Chapter 300 - Vol. 5 -

Keiko

After that... awfully embarrassing encounter, the group continued their preparations. Before long, most of what they had was tightly wrapped up in bags of varying sizes. Yumi and Keiko herself both remained largely silent, but as Satsuhiro told them about their trip, Keiko pouted a bit, seeing how Ash looked entirely unaffected. 

"I think that strategy of theirs sounds fine," Satsuhiro shrugged. "In my case, considering how long I've been out of practice for, I definitely appreciate getting to sit behind everyone in this plan till I get my bearings again." 

"I'd say we don't want them to be too weak, though," Ash muttered. "For me, the whole point is to try to get stronger. Getting the city back is..." She glanced at Metsumi, "cool, I guess, but I'm trying to get stronger." 

"You'll have to be greedy," Satsuhiro advised her. "Same goes for you, Keiko. Training is great, but if we're both going to get back into fighting shape, we have to do a lot of actual fighting." 

"Agreed," Keiko nodded. 

At that point, there was a knock at the front door. Metsumi stood up to go open it and see who was there, and the person who stood on the other side was a young man, wearing a black training ji, like the kind Keiko used to wear often. 

"Greetings," he bowed, and as Keiko looked over at him a little more, she noticed he had a pair of silver eyes. 

"Good evening," Metsumi replied politely. 

"A letter for Keiko Zayama, from her grandmother," he suddenly stated, handing over an envelope as Keiko raised a brow. 

"... What?" She asked herself, standing up and walking over to them. The man left before she even arrived at the door, and Metsumi quickly gave her the letter. 

"Did you reach out to her?" Metsumi asked. 

"No," Keiko answered. "I... I can't imagine what she could want." 

It's not like we left on good terms or anything,  Keiko thought bitterly as she remembered their last couple of interactions. She vividly remembered what it had been like to slap that woman in the face, which was great because she did enjoy it. 

However, in her hands was a letter sent by that very woman.  What could this be about?  She asked herself, curious as she ripped the envelope open. 

Shuffling back to the couch, she sat down next to Ash, who quickly wrapped an arm around her back as Keiko pulled out a sheet of paper. 

And, she read the thing in a low mumble. 

"Keiko," she started. "Recently, the Royal Council contacted the Zayama Compound with regards to the mission that will be happening soon, to retake Pearl. They asked for some soldiers and, of course, I obliged, selecting a handful of them to aid Jade's efforts. However, these soldiers are woefully inexperienced. They are in need of guidance..." 

Where the hell is she going with this?  Keiko thought. 

"Now, make no mistake, to say I do not think fondly of you is an understatement. However, due to your various accomplishments, I cannot deny that you are at least more experienced than these amateurs. And, of course, as I know the half-demon Savior is headed up there, I assume you are as well if you're still traveling with her. Therefore, I would ask of you that you watch over them. That is all." 

The letter ended as abruptly as it had been given, leaving Keiko with one brow raised to the ceiling and her jaw on the ground. 

"Seriously?" She asked aloud.

"What is it?" Ash asked next to her. 

"Apparently, some rookies are going to be sent up to Pearl with us, from the Compound. My grandmother wants me to watch over them." 

"Oh? So, what are you going to do?" Ash asked. 

"I'm going to ignore her, of course," Keiko quickly answered. "The last thing I want is to follow any of her wishes anymore." 

However, Satsuhiro put a hand on his chin as he spoke up. 

"It might not be a bad idea, honestly." 

"What?" Keiko asked, turning toward her. 

"Zayama warriors come with one of the most powerful abilities in the world. Having a few more Spirit Eyes on our side couldn't hurt our chances," he shrugged. 

"Ehm, well, we have Ash on our side," Keiko replied. "I don't think our chances are bad, to begin with." 

"Ash might be a disgustingly high level," Satsuhiro admitted, "but numbers alone can overwhelm any creature. And, the Royal Council themselves told us the demons remain active in the area. If there are too many for us to handle, then, yes, we would appreciate any strong warriors wherever we can find them." 

"... You want me to take time out of my day to, what, train a couple of rookies?" Keiko asked, feeling more and more indignant as the conversation went on. 

"No," Satsuhiro quickly responded. "But, if you can make sure they don't get taken out too early into everything, I think that would make our chances better." 

Crossing her arms, Keiko narrowed her eyes at him. 

"I..." She had been about to reject the idea point-blank, but she tried to calm herself down before delivering her response. "If I see them in need of assistance, sure, I'll help them. I'll help any soldiers I see that I can save. But, I'm not going to go out of my way for the sake of some random soldiers my grandmother saw fit to send to their deaths." 

"That's fair," Satsuhiro replied, and the conversation ended there. 

That last part that Keiko had mentioned was one of the things that made this all the more annoying. She asked herself why her grandmother would even bother sending rookies like this. Why not send something like Ioko? She couldn't come up with an answer. 

However, as that was decided, it was time to finally finish up their preparations. 

---

Ash

Got my armor... Got my cube... Got all my other shit. I'm ready. 

Ash was the last one to walk out of the Savior House, as she wasn't just packing her bags, after all. She placed her bags on the ground, looked over at Kaori's body, and picked her up. Then, with the blonde on her back, she crouched down, picked up her bags, and started to walk out of the house. 

Outside, Yumi and Sinneah were talking on the right, sitting by the giant tree in the middle of the district. On the left, Opah was wrestling with Luvine, their hands locked as they tried to push each other. Opah was making a face like she was having the battle of a lifetime while Luvine looked as emotionless as ever. 

Finally, right by the door, Keiko was standing on her own, her eyes cast down to the ground, while Metsumi and Satsuhiro were waiting ahead. 

"I'm done," Ash stated. "Where's Kasumi?" 

"She went ahead already," Satsuhiro replied. 

"She wanted to take a nap on the cart before we leave," Metsumi added. 

"Oh, gotcha." 

"On the way," Satsuhiro continued, "we can keep learning some spells on the way. Those Primordial Spells from Arianna were good, but having more options is never a bad thing." 

At that moment, a carriage came into the district. It slowly rolled over to them, being pulled by a couple of horses. A man jumped out and jogged over to them. 

"Ash?" He asked. "The Savior." 

"Yeah," she nodded. "What is it?" 

"Ah, the armor you'd put in a request for," he answered. 

"Oh, shit, really?" She replied. 

Earlier, almost immediately after they'd arrived at Jade, Ash had asked the Royal Council for a different kind of armor, with Satsuhiro's help in composing the letter. Her design had been simple, but she still doubted that the Royal Council would deliver on it. Apparently, however, they had. 

The man took out a box and dropped it off in front of them before the carriage promptly went away. 

Ash placed Kaori's body on a nearby bench, then went back and opened it up, peeking inside.

... Okay, this seems pretty much like what I had in mind,  Ash thought. 

After everything that happened in Amber, Ash had decided she wanted to fight in something much, much lighter, and more comfortable to wear. Considering how often she was fighting monsters who could tear through her armor like it was butter, or pound it so hard that her body could be crushed underneath it, she'd begun to value movement above all else. So, her design was as follows: 

She asked for a simple golden chest piece, small pauldrons at the shoulders, thin gauntlets, and greaves, all of the same color. Her elbows, abdomen, lower back, and neck would remain exposed, however, just seeing this, she could already tell it would be easier to move in this. 

Okay, not too bad, she thought.  As sketchy as the Council is, at least they got this right. 

"Sinneah's not carrying anything, right?" Ash asked. 

"I don't think so," Satsuhiro replied. 

"Okay," Ash said, before taking the box and walking over to her. "Hey, Sin." 

The draconic woman looked up at her. 

"Yes?" 

"Can you carry this for me?" 

"Sure," she answered without hesitation and took it into her arms. 

"Is everyone ready?" Satsuhiro then asked the group at large. Keiko looked up and nodded. Ash picked Kaori up again and did the same. Everyone else soon gathered in front of him. "Okay.. Let's go."