wolf angrily shouted from afar, ruining our intimate moment and my efforts.

"Inu-san, how could you treat your own subordinate and training part-" Onee-chan turned around to scold her former main disciple, but stopped once a certain realization hit her. "Matte, she!? I wasn't informed that the priority target was a woman."

"Well, either a petite, young woman or a girl in her late teens." Rai-kun, while stretching with his hands behind his head, clarified furthermore the situation to Tsubaki.

"A cute one?" Onee-chan asked, to no one in particular.

"Very!" I quickly and without hesitation answered her, while smiling and firmly grasping her hand. Everybody else remained silent for a while.

"Shimatta." Tsubaki vigorously breaking away her hand from my grasp, fully turned around to see Inu-san and Rai-kun, ignoring me. "You two, would you describe the priority target as cute?"

"She had a weird look and dressing style, but I wouldn't mind getting kissed by her." Rai-kun scratched the forehead of his monkey mask, as he confessed his secret thoughts.

"Who cares about her looks? We shall focus on capturing the nadir, to execute her as soon as possible." Inu-san, grumpy as always, kept threatening the doll's life.

"Usagi, Inu, Raiu. Can you help my attendants unload the Sarume Clan's bonsho (bell)?" Tsubaki pointed towards an opened ramp at Musashi's hull.

"Sensei, why us!?" Inu-san protested, raising his voice.

"Ryōkai desu, onee-chan." I gave Tsubaki a military salute, and then grabbed Inu-san and Rai-kun's hands, to take them with me.

"And she is dragging us down with her." Rai-kun, giving me less trouble to pull around than Inu-senpai, gave up without a fight.

•

"Lóng-sensei, I think we have a big problem here." The elegant rooster said to her dragon mentor, as soon as the 3 lower-ranked Zodiac members went far away enough.

"I'm aware of my mistake. I shouldn't have proposed Usagi for the recent conquest mission. When Húwáng uses Remembrance on her, he will also figure it out." Both veteran Zodiac members started walking in the direction of the western port's entrance, making distance between themselves and the rest of the people at the place.

"I always suspected it. The way she sometimes stares at Lilith-chan, Ye-chan's legs, or me. I never minded, but it worries me that Usagi's... Preferences may be used against her, in an upcoming martial court." Putting a hand over her chest, Tsubaki's voice tone started to fill with sadness.

"I got no problems with her preferences" The older sensei subtly looked at his surroundings, before lowering his voice. "And in theory, neither shall Húwáng. Usagi confirmed to me that she has kept her chastity bow. If she continues to follow the Zodiac's celibacy rule, we shall avoid concerns on that front."

"The issue is that this likely came into play during the Ever After's invasion. Húwáng and other Zodiac members may start thinking that Usagi is a hindrance, because of her attraction to a top priority target." The Rooster warrior covered her mouth with one hand, while also lowering a lot her voice.

"I'm afraid that I don't see her coming out unscathed from this one. Still, we shall do our best for her to avoid execution and lessen her punishment. I'm confident that she remains loyal to The Zodiac. To both of us, her home world, and her friends." Thinking that they didn't have much time left to continue talking privately, both approached each other, to exchange faster their final thoughts.

"But what if Húwáng tries forcefully to correct Usagi's attitude towards that girl from another world? If she refuses or keeps hesita-" Tsubaki voiced her biggest concern, for once not hiding her worries, but got interrupted.

"You know how you can help me. For her sake." The Dragon mentor stopped walking, as he lovingly grabbed his former disciple's arm, to calm her down.

"Is she really the independent variable we've been waiting for?" Both stood in silence. They perceived that someone was approaching. Their time was almost up.

"I'm only certain that this is our best and only chance, before the next ring cere-" The old dragon tried to encourage his disciple with some final words, but had to cut short his message, as someone crossed the port's entrance.

"ONEE-CHAN!" The Boar happily ran to both, with her arms fully extended and up in the air.

"Ye-chan!" The beautiful Rooster warrior, changing moods quickly once more, ran to her fellow Zodiac member, before hugging each other.

"Sorry for not welcoming you earlier. I was arguing with The Rat. That idiot wants me to pay the full price of his car, for the kicks I landed on it." Tsubaki looked behind the boar girl's back, into the distance, as she heard this.

"Oh, think I get the gist. Thanks, Ye-chan." The Rooster smiled maliciously for a moment, while the dragon shīfu rolled his eyes inside of the mask, pretending that the secret conversation between his former disciple and him never happened.

•

"What were you two talking about?" Once we were about to catch up with my two mentors at the entrance of the port, The Wolf asked about the conversation they were both having.

He had been trying to pick up what they were talking about, through his sensible ears, to no avail.

"Oi, Tsubaki onee-chan. Where shall I place it?" I inquired for more instructions, carrying by myself the 45-ton bell on my back.

"You two idiots were supposed to help her with the be- Ah, moii! Since everyone is now here!" Onee-chan got annoyed at the three of us, for some reason.

Walking behind me and grabbing the bell by its lip, my onee-chan lowered the bonsho to the ground and spun it. She placed her right foot on the bell, before putting her weight and aura into her leg to kick it away.

"Matte, wasn't that an important relic for your clan?" Surprised by how easily Tsubaki dismissed it, I stared at the bell as it continued rolling down the empty street that led to Tiān Zhù.

"It was a big piece of junk that I wanted to get rid of since it was taking up too much space on our ship. Let Húwáng's cleaning robots get rid of it." My older sensei scratched his head, clearly confused by something Tsubaki said.

"Oh, I understand now." Without saying more, he stopped looking at the rolling bell and continued watching us talk.

While I was sure that there were Minotaurs and other types of giant, automated robots flying around or guarding certain buildings at Tiān Wēi Yuán, I had never seen them get rid of 'trash' this big and heavy. Pretty sure that cleaning services weren't part of their programming. At least, not that type of cleaning.

"Anyway, Usagi. I've got some advice for you." Onee-chan grabbed me by my arms, giving me now her full attention. "Men... Are the most despicable creatures. Not only in our world but across multiple ones."

"Sensei, what the hell!?" Inu-senpai no longer being able to handle his confusion, complained about his former mentor's crazy claims, which took jabs at him by default.

"Need proof? You got The Brothers, The Tiger, Loveless, and Chivo." She raised one of her right-hand fingers, each time she mentioned a 'despicable' male figure, till they were 5 in total.

"She's not wrong." Rai-kun shrugged, accepting his defeat with honor.

"But that doesn't mean that we, women, cannot excel at breaking hearts. Even those of other women. Be careful." She once more placed both of her arms over my shoulders, shaking me as she gave me her 'advice'.

"We love you no matter what, Usagi. You can always count on us." Chichi- Lóng-sensei, who was standing right next to Tsubaki onee-chan, kindly said something obvious. Each of my mentors grabbed one of my hands, as they guided me to the train station by the port's entrance.

"Oh, so the cat is out of the bag. How anticlimactic." Rai-kun was now disappointed for reasons I couldn't comprehend. He patted me on the back, as he also walked to the train station.

"Eh!?" What's gotten into everyone!? I don't understand.

"Seriously, what is going on!?" Inu-san, now following us, expressed his increasing confusion and annoyance. He also was lost.

"Ah, you two are so dense." Ye-chan pulled out her small fan, placing its tip over her head, annoyed by our ignorance in the unknown matter.

•

The 「 」

Through the train network, we made it to a station situated at The Imperial Garden, in front of The Heavenly Hall of Supreme Order. I was once more impressed by its landscape style. The moment we walked a dozen meters or crossed bridges and moon gates to change our point of view, its landscape transformed as if we went from watching one nature-themed painting into another one. Pavilions, small garden halls, lacquered bridges, pagodas, a lotus pond, rock gardens, and the always present peach trees, were spread across the place.

The lang or galleries that connected the different sections of the garden were rarely straight. Most were shaped like serpentines, for the sake of surrounding big rocks or groups of trees. The lotus pond, in particular, was surrounded by a red nine-turn bridge, which made me feel melancholy when I looked at it.

The culmination of the garden was something that felt man-made and clashed with the rest of it though. Perhaps, because it was meant to signify the end of The Imperial Garden and the entrance of the main and biggest hall. It was a pathway, surrounded by the statues of 11 animals. 5 on the west side and 6 on the east side. The reason for this unbalanced number was due to the current high-ranked Zodiac group lacking a member to fill the twelfth and last position.

For a time, the position of The Snake was taken by...「 」

The Snake was...「 」

[He's a bad influence for you, my pure child. Forget about him.]

The Snake...

...

"Usagi, something wrong?" Lóng-sensei noticed that I was feeling dizzy and slowing down my pace.

"Again? That's why I said to not enter through The Imperial Garden." The Wolf complained to my mentors, as he continued walking past us, to the end of the garden.

"It's fine, Usagi-chan. Take your time." Onee-chan gently told me, as she hugged me from my left side. Ye-chan, also worried for me, approached us and started to blow some air into my face with her fan.

"I don't think time will heal her pain. She only needs to endure it. Learn to live with it." Rai-kun spoke with hesitation and bitterness.

"How could y- Oh... Sorry." As Ye-chan was about to scold him, she stopped. After a pause, she started talking again. "I'm always here, by your side. Don't forget that, at least." She said with repressed frustration, to Rai-kun and me.

As I recovered my balance and started walking again, I turned to the side with five animal statues.

"Sensei, what a shame that nobody has filled in the position of your mentor." I stated with deep sadness to my old sensei. "It's been over 5 years since he passed away."

...

Everyone around me kept quiet.

•

The Fox

We reached the end of the garden, greeted by the statue of a fox eating a peach, while surrounded by cranes, at the center of a small pond.

"If I were the fox, I would share the fruit with the cranes. They also look hungry." I complained to the statue, as we walked the bridge that took us out of the garden.

"Usagi-chan, you totally miss the point." Tsubaki facepalmed after saying this, while Ye-chan hit my head with her fan, Rai-kun shook his head, and sensei took a deep breath.

10 imperial guards were situated near the entrance of the hall. 5 at the left and 5... So much balance and symmetry around here. The giant automated robot guards were the latest Shī (獅, Lion) models. What made them different from the Minotaurs was that they didn't rely on dust for their weapons and flying systems, rather fusion reactors and fuels, were slightly taller (10 meters), and had a lion head instead of a bull one. Equipped with spears, swords, big cannons with a dragon motif, and round shields with fox motifs, each Shī was made with a special alloy that made them look as if they had been sculpted from green stones.

After entering the lobby filled with antiques from Ryuutairiku, we didn't lose time and headed to the stairway at the center, which led to an elevator. Inu-senpai was waiting there for us.

"My faithful former disciple did wait for me. I'm so proud." Tsubaki onee-chan clasped her hands with delight, raising in an exaggeratedly cute way her left foot to stand on her right one.

"Iie, don't misunderstand, sensei. It's just that it would look presumptuous for me to arrive first and alone to the imperial military chamber." Deadpan, he admitted the truth, turning around and pressing a button to call down the elevator.

My onee-chan raised both of her hands, in a way that her ten sharp nails were pointed at Inu-senpai, as if they were claws, gritting her teeth in extreme anger. She looked so beautiful, even when furious.

The elevator took us more than 50 stories high, to the room designated for important Zodiac military meetings. My heart began to accelerate, as soon as we all stepped into the dark room. We had arrived early, so we still needed to wait a bit for our celestial sovereign to show himself.

In the dark room, there was a big hemicycle (120-degree angle) bench, which had lights and lamps that not only guided us into our respective seats with animal motifs but also allowed us to see each other, while we waited.

Ye-chan took my hand since thankfully sitting in the order of our ranks meant that the seat to my right was hers.

The bench was divided into two halves by an imaginary line. Its western or left side was for Zodiac members with even-numbered ranks. Its eastern or right side was for Zodiac members with odd-numbered ranks.

Our current positions, starting from the center, were:

1. Dragon King: 1st seat on the right side.

2. Tiger King: 1st seat on the left side.

3. Ox King: 2nd seat on the right side.

4. Horse King: 2nd seat on the left side.

5. Rooster: 3rd seat on the right side.

6. Chiv- Goat: 3rd seat on the left side.

7. Rat: 4th seat on the right side.

8. Wolf: 4th seat on the left side.

9. Rabbit: 5th seat on the right side (the best one).

10. Monkey: 5th and last seat on the left side.

11. Boar: 6th and last seat on the right side.

In other words, The Four Heavenly Kings (or first-ranked members) sat at the central section of the bench, while second-ranked Zodiac members sat in the middle portions, and the third-ranked members (including myself) sat closest to the edge.

While in a sense, third-ranked Zodiac members sat the closest to the emperor, the truth is that our divine ruler Húwáng wasn't much of a fan of turning his head sideways constantly. That's why the highest-ranked members were positioned in the center, to spare him all the trouble and effort.

Why not seat us in lines, then?

Because The Ox King is so big, he would not let our dear Ten'nō see members that rank lower or higher than him. No matter the order you placed everyone!

My guess.

By heights, then?

Absolutely no! I was the shortest member, and I didn't want most of the pressure to fall on me if I sat in the front and closest to our sacred emperor.

… I realized now that due to 3 kings not being present for the upcoming meeting, and the third-ranked members being the ones that went to the Ever After, the seating order was going to backfire on our supreme leader's neck, anyway.

"It's kinda lonely here." Poor Rai-kun complained, looking at his empty left side.

I had no idea why they were taking so long selecting a new member for the actual last and twelfth position of The Main Twelve. It looked terrible that one side had 5 members and the other 6. On the plus side, I was sitting on the winning side, instead of being placed next to an empty seat.

All I knew about the last seat was that Loveless-senpai and other members considered it cursed, for reasons that they refused to explain to me. Some even said that eleven main members were more than enough.

Thankfully, it seemed that our great celestial ruler and 4 kings were beginning to finally change their minds. Talks to propose candidates for the last position could begin next year.

I was cheering for Lilith-chan to make it in (currently working at Chivo's Carnevale Ombra), but I heard that competition for the twelfth rank was probably going to be tough. The worst-case scenario was that they picked that Zodiac member with the rumored, ultra-creepy semblance, who ironically is also one of Chivo's disciples.

"Nobody cares about your loneliness, Monkey. All that matters is that we serve our Ten'nō and rise through the ranks." Inu-san was probably pissed off also by the lack of a twelfth member but for entirely different reasons.

Our great and supreme Húwáng Dì had chosen that for now, among the main eleven, there shall be 4 king-ranked members, 3 second-ranked ones, and 4 third-ranked ones. This decision meant that Inu-san was below Loveless, Tsubaki, and Chivo in level of authority.

He loathed this. His goal was to be considered an equal to them and eventually make it to the rank of King. The approval of a twelfth member would by default increase Inu-san's chances of making it to second-rank, especially now that the conquest of the Ever After had gone well. For the most part.

Meritocracy was the name of the game.

You either climbed ranks by:

A) Being super strong or possessing a powerful Apex Semblance that could determine the outcome of an interplanetary war. For example, The Tiger could conquer entire civilizations by himself, using only his Apex Semblance. I heard that he constantly takes a fleet of vimanas to his conquest missions for show, not because he needs them to bring down planets that lack Apex Semblances.

B) Contributing important technological advances to Zenithean society and Húwáng's armies. The Rat, despite not being a physically powerful fighter, had earned our heavenly sovereign's respect through improvements he made to the AAIS system, suits of armor, and multiple artificial intelligence programs. Add his tactical forecasting skills. Our emperor and Loveless agreed that new combat units like Ranran, were a crushing advantage over less advanced civilizations that still rely too heavily on dust, elemental magic, or that lack Apex Semblances.

C) Raising formidable warriors and Zodiac members that serve our holy leader. Along with having incredible combat skills and taking part in reconnaissance missions (formerly conquest ones too), Tsubaki onee-chan achieved a high rank through this method. For a time, she trained Inu-san, Ye-chan, and me. Plus, many other members of the formidable Sarume Clan. Lóng-sensei not only possessed a powerful Apex Semblance but trained and raised well many strong Zodiac members, including onee-chan, Ye-chan, and me.

D) Excelling in several fields, such as: Political assassinations, Grimm control or extermination, interplanetary exploration, dust and elemental magic research, manipulation of finances and economies, intelligence, control wars' planning, cybersecurity, manipulation and censorship of media, capture or extermination of priority targets (usually dangerous criminals or prisoners of war), and other fields that don't come to mind right now.

"It's time." Lóng-sensei warned everyone to prepare themselves.

Ye-chan held my hand tightly as the floor section underneath The Zodiacal Bench started to shake. Or well, more like raise. A mechanical contraption was lifting us all, as the ceiling of our room started to open.

A gigantic dome, many stars, and the now closer Dì Zuò came into view, as the military chamber and our eternal Húwáng's private observatory combined into one big space. At our sides, I could see two opposing large backbenches, with 3 levels each. 150 monks in total, with plain white robes and fox masks, were chanting their mantras, to signal the advent of our supreme celestial sovereign.

I started to clench Ye-chan's hand, doing my best to control my emotions. The moment of truth had arrived and the mantras more than relaxing me, were increasing my anxiety levels.

We all directed our attention to the monumental Divine Cosmic Compass towering over the room (神聖的宇宙羅盤, or Yǔzhòu Luópán, for short) Reminiscent of a colossal dry card compass or a gyroscope with four gimbals. Húwáng Dì sat at the center of the divine instrument, making its four rings rotate with his aura alone. It looked as if he were flying while meditating with his legs crossed. The biggest ring-like structure had a diameter of 20 meters and a weight of 100 tons, according to my sensei.

Apparently, he was done searching for new worlds to invade, since the speed with which the 'gimbals' were spinning decreased, as the monks' mantras continued to echo through the observatory.

"Usagi-chan, have faith. Today, most of us will be on your side." Tsubaki onee-chan discreetly spoke to me with a reassuring tone, taking advantage of the chants, Loveless still not being at his seat, and the heavy 'rings' making a loud sound as they intersected and were stopped in a fixed position.

The mechanism that lifted the circular floor section in which The Zodiacal Bench was located, also stopped raising us with a bang. Blue flames and lights allowed us to see everything in the observatory room more clearly.

The mantra chants also went quiet, as Yǔzhòu Luópán's four gimbals finally rested in a vertical position and at a 90-degree angle, relative to our hemicycle bench, allowing the supreme monarch to descend and sit on the throne in front of us.

The heavenly and supreme eternal emperor of Zenith, Húwáng Dì. He was dressed in a surprisingly light, slim, refined, and comfortable-looking traditional white mianfu robe that used celestial blue and gold as complementary colors. Across its mostly white sleeves, it had golden embroidered patterns like those in the green combat kimono of my onee-chan. The difference was that in his long and huge sleeves, the animals of the current Four Heavenly Kings were displayed. An ox, dragon, horse, and tiger. In the central blue piece of clothing hanging from his waist down, between his legs, a white embroidered pattern of a fox laid with pride. Its long tail started around the emperor's navel's level and its head rested by his knee level. The edges of his sleeves, leg sections, and mianfu around his neck area, were celestial blue and had embroidered in them cloud patterns, with a much lighter tone of blue. The mianfu, across its lower white leg sections, had golden patterns that replicated branches of trees with peaches, and some flying cranes near his waist level.

Our sovereign wore a tall white mianguan from ancient times with thin celestial blue edges. A small blue fabric, embroidered also with a cloud theme, came out from the base of his traditional crown, which covered his head's sides and back. Pearls, diamonds, and beads of coral, gold, and jade threaded down his mianguan. I calculated that he was around 1.83 meters tall, not counting his 15 centimeters tall mianguan. He was wearing boot-like shoes made of blue silk and dark fur. I learned that Zenitheans had discovered how to make them millennia ago. Black, tight gloves covered his hands. Over his face, he always wore an elegant white fox mask, with golden patterns around its eye sockets, golden whiskers, and celestial blue ears and nostrils. There were no visible human portions of his.

Seeing him descend, I noticed that he wore baggy combat black pants, underneath all his elegant clothes. Lóng-sensei told me that like Ye-chan, Húwáng had his traditional robes custom-made, so that openings allowed for him to kick and punch around without problem.

I had never witnessed our celestial sovereign fight, especially while wearing his elegant ceremonial clothes but according to both of my sensei, who had been Húwáng Dì's disciples for a time, he was an extremely gifted and terrifying fighter. Supposedly, his martial arts skills were on the same level as those of The Four Heavenly Kings.

The monks' chants ended and a celestial voice started to speak.

To guarantee the existence of our world.

To put an end to all the inferior gods.

To rule and give order to Tianxia.

To conquer life and death.

That is our sacred duty.

"And with great honor and utmost gratitude, Shēngxiào will serve you and this world, until we draw our last breath. O, our beloved everlasting and divine sovereign, Húwáng Dì." All the present Zodiac members, including me, answered our supreme leader, completing the oath.

Our Ten'nō finally stopped flying and gracefully landed on his Fox Throne. Behind the throne, laid 11 decorous and refined, traditional golden panels, with our current animal motifs. The dragon panel was placed at the very center and stood the tallest, while the remaining 10 were divided into 5 by his left side and 5 by his right side. The lower our ranks, the lower our panels were placed relative to the others, so Ye-chan's boar and Rai-kun's monkey shared the same low height and were placed the farthest from the throne.

Between the circular floor segment of our Zodiacal Bench and the Fox Throne, there was a gap of 4 meters. I estimated that the distance between Lóng-sensei's seat and the Fox Throne was 12 meters. Not counting the 5 meters difference in height, since the throne was placed above beautiful white marble bases, to make it stand taller than our bench.

The fox monks started to leave the observatory through their designated exits, except for one, who carried a display case and placed it down on a podium covered with a red silk fabric, next to the marble bases of the throne.

It was the broken wooden sword of the Ever After's Blacksmith.

Inu-san loudly smirked the moment he saw it again, while I started shaking a little, thinking that maybe after all, my head wasn't going to avoid its fate of being cut away.

"My dear children, we are gathered here today to celebrate the conquest and fall of the Ever After." Húwáng used his aura to enhance his vocal cords, raising his voice across the entire observatory.

"Another inferior deity from a nadir world has fallen under the might of Shēngxiào." Extending an arm toward the sword display case, he announced with pride the success of the most recent conquest mission.

"This victory will go down in Zenith's history. A date worthy of commemoration." Raising both of his arms, our Fox Emperor declared the new jubilee.

"We bombed toy soldiers and small animals. I wouldn't call that an impressive achievement worthy of an anniversary." Ye-chan joked with a low voice, probably to calm down my nerves. Behind and below the bench, we were still holding hands.

"The Tiger King has already parted to Dì Zuò. At this moment, he is overseeing in my stead the extraction of the Ever After's anima mundi. Access to and absolute control over The Ascension Plane is finally within Zenith's grasp." I subconsciously looked up, in the direction of the dome, to gaze at the distant, yet imposing figure of Dì Zuò, among the stars of the night.

"For completing this commendable task, Grand Admiral Wolf, please, rise." Inu-senpai stood up and walked to the center of The Zodiac's Circle, placing himself between the divine emperor and Lóng-sensei.

"I'm truly honored, my dear divine sovereign." He bowed to our leader, while the latter stood up and started clapping. A clear sign for the rest of the Zodiac members to do the same.

If only he were this nice and polite to everyone else. I was honestly happy for Inu-senpai, but...

[A girl in tears hitting my chest.]

A pain started to emerge in my body.

After a minute, Húwáng Dì stopped clapping and sat again on his throne. He grabbed with his left hand a golden fan that was placed on his throne's arm.

"Nevertheless, it is my deep regret to inform you that the Ever After's invasion was not completed immaculately." His jovial tone was gone. The fox sovereign opened his fan and covered the lower half of his mask, as he spoke sternly.

Luckily, we were allowed to sit down again the moment he did, Ye-chan took again my hand.

"Actions to fix unforeseen mistakes must be taken." A lump in my throat started to form, as the emperor talked. His implications were clear to everyone in the room at this point.

"My beloved supreme Ten'nō, please forgive my miscalculations." Inu-senpai kneeled. "I shall strive to fix this mistake, by capturing the Ever After's runaway nadir."

"It's not his fault, my dear sovereign." I don't know why I did it. I suppose it was my feeling of extreme guilt. Before I realized it, I was walking to the center of The Zodiac's Circle and made a dogeza apology to the heavenly emperor, right next to Inu-san. "It was my mistake, not Inu- Grand Admiral Wolf's. I was the one who got tricked by the mysterious girl."

"Usagi..." I heard Ye-chan's sad voice to my right. I didn't dare to look back at her though. I didn't want her to get into trouble for my sake. If someone was going to fall, it was going to be me. Preferably, alone.

"Wolf. Rabbit. You are allowed to stand up." The heavenly sovereign closed and put down his golden fan as we stood up.

"Thanks to footage from Zhāng and Tiān Zhù, I'm aware of what went down between the nadir of unknown origin and you in Zenithean airspace, but details in early reports are still lacking. The Monolith's footage also offers me limited knowledge of this girl from another world." The emperor was probably aiming to use Remembrance on me, to fill in the gaps of information regarding the mysterious doll.

I raised my extended hand to my throat.

"Rabbit, you can speak." Understanding my sign and approving my request, Húwáng Dì invitingly raised his left hand.

"As the Shēngxiào member who was assigned to capture the priority target, and the one who interacted the most with... The nadir, I think that while apprehending her is important, she's not that dangerous." Inu-san and other Zodiac members gasped in disbelief at my statement.

"So, I propose to deal with her in a mild manner. Based on my experience and attempts at communication with her, I think we could peacefully integrate her into Zenithean society. She probably doesn't harbor violent intentions against our world." Our heavenly supreme leader lowered his left hand, indicating I stopped talking.

I did as he said.

Our precious Emperor Fox activated his aura, using it to turn on The Divine Cosmic Compass behind him. Its rings restarted their spinning movements.

"Rabbit, my pure and innocent child. As much as I would love for every single one of Tianxia's (天下, All Under Heaven) inhabitants, spread across its many abandoned worlds, to be peaceful subjects under my command, the sad reality is that we must still wait a little more for that dream to be realized." As he stated this, Yǔzhòu Luópán displayed everyone in the room visions of worlds getting created and destroyed by The Brothers. Civilizations fighting among themselves and self-extinguishing. Worlds collapsing due to their anima mundi going out or simply being reached by a cataclysm.

"At the moment, we cannot be sure the fugitive nadir doesn't have ill intentions against Zenitheans. For all we know, it could be her mission to sabotage our modus operandi and end Zenith's civilization. She could be a threat from an unknown world that also reached the Ever After. Someone who wants to attain access to The Ascension Plane, for nefarious reasons."

I could tell that other Zodiac members grew uncomfortable, as our sacred leader explained the potential danger that the nadir could be to Zenith. Inu-senpai was struggling to keep his claws retracted.

I again did the hand sign to request permission to talk, which our merciful emperor conceded right away with calmness.

"Honto ni sumimasen, our great and beloved divine emperor, but isn't it premature to rule out the likely scenario that she's a lost Ever Afteran refugee, who only failed to reach a safe destination?" I nervously suggested to everyone in the room a more optimistic situation.

"I'm afraid that's no longer a likely scenario, Coniglia." A voice and steps from the depths reached everyone's ears. Someone was going up the spiral stairs, built around the pillar on which The Zodiacal Bench was located.

And I perfectly knew to whom the voice belonged.

•

The Goat

A pair of horns soon became visible near the western edge of the bench, where the stairway began (or ended, for those climbing up).

The approximately 1.90-meter-tall figure was wearing a sophisticated black justacorp with silver stripes at its edges and silver buttons. Its tail's interior was ruby red. The justacorp's sleeves' edges were also ruby red, embroidered with flowers of rosewood red color. The recent arrival also wore a ruby red jabot around its neck, which covered part of his chest and was pinned with an expensive-looking, shiny silver rose crest. His side cape, which matched his sleeves' edges' red color and rose motif, covered his left shoulder and arm till his mid-thigh. He wore noble military white pants and black knee boots, the latter embroidered with silver vines at its external sides. A black vest and white shirt were barely visible through his cape and justacorp. The silver belt, around his waist, had at its center the emblem of a goat.

He wore a white mask with a goat motif that covered his head, and which had small C-shaped extensions that simulated recurved horns. Due to its white color, it was very reminiscent of a goat's skull. The mask had red markings around its eye sockets, which looked like red vines with thorns. Tiny red petals, simulating tears, 'fell' from his eye sockets.

"El Chivo de Eden." I said subconsciously with slight fear, as the figure fully manifested at the top of the round pillar of The Zodiacal Bench.

"Capra, Dama Coniglia." Once more, the Zodiac member with the goat-motif corrected me, for calling him in a way I wasn't supposed to.

'El Chivo de Eden' was how 「 」nicknamed him, to which he always answered back by telling 「 」to call him 'Capra' ins-

[He's a bad influence for you, my pure child. Forget about him.]

...

No, it was a nickname without a particular origin. We have always called him that way, for no reason.

...

My head was beginning to hurt a bit and I was getting dizzy, but I did my best to pretend that I was fine. I didn't want to lose my composure in front of our beloved and dear heavenly leader.

"Old habits die hard." Chivo sighed as he ignored me. "Maybe if all of you dropped already that silly nickname, you would spare Coniglia and myself so much trouble." After scolding the members seated behind me, Chi- The Goat continued to walk to the center of the zodiacal circle, almost right next to where Inu-san and I were standing.

"With great honor and utmost gratitude, Shēngxiào will serve you and this world, until I draw my last breath. O, my beloved everlasting and divine sovereign, Húwáng Dì." He bowed elegantly in front of Húwáng, as he recited the oath with some slight modifications, due to his late arrival.

"Massima eccellenza celeste, I beg you to forgive my tardiness."

I once more did the sign to request permission to talk. The emperor, predicting my intentions, conceded it quickly. He possibly was also very curious about what Chivo had to say. The fact that he was here could only mean one thing.

"Chi-" I stopped myself from calling him that way when I noticed a slight twitch in his right hand. I corrected myself fast, in his mother language, as I bowed. "Capra, mi scusi."

"Why you said it was unlikely for the priority target to be an Ever Afteran refugee, who got lost and landed in our world?" I asked, despite fearing the worst. Possibly, because a part of me wanted to learn more about her.

"Capra, what evidence do you have that allows you to debunk her theory?" Our emperor granted The Goat permission to talk, by directing his raised left hand to him now.

"It's an unlikely scenario, based on the results of our..." Chivo interrupted his reply, the moment he noticed something amiss. Once again, steps could be heard coming from below. Running, yet tired steps.

"THE NADIR... ISN'T AN... EV- EVER AFTERAN!" An exhausted Loveless-senpai screamed after finally being done climbing the stairs.

In full panic, Loveless started to look left and right, realizing late that he had not yet recited the oath, before rudely screaming and interrupting the imperial meeting.

"With great... honor and... utmost gratitude..." My poor senpai was panting and struggling to say it while looking at our Ten'nō.

"Shēngxiào... will serve you... and this world..." Come on, you are almost there, Senpai.

"... until I draw my last breath." Which in his case, seemed that it could be soon.

"... My... beloved... " No! Don't stop there!

Inu-senpai and all the Zodiac members at my back were holding their laughter or forcing themselves to not facepalm. Chivo just looked away from the scene in utter embarrassment, as his poor colleague and research partner did the ridicule.

"Rat, what excuse do you have to not just arrive last and later than Capra, but also present yourself in such a pathetic state?" The supreme Húwáng raised the volume of his voice and stood up, as The Divine Cosmic Compass behind him started to display visuals of red fire, illuminating the entire observatory with a red color.

"Supreme and divine excellency, I beg your forgiveness, but my car broke down and I couldn't fix it in time!" The doctor clasped his hands, falling to his knees.

"He's lying. I didn't kick it that hard." Ye-chan said, with disbelief and a low voice that I could barely hear after Loveless voiced his excuse.

"You brought a car into my heavenly forbidden enclosure!? When you had my private train network at your disposal!?" Rai-kun did a 'neck slice' hand gesture as Húwáng Dì criticized The Rat's action.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to offend you, my divine sovereign!" Inu-senpai and Lóng-sensei, with extreme disgust, turned quickly into the trembling Loveless's direction, who was making a dogeza apology.

On the plus side, Inu-senpai wasn't longer pointing his claws at me.

"Nostro divino imperatore, I also request to pardon my partner's rudeness and late arrival, since he greatly contributed to analyzing the device of the spy from a rival world." The entire room became silent. Chivo, ironically calm and undisturbed, said such a shocking thing.

Húwáng Dì deactivated his aura and turned off The Divine Cosmic Compass. The room returned to be illuminated with blue lights as its gimbals stopped moving once more.

"Capra. Rat. That is a very bold and wild claim. What did you find in the nadir device to back it up? Is Zenith facing such a big danger?" Húwáng Dì sat back on his throne, grabbing his golden fan and opening it to cover the lower half of his mask.

"Dr. Loveless, per favore. Display the last picture taken by the device." Chivo, pulling a wand out of his right sleeve, directed our gaze at the center of the room.

"Our divine sovereign, I went ahead and uploaded all our recent discoveries to your hall's cloud. May I have your attention, please?" A holo-screen turned on at the Rat's command.

No. It cannot be. Let this be only a cruel joke.

The cursed picture that was going to change forever the fate of two worlds was displayed in front of The Zodiac and the Emperor.

"That's, no way!" Uncharacteristically of him, Rai-kun was surprised by what he saw.

"Oh, no. Is she holding what I think it is!?" Ye-chan was starting also to hesitate. She knew what this meant for me.

"Usagi... what have you done?" In- Wolf didn't bother hiding his discontent and distress. He probably was thinking that my error may have put in danger our entire planet.

"Tsk, this is bad. There's no mistaking it. She's from another world." Not even Tsubaki onee-chan foresaw how this was going to play out. This was a huge blow against me, no matter how one looked at it.

"..." Lóng-sensei, I'm truly sorry. I ruined your reputation. And your school's. I will never be able to make up for this.

"This individual is indeed dangerous. A threat to our world." My great emperor, I am aware now. I failed The Zodiac and Zenith.

I should have captured her right away myself. I was naïve.

The picture at the center of the room was of none other than the mysterious girl from another world. She was holding a blue Relic of Knowledge playfully. Faking a surprise gesture with an innocent sweet smile.

I couldn't identify the city in the background. That was another bad sign.

The translated messages next to the picture read:

'Your boss won't stay dead... but you will without this.' ;)

'If you want her name, you know what you owe me.'

Doll, you also stole that relic? And for shady purposes?

Why did she put a smiley face after her crime confession?

"I think most of you understand already the implications of this picture! We will break to you the most important points of our preliminary report, based on our quick analysis!" Chivo energetically said, with an increasing air of self-importance. He used his wand to point at the holo-screen.

"First, the priority target is a girl with a semblance, not from Zenith nor the Ever After, called Neopolitan. She comes from another world, very possibly one also left behind by The Brothers. This is based on the fact that she's holding an activated Relic of Knowledge in the picture."

Rat raised his hand with a number 1 sign. Footage of her using her semblance in the Ever After was displayed to complement his statement, along with the cursed picture. Unlike Chivo, Loveless used constantly his tail as a substitute for a screen pointer.

At least I know her name now. Neopolitan... Shouldn't it be Neapolitan, like the ice cream? Or people in her home world spelled that flavor with an O?

"Second, to complete one of her latest assignments, the individual visited a city named Atlas. Its landmarks and locations don't match any Zenithean city in our databases. Not even of previously invaded worlds, recorded in the archives. Based on other pictures stored in the device, she was spying on a team of teenagers who had access to the relic. In other words, she's a relic thief."

Chivo raised his cape to show his left hand doing a number 2 sign. Several pictures displayed a group of late teens guarding the relic. She looked particularly interested in a girl wearing a red cape and a boy wearing a green coat, judging by the number of pictures focused on them.

The former was the one she used as a construct against me during our match. I could tell that she was interested in the boy, only because of the relic. No reason for her to be also interested in the girl with the red hood came to mind.

"Third, the nadir fugitive at one point used the relic as leverage to threaten or demand compensation from a person named Cinder Fall. A potential co-worker, employer, or rival of hers, based on the conversations recorded in her device. Her current relationship with this Fall individual is unknown. Conversations between both abruptly came to an end."

Rat, while doing a 'number 3' hand sign, displayed on the holo-screen captured screenshots and translations of the conversation between the doll and this Cinder person.

Their profile pictures made it-

Huh, wait, what's up with the doll's profile picture?

I have questions.

Rai-kun tried not to laugh by covering his mask's 'mouth', while Ye-chan giggled a bit when she also noticed it. Onee-chan, annoyed, landed her fingernails on her seat's arm, Sensei rested his forehead in embarrassment on his bench portion, Inu-senpai started to growl, our supreme Húwáng scratched his head with his golden fan, and Chivo shook his head. The Rat tried to take this seriously and not get distracted by our reactions.

On the other hand, Cinder's profile picture told me that she was the lady in black that the doll had used as a construct to attack me. Back when she got angry. I am starting to think that those two had a very complicated relationship.

"Fourth, we have identified that the language she's familiar with is very similar to that spoken in the U.N.N.M and certain levels of Migdal. Albeit, with some differences compared to our world's alphabet."

Chivo clarified how they were able to quickly and easily translate the doll's text messages, doing a 'number 4' hand sign.

So, many U.N.N.M and Migdal citizens could move to the Ever After or the doll's home world (which I just learned is not made of toy houses), without having to worry about the language barrier or Lingua's expenses?

I would have said that at last something positive came out of this, but I remembered that the Ever After was now irradiated and destroyed, and the doll's home world was probably going to share the same fate soon.

"To complement the point, this increases the chances that the subject in question will try to visit or live in Zenithean nations that use languages that resemble the one from her world. Unless she's very a quick learner, I don't see her putting up right away with complicated and vastly different languages, such as Ryuutairiku's." Rat added to Chivo's point.

That explains why I didn't find her while searching through Ryuutairiku. Like many visitors from overseas, she ran away from our traditional writing system.

"And fifth, the individual was searching for more relics and the names needed to activate them, based on more conversations in her device. This is a premature theory, but during her quest to get them, she ended up in the Ever After. Unknown if by her own volition." Chivo raised again his cape to show his hand doing a 5-sign.

Did she end up in the Ever After, because she sought that or not?

Why she couldn't cross The Door to return to her home world?

Ascension for her meant punishment, salvation, or getaway?

Did she have anyone left waiting for her back in her world?

Was someone at this moment even trying to rescue her?

Or was everyone rejoicing that she was finally gone?

I couldn't decide how to feel about this entire situation. There was something messed up about all this.

"We still got more points to cover. A more detailed analysis and report of the criminal's device are on the way, but we wanted to share a rapid-fire report of our findings before the current meeting was over." Rat finished by having the holo-screen show us one last time the picture of the doll's crime.

"Considering the contents of the device, we are not dealing with the standard fugitive nor priority target, imperatore divino. It was urgent for you to learn this. Our beloved world is in great danger." Chivo hid his wand while readjusting his side cape. His voice tone went back to sounding more serious, solemn, and less enthusiastic.

"Either an exiled criminal or a spy sent to steal valuable relics across The Brothers' worlds. The girl is a disgusting nadir and a threat to Zenith, no matter which of the two scenarios is the correct one." Húwáng Dì went back to covering the lower half of his mask with his fan.

"Certo, her being someone left behind by her home world and unable to return is the more desirable scenario, out of those two. A criminal nadir that never had an ally nor a party to work with." With respect, Chivo clarified how this scenario was preferable.

"Both of you did well. Capturing this girl is now imperative, to guarantee the safety and prosperity of our civilization." Our great emperor stood up, pointing at the holo-screen with the picture of the doll girl on it.

"This girl's home world clearly has also reached the Ever After and is aware of its existence. Destroying them before they destroy us is now our duty. Since we are still in the middle of draining the Ever After's anima mundi and haven't gained absolute control of The Ascension Plane, Shēngxiào cannot take things for granted. A war between both worlds is bound to take place, sooner or later."

Our divine leader raised his arms and declared to the Zodiac members his thoughts on the conflict, with an air of authority.

"Purtroppo, we must arrest the target alive, to find out what happened to the stolen relic and locate the potential enemy world, based on her aura's frequency." Whether he did it intentionally or not, Chivo reminded our beloved sovereign of my recent misfire, putting us back at square one.

"Grand Admiral Wolf. I'm disappointed in your fleet for being unable to capture this vital target." I started to feel bad, as our great ruler started to look down on Inu-san for my mistake.

"Ten'nō, I beg you, spare my superior! The failure was mine alone. I was the one who failed to catch the target. It was my mission."

Without waiting for him to permit me to talk, I walked in front of Inu-san and started to take responsibility for my lack of success.

"If I had known about her past, I would have captured her without prioritizing her perfect health, without hesitation. For my mistake, I..."

I kneeled slowly, fearing the worst, but still willing to take the full blame, if that meant sparing my teammates.

"... I'm willing to undergo execution. Seppuku, even. Anything to avoid staining my fri- my fellow crew members with my blunder."

Ye-chan released a loud gasp of surprise, as the rest of the Zodiac members in the room were also startled by my rushed proposal.

"I admire your resolution to make up for your mistake, Rabbit. Let us have a voting session to determine your fate." Our divine sovereign declared aloud.

"Your supreme eminence, this means you will use Remembrance on her?" The Rat with his left hand back in one of his pants' pockets, used his right hand to spin its index finger over his head side as if it were a drill.

"It is necessary, to choose appropriately her punishment. Let us see if The Rabbit's actions are sincere and of her own. Not soiled by bad influences."

I didn't mind Remembrance being used on me. Both of my sensei had warned me that this could be my only shot at convincing others to vote in my favor. If I di-

A sudden force pulled me into the air, making me float with my arms fully extended to my sides and my extended legs fixed together. It looked as if I was crucified on an invisible cross, in front of our supreme Húwáng Dì. I was being lifted telekinetically by his powers.

"Usa-" As Ye-chan was about to scream and move from her place, onee-chan stopped her.

"Ye-chan, don't interrupt the imperial proceeding... It may be the only way!" Tsubaki scolded and warned her at the same time. She also wanted to leave her place to help me but was keeping herself from doing something rude or insulting against our emperor.

I didn't mind, if this meant sparing others from getting into trouble because of me. Trying to control my fear and not show any concern, I bit my lips, as I struggled to keep down the pain caused by the force exerted on my body.

Húwáng's body started to glow with an intense white and black light. He had reactivated his aura and Yǔzhòu Luópán's rings behind him. Since this time around, he was going to use a Semblance on me, his aura was producing a flame bigger and brighter than before.

"Do not panic, my dear pure child. If you have nothing to hide, there's nothing to worry about. This is for the sake of our precious world."

As he spoke, his aura extended and engulfed my body. I couldn't do anything to escape from his 'grip' at this point, not even activate my aura.

"Remembrance." Extending his right hand, which wasn't holding anything, he ordered his aura flames around my body to enter through my head's orifices.

"Aaaagh!"

... I felt a burning sensation inside of my skull. A pain so intense, I couldn't think of anything every time the pain intensified.

…

I started to move my head and neck out of desperation, but it was useless. The rest of my body was entirely paralyzed in its crucified position. Not being allowed to even touch the ground.

...

"Are those..." I could hear Rai-kun talk with concern and fear. For a second, I felt relief that he was worried for me, but I soon also noticed what he was seeing.

"Her memories. Húwáng Dì is using his compass to display Usagi's memories, during the Ever After's invasion." Lóng-sensei tried to calm down Rai-kun and Ye-chan.

He was right. At the center of The Divine Cosmic Compass, where our highest ruler was meditating earlier, my memories were being reproduced, as if they were a movie for everyone in the room to enjoy.

[A mighty tree that reaches the clouds.]

[A world pulled out from a fairy tale.]

[A brave defender riding fantastic creatures to save the kingdom's inhabitants.]

[A bunch of trees and roots that move by themselves.]

[A scary creature that wants to eat my head.]

[A shining door that doesn't allow the girl to cross it.]

[An intense and frightening firework show.]

[A giant dead trunk and a barren land.]

[A girl in tears hitting my chest.]

[A god of wood swinging a sword to end me.]

[A brave warrior jumping into the abyss.]

[A beautiful, crying girl carried by the wind.]

[The taste of seawater in my mouth.]

My vision deteriorated, as my consciousness slipped away and darkness took over.

•

The Zodiac

"USAGI-CHAN!"

Wh- what's going on? Who is screaming? Where am I? Who am I?

"USAGI-CHAN!"

Is that my name? Then... am I dead or was I sleeping?

"USAG-"

I get it. I'm Usagi. I started to feel someone grabbing my body. Someone was grabbing my back. Lifting my tired body. Wait, that voice!

"Ye... chan?" I uttered with pain, confusion, and fatigue, as I was still struggling to regain my conscience and process everything.

"Idiot, you scared me!" She shook me up as if the sudden and strong jolt were to help me recover faster.

"Ah, wait! Stop!" Maybe it did the trick.

I pushed Ye-chan away, but fell to the floor again, landing on my back and hitting my head. I started to remember everything, as I rubbed my injury.

The destruction of The Ever After, the priority target escaping, my talks with sensei and onee-chan. Our travel to Tiān Wēi Yuán. The cursed picture of a crime in another world. Our celestial ruler using Remembrance on me.

"For how long have I passed out?" I asked with anxiety, looking at my surroundings. The other Zodiac members and our great Ten'nō were staring at me.

"5 minuti. A fast recovery, within the 10-minute timeframe that our celestial sovereign granted you." Chivo said with a slightly mocking tone, as he looked at his pocket watch.

I relied on Ye-chan to stand up in the center of The Zodiac's circle. For some seconds, I had to support myself on her body. Húwáng Dì was sitting back on his throne, his compass was turned off, and the other Zodiac members were in their assigned places.

"Boar, your concern for a comrade is admirable, but you need to sit back in your place. Otherwise, you won't be able to vote." Our supreme emperor directed my friend back to The Zodiacal Bench.

It looked like he was going to rely on the memories that he dug up through Remembrance to rush a verdict, regarding my punishment.

"Ye-chan, it's fine. Thanks. No need to further concern yourself for me." I firmly kneeled at my beloved emperor, to show at least some respect after all the shameful instances I had displayed to him.

"Ten'nō, sumimasen. I shouldn't have passed out from only that and wasted your precious time." Holding back my tears and fear, I tried to act with some dignity, despite what was about to happen.

"Rabbit, I declare a preliminary voting session to decide your fate. Since everyone here witnessed firsthand your memories of the Ever After, there's no excuse to take more time deciding if you will be executed or not. Shēngxiào, the time of judgment has started." Húwáng Dì stood up from his throne and raised his golden fan with the right arm fully extended, doing a motion that went from one end of The Zodiacal Bench to the other. The flames of the room changed color, now illuminating everything with a green light.

The lowest-ranked members were supposed to declare first their stance and votes on the matter of my execution, while the highest-ranked members and our emperor voiced last theirs.

"I saw myself most of what happened between Usa- The Rabbit lieutenant and the fugitive mime girl. After seeing the memories of what I missed, nothing has changed. Hers was an honest mistake." Ye-chan had the lowest rank, so she was the first to vote. "We shall stop wasting our time and execute instead the obnoxious invader, instead of our loyal allies." She used her fan, to give herself a more imposing and dignified air, swinging it gracefully, as she talked.

"I vote against her execution." Well, that was the obvious outcome. Thanks for not doubting, my dear and beloved friend.

Matte... Mime girl?

Oh, because the doll didn't speak at all during our encounter. Looking at my memories made Ye-chan realize that just now, so she updated her insult.

Aw, why we can't all get along?

Chichi- My sensei told me that the more people voted in my favor, the better. That could dissuade our great Húwáng from executing me. The problem was that votes in favor of execution and neutral ones didn't benefit me.

Giving a neutral vote was pretty much the equivalent of giving a free pass to our heavenly sovereign and supporting whatever he decided to vote for, with no objections.

"Being frank, she's kind of a klutz." Rai-kun, nani sore!? He was deep in thought, with his right hand under his mask's chin.

"But I think it's now clear that The Rabbit did what she thought was best for our Ten'nō and Zenith. She only screwed up due to being tricked by her target. We all commit mistakes and I think she must live to correct hers. It's still not too late for her." Never mind. Nice, Rai-kun!

I would give you two thumbs up and even a kiss, but right now I must keep kneeling, as a sign of respect and humility, across the entire process.

Next wa- YABEE! This is bad. Might as well skip him.

"She put the main mission at risk several times." Inu-san gave a military salute and stood straight, as he said his opening declaration.

Tsubaki gripped hard her seat's arms, doing her best to keep silent and not interrupt. Otherwise, her declaration and votes would be skipped, if she annoyed Húwáng.

"I counted at least 10 instances in which she could have knocked out the priority target with ease. Our supreme and beloved Ten'nō, you saw everything. This humble soldier leaves her fate in your hands. Yours is the greatest wisdom that surpasses all Tiānxià."

Shimatta! Inu-san how could you? I let you down, but this is too cruel even for you. Might as well have voted against me. Then again, I did my best to not kill nor knock out the target. I understand that my decisions ended up backfiring on everyone, but... Senpai.

If possible, I want to apologize once more. After this is over. No matter the outcome.

Speaking of senpais, next is... Oh, another neutral vote.

"I will be brief. I vote against her execution. The Rabbit girl performed well when it came to bringing down that big holiday tree. Losing a valuable guinea pig would hurt my research's advances because this other pig right here is useless. Don't misunderstand my intentions." Senpai noticed me! Thanks a lot, Dr. B. Loveless!

All those weeks of dangerous experiments and piloting tests were worth it! But it wasn't necessary to insult Ye-chan again.

"Must... resist... killing... impulse! For Usagi's sake!" Ye-chan, with a low voice, was struggling a lot to keep herself from attacking Loveless-senpai.

Her veins were about to pop, as she clenched her fists and teeth. Fortunately, she did manage to fight back her bloodlust. I owe you two, Ye-chan.

Next to vote-

"Neutral."

ONORE, CHIVO! At least have the decency to explain why! I know we don't get along and have barely interacted so far, but I have never done anything against you.

"Goat, would you kindly justify your vote? For the sake of having a more detailed record in the session's archives." The fact that Húwáng Dì called him 'Goat', was a clear sign that he meant serious business. He was commanding Chivo to explain his stance, not asking him a favor.

"Perdonami, amato imperatore. I didn't want to waste more of your time. I do not believe I'm worthy of judging her. I truly think that you will make the best possible decision, for the benefit of our world. I will always trust your wisdom and guidance, but..." Chivo calmly bowed and elegantly regained control of his situation. The problem was his following statement.

"If I'm allowed to be a bit selfish and voice an opinion, my suggestion is that The Rabbit should receive at least an exemplary sentencing, for failing to catch such an important target, which may now be a big threat to our civilization."

I would have preferred for him to keep it very brief, after all.

"Your opinion will be considered, Capra." Sadly, Húwáng agreed with him.

Sensei, Tsubaki, and Ye-chan couldn't avoid showing some disdain for Chivo after his last statement. By the time it was onee-chan's time to vote, her chair's arms were scratched all over the place.

"Great and beloved Ten'nō, losing The Rabbit under these circumstances would be a severe hit to Shēngxiào and the Sarume Clan. She's without a doubt still devoted to our cause and loyal to us. I beg to be the one who corrects her hesitation and clears any of her doubts. Let us not execute her." Onee-chan did a saekeirei bow after voting in my favor.

Like Ye-chan, she wanted to help me, without sounding too biased. She even proposed to be herself the one who carried out my punishment. Surely, it would be a painful one, but at least that also would mean avoiding death or something very extreme.

Finally, it was my sensei's turn.

"As Lóngwáng, I think her mistake may cost us a lot. Her resolution should have been firmer. Sending her to a conquest mission may have been a precipitated decision. A misjudgment on my part." Sensei, I don't blame you for wanting to make some distance with a failure, such as myself.

"But as her Shīfu, I must point out that losing one of our most talented individuals, because of someone with such a weak semblance and inferior fighting techniques, is exactly what any enemy world wants to achieve against our forces. This recent mission has opened my disciple's eyes to the harsh reality that Zenith and Shēngxiào face, in the search of guaranteeing the safety of our world. Let us not fall into their tricks and mind games. I'm against her execution." Sensei said, as cold and unbiased as possible, his last statements. He wanted to sound detached from me.

Lóng-sensei, thank you. As much as I wanted to bow, I needed to keep a pose of respect to our divine emperor, while my fate was decided.

"Where did we go wrong, my dear Lóngwáng? Perhaps we granted The Rabbit too much leeway in the way she was raised, because of her semblance and particular skills." Our Ten'nō began smoothly his declaration and vote, addressing my sensei at the same time.

"I was thinking of executing her, but after exploring her memories with Remembrance, I confirmed that her mistakes were sincere, lacking dark intentions. Thankfully, she remains loyal to me and no dangerous influences have stained her pure heart, contrary to what I was thinking at the start."

Influences... I have never met someone who is a bad influence, so our supreme Húwáng Dì has nothing to fear. And I still have no plans nor anyone in my life that would make me ever doubt about my celibacy oath. I mean, there's Lilith-chan, but she's a girl, and the same goes for... Although if she were to... Wait, what am I thinking!?

"Sadly, this raises another concern. All Shēngxiào members must understand that despite everything, our actions are justified and our duty is a noble one. There's no room for hesitation in our quest for survival."

My beloved emperor took another well-deserved jab at me.

"Rabbit, out of the current 8 possible votes, you already got 5 in your favor. That's more than half. It's clear Shēngxiào still appreciates you, and so do I. You will not be executed, but you will be detained and exiled for a time. Let this be an opportunity for meditation and introspection. Your definitive sentence is to be decided in a future martial court, conducted by The Four Heavenly Kings and I."

It looked like I avoided the worst outcome... For now.

"My dear pure child, purge any sympathetic feelings and attraction to the nadir spy. Remember that while the current flawed and misguided Tiānxià continues to exist, all the other chaotic worlds left behind by The Brothers are our competition. Unlike them, we seek to create a peaceful order for all of us to coexist."

As much as it saddened me to admit it, he was right. People in other worlds can be dangerous and manipulative. I shall never again underes- Attraction!? What did he mean? She didn't use any magnetism semblance or dust combination during our fight. Or did he mean-

"Do not hesitate nor go easy on our enemies the next time you face them. This is a warning not only for her but also for every single member of Shēngxiào."

Ah, shimatta. Need to pay attention. Fortunately, when saying his last statement, he was looking at the members of The Zodiacal Bench.

I stood up, but still bowing, gave him my thanks with a Xièxiè posture.

"I do not deserve your compassion, my great and beloved Ten'nō. Words aren't enough to express my gratitude." Raising his right hand, the supreme emperor gently directed me to my seat. He was likely going to address another issue, so my presence in the middle of the room was no longer necessary.

"Lastly, regarding the nadir girl from another world, Grand Admiral Wolf, even if capturing her wasn't your priority mission, I will delay your promotion to the second rank, until you are able to capture her. Your repo-"

"But my beloved Ten-" Inu-san rightfully shocked, stood up from his seat.

Matte, nani!? Inu-san isn't getting promoted, after conquering such an important world!?

To make matters worse, he unfortunately forgot to ask for permission to talk, while our emperor still had plenty to say.

"Silence. Do not interrupt my declaration, Grand Admiral."

…

That feeling again. It gave me goosebumps.

For a very brief moment, the green flames that illuminated the room flickered and everything went quiet. A strange pulse travelled across the entire observatory, as Húwáng Dì said his command.

Tiānmìng (天命, Mandate of Heaven). The supreme power that gave our emperor the absolute authority and right to rule over all Tiānxià's inhabitants.

Inu-san tried to speak but to no avail. He couldn't even open his mouth to utter a single vocal. His panicked body gestures said everything. Desperately raising his mask a little to grab his tight-shut lips, he slowly started to process what had just happened and eventually calmed down. Ultimately, he understood that resisting the command was futile and his breathing returned to normal. He was no longer going to interrupt nor say anything, for what remained of the meeting, unless commanded.

It wasn't just Inu-san affected by it. Even other Zodiac members on the bench decided to correct their postures and pay more attention to what our emperor had to say. Not even we could defy his word.

"Do not think I failed to notice among The Rabbit's memories and Monoliths footage that you were also tricked for a moment by the spy girl and the Ever After's avatar. Most of your crew's reports downplayed The Rabbit's performance during the Ever After mission and omitted that you also got close enough to capturing the nadir target yourself." The emperor directed his piercing gaze at Inu-san, while he was scolding him.

Even if he was wearing a mask, his frustration and disappointment were well expressed through his voice. If anything, the fact we couldn't see his face as he spoke, made everything feel uncanny and scarier.

"I'm merciful enough to not only spare your lieutenant from execution but also give you a head start, over every other ambitious Shēngxiào member and bounty hunter out there."

Matte, bounty hunters? What did I miss while I passed out?

Loveless did the hand sign to request permission to talk and was granted it quickly.

"Divine excellence, does this mean that Chiv- Capra's trillion-bounty proposal is being approved?"

No, way. Are they thinking about-

"I confirm this is the case. Wolf, capture the nadir before my policies are updated and public announcements are made. This is now your priority mission, to make up for your only blunder staining your track record." Húwáng returned his gaze briefly at Inu-san, who was limited now to only listening, but Dr. Loveless requested once more his attention.

"Great heavenly emperor, regarding the bounty's sum, what if someone were to capture her fast? We need to pull out one trillion krownas quickly." Loveless-senpai politely asked for clarification, after he was allowed to.

"Get the necessary amount from multiple governments' treasuries. Any monetary loss will be compensated through the upcoming changes in tax policies." Our supreme emperor answered and commanded, at the same time.

"We are raising taxes in the end, huh? Sucks for our contributors." Dr. Loveless casually and easily accepted what was about to come. Easy for him to say, considering his latest public figure job. Loveless was the type of man who benefited from taxes.

"You guys are not going easy on my aspiring generation." Well said, Rai-kun. Even if he said it as a casual remark to the persons seating next to him, and with a low voice, to avoid pissing off our divine emperor.

Húwáng's tax policies can get brutal sometimes. I tend to live in Zodiac-owned places, such as Lónggōng or the Sarume no Sato, since I could not afford a big house.

"It's for the sake of Zenith, Monkey." Chivo, the Zodiac member living at Migdal's top level, one of the most aristocratic places in the world, tried to sermon us.

"Tomorrow, at the same hour, second and first-ranked members must report for another imperial meeting to discuss further details regarding the Ever After and the nadir fugitive." Our Ten'nō began to adjourn the meeting. The Zodiacal Bench's pillar started to go down, as the observatory's flames returned to their usual blue.

"Rabbit, I trust you enough to head under your own volition to Běigǎng (北港, North Port). A ship there will take you to Cháng'é Jiānyù (嫦娥監獄, Cháng'é Prison). This session is adjourned."

Through the closing ceiling (or floor, from our sovereign's perspective), Húwáng Dì commanded me to make it to the port that would take me to prison, as he looked down on us from his heavenly throne.

Barely remembering something in time, he raised his closed right hand and opened his palm.

"Oh, Grand Admiral Wolf, you are allowed to speak again." Both rooms were entirely separated once more.

•

I arrived at Běigǎng not even 30 minutes after the imperial meeting was over. Despite our supreme Ten'nō not ordering it, Rai-kun, Ye-chan, onee-chan, and sensei, had all decided to see my vessel take off and say farewell to me at the port.

On the other hand, Chivo and Inu-san silently and coldly parted ways with us, supposedly heading to Tiān Zhù's entrance. My superior had left, without giving me a chance to apologize properly to him for failing to capture the spy doll.

There was nothing remarkable about the North Port, it was like the west one, except this one was devoid of activity and life.

Even if the emperor had said that he trusted me enough to board the vessel that would take me to Cháng'é Jiānyù, the truth is that as soon as I stepped out from The Heavenly Hall of Supreme Order, four Shī automated robots 'escorted' me to the train that took me to the northern port. Even as I talked with my friends, they kept 'staring' at us, probably making sure that no one pulled off something crazy that justified shooting at us.

As we made it to a 20-meter-long, gray metal vessel with propulsors on its back and an opened ramp at its left side, we stopped to have a last talk, before my departure. We had remained silent till that moment.

"Usagi-chan, I'm so-" Ye-chan tried to apologize, with sadness in her voice, but I put my right index finger over the 'nose' of her boar mask. It was shaped like an inverted heart.

"Daijoubu desu. I avoided execution and that's more than I could have asked." I was being honest. She hugged me once more.

"We will visit you when possible or whenever allowed." Ye-chan said no more, as she struggled to contain her sobs and tears, even with the help of her mask.

"I also want to apologize, Usagi-chan. For Inu-san's attitude and declaration." Tsubaki onee-chan felt guilty. She didn't dare to look at me, out of embarrassment.

She probably felt responsible for both of us being her disciples, yet screwing up in different ways. The sad reality is that Inu-san had become distant to not only myself but also Tsubaki and the Sarume Clan, ever since his former mentor had decided to give up on conquest missions, instead prioritizing reconnaissance and exploration.

It didn't help that in recent years, Chivo had approached him and kind of become a mentor to him. Always pushing Inu-senpai to complete conquest missions and conduct or partake in control wars. Probably to turn Inu-san into a second-ranked member that would support his decisions. Something had changed within my friend, after visiting Eden and leading his first conquest mission ever, which to be honest, went smoothly.

"If anything, I regret possibly costing him his promotion. I understand why he's angry with me. I do not blame him." As Tsubaki heard this, she also decided to say farewell by hugging me but using one hand to grab my back, and the other one to grab the back of my head.

"Baka, you do not need to apologize for that. There are things more important than a promotion. Hope he also understands that one day." As she stopped hugging me, she changed once more her mood. "If I ever cross paths with that mesugaki, I will make sure to make her pay for what she did to you. What a horrible trick, to use your trust in others against you." Onee-chan raised her sharp fingernails, as she smiled menacingly.

"Whoa, chotto matte! You don't need to go that far. She may be a criminal, but I do-" As I anxiously tried to calm her down, a shout came from the port's entrance.

"TSUBAKIIIIIII!" It was Dr. Loveless, driving his... broken and crashed Rolls-Joyce?

"Ye-chan, you took it too far!" I screamed at my beloved, but kinda wild friend.

"Wait, something is wrong! I swear, I pulled back my kicks and only left dents all over his car. I didn't damage its chassis nor engine." She shook her head and raised her hands to deny my premature accusation.

Loveless was approaching at a top speed of... 30 km per hour. Its horn sounded broken, along with the music coming out from its damaged speakers. Didn't know that electro-swing could sound so miserable.

"Ha! He's finally here." Tsubaki laughed, as she saw the slow scrap that used to be a luxurious car.

Loveless gave up, and instead of driving to our location, he turned off the engine and ran in our direction.

"Tsubaki, we had a deal. I already delivered, now is your turn." He desperately said as he walked towards us.

"Deal, what deal?" I turned to onee-chan so that she could clear my confusion.

"Oh, nothing big. During the imperial meeting, I left a message at his empty seat, stating that if he voted against your execution, I would reveal to him who stole my clan's bonsho and threw it at his car." Onee-chan smiled, as she danced some kagura moves while explaining everything.

"…"

…

"Why are all of you so quiet!? You know something, don't you!?" Loveless-senpai screamed in frustration, breaking the silence and still not realizing the truth. "I bet it was either the dog or that pi-"

"It was my fault, tehe. I made my bell roll into your car, parked near Tiān Zhù." Tsubaki's confession interrupted Loveless's false accusations, at the best possible time. She hit her head with her right knuckle, as she stuck out her tongue.

"..."

…

"... Excuse me, did I hear right? Did you throw your own clan's big-ass bell at my Rolls-Joyce?" Rat asked with extreme confusion. He couldn't muster any other emotion, which was understandable.

"Yes, I did precisely that. Atashi." Onee-chan smiled, as she gently used her hands to grab Loveless's, joining them together. A romantic gesture that possibly any man, under other circumstances, would have loved to experience.

"BUT WHY!? WHY YOU DI-" Loveless's screams were interrupted, by Tsubaki swiftly pointing her golden fingernails at his neck.

"As I said earlier, there are things more important than a promotion. Or more important than money, such as Ye-chan and Usagi-chan. My dear disciples." Onee-chan sounded now serious and threatening, yet somehow her voice also carried a playful and lustful tone.

Loveless didn't dare to speak nor fight back, in fear of her cutting his neck. Right now, he was being intimidated by a superior.

"I needed to make sure, at all costs, that over half of the present members voted in favor of sparing Usagi's life. Also, I heard that you wanted to make Ye-chan pay full price for your car, probably because no insurance company is crazy enough to cover repair costs, all the way over here." Tsubaki was about to start digging her nails deeper into Loveless's neck.

"Yamete, Tsubaki onee-chan! You didn't need to go that far for us!" I stepped between Tsubaki and Loveless, as I tried not to cry.

"I don't want more people to pay for my mistake!" Loveless made some distance, as I begged my younger mentor to cease her actions. Ye-chan also arrived to help, along with Rai-kun and sensei.

"Onee-chan, I think it's fine to stop now." Ye-chan tried to dissuade her from getting more aggressive, but it seemed that it wasn't necessary anymore.

"Ah, maai. I need to keep up my end of the deal. All the way through. Loveless, to thank you for helping us convince Húwáng to not execute Usagi, you can keep my clan's bonsho." Onee-chan was back to her more relaxed, elegant, and mature self. Gone was the bloodlust from before.

"What the hell are you talking about, idiot!? Why would I want that oversized piece of junk!?" Justifiably exasperated, The Rat screamed back at Tsubaki, using his tail's tip as a sharp weapon, in a failed attempt to intimidate her.

"Probably because it's more valuable than a Rolls-Joyce." Lóng-sensei cut into the conversation. He sounded tired but probably wanted to end all this arguing quickly.

"How can that piece of junk be more valuable than my car, dragon geezer!?" Ignoring the insults, Tsubaki was now the one who stepped up to calm him down. It seemed she didn't want Loveless to lash out at anyone, but her.

"It was made on my late father's, The Great Saruta, order. The bonsho was built with a special alloy composed of several minerals, extracted from different worlds he invaded. The Sarume metal is one of a kind. You can easily sell that bell for 30 million krownas."

Tsubaki bragged, not caring about giving up an out-of-this-world (literally) treasure, for our sake.

"30 MILLION! NO WAY! You are lying!" Pointing rudely his right index and tail's tip at her, Loveless shouted.

"She's not. You can have experts calculate the bonsho's price, and they would pretty much tell you that it's as valuable as a Monolith component." Sensei defended and complemented my onee-chan's answer.

"You better hurry back to that bonsho though. Who knows if a Minotaur or Shī will pick it up and take away your 30 million krownas." Tsubaki-chan, now you are just being arrogant to spite him, but thanks a lot.

"Damn you, Rooster!" Loveless angrily said, heading back to his broken car.

"Ra- Dr. Loveless, may I ask you one thing before you leave?" It was now sensei who decided to stop him.

"What is it, geezer?" He really was fed up with us by now. Not bothering to turn back, he pretty much told sensei to be brief with his question.

"Were you going to vote neutral by your own choice? Or because someone else told you to do so?" Loveless stopped walking away, while everyone else remained silent after my sensei said what he wanted.

"... Unlike the dog, he doesn't have me on a leash, if that's what you're insinuating." The Rat turned back one last time, casually dismissing my sensei's suspicions.

"I never had anything against your bunny, Tsubaki. I'm okay with her not getting executed, so whatever." He shrugged at her, before looking in my direction.

"Usagi, if you want to compensate me for all the recent trouble, you better help me with..." Why did he stop?

"Ranran's improvements, whenever you are allowed to return. We are far from being done with her." Oh, right. It was me who had decided to name her Ranran. Senpai never agreed to it, but it seemed he changed his mind.

"Thanks, Loveless-senpai." I bowed to him, as he resumed his walk and drove away in his car... Which could break apart at any moment.

"Why he doesn't just leave it here and take the train instead?" Rai-kun asked while looking into the distance.

"It would probably count as tarnishing Húwáng' sacred grounds. Better play it safe, considering what happened during today's meeting." Lóng-sensei probably guessed right what was going on inside of Loveless's head.

"Onee-chan, I am-" Tsubaki interrupted my miserable attempt at an apology, by hitting me gently with a karate chop in the head.

"Stop, don't say more. I did it because I wanted to. Protecting both of you is not only my duty but also my pleasure." Undoing her karate chop, she put her hand on my left exposed cheek and started caressing it.

"Do you want to repay me? Then come back here as soon as possible. I will make both of you work so hard, till you regret being my disciples." Tsubaki looked at Ye-chan and me while saying this. She was now back to sounding rude and menacing.

"Onee-chan!" It was now Ye-chan trying to hold back her tears, as she grabbed firmly her fan with both hands.

"Usagi, I..." Lóng-sensei was next. He couldn't speak. He was never good at exposing his deepest feelings, and much less putting them into words, so I decided to run and hug him. One last time, before departing.

"You are not a failure, Usagi." He started hugging me back, awkwardly.

"We will catch that spoiled brat and teach her one lesson or two. Together." I guess sensei was also determined to bring down the doll.

"How scary, I would never want to have the mighty Lóngwáng and the formidable head of the Sarume Clan in my list of enemies." Rai-kun joked, as soon as sensei and I stopped hugging. I gave my attention to him.

"Let's hope it won't be long, Usagi." Rai-kun scratched his hoodie, as he slowly approached me.

"Don't be silly, Rai-kun. Our beloved and supreme Húwáng may look distant and unapproachable, but I'm sure that even he will miss my presence. I will probably be gone for some weeks. A couple of months, at most." I gave him a v sign, with all my positive energy.

"You know, they say that prison turns women into lesbians, but in your case, I suppose it's too-" Ye-chan out of nowhere punched him in the ribs.

A shame. I wanted to hear the rest of his joke since I didn't understand where he was going with it.

"Just stay healthy. Maybe by the time you are released, we will have captured the spy girl. I will aim for her too, as much as Inu-san will hate me for it." Giving me a thumbs up, he wished me good luck and set his own goal.

"I will be watching over you all, from afar." I hugged him, not caring if I crashed with his 'thumbs up' hand.

"Yeah, literally." Freeing his hand, he returned me the hug and replied with a mix of humor and regret.

After being done with our goodbyes, I had finally built up enough determination to step into the vessel that was going to take me to Cháng'é Jiānyù. Without saying a word, I bowed one last time to everyone at the port, as the ramp and doors closed.

To be honest, I was scared... Not only for me but for everyone dear to me that I knew back at home. Little did I know about the crazy chain of events that had been set in motion.

As the automated vessel started rising and taking me far away, I decided to look at one of the small windows.

"It's a beautiful view of Zenith from up here. I wonder if you will also get to enjoy this world, Neopolitan."

Talking with no one in particular, I said my prayer.

"All of you, please take care, while I'm gone."