*SHING!*
With one final stroke of his blade, Gimu ended the life of the last Tenmetsu warrior, slashing their chest with his blade named "Souta."
"We'll just say that they attacked on sight," Kiyo said as he planted his scythe into the ground, "and that we had no time for anything else." The scythe wielder explained lazily, brushing his hair back and looking at the night sky.
The sun was inevitably going to rise in what they surmised to be the next few hours. But that wasn't important right now. Reporting back to Imawashiki was the first priority. Report to the fiery bastard, then the fiery bastard reports to Regashi—simple as that.
Gimu craned his head to the side and glanced at Kiyo questioningly as he asked, "What's the deal with your scythe, anyways?"
Kiyo perked up at the question, grabbing his precious scythe by the handle and twirling it in his hands. A smile adorned Kiyo's face as he looked admirably at his weapon. "This baby has supported me since I was in Shanti. It was... given to me by someone with powerful dreams. I hope to carry out those dreams once our plan goes smoothly!"
Gimu's exposed eyebrow crinkled at the latter of Kiyo's answer—his dreams? "And what would those dreams pertain to?"
Kiyo pointed his scythe at Gimu, balancing the weight of the elongated weapon perfectly in his grasp. It was easy to see how used to wielding the weapon Kiyo was. Even the smallest of movements can reveal the most crucial things. One thing was for sure, after seeing Kiyo fight and wipe out a platoon in mere minutes, practically seconds, Gimu was confident in saying that the scythe wielder would be one hell of an opponent.
"To resurrect the benevolence of the three nations, by any means necessary!"
Gimu remained motionless for a slight moment, then glanced at his sword which still had blood dripping from the tip of the blade. Souta, his sword, had also been with him for a while, having been through hell and back—but they made it. And Kiyo's dreams—they would've seemed impossible just a few mere days ago, but after running into Regashi and Imawashiki, the possibilities were endless.
However, it all depended on one thing…
…If their plan in three days succeeds.
Gimu grunted and started walking away. "Come on, the fiery abomination is going to want to hear from us." The man with the bandaged face stayed silent as he walked through the forest, crouching and then hopping back into the darkness of the trees, followed by Kiyo shortly after with a flick of his scythe to fling any remaining blood off of his sword's blade.
XXX
If Kiyo learned one thing since he first joined this little band of rogues, it was that Regashi had a lot of places to be. He did take the fact that he was a prince into consideration, but he hasn't even been able to see him once! He's seen him in paintings, pictures that were scattered throughout the land of Furusato, and in the news magazine that the stealthy rogue managed to snag for when he was bored.
But, once he and Gimu informed Imawashiki of their success—even without any extensive reports—they were congratulated. Gimu merely nodded and turned away as Kiyo smirked arrogantly and acknowledged his feat in pride.
Afterward, they were put on standby and told to wait until their plan was set in motion. The Queen, Hana Ketsueki, was going into labor. Regashi, for some unopposed reason, wanted to witness the birth of his sibling. Imawashiki only stated that the prince wanted to see something potentially special. Not that Kiyo nor Gimu knew what he could've meant.
"Okay!" With Imawashiki propping up a stool he found in an abandoned area, he called out to Gimu and Kiyo, clasping his hands together as a green chalkboard behind him was presented with a tiny light.
On the chalkboard were the words "Plan For The Bigger Plan!" Obviously, the fiery abomination was not quite good with words.
"As you know, in three days we will be proceeding with our plan, and for it to go exactly as we need it to go, some preemptive thinking needs to take place. " Imawashiki informed, freeing his hands from their clasp and gesturing toward the green chalkboard. "The night that the Queen goes into labor will put Furusato on high alert. Furusato had never had any princes prior to Regashi, so with King Oritsu and Queen Hana having another means of establishing a new trend for future leaders."
Gimu and Kiyo sat quietly, having obtained stools for themselves. Suddenly, Kiyo raised his hand with a look of curiosity. "So you're telling me that every Furusato leader in the past were virgins?"
Imawashiki shrugged at the question. "It's a possibility; Furusato was said to be quite a laborious thing to handle in its early years, so they must've never thought about having heirs."
Gimu scowled in annoyance, "Why does any of this matter?"
"Oh," Imawashiki's mouth gaped, "I had originally called you here to inform you about your roles during the plan." The fiery abomination then explained, clearing his throat into his hand. "You guys will be tasked with handling the warriors inside the castle; I will obviously guide you in. Dealing with the warriors externally—like the barracks—is my responsibility."
"Uh," Kiyo began, "what about Regashi?" The scythe wielder asked, raising an apprehensive hand into the air.
Imawashiki met Kiyo's eyes as he answered: "Regashi will inform us on when to begin our attack from inside the Medical Room of the castle. Regashi and I have our own ways of distant communication, so no need to worry about how we will know when to begin." Imawashiki reassured fellow rogues, lightly jabbing a thumb into the air with his elbows staying tucked into his torso.
Gimu hummed quietly to himself, only being heard by Kiyo, "Sounds easy enough."
Kiyo stood up from his rusty stool, grabbing his scythe that was leaned over on his seat. Gimu looked questionably at the scythe wielder as he suddenly attempted to quietly flee the room.
"Where are you goin'?" Gimu asked, standing up himself.
Kiyo perked up at Gimu's voice, halting momentarily. "I… just need to check something." With those words, Kiyo began walking away once more. However, the scythe wielder raised one arm and waved backward.
"Be ready for the plan, Gimu!"
XXX
The impending day of the plan has arrived. The three days passed quickly for Gimu and Kiyo. All they had done to prepare was discuss the layout of the plan and laze around until the big day. Imawashiki was nowhere to be found, most likely meeting up with Regashi in the little amount of free time that the prince had. Or, that was what Kiyo thought, at least.
Currently, Gimu and Kiyo were walking up a hill just outside of Furusato, enabling the duo to have a perfect visual of the castle. Each of them had their weapons—Gimu having his Souta sword and Kiyo wielding his scythe.
"It's a peaceful night, huh?" Gimu questioned rhetorically, seemingly spacing out.
Kiyo didn't respond, joining Gimu in his silent gazing of the village. It was almost possible to spot the statue of Tsubasa Mibojin, just hiding on the other side of the castle. This village didn't become the number one village in all of Adonai without reason. It was now only going to end up lost in history.
Kiyo sighed. Maybe he and the rest of his group would end up in history books—hopefully as the nation's saviors. But for now, they wait. As for what, Kiyo didn't know—Gimu did. He always did.
XXX
After thirty minutes of waiting atop the hill, Gimu and Kiyo remained glued to their position. However, Kiyo wasn't faring so well.
"Why can't we just go now?" Kiyo asked, irritated by having to wait so long.
"Imawashiki has yet to contact us for further orders. We then have to see if the newborn brat has any potential to be a threat in the future or not. If he isn't, he can be considered lucky that a family like the Ketsueki is gone for good and he can do whatever the hell he wants when he's older." Gimu answered.
Kiyo did a quick reflection on what he said and asked, "What do you mean, 'if he's a threat or not?'"
"He has an Aura Sense, idiot. If he attains his father's magic, we will obviously be in huge trouble in the future. The Aura Sense someone has been doubled in their child. We're lucky Regashi is on our side, or we wouldn't be doing this." In response, Kiyo gave a quick "oh" and sighed.
"This better go as planned."
XXX
Gimu could be seen leaning against a tree, groaning in pain as blood seeped from his back. That white-haired serf roughed him up pretty well, huh?
Ever since he and Kiyo separated in the Medical Room, the scythe wielder going to go finish killing off all of the remaining warriors, Gimu was left with the duty of killing the Queen and supposedly the newborn. Regashi didn't see anything interesting, apparently. Oh well. Although, If Imawashiki hadn't saved Gimu from the lightning freak, he would've been dead. It's a wonder how Imawashiki knew that Gimu was in danger, but he wasn't complaining.
However, Gimu hasn't seen Kiyo since they did depart. Where the hell is he?
Suddenly, a bright, orange fire illuminated the area, alerting Gimu in an instant. It was the fiery abomination.
"Hey, can ya' heal me yet!?" Gimu hollered at Imawashiki, contorting his face into rageful curiosity.
Imawashiki's expression was more stoic than usual, striking Gimu with confusion. The man was usually jolly to the point of it being creepy—what's got him acting like this now?
"What's wrong, you clod! I asked you a question!" Gimu hollered once more, getting increasingly annoyed and angered.
"Kiyo…" Imawashiki started, "...he was, unfortunately, unable to make it. However, our plan was a success."
What? Kiyo was killed!? By Who!? Multiple questions raced through Gimu's mind, but the pain in his back got more intense as he tried to stand up. Groaning in immense displeasure, Gimu glared at Imawashiki. "What do you mean, "unable to make it!?" What happened!?"
Imawashiki remained impassive. "It's exactly as I said: he didn't make it. He died during an encounter with someone who was, presumably, a warrior."
Gimu gritted his teeth. Of course, as soon as he got comfortable with the idea of having a partner—he goes and dies! Damn it all.
Gimu gave up on trying to stand, his upper-body being in too much pain.
"Just shut up and heal me, you fiery idiot."
XXX
Just outside the castle of Furusato was the body of a very familiar rogue—Kiyo.
Blood seeped from his gut as he faded into the unknown. Suddenly, right before the scythe wielder could transition into the afterworld, a dark figure emerged from the broken castle a few meters away. All Kiyo could distinguish was long, brown hair and radiant green eyes gleaming down at him.
With his final breath, Kiyo mustered up every bit of air his body could gather and said—
"...R-Regashi?"
Kiyo then faded to black.
XXX
I'm not entirely sure what to write here this time, but damn—I enjoyed this one. Hopefully, you did as well. This is also the end to the backstory of the two old partners, meaning that it is time to return to the present! Sixteen years later! Stay tuned for more.
Have a Great Day!
Peace - Cr1ticalz_