Chapter Text
The eyes stared at Siegward. Their pupils glowed equal parts red and black. He flinched, uncomfortable under their gaze. They judged him, those inhuman things.
"Get up."
Siegward made to raise his sword only to realise that he had no arms. No legs. Nothing at all.
His shoulders began to ache. Apparently he still had those. No, that wasn't quite right, was it?
Siegward was a knight of Catarina, wasn't he? He should have his armour. It armour rattled with the force from the kick, and Siegward returned to consciousness.
"Wake up you lazy slob!"
He found himself staring into an abyssal pit and rolley-polleyed away. His armour rattled.
A white hand gripped at his left leg and the onion knight kicked back.
"Stay still," the masked man griped. He hacked away at the limb with his sickle, each slice sending chunks of pale flesh flying. After four cuts the pressure on Siegward's lower half ceased and he stumbled away from the dark portal of eyes.
Siegward shivered.
In the deforested clearing the top of each stump had turned dark, white hands and arms poking out of each portal and wriggling like pale worms.
Siegward drew Stormruler - where was his zweihander? - , finding comfort in its great weight. For a moment he forgot how dreadfully cold he was.
He dissuaded the hands from getting too close by aid of his sword. Heftier than a sickle, Siegward cleaved through the appendages closest to him. They were immediately replaced with an endless supply of identical eyes and limbs.
In Siegward's peripheral vision, the masked man that had woken him up slashed wildly, substituting cutting force with a number of smaller slices, each focused on the thinnest parts of the limb.
Siegward and the masked man's grunts were occasionally punctuated by strobes of rainbow light and the splash of water.
The grasping hands continued their assault. Slice, stamp, and slice again. Ad nauseum.
After Stormruler failed to entirely split one of the arms in twain, Siegward realised that the situation he had somehow found himself in was unworkable. His fractured blade would break long before the hands did.
The hands vanished, the portal at the terminus of each tree stump vanishing as if they'd never existed.
Siegward stumbled, having been halfway through dealing a two-handed blow to aninhuman hand that had been clutching his helmet moments ago.
Dim moonlight returned to the night's sky, replacing the red tinge that Siegward hadn't even noticed until it was gone. Still, the full moon was far from a pleasant sight in itself. Something about the way it sat in the night sky discomforted Siegward.
"...so be careful," Leonhard finished. Leonhard. That was his name. How had he forgotten?
A chill ran down Siegward's spine, adding to the coldness that already permeated his body. He had died again, in this foreign land, in search of his zweihander... Stolen by Yakumo Ran.
Leonhard looked at him oddly. "Are you all there?"
Siegward forced out a laugh. "Oh, I'm quite well, thank you. And our umbrella-wielding friend?"
Kogasa, if Siegward's memory wasn't entirely failing him, gave a shaky smile. "I'm fine," she said.
Siegward tactfully didn't voice his doubts. The umbrella woman looked haggard, her face pale and bearing some strained quality. She was also putting most of her body weight on her purple umbrella, which stood next to her, balanced on its tiny sandal base.
The onion knight frowned. She hadn't seemed quite so under the weather when she... "I thought you dead, Ringfinger."
Leonhard laughed. "For a while, I was." He twirled his sickle in his hand with ease that spoke of years of practice. The assassin took a step towards Kogasa, who stood a little straighter in response.
That was quite enough of that. Siegward grabbed Leonhard by the shoulder and yanked him backwards. Leonhard fell backwards. "Please excuse my... Friend," Siegward lied, "we've been a bit on edge."
Kogasa blinked. So did the umbrella. “That’s okay,” she said, “I beat you, anyway. Well, you kind of beat yourself but I beat him.” She nodded at Leonhard somewhere out of Siegward’s peripheral vision.
Siegward winced, remembering his impact with the ground.
“Is there a child nearby?”
“A child?”
“Yes, one about this tall,” Siegward gestured around his rib cage, “with blonde hair.”
Kogasa frowned. “Maybe. That's not very specific. I know a lot of people like that.”
Leonhard stepped into view. He spared a quick glance at Siegward in the manner of an angry cat before focusing his attention fully on Kogasa. HIs weapon, Siegward was happy to see, was stored back in its round sheath. “Her name is Rumia,” he said.
Kogasa punched her open palm. “I see! Things got a lot darker than usual, even with the eyes out. She should have said hello. Do you know her?”
“We became quite closely acquainted,” Leonhard said.
“What my companion is trying to say,” Siegward cut in, “is that she was kind enough to lead us out of the forest when we were lost.”
Best not to mention how they had almost decided to kill Rumia. Certainly not to someone who seemed to like the cannibal, anyway.
“I haven’t seen her in a while,” Kogasa said, “Not since… well, you know, not for a while.” Apparently confident that the two undead weren’t going try their luck again, the umbrella woman relaxed fractionally. “You’re lucky she didn’t try to eat you.”
Siegward coughed. “Yes, quite.”
A few splatterings of rain rang against Siegward’s helmet, making a ringing sound as they struck the cymbal shaped upper half. He looked up and blinked when a big raindrop fell into his eyes through the narrow eyeslit.
“Why were you in the forest anyway? It’s dangerous for humans.” Kogasa shook her arm behind her. An umbrella levitated into view and floated into her waiting hand. She set it down and shook her arm again.
“We were looking, we were, ah, searching for,” Siegward began.
Leonhard unfolded his arms. “We’re looking for a woman with fox tails and blonde hair. I don’t suppose you’ve seen someone like that?”
Kogasa tilted her head to the side, absentmindedly retrieving umbrellas with her right hand. She’d amassed quite a pile of the things, though none of them sported an eye or a tongue like the purple one. Siegward shuddered at the sight of it. Paint should not move like that.
“A few,” she said slowly, “how many tails. One? Two?” An orange umbrella with a ribbon at the end floated into her hand and this time Kogasa deigned to look at it. She twisted it in her hand, revealing a rip. She looked to Leonhard, who carefully considered the shimmering lights in the distance.
“The b- the woman had nine tails,” Leonhard said.
Kogasa smiled. “There aren’t many kitsune with nine tails around any more. Are you thinking of Yakumo Ran? I haven’t seen her in a while…”
Siegward nodded. The motion sent spatterings of rain droplets running down his armour. He made to lift his shield over his head and to his horror found his hand empty. “Oh dear, oh dear,” he muttered. Then he coughed again. “Yes, that’s the one. Would you happen to know where we might find her? She took something rather valuable to me, and I’d like it back.”
Kogasa took a moment. “Her house’s location is a secret.” She smirked. The one eyed umbrella’s tongue shook merrily and its eye twinkled. “You could try luring her out with fried tofu. She’d probably like that.”
Siegward hummed. “And how can we get this… toe-foo?"
Kogasa laughed. “You should probably ask a historian in the village. I’m surprised you didn’t already. Were you just going to wander around until you found her?”
Siegward sighed. “Something like that, yes.”
The ‘admission’ elicited a concerned look from the blue-haired woman. “You should go back to the village,” she told him, then nodded at Leonhard too who was looking quite uncomfortable in the rain with only his coat for cover. Not that Siegward’s armour was entirely waterproof, to be fair. The water ran down the rings and Siegward could feel wet spots forming where the titanite steel plates overlapped.
Siegward looked around. “Have you seen my shield? I think I remember it being wrenched out of my hand around… there.” Mindful of the assassin and umbrella woman behind him, Siegward walked over to where he had last seen his shield. The bent metal of his armour creaked uncomfortably with every step he took. Siegward fervently hoped that he had enough repairing powder at hand to smooth over the bumps and dents.
It only took a few moments of scrabbling in the torn up dirt with only the moon for light for Siegward to find his shield. He grasped it with both hands and pulled hard. There was a squelch as the shield’s spike was pulled from the wet soil and the onion knight almost unbalanced.
Siegward returned to Leonhard and Kogasa to find the both of them looking at him oddly. At least, Kogasa was. Siegward did not yet know - and had no desire to, to be honest - the Ringfinger well enough to decipher the meaning of his ‘looks’ from beneath that metal mask.
“Is everything alright? Please forgive my rudeness. I’d be stuck without my shield. A man’s shield is his life, or so they say.”
Kogasa smiled. “It’s no problem.” She studied the shield, smile deepening slightly as Siegward tried to discreetly brush off the clumps of dirt and leaves. “Taking care of your tools is important.”
Siegward nodded. “Rightly so.”
Leonhard cleared his throat. “Where can we find someone who knows where this woman lives? Friends, family, enemies…”
The blue-haired woman called the last of the umbrellas to her hand as she thought. It sailed across the clearing in a slow-moving arc, and when Kogasa arrived at her answer it sped up and zoomed into her hand with a thwack . “I don’t think she has any friends, and her ‘family’ is usually just as hard to track down - though her cat’s been going around looking for her too. For enemies…”
“Yes?”
“I don’t think there are any left.”
Siegward paled. “Oh dear.”
“If anyone knows where she might be,” Kogasa said, “it would be the Hakurei shrine maiden, or maybe the Hiedas?”
Leonhard leaned forward. “Where can we find this shrine maiden?”
“Usually she’s at her shrine.”
“Which is?”
Kogasa pointed through the forest of magic.
Siegward and Leonhard shared a look, and for once Siegward felt that he understood the assassin perfectly. “How about the ‘Hiedas’?” the Onion Knight asked.
Kogasa frowned. “You’re not from the village at all, are you?” A look of… excitement, Siegward supposed, crossed her face.
“Right on,” Siegward said, “I am Siegward of Catarina, a knight. And this is…”
“Leonhard,” the man in question said, “charmed.”
“Nice to meet you,” Kogasa dipped her head in a small bow, then snapped it back up quickly. “You’re Outsiders? Really?”
Siegward nodded, “I suppose we are. Are visitors to your land so unusual?”
“It’s been a long time since we had any,” Kogasa told them. “You should get out of here as soon as you can. If you ask nicely, the Haurei Shrine Maiden can probably send you back. Probably. They used to do it, anyway.”
“I think we’ll manage,” Leonhard said. “Now, these ‘Hiedas’. Where in the…”
“Will we manage, though?” Siegward asked. Leonhard stopped.
“I didn’t take you for a coward, Onion Knight,” the assassin said. Disdain dripped from his words.
“I’m no coward,” Siegward replied heatedly. “I simply think that we should seriously consider, well, retreating for a while. We don’t want to face someone as ”
Leonhard stared at him. “And what of your sword, onion knight . WIll you use that broken blade on your journey instead, stopping every five minutes to rub more powder on its splinters?”
Siegward folded his arms. “I’m sure there will be other swords.”
Leonhard laughed. “Very well. It seems I’ll need to make this journey alone.” He turned to Kogasa. “Where can I find the Hieda’s, then?”
“In their mansion. Everyone in the village will know where you’re looking for.” Kogasa said. “You should probably go together for safety.”
“Thank you,” Leonhard said briskly, and without a hint of warmth. He spared Siegward a quick glance. “If you decide to regain your courage, onion knight, I will be in the Human Village.” He stalked off towards the sparkling lights, his silhouette disappearing startlingly quickly.
Siegward sighed. Of all the… no. Leonhard’s mistress’s, or ‘Lady’s’ as the assassin had called it, - her soul was at stake here. Of course the Ringfinger would prioritise her safety above all else. Really, if anyone were to suggest that Siegward should abandon his quest to fulfil his friend’s duty and the promise they had made, then Siegward would be equally irate. Still, Siegward had to consider whether the risks matched the rewards here. As fond as he was of his trusty zweihander, there would be other swords.
Feeling drained both emotionally and from a lack of embers, Siegward asked. “The Shrine Maiden is back through the forest, then?”
“Yes,” Kogasa told him. “Will your friend be alright?”
“He’s not my friend.”
“... I see,” the umbrella woman said. “She usually rides past here around this time though.” Kogasa paused. “Are you going to abandon your sword?”
Siegward rubbed the bottom of his helmet. “Where does she go?”
“The Human Village,” Kogasa said,. “To be honest, you should probably have gone there for the night and left in the morning anyway. The cleared path isn’t safe for humans at night.”
“Neither of us have been human for quite some time, I’m afraid.” Siegward coughed. His emberlessness was gnawing at his soul.
Kogasa’s eyes widened. “You’re hollow? You should probably keep that to yourself if you want to, uh, live.”
“Not quite,” Siegward said. “I am a Champion of Ash.” He frowned. “Don’t you remember killing us both earlier?”
“I’m sorry,” Kogasa said, “no one’s dared to fight me for a while. I’m not used to it.”
Siegward reached into his sack. It was roomier than he remembered. A moment’s fidgeting confirmed the lack of skulls in his bag. Rumia had taken her payment and then some, apparently. The onion knight retrieved a pouch of repairing powder and rubbed it into his sword and shield. Kogasa watched interestedly. Then the onion knight took a large dollop of repairing powder and sprinkled it over his armour. The pressure on his back and legs reduced as the Catarinian armour unbent itself.
“Thank you for your help,” Siegward said. “I best be on my way, I wager. Don’t want to miss this Shrine Maiden.”
Kogasa bowed in farewell, which Siegward mirrored clumsily. “Good luck getting back home. Just… don’t mention that you’re not human and you should be fine. Probably fine.”
With those uneasy words in mind, Siegward set off for the Human Village. For a few steps, before turning back to Kogasa again. “Actually,” he said, “might I borrow an umbrella? This rain is starting to get through my armour.”