Proverb III: Bonds Are Forged Strongest In The Furnace Of War
Zhuo district, Youzhou province
Four months after the prophesied arrival of the Messenger of Heaven
Shoukatsuryou had earlier described the Zhuo army's battle against the detached Turban force of 10,000 soldiers as a "rout".
That particular choice of words was a bit understated.
The bodies littering the trampled plains made a rather gruesome contrast to the afternoon sun overhead and the bright blue sky that held it. Once the Turbans caved to the pressure from the Zhuo army, it had been all over for them. Thankfully, Ragna's personal unit had the sense to lead Ryuubi, Shoukatsuryou, Houtou, and Lien around the battlefield and not through it. Ryuubi at least couldn't help but look over at the few Turban bodies that they did see, though, and her stomach turned violently at the sight of them.
Once they caught up with the rest of the army, they made their way to the front, leaving a tired Lien in the care of one of Ragna's other squads. As they approached Ragna, they saw that Chouhi and Kan'u were standing beside him while he slowly and gently petted the flank of the black horse he'd mysteriously acquired during the battle. His jacket was draped over the horse's saddle, and some bandages were visible under the torn forearm of his shirt.
At a respectable distance, the captain of Ragna's personal squad stepped in front of Ragna and his men, and Shoukatsuryou, Houtou, and Ryuubi all followed closely behind him. The man saluted crisply and said, "Lord Ragna, I have the two strategists here to see you."
Ragna turned around to face Ryuubi and the others, and Ryuubi blinked as she took a closer look at him. The vigorous figure racing across the battlefield on the back of that massive black horse was completely different from the somber-eyed young man that was looking at her, Shoukatsuryou, and Houtou right now. He didn't seem smaller, just… less imposing, calmer, even.
"Thanks, Yin," Ragna replied, nodding at the captain. "You're dismissed. Get the guys ready to march."
Yin bowed and walked away, leaving the three girls behind. Ragna stopped petting the horse, and gave his full attention to Shoukatsuryou and Houtou. "You saved our asses today, girls," he said. "Didn't turn out so hot for some of my guys, but they'll live. Had to break the perfect record sometime." He shrugged. "How about you introduce yourselves so that I don't have to keep calling you by shitty nicknames?"
Shoukatsuryou bowed first, curling her hand into a fist and pressing it into her palm. "My family name is Shoukatsu, and my first name is Ryou—Shoukatsuryou. My given name is Koumei."
Houtou mirrored Shoukatsuryou's action, though she had to grab her hat to make sure it didn't fall off. "My family name is Hou, and my first name is Tou—Houtou. My given name is Shigen."
Ryuubi bowed as well, causing the sword at her side to clink in its scabbard as she raised her head. "My family's name is Ryuu, and my first name is Bi—Ryuubi. My given name is Gentoku."
Ragna nodded, taking a moment to put each face to each name. Then, he focused on Shoukatsuryou and Houtou again. "Shoukatsuryou, Houtou. Did you two seriously mean it when you said you wanted to join up with me?"
Shoukatsuryou's voice raised in pitch to a slight squeak as she answered, and her cheeks were flushed red. "Y-Yes, Lord Ragna! Your reputation has been spreading all across the continent, even to where we were in the mountains. You are most certainly a skilled warrior, but even so you will need the services of skilled strategists, especially if you continue to grow like you have." She twiddled her thumbs, and looked away from him slightly. "There have been talks of other districts within Youzhou that might want to ally with you, and if you consolidate enough power I'm positive that you could one day be a match for Sousou of Gi and Sonken of Go."
Ragna folded his arms and shook his head. He'd heard plenty of stories about Sousou and Sonken even before meeting Shoukatsuryou. Go and Gi were the two largest kingdoms on the continent, and their rulers were strong, ambitious young women with a desire to ultimately conquer the entirety of China, though Sousou was far more ambitious and overreaching than Sonken. Those dreams would remain an impossibility, though, as long as the Imperial Court remained in power. It would never allow any ruling power, save itself, to control China.
"And why exactly would I want to be a match for either of those hellions, anyway?" he asked. "I ain't got any interest in conquering anything."
Shoukatsuryou frowned, and looked at Ragna again. She put her hands on her hips and pushed out her chest, but unlike the last time she'd taken this pose, her expression was serious, not petulant. "Lord Ragna, I know you're not that naïve. If they came to perceive you as a potential threat to them, you know they would not hesitate to target you. Even if that scenario never comes to pass, it is vital that you are prepared to deal with the possibility. You won't be able to match them unless you either have strategists on your side or can handle tactical maneuvers by yourself."
Ragna snorted, then smirked as he spread his arms out. "Hey, now, you don't have to get all crabby about it." The teasing expression on his face gradually disappeared. "Still, I didn't know I was that popular outside of Youzhou. Never figured anyone would pay attention to shit like that unless they lived here." He looked over Shoukatsuryou's head, gazing at the soldiers waiting for their marching orders, then nodded again. "You saved our asses out there today with that strategy of yours. Far as I'm concerned, you and Shigen have both earned your place with us, Koumei."
Shoukatsuryou and Houtou both gasped in astonishment, then smiled widely. For a brief moment, Ragna recalled a familiar face—a girl with green eyes and blonde hair, smiling the same way—but the moment passed as soon as it came. Why exactly these two had reminded him of Saya, he didn't know, but he hadn't been struck with the same queasiness that had hit him when he'd seen Nu's face, or even that Noel Vermillion girl's.
"Thank you, Lord Ragna," Shoukatsuryou said, bowing deeply again. "And please, call me Shuri. As your vassal you don't need to be so formal with me."
Houtou shyly adjusted her hat, then looked up at Ragna again. "... and you may call me Hinari."
Ragna shrugged. "Fine by me." He looked over at Kan'u and Chouhi, who had been watching in silence the entire time. "You two are OK with this?"
"It's as you said, Lord Ragna. Their strategy eased our casualties tremendously," Kan'u said. Her Green Dragon Blade was in the custody of one of her unit's soldiers, so she had both hands free to fold her arms under her bosom as she appraised Shoukatsuryou and Houtou once again. "It would be a waste to not retain them."
Chouhi smiled, nearly crinkling her eyes shut. "I don't have any complaints either, big bro. Besides, Koumei and Shigen sound like they're super-smart, so now you and old Gan don't have to do all that boring paper stuff back in Xizang anymore. That means we can play and go have fun in town!"
Ragna bluntly responded "Like hell" at the precise moment that Kan'u said "Absolutely not, Rinrin." The two then looked at each other with raised eyebrows.
"I see you've become more diligent after all, Lord Ragna," Kan'u remarked lightly, slightly narrowing her eyes. "Why, not even a month ago you would have been happy to go and run off when important work needed to be done."
Ragna grimaced. "Not with that little hellion. The last time I went into town with her she ate enough food to empty my wallet for the next two weeks."
Chouhi pouted and rubbed the skintight navy sleeve that covered her right forearm. "I was hungry, big bro. Sorry for being a growing girl."
"You should have been a ballooning girl considering how much goddamn dim sum you inhaled!" Ragna replied, throwing up his arms. "If I took you out to eat every week, I'd be spending more than what we have in the damn treasury. If I'm gonna skip out on all the boring shit Aisha puts me through, I'm gonna damn well do something that doesn't cost me all the money I have on me."
Kan'u let out an indignant grunt and opened her mouth to retort, but simply couldn't find the words, growing redder in the face with every passing moment. Ragna was seemingly unperturbed by this, and shook his head. "Enough of this shit. We need to get to Kousonsan's camp. Aisha, Rinrin, give the marching orders. Shuri, Hinari, you're with me." He gave Ryuubi a sidelong glance. "And what about you? Ryuubi, right? You never said if you wanted to hang around one way or the other. If you can wait until after we settle this, we can get you anywhere you want to go."
"If it's all right, I'll stay with you, sir," Ryuubi replied quietly. She was more than a little bewildered at the strange interactions between Ragna and his vassals, mostly because of how it clashed with what she expected him to be like. The blank looks on Shoukatsuryou and Houtou's faces indicated pretty clearly that they were about as confused as Ryuubi was, but soon enough, they schooled their expressions back to normal. "I was traveling with Shuri and Shuri to find somewhere else to settle, so if you'll have me in Xizang, I would be grateful."
Ragna mounted his new horse without pausing, then turned it slightly to get a better look at Ryuubi. "Yeah, no problem. Just stick with us and we'll get back there eventually. You can tell me the rest of your story when we get to Kousonsan's camp, all right?" He turned the horse again, and nudged its sides, snapping the reins gently; immediately, it went forward at a slow trot.
Ryuubi nodded, and moved to catch up with Shoukatsuryou and Houtou; Kan'u and Chouhi had already departed as Ragna had ordered them to. "Yes, sir."
"And quit calling me sir, damn it," he said over his shoulder. Somehow, Ryuubi could feel the scowl in his voice. "Just Ragna, please."
"Very well then… Lord Ragna."
The groan that came out of Ragna's mouth was drawn-out and full of suffering.