Judgement
n. the ability to make considered decisions or come to sensible conclusions ; an opinion or conclusion.
The royals returned from their "secret mission" soon enough, and once they did, their plans for the next day changed immediately.
They had to seek out another piece of the puzzle—another secret that would hopefully bring their journey closer to the end. There were invisible forces all around, still, and finding out their origin was a task that needed doing.
Everyone was willing, however. Everyone had the willpower for it.
Of course, the problem now was that they needed a certain artifact from a nearby town, which was easier said than done because they weren't exactly the most popular people around. Even though this town had a neutral standpoint on the great Hoshido versus Nohr war, they would rather be hostile to both, rather than bend to the wills of two nations.
So the understanding of difficulty came when they realized that in order to proceed, they needed to compromise with the town's leaders. They had a military of their own, one formed from various Hoshidan, Nohrian, and outside forces. But they were still outnumbered greatly, and if past experiences said anything, they were better off compromising with the leaders than fighting them.
As Kamui recited all of this information, Flannel almost felt his tail go limp with boredom.
Then came the good part.
"They've agreed to let us have what they need," they said. "On one condition."
"Which is?"
"We need to settle some political and organization disputes between them and other towns."
"Okay, and? How the hell does this all involve me, specifically?" His voiced burned, still. He hadn't forgotten the little "disagreement" he got into with Kamui all those days ago. "Cut to the chase, already."
"One of the tasks that we decided to do for them is to sort out their prisoners," Kamui stated. "They have lots of prisoners because of the wartime, and usually they leave it up to a public court. But doing so conflicts with other townships nearby because of yada yada yada." They sighed deeply, and rubbed their foreheads.
They weren't as happy with this arrangement as they initially seemed.
Flannel softened somewhat.
"Long story short, we need to sort out which prisoners will go to the local courts, and which ones should be executed."
"Whoa." Flannel took a step back, and narrowed his eyes. "So, what? You want me to kill a bunch of humans at once? Doesn't that go against your rules, or whatever?"
"No!" Kamui exclaimed. "No, Flannel, that's not it. It'd be easy to kill a group of people at once, but we're not sure who needs to be put down and who doesn't. They have to be sorted out first, which is why—"
"Nope," Flannel cut in. "No way, I'm not doing it."
"Why not?" Kamui seemed angrier than they let on—Flannel could see as much as their shoulders shook, and their lips twitched despite the polite utterances just now. "It's an easy job. Just decide who gets put where."
"You just want to put all the blame on me," Flannel accused. His mouth was drawn into a tight sneer. "There's a ton of other people you can ask to do this job instead. Joker, Suzukaze, hell, even Tsubaki. There's no reason you need me."
"But there is!" Kamui insisted. "There is, Flannel. Any of those people will do as I ask just because I asked them to. Yet there's a reason I chose you."
"And what's that reason, Kamui? I swear that if this is all just some weird way of trying to apologize to me, I won't do it!"
"Of course not," they reassured. "I asked you because I know you're a good judge of character. And I don't mean that in a nice way. You just know if people are good or bad by looking at them." A small smirk appeared on their face, and Flannel felt his defiance slipping away from him. "If there's anyone that will be fair and square about this, it's you."
"..."
"No one will blame you. Not even Marx and Ryoma. Believe it or not, but decisions like these are harder for leaders to make than anyone else. It's not easy deciding who lives and who dies."
"Then—"
"But if anyone gets to decide, then hopefully it's someone as fair and impartial as you." They laughed. "Just think about it. The town's prison isn't too far from here, either. You can't miss it." The dragonborn turned around, and began to walk away. Before they completely disappeared, however, they shouted over their shoulder.
"I'm counting on you, Flannel!"
He didn't respond, but as soon as Kamui faded from sight, he exhaled deeply.
"Gods-dammit," Flannel cursed. "This is going to be annoying…"
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Kamui wasn't wrong. Flannel, while horrible with directions, was a great judge of character. He knew this, and besides collecting treasure and hunting for meat, one of his favorite things to do was surprising people with his accurate assessments. It was an innate talent of his—the ability to tell what kind of a person someone was, just by looking at them.
Take Nishiki, for example. He was just as kind, caring, and energetic as he seemed, but Flannel knew more about his cunning side, and was aware of the ferocity and bloodlust that he kept hidden behind a graceful smile. Although Nishiki was outwardly playful, cheerful, and overzealous, there was a lethally calm side to him, one that could deal death as swiftly as cards, each handpicked for the right occasion. Yet in spite of all this, Flannel knew that Nishiki was an all-around good person, and more importantly, he prided himself on knowing that the leader of the foxes was his best friend.
He had the same feelings towards Kamui, in a way. Flannel still didn't forgive them for what they did in the past, but he couldn't deny that they were still a good person. He sensed Kamui's unmatched kindness and honesty the moment they first met. After all, who would be so willing to help a few strangers in a destroyed city, just because they were down and needed help? As naive, forceful, and oblivious as they were, there was no denying that their heart was in the right place—no matter how much Flannel wanted to go against it.
And although he made it known that he distrusted the dragonborn, his least favorite person at the moment was actually Orochi. To him, she appeared as nothing more than a dishonest, petty, and mischievous woman who wasn't above tricks and manipulation to get what she wanted. Although she was a good listener and surprisingly empathetic, those qualities didn't measure up in Flannel's eyes. Yet somehow, Nishiki was getting closer and closer to her as a person. How could such a shrewd, fatalistic human form such a bond with him in the first place? What spell did she cast on him that made him so amiable towards her, out of everyone else in the army?
TAs much as he hated to admit it, Flannel knew that Orochi would never really manipulate Nishiki with her magic. Although she certainly liked to cast spells—especially harmless ones—on fellow sagely people like Tsukuyomi or Asama, her intentions never turned evil besides having a bit too much fun. He wished it weren't so, because if she was capable of hexing Nishiki in order to get closer to him, then Flannel would have the perfect excuse to hate her.
Sadly, she was above doing that. The plain truth was that Orochi used her natural thoughtfulness, enthusiasm, and charm to worm her way into Nishiki's heart, which was exactly what Flannel had feared. He feared it because it meant that all his hate for her was unfair and unjustified, seeing as she hadn't done anything to wrong him personally.
The only fault that Orochi had was the innocuous way in which she fell further and further in love with Nishiki, and Flannel thought it was sickeningly unfair, especially since he had his eyes on Nishiki first.
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The town's prison was a large one. It was so large that Kamui's even transferred their own prisoners there, straight out from the multi-dimensional world that Lilith was capable of creating now and then. As it went, most of those people were in there for crimes of varying severity, although whether or not they deserved to die for said crimes was something out of their hands.
It was in Flannel's hands, now.
But it seemed as if he wasn't alone in the venture.
"Hey there, Flannel!"
"Hi Flannel!"
"Nishiki, Pieri." He nodded to the both of them. "What are you guys doing in here?"
"Kamui told us to help you with the prison duty," she said. "So, we get to help you sort out the dead bodies from the living ones, huh? She's so excited!"
"Yeah, but I would've come along, anyway." Nishiki's ears perked up happily. "Prison duty is so boring when you're on your own. I figured you'd want some company!"
Flannel was silent for a moment as he pondered all of the reasons why Kamui would want those two specifically to be here. As far as he was concerned, if it were left up to Pieri to make the decision, she would have killed all of the prisoners herself, regardless if they deserved it or not. As for Nishiki, he had a habit of sympathizing with humans to the point where he became indebted to them, and more likely than not, he'd set all these prisoners free if he saw they didn't do anything too bad.
Maybe that's why they're here, he thought. Maybe I'm supposed to show them how it's done.
His smile returned to his face, and—with new found excitement—he lead his two charges into the battle of judgement.
"Well, then! Let's get this show on the road!"
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The process went as Flannel had expected. Both the prisoners' names and grievances were listed on a paper, as well as a report of their criminal activity. Together with an interrogation sequence, Flannel was supposed to come up with a punishment suiting each captive. As he thumbed through the papers, he wasn't surprised to find that most of the captives had done a wide variety of wrongs, not just those that pertained to Kamui's army.
The first prisoner they dealt with was a Hoshidan spear fighter, a man who was responsible for the mass murder of several small villages, as well as the attempted assassination of Kamui themselves. Obviously, he failed in the second regard, seeing as Flannel had spoken to Kamui only moments ago. And while Flannel should have been disgusted by such acts of horror, he found himself disappointed with the prisoner instead, unimpressed with their inevitable capture and amateur methods.
Humans are pretty fragile, huh? What a waste.
The spear fighter was brought before him, and right away Flannel could sense that he was anxious. Perhaps he would have been more comfortable with a human interrogator. The fact that the garou's mere presence (together with a youko, and a woman renowned for her inhumane violence) alone inspired fear made him all the more happier, and he did his best to stop the smile that wanted to appear on his face.
"So," he began. "Looks like you've got some damage, human. Not to mention the mess you caused. It was pretty stupid of you, though. I mean, you let yourself get cornered, according to this report. Were you even trying?"
The man's eyes widened in horror. His heart beat escalated quickly, and the sound was picked up like a frantic drum beat in Flannel's sensitive ears. They twitched, and right away Flannel could tell that there was something wrong. Things were not as simple as the report said, and there was some lurking factor that he was missing.
"That's..." the prisoner croaked out, voice shaking with fear and dread. "That's terrible of you to say. You make it sound like the bad part was getting caught, not the fact that all those people—"
"Died horrible, horrible deaths?" Flannel sneered. "That's exactly what I'm saying! It's almost like you wanted to get caught. In fact, with the way that everything's going, I'm starting to think that you never wanted to kill those people in the first place."
Pieri, who was at Flannel's left side, tilted her head. "What do you mean? Obviously, he wanted to kill them all! That's why he did it! Besides, Pieri can tell that he's killed lots of people before, too." She leaned in and pressed her hands against the interrogation table. She stared him down with scarlet bloodlust, and a smile so sadistic, he blanched at the sight of it, and even tried to sit further in his seat so he could avoid her. "See? We could even be friends if he wasn't such a baby!"
"That's probably true," Flannel agreed. "But for some reason, humans tend to do things they don't want to do. And it's written all over your face. Let me guess, some other humans used you, right? Threatened to kill your family or something if you didn't do what they said."
His assumptions were proven correct from the man's reaction alone. His lips quivered, his eyes widened, and his hands fumbled with each other repeatedly. His heartbeat was deafening, too, to the point where Flannel knew that his guess was right.
He just needed the prisoner to admit it himself.
"I..I…"
"Listen," Flannel demanded. "Tell us who's the real guy pulling the strings, here. Don't let them get away with what they did. If you tell us, then we can still find them, and you've still got a chance at this whole living thing."
"But, but…!" He nearly choked on his own hesitation. "T-The things I did...all those innocent people...I don't think I could…"
Nishiki glanced away from the awkward tension formed in the air, while Pieri groaned loudly and pulled at her own hair. Flannel knew that things were getting repetitive. If he didn't hammer in the nail now, they'd just be going back and forth in circles.
He sighed.
Couldn't he get his fun in, too?
"I guess that's that, then. If you're too much of a coward to even fend for yourself, then maybe you deserve to die," he hissed out. "But, whatever. It's not like you have regrets, right? It's not like you have friends or family waiting for you someone. I mean, even if you did, you'd obviously try to do everything you could to get back to them." Flannel nearly rolled his eyes. "Although, if you don't want to try, I'll have the guards bring you to the guillotine and we can stop wasting each other's time."
"No!" the man cried out, sobbing into his hands. "Oh, Gods, no! I have a family, okay? And plenty of friends, too! I'll tell you everything—it's all like you said. But please, please, please don't kill me! I'll do anything, just please keep me alive! Please!"
Nishiki and Pieri were shocked. They didn't expect that they could get a confession out of him so early into the interrogation. The way he grovelled for his life just now, why, Flannel could order him to dance like a monkey if he really wanted to!
Thankfully, that wasn't the case. Flannel smiled brightly, and seemed just as relieved as the prisoner himself that things didn't have to go to a bloody end. He walked over to the poor guy, and slapped him on the back—something that took off years of this stressed-out person's life, if his pitiful groans were any indication of such.
"Now that's what I like to hear! Let's start by getting some names. Revenge is useless if you don't have anyone to use it on, right?"
"Uh, uh…" The man sniffled, but eventually calmed down enough to answer him. "R-Right…"
In that moment in time, Nishiki realized that Flannel was much more human than he ever thought to realize. The way he so easily caught onto the truth—the way he could talk this man into confessing with only a slight struggle—was an impressive feat in and of itself. He came here to accompany his friend to prevent boredom, but instead, Nishiki was witnessing life and death in the hands of someone who deserved to decide who went where.
He was much better than Nishiki, that was for sure. Because if it were up to him to decide their fates, instead of Flannel, then he wouldn't have been able to reach the spear fighter's conscience, and ultimately, he would have sent the man away to die. And Pieri was out of the question entirely, since she failed to see any other outcome than death for all the prisoners involved. But both Nishiki and Pieri, for all their cluelessness, understood the importance that came out of Flannel's way of doing things.
They realized that Flannel was heroically compassionate in a way, and that if he applied that quality of himself to battle, he might be able to save as many people as he killed.
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The rest of the day continued on in a similar fashion. There were a few dozen prisoners to get through, but when placed in front of Flannel, their fates were decided unabashedly. From a child caught for petty thief, to a serial killer disguised as a do-gooder, Flannel put everyone in their place. It was such an awe-inspiring process, that there were certain decisions that Flannel made which confused the likes of Nishiki and Pieri alike.
For example, there were a few prisoners that Nishiki suggested they spare. Flannel insisted that they die, instead.
"What about that outlaw just now?" Nishiki asked. "He had such a sad story! His family died one by one from an unknown illness, so he had to steal from others to keep himself alive. When those guards in front of a mansion tried to kill him for looking suspicious, he had no choice but to kill them in self-defense! And when he trained that baby wyvern, and started taking care of it—"
"Nishiki, do you hear yourself?" Flannel snapped. He softened the harsh words with a friendly punch to the shoulder."That guy's story was a load of garbage, and not the good kind. Besides, the owner of that mansion said their guards never had lethal weapons on them. How could they kill someone if they weren't properly armed? Also, his movements were all wrong, and he was way too calm when I asked him questions." Flannel rolled his eyes, for what felt like the umpteenth time that day. "I'm sure he can think his life choices over, in Hell."
"Keeheehee. Pieri agrees, although she wishes you had killed everyone and spared no one. They all smell of blood so they're all killers! Might as well kill them back, y'know?"
Flannel groaned. "That's not how it works, Pieri. If Kamui wanted everyone dead, they would have done it themselves. Or better yet, they'd put you in charge." He smirked wickedly, and prodded her in the side. "Miss Lances-a-Lot!"
She pouted, and kept her lance closer to her chest, as if to guard it from his teasings. "Whatever. Pieri thinks you're no fun."
"Well, think what you want, but we have one guy left, so let's just get it over with and we can finally call it a day."
"Fair enough." Nishiki muttered. "Pieri, it's your turn to go get him!"
"Pieri's on it!"
She walked out of the interrogation room, and skipped off to the prison cells. Most of them were occupied, as more than one-half of the prisoners so far had been spared due to Flannel's judgement. Although he would normally thrive on human suffering, for once, he felt good about not having to cause as much damage as usual.
Unsurprisingly, Nishiki felt the same.
"I told you I was more judgmental," Nishiki goaded. "I just believed what everyone said. I mean, I didn't think these humans would have it in them to lie straight to our faces, but that's just how it goes."
"I don't know if being 'judgmental' is the same as being nice," Flannel insisted. "You wanted to save them all, even if they did awful things. I mean, I don't really understand how that works, but I guess it's how you see things, so it's okay." Turning red at the thought of it, he scratched his cheek awkwardly. "Thanks for being here, anyway. I would've been fine by myself, but I appreciate you and Pieri helping me out like this."
"You're welcome!" Nishiki chirped. "Well, I'm not sure how much of a help we are, since you're the one doing most of the work. But I guess my presence is enough to inspire you, right?" He flipped his hair back, in a display so elegant yet so arrogant that Flannel feared another eyeroll would get his eyes stuck in the back of his head.
"Haha," he joked dryly. "Sure, it's because you're beautiful that I'm inspired. Seriously though, don't get full of yourself. It's not your beauty that's driving me today!"
"Oh?" Nishiki asked, almost sounding offended. "So what did inspire you today, Flannel?"
He paused, and stared at the other as the answer formed in his mind. It wasn't just about beauty, of course. Nishiki's beauty was both outer and inner: from his smile, kindness, and the way that his laugh could just fill up a room—it was all of those things. There wasn't one thing about Nishiki that Flannel liked more than the others, it was clear as day to see that it was Nishiki as a whole which Flannel liked.
It's all of you, he answered to himself. It's just you.
Nishiki.
"I don't know," he lied. "Must be the nice weather we're having."
"It's snowing outside."
Flannel blushed, and shoved him with all his might. "Shut up!"
Nishiki burst into laughter, and mocked Flannel at his own expense. It made him feel relieved, somehow, and Flannel let go of a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding. With a lightened chest and a newfound desire to spark some mischief, Flannel opened his mouth with a sarcastic reply at the ready. Just as he was about to voice his desires, Pieri returned and disrupted the momentum.
Her smile was bright and unknowing as always, and she practically sang. "Pieri's back with the last prisoner~"
"Good," Flannel said. "Let's get this over with—"
He stopped short, voice trailing off in sheer horror at what he saw. His arms fell down lifelessly to his side, mouth and throat failing him as no noise came out. Pieri and Nishiki were both concerned with his sudden mood change, and looked between each other for the answer.
"Flannel?" Nishiki asked. "What's wrong—"
His answer came sooner than he anticipated. The last prisoner trailed behind Pieri, and as he came into view, the room was instantly filled with an aura of darkness and dread. This person had long robes befitting a dark mage, with sandy blond hair and frighteningly red eyes. The way his smile was barely contained behind thin, chapped lips said a lot about his childish nature, and his body shook and trembled with something more than just fear or anxiety.
This person was entirely unhinged. And they weren't a complete stranger, either.
It was the same countenance of a certain dark mage that Nishiki and Flannel encountered a while ago. When a small village was terrorized by a mad conjurer and his Nosferatu beasts, Nishiki and Flannel were there to put a stop to it. Although they weren't in that place now, they could smell the death-and-rubber odor that clings to this man like static, and they could see blood stains on every inch of his person, despite the impeccably clean clothes he wore today.
The same dark mage from before—the one that wanted their furs for the black market—stood at full height, completely unharmed despite the memories in their heads proving otherwise.
Flannel, in particular, was disgusted and shocked in equal measures. I killed him, he thought frantically. I already went out and killed this guy. Along with Mozume, Nyx, and the others, I killed this guy and saved that village.
So why is he still here? Why is he alive?
The room fell silent. Hours seemed to pass before the prisoner finally spoke, and broke the tension with his voice, which was terribly calm and in control. "Well, well, well," he said. "This is a predicament."