It takes a week for me to be able to check in on Miku. Sure, part of it is because as one of the fully capable and uninjured samurai in the capital, I've been incredibly busy. Patrolling the city to make sure that any stragglers from the invading ninjurai army are caught. Keeping the civilians calm, and dropping like a mountain on any looters or others looking to take advantage of the crisis. And in the time I have free from various duties I played with my newly discovered method of elemental manipulation.
So yes, being incredibly busy is certainly part of my inability to check on my friend.
Of course, the only reason I had the free time to play with elemental mana at a distance is because of the other reason I couldn't get in to see Miku. Given how severe Miku's injuries are, her healers are restricting how often she can have visitors. This combined with Saki's youngest daughter being injured, and her husband and eldest son contributing to the injury by committing treason, Saki has hit some sort of maternal paranoia singularity. So she has flatly refused to let anybody but herself and Miku's healers in to see her.
The week is how long it's taken me to decide that I'm done asking for permission.
So...
I'm not here.
...I let myself in.
Forgiveness over permission, or something like that.
The hardest part is getting through the door without being noticed since Saki has planted a couple of guards in the hallway leading to Miku's room. A very soft lullaby sung with a siren's voice will do a number on just about anybody, and I really enjoy that anti-genjutsu training doesn't really help any.
Miku's room isn't a place where I've spent a lot of time, since she generally comes to visit me whenever she's feeling affectionate, otherwise we're somewhere on the grounds. Mostly because Miku's room is far too close to her twin's, given our ongoing goal to keep him in the dark about how close we are.
Though given his... bout of insanity during the invasion, I'm no longer sure that was the best idea.
Still, there was nothing overly surprising about the room. It's huge, far larger than it needs to be in the way that only nobility and the obscenely wealthy bother to indulge in. The floor is covered in a rich, thick cream colored carpet that my boots sink at least an inch into. Given the fuinjutsu shield that keeps the city at a constant pleasant temperature nobody really needs fireplaces or additional heating. Which doesn't stop the room from containing two of them. One set into each of the walls to my right and left. The walls to either side of the door are covered in book cases which are filled with scrolls and books. Tapestries hang on either side of the fireplaces, and a low kneeling desk is set facing one of the fireplaces off to the side, but not up against any wall. Directly across from the door I'd just entered through are two large picture windows, complete with window seats, looking out over a very picturesque and well maintained garden. Set comfortably between the two windows is an equally unnecessarily large four poster bed, draped in rich red curtains, and a matching comforter.
In the center of the bed is Miku. She looks and sounds asleep, her heart beat slow, steady, and gratifyingly strong. She also looks paler than can be healthy, and the smell of her blood still fills the air.
I carefully approach the bed, doing my best not to disturb her. A task made much easier by how thick the carpet is. Reaching her without so much as a single quicker heartbeat, I carefully pull down the comforter that's been pulled up to her neck so I can see how she's doing. Her chest and torso are still wrapped in enough bandages to make clothing redundant for preserving her modesty. A single faint red line just shows through the bandages, running from her shoulder, between her breasts, and all the way down to her hip. Her left arm has actually been bandaged to her stomach, rendering the arm completely imobile. Probably to keep her from disturbing where the sword cut through her clavicle.
Probably at least a few ribs as well.
At least the swelling on her face has largely gone down. Though the bruises are a horrid mottled yellow and green.
I really should let her sleep. I'd like to talk to her, but not enough or about anything important enough to wake her up for.
Carefully, I lean forward and brush a few strands of hair away from her face, then gently press my lips to an unbruised spot on her forehead.
I'm pulling back when a warm hand cups my cheek and pulls me back down to press soft lips against mine. I can feel those lips smile into the kiss before I'm allowed to sit back up. Her eyes are bright, only losing out to her smile because of the effects of her bruising.
"You came," Miku says softly with evident joy, her voice still weak.
"Of course I did. I've been trying to see you all week." I take a seat next to her on the bed, smiling back at her. "Your mom wouldn't let anybody but immediate family and the doctors in."
"Really?" Miku huffs, and turns her head to the side with a pout. "Of course she wouldn't. Well, never mind that." She turns back to me all smiles again, though I can smell the stress and pain on her. "Tell me what's been happening! Nobody will tell me anything in here!" Her whining actually manages to be somewhat cute.
"Well..." I pause for a moment to organize my thoughts, "Mifune arrived yesterday with what has to be every soldier and samurai he could pry loose from between here and the border," I start slowly. "It seems to have reassured people a lot, so there are a lot of people in the streets. Soldiers and civilians alike. It's a good thing that the city wasn't too damaged during the coup attempt, because the place feels filled to bursting right now. If there had been too much extra damage we'd be having problems."
"Well, they did want to conquer from what I've been told," Miku points out reasonably. "Razing your future holdings to the ground seems like it would be counter productive."
I nod, agreeing with her, but move on since I don't really know much about what's being done with the future of the war. I'm nowhere near high ranked enough to sit in on those meetings. So I move on to more personal news. "I figured out how to project elemental effects."
"That's good!" Miku sounds as excited as she can manage with how wounded she is. "You don't seem as excited about this as I would have thought."
"Well... I can do it, but not very usefully," I admit, trying to keep the frustration out of my voice. I'm not sure how well I pull that off given the concerned frown that Miku shoots at me. I sigh and explain, "I can produce fire in a burst where I want to, but it's not very hot fire. And putting more power into the technique doesn't make it hotter, just produces more of it. So I can do it, but it's not really very useful as a weapon."
"I'm sure you'll get it," Miku tells me with a smile. "Maybe you need density instead of volume? The Uzumaki were supposed to be able to do all sorts of crazy things thanks to how dense their chakra was. Maybe whatever you use is the same?"
I blinked at the idea.
Can life energy even compress like that?
I have no idea.
I've never tried, I don't think anybody has.
Or if anybody has, they're likely sages back in DxD.
"Enough serious stuff," Miku breaks me out of my thoughts, "give me the gossip!" she demands with a slightly unnerving enthusiasm. "Has Lord Tsumachi gotten a spine and proposed to Lady Yui? Or is he using the attack as an excuse to stall more? Has Lady Shiratori had her baby yet? Did she have a boy or a girl? Did Satou go through with calling off her wedding? Or is her mother still making her go through with it?"
My smile grows slowly more forced as she continues to demand answers, and I try to figure out how to explain that I have no idea who any of these people are...
I'm going to get lectured about my mono-focus and lack of social life again, aren't I?
###
I leave Miku's room with a long list of gossip questions that I've been ordered to find answers to before I visit her again. Given that I'm to do that tomorrow, the day after at most, I have no idea how I'm going to accomplish my assigned task. My best bet, I think, is probably to find Miku's older sister, Mitsuko, and hope that she can answer most of these questions for me. Or at least point me at where...
I'm softly closing Miku's door when a cool, slightly antagonistic voice has me nearly jumping out of my skin. "I should have known." I spin around to find Saki standing in the hallway, her arms crossed, and a frown on her face. Goes to show that no matter how good your senses are, you can still be snuck up on if you're not paying attention. "Just what do you think you were doing in my daughters room?" the older woman demands.
"Visiting?" I really wish that didn't sound like a question.
Saki frowns at me, and looks like she's about to say something sharp... when she closes her eyes and takes a deep breath, and lets it out slowly. "All right, let's just try being blunt," she murmurs to herself at a volume I'm pretty sure I wasn't supposed to hear. "What are your intentions towards my daughter?"
Something about the question strikes me as ridiculous, and I'm very proud of myself for not giggling. Instead I keep a straight face with mild effort and give her the best answer I can, "I don't really have any."
The older woman snarls, and then forcefully calms herself again with another deep breath. "Erikca," she says through gritted teeth, "I know your relationship with Miku is more... intimate," she sounds like she almost chokes on the word, "than either of you present it. So let's make a deal. You don't treat me like I'm stupid, and I will
try to not take what you tell me in the worst way possible."
That's... actually a pretty good deal coming from her. She tries, and she's very good about having my back in any sort of political situation, but outside of that she usually assumes the worst about anything I'm involved in.
However... "Really, I have no intentions."
"Then how would you describe your relationship with my daughter?" Saki asks archly.
"We're friends?" Again, I really wish that didn't sound like a question. Saki doesn't seem to buy it either, and just stares at me. "Friends who kiss a lot?" More staring.
"Look, a year or so ago Miku decided that she wanted to practice kissing, and she came to me. The whole thing has been her idea from the beginning. I don't even initiate anything! After the first few times when it became clear that this was something we were going to keep doing, we even had a conversation about how we're just friends, and nothing more could come of what we were getting up to. We really are just friends..." I pause, then bob my head in acknowledgement, "who kiss a lot."
Saki smells confused at this point, and looks like she's not quite sure what to make of that. "I.. see..." she says in a tone that implies that she really doesn't.
"If it makes you feel any better, even if she's lying to me, or just herself, and she does have some hidden goal of this becoming more? It's not going to matter."
"Why not?" Her voice carries her usual veiled hostility, but it carries an undercurrent of confusion. Like she can't quite decide whether she's mad about the idea of something between her daughter and I, or that I might find Miku unworthy in some way.
"Well, first there's this war that just kicked off that's going to be occupying most of my time." I point out, and she flinches just slightly at the reminder. "And afterwards?" I sigh. "Look, I hate politics. I'm more than willing to fight for Iron. I'll even happily contribute to diplomacy with foreign nations in whatever way I can. But the moment I turn fifteen this happens." I wave my hand vaguely to indicate the general situation. "I know it's not all about me. Or even mostly. But that dinner did indicate that I'm suddenly vulnerable in ways that I haven't been before. And the kind of paranoia that truth requires, even when surrounded by allies, where I should be safe, sounds like an exhausting nightmare." And reminds me far too much of living in Kuoh, where I couldn't even bring myself to trust my own thoughts. It's not that bad, but I can't help but draw parallels. "I think we can both agree that after this war, I'm not going to suddenly become
less interesting and desirable to the local movers and shakers."
Saki's expression had gone flat as I talked, and once I finished she spoke with an equal lack of emotion. "So what will you do?"
I shrug, with a small smile. "Finish out my term of service, and then remove myself from the situation."
"Which is why I don't need to worry about the relationship you have with my daughter."
"I still say that she more has a relationship with me, but yes."
"Where will you go?" Saki asks, her expression softening in a way I've never seen pointed at me before.
"Um..." For a moment I'm not sure how to deal with this radical departure in my normal treatment. After a moment though, I decide that it doesn't really matter. "In the short term, probably Konoha. In the long term I have no idea. That will depend on a lot of things, not the least of which is the state of things when this war ends."
"And if leaving hurts Miku?"
I stare at Saki blankly. God damn, I just can't win with this woman, though her normal hostile expression hasn't reappeared. She actually looks a lot like Granny at the moment. Which shouldn't be surprising, given that Saki is her daughter, but the woman's attitude made the family resemblance hard to find previously.
Still, it's a fair question, I guess. "It won't. I've never made a secret that I don't intend to become a career samurai, and we both know that she's destined for a politically advantageous marriage, which I'm not for all sorts of reasons. Besides, it's not like I'm vanishing off the planet, I'll keep in touch. And one never really stops being samurai, retired or not. If I'm really needed somebody will send a message for me and..."
I'm interrupted by the abrupt arrival of a samurai in full armor that I don't recognize. Sclamhaire is moments away from being projected from my soul, but I hesitate. A week ago a strange samurai walking around in full armor would have been unusual and concerning. But then we were betrayed by a decent chunk of the nobility, and last I'd heard nobody was entirely certain that all the traitors had left with the failure of their coup. Having arms and armor available and ready to go at a moment's notice is now just considered common sense.
The samurai bows formally, "Ladies," then straightens and pulls a piece of paper out of a pouch. "I'm looking for Samurai Ro... Rho..." He squints at the paper.
I sigh and pinch the bridge of my nose. "That's probably me."
He straightens up looking relieved.
Come on man, my name's not that bad.
"Samurai, you have been called to a meeting with the generals and the Daimyo."
...What?
...I fucking jinxed myself, didn't I?
###
The conference room, I've come to learn, is a near universal constant. No matter the organization, culture, level of technology, or kinds of powers available, there will always be a need for a place for people to meet and discuss. While the concept of the conference room might be universal, what the room looks like can be radically different based on those same factors.
The room I'm led to by the messenger is largely empty. Polished hardwood floors, walls that are almost entirely made out of paper, a raised platform at the back of the room, a screen on that platform, and a number of flat cushions on the floor is about it. Light is provided by lamps just outside the paper walls of the room, and shining through them. The soft glow this produces gives the room a strangely dream-like feel, softening all the edges in the room and making it easy to convince yourself that you're seeing things out of the corner of your eyes that just aren't there. The only other source of light are two candles on stands behind the screen, that are just there to make sure that the screen is impossible to see through, and make sure that the person sitting behind the screen is nicely silhouetted.
It's still a conference room, though.
It's the people in the room that make me nearly trip over my own feet when I'm let in. Sitting in the center position, directly in front of the screen and just in front of the raised platform, is Mifune. The man who'd secured the city by arriving with an army, and who, in the canon future of this world, would end up basically running the entirety of Iron. Or at least the entirety of its military. Which is running the country as far as most ninja villages would be concerned. Also probably the only S class combatant that Iron has.
Honestly, he's well on his way to still arriving in that position from what I can see. The screen set up on the platform and the silhouette on it, indicates that the Daimyo is attending this meeting. I'm not sure who the rest of these people...
No, that's Hayato, the Quartermaster General of Iron, and Saki's oldest brother. I haven't seen a whole lot of him since he talked me into being a samurai in the first place, but he has made it a point to check in with me at least once a month or so when we're both in the capital. Which I guess
is a lot now that I'm reminded that the man is a general. Also the man I begged a favor from to get permanently assigned to guard duty on the Konoha convoys.
But his being here means that the rest of the people that I don't recognize here are the generals of Iron.
No wonder I don't recognize them.
Even though I'm billed to the rest of the world as the first prodigy that Iron's produced that can stand up to the ninja versions of that title, the fact is that I'm a grunt. A
young grunt at that. Ideally on my career path I should never meet any of these people.
I should be entirely beneath their notice except as a propaganda asset.
So the highest ranked people in Iron's military, the Daimyo himself, even if he is only four or five, and... me.
Why the fuck am I here?
I glance at Hayato to see if he'll tell me what's going on, but all I get is a flick of his eyes towards an unoccupied seating cushion tucked into one corner well out of the way.
Well, never let it be said that I'm incapable of taking a hint.
I quickly and quietly make my way to the indicated place and take a seat, doing my best to pretend that I'm not here... or at least as best I can without glamor.
None of the people in the room look at or acknowledge my presence, but the moment I take a seat Mifune starts the meeting.
"We are here," Mifune begins with the same seriousness that I imagine the first meeting of the Joint Chiefs after Pearl Harbor had, "to determine the nature and method of our response to the recent act of treachery that has been visited on our people. The first step of constructing such a response is to understand exactly what was done to us, and how. Lady Hamaguchi?"
A woman that looked old enough to remember the palace being carved out of the mountain, and small enough that she didn't seem to gain any height when she stood, rose to her feet and spoke in a voice that filled the room in a way completely at odds with her physical appearance. "First, casualties..."
I zone out for most of this. I don't particularly want to hear the exact numbers of our losses, or care about the enemy's. I'm not good enough at math or know enough about large scale logistics to really be able to understand what the numbers attached to grain stores mean. And the details of international diplomacy that would be involved in making up for our losses or keeping our neighbors from trying to take advantage of them are so far above my pay grade that I only recognize a couple of the names thrown around.
There are, however, a few things that grab my attention.
"On the nature of the forces used," the old woman, who I'm pretty sure is the head of whatever intelligence apparatus the Iron military uses in the absence of ninja, continues, "the treacherous samurai are easily identified as sworn to the northern lords, thus supporters of the pro ninja faction, and otherwise not worth speaking about." I get the distinct impression that if she hadn't been in front of the Daimyo she would have spat to get the taste of the words out of her mouth. "The other troops however are worth addressing. The majority of the troops used were Tauden between the ages of twelve and sixteen. Through various signs on the bodies recovered, and information retrieved from interrogation of the survivors, we have determined that the forces consist entirely of children without families or homes snatched off the streets. In spite of this and the presence of a Taudan War Caster in the assault on the palace, at this point in time my advisors and I do not believe that there is significant evidence of any official Taudan involvement. Certainly not enough for more than a few official complaints. For an assessment of the conscripts actual danger, I turn to one who fought them. Samurai Rhostana?"
The idea that any of these people could possibly want anything from me is so far-fetched that for a moment I don't even recognise my own name. I take a quick glance at Hayato and swallow thickly at his subtle gesture to present myself front and center. I knee walk to the indicated position and present them with a seated bow. Straightening, the old woman who had been speaking nods to me to begin.
I take a deep breath and briefly wonder why speaking in front of these people has my heart beat racing, when I wouldn't blink at the idea of fighting all of them. "As the generals know," I begin, both ensuring that nobody else will try to face-tank elemental jutsu, and buying enough time to order my thoughts, "I have a number of advantages that the rest of my fellow samurai do not. Something that means my experiences probably won't be what any other fighter would experience. That being said..." With my thoughts ordered, I give them a breakdown of what I experienced during the fight. Their average skill level both unarmed and with weapons, their equipment, how often they used jutsu, which they used, and how. Finally, I did my best to estimate how powerful their jutsu were based on how much mana I gained from the blasts of elemental energy hitting my armor.
I have no idea how they took my impromptu presentation. These people have some of the best poker faces I've ever seen, and I'm pretty sure that I'd get in trouble trying to connect to the world to use empathy on them. Not to mention I'm barely competent with it so who knows if it would even work. Hayato manages to give me a subtle wink as Lady Hamaguchi turns away from me, my report finished, which makes me think that I did well enough.
Not quite sure what to do with myself now, since I hadn't really been dismissed, I stay where I was put and try to not attract attention.
Hamaguchi appears to be finished and resumes her seat, and one of the other generals I don't recognize leans forward with Mifune's nod of permission. "We face a number of issues going forward." The man is huge. Standing he'd probably have a few inches on my full grown height, and he's built like a bear. Shaggy gray hair hangs just past his shoulders, going well with his equally long gray beard, leaving his bald crown gleaming faintly in the low light. His voice which I would expect to be more gravelly than a quarry is actually a surprisingly smooth low voice. Sounds like it's made for singing actually. "First, we don't know the enemy numbers, supply situation, or force organization. We don't know how ready the northern castles and fortresses are to withstand a siege. And sadly, this latest piece of treachery proves that we can not even be certain about the number of samurai in their service." The general heaves a heavy sigh, "The most immediate problem is to find a way through Center Gate, which they hold. None of the rest of it matters if we can not even reach them."
I search my memory for what the hell Center Gate is, and blink as I come up with an answer.
"Um..." At my vocalization the generals turn their attention to me again, most of them looking surprised enough that I suspect that they forgot I'm here. "I think I can take care of that. I'll just need a little preparation..."
Mifune raises an eyebrow, but the first general who spoke growls through his beard, "Are we actually going to entertain this spoiled child?"
What?
Glancing around the room... there's a distressing amount of agreement with that sentiment. Hayato glares at the other generals, and Mifune at least seems neutral, or stoic at the very least. One or two of the younger generals don't seem to be negatively disposed towards me.
"I agree," one of the other generals says leaning forward, "however gifted with a blade the child might be, she's still a child. Not someone who should be speaking in this company where tactics or strategy are needed, not a blunt tool."
Wow.
Rude.
The rest of the generals all start clamoring with their own opinions, none of which are very positive towards me.
After only a few minutes though, Mifune silences the room simply by raising his hand, "I want to hear what she has to say."
Then they all turn to look at me again, impatience clear on their faces and in their scents.
I swallow hard, "Right. Well my idea goes like this..."
The growing smile on Minfune's face as I speak and the increasing incredulity of the rest of the room makes me think that I may have actually had a good idea.
###
The geography of the Elemental Nations in general is strange. There's no way the biome distribution of this place is in any way natural. Mountains pop up in weird places... really I could go on and on.
The weirdness of Iron is that it's a very large peninsula that stretches to the north from the mainland towards the Land of Snow, and is basically one giant mountain range that has no business being where it is. The southern half of the country is absolutely mountainous, but a very mild mountain range as such things go, which from what I remember means that it's a very old mountain range. About halfway up the peninsula though, the mountains go from 'mild' to 'murderous'. On earth it would be like taking a hike through the Appalachians, and suddenly finding you've somehow wandered into the Himalayas with no warning.
In spite of the rapid change in elevation, there are several ways through the divide. Most are small passses that only really qualify 'passible' if you're on foot, have some serious climbing gear, or if you're a goat. Which is a problem when most of the population of Iron lives in the South, and most of the mines and refineries are in the North. That's a lot of weight that has to be moved through this radical change in terrain features, and basically impossible with those little passes. Similarly, large amounts of troops can't really pass through them either. Fortunately there is one wide gentle and pretty much perfect pass right in the middle of the transition line.
And this is where the Center Gate comes in.
The Center Gate is an ancient fortress that straddles the pass right where the mountains go from 'friendly' to 'hateful'. While history isn't my best subject, I seem to recall that it's been there for longer than Chakra has been a thing, and nobody really knows who made it or when. The fortress is huge, by itself the size of a small city, and made of what seems to be a single piece of light gray stone. The entire edifice is laced with raw chakra metal ore, which really ought to be impossible, but this renders it not only unbelievably tough, but largely immune to any form of damage by chakra. The veins of chakra-metal ore spread the energy across the entire fortress, leaving it harmless. Even techniques like wall-walking can be used on its walls.
It has never been taken by force or subterfuge.
A sieging force can only attack one side of it at a time, rendering the siege ineffective.
It absolutely must be taken in order to prosecute the war.
And I'm going to take it in about five minutes, pretty much by myself, and with zero casualties on our side.
Easy.
###
The pass that the Center Gate blocks is more like a canyon than anything else. A wide flat valley bracketed on either side by enormous jagged and impassible peaks. Snow blankets most everything, though the floor of the pass only has a light dusting thanks to the wind. The biting cold flow of air never stops as the pass acts like a chimney, drawing constant air movement along it that can vary between a breeze and wind strong enough to blow the incautious off their feet. No matter how fast the air moves though, the cold it brings cuts through any attempt to keep warm, and it only gets worse at dawn and dusk.
Dawn is only minutes away, and the breeze is beginning to kick up into something more significant as the stars begin to fade in the west even as the warm glow of dawn starts to peak over the horizon in the east. A dawn I'm racing at this point.
My wings beat strongly as I fly as fast as I can to take advantage of the last bits of dark sky. My armor makes for pretty good camouflage against a night sky, not so much against a bright one. I'd spent all night flitting from place to place around Center Gate to get things set up, and I'd only just managed in time, having had to use my glamor to avoid detection more often than I'd like.
The army of Iron, while I'd been busy around the fortress, had marched into the pass and was set up to attack the Center Gate at first light.
So any moment now.
The army itself is huge. Standard Iron soldiers standing in rows, formations of archers waiting behind them, and my fellow samurai formed up on either side of the infantry ready to be mounted archers or mounted infantry as needed. And right out in front are several more mounted men and one riderless horse.
I swoop low as I approach the army and back wing as I reach the riders in front of the army, setting myself down gently next to the riderless horse. A moment later I swing into Cloud's saddle, patting her neck as I settle in place and she snorts at me. She never really likes it when I use something other than her to really get around. Not that we had much choice this time around.
Next to me is the big, gray-bearded, bald general, who put forward the problem of Center Gate in the first place. He turns to look at me, glaring at me from under his helmet.
"This had better work, girl," he rumbles, setting the large kanbo he favors as a weapon on one shoulder. A kanbo being the more evolved version of a bat with nails in it. So basically a
studded club.
"It'll work," I assure him with all the assurance that I actually have. I've done this before after all, if not quite at this scale.
He just snorts and gives me a look of such derision that I can almost physically feel it.
I take a deep breath in anticipation, Cloud stomping her feet and blowing, eager to get started. Moments later Mifune gives the word, which is passed by signal fan to the rest of the army, and we all start towards the Center Gate fortress as the sun crests the mountains and dawn takes the world.
The light spills across the valley and reveals the army approaching the walls, sending the rebel sentries frantically scurrying across the walls like ants in a kicked nest. People are yelling, horns are sounding, archers rush to take their positions on the wall, and the army halts again out of bow range.
"Rebels manning the Center Gate, I am Mifune." Mifune's voice fills the valley. It's an internal chakra trick called the 'voice of thunder'... I think. Not something that I've looked into during my Library dives. Also not really important at the moment. "High general of Iron's armies by the will of the Daimyo. Your leaders' attempted coup has failed. Though the old Daimyo was killed, his family lives on. Your only hope for survival is to abandon this folly. So I am giving you this single chance to surrender, if you do not throw down your weapons and open the gates within half an hour you will be killed to the last."
The arrow launched from the walls falls far short of Mifune, but I don't think that they're going to need the half hour to come to a decision.
Which isn't to say that we won't give it to them anyway.
The half hour passes in silence. The only sounds being the jingle of horses shifting, or the creek of leather armor as the troops do the same.
It does pass though, and at the end of it Mifune catches my eye and gives me a nod. I pull a shim out of my armor skirt, and with a single deep breath I break the thin piece of wood in half.
It's not a popsicle stick, but it's the closest I could find, and it works just fine.
The air around the fortress begins to shimmer slightly. The men on the walls clap their hands over their ears to try and block out the sound that doesn't travel further than the barrier my Script has created around the fortress. After a minute snow boils off the roofs and walls, turning directly to steam, and moments after that people begin collapsing. Something I'm glad for as it means that I don't have to watch them liquify. My vision is more than good enough to see the expressions of agony of the men on the walls before they go down, and I can feel the local mana's balance shifting as it takes in the energy released by the pain and death flooding out of the fortress.
"Is it working?" the bear-like general with the club asks gruffly. It's a fair question. Without senses as good or esoteric as mine it's impossible to tell that anything is happening to Center Gate. I've improved since I did this to the church in Kuoh. Not only did I manage to find a balance where the people in the structure are killed, but the building itself is unharmed, and nothing leaks past the barrier this time either.
"It is," Mifune says evenly, "exactly as Rhostana said it would."
I wonder how he knows.
Mifune glances in my direction and gives me a nod, but the general, whose name I'm really going to have to get at some point, is giving me a much longer and more considered look.
"Maybe you're not just a show pony," he rumbles, deep in thought and stroking his beard. Then a positively evil grin spreads across his face. "I might have one or two missions that you might be useful for. Assuming this wasn't a fluke, you should be fine."
...
Yay?
AN: I'm BACK! My brain is mostly working how it should again, and I have every intention of resuming a much more frequent update scheduled. So cross your fingers and wish me luck that it'll actually work out that way.
