Chapter Text
The sun beat down on the soldiers from its high seat in the sky. Sweat began to form on Yoichi Isagi’s brow, and he wiped it on his sleeve. He kept his eyes on the land before him.
Their squad did not speak as they traveled through the plains of northwestern Locke, but it was by no means quiet. Long grass crunched below their feet, armor plates clinked as their wearers walked on, and Isagi could hear his own heart beating in his chest. Now, after so many years preparing, his squad of mostly rag-tag country cadets was about to engage in a real battle. A weighty, critical battle; a battle to defend their country from being swallowed by their Northern enemy.
Isagi took a deep breath, rerunning all of his training through his head. Now was the time to put everything he had learned and experienced into play; his friends and family depended on it. A giddy excitement built in him at the thought of it. This would be the most challenging thing he had ever done.
He was pulled out of his thoughts when he felt a hand place itself on his chest. He jumped slightly, turning to face the smiling face of Meguru Bachira, and he relaxed slightly. Bachira’s smile widened even more when he had his friend’s attention.
“I know that look, Isagi~” he said in his usual singsong tone. “You’re getting fired up, aren’t you?” Bachira’s golden eyes glinted with amusement. Isagi was surprised, but he returned an eager smile.
“Yeah…I am.” He looked away at the landscape before him. “In fact, my hands are shaking.” He laughed slightly before clenching them into fists. “Bachira, we could die today.”
As usual, his best friend didn’t seem very bothered by that fact. “Maybe, but we won’t. We have the monster, remember?” He winked, and Isagi smiled, slightly amused.
“The same monster you see when you train?” He asked. He heard about this ‘monster’ often, and he wasn’t sure he totally believed him…but then again, Isagi had learned that not everything Bachira said should be dismissed. He might not make sense half of the time, but he saw things that no one else could see.
“Yep! The monster is just as fired up as we are.” Bachira grinned with excitement, putting his arm around Isagi’s shoulders and squeezing him in a half-hug. “So just stick with me, and we’ll be okay!”
Isagi was surprised by the contact for a moment, before his chest grew warm. Whatever happened today, Bachira would always be his best friend. He smiled, patting his friend’s head where he knew he liked it. “Yeah, you’re definitely delusional, Meguru.” To which his friend only laughed.
At least Isagi wouldn’t be fighting alone.
The battle was more intense than he’d expected.
As promised, Isagi kept Bachira in his sights, knowing their dual attacks were useful for taking down many enemies at once. All around him, Perhenian soldiers took swings at his weak points, but every time he was able to block and counter, his sword glinting in the sunlight as he met each strike with his own. Memories of his training and the tactics he’d been taught flashed through his mind moments after his body was already putting them into play.
“Attack…block…parry.” He mumbled to himself, cutting down a soldier that had attacked him from the side. Close by, Bachira nimbly dodged the blades of two soldiers, sending them crashing into each other; a perfect example of his ‘monster’ fighting style.
“Attack…block…parry!” Isagi lunged at the back of a slower soldier attacking his friend, making a critical double attack. Isagi exhaled sharply as the man fell. There was no time for guilt. His country was at stake here.
Bachira chuckled in amusement. “Isagi-kun! You look so serious.” He quipped, dodging and kicking down someone who had tried to surprise attack him. Isagi gave a half-aware chuckle, taking a brief moment to survey his surroundings. “Yeah, well, this is a serious battle.”
Isagi’s instincts flashed, all of a sudden realizing there was an enemy soldier behind him. He moved to block the attack, but before he could, the man had been cut down. Isagi saw a flash of long red hair speed past, before his eyes focused on his friend’s face. The fastest soldier in their unit was composed and beautiful as always…for a man. “Chigiri;” Isagi breathed before flashing a smile. “Nice save.”
Hyoma Chigiri gave a wry half smile in response, about to answer when he was promptly interrupted by a steady but teasing voice. “Stealing my thunder again, eh princess?”
They both turned to see the soldier Chigiri had just cut down being kicked back on his rear by a tall, strong man they knew well. Rensuke Kunigami rolled his eyes at Chigiri, but they both knew he wasn’t really annoyed. Bachira—who had stayed nearby as promised—gave the big orange-haired soldier a tackle hug.
“Thereeee you are, Kuni and Chi! I got a little worried, since I didn’t see you when we led the charge!” The youngest boy’s cheerful energy was ironic, considering their serious settings. Kunigami tried to twist out of Bachira’s grip before peeling him off with his immense strength. He easily held the smaller boy up by the straps of his armor. “Can you be serious for one moment, Bachira?” He said, but even level-headed Kunigami couldn’t stop a smile.
Bachira seemed surprised for a split second, but then he just laughed. “There are soldiers behind you, you know…” Kunigami tensed up before quickly dropping Bachira. He cut two enemy soldiers down easily with a few, powerful slashes to the left and right, before they could get near to the other three. Once again, Isagi marveled at his friend’s strength.
“Hey now, you’re not going to leave any for me? How rude.” Chigiri chuckled, quickly drawing his sword and joining Kunigami’s assault. The two moved almost in sync, blades glinting in the sun, further proving their reputation as the most powerful duos of their squad. Kunigami grinned in reply, somehow finding the opening to lightly nudge his redhead friend’s arm. “I had to get the head start on you. Otherwise there’d be nothing left for me.”
Watching them, Isagi couldn’t help but be inspired. His friends had always been stronger than him; even since they were children. They were all so special, with Chigiri’s speed, Kunigami’s strength, and Bachira’s…secret. His deepest secret that only the four of them knew. Bachira, with all his light-hearted joking and strange spiels about this ‘monster’ he followed…he was the strongest out of all of them. Isagi was nothing like them. But with enough hard work—he would be as strong as them. He had to be.
As the battle dragged on, Isagi found himself being pulled back into the fight. He dueled soldier after soldier, always keeping Bachira nearby to duel attack if needed. Nearby, Chigiri and Kunigami were still fighting in tandem, which opened up even more options for Isagi. He felt his mind whirring even as his hands were busy, with bits and pieces of strategies flying through his mind, but he focused on what was before him. This was no time to get lost in thought.
“Attack…block…parry,” he murmured under his breath, cutting down a soldier. He sucked in a breath as he felt the Perhenian’s blood stain his sleeve, but he pushed away his guilt. Over and over he repeated the words, and over and over he cut down the enemy. His heart pounded in his chest as he saw bodies dropping across the battlefield. For a moment, he was paralyzed by a thought…would he fall the same way?
He clenched his sword even tighter, his knuckles growing white with the effort. As two soldiers moved to attack him, Isagi saw Bachira in his peripheral vision, and he quickly moved to strike, giving Bachira an opening. Like clockwork, Bachira jumped the two Perhenians. His blade moved in sync with Bachira’s, in a wide circular arc that was extremely effective. But soon after the two men fell, something strange happened.
“Isagi?” Bachira suddenly spoke up, confused. “Huh?” Isagi replied, looking up at his friend’s bewildered face. Slowly, the younger boy asked: “Is it just me, or…is it getting foggy?” Bachira scrunched his nose as he spoke, then added: “And it smells funny.”
The only thing Isagi could smell was blood, sweat, and a slight musty smell from the leather straps of his armor. But as he looked around, he realized Bachira was right. Something was seeping onto the battlefield; something like a thick, pink cloud. It began to surround them, and Isagi found himself having to squint to see Bachira, who was barely five feet from him. He nearly froze, confused thoughts racing through. What was this cloud? He had never seen anything like this before. Was it a weapon of the Perhenians? What would it do to them?
“ISAGI!! He’s coming your way!!” He was snapped out of his thoughts by Kunigami’s desperate yell. He quickly turned, on high alert, trying to see what he was being warned about. But his heart nearly stopped when he heard a dull, heavy thud from the direction of the yell.
He heard Chigiri before he saw him move through the strange pink cloud; a furious scream as his blade moved faster than light. Isagi heard the fast, sharp sounds of metal on metal as Chigiri dealt his speed attacks, but who was he fighting? And more importantly, was Kunigami ok??
“Bachira…?” He asked faintly, unable to take his eyes off the place where he could hear Chigiri. When there was no reply, Isagi whirled around, his heart beginning to pound. He searched for anyone, anything that looked like his best friend. Everything was the same; swirling, echoing, clouds of pink.
In all the chaos of his thoughts, he didn’t even notice the soldier that had snuck up on him until his sword had pierced through Isagi’s shoulder. Searing pain shot through his body, and he cried out in pain. His enemy pulled the sword out, and Isagi stumbled, still breathing hard. But with barely a second to spare, he swung his sword to block what would have been the final blow.
It was hard to see his opponent in the cloud, so Isagi had to rely on his hearing to tell where the soldier was. He felt fear creeping into him; without Bachira nearby, he had to watch his own back. He fought back the pain and met his opponent’s sword blow for blow. Oddly enough, the enemy soldier seemed to know exactly where Isagi was, despite the cloud…
The duel dragged on, and Isagi knew he needed to get out of there quickly. Gritting his teeth, Isagi pushed forward until he could hear his opponent’s breathing, and quickly cut him down. Then he made a run for it.
His heart was racing; he knew he was extremely lucky that he wasn’t running into any other Perhenian soldiers. But he was beginning to get worried. He had no way to see where he was going. He had to think; what did he do to get out of here?
His thoughts were racing, but he was too afraid. Too afraid; and too weak. The cloud seeped around him, and into his lungs with each breath he took. His shoulder throbbed where it had been stabbed, the blood staining through his sleeve. He knew if he kept bleeding like this, eventually he would pass out. It seemed hopeless; everything was loud, chaotic, pink, and cold.
His senses were alerted. Cold air…of course. Currents of air were making the cloud around him swirly. They were fighting on the southern meadows of Locke, which meant they had a lot of wind exposure. If he went against the wind…he might be able to escape the cloud. But he’d have to be careful, there were still soldiers everywhere.
Forcing his shaking legs to move, Isagi began to first walk, then run against the wind. All around him, he heard the sounds of a battle. He relied heavily on his ears, listening to be able to carefully weave through the battles going on around him. The cries of men, the clanging of metal on metal. With each second he heard it, his heart tore. War was truly terrible.
Each time a Perhenian soldier attacked him, he parried as best as he could and kept going. Escape was more important than winning right now. He kept running, avoiding every battle he could, until suddenly….
…he had run straight out of the cloud, and was once again standing in the open air.
But his troubles were nowhere near over, for before him stood a whole squad of Perhenian soldiers.
His eyes widened, and his heart nearly stopped for the second time that day. He’d escaped from the cloud, but now he was in more danger than before. Standing before the soldiers was an imposing soldier; unmistakably a man of power. Hanging from his armor was a deep red cloak, complimenting his muted red hair. Isagi caught a glimpse of the Perhenian crest on the back of his cloak before the man turned, meeting his gaze with cold turquoise eyes.
As soon as the other soldiers caught sight of Isagi, they instantly moved to attack him, drawing their swords. Isagi’s instincts fired up, and he made ready to engage in battle, or otherwise run. But as he raised his sword, a wave of dizziness washed over him, and he was forced to step back. “Crap,” he murmured to himself, looking at his shoulder. His sleeve was soaked in blood, and the stain was slowly growing. This wasn’t good at all.
To his surprise, though, the soldiers suddenly stopped their advance. Bewildered, Isagi looked up and realized that the soldier in the red cloak had raised his hand; the order to halt. Confused, Isagi stared at him, not sure whether to run or not, as the soldier advanced towards him.
“How…did you escape the cloud?” He asked, with a hint of curiosity in his voice. Isagi took a few wary steps back, maintaining the distance between them.
“Who are you?” He demanded instead of answering. How he escaped the cloud wasn’t exactly important now. The soldier raised his eyebrows slightly, but otherwise didn’t seem fazed.
“Isn’t it obvious?” The man responded, almost sounding bored. “I’m your enemy. Or, more accurately, your conqueror.” He advanced even closer, and as Isagi moved backwards further, another wave of dizziness hit him, and he stumbled. But he did not fall.
“You won’t win. Not if I stop you here,” Isagi’s eyes narrowed, and he pointed his sword at the soldier. His enemy only looked down at the sword with a blank expression before sighing.
“If only you could. Maybe you could have stayed on your feet long enough to properly lose.” With that, the man drew his sword and lunged at Isagi.
Alarms went off in his head. Isagi dodged the attack, barely having time to breathe before his opponent swung a second time, then a third time at his head. Isagi managed to block each one. His sword trembled from each strike. Who exactly was this man? He was stronger than any soldier he had ever faced before.
Isagi kept blocking, each powerful strike sending him another step back. Quickly surveying his surroundings, Isagi realized that the man was slowly driving him back into the cloud. He gritted his teeth; newfound resolve ran through his veins. Not if he could help it.
He blocked yet another powerful strike, but this time he pushed back on his sword, making the space to counterattack. But to his surprise, as soon as the soldier’s weak spot appeared, his counterattack was blocked.
The two soldiers’ swords locked together. Breathing heavily and dizzy from his wound, Isagi looked up at his opponent's face. Those cold turquoise eyes seemed just as emotionless as before; it was almost like Isagi was fighting a machine. Chills ran down his spine at the thought. But suddenly, his opponent’s eyes narrowed, and with a single twist of his wrist, Isagi’s sword was sent flying.
Panting, Isagi stumbled backwards, looking at where his sword had fallen. He quickly grabbed it again. He felt the dizziness tugging at his mind. The blood loss was beginning to get to him. He heard his opponent’s voice: “Well, that was boring. I thought you’d at least be worth the effort.”
Still breathing hard, Isagi glared back at his opponent, still with his sword in his hand. He seemed as disinterested as ever. Anger filled Isagi’s veins at the sight of him, and he gave a furious yell, charging at him again. But his strike was blocked, and he was forcefully kicked to the ground.
He fell hard, panting from the effort. His sword had been knocked from his hand once again, and this time, the soldier in the red cloak kicked it out of his reach.
His wound beginning to throb, Isagi slowly pulled himself up to his knees, wincing from the pain. He was in a bad spot, but if he could somehow manage to…
His thoughts were interrupted when the soldier walked right up to him. Looking up, Isagi saw him staring down at him with that same cold look in his eyes. Just the sight of him rekindled anger in Isagi, but deep down he knew he was powerless in this situation. Isagi had lost his first real battle…and possibly his last.
Narrowing his eyes, the soldier in red said one last thing to him: “Challenging me was a mistake. You’ve already lost.” Before he could even react, he brought the hilt of his sword down hard on Isagi’s head.
Then all he saw was blackness.