Ragna, Shoukatsuryou, and Houtou didn't have to travel too far in the camp to find Kousonsan. She was standing outside of the main tent of the camp, surveying the entire place with a weary frown; injured soldiers were resting all over the place. Another woman, about Ragna's age or possibly a little older, stood beside her, looking over the camp as well.
Kousonsan herself was an average-height redhead, dressed in a white breastplate and gauntlets with a pink Chinese dress underneath the armor, and another short dark skirt beneath the dress. Pink gloves covered the upper part of her arms, and she wore sturdy white boots. All of her clothing was trimmed with gold, and her hair was held up in a short ponytail by a matching white-and-gold crown-like accessory.
The other woman with her had blue hair, cut to just above shoulder length in the front with a thin low ponytail at the back. She wore a white skirt with long, flowing sleeves and padded shoulders. The top and the bottom were detached from each other, exposing her upper body and part of her back. The sleeves were decorated with bronze butterfly-wing patterns, and she wore long white socks and black, thick-soled slippers. A black ribbon was wrapped around her waist, and tied into a huge bow at her back.
As Ragna and his group approached Kousonsan, she looked at them without changing her expression. Ragna could clearly see the growing bags underneath her amber-colored eyes. Her companion also looked to them as well, focusing on Ragna in particular, and something about how intense that woman's face was made Ragna pause for a moment. "The boys told me about you," Kousonsan said without preamble as Ragna came to a stop a few paces away from her. "The Messenger of Heaven, right?"
Ragna nodded, but couldn't stop the sigh and the groan that escaped him. "I'd prefer Ragna, if it's not too much to ask. Everyone else calls me either the Messenger of Heaven or Lord Ragna and it's a little tiresome after a while."
Kousonsan returned the nod, then bowed shortly. "Ragna, then. Thank you for coming to help. I appreciate it. My scouts told me about the fight you had earlier; the Turbans you fought blitzed the camp to get past us. We took a couple of them out, but the rest were able to slip by. I was about to try and figure out if I had the manpower to chase them down when you showed up and took care of them." She sighed., and squeezed the bridge of her nose with her fingers. "The way we were set up, I wasn't expecting the bastards to try and get through. I figured they would have gone to Qiao instead since we had the road blocked. Guess they didn't want to aggravate Sousou."
Ragna shook his head. "If anything, I should be thanking you. You didn't have to plant down here and try to keep those smarmy assholes from getting further in." He gestured to Shoukatsuryou and Houtou. "These two are my strategists, Koumei Shoukatsuryou and Shigen Houtou. They'll be helping us figure out what the next move is." He then looked at Kousonsan's companion. "And you are?"
"My family name is Chou, and my first name is Un—Chou'un. My given name is Shiryuu," the woman replied. Her violet eyes were cool and calm, and stayed completely focused on him as she addressed him. The large white barrette on her head gleamed in the sunlight, and a thin red ribbon was tied around a hole on each side of it. "I volunteered to assist Lady Kousonsan with the defense effort."
Ragna clapped his hands together. "Good, introductions over. Next order of business." He looked at Kousonsan again. "How many Turbans are in the main force and how many soldiers do you have?"
"I've got around 5,000 men fighting fit," Kousonsan said flatly, putting one hand against her hip. "The Turbans have five times that. The only saving grace is that they're not due to attack for a while yet; we've got maybe two or three hours, if that."
Ragna managed to avoid groaning. "We'd need to go back and get a tally of our side, but we're probably going to get lucky if our total forces hit 10,000. I'm not really seeing a lot of options here."
"We don't particularly need a lot of them," Chou'un said. "We only need the one that is most effective for our situation." She allowed a cold smirk to cross her face. "They're a bunch of undisciplined rabble. All we need to do is break their ranks, break their confidence, and then break them. Between myself, Unchou Kan'u, Yokutoku Chouhi, and Lord Ragna here, we should be able to do that."
Kousonsan and Ragna both blinked, though Kousonsan recovered first. "And who exactly are Chouhi and Kan'u?"
"My generals," Ragna said, narrowing his eyes as he looked at a still-smirking Chou'un. "How exactly Chou'un knows about them, I don't know, but she's right—if it's those two and me, we can handle our fair share of Turbans."
"Lord Ragna, this isn't the same situation as the last battle," Shoukatsuryou said. Her face was drawn into a hard mask, and she looked every bit the strategist that she sounded like. "We're outnumbered by an order of at least five to one. No one would be able to sustain a consistent performance in the face of numbers like that."
Ragna closed his right eye and grunted. "Preaching to the choir, kid. I admit, the plan's got guts, but I wouldn't take on odds like that back where I came from, and I was stronger then."
Houtou spoke next, clasping her hands in front of her and allowing the wide brim of her hat to hide her eyes slightly. "I might have a few ideas about how to make up the difference in our forces. However, it will involve very precise troop movement and management, and if we make a mistake, our situation will be extremely bad."
Kousonsan gave Houtou a speculative glance, wondering how someone so shy-looking could be a strategist, but didn't push the issue. "Well, we've got the time. No reason to not make use of it. Let's hear it."
Houtou raised her head a little bit, exposing her eyes, and began to speak. "We obviously will have to engage the Turbans on the western side of the blockade. We'll need Lady Kan'u and Lord Ragna to start things off with their personal squads backing them up. Lady Chouhi's squad will need to follow up behind them. However, before the charge, Lady Chouhi's unit will increase the number of flag-bearers that they have."
Shoukatsuryou nodded, immediately seeing what Houtou was suggesting. A small smile spread across her face. "The Turbans will think we have more soldiers than we actually do, and that will shake their confidence. Excellent idea, Hinari!"
"After that," Houtou continued, acknowledging Shoukatsuryou with a blush and a nod, "Lady Kan'u and Lord Ragna will retreat, allowing Lady Chouhi's unit to engage the Turban vanguard. At that time, Lady Kan'u and Lord Ragna will have to join up with their units again and use the pincer maneuver that we used on the Turbans before." She raised a finger. "This time, though, we have to leave a way for the Turbans to escape so that they don't try to break through all at once; if they still have a way to retreat, they'll likely fight without concentrating all their forces. If Lady Kan'u and Lord Ragna come in from the rear and surround the Turbans from behind, that will drive them toward the camp. It is at that point that General Kousonsan and General Chou'un should be able to lead their own charge from the camp and help us pin them down. Since the Turbans' numbers will be greatly reduced, they will be easily killed at that point."
Kousonsan closed her eyes for a few moments, then nodded, allowing herself a genuine smile. "Sounds good to me."
Chou'un made a thoughtful humming sound, frowning softly and slightly. "It's sound. However, I have a small request. Would I be able to take the initial charge with Lord Ragna and Kan'u? General Kousonsan is more than capable of directing the soldiers without my aid."
Houtou pursed her lips, and lost the confident manner that she'd been speaking with up till that point. "W-Well...It shouldn't be a problem..."
Chou'un took that hesitant remark as confirmation enough to turn to Kousonsan next. "Then, Hakukei, if you have no objections, I'll be going out on the front."
Kousonsan's smile gave way to an annoyed frown and a sigh. She waved her hand dismissively, and the irritation on her face made it clear that something like this wasn't exactly new to her. "Hungry for the battle as always, eh, Shiryuu? If Ragna's fine with it, then go ahead. It's as you said, I can direct my own troops just fine."
The smirk came back to Chou'un's face. "Lord Ragna?"
Ragna opened his right eye again, and returned Chou'un's violet-eyed stare with his own. "You've been looking at me like a goddamn side of meat this whole time, so you obviously got something you wanna prove to me. Guess this is your chance, isn't it?"
The smirk widened, and Chou'un's eyes narrowed slightly at the unspoken challenge. "It is. Thank you, Lord Ragna."
Kousonsan clapped her hands together and nodded once more. "Then I think it's time to prepare our troops. Bring your army in, Ragna, and station them by the west gate. I'll have my scouts report to you when they sight the main force." She fixed Chou'un with another annoyed glance. "Going by your statements, Shiryuu, I'm assuming that this is going to be your final engagement under my command."
Chou'un folded her arms. "That is so. Hakukei, you are a competent and thoughtful general, and it was an honor to fight at your side. However, I don't think that I can continue to serve under you. I'd like to go out there and see what else there is in China."
"That's fine," Kousonsan said. Her harsh expression relaxed slightly. "One day you'll probably figure out what you're looking for and settle down somewhere. Whoever you wind up serving will probably end up being damn near unbeatable."
Chou'un similarly softened her smirk into a genuine smile. "Maybe, maybe not." She turned to Ragna, Shoukatsuryou, and Houtou. "Shall we go? I need to stop by my tent to pick up my spear first, though."