Branch 14: Hitomi

"Elma? Are you awake? Time to go."

Last night Miltinnia made the strangest offer to the disguised japanese girl.

"Want to see our Lord train?"

According to her, every morning the Lord of Lions Keep trains in a grotto that separates the castle from Stormgarde.  A number of students have started gathering and watching these sessions from the wall.

The merchant's daughter says its a spectacle because both swords and magic are used.  The target is a swordmage after all.  While she was now confidant the Lord of Lions Keep was not the tourinese hero?  She might have to kill him so it would be good to judge his skill level.

Miltinnia again impresses her as she nimbly navigates the wheelchair outside and to a cart an apprentice is waiting on.  Leaving before sunrise, they only have a few other carts and wagons to deal with so make good time.

Reaching the academy at dawn, they find a couple dozen girls and boys gathering.  Not all of them are in school uniforms.  Some seem to be applicants.  Ninja girl figures they are relatives of students curious about the new lord.

A few hand out what look like simple binoculars.  Theater glasses.  Then make everyone promise not to share what they are about to see.  Hitomi laughs in her mind at the chances of high school students not gossiping.

After being warned to stay quiet and not draw attention, the group crosses the campus and creeps up to the wall.  Then look through its crenelations.  Below?  The mistress of shadow sees an odd sight.

While the northern half of the gorge is full of trees?  The southern half is bare.  Toppled columns and overgrown rubble show that there was a building here long long ago.  Temple maybe?

Benches are setup on the east side of the ruin. Sitting on them is a strange assortment of people. Adventurers, knights, faculty, bureaucrats, the lord's wives, and the lord himself. All are being served breakfast by maids and happily chatting.

A picnic like atmosphere.

While the students are too far up to hear the conversations?  The shinobi can by feeding mana into her ears.  Discussions cover everything from martial arts styles to today's exam and festival staffing plans.

Any decisions reached seem to be run thru one of the lord's wives.  For approval?

Lord Barton, however, looks bothered by something.  And everyone is picking up on it.  Finally he speaks.

"I need a heavier workout this morning. Can you all come at me?"

Teenager girl is surprised. There are a lot of strong people down there. Large, hard, and sharp, auras. She's not sure if she could handle that many and her senses still clearly show he is weaker than her. Who is the weakest of the four heroes.

Adventurers and knights nod to each other and stand.  What are clearly undead, to Hitomi, move as well.  Taking various positions across the ruin.  Watching thru the theater glasses she can tell they are impressive.

The way they move reminds the ninja of the heroes own elite troops.

But? Why aren't they using practice weapons?

Viscount Barton hands his exquisite, and obviously magical, swords to his wives as the maids join them on the benches.  Barriers appear?  Why would they need barriers?  One of the girls beside her whispers.

"Putting up barriers?  Guess the lord is going to be rough on them this morning."

"Rough?  What do you mean by-"

"[Umbrarmatus]"

The japanese student is left speechless as almost instantly the man is covered in black, oil?  Which quickly hardens into a malevolent looking full suit of plate armor.  Picking up two of the practice swords scattered across the ground he stands and says one word.

"Begin."

*clang* *kang* *crunch* *zhing* *bam* *vipf*

Some knights and adventurers launch themselves at him in a staggered pattern while bolts and arrows passed between them.  The teamwork between the two very different groups is stunning.  Yet?  Somehow?

The almost average looking lord deflects, evades, or counters, everything.  Using his elbows, knees, and feet, as much as the dulled blades.

*cong*

Of course he can't keep up with so many attacks.  Finally the fully armored dwarf slams into him with a huge shield.  Driving him back and causing blood to fly out of his helmet.  Hitomi figures its over but the blizzard of blows continues.

"The Demolisher is in good form today."

Hitomi's eye bulge.  Demolisher?  The gold ranked dragon slaying Demolisher?  What is she doing here sparring with the Beast's puppet?  Her confusion deepens as the lordling counters with a strike so strong that it drives the stout dwarf meters backward.

A halfling assassin suddenly appears.  Driving two daggers into his side.  Or, at least, tries too.  Almost inhumanly, he pivots and catches the halfling's chin with a knee.  Sending her flying away.

Even a creature of shadow that reminds the high school girl of that terrifying dragon, appears in the lord's blindspot.  Moving with incredible speed.  Just not incredible enough as its caught and slammed into the ground.

Over and over again, with sword or spell, the unimpressive looking noble overwhelms his two dozen plus challengers.  The crash of melee and explosion of spells are like a fireworks set off at point blank range.  A number of students having to shield their eyes at times.

Every part of his body moves like it has a mind of its own but is also coordinated.  It reminds Hitomi of the over the top martial arts movies her and Kojiro used to watch.

The reason behind the scattered practice swords becoming clear as another shatters under the strain of such brutal combat.  That's it.  This is not training.  This is a genuine battle.  The killing intent from the puppet's attackers is real.

By the end, an hour later, the thief hero completely changed her opinion of the lord.  Every time she thought she could at least predict his next move?  She was proven wrong.

The Shadow Mistress no longer has any confidence in killing this man on her own.  As she leaves with Miltinnia to get breakfast in the Stormgarde cafeteria, she frets.

"How much of a monster is the Beast if his puppet is this strong?"

The japanese student focuses on her exams, but can't stop thinking about what she saw that morning.  It was completely different from when her, Kojiro, Maki, and Umeka fight.  There was a, savagery that they lack.

For the umpteenth time, Hitomi wonders if their japanese childhoods are to blame.  The peace they knew for so long.  Safety and security.  Made them strangers to violence.

Oh they had come to accept killing.  Even murder and torture.  Without it?  They all would have become those evil nobles' playthings.  That didn't mean they enjoyed it.  Relished their frequent battles to the death.  Even Maki, the coldest of them, didn't like fighting.

Not even against the demons and monsters, who certainly deserved death.

The shinobi girl again recalled his weaker but unusually hard spirit.  For a moment she pondered.

"Maybe its not weaker. What if hes, making it small?"

She still had a mission.  Enter Stormgarde and find the Beast.  Measure his strength and decide if he's a threat.

She had already sent a report of her encounter with the dragon and about the Beast's puppet.  She wondered how Maki would react.  Even by bird it will be days, maybe even weeks, before a reply comes.

Will the others come?  She misses Kojiro terribly.  Didn't think she would miss him this much.  Maybe they'll send reinforcements?  Elite eunuchs?  Order her to return?  Would she go if they did?

Yes, she probably couldn't kill the Beast even if she could find him.  But there was something about this school.  Something strangely, familiar.  A mystery the thief hero wanted to solve before leaving.

She couldn't understand why but her instincts told her it was important.

"Are you ready Miltinnia?"

The thief hero has just finished her instrument exam with a violin like instrument.  She played a piece popular in aquecia that she has practiced for weeks.  The performance was not perfect but will definitely help more than hurt her score.

The legless girl gave her an odd look.

"If we leave now we'll miss the lord playing."

Hitomi is confused.

"i thought he wasn't taking the exams?"

"Oh he is. He's just been taking them privately so if he does really well or really badly it won't upset other hopefuls."

The japanese student's head tilts.

"Then why is he-"

"Lady Ushinua talked him into it.  He agreed if he would be the last one."  Hehe.  "He thinks that means most applicants and students will be gone."

Something tickled her senses.  Being next to the first floor entrance to the auditorium, she looked thru the doors.  The hallway was full of applicants and students?

"What?"

"Shh!  We have to wait until he starts playing to sneak in the others or he'll leave.  Don't you want to hear music from another world?"

Ninja girl's eyes get big as saucers.  Wasn't the lord supposed to be a northern barbarian?  Was the secret that he was the Beast's puppet well known?

"Here he comes.  Sit and be still.  I won't forgive you if you spoil this for me."

There was an oddly strong edge to the always gentle Miltinnia's voice.  So the japanese teenager chose to sit quietly next to her.  On the stage the Beast's puppet walked out from behind the curtains on the left.  He's carrying-

An electric guitar!

Again, it was like the thief's brain just shutdown.  Her eyes unable to leave the red electric guitar slung over his shoulder.  A boy had once tried to steal her away from Kojiro by playing a guitar.  Of course it didn't work but, Hitomi still remembered it fondly.

Her sense's finally caught up enough to notice all the mana in the instrument.

"How?  That's?  What?  A magic electric guitar?"

"Shh!"  The merchant's daughter hushed her again.

None of the judges asked what he was going to play and the Black Lion didn't offer.  He stood in the middle of the stage, took a deep breath, and played...

For about thirty minutes, all that could be heard was the Lord of Lions Keep's voice and his magic guitar.  He moved from one song to the next without any breaks in between.

The Black Lion was a good but not great singer.  The guitar was really magical, adding more than could be produced by strings alone.  But it was still just one instrument.  The japanese girl even noticed the lyrics, beats, and notes, he got wrong.

But that wasn't why she was crying.  Despite the imperfect performance?  There was a power in it.  Like an undeniable truth.  Pain deeper than an ocean.  Love wider than the sky.  A glimpse into understanding, everything.

Singing like an angel.  Screaming like a demon.

The thief hero didn't notice as the others filled the auditorium.  Didn't notice as they all were also overwhelmed.  Some reduced to tears like her.  Others rendered speechless.  What they were hearing was simply too far beyond their imagination.

At the end, while she was still trying to recover, he said the strangest thing.

"We miss you Chester."

And walked back off stage to the left.  Disappearing behind the curtains.

The sentence struck the ninja girl like a bolt of lightning.  Did something happen to her favorite singer?  Suddenly she found herself panicking, unable to breath.  They've been gone for half a year.  What happened?

Then the second bolt struck the same place.  We?!  She was sure he said 'we.'  If he's not the Beast but is also from another world?  Like an abyss opening before her, two terrifying thoughts occurred.

"He's not a puppet."

"There's more than one."