Wandering Sorrows

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Akira110
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Re: Wandering Sorrows

#16 Post by Akira110 »

Chapter 15

As Julius landed in the port city, Yoshiro climbed off his back and was greeted by his grandparents. He looked at Amaterasu and hugged her, "If all goes well, I'll be back in a couple of weeks, will you two be alright here?" Amaterasu nodded slightly, "We needed a vacation from our jobs anyhow." Raiden laughed, "Even in the summer, the southern arctic regions are far too cold for anyone that isn't at least part arctic, especially during the brutal nights." Yoshiro nodded slightly, "I'll keep in contact as best as I can." Amaterasu nodded, "I'm sure you will, Yoshiro." Yoshiro smiled slightly and placed his hand on Magatama, "I'll keep this safe, I promise." Amaterasu smiled and kissed him on the forehead, "I'm sure you will, grandson." Yoshiro let go of her and walked towards the docks. It wasn't that far from where Julius and he had landed, but he didn't quite know this city.

Yoshiro looked around for the harbor master and was approached by a Neko, "Hey, you look a little lost, first time around here?" Yoshiro nodded slightly, "Yeah, I don't usually come this far south." The Neko smiled slightly, "My name is Alistar, what's yours?" Yoshiro looked out to the ocean, "Yoshiro Miyamae." Alistar's eyes widened, "Wait, you mean you're the Yoshiro Miyamae?" Yoshiro didn't want the attention, but he also didn't too particularly care to lie in case this person caught a glimpse of his identification card, "Yeah, I am. Please try to keep it down, I'm not some legendary hero, Alistar, I am just a guy." Alistar nodded, he was excited to meet someone that was spoken of in his old history classes, "Tell me, is it true that you're the first person to make first contact with an unknown race?" Yoshiro blinked, expecting news of his combat prowess to have reached here, "That is true, though my wife and son were there."

Alistar smiled, he had never met an explorer before, "I have to say that it truly is an honor, your deeds have inspired me to join the expeditionary corps." Yoshiro laughed, he was relieved that this kid wasn't talking about war, "I'll let you in on a little secret. Not all jobs are as exciting as the one that I wound up getting. If I had to say, most places you will visit are more or less finding out if the world can support life and relaying that information to home. Sometimes you do find something interesting, watching a supernova from a safe distance? You'll never see anything like it in your life and the nebulae that you've seen in pictures? When you see them up close, they're breathtaking. The galaxy can be an amazing place, but most of what you'll be doing is your job, so you don't get the chance to see these amazing events."

Alistar nodded, "So what are you doing this far south?" Yoshiro placed his hand in one of his pockets, "I'm chartering a ship to get me to the southernmost continent. A lot of Menschilche installations haven't been entered yet and I want to catalogue exactly what's in them so that future generations will know what the bases that were left behind by the people that enslaved our ancestors were for." Alistar nodded slightly, "I see, well, I think I can help you find the harbormaster, he's in that pub. But... don't research groups work in teams?" Yoshiro nodded, "We do, I'm the only arctic member of my group, so I'm meeting up with another group of scientists when I get down there." Alistar pointed to his sword, "Why do you have that?"

Yoshiro chuckled, "I'm a Kensei, we carry our swords with us wherever we go." Alistar nodded, "Well do you wish for me to come in with you?" Yoshiro shook his head, "No thanks, I can handle the rest. Thanks for your help though." Alistar nodded, "Thank you for telling me what it's like to be an explorer. I'll go explore the galaxy, just like you." Yoshiro smiled softly and walked into the pub. He noticed people of all races in the place and he noticed a sign that said harbor master on the front wall. He walked over to the counter under the sign and hit the bell. A female Mus walked out, which surprised him, he had never seen any Mus work on ships, knowing that they preferred to be on land. The Mus looked up at him, "Don't get too many Arctic Kitsune around here."

Yoshiro nodded, "I'm half-arctic." The Mus rolled her eyes, "Whatever, so where will you be going?" Yoshiro reached into his pocket for his wallet, "I'm going to the southernmost continent." The Mus nodded, "Show me your passport." Yoshiro pulled out his wallet. He opened it and pulled his passport out to show it to her. The Mus looked at it, "Oh, I didn't know that we were going to be graced by the Legendary Hero." Yoshiro was annoyed at that, but did his best to hide it, "I'm just a scientist right now, doing some research down there. I left that part of my past behind me." The Mus sighed and handed him back his passport, "What kind of ticket are you looking for?" Yoshiro thought about it, "A one way ticket, if you will." The Mus nodded, "Planning on staying long?" Yoshiro shook his head, "Not really, just don't know when I'll be done with my work."

The Mus printed out his ticket, "That will be three sapphires." Yoshiro pat himself down, "I don't have any gems on me, do you take galactic credits?" The Mus pulled out a device and Yoshiro pulled a card out of his wallet and she looked at him, "Tap your card." Yoshiro did as she said, he had done this many times before and she handed him his ticket as he put everything back into his wallet, "Thanks." He took the ticket and looked at it, "Pier six, huh." Yoshiro walked out of the pub and looked around, "Where is pier six?" A female Kitsune walked up, "Pier six, huh? I'm heading there myself, why are you going?" Yoshiro looked at her, she was a fairly young Kitsune, "I'm going there to get on a ship to head to the southernmost continent. I have research to do."

The female Kitsune nodded, "I'm going to go there to look at some of the ruins down there." Yoshiro arched a brow as they walked towards the pier that they were heading to, "Aren't the ruins at the south pole?" The female Kitsune nodded, "Yeah, why?" Yoshiro laughed, "What a surprise. Let me guess, you're an archeologist?" The female Kitsune smiled, "How'd you guess? My name is Atsuko, by the way." Yoshiro looked forward, "Dr. Yoshiro Miyamae, I'm going there to study a Menschilche base." Atsuko blinked, "Oh my goodness, I read your thesis on robotics. I'm amazed at how you even considered that a robot is capable of gaining sentience on their own." Yoshiro smiled softly, "Actually, Atsuko. I was referring to artificial intelligence and their capacity to grow and evolve, rewriting their own programming until they achieve a level of sentience that we have."

Atsuko nodded and waved to someone that Yoshiro looked at, it was an arctic Karhu, "Hey, professor. I hope you don't mind, but we might have someone else in our group." The Karhu looked at him, "My goodness, you're Yoshiro Miyamae, aren't you?" Yoshiro nodded and extended his hand, "In the flesh." The Karhu shook his hand, "I'm Pekka Ronkainen. I must say that your work in the fields of exploration and robotics is astounding, my good sir." Yoshiro nodded slightly, "I hope you don't mind if I tag along with your group until we get to our destination. The ruins that you will be exploring aren't but a few hundred meters from where I'm heading." Pekka shook his head, "Oh I have no problems with you tagging along. It will be great having another scientific mind on the journey. I must ask though, is it true that you are the grandson of Amaterasu Sano?"

Yoshiro chuckled as they boarded the boat. He handed his ticket to the person at the entrance of the boat, "Yeah, I am." Pekka laughed, "Why this is indeed a very interesting development. I never expected someone of her bloodline to be so interested in exploration and robotics. Honestly, I expected someone in her bloodline to become a botanist or a geneticist." Yoshiro shrugged as he looked down at the piece of paper he was handed, "Well, I guess this is where we part ways for a short while, I need to get my room straightened out." Pekka nodded, "Do you have a change of clothing while we're here?" Yoshiro realized that he forgot to pack anything when he left his continent, "No." Pekka nodded, "We have a male Kitsune in our group, similar size to you, I'm sure he'll let you borrow his clothes." Yoshiro nodded slightly as he turned to head towards his cabin, "Thanks, Professor."
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Re: Wandering Sorrows

#17 Post by Akira110 »

Chapter 16

Yoshiro sat within his cabin on the ship when there was a knock on the door, Yoshiro looked at the door, "It's open." The door opened to reveal a male Kitsune standing there, "The professor said that you didn't have any change of clothes, a little sloppy for a scientist, don't you think?" Yoshiro laughed, "Just because we're some of the smartest people on the planet, doesn't mean that we remember everything." The Kitsune placed the clothes on the dresser, "Here you go, a few changes of clothing, I'd recommend you change your outfit. After all, you look like you've been wearing those clothes for a week." Yoshiro had only been wearing his current outfit for a few days, but didn't want to argue, "Shoo then, I'll change clothes." The Kitsune walked out and closed the door as Yoshiro looked through what he was given. It was all casual clothing, like he liked and he smiled as he switched into some fresh new clothes.

He took off his gloves and placed them on the nightstand, figuring that he should allow the sign of Amaterasu to be revealed for all to see, so that he wouldn't get in trouble for carrying his sword around. Taking a look in the mirror, he frowned as his hair was still long and Sigma's voice startled him out of his thoughts, "Yoshiro, why are you looking at yourself in the mirror?" Yoshiro spoke up, "I had completely forgotten about you being there." Yoshiro ran a hand through his hair, "I'm going to need a haircut when we get there." Sigma spoke up, "You look good with your hair like that, Yoshiro." Yoshiro dismissed him, "You're just saying that because I created you." Sigma's hologram activated itself and it walked over to him, "Put your hair into a ponytail and it will fit you as a swordsman."

Yoshiro was in disbelief, "Sigma, is this your... opinion?" Sigma nodded, "Yes, I honestly do think that you would look good with your hair in a ponytail." Yoshiro couldn't believe what he was hearing, "Look out the window, give me your opinion on the ocean." Sigma's hologram moved over to the window, "The ocean is... blue and wavy and... honestly it's..." Yoshiro held hope for what Sigma's next word was going to be, but those hopes were dashed when Sigma continued, "full of life." Yoshiro sighed and smiled, "Well at least we're making progress. I'm proud that you formed an opinion of your own. Even if it was of how your own creator looks with his hair in a certain way." Sigma's hologram turned around, "I do not quite fully understand people, but I'm hoping that I will get to interact with some of the people on this ship."

Yoshiro shook his head and was about to open his mouth when there was a knock at the door. The voice on the other side spoke up, "May I come in?" Yoshiro recognized the voice, "It's open, Atsuko." Sigma looked to see the door open and Atsuko gasped, "I didn't know that we had a stowaway on the ship." Before Yoshiro could correct her, a sailor on the ship barged past her and into the room, "I'm going to have to see your ticket, Drow." Yoshiro placed his hand on his eyes, "It's an AI hologram of a Drow Kilf. I wrote his coding and designed the hologram myself. If you really need some fare for some artificial intelligence, I'll just swim back to port." The Sailor looked at him, "I might not exactly be like one of you scientist types, but I know a stowaway when I see one."

Yoshiro tried not to snarl, but he did so anyway, "Place your hand on him, you daft fool!" The Sailor did so and was surprised when his hand went through Sigma's hologram and Yoshiro folded his arms, annoyed with this interruption, "Now that's over with, I will expect you to leave my cabin, post-haste." The Sailor walked up to him and poked his finger in his chest, "You're on a ship that I work for, I'm expecting you to show me some respect." Yoshiro nodded, "Sure thing." Yoshiro noticed that the guy was a Mofeta, "Mofeta aren't known to be on ships, are they?" The Mofeta blinked and growled, revealing his sharp canines, but Yoshiro smiled and spoke in the Mofetian language, "Usted no me asusta, joven." The Mofeta blinked, "Who are you?" Yoshiro's voice became deathly cold, "Someone you don't want to [censored] with."

The Mofeta realized that he was in over his head and left the room quickly. Atsuko looked at Yoshiro, "Just... just who are you... really?" Yoshiro closed the door and leaned his head against it, "I'm a man that has seen warfare... far too much warfare for his own good. I don't even really know if I can truly escape the things that I have seen and done back in the day." Sigma spoke up, "Yoshiro Miyamae is a former soldier and a former mercenary. His guilt hangs over him every moment of his life. He chose to be an explorer and a scientist when not raising orphans at his orphanage to assuage his guilty soul." Atsuko looked at Yoshiro, "So you're... a soldier?" Yoshiro nodded as he walked away from the door, "Atsuko, you're young. But not too young that I can't tell you the truth."

Atsuko frowned, "You lied to me?" Yoshiro shook his head, "No, nor did I lie to your professor. I did leave a detail out, I had adopted a pair of Menschilche refugees. The two were orphaned and I couldn't just leave them there. I loved them as if they were my own flesh and blood and recently, one of them died. I have been wracked with guilt ever since." Atsuko shook her head, not really believing that part, "You smile and laugh and seem like you're generally a cheerful person." Yoshiro gave a half smile, "Well, that is true, I had to learn while I was in the military. Even if that wasn't true, I have something given to me by my grandmother. It's called Magatama, it's keeping me from falling deep into despair." Atsuko nodded, she had heard of Magatama and its powers, "Your grandmother must love you."

Yoshiro nodded, "She does. While I am cataloguing what each Menschilche base does. I'm also going to each of the ones that we haven't been to or explored to see if I can find the answer to a question that's been nagging at me for the longest time." Atsuko sat down on the bed, "What's that?" Yoshiro looked out the window, "Why is my life seemingly intertwined with the Menschilche. First Seth, then Noah, then my Clone, then my first ship, then Galina and Sven, then Seth and Noah's clones." Atsuko shrugged, she didn't believe there was any particular reason, "You know that it could just be a coincidence, Yoshiro." Yoshiro placed his hand on his chin, he had thought the same thing before, "Yeah, but the thing I didn't mention is that they tried to kill me over two hundred years ago along with a clone of my half-brother seeking revenge for the death of the original."

Atsuko was curious, "Death of the original?" Yoshiro didn't want to tell the whole story, "Long story short, my half-brother kidnapped my younger brother. I took a shot that was impossible to make and wound up killing my half-brother. I've been paying for that ever since. The thing is, I really should've been tipped off that there was something going on when they tried to kill me back then. But I sort of had other things on my mind after I woke from my coma, like my youngest son." Atsuko blinked, "Coma? Wait, how close did they come to killing you?" Yoshiro shrugged, "They came the closest out of everyone that has tried. If my delivery to the hospital had been delayed much longer, I'd have been dead." Atsuko gasped slightly, "So what was being in a coma like?" Yoshiro shrugged, "It was like sleeping, just for a longer period of time."

Atsuko frowned as she looked to Sigma whose hologram shrugged slightly, "If you want my honest opinion, Atsuko. You're going to have to learn that there is more to the people that you look up to than you know. Yoshiro has been through a lot in his life, and to try to make up for the bad he has done... well, you see his contributions to science." Atsuko nodded slightly, "Well, I need to get back to my cabin, if you need anything." Yoshiro nodded slightly, "I'll be heading out of my cabin soon. It will be good for Sigma to interact with some of the passengers on the ship. Plus I will be able to relax better with some food in my stomach." Atsuko nodded with a slight giggle, "You really are just a normal person." Yoshiro nodded, "To quote myself. Hero worship is just elevating normal people to a higher status." Atsuko smiled slightly, "Wise words, Yoshiro. Take care." Yoshiro watched as she left the room and he turned to look at Sigma, "Let's get me some food and then we'll walk out on deck."
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Re: Wandering Sorrows

#18 Post by Akira110 »

Chapter 17

Yoshiro walked out onto the deck of the ship and he looked out to the horizon, the hologram emitter on his wristband was emitting a hologram of Sigma. Sigma's hologram looked around, but Yoshiro leaned against the railing, the lunch that he had was delicious. He smelled the fresh salty air, when he heard Sigma conversing with a group of people. He looked back and had a slight smile on his face, when a familiar voice startled him out of his thoughts, "Now there's a sight that I thought I'd never see again. How are you doing, my liege?" Yoshiro turned to see a female Mus standing there, her name escaped him, "I'm sorry, but I'm not a king anymore, I haven't been one for a long long time. Your name escapes me, but you seem to have me at a disadvantage." The Mus nodded and leaned against the rail with a smirk, "So you forgot all about me, eh?"

The Mus laughed slightly as more and more about her surfaced in Yoshiro's mind. Yoshiro remembered who she was at one point, part of his Dracoknights, back when they were his. The Mus shook her head, disappointed in him, "You still don't remember my name? Come on, I flew with you when you picked up your clone." Yoshiro looked out towards the horizon, "A lot of people did, not all of them are still alive." The Mus just decided it'd be better to tell him who she is, "I'm Lovise Haugen, remember?" Yoshiro did remember her now, "Yeah, I do." Lovise looked around, "Where's Rogelio." Yoshiro was silent, but he closed his eyes as he felt that wound get ripped wide open again, Lovise took the hint and placed her hand on his back, "I'm so sorry, Yoshiro. I... I didn't know."

Yoshiro opened his eyes, "Don't blame yourself. If anything, he died protecting me. He died in the line of duty and the way he always wanted to go. I wish I hadn't given into my desire of revenge and hunted down his killer." Lovise shook her head, "Yoshiro, any of us could see that you and Rogelio were extremely close. The man worshiped the very ground your stood on and even though you didn't like it, you were willing to give your life for him if you had to. You truly cared about him." Yoshiro couldn't deny that, "And in the end, I failed to protect him. It was he who made that noble sacrifice, meanwhile, I just went off and became a mercenary... I killed for profit and revenge." Lovise felt bad for him, "Hey, Yoshiro, is Julius still around?" Yoshiro nodded, "Yeah, he's staying back because he won't survive the cold temperatures of the southern arctic region, despite the fact that it's summer."

Lovise smiled slightly, relieved to hear that Julius was doing alright, "So what about your Drow Kilf friend?" Yoshiro turned to see Sigma's hologram, "Him? He's an artificial intelligence, and a rather advanced one at that." Lovise was surprised, "I didn't peg you for the kind of guy to become a scientist. What have you been up to though?" Yoshiro shrugged, "Exploring the galaxy, raising orphans, going to university for robotics. You know, stuff." Lovise chuckled at Yoshiro's casual tone, "You honestly haven't changed all that much since I last saw you, damn, how long ago was that." Yoshiro remembered very well when they last parted ways, "It was when Hiromi ascended to the throne of the Kilves. I had left the kingdom to go join up with your people, but you know..."

Lovise nodded, "You were good friends with Freja, I can't blame you for choosing to go over to be with her." Yoshiro nodded, "So then, Lovise, where did you go off to?" Lovise laughed, "All over the world, you know. I know that it's a bit odd for a demi-deity such as myself to go out and explore the world like I did, but... it's just something I wanted to do. I wanted to see it all with my own eyes. So why are you going to the southern arctic region?" Yoshiro shrugged, not wanting to tell her the true purpose of his visit, "Research. That's one thing that I will always be willing to do." Lovise smirked, she had a feeling what the real reason was, "That unexplored Menschilche base is where you're heading, isn't it?" Yoshiro nodded slightly, that was the true reason. Lovise clapped her hands, "I knew it. So why are you going there?"

Yoshiro folded his arms, "To see if I can't find some answers. The problem is, I don't even know what the questions I'm supposed to ask are." Lovise knew that problem very well, "Yoshiro, I'll be willing to accompany you on you journey if it will help." Yoshiro shook his head, "Though that was very kind of you to offer me, I'm going to have to politely decline." Lovise shrugged and looked out towards the ocean, "You always had this habit of doing everything on your own. Taking everything life threw onto your shoulders and trying to hide your burden. You should know by now that isn't any way to live your life, Yoshiro." Yoshiro placed his hand on her shoulder, reassuringly, "The only reason I don't wish for you to accompany me is that I don't want you to have to worry about bringing extra equipment that you don't have."

Lovise looked up into his eyes, "Hundreds of years later, and you're still looking out for us." Yoshiro shrugged, "Not all of you. As far as I know, thirty percent of the old Dracoknights are no longer alive. Most of them died peacefully, Rogelio was a major exception to the rule. The rest of them are mentors for the newest generation of Dracoknights." Lovise smirked and placed her hand on her hip, "Did your daughter tell you about that, or did you have your spy network give you that information?" Yoshiro was slightly insulted that she would even insinuate that he would spy on his own daughter. He looked down at her with a slight glare, "Hiromi told me all about what's going on, do you honestly believe that I would be a horrible father and spy on my own children?" Lovise shook her head, "No, sir."

Yoshiro looked up at the sky and noticed that clouds were rolling in, "Looks like a storm is coming this way. I'm going to go inside soon." Lovise nodded, "Would you like to come to my cabin?" Yoshiro looked out towards the ocean again, "Not really, I think I'm just going to go to my cabin and sleep through this storm. I haven't quite exactly been sleeping well." Lovise smirked, "Cabin Two-Five-One, right?" Yoshiro blinked in disbelief, he was surprised that she knew that, "Yeah, but..." Lovise laughed, "Simple, I'm in the adjacent cabin. If you need anything, you know where to find me, Yoshiro." Yoshiro nodded as Lovise walked off. He turned around to see Sigma's hologram walk towards him, "The people on this ship are relatively calm about having an AI of my design on the ship. They do not seem to fear me."

Yoshiro nodded slightly, "Sig, people can learn to accept a lot of things. Other than that, how did your conversations go?" Sigma's hologram smiled softly, "It went quite well. I believe that I am learning a lot more of how to interact with people and formulate my own opinions. People around here are a lot nicer than they are back home." Yoshiro nodded slightly, "Because this isn't exactly a cruise ship, this ship carries travelers and scientists. They're interested in what you are and why you are the way you are." Sigma's hologram looked out to the ocean, "Do you think that I am a successful experiment?" Yoshiro nodded, "Far more so than Delta was." Sigma looked towards Yoshiro, "What do you mean by that?" Yoshiro leaned against the railing and looked down at the water, "He was a great AI. The first one that I ever created, but..."

Sigma's hologram frowned, "But what?" Yoshiro looked up, "During a routine maintenance cycle, I accidentally corrupted his data. I didn't have any backups of him. That didn't stop me from trying to fix what was wrong. I was inexperienced and I wound up making it worse. With no way to recover him, I had to delete him, but I used what I could salvage into making the AI for my master's project, Theta." Sigma nodded, "Big sister." Yoshiro nodded slightly as he started to walk towards the hatch that lead to the interior of the ship, "Theta isn't designed to be as advanced as you are, Sigma. Theta was designed to be my assistant. If you really want to get technical, she helped me write my dissertation and helped me write your coding." Sigma blinked, "Theta is my mother?" Yoshiro laughed, "I wouldn't go that far, I just told her what I wanted done and she did it. Organics such as myself need sleep, AIs do not. Always remember that, but also do not forget that you can sleep if you wish."
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Re: Wandering Sorrows

#19 Post by Akira110 »

Chapter 18

Yoshiro found himself standing in a familiar location, it was the Kitsune Capitol of Honoo. The banners on the wall told him exactly what year it was and he started to wonder why he was here. As he walked through the corridors of the castle, he heard fighting outside and saw the Kitsune Rebel Army, led by his father fighting against the Kitsune Imperial Army, led by Mamoru's head general. He began to wonder why his dreams would send him back to this time, however, he realized exactly what was about to happen. He knew how this moment in time played out in the real world, he had run up the stairs, looking for Mamoru, in order to end the war, once and for all. However, he had run into his little brother being held hostage by his half-brother, Hiroshi. He however leaned against the wall and knowing it was a dream, willed the scene away.

Buki showed up once again and Yoshiro looked at him, "[censored] off." Buki chuckled at him, "You seem a bit annoyed." Yoshiro extended his middle finger to his darker half, "You can either leave me be right now, or you can deal with Magatama, one of the two." Buki's brow furrowed, "So you're really going to be like that to me. Very well then." Yoshiro watched as Buki left, "That was too easy." Magatama spoke up behind him, "Your dream is rather empty." Yoshiro smiled slightly, "I have control over it." Yoshiro waved his hand and a scene formed before him, he saw his wife and children in front of him, "I can be happy here. Happy with my family, but... it's an illusion, just a fabrication of my mind." Yoshiro looked down at his hand, "Magatama... I wish there was some way to go back, some way to alter the past."

Magatama nodded slightly, "Of course you would, however, you know deep down in your heart that isn't possible." Yoshiro looked at the scene before him and dispelled it, instead opting to stand on a cliff that overlooked the ocean. Magatama walked out into the ocean before him, the giantess easily at eye level with him, "Why did you choose this location?" Yoshiro shrugged, "If you're thinking I did it to commit suicide to wake up, then you'd be wrong. This is a place I used to come to, back when I was with the Mus. It's a beautiful area, but you know, not quite one I got the luxury of visiting often. Sometimes I wonder how Severin is doing." Magatama's giant eyes blinked, "Severin?" Yoshiro shrugged, "He went through a period where he wanted to be called Sage, he was a rebellious little pup, but he dropped off the map."

Magatama nodded, "Your nephew?" Yoshiro nodded, "Yeah, through Killian. I hear that Severin has a sanctuary in the southern hemisphere, I think I'll go pay him a visit later on." Magatama nodded slightly and reached out to touch Yoshiro, but Yoshiro moved out of the way, "Please do not touch me, Magatama." Magatama nodded, "I'm sorry. Just that you're wearing the object that I'm the spirit of at all times, I can't help but feel close to you." Yoshiro nodded slightly, but suddenly got a very bad feeling. Magatama noted this, "What's wrong?" Yoshiro looked up at the sky, "I don't know why, but I have this feeling that I'm going to be needed in the real world real soon. Before I leave, I have one question." Magatama spoke up, "What is it?" Yoshiro turned to look at her, "Are you the reason why I'm able to be aware that I'm dreaming?" Magatama smiled, "Of course." Yoshiro nodded, "All I needed to hear."

Yoshiro woke up in his cabin, the ship was rocking back and forth surprisingly heavily and Yoshiro threw the covers off of him. Yoshiro stood up and a wave crashed into the ship, knocking him off his feet and into a wall with a grunt. He shook his head and firmly planted his feet into the ground as he walked towards the door, waves crashing against the boat, which rocked the ship back and forth. Yoshiro finally reached the door and opened it, a sailor looked at him, "Sir, just stay in your cabin, we'll get through this storm." Yoshiro shook his head, "I'm married to a Sea Elf and I'm part Arctic, I can help." The sailor looked at him, "Well I hope for your sake that you're not lying to us." The sailor pointed towards a staircase, "The bridge is up there."

Yoshiro nodded and ran up to the bridge, a large wave crashing onto the ship, causing it to rock heavily to one direction and slamming Yoshiro into the wall with enough force that he heard a pop and felt an incredible pain in his shoulder, "Damnation! This isn't what I need." Yoshiro grabbed his shoulder and popped it back into place with a very audible grunt as he made his way up to the hatch to the bridge. He opened the hatch and the captain looked at him, "You're a civilian, you're not supposed to be up here." Yoshiro saluted him, "I am Retired General Yoshiro Miyamae, I am not civilian. Being part Arctic Kitsune and married to a Sea Elf, I'll be able to help out in these conditions. May I have permission to assist the bridge crew?"

The Captain looked at him, her eyes narrowed, "I hope for your sake that you will not be a waste of space." Yoshiro nodded to her and calmly walked over to the helm. The helmsman looked at him, "I'm already manning this station." Yoshiro nodded, "Visibility is piss poor out here, this isn't good, at this rate, we'll slam into an island or something." The helmsman nodded, "That's what we're trying to prevent." Yoshiro looked over to the navigation station and saw a massive wave coming towards them, "Oh [censored]... turn the bow towards that wave, NOW!" The Helsman was already in the process as he barked out the order and when the wave crashed onto the bow of the ship, they were shaken up slightly. Yoshiro took a look at the readings of the area and then placed his hand on the navigator's shoulder, "Mind if I take over for a bit."

Yoshiro felt blood drip on his hand and turned to look at the navigator, "That's not good, but if we don't get out of this, no amount of medical attention will do you any good." He gently pushed the navigator out of the chair and placed him on the ground. He looked at the console, "Are there any waves coming towards us?" The Helmsman spoke up, "There are no waves, but visibility is still incredibly poor." Yoshiro nodded slightly, "There is an object one kilometer out from our position, turn five degrees in either direction to avoid." The Helsman nodded and followed his instructions. Yoshiro watched his console and occasionally glanced out onto the ocean. Yoshiro looked down at the console, "Did we get any news about the weather before we left port?" The Captain spoke up, "Only that there would be a tropical storm."

Yoshiro shook his head of thoughts that would be detrimental to his work, "I've never been in one, but if I had to guess. Hey Communications, can you send information over to the weather offices that there's a hurricane out here?" The communications officer nodded, "I already did. But you're part arctic, how do you know about hurricanes?" Yoshiro laughed, as he had soldiers from the lower latitudes serve under him, "I knew some people that had experienced hurricanes in the past. Visibility is greatly improving, by the way." After a few moments, the rain stopped and they were just under some clouds, "We're out of the worst of it, alright, let's continue our present course." The Captain cleared her throat, "Yoshiro, I have to admit, you did manage to do well. Is this your first time on a ship?" Yoshiro turned around with a smirk, "I'm part of the expeditionary forces."

Yoshiro got up from his station and picked the navigation officer off the ground, throwing him over his shoulder, "He shouldn't have lost too much blood, I'm going to go take him to the infirmary, if that's alright." The Captain nodded, "By the way, Yoshiro, my name is Melanie." Yoshiro nodded slightly and walked off the bridge and down the stairs with the unconscious navigation officer over his shoulder, "You're a bit heavier than you look, buddy." He followed the signs until he reached the infirmary and looked to the medic that was on duty, "Can you take care of him for me?" The Medic looked at him, "You look like you could use some medical attention yourself." Yoshiro rubbed his shoulder, "I learned how to do some first aid to myself, my shoulder will be fine. He is more important right now." The Medic nodded and got to work as Yoshiro left the infirmary to return to his own cabin.
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Re: Wandering Sorrows

#20 Post by Akira110 »

Chapter 19

Night had fallen and Yoshiro had received an invitation to the captain's table. He honestly didn't want to go, but at the same time, he didn't want to offend his host. He walked down the hallways and knocked on the door of the captain's quarters. The door opened and Yoshiro saw Melanie stand there wearing a red coat with white gloves, he noticed that she also chose black pants, an orange shirt and brown boots. He arched a brow, "I've never seen any captain choose those colors before." Melanie laughed, "These are the colors of my father. He was a good man, but a legendary sailor around these parts. Would you like to come in, it is an honor to dine with the captain, but from the way you handled yourself in that hurricane, I'm sure you already know that." Yoshiro shook his head, "It was my first time in a hurricane."

Melanie was surprised, Yoshiro watched as the red haired elf moved her hair out of her face, "But you're a sailor, surely you had to have..." Yoshiro shook his head, "Ma'am, I'm of the extra-planetary expeditionary force. The conditions that we deal with out there are different, but I'm capable of reading a navigation readout." Melanie nodded slightly and motioned to the inside of the room, "Come on in, we'll talk more about things over dinner." Yoshiro nodded and walked into the room, "So why did you want to talk to me in private." Melanie walked over to a chest and opened it. Yoshiro had no idea why she was doing it, but she whipped out a pistol and pointed it in Yoshiro's face. Yoshiro didn't even flinch and she looked at him, "So, it really is you." Yoshiro looked down the barrel of the pistol, "You never bothered to load the pistol. Also the safety's on."

Melanie nodded slightly, "You're as good as they say, how would you like to be part of my crew?" Yoshiro grabbed the gun and moved it out of his face, "I'm going to decline your offer. I already run a business of my own... well more like help my wife out with her business." Yoshiro walked over to the table and sat down, "Feel free to ask me anything you like while we're waiting for dinner and I assume wine to be served." Melanie put the gun back into the chest, "Tell me, Yoshiro, why did you join the military?" Yoshiro thought about that one, it had been centuries since he originally joined, "Well if my memory isn't failing me on that one, it's because I had no choice, considering I was supposed to end up being the next king of the Sea Elves on my continent."

Yoshiro knew exactly what question to ask considering he recognized the technology on the bridge, "I thought that piracy operations were outlawed on Verbana. What exactly are you, Captain Melanie?" Melanie smiled, "Nothing gets past you, does it?" Yoshiro shrugged casually, "I wouldn't have been very good at my old job if it did." Melanie had an inkling of what he meant by that, so she prodded for more information, "So you were a sniper, did you ever worry about the Grim Reaper?" Yoshiro didn't bother avoiding the question, even though he liked keeping the fact that he was the Grim Reaper in the dark, "I never had to worry about him." Melanie narrowed her eyes, "What if the Grim Reaper was a she?" Yoshiro shook his head, "The Grim Reaper and I know each other, I'm fully aware of his gender, thank you."

Melanie nodded, "So tell me are the stories true?" Yoshiro smirked slightly as dinner was brought in, this meant that he wouldn't have to answer her question immediately. The person that brought the dinner in, was followed by another person that brought glasses and upon placing them on the table, opened a bottle of wine and filled each of the glasses with wine. Yoshiro looked at the men, "You are very good at your job." The men nodded and left, closing the door behind them. Yoshiro looked towards the door and called out, "By the way, I'd stop eavesdropping if I were you." The sounds of the two men fleeing from the door reached his ears and Yoshiro laughed, "It's only natural that people are indeed curious about what I am. But tell me, lady Pirate Captain, why I shouldn't just turn you into the authorities the next chance I get, or execute you."

Melanie pointed at Magatama, "The first thing, is that thing won't let you kill me without probable cause." Yoshiro interrupted her, "You pointed a gun in my face... but how do you know about Magatama?" Melanie looked out the window, "Tales of such artifacts circle the globe. I thought that someone like you would be aware of it." Yoshiro nodded, "What are the subsequent things?" Melanie walked over to her chair and sat down, "I'm an ex-pirate, I haven't been in the piracy business since about five years after the Menschilche left the planet." Yoshiro wasn't surprised at her age, he knew the extensive lifespans of the elvish races, "So, five years before I was born." Melanie nodded slightly, "So that would make you?" Yoshiro looked at her, "I will turn seven hundred and one years old next week." Melanie was slightly surprised, "You don't quite look your age."

Yoshiro laughed, "I'm a sunblood, merely having holy blood has slowed my aging, but the stresses of war took their toll on me." Melanie nodded as she took a bite of her food and drank some of her wine, "Tell me more about the Grim Reaper." Yoshiro took a bite out of his food and started to think of a lie to tell her as he chewed his food. Swallowing, he looked up at the ceiling, "The Grim Reaper, huh? There isn't much to tell of him, really. He's a legendary sniper, all of us snipers wanted to be like him, but he left us all in his dust. Quiet man, really?" Melanie interrupted, "You're the Grim Reaper, aren't you?" Yoshiro looked down and made eye contact, "What tipped you off?" Melanie shook her head slightly and looked towards the window, "Aside from the fact that you outright stopped making eye contact with me when talking about him?"

Yoshiro nodded, "Yes, aside from that. Please, tell me what clued you in." Melanie looked at him, "You went through a hurricane and never lost your cool. You remained focused on your duty." Yoshiro shrugged, "Most military officers that get their position through military merit will do the same." Melanie narrowed her eyes, "You have good vision in poor visibility conditions, Yoshiro. Something that my helmsman shares with you." Yoshiro shrugged, "My Arctic Kitsune blood allows me to see in poor visibility. We wouldn't get anywhere in blizzards without that ability." Melanie nodded slightly, "However, if I had to guess, the fact that you didn't even bother to flinch when I pointed the gun at you was probably the biggest thing that clued me in." Yoshiro laughed and looked towards the window, "Any soldier with training would know you weren't able to fire the damn thing."

Melanie nodded slightly, "Your secret will remain safe with me, Yoshiro. When I offered you the job of joining my crew, I had already known that you had retired from the whole military business and that you joined the expeditionary force to bring in an income to help with the expenses of your wife's business. Even if the fact that you're a legendary sniper isn't well known information... it is well known that you retired from the military shortly after you executed Aiko. I see that the old instincts haven't left you." Yoshiro wasn't about to lie this time, "That's not entirely true. Because if they hadn't left me, you'd be dead right now." Melanie nodded, "I have no doubt that you could kill me, but the question is why you'd do it." Yoshiro rolled his eyes, "Don't know, couldn't have been the fact you pointed a gun in my face."

Melanie chuckled, "You know, behind your demeanor, you are suffering inside. I can see this through your eyes." Yoshiro nodded slightly, "I suffered a loss of one of my children. I'd rather not talk any more about this subject, if you do not mind." Melanie nodded slightly, "Would you like to talk about anything else, my history, my family?" Yoshiro shook his head, "Honestly, I'd like to have a quiet dinner and return to my cabin." Melanie nodded slightly, she realized that she must have pushed a little too far, "You know, seeing you in the flesh, I can understand why someone like you hates hero worship." Yoshiro looked up at her from eating his food, "Oh?" She looked over towards the window and smiled slightly, "You're just a person. You've always just been a person, but everyone made you out to be this grand legendary hero that they should try to either emulate or leave all their problems to." Yoshiro nodded, "You nailed the issue on the head."
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Re: Wandering Sorrows

#21 Post by Akira110 »

Chapter 20

Yoshiro climbed off the ship at the port, he didn't have much in the way of protection other than his armor, which he chose to wear, as he didn't want to leave it on the boat. Yoshiro looked around for the group that he was going to follow, but couldn't find them. He sighed slightly and walked into the city, when a penguin looking humanoid held up a hand, "Where's your passport?" Yoshiro pulled his passport from his pocket and handed it to him. Yoshiro couldn't believe his eyes, "I have never seen or heard of your species before, what are you?" The creature checked over his passport, "We are the Manchot. I do not know why an armored and armed Arctic Kitsune is doing down here, but I'm going to have to call this up to see what to do. Do you mind having a seat over there?"

Yoshiro knew that he had little choice in the matter and took a seat in the nearby chair. Despite the fact that it was summer in this hemisphere, he could feel that the air was cold through his winter fur coat. He picked up a book on the table and started reading it. Soon though, he was interrupted by a couple of men standing before him, one of them looked at him, "We'd like you to come with us." Yoshiro placed the book down and stood up, he didn't know much about the people here. His gut however, told him that this wasn't going to be good, so he spoke up about this, "Where are we going?" One of the Manchot chuckled, "Oh, we're going to go to a real private place, don't you worry about that." Yoshiro knew exactly what that meant, "I'll tell you what, you can drop the act, or I can drop you on your head."

The Manchot laughed and reached for a baton. Before he could draw the baton, Yoshiro had his sword drawn and pointed at his neck, "Let me rephrase that, you're not taking me to a black site. Though I would rather avoid lethal violence, I will oblige if you force me." The other Manchot looked into his eyes and then at the first one, "Gaston, this guy is ex-military. If he really wanted to kill us, he could do it here and now." Gaston looked down at the blade at his throat and then at the eyes of the person holding the blade, "Ice blue eyes, left handed. What's your full name?" Yoshiro looked at him, "I am Yoshiro Tayasui Miyamae, son of Akira and Minako Miyamae. I was a Colonel in the Kitsune military, but I got elevated to General when I formed the Raptors."

Gaston's eyes went wide, "You are General Miyamae!?" Yoshiro knew that he had this situation under control, "I would recommend if you wished to interrogate me, you would do so in a manner that didn't have to do with effectively abducting me." Gaston's brow furrowed, "Very well. So do you have a permit to carry all of this equipment." Yoshiro's mouth drew into a smirk and he looked at Gaston, "Come on, do you really think I'd show up armed and armored alone, without a permit of some sort?" Alain spoke up, "Show me your permit." Yoshiro used his right hand to reach for his wallet and Alain shook his head, "Your permit was in your passport. I wanted to see if you were the genuine article." Yoshiro's hand moved away from his pocket and grabbed the gun on his belt. He whispered under his breath, "Sigma, activate my pistol, will you."

Yoshiro's pistol unlocked as Alain looked at him, "What did you..." Yoshiro interrupted him by drawing the pistol and pointing it at Alain's face. Alain looked at this action in absolute shock, "So this is why you're a legend." Yoshiro spoke in a cold tone of voice, "No, the reason I'm so legendary is because my hands are drenched in blood. Now if the two of you don't mind, you're going to leave the way you came and from there, you will leave me alone for the rest of my trip here. Gaston was shocked, but thought that he could take Yoshiro now that his attention was divided between the two, but no sooner did he move, did he feel the tip of the blade press against his neck. Yoshiro glanced at him, "Did you honestly think I had forgotten about you?" Gaston gulped and as he did, he felt the sharpness of the blade.

Alain had read Yoshiro's dossier before, so he knew that Gaston was in trouble, "Tell me where you are going." Yoshiro looked at Alain, "I like you, promise not to make a move against me and I'll lower my weapon." Alain knew he didn't have much of a choice, "I promise." Yoshiro lowered his gun, but didn't deactivate it, he knew better than to just trust someone at their word. Yoshiro narrowed his eyes at Gaston, "Your partner and I will talk in the adjacent room for a bit of time. You on the other hand, I don't ever want to see your face again." Alain looked at Gaston, "Don't worry, I have this." Gaston fled and Yoshiro sheathed his sword, "You first. You'll have to forgive me, but after your partner tried to pull a weapon out on me, I don't trust either of you very much."

Alain nodded, he knew full well that he wasn't in control over the situation and so he walked into the adjacent room. Yoshiro walked in and closed the door behind him. Yoshiro motioned towards the corner of a room, "Throw your weapons over there." Alain nodded and disarmed himself, tossing his weapons into the corner of the room, "I know you won't shoot me unless I pose a threat, why are you..." Yoshiro interrupted him, "A lot of stuff has happened to me recently, a lot of trauma. Whatever you have read in your dossier might be wrong about me in this situation." Alain nodded slightly as he sat down in the chair, "Judging from the way you are equipped with armor and weaponry, I'd have to guess that you're going to the Menschilche base near the pole, is that correct?"

Yoshiro wasn't surprised that someone had deduced this, "Is this the part where you're going to tell me that the area is off limits to outsiders?" Alain shook his head, "No one has been allowed to enter the base since it was abandoned by the Menschilche. The only person that could potentially give you clearance to go in there is our president. But the only way to see him is to..." Yoshiro shrugged, "I don't expect to be able to just walk into the presidential residence and get clearance from your president. However, here's the thing. I know a guard detail when I see it. You and Gaston are part of his personal guard, aren't you?" Alain nodded slightly, not surprised that Yoshiro had this knowledge, "How many spies do you have in our nation?" Yoshiro blinked, not having been prepared for that question, "I didn't know your nation even existed."

Alain was shocked at this, "But you have a large spy network." Yoshiro shook his head as it no longer belonged to him, "Hiromi does, I gave up that network and it was mostly on the same continent that I lived on. The only exceptions were on the same hemisphere. Tell me, do you know what I used to be before I was in the military full time?" Alain looked up as he tried to recall that information, "You were a noble." Yoshiro shook his head, "After that." Alain realized why he knew he was a guard, "You're a former royal. A former king of the Kilvish people up north if I recall correctly." Yoshiro nodded slightly as that was the correct answer, "Alain, I'll make you a deal. If you can talk to your president and convince him to meet me, I'll come completely unarmed." Alain blinked, "But you're a Kensei. They always have their swords on them."

Yoshiro nodded, "I would rather we learn how to trust each other and work with each other despite being on the wrong foot." Yoshiro holstered his gun and deactivated it, "Are my terms acceptable?" Alain nodded slightly, "I will see if I cannot talk our president into speaking with you. What do you want to me to tell him?" Yoshiro looked up, "That a foreign dignitary that was threatened by your men would like to talk about an expedition that he is undertaking within the nation." Alain nodded, "May I gather my weapons and head out." Yoshiro nodded, "I'll be in a nearby hotel, so you don't have to worry about finding me." Alain chuckled, "It's not like you have many places to go, this place is pretty much a frozen wasteland. Most of the stuff we eat, we either import or fish from the ocean." Yoshiro nodded slightly and let Alain by, but as Alain passed him, he spoke up, "You forgot that I'm married to a sea elf. I could swim if I wanted to." Alain laughed, "I didn't forget, but you would need gills to survive at sea for that long." Yoshiro let him leave and smirked, glad that none of them here knew he was able to shapeshift.
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Re: Wandering Sorrows

#22 Post by Akira110 »

Chapter 21

Yoshiro sat in his room, he had pulled out a whetstone and was absentmindedly sharpening his sword, waiting for Alain to come to escort him to the President. He looked out the window and saw a black vehicle pull up, "Going to have to leave you behind on this one, Sigma." Sigma's hologram appeared as Yoshiro removed his armor and sheathed his sword, putting it on the bed. Sigma spoke up in his usual tone, "Are you sure that you can trust them?" Yoshiro looked back from using a ribbon to tie his hair into a ponytail, "No, I honestly don't. However, I don't have a choice but to arrive unarmed. Fortunately for me, I'm not exactly a slouch when it comes to fighting unarmed." Sigma looked at him, "Exactly how many kingdoms were you trained by." Yoshiro looked up trying to remember the exact number, but corrected Sigma as he did, "Races, not kingdoms."

As Yoshiro finished the bow he recalled the exact number, "I've been trained by the Kitsune, Sea Elves, Dragons, Lupines, Mus, Mofeta, Eekhoorn, and Kani. I have received martial training from all of those except the Dragons." Yoshiro looked at Sigma, "Hide your hologram, there are three people coming up the stairs." Sigma's hologram vanished and Yoshiro heard a knock at his door, "Come in, it's open." Yoshiro looked to see Alain and Gaston, but also an incredibly important looking Manchot. This one also looked differently in the plumage. Yoshiro nodded, "I assume you are the President of this nation." The Manchot nodded, "That I am, I hear that you're a foreign dignitary. I didn't quite trust what I was being told, so I hope you don't mind that I had a background check done on you real quick." Yoshiro shrugged, "So you decided to walk into a room where I have no less than two weapons laying around."

The President nodded slightly, "Which is why I brought my armed guards with me, we will not he having our meeting here. This isn't a secure location." Yoshiro nodded slightly and motioned towards the door, "After you." The President arched his brow, "You wouldn't be more comfortable with your sword by your side. I know that you are a Kensei and I have dealt with them in the past." Yoshiro nodded, "I would feel far more comfortable, but I come to you as a Count, not as a Kensei." The President nodded slightly, "My name is Colombain. It is a pleasure to meet you, Yoshiro." Yoshiro nodded as the President extended his hand. Yoshiro shook his hand, "I was unaware that there was a Republic on the planet. Most of us are monarchies." Colombain laughed, "I am more than aware of the vast majority of monarchies on the planet."

Yoshiro shrugged slightly, "Let us head out, shall we?" The four of them walked out of the hotel and into the car and Colombain looked at the driver, "Just drive around, I will speak to our guest while we do so." Yoshiro smirked, "You're giving me a tour?" Colombain nodded, "We may have gotten off on the wrong foot. However, since you didn't send either of my men back to me in a box, I'll allow a second chance to happen." Yoshiro looked out of the window, "Your people seem uniquely adapted to this harsh climate." Colombain nodded, he was proud of that fact, "Yes, us Manchot are capable of subsisting off of nothing but fish. I hear that Arctic Kitsune such as yourself are omnivores." Yoshiro nodded as that part was true, "I am half Arctic Kitsune, the other half is Red Forest Kitsune."

Colombain nodded, "Now is your true purpose here to get into the old Menschilche installation? The same one that was forbidden to enter by our forefathers?" Yoshiro nodded slightly, "It's a little bit away from the south pole, but it's honestly the only other one that I know of in this region that hasn't had all of its mysteries unlocked." Colombain squinted at him, "You have history with the Menschilche, how can we be sure that you're not some sort of sleeper agent?" Yoshiro didn't quite have an answer to that, "You dug rather deep into my history, didn't you." Colombain nodded, "We also know who your father is. You'll forgive me if I'm a bit wary of your presence here." Yoshiro nodded and looked Colombain in the eye, "I'll put this as simply as I can, alright?" Colombain nodded, "Alright then."

Yoshiro leaned forward, "My history with the Menschilche is exactly why I'm doing this. I had adopted a daughter from their kind who recently died and right now, I'm going through a lot of heavy stuff. You know of my long military history, but there's something that you don't know, that honestly has never been recorded." Colombain looked at him, "There couldn't be any possible correlation between you and the Grim Reaper." Yoshiro calmly leaned back, "Seven years after the bioweapon crisis, a string of deaths from a sniper rifle were recorded. The assailant was never found and no hint of him was ever left that he was there, aside from the corpse of the victim." Colombain nodded slightly, "Yeah, everyone knows that. You're just reciting military history to the lot of us." Yoshiro chuckled, "One of those deaths was a Menschilche spy. The first shot against him missed."

Alain sighed, "We all know this part of the story." Yoshiro smiled slightly, "Six hundred and fifty-five meters away, perched in a tree, the sniper in question had deliberately missed, because he wanted to scare his real target out of hiding. Two more shots were fired and both his target and the spy lay dead. The sniper quickly packed his rifle up and leaped from the tree onto the ground. He followed a route that he planned to escape the enemy territory. Though it took him a couple of days to escape, he was able to rendezvous with allied forces. It was from this particular incident that the sniper in question earned the nom de guerre of the Grim Reaper." Alain blinked and Colombain's lower mandible dropped, "You're the Grim Reaper!?" Yoshiro nodded slightly, "All of those kills have weighed on me, though I never bothered to show that fact."

Colombain nodded slightly, "Then perhaps you may be Tovenaar." Yoshiro blinked slightly, "Tovenaar?" Colombain looked out of the window, "We don't know exactly what base the experiment was being held, even if was on this planet. But our forefathers caught wind of a new super soldier breed that the Menschilche were creating, using the natural magical attunement of the Kitsune and your shapeshifting abilities. However, it is unknown if Tovenaar was ever completed or what the capabilities of said super soldier is." Yoshiro nodded slightly, "All the more reason to investigate the base." Colombain held out a pass, "You will not be going to the base alone." Yoshiro shook his head, "I have to, I don't want to risk any of your men dying to the defense systems that the Menschilche have more than likely placed inside the base itself." Colombain nodded, "You seem to have experience with these bases."

Yoshiro couldn't deny that he did have experience with them, even though he wished he didn't, "The bases that I have entered have all had their defense systems offline. A base that hasn't been entered for over seven hundred years, but is still online will more than likely have active defenses. The Menschilche built these things to last. I refuse to risk any lives." Colombain nodded slightly, "So it is true that deep down inside, you have a gentle heart. Very well, I will permit you to explore the facility on your own. But remember that any hostility on your part towards my men while you're in this kingdom will be dealt with by the legal system." Yoshiro nodded, "Do you mind driving back to the hotel?" Colombain looked at the driver, "Take him back to the hotel, will you?" Yoshiro looked at Colombain, "It was nice meeting you."

Yoshiro climbed out of the car and as he walked into the building, the car drove off. Gaston looked at Colombain, "Mr. President, do you honestly trust this person?" Colombain shook his head, "If he really is a sleeper agent, then we'll have to execute him. However, we are a nation of laws and I will refuse to have him shot before we find out the truth and try him. Let's send a group of special forces to where he's going to go. That way if it turns out that he really is a sleeper agent, we can capture him and find the proof we need." Alain nodded, "That is an excellent plan, sir. But what if he isn't?" Colombain shrugged, "Then that means that he honestly has nothing to worry about, Alain." Gaston rubbed his throat, "I wish he hadn't put his sword to my neck." Alain chuckled, "You got that from threatening him." Colombain nodded slightly, "Well, we'll know the truth about our guest soon enough."
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Re: Wandering Sorrows

#23 Post by Akira110 »

Chapter 22

Yoshiro walked through the snowy fields, he knew how to take care of himself and he wanted to be alone. He knew that Atsuko and Pekka had taken their company up to the ruins without him, but he was fine with that. As he walked, his mind started to focus on other things. His mind wandered to his wife and children, to Anko and to Claire. Yoshiro sat down next to a rock and saw a small animal on the ground. He stood up and chased down the animal, catching it swiftly. Taking it back to his rock he took off his helmet and broke the neck of the squirming animal, "I apologize, little guy, but the food chain exists for a reason." Yoshiro lifted the animal up to his mouth and bit into it. As his fangs gripped the carcass, he tore it away from his mouth while moving his head in the opposite direction.

As he ate the animal, Sigma's hologram appeared, "That is absolutely revolting." Yoshiro grabbed the leg of the animal and bit into it, ignoring Sigma's complaints. Sigma's hologram looked at him, "I know that you can hear me." Yoshiro swallowed his bite and grabbed some snow and threw it into his mouth, knowing that his half-arctic physiology wouldn't be bothered in the slightest by the possible core temperature drop. Sigma looked at him, "It is not wise to use snow to rehydrate. You could drop your core temperature and risk hypothermia." Yoshiro looked over to Sigma, "I'm half-arctic and in my winter coat. I'm not going to freeze to death." Sigma pouted and Yoshiro laughed and nearly choked on the animal he was eating. As Yoshiro coughed, blood came out and Sigma looked at him, "Are you alright, let me see your medical..."

Yoshiro interrupted him, "I'm eating a fresh kill. The blood isn't my own, Sig." Yoshiro finished the rest of his meal and respectfully buried the skeleton, "Thank you for the sustenance." Yoshiro placed his helmet on his head and thought for a second as he sat on the rock, "Sigma, is Claire out of range?" Sigma's hologram shook it's head, "If we were to boost the signal using satelli—" Yoshiro growled, "Yes or no, Sigma." Sigma shook his head, "No, though the quality might be lacking." Yoshiro stood up, "Can you patch me through?" Sigma nodded and suddenly Yoshiro heard Claire's voice, though Claire sounded older, "Hello. Who are you and how did you get this frequency?" Yoshiro smiled under his helmet, "To answer your question, I was the one that gave you that frequency." Claire's voice sounded elated at this, "Yoshiro, is it really you?" Yoshiro nodded as he continued along his path, "Yes, it is."

Claire's voice spoke over the radio, her excitement was difficult to mask, "Where are you right now? I thought you were outside of our star system." Yoshiro decided to give her a half-lie, "I'm near the south pole right now. I had the explorer's itch and decided that I'd see sights of the planet that I had never seen." Claire's voice indicated confusion, "But you never really had a reason to go there before." Yoshiro nodded slightly, "I know, but sometimes, you just want to see things with your own eyes." Claire laughed, "That much I know is true. How have you been, General?" Yoshiro started to open his mouth to correct her, but decided against it, "I've been fine, retirement from the military and being part of the expeditionary force is working out very well for me." Claire's voice became somber, "I know you're lying to me."

Yoshiro shrugged, "I didn't want you to worry. After all, you lead the Raptors, remember?" Claire's voice didn't change tone, "You didn't tell me about the death of Galina. Did you not think that I wouldn't use the resources that you gave me to find out exactly what had gone on in your family life, Yoshiro." Yoshiro shook his head, "I'm sorry, Claire. You're my friend and I shouldn't have kept you in the dark." Yoshiro remembered something he had heard back in the city, "Claire, do you know anything about a project called Tovenaar?" Claire was a bit confused and Yoshiro could tell by her tone of voice, "No, I do not, however some Menschilche information that we managed to capture included some information on their super soldier projects. Something you didn't bother to tell me either was that your father is Kawal."

Yoshiro placed his hand on his faceplate, "Oh come on, Claire. I didn't find that out til my grandmother told me!" Claire's voice showed annoyance, "Yeah, yeah. Hmmm... there is something in these files about Tovenaar, it seemed to be a super soldier project that was supposed to revolve around magic. What do you think that Tovenaar would be used for?" Yoshiro immediately realized what Tovenaar was to be used for, "If this thing exists, I have to destroy it." Claire's voice showed confusion this time, "Why is that?" Yoshiro closed his eyes, "Because if it is a powerful magical super soldier, it will be designed to kill dragons. I can't let it loose and risk the fact that it will try to hunt them down!" Claire's voice showed a concerned tone, "Yoshiro, you don't even know if it's even out there or where it is." Yoshiro nodded slightly, "I know, but I know where at least one Menschilche base is, from there I can get information on other bases."

Claire gave him some acknowledgement, "I understand, but don't you think that this would be easier if you were to get the help of the Raptors." Yoshiro saw something on the edge of his motion tracker, "No, this is something that I'm going to have to do on my own, Claire. I have to find out if this Tovenaar was ever completed and if it is, destroy it." Claire sighed over the communicator, "You're just as stubborn as ever, Yoshiro. Alright then." Yoshiro cut off the communication link and looked at his hand, he didn't really want to destroy Tovenaar. He knew from the fact that he had just heard about it, that even if it was completed, it hadn't done anything wrong yet. It didn't deserve death. Yoshiro scanned the horizon, seeing multiple hits on his motion tracker.

He continued on as normal, knowing better than to think that it was a bunch of animals as he had turned down the sensitivity of the device. He knew he was being watched, but he wasn't going to announce it to the world, he had better things to do. Yoshiro climbed a hill and he could see the archeology team surveying some ruins. Atsuko looked up at him, "Hello, Yoshiro!" Yoshiro waved to her and walked over to the team, removing his helmet as he did so, "Hey, what have you guys found here?" Pekka turned to look at him, "These ruins belonged to the Manchot, but they are from before the Menschilche occupation." Yoshiro nodded slightly, "Knowing the history of our planet is extremely important. Especially that of before the enslavement of our ancestors." Pekka nodded, "You are very wise to say that."

Yoshiro nodded as he placed a gloved hand on one of the walls, brushing off some of the dust, he noticed some sort of symbol on the wall, "Professor, what do you think this is." Pekka walked over and looked at it, "I don't know, the locals would know for sure. If I had to guess though, this place was a place for celebrations and ceremonies." Yoshiro nodded slightly, "Well we won't know for sure, unless we do some research into the symbols used by the Manchot." Pekka nodded, "So you're going to go take care of your business now?" Yoshiro nodded slightly and motioned for Pekka to lean in so he could whisper. Pekka leaned in and Yoshiro looked at Atsuko, "I'm being followed. Don't be alarmed as they aren't here for you." Pekka nodded and leaned back, "Hey, everyone. Yoshiro mentioned that if we would like, we could go on his next expedition to an alien world."

Everyone looked at Yoshiro, who glared at Pekka, "You were supposed to keep that a surprise, Pekka. You archeologists get so excited when the prospect of discovering ancient civilizations comes up." Pekka laughed, "Well, you know these kids always wanted to investigate ruins on other planets." Yoshiro nodded slightly, "It's true. I don't know when we'll be leaving, but I promise the lot of you will be on the ship. Now, it's not going to be like a naval trip, however we have hologram chambers set up on the ship so that you can have a change of scenery." Atsuko smiled, her tail wagged uncontrollably, "I'm so excited! I can't wait to be able to step foot on an alien planet and learn about their civilizations!" Yoshiro nodded, "I can understand your excitement, but you will have to remember to be patient." Atsuko nodded slightly and Pekka nodded to Yoshiro. Yoshiro took that sign as it was time for him to move to the Menschilche base.
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Re: Wandering Sorrows

#24 Post by Akira110 »

Chapter 23

Yoshiro stood in front of the door to the Menschilche base, it hadn't been opened in the last seven hundred years and he had no idea what he would find in it. He walked over to the keypad and noticed that it was still functioning well, "Sigma, before we enter, can you hack into Menschilche systems?" Sigma's hologram appeared, "You programmed me, you should..." Yoshiro interrupted him, "You have the capability to rewrite your own programming, Sig." Sigma went silent and then nodded, "If you let me directly interface with the systems, I will be able to hack them." Yoshiro smiled under his helmet. He could hack into old Menschilche systems, but if the defenses were still up, then it would be an extremely difficult thing to do. He inserted a code into the keypad and the doors didn't open. He tried a second code, the doors still didn't open. Annoyed, Yoshiro tried a third code and the doors still didn't open.

Yoshiro grumbled under his breath, "One of these access codes has to work." Yoshiro tried another code, the doors opened and Yoshiro peeked into the base. It was pristine, unlike the last one he was in. As he took his first step into the base, images of the Menschilche homeworld flashed into his mind. Sigma spoke up, a hint of concern in his voice, "Your vitals fluctuated, is everything alright?" Yoshiro placed his left hand on his breastplate and ran a finger along where his surgical scar was, "Six hundred, I was stabbed in the chest by a Menschilche." Yoshiro's right hand reached down for his pistol as he continued, "My lung collapsed and I passed out. I was dying by the time they put me on life support, I was young, very young. Around the age of what humans would call seventeen."

Sigma's hologram nodded, "Records show that you got married only thirty years later." Yoshiro nodded slightly as he slowly continued into the base, unsure of where the defenses were, "Yeah. Sigma, can you use the sensors in my armor to scan the area and give me a threat assessment." Before Sigma could say anything, Yoshiro watched a panel on the roof slide back, he swiftly raised his pistol to take aim at what was coming down. What came down however, made him dive into the hallway next to him. No sooner did he hit the ground behind the wall did weapons fire erupt in the hallway he was in, practically filling the hallway he was in. Yoshiro knew that machine would have a faster reaction time than he would and decided against continuing down the route he had originally been going, "We're going to want to find a security station, turn off these turrets."

Yoshiro continued down the hallway until he came to a fork, "Now if I was a Menschilche, where would I put the security station." Sigma sarcastically spoke, "Maybe with a door that's labeled security station?" Yoshiro arched a brow, "Was that sarcasm?" Sigma's hologram appeared and nodded, "You know, if I was capable of being hard light, I could probably shoot down some of these turrets for you." Yoshiro peeked out around the corner to check for any panels that would be a dead giveaway to the fact that there is a ceiling turret, but couldn't find any. As he turned the corner, he felt a minor sense of pride and spoke up to Sigma, "If I weren't so nervous about our current situation, I'd be proud of you. My experiment is showing more and more promise as we continue to progress through it."

Sigma spoke up, "Yoshiro, I'm going to increase the range of your motion tracker." Yoshiro nodded and watched as it jumped from seventy-five meters to one hundred. Yoshiro noticed movement on the motion tracker and immediately his heart sank, "Uh oh." Yoshiro watched as a door opened down the hallway and he immediately raised his pistol, switching it on as he did so. No sooner did he see something exit the door, did he fire his weapon twice. Sigma spoke up, "Why did you shoot? That could've been a person!" Yoshiro kept his weapon raised, "That wasn't any person. That was a Em ex seventeen combat droid. A little outdated, but still a significant threat. The problem is where there is one, there is bound to be many more." Sigma's voice once again showed concern, "And you aren't equipped to handle an entire base full of them."

Yoshiro nodded slightly, "Hiding won't help either, the Em ex seventeen has thermal imaging hardware. If we don't find the security room soon, this base will become our tomb." Sigma's hologram appeared, "I think if we enter a security room, I'll be able to download maps of the area as well." Yoshiro nodded, "Focus on disabling the defenses first." Another droid walked out and Yoshiro shot it in the head, punching a hole through it and shutting it down. Sigma fell silent as Yoshiro slowly advanced through the hallway, he could feel his heart pounding in his chest as his body tensed up. He couldn't remember the last time he felt afraid like this. He continued forth and Sigma let out an observation, "This seems like the place is going easy on you." Yoshiro nodded, "It knows that I'm a Verbanan, but I have unknown technology, so it treats me like a Verbanan from back then."

Yoshiro came to a corner and as he peeked around it he saw a door that was labeled, "Security hall." Unfortunately for Yoshiro, he saw another pair of MX-17s heading his way. Yoshiro knew that the doors would open the moment they detected movement. Crouching down slightly, he took off at a sprint, firing his weapon at one of the MX-17s. Yoshiro's shot landed in the chest of the machine, tearing through its reactor and shutting it down. The other machine's aim was just as good. As the door opened, Yoshiro felt something hit him in the back. He dove through the door and rolled onto his back to aim his weapon at the door. The MX-17 walked into the hallway and Yoshiro let loose a shot as the droid fired its weapon. Yoshiro's shot hit the droid in the head, instantly disabling it.

The droid's shot caught Yoshiro in the chest and Sigma cried out, "Yoshiro! Are you alright!?" Yoshiro stood up and checked the damage report on his armor, "This is why I tend to wear the latest armor, Sigma. It's generally better at protecting me than the previous model was." Sigma spoke up, "But your medical implants say that you're injured." Yoshiro reached around to his back to see if there was any blood on him. He couldn't feel any hole in his armor, "Strange." As Yoshiro took a step forward, he felt pain and immediately figured out what had happened. The shot that caught him in the chest had left him with a second degree burn, "That droid saw that its companion couldn't punch through my armor and fully charged its weapon to try. Smart machines." Sigma's hologram appeared, "We are close to the security room." Yoshiro nodded slightly as he saw the door that led to the security center for the base.

Yoshiro didn't bother entering code into the keypad, instead, he stuck his fingers between the doors and forced them open. Yoshiro pulled out Sigma's AI chip and placed it into the computer, "What's the estimated time that you'll be able to have all security systems under your control?" Sigma spoke up, "Five minutes." Yoshiro looked out the door, "That will be an eternity in this place." Yoshiro checked to see if he had any of his other ammo types, but found that he didn't, "Sigma, I only have thirty-seven more shots." Sigma's voice spoke up, "I can try to work faster if you'd like." Yoshiro nodded, "Please." Yoshiro grabbed the doors and forced them closed. He then opened his mind and allowed himself to use magic, placing his hand near the door and melting the doors shut.

He knew that it was only a stopgap measure, but it would at least buy him and Sigma a little bit of time. He closed his mind back up and stood next to the door, his pistol at the ready. His motion tracker suddenly became awash in blips, and Yoshiro knew that his only real advantage was that he was in control of a small choke point. Yoshiro watched as the blips started to come closer and was worried that the machines would start opening fire on the doors themselves. He felt a knot form in his gut and his heart started to race. This feeling of intense fear was something he hadn't felt in centuries, but he didn't like it. As the blips kept advancing, Sigma spoke up, "The system is trying to stop me, it might take the full five minutes." Yoshiro nodded solemnly, "I'll see what I can do, Sig."
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Re: Wandering Sorrows

#25 Post by Akira110 »

Chapter 24

Yoshiro heard a pounding at the door and looked at Sigma, who spoke up, "Hold them off for four more minutes." Yoshiro grumbled, "That's a lot easier said than done, Sig." Yoshiro took a position next to the door and kept his pistol leveled at the place where the head of the machines were going to be. The pounding grew louder and louder and Yoshiro's heart started to beat faster and faster. He found it somewhat hard to concentrate, so he couldn't use a technique that Erasmus had taught him to calm himself down. The seal on the door started showing cracks, "How much more time?" Sigma spoke up, "Three minutes and fifteen seconds." Yoshiro closed his eyes, "I'm not dying here. If I have to use magic against these [censored], I am not dying here!" Yoshiro watched as dents formed in the door and he opened his mind to allow him to use his magic.

He glanced at the timer and saw that a full three minutes was left on the clock. The door burst open and a single MX-17 walked through the chokepoint, Yoshiro fired his pistol into the head of the machine, disabling it. The machine fell to the ground as another one stepped into the room and Yoshiro took another shot, blowing a hole through that robot's head. Yoshiro carefully counted his shots as a third robot walked into the room and he shot that one in the head as well. Yoshiro started hearing a pounding sound right next to him and knew what they were trying to do. The robots were trying to circumvent his chokepoint and get to him by busting through the wall. Yoshiro knew that if the machines were as smart as they reportedly were though, he wasn't going to be able to switch walls without opening himself up to weapons fire.

Instead, Yoshiro stepped back towards the corner, knowing that was his best defensive option. The Machines seemed to assume that he was no longer covering the chokepoint as one walked through the door, only to be shot in the head like the others. Yoshiro knew that he only had nineteen shots left in his gun, but he glanced over at the computer to see that forty-five seconds had passed. Yoshiro was rather frustrated as time had seemed to slow down for him. That gave him an idea and he tried to focus enough to preform time dilation, but was incapable of doing so. He growled as the ability to react faster would've been a great help right now. Yoshiro heard an extremely loud pounding right next to his head and he crouched as a robotic fist burst through the wall where his head was.

Another robot thought that he was no longer guarding the chokepoint and tried to walk in, but he shot that one in the head. The Robotic arm above his head started searching for him and Yoshiro placed his free hand on the wall, putting his mana through it in the form of light magic and solidifying it in the robot that was trying to attack him. Suddenly the lights went out in the base and turned back on. Sigma spoke up, "I didn't need the full five minutes after all. Are you alright, Yoshiro?" Yoshiro stood up and looked out the hole that the robot had made, "Yeah, I'm fine. Shaken up, but I'll live. Sigma, can you shut down the defensive grid for the entire base?" Sigma spoke up, "I already have, I've also transferred all security functions for this base to me."

Yoshiro nodded slightly, "So what does that mean?" Sigma laughed slightly as Yoshiro grabbed at the AI chip, "So long as I'm in this computer, I can control this entire base." Yoshiro stopped reaching for the AI chip, "Transfer a map to my helmet, I wish to look at the archives." Sigma's hologram appeared, "Alright, map transfer complete." Yoshiro watched as a map appeared in the top right corner of his visor, "Thanks." Yoshiro walked out of the room and followed the map which pointed him down the hallway. He took a left and walked into a lift. He pressed a button and the lift carried him deeper into the base. As the lift went down Sigma's voice spoke up, "I'll monitor your progress on the cameras. What I'm seeing is rather amazing, they have experiments set up all over this place and it's just... wow." Yoshiro nodded slightly as the doors opened and he walked out, "This is a Menschilche base."

Yoshiro walked through the hallways and eventually reached the archives. He took his helmet off and placed it on a table and started to get to work on the computer. However, all of the information on the computer was in the Menschilche language, "I can't read any of this, Sig. Can you translate Menschilche for me?" Sigma spoke up, "Hmm, I'm not sure if you gave me a translator function, but I could try." Yoshiro nodded and turned around when Sigma's hologram appeared before him, "I can project myself anywhere there is a camera." Yoshiro nodded and turned to the archival computer, "Sigma, I..." Yoshiro lifted his pistol to take aim at a robot, but Sigma looked at him, "Woah! I've taken control of the body, anything it sees is transferred to me." Yoshiro lowered the pistol, "Next time, give me a little bit of warning."

Yoshiro moved out of the way and let the robot go to the computer, information flashed swiftly on the monitor and Sigma's hologram shook its head, "There isn't any information on Tovenaar. This particular base was looking into gene splicing with plants and preservation of genetic material on Verbana." Yoshiro nodded slightly, "Well at least this wasn't a total bust." Sigma blinked, "What do you mean?" Yoshiro smirked, "You showed concern, Sig. You're becoming more and more alive as the days go on." Sigma's hologram nodded slightly, "So that is what you were... wait a second, there is a list of Menschilche bases on Verbana, I'll download it and cross reference our list of Menschilche bases, see which ones have been opened and which ones haven't. By the way, a team of Manchot have entered the base, do you wish for me to stop them?"

Yoshiro shook his head, "I'll rendezvous with you, and then we'll slip out unnoticed." Sigma tilted his head, "How?" Yoshiro smirked, "An advantage to light magic and having a map in my helmet is that I can bend light around me and still see where to go." Sigma nodded, "So I will need to remain offline, then?" Yoshiro nodded, "Sleep mode, but yes. Don't worry, I'll wake you when we're safe." Yoshiro walked back out of the room and back to the lift. The doors opened for him and he walked into the lift. He hit the button for the ground floor and it took him up. As the doors opened, he walked out slowly and went to the corner. He quickly peeked around the corner and whispered, "Sigma, update my map to show me where they are." Four blips appeared on his map that seemed to be heading towards the command room.

Yoshiro nodded slightly, "Well that's good news." Yoshiro crouched low and started to silently retrace his steps to the security room. He made sure to take care to step around the robots on the floor as he made his way inside. Yoshiro took the AI chip from the computer and placed it back into his helmet, "I wouldn't leave you here, Sig. Remember to remain in sleep mode until we get back out." Yoshiro concentrated and bent light around him, he knew that this technique would constantly drain his supply of light mana, but he felt that he had no choice. He quietly, but swiftly walked towards the entrance of the base using thermal imaging, leaving what he did inside the base behind him. Without incident he reached the front of the base, to see four Manchot standing there. They had uniforms that he didn't recognize, but something told him that he didn't want to get caught.

Yoshiro crouched down even lower and quietly walked between the Manchot soldiers. As he walked out of the base, he noticed that there was snow not too far from the base, so he decided to create a diversion. He walked over to a corner of the base and started howling. The Manchot looked around and as he howled, he quickly removed his boots and walked into the snow, knowing that he'd be leaving a different kind of print. He walked backwards to throw the Manchot off in case they were to try to track him down. The problem was that he felt his light mana reserves reaching empty. Fortunately for him, he had backed over a hill and was hidden from sight. Yoshiro's light mana ran out and he switched back to normal sight with his visor. Relieved that he had escaped, he turned around and started to walk away from the area, knowing that he could call Claire to send a transport his way and pick him up.
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Re: Wandering Sorrows

#26 Post by Akira110 »

Chapter 25

As he continued to travel away from the Menschilche base, Yoshiro woke Sigma up, "Sig, can you get Claire on the line?" Sigma spoke up, "Yes, I can. You're going to call a ride?" Yoshiro nodded, "The Manchot are hunting me." Sigma sighed, "Do you have any concern for Pekka and the others?" Yoshiro nodded, "I'm scared that they might have been injured or killed, but I will never know for sure." Sigma went silent as Claire's voice spoke up, "Yoshiro, to what do I owe this pleasure?" Yoshiro placed his hand on his visor, "Claire, I need a transport down here near the south pole." Claire spoke up, "Alright, will you be coming to the Raptor base?" Yoshiro shook his head, "No, my Grandparents and Julius are in the nearest port city around here, I'm going to go rendezvous with them." Claire's voice spoke up, "Alright, we can have a shuttle down there in a couple of hours."

Yoshiro nodded, "Thank you, Claire." Yoshiro cut off the communications link, knowing that if he kept it up, he'd be painting a giant target on his back. This was something that he didn't want to do. However, his stomach growled and he shook his head, knowing that he had used his mana to survive. Yoshiro looked around and saw a cave. He smiled slightly under his helmet, knowing that the formation itself would hamper any signals and would make him harder to find. He walked over to the cave and paid attention to his motion tracker as he walked into it. There wasn't any movement, but at least it would be a place for him to get some rest. He positioned himself behind a rock and closed his eyes, "Sigma, if anything sets off the motion tracker, wake me up, alright?" Sigma's voice spoke up, "Understood, sir."

Yoshiro drifted off into sleep, however this time, he didn't find himself in a terrible situation. He found himself standing on the shore of a lake with Katriina, Kauko and Hannu by his side. He looked at the others, "But all of you are... I see, so you're all visiting me, aren't you?" Katriina shook her head, "Kauko and Hannu are incapable of visiting you. These ones are constructs, made from memories." Yoshiro nodded, "So why are we back here?" Katriina shrugged, "It's your dream, buddy. I noticed you haven't been speaking to me as often as you used to. Spend all your time playing with that robot of yours." Yoshiro nodded, "I know, but as a scientist, I have something to prove to the world." Katriina nodded, "I'm glad to see you doing something that you can be passionate about that isn't being a warrior."

Yoshiro nodded as he looked at Kauko, "I miss you, boss." Kauko looked at him and smiled, "You're a good kid, Yoshiro. You'll go far in life, I'm sure of it. Follow your dreams." Yoshiro looked out over the lake, "I remember that Hannu never liked anyone, especially not me." Katriina nodded slightly, "Hannu was a noble." Yoshiro arched a brow, "I was and still am a noble and I don't have a stick that far up my [censored]." Katriina chuckled, "Hannu was taught that he was inherently superior to the people around him. He became very angry when the peasant born Kauko joined our ranks. He was especially furious when you joined us, saying that you tainted the purity of the Paladinic order. The only person he showed respect for out of the group was me, but that was purely because my mother was the deity of our order."

Yoshiro nodded, "Your mother misses you, you know." Katriina nodded slightly, "I know. I'd love to see her more often, but somebody doesn't like going to Kani territory." Yoshiro shrugged, "I'm sorry that it holds bad memories. I have a hard time looking the king in the eye and I really have a hard time looking Seija in the eye." Katriina nodded, "Kauko's death still weighs on you, doesn't it?" Katriina looked away and then looked over to Yoshiro, "Kauko wanted me to tell you something, since he can't tell you it himself, what with the whole rules of the dead thing." Yoshiro was confused, "You mean that he and Hannu follow me around as well?" Katriina shook her head, "Just me, but I do have access to the realm of the dead. Anyhow, would you like to hear Kauko's message right now?" Yoshiro nodded slightly, "I'm not going anywhere in a hurry."

Katriina nodded, "There are so many different stories that we tell where some brave hero decides to sacrifice themselves to save others. Because of their sacrifice, the good guys win, the survivors cheer, and everyone else lives happily ever after. Heroes like us, we never get to see that ending. We will never know if our sacrifices weren't in vain. We'll never know if we even had any impact on the world. In the end, we just have to have faith. I gave my life knowing this. I trusted you to be the one to kill me, I wouldn't have anyone else do it. You were my friend, Yoshiro. We were brothers-in-arms once, but I only have one question, did my sacrifice amount to anything?" Yoshiro nodded, "The disease was eradicated, Boss. Thanks to your sacrifice, millions were saved. You did the right thing."

Katriina smiled, "Kauko's spirit is at rest now. He knows that he made a difference and ultimately helped people with his death. Yoshiro, your heart harbors a lot of regret and a lot of pain. Magatama and I can only do so much, but you're going to have to be the one to figure out how to ease that pain and ease those regrets." Sigma's voice suddenly sounded, "Movement at the edge of motion tracker, sir." Yoshiro bolted awake and carefully watched his motion tracker as a single blip moved towards him. Yoshiro grabbed his pistol and readied it. The last thing he wanted to do was spill blood, but he was willing to do so, "Sigma, how long have I been asleep?" Sigma spoke up, "One hour and fifty-two minutes, sir." Yoshiro nodded slightly and didn't budge from the rock, suddenly he heard a roar and immediately knew that he was dealing with a wild animal.

Yoshiro stood up from the rock and saw a large mammal standing before him, one that looked like a distant relative of the Karhu. Yoshiro instinctively raised his pistol and shot the creature in the head. As the creature fell to the ground, he walked over and removed his helmet. He pulled the sword off his belt and cut into the flesh of the creature, so that he wouldn't have to bite the fur. After opening a window for him to eat out of, he cleaned his sword and sheathed it, kneeling down next to the creature and shoving his face into its side. He bit into the meat and snapped his head back as he pushed down on its hide, tearing the meat from the bone. As he chewed on the fresh meat, he looked up to the sky, scanning it for a shuttle of some sort.

Sigma spoke up, "I really wish you would eat with some sort of semblance of manners." Yoshiro shrugged as he leaned in and took another bite, ripping away at the creature's flesh with his teeth and neck muscles. Sigma grumbled, "Seriously, you're getting the blood of this creature all over your face." Yoshiro swallowed the meat and he shook his head, "You know very little about survival situations. Then again, you'll never really have to worry about surviving." Sigma's hologram appeared with a frown, "That doesn't give you an excuse to eat like some wild animal." Yoshiro laughed, "The thing about that is, I am a wild animal." Sigma's hologram folded its arms and Yoshiro shook his head, "I'm of the animal kingdom and I am not domesticated, in fact, I'm perfectly capable of surviving in the wild. Hence, I am a wild animal." Sigma's hologram shook its head and looked to the horizon.

Yoshiro noted that the beast that he killed had too much meat on it for him to eat by himself, so he simply sat down next to it when he was finished, "I wonder when that transport will arrive." Yoshiro saw something on the horizon that was closing in on his position and he hoped that was the transport in question. As it grew closer, the communicator in his helmet crackled to life, "General Miyamae, this is Raptor Shuttle Five, do you copy?" Yoshiro placed his helmet on, "Raptor Shuttle Five, this is former General Miyamae, I do copy. You may land near my position." Yoshiro watched as the shuttle drew ever closer and then watched as it landed next to him. Yoshiro stood up as the shuttle door opened and entered the shuttle. The pilot, a Mus looked back at him, "Strap in, I'll take you to the port in question. We called up Julius and got the coordinates." Yoshiro nodded slightly as the shuttle door closed. When he sat down and buckled up, he felt the craft lift from the ground. A sense of relief washed over him as he was glad to be away from this continent.
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Re: Wandering Sorrows

#27 Post by Akira110 »

Chapter 26

Yoshiro stepped off the shuttle and into the city, he waved to the pilot and smiled, "Tell Claire that I said thank you." The Pilot nodded slightly, "Will do." Yoshiro removed his helmet and stuck his nose in the air, sniffing around to try to pick up a scent that he recognized. He picked one up and turned around to see who it was. Standing before him was Tsuyoshi, who adjusted his glasses, "What are you doing here, Father?" Yoshiro looked away, "Exploring the world." Tsuyoshi shook his head, "Something tells me that it's more than that, Father. You forget what my job is. I'm a diplomat, I can tell when someone is lying to me." Yoshiro nodded slightly, "It's really just my past catching up to me, my son." Tsuysohi nodded, "You're not alone, Father. You never were. The problem is with you, you never seem to ask for our help."

Yoshiro nodded, "How's your mother holding up?" Tsuyoshi frowned, "That's all you have to ask me? Not how I'm doing?" Yoshiro looked down, "Sorry, just... I've got a lot on my mind." Tsuyoshi folded his arms, "I can see that, Father. We want to help you, you know this, but why don't you let us?" Yoshiro looked his son in the eyes, he couldn't help but see Elbereth's eyes looking back at him, "Because..." Yoshiro hugged Tsuyoshi, "I don't want you all to be dragged down because of my problems. I want you all to live happy lives." Tsuysohi pushed Yoshiro away, "Father, do you not see that when you don't allow us to help you, you are hurting all of us?" Yoshiro closed his eyes, "I don't want you guys to get involved with things that are dangerous for the lot of you. Some of the situations I get into, if I had to protect one of you, I wouldn't be alive."

Tsuyoshi looked at him, anger was obvious in his eyes, "Do you only think about yourself, Father?" Yoshiro became angry at his son, "No! Has it crossed your mind that maybe I know that I'm hurting you guys in some way, but I consider it better for you to be hurt like this than to have to risk burying my children? Has it ever crossed your mind that I would love nothing more to be back at home with your mother and the orphans, sipping cocoa next to a warm fire? I love each and every one of you, I constantly think of you all." Tsuyoshi frowned, "That's what you say, but you never quite show it." A voice spoke up, "Father is right, big brother." Yoshiro blinked and looked over Tsuyoshi's shoulder to see Hiromi walking towards them, "I assume that you're both here for some sort of treaty?"

Hiromi shook her head, "My husband is currently ruling over the Kilvish kingdom, I decided to come see how my big brother works." Yoshiro looked at Hiromi, "It has been a long time since I last saw you and you haven't even aged a day." Hiromi nodded, "We Kilves have an unknown lifespan, but it is longer than you Kitsune, Daddy." Yoshiro smiled softly and hugged his middle child, "I was going to meet up with your great-grandparents, but Tsuyoshi is right. I never let my family in on my issues. Can you forgive your foolish old man?" Hiromi nodded, "I never harbored any sort of grudge against you." Yoshiro nodded, "Your great-grandparents can wait a little longer, what do the two of you want to do?" Tsuyoshi frowned, "I have work, Father. Hiromi is the one here without any official business."

Yoshiro nodded and then felt a hand on his muzzle, "Daddy, it is a bit strange that you have this face." Yoshiro nodded slightly, "This is my true face, your mother likes the elvish face better. All of you kids grew up used to the fact that I had that face, instead of my true face. It's what you knew your entire lives." Hiromi looked away, "Mama seemed a bit worried about you, Yoshiro. You left without saying anything to her, you know." Yoshiro corrected her, "Your great-grandmother sort of didn't leave me with much of a choice. Not to mention, I thought Julius had brought up something about this." Hiromi shook her head and Yoshiro grumbled slightly, "Dammit, Julius." Yoshiro looked around to see that Tsuyoshi had left already, "Would you like to get something to drink?" Hiromi nodded slightly, "Alright, Daddy."

Yoshiro took her to a pub that was close by and sat down at a table. Hiromi looked around, "Why did you bring me to a pub?" Yoshiro shrugged, "Instinctual decision for when I'm trying to work through data or gain information. Speaking of which, Sig, this is your older sister, Hiromi." Sigma's hologram appeared before her and bowed slightly, "It is a pleasure to meet you, big sister." Hiromi nodded slightly, "I heard that Daddy was working on something new, some sort of super advanced AI, I guess you're the end result of that." Sigma's hologram nodded, "That is correct, milady." Yoshiro looked at Sigma's hologram, "So, have you been able to translate all of the data that we got from that base?" Hiromi frowned, "I thought you were retired from the military!" Yoshiro nodded, "Old Menschilche installation, hadn't been opened since ten years before I was born."

Hiromi looked at Sigma, who merely spoke up, "What my creator says is true, there were no soldiers within the base when we entered. Just a bunch of obsolete machines." Hiromi placed her hand on Yoshiro's breastplate, "Then why is this damaged?" Yoshiro shrugged, he had forgotten that was there as he didn't ever pay attention to the burned tissue underneath, "Some of them were armed, to be fair, I accepted the idea that defenses were still active. I thought it was a small enough chance to be worth the risk." Hiromi folded her arms, "You always needlessly risk your life. But I suppose that is what you do, Daddy." Yoshiro watched as a Neko walked over, "Would you like something to drink?" Yoshiro nodded, "I'd like a cold tankard of ale if you will." Hiromi looked up, "I'll have a coffee, no sugar, but I'd like some creamer, please."

Hiromi looked at him, "Really, alcohol in your condition?" Yoshiro shrugged, "I'm sorry, Honey. It takes the edge of the pain off." Hiromi frowned, "You told me not to drink while depressed." Yoshiro stood up and removed his breastplate, showing that his clothes were burnt underneath and he sustained a second degree burn, "That's the pain I'm talking about, Hiromi." Hiromi blinked, "Oh, I thought you were drinking because of what happened with Galina." Yoshiro shook his head, "Though that pain lingers in my heart, I'm trying to get this stinging on the skin of my chest to go away right now." Hiromi nodded slightly, "So without your armor..." Yoshiro nodded as he put the breastplate on, "I wouldn't be here right now. In fact, the first shot that I got hit with would've killed me, not immediately mind you, but it would've been lethal." Their drinks were placed on the table and Hiromi looked at him, "You risk your life too much, do you ever think of what it would be like for us if you died?"

Yoshiro sipped his ale and when he lowered the tankard, "Of course I do. Why do you think I go to such lengths to prepare for scenarios I'm not even sure of." Yoshiro placed the tankard on the table and looked into his daughter's eyes, "There has never been a situation that I've gone into where I didn't think of you guys. I love my family and I know that losing me would hurt as much as losing Galina or Rogelio for all of you and losing Kauko or Katriina was for me. That's why I chose to protect myself when I have to go out and risk my life. That's why I plan things out as best I can when I have that luxury." Hiromi looked down, "So that's why you became a sniper, so you could keep yourself off the front lines?" Yoshiro nodded slightly, "Yes. I wanted to end wars swiftly so that you wouldn't have to worry about losing your father."

Hiromi nodded slightly as Yoshiro took another sip of ale. She looked into her coffee, "When are you coming home?" Yoshiro closed his eyes and placed the tankard back on the table, "I'm not sure. My journey could be over in a couple of days, it could take a couple of months. I promise you that I will come back, no matter what happens." Hiromi nodded, she knew her father wasn't a liar. If he promised to come back alive, he was going to come back alive. Yoshiro downed the rest of the tankard and looked out the window, "Hiromi, no matter what happens, I'll always be there for you, alright. Even when I pass away, and don't say that you don't want me to speak like that. We both know your natural lifespan is longer than mine. I'll be there for you in spirit. I promise." Hiromi nodded and looked Yoshiro in the eye, "Daddy, please be careful." Yoshiro stood up, "I will do my best." Though that wasn't the answer she wanted to hear, Hiromi knew that Yoshiro wasn't one to give false hope.
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Re: Wandering Sorrows

#28 Post by Akira110 »

Chapter 27

As Yoshiro walked through the streets of the city, he kept his nose pointed into the air, trying to pick up Julius' scent. Within a few moments he heard a voice say, "Look out, Mister!" Yoshiro turned and noticed a ball flying towards him. He raised his hand and caught the ball in his hand, feeling the impact, even through the glove. One of the kittens that were playing walked over, "Woah, you're fast, Mister!" Yoshiro smirked behind his hand, "Whoever hit the ball has a nice swing. What game are you kids playing?" Yoshiro lowered his hand as one of the kittens walked over and spoke up, "We're playing a game the humans brought over, they called it stick ball, but there are all sorts of rules." Yoshiro looked at the fence between him and the kids, "Well according to the rules of stick ball, I believe whoever nearly hit me with this scored a point for hitting it over this fence."

The Kittens looked back at the person with the stick and then to him, "Who are you, I haven't ever seen you around, Mister." Yoshiro hopped the fence, "Where's your coaches?" A fully grown female Neko walked over to him and she glared at him, "You're delaying our game." Yoshiro handed her the ball, "I'm not really delaying anything. These kids aren't out here to compete, they're here to have fun and I know the natural curiosity of the Neko people. Your people are looking at someone that they had never seen before." The Female Neko looked him over, "You're bringing weapons onto a regulation sports field?" Yoshiro shrugged and lied to her, "I work security, for some very important people. I was given some time off and it's a force of habit to wear all of this gear." The Neko nodded slightly, "Uh huh... well if you don't mind..."

Yoshiro removed his helmet and one of the Kittens looked up at him, "You're a Kitsune, like that nice lady that my mom saw last night." Yoshiro blinked, that meant that Amaterasu was still within the city. He was excited about this and wanted to go meet his grandmother posthaste. Yoshiro looked at her, "Do you know where she is staying at?" The Kitten shook her head and Yoshiro frowned slightly, "That's alright, kiddo." Yoshiro stood up, "I'm going to head off." The girl looked at him, "You carry a sword, would you like to take a swing at the ball?" Yoshiro couldn't help but laugh, "It's a different technique altogether, little one. However, I will give it a shot, I will however need a larger club to use." The woman frowned, "We call them bats." Yoshiro shrugged, "I honestly don't get the terminology that you use."

Yoshiro walked over to where the woman pointed him, and the woman handed him a bat, one made for adults. She walked over to a mound of dirt and smiled, "I'm going to throw this one as hard as I can." Yoshiro watched the way she moved carefully and decided to pull out his trump card. Time started to slow down from his perspective and Yoshiro carefully studied the woman's movements. As the ball left the woman's hand, Yoshiro slowed his perception of time even more, carefully watching the ball as it headed towards him. He started to swing the bat at what he believed to be the right time and at the right angle to hit the ball, but much to his surprise, when he resumed his normal perception of the flow of time... he missed. Yoshiro heard the ball hit the fence and shook his head, "Three swings, right?"

Yoshiro smirked, "This time, I'm going to hit this thing out of the park." The Neko woman frowned, "You are very arrogant for someone who never played the game before." Yoshiro chuckled as he got into position, "Just throw the ball." The woman threw the ball and Yoshiro used his time dilation once again, slowing his perception of the flow of time to one-tenth of its normal speed. This time, when he calculated the speed and trajectory of the ball, he changed the position of the bat and swung it as hard as he could. When he stopped dilating time, he heard the crack of the bat meeting the ball, and felt the bat get lighter as a result of it. Yoshiro watched as the ball flew out of the field and slammed into a window, "Well, I'm going to have to pay for that one."

Yoshiro watched as a leopard Neko walked out of the building with the ball. The Neko jumped the fence and stormed over towards him, "You broke my window, you're going to pay for that!" Yoshiro pulled out his wallet, "How much will a new window cost you, sir?" The Neko looked at him, "Six thousand credits." Yoshiro placed his wallet away, "Drop a couple of zeroes and I'll believe you, until then, you're not seeing a single credit of my money." The Neko punched him in the nose and he grabbed at his face. It always hurt to be punched there, but he knew that he had to set an example for these kittens. The male Neko angrily shouted at him, "Who do you think you are!?" Yoshiro calmly looked the Neko in the eye, "Yoshiro Miyamae." The Neko laughed, "What would someone like that be doing in a place like this?"

Yoshiro shrugged, "Security detail, I got the day off though. The VIP is protected by the guards of this city right now." The Neko looked him in the eye, but Yoshiro didn't budge. The Neko immediately showed fear, "Y-y-you really are him! You killed my sister!" Yoshiro shook his head, "I apologize, sir, but who was your sister?" The Male Neko growled, "You dishonor her memory by not even remembering her! Her name was Kaoru, you son of a [censored]!" Yoshiro watched as the Neko pulled out a knife and dodged the slash that was aimed for his neck. While the Neko was off balance from missing an attack he had put all of his power into, Yoshiro grabbed the weapon arm and squeezed tightly, "Let go of that before you hurt one of these kittens." The male Neko didn't let go and Yoshiro twisted the hand, "I said let go."

The male Neko screamed out in pain and let go of the knife. Yoshiro smiled, "What is your name?" The Neko glared at him, "Tamotsu!" Yoshiro tossed Tomatsu to the ground and stepped on the knife, "I can only apologize to you for what I have done in the past. I'm sorry that I took your sister from you, I was in the military and she was on the opposing side." Yoshiro looked down at him, "If you had chosen a venue for this to take place that wasn't a children's stick ball field, I would have let this go. You put these children in danger and that is something that as a father, I can never forgive." Yoshiro looked towards the children, "They will never forget this day and they will never forget our faces, not because it was fun, but because you chose to try to kill me."

Tamotsu looked at him, "I will avenge my sister, at all costs!" Yoshiro grabbed him by the collar and picked him up, feeling a pain in his shoulder as he did so, "Do not think for a second, that Kaoru would want you to avenge her death. She would've wanted you to be happy." Tamotsu punched Yoshiro in the face, but Yoshiro turned his head so he could catch the fist on his jaw, "Yeah, trying to punch me in the nose isn't going to work a second time. I can tell that you acted the way you did, because you are hurt deeply inside. I do not harbor any hatred for you and understand why you are doing what you are doing. Killing me, however, will not bring your sister back to life or grant her spirit any sort of ease." Tamotsu growled, "What do you know."

Yoshiro leaned in and whispered, "Because before I killed a target, I had to read their entire dossier. I knew your sister's psychological profile. She cared about you and didn't want to be avenged if she died." Tamotsu's eyes widened, "Shinigami!" Yoshiro whispered, "Aye, I was Gurimurīpā. I've long since retired from that role." Yoshiro let Tamotsu go and he watched as the Neko bowed to him, "The window will be free of charge." Yoshiro shook his head and pulled out his card, "Pull yours out, I'll transfer six thousand." Tamotsu blinked, "But... why?" Yoshiro motioned for him to do as he said, and Tamotsu pulled his card out of his wallet. Yoshiro transferred six thousand credits to him and put his card away, "Consider that my way of apologizing for the death of your sister. However, if you feel you haven't earned it, point me in the direction of the nearest Kitsune." Tamotsu pointed down the road, "They hang out near the cafe, daily." Yoshiro nodded, "Thank you."
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Re: Wandering Sorrows

#29 Post by Akira110 »

Chapter 28

Yoshiro walked to the door of the cafe and looked in, he looked around for the Kitsune in question when a voice spoke up behind him, "Excuse me, sir." Yoshiro jumped, he was startled by the voice. He turned around and looked at her, "Yoshiko?" The female Kitsune nodded, "Yes, your voice sounds familiar... do I know you by any chance?" Yoshiro took off his helmet to reveal his face and she gasped, "Yoshiro, I thought you had retired from the military." Yoshiro looked to the side, "I did, this however is mercenary gear." Yoshiko frowned, "What are you doing here then?" Yoshiro shrugged, "Searching the world for answers. Just so happens that the answers I'm trying to find are in unopened Menschilche bases." Yoshiko nodded, "What answers are you looking for, as you know, I was created by the Menschilche." Yoshiro shrugged, "Why I was always watched by them and what Tovenaar is supposed to be."

Yoshiko pulled Yoshiro from in front of the door to let people in the cafe, "Those are answers I do not have, I apologize." Yoshiro nodded, "Just like me." Yoshiko pouted and Yoshiro looked at her nervously, "I didn't mean it like that, you know that you're my cousin!" Yoshiko hugged him with a laugh, "I know that I'm your clone, Yoshiro. I'm not the same Yoshiko that you met all of those years ago." Yoshiro was surprised slightly and hugged back, a voice spoke in the back of his head, telling him that he didn't have time to spend with his cousin. He shook his head slightly and Yoshiko looked at him, "Why are you shaking your head?" Yoshiro shrugged, "Just trying to clear my head is all." Yoshiko nodded, "You must have a lot on your mind right now." Yoshiro nodded slightly as he was looking for Amaterasu.

Yoshiko blinked and looked at him, "Oh, that's right, Grandmother is waiting for you." Yoshiro was surprised, "You know where they are?" Yoshiko giggled, "Of course, cousin, they're at my place right now. They've been staying there for the past few days. I have to say that Julius has been an amazing help around the house. He really is good at doing housework, you know." Yoshiro was surprised to hear that about Julius, he knew that his draconic brother was a good father, but him doing housework was just something that he couldn't possibly fathom. Yoshiko giggled and led Yoshiro down a street, "Come on, Yoshiro. I'll take you to them." Yoshiro followed her and she looked up at him, "I've been out here on vacation. I got a month of vacation days that I get to use, so I figured, why not come all the way down here?"

Yoshiro nodded slightly, "Galina is..." Yoshiko interrupted him, "I know, but you have to know that it isn't your fault, Cousin." Yoshiro nodded, "I know it isn't, but it was the gate for me to realize how many deaths were my fault. I've killed so much in the military and in mercenary forces that to me, killing is as easy and as natural as breathing. It became the same way with losing my allies, or so I thought. Originally, I was horrifically shocked when I lost an ally. Then as the battles went on and I had fought through several wars, that was it. I no longer really felt any horror or shock from losing someone that I was fighting alongside. I had no idea that I was just bottling up the feelings within my heart and they were building up to the point of exploding."

Yoshiko nodded slightly, "That's what happens when you bottle up feelings." Yoshiro looked away, "It's what I was trained to do, cousin. I was always supposed to be the stoic, strong person that young rookies looked up to for guidance. As you can see, it has taken its toll on me." Yoshiko nodded slightly, "You haven't quite aged gracefully." Yoshiro was hurt by that, "Hey... I might look a little older than I really am, but I'm in great shape." Yoshiko smiled, "I know, but your face looks older than you really are. You do know that us holy bloods age slower after our awakening than our normal counterparts." Yoshiro did know that piece of information, "Yes, I do. It's quite a simple concept, really. Our exposure to mana has given the lifeforms of this planet an extended lifespan without the help of medicines or technology. We age the slowest out of any faction native to this galaxy."

Yoshiko stopped in front of a house, "This is where my vacation home is, well, more accurately it's my mentor's vacation home." Yoshiro nodded as he looked at the door, "Yoshiko, tell me something." Yoshiko nodded, "Alright." Yoshiro smirked, "How's your magical training coming along." Yoshiko smiled slightly, she didn't want to fully reveal her secrets, "Let's just say that I've been keeping up with my training, much like you have been keeping up with yours to keep your body in check." Yoshiro nodded slightly, "I'm going to have to ask grandmother if she will spar with me." Yoshiko frowned, "Not in the house, you're not. If the two of you want to spar, you're going to have to gym down the road." Yoshiro laughed nervously, "Come on, Cousin, you can't say that I'd be willing to have a match in your place."

Yoshiko gave him a stern look, "You really expect me to believe that. I know you better than you think I do, Yoshiro." Yoshiro shook his head with a nervous look on his face, "I wouldn't dare think of wrecking your house." Yoshiko sighed and opened the door, "Grandmother, Grandfather, look at what the cat dragged in." Yoshiro walked into the house and Amaterasu ran over and hugged him, "Oh, I was worried about you for a while, Yoshiro. I thought you had gotten lost in the city. I was going to come look for you, but Raiden didn't want to. He said that you should be able to find us on your own." Yoshiro nodded slightly, "It is good that you guys have faith in me. Hey, Grandmother, I know I just got back, but can we spar before we leave the continent?" Amaterasu tilted her head as she broke the embrace, "What for?"

Yoshiro looked away, "Like you said, I feel most alive when I'm fighting. I do not want to seriously injure anyone, however, so I thought that the best thing to do is go sparring. Plus, it will give Sigma more time to translate all of the data that he got from the database from Menschilche to Basic." Amaterasu was surprised, "This is rather well thought out for you, considering the..." Yoshiro looked up at the ceiling, "The circumstances, I know. I can feel the healing process begin, slowly, within my heart. It will take weeks, months, or even years. One thing is certain though, by the end of all of this, I will not be the same person I was before the death of Galina." Amaterasu nodded with a slight smile, "You really are your father's son." Yoshiro recalled the words of the Manchot and shook his head, "Let's hope that doesn't include the whole bioweapon part."

Amaterasu frowned, "Yoshiro, you and I both know that you are not a bioweapon!" Yoshiro shook his head, "The more I think about what I learned down there, the more uncertain I become. Who is Tovenaar, what is Tovenaar. The answers elude me, but they all come to one point, what if one of my siblings or I happen to be Tovenaar. I mean... my father is Kawal, it would only make sense for the Menschilche to try to turn one of us into one of their bioweapon projects." Amaterasu shook her head, "What do you plan on doing when you find Tovenaar?" Yoshiro looked at his hand, "I will destroy it so that it may never hurt anyone again." Amaterasu frowned deeply, "What if it is an innocent, what if it is merely a child, would your conscience be able to handle that."

Yoshiro looked at his hand, the reason he became a sniper was so that he wouldn't hurt innocents, even if he had gotten the wrong person in quite a few of his jobs and one of his policies is that he kills anyone who tried to hire him to kill a child. However, he weighed his morals over the idea of killing a bioweapon and came to his conclusion, "No, it wouldn't. An innocent bioweapon or a child bioweapon are to be treated the same as if they weren't bioweapons." Amaterasu smiled slightly, "I knew there was a good heart beating someone in that chest of yours. Tell me, Yoshiro, could you handle pointing a gun at one of your siblings?" Yoshiro shrugged, "Takeshi, yes. The others, not at all." Amaterasu nodded slightly, "That was a truthful answer, but why?" Yoshiro looked out the window, "Because Takeshi is pissed off that I killed his sister, despite the fact that she tried to kill me twice and their brother tried to kill Tatsuya and his clone tried to kill me. Takeshi and his threats have grown tiresome."
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Re: Wandering Sorrows

#30 Post by Akira110 »

Chapter 29

Amaterasu looked at her grandson from the opposite side of the gym, "I can see that you're tense, are you sure that you wish to spar with such an obvious burn on your chest?" Yoshiro looked down at his chest and then entered a fighting stance, he wasn't used to fighting without his shield, "It shouldn't be a problem in a sparring match." Amaterasu smirked, "Are you really going to allow an obvious weakness be known?" Yoshiro pat the bandages that were covering his chest, "I put ointment on it, there isn't much else I can do, Grandmother. Thank you, by the way for taking the time to spar with me." Amaterasu nodded slightly and entered a stance that Yoshiro didn't recognize. Yoshiro looked over it and tried to figure out why she took the stance, but couldn't. Amaterasu smiled slightly, "Do you not recognize the stance of your own mother?"

Yoshiro shook his head, "My mom didn't train me in the way of the sword, if she had her way, I wouldn't be here right now." Amaterasu laughed, "First, come at me. Let's spar." Yoshiro rushed at Amaterasu and moved his right arm as if he still had a shield, Amaterasu took advantage of that and slammed her training sword into his arm, while still blocking his blade. Yoshiro howled in pain as the force surprised him. He tried to gain some leverage over the lock, but his sword slid down hers and she quickly moved around him, placing the blade against the back of his neck. Yoshiro was surprised at her quick movements, but Amaterasu laughed, "You didn't learn much from the Kensei, did you? Your fighting style uses ours as a base, but you instinctively act like a Paladin in combat." Yoshiro moved away from her blade and turned around with a smile, "Is that a problem?"

Amaterasu shook her head, "Not at all, it would be an interesting thing for trainees to learn how to do. I've been thinking about expanding the Kensei for a long time." Yoshiro rushed at her and as she swung her sword at him, he instinctively bashed at it with his right arm, trying to parry the blow. He was able to catch the sword on his arm, but knew in a real battle he'd have sacrificed the arm by doing that. However he was able to bring his blade to her neck by doing this. Amaterasu shook her head, "You lost the ability to use your arm." Yoshiro shrugged, "I'd be able to get a new one, you'd be dead though." Amaterasu backed off and Yoshiro smirked as he adopted a new fighting position, "The Paladins weren't all I learned from."

Amaterasu noticed that Yoshiro kept one hand on his blade at all times as he moved towards her. She became slightly unnerved when she realized what kind of technique he was going to use against her. Yoshiro suddenly switched the placement of his hand and rushed in. She was able to catch the flat of his sword on her blade, but he was able to use his momentum to wrestle her down to the ground and pin her arm to the ground with his knee, "One to two." Amaterasu pushed him off with a laugh, "I'm sitting here going easy on you, because we're sparring and you're using techniques of war against me. Don't you think that's a little unfair, kiddo?" Yoshiro laughed and stood back up, "Why don't you stop going easy on me." Amaterasu arched a brow, "Are you sure about that?" Yoshiro nodded slightly and entered a defensive posture.

Amaterasu rushed in quickly and as Yoshiro went into block her attack, she struck both of his hands from underneath with her sword. She then brought it around to the back of his neck, "A Kensei prizes their speed and ability to alter the direction of their attack on the fly above all else, Yoshiro." Yoshiro was stunned, he had never seen such a thing in action. Yoshiro however elbowed back and hit her in the face, "Even without hands, an opponent that hasn't been finished can deal a lot of damage or potentially kill." Amaterasu nodded, "You have spent most of your life on battlefields, it is only natural that you have a warrior's mindset, but I must ask you to realize that this is a friendly sparring match." Yoshiro nodded slightly, "Let's practice some blocking then." Amaterasu nodded slightly, "Alright then, Yoshiro. You know how to block with a shield, but let's see if you can block with a blade."

Yoshiro nodded slightly and assumed a defensive position, he placed his right hand behind his back. Amaterasu swung her sword and Yoshiro caught it on the flat of his blade, angling his sword to where hers would harmlessly slide down the blade. As her blade slid off, instinctively, he placed his near her neck, but Amaterasu frowned, "Blocking practice, Yoshiro. Not parrying, however, your form when you block with your blade is superb." Yoshiro nodded slightly, "I had to learn, because there are many situations where I may find myself without a shield of some kind. Not knowing how to deflect your opponent's weapon with your own would lead to your death, while your opponent roams free." Amaterasu folded her arms and smiled slightly, "I honestly don't have much left that I can teach you. Your style is too different, but you are well trained."

Yoshiro looked at her, "Well, may I go all out?" Amaterasu blinked, "You weren't going all out?" Yoshiro shrugged, "Well, this is a sparring match." Amaterasu laughed, "Alright then, come at me as best you can." Yoshiro rushed at her and watched as her blade didn't move to defend. Suddenly he slammed into an invisible barrier and Amaterasu laughed, "I figured that you were going to combine your magic with your swordsmanship." Yoshiro stumbled back and shook his head, "That hurt quite a bit." Amaterasu dropped the barrier, "Are you alright?" Yoshiro swung his sword and hit her in the neck. Yoshiro suddenly felt something ensnare his leg, "Not again..." His leg flew up from under him, forcing him off balance and onto the ground. Amaterasu looked down at him, "You weren't supposed to hit your opponent in the neck in a sparring match!"

Yoshiro sat up, "I wasn't intending to hit you, but I put too much force behind that swing. I apologize, Grandmother." Amaterasu nodded slightly, "It's alright, Yoshiro, you didn't do any lasting damage." Yoshiro looked up, "Grandmother, you said that you were using Mom's stance. What kind of Kensei was Mom?" Amaterasu sat down next to him, "Your mother wasn't like you, she focused on my teachings and being my daughter, was a complete natural. By the time she was ready to have her first child, she was a Rank Three Kensei. She could've been a Rank One Kensei, easily. However, she settled down with your father, after the whole liberation war of Verbana and when you and your twin sister was born... she gave up the whole life of the swordsman thing." Yoshiro nodded slightly, he had no idea that he was what caused his mother to stop being a Kensei.

Amaterasu looked into his eyes, "I can see regret, do not feel bad. She wanted you and your twin to grow up in a peaceful world. One that you would be proud to be in." Yoshiro looked away, "That obviously didn't happen." Amaterasu nodded sadly, "I know, but you took it upon yourself to fight, so that no one else in your family would have to. You may disagree with the idea of you being a hero, but to your siblings, you really are a hero. You stood up when none of them would and you refused to let them throw away their lives in combat. You've always been looking out for them and protecting them. Yoshiro, they may not say it, but they look up to you." Yoshiro found that hard to believe, "I'm sure Reiko is disappointed in me." Amaterasu started laughing at that.

Yoshiro became annoyed, "What's so funny about that?" Amaterasu looked him in the eye, "You know better than anyone else, how much Reiko loves you. She has always been there when you needed someone to be with. You are aware of what she is, aren't you?" Yoshiro shrugged, "The reincarnation of the deity of purity." Amaterasu blinked, "Okay, when and how?" Yoshiro shrugged, "Aunt Kimiko sort of gets gossipy when drunk. Not entirely a good thing for a deity, especially if your aspect is rebirth, which is also known as reincarnation." Amaterasu nodded, "Well, I'll be sure to have her avoid alcohol from now on. Anyhow, you know why Reiko is purehearted. What you don't know is why she does what she does regarding you in particular. Yoshiro, you carry the most pain in your heart and she wants to heal that pain. She hates seeing people suffer, especially her family." Yoshiro nodded, "Only my death will be able to fully liberate me from this burden. However, it is a burden I chose to bear when I picked up a weapon for the first time." Amaterasu nodded, "Like all warriors before you. Well enough talking, would you like to go another round?" Yoshiro stood up with a smirk, "Let's go."
Been around this forum for over 8 years now. Everyone I've known has left, now it's my time to do the same.

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