Ch 3: Temple and Shrine

A/n: Just a heads up. This chapter is about 12 935 words. Have fun reading, cause I had fun writing and editing!

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Her father told her tales of this place. Always telling her that he would take her here.

But he never did.

"That is our glorious emperor. He took the brunt of our grace-less, unlawful and humiliating fall from . One day, once I gain enough strength and the opportunity comes along. . ."

"One day my daughter, I'll take you and your mother away from this true hell. We all would go far away to a monastery hidden by a mountain range not even stone throws away from the ocean. How does that sound? Or how about we move back to ?"

"I remember the day well, the day that my emperor- I mean, our emperor choose me and foury-six others to not only represent the but also to bring the declaration of war against that power hungry shit that's apparently the new Chancellor of this place. He's closer to Macbeth than anything."

"Hush darling. You don't want your negative emotions alarming the now do we?"

"Right right."

'I wish you both were here. . .' Ichigo wiped away a tear hazing her view of the flame orange sun as it was setting past the horizon, making the sky and ocean appear in shades of red, orange, purple and dark blue.

Something wasn't right. It wasn't right when she first got here in. From the moment she met Ludachris, she felt like she knew him. . . Like she had seen him before. . . But where? When?

Brushing that thought to the backburner, Ichigo continued to think of nothing. Taking in the cool, salty ocean, Ichigo immediately calm down, swinging her legs over the balcony of the monastery in tune of a hum; a hum her birth mother would sing to her wherever she was feeling blue.

Her life was a weird one for most, but a sad truth for those who went through similar ordeals in this world. For starters, she stood out thanks to her sliver hair and matching eyes- one of many gifts from her father-, was never baptized like the other children nor was given a biblical middle name. Since she was never a , she couldn't take in from the enviroment, mix it her own; she could just use her own - a bless or a curse when living with a race that can't do what she does, it's up to interpretation. Her hybrid status was a well know fact: both the rich and the poor knew her. . .

Freak

Abomination

Unholy 

And those where the nicest epithets she was called by to her face when she was just a child(Satoshi was somewhat spared due to the positions his parents held), and yes, during her childhood, she was always wondering why she treated so differently.

She learnt why when became a teenager; trained in the way of a proper of a maiden.

Whore

Bed warmer

Funny enough, those epithets(the nicest)came from women both her age and those older than her. Envious glares from them started when puberty. . . was far more kinder if I were put it that way.

Something is wrong. Something is wrong. Very wrong.

Getting up from the balcony, Ichigo jumped down from the second floor of the monastery onto the the stone brick pathway, making a beeline down the path heading towards beach. 

She had no clue why she was like this. The last time she ran like this is she had to run from the from those damn witch hunters!

Witch hunts?! The last great Witch hunter was 331 years ago! Why would a eighteen-years-old girl be rembering things that took place in 1692!

Banishing that thought to her own distortion world of a conscious, Ichigo forged on, determined to get to the bottom of what's making her soul ache.

And sort of found it.

"Shit! What happened here!?"

Laying in a pool of their blood, battered, beaten, and on verge of death, were two, nine-tailed foxes; one a glorious colbat blue with flame orange tips and the other a flame orange with cobalt blue tips.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Running over to the foxes, Ichigo's blood ran cold. The sight of seeing such beautiful animals basically be reduced to a state of being nearly corpse-like(a feeling she knew to well) was nauseating to say the least. "You have been attacked by something. The both of you have. . ." Getting up, Ichigo ran over to the monastery faster than before. "Just wait right here, I need to get the first-aid kit." She yelled, picking up the pace.

As soon as she was in, she came out, holding a standard first-aid kit for animals, and began tending to them. "This would hurt just a little bit okey? Just trying not to move so much." The foxes both flinched, the medicine was stinging. "Come on, it would only hurt for a while. Now, your turn."

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"There. Now you both should be alright in a few weeks." She was proud of her work, the two foxes were properly bandaged up and within the safety of the monastery. Heck, she was ever able to grasp the notion of ¹ quite well(she hopes it's enough to impress Siegfried)."Now, to get your strength back. . ." Ichigo hesitated. Then she went over to the storeage closet, digging as if she was looking for something. "Just. . . Just wait right here. . ." Grabbing a ten litre metal bucket, Ichigo ran out the house, heading to the ocean to fill the bucket, then running towards the kitchen, leaving the two foxes to look on dumbfounded by the recent events.

If the question marks of different sizes floating above and around their heads -making quirky sounds- were not an indicator, then I don't what is.

With their curiosity peaked higher than the summit of Olympus Mons, they kindly made their way to the kitchen.

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Now they know why she brought the water bucket.

The foxes watched on as their savior tried to find her way around the kitchen, dropping utensils, spices, herbs, basically anything and everything that wasn't bolted to the wall or floor. . . And even then, they weren't sure how long they'll remain so. But it can be blamed on Ichigo's inability to tell her left from right, mint from basil when in the kitchen. But they still couldn't figure how in the azure skies of heaven is there enough water on the floor to reach one's ankles!?

Brushing that thought aside for a more. . . mischievous one, the blue fox to the opportunity to leap onto the kitchen counter, right along side Ichigo as she. . . was doing whatever she was before screaming; it sounding like a screaming woman.

Naturally, Ichigo jumped with a loud yelp, throwing the pan in her hand sky fucking high. Once she came down from her unexpected jumpscare, the silver haired girl scowled at the orange demon. "Oh lord! Why did you scare me like that!"

The fox laughed, laughing so hard that it fell off the counter and onto the flooded floor, yelping as it jumped back onto the table the blue one was on.

Ignoring the commotion that its opposite caused, the blue one jumped down and helped Ichigo clean up the mess.["■"]

"What do you mean I can't cook? I can cook, and I'm making eggs since foxes love eggs." Ichigo argued. 'And not because it's one of the few things I can make. Not that I'll tell them at.' And she went back to preparing the eggs.

["■"]

"The bucket of water? It's. . . It's just a security policy. . . Yeah! Nothing more than that!"

=====

The company of the two foxes were a welcome. Even if the one was more atuned to being a trouble maker and the other was way too logical, it worked. It very much worked.

["■"] The blue fox said, earning Ichigo's attention-who immediately went back to preparing the eggs.

Once done, Ichigo plated up the eggs before walking over to the foxes."You were trying to say something?" Ichigo asked, placing the plates filled with eggs prepared in many different ways infront of the foxes. "Was that your names?"

Both of the foxes were surprised, looking at each other before looking at Ichigo like she grew a second head then back at each other. 

Not liking the silence-and the lack of eating- Ichigo simply got up with a sigh that hinted disappointment and went to open the windows and then the door. With a single thought going through their minds, they gobbled up the eggs before high-tailing it out of there, leaving a confused Ichigo staring before realizing that the foxes where gone.

["Follow us."] A strong authoritative voice commanded, leaving no room to question.

"Hey! Wait up!" Ichigo, for reasons she couldn't explain, began running after them at full speed. Although, that didn't stop her from muttering under her breath. "Animals have a god damn mind of their own!"

=====

The air feels ancient.

It feels like he is no longer at that cage with its oppressive air(that he had to admit, was a divine beauty)he had needed(and was calling home, but consciously chose to keep denying that fact)to call home, but in a place he felt more like himself.

Now, if only his old man could understand that.

Opening his eyes slowly, Satoshi found himself seated on a grand, vine and moss covered stone thorne, adorned in pristine white knight armour with golden trims all over, from the breastplate to the gauntlets to the greaves and finally the boots themselves-the same eight-pointed star proudly on display on the breastplate, the gauntlets and greaves, the black cape attached to the armour via a single sigdle on the left side(it too had that eight-pointed star on it) at the far end of a massive hall-it too made out of stone that was covered with moss, thick vines hanging from the ceiling and other jungle flora decorated the temple floor. . . Along with the moss covered skeletons in various positions. Giant stones pillars keep the ceiling up as the graceful glow from the morning sun illuminated the whole room.

The scent of the and, with the whole ancient aura in the air, it made him feel at home. Although. . .

'What in the hell? What am I cosplaying? A elder guardian of some ancient temple?' Satoshi mused to himself, taking in more of the temple; with the sounds of the birds and occasional roar of a jaguar in the distance 

["Morning your grace."] A deep, yet familiar voice called out, making Satoshi to cock his head to his right.

The source of the voice. . .Was uncannily familiar to Ludacris. The figure roughly stood around the same height as Ludachris, had the same black void for hair that reached down to his shoulders, violet eyes, same chocolate brown skin. The similares ended there between the two, as this figure looked more masculine-in terms of facial and body structure, and wore a more form fitting white frilled noble' coat with golden trims above a white buttoned shirt, form fitting white trousers with black boots. The look ended off with pitch black Bycocket hat adorned with a golden feather on the right side and stark white gloves. 

The air around was comforting.He looked very much like a general getting ready for conquest. Something he couldn't help but wonder why he himself was pulled to the notion of conquest.

Before Satoshi could question why, the figure spoke.["Is something amiss?"] There it is, the voice of that made Satoshi rethink his previous assignment. This man before him is a conquer.

"No, no. Nothings amiss. It's just that, when will he be here?" Satoshi dismissed with a quick wave of his hand, turning back to at the door to gaze at it. It was like he was expecting someone to walk through it.

Wait. Who even is he? What is he even saying? He doesn't even know why he is waiting?

He knows he'll be here. It's someone he has known for years on end. 

["It seems you can't wait for this fight."] The Conquer(Satoshi couldn't call him Ludachris Clone now. It felt. . . Disrespectful to say the least) mused, even chuckling before composing himself. ["I thought you find fighting barbarians like him revolting?"]

"I don't know, but his stubborn behavior and the need to fight me is amusing."

["No matter how many times you tell me that, I still can't comprehend how a conquer befriended another threat to your conquered kingdom."]

Satoshi was going to respond, but the gates that open into the hall he is in opened, revealing a bright glint from the shadows. Emerging from the shadows, was a man(He assumed it to be male) clad in pitch-black armor much like is own, only difference was that, it wore a helmet with a deep wine red, eight-pointed star above it like a angles halo. Hanging menacingly from the wine red leather belt on his left was a broadsword with a wine red handle and the accursed(to Santoshi) eight-pointed star incased by a ring was the guard. Walking with steps that had the whole temple shaking with each step, the armoured anomaly took one good look at Satoshi before stopping in the middle of the room.["Oh looky here~ ya are ready for our battle?"]

A battle between old time rivals/partners is the best kind of battle. It's how one can escape the every day torments of life.

Getting up from his throne, Satoshi quick glace of his opponent-saying that he was confinement in his chance of winning, cracking his neck as he walked from the thorne till he was ten feet away from the newcomer. "Of course. Beating some sense into an idiot like you is. . . Fun." With a quick motion that he has seemingly done before a thousand times, the clone immediately took to throwing him a white jousting lance with a blade at the end that was no longer than a wazaki before 

["Oh my, ya seem to be a bit, excited."] The knight chuckled, grabbing the wine-red handle of his sword. ["Well, unfortunately for ya, I'll win today."] He proudly declared, his grip on the handle tighting as a wine red aura coats him, reeking of violence and the desire to take over.

"You said that the first time we fought, and the third, and the tenth. This would be one hundredth right?" Satoshi got into fighting stance; pointing his lance at the opponent as his own golden aura coating him-radiating a angelic vibe that gave life to the plants(unaware that he now looked like a conquer)"What is your name? I never got the first time and I've been meaning to ask."

["Ya don't know who I am?"] The dark knight chuckled, the evil gleam in his eyes growing more and more visible. Drawing his sword, the knight continued, ["Well, there's the spoiler answer, the theoretic answer, soon to be fandom answer and the obvious answer. . ."] Faster than what Satoshi could comprehend, the blade was coated in the same twisted energy .["But for the sake of continuity, I'll just say. . .I AIN'T GOT A NAME!"]

With a simple swing of his sword, a deep crimson arc of Sonzai-no-enerugī towards Santoshi, who used the lance to block it, although, it wasn't enough to stop himself from being sent flying back till he was a step away from the bottom step leading to the throne. Instinctively, Satoshi used the lance to block another, this time, melee attack from his opponent on his left side, using both hands to guard while the nameless assailant only used one. The malice and the need to dominate reeking over the dark knight was polluting the air, the heat making it hard for Satoshi to breathe.

["What happened to that strength huh?!"] The knight taunted, ending the deadlock before kicking Satoshi in the back; sending him rocketing to the end of the hall. No giving him no breathing room, it pounced. Rushing in a breakneck speeds with his sword aimed at Santoshi's neck. 

Without thinking, Satoshi disappeared with a quick burst of [Dieu vitesse], appearing behind Raider(like with Conquer, this was a name Satoshi felt suited him) and thrush the lance into his Raider's left side, drawing first blood. Jumping back to a safe distance, Satoshi flicked off the blood, reading himself for another attack. 'This lance isn't suited for this kind of combat while his sword is. Paired with the fact that he's fast on top off that. . . If only I had something like a halbart. . .'

Touching the bleeding flesh wound, Raider snickered. The snicker turned to a small chuckle. Without warning, Raider bursted into full blown laughter; maniacal laughter that echoed throughout the hall, distorting the helmet into a laughing head with jagged teeth. The aura of insanity sent a chill down Santoshi, sweat rolled down his forehead.

["OH YEAH! Now that's more like it! Yeah!"] Raider roared, turning to face Satoshi with a greater vigor. ["But it's going to take more than that to make me yield!"] Placing the with the flat side resting on his horizontal left arm, the owner of the two-toned warble muttered. ["[■: Sekai seifuku sekai bunkatsu no yari ]"]

In a bright red flash, the length grew tenfold faster than what Satoshi could see.

'What the-' Satoshi blocked the extended blade that was aimed directly to hit his heart barely with the lance-sending sparks flying as the unholy shrieking sound of metal grining each other – being sent skating back till he collided with the temple wall with a loud crash; himself being buried deep into it. Once the dust had settled and the blade returned back to its normal lenght, Satoshi slowly dug himself out, dusting his armour as he took a good look on the blade that nearly impaled him. 'So the blade can extend too. . . That means he has ranged capabilities as well as melee.'

Not skipping a beat, Raider once again placed the sword flat against his arm, calling out the same technique. This time Satoshi was faster. Sidestepping out the way, Satoshi pointed the tip of the lance. A moment later, a golden ball of formed. Another moment later, a beam of divine energy made its way to its target, hitting him dead on and destroying a large part of the temple entrance.

Looking at the weapon in his hand with a hopeful look, Satoshi place his free hand on his chin, pondeing on this new discovery. 'Interesting. . . I could use [Pioggia santa] with this lance. And it amplified the power exponentially. . . But was it en-

Not even a breath later, the wine-red aura flared, increasing the gravity of the hall, threating to literally bring the whole place down, with an intense heat that melted the nearby pillars.

‐ough' Satoshi could feel his body buckling under the stain. But he refused to fall onto his knees. Not yet.

Reeling in back the tsunami of power he had, Raider emerged from the dust cloud, his armour littered with scratchs all over. Ignoring the hyper beam he just took, Raider laughed in manical delight. ["Hahahahahahahaha!"] An aura of insanity chocked the environment, killing of the nearby plants and causing the building to crumble, making standing a chore. ["AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! This is the best part of conquest! The pathetic struggles of the weak as they try so valiantly to protect themselves and their families! The warriors of the kingdom dying to save their families, dying to make sure that their kingdom will live to see the sun rise! Don't you get the same feeling when you take what you want!"]

With a quick burst of [Dieu vitesse]-something that made Satoshi be on edge- Satoshi brought up the lance to block the blade, the impact caused sparks to fly, and the ground beneath them to give way as spider web like cracks appeared. Neither party yield nor gained yeeway in this struggle, even as they both increase their output. Seeing this as the perfect opportunity, Satoshi had to answer the question Raider had asked. 

"If I had taken everything I wanted, I'd be dead." 

["Oh? Is that so?"] Raider questioned, placing more strength into the sword he held with a single hand(which Satoshi had to admit, was both terrifying and humiliating as he had to defend using both hands). ["Why are you lying to me of all people!"]

"?!"

["Don't give me that face! I know how ya suppress your passion, your boundless desire for conquest no matter how small!"] Raider hissed, kicking Satoshi in the gut before pointing his sword at the downed lad, who simply rolled out the way before the blade came crashing down. Even when his face was hidden by the helmet, the look of disappointment could be felt. ["Ya used to spend hours on end fantasizing of lands under yer control! Ya want to take the position of the leader! Not a follower!"]

(He couldn't deny that. He always wished for more. A hunger within him said he could have it all. . . If only he had the power to conquer. . .

To take what he wants

To conquer. . 

The idea of conquest was a twisted fantasy. . . It did tickle his fan-)

No! He must not become like the beasts that hold him prisoner!

He must do better! He is not like the. . . Like the things here! He's the son of a Captain and the son of the King's most loyal advisor. And as such, he must conform to the ways if he wants to live. If he wants to make them proud.

Getting up from the floor, Satoshi shot a glare filled with disgust. Like what was the guy saying. "Where are you going with this? I hate rambling that makes no sense."

["Don't ya get it? Dig deep into yer damn mind! Recall all the times you wanted to take over! Ya used to play the role of conquer in yer dreams! Ya even studying the ways of other conquers to futher yer ambition! Yer need to take!"]

"I don't study the ways of the fallen just to satisfy some twisted fantasy."

Seeing that Satoshi was being stubborn, Raider turned to face Conquer-who had stayed standing in the same place the whole fight.["Hey you!"] The man hissed, his sword now facing a new target. ["Why do you still serve this pathetic shit anyway!? You know his lack of motivation will get us both cut down to pieces!"]

A moment passed. Taking a deep breath and sighing, Conquer nonchalantly responded. ["I have my reasons."] This answer wasn't the answer he was looking for.

["Well then. . ."] Turning back to Santoshi, Raider placed the sword flat onto his arm. [If he isn't willing to accept even the fact that he loves to take; has a burning need to take over and conquer the world. . . Then I will do it."] Doing a quick prayer, Raider aimed the blade at Satoshi, aimed for a clean shot through the heart.

But, Satoshi was prepared. From what he gathered, the attack was fast extending but slow when retracting. If he got the timing right, then getting a clean winning blow woul-

["[■: Sekai seifuku: Hiyakumoto no sekai rendaringu no yari]"] Instead of a single blade being extended, a wave of swords rushed towards Satoshi; still appearing as a motion blur to him.

That threw a monkey wrench in the plan.

=====

She's been running for what seemed like hours, yet the sun has never even touched the horizon.

Her lungs and throat her burning, she can feel her legs-and her body- were feeling heavy and her mind was going blank; nearly stumbling on multiple occasions. It didn't help that her causal disregard for her body- deep cuts all over her legs and arms, a bleeding forehead that cuased blood that made the pain in her left eye unbearable- had made the toll even worse. 'Fuck! My-my heart feels like it's going to burst out of my chest!' She kept pushing on, not wanting to lose slight of the foxes.

For what seemed like an eternity, the two foxes came to a stop, walking over to the valley has the loud footsteps of calvary echo throughout. Seeing that the foxes stopped, Ichigo no longer fought the exhaustion took take over, dropping straight onto the ground face down; no, she refuse to fall like that. She wasn't given the name Custodia for nothing. She had to remain strong, if not for herself, then for the one she, without a certain of a doubt, could call her little brother.

Forcing her body fall only on her knees, Ichigo took much needed breathes, filling her lungs with cool mountain air as the lightheadness slowly faded into black. Once both the tiredness and fatigue left her body, Ichigo got up, cursing herself for neglecting her body as she inspected the wounds, fixing her wine-red hakama and pale with kimono when she ran after those damn foxes. 

She cocked her head to the left, walking over to the cliff face before looking down below, intended by the echoing footsteps of the calvary marching in perfect union in the valley. 'They are all wearing the same uniform that me and Dio wear, just less expensive. . .' Even though her wanted to know why they wearing similar uniforms, something tugged her mind. . . Something that she would rather keep buried within the darkest parts of her mind.

But failed.

"Those soldiers. . . They are heading for war. . ." She muttered out loud, a twisted grin forming on her face at the thought of the chaos the marching men were going to cause at their destination-dying to fight for what they think is right.

As if instinct took over, she performed a quick prayer. . . But not for the people that had earned the ire of the marching army's government, but for the men that were heading out to war, for their families.

What was she going!? What she thinking!? This was no way for a maiden to act. It's no way for filth like her to even have such thought. . .

Yet she had them anyway.

She'd be lying if she hadn't had a thing for war. The whole idea of war appealed to her. . .she fantasized going to war with those who wronged her. The people who took everything from her cause they hated her on sheer principle. Going to war. . . And winning a war with them. . .

That was stirring emotions she never knew were there.

["Focus."] A authoritative voice that came from the blue fox scolded, pushing a nearby boulder down her way, making the girl mutter a curse.

On instinct, Ichigo threw herself back, dropping and rolling and stopping on her feet as the the stony ball of death rolled past her, destroying trees and crushing animals in its path. Getting up and dusting herself before running over to the foxes. "You shit! What was that for!?"

Not looking in her eyes, both foxes took off, making the sliver haired lass to curse at the fact she'd had to run again. Placing a hand over her chest, Ichigo began to chase after them. Though, has much as she wanted to huddled all the abuses she knows, her mind. . . Was far more focused on the army. The armada of men and women for as far as she could see in both directions; driving vehicles of war or walking with weapons all hosted up and ready to taste blood. All with one thought:

They are going to war. And they are going to win that war.

=====

Again. Again. Again her lungs were on fire, heart threatening to burst out its fleshy cage. She had ran cross forests(but this time, taking care of her body), on narrow walk ways on the cliff sides and over the vast plains and back up to the mountains, taking her all the way up to the snowy peaks.

"Do-don't. . . Make me. . . Run after you both like that. . ."

Catching her breath, Ichigo was in awe at what she saw. The shirne on top of mountain stood tall and proud at two-stories tall, made from the same orange-red varnished wood, with the crow black titles for the curved roof has the monastery, with the same orange rectangle lanterns hanging from the sides. Right outside was a giant stone tablet with kanji engraved onto it(thanks to the amount of pressure Siegfried placed her under and Satoshi being kind enought to help with learning this langauge), she was able to translate it to: "Shirne of war".

From where she stood, was a giant sumo ring that was level with the ground, a massive koi pond(that didn't freeze over at this attitude for some reason) a couple of meters away on the right-over looking the ocean-and a lone, seven meter high sakura blossom tree that slowly swayed with the wind; decorating the white sea of snow with a tint of pink-it facing the orange ball that still hadn't seemed to move closer to the horizon.

But for some reason, the place did look did look. . . familiar. . . Uncannily familiar. . .

Turning to the her right, Ichigo squinted. Thanks to the sky being clear for as far has she could see, she was able to make out smoke. Smoke from a controlled fire(something she knew first hand). It took her a moment longer than what she would ever like to admit, but she knew where that smoke came from.

"Are you fucking kidding me!? We were right there by the monastery!"

Yes. You heard that right ladies and gentlemen. They were not even two hundred meters away from it. To say that she was pissed when realized that she was taken for a joy ride cross basically country, is to say that the air is made out of air.

With a look of superiority found only on cats, the orange fox coudn't help but point out the obvious. ["Are you pissed at our little game~"] The orange fox mused, the general like voice making way for a more. . . motherly one?

"You both took me on a cross country trip all over the damn place when you could have walked for a good hundred meters or so! Of course I'd be pissed at you and your shity attempt of excitement!"

That wasn't the only reason she was pissed off. 

During her whole, crazy ordeal, the proud shirne maiden attire she had grew to love, was undeniably ruined. The white kimono that much of the lenght of its sleeves torn off, with the fabric that hugged her large bosom eased to exist, exposing it to the world. The hakama(in Ichigo's opinion) was a scandalous amount of skin, mostly much of her upper thigh being displayed. Placing her hands on her hips with a scowl on her face, Ichigo took a deep breath, exhaling most(but not all of) the anger she had.

Ignoring the scowling, basically damn near naked eighteen-years-old girl, the two foxes went their separate ways: the blue one going inside the shirne and the orange one, went around the circle ring Ichigo was in the middle in jumping ever odd number, leaving tall posts used to light fires till there where eight in total. Once it was done, it got to work trying to get Ichigo to open her eyes.

Feeling content with its work, the orange fox turned its head and called out to Ichigo.["Open your eyes."]

" . . . "

["Open your eyes."] 

" . . . "Ichigo turned her back to the fox, not saying a thing.

["Hey! Girl! Open you eyes!"] The fox got in front of her, barking at her to open her eyes.

". . ." Once again, Ichigo turned her back to the fox, the said fox had veins appearing on its head.

["Are you giving me the silent treatment?!"]

" . . . "

Sometimes just staying quite does help, and its very effective as a torture method. Although. . . With someone who uses more physical means can render it ineffective very effectively.

Deciding that it needed a more. . . Physical approach to getting through to her, Orange posed itself, applying all the power to its rear legs. It pounced, sinking her teeth into Ichigo's left breast, twisting and turning like how crocodiles do their infamous death roll- although, the fox made sure not to rip off chucks of flesh.

"ARGGGH! It hurts!" Ichigo was by no means a masochist. Deriving pleasure from pain inflicted on oneself was something foreign. Ichigo fought tooth and nail trying pry off the rabid fox off her breast. 

Walking out the shirne with a full on orchestra of robo-dolls with instruments in hand- or draging them and setting them up. It froze in place when it finally saw its orange counterpart basically "assaulting" Ichigo. ["What are you doing?"] It's voice was more flat than a dead man's heart rate monitor.

"This fox here is going insane!" Ichigo screamed, now trying to pry of the fox that now was biting her nipple. "Get the fuck off me!" Remember what I said about Ichigo not being a masochist in the slightest? Well the pink hue on her face is telling me otherwise. . .

["Never!"]

["■, calm down. Let her breast go."] And with that command, Blue finally got off, leaving the silver haired girl to tend to her abused chest. 

"Fuck! That hurt! What do you take me for? A masochist!?" Well. . . Your erected nipples say otherwise.

Sighing to itself, the blue fox walked graceful over to each of the mechanical doll musicians, and flicked a switch, allowing each to play their instruments, with all added up to a harmonious song. With a few graceful leaps, the fox was now on top of the first floor roof, the orange one following suit.

["Follow the music child."] The blue one said.

"You want me. . . To dance?" Ichigo looked confused(question marks floating in the air).

Nodding in sync, Ichigo knew better than continue questioning them. Following the slow beat of the music, Ichigo allowed her body to be controlled by the music. The tempo grew faster, stroger; going from a gentle and slow into music listened to by an army before war.

War.

It felt like she was a warrior taking part in a battle for the ages. Slowly cutting down and laying waste to all who even think of challenging her. Her body was running on auto-pilot, each of her movements had a purpose - moving as if she was using a Naginata, a weapon she had been using her entire life- no longer bound by the limitations of the mind, moving faster, stronger and more efficiently with each "enemy" She killed.

["What troubles you child?" What's with the pain, heartache and sadness of your past?"] Blue asked, sounding worried mother tending to her daughter.

". . . All my life, I've been an outsider. . . An outcast by those who promised to take care of me. . . By those. . .by those. . ."

["You don't have to continue if it's too painful."] Blue reassured, earning a slight shake of the head from Ichigo.

"They took my dad. . . They took him. . . Even my mother wasn't spared. . ."

["Then why not rage war with them!"] Orange barked, making Ichigo lose her foot-nearly tripping over herself. As she regained her footing, the fox continued, ["They took your father, separated you from your damn mother! Why try and fit in with them if you can make them feel the same way you felt! There's only one path you can walk on. And that path is the path of war!"]

She had thought about. She really did. But what could she, a weak abomination like her could do against all of the remaining warriors of heaven? She couldn't po-

["You are strong. You can become even stronger. Strong enough to rage war against those hypocrites!"] Orange barked, stomping its paw on the roof. ["You hate them and they hate you. Both parties have reached an impasse. Why wait till they take more from you when you can take from them!"]

She was the more violent side of this duo. Behaving like an animal that had been wounded and given no way to escape. . . But stil has the fight left in it. . .

"What more do I have?" Sighing in defeat, Ichigo found herself taking attack after attack in her made-up fight in her minds eye, unknown to her, those said wounds appeared on her body, staining her kimono a ruby shade of red.

["Your brother."] Blue stated coldly, earning Ichigo's death stare, more fatal strikes across her back and stomach. ["He may not share blood, but still you treat him like your own. You don't plan and declare war on them first, they will. And your brother will be the first victim; be him dying or having to watch you die."]

Not taking for her nearly non-existent rags nor the inhumane blood loss, Ichigo continued boring down the blue foxes soul. "They'll be dead before either of that happens." With a renewed vigor, Ichigo went back to dance-fighting, with her "enemies" landing a single blow.

With the gentle, sakura blossom scented mountain breeze blowing her hair, the sun still in its ever permanent sun set illuminating and warming up the area and the pale pink petals slowly falling and the splashing of the koi fish, Ichigo went on the offensive aggressively, like a rabid animal fighting for its life as now, the music's tempo wasn't being matched by Ichigo, but it trying to match her tempo.

Seconds turned to minutes, it then turning again to days, weeks, years. . . She fought for more than what seemed to be a millennium, Ichigo stopped, facing the two foxes, hair covering her face. "Are you my Accursed Artifact?"

The orange one was the first to snap out, looking on as a twisted flame, coming somewhere deep in Ichigo's soul was bright in her eyes. ["How would you know that?"]

"You knew about things about me that even my brother wouldn't know." Sighing as exhaustion held her in its iron grip. Wiping some of the stinging red liquid out of her eyes."I may not be one for thinking ahead, but I know very well how to go with the flow." Spitting out some of the copper tasting liquid, Ichigo took a moment to compose herself as her world became hazy.

["You don't have to keep standing. You can lay down."] Heeding her advice, Ichigo slowly(and very painfully) laid down on her back, adrenaline leaving her body.

["■"] Orange said one last time.

Giggling to herself like a lunatic, Ichigo closed her eyes, sighing in relief. "I can hear it now."

Jumping on the spot like a child overdosed on suger, Orange howled in glee; maniacal glee.["Yeah! Now the preparations for war can begin!"] Ichigo and Blue could only roll their eyes at the behavior.

"I wouldn't go that far. I'm still not one for large scale war." Ichigo said, slowly fading in a bright silver light.

["Get some rest before you attend to your brother. He's going to needed it."] Blue adviced, earning a slow nod from Ichigo before she faded away.

Once thier master/partner left, Orange immediately broke into a song and dance number, chanting.["War, war, war, war! We are going to war!"]

["Can you keep it down? We aren't heading for war yet."] Blue wanted to bury itself deep in the earth at the almost childish behavior.

["We are heading to WAR! We are heading to WAR!"] Orange yelled to Blue, making sure that she was in Blue's face before dancing away, all nine tails swaying which each movement.

Trying once last time to get through her counterpart, Blue called out to Orange.["Preparing. Preparing."] Little did she knew, that was a mistake.

["WE ARE PREPARING FOR WAR! WE ARE PREPARING FOR WAR!"]

["Why are we here? Just to suffer?"]

=====

'He knows me. . . He knows me far too well. . .' 

Satoshi wasn't in the best of conditions, his body was draped with cuts all over his arms and back, with a few on his stomach and chest.

["Damn, you sloppy ya'know that?"] Raider mocked, even though he was in no better condition, stumbling as he could feel his eyes burn and sting as blood flowed over them.

The temples roof was doing the worse, it was no longer in existence after Raider(and Conquer)deflected a few [Pioggia santa] up harmlessly into the sky.

With the stinging rays of the high noon sun baring down on them, Satoshi pondered on his chances of winning. On one hand, the lance did allow his [Pioggia santa] to deal far more damage than without, and if Raider was pinned just right, then he could simply thrust it into him. . .

but, Raider was far too faster for him to keep up in terms of movement speed, even with []. The difference is that great. . .

He needed a more suitable weapon. A weapon that didn't solely relied on one way of killing. . . It needed flexibility.

Another than that, he needed power. He was on par in power. . . But being on par isn't enough! Raider had the speed, he had the endurance, stamina and durability. . . But he needed more of a offensive edge! He needed pow-

['And what would you do with that power?'] Conquer inquired, still standing right by the throne the whole time, only ever moving position when the throne was under threat of destruction from both fighting parties.[' Tell me, what would you do? To get over this hurdle and place it back, allowing it to rust over time?']

'What do you mean what will I do with that power!? I need it to win!'

['And why do you want to win? Do you want to live? Do want to prove something? Do you wish to protect someone?'] What was he trying to get at? Satoshi was finding it hard to find that answer.['You, Santoshi, are one of those who are talented, so very much so, but you lack motivation. You lack motivation. You do things like a robot. You suppress the one thing that gives you drive, and because of it, you go through your life with zero motivation.']

The harsh, yet oddly wise voice was working. Satoshi couldn't deny any of what Conquer was saying; much like how he couldn't deny any thing Raider was saying.

Manifesting behind Santoshi, Conquer placed a heavy hand on Santoshi's shoulder that was. . . Reassuring for the lack of proper words. . .

['Listen, Satoshi, open your ears not to listen to words but to hear, open your eyes not to see what you want to see but to what you need to see, allow your touch to actually feel something. Only then would you be able to gain what you desire. You can hear the alarm bells ringing in your head right? Stop this treacherous act of not listening to your soul.'] Even though it sounded like a command given by a strict sargent, Satoshi could pick up on the pain, pain caused by years of neglect and loneliness . . . With his voice sounding like a bend of strong and mighty command, yet whimpering plea, Conquer spoke.['Satoshi. . . I'll lend you my power, my strength, my everything. . . if only you would release yourself from the chains that bind you. Trust me Satoshi. . . As long as I am here, you'll never fight alone.']

And with that, Conquer was no longer behind him. But his presence could still be felt.

What was limiting him? What are these chains Conquer spoke of? Satoshi dug deep into his mind, trying hard to figure out what was limiting him, limiting him from gaining power.

What could be holding back his potential? Was it a seal? A curse? What was is it!?

["Don't you get the same feeling when ya take what ya want!"]

["Don't give me that face! I know how ya suppress yer passion, yer boundless desire for conquest no matter how small!"]

It clicked.

It wasn't any stupid seal, curse or anything. . . But his mindset. He had the potential to gain power he needed. . . But he was suppressing his own desire. . . He lacked the motivation. . .

That's going to change. Conquer wants him to find motivation? Then fine. He'll get motivation. 

What brings him the greatest source of strength? What drives him to be better?

"Dio, are you busy? Can we just go for a walk under the moonlight? Maybe could play hide-and-seek? For old times sake?"

"Never what they did to me, just focus on what I got you! See, it's your favorite edition of Indiana Jones!"

"Leave that fucking vixen Dio. I'm sure you'll find plenty more that would treat you the way you treat them."

"I know that I can't cook to save my life, but I can least bake a cake for my brother."

"I'm your only brother."

"That makes your more special to me then."

Perfect. This was the perfect motivation he needed.

Taking deep breath with his eyes closed, time slowed down. Opening his eyes with a new resolve, Satoshi got up from his knees and stood tall, stood proud. "So that's what you were hinting at. . . You wanted me to sure you my motivation. . ."

The sudden change in Santoshi's made Raider halt his fury of attacks, watching intently as the air turned holy, healing the environment from the damaging effects of his own. 

The lance started to glow, phasing in and out of existence as it shape changed, losing the long metal spear for a more wooden appearance.

It responded to his will.

In a flash of golden light, the lance changed into a halbert with a red wooden pole and golden axe and spear head.

The change in the flow of battle now could be felt. Satoshi felt it.

With the weapon he was more "familiar" with, Satoshi swung it over his head before the spear end towards Raider, who was now floating high above. "[Pioggia santa]". 

["Ya really think that is going to work on me!?"] Despite the mocking tone, Raider took care in not taking those hits, even if it wasn't a direct hit. Twisting to the left, Raider paled as he saw another beam of golden energy appeared to his left, nearly getting gazed by it.

"[Pioggia santa]" another one, forcing Raider back to the ground.

["Oh C'mon! Try something new!"] Raider ts. Dodging to the left as another stronger, faster beam came to his right.

"[Pioggia santa]"

Getting fed up of these flashs of light dictating where he should go, Raider rushed in; sword ready to divorce head from body in one clean vertical cut.

["Gotta ya!"]

Swinging the halbert down, a golden arc of rushed towards Raider."[Rapimento celeste]"

["Oh cute, He named it- oh shit!"] Dodging was useless. Bringing his hand up to guard as the arc collided with him head-on.

'The attack should have at least taken off his arm'

Emerging from the black smoke cloud, Raider coughed, both and blood came out.["Ya'know, that was a good one. Even destroyed my chestplate."] True to his word, his chestplate was indeed destroyed, chest littered with first and second degree burns. Shaking his head to get rid of the irritating ringing in his ears, Raider got up, gripping his sword, ready to turn up the heat on this fight.

["Looks like ya finally found yer motivation!"]

"I always had it. I was just blind to it."

["Kekekeke, I'm glad to see ya back. But unfortunately for ya, ya won't win nor would ya retain that throne."]

"You're sounding quite confident."

["Conquers need to have a confident air around them, if not, how on earth will they lead their men to victory! To conquer!"]

With not as much as notice, Raider started moving at buck-wild speeds, bouncing off the walls and pillars thanks to the absurd physique in hopes to confuse Santoshi. And Satoshi knew that it was working. . .

Raider was undoubtedly faster than him even with a high speed movement technique. Getting a hit off him without handing that speed advantage would be impossible at his current strength. But, Satoshi knew of a way to get him.

Although, he may have to give up a limb for this.

Steeling himself, Satoshi spun the halbert over his head, standing just close enough to the pillar to make only two way of attack, gathering a good amount of along with mixing his in the attack. Not wanting to allow his opponent a change to gain momentum, Raider rushed in, planing to shower down slashes and cuts 'till Satoshi fell.

"[Rapimento celeste]". Santoshi's voice sounded different, as if he had just been reborn after finding something, that something to push him onwards to victory! He didn't stop there with just one, he kept firing one after another, again and again; increasing both power, speed and fire rate.

Soon enough, Raider found himself on the defensive rather than offensive, dodging each of those arcs of . Sure, they were weaker than the first one that struck him. . . But given that they had the numbers on their side, enough of those weak attacks would end up doing far more damage than the one he took.

He did have one thing on his side. Since Satoshi wasn't in the center of the room but more to the right, Satoshi didn't have a complete 360⁰ view of the whole room.

Slice.

That was close. The pillar ducked behind had been turned to a faint memory thanks to those [Rapimento celestes]. Seeing that Satoshi couldn't swing the halbert to its effective distance.

['Damn, such a amateur. Doesn't he not know of how disadvantageous it would be to stand so close to a pillar with such a weapon?']

Raider waited. Waiting for a clean opening to were he could just run in there and get to raining down slash after slash. 

['I see. While they have speed and numbers, they still follow a logical interval of eleven seconds. . . Kekekeke, ya 'till use reason and logic to fight chaotic instinct!'] Raider was disappointed, but quickly buried it.["YA GOING TO LOSE!"]

Satoshi faked being surprised, taking a step back and allowing his to falter just for a second as Raider came closer; sword thrusted forward to impale Satoshi in the heart.

Time slowed down, Raider could taste his victory. Satoshi was shocked, he had no defense, he had no way out! It was right there! So damn close!

Yet, it's so ridiculously far.

["Gotta ya!"] Seeing this as the last opportunity to secure a win, Satoshi bare handed grapped the balded end of the sword, directing it to safely impale him in the upper arm, shocking Raider at the lack of care for his own body.["What the-"] Raider's mind went blank. Huh? What just happened? Wasn't his prey overwhelped by fear and hesitation. ['He baited me! He baited me with such a simple trick!']

Lifting the helbart high above both his own and Raider's head, Raider could only winden his eyes had he saw the enfused axe blade come crashing down. Satoshi placed all of his reminding strength into the swing, slamming the axe part of the weapon into the helmet-nearly going clean through Raider's skull with a ghastly crunch. With one last gust of adrenaline in his veins, Satoshi yanked the halbart off-breaking the extended blade. Not wanting to leave it up to chance, Satoshi forced the spear end into where Raider's heart should be.

"[Pioggia santa]!" Now, in place of Raider's beating heart, stood a gaping hole that poured out blood. 

He had done it. He had finally defeated Raider.

With caution driving his mind, Satoshi jumped back, still gripping the halbert in his hand, ripping out the impeded blade with the other. Raider stood motionless, staring towards the clear turquoise, not making a single sound. Raider dropped the remaining broken sword; it creating a loud echoing clank as it hit the ground. The air was far to stale for Santoshi's liking, the sun baring down its heat and light mercilessly.

Standing and seeing Raider basically frozen in time, Conquer took his hat off and covered his face; not out of respect for the assumed "dead" Raider, but to cover a smirk, a smirk far too sadistic and the wicked gleam in his eyes.

Seconds turned to minutes, minutes turned to hours, before long, it felt like he had been waiting for an eternity, an eternity for Raider to laugh, talk or even smirk yet alone move. . . But nothing. . . Absolutely nothing. . . 

He'll be waiting an eternity eternally b-

Crack.

Raider's helmet behind to crack, the remaining armour on him began to crumble and turn into dust to be carried with the wind. Satoshi could only watch as Raider still hadn't moved. . .

Crack.

Cautiously, Satoshi jumped futher back, releasing his hold on the blade piece he had while his grip-even though it was a subconscious reaction- grew tighter, so much so that his own hand bled. . .

Crack. 

Hundreds of spiderweb-like cracks decorated the once mighty headgear. . . Raider stood motionless, still glazing up to the turquoise heavens above. . .

The helmet shattered like a fine Chinese tea set.

Once the helmet was gone, Satoshi could make out a face-despite how grotesque it looked with an eye missing, a third of its pulsing brain exposed. . . and a whole lot of blood(fresh and dried up) smeared on like some twisted face paint- Raider had(keyword being had) wine red, his skin was a pale bone white while his short dirty blonde hair was slicked back. 

Dropping his weapon, the pale man looked at the hole in his chest, then, shot a blank, one eyed stare. A moment of silence passed, neither two dared to move. . .

["Ya got me. . ."] Raider said, a wide maniacal grin pasted on his face-the grin should had disturbed Satoshi but found himself relaxing. ["Ya had conquered me and made progress on yer path of a conquer. . ."] The grin had turned into a one of pride- pride that one has in someone when they see one close to them, overcome a challenge.

A faint golden and red light engulfed Santoshi, his existence fading from the this place.

Realizing that his time here was up, Raider lifted his right arm up, pointing at Satoshi before offering out a hand-charging up a ball of wine-red Sonzai-no-enerugī. Even though Raider had gathered a terrifying amount of energy, something within him said relax(He had a hunch that it was Conquer). Before Satoshi had completely fazed out of reality, Raider flicked the ball- it turning into star dust that fused with Santoshi. 

["My talents. . . Are. . . Yours. . ."] Those were the last words Satoshi heard from the man

The world went white for Santoshi.

Once Satoshi had left the server, Raider collapsed on his back, crocking and hissing pain as Conquer- who had now placed his hat back on, with a face of indifference - walked over and casted a healing spell. Before he was going to walk away, Raider started small talk.["Ya'know, I could have defeated him with the first attack."]

["If it makes you happy, then continue thinking on those lines."] Conquer sighed, continuing to walk away as Raider continued to pled his case.

["I'm being serious!"] Raider yelled before clutching his chest and still very much deformed head.["I could have won! But, I, being the generous gentleman that I am, give him a fighting chance, cause ya'know, that's what individuals like myself would do."]

[". . ."]

[". . .It sounds like ya don't believe me. . . Nor does it look like it. . ."]

Rolling his eyes at his more violent counterpart, Conquer took the time to glace one more look at Raider before walking away. ["I always wonder why."]

=====

"!?" Satoshi woke up from his life like dream, drowning in sweat as he tried to get his breathing under control. It was only a few seconds later did he realize his head was laying on something soft.

"It's me." Ichigo's voice acted like a good cup of coffee to Santoshi, relaxing his nerves as he laid his head on Ichigo's lap, Ichigo herself rubbing and caressing his head. "You were still out for two hours. . ." There was a slight waver in her voice, no matter how hard she tried to hide it. "Did you win?"

"I suppose. . . Describe a Deus ex machina to me."

Giggling, Ichigo's somber look turned for the better. "It couldn't have been that bad. It beats being lead on by two foxes."

"Heh." That earned a playful smack across the head. "Mercy, mercy. My head still hurts . . . Like what's that about?"

["Just you learning our names."] The sudden new voice startled Santoshi, putting him in flight or fight mode while Ichigo could only roll her eyes, increasing her efforts to calm down her brother. ["Hi there boy! You must be her brother right?"]

"Yeah? Why ask?" Satoshi asked rather concerned that this new voice new his relation to Ichigo, looking at Ichigo if she had any answers about the voice; she returned mouthed the words 'Tell you later'.

["Nothing really, it's just that you look different than the pic of you she has."]

Not caring that the source of the new voice had seen pictures of him, Satoshi had to ask why. "What do you mean by that?"

["Your brown eyes are now a seductive wine-red~"] Orange purred, making the siblings, Blue and Conquer want to bury himself deep in the earth at the sheer lust in her voice. ["Paired with that platinum blonde hair and you look like a real catch~"]

"Huh? Wine red?" With a curiosity taking the helm, Ichigo grapped his chin, and turned Satoshi's face towards her. "Huh, she was right. They are that color. I wonder how?"

["That would be my fault."] Raider stated like he was speaking of the weather. ["One of the things is that knowing our names changes some of your appearance. Take a look at your sister, she now has fox ears and the tails to match."] True to his words, Ichigo had both fox ears and tails.

["Two tails already? That's quite the achievement."] Conquer said, sounding impressed with the achievement.

["She has one of the best teachers!"] Orange declared proudly, puffing out her chest.

With an anime style sweat drop, the other half of failed fight the urge to roll her eyes. Turning her attention back to her partner/master, had to cut short the occasion. ["I think you should fix yourselfs. Someone is waiting by the door for quite some time now."]

Ah shit. Pinky- Siegfried must have been waiting for them to let him in. They aren't going to hear the end of this.

Jumping onto their feet without missing a beat, tidings themselves up as properly as they could. After a quick check from Ichigo, they pace thier way to the door. It opens, and Siegfried was standing right there.

"Sorry Yamato-sama! We apologize for our disrespect/ tardiness."

"All is forgiven." Siegfried said, internally taking notes on the appearance change the two underwent. With his voice sounding quite amused, Siegfried turned on his heels, walking out, but before he did, he dropped a bombshell. "Do have your breakfast and clean yourselfs up. You are going to have a private meeting with His Majesty today, so training will be on hold." And like that, he was gone.

A meeting with the man who organized this whole kidnapping. Oh boy, this is not going to be their day.

Not wasting a second more, the siblings go on to make and have the most important meal of the day.

=====

He said that the meeting would be private. So why is Siegfried doing here? Satoshi doesn't know, nor will he ever. He assumes Siegfried is here because he is the right-hand man to Ludachris.

"Raise my children," Ludachris says with the same fatherly voice, a gesture that twisted something within the both of them, Satoshi more so. "I see the both of you are strong, I take it that Siegfried was a great sensei right?"

"Hai. He helped us with our short comings like our lack of control over our Sonzai-no-atsuryoku."

"That's good to hear." Ludachris said with that damn fatherly smile that drove a rusted blade through their hearts. "Now, we need to talk about your Accursed Artifacts. Have you heard their names?"

"They were supposed to have names?" This could have important information. Along with the fact that these things have their own bloody sentient!. Realizing that she said that aloud, Ichigo bowed(the same bow engraved into her)."Sorry Your Majesty, that was supposed to be for myself."

With the same fatherly, closed eyes smile, Ludachris just nonchalantly waved his hand."It's forgiven. Just tell me if you heard their names." 

"Hai." Satoshi and Ichigo said in union. Wanting to redeem herself, Ichigo went first."The name for my Accursed Artifact is Sensō no kitsune."

"The name of mine is Sekai seiha ." Satoshi said right after, keeping his voice as flat as a dead man's heart rate monitor.

Seemingly dismissing Satoshi's tone, Ludachris asked another question."When have they started speaking to you?"

"I heard faint whisper during the first five days of Yamato-sama handing us the Artifacts." Ichigo went first again. "Although. . .afterwards, all I heard was static noises."

"I heard voices only on the six day; that's when my control over my Sonzai-no-atsuryoku grew exponentially."

"May I see them?" Even though it was a simple(if not innocent)request, it felt wrong. Like Sensō no kitsune/ Sekai seiha something personal. Seeing the hesitancy on their faces, Ludachris bit his tounge before speaking once more. "Don't worry, I won't harm them in any way."

That relieved them.

Being the more bold one, Ichigo handed over her mold. The appearance was a drssic change from what it used to be; going from a meter long transparente stick to a orange, more bo-staff look. Satoshi went next; handing over his mold looked more like the wooden end of a jousting lance, completed with a gold and red swirl pattern.

"So, they told you their names," Ludachris began, sounding impressed, "but did they tell you their awakening chant?"

The siblings were confused. Huh? What the fuck is a awakening chant? "No. They didn't." The both honestly answered simultaneously, hanging their heads( They couldn't explain why! Why were they feeling disappointed in themselves when they are supposed to be indifferent).

"Say, from what you observed, what fields do they need improvement in?" Ludachris asked as he inspected the two molds, taking in things. Things that the siblings were trying figure out.

"Satoshi-kun is quite the student. In terms of controlling his Sonzai-no-atsuryoku is that of that of a 4th seat. His proficiency in kenjutsu, sōjutsu, and teppō is impressive." Siegfried started, scrolling down the blue hologram screen in front of him. "The only thing I'm afraid to report is that his proficiency in yawara Jutoritei, yumi and Suiren is sub-par and is still struggling to utilize his own Sonzai-no-atsuryoku instead of taking in from the environment."

Satoshi could only fight back the urge to grumble.

"Ichigo-kun on the other than, is opposite. Her proficiency in Yawara Jutoritei, suiren, sōjutsu and gunjutsu is leaps and bounds great than Santoshi-kun, while her is only limited to offensive and control over her Sonzai-no-atsuryoku is that of a 7th seat. Other than that, they both capable."

"And what in literature?"

"Satoshi-kun is knowledge in how tea ceremonies should be conducted, calligraphy, poetry, etiquette, Japanese grammar and written language along with Chinese literacy classics is simply divine. While Ichigo-chan is more proficient in traditional dance, astrology and astronomy, the Chinese warfare classics."

"Hmm." The emperor hummed in acknowledgement before handing back the Artifacts back to them, Satoshi and Ichigo both sigh in relief. "It would seem rewards are needed no? But before we continue, Ichigo?" The mention girl froze as she felt the emperor gaze upon her. "Would you like some more comfortable clothes to be made for you?" He tone was of concern-something the girl only really got from her birth parents, her adopted parents, and of course, Satoshi himself.

". . . Yes. . ." She felt ashamed and embarrassed for reasons she couldn't figure out. She knew that her fox tails made using the clothes she's currently using hard. Walking is a pain, fitting on the clothes is worse. 

"Then I'll make sure you'll get them by midday." The conviction in his voice at the task was, comforting, warming up something in her heart. "And there's no reason for a daughter to feel embarrassed asking for anything reasonable from her father. You too, son. You don't have to fear nor feel embarrassed at all." Ludachris got up from his throne, walking over to the siblings before ruffling their hair, smiling as he did so.

It was a simple act. A simple act that made the siblings want to kill themselves; no. Not really. They loved this. . . This warm and fatherly act. It was. . . Something they really needed.

Ending the father child bonding moment-much to the siblings distaste- Ludachris turned on his heels, walking back and sitting on his throne. "Before I dismiss you both. I'll be seeing you both for meetings weekly basis now on." That stirred both fear and. . . Happiness? "You are dismissed."

=====

This. . . This was too much.

"Is this in way, shape or form apart of their plan?" Ichigo looked pale, dead man pale as she took in the sight just a good hundred meters in front of her.

"Yes. It is apart of their ploy to to make us conform to their more eastern-ish way of living." Satoshi said clinically while looking just as pale as his older sister.

"I see that reality has set?" Siegfried sounded disappointed as he saw the lack of any positive emotion."I was normally expecting some surprise. "

While fearing that Siegfried took that one personally, Satoshi turned his attention back to the house- I mean the damn fucking palace he and Ichigo were gifted.

The palace was a textbook copy of the palace, plants and other decorations, everything. Only difference being that it was surrounded by a massive lake that reflected the permanent Aurora from the heavens(something Satoshi learned that was caused to do time-space anomalies), neno holographic flags with same insignia that's on their bands "hanging" on the walls.

Ignoring the slight modern changes done to the place, Satoshi quickly found himself appreciating it(as a archeologist). Before Satoshi could continue his train of thought, he felt a pull. Not any simple, physical pull. . . But more of a spiritual one.

(He couldn't deny it. The pull. . . Felt motherly.)

"Hey boy!" Turning around, Satoshi turned his head to look away with a red-pink tint on his face while Ichigo looked on perplexed, then blushed.

Walking towards them, were two females, one clearly standing at over six foot while the other jsst reached five foot five inches. Starting with the pale skinned amazon of a woman, she had flame orange hair that cascaded down till her juicy thighs, cobalt blue eyes and wore the German version of the uniform; consisting form fitting thigh length, pitch-black trenchcoat with the first few buttons left undone and the black undercoat zipped down just enough for her massive melons(Reason why Satoshi turned away), a orange, sleeveless(the sleeveless looked ripped off) haroi with the (accursed) eight pointed star proudly displayed on the back, a black socks and orange boots finished off the look. The delinquent air she held could be tasted.

The woman to her left on the other hand, was completely opposite. She had chin lenght cobalt blue hair with a traditional hime cut with a golden nine-tailed kitsune hair clip on the left side, flame orange eyes, orange framed glasses; giving her a strict authoritative air and a slight tan. She wore a variant of the full Japanese uniform: consisting of a black hakama held up by a orange obi and black kimono(that Satoshi thanked the heavens she kept her massive-but slightly smaller than her tall friend- chest covered).Finishing off the look, she wore the traditional straw saddles with black tabi socks, a cobalt blue haroi that had the nation's insignia on the back. What really caught their interest was the fact she-like ichigo- had fox ears and tails that matched her hair color; just that she had nine compared to Ichigo's pathetic two.

"Like the new place don't ya boy~" Was she from Russia? Because her accent was thick – something Satoshi absent-mindly noted as the two females approached.

Like with Siegfried and Ludachris, the aura/ radiating off them is terrifying. Like being caught in the middle of heavy gun fire(the feel coming from the amazon) or a typhoon(the shirne maiden kistune), tells them that they can and will die if they offend them.

For the furst time ever in thier presence, Siegfried actually showed a look of surprise-and a lot of it."Lady Brunhilde, Lady Naomi, you already here? Where's His Majesty?"

"His Majesty will be here shortly, Siegfried." The orange haired woman, now named Brunhilde nonchalantly said, turning her attention to Satoshi and Ichigo. "And for me being here," Taking a few steps, Brunhilde placed her hand(which was firm, but soft) on top of Satoshi's head and ruffled his hair. "I wanted to meet my son as he moves to his new home."

"You speak like you're the only one would knows how to preform such formalities." The fox lady, Naomi, taunted, earning a growl from her taller friend which she ignored. Turning to Ichigo, she simply just smiled. A smile found on a mother when she sees her child after a long time. "Ichigo, how was the new clothes?" She said, her authoritative aura becoming mixed with a more. . . Motherly one- with the ladder being the dominant one.

Her clothes didn't change much. The only main difference was the trenchcoat being shortened and special holes made to allow her tails -current and future- room. Nodding, Ichigo did a small bow. "They are comfortable." She truthful said.

"I'm glad to see you are comfortable." Naomi soon turned to face Siegfried, still glowing after her small talk with Ichigo. "When are we going inside Siegfried?"

"Right now."

"I'm sorry, just got caught up in a meeting." If it was possible for someone to act sheepishly as the meaning of the word, then Ludachris was doing a great job as he scratched his head as he approached the group.

The air was filled with a light laughter as the three kami with them just smile on. It was weird. They felt like a family. Even if it was only for a second.

"Let's explore the estate." And with that, the two kidnapped teen followed suit, standing not eight but five feet away from the four Kami in front of them.

Just because they are relaxed around them, doesn't mean they should cosy up with them.

(Both Satoshi and Ichigo don't know how comfortable they were).

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This place was fucking ridiculous.

While it was a one-to-one(almost) copy of the palace on the outside, it was a completely different story on the inside. The palace had nearly had six hundred and foury-six rooms, consisting of: a massive public dining hall, private dining hall, reception room, an office for their meetings, four damn master bedrooms(the two larger ones for Satoshi and Ichigo while the two smaller ones for the head maid and head butler)that were far too large with their own en suites, a factory of a kitchen along with a pocket dimension of a storage room, the servants quarters(with made up one hundred and two rooms. Each room having its own bathroom), a hidden bunker(that only the Kami, Satoshi and Ichigo, along with the head maid and butler knew or had access to.

Anything else of importance. . . Oh yeah! It had its own prison cells(making up one hundred and twenty rooms. Other than that, the rest were guest rooms or blanks that Ichigo and Satoshi could customize to their liking. And a treasury, cuz why the fuck not.

The emperor sure doesn't go cheap when gifting. The treasury had been half way filled, twenty-five percent for Ichigo, and the other twenty-five percent for Santoshi.

Sitting down in the private living room, exhausted from the extensive tour that the Kami gave, they felt out of place. The room, the palace, felt distant. Their old place reeked of their presence while here. . .

Despite the grander abode that what they were used to, they knew better than to settle down, for all of this can be stripped away at a moments notice.

"From one cage to other. Just that we were given the keys on day one instead of a month." Ichigo was drained, slumping on the couch as she reviewed the events of the day(if it wasn't for the clocks all over, telling the time of day by looking at the sky is impossible).

"They are trying to change our mindset from a prisoner to one of them."

"Then they are trying their best to tempt us."

Scoffing, Satoshi turned onto his back, resting his head on the cushion as he looked his sister dead in the eye. "Oh please, the only way I'll be tempted is if they bring a girl that would like me."

"Someone's feeling lucky." Ichigo teased, smirk pasted on her face. Satoshi clicked his tounge, facing away from Ichigo as a crimson hue took over his face. "Already wanting a girlfriend~"

Before Satoshi could use the cushion under his head as a tomahawk missile on his sister, the rice-paper doors opened. Walking gracefully, the head maid did a quick bow, not getting up till Ichigo told her. "Your highness, lunch is served." As quickly as she came, she also left, being oh so kind enough to close the door on her way out(I wish some people were this kind).

"That was fast." Satoshi noted absent-mindly.

"Who cares?! We finally get do something that won't stress us out." Ichigo jumped, pulling Satoshi by the arm as they rush over to the private dining room.

["Like you being allowed into the kitchen for cooking?"] The violent side of Sensō no kitsune joked, earning snickers from Satoshi, the reasonable side of Sensō no kitsune,the turning of lips from Conquer and full blown laughter from Raider .

"S-shut it! Harlot!"

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'What the hell/What is going on here?!'

Every time. Every time they think they understand him and the situation at hand, something must come about and make them re-evaluate everything. In the time they have been here, they only seen Siegfried in the chamber along with them during their meetings with the emperor. This is the first time that they have others with them.

And judging from their , they were more than capable of killing them a disturbing amount of efficiency if they lose the emperor's favor.

Their plan of escape needed them to be in his favor.

Once the newcomer comes were allowed to stand, the emperor himself took it upon himself to joyfully introduce them. Of course, they knew who they are. "I'll like to introduce you to, your new subordinates."

Starting off the introductions was a aquamarine haired lass looking on older than Ichigo herself. "Reinhardt Nia. It's a pleasure to meet you both." She said, her voice hinting that she of noble descendant. She earned the siblings interest as she threw a seductive wink at Santoshi.

"Shibuya Tatsuya." This was all this guy said. Rude.

"Reinhardt Kasumi. I'm pleased to meet your acquaintance."

"Friedhold Conrad yo! Welcome to the Kagami no teikoku, hope your stay has been wonderful."

"Sup, Inoue Alban." The man said lazily, yawning after finishing his sentence.

With a voice dripped with grace and nobility, the Sakura pink haired lass, greeted the siblings duo. "Aoi Kimiko, and it's great to see more of royal descendant taking charge and doing actual work."

"Hajime Flora." She said in monotonous voice, bowing before continuing. "I hope we could work together."

"M-m-matsumoto Satoru! It's a gr-great honor to meet you two! I'm being serious! I really really am!" The argent haired amazon of a woman mumbled, shifting and shaking in place.

"From this day forward, you two are my Shōguns." They don't know why, but that fatherly voice of his no longer upsets their stomachs(Satoshi hates this feeling). "The leaders of my army, only answering to me and the other Kami. Shōgun Satoshi Shinomura and Shōgun Ichigo Shinomura will be crowned official on July 15 as both Shōguns and as the prince and princess respectively. I trust you all will make them feel comfortable in the meanwhile." The tone of the emperor made the request more of a command.

"Hai!" All the Daimyo say simultaneously with a burning passion(not Alban. He lazily muttered) even saluting(with Alban slowly doing so).

Meanwhile, the two de facto royal children could stare, far too dumbfounded, confused schemeckldoffed even by how things are still going from zero to hundred continuity. Besides, they thought they were used things coming out of nowhere.

Apparently not. 

"What!?"

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A/n: As of 2023-12-28, the synopsis for the story has changed. Do read it to see if this story is for you.

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Next chapter; Chapter 2: The Kagami no teikoku army