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RP: 5th Fleet [Chapter Seven] We're Not In Yamatai Anymore...

Keeping watch near the rear left hand side of the wagon, Yuzuki swept her gaze out over the grassy fields around them while periodically fixing on one of the others while they gathered up whatever goods they could in preparation for the trip ahead of them. Being relatively new to the Fifth fleet and even newer to the squad, Yuzuki couldn't really comment on the state of affairs lacking the previous experience and connections that the others shared. All she could do for the moment was endeavour to keep them alive so that perhaps friendship could blossom. Perhaps she was being too sentimental, though honestly she knew better. She didn't want to have to watch more people die.

Ignoring the chiding of the Nepleslia, Yuzuki instead found herself wondering whether they should take up the offer as arms for hire. It was a simple enough job, and given their status it wasn't like they had much to fear by breaking contract at any point. It wasn't like the Lady Adelaide of the ambiguous title of 'Keeper' could follow them to Yamatai. To this end Yuzuki glanced at Sif, wondering if she'd take up the administrative duty of accepting the job assuming no one in the group complained about the proposition. For her part Yuzuki just wanted a chance to curl up in and sleep, not negotiate contract terms.
 
Adelaide sat there, pleadingly looking at them all with her hands in prayer, arms held close and pressing against her bosom.

She did so for what felt like like an eternity, time slowly ebbing away at a torturous pace, and finally could not bear it any longer. Looking down, she closed her eyes hard. It was a foolish thing to ask, and she had failed. After all, why would they want to protect her? Some...illegitimate daughter of the king, and one that was being hunted for the valuable treasure she stewarded? Like her knights before them, they were likely to end up the same. Of course they didn't want to! Why did she even -

"As leader of this group, I was hoping they would show more initiative and even discuss things such as this with each other, but it seems I must take charge," the small, almost fairy sized...cat eared person in their group spoke up. Her name - it was 'Sif' wasn't it? As Adelaide looked back up in surprise, still holding her pose of prayer, the Mini-Neko continued, "We will accept, but on the condition that you give to us - " Yuzuki's watchful eyes caught sight of a figure swooping in from the dark, but before she could react, Dimitri was kicked over and into the back of the carriage. And would have landed right on top of her if she didn't dodge. Instead, Dimitri landed right on Rin, his face relatively spared from harm as it planted in between her legs. The figure, standing tall, lorded over them all as it stood on the driver's bench.

"Evildoers beware!" the speaker proudly declared with a dramatic pose. "I, Coco Leetenbaum - soldier of justice and Jiyūūūūū no senshiiiiii - will punish you!"

It took them a bit of time, but, once they all realized they weren't going insane from sleep deprivation, the Star Army soldiers came to the conclusion that they were looking at a ten year old...who was dressed up as as a mahou shoujo. One who was wearing lots of white and frilly pink lace. One who was horrifically, inexplicably out of place amongst this land of chain mail, swords and shields. One who was waving around an equally white little wand which glowed with a shockingly malicious pink light. Perhaps more importantly however, was the small, decorated wood chest that she had strapped onto her back. A wood chest which they could see as the little girl struck one of her many poses during her introductory speech.

A chest that had the name "Adelaide von Weiss" engraved on it in shining gold.
 
Not in the mood to deal with needless interruptions Yuzuki tore through the mental shock of what had appeared before them, and instead drew a line between the aggravating stereotype and their 'royal' companion. As such Yuzuki asked calmly, "Lady Weiss, I would assume this is your handmaid?" Not entirely convinced by the obvious answer, though given circumstances there was little reason to doubt it. Instead Yuzuki kept her attention focused on the unknown danger while letting her big, fluffy, swivelling ears scan her surroundings listening for the sounds of the beast they had driven off should it decide they were distracted enough to return.

Hopping up into the back of the wagon Yuzuki looked to the others hoping that they'd be ready to move along soon, it was getting harder to remain polite in present circumstances, and she'd much rather be in a mood for song and dance, than wishing she had a pillow or acceptable substitute.
 
Dimitri had found it rather amusing that Sif could not come up with a clever response and just left it at fickle. It seemed witty remarks were one of Sif's few weak points, so it was forth noting. However as Adelaide spoke up about her situation, he knew where it was going, and it wasn't a place that he liked. He had no intention of just leaving Adelaide for dead, but he didn't want to accept and then her tell them to go somewhere other than where Kuroneko was headed. When Sif spoke up to answer for them he felt pretty bad about not answering, but he didn't have the time to apologize, as he was suddenly kicked in his chest and knocked over.

His immediate response was to quickly get a firm posture and try to kick the aggressor back and off the wagon, however, before he kicked he noticed that the person was a young child so he halted his actions and held back from giving her the boot. "It's not nice to go around kicking people..and I need to be driving."
 
Perhaps it was best that Dimitri had fallen on her; Rin probably would have started shooting arrows first and asked questions later. Rin was sure this planet was starting to wear at her, and not because of the fighting. Probably because of the rediculousness of the past couple of hours.

As she regained her footing, Rin nocked an arrow and pointed her bow at the new arrival. While she had the appearance of a child, a nekovalkyrja would certainly know that appearances could be deceiving.

"State your intentions. Now."
 
Freyja wasn't bothered either way about protecting some random princess, especially one that wasn't even yamataian. But when Sif agreed to protect she assumed that as usual the little badass probably had a plan so she guessed it was more boring guard duty for her, at least she'd have company this time.

And then this girl appeared sighing the neko placed a hand on the girls and said "unless you know where our friend is please be quiet we've had a long day"
the talking hiding the fact that Signy was reaching for her dirk in her boot, better safe than sorry.
 
"Y-yes," Adelaide's faint, confused voice answered Yuzuki.

Life seemed to move on. Or, more accurately, the open carriage continued to move through the night as Sif now held onto the reins. The mahou shoujo however, had completely lost her earlier expression, and replaced it with a look of slack jawed awe. For a fairly reasonable amount of time, she simply stood at the very front of the open carriage, staring at them, mouth open and eyes wide with wonder.

"...Sugoi," the faint words barely audible from her. "SUGOI! REAL NEKO! REAL, REAL NEKO!" Coco shouted at the top of her lungs. In the distance, feral feline whimpers of fear could be heard as the grass shook, a pair of hidden, large forms fleeing in a hurry. The horse snorted in relief. "There's a red one! And a blue one! And pretty ones! And, and - " Sighting Sif, the little girl knelt down on the driver's bench and held her hands out as though presenting a prize newly revealed to the audience. Voice forced into a hush, ushering in the grand, she just went on.

"There's even a Mini-Neko!" Her enthusiasm died out for a moment though. "And, um. Some guys. Uh. Do they sparkle at least?" Pausing with disappointment, she slapped her cheeks with both hands like someone trying to wake up, the Magical Girl regaining her vim and vigor. Looking straight at her mistress, she asked, "Adelaide, Adelaide, why didn't you tell me the bad guys have Neko!? That's totally not fair!" Looking at the squad, she started speaking straight at them in turn. "Just take me away!~ I wanna join The Evil Neko Empire and get a cool new black and red dress and awesome-cool badguy stuff too!" she straight up demanded from Rin. "Look at him - I got a really strong kick and everything, right? I'm totally right, right?" Coco questioned Dimitri. "Oh, oh, I can help too! When I was running away with the goods like Adelaide said, I saw somebodies go south from the dumpy little camp I found! But it was dark, so I couldn't make them out!" As she happily took Freya's hand and started rubbing her cheek against it like an affectionate kitten herself, the princess trembled as she came to the brink of a complete breakdown.

"She. She...had powers? Why didn't she tell me?"

"That's because you didn't ask!" Coco happily replied, mid-cheek-rub. They could all hear the faintest of sobs from the broken princess. "Oh, that's right!" the little girl realized. "What are we going to do to take over the world guys? Does this thing in here get assembled into some ancient super-weapon, or get used in some ritual to revive an Evil Overlord, or maybe unlock a flying castle in the sky?"

She was genuinely curious. Sif however, simply seemed to have run out of F*ks to give, and kept on driving the carriage.
 
Despite the confirmation that the small, noisy abomination was in fact attached to Adelaide, Yuzuki couldn't honestly forgive herself for not thrusting the cold steel of her spear into the soft flesh of the underside of the noisy child's jaw. Yes, she would likely have been court-marshalled for it later, and yes the poor nervous Lady Weiss would have likely been heartbroken and horrified. But, things would have been quiet, and Yuzuki could have endeavoured to curl up and nap. Instead she had to endure the gleeful ministrations of a closet Yamatai enthusiast and all of the objectifying leering that entailed.

Of all of the things that the noisy, hyperactive, energetic, bouncing, vibrating, screeching thing uttered one was actually noteworthy.

Someone had gone south.

Doing some quick math Yuzuki composed a message at to broadcast at maximum range, 250km was a distance greater than a Neko could travel even at full speed, in the time since they had left the camp on this increasingly infuriating night, "Kuroneko? This is Yuzuki we're presently heading northward." She let her gaze wander skyward to take a snapshot of their 'skybox' relative to the direction they were going and attached the image to a continuation of the message, "What is your status?"

With the message sent and the best action she could take to possible reunite with their wayward sister taken, Yuzuki returned her attention to the plains around them and sighed wishing for things to improve dramatically, or at the very least let her get some restful sleep.
 
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Sif's response to Rin's despair helped to encourage Aya. There was indeed a path in the brush heading south. It seemed eminently possible that Kuroneko had indeed survived the encounter and would link up with them later. And then Sif's last comment punctured it somewhat. Images of Kuroneko's potential fate flashed through Aya's mind, but she forced them away. She would try to remain positive unless they received complete confirmation that Kuroneko was dead. The young woman didn't want to throw in the towel just because of some circumstantial evidence.

Adelaide's offer of employment was met with some hesitation. She wanted to say yes, but it was not a decision she wanted to take unilaterally - particularly if it turned out that the rest of the squad (particularly Sif) declined. Thankfully, in the event, Sif agreed. What happened next, however, was a bolt from the blue. Startled, her blade was already halfway out of its sheath by the time she realised it was a little girl - and a little girl in mahou shoujo garb at that. She was so busy gawping at the bizarre spectacle that she almost didn't hear Adelaide confirm that this little girl was in fact her handmaid. The sword went back into its sheath.

Now that she had time to get over the initial shock, she found the girl's antics adorable. Smiling at Coco, she adopted a playful tone. "Well, what would you think if we weren't from The Evil Neko Empire? What if we were from the noble..." She took a moment to think of a suitably grand name. "...Heroic Neko Kingdom?"

Creativity was never my strong suit, but it's good enough, right? she thought.
 
Somewhere Besides Yamatai

?????? said:
"SUGOI! REAL NEKO! REAL, REAL NEKO!"
Click to expand...

Masato's impromptu slumber - courtesy of being far more tired then he'd thought - came to an abrupt halt as a youthful (and feminine) voice yanked the Minkan out from the Land of Nod. ...zzzzzzzbwah?!?!?!


Said Minkan reflexively reached for his spear as combat training kicked into gear - only to pause upon noticing his squadmate's lack of activity (...hmmm, must be friendly......

CadetNewb said:
"There's even a Mini-Neko!" Her enthusiasm died out for a moment though. "And, um. Some guys. Uh. Do they sparkle at least?" Pausing with disappointment, she slapped her cheeks with both hands like someone trying to wake up, the Magical Girl regaining her vim and vigor. Looking straight at her mistress, she asked, "Adelaide, Adelaide, why didn't you tell me the bad guys have Neko!? That's totally not fair!" Looking at the squad, she started speaking straight at them in turn. "Just take me away!~ I wanna join The Evil Neko Empire and get a cool new black and red dress and awesome-cool badguy stuff too!" she straight up demanded from Rin. "Look at him - I got a really strong kick and everything, right? I'm totally right, right?" Coco questioned Dimitri. "Oh, oh, I can help too! When I was running away with the goods like Adelaide said, I saw somebodies go south from the dumpy little camp I found! But it was dark, so I couldn't make them out!" As she happily took Freya's hand and started rubbing her cheek against it like an affectionate kitten herself, the princess trembled as she came to the brink of a complete breakdown.

"She. She...had powers? Why didn't she tell me?"

"That's because you didn't ask!" Coco happily replied, mid-cheek-rub. They could all hear the faintest of sobs from the broken princess. "Oh, that's right!" the little girl realized. "What are we going to do to take over the world guys? Does this thing in here get assembled into some ancient super-weapon, or get used in some ritual to revive an Evil Overlord, or maybe unlock a flying castle in the sky?"
Click to expand...

...wait...nani? Blinking in confusion at what he'd just heard, the Armorer switched his eyesight over to its "default" setting to get a better look at the strangely-speaking newcomer - and felt his jaw drop a centimeter or two at what he saw several seconds later. EHHHHHHHHH?!?!?!?


Now, Matokai Masato could handle orcs and goblins, having seen similar creatures in some of the (many) RPGs he'd played in his free time back at Tsubomi.


Matokai Masato could even handle the creatures they'd encountered earlier, despite them resembling Mishhuvurthyar a bit too much for his liking.


Masato Matokai could not, however, handle something that appeared to have been taken straight out of Yamataian anime. What in the actual frell...

Sif said:
"Well, what would you think if we weren't from The Evil Neko Empire? What if we were from the noble...............Heroic Neko Kingdom?"
Click to expand...

Thanks to being semi-conscious, it was only then that the Santô Hei belatedly realized something (Wait......"sparkle"...?) and groggily added "Why...<yawn>...am I supposed t'sparkle?" to Sif's earlier query, the surprise of the former now replaced with confusion. Did someone...put glitter on me while I was sleeping...?
 
Dimitri pulled himself up and groaned, listening to Coco's fan raving, but hearing her ask him to give her kick positive reviews after just kicking him, and sounding so bad at his presence, he wasn't going to give her an easy time with that. "Strong? Ha, I didn't even realize you kicked me, I just feel over because I thought I could see some panties, but then I realized you're just a kid." That, would probably come back to bite him but his mouth was moving faster than his brain. "However what can you tell us about the person who went south?"
 
Freyja was unsure how to react to a small child snuggling her hand, It wasn't exactly covered in training but the neko gave the girl a scratch behind the ears. While her speech was too much right now it was sweet how she was clearly a child at heart even with all the darkness around her.

And then Dimitri opened his mouth causing freyja to slowly turn her head toward the Nepleslian with a chilling stare giving the perv the smack upside the head he deserved

"Coco we are elite hand-picked warriors under the command of princess Sif here and we would like to know anything you could tell us about our companion that left toward the south earlier"
 
The empty eyed, thousand yard stare that Adelaide gave them all as she was testament to how close her soul was to fleeing this mortal world.

All her guards, her friends, were dead? The village that took them in, laid in ruin? Hobgoblins and Drow were on the march through her very kingdom? Coco - her little Coco, her best friend - was magical? And outlandishly, utterly flamboyantly magical? And the people that saved her claimed to be from a Heroic 'Neko' Kingdom? Sif was a princess as well, and they were here as her handpicked royal guard? It was all just too much. Too much for the poor, unfortunate brunette to take. Without a word, she turned around and lay down in the corner of the carriage, tucking herself to sleep without a blanket. It was all a bad dream. It had to be. And bad dreams went away when you fell asleep in one, so that one would wake up after all. And since this was a bad dream, it was sleepy time.

Coco however, heard only the 'good' news, and took all this 'good' news very well.

"Really?!" she exclaimed, hands clasped together in excitement. "Then we'll go on adventures, find a master to teach us ancient techniques, find a love interest or two, lose one of them to The Evil Overlord, and then go on an epic campaign of revenge, and then save the day before getting together with the leftover! It'll be awesome!" the Mahou Shoujo raised both her hands up in the air with cheer. "Isn't that right Minnie?" Coco asked Sif.

"無理" The Mini-Neko replied.

"Huh? Why?" Coco asked, dumbfounded.

"すべての嘘"

"Aww, they're all talking out of their butts? No fun guys!" Pouting at them, the little girl's outfit vanished in a shower of sparkles and light. Replacing them, she wore what looked like a green poncho with slits for her arms, and what looked like a drab brown dress underneath. From there, she promptly plopped herself down right next to Sif. Amazingly? They both had the same exact dour expression on their faces as they simply sat there. Grumbling, Coco replied to Masato, "Only if you're pretty." Despite this, the little girl soon turned around to stick her tongue out at Dimitri with a "Bleeeeeh!" before resuming her best Sif impression. On being asked by the band of Neko and their companion however, she relented a little. "Well, it was dark, but I could tell someone had been fighting hard at the little camp before running. I couldn't make out much at all, but the monster-cats saw or heard me, and since I'm smaller, I guess they tried eating me instead," Coco explained. "I had a running fight with them until they ran away, and then I made my way back to that little camp since it looked like a good place to stay and wait."

"And then we met," Sif bitterly added,the little girl eagerly nodding along. Like Yuzuki, her own plies for a response from Kuroneko was met with silence. "We have two options people. We can either keep going north and stay with the mission - " she added telepathically, " - or head south in search of Kuroneko. What are your thoughts everyone?"
 
Seeing the little girl get so glum Freyja felt guilty for not being able to tell her the truth, but she wasn't going to break orders because of one disappointed child.

"I don't want to leave kuroneko behind, not in an unknown environment, I don't think it's right to abandon her like that even if she is capable of catching up" especially since none of us have our gear
 
Sif's outing of the less honest among their group was of minor amusement to Yuzuki though quickly she found that her thoughts were occupied by another quandary. She could mention that she had tried to contact Kuroneko via wireless communication with no response indicating that the Nekovalkyrja was likely unconscious and as such probably lost somewhere among the prairie grasses with all the practical likelyhood of finding her as finding a needle in a stack of hay meaning they were better off heading north and proceeding with their mission. Alternatively Yuzuki could pitch her support in favour of seeking their wayward sister and please the more sentimental elements of their party keeping morale up.

Not wanting to deal with the consequences of either choice at the moment Yuzuki casually set her winged spear along the bottom of the wagon, and sent a brief encrypted message to Sif, "I tried contacting Kuroneko, she didn't respond so either she somehow ended up outside of a 250km radius, or she is unconscious... Also I abstain." With the message sent, Yuzuki keeled over and found her head pillowed by something warm and soft. Having misjudged the size of the wagon Yuzuki realized that she had leaned over to rest her head upon the Lady Weiss' pleasantly soft rump, bringing to mind comments about pampered nobility. Comfortable and too tired to care about what the others might think of the development Yuzuki closed her eyes and promptly set about trying to sleep without another thought.
 
Somewhere Besides Yamatai

Masato (for better or worse) also abstained from the vote by resuming his briefly-interrupted slumber; despite having graduated from Basic, the Minkan was still unaccustomed to traveling such long distances on foot - especially since, well, onboard the Ryūjō...he didn't exactly have to walk around much inside Engineering.
 
Dimitri situated himself in his seat and took the reins from Sif if allowed. After listening to their options he gave a nod. "I know we had business north, but I don't think it'll be so time limited that we can't go after Kuro. She has a knack for getting into trouble so we should get her before things get really crazy on her end." To him the decision was a no brainer, the team came before the mission in this case. There was no telling how many more troubles they would face in the future so they needed all the firepower they could get anyway.
 
Statisfied with Coco's answer, Rin lowered her bow and put the arrow back in her quiver.

She listened to the others debate about their next course of action; whether to head south and search for Kuroneko, or to head north and continue their mission.

"We do not leave anyone behind. Whatever happened to Kuroneko could have been one of us. We should look for her," said Rin with a nod.
 
Aya had to stifle a giggle in response to Coco's exuberance. Sure, the situation was somewhat bleak if she looked at it dispassionately, but the young girl helped lift her spirits. Sif's query was met with a confident answer, "I think we should go back for Kuroneko. If things are as serious as I think they might be, we'll need every person we can get."

She thought better of bringing up her own dismal performance to bolster her point. Sif probably didn't need the reminder, to say the least.
 
Allowing Dimitri to take the reins once more, Sif turned to look at them all.

"Then it is decided. We search for Kuroneko," she solemnly stated. "The odds are slim - like some of you, I have tried and failed to call to her - but, she was always...unpredictable. It is always best to expect the unexpected with her," the Mini-Neko's voice quietly spoke in their minds. "This is, of course, assuming our would be employer doesn't mind." All the way at the back of the carriage and in its more open cargo section, Adelaide laid prone, head turned away to them all and completely unaware of Yuzuki's source of comfort.

"I just don't care anymore - it's all too much," the young princess almost cried.

"South-west it is," Sif crossed her arms, nodding to herself. At this however, Adelaide rose as she sprung right back up with a push of her arms, briefly bouncing with shock and horror at the direction they were taking.

"W-wait! That's right in the direction of - " Stopping herself as she came to a realization, the young woman sighed and started lie down and make herself comfortable again, not once disturbing Yuzuki's rest. "Forget it. It's not like I want to go back to the decadent court back home. With all those snobby, pure bred nobles. Or their comfy beds. Or their excellent food. Or safe, high castle walls. And stuffs," she pouted to herself. Like her home, she too was very comfortable to the point she didn't even notice the discomfort Yuzuki potentially gave. Regarding the mood though, her maid was the exact opposite.

"Yay! Off to adventure! I'll even track your friend, no problem. If we're really lucky, it'll lead us right into the heart of darkness where the new Dark Lord awaits!~" Coco cheered. "Unmei wa yobidashi!" the little girl pointed her finger to the heavens.

Fate is calling!

When morning finally came however, the adventurers found themselves waking, curled up in the carriage as the horse and the ever changing drivers carried them through the night. Not too far off, the telltale smoke of chimneys and fires told them that civilization was not far away. However, the ominous forest and mountains beyond loomed ever closer.
 
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